//------------------------------//
// Spike's Destiny 
// Story: Flash Sentry Chronicles: Dragon's Awakening 
// by Banshee531 
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Silence filled the air, not even a gust of wind to break it. All was quiet in the dragon lands, muteness filling it since the massive explosion that had occurred several hours ago, knocking all its inhabitants unconscious. Ponies and dragons were scattered across the ground, most on the floor while others were laid out on rocks and a few were piled up on top of one another.

However, it was here the silence was broken by a purple alicorn, "Ow..." she moaned as her eyes flickered open, pushing her head up. Her brain began to stir as she glanced around, seeing several others starting to wake up as well. She then turned to see Heart a few feet away, dragging herself over to him as she said, "Heart. Come on, get up." The colt let out a groan, opening his eyes to see the alicorn helping him up.

"What...happened?"

"I'm not sure." Twilight muttered, rubbing her head, "But I think..." Her words came to a stop as a memory rang out in her head, making her gasp, "Spike..." she whispered before fully helping Heart up and glancing around again, "SPIKE!" She yelled, not seeing any sign of her number one assistant.

But as she did this, she turned to the mountain Malafear had been sealed within, which had somehow become larger than it had before. It was like somepony had taken a bunch of clay and stuck it to the side of the mountain and reshaping it into an entirely new mountain. Covering the entire surface of the new mountain were circular bit-like marks that were different sizes that had marks carved into them. All but five of those marks were the same, Twilight seeing them as the seal made using the elements the dragons had fired. "He did it," Twilight whispered, "But that means-"

"Ow," She and Heart spun around, gasping as they saw a now back to normal Flash sitting up. "What happened? And why do I feel like I lost a lot of weight?" He glanced down at his hooves, "Oh. Looks like I'm-"

"Flash!" The two cried as they tackle-hugged him, making him yelp as they all fell over.

And as they embraced him, the other transformed ponies also woke up, all now back to normal. Rarity and Fluttershy were hugging their boyfriends while Grand and Skybreaker placed a hoof on their shoulders, only for Sold Script to tackle hug Lightning as well. Luna and Trixie were both hugging Ruby, and Heather was hugging First.

"How am I back to normal?" Flash asked once the two let him up. "I...don't remember changing back."

"It must have happened when you fell unconscious."

"I think it happened once Malafear was sealed away," First chimed in, "Every spell he cast must have been dispelled." He then spun around, staring at certain dragon, "That must mean..."

He was now staring at Flicker, who was still passed out, laying by an unconscious Pinkie. As they had laid there, the book that had once held Malafear captive for centuries had begun the glow a clear white light. That light flowed out of the book and into Flicker. And as Pinkie woke up, she saw the two were connected by that light while it continued to flow out of the book.

Many others also noticed this, now gathering around as Ember moved in front of them, telling the dragons to stay quiet. The Dragon Lord kneeled down next to him, watching as the last of the light flowed from the book and into Flicker's body. The book stopped glowing at this, but Flicker continued to shine for almost a full minute, only for the light to fade. They all stared at this, some clenching up for a fight just in case, only for-

"UUURRRGGGGHHH!" Flicker gasped as he sat up, his eyes shooting open as the others hopped back. He started to pant, gasping for air as he glanced around, "Ember?"

"Flicker? Is it really you?"

"I...I think so." Flicker replied, glancing down at his claws, seeing they were now solid, "I'm...I'm free." He looked back up at the dragons staring at him. "Malafear?"

"Gone," Ember told him. "Sealed away again. And hopefully, for good this time."

Flicker sighed as he laid back, "I'm sorry," he whispered. "This was all my fault. If I hadn't found that book-"

"Another would have one day found it," Celestia told him. "This event was always going to happen. And if it didn't happen now, it could have turned out very differently. Malafear might not have been defeated and caused great destruction."

The others all nodded at this, Flicker staring back at the alicorn, only to glance around and ask, "Where's Spike?" This caused Twilight to flinch as he kept going, "I would have thought he'd be the first to come make sure I was okay."

He then blinked at them, seeing upset looks on all their faces. As this happened, Twilight coulddn't hold back anymore. She began to cry as Flash pulled her into a hug, Flicker asking at this, "Where's Spike?"

"He was the one that sealed Malafear away," First replied before pointing at the mountain. Flicker picked himself up and flew up to stare at the mountain, seeing the many elemental seals holding the monster in place.

"But that would mean..." Flicker's eyes began to grow wide, the dragon then falling back down as he felt a fresh wave of guilt wash over him. "Spike..." The dragons lands were silent, with even the dragons that didn't know Spike showing their respect. Many believed they would be remembering this day for generations to come, as the day a courageous made the ultimate sacrifice so that they could survive.

But as they began to mourn, Springer's ears flared up, "Wait," he looked up at the mountain, "It can't be."





The first thing Spike heard when he woke up was nothing. He was in complete silence as his brain began to boot up, causing him to groan as he opened his eyes. A sense of déjà vu overcame him as he saw he was in the white void again. He pushed himself to his feet, staggering a bit before glancing around and sighing, "So this is it, huh? I get to spend the rest of eternity alone in absolute nothingness."

"Not exactly." Spike gasped and spun around, only to see the ghostly image of his father. "Did you really think I'd let my own son suffer like that?"

"You...you're here," Spike whispered, "But doesn't that mean...you're trapped too?"

"No," Silverbolt shook his head. "I'm not trapped. And neither are you."

"What do you mean?" Spike asked, "I used the sealing spell. My soul should have transformed into something like that mountain Malafear was locked in."

"You did. And you haven't." Spike raised an eyebrow at this, only for Silverbolt to raise his hand and snap his claws. As he did this, the white void began to disappear. The white light vanished, being pulled apart and sucked into the air and reveal the real world behind it.

Spike gasped at the sight, now seeing the dragon lands along with the new giant mountain. He wondered if it was another memory, only to reach down and grab one of the rocks on the ground. His claws didn't phase through it, meaning it was real. He turned to Silverbolt as his father nodded, "This is real. You're alive and hopefully going to live a very long and happy life."

"But how?" Spike asked, "The spell-"

"Required a vast amount of magic and a Mystic Dragon's soul to work." Spike went wide-eyed at this, now seeing a smile on Silverbolt's face.

"You didn't."

"Of course I did. I intended to use myself to seal Malafear since the day the real me placed his soul fragment within you. What kind of father would I be if I didn't do something dangerous in the place of my child?"

"But how?" Spike asked, "If you're just a soul spark, then how could you generate enough magic to seal him away?"

"I didn't generate the magic. You did." Spike tilted his head at this, "Oh come now son, didn't you wonder why the only magical ability you seemed to possess was sending letters?"

"I thought that was because of the magic Twilight gave me when she hatched me."

"Not exactly." Silverbolt chuckled, "Actually, I've been leeching away your magic ever since I gave you the Starswirl. Almost all the of the magic you generated, I took and made a part of myself for this very task. But now that I no longer need to do that, you'll find your magical abilities will start surging."

Spike nodded back, "Wow...wait, if you used yourself to seal Malafear way, how are you here?"

Silverbolt laughed at this, "I always think ahead. I managed to leave a tiny, microscopic piece of my soul behind. But I won't last long." As he said that, dots of light began to fly off his shoulder. Spike's eyes began to go wide at this, now seeing a sad smile appear on Silverbolt's face, "I just wanted to explain to you why you were alive. And say something else as well."

"No!" Spike cried, tears forming in his eyes. "It's not fair! I just got to meet you and now-"

"I know son," Silverbolt interrupted, "Sometimes life isn't fair. That's why you should cherish every moment with somebody, because you don't know how long you'll have with them." He kneeled down and placed a claw on Spike's shoulder. "And for what it's worth, I'm glad that I got to see how amazing you've become. Even if I'm only an echo of who I once was, I am so proud of you." As he said that, more lights began to slowly float off his body.

Spike sniffed, rubbing the tears from his eyes. "This isn't right. Stopping Malafear was my destiny. It's what I was hatched for."

"No," Silverbolt shook his head, "Stopping Malafear was never your destiny. Your destiny is something so much grander, and you've already started to accomplish it."

"What is it?"

"Isn't it obvious? In the thousand years since Malafear's defeat, dragons have grown arrogant, selfish and greedy. But you have already helped change that, allowing dragons like Ember and Flicker to see how powerful friendship is. And I'm sure there are many other dragons that will see how amazing it is, as long as you're there to help them see it. I'm sure that's why you chose to hatch with Twilight. You knew what she would become, and knew she could help you fulfil your destiny. And honestly, as destinies go, I'm jealous."

Spike couldn't help but laugh at that as Silverbolt stood back up, As he did this, more lights began to flicker off of him. "Please don't go."

"I have to. But it's okay. You don't need me. You already have a family, who will always be there to help you. And I couldn't be more happy for you to have it." Spike smiled at this, making Silverbolt smile back, "If I see your mother, I promise to tell her all about you. I know she'll be just as proud as I am." Spike nodded. "Oh, and there's one more thing I wanted to say to you before I go."

Spike opened his mouth to ask, only for a bright light to shine on his face, making him flinch. He glanced away, then looked towards the light to see the sun beginning to raise, Silverbolt smiling as he said his last three words.

"Happy birthday, son." With that, he began to float up as his body started disintegrating into lights from the feet up.

Spike once again felt himself begin to tear up, but forced them back and gave him a happy smile. "Thanks...dad." Silverbolt nodded back, now fading into nothingness. And with that, Silverbolt's spirit left the world, turning into a flurry of lights that filled the air and merged with the light of the sun.

Spike stood there, watching the lights fade. Despite how sad he thought he should be, Spike couldn't stop smiling. He knew his father was someplace good, and he was proud of his son. Malafear's evil was gone, meaning Equestria and the dragons were safe.

"SPIKE!" The young dragon turned to the voice, causing him to lock eyes on Twilight as she flew up to him. Behind her, Springer was leading Flash, Ember and everypony else around the mountain toward him. But Spike was focused on Twilight as she tackled him, the two rolling around until Twilight stopped with sitting on her flank, pulling him in close. "YOU'RE OKAY!"

"Ahhh," Spike grunted as he squirmed, "Twilight...I can't breathe!" Twilight continued to hug him for several seconds until she eventually let him go, Spike gasping for air as the alicorn began to cry.

"I thought we lost you!" She yelled, "Don't ever do anything like that again!" At this point, the others arrived, all crowding around and yelling with joy that he was alive. Spike smiled at this before spotting Flicker, running over and discovering the dragon was alive and evil spirit free.

And as everypony began to ask what happened and how he managed to survive, Spike couldn't help but feel overwhelming joy flow through his little dragon heart. Silverbolt was right. Spike did have a family. One that loved and cared for him as well as any dragon family could. He was so lucky to have them in his life, and in that moment, he swore to help bring dragons and ponies together. To make a peace pact that would stand the test of time, long after he was gone. For that was his destiny.





Many hours later...

Within Ponyville's castle, Starlight, Soul, Scootaloo and the jakhowl cubs were alerted to the sound of the Rune Gate activating. Running to that room, they reached it just in time to see Twilight walk out with a certain baby dragon. They gasped in joy of the sight, only to then see Iron and Lightning step out of the portal as well.

One by one, the ponies that had gone after Malafear and the dragons appeared out of the light. When Ember walked in with Flicker, they were a little surprised, Ace even getting into a battle stance, but were quickly informed of what had happened and calmed down.

When everypony was through the portal, Shining, Cadance, Flurry and Sunburst even using the Rune Gate to arrive from the Crystal Empire, the ponies each told their side of the story. Once done, Pinkie cheered that they needed to celebrate their victory over Malafear and Spike's birthday slash learning the truth about who he was and who his parents were. And could only be done one way.

"Let's PARTY!"

Everypony cheered, Ember and Flicker slightly baffled by the word, but were soon dragged in. PInkie then declared she would need help for the party, everypony agreeing to help her....except for two.

"NOOOOOOOOO!" Heart screamed as he was dragged by the tail out of the castle. "I don't wanna go on patrol right now!"

"Stop whining. Knight apprentices don't whine." Flash remarked as he continued to pull the colt's tail.

"But I wanna party! Can't you just let me off this one time?!"

"No. You're grounded Heart, and that's final."

"But Flash! Its Spike's birthday-"

"And its not yours." Flash added, only to let go of his tail and poke the colt's snout, "And before you say 'But I don't know my real birthday', it doesn't matter. You're grounded, so the first part of your punishment is patrolling the town with me."

"Awwww..."

As this exchange continued, everypony had quietly watched and laughed before Pinkie left with some of the group to grab everything she had prepared for Spike's birthday, returning to the castle while dragging an entire platoon of party cannons. With several blasts, the dinning hall was decorated and the party could begin. Somehow, Pinkie had managed to get the word out about the party still being on and soon enough, almost everypony in town arrived. Rogue and the Apples, Time Turner, Derpy Hooves, the Cakes, Lyra and Bon Bon, Octavia and Vinyl, Zecora and even Cranky Doodle Donkey made an appearance. There were so many that Pinkie had to expand the party to the entire castle. Luckily, she had more then enough food and decorations that the party cannons plastered around the place.

Everypony began enjoy themselves, the townsponies marveling as they were told what happened in the Crystal Empire and Dragon Lands. Trixie and Starlight dazzled some of the ponies with magic tricks while Wild Smile entertained them with a puppet show afterwards. He had even acquired a bunch of new puppets, which looked just like the five ponies had been when they were transformed into dragons.

Flash returned with Heart an hour after the party got into full swing, intending to send the colt to his room. But Pinkie managed to convince him that the party wouldn't be any fun if somepony didn't get to enjoy it, Flash relenting and agreeing to let the colt have fun. Heart was overjoyed at this...only to find out he would have to be cleaning up the castle all by himself afterward. However, he relented to that as he went off to enjoy himself until then.

"So you can do actual magic?" Mira asked Spike as they, Ace, Soul and the CMC chowed down on some party food. "More than just that burning scrolls away?"

"Yup," Spike nodded. "That's all I could do before because Silverbolt was draining my magic. But now that Malafear's sealed away for good, my own magic should start kicking in soon."

"Awesome!" Ace exclaimed before holding up a stick of celery, "turn this into a ice cream cone."

"I don't know how to do that," Spike deadpanned, "Just because I can do magic doesn't mean I know how."

"I can understand that." Soul added with a sigh, only to raise an eyebrow at the drake, "So...you can only use magic on things by breathing fire on them?" Spike nodded back. "That's kinda weird."

"No more weird than a pegasus suddenly growing a horn and somehow being able to do magic," Heart told her as he flew over with a plate of food. "How'd you know we ponies aren't the weird ones? For all we know, there are even more magic creatures that cast spells by breathing on things."

"I don't know...that still sounds weird, even for us." Soul finished.

"Eh, you're overthinking it." Scootaloo chuckled as she patted Soul's shoulder. "Our lives aren't that weird."

Across the room, Celestia and Luna were talking with Ember. The trio were talking about maybe forming an alliance with one another, with Ember unsure how the rest of her species would react to such a thing. The ponies may have helped them, but dragons were still...dragons.

"I wouldn't be completely against it," Ember told them. "But while the other dragons are probably fine with not being enemies, I doubt many of them will wanna be friends. Dragons just don't do that."

"According to Spike, they used to," Celestia pointed out.

"That was over a thousand years ago," Ember countered, "Things change."

Luna nodded back, "That may true, but they can also change back. And just because the dragons of this generation aren't up for being friends doesn't mean the next generation will be like that. I bet if they hatched to find ponies and dragons were at least respectful to one another, they might open up and decide to become friends with them."

Ember hummed at this, "Hmm...maybe. But that's still a long ways off."

"Which means we have plenty of time to work towards building some level of trust between our citizens," Celestia added, "And just remember that if the dragons ever need any kind of help, they can always come to Equestria."

"Again, not really a dragon thing. But I'll keep it in mind," Ember replied, "And I'll also keep an eye on that mountain. If I ever think the seal's gonna break, I'll let you know." The alicorns nodded before the three turned to watch the ponies in the castle dance, laugh, play games, and just enjoy themselves.

Meanwhile, Flicker was leaning against the wall of the castle. He looked around and whenever a pony locked eyes with him, they quickly glanced away. The sight made Flicker sigh, "Guess I don't blame them." He looked down at his claws, squeezing them as he thought back to when he had found the seal. "I don't remember anything I did while he possessed me...and now look at me."

He began to walk away at this, heading for the portal, only to see Pinkie walk in with a giant Spike shaped cake covered in candles. "Sorry! Couldn't find enough candles." Spike raised an eyebrow at this, looking down at the cake and seeing it had even more candles then he was old. "We'll just have to let each candle count as a hundred years." Spike blinked at this, only to let out a laugh as he now realized she was counting his twelve hundred years in the egg.

The others laughed as well, Heart doing the honors of lighting the candles as Twilight dimmed the lights and they all started singing. The whole castle was filled with the tune of happy birthday, Spike smiling before they finished. And with one big deep breath, he blew out all the candles.

The ponies, jakhowls and dragon all cheered at this. "What did you wish for?" Sweetie Belle asked, only for Rarity to bonk her on the head.

"Don't be rude," she told her sister. "Besides, everypony knows a wish doesn't come true if you tell anypony."

They nodded while Spike just smiled, glad he didn't have to tell anypony what he wished for.

"I wish I could see my mom and dad again, just once."

After saying those words in his heart, everypony got a slice of cake before they started handing out the presents to Spike. Luckily, the dragon was able to keep his greed in check and didn't seem to be undergoing any kind of transformation, so Spike got to enjoy his present and give thanks to all his friends for making the day such an amazing one.

It wasn't till around two hours later that the party began to wind down. Ponies started making their way home, Spike giving his thanks as they left while Twilight and Flash went to set up some bedrooms for all their guests. Shining, Cadance, Flurry and Ruby returned to the Crystal Empire with the Rune Gate, but not before giving their friends all a goodbye with Cadance even giving Spike a kiss on the forehead before they left. Heather and First would be staying at the castle for the night, along with Celestia, Luna, Trixie, Ember and Flicker. Heather and First were planning to head back to the Dragon Lands with the two older dragons, planning to finish the mission that had first lead to them running into Malafear.

More and more ponies left and headed home, Skybreaker and Script staying with Iron and Lightning, meaning it was time for Heart to clean up. "Do I really have to do all this?" He asked as Flash handed him a broom. "There's confetti everywhere!"

"Maybe next time you'll think twice before jumping through a portal," Flash added before pointing at the colt, "Twice." Heart let out a huff before getting to work, sweeping at the floor as the others helped Spike take all his presents up to his bedroom. And as the day drew to a close, they were all thoroughly satisfied with how it turned out. Malafear was defeated, nopony or dragon was seriously hurt, and they now knew who Spike was and where he came from.





That night...

All was peaceful in Ponyville, everypony in town having partied themselves into exhaustion. Even Rogue was fast asleep, hanging from his tail in the orchard, but still on alert in case something appeared in the farm.

Back in the castle, the place was almost just as quiet. Heart had managed to finish most of the clean up before falling asleep on the stairs, Flash picking him up and putting him in his bed. But there were still two occupants wide awake.

The first was Twilight, who had drunk too much punch, so her bladder decided to wake her up in the middle of the night. Not wanting to wake Flash, she used the bathroom down the hall. And when she finished and headed back to her room, she noticed Spike's bedroom door was open. Checking inside, she found her number one assistant wasn't there. "Spike?" As she said this, she heard the sound of flapping, turning to see Owlicious flying overhead, "Have you seen Spike?"

"Hoo."

"Spike." Owlicious then flew away, the alicorn following him. They headed upstairs, now reaching the area that lead to the balcony that overlooked the town. There, she spotted the little purple dragon sitting, looking up at the sky. "Spike?"

The Tiny Tooth dragon turned to her, "Twilight?"

"What are you doing out here?" She moved over to him and sat down, Spike glancing back up at the sky.

"I'm just...wondering if they're together or not."

"Who?"

"My parents." Twilight sighed at hearing this, only for Spike to continue, "It's just...my mom had her soul ripped out, but Silverbolt said that Malafear had lost all the power he stole. Does that mean her soul escaped him when he lost his power? And what happened to my dad after the seal was broken? It was made up of his soul, so was it destroyed after Malafear unlocked it. I just...want them to be together again."

"Oh Spike," Twilight wrapped her wing around him and pulled the drake close. "I'm sorry. I wish I had an answer for you. But I'm sure wherever they are, they're so proud of who you've become."

Spike hugged her back, feeling a tear go down his eye, "Thanks Twilight." He looked up at the stars again. "Twilight...can I ask you a favor?"

"Sure."

"Can you try and teach me some magic?" Twilight went wide-eyed at this, "I don't know if there's any pony magic I can do, but I wanna try and learn as much as I can. I wanna master the magic inside of me cuz...I know its what my parents would want me to do."

Twilight smiled and nodded. "Sure. Starting tomorrow, we can work on figuring out what kind of magic you can do." Spike nodded back as they stared up at the starry night sky. "I know it's hard, knowing you could have had a real family to teach you all of this, but-"

"I do have a family," Spike interrupted before putting his head on her leg. "Silverbolt was right. Even if we're not the same species, my family is right here. And I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world." He looked up at her, "My name is Spike Pyro Dragon. I'm the son of Silverbolt, the Mystic Lightning Dragon, and Fira, the Flame Dragon. I'm the son of heroes who fought to stop an evil known as Malafear and I was taken in by ponies, who kept me safe for centuries until I was given to my true family and hatched. That's who I am, and I love it."

Twilight giggled at the statement, tearing up as she hugged Spike again with her wings. They stayed like that for a long time, staring up at the night's sky. Though they didn't notice it, a bunch of clouds began to collide in the sky behind the castle, swirling and taking shape to morph into a familiar pair of dragons. Fira and Silverbolt, one's wings wrapped around the other, their eyes illuminating red and green by the stars behind them.

Even though Spike couldn't know for sure, a part of him would always believe that his parents were watching over him. And no matter what, he would never be alone. Whether it was a pony, dragon, jakhowl or whatever else, there would always be at least one friend out there. From the day he was laid to the day he was hatched, raised by ponies to saving them and his dragon kind, he was never alone. And would never be alone ever again.