Spike’s Life

Meeting Father

It’s been three days since after Spike had entered the hospital and with some help from Fluttershy, Spike managed to get better. At first, Spike was reluctant to eat fish, mostly because of how it looked, however, when he gave the first one a bite, he almost immediately gobbled down the entire bucket of fish that she brought, much the horror of the others. Fluttershy seemed a bit used to it, having to feed her bear, Owlicious and other animals that ate meat.

Soon after, Pinkie Pie had already began setting up for a ‘Glad you are better now Spike!’ party. However, it was short lived when Twilight had told them that she had to get Spike to see the Princess.

“Oh, well then we can set up the party there!” Nobody argued over that.

The others were just as happy with Spike getting better. He got a hit on the shoulder from Rainbow Dash, saying how they were worried about him before giving him a smile and a hoof bump. Applejack brought a ‘Get Well Soon!’ postcard from her family with Granny Smith, Applebloom and Big Mac. Rarity practically cried happily knowing that Spike was going to make it, though Spike enjoyed the heavy embrace he got from her… a lot! Pinkie tried to give a cake but Celestia’s warning made her hold it off till he had a proper diet. Though he would have tried to eat it, Gummy ended up popping out of the cake.

Cadence and Shinning ended up bringing a lot more. Well, they brought a post card, but they said they had at least a few train carts worth of gems and post cards from the crystal empire, mostly all saying they wished for their heroic savior to get better. When Spike heard of the gems, he didn’t believe it at first. However, RD and AJ both brought in a chest worth of it to the hospital.

The doctors yelled at everypony to get out of the room when Spike passed out.

When he did managed to wake up the doctors managed to get him to stay calm before he can rush out of bed and devour all the gems. When the fish has settled his stomach, the doctors had managed to check his vitals to see that he had roughly gained some nutrition from it and will recover, however, he must continue to eat meat for a while.

Cleared from the doctors, everypony walked with Spike to the Canterlot castle where Princess Celestia had been expecting him.

“What for?” he questioned.

“Princess Celestia is going to find a way to help you and maybe find a way for you to either keep eating just fish or maybe find some other source of substitute.”

As Spike walked along with Twilight, his gaze seem to fall on the floor.

“Would you see me differently if I had to eat meat?”

Twilight stopped walking while the others walked on. Spike stopped beside her and looked at her. She looked down at the floor as if in thought. The look she carried, Spike knew that from the moment Celestia said what he had to do to survive and where is origins lied, it would be a difficult task for her to look at him than a predator.

“I… I don’t think it will Spike.” She said with a somewhat sincere voice. “I have been around you since they day I hatched your egg. Your like a little brother to me and no matter how much you change, you won’t stop be one.” She gave a smile. “I know that you have to eat…” she paused saying the word. “But we may be able to work around it and hopefully not scare of the residents when you have to eat or go hunting or whatever.”

Spike smiled but let out a sigh.

“Yeah, especially with Fluttershy. I know that fish is good but something tells me I am going to have to go and get game.” He paused. “I am surprised that she hasn’t hidden from me or try to avoid me since I nearly killed her chicken.”

Twilight gave a small smile.

“She may fear what you have to do but she too will always be your friend. It’s a good thing you didn’t eat the chicken or she might never forgive you. Along with that, maybe her fear of dragons might have been switched back to you.”

Spike nodded.

“I just wish I know of a way to get rid of this… gnawing feeling in my gut. When I tasted the fish, it was like having a salty gem but with flavor I never experienced before. It almost tasted good with a cooper taste and something else, I can’t explain it.”

“I wouldn’t want you to Spike. Your food is what it is to you and I ask that even if we managed to get you to at least eat food, that maybe you can keep it to yourself and away from others.”

Spike nodded but inside felt crest fallen. If and when he would have to eat or ‘hunt’ or whatever, he would have to do away from his friends and away from other ponies to not cause a scare. That meant going to the Everfree to hunt and or eat there. Even if he could get meat, he would most likely also have to eat in the basement or cook it so the smell doesn’t offend anypony.

Without another word, he walked on with Twilight walking next to him, heading into the castle.

It was just short after noon when Celestia had managed to finish her morning duties and allowed them all to visit her.

She seemed surreal with a smile on her face when other ponies where in the room but when she had asked all to leave save for Spike, Twilight and the others to stay, her face turned a bit down and her smile dropped.

“I am glad that you have all come.” She greeted, though it lacked its normal warmth.

Twilight looked puzzled at her former mentor.

“Is there something wrong, Princess Celestia?”

She did her best to keep a smile.

“My faithful students and friends. I have found our solution to Spike’s… changes and have personally required aid from the dragon Empire.”

Everyone looked surprise, Spike most of all.

“Your bringing a dragon here? In Equestria?!” he half yelled. Everyone gave the same response.

Celestia gave him a nod.

“It’s alright Spike. I know you and the others have had bad encounters with dragons before be these are different. These are where your origins lie. Unlike the ones you have met in the past, they were feral and consumed by greed, these dragons are of high intelligence, enough that they have built temples, societies and established orders.

They have scholars, teachers, scientists and more. You think that Twilight teaching you to be as sophisticated as a pony was a miracle.” She regarded him with a smile and a glint in her eyes. “They have taught us ponies some new tricks as well.”

Spike as well as everypony as sat there in awe at how Celestia just described dragons. Fluttershy was the first to break the silence.

“S-soo… not all are huge, gigantic, terrible, enormous, teeth-gnashing, sharp scale-having, horn-wearing, smoke-snoring, could-eat-a-pony-in-one-bite, mean dragons?”

Celestia gave Fluttershy a look before shaking her head and smiled.

“Well… they are all huge, they still have teeth and horns, many smoke for a living and they can still eat a pony… if they wanted to but… no, these ones aren’t mean.”

Fluttershy still felt a bit fearful but relaxed a little that they weren’t all mean.

“Wait, Origins?” Questioned Twilight. “As in... where Spike… came from?”

“… Yes.” Hesitated Celestia. “Though it much more than that. For Spike, he will hear this in private but once I have already told it to him, he may choose to reveal it to you all or not.”

“Well… why can’t they know of it?” asked Spike. “It’s not like something special or bad… is it?”

“Nothing of the sort, however I still must trust that should you like them to know, it may be on your time.”

“Why not just reveal it to us now?” Twilight question, her tone rising.

“Because it is not my choice, Twilight.” Her voice a bit high and full of tension. Everyone quickly stared at her with uneven eyes and Twilight was a bit unnerved by her former mentor’s response.

Spike was the only one who seemed unaffected, still had the lingering question. Though the question in mind was not of earlier, it changed into something that Spike, in all of his years under Twilight’s care and intellectual guidance, that taught him to view things at a different scale.

“Who am I?”

Silence filled the room. One could hear a pin drop and even then it wouldn’t break the silence. Spike let the question hang in the air for a moment before he slowly took a step to Celestia.

“Where do I come from?”

Celestia was about to speak but the doors at the other end busted open with two guards running in.

“Princess! Dragon approaching from the east!”

Celestia gave one last look as Spike before walking to the door.

“Colors?” she asked. Her horn began to slowly light up.

The guards looked at each other, wondering what the colors meant.

“Uh… dark purple… with a green underbelly.”

Celestia kept her eyes at the distant approaching dragon. He is here early and she had yet to tell them.

“Tell the guards that the dragon is friendly and help keep the public from panicking. The dragon is an ally and won’t harm anypony so long as he and I can speak.”

The guards remained still before quickly saluting and running off.

Twilight approached her mentor and saw the look of both sadness and disappointment.

“Are you sure that it’s wise to let the dragon into the city?”

Celestia sighed.

“I have to Twilight. It’s part of the agreement we made.”

“Does that agreement have to do with me?” asked Spike, now both ticked and confused why this was happening and what Celestia was hiding.

“Yes Spike it does. It has to do with him, your origins and what the means for you.” She sighed once more giving him a heartbreaking look. “Your father is coming to take you home.”

Outside Canterlot, guards rushed back and forth, trying to keep from ponies from freaking out or causing mass hysteria as the dragon was approaching. The dragon was close to Canterlot city but its trajectory was towards the Canterlot Gardens where there was plenty room for him to land.

The guards surrounded the area as the dragon was making a hovering decent. Its massive wings almost covered the entire garden. Each flap threaten to blow the guards away or remove the trees and wildlife from the floor.

Celestia and the others arrived at the garden, waiting till the dragon finally managed to land safely. Spike was in awe as he stared at the dragon that was supposedly Spike’s father.

Spike, after his growth spurt, was as tall as Celestia from horn to hoof. His father was… enormous! Roughly the size of the largest dragon he had encountered in the past. His wings alone spanned twice his body and his tail looked like a sea serpent itself. Spike half wondered if he will even come close to the dragon… that is, his father size in his lifetime.

Once the dragon made its final flap and landed, it gently tucked in his wings to its body and regarded Celestia.

“Sun Bringer.” He spoke. His voice stronger than male yet, could be easily understandable. (For this, I choose James Earl Johns voice!) He gave a bow to her.

“Sky Lord.” She bowed her head back. The two exchanged ancient words that neither pony nor Spike understood.

When they looked at each other once more, there was a small smile on the dragon’s face. “It has been years since we last truly met each other, Celestia.”

“Almost 20 years, Lord Talonus. I had feared that you would hate to see me again.”

The dragon gave a low chuckle, which was still loud enough to echo.

“Oh, my dear Celestia. I could never hate you… not after all the fun that we had before.”

Celestia blushed and the others stared confusingly at one another before looking back at her.

“It was… enjoyable for the most part. But now, I believe you came here to aid young Spike?”

The dragon gave a weary grin.

“Business as always, ehh Sunny?” Her blushed grew and the dragon gave a wink before moving his eyes towards Spike.

Spike’s eyes instantly caught his and the moment it did, Spike saw into the soul of the dragon before him. A sudden tug, almost force pulled Spike into and he could only gaze deeply within.

Same color pattern and looks meant squat to Spike, if not knowing this dragon was his father. His eyes showed the moment he saw Spike’s egg and reveled in the fact that he was once again a father. Then the moment to which he made a deal to Celestia, to keep the peace between the dragons and ponies as he took one of her ponies to live with dragons and he gave his heir to Celestia to raise.

However… the moment lingered back more. The history of his father showed… not all of it but he caught glimpses of his father’s past. The moment he had hatched from his egg, the thrill of a kill on his first hunt. When his first greed came into be, but was quickly quelled by his mother’s love. The memory showed when he grew and gained his wings, his first leap off a cliff and took flight for the first time. The air that surrounded his wings, the feeling of weightlessness unbound by the earth and seeing the skies much closer than possible.

Not all of it was joyous however. The struggles when he fell when the first time he tried to fly. When he had caught fire to half the forest, nearly destroying his families food population and his fight to win his lovers affections against another drake.

His heroic deeds when he fought over a corrupted council member in the Empire and removed him, succeeding him in everyway. Despite his mistrust in ponies, he still asked the council to leave their affairs of theirs, to not hunt ponies despite their misdeeds with previous dragon hunters and the Discordian wars. And lastly, he earned the name ‘Sky Lord’ for not only his amazing feet in beating rival dragon clans but doing so in Ariel Combat and going against impossible odds to beat them in the highest altitudes.

From there, his vision came back and he rapidly blinked, trying to shake the vision from his eyes.

“Wow.” Was all he managed to say.

That was enough for his ‘father’ to laugh in joy.

“You my son, truly never cease to amaze me!” He gave another roar of a laugh the scared the girls, mostly Fluttershy, half to death and what was left of the wildlife to run off in fear.

Spike however, couldn’t help but smile a little at the display. It was as if seeing this dragon… no his father, happy, made him happy.

When the dragon finished his laugh, lowered his head to me his son closer.

“My dear drake, when you return home, oh how your mother would adore what you have become. Her hear would be filled with love and your sister would be in tears knowing of much alike you two really are? You both sharing my gift.”

“Mother? Sister?” It wasn’t a question but not knowing if it was true enough if he had both. Celestia had more or less been like a mother to him and Twilight was already a sister to him, if not by blood, but by bond.

Nodding he then turned his attention to Celestia, who now seemed a bit stoic and the moment.

“Don’t worry my dear Celestia. I have not forgotten out agreement.”

Turning his head, he unrevealed between his wings a large dark green saddle of sorts with a cot resting upon his back. The saddle had a large cover and from the cover, it opened to reveal a pony.

Rising slowly from the saddle, the said pony looked up, expecting to see mountains over her head. What she saw was a Castle and a familiar one at that. She then blinked and looked towards Talonus.

“Father… have we made it?” she asked. The dragon gave a small nod.

“We have my dear; we are back to your home.”

The pony blinked, her sky blue eyes looking around her before slowly rising from her cot and gazing upon her surrounding before finally her eyes caught on somepony.

Her eyes gazed into the white Alicorn, just a short distance away. Her heart was suddenly beating fast and emotions of just about every caliber flashed through them.

“C-Celestia?” she managed to say.

Celestia gave her a warm smile and even let a tear drop from her eye.

“Welcome back home, Sunset Shimmer. My faithful Student.”

Author's Note

No edit because I wanted to upload as quick as could with the limited time I had.
The voice in my head was done by the very talented James Earl Jones. For those of you who don't know who he is, he is the voice actor behind Mufasa in Lion King, Darth Vader in Star Wars, etc.
I didn't like Equestria girls so I up and changed the history. Sunset Shimmer didn't want to understand the studies of friendship so she choose to try a different lesson. In the next chapter, we will see how this 'exchange" came to be.
In the comics, SS was older than Twi when she left Celestia, so I am putting her age roughly 13 or 14 while twilight was roughly 6 or 8 when she became her student.... give or take(Judging by the Cutie Mark Chronicles) So SS has been with the dragons for roughly 20 years. EG movie messed it up because they were both the same age in the movie, so I changed it.
Lastly, I have a name for what happened between Spike and his father, though it will be in the next chapter, it was inspired by the Eragon Inheritence books and the movie where Eragon and Saphire do first flight.
That is all!