Spike awoke with a passing yawn. He sat up; his eyes heavy, still being sleepy after all. The baby dragon's arms stretched out as he stood up on his two feet. Spike glanced over to the other end of the bed where Twilight was. “Hey, Twilight?” he spoke.
Yet, something was amiss.”Twilight?” he spoke once more, trying to get the mare's attention.
Twilight was gone; her blanket lay open exposing the sheets beneath. Spike rubbed his eyes with his fists before looking again. She was still gone. He wondered where Twilight could have gone. He his eyes scanned the room, finding the door to be cracked open. “Hmmm...” he quietly muttered.
Spike lowered himself off the bed and onto the floor. The baby dragon turned and walked towards the door, giving it a shove when he reached it. He poked his head out into the corridor, glancing both ways.
“Twilight?” called Spike, seeing if the lavender unicorn was nearby.
There was no answer.
Spike stepped out into the corridor, the door closing a bit behind him. He pondered which way Twilight went. “Hmmm. If I were Twilight, where would I go?” he asked himself, tapping his chin with his scaly fingers. Then it hit him.
“The library!” he exclaimed with a sudden hop. With that, Spike trotted quickly through the corridors towards the castle library; his foot steps silenced by the red carpeting that ran through the center of the corridors.
A few minutes passed, with Spike taking the same path to the library as Twilight. “Almost there,” he said quietly to himself. “I wonder if she’s up to investigate more about that creepy book...”
Spike nearly turned the corner into the room with the library entrance when he heard somepony talking. He stopped dead in his tracks and hugged the wall for cover. ‘Now who could that be?’ said his inner thoughts. He narrowly peaked around the corner at the library door where the voices came from.
“-And make sure she’s secure in her prison cell,” ordered a cold, firm, and yet feminine voice as the library double doors swung open. The voice sounded all too familiar, and the tone was uncanny.
A royal guard could be seen exiting the library, carrying something on his back. Spike didn’t like what he saw.
It was Twilight Sparkle’s unconscious body. Her face was bruised, as was her torso. Spike saw blood flowing from her mouth. In addition to those injuries, her horn was mysteriously missing.
Spike started to gasp but caught himself; his hands shooting up to cover his mouth. He couldn’t believe what he was seeing. ‘Why is Twilight knocked out? Why is she injured!?’ he thought, frantically. ‘And why is she being taken to a prison cell?’ The bizarre twist of events created a strong feeling of apprehension.
‘I’ve got to help her!’ yelled Spike, in his mind, widening his eyes.
The guard opened a door leading to another corridor towards the castle dungeon. It promptly closed behind him. Spike began to step out to make his way to the door the guard entered, until he heard somepony else’s hoofsteps.
Spike froze, nervously, before he could fully stepped out.
From behind the opened double doors, a second guard emerged. Right behind him, a multi-colored flowing mane and long unicorn horn poked out into view. Spike quickly receded into his cover. He instantly recognized who it was stepping out by the mane alone. It was Princess Celestia.
The young dragon’s heart thumped in his chest as his thoughts raced. ‘So Princess Celestia really is behind this!? This is bad... I need to get back to Ponyville!’ he thought. Spike knew that Twilight needed his help right now at this very moment, but the young dragon was certain there was no way he could do so alone under the current circumstances. A tear rolled down his cheek at the thought of losing Twilight.
The libarary doors creaked to a close. A shiver was sent down his spine when Celestia let out a sinister chuckle, breaking him from his thoughts. The baby dragon was very creeped out, hearing the usually warm Princess Celestia give such a chilling laugh.
Spike was officially terrified once he heard two sets of hoofsteps moving closer to his position. He knew he needed to get out of the castle now. They were going come for him now. The baby dragon was sure of it.
Still hidden, he dashed back through the corridors, staying on the carpet that silenced his footsteps. Various twists and turns brought him back to the guest bed chamber where he and Twilight slept. Spike wasn’t sure how far Celestia was behind him, so he knew he needed to act quickly.
Spike quickly grabbed Twilight’s book bag and slung it around his shoulders. He frantically glanced around the room; head turning and eyes shifting, looking for a place to hide. Then the window in particular caught his eye. He dashed over to it, jumping up to grab onto a handle. Spike secured himself with his feet pressed against the wall just below the window. He quickly kicked off, pulling the window open.
He dropped to the floor, only to pull himself up and onto the window sill, grunting a little from the extra weight of the book bag.
The baby dragon looked down. It was a straight drop down the side of the castle and mountain that it rested on. “That’s not going to work...” said Spike to himself, disappointed.
Then something startled him. It was the sound of the door to the room creaking open, slowly. His sweat turned cold as he silently panicked, unsure of what to do. ‘Gotta think of something!’ screamed his inner thoughts.
The door was finally open. A certain majestic white alicorn with a flowing multi-colored mane slowly trotted into the room with a royal guard. They both saw nothing. Spike was gone, along with Twilight’s book bag. The only point of interest was the opened window, with the sound of the wind passing by.
Celestia’s eyes narrowed with a soft grunt. Hoof steps sounded as she approached the open window.
“There’s nopony here, Princess,” said the guard, stating the obvious.
“Yes. It seems that way,” she replied calmly.
Her horn lit up, with an aura closing the window. Her scowl remained as she turned around and made way for the door. Celestia turned her head to look at the guard. “I want you to rally all the castle guards.” she ordered. “Secure all the exits, and contact the troops stationed in and around Canterlot to keep a watchful eye out for a purple baby dragon.”
The guard nodded and replied. “Yes, Princess Celestia.” With that, he sprinted out of the room to the guard’s quarters.
Celestia strolled out of the bed chamber, closing the door behind her with the use of her magic. The princess started for her throne room.
“You won’t slip past me, Spike,” Princess Celestia muttered to herself as her eyes narrowed.
Spike sighed in relief. He was a lucky dragon for one of the bricks of the castle wall to be jutting out. It had allowed him use the book bag strap to dangle from it about a foot below the window sill. Celestia had left, and he was safe for now.
The baby dragon managed to keep his grip as he climbed up to the window sill. The window was closed however, leaving him outside. He reached down and grabbed the book bag, pulling it up to him.
“That was way too close!” he said, with a hint of relief in his voice. He pushed on the window, causing it to swing open into the bed chamber. He hopped down onto the floor. “But now I need a way out.” He pondered for a moment.
Getting passed the guards when the castle is on alert was nigh-impossible. The baby dragon knew that. He glanced back at the now reopened window. The dragon winced. “This is my only escape, isn’t it?” he asked himself, rhetorically.
But then, Spike had an idea. He quickly gathered all of the bedding and put it in a pile on the floor. Wandering over a wardrobe, he opened it. The wooden piece of furniture contained extra sheets and blankets.
He spent the next several minutes tying each piece of bedding together. Spike carefully tightened each knot so it would hold his weight.
With that, the baby dragon climbed onto the window sill. He tied the blanket rope on the out of place brick that held him up once before. Once the knot was secure, he tossed the rest down the side of the castle. It fell quickly; its form almost slithering down the side of the castle and the cliff.
“Get back to Ponyville. Get help. Rescue Twilight,” he muttered to himself, with a serious look about his face. He hopped out the window, facing inwards. Spike simply grabbed the rope and began to climb down carefully. The book bag remained secure, slung around his body.
Only a few minutes passed before Spike reached the bottom of the rope. “Awww man...” he groaned. There was still quite a ways down. Fortunately there was river at the base of the cliff. He looked along the river, following its path. Off in the distance, Spike noticed that it ran close to Ponyville. Unfortunately, he heard the flapping of wings somewhere nearby.
Spike turned his head to the source. It was a royal guard pegasus, patrolling the area. Spike became worried, knowing that he would stick out like a sore hoof against the castle walls, dangling from a rope made of bed sheets and blankets.
The armored pegasus’s eyes caught Spike at the bottom of a long rope, almost immediately. “Hey you!” he yelled, pointing a hoof at the young escapee. The guard charged down towards Spike with great speed. His orders were to capture the baby dragon.
Spike became frantic, knowing that if he did not let go, he would be captured. He looked down one more time at the river below. The baby dragon swallowed the nervous lump in his throat. “Here goes nothing...”
Spike kicked off the side of the wall, letting go of the bed sheets at the same time. The pegasus guard had already closed in too much to react properly and pull away, slamming into the wall with a thud. Fortunately for him, he had a helmet, which kept his skull from breaking.
Screaming escaped Spike’s lips as he plummeted towards the flowing body of water below. He was scared, but he had to do whatever he needed to get back to Ponyville to find help. To rescue Twilight Sparkle. She was like a mother to him.
Spike shifted the book bag so it was below him. That way, the book bag would break his fall, meaning the impact on the water wouldn’t kill him. “So glad Twilight bought a new bag,” he commented to himself. The old one did not seem completely cover the book it carried, meaning it would get ruined otherwise.
Before long, there was a splash. Spike made contact with the water. The strong impact forced him underwater; the currents carrying him down stream. At least the book would be safe in the new book bag.
The pegasus couldn’t have recovered in time to catch Spike out of the air, much to his chagrin. It would be too difficult to look for him now, especially when it’s dark out. With that, the armored pegasus sped off towards the nearest entrance.
“Princess Celestia will want to hear about this,” he spoke aloud. His flapping wings carried him swiftly through the air to an entrance. Once inside the castle, the royal guard rushed to the Throne Room where Princess Celestia was.
The doors to the Throne Room burst open with the armored pegasus rushing in. “Princess Celestia!” he shouted. “I have something to report.” He was sweating from having made his way to the Throne Room with such haste.
Lowering a cup of tea, she looked towards the guard. “Alright. Let’s here it,” ordered Princess Celestia, her eyes narrowing in anticipation for the following report.