> Spike's New Adventure > by San Dragon > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > First Step Forward > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- It's a typical evening at the Castle of Friendship for Spike the Dragon. Having completed the list of chores Twilight assigned him before leaving the castle with her friends for Princess Luna's birthday party in Canterlot, Spike got left behind. Princess Celestia sent a letter earlier in the day, requesting Twilight and her friends' presence in Canterlot to help prepare a surprise party for her sister, Princess Luna, late at night. Earlier in the day, Twilight made a mess in one of the libraries within the castle while studying. Spike spent all day cleaning and reshelving the books, scrubbing the interior windows, mopping and sweeping the floors. The job for one creature would kill anyone or make them quit after realizing how tedious the objective actually is. Spike is by the balcony of the Castle of Friendship, and not even Starlight Glimmer is around; she's with Twilight and the girls in Canterlot, probably singing the Happy Birthday song to Princess Luna. Spike gazes at the night sky, wishing there's more to life than being a servant. After a few moments of star gazing, Spike turned away and retreated to his bedroom to read the latest issue of his comic book for relief. Ten minutes into his Power Ponies comic, Spike's character, Hum-Drum, has decided to inform the team about quitting the force after feeling left out of the action and fun. Hum-Drum needed a new change for fulfillment as he was tired of being a doormat, a pushover, a nobody. The comic even explains the revelations behind the mask during social gatherings, get-togethers, and parties, and more about how he missed out on everything life gives to his friends and not him. Spike relates to Hum-Drum with his scenario in Equestria and reads the next page, wondering what Hum-Drum would be doing. At the end of the title card for Hum-Drum fans, it reads: LOOK OUT FOR ISSUE #1 OF HUM-DRUM'S ASCENSION! NEW VISION CITY! Spike wonders if the new issue of Hum-Drum would have him start his own league of heroes or become a solo superhero. Then, Spike thought about the idea of his new fulfillment in life. He'll pronounce his resignation and leave Ponyville like his favorite Power Ponies Character, Hum-Drum. Spike thought long and hard about ideal locations to settle since Ponyville and Canterlot are not so favorable; then the idea came to him, one place where he's glorified and praised among his peers, the Crystal Empire! "YEAH!" Spike excitedly shouts in his bedroom, causing an echo throughout the Castle of Friendship. "The Crystal Empire would be perfect for me! Perhaps I can have a room in the Crystal Castle, have eyes all over the kingdom, and then spring into action whenever a crystal pony calls for help!" Spike imagines many scenarios about saving a family from robbers, defeating a gang of thugs, and solving mysteries the crystal guards couldn't figure out. "Yeah," Spike releases a satisfying sigh after an hour of imagination running wild, daydreaming the many crystal ponies cheering, applauding, and showing gratitude for his hard work and actions. He falls asleep, dreaming of life at the Crystal Empire like a watchful guardian during the day and night, ensuring life thrives in peace, and any enemy daring to make a move would rue the decision once the Brave and Glorious intervenes and saves the day. It's the crack of dawn in Ponyville; Spike dreamt wonderfully and woke up, smiling widely for the new day to embrace in his next chapter in life. Routinely, whenever Twilight Sparkle would leave Spike alone in the castle, all Spike could hear were his breaths; however, that didn't matter to him. If Twilight truly cared about Spike, she would have included him in Canterlot, helped prepare Princess Luna's birthday party, and celebrated with his friends and family. Right now, Spike starts packing his belongings, grabbing the essentials, some bits for his pouch, and snacks for the train ride to the Crystal Empire. After packing, Spike grabs a scroll and quill to start writing his resignation to Princess Twilight Sparkle and confirming his status with Princess Celestia about his decision to leave and begin anew to achieve new goals for fulfillment. Spike started writing to Princess Celestia, addressing the letter for her and Twilight to understand his point of view and feelings. Dear Princess Celestia, I'm writing to you today about my resignation from being Twilight's Number One Assistant. I have thought about my decision for quite some time during the days I would spend solitude at the Castle of Friendship whenever Twilight Sparkle would embark on a quest or spend time with her friends. Princess Celestia, you're probably wondering why I didn't arrive yesterday to partake in the celebration of Princess Luna's birth; well, the truth is, Princess Twilight Sparkle issued me a chore list to complete, especially with the disaster of a mess in her library yesterday. I attempted to ask about my availability once I completed my task; however, she turned a deaf ear and left me in the Castle of Friendship. I wholeheartedly believed Twilight thought I would be too tired to come when I finished and would pass out on the train ride to Canterlot Castle. Honestly, though, I have no ill will against Twilight Sparkle, but this gave me time to reflect on my life, and for many years since moving to Ponyville, my life has been dull, boring, and lonesome. I have my guys' night with Applejack's brother, Big McIntosh, and Discord; however, I don't have many friends to spend time with. Empress Ember and Thorax are ruling their nations and don't have much time for me. My pool of friends is slim, and since Twilight Sparkle hangs with her friends and excludes me, what's the point of staying when I'm unhappy? That's the other topic of this discussion. Unhappiness. Recently, I haven't been much of myself. I feel like Princess Luna imprisoned on the moon, isolated, quiet, and with no one to interact with. Unfortunately, before I decided to achieve something new in life, I had perfected the fake smile to ensure that my demeanor was calm with no worries whatsoever. I would lie about my feelings to Twilight Sparkle since she would ignore me whenever I wanted to talk. It was a defense mechanism to avoid my internal struggles and fight off my demons whenever they poked me and reminded me of my appearance being different. If I had the body of a pony, Twilight would be more attentive to me and more welcome to join the festivities. Maybe not. I don't know anymore. All I want in my life is to strive for greatness, and being Twilight Sparkle's Number One Assiant would only hold me back; therefore, I will be leaving Ponyville and venturing into the Crystal Empire since I'm known as the Brave and Glorious among the crystal ponies. I want to live up to the name, become an active hero, go on adventures, make new friends, and enjoy life. Thank you for understanding, Princess Celestia, and if you're reading this to Twilight Sparkle or if Twilight is reading the letter loudly to every pony in the room, throne room, or breakfast hall, don't come and change my mind. There's nothing you can say to divert me to the Castle of Friendship; I have nothing to gain in Ponyville. I'm just wasting away with tedious jobs and cleaning messes. Sincerely, Spike the Dragon P.S. Don't guilt-trip me or make any promises to change and bring me back to Ponyville; Princess Twilight Sparkle has her destiny to someday rule Equestria. I would have nothing, just a spectator to her accomplishments as I have none. Also, send help to clean the freaking castle, it's too much for one creature to endure, and I've done it alone for years! It kills me when I'm too tired and do it again the next day without help!! Spike takes a breather after slowly writing for an hour, his heart pounding and his mind racing. He stares at the ceiling, weighing his thoughts to send the letter now or wait until he boards the train departing Ponyville. "I should send it during the train ride; if I do it now, Twilight will teleport here and ask me a flurry of questions, giving me an earache about staying instead." Spike puts on his backpack, glances at his bedroom, and shuts the door to begin his new path into greatness rather than darkness. He walks down the corridors of the Castle of Friendship and ponders the replacement to uphold the cleaning, cooking, and performing the tasks necessary while Twilight enjoys her life. Spike wonders if Princess Celestia would send new hires to the Castle of Friendship and become Princess Twilight's new maids and butlers to help around after realizing how brutal one creature endured the chore list. Opening the Castle of Friendship's doors, Spike gets blinded by the bright sunlight hitting his face, like a new chapter is about to begin. The sun rising on a sweet spring's day, the smell of freshly mowed lawns, the sounds of fillies and colts playing, every pony enjoying each other's company and going along with their business; Spike sees everyone enjoying life blissfully and will uphold the same experiences at the Crystal Empire, with some weapons training from Shining Armor and the crystal guards, if permitted by Princess Cadance after hearing his side of the story and reasoning for not appearing at Princess Luna's birthday party last night. Many neighbors greet him and ask how the Princess of Friendship is doing, wondering if Twilight is on a friendship quest or commencing the acclaimed School of Friendship, one in which Spike didn't want to partake, knowing more responsibilities that'll delay his growth on finding his path for succession. Spike buys his ticket to the Crystal Empire, although when the station pony notices Twilight's dragon, she wants to give him the ticket freely since Spike is somewhat royalty; however, Spike insists on paying, making himself feel better that he did something on his own without Twilight's influence. It made Spike more free from Twilight's shadow than he'll ever know when taking the first step into the new chapter of his life. The 8:37 train arrives at the station, and many ponies depart and board the train. Spike sighs in relief after having anxiety about meeting Twilight and her friends on the same train. He believes everyone is having breakfast before leaving Canterlot by train to enjoy the scenery and resuming their duties in Ponyville. Spike boards the train and hands his ticket to the conductor; he goes to the front of the train and sits down, placing his backpack next to him like a friend, staring out the window, waiting for the engines to ignite and move. Staring at the skies while the weather team moves clouds for a supposed rain storm later in the day, Spike holds onto the resignation letter and rereads what he wrote. "Well, here goes something," Spike wraps the scroll nicely and addresses the title as urgent importance to display the seriousness of his decision-making. He breathes his fire at the scroll, magically teleporting the resignation letter to Princess Celestia in Canterlot, wherever she is with Twilight and her friends. > Shocking Discovery > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Princess Celestia is having breakfast with her sister, Princess Luna, and her friends Twilight Sparkle, Starlight Glimmer, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and Applejack. She had prepared pancakes for everypony in the room rather than having her finest chefs cook; she wanted to make breakfast more wholesome for everyone after last night's party. Princess Celestia thanked everypony for making Princess Luna's birthday more lively than ever since the past few ones ended up in turmoil over royal affairs and bickering. Princess Luna shows gratitude for having one of the best birthday parties in over a thousand years; she promises to spend more time with her friends and family during the day and be more open-minded with those closest to her. Princess Twilight Sparkle mentioned the School of Friendship's construction project and asked the Princesses for Canterlot's finest crew to help create her masterpiece since Discord is reluctant to follow her instructions. Princess Celestia accepted Twilight's request after she and her friends succeeded in Princess Luna's best birthday in a millennium. Applejack reminded Twilight about her efficiency in construction arts with her brother and wouldn't mind lending a hoof for the project in exchange for extra help at the farm. Starlight volunteers to help the Apple family with her best friend, Trixie; however, Twilight Sparkle declines her student from volunteering when she reminds her about the layouts of the school's foundation by reaching out to the kingdoms Equestria is friends and peace with. Twilight proposed to her Number One Assistant, Spike, to uphold the responsibilities at Sweet Apple Acres since he has experience, unlike Starlight Glimmer. Princess Luna ponders Spike's situation since he didn't appear in last night's festivities and thinks about visiting him either later today or late at night. Princess Celestia shares the eerie feeling of Spike not included in last night's party; however, she believes Spike may have hung out with his friends and had fun with them. Pinkie Pie shares her excitement for bringing Yak Yakkistan to Ponyville, allowing the Yaks to learn what the School of Friendship offers to different creatures across Equus. Rainbow Dash preaches about her class becoming twenty times more cooler than any other classes taught by her friends, which spiked up competition between Pinkie Pie and Applejack. Fluttershy doesn't want to become rivals with any of her friends, and Rarity ignores Rainbow's rant about becoming number one; she quietly acclaims to become number one with her methods. With the girls laughing in joy at the future success of the School of Friendship, they thank Princess Celestia for making pancakes; they say their byes and leave the breakfast hall when a scroll marked with urgent importance appears in front of Princess Celestia. She blinks twice after reading the title. "Was that from Spike?" Princess Luna asks after noticing the green flares spewing the scroll to suspend in the air. She feels uneasy right after Twilight and her friends leave the breakfast hall. Princess Celestia unveils the scroll to read loudly for her subjects. "Dear Princess Celestia, I'm writing to you today about my resignation from being Twilight's Number One Assistant." Princess Luna's eyes widen in shock before her sister reacts to the rest of the letter; she's about to bellow for Twilight and her friends to return when Princess Celestia's right pegasi wing extends, cutting Princess Luna's speech before proceeding. "You may want to hear this before addressing Princess Twilight Sparkle," Princess Celestia says after reading a paragraph ahead of the resignation letter. Her tone sounds distraught with a foul taste of sadness. Princess Celestia continues to read the letter to Princess Luna about Spike's thoughts, feelings, and unhappiness, which perplexes the Princesses until they read about Spike's defense mechanism. They had no clue about Spike's comparison to Nightmare Moon's imprisonment and how severe loneliness and darkness had overwhelmed him. Princess Celestia becomes mortified with Twilight about her treatment of Spike and the possibilities that went unnoticed when she called for Twilight and her friends. "How did she forget about Spike?" Both Princess of the Sun and Moon say in unison after realizing Spike's absence throughout the years unless it's necessarily written in a letter. "How did we forget about Spike?" Princess Celestia and Luna look at each other in disgust as they don't recall spending time with Spike, only with Twilight Sparkle and her friends. Princess Celestia and Luna pondered about Spike's cleanup duties in solitude, which is mesmerizing to believe that Twilight would not assist Spike, leaving him to care with no magic! Another issue to address is Twilight's caregiving role since she flipped it upside down, allowing Spike to care for her when she's the one who hatched his dragon egg. "This is wrong, Celestia," Princess Luna is appalled after reading the letter and wants to address the crime Twilight has committed, even unintentionally. "No words can describe how I feel about Princess Twilight Sparkle's decision-making with Spike," Princess Celestia wholeheartedly believed the two were close, like a brother-sister relationship kind of friendship. She was wrongfully mistaken and stricken with grief with traumatizing thoughts of a friend in need, and there was no prayer answered. "Then, the decision is decided?" Princess Luna knows her sister's intention to authorize Spike's resignation, permitting him to strive for life at the Crystal Empire. "Indeed," Princess Celestia nods and conjures a stamper with the Equestrian Gold Seal of Approval to authorize Spike's resignation letter and will address the situation with Princess Cadance. Princess Luna imagines herself flinching when her sister stamps the scroll harshly, and even she would never dare to challenge Celestia's feelings. Princess Celestia's horn ignites in a golden aura to use her magic to duplicate the letter and inserts it into a letter marked with utmost importance to Princess Cadance. "As of now, not only will Spike be alleviated of his duties as Twilight's Number One Assistant, but I will enforce my power to relinquish Twilight's custody of Spike, transferring guardianship to Princess Cadance and Shining Armor," Princess Celestia proclaims since Twilight has already gotten used to Spike being less involved in her life. She writes the official statement to address Twilight's custody and seals it within a second envelope marked utmost important. Princess Luna concurs with her sister's statement and volunteers to send an emissary to Princess Twilight Sparkle after she writes a follow-up statement about Spike's resignation since Princess Celestia has her schedule to uphold in the following hour. Princess Celestia cannot use her magic to send Twilight the statement since her spell is tethered to Spike for delivery, and he's probably halfway to the Crystal Empire by now. "Forgive us, Spike, for we have also wronged you." > Coming Home > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- It's been an hour since Spike sent his resignation letter to Princess Celestia; he saw many Wonderbolts flying in the skies after passing Cloudsdale. It was a sight to behold when they were practicing routines for either an annual show or for tactical purposes in warfare when they were humiliated by the Storm Nation's forces. "I wonder how Twilight will endure without me in the Castle of Friendship for the first time, especially with no help to clean up. Will Princess Celestia send help or allow Twilight to endure the hardship of solitude cleanup to understand how I tolerated it?" Spike speaks to himself about Twilight's punishment if she received one from Princess Celestia; if not, Spike would not concentrate on Twilight's affairs and focus on his future at the Crystal Empire. Spike enjoys the train ride with many thoughts of being the Brave and Glorious the Crystal Empire deserves; he imagines the crystal ponies cheering, applauding, asking for autographs, and signing his signatures. The ride was swift since Spike would pretend to save a family of four from an underground syndicate yearning to wreak havoc and make a name for themselves. Spike departs from the train and gazes at the beauty of the Crystal Empire, surrounded by lush green pastures and the lavish entrance consisting of crystal pillars with three rhombus geode crystals that move up and down. A magnificent white castle with sparkling and shimmering crystals stands tall at the center with houses of various shapes, colors, and shades of gemstones and crystals. As always, it's breathtaking to stare at the magnificence of the empire and with no pony around to rush him. Spike takes his time to enter his new home as Brave and Glorious. "I'm hoooooome..!" Spike cries in happiness for the first time with a new chapter opening in his book of life; his excitement fills his lungs with fresh air and no toxicity. Ten minutes of travel and many residents of the Crystal Empire gasp and cheer loudly for their champion. Many crystal ponies stand beside him, taking pictures, asking for autographs, and lifting and catching him in a crowded circle. Spike relishes the feeling and the praises so much that he blushed while explaining the importance of traveling to the crystal castle. The crystal ponies waste no time and escort their hero to Princess Cadance and Shining Armor. Upon arrival at the crystal castle, Princess Cadance, Flurry Heart, Sunburst, and Shining Armor are near the Crystal Heart, smiling, showing love, and embracing their brother to the kingdom. Spike is overjoyed with the warm welcome and turns to his peers, announcing his residency and upholding his entitlement as the Brave and Glorious, for which he receives a resounding ovation of cheers and hallelujahs. The crystal ponies are elated that their champion will live in the empire and would do anything to make him feel right at home. Shining Armor approaches Spike, asking him a simple question. "What would you do now, Brave and Glorious?" He is aware of the situation about Spike's resignation letter and would now be his legal guardian with Princess Cadance. Spike smirks with the visions he carried from last night's daydreaming. "Train to become the hero the CRYSTAL EMPIRE DESERVES!" Spike shouts boldly and proudly with emphasis. He's excited to become their protector with the possibility of underground syndicates plotting to raid the Crystal Empire or causing mischief. The crystal ponies shout in a voice of triumph and praise for their champion to become a full-time protector, even though they have Princess Cadance, Shining Armor, and the Crystal Heart. Spike asks Shining Armor to train him diligently with some weapons the crystal guards use at their disposal. Shining Armor sighed deeply and declined Spike's request since he fortifies the crystal guards daily; however, he knows some pony who would coach him privately with more discipline since he's more family to him than the personal trainer and would hold back his remarks. Spike welcomed the challenge of embracing a personal trainer and asked about his training session due date. He'll get his first lesson tomorrow morning. Princess Cadance approaches Spike with Flurry Heart resting on her front left hoof. "We're so happy that you're here with us, Spike. Also, know that you're not responsible for the cleanliness of the crystal castle. We have workers to ensure you have more time with us, with your new friends and your personal trainer," Princess Cadance tries to withhold her giggles when imagining the shocking face of whom Spike will be learning from! "Wait, how did you know... -" It struck Spike that Princess Celestia addressed the situation with Princess Cadance about his resignation letter. He believes Princess Celestia would write Princess Cadance a follow-up letter detailing his reasoning for leaving Ponyville and Twilight Sparkle to seek not only a better life and fulfillment. "Did she tell you?" Princess Cadance and Shining Armor nod; they know what Spike endured: the solitude in the Castle of Friendship, the darkness, cleanup duties in loneliness, and the fake smile. Princess Cadance blames herself whenever she addresses Twilight about inviting her friends to the Crystal Empire, and she's also irate that Twilight would never have thought of bringing Spike along on the journey. Sunburst is aware of the situation but refuses to hold any grudges until he hears Twilight's side of the story; if there are any confirming validations, he will treat Twilight differently until she fully immerses herself as the Princess of Friendship and atone for her misdeeds by renewing her friendship with Spike. "So, why were you giggling earlier, Princess Cadance?" Spike recalls Princess Cadance laughing at the surprise he'll embrace tomorrow morning. "Oh, you'll see," Princess Cadance continues to giggle, causing Flurry Heart to laugh as well. Spike gulps nervously at the many probabilities of his instructor for tomorrow's training session; he hopes it's not Iron Will, the Minotaur who inspired Fluttershy's assertiveness to the extreme, turning Fluttershy into a monster for a few days. Could it be a legendary crystal guard that Spike never met visiting shortly at the Crystal Empire? Maybe it's Discord for giggles? Spike takes a deep breath to steady his mind; tomorrow can wait. "So, what is today's agenda, Princess Cadance?" Spike is eager to know if he can be with Princess Cadance and Shining Armor's activities. "Well, Spike," Princess Cadance knows how Spike will enjoy the day since he missed last night's party. "In honor of your new path as the Brave and Glorious, we will conduct a celebration with -" Princess Cadance gets cut off by the residents of the Crystal Empire when they chant. "THE CRYSTAL FAIRE!" Every crystal pony wants to initiate the Crystal Faire, an annual event to renew the spirit of love and unity in the empire. Spike covers his mouth in awe and happiness that the crystal ponies want to welcome their champion with much love and grace by setting up the Crystal Faire. He hasn't been to one in a few years; the last was when King Sombra emerged, and he helped Princess Cadance retrieve the Crystal Heart to ignite the love and unity to send King Sombra into oblivion. Spike wanted to cry in happiness, but no tears came out of his eyes; his smile grew wider in excitement with happy pants. "Hmm, I don't see why not, and we haven't scheduled one all year long," Sunburst said, turning to Princess Cadance and Shining Armor. Princess Cadance flaps her wings, ascending to the crowd; she takes a deep breath for her bellowing command. "Everypony, prepare the Crystal Faire! It's time to celebrate!" Flurry Heart giggles and flies out of her mother's grasp to hug his uncle-in-law, Spike. "Yeah, it's going to be fun!" Spike lifts Flurry Heart and twirls around in pure bliss. > Emissary > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Princess Luna is in her quarters, writing an imperative letter addressing Princess Twilight Sparkle about Spike's new beginning, resignation, and thoughts about Spike's reflection during his tenure in Ponyville. The emissary Princess Luna called to arrive, waiting patiently for Princess Luna to hand him the scrolls to deliver to the Castle of Friendship. Dear Princess of Friendship, Twilight Sparkle, I'm writing to you today about the confirmation of Spike's resignation as your Number One Assistant, which includes your guardianship of Spike. Spike's statement detailed the many years of loneliness, darkness, and unhappiness. One, which you instilled without noticing; however, that is not justifiable to ignore a friend closest to you daily and not involve him during your activities with your friends. The crime you've committed, even unintentionally, is child negligence and exploitation. That is why my sister, Princess Celestia, will renounce your custody of Spike and transfer control to your brother, Shining Armor, and Princess Cadance. A grown mare asking a youngling to care for not only you and the castle is unheard of; the parent is responsible for the child, and you reversed the logic, which is appalling. I'm sending you a copy of Spike's resignation letter so you understand his circumstances, darkness, and loneliness. Also, to comprehend the validation of this letter and not a brilliant practical joke from the Lord of Chaos Discord, you'll see the Equestrian Gold Seal of Approval to authorize Spike's resignation letter at the bottom page. Princess Twilight Sparkle, as of now, you are forbidden to come near Spike within 90 days during his residency at the Crystal Empire unless life-threatening or crucial meetings are necessary. My sister and I understand your relations with your niece and have instructed Princess Cadance to appear in Ponyville during visitations, which includes Shining Armor if he decides to visit you instead of Princess Cadance. Your friends, Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and Rainbow Dash, will endure a 90-day ban from the Crystal Empire for their negligence of a friend cast aside. Spike's logic has us terrified, and this is something you must discuss with us. If Spike was a pony, would he be treated the same as he was or differently? Don't lie and be honest with us when we visit you soon, Princess of Friendship. Sincerely, Princess Luna Princess Luna wraps the scroll nicely and ties it with a blue ribbon with the seal of her first initial capitalized. The letter is ready for transport with the emissary standing by. Princess Celestia trots by after a lengthy, decisive meeting with a few scientists on the verge of discovering a cure to a disease that plagued Equestria for decades. She rereads her statement to Princess Twilight Sparkle and wants Princess Luna's opinion. Dear Twilight Sparkle, Today, after you left, I received a message regarding Spike the Dragon, your former Number One Assistant. Spike has petitioned his resignation, which I authorized after reading his reasonings. I am very disappointed in you, my most faithful student, about the friendship you've shown to the dragon you birthed. I don't recall memories of Spike's involvement when I required the assistance of you and your friends; you've decided to exclude Spike from many ventures, parties, and events. Although the affairs from your friendship quests didn't require Spike's involvement, there are numerous occasions that you could have allowed Spike to join you during your festivities among friends, social outings, and events. Another jarring notion is how you reversed the role of caregiving to a youngling. You made Spike take care of you and the Castle of Friendship, which is unforgivable to many eyes when you leave Spike all alone in solitary confinement. According to Spike, he has no purpose, and I agree after reading the statement issued in the letter; therefore, he'll reside at the Crystal Empire and uphold his entitlement as the Brave and Glorious. Your brother, Shining Armor, and his wife, Princess Cadance, will now have legal guardianship of Spike since you've committed an atrocity. Unintentionally is not an excuse as the Princess you are with laws and regulations every citizen must follow. You've failed Spike as a friend and caregiver, Princess Twilight Sparkle, and you should be ashamed of yourself for allowing a dark thought to enter Spike's mind: Would he be treated better if he had the body of a pony and would be more attentive and more welcome to join the festivities? You will answer that question and many more when Princess Luna and I arrive at the Castle of Friendship tomorrow morning; you have much explaining regarding Spike's purposes during his time as your Number One Assistant and as your friend during your tenure in Ponyville. Sincerely, Princess Celestia "Very heartfelt, Celestia. I can feel your emotions about the situation with Twilight and Spike. The seriousness and the sternness between writing to a friend and Princess." "As Twilight, we must atone for our mistakes for being neglectful of Spike," Princess Celestia is ashamed of herself for not being more involved with Spike when she had a silver-lining connection to send messages to Spike, asking him about his progress and even have a day together as good friends should. "Not only the Princess of Friendship but also the barriers of the Elements of Harmony, for they failed Spike as their friend. We should have private discussions with them about the importance of friendship with all species," Princess Luna noted after pondering more about Spike's loneliness and why the letter didn't mention Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy. "Agreed," Princess Celestia concurs with Luna's statement. "Spike's loneliness and darkness would probably not be an issue if they were filling in the gaps in his heart and being more vocal to invite Spike, giving him a sense of purpose as a friend." "Since we managed to forget about Spike throughout his span in Ponyville, how about we spend the day with Spike at the Crystal Empire, Celestia? He should be there within another hour or so," Princess Luna advises, urging her sister to be better-minded when they speak with Twilight Sparkle tomorrow morning. "Well," Princess Celestia checks the clock in Luna's quarters; it's 11:41 in the morning. "We'll get going at 1:00; lunch will be ready soon." "Good, I am famished," Princess Luna says since writing the statement to send to Twilight took her more than an hour to express her thoughts from rereading Spike's resignation letter and how she wanted to address her concerns. "Hope you don't mind about my decrees with the issue stated in my letter to Princess Twilight Sparkle." Princess Celestia unveils her sister's scroll to read thoroughly and nods with approval. "A 90-day ban to the Crystal Empire is perfect, Luna. It allows Spike recovery time and Twilight to contemplate her friendship with Spike and how to atone for her misdeeds," Princess Celestia wraps her sister's scroll and gives it and hers to the emissary by the doorway. "Deliver to Castle of Friendship in Ponyville." The emissary is a white pegasus wearing the royal guard's uniform without the helmet; he has a sash on his shoulder for transporting mail throughout the country. After watching the Princesses leave Luna's quarters, the emissary departs by flying out of Luna's balcony. The flight to Ponyville will take twenty minutes. An hour ago. Princess Twilight Sparkle, Starlight Glimmer, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, and Applejack departed from the train after it got held back by another train heading to the Crystal Empire. Pinkie Pie hops beside her friends to the Castle of Friendship as she's more excited to build her classroom of parties and laughter to teach when the semester starts. Neighboring ponies wave at the Princess of Friendship and her friends, welcoming the core back home from their venture, believing they helped save Equestria from another crisis. Lyra and Bon Bon wave from the park's bench, Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo trot by, hugging their sisters before helping another filly find their destiny, Big Mac informing Applejack about the money they earned after selling two wagons full of apples to Filthy Rich. Life in Ponyville is going well for every pony, especially with the School of Friendship added to the town and possibly transforming Ponyville into a capital city with newer creatures yearning to reside as citizens. "So, with the construction crew coming, let's just say, a week from today or tomorrow, depending on how quickly she would lend us support, what do you have in mind, Twilight?" Rainbow Dash asks, flying next to the Princess of Friendship rather than trotting with the other mares. "I have my blueprints drawn to the exact measurements, which we'll construct the school a few yards away from my castle since I'll be the headmare of my school. I envisioned several students far and wide wanting a private session after hours about friendship lessons, and I don't want to complicate things on their end. That is why I prepare ahead of time." "Hey, Starlight?" Pinkie Pie hops next to Starlight Glimmer, pulling a cupcake from her mane to eat. "What would you be doing when the School of Friendship starts the first day of school?" "Twilight asked me to become the school's counselor since she would be preoccupied with other affairs in the school, and I'll be a temporary headmare when she's fulfilling a friendship quest." "Hmm, I wonder what Spike would be doing? Would he teach?" Fluttershy asks Twilight Sparkle about Spike's involvement. "Spike won't be teaching. Spike will continue his duties as my Number One Assistant at the School of Friendship and will aid our dragon students in interacting with other creatures," Twilight responds since she'll use Spike during her curriculums and other private studies. Also, Spike has his work cut out with cleaning the castle and the school when the day ends. Twilight and her friends arrive at the Castle of Friendship. She takes a deep breath and uses her magic to unlock the castle's doors wide open, allowing her friends entry. "Spike! We're back!" Twilight bellows, knowing her echoed voice would reach his ears; however, there's no response. "Spike!" Twilight shouts again after no instant reply. "Spikey-Wikey! I have gemstones for you!" Rarity shouts, hoping to bait Spike like a fish to reel him in. Her tactic failed when Spike didn't respond to her instantly. "Maybe Spike's just plum tuckered out and catchin' some shut-eye?" Applejack suggests, explaining his lack of response to Twilight's call. "Impossible. Spike has never overslept past 8:00. Maybe he's cleaning the castle or having an early lunch?" Twilight feels dreadful with the sudden silence in her home like something horrible has happened to her friend. "Girls, mind helping me locate Spike in the castle?" "I got the upper floors!" Rainbow Dash zooms upstairs with incredible flight speed, observing every room by the second. "We'll check the kitchen!" Applejack and Pinkie say in unison, galloping to see if Spike had a mouthful of ice cream of hidden gemstones he hid from Twilight from his secret stash. "I'll check the map room," Fluttershy trots down the corridor leading to the throne room. Perhaps the map had summoned Spike for a friendship quest. "I guess you," Starlight refers to Twilight. "Me and Rarity check the libraries and meet by the map room?" Starlight suggests that there are many inside the castle. "Alright, let's go!" Twilight teleports to the farther library by the backends of the castle. Rarity trots to the one closest to her, and Starlight travels to the following one three rooms ahead. Rainbow Dash scours the upper floors in a flash, dashing from room to room, calling Spike's name and noticing the uncleanliness of several rooms, which made her think about Spike leaving to buy needed supplies to clean. However, the uncleanliness was her fault due to her flight speed, causing some papers, inks, and books to scatter in several rooms. She checks the balcony and the rooftops of the castle, seeing no baby dragon in sight. Applejack and Pinkie Pie arrive in the kitchen, hoping to find their friend snacking. Instead, they see nothing of interest or signs of Spike's presence. Pinkie Pie examines the dust, looking for fresh dragon fingerprints; however, due to Spike's handiwork for cleaning, the kitchen is nothing but spotless. Fluttershy enters the map room and doesn't see her friend lounging on his throne, reading comics or books. She pouts after finding her friend still missing after searching every corner of the room; Fluttershy had hoped to find Spike cleaning the upper walls of the room if he didn't complete the chore list Twilight gave him yesterday. Twilight, Starlight, and Rarity search high and low for Spike in every library they've entered; like their friends during their pursuit to locate Spike, they have no results and become worried about his whereabouts and possible situations that could be disastrous. Twilight declares her friends to regroup by the map room for a meeting. It's 11:55 a.m. Twilight, Starlight, Rarity, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy arrive in the map room after wasting half an hour locating Spike. Twilight starts having anxiety and panic since she has no clue about Spike's whereabouts. Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Starlight, Rarity, and Fluttershy feel bad about leaving Spike behind and wonder if Queen Chrysalis has kidnapped him for an evil plot of revenge or ransom since she's the only evil creature roaming Equus when her changelings reformed and transformed. They decided not to give Twilight that thought until another came to fruition. "Where would Spike go?" Twilight sits on her throne, conjuring a paper bag to inhale and exhale into. "WHERE?!" "Well, maybe some pony in town might have seen where Spike was going?" Starlight says, hoping her thesis would entice Twilight to ask any pony in Ponyville for clues to where Spike is. "Brilliant idea, Starlight!" Twilight drops the paper bag and levitates Starlight Glimmer with her magic, hugging her friend dearly. "Y-You're welcome, Twilight," Starlight sees Twilight's demeanor changing from dreadful to hopeful; now she hopes that anypony in Ponyville knows where Spike is or doing. "Let's go!" Twilight, with her newfound energy, gallops to the castle's doors. Starlight, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, and Applejack follow their friend to help find Spike. The emissary arrives at the front of the Castle of Friendship and prepares to announce the letters the Princess of Friendship would receive when the castle's doors fling open, knocking him out from the sudden whiplash. He falls over to the left side of the stairs, lying on the meadows with no one noticing his presence of importance. Twilight Sparkle and her friends rush to see the first pony in sight, hoping they have seen Spike and his whereabouts. The pony they approach is Thunderlane with his younger brother, Rumble. "Thunderlane, have you seen Spike this morning?" Rainbow Dash asks her fellow Wonderbolt teammate, praying for good answer for Twilight's sake. "No, I just arrived in town like half an hour ago. Also, Spitfire wanted me to tell you about heading back to Wonderbolt training since we were humiliated by the Storm King's army and would need better flight sequences to oppose newer offensives of the future." "Oh boy," Rainbow Dash imagines the newer techniques Spitfire drew up for the Wonderbolts to deploy on the enemy; she is looking forward to become the fastest among the core to perfect the procedures, but she needed validation of Spike's whereabouts for Twilight's sanity. "I saw Spike this morning before playing with Button Mash, Pipsqueak, and Featherweight," Rumble replies, looking at Rainbow Dash's gaze. He sees her smile widely before Twilight shoves her aside. "Where?!" Twilight grabs Rumble to read his eyes, ensuring that he's telling the truth and nothing but the truth. "Hey, cool it!" Thunderlane releases Rumble from Twilight's grasp; he sees the Princess of Friendship acting crazy and hysterical. "He was walking towards the train station with a backpack," Rumble pointed to the station. "Thank you!" Twilight hugs Rumble and apologizes for her behavior; she gallops to the train station with her friends, except for Rainbow Dash, who received a letter detailing her next appearance at the Wonderbolts HQ from Thunderlane. At the train station, Twilight Sparkle and her friends search for a pony who sold a train ticket to Spike or knows his destination; she approaches the station pony by the booth. "Good afternoon, Princess Twilight Sparkle," The station pony gets prepared to give Twilight and her friends train tickets to her desired destination. Twilight asked the station pony if they knew where Spike went when he came here earlier. The station pony mentions the Crystal Empire as Spike's destination, which now makes sense for Twilight that Princess Cadance asked for Spike's assistance without her help. "Spike went to the Crystal Empire without us?" Twilight wondered, baffled by Spike's sudden decision to travel to the Crystal Empire without informing her. "Do you think Spike decided to handle the task on his accord while we were having breakfast with the Princesses?" Starlight asks Twilight, which is more than enough validation to confirm Spike's decision-making to leave Ponyville and send a letter to Princess Celestia, requesting Twilight and her friends' presence. "Absolutely, and Spike made a foolish decision of not informing me and giving me heartache. Let's go to the Crystal Empire and help Spike correct the issue Princess Cadance is probably enduring." Twilight Sparkle purchases seven tickets to the Crystal Empire; however, the station pony offers the tickets freely since Twilight is royalty and Princesses have many perks for traveling the continent. Twilight accepts the kind nature and boards the 12:37 train to the Crystal Empire. > Crystal Faire > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Two hours since Spike arrived at the Crystal Empire, every crystal pony worked diligently to set tents and booths for the joyous occasion and celebrate their champion's homecoming now that he'll reside and become their protector. The snack booths provide berry pies, crystal corn, nectar, fritters, and funnel cakes; there's a section for a ring-tossing game, crafting traditional straw hats, playing the flugelhorns, and petting zoos. The crystal guards build a jousting arena since it's the Crystal Empire's favorite sport and activity. The most magical celebration in all of Equestria is what some crystal ponies would quote after the revival of their kingdom years ago when Spike helped retrieve the Crystal Heart to defeat King Sombra. For Spike, the Crystal Faire has become his new favorite celebration besides the day of his birth; he feels love and unity within the hour than he would have in Ponyville. Spike has no ill will for the residents of Ponyville but doesn't really consider them his friends because of his connections to the Princesses. Spike does have a few, but they're busy with their lives while he remains in isolation during the days and evenings. He'll have his guy's night and would hope Discord could bring Big Mac over to the Crystal Castle during their annual fun night; Spike would invite Shining Armor to partake in the guys' night if he's interested. The sounds of fillies and colts laughing, mares and stallions working fluently to bring the most magical celebration made Spike want to participate in helping his new brothers and sisters. Spike helps the crystal ponies by baking berry pies, nectar, fritters, and funnel cakes and cooking crystal corn since he's an excellent chef; with his green flames, Spike warms the food to perfection. Princess Cadance helped decorate the Crystal Empire with Sunburst and many crystal ponies, setting up balloons and decorative flags while Shining Armor fed Flurry Heart. Princess Cadance flies to inspect the preparations for the Crystal Faire and notices Spike drawing a crowd of his peers with his cooking expertise by the Spike statue; she sees two Alicorns flying in the distance and knows that Princess Celestia and Luna wanted to visit Spike after the supposed resignation letter he sent earlier today. Princess Celestia and Luna are amazed to see the crystal ponies setting up the Crystal Faire, a joyous celebration of love and unity to solidify their bond with Spike. "Princess Cadance," Princess Celestia smiles at her friend while flapping her wings to keep herself hovering above the Crystal Faire; she sees Spike leaving a snack booth to take pictures with his beloved fans. "I see Spike adapting to his new home quite comfortably." "Hello, Princess Celestia and Luna, welcome to the Crystal Faire! Yes, Spike came a while ago, and I had some notion of having a grand banquet inside the castle; however, my subjects declared the Crystal Faire, and rightfully so since we did not initiate one all year long." Princess Luna reads Spike's body language, determining his face full of bliss, happiness, and relief like his shadow demon suddenly lost grip when close to sacred divinity. Luna believes when Spike got closer to the Crystal Heart by the castle, his demon departed, allowing joy to intercede in his heart. "Sounds delightful that your subjects want to bring love and joy to the Brave and Glorious; my sister and I wanted to visit Spike since we missed him last night during my birthday party and to renew our bond with him for being blatant of his existence." Princess Cadance deeply sighs since she had forgotten Spike when it came to Twilight Sparkle and her friends; she's riding on the boat with Shining Armor as they want to renew themselves with Spike. "I am relieved that Spike's demons will go away, especially when the Crystal Heart ignites; however, I'm quite concerned about Twilight Sparkle and her erratic behavior. I would anticipate her coming daily to the empire, asking Spike repeatedly to return home, even though she no longer has custody over him." "Princess Luna and I are authorizing a 90-day ban to the Crystal Empire and explained in full detail not only for Twilight Sparkle but her friends as well," Princess Celestia sincerely states, knowing the rift can produce headaches but allows healing for the two. "We sent an emissary a while ago to deliver the scrolls since Twilight's motive of receiving mail resides here," Princess Luna confirms that Twilight will know Spike's decision and new purpose in life, hoping she'll understand and let Spike go. "Perfect, and knowing Twilight, who is very understanding, would make the best decision to let Spike be until the due date arrives," Princess Cadance believes Twilight would accept the decisions and decrees Princess Celestia and Luna authorized after reading Spike's resignation letter. "Agreed, though we should speak with her and her friends about Spike's decision-making, and when I mean we, that includes you and your husband, Cadance," Princess Celestia says, hoping for a peaceful conversation with as a group before one-on-one sessions with Princess Twilight Sparkle and her friends about the significance of caring for those closest and not disregarding them. "Hey!" Spike waves next to the Spike statue after signing some autographs and taking pictures; he sees Princess Celestia and Luna speaking with Princess Cadance. "Are you coming to celebrate or what?" Princess Cadance, Celestia, and Luna descend from the skies and land next to Spike and the crystal ponies. Spike is happy to see Princess Celestia and Luna; he can't help but hug them after finally being released from Twilight's position and exploring what life has to offer. Princess Celestia and Luna hug Spike lovingly as friends would. "Let's go and have fun!" Spike encourages his new brothers and sisters to start celebrating the joy of the Crystal Faire. The crystal ponies entice Spike to watch the spectacle of the jousting tournament, with this year earning a bragging rights trophy as best jouster of the year award. Anyone, including Spike the Brave and Glorious, can compete except fillies and colts due to protection protocols; however, they allow balloon sword fighting for the younglings. The crystal ponies permit Spike to ride the back of the knight pony, wielding the lance to knock down his opponent. Spike made his point evident about crystal ponies using everything they have; he wants their true potential used during the event when he chooses his partner, and he won't forgive his opponents if they allow him to win on purpose. Shining Armor reunites with his wife, Princess Cadance, with Flurry Heart; He greets Princess Celestia and Luna with a warm welcome and an invitation to compete in the jousting tournament, which they oblige. Princess Celestia and Luna hope to contend during the first round to see who is better during the sibling rivalry. Several crystal servants start filling baskets with the treats Spike helped make to pass around to watch the extraordinary event; they even tried a sample and fell in love with the flavor crafted by Spike. Many crystal ponies start playing the flugelhorn in unison, creating harmonious music to welcome the competitors to the tournament. Spike turns to Shining Armor, smirking at the devilish idea of competing and hopefully dominating the competition, even though in the back of his mind, he won't escape the second or third round; still, he couldn't help but smirk at the idea. "Shining Armor, would you like to be my jousting partner?" Spike offers his claw to propose an agreement. "It'll be my honor, Brave and Glorious, Bro," Shining Armor high hooves Spike's claw instead of shaking it; he's eager and excited to spend quality time with his brother and show his platoon how to work together in unison. Princess Cadance decides to enlist herself for the tournament to show Spike picked the wrong pony for a partner and prove to Shining Armor she's more capable than he realizes. Shining Armor gulps nervously about going against his wife during any round and prays to avoid her at all costs. The list of the competitors gets validated in a number bracket system detailing thirty-two ponies and dragon in total. The first sixteen competitors would be in the Diamond League, while the other sixteen would be in the Gold League. A unique rule got implemented regarding Spike's participation; if a jouster knocks Spike off Shining Armor, he gets eliminated from the competition, and Shining Armor would not continue the fight. Spike accepted the challenge and hoped that his personal trainer would be competing or watching from the sidelines or the bleachers of the jousting arena. "Let's go, Spike! Let's go, Spike! Let's go, Spike!" Discord is sitting on the bleachers with Big McIntosh since today is the annual rotation for a guy's night; however, when Discord snaps his fingers to appear at the Castle of Friendship to make preparations with Big Mac, Discord's magic teleports them to the Crystal Empire instead and now starts a rally to the hype of Spike's peers when he enters the competition. Spike turns to see his guy pals cheering with the crystal ponies; Discord is starting a betting ring, declaring Spike to win the entire competition, in which every crystal pony partakes by offering one gemstone. He couldn't help but laugh at Discord's antics, knowing he was messing with every pony; he walked over and urged Discord not to manipulate his opponent's minds for taking a dive. Discord reads Spike's body language and determines a new dragon blossoming within, so he respects Spike's wish. The train ride wasn't swift for Twilight Sparkle since she yearns to learn about Spike's purpose at the Crystal Empire and why he forgot to mention his whereabouts earlier. She wonders if something crucial had happened, in which Princess Cadance needed immediate assistance with a meeting or preparations for Yak Yakkistan's possible visitation since the Crystal Empire and Yak Yakkistan are neighboring countries. Twilight continued drawing up theories for a probable solution for Spike's importance at the Crystal Empire. Starlight Glimmer reassured Twilight that Spike would contact her once the situation gets addressed and send a letter detailing the information to aid Princess Cadance's crisis or circumstance. Pinkie Pie offers her cupcakes to ease Twilight's anxiety, which Twilight accepts, smiling at Pinkie Pie for her kind gesture. Twilight Sparkle, Starlight Glimmer, Applejack, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, and Rainbow Dash depart from the station, seeing no pony around, which is eerie for them. They are the only ones until they trot to the entrance of the Crystal Empire. After minutes of strolling into the streets of the empire, the girls hear a resounding roar and notice the Crystal Faire. "WHAT?!" Pinkie Pie shouts louder than any of her friends; she's upset about missing out on the most fantastic party the Crystal Empire throws annually. "The resounding roars must be coming from the jousting arena!" Rainbow Dash groans bitterly; she believes she's missing out on the best festivity of the Crystal Faire, showing off how awesome she is and dominating the competition. "Well, least the Crystal Empire ain't dealin' with no crisis or any o' them horrid things," Applejack says, taking an apple fritter the crystal ponies baked, now knowing Spike's involvement was probably setting up the Crystal Faire and celebrating the most magical event in Equestria. Fluttershy, Rarity, and Starlight Glimmer wonder where every pony could have gone except Rainbow Dash, knowing the spirit of fun is coming directly from the jousting arena. Twilight is calm, which is scaring everyone around her. Within Twilight's mind, she wholeheartedly believes Spike has forgotten about her with vital information about the Crystal Faire since she has no other means of receiving instant messages from the Princesses. "How dare he forget about us?! Doesn't Spike know it's rude to forget your friends about an important extravaganza such as the annual Crystal Faire, knowing my brother, sister-in-law, and niece are concerned about my whereabouts!?!" Twilight thought to herself rather than reveal her emotions to her friends. She took a deep breath to relieve her sentiments. "Twilight?" Starlight Glimmer approaches her friend after predicting a mental note to address Spike later. "I'll lecture Spike about his blatant forgetfulness later; right now, I'm interested in the resounding roar coming from the small arena," Twilight points to the jousting arena. Spike receives number fourteen from the Diamond League bracket and wonders who he'll battle during the first round. Discord uses his magic to invoke and equip Spike with dragon-size armor, allowing flexibility, mobility, and agility to move while riding on Shining Armor's back. "I'm number three," Princess Cadance announces, causing Shining Armor to shriek about contending with his wife during the first round; she laughs and corrects the league of her participation. "Of the Gold League." Shining Armor sighs in relief after knowing his wife is teasing him; then he sees Princess Luna holding the number three card, making him sweat immensely about versing the Princess of the Moon. "You and me, Captain of the Royal Guard," Princess Luna uses her magic, conjuring a dark night sky blue knight's armor for the jousting tournament; the lance she wields is a lunar-shaped theme for the occasion. "And you as well, Brave and Glorious!" Spike gulps about confronting Princess Luna during the third or possibly opening round of the jousting tournament; he imagines Princess Luna humiliating him and Shining Armor with years of combat experience. He knows Princess Luna is a juggernaut compared to other crystal guards and ponies competing; however, he must maintain his role and display his Brave and Glorious title to his peers so they don't doubt his capability to become their protector after he announced it hours ago. After Sunburst wrote the bracket leagues on the chalkboard, determining the rounds by random number selections, he reached into a bowl of number cards to determine the opening match to initiate the tournament. He grabs a mic after choosing the round of knights to start the first matchup. "Alright, every pony and Draqonecuus! The first matchup features #3, the Princess of the Moon, Princess Luna, versus #14, the Brave and Glorious, Spike the Dragon!" Every pony cheers loudly from the bleachers, with Discord and Big Mac chanting: "LET'S GO SPIKE! LET'S GO SPIKE! LET'S GO SPIKE!" Everyone chants louder, giving their champion respect, honor, glory, and praise as they believe in him. Shining Armor gears up before Spike rides on his back, wielding the lance to knock Princess Luna out of the first round; he hopes Spike will have fun and win a few matches or the whole thing. "You ready, buddy?" Shining gets on the north side of the jousting run. "More than I'll ever be!" Spike lowers the helmet's face protection while hoisting the lance in his left claw, preparing to knock Princess Luna down when the moment arises. "Give me signals to dodge and swerve to evade her strikes, Shining." "Can do, Spike!" Shining Armor salutes to his partner and mentally prepares himself to challenge the Princess of the Moon, knowing the first-round matchup should have featured as one of the main events. The crystal guards not participating are documenting how teamwork functions with the Brave and Glorious; also, to prep on unison attacks to defeat many foes in the future. One keyword they wrote in bold is communication. Without that, teamwork would be futile. Princess Twilight Sparkle, Starlight Glimmer, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, and Rarity arrived at the more improved jousting arena filled with all residents of the Crystal Empire, Discord, and Big Mac, which Applejack is confused about her brother's neglectful duties to the farm back in Ponyville. She'll discuss with Big Mac after watching what appears to be the first round of the exciting matchup. Twilight overhears the resounding joy of the Crystal Ponies chanting Spike's name and notices him riding on a crystal guard's back. Her heartbeat pounds rapidly, fearing her dragon possibly receiving harm from the lances. An earth crystal pony mare named Sapphire Joy has the flugelhorn, preparing to play the instrument to sound off the opening contest. Sapphire Joy has a light blue coat, bright pink and purple mane and tail, deep blue eyes, and a cutie mark of plant growth. Shining Armor and Princess Luna gallop to confront each other at the halfway mark; Spike prepares to jab Princess Luna's chest before she reacts, hoping his timing is perfect and not an early strike. Twilight gallops and uses her magic to levitate Spike off Shining Armor's back before Spike can jab Princess Luna with the lance; instead, Princess Luna delivers the blow on Shining Armor, not noticing Twilight's interference. Twilight holds Spike in her arms, removing his armor and protecting him as a mother would. "What were you thinking, Spike? Putting yourself in harm's way like that!" "Twilight!?" Spike, Princess Celestia, and Cadance are stunned to see Princess Twilight Sparkle violating Luna's decree about the 90-day ban from the Crystal Empire. Princess Luna removes her helmet after the confusion, and she's irate that Princess Twilight Sparkle desecrated the spirit of the competition and profaned her and Celestia's decree. Shining Armor gets up after getting knocked down by Luna's attack; he's confused about his sister's presence and interference. "What are you doing here, Princess Twilight Sparkle?!" Princess Luna tosses her helmet aside in anger after Twilight transgresses her decree and the intrusion during the first match of the jousting tournament. Princess Twilight Sparkle flinches from Luna's sudden hostility in her tone while holding Spike dearly. Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy Starlight Glimmer, and Pinkie Pie join the crew with much confusion written on their faces. Sunburst is happy to see his best friend, Starlight Glimmer, but wishes it was under better circumstances. Discord and Big Mac are in the dark after noticing the anger written on Princess Luna's face and the weird emotions emitting from Princess Celestia and Cadance; they wonder what happened between them, the girls, and Spike. Sunburst announces a recess on the mic, allowing every crystal pony to depart the arena and enjoy the other festivities while leaving everypony to discuss privately. Spike attempts to move away from Twilight, but she refuses to release her grasp of him. "Why are you angry with me?" Twilight is perplexed about the situation; then Princess Celestia uses her magic to teleport Spike onto her back. "Hey, Spike!" Pinkie hops beside Princess Celestia. "Why didn't you tell us about the Crystal Faire?" Despite the circumstances, Pinkie Pie still asked cheerfully about the Crystal Faire. "Yeah, and you made Twilight worried-sick when you didn't leave a note for her, for us!" Rainbow Dash comments on Spike's immoral rationales for the reason behind the disappearing act. "More importantly, why did you forget -" When Twilight mentions the phrase forget, Spike becomes deaf to the rest of the question; he looks down and feels his darkness returning. Princess Celestia, Luna, and Cadance couldn't believe the audacity coming from Twilight's mouth when she mentioned forgetting friends and leaving them behind, that it's unjust to leave a friend abandoned without thought of how they would feel. "We need to talk, my most faithful student of the life lesson of forgetting friends," Princess Celestia nudges her head to trot to the Crystal Castle for a private discussion; she wanted to have the private session in Ponyville tomorrow and spend quality time with her friend Spike, uninterrupted today. "Of course," Twilight believes the life lesson would reeducate Spike about the importance of friendship, that you should never leave a friend behind and forget about their existence. Princess Luna follows her sister, Spike, and Twilight to the Crystal Castle while Princess Cadance refrains Twilight's friends from following to discuss another important matter. Applejack turns to her brother and Discord as they approach Princess Cadance and Shining Armor. Sunburst trots to greet Starlight Glimmer. "Howdy, Aj." "Big Mac, what in tarnation brings ya here 'stead of back home at the farm gettin' some work done?" Applejack wants to know about her big brother's involvement since he never leaves Ponyville unless he's delivering goods. "Well, it's yer turn to handle the farm's duties durin' mah one day off a month, y'all. Discord and me done set up our fellas' night out. Typically, we get ready during the daytime so when the night rolls 'round, we know what's the plan we got goin' on," Big Mac reminds Applejack about the agreement. One day out of the month, Big Mac enjoys the day to himself or the guys while Applejack maintains the farm's duties with Apple Bloom. "Oooh, right," Applejack nervously chuckles; she forgot about the arrangement since she spends more time with her friends and saving Equestria from disasters. She does her fair share at Sweet Apple Acres; however, Big Mac pulls more of his weight than Applejack more days than others. She feels ashamed for overlooking her brother's only day off and how he would want to spend the day. Also, she was supposed to handle business with Filthy Rich, not him. "Initially, I teleported us to Spike, and we arrived at the Crystal Empire for some reason," Discord chimes in, explaining their reasoning for attending the jousting tournament as the crowd. "Honestly. I didn't know the Crystal Empire began the Crystal Faire, so Big Mac and I thought about surprising Spike by moving the guy's night here." "So, why y'all here?" Big Mac asks Applejack and her friends the question that seems to be on the Princesses' minds a while ago. "Twilight got worried about Spike when we came home from last night's birthday party earlier today. Spike was busy and didn't show up -" Rainbow Dash continues with the explanation of Spike's busy schedule from yesterday's affairs, which was unsettling to hear for Princess Cadance, Shining Armor, and Sunburst, who know the truth about Spike's resignation letter. "Yeah! And we thought Spike's disappearing act came from an ingenious idea from Queen Chrysalis to kidnap Spike during the day or night as a revenge plot since her changelings and the hive reformed," Pinkie Pie noted with Rainbow's explanation. "Twilight felt awful when we couldn't find Spike; she was highly concerned about Spike and feared for the worst," Fluttershy commented quietly but loud enough for everyone to hear. "We searched high and low for Spike's whereabouts in the Castle of Friendship and got lucky that some of our friends saw where Spike was going," Rarity said and hoped Spike was alright after feeling dreadful when Twilight spoke about the importance of informing a friend and not forgetting about them. "That's why we came, and judging from the Crystal Faire setup, we believed Spike had forgotten to tell Twilight and the rest of us about setting up and celebrating the Crystal Faire when you sent him the letter this morning," Starlight said, and noticed the expression written on Princess Cadance's face when she sighed deeply. "Girls," Princess Cadance decides to speak to them on behalf of Princess Celestia and Luna. "Princess Celestia and Luna sent an emissary earlier today; did Twilight receive the mail?" "What emissary?" Starlight Glimmer, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy say in unison; they're shocked at the stunning revelation, which was more indication that the emissary didn't arrive on time to deliver Spike's resignation and status. Princess Cadance closes her eyes, igniting her horn with a pinkish aura to conjure a copy of Spike's resignation letter; it manifests in front of the girls, bearing the Equestrian Gold Seal of Approval on the bottom page. "What in the hay is that?" Applejack asks before her friends can respond to Princess Cadance's explanation. "Spike's resignation letter approved by Princess Celestia with the Equestrian Seal of Authenticity," Princess Cadance reveals the written statement Spike wrote for everyone to read. One paragraph Spike wrote out of the entire letter struck the girls immensely, especially Starlight Glimmer and Pinkie Pie. Spike's unhappiness paragraph makes the girls feel downright awful, guilty, and ashamed for failing a friend in need; they question themselves and each other about spending quality time with Spike. Also, the sentence regarding Spike being a different creature for more interactions made them feel appalled for their ignorance of a species. Rarity provided some answers about spending time with Spike; however, they weren't hangouts, but they were work-related errands; she invited Spike over whenever she needed extra help with her latest fashions, but she never said: "Hey Spike, wanna come with me to the spa? Spend time together at the park? Go out for lunch?" Rarity only asked those questions to her friends and nobody else, not even her sister, Sweetie Belle. Applejack mentions many occasions she needed help, and Spike aided her and the family at Sweet Apple Acres, but she didn't ask him to spend time together as friends would. Starlight Glimmer spoke with Spike in the castle whenever she's not learning friendship lessons from her teacher, Twilight Sparkle, or spending time with her best friend, Trixie Lulamoon. As for the chore list, she would help, and then Twilight whisks her away for a new lesson or a hangout to uncover the truths and mysteries of friendship. Pinkie Pie recalls no memory of personally inviting Spike to anything in her schedule as friends, mainly Twilight and Starlight; her mane had already deflated when she read about Spike's defense mechanism of faking a smile to evade his internal struggles and demons. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy concur with Pinkie's statement about forgetting to chill with Spike as good friends would, which makes Rainbow Dash contemplate her loyalty element and personality since she failed Spike as his friend. Another statement in Spike's letter is his placement in life; the girls never noticed Spike fulfilling any goals in life, only to serve Princess Twilight Sparkle. Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, and Rarity remember the tale of Spike's pride when it came to being Twilight's Number One Assistant and attempting to frame Owlicious for a deceptive scheme years ago; how Twilight and Spike overcame their quarrel and become anew as friends. Reading the passage about Spike yearning to find his purpose in life, create goals to achieve it, and be happy. Who are they to strip that fire and desire away from him? Shining Armor explains the 90-day ban Princess Luna decreed to Twilight and her friends, allowing Spike much separation to grow into the dragon he wants to be, the Brave and Glorious, striving for greatness with new ponies or creatures he'll encounter. Also, the 90-day ban would allow Spike and Twilight to recover, rethink, and manage the situation rather than immediately when emotions take control. Princess Cadance informed the girls about Spike coming to the Crystal Empire, and it was the crystal ponies that wanted to celebrate Spike's homecoming with the Crystal Faire; that there was no letter indicating Twilight and her friends' presence to help set up the most magical event. The girls realize they came uninvited to an occasion and spoiled it, adding more guilt. Discord is eating popcorn while listening carefully to each of his friends's stories regarding their friend Spike. Sure, Discord didn't bother asking Spike to hang out because he solemnly focused on building his friendship with Fluttershy more than any of the girls; however, Discord won't allow any excuses to bypass the situation regarding Spike and promises to spend more time with him after giving Spike two weeks to enjoy himself in his new home. Big Mac remains silent and will miss his friend; he doesn't have the luxury of taking more days off during the year since the land needs tending whenever apple trees decay. He'll make do with his days off from working at Sweet Apple Acres. Spike looked down the entire trip to the Crystal Castle; he tried to overcome the feeling of neglectfulness when Twilight mentioned what he did versus the numerous times Twilight had done to him for years. Princess Luna feels Spike's pain and understands him more than any pony else; she wants to reassure him that things will get better after the discussion and life lessons taught. Princess Celestia, Luna, Twilight, and Spike are in a private meeting hall inside the Crystal Castle. The Princesses command the crystal guards to depart for privacy, which they comply with, and wonder why the Brave and Glorious looked so gloomy. "Well, Spike," Twilight Sparkle turns to her Number One Assistant. "What do you have to say for yourself, mister? Why didn't you inform me of your whereabouts? Why did you forget about our friends and me about the celebration of the Crystal Faire? It's rude and disrespectful to leave a friend behind during fellowships and give them heartaches." Princess Celestia and Luna can't believe the words spoken by a hypocrite since Twilight's questions are her actions on Spike for years, according to the resignation letter. Spike didn't want this; he wanted happiness, and to respond in sadness became too much for Spike to bear. Princess Celestia had enough of the interrogation. Princess Celestia uses her magic to levitate Spike off of her and onto Luna's back for safekeeping. She approaches Twilight Sparkle, staring into the Princess she thought represented friendship. "Twilight, there was no invitation for you and your friends' presence at the Crystal Empire," Princess Celestia says calmly and formally. "WHAT?!" Twilight's jaws drop with theories ringing in her mind like many alarm clock bells sounding left and right. She's stunned to hear the report. "What do you mean there's no invitation? There has to be otherwise, Spike wouldn't be here!" Princess Celestia and Luna read Twilight's body language and determine she didn't get the mail the emissary delivered a while ago, which opposes a glaring issue regarding the situation and the emissary. Now, they'll have to explain the purposes of Spike's new beginning. "Twilight..," Spike hops off Luna's back to confront the issue, hoping Princess Celestia and Luna would say the right words of wisdom to soothe Twilight's erratic emotions. Honestly, Spike hopes Twilight's sudden rage boost won't cause the foundation of Crystal Castle to uproot into the skies as the time she did with the Golden Oaks Library when Spike mentioned a test when Princess Celestia called her to help Princess Cadance and Shining Armor during King Sombra's return. "If there was no invitation, Spike, why are you here, and why did you forget -" Spike becomes deaf again with Twilight's persistence of the phrase. Twilight notices the guilt on his face and knows what Spike has done is unacceptable in friendship. "That's enough pestering!" Princess Luna shields Spike with her right pegasus wing. She'll address the situation after hearing enough from Twilight Sparkle. "Pestering? I'm only asking -" Twilight gulps nervously after seeing Princess Luna's irises changing, almost like reverting to Nightmare Moon. Luna's glare made her quiver about the life lesson lecture she had in mind for Spike. "Princess Twilight Sparkle," Princess Celestia addresses her as a responsible Princess, not a friend for this instance. Twilight fixes her gaze on her mentor, trying to understand the issue regarding Spike and his forgetfulness. Despite no invitation to the Crystal Empire, she yearns to know about Spike's status regarding his visitation since he didn't write a note of importance to her. "Yes, Princess Celestia." Princess Celestia ignites her horn, and a golden aura arises, enabling her to use magic to summon Spike's resignation letter with the Equestrian Gold Seal of Approval. "Spike wrote a resignation letter to relinquish his obligation as your Number One Assistant." "NO!" Twilight shouts in shock and horror. "I don't accept Spike's resignation as he's too important to me! I want to decline his petition!" Twilight feels panicked, with butterflies flying in her stomach. "Please, don't take him away from me!" Princess Celestia shakes her head, denying Twilight's plea to override Spike's resignation. "Princess Twilight Sparkle, after reading the report on this document, I authorized Spike's appeal and allowed him to seek fulfillment. You should read what's written for better understanding, my most faithful student." Twilight reads the top page after seeing the Equestrian Seal of Approval stamped on the bottom page, validating Princess Celestia's decree and authority. She becomes grief-stricken reading the first two paragraphs. Tears form in her eyes, streaming down her face while she read the letter Spike wrote wholeheartedly. The statement: If I had the body of a pony, Twilight would be more attentive to me and more welcome to join the festivities. Twilight feels horrid of unfairly treating a different species, considering Spike lived with her throughout his life. Twilight lowers her head in disgrace after realizing the questions she asked Spike had turned out to be her undoing for many years that went unnoticed and how she merely ignored Spike to be with her friends and turned a deaf ear unintentionally, which is no excuse for her blatant decision-making. Twilight understands the gravity and the severity of the situation regarding Spike's new life; however, she wants to atone for her misdeeds immediately. "Spike, I'm sorry..," Twilight tosses the resignation letter aside after her sadness overwhelms her. "I am so so so sorry for being a horrible friend when I'm the Princess of Friendship! I'm deeply sorry for being a hypocrite and having the audacity of comparing and pestering you as a bad friend when I'm in the wrong!" She groans angrily at herself for years of abandoning Spike to clean up the Golden Oaks Library and the Castle of Friendship to spend time with the girls. Twilight imagines slamming her head on a table for having ideas of Spike cleaning not only the Castle of Friendship but the school as well. "Now you understand the pains and turmoil Spike endured according to the letter, Princess Twilight Sparkle?" Princess Luna asks Twilight after analyzing her reaction to the letter. "Yes, and I'm ready to bring Spike home," Twilight knows that Spike wants to reside in the Crystal Empire; however, she hopes that understanding Spike's circumstances and the disturbing fact about his fake smile would assure her of renewing her relationship with Spike as friends back in Ponyville. "I know Spike wants to live here, but he belongs with me in Ponyville, not as my Number One Assistant, but as my friend. Let me bring Spike home to renew our friendship and start anew." "Denied," Princess Celestia and Luna rejected Twilight's plea since she was unaware of another decree Princess Celestia validated in a different letter. "WHAT?!" Twilight Sparkle becomes agitated with the friendship issue determined by the Princesses forfeiting her friendship duty. Even though the map didn't alarm Twilight's cutie mark to resolve the crisis, the situation is between her and Spike to make amends. "WHY NOT?!" She retorts at the Princesses, allowing her anger to possess her. "I KNOW SPIKE CLAIMED FOR A NO GUILT-TRIP PLEA, BUT I AM THE PRINCESS OF FRIENDSHIP, AND MENDING FRIENDS TOGETHER AFTER MINOR OR MAJOR DISPUTES IS -" Twilight uses her right hoof to point at herself. MY RESPONSIBILITY!" Twilight points her right hoof at Princess Celestia and Luna. "NOT YOURS!" She huffs and puffs after her rant about her duty as Princess of Friendship. The rant did provoke the Princess of Sun and Moon; however, they refuse to allow a private meeting to turn into an altercation, especially with Spike feeling sadness and heartache about what he desired and wanted to avoid. He sighs sadly, rethinking his options about sanity. Princess Celestia watches Spike wiping a tear off his left eye; it motivates her to discipline Twilight strictly. Whenever Twilight was in school, she would raise Spike as a nurturing mother and care profoundly for his well-being, and now that's being tested with her student having a temper tantrum. Princess Celestia fixes her gaze and glares at Twilight Sparkle, preparing to speak her mind. "First and foremost, Princess Twilight Sparkle, you've enacted child neglect and exploitation, which is a federal offense to any parent for abandoning their child, having their child care for the parent, and allowing the child to have the responsibilities of cleanliness, errands, chores within your home in solitude. Second, I renounced your custody of Spike and transferred authority to your brother and sister-in-law to care for Spike since he's still a child. Consider yourself lucky I'm not charging you with a misdemeanor, which would imprison you, Twilight! Since you're virtue in Equestria and an icon among the populous, I would not tarnish your reputation and cause disruption to run amuck my lands!" Princess Celestia spoke in her royal tone, alarming the gravity of her decree to Twilight Sparkle. "Prison..?" Twilight trembles in fear while listening to her mentor's bold statements and explanation. "I issue the declaration of a 90-day ban from the Crystal Empire to you and your friends; now, consider the punishment double for your insolence!" Princess Luna angrily proclaims with her royal tone. She is concerned about Spike's well-being and regrets involving him in this discussion. "...double..?" Twilight's voice crackled in fear after hearing the strictness and coldness of their voices. She knows she's in deep waters after today's meeting. "Princess Twilight Sparkle, as of now, you are banned from entering the premises of the Crystal Empire. Gather your friends and vacate immediately!" Princess Celestia commands, stomping her right hoof in authority to make her command evident. Princess Twilight Sparkle flinches from Princess Celestia's hoof stomp and leaves the room, uttering an apology. "I'm sorry." Spike remained silent and covered his mouth after watching the display of two Princesses governing the situation. The back-and-forth of the arguing, the immense backtalk, and the heaviness made him more frightful. Spike gets hoisted and hugged by Princess Celestia and Luna, apologizing to Spike for listening and witnessing the altercation. They allow Spike to cry and unleash his emotions after withholding for a long time. Twilight Sparkle is now remorseful of her words after her anger dissipated when she left the Crystal Castle; her mind is in disarray since she upset the Princess of the Sun and Moon, her mentor and sister. "What have I done?" Twilight thought to herself after the realization of screwing more of her relationships with not only Spike, her teacher, and now Princess Luna. She's worried about probably media coverage in the future regarding Spike's new position and obligation. Also, the glaring topic is discoursing Empress Ember and Thorax whenever they decide to come to Ponyville to visit their friend, Spike, or when they accompany a chosen delegate for the School of Friendship. Twilight returns to the jousting arena in despair and shame; she turns to her friends, frowning and disgusted about her emotions overriding her thought process after she retorts to the Princesses angrily. "We need to get going. Princess Celestia and Luna are serving us a 180-day ban from the Crystal Empire." "WHAT?!" Pinkie Pie once again shouts louder than Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Starlight Glimmer, Rarity, and Applejack. "What in tarnation happened between you, Spike, and the Princesses, Twilight?" Applejack asks her friend about the sudden punishment doubling its' due date. "Everything..," Twilight lowers her head, sighing sadly with her rude remarks echoing in her ear about her self-proclaim entitlement as Princess of Friendship. She turns to Discord. "Can you deliver us to Equestria, Discord?" "Sure," Discord snaps his eagle's talon, enabling his chaos magic to teleport Twilight and her friends back to the Castle of Friendship. He and Big Mac want to know if Spike is doing alright and excited for tonight's guy's night. Spike cried in Princess Celestia and Luna's arms during the embrace for a half hour; he endured so much for years in solitude; he didn't want to let go of the warm, loving hug from Celestia and Luna. He doesn't want to be alone anymore. Flurry Heart arrives in the room, holding onto him to soothe his heart. She doesn't understand the reason for Spike's sadness but wants him to become happy. Princess Cadance, Shining Armor, Sunburst, Discord, and Big Mac enter the room and listen to Spike's cries, understanding differently about the tribulations he bore for years unnoticed. Spike calms down after seeing his friends and family entering; he doesn't notice Flurry Heart hugging and holds her dearly for comfort. "Are you feeling better, Spike?" Princess Cadance approaches Spike, placing her left hoof under Spike's chin. She wants to gaze into his eyes and read his emotions. Spike nods. "Yeah.., I think I released years of loneliness into that hug," Spike turns to Princess Celestia and Luna. "Thank you for helping me. I am eternally grateful," Spike bows before the Princesses honorably. "You're welcome," Princess Celestia and Luna vow to treat Spike as a respective family member from here and out, always keep in close contact, and invite him to Canterlot for special visitations and parties. "Hey! Brave and Glorious!" A random crystal pony shouts, which causes a resounding roar of crystal ponies chanting Spike's name, yearning to see and continue with the jousting tournament since it got interrupted. Spike walks to the meeting room's window, seeing his family; yes, family. The crystal ponies rallied and sparked a new fire and desire in Spike's heart now that his first step into his life was starting after the hurdle he endured. Princess Cadance opens the window to address her subjects with an excited announcement. "Return to the jousting arena, for we must continue our homecoming celebration of the Brave and Glorious, Spike, for he shall combat the Princess of the Night, Luna, in our opening matchup!" Every crystal pony and guard cheers louder, and Spike feels something awakening within. With every crystal pony channeling their light and love while not knowing what had happened with their champion, the Crystal Heart at the center of the Crystal Empire spins and illuminates sparkling magic, purifying Spike's darkness and turning him into a crystal dragon as everyone else gets crystalline coats. Discord gets a bewitching crystalline coating; his limbs and physique glow in different hues, and he lights up like a disco ball. "Well, y'all, Discord is fixin' to have itself a good ol' party!" Big Mac compliments Discord's disco ball transformation. "That's an idea!" Discord flies out the window, dancing and playing music, the cha cha cha to the bleachers at the jousting arena. Princess Cadance uses her magic to levitate Spike's armor and lance. "You're armor, Knight Spike," Princess Cadance bows gracefully to her friend for fun. Spike adorns his armor and hops on Shining Armor's back, preparing for his matchup against Princess Luna. "Let's get going; we have a friendly competition to resume!" Spike feels rejuvenated and hopes Twilight will overcome her denial, anger, and stress, fearing she's in the five stages of grief. Princess Celestia, Luna, and Cadance combine their magic to transport everyone to the jousting arena. Discord filled the bleachers with every crystal pony chanting: "LET'S GO SPIKE! LET'S GO SPIKE! LET'S GO SPIKE!" Princess Luna dorns her dark night sky blue knight's armor and wields her lunar-shaped lance. Shining Armor gets in position with his captain of the crystal guard armor on, mentally preparing himself to aid Spike and challenge the Princess of the Moon; he's focused on winning the tournament with Spike after what transpired a while ago. "Hey, Luna!" Spike shouts bold and proud for his statement to show his private trainer that he is courageous against opposing foes. "Don't hold back!" Spike demands, tightening his grip on the lance's handle; he puts the shielding of his helmet down. "Very well, Spike the Brave and Glorious! I shall answer you by defeating you shamelessly in this contest!" Princess Luna is now motivated, with adrenaline coursing through her veins. Sapphire Joy plays the flugelhorn, sounding off the opening contest again, and hopes for no interruptions. Spike, Shining Armor, and Princess Luna shout their warcries and charge, preparing to strike by the halfway mark with the roaring crowds cheering lively. > Aftermath > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Twilight and her friends appear in the Castle of Friendship after Discord teleported them when he used his magic; Twilight feels dreadful for scolding the Princesses about her entitlement and duties as the Princess of Friendship while understanding the need for the 90-day ban from the Crystal Empire. Well, it's now a 180-day banishment due to her emotions controlling her during the backlash and how she wanted to make amends with Spike after realizing her misdeeds on her beloved dragon she birthed. The girls are worried about Twilight's well-being, especially Applejack after she asks her what happened during their conversation with Princess Cadance and Shining Armor about the Crystal Faire and Spike's business. Twilight reveals the daunting discussion between her, Spike, and the Princesses, how wrong she was to compare Spike to a bad friend when she was worse, plus her rude behavior after learning the consequences of her actions with Spike. Twilight's friends couldn't believe the outburst towards the Princesses when they heard about the misdemeanor Twilight should have been charged with since many parents in Equestria who do wrong with their children get their prison sentence; also, hearing the banishment punishment days doubled when Twilight's anger possessed her made the girls groan in frustration since they neglected Spike during his residency in Ponyville. Twilight feels so devastated; she wishes to be alone to contemplate her following motives, explaining to Empress Ember and Thorax about Spike's status if they decide to visit him in Ponyville, earn the Princesses' forgiveness for allowing her emotions to take control of her and living life without her friend, now knowing Spike is no longer around to help or be with her. Starlight, Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy refuse to leave Twilight in solitude, for no one deserves isolation after a heartbreaking moment and realization from Spike's resignation letter. Twilight did smile, but she wanted to understand Spike's point of view while living in seclusion. Twilight decided to undergo a trial for the duration of the 180-day banishment from the Crystal Empire to live in Spike's world when no one was around to accompany him. The girls think it's foolish for anyone to endure solitary confinement, especially when Twilight is the Princess of Friendship, who would have to solve friendship quarrels whenever she gets summoned by the map room to unravel the mysteries of a friendship crisis. Twilight groans in frustration after realizing her obligation would not allow herself to endure similar trials as Spike experienced. Twilight slumps over the castle's walls in anger and sadness; she will never understand Spike's pain to have the discussion with him after six months; she's afraid of writing Spike a letter without the Princesses' consent. The girls sit with Twilight by the wall, not talking but letting her know when they're with her. Twilight Sparkle endured the silence, ignoring her friends' breathing for four hours, refusing to eat and drink, but creating an ideal image within her mind, pretending to be Spike when he endured solitude for many hours of the day. The girls hear the knock coming from the castle's doors, believing the emissary has finally arrived and possibly got sent to follow Twight and diverted to the Castle of Friendship. Starlight Glimmer offers to answer the door, but Twilight respectfully declines; her mentality is to become Spike within the sanctity of her castle, answer, be responsible, and care for the business. Twilight opened the door; she noticed the emissary wearing a bandage covering the upper left head and gasped. "What happened to you..?" The emissary doesn't speak but glares at the Princess of Friendship and delivers the mail Princess Celestia and Luna had written; he's livid with the Princess for giving him a concussion and would prefer not to say anything regretful later. The emissary flew past Princess Celestia and Luna, informing the duo about taking a three-week vacation to recover from the concussion and spend time with his family during the last month of summer. Princess Celestia and Luna granted the emissary vacation time since they were concerned about the injury their emissary sustained earlier today. Twilight closes the castle's doors with her magic and unveils the scroll that has Princess Celestia's first initial seal when she hears another knock on her door; she returns to answer the pony that may need her assistance for a quick session to calm a quarrel in Ponyville; with her being the Princess of Friendship, at times, loving couples and closest friends get involved with unfortunate affairs that would spur and test their friendship. To Twilight's dismay, after opening the door, her heartbeat pounds rapidly in fear at the presence of Princess Celestia and Luna. "No need to be alarmed or afraid, Twilight Sparkle," Princess Celestia reassured her student, feeling shameful since her and Luna's emotions got the better of them a while ago during their discussion. "May we come in?" Princess Luna attempts to smile warmly at Twilight Sparkle, but it's shown that she is missing a tooth from her smile; during her clash with Spike, she underestimated Spike's competitive spirit with his entitlement as Brave and Glorious. Twilight feels unnerved by Princess Luna's smile and wonders who was the pony that knocked her tooth out during the jousting tournament since she's a slow eater and wouldn't bite into anything hard recklessly; she stands aside, allowing entrance for Princess Celestia and Luna. Starlight and the others see the Princesses entering the castle, and they approach them with concerns about Twilight and their punishment for wrongfully mistreating Spike as their friend. Twilight escorts her friends to the living room to discuss what needs to be addressed rather than go to the throne room and get reminded of the empty chair next to hers; she doesn't want her sadness to overtake her when anger has done it hours ago. Princess Celestia thought about her statements and issues to address after the long flight from the Crystal Empire to Ponyville; the way she handled the situation made her awful for allowing her emotions to possess her, even when making a statement about how parents should manage the responsibility of caring their younglings. Princess Luna shares the guilt after the festivities concluded at the Crystal Empire; she didn't feel happiness about what had transpired and desired to renew her bonds with Twilight and her friends. After everyone is seated, Princess Celestia takes a deep breath and then gazes at Twilight. "Forgive me for how my sister and I reacted during our conversation; we've allowed our emotions to override our calm demeanors to discuss specific ground rules after informing you of Spike's resignation letter. Untamed anger would divert goodness astray and only leads to sadness and remorse." "We were quite concerned about Spike's well-being, considering stress can kill anyone, and after reading and rereading Spike's resignation letter, we were also at fault for not maintaining our friendship with Spike; I should have spoken up last night during my birthday party." "There is no one here who is innocent during Spike's residency in Ponyville since some of you only have Spike around for errands or chores, and we must atone for our misdeeds upon a good friend," Princess Celestia states, watching every pony around nodding in unison, concurring with her statement to renew their friendship with Spike. "Twilight, I will allow you to send an emissary to the Crystal Empire whenever you desire to write to Spike after serving 90 days, allowing separation and healing to run its' course since Spike will find his purpose in life to achieve." Twilight exhales in relief since she is about to ask permission to write to Spike, apologize, and earn his forgiveness by helping herself in the Castle of Friendship daily. "Thank you..," She smiles with gratitude as her heartache eases; she remembers the sadness from Spike when she scolded him for being a terrible friend. "Starlight Glimmer," Princess Luna fixed her gaze on Twilight's pupil; she saw the nervousness and uneasiness written on her face about her residency in the Castle of Friendship and how she failed Spike. "Sunburst petition your case as a warning rather than a coalition with Twilight and her friends' punishment, allowing you entrance to visit him and Spike whenever you wished." Starlight's jaw dropped in astonishment after hearing her best friend's plea to permit her to subside the banishment decreed by the Princesses; she starts preplanning possible journeys to visit Sunburst and Spike more often, which would allow her to inform her teacher about Spike's progress and purpose. "Everyone else would make preparations to revive their friendship with Spike and ensure history doesn't repeat itself when he visits or decides to move back to Ponyville," Princess Celestia joyfully expressed to rejuvenate the girls' spirits rather than deflate them. Twilight and the girls didn't consider the possibility of Spike returning to Ponyville with probable homesickness since he was with Twilight when he was born. With their newfound energy, Pinkie Pie bolts out the living room's window to organize her schedule after six months to reignite her bond with Spike by baking the perfect gemstone cake the Cake family has never done since his last birthday party. Starlight starts planning her visitations at the Crystal Empire while maintaining her schedule for friendship studies with Twilight and helping construct the School of Friendship with her friends. Applejack is considering inviting Spike to the following Apple Family Reunion as a token of friendship to rekindle their bonds and then build up momentum to hang out more as friends. Rainbow Dash does have a spare ticket to the next comic convention center, with A.K.Yearling making an appearance with a new issue of a comic book series based on Daring Doo, her favorite icon. If there is anything Spike desires, especially with the Power Ponies series, she'll pay no matter how many bits the item costs. Fluttershy will invite Spike to more of her tea parties whenever Discord is around since the duo has a brotherly bond ever since the guy's night party; she remembers how much attention she gave Spike until it swerved to Discord. Rarity vows to have Spike more involved with her social life than her work life, especially with the instant reminder to treat her sister better after the false promises whenever she puts her latest fashion design and friends over her flesh and blood. Starting tomorrow, Rarity will do anything Sweetie Belle desires as sisters would, then plan ahead of time to hang out with Spike and perhaps date him; Rarity imagines herself blushing after failed attempts to hook up with the wealthiest elite stallions of Equestria. Twilight decides to decline any help within her castle as payment for Spike's devotion before his darkness grows; she intends to clean the castle in solitude, learn how to cook, help herself, and not rely on any of her friends whenever they come by; Also, she's preparing to write Spike weekly after the three-month period subsides and would hope he responds with a letter and mails it to her. Twilight thanks Princess Celestia and Luna for their visitation and for igniting their spirits with newfound energy for revitalizing their friendship with Spike soon. She accepts the Princesses' apology and understands how powerful an emotion can be throughout any situation; never again would she allow anger to possess her and make her say. Princess Celestia and Luna leave the Castle of Friendship knowing everything will settle in due time; however, they are more intrigued with Spike's new future during his residency at the Crystal Empire. Princess Celestia senses something divine will latch onto Spike and turn him into a new creature with his new purpose lined up in front of him. After the Princesses left, Twilight turned to her friends. "Starting tomorrow, we will undergo preparations when we teach our experiences and wisdom with the Students of Friendship; that way, no one will recreate our horrible mess," Twilight commands to ensure no other friend or family member would have to suffer loneliness and darkness. "Agreed," The girls say in unison, knowing how vital friends and family should get treated rather than something different, no matter how they look. > Training Starts Now > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- It's a new day at the Crystal Empire for Spike the Brave and Glorious; the sunlight beams on his face, waking him to embrace the new day with excitement to become like his favorite character, Hum-Drum, and undergo training to become the hero he imagines for the Crystal Empire. Spike walks by the balcony, taking in the scenery of the empire he swore to protect from underground syndicates, uncover mysteries, and help any crystal pony that cries for an answered prayer. Spike inhales the fresh air of the Crystal Empire, relishing the new purpose without Twilight's interference due to her outburst yesterday, which caused her suspension from the Crystal Empire to double. One thing he'll get used to is not cleaning or cooking the castle daily since those responsibilities will fall onto Twilight's hooves, and Spike believes Twilight would enforce those responsibilities on Starlight as an escape to elude her duties to hang with her friends. Spike walks into his private bathroom to start the day, taking a nice, relaxing, hot shower to match the heat of volcanic lava; he is curious about his private instructor training him to use weaponry and probably have cardio exercises to make him more agile until he sprouts wings. After his shower, Spike departs from his room; two crystal guards stand by to escort him to the breakfast hall where his family is eating. Princess Cadance, Shining Armor, and Sunburst welcome Spike to the breakfast hall and show him the buffet on the table. "Oooooooooo" Spike gazes at the delicious food presented: omelets with green peppers, mushrooms, diced onions, and shredded cheese, a fruit bar station featuring watermelon, strawberries, oranges, bananas, and apples, gemstone-coated cereal, which was an idea from the crystal chefs since Spike the Brave and Glorious loves devouring gemstones, regular cereals, scrambled eggs, hashbrowns, waffles, pancakes, french toast, cinnamon rolls, orange juice, apple juice, grape juice, water, and milk. The sight of the food made Spike's mouth water. "Have a seat, Spike, and help yourself! There's plenty for you and -" Princess Cadance gets cut off with every crystal guard, butler, and maiden trotting inside. "Right on time." Spike never thought of having breakfast with everyone inside the castle; however, he still hasn't seen his instructor and wondered if he or she had a private breakfast. The crystal chefs arrive in the room, hoping Spike loves their craft of combining gemstones with cereal. "This is awesome!" Spike admits the new change for daily breakfast since he's used to eating in solitude or with Twilight and Starlight on particular days whenever a friendship study or hanging with friends are not involved. He sits with Princess Cadance and Shining Armor; he wonders if Twilight made a breakfast explosion in the kitchen, knowing she's a lousy cook. Spike tried the gemstone-coated cereal and devoured three servings after discovering a new blended taste since the Cake Family tried and baked a sapphire gemstone cupcake to perfection for his birthday. The crystal chefs eating their fill are pleased to know how much Spike the Brave and Glorious enjoyed their creation and will create newer gemstone-coated recipes for their champion; also, they receive praises from Spike after informing them about the delectable flavor of gemstones merging with ordinary cereal. After a burping symphony, there were plenty of giggles from everyone in the breakfast hall. Flurry Heart claps her hooves in delight. The loudest was her mother after having a light breakfast, she blushed in embarrassment in front of her subjects and declared breakfast over. Everyone pat their bellies in satisfaction to relish the fellowship in breakfast and silence. Spike's instinct is to clean up after breakfast since it was his duty throughout the years in Ponyville when he remembered another important task greater than his old routine. Princess Cadance reminds Spike that he no longer has cleanup chores since there are plenty of workers who tend to the Crystal Castle's needs; with Shining Armor having his schedule lined up, Princess Cadance carries Flurry Heart in her hooves and escorts Spike to the crystal guard training facility, which is smaller than the arena that hosted the Equestrian Games. Throughout the journey, Spike waves at every crystal pony he sees and briefly states about his training course, which would take up most of the day, and he'll see everyone later. Spike is excited about meeting his private trainer and imagines a similar field for his favorite comic book character, Hum-Drum, embracing the new change to become better than ever. Princess Cadance's smirk grew wider when they got closer to the training facility, making Spike a bit worried about greeting his new teacher and undergoing formidable training methods. Stepping onto the turf grass and the track, Spike turns around and sees Princess Cadance sitting by the bleachers, stroking Flurry Heart's head with a twisted smile. Spike gulped at the sight and saw a unicorn with a purple coat and a magenta mane; seeing the broken horn on the mare's head made Spike gasp after realizing who his instructor would be! "Hahahahahahahahaha!" Princess Cadance laughs at Spike's horrid face after realizing Tempest Shadow, aka Fizzlepop Berrytwist, would be his new instructor. Tempest Shadow kept the signature attire consisting of black armor over her body and armor shoes over her hooves. She also wears a body suit all over her, covering her flank; the only difference is the symbol. Before then, it held the Storm Nation's; now, it features the Crystal Empire's Crystal Heart logo. "Ahahahahahahahaha!" Grubber arrives while eating a sponge cake coated with crystal sprinkles. "Dude, you should have seen your face!" Spike remains frozen with his eyes widened and jaw hanging loosely; a drool drop extends by the passing second with many thoughts erupting in his mind about the whats and whys of Tempest Shadow's residency in the Crystal Empire. "I heard and witnessed the fallout of your friends' decision-making when they intruded during the jousting tournament; how concerned they were with you over a misunderstanding and false accusations of your forgetfulness of them. Before you ask about my residency in the Crystal Empire, I'll explain. After the celebration at Canterlot, Princess Cadance approached me and Grubber about a clean slate to live happily since the Storm Nation would undergo a new sovereign through democracy. Empress Storm, the Storm King's brother, was voted fairly and initiated the forgiveness campaign. The citizens and soldiers were to embark to neighboring countries and apologize on behalf of their fallen ruler, ensuring harmony and peace will follow and no more hostility and wrath." Spike blinks twice and shakes his head, waking him from his trance; he takes the info spoken by Tempest and exhales, now knowing the direction of the Storm Nation's righteousness. Tempest smirks at Spike's body language and mentally prepares herself to answer any other questions regarding the Storm Nation or the training session. "So, what training method would I endure on my first day?" Spike asks Tempest since he has no questions concerning the status of the Storm Nation since they're heading in the right direction for becoming anew in peace and prosperity. "Cardio and muscle mass since your undersized physique would have difficulties wielding weaponry designed for any militant." "Crud!" Spike imagines himself wincing with an exercise focusing on his speed; also, since he ate a heavy breakfast, Spike fears it would cause stomach cramps if he overexerts his energy poorly. "Good luck, hero!" Grubber laughs and taunts Spike after watching him sweat nervously, which is his undoing when Tempest glares at him. "You've been getting fat lately," Tempest notices her friend's round belly getting bloated with each sugary treat the hedgehog had consumed since their residency in the Crystal Empire. "No.., nononononononono -" Grubber waves his arms with no expression of participating in Spike's exercise routines. "Consider yourself as Spike's training partner, Grubber!" Tempest commands, striking fear into Grubber's heart, knowing he must comply and get on his friend's good side again. Grubber pouts and angrily groans due to his blunder of taunting Spike since he thought about avoiding any exercising methods during his new life in the Crystal Empire; he knew about Tempest's persuasion for him to lose weight; however, the desserts and delicacies in the Crystal Empire proved to be more demanding to resist. Spike watches Grubber walk to the running track and gets in position to endure the many laps Tempest would command Spike to run; Spike decides to follow pursuit with a command from Tempest. "Have you done this before?" Spike positions himself next to Grubber on the track's starting line, with his mind racing about the many laps he'll circle. "No....," Grubber sighs and remembers the days of watching the soldiers training immensely to build their muscle mass and achieve agility for the Storm King while he ate nothing but sweets; he regrets not participating in the exercises he'll endure now. "One hundred laps!" Tempest shouts and watches Spike sprint after hearing the number while Grubber remains motionless until Tempest shouts - "GO GRUBBER!" She ignites her horn to send a spark shock on Grubber's behind, provoking him to start running. "I'M GOING!!!! I'M GOING!!!!!" Grubber moves swiftly after feeling and hearing the loud pop of sparks behind him; he notices Spike passing him and has concluded his first lap around the track. "There's not much happening within the Crystal Empire for Spike to fulfill his duties as the savior to the empire. I'll continue to train him into a noble warrior for upcoming threats to protect his crystal ponies." Tempest thought to herself while watching Spike and Grubber sprint on the track. She walks over to the next exercise course for weightlifting. "Keep count of your laps, boys!" Tempest prepares the weight limit for Spike to lift, considering the dragons' body strength differs from everypony else. Spike imagines his hero, Hum-Drum, sprinting next to him, not getting tired or having second thoughts but pushing aside doubts and focusing on becoming a better self, pushing himself to newer lengths and heights to achieve success. "Become the new hero!" Grubber is ready to pass out after running ten laps, as Spike has run twenty; he huffs and puffs while slowing down to gasp for air and energy. Tempest urges Grubber to keep running if he wants a cake coated in vanilla frosting and sprinkles, which motivates him to run faster than before; she uses his hunger as an advantage to encourage Grubber to sweat for his sweets. With Spike the Grubber finding their motivation to train and become better, the duo started building a brotherhood; during the run, Spike explains his desire to become the hero for the Crystal Empire as Grubber explains finding boredom since nothing is interesting to do besides eating and lazing around. Spike offers Grubber a position to become an ally for a team he'll be building to defend and oppose threats that seek to desolate the Crystal Empire, knowing the vast knowledge of sorcery dating a millennium can uphold newfound power to any wicked creature demented enough to run amuck and cause calamity upon the populous. Grubber does enjoy the idea of fighting crime and different surging organizations that went unnoticed, though he'll need to gain muscle mass to become a champion like Spike the Brave and Glorious; he accepts the proposition and turns to his friend, Tempest, urging her to train him and Spike more often. Tempest smirked at her friend and couldn't believe Spike's prep talk encouraged him to lose fat and become a hero. Days turn into weeks for Spike during his training sessions. For a few days now, Spike has sprouted his wings after undergoing the molt, a transformation that appears to be a sickness but was a metamorphosis in disguise. Since he sprouted his wings, his sessions had altered with flight lessons with the pegasi platoon of the Crystal Guards because Tempest doesn't obtain flight magic. Spike endured hardship at first with Tempest during the first week of training since she's not the sort to emphasize emotions on newbies or anyone in particular except those closest to her. She would yell at Spike, demanding him harshly during specific exercises that overwhelmed him, making him pass out on the spot when she wanted Spike to give everything he had and build momentum. Princess Cadance did speak to Tempest about easing the strictness; however, Spike intervened; he wants to embrace Tempest's methods to improve and become better than ever. Spike did ask Tempest to spend some days as friends to build a friendship, which she obliges, thus opening more onto Spike and strengthening their bond during the training sessions. During Spike's span in the Crystal Empire, he's developed to take care of Flurry Heart like a big brother whenever Princess Cadance and Shining Armor's duties become overwhelming, which is a surprising twist of fate for Spike since he's used to caring for Twilight; however, he enjoys Flurry Heart's presence and has not abandoned her. Spike has spent time with Shining Armor, developing a brotherhood; the two would go camping, fishing, playing games, talking, and exercising. Whenever Spike is with Princess Cadance, he accompanies her to visit several schools, enjoy relaxation, open new stores and buildings, smile with many crystal ponies, and help plan fun festive days for the crystal ponies. Grubber remains the same size, and his physique hasn't altered, but during his trials with Spike to become heroes, Grubber did obtain strength, better mobility, and agility. He can move swifter, lift two hundred pounds, and hasn't focused on eating junk food. Whenever Tempest doesn't train the dynamic duo, she monitors the activities within the Crystal Empire for any signs of crime; however, she knows the Crystal Empire is the perfect haven where no corruption and crisis has spurred. She knows Spike's dream would cause devastation to the young dragon with the harsh reality of living in a protected kingdom. Today is Wednesday. Spike and Grubber meet at the training facility and notice Tempest's demeanor changing while speaking with Shining Armor about Spike's involvement as a protector. "Uh oh, that doesn't look good," Grubber feels Tempest's energy just by looking at her. He knows what his friend will say after weeks of training. Spike inhales deeply and approaches Tempest and Shining Armor about his profession as the Crystal Empire's hero, knowing the outcome was all for nothing in the empire and that his fantasy wouldn't become a reality. "Spike, come over here," Shining Armor turns to Spike, hoping his and Tempest's decision would enlighten Spike's mood. Spike sighs and looks down while walking closer to his brother. "I'm guessing with how peaceful the nation truly is, there is no need for me to be the Crystal Empire's hero?" "In due time, you'll get your chance," Shining Armor says while rubbing Spike's head. "Right now, you're needed elsewhere." "Really?" Spike looks up at Shining Armor. "Who needs my help?" He sees Shining Armor nudging his head, directing Spike to turn to Tempest. "What do you need me to do, Tempest?" "Come with me to the Storm Nation's Island. I know something that would inspire you to never quit," Tempest smiles at Spike; she believes Spike can find inspiration to dedicate his life to becoming the hero Equus truly desires, not just the Crystal Empire. "Of course! My homeland is filled with rebellious creatures that want to destroy us!" Grubber said, exciting Spike with the possibility of fighting the syndicates he dreamt about. However, he's hiding another truth about the trip to the Storm Nation's island. "Let's get going! I'm ready to embrace all challenges!" Spike shouts happily and flaps his wings, preparing to fly when the Storm Nation's war blimp soars and lands on the turf.