Spike had just finished with his chores. Twilight had made sure that he was busy for the rest of the afternoon. When he was just about to grab a bowl of gems, there was a knock at the down. Spike quickly grabbed a few small gems before rushing over to the door. When he opened it he almost spit out his snack. "Prinfesth!?" Spike sputtered out. The princess smiled at Spike.
"You know Spike, talking with your mouth full is very impolite," Princess Celestia teased. Spike blushed from embarrassment. "Its okay Spike, I'm just teasing. Twilight wouldn't be here by any chance would she?" Princess Celestia asked as she looked around the library.
"She went with her friends to a play at the school. Now what play was it called again.... something about two lovers from opposing families or something, " Spike answered, "It seemed like a really sappy love story so I decided to not go." Princess Celestia looked amused.
"What's wrong with a love story every now and again, Spike?" The Princess asked, "If you're ever going to win a mare's heart, you've got to enjoy a decent romance every now and then." Spike stopped for a moment. He placed a claw to his chin in contemplation.
"I-I guess you're right, " Spike said, "There are some romance novels around here. I guess I could give the genre a shot."
"Well, I'm glad I could convince you to do so. Now I'll have another member for my book club," Celestia chuckled. Spike gave a soft laugh along with her. She gave a quick glance to a near by clock and sighed. "I've only been here a couple of minutes and I'm already have to go. It may have been short, but I enjoyed talking with you, Spike."
"Likewise," responded Spike.
The princess was about to leave the tree house when she stopped for a moment. "Oh, Spike!" she called out. The purple dragon turned around. "I almost forgot to give you this." She levitated a cube out of her saddle bags. She gently placed it in Spike's claws. The cube was light and its metalic surface was cool to the touch.
"What is this?" Spike asked as he continued to observe the cube.
"I don't know," answered Celestia, "When we found your egg, this was next to it. From what my researchers have found, it is very resistant to heat, magic, and is remarkably durable. One popular theory is that it is a toy meant for hatchling dragons who can't control their flame yet. So far, we have reached a dead end with it. I figured Twilight would like to have a go at it."
"Well, when she gets back I'll tell her about her new assignment," Spike said, giving Celestia a salute. The solar princess gave another chuckle as she left. Spike watched as she left and found that there was not much commotion from outside. "I guess everypony went to see the play." Spike said to himself. Spike closed the door to the library. He placed the cube on a table before he headed to the kitchen to make dinner.
Time flew by quickly as Spike made dinner. He had a craving for some quesadillas, but since he knew Twilight's distaste for them, he prepared a separate meal for her. Throughout all of this, Spike's mind continued to drift towards the cube on the table. The cube, aside from being resistant to heat and magic, was just an average metal cube. There wasn't any engravings or magical glow to it that would make it stand out. So why was it constantly on his mind?
Spike finished the meals and prepared to eat. He sat down at the table. Before he could get a single bite of his quesadillas, the cube was brought into his line of sight. He found the cube suddenly in his claws. He gazed at the cube in confusion as he did not remember picking it up. The cube then began to glow in a faint purple hue. So faint, that Spike didn't notice until he after staring at it for five minutes. It was then that he saw a thin line across the cube, separating it into a top and bottom. Before his mind could catch up with his body, his hand went to pull the top up. The cube was hollow, almost like a box. Inside was a silver ring surrounded by a plush cushion.
After pulling the ring from inside, Spike inspected it closer. Words in a language unknown to Spike were etched on the inside of the ring. Chains were engraved along the outside of the ring with led to a marvelous purple gem. He slid the ring on his finger without a second's hesitation. It felt cool on his finger. "Huh, it fits." Spike said. The ring then glowed a soft purple before Spike's vision darkened. He fell onto the floor and found he lacked the strength to get back up. This head pounded as he heard what felt like thousands upon thousands of people screaming. The screaming stopped after what felt like an eternity only for it to replaced with a burning sensation to spread out of Spike's body. He could only gasp in pain as it felt as his veins had caught fire. He clutched onto the wooden floor as he tried to push himself up. Another wave of burning washed over him causing the floor to crack from his grip.
Finally, Spike manages to stand up. His legs were about to give out again as the room spun around him. He took a wobbly step after wobbly step towards the front door. He clutched his stomach as he felt a wave a sickness coming on. As he reached the door, his strength failed him as he fell sideways. His shoulder hit the door and he slid down onto the floor again. He curled into a ball and began to spend an unknown amount of time rocking back and forth, tears flowed out the baby dragon's tightly closed eyes.
Sleep seemed to be the last thing on Spike's mind that night. However, what ever god that happened to be watching over him had figured that he had had enough and graced him with a dreamless slumber. He awoke the next day in a hospital bed, the sunlight shining through the window. He slowly rose from his bed before the wave of nausea forced him back down. He had many questions about what happened last night, but the drowsiness soon caught up with him. 'Maybe, I'll just lay here for today. Twilight can go a day without me right?' Spike thought as he curled up under the sheets.
Meanwhile in the library, Twilight was busy reading through almost every book in the library. The bags under their eyes were an indication of how long she had gone without proper rest. Twilight's body was sluggish and her mind was dulled, however, she couldn't go to sleep. She had come home to Spike balled up in a pool of his own drool and tears. Anything she said proved to be ineffective as the young dragon was not responding. She had rushed him to the hospital. The wait to see what was wrong was painfully long. The doctor finally arrived and everyone was on the edge of their seats to hear the news.
"Well girls, it seems that Spike is not in any critical condition," the doctor said. There was a sigh of relief that filled the room. "However, we would like for him to stay a while so we can figure out what happened." Twilight thanked them for the service and asked that she be contacted as soon as possible should something come up. The group left the hospital after that. Her friends retired for the night and offered to help Twilight anyway they could tomorrow. Twilight thanked them for offering before going home herself.
Getting sleep proved to be more difficult that night. Thoughts ran through Twilight's head about what could have happened to Spike, preventing her from obtaining any sleep. So, Twilight did what she normally did when sleep was no longer an option. She read every book in the library twice over before the sun rose over the horizon. It was not long after than the she soon felt her eyes close. She made an attempt to go upstairs to her bedroom, but failed getting up the stairs. She resigned to sleeping on the couch for now. It looked comfortable at least.
{How interesting. A dragon hatched by pony magic... and raised by ponies as well.}
A feminine voice spoke in Spike's head. He quickly jumped up in bed, his drowsiness and nausea gone. He looked around to see if their was any one else in the room with him that could have spoken to him. Sadly, there was no-one. He was the only one here.
{You're not alone. You'll never be alone, now that I'm here.}
The voice spoke to him again. "W-where are you?" he asked, fear thickly coated his words. He felt a tingle sensation in his right hand. He looked over and found the ring from the night before was still on his hand, glowing a beautiful purple.
{No need to be afraid, my master. You and I will be the best of friends.}
Spike looked down at the now golden ring on his claw. He stared at it for what must have been an eternity. In his possession, was a magical talking ring. He then said the first thing that came to his head, "W-what can you do?"