Spike
The night air usually left him cold and shivering every day. Well; everyday except this one. It had been special; the little heart to heart him and Luna had in Donut Joe’s. Speaking of the Princess; he casted an analyzing glance at her. She apparently didn’t notice as they walked the streets, headed for the train station. After a little time was spent planning on where to go; Luna, out of the blue, had decided to visit her niece in the Crystal Kingdom. News of the “Portal” incident shouldn’t have reached the Far North. And by ‘news’, he meant Shining Armor.
“Are you done ogling me, Spike,” Luna asked whilst keeping her gaze straight ahead. Spike stumbled, nearly faceplanting as he was caught red handed. She hadn’t even turned to acknowledge his...ogling, as she put it! Wait...ogling!? That made him sound like some sort of pervert! Spike’s face contorted into a glare as he looked at Luna once more, “It seems I’ve finally got some emotion out of you tonight! Good. I do not like to be bored...and talking to a mobile wall somehow screams boredom to me.” Luna quipped as Spike’s glare increased in intensity.
“I’m sure talking to a wall is better than rocks!” Spike counter-quipped as Luna responded with her own glare. Spike smiled in victory at the quick-to-anger Princess.
“Never bring that up again! Thou knowest all too well of loneliness!” Luna exclaimed as she slipped back into the old tongue. Spike fought to suppress his giggles as Luna ranted on and on about a rock named after peanut butter or something. Some of the...escapades the rock and her got into while imprisoned were a little...much.
“Alright, alright,” Spike said as he waved a claw through the air, laughing as the Princess fumed at him, “I apologize.” Luna’s harsh stare softened considerably at his apology.
“We accept thy words of apology. Let it never happen again, Spike.” Luna smiled warmly as Spike’s face reddened slightly. He turned his head quickly, trying to eject the smile from his mind. Luna quirked her head forward, trying to see Spike’s face as he kept it turned from her direction.
“S-stop trying to look at me.” Spike said quickly.
“Why?” Luna responded instantly.
“I,” Spike held the letter on his tongue for about five seconds before, “I have a booger!” He said triumphantly. Although, his feeling of triumph slowly faded as he noticed Luna distancing herself.
“Ew-ith.” Her face scrunched up as she reverted back to the old tongue. Spike’s face whitened at the thought of Luna now finding him appalling. He whipped his head so he could face her again.
“It was a lie! I really didn’t have a...bat in my cave! Yeah, it was a complete lie!” Spike exclaimed as he reached out a tentative claw towards Luna who stopped and picked up the foreleg closest to him. She grimaced in disgust at the outstretched limb.
“Twas a lie my eternal backside! Retract thy tool of unholy nose picking!” She shouted in disgust. Spike’s face dropped as he did what he was told. Luna beamed at him...then bursted out in hysterics. Spike was completely confused.
“What?” he uttered as Luna’s laughs increased in intensity.
“We have *giggle*, played a prank!” Luna exclaimed as Spike’s face became serious. Was he really this easy to fool? Well, looking back on his life, he did recall many event leading to embarrassment based on his own ignorance.
“That’s not funny.” Spike deadpanned. Luna calmed herself as the train station came into view. The Friendship Express had been here long before Spike was even born, prompting him to slightly analyze the building in awe. Through the many harsh seasons and time itself, the buildings still held strong. Such must be the power of ingenuity and well-laid foundations. They both ascended the three marble steps to the pay window.
“I beg to differ Spike,” Luna snickered once more as they came to a stop in front of the see-through window. Even though it was night time, the Express ran. It was the only safe way of travel through many...uncharted, lands. A mare dressed in a black and gray conductor’s outfit was dozing in the chair behind the window, a crystal blue snot bubble rising and falling from her right nostril, “I take back my words earlier, Spike. This is more...unsettling, to observe than your habits.” Luna took a step back in disgust.
“Wow. I think I know where Blueblood gets it from.” Spike internally quipped. He rapped on the window pane thrice, eliciting no response from the still unconscious mare behind the glass. Growing annoyed at the sudden interruption to his journey, Spike pounded on the window, shattering it. He cast a sheepish smile back at Luna, who was glaring at him with a raised eyebrow.
The mare roused herself with a start, shrieking like mad when Spike poked his head through the window. “DRAGON!!! THERE”S A BLOODY DRAGO-” A well placed claw silenced her raving. Spike inclined his head at her nametag, which read “Marigold”. Smiling warmly, he retracted his claw and held an index finger to his mouth, making the universal shush. Her accent reminded him of a little colt in Ponyville. Ah yes, one “Pipsqueak”. Although Pipsqueak is his name; it barely does him justice, what now that he’s the size of Big Macintosh.
“I’m not going to eat you, Miss Marigold! Please, for the sake of the sun, calm down!” Spike whispered cautiously. He really didn’t want her screaming in fright to a guard or something. Marigold complied half-heartedly, keeping respectful distance away from the dragon that just broke her window.
“Oy. If this is some sort o’ joke then i’m noht laughin’! Canterloht doesn’t get many dragons around ere’,” marigold spoke just cautiously as Spike did. She had never seen a dragon at all! This was a new experience, and to be quite honest, it scared the bloody tartarus out of her, “So wot are you doin’ ere’ anyways?” She asked as she scanned herself for any damage.
“I believe that your job is to merely supply us with a schedule for the Friendship Express’s after-sun runs.” Luna interjected as she stepped out from behind Spike. Marigold looked at the Princess, then at Spike once more, before giving a look of absolute terror. With a few moans, she hit the ground with her hoof over her forehead, completing a faint that rivaled even Rarity’s. Luna looked at the mare with narrowed eyes, clearly agitated that their only means of finding the times for the locomotive was gone.
Spike simply shrugged his shoulders and walked into the entranceway that lead to the tracks. It was a large square hole with nothing preventing ponies from just walking though. He decided to just wait on the train near the tracks. Luna eyed him as he walked, wondering about what could possibly be on his mind. She looked up at the moon that she had risen, hoping that it could shed some of its proverbial light on the situation at hoof. When no answer came, much to her chagrin, she walked after Spike.
---
“Hey Luna,” Spike asked from his resting position on a wooden bench, with Luna laying right beside him. She had known that something was still troubling him ever since their little heart to heart in the Bakery they had left. She just didn’t know what it was. Luna knew that was all going to change though, right here and now, “You say that you’ll help me throughout the span of my journey. To be quite frank,” he turned his head so that he was looking at her and didn’t continue until she met his gaze. He wanted this to be driven home, so that he can assuage any doubts from his mind based on her answer, “ What will you do when your sister once again tries to take my life? I have little to no doubt that she sent you and my friends to hunt me down.”
“I’m just curious if you'll be the one to stop the knife; or drive it deeper.” Spie finished as Luna’s eyes widened for a moment. There was no hiding the meaning behind that statement. Spike was worried if she was a traitor waiting to happen...a wolf in sheep’s clothing. Although his accusation is not without a strong foundation, her heart shall, and will, belong to her friends. No exceptions. Even if all of Equestria viewed him as the next big threat, she would not falter in her faith.
“I believe that question was already answered at Donut Joe’s,” Luna said triumphantly. Spike’s face was cold, indicating that he didn’t buy the act of bravado. Luna smiled sheepishly, thinking about what to say next before it dawned on her. The words she needed-no, had, to say suddenly filled her mouth, “Under no circumstances will I ever turn my back on you. Even if my sister pleads and threatens me, I will defy. I swear on my life and on my moon that I shall be with you, never harboring wicked machinations that will lead to your imprisonment or death. You have my word as a Princess of Equestria: A friend, the Lunar Mistress...and most importantly,” Luna touched Spike’s thigh with a hoof, “as myself.” She finished, smiling warmly at her friend.
With a smile carrying equal warmth, Spike tentatively raised one of his purple claws. It shook in the air as it slowly descended upon Luna’s hoof, holding it on his thigh. It was soft but hard, like a rock covered in moss. Unlike a simple stone, however, her hoof radiated a type of comfort that could put masseuses to shame. He felt his worries begin to sift and scatter, like chaff in the wind. It wasn’t long until he eventually found his eyes growing heavy and darkness clawing at the corner of his eyes. “T-thanks Luna, for everything.” He fell asleep right then and there.
---
With him finally asleep, Luna now had time to fetch what was concerning her so much. It was rather hard, releasing the dragon’s grip from her hoof without stirring him. But it was an obstacle that had to be hurdled over in order to get to where she was now. Her current location, was in her room at Canterlot Castle. She merely flew into her room like she would on any other night that she had freetime. Little did anyone know, her room wasn’t absolutely dark because she favored her night. In fact, it was relatively well lit upon her entering, basking the room in an ethereal blue light. Blue flames vibrated on the silver sconces adorning the obsidian walls, providing the aforementioned blue light. Her eyes settled on a large black victorian dresser beside her bed.
Eight drawers were quickly recognized as she approached the lifeless furniture. She opened the top left drawer and began shuffling through quills and scrolls until she found what she was looking for. There was a fake bottom to the drawer that she had installed when the dresser was moved into her room. After finding the switch to pop the false bottom up, a single blue button stared at her. Across the button were the words, “Stop.” She did what the button told her to do, really trying to figure out if what she’s doing is truly wrong.
“I’ve already given my word to a friend in need. I durst not become a coward now!” Steeling herself once more, she tentatively pressed the button. A sound similar to a vacuum sucking up something with girth was made behind her, causing Luna to turn around at a moderate speed. Her bed was gone. In it’s place was a beautiful stained glass image of herself, extending a hoof into the air with her eyes closed and wings extended. The smile on the stained glass Luna’s face seemed to radiate with mirth and happiness. Behind the beautifully detailed image of herself was a picture of the Royal Castle at dawn. Why dawn, she doesn’t know.
Fourteen circles had stars inside of them, similar to a purple unicorn she know’s cutie mark. A total of eighteen circles adorned the whole piece; the larger three holding the three stages to her moon. A full moon in the middle of the three and a waning and waxing moon flanking it on either side. The very bottommost circle had her sister’s face in it. The overall detail put into the portrayal of her was breathtaking. It only served, however, to dampen her mood and scare her further.
Gazing upon the happy mare in the picture was almost like being slapped. Normally, this picture would be the embodiment of her happy times, making any day seem brighter. But not now. No...this was a foreshadowing of the things to come. Surely, this was fate’s way of saying that if she takes the path with Spike, this mare would cease to exist. There would be no returning to her days of bliss. What she needed to get was on the other side of this final obstacle though, but it was proving to be the hardest one to overcome.
Luna had to shatter it.
She has to shatter the very embodiment of her brightest days in order to uphold her promise with Spike. She had to destroy all the trust she’s worked so hard to accumulate over the long twenty years of her return. It would mean annihilating all traces of being accepted back into her subject’s hearts. But, it was also a price she knew must be paid. Raising her left hoof into the air, Luna gave the piece one last glance...
“Goodbye...Old Luna.” She thought calmly as a smile graced her face. For a fleeting moment, like a hummingbird feeding from a flower, Spike’s smile from earlier entered her mind. It relaxed her, knowing that she’ll have that smile to fall back on if this deed was done. With a small yell, she shattered the stained glass into mini-shrapnel pieces that littered the hole where it once was. The only object in the hidden hole was a black chest with four blue stars on top.
The chest itself was no bigger than a saddlebag, making it easily maneuverable. Even though it was small, Luna knew all too well of the power that lies dormant within it. She wouldn’t dare harm her subjects as herself if the time came. Having said that, she would take on an alias that was long forgotten. One that was meant to be forgotten for all of time. encasing the chest in her telekinetic magic field, Luna made her way to the balcony. Once outside, she jumped off and unfurled her majestic wings, catching herself from her downward plummet. She then adjusted herself into the general direction of Canterlot Train Station, hoping to arrive to a still slumbering Spike.
---
Spike watched angrily as Luna landed next to him. She was carrying a small black chest with her, but that could be talked about later. She smiled sheepishly as her eyes locked with his. “And just where were you? I’ll have you know that Miss Marigold from earlier decided to wallop me with the bill when we were supposed to share it! I hope that chest is filled to the brim with bits or else we’ll be moving in with earthworms!” Spike fumed at Luna who only kept up her sheepish smile.
“Forgive me Spike, but I must say that fetching this,” She levitated the chest in front of his face, “Took precedence over all else.” Luna laughed as Spike raised an eyebrow. He then crossed his arms and began tapping his foot.
“What make’s a chest as adorable as that so important? Don’t tell me its your diary container or something.” Spike deadpanned as Luna chuckled.
“No, it’s not. But, it does hold some memories I rather not share.” She explained as Spike merely closed his eyes and shrugged his shoulders in acceptance of her explanation. As if on cue, a train whistle sounded off in the distance. Spike immediately whipped his head so that he was facing south, instantly making eye contact with the train. Because of the hour of night they were currently in, the train was not allowed to sound more than once. As the train pulled up to the station, Spike’s claw gripped tightly around the tickets in his hands.
This was it. This was his time to say goodbye to the only places he called home. Canterlot and Ponyville...returning to them would be a fool’s errand. So, with a sniff to hold back some tears, he approached the opening doors just as the conductor stepped out. He was surprised at first, but after just chalking it up to being in the magical land of Equestria, he took the tickets from Spike and allowed him and Luna on the train. They instantly made headway to the car with the beds, trying to procure a spot before the morning assault of travelers and nomads becomes a problem.
They entered a cabin just as the conductor made his last call to nopony on the platform. The doors closed with an audible hiss. There was no going back now. Settling himself down on a bottom bunk, Spike’s mind began to plague him with images of simpler times. Like when Fluttershy had turned 34 and got drunk for the first time. It was rather hilarious watching her sing Winter Wrap-Up in the middle of Ponyville Square...during summer. Spike chuckled as he placed his hands behind his head. Such times will never be forgotten, not as long as there’s a dragon willing to remember them.
Luna had hoisted herself onto the bunk atop of Spike, slipping soundlessly under the
light blue covers with white trim. Even though the mattress was a far cry from her four-poster at the Castle, it was not without comfort. Her mind instantly drifted off to one of her most pleasurable memories since her return. Coincidentally, it involved Spike coming over to help Celestia with negotiations towards the Dragon’s. It was a rather heated two days and nights of intense letter sending and planning on how to avoid a war. The war was going to happen based solely on Spike, whom the Dragon Emperor; Phalanx, believed was being held captive by the Elements of Harmony against his will. Spike quickly assuaged his doubts by sending a rather...curt, message. Phalanx, normally being against acts of violence, simply sent back a two word response to Spike’s last letter.
She couldn’t help but snicker at the two words. It was as if Spike had made one of the greatest dragons simply pale in fear. Although he hid the contents of his private message, Luna could tell that it was some sort of quip...or venomous threat. No, it was definitely the former. For the two letter response was a simple, “Oh my.” After that event, Spike and Luna spent another four days together, genuinely getting along. It was peaceful, having company like she did for those four days. Even though Spike had made it his mission to visit more frequently, nothing could compare to those first four days. It was a trademark step in their relationship with one anothe-!
Luna’s eyes, which had closed, snapped open in realization as her cheeks reddened slightly. There was no way she just used that word! Relationship!? What relationship could they possibly have besides being friends!? There couldn’t be amorous feelings in her could there, and especially not towards one so young?!
“Hey Luna,” Spike asked sleepily, getting a surprised yelp from the Princess, “Are you ok up there?” Spike asked with genuine concern.
“W-we art fine, Spike! Now, get some sleep before your brain melts!” Luna lamely covered up her embarrassment. Simply taking Luna’s odd behaviour as her still getting accustomed to her new life, Spike immediately found himself on the threshold of slumber once again. This time, worry couldn’t keep him from tilting over the edge this time. His soft snores put Luna’s mind at ease as she too drifted off. She squeezed the chest closer into her bosom. No matter what happens from here on, she will never leave Spike’s side. That’s the promise she made...and it’s the one she’ll keep.
.