//------------------------------// // Lost Time // Story: Estranged // by Abramus5250 //------------------------------// Chapter One Lost Time The fact that Ponyville seemed deserted was the first thing Spike noticed. He remembered when he was younger how all the ponies had hid from Zecora out of fear, and how he had then foolishly thought the reason had been zombies. He had long since learned that true zombies were rather impractical, seeing as the animal kingdom was more than prepared to deal with walking piles of delicious rotting flesh. Thank Celestia for Twilight’s lectures on biology; ants and flies alone would devastate any zombie outbreak. Still, for a town that never seemed to change and always had been bustling with life in his younger days, its empty streets did give the dragon a very odd feeling. Not so much déjà vu, but more along the lines of confusion. Spike could hear movement outside of his line of sight; doors slamming, windows shutting, bolts locking. There were ponies still in town, but what were they doing? Preparing for a storm? “There’s not a cloud in the sky,” he muttered, glancing up into the great blue yonder. What had these ponies so on edge? He didn't stink, did he? As he passed more buildings, he continued to hear the same noises; shutters shutting, doors locking, chairs being pressed up against doors. It was all so surreal that he almost walked right past the library. Finally arriving at his destination, the dragon stopped at the great wooden door, the color a bit more faded than he remembered but still with all the knots and scratches from his younger days. Strange, how it looked so small to him now; he’d narrowly miss bumping his head if he walked through it. He knocked. No answer. He knocked again. Still no answer, though he did hear the rustling of a few curtains from inside. Somepony was inside, that much was sure, but he couldn’t see them. “Twilight? Are you in there?” Spike asked. Following the sound of several bolts unlatching, the door creaked open slightly. “Might I help you?” a voice asked, a voice that still sounded the same after however many years he had been gone. “Twilight?” Spike asked again. “Don’t you recognize me?” “I’m not sure if we’ve ever met before,” the voice said, the door opening just a tad wider. “How do you know my name?” She didn’t remember him? He hadn’t changed that much during his hibernation, so... seriously, how long had he been asleep? “Twilight, do you still keep your romance novels in that false bottom of your dresser?” There was a moment of silence, and then the door flung wide open. “Spike?! Oh, Spike it is you!” the purple alicorn cried out, jumping up and wrapping her hooves around his neck in a big hug. “I almost didn’t recognize you.” Spike immediately the hug. “Hey Twilight,” he said. “What’s up with the town? You’re the first pony I’ve seen since I woke up.” “We’re on high alert, Spike,” the librarian said, letting the dragon slowly lower her to the ground. “Some of the spotters saw a great beast headed our way; hey now, that must have been you!” “Well, I wouldn’t say ‘great beast’,” Spike said with a nervous chuckle. He was a little hurt that she hadn't recognized him right away, but then again, he must have looked much more different to them than he did to himself. After all, they hadn't seen him grow in his cave; neither had he, of course, but he knew he was... him. “Why a high alert, though? I don’t remember those being ever put in place before.” There hadn't even been an alert when he had gone on his infamous "greed growth" rampage. “Everypony’s on edge, Spike, ever since... oh, wait a minute, first things first.” Producing a speakerphone and walking past Spike, Twilight called out. “The alert is over, everypony. The 'great beast' was just Spike coming back from his hibernation. Please return to your normal activities; the alert is over, I repeat, the alert is over.” Slowly, all around Ponyville, doors, windows and cellars began to open and ponies started to walk back outside, cautiously at first. Many kept glancing towards the sky or to the forests in the distance, as if expecting to see something approaching. Most, upon seeing Spike, visibly relaxed; the reports must not have been very clear, seeing as Spike was nowhere near what one might call a “great beast”. Maybe a moderate or even better-than-average beast, but no “great” beast, and most knew that one day the town dragon would return. That was probably why most waved to him; now that they knew it was him, it was easier for them to recognize him. “I’m sorry I didn’t recognize you Spike; you’re quite a bit bigger than when I last saw you,” Twilight said with a small, sheepish grin. “Also, your scales weren’t that shiny before, nor were your spines that curved back. Still no wings though?” “Yep, still no wings,” Spike said, glancing at his wingless back; someday he would fly. “Hey, Twilight, you said you and everypony else were on edge about something; mind if I ask why?” “Of course, Spike; there’s been rumors of a fight between two rival changeling hives in the far east, and we’re worried one of them might belong to Queen Chrysalis,” Twilight said. “She’s never forgotten what happened to her back in Canterlot, and from what our reports have told us, one of the hives has taken over the other. If Chrysalis has emerged victorious, both her power and the strength of her hive could be well above what she used in Canterlot, and that means she could be planning her revenge as we speak. So, in light of these events, we’ve started taking precautions by way of royal decree.” “What kind of precautions?” Spike asked. “The princesses passed a decree stating that everypony is to become more involved with one another, both to promote friendship and harmony while still helping to keep an eye out for changeling infiltrators. Magical checkpoints are now at every major city and town; Canterlot even has a bubble shield up to prevent changelings from entering again, though now it’s far less obvious,” the alicorn librarian said. “That one was my idea; altering Shining Armor's spell to be nearly invisible was very tricky. We also have early warning systems in place at every town, village and fort, so that if there is an invasion, we’ll be much better prepared than last time. Every pony is doing their part in some way; regularly visiting friends and family to make sure they are all right, stocking supplies in case of emergencies, helping to build up our infrastructure. Some of the older unicorns have been practicing defensive magic like shields and such all over the kingdom, and every town center has a bunker-like fort of sorts for ponies to hide if worst comes to worst.” “Wow,” was all Spike could say. That was a lot of things to do, but then again, from what he could remember Twilight's history lessons, this was a rather tame version of what other kingdoms had done in the past. It could be that the princesses didn't want to appear as though they were preparing for war, but only that they were preparing for trouble. Had things had really become that bad in the time he was gone? Speaking of which... “Hey, Twilight?” “Yes Spike?” the princess asked, closing the library door behind her. “Just... just how long have I been asleep? The wildflower garden outside my cave is larger than I thought it would be after just two years.” Twilight’s ears dropped slightly. “Spike, I’m not sure how to tell you this, but... you weren’t asleep for just two years. The truth is, you’ve been asleep for five years.” “Five years?” the dragon exclaimed. “I thought I was supposed to be asleep for two! That’s how long you said I would be sleeping for!” “Well, here’s the funny thing about dragons,” Twilight said slowly. “When they are young, there is no real “set time” for them to sleep. Older dragons, like that one Fluttershy convinced to leave, do have a set time to sleep; around one hundred years. Younger dragons have more of a range to their times; one to five years, on average. We just thought you’d be in for a two-year nap, seeing as you were slightly younger going into your first sleep than most dragons are. Only after you didn’t wake up at the two-year mark did we realize you’d be asleep for longer than that, since my spell also measured your heartbeat and we knew you didn't, you know... die or something.” Spike didn’t say anything for a few moments. “So... that’s why that garden is so much larger? I’ve really been asleep for five years?” “Give or take a few months,” the purple alicorn said. “Come on, we have to tell the girls you’re back. I’m sure Pinkie Pie is dying to finally start your-,” “Waking up from hibernation party!” a bright pink pony screamed, jumping out from behind Spike’s back. Both Twilight and Spike jumped at the sound of her voice, though the fact that Twilight jumped into Spike’s arms instead of him onto her back showed that she was the quicker thinker. If he had jumped onto her, he might have crushed her. “Pinkie Pie? How did you get here so fast?” Twilight asked. “Better yet, how come we didn’t hear you?” “Oh, silly Twilight, don’t you ever learn? My Pinkie Sense told me it was Spike coming into town, and not some big meanie-pants beast coming to gobble us all up!” Pinkie exclaimed. “Besides, I just got here to tell you I have the party all set up!” “Wait... you already set up the party?” Spike asked, gently setting Twilight down for the second time that day. “Yep!” “You sent out the invitations?” “Nope! I already personally invited everypony that wanted to come. The party starts at five, so don’t be late!” With that, the pink party pony set off towards Sugarcube Corne, bouncing happily as she always did; it seems some things never change. “How did she-,” “She’s Pinkie Pie, Spike; trying to figure her out is like trying to explain non-Euclidian geometry to Rainbow Dash.” She sighed at Spike’s nonplussed look. “Like trying to have Rarity teach Applejack how to properly fold napkins.” “Ohh,” Spike said knowingly; he remembered the lessons. “Right; gotcha. So... who is all going to be at the party?” “Whoever Pinkie invited,” Twilight said. “Come now, we need to give you a bath. You haven’t touched water since you went in that cave, and I’m sure you’d like to be nice and clean for your party.” “Too true,” the dragon said. “I feel like I’ve got some moss under some of my scales.” “...didn’t need to know that, Spike,” Twilight said. As the pair of them walked inside the library, a thought crossed Spike’s mind. “Hey, Twilight?” “Yes, Spike? I still have the lavender soap you liked to use.” “Oh, thanks, but no, that’s not what I was going to ask. Twilight, have you... seen Zecora around Ponyville?” “Oh, she comes into town every now and then for supplies of some kind or another,” the alicorn said as she turned on the faucet to the tub. “She usually doesn’t stay for very long, and after the first few months into your hibernation, she stopped coming by. We just thought she was sick or spending her time outside your cave. She came back after a year, and was much friendlier than before. I still don’t know what you did Spike, but you made her very happy. Are still thinking of going out with her?” “Well, yeah, of course,” Spike said as he slowly lowered himself into the bathtub, so as to avoid sloshing the water over the sides. The warmth seeped into his scales and he sighed, happy to feel the scent of the lavender soap waft into his nostrils. “Ahhh, this feels great.” “Yes, well, you still need scrubbing, and I have just the tool to do it,” Twilight said, and as she approached the bathtub, Spike saw something held aloft by her magic he hadn’t seen in a long time. “No, nooo, not the steel wool! I thought I got rid of that years ago!” “Yes Spike; you need a good scrubbing, and after you’re dry, the belt sander will finally have some use again.” “Nooo!”