Spike landed heavily, just outside of town, his breath steaming in the cool night as he panted to catch his wind. He looked around the worn path, normally crowded with ponies and wagons coming up the mountain when they couldn't get a train for whatever reason, and then looked up at the large wall leading into the actual city.
He shivered, his back spasming as he felt the weight of his wings vanishing once again. Looking over his shoulder he saw the very essence of the over-sized appendages dusting into the air, until he was once again merely a drake.
"Alright then," he whispered, before heading towards the massive door ahead of him. Once again he caught himself leaning forward to walk on all fours and again chose to remain standing.
As he reached the opening in the stone, he stopped and looked around, seeking out a guard.
"Hello?" he called out, his voice rasping. He swallowed, mouth dry from the long flight, as well as the revelation he'd had at dinner.
There came a grunt from a door in the thick wall, situated in the middle of the two portals. A white unicorn wearing the standard gold armor stuck his head out, looking up at Spike before nodding in recognition.
"Lord Spike, welcome," he greeted, walking out and taking up a place beside the door. "Sorry, I had to use the stallion's room, and it's been quite slow today."
"No worries," Spike said, dipping his head. "Am I alright to go in then?"
The guard blinked at him.
"Uhm, yes?" he said, nodding slowly. "Free passage to the masses, as long as they're peaceful, per the Princesses."
"Oh," said Spike, looking up at the moon. "Sorry, guess I thought it was later than it is," he lied, feeling too awkward to admit he had been afraid of being turned away from the city.
"Ah, no, we're not closing the gate for another hour or so," said the guard, "It's only just nightfall."
"Right," said Spike, coughing as they looked at each other for a moment. "Well, goodbye," he said before pacing through the opening.
"Oh, yes, good... bye?"
Spike stalked forward, mentally berating himself as he walked through into the city and into a trickle of ponies still out in the lamplight, several wearing scarfs and a couple even wielding light jackets against the thin mountain air.
He started to duck into the river of ponies, but to his surprise the current parted around him. Ponies looked up and gave him brief smiles, and a few of them even greeted him, but most of them just moved around him.
Looking around himself as he slowly walked towards the castle, he was able to see just how many ponies still took to the street, a few of them wearing the ear studs and loud collars and shirts that signified the louder club population, some of them wearing black and white suits, still others in uniforms that moved swiftly through the sea of ponies to complete some late-night task.
And he stood in the middle, walking smoothly for one of the first times; not that strange rocking pattern that he was used to when on all fours but just, forward.
I wonder if this is how the Princesses feel, he wondered, looking around at shops that looked just a little too short now, doors a couple of feet short of his current eye-line. He looked up as he watched a couple of pegasi flew through the air just above him, well above the throng he was wading through.
His heart squeezed as he saw one of their cutie marks; a trio of pink roses, the second time he glanced at it.
He bumped into a pony with one of his legs and looked down in surprise. "Oh, sorry there," he said, craning his serpentine neck down.
"Oh," came a soft voice, a pleasantly round mare smiling up at him, "no worries sir, my fault, of course, sorry."
His chest rung hollowly as she scuttled away from him, head forward as she hurried away. He looked up again, and his shoulders slumped as he saw several ponies eyeing him, some curious. Some judgmental. A couple accusatory.
Ducking his eyes, he strode through the grouping of ponies, once again striding towards the castle taking up the near vista.
The ponies around him thinned slowly as he neared the palace, until it was just him heading towards it and a few suited ponies heading away. He even saw a couple he recognized. He waved back to one of those that greeted him, but the rest he dipped his head and walked past, unseen at least long enough to not worry about them calling out to him.
He was exhausted by the time he reached the castle gates. For some reason, just moving through the throngs he was supposed to be used had tired him more than the cross-country flight, and if he'd had wings he felt like they'd be dragging the ground at this point.
Nearing the actual heavy door, he groaned slightly when he saw them start moving towards each other, closing.
He started to raise a claw and run, until he saw the doors stop on their own.
Scanning the wall above the doors, he saw a mare waving at him, and he was able to quickly jog through the doors before they closed behind him, a large clunk coming from the locking mechanism inside.
"Well hey there, Lord Spike," came a voice from on top of the wall, down to him. He looked up and, to his surprise, discovered a muzzle gazing down at him from less than ten feet away. The mare from before nodded to him. "Sorry about almost closin' the door on ya there, I didn't know we were expectin' ya."
"Oh, uhm, it's kind of a surprise visit," he said, looking around at the mostly empty courtyard. "Uh, do you know if Clear Sights has arrived back yet? I think he was on a morning train in from the Crystal Empire."
"Oh, well, I'm about to be off in half an hour, and I ain't seen him, so I doubt it," she said, looking over to her side. "Ay, Buttercup, seen Clear Sights recently?"
"The JAG commander?"
"Redundant, but yeah, him."
"You're bucking redundant."
Her face disappeared for a moment, before the sound of a small scuffle broke out on top of the door. After a minute the sounds stopped, and she poked her head back over.
"Nah, Lord Spike, Buttercup ain't seen him either." She looked over her shoulder and smirked. "Recently."
"Ah, alright," he said, feeling a small smile come to his lips before sliding away. "And, thank you."
The mare looked down at him, her eyes widening for a second before she scratched at her mane with a hoof. "Oh, uhm, yes sir," she said, muttering.
Nodding, Spike raised a claw in farewell before turning away, walking towards the castle along a simple but clean gravel path. The door guard nodded to him as her horn lit up and the door itself sparkled dimly, moving quietly out of the way as he entered.
He breathed out a little as he took in the old, familiar settings of the entryway to the castle of the two heavenly princesses. He felt a bit of the tension bleed off of him as he stepped further into the castle, making for the stairs that led up to the main courtroom on the second floor.
"Evening, Lord Spike."
He jumped a bit away from the voice, his head snapping down to glance in surprise at the mare standing beside him, smiling benignly up at him.
"Stars, Raven, why?" he asked, suddenly panting.
"Oh, you know why, Lord Spike," said the pale mare, adjusting her slightly blocky black glasses with her magic. "What that out of the way, we didn't receive notice that you were arriving. Twilight is usually on top of such things, is everything alright?" she finished, a concerned look making it's way behind her eyes.
"Oh, yeah, this is kind of a surprise visit," he said, sighing as the repeated explanation. "Uhm, is Celestia available? I was gonna talk to Clear Sights first, but he isn't here yet."
"Oh, I believe she's reading in her room," Raven said, pulling an antique brass clockwork watch from her simple graying auburn mane. "Luna is free is it's something official...?"
"It's personal," he said, muttering down to the floor. "If she's available?"
"A moment then, please," said Raven, pulling out a simple pad of pages and scribbling a note on the top page. After a few seconds the message faded, and after another few seconds a message bled up into the page.
"She's happy to receive you, of course," she said with a smile. "Should I arrange for refreshments? I believe you're old enough for maybe a nightcap?"
"Ah, no thank you," he said, shaking his head. "But if she wants anything, I think I'll stop by the kitchens for at least a jug of water."
"I'll make the arrangements," Raven said with a nod and smile. "Have a good night then, Lord Spike, and don't spill the tea, right?"
He smiled, nodding down at her. "I remember your lessons, Raven. Been a while since I was tiny and chubby, after all."
Snickering, Raven lifted a hoof, Spike lowering his head so that she could pinch his cheek with the frog of her hoof. "Not that long, Spike," she said with a soft smile. "Not that long."
Nodding slowly, he turned and walked towards the staff entrances, looking back to see Raven smiling as she scribbled onto her notepad. Shaking his head, he moved toward the kitchen, who had his 'order' ready when he arrived there.
Taking a deep breath, he walked up the servant's stairs into the personal quarters of the nobility, including the diarchy. Knocking softly on the door with a simple golden sun embossed into the warm oak wood, he walked into her quarters when the doors opened. He saw the warm magic light up around a certain door frame, and he walked to it.
Noting that he didn't have to duck, he walked through the portal and gazed at Celestia as she reclined on a sofa with one arm, a paperback book floating in front of her.
Her magic gently took the refreshments and set them on a nearby table, and she marked her place in the book before setting it on the same surface.
"Hello there Spike," she said, giving him a small smile, almost shy and definitely searching.
He tried to smile at her, but just moving his mouth shifted everything on his face, and he sniffled as he felt tears start to pool in his eyes again as he looked over at the mare, holding her forelegs out already as he stumbled towards her. Falling to his knees, he buried his face in the soft fur on her chest, wrapping his long forelegs... no, his arms around her.
"Hey mom," he croaked out.
"What happened," she asked gently, pulling him closer to her barrel with her legs and wings.
He snuffled again, raising a claw to wipe at his nose.
"I think I'm a danger to regular ponies, mom," he admitted. "Clear Sights mentioned that I needed training, and I thought...
"Well, I thought that if I needed training, I should probably consider joining the guard."