“Is fate something real or is it all a figment of imagination? I used to think the latter but then I met her and our lives were changed forever. I look up at the stars and feel that something has started now in some other place but that isn’t my story. Our story starts with me doing something completely stupid and reckless, starting off perfectly if I say so myself. I am Spike Nova.”
Spike woke in a cold sweat as he tried to relax his breathing he looked out of his window and found the sun had yet to rise. He sighed as he looked out over his hometown of Canterlot, he always found the name of the town to be a bit too horsey for his tastes but it was named after the animal that helped in the town’s creation. It was a full on city in its own right with everything a family would ever want and more. At least, that was what he knew was true but Spike often wondered if he had made a mistake by dedicating all his time to his studies. Time with his family was something he missed more and more as time passed.
He was abandoned by his parents, even though the orphanage told him that no one knew why they left him there, that's what he believed. He would do whatever it took to impress new families but for years nothing worked until he was six and he met the woman that would become his mother. Celestia Nova was the principle of a prestigious school and had just lost the love of her life. She decided that she wanted her daughter Cadence to not feel alone after she closed herself off from the loss of her father. The small boy with green hair and green eyes who seemed to be broken down was the one that caught her attention, she would later say that she saw the boy’s soul in those eyes and felt that she could make him into what he could be. She kneed down and smiled at him while offering a kind hand which he stared at with large unsure eyes never feeling the touch of a parent. He looked at her eyes and rushed to her, hugging her.
She took him home that day and asked what he would like his name to be and Spike pointed to a necklace which was left with him as a baby, it was a spike that looked to be made of a bone. Spike Nova left from the orphanage and found himself living in a large house that rested on the hills in the outskirts of the town, giving him a perfect view from his new bedroom. He met his new sister, who was thirteen at the time, as she walked down the stairs to greet her mother but once she saw his dirty state she immediately took the boy to wash up. He blushed as he was dragged away and whined while Celestia giggled saying that she would go buy him some clothes while he bathed.
Cadence would roll her eyes as he was embarrassed and called her a weirdo. She said that this was nothing new for her because she was a trained babysitter and had taken care of dozens of kids. Spike blushed more and pouted as Cadence had him undress and started a bath for him, grumbling that he wasn’t a baby. He soon noticed that this seemed to make her happy so he allowed it to happen as she explained. “My father used to wash me when I was young and we would play games or just talk in those old times. I was a lot like you and grew embarrassed but he would splash me and say to trust him. He used to ask me how my day was or if I was happy with school or we’d just talk about nothing really. My mom told me she wanted to bring home another child and I felt worse at first at the mere thought of you, I thought she just wanted to forget me. I hated you before I knew anything about you, no, what she wanted was give me someone I could take care of and maybe the love of a brother can fill the place of a father…”
He grabbed her hand as she washed his hair and smiled at her before extending his hand and wiping away the tears that were falling down her cheek. “I’m Spike, it’s nice to meet you, sis.” Cadence giggled and hugged the boy who only hugged back as his heart soared, he had finally found somewhere he felt was right. A place where he felt loved and wanted.
“Call me Cadence or whatever you find easiest.” They shared a laugh and missed Celestia who smiled at the two from behind the bathroom door and held a hand over her heart. The two were always having each other's backs either with them helping each other in respective punishments or offering their advice when they had trouble. She would give Spike his first true look at Canterlot and all it had to offer, from the Sweet Shoppe and Music Center to the Everything Under the Sun Emporium and the Canterlot Mall. There he met some of her friends and discovered his love for comic books and video games.
Of course, things did change over time but in the end, the family would always get stronger in their bond. Cadence and Spike found themselves getting on each other's nerves at times as Spike grew to be kind of obsessive with how everything was according to design but Cadence was a free spirit who went against the grain and broke the rules if there was fun or another reward in the end. Then came the time where Cadence was distant as a teen but Spike would follow her every time she went into town and managed to tease her in front of her crush from a rival school, Shining Armor. She chased him all over town that day. It was Cadence though that later chose a random date for Spike’s birthday and even invited her aunt Luna to the party.
Spike enjoyed Luna and found that she would be coming to live with them as she had just finished the classes needed for her to become assistant principal to her sister. The whole family had strong ties to Canterlot High as a workplace or to Cadence, it was a place of friendship and love where anything could happen. Spike was homeschooled by Celestia and Cadence but when Luna moved in she offered to teach the boy more if he was eager to learn. He jumped at the chance and between the three of the ladies, he found himself trying to learn everything he could. He was allowed to use the Canterlot High library when his mother brought him to work with her. He studied and dedicated his time to his education but Cadence and Celestia grew to be scared that he was missing out on his childhood. He was an isolated and lonely boy but he was content with having his family and didn’t see the value in friends.
The one time he managed to make a friend was with a girl only three years his senior, her name was Ember. She was hired as a babysitter for when the rest of the family had to leave Spike, she was there to watch the boy and the two eventually began to talk and joke. She was strong and always stood up for herself against anyone, once knocking a red-headed bully out who teased Spike about his family. She was a friend and protector and he vowed that one day he would repay the favor. He would feel safe around her and had no fear about trusting her which is why it hurt when she was forced to move by her father as he had gotten the job of a company president. She teared up a bit
He grew smart but the problem of his lack of friends came back even stronger once Cadence went off to college and Celestia found her son was in his room most times, surrounded by books. It would be a few years until he opened up and it was when Cadence returned and got a job at her mother’s rival school, Crystal Prep. She wanted to prove to herself and others that she had gotten so far not by any bias but because of her own skills. What impressed her mother, aunt, and Spike even more though was that she came back with a boyfriend! Spike performed a test to ensure he wasn’t a clone or robot but when he found that he was real, he used every tease he could. Turns out that Shining Armor, her old crush that she found at her college, would smile and laugh at the teases but knew how younger siblings could be, seeing that his sister had done the same thing to him when he brought Cadence over the first time.
Spike connected with and found a true friend in Shining Armor, growing to trust him with his sister’s happiness. The two would bond over their love of games, comics, and donuts. He basically became the brother that Spike never had and with his sister back in his life, he felt confident in what he did next. At a dinner just a few days before his thirteenth birthday, Spike declared that he was ready to try and skip a grade into high school. He wanted to join his mother at Canterlot High but when he took the test, the school board wanted him to ensure he would be able to last in a school where no bias could be offered so they allowed him to skip a grade as long as he went to Crystal Prep first. He accepted and Cadence hugged him, telling him of how proud she was and Celestia and Luna were just as happy, hoping now that he was at a public school he would be able to make more friends.
The day of his birthday was finally here but he was scared of what would come next, thinking over his life as he looked over his city and knew that what was done was done. No having regrets now. He looked up at the moon and hoped that this would be the day that things changed for him, that he would finally learn who he was. He was not the only life that would change that day as he would soon find out.
. . .
“Hey, Twi! Is it safe to open the door or will something explode in my face?” Twilight Sparkle rolled her eyes as she stretched and woke up, groaning before moving a few of her inventions and unlocking her door. Her pink and purple hair was messy and sticking out in random directions and her glasses were lopsided. “Hiya sleeping beauty.”
“Why did you wake me? It’s so early!” Shining Armor widened one of his eyes at his sister before checking his watch.
“It’s one past noon.”
“WHAT!?! Why didn’t you wake me earlier!” He watched in amusement as his sister rushed around trying to get through her mess of a dorm room to get her uniform on. “Are you just gonna stand there laughing!?”
“Yes, because it’s Saturday.” Twilight stopped and frowned at her brother before grumbling and laying back on her bed.
“I hate you…”
“Awe come on you love your B.B.B.F.F besides I did wake you for a reason this time, you promised that you would come with me to Spike’s birthday.”
“Who?”
“Cadence’s brother, remember I talked about him a lot.”
“You want me to go to some kid’s birthday?”
“He is only two years younger than you and he has just been accepted into Crystal Prep as a freshman so give him a chance, he reminds me a lot of you but with a tiny bit more of a life.”
“Oh ha ha. I don’t know bro…”
“Come on you need to get out of this room sometimes and you need a shower, I told you about pulling all-nighters. Cadence really loves you and she wanted her sunshine to be there.” Twilight blushed at the memory of her and her old babysitter doing something so childish but she softened a bit.
“I don’t know…”
“If you go I’ll get you a book from the restricted section of the library~” That was it, Twilight knew this was important to her brother as he usually let her check out a limited amount of books and if he was willing to bend the rules like this she would help.
“Fine but make it two books!”
“Deal, now go get ready.” Twilight smiled and took her time making herself look presentable, stopping for a moment while she looked at her reflection. Shining was right about one thing, she couldn’t spend her whole life behind her books and bedroom door. All this though was what made her happy, it made her feel safe if she could learn about the world from her books then she didn’t need to experience it, did she? Touching her reflection offered no answers but she smiled and shook her head, she could not go doubting herself now or it would never stop. “You ready Twi?”
“Yeah yeah, I’m coming.” She chose a loose purple t-shirt that had a pink star on the back, a mid-length skirt that has tiny stars on it that looked like they would sparkle when she moved. She tied her hair into a bun and slipped on her purple boots. When she came down, Shining Armor smiled and crossed his arms.
“Is everything you own star-spangled and purple?”
“What’s wrong with purple? Everyone loves purple! I can prove it with science. As for stars, space and all that is quite interesting if your head wasn't obsessed with a certain girl~”
“I prefer blue and I am not obsessed, even if I was who are you to lecture me on obsession heh.”
“You’re my brother, I don’t care what you like and as for that other thing I give no comment.” Twilight smiled as Shining pretended to have been wounded. “Come on bro, let’s get going then.”
“One more stop before we get there, I am gonna give you some money to get the kid a gift. I know you don’t know him so stop panicking but he is a good kid who basically likes all the stuff I did when we were little with a splash of you in there.” Twilight was panicking as her mind went through each and every way this could go wrong but when they got to the mall, he gave her his wallet and said that he knew she would take a while so he would take a nap there. She grumbled about him being a big help but when she entered and saw all the shops her mind went even lower.
“I-I’m just gonna give up here…”
“Really? Are you still my little Twilight?” Twilight looked up at the voice and hugged her mother happily. “Twi, you know that if something was bothering you that you could always call me. I miss hearing my little pony’s voice at the house since you moved to Crystal Prep.” She blushed at the nickname and whined a bit.
“Moooom!” Twilight Violet smiled at her daughter now that she was out of her mood from earlier.
“So tell me what was bothering you so much? I know you hate the mall so for you to even be here is a miracle.”
“Well, Shining Armor is taking me to Cadence’s brother’s birthday and asked me to get him a gift with his money but I saw all the shops and panicked on how to buy a gift for someone I never met!” Twilight said this all in a flash but her mother understood and smiled softly.
“So you’re meeting Spike are you? He is a kind and gentle boy, a lot like you actually. I met him when Cadence had me meet her family.”
“What?! You met him already? So can you buy the gift for me?”
“Twilight Sparkle! A gift isn’t something you can just pass off to someone else or it loses its importance. A gift comes from a person’s heart so try that, feel from the heart instead of thinking with your big brain.”
“I’m sorry mom, can you give me a hint then?”
“The boy needs a jacket and is into fantasy. He also knows how to enjoy a good book, not unlike another person I know.” Twilight blushed a bit and nodded, thanking her mother and promising that she will visit soon before running off. All the stores she went into were fine but none had anything that she liked enough to buy for someone else until one of them had a cool blue and black jacket shaped like a dragon. Her mother said that he was a fan of fantasy and what is more fantasy than a dragon? She reached for it when another girl took the last one and stuck her tongue out at Twilight.
“Sorry but the Great and Powerful Trixie needs this.” Twilight glared at the girl as she left the store and she asked the worker behind the counter if he had any more of the jackets and he went into the back to check. The only one he found was a green and purple one which even had a tail attached. Twilight got it and ran to the bookstore, buying one of her old favorites that she was sure anyone would love Daring Doo. She finally got back to the car as Shining was sleeping.
“Hey get up! You are gonna miss your date with Cadence~”
“What!?” He got up in an instant and hit his head on the wheel. He rolled his eyes at her laughing as he remembered what they were doing. “Oh laugh it up, just remember that I’ll get you back I always do.”
. . .
Spike smiled when he woke up again as his aunt, mother, and sister were all there with a blue chocolate cake and sprinkles that looked like gemstones as the boy had always loved rocks and crystals. He hugged them and thanked them for everything but they all shook their head and said thanks to him for still being their Spike. The three each ate a slice of cake in his room while sharing stories and joking around, Celestia being the only other one than Spike to go back for more than one slice. Luna stayed and said that she wanted to play him in a new game that she had gotten him, as long as he didn’t let Cadence or Celestia see the game because it was rated M. They played for a while and fought, when one of them pulled off the first fatality it was brutal and Spike cheered even when he lost with Luna being an expert in the art of gaming.
Celestia spent time with him next, the two going into town and stopping by the Sweet Shoppe to get some donuts from the Cakes who were the best bakers ever according to Spike. She took him to the zoo next as the two were always huge fans of the bird section and Spike wished that he could fly someday. The third visit was a classic place the two went every year on his birthday, the planetarium. He loved looking at the stars with Celestia as she knew everything about stars, planets, and space. While she never prosecuted a career in the subject, astronomy was a passion for the woman as she always felt her best while under the sun. It was a subject that the two sisters would always be able to respect and enjoy together though they liked different parts. Celestia loving the sun and planets and Luna going for the moon and stars.
Cadence took her brother to a superhero movie that he had been wanting to see and the two went for some actual food as she knew that their mother and aunt would have smothered him in sweets by this time. They played with their food and told stories of what they did recently, Cadence telling of the last date she was on with Shining and how they managed to get chased by horses and Spike told of how he found and took care of an egg he found but it turned out to be a regular chicken egg that someone painted. The two took a walk before finding themselves near the newly built Equestria Land amusement park. It has yet to have its grand opening but the two promised to go together once it was ready.
They arrived home and Spike laughed at everyone shouting surprise at him with a small bundle of presents, all his family were there but this time so was Shining Armor and a girl he had never met. He found himself interested in her as she was eye-catching in a wallflower kind of way, her shy stance as she hid behind her brother and held one of the presents against her chest. He smiled and waved at her before going to the gifts and opening them, his mother gave him a new backpack full of things he would need soon and a brand new phone as he had broken the old one. Luna gave him a new game console with a few games downloaded, saying that she approved them as the best. Cadence gave her bro a necklace with a blue crystal heart that they had found together when they were small. He thought it was long gone but slipped on the necklace before hugging her. Shining Armor surprised everyone by giving Spike a cosplay armor set that he had made for himself when he was younger, it was a thing of beauty and Spike quickly tried it one, showing how well it fit him.
He thanked everyone and they all talked and ate food that Shining had brought, he knew that none of Cadence’s family except Spike were skilled in cooking. As they all ate, Cadence and Shining began to tell Luna and Celestia of a few of their future plans now that they were getting closer but Spike left for some air at the time and didn’t hear what they said. He walked to the edge of the hill overlooking the city and smiled as the moon shined brightly above.
“Nice cake choice…” Spike jumped and turned to see the girl from before, Shining’s sister.
“Thanks but really it’s my mom who is the cake expert but never tell her that, she gets self-conscious. I’m Spike, Spike Nova.”
“I think I can relate to that mom problem, I am Twilight Sparkle. I umm… got you a gift too but it’s not too great like the other ones. Sorry.” Spike tilted his head and smiled at the box, he didn’t care of there were only socks in there, someone had cared to try and he was happy with that.
“I wouldn’t worry too much, I’m all excited now!” He opened the gift and stared at the jacket, curious as to how she had known his favorite colors but guessed that she went with the purple one because she liked purple, judging only from her own clothes. He slipped it one and smiled, shaking the tail a bit. “I like it, now I’m a real dragon heh.”
Twilight giggled at how happy the boy was and noticed small details about him, such as his teeth being sharp or how his green hair ended in spikes. He was pretty normal to her but noticed that no one else was at his party, just his family and her brother. Actually, this made her think back to her own birthdays and how they were nearly the exact same thing. She opened her mouth to try and talk to him when Spike pulled out the book and cheered as he started going off about his love for the series and how he didn’t have that one yet. They shared all the stories that they had finished and recommended some new ones, Spike telling her of a story he wanted to write but found it hard to do so.
Twilight found herself enjoying the smaller boy’s company and even sat next to him while telling of her own life, mainly about her love for science and inventing. He was listening until his attention was pulled away, Twilight not noticing this and continued on talking until she noticed he wasn’t speaking. He stared at the stars and took a step back while pointing at the sky, opening his mouth but no words coming out. She turned and stared also as they were watching a falling star, a rainbow trail leading behind it as it seemed far closer than any falling star the two had ever seen. They watched as it crashed into a nearby Equestria Land, the two shared a glance before Spike began to run towards it. Twilight yelped and looked back towards the adults before running after Spike, not wanting him to go off by himself.
“What are you doing! We should go get the others! What if that thing is radiated?!”
“Yeah by the time we convinced them that we saw a colorful falling star some others may have already checked it out! Come on Twilight, aren’t you just a bit interested?! That thing was like straight out of a comic or something! What if it’s magic or gives us superpowers!”
“More like give us some kind of disease…” Twilight grumbled but followed him nevertheless, she didn’t believe in aliens or magic but… the star was something special and real. Say it was a new element! She could get scholarships and books written about her if she discovered it! They got to a fence that was protecting the park and they looked at it and then at each other. “Well?”
“Umm… ladies first?”
“Wow, you are just the shining example of chivalry.”
“Ugh fine!” He got on his hands and knees and she climbed on him, blushing and climbing the fence.
“If you try to peek I swear you’ll wake up with acid in your bed.”
“You serious? That was a joke right?” He wasn’t sure so even though the urge was there deep down he kept his eyes on the ground. She helped him up and the two were in, finding that amusement parks gave off a creepy feeling at night when no one was there. Twilight kept close to Spike as they searched and found there was a smoke trail coming from a hole in the house of horrors.
“Really? Of every place, it could land…” Spike smiled and shrugged at her before walking into the dark ride.
“Awe don’t be chicken.” Feeling around, he kept walking until he felt something grab him and he jumped in fear.
“It’s me genius, your jacket is glowing in the dark.” The green spikes were indeed glowing and he chuckled nervously. The two used the jacket as a way to see as they went along and eventually saw a hole of moonlight shining in. They rushed it and found the star or rather it was a rather small stone. It was pulsating different colors and Twilight reached out to stop Spike as his hand went to touch it, the moment he did he felt like his chest was on fire and the stone turned green before he stepped away from it. Twilight rushed to check on the boy but he shook his head as they could hear sirens were coming soon and she grabbed the stone, also dropping it as the stone turned purple and she glowed for a moment. When the light was gone, Spike could have sworn there was a crown on her head but it vanished with the light.
Twilight rubbed her aching head before taking the jacket and wrapping the stone in it, the two running out as the police were raiding the place.
. . .
They got an earful when they got back to Spike’s home but before Twilight left she told Spike to come to Crystal Prep tomorrow and they would talk about what they found and what it did to them. He agreed and she took the jacket with her. That night the two would find sleep to be difficult as dreams of power and strange magic would appear to Twilight and ones of fire and what seemed to be alchemy appeared to Spike. It was if they were seeing things from another life.
At the amusement park, the police called to the Mayor of Canterlot and reported that they hadn’t found anything but a necklace that seemed to have a spike of bone on it. The mayor ordered that it be brought to him.
“So someone else got to it before me? I’ll find this person and they will be sorry that they dared to try and take the magic that belongs to me!” The older man stared out of his office at his city and fixed his nameplate which read two words.
Mayor Beezen