Hearth's Warming... such a beautiful time of the year. A time where ponies, unicorns and pegasi alike celebrate their equality. Taking them back to a time when friendship barely existed. The Three Tribes would fight over supremacy, causing hatred and conflict. The conflict was so intense the land of Equestria was frozen over by the Windigos. Over time, the three tribes would then realize that their arguing would give them cold hearts. In time, they grew to appreciate each other's differences and celebrate their new found friendship; telling stories that make each of their friends happy and preserve the harmony in balance. And did I forget to mention that Commander Hurricane was so awesome back then?
Twilight Sparkle was telling the story to the Elementary School fillies only to be rudely interrupted by Rainbow Dash. "Yeah, he had a cool helmet, and he was the commander of the Pegasus Fleet... and... and-"
"Rainbow Dash!" Twilight cuts her off in annoyance.
"What?" Dashie shrugs her shoulders. "I was adding flavor into the tale."
The school bell then rings and the class begins to leave the school. "Happy Hearth's Warming Eve, everypony!" Cheerilee said to her students as they left.
"Bye, miss Cheerilee." Said Snips as he calls back to her. "I hope you like my present I gave you."
Cheerilee looks to her desk to find a dirty candy-cane sitting there with flies buzzing around it's foul stench. Obviously it was from Snips. "It's... pretty nice. Thank you, Snips." Cheerilee sheepishly thanked and Snips catches up with Snails. As the two finally left, Cheerilee lets out a sigh of relief.
Twilight and Rainbow Dash walk out of the building last as the snowflakes rain slowly towards the ground. "Gee... has the year gone by?" Dash quipped.
"I'll say." Twilight replied. "Hearth's Warming becomes more brighter than ever before. I hope this year's celebration goes well."
"No worries." Dashie says as she swings her hoof down. "I got this."
"How's the decorating coming along?" Twilight asked.
"Well, Applejack's getting the applecider pumping and Rarity's getting the costumes done for the school play at theater." RD said.
"And the confectionery?" Twilight asked again. OCD alert.
"Sugarcube Corner has it covered." RD said.
"Are you sure?" Twilight worries. "None of the cakes were eaten were they?"
"Relax, Twilight." Dash calms Twily. "The cakes have got it under control. Including Pinkie. Trust me. This will be the best Hearth's Warming Eve ever!"
"Right." Twilight lets out a breath of air to calm down. "I guess I should be more optimistic more often."
"Sure thing, Twi." Dashie takes off from the ground along with Twilight as they fly towards town. "C'mon, let's get the town ready."
Over at Ponyville, everypony decorates the town with pine trees, snowponies, giant prop candy canes and banners. Flitter and Cloudchaser fly around the a large pine tree while wrapping a ribbon around it. Lyra Heartstrings throws a snowball at Bon Bon and giggles. And Big McIntosh carries a snow plow behind him to plow some snow away to clear paths.
Over to Rarity, she is pushing a hanger of dresses the fillies will wear for the play and presents them to Mayor Mare. "Lovely design, Rarity. I hope the hours you put in weren't stressful."
"Oh, believe me." Rarity giggled for a second. "They were." She said in deadpan.
We then cut on over to Spike who has just exited the gift shop, holding a tower of gift wraps. Spike then heads on over to the theater. "Boy, this Hearth's Warming Eve is gonna be so cool. I hope my friends appreciates these gifts of mine. I had to trade in my vintage Alpha Sapphire for all of this. Well, gotta head over to the school theater and see how the others are doing."
Spike, however, bumps into a backwards walking Fluttershy and all of the presents get knocked out of his hands. Spike gets up and sees Fluttershy in the snow. He walks over to help her up. "Uh! Fluttershy, are you okay?"
"Oh, I'm fine. Thank you, Spike." Fluttershy said. She then sees all of the gifts Spike dropped. "Oh my. Did I do that? I'm so sorry, Spike. I should have seen where I was going."
Spike proceeds to pick the presents up from out of the snow. "Nah, it's cool. I should've watched where I was going. What were you doing, anyway?"
Fluttershy looks behind her and Spike sees that she was escorting some of her animal friends. "I was just taking my friends to see the school play."
"I thought animals weren't allowed into the theater." Spike says.
"Oh, I know. But they really want to see the play and I can't leave them all alone this evening." Flutters said. "So... um...?" She notices Spike carrying the presents in tower form again. "What's with the presents?"
"I traded in my Alpha Sapphire to purchase these gifts." Spike says. "I'm gonna give them out to each and everyone of my friends this Hearth's Warming Eve. I hope Twilight likes my gift." Spike looks down with worry.
"Oh, that's so sweet of you to do that, Spike." Fluttershy said in a sincere manner.
"Heh, thanks." Spike starts walking but almost loses balance due to the tower of presents he's holding. Fluttershy becomes a bit concerned and offers to help.
"Do you need any help with that?"
"No. It's okay." Spike said. "I've got this under control."
"Okay. See you at the play then." Fluttershy then trots off with her animal companions following her while Spike staggers around due to the weight of the presents, but despite that, Spike presses on and heads to the School Theater.
At the theater, back stage, many foals are getting ready for the play they are about to perform. Diamond Tiara trots over to Rarity to complain about the costume she's been given. "I am not wearing this! It doesn't suit my tastes."
"Diamond Tiara, you were picked to play the part of Princess Platinum." Rarity said. "What do you find so off-putting about my costume?"
"It's not sparkly enough." That's Diamond's only problem.
"Well..." Rarity chuckled with nervousness. "...No matter. I'm sure I can fix this problem for you. Just give me a second and you'll have the most sparkling costume in the play."
Diamond gives off a serious face. "It better be."
Rarity quickly levitated the dress and galloped into the design department to make improvements to the dress.
At this moment, Spike walks into the theater to see some ponies inside as they decorate the place. Spike is amazed at the decor of the theater. "Cool." Spike places down his tower of presents onto the table nearby, but as he does so, the tower of presents collapse on top of him, much to his shock.
Applejack then comes in with Granny Smith by her side, both carrying two wagons of Applecider. "Hoo-ee! Just in time."
"Finally, my legs are starting to wear thin." Granny Smith said.
"Take a seat, Granny. Ah'm gonna put the cider over at the table." Applejack parks the wagons of cider near the table but then sees Spike's hand reaching out of the presents and hears him groaning. "Spike?" Applejack pulls him out of the pile. "You feeling alright?"
"Yeah." Spike dusts himself off. "Sorry about the mess."
"Ha!" Applejack happily laughed. "That ol' pile of gift wraps there? Aw, it ain't no biggie."
"Thanks." Spike blushed. AJ and Spike then spot Big Mac coming in but his snowplow gets stuck in between the entrance inside, effectively blocking every other pony outside from entering. Applejack starts walking over to Big Mac to help him out but Spike stops her. "Do you think I can help out, Applejack?"
"It's alright, sugarcube. I can handle it." AJ said, leaving Spike to sigh.
Applejack helps Big Mac to unlock the hook off the plow and pushes it away from the entrance but then walking in was a huge gelatin cake, made by Mr. and Mrs. Cake. It is designed as a green jello statue resembling a pegasus, unicorn and earth pony, posing in a unity stance. Applejack is surprised by the size of it.
"Holy zap apples on a stormy night!" AJ expressed. "Y'all outdone yerselves, Mr. and Mrs. Cake."
"Thanks, Applejack. But we had a bit of help." Mrs. Cake said.
Suddenly, Pinkie Pie appears behind Applejack, spooking her. "You like it?"
"It looks great, Pinkie Pie." Spike complimented.
"Hee hee hee! Oh, you're just saying that." Pinkie said.
"No, I mean it. It looks delicious." Spike replied back.
"What did ya use to make it?" AJ asked Pinkie.
"Well, I used a lot of fruit juice and a lot of sugar... and then I used more sugar and fruit juice... then I added cheesecake and added regular cake and then some chocolate chunks in there... and then I warmed up the cake and then freeze it and warmed it again and then I freeze it again and finally I added in a teaspoon of cinnamon cream." Pinkie said in a mouth full.
"Wow. Sounds like you put a lot of effort in it." Spike said as he looks at the gelatin statue.
"A super effort." Pinkie said. "So don't get your grubby little claws near it because it's still pretty fragile."
"Sure thing." Applejack said. "Ah'm gonna go backstage to check on Apple Bloom."
Just before Applejack leaves, Spike finds her present and offers it to her. "Wait, Applejack. I forgot. This is for you." AJ looks at Spike's gift wrap. "Happy Hearth's Warming Eve."
"Thanks, Spike. But I'm busy as a jackrabbit on a Sunday right now. Hoof that over to me at the end of the play, though." Applejack walks off and Spike is left saddened. "O-okay..." Spike responded.
Spike looks over to Pinkie who is drinking away at the chocolate fountain. Spike hands Pinkie's present to her. "Hey, Pinkie. I forgot to give you this. Happy Hearth's Warming-"
"Careful, Carrot!" Mrs. Cake's cry grabs Pinkie's attention as Mr. Cake carefully tries to maneuver the statue over to the table.
"Sorry, Spike. Cake duty calls." Pinkie hops over to the Cakes to help out, leaving Spike again to sigh in sadness.
"Guess, everypony is busy with something." Spike said to himself. Spike then sees Twilight Sparkle and Rainbow Dash flying in to help out with the decor. Spike smiles and grabs Twilight's gift, but it was stuck underneath the pile of other gift wraps. As Spike yanks it out, one of the gift wraps goes flying into the gelatin statue and becomes lodged there. Spike doesn't take notice of it and runs over to Twilight as the present lodged in the gelatin statue starts getting warm, which means the statue is in trouble.
Twilight and Rainbow Dash help with putting some of decor up by the ceilings. Spike calls out to Twilight. "Hey, Twilight!" Twilight looks down and happily greets him."Oh, hi Spike."
"Twilight, I've got a-"
"Sorry, but I'm kinda busy at the moment." Twilight cuts Spike off as she readjusts the foliage of the decor.
"But, I've got a-" Twilight continues to adjust the decor while paying little to no attention to Spike. "Twilight, I've got something..."
"It's okay, Spike." Rainbow said to Spike. "We're busy getting the play ready, so come and find us again when we're done."
"But... I..." Spike held the present up but Twilight and Rainbow don't take notice of it. Spike then walked over Fluttershy who is chatting with Bulk Biceps and Spike tries to get her attention but no response. Spike then looks around to see that everypony around him isn't paying any attention to him, due to how frantic it is to prepare for the school play. "How come everypony doesn't wanna listen to me?" Spike then looks at his reflection in the gelatin statue. "Guess I feel unappreciated. Why can't I help around on Hearth's Warming Eve? It's not fair."
Spike however then notices the present, still stuck in the statue, is glowing red and is melting gelatin's stability. "Oh no... No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no... Not now!" Spike begins to panic and turns around to see that nopony has noticed yet. Spike turns to the statue again and begins to worry. "This isn't going to be good."
Backstage, Rarity finally presents a more glittery costume for Diamond Tiara. "Here. Just as you wanted it. More sparkly, am I not correct?"
Diamond takes the costume and places it on. "I'm gonna look like the cutest pony on stage!" Diamond walks off with a smug on her face while Rarity wipes the sweat off her forehead.
"Uh? Rarity?" Spike walks up to Rarity who becomes startled of his presence.
"OH! Spike! You gave quite a scare. What seems to be the matter?"
"Uhhh... hehehe... It's a little favor I like to ask." Spike chuckled nervously.
"What kind of favor?" Rarity asked.
Only two minutes before the play starts and every filly is dressed in their respective characters.
"I'm Chancellor Puddinghead." Apple Bloom said to Sweetie Belle.
"And I'm Clover the Clever." Sweetie said.
"Why do I have to be Private Pansy?" Scootaloo complained.
"Okay, my little ponies. Places!" Cheerilee told the class.
The fillies get into their places for the play while the theater becomes full of pony citizens. Twilight looks around the place for Spike who is nowhere to be seen. "Have you girls seen Spike anywhere?" She asked her friends.
"Beats me. The little guy's somewhere." Applejack said.
"Now that you mentioned it, I haven't seen Rarity either." Rainbow Dash points out.
"Maybe Spike did it." Pinkie said, giving off weird expressions of her friends.
"Did what?" Dashie asked.
"Spike actually won her heart with the most heart-warming gift anypony could have." Pinkie squeezes herself. "Ahhh... love."
But in actuality, Spike and Rarity are at confectionery table. Rarity uses her magic to lift up Spike in the air. "Are you sure you want me to lift you up to the statue so you can get my present out?" She asked as she hesitated.
"Please?" Spike gives off a sad face expression to convince Rarity.
"Oh, Spikey-wikey, you know I can never deny anything from you." She happily accepts.
"Guess I don't feel unappreciated at all." Spike said to himself as Rarity floated him towards the statue so he can yank the present out. He grabs hold of the gift but just before he could pull it out. "Rarity?" Twilight called out and Rarity gasps, canceling her magic out around Spike who is now hanging above the ground by his gift wrap.
Twilight walks up to Rarity as the play begins. "What are you doing around the confectionery table? That's until the play is over." Twilight asked Rarity who converses with her normally despite her anxiety of Spike way above her.
"I was..." Rarity stutters. "I was... feeling a bit famished. Yes..." Rarity continues to look up while Spike hangs onto his gift way above the ground.
Twilight doesn't notices this as she continues to talk. "Wow, I never thought you were that hungry for cake before."
"Well, cake usually makes up for my forte." Rarity said.
"Well, we can eat after." Twilight replied. "By the way, where's Spike? Have you seen him?"
Spike continues to struggle holding onto the gift lodged in the gelatin. "I don't think I have, dear." Rarity continues to distract Twilight. "I thought he was with you."
As the play continues in the background, Dashie makes a minor nitpick about it. "Who picked Featherweight to play as Commander Hurricane?"
"What's so wrong about that?" Fluttershy asked.
"I don't know." Dash said. "At least he doesn't have green eyes." Applejack, sitting next to Dash frowns at her. "Uh, no offense."
Back to Twilight talking to Rarity while Spike continues to cling above them. "Well, he's missing out on the play. And he said he had something for me?" Twilight said and Spike realizes that he left Twilight's present on the table. "Well, I could go for a bite just this once."
Twilight walks over to the table, nearing the gift she is unaware of and Spike panics even more. Spike quickly tries to yank the present out of the gelatin, but the more he pulls it the more unstable it's becoming. Just as Pinkie warned him about. The present however is glowing even more as Spike continues to tug onto it. Just as Twilight reaches out for a piece of cake she spots the gift that has her name on it. Spike's gift wrap in the gelatin at this point sinks into the gelatin and Spike loses his grip. Spike falls from a reasonable height, causing Rarity to scream and Twilight to notice. But then everypony else in the audience including the fillies performing in the play begin to notice. Spike impacts the table and it flips over large cakes into the audience and onto Diamond Tiara's costume, making her scream. It even splashes onto the decor around the banner, causing it to collapse onto the floor. This shocks Twilight at a strong level. Spike felt his head in pain as he and all the other ponies look up at the jello statue as the gift wrap inside it melts the gelatin into hot liquid. Pinkie and the Cakes look on with horrified expressions, Pinkie especially as she goes over to grieve the melted gelatin statue and starts crying a river of tears.
"Call off the play!" Cheerilee told her students. "Call off the play!" The fillies break their character to join the audience as they stare at the mess Spike has created.
Spike gets out of the destroyed table and has everypony glaring directly at him. "Uh... hi, everypony? So... uh... that play, huh?" Spike chuckles nervously but the ponies including Twilight and her friends show off a glare of disappointment. "What?" Spike asked but then he sees the damage he has done. The decor is ruined, the play is ruined and the confectionery is ruined; thanks to Spike. Spike then gives off a scared look.
Twilight is even more disappointed than the rest. Spike tries to walk up to her. "Twilight, look I can explain-"
"What? How you managed to splash cake all around the place?!" Twilight yelled.
"It was an accident." Spike pleaded. "I didn't mean..."
"My beautiful gelatin..." Pinkie continues to sob as Spike looked at the melted gelatin.
"My friends..." Fluttershy said. "...they got spooked by clutter... and they went hiding in the design room." Rarity gasps heavily. "MY DRESSES!" Rarity dashes off.
The audience however look at Spike to their chagrin. "I didn't... I wasn't... You gotta..." Spike stuttered.
"Spike!" Twilight stopped him from stuttering more. "Just leave." She said so coldly which breaks Spike's heart.
"Don't you want me to help clean this up?" He asked.
"Oh! I think you helped out plenty and look how you helped out!" Twilight spoke in a snarky tone.
"But Twilight, I was just-"
"I don't want to hear it." Twilight cuts Spike off. "This play would have gone so well if you never existed at all."
Spike becomes distraught over what his friend just said. "What?" Tears began to shed from Spike's eyes as Twilight turns her back on him.
"Just go. Don't ever come back." Twilight turned away from Spike.
"Twilight, I can-" Spike tried walking up to her but Twilight stared at him one last time and screamed. "JUST LEAVE US ALONE!"
Spike backs away from Twilight's anger as he continues to look at all the others who glare at him. "Way to go, Spike. You've ruined Hearth's Warming Eve." Rainbow Dash said in displeasure. "For everypony."
Spike, heartbroken from the damage he has caused, takes one last look at his friends and Twilight and runs out of the theater and into the cold dark night of Ponyville. As soon as Spike left Twilight turned around and starts feeling guilty for yelling at him in the first place. "What am I saying?" She asked herself, puncturing her own heart in sadness.
"Welp. Look on the bright side. At least the cider is still fresh." Applejack cheered up everyone with a cup of cider.
Scootaloo takes a drink of it and gags in disgust. "Ack! This cider is flat." She said causing Applejack to frown at Big Mac who shrugs. "Nnnnope."
As the snow rages like a blizzard in Ponyville, Spike runs over the bridge and took one last look at the town before running off again in tears. Spike traveled far away from Ponyville, through the Everfree and towards the Castle of the Two Sisters. Spike crosses the bridge to the castle, all while the bridge flails with the raging blizzard. Spike then seeks shelter inside the Castle but the doors are frozen shut. Spike is now feeling cold and sits down in the snow just to repent for the accident he caused. Spike has hurt the feelings of everyone he loved and now they show nothing but hate now that he ruined Hearth's Warming for everypony. Spike violently slaps the snow in anger and starts crying, in the fear that every pony hates him forever.
Moments later, Spike looks up to see the cliff towards him. Spike walks over to the cliff, thinking of something he's going to do. "If nopony wants me here anymore, then I don't belong anywhere." Spike says and begins to walk off the cliff to fall to his doom. But right before he could do that, a cry for help is heard. "HELP!" Spike heard. "HELP!" Spike heard the voice nearby and it is coming from the forest. "HELP!" Spike ran across the bridge to follow the crying call for help and found a nearby lake. "HELP!" Screamed again and there Spike saw Princess Luna in the lake, drowning and screaming for help. "HELP!"
"Princess Luna!" Spike dove in and swam up to Luna as she thrashes the water. "Please, help me!" Luna screamed again as Spike grabbed onto her and swims her back to shore.
Later on, outside the Castle , Luna dries off in the moonlight while Spike wrings his tail off of the water. "Thank you. I am pleased thou hast not done something he could regret."
Spike is confused on what Luna said. "What? What are you talking about?"
"Spike, I have saved your life." Luna said.
"Uh... actually I saved your life." Spike corrected. "I saw you drowning."
"I was only faking." Luna giggled as she told Spike.
"Oh great." Spike crosses his arms and rolls his eyes. "Now I feel more like a dummy."
"But I did it for a reason." Luna explains. "You were about to commit an act that is most unforgiving for me and my sister. I knew that if I was the one in grave danger you would find me and save me, thereby saving you from such pitiful recklessness."
"I'd be better off somewhere else instead of Equestria." Said Spike, sitting back down in sorrow.
"What about your friends, Spike? How would they feel?" Luna asked.
"My friends don't care about me anymore." Spike said. "They hate me now."
"I doubt that." Luna walked around Spike. "One mistake isn't going to impact the rest of the world around you. Everypony makes mistakes, even you."
"No... I ruined Hearth's Warming Eve." Spike told Luna. "I buy them gifts and all they can do is say that I ruined their day. I can't believe in anything anymore. Times have changed I suppose." Spike covered his eyes with his paws.
"Spike, you need to open up and realize the words you are saying." Luna said.
"I have opened up, Princess Luna!" Spike said. "I realize that all my friends care about is just one stupid school play and not anyone else. It's the same thing every year and I ruined it for them! Didn't you see the way they were looking at me?" Spike continues to yell as more tears leak from his eyes. "I'm an outcast! I don't belong with the other ponies!"
Luna is still calm as Spike sat back down in the snow and rants more. "They could be better off without me if I was never born..."
Luna heard what Spike said. "Pardon me?"
"I said I wish I have never been born!" Spike told Luna.
Luna is shocked at what Spike said. "Spike! I'd choose thy words carefully. One wish could become a-" Luna suddenly gasps at the thought of that and gets an idea. "Actually... yes..." She thinks about it. "That's sounds like a great idea."
"What's a great idea?" Spike asked as he turned his back away from Luna.
"Spike... what is thy wish?" Luna asked nicely to him.
"I told you. I wish I was never hatched." Spike said. "So maybe my friends can live life easier."
Luna quickly opened her wings and floated in mid-air with her hooves raised. "Spike! THINE WISH IS GRANTED!" Spike turned back to Luna as she casts a spell with her horn. The magic then engulfs the whole world around Spike, becoming dark and gray. Luna's spell ends and the void around them unfolds itself and Spike opens his eyes to see the new world around him. The sky was dark red and the atmosphere was feels very cold. Spike turned behind him and gasps in shock to see the Castle of the Two Sisters completely obliterated and is nothing but a crater now.
"What happened to the castle?" Spike asked.
"Don't you know, Spike?" Luna stands beside him. "This is what life in Equestria would look like, if you never existed."
Spike remained skeptical about this. "No... it can't be. Can it?" Luna points towards Canterlot for Spike and to his horror he sees that it has crumbled and decayed. "No... It's all just an illusion. You're just playing games with me, princess." Spike continued to be positive about this.
"Oh, really?" Luna questioned Spike. Luna then teleports herself and Spike to Canterlot to see it is in utter destruction. Spike and Luna stare at the almost empty populace of Canterlot as a few residents are now forced into labor by the Changeling army. One of the Changeling snarls at one of the slaved ponies as they continue mining for ore.
"Those are..."
"The Changelings." Luna answered for Spike. "In this timeline, Queen Chrysalis successfully infiltrated the wedding of Princess Cadance and Shining Armor and took over Canterlot. Forcing the ponyfolk into slave labor, mining for diamonds and ore hidden underneath the city."
"But, didn't Cadance and Shining Armor defeated Chrysalis and the Changelings?" Spike asked.
Luna answers. "Unfortunately, Cadance remained in the mines and Shining Armor was drained of all his love and remained a lifeless husk."
"But... what about Twilight?" Spike then asked.
Luna then teleports Spike to the Crystal Empire on a hill top overlooking the city where to Spike's horror he sees that it has become taken over by King Sombra himself. Luna and Spike walk through the apocalyptic setting of the Crystal Empire as they watch many crystal ponies walking with chains chaffed to their hooves and dying of thirst and hunger as they have to work under Sombra's influence.
"What's happening?" Spike asked himself.
At the top of the Crystal Palace, Luna and Spike reach the top and find a crystal prison. The same one that trapped Twilight in and Spike remembers that. Spike walked up to the crystal to peek inside only to see in his horror is a dirty but starved Twilight Sparkle who paces around Sombra's wrath, with a very unstable mind and a twitchy eye. She keeps muttering "Stay positive" over and over again as her sanity gets the better of her.
"After the death of her brother, Twilight was tasked by Princess Celestia to find the Crystal Heart and restore the empire. But without you, she fell into Sombra's trap and became imprison for years. King Sombra succeeded in his goal to take over the empire and forced the ponies to wither and die of thirst and starvation. The sad part is... the Crystal Heart was never found." Luna explained.
"Twilight..." Spike continues to watch Twilight in her prison as she becomes more psychotic and he backs away. "What did you do, Princess Luna?"
"It's not what I did." Luna answered. "It's what you did, Spike. Because you did not exist, you never saved the Crystal Empire, you were never by Twilight's side. You never told Celestia of her breakdown, you never burned her books by accident. You never assisted her."
"What did I do?" Spike demanded desperately.
"You have been granted a great gift, Spike. You were never born." Luna said.
Spike is more confused and heartache. "What? Then what am I?"
"You are a nobody." Luna answered. "No one knows who you are. You have no life in this world."
Spike shakes his head as he doesn't want to believe all of this. "No... no-no-no. NO! I won't believe it! What about Ponyville?"
Luna opens her wings again and teleports herself and Spike to Ponyville.
At Ponyville, Spike and Luna stare at the town and Spike is even more shocked. Ponyville is now a ghost town and there are only a few ponies that live there. Some of them have their windows and doors boarded shut. "Do you remember, Tirek? He drained Celestia and Cadance of all of their magic and has become the supreme ruler of Ponyville." Luna told Spike.
"What about you? What happens to you?" Spike asked.
"With all my power I simply transferred all of my magic to my sister, but even that wasn't enough to defeat Tirek." Luna said. "I went into hiding. Never to be seen or heard from again. And because the Tree of Harmony was never restored, the plants withered and decayed because we have no sun to shine them with."
Spike continues to stare at a dying pony who is begging for food. "Please... help... us..." He said before passing out.
Still refusing to believe all of this, Spike still has a hard time putting his head together. "No. My friends. What about the others? What about Pinkie? Fluttershy? Applejack? Rainbow Dash? ... Rarity?"
Luna takes Spike over to the Ponyville Cemetery. "Here? What happened to them?" Spike asked Luna as she guides Spike over to one of the tombstones. "Luna?" Spike walks over to Luna as he becomes more creeped out by the dark atmospheric nature of the cemetery. Luna then shows Spike one of the tombstones with Applejack's name engraved on it. "No..."
"Look at the date." Luna pointed for Spike and he sees the date.
"That's... the same day where I..."
"Saved Applejack from the giant Timberwolf." Luna answered for Spike again.
"But... how?" Spike asked again as a little of his sanity starts to break at this point.
"Because you weren't there to save Applejack from being eaten alive, Sweet Apple Acres has gone bankrupt and this is what happened to the rest of the apples." Luna shows a decayed and rotten apple filled with maggots, causing Spike to cringe and trip over to a couple more tombstones, belonging to Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy. Spike jumps back a few feet in more horror.
Luna explains to Spike once again. "Because you never existed, more lives begin to fade away. Rainbow Dash injured herself during the Young Flyer's Competition and Fluttershy was violently washed away during the water siphoning of Cloudsdale. Because at the time, Rainbow Dash was no longer in shape to lead the pegasi and Fluttershy died on that day. Later on, Dashie tried to fly through a raging wind gusts but has sustained fatal injuries and lost her life in the process."
"How come?" Spike asked.
"I told you. Because you were never there." Luna said.
"I wasn't at the Young Flyer's Competition at the time." Spike said.
"Because you never gave them moral support. You impacted the lives of Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy because they cared for you." Spike is losing it even more. "Strange, isn't it. One dragon's life touches so many other lives. When he isn't around he leaves an awful hole, doesn't he?"
Spike continues to disregard everything Luna is showing him. "No! This can't be true! This can't be true!"
"It is now. Your very existence has changed Equestria. You gave us hope. Without you there is no hope." Said Luna.
Spike continues to ramble on. "This can't be real." Spike breathes for a moment and then turns to Luna. "What about Sugarcube Corner?"
Cut over to Sugarcube Corner, Spike runs towards it and stares at the dreadful state it is in. "Ahhhh..." Sugarcube Corner is nothing but completely abandoned, destroyed and the sweets and frosting surrounding have all but dried up or turned stale. Spike runs inside to find anypony living there. "Pinkie! Pinkie! Mr. Cake? Pound Cake?" Spike trips over some frosting and falls to the floor. Spike then gets up and is faced by a decayed skeletal corpse of Pinkie Pie. Spike gets jump scared and backs away as he gazes at the already lifeless bones of Pinkie Pie, who somehow managed to maintain her tail and mane in healthy form.
"No..." Spike is even more depressed at this. "No... I must be dreaming." Spike tries to pinch himself, seeing if he's gonna wake up but nothing happens. "No! I must be dreaming! This has gotta be some trick!"
"This isn't a dream, Spike. This is a reality." Luna convinced Spike more but Spike is still not buying it.
"I am dreaming. This is all part of your tricks to scare me. Well, guess what, your majesty? It worked. Now take me back right now."
"I can't do that." Luna refused.
"Why not?"
"Because... this is what you wished for and this is how it's gonna be." Luna said.
Spike then hears some snarls behind him and two Changelings pop out to attack him. One of them, pins Spike towards the ground but Luna bucks them in the face, giving Spike some time to escape. "Flee, Spike!" Luna commanded him as the other Changeling tackles Luna to the ground and Spike escapes with his life.
Luna struggles hard with the Changeling as it tries to rip out her chest with it's sharp teeth. Luna however uses her magic to teleport away from the Changelings, leaving the two creatures of the night confused.
Spike ran far away from Sugarcube Corner and stops by at the already destroyed Golden Oaks Library. Luna then appears before Spike again. "Convinced yet?"
As Spike catches his breath he talks. "No... There's only one pony that you still haven't shown me yet, and that is Rarity."
"Are you sure about that?" Luna said cautiously.
"Yes, I'm sure. Rarity is the most generous pony I know. She would never back down from a situation like this." Spike said with confidence.
"I must warn you, Spike. What you are about to walk into is something that might haunt you for the rest of your life." Luna said.
"Oh yeah!? Nothing can scare this dragon!" Said the fearless Spike.
"If you think so, then I am gone." Luna said. "I have tried convincing you to change thou mind, Spike, but I failed in every way I could. Good luck with thou new and forgetful life." Luna then disappears into the sky, leaving Spike all alone as he watches her disappear.
"Luna?" Spike softly called out as she vanishes. Before hesitating further, Spike runs off to find Rarity.
Spike runs ahead to the Carousel Boutique which to his surprise is still standing and is not in ruin. Spike runs up to the front door and quickly knocks at fast pace. "Rarity!" He knocks more as he calls Rarity's name again. "Rarity, are you in there?"
The wind opens the door for Spike. The creepy atmosphere returns as Spike enters the Boutique. As he walks in he stares at the pony mannequins with dresses on them, and by the smell of them, they haven't been washed. Spike then trips over the skeletal remains of Opalescence who has remained there for quite some time and Rarity didn't have time to feed her. Spike gets up and continues to walk forward and starts hearing Rarity humming a tune. Spike rushes towards the room to follow the voice and when he reaches it he finds Rarity, alive and well, sowing away at some nicely knitted dresses. Spike walks up to Rarity who begins to take notice of him.
"Who's there? Who are you?" Rarity questioned Spike.
"Rarity! It's me, Spike."
Rarity denies that she knows him. "Sorry, darling. I have never seen you before in my life."
"C'mon, Rarity. Remember the time I saved you from those Diamond Dogs?" Spike reminded her.
"Oh yes." Rarity remembers that time. "Except for the fact that I never saw you before in my life. Now leave me alone, I'm working on a masterpiece here." Rarity continues to sow some dresses with the sowing machine. Rarity then realizes something and turns back to Spike. "Actually, you look perfect for this one." Rarity levitates Spike over to the mirror and dresses him in one of her crafted dresses. "Don't you look fabulous, darling?"
Spike sees that he's wearing a feathery brown coat. "Yeah... actually it looks pretty good."
Rarity is amused. "Wonderful, darling." Rarity sighs and gets back to sowing more dresses while she laments. "It's sad. Owlowiscious was a majestic animal, too."
Spike then opened his eyes in shock at what Rarity revealed. He realizes that the coat he is wearing is from the skin of Twilight's owl as he spots the beak next to his neck. Spike tears it off him in panic and Rarity looks at Spike.
"What you don't like it? I've got more you could try out." Rarity offered as she points to more of the Mane Six's pets she has skinned alive and made them into clothing wear. Thunder strikes as Spike sees more of Rarity's dresses which happened to be made up all of the other animals in all of Equestria. Bears, beavers, ducks, rabbits, fishes and even stuffed buffaloes. Spike, at this point, has lost all of his sanity and breaks down into madness and tears as he scolds Rarity's actions.
"No! That... that's not you! That can't be you!" Spike screams at Rarity. "You're mad!"
Rarity gasps as more thunder strikes. "HOW RUDE OF YOU! If I was you, I would never have existed in the first place."
Spike realizes the words she just said and finally comes to terms that he made a huge mistake for making this wish. Twilight is isolated with an insane mind, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy are gone and Rarity has turned into a homicidal animal killer. All because he was never born and thus dramatically changed their lives. Spike has finally lost it and starts whacking away the mannequins in sorrowful rage. "NOOOO! WHAT HAVE I DONE!"
"STOP THAT!" Rarity snaps and pulls a rope down next to her. Spike looks behind him to see a giant cage open. A giant crocodile emerges from it, it is none other than a giant and grown up Gummy, with sharp razor teeth that can shatter a stuffed bear to pieces. Spike becomes terrified and flees from the feral Gummy as it chases him out of the Boutique and into the lifeless town. Spike jumps and ducks to avoid the snapping attacks of Gummy. Spike eventually finds himself in a dead end alley and gets cornered by the feral creature but Spike manages to jump up to avoid getting chomped on and hopes over Gummy's scales. Spike continues to run for dear life as he looks behind him to see that Gummy is still chasing after him.
Spike then starts talking to Luna in the sky. "Okay! Princess Luna! I understand now! I understand! HELP ME!" There was no response as Spike dodges another bite from Gummy and Spike gets flung into the air by the impact of Gummy's leap and falls into a cart. It starts rolling down a hill. There he passes the 'Great and Not So Powerful' Trixie as she tries to push her travelling cart without wheels and is broke. Spike then looks behind him to see that Gummy is still chasing after him and they both race into the Everfree Forest.
Spike veers the cart left and right as Gummy attempts to snack on Spike once again. Spike then sees a cliff ahead and steers the cart to the right to take another path. Spike then looks around him to find where Gummy is and sighs in relief, thinking that he lost him. But out of nowhere, Gummy bursts out from the front and surprises Spike, munching down on his cart. Spike is flung off the cart as Gummy eats it whole and turns his attention towards Spike. Spike crawls back away from Gummy and leans up to a tree as Gummy gets ready to devour Spike. But fortunately, Spike burps his fire breath into his face, blinding Gummy, but also giving Spike the chance to knock the thing out by whacking him with a tree-log next to him. Gummy is out for the moment, and Spike tries to get far away from him.
Spike finds himself back at the Castle of the Two Sisters. Spike runs towards it but he slips on a rock and twists his leg. Spike moans in pain as he tries to crawl over to the bridge and slowly gets up. As he dwells on the pain of his leg, Spike walks across the bridge and starts talking to Luna again, this time being more apologetic.
"Luna... I understand now... Without me, my friends wouldn't be where they are now. Twilight would never have become a princess without me. Rainbow Dash would never have become a Wonderbolt without me. And... Rarity..." Spike tears up. "She would be Sapphire Shores top designer choice if it wasn't for me. All of my friends would not have come this far in their lives if it wasn't for me. Because of me... I make them happy."
Spike sobs as he finally realizes.
"They are... my friends... They love me for who I am and no matter how upset they can be with me, I can make them happy again."
At that moment, Gummy emerges from the woods and starts chasing after Spike again. Spike gasps and hurries along the bridge, but Gummy's on the bridge causes it to give way and the bridge starts to break apart. Spike almost falls but manages to grip on the edge of the cliff. However, Spike can't pull himself up and is dangling very high from where he is. Spike then sees Gummy who is about pounce on him at the other side of the cliff.
Spike finishes off his prayer. "HELP ME, LUNA! PLEASE! Please... I don't care what happens to me! All I want is my friends to be happy again! Help me, Luna, please! Please... I wanna live again... I wanna live again!"
Gummy then leaps over the chasm, ready to finally finish off Spike as he sheds one more tear. "Please, Luna... Let me live again..."
Just before Gummy snacks onto him. Spike's whole world becomes white.
The whiteness fades and Spike is lying next to the castle, dreaming apparently. "Please... please..." Spike pleaded as he flails in his sleep while the regular little toothless Gummy bites all around Spike. Spike eventually wakes up and finds the little Gummy dripping saliva on his head. Spike jumped in fright as he brushes Gummy off of him. "Gummy?" Spike says as soon as he realizes where he is. "Hey." Spike feels his body all around to make sure he is one piece. "I'm... I'm all right?"
"I found him!" Pinkie's voice echoed and Spike hears them. He sees Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy rushing in over towards Spike to hug him. "Spike! We found you, we found you!" Pinkie cheered as she hopped.
However, to Pinkie and Fluttershy's confusion, Spike gets them to back away. "Please, don't hurt me!"
"Hurt you?" Shocked Fluttershy. "Oh my. We would never do that to you, Spike."
"Wait?" Spike realized that she said his name. "You said my name?"
"Of course, silly." Said Pinkie. "We've been looking all over Ponyville for you. But then my back became itchy because I felt lucky about today but then my ears flop because I really smell bad but then I shudder a lot and thought 'something terrible is about to happen this Hearth's Warming Eve', that's when I noticed that the jello statue would melt because I didn't freeze it enough, and then my tail twitch and there was cake flying everywhere and after that I shudder again and..." Fluttershy cuts Pinkie off by giving Spike the short answer.
"Then we went to look for you, because everyone was so worried about you." Fluttershy said.
"Everyone?" Spike is touched. "Even..." Spike then realizes something Pinkie said. "Hey! Wait a minute! YOU knew this whole thing with the gelatin statue would happen?" He pointed at Pinkie. "That I never ruined Hearth's Warming in the first place and all that I went through was...?"
"A misunderstanding?" Fluttershy guessed.
"Yep..." Pinkie said with a poker face and a hoof to her chin. "Pretty much." *squee*
Spike finally realizes that the statue fiasco wasn't entirely his fault after all. "So... Twilight was just..." Spike then laughs with happiness. "Thank you! Thank you, Pinkie!" Spike hugs Pinkie's leg and starts running back to Ponyville. "HAPPY HEARTH'S WARMING EVE!" He cheered happily as Fluttershy follows him out of the forest. But Pinkie is still left confused on what she did.
"Did I say something?" Pinkie stared towards the reader (you) as she asked but then thinks differently and hops back to town. "Oh well. La-la-la-la-la!"
Spike finally makes it back to Ponyville to see that it's not in ruined anymore and screams with joy! "YEAH! I didn't destroy Ponyville!" Spike then understands where he has to go. "Twilight." Spike starts running back to the School Theater as he does he passes by every other pony who greets him happily.
"Hey, it's Spike!"
"Spike! He's okay!"
"Happy Hearth's Warming Eve, little dragon!"
"You're friends are worried about you."
"RUN, SPIKE RUN!"
The crowds cheering gives Spike a sincere smile and more courage to run back to his friends to apologize and make amends for what he caused.
Rainbow Dash and Applejack were anxious about Spike's safety. "I looked everywhere and he's nowhere around." Dashie said.
Apple Bloom then spots him in a distance. "Hey, look! There he is!"
AJ and RD see Spike running from a mile away as his feet stamp through the snow, sprinting forward to the theater. Spike dashes past AJ and RD and enters through the theater to find Twilight.
Spike pushed the doors opened and called out Twilight's name. "Twilight?" Spike looked around and no pony was around. "Twilight?" Spike walked around looking for her. "Twilight..." Spike was about to feel sad again but before he could despair, Twilight heard his voice and trots over to him.
"Spike!" She called out and Spike turns around. "You're all right!" Twilight is relived Spike is unharmed as both she and Spike ran towards each other and embraced with a hug.
"Spike, listen... I'm sorry I yelled at you. I... I didn't mean to drive you off. I was just frustrated. I shouldn't have..." Twilight feels just as bad as Spike is. "I didn't know what I was saying... I was too focused... I was..."
Spike then confesses himself. "I should be sorry. I ruined Hearth's Warming Eve for everypony." Spike admits. "It's okay for you to be angry at me for doing something bad."
Twilight calms down for a bit and walks up to Spike. "I shouldn't have said that to you. I knew how sensitive you are. I just wanted this Hearth's Warming celebration to go well, but I got carried away with all of the effort everypony put themselves into. Including myself. I didn't want this to go so wrong. And I also didn't mean to snap like that. How hurt were you?"
Spike, after going through the many trials of what he had just experiences, is relived himself that Twilight didn't resented him from the start of this madness. "A little. But I'm fine now. Plus, I think you wouldn't last a whole year without me."
"Thanks, Spike."
"It's just too bad the play didn't go so well."
Twilight then gives Spike a smirk. "Yeah, Pinkie told me everything."
Spike once again crosses his arms. "Figures."
Rarity then trots in, holding Spike's present to her. "But you really didn't need to buy us any gifts, Spikey-dear." Her present was a fire ruby. "I've got twenty of these already. Plus, I should have warned you that fire rubys aren't durable in cold temperatures." She giggled. "Which is why the statue melted."
Spike then laughs nervously. "Heh... heh. Oops."
Pinkie then pops out behind Spike holding her present. "Besides, you didn't really need to buy me another party horn. I've already got a million of these stashed around Ponyville! For party horn emergencies!" Pinkie blows her horn, sending wind into Spike's face.
"And Spike!" Applejack called out as she, Rainbow and Flutters enter the room. "Next time yer out lookin' fer a present..." She's wearing golden horse shoes Spike got for her. "Make sure it's not another pair of these beauties. Big Mac's already got enough."
"And Spike!" Rainbow Dash shows Spike her present from him. "You didn't have to buy me another copy of the new Daring Do book. I've already got a platinum cover. Boxed free."
"And Spike..." Fluttershy shows Spike her present. "Thank you for the bird whistle. Um... even though I already got one."
Spike feels a bit dumbfounded. "Aw, crud! I bought you gifts that you already have?"
The Mane Five nod their heads in unison as they state the obvious. Spike then looks down in misery. "Ugh! What wonderful gifts those were."
Spike then begins walking away lamenting on what happened at the beginning of all of this. "First I traded in my Alpha Sapphire, ruined the school play and bought presents for my friends that aren't worth anything."
Twilight then spots her unopened gift from Spike over by the confectionery table and walks over to it. "Spike! Wait." She told him and Spike turns back to Twilight.
Twilight unwraps the bow and opens the gift wrap with her magic. Twilight then looks at the contents of Spike's gift and find a card for her. Twilight reads the card while Spike and her friends listen.
"Dear Twilight... If there was anything I ever wanted for Hearth's Warming, it's you. You have raised, cared and taught me everything that I know. I sometimes think to myself 'who is the best friend a dragon could ever have?' I answer: you. I thank you from the bottom of my heart, Twilight. I would never have gotten this far without you and all the other ponies who taught me about friendship. All I can give you for Hearth's Warming... is my thanks. Love Spike." Twilight read and she starts tearing up. Twilight then finds a portrait in the present. It was her and Spike when she was a little unicorn and he was still a infant. "Spike..." Twilight's heart fills with happiness as her tears drop on the photo. Fluttershy tries to cheer her up while Spike stood there feeling happy. "This is... *sniff* the best gift I ever wanted." Twilight lifts Spike into the air with her magic and presses her cheeks against his his as she pulls him over to her. "Thank you." She said as tears rolled off her face.
Spike touched her heart dearly and hugs her back. "I'll never abandon you, Twilight. I am your number one assistant."
Twilight sobbed as she continued to hug Spike more. "The best assistant I have." Twilight sniffs as her friends watch with sincerity over this lovely moment. "I love you more than anything in Equestria, Spike. You know that."
"And we love you too, Spike." Rarity added.
"Without you, we wouldn't know what to do." Dashie said.
"Yer the apple in our eyes." Applejack said.
"And the tenderness in our hearts." Fluttershy said.
Pinkie is eating the gelatin from a cup. "THIS. IS. DeeeLICIOUS!"
"Happy Hearth's Warming Eve, Spike." Twilight said.
"You too, Twilight." Spike replied.
Cheerilee then enters the room and everyone takes notice of her. "Ahem... I hate to cut in on this rather 'cheesy moment' but... if it doesn't bother you girls... we can finally come back in and skip right to the finale?" She asked as the school play is still in check.
Rarity then looks at the awful mess that hasn't been cleaned up since Spike's incident. "Oh dear! I forgot all about that?"
"Don't worry, Rarity. I think I have an idea." Twilight looks over to Spike who smiles.
Later on during the night, the school play commences as usual and ends with the three pony tribes uniting and naming the kingdom Equestria. The audience cheers as Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy ring bells as they swoop down past the cheering audience. The audience and the play then sing "The Heart Carol" to end off the show.
The fire of friendship lives in our hearts
As long as it burns we cannot drift apart
Though quarrels arise, their numbers are few
Laughter and singing will see us through (will see us through)
We are a circle of pony friends
A circle of friends we'll be to the very end!
The audience applause as Spike breathes out fire, forming it into the Fire of Friendship.
"Best Hearth's Warming Eve EVER!" Rainbow Dash screamed with joy as the play ends on a high note.
Spike waved at the audience as they shower him with love and praise. Spike doesn't feel rejected anymore. He then spots Princess Luna by the entrance and she winks at him. Spike smiled and waved back at her, as a sign of saying thanks for showing Spike what he really meant to everyone.
The next morning, inside Twilight's Castle, Spike walks into the throne room to see if Twilight is around. Spike then stops to find a present left for him by Twilight. Spike reads the card on his present and it reads 'Do not open until Hearth's Warming'. Spike places the present on the floor opens it up. It was Spike's Alpha Sapphire and Spike was awestruck to see it again. "Read the letter." Twilight said to Spike as he sees by the door she just walked in from. Spike finds the letter and reads it out loud.
"Dear Spike... Throughout all of these years, I used to think giving gifts on Hearth's Warming Eve was a way to show affection to someone you love. But because of your gift, you made me understand the true importance of what it means. It's not the gifts that count... it's what's inside that makes them happy. You have given me the greatest gift of all and I'm happy to accept it. Spike... you are my gift. You've always been my gift from the day I hatched you from your egg. I would be useless without you. I'm glad I met you and I'm glad that a pony like me could have a dragon as a friend. Friends are the true gift of Hearth's Warming... and you... you have given me a wonderful gift. Thank you. Your faithful friend, Twilight."
Spike looks back to Twilight and the two share one final hug together as everypony in Ponyville celebrates Hearth's Warming Eve.
The Cutie Mark Crusaders are playing by the school as they see Derpy in the air with bells tangled around her tail. "Mah sister once told me that when a bell rings a pegasus gets her wings." Apple Bloom said to her friends.
"Maybe we can get our 'bell ringing cutie marks' next year." Scootaloo said.
"We're gonna need some bells first." Sweetie Belle said.
"Already got one." Scoots said tapping at Sweetie.
The three get the joke and share a laugh together as the happiest time in Ponyville continues to prevail.
Spike has given his friend a wonderful gift and that gift is a hint of happiness that he will forever hold until the end of time. Spike is more than just a dragon to his friends... he is their inspiration.
THE END
