Spike was enjoying every second with his mother. After many months in Ponyville, he was glad Twilight decided to leave him in Canterlot while she was on an adventure with their friends in Appleloosa. Spike loved trading stories with his mother in her chambers, enjoying the heat of the fireplace before naptime.
“And that’s the reason why the Blueblood clan trusts nopony in Equestria,” Princess Celestia concluded, the ancient story intriguing Spike as the pair munched on cake.
“Wow, that explains why Blueblood treats mares like that. I just hope Rarity forgives him in the future, after he marries a pony that’s perfect for him.” Spike was in awe from the story behind the Bluebloods. They were jerks, not because they wanted to be, but to protect their family from the corruption that so often infects royalty. Trust, after all, was not to be given to anypony lightly.
“She will find a way in her heart to forgive your cousin, Spike. And if she doesn’t, she isn’t worth enough to be dating royalty…or you.” While her tone was serious, she was clearly teasing her little dragon. Spike started to blush.
“MOOOOOMMM,” Spike blurted out, making his mother giggle.
“What? I was telling the truth, my little dragon deserves the best mare in Equestria, and I even have some recommendations for you! Do you think…”
“MOOOOOMMMM, STOOOOOP!” Spike shouted, his face pink and almost as red as his blush. “Please!”
“Why yes, my little dragon.” Princess Celestia hugged Spike and giggled. “Well, that reminds me about when your older cousin Corazion del Fuego was having his first problems with mares. He was so shy but so cute as well! It was funny to see how many mares would staring at him and how uncomfortable it made him. One day, he told me he found out a mare was watching him bathing, so he went an entire month wearing a disguise so it wouldn’t happen again!”
Princess Celestia and Spike laughed together at the old story.
“I can’t believe he is Cadance’s grandpa...but it would make sense, since Corazion and Mi amore Cadenza seem so similar to me,” Spike mused, chewing on another piece of cake.
“Chew your food before you talk, Spike! And while you may have a point, well, Cadance doesn’t enjoy stories about her grandfather while-” Princess Celestia bit her lip before she finished the sentence. Spike looked at her, confused.
“Who, mom? Why did you stop talking? What happened?” Spike asked, a bit concerned about the change of weather in the room. Something bad must have happened and he did not know what.
“Spike, do you remember when I told you about your sister?” Celestia decided to share what was on her mind.
“Sunset Shimmer?” Spike asked. The name made her flinch a bit.
“Yes, well, Corazion was one of her favorite cousins; his stories were the only thing that made her attend all the Holidays and parties at the castle. While he was really old, she treated him like he was her grandpa, and she enjoyed passing the time with him. More than that, Corazion was her only friend when she was a filly,” Princess Celestia explained, her face appearing simultaneously happy, proud, regretful, and sorrowful. “After Corazion… you know…Sunset closed herself off from the world. Nopony was able to talk to her, not even me. I didn’t know how to help her. I think I just made things worse. I never knew how to deal with my own kind. I thought she would understand, but she was too young. She didn’t want to listen.”
Spike sat in stunned silence. He was young but mature enough to understand what happened. His mother was talking about the death of Sunset’s cousin, and without her only friend, Sunset had lost her kindness. From what he knew beforehand, he remembered when his mother told him about his sister leaving through the portal, after a contentious discussion between the two.Spike didn’t know what to say or what to do. He decided to try to hug his mother, but when he approached with his arms out, she stood up and turned around.
“I have to go Spike; sorry, but I remembered I have some issues I have to deal with.”
“Before sunset? But mom, it's almost bedtime, you need your rest.” Spike said worried about what kind of situation had befallen his mother. She had a tendency to sleepwalk and could sleep in uncomfortable places like the kitchen, the courtroom or even in Luna’s bedroom. That was the worst of all the places, because that would end in grave consequences for her.
“I know Spike, but I need to leave. See you tomorrow morning, and… I’m sorry.” Princess Celestia sighed wearily and left the room.
“I wish I could know what to do.” Spike let out a sigh. He went to the window to watch the sunset and moonrise, smiling as he thought of Luna and his mum moving them across the sky. “I think that is what she was going to do, I forgot she needs to make the sun down and starts the night, well, I think soon I will go to sleep. However, I have a strange feeling. Why I’m feeling so distant from her?”
The next morning started as usual. Spike woke up in his bed and let out a yawn. He looked over and noticed a small piece of paper, folded in half. He picked it up and looked curiously at it.
“Huh?” Spike said confused, as he opened the note and began to read the contents within.
“Dear Spike, sorry for the sudden withdrawal last night. I needed to take care of some royal business. I received an emergency message from the nobles about their requests over new lands. You know what I think about that, prepare to laugh later. Love you… Mom.”
Spike felt a little disappointed by this, but also realized that Celestia had a duty as princess for the realm. He knew that she’d likely tell him him about this later, and he so loved when she told stories about her problem with the nobles. He turned over the paper and found a short message on the back of the note.
‘P.S. There are pancakes in the kitchen.There’s a special ingredient, just for you. I’m sure you’ll love it. Enjoy your breakfast, my baby dragon.’
“YAY.” Spike let it out a cheer over his favorite breakfast. His mother’s pancakes.
He ran upstairs, and took a bath before going to the kitchen.
“Oh man. It’s been a while since I've eaten the famous solaris pancakes. I was going to miss the flavor. It’s better eat before somepony funny decides to mess with my pancakes.” Spike rushed the corridors, ignoring the ponies looking at him.
Then when he finally got inside of the kitchen, he only saw Princess Luna eating fruits, unpeeled. Spike looked around and saw his pile of delicious, gem-encrusted pancakes on the table. He rushed over and grabbed the knife and fork. He was already drooling with anticipation. He took the first bite. His eyes went wide and he moaned with pleasure, attracting the attention of the night Princess near him.
“Do you want some, Aunt Luna?” Spike said sheepish, with his mouth still full. The Princess giggled at his antics.
“Don’t worry about me, young Spike. I’m okay with my breakfast. I know my sister pancakes were good, but I never realized how much you liked them.” Princess Luna smiled even with her eyes tired about another night of work.
“Are you kidding? These pancakes are what makes me wake up in the mornings. It’s a shame Twilight isn’t capable of making pancakes, not unless it includes setting the whole library on fire.” Spike chuckles.
“She can’t be that bad.” Princess Luna snorted.
“If her and Sweetie Belle were in a cooking contest, both would end up in a tie.” Spike countered, taking another bite of the pancakes. This one had sapphires on it.
“That bad? Wow. I take you are the one who makes all the food over there?” Princess Luna giggled. She imagined the scenes between her sister’s student and the little foal who burned juice in the same kitchen.
“Yep, I’m pretty cautious with my kitchen over there. Can you imagine what would happen if I let Twilight cook without me? She would make such a mess.” Spike said making both laugh at the idea.
“Well what’s your plans for today Spike? Knowing Tia is going to take all day to deal with the brown noses, I’m interested to know what my dear nephew will do on this lovely morning?” Princess Luna finished her fruit, giving a tired smile to the little dragon.
“I don’t know. Maybe just poking around here, or maybe stay in my bedroom until mom comes back from work.” Spike tapped his chin, thinking what would be the better idea for him to do.
Princess Luna frowned as she thought on the little dragon staying in one room all the day, not exploring or playing near the castle.
“I don’t think it is a good idea for you to stay in your room for so many hours Spike. It’s not healthy. Maybe going to the library or visiting some friends in the castle would be a better idea.”
“Yeah, I think you're right, Aunt Luna. Well, I think after breakfast, I will take a look around the castle” Spike took another bite of his pancakes, almost finishing it.
“Good idea, Spike. Well, I think it’s my turn to sleep. I’m not a very energetic pony in the morning hours.” Princess Luna sighed. “I’ll see you later. Good morning, little nephew.”
“See you tonight Aunt Luna.” Spike waved to his aunt as he finished off the last of the pancakes. He left his finished dish in the sink and, after checking there was no pony else in the room, set off to explore the castle.
“Well, what should I do?” Spike mumbled to himself as he walked through the castle corridors. As he said this, he past some doors that were familiar to him. He stopped and backtracked towards them. “That’s it. I'll just go to the library here. There's always good books for me to read for a while, like my secret comics I hide.”
Spike walked through the doors and began to run through the corridor that lead to the library, laughing in glee. He was surprised when the floor became slick and he found himself fighting to keep his balance. The only thing he could think on his mind was.
“Oh ponyfeathers.”
He tumbled and slip down the corridor, colliding with everything that happened to be in the way. Spike tried desperately to stand up, but at this point he was giddy from tumbling and was sore all over from the collisions that he knew would likely come up in bruises. Thankfully, nopony witnessed his embarrassing scene. However, there was nopony to witness him as he impacted into a door and tumbled into a mysterious room. Spike lay on the ground for a bit.
“Ohhhhhhhhh.” Spike moaned in pain. His vision was blurry and the world seemed to be spinning. He shook his head and tried to regain his senses. “… Where am I?”
Spike found himself in a dark room covered with many blankets and pillars. The room felt ominous and foreboding. Spike laughed nervously, as he blamed it on how dark the room was.
“There is nothing to worry about” he told himself “Dark rooms usually just need to be cleaned up and a light to be turned on, and everything will be okay.”
Spike tried not to let the dark room scare him. After he and his friends had dealt with many problems and dangers, this was just a dark room. Not Everfree forest. Spike didn’t take long to get up and explore the room. There were many tables and stands were covered with dusty white sheets.
“Geez, maybe they just need a bit of redecoration over here, I can imagine Rarity having a field day around here. Pretty sure she’d be able to make this room look absolutely: DIVINE.” Spike imitated Rarity's voice and sang out the last word like she did when she was happy.Spike chuckled as he poked around around the room. It wasn’t that bad in here. Spike rationalized that, if a monster was in this room, there was one big problem. One thought that prevented its existence.“What kind of stupid monster would try to attack the inside of a castle with numerous royal guards, two Alicorns ready to destroy countless enemies if they desired, not to mention one of them being my mother who would immolate anyone if they hurt a single scale on me?” Spike laughed. He was adorable and knew it. He shook his head and decided to see what the objects covered by the white blankets were.
“And the first mystery item is!?” Spike cheered, pulling the blanket away to reveal nothing more than…
“Books?”
Spike let it out a disappointed sigh, he never thought what was supposed to be interesting artifacts was in the truth books, making him replied with a groan after covering again.
“Why is my life always need to be impressed with books? Even without Twilight here I still get crowded with books.” Spike decided to ignore the books and to take a look over at another place covered by a white blanket.
He explored deeper inside of the room and noticed a big blanket covering what looked to be a mirror. His curiosity was immediately piqued.
“I hope this isn’t a book, too.” Spike moaned sarcastically before pulling the blanket away. Underneath were a mirror and two medallions. “Hm?”
Spike looked curiously at the two medallions. They were identical, mini versions of the mirror but covered with black metal. Then, he took the note and began reading.
‘Dear Cadance, this is my present for the happiest day of your life, when you will have your own kingdom to rule and take care of its ponies. I couldn’t be prouder than I am now!
What the future holds will be unknown to you, but having friends and your coltfriend by your side will make everything easier for you.
You have the potential to avoid the mistakes I made in the past, which is why I’m giving you this mirror, so you can make right what I did wrong, and help me to forgive myself for my past mistake.
If you decide to track down my daughter, I won’t stand in your way. I decided to give you these amulets in case you wish to travel to the other world. Unicorn or Alicorn magic is too much for the mirror to handle; you could lose your magic when you travel using it. However, these amulets will store your magic for your use later on.
I know you and Sunset weren’t on the best of terms in the past but I know that your heart is filled with love and that one day she’ll become a better pony. I pray for that.
This is my gift for you, Cadance, and I know every decision you will make it will be because you followed your heart.’
Signed: Princess Celestia
Spike read the letter over 3 more times. This mirror was where his sibling had entered and disappeared into until now. Celestia seemed to blame herself for that. Something inside Spike’s mind told him to talk with his aunt or even his cousin about that possibility. However, in his heart, he didn’t want his mother to act like she did yesterday.
It was time for action.
Spike took one of the amulets and put it over his neck. Looking into the mini mirror, he noticed that his face appeared, like a picture, inside of the amulet. He admired himself as he flexed into the mirror for a few minutes, before wishing himself luck and leaping through the mirror with all the force he could muster.
“Mom, I will come back.” Princess Celestia heard him whisper inside of her mind as she spoke to the nobles around her.
“Spike?” She asked, without realizing this was the last he would hear before he did the inevitable.