By the time Spike brought Rainbow back to Ponyville, it was already quite late and the sun was well down. Everypony decided to spend the night at the castle, as they were all eager to hear more of Spike's story. They also accepted Rainbow's assertion that she overstrained her wings trying to keep up with Spike in an endurance flight. She happily endured the teasing from Applejack over her competitive zeal.
As everyone curled up for the night, most slept easily, happily seeing Spike still himself, just more so. For one, however, sleep was greatly troubled.
Twilight smiled happily as she walked down the path in the Everfree Forest, little Spike at her side as he balanced the basket of things she was gathering on his head, his chubby cheeks puffing with breath as he pushed himself to keep up with her. She laughed at his antics, leaning in to nuzzle him. "You know, you can ride on my back if it'd make it easier," she teased.
"No need!" he replied breathlessly. "I'm good! I can handle myself! You don't have to worry so much!" He flashed her a thumbs up.
Chuckling, she continued down the path. Seeing something in the undergrowth, she leaned over to investigate it, only to hear something tumble to the ground. Turning, she saw the basket on its side, its contents spilled, and no sign of Spike. "Spike?" she called out worriedly. "Spike!" She spun, searching for any clue where he might have gone, but found no sign.
Desperately, she spun back to what she'd been investigating, only to see a large beast raise out of the ground and charge. Screaming, she ran for it. "Spike!" she called out, fear and worry thick in her voice. "Where are you?"
Something purple and green struck from the air like lightning, knocking the creature pursuing her end over end into a tree. Spike, his wings spread wide and the sunlight glinting off his armor, landed beside her. "You okay, Twilight?" he asked, looking her over.
"Spike?" she asked, shocked. "I...I'm okay, but-"
"That's good," Spike replied easily. "You can make your own way out, right?"
"My own way?" she asked, confused and afraid.
"Spike!"
Turning, Twilight saw Samus, her eyeshield concealing her face, beckoning. "Hurry up, Spike!" she called, her voice gentle and kind, yet somehow menacing to Twilight. "We've got a mission to complete!"
"Coming, Mom!" Spike called out, and Twilight wilted internally at his words. He turned back to her. "See you later." He turned to leave.
"Spike, wait!" Twilight called out. "What if it's dangerous? What if you get hurt? What if-"
"You don't have to worry, Twilight," Spike replied easily. "I'm not a baby anymore. I can take care of myself. I don't need you looking after me anymore.
"I don't need you anymore."
Twilight fell back, stunned and hurt by his words. "S-spike..." she called out weakly, tears in her eyes as he raced out of sight with Samus. Turning, she saw the overturned basket.
The unusual gemstones she had collected now contained images inside. Spike as an infant, sucking his tail as he looked up adoringly at her. Feeding him his first meal of gemstones powdered with egg shell. Teaching him not to chew on ponies' tails. One stuck out to her most painfully.
"Mama!" Spike said happily.
Young Twilight chuckled. "That's not how you say Twilight, silly." She leaned in to nuzzle him as she continued to teach him to say her name.
The gems crumbled and dissolved as the creature that had pursued her - now a monstrous serpent - slithered over them, crushing the discarded memories callously as it wrapped itself around her. Twilight didn't resist, tears falling from her eyes. "Spike..." she cried, waiting for the end as the pressure from the serpent's coils became overpowering.
A bright blue light flooded the forest, and the coils relaxed around her, letting her free her head and wings. "What has brought such a vision to your nightly dreams, dear Twilight Sparkle, to drag me forcefully in?" Luna asked curiously, coming in to land gently beside the now limp serpent.
"Princess Luna?" Twilight asked, shocked. "Then...I'm dreaming?"
"Indeed," Luna replied, walking up to Twilight. "Pray tell, what has you so distressed?"
Twilight sighed sadly. "Well, Spike's finally back-"
"Huzzah!" Luna proclaimed. "That is most wondrous news! For the entire month your dreams have been filled with nightmare visions of what fate may have befallen him, but now he is safe home and all is well!" She noticed Twilight's haunted expression. "All is...not well?"
Twilight sniffled a bit. "He's...different. Somehow, the spell that went wrong sent him through time and space so that...he's been raised from hatching for the past 18 or so years by someone else...someone else he now calls Mom."
Luna blinked. "I...see. But he's returned to you, has he not?"
"And brought her with him," Twilight replied. "And she's nice. She's an adventurer, a member of a new species - a cross species, at that - and she has so much she could share with us. ...I can't hate her, or blame her. This would be so much easier if I could."
Luna stared at Twilight for a time, lost in thought. Then she took a glance at something just out of sight, then smirked. "Indeed. She does sound a most wondrous mother figure for Spike. Certainly better equipped than you to handle the maturation of such a powerful creature as a dragon. Why, what possible reason could Spike have to seek you out if he has her?"
Twilight wilted in on herself. "I know what you mean-"
"What possible reason," Luna interrupted. "Perhaps, before allowing yourself to sink in despair, you should ask yourself...if his life out there was so wonderful, why did he come back here? Why did he return to you? And perhaps...why have the slack coils of your dream beast not vanished?"
"Eh?" Twilight asked in confusion, glancing down at the coils...noticing for the first time that they were purple and green.
As her eyes started to open, she found herself staring at purple and green scales coiled comfortingly around her, supporting her in a perfect sleep position. Her eyes trailed up the coils until they reached the base of Spike's tail, trailing up his entire body.
He was huge now. Bigger than Samus, bigger than Celestia. As big as the Chozo Statues Samus had shown them pictures of. He squatted with his back against a wall, his wings mantled around his lap where Twilight was curled up. His claws were cupped, and a familiar orange sphere was braced in them. "It looks like both my mothers needed comfort tonight," he whispered softly.
Twilight looked up at him. "You...you're so grown up now," she said softly. "You...you don't need me anymore..." Her eyes beaded with her tears.
Snaking his head forward slowly on his long neck, Spike planted a gentle kiss on her cheek. "But you still need me," he said softly, comfortingly. Pulling his head back, he began to sing.
The song wasn't in any language Twilight knew, but the sense of comfort, of family, of closeness the words carried permeated through any language barrier, as though the message of the song were more psychic than vocal. Smiling softly, Twilight slowly drifted back to sleep, far more comfortably than before.
Applejack had been heading to the bathroom for a glass of water to settle her stomach, having eaten something that hadn't agreed with her during dinner. Passing by Twilight's room, she had noticed the door ajar and peeked in to see what was wrong. She had witnessed Spike giving his comfort and promise to Twilight, easing Twilight's anguish. Hearing the soft lullaby and seeing Twilight slip back into slumber, only one thought found its way into her mind.
He'll make a great father someday...
"...woof," forced its way out of her mouth. Blushing brightly in embarrassment, she rushed off back to bed, not noticing Pinkie standing nearby, her head tilted curiously.
Huh.... was expecting Ridley... got Twilight worrying about Spike leaving instead.
'Woof' has some secret, Timey-Wimey meaning!
....my god ive just come from a story whit too meny women saying that and I DONT KNOW WHAT IT MEANS...other than mayby saying :" OMG HE IS SOOOOOOO HOT"
So Applejack is out to get a daddy-man?
Another amazing chapter. Way to go!
peeked
This is being too feel like that episode of The Big Bang Theory where Amy finds herself subconsciously attracted to Penny's former boyfriend, Zack... Save, just about everypony in the Six String is doing it, except for Twilight...
5989203
Given how family oriented she is, it makes sense to me that the two major qualities she looks for in a mate are "hard worker" and "good parental role model".
WOOF
5989223 Pinkie's doing it just for fun, she doesn't count.
5989194 If only this was an actual Displaced fic!
My Displaced fic has Timey-Wimey in the name.
5989279 Oh, yeah, I forgot. I stand corrected; the exemptions, then, would be Twilight and Pinkie Pie.
So many doggies!
5989288
This is an Adopted Displaced fic. We just started at the end.
5989365
Yes. Yes it is.
5989371
Well, I've always thought that he actually does have those qualities, just doesn't have the chance in the show to show them.
Rarity wants a gentlestallion.
Twilight wants someone who shares her passion for learning (which she's instilled in him).
Fluttershy wants a friend who can be gentle and patient.
Rainbow wants someone who can keep up with her while letting her be herself at all times.
Applejack wants someone with strong family values.
...nobody knows what Pinkie wants...
Actually I prefer "HUBBA HUBBA !" to WOOF but whatever floats your boat.
Ooooo, Pinkie knows whats going on~
In the meantime, we have a lot of dogs in this story, woof.
So we have Rainbow, Rarity, Sunset, Applejack and everybody else in the human realm. Who else I wonder...
5989386 .... What.
5989386 Pinkie just wants someone to laugh with her dork.
I swear, you and Flammen planned to drop your new chapters simultaneously. They are 1 minute apart. One.
5989475
Total accident.
Though I wouldn't mind seeing his Samus and mine meet up...
This is great. I think you did a great job with this chapter. Thanks for the update.
Well... I don't really have any words to say (I wanna say a lot, but I don't have the words) so all I have to say is,
Good story.
5989420 u forgot Flutters...
5989699
Oh, did I miss a moment where Fluttershy went woof? When?
5989703 about a half second after Rares...then Pinkie said it just because...
5989709
I meant the 'woof' kind of woof, Pinkie is left out of this debate.
5989255 I'm kind of getting tired of the running 'woof' joke.
Unless one of the ponies actually turn into a woof.
That is all.
Another enjoyable chapter. Good job. Although I feel like you're skipping ahead to stuff in this story. Spike should have spent at least 3 or 4 more chapters sharing his second life story. Going through the mirror and flying with Rainbow should have waited till the next day at least. And then Samus showing up should have generated more conversation. Things just feel rushed.
5989703 one line after Rarity did.
Daaaawwww! And nice nightmare, I love seeing Luna in action and hopefully Celestia and she will show up to hear more of the story. Spike using himself as a comfort bed for Twilight and Samus is awesome... but now I want to see the Cutie Mark Crusaders sprawled out on top of him.
5989386 the only one I disagree with is Twilight since they are mom and son. But I can totally see passing Changelings feeling a little drunk from the emotions of the Mane 6.
5989715 If we leave out Pinkie, then that leaves out Sunset and all the other Mane 6 sans Twilight. (I think we can drop Twilight too sense she's one of the mother figures.)
Sooooooo cute. I want more chapters like this. And now that Luna knows Spike is back, it's only a matter of time until she tells Celestia and she sends a letter to them or goes to see them in person
ahaha even Applejack isn't immune to spike!
5989799
Pinkie did it to join in, I mean the 'hey good looking' woof dude.
Uh oh, now that Luna knows, that just means that Celestia will find out by morning. I wonder how the princesses on THIS side of the mirror will handle seeing a teenage Spike and Samus? (Although Luna kinda cheated since she probably already saw them in Twilight's nightmare.) And for that matter, I wonder how Cadance, Shining, and all of Spike's fans in the Crystal Empire will react at the new and improved Spike the Brave and Glorious?
5989838
Thank you.
Chose your princess Spike.
I'll take them all.
puppies!
Woof!
WoofBarkTree
5989967
What do you mean by this?
And Applejack joins the pack.
So... I wonder, when the My little Pwny verse finally comes together, will spike swoon them all once again?
Why do I get the feeling that Spike and Ridley are related?
Oh and, Hunter Spike gets a whored
whored - def. A large group of affectionate females
5990535 *whorde. You spelt it wrong. Whored is for someone who has had to sell their body. Whorde derived from horde is for a large group of affectionate females.
5990184 Evolution!
Woof (a sound a dog makes)
Bark (a sound a dog makes AND the cover of a tree)
Tree (self-evident)
Woof.
The way things are building I wouldn't be surprised if the next time a female villain shows up spike just Flexes and adds her to his harem.
5990852
OK lol
5989819 one word... Woof.
5991148 woof