Forever Lasting Bonds

by SonicSpeed Kaleb

Learning the Darkness

Spike and Ryu were doing their usual darkness power training, this time being outside of Ponyville. That's because this time, they were doing offensive training, and they didn't want anyone in Ponyville to get hurt. "Try and channel your dark energy into a beam that you can launch into the sky. Then make sure nothing is above you and fire."

Spike nodded in response and started attempting to channel his energy. He was a little nervous, since this was his first offensive lesson. Even so, he had to at least try. As he channeled his energy, he looked up and saw that nothing was above him. When he raised his claw into the air, he announced his attempt to fire the beam. "FIRE!"

Spike wasn't able to fire anything significant however; it was just a small pellet that went into the sky and broke at a hundred feet up. Spike was disappointed that he couldn't do better, but Ryu smiled and assured him that he'd improve. "It's a start."

"I guess. But the first time I made a shield, it was huge; and that was without control." Spike explained, but then he thought for a moment and figured that he was stronger in defense than offense. It made sense considering how much power he had when defending his friends. "Maybe I improve faster in defense. (Looks at Ryu) Blast me as hard as you can." Ryu flinched and then hesitated. He didn't want to hurt Spike, as confident as he was to test his theory. "Cmon dude. I have to see if I can spawn that shield back up."

Luckily, Spike's stomach growled and he felt that he was starting to get hungry. He was a little annoyed by this, but was at least happy he'd get to eat some food soon. "You up for a visit to Sugarcube Corner?" Ryu nodded his head yes in response and walked off with Spike. He felt it'd be helpful to get to know his friends while he was here.

---

All kinds of moments from season one were shown as Twilight was heard singing the main theme of the show, My Little Pony Friends. "For every day, I look around me, for every time I see you near. I thank the stars, whose light surrounds me, I thank the earth that keeps you here. Cause I will only follow, my true heart. And I can see it clear now, right from the start. You were my little pony. I used to wonder what friendship could be; my little pony. Until you shared it's magic with me. My little pony. I used to wonder what friendship could be. My little pony. Until you shared it's magic, with me.

---

Lightspeed was currently showing off one of his inventions to Spike and Ryu; and it looked like a waiter robot pony. "And I know Pinkie Pie can handle this bakery on her own, but let's say there's that one day that ends up being an exception, like Hearth's Warming Eve or something. This can help her get finished quickly enough to spend time with the people she cares about."

Spike got a good look at the waiter robot and made him what sounded like a complicated command before giving a smug grin. "Robot waiter dude. I want a neapolitan milkshake with whipped cream and in a cup the shape of a dragon's den."

The waiter took off to fulfill Spike's command with Lightspeed letting him know that the robot has limitations. "I should mention that it's not supposed to make impossible orders." Spike nodded in response, and Lightspeed took notice to how he was conflicted on something and spoke up with concern. "Something about your powers?"

"You could say that." Spike responded, and then he showed Lightspeed how he was channeling his dark energy. When he was finished, he launched a small beam outside, making sure not to hit anything, and it went out at a hundred feet, just like the last one. He then explained why that got to him. "I was expecting my controlled offense to go as smoothly, if not better than, the shield I spawned after I first got this mark. I'm still struggling to pull off a darkness orb too."

Lightspeed was listening closely and felt that he could make something to help Spike get better. "Maybe I can invent some kind of dark power to help you improve more quickly?" Just then, Spike got his order and impressed Lightspeed. "Oh hey, he pulled it off! (Gets back on topic) If I can't do that then I get it. Just know I'm willing to help in any way I can."

"The device does sound useful, but there's no guarantee the improvements made with said device would affect Spike's powers if it got broken." Ryu brought up, feeling that it would be best to save something like that for the future. "Perhaps however, it could be useful for after Spike has gotten more used to his powers. I can see that being used as a possible last resort tactic for him when in battle."

Spike and Lightspeed both felt that sounded better, and then the two of them started thinking about what they could do to help Spike with his magic. Spike then beamed as he remembered something and made it clear with one word what his plan was. "Luna!"

---

The royal castle was shown in the background as Spike was then explaining his situation to Queen Celestia and Luna. "And today Ryu and I were doing an offensive lesson, but it didn't turn out the way I thought it would, which worried me since the shield I spawned in the battle with Nightmare Moon came up perfectly."

Celestia gave Luna a sly grin in response to that, leaving Luna to chuckle with a nervous smile, and then the two got serious again before Luna spoke up. "Perhaps this could be a sign that your darkness mark is superior in defensive magic."

"That's what I'm thinking." Spike admitted, and then he brought up the possibility of his magic failing him when he needs to be offensive. "But I still need to improve it in the offensive area for when I'm in battle so I can shift to one or the other on a dime. Ryu's been helping me greatly so far, but I figured if anyone could help me, it was the source." Spike looked directly at Luna, who was aware of what Spike was about to ask her before he even did it. "Queen Luna, I know this may seem like a lot to ask, but... can you help me figure this out?"

Luna didn't see any reason to deny Spike's request for assistance. After all, she was the one who gave him this power in the first place. She looked to Celestia, who nodded her head yes for approval, and then Luna flew down to Spike to give her answer. "I suppose it would be a good way to atone for my past sins."

"I don't care about that." Spike admitted bluntly, finding that Luna helping Celestia with the sun and moon stuff again was atonement enough already. "I just wanna get full control of my magic. To be honest, I don't even know if my defensive magic was what had to do with that shield, or if it was just a fluke."

"Even so, this is better atonement than torturing myself in my sleep." Luna admitted, leaving Spike worried as Luna realized the implication she just made and got to it. "Not that I do that anyway."

---

Spike was on the Canterlot castle roof with Lightspeed, Ryu, and Luna, and he was currently writing a letter to someone. It was then revealed to be Twilight, as the writing depicted he was telling her what was going on. "And I didn't tell you right away because I knew you'd be stop be if I tried. Believe me; I know what I'm doing. If you wanna see my training in action, you know where to find me. Love ya sis. Spike." Spike sent the letter to Twilight, but not before giving a cheeky grin. "P.S. That last ice cream sandwich is mine."

After Spike sent the letter, Lightspeed walked up to him and wondered what he meant by what Twilight said. "Why do you think Twilight wouldn't expect you to take this cautiously? You've been all about mastering this power since Ryu came."

"Something just clicked in me and told me to let Twilight know I'd be fine." Spike answered, concernedly. He knew he had his moments of general impatience and lack of care for the boring stuff. "Before we arrived in Ponyville, and even after we moved, I never really took my assistant duties seriously. I always skimmed through Celestia's letters and tried to take the fast route. And I also have a knack for getting into dangerous stuff, as you probably know from that time I snuck into the Everfree Forest with Applebloom. And also the thing in Cloudsdale "

Lightspeed saw what Spike was getting at with him not wanting to be treated like he wasn't taking this seriously. "Imagine if I told her about this when leaving and she thought I was trying to 'get ahead' or something. It's not like I blame her. I just don't want her to stop me from doing something I wanna do, or something that feels important to me." Spike crossed his arms as he showed concern for the bad stuff that could happen. "I also sometimes feel like... some people just see me as some rebel teen."

Lightspeed got a glimpse of some of Spike's inner depth and walked up to him while putting a hoof on his shoulder. He was quick to let him know that he didn't see Spike that way. "Well you can be reckless at times, but I don't see you the way. And I know our friends would agree." Spike was glad to hear that, and then Lightspeed smiled as he finished what he had to say. "Just remember why you came here. That should show them you're taking this seriously."

Spike nodded in response and smiled upon hearing Lightspeed's support. The two of them couldn't help but feel... warmer, when they were near each other. "Thanks LS." Lightspeed nodded in response as Spike then got ready to train.

Luna was now ready to start Spike's training as the dragon walked up to the targets and got ready to begin his training. When Spike showed determination, Luna explained what Spike had to do. "These targets are meant to test you using the bare minimum of your offensive dark magic. I want you to attempt to break them yourself so I can see how good you are."

Spike nodded in response and tried to spawn a small darkness beam, but when he attempted to launch it... all that came out was a small poof from his claw. Luna was surprised by this as Spike then chuckled and explained why while scratching his head. "Yeah, I should've let you know HOW little offensive magic I could use."

"No problem. We can make this work." Luna responded with worry. She was clearly more worrying than her older sister. Then again, who wouldn't be after being stuck on the moon for a thousand years? She walked over to Spike and gave him some advice on how to attack. "You must be firing with a defensive mindset. Try setting your feelings to a blaze of fire."

"My emotions affect how good I am at which one?" Spike asked with confusion, and Luna nodded her head yes, making him roll his eyes at how hard that'd be for him. "Yeah; that makes things better." Spike tried to think of something that set a fire to his emotions. The first thing that came to mind was Twilight getting hurt by a bad guy. That immediately set him off, and he launched what looked like a small beam at one of the targets. It only broke off a piece of it, but the result still impressed Spike quite a bit. "That worked."

Luna was glad to see Spike improving and was just as glad that her help was useful so far. "It's a small start, but small starts can grow into even bigger finishes. Perhaps we should take into account your ability to control your anger or will to fight while also controlling your powers."

Spike looked at his mark and was ready to continue his training as he spoke with determination. "Whatever it takes, I'll do it. Even if it takes me years to master this power." Spike then realized what he just said and made it clear to Luna that he wasn't dedicating every minute of his time to this. "But I still wanna do other stuff in between our lessons." Luna laughed a bit and nodded her head yes, assuring Spike that he was good in that category. Now Spike just had to wonder how long it would actually take to be able to use his powers to fight.

---

Spike was currently eating with Lightspeed and Ryu, where they got a face-full of Celestia's solid cooking skills in her macaroni salad. Spike still felt he could do better, but he was glad to finally taste some of the royal Queen of Day's cooking. Lightspeed could tell that Spike was glad to be eating delicious food, as he always was. Eating seemed to always bring a smile to his face. "I bet you'd love to see what you could add to this recipe."

Spike laughed at Lightspeed's response, finding it funny how on point he was with that statement. "No kidding. As good as this is, I can totally master the recipe." Spike continued to eat and managed to keep a smile, despite Ryu's next words.

"I can sense your feelings thanks to us sharing Nightmare Moon's darkness magic."

Spike was a little creeped out by that, as was Lightspeed, and the two looked to Ryu to figure out what he meant by that with the former speaking up. "I hope you're only using it for business purposes."

Ryu simply laughed with his mouth closed as he smiled to Spike. "Don't worry, I am." He seemed much more relaxed now that he'd gotten to know Spike, and also Lightspeed to a similar extent. It seemed all that training was helping him improve his social skills in a way. "I think there are some things you wish to get off your chest. Do you want me to hear as well, or do you just want to deliver them to Lightspeed?"

Spike thought for a moment and figured that it was okay to help both of them. After all, Ryu was partially responsible for helping him overcome these feelings. "Don't tell anyone else. Especially not Twilight."

"My lips are sealed." Lightspeed assured Spike, and then he backed it up with something else. "I promise with the right to smash all of my inventions if I break it. Unless I'm given an ultimatum between telling the truth and the life of someone I care about, I won't tell anyone."

Spike took Lightspeed's word for that as he then leaned against the tower of the castle the three were sitting on. He showed a more conflicted and scared look, one that Lightspeed rarely ever saw from him. It certainly shocked the Pegasus. "Ever since I got this mark, I felt like I had to learn more about it to protect everyone. Of course I didn't actually act upon it until it gave me no other options, but I didn't know what to do about it at the time. And to be honest, I still don't."

Spike held back any tears of sadness he may otherwise be having as he continued to vent his frustrations. "I still thought that shield I spawned was really cool and super useful, but after we saved Luna, I couldn't help but feel like I was expected to do something after that. Like... ponies had expectations for me." Spike looked at his mark as Lightspeed put a hoof on his shoulder to comfort him. "And what if I lose control of it completely, like I almost did when I started attending Ponyville Middle school? Then I could REALLY be responsible for our demise."

Lightspeed was shocked to hear those final words. Did Spike actually see himself as a burden? The dragon wasn't done yet however. "I've been having these weird thoughts lately. Like... if I fail... will I cause the destruction of Equestria? And if I succeed... will everyone in Ponyville fear me? There are so many thoughts wrapping around my head and I can't stick to one of them. (Clenches fists) I think I'm even starting to hate myself because I don't know if I can protect anyone." Spike's last words were what hit Lightspeed them most.

"Or if I'll be worth anything to the world if I do."

Lightspeed had never seen this side of Spike, and he couldn't feel anything but concern for him. He'd never seen him express emotions like this in the time he's known him before, and that's almost seven months! "So that's why you skipped on telling Twilight about this."

Spike nodded his head yes, and then he started to feel and for lying about it in the first place. "Yeah. I'm sorry I lied about it. I knew if I told you the truth you'd get all worried and that things would get awkward."

"Well of course I'm worried!" Lightspeed exclaimed with immense care in his voice. "My best friend besides Rainbow Dash is carrying burdens so heavy that Applejack would struggle to lift it up. What kind of good pony wouldn't worry about that?" Spike saw Lightspeed's point, and then Lightspeed wrapped his arm around Spike and assured him that he would always be there for him. "If it helps though, I'll always be there for you. No matter what." Lightspeed then gives a genuine smile. "And I know our friends feel that way too."

Spike was relieved to hear that and hugged Lightspeed, who wrapped his other arm around him. Spike had almost kissed him, and his thoughts told him that he should've gone for it 'I should've gone for the kiss.', with Ryu giving him a supportive nod. This made Spike a little more relieved, as eh knew that waiting until the Gala to make his move would lead to the perfect opportunity for him and Lightspeed to get together at last.

---

The next day, Spike, Lightspeed, and Ryu woke up in Spike's old house, since they were staying at the castle for Spike's weekend training. As Spike getting up to cook breakfast, Lightspeed was revealed to already be awake, tinkering with the stove and making it more powerful. Spike was surprised to see this and ran down to see what he was up to. "Getting to your gadgetry practice, huh? More firepower for me to work with?"

"That's right!" Lightspeed finished putting the wires together as he finished what he had in store and turned it on. The burner wasn't only working perfectly, but it also had more firepower to it, something that Spike loved to work with. "Just wait. You're gonna be cooking at Griffin kitchen speed before you know it." Spike was grateful for this, since he had a practicing method for cooking while at Celestia's castle. While he was mostly focused on his weekend training, he was glad Lightspeed had his hobbies at heart as well.

---

Spike was taking another crack at the targets and managed to break off more from the first target in one shot after an hour of practice. He pumped his fist with glee at the fact that he was improving, and felt that he was getting closer to being able to officially use his powers in battle. Luna could see the improvements clear as day, and smiled upon the progress Spike was making. "It could still be bigger and do more damage, but you're making progress. That proves you can use your power for both offense, and defense."

Spike was glad to hear that and clapped his palms together as he then got an idea. "Speaking of which, let's see if I can spawn that shield again." Luna didn't quite get what Spike was getting at and Spike then looked at her with a determined smile. "Strike me with one of your horn blasts. (Luna becomes surprised) Not a big one, just one big enough to send me to the ground."

Luna was hesitate, but she felt that as long as she only used a small fraction of her power, Spike would be okay. Perhaps... just five percent, would be enough. When she started charging her beam to five percent however, Twilight teleported to the castle and saw what was going on. She gasped when she saw this, but as Luna blasted Spike with the laser he failed to spawn his shield and got spawned to the ground. This, naturally, horrified Twilight. "Spike!"

Twilight ran over to Spike, who got up and failed to notice his sister as he started getting frustrated about his shield not coming out. "Darn it! I forgot to get into a defensive mood!"

"It was just one attempt Spike. You should be able to balance your offensive and defensive actions with time." Luna assured Spike, who then noticed Twilight, looking concerned for Spike. "Oh; hello Twilight. Don't worry. This was just a part of the training."

"And this certainly would've looked like that if Spike didn't send me that letter yesterday." Twilight responded with sarcasm, which Luna thankfully found a tad humorous. and she then changed her tone to concern for Spike once again. "Just please tell me Queen Luna didn't use TOO much of your power."

"It was only five percent." Spike responded as he wiped his chest, having only been slightly harmed by the blast. "And it was to spawn my shield so I could keep you and the others from more massive blasts, like last time."

Twilight was hoping that Spike was right about knowing what he was doing. She wanted to at least talk to him about this before she continued. "With all do respect Queen Luna, I'd like to speak with Spike alone."

"As you wish Twilight." Luna went up to her room for the time being to allow Spike and Twilight to talk alone.

Spike and Twilight were by themselves on the castle roof, where Twilight looked at Spike concernedly, and Spike sighed as he started the conversation. "Twilight, I know it may not seem like I know what I'm doing, but I'm not just blindly letting Luna hurt me. I told her myself to only use a fraction of her power to see if my shield would activate."

Twilight knew that this was important to Spike, so she refrained from getting too strict with him. She still couldn't help but worry about his safety though. "I know why this is bothering you. You're worried that your powers will be vital to stopping any evil forces that attack Equestria, right?"

"I can't keep anything from you, can I?" Spike said while laughing. Twilight then nodded her head no in response as Spike went on to explain why he felt that way. "There are plenty of reasons I have for why I wanted this training to be done Twilight. I think the biggest one is that I don't wanna let anyone down."

Twilight understood what Spike was feeling and didn't want him to beat himself up. She knew how it felt to be afraid of failure. And she knew that failure was something Spike would be determined beyond all belief to avoid. She didn't want him to go overboard, but she was more than ready to help him succeed at mastering his powers. Not before smirking in response to his letter, of course. "Did you really think I would stop you from doing this?"

Spike didn't expect that kind of response, but he was glad to hear it. It meant that Lightspeed was right about his friends wanting to help him. Even though Twilight was his sister, he was glad to get some true confirmation, and he smiled proudly in response to it. "So that means I can continue my training with Queen Luna?"

"That's not all." Twilight put a hoof on Spike's shoulder and looked at him directly as she announced a new part of his plan. "I'm gonna help you master your power. (Spike gives a look of amazement) I may not have your powers, but I DO have my own. So I can help you control them." Spike was enlightened to hear this and held out his fist for a hoof bump. Twilight happily accepted, and this cemented their desire to help Spike master his powers to protect his friends.

---

Spike was continuing his training with Twilight and Luna as a montage through the day began, starting with Spike blasting the targets once again. He was able to blast off at least three thirds of the first target, and even had enough for a second blast. It was much smaller, but it was still able to deplete the rest of the target, much to Spike's joy. The next part of his training involved him hitting moving targets. Spike wasn't as good at this, but he launched three small blasts, and managed to hit the target once.

Despite it not being completely awful, Spike was disappointed that he couldn't do better. Twilight was quick to encourage him however, and that got him motivated again. Luna then put Spike to the test with his defensive powers again, and Spike thought about defending himself, something he forgot to do before. This time, he was able to spawn a shield, much to his glee! It was only a third the size of the first one, and it almost broke upon contact, but it was still an improvement.

Spike was glad to see that he was improving. Even thought he montage was short, and he only really did three things, one of them having a lackluster outcome, he was still glad to be improving the best he could. Lightspeed was watching from close by as Spike was shown to be smiling about how much better he was doing. Lightspeed couldn't help but smile upon seeing this himself. He knew that with enough time and dedication, Spike would be able to master this power and achieve his goal of being able to defend Equestria from evil.

---

Spike was lying on the Golden Library oak as nighttime rolled around and he looked up at the stars and thought about his powers. He was still a long way from being able to master them, but he was at least glad that he managed to get a decent hold of what emotions to use for offense and defense. That alone was a big jump, and it made him confident that he could one day, protect his friends, family, and all of Equestria, the way he wanted. He didn't see any reason to use his powers for anything else. Well... other than a prank or two.

But in all seriousness, as Spike continued to look at the stars, he thought about how long it would take for him to master his powers. He was certainly glad to be making some progress, but he still couldn't shake this one feeling off his mind. The feeling that he could fail, and let everyone down. Failing others who cared about him was really Spike's biggest fear; it was something he was horrified of. And he knew it wasn't something he would always be able to prevent.

Twilight teleported up to the balcony, since she knew Spike was up there and wanted to check on him. She knew how hard he was trying to live up to the expectations of his powers. She was proud of him for accepting some responsibility, and would've been crushed if Spike's powers caused hi to go rouge. As she sat down next to him, she looked down at him and tickled his tummy, as that was his ticklish spot. That caused Spike to start laughing and put a big smile on his face, which was exactly what Twilight was looking for.

Spike was grateful for the support of his sister. He knew that the two of them would be close, even after death. He scooted closer to Twilight and let her wrap an arm around him, since he was too small to do the same as the start. He still put a claw on her back however, and the two looked at each other with bright smiles as they looked up at the stars. As the stars were shown in the sky, Spike and Twilight both prepared themselves to look forward and prepare for what dangers they'd have to face.

---

The next day at school, Spike was with Lightspeed and the CMC at their lunch table as Applebloom was talking about her latest encounter with Diamond Tiara. "And while she's bragging about her family's new carriage and disrespecting my 'revolting' farm life, I simply call her a self entitled ditch and 'accidentally' push her into the ground."

Spike and Scootaloo laughed at this knowledge, while Lightspeed and Sweetie Belle showed concern as the latter spoke up. "But isn't that mean?"

"Of course it's mean; that's the point." Applebloom explained, and then she gave some more details on it. "I'm not gonna suck up to that rich snob just because she thinks she owns Sweet Apple Acres. I don't have to take that from anyone!"

Scootaloo noticed that Applebloom was starting to get worked up and quickly changed the subject. "So Spike, I heard from an (Gives a smirk) anonymous source (Gives a casual smile) that you started training with Queen Luna herself to work on your powers?"

Spike instantly knew who told the CMC about his powers. He wasn't mad, but he did take the opportunity to give a sly grin to Lightspeed, who was already chuckling nervously. The Pegasus then chuckled nervously as he scratched the back of his head. He never was the best at keeping secrets. "Sorry Spike."

"Not a problem. I was gonna tell them later anyway." Spike revealed, and then he explained some extra details on the situation itself. "I plan on heading back to Canterlot on Saturday to start training over the weekend. I don't know if Queen Celestia and Queen Luna will let me take more than three creatures, but I'll ask them, and maybe you guys can see me in action."

Applebloom became psyched when she heard about that and slammed her hooves onto the table as she stood up and looked at Spike. "You darn well better ask! There's no way I'd miss out on an opportunity to see dark magic in action!"

Scootaloo laughed nervously as she started to get Applebloom to sit back down "Let's not go overboard AB.", and then she reminded her that this was Spike's call to make if the Queens said yes. "As cool as that would be, even if the Queens say yes, it's Spike's call how many times he takes us. And we still have to plan visits in between our normal lives."

Spike snickered a bit, seeing a bit of Twilight in Scootaloo from that sentence alone. "You still have a bit of Twilight in you."

Scootaloo giggled a bit upon hearing that, and then Lightspeed spoke up to Scootaloo while trying his best to be vague about it. "So. Scootaloo. Hypothetically... what would the biggest challenge one of would have if we started dating Spike?"

Scootaloo started to think about what her biggest challenge from dating Spike was, and she came up with it pretty quickly. "Probably the parts where he's overprotective. Not being protective in general, but sometimes he went a little too far." Spike chuckled nervously in response to that and continued eating with Scootaloo wondering why Lightspeed asked her that question. "Why do you ask?"

Lightspeed then blushed crimson red as he tried to hide his feelings for Spike from his friends. "No reason! I just thought it'd be interesting to know if dating Spike had any downsides." Lightspeed's exclamation thankfully didn't draw much attention; it was mostly just the laughter from everyone around the table. Spike couldn't help but have a more heartfelt laugh than the CMC. He had a feeling he knew what Lightspeed was getting at, and looked at him with a smile as the screen faded to black, ending the chapter off.

An instrumental version of the main theme played during the credits.

---

A red dragon from the wastelands Claws lived in was currently pounding their gavel on a sword. When he was finished, Claws came over to him and got a look at the finished project. She inspected the sword, and found it to be on point in every way. The sword was silver, as sharp as could be, and had a crimson red handle for blood. And on the handle, it said 'Kill Your Target!', and Claws looked into the sword with a cold and ruthless glare as she complimented the craftsmanship. "Perfect."

Comments

[Starlight Nova]

Is this a reboot? I swear I remember this story being older.

[SonicSpeed Kaleb]

11077856
The story overall remakes My Little Pony X, the previous version of this story.