Spike disappears after being heartbroken, but what does he leave behind?
Spike has been rejected by Rarity after helping her for a very important client and a fashion show. He disappears shortly afterwards, leaving Rarity, Twilight Sparkle, and the rest of the gang saddened by his absence.
It has been three years since that incident, and the girls have gotten past the sadness, but still get together to remember the purple dragon every year. On this day, a new pony comes to Ponyville, and although he knows nothing of what his life was like, helps the group have more fun and fills part of the hole left in their hearts from Spike.
Idea for the fashion show goes to LordPlagus777's story Heart of Scales.
It was late one night in Ponyville, and nearly everypony was asleep. Six mares inside the library were still up and having a slumber party. While most slumber parties are all about having fun and enjoying yourself, this party had a less than cheerful atmosphere, and there was times where the ponies present just sat there quietly, or crying softly. There was the occasional laughter, but it never seemed to last long.
As the night went on, the six ponies inside the tree that served as the town library and home to the librarian, Twilight Sparkle, decided that it was time to get some rest. That is, except for one, a white unicorn who decided to go outside on the balcony and enjoy the night.
As she sat there and reminisced about years past, she couldn't help but cry softly to herself. Truly unbecoming of such a lady as herself, the dressmaker did not care. Nor did she hear the sounds of another pony walking up to her.
“I still can't believe he is gone, Rarity,” asked the intruder. “has it really been 3 years since he disappeared?”
“As hard as it is to fathom, it has.” the unicorn replied, not moving. “No matter how much time has past, I still can't accept the fact that he is gone, Twilight.” She finished, lowering her head to the railing and letting tears fall steadily down her face.
Twilight took a seat next to the mare, feeling just as downtrodden as her friend. “I can't, either.” she admitted. “I spend every night hoping that he will just come up to his basket. As much as I would tease him about it and the occasional complaint about it being loud, I would give anything to fall to sleep hearing it again. To wake up to the smell of his cooking.”
They both just sat there and stared off into the night, wondering if the little purple dragon that they missed so much was looking at the same sky. Twilight stood up and started to turn away when a figure in the distance caught her attention. She looked towards it and watched as the figure came closer, and noticed that it was a pony. Watching the pony slowly making its way to Ponyville, Twilight also noted that it was slightly limping.
“Rarity,” she said, turning her head to her friend, “I think there is a pony approaching town that could use a hoof.” Twilight pointed towards the pony in the distance.
Rarity turned her head to where Twilight pointed and said, “Well, I do suppose we should help a dear out, it would be quite rude for us not to.” She stood up and wiped the tears from her face. “Lets go, shall we?”
With that, the two unicorns left the library and headed towards the pony slowly making its way towards Ponyville in the middle of the night.
Obsidian Heartfire walked towards a small village called Ponyville. He wasn't sure why, but he was unable to rest due to the constant nagging in his mind to go to that village. Come to think of it, Obsidian wasn't too sure of anything, really. The first thing he remembered was waking up in a large room in what he later discovered was a guest room at the Palace in Canterlot. How or why, he still didn't know, just that he had traveled across most of Equestria for the past three years, not knowing where to go or why. He didn't even know who he really was.
He had named himself Obsidian because of his coat, which was black enough to make most anything else seem light. Heartfire because of his cutie mark, a heart-shaped Fire Ruby surrounded by emerald flames. His mane, which was white enough to make even Celestia's coat seem like it had a touch of grey, covered up his horn. He was thankful for that, because he wasn't able to use magic.
Obsidian looked up as the village was slowly nearing the village he had been working to reach for the last week. He would be able to walk faster, if not for the sharp pains in his back occasionally and the fact that he had been walking non stop for a week.
Obsidian saw two ponies trotting towards him from Ponyville and wondered what anypony was doing up at this Celestia forbidden hour of the night. Walking as best as he could to the pair trotting towards, he noticed that they were both unicorn mares, one was snow white, while the other was lavender colored. As they got close, Obsidian began to feel like the back of his mind had a terrible itch.
“Hello there sir, what brings you to our humble town at this time? You look tired and it seems like you were limping?” the lavender one asked.
As Obsidian heard the voice and couldn't look away from the white unicorn, who seemed to be the definition of beauty, his entire mind was tingling. As he opened his mouth to speak, the world started spinning and he passed into the world of unconsciousness.
“Well, that was a tad rude, don't you think, darling?” Rarity asked after the black stallion passed out.
“Can you really blame him, Rarity? He looks like he's been walking non-stop for days. Anyhow, I really think we should get him inside. Manners can wait until later.”
The two unicorns used their magic to carry the passed out stallion back to the library and laid him down on the guest bed. After tiring themselves out, they decided to head to bed, Twilight laying down in her soft bed under a constellation quilt.
Rarity was still unable to find sleep and finally settled with her head laying in the basket formerly occupied by a young purple dragon that had practically given her his heart. Figuratively, and also literally, with the Fire Ruby in the shape of a heart that he had given her, despite it being meant for a snack on his birthday. Rarity let a tear fall onto the cushion as she pulled the blanket over her body, thinking about how she had broken, nay shattered, that same dragon's heart three years ago.
She was stunned. Before her was a young dragon, professing his love for her in front of a large crowd of famous Canterlot ponies. Ponies which thought of the dragon as a mere pet. Ponies which, to gain their respect and admiration, she had to go along with it. And here that dragon was, asking her to be his mare. She didn't know what to do.
'A dragon? Loving a pony? Disgusting!' 'Yes, quite revolting.' 'Quite unfathomable.' said the surrounding ponies
“I'm sorry Spike, I can't,” she pleaded as best she could, “You understand, right darling?” It wasn't that she didn't like the drake, it was just that she wasn't entirely sure of her feelings yet, and she couldn't possibly agree to him in these circumstances.
Spike said nothing, his face showed nothing. But his eyes, his eyes showed everything, his love for the fashionista, the humility and pain from being treated like a pet, the drowning sadness of being rejected by the mare he longed for. But the strongest one of all was the dreadful sorrow of the ultimate betrayal of the pony he had held closest to his heart.
The mare who he had given his heart to. The mare that had been stabbing his heart all night, treating him like her pet for other ponies enjoyment. The mare who had just shattered his heart, denying his feelings while trying to be accepted by the Canterlot elite.
Something inside Spike's mind and soul broke in that moment. He went from being the most gentle, helpful, and kind soul in Equestria, to a rampaging beast, breathing fire everywhere. Rarity had stared in horror as she watched the young dragon change. The first thing was his eyes. They went from being a shining green, like emeralds, to the eyes of something you would only be able to find in a nightmare.
Shortly after it started, though it seemed like an eternity to those involved, especially Rarity, the now rampaging beast charged at the white unicorn and swiped a claw at her. She escaped with just her shoulder scratched, but looking at the face of the dragon, she wished it would have just gotten rid of her. The eyes of the dragon changed for a moment, looking almost like the shining green emeralds they were before, but now with a slight tint of purple in the center.
Rarity woke up with a gasp at the dream, the nightmare of the day Spike left. She had that nightmare before, but not for over two years. She had discovered that the dragon had made its way up to the highest tower in Canterlot, steadily growing larger as it went. Her sources also stated that the dragon had disappeared and minutes later, a purple body was seen falling off the tower, but no body was ever discovered.
She glanced over to Twilight and sighed, as it seemed her friend wasn't going to get a good nights sleep. The thrashing unicorn was still taking it hard, having basically lost her brother, her best and closest friend. Rarity was glad that the lavender mare wasn't haunted by the full details of what happened. 'Talk about bittersweet' She thought as she drifted back to sleep.
Obsidian woke up to the smell of food. Stretching and opening his eyes, he observed the room he was in. It was nice and tidy, and smelled of old books. Curious of where he was, he made his way to the source of the lovely aroma. Upon entering the kitchen, Obsidian saw three mares at the table, the two unicorns from the previous night and an orange earth pony. The lavender unicorn noticed him first and stood up.
“Good morning, we didn't get the chance to properly introduce ourselves, I'm Twilight Sparkle, and this is Rarity and Applejack.” She said, pointing to the lovely white unicorn and orange earth farmpony, respectively, who both waved and said 'hello.'
“I'm, um, Obsidian Heartfire. I'm sorry for the events last night, I don't know why I passed out.”
“Do you mind me asking what you were doing out so late at night?”
“Yes dear, you looked like you were walking for awhile.”
“Well, I'm not exactly too sure. I was in Trottingham a week ago and had a feeling like I needed to be here and I've been walking since.”
“Not even tah rest? Ah reckon that'd do a number on anypony.”
“I guess it would. I'm still not even sure why I am here, to be honest.”
“Well, where are you from, Obsidian?”
“I don't know. Canterlot, I think. I woke up there three years ago, and can't recall anything that happened previous to that. I've been wandering Equestria ever since.”
“Sounds like amnesia, and I don't suppose you have any bits or a place to stay?” Obsidian shook his head. “Well, I guess I could offer the guest bedroom, is there anything you are good at?”
“I've spent the last three years trying to figure that out. I've been able to do everything I've tried, but I haven't been exceptionally well at anything. I can't even use magic.” Obsidian sighed, hanging his head and letting his mane uncover his horn.
“Well, Ah suppose Ah could give you some work down at Sweet Apple Acres. Don't need magic tah buck trees. We could sure use the help, and you could use some bits.”
“And if you don't mind dear, I could occasionally use a hoof with gem hunting for my dresses. Speaking of which, I should probably get back to the Boutique and continue. Catch you later darlings!” Rarity said, getting up and heading to the door. “It was nice meeting you, Obsidian, welcome to Ponyville.”
“It was a pleasure, miss Rarity.”
“Ah reckon Ah better get back down to the farm and get to work. Stop by anytime, Obsidian, was nice to make yer acquaintance.” Applejack followed the white unicorn outside.
“Bye, Applejack, I will visit Sweet Apple Acres when I get a chance to lend a hoof.”
Twilight waved to her friends and sat down with a hoof to her chin.
“Miss Twilight? Something on your mind?” Obsidian inquired, looking at the mare.
“Huh? Oh, nothing. Well, I do, but it's not important right now. I guess I should give you a tour of Ponyville, shouldn't I?”
With that, the pair left the library and walked around town, with Twilight pointing out different shops and introducing Obsidian to the ponies walking the streets. They decided to have a snack at Sugarcube Corner, and as they entered, Obsidian noticed something.
“Um, Twilight? Why are all the mares looking at me like that?”
“Huh?” she wondered and looked at the mares staring at the black stallion. “Oh, um. I don't know how to say it, but, um. You are rather, handsome..” She said, looking away while blushing 'This is rather awkward' she thought.
“What? Really?” he looked at Twilight and then back at the ponies watching them. “And I suppose the looks they are giving you are because they are jealous?”
“Possibly.” Twilight meeped, bolting into the bakery. Obsidian laughed heartily and followed her. He looked around the colorful building when his vision was filled with bright pink.
“Ooh! Who's the new stallion in town? Is he staying here?” Pinkie Pie started talking super fast, bouncing around, ”I just gotta give him a party to welcome him to Ponyville. Oh, why are you so close to him Twilight? Is he your coltfriend? I didn't know you had a coltfriend, I didn't even think you could get one so handsome! Were you-” Twilight shoved a hoof into the bubbly party ponies' mouth.
“He is not my coltfriend, Pinkie. He just came to town last night.” Twilight removed her hoof from her pink friends mouth and continued, “His name is Obsidian Heartfire. Obsidian, this is Pinkie Pie. And no parties tonight, Pinkie, you can throw one tomorrow.”
“Aww, but I always throw a 'Welcome to Ponyville' party.” she said, then bounced back to the stranger.
“Hello Pinkie.” Obsidian said as the pink mare came back in front of him and looked at him with a huge smile on her face.
“Hello Obsidian, do you want to be my friend?”
“Um, I don't see any reason not to be, so sure, I'll be your friend, Pinkie.”
“Yay!” she exclaimed, giving Obsidian a bone crushing hug. The pink pony smelled like cotton candy and chocolate. “Now everypony in Ponyville is my friend again!” she said excitedly, bouncing into the kitchen and returning with a delicious looking cupcake. “Here's a cupcake to welcome you to Ponyville, and for being my friend!”
Obsidian thanked the excited pony and took the cupcake and followed Twilight to a table against the wall, sitting across from her. “What exactly was that all about?”
“Oh, that's just Pinkie Pie being Pinkie Pie. You will learn to accept it after awhile. A long while for some of us.. Now, let's talk about living arrangements! As I said, you can stay in the guest bedroom at the library, as long as you help with chores and keep me some company, rent free. Is this alright for you?”
“That sounds awesome, but what about money?”
“Well, you won't get any bits from helping me at the library, but you should have enough free time to help out Applejack, I know she would pay you. We can work out a schedule later. Come on, let's show you the rest of the town.”
They visited Applejack at her farm and decided that Obsidian would help out Tuesday and Thursday, and AJ showed him how to buck apples, and he tried it a few times. Then, they went to Fluttershy's cottage. Fluttershy answered the door and immediately hid at the sight of the new stallion.
“Well, at least that's a different reaction than the rest of the town.” he said, “But me being scary isn't much better than catching every mares eye.”
“Don't take it too hard, it's just how she acts. Her name is Fluttershy for a reason, after all.” Twilight said, and then tried calling out to her friend to come out. After half an hour, they gave up and headed to the Carousel Boutique. On their way, they came across Rainbow Dash, lounging lazily on a cloud, as it was her favorite hobby when she wasn't working or training.
“Hey Dash! Come down here and say hello to my new friend, Obsidian Heartfire.” she called. Rainbow Dash yawned and looked down below her cloud and then floated down to them. “Hey there, I'm Rainbow Dash! Fastest pegasus ever! So, you're Obsidian Heartfire? Where are you staying?”
“I'm going to be staying in the library with Twilight, in the guest bedroom. She is being very kind to me and only making me do some chores instead of having to pay rent, and it is a very nice place.”
“Aw man, how did Twilight get a guy like you?” Rainbow exclaimed and then looked at her friend. “Oh, um. It's not like that, is it, Twi?” The lavender unicorn shook her head vigorously, eyes wide. “Well, I guess your cool enough, maybe we could hang out some time if you're not busy?”
“Sure, I think I would like that, Raibow Dash! Was nice meeting you.” Obsidian smiled and waved as she took off and flew away. “What is it with everyone thinking me and you are, you know?”
Twilight blushed. “Well, they never imagine that I would be with anypony, especially not one so, um, good looking as you..” she started trotting away “Now come on.” Obsidian jumped and followed after her.
When they got to the dress shop, there was a little filly sitting outside pouting.
Twilight approached the young filly, “Hi Sweetie Belle, is something wrong?”
The filly looked up at her and she smiled, “Oh hey Twilight! Nothings really wrong, its just that my sister is fretting about some 'marvelous new stallion in town' that she is designing herself a new dress and...” she trailed off, just now noticing Obsidian standing there. “That's who she was talking about, right Twilight? Hinicetomeetyoubye!” she finished and ran off fast enough to rival Pinkie Pie.
“Well, that was strange. That was Sweetie Belle, Rarity's younger sister. I have no idea why she ran off.”
“That was Rarity's sister? I guess beauty must run in her family. Some colt will be lucky to have someone like that later in life.” Obsidian realized he was voicing his thoughts, “I just said that out loud, didn't I?” Twilight nodded, trying not to smile. “Let's just pretend that never happened?” The unicorn responded by making a zipping motion across her mouth.
“Not a word. Ready to see Rarity, Casanova?” she teased, knocking on the door.
“Hey, that's not even cool, Twiley.”
The door to the Boutique opened, revealing a very surprised Rarity, “Well hello dears, what are you doing here?”
“We decided to come visit you on our tour of Ponyville, and I was also wondering when it would be good to come help you out.” Obsidian said, maybe a little too excitedly.
“I see. Well, Saturdays would probably be best for me for gems, but feel free to come by anytime you like, darling. How are you liking Ponyville?”
“It's amazing, all the ponies are really nice, even if some are a little odd. It's much better than Las Pegasus, that's for sure.”
“Well, I am glad you like it here. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a big order I have to finish.” Rarity said, turning to go back inside.
“I would love to sta-”
“That's fine Rarity.” Twilight interrupted the black stallion. “Me and Obsidian have a bit to talk about and a schedule to work out, anyways.” she finished, giving a small glare to the stallion before starting towards the library.
“Um, yea. Bye miss Rarity.” he said, reluctantly turning to follow his roommate.
Rarity sat down on her couch after Twilight and Obsidian left and stared at the door after them. He was stunning in his own rights, but there was something about his eyes that just drew her in. She unconsciously made her way to the closet, pulled out a box, and began making a dress with the items inside. Rarity's mind was elsewhere. 'Those eyes. Shining bright green eyes, almost like emeralds, surrounding a hint of purple. I could just stare at them for hours. No, Rarity!' She shook her head and continued, still not paying attention to the dress. 'That would be most un-ladylike indeed. Can't be behaving like that in front of such a nice stallion. What would he think?' She frowned slightly 'I do hope he stays in Ponyville. He has been wandering around Equestria for years, after all. But then again, he did seem to feel somewhat comfortable around here. But why is he staying with Twilight? Surely he would be up to stay-'
She shook her head vigorously, interrupting that thought. 'Now now, Rarity, don't be going and thinking like that, you silly mare. Such a lady does not think such things.' She looked at the clock and gasped. It had already been 4 hours since Twilight and Obsidian had visited. 'Well, it seems time really flies when you are lost in thought, daydreaming about a stallion...' She then looked at the dress her subconscious had made and her mouth opened slightly.
The dress was mostly black, with green accents. Such colors were odd for her to use, but that isn't what stood out. Instead of the usual gems adorning the garment, there was scales. Purple dragon scales, to be exact. At the front of the dress, there was the perfect spot for a necklace that she owned to go. The heart-shaped fire ruby necklace, given to her by the same little dragon that had given her some of his scales to make a dress.
With a barely audible whimper, she made sure the sign for the shop said 'Closed' before heading upstairs to her bedroom and laying down, her face buried in her pillow. She laid there for awhile before hearing a soft knock at the door.
“Rarity, can I come in?” a young filly asked, to which Rarity didn't respond. A few minutes later, another knock came, followed shortly by her door opening. Light hoofsteps were heard making their way to her bed before the owner of them talked again. “You really do miss him, don't you sis?” the filly asked, before climbing up onto the bed and laid next to her sister.
“Yes, Sweetie Belle, I do.” she said, looking at her younger sister. “I wish I could go back and tell him what I really wanted to, and not what I did say. All of it could have been prevented..” Rarity looked down, tears coming to her eyes.
“You couldn't have known that he would react like that, Rarity.” the little filly responded, nuzzling the side of her sister, trying to comfort her.
“That is true, but I should have realized how much I did mean to him. Instead, I just tried to impress the so called 'upper-class' in Canterlot. Turned out the only reason they were being friendly to me at all was because of my friendship with Celestia.” she sniffled, nuzzling Sweetie Belle back. “I just feel like such a foal for that. Not only did I not get anywhere at the show, but I also lost the one guy who truly did care for me. All because I was selfish, wanting to be part of the 'elite' and dreamed of having a true gentlestallion, when I had the perfect gentledrake right next to me the entire time.”
Sweetie Belle wasn't able to find words for her sister, so she just sat there pressed against her crying sister. 'This just feels so backwards, normally she would be the one to be comforting me...' she thought to herself. After a few moments, she decided to talk again. “I miss Spike too, Rarity. Maybe not as much as you, or Twilight, but he was still there for us all. Even after we humiliated him during our crusading, he still helped us feel better after Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon really got us down. He even danced with me during Shining Armor and Princess Cadence's wedding.” The little filly let out a few tears of her own, wrapping a hoof around her big sister. “But I guess we all have to accept that he is gone, even if we wish he wasn't. And what about what you were saying earlier today about that new stallion?”
“Huh? You mean Obsidian? Well, I had wanted to impress him. Again, me being a selfish foal. But I just felt wrong about it after looking at his eyes. They reminded me so much of Spike that I felt guilty for wanting it, and then created that dress without even stopping and looking or thinking about it.”
“Well, maybe you should move on. I'm sure Spike would hate to see you like this, Rarity.” she hugged the older mare. “It might even be a sign to move on, even if part of you will always belong to him.”
“You're right, Sweetie. I guess I should try again. Besides, I can't hurt somepony else like I did Spike. Thank you Sweetie Belle.” she hugged the little unicorn and nuzzled her mane, still sniffling, but feeling a little better than earlier.
The two unicorn sisters eventually fell asleep in each others embrace, glad for the comfort the other brought.
Obsidian woke up the next morning and groggily walked down the hall to the bathroom, but found it locked. He started to continue walking when his ears perked up and he heard some singing from the other side. Smiling a little at what he heard, he just sat there and waited. A few moments later, the door opened to reveal a clean and somewhat still wet Twilight Sparkle, who hadn't noticed the stallion in the hallway yet.
Obsidian smiled to himself and spoke up, “Twilightlicious, huh?” Twilight instantly screamed and bucked him in the head without thinking, knocking him unconscious.
After Twilight calmed down, she looked at who the “intruder” was, only to facehoof. “Oops. I guess I forgot that I wasn't the only one here now.” Twilight lifted the unconscious stallion with her magic and carried him downstairs and laid him on the couch, then to the kitchen to start breakfast.
Obsidian woke up with a groan and a splitting headache. He opened his eyes to see a concerned but upset Twilight Sparkle. “Not a word about what you heard. Got a headache?”
Obsidian was strangely frightened by the mare, who seemed worried and demonic at the same time. “Uh, yea. I guess I fell down the stairs and landed on my head.” he replied tentatively, rubbing his head.
“I got some asprin waiting with breakfast for you. Go eat.” she said, pointing to the kitchen. “I got to get started on studying. Oh, and Obsidian? Take care not to fall anymore.” she grinned, walking to her desk and levitating a few books towards the surface. Obsidian grunted and went to go take the asprin and eat breakfast.
It has been three months since Obsidian Heartfire started living in Ponyville, as the roommate and assistant to Twilight Sparkle. Mondays and Fridays were spent helping Twilight with her studies, with Wednesdays being the day to get all sorts of lessons, useful and irrelevant alike, from the librarian. Tuesdays and Thursdays, he was found at Sweet Apple Acres, helping out around the farm. Saturday was the day he went gem hunting. Sunday, his day off.
Even though it was his day off, he was usually at the Carousel Boutique, helping Rarity with dresses. If he wasn't at the library or the dress shop, he was helping the ponies around town. A few of the mares still eyed him openly, while some came to the realization that he wasn't interested.
This Sunday afternoon, Obsidian was walking towards the Boutique with a large bouquet of roses, and wearing a nice looking suit. He had unexpectedly asked Rarity on a date after they had finished gem hunting, to which she surprisingly said yes to.
The young stallion was so nervous that he was barely paying attention to the other ponies on the street. Finally arriving at the door between him and the mare of his dreams, he paused to calm his nerves. Taking a deep breath, he knocked on the door and waited for the fashionista.
Rarity answered the door, wearing a beautiful black, purple and white dress, using dragon scales instead of her usual gems. “Hello Obsidian, come in.” she smiled at him, and then frowned slightly. “You know it is rude to stare at a lady, dear?”
Obsidian shook his head and levitated the bouquet to her, giving her a sheepish smile. “I'm sorry, I was left speechless by your beauty, that I couldn't help it.”
Rarity took the roses and smelled them. “Why thank you, Obsidian. I suppose I can let that slide this time. You are looking dashing yourself, if I may say so.” she said, leading him inside and setting the roses in a vase. “Give me just a moment, and I will be ready.” Obsidian nodded and sat on the couch to wait for his date to come back.
A couple minutes later, Rarity came back, wearing a heart-shaped fire ruby necklace to go along with the dress. “Shall we go?”
Obsidian smiled, getting up and opening the door for her. “After you, my lady.”
They made their way through Ponyville, making light conversation. Obsidian had chosen one of the more prestigious restaurants, the Acquerello. It wasn't the fanciest around, but it still cost more than most ponies would normally hoof out. Obsidian had spent the last month and a half saving just for this opportunity.
As they approached, Rarity let out a small gasp. “You didn't?”
Obsidian smiled and replied, “Can't have anything less for such a grand mare, now can we?” Rarity blushed and followed Obsidian into the restaurant. Inside was a warm, romantic feeling. Crystal chandeliers with low-light candles burning in them, with tables meant for only two ponies, while a few larger arrangements were spread throughout to accommodate a bigger party.
After getting to a table set next to a small fountain inlaid with gems of all kinds arranged in a nice mosaic, they ordered some white wine. Rarity was in awe at the restaurant and the thought the stallion put into this date. After the waiter left to get their wine, they were left alone to decide what to eat. After a few moments, Rarity decided on a daisy and daffodil lasagna. Looking up at her date, she couldn't help but giggle a little at his lost expression at the menu.
“A little trouble deciding what to eat, Obsidian?”
He started and looked up at her, flashing a small grin. “Yea, I never realized there could be so many choices, I'm not sure where to start....”
“Hmm, how about I order for the both of us, then?” she asked, smiling at him. “Alright, I am positive anything you would pick has to be good.” he sighed, relaxing some as the waiter returned with their wine and took their order.
While waiting for their meal, they talked about Rarity's business and upcoming dress line, along with what was going on around town. Vinyl Scratch and Octavia had recently opened a club/orchestral hall that was becoming popular. The cake twins had become a devastating duo in town, almost as bad as the Cutie Mark Crusaders. They were starting to delve into what would happen if the twins joined the Crusaders when their food arrived.
“Mm, looks and smells delicious.” Obsidian said, looking at his lasagna. “Bon appétit!”
They ate their dinner in relative silence, and Rarity was the first one to speak up as they finished.
“Well that was quite divine, darling. Do you have plans for the rest of the night, or should I think of something for us to do?”
“I may have something in mind, but let’s go for a quick walk, shall we?” Obsidian grinned, offering a hoof to Rarity.
Rarity smiled and accepted the hoof and walked with him as they left the restaurant and strolled through Ponyville. It was a nice evening out, just before sunset. Multiple ponies were still outside, a few of them enjoying companionship of someone close. “So, what do you have on your mind, dear?” Rarity asked, bashing her eyelashes at Obsidian.
Obsidian grinned. “That is a secret.” Rarity pouted slightly. “I promise you will enjoy it.”
Soon, they arrived at a small hill at the edge of Ponyville. Walking over to a basket next to one of the trees, Obsidian pulled out a blanket and spread it out and placed a pillow on top. Obsidian offered Rarity a seat on the pillow and took a seat next to her. They sat there quietly, watching the sunset and eating some cupcakes that Obsidian had in the basket.
Rarity sat there lost in her own little world until she felt something in her hoof. Looking down, she was surprised to see Obsidian's hoof in hers. She looked at the stallion to see him smiling warmly at her. She returned the smile and turned her gaze to watch the sun finish setting, resting her head against him.
After the sun was below the horizon, Rarity spoke up quietly, “Obsidian, today has been just fabulous. But I have to tell you something.” she looked down a little “Another has already claimed part of my heart, and even though he is gone, he took that part with him. But,” she continued, looking up to the stallion. “That doesn't mean that somepony else can't claim the rest of it.” she finished, giving him a peck on the cheek.
Obsidian had a slightly sullen look, but when Rarity kissed his cheek, he was stunned. He was brought back when he caught a glimpse of something in the sky. Looking up he nudged Rarity and pointed at where he was looking. Rarity looked and gasped. Blazing across the sky was hundreds of meteors.
“Make a wish, Rarity.” he whispered. Rarity smiled and closed her eyes for a few moments. When she opened her eyes, she looked over at Obsidian, who had a blank look on his face, and was staring off into the distance.
“Obsidian, darling?” she asked, nudging him a little. Something flashed in his eyes before he turned to look back at her. “Huh? What?”
“You were staring off, dear. Am I that much of a bore?” she teased.
“No, it's not that, Rarity!” he exclaimed. “I think I just felt something, but... Nevermind..” he turned to her and smiled “I hope I have a chance at the rest of your heart.”
“I think you already have taken some, darling.” she replied, leaning towards him slightly. “I'm just not entirely sure about the rest.” she closed her eyes. Obsidian closed his eyes and slowly leaned towards the white mare. The soft kiss didn't last long, but to both of them, it felt like it lasted forever.
They sat there for a while, cuddling together, watching the stars. Rarity let out a very unladylike yawn and jumped up. Obsidian smiled to himself and stood up as well.
“Shall I walk you home, Milady?” he asked, offering her a hoof. She took it smiling and walked with him back to the Carousel Boutique, leaning on him along the way. They paused outside the door to the shop.
“Thank you for such a wonderful night, darling.” Rarity said after opening the door, turning to him.
“Thank you for giving me a chance, Rarity. Shall we do something again soon?”
“I think I would like that.” she replied, nuzzling him. She stepped back and into her home. “Goodnight, Obsidian.”
“Goodnight, Rarity.” he smiled at her as the door closed. Humming lightly to himself, he made his way back to the library.
Twilight was sitting at her desk, frowning slightly at the book in front of her, Starswirl's guide to Insanity: Memory Problems. It was one of his later books, and it seemed to repeat itself at times. Maybe due to his forgetfulness in his later years. But it still had some interesting points.
Twilight's thoughts were interrupted when the door to the library opened. Turning, she seen Obsidian slowly walking towards the staircase, humming quietly to himself. “How did the date with Rarity go?”
“Perfect.” was all he said.
“Just perfect? Nothing else to say, or she leave you speechless?”
“It's hard for her not to. If I'm not up in the morning, I have died of happiness. Goodnight, Twilight.”
“Goodnight Obsidian. I don't think you would want to die of happiness, Rarity might be a little upset.” she teased, turning back to her book. He reminds me of Spike..’ Her frown deepened, flipping through the book. 'I wish he could remember something from before. And this stupid thing isn't helping.' She huffed, closing the book with a sigh. Coming to the realization that books weren't helping her with this, she made her way to her bedroom.
She walked over to her closet and pulled out a basket. Hugging it, she looked out the window. “Spike, wherever you are, I hope that you are happy. I can't bear the thought of you being hurt and alone. I miss you.” She slowly set the basket on the floor went to her bed. She slumped down onto it shortly before going into a restless sleep.
Applejack sat down at the edge of the orchards to enjoy the morning for a moment. It was a nice morning, with a cool breeze flowing through the trees. Closing her eyes, she relaxed, letting the sound of the wind through the leaves and the smell of apples wash over her. Her ears perked up at a strange sound just before there were hundreds of small pops and cracks started around her. Yelping, she bolted up and looked around.
“Rainbow Dash, ahm gonna kill yah, when ah get my hooves on yah!” she yelled, making her way to the source of laughter She was surprised when she found the source, a black stallion rolling around on the ground behind one of the trees. “Obsidian? What are ya doin here? Shouldn't yah be helpin Twilight?”
“Well, she gave me the day off. Said something about talking with the princesses. So, I came over here to see if I could lend a hoof for a while before I go see Rarity.” he said, sitting down. “And shouldn't a farmpony be working, not sitting on her flank?” he teased the orange mare.
Applejack glared at him, “Well, Mr. Obsidian. Ah have decided to take the day off. I need a day to relax, and we are ahead of schedule with the work to not have to worry about it today. So, you and Rarity, huh?” she looked at him.
Obsidian looked off into the distance. “Yea. We had a nice date last night. She said she had a wonderful time. I know I did.”
“Somethin' wrong, sugarcube?” Applejack asked, looking at the stallion.
“It's just something that Rarity said last night, and how Twilight has been acting. Twilight's assistant, Spike. He was more than just her assistant, wasn't he?”
Applejack sighed. “Well, Ah suppose you should know. Spike was sort of like Twilight's little brother. She hatched him when she was just a little filly and had raised him since. I can't imagine how much the little guy meant to her.” she said, looking at the orchard. “And he had a fancy fer Rarity. Ah don't reckon ah can say that he was a good friend, we didn't exactly spend much time together. He wasn't around much for our adventures and fun. Heck, I can't imagine what it would be like for my friends to overlook me.”
“So what exactly happened?” he asked, looking at the orange mare.
“Ah'm not too sure, really. Celestia had invited Rarity to a fashion show to give her more recognition, and even asked for a dress for her and Luna. Spike was with her almost the entire time, trying his best to help her. When it was time for her to go to Canterlot to finish preparations for the show, she invited Spike to come and help. Of course, he jumped on the opportunity.” she gave off a small smile, which soon turned into a frown. “Ah even gave him a nudge to confess to Rarity. Which ah heard he did, right at the start of the fashion show. But she turned him down, and he was gone after that. Rarity won't say anything more about it to us.”
They sat on the hill quietly for a short time before Applejack spoke up again. “Ah can't exactly say that he was a good friend, we didn't hang out enough for that, but he was a great little dragon when he was around. Had a heart big enough for a few ponies. Shame we never hung out more, or that he wasn’t along with our adventures with us instead of at the library.” she stood up, and started walking towards the farm. She looked back at Obsidian. “Obsidian?” he stood up and looked at her. “Ah don't think it will be a problem, but don't go breakin' Rarity's heart, ya hear? Ah can’t help but feel like some of this is mah fault, I did convince the little guy to follow her, and ah don’t want to see her in more pain.”
Obsidian nodded and walked slowly back towards Ponyville. His head burned and tingled, like it had moments before he passed out months ago. The feeling had lessened from his talk with Applejack, and he felt confident enough to go visit Rarity today. Stopping by the florist's stall, a nice mare named Rose, he picked up a couple of daisies, tulips, and a lily.
Rarity hummed while sketching out a new dress design. She didn’t even move when the door to the Boutique opened, instinctively calling out over her shoulder, “Give me just a moment!” She looked at the sketch. It followed curves nicely, but still had a nice flowing look to it.
She got up and walked to the main room, to be greeted by a small arrangement of daisies, some tulips, and a nice smelling lily. Taking the flowers, she smiled at the stallion behind them and walked towards the kitchen. “Why thank you, darling. What brings you over here so soon?” After she set the flowers in a vase on the table, she turned her full attention to Obsidian.
“Something wrong, darling?” she asked, noticing the slight worried expression on his face.
“It’s just something that has bothered me for a while. Now, I don’t know, but I just got to know something.” he said, looking away from the mare.
“About what, darling?” she asked, worried that he was having second thoughts about last night.
Obsidian looked around the Boutique. It was full of dress designs that the white unicorn enjoyed having out on display. There were some that were made to be somewhat simple in design, not looking too flashy, but maintaining a look of elegance and beauty. Some of the dresses were so grand that just looking at them was enough to make you stop for a moment to admire them. Obsidian’s gaze rested on a ponyquin with the dress that Rarity wore last night. “About the little dragon, Spike. I know he meant a lot to Twilight, and he was a part of everypony else’s lives.” he looked at Rarity, and sighed. “And it just feels right to me to try to help with this.”
Rarity sighed and walked over to the couch and sat down. “Come here darling, sit down.” she waited and watched as the black stallion made his way to the couch and sat next to her before she continued. “I didn’t want to talk about it, and I don’t like to think about it, but I think you should know.” she looked up, not really looking at anything. Instead, she was looking towards the past.
“He was a wonderful little guy, more than willing to help out others. Me especially. He meant a lot to me. I also meant the world to him, but I was too selfish to see it.” she looked at Obsidian, who watched her with a hint of concern in his eyes. He rested a hoof on her arm, and she continued, looking down at it. “When he heard about me being invited to the fashion show, he practically dropped everything else to help me. I think Twilight was a touch upset that her assistant became more willing to assist me than her at that point.” she said with a small smile. “When I asked him to come with me to Canterlot to help, I didn’t see how happy he was.”
“You were too excited and preoccupied with the fashion show to notice.” he said softly, to which Rarity just nodded.
“Yes, I guess you could say that. He did everything he could to try to help me with making the dresses, and the entire time when I tried giving him a gem, he refused. I didn’t know why, he always loved to eat them, and was drooling half the time when he was holding them. I was finally able to get him to take one, and he held it like it was the most precious thing in the world.” a tear rolled down her cheek “It was something given to him from whom he thought the most precious thing in the world. And then during the party before the show, I betrayed him. The ponies there thought he was a pet, and treated him like he was one. And I was a foal and did the same, hoping to impress them.” She sighed and looked down at her hooves, tears flowing down her cheeks. “Something caused him to confess to me a few hours later, right in front of all the other ponies. I was shocked, and I did want to return his feelings, but I just kept going trying to impress the rest. I lost more than I realized I even had in that moment.”
Obsidian wrapped a hoof around her and pulled her into a loose hug. Rarity pushed her face into his chest and sobbed, soaking his coat with tears. Obsidian ran a hoof through her mane and held her in a tighter embrace, hoping to soothe the mare. Minutes passed, and her sobs slowly died down. “I’m sorry if i brought something up you didn’t want to talk about, Rarity.” he said, looking down at her.
“It.. It’s fine, darling. It helped. A bit.” she sniffed, pulling away slowly, still looking down. “He.. Ended up destroying half of the fashion show, and more than a few ponies were treated for cuts and burns that night. The only thing I was left with was a few cuts, a singed mane, and a burnt dress.” she reached a hoof up to wipe some tears away. “The scales that he gave me for that dress, I still have. He didn’t burn those.”
“And you are still able to love him after that?” he asked, rubbing a hoof along her back.
She nodded, “Far too late, but yes. All it took was for me to lose him to realize he was the one I wished for all along, even if he wasn’t what I imagined.”
“I’m sure he loved you in the end.” she choked back a sob and nodded.
“And I am sure he wouldn’t want to see me sad, especially for him. He would want me to be happy.” she looked up at Obsidian, tears still in her eyes. “It must sound like I am still chasing after a shadow, and I am sorry, Obsidian. And even though I still care for Spike, that doesn’t make last night anything less than it was.” she said, giving him a quick, small peck on the lips. “But if you will excuse me, I think I need to be alone for a bit.”
Obsidian offered a small smile and nodded, before pulling her into a long, warm hug. She returned the embrace quite tightly, lingering for a moment after he let go. Running a hoof through her mane again, he stood up from the couch and walked to the door. He opened it and looked back at the white mare still sitting on the couch. “Bye, Rarity. Try to cheer up soon, tears don’t suit you.”
She let a chuckle escape. “I shall try to cheer up, darling. Bye Obsidian.”
Twilight walked through the castle in Canterlot, looking around at how the castle felt so familiar, despite it being a few years since she had visited. She wanted to visit the archives to try to find something in there about memories that she hadn’t already looked at a hundred times.
First, Twilight wanted to talk to her mentor, Princess Celestia, about it, but she was busy taking care of the country’s affairs and would be busy for a few hours. She walked through the corridors, humming to herself, looking at the statues and tapestries inside. There was one of Starswirl the Bearded, with one of Clover the Clever further down the hall. Turning around a corner, she noticed she was near her old room here in the castle and decided to pay it a visit.
Walking inside her old room, it looked exactly like it did when she left for Ponyville years ago. Her first telescope was leaning against the corner, her bed next to it was neatly made with a small quilt covered in constellations. Walking to the dresser on the other side of the room, she seen a notebook laying on top of a small stack of books on the corner. Sitting down and levitating it to her, she seen the title, written with a childish scrawl, ‘Spike’s Journal Twilight Sparkle.’ She opened it up and found the first few pages burnt. She giggled and hugged the it to her chest, remembering when she gave the little dragon the notebook.
”What do I do with this, Twiley? There’s nothing in it.” the little baby dragon asked, opening up the blank notebook.
“Oh, Spike. It’s for you to write in. Now that you know how to read and write, I thought it would be a good idea to write down your feelings or just write because you are bored.”
“Oh, ok. I guess that make-” Spike sneezed, catching the open notebook on fire. Twilight hurriedly ran over and stomped out the flames before they did too much damage. “Um, oops?” the little dragon said sheepishly.
Twilight looked at the notebook and let out a small sigh. “It’s fine, Spike. I guess I should go get you a new notebook.” She picked up the notebook with her magic, only for a pair of scaly pair of hands to grab it out of the air. She looked at Spike, who was holding the notebook to his chest.
“You don’t have to do that Twilight. It’s fine the way it is.” he gave her a grin and walked up to her, wrapping his arms around one of her legs. “Thank you, Twiley.”
“You’re welcome, Spikey.” she replied, wrapping a leg around him and returning the embrace. She bent her head down and nuzzled the side of his head, only to have him jump.
“Hey, that tickles!” he said, taking a step back.
“Is that so?” she responded, grinning deviously at the little purple dragon as she approached him. “What about this?” she jumped at him, attacking with a frenzy of tickles, causing him to giggle uncontrollably.
“Hey! That’s... Not... Fair!” he said between giggles, attempting to tickle the lavender filly back. He managed to scrape a claw on the inside of her shoulder, drawing out a squeak from her, pausing the relentless attack. Spike pushed his advantage and started tickling both of her sides, causing her to be the one having a giggling fit.
The tickle war lasted a long while, and left the two youngsters in a mess, struggling to breathe normally. A few minutes after the war, light snores could be heard in the room. Twilight looked down at Spike and found that he was pressed against the fillies chest, arms wrapped tightly around her. Smiling, Twilight levitated a blanket over and covered both of them, curling her body around the dragon and giggling softly when he let out a louder snore. She kissed the top of his head and fell asleep nuzzling him as he slept.
Twilight was smiling as she looked through the notebook, the first few pages were illegible. A few pages in, she noticed her name in one of the entries, and noticed her name in many more entries after that.
‘Today, Twilight refused to play with me. Said she had to study about some big levitation spell. I don’t get it, she knows levitation and has been reading that same book for 5 ½ hours now. Can’t she take a break for a little bit? Oh well..’
‘Twilight, being the shut-in little filly she is, left the party just after it started because she said something about practicing that new spell and writing a report to Celestia. It made me feel lonely that she just left. Even though there’s all these ponies here. Wish she would make some friends, it makes me feel lonely.’
‘Well, it has been three weeks since Twilight really talked to me. Sure, she tells me to ‘take a letter, Spike’ or ‘grab that book for me, Spike.’ Meh, I need a walk...’
Twilight felt a few tears form as she thought about what he had written. She had stopped treating him like a friend for a couple of months and more like a servant. Sure, he was her helper, but Celestia had also charged her with raising the little dragon. Sniffling, she kept reading.
‘Twilight has been pouring over these books so much recently. All she wants to do is read them and tell me to do chores, blah blah blah. She snapped at me when I tried talking to her. I feel like burning those books.’
‘Well. Happy Birthday, Spike. From Spike. Nopony else said happy birthday to me. Well, Celestia left me a small gem. Twilight just shoved a huge stack of books at me and told me to organize them all. I hate her.’
‘I tried burning a few of those books Twilight keeps reading. Celestia wondered why I sent her the books, and Twilight just scolded me and told me to learn how to control my fire better.’
‘Have I said I hate the young purple unicorn called Twilight Sparkle? I am tired of being her pet. I thought she cared about me. Why did you have to lie to me?’
Twilight felt tears rolling down her cheeks and splash down onto the pages of the notebook. She felt like her heart was being ripped apart by the words in the notebook. She jumped when she felt something warm cover her. She looked up and seen Princess Celestia, spreading a wing over her, looking down at the notebook in front of Twilight, a frown on her face.
“Well, I guess that is part of the reason you are here, right Twilight.” the sun princess said. Twilight let out a barely audible whimper. “I think you should continue reading.”
Twilight looked at the face of her mentor, her eyes full of tears, pain, and questions. “Why? Do you just want to see me in more pain?!” she shot at her.
“Calm down, Twilight Sparkle. Can you judge a book by its cover or the first chapter alone?” she asked.
“Well, no. But how do you expect me to get through this thing?”
“Just trust me, my little pony.” is all Celestia said, tightening the wing around her. Twilight sighed and looked back to the notebook and continued reading.
‘Twilight wants me to go through and dust all the books and clean her entire room. What is the point? She never leaves her desk.’
‘Twilight finally said something to me. Want to know what she said? Me too. I didn’t hear it well enough, she was asleep, face in a book. I am not cleaning that up.’
‘Well, Spike. Guess you are the only one who cares about me. Hearth's Warming Eve and Twilight hasn’t said a word. I feel pointless.’
Twilight choked a loud sob back, eliciting a tight squeeze from Celestia. Taking a moment, she closed her eyes and thought about that time. She had wanted to spend more time with Spike than she did, but she got so caught up in her studies. She thought she had talked with him more, but must have been so consumed by books that she didn’t notice.
Looking at the next page, Twilight seen that it was a letter, addressed to her.
‘Dear Twilight Sparkle,
If you read this, and I don’t think you ever will. Why would you? It’s not like I matter to anypony, especially not you. I just wanted you to know that I hate you. I remember you say hate is a strong word, and I want to rephrase that now. I BUCKING HATE YOU! I wish you had never became Celestia’s student and spent all your time reading books. I wish you had never been accepted into Celestia’s School For Gifted Unicorns! I wish I didn’t have to be here! You never spend any time with me! I know I am your assistant, but I thought we were friends?! You promised me that we would have fun together! Do you not remember?! I wish you had never hatched me. I don’t want to be around in a place where the only pony I care about don’t give a buck about me! You didn’t say anything to me on my birthday, you didn’t say anything to me on Hearth’s Warming Eve, you didn’t give me a bucking thing! I HATE YOU, TWILIGHT! I- I- I-’
The letter ended there. There was a couple of lines left, but the ink was blotched and the page was wrinkled from having been wet. Twilight pushed the notebook away and buried her face in her hooves, crying her heart out. Celestia rested her head on top of the young mare’s neck and nuzzled her softly. She didn’t know how long she was crying. Could have been minutes, could have been hours. She looked up at Celestia after gaining some strength again. The Princess just gave her a nudge of confidence, urging her to continue.
‘I am thinking about just running away. I don’t know where. I don’t care where. Twilight don’t need me. I feel so lonely..’
‘Ran into Princess Celestia today. Couldn’t have been at a worse time. Now I am sitting here in Twilight’s room. Twilight got called out to talk to the Princess in her study. I hope I don’t have to deal with that stupid mare anymore. Speaking of her, she is screaming my name, sounds like she’s running here. I swear I’m going to smack her if she just starts lecturing me, or change my chores or something.’
Twilight gasped. Was this really what had gone through Spike’s mind?
“You remember that day, don’t you, Twilight?”
“Yea. After you talked to me about him looking depressed and walking out of the castle, I went to him and tried getting him to talk. He just pushed me away and wouldn’t talk.”
‘Seems Celestia said something to Twilight. Figures, she only wanted to talk to me after Celestia said something about it. She had the nerve to try and hug me. I don’t want anything from a selfish little filly. I will try again tomorrow.’
‘I am hiding. Not from Twilight. I don’t care if she finds me. I’m hiding from Celestia. She caught me trying to get out of the castle again, and I just ran, even with her calling out to me. I hate ponies. I wish they would all leave me alone. Well, they already have, but it’s like they are trying to pull me back in so they can torment me even more.’
‘Celestia caught me. Disguised herself as a little baby dragon and lured me back into the castle. Now I’m sitting on her bed until she gets back. I wonder if I can turn this bed into a model of Twilight and shred it.’
‘Celestia walked in on me while I was in the middle of tearing up her bed. She wasn’t happy. Or maybe she was amused. Hard to tell with her sometimes. Anyway, I am happy, Celestia told me that she will be taking care of me for a while. Maybe now I will have somepony there for me, unlike that unicorn.’
‘Celestia bought me ice cream today. She doesn’t really talk much, but she is there, and actually treats me nicely.’
‘Princess Celestia brought me along with her to something she called ‘Royal Court.’ It was full of snobby ponies talking non-stop about problems and wanting her to help promote their businesses. We made jokes about all of them. Except the few that had real problems, like no food or shelter. Those ponies we helped. I even met a griffon today!’
‘Celly let me ride on her back today. It felt wonderful being able to feel the air rush across my scales and looking down at different towns. Seen a rainbow trail while we were out, that was weird.’
‘Had a nightmare last night. I was back with that stupid purple unicorn. Celestia woke me up and looked worried and made me sleep with her. She wants to talk with me later today.’
‘Mommy is nice. I told her about my nightmare and she gave me the biggest hug I can remember. And she gave me some ice cream with crushed rubies in it. That was yummy.’
‘Mommy is having me tell her what I am so afraid of, and why I tried running away. I told her about her stupid student. She looked worried and scared. She has been having me sleep with her all week. I don’t know why, but it feels nice to have somepony love me.’
‘Mommy isn’t being very nice. She is making me talk with Twilight today. I don’t want to. The only reason I’m going to is because mommy asked nicely.’
‘Twilight looked tired and depressed. Sounded like mommy yelled at her the other day.’
‘I have to go outside with Twilight today. Alone. With no books. I don’t think she will last two minutes before going crazy.’
‘Twilight tried talking to me. She has been doing that a lot lately. What does it matter? I don’t need her anymore. I have somepony who cares for me. Somepony who spends time with me without being told to.’
‘Mommy is having me spend the night with Twilight. I am not looking forward to it. Another night sitting by myself while a purple unicorn shoves her face in a book. Yipee...’
‘Twilight cried herself to sleep last night. Even though I still hate her, I still felt sorry. I think she started crying harder when mommy came and got me.’
‘Twilight started writing me little letters. I have a feeling Celestia told her to. Twilight sounded sad, talking about how she missed me. Yeah, right.’
‘Twilight has been sending me letters for a month now. Every day. Sometimes a few times a day. I guess she does miss me. Or at least my help.’
‘Twilight wants to come visit me. I think I will just go to her room later. Mommy is busy today, so I don’t have anything to do.
‘Twilight actually kissed my forehead. I don’t remember her ever doing that. She keeps saying she is sorry for ignoring me. A little late, detective. I may spend the night, though.’
‘I have been spending time with Twilight again. It still hurts to be around her, but it just feels right, I can’t explain it. I enjoy staying over there, she always falls asleep while holding me. She is really warm.’
‘Celestia asked me if I want to start staying with Twilight again. I don’t know. I want to stay with mommy, but I do enjoy being with Twilight. I guess if Twilight doesn’t ignore me again, I will.’
‘Twilight insists on spending time together every day. She took me out to get donuts today. Man, are those things delicious!’
‘Twilight spent all day with me today, she didn’t even once look at a book. I think she is sick.’
‘Twilight talked to me about before I went and stayed with mommy. I started crying. She hugged me and wouldn’t stop apologizing.’
‘’I love you.’ I’m not sure if I heard that, or I am imagining things, but I think I heard that when I was cuddled up with Twilight, looking at a picture book of when I was just a hatchling.’
‘Twilight is starting to call me Spikey. She hasn’t called me that for a long time. It felt all fuzzy when she hugged me.’
‘Twilight is the best pony ever. She woke me up this morning with a big bowl of ice cream with lots of gems and a whole box of donuts. She wished me a happy birthday! We spent all day doing all sorts of fun things. She even pretended to be a clown to make me laugh. Then her and mommy gave me a big party in the castle. I wish I was bigger so I could hug them both.’
‘She said it. She told me that she loved me. I have never felt happier in my life. I love you too, Twilight. Even though I am too scared to say it. I am changing the name on the notebook so the most important pony to me will be special.’
‘Dear Twilight Sparkle,
Do you know how happy I feel? No matter what happens each day, when we cuddle together and talk, I always feel happy. I want to be able to feel like this all the time. I wish you could read my mind so you know how special you make me feel. I’m glad you are here. I love you, Twilight.’
‘Twilight has started to study more again. I don’t mind, really. She still spends time with me, and we always cuddle up and go to sleep together, so I feel happy.’
‘Summer Sun Celebration is coming up. Twilight seems excited. She started studying more. At least we still cuddle together before sleeping.’
‘Twilight is concerned about the Celebration. I don’t know why, it sounded like a whole bunch of nonsense. Mommy told Twilight to stop reading. It was funny.’
‘Mommy is sending us off to a town called Ponyville, and told Twilight to make some friends. Finally! I hope she makes some, it still makes me feel lonely when I see her not talking to anypony. Love you, Twilight.’
The entries ended there. There were still a few blank pages, but it seemed like the notebook had been left behind. Twilight closed it and brought it to her chest. She was crying, almost as hard as she was before. But now, her tears were from joy, and love.
Rainbow Dash flew to the library. She decided to use the door today, for once. Landing in front of the door, took a breath of cool air and knocked. She waited for what seemed like ages, when it was only about three seconds, before knocking again. She pushed the door open and called out, “Twilight! Hey Twilight, are you in here?”
A thud came from upstairs and Rainbow trotted up the stairs to find the source. There were sounds coming from Twilight’s room. Rainbow just opened the door and walked right in. “Hey Twilight- Obsidian?! What are you doing in Twilight’s room? Where’s Twilight?” she said as she advanced towards the stallion. “Wait, are you crying? Why are you crying?” she walked up beside him and looked at what was in front of him, a scrapbook of Spike and Twilight.
Obsidian looked at Rainbow, tears flowing down his cheek. “I don’t know. It feels weird. I came in here to make sure Twilight’s room was clean, and seen this. I started looking at it and just started crying.” Rainbow put a hoof on his shoulder as he looked back down. “I can’t stop looking at it.”
Rainbow felt awkward. Not only had she just walked in on a grown stallion crying, but she had walked in on him crying in her best friends’ room. She jumped when he talked again. “Rainbow Dash? What was Spike like?”
She was confused by the odd question, but answered anyways, “Well, he was kind of cool. Only dragon I know of that isn’t some greedy bully. Did you know he once faced three larger dragons on his own? I mean, how awesome is that? He was fun, too. Although I think I picked on him a bit too much. I wish he was still here, I had wanted to teach him how to fly. How many pegasus’ can claim they taught a dragon how to fly? None that I know of!” she said, looking through the window into the horizon. “I wish he would come back. I kind of left on a bad note, and never got the chance to apologize. Kept picking on him and teasing him about chasing after Rarity.”
“Thanks, Rainbow.” he sniffed. “What did you come here for, anyways?”
“Oh, um, I came here to see if the new ‘Daring Do’ came in today.”
“Yea, the mailmare delivered it earlier. Something about a ‘Special Muffin for Twilight.’ I swear my brain was a muffin for an hour after that conversation.”
“Oh, I guess that’s Derpy for you.” Rainbow chuckled.
“Well, it’s downstairs, on Twilight’s desk. It is already marked as checked out for you, so you can go ahead and grab it.”
“Awesome. Hey, Obsidian, you gonna stop looking at that book and go do something?”
“I think I am going to continue looking at this. I don’t know why, but it just feels like I have to.”
“Blegh.” she gagged. “Well, that’s too much for me. Later, Obsidian.” she called out, leaving a rainbow blur as she dashed out of the room.
Obsidian sat looking at one picture for a long time. Spike the dragon was hugging a very surprised Twilight Sparkle, and he had the happiest look on his face.
“I thought I felt something. It was almost like when Spike hugged me before we left for Ponyville.”
“That’s interesting. Twilight, do you know what his nightmare was about?”
“No, he never said anything to me about a nightmare.”
“I didn’t think he would. It was about you, Twilight. He was always afraid that you would abandon him. Even when he was staying with me, he was scared to death that ‘the sparkly pony’ would come back and be mean to him. Not physically, and not taunting, either. He was afraid of a lie. He was afraid you would lie and make a promise to him and break it.”
“But why would he be so scared about what I had to say? If he had hated me so much, why was he scared that I would lie to him.”
“Remember when we were talking after your burst of magic?” Twilight nodded in response. “Remember how he crawled on top of you and fell asleep, refusing to let go? There was always more to it than just being your friend.”
“I.. I think I understand.. But why are you telling me this? Spike’s gone..” Twilight closed her eyes, turning her face down.
“Yes, but I don’t think he is gone forever.”
“Why is that?”
“Well, I know he was safe after the fashion show, and I am pretty sure you would have felt something powerful if he had died.”
“How could I feel it? It’s not like we were connected.”
“You are connected, Twilight. Your magic is what gave him life, and it is still mixed with him. But the strongest connection is here,” she said, placing a hoof on Twilight’s chest. “You were able to feel powerful emotions sometimes, right? When you hatched him, you two were connected, and it allowed you to feel for each other. Didn’t you tell me that you felt so special, and not because you had just become my student, but because Spike pushed through a dozen research ponies just to cuddle against you and sleep?”
Twilight smiled and nodded. “Yea, at first I felt weird, but it felt like I was the most important thing in the world to someone. I wanted to take care of him and look after him, and was excited when you let me keep him.”
“I have a feeling that what you felt was some of the emotions flowing from Spike into you at that moment. I also have a feeling that as soon as something happens to Spike and he dies, that you will feel it instantly. I can’t imagine how it might feel, but I am sure you would know it.”
The two just sat there for hours, not talking. It wasn’t awkward, just a moment that would have been ruined by words. Eventually, Twilight sniffed and looked at her mentor, who was looking through a photobook of Spike growing up. “Princess Celestia? Can I ask you something?”
“Ask away, my dear Twilight.”
“Is it alright if I sleep like Spike used to?”
Celestia smiled at her student. “Of course it is, Twilight.” the lavender unicorn smiled and nuzzled into Celestia’s side.
Twilight ran giggling through the Palace Gardens, looking for a place to hide from the scary dragon chasing her. She paused under a big oak tree, leaning against it to catch her breath. She looked around endlessly, searching for her pursuer, her heart racing. Suddenly, small claws slid down the back of her neck and her heart jumped out of her chest. She yelped, and ran away from the claws. She stumbled and fell, looking back at the purple dragon approaching her, an evil looking grin across his snout.
“Oh, please don’t eat me, mister dragon!” the little filly cried out.
“Oh, I’m not going to eat you, little pony. I am going to have so much fun with you.”
“Like what?” she said, voice wavering slightly.
“Like this,” the dragon said as he wrapped his little arms around the fillies neck, giving her a big hug before laughing. “You should have seen the look on your face, Twilight.”
“You have no idea how scary it is to suddenly have claws go down your neck?!” Twilight exclaimed, returning the hug, before joining him in the contagious laughter.
“Twilight?”
“Yes, Spikey?”
“You’re it, by the way.” he said, running off through the gardens, giggling madly.
--------------------------------
Twilight sat on the balcony, looking up at the sky and glancing at a book on constellations. Beside her was Spike, leaning into her side and staring blankly at the sky.
‘Hey Twilight?’
‘Yes, Spike?’ she responded, not looking at the little dragon.
‘Can we read a story together?’
Twilight looked at the young dragon, who was staring intently at her. She was surprised, but quickly smiled warmly at him, ‘Sure thing, Spike. Let’s go inside, we can read ‘Daring Do and the Golden Scale.’”
They got up and walked inside, Twilight levitating the astronomy book to the desk and getting her ‘Daring Do’ book. Spike hopped up onto the bed, getting comfortable, with Twilight crawling up beside him. Within moments, the pair were comfortably snuggled up, ready to start reading together. The little filly and the young dragon spent hours reading aloud together, alternating chapters. Sometime during Twilight’s chapter, Spike fell asleep, leaving Twilight in silence when she finished her chapter.
Looking down, she saw Spike pressed against her side, his muzzle pressed against her coat. Smiling, she closed the book and lightly tossed it aside and turned to face the little dragon, who immediately wrapped his arms around the filly in his sleep. Twilights smile widened and she kissed the top of his head and wrapped a hoof around him and laid her head next to him, nuzzling him softly as she drew a blanket over them.
---------------------------
Twilight sat in front of Princess Celestia in a state of euphoria. Celestia was talking, but she wasn’t paying attention. In the last hour, she had gotten her cutie mark, hatched a baby dragon, and became the Princesses personal student. She suddenly realized that the Princess had gone quiet, and was about to speak up when she heard a shout behind her.
‘Hold him still, we still need to examine him!’
Turning to look at what was going on, Twilight saw the baby purple dragon push its way through a dozen researchers, trying to get past them. The little guy pushed past the last researcher and ran to Twilight, wrapping its arms around her chest before curling into a ball against her and going straight to sleep. She sat there in awe, her mouth hanging open, staring at the dragon that had been giving the grown ponies trouble for the last hour, and had just wanted to come sleep against her.
‘Well, that sure is sweet, don’t you think so, Twilight?’ Princess Celestia said, sitting next to Twilight
‘Princess? I don’t understand.’ she responded, not looking away from the dragon.
‘Maybe you will, in time. How does it make you feel?’
‘I think I know what it feels to have your heart melted, Princess.’ Twilight said, lowering her head down and nuzzling the sleeping dragon gently.
‘How would you like to take care of him?’
‘What?!’ Twilight exclaimed, looking at the Princess with wide eyes. ‘Are you serious?’
‘Yes, but only if you promise to treat him like anypony else, never make him feel unwanted or different.’ Twilight nodded vigorously. ‘Very well then, what will you name him?’
Twilight turned her gaze back to the dragon and ran her hoof along his head, tracing the spines going down his back. ‘Spike. I will call him Spike.’
Celestia smiled and watched as Twilight stroked Spike’s scales. ‘Well, I believe there is nothing wrong with you keeping him, Twilight.’ Twilight was about to shout for joy, but was cut off by Princess Celestia’s hoof. ‘Now now, Twilight, you don’t want to wake him up, do you?’ Twilight gave a sheepish grin. ‘Now, I will leave you two along, good night, Twilight Sparkle. And goodnight to you, too, Spike Sparkle.’
‘Good night, Princess. And thank you.’ the young lavender filly said, resting down next to the dragon, curling her body as much as she could around him. She lay there, watching him and slowly stroking his scales for hours, smiling. She eventually joined the dragon in sweet, blissful sleep.
Twilight woke up smiling to herself, tears rolling slowly down her cheek. She had her eyes closed, reliving the moments in her dreams, feeling like somepony had wrapped her heart in a blanket. Yawning, she pushed her face into her blanket, only to meet the warm fur of her mentor. Opening her eyes groggily, she seen Princess Celestia looking out the window, her wing still spread out and embracing Twilight.
“Good morning, Princess Celestia.” she said quietly.
“Good morning, my dear student. Have a good nights rest?” she said, turning her head to look at the sleepy lavender unicorn, who nodded. “Now, may I ask why you are here? It’s nice seeing you here again, but I doubt you were feeling nostalgic.”
“What, I need a reason to come visit my teacher?” Twilight giggled. “I admit I didn’t come here for this, but I feel oddly enlightened.” she looked at Celestia, a serious look on her face. “I came to try and find out something about restoring memory.”
Obsidian walked slowly away from Sweet Apple Acres, his body protesting, every muscle on fire. Working the fields all day was a great workout, and today he had worked more than he usually would, perhaps too hard. Rainbow Dash had come and ponynapped Applejack back to the barn, leaving Obsidian to work the fields alone. He sat down under a small tree, groaning. He had foolishly decided to do the work of both him and Applejack, and he was now regretting his decision.
He looked up at the tree and seen a small basketful of apples right above him. He attempted to reach for one, only to moan and relax his sore muscles again. His ears twitched at the sound of small wings buzzing. He only had a moment to wonder where it was coming from and why it was getting closer before hearing a small shout.
“Hi-yah!” came from three different fillies behind the tree, followed shortly by a thud. He watched in horror as the apples fell down and pelted his already sore body. He didn’t cry out, he just winced and whined at the pain. The three fillies responsible for his misery crept out from behind the tree, giggling. They looked at the stallion laying on the ground, whining.
“Ah think we killed him.” one of them said.
“Oh, he’s just a big sissy.”
“He probably don’t want to talk to us after that.”
Sure enough, Obsidian wasn’t saying anything. He closed his eyes and imagined being home on his nice, soft bed, not having to move, when he felt a pair of hooves grab his legs and start pulling him.
“Well, lets go an’ bury him. We done killed him, so we should pay our respects.”
“Yea, like that one time we played Dragon Slayers with Spike!”
The three little fillies managed to drag Obsidian to their scooter and wagon and loaded him onto it. He grunted and groaned the entire time, letting out a small, pained moan whenever he was moved too fast and when they lifted him onto the wagon. He closed his eyes and wondered if this was his chariot into Tartarus as they pulled him along to Celestia knows where. Somehow, he managed to fall into sleep on the ride, and woke up as he was picked up and placed on a low table.
“Here is Obsidian Heartfire, hardworking stallion that lives in a library. Worked himself to death after getting a marefriend.”
“Ah remember it like it was yesterday.”
“Applebloom, it was only 10 minutes ago.”
“Hush, Sweetie Belle, yer ruinin’ the Cutie Mark Crusaders Funeral Specialists.”
“More like Cutie Mark Crusaders Torturers.” came a low reply from the black stallion
“Oh no! It’s a zompony! Quick, Cutie Mark Crusaders Zompony Hunters!”
“Oh dear sweet Celestia, don’t...” he said, opening his eyes. “Ugh, why do I have the misfortune of being tormented by you three today?”
The three fillies, an orange Pegasus with a cutie mark of a scooter with wheels of fire, a yellow Earth Pony with a hammer and saw cutie mark, and a white Unicorn with a musical note inside a heart, all sat there giving him cute, devilish smiles. They were known as the Cutie Mark Crusaders, and were infamous for terrorizing Ponyville.
“We were just out playing, seen you all alone under that tree and unable to reach an apple, so we decided to lend a hoof.” the pegasus, Scootaloo, said
“Ah thought you said we were gonna prank him?” the yellow earth pony said.
“Hush up, Apple Bloom, you definitely aren’t a Cutie Mark Crusader Fibber!”
“I have a silly question,” Obsidian said. “Why do you continue crusading? You already have your cutie marks.”
“Because it’s fun!” exclaimed the unicorn, Sweetie Belle. “And we have a promise to keep with our friend.”
“A promise?” he asked.
“Yea, we had a promise with a little dragon that we played with to always crusade after he helped us get our cutie marks, and we intend to keep it, especially after he left.” Sweetie Belle explained, looking a little sad at the end.
“No fair, he helped y’all get yer cutie marks, but not me.” Apple Bloom pouted.
“Well, he ‘helped’ me by having a bet, which I lost.” said Scootaloo.
“What, mad that you were seen dancing like a little filly after winning that competition with your eyes closed, Scoots?” Sweetie Belle teased, resulting in a wrestling match between the two.
“So, uh, what about Sweetie Belle?” Obsidian asked Apple Bloom.
“Well, she couldn’t figure out what to get her sis, Rarity, for her birthday, and Spike, our friend, told her to sing a song, and Spike played the piano for her song.” Apple Bloom said, “And ah got mine from fixing this clubhouse and our farm. Hey, stop that wrestlin’ before ya break the clubhouse. Again.”
“So you three were really good friends with Spike?” Apple Bloom nodded and the ball of white and orange pony agreed. “Everyone else seems to regret having done something to him, what about you?”
“Only thing ah regret is seein’ him depressed whenever mah sis and her friends went on an adventure and left Spike all alone.”
“Yea, have you ever seen a depressed dragon? It’s disgusting.”
“Scootaloo! That’s not very nice!” Scootaloo stuck her tongue out at Sweetie Belle. “I wish I had gotten to thank him properly for helping us get our cutie marks.”
“So, you are telling me the three of you, who torture innocent stallions, had a dragon for a best friend and cheered him up?” the three nodded “Wow, explains why you are so evil.”
“Well, since ya put it that way, Cutie Mark Crusaders Stallion Tormentors commence!” yelled Apple Bloom, who jumped on top of Obsidian, followed closely by the other two crusaders.
Obsidian grunted and groaned as three sets of hooves playfully hit him and tickled him. “Stop that, or I will go find this Spike and tell him to come eat you for being a pain in the flank.”
“If it brings Spike back, we will continue!” shouted Sweetie Belle. The three fillies attacked him relentlessly until they all fell onto the floor, with Obsidian letting out a long, pained groan.
“Awe, ah think we broke him.” Apple Bloom said, nudging him with a hoof.
“Think we should help him back to the library?” Scootaloo questioned.
“No! That is perfectly alright. Now, if you girls don’t mind, I have a date with the bathtub, and I intend to keep it. And then I will go die on my bed.” he said as he got up and slowly made his way to the door.
“Hey now, don’t go cheat on my sister!”
“I don’t know, the bath promises to be very relaxing, I may just fall in love with it.” he replied, causing little giggles to come out of the fillies, who waved at the retreating stallion.
Obsidian slowly trudged home to the library, wondering to himself about this young dragon. He had it rough from the sounds of it, and yet, all the ponies missed him, even if they regretted what they did to the dragon. Obsidian also couldn’t help but feel like the name was familiar to him.
“What do you mean, nothing else will work? I’ve already tried this spell, and 364 variations of it!”
Celestia frowned at her student from her outburst. The two of them had spent the last two looking through the archive and discussing amnesia. They had gotten nowhere, however, as it turned out her student, Twilight Sparkle, had already tried the only spell that had been found that helped. And apparently tried 364 variations of it. That she had yelled at Celestia three times so far.
“Twilight, if you try to force this issue any more than you have, you may end up damaging the young ponies mind. Obsidian Heartfire, you said his name was?” Twilight responded with a downtrodden nod at the scolding. “Now, Twilight, I think you should get some rest.”
Twilight sighed, her head hung low. “I guess you are right, Princess. Thank you for helping me.” she said, walking slowly towards the door.
Celestia walked up beside her student and nuzzled her side. “Twilight, don’t be so upset. Just because he can’t remember his past doesn’t mean he can’t have a wonderful future. Now, I think you should go back to Ponyville tomorrow. If I remember correctly, you and your friends have a celebration in a couple days.”
Twilight’s face brightened up. “You are right, Princess! How could I forget the day we all got our cutie marks!” she nuzzled her mentor back. “I promise to visit again soon, Princess Celestia, and for a better occasion.”
“I hope you will, Twilight.” Celestia smiled at the unicorn as she trotted away to get a good nights sleep. Turning her thoughts elsewhere, Celestia made her way outside the castle slowly. She looked up at the moon, feeling the cool nights breeze flow over her. Spreading her wings, she took off for a relaxing flight in the cool night.
She flew for well over an hour over Canterlot and the surrounding area, and eventually made her way back to the Castle, landing on a balcony on one of the towers. She trotted down the stairs and through a labyrinth of hallways, pausing in front of a door. She gently pushed it open with her hoof and walked inside.
“Luuuna, where are you?” she cooed. The night Princess looked up at the door from her bed, looking slightly puzzled. Princess Luna stood up and walked to her sister.
“What is it sister? Is something-” Luna was interrupted by a pair of forelegs were thrown around her, drawing her into an unexpected, but not unwanted embrace.
“I know I don’t say this nearly enough, but I love you, Lu-lu.” Princess Celestia said quietly.
Princess Luna smiled and returned the hug eagerly. “I love you too, Celly.”
“Luna, do you want to go fly around, spend some time together, and annoy officials like we used to?” Celestia asked, breaking off the hug and taking a step back.
“I don’t know, Celestia. I am quite busy, um, reading books. But, I guess I can make time for you.” Luna stuck her tongue out at her big sister. “Since you asked nicely.”
“Is there anything you wish to do first, Luna?” Celestia asked.
“I will let you know when you catch me!” Luna shouted, already running out the door and down the corridor. Celestia was momentarily shocked before grinning to herself and giving chase to her sister.
Obsidian sat at the table in the library, eyes closed in concentration. He was levitating a large number of books around him, opening them, spinning them around in mid-air, trying to improve his levitation. Other than a strange ability to catch half of the library on fire, the only magic he could really perform was levitation. He let out an exasperated sigh as all the books came tumbling down. Straining, he picking the books up one by one and repeating the process.
Normally, Twilight Sparkle would help with his practice, but she was currently in Canterlot, visiting her mentor, Princess Celestia. As soon as his thoughts turned to the purple mare, the library door was flung open and the culprit was none other than Twilight herself. Obsidian jumped off his chair, dropping all the books, a few of them conveniently on his head, and giving a little shout. “Aah! I didn’t cheat on you with my bed, I swear!”
Twilight gave the hiding stallion an odd look before replying, “How do I know you didn’t do anything with the bathtub?”
“No! I wouldn’t cheat on you! You’re beautiful!” he said, hiding under the books and his own hooves.
“Maybe I should go tell Rarity what you think of me, Obsidian.” Twilight giggled.
“Wait, what?” he asked, puzzled. He peeked out from under his hooves and seen the purple unicorn giggling at him. “Um, right. I’ll just.. Go bury myself now..” He slowly crawled backwards until his flank bumped the wall. He slowly levitated a nearby bookshelf to hide him from his roommate with a twisted sense of humor.
Twilight levitated a few heavy tomes and dropped them behind the bookshelf, ignoring the grunts that resulted. “Hmm, I don’t remember rearranging the bookshelves, but it is a nice place to keep all these huge books.” she walked towards her desk and set down her saddlebags, constantly dropping a heavy book behind the shelf.
Obsidian groaned and crawled out of the crushing weight of knowledge. “I said ‘bury myself’ figuratively, not literally.” he said, collapsing on the ground beside the bookshelf.
“Oh good, you are here.” said Twilight offhandedly, “I thought of a spell that you can try. It involves your odd ability of fire, and involves using some elements of levitation.”
“Um, Twilight? Could I at least have a moment to rest?” he asked.
“Hmm, and perhaps I should tell Rarity that you are also a lazy unicorn who just lays on the floor, unwilling to move?” she said with a hint of laughter in her voice. “That’s fine, I need to go put away some things upstairs anyway.” she said, carrying a small package from her saddlebags with her up the stairs.
Obsidian watched the mare walk up the stairs and turned his attention to the deathtrap of tomes he crawled out of. He got up and walked to the bookshelf, a frown on his face. Placing his forehooves on the bookshelf, he pushed it with a grunt. It slid slowly back into place, the heavy books behind it threatening to topple over onto the stallion. After he pushed the bookshelf where it belonged, he stacked the books up for sorting later.
His ears perked up at the sound of hooves coming down the stairs and turned to see Twilight walking down slowly. Looking closely, he noticed her eyes were a little red and puffed up. He almost asked about it, but snapped his muzzle shut.
“So, this spell is odd, and I can’t do it because I am not very good at fire magic. You, however, are very keen at it. Now, take this scroll, catch it on fire, and imagine it levitating to me.” she explained, giving him a stack of scrolls before walking to the other side of the room.
Obsidian concentrated on the scroll, catching it on fire and then tried imagining it levitating it towards his instructor. All he managed to do, however, was cover the floor in ashes. He tried having it levitate part way there before catching it on fire, and he tried doing both at the exact same time.
Hours, countless scrolls, an exhausted stallion and utterly frustrated mare later, the library floor was covered in ashes and partially burnt pieces of parchment. Twilight wasn’t upset so much at the mess, but rather, their lack of progress. Stomping her hooves against the floor, she screamed, releasing her frustrations. Obsidian nearly jumped out of his skin, and watched with wide eyes as Twilight stormed out of the library.
Just as she was walking out the door, there was a bright green flash right in front of her, and a scroll materialized. “Spike?!” she called out, startled. She grabbed it with her magic and looked at it. The scroll was just like every other blank scroll that her and Obsidian had been burning for hours. She turned towards the stallion, who had his hooves on his head, and a grimace plastered on his face.
“Obsidian?” she called, walking towards the stallion. When he didn’t respond, she walked next to him and nudged him with a hoof. He responded with a groan. She sighed and got to cleaning up the mess all over the library. She threw the ashes out the window, letting the wind scatter them. She sorted the books Obsidian had stacked up, and with a small nudge with her magic, made sure the bookshelves were all in proper order.
Yawning, she sat down at her desk and pulled a book from her saddlebags. She opened the book and started looking through it. It was an old picture book that was left in her room in Canterlot. The beginning of it was mostly of her as a little filly, showing her as a baby, to her first birthday, to her playing with Cadence and other times, her brother Shining Armor. About a third of the way through, there was a picture with her and the newly hatched Spike, cuddling together on the floor, both fast asleep.
As she slowly looked through the picture book of her life, some happy, and sad, tears drifted down her cheek, and she became aware of another pony next to her, but the intruder said nothing, and neither did she. She paused at a picture, showing her and Spike sharing an ice cream cone when they visited Twilights parents. The little dragon hadn’t learnt how to properly speak yet, but Twilight had been able to tell he was sad that Twilights parents had only given her some ice cream. When she had noticed him sulking, she had immediately trotted over to him and offered the dragon to share the cone.
“Is that Spike?” the other pony, Obsidian, asked quietly.
“Yes, it is.” was all Twilight said in response.
“Who was he, exactly?” he questioned.
“An assistant, a friend, the very best friend..” she choked back a light sob. “Most importantly.. He was my little brother..” she said, placing a hoof on the picture. Several moments passed before either of them made a sound.
“I was asking others about Spike, and I have a question.” Obsidian said softly. “You and all your friends appear to have enjoyed Spike, but you rarely had him around with you on your adventures. The Crusaders said he was always sad when you girls left him all alone.”
“What?” Twilight asked, looking at him, tears in her eyes. “They really said that?” Obsidian nodded. “Well, that makes me feel worse...”
“Sorry,” Obsidian said, “I didn’t mean to cause any pain.” he slowly backed away from the silently crying mare, heading towards the stairs.
“Wait. I don’t want to talk about it right now, but maybe you could come with me and the girls tomorrow?” she asked, looking at him. “It is kind of a special occasion for us, but I don’t mind it, and I am pretty sure Rarity wouldn’t.” she said with some semblance of a smile on her muzzle. “It’s the day we all got our cutie marks, and it is also the birthday of Spike. I might be able to talk more about it tomorrow, and maybe even the rest will talk about him.”
“Alright, Twilight. I will be there. Thanks.” he said “Goodnight, Twilight.”
Rarity hummed to herself as she headed towards the Sugarcube Corner, ready to meet her friends for their annual get-together to celebrate their acquisition of cutie marks. She was a little upset that her new stallionfriend hadn’t visited her in two days, but she put that aside and wouldn’t let that get in the way of things today. She let a smile out as she approached the gingerbread house that was the Sugarcube Corner, and did a double take when she saw Obsidian walking silently behind Twilight Sparkle into the confectionery shoppe.
She trotted the rest of the way to the bakery and quickly entered behind them. “My, Obsidian left me for Twilight?” she accusingly mocked.
“Well, he did call me beautiful..” Twilight added in hastily, a hoof brought up to her chin.
“It’s not what it seems like!” the stallion exclaimed, his forehooves up in surrender.
“Hmm, well I’m not sure I’m convinced, darling.” Rarity said, pressing the black stallion. She walked right in front of him, her muzzle mere inches away from his and whispered, “Convince me.”
Obsidian moved in to give her a small kiss when a big pink blur appeared out of nowhere between them, startling the both of them. Both the mare and stallion jumped back, only to be pulled into a big hug from the party pony, along with Twilight Sparkle and the newcomers, Applejack and Rainbow Dash. Fluttershy walked in and was frightfully dragged in by an odd hoof.
“Hello, everypony!” the pink pony, aptly named Pinkie Pie, said excitedly. When she let go, all the others stumbled away from the epicenter and settled on a more casual gathering. The group of friends chatted merrily, eating some sweet breakfast snacks. Obsidian seemed so out of place he might as well not even be there. He talked a little bit with Twilight and Rarity, had a conversation with Fluttershy that could have been the record for the most awkward conversation in Equestria. Rainbow Dash and Applejack were busy hoofwrestling to be bothered, and Pinkie Pie was never anywhere to be found when you actually looked for her.
Obsidian started to wonder if his morning would be better spent doing anything else. He was sure the others didn’t mean to make him feel this out of place, and he knew that today was special for them. He sat down at a table and looked out the window for a while before starting as a white unicorn sat across from him, a small grin on her face.
“You still haven’t convinced me, darling.” she laughed. “Come on, we are going to go on a picnic.” Obsidian jumped up and offered a hoof to Rarity, who took it giggling lightly. “Well, I suppose that convinces me a little.”
Twilight led the way, carrying a picnic basket, followed by Applejack and Rainbow Dash constantly having small arguments along the way. Fluttershy was going along, quite as usual, and Obsidian and Rarity were walking together. Pinkie Pie was constantly bouncing around the group, being her usual bubbly self.
“So what is today about, Rarity?” Obsidian asked quietly.
“Well, it is the day all of us got our cutie marks. Every year, we get together and have a little fun. It is also little Spikey’s birthday.” the white unicorn said.
“You still celebrate his birthday after three years?” he questioned.
“Yea we do, even though he is a big super-meanie-pants for leaving us!” Pinkie Pie said, interrupting the two. “I mean, what kind of friend just leaves everypony sad?”
Obsidian felt a sharp pain inside his skull as Rarity spoke up, “Well, it was my fault for him leaving.”
“What are you talking about, Rarity? It was my fault, I broke a promise to him.” Twilight interjected, having slowed down to join the conversation.
“Now don’t go blamin yerself, Twilight. Ahm sure we all did somethin that made the poor guy feel down.” Applejack said.
“You don’t understand. I promised him I would always be there for him, and yet, where was I? Off with you girls, having fun, leaving Spike all alone and hurt.” Twilight said, eyes becoming moist, looking down at her hooves as they walked.
“Twilight, dear, I think me letting the guy down after he so clearly stated his feelings for me would be worse to him than that.” Rarity told Twilight.
Rainbow Dash spoke up, “To go and just leave because he got rejected? How lame can he be?” Pinkie Pie nodded.
Fluttershy was the only pony not taking part in the small argument, and was feeling very nervous. She looked at Obsidian, who kept wincing. “Um, Obsidian? Is something wrong?”
Obsidian shook his head. “Nothing. Just a headache.” He visibly cringed as the debate continued. “A very bad headache.”
“Is there, um, something I can do to help?” she asked meekly, and watched how the stallion appeared to hurt more as the other girls continued shouting. “Um, girls? I think you should stop fighting now. Girls? Girls?!” she let out one of her rare shouts, and everypony turned their gaze towards her and she sank back down into her usual, shy self. “Would you, um, stop fighting? If you wouldn’t mind, that is... Obsidian has a bad headache.”
The mares all looked at Obsidian, who had a hoof to his temple. “Are ya alright, sugarcube?” Applejack asked, concerned.
“I’m.. Fine. Let’s just go have that picnic, and stop arguing?” Obsidian said, giving a small, pained smile.
“Are you sure, dear?” Rarity asked and got a nod in response. “Well, it’s a good thing we are here already.”
Their picnic was in a large meadow with a couple trees, and the group waited while Twilight spread the large blanket out under one of the trees, and then the small feast on top of the blanket. They all lay down scattered across the blanket after gathering food consisting of daisy sandwiches, a salad, some muffins, and apple pie.
The picnic went along quietly, a drastic change from the debate just minutes earlier. Pinkie Pie had just finished eating all the pie when a bright flash appeared in front of Twilight, materializing as a scroll. Twilight immediately grabbed it with her magic and read it, and looked up at the group, eyes open wide.
“We got another dragon going into slumber. Princess Celestia wants us to take care of it, since we did such a good job with the one before.” she declared. “And she wants us to go as soon as we can.” she stood up and stretched. “Who’s up for an adventure?”
Pinkie Pie jumped up and was ready in the blink of an eye. Everypony but Fluttershy got up soon after, and the poor yellow pegasus looked like she wanted to go hide.
“What’s wrong with Fluttershy?” Obsidian wondered.
“Oh, she’s just afraid of dragons.” Twilight said, walking to the cowering mare. “Come on, Fluttershy. We could probably use your help again.”
“Yea, sugarcube. It’s gonna be alright.” Applejack said to both Obsidian and Fluttershy, reassuring them. “Come on, we need to go get ready.”
After a couple hours of persuasion, packing, and travel, the group of ponies made it to the cave holding the dragon. Fluttershy was trying to hide behind everypony despite how much encouragement Twilight was giving her. Obsidian wondered about the whole event, and was worried himself, despite the encouraging. A big, live, dragon? And they were supposed to get it to leave? Obsidian hesitated as the group walked into the entrance, and watched curiously as Fluttershy tentatively took the lead, after some nudging from Rainbow Dash.
“So, um, how do we get this dragon to leave?” Obsidian asked quietly.
“Well, last time Fluttershy scolded the dragon so bad it got scared of her and whimpered and cried and apologized and ran away.” Pinkie Pie exclaimed excitedly.
“Well, why is she so afraid of them, then? If she can scare off dragons, why is she afraid of-” he was cut off as a very loud roar resounded from the cave. “I guess that would be why..”
The dragon came into view, it was large, with dark blue scales covering its body and cyan stomach and spinal scales. It was still awake, and it wasn’t very happy to see the ponies.
“Woah, there. That’s a lot bigger than the last one.Ah hope we can take care of it.” Applejack said, a little worried.
Fluttershy quietly asked the giant dragon, “Um, mister dragon? M-my friends and I w-wanted to ask, um, if you could please move somewhere else for your nap. If you don’t mind, that is.” The dragon roared in response, and threw a giant claw at the pegasus. Fluttershy screamed as the claw moved towards her, unable to get away quickly enough. Her scream stopped suddenly as the claw hit her, sending her flying to wall, unconscious.
Rainbow Dash was the first one to respond, flying at the dragon and kicking his snout really hard, stunning him for a moment. The dragon quickly recovered and attacked Rainbow Dash, but was stopped by a magical shield cast from Twilight Sparkle. The dragon inhaled deeply and shot a large flame at the mare. She was tackled out of the way by Applejack as Pinkie Pie appeared out from behind the dragon, party cannon in tow.
Rarity was stunned at the sight of the attacking dragon and just watched as her friends attacked it. The dragon started to breathe fire again, but was stopped by a deep voice from within the cave.
“Siste, Nocto Draco.” Rarity looked to the source of the voice and saw Obsidian, eyes glowing bright green, as if they were on fire. The stallion walked towards the dragon, who started swinging at the mares again. “I said, STOP!” Obsidian shouted, his mane and tail glowing green shortly before it was consumed in green flames to match the color of his eyes.
The dragon spat out a blue fireball in the stallion’s direction, but Rarity realized that the fireball was aimed at her. The stallion jumped in front of the fireball just in time, the blue fire consuming his body. Rarity started running to the stallion as her friends stood stock still at the scene. The alabaster mare stopped just short of the burning stallion as she watched the blue flames turn green, growing larger by the second.
Obsidian shouted at the dragon again, the green flames covering his body growing almost as large as the blue dragon, and taking a semblance to a dragon. “Don’t you dare hurt these ponies anymore, Night!” Obsidian finished his statement with a charge at the dragon, covering the distance in a speed to rival Rainbow Dash. The dragon swiped at the charging stallion, only to miss as he dodged and planted a full speed kick to its midsection.
The mares all gathered in a group around the unconscious body of Fluttershy, too shocked to do anything to help, or to even say anything. Obsidian received his fair share of blows from the blue dragon, but it was mostly on the defensive. A large portion of the emerald flames shot out at the dragon, whose eyes grew wide shortly before being consumed, letting out another loud roar. As the flames receded, the dragon was no longer visible, and the stallion wasn’t visible inside.
Moments passed, all the ponies were stunned at what happened, just watching the flames go down slowly, their mouths all gaping. Rainbow was the first to break the silence, trotting as close to the fire as she was willing. “Obsidian? Are you alright in there?”
A response came seconds later, sounding deeper than Obsidian’s voice. “Yea, I’m alright, thanks for asking, Dash. Of all the time I have known you, I think this is one of the only times you have been concerned for me.”
“Well, there usually isn’t much to be concerned about you, we have only known each other for three months.” Rainbow Dash said to the shrinking flames moving slowly towards her.
“I want to say, you’re wrong, Dash. Don’t you remember not taking me to the Young Flyers Competition years ago, even though I really wanted to go?” the voice asked, a silhouette slightly larger than an average pony starting to appear in the fire. Rainbow Dash gasped, recognizing the speaker.
“S-spike? Is that really you?” she walked closer to him.
“The one and only.” came the response. The flames had just about receded fully by now, revealing the purple scaled dragon with folded wings standing on all fours, his eyes still burning bright green, with a purple tint in the center. “Who else could it be?”
Applejack and Pinkie Pie both took seats next to their unconscious friend, unwilling to meet the dragon at the moment. Twilight and Rarity, however, both had tears welling up in their eyes as they took small steps towards the drake. Twilight was unable to speak, her mouth moving slightly as the two unicorns walked. Rarity was the first one to talk.
“Spike? That is really you, darling? This isn’t some trick?” she asked rather softly, her voice cracking. The flames around the dragon dispelled immediately, leaving behind the green scales running along his back.
“Of course it is, ‘Darling.’ Are you that upset from the show that you can’t believe I’m here? Why would you be upset, anyways? It wasn’t your heart that got broken!” Spike said, his voice growing louder, anger painted across his face. “Upset that your ponies didn’t accept you? That your dresses got burnt? Well, buck you, Rarity!” he shouted at her, smoke coming out of his nostrils. The unicorn froze in her place, visibly hurt from his words.
“Don’t you dare talk to her like that, Spike!” Twilight shouted back at him, matching his volume. “You don-” she was interrupted as he slapped her muzzle, leaving three shallow cuts along her cheek. Rainbow Dash had her mouth open as she watched the dragon smack his oldest friend, but even she was able to spot that it pained him almost as much as it did the lavender unicorn, perhaps even more.
“Don’t you try to talk to me like that, Twilight. Y-you don’t know what I went through! You’re worse than she is!” he said, voice cracking as tears of his own fell to the rocky cavern floor shortly before he ran out the cave and took off into the mid afternoon sky outside.
Rainbow started to chase after him, but was stopped by an orange hoof on her shoulder. “Hold it, Rainbow. Ah think Spike needs tah simmer down.” was her quiet answer to the annoyed look. “Ah also think we should take care of the rest of the girls, don’t ya think?” Applejack motioned her head to the two unicorns and one pegasus. Rarity had collapsed onto the floor, her face buried in her hooves as she cried, Twilight sitting next to her, laying a hoof on her shoulder.
Rainbow Dash went to the side of her best friend, Fluttershy, who was just now starting to regain consciousness, while Pinkie and Applejack went to comfort the crying unicorns.
“Go to him, sister. From what you said, he could use some help, and not from me right now.”
“I planned on it, even if you told me not to. Even I could feel his pain from that little encounter.”
“I see. It’s personal, then?”
“Very personal. I believe I know some of what he is going through. However, I need some rest. That was very taxing and I am not usually up this early.”
“Very well, I am just glad that my prediction was correct.”
Spike flew over the land, the cool air flowing past his scales and wings. The wind helped cool his blood, calming him down, and it also served to blow the tears from his face. He was right to be angry at the ponies, wasn’t he? The mare that he had longed after had so readily accepted a stallion that reminded her of him so readily, when she had rejected him after years of his help. So why did it hurt him as much to yell at her as it did when she rejected him? And why did it feel like he had beaten himself when he slapped Twilight?
Spike spotted Canterlot in the distance and tumbled a short while before regaining his composure as he remembered the city, mainly the Palace. All the games him and Twilight had played together as kids, the promise Twilight had made to always be there, and how she had eventually gone back on her promise, leaving the dragon alone. His thoughts turned to Celestia, how she had told him everything would be alright. He scowled, remembering how the Princess had told him that Twilight was going to treat him better. Twilight had, but only until shortly after arriving in Ponyville, when she started studying more and spending the rest of the time with her new friends.
He should have been happy for her, right? He had always wanted her to have more friends, but he still felt betrayed. He should be happy that Rarity had found somepony she could be happy with, but he still felt torn.
Sighing, Spike altered his course and headed towards the orchards near Ponyville. He wasn’t sure how to feel, he had felt saddened as the pony, Obsidian, learned about how everypony felt about Spike, yet he was also angered that Rarity had only chosen to be with him while he was a pony. Even though Spike was watching the whole time, wanting to comfort his friends, yet he was reminded of all his pains when he had the chance to do so.
He knew he should go back and apologize to everypony, but he didn’t want to set eyes on any of them. He started gliding downwards, and landed near a large tree. Even though he spent over three years away from the ponies he cared about, he still wanted to be alone at this moment. Alone, just how he always seemed to end up feeling.
Spike sobbed softly as he walked up next to the tree and curled up. Even though it was still only late afternoon, the young dragon slowly drifted off into slumber, visiting the realm of dreams. Unbeknownst to him, however, were three little fillies watching him from the window of their clubhouse.
“Well, this is a strange sight. A dragon crying in his sleep in the middle of the night. Covered in fillies, as well.” said a soft voice in the night, waking the slumbering purple dragon nesting under a tree. “If I didn’t know any better, little one, I would say you had some fun last night.”
Spike tensed, looking around for the speaker. Unable to see anyone, he started to move, oblivious to the three little fillies sleeping on top of him, until one of them grumbled and nuzzled into him for warmth. “Who are you? Where are you?” he called out, trying not to wake his living blanket.
“Fear not, Spike, I mean you no harm.” came the soft reply as a dark blue alicorn appeared, seemingly out of nowhere.
“Princess Luna?” the young dragon asked, puzzled.
“Yes, it is I. Don’t bother trying to bow or any of that nonsense. Don’t want to wake those three, now do you?” she asked, flashing him a small grin as she walked up to the drake.
“What are you doing here? And why do I feel like I just had a fight with you?”
“I am here to give you some company. Some company that isn’t sleeping, that is.” she said, taking a seat next to Spike, both of them chuckling a little bit at the sight. “As for the fight, we will talk about that later.” neither of them said anything after that for a long time, both of them just looking at the sky, or the surrounding field and trees. After a while, Luna lay down next to the dragon, who was surprised to see the Night Princess acting so casually. “I know how you feel, Spike.” she said softly, turning her cyan eyes towards him.
Spike looked away from the dark sapphire blue alicorn. “Nopony knows what I feel like, Princess. How could they?” he looked back at her when he felt her hoof on his shoulder.
“Believe me, Spike, I know what it is like to feel like you are nothing to the ones you care about the most. There are other things as well, but now is not the time to talk about those.” Luna said, trying to encourage the dragon. “I may not know exactly how you are feeling, but I know better than anypony else. Although I never got a filly blanket.” she gave a small, fake pout.
“You can have them, I think they gained a little weight in the last three years.”
“I think I will pass, thank you. And it isn’t very nice to joke about a mare’s weight, even though these three aren’t yet mares. What was it like for you, for the last three years?”
Spike frowned a little, resting his claw on the nearest filly, Sweetie Belle, and slowly stroking her mane as she slept. “I felt like I was being taken on a ride in another body. I smelt, heard, felt and tasted everything I did while I was a pony. But my actions and words were not mine. I felt more at peace during that time than I ever have before, though.”
“It may be possible that he acted out your purest intentions, Spike. I heard that he managed to accomplish what you had been trying to do your whole life.” Spike snorted in response.
“Yea, I try my whole life to be the best I can be to everypony, and only after I play as a pony am I able to do it, in three years.”
Luna frowned this time. “But you still have friends, Spike.”
“What, these three? I’m sure tomorrow they will try to tame me or something.”
“While that does sound enjoyable, they aren’t who I was referring. I was talking about the Bearers of the Elements.”
Spike’s nostrils flared. “Those ponies? Who cares about those ponies? They don’t need me, they don’t even want me around. They hate me, and I hate them.” his voice trailed off as he finished his statement, and a dark blue hoof came down forcefully on his cheek.
“That is false, young Spike. My sister told me about Twilight, she missed you dearly. The white unicorn as well, Rarity.”
“Yea, figures they want me there only after I am gone.”
“Maybe you should try talking with them, Spike. You might be surprised how much it helps, as long as you try before it is too late.”
Spike looked doubtfully at the Princess. “How can you be so sure, Luna?”
Luna returned a comforting look to the dragon. “I know it would have helped me. And you will always have me to talk to, Spike, I promise.” Spike frowned and looked away from the Princess. She nuzzled his cheek softly. “I guess you have a few broken promises, don’t you?” Spike nodded in response. “Well, I don’t plan on letting you down, just don’t let me down and follow the same path I did, ok Spike?”
“Ok, Princess. Thank you.” he said, looking at the Princess as she stood up.
“Now, if you will excuse me, I need to go follow my own advice. Keep in touch, you hear?” she nuzzled the dragon again after he nodded and took off gracefully, flying into the night.
Spike looked at the three fillies on top of him, smiling a little at the sight. Sweetie Belle was cuddled up on his chest as he stroked her mane slowly, while Apple Bloom and Scootaloo both laid on his stomach, cuddled together for warmth. He closed his eyes, feeling peace from his three friends wanting to comfort him while he was sleeping. He began to drift back into the wonderful land of slumber, his feelings and thoughts still torn.
Sweetie Belle woke up, feeling the sun’s rays trying to shine through her eyelids, and felt something being pressed against her mane, resting on her neck. She opened her eyes, blinked a few times to adjust to the light, and to blink away the drowsiness. Her eyes focused on the purple scales on the face of the dragon she was sleeping on, and the arm he had reached out to her, his claws resting in her mane. She involuntarily stretched, her body wanting to move. Spike’s eyes flew open at her movement, and they instantly focused on the filly who woke him.
Sweetie Belle immediately jumped up from her position to give the big dragons’ neck a bone-crushing hug. “SPIKE!! You’re back!!!” her shout startled the dragon, and also woke up the other two fillies who occupied the body of the purple dragon as a bed. Apple Bloom and Scootaloo also quickly joined in on the hug, wrapping their hooves around his stomach.
“Uh, good morning to you, too, girls.” Spike said as his neck was being crushed by the small white unicorn.
“Good morning!” all three fillies said at once, jumping off of Spike, allowing him to sit up.
“What were ya doin’ out here, Spike? Why were ya cryin’ last night, an’ why didn’t ya go to the library?” little Apple Bloom asked, resting her front hooves on his lap.
“Well, I could ask you three the same question, why are you out here?” he said, frowning slightly.
“Well, we saw you last night being all mushy and decided to help you. And the girls weren’t back yet last night, so we decided to have a sleepover at the clubhouse, as we would have been alone, anyways.” the orange pegasus, Scootaloo, said offhandedly.
“And we wanted to cheer up our favorite dragon!” Apple Bloom said excitedly.
“I’m the only dragon you know.” Spike said, sticking a forked tongue out at them.
“Doesn’t matter! Where have you been, Spike? And why did you decide to come back now?” Sweetie Belle asked.
Spike looked at the three fillies, all of whom had their front hooves in his lap, looking back at him. “Well, as best as I can tell, I was a pony, somepony who you seemed to enjoy tormenting, as well. Thank you, for what you said to him.” he said, giving them a small smile and giving the tops of their heads small, friendly rubs. “As for why I’m back now, I have no idea. Everypony seemed better off when I was Obsidian, anyway.”
“Spike, that’s not true! Sure, you may have been a great help to ponies, but we still missed you, Spike.” Sweetie Belle said loudly, tearing up some and hugging the purple dragon again, causing the other two to join in. Spike returned the embrace gently.
“Thanks again, girls. Now, have you three been good little fillies?” the three all jumped away from him and nodded vigorously. One might mistake little halos over their devious little heads from the sun shining on them. “Well, as hard as that is to believe, I am going to give you the benefit of the doubt. Now, I need to go admire myself.” he said, stretching before standing up, giving them a goofy smile. “I never got a chance to look at my new body.” The three fillies all giggled at the silly dragon as he walked towards the Crusaders Clubhouse, where they somehow managed to keep an unbroken mirror.
Looking in the mirror at his reflection, Spike saw that his body would be larger than most ponies, though still not as large as the Princesses, and still had the same purple hue to it, just a touch darker now. He flared out his wings and checked them out. They were the same shade purple as his main scales. His stomach scales had a more pronounced shade of green, while his spines kept their color, changing to be sleeker, growing into sharp points.
“Lookin’ good, Spike. Lookin’ real good.” he said to the mirror, standing on his hind legs and flexing his arms, causing uncontrollable giggling from the little fillies watching him. The giggling increased as Spike’s stomach gave out a tremendous grumble, causing him to give a sheepish smile. “Guess I’m hungry. Come on, lets go get some breakfast.”
The three fillies all gave a chorus of “Yay!” and followed the dragon as he walked towards Ponyville. Spike silently hoped the six mares weren’t there yet, though he still wondered why they hadn’t returned last night.
Twilight woke up feeling sore, her cheek still stinging from the cuts she received last night. She opened her eyes and looked at her friends, all of them still sleeping in the cave, cuddled together for comfort. She raised a hoof to her cheek, reminding herself how much it had hurt when her own brother, Spike, had slapped her. It didn’t truly hurt physically, but it opened her eyes to how the little dragon felt. Perhaps ‘little’ wasn’t the proper way to describe him anymore, Twilight thought. He was larger than she was and had finally gotten his wings.
Twilight’s gaze rested on Rarity, who hadn’t been able to speak last night. The white unicorn had went into a trance after hearing Spike’s harsh words and departure. Twilight felt saddened for her friend. Rarity had dearly missed Spike, and the first thing he said to her was ‘buck off.’ Had something worse happened between the two of them that she wasn’t aware of?
As if on queue, the white mare opened her puffy eyes and looked back at the librarian. Twilight reached out a hood and rested it on her friends’ shoulder. “You alright, Rarity?” The mares’ eyes turned away and she gave a small sniffle.
“I don’t know, dear. I- I think I deserved that, last night. But, it still hurts.” She closed her eyes, tears pooling under her eyelids. “I never imagined Spike doing that..”
Twilight pulled her friend into a light hug. “Neither did I.” they both lay there, not saying anything more, just taking comfort in each other. The other girls slowly woke up and started moving around, getting ready to head back to Ponyville. They didn’t have any food for breakfast, so other than a few “Good mornings” going around, it was quiet, save for some grumbling stomachs.
The walk back to Ponyville took nearly an hour, and everypony had sore hooves, sore bodies, and empty stomachs. Pinkie Pie wasn’t bouncing around, either due to hunger or because of every ponies mood. They all silently agreed to grab something to snack on at the Corner.
After they entered the gingerbread building, they each got themselves some delicious, sweet snack that may not have been appropriate for a breakfast, and sat around a large table to enjoy. Pinkie Pie devoured a few cupcakes while Applejack and Rainbow got into a cake eating competition. Twilight and Fluttershy just quietly ate their snacks, while Rarity just stared at her tray of muffins, not attempting to eat any.
“So why did Spike act like that last night? That was so not cool!” Rainbow Dash said, breaking the silence.
“Maybe he was just shocked, that’s all.” Applejack said unsurely. “Ah reckon he was overreactin’ that’s all.”
“I don’t know, AJ. He seemed calm to me.” Twilight said defensively.
“Yea, calm enough to slap the pony he has lived with all his life!” Rainbow Dash almost shouted, clearly upset. “And why do you still have those cuts, Twi? Why don’t you heal it yourself or let Fluttershy take care of it?”
“Because I deserved it, Dash! All he ever wanted from me was to be my friend, to spend time with him and let him know that he.. That he was loved.” Twilight said, trying to hold back tears.
“Well, didn’t you do that, Twilight?” Rainbow Dash asked, confused.
“No, Dash, I didn’t.” Twilight said softly, getting up and walking away. “Not enough, at least. Thanks for the food, Pinkie.” with that, she exited the bakery, making sure the door closed behind her.
“What the hay was her problem?” Dash said.
“Ah suppose she was just defendin’ her oldest friend, Dash. Though, ah do agree with ya.” Applejack looked at the others. “What about y’all? Bein’ very quiet, specially you, Rarity.”
Rarity looked up at Applejack, then at the rest of the mares. Applejack and Rainbow Dash both looked at her, while Fluttershy was watching everyone with a little worry in her eyes, while Pinkie was bouncing around, failing to try and cheer everypony up. “I think he needs some time to himself, that’s all, darlings.”
“Time?! He’s had three years to himself, for Celestia’s sake!” Dash nearly shouted, causing Rarity to flinch.
“Girls, I think we should all stop fighting. Th-that is, if you don’t mind..” Fluttershy spoke up, and looked like she wanted to hide under the table as they looked at her.
“Fluttershy is right!” Pinkie said, jumping onto the table. “And maybe all Spike needs is a big hug, even if he is being a big meany-pants.”
“Ah guess we did get carried away there, sugarcube.” Applejack said, looking to the side. “We should probably go make sure Twilight’s alright. What about you, Rarity? Are ya alright?”
Rarity sighed and looked back at her muffins before speaking. “I think so, darling. I just need some time, alone.”
“Ya have been alone, sugarcube. But ah ain’t gonna argue with ya.” Applejack said, placing a hoof on her friends’ shoulder. “Come on, girls. We should go see Twilight.” she took her hoof off Rarity’s shoulder and walked towards the door, followed by a grumpy Rainbow Dash and energetic Pinkie Pie. “Fluttershy, ya comin’?” she asked the yellow pegasus.
“No, that’s alright. I need to go back and check on my animals.” Fluttershy said, giving them a small smile. They nodded and continued out the door. Fluttershy turned towards Rarity, who was still staring at her muffins, and gave her a small hug. “I’m sure everything will work out, Rarity. Maybe Spike just needs some time, just don’t let him think you don’t care anymore.”
Rarity returned the hug and gave a sniffle. “Thank you, darling. I lost him once, I don’t want to lose him again.” both of them were quiet for a few moments before they let go. “I think you should go check on Angel, he’s probably pretty upset that you haven’t fed him yet.”
Fluttershy let out a small ‘meep’ and quickly flew out the shop, leaving Rarity to sit and look at her muffins. Sighing, she picked one up and took a small bite out, trying to at least enjoy her snack, just a little. She finished one of the muffins before standing up and levitating the tray and the rest of the trash to throw it all away. Just as she was about to throw it all away, a blue-grey pegasus was spotted in the corner of her eye, and she turned to her.
“Well hello, Ditzy. What brings you here this morning?” she asked the wall-eyed mailmare.
“Oh, just decided to come get some muffins before going to work. And I told you that you can just call me Derpy, everypony else does.” she said, looking at the white unicorn, while her other eye decided there was something interesting on the floor.
“Well, that just wouldn’t be proper, dear.” Rarity said, levitating the tray of muffins over to her. “Here, might as well take these. I don’t want them, and it would just be a waste to throw them away.”
“Really?! You’re going to give me free muffins?” Derpy said, looking like it was her birthday and ready to jump around, which she did when Rarity nodded, giving her a small smile. “Ooh, thank you!” the pegasus mare said, giving Rarity a tight hug before flying off with her muffins, a huge smile on her face. Rarity smiled slightly after her, the bliss flowing from the pegasus seeping into her.
Spike left the guest bedroom of the library. As much as he didn’t want to come here, he had to stop by to get bits to pay for breakfast. The bits weren’t exactly his, but Obsidian had earned it, so he told himself it counted. The Cutie Mark Crusaders waited downstairs, hopefully not breaking anything. As he got to the top of the stairs, he heard a shout and groaned.
“Twilight!” one or more of them shouted, “Spike’s back!”
There was a short conversation that he couldn’t make out, and he decided against his better judgement to walk down the stairs. The entire place felt foreign to him, he hadn’t truthfully been here in years, and walking on four limbs was still alien to him, and he stumbled a little walking down the stairs. As he got to the bottom of the stairs, he was tackled by a white ball of unicorn filly.
“Spike! Twilight’s here! Hurry up and let’s go talk to her!” Sweetie Belle said excitedly, pushing the dragon towards the main room in the library where the other two Crusaders and the librarian awaited. As the lavender unicorn came into sight, Spike noticed the cuts along her cheek, he flinched slightly.
“Hey Spike. Are you feeling any better? I hope we can go back to how we were, Spike. I promise that we can be happy again.” she said, trying to smile though tears were swelling up in her eyes as she talked.
“How can I believe anything you say? You lied to me, Twilight. You broke the one promise that meant the world to me!” he said, standing up on his hind legs and overshadowing her, pain and anger in his eyes, recalling everything that happened between them. The three fillies sat at the edge of the room, looking fearful and hurt for their close friend. “You decided that being Celestia’s little whorse was more important than the one that depended on you!” Spike looked like he wanted to say more, but instead shook his head, sending a few draconic tears throughout the room as he ran out the door.
The three fillies were shocked at what their friend had just done to Twilight. “Twilight, what was he talkin’ about? What’s this promise that mattered so much?” Apple Bloom quietly asked the now newly sobbing unicorn.
Twilight looked at the three fillies, all of them looking at her expectantly, sadness apparent on their young faces. “Well, it was when we were young, and Spike was only a couple weeks old.” she sniffled before continuing. “I took those first couple weeks just spending time with him, he quickly learned how to speak, and was learning how to write. I knew I meant a lot to him, but I found out just how much after I started going back to school..”
Twilight hummed through the gardens. She enjoyed being back in classes and learning more, especially now that she was going to be Princess Celestia’s personal student. The time she had off to spend with the little dragonling that had been hatched during her exam had been very fun, but she had still wanted to study during that time.
As she got back to her new room in the castle, where her and her dragon Spike were now staying, she skipped along, happy to be able to spend more time with her new friend. As she opened up her door and levitated her saddlebags next to the door, she called out for him. “Spike! I’m home!” she looked around for the little purple dragon but couldn’t see him. “Spike? Where are you?” she called out again, getting concerned.
She started levitating things everywhere, looking for her friend. She started to panic, fearing something happened to him, when a loud knock came from the door. Running to it, she shoved it open and stared right into the face of a large pegasus guard.
“Miss Twilight Sparkle?” he asked, to which she nodded. “There is a small dragon running around. It seemed to be looking for something, and I was told that you have a dragon.”
“Spike? Where is he?” she asked frantically
“He was last at the school you go to. Follow me, miss.” he said before turning and walking at a fast pace, causing Twilight to have to nearly run to keep up with him. She didn’t care, as long as she found Spike.
They quickly got to the schoolyard, and the scene was heartbreaking. Spike was running around crying ‘Twilight!’ and trying to get inside. It was apparent that he was crying, and Twilight ran as fast as her little legs could carry her to the little guy.
“Spike! I’m here, Spike!” she shouted at him. Spike turned and looked at her, and started running at her. The two jumped into a giant embrace, Spike’s little claws on the sides of Twilight, while her hooves wrapped all the way around her scaly friend. After a few minutes of him crying silently into her chest, she spoke up quietly. “Now now, Spike, what’s wrong?”
He didn’t move from his position, but tightened his hold around the lavender filly. “I got lonely waiting for you. I started to think that you left me.” he nuzzled her chest before continuing, “I started coming here to look for you, and all the other fillies started making fun of me, saying that I was a freak, that I don’t belong here. I got scared, Twilight.” he started crying softly again.
Twilight ran a small hoof over the green scales on his head reassuringly. “Why would you think that I left you? What were you scared of, Spike?” she asked softly again, tears pooling up.
“I- I was scared that.. That you.. Didn’t want me.. Anymore.. I was scared that you left me all alone.” as he finished, he started crying harder than ever, pressing his snout as hard as he could against the chest of Twilight, soaking her fur in tears. Twilight choked up and hugged him as tight as she could, tears now flowing freely down her cheeks. “I don’t want to be left alone, Twilight.”
“I will never, ever, ever, ever leave you alone, Spike!” she cried, stroking his scales. “I promise. I promise that you will never be alone. You will always belong here, my little Spikey.” she closed her eyes and rested her head on top of Spike’s, nuzzling him softly. After what seemed like an eternity, the sobbing had quietened, and Twilight kept on stroking the scales of the little dragon, not moving at all from her position. The guard who had brought the little filly there watched the entire time, letting a smile creep on his muzzle and a tear fall down his cheek at the scene that had portrayed in front of him.
Spike sat on the bench in the Ponyville Park, smoke billowing out of his nostrils. Of course, Twilight would want him back to be her slave. She said she wanted things to go back to how they were. Did she really not care about how he felt? And of course, he would forget the bits at the library, so breakfast was out of the question. He leaned his head back, closing his eyes, taking in deep breaths.
A voice called out to him nearby. “Spike? Hi Spike!” Spike opened his eyes and spotted the speaker, a blue-grey pegasus mare with a habit of crashing into everything. She flew over to him and sat next to him on the bench, her yellow eyes both looking at the dragon as she carried a tray of muffins in her mouth.
“Hey Derpy, how are you?” he asked, turning to look at her as one of her eyes went upwards. “Haven’t crashed into too many things lately, have you?”
“Nope!” she said, setting the tray in her lap and shaking her head. “Muffin?” she offered one of her muffins to the dragon, whose stomach grumbled loudly.
Derpy giggled a little as Spike smiled sheepishly and happily took it. “Thanks Derpy!” Spike started to eat his muffin, enjoying the flavor of blueberries residing inside, when a voice called out behind them.
“Spike! Could I please talk to you, dear?” the pony said, causing Spike to groan inwardly, recognizing the voice of the fashion mare his heart had set after all those years ago. He turned and looked at her, the pastel unicorn looked hopefully at him, a sad look in her eyes.
"So you can torment me more? I'll pass, thank you." Spike turned away from her and back at his muffin.
Rarity took a few steps towards him and asked again, "Please, Spike? can we please talk?"
"Buck off, Rarity..." he muttered, the grey pegasus next to him barely hearing it. "Don't you have some fancy, stuck up Canterlot ponies to go impress?" he continued louder, "or do you just want to use my help for that? Just go away!"
Rarity gasped and sputtered out some incoherent words before sniffling and walking away. Derpy looked at the purple dragon with a frown before noticing the pained expression on his face. "Something wrong, Spike?" she asked softly, getting a quiet, draconic headshake in response. She got up and walked directly in front of him, looking up at his emerald eyes. "Come on, Spike, what's wrong?"
Spike sighed and looked in her eyes, which decided they wanted to look at the opposite eyes. "It's nothing, Derpy. I've just been through a lot. I just feel like I don't really belong.."
"Well, why don't you talk about it?" she asked, giving him a look that could make anypony give in.
Spike smiled slightly and spoke up, "All right, Derpy, just sit down, ok?" she nodded and sat right next to him and continued eating her muffins, keeping an eye on him as he stared at his half-eaten muffin for moments before continuing, "It all started when I was only a few weeks old..."
Princess Celestia sat at her throne thinking, her sister at her side. She was frowning at the pony in front of her, talking on and on about something to do with next years Grand Galloping Gala. She had stopped listening to the stallion an hour ago, instead thinking about her sister and Spike.
Celestia looked at her sister, who had her gaze set outside. “Luna?” she whispered, as the dark blue mare turned to look back at her sister. “Is something the matter?”
“You mean other than being up much later than usual, having to listen to boring ponies, and there being a broken dragon in Ponyville?” she asked with a little bit of a smile on her lips. “Yes, but that isn’t the big concern right now, sister. I think you should go talk to him, I think he needs somepony he felt close to before.” Luna looked at the stallion still talking, oblivious to the conversation between the two and their lack of interest in his ramblings about decorations. “I think I can manage to deal with this dolt, go spend a day or two with Spike.”
“Are you sure?” Celestia asked, genuinely concerned. “From what you told me, he might not take too kindly to me being around.”
“I can’t do much more than just lend an ear and advice to him, I’m afraid.” Luna said, frowning. “As much as I would like to be able to help him in that position, I can’t. Believe me when I say that he needs somepony who was close to him.”
“Alright then, Luna. Love you, dear sister.” Celestia leaned over and gave her sister a small nuzzle. “We can talk when I take care of Spike.”
Luna gave her sister a nuzzle in return. “Love you too, sister.” she watched as the older mare stood up and apologized to the stallion for her need to leave. “Oh, and Celestia? Try not to banish him on the moon. It tends not to make things much better.”
Celestia pouted slightly at the younger alicorn. “Thanks for taking all the fun out of things.” her expression changed to a more serious one, and her eyes had a glint of sadness in them. “Don’t worry Luna, I know he needs somepony, and I have learned from my mistakes years ago.”
Spike sat on the bench, eyes closed. He didn’t want to open them, fearing the look he might get from the pegasus next to him. It felt good to get everything off his shoulders, but he just talked about all his problems and hopes to a mare he had rarely talked to in the past. She probably thought he was a freak, just like all the other ponies used to.
Spike opened his eyes as he felt a hoof placed on his shoulder. He turned his eyes to the mare, who was smiling reassuringly at him. "There will always be ponies who pick on you, Spike, but you will always be welcome here in Ponyville. Even if some ponies don't seem to care about you."
Spike smiled at the wall-eyed mare, and surprised her by pulling her into a short, warm hug, to which she reciprocated the hug back to him. "Thanks, Derpy." he said quietly as he pulled back from the hug. "And thanks for listening to a silly dragon."
Derpy let out a cute little giggle, "You're welcome, Spike, but you aren't a silly dragon." Spike let a smile form on his muzzle as they sat quietly for an eternity. "Hey Spike, you gonna finish that muffin?"
Spike looked at the grey pegasus as she stared at his half eaten muffin, drooling. Spike chuckled a little as he held out the muffin for her to take. "You can have it, Derpy. I guess I'm not really hungry anymore." Derpy leaned forward and started to eat the muffin while he held it, causing him to blush slightly. The gray mare happily ate the muffin and licked up all the crumbs from his hand, oblivious to what she was actually doing and Spike’s reaction.
Derpy looked up with a goofy grin on her face, "mmm... Muffin.." she looked up to the sky and gasped, "Aw, I'm late! I forgot all about work!" she exclaimed, jumping up and started to take off when Spike spoke up.
"Um, Derpy?" the pegasus looked at him as she hovered in the air. "Are you busy later?" he asked shyly.
"I don't think so, Spike. Why?" she asked wonderingly, eyes crossed.
"Well, um, you want to go get dinner some time?" he asked, smiling at her with his face flushed.
Her mouth opened and she hovered there for a moment before excitedly saying, "Sure, Spike, I would love to go to dinner with you!" she blushed as she flew closer to the dragon. She aimed a quick kiss at his cheek, causing him to blush harder. Derpy pulled away from the dragon, her face flushed. Spike looked into the eyes of the red cheeked pegasus. “I hope to see you again soon, Spike!” she said quickly before flying away.
Spike stared dumbly at the retreating mare and reached his claws to his cheek. He smiled to himself, feeling like somepony did care for him. He started thinking about where he could take the mailmare out for dinner when his thoughts were interrupted by a goliath yawn. Even though it was barely midday, he was extremely tired. Perhaps it was being in a larger body, he thought, or maybe just the stress of everything.
He slowly made his way to the Crusader Clubhouse, hoping to find somewhere there to be able to sleep. The chirping birds, cool breeze, and the many smells and beauty of the landscape barely registering to the young dragon. As he clambered into the clubhouse, he was blinded by a bright flash. As the flash started to subside, he seen a large pony-figure in the center just before it spoke.
"Spike Sparkle, it has been far too long.” came the regal, feminine voice.
Spike waited for the brightness to fade away and looked at the pony that just appeared in front of him. “So, the ‘great ruler of Equestria’ got bored and decided to get off her fat flank to visit? What happened Celestia, got bored and needed to come torment me for your own amusement?” he said, glaring at the large white alicorn. Princess Celestia frowned slightly and lowered her head, taking a couple steps towards him.
“Spike, what’s wrong? Please, talk to me, like you used to.” she said softly.
“What’s wrong?” he shouted, “I get hurt, abandoned, and lied to by my friends, ponies who I considered my family. The pony I cared about the most, abandoned me, again, after you told me she was changing. What’s wrong, huh?” Spike was yelling at the white Princess, causing her to flinch at his words. “The pony I loved, the one I want to be with, used me, humiliated me, and then left me to rot! What’s wrong with that, Celestia? The one pony whom I thought would be there for, the one I called ‘Mom’ just sat on her fat bucking flank and watched it all happen! What the buck is wrong?” Spike’s nostrils were billowing smoke as he approached the alicorn, his eyes narrowed on her.
“I’m sorry Spike, I didn’t know it was going on.” she said, hanging her head low.
“Oh, you didn’t know? You didn’t know that I was suffering, and yet you know when your prized little pet is having a mental breakdown because she fears she is going to upset you? I’m sorry, Princess,” he spat, standing inches away from her “I have a very hard time believing that.”
“Spike, please listen-” Celestia was cut off by a clawed fist to her cheek, causing her to stumble.
“Enough! I am tired of all of this! Was I so much of a burden to you before that you just dumped me on somepony who had already hurt me once? Was it too much to want to feel loved, to feel like I belonged?” he drew back his arm, glaring at the Princess. “Why, Celestia? Why did you just leave me? I trusted you, I thought that you would be there when I would need you!” he swung again, knocking her onto the floor of the clubhouse.
Celestia watched the drake as he stood menacingly above her. She had tears in her eyes from the words he was shouting at her. She didn’t try to stop him, just watched him as he started wailing at her body, leaving small gashes across her chest and side. Spike’s attack soon stopped, leaving him panting. He sat and looked down at the ground for a long time, neither him nor Celestia saying a word.
“Why?” he whispered. “Why were you never there? Why was nopony ever there?” he lowered his body close to the ground. Whimpers could be heard from him as he placed his head on the ground. Celestia struggled to her hooves, and carefully walked over to him. She leaned her head down next to his and nuzzled him softly, ignoring the low growls she was receiving.
“Spike, I am here now. Please, let it all out, let me share the burden.” she whispered softly, tears in her eyes. “I can never expect you to forgive me for not paying attention. I didn’t even realize I meant that much to you.” she said to herself, turning away from the dragon. “I’m so sorry, Spike.” she took a couple steps away from him, towards the window, when she felt her tail grabbed onto. She turned her head and found that Spike had a handful of her hair in his grasp, the rest of his body unmoved.
“Please don’t leave,” he whimpered, “don’t leave me all alone again.” Celestia turned around and set a hoof on his back, her tears slowly falling down her white cheeks. Spike jumped forward and pressed his muzzle into her chest, wrapping his arms around her. She wrapped her hooves around the dragon.
"I'm so sorry Spike." She lowered her head and nuzzled the back of his head, sniffling quietly. She felt her chest getting wet from his quiet crying, his tears stinging as they got into her cuts. As she thought about all of his hurtful words, she felt deserving of the punishment. They sat in each other's embrace for a while, Spike's quiet sniffles and Celestia's sobs and muttered 'sorries' the only sounds in the clubhouse.
Spike pulled away from the Princess slowly, and looked away from her after he was out of her warm embrace. Celestia seen the conflicting emotions playing across the young drake's face and looked down, quietly muttering to herself. "I'm such a terrible, terrible mother.."
"Maybe..." Spike responded quietly, "but I wouldn't want anypony else. Besides," he continued quieter, "I can think of worse.."
Celestia's heart jumped, and she leaned forward to give him a small nuzzle, but was blocked by a purple claw. "Thank you, Princess, but I think I need some time to myself." Spike said softly, "I have a lot on my mind, and I have plans for dinner."
Celestia held back some tears and nodded slowly. "Alright, Spike." She said softly. "Just know that I am here for you. Would we be able to spend some time tomorrow?"
"I don't know. I'll let you know, ok?" He asked, looking at her sullen expression. She nodded and looked downwards. "Thanks, and sorry."
"Sorry?" she asked. "Sorry about what?" Spike pointed to the cuts that lay across her body. She frowned. "I don't know what you're talking about, Spike.”
“But-”
“No buts. As long as you feel a little better now, don’t worry about this, Spike.” she said, placing a hoof on his shoulder. “Now, since you want some time to yourself, I will wait for you. Just promise me you will talk to me, alright? Please?” Spike nodded and Celestia looked around, a faint smile on her muzzle. “Now, I think somedragon has a date they need to get ready for?” she asked quietly.
“What? How did you know?” Spike asked, a confused look in his eyes as he looked at the Princess.
“Because I think she happens to be standing at the door.” Spike turned and looked at the doorway and spotted the grey pegasus mare, peeking her head into the clubhouse.
Spike brightened up when she looked at him and gave him a small smile and a wave. “Hi Derpy! Could you give me a moment?” he asked, waving back at her.
Derpy nodded, “Sure, Spike. I’ll just wait out here for you!” she smiled at him and gave Princess Celestia a wondering look before backing out of the door. Spike turned and looked at Celestia, opening his mouth before a hoof was pressed against his lips.
“Don’t say anything now, Spike. Just enjoy yourself. You need to have some fun, alright?” her horn lit up as she enveloped the dragon in her magic, cleaning off all traces of dirt and blood. She leaned towards him and gave him a small peck on his forehead before nudging him towards the door.
Spike looked at the princess questioningly, and got a small soft smile in response. Spike sighed and slowly walked out of the clubhouse. Celestia watched as he made his way to the gray pegasus, and her face slowly turned into a slight frown.
With a flash, the white Alicorn teleported out of the clubhouse to her bedchamber. She looked around sullenly, her room appearing to be just perfect. Too perfect. She walked slowly to her vanity, looking into the large mirror. Her eyes followed down her body, taking in the cuts she had received from the young dragon. They weren’t deep, but they still left a small trail of blood down her chest and forelegs, and stung immensely. She sighed, reaching a hoof up and taking ahold of her crown.
“Such a pointless piece of hurting jewelry,” she said to herself. “I can’t even help those who are close to me. Those who may even consider me their mother..” She continued to look at her crown, the light gleaming beautifully off the amethyst inlaid in the pure gold crown. She closed her eyes, a tear rolling down her cheek before she threw it violently at the mirror, shattering the glass. She gripped the large vanity with her magic, throwing it across her large room.
She continued throwing her furniture through her room, her very large wardrobe flying out the window into the castle courtyard. As her energy drained, she collapsed on her bed, the remains collapsing under the added weight. She curled into herself, laying on the messy sheets and mattress covered in glass and splinters, sobbing to herself.
Spike walked slowly next to the fluttering grey pegasus, neither of them talking. Derpy glanced at the purple dragon, his face downcast and lost in thought. She landed right next to him and spoke up. “So Spike, who was that mare? She was very pretty.”
“Huh?” he said, broken out of his reverie. “Oh, I guess she is.. That was Princess Celestia. I guess you could say she is my mother.”
“Yourmother is the Princess?!” she gasped.
“For what it’s worth.” he said quietly. “What do you want to do, Derpy?” he turned and looked at her pale yellowish eyes.
“Hmm....” she brought a hoof up to her chin. “I dunno.” she shrugged.
“How about getting something to eat?” the dragon suggested.
“Sure!” the mare said, excited.
“Alright, what do you want to eat?”
The pegasus flew off shouting “Muffins!” as the young drake watched dumbly before smiling and following her. He caught up to her outside the Sugarcube Corner as she entered the gingerbread building. Spike paused for a moment, looking at the sweet shop and taking a deep breath, he followed the mare inside.
He looked around the inside of the store, only a couple ponies sitting at tables. He caught sight of the grey mail-mare at a booth along the wall, munching on a blueberry muffin. He walked over to the table and sat across the table from her, surprise on his face as she pushed a cupcake towards him. He gratefully took it with a quick “thanks” and a smile and started eating it, watching as Derpy frowned from lack of muffins after eating the last of them.
She reached over to the side of a table and uncovered a small blue button. Curious, he asked. “What’s that?”
Her hoof paused just above the button as she turned a blank face to him. “Muffin button.”
She pressed the button, and Spike was slightly confused by her behavior. “Wha-.” he was interrupted as an excitable pink pony appeared out of nowhere with a giant chocolate chip muffin.
“Hi Derpy! How are you doing today? Oooh, do you got company?” she looked at the dragon staring at the giant muffin. “Oh, hi Spike.” she said, audibly deflating. “What are you doing here?”
“Hi Pinkie. I’m here with Derpy.”
“We’re on a date!” the mare chipped in excitedly.
“A d-date?” the dragon stuttered, taken off guard by her claim, and her enthusiasm about it.
The pink pony seemed surprised, but quickly broke into a small smile. Small for Pinkie, as any other pony would have been beaming. “Be right back!” she said before disappearing just as fast as she appeared. Spike barely had time to look at the pegasus happily eating her large muffin before he had a sapphire cupcake pressed into his claws and the party pony responsible sitting next to him with a mustache.
“Uh, Pinkie?” Spike asked, “What’s with the mustache?”
“What mustache?” she said before pulling a monocle out of nowhere and placing it over her eye. “So, Spike. Why are you here with Derpy?” she said quietly, so only the dragon in question could hear. “Why not Rarity? Don’t you have a crush on her?”
Spike deadpanned at the her. “Why would she deserve a date after how she treated me? Or for me to talk to her again?”
Pinkie frowned. “She is sorry, Spike. You have no idea how much she missed you. How much we all missed you.”
“Yea, after I was gone. What did I matter to anypony before? Now, could you leave us alone so I can spend some time with Derpy?” he said, looking back at the gray mare, still happily munching on her muffin. “At least she deserves company.” he muttered.
Pinkie Pie looked hurt, looking down at her hooves as she asked, “Well, could you at least come and tell me what’s wrong later?”
“I don’t know, Pinkie.” he said, turning his eyes to her.
“Pleeeeeeease?” she asked, giving him a super sad pouty face.
Spike sighed. “Fine..”
“Yay!” Pinkie exclaimed, giving the dragon a bone crushing hug before disappearing under the table. Spike turned to his cupcake, glancing at the pegasus looking at him from across the table.
“Something wrong Spike?” she asked.
“Yea, let’s just focus on our date for now, ok?” The pegasus nodded, giving him a small smile. Spike watched her take another bite out of the delicious looking muffin. “You must really love muffins, huh?”
“Yup!” she said, beaming with some muffin crumbs and melted chocolate on and around her lips. She seen the purple dragon staring at her muffin. “You want some?”
“Sure!” he reached out to grab a piece of the muffin but was interrupted by a grey hoof pushing a large piece of the scrumptious muffin in his mouth. She giggled as he had trouble chewing the mouthful, and continued her snack as he swallowed with a happy look in his emerald eyes.
They continued eating their snacks, chatting lightly about Derpy’s work as a mailmare, Spike quickly finishing his cupcake and listening intently, a warm smile across his muzzle. They sat in peaceful silence as Derpy shared the last of her muffin with the dragon, who was leaning over the table to better reach the fluffy goodness.
The grey mare lent forward, looking into the giant wrapper for more muffin, spotting a small chunk at the far edge. She moved to take it in her mouth, at the same time as the purple drake, their lips meeting over the last bite. Both parties were shocked, but the mare softly pressed into it, closing her eyes. Spike’s eyes were wide as they kissed, too shocked to move.
As Ditzy pulled back from the scaly lips, a forked tongue reflexively running across his lips, taking in the chocolate and muffin crumbs, as well as brushing across the mare’s lips, eliciting a small giggle as she leaned back for another small kiss. This time, Spike reacted, his eyes closing half way as he returned the kiss, which tasted immensely like chocolate chip muffins.
The moment of perfect bliss was interrupted as a brash voice called out, “What?! Spike?!” Spike groaned, pulling back from his date, who was now frowning at the interruption, to look at the rainbow blur coming at him, tackling him into the bench. “What the hay do you think you’re doing, coming in here, kissing that mare while me and Rarity were watching you over in the corner? No, don’t look, dumbass,” she said, planting a hoof firmly on his head to keep him solidly in place. “She already left in tears. How does it feel to make your friend feel bad, huh? A mare you supposedly loved?!”
“And what would the fillyfooler know about making friends feel bad, huh Dash?”
“What?! You are here, breaking one of my friends’ heart, and leaving another one a trembling, sobbing mess, and you have the nerve to accuse me of making my friends feel bad, as well as going on about my sexual preference?!”
“Oh, I guess I wasn’t one of your friends, huh?” Spike spat, glaring up at the cyan mare. “Or were you too busy bucking your fillyfriend to notice?”
“What the hay are you talking about?”
“Well, let’s see, there’s the time you went to Cloudsdale for the Young Flyers Competition, despite how badly I wanted to see Cloudsdale. There’s the time you all went to Canterlot to celebrate Twilight’s birthday, when I desperately wanted to spend it with her, and the rest of you girls. Oh, but those aren’t the only times you forgot about the stupid baby dragon, no. Every single bucking time you went on adventures, who the hay was left to their loneliness, wishing he could be with the ponies he thought were his friends? Me, Dash. So tell me, are you really loyal to your friends, or just the mares who have their heads between your legs?”
“Why, you!” The agitated pegasus lifted her hoof to hit the dragon glaring up at her, smoke leaving his jaws and nostrils in tendrils, when she suddenly got pulled off of him by her tail and onto the floor. She looked behind her and seen the grey pony that the infuriating dragon was kissing with her tail between her teeth. “Derpy, let go. I need to teach that motherbucker a lesson!” She tried jumping back at the dragon, only to be pulled back again and a grey hoof planted firmly across her chin.
“And to me it sounds like you’re the one who needs taught a lesson, Dash,” she said, both her eyes glaring daggers into the weather pony. “Spike has been nothing but depressed from what happened, he keeps having ponies try to lecture him, and yet nopony will listen to him. Even when he is telling you what was wrong, it just went right through your head. Is your head so dense that it didn’t even penetrate that thick skull of yours, or is your head so far in the clouds that it is made of clouds and everything just passes right through them?!” Both the rainbow maned pegasus and the purple scaled dragon stared at her with their mouths open.
The mailmare quickly walked over to Spike, giving him a quick hug and nudging him to the door and they both quietly trotted past the stunned blue mare. They walked through town in silence, the determined look vanishing off the mare’s face and her eyes drifting back to their usual places.
“What was that?” Spike wondered, looking at her.
“What was what?”
“Back at Sugarcube Corner, you just went all out against Rainbow Dash.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about, Spike.” Derpy’s look of confusion was quickly replaced by surprise. “Oh no, I forgot!”
“Forgot what?” Spike worried.
“I forgot about my muffin! I was supposed to go with her to a school play!” she planted a kiss on the dumbfounded dragon’s cheek before flying away blushing. “Bye Spike!”
“Bye... Derpy...” he said, staring after her. “Well, today wasn’t all that bad, I guess.. Had to deal with Twilight, Celestia, Pinkie, and Rainbow Dash. Horrible. Though I guess I have a marefriend now?” he trailed off, unsure, before letting out a massive yawn. He slowly walked back towards the Cutie Mark Crusader clubhouse, hoping the three little fillies weren’t there.
Rarity sat at her boutique, staring at the necklace containing the fire ruby through bleary eyes. “Why do you torment me so?” she thought. She brought a hoof up to her chest, thinking about the scene she witnessed at the Sugarcube Corner, the young dragon her heart longed after happily kissing that cross-eyed mare. She closed her eyes, pressing her hoof against her chest harder as her heart felt like it was ripping out of her body. “I guess this is how Spike felt, isn’t it?” she said to herself. She hung her head down, crying to herself as all the happy and regretful moments she had with Spike played through her head.
A small set of hooves wrapped themselves around the white unicorn, who opened her eyes and looking into the face of her younger sister. “Hello there, Sweetie Belle.” she said as she wrapped a hoof around the younger unicorn, her voice cracking.
“Hi, sis,” Sweetie said, rubbing a hoof across her sisters’ side. “Why are you crying?”
Rarity hugged her little sis tighter, “Well, I went to Sugarcube Corner with Dash. A lady does enjoy snacks on occasion, and I really needed one. Anyways, while we were there, Spike came in with that mailmare pegasus, Ditzy. It was fine and all, but then Spike. He, k-” She stuttered. “He ki-”
“He what, Rarity?”
“HE KISSED HER!” she shouted before crying into Sweetie Belle’s mane. “Not just once, but TWICE! I thought my chest was just going to explode..”
Sweetie Belle hugged her older sister harder, trying not to cry herself. They sat on the floor for a while as Rarity’s sobs quieted and slowed down, “I know what has Spike upset, Rarity.”
The white mare pulled her head back and stared at the young mare. “And what would that be, Sweetie?”
“He’s scared of being all alone, and having been left behind so often. Twilight said his biggest fear was nopony wanting him around, or loving him.”
“Is that so?” Rarity wondered, her eyes trailing back to the fire ruby.
“Yea. Maybe if you show him that you are there for him, and listen to him, it might help. But maybe he needs some time to himself?”
Rarity turned her gaze back to Sweetie Belle. “When did you become such a wise young mare, Sweetie? Are you sure you aren’t related to Twilight, dear? Nopony in this family is that smart.”
“You’re smart too, sis.” she said encouragingly, before grinning. “You can be a bit dense, though.”
“Hey, that is not nice to say to a lady.” Rarity said, lightly tapping Sweetie Belle’s shoulder with her own little smile. “Though I do suppose you are right. Now, have you eaten yet?”
“Nope, I’m starving!”
“Dear, if you were starving, you wouldn’t be quite so energetic. Now, how about we see if we can teach you how to cook yet, hmm?”
Luna walked briskly through the castle, the guards frantic. There had been crashing noises from her sisters’ room earlier and the guards were unable to enter. They had also been unable to wake the dark alicorn from her slumber. Stopping outside the large doors into the day Princess’ bedchambers, she felt out with her magic. Sensing both a physical barrier and a magical barrier, she frowned. What is she trying to keep out? Lighting up her horn, Luna poured magic slowly into the barriers, working her magic into them. Giving her magic a large jolt in power, the shields collapsed, sending out a shockwave, along with the sound of shattering glass.
Pushing the gilded doors open and walking into the room, Luna’s frown deepened at the sight of the destruction, glass and wood shards everywhere. Making her way through the mess, she seen her sister laying in a heap on what was once a glorious bed. Immediately taking in the cuts on her chest, Luna nudged the white mess, who lifted her head to stare at the younger alicorn with puffy red eyes. “What has thee in such a mess, sister?” she asked softly.
“I am a failure, Luna. I can’t protect the ones I love, I can’t see when something is wrong, and I can’t even comfort anypony correctly” she said, lowering her head back down.
“Tia.”
“All I can do is just sit there, like a worthless lump, while those who depend on me sit and wilt. I pretend to know what I’m doing, then just ignore the problem, imagining I helped.”
“Tia,” Luna tried again.
“I take someone who loves me, and shove them away, somewhere they still look up to me, but are hurting.”
“Celestia.” Luna said, clearly annoyed.
“I just take all my problems, and put them somewhere else. I’m a failure, Luna. A big, miserable, failure, and all I can do is hurt the ones I love.”
Luna lent forward, not paying attention to her sisters’ ramblings, and nipped her rather hard on her exposed cutie mark. Celestia let out a squeak and jumped up, silently staring at the lunar Princess. “You shut up right now, Celestia, and you listen good.” Celestia nodded, wide eyed. “Maybe what you said could be right, maybe you do hurt those who love you, but the fact that you are regretting those actions shows you want things to be different. But you sure aren’t going to fix anything sitting here moping to yourself. Now, I do believe I already told you this once, but you have a son out there, needing comfort. Now, if you don’t get off thy fat flank and go fix this problem, We will see if you can’t be sent to the moon. Do I make myself clear?”
Celestia gave a quick nod before teleporting out of the bedchamber. Sighing, Luna walked out of the room, leaving two befuddled guards staring at the catastrophe.
“Shim, we should have never taken these positions as guards. We see some of the weirdest crap ever.”
“You got that right, Sham, I think we need to get a couple drinks after this. Maybe we should clean this up, first?” The two guards looked at eachother before backing out of the room, closing the doors, leaving the Princess to clean up her own mess.
Twilight Sparkle slowly walked down the stairs in the library, unwilling to start the new day. She yawned softly, taking in the mess of books spread across the floor. Something that hadn’t happened in awhile. Walking slowly past the couch, a small shifting of white catching her eye for a moment before continuing to the kitchen. Levitating a cup to prepare some heaven in a cup, or as others referred to it, coffee. She waited drowsily for the sacred elixir, taking in the wonderful aroma seething from the cup.
Levitating it to her lips and taking a sip, she suddenly stopped. Why was there a white mass on her couch? Frantically trotting back to the other room, she got a good look at what was on her couch, causing her jaw to drop.
“P-p-princess Celestia?!” she stuttered, confused as to why her mentor was on her couch, and napping. She reached her hoof cautiously towards the white alicorn, who opened up her puffy eyes and looked at the unicorn.
“Good morning, Twilight.” she muttered before stretching. Twilight took in the sight of claw marks on the chest of the white mare.
“Good morning, Princess. May I ask why you are here, and why you have cuts on your chest? Did something bad happen to Canterlot? Oh no, that could be very, very bad..” she started, getting worked up over the thought of something able to injure her idol and Canterlot.
“No, Twilight, none of that. Unless you call your sister forcefully evicting you out of your own bed a disaster.” the princess said with a small, sad smile, trying to reassure Twilight.
“Wait, Princess Luna kicked you out of your room? Why?”
“Well, let’s just say that it is related to one of your previous questions..”
Twilight stood there for a moment before her mind pieced it together. “Spike?...”
Celestia nodded, her face showing signs of sadness before taking on a determined shine in her eyes as she looked intently at the unicorn. “Why, Twilight? Why did you repeat the same mistakes with Spike?” she said softly.
Twilight looked down at her hooves dejectedly. “I didn’t mean to, Princess. I thought everything was fine, Spike seemed happy and he never said anything about feeling alone to me...”
Celestia was sitting upright on the couch now, looking down at her student, a small frown on her muzzle. “You never stopped to think about how he may feel? You’ve spent all these years with him and you still couldn’t tell he was upset?”
“No, I couldn’t, and what about you, Princess?” Twilight said, looking up to Celestia with tears threatening to escape. “Why didn’t you help me? Why couldn’t you help Spike like you did before? You had no problem helping him last time!”
“I didn’t know he was feeling left out again, I thought that you were keeping your promise to both me and him.” the Princess scolded.
“Oh, you knew when your student was freaking out about being tardy, but not that Spike was sad? And he calls you his mother?!” the violet mare retorted.
Princess Celestia cringed at the tone and the truth behind the words. She looked down, not saying anything. She closed her eyes, contemplating on what to say, when Twilight spoke up again.
“I’m sorry, Princess.” she sat next to her mentor on the couch, wrapping her hooves around the larger alicorn. “I got carried away, I’ve just been kind of on edge since Spike disappeared and now came back, angry at everypony and hitting me..” feeling the princess nuzzle her mane, she pressed a teary cheek against the warm, white chest.
“I’m sorry too, Twilight. I shouldn’t have tried taking it out on you, even though I am slightly disappointed.” the two mares sat there for a few moments in silence, enjoying each other's company, when Twilight quietly spoke.
“I’m curious, Princess.”
“About what, Twilight?”
“How did you know Spike returned? We didn’t send you a letter or anything.”
Celestia tensed up, unprepared for the question. “Well, um, you see, Twilight.” she started shakily. “I have something to tell you about that blue dragon I asked you to take care of...”
Spike stretched, his joints cracking at every movement, his muscles unwilling to move. He opened his eyes, taking in the sights of the Clubhouse. He frowned inwardly, once again feeling alone, getting up from his slumber, multiple waves of emotions washed over him, followed shortly by exhaustion, hunger and an intense headache.
Groaning and making his way out of the treehouse, he wondered on what to do, raising a claw to block the rays of the sun. His stomach gave a large rumble, and he decided to take care of his hunger, as well as talking to the pink mare he promised a chat with.
Making his way to the Corner, he waved back at everypony who waved at him, though most of the ponies ran away from the dragon. While he didn’t exactly want to talk with Pinkie Pie, he hoped that it would do some good, and that it wouldn’t go sour. He felt calmer than he had the previous day, he just hoped that seeing the mare wouldn’t change that.
Walking to the bakery, he took a deep breath before pushing the door open and walking inside. The inside of the shop looked as warm and inviting as ever, albeit void of ponies. Walking up to the counter, he wondered why nopony was around, especially Pinkie.
“Hiya Spike!” came a loud, cheerful voice, causing him to jump and look down at the pink mare on the floor looking at him with a large grin, before he jumped back and sat down hard.
“Pinkie! Where did you come from?” the hyperventilating dragon managed to ask.
“Well, I came from my mommy, of course, silly!” she said.
“I mean, what were you doing on the floor?”
“I’ve been here the whole time.”
Shaking his head, Spike calmed himself from the near heart attack. “Why are you laying on the floor?”
“Umm,” she brought a hoof up to her chin before shrugging. “I can’t remember.”
Spike brought a claw to his face, rubbing the bridge of his nose. Forgetting temporarily about why he was there in the first place, he sat down at a nearby table.
“So why are you here, Spike?” Pinkie asked, bouncing to the table.
“You wanted to talk, remember?”
“Nopey-dopey.”
Spike’s head fell forward onto the table. “You wanted me to talk about what was wrong?”
“Oooooh! Now I remember!” Pinkie said, sitting down across from Spike, a mustache and monocle on her face. “So, what’s the matter, Spike?”
Spike stared at the pink pony before shaking his head and starting. “Well, I guess the long story short is, I feel very lonely, left out, and..” he looked down. “Unloved..”
“What? How could you feel lonely, left out and unloved? You’ve always been around friends!”
“Yea, but I constantly get ignored by my best friend, my sister! And you girls are always leaving me behind on your adventures.” he said, upset. “I even missed Twilight’s birthday party when you went to Canterlot for it, even though I spent all day trying to make it special for her..” he studied his claws. “I even made her a special cake for it...”
“What? You made her a cake? Why didn’t we see it? I bet it was good!”
Spike glanced up at Pinkie for a moment, then continued staring at the table. “I... I ate it... After I found out you all went to Canterlot without me, I felt sad and lonely, and ate it..”
“Why do you feel left out though? We bring you along to a lot of stuff!”
“Oh, right, on picnics when I prepare them for everypony. What about when you went to Cloudsdale? Or went to deal with the dragon? Or at the Grand Galloping Gala? What about yours or Gummy’s birthday parties?”
Pinkie Pie was visibly sad, looking down at the table. “Is that it, Spike?” she said softly, the dragon looking up at her. “Is that why you left us?” she asked, looking up at him.
“I...” he looked away. “Yes, that is part of it.”
“Is it what Rarity did?”
Spike flinched. “Yes...” he said, barely audible. “But that’s only what pushed me over the edge.”
“Well, what is it? It wasn’t me was it?” she asked, frowning.
Spike shook his head. “No Pinkie, it wasn’t you.” he sighed. “It was Twilight.”
“What about Twilight?”
Spike looked down at his lap as he recalled broken promises, being treated more of a pet or servant than a friend, and how she almost never showed concern for him. He had tears in his eyes as he recounted some of his past to the pink mare. After he finished, he heard the normally ecstatic mare sniffling. Looking up at her, he noticed two things. First was the tears pouring down the earth ponies face from her cerulean eyes, the second was her mane. While normally all curly and poofy, it was now straight, seemingly straighter than Twilight’s mane.
“Pinkie, are you alright?”
The mare hesitated before starting to nod, only to shake her head part way through and look down. “How could she do that? How could we all do that?” she started crying heavily, and Spike watched sadly before moving around to her side and placing a claw on her shoulder. She looked at him, before wrapping her hooves around him and giving him a bone crushing hug, crying audibly and wetly into his neck. Spike returned the hug, rubbing the pink mare’s back as she cried enough for both of them.
Minutes passed, and Pinkie finally pulled back, her crying subsiding. “Spike?” she asked, her voice cracking. “Are we still friends?”
Spike looked her in the eyes before giving her another small hug. “Of course, Pinkie. It’s not entirely your fault, anyways.” Pinkie gave the purple dragon a small squeeze before pulling away and standing up.
“I better get to work, Spike.”
“Alright Pinkie, do you think I could get some donuts?” he asked sheepishly.
She gave him a small smile. “Of course, Spike, just a moment.” she walked into the back for a moment before returning with a big box of donuts, from chocolate covered, glazed, and blueberry flavored. “Here you go, Spike.”
“Thanks, Pinkie. Will you be alright?” he asked, concerned for the depressed mare.
“I think so Spike, I’m just super-duper sad that Twilight would ever do something like that.”
“I know Pinkie, I know.” they gave each other a small wave as Spike walked out of the SugarCube Corner, holding his box of donuts. He walked casually to the park, opening the box of donuts and munching on a delightful blueberry donut covered in chocolate.
Sitting down on the park bench, Spike took in the beauty of the morning. Birds chirping cheerfully, sun shining beautifully through the tree leaves.Closing his eyes, Spike inhaled, taking in the scent of nature, and the muffin he was about to eat. ‘Wait, muffin?’ he thought, before feeling hooves pressed to his eyes from behind.
“Guess who!” came the playful, feminine voice.
“Hmm, I don’t know, is it Carrot Top?”
“Nope!”
“Roseluck?”
“Nuh-uh!”
“Hmm, could it be Lyra?”
“Nope, silly.”
“I give up, who is it?” the drake said, smirking to himself.
“I don’t know if I should tell you now.” the mare said, trying to sound hurt.
“Aw, come on Derpy.” he said, leaning his head back as the grey pegasus removed her hooves from his eyes. Upside down, her crossed eyes looked even more silly. And undeniably cute. he thought as she gave him a smile. “How are you this morning?”
“I’m just fine. Sent my little muffin to school and decided to fly around for a little while before going to work, and saw you here.” she said, walking around and sitting next to the
“Your muffin?” Spike asked, offering her a donut, which she happily took.
“Oh, my little Dinky. She’s just the cutest little filly ever.” she said, beaming, before she took a bite from the donut.
“Oh, I didn’t know you had a kid.”
“Yep, I wouldn’t trade her for the world, even though her father was a jerk.”
“What happened?”
“Well, he acted all nice, and when he found out I was pregnant with little Dinky, he started being a complete jerk. He called me names, teased me because of my eyes, even hit me a few times. I was kind of glad when he left, but I was still a bit sad when he wasn’t there for her birth. He hasn’t even shown up to any of her birthdays.”
Spike placed a claw on her back, trying to cheer her up from the sad thoughts. She looked up to him and smiled, leaning into his side. They sat there, finishing the last of Spike’s donuts and talking lightly about Dinky and other little colts and fillies around Ponyville.
“Hey Spike.” Derpy said, turning her head to the drake, the sun glimmering off his scales. “Do you want to go somewhere after I get done delivering mail?”
Spike gave her a warm smile and nodded. “I would love to!”
“Alright! I’ll catch you later, ok Spike?” she asked, getting off the bench.
Spike stood up as well. “Sounds good, Derpy. Don’t have too much fun with the mail, alright?”
The grey pegasus giggled and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek before taking off. “Don’t have to worry about that!” she called, waving at him as she flew towards the post office to start her work.
Spike waved back at the retreating mare before pulling his hand to his chest. ”Do I love her?” he asked himself. Turning away after the grey pegasus left his sight, he walked slowly down the path, lost in thought. He looked to the sky, admiring the birds flying merrily along, enjoying the young afternoon.
Closing his eyes and taking in a deep breath, he smiled to himself, shortly before walking into something. Or somepony.
“I’m so sorry, I wasn’t watching where I was going. I didn’t hurt you, did I?” came the soft voice. “Spike? I’m so sorry.”
Spike opened his emerald eyes, looking into the face of a very timid yellow pegasus. ”And cute.” he thought to himself before shaking his head. “Hi Fluttershy. What are you doing here?”
“Um, I was just watching the cute butterflies flying around. They are just so beautiful when the light hits them just right.” she said, turning her eyes back to a group of nearby butterflies.
”You’re right about that, Shy.” thought the purple drake, who was staring intently at the trio of butterflies on her flank, before mentally slapping himself. ”No, stop thinking about Fluttershy like that. I have a marefriend now. I shouldn’t be looking at her flanks, even if those butterflies could draw any eyes to those flanks like magnets.” “That’s nice, Fluttershy. Sorry about running into you.” he said aloud, walking away.
“Oh, I’m sorry Spike, is something wrong?” she said, turning an eye towards him, the tone of his voice drawing her concern.
“It’s nothing.” he said, still walking slowly away. “I’m.. Fine.”
“Really Spike? You don’t sound fine.” she was concerned for her friend, even after the rest of the girls told her what happened while she was unconscious a few days prior. “You know you could tell me. If you don’t mind, that is...”
Spike turned towards the butterscotch mare, slowly looking up to meet her eyes. He could not bring himself to be upset at the pegasus, even after everything that had transpired. She was the first pony to show a lot of interest in him. “I guess I can. Do you want to walk around, Shy?” the pegasus nodded and shyly took a spot next to her scaled friend and walked slowly with him. “It’s just that, I feel lonely. I know you girls are my friends, but you have so many adventures and fun while I get stuck behind doing menial tasks at the library, all alone.” he said to the sky.
“Oh my, I never even realized that, Spike. I’m sorry..”
“I was fine, but the more and more you girls left me out, the more depressed I felt. Especially when Twilight stopped talking to me as much, again. Just talking to tell me to do something, hardly even saying ‘thank you’ to me. Even Owlowiscious gets more appreciation than me.” he sighed. The mare next to him had her head down, taking everything he said to heart. “I know I should feel happy for Twilight, she finally made friends, but I can’t help but feel unwanted.. Unloved.. Unneeded..” he trailed off. They had stopped at the bottom of a small hill, and Spike stared at his claws, digging into the dirt.
“No, it’s not. We should never have left you all alone, Spike.” she said, sniffling. “We considered you our friend, but we never did anything with you, and never once thought about you or how you were. We even let you fall into a freezing cold lake and laughed about it.”
Spike looked at his friend, noticing the tears on her cheeks. She gave a loud sniff and whimper, breaking his heart before she continued. “I could have gone and saw how you were doing, or at least talked to you more... I’m...” she sniffled loudly. “I’m the worst Element of Kindness ever...” she trailed off, tears running freely down her cheeks.
Spike couldn’t take the sight of the shy pegasus crying, and walked over in front of her, placing his hand on her shoulder. “No you are not, Fluttershy.”
“Yes I am, I can’t even show somepony who I considered my friend kindness. How am I not a horrible pony?”
Spike wrapped his arms around the crying mare. “Because you never meant to hurt any one, Fluttershy. And you are showing me kindness right now by listening to me.” The yellow mare threw her hooves around him, pressing her muzzle against his chest. Spike rubbed her back slowly, hoping she would stop crying.
”How many times am I going to be hugging mares today.” he thought, looking at the pegasus. ”This is, what? The second? Third?” his eyes drifted down her back. ”I wonder how soft those lovely flanks are... NO!! Stop. She’s just you friend.” he frowned, turning his head towards the distance, watching birds and small critters in the field. He closed his eyes, enjoying the feeling of the warm mare pressed against his body. ”Curse you, traitorous brain. Stop thinking about Fluttershy like that. Or any mare, for that matter.”
Moments passed as Spike fought with his thoughts, and Fluttershy got her emotions back under control. “I’m sorry, Spike.” she said, pulling away and wiping her eyes with a hoof.
“It’s ok, Fluttershy. Thank you for listening to me.”
“Spike, next time you are feeling alone or unwanted, you could come talk to me about it, you know that, right?” she asked softly, giving him a small smile. “If you want to, that is.”
“Of course, Shy.” he gave her a small hug, which she returned happily. “Hey, what time do you think it is?”
“About three in the afternoon, I would guess. Why?”
“Um, I’m supposed to be meeting with somepony.”
“Oh! Alright, I better get back to my animals anyways. It was nice talking to you, Spike.” she quickly walked away from him, waving at him. Spike returned the wave and looked towards Ponyville.
He took off at a brisk pace, and jumped off, fluttering his wings, before coming back down on his four paws. “Huh.. I guess I never actually learned how to fly, did I? But then, how did I fly before?” he asked himself.
He closed his eyes, and concentrated on flapping his wings, getting the feel of his wings catching the air, slightly changing the positions as he flapped. He gradually felt himself lifting off the ground as he flapped harder.
He opened his eyes and was shocked, causing him to drop a couple feet before regaining his composure. He was flying several feet above the trees nearby. “WOOHOO!” he cheered, attempting to do a backflip, only to nearly crash back into the ground. “Whoops, better take it easy.” he slowly, and cautiously, flew back to Ponyville, to meet up with his marefriend.
Landing at Ponyville Post Office, he looked around for the grey pegasus. “Derpy? Are you here?” he called out. Suddenly, something landed on his tail, causing him to nearly jump out of his scales. He turned around, breathing heavily, a claw raised up, until he saw the pony responsible who was giggling to herself. “Derpy! You nearly scared me to death!”
“But you were just standing there, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity!” she giggled, sticking her tongue out at Spike.
Spike huffed. “Well, you got me, just don’t do that again, please? So, what you want to do?”
“You can fly, right?”
“Uh, yea?”
The grey mare jumped around and waved her tail at him. “Grab my tail and close your eyes!” Spike’s eyes were plastered to the bubbles on her flanks, his mind blank. “Spike?” she turned her head back to look at him. “Did you hear me?”
“Wuh?” he said, shaking his head. “What?”
“Grab my tail, and close your eyes. I got a surprise for you!”
“Uh, alright.” he said, unsure. He grabbed her blonde tail with both hands and closed his eyes.
“Ready?”
“Yea.” as soon as he said that, he felt the mare starting to fly, so he started flapping his wings to follow her into the air. They flew for what felt like ages, until he felt the pegasus slow down and make a slow descent. He followed, and upon feeling something extremely soft beneath him, his eyes shot open.
The dragon blinked a few times before he realized where he was. Looking at the soft, billowing clouds and flowing rainbows, his jaw dropped. Derpy looked at his expression with a smile on her face, walking next to him and looking on, before being swept up by an arm and placed in a crushing hug. “Thank you so much Derpy! You didn’t have to take me to Cloudsdale, but thank you thank you thank you!”
“You’re welcome, Spike, but could you let me go?” she said, muffled. “I can’t breathe.”
“Oh, right.” he let her go and gave her a sheepish smile while she stumbled away. He looked back at the wonderful cloud city, still awestruck by the amazing sight.
“Hey Spike, are you going to sit there with your head in the clouds or are you going to come eat?” she giggled, watching him as he ran to catch up. “They got this really cool place here that makes all their food look like rainbows!”
“Really? That’s amazing!” his stomach grumbled, causing him to blush as the grey mare looked at him and giggled. “I guess my stomach thinks so, too.” they laughed as they walked through Cloudsdale, enjoying the beautiful city, and each others company.
“So, you’re telling me.. Spike... Sister... Discord... Oh, WHAT?!” the mare speaking was obviously flustered. “So, you are saying that Luna was there as the dragon?! We could have been hurt!”
“Believe me, Twilight, I didn’t want to do this, and Luna agreed not to harm any of you. But from how Peewee has been acting when he comes to visit Philomena lately, I could tell something was up, and when I watched all of you here in Ponyville, my suspicions increased.”
“So, you have Princess Luna, act as dragon, and have all of us, including a stallion that you didn’t know, go try to get rid of the dragon, all because of a hunch?! A hunch!?!”
“Please, calm down, Twilight. I would not have dreamed of putting any of you in danger if I wasn’t certain. I believed that if that stallion, Obsidian, I believe you said, was indeed Spike, that his love for his friends would pull him out from the pony.”
“And what would have happened if Obsidian wasn’t Spike? Or if he wasn’t able to come out?” Twilight stepped closer to the white alicorn. “And why did you think that Spike was Obsidian? How would you ever guess that?”
“Please, Twilight, please understand. I want to tell you everything, but at least wait until we have resolved this problem with -” she was interrupted as a purple hoof ran across her face, and watched as the unicorn it belonged to trotting away, running up the stairs. She looked back at the Princess before she entered her room.
“You come here, yell at me for abandoning Spike, blame me for his disappearance, tell me that you intentionally put us in danger for a hunch, and won’t even tell me why?” she had a tear in her eye, and wiped it away. “How can I trust you, Princess? Just leave me alone....” with that, she entered her room and slammed the door shut, leaving Princess Celestia alone.
Princess Celestia looked at the door to her student’s room, before looking out the window, watching the sun approach the horizon. “I want to tell you, Twilight. I really do.” she said to herself. “I just don’t think I could go through it more than once.”
Spike sprawled across a cloud at the edge of Cloudsdale, belly full, covered in rainbows, and a giggling mare next to him. After they had eaten at the rainbow specialized restaurant, which unfortunately didn’t have gems, they had gone on a game of tag when Derpy purposefully tripped him and called him a slug. He had chased the mailmare across Cloudsdale, almost catching her. Almost, before she made him fly right into a pool of liquid rainbows. After escaping some upset workers from the rainbow factory, the couple had collapsed on the cloud, too tired to do anything else.
”This day couldn’t get any better.” Spike thought to himself, wrapping an arm around the grey pegasus, who nuzzled into his side. He turned his head over the cloud, watching the sun set slowly, the clouds glowing with an orangish-red hue. He rolled over onto his stomach, awestruck by the sight. “It’s beautiful.” he whispered. He didn’t even notice the grey mare moving beside him, watching the beauty on the horizon.
Derpy rubbed her cheek against his, enjoying watching such a beautiful sunset with the purple dragon. Spike turned his head towards her, leaning his face towards hers. She closed her eyes, leaning in just a little as their lips met. They lay on the cloud as the sun lowered from sight, their lips locked in a loving kiss.
All too soon, they pulled away, smiling at eachother. The serene moment was shattered as the young dragon let out a giant yawn. “You sure know how to ruin a perfect moment, Spike.” Derpy whispered, nuzzling him. “Come on, let’s go back to Ponyville.”
The pair slowly departed the cloud city, flying around in broad loops, laughing and enjoying the early night. As they approached Ponyville, they saw the thick clouds in the area.
“I knew there was supposed to be rain tonight, but it looks like they over did it, again.” the pegasus said. They sped up as they got closer to the downpour, Spike started flying over Derpy, causing her to smile warmly at him as she flew towards her house.
Landing outside her simple home, she quickly entered, inviting Spike in from the rain. “Thanks Derpy, for everything today.” he gave her a hug.
“You’re welcome, Spike. Thank you for giving me such a wonderful time.” she said, returning his hug. As soon as they pulled away from each other, Spike walked back into the doorframe, ready to depart. “Are you staying close by? Don’t want you out in that rain too long.”
“Um, at the Crusader Clubhouse.” he said softly. “I can manage.”
“Oh no, you’re gonna stay here.” the grey mare said, planting a hoof on his tail.
“Where would I sleep?”
“Well, we don’t have a couch, and I don’t think you want to sleep on the floor. You could always share a bed with me.”
“Uh, I can just sleep on the floor.” the drake said, fighting his thoughts that flooded his mind
“Oh, something wrong with that? I see.” she said softly, turning her face down a little.
Spike was caught between a rock and a hard place. He didn’t want to give in to his minds temptations, but he also didn’t want to leave his marefriend seemingly disappointed. “Nothing is wrong with you, Derpy. But won’t I take up most of the bed?”
“No, there should be plenty of room for both of us.”
Spike sighed inwardly as he came back inside, closing the door. “Alright then, lets get to sleep, then?”
Princess Celestia continued to watch the rain, having sat there for hours, watching as the pegasi moved clouds for the nighttime rain, and continued to stare outside long after she lowered the sun. She sighed, turning towards the stairs, thinking about the purple unicorn at the top. She slowly made her way up the stairway and towards her students door, pushing it open.
Inside, Twilight was laying on her bed, looking at a book, muttering “No, no, no, no..” Celestia quickly made her way over to the bedside and nuzzled the unicorn, before looking at the book, the sight of which caused her to gasp.
The book was a picture book, and towards the back of it was a big picture of Twilight and all her friends, with a picture of Spike being taped next to them in the picture.
'This was a triumph. I'm making a note here, huge success!' 'Oh god, why? I didn't know that could happen. I don't want to imagine another octopus again.' 'And the whales. Can't forget the whales.' 'Don't. Make. Me. Think. About. It. We should really get going, we are behind schedule as it is.' 'Every party needs a pooper, that's why they invited you, party pooper!' 'Just quit delaying.' 'Fine. You are such a buzzkill. I'm going to call you Buzzkillington.'
Spike slowly drifted awake, his mind still elsewhere as he recalled his dreams. He had plenty of similar dreams in the past, with a certain white unicorn. He shifted around in the soft bed as he recalled more details. The dream was a plain heroic adventure, with him trying to save his princess. Instead this time, the princess wasn't white. He had rescued the princess, and brought her back to her castle, where she invited her "handsome, shining knight" to stay the night. The last part of the dream he cared to recall was the princess waving a bubble-marked flank at him.
The dream wasn't new to him, though the princess had changed. It had also felt more real, especially the princess nuzzling into his chest. "Wait," he thought, "That feels too real." his eyes shot open, taking in the morning sunshine with a few blinks before he focused on the body pressed against his.
”That's real. Definitely real.” He thought, looking at the grey Pegasus. Images from the dream forced their way to the front of his mind. ”Oh, don't tell me part of the dream was real! Especially not that part!” The Pegasus slowly muzzled his chest happily in her sleep. ”Oh sweet mother of Celestia!” He thought, moving away from the mare.
She didn't like her body pillow leaving her side, evident from the soft groan and her forehooves searching for the warmth of his body. Her yellow eyes opened sleepily, looking at him in half-lidded drowsiness. “Morning, Spike.” she yawned, moving closer to him and burying her face in his chest again. “Mmm... So warm..”
Spike just laid there, stunned and staring as the grey mare tried to push her body into his. He was brought back as her hooves wrapped themselves around his torso. “Um, Derpy? Did, um.. Did last night actually happen?” he asked quietly, afraid to ask, and of the answer.
“Mhmm.” she confirmed, giving him a little squeeze. Spike stopped breathing, his heart rate rapidly increasing. The mare noticed this, pulling her head from him his chest and looking up at his blank face. “Spike? Are you alright?” Not getting a response, she wiggled up and rested a hoof on his cheek.
His glazed eyes turned to the mare, staring worriedly back at him. “I’m sorry, Derpy. I didn’t mean for-” his muttered apology was interrupted by a quick peck to the lips.
“Don’t apologize, Spike. Even if neither of us expected... That... It still happened.” a faint blush appeared on her cheeks. “And I did enjoy it.” Spike relaxed a bit at this, wrapping his arms around the mare.
“Doesn’t mean I won’t feel bad, though.” he said, running his claws slowly up and down her back. Derpy gave a quiet ‘mmm’ and relaxed into his body, closing her eyes again. Spike rested his head on hers, slowly rubbing her back, enjoying her embrace. She let out a low moan as a claw scraped against her wing accidentally, causing it to shoot out to the side.
Spike was surprised at this, but the small groans of enjoyment coming from the pegasus convinced him to continue. He slowly traced a claw up and down her wing, causing her to breath heavier. She turned half-lidded eyes up to him, nearly panting, as she reached forward, brushing her lips against his. Neither one of them heard the small knock on the door as they kissed each other passionately.
The door creaked open slowly, the small call of “Mommy?” startling the pair out of their own world. Spike jumped, pushing himself off the bed and onto the floor in a mess of purple scales and sheets. Derpy looked towards the door, shocked. “Are you awake?” came the voice as the one responsible emerged from the doorway, a little greyish purple unicorn filly.
“I was just wondering where you were. You weren’t home last night, and I’m hungry...” she said quietly, walking up to the bed before looking around. Her eyes locked nervously on the mess of a dragon pulling itself up from the floor slowly. “Mommy, who is that?”
“That is Spike, Dinky. Spike, this is my little muffin, Dinky.”
“Um, hi Dinky.” he said, giving her a timid wave and smile as he sat down onto the bed. Derpy rested her body against his, inviting the little filly up on the bed. Dinky jumped up into her embrace, still staring at the dragon.
“Now now, Dinky, didn’t I tell you it isn’t polite to stare at somepony, well I guess somedragon as well. And that you are usually supposed to say ‘hi’ back to them?” she said, giving her a small glare. Spike chuckled lightly at the sight of her ‘glare’, her eyes making it look too cute to be taken seriously. It had it’s intended effect, however, as the unicorn looked down at the bed and muttered a ‘hi.’
“Now, muffin, I don’t think he heard you.”
“Hi.” she said a little louder. She looked back up at him, giving an evil glare, as she pushed into the older mare. “What were you doing in my mommy’s bed?” she accused.
“Um, sleeping?” he said defensively, backing away from the filly.
Derpy placed a hoof on the fillies cheek and turned her head. “Dinky, don’t worry. I invited him to stay here during the storm last night. He’s not going to hurt either of us. In fact, he made mommy very happy last night.”
“Really?” she looked at him, a surprised look on his face. She opened her mouth to say something, but was interrupted by a small grumble. Her mouth snapped shut and she looked away, embarrassed. Spike and Derpy were both trying not to laugh, with Derpy letting out a small giggle and hugging her daughter.
“Well now, sounds like somepony really is hungry.” she said. Another, louder rumble came, vibrating the bed. Two sets of wide eyes turned to the dragon, who looked around sheepishly. Dinky started giggling at him, much to his embarrassment. “And somedragon.” Derpy added, giggling as well.
“Well, good to know you two find it funny...” he muttered under his breath.
The pegasus quickly kissed his cheek. “Guess that means I should go make us some breakfast, doesn’t it?” she suggested, to which both the dragon and filly agreed. “Why don’t you two stay here while I make breakfast?” she kissed Dinky’s head and whispered something to her before climbing off the bed and trotting out of the room.
Dinky sat next to Spike, staring up at him. Spike looked back at her, unsure of what to say or do, as she slowly reached a hoof to him. Her hoof rested on his leg, causing her to gasp. “You’re warm!” she exclaimed, jumping onto him. “So... Warm... Maybe this is why mommy was so happy....”
Spike chuckled, placing a claw on the little filly. “Yes, I guess I am very warm. I am a dragon, after all.”
“I never thought that you were actually a dragon! I thought mommy was just making it up.”
“Now why would your mother lie to you?”
“I dunno. She’s been so happy, I guess I just found it hard to believe. You’re not going to take my mommy away from me, are you?” she asked, looking up at him.
“No, Dinky, I am not going to steal her from you. You are much too precious to her.” the filly seemed to be content with his answer, as she continued to hold her body against his. The corners of his mouth lifted up in a smile, watching the young filly happily melt from his warmth.
A couple minutes passed before either of them spoke. “Mister Spike,” she said. “Were you and my mommy playing the birds and the bees?”
Spike choked, “What?!”
“The birds and the bees. Mommy told me it was a game for adults who love each other very much, and makes them both very happy. And mommy said you made her very happy last night..”
Spike’s mouth worked in vain, no words coming out. Dinky looked up at him, giggling at his expression. “W-w-what makes you think t-that?” he finally stuttered.
“I did hear a big roar last night.” Spike looked at her, mortified.
“Is that all you heard?”
“Yup!” she relaxed again, leaving the dragon to stare down at her, his mouth open. Moments passed, the filly shifting to warm the other side of her body as she looked back at the purple dragon, who still hadn’t moved. “Spike?” she asked cheerily. “If you and my mommy played the birds and the bees, does that make you my new daddy?” Spike focused on her for a couple seconds, his scales losing their color.
Rarity glanced at the dress stand in the center of the room, the glint of the gem constantly drawing her attention. She sighed and looked out the window, watching the serene morning atmosphere. She had been trying to work on dresses, but her mind always traveled back to a certain drake, and she kept finding herself looking at the heart-shaped fire ruby.
She looked back at the dress designs on her desk and levitated all the loose papers into a neat stack. She slid off her stool and made her way to her bedroom, looking into the giant mirror. She brought a brush to her mane, sliding it slowly through her curls, catching any stray hairs. Satisfied, she set her brush back down and levitated a bottle of her favorite perfume, spraying herself with a small mist before replacing the bottle. She walked back into her dress room, right up to the scaled dress with the precious fire ruby.
She placed a hoof on the ruby, inhaling deeply. “I’m so sorry, Spikey-Wikey.” she whispered softly, levitating the necklace and placing it around her neck. She trotted out to her front door and stepped outside, closing the door behind her and making sure it was locked. She lifted her head high, taking in the fresh air before making her way down the street, ready to face her demons.
After making her way down the streets of Ponyville, she caught sight of her target, his shining purple scales glimmering in the early morning sunlight. She walked down the street, getting closer to the young dragon. Her pace slowed down to a near stop as she seen the pony in his presence, the grey pegasus mailmare. She watched as the two nuzzled each other before sharing a small kiss, with Ditzy flying away shortly after.
Rarity looked down at the ground, bringing a hoof up to the ruby on her chest. She looked back up and let her eyes follow the dragon, before forcing her body to follow him. She kept her distance from him as he sat down on a bench, looking up to the sky. He looked to be deep in thought, his face twisted in concern and confusion.
Rarity started to take a step closer to him, but stopped short and sat down on the ground, biting her bottom lip. The air around her seemed to grow warm, the wind blowing towards the dragon, as if to tell her to go to him. She shakily stood up, and crept up to the dragon.
“Spike?” she called softly, to which she got no response. Gulping, she tried again, louder. “Spike?” The dragon turned his head away from her. She sighed and continued. “I am sorry for what I did, Spike, I really am. I knew about your feelings for me, so many years ago, but I never paid them any attention. I used you to further my dressmaking, and for my own, selfish comfort.” she looked away from him. “I never should have acted like I did, especially at the fashion show. You did mean a lot to me, even if I never realized it, and your confession touched my heart in a way I didn’t think was possible. What I am trying to say, Spike, is that I really do care for you, though it took me far too long to realize what was in front of me until it was gone. I am sorry for all I put you through, Spikey-Wikey, and I don’t expect you to ever forgive me.”
Moments of silence passed, neither one saying a word. Spike sat solemnly, looking away from the unicorn, who was watching him sadly. She took a couple steps towards him, grabbing the fire ruby with her magic and pulling it off her neck. “I know this fire ruby you gave me for your birthday represented your love for me, and I have cherished it the entire time I have possessed it. I don’t want to come between you and Ditzy, you two seem happy together, but I just wanted to tell you.” She paused, sniffling as tears were forming. “I just wanted to tell you, Spike, that I do love you. I want you to have this fire ruby back, and give it to the mare you truly love. I will never deserve such a thing.” She levitated the necklace and set it on the dragon’s lap before turning her face away, hiding her tears. “I am sorry, Spike.” she whispered before running down the street, leaving the dragon to stare after her.
A pair of magenta eyes watched as the purple dragon watched down the road that the white unicorn had retreated down minutes prior. The dragon pulled the fire ruby necklace to his chest and hugged it, leaning his head down.
White hooves made their way to the shaking dragon, stopping next to him before taking a seat beside him. He made no acknowledgement of the presence of another, and after long, tense moments, a large white wing spread out and wrapped around the drake. Spike opened his bleary eyes and looked at the pony beside him before burying his muzzle in the large white chest and sobbing into it.
“Shh, Spike. It is alright, just let it all out.” the mare whispered quietly, leaning down and nuzzling the top of his head softly. “Nothing good will come from holding it in.”
“I just don’t know what to do...” he mumbled between sobs. “I still have feelings for Rarity, but I shouldn’t. Not after what she did. And I finally have somepony who cares for me.”
“Spike, there are plenty of ponies who care for you.” she assured, wrapping her hooves around Spike and holding him tightly. “I care a lot for you, Spike, and so does Luna. I know for a fact that Twilight does as well.” Spike let out a snort. Celestia frowned, but continued. “All your friends do care about you.”
“They sure are great at showing it..” he muttered, before pulling slightly away from the Princess and looking at her face. “That still doesn’t help with Derpy and Rarity. I don’t know what to do.”
“And nopony can tell you what to do, Spike. That has to be your own decision.” the young dragon looked down. Celestia gave him a reassuring hug. “That doesn’t mean others can’t help you decide, though.” Spike looked back up at her, hopeful. “I can’t be one to help you, Spike. I haven’t been involved in your life since you moved from Canterlot, as much as I am sure we both missed that.”
“Well, who could help me, then?” Spike questioned, frowning.
“Your friends. All the ponies you have gotten close to over the years. You should probably talk to Twilight, I am sure-”
“Why should I?!” Spike snapped. “She has done nothing for me!” Spike turned away from the Princess. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have snapped at you.” he whispered.
“She has done many things for you, you just may not realize it, Spike. I think you should see her even if you don’t want her advice.” she reassured.
“Why?” was all he said.
Princess Celestia sighed. “Because she is hurting, Spike. She misses you, and will only blame herself for everything that has happened to you.” she placed a hoof under his chin and gently pulled his gaze up. “And I mean everything, Spike. She barely even wanted to get out of bed this morning.”
“Why is she blaming herself? Why now?”
“She read your diary, Spike. And she seen some certain pictures in a photo album.”
Spike looked down and sat there for a few moments. He let out a small sigh. “Fine, I will talk to her. Just, not right now.”
“But you will talk to her?” she got a nod in response. “I guess that is all I can ask. Now what do you plan to do in the meantime?”
He paused for a moment before turning his emerald eyes to her and quietly asking. “Is it alright if we spend some time together, mom?”
Celestia smiled and nuzzled him softly. “Of course it is, Spike.”
Five mares sat in the library common room, not saying a word. A lavender unicorn was at her work desk, staring at a book, not responding to anything going on. She would occasionally flip a page or let out a small sniffle. The other four mares were closer together, though Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie were a bit withdrawn.
“Alright, why is everyone so sappy?” Rainbow Dash burst out, unable to take it anymore. “Twilight hasn’t said a word since we got here, and you two look like somepony died! And where is Rarity anyways?”
“I think I seen Rarity run into the Boutique and slam the door shut.” Applejack stated.
“Alright, so we have little miss anti-social over here, miss shut-in over at the Boutique, and you two who look so down.” Rainbow said, hovering between Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy. “What’s wrong, anyway.”
“Prolly somethin’ mean that Spike said to them.” Applejack suggested.
“It was something that Spike said alright, but it sure wasn’t mean.” Pinkie Pie said, rather coldly.
“And what is that supposed to mean?” Rainbow asked.
“It means, that we are all a bunch of mean old super meanie pants!”
“How in the hay are we the mean ones? Y’all heard what Spike shouted, and what he did.” Applejack defended, staring at Pinkie.
“Yea, and that’s all anypony ever cared to hear.”
“Why would anyone want to hear anything else from that idiot? And why are you defending him, Pinkie?” Rainbow said, her voice raising as she flew into Pinkie’s face.
“Um, girls?” Fluttershy tried saying.
“Because, Rainbow Crash, I would like to consider him my friend! He’s just a sad, loner dragon with no friends that care for him.” Pinkie said sadly, sagging to the floor, her straight mane and tail creating a small pool of pink around her.
“Woah now, sugarcube, why ya getting all aggressive?” Applejack took a step towards Pinkie.
“Girls?”
“Yea, and I thought you wouldn’t call me that, Pinkie. And that stupid dragon is not alone. He is probably smooching it up with Derpy right now.”
“So? At least he has somepony he can rely on!” Pinkie said, glaring up at Rainbow and Applejack.
“Now look here, sugarcube-”
“GIRLS!!!” Fluttershy shouted, causing everypony but Twilight to stare at her. “Spike was always alone, we never let him do anything with us, we never did anything for him, and we never even really talked with him. We always took him for granted when we needed him but we never even considered him any other time. We called him our friend and yet we never did anything with him that friends do together, have fun. So if he found somepony that makes him happy, I am glad.”
“She’s right” came a voice from the edge of the room. “And it is all my fault.” Everypony looked at Twilight, who had her head down on a book, a tear making its way down her snout.
“Now look here, sugarcube. It ain’t yer fault. Ya can’t blame yourself for that.”
“But it is my fault, Applejack. I spent every day with Spike, but I never knew anything was wrong. I didn’t know he was sad, lonely, or hurt.”
“How could you know if something was wrong if the nimrod never said anything?”
“Because, Dash, I spent so much time with him, I should have been able to tell when something was wrong. Or if I did notice something was wrong, I probably ignored it. Just like I ignored him.” Twilight said, trailing off. “I know you girls came to see how I am doing, and thank you for that. But you should all probably go back home. I don’t think there is anything you could do to help.”
Rainbow Dash and Applejack just looked at each other and back to Twilight before slowly making their way out of the library. Pinkie Pie followed behind them with her head down, her mane dragging in the dirt. Fluttershy carefully trotted up to Twilight and gave her a small hug.
“He still loves and misses you, Twilight. He may not have said it, but it was apparent in how he talked about you. Your friends are always here for you, though I wish we would have been there for Spike.” she said softly before flying out of the library, leaving a sobbing unicorn behind.
A laughing Spike lay inside a wet and muddy large, white wing, whose owner was laughing as well. Spike nuzzled softly into the side of Celestia, who stretched out into the grass. Their giggles died down gradually as they both lay under the last hours of the afternoon, glinting brightly off purple scales and dully on a muddy alicorn.
“I had fun today, mom. Thanks.” Spike said, smiling up at the princess.
“I had a lot of fun as well, Spike, but you didn’t have to push me into a mud puddle.” She gave him a small pout. “Twice.”
“Aw, I couldn’t resist. Besides, don’t you ever get tired of being white all the time.”
“That’s besides the point. You can’t just push somepony into a mud puddle...”
“Well, I did.” Spike stuck a long forked tongue out at her. “I also had a coloring book where I turned you pink...” he admitted, giving her a small grin.
“What?” Celestia said, taken aback. “You colored me pink? Why would you do that?”
“Well, it was already white, and I wanted to color more than just your hair.” Spike shrugged.
“But why pink?”
“Well, um, you looked good in it? Pinklestia.”
Princess Celestia snorted. “Ok, scales. How about I paint you pink?”
“You have to catch me first!” he exclaimed, squirming out from under her wing. He pounced on her and ran off, shouting. “Tag, you’re it!” Celestia shook her head, grinning as she got up to chase after the laughing dragon as he ran through the grass and around trees.
Spike ran around some trees, circling around Celestia and lightly tapping her sides with a claw before running away. Celestia jumped out of the trees and waited for the young dragon to make a move. Slowly, she moved around the edge of the group of trees and was startled when Spike escaped the trees, running mere inches away from her. She turned around and gave chase, when a rainbow blur flew past her and nearly tackling the purple scaled dragon.
“Now who do you think you are, laughing without a care in the world while the ponies who care about you are hurt and crying?” Rainbow Dash shouted, butting her head against his. Spike just stood there and growled at her, his wings spread out. Princess Celestia quickly made her way next to him.
“Now what is the meaning of this, Rainbow Dash?” she inquired.
“This.. Monster... Hurt all of his so called friends, leaving them all sad and mushy, just so he could go have whatever fun he wants. No one hurts my friends and gets away with it!”
Princess Celestia pushed her way between them. “Are you suggesting Spike isn’t your friend?”
“Not after what he did, he isn’t!”
“So when he was the one hurting, why didn’t you go after the ponies who hurt him, if he was your friend?”
“Who hurt him, and how, Princess?” she asked sarcastically.
The alicorn spread a wing around the dragon. “We all have, Rainbow. Me, you, Twilight, the other elements of harmony. Everypony close to Spike is responsible for hurting him. He may have never shown it, but he was hurting immensely. Now if you really want to hurt him even though he was supposedly your friend, you are going to have to get past me.”
“I’m not scared of you, Princess! Why are you defending that monster, anyways?”
“This ‘monster’ is the closest being I have to taking care of like my own child. Something which I have neglected. And I would be more afraid of upsetting him than anything I could do to you.”
“I think you should probably go home and relax, and think on all the reasons why ponies are defending him, Rainbow Dash. If you realize it or not is entirely up to you, but I will not stand by while you go after my son.” Celestia stated, stomping a hoof on the ground.
Rainbow Dash sighed and glared at Spike, who was nestled comfortably under Celestia’s wing. “Fine, you win.” she stated before flying off in a huff.
Celestia stared after the blue pegasus until she felt nudging in her side. She looked to the side at Spike, who was looking at her with a sad smile. “Did you really mean that?”
“Every last word, Spike.” she smiled nuzzling him. He wrapped his arms around her neck, enveloping her in a tight hug. She sat down, wrapping her hooves around him and returning the hug.
“I’m sorry for hurting you, and everypony else.” he muttered into her neck. She gave him a tight squeeze.
“It’s alright, Spike. I will be fine, and I am sure your friends will be, too. You just need to talk to them, and get things straightened out.” Spike nodded softly. “Are you going to talk to Twilight soon?”
“Yea, in the morning.”
“Then you should get some rest. I imagine tomorrow is going to be stressful for you. I trust you will be alright on your own?” she asked, pulling away from the embrace slightly and looking at him as he nodded. She smiled and continued. “Then I will be on my way to spend some time with Luna. Remember to send me a letter if you need anything, Spike. Even if it is just to get something off your chest.” They both stood back up, and Celestia kissed Spike’s forehead. “I love you, Spike. We all do.”
Spike watched the dirty white princess fly off into the evening, a small smile spread across his lips. He turned towards Ponyville and casually walked back to his home.
Spike watched as Derpy tickled Dinky, a warm grin growing on his muzzle as he walked in the house. Giggles from the mare and filly were loud enough that they hadn’t heard the door open or shut, allowing Spike to sneak up behind the pegasus.
When he was mere inches away from the grey mare, he shot his claws out and ran them across her sides, causing her to jump with a shriek and let out more giggles as the new tickle attack continued. He continued to tickle the pegasus relentlessly until he was tackled by the little unicorn who was now recovered, as she tried to tickle him through his scales. He let out a devious grin and started a new attack on the filly.
“It is a lot easier to tickle with claws than hooves.” he said, laughing as the filly squirmed under his claws. His first victim pushed him back down from his vantage point, and gave him a quick kiss, stopping his claws from their assault. He quickly relaxed, returning the kiss and smiled at the Pegasus standing triumphantly over him.
"It's not nice to sneak up on somepony, Spike..."
"Well kissing me was cheating. Besides, poor Dinky was defenseless before I came around."
"And then you attacked my mommy!" The little unicorn exclaimed, diving into his side. He wrapped an arm around her as she continued. "And I couldn't just sit by while the big dragon bullied my mommy!"
"Look, I got a protector!" Derpy giggled, leaning down onto Spike. "Where were you, I didn't see you anywhere." She asked with a look of concern.
"I spent the day with Princess Celestia. Kind of played around all day." He said, grinning sheepishly. "How was your day?"
"Well, it was rather uneventful. Dinky spent most of her free time with the Cutie Mark Crusaders, and I just relaxed." She laid her head down on his chest, reaching a hoof over and resting it on Dinky's head. "I hope you don't mind that we already ate, though."
“It’s fine, I’m not really that hungry.” He let out a massive yawn. “Though I am tired.”
“Mommy, Spike has a monster yawn! I bet he could easily swallow a filly!” Dinky giggled, poking his cheek with a hoof, causing Derpy to giggle as she got off the dragon.
Spike rolled over and captured Dinky in his arms. “My yawn isn’t that big. But maybe I could swallow a filly!” he said as he leaned in and blew raspberries on her side and belly, causing the little filly to squeal and squirm.
“Come on you two, Dinky needs to get ready for bed.” Derpy said, causing the dragon and unicorn to stop and look at her.
“Aw, but mom, he’s so warm!” Dinky whined, trying to crawl further into his arms.
“And so is your bed, muffin.” Derpy said, trotting over to the filly and picking her up. She held Dinky in her hooves and flew to the other room. Spike crawled up off the floor and slowly made his way to Derpy’s bedroom.
Spike stood there and staring at the bed, thinking about the mare it belonged to, and the mare he had sought after. ’She said she loves me. But why now? I have Derpy now, don’t I. I am happy, right?’ he thought to himself. He was brought back to reality by a nudging in his side.
“Spike? Is something wrong? Spike?”
“Huh? What?” Spike asked, looking at the mare next to him. “Oh, no. Nothing’s wrong.”
“Really?”
“Yea.”
“Ok then. Let’s get some sleep, then!” she nuzzled him and hopped into her bed, making sure to leave plenty of room for the dragon. Spike followed behind and crawled under the covers, wrapping his arms around the mare. “Good night, Spike.” she said quietly.
“Good night, Derpy.” he responded. He closed his eyes and seen a white unicorn. He blinked, and looked at the yellow mane in front of him. Frowning, he rested his muzzle against the back of her neck and closed his eyes again. Slowly, he drifted off to sleep, with the image of Rarity going through her usual daily life ingrained in his mind.
“Good evening, Tia. Is Spike doing better?” Princess Luna asked as her sister landed on the balcony to join her.
“It seems so, Luna. He felt good enough to push me into mud.” Celestia said, waving a dirty hoof in front of the night alicorns’ eyes. “Though he is still greatly troubled by matters of the heart, and there isn’t much that we can do to help him.”
“I just hope he makes it through this without anything.... Horrible... Happening...” Luna said, looking into the dark horizon. “I can’t even help him. Not yet, at least.”
“You plan on telling him, then?”
“We. We are telling him, though I think it should wait until his heart is in a stable condition. We never should have kept this from him for so long, but it is not worth causing him more turmoil right now.” Luna sighed, bowing her head down.
Celestia walked up beside her sister and leaned into her side. “I am sorry, Luna, you are right. We never should have kept this from him. Though I am sure he will be excited once he finds out. Do you have any plans for if he doesn’t pull through?”
“I will fight till my last breath to help Spike, Tia. You should know this. I don’t want him turning into a monster.”
“Neither of us do, dear sister.”
The two alicorns stood leaning against each other, watching the stars of the night. “Celestia?” Luna spoke up.
“Yes, Luna?”
“You look great in mud, by the way.”
’Did you feel something?’
‘Yes, I feel a disturbance. Or maybe it was just those weird things I ate. They don’t like being digested. And those tentacles....’
‘No, you idiot. I felt something. The last time I felt something similar was shortly before Discord ran off.’
‘What about it?’
‘Maybe we should check it out. If it made that loser brother of yours run off, it must be important.’
‘I guess. But first, I want some dinosaur!’
‘.....Do you ever think about anything other than your stomach?’
‘When I’m not hungry.’
‘So that’s a no, then.’
‘Pretty much. Now, come here, my pretties, daddy is going to eat you all up!’
‘Of all the beings I could be stuck with, why am I with the one who has the attention span of a grain of dirt?’
‘That grain of dirt finds that offensive.’
‘Whatever. Just hurry up so we can check out that disturbance.’
As light barely crept over the rooftops, Spike stood at the door to The Golden Oaks Library, rocking back and forth on his feet, poised to knock. As much as he didn't want to be here, he knew he must. He knew that he had to talk with the pony inside, the pony he had called family, his sister. He knew he had to try and repair some of the damage between them. He knew, but didn't like it.
Gulping, trying to steady his nerves, he rapped against the door, waiting for Twilight to answer. After a few, long moments of silence, he knocked again, louder. Spike waited as the seconds passed into minutes with still no sign of the lavender unicorn. Sighing, he tried the doorknob, and finding it unlocked, pushed the door open slowly, calling out "Twilight, are you there?"
Still no response, and Spike looked around the library, taking note of the piles of books and parchment. Finding no sign of the mare on the main floor, he made his way upstairs. He stopped at the door to Twilight's room and knocked, softly calling out, "Twilight?"
His sharp hearing picked up a very faint "Go away" from inside. Frowning, Spike pushed the door open, a beam of light shining on a lump in the middle of the bed, which moved slightly as the darkness of the room faded. "I thought I told you girls to leave me alone?" Came a muffled call from the lump.
"Twilight, are you alright?" Spike asked, taking a few steps forward.
"Huh? Who's there?" A horned head popped out of the mess and turned to the doorway. Seeing the dragon silhouetted in the doorway, Twilight's ears drooped as she lowered be head back to the bed. "Oh. What do you want?" She sniffled, burying her face in the covers "was what happened at the mountain not enough for you?"
"Twilight, it's not like that," he sighed as he walked to the edge of the bed. "That's not why I came."
"Then why did you come, huh? I already know you hate me, you said as much before! So why else would you come here?" Twilight sobbed, bringing her head up to look at Spike, tears streaming down her muzzle. "I thought I was trying! I- I thought everything was f- fine. I- I- I- I..." She choked, unable to continue.
Frowning, Spike sat down at the edge of the bed, placing a claw on the back of Twilight's neck. "Twi-" he began, but was interrupted as Twilight shoved her face into his chest, crying. A pair of hooves wrapped around the drake as she turned his chest into a waterfall. Spike caressed the neck of the distraught made as she emptied her tears and sorrows.
As time crept by, Twilight's sobs started to die down, until they were little more than sniffles. "I came here," Spike began quietly "to talk about everything, Twilight. I came to realize that our friendship was important, no matter what happened."
"What do you mean, Spike?" Twilight asked, pulling away slightly and looking at him with puffy eyes.
"I mean that even after all that happened, you still mean a lot to me Twi. And some of it was my fault, too."
"What are you talking about? I'm the one who took you for granted, Spike. I'm the one that ignored you. Hay, we all did. Speaking of which, what exactly happened?"
Two sisters sat at a large table, enjoying a quiet meal together. The eldest, groggily munching on pancakes and sipping on coffee, watched her sister poke at her own plate, consisting of blueberry muffins and daffodils.
"Luna," she called, clearing her throat, "is everything alright?"
"I think we should go ahead and let them know, Tia." The midnight blue alicorn said, not looking up.
"Why is that, Luna?" The sun princess's ears perked up. "I thought we were going to wait a few more weeks?"
"I have a feeling that they need to know soon, especially him." Luna's eyes stared into those of her sister, unwavering. "A very, very strong feeling."
"Well then," Celestia sighed, frowning at her unfinished pancakes. "We will do it tomorrow. I will go ahead and take care of all the arrangements. We'll ward the castle tonight after everypony has been sent home. I'll tell them all it's a sort of... Holiday." She glanced at her sister, who was back to staring somberly at the table. "Are you sure about this, Lulu?"
"Yes, Tia, I'm sure." She glanced at her white sister. "But I'm not sure what will happen. At best, I bet there shall be confusion. At worst, it's possible that there will be some hostilities after that night."
Celestia walked over to her midnight blue sister, placing a hoof on her shoulder and said "I'm sure everything will work out, eventually. Now, you go get some rest and get prepared for tomorrow, sis." They shared a hug before the elder mare trotted away to attend the day
"She did WHAT?!?!?" Twilight screamed, infuriated. She charged out of the library and galloped down the street. "I'm gonna give her a piece of my mind!"
"Wait, Twi! Don't do anything too drastic!" Spike gulped, taking off after her. "This is not good!" he thought to himself.
By the time he got to the Carousel Boutique, Spike hoped he wasn't too late, as he could hear the shouting and screaming from down the road, and the door was blown to pieces. Leaping through the splintered doorway, he saw something that turned his gut upside down. Standing over a cowering, sobbing Rarity, whose mane and tail was covered in splinters, was Twilight with her horn charged and kicking the downed unicorn with her front hooves.
"Twilight!" He shouted, running up to the duo, trying to pull the attacking mare away. "What in Celestia's name do you think you're doing?"
"I'm giving this prissy bitch what she deserves." She snorted without pausing her assault.
"Twilight, stop!" He finally got the lavender unicorn away from the bruised and now unconscious Rarity. "There is no reason to be doing this."
"What all of us did wasn't right, Spike," she growled. "But what she did was just horrible. It's just- just- UGH!" She dropped her head, charging her horn more as it pointed towards the white unicorn.
"Twilight, NO!" Spike tackled the unicorn, right before a large magical blast emerged barely missing its target, but leaving a smoldering hole in the floor. "Have you lost your bucking mind, Twilight?!" He yelled, restraining the panting mare.
"Let me go, Spike." She grunted, trying to get free. "Rarity must pay for what she did to you!" She pushed him off, nostrils flaring and eyes wild with rage.
"Twilight, enough!" He shouted, slapping her across the muzzle with enough force to send her spinning across the room. "Won't you listen to yourself, Twilight? She was your best friend for ponysake!" He pointed to the unconscious mare on the floor.
"Spike, I—"
"No, Twi. You've done enough damage here already." He turned away from the mare. "I want you to go back to the library."
"Spike—"
"Now, Twilight." He watched out of the corner of his eye as the lavender mare slowly made her way out of the Boutique, head down and ears drooping dejectedly. When she had vanished from sight, Spike turned to the mess of a pony lying on the floor. "Oh, Rarity," he said quietly as he picked her up. "What happened to all of us? What are we going to do?" He set the unicorn on the sofa and busied himself pulling splinters from her mane.
After removing most of the mess from Rarity, Spike grabbed a bowl of ice and threw together some ice packs before starting to clean up the mess.
"Oh dear, what a terrible dream." Came a soft moan from the couch, causing Spike to turn towards the fashionista, who was slowly starting to stir. Rarity's eyes fluttered open, and dazedly looked at the dragon. "Oh, hi dear, wha—" she paused, as the mess of her shop, and herself, started to register. "It wasn't a dream, was it?" She asked, mostly to herself.
"Afraid not, Rarity." Spike said as he walked to her side.
"What are you still doing here?" She winced, sitting up. "I would have thought you would have left."
"I wanted to make sure you were alright, Rarity." Spike sighed, sitting next to the disheveled unicorn and placing an ice pack on her forehead.
"Well, I am alright, Spike. You don't have to stick around.
Spike said nothing, just sat there staring at the floor, holding an ice pack to Rarity's head.
"Spike, dear, is something wrong?"
"I thought you deserved it," he mumbled.
"What was that, darling?"
"I thought you deserved it," he said again, louder. "What Twilight did, I thought you deserved it, until I seen it happening."
"Well perhaps I did deserve it." She sighed. "I did treat you like an animal, after all."
"Either way, I couldn't stand to see it happen, Rarity." He brought his eyes up to meet those of the white mare. "I guess I'm just a big softie."
"Well darling, no matter what the case may be, I am grateful." She put a hoof on his arm, giving a small smile. "I don't think anything around here would be the same, otherwise. I would hate to see the damage Twilight could've caused if you weren't here."
"Yea, well speaking of her, I need to have a talk with that crazy mare." He grunted, standing up. "Will you be alright here?"
"I suppose so, darling," she sighed, to which Spike nodded and made his way to the splintered doorway. Just before he reached it, Rarity called out, causing him to pause. "Oh, and Spike? Everything I said before about how I feel about you, I meant it all. I just want to let you know, and that it isn't just me being jealous or anything. But please just be happy, dear." She watched as he left, not saying a word, then she slumped back into the sofa. "Oh, Rarity, darling, what are you going to do with yourself?." She looked around her destroyed boutique with a grimace. "And your wonderful shop?"
Spike walked slowly through Ponyville, not concerned about getting to the library anytime soon. He paused at the bridge and stared out towards the mountains, the same one where he first became a monster, and watched the sun gradually come down, bringing an end to this rather eventful day. As the sun lowered to reach the crest of the mountain, Spike felt a presence at his side.
"Lovely evening, isn't it Spike?" Came the soft, soothing voice.
Spike continued to gaze out into the sunset, nodding. "Yes it is," he glanced to his side and did a double-take. "Princess Luna? What are you doing here?"
"Please, Spike, it's just Luna." The midnight blue alicorn said, continuing to watch the sunset. "And I was just out, enjoying the evening, getting some fresh air, same as you." She looked at the dragon, who had turned back towards the mountains, a small frown on his face. "Is there something on your mind, sir Spike?"
The drake sighed, "Nothing to bother you about, Princess. And I'm not sure if you could help anyways."
"You might be surprised at what I could help you with, Spike." She brought a hoof to her chin in contemplation. "Are things going alright with your friends?"
"A little bit," he gulped. "I think I just need to talk to all of them, now that I've settled down some."
"Well, how about everything between you and miss Twilight Sparkle?"
"Well, I really need to have a talk with her," he grunted. "But I think everything will be OK, in the end."
"Well, that is a good thing." She tapped her hoof on her chin. "Hmm, what could possibly be troubling you... Could it be that Mr. Spike is having mare problems?"
Spike turned and stared into the Princess of the Night's eyes and deadpanned. "You have no idea."
She giggled. "Well, you were correct that I probably can't help you with that," she frowned, draping a wing around the young dragon. "But I know some pony that might. Do you think young Princess Cadence could help with your troubles?"
"I don't see how she could possibly make things worse," he shrugged.
"Well, I shall see if she won't pay you a visit in a few days." She declared, removing her wing and taking a couple steps back. "Now, is there anything else that is on your mind, Spike?"
Spike sat there with a solemn expression across his features for a few moments before quietly asking, "How do you deal with loneliness, Luna? Does it always feel like you are all alone, no matter how many ponies you're around?"
Luna sighed and sat next to the dragon, looking down into the flowing stream. "Well, Spike, it's not always easy, but you just have to remind yourself that there are others out there that truly care for you, even if you think they don't. Twilight Sparkle cares for you tremendously, though I think she has just started to realize just how much. The same, I think, with my sister." She held up a hoof to Spike. "Now, before you say anything, you must realize that they may not be able to help with everything, as ponies do get busy with their own lives. And nopony can tell exactly when you need help, so you need to be the one who seeks companionship, and not wait for it to come to you. Even if you manage to find somepony who dedicates themselves to you, it's not always easy not to feel alone."
"So really, it's up to me to not feel alone?"
"Well, yes, but there will always be some pony there for you, young Spike. If you ever need a friend to talk to, or even just an ear to listen to your worries, don't be afraid to ask me." She gave him a small hug, which he returned. "You know how to get ahold of me, after all. Now, if you'll excuse me," She said, pulling away and taking to the air, "I must attend the night. Take care, Spike."
"Thanks, Luna." He called to the retreating princess. Spike continued to sit there for a few minutes as the first stars of the night made themselves visible. Eventually, he grunted and headed towards the library. "I guess I better go talk to that crazy pony," he sighed to himself.
Stepping into the Golden Oaks Library, Spike was expecting to see the same mess that greeted him this morning, but was surprised to see Twilight organizing the books, with all the trash already taken care of.
"Looks better in here, Twilight."
"Thanks, Spike. I figured I might as well clean up my mess while I waited." She blushed, heading over to the couch. "I'm sorry about what happened at Rarity's, Spike." Her ears drooped. "I don't know what came over me."
"At least you didn't manage to do anything overly stupid." Spike sighed, taking a seat next to the lavender unicorn. "The crazy thing is, I had thought she deserved everything coming at her, until I seen it happen."
"Well, let's be thankful for that. She did treat you like trash, though."
"Yea, but it still killed me to see you attacking her like that, Twi."
Twilight stared at her hooves, ashamed. "What about the rest of the girls?"
"I'm still upset at some of them, but I think we all just need to get together and talk."
"Well, I think I can get them all here tomorrow, though I'm not sure about Rarity."
"I believe she will show up."
"Well, I'll send them all a message, then." Twilight stated as she got up and scribbling five notes before magicking them away. "Done.is there anything else, Spike?"
"I think I would just like to relax, Twi."
"Would you mind making some hot cocoa?"
"Yea, sure."
"Great, I'll be right back!" Twilight exclaimed, trotting up the stairs.
Spike set himself to work, preparing two large mugs of the sweet, chocolaty nectar and making a small, cozy fire in the hearth before laying down in front of it, relaxing. No sooner than he got comfortable, Twilight slid next to him, placing a book in front of them.
"What's this, Twi?" He asked, puzzled.
"Its our book from when we were really really little, Spike." She had a smile across her muzzle as she opened the book a few pages in and pointed to a picture. "See, you remember this?"
"Yea," he groaned. "It was when you thought fun time for a baby dragon would be reading a history book. Then you got mad when I started chewing on it."
"Waste of a good book," she pouted. "I never was able to get the dragon slobber gone."
"Yea, well try cleaning up pony drool after you fall asleep on a pile of books," he smirked.
"Hey!" She nudged him, blushing. "At least I put books to good use!"
"Yea, as a pillow." He retorted, and pointed to another picture. "Hey, what about this one?"
"Ugh, how could I forget? Your first cold was a disaster." She groaned. "My parents had to redecorate the whole house and threatened to have you sent back to the princess."
"Really?" He glanced at her, incredulous. "You never told me that."
"I didn't want to make you feel worse." She said meekly. "Huh, I don't recall this one."
"Hmm, I think that was when we tried cooking."
"Is that what that mess is?"
"Either that, or-" Spike was interrupted by a loud belch and a scroll appearing in front of them. He grabbed it, wondering aloud, "Huh, I wonder what the Princess could want at this time?" He opened the letter and read aloud.
Dear Spike,
Your presence, along with that of Twilight Sparkle's, is requested first thing in the morning at Canterlot Castle. There will be a chariot arriving at the Golden Oaks Library at dawn to pick up you and Twilight. Get plenty of rest.
Love, Celestia
P.S. Don't try to respond to this letter.
“Huh, I wonder what this is about." He pondered, to which Twilight shrugged, a frown on her muzzle. "Well, I guess we better get some sleep, Twi."
"Can we look at these just a little longer, Spike?" She pouted.
"Yea, I suppose so." Spike settled back down with the unicorn mare, and got comfortable leaning against her side, where they continued to look at pictures until the pair of them fell asleep in front of the fireplace.
"I wonder what those things were called?"
"No idea, but they were awfully stupid for claiming to be able to see the future."
"Yea, well they sure tasted good. Hey, let's visit that planet."
"No."
"How about that one?"
"No."
"Why won't you let me have fun?"
"There will be plenty of time for fun when we unleash the Dawnbreaker. Let's just hope that imbecile succeeded in unleashing the Nightmare."
Her prize lay in front of her, just hooves away on a pedestal, a pair of large eggs. One was beautiful, dark blue with light blue spots covering it, and the other was a nice, light shade of purple with darker spots on its surface. Her mom had told her not to mess with them, saying they were treasured gifts from dragons. Something about being the last of a certain kind of dragon, or some nonsense.
She didn't care at the time, she just thought they looked so cool and mysterious, and was amazed that they didn't respond to magic. None of the other ponies could move them with their magic, saying it just felt like a void, that they were trying to grab nothing at all.
Celestia hadn't even tried. Considering she had only recently gotten her cutie mark, but was still having difficulties moving the sun, she believed it would be pointless to try what many greater alicorns could not.
No, instead, she just wanted to play with one of the eggs, study it. Of course she had done this many times, being intrigued with them as she was. With practiced swiftness, she quietly grabbed one of the eggs in her forehooves and brought it down into the sack in front of her before grabbing it in her mouth and running to the corner of the room, behind boxes and barrels. Just because she would eventually leave to watch over a land called Equestria, it didn't mean her mother wouldn't ground her. Again.
She carefully set the sack containing the egg on a small crate, pulling the sack down and revealing the egg. Smiling upon seeing the blue egg, Celestia carefully rolled it out of the sack. She had spent countless hours with both eggs, but she felt more... Attached, somehow, to the blue egg.
She sat there for hours just looking at the egg in wonder, making patterns in her head with the spots, and occasionally nudging the egg, either with a forehoof or her muzzle. She was in the process of rolling the egg over, when a tug on her horn alerted her to the sun being brought down, already.
'It can't be that late, already,' she wondered to herself, before feeling another, stronger pull, causing her to jump, knocking the egg off the crate.
Celestia gasped, as time seemed to go by in slow motion, watching the egg come closer to the ground. She closed her eyes, instinctively trying to stop the egg, even though she knew it would be pointless.
She waited to hear the unmistakable sound of an egg breaking, or even cracking, and peeked out at where the egg should have landed. There sat the blue egg, hovering just above the ground surrounded by a yellow magical glow.
Celestia was shocked and dropped the egg with a small *thud* noticing as well that it seemed to get quieter. She crept up to the egg and sat in front of it, feeling another pull on her horn, most likely trying to find her again. Anxiously, she cast her magic around the egg, trying to feel it.
Instantly, she heard noises. Almost like whispers inside her head. She gasped, feeling like it was trying to reach out to her. She increased her magic, and the volume of the whispers increased as well. She rested her horn against the egg and was almost instantly assaulted with voices, all seeming to echo indefinitely.
She felt another pull on her magic, causing it to surge. She could feel another presence, and it felt like it was talking to her. Almost inaudibly, she heard the cracking of an eggshell, but was unable to open her eyes.
In moments, it was over, and Celestia felt utterly drained as she opened up her eyes and looked at where the egg had been. Her jaw dropped in wonder at seeing a dark blue hatchling dragon staring at her with baby blue eyes. She crawled towards the dragon as it mumbled nonsense, stopping mere inches away from it.
The dragon stared at her, sniffing the air before yawning. It tried taking a step towards the shocked filly, but tripped over the remainder of the egg and fell onto Celestia.
Celestia started to jump out from under the little dragon when she heard the faint sounds of snoring, and looked at the hatchling nuzzled into her, sound asleep. Celestia soon yawned as well, before draping a wing over the baby dragon and closing her eyes to join her new friend in slumber.
The last sensation she felt before passing into sleep was the slight feeling of her pink mane being chewed on and tiny claws wrapping around her slightly.
Spike yawned and stretched a little before opening his eyes and seeing Twilight still sound asleep. He glanced at the clock and decided they had a few more hours before needing to get up, and repositioned himself against his sister before returning to dreamland, wondering what other absurd dreams would come tonight.
A pair of lavender bodies lay cuddling on the floor of the library as the sun slowly crept over the horizon, sending a bright beam of light across the figures, catching one in the eye.
“Fivemoreminutes, mum.” The figure grumbled, rolling away from the offending brightness. Suddenly, a rather loud series of knocking erupted from the door, causing both of them to jump up. “I wonder who could be here this early?” Spike asked, looking towards a disheveled Twilight, who was wiping drool away.
“The only one I could think of…” Twilight trailed off before gasping. “Oh no! Princess Celestia sent over guards to pick us up, remember? We’re tardy!!!” She frantically started to run around everywhere before being stopped by a purple claw grabbing her muzzle.
“Calm down, Twilight, I’ll go tell them to give us a minute. It’s not like the world is coming to an end, right?” he chuckled and walked over to the door, stretching. He opened the door to reveal a Pegasus stallion in armor standing at attention.
“Sir Spike, are you and Miss Twilight Sparkle ready to depart?” he asked, staring straight ahead.
“Uh, five more minutes?” Spike suggested sheepily with a yawn. “We are just waking up.”
“You have two minutes before we leave. You may prepare yourselves on the carriage.” The guard gave Spike a rather unamused glare before returning to the carriage and his partner.
Spike turned back inside and found a unicorn pacing a groove in the floor of the library and walked to her side. He placed a claw on her back that brought a pause to her mumblings and pacing. “We got two minutes, Twi. Let’s get ready.”
“Two minutes! We are already tardy, Spike!” she huffed, glaring at him.
“Yea, well I don’t know about you, but I don’t feel like traveling to Canterlot before using the restroom.” He suggested walking towards the stairs before a blur sped past him and into the bathroom. He shook his head and chuckled to himself. “You need to stop worrying so much, Twi. You forget to respond to your own body, sometimes.”
The carriage flew over the city of Canterlot, with Twilight glaring at Spike. “It’s not like the world is coming to an end, right?” she mocked. “Then what is that?” She pointed a hoof at the castle.
“Uh, just a coincidence? I’m sure it’s normal to have a shield over the castle when the Princess calls us here. A rather large, ominous, wicked looking shield.” Spike gulped, trying to look at anything other than the pony in the carriage with him. “And I’m sure it’s normal to have half the Guard surrounding said shield. Yea, everything is normal.”
The carriage landed outside a gate and the pair stepped out, quickly to be surrounded by a platoon of guards, which led them to the gate. “Ah, finally, Miss Twilight Sparkle and Sir Spike Solaris. Please, continue on the path and wait by the shield,” commanded a lieutenant, opening the gate. “There will be a guard meeting you to take you inside.”
“Uh, thanks.” Spike said, leading the pair of them through the deserted courtyard. “I wonder where everypony is, and what is going on.” The approached the shield, watching the colors swirl around, the air seeming to get heavier with each step. They paused a few steps away from the crackling barrier and stopped, Spike rubbing his scales with an uncomfortable look on his face. “This thing is crazy. I can practically feel the energy coming off of it. Feels like it’s trying to rip my scales right off.”
“You’re telling me, Spike.” Twilight groaned, rubbing her forehead. “It feels like my horn is trying to push itself into my head. I hope this guard hurries up.” They wait a couple long, agonizing minutes before Twilight stomped over to the shield. “Ugh, what is taking so long?! I’m sure I can get us past this shield, Spike.” She reached out a hoof to touch the shield, but nearly jumped out of her skin as a voice shouted behind them.
“I wouldn’t do that, if I were you, Miss Sparkle,” Called a stallion walking up to them, keeping in the shadow of the castle.
“And why is that?” Twilight asked, before watching the stranger pick up a rock in his magic before hurling it at the barrier. Upon impact, the rock exploded violently, shards flying everywhere as they turned to dust. Colors swirled tightly around where the rock hit, sending out small rainbow hued lightning for a moment. Twilight stood there in shock, while Spike ran over to the stallion and glared at him.
“Alright, who are you?” he snorted, circling the pony, who calmly walked out into the sunlight. “I don’t remember seeing you in the guard. I think I would recall a mint green unicorn.”
“Not all guards are born white, grey, or black, Mister Spike. There is an enchantment on every guardponies’ armor to disguise their coats. Makes it more difficult for an enemy to pick out a certain pony, as well as providing some anonymity from the general populace.” The stallion walked towards the still Twilight and stopped in front of her. “As for why you never seen me, I am a member of the Lunar Guard, and rarely come out during the day.”
“But where is your armor?” Twilight finally asked, shaking her head. “I thought all guards on duty under rank of Captain are required to wear it while on duty?”
“Your knowledge is good on ranks and regulations, Miss Sparkle, no doubt from your brother. We must hurry, the Princesses are expecting us.” His horn glowed, encasing the pair in a faint green aura, causing both of them to shudder as the spell washed over them. As the guard cut off the spell, he walked towards the shield and pushed into it, going right through. Spike and Twilight looked at each other before chasing after the strange stallion.
“Wait, you never answered my question,” huffed Twilight as she trotted next to him. “And why have I never heard of that spell before? And why didn’t my brother, Shining Armor, use that at his wedding?”
“Celestia did not prepare me for this,” the stallion grumbled before looking at the curious mare. “Your brother doesn’t know the spell, and he won’t be able to learn it for another few years.”
“But how do you know it? You look like you are younger than me.” Twilight questioned. “Besides, Shining Armors special talent is shields.”
“While I thank you for the compliment, miss, if you interrupt me, I will never be able to answer.” The guard frowned as they continued down the barren halls of the castle. “My special talent is also in shields. It takes years of training to use it. It takes multiple ponies working together to conjure the shield, and constantly drains them of energy. You have never heard of it because it was purposely kept from history texts. Only a select few of the guard even know about it.”
“Ok, but why wasn’t it used during the changeling invasion? It really could have stopped a lot of things from happening.” Spike chuckled at Twilights eagerness to learn of something new.
“There is no way for it to have been used practically.” Spike watched the stallion, taking in his features as they walked. The stallion had a dark blue mane and tail with light blue streaks going throughout, and both were cut short. They walked into the great hall and towards the thrones “Not enough ponies know the spell to allow others access through the shield. The shield also puts too much strain on the users to maintain it for a long time. It took both of the Princesses, Starswirl the Bearded, Clover the Clever, Colonel Sunbeam, mages Neon Light and Amethyst Star, and a hoof full of other strong unicorns to maintain it for 86 hours during the Jormungand-Pony war.”
“Only three and a half days?!” Twilight gasped, following the stallion around the thrones where they paused next to the wall. “Those were all some of the strongest unicorns in Equestrian history, and they only kept it for three and a half days?! How exactly do you know all of this? And why isn’t there any mention of it at all?”
“Enough questions Miss Sparkle." The stallion grunted and turned, letting Spike catch a glimpse of his cutie mark, which consisted of a shield surrounded by stars, with a crescent moon in the center. “Now, if you will please place your horn in the hole in front of you, and channel your magic into it,” he motioned for a small indent in the wall before standing in front of a strange stone. Twilight gave him a questioning look before touching the indentation with her horn, and gasped as it pulled her horn in until her head was touching the wall. “Spike, if you will come over here and push against this stone,” he pointed to the strange stone in the wall.
Spike walked over to where the stallion indicated, and placed his claws on the stone, which resembled an eclipse to the young dragon. He turned and watched as the guard continued along the wall, before sinking his horn into the wall, just as Twilight had. “Now, as soon as the wall starts glowing, both of you need to push into the wall.” He commanded before channeling his magic into the wall, causing it to vibrate lightly, sending a humming sound into the wall.
The wall soon started to glow a bright white, and the three of them pushed against the wall, which slowly slid across the floor. They groaned as it crept along, moving it a couple feet before it disappeared completely, sending the lavender unicorn and dragon tumbling comically into a heap on the floor. The guard trotted past them down the torch-lit hallway. Twilight grunted and charged after him. “Hay, that was uncalled for, you could have given us a warning!”
Spike looked behind them and seen the wall back in its original place, and took off after the unicorns. Twilight was nearly yelling into the guards face.
“Where is Princess Celestia?! Are you ignoring me?”
“Yea, where are the Princesses?” Spike asked as well.
“Princess Celestia is dealing with a small… problem... You will see Luna in a few moments.” The stallion said nonchalantly.
“Who the hay are you, mister?” Spike growled, coming up beside him.
“I am a General of the Lunar Guard.” He grumbled quietly, almost as if not wanting to reveal it.
“Wait, that’s not possible. The last recorded Lunar General was back during the Pony Civil War, when Princess Luna turned into Nightmare Moon and got banished!” Twilight said, running in front of the guard and stopping. “I demand to know who you are!” He continued along, ignoring the frustrated mare. “Hey, don’t ignore me! I’m good friends with both Princesses!”
“What is your name, ‘General’?” Spike asked, glaring daggers into the stallion.
“My name, Spike,” he called, coming to a door covered in insignias of the Pony Sisters. “Is Moonlit Knight. Or Moonlight, for short.” He ignored a gasp from his fellow unicorn and pushed the double doors open and trotted into the room. Twilight and Spike soon followed, taking in the look of the large room they were in. Gems of all colors, shapes, and sizes lined the walls, gold and silver swirled together on the floor and ceiling. What was at the center of the room, caused Twilight to gasp and pull Spike close to her.
“Be careful, Spike.” She turned to the stallion, who just stood there watching, and yelled. “What do you think you are doing?! That dragon attacked our friends!”
“This dragon will cause no harm to any of us. Besides, Spike there doesn’t seem to be bothered much by it.” He pointed a hoof towards thetransfixed young dragon, who was slowly making his way towards the giant midnight blue dragon, letting out a low growl.
“Spike, come back here! That dragon is dangerous!” Twilight called, jumping after him before being placed in a mint green bubble. “Hey! Let me go!”
“Twilight Sparkle, calm yourself!” A new voice called out, one that Twilight recognized instantly. She watched as Princess Celestia flew across the room from another door and landed next to the stallion. “There is nothing to work yourself up about.”
“But-“
“Just watch, dear Twilight,” the Princess said, standing aside to let Twilight have a view of the dragon. It lay with its light blue underbelly facing them, cerulean eyes watching a growling Spike as he sniffed one of its outstretched claws. Twilight gasped as Spikes tongue slipped briefly across one of them before he cantered to the head of the dragon, maintaining eye contact with the larger being.
“But, what is going on?” Twilight muttered, confused. “The last time I seen that dragon, it was attacking us.”
“It’s just a small family reunion, Twilight.” Celestia smiled as Spike brushed his head against the snout of the larger dragon, almost like a kitten.
“Family?!” Twilight gasped. “You mean to tell me that monster is Spikes’ family?!”
“Sister, to be more precise. And do you really think that a monster would do this?” She motioned to Spike crawling along the side of the dragon, sniffing curiously, growling back and forth with the larger dragon. Twilight’s mouth dropped open as Spike dropped down and curled into the underbelly of the large dragoness, and groaned as it curled around the smaller dragon.
“But Princess, that dragon attacked us? What is going on?” Twilight questioned, her mouth working up and down, not noticing the bubble disappear around her.
“It was never her intentions to hurt you, or your friends, dear Twilight, other than perhaps a few small cuts and bruises.” The solar diarch turned back towards Twilight, an almost apologetic look on her face.
“Could have fooled me,” Twilight snorted. “She knocked Fluttershy out cold and nearly ripped off Rainbow Dash’s wings!”
“I’m sorry you feel that way, Twilight Sparkle.” The dragoness said quietly, turning its gaze towards the pair as Moonlight moved next to it. “It really never was our intention to cause serious harm.”
“I really have a hard time believing that!” Twilight retorted as Celestia draped a wing across her back. “And there is no way that Spike could be related to a beast like you!”
“I thought we were better friends than that, Twilight.” The dragoness frowned.
“Friends? I don’t even know you!” the lavender mare shouted. “Why would I want to be your friend?!”
Princess Celestia brought up a white hoof to silence the fuming unicorn before turning back to the dragoness. “Enough with the games, Luna.”
“Luna? Princess Luna is here? Where?” Twilight asked, looking around frantically.
The blue dragoness unwrapped itself from a snoring Spike, before taking a step towards them, covering itself with its dark blue flames. Twilight squinted and watched as the dragon shrank in size, moving towards them. The flames slowly died as the figure within got a few steps in front of Twilight and Celestia and paused, slowly shrinking in size. The stallion walked next to the dying flames, unafraid of being burnt. Twilight gasped as a midnight blue hoof poked out of the flames and landed on the stallions back as if to steady itself. “I am right here, Twilight Sparkle,” the figure called weakly, as the flames died completely, revealing the Princess of the Night.
“I think you broke her, Princess.” The stallion chuckled as the midnight blue Alicorn leaned against him.
“Yes, it would appear so, Moonlight.” Celestia said, walking over to join the two. “You look especially tired, Luna.”
“Yes, transforming is always tiring, Tia.” Luna said, putting full weight on her own hooves. “It doesn’t help that the shield takes so much energy.”
“Yes, we should get rid of it.” Celestia agreed, lowering her head down and powering her horn. The horns of the two alicorns and the stallion met, each glowing as they sent up a multicolored beam through the roof. As they released the spell, they all let out a sigh of content.
“What ?” Twilight finally managed to sputter. “I don’t understand. How? Why? What took so long for you to get here, Princess?” She looked at Celestia, confusion painted across her muzzle.
Before she had time to answer, another voice came into the room. “She had to deal with me, Twilight.” All heads turned up to watch a draconequus floating down from the ceiling. “I just simply had to make this more difficult on Celestia.” He landed in front of them with a smile.
“Why are you here, Discord?” Twilight groaned.
“Because I actually know more of what is going to be happening soon than these three.” He said seriously, pointing a claw at the Princesses and Moonlight. “I just love how this is going! Though I will let them start off this weird sideshow before butting in.” The god of chaos stated, summoning a couch and a vat of popcorn.
Twilight looked back at them, shooting them a questioning look. Princess Celestia sighed and stepped forward. “Luna wasn’t born a pony. She was hatched from an egg, as a dragon, much the same way Spike was.”
“You mean that crazy dream I had last night, about you hatching a dragon, was real? And that dragon was Princess Luna?”
“Yes, Twilight, it was real, and I went through a lot of emotional pain to get to where I am, a tale that is not for this time. For now, I must tend to this little one,” Luna sighed, grasping Spike in her magic and levitating him onto her back with a yawn. “If you excuse us, we shall take our leave,” the Lunar Princess nuzzled Moonlight before slowly making her way out of the room, leaving three ponies and a draconequus to discuss everything.
“What is going on, Princess Celestia?” Twilight looked at her mentor, confused.
"Oh, nothing at all, sparklebutt," Discord chimed in. "Just a millennia long family reunion of shape shifting dragons with the power to destroy and create planets, stars, and other celestial bodies, and a super powerful being, who also happens to be my brother, is on his way throughout the universe to find and corrupt said family to destroy the entire universe, much like I corrupted moonbutt to become Nightmare Moon, though that turned out to be short lived. Though from all of this, all that you and our audience reading this will take out of it is all the kinky, hot, steamy, incestuous coitus that could be involved with a pair of shape shifting siblings."
A moment of silence passed before three voices called out in unison "What?" Before Moonlight charged his horn, preparing to fire at Discord.
"Ah-ah, can't ever have fun, can you, moonbutt-kisser?" Discord turned into a cloud of smoke and creeped through the air. "How many centuries are you going to try and zap me, with no luck?"
"As long as it takes until I don't have to deal with your horseapples, Discord," he grumbled before unleashing a torrent of air, pushing out the cloud of Discord.
"What did he mean about centuries? And why do you have the same name as the General of the Lunar Guard from the pony civil war?" Twilight walked up to the stallion, looking him over like a science experiment.
"Because he is the same pony, and was around before that. He isn't immortal like you may be thinking, Twilight, but he can live longer than most ponies and has the ability to come back as a little colt, a gift from my sister." Celestia walked between the two and rested her wings over both of them. "Sometimes he recalls his memories right away, and sometimes it takes years, but always eventually ends up back in the guard, and Luna always frets about him. It is the most adorable thing ever, considering the circumstances. Now, come, we have matters to discuss about what Discord said."
Princess Luna looked at the young dragon sleeping on her bed. She remembered spending years watching over his egg, waiting for it to be hatched, so she could spend time with her own kind, her own brother. But she had missed his hatching, missed him growing up and going through emotional anguish and loneliness. The same torture she went through for years.
As she crawled onto the bed next to the slumbering whelp, she made a promise that she wouldn't let him go through everything she went through. She curled her body around Spike, smiling to herself that she was finally united with the one she waited so long to have a part of her life.
Two unicorns and an alicorn sat around a table, staring at the teacups in front of them. Twilight was frowning at all the information she had just learned. Ancient feuds, a semi-immortal pony, and a pair of dragons that could wipe out everything. It was like trying to understand Pinkie Pie all over again.
"So you are saying that the whole world could be in danger because of this being that Discord claims is heading this way?" Twilight asked again, still in disbelief.
"Yes Twilight, and I believe he is telling the truth. There was a war between the first dragon clans, galaxies away from Equestria, most of it over before I was even born. There were still a hoof-full of dragons that were still battling against the darkness, but were slowly losing. They had destroyed most of the known universe at the time, creating black holes and exploding countless stars." Celestia frowned at the memory, before continuing. "A few decades after I was born, when I was still a filly, a few of the last honorable dragons approached us with the only remaining eggs from the first dragons."
Twilight quickly jumped in, interrupting the Princess. "But Princess, wouldn't those eggs have hatched if the original dragons died millenia prior?"
"Normal dragon eggs would have, yes. After the first dragons breathed their fire of life into the universe, they used the remainder of their souls to lay a few dozen eggs, some of them hatching instantly. With their dying breath, the told the young dragons to watch over the universe as it grew, and to protect the eggs until they were ready to hatch, and said the eggs would never hatch before the time was right. We never understood what they meant, originally." Celestia took a sip of tea and looked out the window for a long while before looking back at Twilight, pain clear in her eyes. "Shortly after we received the eggs and the dragons explained a little bit to us, we were attacked. The dragons took off, and most of the fight followed them, but our city was nearly in ruins. It was quiet after that for seven years, until I hatched Luna. We were under siege from some of the evil dragons afterwards, and mother took Luna and I to some distant planet, where she raised us for years among a few dozen other ponies."
"I'm sorry to interrupt, Celestia, but you are wandering off topic a little, yes?" The mint green unicorn yawned. "We need to know exactly what we are up against."
"Hey, how can you interrupt the Princess like that and be so casual?" Twilight grunted, agitated.
"Because he can, and does have a point. I will continue my story another time, when it is appropriate. For now, about this monster Discord described. He told me that his first memory was ruling over Equestria, anticipating us for over a hundred years, and then spent that entire time corrupting Luna. It was something he did or said to Luna before we used the Elements of Harmony to stop him that caused Luna's transition into Nightmare Moon."
"But if you used the Elements to stop Discord, couldn't we use them again?"
"The elements didn't even truly stop Discord, they just slowed him down. It would be the equivalent of being in a pool of molasses and trying to move. And according to Discord, the monster heading this way now is much, much worse."
"How could anything be worse than that insufferable lunatic?" Moonlight grumbled.
Silence dominated the room for moments before Celestia whispered. "He was one of the strongest in the dragon war, and destroys galaxies for fun," she frowned before looking at the stallion. "Moonlit Knight, at attention, I have orders for you."
The stallion almost instantly shot up to attention, his forehoof coming up in salute at the same time armor that was nearly black with blue accents covered most of his body, the visible fur now a dark grey, with bat-like wings protruding from his sides. "Yes, ma'am!"
Twilight gasped at the change, noticing the crescent moon amulet on his neck now glowed.
"You are to stay with Twilight for the next fortnight and teach her everything you can about defensive spells, and answer any reasonable question she asks, understood?"
"Yes ma'am!" He responded firmly, not moving. Moments later, light snoring could be heard, causing the two mares to giggle.
"He used to do that all the time to Luna. He would be awake for days trying to woo her and complete his guard duties. She or I would give him an order, and he would just keep standing there, asleep."
"So, do we bring him to a room then?" Twilight snickered.
"We will, but first we have something else to do," she said deviousl, magicking a pair of markers, levitating one to Twilight. "We take advantage of this opportunity, and draw silly stuff all over him and his armor," she giggled like a school filly.
"Princess!"
"What? It makes up for him adding dye to my bubble baths."
"Awe, why do I always miss the fun?"
"What's wrong, Discord?"
"Celestia always pranks an annoying guard, and I'm never around."
"Well, you could go, if you wanted, I wouldn't mind."
"Pranking him doesn't compare to spending time with you, dear Fluttershy. I can prank him anytime I want."
