After a few years of being a Princess Twilight starts to find that Spike is beginning to experience the effects of becoming an adult dragon.
After things began to settle down in Ponyville the mane six began to find themselves settling down into a domestic life. Pinkie-Pie opened her own party shop, Fluttershy began to go professional with her animal talents, Rarity moved part-time in Canterlot, Rainbow Dash became a Wonderbolt, and Twilight Sparkle settled into her role as the Princess of Friendship. Life seemed to settle for the mane six.
Spike and Rarity's younger sister, Sweetie Belle, have grown closer. Now in a exclusive relationship Spike has gotten more possessive over the young mare. Spike's possessiveness over Sweetie Belle is concerning Twilight, so Twilight turns to books to understand why this is happening. It all comes to a head when Spike nearly kills a Pony when he was out with Sweetie Belle. Seeing this Twilight decides he needs to get out of Ponyville. So with Spike and Sweetie Belle in tow she sets off on an adventure across Equestria.
Twilight Sparkle had begun to get used to what all being a Princess entitled. She wasn’t as regal or renowned as Celestia or Luna. She was loved by those who knew her, but she wasn’t as loved as her sister-in-law Cadance was. None of these facts bothered her much, she was happy with her friends and Spike. Being the princess of friendship also entitled having to sort out disputes that happened within Ponyville and the few towns in between that laid in her area of domain. However the other princesses never minded it when she came to their areas of domain to settle disputes they couldn’t handle or didn’t have the time to. Being a princess was finally starting to make sense to her.
“Hey Twilight check this out!” Spike called. He and Twilight were currently out in a large grassy meadow practicing on Spike’s flying. In the past few years Spike had hit a growth spirt and had grown a few feet since she first became a princess. Now he resembled more of an adult dragon than he did when he was younger. The only thing that was different was that instead of walking on two legs, Spike now walked on all fours. Twilight had guessed this was because he wanted to fit more into Pony society.
Twilight turned and watched Spike launch himself from a tall rock and hover in the air for five minutes before plummeting towards the ground. Twilight caught him in a bubble of purple magic and lowered him lightly to the ground. Once on the ground Spike laughed before rolling over. “That wasn’t bad at all. You’re getting the hang of your wings. If you want, Rainbow Dash could teach you. She kicked Triple Stripe off a cloud to get him to fly.”
Spike’s green eyes widened. “I prefer the safer method with you.”
Twilight smiled. “Good choice,” she said looking down at the book she had brought with her to the meadow. Tucking her hooves under her she began to read the book. She glanced up occasionally to check on spike and to catch him if he fell.
Finally after an hour and a half Spike finally stopped and came to slump down beside Twilight. “I don’t see how Pegasi and Alicorns do it. Flying is too hard.”
Twilight closed her book. “Well you are a dragon. Dragons are naturally heavier and thicker than most of the other sentient species in Equestria. It’s natural to have a hard time learning how to fly since you are being taught by Pegasi who don’t exactly know how to teach a dragon to fly.”
Spike huffed and laid his head over a long scaly leg. A couple minutes of silence passed until a young Unicorn mare with a curly light pink and purple mane came trotting through the meadow. She was singing a tune lightly to herself as she wandered through the meadow. Finally coming to a stop she pulled a blanket out of her saddle bag and plopped down on the ground. Spike watched her with unwavering eyes.
“So Sweetie Belle is it?” Twilight said making Spike jump.
“W-what?” Spike stuttered.
“It’s Sweetie Belle now is it?” Twilight rolled her eyes when Spike didn’t say anything. “You used to have a crush the size of Canterlot on Rarity when we were younger. However I have noticed you have lost interest in her in recent years. So what I’m saying is have your affections gone to her little sister?”
Spike didn’t say anything as he turned his head away from her. She doesn’t understand, he thought. I was always in the shadows of the Mane Six. They never really involved me in anything unless it had to do with Princess Twilight Sparkle or they needed somepony to record something. Neither of them understand. He turned his gaze towards Sweetie Belle again. At least she understands. How long as Sweetie Belle had to live in her sister’s shadow? Although in recent years since Rarity lives part time in Canterlot she has been able to become more noticeable and become recognized for her singing talents.
“Where are you going?” Twilight asked surprised when Spike got on his legs. He didn’t say anything, but lumbered off towards where Sweetie Belle laid in the meadow. Twilight just shook her head and returned to her book.
“Hey…” Spike stopped when he heard Sweetie Belle begin to sing an Appaloosian Folk song.
Sweetie Belle moved as she sang the folk song and he had imagined that she would look good in the outfit that would match the song that she was singing. As she sang Spike was swept away to the mountains where the Appaloosian people lived. He had visited the mountains once when he was with Twilight and the rest of the mane six when they had been trying to help other ponies. He imagined roaming around in the forest with her just being one with nature. Without noticing Spike had moved so close to Sweetie Belle he was now standing on her blanket. Her voice had entranced him to he point he had forgotten where he was. When Sweetie Belle finished she turned around and jumped when she saw spike with a dreamy look in his eyes. “Spike…are you okay?” she asked carefully not wanting to startle him.
Coming out of the trance he said simply, “You sound pretty.” He snapped to attention when he heard a snicker from Twilight. He turned his head to glare at her, she waved her hoof mouthing ‘Sorry I couldn’t help it’ while her shoulder still shook with laughter.
“Well…thank you,” Sweetie Belle blushed. “I love Appaloosian Folk music. I can almost feel the history behind the song when I sing it.”
“What…what was this song called?” Spike asked gently while biting back an annoyed expression as he heard Twilight’s muffled snickers.
“Oh it’s called ‘Go to Sleep little baby’,” Sweetie Belle said.
Spike’s ears perked. “Why does it say baby or babe instead of foal?”
“Do you know anything about the Enslavement Era?” she asked.
“The Enslavement Era was when Princess Celestia had the hundred year illness that nearly killed her. She barely had enough energy to raise the sun and the moon so Prince Blueblood’s great-great grandmother had to take over the role of the ruling Princess while Princess Celestia recovered. Power went to her head and she started to have Zebras from Zebrica brought over to Equestria against their free will. By the time Princess Celestia had recovered she had seen what had happened to her beloved kingdom. So the Civil War broke out between those who sided with Prince Blueblood’s great-great grandmother and those who sided with Princess Celestia. While Princess Celestia’s powers were still weak from the hundred year illness, she had much more followers than the false princess did. In the end the Civil War brought the end of the Enslavement Era and the end to Prince Blueblood’s great-great grandmother’s reign. Princess Celestia gave the newly freed Zebras the choice to go back to Zebrica or stay in Equestria. Half went back to Zebrica and half stayed here. The half that had stayed here either were born here, felt no hatred to what happened, or had no ties to Zebrica.”
Sweetie Belle’s eyebrows were raised impressed that he knew all of that. Spike blushed. “Twilight taught me all that I know,” he could have sworn he heard Twilight say ‘that’s my Spike’.
“She is a good teacher, she was the one who helped me learn to hone my magic. Anyways the song says baby and babe because some of the Zebras and Ponies that lived during that time called their foals that. It was kinda like slang. Also during and after the Enslavement Era folk songs came from those Zebras who had been enslaved. This song was one of them. While the Era was one of the darkest in Equestria’s history, it gave us some meaningful music and art,” Sweetie Belle said.
“Maybe you should become a historian with that brain of yours,” Spike said attempting to flatter her.
Sweetie Belle blushed slightly. “No I couldn’t, Apple Bloom is the brain in the group. I’m just the singer in the group.”
“Hey!” a tomboyish female voice said startling them. They looked up to find Scootaloo standing on her scooter. “Stop flirting and come on! We have a CMC ceremony today.”
Spike helped her pack up her things. “Well it was nice talking to you,” before she left her bravely gave him a smooch on his scaly cheek before running off to catch up with Scootaloo.
“Huh so dragons can blush,” Twilight said coming up next to him.
“Oh shut up,” Spike said looking away with a stupid grin on his face.
“Twilight have you seen Sweetie Belle?” Rarity asked upon seeing her the next morning in the castle just outside of Ponyville. The castle was officially Princess Twilight Sparkle’s home and ruling place, but she often shared it with the Mane Six. In fact each of the Mane Six were given a room upon the castle’s creation to do with it as they pleased. Pinkie Pie kept hers as a party room and an office where she planned the many parties she was often hired to make. Fluttershy usually just used hers to keep some extra supplies and a couple beds for her animals and for herself. Applejack had turned hers into a storage room for the extra apple cider she often needed. She was also the only one that kept her room under lock and key, mainly because of Rainbow Dash’s strange addiction to the stuff. Rainbow Dash had made her room into a work out room since all of the rooms in her house in Cloudsdale had been taken up by her foals. Rarity’s room was the only one that still looked original to the castle, since she was rarely in it, she didn’t bother to fix it. However being Rarity she did spruce it up to suit her constant need for fashion.
Since the castle was Twilight Sparkle and Spike’s house she had more rooms to herself than the other Mane Six did. She had a huge library she was often in, a magic and potions lab, a study, and her personal room. Spike had several rooms to himself as well. One was devoted to gems and precious minerals, the other was his own private study, his own bedroom, and then another room he kept to himself. Twilight didn’t care that he had this secret room, all she cared was that he kept it clean.
Twilight shrugged. “She might be with Spike. They have been hanging out with each other quite a lot since you’ve been gone.”
This struck Rarity. Her little sister hanging out with an adolescent dragon? Sure she had found it endearing that he had a crush on her for such a long time, but with her little sister? She wasn’t too sure about this. “Is…is she safe with Spike?”
“Why do you ask that?” Twilight turned to look at the white coated mare. She was just starting to show signs of the foal she was carrying.
“It’s just…Spike’s an adolescent dragon now. What if he has a…dragon urge and hurts Sweetie Belle?” Rarity said placing the dress she had been working on down.
Twilight was taken aback. Spike would never hurt another living being let alone that. “Are you suggesting Spike would force himself on her?”
Rarity quickly waved her well-manicured hooves in front of her. “No darling. I’m just worried about her. Spike is going through changes and he’s a dragon after all. He might do something he can’t help. We don’t fully understand dragons, Twilight. Fancy Pants said that when he was going through adolescence he was really hard on his parents. Now imagine that with spike, but doubled.”
Twilight thought about this. Spike had been acting off for several weeks now, he hadn’t been acting like the usual sweet dragon she had raised. “Now that you say that, Spike has been acting a little different. Last week he had refused to send a letter to Celestia for no apparent reason. I had to send it to her myself.”
“How does he act with Sweetie Belle?” Rarity asked concerned.
“He actually treats her pretty well,” Twilight said folding her tail around her as she sat at the table studying a new book she had just gotten. “He brought her over here the other day and we had lunch together and I taught Sweetie Belle a few new spells. She’s gotten pretty good at levitation and she’s working on teleportation. A few more lessons and she’ll have teleportation down and we’ll start working on transfiguring apples and such.”
Rarity was shocked. She had only been in Canterlot for three months and now she came back to Sweetie Bell studying alongside Twilight Sparkle. She wasn’t sure what was more shocking, the fact her little sister was already better than her a magic or that she was seeing Spike. A hint of jealousy pinged in her heart, but she quickly pressed it down. She was married with a foal on the way, why would she be jealous that he had moved on?
“That’s good,” she said softly returning to her work.
Moments later Owlowiscious came swooping through the window Twilight kept open for her. Landing on the table beside Twilight she spun around revealing a letter on her back. “Oh?” she said pulling the letter off her back. Opening it she saw it was from Applejack. “Oh Applejack needs help with Sweet Apple Acers. With Big Mac expecting his third foal any day now and Applebloom away at the engineers convention she can’t do it all. Oh and she’s pregnant again.”
“She is? Why haven’t I heard of this?” Rarity asked slightly insulted.
“She just found out two weeks ago and she hasn’t had time to tell many ponies,” Twilight saved her place in the book and levitated it back onto the currently reading bookshelf. “Now let’s head to Sweet Apple Acers,” Getting to the door Rarity followed after her.
Spike sat with Sweetie Belle on the grass a couple strides away from the sidewalk. Her lyric book was open so that he could look and see what was written inside. Spike looked it over amazed to find all the songs that she had written. They were all so good, it was a surprise that she hadn’t gotten noticed yet. “Have you ever thought about entering these?”
Sweetie Belle turned to look at him. “Entering these in what?”
Spike shrugged. “Entering these in a contest or something? I’m sure Twilight knows someone. You’re her student I am sure she would mind sending some in.”
“Oh I couldn’t do that, Twilight already has so much on her hooves,” Sweetie Belle said turning back to her book.
“It’d be simple enough to do. If you don’t want to ask her, what about asking Rarity?” A little ping of longing rang in his heart. He shook it off, it was impossible to be involved with a mare that never noticed him.
Sweetie Belle scrunched up his muzzle and looked to him with a disgusted look. “I wouldn’t do that. Rarity is too busy with her life to notice me. Do you know how many letters I’ve sent to her that she’s never responded to? Yeah I know she’s busy, but couldn’t she at least send a letter back saying something? I’m really starting to wonder if she’s living up to her Element of Harmony.”
Spike looked at her shocked. He never knew Sweetie Belle held resentment towards her daughter. “It isn’t a good idea to say that in this Kingdom,” Spike said carefully.
“Well what do you expect me to say? That Rarity is a great sister? No she isn’t, sure in the past she has been nice, but I’ve always lived in her shadow. Rarity this, Rarity that, Rarity is so great. My parents used to brag about how she holds an Element of Harmony and how she’s friends with a princess and gets to meet the ruler of Equestria herself,” by this time Sweetie Belle was standing up her face red with anger. “What have they said about me? Diddly squat. Sure they’ve complemented my Cutie Mark and was happy when I finally got it, but they’ve never seen my achievements. That’s all because of my ‘should be an Alicorn herself’ sister!” she shouted with tears streaming down her face.
Spike got up and wiped the tears away. “It’s going to be okay, talk to Twilight.”
“Don’t you ever feel like you’re living in somepony’s shadow?” Sweetie Belle said placing a hoof on his arm.
“Yeah I do at times and it’s to be expected when your mom is an Alicorn Princess, but I’ve learned to cope with it. Plus Twilight always gave me the credit when it was mine and always respected me,” his cheeks flushed when he realized he had called Twilight mom.
Sweetie Belle paused for a moment realizing it too. “Do you see Twilight as your mom?”
Spike gave a tiny bit of nervous laughter. “Sometimes, she was the one that hatched me. Usually dragon customs say that whoever hatches the egg is the mother or father, even if they weren’t the ones to lay the egg. It jumps between seeing her a mom and seeing her as an older sister. Either way I think of her as family.”
Sweetie Belle smiled. “That’s sweet.”
Spike smiled back, but it slowly faded when a feeling pinged through his heart. He could simply kiss her right now, but what if she didn’t feel the same? Kissing her would possibly make things awkward between them and he didn’t want to do that. He let go of her face and sat back down. “Have you ever thought about making a song called Spike the Awesome Dragon?”
Sweetie Belle smirked. “You have an ego just as big as Scootaloo’s,” she said sitting down beside him. Pulling out her book again she began to right.
“Ah just told you,” Applejack said bucking a bunch of apples down. “Ah didn’t have time to tell anypony. Plus you never reply back to letters.”
“I do to!” Rarity asked slightly insulted.
“That ain’t what your sister said,” Applejack watched Twilight levitate the apples into the back of the wagon. ”Ah overheard her talking to Applebloom one night and she said you haven’t replied back to her for nearly two months. Now what do you think that does to a little filly?”
Rarity looked away and bit her lip. She never considered what she had done to her little sister by not replying to letters. “She should have notified me.”
“Don’t go puttin the blame on Sweetie Belle,” Applejack pointed her hoof at her. “Ah am pretty sure you had more than enough time to send them letters to them important ponies.” Rarity’s face burnt with embarrassment. “Now have ya even bothered to see her since you have been back?”
“I have only been back a day! I haven’t found—”
“Don’t you say you haven’t found the time. You should always make time for your own kin,” Applejack closed the back of the wagon and helped Twilight hitch up to the wagon.
Rarity just stood there in the orchard with anger in her heart. How dare she accuse me? I’ve been busy with work and raising my foal!
“Don’t go gettin angry at me. You only have one foal, I have three with one on the way,” Applejack said making Rarity jump. “I have three and I still make time for Big Mac and Applebloom.”
Rarity gave a dissatisfied “Humph!” and cantered out of Sweet Apple Acers with her mascara running. Twilight turned to look at where Rarity had been. “Don’t you think that was a little harsh?”
“No. Rarity is getting too used to the posh life up in Canterlot,” Applejack said opening a gate for Twilight. “She needs to realize not everything will go her way and her actions have consequences, be it good or bad.”
“You said something about Sweetie Belle?” Twilight asked making a mental note to ask Spike later.
“Yeah, she’s having trouble accepting that Rarity has changed. Rarity just doesn’t have the amount of free time that she used to have a couple years back. On Rarity’s end she needs to make time for her kin, but she gets too absorbed in what she’s doing.”
“When did you become a family therapist?” Twilight said with a smirk.
Applejack grinned. “That what happens when you have a husband and three foals.”
She helped Twilight pull the wagon into the barn and over the chute where the apples were to drop in. Instead of Applejack climbing under there like she usually did Twilight went to undo it herself. Getting under the wagon she immediately jumped backwards with a loud scream. Pinkie Pie popped out startling both of them. “Surprise!”
Applejack was leaning against a hay bale slowing her breath. “You darn near gave me a heart attack!”
“That was my plan! The foal needs to know the element of surprise!” Pinkie Pie said climbing out from under the wagon as the apples fell down the chute.
Twilight drew a hoof down her face. “Don’t you need to worry about your own foal?”
“Nope! He’s pretty content with this sorta stuff. Yesterday he wouldn’t let me sit still for a minute,” Pinkie Pie said. Twilight looked down at saw Pinkie Pie’s stomach was already round with pregnancy. It seemed every one of her friends were pregnant except for her. She made another mental note to see if Fluttershy and Discord had managed to conceive a foal yet.
“Pinkie, why are you here?” Applejack asked leaning off of the hay bale.
“Oh yeah! We’re going to go get lunch and wanted to know if you wanted to come with us,” Pinkie said referring to her husband Pokey Pierce.
“Sure, I could go for lunch. This foal has been me crave the oddest things,” Applejack said. “Let me just go ask if the foals or Caramel wants something,” she said stepping into the house. Moments later she came back. “Let’s go.”
Twilight walked out behind her and with Pinkie bouncing behind her. She locked the barn door and made her way down to the entrance of Sweet Apple Acres.
“So do you think they’ve managed to have a foal?” Twilight asked Spike as they trotted out of Ponyville and towards the woods. Spike was right beside her looking around the woods. He normally stayed within the town or in the meadows on the other side of the town. While he had been to Fluttershy’s cottage in the past he hadn’t been there in a while.
“Would it even be a foal?” Sweetie Belle said from Twilight’s other side.
“I honestly don’t know, I’d assume it would depend on whose genetics wins out. Hybrids aren’t common in Ponyville, but it’d be a welcome change,” Twilight said looking over to the young mare. She had her long curly pink and light purple mane tied back in a messy bun. Her coat was a bit messy suggesting she hadn’t bothered to straighten up before they left that morning. Rarity and Sweetie Belle couldn’t be more different, Twilight thought. Rarity wouldn’t set hoof outside if she was looking like Sweetie Belle and it surprised her that Rarity hadn’t tried to fix her up before she had left.
“Oh could one of you remind me to ask Fluttershy about getting Blackbeak’s special food?” Sweetie Belle said referring to her pet raven she had rescued a few weeks earlier. A loud chirping came from her saddlebag that had the top open slightly. Opening a black ball of fluff jumped out and onto Sweetie Belle’s head. Nesting down between her ears he settled down with a satisfied chirp. Sweetie Belle chuckled and continued on trotting.
“Sure,” Twilight said. “What does he need?”
“He’s old enough to start on semisolid food so I need to get that. I also want to see if she has any nesting boxes he likes. I’m starting to tire of waking up to find Blackbeak poop everywhere,” she rolled her eyes. “Rarity absolutely hates it whenever she comes over and finds my apartment in a mess.”
“You let her in your apartment?” Spike said surprised.
“I kinda have too since our parents help pay the rent. I have my own job, but I don’t have enough saved up in the rent jar. They know we don’t see eye to eye so they think by allowing her into my home we’ll start getting along again,” A dark look settled over her face. “Since she’s rarely here nowadays I usually don’t have to worry about that. However four months ago when she came over I had to force her out of the apartment. She wouldn’t stop complaining about everything. Of course she went crying to mom and dad and of course I was made the bad guy. She just needs that stick pulled outta her dainty little ass…” Sweetie Belle growled.
Spike and Twilight gave each other a look, but said nothing. For the last leg of the journey they trotted along in semi-silence for Blackbeak’s soft chirps as he slept. A few minutes later they arrived at an earthy looking cottage with various animals wandering around.
“Twilight!” her ears perked up to see a light yellow Pegasus mare with long light pink mane tied up in a bun. She came up and hugged her. “How have you been?”
Twilight smiled. “We’ve been good. We just came to see if there’s been any progress.”
Fluttershy shook her head, but kept her soft smile. “We’ve been trying, but there hasn’t been any luck. I’m fine with it, a foal will come along when he wants to.”
“I’m surprised you’re taking it so well Fluttershy,” Spike said. “You’ve been trying longer than any of the Mane Six.”
Fluttershy waved her hoof dismissively. “Its fine really, I don’t want to rush things,” she turned her head and saw Blackbeak sleeping on Sweetie Belle’s head. “Oh! I see your little raven chick is coming along just fine!”
Sweetie Belle smiled and pulled him off her head. He gave a disgruntled chirp, but soon settled down. “He’s getting better, but I don’t think there’s a chance of releasing him back into the wild.”
“Oh don’t worry about that. Ravens actually flourish in captivity as long as their owners care for them properly. May I see him?” Fluttershy asked. Sweetie Belle handed him over carefully. “I see he doesn’t have his yolk anymore and some of his flight feathers are coming in. He should be an excellent flier once he’s all grown up. Do you need some semi-solid food for him?”
“Yes,” Sweetie Belle said taking the little Raven back. He promptly bounced back up between her ears, but stayed awake watching what was going on.
“Alright, Discord!” Fluttershy called.
In a matter of seconds a tall Draconequus appeared out of thin air. “What do you need my dear?”
“I need some semi-solid food for Sweetie Belle’s raven,” she said sweetly.
He vanished with a poof of pinkish smoke and then reappeared with a medium sized bag of bird food. Handing it over to Fluttershy she poofed again appearing a couple feet away at the chicken coop, by doing this he startled the chickens and one even popped an egg out. Discord laughed and shrank from view when Fluttershy looked back at him with a disapproving look. “He likes to think he can do that all the time. He adores to scare the chickens like that,” Fluttershy said.
Sweetie Belle took the bag of food and pulled out her wallet. “How much do I owe you?”
“Nothing at all,” Fluttershy said.
She looked up at the older mare. “Nothing?”
“Nothing, it’s on the house. I don’t need the Bits if it’s going to help a little animal get better,” Fluttershy said with a smile.
“In other words you’re Princess Twilie’s student,” Discord said poofing back startling everyone except for Fluttershy.
“Discord!” Fluttershy yelled. Spike had to cover his mouth in order to hide a bit of laughter. Fluttershy’s yell sounded more like a slightly angered mother rabbit trying to get her children in order than it did an actual yell. She could be worse than this, but for the sake of Equestria no sentient being wanted to witness that.
However Discord knew to act accordingly to when Fluttershy got angry like this. So he shrank back and faked shame. “I’m sorry my dear.”
“I’m only giving her a discount because Blackbeak needs it,” Fluttershy said casting a sideways glance at him before turning back to them. “We’re getting ready for some tea, do you want to stay?”
Twilight looked at them and they shrugged. “Sure, that would be great.”
In the royal palace up in Canterlot the ruling Princesses sat in the throne room discussing current events happening in Equestria while having some tea and snacks. A charcoal coated colt with bat like wings came cantering into the throne room with a thick leather bound book hovering over his head in a gray magical aura. His hooves clicked on the hard smooth marble floor as he ran and he muttered under his breath as he nearly fell. Getting to the two thrones he stopped by Luna and caught his breath before speaking. “Mama! Look what I found!” the thick leather bound book plopped down beside Luna.
“The Complete Guide on Dragons?” Luna read with her eyebrow arched.
“Isn’t it marvelous?” the little colt said with stars in his purple eyes. “I found it in the old library up on the seventh floor in the knowledge wing of the castle.”
Luna cast Celestia a look when a snicker escaped her. Her nephew talked very formally and old fashioned like his mother had when she was learning the ways when she came back. While older mares and some young ones found this endearing, his aunt often found some humor in it. “Why were you up in that library, it is closed off to anypony except for your aunt and I.”
He gave his mother a sheepish look. “I teleported into the library behind the guard and daddy’s backs. I just wanted to see what was in there! I swear! I wasn’t going to touch anything until I saw this book.”
Luna sighed. “It’s alright, just apologize to the guard and your father and return the book.”
“But…but I was hoping Princess Twilight Sparkle could have the book,” the little colt said in a small voice. He adored his adoptive aunt. In fact the little colt and Twilight had so much in common you would think he was her son if it wasn’t for the bat wings and larger than normal ears.
Luna sighed again and turned to look at her older sister. “Would it be fine if he sent this to Twilight Sparkle?”
Celestia simply nodded. “I know she’ll treat the book like it should be. Let Akmar do it.”
The little colt bounced and levitated the book up in the air. His face scrunched up in concentration and the book vanished in thin air. When he opened his eyes he bounced up and down. “I did it!” Then he saw the expressions on his mother and aunt’s faces. “What?”
“I’m afraid that was the spell I often used to send Twilight letters,” Celestia sighed.
“The one where Spike coughs it out?” Luna asked covering her mouth.
Celestia sighed taking a drink of her tea. “I just hope he isn’t doing anything important. Here let me write a letter apologizing and explaining.”
“Ah!” Everypony yelled when Spike coughed up the thick leather bound book just as he was drinking some tea. The book was about to plop down in the middle of a frosting covered tea cake stand when Twilight caught it in her purple magic aura. Setting it gently down in a clear space she sighed, but jumped again when a letter from Celestia appeared. Twilight caught it again and opened the letter.
Dear Twilight,
I’m very sorry that the book appeared and if it interrupted something important. Akmar found this book about Dragons and wanted to send it to you. I suppose he thought it would be helpful or you would like it because of Spike. He accidentally did the spell that I commonly used to send you letters without knowing what it was. I suppose he saw me doing it and picked up on it. Again I am very sorry if this caused in inconvenience and you can keep the book if you like, I know you will take care of it.
Yours Truly, Princess Celestia.
“So Akmar finally learned to do the spell?” Spike said taking a drink of tea.
“It seems so,” Twilight said rolling the letter up and teleporting it back to her office. She opened the book and her eyebrows raised. “I wonder how he got all this information.”
“What is it?” Spike asked and she levitated the book over to him. Spike opened it and read a few pages. “It says right here,” he said holding the book open so that Twilight could read it.
“Huh, so apparently you aren’t the only Pony raised Dragon. It says here it used to be quite common a few years after Star Swirl the Bearded passed away. Princess Celestia banned it after she saw what it did on the Dragon population and how some Ponies were mistreating their Dragon charges,” she looked up to see the nasty look on Spike’s face. “What’s wrong?”
“So Ponies back in the day treated my kind like a commodity?” He said angrily.
“I guess,” Twilight shrugged, but quickly said. “You’re like a son to me! I’d never do that!” both her face and Spike’s faces heated up when she said that.
“I…I know you wouldn’t dream of it Twilight. It…it just angers me that Ponies treat my kind like some freak show or something. We have just the same level of intelligence, can commune like Ponies, and…love like Ponies,” he said the last part softly avoiding Sweetie Belle’s eyes.
“What about Dragon-Pony hybrids?” Discord said breaking the hot atmosphere of the room. Everyone turned to look at him. “What? If Dragons and Ponies can get funky with it and produce healthy offspring why can’t Draconequus and Ponies?”
Twilight gave an agreeing grunt. “Good point, I’ll study up on it and get back to you if I find anything that will help you have a foal,” Twilight said taking a bite of pastry.
Later that night when Twilight and Spike had gotten home Twilight sat on a beanie bag on her side reading the thick leather bound book. She had just gotten to the hundredth page when she looked up and saw Spike in the doorway. “Need something?”
“I…I wanted to tell you something,” he said coming into the room and sitting on one of the beanie bags. “I think I’m in love with Sweetie Belle.”
“Oh I know,” Twilight said looking back to the book.
“How?” He asked shocked.
Twilight marked her spot in the book. “It’s pretty obvious to everypony that you love her. You are always distant to everypony except for Fluttershy, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Sweetie Belle, Pinkie Pie, and me. Only thing different is that you treat Sweetie Belle like she is a Princess…no pun intended.”
Spike mulled this over for a couple minutes. “How…how do I ask her to be my marefriend?”
Twilight shrugged. “Just ask her and be yourself. I’m not exactly the one to ask since I’ve never had a coltfriend. Here,” she levitated some books down to him. “Read those, they might help, but be careful with the hot pink one. It…it isn’t exactly for little foals or young adolescent Ponies. Pinkie Pie let me have that one and for lack of better words…it spares no detail.”
Spike simply smiled. “Thank you and goodnight,” he got up and left the room.
Twilight waiting until she heard the door of his room to close with a click. “He’s not the little dragon that I raised,” she sniffed before opening her book again.
The door slamming open echoed through the hall of the castle startling Twilight. She was in her library when several armored guards stampeded into the library knocking over several stacks of books. Flying down from the latter she had been on she went down to greet the guards. “What is—” she said but was cut off by a dark blue coated guard with silver armor on.
“Princess Twilight Sparkle there has been a disturbance at the boarder of your territory. Scouts along the border have said Spike was the cause of the disturbance,” the guard reported.
Her eyes widened. Spike cause a disturbance? It can’t be, but if it is there has to be a reason behind it. “Alright follow me,” she said cantering down the hall towards the entrance of the castle. The guards cantered along beside her as she went. “Do you have any more intel?”
“Yes Princess,” the same guard said. “Scouts have also said that Spike had flown out there this morning for some reason that is unknown.”
Twilight thought back to the weeks that had passed. Three weeks ago she had gotten the leather bound book from Princess Luna’s son. In those weeks Spike had been getting closer and closer to Sweetie Belle. She now was a constant of the castle and Twilight was considering giving her a room in the castle. The relationship between the two had noticeably gotten stronger. The closer they grew together the more agitated Rarity seemed to be. She didn’t approve at all of the relationship between Spike and her sister. The more agitated Rarity got the more the relationship with her sister worsened. Then Twilight thought of something.
She stopped in the hall and her horn brightened until it was glowing white. Then moments later Sweetie Belle appeared in the hall looking shocked and out of place. “Wh-what happened?” then she saw Twilight and immediately got to her hooves. “What happened?”
“Spike has caused a disturbance at the boarder of my territory. Do you have any idea why he might be doing this?” Twilight asked urgently.
“No I don’t…are you sure it’s Spike?” Sweetie Belle asked unable to believe he could have done something like this.
“Yes ma’am,” a guard said.
Then she remembered reading something from the book. Courtship, Article one: The male dragon will present various gifts to his chosen mate or the female dragon he wishes to court. These gifts will be given to the chosen female over a course of a month. If the female accepts all the gifts then courtship will proceed and the male and female dragon will begin the process of becoming a mated pair. However if the chosen female refuses a gift or to court the male, the male will go off on his own and either shut himself off or cause destruction. The latter is the highest cause of dragon deaths.
“Oh sweet Celestia…” Twilight turned to Sweetie Belle. “Has Spike been bringing you gifts? Like Gems, precious minerals, or something like that for a few weeks?”
“He has,” she said trying to catch on.
“Have you denied any of them?” Twilight asked urgently.
“I told him I didn’t have room for any more gifts,” she said slowly. Then it hit her. “Oh my Luna…did I cause something?”
“I’m afraid so…” Twilight said.
Sweetie Belle covered her face. “Oh I didn’t know, it’s all my fault.”
“No it isn’t,” Twilight said putting a hoof on her withers. “You didn’t know Spike has been trying to court you over the past few weeks.”
Sweetie Belle’s head snapped to look at her. “Spike has been trying to court me? He…he loves me?”
Twilight nodded. “He does. Giving gifts to a chosen female are dragon’s way of saying that their interested in you. Can you get some armor for Sweetie Belle and me?” she asked a guard and two of them went cantering towards the armory.
“Why do we need armor?” Sweetie Belle asked shocked.
“Just in cast Spike doesn’t see reason and I have to put him down with force. You need armor because he might see you as a threat. I’m sure he won’t, but I’d rather be safe than sorry,” Twilight said putting on the armor when the guards brought it back. She saw Sweetie Belle struggling so she put it on her magically.
Just as they got outside Celestia and Luna appeared out of nowhere in their royal armor. Twilight was about to ask something, but Celestia stopped her. “Spike has gone into Canterlot territory and he’s already destroyed several acres of land.”
Twilight sighed. “Is my plan still effective?”
“Yes, but if your plan proves to be ineffective we’ll have to put him down with force, why is Sweetie Belle here?” Luna asked looking the young armored mare over.
She was silent for a moment, but the spoke up. “I am afraid I am the cause of this. Spike was trying to court me for nearly a month when I denied a gift of his. I…I’m not well versed on Dragon courtship so I didn’t know this would happen.”
“It is fine young mare, you didn’t know,” Luna said scanning Ponyville. Most of the citizens were already closed in their houses for their own safety. Several of the royal guard patrolled the area ensuring the safety of the citizens.
“We need to get going before Spike causes any more damage. Princesses I’m going to teleport there since Sweetie Belle can’t fly,” Twilight informed the ruling Princesses.
“We’ll be right there with you,” Celestia said. In the next moment all of them vanished.
“Oh my!” Twilight gasped when she saw all the burnt acreage. There were Spike sized prints in the burnt earth. Breaking into a gallop she ran following the prints until she finally got to the area where Spike was. “He’s almost to a village!”
“Go evacuate as many residents of the village!” Celestia shouted at a squad of Pegasi guards and they shot off the ground.
An armored Pegasi mare came landed down beside Twilight with a familiar rainbow maned mare. “Rainbow Dash and Volturi?” Twilight said surprised. “Who’s watching Triple Stripe?”
“He’s up in Cloudsdale and my parents are watching him,” The armored mare said. The mare had a black coat and velvet red mane she had up in a bun under her helmet. “That isn’t why I am here. I am here to help you with Spike.”
“We already have the Princesses here and a legion of guards,” Twilight said not wanting either of them hurt. Rainbow Dash flew up beside her. “We’re two of the best fliers in Equestria, do you really want to turn us down?” Twilight sighed. “Fine, but I’m not foalsitting Triple Stripe for two weeks.”
“How come Sweetie Belle is here?” Rainbow Dash asked seeing the young mare.
“I kinda caused Spike to go on a rampage without knowing it,” Sweetie Belle said.
“Oh yeah, egghead told me about Spike’s crush on you,” Twilight threw her a look. “What? I am just saying the truth,” Rainbow Dash shrugged.
“Anyways…I am going to fly up to Spike and get his attention Rainbow Dash and Volturi can you fly beside me with Sweetie Belle?” the two Pegasi mares nodded as Sweetie Belle moved between them. Twilight turned to look at the princesses. “Is there any restrictions I should know about?” she asked because Spike was now on their territory.
“Just evacuate any village or town he comes across if we don’t get to it first. We’ll fly ahead and do that now,” Celestia said launching off the ground with Luna close behind her.
Twilight launched off the ground with Rainbow Dash and Volturi carrying Sweetie Belle between them. They matched her pace with ease and kept a good grip on the young mare between them. Within minutes they caught up to Spike who had just torched the ground below him.
“Spike!” Twilight and Sweetie Belle said at the same time.
The rampaging dragon turned around. “Why did you deny my courtship?” he yelled.
“Because I didn’t know!” Sweetie Belle shouted. “I didn’t know and it was all moving too fast! I didn’t know that you were trying to tell me you wanted to date me! If I had known I would have said yes!” she shouted as loudly as she could. The wind coming off from Spike’s strong wings drowned out her voice.
Spike was quiet for quite a while. It’s working! Twilight thought as she saw Spike lower to the ground. Getting all fours on the ground he flopped over onto his side and sighed. “Spike?” Twilight said coming over and checking on him. When he didn’t answer Twilight checked his vitals. “He’s passed out.”
“I don’t blame him, must be a lot of work flying with those wings and going on a rampage,” Rainbow Dash said hovering in the air beside Twilight. “Remember how long he slept after he got all greedy that one time? He almost slept as long as Tank did during his first winter.”
“Yeah,” Twilight said softly as the Princesses came up. “Will he be charged for any of this?”
“No, but he will have to apologize for the acres he destroyed and help in the restoration effort,” Celestia said.
“If you want to punish him for anything you can have him foalsit Triple Stripe on a sugar rush,” Rainbow Dash said.
Volturi rolled her yellow eyes at Rainbow Dash. “No pony wants to witness let alone foalsit him on sugar rush. Remember he almost outflew you the last time? You almost had to go into a sonic rainboom to catch him.”
Rainbow Dash sighed. “Yeah I remember. Need any help getting Spike back to the castle?”
“No I’m good, I’ll just levitate him back home with Celestia’s help. Can you teleport Sweetie Belle back home?” Twilight asked the dark blue mare.
Luna nodded her head and prepared to teleport the young mare. “Wait! Can you teleport me back to the castle? I…I want to make sure Spike gets better.” Luna looked towards Twilight.
“It’s fine. I’ll make up a guest room for you,” Twilight said flying into the air alongside Celestia. Spike was soon enveloped in a mix of purple and light yellow magic auras.
Twilight and Sweetie Belle sat in the kitchen right after she had gotten Spike comfortable in his bed. Things were quiet for a little while save for Blackbeak and Owlowiscious’s soft coos of sleep. The both slept huddled together on the perch that hung between the cabinets over the sink. Twilight had made them two hot teas and had watched as Sweetie Belle teleported her pajamas to the castle.
“I see you’re getting better at magic,” Twilight said softly breaking the silence.
“Yeah and I love it. I hate to brag, but I’m already better than my sister,” Sweetie Belle said. It was a couple minutes before she spoke again. “Applebloom got back from the convention a week ago and she brought back a Pegasus stallion.”
Twilight’s eyebrows arched. “Really? I thought she was with Pipsqueak.”
“They are on and off. The Pegasus stallion won’t last long, they usually leave after they realize how ambitious she is,” she said looking down at her cup of tea.
“Do…do you think you’ll be with Spike long?” Twilight asked.
Sweetie Belle jumped at the question, but answered. “I don’t really know what’s in store,” she shrugged. “I love him, but don’t want to get ahead of myself. I guess I’ll just let fate decide what happens.”
Twilight nodded. “Fair enough,” she folded one hoof over the other as she levitated the cup of hot tea to get a sip. “I’ve been reading the dragon book and I’ve decided to go on a trip to help Spike. He has been showing the signs of becoming an adult dragon. I want to make sure he matures into it right and we don’t have a relapse of when greed took over. Would you want to come? It probably won’t be for another couple of weeks, I need to get everything in order before we leave.”
Sweetie Belle thought for a couple of moments. “Sure I’ll go. It will be a welcome change.”
“Then it is set,” Twilight said getting up. “Want me to show you to your room?”
“Sure,” Sweetie Belle said levitating her tea with her as she trotted alongside Twilight down a long hallway where all the guest rooms were.
The next morning when Twilight rose of bed with a messy mane and tail she wandered across the hall to check on Spike. Opening his door she nearly jumped out of her skin at what she saw. Spike was curled around Sweetie Belle. She had forgotten that she had spent the night at the castle, but she didn’t understand why she was in Spike’s room. She quietly trotted through Spike’s messy room and over to Sweetie Belle. Gently shaking her awake Sweetie Belle’s eyes opened and nearly shot out of her head when she saw Twilight standing over her.
“I swear it isn’t what it looks like,” she said softly.
“Follow me,” Twilight said trotting out of the room. Sweetie Belle soon followed after she had carefully gotten up without waking Spike. Closing the door behind her she caught up to Twilight. “Explain,” she said looking down on the young mare.
“I went to check on Spike last night because I couldn’t stop worrying about him. I got into his room and he was still asleep. So I stayed there and eventually fell asleep myself. That’s all that happened,” Sweetie Belle bowed her head and pushed her ears back.
Twilight sighed, she just couldn’t stay mad at the young mare. “I trust you, but please let me know the next time. Spike can be dangerous when he wants to be, I just don’t want anything happening to you.”
“I understand,” Sweetie Belle said slightly discouraged, but she shrugged it off. “How long do you think Spike will be asleep?” she asked.
“It depends,” Twilight said walking down the hallway with Sweetie Belle beside her. “If its anything like last time, he’ll probably just sleep for a week at the most,” she walked into the kitchen where Blackbeak still slept. Owlowiscious must be on her morning hunt, Twilight thought. “I think he’ll just be asleep for another day. Then when he wakes up he’ll come in here complaining about his empty stomach,” both of the mare chuckled at this.
“What would he like to eat?” Sweetie Belle asked softly.
“Probably anything with gemstones in it. We’ll have to go out and hunt for some since I’m not allowed in gemstone room after what happened last time. Actually neither your sister nor I am allowed to go in there,” she said correcting herself.
Sweetie Belle’s ears perked up. “Really why?”
“Well two different reasons,” Twilight said brewing some coffee. “You can probably guess why Rarity isn’t allowed in there. Want some?” she asked holding a coffee mug up.
“Sure. I probably know, but I want to hear the story,” Sweetie Belle said sitting down on one of the cushions in the kitchen.
Twilight smirked as she came to where she was sitting and plopped down on a cushion on the other side of the table. “Rarity kind of took some gemstones from Spike’s room without knowing. She did a Gem summoning spell and they just appeared. She had assumed that they had come from her shop and didn’t think twice about it. She only found out when Spike had confronted her about it when he saw the dress that had all her gems. Sure Rarity gave back all the gems – begrudgingly – but Spike had never trusted her again,” the coffee maker beeped signaling it was done. “I kind of think that was when Spike gave up on her,” she said getting up.
“I assume this was before she married?” Sweetie Belle said watching Twilight.
“Yes, it was actually before she moved part-time into Canterlot,” she said coming back with the Coffee mugs.
“Now why were you banned?” Sweetie Belle said stirring in some sweetener.
“I accidentally did a spell that made all the gemstones disappear. I thought the spell was to make simple things disappear like trash or rubbish from building and such. I had modified the spell to work on bigger messes so it’d be more useful, but I had gotten it wrong. Spike had been in his Gemstone room at the time had he came out furious with me. However he eventually forgave me when I had gone out with him to find more Gems. Now I’m allowed in there if I ask his permission first,” Twilight said drinking her coffee.
“He still doesn’t allow her into the room?” Sweetie asked taking a long sip of her coffee. She wasn’t much of a coffee mare, but it felt heavenly after what happened yesterday.
“Yeah,” Twilight said. “Then again she really doesn’t come around her much. Do you know when she will be leaving for Canterlot again?”
“Three more weeks,” Sweetie scowled into her coffee.
“She’ll be leaving just about the same time we will,” Twilight looked around the kitchen and made a mental note to clean up before she left.
“Can we skip Canterlot then?” Sweetie Belle said looking down into her coffee.
“I wasn’t planning to go there since I’ve been there so many times,” Twilight said getting up and turning on the sink to begin washing dishes. “I was thinking about going to places other Ponies normally wouldn’t go.”
“Like the Dragon lands?” Sweetie asked interestedly.
“I wanted to go there so Spike could get to know his own kind. Besides that I want to see how differ Dragon raised Dragons are from Pony raised Dragons,” Twilight turned around. The dishes continued to fly around behind her to wash themselves and go into their proper place. “I’ve always wondered how big the difference is. There is an obvious difference since beings of the same species in nature are raised with their own kind.”
There was a peaceful silence as the dishes washed themselves and were levitated into their own cabinets. Twilight leaned off the counter and stretched, the tips of her wings brushing the ceiling. Folding them back down she yawned and leaned back against the counter just as Sweetie spoke. “Do…do you ever wonder how Celestia got Spike’s egg?”
Twilight thought for a moment. The princess had actually never told her how she had gotten Spike’s egg. It was true she had thought about asking her on a number of occasions, but the topic just seemed unapproachable to her. “I don’t know actually. Celestia never told me and I have never asked.”
“Huh,” Sweetie said thinking. “How do you think she got his egg then?”
Twilight shrugged. “I have a number of theories, but the most logical one is that she just found Spike’s egg out in the wilds. Another is that she found his biological mother dead and his egg was the only one still intact. However my favorite one is that she had Spike’s egg for a long time, hundred years or so, and was just waiting for the right time to hatch it.”
“Is that even plausible?” Sweetie said. Twilight snickered lightly, she was beginning to see a magical scientist in her student. “How can an egg last that long without going rotten or the baby inside dying? It doesn’t make sense.”
Twilight came over and stood by the table. The tip of her horn lit up and a projection like image appeared on the wall showing various dragon information. “Think about this, adult dragons live for quite some time. The oldest one on record,” an image of a massive gray, white, and light blue dragon appeared on the wall. “Was born…roughly three thousand years ago right when the ruling Princesses were still growing up. During the reign of Discord he went into hibernation for all of Discord’s ruling years. Celestia and the historical society claim this is where he got his longevity from. He was only awakened when Princess Celestia herself woke him up.”
“What’s his name?” Sweetie Belle was enthralled. Ever since admitting to herself that she had a crush on Spike, every dragon related fascinated her.
Twilight grinned. “He actually has had many names through the centuries, but he’s referred to as Tezcacoatl. His name means king serpent. He’s called this because many cultures have seen him as the dragon god or the Lord of all dragons since he’s so old.”
“Is he?”
Twilight shrugged. “We don’t really know. Ponies don’t really know much about dragon culture, apart from the time when they were traded and treated like commodities.”
“I remember Spike going off about that,” Sweetie Belle said resting her chin on her hoof. “Did Princess Celestia put an end to that?”
“Yes in fact she had help from Tezcacoatl or Tezca for short. Normally he stays out of Equestria and stays within the borders of the Dragon Lands. However he saw what was happening and sought counsel with Princess Celestia. Together they stopped the trade of baby dragons and dragon eggs. All rescued Dragons and dragon eggs were sent with Tezca to go back to their homeland. However,” the projection on the wall changed to reveal a map of Equestria and beyond. There was three areas on the outskirts of Equestria that were marked in red. “There are lands in Equestria Princess Celestia put aside for the dragons that wanted to stay in Equestria, but didn’t want to be involved with Ponies. I went to this one,” the area closest to the volcanos lit up. “With Spike and the Mane Six a couple years ago.”
Sweetie Belle’s eyes widened. “Really?”
A loud yawn came from behind them. They both looked to see who it was. Spike stood there on three legs, his fourth one brushing his eyes. “What’s going on?”
“Just showing Sweetie Belle some Dragon history,” Twilight snickered when she saw his eyes widen.
“Really? Is this the one about Tezcacoatl?” he said eagerly coming to sit down beside Sweetie Belle. Her cheeks flushed over.
“Yes, also,” she said emitting a ball of light to keep the projection going. “I want to go on a trip across Equestria and beyond.”
His eyes lit up. “Really? Is the rest of the Mane Six coming?”
“Nope, just you, me, and Sweetie Belle. Well if her schedule allows it,” Twilight said.
“I’ll make sure my schedule allows it,” Sweetie Belle said with a determined grin.
Twilight smiled. “Then it’s settled we will set off on our trip in a few weeks. I need to arrange some things and need to do some paper work before we leave, I don’t want to leave my territory in disarray while I am gone. Sweetie Belle you will handle your schedule and everything?” the young mare nodded. Then she looked to Spike. “Will you begin on the restoration of all the land you destroyed and apologize for everything?”
“Crap,” Spike said dragging his hand down his face. “I forgot about that. Do I need to get in touch with the princesses?”
“No they sent you a letter that is waiting in your study on your desk. It explains everything that you need to know,” Twilight said.
“Alright I will get that started,” Spike got up and ambled out of the room towards his study.
Sweetie Belle looked at the clock and jumped. “Oh I’m late! Blackbeak!” she called and the fluffy raven chick hopped down to rest on her head. “Can you teleport me to the Ponyville theater? I have a lesson there in four minutes.”
“Yes,” the young mare stepped out into the open and prepared herself to be teleported. Twilight pointed her long horn at her and in a flash of purple light the young mare was gone.
Later that day Twilight Sparkle was up in Cloudsdale with her Wonderbolt friend Volturi and Rainbow Dash. A young colt with red, yellow, and black mane and tail zoomed passed her. The colt had a wicked grin on his face that wasn’t too far off from Rainbow Dash’s. The black Pegasus zoomed after the little colt catching up to him in seconds. The colt complained as he was brought back down to the cloud. “You’ve got to be faster than that if you want to beat an ex-Wonderbolt and a Cloudsdale Air force pony,” Volturi said chuckling.
“He’s a little twerp,” Rainbow Dash said watching Volturi and Triple Stripe wrestle on the ground.
“Has he started Flight School yet?” Twilight said watching them as well.
“He will in a few days, we’ve been busy discussing about having another foal,” Rainbow Dash said with a sheepish grin towards Twilight.
The purple Alicorn mare rolled her eyes. “Who’ll be the stallion this time?”
“Volturi and she’s considering staying a stallion this time. Ya know so you don’t have to keep changing her every time we want another foal,” Rainbow Dash said.
“Do you really want to be grounded for almost eleven months while the foal is growing?” Twilight said. Volturi had been the one to carry Triple Stripe last time, but she hadn’t cared about not being able to fly. Rainbow Dash on the other hoof would hate being grounded, Twilight didn’t need to ask, she just knew.
“The foal will be worth it,” the rainbow maned mare said. “Plus Triple Stripe really wants to be a big brother.”
Twilight grinned. “Alright, I’ll do it tomorrow when I get all my paperwork done.”
“Alright egghead,” Rainbow Dash smirked at Twilight’s expression.
“So Volturi is a stallion now?” Spike said walking with Sweetie Belle through the market. It was market day where all the organic farmers sold their produce. There were even a stand where an odd looking Gryffin was selling an array of farm raised meat. Walking towards the Gryffin’s stand he noticed something was off with him.
“Basically, Scootaloo told me they are going to try for another foal. Wow,” Sweetie Belle’s eyes lit up. She elbowed Spike hard in the ribs. “That’s a Hybrid Gryffin!”
“Really?” Spike said rubbing his ribs. Now that he was closer he could tell that the stand owner was definitely no ordinary Gryffin. The stand owner did indeed have the forequarters and head of a Gryffin, but the hindquarters was from a Pony. Looking closer to the stand owner’s head he saw, not feathers, but coat hairs and a light golden mane. “Careful don’t point…” he trailed off when he saw Sweetie Belle already speaking to the stand owner.
“Are you a Gryffin Pony hybrid?” Sweetie Belle asked eagerly.
The stand owner just laughed. “Why yes I am! Let me guess, was it my hindquarters? My ma always told me I had a big bum.”
“No, no, no!” Sweetie Belle said waving her hoof dismissively. Then she saw the cutie mark on his flank.
When the hybrid Gryffin saw the look on her face he couldn’t help, but to laugh. Spike rushed up beside her and was ready to apologize for Sweetie Belle. The Hybrid Gryffin waved it off with his Taloned hand. “Don’t worry about it, mate. I had to go all through my young life with all sorts of beings acting like this to me. Used to bother me,” he shrugged. “but now not so much. Hey when you’re a bit odd, beings naturally will be curious. So ask away. Want to know how I was conceived?”
“Sure,” Sweetie Belle said. Spike blush a little at the idea of hearing how somepony came to be.”
“Naturally Gryffins can reproduce with Pegasi, but it’s extremely hard. Most hatchlings conceived do not survive. The mother usually will abort the hatchling within the first month if it isn’t viable. However in a few rare cases the mother will carry the hatchling through the seven months, but when the hatchling is delivered she will need to have medical professionals at her side. If she doesn’t either she or the hatchling will die,” the Gryffin leaned up against the stand.
“What about you?” Sweetie Belle asked now enthralled.
“My parents got lucky as you can tell. My mother was a Gryffin and my father was a Pegasus. They met at the international games as competitors. Meeting one night in a bar they hit it off and from there they’d eventually conceive me. However by the time my mother got pregnant with me, she didn’t really have any hope left. She had lost three hatchlings before I came along. The later she got in her pregnancy, she got more hope,” the hybrid Gryffin paused to help a Gryffin who had just flown over. After his customer was gone he said down on his haunches and continued. “The funny thing was when I was born I was born live.”
“Oh you mean you weren’t born in an egg?” Sweetie Belle said and the hybrid Gryffin nodded.
“All the other times my mother had gotten pregnant she had delivered an egg that never hatched. So when I came out without a shell over me she was quite shocked. Heck even the doctors were. I was put into the intensive care unit for about two months. My parents and the doctors were certain something was wrong with me,” a grin spread across his beak. “You can bet your tail hairs the doctors were at an end when they couldn’t find anything wrong with me. Nearing the third month my mom finally withdrew me certain that I was fine. As you can see I am pretty fine,” Spike threw him a look that only caused him to laugh.
“Did your parents ever have any other…hatchlings?” Sweetie Belle asked trying to get the right term.
“They tried twice after I turned two with no luck. Then after my fifth birthday my mother finally got pregnant again and delivered a healthy daughter. The doctors wanted to keep her in the NIC-U to ‘make sure’ she was doing alright. However my father knew they wanted to keep her to study her and possibly forbid my parents from taking her home. My father wasn’t having that and when the hospital refused to release my sister he sued the Hospital for all it was worth.”
“Did he win the lawsuit?” Spike asked now interested. Ever since learning what Ponies back in the day had done to his own kin, he was keen on learning more about the injustice they do.
“Ever heard of Rainbow Clouds Hospital?” They both shook their heads. The hybrid Gryffin snapped his taloned hand at them. “My father won the lawsuit. Lawyers and officials in the process had uncovered more ill practices the hospital had done way before I had been born. So it wasn’t just my parent’s case that did the hospital in. After winning the lawsuit my parents got rich quick, but they quickly donated and or spent it on renovating the Rainbow Clouds area.”
“Oh!” Sweetie Belle said making both the hybrid Gryffin’s head and Spike’s head turn. “I’ve heard of Rainbow Clouds! My friend’s mentor’s wife is from there. She’s a black mare with a velvet red mane, do you know her?”
The hybrid Gryffin thought for a moment and then he snapped his taloned hand again. “Volturi?” Sweetie Belle nodded. “No way! We used to be sweethearts in high school! What’s she up to now?”
Spike snickered as Sweetie Belle blushed. “She’s currently a stallion,” Spike laughed at his dumbstruck expression. “Her wife and she are trying for another foal.”
“Huh, I didn’t know her barn door swung that way,” the hybrid Gryffin grunted and then shrugged. “Life’s a mystery, isn’t it?”
Spike looked at Sweetie Belle. “It sure is,” then he looked at the hybrid Gryffin. “How long are you here for?”
“Just another day and then I’m going up to Rainbow Clouds to see my wife and kids. I travel for my work and I’m usually gone for long periods of time. So I spend my breaks with my family,” the hybrid Gryffin said.
A couple moments later Spike bought some game meat and was preparing to leave when he stopped. Turning around he said to the hybrid Gryffin, “What’s your name?”
“Buck Feathers, but everyone calls me Buck. Why do you ask?” he said.
“Me, this young mare, and my mom,” Sweetie Belle chuckled, but Spike ignored her. “Are going on a trip across Equestria and beyond. If she likes the idea, we’ll come visit.”
Buck Feathers gave a small fatherly grin. “Alright, I’ll hold you to it. My daughter will blow a hole through our wall when she hears a dragon and a Princess is coming.”
“You know who I am?” Spike said surprised.
“Who doesn’t?” he waited for him to say something about Twilight, but his eyebrows shot higher when he said, “You’re the only known Pony raised dragon in current history. Plus your ma is an Alicorn princess. When you have a daughter who is obsessed with the princesses in Equestria and a son who dreams of becoming a dragon, long story there, you learn some stuff.”
Sweetie Belle smirked pushing Spike away. “He’s ego will puff up more if we don’t leave. Maybe we’ll see you later!” she called as she walked off pulling Spike with her.
Buck Feathers smiled and returned to his stand.
“You’ll never guess who we met!” Twilight jumped when she heard Spike’s and Sweetie Belle’s voices come blasting through the doors of the castle. They got into the throne room and stopped when they saw all of the Mane Six sitting around the round table in their chairs. Applejack was sitting sideways, Pinkie Pie was surprisingly not doing much, Fluttershy sat in her chair with Discord behind her, Rainbow Dash sat with a stallion Volturi looking tired, and Rarity was sitting sending a glare Sweetie Belle’s way. Spike wrapped his wing around her to keep her calm.
“Good timing Spike,” Twilight said. “This meeting is actually about you,” she motioned for him to sit beside her. When he didn’t move she sighed. “Yes Sweetie Belle can join—”
“But she isn’t of the Mane Six!” Rarity hissed cutting Twilight off. Her ears were pinned back. “I forbid her from—” Sweetie Belle cut her off.
The young mare’s ears were pinned back as well. “You cannot forbid me from doing anything! For the millionth time you aren’t my keeper!”
Rarity got up with her ears pinned flat against her head and her eyes full of anger. “Don’t you dare speak to me like that you ungrateful filly,” Rarity drew her hoof back in preparation to slap Sweetie Belle. Drawing it down she almost hit Sweetie Belle when Spike jumped in between them.
He coiled around the young mare with his sharp teeth showing. His forked tongue flicked towards her. The black slit in his green eyes narrowed and his scales rose. Rarity slowly backed away terrified and slightly enraged. Advancing on the well-kept mare he quickly drew a clawed hand down her side. Rarity screamed and tried to scamper away from the enraged Spike.
“Discord! Do something!” Fluttershy cried.
At the same moment Spike was enveloped in a purple and light gold magic aura. He quickly calmed down and fell to his side. Releasing her magic Twilight flew forward to check on Spike. “Fast asleep,” then she turned on Rarity. “You are hereby banned from any Mane Six meeting until you can relearn the value of friendship that you lost.”
“It was his fault!” she complained, but soon backed away again clutching her side when Twilight advanced on her.
“No it isn’t. You invoked his anger, you knew Sweetie Belle was involved with him. Dragons are protective of their mates,” this hurt Twilight to ban her own friend, but she didn’t show her true emotion. “You are banned from now until you can prove to me that you have relearned the value of friendship. If you break or cause any more disturbances I will consult Princess Celestia to get your Element of Harmony removed.”
Rarity’s eyes widened. “You cannot do that! It will ruin me!”
“It is my duty to uphold the laws of a princess and enforce them when needed. Now you will be escorted from the castle by guards and brought to the clinic where you will be given treatment,” she motioned for the guards to haul the well-kept mare away.
“You cannot do this!” Rarity screamed through the hallways until one of the guards covered her mouth.
For nearly two minutes Twilight stood there attempting to gather herself again. “We need to find somepony to hold her place until she gets better or we need to replace her Element,” she said walking back to her throne.
“Ah say Sweetie Belle,” Applejack said simply. Everypony turned to look at her. “From watching her grow up and what Applebloom has said, the filly deserves it.”
“Yeah!” Pinkie Pie said bouncing up an inch. “Sweetie Belle helped me carry some boxes into the shop a few weeks ago! I could do it because of cupcake here,” she showed her round stomach.
“Is everypony is favor of this?” Everypony nodded. Then she turned to look at the young mare who was crouched beside Spike. “Will you hold her spot until something happens?”
The young mare thought for a long moment. This could possibly help her advance in the music industry and get some good contacts. “Yes I will.”
“Then it is settled Sweetie Belle is the new holder of the Element of Generosity until Rarity recovers or a new holder is needed,” Everypony clapped their hooves in support.
Twilight came to the kitchen late that night after tucking Sweetie Belle and Spike in. Walking into the kitchen she saw the rest of the Mane Six sitting at the table, minus Rarity and plus Volturi. “I thought you guys had left already.”
“We were going to leave until Applejack thought of something,” Volturi said in her newly deepened voice.
“The way Rarity is actin makes me think the greed has come back,” Applejack said referring to the time when the well-kept mare had learned a spell that gave her anything that she wanted, but with a twist. “Ah don’t think it’ll be this easy to remove this time.”
Twilight thought for a moment and the more she thought the more it made sense. “So you think this is why she’s treating her sister like this?”
“Yeah, look at it. She’s livin in Canterlot, hitched to a rich husband, and is livin her dream. The greed might have manifested during her time there without her or anypony noticing,” Applejack said. “It’s only a matter of time till she does something drastic because of the greed.”
Twilight had to admit this was true. “Alright I’ll consult the princesses about it and see what they want to do.”
A few minutes later everypony left heading their own ways. Twilight lingered in the kitchen for a moment longer before slowly making her way to her bedroom.
Twilight was wondering around the castle trying to think when a loud sound perked her ears up. Trotting down the hallway to the front foyer she grinned when she saw Sweetie Belle pinned to the ground under Applebloom and Scootaloo. She was waving her hoof out from under them franticly as if the two young mares were squeezing the life out of her. Twilight came up to the pile laughing a little bit under her breath.
“Say it!” Scootaloo said pinning slender Unicorn the ground.
Sweetie Belle’s ‘never’ came out squished and pulled out.
“Come on! Two huge topics! You have to admit it!” Scootaloo said again. Then she noticed the purple Alicorn standing above them. She quickly got off of Applebloom who got off of Sweetie Belle.
“So should I already know these huge topics?” Twilight couldn’t help, but to smile at the young mares’ actions. If anypony in Ponyville displayed friendship so easily and without even lifting a hoof, it was these three young mares. Scootaloo a young orange Pegasi mare with a purple mane and tail and the knack for all things extreme. Despite being born unable to fly properly, she never let it hold her back. Applebloom a young peach Earth Pony with a red mane and tail and the knack for engineering, potion making, and inventions. Then Sweetie Belle a young white Unicorn mare with a pink and purple mane and tail and the current holder of the Element of Generosity.
“Well you already know them,” Sweetie Belle said matter-of-factly towards her friends. “You already know I hold the Element of Generosity.”
“And that your sister’s gone mad…” Scootaloo said under her breath. She gave Sweetie Belle a sheepish look when she shot her a glare.
“You still haven’t said the other one!” Applebloom said with a country twang.
Sweetie Belle’s cheeks flushed over. “I’m going out with Spike,” she said so softly that she almost rivaled Fluttershy when Twilight first met her.
“You’re officially dating him?” Twilight said arching an eyebrow.
“Yes,” she said timidly rubbing one of her fore hooves up her leg nervously. “It just seemed right to do after all that has happened. Plus we’re going on that trip soon, so—Ah!” she said as she was once again piled under the two young mares.
“You didn’t tell us that either!” Applebloom said.
“You…were away at…the convention,” her words came out forced.
“I was free, why didn’t you tell me?” Scootaloo said ruffling Sweetie Belle’s mane.
“I did! You’re always off doing some extreme stunt or something!” Sweetie Belle said. “I can’t always tell you guys everything!” The two mares got off of her giving her looks. “Don’t look at me like that, even if I can’t tell you everything I’ll never abandon you,” she smiled meekly at them.
“Ah I can’t stay mad at this face,” Applebloom said hugging her friend.
Twilight smirked. “It’s about lunch time, want to go grab something? I just finished my paperwork for the day.”
“All three of us or just Sweetie Belle?” Scootaloo asked looking at Twilight with a raised brow.
“All of you of course,” Twilight said not letting her smile falter.
“Yay!” The three mares sprang up and leapt out the door. Twilight rolled her eyes and followed after the mares closing the door behind her as she went.
“Sir where do you need this?” Spike asked the large Earth Pony stallion who was finishing up building a fence for his sheep. He came up beside the stallion with the heavy wooden wagon strapped to his back. It had to be modified a little to fit over the spines on his back, but eventually it felt comfortable on his back without any problems.
“What’s in there?” The stallion asked craning his neck to look into the wagon. “Oh that must be material for the sheep run-in. Just park the wagon in the garage.”
“Yes sir,” Spike said trotting off towards a slightly leaning plain wooden brown garage. Turning so the back of the wagon was facing the garage he backed in slowly. Once the wagon was in the garage he unhitched himself and tidied up the harness. He jumped a bit when he heard the stallion cough behind him.
“Sorry, still got this cough that refuses to leave me. That was some mighty fine parking there, have you worked a wagon before?” the stallion asked.
“Yes sir,” Spike began, but the stallion cut him off.
“Call be Jeb, sir is reserved for my daughter’s boyfriend,” the stallion said with a country accent.
“Alright Jeb. Yes I have worked a wagon before, I sometimes work on Sweet Apple Acres whenever the Apple family needs help,” Spike said.
“You know the Apple family? I have two Nieces and a Nephew there. I believe Applejack is expecting again,” he said furrowing his brow trying to remember.
“She is, don’t worry she only recently found out. What is your relation to her if I can ask?” Spike said sitting down on his haunches.
Jeb joined him and looked out at the newly built fence. “I’m their uncle on her mother’s side. I originally lived a few hours outside Manehatten before Applejack was born. However as soon as I caught word my sister was ill I moved the family down here the second I could. You see this was a few years after their father died. Her mother was always stubborn and believed she could do everything on her own, up until she got sick she could.”
Spike smirked and quickly explained himself. “I just smirked because I know now where Applejack gets it from. If it wasn’t for her Element of Harmony and her friends she’d probably be trying to run Sweet Apple Acres on her own.”
Jeb grinned. “Heh, Applejack is the spitting image of her mother personality and physically wise. Except she’s a bit more thickly built, but that’s because Johnny Appleseed was a big stallion. Now Big Mac is a spitting image of his father physically wise,” he said before going on with his story. “So After I got settled I took care of Orange Marmalade up until she decided to join our parents up in the sky. She didn’t die until she made Granny Smith and me promise to watch after the kids. After that she passed on,” he said looking up at the sky. “After the kids didn’t need me anymore I moved back here, but I couldn’t bring myself to move back home. So I stayed here. Applejack occasionally visits with the kids and sits awhile. Big Mac comes whenever he can spare a moment, he brought his lovely wife the last time. Applebloom was here yesterday to help me repair the fences.”
Spike was quiet as he listened to the big stallion. He couldn’t imagine his life without Twilight, she was practically his mother. Without her he wouldn’t know where he’d be. “Where are they buried?” Spike asked without thinking.
“On the big hill on Sweet Apple Acres. Where that huge golden apple tree is. That was where Johnny Appleseed proposed to her and where she announced her pregnancies to him. I can’t imagine them being buried anywhere else,” he was still looking to the sky as if he was imagining his sister coming back down to the land of the living.
“Do you ever miss her?” Spike asked gently.
Jeb smirked and grinned. “Marmar would have slapped me across the face if she ever caught wind of me missing her. Now don’t get me wrong, I do miss her, but she wouldn’t have wanted it. She never wanted anypony cryin at her funeral. Heck as little as Applebloom was at the time, she didn’t even cry. Sure she was thinking of it, but not a single tear slipped. We all shared memories, stories, and even weird times we had with Marmar at her funeral. It’s what she wanted, ‘don’t cry because I’m gone, laugh at all the fun times we’ve had’ she said once. I can even remember her sitting with kids one day when she was too weak to get out of bed…”
Several years ago…
“Mama what was papa like?” A tiny Applebloom asked sweetly as she laid curled beside Orange Marmalade. A young tween Big Mac sat beside a child Applejack with her father’s old cowboy hat on her head. All three of the siblings were resting around their mother. They all knew she didn’t have long left, but they never let that get to them.
Orange Marmalade smiled softly, but didn’t speak. She knew one of her older children would speak. “Papa was a giant!” Applejack exclaimed standing up on her hind legs. “He was so big his head knocked the ceiling in the barn.”
“No he wasn’t,” Big Mac argued. “He was a warrior!”
Orange Marmalade laughed softly causing her children to look at her. “Johnny Appleseed was a strong courageous stallion who protected those he loved,” she said softly capturing the attention of her three children. “He met the challenge of raising a family like it was as simple as planting an apple tree. He loved you all so much. He even loved you Applebloom even though he never got the chance to see you,” she said looking at Applebloom. “He would sit for hours on end talking to you in my belly and telling Big Mac and Applejack how strong you’d become.”
“I love daddy,” Applebloom said softly as she rested her head on her mother’s side. “I wish I can talk to him.”
“You can,” Applejack said enthusiastically. “I always talk to papa whenever I can up on the hill.”
“Do you think I can?” Applebloom asked sleepily.
“Yes you can,” Applejack said, “I’ll bring you up there tomorrow.”
“I’ll come with you,” Orange Marmalade said softly.
Back to the present…
“She died later the next evening up on the hill with all three of the kids around her,” a fat tear slipped down Spike’s cheek. Jeb looked over with big watery eyes. “Now don’t you go cryin on me, that’ll only make me cry,” he said weakly with a small smile.
“I want to visit Applejack’s parents,” Spike said wiping away a tear.
“They’d love that,” Jeb said softly looking up at the setting sun sky.
“Mama, papa I know it’s been awhile since I’ve been up here, but I want to tell you the news,” Applejack said laying between two smooth moss covered stones. “You’re going to be grandparents again. I don’t know what the baby will be, but I know you’ll be proud of me. Can…” her voice broke as tears fell down her cheeks. “Can you just tell little Appleseed for me? Tell him he’s going to be a big brother again? I miss him so much…”
She jumped a little bit when she felt two hooves on her shoulders. Looking around she saw Big Mac and Applebloom. “Sorry I’m crying.”
“It’s only natural,” Applebloom said resting beside her older sister. “Although I can practically feel mama giving you a stink eye,” she said grinning.
“Eyep,” Big Mac said smiling at his two little sisters.
Applejack smiled softly. “It’s tough being a mama. I hope I can measure up to our mama.”
“You already have Aj,” Applebloom said. “The twins love you without a fault.”
“Little Cherry will love you too,” Big Mac said.
Applejack sighed looking at her siblings. “Well our foals have four angel ponies looking after them. Mama and papa, Granny Smith, and Appleseed.”
“Eyep,” Big Mac said getting up. He touched his mother’s and father’s headstones lightly with his muzzle. Applejack and Applebloom did the same. This had become a tradition in the family. After every talk with their parents they’d touch their muzzles to the stones as a sign of goodbye. Even Applejack’s hyper twin sons picked up on doing every time they stopped to talk to their grandparents.
“Let’s get back down,” Applejack said.
“Mama!” Applejack heard her twin sons call to her in unison. “Tell grandma and grandpa goodnight for us!”
She smirked and turned back to the headstones. “The twins say goodnight,” she said before she walked down the hill with her two siblings.
“Okay this isn’t fair,” the hybrid Griffin complained as he was once again beaten in another flying race against Spike. “You’re just about the size of one of those new bus thingy in Manehatten.”
“Let me guess is it an Apple bus?” Sweetie Belle said from under the big shade tree.
“Why, yes. Have you been to Manehatten to see them?” The hybrid Griffin said turning to look at the young mare.
“Nope, my friend’s mentor actually invented those buses and named them after my friend. She said she helped him come up with the idea and the fuel for the buses. Mixture of magic and apples is what makes them move,” Sweetie Belle said leaning against the big shade tree.
“Interesting. My son would love to meet her, he’s dreaming of becoming an engineer,” the hybrid Griffin said.
“I thought he wanted to become a dragon?” Spike said coming to rest beside Sweetie Belle.
“Long story short he found out the hard way he couldn’t become a dragon,” he said coming to sit with the two of them. It was a sunny day outside and the wind was blowing softly ruffling all their manes. “We had to take him to a healer to get the burn treated.”
“He tried to see if he was resistant to fire?” Spike asked arching an eyebrow. “Aren’t Griffins naturally resistant to fire?”
“Yeah, but he’s a quarter pony. He’s not entirely resistant to fire because of that. However the burn would have been worse if he had more pony in him than Griffin,” he said. “He got better quick enough, because of his Griffin genetics.”
“Now I am curious as to how he got the burn,” Spike said with a grin.
Buck grinned back. “My wife is a blacksmith who makes weapons and armor for the royal guard in Canterlot and in any neighboring Griffins. So she was in the garage, what we call her shop, working on an order for the Crystal Empire. She had been particularly excited to make this one because Princess Candance herself sent special ores from the Empire to use in the weapons and armor. While she was working my daughter was in there helping her by keeping the fire at the high temperature that was needed to mold the ore from the Empire. My son had snuck in there knowing that his mother was working on an order. My daughter didn’t notice her brother sneaking in because she was so preoccupied with keeping the fire lit. So he snuck to the fire pit and stuck a wing and a paw into the fire. The resulting scream was heard five streets away.”
“I hope he learned his lesson after that,” Sweetie Belle said worriedly.
“Oh he did after he had fire shot down his neck from his mother,” Buck snickered. “My wife loves her children, but the second they do something she doesn’t approve of…let’s just say she has us trained.”
Spike snorted. “Maybe Twilight will be like that.”
Buck arched an eyebrow. “Is the Princess pregnant?”
“Oh no, she isn’t even dating. I just said that because she’s gotten after me when I was still a young hatchling,” he said.
“Aren’t all of the Mane Six married?” Buck said. “Fluttershy is married to Discord, the lord of Chaos. Rarity is married to…Fancy Pants up in Canterlot. Applejack is married to Flim, never understood what happened there. Pinkie Pie is married to Pokie Peirce, did you know she has a Pegasi son?”
“It’s Pinkie Pie,” Spike and Sweetie Belle said together.
Buck arched an eyebrow, but went on. “Rainbow Dash is married to Volturi.”
“How do you know all of this?” Sweetie Belle asked.
“My daughter is obsessed with anything Princess related,” Buck said simply crossing his hind legs together and flopping down on his side. “So naturally I know just about anything related to them. She makes me watch reruns of the Canterlot wedding that happened years before she was born. Oh you’ll love this. She fainted when she saw Princess Candance.”
“She fainted?” Spike said hiding a snort when Sweetie hit him with her back hoof.
“Yep, the Princess felt so bad she tried to offer us a free tour of the Empire led by Prince Shining Armor and herself. Naturally I declined saying she’d be fine in an hour or so. My daughter was livid when she heard I declined,” he smirked. “She’s like her mother when she’s mad.”
Spike smirked. “You should see Twilight when she gets mad. There was this one time…”
“Come quick,” Applejack said bursting through the doors of the castle. Twilight looked up to see Applejack in her armor that Princess Celestia herself had given the entire Mane Six. Coming to meet her friend in the hallway she saw an extra plate of armor wrapped around Applejack’s stomach. “Had it made by a Griffin blacksmith and had it bewitched to resist all spells,” she said seeing Twilight’s eyes dart to it. “Ah wanted it made just in case ah had to go into battle while pregnant.”
“Battle?” Twilight said her eyes going wide. Her own armor appeared out of thin air strapping itself to her body. Normally this would have scared anypony, but Applejack stood there like it was normal to see a full set of armor appear out of thin air. “What happened? Is anypony harmed?”
“Not yet. We’ve managed to evacuate most of the citizens,” Applejack said cantering out of the castle. Despite being pregnant she kept up with Twilight easily. “Rarity attacked Sweetie Belle with a curse when she wasn’t aware.”
“I thought she was better?” Twilight said looking around the town. While most of the buildings were still in working order. A couple were smashed or damaged with distinctive marks. “Spike.”
“Eyup,” Applejack said mimicking her older brother. “He went berserk when he saw Rarity hit Sweetie Belle with the curse. He is currently going after Rarity while she is still trying to do more damage to her sister.”
“Do you still think it is the greed?” Twilight said darting ahead to shove a young Earth Pony and Pegasi Pony out from under a falling tree. She helped the two Ponies up before she teleported back to Applejack’s side.
“Ah honestly don’t know,” Applejack said. They rounded the corner where roars and wicked laughter could be heard.
A thought came to Twilight’s mind she didn’t voice. What if it is the same thing that was possessing Luna? She thought. Then she shook her head, it can’t be. Rarity would never let herself come under the influence of the Darkness. Then a sudden bright light startled her. Seemingly out of nowhere appearing the Ruling Sisters in full armor. Twilight ran to their sides with Applejack by her side. “What is going on?”
Luna turned to look at Twilight. “The Darkness has been detected in Equestria again and yes the same that I was under the influence of.”
“But, but how can it influence a holder of an Element of Harmony?” Twilight said looking up at the tall dark Alicorn.
“How can it influence a natural born Alicorn?” Luna said looking back at her. “Don’t be ashamed young one. We don’t have proper knowledge of how The Darkness works. All recorded knowledge was lost a few years before I was sent to the moon.”
Twilight thought for a moment. “Can we detain Rarity without sending her to the moon?”
Celestia bit back a grin. Luna threw a side long glance at her. “We can, but it’ll require her being put into a coma like state. In the state The Darkness will be powerless to use her and when that happens we will be able to extract it from her. Since Rarity is just a Unicorn and not a powerful one at that the Darkness doesn’t have much power. However the side effect of the spell will be that she will be unable to wake up until The Darkness is extracted.”
Twilight looked over to Applejack who simply nodded. She looked back to the Alicorn princess. “Do what you have to do, but let me handle Spike.” Luna just nodded and shot to where Spike, Rarity, and Sweetie Belle were. Twilight and Applejack soon followed.
“She deserves to be punished!” Twilight heard Rarity shriek. Her eyes widened. She didn’t recognize Rarity anymore. Her coat took on a dark grey, her mane was frizzled, and her eyes were shrunk to pin pricks.
A beam of magic shot from Rarity’s horn and struck Sweetie Belle in the side. Sweetie Belle gave a pain filled cry. Spike let out an earth shattering roar as he charged towards Rarity with his claws and razor sharp teeth blared. Rarity let out a shrill crackle and dodged Spike, but the ends of his teeth caught her mane. Spike swung his head snapping Rarity’s head to the side with a sickening crack. Rarity cried out in pain. She fell to the ground with her neck bent at an unnatural angle.
He was about to go for her throat when Rarity snapped back up and used a spell to crack her neck back in place. “Thought you could take me down that easily?” she crackled. “Think again you pitiful rat!” she ran towards him, but Spike caught her easily. Snapping his jaws down on her withers Spike swung her around and let her go soaring through the air into a building.
“Sweetie Belle!” Twilight cried running to the young mare’s side. She lay on her side too weak to lift her head up. She ran her eyes over the young mare checking for any flesh wounds. That was where she noticed something. Her coat gave off a slight shimmer. “A protection and shield spell. I can’t help, but to feel proud of myself.”
A small faint smile came on Sweetie Belle’s face. It quickly faded as another one of Rarity’s deranged crackles met their ears. “What will happen to—” she was cut off when they heard a loud painful cry come from Rarity.
They both looked up to see Luna and Celestia encasing Rarity in a thick bubble that filled with a dark red gas. The gas grew thicker until Rarity gave a pitiful cry and slumped down to the bottom of the bubble. The bubble then popped and an unconscious Rarity fell to the ground. Spike roared and charged towards the Princesses. Without thinking Twilight shot a spell flying towards Spike. The spell hit the back of his head and sent him tumbling to the ground. When the dust cleared she saw him on his side snoring lightly. She took a sigh of relief.
The princesses flew to her side. “We will send repair crews to Ponyville at once,” Celestia said levitating an unconscious Rarity beside her. She looked towards Spike snoring on the ground. “Will he remember any of this?”
“Probably not, I hit him with a memory altering spell as well. He will just think some monster attacked the town,” Twilight said supporting a recently healed and bandaged Sweetie Belle. She was surprisingly dealing with all the pain well. She was quite durable.
“Good,” Celestia said. “Rarity will be returned once we extract all of The Darkness from her,” with that the Princesses vanished out of thin air.
A few days had passed since the accident and Ponyville was already almost completed with all the repairs. Sweetie Belle was due to be released from the hospital that morning when Spike finally woke up. Hearing his loud groaning stretch Twilight trotted off towards his room. Appearing in the doorway she looked around the room noticing it had been cleaned since the last time she had been in there. The large plush mattress took up most of the room with plush pillows and a thick quilt. The quilt had been a gift from Granny Smith on Spike’s thirteenth birthday. Ever since then he had slept with it. Posters of authors, superponies, dragons sided with ponies, and illustrations from books hung on his wall. Even though he’d never admit it he was just as big a book nerd as Twilight was; however he was more interested in fiction books than Twilight herself was.
She saw Spike laying on his side under the quilt looking out the window. “What’s wrong?” she was in tune to Spike’s emotions so it wasn’t hard for her to pick up how he was feeling. When he didn’t answer she walked over to his bed and sat on the side. “I know something is wrong.”
“Your Memory Modification spell didn’t work. I know what really happened,” Spike said with no emotion in his voice. “I wish it had though.”
Looking down at Spike she knew he wasn’t telling her the full story. “What’s really wrong?”
Spike sighed and got up to sit on the side of the bed with her. “Am I a danger to everypony?” he looked at her searching for an answer. “That was the second time I attacked Rarity. Sure I did less damage this time, but if you hadn’t stopped me I could have killed her.”
“You are not a danger, Spike,” Twilight said softly.
“Then what am I?” he said his voice rising. “I’m not a Dragon and I’m not a Pony, which that much is obvious. I am Pony raised and consider myself more of a Pony than I do anything else. It’s clear I am not a Pony. What am I?” he looked demandingly towards Twilight.
Twilight didn’t know what to say, Spike had always been family to her from the beginning. “You are my family…my son. I’ve never thought of you as anything else. Mom and dad have accepted you, Shining Armor has accepted you, and even the while Crystal Empire has accepted you.”
Spike gazed at her and then laid his head on her shoulder. “I hope this journey across Equestria will answer that for me,” he said softly. “I’m sure it will,” she nuzzled the top of his head.
“Buck!” Spike said with a grin when he walked into Sweetie Belle’s hospital room. The hybrid Griffin looked back at him with an equally wide grin. “What in Equestria are you doing here?” he said giving a hug to the Griffin. He saw Twilight’s confused looked. “This is Buck Feathers. We met him at the market and since then he’s became a friend to us.”
“A Griffin and a Pony?” Twilight said softly studying Buck.
“Watch out she’ll study you like a new specimen,” Spike laughed watching Twilight look him over.
“Well when a Griffin loves a Pony…” Buck trailed off laughing when Twilight scrunched her face up.
“I know how it works, but I didn’t think those two species could produce viable offspring,” she said coming into the room. “Hybridization works with some species like Dragons and Ponies, but it takes a lot of tries to produce viable offspring. A Sphinx and a Griffin can have viable offspring together, but that’s only because they share similar DNA strands and genetics. A Merpony and a Pony can have offspring together, but only if water is present. However a Griffin and a Pony?” Twilight kept talking and looking Buck over like he was a new bug she had never seen before.
Spike smirked and rolled his eyes as he walked over to Sweetie Belle’s bed. “How are you feeling?”
“I’m feeling right as rain,” Sweetie said. “The nurses here really know what they are doing.”
“No lasting effects?” he said looking at her like she might break.
“Well they said I might have to use the toilet more now because of the medicine I’ll be on for a few weeks. Oh! I almost forgot look at this!” she said turning her head to show her messy mane. At first Spike didn’t see anything, but then he saw small lines of yellow in her mane. “Another side effect from the treatment they used. I’ve always wanted to dye my mane, but I never got around to it.”
Spike sighed. “I’m just happy you’re alright,” he said nuzzling her.
Sweetie smiled and looked up at him. Their eyes connected and her heart skipped a beat. Then before she knew it Spike was kissing her. It lasted only a brief moment before she became aware of the eyes on them. She drew away with a bright blush creeping across her cheeks. “S-sorry.”
Twilight grinned. “Don’t be, Spike needed that kiss.”
“Twilight!” he hissed his own cheeks heating up.
“What? I’m only telling the truth,” she laughed dodging his glare.
“Is she normally like this?” Buck asked Spike.
“Yes,” Twilight gave him a look. “What it’s only the truth,” Spike said grinning at Twilight.
“I might be smaller than you, but I can still take you down,” she came towards him and he dodged her and ran out of the room with her following behind him.
“You have to excuse them,” Sweetie said with a sigh. “They might be oddballs, but they are worth knowing.”