//------------------------------// // Truth // Story: The Dragon that Would be Pony // by The Dragon Warlock //------------------------------// Spike could see nothing but blackness at first. He tried to open his eyes, but they felt very heavy. The faint sound of beeping started to fill his ears and grew progressively louder. As his eyes finally cracked open, he could see everything was a blur at first. He rubbed them to get a clearer look, but as he did, he noticed something. He looked right in front of his eyes and saw none other than his dragon claws. He sat up and looked around at the rest of his body to see he was a dragon again. Spike pinched himself in case it was some kind of dream, but felt a tinge of pain in his arm. He stopped looking at himself and started to look where he was. He noticed the room he was in was fairly large, the walls were midnight blue, and had two rectangular shaped windows to let in the sunlight. The bed he was resting in had a white comforter covering him and there were wires connected to his body and some medical equipment. As Spike looked around, he noticed nopony was in the room at all. He looked around to see if he could find a way to get somepony and found a long brown rope to his left. He pulled the rope, but didn’t hear anything ring or make some kind of noise. All of a sudden, he heard a door open to his left and looked to see who it was. He gasped to see right in front of him was none other than Princess Celestia herself. “Good morning Spike.” She said in a gentle tone. “I’m glad to see your awake after your fight against Prince…I mean Lord Sandro.” Spike nodded in return, but suddenly remembered everything that happened. “Princess, what happened to Blueblood? Did we get him?” “It’s okay Spike, he’s been captured now and is being held in the dungeons.” Spike let out a sigh of relief and threw his head back against the pillow. “So where am I and what are you doing here?” He asked. “You’re in the Canterlot Royal Hospital. This is the place Princess Luna or I come to when we need to be treated. We have the best doctors here looking over other patients that are admitted here. You’ve been here for three days now. The doctors said that you suffered a lot of bruises, cuts, and a concussion, but you were otherwise okay.” “Three days? I guess that explains why I’m a dragon again. How did I make it through that whole thing again? When I drank the potion, my insides were burning.” “I told the doctors as I brought you here and they prepared for that event. After one day of being in this hospital, you were turned back into a dragon. They managed to keep you stable in your coma and have kept you here in isolation. Twilight and the others wanted to stay with you, but the doctors said they needed to keep him in intensive care and alone in case of an emergency. As much as I wanted them to stay with you, the doctors did have a point.” “So what are you doing here anyway? I rang that rope, but nothing happened at all.” “I was checking up on you again to see if you were awake. That brown rope you pulled was actually to call the nurse. I was walking into the ward when I noticed your bell was ringing. They wanted to check on you first, but I insisted that I check on you first.” “What about Twilight or the others? Are they okay now?” “They’re perfectly fine Spike. They suffered some injuries, but they’ve since then recovered. They even had time to go out and get you some Get Well Soon gifts.” She used her magic to pull forward a large table that was overflowing with stuff. Spike’s jaw dropped from what was on the table. There were green and purple gems sprinkled on top of a large pile of cupcakes. There were a bunch of carrots and other vegetables he thought were from Fluttershy. Right next to the cupcakes was a large red book with gold writing on it called, Get Well Soon! Tips for those on the road to recovery! Spike chuckled a little at Twilight’s gift and placed it aside. There was an apple pie that was still surprisingly warm and what looked like a Wonderbolts poster next to it. Then he saw in the back a large red gem that made him gasp in both shock and joy, it was a Fire Ruby. “I see you’ve taken quite an interest in your presents.” Princess Celestia said. “I believe there’s also a card made by I believe they’re called, the Cutie Mark Crusaders. It seems word got out quickly about what happened in the Everfree Forest.” “Whoa…this is great!” Spike said. “I can’t wait to thank Twilight and the others! Can I see them now?” “In a few minutes Spike, I want to talk to you about Prince Blueblood’s betrayal.” The dragon’s good mood suddenly went sour as he heard those words. Even though he was glad that he managed to defeat him, he still felt a tinge of guilt for what he did. He didn’t know what to expect from the princess, but one thing always came to mind, anger. “Princess Celestia…I’m sorry about what I did, but Prince Blueblood needed to be stopped.” He said. “I know he was a member of your family, but he didn’t care about you or any other pony but himself. You have to believe me about…” He felt Princess Celestia’s hoof covered his mouth and looked to see a sad smile on her face. “Spike…I don’t blame you for what you did.” She said. “If anypony is going to take the fall for this, it’s me.” “Why? You didn’t make Prince…I mean Lord Sandro into this.” “I know that Spike, but what he did say was true. I took him in because I was lonely from the loss of Princess Luna. I had guards and my students, but I always felt alone because I was now the only member of my family left here on Equestria. When Lord Sandro introduced himself to me as Blueblood and told me that story, I gave into my desires to have a family again and through some creative deceptions, made everypony believe he was my nephew.” “But didn’t you find him acting a little strange?” “I did Spike, but I thought maybe he could’ve used some more training and my support. I thought that maybe I could’ve made him into a gentle leader like my mother did, but I was too late to realize this. As much as I didn’t want to believe the truth, I had to face the facts that Blueblood was beyond saving. He tarnished my old castle and the vaults holding ancient spells for his own purposes. There was nothing inside him, but pure anger and hatred towards me and my kingdom.” “So…is he you know…dead?” “No, I’m keeping him alive.” “What!? Princess, I didn’t want to kill him in fear of becoming that beast, but why are you keeping him alive?” “When I tried to communicate to him through his mind, I heard nothing but his screams of insanity and shouting for death. I at first thought he was directing it at me, but as I delved deeper, I discovered he was talking about himself. Apparently, when you used the Elements of Harmony on him, you left him in such a state that he didn’t want to live anymore. He not only hated you all for what happened to him, but he was also suffering from his worst nightmare yet. He was now weak, powerless, and his charming looks were no more. He was afraid of becoming something like that and now he is one. I wanted him to know how it felt to be suffering his worst nightmares for the rest of his life.” Spike could see that even though Princess Celestia had a bit of a stern look on her face, a single tear ran down her eye. “Princess…I know he was evil and wanted to hurt you, but I’m sorry for what happened. I didn’t like Blueblood, but I never really thought he was the one.” “Spike, you don’t need to be sorry, this was just another one of my big mistakes.” Princess Celestia said in a somber voice. “Ever since I banished my sister to the moon, all these cataclysmic events have occurred. I always wondered if maybe I did something different, I could’ve changed the future. But there is one thing to know, everything always has a reason to occur. In fact Spike, there’s one thing I didn’t tell you about after the first battle against the Disciples of Nightmare Moon.” “What was it?” “After that terrible war, I realized that my sister was never truly getting the recognition she deserved. Ponies had ceremonies and holidays for me, but my sister was always shunned away. Her following, the Moonlight Council, was harassed constantly and was the major factor leading to the war. So a few months after the war, I united my remaining ponies and made them see the truth of my sister. At first, everypony thought I was corrupted by Nightmare Moon, but I made them understand that it was not only my neglect, but their shunning of my sister that led her to become that wicked mare. They all realized that they weren’t being fair to Princess Luna and I decided to start a movement to make them see the night was just as important as my day. In time, they realized how beautiful night could be and holidays and ceremonies were held in honor of my sister’s nights.” “So even after all this, you’re glad this all happened?” “I wish some of these events were different Spike, but I learned over the years from my mistakes and became a wise leader for my ponies. There will always be mistakes in your own life, but you learn from them and become wiser as a result.” “Thanks Princess Celestia.” Spike said with a smile. “I’ll be sure to remember that.” “You’re welcome Spike.” The white alicorn said. “Now, I want to ask you one last thing.” “What is it?” “You said you wanted to become a pony to be with Rarity right?” “Uh…yeah, but I kind of know now that she isn’t into me.” “Well Spike, I think I may have something to help you if you find another pony to your likings. I’ll just need to go to the Star Swirl the Bearded Library section to look up some things. I’ll be right back as soon as possible.” She turned around to exit out of the room. “Wait, before you go, can I ask you something?” Spike asked. Princess Celestia turned around and nodded. “Of course you can Spike.” “Can I see Twilight and the others now? Are they still in the hospital?” “They’ve recovered and are out of their wards now. They’ve been waiting for you to wake up for the past three days. I’ll send them in here now, I know you have a lot of explaining to do Spike.” She noticed the dragon was looking a little fearful. “Spike, they’re your friends and they’ll understand. You just have to have faith in them, okay?” Spike nodded and said, “Alright princess, I trust you. Go ahead and send them in here.” Princess Celestia nodded and made her way out the door. Spike waited until she was gone before lying back on the bed. He took a few deep breaths and calmed himself. He knew it was time to finally tell them all the truth at last. A small part of him still felt a little fearful by how they would react, but his mind told him it would be okay. BANG! The sound of the door crashing down caught Spike off guard. Before he could see who it was, a pink blur came at him and embraced him. Spike felt the wind get knocked out of him and gasped for air. He looked in the corner of his eye to see Pinkie Pie wrapping her hooves around his neck. He tried to motion her to let go of him, but she didn’t seem to notice. “Spike, you’re awake!” The pink mare shouted in joy. “I was super duper worried since you’re one of my bestest best friends in all of Equestria! I would’ve been so sad to see you die and I’d probably never be happy again! Twilight was so worried about you as well as every other pony! I mean what would she do without…?” “PINKIE, LET GO OF HIM!” A voice shouted. Spike felt Pinkie release her grip on him and gasped for air. As he caught his breath, he turned to see Twilight using her magic to pull Pinkie back towards the group. As the lilac unicorn released her friend, Fluttershy held Pinkie back in a tight embrace. As she calmed down, the group circled around Spike’s bed. Each mare gave him a tearful smile and hugged Spike gently for a couple of seconds. Eventually, the six mares released him and Spike gave them all a hopeful smile. “Are you all okay now?” He asked. “Princess Celestia told me that you all were hurt.” “We’re okay now Spike.” Twilight said. “We’re just glad to see you’re finally awake again. The doctors said they had no idea when you would wake up from your coma.” “Y’all had us wound up ‘bout ya sugarcube.” Applejack stated. “It’s good yer back and actually a dragon again.” “Hey, I don’t mean to break up all this mushy stuff, but Spike still owes us an explanation.” Rainbow said. “After all, he did lie to us and didn’t tell us anything.” “Rainbow, don’t be so harsh to Spike.” Twilight scolded. “He doesn’t have to tell us if he doesn’t want to.” “It’s okay Twilight.” Spike said. “I knew I was going to have to tell you all sooner or later anyway. So…what do you all want to hear first?” The group said nothing and pondered for a couple of minutes. “Hmm…how about you tell us everything that happened this past week?” Rainbow suggested. “We want to know everything about that potion and everything about last week.” “Well…I guess you all deserve to know it all.” Spike said. “It’s a long story, but here it goes. It started out with me going to Rarity’s last week…” Spike continued to tell the story and noticed each of his friends looked shocked and confused. “So that’s when I freed myself from my negative element and we defeated Prince Blueblood.” The group said nothing for a few minutes and had looks of disbelief on their faces. “Whoa…you’ve got to be kidding.” Rainbow said in awe. “Ah gotta say that’s mighty crazy ‘bout what happened.” Applejack stated. “Ah thought Princess Celestia tellin’ us ‘bout yer Element of Harmony was farfetched, but this may be even crazier.” “Princess Celestia told you about my element?” Spike asked. “She did Spike and told us why it was never mentioned before.” Twilight said. “She showed us her memory of the events of why your Element of Harmony was never seen again until now. It was so unbelievable, that I didn’t even want to think it was true.” “Wowie Zowie! Between you being a pony for a week and being an Element of Harmony, it’s been a crazy week!” Pinkie shouted. “I’m just glad everything and everypony is okay now.” Fluttershy said. “I wouldn’t say that darling.” Rarity stated. “There’s still one last thing that needs to be resolved. Why didn’t Spike tell us about being a pony at all?” The six mares looked at Spike with a mixture of concern and suspicion on their faces. The dragon looked and took a deep breath. He remembered what Princess Celestia told him and nodded. “Spike, if you want we can tell them why you did it.” Twilight offered. “We’ve already told the others we knew the truth before them and told them we knew the reason.” “No Twilight, you don’t need to do that.” He said. “You and Applejack may know one reason why I did this, but there was another reason.” “Another reason?” Twilight asked in confusion. Spike nodded and said, “Yes, there’s another thing I didn’t tell you about.” “What was it Spike?” The dragon took a deep breath and said, “I was thinking about what you told me last week Twilight. It was not only about not having any chance with Rarity, but about how I would outlive you all. I started to have nightmares about seeing you all die while I was a young dragon and I would live for many years by myself. I’d be too big to live in Ponyville and would be forced to live in a cave alone. I would have no friends and nopony to be with at all.” Spike felt hot tears start to swell up in his eyes and made no effort to hide it. “I just didn’t want to be alone for probably over a thousand years.” He said with his voice cracking. “You all have been with me since I was a baby and I was one of you. I thought that maybe if I was a pony, not only would I have a shot with Rarity, but I would also be able to live and die with all of you together. I didn’t care if I had to give up a thousand years of living; I wanted to be with all of you for the rest of my life. You’ve all always helped me out and I wanted to be there with you all for what you’ve done.” “I understand if you all hate me, but I just couldn’t handle it. I didn’t want to live lonely for a thousand years. All I wanted was to be with every one of you and be with you all until the end.” Spike lowered his head and felt tears run down his face. All of a sudden, he felt several hooves embrace him. He looked to see Twilight and the others each had tears running down their faces as well and had solemn looks on them. Even Rainbow, as tough as she was, made no efforts to hide her tears as well. Spike returned the hug and held onto his friends for what seemed to be an eternity. All too soon though, they all broke the hug and each mare had a remorseful look on their face. “Spike…I didn’t know you felt like that.” Twilight said in a sad tone. “Why didn’t you tell me about this? I could’ve helped you out.” “I was afraid of telling you Twilight.” The dragon said. “I was afraid that you were going to think that I was just overreacting or something. I think another thing was that I was afraid you weren’t going to believe me. I wanted to tell you and Applejack, but I kept thinking you all would believe I was just acting crazy.” Twilight and Applejack looked at each other with regretful looks on their faces. “Golly Spike…Ah didn’ mean t’act so harsh on ya.” Applejack said. “Ah guess Ah wasn’ thinkin’ ‘bout yer feelin’s and went too far.” “I agree with Applejack.” Twilight said. “We weren’t acting fair to you Spike and we weren’t being sensitive about how you felt. Can you forgive us for what we did to you?” Spike nodded and said, “It’s okay Twilight, I forgive both of you. If anything, I should ask you all if you can forgive me. I really shouldn’t have lied to you all for so long.” Twilight looked at her friends and saw them all give her a nod. “We all do Spike, we’re just happy to see that you’re okay and everything is back to normal.” “I don’t mean to sound rude, but there’s one thing I need to do.” Rarity stated. “If you all don’t mind, I’d like a word with Spike alone.” “Now wait a minute Rarity.” Applejack stated. “Y’all don’ need t’act so…” “It’s okay Applejack.” Spike said. “I know what I need to do and I need to get this all out of the way. Rarity does deserve to talk to me alone for what I’ve done.” The farmer pony nodded hesitantly and said, “Alright…but don’ git yer mane in a bundle there Rarity. Let him tell his side of the story.” “Don’t worry darling, I know what I need to say.” The white unicorn said. The five mares walked away and headed for the door. After Twilight used her magic to levitate the broken door to fix it, she shut it. Spike looked at Rarity and couldn’t help but feel a little nervous. He knew of what he had done and what was going to happen. The room filled with tension as the two friends were silent and only gave each other awkward looks. “So…you’re feeling better it seems.” Rarity said after a couple of minutes. Spike flinched a little from the sudden breaking of silence. He nodded and said, “Uh…yeah, I’m okay now. Princess Celestia said that I was out for three days.” Silence filled the room again for a couple of minutes. “Darling, you’re going to have to talk to me eventually.” Rarity said. “I thought you knew what you had to say.” Spike looked away and slowly shook his head. “I actually don’t really know what to say Rarity.” He said. “I know what I want to say, but I don’t know how to say it.” “Spike, you really…” “All I can say is that I’m so, so sorry for what I did Rarity.” Spike blurted out. “I lied to you, hurt you, and used you just so I could win you over. I just wanted to show my feelings for you, but I kept thinking about how you wouldn’t want a dragon as your prince. I couldn’t confess because I would always get nervous around you. You have to understand though that I love you.” “Darling, please…” “I know what you’re going to say Rarity, but I don’t care. I loved you from the first day I saw you in Ponyville. I love you for more than your looks; I love you because of how you act. You’re the kindest, generous, and wonderful mare I’ve ever met. You’re a really beautiful mare and I love you for that. You work so hard and do so much for everypony, but ask for nothing in return.” “Spike…” “I know I’m no knight in shining armor or Prince Charming, but I wanted to show you that I could be one to you. I understand though how you really feel about me and I probably deserve it. I know I was probably nothing but a creepy little dragon to you, but I promise you won’t have to worry about me again. I promise that I’ll never bother you again about my crush. All I ask is that we remain friends. Please Rarity, I…” Spike was cut off by Rarity pressing a hoof against his mouth. He looked to see Rarity looking a little stern. He looked down in shame and felt himself shrink a little. “Spike, it’s not nice to interrupt a lady.” Rarity scolded. “Now would you please let me finish?” The dragon nodded slowly and looked up at her. “Now as I was trying to say, I really need to say something as well. While I’m disappointed that you didn’t tell me the truth, I can never hate you for this. You’re one of my closest friends after all. If anything, I should be thanking you for what you’ve done. If it weren’t for you, I most likely would’ve been turned into that sinister Nightmare Moon by now.” “So you’re not mad at me or anything?” Spike asked with a tinge of relief in his voice. “Well, I’m not too happy with how you’ve been lying to us, but I forgive you for that.” Rarity said. “Now, I want to ask you one thing before we continue. Why would you ever think I thought you were creepy?” Spike lowered his head and remembered that fateful night. “It…it was the night of that date remember?” He asked in a sad tone. “When you thought you were going out with ‘Sparky’ and he asked what he thought about me?” Rarity thought back to the night and felt something hit her. “Oh my…I remember that night now.” She said with regret in her voice. “I really am sorry for that Spike. I…I guess I was kind of caught up in that moment with…well your alter ego.” “It’s okay Rarity. I understand that you’re not into me. If you want, we can remain friends.” “Now hold on a minute darling, I still have something to say.” Rarity said. “You are a wonderful friend to me and have done so much. In fact, you’ve done more than any of us combined together. You’ve helped us out whenever you could and you’re not demanding. You’re easily the most unique friend I’ve ever had the chance to meet.” “Thanks Rarity.” Spike said. “There is one last thing Spike. That statement I made at dinner…it was all a lie.” Spike jumped in surprise from what he heard. “W-what did you say?” He asked in awe. “I…I lied to you about what I said that night.” Rarity said in a nervous voice. “You are far from ever being a creepy dragon.” “But…but why? You didn’t know who I was anyway.” “I have to be honest Spike, when I saw ‘Sparky’ at first, I saw in him a bit of you. He looked just as eager and love struck as you did. I thought it was a bit cute that he acted pretty close to you. I did suspect you were him, but I thought the idea was ludicrous. I’m getting off topic though. The point is that when he asked about you on the night of the date, I lied to him. I didn’t have the heart to tell him that I really wasn’t into ‘Sparky’, I already found my prince anyway.” Spike’s eyes widen as big as dinner plate. “Rarity…you don’t mean…?” “Yes Spike…it’s been you this whole time.” Rarity said in a gentle tone. The dragon thought he was going to pass out from shock, but kept himself from doing so. “You…you really mean it? I thought you were looking for a pony to be your prince.” “I always dreamed of finding my prince darling, but I have to admit that all changed after I saw you. I saw other stallions come and try to win me over because of how beautiful I looked. However, you came along and did the same thing, but there was something else to you. I noticed over the period of time we’ve been friends that you went out of your way to make me happy, no matter what. You were a pincushion, you led a daring attempt to rescue me from those Diamond Dogs, and you even comforted me with the others after the gala.” “I started to see that you weren’t just a dragon, you were a very charming drake who was always ready to help me. You never hesitated at anything I said to you. You were always by my side no matter how grim things looked. After the Grand Galloping Gala incident and saw how determined you were to make me happy, I realized how attached I was to you. I just didn’t tell you since stallions traditionally confess their love first to their mates.” “So…you really li…um love me?” Spike asked. “Does this answer your question darling?” Rarity asked in a seductive tone as she pulled up next to Spike’s mouth. The dragon could feel the hot breath of his crush on his lips for a few seconds. The next thing he knew, she planted a kiss right on his lips. His eyes widened at first and his face turned a deep red, but his eyes slowly drooped as he returned the kiss. All the worries and events that occurred now seemed like a distant memory. He could taste exotic berries and vanilla from the kiss and didn’t want it to end. The two stayed in that position and wrapped each other’s arms around one another. After a couple of minutes, Rarity broke the kiss and was blushing. “Well…does that show my affections for you darling?” She asked. Spike said nothing for a few minutes. He felt his heart racing and everything seemed to become a blur. His mood suddenly shot up and felt like he could take on anything at this moment. The pain he felt in his body was now gone and he felt like he was ready to do anything. He looked back at Rarity and gave her a smile. “I think it does, but I need to be sure.” Spike pulled her in for another kiss, but kept it a short and sweet. “Yeah…I think it does.” He snuggled up to her and held her for what seemed to be many hours. “Whoa!” A voice shouted. BANG! The door came crashing down again, making Rarity and Spike jump a little. The two broke their embrace and turned to see Twilight and the others were lying on the floor. They all gave her a sheepish smile while Twilight and Applejack had scornful looks on their faces. “Rainbow, look what you did now!” Twilight shouted. “I told you not to lean against the door!” “It wasn’ right fer us t’spy on them.” Applejack scolded. “Now let’s git out of here and leave these two alone.” “Wait, you guys were spying on us?” Spike asked. “Spike, it wasn’t our idea.” Twilight said. “Rainbow here…” “Hey, I wanted to hear the good stuff!” The sky blue pegasus argued. “You all didn’t have to lean on the door with me!” “We were tryin’ to stop ya!” Applejack shot back. “Excuse me, but am I interrupting something?” A voice asked. The group looked over to see Princess Celestia standing in the archway. They all got up and bowed to their ruler, with the exception of Spike. “Princess, what are you doing back here?” Twilight asked. “I came by with some things for Spike.” The white alicorn explained. “I need to talk to Spike, but you’re all welcome to stay with me and listen to what I have to say.” She looked at the dragon and noticed his arm was around Rarity’s. “Oh, it seems I was interrupting something after all.” Spike and Rarity both blushed and looked away. The dragon thought he could’ve heard one of his friends snicker. He built up the nerve to look at them and saw they were all shocked. Princess Celestia though looked on with an amused expression on her face. “So wait, you two are officially an item now?” Rainbow asked. “Rainbow, don’t badger Spike or Rarity about what they did.” Twilight scolded. “Even if we wanted to know, we have no right to invade their privacy.” “It’s quite alright Twilight.” Rarity said. “Though I do wish you all respected my wishes, I will answer your question. In fact, Spike here will tell you all.” The dragon looked at Rarity in shock and pointed to himself. She gave a gentle smile and nodded. Spike turned back towards the others and saw they all looked eager. He put an arm around Rarity’s shoulder and brought her close to him. “Yes…we’re together now.” He said in a calm tone. “I li…no, love Rarity with all my heart.” “I love you too my sweet Prince Charming.” The white unicorn stated as she gave a peck on the cheek. “I don’t care what anypony says to me, you’ve been more of a gentlecolt, or in this case gentledrake, then any other stallion I’ve seen. You’re my real knight in shining armor.” She embraced Spike and held him for a couple of minutes. “Well Ah’ll be…he actually did it.” Applejack said with a smile. “Ah couldn’t be any happier for ya Spike.” “You two are cute together.” Fluttershy said. “I hope everything works out for you both.” “I’m not really into romance, but nice job there Spike.” Rainbow said with a wink. “I’m so proud and happy for the two of you.” Twilight said in a tearful voice. “You two are going to be great together.” “We need to throw you all a super duper party!” Pinkie shouted gleefully as she bounced around. “We’re going to throw a Welcome Back and Congratulations Spike Party!” “Let’s hold off on the celebrations for a couple of minutes there Pinkie.” Twilight stated. “The princess needs to talk to Spike about something.” “That I do Twilight.” Princess Celestia said. She headed over to the dragon and gave him a warm smile. “I’m really proud of you Spike. You’ve been through a lot last week and it seems your actions haven’t gone unrewarded. In recognition of your actions, I have decided to reward you by granting you a gift.” “A…a gift?” Spike asked in awe. The white alicorn nodded and said, “Indeed I have Spike, but…it’s not what you think it is.” “What do you mean?” “I was looking through the library to see if there was any way I could help with your little dilemma. The thing is that there is no perfect potion or spell to make you into a pony. All of them were failed experiments and were locked in the vaults. However, I have actually decided to do something for you that will benefit you greatly.” “What are you going to do?” “I know of a powerful spell that can actually transform you into something different. You would still be a dragon, but this spell will make some modifications to you. It will allow you to actually have your lifespan drastically decreased to that of a pony’s average lifespan. If you decide to do it, then you’ll age like you’re a pony and grow a little bit. The choice though is clearly up to you though Spike.” Spike felt his jaw go limp and was in awe. Princess Celestia was offering him something that he’d probably never get again. He wouldn’t be a pony, but he would be able to live with his friends with the rest of his life and die with them. His mind raced with excitement from the news and couldn’t help but smile. One thought though drifted into his mind and lowered his moral. His smile faded away and looked a little concerned. “Spike, is something the matter?” Princess Celestia asked. “I thought you would’ve loved to hear this.” “I do princess…but what if I grow too big for Ponyville?” The dragon asked. “I don’t want that to happen and be forced to move away.” “You have nothing to fear Spike. A few dragons have been subjugated to this spell in the past to serve as diplomats for me. They’re mostly used in negotiations with the Dragon Empire. Dragons who have this spell placed on them won’t grow up large like other dragons do. They’ll actually grow only a head taller than a pony and will have wings.” Spike felt his morale rise again, but felt something was still a little wrong. He looked at his friends who were giving him hopeful smiles. “Twilight…are any of you going to be mad if I decide to let the princess use the spell on me?” He asked. The entire group shook their heads. “No Spike, this decision is up to you.” Twilight said. “We’ll be happy with whatever decision you make.” “I agree with Twilight darling.” Rarity said as she nuzzled Spike’s cheek. “We won’t be angry at whatever you decide to do.” Spike looked back at Princess Celestia and thought over his options. It didn’t take long for him to think on the decision. “I’ll do it your highness.” He said with a smile. The white alicorn smiled and said, “I thought you would’ve accepted it. Now before I begin, I want to say that this spell can be a little bit painful. Since you seem to be in stable condition, I’ll do the spell on you. Are you ready for this?” Spike nodded and said, “I’m ready Princess Celestia.” “And we shall stay with you Spike.” Rarity said. “We aren’t going to leave you until this is over.” The dragon gave a warm smile and said, “Thank you…all of you.” “Let’s get started now Spike.” Princess Celestia said as her horn glowed. “It’ll be over before you know it.” She placed her horn on Spike’s forehead and closed her eyes in concentration. Spike could feel his entire body tingling all over and felt a little ticklish. Those feelings quickly went away as he suddenly felt like the bones in his body were shattered, then rebuilt, and then shattered again. His insides twisted and thrashed around in protest and felt like he was going to be sick. He tried to keep himself still and groaned in pain from the spell. A white light suddenly covered all of Spike’s body and blinded everypony. Everything went into a blur for him and couldn’t tell what was happening. All he saw was a wormhole much like the one he traveled through when he visited Princess Celestia’s memories. All the pain he felt went numb and he couldn’t hear anypony. The next thing he knew, he saw a bright light at the end of the wormhole and everything went black. Spike heard a familiar beeping noise and started to stir. He groaned a little as he opened his eyes to see what happened. As he groaned, he noticed something was different about his voice, it sounded deeper. He opened his eyes as he got up and was met by Princess Celestia and his friends with looks of relief on them. He gave them all a smile, but he quickly remembered the spell cast upon him. “Did…did it work?” He asked in a pretty deep voice. He covered his mouth with his claws and was in shock. “Why do I sound so different all of a sudden?” “I think you’ll want to take a look and see what happened.” Princess Celestia said as she levitated a small hand mirror to Spike. Spike felt his jaw drop from what had happened to him. He was now a taller and his spines had become a little bit sharper. He was now roughly the height of Twilight’s bed in the library. His snout was now stretched out and a little pointy. He saw that he had dragon wings twice the size of what pegasi wings. He was a little buff, but he was mostly lean muscled now all over his body. Spike took it all in and placed his claw on the mirror to see if this was really him. “I…I don’t believe it.” He said with joy in his voice. “I…I look so cool now. I’ve got wings, I’m grown up, and I’m not a baby anymore!” “Indeed you are Spike.” Princess Celestia said. “I used the spell to also age you a little, but not much. You’re now the same age as Twilight now.” “This is great! I…I don’t know what to say, but thanks Princess Celestia!” “You’re welcome Spike, now I think it’s time for me to leave. I need to get to the Everfree Forest to help Captain Shining Armor oversee the cleaning out the vaults in both my castle and near what looks like an abandoned town. We found evidence that the Disciples of Nightmare Moon were once there before taking the castle. I need to make sure that none of those spells fall into the wrongs hooves again. I will be back by the time you are released Spike and we’ll plan a celebration for this victory.” “Princess, there’s one last thing I have to know.” Spike said. “After I used my Element of Harmony with the others, the castle seemed to be back to normal. What’s going to happen to it now?” “Princess Luna and I have decided to make it into our secondary home. Whenever we are not dealing with royal duties or want a private retreat, this is where we shall go. I have to say Spike that I’m grateful for having my old home back now. If you or your friends are ever looking for a place to stay, please feel free to come on by. We’ll have the path leading to the castle secured for all of you, so don’t worry about getting ambushed.” “Thanks princess…you…really…” Spike stopped speaking as he suddenly collapsed. “Spike, wake up!” Rarity shouted in a panic. “What happened to him princess!?” “It’s a side effect of the spell I performed.” The white alicorn explained. “It drains a lot of his energy away and makes him tired. I was surprised with how long he was going to last. He woke up after the spell was finished. Most dragons who have this spell placed on them are out for at least five hours or more.” “So…he’ll be okay then?” Rarity asked sounding a little hopeful. “He shall be Rarity, now I think you all should let him rest for a little bit.” “I’m staying here.” Rarity said. “I don’t care what those doctors say. I’m going to be by his side throughout this whole incident. He never left us and I won’t do the same.” “We won’t leave Spike either.” Twilight said. “He needs more than medical care right now, he needs friends by his side.” Princess Celestia smiled and said, “I’ll let the doctors know about what happened to Spike and to let you all stay beside Spike. I’m very proud of all of you and I couldn’t be happier to see such love and devotion to your friend. I shall come back again soon Twilight. You all take care now and make sure he gets better soon.” “We promise!” The group shouted in unison. Princess Celestia walked out the door and used her magic to fix it again. Twilight and the others looked at Spike with smiles on their faces. Rarity snuggled next to Spike and held his claw tightly. She could’ve sworn that she heard him whisper her name. She couldn’t help but shed a tear of joy upon hearing this and kissed him on the cheek. As Rarity held onto Spike, the others had looks of content on them and were happy to see that after a terrible week, everything was finally looking up. Princess Luna’s moon was radiating its moonlight on the Whitetail Woods. The dense woods were mostly quite except for the occasional cricket chirping and the sound of owls hooting. The familiar sounds were hampered by the sound of twigs and leaves crunching and cracking. A gray unicorn stallion carrying a brown saddlebag made his way deep into the forest. The moonlight provided a perfect way for him to see the forest and made sure not to trip over anything. The stallion soon stopped and came upon his destination. He stepped out of the shadows to reveal it was Markus with a somber look on his face. He looked upon a giant slab of rock that had a carving of a feather upon it. There was a large mound that had grass and flowers covering it up. Markus used his magic to pull out of the saddlebag a couple of roses and lilacs. He placed them on the mound of dirt and gave a sad smile. “It’s been ten years now and it’s finally over at last.” He said in a painful voice. “Everypony is talking about that little dragon now and what he did. It’s amazing how quickly things get out here in Equestria. Every time I come to your grave now Melissa, I can know that you are at peace. The group who did this to you are finally are gone at last. I know I’m to blame for this as well, but I can rest easier knowing that the Elements of Harmony have avenged you at last.” “I know you can’t hear me Melissa, but I want you to know that this nightmare is over at last. I really have to hand it to that dragon. He really did surprise me with what he became. If you saw him, you would’ve thought he was only a little foal. He’s now being considered a hero to all for saving Equestria from a fate worse than death. I only hope you can rest in content now that this whole ordeal is over. I shall not forget you my love and I will be back next year, farewell.” Markus placed a hoof on the makeshift tombstone and placed his head against it for a few minutes. He looked up and turned around to make his way out of the forest. He suddenly felt the wind blowing for a couple of seconds and was a little dazed by it. “I haven’t forgotten you either Markus.” A soft and gentle female’s voice said. Markus gasped and stepped back in shock from the sound of the voice. A bright glow appeared for a few seconds before vanishing and showing a white transparent griffon. The griffon had a strong resemblance to Gilda, but she was less buff, but was still relatively skinny with a bit of a curvy figure. Markus couldn’t believe what he was seeing and who it was, he recognized her as Melissa. He tried to find something to say, but his mind went into overdrive and felt like it was shattered. All he could do was stutter a little, but stopped himself after a few seconds in fear of scaring off Melissa. “That’s quite an interesting way to say hello to me Markus.” The griffon said with a chuckle. “I know I’m a spirit now, but stuttering isn’t exactly how I remember saying hello.” “M…Melissa? It…it can’t be you.” The gray unicorn said in disbelief. “You…you’re dead now. How are you here?” “As I said, I am merely a spirit now. As for how I’m here, let’s just say a ‘friend’ wanted me to see you. I see you haven’t really changed from the pony I knew ten years ago. Now then, my time is limited here, so I must make this quick. I heard from this ‘friend’ of yours that it seems you’ve been feeling miserable about my death.” Markus didn’t say anything and looked away. “I know what this is about. It’s about what happened in this forest a decade ago. Don’t try to deny it or anything. I know you’re still feeling guilty about what happened and how much you feel at fault for it.” “Because it is my fault.” Markus said in a painful voice. “I never forgot this night ten years ago and I never will. All that happened those years ago was all my fault.” “That’s not true Markus.” Melissa said in a gentle tone. “You didn’t know anything about the Disciples of Nightmare Moon at all. There’s no fault in what happened to me.” “You don’t understand!” The gray unicorn shouted with anger in his voice. “I was desperate and weak for what I did! I fell into a trap that cost you your life and I couldn’t do anything to stop it! If I just turned down their offer, you’d be alive! If I never met you, your life would be great!” “Markus please understand that you aren’t to blame for this. There’s no need…” “It’s not my fault!? Of course it was my fault! I failed to save you from the disciples. I ruined your career, your life, everything! Captain Sanderson never killed you, I did! My selfishness and lust for you ended up killing you!” “I need you to listen to me. There’s something I need to say to you.” “I need to say one last thing as well.” Markus said with his voice cracking. “I can only say that I’m sorry for all that I did to you those years ago. I beg for your forgiveness, but I know now that I don’t deserve to be forgiven by you. I hurt you in more ways than one and destroyed your life completely. I don’t deserve any kind of mercy or forgiveness from you for what I’ve done.” “Markus, that’s enough.” Melissa said sounding a little stern. “You weren’t the one who killed me, I chose to sacrifice myself.” The gray unicorn looked up in shock. “Sacrifice? What do you mean by that?” “I’ll keep it short for you Markus, but on that fateful night I sacrificed myself to save you.” “How did you do that? Captain Sanderson was in pursuit of me and…” “Perhaps I should start from the beginning of this thing.” Melissa stated. “It started after that ordeal with the Griffon Council. After I told you off for what you did, I flew off and went into hiding. As I stayed a cave near town, I started to regret what I had done to you. I knew your intentions were to confess your love to me, but I let my anger and frustration get the best of me.” “I knew that you took that potion so you could win me over, but I was blinded by my frustration and loss of everything. Griffons have a tendency to have short tempers and I was a prime example of it. I knew how sweet and kind you were to me, so I tried to find you to let you know how I felt. Unfortunately, I never did see you again until that fateful night. I ended up camping in the Whitetail Woods one night, but I couldn’t help but feel I was being watched. My suspicions were correct as I was suddenly knocked out by something and woke up in that chamber and strapped to that rock.” “When you came to rescue me, I saw how much you cared for me even after all that happened. I knew the disciples would hound after us for the rest of our lives, so I decided to save you. Just before I escaped the castle, I scratched Captain Sanderson’s side and hurt him. He was furious at what I did and ordered his men to kill me at once. When I escaped the building, I saw you fleeing and Captain Sanderson and his men not too far behind you. I decided to let out a screech to attract their attention and it worked. They all fell for it and decided to use their magic to kill me.” “I had no regrets for what I chose to do and wanted to make sure you were safe. As I was hit by the multiple lightning bolts and fell to the ground, I tried to say something to you, but I knew it was a feeble attempt. Since my death, I was looking over you and watched as you made my grave and decided to come by and leave me flowers. I heard your cries of sorrow for me and how much you still loved me. I wished I could’ve been there to tell you this, but I love you as well.” Markus was taken aback by this. “You…you love me? Even after all I did to you, you love me?” He asked in a small voice. “Markus, I want you to know that this was not your fault in the least bit.” Melissa stated. “I overreacted to you and I should’ve said something sooner. You’re a kind and very gentle pony who never was afraid to do something for somepony. You were a real good pony and I thought you were sweet for all you’ve done for Equestria.” “But…everything that I did…” “You have to think about this. If it wasn’t for you stealing that potion, your ‘friend’ wouldn’t have become a pony then and found out about his element.” The gray unicorn looked up and took the words in. “That…that may be true, but I could’ve done so much more.” He argued. “I could’ve never taken that potion that made me a griffon. I could’ve said something sooner. I would do anything to be with you again.” “It’s time to stop blaming yourself Markus. I know how you feel about me and how sorry you are. I want you to know that I forgive you and that it’s time to live out the rest of your life in peace. You don’t need to feel this guilt anymore and can live a normal life again.” “Melissa…I’m not sure if I can. I’ve been stripped of everything and barely make it through as an herb and potion ingredient shopkeeper now.” “Then you can start off the rest of your life like that. Markus, you have friends in Ponyville now and a certain dragon wants to be your friend. He asked me to come here to comfort you and now it’s time to finally go on with your life. I know you love me and I do too, but grieving over events that weren’t in your control is no way to live. All I want from you now is to live and be happy for the rest of your life." Markus looked at Melissa and said nothing for a couple of minutes. He slowly nodded and had a sad smile on his face. “You’re right…I guess it’s time to finally let it go. I just have one last request Melissa.” “What’s that?” “Will you wait for me? I’ve dreamed of being with you and I want to be with you after my passing.” “I promise Markus, I’ll wait for as long as I have to for you.” She said with a smile. “I do have one thing to give you before I leave.” Before Markus could ask what it was, Melissa soared over to him and planted a kiss on his lips. Her touch was very cold, but the kiss itself still felt warm and pulsating with energy. The gray unicorn stood there in a dazed state, but he smiled in content from the kiss. Melissa soon broke the kiss and gave a warm smile. Markus returned the smile with one of his own and felt like the world was lifted off his shoulders. “Live Markus…not just for me, but for your friends.” The griffon said as her body started to fade away. “I shall wait for your return in the afterlife and then we’ll finally be together again. Farewell my love and always know that your friends will always be there for you when things look bad.” Markus watched as Melissa disappeared and gave a small smile. He could feel a gust of wind again, but it passed after a few seconds. He looked at the grave and nodded before turning around and leaving. As he made his way out of the forest, Markus stopped and looked at the sky. He took in the sight before him and took a deep breath in for his new life. “Thank you Spike…you really are a true friend through and through.” He said with a smile. As Markus made his way out of the forest, the sky turned pinkish as the sun rose on another morning. To Markus, it felt like the longest nightmare he ever had finally come to an end. He smiled to himself as the sun rose on more than a new day. To him, it was the beginning of a new life with new friends. With a skip in his step, he trotted back towards Ponyville to reopen his shop.