Glory Days

Spike groaned as he set the last of the boxes on the floor, straightening his back with a barely-audible pop. He looked around at the multitude of cardboard containers holding pretty much everything he'd ever known in his life. A melancholy sigh escaped him, despite his best efforts to keep it reigned in.

"Something wrong?" Twilight's voice shook him from his brief reverie, and he started a bit. Turning to face her, a slight blush crept up on his cheeks.

"I... I honestly don't know, Twilight." He muttered. "Do I really have to leave Ponyville?"

"You know, Spike..." Twilight shuffled her wings as she padded across the room towards him, casting a melancholy look around at the assorted paraphernalia. The trappings of a teenage life. "I had a feeling this day would come."

"Huh?"

"Think about it, buddy." She looked up at him with a sad face. "You're a dragon. Do you really think the other princesses would abide having one of their historic enemies roaming free in Ponyville his whole life?" Spike could see the tears welling in her eyes. "Do you really think we'd go on living so idealistically?" She shook her head, one of the tears spilling down her cheek. "I knew there would be a day when they wanted to keep a closer eye on you. I mean, it's not like they can trust dragon supervision to a glorified librarian, right?"

"That, dear Twilight... Is where you'd be wrong." Both Twilight and Spike gasped as their heads snapped up. Princess Celestia and Princess Luna entered the old library that was Spike's new home, looking as regal and beautiful as ever. Spike felt himself stiffen up a little, particularly in light of the last conversation he had had with the solar princess. "How are you settling in, Spike?"

"Fine." Spike managed, shrinking away from Celestia a little. The princess paused before him, looking around the old library wistfully.

"I remember when Twilight used to live here... Did you take your stash of cookies with you when you left?"

"I did," Twilight wiped a hoof across her eyes quickly. She smiled up at Celestia and Luna. To her, they were as good as sisters. To Spike...

Well, they may have been something different altogether. Spike fought the urge to run, despite the fact he would hardly stand a chance against the two of them. Three, if Twilight was as loyal to them as he had reason to believe she was.

Celestia's timeless gaze swept around the room before settling on him once again, and the last conversation he had had with the princess of the day came back in a rush...

"So, you mean to tell me Spike has some sort of hidden potential?"

"I wouldn't call it that," Twilight inhaled a soft breath, closing her eyes as she sought the words to clarify. "It's... different than that. Spike is just so far outside of what we would consider 'normal' for a dragon. Then again, we hardly know what 'normal for a dragon' means in the first place, but I can say this with certainty: He's not what we think he is."

"I'm right here, you know." Spike growled. The other four creatures in attendance to this meeting - all of them princesses - looked at him warily. Spike glowered back, but fell silent. They were inside Celestia's private study in Canterlot, where Luna and Twilight had brought him shortly after his wonderful night of lovemaking with the lunar princess. Luna's demeanor had changed significantly since then. She'd evolved from the sultry and flirtatious ravishing creature of the night into a borderline cold and aloof pony. Spike guessed her heat had passed in the two days since they'd come out here and arranged this meeting, but the change was still rather obvious to him.

Even Twilight seemed different, in a way. She was much more calculating and factual than usual. He'd always been able to elicit a patronizing eye-roll or even a laugh from his pseudo-sister in the past, but the entire train ride to Canterlot, she'd been stoically cold, reading several age-old tomes during the long ride.

Now, sitting in Celestia's study with Cadance, Luna, Twilight, and the solar princess herself in attendance, Spike felt less like Twilight's good friend and more like a subject being studied under a very high-power microscope.

The attention was highly unwanted.

"Sorry, Spike." Twilight closed her eyes. "You have to understand, this is so far outside of the realm of ordinary that I honestly don't know what to do."

"I seriously fail to see how big a deal this is." Spike grumbled once more. "Did we really have to come all the way to Canterlot for this? Do all four of you need to be here? What's the problem?"

"There's not a problem, Spike." Celestia looked down her nose at him. An easy feat, considering how tall she was, even when seated. Celestia still struck an imposing figure, more so than Luna. Where the lunar princess was curvaceous and beautiful in a mysterious, almost sultry way, Celestia seemed hard as a rock and twice as strong. Spike was truly intimidated by her. She radiated an aura of power and presence that Spike had never felt from another creature in his entire life, save some of his kin. In fact, the way she dominated a room was not unlike some of the other dragons Spike had the displeasure of meeting face-to-face in his adolescence.

In some ways, Celestia was more of a dragon than he was.

"What I mean to say is that we've never faced a situation like this before, Spike." She continued, her voice soft and quiet, but it still seemed deafening to him. "You've no idea how many unicorns I've had take the same test as Twilight. To the best of our understanding, your egg was as good as a chunk of rock. No other candidate had succeeded at doing what Twilight did in her youth. Since that day, we've been watching your progression very carefully. Now that Twilight has expressed her concerns for your development, I believe it's time we acted on them."

"What?" Spike perked up. "What suspicions? What are you talking about?" Spike's gaze drifted back-and-forth between Celestia, Luna, and Twilight.

"I'm saying, I don't think Ponyville is the best place for you to be anymore, Spike." Twilight spoke softly. Spike could hear the hurt in her voice, and it echoed in his own heart.

"The four of us believe that you would do better to move here, to Canterlot, Spike. We want you nearby so we can help you."

"So you can monitor me." Spike surmised, his lips curling downward.

"I... Well..." Cadance opened her mouth to speak, but fell silent. All eyes were on her as she took a steadying breath, collecting herself to speak again. "I understand where you're coming from, Spike... I do. When I first earned my horn and became an Alicorn, it felt a lot like I was being imprisoned here. Luna and Celestia had never seen another alicorn before me, so they asked me to stay nearby so they could monitor me. For a long time, I held it against them, but I'm telling you." She reached a hoof across the table towards him. "They have the best of intentions."

"She speaks the truth, Spike." Celestia added. "I understand it feels like we're asking you to move closer so we can keep an eye on you. And yes, that very well may be true. But more than that, we want to be close by to help you, should you require it. After all," She cast a glance towards her desk, where a framed picture of the elements of harmony, with Spike in the middle, sat facing them. "You're every bit as much a friend to Equestria as Twilight and the others are." When she looked back at him, Spike saw a confusing look in her eyes. It was a mix of compassion and hard stoicism that made Spike cringe. He sighed and closed his eyes, thinking hard.

"You're asking me to leave Ponyville. You realize that's been my home for close to my entire life, right?"

"We understand." Celestia nodded. "And we wouldn't ask you to leave if we didn't know what it meant to you. Ponyville is only a short journey by train, and your friends will visit often. I assure you, Spike, this is in your best interest. And ours as well."

There was a long silence as Spike weighed his options. His life back in Ponyville was comfortable to him. He had a lot of friends in the community, and more recently had begun branching out his sexuality. With Applebloom, Applejack, Twilight, Zecora, and many more possibilities before him, Spike was looking forward to spending more time in the sleepy little farm town. He was about to open his mouth to speak when Luna butted in.

"Besides, I need someone to help me beat my video games."

Thus, Spike had moved. Twilight's old library - her home from when she had lived in Canterlot - was still open. Considering his most recent use of it with Applebloom, the princesses saw fit to let him stay there permanently. Spike was tentatively excited to be back in his very first home, though the memories of his early life here were blurred with time. He remembered back to the most recent memory with Applebloom, and had held onto the idea of expanding on that abysmally small collection of erotic memories over the course of the two-month preparatory period.

His exodus from Ponyville was a tearful affair. Applejack and Applebloom had clung to him like foals, bawling their eyes out in a rather uncharacteristic manner. It had taken Twilight and Big Mac to pry them off, with plenty of promises they'd be able to come visit him in Canterlot. Applebloom in particular, who was earning an increasing interest in the Royal Apothecary. Fluttershy was upset to see him go, since he was a good friend to her reptilian animals. Indeed, he was one of the few who could calm them down, and Fluttershy herself was a little creeped out by them. Rainbow Dash could be in Canterlot in a flash, so for her it was as if nothing was changing at all. Still, she read the mood and was a little somber as she bid him farewell.

Pinkie Pie could care less. She threw streamers into the air and had erected a massive banner over the train platform reading 'GOOD-BYE, SPIKEY-WIKEY!' He was still picking sprinkles out of his teeth from the goodbye confectionaries.

Rarity was surprisingly quiet during the farewell. But upon seeing the banner Pinkie had erected, she cracked a hysterical smile and gave him a warm hug. she didn't say anything, but with the embrace, she didn't have to. Spike knew that she knew his feelings towards her. And while they may have originally been an adolescent flight of fancy, Rarity was one of the ponies Spike was looking forward to getting to know the most. She was still as ravishing and beautiful as the first time he had seen her, even as she shed tears onto his scales.

Which led to where Spike found himself now. Celestia stood opposite him, looking as regal and mysterious as she had two short months ago. They held gazes after the cookie stash joke, one's eyes never wavering from the other. Much to his surprise, though, Celestia broke contact first. She gave a soft sigh and looked down at the floor at her hooves.

"I know this is hard for you, Spike. It pains me to ask you to leave your friends in such a fashion..." She looked up then, meeting his eyes once more. Gone was the confusion in her eyes. Instead, Spike saw something that frightened him even more.

Pure turmoil.

"But I want to be here for you. Not just as a princess, but as a friend too. You've been a great help to Equestria thus far, be it helping Twilight and the other elements, or your contributions to the Crystal Empire... You're as steadfast a citizen as any princess could ask for, and that's why it breaks my heart to ask you to stay here with me - away from your friends and family. Please, Spike." She reached a hoof out to him. "I don't want you to think of me as your jailer. I want to help you, should you require it. And I want to get to know you more. On a personal level, as it were."

"I... What?" Spike curled away from the hoof. "Princess, are you offering to-"

"She most certainly is not." Luna sniffed the response. "She's offering to be your friend, Spike. Nothing more. Besides," She flashed him a quick smile. "That's what I'm here for."

"I don't understand..." Celestia gave Luna a perplexed look. "Was I offering something?"

Luna, Twilight, and Spike shared a look before answering in unison.

"No you were not."

The first night was the worst. Spike spent much of the rest of that day unpacking. Twilight offered to stay and help, but Spike respectfully sent her away. He had many things on his mind, and having Twilight there as a distraction wasn't going to help his mood. Instead, Spike began unpacking his things, which he noted hardly took up any of the space in the library, before doing some cursory cleaning. After that, he stretched out on the threadbare mattress for a good night's rest...

That never seemed to come. Spike tossed and turned on the threadbare mattress, and even one of the couches in the library, but sleep in his strange new surroundings was not forthcoming. He tried every trick in the book, even resorting to a late-night walk to a nearby convenience store for some milk (much to the surprise of the mousy mare working the cash register.) Even that tried-and-tested method of putting him to sleep wasn't yielding results. With a heavy heart and heavy eyes, Spike greeted the next day sluggishly.

First order of business: Decor. Much to Spike's reluctance, the princesses had seen fit to give him a sizable fund for re-furnishing the library. Being a bit of a penny-pincher (and having learned from one of the most frugal mares in Equestria,) Spike spent little and saved the rest. He carried all of his purchases back to the library in short order, and had soon integrated them into the rest of the sparse furnishings. With any luck, the heavy quilt would help him sleep that night.

After that was grocery shopping. A growing dragon of his size could eat three pony-sized meals and have room enough to munch down a whole pizza. Spike was concerned with the issue of feeding him - an issue he'd resolved back in Ponyville by helping Pinkie Pie and Applejack out as much as possible. Here, there weren't any farms for him to put in a good, hard day's work at in return for a good amount of food. But just as Spike was about to begin panicking, he checked the funds he had been given for food. What he saw very nearly made his jaw drop. Spike shuffled through the massive pile of bits, surprised to find more than enough for him to purchase all the food he'd want.

In a penny-pinching mood, Spike went to the nearest supermarket. A dragon's diet consisted chiefly of gems, but Spike had never felt the need to hoard (save that one time, but he didn't like to think about how greedy he'd become.) His appetite for jewels had been whetted with a relatively regular pony diet. He just required more of it. The ponies at the supermarket were a little squeamish about having a dragon in their midst, but with one guard's intervention, they were assured he wouldn't be burning them to cinders any time soon.

Shopping complete, Spike returned home and began cooking a truly massive meal. He'd hardly eaten anything since the move to Canterlot, and save the late-night milk, he was starving. About an hour of slaving over the stove later, Spike had a full three-course meal planned with plenty to spare for later on in the week. With the way his appetite was growing, Spike would probably have to ask the princesses for more money soon, but what he had would last him. And, just maybe, he'd be able to find a way to procure more edibles in exchange for work. Heavens knew sitting around reading comic books all day would hardly be enough to keep him occupied.

Appetite sated and library furnished, Spike discovered he was actually exhausted. He collapsed onto the minimal bed and let his reptilian eyes slide shut. Today had been busy and he was exhausted, falling asleep immediately. But he had enough time for one final thought before falling asleep.

'Tomorrow... I get some answers from the Princesses.'