Spike yawned as he woke up one morning. He rubbed his eyes and got out of bed. He went over to his bedroom window and saw a sea of white on the grounds of Ponyville. He also saw many ponies out and about getting ready for Hearths Warming.
"Wow, we really got a lot of snow last night. I wonder how much snow as a whole we're gonna get." Spike said
Spike then walked out of his room and into the rest of the castle, heading to the kitchen to make breakfast for himself. He looked into one of the cabinets and found what he was looking for, which was a bowl of ruby and sapphire gems. After he was finished eating breakfast, he looked around to find that Twilight wasn't there and neither were her friends. Spike just assumed that they were somewhere in Ponyville spending time together before the big Hearths Warming party at the castle later in the week.
It was then that Spike got an idea that Twilight and her friends would surely love. "How about I get everything ready for Hearths Warming all by myself. I'll get the tree, I'll hang the ornaments and the lights on the tree and make everything festive and comforting for when they get back. I bet they'll love everything I'll do for them." Spike said while smiling and imagining him enjoying Hearths Warming with his friends. With that, Spike went to the study to get some paper, a quill and some ink to make a checklist for what to do today.
When he got there, it was a mess. Papers were scattered everywhere and it looked like a ghost was in here to mess things up. "Tsk Tsk Twilight, you can't even clean up your own mess. Guess I have to clean up this mess since you're gone." he sighed frustrated. He got to work cleaning up the study. He started with organizing the papers from the blank sheets to the ones that already have stuff written on them and he kept one of the blank papers for himself to make his checklist. He then started checking the ink to see if they needed more. Luckily, they had a lot so that wasn't a problem. Finally, he put the quills back in the places the needed to be. Once the study was clean, neat and organized, he grabbed some ink and a quill to make the checklist, went over to his paper and stated making the checklist.
"Well, that was tiresome, but now I'm finally ready to make my checklist. Now let's see, I need to get a tree, set up the ornaments and lights and decorate the castle." He started writing things down on the paper.
"That should be it for now, and maybe afterward, I can have some fun outside in the snow." Spike declared. With that set and done, he walked back to his room to put his coat and hat on, not before putting the checklist underneath his hat, then he went to the entrance door before venturing out into Ponyville to find a perfect tree.
As Spike was looking for a tree, he looked around the town and saw that it was quite busy today. He saw various fillies and colts playing in the snow whether it be a snowball fight or just pulling one another an a sled, he saw adults running around getting ready to spend the holidays with their families, but he also saw something else. In the direction of the Everfree Forest, he saw what looked like the silhouette of a baby dragon that looked a lot like him but had pure white eyes and Spike grew curious about it.
"Hey you, You near the forest." Spike called
The creature turned around and saw the purple dragon calling for him. It growled at him from a distance and then disappeared in a bout of dark flames, leaving just ashes behind.
"Ho- How did he do that? Well that was weird. I might have to tell twilight about it when she comes back tonight." Spike said to himself before continuing onward to get a tree.
He walked around Ponyville for a while trying to find a place to buy a tree when he accidentally bumped into a brown stallion with a green tie.
"Oh I'm sorry about that young lad. I was just running around trying to get ready to spend Hearths Warming with my wife Ms. Derpy Whooves." The stallion said.
"It's alright sir. I wasn't looking where I was going either so it wasn't entirely your fault." He looked up at the stallion and saw that he looked quite familiar. "Wait a minute, are you the Doctor? The one who invents things?"
"Indeed I am young lad, and may I ask who you are?"
"My name is Spike, Spike the Dragon, an assistant to Princess Twilight"
"Nice to meet you Spike." The doctor said while shaking his hoof with spikes claw. "Hmm, now that I think about it, you actually remind me of 2 creatures I met before."
"Really? Who might those be?"
One of them was a dragon named Jot. He was an assistant to an important figure just like you are. He used to write things down and was quite useful."
"He sounds pretty cool. Who is the other?" Spike asked
"The other was a dragon named Ace. He looked a lot like you and he was a warrior. He had the spirit of one too. It's a shame that he went missing quite a while ago."
"Both of them sound really cool. I now kind of wish to meet them one day."
"I bet you'd get along with both of them." The doctor laughed
"Doctor sir, do you know where I can buy a Hearths Warming tree? I want to surprise my friends." Spike asked
"Actually I have a better idea then buying an old worn tree. Follow me and I will show you something better." The doctor said. So Spike followed the doctor to a building and when they got inside said building, Spike looked around and saw that it looked like a lab. The doctor motioned Spike to come near him and they were looking at a small box. "This is an invention I made to save all the hustle and bustle of trying to buy a regular tree. It's easy to carry, it doesn't hurt to pick up and there's also no allergens in it. You just open it up and a tree will appear." The doctor said happily.
"This is exactly what I need Doctor. Um, can I have it sir?" Spike asked sheepishly.
"Yes you can Spike. I was actually thinking of getting rid of it because my wife says that regular non-invented trees are superior. She's actually out looking for a tree right now. I'll gladly give it to you for 10 bits."
"Deal." Spike said while opening up his coat jacket and giving the doctor 10 bits. After the exchange, Spike waved goodbye to the doctor and started to head back to the castle.
As he was walking back, a black and yellow blur zoomed right into him, knocking him back and making his body hit a building. His eyes went blurry for a second before the pony that zoomed into him ran up to him and hugged him.
"Sweet Celestia, I am so sorry. I didn't mean to hit you that hard, I wasn't looking where I was going, It was my fault, I am so so sorry." The pony said while tearing up, thinking she really hurt the dragon.
Spike hugged back and said "Hey hey, It's ok. You don't have to worry about me. I'm just fine, I promise you."
The pony released the hug but wasn't convinced. "I'm still sorry."
"Like I said, I forgive you. It was just an accident, no need to hold grudged over an accident." Spike said. Spike also got a better look of the pony. She was a pegasus that was shorter than the average adult mare but taller than a filly. Spike assumed that she was a teenage pony. She also had black fur with an orange and yellow mane and tail that looked a lot like Rainbow Dash's mane and tail. She also had a cutie mark that looked a lot like a meteor. "Oh, I'm Spike by the way, what's your name?"
"Hi Spike, I'm Shooting Star. It's nice to meet you." Shooting Star said while shaking her hoof with his claw.
"Anyway, I better go. I want to surprise my friends with a decorated place when they get back." Spike told her. Shooting Star's smile faltered a bit at the mention of friends but she didn't show it.
"Alright Spike. Have a good day." She said. Spike and Shooting Star said their goodbyes to each other and Spike continued his way back to the castle.
Spike made his way to the main hall which was still empty. He started wondering where Twilight and her friends could be but he shook that thought aside for now.
"Time to try this portable tree out." He said to himself before opening the box which then started folding a lot before ultimately turning into a tree large enough to make it look like an actual tree but small enough to fit the room appropriately.
"This was definitely worth my time." He cheered as he took out his checklist and crossed out 'get a tree' from the checklist. "Now we have to hang up the ornaments and set up the lights." He went to the storage room to find the ornaments and lights. He turned on the light to the room and lo and behold, he found the ornaments and lights on one of the shelves to his left. He grabbed them and made it back to where the tree was. He put ornament after ornament on the tree until all the ornaments were on the tree.
"Now that the ornaments are taken care of, let's start putting the lights on the tree now." He then started taking out the lights to put onto the tree. After a few minutes of putting the lights on the tree, he plugged the lights into an energy source and the tree lit up in red, green, blue, gold and white colors. He smiled at the sight before taking out his checklist and crossed out 'Hang up the ornaments' and 'Setting up lights' from the checklist.
"Now the last thing I need to do is decorate the castle a little bit. I can't wait for Twilight to see what I did, she'll love it."
Spike then decorated the castle for the next few hours. He made and put a soft carpet on the floor next to the fireplace, he put wood in the fireplace and lit it and he also made his own homemade eggnog with a cinnamon stick in it and also a surprise twist in it too. After a while, it was about sunset and Spike became a bit tuckered out so he sat down on a chair and looked at his work. "I can't wait to them to walk in and see what I did."
2 hours later, Spike was still waiting and Twilight wasn't home yet. He was starting to grow really worried. Normally, Twilight would come home around an hour ago but she still isn't here. He started hyperventilating while pacing worrying that she's in danger and can't do anything. Then, he felt something in his stomach and made its way up to the mouth before burping out a scroll. He picked it up, unraveled it and read it. As he read it, he felt tears coming out of his eyes
Dear Spike
Princess Cadence and Shining Armor invited me, Rainbow, Applejack, Pinkie, Rarity and Fluttershy to the Crystal Empire to spend Hearths Warming there with them. They also invited my parents, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. I want you to look over the castle until we get back in a few days.
Thanks, Twilight Sparkle
P.S. The study is also a mess so I want you to clean and organize the room before I get back.
"Sh... She abandoned me on Hearths Warming." Spike said in tears. "Why would she do that? After everything I did for them."