High above the Equestrian landscape, Canterlot overlooked the nation as its shimmering beacon of hope. Despite all of the recent attacks and battles that occurred over the past few years, Equestria still remained prosperous under its new ruler: Princess Twilight Sparkle. The exchange of power from Princesses Celestia and Luna was shocking to say the least -- partially due to the formers overseeing Equestria for over a millennium, and also because it was so soon after the Legion of Doom’s attempted invasion. But due to the continued efforts and successes from Twilight Sparkle, as well as her closest friends, there were very few citizens who saw much issue with the younger Alicorn taking the throne herself.
While the recently-rebuilt Canterlot Castle stood like a towering monument against the mountainscape, two older ponies were walking side-by-side down a small cobblestone road a couple miles away. The mare had an off-white coat, a trio of stars on her flanks, and a mane of silver and purple that slightly resembled a certain Ruler’s in style. Beside the mare was a middle-aged stallion, whose dark blue coat and mane matched the golden moons that served as his Cutie Mark. It was obvious from how close they were walking together that they were a couple; however, with the way the mare’s muzzle was uncomfortably skewed, and the stallion’s eyes constantly looking up in the skies, it seemed that they were more concerned with searching for something than appreciating the serene day.
“Honey, are you sure he’d come over here of all places?” She sighed in exasperation, and bit her bottom lip in an attempt to keep from looking too worried. When the stallion looked back at her, she narrowed her eyes to try and peer further down the road. “I mean… it’s been years since he last came here, wasn’t it? Heck, considering how he has wings now, he could be anywhere in Canterlot!”
“Hey, it’s worth a shot, Velvet.” He leaned in to give a light, nurturing nuzzle against her side. Velvet took that brief moment to close her eyes, and sigh more calmly to ease her nerves. When the stallion pulled his head back, he made sure to say optimistically, “Besides, the park was always pretty empty this time of day. If anything, it’s the only place Spike could go where he wouldn’t be hounded by citizens.”
“Yeah, unless he just decided to fly away from Canterlot altogether…” Velvet’s tone sounded rather morose, and she tried not to groan while carrying a hesitant look. The stallion’s ears dropped down to the sides of his head, but he was able to keep from looking too upset by her retort. Fortunately, the mare was quick to apologize as she pinched the bridge of her snout. “Sorry, sorry… I’m not trying to make this a big deal, Night. I just… I’m really worried where he could’ve gone.”
“Hey, it’ll be alright.” Night Light held out a hoof to stop his wife, and the two stood in the middle of the road for a moment. When she looked back at him, his smile was nothing short of comforting as he said assuredly, “If this was a serious emergency, I doubt that Twilight would’ve asked for just us to find him.”
“Well, what would the alternative have been? Report to her Guards that the Royal Advisor was missing?!” Once again, Velvet stopped herself briefly enough to close her eyes, and exhale through her nostrils. She made sure to keep a hoof raised to keep Night Light from interrupting her. “I know it’s not a huge deal… At least, not quite yet… But you can’t blame me for worrying, can you?”
“Absolutely not.” Night Light leaned in to wrap his hooves around Velvet, pulling her in for a tight hug. She needed a second to keep from grimacing in worry, but she was able to hug her spouse back without issue. “Honey, I’ve seen how much you cared for that dragon ever since Twilight brought him home. He might be an adult now, but that doesn’t mean he wouldn’t want to see you.”
“Well, I hope so…” Despite the blushed smile on her face, Velvet had to look away from him to hide her unease. “I just hope he’s not too upset to talk with us.”
“Hey, it’s not like we did anything to set him off, right?” Night Light tried shrugging with a coaxing smile, but it was clear from Velvet’s unamused stare that his question wasn’t too helpful. The stallion’s smile dropped while sighing with a light whinny. “Oh, come on. It was obvious from what Twilight said that it was about them. Not us.”
“Yeah, I know…” Velvet was the first to start walking again, with Night Light trotting right beside her. The mare looked down at the cobblestone road beneath their hooves, and shook her head with an uncomfortable expression. “I just wouldn’t have expected it to be this bad, you know? Like, even after that ‘Sludge’ incident.”
“Ugh, please don’t bring that guy up…” Night Light’s face soured up at the mention of that name, which was obviously discussed among family after the dragon’s ruse. However, the comparison was enough to make him shrug after some thought. “Eh, I dunno… This seems a bit less intense, all things considered.”
“Yeah, maybe if this all happened back then,” she said with great emphasis. “But when Spike’s a Royal Advisor, even the smallest things can be disastrous! You know how packed their schedules can get at the castle.”
“That doesn’t mean he can’t handle it, though. Besides, the conflict wasn’t about the workload, it was...”
It was around that point that the couple rounded a corner, and were within view of the old Canterlot public park. Just like he said, the vintage space looked nearly abandoned after the city’s expansions decades ago. Most of the equipment’s metal had become dingy and dirtied through time, with some speckles of rust beginning to show along the bottom ridges. Dead leaves have accumulated alongside the brick wall circled around the park, matted down to the ground due to how long it had been unkempt.
Night Light and Velvet quickly stopped when they were able to see past the brick wall, where a lone dragon was sitting on the metal swing set. Since his scaly back was facing the couple, it seemed that the dragon had no idea he was being watched as he sat by himself. His growth-spurt hadn’t kicked in just yet, so his little feet were dangling high off the ground. But even as he sat in the swing, he wasn’t moving an inch while his head was hung low.
“Oh, dear…” Velvet winced from how lonely he looked, with her face looking like her heart was about to snap in two. Night Light looked equally as concerned, and the two instantly went to the open gates to approach Spike. They made sure their hoofsteps were slow and careful, not wanting to spook the dragon when he could easily fly off elsewhere. Fortunately for the couple, they were able to walk towards the swing set without Spike overhearing the two; or perhaps, maybe he was too downtrodden to really care, and decided to stay in place without moving a muscle.
Regardless of the reason, Velvet still tried to reach out a hoof fretfully and catch the dragon’s attention. “Spike? Spike, honey… are you alright?”
The little dragon’s ears perked up a little, instantly recognizing her voice. He turned his head a little, but he didn’t look too thrilled to see Velvet and Night Light behind him. In the brief moment they were able to see his face, their worried looks intensified when they saw the pinkish hue covering the whites of his eyes. Spike quickly turned his head away from them, and sniffed a couple times while wiping his nose with his claw.
“Oh, Spike…” Velvet decided to toss caution aside, and reached out with both hooves to hug Spike from behind. The dragon had to clench his eyes tightly shut, his lips quivering from her warm embrace. Night Light leaned in beside his wife, and gave Spike a brief hug from the side with one of his forelegs. They only hugged him for a moment before pulling back, but it was enough to make Spike breathe out shakily and struggle not to cry again. As he tried to wipe his eyes with both claws, Velvet tried to say, “Dearie, there’s nothing to worry about. It’s just the two of us, okay? All we want to do is talk.”
Spike could tell from her cautious tone that she was being sincere, which made him sniffle with a light nod. When he looked back at the two, both ponies were clearly worried about what may have happened. Even though he believed their assurances, Spike still leaned his head to the side to sneak a glance behind them. Luckily, there were no Guards or castle staff within sight to indicate that Twilight was hounding for him to return to the castle.
“You mind if we sit down with you?” Night Light walked towards one of the swings beside Spike’s, while Velvet went to the one on his other side. “We promise, we’re not going to force anything on you.”
Spike closed his eyes with a sigh, and relented with another weak nod. As the two ponies sat in the swings beside the dragon, he needed a moment before asking blankly, “How… How did you guys find me?”
“Hmph~” Night Light seemed a little proud of himself, as he huffed with a more confident smirk on his muzzle. Fortunately, Spike didn’t see that reaction before hearing him say, “Well, remember when you tried to run away as a little kid? Even without those wings, you managed to get all the way across Canterlot before stopping here.”
“Heh…” Spike hung his head down to keep the two from seeing his weak smile. Even though it had been years since that incident, which happened back when he and Twilight were still living with their parents, that memory was still clear enough to make him shake his head. “Oh, jeeze… I can’t believe you still remember that.”
“Well, it was my grandmother’s pearls you decided to snack on, remember?” Velvet’s tone sounded a bit snarkier, with her smile appearing much more accepting than expected. “And you were so worried that you ran off before Twilight even knew about it.”
“Hey, I was just a kid back then…” Spike may have still looked a little upset, but he was able to scratch the back of his neck while smiling a little. “Heck, I just thought it was a bowl of candy or something. But when I heard you crying upstairs, I was totally convinced you guys were going to throw me in an orphanage.”
“Oh, come on!” Night Light interjected with a strong eye-roll. “You actually thought we would do that? Even if we were that upset--”
“Which we weren’t,” added Velvet just as quickly.
“That’s right, we weren’t. But even if we were, Twilight would’ve stormed right over and got you herself. She was way more upset about you running away than your Mom was about those pearls.”
“Yeah, I remember…” Spike shook his head with an exhale, recalling just how much trouble he ended up causing that night. Much like back then, when he was a little drake all alone in the dark, the two ponies Spike knew to be his Guardians were right beside him on the swings without any judgement. And just like before, he knew that Twilight was likely more worried about him back at the castle. After a moment of thought, the dragon dragged his claw down his face and groaned. “Ughhh… I don’t even know what to say right now.”
“Don’t worry, we’re not going to judge.” Velvet reached out to place her hoof on Spike’s shoulder. “And just so you know, Twilight didn’t tell us much about what actually happened. All she said was that you two had a big fight, and things got out of hoof.”
Spike hung his head and groaned once more, most likely from how brief that explanation sounded. Luckily, Night Light was quick to add, “And just so you know, Twilight looked just as guilty as you do right now. So from how it looks on our end, it seems like you both had some points to address, right?”
That detail got Spike to glance over at Night Light and see his warm smile. “Right now, your Mother and I are completely impartial to this whole debate. We don’t know all the details, and we won’t pick any sides. All we want to do is help you out, and figure out how to fix this issue.”
Velvet rubbed Spike’s shoulder assuredly. “That’s right, dearie. We never judged you unfairly before, and that’s certainly not going to change now.”
Those points really seemed to get to the dragon, as he nodded his head and tried to keep himself in check. However, even with the thankful smile he was carrying, he needed to wipe his cheeks again before he could speak. “That… That really means a lot, guys… Thanks.”
“Hey, it’s no problem.” Night Light gave the dragon a comforting pat on the back, making sure to avoid the green scales that went up and down his spine; last time he did that, he ended up needing some stitches since Spike hadn’t filed down the sharper sections yet. “So, since there’s nopony else here,” he pointed out, motioning his free hoof around the empty park, “and we promise we don’t tell a soul… What actually happened back at the castle?”
Even though he was less distressed than before, that question made Spike cringe pretty hard. He tried to avoid both of their curious gazes, and stared down at the rubber mulch beneath his feet. While he couldn’t say his reasons for being upset were unfounded, his response was obviously a bit much to have him hanging around the playground afterward. But instead of remaining silent over his predicament, or prompting his parents to say anything else in assurance, the dragon let out a deep breath before speaking. “Well, ummm… Twilight and I had a bit of a disagreement after I… tried to insist on getting combat training.”
“Combat training?!” Both parents asked that at the same time, with near-identical looks of surprise on their faces. While it was probably unintentional, their reactions still made the dragon grimace in his swing.
“Okay, maybe I should’ve worded that better…” After taking another breath, Spike looked back at the two and pointed out, “It doesn’t have to be ‘combat’ training! I just wanted to have some fighting experience under my belt if any other threats came to attack Equestria! I’m the Royal Advisor! I’m basically like, second-in-command under Twilight! Can you really blame me for wanting to defend myself?!”
“Spike, what are you talking about?!” Velvet tried her hardest not to sound too baffled, but her stare on Spike still appeared more than a little confounded. “What would make you think you need combat training for?! You’re just as capable in a fight as any of the Elements of Harmony!”
“Plus, you’re a literal dragon!” Night Light huffed with a more bemused smirk, and tried to add, “Heck, you can fly around and breathe fire! I think that helps out a bit more than you think.”
Despite their points, Spike just looked even more upset as he sulked in his swing. He tried not to scowl while looking down at his feet. “Yeah, that’s what Twilight tried to tell me,” he muttered bitterly. “Even when I tried to explain why that wasn’t enough, she acted like I was exaggerating.”
“Well, why wouldn’t it be enough?” asked Velvet, who tried to speak in a less flustered voice. “I mean, it sounds like--”
“Do either of you even REMEMBER what happened when we were all fighting the Legion of Doom!?!”
Spike’s outburst caught both of them by surprise, as they reeled back wide-eyed in response. Spike finally pulled his head back up, and was looking distressed with tears building up at the corners of his eyes. “It didn’t matter that I could fly!” he shouted with his voice cracking. “Or that I could shoot fireballs! In the end, I was still the one who ended up held hostage by those things! I almost lost my WINGS because of them!! HOW CAN YOU NOT UNDERSTAND THAT?!”
“Oh, Spike!” Velvet instantly used her magic to pull Spike’s swing towards her, and she grabbed the dragon to hug him dearly. “Honey, I didn’t mean it like that! I’m sorry!”
Even with her genuinely guilty response, Spike still ended up sobbing weakly into her chest. Night Light got out of his swing, and quickly went to join the two in a group hug. Neither of them said anything for a moment, and held onto Spike to love him as their adopted son. But even with their shared caring embrace, the dragon could still be heard crying muffledly between them. “When… W-When Twilight tried to tell me it wasn’t important, I just… I j-just snapped! I was feeling weak for s-s-so long, and I… I couldn’t take her saying that I was acting ridiculous. I… I ended up screaming at her about how I almost lost my wings, and…”
“Sssssshhhhhh…” Velvet rested her chin atop Spike’s head, cradling the dragon into her chest to better nurture him. She and Night Light shared a look for a moment, with both of them looking wary about the issue they stumbled into. While it was clear from their visit to Canterlot Castle that something was wrong, they wouldn’t have expected it to be from a conflict that happened so soon. Nevertheless, as Spike struggled to stop crying in frustration, Velvet petted his back and spoke in a soft voice. “It’s okay, Spike… We completely understand.”
“And you’re not weak,” added Night Light with great insistence. “Spike, just because those goons grabbed you doesn’t mean that! You still fought way harder than either of us.”
Velvet nodded insistently to that point. Spike may have been able to tell they weren’t lying, but that didn’t make him feel much better about himself. When he hung his head back down to brood over his own thoughts, both ponies grew more worrisome about what may have been lingering in the dragon’s mind. But instead of continuing to coddle him, the couple respectfully floated him back into his swing; while Spike hung by himself for a moment, Velvet and Night Light returned to their swings and waited for him to speak.
“I… I know what you guys are trying to say,” he finally admitted with a shrug. “And I’m not saying you’re wrong, but… B-But if you and all those others weren’t there to save us, we would’ve--”
“Hey, come on,” interrupted Night Light, not wanting to let Spike finish that sentence. “You really shouldn’t be dwelling over ‘What Ifs’ like that. That’s what the therapist told you after the Royal Wedding, remember?”
“But still!” Spike sighed painfully with a claw over his face, and tried his hardest not to tear up again. “Whenever I think back to that moment, I… A-All I think about is how Twilight could’ve stopped them right then and there! She had the perfect shot to take down the Legion of Doom, but… But she couldn’t…”
With a deep and shuddering exhale, Spike put down his claw while continuing to stare down at the ground. Velvet and Night Light could see tears still beading at the corners of his welling eyes. “I tried… I tried so hard to make her do it… Even when they had me hostage. I just… I couldn’t let her stop because of me. Even if it meant…”
That was when Spike closed his eyes tightly, pausing long enough to let the remainder of his statement linger for impact. Unfortunately, the little dragon couldn’t keep a couple of tears from running down his scaly cheeks. Velvet’s muzzle was tightly pursed, and she looked like she was about to start tearing up as well. Meanwhile, Night Light just stared down at him with a mixture of sympathy and slight confusion.
“If I was able to better defend myself, I wouldn’t have been caught by them. And if it wasn’t for you guys, then… then I would’ve been the reason Equestria was destroyed.”
Velvet sighed and covered her face with a hoof, unable to properly assess such a morbid statement from the dragon’s mouth. However, Night Light’s expression morphed to a more puzzled look than anything else. “... And… You think that makes you weak?”
Spike looked up at him with a confounded stare, as if the answer to his question was as obvious as two plus two equals four. But before he could state a blatant “Yes” to the stallion, Night openly scoffed and shook his head. “Spike, you literally just said that you were willing to sacrifice yourself for the good of Equestria! In my eyes, that’s the furthest possible thing from being weak.”
“YES!” Velvet threw her hoof down, and motioned over to her husband while staring down at Spike wide-eyed. “And it wasn’t just us who saved you guys from that blast, remember? There were so many others there, who you all were able to help and befriend over the years! And that’s not something you can say wasn’t because of you either. Your work alongside the Elements ensured that they would all be there when you needed them, and that would’ve never happened without you.”
That detail made Spike pause his thoughts, and look down at himself for a moment in contemplation. But at the same time, both of his parents looked a lot more confident when they saw he wasn’t tearing up anymore. Because of that, Night Light wrapped a foreleg around the dragon, and pulled him in close to add some wisdom. “Now listen… I completely understand why you would feel ‘weak’ for being captured. We both dealt with that during that whole ‘Tempest Shadow and the Storm King’ thing.”
Velvet looked away with a strong shudder, still looking distasteful about that weekend of Tartarus. “Ugh… I still have nightmares about those things.”
“But neither of us felt like that happened because we were ‘weak’,” continued Night Light. “That was just something that happened which we couldn’t control. Heck, your brother is one of the most well-trained and capable stallions in all of Equestria, and he’s been held hostage and captured multiple times. And I doubt he’d call himself ‘weak,’ would he?”
That point actually made Spike shrug, since he couldn’t refute it without insulting his adopted sibling. Even though he loved Shining Armor with all his heart, Spike couldn’t deny that Twilight had upstaged their older brother by a landslide when it came to heroics and victories. But despite everything that Shining and Cadance went through -- especially that recent attack by King Sombra -- they’ve been able to overcome every obstacle with unbridled confidence and determination. However, even while thinking over his Dad’s point, Spike tried to give a fitting rebuttal.
“Well, I don’t think that’s the same thing. I mean, Shining and Cadance knew that we were coming to save them from Sombra! And he had Flurry Heart held hostage to make them comply! I can’t blame Shining for wanting to protect his daughter.”
“Exactly,” pointed out Velvet as she prodded Spike’s chest with a hoof. “And you can’t blame Twilight for wanting to protect you. Even if that meant not attacking a villain directly herself, right?”
Spike opened his mouth to speak, but nothing could come out to refute Velvet’s statement. Several seconds of silence passed before the dragon began to blush, and he slowly closed his mouth again. “That’s right,” she continued with a more contented smile. “Honey, strength doesn’t come from whether or not you can fight well, or if you’re able to take on a problem all by yourself. What really matters is that you can depend on others, and that you can trust them to have your back when you need it most.”
“I couldn’t have said that better myself.” Night Light looked just as pleased as his wife, and he nodded at her graciously. When they looked back down at the dragon, they were happy to see that Spike wasn’t looking nearly as upset with himself as before. He was wiping his cheeks with his claw again, but he was breathing much more naturally without any emotional shakes or sniffles. After giving Spike a moment to recompose himself, Night Light held him tightly from the side and asked, “So, how’re you doing now, kiddo?”
Spike sighed and shrugged his head, now able to carry a light smile on his face. “Well, I mean…” He needed a moment to think things over, but he looked up at the stallion to say with honesty, “I still kinda want to do some defense training for myself. But!”
Spike held up his claw to silence either of his parents from trying to say anything. Despite how surprised the two may have been to hear him give that answer, he made sure to add, “I don’t just want to do it for myself, alright? I want to be able to help others when they need it too. Just like what you guys have done for me.”
That detail got Velvet and Night Light to smile proudly. As the two leaned in to give Spike a much-appreciated hug, Velvet said with a contented voice, “Well… I have a feeling Twilight would be more accepting of that reason if you told her yourself.”
When the two pulled back, Spike was nodding with a conflicted look on his face. He looked down at his bare feet in contemplation, and tried to ask, “Uhhhh… So… On a scale of one to ten, how upset would you say Twilight was when you talked to her?”
“Oh, don’t worry about that,” assured Night Light with a wave of his hoof. “She was more worried about how you felt about her after your little spat. She didn’t say anything about the details specifically, but… it seemed like she understood your point after you left the castle.”
“Or at least,” Velvet added with a shrug, “I’m sure she would be willing to hear you out if you two had a proper discussion about things. You know, without screaming your head off?”
That last part may have been said in a snarkier tone, but it was enough to make Spike turn away from her with a painful wince. “Aww, jeeze…” Spike looked pretty guilty about what transpired earlier, and he scratched the back of his head while feeling awkward. “Well, uhhh… I should probably pick up some things from the marketplace before going back. The castle might have amazing chefs, but I feel like I should cook something myself as an apology dinner.”
“Hmph~ That seems to be your go-to route when it comes to apologies.” Night Light patted Spike on the back, but shrugged with an accepting smile to his suggestion. “Hopefully you don’t overexert yourself like you did after Shining’s wedding.”
“Or when you had that talk after the whole, ‘You Know Who’ situation?” Velvet made sure not to say that phony dragon’s actual name, but she could tell Spike knew who she meant. Fortunately, the dragon pointed claws at both of them to clarify things.
“Okay, first of all, that massive dinner I made after the wedding was before I talked with a therapist, alright? I was an emotional wreck back then! And the dinner I made after Sludge left was totally different. I had Smolder help me cook a lot of it, so I didn’t push my limits.”
“Well, alright then.” Velvet raised her hoof and nodded assuredly. “I trust your intentions. All I ask is that you and Twilight talk respectfully about things during your little dinner.”
“Don’t worry, I know exactly what I need to say.” By that point, Spike appeared much more well-adjusted about things than he had before. When he looked up at both of his parents with a smile, he motioned back towards the castle and asked, “Soooo, would you guys like to join us for dinner at the castle? I mean, after going out of your way for all of this, it would be the least we can do.”
Twilight Velvet and Night Light didn’t hesitate to give their answer, as they gave their little dragon one last hug with wide and accepting smiles. “Spike, we would love to join you two.”
“So, before we head back...” Night Light was the first to pull away from their hug, and looked rather curious when he asked, “That ‘Smolder’ you mentioned earlier… Are you referring to the dragon who was with us at the battle?”
“Ooh, she was the one who helped you cook?” Now Velvet was looking curious as well. Spike’s eyes widened quite a bit, with his cheeks growing a deeper shade of crimson. Just as he was about to open his mouth, Velvet asked in a cheeky tone, “So… is there anything special about Smolder that we should know about?~”
“Hey, she’s just a friend!” Spike tried to throw his claws up to emphasize his answer. “Just because she’s a girl AND a friend doesn’t mean she’s like, my girlfriend or anything!”
“Are you sure, kiddo?” Now Night Light was getting in on the teasing as he smirked down at him. “I don’t believe she asked if Smolder was a girlfriend of yours. Did you, honey?”
“As a matter of fact, I didn’t. Although now that you brought it up--”
“Guys, I’ll seriously fly away right now if you two don’t stop!”
Even though the park was still mostly empty, the sound of Night Light and Velvet’s laughter could be heard far off in the distance. And with a strong gust of wind blowing through, many of the leaves around the brick wall were sent dancing through the air. Many different colors were thrown around, which added various shades of yellow and orange across the formerly vacant space. And for that brief moment, the park felt much more lively while the dragon found himself stuck between his cheerful parents.
The End