Sorrow was the strongest feeling coursing through his body, seeing other ponies with their families in the streets in jubilation. Applejack trotted back to Sweet Apple Acres with Apple Bloom on her back and Big Macintosh by her side. Rarity was leading Sweetie Belle back into Carousel Boutique, promising to allow her to help sew a dress. Pinkie balanced Pound and Pumpkin on her back, telling them an exaggerated tale as the Cakes walked on either side of her, keeping an eye on their foals.
All in all, happiness was abound in Ponyville that night, and it tore him up inside. There was an emptiness that he longed to fill, since he was born. An emptiness that to this day has been growing dangerously vast with each passing moment.
He closed his eyes and began to vision himself running up to a hill, where a certain lavender pony was standing. She was beaming at him with open forelegs, ready to welcome him. Once he reached her, he felt the warmth of love coursing through his cold-blooded veins, though it was not the love from a lover he was longing for.
“SPIKE!” he yelped and fell backwards as the same lavender pony shouted from behind. “Stop daydreaming! We got to get back to the library, I need to write to the princess,”
Spike stood up and dusted himself off, “Why don’t we stop at Sugarcube Corner and get some cupcakes? I’ll pay,”
“Sorry Spike, this letter is kind of urgent. We’ll go get something tomorrow, I promise.”
Well that’s another broken promise to come right there. Why do I even bother?
Because you don’t have any other options, remember?
Spike sighed at his brain’s very valid point. Who else could he turn to for the familiar desire he craved? Celestia was far too busy being a princess to be a mother, and the other Bearers had their own to look after. Even Rainbow Dash had her fill with Scootaloo, though the athletic pegasus would never admit to it. To add insult to injury, Twilight’s been spending more of her free time with her latest friends. He was just there for the background, as a doormat, nothing more. It pained him to be neglected so, yet he still loved her and could not bear adding stress to Twilight’s life with his loneliness... since he only was her assistant.
He shook his head. Okay, maybe that wasn’t very fair. She had followed him into dangerous dragon territory for his safety after all. And she stood by him even after his rampage had leveled half the town. Even after being a jerk, she came looking for him when he ran away from home. And the fact that she was raising him at all, rather than dumping him on the palace servants, had to mean something.
Still, whenever there wasn’t a crisis on hand, he couldn’t help but feel like he didn’t matter. Like he was a mere convenience to Twilight. If he had to practically get himself killed before getting her attention, maybe he really didn’t matter.
“Fine, lets go.” he said, walking onwards to the library without looking back.
Oh dear! I hope he’s ok. I know I haven’t been spending enough time with him. I really want to make it up to him. I really want you to be happy Spike.
Your words contradict to your actions, hypocrite
Twilight cursed to her mind for saying such a thing, but she sighed in defeat, knowing full well it was the truth. She had been busy, obsessing as usual over her studies on friendship and whatever else struck her fancy. While she had never meant to neglect her charge, she continually lost track of how much time she had spent with him, something she regretted every time.
She was the one responsible for bringing him to this world; by hatching his egg, getting accepted to Canterlot School for Gifted Unicorns, becoming Celestia’s protege and receiving her cutie mark. But the thing that made that day really special to her was receiving Spike. When she first laid eyes on him and cradled him in her forelegs, she was filled with a deep warmth that she could not explain.
Celestia, against the ‘better judgement’ of the professors of the school, decided to let Twilight raise Spike herself (though she did help out at times). She fed him, cleaned him, read him bedtime stories, taught him how to read and write, all things considered she was like a mother to the baby dragon.
What kind of mother makes her own son feel miserable?
She sighed, walking towards the library with a sour expression on her face. The past two years had not been kind to Spike, and she knew it. During Winter Wrap Up, where she had desperately tried many things to be accepted, she and the others had played a prank on him by having him nearly drown in the freezing lake, something that to this day she regrets seeing as how close he was in death’s embrace.
When Rainbow Dash had invited them to the Best Young Fliers competition in Cloudsdale, she told him to look after the library whilst she was gone enjoying the outing, even though Spike really wanted to see the cloud city, she did promise him to take him up there... someday.
He had gotten dreadfully ill just the day before her first birthday in Canterlot. Despite her insistence that she could put off any celebration until he was better, he refused to let her delay what she had been looking forward to for months and allowed her to leave for Canterlot. Twilight had jumped on the opportunity, but had always regretted it since, knowing her baby dragon was heartbroken at not being able to attend.
Then came the big catalyst, his birthday party. What was supposed to be a special day for him turned into an absolute nightmare for her, seeing the child she raised become a greedy beast. For months afterward he refused to leave the library, missing on all the adventures they had for months. All her attempts to cheer him up fell flat on their faces. All he would do was mope around as he completed his chores, and some nights his grief had become so unbearable that he crawled into her bed, desperate for some comfort. She always complied, but it pained her she could not do more.
And of course, that wasn’t counting how she treated him while stressed out, even before she came to Ponyville. Whenever a test or an essay was stressing her out, she would become cross with him, often unintentionally making his job more difficult. Once it was all over she’d apologize, spent some time with him and promise, sincerely, never to neglect him again. It was a cycle that never seemed to break, though she seemed to have calmed down since coming to Ponyville. She has been improving, never being happier in her life, with making new friends and spending time with them... yet that happiness seemed to have the negative effect on Spike. Nearly every action she performed, seemed to have affected Spike.
By the time she reached the library, Spike already had the parchment and quill ready. He was still as loyal and efficient as ever, even in his bad mood. “Alright, what’s the letter?”
She smiled weakly, her eyes becoming slightly misty before closing them and drawing a deep breath. “Ok, lets begin. ‘Dear Princess Celestia...”
Dusk became night, and Spike lay in his basket, curled up into a ball. Spike awoke to the chirping of birds, the warmth of the sun and the laughter of mares. When he looked up, he saw Twilight and her friends having a picnic at their favourite location. He smiled to himself and began making his way to the rest of them, hoping to spend some time with Twilight. But with the first step, he could not move any further.
He looked behind himself to see darkness reaching out to his shadow and forbidding him any movement. The darkness began to pull on his shadow, forcing him to be pulled backwards as well. He started screaming for help, using his claws to latch onto the ground to pull himself free from the darkness’ grip.
“TWILIGHT! HELP ME!” he yelled out desperately.
Though once Twilight saw him, she just shrugged it off, “Meh, at least now I will gain a better assistant.”
Spike felt the darkness reaching to the rest of his body, as if it was eating him away with each moment that passed. Spike screamed once again to Twilight, begging for her to save him, but to be ignored once again. Once the darkness reached his neck, his eyesight started to fade along with his hearing.
“MOMMY!!!”
Spike’s eyes’ shot open, sitting upright and breathing heavily. He felt sweat pouring from his body and tears flowing freely from his eyes. He looked around and saw he was back in the library in his basket and saw Twilight’s bed, with her sleeping soundly. He noticed she was smiling in her sleep. This in turn made him feel so disgusted that he let out a barely audible growl, displaying a scowl at how perfect she has had it with her life so far and not caring about his pain and how he has been losing his mind. He jumped out of his basket and made his way downstairs. Once he reached the ground floor, he found his way to the middle of the room and curled up in a fetal position. Once he did so, he released a river of tears and began asking himself
“Why? Why don’t you love me?”
Twilight walked down the stairs, Celestia’s morning sun peeking in through the window. “Spike? You’re up early this morning,” she called. “Have you started break...”
She stopped. She saw Spike lying on the floor, his back to her. He wasn’t moving.
“Spike!” she cried, running over to him. She used her hoof to turn him around to face her.
She nearly screamed at what she saw. Spike looked almost skeletal, his skin clinging to bone like everything in between had been sucked out of him. His eyes were wide open in a horrified, sorrowful expression, begging to know why.
“Spike? SPIKE?!”
His mouth didn’t move. His body didn’t make a sound. But his voice still ran through her mind.
Why? Why did you ignore me? Why didn’t you love me? You were all I had. Why? Why?!
“SPIKE!”
Twilight shout out of bed, sweat drenching her face. After a few deep breaths, she turned to Spike’s basket.
He wasn’t there. Fear struck her heart.
In a flash she lept out of bed. “Spike? Spike?” Desperately she ran downstairs. “Spike? Please, are you still here?”
She reached the first floor. Spike was laying on the floor. Fear crawled back into her heart.
“Spike!” she called, running over to him. This time, her calls actually alerted the baby dragon, who turned to face her. He shivered, quickly drying his tears.
“Twilight? I...I was just...”
The purple unicorn didn’t let him finish. She pulled him into her forelegs, kissing his forehead wildly. “Spike! I had the worst dream! Oh, you’re alright, I’m so glad you’re alright!” She nuzzled him as if he were the most fragile thing in Equestria.
Spike was shocked at what Twilight was doing. It took him a few moments for his brain to start functioning again, realizing that Twilight’s tears and concern was genuine. He starting tearing up again, reaching his arms to her chest.
“Why?”
Twilight looked down at the dragon, confused by his question. Before she could answer him, he started pounding on her chest, sobbing away with his head buried deep in her.
“Why do you always take so long to even care for me!?”
Twilight was shocked at what Spike asked her. She knew she wasn’t always there for him, but she always did care for him and felt horrible for all the past neglects and broken promises. Yet now, she saw the full length of how much pain she has caused the poor baby dragon. “I’m so sorry,” she said after holding him tightly and crying into his shoulders. “I’m so sorry Spike! I’ve been a terrible friend and I promise you I will try harder I promise you!”
“Twilight...”
“Yes?”
“I don’t want you as my friend,”
Twilight’s heart broke into millions of pieces hearing this. She drove Spike into this, she made him so miserable, she made him cry alone with nopony to be there for him, she failed him. Twilight began to slowly back away, assuming that her presence was not wanted by the baby dragon anymore. She turned around and walked slowly to the stairs. She wanted to go upstairs, climb into her bed, and wallow in guilt at what she has done to the boy.
“I want you as my mother.”
Twilight's head turned instantly at these words to face Spike, her eyes forming new sets of tears and he breathing momentarily stopping at what she just heard.
“I know it might seem weird, but...you’ve always been there for me.” He was having trouble talking through his tears. “You taught me everything I know and...and you were there for me when nopony else was. Please...can I call you Mom?”
Twilight breathing hastened and more tears flowed from her eyes. She used her magic, to engulf Spike in her purple aura and sending him flying towards her. When he made contact with her, she fell backwards with him in her forelegs and she held onto him while she was on her back crying.
I’m such an idiot, here I thought I was being the worst friend and now I see how I’ve been the worst mother ever! I’m so sorry Spike, I promise... no I SWEAR I WILL NEVER LEAVE YOU ALONE!
Twilight sniffed her tears as she lifted her head to face Spike,“You really want me to be your mother?”
Spike looked into her eyes before nodding his head and returning the embrace and crying into Twilight’s chest.
“Oh Spike! You call me that everyday, everyday from now on!” she said, her words being tainted with the tears flowing freely from her eyes. “I love you, my son! I love you so much!”
She leaned her head against his, kissing his forehead and holding him tightly as they both were crying from the revelation that occurred tonight.
Dear Princess Celestia,
I’ve been taking care of Spike for years, and in that time I’ve grown to love him dearly. However, it’s only been recently that I realized just how much he means to me. I wanted to thank you for letting me have him on the day I hatched him, you gave me something I treasure more than anything. I have a son now.
But I also learned that having a son means I need to be more attentive to him. No matter how important my studies are, I can learn to make time for him. I can’t let time get away from me. I promise, no... I swear to never neglect him again.
Your Faithful Student,
Twilight Sparkle
Twilight set the quill down on the desk and rolled the letter up, setting it aside to be sent later. She yawned and pulled away from the table, looking to the side at her own bed. She heard Spike snoring soundly in his sleep in the basket, clutching his blanket for warmth from the night.
An idea popped in her head, with a smile forming slowly. She made her way to her bed, climbing in and looked down on Spike’s sleeping body. She used her magic to lift him gently from his basket and placed him next to her, where she wrapped her foreleg around him drawing him in closer. He instinctively snuggled closer to her chest, with his snoring becoming less audible. “My little Spikey” she said softly, placing a gentle kiss on his forehead.
Twilight was thinking of what to do tomorrow with Spike; take him to Sugarcube for a party (where Pinkie would most likely call it a “Mother-son party”) or take him to Cloudsdale to see the wonders of the skycity. Whatever she chose, she knew that from now on that she would do her utmost to be there for Spike... to be there for her son.
The first rays of sunshine shined upon Twilight Sparkle’s eyes, which slowly began to open. Letting out a groan as she opened her eyes hesitantly, she tried to block the sun shining on her face. But she stopped when she noticed what was underneath her one foreleg. She remembered the events of last night and smiled demurely at Spike, lying sound asleep in her embrace. She remembered it as though it was a nightmare that became the sweetest dream to her and to her baby. She could hear Spike’s breathing, and felt his chest move up and down against her frame.
She could not help but let loose a single tear of joy and bringing her muzzle down to Spike’s forehead, planting a tender kiss. “I love you my beautiful baby.” she whispered softly to him. A sudden thought entered her mind. Something special had happened last night, something that guaranteed her relationship with the baby dragon would never be the same. Such an event could not be allowed to go by unmarked.
A look of determination crawled onto her face. She slowly got out of the bed, making sure not to disturb Spike. Once she was out, she carefully tucked the covers back around him. Giving him one final kiss on the forehead, she tiptoed to her desk and magicked a quill and scroll into writing position. Across the top, she wrote “My Day With My Boy,” and then proceeded to draw a few check boxes.
Spike awoke to something he usually didn’t awake to, the smell of breakfast. Cooking was one of his chores, after all, and Twilight usually only cooked for him on special occasions. The smell was intoxicating, waking his brain instantly. It didn’t take him long to identify it.
Pancakes? He thought, curious. Then he brightened up. In a flash he leapt out of Twilight’s bed. He was halfway across the room before he stopped. Didn’t he fall asleep in his basket the night before? Did Twilight move him there?
Then he fully remembered last night. His heart sped up; he had a mother now. He just remembered. Twilight wanted to be his mother. He needed to take a few deep breaths. It really happened. Everything was different now, but how much so? It felt like...well, he wasn't really sure how to describe it. It made him feel anxious and happy all at the same time.
He began heading downstairs again. He wasn’t going to get any answers by just standing up here. He came down the steps, his heart skipping a beat every time he set a foot forward. Finally, he entered the kitchen, where Twilight was just setting a plate stacked with her cooking onto the table.
She smiled at her work before she noticed Spike. “Oh, you’re awake. Come on, I made you...”
She was cut off by Spike running across the room. In a flash his arms were around her neck, his face buried in her chest. Twilight’s shock was replaced by a happiness she could not describe, having the baby dragon hold her like this. She brought her forelegs around him and held onto him for what seemed like an eternity. When he looked up to face her, Spike wore a smile of happiness that could rival Pinkie Pie’s on any given day. “Morning...Mom” he greeted Twilight with a degree of caution, trying out the new title. As he let her go, he noticed Twilight’s eyes glittering and he suddenly grew concerned with this. “What’s wrong?” he asked innocently, but part of him knew that she was sad.
Though that thought was demolished once Spike felt Twilight’s kiss on his forehead. “Nothing’s wrong Spike, nothing at all. Come, let’s have some breakfast,” she used her magic to gently lift Spike up and placed him onto a nearby chair at the table. He was greeted by a plate stacked with pancakes, drizzled in melted chocolate. He was drooling slightly, but he quickly wiped it off, turning to Twilight with eager eyes. She nodded slowly before taking her own seat, and just continued to smile as she saw her boy eating the pancakes with vigor.
She quietly levitated her checklist up and marked off “Make Him His Favorite Breakfast” Item number one was a complete success. Well, almost.
“Spike, smaller bites, you're going to choke on something.”
The baby dragon rolled his eyes, but it didn’t hide the smile that was forming on his lips anyway. Twilight had always nagged him about things like that, but somehow, it seemed different now. She was doing it as a mother, not just as a caretaker. That made all the difference.
“What’s the special occasion?” he asked innocently.
“What do you mean? I just wanted my son to have his favorite breakfast before we go out and have some fun. You better eat your fill, we’re going to have a busy day.”
Spike leaned his head in confusion. “But didn’t you have that paper to write for Princess Celestia? You already missed a week of work following me on the Migration.”
“One more day won’t hurt. I’m Celestia’s star pupil, remember? She won’t mind.”
Spike gaped at the unicorn like she had just sprouted an extra head. Okay, actually she had sprouted a second head once thanks to a misfired spell, but that didn't compare to the shock he was feeling now. Twilight was actually postponing her work willingly? Without Applejack and Rainbow Dash having to hogtie her and drag her out? She only did that when it was a real emergency. What if she was sick?
Twilight couldn't help but chuckle. “You better hurry up and finish. We still have a lot to do on my list,” she said, levitating her parchment into his sight.
Ah, okay. That sounded like Twilight. No need to worry.
“Owlowiscious has already been told to take care of Pee Wee for the day, and I sent a message to Fluttershy to come by a few times today to check on them, so you don’t need to worry about that.”
“What are we doing?” he asked, trying to see the day’s itinerary, but the unicorn levitated it behind her back while waving her quill in a scolding manner.
“Ah, ah, no peeking. It’s a surprise.”
Spike crossed his arms and looked at Twilight dejectedly, “Fine.”
The rest of the meal was spent mostly in silence. Once he finished, Spike rose to his feet. “So what’s next on the agenda?”
“First, I need you to send this report I wrote last night to the Princess,” she instructed, holding up a scroll. Spike took it and walked to a nearby window. Taking a deep breath, he set the scroll aflame, causing it to travel to Canterlot.
“Now what?” he asked, walking over to her.
She crossed off “Send Report to Princess Celestia” before she spoke. “Just stand still for a moment please Spike,” she instructed him as he obeyed. She closed her eyes and focused her magic. A lavender aura surrounded Spike, and he began to feel a tingling sensation originating from his feet. He looked at them, but nothing happened. The aura ceased and he looked around his body to see any changes. No changes were made and he just shrugged it off.
He noticed Twilight doing the same on her own body, before walking to his side and looking down at him. “Now Spike, hold onto me please,” she instructed. He complied as he wrapped his arms around her leg. “Now close your eyes, until I say to open them.”
He was confused, but obeyed nonetheless. Twilight used her magic to form a sphere around them that soon closed in on itself. With a pop, they were gone.
The first time Spike had been teleported by Twilight, it hadn’t been a pleasant experience. However, after a few times he had gotten used to it. It was only dangerous when done sloppily, such as when the poor unicorn was in panic. He could tell that he was being teleported by the strange sensation in his stomach. He felt a sharp wind hit his scales as breathing became increasingly more difficult.
“Okay, kiddo, you can open your eyes.”
Spike did so, and practically squealed with excitement. He was in Cloudsdale. The Wonderbolts’ Stadium stood proud in the distance, the weather factories were all clumped together in the distance and Celestia’s Sun gave the clouds a warm glow.
“You brought me here?!” he asked happily, as if he was looking at a cave filled with the sweetest gems. He just couldn’t believe his eyes as he looked at where he was standing right now.
Twilight giggled. “Of course. I remember how depressed you were when you couldn’t come with us to see Rainbow Dash perform so I thought we could come up here today, just the two of us.”
Spike beamed. “Really? Can we see the Rainbow Factory? Or see a Wonderbolt show? Or...”
“Slow down there, we have plenty to see,” she assured him, taking out her checklist and marking off “Cast Cloudwalking Spell” and “Transport Us to Cloudsdale”. “Unfortunately, the Wonderbolts aren’t performing today, maybe next time. But my next item is ‘Take a Tour of the Weather Factories.’”
“Cool! Let’s see the rainbows first! Pinkie told me it looks so cool.! They have these big vats and...”
Twilight simply smiled as she let her son ramble on. It was going to be a good day.
“Ah hope she ain’t busy with readin’ or studyin’,”
“Well after that migration business, I think we all need something awesome to take our minds off of it.”
“Got that right.”
Applejack and Rainbow Dash opened the front door and walked into the library, “Hey Twilight!” Rainbow called out to her, but silence was the only thing that greeted her. “Twilight! Come on out!”
Applejack tapped Rainbow’s shoulder, “Eh Rainbow, Ah don’t think she’s here,”
“How can you tell?” Rainbow asked her, looking around the library and only seeing Pee Wee and Owlowiscious.
“This,” Applejack shoved a note in her face. “Library closed for the day”
Rainbow’s eyebrow rose and she looked at the note carefully, “Huh? That’s so not like Twilight to close the library for a day. Since when does she chill like this?”
Applejack shrugged as she shook her head, “Ah don’t know sugarcube, but if she wants to relax, let her. The poor filly’s got lot of stress since Spike went up and-”
Rainbow slammed her front hooves together and her face lit up, as though she had an epiphany. “That’s it! She must have gone somewhere with the little guy!”
“Ya reckon?”
Rainbow rolled her eyes whilst she shook her head, “Well she isn’t here and neither is Spike, so she must have gone off with him.”
“Ya, but where to?”
“And this is where the Rainbows make their final mixture,” the tour guide announced, showing off the many pouring fountains. It was an impressive display indeed, only marred by the sign that said “Please Don’t Drink The Rainbows” which contained a scrawled note that seemed to be in Rainbow Dash’s style: “This is known as the ‘Thanks to Pinkie’ rule.”
“Pinkie says it tastes spicy...”
“Spike, no,” Twilight admonished. “It’ll hurt.”
“I’m a dragon, I can eat anything.”
“I said no,” she scolded. “I didn’t raise you to be as clueless as Pinkie.”
Spike folded his arms in a huff. “Fine,” he grumbled. The tour group started moving again, and Twilight with them, but not Spike. He crept towards the edge of the pool and stuck his hand down.
Or at least, he tried to. Purple magic surrounded him, lifting him into the air and onto Twilight’s back. “Fortunately, I did raise you to be predictable,” she said smartly, not even turning around.
“And sneaky,” Spike muttered under his breath, looking at his hand, which was coated in Rainbow Juice. With a flick of his tongue, he licked the liquid up.
He quickly swallowed his prize, just before Twilight turned to look at him. “You didn’t touch any of it, did you?”
“What me? No, never.” Spike put on an innocent face, so Twilight knew he was lying. “Look, my breath is the same as ever,” he said, lifting his head up and breathing a streak of thin fire.
Thin, rainbow colored fire.
Silence loomed as Twilight gave him a scolding look.
“...Wow, I finally got my new trick to work!”
Twilight kept her composure for three more seconds. Then, a grin cracked on her face, and she laughed.
Fluttershy flew through the window of the library and landed gracefully at the center of the room. She looked around to see if Twilight’s pet owl was nearby, but instead she noticed a little red bird in a basket chirping away happily.
Fluttershy let out a gasp which suddenly turned into a squee, “A baby phoenix!” she shouted out joyfully, flying over to the little phoenix’s basket. “Oh my, did you come from that egg Spike found? You’re soooo cute!” Fluttershy cooed to the phoenix, who looked at her for a moment before deciding to hop onto her head and resting there. Fluttershy could not help but smile widely at how cute the little bird was.
“Hoo”
She turned sharply towards the new voice behind her and saw Owlowiscious perched on top of one of the racks, looking at Fluttershy with an expression that never changed. “Oh my, Owlowiscious, you gave me a fright!” Fluttershy whispered loudly to the owl, who was now turning his head sideways.
“Hoo”
Fluttershy looked at him questionably, “Hmmm?”
“Hoo”
“Oh yes!” Fluttershy realized what he was trying to say, “You noticed your little friend on my head?”
“Hoo”
“What’s his name” Fluttershy asked him
“Hoo”
“Peewee? That’s such a cute name.” Fluttershy let out a squee before reaching for the little phoenix, who was looking up at the pegasus happily. “So, who’s hungry?”
“Hoo” Owlowiscious flapped his wings as he descended down to where Peewee was sitting, taking his place next to him. Peewee looked up at the owl who was towering over him, but he did not show any fear and happily chirped away.
Spike happily skipped out of the factory, wearing a baseball cap which he received from the gift shop. Twilight had considered not buying him anything to punish him for drinking the Rainbow Juice, but decided to try and keep the day perfect.
“That was so cool! I can’t believe all the work that goes into that.”
“Well of course,” Twilight said, checking off “Take a Tour of the Weather Factories” and “Buy Spike a Souvenir”. “You didn't think all that was simple did you?”
Spike guiltily played with his tail. “Well...I mean, Rainbow Dash can run a whole town’s worth of it, I figured...”
Twilight tried and failed not to be amused by that. “Rainbow Dash can do amazing things when she puts her mind to it,” Twilight noted. “She just needs...”
She paused when she noticed Spike had frozen in place. She looked ahead, and smiled when she saw why.
“Well, look who’s here,” Spitfire said with a sly smile as she and Soarin’ flew up to them. “Twilight Sparkle. Haven’t seen you since the Gala.”
The unicorn smiled. Since the Wonderbolts doubled as members of Celestia’s armies, Twilight had met the pegasus a few times, though they were never exactly friends, they knew each other quite well. “And this must be...”
“You’re the leader of the Wonderbolts!” he said happily.
“Really? I tend to forget,” she laughed.
“You know, that joke wasn’t funny the first time,” Soarin’ said, trying to stifle a chuckle as well.
To his credit, Spike managed not to go into the type of fan frenzy Rainbow Dash usually did. He had seen the Wonderbolts a few times around the castle, but he never got the chance to talk with them.
“Can I...can I have...”
Twilight magically pushed a clean sheet of parchment into his hand and a quill into his other.
Spitfire gave a knowing smile. “Of course,” she said, taking the quill in her mouth.
A few minutes later Spike was skipping as the two flew away, clutching the parchment like it was an aged fire ruby.
Twilight smiled proudly, checking off “Have ‘Unexpected’ Encounter With the Wonderbolts”. Her gaze traveled near the top of the list, where “Send Report to Princess Celestia” was written, smiling that the Princess could arrange the meeting she had asked for with a note tucked into that scroll..
“Wow...”
Spike and Twilight slowly drifted from Cloudsdale in a hot air balloon that was summoned by Twilight’s magic. Even though Spike had traveled by hot air balloon many times, he never travelled with one made purely of magic. He felt the wind blow against his face as he looked down at the ground with Twilight standing behind him. She levitated her checklist and marked off “Fly Down with a Magical Balloon” and quickly hid it away as Spike turned to her beaming.
“Where we going next Mom?” he asked her excitedly, thinking this day could not get any better.
Twilight smiled tenderly at him, savouring every moment he called her ‘mom’. “Well... that’s a surprise.” she giggled as she winked at him.
“Oh ok,” Spike shrugged it off, but knew she had something else planned for the two of them. When they finally landed, the balloon began to disappear into nothingness. Spike looked around him and noticed they were on a hill overlooking Ponyville, with a large oak tree on the hill’s top. He turned to face Twilight, and saw her levitating a basket with her magic and one word popped out of his mouth, “Picnic”
Twilight nodded and set the picnic up, with Spike helping set out the items from the basket. Once they were seated, Twilight handed him a rather large gem. Spike looked in awe at it for a few seconds, as his eyes were popping out in shock at what he was holding. “This is a fully matured Fire Ruby!” he told Twilight, who was giggling at look of his face. “Where did you get it?!”
“Oh, back at the lava pools, I just noticed a Fire Ruby and thought of getting you one since you gave your last one to Rarity,” she told him, remembering the previous Fire Ruby he kept for his birthday but generously gave up to Rarity.
“Wow... I don’t know what to say...”
Twilight chuckled at his speechlessness, “No words are needed Spike, enjoy.”
After they were done eating, Twilight decided to rest against the tree to read one of Spike’s favourite stories to him, Daring Do and the Swords of the Sun. Spike was reclining on Twilight’s lap, with his head on her chest as she was reading the story to him. Spike could hear her heart beating, and he remembered how he fell asleep to the soothing rhythm. When Twilight finished the last page of the fifth chapter, Spike turned to face Twilight, looking deep into her eyes.
“Mom?”
“Yes, Spike?”
Spike wrapped his arms around her neck and rested his head on her shoulder, “Thank you for everything, I love you.”
Twilight smiled broadly as tears of joy were released from her eyes, which she closed slowly, returning the hug Spike was giving her and nuzzling him affectionately. “I love you too, my beautiful child.”
Rainbow Dash was returning from the other side of the Everfree Forest, actually feeling tired for once. While Applejack had asked every pony in town if they had seen Twilight, she had scanned the fields and forest for their missing friends. Rarity had said they were overreacting, but given her own drama queen tendencies they just ignored her. After the close call the two had had on the Migration she wasn’t taking any chances.
And now, it looked as though her suspicions were correct. Twilight wasn’t in Ponyville, and it wasn’t like her to leave on short notice. She would have gotten somepony to watch the library, and told them all where she was going. She was beginning to panic. What if those dragons had found them?
Her worrying ceased when she saw a purple figure sitting on a blanket on top of a nearby hill. She quickly flew closer only to find that there were actually two figures upon the hill, Twilight and Spike, and they were asleep.
Spike was being cradled in Twilight’s forelegs, and he had his arms around the mare’s neck, his face buried in her chest. They looked so content, so at peace. Rainbow Dash dared not disturb them.
Her curiosity fought this decision. Twilight closed the library to take Spike on a picnic? That seemed unusual. Then again, after the Migration, maybe she did just want to spend some time with him.
She flew off, her mind racing. First things first, she had to find Applejack and give her the all clear. They had agreed to meet at Sugarcube Corner, so she steered herself in that direction.
No sooner had she landed in front of the bakery than Pinkie hopped out the front door, pulling a cart filled with cupcakes, cookies, and punch. Applejack was right behind her, hefting two barrels of cider.
“Rainbow Dash! You’re just in time!” she said happily. She brought her muzzle to the cart, pulling out a stack of invitations and setting them on the ground. “I need you to hand these out to every pony in Ponyville.”
Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. “Oh, and what’s this party for, huh? Did Pound and Pumpkin start sleeping for the night?”
Pinkie giggled. “No, silly, we had that last week, remember? We had the music up real loud, but Mr. and Mrs. Cake still slept right there on the couch with those big smiles. No, this party is for Spike and Twilight.”
Rainbow looked at Pinkie incredulously. “For what?”
“For them being Mother and Son.”
“...What?”
Spike yawned, putting his one hand to his mouth as he reclined on Twilight’s back. She checked off everything they had done on her checklist. Sunset was over the horizon and both she and Spike were heading home now. Though a small part of Spike wished that today wouldn’t end just yet, he knew that all good things had to have an ending at some point. His thoughts were interrupted by Twilight turning her head to face his, “Say Spike, why don’t we go to the Sugarcube corner and get some cupcakes? My treat,” she asked him. He nodded his head in approval.
“That sounds like a good plan,” Spike said, closing his eyes as he rested on Twilight’s back. Though after a few moments, he did open his eyes again. “Say... where is everypony?” he asked Twilight, who was turning her head left and right to see if anypony was around.
“I don’t know, maybe they’re just indoors already,” she answered dismissively, though her instincts were telling her Pinkie was up to something. Having learned of Pinkie Pie’s “Pinkie Sense” the hard way, she knew that when Ponyville was deserted, Pinkie Pie was surely up to something. She reached the entrance of the Sugarcube Corner, and noticed that the lights were turned off. “Well here we are Spike.” she told the baby dragon, who slid off her back and walked up to the door. He opened it and walked inside.
“Hey Mom, why’s it so dark here?”
Twilight walked up to him and the door closed behind them, leaving her and Spike in the pitch black darkness of sugarcube corner. “Where’s the light?” Spike asked innocently, but Twilight just wore a smile as she knew what was coming in...
3...
2...
1...
SURPRISE!!!
Twilight and Spike were surrounded by every pony in Ponyville, with Pinkie and the others standing underneath a banner that read “Mother and Son Party”. Pinkie bounced to the pair and handed each one of them a slice of cake, “Ohmygosh!WhenmytailwasgoingstraightIknowsomethinghappenedlastnightwiththetwoofyoubutIcouldn’tfigureoutwhatthatwasuntilmyeyeswateredandIknewyoutwohadasadhappymomentandwhenIspoketoyourowlhegavethreeWhosandIknewyoutoldTwilightyoulovedherasamomSpikeandIwasallcryinginhappinessandknewthatIhadtothrowyoutwoaparty,” Pinkie yammered on, bouncing around the pair before stopping and gasping for air. “So what do you think? Is it good? Huh? Huh?”
“Wow Pinkie! You did all this, just for us?!” Spike asked her excitedly, as the music started. He didn’t notice Twilight checking off “Attend Pinkie’s ‘Pinkie Sensed’ Surprise Party”
“Well duh!” Pinkie rolled her eyes and popped behind Spike, “You two went through so much, just had to do something for you... and what better way than a PARTY!?” as she said those words, everypony cheered and stomped their hooves in approval.
Spike observed the room and was amazed by what he was seeing. He thought the ponies would frown upon him for having Twilight as his mother, but he could never have been more wrong. They were happy for the both of them, and that brought a shimmer of tears to his eyes which he quickly wiped off before Pinkie could notice. He heard a few ponies calling for him and saw Applebloom, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle waving at him and calling him over. He looked at Twilight, who nodded as he flew off to the three fillies.
“So ya mind telling us the whole story, sugarcube?” Applejack asked Twilight, as she was curious on yesterday’s and today’s events. Twilight began explaining the events that took place, with her friends smiling and sighing happily in between.
“... and then we came here to get cupcakes. The party started and now we’re here.” Twilight finished off her story and saw her friends’ faces plasted with smiles.
“Garsh! Ah knew you two made a good family, but that’s just one happy tale. Proud of ya, Sugarcube.” Applejack congratulated Twilight as she removed her hat in a sign of respect.
“That is so cute, makes me regret skipping the migration... sorry.” Fluttershy said softly, smiling at her friend and her exploits.
“Well the next time we go to Cloudsdale, you make sure he gets a good seat to see my Sonic Rainboom ok? Still can’t believe you got Spitfire and Soarin’ to sign you autographs... that’s so cool.” Rainbow said to Twilight, part of her jealous for the Wonderbolts’ autograph, though that feeling was flooded by the joy she felt for her friend.
“It’s... the... most... beautiful... thing!” Rarity cried a river as she flopped onto a bench and acted as any drama queen would.
Twilight just smiled. “Yeah...it’s been a great day,” she admitted, rubbing the back of her head with her hoof. “Everything just seemed to fall into place for us. Spike really deserves it after everything he’s been through.”
Meanwhile, across the room, Spike was finishing telling the Cutie Mark Crusaders about his day.
“You met Spitfire and Soarin’?” Scootaloo exclaimed.
“Yep,” he said proudly, displaying the autograph like a badge. “Twilight’s going to get it framed for me tonight!”
“That’s so cool! I’ve been wanting to go to Cloudsdale, but my parents are always too busy. Rainbow Dash promised to take me up there for a Wonderbolts show one day.”
“Ever since Applejack told me about the weather factory, Ah’ve been wantin’ to see ‘em,” Applebloom pouted. “Yer lucky Spike.”
“I’m really happy for you,” Sweetie Belle said simply. After a pause, she asked “Did you ever find out where your egg came from?”
He shook his head. “No...and you know what? I don’t care anymore. I mean, it would be cool to find out who laid my egg one day, but if I never find out it will be fine. I’m happy here, with Twilight... with my mom”
Scootaloo put a hoof in her mouth to make a gagging sound, but a nudge from Applebloom silenced her.
And even if it hadn't, the sudden explosion of gasps and murmurs would have silenced her anyway. The dragon and foals turned and saw the reason for the commotion. Princess Celestia herself had stepped into Sugarcube Corner.
Most ponies bowed. Twilight, however, ran up to her mentor and nuzzled her like she was her mother. Spike was right behind her, happily hugging her leg. The two guards at either of her sides knew better than to stop them.
“Princess Celestia! I wish you would have told me you were coming! I would have arranged something...”
“I wouldn't have accepted it. I came down to celebrate my most faithful student finally figuring out she was a mother.”
For the second time that day, Twilight was genuinely surprised. “What do you mean?”
“Twilight, all those years I saw you raise and care for Spike, I already knew you were a mother. You've loved Spike, taught him the difference between right and wrong, to be helpful and kind, it’s a wonder it took you this long to discover this about yourself. I was beginning to think I would never get a chance to draw these papers up.”
With a faint golden glow, she levitated an official scroll in front of her student’s face. It read, simply: Equestrian Adoption Form.
Twilight’s face lit up more brightly than a shooting star as she looked up to her mentor, who nodded and summoned a quill for her to sign her name. She eagerly took it with her own magic and signed her name with lightning speed, while making a mental note to check off “Send Away For Adoption Papers” on her checklist.
“Hey Mom, what’s that?” Spike asked her as he walked to her side and noticed a scroll that was levitated in front of Twilight.
“It’s your turn to sign your name Spike.” Twilight told him as she handed the quill to the confused dragon. The scroll lowered to face him and he read it carefully. He wore a broad smile as he grabbed the scroll and signed his name onto it and handed it back to Celestia, who gladly accepted it.
“From this day forward Twilight, you will not only write to me about friendship... but also on motherhood as well,” she spoke softly to her student, who was nodding with tears flowing out of her eyes. “Now I must return to Canterlot, I think a certain captain will be interested to know he is an uncle now.” she teasingly remarked as she bid farewell to her student and her friends.
Pinkie whistled to gain everpony’s attention, “This calls for a photo!” she grabbed photo gear from nothingness and set it up to take pictures. “Spike and Twilight, you first!”
Spike looked up at Twilight, and both of them walked up to the front for a photo shoot. Twilight stood behind Spike and lowered her head to reach Spike’s level. “Spike, I love you.”
Spike leaned backwards as Twilight wrapped her foreleg around his frame just as Pinkie was saying ‘Cheese’, “I love you too, mom” and when the flash came, the events of yesterday and today became the turning points in a dragon’s and a unicorn’s life. A unicorn who learned that the greatest title she could have ever received was not to be called a hero, nor was it to be called a protege, but rather to be called a mother...
