Spike Alone?
Despite having her magic to rely on, Twilight found herself really struggling. She was packing up the last of her supplies for the big camping trip she had planned this weekend with her friends, as a way to celebrate the anniversary of the event that had drawn them all together.
Add to the fact the photographer from the Canterlot Historical Society was going to stop by today and take pictures of the School of Friendship (or rather the staff teaching at it), and the alicorn had a lot on her mind. Yet somehow, she could've sworn she was forgetting something.
Or perhaps, somedragon. For who should come casually strolling into Twilight's office at that moment but Spike? Her number one assistant and first friend, who she also happened to consider part of her family. His new wings still took some getting used to, and it was hard to believe it had already been almost a month since he'd sprouted them.
Spike's eyes fell upon the maps and charts strewn across Twilight's desk, and quickly put two and two together. "You're going on a friendship retreat with the girls this weekend, aren't you?"
"How did..." Twilight began but quickly corrected herself. "Er I mean, no. I'm just... feeling a little bit under the weather and need some fresh air." She faked a few coughs.
Spike wasn't fooled for a second. "Twilight, it's okay, you don't have to lie. If you already made plans for the weekend, that's perfectly fine. You certainly need a vacation after how hard you've been working on your friendship school."
Twilight frowned. "But Spike, I feel all guilty. I totally forgot to include you, or even ask if you wanted to come along. We haven't done anything together since you sprouted your wings."
But Spike simply replied and reassured Twilight. "And we can do things together whenever we want. Someone needs to stay behind and manage your school and the castle for you. Besides," The little dragon added. "Starlight's not much of a camper either, so she's not going. I might as well stay behind and keep her company."
However, at that very moment, Starlight Glimmer came trotting into the room. She had overheard everything, and she reluctantly confessed. "Actually, Spike, I already decided I was going. I thought you were gonna be there too, and I didn't want to be the only one who backed out just because I don't like camping. I'm sorry, I should've checked with you first."
"It's not too late to change your mind, Spike," Twilight told the little dragon. "The girls won't even be here for another half an hour at least. And you know how much you like to spend time with Rarity."
"S-so what?" Spike nervously laughed. "We spend time together as friends, there's nothing strange about that. Knowing Rarity, she's probably way overpacked. I already have plans for the weekend."
Twilight eyed Spike with suspicion. "Are you one hundred percent sure about that?"
"Eeyup, totally," Spike chuckled and tellingly massaged the back of his neck with a claw. "In fact... I have... things to do to get set up for another Guys Night. So I'll just... be on my way." And he bolted out of the room, though not before Twilight and Starlight could see tears starting to form in the little dragon's eyes.
"I'll go talk to him." Starlight was about to follow.
But Twilight threw up a hoof and objected. "No, Starlight. I know Spike well enough to know that when he gets like this, a simple talking isn't going to make him feel better."
"But we can't just leave him like this." Starlight objected.
"It's okay, Spike will be fine on his own," Twilight reassured her former student. But then she looked down. "At least, I hope."
After fleeing Twilight's office, Spike ran all the way back to his room in the castle and refused to come out. He wanted no one to see him in his current state. He even covered his face with a pillow, and groaned sadly.
"Come on, Spike, buck up!" The dragon thought to himself, trying to take his mind off his troubles. "This isn't the first time Twilight and the others have left you. You'll be fine, you just need to think of something to do for the weekend," But then he remembered. "Big Mac's out of town for the weekend with the rest of the Apple family, and Discord said he was gonna travel with this old stallion and his grandson he met in Las Pegasus. So I can't hold a Guys Night, which means no Ogres and Oubliettes. Think, Spike, think! Use that brain of yours!"
But all his thoughts kept coming back to the reality he found himself in, which only served to further frustrate Spike, and it did not help his current mood at all. All of a sudden, however, an idea came to him. Almost like magic, one might say. "Of course!" The dragon said aloud, finally standing up. "Why didn't I think of it before? She'll be glad to come over.
Departing his room, Spike ran to where the scrolls were usually kept, and took out an empty one. He then grabbed a quill and started writing a letter. It read as follows:
Dear Princess Luna,
Hope this letter finds you well.
Guess what? Twilight and the girls are out of town for the weekend on a camping trip, and I'm all alone. So I was hoping you could dragon sit me again, seeing as it's been so long since you last did it and there's so much I wanna talk to you about.
Can you come over to the castle tonight? I'll wait up for you if I have to.
Sincerely,
Your favorite dragon,
Spike
Breathing fire onto the scroll, Spike watched as it disappeared into the familiar light purple swirl that indicated it had been sent. He did not have to wait long for a reply, for seconds later he belched it. Taking it into his claws, he read it aloud to himself:
Dear Spike,
As if I could ever say no to my favorite dragon in the whole wide world. It seems like it's been ages since we even talked to each other.
I'd be delighted to dragon sit you once again, I'll be there first thing tonight (after I raise the moon of course). We can have a slumber party all weekend, and I'll finally get a chance to see those new wings of yours in the waking world.
See you tonight!
Sincerely,
Princess Luna, your official dragon sitter
P.S. Hope you don't mind, I have a special surprise in store for you when I arrive. Trust me, you're going to love it.
From the moment he'd finished reading the letter from Luna, Spike eagerly waited for nightfall and the arrival of Princess Luna. Time seemed to tick by slowly until then, but it was well worth the wait in the little dragon's mind. In fact, it gave him a chance to try out some of these tricks he'd seen Rainbow Dash do. If she could do it, then so could he.
At last, night came, and Spike rushed outside to wait patiently for Princess Luna. Sure enough, just minutes after the moon had risen into the night sky, there came the sound of flapping wings and thundering hooves. Spike looked up to see the familiar carriage of Princess Luna, pulled by two of her night guards.Once the Princess of the Night saw Spike and his wings, her face beamed.
The carriage descended and came to a halt in front of Spike, and Luna jumped out, holding out her hooves as Spike flew outside and embraced her openly.
` "Hi, Luna." Spike sighed in content and peace, feeling Luna’s warmth.
"Hello, dragon youngling." Luna curled her neck around Spike's body.
After a minute in the embrace, Luna held up Spike with her hooves. "My, my...just look at how big you're getting!" Luna cooed. "Your wings are just as impressive in the real world as they are in your dreams!"
Spike's wings began fluttering with happiness as he tried his hardest not to blush (although he didn't mind the attention). "It's good to see you again too, Luna. So uh, what's the special surprise you have for me?"
Luna grinned, levitating over a huge sack with her magic and placing it on the ground. "It's inside this here sack. It's very heavy though, just carrying it here in my carriage was a chore." She informed the dragon.
Spike ran up to the sack, and tried to grasp at the knot tied around the top. But somehow, it seemed unwilling and unable to budge, no matter how hard he tugged and pulled. Whatever was inside the sack had to be super heavy, almost as heavy as a boulder if not more so.
Turning around, Spike was just about to ask Princess Luna for help in opening the sack, when he felt somepony's muzzle touch his scales. The unexpected motion startled the dragon, causing him to jump! "Gah!" He exclaimed and quickly spun around, only to meet an instantly recognizable sun princess with her head poked up from the sack.
Spike’s face lit up happily. "Celestia!" Without a second thought, he wrapped his arms around Celestia’s neck as she freed her hooves from the sack to hold the dragon warm and tenderly. "Oh, how I missed you, Spike…"
"You’re gonna sleepover with us?" Spike happily asked.
Luna playfully chuckled in response. "Well, ever since Twilight wrote to her and told her you got these dashing new wings, she's been eager to see you again."
"I must say that you look quite charming. Wings and everything." Celestia declared.
Spike said nothing, he just nuzzled deeper into the sun princess' hug. Although he didn't say anything, he knew that Princess Celestia, like Princess Luna, would love him with or without wings. And it was nice to have ponies that still loved him for who he was on the inside, not the outside. He wasn't even bothered as Luna joined in on the hug, to him it just made him feel all the more welcome and comforted. And the night had barely even begun.
It wasn't long before the three decided on an activity for the evening, watching movies on a projection screen that Spike had set up. He wanted to cook the popcorn himself, but Luna and Celestia insisted he relax, and leave that to them.
The first movie they watched happened to be a favorite of Princess Celestia's. It involved various ponies traveling aboard a luxurious ocean liner that was touted as being unsinkable.
Princess Luna, however, was most critical of the film. She frowned, as she watched the huge ship depart for the open seas, and the ponies onboard laughed and chatted with each other in the bright sunlight. In particular, two young ponies, a pegasus mare and a unicorn stallion seemed to be falling in love with each other.
"This is one of the best romance stories in all of history," Celestia declared, as the two ponies on the screen started to dance to a beautiful tune. "I've watched this movie so many times. I know it like the back of my hoof."
Luna simply humphed. "Sister, you know that this movie is based on actual event that occurred, don't you? And in real life it didn't end so happily for those onboard. All this is, is taking a real life disaster that claimed many lives, and turning it into mushy, romantic tripe. How could they ever do such a thing?"
"Wait?" Spike questioned, looking over to Celestia. "If this movie is based on a true story, wouldn't you be in it?"
Suddenly, Celestia's cheerful mood faded. And the sun princess started to blush. "Actually... now that you mention it... there is one scene I remember being in. But it's so short and unimportant... we can just skip it! You'll probably be bored out of your mind." She proceeded to light up her horn, hoping to quickly speed up the projector and skip over the scene to which she was referring.
But Luna, with a smirk, blocked her sister. "Now, now, sister. You're the one who chose this movie, and you said it was one of your favorites. Did you not?"
"W-well, yes... but-" Celestia began.
Luna giggled. "But nothing, we're going to see the whole movie. After all, Spike's never seen it before. So how does he know it's not gonna be important?" Then an image caught the night princess' eye. "Ah, I believe the scene you were talking about has arrived."
Spike watched with intrigue, as an actress clearly dressed up as Princess Celestia appeared. In an overly dramatic fashion, she shouted. "Iceberg straight ahead! Everypony duck!" And she started flailing her arms, trying to shout some kind of warning. But everyone onboard was so amused by her over the top performance, they payed her no attention.
The real Princess Celestia, watching the scene play out, groaned and grit her teeth as her eyes narrowed. Princess Luna simply giggled again.
By the time the movie had ended, not a single eye was dry. All watching saw how the pegasus mare and the unicorn stallion escaped the sinking ship, only for the unicorn stallion to succumb to the cold waters surrounding them and perish. Decades later, the pegasus mare passed away due to old age. And in her mind, she saw herself back on the ocean liner, dancing with the stallion whom she'd met on that fateful voyage long ago.
Once she'd finished crying and had blown her nose, Luna regained her composure. "Well, that was certainly an... intriguing movie. But now it's my turn to pick," She declared, and sorted through various film reels until one caught her eye. "Ah, this is one of my favorites. And it's a much more family friendly film." Holding it in her magic, the dark blue coated alicorn allowed for the title to be seen. It read: Stupendo.
As Luna switched out the reels and flicked the projector on, Spike curiously inquired. "What's this movie all about?"
"You'll see soon enough," Luna beamed. "It's an old classic from long ago. They don't make movies like this anymore, not since the studio that made it closed down."
Before long, an image popped onto the screen. It was of a deer, a baby deer. As the film progressed, Spike and the princesses watched as the deer was discovered to have a great big tail, and everyone made fun of him for it (except for his mother). Eventually, however, the deer (who bore the name of the film) found that his huge tail made it possible for him to fly.
Princess Luna started to tear up as Stupendo showed off his flying ability, and all who had previously mocked him were now shocked into silence.
Naturally, Princess Celestia couldn't resist ribbing her little sister about it. "Luna, look at you," She playfully teased. "You're getting all sad eyed over a kids' film."
"It's not just for kids, sister!" Luna defended, wiping away some of her tears. "Stories like these involving talking animals have so much depth and effort put into them. And they have ideas and even humor that go straight over the kids' heads, but that's what makes them so enjoyable. As a kid, you can appreciate the whimsical colors and music. But as an adult, you can appreciate the story and the jokes that you didn't get when you were little."
"Whatever you say, little sister. You always were a bit of a kid at heart." Celestia teased with a smirk.
As the two princesses playfully argued about the film (and Luna's strong feelings for it), Spike had his eyes glued to the screen. A silent scene was playing out, with the characters speaking not a word. In the scene, he saw Stupendo with his mother. And from the way she looked at him, it was clear that she loved her son regardless of his flying ability. Spike saw a part of himself reflected in that deer, but he said nothing.
By the time the second movie had ended, it was time for Spike to go to bed. The little dragon didn't protest, he was quite tired.
Celestia and Luna both tucked him into bed, using their magic to lift up the covers, place him in the bed, and then pull the covers up to his neck. Celestia then bent down and kissed Spike on the forehead. "Sweet dreams, my little winged hero." She said to him in a motherly tone, not unlike the way she would occasionally do for Spike when he was much younger and lived in the castle in Canterlot with her and Twilight.
The princesses prepared to leave Spike's room, and head to Twilight's room to go to bed themselves. But as Luna was about to exit, she happened to glance back at Spike. And she noticed immediately that he seemed to be looking down, probably even a little sad. Something was clearly troubling him.
"Spike," The night alicorn softly called. "Is something wrong? You can tell me."
Spike looked up, startled by Luna's voice. "Everything's fine, Luna." He tried to say.
Luna wasn't convinced, she just walked over and wrapped her hooves around Spike, hugging him. "If anything's wrong, dragon youngling, my sister and I are here to help."
Spike said nothing, but he still shared in the hug. As he did so, he felt Luna give him her own goodnight kiss, before she then left the room.
About an hour later, the princess were sleeping when the door to Twilight's bedroom creaked open. "Celestia? Luna?" Spike softly called.
The princess stirred and stumbled awake. Celestia was the first to ask. "What is it, Spike? Is something the matter?"
"I can't sleep, I had a nightmare. A really bad one." Spike explained, and it was now that the two alicorns could get a good look at him. They saw how distraught he was. Whatever his nightmare had been, it must've really scared him.
Having dealt with nightmares quite often, Luna knew what to do. She immediately enveloped Spike in the soft glow of her magic, levitating him onto the bed. She then wrapped her hooves around the little dragon to comfort him. "It's okay, Spike. My sister and I are here for you, dragon youngling," She softly spoke, while delicately stroking his scales with a hoof. "Tell me, what happened in this nightmare of yours?"
"I...I can't remember," Spike sniffled a bit. "All I remember is that it involved Twilight. Something bad happened to her and I wasn't there to protect her. It was all my fault! What if she went and-?"
Shocked by the news, Celestia also wrapped her hooves around Spike and softly shushed him. "Shhh... it's okay, Spike, it was just a nightmare. I'm sure nothing bad will happen to Twilight. She's been planning this trip for weeks, and I'm sure she would know to keep herself out of danger." She reassured the little dragon.
"But... but... what if this camping trip was just Twilight's excuse to get away from me?" Spike continued to sniffle. "I know I haven't fully gotten used to these wings, and that's been causing her some problems. And then there's the whole 'Dead Dragon's Society'. I just thought it'd be a fun little joke, I didn't meant to disrupt Twilight's lesson plans."
"Spike, you know more than anyone that Twilight loves you no matter who or what you may be," Celestia reassured the dragon. "Remember when you thought Owlowiscious was going to replace you, and Twilight told you that wasn't the case."
"Y-yeah, but..." Spike began.
"-But nothing, little dragon," Luna interrupted. "Twilight loves you, and that is something that will never change. If you really feel like your new wings are becoming a problem, just talk to her. She can only help you if she knows something's wrong," And then she added. "I know what you're going through, Spike. I had trouble learning how to fly when I was but a filly."
Celestia cuddled up next to Luna, and she declared. "But I still loved my sister anyway, even if sometimes I teased her. After all, that's what family is all about."
Luna began to blush. "Sister, Spike is watching!" She playfully whined.
"Aww, let him look." Celestia teased.
Spike couldn't help but giggle at the statement. And that gave Luna an idea. With a smirk, she declared. "Sister, through my many experiences of dragon sitting Spike, I happen to have found a few ticklish spots."
"Oh, you did?" Celestia grinned widely.
"No, don't!" Spike playfully protested. But it was too late, Celestia and Luna used their wings to touch all of Spike's ticklish spots, making him laugh and kick his legs. His laughter echoed through the castle.
Fortunately, the tickling achieved its intended effect. Even as the tickles slowly began to cease, Spike's happy mood did not fade even in the slightest. The royal sisters took that as a sign of success. "Feeling better, Spike?" Celestia asked him, and when the little dragon nodded the sun princess declared. "Well, you can sleep with Luna and I for the rest of the night. We'll make sure no nightmares can hurt you. Isn't that right, Luna?"
But Luna didn't answer for she was deep in thought, clearly thinking about something. "Sister, please watch over Spike for a little bit," She instructed, as she slowly got up from the bed. "There is something I must tend to in the dream realm. Don't worry, I'll be back. This shouldn't take long." And the night alicorn departed the room, as her sister held a now sleepy Spike close.
Spike let out a a yawn as he clutched Celestia's chest and neck fur as she chuckled warmly and nuzzled his head.
Soon, Princess Luna had entered the dream realm. And tonight, there was a particular pony whose dreams she wished to visit, the dreams of Twilight Sparkle.
It didn't take long for the alicorn with a coat the same dark blue as the night sky to locate said dreams. She soon discovered Twilight deep in dream, though not about books. She was dreaming about her friends acting strange, almost like their exact opposites. And it seemed like some evil force was behind it. But the figure responsible was shrouded in darkness and couldn't be seen.
Luna quickly dispersed the nightmare in the making, and descended into Twilight's dream, touching down on the ground in front of her fellow alicorn. "Greetings, Twilight Sparkle." She formally declared.
"Princess Luna?! Oh, am I glad to see a friendly face!" Twilight happily exclaimed. "Today was so weird, it has to be the strangest camping trip I've ever gone on."
Luna kept a straight face, looking firmly into Twilight's eyes. "While I am glad I could be assistance, I came here tonight to talk you about a very important subject. Something more concerning than a simple camping trip."
Twilight immediately guessed. "It's Spike, isn't it? He's still torn up about not going on the trip with us, isn't he?"
Luna nodded. "Yes indeed. However, that is not the only thing that troubles him this very night. As his dragon sitter, he has confided in me and my sister that he fears you went on this trip solely to get away from him."
Twilight gasped and her eyes widened! "That's ridiculous, Spike knows I would never do such a thing to him. I offered him the chance to come along, and he said no. Besides, what would give him the idea that I would ever want to get away from him?" She questioned the night princess.
"He mentioned the difficulty he's had adjusting to his new wings, and the recent incident with the 'Dead Dragon's Society' in your friendship class," Luna explained quite firmly. "When you get back from this camping trip, you need to make sure you let Spike know how much he means to you. And remember how much you mean to him."
"I will, Princess Luna. And thank you so much for being there for Spike when I can't be," Twilight smiled and hugged the princess firmly, as Luna wrapped her own hoof around Twilight. "I knew I made the right choice in making you Spike's dragon sitter."