“Thanks for coming, everypony!” Twilight said to all her friends as they left her castle. Today was Spike’s birthday, and the alicorn had taken the liberty of throwing her dragon assistant a party, wanting to give Pinkie Pie a break.
“No, no, darling,” Rarity replied, “Thank YOU for throwing this wonderful party! Everything was perfect!”
“I agree!” exclaimed Applejack, “Heck, I reckon you may throw Pinkie Pie out’a business here if ‘ya keep it up!”
“Hey!” Pinkie Pie responded while chuckling. The others laughed along with her.
“I just wish Spike had more birthdays throughout the year! This was totally awesome!” Rainbow Dash said.
“Now, Rainbow,” Fluttershy began, “You know we each have a birthday, too. That’s seven parties a year! Is that not enough for you?”
Rainbow paused. “Good point,” she responded.
“Well, I sure hope Spikey Wikey enjoys all his gifts,” Rarity finished.
“I’m sure he will,” Twilight responded, “Anyway, thanks again, girls!”
“Bye, Twilight!” the other five ponies responded in unison before turning around and heading for their respective homes.
Meanwhile, Twilight closed the door to her castle and went into another room, the one where the party had taken place, where she found Spike laying on the floor, groaning in amazement. When Twilight stepped over to him, the dragon said between breaths, “Best…party…ever...”
The alicorn smiled. “I’m glad you had a good time, Spike, but we’re not quite finished yet.”
Spike sat up at the prospect of being able to enjoy his party longer, his eyes going wide. “Really? What is it, Twilight?”
“I have one last present for you.”
“You do? Where?”
It took Twilight a few seconds to gather her emotions for what she was about to do. “Let’s go in the other room, Spike.”
The young dragon was a bit confused, but he decided to play along, following Twilight to the room across the hall. Twilight then had Spike sit down on the rug in the middle of the room, and she sat in front of him, her gaze meeting his. “Spike, I’ve been wanting to do this for a while now, and since it’s your birthday, I feel now is the perfect time.”
“What is it, Twilight?”
“Well, first, let me ask you something. Even though you’ve already convinced yourself that you’re a pony at heart because I raised you that way, deep down, is there a part of you that still makes you wish you felt more like a dragon than you are now?”
Spike couldn’t think of what to say. True, he had written to Princess Celestia some time ago saying that he was happy with WHO he was and that it didn’t matter WHAT he was, but Twilight was correct. There was an unexplainable emptiness that he felt inside, and he didn’t know exactly what was causing it, though he had a few ideas. “Y-Yeah, Twilight. There is. How did you know?”
“Spike, I’ve known you literally your whole life. How could I not know anything about you?”
Spike gave a light chuckle. “Heh, good call,” he responded.
Twilight giggled before continuing. “So, are you ready for your present?” she asked as she stood up.
“Ready!” Spike replied as he stood up, eager that Twilight had something to fill the emptiness he had.
“Okay, Spike. Hold still.” Twilight then closed her eyes and lit her horn. Slowly but surely, she channeled the right amount of magical energy before aiming her horn at Spike. All of a sudden, the little dragon found himself being surrounded by a bright white aura, and he started to rise off the ground. Then, he was blinded temporarily by a large flash of white light, and he found himself landing on his stomach.
Twilight examined her work, and then her face brightened as she realized what she had done was a success. “It worked!” she exclaimed.
“What worked?” Spike asked, suddenly feeling an unfamiliar sensation on his upper back. “Ugh…” he grunted, “What did you do? My back feels funny.”
“Turn around!” Twilight said enthusiastically.
Spike did as he was told, but he was unprepared for what he saw. His back no longer contained just spinal scales, but now possessed a pair of bluish-pink wings, the bones of which being outlined in green. They were the perfect size for his small body. “What the?!?” he exclaimed, a look of complete and utter shock on his face. He looked behind himself on each side, confirming that it was a complete pair. “Twilight! Are you serious?!?”
“Really, Spike?" Twilight asked in confusion. Spike’s frantic tone suggested he didn’t like his “gift” as much as she thought he would. “I thought you’d feel better knowing you wouldn’t be literally the only dragon that you know of who doesn’t have wings.”
Spike was too flabbergasted to think straight, or for that matter, even speak. There were, in fact, a few times throughout his life where he wished he had wings like all the other dragons, but given the way he was raised by Twilight, wings were the last thing he cared about. In fact, he began to think this was all completely unnecessary.
After regaining most of his composure, the young dragon took a deep breath and spoke to Twilight once again. “Twilight…why?”
“Shoot…” Twilight thought to herself. She convinced herself then and there that she had done the wrong thing. The young alicorn closed her eyes and lay down, burying her face in her front hooves.
Spike suddenly grew very sad upon seeing Twilight in such a state. He hadn’t had any intention to make her feel bad for what she did, but he then thought about how he reacted to the transformation. He had barely said a word, and all his expressions were those of someone frantically reacting to being late for something.
As Twilight lay there in sadness, Spike looked to his left and noticed a full-length mirror, so he went over to it. He then looked at himself in the mirror, turning his body a few different ways to get a good look at his new figure, his new wings remaining fully extended and proudly on display. Within less than a minute, Spike’s mood changed to one of great delight as he saw a complete dragon figure in the mirror. All he wanted to do now was comfort and thank Twilight.
Spike walked back over to Twilight, whose face was still in her forehooves. “Twilight?” he asked, placing a hand on Twilight’s shoulder.
The alicorn lifted her head, seeing Spike looking quite happy. “Oh…a-are you not upset with me, Spike?”
“Well, I was confused at first as to why you did this, but no, I’m not upset. I’m actually feeling pretty good right now.”
“That’s great, Spike,” Twilight said in a relieved tone, giving Spike a hug, “I was worried I had done something very wrong.”
“Well, I’d really like it if you told me why you gave me these wings.”
Twilight sat up in front of Spike as she took a deep breath. “Spike, I couldn’t be more proud of the young dragon you’ve become. Unlike all the other dragons in Equestria, you have such a wonderful heart. You’re very kind, generous, and all the good qualities I can think of. Truthfully, I’ve always felt bad for you that you were born without wings, but you seemed to not care.”
“You’re right, I didn’t. I wasn’t sad or depressed or anything like that about being wingless. You know, now that I think about it, if I was born with wings, I probably would have carelessly flown around everywhere and made you have to chase me. Oh wait…you probably would have caught me in your magic every time.”
Twilight giggled. “You're probably right. Anyway, like I said, I’ve been thinking about this long and hard, and I really feel that this is an appropriate gift to give you, especially after what you said to Scootaloo that one day.”
It took Spike a few seconds to figure out what Twilight was referring to, and then he remembered that day. Several months ago, he and Twilight were walking along a trail in the nearby park when they spotted Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo. Rainbow was trying to help the younger pegasus finally get a start on her flying, but what she was doing proved to be unsuccessful. After they greeted each other, Scootaloo explained what was happening, and Spike noticed that it was troubling her. He then walked up next to the filly and told her that he knew how she felt. He said that he was the only dragon he knew who didn’t have wings, and that there would be zero chance of him ever flying on his own. He finished by telling Scootaloo that if she ever felt sad about her flying situation, he wanted her to remember that she wasn’t alone, and that he’d always be there to talk to her about it. Scootaloo was happy to hear what he had said, and the two of them had shared a kind hug.
“You’re right. I did say all that to Scootaloo. I’m even happier now that she can fly on her own!” Spike said.
“Me, too,” Twilight replied, “Now, is everything making sense to you, Spike?”
All Spike could do was reach up and give Twilight a hug. He was grateful that she had discovered his subtle emptiness and subsequently filled it for him. He couldn’t be happier about finally feeling complete. “Thank you, Twilight. This is the greatest gift you’ve ever given me. I don’t know how to repay you.”
“You don’t have to, Spike. It’s your birthday, remember?”
“Oh yeah, it is, isn’t it?” Spike continued, blushing slightly. “You know, this is just so amazing! First you got a set of wings, and now I have my own! It’s almost like you’ve turned me into a dragon prince or something like that.”
Twilight narrowed her eyes ever so slightly and smiled at her dragon assistant. “That’s because you ARE a dragon prince, Spike.”
Spike’s eyes went as wide as saucers as his jaw hit the floor. “W-WHAT?!?” he exclaimed.
“I’m kidding, I’m kidding,” Twilight responded, giggling. Spike couldn’t help but breathe an enormous sigh of relief.
THE END