Edge of Time

by Monanniverse

Chapter 2

Echoes of footsteps rang in the desolate halls of Canterlot Castle. The night was drawing closer and what was left of the light bled through the stained glass windows endowed in the walls, casting stories of great battles and triumphs over evil across the silk carpet which Spike walked across to his destination. The years had done wonders for the Drake; from a stumpy young baby dragon whose large belly and small frame polarized him from his kin whom, at the same age, had sprouted wings and were already developing a feverish competitive edge, Spike had developed into a dashing gentleman.

Spike was a late bloomer. Dragons, unlike other species in Equestria, don’t have a natural growth cycle. Instead, their growth is directly affected by their greed. As many of his friends matured, so did his perception of them. Flirtation evolved confessions of love which in turn evolved into sensual acts under the veil of night.

The capital city of Equestria was a work of art, built nearing the tip of the tallest lone mountain overlooking central Equestria; an impossible feat if not for the magic of the alicorns of old who laid the foundations into the side of the mountains. The natural waterfalls that descended from the inner sanctums of the alp fed into a moat dug eons ago as well as into the inner workings of the city itself. A pleasant scent of vanilla emanated at the dawn of spring as the flora bloomed from the botanical gardens inside the walls of the city and had brought with it renewed vigor for the inhabitants of the city. Performers from all the lands journeyed to Canterlot during the blistering winter and made their home at every corner of every street. Pleasant distractions that Spike had enjoyed when he was younger but had out grown. It would be out of place for such an esteemed butler such as him to be seen cheering as the prince slew the beast of so many a’ fairy tales. No, he lived vicariously now. Through the children of others, for he had none for his own. The rhythmic pattern of his movement pattered up the spiral staircase to Princess Celestia’s private chambers.

He was clad in fine silk weaved into an exquisite suit, in his claw raised high was a platter – nestled within with a single ivory teacup and its gold decorated teapot. For he was a butler, prior serving Princess Twilight Sparkle and now serving under Princess Celestia. The tea was brewed precisely as the princess adored, tea leaves gathered and traded by the Neighpones across the sea strait; a rarity due to its peculiar alkaline and temperature requirements, soaked in water collected from morning dew and left to simmer on a gentle flame. The mix had an eloquent subtly to it: first, there would be the sweet tang of the tea leaves; second would be a wave that would rush in and tint the flavor with the faintest tinge of complexity; and finally the warmth would spread throughout one’s mind and body – a gentle bliss embracing oneself. Twilight’s taste was far more simple, tea bags filled with green tea farmed from within Ponyville and brewed with haste, something Spike lamented. Not to say he had anything against Celestia’s taste or the extra work he had to put in, mind you, it was simply the fact that Twilight and he were more alike to brothers and sisters than master and servant. Celestia was a kind ruler but she never had the charm the young princess showed – that young naivety that brought along adventures that never could be contained.
He arrived at her door and with the rasp of his claws on the thick oak doors, announced himself.

“Princess Celestia? May I enter?”

“Come in Spike.”

With a light push on the door, Spike entered Celestia’s chamber. Although he has been in this room before, multiple times, its beauty still left him speechless. Brilliant marble adorned the floor of the room, reflected in the expansive mirror resting at the ceiling. Each step closer to her reverberated with a powerful echo. Each piece of the furniture seemed alike to a piece of a puzzle, illuminating some aspect of Celestia’s life and personality, yet some pieces seemed missing or was loss from some other set. The king-size bed, Spike noted, was enormous; with enough room to fit a family with room to spare; embellished by a flowing rose sheet made using imported fur and garnished with thin drapes meant to hide away the amorous jewel of love – or bring attention to it. On the other hand, placed directly by the bed was her armoire, coated in the same regal gold that toned her room; it had very different characteristics to it, with its more conservative edge suggesting a more quiet and reserved pony who cared little for the lavish playing of lutes.

Spike made his way to Celestia by her desk, scattered about with parchments of legislative decrees that need to dealt with. “Your tea, m’lady.”

He set the platter down on a clean section of the table and poured a cup. With a swift bow, he uttered “If that is all, m’lady, I will leave you at peace.”
A hoof was placed on his claw.

“Spike, I do have another reason I requested you here,” a quill held aloft weaved the Princess’ signature on the paper “How long have you been under Princess Twilight’s servitude?”

The question left him dumbfounded. What was she getting at? “U-uh, excuse me m’lady but what do you mean by servitude?”
Celestia drowned her epistle in ink. Her magic enveloped the cup of tea and she took a sip of it. Steam drifted in the spring air as she relished in its taste. “Ever since you popped out of your egg, you’ve been under the care of Twilight. It was mainly my decision, a rather selfish one; I want someone to look over Twilight when I couldn’t.”
She gestured for him to take a seat on one of the Ottomans.

“You’ve done a wonderful job nurturing her. She has matured into a fine young lady and now, a princess of Equestria. She’s more to you than just someone to watch over, she is flesh and blood to you. I’ve observed the bond between the two of you grow, tested time and time again. I know how you felt when Twilight announced she was leaving to finish her project, and how you hid those emotions for her sake.”

Spike felt a fire burning within him, fueled by both anger and confusion. Celestia made her way to the balcony. Luna’s moon had peaked the horizon and painted the vignette a brilliant blue. Shadows danced across the town of Ponyville to the flicker of flames.
“And if what Princess Luna says is true, you see her as more than just a family member.”

Spike’s face flushed a deep shade of velvet. “Excuse me, m’lady, but that is my private life and I would prefer it if-“
“Who are you, Spike?”

“H-huh? I don’t understand. I’m Spike the Dragon, butler to Princess Twilight.”

“Throughout your life, you have been defined by the actions of your peers. Twilight’s success has become your own success and part of who you are is left but a void to be filled by others. Who are you, Spike? You don’t know. You have matured; a dashing young gentleman brimming with vigor. Yet, you never stepped out of the shadows and into the day. The world has not seen the true Spike the Dragon.” Celestia spoke, her voice warm and soothing to the touch.

Spike eyed the ground.

“Do not be mistaken, Spike. I, and the rest of Equestria, are forever grateful for what you have done for me and them; know that if you need anything, I’ll be here for you. I will give you an ultimatum.” Celestia placed a hoof on Spike’s shoulder, beckoning him to look up and into her mauveine eyes.

“I release you from your position as my butler.”

Shock spread across Spike’s features, “B-but, m’lady, I have nowhere else to go. W-what would you have me do?”

“I’m not asking you to leave. For the first time in your life, Spike, I want you to decide your own destiny. The path ahead of you is yours to make.”

A scroll floated over to Princess Celestia’s side, encircled by a red ribbon and sealed by the royal crest. “This is a letter of safe conduct. With it, you’ll be recognized as an ambassador of Equestria and be allowed entry into any of its allies. That includes the Autocracy of Draconia.”

Spike grasped it tightly in his claws, clenched it close to his heart. “And Twi-“

“You can send her a video message. And if you ever need to talk to her, wherever you are, you always have your way.”
They made their way back inside.

“Rest now, Spike. You have some difficult decisions to make by daybreak. Talk to the quartermaster for any supplies you require and feel free to talk to my assistant if you need anything else.” She brought him into a loving embrace. He nested in the crook of her neck. The two of them held each other, parting silent words of thanks and gratitude before separating.

****

Spike eyed the eye of the camera before him. The stale, lifelessness of it had not been any easier to stomach since recording his first video message. It simply reminded him that it wasn’t Twilight he was talking to, instead pleading to a dead machine. It whirred and whistled like a wild untamed beast. The room Spike was in was more alike to a confession booth than a respite for loss memories; tight quarters forced the machines to close in on Spike, who sat in the middle. Lights buzzed green on the machine’s panel – indicating that it was recording.

A hand rubbed the back of Spike’s neck – a recurring theme in all of his video recordings. “H-hey Twilight. Been a while, huh? What has it been, uh, a month? Hah, Celestia, time sure has a mind of its own.”

A brief pause. A cough.

“Everyone here is doing just fine. Celestia and Luna have to deal with nobles again; if the local gossip is true, one of the nobles want to build a new a new road into the mountain for a red light district. Perfect for Spikie Wikie here to make a move!” He straightened his back, chest raised high in a salute to the camera, eyes shut with a wide grin plastered across his features. A chuckle. “Heh, I’m still trying to find that one special somepony. What with the long shifts and work stacking on top of each other… I’ve barely got any time to myself.”

Spike began twiddling his thumbs.

“Everthing’s set to receive the data. I’ve been talking with the boys down in the lab and they said that they should be reading you as clear as a rooster’s cry in the morning when you send the data back. The princesses are going to be leading it on the day.”
A sigh.

“I’ve missed you Twi. Lookin forward to seeing you back. When I see you again…”

Silence.

“Listen Twi, I’ve got some big news. I’ve been dismissed as a servant of Equestria. It was all Celestia’s idea! Look Twi, as much as I resent the lack of say in the matter, she has given me an opportunity that I simply can not pass up. She’s offering me the chance to come home. You and I both know how fragile the relationship between Draconia and Equestria is and there’s no guarantee there’ll be an open passage forever. I want to know who I am, who I will be, what I am meant to be, Twi… Listen, I just need some alone time. To think. I’m not deciding today on what I’m doing but, just, don’t expect me to be here when you get back. I know I promised you that I would be there when you landed. I know. But. There’s a point in one’s life when you just have that longing. A longing to understand things. I’m sure you’ll understand.”
A pregnant pause echoed in the confined chamber. Light chatter from the machine ticked and tocked. Spike got up.

“This isn’t good-bye, Twi. I’ll see again.”

He ended the recording.

By dusk of the next day, he was gone.

Comments

[Skydrake]

Hm ... you have the start of something potentially interesting here, and your writing is of high quality - the grammar is good, the sentences flow easily and you certainly don't lack for ability to describe things for the purposes of mental imagery.

What does leave me a bit confused are the AU elements so far though, as I don't see a clear purpose for them, or why you introduced them at all - like the different pasts of the Element bearers, for example. From the first chapter you couldn't even tell anything was supposedly different, if not for the story's summary - the gang is still together, everyone has the same jobs/aspirations, everyone has the same background ... why? What's the purpose?

Since the end result is indistinguishable (though granted, sample size has been small thus far) from the show, why introduce the changes at all? A change big enough worth mentioning but small enough to be inconsequential - it sort of feels like "change for the sake of change", rather than there being any actual purpose to it.

Granted, I suppose the slightly different pasts might yet end up playing a role further down in the story, but those are my first impressions so far.

That aside, I'm looking towards what you have planned for the future, and further exploration and explanation as to why the rest of the "mane six" are even in space - Twilight, sure, that's easy to explain and understand. But the rest of them? They have no qualifications or skills that would be useful in a space flight, nor any other qualities that would make them desirable for the project. Why would they want to join the mission in the first place, and what would they hope to accomplish while doing so (And why would Twilight agree to let them on)?

I'm also looking towards learning more about this "energy wave" and its true nature - I mean, it has to be a terribly slow moving thing, if a station orbiting the Moon would have time to analyze it and, if needed, send a warning down to the planet - never mind actually doing anything about it planetside.

Either way, you have me interested so far and the writing is of good quality, so I'm looking towards the next chapter.

[Monanniverse]

6132913

Thank you so much for the comment!

It's incredible cool to have someone spend the time to care and analyze my writing. When I write, I prefer to lean on the side of caution more than trusting everyone to know their stuff about the character. For example, if someone who wasn't into the show were to pick this up, I want them be able to understand things.

But aside from expositional reasons and giving people a sense of who the character is/the story that lead up to the character being this way, this group of 'mane 6' is different from the show's mane 6 in that they never found the Elements of Harmony and that the events of the opening to Season 1 affected them quite differently (which will then go on to explain how they all end up in the space program) Both of these play a pivotal part in the story later on and I'll be introducing elements that play off of these differences. I might have said a little too much since I'm keeping the cards close to my chest when it comes to this story. I've planned out the majority of the arcs and the overall A to B is pretty much set in stone.

Wouldn't want to slip out any spoilers. The story will have a twist in it that will be well worth the wait, I think.

Thank you for the read!

[Skydrake]

6136107

I'll be looking towards those things being explored then, but I do believe you have your work cut out for you. After all, like the first chapter showed, the "mane six" still seem to have their main occupations - a farmer, a dressmaker, a veterinarian, etc.

Which makes sense, because you would need to go much further back than start of season 1 to alter those, but it does mean you have a bunch of people that, from where I'm looking, seem supremely unqualified to have anything to do with Equestria's first Space Program.

I mean, sure - it's Twilight's program and she can take along whomever she wants, but you will have to do some serious wriggling to convincingly explain how things got to the point where she picked them to be her first companions in space (unless there is a much bigger crew we never actually saw, that means Twilight is probably the only one qualified to operate any of the equipment ... though I guess magic does give her significant multitasking if needed), and how and why they all agreed to do so.

Not saying it's impossible, but you have some serious work ahead of you to make it a smooth ride

I'm also very much looking towards how they dealt with Nightmare/Luna if they never found the Elements (and Discord after that), and how Twilight's alicornization came about without them. I actually like alt histories and the possibilities for worldbuilding they often open up, so I'm looking towards to seeing what you do on all these fronts.