Spike usually grumbled about cleaning up the library just so that Twilight could invite some pony over for a slumber party. This time he was surprised that Twilight was helping him to do it. Someone important was coming over, someone she respected, but no one from Canterlot would sleep in the library, so who was it? He was a bit busy worrying about trying to get a snack from a box of gems that he had usually kept as a stash, since he was the only one in Ponyville to eat gems. Spike was a baby dragon, only twenty five years old. He’d grow more when he turned seven hundred, not that his friends needed to know. He hadn’t even told them how old he was, or what kind of dragon he was. The only ones who knew were his pony mother, Twilight, and his dragon mom which he didn’t like as much as his pony mother.

“Almost got it, come on, just a little higher…” He was standing on his toes, on top of a set of boxes, trying to reach the box of gems. Twilight had moved them when she had found them, thinking that it wasn’t healthy for him to eat a lot of gems in one go. “Almost… almost… whoa!” He slipped with the box tumbling down with him. “Whaa!”

Suddenly, he found himself being held up in the air by a ring of magic. It wasn’t Twilight’s magic, but it felt familiar to the young dragon. “Didn’t I tell you no gems before bedtime, Spike?” Spike’s eyes widened as he looked at the dusty pink unicorn who had saved him. She gently set him down and his box in his hands. “But, since you’re no longer three, I guess I can make an exception for tonight.” Hope smiled at the shocked purple dragon with green spikes.

“Hope…” Spike dropped the box in his hands and ran towards the unicorn. Astrana looked in surprised as the dragon hugged Hope. “Mom…” Spike hugged the unicorn tightly while Hope nuzzled him. “You’re here!”

Twilight smiled as she saw this. They had met Spike’s biological mother a few years ago, and it hadn’t gone so well. He didn’t get along with his mother at all. He had been raised by the unicorn known as Hope Healer from the day he had hatched to the day she had introduced him to Twilight as her new assistant. They hadn’t seen each other since. She had saved his egg from a Manticore who had taken it from a cave for some strange reason. Hope had tried to find the egg’s mother but never found a single dragon. When the egg was hatched in Twilight’s test, Hope named him and raised him as her own till he was ready to become her assistant when he turned ten. He became intelligent, responsible, kind, and caring under her care. He learned how to help her around her little clearing and help to take care of her main patient, Astrana. He had left before Astrana awoke and Twilight had never seen Astrana.

Twilight led Astrana to one of the spare rooms. She had set up a bed in both of the spare rooms for the two ponies. “Here you are. If you need anything, just ask. I’ll be at the top of the library. It’s a beautiful night for stargazing.”

“Thank you. Why are you helping us? Aren’t ponies normally wary of new creatures around their homes.” Astra was still confused as to why they were being allowed to stay in such a peaceful place, especially when she worried constantly about her past.

“My mentor always says that I have to be open and welcoming to others, no matter what they look like and where they’re from. Besides, Hope Healer is an old friend and Spike’s mother. I won’t deny her a safe place to spend the night, and she trusts you so that means I should too.”

Astra looked at the young Alicorn with her red eyes seeming to glow softly from under her hood. “Who exactly is your mentor?”

“Princess Celestia of Canterlot. She’s been training me since I was a little filly. I now train here with my friends working on discovering the magic of friendship and all its secrets.” She smiled shyly. She was starting to feel like she could trust this mysterious pony, even though Astra was scared of her.

Astra looked her square in the eyes and after a minute sighed. “Well that is a noble goal. Tell me, Twilight, what do you know about the Nightmare War?” The question seemed sudden, but Astra had a feeling that she would be able to answer.

“That was a war where the Nightmares started to fight against the ponies. There had been some sort of disagreement amongst the princesses of Equestria and the Nightmare realm. All records of it are kept in Canterlot but there are legends of how it ended and such. Sorry, but there’s not really much to tell on that. I don’t even know how the war was started. I wasn’t allowed to read those books.” Twilight answered as best as she could. By being asked the question so suddenly, she automatically told the truth about what she knew. This had been Astra’s goal.

Astra looked at the young alicorn; full of curiosity, and yet, full of patience and knowledge. “Well it seems that Celestia chose a good apprentice. I wonder if I might bore you with a bit of history? We can go upstairs and look at the stars while we’re at it if you want.”

Twilight smiled. It seemed that Astra was starting to like her. “That sounds like fun. I love learning things.”

Hope smiled as the two walked past her and Spike up towards the roof of the library to look at the stars. “Soon everything will be alright once more.” Spike had fallen asleep in his bed with his box of gems forgotten. Hope took out one and placed it under his pillow for in the morning. She then used her magic to put the box on a shelf and went to sleep next to the little dragon’s bed, just like she had when he was just a hatchling, after all, he was her baby dragon.

Author's Note

Okay, so I recently learned that they all now live in a new shiny castle, but eh, I'm just gonna stick with the library. If ya got a problem with it, please let me know. I'm limited on Pony knowledge so give me a break I'm trying. Hope ya like what I did so far. No real clue as to Spike's parents but I figured why not.