The Royal We
Based on a Sketch Commissioned from Famosity at BronyCon
Written for The Ravens by The Descendant

Some day in Equestria's future, a historian will sit down to write the extraordinary story of Procer Twilight Sparkle Harmonia's ascension to power and the tale of her long, prosperous, golden reign as the Princess of Magic.

He will be horribly frustrated, and time after time he will discard his drafts and prance around his study in frustration. There will be something wrong with each bit of prewriting. Each copy will feel hollow. In time, he will go through his notes again, drawing his hoof through his beard and coasting his eyes over the diaries, letters, maps, and other primary resources that he had meticulously gathered.

There, as his eyes fall across the sketches made by a noted scribe some centuries before, the one missing element will flutter before him. The historian will smack his hoof against his forehead and moan. It was so simple. How could he have overlooked it?

He will return to his desk, and begin to write. Only now would the story make sense.

"It must be noted, that since the moment that Twilight Sparkle applied to enter magical kindergarten at Princess Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns, she had been supplied with a missing part of her own personality. At that moment, she found a partner who would go through her life with her, one who it must be said, provided her with things that no other pony, or creature, that she would come to love, ever gave her."

"Spike the Dragon filled an unusual role in her life, moving between being her personal secretary, a very best friend, surrogate brother, and even something like a son. All of these were true, and none of them fit. Their relationship was unique among all relationships of their era, and scant examples of it can be found in mythology and history. Whatever they were to one another, he was her little one, and she his big one."

The historian will look over the rim of his glasses, examining the sketch once more. A smile will go across his face, and soon he will flip forward page by page, filling in the holes in his narrative, ones that only a dragon could fill.

"History must record that, at the time, the unicorn filly who would become the princess was a rather introverted, bookish individual. Spike the Dragon was her only friend and confidant, as much as she knew about friendship, which given her history was shockingly low at that point in her life..."

"Though considered minor affairs by most biographers, Twilight Sparkle's first Winter Wrap-Up and her encounters with Trixie Lulamoon show us that Spike continued to urge her forward, and that he was her principal supporter and believer even after the other Elements of Harmony had taken precedence in her life."

"... he pulled her away from Sombra's door, and she in turn rescued him by assuring him of his place in her life. Together, they saved the Crystal Empire."

"... and it was the direct intervention of Spike, telling her that he still believed in her, not to give up, that allowed her to completely recover and complete Starswirl's spell..."

"... and despite their warnings, he followed her through at no pony's volition accept his own.

"... some winced at Princess Twilight's description of Spike, in his dog form, licking her. But, in that moment, she had been in pain, and what do fairy tales teach us other than the fact that true love's kiss always awakes a princess? No one ever said true love had to be romantic in nature..."

He will gaze over the sketch again. Yes, it will all fit. The one missing part will be found. The rest of the work makes sense now, and his pen flows freely across the pages.

When, finally, he reaches the final pages, he seeks the best way to end the tale of Twilight Sparkle's life. He will go back to the sketch again.

His head will hang, and when he sits again, he will think of how to define this missing piece, the ones the other historians, researchers, gossipers, and biographers will mistakenly find trite and unnecessary.

"It must be said," he will write, "that telling the story of Procer Twilight Sparkle Harmonia without telling the tale of Spike the Dragon is an unfortunate habit of many talented people. Under scrutiny, any work that does not include him in her life is a faulty one. Together, they made up a 'Royal We', a true partnership, one based on love, trust, and shared experiences."

"Though true romances would find her, it was Spike who entered her life first and stayed with her to the bitter end, and there is simply no other place where the dragon would have chosen to be. There is no other creature the princess would have chosen to fill the unique role that he filled. They were a 'We', an 'Us', and any who choose to ignore that miss out on the incredible tale that it truly was."

The historian will lay down his pen. His eyes will coast from the sketch to his words and back again. He will draw his hoof through his mane and beard, and then blow out the candle before heading off to his bedroom to sleep.

It will be the best-selling biography in Equestrian history.

End.

Beautiful. Just...beautiful.

This one took a bit longer for me to read, but such is the cost from doing so from work.

Another enjoyable little story TD!

And in a lot of ways, that biographer is correct. You can't write a story just about Twilight and not include Spike since their lives are so interwoven together.

Aww yeah.

Whoever writes about the life of the Princess of Friendship and doesn't include Spike should look at that title really closely again. Also, dunce caps for the lot of them!

1464852

I'm drowning in feels... Was that "I"? I meant "We".
It's royal, it's Spike-- ERMAGERD! IT'S JOHN P!

Well that WAS just going to be another commentish couplet until *squee* he showed up...

D'awww.

This might be my favorite bit of flash fiction I've ever encountered. And I've encountered quite a bit Bravo T.D.

Pretty good, pretty good.

You used Lulamoon. I don't know why I have such a hate for that word and it's use as The G&PT's last name, but man, do I hate that.

I haven't used that many emoticons in a row in ten years or so. *sigh*

This was good. I'm sure that the historian is not in any way shape or form related to you.

I knew there was more than one reason why I was going to love this group and I just found that this is one of the new ones! I'm excited about this :) it as twas amazing, per usual!

1464843>>1464849>>1464852>>1465081>>1465164>>1465820>>1466270>>1466309>>1466498>>1467633>>1467809>>1467810>>1475713

Exact same question as the other, except different. Any interest in seeing me turn this into a full-sized fic?

1490988 Yes!

1490988
If I had to choose I'd go for "I knew it", but yes, I'd read this one again, too.

1490988

Sure.

1490988 Eh, maybe.

I'm not wild about it. It could use some refining and subtl-izing.

1490988absolutely! It'd be a really fun read!

Great job. It seems that too many people forget the importance Spike has in the show.

This is a wonderful story that I'd love to see hit a larger audience, but I also feel like this is perfect as is. I'm gonna say what I said about "I Knew It" and suggest adding it to "Fever Dreams."

1490988 Really, I think that these work best as they are. I Knew It especially works best as it is, a short little vignette that strikes quick, hard, and straight to the heart. If you were to type one of these out as a full story, I would say that this story might work. The premise, that of a biographer writing the best-selling biography of Princess Twilight Sparkle, would be the most easily expanded of two. It would be very easy to hit the highlights of her life as he writes the book, almost in the style of one writing in a diary. The Royal We, as it is, works well as either a full story or this short write-off.
On the other hand, I Knew It isn't as adaptable, and adding much more to it would likely end up coming off as cheap. Not to knock your skills as a writer, but there are only so many ways one can expand a story like that. Perhaps you could go a bit further in the conversation, covering a few more topics in-story. Perhaps you could split it up into two perspectives, showing the conversation from both points of view. But really, that story works best as it is: a short vignette of a conversation that captures the essence of Spike's faith and support in and of Twilight.
In the end, it's all up to you. Perhaps you can see some potential for expansion that I can't; after all, I'm not much of a writer. Sure, I can analyze something to death, but to actually write something? I find that to be a bit of a chore. Whether you go further with them than you have presented here or not, I look forward to see the result.
-- Mikhail Wilson

1490988

Copypasta. Same answer.