Motherhood

There were many things in life that Spike enjoyed doing during the day. From helping Twilight with her organizing, to spending time with the Cutie Mark Crusaders, there was no end of things that he liked to keep himself occupied. But, without question, one of the things he enjoyed most was his daily comic time. Here, with nopony else in the castle, the young dragon could relax, kick up his feet upon the friendship table, and simply enjoy this peaceful moment, reading his favourite comic books without any kind of interruption. As his eyes skimmed from left to right, the smile on his face made it clear that he was enjoying himself. In fact, so engrossed was he with his reading that he failed to hear the distinct sound of hoofsteps until it was too late. For the doors of the palace suddenly burst open, with a very worried-looking alicorn on the other side.

"SPIKE!!!"

Immediately, the dragon fell off his chair, and as he clambered up to see what was happening, he watched as Twilight used her magic to close the doors tightly behind her. The Princess of Friendship now leaned against the doors, almost as if worried that some terrible monster was on the other side. Needless to say, this caught Spike's attention straight away, and as he discarded his comic upon the nearby table, he rushed over to his friend's side.

"Twilight?! What's going on?!"

Panting heavily, the alicorn turned to him, her expression a pleading one.

"Oh, Spike! Thank goodness you're here! It's happened! After all this time, it's finally happened!"

Spike's expression grew ever more fearful.

"What? What's happened?!"

"The author! He's finally gone and done it!" Twilight replied.

Spike halted here, looking to his friend with confusion.

"Um...pardon?"

But Twilight didn't hear him.

"I always knew it was a matter of time, and now, that time is here!"

Spike, naturally, was about to ask what she meant by that, but was prevented from doing so by the sound of knocking upon the nearby door. Twilight leapt away from it, as if terrified of the thing, and started cowering behind Spike.

"I'm too late! She's here!"

Spike looked from his friend, to the door and then back again, before finally speaking up.

"Twilight, I have no idea what's going on here, so any input you have would be helpful."

But again, she didn't hear him.

"Remember me as I was Spike. It's too late for me!"

Though the dragon rolled his eyes at such words, he was suddenly struck with the realisation that the doors were now opening before them. Twilight continued to cower, but Spike looked on, expecting the worst. What he got, however, was not what he had been expecting. On the other side of the door was no monster, no beast from the depths of Tartarus, and no imposing villain for them to thwart. Instead, there stood the most adorable little filly Spike had ever laid eyes upon. Everything about her seemed designed to make her endearing, from her wide eyes to her cute little smile. As she trotted inside, she tilted her head.

"Mama? Why are you hiding?"

Immediately, Spike looked over his shoulder with a raised eyebrow.

"Twilight? is there something you need to tell me?"

But Twilight, in this moment, didn't answer, as she currently had both hooves pressed hard against her ears.

"LALALALALA!!! I'M NOT LISTENING!!!"

Spike shook his head at this before turning yet again to the filly.

"Look, um...little filly? I think you're confused. You're Mama isn't here. There's just you, me and the Princess."

The filly giggled to that.

"Silly dragon! Princess is Mama!"

Before Spike could react, he watched as the filly sped around him, darting straight for Twilight and, in a move that took them both aback, embraced her in a tight hug.

"Mama!"

Twilight tried getting away, but the child's grip was too hard.

"ARGH!!! Get off me!"

But, as ever, the filly's smile remained.

"I'm not going, Mama. I love you!"

Twilight's eyes widened, and she looked down at her, opening her mouth to speak. But then, she shut it tightly again, looking away.

"No! I'm not falling for that! I don't care how sweet this situation is! I am not letting myself fall into that cliché!"

Spike scratched his head.

"Um...what cliché?"

Twilight ignored him, as before, simply trying to keep her attention away from the filly.

"I can't let myself...I won't let myself..."

Gradually, she looked down, and as she did so, the filly's eyes became even wider.

"...I...I won't..."

And wider.

"...I wont!"

And wider.

"...I...I...I..."

At this point, all pretence of strong will vanished, and Twilight, at long last, embraced the child, lifting her up and pressing her cheek against her own.

"Oh! My sweet little baby girl! I'm never letting you out of my sight again!"

Spike's eyes widened.

"Wait...what?!"

"I'm gonna hold you and love you forever!" Twilight exclaimed.

"Yay!" The filly replied.

Spike watched this postcard moment play out before him, confused and unsure of what to do. Twilight looked happy, as did the girl, and though things had progressed a little faster than he would have thought possible, he didn't look like he was about to interrupt. However, an interruption was in the works, though not by HIS hand, as yet again, there was a knocking on the door. It was louder than before, and it caught everypony's attention.

"Who is it now?" Spike asked.

The filly, at this point, looked terrified, and clung to her "Mama" as if for dear life.

"It's the bad man, Mama!"

Twilight held her tightly, looking to the door with scorn.

"Don't worry, little one! I'll save you!"

Spike looked to her, still confused.

"Sav...save her from what?!"

He soon got his answer, as the doors of the palace burst open yet again. Beyond was not filly this time, but a man of a nondescript appearance, striding into the palace as if he owned the place. Seeing him, Spike let out a groan of annoyance.

"Ugh! And who are you?!"

The man placed his hands upon his hips, striking a pose not unlike that of a superhero, before bellowing out his answer.

"I am...the tragic circumstance! My task is to take the child away from Princess Twilight!"

Spike raised an eyebrow.

"Wha...why?!"

The man, still in that pose, explained himself.

"My purpose is twofold. One, to create an abundance of drama. And two, to elicit massive amounts on internet feels."

Naturally, Spike might have enquired further into that, but, the moment those words were spoken, Twilight held the filly more closely.

"Never! You'll not touch one hair on her head!"

Looking to her, Spike's expression was one of incredulity.

"Oh for...you just met her!"

Twilight looked to him with a scowl.

"I don't care if it makes sense or not..."

"It doesn't," Spike interrupted.

"...I'm going to keep her safe no matter what!" Twilight finished.

Spike let out another groan, but here, he was kept from saying anything further, as a familiar voice suddenly spoke up.

"I am sorry, my student."

All eyes turned, and there, standing before them, was Princess Celestia herself.

"Wha...when did you get here?!" Spike asked.

The elder Princess approached Twilight as she answered.

"It does not matter how I am here..."

"I beg to differ!" Spike again interrupted.

"...it only matters why I'm here," Celestia concluded.

Twilight looked to her mentor with a fearful expression.

"P...Princess?"

Placing a hoof upon her shoulder, Celestia sighed.

"I'm sorry, Twilight...but I am here to drive home the point of why you and your child must separate. Perhaps I am in league with this man who wishes to take her, or maybe it's one of those times when I simply bear a defeatist attitude. Whatever the reason, I am sorry to say that this love you have for her cannot last."

Twilight looked away from her, holding the girl as tightly as ever.

"No! I won't accept it!"

Here, at last, it was the turn of the filly to add her voice to matters.

"It's okay, Mama. I'll go."

All there, even Twilight, looked to her with surprise.

"What?" the young Princess asked.

The filly smiled.

"Really. It's okay. We had good times together."

"Yeah, a while two minutes worth," Spike interrupted yet again.

The filly continued.

"But what matters is that we loved each other, even if it was just for a little bit. We'll always remember each other...won't we?"

Twilight was crying now, and held the filly close to her.

"Yes...yes we will! I'll always remember you, my darling girl!"

Although he'd been the most cynical of them all during this encounter, Spike looked away, trying hard to hold back tears himself.

"I will not cry...I will not cry...I will not cry..."

Another voice spoke up, but this time, it was the man at the door, who looked to Twilight with tears in HIS eyes too.

"Your love for one another has shown me the error of my ways. I can no longer find it in my heart to divide you. So...let it be known that you can remain together."

Spike's head snapped in his direction.

"WHAT?!"

But Twilight paid him no heed, as she simply broke out into a massive smile.

"Really?! Oh...thank you! Thank you so much!"

The filly squealed with joy, hugging her Mother once more, before Celestia, smiling to her one-time student, spoke up yet again.

"Well done, Twilight. You've proved that the strength of your love has truly conquered all this day."

There were smiles all around at this heart-warming moment. That is, except for Spike, who looked from one person to the other with a look of sheer incredulity and confusion.

"But she...and you...there wasn't even...why did we...?"

But, in the end, she sighed heavily, slumping his shoulders and slapping his forehead with frustration.

"You know what? Never mind. I'm just...gonna go back to bed."

And go to bed he did. The rest, still engaged in their happy ending, ignored him as he left. But then, that's not really a surprise at this point, is it?