> Spike writes a Book
>  by L Drkheart
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> The Rise of Emerald Flare
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

I didn’t expect this. Maybe I should have when I sent the original draft to Cadence and she liked it so much that she offered to help me get it published into a real story.  I think she said that the story would raise the love levels across Equestria but I’m not sure if it’s the kind of love that she wants in the Crystal Heart. I was nervous about not only putting my writing out there for ponies to read but even more so getting caught as the author of… that kind of writing. Mom and Twilight would have my scales before I could react. Let me tell you, being the assistant of a princess and the son of another isn’t all fun and adventure. When I get in trouble nothing can save me.

	Cadence happened to agree that they tend to overreact when it comes to matters about me so she decided that I should make a pen name and she would spread the rumor that I was a crystal pony. I agreed if only because Cadence was like a cousin to me and she was like the one who saw me as some kind of hero, I mean she made me a statue! I owed her for that so I finished the story in the dead of night when I was sure that Twi was asleep. A few months later and the first of my books, The Neverending Flame, was released with a seal of quality from Cadence herself. 

	That ensured a million sales right there but then a month later the bombshell came when the book was given the Celestia seal of quality. Cadence told me in a letter that she had asked mom to read it and seeing it was a request from her niece she agreed. That made my book a bestseller and even ponies in a small town like Ponyville began to talk about it. Newspapers asked who the mysterious author was and why they hadn’t revealed themselves even with the book’s success. All I could do was smile and chuckle as ponies everywhere questioned the identity of Emerald Flare.

	“Spike! Come on, we’re gonna be late!” A voice echoed through the castle and Spike sighed as he set down his quill and hid his journal in a small hole he had made into the crystal wall. He put a power ponies poster over it and ran downstairs where Starlight Glimmer and Twilight were waiting patiently. Well, Starlight was waiting patiently, and Twilight was trotting in place. “Sheesh, you sure took your time. I thought you got lost for a second there.”
“Sorry Twi, I was just waking up. Come on, it’s not like I’m Starlight or something~.” Spike laughed before a bag appeared above him, crushing him under it for a moment. “Touche…” Starlight flashed a completely innocent smile, one that screamed danger.
“I don’t know what you mean Spike, I was just getting your bags for you.” Before the two could argue, Twilight pulled them by their ears with her magic. 
“Come on you two, the girls are waiting for us.”  The three walked into Ponyville casually talking about this and that. Starlight tells of the time she took Sunburst and Trixie to the club and how bad it turned out. Twilight was excitedly telling the two about the last letter she got from Tempest who decided to become a royal guard for Princess Cadence. Spike was about to tell them of the events on the last guy's night when he bumped into Rarity. She was last in a very long line that stemmed from the bookstore, mostly comprised of the mares of Ponyville. 
“O-oops sorry Rarity, I didn’t see you there.”
“Ahh no worries darling, I’m actually glad to see you three finally here. It’s been dreadfully dull standing here alone.”
“Where are the other girls?” Twilight asked while Rarity pointed at several places in the line. 
“Pinkie was fifth in line surprisingly, Cheerilee being first. Fluttershy is somewhere towards the front with Rainbow behind her even if she was complaining about reading a lovey-dovey type of book. Applejack is actually selling apples and sweets to the ponies waiting in line, seems like she is getting good business.”
“No offense Rarity but Twilight went on and on about the kind of book this is and it seems like something you would really enjoy, why are you in the back of the line?” Starlight asked curiously.
“Well I was busy actually making a dress for a client from Canterlot, they wanted one based on a character from this book but since I didn’t have it they had to describe it to me through letters. That took a rather long and annoying amount of time, I had just sent it off when I received another request for the same kind of dress so I came to get the book myself. I must say that I’m quite excited, I’ve heard some very good things about it though and it seems to be what all the nobles in Canterlot are talking about at the moment.”
“Good things!? This book has the Celestia seal of quality! All books that have that are great! I would know I have read every single one after all.”
“She’s right, every time that a new book with the Celestia seal came out Twilight was the first to get it. Even if we didn’t have the space for it yet.” Spike said remembering when the two lived back in Canterlot that they had to remove pictures and posters just to make more room for the books and even then there were piles everywhere since they were always buying more.
“W-well Spike things are different now! I have a whole castle to fill with knowledge of Equestria! This is for the good of ponykind, after all, I plan to make my castle the new Ponyville Library.”
“Yeah, because the books we checked out never came back to bite us huh?” Twilight glared at the dragon who began to count off all the times that books were at the center of an accident. 
“Hiya girls!” The group was then interrupted by Pinkie hopping towards them with several books on her back. “I just managed to get several new party and cookbooks, the personal info of several new ponies who are moving to Ponyville, and a new copy of The Neverending Flame!” 
“Personal info?” Starlight and Spike questioned but were pushed aside by Twilight and Rarity.
“Let us see it!” Pinkie happily showed them the book which was decently thick with two seals on the cover, one from Celestia and the other from Cadence.  The cover showed two ponies facing away from each other, one was a pegasus stallion with a dark purple coat and a blue mane and the other was a yellow earth pony with a sky blue mane. Between the two was a flame that had evil green eyes and red pupils looking through it. The silhouette of the two ponies was dancing near the bottom of the cover.  
Spike had to admit that the art was very nicely made even down to the eyes of the villain, the eyes that had been inspired by Sombra. The girls agreed to read the first few pages together before sending Spike ahead to read his comics in the store, saying that the book was too mature for him. He grumbled as he walked away, too mature for him? He had written the thing! Of course, there were a few moments where he had written some more rather steamy parts b-but only where they made sense! 
He heard whispers here and there of the mares waiting, excitedly telling each other of the parts they had heard about and of the rumors surrounding the author. He smirked a bit to himself before entering the store and heading for the comics. A full hour of epic battles and fun cheesy one-liners later. he yawned and got off his bean bag chair seeing Twilight, Starlight, and Rarity were just getting their books. Applejack walked in after them, saddlebags full of bits before she got a book herself, smiling as she didn’t have to wait in line. 
As the group of friends exited the store, Spike stretched and turned to them. “So should we get something to eat?” All the girls seemed to be absorbed in their books and Spike frowned. “Hello? Food?” At no answer, he pretended to dramatically fall. “Ahhh the pain! My tail is broken!” They all walked by him and he blinked grumbling again after them. The group entered the castle and decided to sit around in one of the castle lounges. Spike started a fire in the fireplace before he turned to them. “So you all want snacks?” He was shooed from the room with only Applejack, Rainbow, and Starlight answering with yes. 
“Sheesh if I knew the books would do things like this then I may have never made the thing.” He muttered to himself as he walked to the kitchen to start making some of his famous (at least to him and Celestia) nachos when he coughed up a letter. Instead of the normal horseshoe seal of Celestia, it was a blue crystal heart and a pink background. “Cadence.” He quickly opened the letter and began to read as he prepared the cheese. 
To Spike, The Brave and Glorious
Come on you know whenever I write I have to add that title, the crystal ponies love it! Anyway, I wanted to see how the life of a secret popular author was treating you, regretting not putting your name on it now?  If I’m honest, Auntie had me exposed to the limelight slowly so I’m glad that you weren’t trying to take it all as others do. Anyway it seems like we may have a bit of a slight problem…
“Of course we do, we can never have things just go smoothly… I swear it’s like we’re all bad luck or something. I blame Discord.”
“Maybe you should~” Spike lifted the talking spoon out of the cheese and nonchalantly tossed it into the sink where he turned on the water on it. “PFFFFFTHHMMMFF”
“You should know better than to try and mess with my special nachos.” Discord appeared in front of Spike, drenched and spitting water from his mouth. 
“Well that was rude and here I was trying to be nice.” Spike raised an eye ridge in a very Applejack-like fashion.
“What’s the catch?” 
“I’m hurt, we’ve fought across the world as Captain Wuss and Garbunkle and I still haven’t earned your trust?”
“Captain Wuss has but Discord? Hmmm.” Spike pretended to think about it before he smiled at him. “So what did you come for?”
“I only figured that I should warn you before you start down your path that it will be hard but I believe it will end well.”
“I guess that’s all you’re willing to say?”
“There are some rules even I can’t break like seeing the future. Oh and don’t touch Fluttershy. Now I have to go play a prank on Tia, see ya Friday!” Spike nodded as Discord vanished and he returned to the letter. 
It seems that the book commission is unwilling to give me the money for the sales of the book unless the author makes a public point about it. You will need to attend a public appearance as Emerald Flare, but don’t worry! I’ve been looking up new magic to change your appearance if only for an hour or two. I will set up a small book festival here at the Empire and there you can make your debut and state your plans for the money. I’ll explain more when you arrive, I’m gonna send you, Starlight, and Twilight a royal invite since she loves books and so they don’t get suspicious. 
Remember Spike, if you plan to keep this a secret, then you’ll have to be careful. Twilight and Auntie are not fools and they’ll notice if we mess up anywhere. Anyway, answer this when you three receive your invites. 
Love Cadence, Shining, and Flurry!
Spike smiled before he hid the letter in his secret gem cabinet and finished making the nachos before walking back to the lounge. As he neared the door he could hear the girls talking inside.
“I think I can actually relate to this Ivory Frost a bit, being turned into an alicorn isn’t easy but at least I wasn’t turned against my will or lost my memories,” Twilight said to her friends, being the farthest one through the book.
“I like the action, starting off with a real fight is pretty awesome. Ivo and Wild Dare gave that robot a beatdown, plus it was funny too. Sure sounds like he wasn’t a pegasus before, he flies like you do egghead!” Rainbow laughed while Twilight glared at her. 
“Ah like the mare that comes to help em out. She’s pretty strong and she bucks like an Apple.”
“Oh you mean Violet Impact, yeah she’s cool and packs a sweet punch and kick!” Pinkie shouted while jumping and doing some of her own.
“She’s a bit brutish for my tastes. I like the mare Ivory finds when he falls to the lower part of Maregar. Moon Lily is a sweetheart and designs her own fashion.”
“Big shocker you’d like her…”
“I like her too, she's a bit shy but helps someone even if she doesn’t know them…”
“She sounds a bit like you Fluttershy.”
“Y-you think so Starlight?” Spike chuckled silently to himself, he had based his characters on the girls and himself. He entered the room and smiled. 
“Hiya girls! Here are some nachos! I hope you enjoy them!”
“Thanks, Spike. You can have the rest of the day off so try and have some fun, but not too much fun!”
“Whatever you say Twi.” He left and hoped that everything would turn out fine when he went to that book festival as Emerald Flare. Looking at his hands he wondered for a moment what he’d look like as a crystal pony.
> Their First Meeting
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Spike, Starlight aren't you two excited?! Princess Cadence herself invited us to a book festival in the Crystal Empire!” Twilight shouted to her friends as she hopped around the train car, reminding Spike of Pinkie.
“I like books as much as the next mare Twilight, but a book festival? That seems like a pretty… niche kind of thing. Glad to see you are so happy and I bet Sunburst is pretty much in the same boat.” 
“Niche? More like an egghead kind of thing.” Twilight gave a soft glare to the dragon but he smiled back at her. As he was playing up his cool image, inner Spike was a bundle of nerves. This plan of Cadence’s to trick all of the Empire and Equestria into believing he was this Emerald Flare was something he thought he could do, but the problem was the two traveling with him. 
Twilight has always been with him and may as well know him better than he knows himself. She’s a genius and knows magic to a science. He’ll have to hope that she is just distracted by the books and the fact that he’s an author to question him too much. She will know him right away if he underestimates her though even for a moment. Then there is Starlight to consider. She’s just as smart as Twilight and has a bit of a devious streak. She also has spent enough time with Spike to know him well but she is still awkward around crowds and ponies she doesn’t know. Hopefully, he’ll be able to use their weaknesses to keep them from finding him out.
The three went to the windows as the conductor stated that they were entering the Empire’s shield early. Even if they had seen it dozens of times, the view of the Empire was still breathtaking. Spike grabbed the bags as they arrived and Twilight went to hug Shining and do her sunshine dance with Cadence. Sunburst hugged Starlight as Flurry was toothing on his horn. Some guards took the bags from Spike and he thanked them before joining the group.
“We’re so glad to see you all are doing well, I heard you three have been very busy.  Spike, nice to see your size is finally catching up to your ego~” Cadence joked but she wasn't wrong. Spike had started working at Sweet Apple Acres ever since he questioned Ember on his size and why he wouldn’t grow despite being in the age range of her and the other teenage dragons. She asked him to hoard but he refused, having told her of what he had done the last time he did. After some thought and talking it through with Twilight, the two came to the idea of Spike hoarding memories instead of objects. He started to collect photos of his friends, family, and best moments. Those photos offered a weak hoard but it still helped push him to the size of the average pony. 
“I’m so glad that you all could come to the festival! Lots of authors are supposed to be here with AK Yearling and another as our special guests.”  Twilight geeked out a bit and asked who the other special guest was but Cadence said it was a surprise. Spike went to follow them as they were heading back to the castle but Shining put a hoof on his shoulder and told them all to go ahead and they would catch up. Spike felt his heart speed up a bit in fear, did Cadence tell him? Did he figure it out and was mad? Spike swallowed as he watched the others leave and he turned to Shining. 
“I-is something wrong Shining?”
“Is something wrong?! Look at me, Spike! I’m wasting away here!” The dragon frowned and tilted his head in confusion until he really looked at the stallion. His mane was wild and unkempt, his white coat looked wet, and he seemed to have a limp. 
“Whoa, dude, what happened to you? Usually, you have the whole perfect soldier look locked down.”
“I know! I’m so tired of taking showers! Do you know how many bits I’ve spent on shampoo?! You don’t wanna know!”
“I’ll take your word on that… so what happened?”
“Cadence happened.”
“Excuse me?”
“Cadence! Look, you know about the book that every pony is reading right?” Spike blushed and looked away with a whistle. 
“Nooo, what are you talking about? Twilight doesn’t let me read things like that.” Shining gave him a deadpan expression. 
“I taught you how to hide magazines and I know for a fact you still have some of the exotic ones. No playing innocent with me.” Spike shushed him loudly and pulled them even farther away from any other pony. 
“Sheesh don’t be too loud with stuff like that. I actually have an image in the empire to hold on to!”
“Oh please Spike, these ponies would follow you to the end of Equestria if you asked. They actually are making a play about you fighting Sombra, I think it’s called Of Shadows and Flames. I doubt them hearing you like to look at dirty magazines would change that. Heck, that may even push some into getting into that business.”
“Baaack to the point, yes I know about the book you are talking about. The Neverending Flame Right? So what does the book have to do with you being… like this?”
“Everything! That book is a best seller across Equestria! Every mare is reading it and most stallions. I swear I read it and felt my testosterone levels dipping at some parts.”
	‘Ow. Come on bro! it wasn’t that bad! I added action just for ponies like you!’
	“But the book is good and that’s the problem! You know that the Crystal Heart absorbs all the love of Equestria right?”
“Right?”
“Well, turns out there are different kinds of love. Cadence told me that love split into many forms with three main kinds. True Love, Familial Love, and… Passionate Love.”
“So the heart is absorbing love because of the book?”
“Exactly, but the problem is the kind of love it’s taking in.”
“I don’t see how this is a problem. If the heart is taking in love, doesn’t that make Cadence and the Empire stronger?”
“Yes, but think hard now Spike, what kind of love is the heart absorbing and who does that effect?” Spike gave it some thought.  His story was a bit of a love story with the main character having a strong female colthood friend who cares about him but doesn’t talk about her feelings and is just happy to be by his side while the other love interest is a kind stranger he meets and must protect. He was about to say true love when his mind wandered to the two separate passionate nights the main character shares with the girls and how popular that scene seemed to be.
“Passionate love?”
“Yes now, who is connected to the heart?”
“Cadence.”
“Soooo?”
“Cadence would be full of…” Spike smirked as he noticed Shining's appearance again and burst into laughter. “O-OH MY CELESTIA! S-she’s bucking you into submission!”
“SHUSH! Keep it down you bonehead!” It took five minutes for Spike to stop laughing and after nearly choking from the lack of air he was calm and back up. “She’s been relentless! She even closed down her day court and took me from my training of the new recruits because of how needy she was. The first few days were nice with us spending more time together but then it was ten times a day, then fifteen, and now twenty-five! She wants me once or twice an hour and my body can’t take it! I swear she is trying to get pregnant again!”
“I don’t really know how I’m supposed to help you and I don’t want to hear about you bucking my cousin every hour of every day.”
“Now this is supposed to be top-secret but I overheard that the author of the book is supposed to be the second special guest at the festival. It’s meant to be his first appearance and I have a guess he’s a Crystal Pony so he’ll listen to you. I want you to find him and convince him to try and tone down the sex in his next book or I may not make it!” Spike bit his lip as he wondered what to do. He could see how his book was affecting Shining and even Cadence but on the other hand, the Empire was more powerful and the ponies seem to enjoy those scenes…
“I’ll see what I can do.” Shining smiled tiredly and hugged Spike before they started walking to the castle. 
“Thanks, Spike, I knew I could count on you. Couldn’t really tell Twily about this and Sunburst is a big fan of those scenes so I couldn’t be sure he’d be a huge help.” The two joked and caught up, stopping several times to take a picture, sign an autograph, or just say hi to the ponies. Spike marveled at the sight of several changelings walking among the Crystal Ponies. Seems that after Spike befriended them and Thorax became king, the Empire was one of the first to open its doors to the race. It looked like Spike was as big a star to the Changelings as he was to the Crystal Ponies since they wanted autographs and pictures too. 
“It’s tough being so popular.”
“Heh, nice to see you enjoy soaking it up so much seeing that I hear you’re not as popular back in Ponyville, at least not with the mares~”
“I’ll have you know I could date anypony I wanted! I’m just keeping my options open unlike you.”
“I’m happily married to the Princess of Love, have a filly, and I rule an Empire. I won the game of life.”
“...No need to brag.”
“Sore loser.” The two entered the castle and found Cadence and Twilight flying with Flurry. Spike did notice just how Cadence seemed to glow and could feel the love radiating off her like magic. The three caught sight of the guys and Flurry rushed over, hugging Spike’s head.
“Sp-ike! Sp-ike!” The dragon smiled hugging the alicorn filly. His name turned out to have been the third word she could say, after mama and dada. 
“There’s my favorite Alicorn! I missed you too Flurry, can you let go of my cheeks pleaseee?” Flurry only giggled as she rubbed and played with his face. Twilight playfully pouted landing next to them.
“I thought I was your favorite Alicorn!”
“You don’t count Twi, you have an unfair advantage!”
“What about the princesses?”
“Celestia is best mom, Luna is coolest aunt, and Cadence is favorite cousin.” Twilight rolled her eyes and smiled, missing the look Cadence was giving her brother as she landed. 
“Thank you, Spike. Oh, I was hoping you two could watch Flurry for a few minutes while Shining and I checked something for the festival.” Spike heard Shining gulp behind him and he quickly thought of something to help out the poor stallion.
“Umm, actually Cadence I have a few questions about the festival if you don’t mind…” Cadence did look a bit disappointed but nodded and Spike gave Flurry to Shining, who mouthed a thank you. The two walked in silence until they reached Flurry’s room which was soundproofed. “Sorry for interrupting you two back there.”
“It’s okay Spike, to be honest, I think I have been asking a lot from Shining lately so a very short break may do him some good. So what are your questions?”
“We have to figure out how we’re doing this Emerald Flare thing and what I should say during the interview. You know I have bad luck in front of huge crowds…”
“I have everything thought out! I am going to turn you into a Crystal Pegasus for two hours that should give you more than enough time.” Spike bit his lip as he knew that if he appeared as a Crystal Pony, Shining may become suspicious. 
“Do I have to be a Crystal Pony?”
“Well, I’m not that skilled with transformation magic yet but I could try a regular pegasus. The problem is Aunt Celestia knows most of her ponies and if she sees one that she doesn’t recognize it may push her to find you out. I hear she is already a bit curious.” Spike shivered, Shining finding out would be bad but his mother? That would be a nightmare. 
“Crystal Pony then.” Cadence nodded and began to charge up her horn as Spike’s eyes widened. “W-wait we’re doing this now?!”
“Best to get it out of the way as soon as we can and this talk is a good reason for why you aren’t around. I’ll tell Twilight that I had to give you a job.” Spike nodded, a bit nervous, having magic done on him was always a strange feeling with transformation magic especially. Cadence’s horn glowed so brightly that Spike had to cover his eyes and a beam of magic struck Spike, his dragon body absorbed it and Spike gasped as he felt his body change and heat up. The feeling in his fingers vanished and his hard scales were replaced with soft flesh and fur. His spines suddenly went soft and became hair. 
After what felt like hours, the light faded and Cadence was left huffing. She looked up and smiled. “Spike? You feeling okay?” In place of the dragon was a dark purple Crystal Pegasus with a wild unkempt green mane and vibrant emerald eyes. Steam came off of Spike as he groggily climbed onto his hooves, failing when he tried to stand on his hind legs. 
“T-this is gonna take some getting used to…”  He covered his mouth as his voice was deeper. He shakingly got to his hooves and Cadence helped steady him. It took ten minutes but Spike started to slowly get the hang of his hooves, it was just like walking on all fours and he’d just have to focus on walking one hoof at a time. “I think I can walk…”
“If you’re sure. Now, I have some urgent business and we need to get you out of here or ponies may get suspicious.” She teleported the two into the gardens outside the castle. Spike held his stomach and asked for more warning next time. Cadence giggled and messed up his mane before summoning some bits and tying them to a saddle so he could buy things. She told him to go and enjoy his new body and take a walk around the festival mentioning several comic writers being around. He waved as she vanished and left him alone. He wiggled a bit trying to get used to the saddle before he trotted along. 
It was weird being in the empire and there being no crowds of ponies following him. He was a bit embarrassed to find that he was actually excited about the book festival, chalking it up to being a writer and spending way too much time with Twilight and the girls. 
“Note to self, make two guys' nights a week in the future to raise your testosterone levels.” He ended up buying several new comics, even getting them signed by their artists. Spike smiled and wondered how Cadence managed to even make such a festival in such a short time. “I guess mom did train her well.” 
The pegasus suddenly stopped as he smelled something good and quickly chased the smell to an ice cream stand. He was nearly drooling at the sight of a large vanilla cone with melted chocolate being poured on it. He sped over and ordered two cones. The pony gave him the cones on a tray that allowed him to trot and eat. Spike checked the time and saw he had only managed to waste thirty minutes. 
“Great, now what am I supposed to… Starlight?” He had nearly walked right into the unicorn as she was alone and seemed to be distracted while sitting on a bench. 
“Huh? Who are you?” Spike blinked as he looked around hoping to come up with something before he realized who he was supposed to be. 
“I’m uhh Em… I heard about you from Princess Cadence! You’re Starlight Glimmer, right? Princess Twilight’s student?”
“Oh yeah that’s me… it was all good things she told you right?” Spike chuckled and nodded while Starlight let out a sigh of relief. “That’s good.”
“So is something wrong? You don’t look like the type that should be all alone.” He sat next to her and offered his second cone which she glanced at and refused but her stomach growled and she took it with a small blush.
“Well...I wasn’t supposed to be alone. My stallionfriend left me today…” Spike choked on his treat as his mind couldn’t accept that. The very notion that Sunburst would dump Starlight was like Spike suddenly abandoning Twilight for Trixie; it was impossible. 
“Y-your stallion friend wouldn’t be the court wizard Sunburst, would it? We met a few times and I don’t believe he’d ever leave you!”
“You’re kind but it wasn’t really his choice. Sunburst is quite the wizard, strong and brave not to mention smart but I wasn’t the only one that noticed his potential. The great Starswirl was told of Sunburst’s magic and after coming to see him in action found somepony just like himself. He wants to train Sunburst and take him to several lands outside Equestria.”
“And he thought that you two couldn’t work?”
“I offered to come with him or said I would wait but he didn’t want me in danger or even worst waiting for him. He said that I am a perfect mare and I shouldn’t have to wait for a stallion. He wanted me to find somepony and be happy. We were both crying and I left for a walk… ending up here…” Spike gritted his teeth a bit, accidently crushing his ice cream not being used to his hooves yet. The worst part? He didn’t know who to be angry at. Sunburst? No… he showed he cared for her and wants her to be happy plus he can’t give away this chance. Starlight? Course not, she had no choice in this happening and she was willing to go with him. Starswirl? No, the old stallion can’t have too much more time and wants to make sure he leaves behind his wisdom in a pony in case they ever need it. “Anyway, I should get out of your mane…”
“Wait!” Spike held out a hoof as Starlight turned surprised. He choked on his words as he didn’t know what to say. “Umm… you live in Ponyville right? Would you… wanna be friends? Maybe pen pals?” Starlight blinked and giggled at the silly request. 
“Mail may take a bit of time to get to each other.”
“I actually have a connection in Ponyville… what you say?” Starlight thought over the suggestion. She couldn’t say why but she found she liked talking to this stallion. He reminded her of someone. 
“Okay.” Spike cheered, jumping into the sky as his wings opened and flapped, taking him into the air. His wings were purple but at the ends the feathers were green. Starlight giggled again at how excited he got. Spike blushed fluttering back to the ground. They shared their addresses with Spike listing the castle as his with the excuse that he was staying there. Starlight waved with a small smile as she walked away and Spike smiled back, glad that he was able to help her. A nearby clocktower signaled the passing of an hour and Spike rushed to the stage where the interviews were happening. He was stopped by a guard who asked him to show his pass but Spike panicked not knowing what he was talking about.
“No pass, no entry.”
“Please! I’m Emerald Flare I can’t miss this!”
“Oh come on dear, it’s fine. I’ll keep an eye on the young stallion.” The two’s argument was interrupted as AK Yearling approached and the guard began to explain his position but Yearling cut him off saying that she was sure that Cadence wouldn’t mind and that she believed this stallion was Emerald Flare. The guard reluctantly let Spike pass and the two walked behind the stage with Spike taking a seat. 
“Thank you, Miss Yearling! I couldn’t miss this! It’s my first big interview and public appearance…” She giggled and sat next to him. 
“I can tell, you have the look of a messy beginner. Bet you’re just a bag of nerves.”
“That obvious?”
“Only if you’re looking.” She lowered her glasses a bit, winking one of her purplish-rose eyes at him and Spike could swear he saw a bit of her character Daring Do in them. “Just breathe, relax, and be yourself and I know you’ll do perfectly. I enjoyed your book and I hope your sequel is coming along. I know a bit about writing blocks. Sometimes you just have to… put yourself in the hooves of your character.” Spike nearly geeked out right there, the AK Yearling read his book and liked it! She heard her name being called and she walked to the stage.
“T-THANK YOU! I-I’ll do my best! I love your Daring Do stories!” Yearling stopped before she entered the stage and smirked back at Spike.
“Heh course you do, who doesn’t love a good adventure with yours truly?” He was struck silent as she left and he was alone. His mind turned to the interview and what he should say. What should try to be? Cool? Posh?
‘No, that’s not you. This is a new chance to be who I want to be. A chance to show Equestria that Spike the dragon is a dragon err pony that they could love.’ Soon Spike heard the interviewer call out their special guest Emerald Flare and he took a deep breath before trotting out with a nervous smile. The crowd was wild with many screaming, stomping, and cheering him on. He blushed at the attention and waved at the crowd before he took a seat.
“I must say that it's fantastic to finally meet you Mister Flare, you are a hard pony to get in contact with. I’m Soft Press.”
“Oh, I’m sorry about that! You see I’m a bit of a recluse, always traveling around Equestria to find new inspiration for my stories and that kind of thing.”
“You aren’t the only one, Miss Yearling is rumored to be the same way. It must be hard being famous huh?”
“Well, no one really knew who I was so it wasn’t really that hard but I guess I was just never the type to settle in one place for long. Guess that will change after this though.”
“I would think so. Now, I see you’re a Crystal Pony so were you born in the Empire?”
“Actually no… I was born in a small village far from here and the eyes I have are from my mother whose family escaped the empire before the mess with Sombra. I guess the gene was passed down all through the years but I wanted to take a moment to thank the Empire and their princess for being so kind and accepting me as one of their own!” The crowd cheered for him and he smiled. 
“Now let’s talk about your book, The Neverending Flame. What do you think of the success of the book and why did it become so successful?”
“Hmm, I suppose most ponies do love a daring adventure story. I mean look at Daring Do, but while Daring is fantastic and I couldn’t hope to challenge her in action I added something else. Romance. My main character, Dark Cloud, was a pegasus much like myself but more… determined. He was everything I wished I could be and went on an adventure that I wanted to go on. He had his friends and met new ones which would become the shipping war I’ve seen happen. I think mares and stallions all find characters that they can relate to and want to see win their happy ending. As for what I think of the success, well I want to say thank you to all the readers out there and I honestly couldn’t be more shocked you all enjoyed what I had to give!”
“What are you planning to do with the proceeds? I bet that many bits must really open up plenty of doors.”
“Honestly, I’m planning on sixty percent to be donated to charity while the rest will come to Princess Cadence for safe keeping as I’m traveling.”
“Kind and generous, you must really turn heads mister Flare.” Spike blushed and laughed.
“Only when they are laughing at me.”
“Well, now I think it’s time to open my next question to the audience, so choose some lucky pony out there to ask you something.” Spike looked out at the cheering crowd which was full of ponies shouting for their hoof to be chosen. He noticed a familiar mane style and smiled pointing at the alicorn who was raising a hoof while dancing a bit to make other ponies give her some room.
“You, the alicorn with the cute dance moves.” Twilight was in the middle of busting a move when she heard his voice and found all the mares nearby staring at her with envy, except for Starlight who was giggling.
“O-oh me! Umm…” Twilight quickly composed herself and flew close to Spike. “I’m Twilight Sparkle, well Princess Twilight Sparkle but you don’t have to call me by my title! I prefer Twilight or Twi or Twily or-” Spike trotted over and smiled at her, putting a hoof on her head and chuckling. 
“Breathe Twilight.” The mare blushed but obeyed and was soon relaxed. 
“Thank you Mister Flare…”
“Emerald or Em if you will. Your student and I are friends so what kind of stallion would I be if I didn’t extend that position to you?” Twilight glanced back at Starlight who was sporting a tiny blush and she turned back to Spike clearing her throat. 
“Thank you, Emerald. I wanted to ask you what your plans are for the sequel as the story was left off at a cliffhanger and what we could look forward to?”
“Excellent question. The next book will be called The Setting of the Sun and it will have Cloud facing his past and learning more about his friends as the group becomes closer. Each of the girls will have moments with him and each other to really flush them out. Ivo will also return to give more of the great action everyone loves including a new hero but can’t say too much here, other than this book will have non-ponies entering the mold.” The crowd oohed at that and Twilight thanked him for the answer before flying back to Starlight. Spike glanced at the time, seeing it was getting close to his spell’s end. He motioned that he had to leave and Soft Press understood. 
They ended the interview with a few more words and Spike galloped to the castle, making sure he wasn’t followed as he felt his body beginning to heat up. Spike hid in the gardens and yelled as his body gave off steam and his skeleton and body twisted and reconfigured back into a dragon. Spike was a sweaty mess when he found he was back as a dragon. He heard his name being called before he fainted.
.   .   .
Spike woke on a soft bed and groaned as he leaned up. “Careful, that kind of magic takes its toll.” He turned to the voice finding Cadence there with a smile.
“Well, I won’t have to be Emerald again so I guess it doesn’t really matter.”
“I don’t know about that Spike. We have to see just how far this goes and seeing the answers you gave we have to see how Auntie takes what is coming up. I have a solution though just in case you need to be Emerald and I’m not around.” She summoned a necklace that had the medallion of a green flame. “Wear this and it should turn you into Emerald for two hours before the magic is drained and you need to send it back to me for a refill.” Spike examined the necklace and rubbed his chin.
“So with this, I can be Emerald anytime I want. Maybe I should do a book signing in Ponyville. Celestia knows I owe the town after all the stuff I’ve done.”
“Just be careful to not give yourself away, that stunt choosing Twilight was pretty risky.”
“Yeah… but it seemed to make her happy so I couldn’t resist.” 
“I suppose you’re right, she did seem to enjoy you. A bit longer and some stallion may have just earned himself a marefriend~” Spike laughed at the idea. 
“Yeah right, if she doesn’t like me after all these years what would me looking different do?” The two made small talk as they went back into the castle. Twilight and Starlight were talking about Emerald and how kind and charming he seemed to be. Spike looked a bit proud and whispered to Shining that he talked about the problem to Emerald and that he would lower the smut scenes to a single scene. Shining released a sigh of relief and the two spent the night playing O&O and teaching a bit to Flurry who enjoyed seeing them acting out their parts and biting on the figurines. 
They spent the night and the next morning playing before they were ready to go back to Ponyville. The girls were still talking about Emerald and Spike caught the girls whispering about his flank which made him blush and he glanced at his tail. He figured that this would pass and things would go back to normal soon enough. As he left, Spike glanced out a window and his claws gripped the necklace he now owned. 
.   .   .
Celestia frowned at the newspaper and what Emerald Flare had revealed about himself. “A small village huh? Just who are you? I think it’s time to extend an invite to this Emerald Flare.”
> Honest Friends
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Spike grumbled as he carefully slipped another comic back into his collection. The last week has been a bit annoying with all that ponies seemed to have been wanting to talk about being Emerald Flare and how charming and handsome he was. Now, normally this was a huge ego boost to Spike and for the first few days it was, with him even being able to write a fair amount of pages due to it, but then it got annoying. 
Twilight and Starlight would talk about this new friend with Starlight sending him a letter which Spike said that he would put in the mailbox for her but took it. He read over it and found himself feeling guilty as he read over Starlight’s retelling of her last day or two and she began to ask small questions like where he was now and how he was doing. He would write a letter back, wake up early, and rush to Derpy. He’d follow her until she eventually dropped a few letters and carefully slip his in with the pile as he just so happened to be passing by and gave them back to her. 
With that new guilt now in him. A strange bout of jealousy began to grow as Rarity swooned a bit at the picture of Emerald and Twilight ended up blushing a bit whenever Rainbow or Starlight would tease her about how she acted in front of the stallion. Less and less attention was paid to the dragon, which was annoying enough normally, but now he had someone he could blame and it was himself! Spike wondered if he had a right to be jealous, he was Emerald Flare for Celestia’s sake! But as the days passed and things died down, he found the bit of jealousy remained as he wondered why they liked Emerald more than him. 
He worked harder each day to show the girls just how much he cared but while Pinkie and Rainbow would thank and hang out a bit with him a bit more than usual, the unicorns and alicorns in his life seemed too distracted with numerous things to really notice. It ended up being Fluttershy and Applejack who really seemed to appreciate his hard work. They would greet him, let him help, laugh and joke with him, and even give him a hug before he would head home with Applejack’s being strong, tight, and long and Fluttershy’s being rather gentle but soft and full of kindness. 
This new work ethic had been enough to keep the dragon’s mind away from Emerald Flare until the day when he grabbed the morning paper for Twilight. He just finished cooking breakfast when his castlemates arrived at the table and his ears caught part of their conversation.
“It’s really too bad Luna didn’t seem to like it. I guess having three out of four princesses as fans aren’t too bad.”
“I do think she was a tiny bit too harsh though,” Twilight said showing Starlight the paper. Spike served them and sat next to Twilight with a bowl of gems, his nerves telling him he was about to lose his appetite.
“What are you reading Twilight?”
“Oh, nothing you need to worry about Spike. Luna read over The Neverending Flame and didn’t seem to be a big fan like the rest of us.” 
“W-what?!” Spike sandwiches Twilight’s face against his and Starlight’s as he looks over the article. 
“I’d like to start off my critique of The Neverending Flame by saying that we enjoyed reading this novel. It was fun and we understand just how the public and our family can enjoy this story, however, while we liked it we can not give it our seal of quality. The plot of the tale was interesting but took several unneeded diversions and while the characters were well-written they had moments that seemed out of character. My biggest problem is the strange intimate scenes. While enticing and enjoyable, they seemed to have been written in a way that may have revealed that the author may yet have had intercourse as there were several parts where the reactions were quite right. I do truly hope that Mister Emerald Flare sees this and the rest of the article as helpful criticism and not an attack. I am looking forward to his next book.”
	Spike swallowed back a growl and refused to see the rest of the writing, his fragile ego having just taken a big hit from a pony he admired, loved, and found at that moment he had really hoped to impress. Twilight finally pushed against Spike’s face and rubbed her blushing cheeks. 
“What was all that about?”
“Nothing… I just wanted to see what Luna wrote. Didn’t know she was such a critic…” 
“The princess is allowed to have an opinion, Spike.”
“I know… I just remembered that I promised to help out one of our friends. I should go.” Spike ran out of the kitchen just as Twilight was about to go after him, but Starlight stopped her and smiled lightly. 
“I know you want to go after him but I think he needs to be alone right now.”
“But he didn’t even eat…” Starlight laughed. 
“Come on, none of your friends will let him go hungry. You had lessons for me anyway.” Twilight seemed to relax and wolfed down her food but Starlight glanced back to the doorway where Spike ran. ‘Why did he care so much about what Luna said?'

.   .   .

Spike thought the outdoor air would do him some good, but as he walked through town he found his attitude only getting worse as ponies were talking about what Luna said. Spike even heard one or two of the ponies agree with her take. 
“Some fans…” Spike grumbled to himself as his stomach began to loudly growl and he blushed at the ponies that turned to look at him. He ran and ended up running right into a passing wagon. The two crashed and Spike was launched into the air before landing on his face. A pained groan escaped his lips before fainting. 
“Scootaloo! What did ya hit this time?”
“Hey! That wasn’t my fault this time!” 
“Girls! It’s Spike!” Applebloom and Scootaloo rushed to Sweetie Belle who was looking down on the dragon. “W-what do we do?” 
“Umm… we have to make sure he’s okay right? Like is he breathing?” The three looked at his chest but they couldn’t tell if it was gently moving or if their eyes were playing tricks on them. “Shouldn’t one of us give him CPR or something?” The three blushed at Scootaloo’s suggestion. 
“Ah don’t know much about dragons… maybe he’s just asleep?”
“After getting hit by me? No one gets off that easily.”
“I hope he’s not asleep, my sister told me dragons take hundred-year naps! Twilight would go crazy without Spike, remember the doll thing?” The three shivered and Applebloom took lead and carefully approached Spike, blushing as she laid her head down on Spike’s chest. The others glanced away making sure no pony was looking at them, but would also glance back at the two. 
“He’s breathin and not snorin so he’s not asleep. Ah think Scoots knocked him out. Maybe we should take him ta the hospital?”
“No way! We’ll be blamed and they may tell Rarity!”
“Yeah, not the hospital… what about Fluttershy?”
"She’ll know what to do. Umm Applebloom? I think he’s fine. Wanna help us put him in the wagon?” Applebloom blushed as she found she was still leaning on the dragon’s warm chest. The scales were hard as one would expect but she found the texture felt rather nice against her coat. She slowly backed up off him and ignored the looks on her friends’ faces as she and Sweetie loaded Spike into the wagon and they zoomed off to the cottage just outside of Ponyville. 
Sweetie Belle glanced at Applebloom several times during the ride as she still was a bit red in the face and seemed to be distracted. She wondered for a moment how it must feel to lean her head on Spike’s chest but shook the thought away. She turned and opened her mouth to ask Applebloom something, but the two noticed Spike’s body slipping out of the wagon and both quickly grabbed him and pulled him back, using too much strength and having him land in their laps. 
The fillies blushed and glanced at each other, seeing the cottage coming up, and quickly set Spike up so Scootaloo wouldn’t see the position they were in. The wagon and scooter skitted impressively to a stop and Scootaloo smirked back at her friends. 
“Another perfect ride. Right girls?” She frowned seeing the girls blushing and seeming out of it. “If you two needed me to go slower you could have asked.” The fillies picked up the dragon and grunted as they dragged his body to the door. “Ugh! Spike needs to lay off the growing and gems!”
“What did we expect a dragon to weigh?”
“Less than this!” They dumped him on the doorstep and knocked before rushing back to their ride. They weren’t looking forward to getting in trouble today. Fluttershy cracked open her door and gasped at the sight of her friend, quickly dragging him in and not noticing the dust cloud that was near her door. She called in Angel, who was grumpy as he just woken up from his nap, and ordered the bunny to grab her first aid kit. He saluted and rushed to the kitchen and brought back the kit just as Fluttershy managed to get Spike on her couch. 
“Check his heart rate Angel.” The bunny jumped onto Spike’s chest and put his head to his heart, thumping his foot to the beat. “That’s good he’s stable. Hmm by the bump on his head here it seems like he was hit by something. I’ll wrap up his head and use some incense to wake him up.” Angel watched as Fluttershy worked her magic, noticing how serious she seemed to be even though this was a simple injury. As she finished the bandaging, she slowly placed a hoof on Spike’s cheek, tilting his face towards her so she could see it. Angel tilted his head as Fluttershy lightly traced her hoof over his cheek. 
“He’s really grown up from the tiny dragon he was when we first met… I know deep down a part of me wants to be scared… a part sees him as a dragon first.” Her hoof moved to his nose which wiggled at her touch and made the pegasus smile. “But all I see is him… the helpful dragon who has been there for me just as much as the girls. I wish I could repay for everything…” Her hoof reached his lips and a red tint rose to her cheeks as she leaned forward, stopping just millimeters from her goal. Instead, she whispered something that Angel couldn’t hear. 
She kissed his cheek and smiled at Angel before petting him and leaving Spike in his care as she went for the incense. The bunny chuckled a bit seeing the dragon smile in his sleep. A few minutes passed and Fluttershy returned, moving a candle under Spike’s nose and he stirred before gasping and pushing the candle away. 
“Ugh, I hate that smell… Fluttershy?”
“Oh umm hello Spike.”
“Hiya… how did I get here? Ow, my head.” He held his bump as Fluttershy explained that she found him on her doorstep. “So I was hit by something or somepony and they brought me here. Smart, no one better than you when it comes to injured animals.” Spike chuckled and made Fluttershy blush, but she smiled a bit at the compliment. 
“It was nothing…”
“Please if they took me to the hospital those ponies would still be wondering what I was and if they took me to Twilight she’d be panicking over every little thing. You care and know a lot, but also know when not to go overboard.” 
“Not all the time…” Fluttershy muttered thinking back on the Philomena incident but then blinked when she felt a claw gently touch her cheek.
“You’re doing it again. Doubting yourself and refusing compliments. I thought we moved past all that.” Fluttershy stared at his kind eyes and blushed under his touch. “Now you relax a bit while I feed the chickens. okay? Consider it thanks for helping me out.” She jumped to her hooves in response.
“Y-you don’t have to!” Spike gave her a look and she slowly sat back down. “Thanks, Spike.”
“Anything Flutters.” Spike fed the chickens with help from Angel and came back to the cottage to find Fluttershy asleep. He smiled and covered her with a blanket before waving to Angel and leaving. He took deep breaths and smiled at how peaceful things around him were, but then his mind turned back to Luna and what she said. Now though, he felt just sad he had disappointed her. 
“Spike? What ya doin all alone out ‘ere? What happened to ya head?” He looked up to see Applejack balancing a bucket of apples on her head. He smiled at her. 
“I’m big enough to walk alone now AJ.”
“Yeah, that bandage sure says that.”
“W-well something hit me! I’m not sure what. I just knew that Fluttershy said she found me on her porch.”
“You have to keep a better eye out, Sugarcube. Ya know Twi and the princesses would go crazy if ya got hurt. Plus… well you’d worry other ponies too.” Spike glanced at her and took the bucket off her head. She tried to get it back but he smirked and playfully held it out of reach. “Ah see you aren’t too hurt to play games. You better go all the way partner, Ah could use the extra help seein that Big Mac is with Sugar Belle right now.”
“You’re asking me for help, never thought I’d see the day~” Applejack blushed a bit and glared at the dragon.
“Ya gonna put more than that mouth of yours to work?” Spike bowed and motioned for her to lead the way and she rolled her eyes but smiled. The two walked back to Sweet Apple Acres and soon the two were in a competition of sorts with who can buck the most trees. A whole two hours passed with Spike using his fists to punch the trees and his wings to blow the apples down but even with his advantages, Applejack was a master who had been doing this since she was little. It was beautiful how easily she could kick each tree just perfectly and she even began to jump off the trees and hit multiple, adding in little flips. The dragon stared at how she seemed to dance with power and grace.  Spike fluttered back to the ground in awe at just how many trees she managed to do, as she smirked and trotted over to him, shaking her mane of leaves and sweat.
“B-but how…”
“You may be good Spike but Ah’m just better~” Spike blushed a bit and they put the apples away in the barn. Applejack stretched and smiled at how quickly they managed to finish the afternoon chores. They sat peacefully under the shade of a tree until a growl broke the peace and Applejack smirked. “Some dragon skip lunch?” Spike had the decency to look sheepish and Applejack hit their tree making an apple fall into Spike’s hand. 
“Breakfast too. Thanks, AJ.” He ate it happily and she moved her hat to cover her eyes. “Umm Applejack can I ask you something?” She grunted to show she was listening. “If you did something that many thought was great but some ponies don’t… what would you do?”
“You move on. No matter what ya do or how well you do it there will always be somepony somewhere who will dislike it whether it’s for good reasons or bad ones. You should look at it like this, you actually did do somethin instead of just spitting noise and never doing anything. You got it done and it could be the worst thing ever but you did it and at least you can say that.”
“True… but what if it’s a pony you love and admire that didn’t like what you made?”
“Then ya take what they said and try to improve yourself! No pony makes anythin perfect and nothing is right on the first try, trust me.  You have to accept what your flaws are and either improve em or at least try to find a new way to tackle your problem.” Spike thought over what Applejack said and nodded. He had been acting like a child and almost couldn’t accept that there were any flaws with what he’s made. Luna was entitled to what she said and he now was able to choose how to handle it.
“Thanks, Applejack… I always know I can count on you.” 
“Anytime sugarcube.” Applejack heard rustling and guessed that Spike had left but then felt his claws wrap around her chest and her breath was caught in her throat. He hugged her and his hot breath hit her neck and ear, making the latter twitch. The cowgirl was thanking Celestia for her hat covering her face.
“I mean it. You’re an amazing friend.” As easily as the sensation came, it was gone and Spike’s wings opened and he flew back towards the castle. Applejack moved a hoof to her chest and felt her own racing heart as she knew what had just happened.
“Aww crud…”
.   .   .
Spike landed at the castle as the sun began to set. He opened the door and thought it was too quiet. He walked through the throne room and the kitchen until he ended up in the Study and smiled finding his castlemates huddled together on the couch fast asleep. He guessed by the look of the books on the ground that they were training again. He chuckled before starting to clean up the room which took another hour. 
“What would you two do without me?” He asked as he looked back down at the mares and lifted them both and they immediately grabbed his warm body. He blushed at how they must look but smiled and kissed them both on the horns. He dropped off Starlight first and tucked her in before heading to Twilight’s room and carefully placing her on the bed. “Goodnight Twi.”
“Spike…” He hoped that he hadn’t woken her but she only seemed to have registered his voice and he moved a hand through her mane before leaving the room. He sat in his room and spun in his chair before looking over the newspaper and what Luna said. He tapped his quill against his chin before smiling and beginning to write. 
> The First Slip
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Spike trembled as he looked down at the letter that he had received from Cadence. He had underestimated his mother’s innate curiosity and need to know everything. He should have expected this, this alicorn had been in control of all of Equestria for over a thousand years and had plans for every possibility. Allowing even a speck of that kind of control to escape would be hard for her.  Spike took a deep breath and began to count back from ten, a calming technique that Cadence had taught Twilight and he picked up from her. He relaxed and looked back at the letter with a fresh mind.
Dear Spike
	It seems like Auntie was more interested in you than I thought she would be, things have been pretty quiet since Starlight joined you all so she must be bored. She had sent a letter to me asking me to tell Emerald Flare that she requested him to meet her at the Canterlot Castle by tomorrow. I have a bad feeling she has a suspicion about who you are and this is her way to try and get some kind of confirmation. You can refuse the offer of course but that may just make her more suspicious.
	I can make an excuse and tell Twilight that I need you at the empire for Royal Business so you can go to Canterlot as Emerald but if you decide to go, just be ready for anything.
	Love Cadence.

	Spike looked at the invitation and over at the necklace that hung nearby. He hadn’t been Emerald since that day in the Empire and now he was expected to face his mother to hold on to that identity. It would be so easy to reveal himself and tell her. He was sure that she would forgive him for writing a story like his, but as he slipped on the necklace a warmth filled him and he looked at the mirror to see a pegasus staring back. He touched the reflection and smiled. 
“They all still see me as that kid from so long ago. With Emerald, I can be treated like an adult, like… a real pony… This is my chance to see the world from a whole new view. No, I’m not giving up yet. Celestia wants to meet me, well looks like I have some training to do.” He practiced writing a letter with his mouth and after an hour, he wrote something good enough to read. He took off the necklace and sent it to Cadence, who sent back his excuse letter for the next day. With that done, he slowly got more and more excited and nervous for the coming day, getting his chores finished faster than he usually did and leaving the castle to keep training how to be a pony. 
Finding a small clearing near the Everfree, he slipped on the necklace and practiced trotting and then running which ended with him slamming into a tree.  He rubbed his head and could have sworn he heard something but there was nothing around him and not a single cloud in the sky. Noticing the open sky, his wings opened and fluttered in place. 
“They never did this before…” He wondered briefly if this was some kind of natural reaction for pegasus. Some kind of innate want or need to be in the sky, the place where they were made for. He jumped and fell flat on his face. Again, he heard something and turned sharply, but found nothing. “W-who’s there? I-I’ll let you know that I’m a f-fearless adventurer!” That threat sounded hollow even to himself, his voice cracking didn’t help.
“A fearless adventurer huh? Like Daring Do or something?” A familiar voice called out from the tree and Spike blinked.
“Daring Do?” At the question, a flash of colors burst from the tree and Rainbow Dash flew with a smirk on her face. “R-Rainbow Dash!”
“The one and only! Glad to see you’ve heard of me.” Spike frowned for a moment before realizing who he was. 
“R-right, heard of you.” She zoomed over landing a bit in front of him and walked closer while he walked away backward.
“So how do you know me, stranger? Is it my awesome tricks and flying skills which have even impressed the Wonderbolts and made me one of their members? Oh! Maybe it’s the fact that I’m a pretty big name in the hero game as one of the Elements of Harmony, or maybe you’ve heard I’m the biggest Daring Do fan ever!” Spike smiled a bit while he watched Rainbow go on about herself. Her confidence seemed to be a bit contagious but at the same time, she seemed to be eager to impress while not putting anypony else down. He had never really noticed the twinkle in her eye that she had when introducing herself or maybe he had forgotten it? The way her body moved as if to show off all of her and how her mane had the tendency to shake aimlessly and cover her eyes for a moment before being tossed to the side. “Hey buddy you still there? Be careful, stare too hard and you may have an awesome overload~” 
Spike snapped out of his trance and blushed a bit while rubbing his head with a hoof. “S-sorry! I was just lost for a moment there.”
“Was I a bit too much there?”
“No! No, I was just thinking about something…”
“Your wings.”
“What?”
“You tried flying and fell, it was because of your wings.” Spike looked at his back and after a moment managed to open his wings. 
“What’s wrong with them?”
“Nothing, but you have to push off the ground and allow them to do all the work. If you try too hard or think too much then you’ll find yourself crashing right back to the ground. Trust me.” She rubbed his head at the memories of all the times she crashed and Spike nodded before taking a deep breath and flapping his wings. He felt it, his body was far lighter now and his wings could feel the gentlest wind. He felt the ground leave him as he fluttered in place. 
“I-I’m doing it? I’M DOING IT!” He cheered and tried a backflip but ended up falling right down on his back. 
“Heh that was more hovering than real flying but let me help ya.” Rainbow helped him up and smirked a bit. “Was that really your first time flying? Where do you live?” Spike bit his lip and tried to think of an excuse but then smiled.
“Well I’m a bit of a traveler, I explore Equestria but to see everything I’ve always traveled by foot. I never really flew since I was a colt.”
“I suppose that makes some sense, well I guess I should give you the Rainbow Dash crash course on flying! You’ll be in the air in no time! Oh, I never asked what your name is.”
“Call me Em.” He shook her hoof and she taught him more, like how to keep balance while in the air, how to feel when he was about to enter a down draft, control when he hovers in place, how to spin on a dime, and lastly how to crash. They both aced that last lesson. Spike collapsed onto his back as he was a sweaty mess. “T-that’s enough… it has to be…” He groaned and sighed as his racing heart just began to relax when a torrent of water drenched him. He shot to his feet while spitting and coughing.
“Sorry guess I used a bit too much there.” He glared at her through his bangs as she broke the emergency rain cloud she had stored somewhere. She met his glare and raised an eyebrow at him. “Don’t give me that look, sweat sticks to your wings and makes you far heavier and harder to get off the ground.”
“A bit of warning would have been nice.” Rainbow rubbed her neck and nodded in agreement.
“Yeah maybe, sorry about that. I forget sometimes not every pony likes surprises as much as me.” With that Spike laid on his back and found himself silently thanking Rainbow as the gentle breeze felt heavenly against his damp coat and he opened his wings wide. He smiled and shifted a bit when he felt movement next to him, cracking open an eye. Rainbow sat against the tree and gazed up at the clear blue sky with a small almost-proud grin. The wind softly moved her mane and Spike found his face heating up a tiny bit. “Do you want to go fly Rainbow? I’m sorry if I’m keeping you grounded…” She blinked as she looked down at him and shook her head. 
“No! No… I’m just thinking… about how amazing it is that me and the other pegasi can all make something like that. All doing our part, we are helping and making so many ponies smile. That feeling is something I’ve missed since I became a member of the Wonderbolts.”
“The other pegasi and I. You’re not regretting it are you?”
“Egghead. Never, that was my dream and I wouldn’t give it up for anything. Regretting things just isn’t the Rainbow way but… a part of me loves making someone smile. Maybe that’s why I decided to teach you to fly even when I could have ignored you and gone back to sleep. The same reason I’m here relaxing with you when I could be in the air, the reason I'm still talking… to see you smile.” She smirked a bit and chuckled. “Also, I find it a bit funny when somepony other than me is crashing.” Spike blushed and playfully pushed her hoof before he looked away.
“Jerk… but thank you. I really appreciate this, more than you know.”
“I’ve been surrounded by ponies that don’t like flying, aren’t good at it, and even can’t fly. This world is full of ponies… no, creatures that are so different from me. It’s nice to slow down here and there and take a moment to think about the things that connect me to them despite our differences. Can’t think of much when it comes to you though.” 
“Maybe you’re thinking too hard. We are sharing this moment in time, aren’t we? We shared the sky, the sun’s warmth, the nice breeze, and even the shade of this tree. I think that’s enough for me… to call you my friend.” Spike held out a hoof and the tiniest hint of red colored her cheeks before she smiled and took the hoof. “We’re both also wet~” Spike pulled her in for a wet hug which she struggled against and pushed against him. He laughed and stuck his tongue out before jumping into the air. 
.   .   .
Spike eagerly started the shower as he looked over all the dirt and sweat left from his time with Dash. He promised to come back and spend more time with her next time but said he had to leave. He changed back into Spike before traveling back to the castle to take a shower and check on his friends. 
He let the hot water run over his scales and groaned a bit at the pleasurable warmth. The warmth reminded him of his younger days with his mother, who would get so worried about a dragon getting cold that she would have him sleep with her and wrap her body around him. Tomorrow, he would meet her as a stranger and he had been so afraid of her finding him out, of disappointing her. After his time with Dash though, he realized that he just wanted to see her smile. To make her like him as Emerald he didn’t need to be someone different and he doesn’t have to be Spike. He can be kind and fun-loving. Eager and confident. A friend. 
He finished and wrapped his towel around his waist just as the door to the bathroom opened and Starlight blushed before going to close the door. 
“Oh sorry, Spike! I got a bit lost again…” Spike laughed and caught the door before it could shut. 
“It’s okay Star. I was about to head to the kitchen to make dinner anyway. I better hurry before Twilight tries to make us something.”
“Hey, she said you liked her cooking.” 
“Yep! But I also know how picky you can be~” Starlight blushed and opened her mouth to argue but the rumbling of her stomach interrupted and she just huffed before following a chuckling Spike. “So what were you two doing today?”
“Just working on the theme of friends becoming family. Twilight said that it was more so a lesson Applejack learned.”
“I don’t know about that, I’d say that it’s a lesson we’ve all learned. Rainbow always had Fluttershy’s back even when she could slow her down. Fluttershy gave Rarity somepony who truly cared for the same things she does and a friend who understands her. Rarity offers Applejack a different outlook on life and an opposite who drives her crazy but also someone she can trust. Applejack helps me keep Twilight calm and collected when things get rocky. Twilight does her best to keep Pinkie focused and in return the pink mare brought fun into her life.  Twi’s always had me and ever since you came, we’ve brought you into our home, and well… I see you as part of our family.”
“R-really… even after everything I did? Twilight told me what changing that day could have meant for you…” Starlight looked down when a claw pushed her chin up. 
“I’ve long forgiven you for that. You are my friend and family Starlight, nothing will change that.” He smiled and she smiled back, giving the dragon a hug. 
“Thank you, Spike. Even if I feel I don’t deserve it...”
“You do, forgiveness is how I decide to live. We’ll always be there for each other and I’m happy to help you even a tiny bit. Now let’s go get you some grub.” Starlight hugged Spike again before sticking her tongue out and playfully pushing him.
“Race ya!”
.   .   .
Emerald stepped off the train and thanked the conductor before racing towards the castle. He ended up waking late and nearly missed the train, barely having the time to make the girls a quick breakfast, and snatched a gem on his way out. He changed forms on the train and relaxed only when he saw Ponyville vanish over the horizon. He had been afraid Pinkie or Applejack would see him heading towards Canterlot instead of the Empire. 
The guards stopped him at the front doors and Spike was about to call the guards by name but shook his head to remind himself that he wasn’t Spike. 
“Umm I’m sorry but I was invited here for a meeting with the princess. My name is Emerald Flare. I’m the-”
“The writer I know. I’ve heard of you, my wife rather enjoyed your little story. We were told a special guest was coming so you check out, just go straight and you’ll find the throne room.”
“Thank you kind sir and give your wife my regards!” He trots into the castle and heads for the throne room. Lavender hung on the wall and the whole castle seemed to have taken on very subtle changes that only one who had lived there for years would notice. The castle always had plenty of Sun and Star imagery due to Celestia and Starswirl contributions to history and their feats, but now there were more moons etched into the walls and some of the curtains were changed from pink to blue. It was almost like the castle missed Luna and was welcoming her back.
He saw the throne room’s gigantic door ahead and took a deep breath before starting down the hall toward it. He paused to look over the stained glass windows that depicted some of Starswirl’s adventures, The founders of Equestria, Celestia’s and Luna’s battles, his friends’ victory over Nightmare Moon and Discord, and even his own win over Sombra. 
“The princess will see you now Mister Flare.” Emerald jumped at the voice and touched his chest as he hovered there for a moment. Raven was basically Celestia’s very own assistant and kept the castle’s staff in line. Spike remembered when he was younger, he would spend hours trying to outsmart her to try and get something he wanted (like gems or cookies) or to spend more time with the princess. He should have known that she was just too smart, especially since she was one of his tutors who trained him to be the assistant he became. He fluttered back to the ground and stared at her, strangely she had always looked the same since he known her. 
“Thanks, Rav.”
“What was that Mister Flare?” Emerald blinked and shivered at the emotionless stare that she gave him from behind her glasses. It was like talking to Maud Pie but with a sliver of danger just coating her words. She was a pale unicorn with a long brown mane and tail that she kept in an official-looking bun. She only wore a white collar with a large red pom pom in the middle, her black simple glasses, and a blue pencil tucked behind her ear. 
“E-excuse me?”
“You called me Rav.”
“I… I recognized that cutie mark! I met a pony in Ponyville with it who worked for the mayor. She said that her twin worked for the princess.”
“And you just assumed that was me?” Emerald bit his lip before chuckling and taking a few steps towards her, poking her nose and smiling. 
“You two have the same beauty, hard to forget some pony with such beautiful golden eyes.” Raven didn’t react much to his words much but Emerald could see a tint of red flood her cheeks. 
“I believe the princess is waiting sir…”
“Can’t keep her waiting, can I?” Emerald pulled out a green pencil and slipped it behind her other ear, and gave a wink before heading into the throne room. “Just a small gift.” He smirked to himself, he actually flustered her even a tiny percent. He was better than he thought. His newly-gained confidence was immediately shattered as he stood before the princess of the sun in all of her glory. She stared at him with playful curiosity reflecting in her eyes. He gulped before he realized what she was waiting for. Emerald stumbled and bowed.
“Heh, Welcome to Canterlot Mister Flare.”
“Umm, you can call me Emerald! If you want to of course…” 
“Thank you, Emerald. I apologize for the sudden invite.”
“No! No, don’t be! I was excited beyond belief when Princess Cadence managed to find me and gave me your letter. I do have to admit… I’m afraid Princess. I’ve never been much of a ponies pony and I’m even less confident with my noble skills. I’d hate to make a mistake…” Emerald looked back up when he heard laughter. Celestia was giggling and walked down from her throne.
“Every bit the awkward silly pony that Cadenza said you were. She always did have rather funny friends.” Emerald tilted his head, a bit confused if that was a compliment or an insult. He followed her as she led from the throne room towards the dining room. “It’s nice to have a better down-to-earth pony join me for breakfast.”
“Doesn’t your sister eat with you?” Celestia looked down at the question and shook her head.
“She’d like to, I think, but she works all night long and has to sleep through parts of the day. She’s also pushing herself to learn every little thing she can about the world and how much it’s changed in the last thousand years.”
“That sounds… exhausting…”
“Yes, but she feels like it’s something she must do…” Spike felt something in him hurt as he heard his mother sigh. “I’m sorry, I’m not being very princess-like am I? Talking all about myself when you’re the guest in my castle.”
“No… You’re being yourself if I had to guess and I think that’s better than any princess front.”
“You’d be the first in quite a while that thought that… I do my best for everypony I really do and I suppose I miss the way things used to be. I used to have fillies to take care of but time moves on whether we want it to or not. Maybe that is one of the reasons I envy a pony like you.”
“Me? Never having a home or place to call my own? Being a coward who hides from all that loves him… I’m not someone you should envy princess…”
“You’re free aren’t you? You choose where to go and what to do. You have the freedom to make mistakes. Trust me little one, mistakes and regrets are a natural part of life and when your time comes to its end, the good times will outweigh the pain.”
“What about you?”
“Well… when you live as long as I have, your regrets stay much longer.” Spike sat down as they arrived at the table. He realized there what he had unknowingly been doing to his own mother. Never visiting her, never asking her how she’d been doing, Tartarus, he never even spent a proper day with his mother and returned aunt. It seemed like Emerald was teaching Spike more about himself than he ever thought possible. 
Emerald snapped back to his senses when a plate of pancakes was put in front of him and he looked at the princess who had several chef ponies at her side, all prepared to serve her and refill her drink at a moment’s notice. A flash of the past came to him and he smiled, taking one of the pancakes into his hoof. 
“Hey, Princess! Check this out!” Celestia looked up and her eyes widened. Emerald was standing on his chair, holding a pancake at the ready-to-throw at her. Her sight flashed for a moment as a memory of a younger Spike taking Emerald’s place, having done this exact scenario years ago. 
“S-Spike…” Celestia whispered to herself as the breakfast flew at her but one of her chefs jumped in front of her, sacrificing his white uniform for her. 
“P-Princess… did I do… well?”
“Of course Buttermilk. You and your uniform will forever be remembered in the Canterlot Kitchens. For now, however, I will avenge you!” Celestia giggled and grabbed a pancake with her magic, hitting the laughing Emerald right out of his chair. Thirty minutes of sticky fighting ended with Celestia and several of her guards finishing off the rebellious pegasus. When Emerald came out from the mountain of flapjacks that buried him, his coat was more brown than purple. 
“Well, remind me to never challenge you again princess.”
“I’ll try to remember that. You’re invited to wash up here before you leave, I’m afraid I have royal duties to return to.” Emerald bowed and smiled. 
“I’ll take you up on that offer, princess, thank you.” He felt himself be pulled into a one-hoofed hug by the princess who smiled back. 
“Anytime young one, I hope you visit again someday and we can talk much more. I do have questions about your home and some other things.” Emerald gulped a bit but played it off and nodded, pulling away even when some of the syrup came off his coat and stayed on the princess’s golden shoes.
“I-I’ll try Princess! Maybe once my second book is done, it’s coming along and I’m almost there!” Celestia stared at the syrup on her hoof before nodding. 
“Very good. If you are willing, I’d like to ask a favor of you. As you must have heard, the Changeling and Dragon Kingdoms have become our allies and I wish to give more to them than simple resources. If you so wish, I’d love to send your book to them.” Emerald brightened up at the suggestion.
“Oh, that sounds awesome! I’d love for my book to go to them!” Celestia glanced up from her hoof with a curious expression.
“Good, I’ll get the arrangements done immediately. It is curious however, not many ponies are quite so friendly with the idea of Changelings or Dragons.”
“Maybe they’ve just met the wrong ones.” Emerald bowed before leaving to take his shower. Celestia’s smile turned into a smirk once he was out of sight and she called Raven to her. 
“I have some hairs here in this syrup that I hope you could examine, I have a suspicion that we may have found something familiar.”
“It shall be done Princess but may take a week or two to get the results.”
“I can wait.” 
> Family and Cupcakes
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Spike laid on his back as he thought of what to do. It had been a week since Emerald Flare met the Princess and while he was properly motivated to write, Spike the Dragon found himself more conflicted with each passing day. To the point that it was affecting his assistant work and Twilight became afraid she was overworking him so she gave him a day off. His heart was making it so all he wanted to do was run to Canterlot and hug his mother, to spend a whole day with her but he also wanted this to be special. She deserved that for all she had done for him. 
This deep thinking prompted his stomach to wail and he sighed glaring at the loud perpetrator. “Can’t you see I’m busy?” His stomach continued crying and Spike sighed, deciding that he couldn’t think on an empty stomach. He got up and headed down the stairs towards the kitchen when he saw a light show coming from that direction. 
“Hmm, they must be sparring again… Now I could try going around, or going through that mess and risk getting hit by magic, or go to Sugarcube Corner…” A moment later, Spike was outside and stretching as he smiled at the clear day that the Pegasi had made. He waved at Lyra and Bon Bon, jumped out of the way as the Crusaders rocketed past him, and gave a few bits to Dinky who was looking for a gift for her mother, before finally arriving at Sugarcube Corner. The tiny bell signaled his entrance and his vision was immediately swallowed by the color pink. 
“Hiya Pinkie.” Spike’s muffled voice caused her to giggle as she let him go and smiled. 
“Spike! You haven’t been outside that castle for days! I was afraid that you were getting tired of sweets! Then again what kind of person could ever get tired of the perfection that is the cake! Or maybe a good pie or cookie! How’s your cooking been?”
“Come on, no way could I ever get enough sweets! I’ve just been pretty busy and distracted… I’ve only really been cooking for Starlight and Twilight lately, not really practicing.” Pinkie frowned, sensing that Spike may need a talk, and plopped the oversized dragon on her back as she struggled and crawled, heading for the kitchen. “Uhh, Pinkie? I can walk.”
“N-No! T-this will be just like the old days!"
"But-"
"JUST LIKE THE OLD DAYS! B-besides you seem like a dragon who needs a friend to talk to. We can talk while I bake the sweets for the day.” Spike nodded as they very slowly entered the kitchen and saw some scattered trays of treats, but not as much as usual. He got off and allowed Pinkie to breathe again as he leaned on the counter.
“Where are the Cakes?”
“Oh, Pumpkin got sick and they wanted to get her and Pound checked up. I told them it was just a cold but you know how parents can be.” Spike’s mood diminished a bit at the mention of parents but he thought back to the first time that he had gotten fire sores, a sickness many young dragons get, it was the first time he could remember where he was able to spend the whole day with Celestia. She had no crown, no shoes, no necklace, and she even allowed her mane to turn pink. She let herself be normal for him.
Spike was pulled out of his memory when he felt a warm hoof on his cheek. 
“P-Pinkie…” She didn’t say anything and only gently smiled at him. He had been crying. He raised his arms to wipe away the wetness, but Pinkie’s kind stare made him hug her and cry. He felt safe in her hooves like he would in Twilight’s or Celestia’s.  After a few minutes, he pulled back and apologized for getting her chest wet. 
“Oh, it’s okay Spikey, we all sometimes need to get it out. Tell you what, help me out with the orders and then we can talk about family.” He stared at her in shock, surprised that she had figured him out but he supposed he shouldn’t be surprised. Pinkie was smarter than most credited her to be. He agreed and the two went to work, making sweets as a team. He never realized just how much fun it was to cook with another and how messy.
As the pile of cookies, buns, and cakes grew so did the amount of flour he found on his scales and on Pinkie’s fur. Baking was the same as a mess only the good kind he thought, an edible mess that makes ponies happy. 
His eyes were also caught by Pinkie who was quiet and thoughtful with her movements but her eyes and outstretched tongue revealed her thoughts. She was in her own world when she was baking a cake, you could see her building new kinds of ways to make ponies smile in her imagination as she whisked and measured everything perfectly. It was as if she was the definition of organized freedom, wild yet orderly, unpredictable but expected, that was Pinkie Pie. 
They finally finished as there were enough sweets that even Celestia would need help eating them all. He sighed in contentment, the usual feeling that washed over him whenever he did something useful.
“Thanks, Spike! Always nice to have the help of a fellow baker! Oh, I nearly forgot! Did you see that the Annual Canterlot Cook-Off will be in a month? Applejack and I already joined! I’m representing the Cakes, plus Bon Bon and Twist are planning to go too! You should come, Spike! We’d be a powerhouse shoo-in for gold!” 
“The Annual Cook-Off? I don’t know Pinkie, I take plenty of pride in my work but that’s... well it’s for the best of the best. I don’t really know if I have what it takes.”
“You make food for princesses! You were trained since you were little to be the best little dragon assistant ever. I know you could do it to it! I heard Celestia will be the main judge again this year, it would be a good chance to show her how much you’ve grown.” Spike thought about that, she wasn’t wrong. This could be his chance to show her and Equestria as a whole his improvement as a cook, something he enjoyed doing. 
“I’ll think about it Pinkie, thanks.” She nodded and sipped at a milkshake. “Hey Pinkie… do you ever miss your family?” The party pony smiled gently and put her shake down.
“Every moment of every day.” Spike blinked in shock, he wondered if she was lying but the look in her eyes showed one of a girl who wanted to go home. 
“But then… How do you deal with that? How do you ignore those feelings?”
“You don’t or you shouldn’t. I love my family, and I always have. As rough or old-fashion as they can be, they have always supported and encouraged me and my dreams even if they led me down a path that a pie never taken before. They never failed to let me know that if I ever felt the need, I would have a home back at the farm.”
“I see… I mean I feel that. I know my mother always cared for me and that I could go home but… I barely visit and I… feel like a bad son.” Spike looked down and then felt a hoof on his shoulder.
“Spike, the princess gave you a job. A duty to stay with Twilight and be there for her. I know we all may have used you for our own means and maybe we should thank you more often for everything you do, but you’ve always seen a job to its end. You’ve done exactly what she has asked of you and this guilt you seem to be holding on to, would a bad son even feel it? Would a bad son even care?” 
“Maybe not…”
“Definitely not. You are anything but a bad drake Spike.” Spike looked down at his hands and smiled a bit. She was right, he wasn’t bad for leaving. For forgetting, but that didn’t mean that he couldn’t go back home.
“Thanks, Pinkie, you’ve really helped me but I need a favor.” Pinkie giggled and smirked.
“I’ll get my party cannon.”
.   .   .
Celestia sighed as she walked towards her gardens, another long day of princessing nearly done.  She already put the sun to its sunset position and walked out of the castle to see the gardens fully decorated with cakes, streamers, ornaments hanging from the trees, torches with green fire… wait green fire?
“Hey, mom…” Celestia turned her head to see Spike smiling there.
“Spike… you did this?”
“Well, I had some help.” He pointed to a tree nearby where Pinkie was very obviously watching them with binoculars. Celestia giggled a bit and looked back at Spike. 
“Of course, I don’t mind a good party but why?” Spike looked down at his feet while grabbing his tail, resembling his younger self. Celestia’s smile vanished when she saw the tears falling down his cheeks. “Spike…”
“I-I… I missed you!” He ran to her and she allowed her crown to fall to the grass as she caught the dragon and held him to her chest. She had forgotten how much he had grown as she held him but she had flashes of holding him like this so long ago. Had she truly allowed so much time to pass? It seems they had both missed this feeling. They held each other for what felt like hours, hugging out the familiar love and all the unsaid emotions they locked away for the sake of their duties.
“Sister! What is the meaning of this? The sun remains in the sky and I- Oh…” Luna walked out, but all of her annoyance disappeared seeing the two sobbing and hugging. She looked away and rubbed her leg with a hoof. “I can lower the sun for you. You seem to be busy…”  She took a step back but hit something and turned to see an angry Pinkie. “What is the meaning-” Pinkie pointed behind her and Luna turned to see Spike and Celestia holding out for her. 
“Aunt Luna… you’re part of this family too. Tonight… we can forget princesses, duties, all of it. We can be a normal family.” Luna blinked as she stared at the spot. Celestia gave her a smile. 
“Join us Loony.”
“Heh… shut up, Tia.” She ran over and hugged her sister and nephew as they lowered the sun and let the moon rise, beginning a perfect night for a small broken family. Two crowns lay on the grass forgotten and uncared for the first time in so long.
> Diamonds and Danger
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Spike grinned with contentment as he looked out at Canterlot from the balcony of his old room. He had spent a week in Canterlot after explaining to Twilight in a letter how much he was missing Celestia. Twilight understood and told him to take all the time he needed. 
It had been a perfect week, full of laughter, games, and sweets of course. He would play with Celestia when she had her short breaks, help train the guards with his fire breath, wander around Canterlot, eat with Donut Joe, visit the Sparkles, Play games with Luna when she would wake up, and at night Luna, Celestia, and Spike would huddle up together and share stories over some hot chocolate. 
He sighed and wiggled his nose as a snowflake landed on it. He looked up to see the pegasi were gathering the clouds to prepare Canterlot for Hearth’s Warming. Spike had nearly forgotten the holiday with so much happening. He still had a bit more work to do with his second book, maybe he should release it for the holiday?
“Spiiike, I sure hope you aren’t ogling any ponies from up in your ivory tower.” Celestia joked as she entered his room, much of her fatigue and pent-up emotions all gone after spending more or less a week with her family. She felt so good that it almost hurt to see Spike’s suitcase but the drake couldn’t stay with her forever. He had family waiting and she had taken him for long enough.
“Oh come on mom, this is your tower. If I wanted to ogle, I’d ask you to make me one of my own.” He chuckled and walked over to her. “Thanks for letting me stay though, I think we all needed a break.”
“That we did. Do try to not overwork yourself, Spike. Twilight and her friends would ask the same.”
“I know. They can be a handful and a half but I’m used to it. With Hearth’s Warming coming up, Twilight usually relaxes around this time of year. I’ll come back for New Moon’s Eve.” 
“We’ll be waiting.” The two shared a hug, a yawn coming from his doorway and Luna stood, rubbing one of her eyes. 
“Don’t think you’ll get away without a hug from me mister.” Spike chuckled and ran over. 
“Never! It was really nice to spend time with you, Auntie Luna…” The two embraced and Spike grabbed his bag. “Oh and Spike, one more thing.” He looked back at the two as Celestia and Luna shared a look. Celestia smiled kindly. 
“If you ever need to tell us anything… anything at all. We’re always just a letter away.” Spike shivered at the sweet way she spoke those words. He nodded and promised to write before leaving. After a bit, Luna smirked. 
“I’m amazed you held your cool.”
“Oh Luna, if he was the only one to punish once the truth comes out I may not have but Spike isn’t alone. I have a certain niece of mine to see soon as well. Do you want some breakfast?”
“Thought you’d never ask. Though sister if I may… I think you did a good job with him.” Celestia smile and shook her head. 
“Who he is, is his own achievement. I just helped.” She turned and walked away, pride in her words. 

.   .   .

Spike raced toward the station, having been distracted by Minuette, Lemon, and Twinkleshine. He got so caught up in their discussion that he heard the train’s whistle and he promised to meet them in Ponyville later before rushing for the station. 
“Wait! Wait! I’m supposed to be on that train!” He shouted but managed to arrive just as it left and he huffed. 
“Mister Spike? Did you miss the train?” A pony asked as he walked up, it was a station pony that Spike often said hello to. He nodded and sighed. 
“Yeah, I got caught up in a conversation. It was my fault.” The pony had a look of pity as he fixed his hat. 
“Should I… call them to come back? Are you in a rush?” Spike shook his head.
“No, I was eager to get home sure but I can wait for the next train. Could you do me a favor though? I want to walk around Canterlot so can I put my bag down here?”
“Of course! Anything for a friend of a princess.” Spike saluted the stallion and left his bag before leaving the station and wondering what he could do. He had already walked the city a lot over this last week but then something came to mind as he pulled out his necklace. 
“Spike has already been through Canterlot… but Emerald hasn’t.” He rushed into an alley and after a moment, came flying out, enjoying the breeze against his mane as he flew high into the sky. He went through the sky, spinning and showing off like a certain mare taught him to. The sight from the castle was always one of the best in the kingdom, but Spike now say that wings were a nice substitute. Being a pegasus, he flew high up and through the snow clouds, looking down at the land of Equestria. “Wow, it’s so… amazing. I think I can see the Dragon Lands from here.”
“Hey! What do you think you’re doing?” Spike looked down to see a team of Pegasi. “We’re setting up seasonal snow! You can’t go breaking the clouds!” Spike rubbed his mane.
“S-sorry! I’ll go back to town!” He dived through the hole he had made and had planned to pull up at the last second like Rainbow would but he underestimated how thin the walkways were when not on the main path. Pulling up, he ws able to keep from the ground but his speed made it hard to fly higher. He had to twirl, dodge, and jump. Avoiding ponies, a set of moving ponies holding a glass window, and mother with her carriage. He sighed and laughed as he had managed to get through but then slammed right into the side of a moving truck.
“Ooo that sounded expensive. Who… are you okay?” Spike fell onto his back and groaned, his mind barely registering the voice until a face appeared in his sight.
“Rar…ity…?” Rarity tilted her head and frowned. 
“Yes? Do I know you?” Spike rubbed his head and made sure his necklace was in good shape. “Sir, are you okay? That looked like a bad crash.”
“I-I’m fine! Really!” He got to his hooves and nearly tripped but played it off by trying to look cool and leaning against the truck. Rarity smirked a bit, seeing right through him but allowing the topic to pass. 
“So how do you know me, mister..?”
“Emerald. Emerald Flare. I’m a friend of Twili-” He was cut off by her gasp as she leaned closer to him, making him back up. 
“You wrote one of my favorite books! My friends mentioned meeting you! You are just as cute as they say.” Rarity added with a grin that made Spike blush. 
“They think I’m cute?” 
“Did you have doubts?” Spike shrugged and looked around. 
“What’s going on here?” He followed to the end of the truck and he was struck silent as he saw mover ponies putting new furniture into what looked to be a smaller version of Carousel Boutique. “Carousel Boutique? Are you… moving?” His voice was shaky as he was worried that she would be leaving Ponyville.
“Oh no! This is just an expansion of my business. Canterlot is the home of fashion for the entire kingdom after all so it would be nice to have a home here. My main building will always be in Ponyville.” Spike sighed and nodded. “But I’m surprised you know about my business. Ooo! Please tell me that you are in need of some clothes Darling! I have grand ideas that would go so well with your coat and mane. Luckily I have a good friend with a similar look so I know what works best with purple and green.” Not having any better excuse to know her, he nodded.
“Y-you got it in one shot! I’m hoping to buy an outfit for a… book tour?” Rarity smiled and fluttered her eyelashes. 
“Ooo would this tour be to introduce your new book?” 
“...Yes?” She looked eager and began to note off what she would need and asked him for his measurements. Already in her element, she seemed ready to go into her new store to begin working but realized it wouldn’t be ready for a few days and she chuckled.
“I may need to head back to Ponyville to get the outfit ready,” Spike promised to mail her his measurements and he bit his lip. 
“Uhh… if you aren’t that busy at the moment… would you like to go grab a donut with me? Canterlot has a place that sells the best ones around.” Rarity looked interested and after a bit of thinking, she nodded. The two walked off, Rarity asking questions revolving around his writing and asking him how it felt to be famous. He turned the question back to her, she was the hero out of the two of them after all. It was strange to hear Rarity talking about herself like they were meeting again for the first time but it was nice in a way. She was always happiest when she got to talk about her likes, her family, and her ever-rising goals. 
“Oh! Donut Joe’s! I’ve indeed been here before after a dreadful night. We also met when I happened to be on a train with him and my friends… I uhh didn’t make the best impression then…”
“Oh, Joe doesn’t keep grudges. Don’t worry about that. I’ll be paying so get what you want.” Spike said as he opened the door for her. Rarity smiled but put her nose in the hair, flicking her tail as she walked past him.
“Quite the Gentlestallion but I can’t let you do that. I can pay for myself. Thank you though.” Spike rolled his eyes with a chuckle. She was stubborn when she wanted to be. He followed her in and the two got a box of donuts to share. Rarity impressively kept up with him as he ate, smirking a bit as she got some chocolate on her face.
“I think some pony missed Breakfast?”
“More like my sister burned it. Tell me, how do you end up boiling toast?” Spike frowned.
“Uhh… you can’t?”
“I see… Maybe she is better at magic than I thought…” Spike reached over and wiped her mouth with his hoof, making her blink and blush a tiny bit. “O-oh uhh thank you.” 
“Anytime.” In the distance, a whistle was heard and Spike’s eyes widened. “Except now! I have to get to the train. I’ll send those measurements soon as I can!” 
“O-Oh! Have a good day Emerald!” Rarity waved as Spike jumped into the air and shot off toward the station. He went into a restroom and came out as Spike, buying a ticket and boarding the train as it took off toward Ponyville. Spike had decided to take himself a nap as he waited but the train didn’t make it longer than ten minutes before an explosion was heard and they screeched to stop. 
“Oh, this can’t be good…” Spike heard a scream and he rushed to the next cart which was actually armored. He peeked in to see a group of masked ponies wearing red suits and gold goggles ordering bits and for the collection of gems that were being transported. “Oh Celestia, what to do what to do?!”
“Make sure no one is in the next car! Gather everypony and send them to the back of the train.” Spike heard hoofsteps coming closer. Slipping on his necklace, he leaped onto the roof of the car just as two masked ponies came out.
“Gotta say, this is the easiest job yet.”
“Yeah well, it’s way easier when you have a boss who is a master at stuff like this. Rough Diamond was uncatchable until those Element ponies and the magician. With her back on the streets. No diamond is safe.” As they left, Spike peeked out and wondered what he should do. Looking at his hooves, he stood up and his wings flared open. He didn’t have time to call his friends. This would have to be done alone. 
His first move was getting the train moving again. He flew to the engine and found the Engineer tied up with a masked pony standing guard. Thankfully his eyes seemed to only be focused on his captive so he barely had time to turn as Spike divebombed into him. He untied the conductor and told him to start the train in exactly two minutes before hiding as more would come. 
Going after the two masked ponies from before, Spike turned back into a Dragon and collected several chucks of coal. He went back to his car and saw the two ponies were inside. He blew flames on the coal chucks, making them glow red and saw they were on the edge of coming apart. Spike opened the doors and threw the chucks, blowing flames at them and making them explode over the two, blasting them back and he punched them like he was back on Applejack’s farm.
“Three down.” The train began to move and Spike turned back into Emerald, timing this just right and jumping on the train rooftops while making noise. Another masked pony came to check what was happening but he had just flown to to the roof as Spike jumped down. “Heads up!” The Pegasus was hit by the top of a tunnel and comically landed on the tracks once the train had moved on.
“Hey, I’m pretty good at this hero stuff.” Just as those words came out, Spike was hit in the head by something heavy and nearly knocked off the train. He rushed into the armored car and the masked pony followed, a bag of look on their bag. 
“Do you know how much good idiots are worth nowadays? I suppose it doesn’t matter. You got them out of the way so the take is all mine it seems.”
“You won’t get off this train.” The pony unmasked themself and it was a mare with a black mane and blue coat. 
“I’m Rough Diamond. I always get away. You on the other hoof!” Spike quickly found himself outmatched as the mare used the bag to slap him around, shaking the car. Spike groaned and looked at the car they were in, he kicked one of the display cases at her before removing his necklace and showing his true self. The mare was in shock. “H-how did you?” Spike began to blow fire all around, the car’s metal walls and doors trapping the heat and soon the mare was sweating as she panted and looked for a way to escape.
“What’s wrong? Can’t take the heat?” 
“Can you?” She pulled a bomb out and Spike’s eyes widened as she lit the fuse. He cursed and rushed to save her, kicking the bomb and opening the door for when the bomb went off but only smoke flooded the car and Spike was left coughing as Rough walked out the door he opened. “Nice try Dragon. I’m curious though about that trinket of yours! Till next time!” She rushed out and soon found a place to jump off the train. Spike groaned and crawled out of the car, going back to his and allowing himself to fade out.

.   .   .

Spike stirred and woke back in his bed in the Castle of Friendship. He struggled to remember what happened but then he heard his door open. Applejack walked in and saw he was awake. “Hey, Aj.” She nearly dropped the plate she had on her head and set it down before rushing to his side. 
“Spike! Are ya okay?” 
“Sore and a bit stiff but I’m alright. What happened to the train? What happened to me?” Applejack explained that when the train arrived in Ponyville, all the passengers were taken out safely. The masked ponies were caught and they explained that they were stopped by a pegasus. The description matched that one author pegasus and Rarity mentioned having seen him heading for the train. Many think he must have gotten on the train after seeing trouble but he wasn’t there after it landed.”
“Sounds like he’s in trouble…” He looked around for his necklace, seeing it by his bedstand. He really hoped Twilight or Starlight didn’t see it. Rarity and Rainbow had also seen it around Emerald’s neck. 
“Ah doubt it. He was credited with savin the ponies onboard thanks to the Conductor. It is sad they got away though with the treasures. Anyway, that’s the talk of the town. The girls and I have been taking turns taking care of you for the last two days. Doc says that ya breathed in a lot of coal smoke, regular smoke, and took a mighty good wallop on your head.”
“R-right… I hit it against the train wall. I was trying to think of a way to help.” AJ smiled and petted his head. 
“Spike, you’re worth more than any shiny rock. Don’t go getting yourself all hurt otherwise, Twilight or Starlight may lose it. You should have seen how worried they were… how worried we all were…” Spike reached out and smiled at AJ. 
“Sorry… I’ll be more careful. Promise.”
“I’ll hold you to it partner.” The two shared a smile and she shared her meal with him before letting him sleep and going to tell Starlight and Twilight he was alright.
> Gifts and Snow
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Spike watched as the letter and his necklace vanished into a cloud of green smoke. Both were heading off to Cadance back in the Crystal Empire. His time with the necklace had been all used up before on the train and it was more unsafe than ever to wear it with Emerald having become a more prominent name for his actions against the robbery on the Friendship Express. Of course, everypony was curious about what really happened but with the author’s disappearance, no one could say. At first, ponies were scared something had happened to him but Spike was quick to write letters to newspapers informing them that he was safe and just wanted some time with his family for the holidays.
“Hearth’s Warming… I still have a lot to do before the big day. So many gifts to buy…” The dragon sighed as leaned on his balcony. It was day three of his house arrest, well three days since he woke to Applejack. He was immediately swarmed on by Starlight and Twilight who were thankful that he was alright but also jumped into overprotective mode.
Starlight was more understanding. She simply thought he should relax for a bit in the castle and not do anything too strenuous especially with some winter snow having been scheduled to start soon. 
Twilight was not so understanding. She made sure he stayed in his room, deciding to cook herself (for one meal before getting painfully reminded why she and Starlight were eating out and with the Apples every day Spike was gone), and checking on him every other hour or so. She had almost cast a spell on his room to alert her if he was to escape but Starlight convinced her to relax some. 
Spike missed his friends, they came to see him sure but it wasn’t the same. Rainbow was the first to hear he was awake from AJ so she came to see him through his window. Twilight nearly jumped out of her mane from that one. The two talked and Rainbow warned him to stay inside when the snow started, likely there was still some guilt after their first Winter Wrap-up when they left him on that lake and they later learned dragons were cold-blooded. She told him about the latest Daring Do book and the two argued how they would have gotten out of each trap she ran into and then which villain was her real arch nemesis. After that, Rainbow loaned him her copy of the book, which She had scribbled all over with notes from Rainbow herself. They promised each other that they would get a cider soon. 
AJ returned of course, with an apple pie on her back and a Pinkie Pie at her side. Pinkie looked to be rather tired, even yawning when they entered and with Gummy on her tail. He seemed to be trying to give his owner some support. Spike was unsure if it was working. Applejack had finished the fieldwork with Big Mac just that day but Mac couldn’t visit yet since when AJ was with Spike, he had to pick up the slack. He did so without complaint but was pretty tired by the end of the harvest. Spike felt bad and gave Applejack a box with a gift inside for his friend. She asked what was inside but Spike zipped his mouth saying it was a bro thing. Truthfully, it was just an old doll Spike and sewn up.
Pinkie hugged Spike, telling him all about the rush of orders Sugarcube Corner was getting and the party she had been planning for Hearth’s Warming. She also brought up how Pumpkin and Pound had gotten colds so the Cakes have been too busy to run the shop themselves. Pinkie promised she could handle it on her own, leading to the tired state she was in. Spike offered to come over and help but Pinkie just smiled. She said that Applejack would be helping her soon so he could use his own advice and rest some. She promised that when her party came, she would keep him pretty busy. Another yawn later and Applejack had to take her home. 
Fluttershy soon visited, apologizing that she was so late to see him but with the winter snow coming, plenty of animals were making homes in her house, and with Discord’s help they were able to make the room but she had to relearn the outline of her cottage now that it had four extra floors. They talked about the animals, a funny book Fluttershy was reading, what each other was planning to buy for their friends for Hearth’s Warming, and really anything. Fluttershy was always the one pony that put Spike in a calming mood when they talked. He could see why Discord felt so at peace with her. She never judged anyone too harshly and was always earnest with her thoughts. He asked how she and Discord were but Fluttershy mentioned Discord being a bit strange lately. Spike shook his head, that guy was pretty useless without a wingdragon it seemed.
The Cutie Mark Crusaders bounced into his room later on, eager to hear about his incident and how Canterlot was. They were awed at all the normal mundane things he did with the Princesses with Scootaloo hoping that they did something crazy like fight a giant cockatrice or climb some mountain. Spike did mention he got both Luna and Celestia to play Ogres and Oubliettes with him. The three seemed a bit confused at the mention of the game with Apple Bloom saying she was sure her brother played it and Scootaloo remembering Rainbow mentioned it once or twice. After seeing their reactions, he asked them to play with him and after giving them his baby dragon eyes, they all agreed with each one sporting a bit of red in their cheeks. They ended up playing for seven whole hours with Twilight checking on them every time she heard a loud shout or crash.
Rarity was still in Canterlot but returned home earlier on Spike’s third day of consciousness. She quickly checked on him and was so happy that he was alright that she hugged him. She told him of a party she was invited to by Fancy Pants and Fleur and her meeting the Emerald Flare. Spike bit his lip to keep himself from letting any info he wasn’t meant to know out. Thankfully, Rarity was happy to just talk about Canterlot. Rarity was delighted to hear Spike spent time with the princesses as a family. 
“Never take family for granted Spike. No matter how successful or beloved you get. They are with you through the good and bad times. Without fail. Speaking of which, I have a sister that needs me. I hear a certain dragon got her friends and her into roleplay. Now she wants all kinds of costumes.” They shared a laugh and Spike promised to visit her soon to help with her job. Once she left, Spike was alone again and dived onto his bed. 
“Ahh the busy life of Spike the Dragon.” He opened an eye lazily and found a smirking unicorn at his door. He grabbed his Rarity doll and threw it at her. “Sheesh he has so many mares he’s throwing em now.” She joked and caught the toy with magic before putting it on his bed. “Tired of house arrest?” He leaned up and turned to face her. 
“I love Twilight and I always will, but there are times she just treats me like a baby still!”
“Spike, she was just worried about you.”
“It’s not just her though… Some of the others treat me like a tagalong kid too sometimes…” He pouted on his bed, for a moment reminding Starlight of the younger dragon he had been when they met. 
“It’s harder for them, especially Twilight. They’ve known you and watched you grow into quite the Dragon Spike. Take it from a mare whose dad still sees her as some foal or rather used to. It’s hard to get family to respect you. I imagine especially so when they are princesses or heroes that save the world.”
“But I’ve done impressive things too!”
“True and those girls wouldn’t deny that in a heartbeat but that isn’t enough.” Spike looked down at his claws and then back at the mare. 
“What else can I do?” She put a hoof on his shoulder. 
“Talk to them. Not all at once or anything. You have to be honest and tell them how you feel and while you won’t change their minds fully overnight, ask for clear guidelines and boundaries then see where it goes. He considered it and sighed. 
“And if that doesn’t work?” She laughed. 
“Well I’d say work to get some high position like Sunburst and I did buuut I don’t see you surprising princess sorry.” Spike grabbed his pillow and whacked her with it playfully when Twilight came in.  
“Spike! I’m glad you’re up, are you okay?” Spike sighed and pouted again.
“Twiii! You just checked up on me two hours ago of course.”
“Sorry sorry… I just remember seeing you all hurt and we didn’t know what happened. When you didn’t wake up right away… it was scary.” Spike stared at her and realized how the others must have felt. 
“I’m sorry too Twi. I’ll be more careful but being all cooped up in this room is suffocating. We still have a bit of time before the snow starts, can we go into town?”
“I don’t know Spike…”
“Pleeeease!” He pleaded and gave her his big eyes, Starlight nodding at her. 
“I do have some more gifts to buy before the snow starts.” The two overpowered Twilight’s will and she smiled. 
“Fine, I have some shopping of my own to get done. Come on you two but we come back the moment that you start feeling cold okay Spike?”
“Deal! Let’s go!” He jumped outta bed and collected a small pouch of bits. They were of course his royalties but when Twilight asked about the pouch, he told her it was a gift from Celestia. Starlight looked over at Twilight and nudged her as they left the castle. 
“Hey Twilight, do you ever miss carrying Spike? I mean if you tried to now he could break your back or something.” She giggled while Spike looked offender. 
“I am not that heavy! I just got taller is all and Twilight isn’t used to like alicorn strength.” Twilight shot him a look. “What? I’m just saying.”
“Maybe you shouldn’t young dragon.” Twilight smiled and turned back to Starlight. “I do miss it sometimes… honestly sometimes it feels weird not having him there. Spike spent half his life on my back.” Spike blushed and again argued that he wasn’t lazy growing up, he was so focused on being the best assistant and didn’t want to write and walk simultaneously. “Riiight, so what are you looking to buy Spike? Any good gift ideas?” He sighed and crossed his arms.
“I don’t know yet… all you girls have so much that it’s hard to think of something. I mean getting a book for Twilight seems a bit too easy, I like a challenge you know? Then you have someone like Starlight who can magic anything she wants just like that.”
“I do not just magic things up! Uhh… well not anymore!” 
“Yeah Spike, you know I taught Starlight better than that,” Twilight spoke with pride lacing her tone and Starlight looked away with a whistle. 
“Of course Twi, because everypony always listens to you when you try to teach them lessons.” Twilight raised a brow at Spike.
“Your sarcasm doesn’t escape me, Spike. So how was your time with the princesses? I know you’ve mentioned before how much you wished that you could spend time with them just as a kid.”
“It was… really nice. I don’t think I've ever seen the princesses so… normal. They didn’t have to hold back or fake anything. We talked a lot, about this and that. About the two of you and the rest of the girls.” Starlight looked a bit surprised that she would be mentioned too.
“Me too?”
“Of course you too dummy. You’re one of my closest friends.” Starlight blushed a tiny bit, thinking about that while Twilight cut in.
“So what did they wanna know? It had been a long while since I sent them a letter so maybe I should report in more.”
“I don’t think she needs a report or anything Twi, she just wants to stay in touch is all. Like how we do with Cadance and your mom. She said to tell you that Equestria doesn’t have to be in danger for us to drop in! That includes you too Starlight. They haven’t forgotten the help you’ve given them before.” 
“Oh I just help is all! I didn’t do all that much… so what else did you all talk about?” Spike thought about it and snapped a finger. 
“She asked if I was dating anyone and I said that I was just keeping all my options open! She mentioned… a lot of names I rather not go into. Plus I said she never worried about Twilight never having a date.”
“WHAT?!”
“But she laughed and told me that she did try to get Twilight a date here and there over the years in Canterlot or at least to get her to consider more friendly pastimes but… well I think we see how successful she was with that.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?! I’ll have you know that I have like… so many suitors I can’t even count that high!” Twilight stomped away with Starlight and Spike watching her go before she changed direction and entered the Hay Burger. They shared a smile and a laugh before joining her inside. After a pretty large order (Hey Alicorns need to eat more! I-it’s biological! I swear!) the three were full and left towards the House of Hats shop. Inside Spike picked up a pair of professional flying goggles since Rainbow mentioned breaking hers and a purple beanie with small white stars on it for Starlight. He didn’t really know why but it felt like something she’d wear. Twilight picked up a repaired Starswirl hat since he was getting older each time she wore the old costume. 
They considered going into the Spa or Mane Salon to get something for Rarity but none of them knew exactly what she did and didn’t already have. Passing by the bookstore, a poster was up saying they were accepting pre-orders of Emerald Flare’s next book and both Twilight and Starlight went inside while Spike rolled his eyes and grabbed a comic book while he waited. He had finished said book by the time they exited and both mares were a bit bummed out as the pre-orders had sold out and they were too late. Spike thought about their issue and figured he had two more gifts just like that. 
The toy store was next and Spike ran inside, eager to see if they had the new edition of Ogres and Oubliettes but it was all gone. He sighed and looked away when he noticed a new toy. It was a Canterlot device called a Karaoke Machine, able to make your voice louder and it had an inbuilt music box to let you take music with you. He figured the Crusaders would like that and bought it. Twilight and Starlight now had bags but they refused to share what they got as they said Spike had a big mouth.
The mares stopped by the Antique shop, saying there was always something there to buy. Spike wandered for a bit before finding a sparkly butterfly mane clip. It was fairly sized and had pink baby diamonds. His mouth watered at the sight but he resisted the urge to lick it and bought the clip for Fluttershy. There was also a cool little replica of the Statue of Friendship from Manehatten. Knowing that Applejack had family from there, he got the statue for her. 
The joke shop was next and all three got something for Pinkie there, Spike finding a cool unpopable balloon that was some kind of enchantment but it also acted like a prank in the right hooves. He also got a can of sticky slime that dissolved after being used. When he got done with that, the snow had begun outside and Spike shivered. Twilight noticed as she came out and put a hoof on his shoulder. 
“Looks like time’s up. Come on Spike.”
“I know I know. I just wanna have a minute… the snow looks real pretty huh?” Twilight sat beside him and smiled some. 
“Do you remember our first snow together? It wasn’t that much longer after you were hatched but I remember getting to actually experiment with real snow for once since most of the time the snow is just magicked away by Canterlot Unicorns. They let the snow stay since the next day had another bit of now coming and no one wanted to waste the magic. I remember trying to do all kinds of stuff to try and learn snow magic while you seemed more interested in seeing what snow tasted like. Later, Shiny came around and started a fight with snowballs. We got so into it we accidently hit you and you began to cry. To cheer you up we all made a giant dragon out of the snow…” Spike didn’t remember that but looked over when Twilight trailed off, staring at the sky before looking at Spike with a strange look in her eyes.
“Twi?”
“That snow dragon… looks a bit like you do now… I never realized you had gotten so tall.” He rubbed his head, feeling the spikes on his head beginning to stiffen due to the cold. 
“Time seems to pass us by more and more each year.”
“I do miss it sometimes Spike… when it was just us and Shiny…” She leaned her head on his arm and he smiled. 
“I do too… but we have all the time in the world and each year it seems like we only ever have more people to call family.” They both saw Starlight shaking a can of beats inside before it popped open with different color springs coming out to surprise her. 
“I’m sorry Spike, for maybe being a bit pushy.”
“A bit?”
“Alright maybe more than a bit… I guess I forget we aren’t that small anymore. You don’t need me to worry about you.” 
“I’ll always need you Twi, just like how you need me. But yeah, you can trust me to keep myself safe. I don’t see getting hurt to be my special talent or anything.” Starlight came with another bag and smirked a bit. 
“Nope, I think making trouble is your talent.” Spike laughed and stood up.
“Coming from you of all ponies Glim Glam? Really?” Twilight giggled to herself as the two began to argue and she teleported them home. 

.   .   .

Spike was back on his Balcony, the snow still falling but Luna’s moon had peeked through the clouds. He smiled and pulled the blanket tighter around him. He had changed since he was a kid, but as much as he wanted to be recognized for it, he wondered what that would mean for him. Did he actually feel like an adult? Was he really one? After all, Dragons would live for much longer. Curious, he did what he normally did. He grabbed a piece of paper. He almost asked Celestia for advice before changing his mind and addressing his letter to Ember. He asked if she would visit soon so they could talk.
After it flew away, he yawned and headed to bed. He would be back to work the next day.