Here's To You

by Ascension Call

Rating: teen
Tags: Shining Armor, Tragedy, Gore, Princess Celestia, Slice of Life, Dark, Sad, Main 6, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Princess Cadance, Spike
Length: 13331

Something terrible happens to her close friend, and Twilight begins to lose herself.

What does one do when their loved ones are taken away from them, much too early?

A visit to Zecora's hut by Spike and Twilight takes an unexpected, tragic turn.

As grief and guilt eat away at her, what can Twilight do to cope? Can her friends and family help as she descends into a storm of suffering?

Artwork is by SierraEx. He gets all the win for the cover. Nice guy, too.
You can check him out at deviantART here: http://sierraex.deviantart.com/

Published 2012-04-22 09:44:02 UTC
Last updated 2012-05-07 01:22:09 UTC

When Stars Go Out

DISCLAIMER: I do not own My Little Pony or any of its characters.
ANOTHER NOTE: If you happen to be one of the lovely readers awaiting an update for my other story, it’s coming. I just have to get this nagging idea out of the way. Thank you for your patience!

As the afternoon sun began to set, Twilight Sparkle and Spike made their way through the dense, dark woods of the Everfree Forest. Days ago, Zecora had requested that Twilight visit her hut now and then to keep it tidy while she embarked upon a trip back to her homeland, mainly to visit old friends and family, but also to find certain rare ingredients that she needed for some new brews. Twilight, who was eager to have something to do other than poring over books day and night (as much as she loved doing so), readily agreed.

However, Spike, who was thoroughly spooked at the idea of entering the forest, even to assist Twilight, his best friend, in doing Zecora a favor, did not, especially since it was sundown. Who knew what horrible creatures could be lurking there in the dark, waiting to pounce upon hapless travelers? The forest was threatening enough in the day.

“Come on, Spike! Stop complaining. We’re almost there,” assured Twilight, who had had to put with ceaseless grumbling and groaning from the baby dragon since they had left the library earlier on.

“Grr… I’m so hungry! Why did we leave without having dinner first?” asked Spike, whose stomach had growled loudly throughout the trip. It was never a good idea to leave a young dragon hungry, and both he and Twilight knew that.
“What about you, Twilight? How are you not hungry?” He continued. His eyes then narrowed in suspicion. “Have you been snacking behind my back?”

As if in response, Twilight’s stomach then growled as well, much to the studious mare’s embarrassment. Spike instantly cracked up as he saw her blush.

“I- I guess not, then!” he teased.

“…Cut it out now, Spike. Unless…” began Twilight, whose embarrassed frown was now replaced with a sly smile.

“Uh, unless what?” questioned a now slightly anxious Spike, though her still giggled.

“… Unless you don’t want this right here,” finished his friend, as she used her magic to open the backpack that she carried and levitated a gleaming apple-sized sapphire out, which shone gloriously in the light of the setting sun.

Instantly, the baby dragon’s laughter ceased as he was shown the beautiful gem. “Wh- where did you get that?” he asked, entranced. “It looks yummy!” He tried to grab it, but Twilight lifted it up so that it was far above his reach. “Hey, what’s the big idea?” whined Spike, as he tried to reach the prize.

“Behave yourself the rest of the way and stop complaining, and it’s yours,” decreed Twilight, who now grinned mischievously at her assistant’s indignant expression.

“That’s blackmail!” he yelled.

“Heh heh, I’m just playing with you, Spike!” she laughed, much to his relief. She then released her hold on the gem. “Here, catch!” she said. As soon as the gift was in his reach, Spike snatched it out of the air and began to devour it rapidly, his voracious hunger getting the best of him. Twilight chuckled at the sight.

Mere moments later, Spike had eaten the entire stone. “Mmmm… Now that really hit the spot! Is there any more?” he asked, as he smacked his lips.

“Maybe,” Twilight said. She quickly looked away from her hungry assistant and pretended to pay attention to the surrounding woods in an attempt to look dismissive and distracted. “…Or maybe not,” she finished, smirking. She then noticed that indeed, the forest was becoming uncomfortably dark. They had taken much longer than she had hoped in their journey to the hut, and Spike did have a point when he had complained about the possibility of being attacked by all manner of beasts in here.

“Please, Twilight?” begged Spike, causing him to regain the mare’s attention. As if on cue, his stomach growled again as well. For good measure, he then hugged Twilight, and whispered, “I’m so very hungry…” as he gazed straight into her eyes.

“Hey, Spike!” squealed the mare, as she felt the small dragon wrap his arms around her neck. Any resolve that she had to keep the gem from her assistant instantly dissolved when she saw the pleading, extremely sad look on Spike’s face. For a dragon, he threw on a relatively effective puppy-dog face, she realized.

”Fine. Here,” she sighed, as she retrieved a second sapphire and gave it to Spike, who promptly shoved the entire thing into his mouth. After several seconds of rapid chewing, Spike swallowed down the shards and burped loudly.

“Mmmm… Just as good as the last one,” he remarked happily. Twilight rolled her eyes.

“Okay, and now that you’ve eaten, we won’t be hearing complaints on the way anymore, will we?” she asked.

“Well… I’d say probably not,” answered Spike confidently. He then remembered that Twilight’s stomach hadn’t exactly been silent either. “Well, what about you, Twilight? You must be really hungry too…”

Twilight was somewhat taken aback by Spike’s comment. Aside from that time he had given his treasured Fire Ruby to Rarity (who happened to be his crush, no less), Spike wasn’t known for his generosity, and he usually displayed a pettier, more childish form of the greed that dragons were infamous for. She was suddenly reminded of a disastrous incident a few weeks back where Spike grew incredibly possessive of the belongings of others and had used the fact that it was his birthday to obtain those items for himself.

Nevertheless, Twilight appreciated Spike’s concern, and grinned sheepishly. “Oh, well… yeah, I am…” she was about to continue when she suddenly spotted a familiar outline in the darkness that now began to envelop the forest as the sunlight disappeared from Ponyville. “But look over there!” she exclaimed, and she gestured towards the shape.

“Is that Zecora’s hut? Finally!” cheered Spike. Before Twilight could stop him, he had run off towards the home, intent on finally reaching a safe haven in the forest.

“Spike, be careful!” called Twilight, smiling at his enthusiasm. Despite the fact that they would likely be isolated in the forest tonight, Twilight couldn’t help but look forward to the coming evening, specifically the included warm fire, homemade food,
friendly conversation, and provided Spike was in the mood, reading for fun.

The fire in the middle of Zecora’s room had been lit, which warmed the interior of the hut and relaxed both Spike and Twilight. Both sat near the flames and toasted bread in preparation for sandwich making, though Spike preferred the use of his fire breath, whereas Twilight went with the old-fashioned method of toasting the bread near a fire.

“Man, I’m going to add mustard, and mayonnaise, and Thousand Island, and-“ began Spike.

“I don’t think that’ll sit very well with your stomach,” opined a frowning Twilight.

“Ha! Won’t sit well with my stomach? That’s funny. Twilight, I eat gems. Shiny, hard rocks. If those go down just fine, how could a sandwich not?” he responded, as he began to put daisies, grass, lettuce, and hay on a slice of toast. He then pulled out the bottles of condiments that they had pulled from Zecora’s pantry and squirted them with abandon on to the sandwich, much to Twilight’s disgust.

“Ew, Spike! Just what are you trying to achieve by mixing all that?” she complained.

“Heh heh heh…” chuckled Spike, as he assembled the sandwich and then brought it to his hungry mouth. “Taste,” He then took a large bite out of the food, as Twilight watched out of disgust and fascination.

Nothing happened for a few moments. Then, suddenly, Spike began to retch, and before Twilight could say anything, a rainbow-colored plume of smoke erupted from his mouth as he let out a massive burp. The purple dragon then slumped to the floor, dazed.

“Spike! SPIKE! Are you alright?!” asked his guardian, who quickly rushed to his side and attempted to check his vitals. Suddenly, Spike lost his dazed look and was instantly energized and excited, and he jumped into the air.

“THAT WAS AWESOME!!!” he yelled, grinning. Twilight stared at him cheering for a bit, utterly dumbfounded, before beginning to chuckle at the randomness and ridiculousness of the event that had just transpired.

“I… heh. I guess that was pretty cool. Heh heh heh,” she began. Spike then saw the pricelessly uneasy look on Twilight’s face and began to laugh uproariously, which, given the infectious potential of laughter, caused the purple mare to laugh harder as well. Before long, both were clutching their sides and writhing on the floor, as the laughter slowly died down to giggling, then stopped altogether, though tears of mirth still flowed down both of their eyes.

“…Why did we even start laughing again?” questioned Spike, a smile still tugging at his lips.

“I don’t know, I honestly don’t know,” responded Twilight, also smiling, as she picked herself back up. She then looked out the window and saw that the night’s darkness had completely shrouded the woods that made up the Everfree Forest. The light from the full moon projected rather eerie shadows across what little clear ground that she could see.

“Now we’re definitely not going back through the forest… who knows what’s in there?” thought Twilight out loud. Spike looked out the window as well and shivered at the view.

“Yeah… you couldn’t give me enough Fire Rubies to travel through that. Well, actually, maybe you could…” he trailed off as he saw Twilight pace around the room, a thoughtful look on her face. “Something wrong, Twilight?”

“Hmm? Oh. I was just thinking…” she said, as she sat down on the floor. “I could teleport us back to the library… or do you want to stay here for the night? I’m sure Zecora won’t mind.”

Spike’s eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. “WHAT?! Twilight, have you lost it for real this time? We’re in the Everfree Forest! At night! There’s a bunch of things out there that want to hurt us, and there’s nopony around here to help us if that does happen!”

Twilight grimaced as she realized that Spike made rather valid points, and then reviewed the decisions again. “…You’ve got a point, Spike,” she said finally. I just thought… it could sort of be like a camping trip with, you know, just you and I? Sure there’s nopony around to help us, but we do have each other. Plus, you’re forgetting that I could teleport us out of here in an instant if anything bad happens. Come on, it could be exciting!” she reasoned.

Spike saw the eager look on his friend’s face, and after several moments of deliberating, relented. “Okay. You’re right, it could be fun! Eh… though dangerous. But danger is my middle name! Spike Danger…” he stopped when he realized that he didn’t have a last name. “Spike Danger! Yeah!”

Twilight grinned happily at her assistant’s consenting decision. “Oh Spike! Thank you so much!” she cheered, and she began to hop around the room excitedly, much to Spike’s amusement. She then stopped, and hugged the baby dragon. “And before you ask, I promise that I’ll keep both of us safe!” she declared.

Spike smiled at this, but suddenly found his competitive side taking over. “’Keep both of us safe’? Hey, that should be my job!” he thought. He then looked towards Twilight, who had put him back on the ground and was removing several books from her backpack. “Twilight?” he called, drawing her attention.

“Yes, Spike?” she asked, turning towards him.
“I’ll take care of that!” said Spike fiercely, confusing Twilight.

“Take care of what?” she asked, quirking an eyebrow.

“Keeping both of us safe!” he reminded her. “If I’m going to grow up to be a big, strong dragon, I’m going to have to learn to fight, right? So I’ll start here. If anything touches either of us tonight, they’re in big trouble!”

Twilight was taken aback by his sudden outburst of confidence, but then realized that this wasn’t took unexpected from the likes of Spike. “Okay! I’ll leave the protecting all up to you then, Spike Danger!” she said, much to his delight.

“Awesome! I won’t let you down, Twilight!” he shouted.

Twilight smiled. Seeing Spike grow from the tiny, adorable infant that she had hatched to a confident and caring friend really warmed her heart, though she wouldn’t tell him for fear of teasing. “I’ll hold you to that, then. Now…” she trotted over to the small stack of books that she had created, chose one, and then levitated it to Spike, whose eyes widened at the sight of the cover: An image of a determined and grizzled-looking pegasus pony with a mustard-colored coat, grayscale rainbow mane and a pith helmet, with the words Daring Do and the Raiders of the Lost Stable emblazoned across it. He had become a rather avid reader of the Daring Do series since he had checked them out after hearing praise for it from everypony, such as Twilight (no surprise there) and even the hyperactive, literature-hating Rainbow Dash, and had finished every book in the series. He had never heard of this one, though.

“I swiped it from the library before Rainbow could come in and check it out. I feel bad, but I just couldn’t resist. It’s the newest addition to the series,” explained Twilight. “And I say we should read it together.”

“...”

“Uh, Spike?” asked Twilight as she examined her friend. His eyes were locked on to the cover, and his mouth agape. Suddenly, he jumped up.

“I CAN’T WAIT!!!!” he shouted happily, startling Twilight. His eyes gleamed with excitement as he settled down next to her in front of the fire, and eagerly flipped to the first page of the novel. “Could I please start us off this time?” begged Spike, which surprised Twilight a bit, as she was always the sole reader during their book sessions. However, she grinned, and nodded eagerly, satisfied by his enthusiasm. Spike, given permission, cleared his throat, and then began to read: “After long months of intense searching and even more intense surviving, Daring Do finally found the entrance to the ancient temple which held the legendary treasure that she so desired: the Golden Idol!”

Twilight listened intently, at peace with the world as it was in this moment.

“’…We have top ponies working on it right now,’ said the sharply-dressed government pony. Daring Do narrowed her eyes in suspicion at his statement. How could she be sure that she was being told the truth?

‘Who?’ she asked, thirsty for the truths which she knew she would not receive.

The suited stallion stared into her eyes, unfazed by her suspicious gaze, and repeated…
‘Top. Ponies.’

Elsewhere, in a dark warehouse hidden away from the eyes of the people, a team of work ponies moved the Stable into a massive crate. As they nailed it shut, the Stable was once again sealed into the darkness that it had known for thousands of years before the efforts of Daring Do allowed it to see the light of the world again. Once they were finished, one of them moved the crate deep into the warehouse.

And deep inside were dozens and dozens of other crates, just like the Stable’s.

Though the future was uncertain, and was as shrouded in secrecy as the lost treasures that still wait to be found, the world, for now, was safe from evil once again, all thanks to Daring Do!”

Spike closed the book and handed it back to Twilight. Both were very tired, as they had been reading for hours on end.
“Well, that’s another one down. It was really good! Probably one of my favorites, I think!” said Spike, as he yawned.

“Same here,” agreed Twilight, as she got up from the floor and stretched. Sitting for all those hours had made both her and Spike’s bodies stiff. She continued, “My favorite part is… heh heh, when Renhay Belluck pulls a fast one on Daring Do at the beginning.”

“Really? I found that kinda lame. Sure she was outnumbered, but I KNOW Daring Do could have gotten away with the Golden Idol if she actually tried,” Spike replied.

Twilight frowned. “I don’t know about that, Spike. I think Daring Do would have done so if she knew that she had a shot at escaping,” said the mare. “Oh, and what’s your favorite part?”

“That’s an easy one. When Belluck’s head explodes!” laughed Spike, as he fondly recalled the scene.

Twilight was slightly disgusted, but not surprised, that that would turn out to be Spike’s favorite scene. “Eh, I figured. I personally don’t like that scene because of the great detail they put into describing the process of a pony’s… head exploding,” she grimaced. “But to each their own. It is, undeniably, a very action-packed scene. No wonder you’d like it.”

Spike nodded. “Yup!” he said, cheerfully. He then yawned. “Uh… I’m getting pretty tired, Twilight.”

“Unsurprisingly. Hmmm…” Twilight thought for a bit. “I’d rather we not use Zecora’s bed. We’ve already used a lot of her property, so… Wait here.”

To Spike’s surprise, she disappeared in a flash of light.

“Where’s she teleporting off to?” he asked. After several moments, he realized that he was completely alone, in a hut in the middle of the Everfree Forest. Without Twilight around, he could finally drop his brave, confident façade as the fear began to get to him.

“Come on, Twilight, just get back here already!!” he begged. He began to pray to Celestia that nothing monstrous would break through the door and finish him.

“How the heck does Zecora do this every night? It’s so scary out here, and plus, she’s all alone…” he questioned inwardly.

A few minutes later, Twilight reappeared in the same flash of light, carrying two sleeping bags that she had taken from the library. One sleeping bag was much smaller than the other, and was colored green and purple, while the other larger one had Twilight’s cutie mark emblazoned on it, and matched her coat color.

“Problem solved,” Twilight declared, as she dropped the sleeping bags to the warm floor near the fire. She then caught sight of her assistant, who, for some reason, looked deeply relieved. “Spike? Is something wrong?”

“Uh… no! Not at all. Just glad to see that you made it in one piece, Twilight,” he explained quickly. Twilight frowned. She wasn’t convinced, but went along with it anyway.

“Okay then. Thanks for your concern!” she replied. She then got into her sleeping bag, while Spike did the same. “Get some sleep, Spike. I’m staying up for a bit longer. Can’t wait to finish annotating Myths of Star Swirl the Bearded!” she whispered excitedly, as she pulled out a book with that very title emblazoned upon the cover. She opened the book to the chapter she had left off and began to stick notes on the margins, while horn-writing on them.

Spike muttered something under his breath, which wasn’t lost on Twilight.

“What was that?” she asked, slightly accusative in her tone. She turned to face her assistant and put the book down.
He had a bored expression. “I said, ‘yeah, yeah, a “bit” longer, alright’. Whenever you say that, you end up pulling an all-nighter,” he explained.

Twilight smirked. “Yeah, pretty much. I can’t deny that,” she responded. “But reading just… really draws me in. I’m pretty sure you know that already.”

Spike sighed. ”Whatever. Just get some sleep, Twilight. Good night.” He then closed his eyes, relaxed, and allowed his mind to drift away.

“Good night, Spike,” Twilight whispered to the dragon next to her. “Sweet dreams.” She then patted him on the head, and then picked the book back up, expecting to fall asleep deep in her reading session, and awake the next morning next to Spike, who would likely be very, very unwilling to get up, like he always is.

Except Spike couldn’t sleep. He tried counting sheep, imagining a vast, gently flowing river, and just zoning out, but nothing worked. After several minutes of tossing and turning, he discovered that it was because he really, really had to use the bathroom.

He turned to his guardian, who was still reading by the light of the warm fire.

“Uh… Twilight?” he whispered.

“Oh! Spike? You’re not asleep? What’s up?” she asked in response, surprised that he was still awake.

“…I need to go, uh…” he trailed off, embarrassed.

Twilight looked at him, confused. “You need to go where?” she then saw the urgency in his eyes, and understood. “Oh… ok. Let’s go outside then.” She began to get out of her sleeping bag when she saw the horrified look in his eyes.

“What’s the matter? Are you alright?” she asked, concerned.

“I- I can go myself! I don’t need you to watch me!” he said quickly, a blush forming on his scaly skin.

“What? Oh… I get what you mean. But Spike, like you said there are a lot of dangerous things out there! If something catches you, I’m afraid that you’ll get hurt,” she reasoned. “And besides, it’s not like we haven’t done this before. Remember potty training?”

At the mention of that, Spike’s scales completely shifted from a purple color to a tomato red. “Don’t remind me…” he groaned, as he recalled those rather embarrassing
days.

“Twiligh’?” called a tiny voice.

The studious young mare looked away from her copy of Equestrian Cultures of the Past and shifted her attention to the small basket that sat atop the table she was reading on. The wide green eyes belonging to the tiny, young dragon stared at her from under the covers of the towels that served as makeshift blankets, and she smiled at them kindly. She adored the dragon, Spike, as she had named him, since the moment she had hatched him.

“Yes, Spike?” she asked, smiling.

The infant leaned over the edge of the basket, his small, lizard-like head poking out, and whispered, “I… I need…to go pee.”

Instantly, Twilight’s enthusiasm evaporated. She had been potty training Spike for a week now, and as much as she loved him, she couldn’t help but dislike every second of teaching him how to use the toilet. Stuff like that just wasn’t her forte, for now, anyway.

She sighed. “Okay. Come on, Spikey,” she said to him. He smiled, and hopped out of the basket. Twilight picked him up in her forehooves and made her way towards the bathroom.

“Okay… he’s really, really cute right now,” thought Twilight, as the tiny dragon snuggled against her chest. He smelled like warm hay, and felt so soft and cuddly, even with his scales. Then she remembered what she would be dealing with soon and her grin disappeared.

She entered the bathroom, set Spike down on the ground, and grabbed a box of cereal from behind the toilet.

“I CANNOT believe I’m doing this,” she thought, as she picked out a few pieces of cereal and tossed them into the toilet bowl, where they floated, making it seem like a sick imitation of a bowl of breakfast cereal in milk.

“Okay, Spike…” she picked him up in her forehooves and held him in front of the
toilet. “Aim for the cereal.”

“Ah, those were the days, weren’t they?” sighed Twilight in mock wistfulness, much to Spike’s further embarrassment. “And you had terrible aim too.” At this, Spike’s embarrassment turned to irritation.

“J-just let me go already Twilight!” he shouted.

Seeing his indignation, the purple mare immediately felt apologetic. “I’m sorry, Spike. I went overboard…”

“That you did, Twilight,” he muttered, as he made his way towards the door.

“Wait, Spike!” called his guardian.

“I’ll be back in a minute,” he said, and then turned to glare at her. “Do. Not. Watch. Me.” He then walked out and shut the door.

Twilight stared at the closed door, wanting to ignore him and rush right out there, wanting to keep him safe, though she knew how furious he would be.
“If he doesn’t come back in five minutes, I’m going out there,” she decided.
“Whether he likes it or not.”

“Why does she have to be so… so… difficult?” Spike wondered out loud, as he shut the door. He was still blushing from Twilight’s comments, and couldn’t help but feel angry at her for them. He sighed, and then spotted a tree that was perfect for his needs.

“Ah well… I got to do this quickly if I don’t want to get Miss Worrywart in there to come out…” he thought. He went over to the makeshift bathroom and quickly did his business, then made his way back to the hut.

“Maybe I was too hard on her?” he thought. “She was just joking after all…”

He stopped abruptly, and looked up into the black expanse that was the night sky. There were plenty of stars out tonight, which gave the sky a similar appearance to Princess Luna’s mane. Unsurprising, given the fact that Luna was the Princess of the night. The moon, however, was what made everything truly beautiful, its glorious light illuminating all of Equestria. Spike couldn’t imagine just how frightening the night would be without the moon’s light. He sighed.

“Yeah… I was too hard on her,” he concluded. “I hope she won’t get mad or anything…” He trailed off as he realized that he was being followed; from behind him, in the bushes, he heard footsteps. Light, and cautious, but they were there.

He wheeled around quickly and almost screamed. A pair of glowing eyes stared at him from the darkness of the shrubbery.

“M- monster…” he whispered, his voice fearful. He began to back away slowly, trying to get some distance from the thing in the bushes. It continued to stare at him, unmoving. Then, suddenly, it jumped out of the shadows and revealed its form to him.

Spike looked fearfully at the creature in front of him as he recognized it; it was a timberwolf, a large wolf that was seemingly made of wood and vegetation. He had heard of them from Twilight during one of her many study sessions, and knew what it was capable of doing to its prey. It bared its teeth at him, and Spike saw that wood or not, they were still very, very sharp.

He opened his mouth to scream for Twilight’s help when he remembered that timberwolves traveled in packs. If there was one, there was sure to be more, waiting for a chance to strike. As if on cue, another timberwolf jumped out of the bushes and joined the other in circling the frightened baby dragon.
“This is bad… real bad…” Spike thought.

His breathing became erratic, and his blood seemed to turn white-hot as the desperation clawed at him. He weighed his decisions. He could try to make a run for the hut’s door, but with these two circling him, he was sure that they would catch him first. Same result if he screamed. They would kill him in an instant.

He never felt so weak. Sure he was a dragon, but he was only a baby dragon. His underdeveloped talons, size, scales, and fire breath would be no match against them, who were obviously merciless predators with razor sharp claws and teeth.

Additionally, Twilight may be excellent at magic, but she needed to get to him to teleport them both out safely. The timberwolves would never let that happen.

His breathing calmed as he remembered what he had said to Twilight earlier.

“I’ll take care of that!” said Spike fiercely, confusing Twilight.

“Take care of what?” she asked, quirking an eyebrow.

“Keeping both of us safe!” he reminded her. “If I’m going to grow up to be a big, strong dragon, I’m going to have to learn to fight, right? So I’ll start here. If anything
touches either of us tonight, they’re in big trouble!”

“Me and my big mouth…” Spike thought.
Would both he and Twilight die tonight? Would they both get out safely? Maybe this was all a nightmare? His mind became a tangled mess as thoughts raced about. He saw that the timberwolves were edging closer and closer to him. He didn’t have much time left.

He then noticed that neither of the wolves was interested in entering the hut, and no other wolves had appeared to do so either, meaning…

“They don’t know Twilight’s here!” He noticed a break in the circle which would allow him to make a run for it into the forest. It was likely suicide, but at least it would draw them away from Twilight. Hopefully, he would be able to lose them in there, make his way back, and quickly teleport away with Twilight, back to safety. With that thought, Spike inhaled a deep breath, and, knowing that he was possibly making the biggest mistake of his life, he suddenly dive-rolled out of the circle, surprising the timberwolves, and then sprinted into the darkness of the forest.

He heard the timberwolves pursuing him, but he didn’t dare look back. One slip-up would be all it took for the beasts to finally catch him. He ducked under a very low tree branch, which the monsters behind him hopped over effortlessly. He was sure that he heard at least four more wolves around him, hidden in the bushes, as well. Right now, Spike was scared out of his wits, for both his life and Twilight’s, but he continued sprinting with all of his energy, the physical stress from doing so not registering.

Because all he thought of now was keeping Twilight, and with luck, himself, alive.

Inside the hut, Twilight was growing increasingly nervous as minutes passed by, and there was still no sign of Spike. She growled, frustrated.

“Why is he taking so long! I know I said five minutes, but I figured he’d be back in less than that…” she seethed. She had counted out the seconds since he had left, and, much to her concern, she was nearing the four-minute mark. “I’m probably over thinking this, but still… Spike would scream if something happened right? I’d be able to hear him.”

This thought wasn’t much more comforting to her, however, and after a few more moments of intense paranoia, Twilight dashed towards the door.

“This is crazy. I’m supposed to make sure he’s safe, no matter what he might think of me.”

She slammed the door open with her magic and rushed out into the freezing night air. However, it wasn’t the temperature which caused her blood to run cold as she called for Spike and looked around for him. It was the fact that he was simply nowhere to be found.

“No. No no no! Where is he? Where is he!??!” she thought, frantically. “I KNEW that I should have come out here with him!!”

She scoured the area desperately for him, and screamed his name loudly, yet still, there was no sign of the purple dragon.

She was nearing her breaking point, and was about to give in to the despair and fear, when she noticed that there were markings on the soil. She leaned in for a closer look, hoping that they would shed some light on where Spike had run off to. She saw that they were clawed footprints, which could only belong to Spike, leading out into the woods of the Everfree Forest.

“What in Celestia’s name could he possibly be doing?” she thought. Then she noticed the other prints near Spike’s; angular wolf paws with elongated nails. She recognized them as, to her horror, those of timberwolves.

“Oh no. Spike’s in trouble? Spike’s in trouble!” she realized. The logical part of her brain prompted her to the situation further, but she ignored it. Now was a time for direct action.

She galloped down the trail of prints with all her speed. Her lack of regular exercise wasn’t helping, but that didn’t matter. If anything happened to Spike, she knew that she would never forgive herself.

Spike’s legs felt like jelly, and his insides burned with the fire of physical exertion, but he didn’t stop. He couldn’t. He didn’t know how long he had been running, but he did know that he seemed to have lost the timberwolves. He could no longer hear the rustling in the surrounding woods, and the two behind him had gone away at some point.

Finally, Spike relaxed, and his pace slowed to a walk. He leaned on a tree to catch his breath, the stress of running finally catching up to him. He quickly quieted his breaths, crouched down against the tree, and looked around, knowing that the sight of glowing eyes staring menacingly at him would mean no less than certain doom. It felt like an eternity passed as Spike watched for any sign of the timberwolves or other danger, though it couldn’t have been more than a few tense minutes. Nothing came.

“Did I actually lose them?” Spike wondered, as he waited a few more moments just to be sure. His ears were open to the night, his eyes wider, as he scanned the surrounding bushes for danger. Still, nothing appeared, much to Spike’s relief. He relaxed and stood up.

“I did get away!” he cheered inwardly, and a hopeful smile appeared on his face. This successful escape meant at least a few months’ worth in bragging rights to the baby dragon, and hopefully, it would impress even Rarity. Spike then remembered that he was in the middle of the Everfree Forest, and since he was now in familiar territory to the timberwolves, he was now in grave danger, and that wasn’t counting the other dangers that he knew lurked within these bushes.

“Okay, I can do this. I just have to be really quiet… Celestia help me,” he thought. If he had anything to write with, he knew that he would be able to get help directly from Celestia. It would be an instant end to this nightmare. “Note to self: carry paper and ink around everywhere you go from now on, no matter what anypony says,” he noted. He decided to take one last rest against the tree before setting out. Hopefully, Twilight hadn’t done anything too drastic. By now, she definitely knew he was missing, and was likely worried sick. Perhaps worried enough to do…

Something drastic?

His eyes widened as he remembered that he had left behind a very visible trail in the soft dirt of the forest. In the light of the moon, it would be very easy to follow, and in the distance, Spike heard a very familiar galloping coming his way. It was very, very distant, but it was certainly there.

So Twilight had come after him.

“Oh no. This isn’t good,” Spike groaned as he facepalmed. Twilight’s decision to follow him put them both in danger once again.

Suddenly, Spike heard a terrifyingly familiar noise behind him, that of a quiet predator sneaking upon its prey. He wheeled around to find not three timberwolves, but six, emerging from the dark. Spike recognized three of them as the previous ones who had tried to chase him down.

He gulped. He backed up slowly as they began to encircle him. One, two, three, four steps backwards, and then something blocked his way. He glanced behind him quickly. A tree. The same tree that he had leaned against for relief earlier. He looked back at the timberwolves, and saw that they had completely surrounded him.

No escape.

The reality of the situation then hit Spike like a ton of bricks. Of course everything would go wrong! To even think to try to lose the timberwolves on their own turf was a horrible idea. He had let his illusions of heroism get to him, and now, all he could do was panic.

He felt pathetic, that a dragon like him would feel so weak and helpless. Again, he cursed himself for being so young and underdeveloped. He would have stood a chance against these creatures if he were older.

Would Twilight hear his screams? He hoped not. He hoped that she wouldn’t find what was left of him after the timberwolves were done with him, though he knew that having her living with the fact that he had disappeared in the Everfree Forest as an indirect result of her decision to stay at Zecora’s wasn’t much better.

Who knows, maybe if she heard him scream, she’d find him quick enough to be able to teleport them both out safely?

Then, the timberwolves were suddenly upon him.

Suddenly, a final, yet weak urge to fight bolstered a resolve that he didn’t know existed. Spike blew the strongest flame he could muster into the face of the closest timberwolf, and then scratched it across the eyes with his claws. The beast howled in pain, its left eye visibly damaged, and its wooden face slightly charred, but did not retreat. Spike's last attack had failed.

Instead, it, and the others, pounced on to Spike’s little body and held him down as they began to claw and bite him, their hardened nails easily penetrating his tender scales. He cried out in agony as he felt one of them take a deep bite into his exposed flesh.

His urge to fight gone, Spike was left with the harshness of reality once again. His body began to bleed freely from the assault upon him by the timberwolves. He began to cry like a baby. He didn’t want to die yet, and his thoughts made their final, fastest journey across his mind as he realized that. He wanted to go back to Ponyville. He wanted to see Canterlot one last time. He wanted to lay in the comfort of his basket, away from the cold forest floor that he was being ravaged on, and sleep-in. He wanted to watch Rainbow Dash soar through the air. He wanted to party with Pinkie Pie. He wanted to watch Applejack buck apples. He wanted to hear Fluttershy sing. He wanted to see Rarity one last time. Tears flowed freely as he remembered the crush he had on the beautiful unicorn, and realized that it was all for nothing.

But most of all, he wanted to see Twilight smile that confident, and slightly nerdy smile of hers just one more time.

He took a deep breath, as difficult as it was with the timberwolves digging into him, and roared to the dark skies, out of agony, fear, but most of all, love.

“Twilight!!!!!!”

He suddenly quieted. Maybe she heard him, maybe she didn’t. He didn't really care.

“What a beautiful night… to go,” he decided. “So many stars…”

And then his world went black.

Adrenaline coursed through Twilight’s veins, and she felt as though her heart was trying to beat its way out of her ribcage. Still, she didn’t feel the least bit tired. She knew she had to stay completely alert to follow the trail accurately.

“When… I… find him, I’m going to… give him such a talking to!” she muttered, her rapid breaths muddling her speech.
“IF you find him, that is…” said something in the back of her head. She ignored it. He was okay. He had to be okay. She would find him, probably hiding behind some rock out of fear of predators that aren't there, she would scold him, and then she would get them both out of here, and never think about doing something as silly as a sleepover in the Everfree Forest ever again.

Suddenly, a scream broke the silence of the forest. Twilight recognized it all to well.

"No! Spike!" shouted Twilight, as she began to dash in the direction the scream came from. Hearing the scream had thrown her into extreme panic, fueled by the torment that she could hear written into it.
"Please be okay please be okay..." begged Twilight, as she sped through the heavily wooded darkness. Again, her panic fooled her perception of time, and what could only have been a few seconds seemed like years. Finally, she saw a bit of movement up ahead, behind a small grove. She pushed through some bushes, and finally found Spike, along with the pack of timberwolves in the middle of brutalizing him. Her eyes widened as she caught sight of her baby dragon's severely injured and bloodied form, with the wooden beasts doing a macabre dance around it. Nothing came out of her mouth, no shouts, no cries, no screams. She could only stare, as the realization that she had failed Spike sunk in. Her nerves registered the feeling of the tears of desperation that finally began to flow from her eyes, but she didn't acknowledge that.
Both logic and reason failed Twilight Sparkle, as she felt a familiar feeling begin to rise from deep within her. It was the very same urge that she felt that one time she, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, and Spike had narrowly escaped a hydra during her attempts to prove that Pinkie Pie's "Pinkie Sense" was nothing but a fabrication, only to be informed that the hydra wasn't the so-called "doozy" that they had been watching for. It was a feeling of tremendous fury and fear, which made her want to explode.

Suddenly, Twilight felt as if her entire form was on fire as her mane and tail turned to blazes. Her coat turned to the color of ash as she levitated several feet in the air. The timberwolves, who had not noticed her previously, looked away from Spike and stared with awe and trepidation at Twilight's burning form.

"LEAVE HIM ALONE!!!!" roared the flaming unicorn, as the great fury and sadness that she felt at seeing Spike hurt finally poured out of her, and to his tormentors. As if on cue, a burst of white hot flame issued from her form, and incinerated the trees, bushes, and a few timberwolves that were too close to her. All that remained of them all were ashes.

Seeing their comrades, as well as nearby wood turned to ash, the remaining timberwolves quickly fled, no longer bothering with their prey. Twilight hyperventilated as her fiery features disappeared and she turned back to her regular self, the magical blast that she had just issued draining much of her energy and leaving her dazed. She quickly shook it off; Spike was seriously hurt, and needed her now more than ever. Keeping her feelings of heavy guilt and sorrow at bay, the mare rushed to her fallen friend's aid.

Deep gashes covered his torso, and a good deal of his blood colored the soil. His eyes were closed tightly, and he didn't stir. Twilight found herself speechless as she sat beside Spike, tears threatening to break through as she came to terms with the fact that her number one assistant and one of her greatest friends had been mauled, possibly to death, due to her selfishness. She wanted to do nothing more but break down and cry over his body, and scream his name to the sky, but she didn't. She still had the slightest shred of hope in her heart, and rationality had barely won over panic. She held her breath as she leaned in and placed her ear against his scarred chest, hoping to hear anything that could point to his survival, however unlikely that was.

A very, very faint beat.

Twilight's eyes widened in shock. He was alive. The corners of her mouth shifted slightly upwards as she felt the euphoria known as relief flow through her. Then, she let the tears fall as she gently put her forehooves around him, embracing him for the briefest of moments. Her mind was a mess of memories, relief, and reasoning, but what stood out was her need to keep Spike alive.

"I'm so... so sorry, Spike...." Twilight whispered, as streams of tears flowed from her closed eyes. She listened for the beat, again and again, the faint thump giving her hope each time she heard it. "I'll get us out of here... now."

Twilight's horn glowed, and light enveloped the severely hurt dragon and the mare as they escaped from the nightmares of the Everfree Forest, and back to home.

TO BE CONTINUED...

Note: I don't own Raiders of the Lost Ark. I hope you liked it! Please R&R, dear readers!
Oh, and the wedding was a blast. Shining Armor, you lucky bastard, you.

The Light Goes With Them

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Wow. Thanks a boatload for the reviews, y'all! I started working on this as quick as possible because of the warm reception, which I have to say... was pretty unexpected, but very, very welcome! Here's the next chapter. Again, please R&R!!

A rush of sound, and a brief flash of light. The forest vanished.

As the brief nausea from teleportation set in, Twilight found herself standing in the bedroom of the warm, familiar library that she and Spike knew as home. Though darkness filled every inch of the room save for those lit by the silver moonlight, the homely smell of well-read books and aged wood brought a slight sense of safety to her.

This was only a brief respite, however; Spike was bleeding heavily, and with his wounds, he wouldn't last long. She needed to get help for him as soon as possible.

"Why didn't I just teleport us to the hospital?! Stupid, stupid!" Twilight scolded herself. Her mind raced as she was thrown into despair once again.

Barely keeping her emotions in check, Twilight levitated Spike and gently put him on her back. She then took a deep breath, closed her eyes tight, and teleported them to Ponyville Hospital.

Nurse Redheart yawned as she trotted down the dark hospital hallway, towards the lobby. The bitter aftertaste of cheap coffee lingered on her tongue. "Honestly, these night shifts are way too tiring," she decided, as she glanced at the clock mounted on the wall nearby. It read 3:25 AM. The white pony groaned. "Two more hours. Then, I can finally go home and get some rest..."

She pushed open the doors to the lobby and took a quick gander around the large, dimly-lit room. Aside from a janitor who was napping on a nearby row of chairs, the room was completely devoid of ponies. Redheart made her away to the large reception desk and took a seat. She glanced at the janitor, who was beginning to snore.

She frowned as she was reminded of her own fatigue. "Darn stallion seems to be enjoying that nap..."

She sat for several minutes, doing nothing in particular. Deciding that enough was enough, Redheart relaxed and began to doze off. "Come on, just for a few minutes..."

When suddenly, a flash of light and the sound of something landing with a thud startled her.

She looked up and gaped at what she saw; a familiar lavender-colored unicorn mare with a large, crimson patch on her back, as well as some smaller patches on her forehooves and chest. She was carrying something green, purple, and red all over on her back.

The nurse looked closer and her eyes widened in horror as she realized what it was; the baby dragon that she had seen following the librarian Twilight Sparkle around town almost all the time. Spike, was it? She barely recognized him now, though, as deep punctures and lacerations had marred his body and face. She discovered, to her alarm, that the massive amount of crimson covering him and the mare was his blood. She could see that it was flowing steadily from his wounds. He needed immediate medical attention.

She then realized that if that was Spike, then the mare carrying him must be...

"Miss Sparkle?! Wha- what happened!!?" she yelled.

Twilight turned toward her, and the nurse gasped at the look on Twilight's face. It was a mixture of overwhelming despair and guilt. Blood matted her usually shining mane. She looked as though she was barely managing to stay composed.

"Please help us!" she screamed, almost hysterically. "It- it was all my fault! Spike needs help, please!"

Nurse Redheart ignored the overwhelming urge to ask Twilight what happened, and nodded. "Follow me!" she said, and she began to dash towards the door leading to the ICU. A patient with Spike's injuries would need the best medical attention, and she was going to make sure that he got it. Though the doctors had no experience with baby dragons, they would have to do their best.

Twilight paced around outside the operating room, with Nurse Redheart doing her best to calm her down. At this moment, the doctors inside the room were trying desperately to revive Spike.

The tears that Twilight had been holding in since she had first found him on the forest floor finally came out in full force.

"Miss Sparkle, listen to me. Doctor Stable and his team are doing their very best to help Spike. Please, just sit down and-"

She was cut off by Twilight. "No. I can't relax, nurse. Spike was hurt and it's all my fault. I decided that it was a good idea to stay at my friend Zecora's house for the night, a- and since Zecora lives in the Everfree Forest...." she paused, sniffling. "...There were... things there. Timberwolves, nurse. Spike got caught, and- and they...." she then broke off into a loud sob.

Redheart felt deeply sympathetic towards Twilight, and reached over and gave her a hug, which was either not noticed or not acknowledged by the latter. She was now crying loudly, her pent-up tears finally releasing and flowing freely down her flustered cheeks. Redheart was still confused about some of the circumstances of the incident, as Twilight's explanation was lacking in both coherence and detail, though she could hardly be blamed.

What she did know, however, was that Twilight was not at fault for what had happened, but was taking full responsibility for it.

"Nurse...?" asked Twilight, who had finally managed to calm down after a few minutes.

"Yes?" asked Redheart readily. She would do everything in her power to make the lavender mare get over her sorrow.

"I... please, if it's not too much trouble... could you please go and... tell my friends? I- I need them to be here..." she choked in between sobs. The nurse nodded, understanding. She knew the five ponies that Twilight was referring to, having seen them hang around Ponyville and even tending to one, Rainbow Dash, as she remembered, in the past, after she wound up in the hospital.

"I will, Miss Sparkle. Nurse Coldheart!" she called to the another nearby nurse, who quickly made her way over to the pair. "I need to go run a very important errand. Stay here and watch her, okay?" she then whispered in Coldheart's ear. "Listen, she's in a very bad way. You know what happened to her assistant, you know, the baby dragon?" Coldheart nodded. "Okay, then try to be supportive of her. Say nice things, assure her. She needs comforting now more than ever."

"You've got it, Redheart. Just get back here quickly, okay? I'm a nurse, but comforting ponies isn't my strong suit," answered the other nurse.

Redheart didn't hear her. She was too busy deciding how she would break it to Twilight's friends; that one of their friends was severely wounded and in critical condition, while another was bordering on a terrible depression.

Rarity almost broke out into wild tears at the news. She dropped the scissors and fabric she was holding, said a rushed goodbye to a breakfasting Sweetie Belle, and ran after Redheart.

Pinkie Pie's mane deflated. Her cheery demeanor was replaced by a worried, sad one. The cake she had put so much love and care into making was left to burn in the oven. Her usual, happy hop was replaced by a frantic run as she left Sugarcube Corner with Rarity and Redheart.

Rainbow Dash nearly fell off the cloud she was relaxing on as she was awakened by the shouting from below. Upon hearing what had transpired, her irritation at being awoken was replaced by panic. She sped off along with them, towards Sweet Apple Acres.

Applejack didn't need to hear much of an explanation. She stopped applebucking and made a beeline for Fluttershy's cottage as soon as she heard that harm had come to Spike and Twilight. Redheart and the others had a hard time keeping up with her.

Fluttershy didn't know what to say. She stared, speechless and disbelieving, as she was informed of the incident by her friends and Redheart. Angel shook her out of her trance and urged her to follow them, worry etched across his normally grumpy face.

Inside the operating room, Spike was surrounded by Doctor Stable and his team, who were hard at work. Assorted machinery was linked up to his small form. They had already stopped the bleeding in multiple areas and closed the wounds, but were losing him to shock and the aftereffects of blood loss.

"By Celestia, get me a transfusion!" yelled Stable, as the ECG machine began to show a disturbance in Spike's heart rate.

Nurse Tenderheart, who was holding a defibrillator, gave a panicked response. "Doctor, he's a dragon! We don't have any dragon blood in the bank! Plus, we don't know about any complications that he could have regarding blood type or-"

"SHUT UP! Just shut up and let me think!" interrupted Stable, as the severity of the situation began to dawn on him. He didn't have many options here; without blood available for transfusion, there was little else they could do. Spike had mere minutes, if not less, meaning that they certainly didn't have time to get him the blood he needed. At this rate, he would be lost to a lack of oxygen flow throughout the body.

His brain brought up multiple other solutions, all of which were immediately deemed either impractical or impossible. He thought about using unicorn magic to temporarily sustain the dragon's life force, but that still wouldn't give them enough time. Healing magic was underdeveloped even during this age, mainly because it was almost never needed, given the relative safety of Equestrian civilization.

The sudden, ominous beep of a flat-line rang in everypony's ears. Stable looked up and, to his horror, saw that there was a single green line running across the machine's screen. Spike's heart had just stopped. The nurse quickly pushed the defibrillator against Spike's chest, and waited for Stable to give the order to shock him back to life.

"Clear!"

"Twilight!"

The teary-eyed mare looked up and was met with a welcome sight: Applejack, flanked by Pinkie Pie and Rarity, with Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash hovering above them. They stood in the hospital doorway, wearing anguished and worried looks. However, they smiled reassuringly at Twilight, and quickly rushed over to her, wordlessly. Before she could say anything to greet them, her five friends had already embraced her tightly.

Behind them, an exhausted Nurse Redheart struggled to stay on her hooves as she stumbled through the doorway, panting heavily from the sudden exercise. She looked up and saw a heartwarming sight:

The Elements of Harmony, hugging each other tightly, tears flowing from each of their eyes. They didn't say a thing, because words could not properly express the agony they felt, nor the amount of support that they were all willing to give to Twilight and Spike during their time of need. They just embraced, the quiet broken only by the odd sob or sniffle. Though it was only for a brief minute, it felt like an eternity to them.

Redheart smiled at the sight as she gestured Nurse Coldheart to follow her. They made their way back into the lobby.

Finally, Twilight's friends stepped back and released her from the group hug, though they all remained close to her. They stood by her sitting form.

"It's all my fault..." Twilight whispered. "I shouldn't have made such a stupid decision. He- he'd be okay right now if it wasn't for me..."

Hearing this, the others rushed to comfort her.

"Now listen here, sugarcube, and listen real good," began Applejack. She put her hoof under the grieving mare's chin and lifted her face up so that her violet eyes met Applejack's own green ones. "Neither you nor Spike coulda known that somethin' like this was going to happen. It ain't right that you're blamin' yourself."

"Applejack's got a point, Twilight!" Rainbow Dash chimed in.

"I agree completely," said Rarity, though she was visibly struggling with the ordeal herself. "Spike would never, ever blame you, darling. He- he did what he did... for the both of you."

She paused and bit her lip, unable to continue. Spike was a wonderful friend, and he had spent so much time with her, doing her dirty work and helping her with her designs.

And yet she never acknowledging his feelings for her, even though she knew of them.

Fluttershy trotted over to Twilight, intent on comforting her despite still finding it hard to accept the entirety of the situation.

"Spike's a strong dragon, Twilight," she stated, her usual meekness surprisingly gone. "He'll make it through, Twilight. I'm... confident that he will."

Pinkie nodded as she stepped up next to Fluttershy. Though her mane remained deflated, it didn't stop her from being supportive of her friends. She wore a sad smile. "That's right. You know what Spike would want you to do right now?"

Twilight looked up at the pink pony from her seat, her eyes still reddish from her earlier tears, her mouth curved in a pained frown. "...What, Pinkie Pie?"

"He'd want you to hope."

Though the others found this display by Pinkie as rather uncharacteristic of her usually silly behavior, they readily agreed and nodded eagerly. Twilight's eyes widened as she began to see what Pinkie was trying to tell her.

Pinkie's mane began to rise slowly as she continued. Her smile began to widen. "We can hope, because before you know it, Spike will be sending letters again and you'll be studying again and I'll be throwing parties again!"

For the moment, at least, Pinkie had chased away everypony's fear. They all looked to Twilight, who was visibly contemplating Pinkie's words. She seemed stunned.

".... Do you Pinkie Promise?" she finally asked. The somewhat out-of-place question from the distraught mare confused some of her friends, but they dared not ask. Though she spoke calmly, her voice sounded as fragile as thin glass, as if all of her life's hopes and dreams depended on this one answer from Pinkie Pie. In a way, they did.

Unlike the others' reactions, however, hearing the question instantly inflated Pinkie's mane back up. Her cheerfulness returned in full force, bewildering the others. Her bounce evidently returned to her step as she answered Twilight. She beamed, an expression which contrasted strongly with the grimmer ones around her.

"Cross my heart," she moved her hoof across her chest. "And hope to fly," she waved the hoof in the air. "...Stick a cupcake in my eye!" with that, she shoved her other hoof into her eye, apparently not affected by the action in the slightest. Instead she just smiled, and smiled.

And for the first time in what seemed like forever, Twilight smiled back. It may not have been as radiant as Pinkie's, but it was genuine, and most importantly, hopeful. The same expressions began to appear on the faces of the other Elements.

Rainbow Dash sighed as she walked over to Pinkie and put her hoof around her. "Pinkie Pie..." she sounded slightly exasperated, but very amused and relieved. "You are so random sometimes. And that's why we love you."

At this, Pinkie Pie beamed. "Well of course, silly! I couldn't imagine myself any other way. Just like I couldn't imagine a big scary Fluttershy or a dummy Twilight or a Rarity with no fashion sense-"

"That's enough, dear," Rarity interjected, though she couldn't help but grin at Pinkie. Still, though, the pain in her heart was not diminished in the least. She missed Spike's help. She missed his affection. She missed him. However, she was dragged out of her thoughts by a sudden sniffling from Twilight, which alarmed everypony. They went to her side.

Her head was now lowered, and it seemed as though she were on the verge of tears once again. Her friends readied themselves for them, but were surprised when she rose her head to face them. She was indeed crying, but at the same time, she beamed.

"Thank you all, everypony. So, so much."

"Clear!'

"Doctor-"

"I SAID CLEAR!"

"Doc- stop! What're you-"

Nurse Tenderheart was cut off as the doctor wrestled the defibrillator out of her hooves and planted them against Spike's chest himself. Desperation was evident in the stallion's every move.

They had tried resuscitating Spike for over half an hour. The green line on the screen of the ECG refused to move. The telltale beep had continued endlessly.

Stable pressed the buttons and administered one more shock to Spike. To him, everything in the room seemed to move in slow motion as the baby dragon's limp body jerked and flopped on the table.

Stable felt the adrenaline coursing through his veins as he eyed the ECG's screen for movement.

Moments passed, and nothing changed. Spike's heart remained still.

Everypony in the room watched as Doctor Stable set the defibrillator down. He didn't say a word, because he didn't need to. He leaned over Spike's body, and did the final check for vitals.

Nothing.

Nopony spoke, nopony moved.

"By Celestia..." whispered Stable. "I failed."

He stepped back and stared at the small body, disbelieving. He knew deep down that there wasn't anything that he could have done from the start; they lacked resources. They lacked time. But he had tried. He had tried so hard to save the young dragon.

Around him, the other doctors moved, cleaning up the room and moving the tools to be sterilized. Doctor Stable continued to stand over Spike's body, silently. They let him be; they too were disheartened by the loss, and they grieved. All of the ponies in the room knew the baby dragon in passing, and knew that he was one of Twilight Sparkle's closest friends, alongside her other five.

None of them dared to imagine the agony she and her friends would feel.

Nurse Tenderheart observed the scene from the side with a heavy heart. She hadn't moved from there since Stable wrestled the defibrillator from her. She went to Doctor Stable and tapped him gently on the shoulder. He turned to her, slowly, and stared expectantly at her. Still, he said nothing.

She whispered, her voice laden with sympathy. "I'll... I'll tell them, doctor."

But to her surprise, he shook his head firmly.

"No. I will."

She blinked, somewhat shocked at his intention, but nodded reluctantly. She then turned and made her way over to the other staff, who were mourning over the recent death. Many of them had never had to deal with dying patients before, as ponies rarely sustained heavy injuries or suffered bad illnesses. This experience was too new, and too bleak.

Stable, his expression filled with guilt, looked back down at Spike. In death, the baby dragon looked almost peaceful; his eyes were closed, every muscle in his face was relaxed. The color of his scales were slightly paler, and much of his torso was covered in stitches.

But those served as the only blemishes on Spike's otherwise untouched appearance.

Sighing heavily, Doctor Stable shook his head slowly, recalling his failure again. He knew for a fact that he was going to take this memory to his grave.

He leaned close to the baby dragon's ear and whispered. "I'm so, so sorry, Spike..."

With that, he turned to leave the operating room, to do the hardest task he would ever accept.

The sound of the operating room door opening startled the six mares. Everything and everypony else in the world escaped their attention as they watched the doctor enter the room. The smiles and mutual assurances disappeared.

Doctor Stable walked over to them without a word, or any sort of greeting. His eyes were focused on the floor. Nopony spoke as he finally came to the group of mares, who were huddled closely together.

As he looked up at them, the mares immediately knew that he was not a bearer of good news. His manner as he entered the room had already unnerved them, but what made it certain was the look they saw in his eyes; a look of great guilt and sympathy.

Twilight felt her heart hammering in her chest. She thought she felt herself being wrapped in a hug, but she couldn't be certain. It didn't matter much to her. She snapped out of her trance as she saw Doctor Stable's mouth move, and heard him speaking to her.

"Miss Sparkle... right?"

She didn't respond. She almost wanted to say no, wanted to escape the bad news. She knew that Spike was gone. She just knew. She stared back at the doctor, but didn't say a thing.

Next to her, Applejack, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie began to panic. Pinkie's mane deflated instantly. Applejack hugged Twilight tighter. The others wore despairing looks, all previous comfort dissolved.

Doctor Stable found himself unable to look into the lavender mare's eyes. He looked back at the floor, and took a deep breath. He found himself wanting to run; wanting to just turn and hide from the sad gazes. But he had one more role to play in this tragedy.

"This is my burden to bear. Nopony else's."

He closed his eyes, and said it. "...Several minutes ago, Spike... passed away."

The six mares in front of him stiffened.

"I'm sorry," he said finally. Before he could stop himself, he turned and walked down to the lobby. He knew this was the most cowardly thing anypony could do, but he couldn't face them.

Behind him, Twilight and her friends sat in stunned silence. Spike was gone. They wouldn't see him again. Ever.

As the realization sunk in, they all began to weep. But that was nothing in comparison to Twilight.

Her whole world crashed down around her. That little baby dragon that she had hatched, that she had watched grow into a strong, loyal dragon was... gone. Just like that.

She would never hear his voice again, or see him walking about. Or hear him snore, or watch him sleep.

He was gone. And it was her fault.

The tears began to flow from her eyes, slowly.

She couldn't think. She found it hard to breathe.

Then, they began flowing freely from her eyes.

The reasonable part of her failed to surface. She didn't find solace in thinking, not at a time like this.

She could only mourn. She didn't know for how long, but she cried and cried. She heard wailing from somewhere, but didn't bother acknowledging it. Nothing mattered to her right now. She let her vision shift out of focus.

She never found out that those were her wails.

Finally, she felt somepony grab hold of her shoulders and shake her, roughly. At first, she didn't care enough to react, but then she finally looked up.

Her friends surrounded her, each of them looking distraught as well. Rainbow Dash had her hooves on Twilight's shoulders, and quickly drew her into a tight hug.

"No matter what, we'll- we'll be here for you, okay?" whispered the rainbow-maned pegasus.

Twilight didn't reply. Her cries, and those of the others drowned out any words.

Above the extraordinarily large gathering of ponies, a sea of grey clouds blotted out any sunshine from illuminating the scene. It wasn't like anypony cared, however. They were far too focused on the tragic procession that was in progress. The majority of the attendees had donned formal, black suits and dresses.

It had been three days since Ponyville had lost Spike. Nothing had been the same since Mayor Mare made the somber announcement the day that Spike passed. Voices were hushed, business was done quickly, and the beautiful, sunny day was ignored in favor of returning home by the majority of the town's population.

Here, at the funeral, everypony in Ponyville was present, and even a few visitors were present, namely Twilight's parents, Shining Armor, and the Princesses Cadance, Celestia, and Luna. Twilight's family and friends stood by her side as they silently watched a group of stallions carry the small stone coffin, and lay it gently near the dark hole that would serve as its inhabitant's final resting place.

Princess Celestia stepped up near the coffin, in front of the massive crowd gathered in front of her. Though she tried desperately to keep calm, the pained look on her face betrayed the same sorrow that all of Ponyville was suffering.

"Mares and gentlecolts..." she began, pausing very briefly to find her next words. "Today... we gather here to mourn the passing of one of the greatest dragons ever known to ponykind."

Twilight's mother put her into a hug as Celestia spoke. Shining Armor put his hoof on Twilight's shoulder.

Twilight didn't seem to acknowledge them.

"Though much of his kind is feared throughout Equestria, Spike differed greatly from them. He showed loyalty, courage, and most importantly, friendship, throughout the entire course of his short life..."

Pinkie Pie began to cry, quietly. Her mane had remained deflated since that fateful day. Dash wrapped her in her forehooves, tightly.

"He was a true example of what it meant to be a friend. He took his flaws and rather than trying to escape them, he embraced them, and led an exemplary life nevertheless."

Far above them, a certain phoenix hatchling and an owl flew about, letting out shrill, desperate cries. A few ponies looked up, and after staring at the two birds, returned their attention to the somber sight.

The owl and phoenix circled above them, crying for a few more times, before the phoenix broke away from the owl and made its way over to the Everfree Forest, back to its home.

But Celestia heard him, and so did Luna and the Elements. They all looked up into the sky briefly, watching the orange and red speck continue to soar into the distance.

Rarity pulled her eyes away from the sky and looked to Dash, who was now focused on comforting Pinkie Pie.

"Rainbow Dash, was that-"

"Yeah. It's the phoenix Spike saved, and Owlowiscious" sighed the cyan mare. The loss of their friend had made her wearier than normal. "I guess they came to say goodbye."

Celestia quickly regained her composure.

"And... and from his example... I hope that we all learn something valuable. Not to better ourselves, but... to honor his memory."

Celestia, having finished the difficult speech, looked to Luna and nodded at her. The horns of the two alicorns then glowed together as their magic enveloped the small coffin that contained Spike.

As they lowered the coffin into the earth in front of the grave marker that would mark Spike's final resting place, Celestia whispered again.

"Rest forever, my dragon friend."

Twilight's friends and family firmly held her. They knew this part would be the hardest for her, because they were feeling the same pain.

But none of them loved him the way she had. None of them shared the lifelong bond with Spike which linked him to Twilight.

Up until now, Twilight had been completely silent. She had not said a single word since Spike passed, which had worried her loved ones greatly. Her parents had rushed over to Ponyville the moment Celestia informed them of the news, as did Shining Armor and Cadance.

Aside from a few greetings and curt answers, she said nothing to them all. Or anypony else.

But here, it was different. Watching his coffin descend into his final resting place reminded her that he was gone. He was gone, and would never, ever come back.

"Spike..." she whispered, suddenly. Her voice startled the ponies surrounding her, who quickly stood by her side to hear what she had to say.

They weren't important to her. Only the grave in front of her did. Memories of the happy, baby dragon began to flood her mind.

And again, heavy tears began to roll down her cheeks as equally heavy sobs wracked through her petite frame.

"Spike... No. Please..." she continued, sobbing. She fell back on her haunches, causing the others to rush to her aid.

Twilight's father shot a frantic look at his son, who returned it. Her mother wrapped Cadance in a tight hug.

Twilight didn't respond to the calls of her name. She looked on, still weeping, as the coffin was lowered completely and the hole was filled with earth.

It began to rain, just as Twilight hit another wave of cries.

The other Elements of Harmony huddled together right behind Twilight and her family.

Rarity, her own tears flowing down her cheeks, gazed at the grave as well, a deep sense of longing and regret tearing her from within. Sweetie Belle stood by her side.

Pinkie Pie continued crying into Dash's shoulder. She showed no sign of stopping.

Rainbow Dash absent-mindedly patted Pinkie on the back, her own face a mask of uncharacteristic sorrow. Scootaloo stared up at her role model, unsure of what to do.

Applejack sat on her haunches and stared into the sky, not wanting to see the tragic scene before her. Apple Bloom, Granny Smith, and Big Macintosh were all with her as well. Without a word, Granny Smith trotted over and gently hugged the orange cowmare.

Fluttershy's wet mane covered her face, her shoulders shaking from her quiet sobs. Angel Bunny patted her affectionately on her hoof, his face showing unusual sadness.

"Girls... what do we do? What do we do now that... Spike's gone?" asked Dash, mournfully.

"Ah don' know, sugarcube," answered Applejack, who took a brief break from her sky-gazing to look at her friends. "Ah've... none'a us have ever had to deal with somethin' like this before..."

Rarity turned to them. "..I think what we have to follow the Princess's advice, and remember him, not just for who he was..." she trailed off as she sniffled. "...But, what he meant to us, girls."

The others nodded, despondent.

They watched as Celestia and Luna walked from Spike's grave to where they were all gathered. The pain on the two sisters' faces was very, very evident.

"Twilight, my faithful student..." said Celestia, as she leaned down to speak to the sobbing lavender mare. Twilight, despite her tears, managed to look into Celestia's eyes. The true, desperate, boundless grief in her young pupil's eyes broke Celestia's heart, but she continued. "You need to be strong. Spike would want you to remain strong. He would want you to be there for your friends-" she gestured towards the five young mares huddled behind Twilight's parents. "-just as much as they are there for you. His loss hurt us all, greatly..."

Twilight sobbed as she replied to Celestia's words. "B-but I don't know how, Princess! How do I forget him?! He... he was with me... there for me... all the time..."

Celestia grimaced and wrapped Twilight in her wing. Overhead, the Heavens continued to weep.

Just like Twilight.

Her sobbing gradually ceased. Celestia looked around. Aside from a few ponies who stood around to pay their last respects, most of the mourners had left, silently walking back to Ponyville, leaving Celestia, Luna, Cadance, the Elements of Harmony, and Twilight's parents near the grave.

It was almost as if they were the only ones in the world right now. Rain and sorrow blocked out anypony else.

"Princess...?" asked Twilight.

"Yes?" Celestia asked gently.

"Please... let me have a few final words to him."

Celestia nodded readily.

"Of course."

With that, she folded her wing back, and watched her student trot over to tombstone.

She heard movement behind her. Twilight's family and friends made a move to follow her.

"No. Please, leave her be," said Celestia quickly. They stared at her in confusion. "She needs to be alone for this," explained Celestia. Shining Armor opened his mouth to protest, but Cadance jammed her hoof in there almost immediately.

She whispered in her husband's ear. "She's right, dear. Twilight needs to be alone for this one."

Shining Armor looked at his young wife, contemplating her words, before nodding.

Twilight's friends and family looked on as she went, alone, to deliver her last goodbye.

She walked over to the grave stone, and sat on her haunches in front of it.

It was simple enough; a smooth, stone marker with a simple epitaph on it, reading:

SPIKE:

LOYAL FRIEND AND #1 ASSISTANT

REST FOREVER HERE IN OUR HEARTS

Twilight knew that he would like it. He had a taste for the extravagant, but he appreciated the simpler things in life as well.

But then, it wasn't she that had made it up. Indeed, she hadn't been herself the last few days. Not since his death.

She teared up, yet again.

She knew that she would never be able to fully accept his death. Neither would her friends. Spike had been so... so important in all of their lives. She didn't even know where to begin.

From the moment she had hatched him as a young filly, Spike had been her only true friend aside from her brother, who was too busy with guard work to even talk with her most of the time. Together, they had sat through hours upon hours of boredom and fun. Studies, meals, sleep, play... he had been there with her for every single minute.

He had been, essentially, the light in her life; never failing to support her, just as she never failed to support him.

And now he was gone.

Her tears blended in with the rain. Crying felt almost tedious now.

Wordlessly, she produced a sapphire and a rose out of the air, and laid them on the ground. She levitated the sapphire and set it securely into the stone. It looked perfect.

She then levitated the rose on to the front of the marker.

She surveyed the grave's new appearance; a single, bright star illuminated his name for all to see, while the rose below was his reminder.

So that wherever he was, he would know that his friends loved him more than anything else in the world. In life and in death.

The pain was still there, and she knew that nothing could take it away. It would always remain there, a scar in her heart. But she knew that she had to push on. At the very least, she would try her hardest. Just like Spike would.

"Just like Spike would," she repeated.

With that final thought, Twilight Sparkle looked back at the grave, and ran her hoof across the words etched into it. The curves, the angular shapes of the lettering that spelled out who Spike was and how he would be remembered served as the only source of comfort that she knew.

She let the final tears flow from her eyes.

"Goodbye... Spike."

The rain continued to crash around her, sealing her off from the rest of the world.

TO BE CONTINUED

Excuse me! I'd like to thank my friend from Fanfiction. net, M306117 for his help in many aspects of this chapter. And for waiting patiently for me to update, just like all of you. You're all bloody wonderful!