Awoken

by Dashie1791


Chapter Three

The inside of the Castle of Friendship had become rather quiet for the past three days. Since Spike had traveled to the Dragonlands with Twilight and had his confrontation with Garble, he had locked himself inside his room and refused to talk to any of his friends. All of them came to see if he was okay and wanted to talk with him, but no matter how much they tried he still refused to talk with them or come out of his room. Spike didn't eat nothing but the gems that he had saved in a box that was under his bed. He had read every comic that he owned at least four times each, and would lay on his bed and look out the window. He knew in the back of his mind that Twilight and the others were worried about him, but it agitated him so much that they just couldn't see that he was now a little bigger and was now a teenager. The anger that had been building inside him for the past few days had subsided somewhat, but he knew eventually the time would come for him to tell his friends why he had been acting so strange for the last little while. But the question he asked himself, would he ever be able to tell them how he truly felt?

The day before his birthday, Twilight and the others were each sitting in their respective thrones that each had their cutie marks on the back of them. Twilight looked over at the smaller throne that had been empty for the last few days and sighed sadly. No matter how much she tried to attend her Princess duties, or even try to do any of her duties at home it was not the same without Spike. There was just something about him just being in her presence that made her feel whole and confident with herself. But now he had become distant. Something was bothering him so much that he had shut himself away for the past few days and that made her feel like a part of her was missing, the same went for the others. They missed his laugh, his smile and just him being around in general.

"Spike still won't come out of his room?" Rarity asked the Princess of Friendship. Twilight just sadly shook her head.

"No, and I'm worried sick! He hasn't opened that door of his once and no matter how much I plead him to open the door, he just won't come out".

"Why don't you just teleport into his bedroom and get him to come out by force?" Rainbow Dash added with a serious tone.

"I could. But I feel by doing that, I will only make the situation worse". Twilight admitted. "I think if we wait a little bit longer, he will come out of his room when he is ready!"

"But Twilight, his birthday party is tomorrow." Pinkie Pie whimpered, "And I have already got the decorations and the cake ready to go! This party was going to be the best birthday for him that he would probably ever have!" By now Pinkie had tears forming in her eyes.

"And he could be getting sick in there from not eating." Fluttershy declared with a serious tone. "I'm going up to his room and I'm going to get him out of there!"

"You can't darling! What if Spike gets really upset and then decides to not come out at all?" Rarity pointed out. Fluttershy then whimpered.

"Oh umm, i guess you're right."

"Well somethin has to be done! Spike is our friend and there is somethin wrong with him that is getting him down in the dumps". Applejack mentioned, "And if we don't get to the bottom of it, then ah believe Spike ain't gunna be at his birthday party tomorrow!" Pinkie then whimpered even more and began to lightly sob, which then Fluttershy then joined in as well.

"I miss Spikey Wikey". Rarity cried. "It really isn't the same without him around!"

Twilight couldn't agree more. She just lowered her head and slightly sobbed.

"Oh Spike, what is going on with you?" She asked herself.

The next day was the day of Spike's birthday. Twilight decided that the party should happen anyway and had been helping Pinkie Pie all morning and into the afternoon preparing for the party. Pinkie had sent out invitations for Spike's birthday all over Ponyville and sent invitations to the Crystal Empire, Canterlot and the Changeling hive. As the day went by guests were starting to show up and beginning to fill up the banquet room at the community hall. Princess Celestia and Princess Luna sadly were unable to attend the party as they were needed for a meeting back in Canterlot. Princess Cadence and Shining Armor made the trip from the Crystal Empire so they could attend the savior of their kingdom' birthday.

"Hey Twilight!" Called Cadence to her sister in law. Twilight was always very happy to see her former babysitter and big brother come to Ponyville for a visit. Normally Twilight would do her special greeting with Cadence, but this time she didn't feel the time was right. Cadence was worried about her sister in law, and the three began to have a conversation.

"Hey Twily, it's good to see you. Where's the birthday boy? We've got a cool present for him from us and the ponies of the Crystal Empire." Shining Armor asked. Twilight just shook her head and looked down.

"What's wrong Twilight? You don't seem yourself!" The Princess of Love questioned looking concerned. Shining Armor had a worried look too.

"Spike has not been acting like himself these last few weeks. So I'm not sure if he will be even attending his party!" She said sadly.

"Well what's wrong exactly?" The royal couple asked.

"I wish I knew. I tried asking him but he won't come out of his room. He has been stuck in his room for the last four days!"

"Did something happen that might of upset him?" Shining Armor questioned.

"Well he did get into a fight with Garble the other day when we went to the dragonlands. I didn't want him getting hurt so I kinda interfered and stopped it from getting worse."

"Maybe that's why he's upset. Maybe he thinks that by you interfering made him think that he can't take care of himself." Cadence mentioned. Twilight looked at the Princess of Love with a confused look.

"But Spike is a young dragon. I didn't him getting hurt!"

"Well I hate to break it you Twi, but Spike ain't exactly a young dragon anymore. He's now a lot older and can probably look after himself." Shining Armor put in. Twilight gave her brother a death glare.

"How I look after Spike is my business. He may be a bit older than he was before, but to me he is still my baby dragon."

"I can understand that Twilight, but if you're really worried about Spike, you need to confront him and get him to admit what his feelings are." Cadence said kindly putting her hoof on her sister's shoulder. Twilight knew that Cadence was right and that she had to get Spike out of his funk. It was his birthday afterall and he wasn't anywhere to be seen.

Twilight soon arrived back at her castle and was now standing outside Spike's bedroom door. She gave the door a couple knocks and called inside.

"Spike? It's me, can I talk to you please?" What seemed like had been minutes but had actually been a few seconds she could hear footsteps coming from inside the room. She then saw that the door had opened slightly and a pair of emerald green eyes were staring at her from inside.

"I don't want to talk Twilight. I'm not in the mood!" Spike grunted with a low voice. Twilight then opened the door even more and looked her assistant directly in the eyes.

"Please Spike, this is very important and I have to talk to you!"

Spike then sighed and then backed away from the door, leaving it slightly open so that Twilight could come in. The Princess of Friendship couldn't believe her eyes at the state of his room. The sight of comics not stacked just splayed all over the floor, the sight of a unmade bed and half eaten gems all over his bedside table broke the Alicorns heart. Spike had now gone and sat in the corner and had his back turned to her. Twilight then sucked up her courage and begin to speak to the young drake.

"Spike? Are you by chance upset about what happened the other day? If you are I'm sorry for barging in like that, but it was for a good reason. You are my friend and I don't nothing to happen to my number one assistant and favorite dragon. I just want you to know that if there is anything you want to tell me I am all ears and ready to listen."

Spike wanted to tell her everything, but for some reason he just couldn't sum up the courage to tell her what was bothering him. He just remained silent and didn't move a muscle. Twilight sighed and then stood up hinting to him that she was ready to leave.

"But I have to ask Spike, are you going to by any chance make an appearance at your birthday party tonight? Me and Pinkie have worked our tails off all day getting it ready for you, and a lot of ponies are going to be there. I saw Thorax on my way here and he said that he is worried and is looking forward to seeing you. So I think it would do you real good if you attend, and if there is something bothering you, you can tell me when you feel like you're ready. You can't spend the rest of your days cooped up in your room!" Twilight finished as she proceeded to open the door to head outside.

"No matter what Spike, we're having this party whether with you there or without you!" She then walked out the door and closed it shut.

Spike had listened to what his friend had said, and he knew that he had to at least go and show his face at the party. He then quickly stretched and got a whiff of a rather putrid odor coming from his body. The smell it gave was almost like a sulfur smell with a hint of garbage, not the most pleasant smell in the world! Spike sighed and then made his way to his bathroom and began to prepare himself a shower, while doing so he happened to get a glimpse of himself in the mirror. The thoughts began to ring throughout his head. Was he really ready to come out of his room and then show himself to his friends that cared about him? Was he ready to tell them how he truly felt? Spike thought about it long and hard till he couldn't think no more. He knew what he had to do.

"Okay Spike, this is your big night. Time to get yourself back into action and go to that party!" He said to himself.

The day had now turned to night, and all the guests that had showed up to attend Spike's party were beginning to wonder if he was going to show up at all! Twilight had finally arrived from the castle after her talk with Spike and her friends were eager to find out what had happened.

"So what happened?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Is Spikey coming?" Rarity to asked with curiosity.

"Well like before he didn't tell me anything, but I told him that it will do him a world of good to appear tonight for his party." Twilight explained.

"Oh I hope he shows up! Even though this is his party it's not the same without him! He always tries to make himself the life of the party!" Pinkie Pie added with a worried look.

An hour later there was still no sign of Spike and everypony was now beginning to get even more worried. Twilight looked at the clock and then to her friends. Pinkie's face drooped and her hair went from bouncy to flat in an instant. The guests were about to announce that they were getting ready to leave when the door to the banquet hall opened with a loud creak. All the ponies that were present turned their heads to see who it was. Sadly it wasn't Spike as it was a janitor would thought the hall was empty considering how quiet it had become. Everypony sighed sadly with disappointment and began to make their way to the exit. Twilight felt truly awful and began to tear up, and the others were just as upset.

"Sorry everypony, but it doesn't look like Spike is coming tonight." Twilight called. But no sooner she said that, the door had begun to open very slowly until a figure had appeared inside. The figure turned out to be Spike who had finally come out from hiding and had cleaned himself up to look respectable for the night.

"Hey everypony. Sorry I'm late." Spike said quietly with a slight grin. Then almost immediately the room exploded with a chorus of cheers and excitement.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY SPIKE!" Everypony called out in excitement. Spike was then tackled by Pinkie Pie with shear excitement, and then was brought it in a massive group hug from the rest. Spike let out a small smile as Twilight put a birthday cap on his head.

"Glad you could make it birthday boy." Spike blushed a slight shade of pink and nodded.

"Let's get this party started!" Pinkie shouted, and everypony else agreed. Soon Vinyl Scratch began to play her party music.

The party began with every pony congratulating Spike on becoming a year older and began to hand him his presents.

Spike received from the Apple family a giant picnic basket full of Apple pies, Apple turnovers, and Apple fritters. Spike was elated, he loved the Apple's baked goods.

From Rainbow Dash he got the newest book about the complete history of the Wonderbolts that was signed by every member of the group including her. Spike thought it was really cool to get this from Rainbow considering he did know every member already.

Spike got a beautiful sweater and a hat made for him from Rarity. It made him feel happy to get things like this from Rarity. Considering he still felt sad that she turned down his offer to go on a date, he still appreciated her generosity and he loved her for that.

Fluttershy got him a nice necklace that was made entirely out of turquoise. Spike loved turquoise the most besides rubies and he loved the necklace Fluttershy had gotten him. Although he didn't guarantee that he not eventually eat it later on.

Pinkie Pie baked the largest chocolate cake that Spike had ever seen in his life, and he couldn't wait to dig into it when the time was right. She also prepared a box of cupcakes that had blue sapphires embedded on the top of them, she really knew him very well which always brought a smile to his face.

Twilight couldn't decide what to get Spike for his birthday, so she went and got him the easiest gift that she could think of. A book! 'Of course! Shouldn't expect anything different' Spike joked to himself.

Starlight Glimmer got him a very nice card from her, Trixie and Sunburst. It was the nicest card that Spike had every gotten as it was nicely decorated in beautiful cursive handwriting and covered in glitter. Definitely Trixie's work!

Cadence and Shining Armor and a lot of the citizens of the Crystal Empire got Spike a large collection of comic books, including some of the rarest copies of The Power Ponies. Spike was amazed that they got him such an amazing gift, he almost cried when they presented him with it.

Thorax was very happy to see his dragon friend, he gave him a package of different kinds of food from the changeling hive and as well as an assortment of different gems. Spike was looking forward to trying them later on.

And finally Spike received the gift that he got from Princess Celestia and Luna. It was a giant ice sculpture of himself, and it was perfectly crafted to look like him in every way. There was also a special letter attached to the sculpture from the Princesses for Spike telling him that he was the guest of honor at the upcoming summer sun festival. Spike was amazed and so were the others and congratulated him for his award. Spike simply didn't know what to say, but he made sure to write a special letter to them to say thank you.

As the party continued Spike for the most part had forgotten to be upset and began to feel like his old self again. Twilight and the others all joked and had fun with their friend which made the young drake feel warm inside. Then Mayor Mare went to the very front of the banquet room and called for the attention of everypony in attendance.

"Tonight, we are here to celebrate a very special night for an even special dragon. Tonight we are here to celebrate Spike the dragons birthday. Happy Birthday to you Spike!" She said happily and then raised a glass of punch with her hoof and raised it into the air.

"To Spike! The Birthday Dragon!"

"To Spike!" The crowd repeated. Everypony began to drink their glasses of punch including Spike who thought it was very thoughtful for the toast. But before he could say a word, the Mayor then spoke up loudly again.

"And this toast, is for the greatest group of Ponies that any village or town can be thankful for. They have done everything that they can to keep this town, Canterlot and the whole country of Equestria safe. Here's to the bravest, strongest and most loyal ponies of Equestria. Please put a hoof together for Twilight Sparkle the Princess of Friendship and her friends!" She said happily. "Princess, please come on up here!"

Twilight smiled brightly as she made her way to the front of the crowd. The others followed behind her, and soon everypony began to cheer for them loudly. Twilight then raised a glass of her own to the air and proudly declared.

"Thank you everypony. Thank you all so much." she replied happily. "To Harmony!" She bellowed as her friends did the same.

"To Harmony!" The crowd roared and began to cheer even louder than before.

And just like that, Spike's happiness had immediately vanished. For what had started off as his night, had now become the night where his friends, the Ponies that have saved Equestria countless times 'The Elements of Harmony' were now being cheered on and congratulated even more than him. Spike could feel the anger burning deep down inside his gut.

"They picked this night! The one night that was supposed to be mean't for me, to congratulate and honor my friends? Why? Why does it have to be like this? Doesn't anypony else care about me? WHY? WHY DID THEY HAVE TO DO THIS TONIGHT? WHY DOES THIS HAVE TO HAPPEN TO ME!!!" He shouted in his head.

The frustrations began boiling deep inside his mind. The crowd of ponies that had been there for his party turned their attention to Twilight and the others. All the other ponies that were around Spike began to talk about them and spoke highly of them. Spike began to have trouble breathing and he also began to sweat profusely. It became too much for Spike to bear, and then he bolted out through the door of the banquet hall and made his way outside.

Spike panted heavily as he grabbed his chest and tried to get a hold of himself.

"Why? Why? Why did this have to happen tonight?" He asked himself again and again.

"Aren't you supposed to be inside at your party?" A voice above him asked. Spike looked up and saw that Princess Ember has arrived and had a worried look on her face.

"Sorry I'm so late, but my flight here took longer than expected. I'm really sorry Spike!"

Spike could see in her eyes that she was indeed sorry, and then noticed that she was holding something under her arm.

"What's that?" He asked. Ember smiled and presented him with a medium sized statue, but as he looked closer he saw that it was made of different color gems. But these were no ordinary gems.

"It's your gift! I made it for you from some of rarest gems you can find in the Dragonlands, like the one's I used for my new palace!." She presented happily.

Spike had always wanted to see what these rare gems looked like, better yet he wanted to know what they tasted like. He thought the gift she gave him was by far one of the best gifts he had ever received. He tried to crack a small smile, but he could sum up his own strength to do so. He then began to tear up as Starlight came running outside.

"Spike?" She asked with a worried tone. "Are you okay? You ran out going faster than a shooting star!" Spike looked at his purple unicorn friend and then looked down at the ground.

"Hey Ember." Starlight said to the dragoness.

"Hey Starlight." Ember replied kindly to Twilight's star pupil. They then both sat beside Spike who now looked even more sad than before.

"Seriously Spike, what's wrong?" Starlight asked worriedly.

"Yeah why have you been acting so strange these last few days?" Ember put in. Spike could feel his anger soothing as the voices of his concerned friends made him feel slightly better. After taking two deep breaths he began to tell them everything.

"It's my friends!" He admitted. Starlight and Ember were confused with what Spike had said.

"What do mean? What about them?" Starlight asked as she was one of Spike's closest friends.

"Yeah what did they do?" Ember demanded. Spike then gulped and then let his anger out in a low agitated tone.

"Everything!"

His two friends were taken back in absolute shock. This was clearly an answer that they were not expecting to come from him.

"What do you mean Spike? What did Twilight and the others do or say to you?" Starlight asked with an eyebrow slightly raised. Ember just remained silent and listened as Spike continued.

"They all treat me like I'm still a baby dragon especially Twilight! No matter what I do or what I say they all just joke and declare that I'm still too young. When I try to help Applejack at the farm, or Fluttershy with her animals, Pinkie Pie with baking and deliveries at Sugarcube corner, Rainbow Dash all she does is make fun of me and prank me, Rarity definitely won't accept me for being grown up! And don't get me started about Twilight! She especially won't let me do much on my own and she treats me more like a baby than the others. She makes me do every single one of her chores and never gives me the benefit of the doubt. All I want is for them to treat me like a teenager and not like a baby anymore!" Spike ranted till he was red in the face.


"I don't think of you as a baby dragon Spike. I have thought of you as a teenager for the past two years." Starlight admitted.

"Really?" Spike asked while looking over at her. Starlight then smiled and wrapped her hoof around him.

"Of course I do!" Ember nodded as well.

"Yeah Spike as do I. Just look at you, you're not a short little dragon anymore. You are now big enough for anypony or anydragon to tell that you are in fact a teen." She proclaimed boldly.

"And Twilight and the other's really think that you are still a baby dragon?" Starlight added with a confused look. Spike looked her in her eyes and nodded his head.

"Yes."

Starlight frowned and then looked away. Even Ember was disappointed by what Spike had said.

"How can they not think of you as a teen Spike? It doesn't take a blind pony to tell that you in fact are more grown up than you were when we met for the first time!"

Spike this time didn't know how to respond to Ember's question. But that wasn't the rest of why he was so upset.

"There's a lot more to this than being called a baby dragon" He admitted. His two friends then listened carefully as Spike stood up and faced them.

"I'm jealous of them!" Starlight cocked her head in confusion. Ember was also taken aback at what just came out of his mouth.

"Your jealous?" Ember asked.

"Why?" Starlight added.

Spike then continued to tell them his reason.

"I am jealous that they are braver than me, they're more dependable than me and even stronger that me. All I want to do is help them and give my assistance. I can't use magic like Twilight and Rarity, I can't fly like Rainbow and Fluttershy and I'm definitely not as strong as Applejack and Pinkie Pie. But all I want to do if help them as much as I can, and show everypony that I am more than her assistant! No matter how many times I ask Twilight and the other's they just tell me that I should just stay behind. All everypony does is talk about them and hardly about me! Even tonight at my own birthday party, they all just go and gloat about all that they do for Equestria and completely forget about me! I don't want to be left out in the shadows anymore, I want to be there to help my friends. I want to be stronger! I don't want to be useless!" Spike cried loudly. Tears were forming and his breathing was beginning to get out of hand again. He sniffled and sat back down on the stairs and let out a sad sigh while holding his head in his claws.

It made Starlight feel sorry deep down inside her for how Spike was feeling. She knew that he didn't like being called a baby dragon but hearing that he was upset for not being strong enough and feeling useless made her feel horrible.

"How can you say that you are not strong enough? You got into a fight with Garble and stuck up for yourself!" Ember admitted to her scaly friend. "But I gotta ask you, why did you get into a fight with him in the first place?" Spike then cleared his throat.

"Because he was saying rude things about me and he called me a pathetic wingless loser! He has been making fun of me for far too long and I wanted to shut him up!"

"But Twilight interfered and that made you upset and made you think that you can't take care of yourself right?" Starlight added. Spike nodded.

"Yeah that's right! And I didn't get in that fight because he made fun of me. He has been making fun of my pony friends and I don't like it when he does. I was sticking up for them and they treat me wrong and think of me as a weakling!"

Ember and Starlight now understood the pain and the frustration that Spike was having, and knew that he had to do something to make things right before things got worse.

"Have you told Twilight, or even the others how you feel and what's been bothering you?" Ember asked. Spike looked over to the dragoness and shook his head.

"How can I? Even when I try to tell her or the others how I feel, it seems that most time they are busy or they don't want to listen!"

Starlight then gave Spike a small jab in the side with her hoof.

"It seems to me that they have been trying for awhile now Spike!" She admitted. "You need to tell her and your friends how you truly feel!"

"That's right!" Ember added, "If you do that, then you are going to feel a whole lot better about yourself. It's not healthy for you to bury all that anger and frustration inside you. You have to let it out and get it off your chest!"

Spike took in what his two friends were saying and he knew that they were right about everything.

"You're right! I let my anger and emotions get the better of me that I couldn't bring myself to tell them all about what I am going through. I guess I'm still a baby dragon inside after all." He said with his head down. "I have to tell them everything!"

"Spike are you out here?" Twilight called. Spike then turned around and saw Twilight with a worried expression on her face, he also noticed that Thorax was with her.

"There you are Spike!" The changeling leader called out, "We were looking everywhere for you."

"Yeah I was beginning to think that you left." Twilight included. "Are you three coming inside? It's time for Spike to blow out the candles so we can have cake!"

Starlight and Ember nodded with excitement and began to walk inside. Spike in the meantime stayed on the steps of the staircase with his back turned.

"Spike?" Twilight called. "You coming birthday boy?"

Spike then got a grasp of things just as Twilight began to step back inside. He then stood up and called out to his Alicorn friend.

"Twilight!"

She then stopped and turned to face Spike.

"Yes? What is it Spike?" He then took a deep breath and stood straight up.

"I need to talk with you and the other's later tonight. It's really important and I need to discuss what's bothering me!" He declared looking her right in her violet eyes. Twilight nodded and then smiled.

"Okay Spike. I'll be sure to tell the girls what you said". Spike then gave a small smile.

"Thanks Twi." Twilight smiled back and waved him over.

"Now c'mon before Pinkie eats all the cake!"

Spike then chuckled and proceeded up the stairs. He then glanced over at Starlight and Ember and gave them a wink.

"Thanks for listening you two. I appreciate it."

The unicorn and dragoness smiled brightly and winked back.

"Happy to help." Starlight replied.

"Yeah, what are friends for?" Ember said with a smirk.

End of Chapter Three.