Oh Spike We Hardly Knew Thee

by 5u0myn0n4

Chapter 22: Spike Rises

Originally published on December 15th, 2018

---

Spike stood face to face against Henry, atop the summit of Mt. Everhoof. Henry was the pony who originally discovered Spike's egg, but in a bizarre turn of events, he has come back to take Spike back from Twilight.
Henry had already made it past the mane 5, Starlight, and Ember and Garble. Spike was the last line of defense before Henry reached Twilight's unconscious body. Henry was armed, but so was Spike. Henry wielded a... weapon. The kind of weapon that shoots small but deadly projectiles. You know the one. Spike only held a fragmented blade. Though Spike was still itchy, and covered in weird ride spots, he was determined to not let Henry win.

Previous, Henry said something interesting to Spike.

---

"Um, what did you say Henry?" Spike asked. (If you missed last chapter, Henry said that he didn't want to hurt Spike, odd given his aggressive behavior)

"Err, I said, move aside, or you will get hurt." Henry threatened, as if only attempting to sound tough.

Spike was initially confused by Henry's... odd behavior. But after giving it some thought, Spike thought he had figured it out at last.

"Move over Spike, so that I can wrap this up." Henry said.

"Never. I'm not backing down, and I won't hurt Twilight any further!" Spike said.

Spike kept his feet planted. He wouldn't be moved so easily.

"You've got a lot of guts, standing against the face of death." Henry said, pointing his weapon right at Spike.

"You're all talk Henry. I know for a fact that I'm in no real danger." Spike said.
"You are in more danger than you can comprehend." Henry said.

"No. I'm in no danger because you aren't going to use that weapon on me." Spike said.

Henry was caught off guard by Spike's words.

"W-what makes you so certain?" Henry got more aggravated.

"I get you now. It took me a while, but I think I have you all figured out Henry. You aren't going to kill me, because you have too much to lose. You wouldn't dare hurt me because I'm your greatest accomplishment." Spike said.

"...What the heck is that supposed to mean?" Henry asked.
"You found me as an egg, and brought me to Equestria. You saved me, and made my life possible. You're the reason I'm even alive. And I know for a fact that you're proud of that. But without me, what are you?" Spike said.
Henry, didn't respond immediately.

"I'm everything you ever wanted. I'm the reason you're here right now. You'd be depriving yourself if you killed me. You need me more than you want to admit." Spike said.

*sniff*
*huh* Spike noticed something. Henry was... getting emotional...?

"It was always my life long dream to raise a dragon of my very own. And I came so close to making that dream a reality, but alas, she got to live out my dream." Henry pointed to the unconscious Twilight.

Spike was... touched by Henry's words?
"I captured all of those other dragons, to fill the void left by your absence. I was going to use them to lead an attack on Equestria, but something felt missing. That is why I came back for you. It seemed like such a cathartic plan at the time. I would've crushed the Princess of Friendship with the very dragon she took from me. It almost worked too, but sometimes, life plays out different than you anticipate."

"You inspired me to capture other dragons, and you were the last dragon I captured. It all came full circle." Henry said with heavy... emotion.

---

Spike was stunned. He stood in place, feet cold and in the snow. His words were a lot to process.

"...No, just no." Spike said. "I see what you're doing, and it isn't going to work. You seriously want sympathy from me now?! After all that you've done!? Are you kidding? You think I'm that gullible?"

"Are you not gullible? I assumed you were." Henry said.
"You want me to feel sorry for you, but it isn't going to work. First of all, you hurt Twilight! You shot a bullet through her wing! She may never fly again, or worse! Not to mention how you treated all my other friends!"

"Twilight this, and Twilight that. I don't want your sympathy, I want to know why you gravitate to her!" Henry said.

Spike's eyes widened with spite. "Do I have to spell it out!? In case you didn't know, Twilight is the most loving pony I know. She's strong, and brave, and the nicest pony there is! The love and kindness that Twilight gave to me *sniff* made me who I am! She filled me with hope, and joy, and warmed my heart. *sniff* "And I only got a chance to know her, because of you. But here you are, on a mission to tear us apart, and I won't let you." Spike said.

Thoughts were circulating in Henry's mind...

"If you want to get to Twilight, you have to go through me!" Spike pointed the sharp blade in his hand at Henry.

"I could care less what happens to her to be honest! What matters, is that you reunite with me, as intended, before Celestia took you away from me." Henry said.

"Whether or not what happened back then was right or wrong, I don't know. I'm just judging things purely as they are now. And after all the horrible things you've done to me and my friends, there's no way I'll ever join you!" Spike said.

---

Spike's words resonated with Henry. Spike could only imagine the thoughts going through his head.

..

"...I didn't come all this way for nothing!" Henry pulled on Spike's rope.

"Hey! Stop it!"Spike tugged the other direction.
"You're coming with me Spike!" Henry said.

"No!" Spike said.
"Join me and we can rule Equestria together!" Henry exclaimed.

"Never!" Spike exclaimed.

They tugged on the rope harder and harder. The rope tightening around Spike's neck. Spike started to glow, something unusual was happening. The rope was starting to actually hurt. They pulled, until the rope snapped.

*snap*

Spike's momentum flung him backwards.
*smack*
He hit his back against a rocky wall. The force released all of his stored up fire at once.

*BOOOM*

Spike ignited and burst into flames.

"What the?! No!" Henry cried.

But from the ashes, emerged something new. Spike emerged, and he had finally grown his wings.

---

Henry backed away, he even dropped his weapon. Spike walked forward, and picked up the weapon.

"What a terrifying device." he said out loud.

*cough cough* "That's a fine piece of engineering you're holding is it not?" Henry said.
"It's terrible! A device invented for the purpose of killing? That's horrible!" Spike said.

"If you don't want it, then I'll just take it from you!" Henry exclaimed.

Henry latched his magic onto the weapon, and tried to take it from Spike. Spike pulled on it the other way.

"Stop it Henry!" Spike cried.

"Give me the gun!" Henry exclaimed.
"No!" Spike yelled back.

"Give it to me, now!"
"Never!" Spike pulled back, flapping his wings.

"Give it, that's an order Spike!"
"You're not the boss of me and you never will be!"

*shatter!*

Henry's magical grip on the weapon was shattered.

The momentum sent Spike backwards. He skid on the ground, and landed beside Twilight. The knock back pushed them closer to the edge of the cliff.

"Why not?" Henry asked. "I offered you everything you could have wanted. I could have made you into a powerful dragon. Feared, and revered by all. Look at what Twilight's done to you! You're pathetic. You're a laughing stock. You can hardly even call yourself a dragon. This was your chance to show everypony and dragon what you're made of! You wanted to be a dragon? I could have made that happen, and all you had to do was just listen to me!"

Spike thought about all the times he had been mocked for being... more of a pony than a dragon. He thought about how great it'd be to be the toughest dragon there was. But then he remembered all the hard times Henry brought in trying to do just that.

"Grr... no! Let me explain something to you Henry! I don't need your assistance, because I'm already admired and revered by many, not for being a big ferocious dragon, but for being a brave and noble hero, and that's all I could ever ask for. That's something you'll never understand, what it's like to actually be liked by other ponies. Twilight isn't just my friend because she hatched from an egg, it's how she went about raising me. She cared for me, nurtured me, taught me respect, friendship. You have to actually earn my respect! By doing nice things!" Spike exclaimed.

Henry was about to speak, but Spike interrupted him.

"Let's see what you've done. Positives, you found my egg, and brought it to the safety of Canterlot. And..." Spike said.
"Negatives! You captured a bunch of dragons and held them prisoner! You kidnapped me in the middle of the night. You locked me in a dark metal room, chained to the ground, and claws handcuffed. You made me fight other dragons! You fed me gems until I grew into an out of control monster! You hurt my friends. You hurt Twilight, to the point where she may never fly again! You brought much harm to my friends!"

"If I never grow up to be what you consider to be a real dragon, then so be it! You've done horrible things Henry, and I don't want anything to do with you, so just GO AWAY!" Spike exclaimed into Henry's face.

---

Henry got very... choked up...

"...fffffine!" Henry said.

Henry grabbed the weapon from Spike.

"You're right Spike, discovering your egg is the only good thing I've done for Equestria. But now, I'm going to add a second good deed to that list." Henry pointed his weapon at... himself.

"Wait, Henry, no!" Spike grabbed the weapon from Henry.
"Stop it! Get away from me!" Henry said.

"Don't! This isn't what I had in mind!" Spike pleaded.

Spike and Henry tugged on the weapon.

"No pony deserves this fate! I won't let you!" Spike exclaimed.

---

Meanwhile, just a few feet over. Applejack untied herself from the rope. She freed Pinkie Pie. She tried to free Starlight from the magic lock.

"Hang on Starlight, we'll get you out of there." Applejack said.

Rarity, and Fluttershy were unconscious on the ground still, and Rainbow Dash was still far away. They watched the struggle on the edge of the cliff. Spike and Henry fought over the weapon, while Twilight laid ride beside Spike's feet.

---

Henry tugged with his magic, but Spike's strength was immense. Pinkie and AJ watched, but dared not get close. They wanted to approach, but they feared it would be too dangerous to do so.

"AAAHH!"
"AAAHH!"

They both screamed as they struggled for control, until...

*BANG*

...

The weapon fired straight down. Thankfully no pony was harmed from the final shot. Spike and Henry looked down at the impact.

*crack*

The ground beneath them cracked.

"Uh oh..." Spike said.

The ground gave way, and collapsed.

"AAH!"
"AAH!"

"TWILIGHT!" Applejack
"SPIKE!" Pinkie cried.

"NOOO!" they all cried.

Spike, Henry, and Twilight plummeted down the mountainside.

...

..

.

---

With Henry gone, the magic spell dissipated, and Starlight was freed. They rushed to the side of the cliff. Rarity and Fluttershy both showed signs of regaining consciousness, Ember and Garble however were still out cold. Fluttershy slowly woke up. "Where's Spike?" She looked over at her friends, and saw the heavy emotion.

*gasp* Oh no... she thought.

Pinkie Pie leaned on Applejack for comfort. They all teared up as they looked over the edge of the cliff. There was no sign of anyone, just thick clouds and fog covering the landscape below. With heavy hearts, they turned around and walked the other way...

.

..

...

---

*umph*

"Did y'all hear that?" Applejack asked.

They turned around, and hey couldn't believe their eyes. Their hearts fluttered and filled with hope. It was Spike, rising from the depths. He was okay! Using his new wings to fly back up to safety, and he carried Twilight in his arms. The cloud cover had cleared up, allowing the sunlight to pass through for the first time all day. Crepuscular sun rays shined from behind Spike as the sun sat just above the horizon. It was a sight to behold.

Twilight slowly opened her eyes, and what she saw, made her heart flutter.
"...Spike...?" she said softly.

Spike ascended up the mountain, with Twilight held in his grasp. They had made it back up to the top. Spike gently set Twilight in some soft snow. He himself laid down besides her, tired and exhausted.

"Woohoo!" Pinkie cheered.

"Shh..." Spike said.

"Sorry. Woo-hoo." Pinkie cheered quieter.

Everypony leaned in, to see if they were all right.

"Spike... you saved me." Twilight said.

"Yeah... I guess I did." Spike said.
"You guess?" Twilight said.

"I did what I had to do in a pinch." Spike said.
"Are you kidding? Spike, you're my hero. You saved my life, I'm so proud of you." Twilight said.

"You shouldn't be..." Spike said.
"Huh?" Everypony was confused.

"It's my fault that you're hurt in the first place. I'm sorry for putting you through this mess." Spike said.
"Spike, it's not your fault. You yourself didn't hurt me directly." Twilight said.

"Didn't I?" Spike talked back.
"It's okay Spike, I'm fine." Twilight said.

"No you're not, your wing is severely damaged." Spike cried.
"What, this?" Twilight looked at her injured wing. "This is just... temporary... *gulp* I hope..."

"I'm the reason you're hurt. I'm not worth the trouble I put you through." Spike said.
"That is not true, don't talk like that. I get it, you underestimate your own self worth, but you're just as important to our group as any one of us. You seem to forget why I came all this way. It's because you're my best friend, and now my hero. I love you so much, and I'm grateful for everything you do for me. I couldn't imagine being without you, so I did everything I could to bring you back, even if I put myself in danger." Twilight said.

"Twilight. *sniff* I love you too. I'm just hard on myself because, I only want to please you. You're so great, but it never feels like I live up to your expectations." Spike confessed.

"You put me so high on a pedestal, that you feel like your best is never enough for me. But Spike, as long as your heart is in the right place, and you put forth your best effort, I'm happy. And what you did today, *sniff* I've never been so proud of you, but more importantly, you should be proud of yourself." Twilight said.

Spike got the feels. Twilight's words warmed his heart.

"Oh Twilight. *sniff* I could never ask for anything more than to make you happy." Spike said.

"Oh, come here you!" Twilight hugged Spike.
"Group hug!" Pinkie exclaimed.

Pinkie, Rarity, Fluttershy, Applejack, and Starlight participated in a group hug.

"Ow, ow. Wing, and leg, still hurt." Twilight said.

"Sorry." Rarity said.

Her friends disbanded.

"Okay then, group around Spike!" Pinkie said.

They all group hugged around Spike.

"Aw you guys, I don't deserve this kind of love and affection." Spike blushed.

*woosh* "You did it Spike!" Rainbow Dash finally made it back to the mountain, just in time to congratulate Spike.
"Aw shucks." Spike was flattered.

"Sweet! You can fly now!" Rainbow Dash said.
"Oh yeah, it is really neat." Spike said.

"Looks like Dash has another flying buddy." Fluttershy said.
"We never lost faith in you Spike." Rarity said.

Spike blushed at hearing Rarity's words.

---

*umph*
*ugh..*

Spike wasn't the only dragon there. Ember and Garble started to awaken too.

"And you, you came back for us." Starlight said.
"Yeah... so?" Garble said.

"So, I think someone's starting to come around." Fluttershy said.
"You know what, fine!" Garble said. "I came back to save Spike. Sure he's, you know. But, out of all of us... he, *cough* I think he has the most to teach all of us, or something." Garble said.

"What he means is, thank you for releasing us Spike. I'm sure all the other dragons will come around too." Ember said.

"And Twilight, I'm sorry that we weren't of more help. It's just..." Ember said.

"It's okay, none of us were prepared for what we faced. But what matters, is that we're together again." Twilight said.

---

"I came all this way to save you, but it turned out that it was me who needed saving." Twilight embraced Spike. "I promise, things are going to be different from here on out, I'll make sure of it..." Twilight said.

*yawn*

"I can barely keep my eyes open *yawn* nighty night Spike..."

Twilight was still greatly fatigued, and she fell asleep/lost consciousness again.

"Twilight... I... *sniff* I love you... *yawn*... I'm tired too... I'm just going to lay right here next to you... and close my eyes..." Spike closed his eyes, and fell asleep next to Twilight. "I'm here for you, and I promise to always protect you from harm." he said as he dozed off.

---

"Mmm. These two have been through a lot." Starlight said.

"They definitely deserve a nice rest." Fluttershy said.
"Brr... How about some place warm? It's cold out here, and I don't know how much longer we can last." Rainbow Dash said.

The sun had just set below the distant mountains over the horizon.

"Well, we did lose our only means of transportation..." Starlight pointed to the destroyed hot air balloon. The wind was picking back up.

---

"Is it me, or is it getting windy?" Pinkie Pie asked.

"I think so, this wind is really messing up my mane." Rarity said.
"It's too windy." Fluttershy said.

They looked up.

"Oh come on!" Rarity exclaimed.

An attack helicopter hovered above them. The helicopter was piloted by Henry's cohort, Sawtooth. He peeked his head outside the window.

"You maniacs! Look what you've done!" Sawtooth cried.
"What we've done?!" Rainbow Dash cried.

"You ponies are going to pay for what you did to Henry!" Sawtooth said. "I'm going to defeat all of you, and carry on with Henry's legacy!"

"We've been through a lot, and you're not going to intimidate us!" Starlight cried.
"We'll stand up against you!" Pinkie cried.

"We're not backing down now!" Garble said.

The mane 5, Starlight, Ember, and Garble, stood strong.

They were ready to fight, when all of the sudden, the big propellers of the helicopter stopped magically.

"Uh oh. AAHH!" Sawtooth cried.

"AAHH!" our heroes cried.

The helicopter plummeted. *CRASH* It crashed onto the ground and went up in flames.

Sawtooth popped out of the side. "Ow..." he was basically done.

"Wow! Nice spell Starlight." Pinkie said.

"That wasn't me..." Starlight said.

*royal horn*

The chariot of Princess Celestia had finally arrived! Yay. There were multiple chariots. Celestia, Luna, Cadance, Shining Armor, Flurry Heart, and Sunburst, and all arrived by chariot onto the mountain. They were accompanied by royal guards.

"It's about time you got here!" Rainbow Dash said.

"Rainbow Dash! Don't be rude." Rarity said.
"What she meant to say was, we're so glad to see you." Starlight said.

Celestia looked over the unconscious Twilight and Spike.

"Twilight!" Celestia rushed to Twilight, when she saw just how injured she was. Everypony was very worried for her.

"What happened to her wing?!" Cadance asked.

"She took one heck of a blow..." Pinkie said.
"Is she okay?" Luna asked.

"I sure hope so. She was conscious a moment ago, but that was one powerful blast she took." Applejack said.

"Where is Henry?" Celestia asked.

"Where did he go anyway?" Rarity asked.
"He kind of fell from the cliff, and I guess that's the end of him...?" Pinkie answered, feeling unsure.

"I sure hope that's the last we see of him." Rainbow Dash said.
I have a feeling we haven't seen the last of Henry yet. Fluttershy thought.

"How did you know his name anyway?" Starlight asked.
Celestia went silent.

"It wasn't no fair. Henry had one of these here fancy boom stick weapons. Why, if we had our own boom sticks, it would'a been a fair fight." Applejack said.

"Or, if no pony has boom sticks, then no pony can get hurt by boom sticks." Luna picked up and snapped what was left of the weapon in half.
Everypony nodded and agreed with Luna's statement. Made sense to them.

"How did you find us?" Starlight asked.
"It wasn't easy, but thankfully we ran into a little help along the way." Sunburst said.

"Hey everyone..." Jeffery peeked out and said.
"Jeffery!" Ember said.

"I remember you, you were a member of Henry's crew." Garble said.
"Look, I did some terrible things, but I'm good now, and I helped Celestia find the rest of you. I figured Henry would try to rendezvous here." Jeff said.

"Well, we're glad that at least one of you saw the light, and came over to good." Starlight said.
"Uh, enough chit chat, how about we get the heck out of here?" Rainbow Dash said.

"Agreed. Let's get these two somewhere safe and warm." Celestia said, as she looked upon Twilight and Spike.