Spike had never considered himself an outsider, even though he was a dragon among ponies, a predator among prey. Having been raised by unicorns from his hatching, he saw himself as no different from the next pony. He was only ever showered with love and affection from all those around him, never rejected for the species he was. Sometimes, though, he would feel like the odd one out, particularly when he did something that was… quite unpony-like.
As he was getting older, these occurrences were becoming more frequent and Spike, being ever the conformist, would approach Twilight for guidance on how to avoid them in the future. Although he had never experienced alienation, he had a growing fear that with every draconic incident he was one step closer to everypony realizing just how different he was. The last thing he wanted was to lose his friends.
Twilight, being the next youngest in the family yet the closest to Spike, had the uneasy task of answering the surprisingly mature and sensitive questions that would come from the baby dragon. If it were any other subject, she would have been up to the challenge. As it stood, however, dragons were shrouded in mystery; ponykind knew very little about their carnivorous neighbors. They were akin to legends and myths. Twilight had read up on every book on the subject and was continually on the lookout for the next possible lead, but the two were in agreement that they would, more than likely, have to remedy any situations that cropped up as they went along.
That was fine enough by Spike. His only reason to learn more about dragons was to be able to avoid awkward situations with his pony friends, and while dealing with issues as they came up wasn’t ideal at least if there was anything scary or disturbing about his heritage he wouldn’t have to hear of it. He’d rather not know at all.
The few things that ponies did claim to know about dragons and their customs were alarming to say the least, and the last thing he wanted was for his family to confront a dragon for information. He wouldn’t put it past them to try. As much as he would rather be in the know about his draconic nature before something came up, their lives weren’t worth trading just so he could know how long it would take him to grow up and if or when he would get wings. They would find out soon enough… he hoped.
While he didn’t have the satisfaction of knowing how things were supposed to go, Spike would find enjoyment in imagining his future, like how soon it would be until he had a growth spurt, what he would look like when he was older, and if he would be a winged dragon or if he’d be forever grounded. His usual stop was in the hallway in front of a large, oval mirror. He liked to gaze into it at his reflection and imagine himself as a buff hero rescuing none other than his lady, Lady Rarity.
This particular day happened to be one of those where he found himself in front of the mirror, flexing his muscles and practicing his tough hero voice. It was just his luck that Twilight would pass by him while he was posing. He cringed internally, watching her in the mirror and waiting to see how she would react, but she passed by quickly hauling several books. Just as he was ready to release the breath he had been holding, Twilight suddenly stopped at the end of the hall as if just realizing what she had seen and she turned around to face him. A smile was on her lips and he was almost certain that she had just finished rolling her eyes. She opened her mouth to speak but then she glanced at him in the mirror and froze, dropping her books.
“Twilight?” Spike asked, releasing his arms from the pose and turning away from the mirror to look at her directly. “What’s up?”
When she didn’t respond, he turned back to the mirror to try and figure out what she was looking at. He flexed his arms again, then he saw it. He was looking at his reflection, only it wasn’t his, or at least not yet. While he would usually see himself sucking in his gut and showing off a pair of noodle arms, instead there stood a young dragon, but older and taller, body lean with well-defined muscles and a squared jawline. It wasn’t as exaggerated as his usual imaginings, but his reflection was nonetheless older, stronger, and sporting a pair of wings to go along with his cocky expression.
In that moment all the anxiety about his future that he hadn’t realized he had been carrying melted away. Twilight was suddenly there, hugging him close. She breathed in awe, “Spike, you’re amazing! You figured out how to use the mirror. I’ve been trying for months to get it to work.”
“Really?” Spike asked quietly.
She slowly nodded, easing into a comfortable silence.
They gazed upon their reflections in the mirror, both looking a bit more mature with a pair of wings, and they smiled.
Spike broke the silence first. “Hey, Twilight?”
“Yeah?”
"I have a feeling everything's going to be alright.”
“You know what, Spike?” She replied, still marvelling at their future selves. “I think it will be, too,”
The future looked bright.