Celestia's reign over Equestria had many benefits to all the ponies who lived under her rule. Being a powerful alicorn goddess, she had no problem maintaining law and order all across the land, very few enemies were able to match her power in case of an attack, and she could even handle raising the sun every morning all by herself, without the unicorn ponies having to bear this burden. But it also had its downsides, like ponies having long forgotten how to raise the sun by themselves, making them completely dependant on their princess, which would leave them completely helpless in case she was not able to perform her daily duty.
Which is exactly what happened when Celestia fell sick.
The news of the monarch's illness took everypony by surprise, since after all those centuries Equestria was completely unprepared for functioning without her control. With unicorn ponies no longer knowing how to raise the sun, the responsibility of controlling both celestial bodies fell on princess Luna, and even though she was doing it the best she could, it was obvious to everypony that she wouldn't last much longer. Everywhere from Las Pegasus to Manehattan, ponies in every house dreaded to think what tomorrow would bring, and the Ponyville library was no exception.
"So Twilight, does anypony know already what is wrong with the princess?", asked Rainbow Dash from above the ground.
"A team of best doctors in Canterlot have spent the last few days by Celestia's bedside", the purple mare was pacing back and forth nervously, "From what I've heard, they concluded that her body is simply getting worn out after all those years. She's been alive for many millennia longer than any other pony, and she has spent most of it raising the sun, and sometimes even the moon, all by herself every single day. I'm afraid she's just unable to carry on like that any longer."
"Then what are we going to do now, darling?" asked Rarity with dread in her voice.
"That's the worst", Twilight looked down, "Princess Luna is not strong enough to raise both Sun and Moon for much longer, and it would take unicorn ponies ages to learn and perfect doing this together again. Without princess Celestia, our world will be doomed!"
All the other five ponies gasped in shock, murmuring to each other nervously, but they stopped after noticing Spike grasping his stomach and making familiar dry heaving noises. Soon after the baby dragon burped out a scroll with a lunar emblem on the seal.
"It's from princess Luna!", Twilight exclaimed, picking up the scroll. She unrolled the paper and started reading.
"My dearest Twilight,
I don't have much strength recently, but I have spent the last few days searching for a cure for Celestia in all the books I could find. I think I have finally found something that could help, but I'm afraid you're not going to like it. The cure is described on page 483 of "The Lives and Secrets of Equestria's Most Powerful", which I believe is a book you should have in your library. If you decide to use this solution, Celestia will be waiting for you at the castle. Regards,
Princess Luna"
"I know which book it is!", said Twilight excitedly, not really concerned about what Luna meant by "if you decide", or why she couldn't just use the cure herself, without having to bring Twilight all the way from Ponyville in the first place. She galloped up to one of the shelves and used her magic to hover a heavy old book over to the bookstand nearby. Few seconds of magically flipping the pages and the book was opened at the desired fragment.
"Let's see", Twilight started reading, "It says here: Although many powerful leaders and magicians in Equestria's history have managed to extend their lifespan up to many millenias, sooner or later their age would eventually catch up to them. However, some of them, like Gardok the Elder or Aringathemia, were able to successfully regain their vitality by..."
Twilight suddenly stopped reading and her face just froze with her mouth open. She was just staring blankly at the text, as if not believing what she just read. The others noticed her chin started trembling.
"You okay, Twilight?", Pinkie asked. The others followed asking her what was wrong.
"It... it says here", Twilight finally said in a breaking voice, as if she was about to cry, "that the only way to regain strength after so many years of life is... is to consume a live baby dragon!"
The whole room exploded in a cannonade of everyone wildly expressing their disbelief and shock, especially Spike, who seemed to start sweating a little.
"That's what they said here", Twilight continued, her voice choking occasionally, "Dragon's body has incredible properties, it can decontaminate the most venomous poisons and restore old bodies back into youth, but it has to be alive. That's why even a tiny piece of dragon flesh could give you another thousand years of living at your full strength, but you can't just hunt down a dragon and chop it to pieces. The dragon needs to be consumed whole and alive so that his body still has its powers when digested, and that's why it has to be a dragon young enough to still fit whole inside the stomach... a baby dragon."
"But... but the only baby dragon within hundred miles radius that we know is... Spike!", Fluttershy whispered with her eyes widened.
"I know, and that's what I don't like about this remedy", Twilight said weakly.
"Yeah, how could they ever expect us to even try doing something like THAT?", Spike shuddered, perfectly sure it was only the most natural reaction to such an idea.
"Spike, I don't think you understand.", Twilight said in a voice that was equally sad, appologizing and symphatetic.
"What?!", he really, really didn't like that response from Twilight, and he felt his stomach sinking.
"Spike...", her voice started cracking again, this time even more, "I can't believe I'm saying this but... but I'm afraid we'll have no other choice"
"What are ya talkin' about?" Applejack said nervously, and that's when everypony noticed a tear running down Twilight's cheek.
"It looks like princess Celestia will have to eat Spike", she said with her gaze fixed on the floor.
"WHAT?!", everyone else shouted at once, with a small dragon's voice especially distinctive among them.
"Darling, you can't be serious!", Rarity started protesting rather personally.
"Yeah, you wouldn't actually try to feed Spike to Celestia like he was a piece of hay, would you?", added Rainbow Dash.
"I don't want to", said Twilight and for a moment Spike felt a glimmer of hope, "This is the worst decision I will ever have to make. But the fate of entire Equestria is much more important. If princess Celestia doesn't get better soon, there will be nopony to raise the sun, and without the sun everything that lives will be doomed. I have no moral right to put everypony's fate at stake, even if it means doing something I'd hate to do."
"But Twilight!", Fluttershy almost started sobbing, "If princess Celestia eats Spike, we will never see him again!"
"You think I don't know it?", at this point Twilight wasn't even trying to hide tears, "I can't imagine how I will live without Spike. But it's still better than not living at all, especially if it means all of us, all across Equestria. It is a horrible choice, but when we can't make any good decision either way, we have to choose the lesser evil, as awful as it sounds."
Everypony felt sad at the realization that Twilight was indeed right, but eventually they all slowly started nodding in a reluctant agreement – all except Spike.
"Gosh, I hate that it had to come to this", Applejack started, "But ya do have a point here, Twi."
"Yyyeah, it sucks that the princess will have to eat him, but what can we do?", Rainbow Dash started scratching her neck awkwardly.
"Twilight, I want you to know that I don't support that decision", Rarity said very officially, "but I know my voice can't change anything."
"Can I be the nurse and tell Celestia to open wide? Can I? Can I?", Pinkie asked excitedly.
Fluttershy just murmured something that sounded like "okay" with her ears flopped.
"Guys, what are you even talking about?!", Spike couldn't believe what he was hearing, his knees shaking, "I can't believe you're just going to feed me to somepony like I wasn't even one of you, just like that!"
"Spike, please", Twilight's voice was no less desperate than Spike's, "Try to understand our situation! You know how unlikely it is to find a dragon in Equestria, much less a baby one, and our time is running out. You're pretty much the only choice we have. It's either you or nothing else. We will all die if princess Celestia doesn't eat you soon!"
"Yeah, you heard Twilight!", Rainbow Dash chimed in.
"But at least you're not going to be eaten", Spike barked back, "How would you feel if your fate was to end up in somepony's stomach, can you even imagine yourself in such a position?"
"Don't you understand that if Celestia doesn't get well, you'll be doomed anyway?", Twilight noticed the first signs of impatience in her voice.
Spike wasn't even listening to her, just standing there with a stubborn face, staring blankly into the space in front of him. Twilight could see he didn't want to think about situation he was in.
"Listen, Spike", she tried being more polite, "I promise you it won't hurt you a bit. It would take days even for Celestia's body to even start digesting dragon tissue. You will just pass out long before that. From your perspective, it will feel more like staying inside her stomach for a while, you probably won't even notice the actual digestion."
"Is that supposed to make me feel better?", Spike gave her the angriest glare she had ever seen on his face.
"Believe me Spike, this whole situation hurts me as much as it does you", she desperately tried to get him on their side.
"Yeah, but you're not the one who's about to be swallowed alive for real!", Spike just said while completely ignoring her gaze.
Twilight didn't say anything. She knew she had no right to blame him for his reaction. She could imagine how it must have felt for him, still being just a baby dragon and suddenly learning he would soon essentially become somepony's food. And then out of sudden, the sunrays falling through the library's windows started dancing around for few seconds, causing a slight strobing effect inside the room.
"What's happening?", asked terrified Fluttershy.
"The sun must have slipped off its course a little!", Twilight explained nervously, "That's what I was afraid of, it looks like princess Luna can no longer control it properly! See Spike? It will only get worse from here! Soon it might be too late!"
"Why should I care if I'll get eaten anyway?", Spike just kept being defensive, wanting everypony to know how he felt about this.
"Because of us, Spike?", Twilight looked him in the eyes very seriously "All of your friends' fates depend on this, think about it. Does it not matter that everypony you care about will be safe if princess Celestia gets better after consuming you? And what about Rarity? You sure would like her to be fine and live a long and happy life, wouldn't you?"
Spike didn't know how to respond to this. The part about Rarity really did drive Twilight's point home, and it made him even more confused. Knowing that everypony in his life depended on him ending up in the princess's belly only made the whole predicament feel even more awful. Now he also felt guilty about objecting to his situation, considering how much was at stake, and it only made him even more angered.
Why should I even have to feel guilty about not wanting to be eaten alive, he thought to himself. This whole thing just seemed so unfair to him. He used to feel so safe living his life here in Ponyville with his friends, everything was perfect, and then completely out of the left field he learned that now he was nothing more than a medicine to be swallowed and that his ultimate fate was a one way trip to an alicorn's stomach, despite all the dreams and plans he had for the future. And all of his friends actually wanted this for him! He knew that he couldn't blame them in this situation, but knowing that everything was going against him and that there was nothing he could do about it was too much for him.
As the six pairs of eyes were staring at him silently, waiting hopefully for his response, he realized he couldn't take all this any longer. The terrible fate that was awaiting him, his helplessness against it, feeling completely alone with nopony taking his side in this, and also the guilt he felt resisting something everypony's life depended on, all of this pressuring down on him made him feel trapped and wanting desperately to escape. Without even thinking what he was doing, he suddenly darted out the library's front door and started running away as fast as he could.
"Oh no, he's running away!", screamed Rainbow Dash.
"Oh my goodness, oh my goodness!", Fluttershy started panicking.
"Everypony, quick!", shouted Twilight, turning towards the door, "We've got to catch him before he gets away or else it will be all over!"
The six ponies left the library in hurry and started looking around nervously, but Spike was already out of sight. They decided to ask somepony for help.
"Cherry Berry, have you seen Spike around?", Twilight asked the blonde mare, who happened to be passing by.
"Oh he went that way", Cherry pointed her hoof towards a packed group of buildings, "He seemed to be in a hurry."
"Oh perfect, we'll never find him in that maze!", Rainbow Dash threw her hooves in the air, still remembering how hard it was to catch Mare-Do-Well in those very alleys, but Twilight wasn't giving up yet.
"Rainbow, Fluttershy, you two get flying and try to spot him from above", the purple mare started sending orders, "Everypony else, we split up and each try to look for him in a different alleyway. If anypony finds him, call the others!"
All this commanding others made her feel really conflicted. Normally, she would do everything to make sure Spike escapes and that he's fine and nothing bad happens to him. Now she was trying her best to help others catch him and not let him avoid his doom. She kept telling herself that it wasn't what she wanted, she was simply doing what was right for everypony, and everypony's life depended on not letting Spike get away. It didn't make her feel better, but at least she hated herself a little bit less for what they had to do.
"Got it!", Rainbow Dash saluted with her hoof and took off into the air, with Fluttershy following her meekly. The other four ponies spread around the narrow streets of this part of Ponyville, and so the nervous search began.
For the first minute or so, the search seemed completely fruitless, with the ponies running among the buildings and only occassionally bumping into each other without finding Spike, but that was when Rainbow Dash spotted something on the ground while circling above the rooftops. Upon closer inspection, she learned that it indeed was Spike, running like crazy down a narrow alleyway, which opened into a regular street just a little further away. She realized she had to get there before him, or they would lose him for good.
"Everypony, I got him!", she yelled down while diving towards the alley opening, catching the attention of the others on the ground, "Fluttershy, go block the other end of the alley!"
Meanwhile, on the ground, Spike was running as fast as he could down the narrow corridor between the buildings, trying to escape his friends. Just ahead, he could see a wider street, and the chase seemed to have lost him among the tightly packed buildings. Now everything was going to be okay, he thought to himself. All he had to do was run down the street and out of town, never go back to Ponyville and hide somewhere far away, where they couldn't hurt him. He wasn't going to let them turn him into an alicorn meal.
And then, just like that, Rainbow Dash descended suddenly from the sky and landed at the end of the alley right in front of him, blocking the entire passage with her spread wings, her hooves far apart firmly on the ground.
"It's over, Spike", the rainbow-maned pegasus said in a serious voice, "Quit fooling around!"
He felt angry at them again, but he didn't intend to just give up. He turned around and started running back in the opposite direction. However, when he was about halfway down the alley, he saw Fluttershy landing on the other end and blocking it with her wings in much the same fashion as Rainbow Dash, although not quite as confidently.
"It's okay, Spike", she whispered nervously, "I promise we will be gentle with you. Just stop fighting please!"
He was trapped! Both exits from the alley were blocked now, and there was no other way out, with the buildings being too high to climb, and only having few windows here and there that were all shuttered down anyway. With the two pegasi slowly coming closer and gradually shrinking his free space, it really felt like it was over, like they would really catch him and let Celestia consume him. At this moment, he really missed the more innocent days back when he could still trust his friends and the thought would never cross his mind that one day they would want him eaten alive. And it was this longing that gave him a new strength to escape.
"Forget it, suckers!", he yelled as he jumped at an empty crate standing against the wall, and from there, he made a daring leap over the yellow pegasus who at this point was already almost next to him. It didn't work as gracefully as he hoped and he ended up knocking her over, but what mattered was that he had a clear way again.
"Way to go, Fluttershy!", an angry voice of Rainbow Dash could be heard behind him.
It almost looked like he was going to escape this time, but just when he was about to leave the alley and make a run for it, he noticed a familiar purple with the corner of his eye. Before he could do anything about it, he saw Twilight Sparkle leaping at him, with the other three ponies following her not far behind. She landed on him unceremoniously and pinned him firmly to the ground, angry, tired and as conflicted as never before in her entire life.
"You think I'm happy to do this?", she yelled at him, "You think I really can't wait to shove you in Celestia's mouth?"
"N-no...", he turned his gaze to the side, completely resigned, too weak to argue.
"Do you even realize had hard this is for me? I have to sacrifice someone who was by my side most of my life! But it's not about how I feel, or how you feel, or how anypony else does. All that matters now is that Celestia gets well again or else we're all doomed, so we have to think about more than just ourselves! I wish you could understand that."
Spike didn't say a word.
"Applejack, help me get him back to the library", Twilight asked in a little calmer tone. "We need to keep an eye on him until tomorrow to make sure he doesn't try to escape again. Could you guys stay with me at the library for tonight to help me keep guard?"
Everypony eagerly agreed, and the seven of them started their walk back to the library, with Applejack pulling tied Spike next to Twilight. The captured dragon walked in silence, not caring much about the world around him. Fluttershy tried to offer him consolation, and Pinkie Pie was constantly making jokes to cheer him up, but he didn't even listen to them. He felt betrayed. He did know they would never do that if they had any other choice, but still, knowing that all his friends were so devoted to not let him escape such an awful fate made him feel completely alone.
"Everypony, look!", they all suddenly heard Rainbow Dash and immediately followed her hoof, which was pointing towards the sky. To their shock, the sun was now pretty much wobbling about constantly like a parasprite in a jar.
"Gosh, it's a mighty good thing we got Spike back while we still could!", said Applejack pretty straight-forwardly, and Spike felt like punching her in the face.
"Quick, we need to have Spike back in the library as soon as possible!", said Twilight nervously while picking up the pace. Spike could notice she was fighting back the tears again.
As everypony's pace picked up, Spike became even more nervous. He knew that once they got him back to the library, they would never in the world let him get out until Celestia closed her maw around him. Now was probably his last chance to save himself, so he had to think fast.
"Guys, let's not make rushed decisions", he tried to reason with them, "How can you be sure if I'm really the only dragon around? You know how sometimes you can just randomly bump into lone dragons in Equestria, maybe if you tried looking..."
"Sorry Spike, there's just no time", Twilight deliberately avoided looking him in the eyes, "You saw what's happening with the sun. It may take days, even weeks, before we find a dragon around these parts out of migratory season, especially a mother with a baby. By that time it will be too late!"
"And capturing an untamed dragon, especially a baby protected by its mother, would be next to impossible", added Fluttershy.
"Well, it didn't hurt to ask...", said Spike in a disappointed voice.
"Besides, did you honestly think we would be willing to sacrifice you to Celestia's stomach if we could just easily find a random insignificant dragon?", asked Twilight in a clearly accusatory voice, and Spike felt kind of embarassed for thinking they would, even though he wasn't even sure he still trusted them anymore.
After another while of walking, they finally arrived at the library. Seeing the familiar building up close gave Spike a cold weighing feeling in his stomach, like being called in next at a dentist's waiting room. Up until this point, being fed to the princess still seemed like a distant threat that he was painfully aware of but didn't have to think closely about. Now that they were about to lock him away in the library and cut off all his chances of escaping, the reality of what was awaiting him was becoming grimly vivid.
"Okay, let's get in everypony", said Twilight opening the door, and everypony entered the library, with Pinkie bouncing in and Applejack leading tied Spike by the rope. After locking the door behind herself, Twilight turned to Spike with that annoying allying expression which he had seen enough of this day, and he knew she was just expecting him to give up any resistance.
"Look Spike, if you promise you stop fighting and won't try to escape again, we will untie you", she tried to smile.
This offer actually made him furious on the inside. Stop fighting? They were going to turn him into a living medicine for Celestia and they honestly expected him to just give up trying to avoid it and simply wait helplessly for it to happen. Each of those hypocrites would try with all their might to run away if somepony tried to do the same thing to them, and they knew it. On the other hand, though, if he tried to run away this time they'd just probably catch him again, so with a sorrow in his heart he realized there's probably no point even trying, and it's better to just not cause further trouble.
"Okay...", he said in surrendered voice, feeling like he was just signing his own sentence.
"Good!", Twilight grinned wide and used her magic to start untying the ropes. After a while, Spike was able to set himself free from the loose parts.
"Now listen carefully, Spike", she said in more serious tone, "There's something you need to know."
"Oh, really?", his reaction made it clear what he thought about her words.
"Look, there are two options. First is that you keep fighting, still try to run away, we have to tie you again and deliver you to Celestia against your will, maybe even force you down her throat. You will remember last moments with your friends as unpleasant and hostile. The second option is that you embrace your role in saving Equestria, realize that trying to avoid it won't do anypony anything good, and you go with us willingly, having your friends' support in this difficult moment and receiving warm goodbyes. Either way, Celestia still needs to eat you, so at least we can make it as little unpleasant as possible. What's your choice?"
"Aren't there any other options?", Spike asked reluctantly.
"Well, the third option is that another baby dragon miraclously shows up no later than by tomorrow morning, but that's not really very likely to happen, so we have to be realistic and stick to the choices that are actually possible. So, what will it be?"
He didn't know what to say. They were really serious. All this time, he was still hoping deep down that they would change their minds, show him some mercy, but it looked like they were honestly determined to save Equestria at his cost. He realized that there was no hope for him. He really was destined for Celestia's digestive tract. And if being cooperative meant that at least everypony would still be friendly to him like always, he might as well just give up and wait till it was over with.
"Alright, alright!", he threw his hands in the air, not wanting them to think he was okay with this, "Let her have me if this will help you guys save your butts, I hope you'll be happy!"
"I'm so proud of you Spike!", said Twilight with joy and hugged him tightly, which he wasn't as comfortable with as he'd usually be with affection from her.
The other ponies seemed equally delighted with Spike's decision, cheering for him and hoof-kicking in the air. The only one not being happy with it, of course, was Spike himself, but at this point he didn't even bother trying to make them understand how he felt, knowing he didn't matter a thing in this whole mess.
"Now, Spike", said Twilight to him in a voice that was friendly but very serious, "We just want you to remember that what we will have to do is nothing personal, we're still your friends and nothing has changed between us. Like I said, if there was any better solution we would be very happy to pick it, but you know that some things are just outside our control and I believe you're mature enough to understand it."
The others immediately started nodding and agreeing with her, trying to give Spike their support and encouragement in these though moments. They admired him for his courage and said how it was a great honor to surrender oneself to save Equestria, Rainbow Dash called him awesome and Rarity said he was her hero. Fluttershy even started mentioning how the mice she bred for snake food would always be scared when the feeding time was coming, but it often helped them face the situation knowing she was there for them.
"Yeah, yeah, whatever", said Spike in annoyed voice, ignoring them completely, not even wanting to think about this whole thing.
"Alright guys, I think we can go upstairs now and I'll get your sleeping bags ready. It's getting late and it was a really hard day, we all need a good night sleep", said Twilight and Spike only thought how he wished being tired was his biggest concern now.
"Woohoo, a sleepover!", Pinkie started bouncing happily up and down.
"Oh, and there's one more thing, Spike", Twilight turned to the dragon with a sheepish grin.
"What now?", he grunted.
"I know it may sound a little awkward, but could you please, you know... send a letter to the princess that you agreed and that she can send a carriage from Canterlot to pick us up?", she made a begging face.
He looked at her with disbelief, not really knowing what to think of this. As if reducing him to a piece of folk remedy wasn't enough, it felt pretty humiliating to have to write with his own hands a letter informing the pony that was to eat him that he accepted to be eaten by her. Still, he did pick up a quill and a paper reluctantly.
"Fine", he said with a frown and Twilight started dictating.
"My dearest princess Celestia", the purple pony started, "I am most delighted to inform you that Spike happily agreed to offer himself as a cure for you. You can send two pegasi with a carriage to the library tomorrow morning and we will arrive as soon as possible to help you get better"
"Tomorrow?!", moaned Spike, his eyes widening, "But I'm not ready yet! Can't we just wait at least few days, so I could get mentally prepared, or at least have time to say goodbye to everypony?"
"I know Spike, I know", she gave him that sad look again, and he could see her ears flopping down, "But it looks like princess Luna already can't handle the sun anymore, so we need Celestia back in shape as soon as possible, and digesting a baby dragon could take days if not even weeks! I know you're scared, but we need to get this done as soon as possible"
"Oh", he lowered his eyes. He was already scared of what was going to happen to him, knowing that it would come sooner than this time tomorrow only made the sucking in his stomach even more painful.
"Besides, the longer it takes, the more it will hurt", she added.
"Yes, yes, let's just get this over with", he said angrily and blew the scroll away, only caring at this point that the time would pass fast and soon he wouldn't have to worry about any of this anymore. As he watched the green smoke fly away, he realized it was the last letter to Celestia he would ever send. If only he knew that one day he would have to write to her about something like that!
For some time after that, they were waiting in silence for a response from Celestia, but nothing was coming. After a while, Twilight started worrying about how bad the princess must have gotten if she couldn't even respond. Spike even started hoping that maybe he wouldn't have to go through this after all, but then he felt the familiar sensation in his stomach and he burped out a scroll onto a floor, which everypony immediately rushed to read. It only had two words, written in crooked, messy letters, as if somepony had to put much effort into writing them: "Thank you".
"Alright everypony, I guess all that's left for us to do now is to hit the hay and wait for tomorrow", said Twilight as everypony else was gasping with relief at knowing that by the next day everything would be solved, except for Spike of course, who felt envy of them for having that luxury now.
After everypony got upstairs, Twilight took out some spare sleeping bags and started arranging them with her magic. Spike noticed that she was mostly placing them on the main floor, between the stairs to the upper loft and the staircase leading downstairs to the ground floor.
"It's just for safety, don't take it personally", she smiled at him awkwardly again.
"It's okay, I'd feel more insulted if you guys assumed I wouldn't want to run away in this situation", he tried to act smug.
"If you'd like to, Rarity could have her sleeping bag upstairs with us", Twilight knew how to get to him.
"Oh, I'd be delighted to!", said the white unicorn and Twilight levitated her sleeping bag upstairs. Spike appreciated her effort to be there for him, althought he knew that after it was over she would just move on and eventually start dating some handsome stallion, since she'd still have her own life to live.
"Okay, everypony take their sleeping bag and we'll be turning the lights off", anounced Twilight.
"Oh, oh, can we play a game first?", asked Pinkie, "How about truth or dare? Or maybe spin the bottle?"
"Pinkie, this is not a slumber party!", said Twilight in annoyed voice.
"Then maybe at least a ghost story?", the pink pony continued.
"FOR REAL?!", Spike couldn't believe she could be this insensitive.
"Oh, sorry", Pinkie realized it wasn't the best moment for that and just smiled sheepishly.
"Can we go to sleep already?", yawned Applejack, "All that chasing Spike around the town made me exhausted!"
With everypony agreeing, Dash and Pinkie took the two bags in front of the staircase, Fluttershy and Applejack took the ones at the foot of the loft stairs, while Rarity joined Twilight and Spike. Although he felt way too nervous to sleep, Spike didn't feel like staying up all night, especially with everypony just sleeping everywhere around him, so he just climbed into his basket, while Rarity got into the sleeping bag next to him.
"Good night, Spikey!", she said in a warm voice.
"You're a very brave little dragon", said Twilight while gently pulling his blanket up.
He was amazed how nice she was to him. She wasn't nervous or angry, she acted just like always, as if none of this was really happening. It almost felt like she actually softened up a little. Which gave him a glimmer of hope that maybe, just maybe, he could just try to talk her out of this for the last time. It's not like he had anything to lose, and the worst that could happen was her saying no, and the best...
"Um, Twilight?", he asked slowly.
"Yes?", she replied politely while getting into her bed.
"You know, I was just thinking, what if tomorrow we tried...", he started, but Twilight apparently realized what he was coming to, because her polite face turned into a frown.
"Ugh, not this again, Spike", she rolled her eyes with a groan, "We've already talked about this, there are no other options period, and I don't want to hear any more of this. Tomorrow you're getting eaten and that's it. Good night", she tried to be stern, although it was not easy for her.
The lights were turned off and the library sunk in a nightly silence. However, it wasn't easy getting sleep for anypony, especially for Twilight, after the day's events. None of them, though, had it anywhere as hard that night as Spike.
He'd spend long hours just staring at the moonlit ceiling, too nervous to get any sleep, thinking about tomorrow. Knowing that it was the last night he would sleep in his basket, or pretty much the last night he would sleep anywhere, was terrifying to him. He wished the morning never came, but just lying helplessly like that in the dark night with all these thoughts wasn't any better. What made it even worse, thought, was briefly overhearing others talk from their sleeping bags. While he could see Twilight tossing around nervously in her bed, and Rarity was heard, to his heart warming, mumbling "My poor little Spikey-Wikey" in her sleep, the ones downstairs were pretty much awake and silently discussing the situation. He could hear somepony, probably Rainbow Dash, expressing her hope that eating him would work and that the princess would get better, and it made him really sad that his own well-being didn't matter anything in this.
However, the worst probably came when everypony else was finally deep in their slumber, and lying awake in the complete silence gave him a chance to really think in detail about what was coming to him, without everything that had mercifully distracted him from that during the day.
The whole idea was so surreal that it seemed to crazy to be real, but unfortunately, this was all really happening. Tomorrow he would be fed alive and whole into Celestia's open mouth, and then travel down her esophagus into a dark, slimy stomach. That wasn't the scariest thing though, considering all the dangers he and others had faced in the last few years. It was knowing that he would never escape it, he'd just be left there helplessly to eventually turn into goo like anything else that goes into stomach. And not even his friends, who would normally try to save him from this, would do anything, they'd actually be very happy about Celestia digesting him! After all, everypony's safety was more important than one little dragon. Which was also what probably hurt him most about it, even more than the prospect of dissolving inside the princess's body: the feeling of being reduced to an object. He felt like he was no longer a person, like he couldn't have fears, like it was perfectly okay for anyone to just eat him. Even the very ponies he considered his friends only cared now about how useful he would be as a cure for the princess, and he couldn't even blame them for it. Just yesterday he felt equal to everypony, now it was as if he was demoted to a food item that doesn't feel anything and swallowing it makes no difference to anypony.
All those terrible thoughts kept him awake for hours, but eventually the weariness got the best of him and he finally succumbed to an uneasy sleep. Unfortunately for him, it didn't bring him the peace, as that night he had terrible nightmares about the things awaiting him.
In his dream, he was in a bizarre version of the library, trapped in a medicine cabinet full of misshapen bottles and vials. Through the glass door, he could see the front door bounce open, and in entered Princess Celestia wearing a cartoonish scarf and a rubber bottle. "Help me please, this ailment is killing me!", she said dramatically, coughing and sneezing. Then out of nowhere, Twilight popped out wearing a nurse outfit that looked more like a disturbing Nightmare Night costume. "Don't you worry princess, I've got just what you need!" she said while opening the cabinet with her magic and levitating Spike out. "Twilight, what are you doing, it's me, Spike!", he began protesting desperately, to which she casually replied "Nonsense, you're a medicine!". As he started floating across the checkered floor towards Celestia, the princess said "One helpless Spike, that's what I needed!" as she opened her mouth wide. He watched helplessly as the open maw was coming closer, with wet pulsating tongue and saliva dropping from the roof, while for some reason Pinkie Pie was in the background singing a crazy song about getting well. Soon the jaws filled his entire field of vision and he could almost feel the wet tongue touching him, and that's when he started screaming like a maniac.
"Spike, wake up! WAKE UP!", he heard familiar voice and then he opened his eyes. Twilight was leaning above him with a concerned look. He looked around. He was still in his basket, and the library was bathed in the morning light.
"What a terrible nightmare I had!", he said with a relief, "I had a dream that Celestia was sick and you wanted her to actually eat me alive to get better!"
"Well, duh!", Pinkie Pie suddenly popped in from nowhere, "Today they're coming to pick you and Twi up to Canterlot so that Celly could have her dragon therapy, remember silly?"
So it wasn't just a dream, after all. Spike didn't even know he could feel as disappointed as he was right now. For those brief few seconds, it almost seemed like everything was okay, only for him to be brought back to reality so brutally. He realized those were probably the last few seconds he'd ever feel truly happy.
"Come on Spike, get up", Twilight started rushing him, "The carriage may arrive any moment now"
He didn't really feel like getting out of his basket. It's not like he was really in rush to get to Canterlot. If it mattered so much to them, they could just drag him there for all he cared.
"Faster, Spike, Applejack is making everypony pancakes for breakfast", she added, "Come on down when you're ready."
"No thanks, I'm not hungry", he said, not really seeing any point in eating anything today, not to mention that the very idea of eating made him sick in these circumstances.
But the main reason he didn't want to sit down to have a breakfast was possibly that he really wished to enjoy every minute in the library he had left. He had spent the last few years here and it was hard for him to believe that those were the last of his moments here, or that soon he would leave this place forever. Every smallest detail and every corner seemed so precious to him now, each of them contained valuable memories, and he really didn't want to think how little time he had left to enjoy their sight and that any minute now the chariot would arrive to take him away from here. He wished this moment could just last forever.
He didn't know how much time he exactly spent just staring absend-mindedly around the library, but around the time everypony was finishing their breakfast, he heard the dreaded knocking at the door.
"Coming!", cried Twilight while wiping her mouth, and then she trotted downstairs to open the door.
Spike rushed after her, really wanting to know who it was waiting at the door. He was honestly hoping it was actually a salespony, Celestia's witnesses, or maybe that crazy mailmare, or anypony not going to take him to the princess, in fact. Unfortunately, when he was halfway down the stairs, he saw Twilight talking to two pegasus royal guards at the door.
"It's so nice you're already here!", she said to them and turned around, "Spike, come over here, it's time to go!"
Spike gulped and started slowly coming down the stairs. Well, this is it, he thought to himself. Each step was long and difficult, with each of them he knew he was leaving everything up to the previous step behind. He wanted it to be as long as possible, but as usual in such situations, he didn't even notice when he was already at the bottom of the stairs, where Twilight was waiting for him. He was preparing for the equally painful walk across the room towards the door, when he suddenly heard familiar voice from upstairs.
"Hold on, partner!", called Applejack from the top of the stairs, "Y'all didn't really think we'd let you just go without saying goodbye, did ya?"
Spike looked up and saw the other five coming downstairs to him. He didn't want to admit it, but it really made him happy that they all wanted to see him for one last time. As they gathered all around him, he almost stopped thinking about the chariot waiting outside for a moment.
"Spike, we're really proud of you", said Applejack with her hooves on his shoulders, "What you're about to do is very heroic and Ah'm sure one day they'll write about you in books!"
"Yeah, I wish I had guts like you!", added Rainbow Dash, "I've done some pretty rad stunts in my life and I still think I can't compare to you!"
"Just be a good dragon and don't give our princess there a tummy ache!", teased Pinkie while ruffling his spikes affectionately.
"Um, Spike?", Fluttershy joined awkwardly, "I thought you might want to know this. It will be much easier for both princess Celestia and you if you hold your arms close to the body and try not to struggle on your way down. I know because some of my animal friends swallow their prey whole..."
"Gee, thanks", said Spike indifferently.
"Goodbye my Spikey-Wikey, you have no idea how much I'll miss you!", said Rarity tenderly and kissed him goodbye on the forehead, and even thought he had already been kissed by her on the cheek before, it still made it almost worth it for him, at least for a short while.
"Okay Spike, I think it's time to go", said Twilight nervously, although it broke her heart to have to cut short his last moment with his friends. She started towards the door again, with Spike following her apathetically.
"Um, Twilight?", asked Fluttershy flying alongside them.
"Yes, Fluttershy?", the purple mare was rather eager for some distraction at the moment.
"Would it be a problem if I could, um, have Spike's basket?", the pegasus asked timidly, "Since he won't need it anymore and some of my critters could really use a new place to sleep..."
"Why of course you can! I'm sure it will serve them well!", Twilight was happy that Spike's posessions would still bring someone happiness even after he's gone, meanwhile Spike himself was disgusted at how they just already considered his ownership of any of his property no longer valid.
As they reached the door, Twilight looked back at the inside of the library and her friends for one last time before they would leave, and that's when she realized the next time she'd see them again, she would be without Spike. She was sure she had already gotten used to the situation over the last twenty four hours, but now it started hurting all over again. She decided it'd be better for everypony if she just acted as indifferent as possible, like they were just going to see a doctor or something. No need to made it visible how the situation made her feel. Especially to Spike.
"Alright, sirs, I think we're ready to go", she said to the guards as she left the library with Spike, who noticed the two pegasi were watching him carefully, as if expecting him to try something funny.
Once they were outside, Spike noticed that at this point the sun was pretty much doing eights in the sky, as if princess Luna completely lost control over it by now. Twilight must have noticed it too, because he saw her picking up her pace towards the chariot parked outside the library. He wasn't happy with such a rush, knowing that once on the chariot, he wouldn't be able to leave it until pretty much landing right on Celestia's doorstep. For a moment he even considered trying to escape one last time while he still could, but he quickly abandoned this idea. Not just because of the two skilled guards watching his every move, but mostly because he didn't want to ruin all that time his friends were actually nice to him again and go back to them hunting him down and yelling at him. Probably also because having pretty much everypony in favor of him being eaten while being the only one against it made him realize he just couldn't win in this situation and trying to resist it was simply pointless.
"Come on Spike, what are you waiting for?", Twilight hurried him up while already standing on the chariot's platform.
As he climbed into the chariot and the guards were harnessing themselves to the shaft, he saw that the other five came out in front of the library and started waving him goodbye. He didn't like how getting to see them one last time only prolonged the pain of leaving it all behind, but he waved them back, and so did Twilight. Then he felt the chariot jerking forward under his feet and he realized they were taking off. He had travelled by chariot many times before, but this time seeing the moving ground go down below them made him sick, as if he felt trapped. He caught himself watching when they would get too high to jump off safely as the waving figures in front of the library were growing smaller and smaller. Soon they were high in the air, and the chariot was carrying him to his destiny.
Their flight to Canterlot was long and awkward, with only the flapping of the guards' wings breaking the silence. Spike just watched the library and the rest of Ponyville slowly vanish in the distance, thinking about when they first arrived in the town in a chariot like this one so many moons ago, and it was still so hard for him to believe that this happiest chapter of his life was now in the past. Twilight must have noticed he was upset because she immediately began trying to cheer him up.
"You know, Spike", she started, "When I hatched you from that egg, I instantly knew it was a beginning of something great, but now I realize it was much, much more. If I hadn't hatched you back then, now we would have been left without any young dragon to cure our princess, and everypony would be pretty much doomed. You're not just the best thing that ever happened to me, you're literally the best thing that could ever happen to all of Equestria! Now isn't that something?"
"That's nice", he just said while still staring in the direction of the library, which now was just a tiny green dot in the distance.
She saw that he didn't care what she was saying at all, but she didn't really blame him. She couldn't possibly understand what he was going through at the moment, in fact she didn't think anypony could truly know how it feels to be in Spike's situation. She decided, thought, that she could at least be there for him in those dark moments.
"Look Spike, I know what you're thinking", she said, "What does she know, you probably think, she has no idea what it's like. And you know what, you're right. I can't really put myself in your shoes here, and I'll spare you pretending that I can. What I can do, however, is make sure that at least the situation is a little easier for you"
"If you say so", he didn't even bother to look at her.
"No, really", she insisted, "I promise I'll do everything to help you face this as comfortably as possible. I'll be with you the entire time, just to make you less scared. I can even hold your hand while she swallows you, if it only makes it a little better for you..."
"You don't even have fingers", he pointed out snarkily.
"Oh, right!", she laughed to herself quite loudly, mostly to create more comfortable atmosphere for Spike, but also because she wanted to feel like she was actually able to laugh at such moment, which she couldn't.
"You're really trying to hard", he looked at her with a frown.
"I know it may not look like it", she put on a little more serious face, "but trust me, I'm as nervous about going there as you are"
"Oh yeah, because you're the one who's going to be swallowed alive and turned into alicorn goo", he rolled his eyes.
"Spike, please, don't start this all over again, you know it already hurts me as it is that I have to do this", she slowly said through gritted teeth, losing her patience again despite her earlier resolve to put on a careless face.
Spike decided not to argue anymore, not wanting the situation to get any sadder than it already was. He just spent the rest of the journey standing at the unprotected back of the chariot and looking at the scenery passing slowly below them. For a moment it even tempted him to just jump off the edge. Sure, he would never survive the fall, but in his place it didn't really matter and at least he would go down free and on his own terms. Suddenly, Twilight's voice brought him back to reality.
"Get ready Spike, we're almost there!", she called from the front of the chariot.
He turned around and saw that Canterlot was now almost right in front of them. Seeing the castle up close like that gave him the familiar sickening feeling of a dentist waiting room in his stomach again, knowing that the princess was waiting inside to swallow him. The chariot started descending and soon they landed on the castle's main couryard.
"Hurry up, Spike!", Twilight jumped off the chariot the second it touched the ground, "Princess can't wait any longer!"
He followed her lazily to the main entrance, where they were greated by two unicorn guards. Instead of just entering, though, he stood there for a while simply staring at the castle. It was a weird feeling knowing that once he entered, he would never really leave it. Not that it actually made much difference to him at this point, since all that fruitless fight against everyone pretty much deprived him of any will to resist he had left. As if ultimately succumbing to his role as food, he finally entered the castle, feeling like a mouse going into a nest of cats.
They walked around the castle for a while, going through its numerous staircases and corridors. Spike kept analyzing their route in relation to his knowledge of the castle's plan, thinking nervously how far left it was to Celestia's bedroom. When they were already on the royal floor, they met princess Luna, and they instantly saw the toll that raising two celestial bodies all by herself for so long had on her. Her eyes were baggy and her mane was in mess, she seemed a little dizzy and it looked like she had lost one of her silver slippers somewhere. Nevertheless, she was happy to see them.
"Greetings, Twilight Sparkle and Spike!", she said in a groggy voice, "Celestia is awaiting you in her chamber."
They turned towards a long corridor with a double carved door at the end. Spike felt as if their walk towards the door in the distance was the longest in his life, and when they finally reached the end of the corridor, he was on the verge of fainting. Twilight knocked at the heavy door and for a brief moment, he was naively hoping that for some reason there would be no response, but of course, they didn't have to wait more than a second.
"Who goes there?", asked a thick voice of a royal guard.
"It's me, Twilight!", she said, "I have Spike with me!"
The reaction was immediate, as they instantly heard the whiz of unicorn magic on the other side and the door's lock got surrounded with magical aura. After few clicks, the door opened wide and they saw the two unicorn guards inside moving to the sides to make way for them. They entered the spacious chamber, with Spike dragging behind Twilight reluctantly, and there they saw her, lying on the bed on the other side of the room. While Spike simply didn't care, Twilight felt her heart break when she saw Celestia.
If princess Luna back there looked in bad shape, then princess Celestia was a complete wreck of a pony. The mighty monarch lay on her bed lifelessly, her legs stretched out at random angles like those of a fallen beast. The bedsheet underneath her was messy and soaked in sweat, and so was her once ethereal mane, disheveled and plastered over her head like a filthy burial shroud. Her ribs were clearly visible, as if she had lost plenty of her bodyweight, and her chest was rising weakly in shallow breaths. She must have heard them coming, because she finally lifted her head weakly, and that's when the real nightmare began. Her sunken, darkened eyes looked like those of Death itself, her mouth dry like crops during a drought, and when she looked their way, they saw the emptiest expression a pony mind could think of. Still, upon seeing Spike, she tried to put on her best smile in order to cheer him up.
"Oh, Spike", she said in a faint, aching voice, as if her throat was filled with shards of glass, "You don't even realize how much I wish we never had to do this."
Why do they all think that by saying all this they will somehow make me okay with being eaten, Spike thought to himself, while Twilight nervously trotted over to Celestia's bedside.
"Princess Celestia! How are you feeling?", she screamed with concern, and one more time, Spike only wished somepony in this situation felt this bad for him for a change.
"Had... better...", she said with a weak smile and her head dropped onto the bed again.
"Don't worry, princess, we'll take care of you right away!", she turned to Spike, who was still on his way towards the bed, "Spike, come over here already!"
"R-right away? But... but...", he started panicking.
"No time to waste!", she kept rushing him, "Can't you see her? She needs to eat you right now!"
On feeble legs, he made the rest of the distance to the bed, feeling light-headed and nauseous. Waiting passively for it was one thing, but knowing it would start any second now made him realize the sheer horror of his situation on a whole new level. He started feeling cold sweat on his body.
"Okay, princess", Twilght turned to the motionless alicorn again, "Open up wide and... Oh, right! Just wait for a moment, I'll be right back. Spike, don't go anywhere!"
She trotted out of the room, stopping by the door on her way and whispering something to one of the guards while nodding in his direction. Spike didn't feel nice when he realized she was warning them to keep an eye on him in case he tried to run away.
Twilight was gone for a few moments, during which Spike started getting angry at her for only prolonging his torture, until she finally returned carrying a huge amphora. Spike wondered what was inside, when she simply came up to him and straight-up poured out all of its contents, which turned out to be milk, down on his head.
"Hey!", he screamed in annoyance, dripping with milk all over, "What was that for?"
"Spike!", she reprimended him, "You know how weak Celestia is, she would never be able to swallow you normally at her state. That's why you need to be soaked in something that can make you easier to swallow, it will help you travel to her stomach faster"
"Oh, okay", he said silently, feeling sticky, helpless, and completely reduced to an edible object.
"Alright princess, Spike is ready, I think we can begin!", said Twilight and Celestia slowly raised her head again.
"Um, Twi?", asked Spike nervously.
"What is it, Spike?", Twilight wasn't really paying much attention, too concerned with the princess's health.
"Could you possibly, um, stand a little closer to Celestia when she'll be swallowing me?", he looked at her with begging eyes, "I think I'd feel a little better if you would"
"Anything you want!", she smiled warmly at him, happy that she could somehow make it better for him in this difficult moment, and she moved as close to Celestia's bedside as she could.
"I j-just want you to know", the princess turned her swaying head to Spike again, "that me and the entire land of Equestria are very grateful for your brave act of selfless..."
"Shhhh, it's okay, princess", Twilight calmed her down, not wanting Celestia to waste precious energy, "Just open wide and let us do the rest. As wide as you can!"
The princess opened her mouth with a dry, choking gasp, and Spike could get a clear view of where he was destined to. Twilight lit up her horn and her magical aura surrounded him. He felt his body lifted off the ground, and his heart started pounding faster. She's really going to do this, he thought to himself in terror, knowing that this was it and all remains of hope he had for himself were lost.
Twilight levitated the milk-soaked dragon to Celestia's bedside right in front of her and prepared to put him in the princess's waiting maw. She thought she could do it, but seeing him now trembling in fear and looking at her helplessly, she felt tempted to back out in the last moment. She thought about all their years together, all those happy moments, and her determination to heal Celestia briefly faded. But then she thought about Equestria, about all the lives that were at stake and the responsibility she carried on her shoulders, and she found the new strength to do what had to be done. It's not about me or about him, she told herself once again, and she shoved Spike down Celestia's throat.
Spike felt his body jerked violently, followed by being jammed into a tight, wet, squeezing space. He was trapped waist-deep in Celestia's mouth! He couldn't believe this was happening, but that was pretty much what was indeed happening. He could feel Celestia's jaws and tongue pulsating against his body as she tried her hardest to push him deeper inside. Although it helped just a little to have Twilight by his side, the sensation of being gulped down was terrifying, and knowing it was just the first stage of a much bigger nightmare to come made it even worse. He wished so much he could fight back and try to escape, but he wasn't allowed to. All he could was wait obediently for Celestia to finally swallow him, as much as she struggled with that.
"Come on, princess, you can do it!", Twilight tried to encourage her, knowing how much was at stake.
But princess Celestia had a hard time swallowing the little dragon sticking out of her mouth. He was much bigger than anything she had ever eaten, and even with all the milk coating, it still hurt her tired throat trying to force him down. She barely had strength to stay conscious lately, much less to bring herself to swallow. But she still tried, knowing how much her subjects needed her to get well, despite choking down and despite feeling bad for Spike. And then she tried again, and again, and again, each time only barely feeling him slide down a little, each time jerking her head back to help herself, each time feeling the milk dripping on her chin. Then finally, she gathered all her strength to swallow as hard as she could, her head tilted as far back as she could, and she eventually felt Spike going down her tight esophagus like a big ball of pain.
Spike could feel himself finally sinking into the depths of Celestia's throat and he knew that it was over. As the cruel gravity dragged him deeper down the tight esophagus, he saw Twilight's face in front of him moving away, and then it got darker and her face was framed with the princess's teeth. As he kept sliding helplessly down the fleshy chute, he saw the bright window to the outside world moving farther and farther away amid the growing darkness, and he just stared longingly at Twilight's shrinking face inside of it as long as he only could. Then Celestia finally closed her mouth and he was all alone in complete darkness.
If sliding down a slimy esophagus was scary, then sliding down a slimy dark esophagus while completely cut off from the rest of the world was ten times worse. He wanted so bad for it all to be just a nightmare, hoping that he would wake up any moment, but of course he didn't wake up. There was only him and the tight, wet tube squeezing him down. And then he felt his sinking feet hit something, something that opened up immediately and he suddenly felt himself being squeezed out into much bigger space. He realized he entered Celestia's stomach as the rest of him plopped out of the esophagus' end and he tightly filled the fleshy sack. Once he was finally free from the tight constrictions of the esophagus, he started trashing around in panic, letting out all the stress of being trapped alone in a dark, slimy, confined space.
Meanwhile on the other side of the stomach, just few feet away and in a completely different world he no longer belonged to, Twilight could see Spike moving wildy inside Celestia, who was now breathing heavily after swallowing a baby dragon whole, and it was way too much for her. Seeing the giant bulge travel down the princess's throat was already bad enough, but the tiny imprints Spike was leaving here and there on the expanded belly devastated her even more. She thought that once Celestia ate him, it would be all over and she just wouldn't have to look at Spike's suffering anymore since he would be hidden away inside the princess anyway, but being able to see what was happening inside actually made it even worse, since she knew the dragon she loved was in there and there was nothing she could do to help him. All the emotions she had been able to ignore up until now started overcoming her, now that she had already done everything she could to help Equestria and she no could longer rely on it to distract her, and she realized she couldn't hold them inside herself anymore. Unable to look at this scene anymore, and also not wanting Celestia see to her in such state, she galloped out of the chamber as fast as she could.
After a few more moments of struggling, Spike finally gave up and calmed down, understanding it wouldn't help him anyway. He just lay there in defeat, slowly becoming aware of his exact situation. Everything looked completely different from inside a stomach. His new world was nothing like the world of everypony outside, the world of those who were more than just food. It was a very small world, a world that didn't exist beyond the small space his curled body occupied. A world completely plunged in darkness, where the only sensation was the irritating, acidic smell. A world he could never leave, a world he was trapped in, a world he belonged to now. It was a world where one's only future and only purpose was to be digested and turned into body's fuel, a world where one's entire identity was their nutritional value. Knowing that this world was all that was left for him now, Spike felt a great despair.
However, he also felt something more.
As he waited passively to ultimately get digested, he started realizing an important thing. Now that he knew he was doomed and there was no point trying to save his own hide, he was actually able to focus on other things. Up until now, he only cared about what would happen to him if Celestia were to eat him and he didn't care that it would save everypony else. But now that he was already eaten anyway and there was nothing he could do about it, his own interest was out of the equation, leaving only his friends and the rest of Equestria. And that's when he fully realized it: he actually cared about well being of others instead of just his own. He knew now that he was genuinely happy that being eaten by Celestia saved the lives of everypony he cared about, and it completely changed his outlook on his situation.
The rest of his stay inside Celestia's belly was spent in an entirely different mood, and even thought he knew that soon he would be turned into a nutritious soup, he didn't care. Now he realized they were all right all along: Equestria was more important than him. He understood how selfish he was by ignoring the responsibility that rested on him and only caring about his own satefy. But now he was able to see it all more maturely. He still felt scared, he still indeed felt helpless, but now he didn't feel defiant anymore. He knew that his situation was awful, but he was able to understand that it was something that had to be done. He was ready to face his fate.
And then, the strangest thing happened. He suddenly felt something like a tender embrace around the stomach, followed by something that sounded like a muffled "Gonna miss you, Spike" from the outside. He realized that Twilight came back to say goodbye to him! It filled his heart with joy knowing that even being digested inside a stomach he could still count on her company, and it gave him even more strength to deal with the situation. He actually felt proud that he was able to save her life.
And so by rejecting his own interest and embracing the interest of all, Spike was able to accept his destiny with courage and dignity. The last conscious thought he remembered was hoping that he would cure Celestia and that his friends would be safe, and eventually, the princess's body digested the brave little dragon.
* * *
The sun was shining bright in the sky above Equestria, like it has for many centuries before. All around the land, ponies were living their lives like always, laughing, playing, working, being alive. Consuming a baby dragon did indeed help princess Celestia, and after few days she started getting better. It wasn't long before she was back in her old shape, strong as ever, and once again able to handle her solar duty while princess Luna was left taking care of her own lunar duties. The proper celestial order was restored. Everypony's life was back to normal, everypony's but that of one purple mare.
Twilight Sparkle could never get back to her normal life without Spike. With him gone, the library felt terribly empty, and she had a hard time doing her regular chores knowing her number one assistant wasn't there to help her. She knew it wouldn't be easy to learn to live her life alone now, but it was something she had to learn. She certainly matured a lot by losing Spike, the events of the last few days had taught her more than any of her studying ever could. It also truly showed her just how important her friends were to her, with all the support they showered her with in those difficult moments. Plenty of that much needed support came also from princess Celestia, whom Twilight was now visiting in Canterlot.
"I know how much you've suffered lately", said the princess while setting her cup on the table, "But you're a brave girl, and I know you will find strength in yourself to get through this."
"Thanks, princess", Twilight smiled from the opposite end, "It really helps a lot."
"Is there something else you need to talk about?", asked the princess, seeing something in Twilight's eyes.
"Princess Celestia, I need to confess to something", she started, "That day, when Spike was trying to run away and we finally caught him, I... I actually felt relief! I should have felt guilty that we doomed him to his fate, but I just felt relief that he didn't run away and that we still had a dragon to feed to you... and I feel awful about it!"
"It's okay, Twilight", said Celestia in an understanding tone, "You didn't really want Spike to be eaten, but you also didn't want us all to die. Everypony would feel relief in your situation regardless of their own feelings towards Spike, and you can't blame yourself."
"I'm glad that you think so", Twilight smiled again.
"If it helps you, you're not the only one with guilt. I will have to spend the rest of my life knowing that Spike perished inside my body, and that it will always be a part of me", Celestia briefly put on a more serious face.
"I can see that", Twilight nodded in agreement.
"We all suffered during that time", the princess continued, "But we made it through, and I'm pretty sure Spike would be happy to know how many ponies he helped."
"Yes, I think I can agree on that", Twilight brightened up, now feeling a little better.
The rest of their conversation was spent on a casual chit-chat, and some time later, Twilight returned to Ponyville. She didn't feel much like going back to the empty library, but seeing all the happy ponies on the streets having fun and spending time together kind of cheered her up, knowing that they owed every new day of their lives to Spike. And although the times to come would be difficult, each morning she would know that it could only come thanks to Spike, and whenever she felt sad, she could just look out the window and let the shining sun remind her of her little dragon and his brave sacrifice.
THE END
