"You really do belong, Spike."
Those closest to us...
Are actually the most alien
Spike tossed and turned in the small basket which was his bed. He mumbled something like “...don’t belong here...” and continued to sleep on, but unbeknownst to him that not everyone in the Golden Oak Library was asleep.
Above him, Twilight watched with a sorrowful gaze as she watched her little purple dragon as he slept, dreaming whatever dreams he was. A tear trailed down her cheek as she watched, those three words the baby dragon had said, tearing into her heart.
She wanted to wake him, hold him, tell him the truth... but the urge to do so let before it even began to form clearly in her mind. She yawned, sleep overpowering her for once. She collapsed on top of her bed and rolled herself into a cocoon of blankets, the warmth making her drowsy.
“Spike... You do belong.” Twilight whispered, before she fell asleep.
Hours later, Spike was woken by a beam of light hitting him directly in the eyes. He groaned and shielded Celestia's light from him. “Thanks, Celestia... now I won't be able to go back to sleep.” he mumbled, throwing off his blankets and trudging downstairs.
Twilight was waiting for him down in the main room of the library, with the uncountable number of books lining the walls. “Morning, Spike.” she said brightly.
“Morning, Twi.” Spike said in a less enthusiastic voice.
“Is there... anything I can get you?” Twilight asked, trying to keep her upbeat personality.
Spike shook his head and sighed. “No... I'm fine.”
Twilight looked at Spike, with a burning desire to know what was wrong, but she looked away and grabbed a random book off the shelf and flipping through it.
The door open and closed. Twilight looked up. "Hi Rainbow." she said cheerily to the cyan mare who entered.
"Hey, Twilight." the cyan mare replied as she entered and closed the door. She padded the ground with her hooves nervously. "Uhmm... Can I-"
"Have the entire Daring Do book set for the third time this month?" Twilight finished with a smirk.
Dash nodded, a slightly blush crawling up her face.
"You know, Rainbow," Twilight spoke as she turned to the Daring Do section of her shelves. "you can buy the exact same books I have."
"I- I know." Rainbow replied.
"And then you can do whatever you want with them... Like, I don't know... Get a small cider stain on the side of page 41?"
Rainbow Dash let out a large, exasperated sigh. "Really?! You are still going on about that?!"
Twilight's horn glowed and Rainbow Dash yelped in pain as one of her wings was magically pulled. "Owowowowow!"
Twilight stopped the magic. Her ears twitched slightly. "Ahahaha... You won't be doing that, will you?" Her voice had a hint of crazy in it this time.
"N-no! Absolutely not!" Rainbow said quickly.
"Good!" replied Twilight cheerily, moving over and pulling the first book from the shelf.
As Twilight pulled the first book from the shelf, Rainbow accidentally knocked into a stand holding another book, which fell and bounced near Spike. It had fallen onto one of the middle pages.
Rainbow Dash quickly picked up the book to be greeted by an illustration of a large dragon. It was red, with large glowing eyes. Spikes protruded from its back and tail, and its large wings were spread wide.
The mare looked from the dragon to Spike and back again. She giggled.
"Hey, Spike. This dragon looks absolutely nothing like you." Rainbow turned the book to face Spike and started laughing.
"Rainbow Dash!" Twilight said sternly, glaring at Rainbow. She instantly clammed up and closed the book but the damage was done. Spike stood and trudged up the stairs, out of sight.
Rainbow Dash blushed and dragged her hoof across the ground a few times.
Twilight sighed and pushed the Daring Do books into Rainbow's hooves. "Just go." she said, slightly coldly.
Rainbow Dash left and Spike appeared, sitting down at the top of the stairs and looking down at the dragon book that Rainbow had dropped.
The day continued into the night, and though Twilight noticed that something was definitely wrong with her assistant, she kept quiet, not wanting to upset him. Finally, just before the sun set, Spike cleared his throat. “Twilight?” he asked.
“Yes, Spike?” Twilight answered, looking up from a magic spellbook she had read so much that the spine was coming off it.
He was rubbing the back of his neck slowly, nervously, but he looked at Twilight with a look of finality in them. “Twilight... I want to know where I came from. I want to know my father, my brothers and sisters... my mother.”
She dropped the book and looked Spike. “Spike... you aren't-”
Spike continued, interrupting Twilight. “I'm not sure I belong in Ponyville... I've never even seen another dragon before and... I just want to know...”
“But you'll come back right?!” Twilight said quickly. “I need my number one assistant with me.”
“No, Twilight... If I find my family... I'm going to stay with them.”
A few tears leaked out of Twilight's eyes as she rushed over to Spike. “Spike... I... You can't go. You belong here, with me. Sure...” Twilight continued, holding Spike at the shoulders. “you are living with ponies, but that's made you into the kind, loyal and true dragon you are today.”
“Are you saying that I would have been different if I was raised with my own kind?” Spike questioned.
“No! That's not what I meant at all it's just-”
Spike held a claw to Twilight's lips, silencing her. He looked over at his stuff, neatly packed, waiting for him, then back to Twilight. “I've already packed. My mind is set.”
“Please, Spike! Stay! Just for one more day!” Twilight begged.
Spike looked away and shrugged. “Promise me you won't try to stop me tomorrow.” he whispered.
“B-But Spike...”
“Promise me, Twilight. I'm going to leave tomorrow, and I don't want you stopping me.” Spike asserted, glaring at Twilight.
The silence in the room lasted a very long time. Spike looked at Twilight sternly and Twilight shied away from his glare.
“Ok, Spike... I promise.” Twilight said, in a defeated tone.
“Thank you for understanding, Twi. I have to do this.” Spike hugged Twilight. “I need to know who I am.”
Twilight returned the hug, but Spike broke it before she could feel any warmth from the dragon.
“I'm heading to bed, Twilight. All my stuff is packed, and I want to get a good night's rest for once...” He trudged back upstairs, and after a moment, Twilight followed.
Twilight lay awake for hours after Spike had already fallen asleep, her mind racing. She was about to lose her #1 assistant, possibly forever. She swallowed a large lump in her throat, that doubt in what she had wanted to say for all these years. She didn't have the strength...
...but the thought of losing Spike was impossible for her to swallow.
She lent over the foot of her bed and looked down at the purple dragon. “Spike! Spike! Wake up!”
Spike jerked awake and sat up, meeting nose to snout with Twilight. “...Mommy...?” he mumbled in his sleep-deprived state. Then he realised who he was talking to. “Oh...” His face fell. “You're not mommy.” He turned away from Twilight.
Twilight flopped her ears down, embarrassed, and she blushed. “Well actually-”
Turning back to face Twilight, Spike sighed. “Quit fooling around, Twilight. You hatched me from an egg as part of your entrance exam. I don't care how 'technically' it may be. You didn't give birth to me. You are not my mother.”
Twilight's expression fell at Spike's words. “Well... actually... no. I didn't hatch you from an egg... That was just a story I told you so you wouldn't feel strange.” She looked at Spike with a look that said, 'Really? You never thought of this before?'. “Frankly, we all assumed you'd figure it out on your own at some point.”
“Wait... Are you... Are you serious?!” Spike's jaw dropped.
The purple pony brightened and jumped out of bed. “Ok, let me step you through it. You're a purple dragon,” She put one hoof down, in an exaggerated fashion of walking. “you can use magic,” Another hoof was placed down. “you act and think like a pony,” Another hoofstep. “and, you've lived with a purple, magic, pony...” Three more steps on the wooden floor of the library sounded. “your whole life.” She finished and looked at Spike with a smile.
It dawned on Spike what Twilight was saying. “But... but how...” He looked down at the ground.
Twilight placed a hoof on Spike's shoulder and, with another hoof, moved his head up to look into her purple eyes. “Come on, Spike. I think we should go outside and enjoy the stars.”
The two left the library. Indeed, Luna's moon was shining brightly, illuminating the sky., with small dots of white shining around it, the stars looking down upon the two. “Your father was called Snarlx.” Twilight started abruptly, stopping on a hill, overlooking Ponyville.
“Where... How did you meet him?” Spike asked.
“He was an exchange student from a magic school for dragons across the sea.” Twilight sighed in content. “He was charming and kinda rugged, but an excellent student... and he was really hun- hungry for knowledge... That's it. Ahem” She gave a short cough and blushed.
“But a p-pony and a dragon? Can that even... y'know?” Spike was blushing himself.
“Apparently. At first, I couldn't see myself with a dragon... but the next thing I knew, he was flying home, and I was getting these cravings for pickles and ice cream.” Twilight giggled. “And then...” Her voice went quiet, almost lovingly quiet. “there was you.”
“So... your mom and dad?” Spike asked.
“Are your grandparents.”
“Shining Armor...?”
“Your uncle? Yes.”
Spike swallowed. “And... you...?”
“Yes, Spike... I really am your mother.” Twilight said, smiling.
A tear fell from Spike's eye and he embraced Twilight, his mother, tightly. “T-Twilight! You mean... I really belong?”
“Yes.” Twilight placed a hoof around her son. “You really do belong, Spike.”
Spike buried his face into Twilight's shoulder, feeling the warmth of the pony's fur, and he sighed in comfort.
Celestia's light shone into Spike's eyes as he opened them. “Wha... What?” He shielded his eyes from the sun and looked around. “Twilight?”
Twilight bounced up the stairs. “Morning, sleepyhead! You looked so peaceful... I didn't want to wake you.”
Spike looked down at the ground. “You mean... It... was all just a dream?” He sounded crestfallen, sad beyond belief.
“You had a dream? What was it about?” Twilight asked, curiously.
“My... my mother.” Spike whispered, still looking at the ground.
“How nice! What was she like?”
Spike looked at the purple pony, tears streaming from his eyes. “She was... perfect.” he said, as he ran forward and hugged Twilight tightly... never wanting to let go... of the mother he wanted.
Author's Note
Thank you for reading this.
This story was based off of this comic. http://imgur.com/a/7aI6C
