Spike lay in his basket, still whimpering over his sore ribs. That man who had tried to take Twilight away had done a number on him. Still, he was almost healed. Just another few days and he’d be back to normal. It seems that the large burst of magic that had granted him speech had done more than that. Not that he was complaining, accelerated healing was always a bonus.
He curled into the blankets. They were comfortable, but he wished he was in Twilight’s lap at the moment. But the doctor said to keep him on a more stable surface, so the basket it was.
He looked up at the large armchair. Cadance lay in it, leaned back with the footrest up. Twilight lay next to her, wrapped in a blanket and her head resting on the older woman’s chest. Both had their eyes on the television, enjoying a movie to try and forget the troubles that were coming.
Cadance still kept a large bat within reach of her.
“You know, I don’t think they’re coming for me here,” Twilight said.
“Hush,” Cadance said gently, kissing Twilight on the forehead. “I took custody of you, I decide how to protect you. Besides, you’re about to go away for the whole summer, I want to get in all the coddling I can before you come back so big and strong you won’t need me anymore.”
“Cady...” Twilight said, but she didn’t protest further.
Spike sighed as he lowered his gaze to look at the floor. He shifted a bit, trying not to whimper at the pain. Slowly, his thoughts drifted back to the past.
Spike was afraid.
The humans were nice, they really were, but so many confusing things had happened lately. He was scared to death. He wanted his mother.
His mother and his brothers and sisters were gone. They had all started acting strange one day. One moment they were playing together, laughing as a family. Then, suddenly, they all became sick with an odd illness. They became more incoherent, and started foaming at the mouth.
Then, the humans took them away. They separated them, and they stuck one of their horrible needles into him. Apparently, that needle did whatever the humans wanted, and was placed back in his normal cage.
But no one else was. He had no mother or siblings. Sure, the humans still loved him, and fed him milk and made sure he was healthy, but none of them were mothers.
Now, he sat in a play area all alone as more humans walked by. The smaller ones occasionally picked up and played with the other pups, but not him. They wanted a dog that was energized, not one whimpering and moping.
He knew he should try. Humans were wonderful, they fed you and took care of you and loved you. He should be trying to impress one. But he just couldn’t.
He looked up. The humans were all ignoring him, all except one. A human that was looking right at them.
It was a female, he could tell, a purple one wearing those weird glass things on her eyes. But even though the glass, he could see her eyes perfectly. And in them, there was pain and loss.
It was all so familiar.
She was looking at him, directly locking eyes with him. Could she see it in him? He actually rose to his paws and took a step forward.
The human reacted in kind, striding right up to the glass. Spike stepped forward, dimly realizing that this small human was being flanked by two larger ones, one pink and one white. He got near the glass.
Slowly, the human picked him up just under the forelegs and lifted him to eye level. Then she pulled him close, holding him tightly.
“Ah, I see you found Spike,” the shelter worker said, a young girl with yellow skin that was about the same age as the human holding him. He recognized her as the one that most often fed him. She was nice, and pretty. “I’m glad you did. The poor thing needs a home.”
“Why is he all alone?” the purple human said.
“Oh, the poor dear. I’m afraid his mother contracted rabies just after she gave birth, and spread it to the litter. He’s the only one that wasn’t infected. We had to put down the others, and he’s all alone.”
“All alone...” There was a pain in her voice. It confirmed Spike’s suspicions. She understood.
He licked her face, causing her to laugh. The human nuzzled him closer.
“I think we’ve found our dog,” the pink human said.
The white one leaned in to whisper in the pink one’s ear, but Spike caught the conversation. “Are you sure we should let her pick this one?”
“The only other time she smiled in the last few days is at the courthouse. Anything that makes Twilight this happy is something we need right now.”
Twilight... his new human’s name was Twilight.
“Oh, I’m so happy you’re picking him,” the yellow human said. “If you follow me, I can take you to Ms. Treehugger, she’s the one who signs the pups out.”
Spike snuggled up against Twilight, who pressed her lips on him, which Spike understood meant affection from humans. For the first time since his mother went missing, he felt happy.
The big pink human was named Cadance, the big white one Shining Armor. He had learned that much pretty quickly. They apparently weren’t Twilight’s parents, given that she called them by first name. He was guessing one of them was an older sibling, the other the sibling’s mate.
It wasn’t hard to figure out something had happened to the mother and father.
He sat in the bathroom, doing his business while wondering about his new home. It seemed to be a small house in a building of other houses, an apartment. There were still several boxes left unpacked, they had obviously just moved in. His first guess was that this family was strained in those green slips of paper humans found valuable for some reason, but he overheard them talking about sending Twilight to a private school, which he understood cost a lot of green paper.
Shining Armor entered the room, carrying some white paper. “Okay, boy, when you need to take care of your business, you go... on...”
Shining Armor blinked at the sight of Spike sitting on the toilet. Spike tilted his head, then reached for the handle, flushing it.
“...or that works too,” Shining Armor said as Spike jumped to the floor and walked back to Twilight’s bedroom. “At least after that, I don’t think there’s anything else you can do to surprise me.”
Spike reached Twilight’s bedroom and hopped on the bed. Twilight was already dressed in those sleeping clothes that humans wore because they were ashamed over their furless bodies, even when alone. She was reading a big thick book.
He walked up and licked her face. She smiled, wrapping an arm around him and pressing her lips onto his head. She turned back to her book, using her free hand to scratch his head.
“I’m looking over my basic chemistry,” she said.
Spike was glad he couldn’t speak the human tongue, so he didn’t have to admit he didn’t know what that meant. Still, he curled up as Twilight began reading out loud. Spike listened close, trying to understand it but never quite getting it.
She eventually set the book down and took off her eye glass. Shining Armor and Cadance walked in before she could switch off the light.
“Are you sure you don’t want to sleep with us again tonight?” Cadance asked. “You can bring Spike with you.”
“No, really, I’m fine,” Twilight said. “I can’t keep moping forever.”
“We know you can’t, but you don’t have to rush it either,” Shining Armor said.
“I’m fine. Besides, I bet you want to sleep without me. I guess it’s annoying if I’m hanging around right after...”
Cadance cut her off by leaning down and pressing lips on her forehead. Shining Armor followed as soon as his partner was done.
“You’re never an annoyance to us,” Cadance said. “We’ll be right down the hall if you change your mind. Come on, one final good night kiss.” She kissed... that was the word, apparently... Twilight again and flicked off the lights.
Shining Armor also gave his sister a final kiss before reaching over and scratching Spike behind the ear. “You keep my sister safe, okay?”
Sister... so Shining Armor was the sibling. Spike gave a small yip to show he understood.
As the door closed, Twilight pulled Spike into a hug. It wasn’t long before he fell asleep.
He wasn’t asleep for too long, however, when something woke him up. He strained his ears a bit, but it wasn’t long before he recognized what it was.
Crying. Twilight was crying.
He turned and saw Twilight, tears leaking out of her eyes. She held Spike closer, as if he would simply make the pain stop. How he wished that he could.
Carefully, he leaned in and began licking the tears away. Twilight actually smiled, even through the pain, and let her pet lick her.
After a while, Twilight actually got up. Carrying Spike in her arms, she walked out the door and down the hallway, eventually coming to another room.
Spike had been expecting she was going to sleep with Shining Armor and Cadance, but no. It was a sitting room, with two large chairs the only thing unpacked.
She went up to a strange kind of shelf that had a picture of two more humans on it. There were urns on either side.
Twilight just looked at the photo for a while. Spike did too. These must be them, Twilight’s parents. A blue man and a white woman.
“They were the best parents in the world, Spike,” Twilight said. Her voice was cracking. “And they’re gone.”
Spike whimpered and tried to lick Twilight’s face.
She moved into one of the chairs, reclining back. Spike lay on her chest.
“I miss them so much. Now, I’m just hurting Shining Armor and Cadance. They moved into an apartment instead of a house because they wanted to spend all their extra money on me. They had to give up their big wedding so Cadance could get custody of me. They couldn’t even be alone on their wedding night because they thought comforting me was more important.”
Spike didn’t understand. It sounds like they love you very much. Why would that make you sad? Please don’t be sad, Twilight. Be happy. They love you so much.
He licked her face. She held him tight until she fell asleep.
The next morning they were awoken by Cadance.
“Twilight? Did you sleep here last night? Oh, why didn’t you come and get us?”
“I... I didn’t want to bother you...”
“Oh, sweetheart, I told you we love you,” she placed a kiss on her forehead. “Well, at least Spike seems to make you happy.” She gave the purple dog a scratch behind the ears.
Spike gave a small bark of triumph, but it felt hollow. He couldn’t get the image of his master crying the night before. Twilight wasn’t happy.
Was she even worse before he came along?
“Cadance... did it hurt this bad when...”
The older woman gave a sad smile. She slid into the chair next to Twilight, wrapping her arms around her.
“Yes. Losing my mom and dad hurt so much. It was just after you were born, and I’m glad you don’t remember me like that. I was a wreck.”
“How did you handle it?”
She smiled. “I remembered I had plenty of people who loved me. I wasn’t dating your brother yet, but he stayed by my side every second. Your parents took me in, and they loved me.” Cadance’s voice cracked. She tightened her hold on Twilight, and the younger girl hugged her back.
“Oh, Cadance... I’m so sorry. I...”
“I miss them almost as much as you,” Cadance said, through her pain. There was silence for a bit. “Twilight... please stay safe. I don’t think I could live through losing anyone else.”
Spike whimpered, moving onto the older woman’s lap. I’ll protect her! I won’t let anyone hurt her, I promise!
Cadance eventually released Twilight and looked down at Spike. Even with her wet eyes, she smiled at him. “You’re a good pup. You’ll be there for Twilight, won’t you?”
Spike barked his promise.
Cadance smiled, giving the pup a kiss on the forehead. Then she turned her attention back to her charge, kissing her on the cheek. “You were there for me, too, even if you don’t remember.”
“Really?”
“You were the smallest little thing. Only a year old. But one night, I couldn’t sleep. You were crying, so I decided to get your bottle. I sat and fed you, and hoped you’d fall asleep. But you did something better. You hugged me, the best someone that small could.”
“Really?”
Cadance nodded. “I started babysitting you all the time after that. When you got old enough, you never had any shortage of love for me. All those times we snuck cookies or read books. You may not have realized it, but you were saving my life just by being there. You were loving me as much as Shining Armor, or your mom and dad.”
Now Twilight was crying again. “Cadance...”
The older woman tightened her hold on Twilight, placing her head in the crook of her neck. She also pulled Spike into a hug with her free arm. “Twilight... I know I could never replace them. But I promise I’ll give you just as much love as they did.”
“I know you will.”
“And Spike will love you too. We got you that pup because we knew having something to take care of would help. Be there for him, and he’ll be there for you.”
Twilight looked down at her dog. Smiling, she took him in her arms again. “I will.”
“And all I need to do is solder this one final piece,” Twilight said, working on the latest circuit board. It had been a few days since Spike had come to live with Twilight, and she seemed to be getting better. Shining Armor and Cadance seemed to credit Spike, but he thought it had more to do with the time spent in her work area. The two older humans had set up a room entirely for Twilight to play around with human machines. Twilight always spoke about what she did. Spike was starting to understand, though he had a long way to go.
Over the last few days, she had done more than cry. Much of his first day had been spent sitting in Twilight’s lap while she read to him. The science books were common, but she also read some fiction. But there was also plenty of playtime, with Twilight scratching his belly, throwing a ball so he could fetch it, and playing tug-of-war with his new squeaky toy.
The second day had been almost entirely playtime. This time Cadance and Shining Armor joined in, teaching him tricks... well, tricks in the sense of what humans thought of as tricks. Sit, roll, speak, he never understood how such advanced animals could be so easily amused. That night, they watched a movie. Spike enjoyed it.
The third day had been the start of her work in her lab, but even then Twilight was more and more affectionate every day, petting, kissing, and otherwise being affectionate to Spike. He loved it. It had been the happiest he had been since his mom left.
Finishing her soldering job, Twilight began moving onto the next one when there was a knock on the door.
“Yes?” Twilight called.
The door opened and Shining Armor came in, balancing a sandwich on a plate.
“It’s time for lunch. Come on, Twilight, you haven’t eaten all day.”
Twilight opened her mouth to protest, but the rumbling of her stomach cut her off. She blushed. “I guess it has been a while.” She cleared her table and took the plate.
“I’m glad to see you’re doing all that big brain stuff again,” Shining Armor said as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a biscuit, holding it out in front of Spike. “Come on, boy, sit!”
Spike did so. Why humans found him sitting treat-worthy he didn’t get, but whatever, treats were yummy.
Shining Armor pet Spike as he sat down on a spare chair, then handed him the biscuit. The other two humans were almost as nice as Twilight. Shining Armor was always “teaching” him tricks, while Cadance had plenty of affection.
“I’m glad to see you working again. Are you feeling better?”
Twilight actually smiled and nodded. “Yeah... it still hurts, though.”
“I know,” Shining Armor said, placing a hand on her shoulder. “I miss them, too. But life goes on, Twilight. You’ll see.”
Twilight didn’t respond, she just kept taking small bites of her sandwich.
“Do you think you’ll be ready to go to school in September?”
Twilight nodded. “I think so. Are you going back to work?”
Shining Armor nodded. “The chief has been nice to give me all this time off, but I really think I need to. Believe me, this is hurting me too.”
Twilight I didn’t answer at first. “Shiny... I feel bad you’re giving up so much for me...”
“You shouldn’t. We want what’s best for you. You’re going to grow up to be a great woman someday. You’ll win the Nobel Prize and everything. There’s no way I’m letting all that genius go to waste.”
Twilight blushed. “Cadance told me a few nights ago... that she used to take care of me as a baby. That it helped her.”
“It did,” Shining said. By this point, Spike had been flipped onto his back and was getting a belly scratch. “You know, I walked in on her playing peekaboo with you. She was smiling harder than I had seen her since she lost her parents. After Mom and Dad got home, she was the most cheerful she had been in a while.” His grin turned a bit cheeky. “That night we shared our first kiss. And our second. Actually, we got all the way up to thirty-seven. She got really affectionate overnight. You really helped her forget.”
Twilight blushed. “Shiny...”
“Oh come on, you’re old enough that shouldn’t bother you.”
“I still don’t want to hear it.”
Shiny laughed. “You know, she was your godmother for a while?”
“Cadance? Really?”
“She’s five months older than me. When she turned eighteen, Mom and Dad named her your godmother in case something happened to them. Of course, it was only until I turned eighteen, but it still meant a lot to her.”
“I... I didn’t know...”
“She really loves you, Twilight. As much as I do. You mean more to her... and me than you realize.”
Twilight smiled. “It’s not fair she had to lose so much.”
“The world’s not fair, Twilight. That’s why it needs great people like you. You’re going to make things better. I know it.”
Twilight hugged her big brother. She was crying again.
Spike watched, his mind racing at all this new information. Twilight was this important? He was supposed to support her? Twilight was great, but all this? Could he handle it?
But as Twilight picked him up to join in the hug, he knew he had to. He’d do anything for Twilight.
Spike led Twilight along, even though Twilight was the one holding the leash. The park was a good place to be, he saw. Plenty of cute female dogs for him to meet.
However, they didn’t get far when suddenly a new human blocked their path. Spike stopped in confusion, which turned to anger when he realized Twilight was scared.
“Well, well, if it isn’t Crylight,” the girl sneered.
Twilight whimpered. “H-hello, Fleur.”
“Don’t ‘hello’ me, Sparkle,” the girl said as more surrounded her. “I’m getting really sick of your ‘little miss perfect’ routine.”
Spike growled. If she hurt Twilight, she’d regret it.
“I... I don’t know what you mean...”
Fleur suddenly pushed Twilight to the ground. The other girls laughed, but Fleur kept a cold gaze.
Spike barked. He was ignored.
“Don’t play dumb, you bitch,” Fleur said coldly.
Spike barked louder, over and over. How dare she use that word! How could humans take that word and turn it dirty?
Fleur finally looked down at Spike, sneering. “So, this is your dog. Figures an ugly girl would have an ugly mutt.” The girl pulled back her leg to kick him.
He rushed in and bit her on the ankle.
“Ow! Oh, you stupid...”
“Hey! Hey!”
All eyes turned to a police officer. “You girls want to explain what’s going on?”
Fleur was the first to speak. “Thank goodness you’re here! This crazy dog attacked me and...”
“And you were about to kick it,” the officer finished. “And even if you hadn’t tried to kick it, you pretty deliberately assaulted its owner. That’s more than enough to qualify as provoking,”he said. Then he turned to Twilight, and nearly did a double take. “Twilight?”
Twilight grinned. “Hello Officer Marshall.”
Fleur froze. “You... you know her?”
“Oh yes,” Marshall said, helping the young girl up. “Her older brother just joined the force. One of my best men.” He bent down and scratched Spike’s ears. “I take it this is Spike?”
“Yes sir,” Twilight said.
“Stop!” Marshall said. Spike noticed at that point that some of Fleur's friends had been trying to sneak away. The command stopped them cold.
Marshall turned back to Twilight. “I take it all these girls go to your school?”
“Yes sir.”
“So I take it your sister-in-law will hear what happened and can administer the appropriate punishments?”
That was met with protests from the other girls, but Marshall lifted his hand to silence it. “Either you accept whatever punishment Dean Cadance thinks is fair, or I can bring you in for assault. Take your pick, but I remind you an arrest record isn’t anything you want to have.”
The girls stayed quiet.
Marshall nodded, then turned back to Twilight. “You keep on with what you were doing before these girls harassed you, and you tell your sister-in-law tonight.” He turned back to the girls. “I want all you names now. And if I find out Dean Cadance hasn’t heard about it, I’ll make sure it’s a lot worse for you.”
Twilight moved away as quickly as she could without choking Spike. Even with the quick exit, Spike was proud. He had protected his master.
Twilight’s bed was comfy, so much that Spike rarely used the one the human had bought for him. Twilight didn’t mind, she liked having him close.
She wrapped up a long fantasy book she had been reading out loud to him and closed the book. She placed her glasses on the nightstand and turned out the last. She gave her dog one last kiss on the head before her head hit the pillow.
“You were amazing today, Spike!” she said.
Spike gave a yip of happiness, snuggling up to Twilight.
“Fleur is always bullying me, and I don’t know why. At least everyone else at Crystal Prep just pretends I’m not there. Her... why doesn’t she like me? I mean, aside from the fact that I’m a loser.”
You’re no loser, Twilight. Please don’t think that.
“Still, Cadance looked angry when she found out. Maybe this will get her to stop.”
Spike agreed, giving another yip to show this. And if Fleur tried anything else, he’d bite her again. He’d protect Twilight, from real dangers, not what Shining Armor wanted her protected from. Seriously, why was he so determined to make sure his sister never finds a mate?
It didn’t matter. He felt like he could take on anything!
Spike had to laugh at his naivete back then. He hadn’t protected Twilight, he had bitten Fleur before Marshall protected Twilight.
He remembered the day he got the ability to talk. When he saw that strange pointy rabbit thing, his first instinct was that something unfamiliar was near Twilight. He needed to protect her.
He was a little embarrassed when he was told by Sunset that the creature was called a jackalope, and it was pretty harmless compared to what else was in Equestria.
And then, a few days ago, he saw he couldn’t protect Twilight. At all.
He remembered the day in the mall when Fleur had tried bullying Twilight, only to find her new friends weren’t having it. That, he realized now, was real protection. Something he couldn’t give her.
Then what good was he to her?
He realized that the television had been turned off. He looked to see Cadance getting up, carrying her sleeping charge in her arms. She looked at Spike and smiled. “I’ll be right back, okay?”
Spike nodded. Cadance carried Twilight into her bedroom, disappearing inside. A half a minute later, she emerged coming back and carefully picking him back up, as if he was made of glass. Spike still winced in a bit of pain, but didn’t complain as she carried him into the bedroom and deposited him on the foot of the bed.
Spike got comfortable as Cadance left the room once again. She was back with her baseball bat, setting it against the wall before taking a seat in a nearby chair.
“You’re still staying here?”
Cadance nodded. “Twilight might not have had a nightmare in the last few days, but I’m not taking any chances.” She pet Spike. “Besides, I wanted to talk to you.”
“Me?”
“Sunset told me what you asked her,” she answered simply.
“She did?”
Cadance gave a sad smile. “Listen, I’m glad you want to protect Twilight. I love her like she was my own, and with everything going on, I’ve never been more afraid of something happening to her. But don’t think for a second that’s the most important thing you can do for her.”
“But... she could have gotten kidnapped!”
“She could have, but we were lucky Rainbow Dash and Flash were around. And you know something else? She could have been dead long ago if it wasn’t for you.”
“W-what?”
“Spike, when her parents died, it devastated her. She was a shut-in before, but afterward she completely lost it. It really hurt, she was such a sweet girl, but the only ones who ever saw the real her were the three of us.”
“So... how did I help?”
“You have her love. Believe me, when I lost my parents, it nearly killed me. I felt so miserable I thought I was going to die. Shining Armor was around, but...”
Spike tilted his head. “But?”
“I hadn’t told him how I felt, so I was still shut off from him. Twilight Velvet and Night Light loved me like I was their own, but they weren’t my parents. Then I started spending time with Twilight, and simply having someone who loved me so much helped. When she sat in my lap, I used to tell her everything I was feeling. She didn’t understand a word, but maybe that’s what helped. Just saying what I felt... it helped me.
“Then, one night when I put her in her crib, I really looked at how small and vulnerable she was. She was so delicate and precious... it occurred to me how easily she could be gone.”
“That sounds horrible,” Spike said.
“It was the beginning of over a decade of worrying about her. But something good came out if it. I decided, right then, to cherish those I love. I went right into Shining Armor’s room and we had our first kiss that night, and I never denied my feelings to anything ever again.”
“Okay... so what does that have to do with me?” he asked.
“Simple. Getting love is what saved me, and it’s what saved Twilight. I married Shining Armor and took legal custody of Twilight because they both needed me, and I needed them. And we agreed to buy you for Twilight because we knew she needed someone she could talk to. No matter how much we tell her we love her, I can tell she still feels ashamed that we put aside so much for her. She needed you to tell her the feelings she couldn’t tell us.
“And you know something? I was glad Twilight picked you after that girl told us what happened, because you needed her just as much. I don’t think you would have lasted without someone to love.”
Cadance scratched him behind the ears. “You don’t need to be big and strong to help Twilight. You just need to love her. You just need to listen to her when she’s sad and be there for her when she needs some love. That’s all we’ve wanted for you.” There was a pause. “Okay, that’s all Twilight and I wanted from you.”
Spike grinned. Poor Shining Armor was going to be disappointed if Twilight came home with the announcement that she was dating Captain Flash.
“And if you want to help Twilight more... well, talk to the other Spike. He’s Princess Twilight’s assistant, maybe he can help you become her assistant.”
Spike stuck out his tongue. “Talking to the other Spike? He thinks he’s so great with his hind legs and fire breath.”
“Spike.”
Spike sighed. “Okay. Maybe I’ll give it a shot.”
Cadance smiled. “Good. Sunset called and said that Princess Twilight had found a therapist for her. Between him and you, I think Twilight will be in good hands in Equestria... or whatever the pony equivalent of hands is.”
Spike grinned, his first genuinely happy grin in a while. “I’ll do my best. I promise.”
Cadance gave him a scratch behind the ears. “I know you will. And there’s one other thing I want you to promise me.”
Spike tilted his head. “Yeah?”
“Promise me you’ll try to find out who you are. Love Twilight, but don’t make your whole life around her. Try and figure out what makes you happy.”
Spike stopped and thought. “Twilight makes me happy.”
“And what else?”
Spike thought. “...I don’t know. You and Shiny, I guess.”
Cadance gave a sad smile. “Think about what you want with your life. Even with Twilight needing you, there must be something.. Try and find it in Equestria, okay?”
“...Okay.” Spike was unsure when he spoke.
But when Cadance pet him on the head, and he began drifting off to sleep, he felt like everything was going to be okay.