Mother’s Day - Spike and Celestia
“Spike, time to get up~” Twilight sang as she trotted into his bedroom and drew the curtains aside, allowing what little light there was to enter the room.
The sun had barely breached the horizon and most of Ponyville was still asleep. Save for the aforementioned purple alicorn and the now grumpy dragon.
“Ugh, why do we have to wake up this early, Twi? I don’t think Applejack even wakes up this early.” Spike groaned as he struggled to force himself out of his comfy bed.
Twilight smiled and let out a short giggle at her companion’s attitude.
“We’re getting up this early because we have to get ready for Mother’s Day. It’s next week and the girls’ families will all be staying here in the castle. We have to get the rooms prepared for them as well as clean up a bit around here.” She answered and began walking out of his room and down the corridor, Spike quickly followed suit. “And since Mayor Mare has put me in charge of organizing the events around Ponyville, that doesn’t leave much time for us to get it done later. So I’m going to need your help with that.” She continued with a teasing tone making the drake roll his eyes.
Spike sighed, giving in to his fate. “Is Starlight going to help us at least?” He looked up to Twilight awaiting an answer as both of them made their way down the stairs and into the kitchen. Spike instinctively began making a pot of coffee for Twilight.
“She left for the Crystal Empire early this morning. Something urgent came up with Sunburst and she needed to leave immediately. She most likely won’t be back until after Mother’s Day, so for now it’s just us.” She responded with a sheepish grin as Spike curled in left claw in anger.
Spike silently fumed at Starlight’s luck at being called to the Crystal Empire right before they were going to start making preparations for Mother’s Day. He poured a cup of coffee for both Twilight and himself before plopping himself down on one of the stools and slid Twilight her mug of coffee.
“So what are we going to do first?” He asked calmly, taking a sip of the scalding hot coffee while Twilight blew at hers to cool it down.
“Well, we have to get the rooms ready before their parents arrive. Which should be our first priority. We have the blankets and sheets for the beds in the linen closet. We should also dust around the rooms first; make sure they look presentable for when they do get here.”
“That’s easy enough to do.” Spike remarked as he wrote it down on a piece of parchment, allowing Twilight to finally drink her coffee.
“Not so fast Spike. We have to move some beds around for their siblings that are coming. Maud already has her own place, but Limestone and Marble will need their own beds, maybe even their own rooms. Pinkie’s parents sleep in separate beds, so we have to get a set of twin beds and move them into the room they’ll be staying in. Zephyr Breeze will be joining us with Fluttershy’s parents. We also have to try and keep him away from Rainbow Dash’s room.” Spike raised an eyebrow in her direction and looked at her curiously, she explained.
“Apparently he really likes Dash and has been known to be a bit….” She paused, waving her hoof in the air, trying to find the right word to use. She was about to open her mouth before Spike spoke up for her.
“...Stalkerish?”
Twilight reeled back at Spike’s blunt statement. “Well….yes, but I wouldn’t use those words exactly. Either way, he needs to have a room away from Dash.”
“With her father here I don’t think Zephyr would try anything. I mean, I’ve never met him before, but from what Scoots has told me, he’s pretty strong.” He idly stated, “I don’t think her dad would appreciate Zephyr trying to get it on with his daughter.”
Twilight nearly spat out her coffee at the words that were bluntly spoken. After a quick coughing fit she glared at Spike.
“Spike!”
“What?! It’s true!” He held up his hands in front of him defensively, slightly afraid of angering the young lavender alicorn. Twilight only huffed in response to his reply as she magicked a rag to wipe up what coffee she had spit out.
“As I was saying, we need to make sure their rooms stay far apart. Other than Rainbow’s and Pinkie’s families. I don’t think we have to do anything special for the others.”
Spike nodded and wrote that down on the parchment as well. “What about Shining Armor and Cadance? Are they coming for Mother’s Day with Flurry?” He asked, looking towards Twilight.
She shook her head in reply. “They have their hooves full with taking care of her, they’re still new to the entire ‘raising a baby’ thing. Even more so since they’re raising the first natural born alicorn since Princess Celestia and Luna. So they won’t be able to make it this year. Plus they still have a country to run, they can’t exactly take a week off to stay here.”
“Alright, so other than cleaning the castle and preparing their rooms, what else do we have to do?”
“Hmm...Well, most likely they’ll be more focused on spending time with their children, so they won’t exactly be cooped up in the castle for very long. We’ll probably have to make dinner for all - or most - of them though. Nothing too fancy but nothing too plain either.”
Spike started writing once more, “Alright, we should ask them what they’d prefer for dinner on Mother’s Day. Maybe have the girls help make something special for their mothers.”
Twilight smiled at Spike, “That’s a great idea, I can ask the girls in private once they arrive here later. Oh, we also have to get a table set up for gifts.”
Spike once more looked at her curiously. “Uh...what are the gifts for, Twi?”
“This year each of the girls said they had a gift or two for their respective mothers. It’d be nice for them to have a place to put the unopened gifts before they open them. Y’know, instead of hiding them away in some cramped closet or in the dank basement.” She said with a smile.
Spike seemed to pause for a bit, getting lost in his own thoughts before Twilight brought him back to reality. “You okay, Spike? You zoned out for a bit there.” He quickly nodded his head and smiled at her.
“Yeah, yeah. I was just thinking of something. Nothing important.” He quickly added before Twilight could ask any questions. “So what’s next? We got castle arrangements, food, and the gift table thingy down. What else is there?”
Twilight furrowed her brow for a few moments before replying. “Add ‘redecorate the rooms’ to the list will you, Spike?” She took no notice of the dragon’s jaw hanging open.
“You want us to redecorate the rooms?!” He asked, truly perplexed as to why Twilight would want to do that.
“Of course, it can be a bit intimidating to stay in a huge castle for the first time. Making their rooms a bit more homely should make them feel comfortable and not entirely overwhelmed by the whole experience. The girls are going to help, so don’t think you’re going to be doing this alone.” She smirked as Spike seemed to relax a little, still mumbling something under his breath that she couldn’t quite make out.
“Other than that, I’ll be gone to help with preparations for the Mother’s Day events in the park. And... that should be it!” She grinned happily, putting their empty coffee cups in the sink with her flowing lavender magic. “Writing that list only took us….” She turned to look outside at the sun, which was now past the horizon and shining over the Ponyville marketplace. “....I’d say an hour, give or take a few minutes.”
Right after Twilight had finished speaking, the front doors to the castle opened and in stepped the rest of their five friends. Chatting excitedly about having their parents in Ponyville for an entire week. Happy that they were going to be able to catch up on lost time and bond with them over the experiences they’ve had over the years.
“Well girls, we should get started with preparing for your parents’ arrival. We’re gonna be redecorating and cleaning the rooms they’re staying in. Let’s get started.” She spoke excitedly as they all agreed with a smile on their faces.
After a few hours of work, Spike and his friends had finished everything. He had done the blunt of it, which was most of the decorating and cleaning. He collapsed onto the couch and sighed tiredly, breathing heavily as his friends started chatting idly amongst themselves with food or drink in their hooves.
Rarity soon walked over to him, “So, dearie. What are your plans for Mother’s Day?” She sat on the arm of the couch, stroking his spikes lightly.
He let out a deep sigh, “I’ll probably be doing chores around the castle, helping out with the festivities in the park, that sort of thing. Nothing too exciting.”
Rarity raised an eyebrow, “You’re not spending time with Twilight’s family? They’re coming, aren’t they?” She asked, her voice hesitant as Spike shook his head slowly.
“Nah, they sent a letter earlier this month, told us they wanted to spend time with Flurry Heart. Shiny and Cadance are still getting used to being parents y’know.” He remarked, his voice clearly wavering with a sad tone as he responded back.
The girls all looked around at each other, quickly catching on to the way Spike was feeling.
“Well, darling…” Rarity started, “You can always spend time with us and our families next week. I’m sure my mother would just love to see you again, she quickly took a liking to you when I first introduced you.” She said, standing up and moving into his line of sight.
Suddenly Pinkie Pie gasped, “Oh my gosh! You’ve never met my parents before!" Her eyes widened with an excited sparkle as she began to teeter on her hooves.
"I can totally make a party out of this!" Her wiggles soon turned into small hops in place next to Rainbow Dash.
Dash watched as Pinkie continued to bounce excitedly beside her, after a few moments she stretched a wing across her back, caressing it gently. The motion slowly calmed her down. "I think we can wait on having a party, Pinks. This is Mother's Day after all, there's already going to be one."
Pinkie Pie’s mane started to deflate slowly while somehow managing to make the sound a balloon makes when it does so, confusing everyone in the room. Spike smiled slightly and shook his head.
“We can have a party ‘after’ Mother’s Day, Pinkie. Is that alright with you?”
The pink pony’s mane soon got back its signature poof as she nodded rapidly, threatening to break her neck with how fast she was moving. Fluttershy, who had remained quiet throughout the entire conversation, spoke up.
“Uhm...You can meet my parents too, Spike. If you want, but they are afraid of dragons, even if I told them you were a very nice dragon.” She smiled meekly and hid behind her mane, looking up at Spike in a cute fashion.
Spike then turned his attention towards Rainbow Dash, who rolled her eyes in return. “Dude, it’s a given that you’re going to be meeting my parents. They practically fawn over me whenever I visit them up in Cloudsdale. Plus, I’m pretty sure my mom has a thing for dragons,” Everyone in the room looked at Dash with shocked expressions, she tilted her head to the side and gazed at them curiously. “What? She used to be the president of a dragon club when she went to college. Pretty nerdy if you ask me.” After hearing that, everyone, especially Spike, let out a sigh of relief.
Spike chuckled and shook his head, “Well, thanks girls. I really appreciate you doing this for me. Thought I was gonna have to spend Mother’s Day doing chores or something boring like that. Maybe even doing research for Twi on one of her scatterbrained study binges.”
“Hey! They are not scatterbrained study binges!” Twilight huffed as she walked into the room, carrying a few carefully wrapped boxes in her magic. She carefully set the gift-boxes on the table Spike had set up to hold them.
Spike looked at the table and Applejack could swear she saw the beginnings of a tear in his eye. She scrutinized him for a few moments until he replied to her, “Oh really? What was that about wanting to study bananas last week? You tried to supercharge them if I do remember.”
Twilight froze in place and blushed, turning around and chuckling sheepishly. “Oh, right, that. I thought we agreed not to talk about that again. Ever.” She glared towards Spike and he looked away from her, whistling innocently. Her friends all chuckled and soon enough, she joined them as well. “So what were you all talking about while I was gone?”
They all looked at each other before Spike smiled and answered, “We were just making plans for Mother’s Day is all.” Twilight seemed a bit stunned at hearing this from Spike, but smiled and nodded her head.
“Alright, that’s good, but that doesn’t mean you’ll be getting out of helping set up the party. Or helping out at the park for the Mother’s Day picnic.” Spike groaned and fell backwards onto the couch.
Twilight and her friends laughed at his reaction to doing more work. “Don’t worry, Spike. You won’t have to do anything until the parents arrive.” Just as Twilight had finished that sentence, a few knocks resounded from the doorway.
Spike quickly sat up and glared at Twilight. “You just had to say something, didn’t you?”
Spike laid out the plaid blanket on the lush hill overlooking Ponyville Park. He then let the baskets slide off of his tail only for them to land gently on the blanket. He bent down and started to unpack the food from each of the baskets while Twilight and the girls, with their respective families, made their way up to him.
“Spike, you have to slow down. You know not all of us here are as tall as you.” Twilight grumbled, huffing slightly as she collapsed onto the blanket.
Spike smiled and poked her exposed stomach. “Well, ‘some’ of us would be faster if we didn’t eat so many hayburgers.”
A blush grew on Twilight’s cheeks as she batted his claw away and grumbled under her breath.
“That doesn’t mean anything.” Spike rolled his eyes and continued unpacking the food as the others finally made it up the hill, chatting lively with their parents.
Applejack raised an eyebrow at Twilight’s position and nudged her back. “Hey, Twi. Y’alright?” Twilight nodded her head and sat up.
“Yeah, I’m alright. Just a bit tired from the trip up here is all.” She stood up and extended her wings out from her back, stretching them until she could hear a popping sound. She let out a satisfied moan and smiled.
“Y’know if you didn’t read so many books and actually went outside to exercise for once you wouldn’t have gotten so tired.” Dash said as she floated by at a leisurely pace.
Applejack rolled her eyes and glared at her. “Dash! That’s not somethin’ you say to friends.”
Dash just shrugged it off and went back to talking with her parents. Twilight summoned her checklist for their picnic and went through the list of items, upon reaching the end, she let out a loud gasp. Causing everyone around to stop what they were doing and stare at her.
“Uh, is there something wrong, Twi?” Spike asked, setting down the last of the plates and cups.
“‘Is there something wrong’?! Yes, there’s something wrong! We’ve forgotten to make the desserts! Girls, come with me to Sugarcube Corner, we need to bake, ASAP. Spike, you keep everypony else entertained.”
Spike opened his mouth in protest but before he could get a word out, Twilight and the others had already begun to run down the hill and towards Sugarcube Corner. He sighed and turned around, looking at each of the parents who seemed to be talking amongst themselves. He took a steadying breath and clapped his hands together, drawing their attention.
“So, who’s hungry?”
The adults were chatting idly amongst themselves and Spike sat on the sidelines watching them, not entirely sure how to engage in conversation with them. He looked around the park, watching other families together. Mothers with their children, families having fun, tossing frisbees around and playing games. His smile soon turned into a frown as he began thinking of his own mother, his own family.
He was shaken out of his thoughts when he realized he was being addressed by Rainbow Dash’s mother, Windy Whistles.
“So, Spike. Why don’t you tell us a bit about yourself, Dashie hasn’t told us much about you. Other than you being a dragon and all.”
Spike smiled and stretched his arms for a moment.
"Honestly, there isn't much to tell. I grew up with Twilight in Canterlot. Moved to Ponyville after Twilight and the others became the Elements of Harmony. Everything else is pretty much public knowledge at this point."
"Well, what was your childhood like?"
That question caused Spike to freeze as he began to think about his childhood. Spending time with his mother playing silly games in the castle, studying any number of things with Twilight late on Saturday nights, and pulling pranks on Blueblood with Cadance. A smile began to grow across his face as these memories came flooding back.
"My childhood? It was fantastic. I can remember having so much fun just goofing off with my mother. Playing pranks on my cousins. Silly stuff like that."
Spike smiled and stretched his arms for a moment.
"Your parents must miss you a lot since you've moved here to Ponyville. After all, you did leave at a young age."
Spike slowly began to frown, letting her words bounce around his head for a few minutes.
"I suppose they would miss me, wouldn't they." Tears were starting to collect in the corner of his eyes.
"If I were your mother, I don't think I would have let you go out on your own at such a young age. I'm sure Twilight is responsible, but you were still barely a teenager when you moved here."
Tears began to slowly roll down his cheeks, he kept quiet and didn’t reply to her. It was a few moments before Mrs. Shy spoke up about it.
“Uhm, Spike. What’s wrong? Why are you crying?”
Her question brought Spike out of his stupor and he wiped away the tears, having not realized he was crying in the first place. He looked at all of the adults sitting around him, each of them wearing a worried expression on their faces.
Spike gulped hard and shakily stood up before turning away from them, attempting to hide his sadness.
“I-I have to go do something, I’m sorry.” He stammered out before taking off down the hill, heading back towards the castle. As he began making his way back to the castle and through the park, he failed to watch where he was running, ending up colliding headfirst into Twilight and the others, causing Pinkie to narrowly avoid being covered in a mountain of sweets and pastries.
Spike wiped his eyes clear of any tears and shakily stood up. When he attempted to rush past him, Twilight grabbed his wrist in her magic and held him firmly in place.
“Spike?! Where are you going?! We just finished baking these treats and then you just come barreling down the hill like a maniac and ruin all of our work. Do you have any idea how long this will set back the picnic?! What do you have to say for yourself?”
Spike swiveled around to meet Twilight, the group of friends flinched backwards seeing the tears streaming out of his bloodshot eyes.
"I'll tell you exactly what I have to say. I don't care. I don't care about your stupid picnic, your stupid desserts, your stupid schedule, or this stupid holiday!" He shouted into Twilight's face.
"Spike, what the hay is your problem?! You've been acting weird all day. What is going on with you?! Just tell me already! I'm your friend, I'm supposed to be there for support. We're family, Spike."
"Oh really? We're family, are we? Well you coulda fooled me!"
Twilight's temper soared and she flew up to Spike, getting right into his face to stare him down.
Neither Alicorn nor dragon flinched.
"It means that you care more about your friends or impressing ponies you barely know than you do about me. If I recall correctly, I was left behind while you went to your birthday party in Canterlot."
Twilight let out a huff of amusement. "You're still mad about that?! I told you I was sorry! I've never forgotten to invite you to anything since then!"
"Saying sorry doesn't get rid of the fact that you robbed me of spending time with her for once since we've moved here!" He shouted, new tears streaming down his face.
"Her? Who are you...." It clicked, Twilight finally understood what Spike was angry about. She wracked her memories before realizing he had been right. They hadn't spent time together since before Nightmare Moon returned years ago.
Her ears flattened against her head and she touched down onto the ground softly, tears threatening to burst from her eyes. She raised a singular hoof towards him and opened her mouth to call out his name. Tears had mixed with a desperation to say she was sorry, but he had already turned around and darted to the castle.
Their friends just stood there in absolute shock, nopony really knowing what to say in that moment. None of them really understood what had just transpired in front of them. Rarity was the first out of the group to step forward and ask what had happened.
“What just happened, is that I just found out what’s been bothering Spike all day. And I think I know just how to fix it.”
“How, darling?”
She turned to her friends and gave them a weak smile. “You all can go back to the castle, wait in the throne room please. I need to send somepony a very important letter. I’ll be back soon.”
She turned back around and began trotting towards the Mayor’s office with determination.
Spike sighed sadly as he was laying on his bed, staring blankly up at the ceiling. He sniffled and wiped his eyes clear of any tears as he heard soft hoofsteps approaching. He quickly sat up and turned his back away from the door.
He held his eyes closed as the door opened and closed quietly. Silently fuming he spoke.
“For the last time, Twi. I’m fine, you don’t have to worry about me. Just….just go. I’ll be out in a minute. Alright?” He voice was firm but wavering.
A soft, motherly voice spoke up from behind him.
“Well, I don’t suppose that’s how you talk to your mother, now is it?”
His eyes jolted open and he stood up, turning around and seeing Princess Celestia standing there.
“Wha-What? Mom, what are you doing here? Aren’t you supposed to be in Canterlot?”
She smiled warmly and started to walk towards him.
“Well, I was. But I got a letter from Twilight. It mentioned something about you running off and locking yourself in your room. She thought it’d be good for me to come down here to talk to you.”
He quickly went from confused to angry. He took a step back and held out his arms, tears already brimming in his eyes.
“No! You...You don’t get this, you wouldn't get this. Don’t think you can just waltz in here and assume everything is fine between us!” He yelled.
Celestia took a step back out of shock. She opened her mouth to speak, unsure of what to say to the infuriated dragon. Or why he was infuriated in the first place.
“Ever since you sent me and Twilight to live here in Ponyville, you’ve missed everything. Every birthday, every heartbreak, every time I needed you. You were never there.” He took a deep breath and took a step towards her.
“And you aren’t allowed to use the bucking excuse that you were ‘busy’ because you somehow managed to find the time to come down here to Ponyville to attend the wedding of Cranky and Matilda. You don’t even know them! You met Cranky once three decades ago! You go to his wedding yet you don’t come to my birthday’s?! What the buck?!”
Celestia took a quick step back, stuttering as her eyes filled to the brim with tears. He was right, and she knew it. She’d missed everything, tossed him aside like some old toy. Her own son.
“You didn’t come when I nearly killed everypony in Ponyville, you didn’t come when I ran away because I was confused about my life, you didn’t come when I nearly died saving the Crystal Empire, and you didn’t come when I risked being banished for siding with Thorax. You. Weren’t. There.” By now Spike was all but in her face, his voice wavering as tears flowed freely from his eyes.
He steadied himself and backed up, falling onto the bed and letting out a few pathetic sobs.
“At first, I told myself you were just busy. That you’re the ruler of Equestria so you don’t have much time for me anymore. But as time went on, I just….I began to think that maybe you didn’t want me. Or you were ashamed to have me as your son.”
Celestia let out a startled gasp and rushed up to Spike, wrapping him in her large wings.
“Spike, I would never be ashamed of you. What made you think that?”
He lifted his head, looking into her eyes sadly.
“You told me we could never tell anypony that I was your son. And after you sent me and Twi here…we haven’t spent any time together.”
She froze, thinking over what he had just said. Before long, she took a deep breath and wiped her eyes free of tears, and did the same to his.
“Spike, I want you to listen to me, and listen well. You are my son, I will always cherish you as such. You’re still my little sunshine, that will never change. I will never abandon you, no matter what. I know that I can’t just gain back your trust immediately, but please….tell me how I can start.”
Spike stared into her eyes for a few moments, looking for any signs of a lie. Finding none, he allowed a small smile to cross his features.
“I don’t want to hide the fact that I’m your son anymore. I’m tired of having to act like I’m not your son in public. I want things to go back to the way they were when I was younger. We spent so much time together back then, just messing around. Not worrying about all of Equestria being threatened by some otherworldly force. It was just us. As family.”
She let out a deep sigh and smiled weakly at him, still cradling him in her wings.
"Alright, we don't have to keep it a secret anymore. If that's what you want. But...let me handle telling all of Equestria, you just worry about telling your friends."
His smile grew wider and he sniffled once before lunging forward and wrapping his arms around her long slender neck.
“I love you, mom.” He whispered quietly, so only she could hear him.
“I love you too, my little sunshine.”
The crystal doors that normally were no issue for him, suddenly took on an intimidating appearance. He was about to go tell his friends the truth, after many long years, he wouldn't have to keep it a secret anymore.
As if sensing his hesitation, Celestia draped a comforting wing over his shoulder. Spike looked up at her and opened his mouth, however, she cut him off before he could voice any concerns.
"It's going to be alright. I'll be right beside you the entire time. You have no need to worry."
He gave her a small smile and turned back towards the tall doors. Taking a deep breath he placed his claws on them. Before he moved any further he stopped.
"What do I tell them?"
Celestia nuzzled his neck reassuringly.
"The truth."
He took one last deep breath and pushed forward, watching as the crystal doors swung open slowly.
Spike and Celestia stepped through them and into the spacious throne room, where Twilight, her friends, and their parents were seated around the Cutie Map, talking lively among themselves.
Twilight was the first to notice them enter the room and quickly hushed everyone. Spike took one last look at his mother before turning back to his friends.
"Girls....there's something I need to tell you."