Spike and Twilight walked into a ditch to see Rainbow dash, Applejack, and Pinkie pie wearing camouflage.
“Have any dragons passed yet?” Twilight asked in a whisper.
“Not one.” Applejack responded. Rainbow dash banged her hoof on the ground.
“Shoot! You don't think we missed them, do you?” She asked disappointedly. Twilight shook her head.
“No, I don't think so. We're just a little early, and I'm glad we are. This way, we can watch every moment of the migration without bringing any unwanted attention to ourselves!” Twilight said. A burst of glitter came from behind them and a red carpet rolled into the ditches. Trumpets played as Rarity sashayed into the ditch wearing a pink dress with brown and green splotches on it.
“What do you think? Am I the toast of the trench or what?” Rarity asked while posing so everybody can get a look.
“You'll be toast alright, when the dragons see you parading around in that getup.” Applejack said. Pinkie pie hopped over to Spike and put her arm over his shoulders, not respecting his personal space at all.
“Talking about dragons, where are you from anyway? Twilight told me that you moved in with her when you were five, so you had to live somewhere!” Pinkie exclaimed. Spikes scales flattened and his eyes darted around. As if Celestia could hear his thoughts, a distraction appeared.
“Look the migration is starting!” Spike exclaimed while pointing to the sky. Hundreds of dragons flew past, doing little tricks and trying to playfully knock each other out of the sky. All of the ponies ‘oooed’ and ‘aaahed’ at the sight. Spike stared at the dragons lost in his thoughts.
”They all look so happy together. Friends and family. Having fun and spending time with each other. Do any of them know that at any moment they could lose each other? Will they see each other again? Will I ever see my family again?” Spike thought to himself. He was so lost in thought that he didn’t notice tears falling down his cheeks.
“Spike isn’t this amazing?!” Twilight asked in excitement. When she got no response, she turned to look at him. Twilight gave a look of shock when she saw that he was crying. She rushed over to him.
“Spike are you okay?” Twilight asked. Spike snapped out of his trance and blinked a few times. He saw all of his friends staring at him in concern.
“I’m fine I just need to go clear my head.” Spike said before running out of the ditch. Twilight was about to go after him, but was stopped by Applejack.
“Give him his space. He needs time for himself.” Applejack said. Twilight gave her an uneasy look before nodding.
“Yeah, I guess you’re right.” Twilight said with a sigh before sitting back down and watching the migration.
Spike walked through the Everfree Forest, wiping the tears from his eyes and kicking a rock.
“Why did I have to start crying and ruin the whole thing? I’m such an idiot!” Spike exclaimed angrily while kicking the rock against a tree. The rock bounced off of the tree and back in front of him. He let out a sigh and continued to kick the rock.
Spike stared at the ground as thoughts flooded through his head. Mainly about family and mortality. From the side of his eye, Spike saw something glowing a yellowish orange from a nearby bush. It looked like it was a fire. He rushed over, not wanting for the forest to burn down. He came to a halt when instead of a fire, he saw an egg.
“A phoenix egg?” Spike questioned. He touched it to feel that it was still warm. He picked it up and looked around to see if there were any nearby phoenix nest. When he didn’t find any, he looked back down at the egg.
“I’ll help you find your family little guy.” Spike said to the egg. He walked around, looking for any signs of phoenix or phoenix nest but found nothing. A dragon must have dropped it during the migration. He almost forgot that dragons eat eggs. He looked back down at the egg.
“I guess I’m taking you home with me.” Spike said as he made his way back to the library.
Spike opened the door to the library and walked inside.
“Twilight I’m back!” Spike exclaimed. When there was no response, he closed the door behind him. She must have still been out with her friends. Spike carefully placed the egg on a table and searched around for warm items. He walked over to the supply closet and pulled out a small blanket. He walked over to the egg and wrapped the blanket around it. He stared at the egg for a few moments.
“That’s not enough.” Spike said before walking into the kitchen. He picked up the kettle that was filled with water and let a small flame hit the bottom. The water immediately started to boil. Spike took out a mug and poured the water in it. He put the kettle down and walked back into the room.
Spike place the hot mug next to the egg. He walked away and grabbed a few books to read. He sat down at the table and started to read. He had to do something while waiting for the egg to hatch.
Twilight walked into the library and looked to see Spike reading a book.
“I was hoping that you were here.” Twilight said, making Spike look up.
“Hey Twilight, how was the rest of the migration?” Spike asked. Twilight smiled.
“It was great, after the migration, we went to get something to eat.” Twilight said happily. She placed a bag next to Spike. It smelled wonderful, making his stomach growl.
“I brought you back something.” Twilight said with a smile. Spike smiled back.
“When you’re done eating, go to bed, you don’t want to be tired in the morning.” Twilight said, giving him a kiss on the head. He nodded his head as Twilight walked up to her bed. Spike pulled out a container of food to reveal steamed carrots, broccoli, and squash. He licked his lips and pulled a fork out of the bag and started to eat. He hadn’t realized how hungry he was. Within five minutes, the food was gone.
Spike stood up and threw away the container in a nearby garbage can. He looked at the egg and rubbed the top of it before going upstairs. Twilight was laying on her bed, reading a book. Spike laid down in his bed and cuddled into Starry, pulling the blanket over himself.
“Night Twi.” Spike said as he closed his eyes.
“Goodnight Spike.” Twilight said as she continued reading. Spike drifted of to sleep and let out a soft snore. Once he fell asleep, Twilight let herself go into deep thought.
”I wonder why Spike started crying? Is he hurt? Where did he go when he ran off? Why was he so hesitant to talk about where he came from? Why did- Twilights thoughts got cut off when she heard Spike whimper.
“He must be having another nightmare.” Twilight said. She got out of bed to wake him up. She raised her hoof to tap him awake.
”Mom...” Spike muttered, making Twilight jerk her hoof back. He never mentioned his parents before or talked about them in his sleep. It wouldn’t hurt to listen for a few more seconds.
“Mom no...” Spike whimpered as tears started to fall down his cheeks and he quivered in fear. Twilights eyes widened and she quickly shook him a little. Spike sat up straight, clutching onto his chest and hyperventilating. Tears spilled down his cheeks. Twilight levitated him into her arms and hugged him tightly. Spike relaxed in her arms and hugged back.
“Feeling okay?” Twilight asked. Spike nodded his head and let his eyes close. Twilight got on her bed and laid both of them down. Soon, they both fell into a peaceful sleep.
Twilight slowly opened her eyes and looked around to see that Spike wasn’t next to her. He wasn’t in his bed either. She groggily got out of bed and walked down stairs. She heard Spike laughing and a bird chirping. Twilight looked in surprise when she saw Spike feeding a phoenix chick. He turned around when he heard the floor creak behind him.
“Oh morning, did I wake you up?” Spike asked. Twilight shook her head.
“Where did you get a phoenix chick?” Twilight asked while pointing to the chick that was now eating berries out of his hands.
“I forgot to tell you that I found a pheonix egg yesterday! He hatched over night.” Spike said with a large grin. Twilight smiled at his excitement.
“What’s his name?” She asked.
“I’ve been thinking about naming him Peewee.” Spike said while rubbing his fingers against Peewees head. Twilight walked over to Spike and sat down next to him.
“Why did you start crying yesterday?” Twilight asked in a soft tone. Spikes scales flattened and he looked down at the floor.
“You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to I was just-“ “I miss my family.” Spike said, cutting Twilight off. Twilight was taken aback by his direct approach.
“I just wanna see my family again.” Spike said in a softer tone. Twilight felt a pang in her heart.
“What happened to them?” Twilight asked. Spike let out a sigh.
“When I was five, my mom took me out to go hunting because I was to afraid to eat meat. We were in a big empty field, waiting for something to come by. Mom told me to stay close to her but I didn’t listen.” Spike said. Twilight listened intently.
“I wandered off and didn’t hear my mom calling me. She was trying to warn me about the roc. When it got to me, it was too late. The roc picked me up and flew away. I could hear my mom scream my name. I looked through the claws of the roc and saw her flying after me. Before she could reach me, I saw her get struck by lighting. She fell to the ground and she died!” Spike cried into his hands, not being able to finish his story. Twilight hugged Spike tightly, petting his head. He sniffles into her fur.
“The worst part about this is that the day replays every time I go to sleep. Sometimes I wish I was the one who died.” Spike said. Twilight gasped.
“Spike don’t ever say that. It wasn’t your fault for what happened.” Twilight said. Peewee hopped off of the table and onto Spikes head, rubbing his head against his scales. It was as if Pewee was trying to comfort him.
“It feels good to tell that to someone.” Spike said. Twilight gave him a sympathetic smile.
“I’m sure it does.”