S5 E10: Princess Spike (What If?)
In the city of Canterlot, an important event was unfolding in the hallway of the royal castle. Delegates from all over Equestria had showed up for what promised to be a momentus occasion. In fact, it was SO important that for the first time in Equestria's history, all four princesses were in Canterlot and were going to stay for the duration of the event.
The delegates chattered amongst themselves for a little bit, before their conversations were interrupted by the sound of trumpets, announcing the arrival of the four princesses. Princess Luna was the first one to speak up "Welcome to the Grand Equestria Royal Summit!" she declared proudly "It is good to see that so many of you could attend."
Princess Celestia spoke up next "You delegates have traveled far and wide to represent your cities and towns, as we seek to celebrate and learn from all the unique places that make up our wonderful land of Equestria."
"To celebrate this event, it is my great honor to announce that, at tonight's opening ceremony, I will dedicate this beautiful friendship statue made up of gemstones from each of your home cities and towns." Princess Cadence declared, drawing attention to the massive pony like figure made entirely out of different colored gemstones. The delegates all oohed and ahhed, they had never seen anything like it ever before.
Standing next to Twilight, his mother and close friend, Spike found that he couldn't keep himself from occasionally glancing at the gem statue and licking his lips. "If it wasn't so important to this summit, I'd eat it up right now." he thought to himself.
"And now, it gives me great pleasure to turn things over to the pony who organized this summit:" Princess Cadence went on "My sister in-law, Princess Twilight Sparkle!" The crowd burst in thunderous applause at this statement, Princess Twilight was the youngest of all the princesses, and the most popular.
Normally, Twilight wouldn't have minded all the attention that was focused on her. Rarity had taught her to embrace the spotlight, while making sure it didn't go to your head. But today was different, Twilight felt exhausted. Her eyes had noticeable bags underneath them and felt quite heavy. She could barely keep herself awake, a task that took every ounce of determination she had. "Thank you, everyone," she said with a yawn (which she hoped none of the delegates had heard) "With delegates from over fifty cities attending three days of conferences, receptions, and meetings, this promises to be the largest Grand Equestria Royal Summit yet. And let me tell you, putting it all together has led to more than one sleepless night. We're so excited to have you here and to learn more about life all across this great land of ours. I hope this will help to bring us all closer together."
The crowd cheered even louder than it had before, while Spike tugged at Twilight's tail to get her attention. Twilight turned to Spike, who whispered something into her ear. Then, with a smile, she turned back to the delegates and told them "And now, my son and faithful assistant Spike would like to say a few words." She proceeded to playfully nudge him onto the stage with the other princesses.
"Um, hello, everyone!" Spike greeted in a half cheerful, half nervous tone "I'm here to help any way I can. So if there's anything I can do for any of you, um... just let me know."
A few delegates exchanged concerned whispers, and some even seemed surprised that a dragon had been allowed to speak at all. A couple of delegates from the Crystal Empire shouted "Long live Spike The Brave and Glorious, he who rescued The Crystal Heart!", and some of the delegates from Ponyville and Canterlot who had seen him before sincerely applauded his speech. But for the most part, Spike's statement seemed to be ignored.
Then, a delegate from Cloudsdale named Fluffy Clouds spoke up. He knew nothing about Spike, and didn't seem to care "No offense, but I don't need some random dragon's help. I wanna hear what Princess Twilight has to say." he said rudely.
Most of the Cloudsdale delegates then began to chant "We love you, Princess Twilight!" And soon, most of the gathered delegates started to shout "We love all the princesses!" And they clapped and cheered loudly.
Spike was quite upset, but his feelings of anger were soon replaced with feelings of sadness. "I guess everyone loves a princess," he said with a sigh, and turned and walked sadly away "If anyone needs me, I'll be back at Twilight's tower doing what I always do best, sorting and cleaning."
"Poor Spike," Princess Cadence thought to herself "Those delegates have some nerve treating him like that! If I wasn't the Princess of Love, I'd give them a piece of my mind right now! No one treats my nephew-in-law like he doesn't matter! He most certainly DOES matter! But how do I show that to Spike?"
It didn't take Spike long to clean the tower he and Twilight were staying in, before long he grew bored. But he knew there wasn't anything he could do, the delegates clearly didn't want him around. He wasn't a princess, so there was little he could do to make them listen to him. "Is it really so wrong to ask for just a little recognition from time to time?" he thought unhappily to himself "I'm not asking to be an Equestria wide hero, I just want to feel like I belong. That can't possibly be selfish, can it?"
Spike was snapped out of his thoughts by the ringing of the clock tower, he glanced out the window. "Mother should be back by now," he said to himself "I guess she was held up meeting with some of the delegates," then he gasped "Or, what if something awful happened to her?! What if she's been ponynapped?! Or what if she's hurt, or sick?! Or-" Spike smacked himself with one of his claws, and tried his best to ignore the pain in his right cheek from said smack "No, I'm sure there's a perfectly logical explanation for why Twilight isn't back yet." In his mind he was thinking "Plus, am I really concerned about her well being? Or do I just want an excuse to show off and prove my worth?"
Deciding it was best to wait until he knew for sure, Spike reluctantly passed the time pacing back and forth in the tower's main room, while occasionally glancing out the window for any sign of Twilight, or any of the other princesses.
Seconds ticked by, then minutes, but still Twilight didn't show. Spike grew more and more anxious, perhaps something had happened and by standing here he was preventing Twilight and any other victims from getting the help they needed. But if that was the case, how come he hadn't heard any sort of commotion or cries of panic? Everything was quiet, for the most part. Aside from the occasional chirp of the birds, or the sound of a construction worker making some repairs with his power tools, all was silent.
At last, just when Spike felt he could wait no longer, the tower door flung open and in strolled a rather anxious looking Princess Cadence. "Hello, Spike. It's good to see you again."
"Same to you, Cadence," Spike replied, then he noticed the look of concern on Cadence's face "What's the matter? You look upset."
"Well, it's about Twilight." Princess Cadence said nervously.
"What about her? Is she sick, or hurt?" Spike asked.
Princess Cadence shook her head "She's fine, for the most part. But-"
Just then, Twilight came trotting into the room. She looked like she was barely able to stay awake, and seemed ready to fall asleep at a moment's notice.
"Whoa! What happened to you?!" Spike asked Twilight.
"I just..." Twilight spoke up, before she yawned "Need a quick, nap. Napkin! Tell the delegates I'll..." The rest of her sentence was cut off, as she fell asleep atop a pile of books. She even held one as if it were a pillow.
"She's really worn out from planning this whole summit, and she needs to rest if she's going to be ready for the opening ceremony tonight." Princess Cadence told Spike, as she used her magic to pry Twilight off of the books, and tuck her gently into her bed.
"And you want me to make sure nothing disturbs her? Well, you've come to the right dragon!" Spike said proudly "I won't let you down, Cadence! Nothing's going to wake up Twilight, not while I'm on duty!"
"That's very nice of you to offer, Spike," Princess Cadence said sweetly "But I'm afraid I already have a solution in mind." She then whistled, and two crystal guards came marching into the tower's main room.
"How can we be of service, your highness?" the guards asked.
"Can I count on the two of you to stand guard outside this tower, and make sure that Princess Twilight isn't disturbed while she rests?" Princess Cadence instructed "It's important that she gets plenty of sleep before tonight's opening ceremony."
"Don't worry, your crystalness," the guards replied "With us in charge, Princess Twilight will be sleeping like a baby."
"Good, I knew I could count on the two of you," Princess Cadence smiled "Make sure to pass word on to the rest of the delegates, that if they need any help, they are to go to Princess Celestia or Princess Luna, Princess Twilight and I will be unavailable until tonight at the earliest."
Spike was surprised to hear Princess Cadence give such a command. He knew why she'd want the delegates to know not to bother Twilight, but he couldn't see a reason for her to not be available if needed.
The guards were surprised as well, but they still obeyed. "Understood, your highness. We will do as you have requested." And the two of them marched out to take up their posts without another word.
"Bet you're wondering why I said I wouldn't be available to help the delegates." Princess Cadence said to Spike.
"The thought did cross my mind." Spike replied.
Princess Cadence smiled brightly "Well, it's been so long since the two of us have had a chance to do much of anything together. So, why don't we spend the rest of this lovely afternoon on a sight seeing tour of Canterlot? It'll be just like old times!"
Spike could well remember the fond memories he had of the times when Princess Cadence would come over to foalsit Twilight, and help her take care of Spike. Cadence often loved to take Twilight and Spike out on spring and summer afternoons to see the many wonderful sights of Canterlot, and occasionally Shining Armor would tag along.
Eager for an opportunity to escape his boredom (and take his mind off of the fact that the delegates didn't want him around) Spike said "Do you really mean it?!"
"Absolutely!" Princess Cadence replied "And while we're doing that, maybe we could exchange news? I'm sure a lot has happened since we last met, and I have quite a few things I'm sure you'd be interested in hearing about."
"Sounds like a plan. What are we waiting for, let's go!" Spike said cheerfully, a little bit too loudly.
"Huh? Does something need scheduling?" Twilight asked sleepily, sitting up in her bed.
"Oh my gosh! I am so sorry," Spike apologized "I didn't mean to wake you up, Twilight. Please don't be mad at me."
Twilight apparently didn't seem to hear Spike properly, for she responded by saying "Okay, no problem. Just put the apple in the hay and eat the candle, hm."
"What?" Spike replied, but Twilight didn't answer, she had already fallen back asleep. Spike scratched his head "Just what was that all about?" he thought to himself "She must be more tired than I thought." With this thought clear in his mind, he made sure not to say anything else, as he and Princess Cadence quietly walked out of the tower.
Once she and Spike were outside, Princess Cadence gently closed the door with her magic, and locked it. Then, she unfolded her wings and said to Spike "Hop on," Spike did so without hesitation. "Comfy?" Princess Cadence asked Spike, who nodded happily "Okay, hold on tight." And with a flap of her wings, Princess Cadence took off.
"Thank you for flying Air Cadence, we hope you enjoyed your flight," Princess Cadence jokingly called out, as she touched down in the heart of Canterlot "Please, remain seated until the ride comes to a complete stop." She and Spike shared a good hearted laugh at the little joke, as Spike carefully climbed off Cadence's back, and set his feet on solid ground.
"It's been a while since I've been back in Canterlot," Spike commented "The last time I came here, I spent all day helping Twilight search for an enchanted comic book store, but we found nothing. And no one remembered anything about there ever being one. It's nice to be able to just take in the sights of the city for once, and not have to worry about anything."
"I agree," Princess Cadence replied, as she and Spike walked down main street together "The city is especially beautiful at this time of year, I'm glad those so called 'Dragon Sneeze Trees' were replanted somewhere else."
"Tell me about it," Spike complained "I hated those things so much. One time, someone even sent a potted version of one of the trees because they thought it would be a funny prank. I had half a mind to hunt down the sender and make them pay, but my mom wouldn't let me. She said that if I did that, I'd be letting the sender get to me. But she made sure no more 'Dragon Sneeze Trees' got delivered to me."
"Twilight has raised you well," Princess Cadence observed "I'm proud to call you my nephew-in-law," then she remembered something "Oh my goodness, how could I forget?!" she said out loud.
"What is it?" Spike asked.
"Twilight was supposed to meet with an important pony to help brief her on all the different gemstones before the ceremony tonight!" Princess Cadence exclaimed.
"Well, maybe I could meet with that pony in Twilight's place?" Spike suggested, as his eyes lit up "After all, I'm the son of a princess, and the nephew-in-law of another, that technically makes me royalty."
"Spike, I don't think that's such a good idea." Princess Cadence said nervously.
"Why not?" Spike asked innocently "If it's because she's expecting a princess, then she can always call me 'Princess Spike'. After all, it seems like you have to be a princess in order to get any kind of recognition around here."
"Spike, that's not true, and you know it!" Princess Cadence said seriously, and used her magic to hold Spike in place before he could run off "I'll just tell the pony that the meeting will have to be postponed, and see if she can send the notes over to Twilight. That should work just fine."
"Or, you let her meet with me, and I can deliver the notes to Twilight myself," Spike insisted "Or, don't you trust me to do the right thing? It's not like I'm being greedy, I just want a little recognition."
Princess Cadence sighed "I do trust you, Spike. But you can't just abuse your connection to Twilight because you want others to notice you."
"Who said anything about abusing it?" Spike replied "I'm only doing it because that way the delegates will actually start to listen to me. If they think I'm a princess, they'll be fawning over me like no tomorrow. I'll be able to make decisions and be taken seriously, I'll be able to make a contribution to the summit, I'll finally feel like I belong!"
But Princess Cadence only shook her head "Spike, there's more to being a princess, or a prince for that matter, than simply making decisions because you want to be recognized by others. Being a princess is an extremly important and difficult responsibility, it isn't something to be taken lightly."
"But, I want to feel like I belong!" Spike complained "What's so wrong with wanting to get a little respect for a change? The only time I ever get sort of acknowledgement, is when I come to The Crystal Empire. And even the delegates from there clearly don't care about me if I'm not a princess! If being a princess is what it takes to make them acknowledge my presence, instead of pretending I don't exisit, so be it!"
Princess Cadence sighed once again "I was hoping it wouldn't have to come to this, but it looks like we're going to have to a little talk about what it really means to be a princess."
Princess Cadence led Spike to a small cafe just off of Main Street, she wanted to make sure that the important conversation she was about to have wouldn't be overhead by anyone else.
"Why can't you just let me do a few things as 'Princess Spike'?!" Spike complained "I could make it so that Twilight only has to worry about tonight's opening ceremony, and I'm sure she'd like that a lot."
Princess Cadence looked at Spike, took a deep breath, and said to him "Spike, you are in a position that anyone would kill to be in. You are offically the right hoof dragon of Equestria's newest princess. That alone would be enough to make just about anyone bow to you if you so commanded."
"And what's so wrong about that?" Spike asked "Think of all the good things I could do with that authority."
Princess Cadence only shook her head "Many ponies and non-ponies alike have thought that way about their power, and they always start with the best of intentions. But if you abuse your powers, especially if you do it often, it leads to a slippery slope that is almost impossible to climb back up. Once you start getting used to using your powers to make others do what you want, it's easy to forget the responsibility that comes with those powers. To have power alone is not to be strong, you have to know how to use that power."
"But I do!" Spike insisted "I won't abuse it, I promise! After today, I'll never abuse my connections to Twilight ever again!"
"Spike, you don't need to please some delegates to feel important," Princess Cadence replied "They are supposed to represent the will of the cities and towns that elect them, but sometimes even the best of them can forget that fact. I assure you that not a day goes by in The Crystal Empire where ponies aren't fawning over the statue of you, or eagerly listening to the story of how you saved them all. And Twilight has told me that many ponies in both Ponyville and Canterlot know who you are, or have heard about you from word of mouth."
"For all the good that does me around here," Spike complained "It seems like the delegates only care about princesses. It's always princess this and princess that, I'm sick of it!"
"I am too, Spike," Princess Cadence said kindly "As important as it is that the delegates be pleased, I wish they would make more of an effort to solve problems on their own. It seems that, whenever something goes wrong, they are always quick to come rushing to my aunts, Twilight, or myself."
"Can't you command that they stop bugging you?" Spike asked "You could tell them to jump and they'd ask 'How high?', so I don't see why they would have any trouble following an order to leave you and the other princesses alone."
"If only it was that simple," Princess Cadence said with a shake of her head "Most of these delegates are incredibly stubborn, they like to think that they're in charge. They simply believe the princesses are there to help them out whenever they get stuck on something, which is all the time. But not all of the delegates are like that, most of the ones from my empire and from Ponyville are well behaved. It's mostly the delegates from the big cities that seem to have trouble controlling their egos."
"Why?" Spike asked Princess Cadence.
"I wish I knew," Princess Cadence unhappily replied "My guess is that they've been in power for so long, they've forgotten what it's like to not automatically have the authority to make others obey you. I almost ended up like them, once."
"No way! You mean, you were once as haughty and stuck up as those delegates from earlier?" Spike asked, his mouth hanging open in shock.
"Not quite," Princess Cadence said in response "But when I was the newest and youngest of all the princesses, I couldn't help but get caught up in the spotlight. I started realizing that others would crowd around me whenever I did something, and I often took advantage of that free publicity. Fortunately, Aunt Luna and Aunt Celestia helped straighten me out before too long. But ever since, I have strived to do my best to remember, that I am not all powerful. I cannot just make ponies and non ponies bow to my will. With great power, there must also come a great responsibility. A responsibility to use that power wisely, and for the right reasons."
"I suppose, pretending to be a princess, or using my connections with Twilight, would be an abuse of power," Spike reluctantly considered "But I just want to feel like I've helped, that I'm a noble dragon."
"You already are a noble dragon, Spike," Princess Cadence insisted, walking over to Spike and embracing him in a big hug "And you always will be. I know that, and so does Twilight. The same goes for her friends, my husband, and Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. Just because a few delegates don't acknowledge this fact, doesn't mean it doesn't exisit."
"Thank you, Cadence," Spike replied happily "I'm glad I have somepony like you to talk to. Somepony I know I can count on to help me be the best that I can be. I would've hated for Mom to wake up and find out I was abusing my power, giving her a bad name."
Just then, there came the sound of a faint crack, followed by the sound of gushing water and a lot of yelling and shouting. Princess Cadence and Spike quickly became aware of it, and could tell by how loud the noise was, that they were close to the source of the disturbance.
"Wonder what all the commotion is about?" Spike wondered outloud.
"I don't know, but we're going to find out!" Princess Cadence insisted, unfolding her wings "Hop aboard, Spike!" Spike did so, and once he was safely on board, Princess Cadence took off.
She touched down a short time later, when she spotted water shooting up from a pipe, and a green coated stallion with a hard hat barking out orders to other ponies. "What's going on here?!" Princess Cadence asked seriously.
"Stupid power tools!" the green coated stallion grumbled "We were doing some repair work to the water main when Charlie over here got careless and struck a pipe with his drill!"
"I told you, it wasn't my fault!" an orange coated stallion yelled in response "That drill had a mind of its own!"
"Whatever," the green coated stallion shrugged "The two of you better stay out of the way, it's going to take a long time to repair the damage, and in the mean time we're going to have to shut off the water supply. We don't need the main hallway of the castle flooding!"
"I believe I can help," Princess Cadence offered "If you'll allow me, that is."
"What can you possibly do to help?" the green coated stallion asked.
"I was hoping you'd ask," Princess Cadence said with a smile "Just stand back, so I have a clear view of the broken pipe." The green coated stallion did so, and once he was out of the way, Princess Cadence lit up her horn which sparked to life with its soft blue aurora. Suddenly, in the blink of an eye a massive pile of crystals emerged from not of nowhere. They quickly enveloped the crack in the pipe and the water shooting out of it, completely encasing the both of them. Spike and all the construction ponies gathered were speechless.
"That... was... amazing!" Spike exclaimed.
"Ma'am, you're a life saver," the green coated stallion said kindly "My boss would've fired me for sure if he'd found out about this, and the delegates would've run me out of town. How can I ever repay you?"
"There's no need for any sort of repayment," Princess Cadence replied "I'm simply glad I could help. Just make sure that you get this area sealed off. My crystal casing should hold the broken pipe in place for a few hours, but it hasn't fixed the problem completely."
"I'll have to talk to the boss and get his approval first," the green coated stallion told Princess Cadence "But I should be able to get the necessary repair work done by tonight, you can count on that." And then he turned, and trotted quickly away.
"Why didn't you use your authority as a princess to command that pony's boss to have the damaged pipe blocked off until it could be repaired?" Spike asked Princess Cadence, as the two of them headed back towards Twilight's tower to check on her.
"Because, the situation did not call for it," Princess Cadence explained "The ponies down there needed to know that they had to solve the problem themselves. If I commanded them to take the actions necessary to solve it, they would come to depend on me the next time something went wrong."
"I see," Spike nodded, and changed the subject "I never knew you could make crystals grow out of the ground at will! What other surprises have you been keeping from me?"
Princess Cadence chuckled "Well, to be fair, that crystal trick is something I only recently got the hang of it. It took months of practicing."
"Do you think you could make gems appear in the same manner?" Spike asked "Cause I'm getting kind of hungry, and some gemstones would really hit the spot right about now."
"Sorry, I'm afraid I can only bring up massive crystals at the moment," Princess Cadence replied with a laugh "I'm sure I could learn how to apply it to small scale things like gems and rocks, if there's a spell for that anyway."
"Maybe we can ask Twilight, once this summit is over," Spike suggested "It'll give us an excuse for the three of us to hang out together, just like old times."
"That would be lovely, but we'll have to see if Twilight is up for it," Princess Cadence told Spike "This summit is going to be going for several days, and Twilight and I are going to both be very busy, as will Princess Celestia and Princess Luna."
Suddenly, one of the crystal guards that had been instructed to stand guard outside the door to Twilight's tower came running up to Spike and Princess Cadence. He looked extremly worried about something, because his eyes had widened quite a bit and he was panting up to them with every ounce of strength he had. "I'm... sorry, your crystalness... I tried my best to send them away." he apologized.
"What are you talking about?" Princess Cadence asked with concern "And why are you not at your post like I instructed?"
"It's about the delegates," the crystal guard explained "They all want to talk to Princesss Twilight, and when I told them no they got really mad and shoved me aside. My comrade went back to block the door, so that I could find one of the other princesses."
Immediately upon hearing this, Spike felt something begin to boil up inside him. He knew what it was, it was pure anger, and he knew who it was directed at. "They've got some nerve bothering my mother when she's trying to rest!" he thought to himself, clenching his claws as his anger grew "Well, I think it's time someone finally taught them a lesson!"
"Spike?! Where are you going?!" Princess Cadence asked, as she saw Spike race off towards the tower.
"To make those delegates go away, whether they like it or not!" Spike replied "Don't try to stop me!" And he took off as fast as his legs could carry him.
"Spike, come back! Spike?! SPIKE!" Princess Cadence shouted, but it was no use, Spike was already gone.
When Spike reached the tower, all the delegates were yelling and talking at once. Many of them saying things like "Where is Princess Twilight?!" or "How dare the princess make us wait!" and even "If Princess Twilight doesn't come out soon, we'll have to make her come out!".
The noise was deafening to Spike, but he tried his best to ignore it as he raced up the tower railing, and jumped in front of the delegates, firmly blocking the door to Twilight's room.
"Out of the way, little dragon!" a delegate from Whinnyapolis demanded "I'm about to blow my stack at Princess Twilight!"
"WILL ALL OF YOU BE QUIET?!" Spike roared at the top of his lungs, shocking all of the delegates into silence "My mother is trying to sleep, and she can't do that with all of you yelling and complaining. How would you feel if you were trying to sleep, and ponies and non-ponies kept bugging you or making lots of noise? You wouldn't like it at all, would you?"
The delegates seemed to briefly consider this, before a Fillydelphia delegate said to Spike "But Princess Twilight-"
"-Can't help you with your problems," Spike cut off "She can only do so much. She's worn out from trying to make sure this royal summit goes off without a hitch. All she asks in return is for a little peace and quiet for a few hours. All of you say you have problems, but did any of you actually try to solve them on your own, or did you just immediately decide to come and see the princess so that she could help you?"
A great silence fell over the crowd of delegates, as they all suddenly began to feel incredibly guilty. Not unlike a foal caught trying to steal a cookie from the cookie jar.
"I know it's hard being a politican, it's hard to make decisions when there's so much at stake," Spike said kindly "But you can't depend on others to solve your problems for you. The princesses have better things to do than to help solve silly disputes that you could easily settle on your own if you just tried. The entire point of this summit is for all of the nations of Equestria to come together as one, not to just depend on the princesses."
None of the delegates bothered to say anything, they were too ashamed.
"Well, what are you all standing around here for?" Spike asked "Go away, and leave my mother alone! If you really can't solve your problems on your own after trying your hardest, you can always ask Princess Celestia or Princess Luna."
And that was that, the delegates dispersed without another word. Meanwhile, Spike stood there with a look of relief on his face.
However, Spike was surprised when one he saw one delegate still remained. Said delegate was a unicorn stallion with a majestic white coat, elegant blue eyes, a royal blue mane and tail properly styled into a charming look, a glass monocle in his left eye, and an elegant black suit with a pink bowtie. Spike realized at once who he was. "Fancy Pants?" he exclaimed "I didn't know you were a delegate as well."
"I most certainly am, Spike," Fancy Pants replied "I must apologize for the commotion raised by the other delegates, I wanted no part of that and tried to no avail to talk them out of it. I have been insisting for a long time now that we come to not depend on the princesses of Equestria to help us all the time. That's why I was so looking forward to this summit, it would give me a chance to present my case and show how much good we could do working together."
"Seems like the other delegates didn't get the message." Spike said angrily.
"Well, hopefully they will have learned their lesson this time," Fancy Pants remarked, then he said to Spike "I must say, you were quite splendid when you were arguing your case, I don't think I could've done a better job myself."
"Oh, it was nothing, really." Spike insisted.
"There's no need to be so humble, Spike," Fancy Pants replied "You were quite brave, and quite determined. I dare say, you'd make a fine delegate. In fact, how would you like to take my place as a delegate from Canterlot? You would have all the perks that come with such a title, and we could certainly use a dragon like yourself to show off our diversity. You grew up in Canterlot for several years alongside Princess Twilight, and princesses cannot become delegates. So, what do you say? I would be more than happy to make the necessary arrangements to make you an offical Canterlot delegate."
Spike was silent for quite a few moments, as he considered this offer in his mind. At last, he looked Fancy Pants firmly in the eyes and told him "Thank you very much for the offer, but I'm not interested in replacing you as a delegate. As much as I would love to be one, I'm happy just being Twilight's number one assistant and adopted son. Equestria needs a delegate like you, one who understands the importance of humility. Maybe someday, I might be interested in being a delegate. But that's something I want to earn on my own, not something I want to have given to me. I'm flattered you think so highly of me, but my answer is no."
Fancy Pants smiled "You are quite humble, Spike. Truly the most noble of all dragons. I shall respect your wishes, but if you ever change your mind do not hesitate to tell me. Now then, I best be on my way. But I hope I will see you tonight at the opening ceremony, I have just the thing to reward your dedication to the princess."
"As long as it's not a 'Dragon Sneeze Tree' I'm all for it." Spike replied, and he waved until Fancy Pants was out of sight.
Just after Fancy Pants had left, Twilight came stumbling out into the rays of the afternoon sun. Now well rested, she looked much better than she had just hours earlier. She had heard everything. "I'm very proud of you, my son," she said with a smile "It takes a great deal of humility to turn down something you want so badly."
"That's because I've had an excellent mother to help raise me properly," Spike replied, embracing Twilight in a hug "I'll always love you, no matter what."
"The feeling's mutual, Spike," Twilight said with a motherly smile "You mean more to me than this entire royal summit, and that is no lie. I don't care what those other delegates think, to Cadence and I you will always be Spike The Brave and Glorious."
"Hey, if the Crystal Ponies want to call me that, I don't mind it. But for you, Cadence, the princesses, and all our friends and family, just Spike is fine," Spike insisted "That's who I am, and who I always will be. Not Princess Spike, not Delegate Spike, just Spike."
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Excellent rewrite! Certainly more superior then the original!
Hey there. Thanks greatly for getting the next chapter up. I really appreciate you going to the effort. Indeed, this WAS a darn good rewrite of the episode. VERY good job on the exchanges, emotional content and wrap-up in all the right places.
One little detail though; technically, Spike would be Cadance's NEPHEW-in-law (after all, he's TWILIGHT's son, which would make him Shiny's nephew).
And some possible ideas for Volume Four rewrites:
"Magic Duel": Well, okay, the only real changes I can think of would be a different beginning where Trixie is getting info on the nature and location of the Alicorn Amulet by a mysterious source (who will NOT be revealed until the FOURTH season finale [hint, hint]) and Twilight having a more clear Mama Bear moment when Trixie starts using her magic to pick on Spike, but I'm sure you can think of some other stuff given enough time.
"Rarity Investigates": 1. Rainbow is actually framed for a more serious crime (i.e. attempted murder against Spitfire) with actual (albeit cleverly planted) evidence against her. 2. A few more suspects (including possibly Lightning Dust [whose OBVIOUS motive would be revenge {though a pretty obvious Not Me This Time}]) and 3. The real culprit having a much less petty reason for the frame.
Then again, I will respect your right to not like either one of these ideas and I can certainly understand WHY you wouldn't. At any rate I will definitely be looking forward to more of this as soon as time and inspiration will allow.
Awesome rewrite
7123162 I'll probably rewrite "Magic Duel" in the next installment, but "Rarity Investigates" was pretty good as it was, it just needed some fine tuning. Plus, attempted murder would be hard to write for an everyone audience, and I'm pretty sure no one would believe Rainbow Dash would be so desperate as to do something like that.
7123505 Yeah. That IS a good point. And that's cool.
Spike and Cadence having a lot of screen time was what I wanted to see in this rewrite and it was well worth looking forward to. This was a thousand times better, would read it again and again.
This chapter alone is worth an upvote. Bravo!
Thank you for this excellent rewrite of this idiot plot episode. I have to disagree though about Fancy being good in the episode. In the original episode, Fancy Pants only cared about special privileges and that was it. He kept talking about it and how he felt that Canterlot officials should have it, and he was willing to lead a riot against Twilight.
My goodness....
At first, I was thinking: "How slightly different is this gonna be?"
Then, you took it into a different direction I did not see coming, especially when Cadence decided to appoint her own guards to watch over Twilight instead of Spike, meanwhile Cadence and Spike are gonna hang out for some bond time. It was at this moment my interest was peaked and said:
"Oh ho! Now I wanna know where this is headed!"
So you had my rap attention and did not disappoint. My favorite part was how much more depth you added in Cadence and as result, you made her more relatable. Anyone who treats my favorite princess positively will always have win for me.
I enjoyed this re-make immensely. Thumbs up.
I like this version of Spike!
7789795
Please don't take this the wrong way, I just thought you might like a bit of an English lesson. Peaked means your interest or curiosity can get no higher, while piqued means your interest or curiosity was stimulated. Words like peaked/piqued, your/you're, there/their/they're, etc are very easy to mix up even for those whose first language is English.