Spike gazed at the clouds that passed feeling the winds blowing harshly on against his scales and imagining himself flying through it with ease. At the altitude they were traveling it would put even Rainbow Dash to shame. While he had no doubt, she would find some way to get to this height it wouldn't be without difficulty. The train ride to the Griffon Empire finished without another incident, the morning after witnessing the Lunar Rabbit both Luna and Spike told Twilight of what they saw while she slept. She was upset at not only missing such an event but also at the fact that she had shown such a sight to Luna. It was embarrassing, to say the least, to know that the princess of the night had seen her poor sleeping habits.

"It is perfectly okay Twilight; I have seen worse… believe me. As for the incident, it would have been enlightening to know your immediate thoughts on the event, but not even I as princess of the night could do anything to prevent such theft of my beautiful sky."

Spike put a claw on Twilight's shoulder to reassure her that it was ok and that she was thinking too hard about it. "She's right Twilight; I doubt even having two alicorns would have made a difference against that thing. Even Luna couldn't do anything in her field of expertise and just watched with me as it took another star."

"Thank you, both of you. I know that I'm making a bigger deal of such a small thing, but I wanted to see what happened myself. Maybe then I would have a better idea as to what exactly we are going up against." Twilight started to pace in the cabin they had set aside for royalty on the airship. It was relatively the same size of her library and a wonder of technology, given the scale of the ship itself.

They had reached the Empire intending just to board a regular airship and continue their journey. Unfortunately, the rumor of royalty coming had made the nobles, and Griffon royalty held a banquet in their honor. It took a day away from their plans, but it was in their best interest to uphold friendly relations with the king and nobles of the Empire. The morning after they set off in the royal airship on the insistence of the king and now they were headed Pandia.

"Maybe, the books I requested from the Royal Griffon library have some more information about this Lunar Rabbit. Hopefully, they'll shine some light where our books left off if you need me I'll be in the study." Twilight walked off and disappeared through the sounds of sliding doors and servants rushing to her side.

"I think, I'll get some air for now." Spike took his leave of Luna without waiting for a response and took the path to the balcony on the backside of the ship. The magic protected it's passengers from any strong gusts and thin air, but did still let them feel the rush of the wind. The propellers on either side of the giant mechanical bird hummed silently as magical bubbles dissipated the sounds coming from them.

"Twilight? May a word?" Luna walked across the study from the entrance thanking the staff along the way for showing her where it was.

"Oh, Luna. Yes, of course. Please have a seat, I was just finishing up with reading "Legends, Myths, Rumors, and Fairytales" still nothing new other than what we already know. Though it did say something that could connect to the Night Child that we read about." She marked the passage and closed the book as she walked away from the book stand. Sitting down at one of the many tables opposite of Luna, she asked one of the servants for some tea.

"Thank you Twilight, it's just something that's been on my mind since we left Ponyville." Taking a sip of the tea poured for her, Luna stared at the contents as she set it down.

"Oh? What is it?" taking a sip of her own and biting into one of the biscuits brought with the tea, Twilight grew concerned as Luna seemed a bit nervous about the question and yet serious at the same time.

"It's about Spike, why did you decide to bring him along? Its' not as if I don't want him to come along, but this journey isn't necessarily safe. I'm not sure as to subjecting to the possible danger that lies ahead."

Twilight took a moment to think about the question and set down her food. There was truth in what Luna had said about the danger being unknown. It was further enforced with the encounter both Luna and Spike had while she slept. If they were right, which they had no reason to be otherwise, what they faced could very easily be the stronger than Tirek in his restored form. This time, they wouldn't have the elements as they all had their lives and taking them away from it for an amount of time that was even unknown to her was not something that would be fair to them. So then why? Why had she brought Spike along with them? Why would she make him face this possibly fatal foe with them?

She sat in silence as Luna took another sip and pulled a sandwich to her with magic. She kept thinking of the reason she had brought him. That was when she heard pouring and looked up to see one of the griffon servants refilling her tea. As he walked away, she noticed his wings, and then realized something.

Spike had been different ever since his growth spurt had made him what he was now. He was looking forward to getting wings, only to be denied in the end. It was the only thing he had to look forward to up until now, ever since Rarity had made their relationship clear as friends he had been depressed for some time. It wasn't just Rarity rejecting him; it was also the fact that whenever he left the castle to go into town, he would come back without his usual smile. It was as if he was hiding something from her, but decided it was best just never to bring it up. She worried about him constantly staying inside and declining even helping the girls as per usual.

It was about two weeks after his growth spurt happened that he finally seemed to return to normal, but he stopped smiling even after that. It seemed like he was just going through the same motions every day. Getting up, preparing breakfast/lunch/dinner, helping the girls, doing his chores, helping Twilight with her studies, and then just sleeping and repeating it day after day. Twilight had noticed it and only truly took action when she found several books on dragons in his room. When she asked why he was reading them, he only got angrier and angrier each time she pushed the subject.

He calmed down eventually and finally gave her an answer. "I want to know what and who I am Twilight." He put a claw up to stop her from interrupting. "I know, I know I'm your assistant, I know that I'm family, I know that I'm a best friend to you and the girls. What I don't know is who I am, I don't know why I was left behind, why I'm different from other dragons. These books…" he picked one of them up and stared at it for a moment before setting it down. "They were supposed to help me, but all they had was information on how dragons are dangerous, ruthless, greedy, and evil monsters. Nothing on what types of dragons, whether there are any like me, not even information on where I might find more of them other than the migration period."

Spike, at this point, had closed the distance and stared down at Twilight. He had grown, and it showed through his draconic features. Twilight had only just noticed it now; he was no longer a baby dragon. He was a dragon; he was old enough to wonder about these things and have them affect him more than when he was a child. It was something that couldn't be avoided any longer, and Twilight knew that as she looked into his eyes.

"Who am I Twilight? Why am I even here? Why did they leave me behind?" he broke down and hugged her, all the while crying and letting tears mat her fur.

Twilight could only comfort him as she didn't even have the answers to his questions. She didn't know anything other than him being a dragon. Celestia herself didn't even have them when she first inquired about how she had attained his egg. Only stating that it was supposedly found dormant when they first expanded Canterlot and dug into the mountain. His origins were a mystery, and no books could help, only other dragons and they were nowhere close to being reliable. Twilight held him close and closed her wings around his shaking body; she cried with him knowing that she couldn't help her best friend and younger brother in his time of need.

"He's been going through some tough times lately; I didn't want to leave him behind and have him isolate. This could do him some good and maybe even help him find the answers he's seeking. I know it'll be dangerous, but so were the other times he came along with the girls and I. He can handle it, Luna; I'm not sure what will be in store for us, but I know that Spike can handle anything as long as we're together." She finished her previous sandwich and drank the new cup of tea. She then turned to continue her research, leaving Luna to contemplate what she said.

"I see…" Luna said, setting down her empty cup and walking away to find Spike. While she trusted Twilight and her judgment, she wanted to know what the dragon's thoughts were on this journey and his reason for coming. Though, why she wanted to know was a question that kept creeping up in her mind. Spike was perfectly capable of taking care of himself; he proved it when saving the Crystal Empire. Despite that, something kept nagging at the back of her mind about bringing him along.

She stopped short of the door and peeked outside to see Spike. He seemed to be enjoying the wind against his scales and looked rather regal. He certainly wasn't a baby anymore, that much she noticed on the train, but this was something more. It was as if he was carrying a heavy burden, one more than just being treated like a monster by some of the ponies back in Ponyville. Despite the weight, he stood confidently to take on whatever the heavens threw his way. She kept staring at him until she noticed that he had turned and was waving at her through the glass.

"Hey Luna, come to enjoy the view?" Spike asked as Luna came through the door to stand next to him.

"No, I was just looking for you, to be honest." She replied as she looked out into the sky

"Oh?"

There was silence after that as neither of them said a word and watched the Sunset from above the clouds. It was a wondrous sight to behold and certainly one not seen every day. Spike stood staring out into the sky as if looking for something. Luna's eyes moved towards him subtly and felt as if the questions she was going to ask were nothing short of unnecessary at this point. He was older, not as old as herself, but older and wiser. He knew that this journey was not a pleasure cruise and whatever he was searching for would have to take a backseat to complete the task at hand. She felt foolish for having doubts about him, especially thinking back to when he helped her get over a slight pit of depression from her past.

"So, what did you want to ask Luna?"

"Hmmm?" she said slightly startled. "Nothing Spike, it seems as if I have forgotten. Sorry to bother you." She started to walk back inside to help Twilight in her research.

"Luna?"

"Yes, Spike?"

"Thank you, for letting me come along regardless of the danger. I won't let either of you down."

Surprised she nodded her head and went inside. Apparently, Spike had put together her reason for wanting to see him in such a short time and with little to no context. It was truly a wonder how much he had grown.

Author's Note

Chapter 3 and I'm still unsure of the scheduling for this story. Though, with all the uncertainty I can actually say that I have a lot down concerning the plot and future chapters. The more I write for the future chapters the more I'm liking the way it's fleshing out.

As always, thank you for taking the time to read my story. Please leave a comment or critique as any critique is a good critique.