//------------------------------// // Chapter 1 // Story: Level Flight // by RandomGreymane //------------------------------// Level Flight - Chapter 1                by RandomGreymane (Mike Hebel)         Twilight woke, as she had the previous day, to a sunbeam through her window.  Momentarily confused at her surroundings, she sat up cautiously before she recognized her room in the library.         Her gaze wandered her surroundings.  Everything was as she last left it.  There’s no dust. she noticed. Spike must have been cleaning it all this time.         All this time. she repeated to herself.         She carefully made her way down the stairs and into the kitchen.  She found Spike seated there sipping from a steaming mug.  Her nose picked up the scent of coffee.  He looked up from the paper he was reading and smiled.         “Welcome home.” he said.  “Sleep well?”         Twilight cleared her throat before replying. “Actually it was the best sleep I’ve had in quite some time.  You?”         “I always sleep well.” Spike stated while folding the paper.  He set the paper on the table and gestured to Twilight to join him.  “Like some breakfast?  I can whip up some pancakes?  Do you even eat pancakes any more?”         “Umm...I think talking might be more important.” Twilight said as she sat across the table from him.         “Okay then...let’s talk.” said Spike with his claws folded in front of him. “You abandoned me.”         “I know.” said Twilight.  “I never meant...”         “Abandoned.”  Spike continued. “When you went to Manehatten I figured you’d come back, but when you did all you ever did here was sleep!  If you weren’t asleep, you’d already gone with Scootaloo in the morning to work out. I thought after Hearths Warming that everything would return to normal.  But when you stayed at the castle afterwords...it didn’t.”         “I’m sorry.” was all Twilight could say as the tears welled in her eyes.         “Sorry does not begin to make this right.” Spike said as he pointed a claw in her direction. “I was left to fend on my own while you spent months hoofing it all over Equestria.  I tried to get an APPOINTMENT with you but your secretary said you were not to be disturbed.  Five times I tried.  The worst part was you took all our friends with you!  And even worse they all came back...except you.  Princess Celestia said you had some things to work out in Canterlot and other places in Equestria.  So I held on.  Like a good little dragon.  Like a good...son...should.”         Twilight was openly crying now but Spike pretended not to notice.         “Eventually,” he continued “I had to find some way to deal with the anger.  Fluttershy would have been my first choice but she was with you and the others off who-knows-where.  So I went to the most composed pony I know.  Big Mac.  He helped me get a handle on it.  In time, I claimed this library as my own.  That’s when I grew.  This is now MY home Twilight.  You’ll always have a place in it but you’ve left it to my care far too many times for it to be yours now.”         “I understand.” Twilight said as she wiped away some of the tears. “And I can understand how you feel.”         “NO YOU CAN’T!” Spike roared, causing the entire tree to shudder as if bucked. “NO!....You can’t.  For your whole life Twilight...for all your life...someone has been there for you.  Someone has been there to comfort you.  To help you up after you fell.  I was that someone on more than one occasion. And in fairness you were there for me too. But while you were gone...I was alone.  Oh there were ponies who helped me out...but nopony close.  I spent days just wishing for some word from you.  Nights lying in my bed hoping to hear you putter around the library doing your experiments.  But you had the council building for those now.  And when you weren’t out cold here...you stayed in the castle.  In Canterlot.  I tried to find time to see you there but either I couldn’t get someone to watch the library, or when I got to Canterlot, you had gone.”         “Why didn’t you write to me Spike?”  Twilight asked.  “I would have at least written you back.”         Spike mumbled something.         “What was that?” Twilight asked.         Spike sighed and said “I thought you didn’t need me any more.  I thought you’d...outgrown me.  And when I changed it was even worse.  I thought ‘Twilight isn’t going to want to see me like this.  She’ll think I’ve let my greed get to me again!’.  I was embarrassed.  And angry.  And a whole mess of other things that I don’t even have words for now!  In the end...I hid.  I’m still hiding I think...”         Twilight said nothing and stared at the tabletop in front of her.  Eventually the tears from her eyes made a small puddle that she wiped away with her magick.  “I can’t change the past.  And...you are right.  I haven’t done right by you...not for a long time now.  So much has happened that I can’t even explain let alone come to terms with.  I don’t even know how to make this right.”         “One of the things that Big Mac taught me is that you can be mad as all get out but you should have a reason, and a darn good one, before you let it out.” Spike said.  “All this time I felt like I had the right reasons but now that the moment is here...they all seem pointless.”         “Nothing about you is pointless Spike.” Twilight said as she dried the last of her tears.         “Damn right.” Spike replied with his arms folded in front of him.  After a moment he continued. “I wanted so much to hate you...but I couldn’t.  I still love you.  You’re my mom for Celestia’s sake!  But I don’t know where to go from here.”         Reaching out a hoof, Twilight touched Spike’s cheek.  “All mothers have to let their children grow up.   I realize I never acknowledged you.  I should have done that a long time ago.”  She sighed as tears started seeping again, “No time travel spell will change the past.  But I’d like the chance for a future...with my son.”         “I think we can work that out.” Spike said as he took Twilight’s hoof into his claws.  Staring down at it he traced the edges.  Abruptly he pulled Twilight to him and hugged her, carefully, as tight as he dared.         “Thank you...son.” Twilight whispered.         After a time they separated. “Now!” Spike exclaimed. “Pancakes!”         “You’ve been good, you get waffles.” Twilight said as she bumped his side playfully. “You...do still like waffles right?”         Spike grinned at her and sprinted to the kitchen door before replying. “Absolutely!  As long you don’t cook them.  You really are a horrible cook mom.”         “Hey!” Twilight yelled after him as she followed him into the kitchen. =============================================================         Several hours of talk (and waffles) later, Twilight excused herself to use the bathroom.  While inside she teleported some paper and a quill from her office.  Quickly she penned a note to her secretary to let people know that she would be taking the day off.  She also instructed her to send over someone to watch the library as soon as possible.  She teleported the note, ink, and quill, back to her office just as Spike was knocking on the door asking if she’d fallen in.         “Very funny.” Twilight said with a mock frown on her face. “Turns out I actually have nothing planned today.  Let’s spend the day together.”         “And WHO’s going to run this place? Hmmm?” Spike questioned.         Twilight opened the front door with her magick and there stood the scroll brothers.  After bowing politely, they entered the library and began preparing for the day’s patrons.         Cornering one of the brothers, Spike poked him with a claw. “Not one wrinkled page.  Got that?”         The scroll brother grinned nervously and nodded. “I promise!” he said with some trepidation in his voice.         “I mean it.” Spike said as he followed Twilight out to the street.         “Wow!” Twilight exclaimed. “Is it difficult to keep that under control?”         “You have no idea.” Spike replied.  “When I first talked to Big Mac about it he was worried too.  It takes a fair amount to hold it back.  But here’s the thing - I have something that’s my own.  I have my own place now.  That takes an awful lot of the edge off.  I still get the urge to just grab stuff from time to time, but nothing like that birthday rampage.”         “Are you okay talking to me about it?” Twilight asked with a note of caution in her voice. “I mean I could really start geeking out here about the dragon life-cycle.”         Spike laughed loud enough to turn heads their direction. “Some things never change do they?  Well, mom...”  He paused briefly, savoring the term. “I like that.  Mom.  I don’t think I’ve ever said it in public.”         “I’m happy to hear it, son!’ Twilight replied with a smile on her face.         “Moving on, mom, I actually kinda anticipated all this.”  He said as he produced an apple from somewhere Twilight couldn’t see. “I have been keeping a journal. Two in fact.  One for you..and one for me.  It helps my generosity.  You can read the one any time.  But not the other.  That’s for me personally.  If there’s something I think that’s important to you, I’ll copy it from one to the other.  Deal?”         “Deal!” Twilight said happily.  “Wanna tell me where you got the apple from?”         “Dragon Magick.” Spike said as he moved to take a bite. Pausing, he used a claw to break the apple in half and give some to Twilight.         “So...anything you’ve learned that you’d like to share?” Twilight said while chewing.         “Well...” said Spike, after swallowing another bite “I’m not as indestructible as I was when I was younger.  Aaand while I can breathe fire much better now, water puts even more of a damper on things that it did before.  I mean I can breathe fire again in a little while but feel so bloated for the next day or two.  Talk about water weight!”         Twilight chuckled a little and smiled at Spike. “That makes some sort of sense.  Specializing in one part of the magickal spectrum often leaves you weak in the opposite.  It took me a long time to become well rounded, and that was only because Princess Celestia...er...guided me in that direction.”         Spike nodded slightly before continuing.  “Oh!  And I can’t seem to fly yet.”  He fidgeted a little before speaking again. “It’s kinda embarrassing.  I mean I have trouble even gliding.”         “Well no problem with that!” Twilight exclaimed. “Why don’t you just start working out with Scootaloo and I every morning?”         “That’s not a bad idea Twilight, but my wings are different from yours.” Spike replied as he unfolded a wingtip. “Do you think the same exercises will work for me?”         “I don’t see why not.” Twilight said with a grin on her face.         “Okay.” Spike said with a shrug of his shoulders. “Sounds like a plan.”         “It does indeed.” Twilight said as she put a hoof on Spike’s hip. He’s taller than me now.  It didn’t really hit home until just now...  “We’ll start tomorrow morning.” she continued. “Now!  Still like hay fries?”         “You know it!” Spike said. ======================================================================         As she’d done so many times before, Twilight met Scootaloo at the door and they proceeded to the schoolyard before the sun came up.  This time though, Spike accompanied her.           Scootaloo’s reaction was typical of her idol.        “Meh.  No wind off my wings.  Just make sure he keeps up.”         “I think I’ll be able to deal ‘pumpkin feather’.” Spike replied with a grin.         “Hey!” Scootaloo exclaimed, her face sporting a similar grin. “I’ll have you know my coat is a shade of burnt orange you unripe eggplant!”         “IF you too don’t start working out soon,” Twilight said in-between wing stretches “I’m going to have a seat and summon some some popcorn for the show.”         Proving Twilight’s suspicions the two were just needling one another, Spike and Scootaloo simultaneously stuck their tongues out and blew raspberries at each other.  Spike’s looking so much for the moment like a party favor that Twilight lost track of what she was doing and smacked herself in the face with the end of one of her wings.  Serves me right. she thought to herself while chuckling slightly.         The workout began in earnest.  At first Spike had no problems.  The wing extensions and general slow flapping gave him no trouble.  As they continued though, Spike experienced more and more difficulty keeping up.           As Twilight and Scootaloo started the more complex flexing exercise Spike suddenly became motionless.  His wings were outstretched and he had a horrified look on his face.         “Twilight...” he said quietly. “Twilight.  My wings are stuck.”         “Pardon?” Twilight said, a feather she had just removed still in her mouth.         “I can’t close my wings!” Spike exclaimed. “I’M STUCK!” he roared, bowling over Twilight and Scootaloo in the process.         “Okay Spike calm down.” Twilight said as she stood back on her hooves. “We’ll figure it out.”         “Twilight how am I going to do anything!” Spike continued, his face contorted in an effort to close his wings. “I have to help people at the library today!  How am I going to even get inside with my wings like this!”  Frantically he began to turn around, almost knocking Twilight over in the process.         “SPIKE!” Twilight yelled. “Calm.  Down.  We can fix this.  Trust me.  Now move a little closer to me please.  Scootaloo will you excuse Spike and I?”         “Sure thing.” Scootaloo said.  “It’ll be okay big guy.  I had a wing cramp once and couldn’t close my wing for two days!  If I ever hear the term ‘one wing wonder’ again...”           Spike took in a deep breath and held it for a moment.  Slowly he let the air out, accompanied by small curls of smoke.  After a moment he nodded to Scootaloo and smiled.         “Okay.  It’s been a while since I’ve teleported so much weight, but there’s no way you are walking anywhere like that.” Twilight said.  “We’ll sort it out son.  Okay?”         “Okay.” Spike said, his face relaxed slightly into a half smile.         Twilight reached and gathered her magick and wrapped herself and Spike in a bubble of purple.  As they vanished, the last thing Scootaloo heard Spike say “Wait a minute?  Did you just call me fat?”         Shaking her head, Scootaloo headed off just as Celestia’s sun fully settled in the morning sky. ======================================================================         “What do you mean this is my fault?” Twilight asked Zecora with a pleading look on her face.         “Your fault it is, less so than his.  His wing are of the dragon kind, different than pony bear in mind.” Zecora spoke as she mixed a salve in her cauldron. “The twisting that your wings perform, his joints and bones do deform.  Unlike the wings of pony or hawk, the wings of dragons can open and lock.”         “Okay....never knew that...” Twilight said quietly. Lots of things about dragons I don’t know.  Too many things...         “This salve the muscles it will relax, his wings he should not overtax.” Zecora continued as she applied the salve to the joints along the top of the edge of Spike’s wings.  In minutes Spike could once again close his wings.  Twilight thanked Zecora and they headed down the path leading back to Ponyville.         “Spike, I’m sorry.” Twilight said softly. “I just didn’t know.”         “It’s okay.” Spike said as they walked. “No big deal.”         “It IS a big deal Spike.” Twilight said, emphasizing her frustration by kicking a rock into the forest edge.  “You could have been stuck like that for a while!”  I never seem to be far from my latest failure...         “You didn’t know, Twilight!” Spike continued. “How could you?”         “I think that is the whole point Spike.” Twilight said as she looked into Spike’s eyes. “I DON’T know.  Not enough anyways.  Fortunately there is a solution for things like this.”         “Magickal divination spell for speed learning?” Spike said, one eyebrow arched.         “No!  And anyways that was only the one time in school.” Twilight replied. “No, I’m talking about getting you a dragon tutor.”         Spike was slightly stunned and speechless for a moment.  When he recovered he spouted, “ARE YOU NUTS!”.  The nearby trees dropped tropical fruit into the dense foliage beneath their branches. “Twilight, almost every dragon we’ve ever met has tried to kill us or failing that been complete...”         “Dung heads?” Twilight supplied helpfully.           “Well I was going to use a slightly stronger word but yeah.” Spike continued.         “There’s got to be at least one out there that isn’t completely selfish and...well...nuts.” Twilight said, staring at the ground lost in thought as she walked.         “Oh and what makes you say that?” Spike replied with more than a little peevishness in his voice.         Twilight stopped cold and stared directly at Spike. “Because you exist.” she said.         For the second time in their walk home, Spike was speechless. ======================================================================         After they arrived back at the library tree, Spike headed to his room to rest.  He was unusually silent as he left Twilight standing in the front room.  Speaking only to apologize to patrons for his absence.  Without thinking, Twilight took over the duties that she had done for so long before becoming a princess.  She paused only to send a quick note to her assistant in the council building letting her know she will be unavailable for a while.  Fortunately things are a bit quiet right now. Oh ponyfeathers!  I should know better than to say that by now!         Twilight spent most of the day tending to the library patrons and shelving books.  In the end she was slightly tired but overall felt much better.  A flurry of thoughts occupied her as she climbed the stairs to her room after closing.         Where am I going to find a dragon tutor who doesn’t have his head up his backside?  Luna help me I don’t know what to do.  Again.  That’s so frustrating!         Falling face-first into her pillows, Twilight was asleep the moment she collapsed.  Immediately she was in her favorite flowered field.  Resting comfortably, she inhaled the sweet smell of the flowers.         In time she lifted her head in her dream to find Luna sitting on a large blue blanket in front of her in the field.  Not your normal cloud.  It’s good to see you regardless. she projected to the lunar princess.         Well you did call upon me for my help Twilight. Luna replied as she produced a slightly different teapot than usual. I could not very well leave you without support.         Hanging.  You could not leave me hanging. Twilight corrected as she took a proffered teacup.  Jasmine.  I like it.         I do as well. Luna projected as she sipped from her own cup. Regardless, tea is not why we are here I surmise.         You surmise correctly sister. Twilight looked into her tea before continuing. I...I am having a problem with Spike.         Hmm...his greed again? Luna asked.         No!  He seems to be doing well in that regard. I just... Twilight paused. I just don’t know enough about dragons to teach him what he needs to know!  I can’t even teach him flight properly!         Calm yourself Twilight. Luna projected.  Reaching out with her magick, Luna infused Twilight with a calming silver light. I take it that what you seek then is a tutor? I might be able to help you with that.  Drink your tea and rest.  I shall contact you again tomorrow evening.  Good enough?         Good enough. Twilight replied as she sipped her tea.  As she finished her tea, she set the cup down and it wandered off into the grass.  Luna smiled warmly at Twilight, then the blanket beneath her glowed and formed itself into a familiar cloud.  Twilight smiled and laid her head in the soft grass and flowers as the lunar princess shot into the sky and disappeared.           Am I good enough though? she thought to herself. Will I ever be good enough?         She has always loved her entrances and exits. a sleepy voice projected into Twilight’s awareness. If she can not help you, there are other options my dear.  And Twilight?         Yes? Twilight thought back.         For the love of Tartarus stop taking things so seriously.  Everything will be all right.  You’ll see. Twilight could feel Celestia yawn over the connection.         Twilight yawned within her dream meadow. I certainly hope so...         In moments the breeze of her meadow whisked away her thoughts to more pleasant things and she rested.         Far away, a lunar princess watched over the dreams of a solar one.  Brushing a wingtip on the edge of  the balcony railing to flick away a pebble, she reached out and rearranged stars and dreams for those in her charge as books from her private collection floated out and arranged themselves around her.