> DragonWrath
>  by JynxJaguar
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> The Assignment
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

   Spike was looking over Twilight Sparkle's 'shopping list' for at least the three-hundredth time.
"Really, Twi?" he asked in his half sarcastic, half in assistant whine mode. "We can order half of this stuff in town."
"I thought you wanted to get out more," Twilight teased him. "Besides, I need most of these ingredients fresh, and when we order in town, it always comes in dried or.. or just icky."
Spike still frowned, which Twilight saw out of the corner of her eye. In truth, she wanted to give Spike a bit more responsibility around the library, and this was a good and easy task he could do by himself. All the flowers and berries and herbs she wanted him to gather were in the safer parts of the forest and lowlands, and he knew what to look for.
"B-but, that means I'll b-be out in the woods for th-three or four days...." he started.
She turned her patented “I’m being reasonable but I can still make you feel like a hatchling” look toward him. "That didn't seem to bother you when you went off on your little hunt for other dragons and worried us all to death."
Spike's jaw dropped, but then she smiled at him. "Spike, if I thought it was dangerous, of course I wouldn't let you go alone. But this is very easy, and you can show me and Princess Celestia how much you've learned since you've been my assistant."
"Seems like forever, sometimes." He muttered, but in a kidding way to pay back the dragon quest joke.
Twilight chuckled. "You wouldn't be talking like that if somepony else had asked you to do this. Would you, Spikey-Wikey, darling?" She did the last in an exaggerated copy of Rarity, complete with mane flip.
Spike smirked. "Yeah, yeah, real funny," he remarked. "Like a rubber gemstone." He gathered up his rations of gems  and dumped them into Twilight's magic picnic basket. It really was a marvel: it could nearly hold a house's worth of stuff and it kept ingredients and food fresh. All you had to do was think about what you wanted that you had stored in it, and you find it right on top. Spike held the basket to his side and stood board-stiff, snapping off an officer's salute.
Twilight laughed. "Oh, good, the Lavender Dawn Patrol in on the job." She rolled her eyes.
Spike tried for a deeper masculine voice and failed horribly. "The possible we do right away, ma'am! The impossible... eh, we just hope that goes away."
She walked him to the door, very much in mother mode now. "Now, remember, no talking to strange creatures, especially if they can talk back."
"Got it."
"And ESPECIALLY especially not talking to those other mean ol' dragons."
"Uh huh."
"And ESPECIALLY ESPECIALLY especially not--"
Spike interrupted. "Not manticores or Dark Ponies or anything made of shadows or three-ring circus clowns or the color magenta." She gave him a look and he laughed. "I'll be fine, Twi. I'm gathering ingredients, not going out like a knight to slay...." he suddenly stopped as the duality of the statement hit him, "Er... something that's not me."
Twilight ran into the next line of reminders at roughly the speed of a hyped-up Rainbow Dash after a sugar cube binge. "Build your fires at night, cover up, stay in the bright parts, watch the foothills, stay out of the rain, be careful picking nightfrost, stay warm, and for Celestia's sake, come back safe!" The last three words came out a little bit slower but a lot louder.
Spike blinked, surprised at the last part. "I-I will, Twi." He hugged her tightly and she put a hoof around him, drawing him close.
"Be careful," she said, and kissed the top of his head for luck.
"I will," he repeated, more sure this time.
And he went off toward the forest, trying to whistle a tune, which was somewhat more difficult for dragons than other creatures.
Twilight sighed. She wanted him to explore, but she missed him already.

"Welllllll...." The dark form growled from its night shaded haven. "It's about time you gave me my instrument for revenge, little Twilight." Its taloned hand stretched long fingers in anticipation of the spells it would soon cast. Moving easily in the darkness, it never truly seemed to gain definition, looking only as if it drew shadows toward itself as it strode the ebony halls toward its own library. It had been patiently awaiting this moment for quite sometime and savored each step as it mulled over the long planned vengeance. It opened a box that contained several spell components and a book wrapped in dark purple velvet.
"And the best part," it tittered as it unwrapped the tome with exquisite slowness, "is that it's going to be your love for that wretched little wyrm that is going to help me destroy you. And your friends. And all of Ponyville as the icing on the cake."
It took a sprig of dried crystalthorn and held it before one baleful eye. A vicious smile spread across its lips. It began to chant a dark passage from the book and the dead sprig began to glow with an unearthly pallor and then crumbled away to dust, and that even disintegrated away to nothingness. The shadow fell on its other components and it began to prepare them. Coolly, calmly, it set about its work, but just dimly in the corridors, one could hear a murmur of satisfied humor rising in its throat.

The first two days took Spike through the outlying woods, much more of a hunt than a travel. Rustic's root was a tough find, as it grew beneath other foliage and away from the sun. At one point Spike had thought Celestia herself would strike him down because of the string of what he considered obscenities pouring from him, though in truth, he'd heard very few curse words in Ponyville and was just using words that just didn't sound 'polite', as Rarity would have said. Finally, he overturned a bush and his eyes widened as he saw the purple-red leaves that were unmistakably the unique shape of the root.
"Oh, thank Celestia!" he nearly shouted, forgetting that just a few minutes ago, he’d feared her vengeful smiting. He actually fell to the ground and hugged the plant, the culmination of nearly ten hours of searching, and even thought of giving it a kiss or two, but reconsidered. After all, anyone could be watching: chipmunks, squirrels, or the dreaded color magenta.
After he picked the root, he decided that had been enough for the day, and the orange tint of the sky bore him out on the idea. The only thing he could really hunt for after dusk was nightfrost, since the edges of its leaves only turned that bright blue that gave its name under Luna's light, but it grew a little deeper into the woods. Besides, he could already see a perfect little camping spot in a clearing just up ahead of him.
He made his camp and carefully concentrated his breath for a simple fire, not a sending fire, though he didn't know whether he could accidentally send a log to the Princess and what kind of message she would take from such a missive. After his little tent fell down twice, he finally got it set to rights, this time hoping Luna wouldn't strike him down for his supposed obscenities and settled in for a dinner of tasty gems. He started with amethysts, then a few sapphires, saving the rubies to the last. As he ate, he also pulled some things from the basket that Twilight didn't know he'd snuck in and looked them over.
It was pictures of all his friends, some posed and some candid. Here was Applejack with a huge mouthful of apple, eyes wide in surprise at being suddenly busted. Rarity, in her best (everything seemed to be her best) cape and sparkling tiara. Twi, hunched over a book and looking studiously at a book by candlelight. He even had one of sweet Derpy, caught perfectly as the nice but ever clumsy silly filly had fallen down, jaw hitting the cobbled street in Ponyville's market. Spike had gone to her immediately after to see if was hurt, but she'd been just fine, the daffily charming smile still on her face. From that day, he suspected that if a meteor fell from the sky and hit her on the head, it probably wouldn't hurt her a bit. There were plenty more, from his closest friends to nodding acquaintances. He missed them, and although he enjoyed the freedom of the outdoors, he couldn't wait to get home and hear AJ's southern twang, Pinkie's lilting laugh, Rarity calling everypony 'darling'.....
He curled up under his blanket, putting the pictures back in the basket, and watched the fire crackle until he drifted off to sleep.

Applejack had stopped in before heading home, knowing she'd have to. Twilight was at her desk, but she'd moved it to be next to the window. She'd read a few minutes, then look out the window, then back to her book again. AJ watched this ritual for a bit, then made Twilight jump when she said. "Ya know, Luna just ain't gonna spit him back out on the doorstep when he gets done."
Twilight tried quickly to regaining her composure and say something easily. "Oh, it-it's nothing like that... I was just uhm- j-just admiring the stars!"
AJ chuffed laughter. "Aw, c'mon! I was born durin' the day, but not yesterday!" When Twilight reddened, the country filly went on. "He'll be fine, you ain't gotta mother hen him even when he ain't here."
Twilight looked mildly offended. "I am NOT--"
AJ interrupted, laughing while she talked. "Yeah, you are! I know it, Flutter knows it... Celestia almighty, even Pinkie knows it and she couldn't tell you half the time what color her mane is!"
Twilight was taken aback. "That's, uhm... that's..."
AJ softened her tone. "You're a tad rough on him sometimes what with that stick in yer craw about your studies. And there's all them little quirks of yours. And those annoyin' little ‘everything's gotta be juuust right...’"
Twilight gave a flat look, her voice just as flat through clenched teeth. "I. Get. The. Point." She emphasized each word.
The other pony gave her a sweetly malicious grin. "AND you make sure he eats, never goes anywhere by himself, he's in by nightfall, he gets the library and himself cleaned, and he's tucked in bed right at your hooves every night. If that ain't a mama hen, I got some books for you to read you musta skipped over."
"Am I really rough on him?" Twilight asked after she let the first part sink in.
AJ gave a little shrug. "Eh, sometimes you are. Some ponies think you're a slavedriver. Mosta The Girls know better. Me, ah think you're tryin' hard NOT to be his mama. You know, that sub-whatchamacallits-ly. Where you don't know you're doin' it?"
"Subconsciously?" Twilight said, mostly to herself, thinking on that.
"Yeah, that's the one."
"I just... I don't know whether it was a good idea, now. To send him out by himself." She looked back out the window.
"Didja think it was a bad idea when you first sent him out?" AJ's eyebrow was cocked.
"Well..... no.... but afterward..." she tried to rationalize it and faltered.
"Well, now you're closin' the barn door after the ponies ran out. It wasn't a bad idea until you made it one. Look, we're all worried about Spike a little bit. Shoot, Rainbow was thinkin' about doin' a flyover to check on him, but she didn't. We all know that little lavender gecko is gonna pop back in here in a few days and the only problem he's gonna have is a few saddle sores from sleepin' on a rock."
Twilight looked at the other pony's confident smile, knowing she was right. "I guess I am worrying to death over nothing." She went over and hugged Applejack. "Thank you. Thank you so much."
She adjusted her cowboy hat and grinned. "Easy there, girl. You get any more sappy on me and we're gonna have plenty of syrup for tomorrow's pancakes."
They both laughed and AJ said goodnight. Twilight went back to her studies, but couldn't help one more peek out the window.
"Good night, Spike."

The next day, Spike gathered a few more small items before he finally started girding himself up for the one item he really dreaded obtaining: it was the crystalthorn berries, and they only grew in one large clump in the deep woods. The berries were surrounded by twisting, viney thorns that he didn't particularly care for. He had a good strong hide that, although it wasn't as tough as an adult dragon's, would probably protect him from any scratches, but it was just a childish fear of the vicious looking points that scared him. He finally found the dreaded bush, nearly twice his own height, and walked around it in a mopey way, not seeing any berries that might have poked through the thorny foliage.He scratched his chin with a sigh, then circled the bush again, then twice more to find the most easily accessible berries.
Finally picking a spot, he eased his arm out and slowly reached through, twisting his hand so as not to touch the dreaded thorns. After what seemed like forever, he grasped the berries and pulled them free, and began reversing his slow progress.
He was almost out when (this seemed so weird, it just had to be his eyes playing tricks on him) one of the thorns... turned, and it poked him right in the arm. He yelped, but didn't drop the berries. He pulled himself free and looked at the wound. It was bleeding slightly and he dabbed it dry after first putting the berries in the basket and retrieving a handkerchief from it. After the pain eased, he sort of chuckle and started in with his deepest soldier's voice again. "I did my best, Commander Twilight, but they got me in the end. Now I must see my best girl Rarity, and show her the wounds I have endured!" He lit up at the thought of Rarity oohing and ahhing over it, maybe even a kiss to make it feel better.
What he didn't notice in all his daydreaming as he wandered toward the foothills was the blood on the thorn being slowly absorbed into the plant and being magically transported to a dark keep, for nefarious things to be done to it.
> The Rampage
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

 Everypony seemed to make a stop in the Library after the fourth day of Spike's jaunt. He was expected back within four to six days, depending on how tough some of the ingredients were to find. Some of them wanted to see if Spike had returned and how roughing it had been on him. Some wanted to see if he'd seen anything new in his travel. Most however, knew that 'Mama Hen' was going to be getting even more worried than usual as the fourth day dragged out. High strung already, she was a little short-tempered that, like Applejack had suggested, Spike just hadn't magically appeared when he picked the last item on his list.
Her friends helped calm her down and sat with her, patiently dealing with her ever-thumping nervous hoof as she chatted. Rainbow Dash didn't mind it so much, but at one point, Applejack, while talking confidentially,  put one hoof on her leg as if it were just part of the conversation and exerted a little more pressure than the comforting hoof necessarily had to be. Thank Celestia for five minutes with no rhythmic thumping, she thought.
Twilight kept having tea all through the day, and after the sixth pot or so, she was surprised she could still see her hooves, she felt so swelled from it. During the lulls in visits, she worked on her studies and tried to absorb herself in them. At one point she succeeded, and after a solid hour of reading, said, "Spike, will get me that book on the third royal line?" She paused, looked up and realized what she'd said, and dropped her head on the book. She couldn't wait for Spike to get home. First she'd hug him.
Then she was going to tie his scaly tail into a square knot.
Rarity was going over some patterns and looking at herself in a mirror as she compared color combinations. "No. No. No." She let out a sudden gasp as a particularly horrid mismatch passed before her tender eyes. She cast the two garments away and briefly considered setting them on fire when there was a knock at the door. "Come in, darling!" she sing songed. Rainbow Dash stuck her head into the mirror's view behind her.
"Oh, hello, Dash!" She welcomed with a winning smile. "I was just going over what I'm going to wear when Spike gets back. It's going to have to be something bright enough to add to the cheer, but not too much so it will overpower the moment...."
Dash's blank look in the mirror told Rarity she was probably talking to the wrong pony. She turned to face Dash. "He's not back already, is he? Oh, I should have been working on this yesterday, but I was sooooo busy with..."
"Do you think I should go look for him?" Dash said suddenly.
"What, darling?"
"I mean, I told everybody I wouldn't. It'd just embarrass him if he knew we wanted to check up on him. But you know, if he ran into trouble in the woods or something..."
Dash had begun to pace about in a small circle and wasn't looking at Rarity, who suddenly looked a little nervous at the prospect of Spikey-Wikey being in danger. "Dash..." she said quietly.
"I mean, it's not like there are manticores out there or anything..."
More nervous. "Daaash...."
"And I KNOW there aren't any dragons in those woods..."
Nervous overload. "DASH!!"
She stopped pacing. "What?" she saw Rarity's eye twitch. "Oh. Sorry. I'm sure the little lover-dragon's fine, Rar. He'll probably float back if you went out and called his name."
Rarity blushed. "Oh, you know better than that. He's just a friend, darling."
Dash laughed. "Uh huh. Let me know when you really start believing that."
Rarity sniffed. "The boy simply has marvelous taste in ponies."
"I wasn't just talking about him."
Rarity was thinking of something to say when her horn suddenly stopped glowing and her levitated clothing fell to the floor.
"Aha!" Dash said triumphantly. "See, you can't even concentrate on your horn!"
Rarity was scared, truly scared. "I--- I didn't do that. My... my connection is gone!"
And that was when they heard the first distant rumble. Something huge, far away. Then another, then more. Getting closer every time.

Twilight felt her magic vanish as well, and the books she'd been organizing crashed to the floor. Her mouth dropped open at the feel of the severing, like a piece of her mind had been stolen or shut away. She was in such shock she didn't hear the approaching rumbles for nearly five minutes. When she did, she ran to the door  and looked out. She was the last one to see the danger, but she was the one pony the sight frightened the most.

The monstrous giant caused everyone in Ponyville to panic. Anypony with magic ability was terrified at the loss of their connection, and even more so by the appearance of the creature that seemed bent on attacking the town. It was massive and each step it took made the ground quake and the houses and businesses shudder. They had seen this monster before and knew what it could do. Only now, it was far more deadly looking.
It was Spike in his massive dragon form, but now he looked much crueler. His lavender scales were a darker purplish color. His long green dragon crest was sharper and likewise darker and the fins on his jaw were longer and viciously curved, blackish-green now instead of the light green Rarity had been fond of sometimes teasing him over. On his elbows and knees the same type spikes protruded. The tail was also studded with the evil protrusions, his fanged mouth snarled in an eternal growl and his eyes were too horrible to look at for long. There was no light in them, not even a spark in the dark depths. And on he came, ignoring the things he had coveted when greed had overtaken him. He smashed carts and houses now, not accidentally through his massive size, but wantonly, and trying to attack the fleeing ponies in his wake.
Twilight was too shocked and afraid to scream.

Spike smashed the outlying houses, and it was simply luck that ponies were dextrous or fortunate enough to avoid the rubble or its footfalls. He did not cut a straight path into town, but reveled in the damage and pain he was causing. He burst forth with a long jet of flame that consumed some of the small outlying fields where ponies grew things for their own use, destroyed gardens and play yards, and it was obvious to all that kept their wits about them that it wasn't just a chaotic, mindless rampage: the dragon wanted to destroy, to ruin and cause pain.
Twilight's five friends gathered next to her as if by instinct, almost as shocked as she was.
Rarity was almost as terrified as Twilight was. "What's-- what's happened to Spike?!" she nearly shouted. "He got over that greed curse, didn't he?!"
Applejack's country pony sense kept her more grounded. "That ain't the same thing."
Pinkie Pie's personality couldn't keep her from speaking the first thing that crossed her mind. "What in Equestria did he go out and pick?!"
AJ gave her a sharp look. "Never mind that, what're we gonna do to fix him?! Twilight!!" She shouted at the shocked mare. "Snap out of it, willya?!"
Twilight spoke, but flatly. "I just sent him out for herbs and berries..."
Rainbow Dash moved decisively and clouted a hoof at Twilight's jaw, not too hard, but not gentle, either. "Twilight, come on! Herbs and berries didn't do that to him and you know it!"
Twilight shook her head at the strike and her eyes seemed to clear some. "No... no, it's not. Nothing he went for would do anything like that to a dragon... that I know of. They were all inert ingredients. But.. I've never read or even heard stories about anything like this before!"
A few pegasi were harrowing Spike, flying about him and trying to get him to follow them out of town. He ignored them mostly as they were staying out of reach of his talons and tail, but he breathed at them a couple of times which they either handily or narrowly avoided.
Rarity, barely audible, whispered, "He's... really trying to burn them."
Spike smashed another two story building with ease and crushed it down so he could maneuver a little better. He crouched lower as if he were preparing to spring into the air after the flying annoyances and a few prepared to dodge the easily avoidable attack and shifted their patterns. Dash could see differently from his body posture that wasn't the plan at all.
"No!" She shouted, and flew toward the fight as fast as she could, but she knew it would be too late. "He's faking you out, don't..."
That was as far as she got, as Spike sprang his trap. He had never intended to leap: it was far too easy to dodge a giant dragon's body as long as it couldn't fly as well. But dodging a volley of debris was different. Spike stepped widely to one side for more velocity on his swing and his tail eradicated another building, sending a shotgun blast cone of rubble at the pegasi. A few took minor hits, but a filly named Honeywing took a glancing blow to the head and spiraled to the ground, stunned.
What happened next chilled everypony's blood in the second it happened: Spike turned to the fallen pony staring at her as she gaped up at him in horror. He wanted her to see him and see how powerless she was before him, a perfect victim.
He smiled, a cruel parting of the purple-black lips tos reveal even crueler fangs.
He raised one taloned claw over her. This was not going to be an accident. He planned on crushing Honeywing into oblivion.
Twilight, Rarity and Pinkie all screamed, "SPIKE!!!" as he struck downward.
The claw devastated the cobblestones, buried nearly a foot into the ground and screams erupted from everywhere at what had just happened. A half second  later, a blue streak erupted from the cloud of dust and shot upwards. Dash was certain that she had lost the last inch of her rainbow colored tail, but she felt the assuring weight and shivering of the girl under her that she was indeed alive, though Dash was fairly certain they'd both just dropped a few years off the ends of their lives just then.
"She's okay!" Dash yelled to the other pegasi as she circled around to take Honeywing back to a safe distance.
"We've sent our fastest to Canterlot!" said one of the others. "Thank Celestia one wasn't you or else she'd be--- " She blanched at the thought. "We're requesting a Code Epsilon!"
Dash was shocked still for a moment, only hovering, unable to speak, then flew back to the other five.
"Huh-huh- he was g-gonna k-kill me...." Honeywing sobbed, wide-eyed with fear, still shaking in Dash's grip. Dash couldn't answer. She knew it was true. She was also still stunned by what was most likely coming.
She hovered and let Rarity and Applejack ease the terrified pony out of her grasp  and cover her up.
"They're... they're going to get help from Canterlot." Dash's voice was oddly flat and she seemed even paler than her light blue coat, almost as white as Rarity.
Fluttershy breathed a sigh. "That's good, maybe we can--"
"They're asking for a Code Epsilon." Dash went on, eyes staring into nothing. "That means... no holds barred."
Twilight completely misunderstood, worried about the scene of destruction before them. "If they can capture him safely, it'll give more time to find out what happened to him!"
Dash turned toward Twilight, seeing her but almost as if she were also looking far beyond her. "Code Epsilon is not like that. It's a last resort.
"Twilight.... when they get here.... they're going to kill him!"

All the ponies were stunned at that.
"Kill Spike?!" Pinkie Pie said breathlessly. "KILL SPIKE?!" she said louder, almost screamed.
"Or he'll kill them," Applejack said dully, watching as Spike kept on his destructive path. "A thousand pony lives or one dragon's...."
Twilight turned a furious teary glare at AJ. "You WANT them to kill him?!"
AJ turned, angry as well. "Did ah SAY that? No, that's what THEY'RE thinkin'! If we don't do somethin' and right quick, Ponyville's gonna be a battleground and there ain't gonna be any winners!"
Twilight started to run down the path toward the dragon and Flutter and Dash stopped her. "Twi, wait... we gotta come up with a plan.."
Twilight screamed, "We don't have TIME for a plan! Every second we make a plan is how much closer Spike gets to getting killed! We don't have any magic and you just saw what happened to the pegasi plan! I know you're fast Dash, but there's always a chance..."
Dash was talking now, just as loudly, "And you saw what he almost did to Honeywing!"
"You make it sound like you're scared to go help him!" Tears were flowing freely down Twilight's cheeks now.
Dash looked offendedly hurt for a moment and screamed back, "Yeah! Yeah, I'm scared! Didn't you see his face? He WANTED her to see it coming! He WANTED to turn her into pony paste!"
Twilight hesitated, trying to think. "It must be because he didn't know her! He needs to see someone he knows! Maybe that's what he needs, something to remind him of home!"
Dash was surprised by the lack of logic in that and who was saying it. "That's a lot to be riding on a 'Maybe', Twi!"
Rarity spoke up, and although she was quiet, everyone heard her. Her voice was eerily calm. "We have to let her try, Dash."
AJ turned to Rarity. "Say what? She might get herself squashed while she's trying!"
Rarity looked at the massacre. "He's not stopping. All that's going to be left of Ponyville in a little while is smoke and rubble. Then he's going to go after the ponies. You saw him. All he's doing is..." her lip trembled and the standing tears in her eyes fell, "... hurting everything. He's just going to go on and on. Oh, Spikey-Wikey, what happened to you?" She collapsed in a heap of sobs and AJ went over to her and put a hoof around her.
After a moment, the country filly said, "She's right. There ain't a thing we can do 'cept wait for him to start a'huntin' ponies after he finishes the town. If there IS anythin' of the ol' Spike left, Twi's the best one to find it." She looked to Twilight. "He always listened to you. You're about our best shot at this, 'cause we sure ain't gonna lasso him down."
Dash and Flutter looked at each other and sighed, knowing AJ was right. "Be careful, Twi." Flutter said, and the two ponies stepped aside.
"Be ready to move fast." Dash said. "Say what you have to, but be ready."
Twilight nodded and gave the others a sad smile of cheer she tried very hard to make as realistic as she could. "Everything will be fine. Spike will never hurt me." She galloped toward the dragon she loved so dearly to try to save his life.

Spike had begun to take his time, seeming to play a macabre shell game, tearing roofs from houses to try to find living occupants, was AJ's best guess, and the passing thought made her shudder. He had all the time in the world to cause all the chaos and destruction he wanted. If a house or business was unoccupied, he smashed it in frustration and went to the next. He was obscured at times by large plumes of dust and smoke, his hazy shadow just visible within. He smashed two more buildings before his attention was arrested by the youthful but strong voice just ahead of him.
"Spike! Spike, it-it's Twilight! Please tell me you can hear me, Spike!"
Twilight was shaking in the middle of town square. Something about this didn't feel right, and it wasn't just because she couldn't feel her magic. The situation itself didn't feel right, nothing did now that she was close and looking at the vague shadow impression that turned toward her.
"That's right, you can hear me, let me talk to you, Spike, we can figure out what happened!"
The brown cloud seemed to part and the horrid face of her now-monstrous assistant loomed out of it, frightening her badly. This close, he WAS monstrous, and not just his size or face. His eyes gleamed, not like his old curious little emerald gaze, but hellishly, like knowing that when you look into the dark, it will be looking back. She inadvertently took a step back.
"S-Spike." She said his name to give herself another moment to think. "I know you. And this is not like you. No, I mean it's NOT you. You'd never hurt anypony."
There was a sound far off, but she wasn't paying any attention to it at all, too focused on Spike, like the others were, the sound just a far off buzzing to them.
"I know you'd never hurt me, or Rarity, or AJ... any of us..."
As the sound grew closer, it began to become more distinct. Someone shouting, maybe. Still, it was far enough away that it didn't really register to any of the ponies.
Spike's massive head drew closer on the serpentine neck. Twilight smiled. She was getting to him. Soon those big eyes would begin to soften.
"See, you remember... just listen to me... everything's going to be fine...."
As the voice grew clearer, Dash's sharp ears were the first to pick it up. Her right ear twitched and she turned her head toward it. Even at a distance, she saw...
"What in the name of Equestria?!" She sighed, not able to understand what she was seeing. Flutter and Rarity, right next to her heard and looked where she was staring.
Rarity gasped and the last two ponies finally looked, none of them believing their eyes. Finally they could hear what was being shouted. and it took them a moment to process it.
"Come home with me." Twilight said soothingly. She had time to say "Come home with--- " when the shout, the shriek in fact, finally broke into her thoughts. She turned and saw a familiar face running toward her, utter panic etched on the face.
"GET AWAY FROM HIM, TWI! RUN! IT ISN'T ME, TWI!! IT ISN'T ME!!!"
Her brow furrowed as she said, "Spike?"
And the giant dragon struck.
> DragonWrath
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Earlier that morning:

Spike had indeed been on his way back home, even waking up early so he could get a good head start and dreaming of gem-crusted pies and his not so adventurous adventures in the wilds of the safest woods in all of Equestria. So he decided to make some stories up about them as he walked. He'd never tell such tall tales to any of his friends, but he thought he might write a few down as stories for later. He was making good time, and doing some heavy mental editing on the part with the 600 quarry eels and him with just a broken stick when he decided to break for a quick snack, and to get his mind back on the trail. If he kept daydreaming, he'd likely walk right into a tree or four.
As he crunched down a few tasty gems, he thought about how it was going to be later on. How Twilight was going to start giving him more and more responsibility around the Library, and maybe put him in charge of certain sections. He could handle it, he knew about as much about the place as Twilight herself did. Who knew maybe if Twi took a vacation sometime...
Nah, he thought. One, she'd never take a vacation. Two, he'd want to go with her. Surely she wouldn't leave him behind. He started to take his last bite of food when he heard a branch breaking not far from him. He paused and heard another heavy footfall, then several others. Quickly, he dashed into a nearby bush and up a tree. One large creature might mean trouble. A pack of them would most likely mean trouble. He was hoping they weren't Timberwolves. He stayed quiet and clung to the limb he was on, hiding in the foliage.
Oh, sweet Celestia, he left the basket down there! That was okay, he thought, it didn't really give off a strong scent, maybe they'd pass it right by....
The three creatures that stalked on to the path were something he hadn't seen before. They were vaguely Timberwolf shaped but much more twisted, sleeker, and not made of wood. They were shadows in red flames, blood red flames, and the shadows they were made of  were veined in the same sinister glowing scarlet. He was even more scared when they started to speak.
"He's supposed to be on this path." The voice was deep and hollow, almost echoing in its own body. This was the largest one, and he scanned the path up and back.
"The only thing here is a basket," another said, approaching the object and batting it over a few times. "Nothing in it."
"We're not picnicking, are we?" the larger one snarled. "Master said he was coming this way. Spread out and find him. How hard can it be to find a purple dragon in the woods?"
The last one seemed to laugh to itself, or it made a sound similar to a laugh.
"Shut up," said the larger, obvious leader. "You." He nodded toward the laugher. "North. You." To the other one. "We're going further back down the trail. He's probably dawdling."
As they started to separate, the big one growled, "Find him. And make sure no one else ever does."
Spike hoped his shivering wouldn't give away his position when he heard that last part. The beasts separated and stalked the trail.
Spike stayed where he was, trying to figure out what to do. These things were here to kill him, and he had no idea why. He didn't rate a death sentence as far as he knew. He was a little dragon who worked in a library, didn't even run the place, he was just an assistant....
He was.... Twilight's assistant. Spike's eyes widened as he puzzled it out. These things knew where he was going to be. Who or whatever sent them knew he was going to be by himself. Knew he was out on an errand and when he was coming back today. For him to be killed was bad. But there had been the other part of it: he wasn't supposed to be found. More than that he had no more information to go on, but he knew he had to get back and tell Twi and the other ponies. Still terrified, he eased out of the tree and slowly crept into the underbrush. He was, indeed, a purple dragon in a green forest, but the advantage of knowing that you knew how to hide better than a creature who blended into its surroundings, and where to hide better. He was also small and moved quietly. These things that were looking for him apparently weren't hunters, since they hadn't smelled for him; they were simply creatures sent to a designated spot to do one simple task, in this case, the slaughter and devouring of a young dragon.
The thought flashed quickly and he suddenly wished he hadn't had it. If he hadn't picked that spot to eat his snack, they'd have definitely had a much better chance to ambush him. Thank Celestia, Luna and whatever good powerful creatures there were for that bit of luck, but he was going to need more to get past the monster that lay ahead looking for him.

Spike hated moving so slowly when he knew Ponyville might be in danger, but if he was reckless, he wouldn't make it there at all. He moved through underbrush as much as he could, watching for the beast on the road. A few times he had to risk crawling in the open, but then he moved slowly and silently, knowing motion would be his biggest enemy here. One flash of his hide would draw his hunter's eye, and it would be all over.
At last, the flickering red flame was visible. It was an impatient creature, either by its nature or it's master's order. It paced rather than stalked, and that was going to help Spike. Attention that wasn't focused was less attention paid to the hunt. Spike moved slowly, but the Great Princesses granted him another boon: the beast was growling to itself in its impatience, helping to cover his more distant movements. Spike felt he could move a little easier as long as his body wasn't seen. Then he moved through a bush that was not as high as he thought it was, and rustled the short stiff branches.
The shadowy monster perked up. Spike froze solid, which wasn't as instinctive as it was through total unadulterated fear.
The red eyes narrowed as they scanned the area, focusing on the moving bush.
Spike looked around desperately. If the monster investigated....
It took two steps toward him, lowering its head. It looked like it was going to be a confrontation. Two more steps. Another four feet and it would see his hide contrasted against the forest canopy. Another step.
Then the sound of rumbling. The monster's head cocked back up, listening. It turned back to the bush again, then back toward the increasing sound, distant but nearing. It stepped back to the path, considered in a long, almost stupid manner, then went back up the path.
Spike waited. And waited some more, trying to get his bearings on where he was. Finally it occurred to him. He was very close to the edge of the forest, and he could remember where Ponyville was from here, and his heart sank.
It was also in the direction the ever approaching rumbling was coming from. He moved a little quicker  through the foliage and when he broke the cover into a field he could see what he realized he could already smell.
Smoke was rising from Ponyville, and in the distance he could see the town, and something very big was down there. Spike panicked and ran toward his home.

He was very fortunate that the monsters were a kill squad and not hunters or they would have chased him down across the open field. As it was, Ponyville never seemed to get any closer to him as he ran as hard as he could toward it, but horrifically, the creature in its midst seemed to come into sharper relief with every step. His heart was pounding in his chest because he knew what the other ponies would do if they thought it was him, and what would happen to them just for thinking they were helping a misguided Spike again when it wasn't him. He started to scream because that it wasn't him, even though he knew they couldn't hear him yet, screaming because it was all he could think to do, he wasn't moving fast enough, and he could barely think of what he was screaming...
Until he saw he was in town, still running, barely even noticing the bright coats of his friends outside the Library out of the corner of his eye, seeing the dragon pause in the cloud of dust and debris and look down, he saw the small purple shape so small before it, and all he could was shriek in his fear because he knew what she was doing....
"GET AWAY FROM HIM, TWI! RUN! IT ISN'T ME, TWI!! IT ISN'T ME!!!"

She looked at him and he saw her mouth his name, saw the dragon draw  a swift claw forward and before he could scream for her to move, it hit Twilight.
The only thing that saved her from a fatal blow was the warning Rainbow Dash had given her, but it was a near thing. Her peripheral vision caught a motion and knew it for what it was, and wisely, she stepped forward and ducked: should she have gone the opposite direction, the talons would have raked her head from her body. As it was, the blow was vicious enough,  and the hand caught  her, throwing her unconscious and bonelessly crashing into a nearby house where she crumpled in a heap.
Spike and the other ponies screamed her name. Dash and Fluttershy started to take to the air when they heard Rarity draw a sharp breath and put a hoof to her mouth. She was staring past Twilight where Spike was standing.
Something was happening to him.

When the monster hit Twilight and sent her flying, Spike only had time to say Twilight's name. After that, he felt a massive tug in his mind, something he'd never experienced before, from a part of him he never dreamed existed. It was rage, and although most of it had been what the dragon had just done to Twilight, there was something different to it, something beyond even the feeling of sliding into draconic greed. It was sudden and he could feel the sweet little Spike draining away. The ground was getting further away from him, his body tightening in spasm, his mind turning toward primal fury that was even older than greed.
Spike was growing, much faster than the last time he transformed, but very much the same. He was growing longer, sleeker, muscles cording under his hardening scales. His snout extended and sharpened, his back spines elongating, and here the changes did become different: where the the Greed Spike was large and muscled, he also had something of a glutton's look. This Spike was tremendously more well cut, with heavier arms and legs, talons more defined and curved. His scales seemed denser, and the plating on his chest and back looked harder than a hundred shields. He didn't look greedy. He looked ready for war.
The other ponies heard Honeywing scream at the appearance of another dragon and she hid her head, shaking. Pinkie tried to comfort her. "It's okay, that one's on our side!" She mewed, as cheery as she could, then looked to the others. ".... Isn't he?"
Applejack saw the new Spike look down at Twilight's limp body for a moment, then glare up to the evil one. In two large steps, Spike was in front of her, and the other dragon, taken aback by his sudden appearance, took a step or two back as it sized up the situation. Spike put a claw in front of her, and AJ saw it was blocking her, protecting her. "Yeah. Yeah, I think he is, Pinkie!"
Spike drew a breath and bellowed a roar at the imposter that shook the very ground they stood on. It was unmistakably a roar of challenge and defiance to the interloper, and charged into his enemy.
The crash as they came together shattered glass all over Ponyville, hard scale to hard scale and the monster dragon went backward into the path of its own destruction, raising another huge cloud.
"YEAH!" Pinkie cried out, hopping into the air with a raised hoof. "Go get 'em, Spike!"
"C'mon!" Dash said to Fluttershy. "Let's get Twilight while they're busy!"
The two flew down quickly, mindful of the two giants battling nearby. They hooked Twilight's  front hooves over their shoulders, thankful to hear her groan after the brutal hit she had taken, and moved her quickly but gently back to the Library.
Spike slashed at the dragon, but it was aware now and dodged, moving in on him. It locked up with him, matching strength for strength, but the imposter was cunning and used the rubble to its advantage, maneuvering Spike into a crumbled building, throwing him off balance enough to let the evil creature slap him with its studded tail. Spike roared as it drew first blood on him, then returned  with an upward swing with the bony top of his head, catching the beast under the shelf of its jaw, breaking off the test of strength.
Spike's mind was buried inside his new form. Now he was moving predatorially, a dragon protecting his lair and everything in it from this intruder that disturbed its home and threatened its own, and like a protector, he would not willingly destroy what he was trying to save. He circled the enemy, as it did with him, but the circle was not simply to find an opening; he stepped further toward the town outskirts  with every rotation, and the other dragon, the invader, followed suit, not realizing what Spike was doing. It was a monster born of evil and chaos, with nothing to protect and didn't even consider the deception.
It snapped its jaws at Spike, attempting to goad him into an attack, but although he was now primal in action, Spike was also a cunning creature. He swiped a claw at the snapping head, but the swing was simply to try to draw it closer, to test its cleverness as well. It didn't take the bait.
The ponies at the Library were watching wide-eyed like spectators at a gladitorial event as the opponents felt each other out. Dash kept looking to the sky, fearing to see the approach of the cavalry, then back to Spike's life or death struggle.
"Come on, come ON, Spike," Applejack said through gritted teeth, "Take the critter out!"
Rarity was tending to Twilight, but it was hard without magic. The purple pony kept moaning, but wasn't coming around.
The battle had joined again. The dark dragon swung low, then spun with its tail. Spike took a glancing slice from the talons, but stepped into the arc of the tail's swing, taking a much lessened blow, which he used his shoulder to block. He grabbed the offending tail and slung the dragon to the ground, but he was too close when he did, and the monster's claws pulled across his side as it tried to arrest its momentum. Three long gashes opened on Spike's ribs and the dragon was smashed into the ground with terrific force. Spike had not thrown it away from him, but right at his feet so he could stay on top and not give the intruder and time to plan. He clawed at the creature's neck and opened bloody grooves there, but the other responded as well, digging claws into Spike's stomach and ripping downward. Spike roared and Rarity screamed. It was a horrific wound and blood gouted from it, but Spike gave back a strong blow that caught the other dragon in the face. The first pony to see what the blow had done was Fluttershy. Even before the bloodspray had reached the ground, she could see that one of the bad dragon's eyes was destroyed by the attack. It howled and rolled away from Spike and it took another claw across its back as it tried to get away and regroup. Spike lumbered after it, but the uneven ground made it easier for the dragon to crawl so he could mount a decent attack. He tried to clamber back to the attack and managed to open another deep series of wounds on his enemy's back, but then it rolled and fired a jet of flame at Spike's head. He managed to dodge most of it, and his draconic skin was singed, but his eyes shut tightly, temporarily blinded by the intensity so close up. He pushed off, shaking his head and the dragon saw its opening.
Everypony saw it and either gasped or screamed at the brutality of the strike. The imposter's talons swung in a blow that would have left it wide open if it had missed, but with a blinded opponent....
The claws bit deep into Spike's chest and then tore sideways. Spike roared in anger and agony.
Twilight's eyes opened. "S- Spike?" Then they shot open widely as if the claws had hit her own hide. She didn't see him, but she knew. "SPIKE!!"
Spike fell away, crashing into the ground heavily and seemingly in slow motion. He growled, the hard breath stirring dust clouds where he lay.
The ponies were shocked still, Rarity bursting into tears and screaming. Dash and AJ stood frozen, Pinkie and Flutter wide eyed and Honeywing hiding her face and crying. Twilight was screaming his name.
Spike slowly slid his head along the ground, looking to the Library through the dust, blinking weakly.
The invader stepped over him and grabbed his snout.
This was his home. THEY were his home.
The dragon turned his head to expose his neck.
HIS home.
The dragon opened his jaws. Its hot spittle dripped on his throat.
HIS friends.
The dragon bent closer, the fangs near his skin.
HIS family.
There was a loud crunch.
The ponies screamed as the dragon leaned back up.
It was  over. Twilight collapsed in tears.
Then Dash saw it and screamed, "LOOK!!"
When they did look, AJ let out a whoop of exasperated relief and Twilight's eyes widened.
The reason the dragon's head was reared was that Spike's talons were embedded in its jaw and pushing it back from him. He held it at arm's length as it struggled against  the hooks deep in its skin, but Spike had it tight and twisted the neck. It had no chance to resist.
Spike placed his free hand against the dragon's jaw and simultaneously shoved the head as he tore his claws free, ripping the throat out of the monster and contemptuously throwing the body away from him as a huge fan of blood erupted from the wound.
Spike let out a victory roar that echoed off the hills as his opponent breathed its last.
Twilight and Rarity's horns immediately burst into magical glows.
Leagues away, the dark shadow was slung back in its throne from the magical backlash. When it stood, it immediately opened a scrying portal and turned its eye toward Ponyville, knowing that with the dragon dead, its magic dead aura faded with it. It saw the dragon, dead, with its progenitor standing over it, bloodied but victorious and its eyes widened. It had never expected such a thing, that the pathetic little dragon was a Lair Keeper. Its frustration built until it howled its anger and fell back into its shadow throne, defeated. It sat in its brooding darkness, its more powerful magics exhausted for a long, long time.
Dash and Flutter were the first ones to him. He had fallen back on his haunches and was barely able to move, his head lowered and arms slack. He turned his massive head toward them. His family. And he had protected them.
Dash could see he was healing rapidly, but he was also seeming to diminish, and the wounds in his side weren't healing fast enough, and they were still pumping out blood in terrifying amounts.
"Spike." She said. "Lie down, all right? You need to rest. It's all over, you saved us. Just rest."
Flutter was crying at how bad he looked, and how he was slowly turning back into little Spike, the wide-eyed dragon they loved so much.
Spike did as he was bade, his head in front of them. Dash put a hoof to his face. "You just rest, all right? Twi will be here in a moment."
And a moment it was. All the others galloped up and surrounded the shrinking dragon. Twilight and Rarity hugged him, letting him grow smaller in their arms. Twilight did her best to magically stop his bleeding but she was terrified by how much it had slowed down. He was bleeding out faster than he was regenerating. "It'll be okay, Spike. We'll get you all fixed up, okay? All fixed up and good as new... " She was rocking him as she talked, his size now down to one of the two-story houses in town.
Dash looked at Flutter decisively. "See if you can find the doctor. I'll go get Zecora." Flutter nodded and they both flew off at top speed.
Spike's features were definitely becoming his familiar ones now, and he was down to about Celestia's size now.
Pinkie was biting her lower lip, next to a worried looking Applejack. "He's gonna be okay, right? I mean, this kind of stuff doesn't happen after you save the town, does it?"
AJ said nothing, just put her leg over Pinkie.
Spike had finally reached his normal form and Rarity reluctantly let Twilight take possession of him, kissing him softly on the forehead.
"It'll be fine, Spike," Twilight cooed. "I'll take care of you, as long as it takes." She cradled him, unaware or uncaring that they were both covered in blood. After a moment, Spike's eyes opened weakly. He looked from Twilight to Rarity, his eyes a bit dull.
"Hey... Twi... hey, Rarity..." he managed. A little rill of blood was on his cheek and Twilight wiped it away, a tearful little laugh escaping her at his greeting.
"Hey, Spike," She said, her eyes glistening.
He tried to sit up, but Twilight held him and Rarity placed a gentle hoof on his head. He seemed completely unaware how badly he was hurt.
"I--I'm sorry, Twi..." he said.
"What? There's nothing to be sorry for, Spike," Sse said, taken aback.
"I---- I think I left your basket in the woods..." He tried for a sheepish grin, but he didn't have the strength.
Twilight couldn't think of anything to say. She pressed her cheek to his and he coughed a little laugh. "Wow..."
"What, Spike?" she whispered.
"I'm--" he coughed. "I'm gonna lose stuff.... more often."
Twilight laughed as she held him. "You could lose the Library right now and I wouldn't care!" she said giddily.
He didn't say anything.
"Spike?" she asked, scared all over again.
She noticed now the limp weight of him in  her hooves.
"Spike?!" She looked at him, his eyes were closed and he didn't respond to her. She gave him a gentle shake and his head fell forward bonelessly onto his chest.
"SPIKE!!!"

> Visitations
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

   It had been two weeks, and Spike was still in a coma. He lay in Twilight's bed, in the best spot, right where the Sun came through the nicest. All his friends came to visit him, but according to both Dr. Horse and Zecora, visitors had to be one at a time and no more than an hour each.
Spike's wounds were healing well, but the ones on his side were going to leave a nasty set of scars for the rest of his life. The Doctor almost added something to that prognosis, but decided to keep it to himself for the sake of propriety. He had lost a tremendous amount of blood, which, along with the heavy shock-trauma, was almost certainly the culprit in his current comatose state. The Doctor was glad when Twilight didn't ask how long he would be in this state. He didn't want to tell her it didn't seem likely to be a short time. Maybe never.
So Twilight changed his bandages and saw to his feeding and other care. She fell behind on her studies because she couldn't concentrate. She would study in the bedroom with Spike until a visitor called, then she would move to her desk, then back to the bedroom after they left, but she didn't disturb him, as per the doc and witch doctor's orders. At night, she would curl up next to him and weep gently as she watched his sleeping face until she drifted off herself.
Applejack came by with hot cider, renowned for its medicinal powers,  at least according to her, and fed it to him while she told stories of the family and the goings-on about the ranch and who got in a dust-up with who. She told him all about how the ponies were coming together and rebuilding the ruined side of Ponyville (though she neglected to mention the behind the few hoof talks about what should be done about the dragon menace and how she'd nearly wound up in a couple of dust ups herself).
When she left the room, Twilight asked, "Is everyone still upset about Spike?"
AJ shrugged. "Most the one's I meet ain't. Ain't been a whole lot I met, though. There's a certain pony named Brighthorn who's gonna catch hoof-in-mouth disease if he keeps up the way he's goin', though."
"Is it bad?" Twilight asked, hopping off her stool.
"Not right now. It's mostly just talk, but half of it's wrong, and the other half ain't right. And he talks to everybody. Ah just don't like hearin' the accusations. Keeps it up, they're gonna wind up callin' him Butthorn, 'cuz I'm gonna shove his head..."
"AJ. Please don't." Twilight didn't know if AJ was serious, but it was wiser to make sure. "It's going to be hard enough without you beating up other ponies over this."
The feisty filly looked a tad miffed. "It'd just be this one, and that's all it'd take." She thought, then sighed. "Yeah, guess you're right. It'd go 'gainst everything Dash's been doin'."
Twilight's brow furrowed. "Dash?"
AJ smiled. "Yeah. She's been talking to all the pegasuses that was there fightin'."
Twilight couldn't help her correcting speech. "Pegasi."
"Yeah, them too. Anyway, she's been makin' real progress with that Honeywing kid. You oughta talk to her about it."
"I'll do that. Thanks for stopping by, AJ. And for the cider."
"Don't mention it." She said it off-handedly, but looked pleased. "I'm just hopin' it works."
Fluttershy stopped in every day with fresh flowers and stayed for a while with him. Even with him being asleep, she rarely talked above her little Fluttershy voice. She kept him up to date on whatever she'd seen that day, mostly about the animals, and made sure that he was tucked in and warm.
Pinkie stopped by at odd hours during the day, her cheerful personality a (mostly) welcome presence in the otherwise quiet library. She talked at great length about the party that was going to be thrown when he woke up, and all the ponies that would be there, etcetera, etcetera. She also told him jokes and anecdotes she'd picked up over the course of the day, though she messed most of them up or outright mixed some together.
Dash sat with him and talked about how he was a hero, and how brave he was, and how the rebuilding was coming along well, and how that little filly Honeywing was doing.
Dash walked out of the room and Twilight said, "Thanks, Dash."
The blue pony cocked her head. "Huh? He's a buddy, you always check up on your buddies."
"No, no, I mean about talking to the pegasi that were at the battle. AJ told me."
Dash smiled. "Oh. Yeah, no problem. Most of them know it wasn't him that was destroying everything. I was mostly worried about Honeywing. She's bouncing back pretty well, and she's coming around to the idea that Good Spike saved us from Bad Spike, and that Bad Spike's not going to come back."
Twilight's eyes darkened. "I certainly hope that's the case."
"Me too," Dash said as she walked toward the door. "Of course, I'd really like to know where it came FROM. See ya, Twi."
Twilight was surprised that Dash's though had not occurred to her since the battle. She'd been so distracted with Spike and so harried that wouldn't let herself think about anything else. She looked to her shelves and decided research on that would have to wait until Spike was better. In her current state of mind, she couldn't afford mistakes. She was too nervous.
Of course, if one to consider the word 'nervous', they wouldn't have to look much further than Rarity. She was close to a breakdown, though she maintained her demeanor, which was a scary combination. She was also in every day, with a fresh batch of warm but very fashionable blankets and changed Spike's bedding with infinite care, talking to him about all the things they were going to do when he got better, all the festivals she wanted him to take her to, all the fashion shows she wanted him to attend with her, all the fun they would have together, where they would have dinner and take long walks together, everything they would do together, which seemed to be everything outside of conquer a small nation together and that might only have been because she hadn't planned that far ahead. Yet.
On the fifth day of her visits, she had given Spike a shaky little laugh and wished him a wonderful day with a kiss on the cheek. When Twilight saw her come out, she mentioned, purely out of off-handed kindness because she knew how much appearance meant to Rarity, "Your mane is a little..." she didn't know what the politest word to use would be.
"Hm?" She looked to Twi and noticed her point. "Oh, dear, it's just been so chaotic lately, I'm surprised there's still any style left to it at all!" She went to a mirror  and noted the stray hairs and  began brushing them into place. "I mean, with so many orders and the rebuilding, not to mention the festivals coming up and I simply MUST have all my designs set up SO long in advance, and Spike...." She stopped and her hoof lowered as she stared at herself in the mirror. Her brow started to furrow and she started to cry, turning away from the mirror. Twilight went to her and Rarity laid her head on Twi's shoulder. The two held each other and Twilight felt her own eyes start to well up.
"Oh, I do miss him so." Rarity sobbed. "He was always so sweet to everyone, and generous to a fault. He was always on the verge of telling me he loved me...." She sniffed and looked Twilight in the eye. ".... I was just afraid that if he ever told me, I wouldn't be able to answer him. At first... it was because I was afraid because nopony could ever love a dragon that way and I'd hurt him. Later... it was because I did love him, and I was afraid I couldn't say it and hurt him worse."
Twilight smiled understandingly and touched horns with her. "It just seems to be the hardest thing in the world to say when you really mean it."
Rarity smiled back, calming down greatly, but the smile was bittersweet. "It is. I can tell him that now... but I want to tell him face to face, eye to eye. It will mean everything.... to me." She broke the embrace and walked to the door. "I'll be back tomorrow, all right?"
"Of course." As an aside, she said, "Spike always said your eyes were the most perfect gems he'd ever seen."
She stopped before she stepped out and cast a glance over her shoulder. "Really? I've always thought my eyes had a lovely shine. But have you ever looked at Spike's? They.... Sparkle."Her smile widened and she stepped out.
Twilight's oddest visitor came calling the very next day. She had just finished organizing a row of books when she a peculiar series of knocks at the door.
Toc-toc-THUD.
Toc-toc-THUD.
Curious, Twilight answered the door and Derpy fell inside the door with one hoof raised. On the arm of the raised hoof was Derpy's mailbag, and Twilight quickly surmised what had happened: Derpy had started knocking, but the weight on her arm pulled her forward and she hit her head on the door on the third rap.
She was back on her feet in a flash, he daffily ever present smile on her face. "Hi, Twilight!"
"Hello Derpy. Is there something I can help you with?"
"There sure is! I've got a delivery!" Pleased as punch about it, too, Twilight thought.
"Thanks, do I have to sign for it?" Twilight levitated a quill over.
"Nope!" Derpy shook her head emphatically. "It's not for you, it's for Spike!" She slid her pack off and started to rummage, though there wasn't really that much to got through.
"Spike?" Twilight was unsure whether the delivery pony knew what kind of condition Spike was in. In terms that seemed oddly appropriate for a pegasus, she was flighty. "Derpy... Spike is... "
"Asleep! I know!" She was just so matter of fact that Twilight just watched as the gray pony finally pulled out a small wrapped box. "Here it is!"
Twilight read the label. It was indeed to Spike, and the sender..... was Derpy.
"You... Wait... you sent Spike something by mail." She was confused.
"Uh huh." She nodded enthusiastically.
"The mail... that you deliver."
"Well.... yeah!" Derpy said, cocking her head to the side. "How else is it gonna get here?"
Twilight blinked. It made an odd kind of sense, and it was just a perfectly Derpy thought.
Derpy looked past her to her room. "Can I deliver it? Pleeeease?"
Twilight thought about it. Derpy was being nice in her sweetly innocent way, but she was also very accident-prone. Another look at her wide eyes told Twilight that she had let everyone else see Spike, it would be impolite and mean not to let Derpy visit with him.
"All right, but you have to be very careful while you're in there, okay?"
"You bet!" She responded as she she walked by Twilight and right into a table.
Twilight stayed nervous after Derpy had gone inside. She paced for about thirty minutes and although she knew it was impolite, she peeked around the door to make the room was.... well, still there.
Derpy's head rested on one hoof on the bed, the other gently stroking Spike's forehead and she wasn't saying a word. Her face didn't show worry, just that smile that showed her simple joy of the world around her. Twilight laid her head against the door and watched, a smile of her own widening her lips.
She went back to her organization and let Derpy finish her visit. When the klutzy filly came out, Twilight said. "Thank you for coming by, Derpy."
She looked around. "Huh?" She asked, then it sank in. "Oh, sure, no problem! I had to come by!"
Twilight's curiosity was roused. "Really? Why is that?"
The cock-eyed filly seemed to try to frame her response and said, "Well, he fell down!"
"What?"
"See, this one time, Spike was getting a picture of me, and while I was posing, I fell down. He came over and asked if I was all right. Nobody ever asks if I'm all right when I fall, 'cause it happens a lot." Twilight felt a twinge at that. "It's okay, I don't get hurt. But it was nice of him to ask. He was worried when I fell down. Now I came to make sure he's not hurt 'cause he fell down. I was quiet, though, since he was asleep. I want him to wake up so I can ask him if he's all right. But he'll wake up when he's ready."
Twilight softened. She was a ditz and accident prone and had six left hooves, but she was also one of the sweetest natured ponies in Equestria.
"Well," she said perkily. "I gotta go, gotta get my mailbag back!" She took six steps, stopped and turned around. "Oops, gotta get the mailbag!" She retrieved the bag and slung it on. "I hope Spike likes his package!"
She was almost at the door when Twilight said, "Derpy?"
She spun around giddily and almost fell down. "Yeah?"
"Would you... come back and see him again?"
Her eyes brightened. "Can I?" She was excited.
Twilight smiled. "Any time you like."
"Yay!" she said, and turned to go. She missed the door by seven inches. "Oops!" she said, and then she was gone.
Curious, Twilight went into the bedroom to see what Derpy had given him. She magically opened the package and had to stifle a laugh.
It was a muffin. It was almost a gem muffin, like Spike favored, but Derpy had probably not known how to order one. So she had gotten a regular muffin and stuck gem encrusted jewelry all through it: earrings, necklaces, bracelets, tiaras.... the muffin was stuffed with more accessories than one pony could ever wear. It was a pure Derpy gift, and it was lovely.
"Thanks, Derpy," Twilight said aloud, and put a preservation spell on it.
Aside from the very close friends and most of the kids Spike and Twilight knew, the other visitors were fewer and farther between as the second week started coming to a close. Twilight was still behind in her studies, and she was afraid Princess Celestia might grow impatient with how badly she was lagging, but the harder she tried, the less she seemed to get accomplished. She began to worry that Spike might be seen as a distraction, and although Celestia was a kind mentor, she also didn't like the idea of Spike being taken from her.
Even with all the food and cider being fed to him, Spike was slowly getting thinner.
So was Twilight. Still she maintained her routine, and AJ eventually started bringing a different batch of cider for her as well, one that would help her sleep a bit easier. All the others began showing concern for her too, but she was always ready with a smile and half-promises to eat more and get more sleep, but they could all see the worries piling up on her. She had a mountain's worth of weight on her and rocks kept being thrown on. Her best comfort was when she curled up with Spike at night. Although she couldn't sleep well, she just felt better with him close to her.
It was the afternoon of the fifteenth day when the visit Twilight dreaded finally arrived.


> An Eternal Ocean
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

   There were only three knocks, in a perfect succession, and she knew.
She went to the door and opened it in supplication, bent knee before Princess Celestia.
"No need for formality, dear student."  The Princess strode inside with all her regal stability. "I am here on a business much more serious than formality allows."
Twilight rose, ready for her rebuke.
The Princess looked to her. "Show me to the dragon."
Twilight, a little weak in the knees, began to lead her toward her room.
Celestia noted her slowness. "Are you well?"
Twilight looked to her, unable to reply at first. "I... am fine, Princess."
A beat, then the Mistress said, "Ah."
Celestia entered the room as soon as Twilight opened the door and her eyes fell immediately on Spike. She gently  walked over to him and put a hoof to his head and murmured something Twilight couldn't hear. Then the Princess silently called her near with a wave of her hoof.
"There is a great love in this one." Celestia paused, waiting.
"Yes." Twilight sighed. "He bears great love for her."
There was a pause, and then it seemed Celestia's voice echoed in her head. "It is no less than he feels for you. Or the others that love him as well. It is a different love, but it dwells deep within him.That is why I chose him."
Twilight's eyes widened. "You... chose him..."
Celestia turned toward her, now speaking directly to her. "I had only heard stories of dragons. Their histories are lost to us. But, it seems, dragons are as varied as ponies. Some are ground ponies, some pegasi, some alicorns. Dragons seem to have been as diverse, if not more. There were Frostkeepers and Firelords, Fogseekers and Stormwalkers.... and even fewer that even I had only heard legend of."
Twilight looked to Spike's motionless form to the Princess. "I--- I don't--"
Celestia looked to her. "You saw what he became?"
Twilight was a little nervous as she answered. "Y--yes..."
The Princess's lips parted in a small smile. "He is a dragon I heard about in fairy tales when I was just a foal myself. Tales that fell out of favor as time went on and our enmity with dragons made them less creatures of wonder and more monsters we should fear and mistrust. Spike's breed is a closely guarded secret to them, and they are rarely seen by other creatures save those foolhardy enough to enter the cave where one dwells."
Twilight tilted her head, now growing curious. "You... you've never told me how you came by his egg."
The regal eyes were gentle. "Through a series of tragedies and good fortune, dear student, that I will relate to you one day. But this is not the proper time. I worry for Spike right now, and I have not the heart to recollect that story."
She pulled the covers on Spike down to reveal the scars on his side and her eyes grew sad. "Your proofs of courage." she said softly to the sleeping form. "I should like to see you wear them with pride one day, brave little drake." She returned the covers and didn't turn to Twilight when she said. "Spike is what the legends call a Lair Keeper."
Twilight looked at the little dragon. "A Lair Keeper?" She turned her gaze back up to the Princess, awaiting an explanation.
"A Lair Keeper is a protector. They insure the safety of the dragon's homes. Though they are rarely spoken of, they are highly valued and respected greatly by other wyrms, not only for their power, but for their loyalty. I daresay you've witnessed the former and have always known about the latter."
Twilight blushed a little at that.
"I did take him for his first few years," Celestia continued, "Not only to raise him and train him as an assistant, but also to prepare him as well as I knew how mentally, without revealing to him his true nature. I believed his abilities would not manifest until adulthood, and then I would have told him. I thought it best he be raised as much pony as dragon, and he took well to both aspects." She smiled. "In truth, I believe there is more pony to him than dragon. I suspected he
would have gone to see the dragons much earlier than he did."
Twilight's eyes widened again. "You knew he'd do that?"
"Of course. He had already begun to accept Ponyville as his home, but there was still a deep seated urge to protect his own kind, and so he sought them out. When they mistreated him and you and your friends defended him...."
Twilight jumped in, unintentionally interrupting her mentor. "You knew we'd go after him!"
A sly smile crossed the Princess's face. "I.... suspected rather strongly that you would, if no one else. And Rarity, of course."
Twilight's eyebrow raised. Celestia laughed. "I've never known a creature so dead-set against fighting her own feelings, and that includes many of my former enemies." She noted that Twilight's stare remained unchanged. "Oh, I've known about that for a while, now. You don't think I would keep an eye on the boy I raised?
"Anyway, back to what I was telling you. He has accepted Ponyville as his home, as I said. He had that naughty business with the curse of greed, and for that I fault myself for not teaching him about it, for I never suspected a Lair Keeper to be susceptible to it. It appears I was wrong in that aspect. But he overcame it, for which I am very proud."
Twilight put a hoof on the bed, trying to think how to phrase her next question. "So.... the thing he turned into..."
Celestia gave her a stern look. "He was NOT a thing. He was Spike in his Keeper form."
Twilight reddened, apologetic for her phrasing. "I'm sorry." She seemed to be saying it more to Spike than the Princess, and the elder mare's face relaxed. "His... Keeper form... How could he do that if there wasn't any magic?"
"The transformation is not magic, dear. It is a metabolic change brought about by extreme threat to a Lair Keeper's home. I had no idea it could manifest in one so young, or that he would have grown to the size that he did. That is probably why he was much less in control of himself. He was not mature enough to overcome the more primitive need to protect his home. Also, the energy he had to expend must have been tremendous to grow to that size. He would certainly had to have slept after. That, coupled with his wounds.... " She trailed off, eyes growing dark with worry.
"But..." Twilight began after a moment. "Can't you heal him, Princess?"
The regal mare sighed. "His wounds have been tended to as well as they can be. It is the exertion on him that he may never awaken from."
Twilight's rear legs buckled as the strength went out of them and her haunches thumped to the floor. To have Celestia tell her that Spike might never wake up drove the blade into her heart. Her eyes began to water and then the floodgates burst, sobbing heavily and not caring if it was in front of the Princess.
Celestia let her cry until Twilight tapered off to sniffles, enough to look up and see that the Princess had shed tears of her own, but she put a hoof on Twilight consolingly.
"Who..." Twilight sniffed, "Who would do this... make that... that monster of him.... and why?"
Celestia's voice cooled. "I have my suspicions, and should I find them to be correct, I will not be merciful in retribution. I will not speak of it further. The why is simple revenge for a wounded ego. The plan was a devious one, and my investigations have borne me out on it.
"The plan was to make a clone of Spike and kill the original. The clone, devised through magics so dark and foul that the beast's creator had to impart some of it's own life essence to empower it, was imbued with all of the elements that oppose the elements of ponies. It WAS Spike, in body, but it had no soul but one of hatred, and a lust only for causing pain and destruction. Even you would not be able to tell the difference. Then its heart was implanted with a crystal that rendered magic inert, and incidentally shattered when the monster died, and it was sent to destroy Ponyville and all that dwelled within it. Possibly then onto Canterlot. The monster would have killed you, and its Master would have revenge, or you would have seen 'Spike' slain, and the Master would have vengeance still, although at the cost of a very powerful servant. What was never involved in the equation was Spike avoiding his assassins and returning to Ponyville. Then the greater shock of what he would become when his home was threatened and your life placed in mortal peril. I daresay that if Spike recovers, the scoundrel will think twice about attacking again."
IF he recovers, Twilight thought, she said it again.
Twilight paused a moment. "Is there anything that can be done? Please, Princess..." she was starting to cry again. "I'll do anything to make him wake up... I just want him to wake up!"
Celestia touched her horn to Twilight's, and Twilight could feel the sadness emanating from her teacher as she said softly, "You are doing everything that you can, and your friends are as well. You are all caring for him and giving him the love and attention he needs. If he is strong enough in his will, he will come back to you. But if he cannot return, you must know it is no fault of yours or anyone else that cares for him."
Celestia pulled back from Twilight so she could look her in the eyes. "Please. Continue to take care of him. For me."
Twilight tried to smile. "Y-yes, Princess."
"Good, my student. I must return to the castle. Keep me informed of his condition."
"Of course." Twilight had one more thing to ask, and Celestia patiently waited for her to summon it.
"Princess? Does... I mean.... are there ponies who... don't want Spike around anymore? Be-because of what happened?"
Celestia paused. "Yes. There have been petitions brought before me."
Twilight swallowed. "And?"
"I listen to the desires of my subjects."
Twilight paled noticeably. Then a wry smile touched Celestia's face.
"Then I tell them why I am NOT going to send him away."
The Princess kissed Spike's head and whispered. "Dream well, my brave one. May the sea that bears you hence bring you back to safe haven."
That night, Twilight curled up with Spike and pulled him close to her, hoping and fearing in equal measure.

> Night's End
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

 Rain was falling, and Twilight hated it. She didn't need to look skyward to know  the clouds darkened the day almost as black as Luna's night. The darkness she didn't care about. It could be dark forever as far as she cared.
She didn't want to share her tears with the rain.
She looked into the grave that looked so small but held eternity in its depths, a forever she knew she would see when she closed her eyes that night and every night ever after, to see the little coffin marked with the royal seal as it floated in the darkness. From there she looked up and saw all her friends surrounding the grave and staring in sadly. Fluttershy was sobbing, being held by Rainbow Dash, whose bright colors seemed faded and deadened, as all colors seemed to Twilight just now. Pinkie Pie's eyes were closed, but tears streamed from them steadily. Applejack was consoling Rarity, poor Rarity who was collapsed on her forelegs and absolutely breaking down, unable to stop crying for the longest time....
"The sea has kept him on an eternal dream." Twilight heard Celestia beside her.Twilight looked up to her, draped in somber colors, then on her other side, where Luna stood in quiet respect. "It has borne him to the next adventure that awaits."
Twilight began to cry harder. "It's not fair..."
Luna turned  to look at her. "Not fair, my dear?"
"No. Spike shouldn't have died.... He saved Ponyville." She sobbed.
Luna considered. "That doesn't mean he couldn't die. Performing a heroic act does not necessarily mean one is invulnerable."
Twilight couldn't help shaking. "B-but I never got to tell him..."
Luna paused. "Tell him what, dear?"
"H-How much I appreciated him... how much I needed his help..."
"Oh?"
".... How much I loved him..."
"Ah. There never seems to be time to tell someone how they feel, until that time is gone."
Celestia, sternly, from the other side, "Luna."
Twilight looked back to Celestia. "I'm... I just wish I would have said it... instead of just hoping he knew..."
Celestia nodded. "We must do with what time gives us. These are hard lessons to learn, my student, and they are lessons that cannot be studied in the Library, or passed from teacher to pupil."
Twilight closed her eyes tightly, crying so hard she couldn't stand and collapsed onto the cold wet earth. She felt like she could cry forever as she heard the first clods of gravedirt strike the coffin lid, covering Spike for all eternity, putting him the dark....
She felt hooves pulling her into an embrace, and far away, a small voice from all around her....
"It's okay. I'm here."
She wanted to cry harder when she understood who it was.
"It'll be okay...."

Twilight's eyes sprang open and blinked away her tears. She saw the top of Spike's head and knew she was back in her room. She sniffed and started to cry again, still frightened from her dream, sobbing for a moment when she felt it.
She just wasn't holding Spike. His arms were around her neck, and for a moment she was frozen with surprise.
Spike's voice, rusty and cracked with disuse, murmured sleepily. "Don't cry, Twi, I'm here."
She looked down. His eyes were still closed and she prayed to Celestia that she wasn't just hearing things. "Spike?!" She asked, half panicked.
The eyelids pinched shut twice as if they were too heavy to open, then a small gleam of green sparkled in the darkness. "Hey, Twi...."
"SPIKE!!" She nearly screamed and hugged him tightly.
Spike was still woozy when he had awakened and heard Twilight crying. He was still very tired, but he was wondering what was going on with her, and he wanted to calm her down in case she was having a nightmare. The problem was, his throat was so dry, it felt as if he had gargled sand before bed, and when she finally woke up, she'd screamed and put him in a choking death hug. While he was processing all THAT, he suddenly realized where he was and in his confusion and inability to remember how he'd gotten there, had a sudden irrational fear that they might have drank the wrong cider and had done something VERY inappropriate. Was that why she was crying? Because they'd done something wrong? If so, then why was she hugging him now?
"Uh... Twi? Can't breathe..." He managed.
Now she was shaking him back and forth in the hug. "I'm so glad you're awake!"
Huh? "Twi.... can't breathe..."
"Oh, Spike! IloveyouIloveyouIloveyouIloveyouIloveyou!"
Two very short words occurred to Spike at that moment in very large red flashing letters in his mind. The words were: UH OH.
"Twi... can't breathe and REALLY NERVOUS!!"
She let go then and held his thinner cheeks in her hooves. His big green eyes were darting back and forth nervously at first, then they settled on her.
"Uh... Twi? Have you been eating?" He asked, now worried about her.
She had missed that and giggled a little bit. "It's all right, Spike."
He was nervous again. "Sure doesn't LOOK all right."
Twilight smiled, her eyes shimmering with tears as she looked at his eyes. But it was all right, these weren't sad tears. "It's all right for now. Come here, Spike." He pulled him into an easier embrace and wept happily. After a moment, he held her back, and this time, he was calmer.
"It's okay, Twi." He whispered. He didn't care if they had done something wrong anymore and was content to let her hold him and cry as long as she needed to cry.

Twilight's eyes fluttered open in the early morning sun and she found she was holding Spike, as she had the night before. In the bleary moments between sleeping and waking, she felt a sudden pang that she had dreamed Spike had woken up and wasn't sure she could stand if her mind had played such a cruel trick on her.
"Spike?!" She asked in a panic.
The little dragon's eyes squinched and opened. "What, Twi? Is everything okay? Did I oversleep?"
He was pulled back into her embrace again. "Oh, you ARE awake!"
He was muffled against her neck. "Uh... yeah... I'm awake.... uhm... Twi?"
"Yes, Spike?" She didn't relinquish her hold.
"Uhm.... what's going on?"
She let him go and looked at him, wondering where to begin. "Oh, Spike. This is not going to be easy for you."
Spike swallowed. "Then... can it wait til after breakfast? You're thin as a rail and I'm thirsty and starving to... AAAAAAAAHHHH!"
He had begun to scratch an itch and found the deep grooves in his side. He stared down at them in shock.
"It's okay, Spike, really, it's okay, I'll tell you all about it, just relax...." It was all she could think to say.
"But I..." He tried to push himself up, but his weakened limbs wouldn't support him right now. "OOOF!" He plopped back on the pillow and his eyes started looking scared.
"Spike...." She soothed, stroking his forehead. "It's okay. I'm here. Let me get us both a big breakfast and I promise I'll tell you everything. Okay, dear?"
He calmed under her touch and said "Okay." Partly it was her gentle tone and calming touch. Partly..... she had called him 'dear'.
"T-Twilight?" he stammered.
"Yes?"
"Can you get breakfast from.... not our kitchen?"
She smiled as she covered him back up and with a gentle prod, made him stay there. "Gem muffins it is."

Twilight thought she was early enough to avoid any of her marefriends, but she couldn't have been more mistaken. All it took was Pinkie Pie spotting her picking out her order at the bakery, and then it was just a matter of nearly tripping overself to find Rainbow Dash. After that, word spread like wildfire. Fortunately, Applejack was already in town and Dash didn't have to fly out to the farm and the five mares were gathered together before the muffins finished baking.
Twilight had ordered quite a large amount of food, having rediscovered her appetite not only after Spike had woken up, but also the wonderful layered smells of the bakery. As she watched her order starting to pile up she wondered if she and Spike could possibly eat so much. Her stomach reassured her they could probably do it twice over. When it was finally done, she had to take five minutes trying to figure out how to get  the packages through the door.
Arriving back home, she added two glasses and two pitchers of cider, thought it over and made it three pitchers, and delivered entire thing to the bedroom.
Spike was still weak and his glass felt like lead in his hand, but set to the cider with a will. He was so thirsty he could hardly stand it. Twilight watched with sad amusement.
After they had demolished quite a bit of the hefty breakfast, both felt much better and some of Twilight's color had improved. Spike rustled nervously as he girded himself to ask one of the many questions that had been on his mind since the night before, and finally settled on one of the ones he thought most pertinent.
"Twilight?"
She hoofed a crumb from her chin as she swallowed a bite. "Yes, Spike?"
"..... Why were we in bed together last night? And.... cuddling?" He found he couldn't meet her eyes when he said it. That was bothering him more than those mysterious scars on his side, but he couldn't say why.
"Oh.... that." Twilight reddened. She hadn't considered his perspective on what had happened, waking up with no memory, being held by her in her bed, her so emotional.... any wonder he was confused? The very thought of what he must have concluded drove every coherent thought out of her mind and she tried to express twelve different explanations at the exact same time, making Spike think the impossible MIGHT have happened.
"Well, Spike... You, ah.... well, I kind of... you, you were uhm.... we didn't... that is..." Twilight wished for one outlandish moment that she had a blackboard so she could write it all out. She put her head on her hoof and closed her eyes. In her utter frustration at her inability to articulate her thoughts, she shouted, "Oh, *#@%!"
That froze them both. Twilight had just sworn for the first time in her life. Her eyes popped open and went right to Spike, whose jaw was dropped to his chest.
Then he began to titter. Then giggle. Then he burst out laughing. Twilight was right back in teacher mode.
"Spike, that is NOT--" and she chuckled. "It's not f-fuh-funny..." And they were both laughing, roaring with it, almost, and it carried on for what seemed like forever.
"No more.." Spike managed. "No more, I'm gonna bust! Ow ow ow..." His scarred side stung a little with his laughter, but he didn't care. "What you SAID!!"
"Don't you EVER repeat that!" Twilight laughed. "I'll turn you into a---"
She never got to finish her threat, because at that moment a white and violet streak landed on Spike with a huge exclamation of "SPIKEY-WIKEY!!" and the sound of numerous kisses. Twilight jumped back and heard two familiar voices behind him, one with and unmistakable southern twang.
"Well, there goes the element of surprise."
"Shoot, I dunno about that. The purple fella seems real surprised."
Twilight turned to see AJ, Dash, Fluttershy and Pinkie all in the doorway, smiling.
Pinkie darted her head in. "Is he awake? Is he reallyreallyreally awake?"
Twilight started, "Yes, but..." She broke off, nudging Rarity. "He's kind of weak right now, all right?"
Spike's voice was dreamy. "It's okay... I can take her...."
Rarity did step off the bed as the others gathered around. "Of course. Plenty of time later, darling." She smiled.
Spike started to compose himself and Twilight looked at the others. "He just woke up last night... and I'm afraid he doesn't remember much of what happened."
That almost immediately started a chain reaction of five stories from five different ponies at the same time that didn't really help at all.
Spike was more lost than ever when Twilight shushed everyone calmly.
"Maybe I'd better tell the story... and then I can tell you all mostly how it happened and what Princess Celestia told me."
That silenced them all, and Spike's jaw dropped. "P-Princess Celestia?" he moaned. "Am- am I in trouble?"
She gave him a reassuring smile. "Of course not, Spike. I'd be even more worried than you if you had been.”
Twilight told the story from the beginning and ran all the way through to the point of Spike waking up, editing small bits such as her dream and a few other potentially embarrassing parts.

When she finished, all six of her listeners were awestruck in silence. Twilight waited for it to sink in to all of them and to see who would break the silence.
It turned out to be Spike, saying sadly, "Aw, poor Honeywing."
"She's okay, Spike." Dash said. "And she knows it wasn't you that hurt her."
Spike's eyes brightened. "Yeah?"
"Yeah. In fact, she'd probably like to see you when you get better."
"But... what about... I mean, I turned big again, what if I..." Spike was still trying to cope with yet another transformation.
Twilight put a hoof on his shoulder. "You only did that to protect us and Ponyville. You didn't step on a single building or hurt anypony. You made the bad dragon get out of town. And like Celestia said, when you get older, you'll be able to be more like you when you transform because of your...." She faltered for the words.
"Dragonwrath!" Fluttershy said suddenly as the word just popped in her head.
Everypony paused, then nodded. It was as good a word as any.
"That doesn't sound very... nice." Spike started.
"Aw trust me." AJ said, "That was one powr'ful form y'all brought out." She tipped him a wink. "Make a girl's mane crackle, y'know."
Rarity gave her a glare that would have burned steel. AJ ignored it (mostly, just to get Rarity up) and looked to Spike.
Fluttershy spoke up in her little voice. "I'm glad you're here to protect us, Spike." She blushed.
Pinkie trumpeted "SPIKE, BIGDRAGONPROTECTOROFPONYVILLE!!" and giggled.
Dash gave him a grin. "Y'know, if you ever DO get wings, I'll still be faster." She teased
Rarity snuggled up to him. She whispered "I do love you, Spike, darling." She paused and planted a firm kiss on his mouth. "MY darling. My dearest. My Dear."
Twilight smiled. There was so much she had to say, but she thought it best for later. For Spike alone.
The others left, besides Rarity, who fawned over her new love, who in turn, agreed with her on a great many things while they cuddled  together until late in the evening, when Twilight had to get between them and usher Rarity out even as she was discussing  when they would attending the next Hearts and Hooves festival with a lovestruck foal's fantasies that Twilight had no doubts they would bring about together.
At last, she came back to the room and saw Spike moving toward his basket.
"No no no." She said. "In bed."
"Huh?" He asked, confused again.
"From now on, we share." She said firmly
"Th-the bed?"
"Of course the bed." She lifted the covers magically and climbed in. "Come here." She soothed with her hooves open, and he slowly moved into her embrace. She laid her forelegs around him and he put his arms around her. It was the most natural feeling either of them had ever experienced and they both knew that they were home. Truly and completely, and forever more. They were part of a family, and for the first time in what seemed like forever, they shared a dream that nopony would understand but the deepest of friends.
They held each other closer, and in a bedroom miles away, Princess Celestia smiled in her own dream, and all was right in Equestria. She had a new Protector, and her world was safe.
"I love you, my dearest Son." She whispered, and rested in her new comfort.