Peewee
Equestria's first human had arrived a little over a year ago. He was tall, a bit thin, but above all, he was the perfect level of crazy to fit in amongst pony society. Most humans would have gone insane from having to deal with Pinkie Pie everyday, but he seemed to adapt well to the situation. They even organised a few parties together.
The one thing that he had trouble dealing with, was the fact that his best friends had saved the world on more than three occasions. It may not seem like a big number, but considering the fact the world is as big as it gets, it's a pretty big deal. It would have been awesome to see it happen, but he could settle with listening to the stories.
Six ponies and the human were sitting in the throne room of Twilight's castle chatting about their ventures and quests. Even after the third telling of Rainbow's 'Sonic Rainboom' he still was surprised at the outcome. "And just before they hit the ground, Boom! I shot forward, a sonic Rainboom exploding behind me and I grabbed hold of Rarity and the Wonderbolts Justin time, and I flew them to safety." Rainbow glanced at Rarity. "You know, you still owe me a life debt for that." Rarity rolled her eyes.
"Please Rainbow Dash, don't be ridiculous. We're not griffons, we don't do that sort of thing. But if you want to talk about debts, fine." Rarity brought a notepad from behind her. "If that's the case, you owe me, one thousand bits for the gala dress, two hundred for Tank's sweater, three thousand for your wedding dress and forty thousand- wait, no fifty thousand for building repairs." Rarity put down the notepad and grinned evilly at Rainbow Dash.
"Fine, Fine. I get it, no debts. Have I really crashed into your house that many times?" Rainbow frowned.
"Actually, that's with your 'friend discount'. The damage you caused is probably worth double that." Rarity gave a playful glare at the rainbow maned pegasus.
"Hehe, maybe those jerks were right to call you Rainbow Crash." The human chuckled before getting a punch in the arm from the pegasus. "Ah! Dammit RD. Hooves remember. Damn that hurt." He rubbed his arm where it was hit, hoping to alleviate some pain.
"Sorry, I forgot." Rainbow shrugged.
"No problem, I guess." He lied. "Just don't hit me next time."
"Then don't call me Rainbow Crash." She chuckled.
"Alright, that seems fair I guess. Hey, Flutters. Do you think it will bruise?" The pegasus in question inched over to his arm and started to inspect it. After a few pokes she frowned.
"Looks like it is. A big one." Mark sighed.
"Thanks Dash, now I have to walk around with a sore arm for the next few days. Where's some phoenix tears when you need some."
"Phoenix tears?" Fluttershy looked at him confused.
"Just a myth from my world. I think I heard it from Harry Potter or something. Their tears are supposed to heal all wounds."
"Sounds fascinating. Maybe Spike should have kept Peewee around a bit longer. But if it really hurts that much, we could ask Celestia to see if Philomena is willing to donate a tear."
"It's just a myth, it probably won't wor- Peewee? Spike had a phoenix and he didn't tell me!? Actually, forget that. If I named my pet Peewee I would probably want to keep it a secret as well."
"Who's keeping what a secret?" Spike entered the library.
"Ah, speak of the devil." The girls gave Mark a confused look. "It's a human thing, don't worry. So, Spike." Mark gave him a knowing look. "You never told me you owned one of the most awesome animals in existence."
"A what now?" Spike queried.
"Your phoenix. You never told me you had me one as a pet."
The little drake shrugged. "I only had him for a short while. It was only till he could survive on his own."
"He doesn't even come around for a visit every once in a while? I thought that a phoenix was loyal to the one who raised it."
"I'm not it's mother. Just cause I raised him, doesn't mean he has to stay with me." The group looked awkwardly between Spike and Twilight, but nopony said anything. Something about that sentence just seemed off.
"I... guess. But then why is Philomena loyal to Celestia then?"
"How should I know? It's not like they can talk." Fluttershy was about to speak up but Spike continued before she could. "Besides, I'm not sure Twilight would like more of her books being burned. I'm just happy it was only a Anthoneigh Horowitz novel. If it was anything else, Twilight would have completely lost it."
"So, that's just it then. He left and you never mention him again? That seems kind of... odd."
Fluttershy finally spoke. "Not really. Phoenixes are a very proud species, so they usually live alone after the first few months and only come together during mating season. Philomena is a rare case. She probably stays with Celestia because they have a lot in common."
"Like?"
"Well they are both really, really old. If I'm correct, phoenixes are said to be practically immortal."
"Well dragons live for a long time so Peewee and Spi-"
"Can we just drop the subject!" Spike rose his voice. An awkward silence filled the room.
"I-I'm sorry Spike. I didn't mean to-" Mark said softly.
"Just forget it ok. Peewee is gone so it doesn't matter... I'm going to bed." The baby dragon left.
"Is there something I don't know?" Mark asked. "Seriously. That was really odd. Even for Spike."
Twilight was the one to answer him. "I don't know. He's never acted like this before."
"Did you ever ask about Peewee before?" Fluttershy whispered. "Maybe he's still upset about it."
"Only when he first released Peewee into the wild, but he changed the subject before I could ask too much. I just thought he was... what if something happened to Peewee when Spike released him into the forest?! Could that be it?" Twilight stood up. "I'm going to talk to him."
Mark jumped up and blocked her path. "Actually. I think it would be best if I talked to him. I know for a fact that when I'm upset, I wouldn't want my mother asking about it."
"Mother?! What are you talking about? I'm more like a sister if anything." This was met with a few awkward mumbles.
Rarity stood up slowly. "Well, to be completely honest with you Twilight. You are more of a mother figure to him."
"How?" Twilight scowled. "That's absurd!"
"Well... You literally hatched him, took care of him from then until now and you still pack him lunches."
"I do that because I care about him-"
"Like a mother would." Rarity interrupted.
"But I'm only a few years older than him. How could be a mother figure to him?"
"Adoptive relationship?"
Twilight looked to the rest of her friends. "Am I really a mother figure?" This was answered with a round of confirmations. Twilight didn't respond to this, but sat down with a thud, deep in thought.
Mark spoke up. "You girls take care of her. Make sure she doesn't do anything too crazy. I'm going to go talk to Spike." He point his thumb upstairs. Mark walk up the small flight of stairs and knocked on the oak door to Spike's room.
"Go away Twilight." Mark one, Twilight zero. He listened carefully and heard sobbing on the other side.
"Hey, bro. It's me." He heard a sniffle as Spike tried to supress the sound of his crying.
"Mark?"
"Can I come in?" There was a minute of silence before the door finally opened. Spike didn't look like he had been crying, but that was probably because of his scales.
"So, what's wrong." Mark closed the door behind him.
"It's nothing."
"That has got to be the most unconvincing lie a dragon has ever told. Don't worry, Spike. Just tell me what's up and the girls don't have to know." As soon as he said that, Mark heard a rustle at he door. Thankfully Spike didn't, otherwise he would have seen the shadows of six mares, from under the door. What's with mares and spying?!
"You promise?"
"Huh? Oh, yeah. Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye."
Spike mumbled something under his breath, then spoke so Mark could hear him. "I didn't release Peewee back into the wild."
Mark automatically looked around the room. "So then where is he then?"
"You don't understand. I don't know where he is... I-I lost him!" Mark could have sworn he heard Fluttershy gasp. If those girls don't keep it down, Spike's going to realise they're are listening in.
"You, lost him? As in you released him into the wilds, but forgot where, or put him on your desk and he walk off?"
"I don't know how, I just lost him." He was starting to cry again. "I was taking him for a walk one day and I took my eye off him for a minute, when I turned around again, he was gone!" It was as if his eyes had waterfalls installed. "I was meant to take care of him and now he's gone."
"It's not that bad. Remember, Flutters said that they usually can live by themselves after a few months anyway." Spike as still crying. "He... was a few months old when you lost him, right?" Spike jumped into his arms and cried on his shoulder.
"He was only a few weeks old." He could practically hear the girls crying on the other side of the door. Except Applejack of course. "How could I have let that happen."
"It's ok, Spike. I'm sure he would have been ok. He's a phoenix after all. No one messes with a phoenix. I bet he already has a nest of his own."
"You think so." Spike said between sniffles.
"I guarantee it." He patted Spike on the back. "Now put on your cool face bro. Those girls are probably worried about you." The mares outside took that as their cue to leave.
A thought suddenly occurred to Spike. "What do we tell them?"
"What do you mean?" He looked Spike in the eye.
"I need an excuse for acting like I did. Any ideas."
Mark shrugged. "You were in a hurry to read a Power-Ponies comic and you didn't want to waste time telling stories."
"That'll work." He sniffled. "Just give me a moment.
The rest of the night was relatively quiet after that, aside from the occasional party cannon blast. A few more stories were swapped and before long, each mare had to leave. Mark and Twilight were at the door saying goodbye to the last of their friends and closed the door. Spike had gone to bed an hour earlier, so they were the only ones up.
"That was really nice what you did today."
"It's what any friend would do. Can't let the Bromance die." Twilight frowned. "It's a human thing."
"Do you really think Peewee has a nest out there somewhere?" Twilight looked out of the window, towards the Everfree forest in the distance.
"Oh, no. He definitely died. Have you seen the creatures that live in that place. Probably got stomped by a timberwolf." There was silence for a few moments. "Ah, Dammit Twilight! Hooves! Buck! Exact same place that Rainbow hit as well."