A world of black. A steady, warm thumping sound. Soft, soothing murmurs and grumbles. Suddenly, an enormous rumbling that causes everything to shake. The warm throbbing quickens. Louder roars filled with panic. Everything is shaking and the warmth is replaced with cold. Deafening crashes all around. A falling sensation. Cracking and breaking. Growls that turn to soft mumbles and heavy breathing. The warm beating begins to slow. Silence. A soft fluttering sound. Indistinguishable voices, then silence. The warm thudding has stopped. A bright, sparkling yellow light, then darkness. Nothing. Soon there is another light, but this one much brighter, and purple. Then he opens his eyes to see a small four-legged, lavender-coated creature before him.
“Twilight!” Spike’s eyes shot open as he suddenly sat up in his bed, breathing heavily, heart pounding, covered in cold sweat. He was gripping his blanket to the point that he almost put holes in it with his claws.
The winged purple unicorn soon rushed to his side and he wrapped his arms tightly around her. A few tears stained her coat. She returned the embrace with a worried expression on her face. “Spike, what is it? What’s wrong?”
The baby dragon lifted his head and wiped away his tears as he tried to give a reassuring smile. “N- Nothing Twilight. It was just a dream. But it seemed so real. More like a memory than a dream…” His words trailed off as he stared into space.
She wrapped him even tighter, comforting him like a mother does her foal. “It’s okay. Like you said, it was just a dream, and nothing more. Now, it’s the middle of the night. Why don’t we go back to sleep and I’m sure it will all be fine in the morning.” She released him and began to walk back towards her own bed.
Spike looked around the dark room and let out a whisper, “Twilight? Is it okay if I sleep in your bed with you tonight? Like I used to when I was little? Please?”
Twilight looked back at him with a gentle smile as she answered, “Of course you can, Spike.” The little dragon excitedly jumped out of his own bed and ran towards hers. The purple alicorn gave a small giggle and continued, “As long as you don’t snore, that is.”
Spike ignored her comment and crawled into the bed with his caretaker and snuggled up close beside her and soon fell asleep. Twilight took the blanket in her magical grasp and covered the both of them. She then looked at her little assistant as her horn again glowed and a similar light appeared around his head. “Sleep well Spike, and have only good dreams tonight.” She laid her head on her own pillow and also fell asleep.
The next morning, Twilight wandered around the library, double-checking to be sure that every book was in its proper place. Spike was at the table with a bowl of gems in front of him, waiting to be eaten. He stared through the bowl, lost in thought. He picked up a stone from the bowl, not caring what kind it was, and began fiddling with it. He noticed that Twilight was in hearing distance and decided to speak his mind.
“Twilight?” Spike quietly called out. “Where did I come from?”
The lavender pony turned to face the little dragon and sighed as she replied, “Haven’t we already been through this? Remember, when you wanted to go on the dragon migration? I told you, it doesn’t matter where you came from or if you’re a dragon and not a pony, you’re still a part of our fami-” She was cut off by the slam of a small, tightly clenched fist on the table that caused the dishes to clatter.
“Yes, I know that already. But I want to know where I came from. How did I end up living with you instead of other dragons like me? Why am I here?” Spike released his grip on the ruby he had been holding and let red dust fall to the table as he looked down and brushed it away.
Twilight walked over to him and put a hoof on his shoulder. “I’ve told you before, I don’t know where you were before I caused you to hatch during my test that day. Princess Celestia told me that nopony else had been able to do that. She said that she believed that your egg would never hatch. ”
Spike looked up at her with green eyes that had started to moisten, “Please Twilight. Please, this is something I want to know. Something I need to know.”
The young princess looked down at him and into those pleading eyes for a moment and wrapped her hoof around him to pull him into a hug. “Alright, I’ll see what I can find out.” She continued the embrace for a minute more before releasing him and walking towards the center of the room. She called out in a cheerfully determined voice, “Spike, take a note.”
The dragon excitedly jumped down from his chair at the table and ran over to the podium where the parchment and writing utensils were kept. When he was ready, he eagerly watched Twilight, waiting as she gave herself a moment to think about what she wanted to say. After a minute or so, she gave a small smile and began walking around the room as she talked.
“Dear Princess Celestia,
It has come to my attention that, as of late, something has been worrying Spike, the baby dragon whom you left in my care. While he is fully aware that he has a family here with me, and my friends, he desires to know about his dragon family. He wishes to learn where he originated from. I know nothing of where his was before my entrance exam. We were hoping that you could possibly shed some light on the subject. This would mean so much to him. And as his caretaker, and his friend, I feel as if it is my duty to try to help him find out who he is and where he came from We would be very grateful if you could give us any information on the issue.
Your Faithful Former Student,
Twilight Sparkle”
The ink had barely been given time to dry on the paper before Spike had rolled it up and tied a ribbon around the scroll. He then instantly gave it a toss into the air and engulfed it in green flames before it hit the ground.
It had been hours since Spike had sent Twilight’s letter to Princess Celestia, and still they had no response. Twilight waited patiently, sitting at her desk while reading a book. But Spike wandered around the room anxiously, staring at the floor and somehow managing to not run into anything. His persistently repeated path was almost visibly carved into the ground.
“What could be taking her so long?” the purple dragon asked as he threw up his arms in frustration, finally breaking the silence. “She usually answers right away!” He walked over to the bowl of gems that had remained untouched since he had left it to write the letter. He grabbed a handful and shoved them in his mouth as he leaned against the table.
Twilight flipped through another page of her tome as she responded, “Oh, calm down, Spike. I’m sure Princess Celestia is very busy. She’s sure to give us her answer any minute now.”
“Yeah, that’s what you’ve been saying for the last two hours,” Spike said back under his breath. He popped a small sapphire into his mouth and swallowed it whole. He suddenly looked as if he was going to be sick and held his arms against his stomach. He then belched out a burst of green flame with a scroll to accompany it. Twilight caught it in her magical grasp as her little assistant ran towards her.
“What does it say, what does it say?” Spike questioned as he excitedly jumped up and down around Twilight, trying to catch a glimpse of the letter over her shoulder. He stopped when he saw the slightly confused expression on the young princess’s face. She turned to him and held the scroll out to him, letting it hover in front of him while still in her magical hold.
“It’s for you.”
Spike slowly took the letter and unrolled it. As usual, unlike Twilight’s letters, it was short, concise, and straight to the point.
Dear Spike,
I believe that it is about time that you knew the truth of your past, and of your family. You and Twilight are to visit me in Canterlot as soon as possible.
~Princess Celestia~
Spike looked up at Twilight with a questioning face. “What now?”
“Well,” Twilight sighed, “I guess we get ready to leave for Canterlot right away.”
The little dragon clutched the letter to his chest as if his life depended on keeping it safe. There was no going back now. He was finally about to get the answers that he had been waiting for.
