Family Appreciation Day (First Day of Training)
Family Appreciation Day, the annual holiday in Equestria, when everypony, and creatures, come together and appreciate their families' legacies and heritage.
Back when the Golden Oak Library was still standing, and when Princess Twilight Sparkle was a unicorn, the young pony was in her room, looking over a photo album of all the captured memories of her life in Canterlot.
Her most fondest memories of all were the moments she shared with the young dragon she hatched at her entrance exam for Princess Celestia's School of Gifted Ponies. From that day on, the young dragon, Spike, has been living with Twilight and her family.
Though few ponies knew it, back when, Spike was more than family to Twilight. More than an assistant. He was her very first friend, and the little brother she cherishes. Her ultimate treasure.
"Spike..."
Looking up from her collection of memories, Twilight got up from her bed to go looking for the young dragon to share her reminiscing, and later onward, to make new memories that they can cherish for a lifetime. The unicorn went trotting downstairs, arriving in the main lobby, before she turns into the next room, looking for the young dragon.
"Hey, Spike?" Twilight looked around the room, but was perplexed that Spike was nowhere in sight.
“Huh? W-Where did he go?” Twilight asked herself, while turning towards the kitchen. "Spike?"
Again, Spike was nowhere to be found. Without the little dragon, Twilight felt rather alone. Sadden, Twilight resumed looking through her collected memories to pass the time.
"Sure nice of you to invite me out for lunch, Bon Bon," Spike bites down into a hayburger.
Earlier that day, Bon Bon had invited Spike out to lunch at Ponyville's hayburger restaurant. It was a slow day. The fast food place was quiet, so the only costumers there were only Spike and Bon Bon.
Bon Bon wanted to talk to Spike, regarding a certain incident he had experienced back in Canterlot. An incident in which he had discovered Bon-Bon's secret work as a secret agent, with Canterlot's glamorous, beautiful supermodel, Fleur-de-Lis, who is secretly a retired Royal Guard.
Since then, Spike was given two choices. One was to either leave and live with a mystery, or consider offering his service to the Secret Monster Intelligence League of Equestria – S.M.I.L.E.
"So...about the...agency," Spike began, only for Bon Bon to cut him off.
"I was just about to tell you that," Bon Bon wiped her lips with a napkin. "But you better hold onto your seat first..."
Before Spike could ask, Bon Bon had reached over for the candle on the table and turned a quarter-clockwise turn, until a click was heard.
Without warning, the platform suddenly fell down a hole, taking Spike, Bon Bon, and the table with them. The table was secretly an elevator.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!" Spike screamed. "SWEET CELESTIA! WE'RE FAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLIIIIIIINNNNNNGGGGG!!!"
"This is one of the many secret entrances to the S.M.I.L.E Agency, Spike," Bon Bon explained. "After some thorough background checks and reviewing your skills, the agency have deemed you eligible of joining the agency as their first S.M.I.L.E Dragon agent!"
"Really?" Spike asked, almost excitedly, but also terrified because he and Bon Bon were still falling at a fast rate.
"Yes! But first, you're gonna have to go through some intense trainings," Bon Bon cautioned him. "They may be hard, but they're necessary for the agency to train their agents in the most difficult of extreme situations..."
S.M.I.L.E HQ
Soon, Spike and Bon-Bon have arrived at their destination, when the elevator came to a stop.
"Whoa..." Spike groaned, with his eyes spinning in circles until they finally came to a stop. "What a rush. Oh my Faust!"
"I told you to hold onto your seat," Bon Bon replied.
"Ah! Agent Sweetie Drops! You've made it," A British accent voice greeted, revealing himself to be a tall unicorn stallion.
In appearance, the stallion appeared to be balding, with a few tufts of grey mane remaining, with a squiggly mustache across his snout. His attire is a black tuxedo with matching necktie. His cutie mark is concealed by the tail of his suit.
"I trust you've had a pleasant trip to HQ?" The unicorn asked.
"I wouldn't say pleasant," Bon Bon a.k.a Agent Sweetie Drops replied. "It was...exciting...as always..."
The stallion looked down and sets his sight on Spike, "Ah. I trust this little dragon is our new recruit then?"
"Uh, yeah!" Spike greeted with a smile. "That's me! Spike the dragon! I'm sure Bon Bon and Fleur told you all about me."
"Yes, their report about you was glowing," The stallion turned to a blushing Bon Bon. "I am Agent Furlong, the president and founder of this agency."
"Nice to meet you, sir!" Spike smiled, shaking his claws with the stallion's hoof.
"Now then, let us cut to the chase of why we are here then," Furlong began. "In light of the recent scuffle that took place in Canterlot, Agent Sweetie Drops and Fleur-de-Lis have expressed their interests in recruiting you to the agency. And after reviewing your recent performance, the agency has considered about adding you to the team."
"Yeah, Bon Bon...or, Agent Sweetie told me on the way here," Spike replied. "So, what's my first mission then? Do I get some cool secret agent's gadget? Am I taking down a bad guy? Do I go to exotic locations? Or–"
"One step at a time, young dragon," Furlong held a hoof up. "First, we will put you through our Agency's training simulations, to see how much you can handle in the most difficult and extreme situations our agents are expected for. I should warn you, it'll be extremely intense. Especially for a little dragon like you."
"Oh trust me, I've seen a lot of scarier things," Spike replied. "Just ask Twilight!"
"Is that so?" Furlong raised an eyebrow. "So I take it you were involved with the defeat of Nightmare Moon?"
"Uh...well, not exactly..." Spike sweat.
"Did you play a key role in the defeat of Discord?" Furlong continued.
"Kinda...I mean, I was burping up letters from Princess Celestia non-stop and...it broke Twilight out of her funk," Spike stammered awkwardly.
"Do you even know how to fight?" Furlong asked.
"Um...no?" Spike whimpered, to which Furlong furrowed his eyebrows and looked as if he was about to dismiss Spike. "But I did take on a trio of Diamond Dogs to save Rarity! Does that count?"
"Hmmmm," Furlong scratched his chin.
"Back me up here, Bon Bon," Spike whispered to the earth pony.
"Look, boss. Just give him a chance," Bon Bon insisted. "Spike's got potential. I've seen him in action. And you know what they say. Big things come in small packages."
"We shall see," Furlong looked solemnly.
S.M.I.L.E. HQ – Training Simulation
"Equestria is home to all three tribes of ponies – Pegasi, Unicorns, and Earth Ponies – as well as many other magical creatures," Furlong explained. "To be at your best in the field, you must first master the natural elements that make up Equestria."
- The Sky – Pegasi and flying creatures domain
- The Mountains – Rock Climbing, yaks, goats, Diamond Dogs, Earth Giants, and earth ponies domain
- The Everfree Forest – Home to all kinds of dangerous magical creatures that only the best unicorns and spellcasters can tame.
"And so, we have designed an obstacle course for our agents to train themselves in," Furlong pointed, directing Spike's attention to what appeared to be a hedge maze, inside HQ.
"A hedge maze?" Spike asked. "That's it?"
"Not just any hedge maze, Spike," Bon Bon cautioned. "This particular maze has been enchanted with some of the most sophisticated and most complicated spells that our unicorns have cooked up. The maze is full of all kinds of traps and obstacles designed to catch you off-guard. So be alert."
"Traps?" Spike repeated, sweating up a storm. "...Uh, I know I'm probably going to regret asking this, but...what kind of traps should I be aware of?"
"That's the problem," Bon Bon shrugged. "I can't tell you. The traps magically change themselves every time someone completes a lap through the maze. So you can never anticipate, or predict what you'll come up against."
"Thus, a lesson for every agent,s" Furlong lectured. "Expect the unexpected."
"Expect the unexpected?" Spike swallowed a lump in his throat. "Will it hurt?"
"Not too bad," Bon Bon reassured. "I mean, one time, in my first run in the maze, I went up against a manticore."
"A manticore?!" Spike yelped.
"Yeah. The big cat jumped at me and stung me with its scorpion tail," Bon Bon shuddered. "Next thing I knew, I woke up in the infirmary. Can't remember anything else after that..."
"Oh great. That's reassuring," Spike rolled his eyes in sarcasm.
"Enough of talk," Furlong barked. "Let's begin."
Spike watched as the olden pony held his hooves out, before opening them up to procure a curious little creature that looked like a sentient fireball.
"Whoa! What is that?" Spike asked.
"Kindling!" Furlong answered. "Magical little fire sprites from the fire plane, deep below the surface of Equestria. Curious and childlike, this little buggers are quite the mischief makers. And they're you're main objectives for this training simulation."
"Really?" Spike asked.
"Yes," Furlong walks over to the entrance of the maze, still carrying the Kindling in his hooves. "As soon as the bell rings, I want you to run after this little kindling and catch it. One of our best agents can catch it under a minute. But every rookies are given 10 minutes. So you have exactly 10 minutes to catch this Kindling, before the bell rings. And remember to watch out for the traps, because they'll slow down your progress."
With that, Spike got into a running start, as Furlong sets the Kindling onto the floor.
"10 minutes. GO!"
With that, Bon Bon rang the bell, as the Kindling took off in a blur, leaving behind a fiery trail. Spike quickly chased after the little fire creature.
"I'm gonna get ya! I'm gonna get ya!" Spike said, running after the Kindling.
But the Kindling could care less. The little fiery creature was laughing at the young purple dragon chasing it. Just when Spike was about to grab it, the Kindling had made a sharp turn, and Spike ended up running into a pond that magically appeared in front of him.
"WHOA!" Spike yelled, falling into the water with a big splash.
*SPLASH*
Fortunately, Spike knew how to swim and was on his back up on dry land. Unfortunately, the water was full of Bite-Acudas – flying piranha-like fishes with massive teeth.
"OUCH! OOH! OW! OOH! MY TOES! MY TAIL!" Spike yelped as he burst out of the water, kicking and knocking some of the Bite-Acudas off of him.
One last Bite-Acuda remained, biting on his nose, which Spike struggled to pry off. Mustering up all his strength, Spike pulled until the chomping fish came off with a pop. Spike tossed the fish back into the pond, which magically disappears. However, new obstacles lay ahead, as Spike soon finds himself in what appeared to be a library.
"Wow! I'm sure Twilight would love this," Spike commented.
Suddenly, a book fell out from its shelf, before it suddenly opened its cover and its pages began to flip wildly in the breeze, as if some invisible force was brushing through at great speed.
"Then again, maybe not," Spike whimpered, wondering just what kind of danger he's in for.
Then, all of a sudden, the pages of the book ripped themselves free from the bindings, before they started to fold themselves into pieces of a claw, then an arm, and another, until the massive body of a large serpentine creature was formed.
Then at last, a huge paper dragon took shape, letting out a loud bloodcurdling scream.
The paper dragon – a Bookwyrm – sets its fiery eyes on Spike, who immediately took off running for his very life.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!!" Spike ran down the halls of the library, weaving between bookshelves, with the Bookwyrm chasing after him.
The Bookywrm inhaled a gust of air, with which it exhaled a burst of ghostly bluish flames, scorching Spike's tail.
"YOW!" Spike yelled, clutching his smartened behind, as he continues to run for his life.
Eventually, Spike saw a door ahead, believing it to be his exit and his means to escape. With a great burst of speed and adrenaline, Spike lunged towards the door, which swung wide open and slams shut on the Bookwyrm's face.
"Whoa!" Spike screamed as he falls to the ground, picking himself back up and finds himself back in the hedge maze.
Unfortunately, Spike wasn't out of the fire just yet. His eyes widened in horror to see there were many beehives hanging on top of the maze walls. Worst still, the Kindling that Spike was chasing had blown up a balloon. The little fire mischief maker started to fold the balloon into an animal. Specifically, a balloon dragon. Then, it picked up a needle, aiming it right at the balloon dragon.
"No, no, no, no, no, no!" Spike pleaded to the Kindling, shaking his head.
But the Kindling proceeded to pop the balloon. It was so loud that Spike felt himself blown back a bit.
*POP*
Spike blinked his eyes open to see that nothing happened.
"HA!" Spike pointed at the Kindling, and quickly regretted it with a gasp.
In the blink of an eye, Spike was surrounded by a swarm of angry bees, pulsing with electricity.
"AAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!!" Spike screamed at the top of his lungs as he now finds himself chased by the angry Swarm of Flash Bees, that repeatedly stung him with their lightning bolt stings.
Thankfully, Spike's torment didn't lost any longer as 10 minutes was up. Saved by the bell, the hedge maze immediately disappears and Spike finds himself back at S.M.I.L.E HQ, dazed, bruised, charred, dizzy, and electrocuted from all the adrenaline he had endured.
"Di-he-he-he-d I-I-I-I-I-I do-o-o-o-o go-o-o-o-o-o-ood?" He asked in his electrocuted punch drunk state.
Furlong simply shook his head and sighed, with Agent Sweetie Drops sharing her boss's disappointment.
"We have a long way to go," Furlong stated.
S.M.I.L.E. HQ – Fighting Dojo
After a moment to recover, Spike finds himself, Bon Bon, and Furlong in what appeared to be a dojo. The floor was covered in red carpets, with a large mattress in the center, and was lined with pink paper thinned walls.
"Maybe it's way too soon to consider sending you out on the field with our agents," Furlong pondered. "So before we do, we're going to train you up for combat."
"Combat?" Spike asked.
"Another requirement of being one of our best agents is being able to fight to defend yourself and others," Furlong lectured as he walks over to a pile of armors that lay in the center of the room. "And for that, we have enchanted this suit of armor to be your opponent."
"And...how does that work, exactly?"
As if answering his question, the suit of armor magically stood up on its own, as if it was a puppet being lifted up by its strings. The suit of armor assumes the shape of a pony.
"Oh! That answers that."
The armor pawed its hooves on the mattress, before it charges into a gallop towards Spike.
"YIPE!" Spike yelped, jumping to the side to avoid the armor's attack.
The armor ran straight into a wall with a mighty crash, causing it to fall apart.
"HA ha!" Spike laughed, shaking his rear, mocking the armor. "You missed me, you missed me. Now you got to kiss me~!"
Spike's moment of victory came to a sudden halt when the armor soon got up and reassembled itself, and turned its helmet in Spike's direction.
"Uh...hehe. Maybe that missed me crack was a little outta line," Spike smiled nervously.
But the armor couldn't care less as it once again paws at the floor with its hooves, ready for another charge.
"Bon Bon? What should I do?" Spike asked.
"Fight it!" Bon Bon answered. "Use your fire breath. Use your tail. Kick it. Punch it!"
Spike tried to do as Bon Bon advised him to. Unfortunately, Spike was too scared yellow as a canary to even breath a spark of flame. As the enchanted armor makes another lunge towards Spike, the young dragon dives to the side to dodge another attack.
"Stand your ground, Spike!" Bon Bon shouted. "You can't keep running forever!"
"You're never going to end the fight if you continue to run and dodge," Furlong added.
"C'mon, Spike! Show that thing what you're made of!"
Spike was knocked to the ground by the armor. He looked up to see the armor rearing up on its hind legs and thrashing its fore hooves in the air. Spike quickly rolled to the side, to avoid the armor slamming its hooves down on him. Then, out of impulse, Spike breathed a burst of green fire at the armor, knocking its helmet off. The now-headless armor turned in Spike's direction and continues its sparring with the young dragon. The armor sweeps one of its legs across the floor, to which Spike jumped up to dodge the kick. But the armor followed-through with another spinning kick, nearly hitting Spike's head, had the dragon not ducked down in time.
"Yeesh! That's one way to lose a head," Spike quipped.
The armor reared up on its hind legs to slam its front hooves down on the mattress again.
"HI-YAH!" Spike yelled, throwing a punch at the armor's hooves. "OW!"
Unfortunately, for Spike, the armor was too thick and too sturdy, that the dragon recoiled in pain from the blow he dealt. Spike shook his fist to shake off the blow, leaving him open to be swatted by the armor's punch. Tired, and a little bruised, Spike watched helplessly as the armor lunges at Spike to deliver a finishing blow. The young dragon could only scream in horror, bracing himself for the blow.
"STOP!" Furlong barked.
With that, the armor collapsed onto the ground, with its pieces scattering across the mattress. Once again, the enchanted suit of armor was just a pile of metal pieces.
Spike looked up to the stern look of Furlong's face, with Bon Bon shaking her head in disappointment.
"So...how'd I do?" Spike asked nervously.
Golden Oak Library
Later that night, Spike walked up the front door of the Golden Oak Library. His body was aching after all the trainings he went through, and he was ready to plop himself into bed for a well-deserved sleep.
It was very late and it has been long past his bedtime. Spike hoped to sneak his way through the library, up the stairs, and into his basket, without waking up Twilight.
Once he was at the front door, the young dragon reached out for the door knob, slowly turning it open, and gently pulls the door open. Once inside, Spike tip-toed across the floor, passing an opening to another room, where he happened to see Twilight with a lit candlestick on her desk.
At first, Spike thought Twilight must be staying up late for some late night studying, which she has done before in the past, prior to coming to Ponyville. Spike was just on his way upstairs to sleep, when his ears perked in alarm to what sounded like sniffing. He immediately backtracked to the room. Upon a closer look, he noticed a tear drop from the corner of Twilight's eyes.
This was most concerning.
"Twi? W-What's wrong?" Spike asked, making his presence known.
"Oh, Spike!" Twilight gasped in surprise, before she calmly assured, "It's nothing, really, but..."
The swelling tears in Twilight's eyes said otherwise. Spike watched as the tears flooded from Twilight's eyes as she turns to look back at the book she was looking at. It was actually a photo album, containing all the treasured memories they've had in Canterlot prior to Ponyville.
"I'm homesick," Twilight admitted, in which the pipe broke. "I'm sorry, Spike. I know you don't like to see me cry. It's just that, I miss my parents, my brother, Cadence, and Canterlot. Being so far away from them makes me feel so alone..."
Spike was beyond heartbroken. He felt an arrow striking him through the heart to see his sister-figure like this. He had always thought she would be fine without him, since she's always had her friends, the girls of Ponyville, to hang out with. But this is the first time he's seen her so lonely. He felt rather bad for leaving Twilight all alone in the Golden Oak Library for the day.
"Twilight... You don't have to feel lonely. Your family and friends loved you! And I'm sure they're thinking about you right now. And I'll always be here for you, no matter what."
“Oh Spike, thank you!” Twilight sobbed in gratitude and in a relief. “Spike?”
“Yeah, Twi?”
“Promise me that you’ll always be my friend and that you’ll never stop being such a sweet little dragon.”
“It’s a promise.”
Spike then let out a yawn, and felt his whole body going limp as he slumped onto Twilight's shoulder. Spike could hear Twilight giggling as she levitated him off the floor, carrying him up the stairs, up to their beds. After she settled him in his bed, Twilight kissed Spike on the head.
"Good night, Spike," Twilight whispered to him before he was completely swallowed up into his unconscious sleep. "My sweet little dragon."
Spike smiled to himself in his sleep as the last words from Twilight echoed in his mind. Twilight is everything to him. She is his whole world. She hatched him from an egg, welcoming him into the world, almost like a mother to her child. In a way, Twilight is his mother as much as she is his sister. She is his family, his home, and he owes his whole life to Twilight. Hence, why he was willing to assist her, if not protect her at all cost.
Spike smiled at the thought of him being more than Twilight’s Number One Assistant, or a sweet little dragon. He could be a hero. Twilight’s hero.
“I’ll be your hero, Twilight,” Spike muttered in his sleep.
Before long, young Spike found himself in a dream, where he is rescuing Twilight, and the rest of the girls, from a giant bird.
The bird was as big as a mountain, with eyes that burned brightly as fires at the end of a lightning bolt.
I'll Be Your Hero - Julian Lennon
In his dream, Spike watched helplessly as the giant bird took Twilight and her friends away, in its claws. Spike was scared stiff at the size of the bird, he couldn’t move. He wanted to run and save himself.
But when he looked at Twilight and the girls, seeing how helpless and scared they are, he just couldn’t abandon them. They need help. They need his help. He needed to act fast. They need a hero. They need him to be that hero. He is going to be their hero.
And so, mustering up all his strength and courage, and with a work of magic, Spike finds himself splitting up into three version of himself.
One version of him stood as a tall muscular dragon wearing a red cape, with armored paddings, carrying an oversized lance.
A second version of him stood as Hum Drum.
Lastly, the third version of Spike stood as a wizard, with a large hat, a long beard, and a long twisted staff to complete his look.
Together, all three Spike raced off to rescue the Mane Six from the giant bird.
It didn't take long for all three Spikes to track the giant bird's nest, at the top of a tall mountain, where the bird had fallen asleep, while the ponies were imprisoned in a birdcage. No doubt, the ponies were just left there as prisoners until the bird gets hungry. That is, unless all three Spikes had anything to do about it.
Hum Drum!Spike carefully snuck past the bird, until he arrived at the birdcage. Hum Drum worked his firebreath to melt the lock off the cage. Unfortunately, his attempt didn't go unheard as the bird woke up and let out a bloodcurdling screech. The giant bird reared its head back, preparing to strike down Hum Drum. Luckily for him, Knight!Spike and Garbunkle!Spike leapt into the fray and fought off the bird.
Knight!Spike jabbed his lance at the giant bird, keeping its sharp beak from picking at Hum Drum, and blocking the bird's claws. Then, Garbunkle!Spike stood between his comrades, holding his staff up in the air, before he slams it down.
"YOU! SHALL NOT! PASS!!!" Garbunkle!Spike screamed.
Upon slamming his staff, all three Spikes merged together into a one huge Spike. More bigger and stronger than the bird itself. Spike-zilla has entered.
With a loud roar, Spike-zilla breathed a burst of green fire, scaring off the giant bird as it flew away. With the bird gone, Spike rescued Twilight and friends from their cage. The girls all enveloped Spike in loving hugs. And the cherry on top, Spike gets a kiss from Rarity.
"I'll be your hero, my friends," Spike vowed, in his sleep.
No matter how long, or how difficult it will be, Spike is certain to work harder at S.M.I.L.E. so he can protect his friends and family.
Author's Note
The ending scene is accredited to the comic: "Love and Comfort" by WallisColours, formerly Willis96.
