A Dragon's Heart

Chapters

Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 5

Chapter 1

“What?!” A certain white unicorn shouted in disgust.

Spike stared at Rarity. The pearly white unicorn had been the object of his affection ever since he moved to Ponyville with his surrogate sister/best friend Twilight Sparkle. Her white coat looked like freshly fallen snow, her purple mane and tail reminded him of the purest purple diamonds. Her blue eyes were like radiant sapphires. And her smile could melt both his brain and his heart. But, today, her smile was replaced with a look of absolute disgust.

“I- I said I love you, Rarity. And I always have.” Spike told her. They were the only two inside her boutique, and the look on Rarity’s face made his heart twist and ache so painfully, it felt like an army of dragons were waging war against an army of Windegoes inside of it. He was afraid this would happen, but he still had to face it, instead of running away from it, like he did for so long.

“But, Spike,” Rarity started, causing him to wince at the tone in her voice. “I’m a pony. And you're a dragon. It’s… it’s just not natural for a dragon to love a pony.” Spike was sure the Windegoes were beating the dragons now. “I mean… ponies should love ponies. And dragons should love dragons. It’s only natural that way.” She nodded to herself as if everyone thought that way. And the Windegoes were doing a victory dance in his heart.

Spike stared at Rarity, feeling the cold numbness in his chest start to ache as if his heart were shattering with the Windegoes’ icey dance. Hoping to distract from the pain, he looked around the boutique, all the mannequins had either a suit or a dress, whether finished or unfinished, of the newest clothing line she was working on. Several rolls of fabric lay by her sewing desk, showing that she was either planning on using those or forgot to put them away when he came over to visit.

He continued to trace the back wall, leading to the supply closet that held all her rare jewels that they found together. He quickly moved his eyes away from it, the memories being bittersweet. A little further along the wall showed the stairs leading up to Rarity’s room and studio, the bathroom, and Sweetie Belle’s room, who was now in Canterlot, studying musical theory. Along the left wall were the kitchen and washroom entries, the aroma of cake coming from the former, causing him to wish that his birthday was later than next week.

Looking back at Rarity, Spike was surprised to see a softer look on her face, her red glasses balancing on the bridge of her muzzle. “Are you alright, Spike?” She asked, a hint of concern in her voice.

“Y-yeah..” He lied, faking a soft smile. “I just remembered that I had to pick up a few new quills and ink pots for Twilight. She’s busy writing a checklist for the upcoming party.”

He felt bad for lying to her, but he had to clear his head for a bit. He was afraid of his own feelings suddenly and didn’t want to face them just yet.

“I understand. Do tell Twilight hello for me, and remind her not to work too hard.” Rarity requested, acting as if their conversation didn’t happen. He wondered how she got her strength but decided not to dwell on it.

Giving her a friendly nod, he turned back towards the purple and blue diamond patterned door to leave. “I will. Tell me how the new designs go.” He replied, trying to keep his voice from cracking as he opened the door, and stepped out.

*****
As Spiked walked through Ponyville, his thoughts and heart were tearing at him, threatening to consume him with sadness and fear. The warm dirt beneath his feet felt cold to him suddenly, as if everything around became icy along with his thoughts. The town hall and Sugar Cube Corner passed by him in a blur, or maybe he just distracted with more somber things. He looked up at the cloudless sky, as if expecting to see a rain cloud over his head, or suddenly block out the sun, but he knew that Rainbow Dash and the weather team were on break today and weren’t scheduling any rainstorms until that Friday.

He was so distracted in his self-musings that he barely noticed a confused looking Applejack before jumping out of the way so he didn’t fall on or squish her, as he was as tall as Luna now, having a growth spurt about a couple months ago. He looked over at the orange farm mare with a sheepish smile.

“Well, land sakes, Spike,” She said, staring at him with a somewhat confused, somewhat concerned look. “Y’all flopped away faster than a freshly caught fish in tha middle o’ a heat wave.” She then trotted over to him and offered her forehoof to him.

“Heh… Sorry, AJ,” Spike apologized, grabbing her hoof and letting her help pull him up to a sitting position. “I guess I’m just a bit distracted.”

She gave him a deadpan stare, telling him that she didn’t buy his lie for a second. Well, they didn’t call her the living lie detector for nothing.

“Ah’d say yer a bit more than distracted. Seeing as you probably came from Rarity’s place, and were heading back to Twi’s castle, Ah’m guessin’ somethin’ happened while you were there to put you in a foul mood.” She deduced easily, walking back to her apple stand. “Let me guess. She was in tha middle o’ a date with a stallion when Y'all got there.”

Spike chuckled sadly. “I wish it was something as easy to deal with as that.” He replied.

Not giving her a chance to ask what he meant, Spike relayed what happened at Rarity’s boutique.

*****

It took about forty-five minutes for Spike to relay what happened to Applejack, mostly because there were still ponies walking up to buy some apples, as it was a busy market day. Now, however, he sat there with a crestfallen expression, staring at his claws and feet, while Applejack silently stewed over it all.

“Ah just can’t believe Rarity would just say somethin’ like that…” She finally muttered, sounding pretty mad about the whole ordeal. “Ah mean, it’s not like her to not take your own feelings into account.”

Spike simply sighed before standing up again. “I don’t know. I’m trying not to think about it right now. I’m just going to head back to the castle before I break down out here.” He told her.

“That’s probably a good idea. Tell Twi what’s goin’ on and see if she has any advice fer ya.” The farm mare replied with a reassuring smile. “Ah’ll see if I can talk to Rarity ‘bout all this.”

Spike nodded before continuing his walk back to the glistening blue sparkle shaped castle, wanting to just crawl into bed and cry for a few hours, but he knew that he should also talk to Twilight about what happened, too. Little did he know, that the day was just about to get more complicated and a lot longer.

Chapter 2

Spike walked through the entrance hall of the Castle of Friendship, the different shades of blue and white seeming to calm him down before he had to talk to Twilight. He hoped she wasn't busy giving Starlight Glimmer another friendship lesson. But, at the same time, he was hoping that was the case, so he could distract himself for a while from more negative thoughts and emotions.

He was both relieved and slightly saddened to see her reading a book in the library as she normally did when there wasn't any princess duties, CutieMap emergencies, or friendship lessons for her to take care of. He slowly walked up to her, already starting to feel nervous about telling her what happened.

"Hey, Twi?" He asked after a slight hesitation. "Can I talk to you about something?"

"Of course, Spike." She answered, smiling over at him as she closed her book. "You know you can talk to me about anything." She then noticed his hesitant expression and lost her smile. "Is something wrong?"

"Uh, well, I mean, not..... Yeah..." He stuttered out before looking at his feet. "I was over at Rarity's and... I finally told her how I felt."

Twilight blinked, not expecting him to actually tell her. "And... how did it go?" She asked cautiously.

"Bad...." Spike answered, his voice cracking as the tears finally started to flow freely down his cheeks and he began crying, telling her everything, how Rarity broke his heart, fearing that she's being inconsiderate to his feelings, talking to Applejack about it, and the pain that he was feeling right now.

Even after it was all out, he just continued to cry, Twilight having moved to hold him close about halfway through his story, and she was now holding him close, hoping to comfort him. Spike knew that she couldn't really hold him with his new wings having come in four months prior, effectively stopping her forelegs from wrapping around him properly. Of course, the pain of them coming in was nothing compared to what he felt know, he thought. He had hoped that the muscle mass he was started to get would impress Rarity. Of course, he hadn't expected her to be so adamant against inter-species romance, but, looking back, he shouldn't have been surprised either, what with her practically idolizing the Canterlot High Society.

He felt Twilight nuzzle along his shoulder softly before he looked to see her smiling up at him. "I'm always here if you need me, Spike." She told him, bringing his longer muzzle down to her chest. "And just to be safe, I'm staying with you tonight, as well."

Spike blinked in surprise through his tears. Stay with him tonight? But, Twilight had him get a separate room because he was beginning to be affected by the hormones she let off, and she his while in heat. And she always used the "To make sure you're okay" excuse when she was slipping in her control and focus.

"N-no, That's alright Twi," He quickly assured. "I don't want to make you uncomfortable. I'm sure I'll be fine in a few days. I just... need my space to cool off and think."

Frowning to himself, he knew he may never fully get over Rarity, but he at least had to try. Twilight needed him to be her number one assistant, and he couldn't focus on that when he was torn up over his broken heart still. Gently releasing himself from Twilight's hold, he quietly began walking through the halls to his room, his focus waning as he went.

Locking the doors once inside, he slumped himself in bed and buried his face in his pillow, letting his wings fall to either side of him, as he focused on clearing his mind. He had to be able to focus, and his aching heart was only going to slow him down.

Closing his eyes, he simply let himself drift in and out of unconsciousness for a few hours, deciding that the world could move on without him for a bit. He hoped that things would calm down once he woke up.

*****

"You're nothing but a filthy dragon!"

Spike shot bolt upright in bed, the Nightmare version of Rarity replaying what happened in a worse way.

That's just great... He thought to himself. I guess everypony thinks that falling in love with another species is a sin. Now what am I going to do?

A knock on his door caused him to look over at it in surprise.

"Spike? Are you okay?" He heard Twilight ask from the other side. "I heard you jump when you woke."

Spike looked at the palms of his claws before he wiped the sweat from his brow. "I'm fine Twi. Just a nightmare." He answered easily, only telling a small lie. He wasn't anywhere near fine, but he didn't want her to needlessly worry about him.

The silence after made him think she had walked away after hearing his answer. Sighing, he slowly stood up and stretched his arms and wings out. It was getting close to him needing to ask Rainbow Dash for some flying lessons.

"Can... Can I come in?" Twilight asked, hesitating a bit.

Spike looked back over at his door before walking over to it and unlocking it, letting her in as he walked over to the bejeweled bow tie that Rarity had made and placing it in a random drawer in his desk.

"I know you don't want to talk about it, but, I want to know how I can help you, Spike." Twilight finally spoke up. "I know you're going to say you're fine, but I also know that you're not fine. Please, just, tell me the truth."

Spike sighed, knowing he couldn't keep anything from the most observant mare he knew. Instead of answering right away, however, he glanced about his room, looking at all the memories. In the far left corner were the dumbbells and weights that Rainbow Dash had given him throughout the years. He'd have to thank her again for them, as they helped him curb his hoarding instincts when they flared up. In the center of the back wall was his bed, a little bigger than normal, but he was bigger than most ponies. His Power Ponies bed set had been replaced with the two pillowcases that the Apple family had sewn for him, and the blanket that Fluttershy knitted.

In the far right corner held his desk, with his gem cutting tools, quills, and parchment, as well as some of his old comic books. On the right wall held a bookshelf, with some Daring Doo books, and the poster from when he went to go see Star Ponies, Revenge of the Nightmares with Twilight. On the left wall was a doorway to his bathroom, and a concert poster signed by Coloratura, or rather Rara, when he went with Applejack to see her live in Canterlot.

He turned back to Twilight and sighed. "You're right, Twi. And I will tell you everything, just, please wait until I find out how." He requested, deciding to just bite the arrow and tell her.

She smiled and nodded. "That sounds fair enough. Now, come on. We're going out to eat. I'm starving, and you need some distracting." She declared, turning around and trotting back to the main hall.

Spike chuckled and flowed after her, agreeing that he did indeed need a distraction.

"You've got yourself a deal." He replied, finally catching up with her.

Chapter 3

Spike sat patiently across from Twilight as the train rolled on towards Canterlot. Normally, Twilight would've just flown them there, but she told him that she didn't want to appear sweaty at the restaurant, which made sense.

What didn't make sense is how she was acting. She kept glancing around the compartment as if looking for something to distract herself or talk about, which was new. Normally she'd be talking his ears off about a new spell, or Starswirl the Bearded, and how he was the only Unicorn powerful enough to rival the Princesses. And he paid attention, he could see the little nervous twitches in her wings.

Looking around the compartment himself, he finally took in how spacious the private cabins were. Two benches sat opposite each other, with a soft, felt like fabric covering them. The reddish tint of it meshed well with the off-gold color of the rest of the compartment. Above each bench was a bed cubby, big enough for two ponies to sleep comfortably for long distance travel, like when they went to visit Princess Cadence, Shining Armor, and, more recently, Flurry Heart. Outside the single window, the countryside land between Ponyville and the Canterlot Mountain Range rolled past, the bare ground only being broken by the usual tree and occasional hill.

Spike looked back at Twilight, growing worried for the lavender Alicorn. "Are you okay, Twilight?" He finally asked her, unable to ignore how nervous she was acting.

"Huh? Oh, uh, yeah, I'm fine." She stammered, looking over at him, a bit surprised.

He gave her a deadpan look, obviously seeing through her lie.

She sighed and looked down. "Alright. I'm kind of nervous at how ponies will react when they see me eating dinner with you." She confessed, looking down.

He chuckled darkly a bit. "I didn't think you'd be worried about something like that." He told her, leaning his head back against the compartment wall with his eyes closed, feeling like the universe was just out to make sure he never found love, nor forgot that ponies would look down on a dragon loving, and/or dating a pony.

"I'm sorry Spike...." Twilight suddenly spoke up. "I-I forgot that's exactly what you don't want to hear right now. I'm supposed to be distracting you... And here I am making it worse...."

Spike opened his eyes and looked at Twilight, seeing her softly start crying. Sighing, he slowly got up and gently pulled her into a hug, sitting next to her.

"It's fine, Twilight. Give me a few days, and I'll probably be over it." He replied.

She didn't look convinced, but, Spike didn't care, returning to his view to the outside of the train window.

*****

As Twilight and Spike got off the train at the Canterlot station, he couldn't help but feel amazed at the sheer beauty of it all. All the shops and houses were never exactly the same, ranging in height, width, and color, they gave a sense of personality to the regal city.

"So, what restaurant were you thinking of, Twi?" Spike asked, looking down at the lavender alicorn bedside him.

"It's a surprise." She answered in a song voice, a smile adorning her muzzle.

He rolled his eyes with a smirk before playfully pushing her with his hip, to which she just giggled.

"So, any new spells you've been working on? Any friendship lessons that Starlight's having trouble on?"

Twilight hummed as they walked, using her magic to brush her mane out of her eyes. "Well, I may be able to use a spell to turn a pony into a dragon, but, it's very complex. I think only Celestia or Luna could cast it properly without straining." She finally answered, "Of course, Discord could just turn himself into a dragon at will, but, he doesn't follow any conventional laws of physics or magic."

Spike chuckled. "Yeah, he'd just break physics to do what he wanted."

Twilight giggled and nodded.

As they continued to walk, Spike liked around at all the different shops. Donut Joe's still looked the same as ever. The paperwhite walls, with red and pink roof and window trim were all so familiar to him. He once tried to drown his sorrows in as many donuts as possible. Then there was the Enchanted Comics shop, a midnight blue shop with emerald green roof and trim. He once got a Power Ponies comic that was literally enchanted with a spell to pull the reader into the story.

"Here we are!" Twilight's voice suddenly cut into his thoughts.

In front of the two was a fiery orange building with a yellow flower and Vine pattern design and a lime green roof. An orange, red, and green flower adorned with an elephant was near the top in the center of the front wall. Red green and blue trim adorned each window in a wave-like pattern. Spike knew exactly where they were. The Tasty Treat.

"I heard they have amazing food here," Twilight told him. "So I wanted to try it out for myself."

Spike nodded as he followed her into the restaurant, looking at all the tables and decor, seeing Pinkie's touch in how it was all set up. The candles on every table have a more romantic feel to the restaurant, however, it was subtle enough to have a whole group of stallions at one table.

Spike was interrupted from his admiration when he suddenly came face to face with a dark orange unicorn mare with regal looking brown mane and tail. She wore an Eastern style dress and gave off the impression of being like Rarity.

"Ah, Princess Twilight Sparkle! Welcome!" She greeted excitedly in a thick Indian accent. "And you must be Spike! Welcome to the Tasty Treat! Table for two, I presume?"

"Yes, please," Twilight answered smoothly, surprising Spike. Didn't she tell him that she was afraid of what ponies would think if she ate dinner alone with him? And now she wasn't? She confused Spike more every day it seemed.

Giving up on trying to figure her out, he just followed Twilight to their table, sitting almost right next to her with the way the tables were designed.

"My name is Saffron." The mare greeted. "Whenever you're ready to order, just let me know."

"Thank you, Saffron, we will," Twilight replied, looking at her menu. Spike looked at his menu as well, but, either didn't understand or didn't know what the menu items tasted like.

He looked at Twilight and asked, "Can you order for me? I don't what any of the menu items are."

Twilight blinked in surprise and looked at him, no doubt about to say something, but, upon seeing his sheepish smile, promptly closed her mouth and sighed.

Smiling again, she nodded and waved over Saffron, who smiled and nodded, then gave a group of ponies their food before trotting over to them. "Are you two ready to order?" She asked with a smile

"Yes. Two dandelion and daisy salads and two servings of curry please." Twilight requested, hoofing Saffron the two menus.

"Excellent choice." She complimented, taking the menus in her magic. "And what would you like to drink?"

"Two glasses of Dandelion Root Wine, please," Twilight replied with a smile before winking at Spike.

Oh, great... Spike thought. I think she's slipping again.

"I'll be right back with your food," Saffron promised before walking back to the kitchen.

Spike sighed when she left, folding his arms on the table and burying his face in them with a groan. He felt a hoof on his right shoulder and looked up to see Twilight giving him a sad smile.

"I didn't mean to bring up any awful memories about you-know-who," She promised. "Pinkie told me how good their food is, and so I've been wanting to try it ever since."

He nodded and slowly sat back up. "It's fine, Twi. Although you were right, it was definitely a surprise." He pseudo-complimented her, chuckling after. "I think I've heard Pinkie talking about curry before. What is it?"

"It's a stew-like sauce that's poured over rice." Was suddenly spoken from his left, causing him to nearly jump out of his seat. He looked over at a deeply amused Saffron, his heart rate slowly calming down. "I have your food here." She continued, levitating their salads and curry to them, then their glasses and a brand new bottle of Dandelion Root Wine. "Enjoy your meal."

"Thank you, Saffron," Twilight replied just before she went off to take a few more orders. Picking up her fork in her own magenta colored magic, she took an experimental bite of her curry rice and gave a pleased sounding "mmmm" at the taste. Feeling curious now, Spike picked up his fork in his clawed hand and took a bite of the curry rice as well, imitating Twilight's traction, albeit in his own voice

"Okay, Pinkie was right, this is good." Spike finally commented after his third or fourth bite.

"Mm," Twilight replied before swallowing her own bite. "I have to agree with you. This is really good." After putting her fork down, she uncorked the wine and poured their glasses with her magic, gently raising her glass. “Cheers. To both of us staying together no matter what is thrown our way.”

Spike smiled and clinked his glass against hers, glad that they’ll at least stay friends for as long as possible. Taking a sip from his glass, he nearly coughed the wine back up, as it was his first time trying anything alcoholic, much to Twilight’s amusement.

“Don’t worry, you’ll get used to it.” She promised between giggles, to which he just rolled his eyes.

The rest of their dinner passed by rather uneventfully, much to Spike’s relief. He was afraid something would go wrong and ruin this nice thing that Twilight did for him, even if it had a bit of a rocky start to it. He sat at the table with a pleasantly full stomach. Spike looked outside one of the windows and saw that the sun was starting to set outside. Twilight had already paid for their meal and had contented herself to just talking with him, reliving old memories and laughs that the two had shared over the years.

Spike was about to ask her if she was ready to leave when he felt a bit of weight on his side. Looking to his right, he saw Twilight leaned against him, looking drowsy and tired already. Smiling, he gently lifted her up in his arms and carried her out of The Tasty Treat, thanking Saffron and her father for the delicious food, and promising to bring his other friends with him the next time he came. Walking with Twilight in his arms, he made it to the train station before the last train for Ponyville showed up. Of course, fate wasn’t going to let the rest of his evening be peaceful.

“Hey,” Was suddenly shouted from practically right in front of him. “Who are you and what are you doing with Princess Twilight?”

Spike looked up and saw a dark gray earth pony with silver-blue mane and tail. His eyes were a deep crimson red, reminding him of blood, and the cutie mark was an alchemy vial with a radioactive green liquid inside it.

Blinking once Spike looked at the stallion as if he had dropped from the moon. “Um... I’m Spike. You know, Twi’s dragon assistant?”

“There’s no way in Tartarus that you’re Spike. Spike is a baby dragon, and you’re not a baby dragon.” The stallion denied.

“Dragon’s grow and age. I mean sure, it’s much slower than how a pony ages, but we age.”

Apparently, the stallion either didn’t believe him or didn’t want to believe him, as Spike suddenly got hit in the jaw with a right hook from the earth pony, sending him to the floor of the train terminal.

“Ow,” Spike muttered as he rubbed his jaw. It’s a good thing he had scales that acted like armor, otherwise, that might have actually hurt. Looking back up at the stallion, he saw him standing between him and Twilight.

“Now get out of here you stupid beast. I won’t let you harm Princess Twilight at all!” He practically screamed at Spike.

Spike opened his mouth to retort when a gasp sounded from behind the stallion and Twilight practically bowled him over to check on him.

“Spike! Are you okay?” She asked him, looking at where the stallion had struck him. “You’re bruised there.”

“I’m fine Twi. I just wasn’t expecting him to hit me.” He replied, watching the stallion stand up and looked incredibly pissed off.

Of course, Twilight was nothing if not observant. She followed Spike’s gaze and glared at the stallion, turning to face him with her horn glowing. “Stay away from Spike.” she practically ordered, causing Spikes eyes to widen in surprise. It took a lot to make Twilight mad, and to see her get ready to fight someone, he must be pretty special to warrant such a reaction from the lavender alicorn.

“Wait... you mean that dragon behind you... is Spike?” The stallion asked confused. “But, I thought Spike was a baby dragon.”

“Dragons age and grow, too,” Twilight told him, still sounding royaly pissed off. “Spike is now an adolescent dragon in his current size. Dragon’s just take slower to age, and can live up to be immortal.”

The stallion blinked in surprise. “Oh.”

Chapter 4

Spike stayed quiet as the train continued on towards Ponyville, the memories of what happened at the train station still fresh. He was just surprised that Twilight didn't blast him. Of course, after the whole mess with the misunderstanding of Spike, he couldn't really blame her if she had.

*****

The stallion stared at Twilight with a guilty expression on his face. "Oh. Um, sorry. I thought dragons stayed one way forever." He told them, to which she just smacked her face with a hoof. "I was wrong, I'll admit that now!" He rapidly added.

Spike sighed, standing up and rubbing his jaw. "It's fine. Next time, when a dragon tells you something about dragons, you should listen, as we're the experts on Dragons, not whatever books that ponies have written." He told him. "By the way, you never really told us your name."

"Oh, I'm just an Alchemy Student." The stallion told them, waving a hoof.

"Then do you mind if we just call you Alchemy Student?" She asked.

"Oh, um, of course!" Alchemy quickly agreed. "Uhm, anyway, I have a spare room. If you two want to wait a night to go home, you can..."

"That's OK. I actually have preparations to continue tomorrow." Twilight replied. "And besides, I can just stay with my parents or in the Canterlot Castle if I have to stay the night in Canterlot."

Alchemy's ears lowered and he looked down at his hooves. He opened his mouth again, no doubt to offer something else to her, but the train finally pulled in to the station.

"All aboard!" The conductor called out.

"That's our train, Spike," Twilight said as she turned and walked on, paying for hers and Spikes tickets without another look to Alchemy.

*****

Spike looked down at the gently sleeping Twilight, who was currently using his lap as a pillow, silently wondering how she didn't just blast the stallion. But, she seemed to have gotten a bit more patient since becoming an Alicorn.

The train suddenly slowed down, causing him to lurch forward in surprise, holding Twilight close to him so she didn't fall on the floor of the train cabin. Why she elected to sleep on his lap rather than one of the beds was beyond him.

Suddenly remembering that they slowed down, he looked out the window and saw the darkened buildings of Ponyville coming into view, and he realized that they were arriving at their stop. Spike didn't think he should wake Twilight up just yet, so he gently scooped her up in his arms once the train had stopped and started carrying her back to her castle.

The streets were dark and empty, which was just fine to Spike. He didn't feel like having another run-in with another crazy pony. Which was really saying something given where he lived. Chuckling at his own stupidity, he slowly opened one of the massive blueish purple doors of Twilight's castle, careful not to jostle the sleeping Alicorn.

Making his way up the stairs, he tried to figure out why Twilight was defending him so much at the train depot. She could've just told Alchemy Student that dragons age much slower than ponies in a calm tone, but, she seemed close to blasting him instead. Was she...?

Spike shook his head, dispelling the thought. "No... Ponies should be with ponies..." He muttered dejectedly.

Coming to Twilight's door, he quietly pushed it open and gently tucked her into bed, turning out her light on the way out. He took one last look at her before walking away, and passed his own room, needing to be alone for a while.

Waking out onto the balcony, he passed a sleeping Starlight Glimmer, who was atop a pile of books, the image reminding him of one of Twilight's long study nights.

Entering the cool night air, he spread his wings and, with a few mighty flaps, ascended into the air.

*****

Twilight sat on her bed crying. She messed up, big time. This was even worse than the time she freaked out when she forgot to send Princess Celestia a friendship report. She had hurt Spike with her careless words. Spike, the oldest friend she'd ever had, the one who was always there for her.... and the one she was falling in love with. How she wanted to tell Spike how she felt, but, the fear of her friends, namely Rarity, disliking them being together weighed heavily on her mind.

A sudden knock on her door brought Twilight out of her thoughts and back to reality.

"Twilight?" Starlight asked from the other side of the door. "Can I come in?"

Twilight quickly wiped her tears and ignited her magic, opening her door for Starlight to enter. "Yeah, come on in." She replied, smiling sadly at her.

"Is something wrong?" Starlight asked, sharp mind quickly coming into play as usual.

"Yeah... It's Spike." Twilight answered. "I... Said some things I shouldn't have and I hurt him greatly. I... I just...." Her voice cracked as she fought back tears yet again.

"Tell me what happened. I'll see if I can help out." Starlight offered with a patient smile, sitting next to Twilight on her bed.

Twilight smiled back and began to tell her everything, starting from when Spike came back from Rarity's boutique.

*****

Spike screwed up and flew too far north, the wintry winds of the Crystal Empire battering his wings with enough force to destabilize him a few times.

"This is bad..." He muttered to himself. "If I don't land soon I could be stranded out here."

It was all pointless, however, as a strong gust of wind suddenly blew in from the west, knocking him out of the sky and causing him to land in a snowy outcropping. Pulling himself out quickly, he tucked his wings in as to not damage them any more than they probably were.

Looking up, he was relieved to see the Empire's Arora shining brightly in the night sky. He smiled and started to follow the lights, knowing that the Crystal Empire would welcome their hero with open hooves, even for just a night or two. Plus, he would be able to get some advice from Cadence, the Princess of Love herself.

With newfound determination, Spike placed a burning ball of spit into his right claw and walked on, glad his dragon's fire was magical enough to withstand the high winds of the far north.

"I'm sorry Twilight. Please be patient." He whispered, hoping she would forgive him.

Chapter 6

Spike jolted awake, gasping in fear.

Another nightmare… He thought to himself, as he buried his face in his claws, tears, and sweat mixing in his palms. I need to get some control over this fear of mine.

Last night’s nightmare was different from his first nightmare, even though they both started out with Rarity calling him a disgusting creature for loving ponies. He found himself being ridiculed and hated by everyone, including the Crystal Ponies... and even Twilight. He feared that all his friends felt the same way as Rarity, that everypony felt the same way as Rarity. And he would have no choice but to accept this law and either jealously watch as all his friends found that special somepony, or leave Equestria and try to live among dragons with Ember.

He already felt jealous of Rainbow Dash and Applejack. He wasn't all that surprised when they hooked up last year. What he was surprised by, was that they continued to remain a happy couple, even though they kept challenging and trying to best the other. And it all accumulated inside his chest, making him feel jealous of them, his fear of never finding anypony growing stronger by the day.

Realizing that he was sending himself down a – as Cadence had put it – heartbroken rabbit hole, he shook himself out of it before climbing out of bed and walking to the adjoined bathroom, where he proceeded to wash his face. Looking himself in the mirror, he remembered his conversation with the Princess of Love the night before.

*****

Cadence had looked surprised when Spike had told her what had happened at the Carousel Boutique and then saddened by the time that he had finished. He looked down at his half-eaten soup and cocoa, having suddenly lost his appetite.

“I can see how that would break your heart and instill fear where love should be,” Cadence started, breaking the silence after a few moments. “But I wonder if there is anything Twilight herself is going through right now that is making her act this way?”

Spike sighed airily, expecting this argument from Twilight’s very own foal-sitter/sister-in-law. “I thought she might be going through her estrus cycle, but during the train ride, she wasn’t giving off any pheromones.” He explained thoughtfully, finally realizing it himself.

“Then she’s either hiding something, or she meant something else, but used a poor choice of words.” Cadence suggested, scratching her chin with a hoof.

“Or, she also thinks ponies should love ponies and dragons should love dragons.” Spike countered sadly, before conceding with, “Or she’s afraid because of how ponies will react to a Princess loving a Dragon.”

Cadence watched Spike with sad eyes as he laid his head on his forepaws. She didn’t like seeing him hurt like this, after all, the Crystal Ponies of her kingdom owed him so much, as did she, what with bringing her the Crystal Heart to finally defeat King Sombra, saving the Equestrian Games from that huge ice block, providing them with an opportunity to befriend and study a Changeling by introducing Thorax - which in turn made a peace treaty between the new Changeling Kingdom - and even helping foal sit Flurry Heart when he was with Twilight.

“I think I’m going to get some sleep.” Spike suddenly spoke, slowly making his way to one of the two beds. “I had a rough flight, and I’m still kind of exhausted.” He explained, giving her an apologetic smile.

“Oh, of course,” Cadence replied, sounding surprised. “I’m sorry, I forgot that you flew here yourself. I’ll be gone to talk to Twilight tomorrow, so feel free to explore the city or castle at your leisure.”

He smiled and nodded before his exhaustion got the better of him and he collapsed on the bed, succumbing to a well-deserved sleep.

*****

Sighing, Spike used a towel to dry off his face before walking back through the room toward the door. While opening it, he had to take a couple steps backward in surprise so he didn’t run into the same castle maid from last night and the tray of food that was beside her.

“Oh, good morning, Spike.” The mare greeted him with a soft blush. “I, uh, brought you some breakfast.”

“Oh, thank you.” He smiled a bit at her and stepped out of the way so she can push the tray in, before she quickly got out of the room again, a flush expanding on her cheeks.

“Well… that was random.” Spike commented before shrugging to himself. Sitting down on the bed, picking up the tray off the cart and digging in, his stomach growling appreciatively.

*****

Twilight awoke to Starlight knocking on her bedroom door. “Twilight, Princess Cadence is here.” She called through the door.

The lavender alicorn groaned before sitting up, still half asleep. She was about to shout towards Starlight when her door opened and Cadence slowly trotted through, her normal pink, yellow and blue mane was done up in its old ponytail, rather than her usual straight on one side.

“Cadence!” Twilight gasped before rushing to her old foal-sitter.

“Sunshine, sunshine, ladybugs awake! Clap your hooves and do a little shake!” The two princess said in unison, giggling afterward at their antics.

“Not to ruin the mood, but I spoke with Spike last night,” Cadence told Twilight. “I came here to talk about why you were afraid to be seen with him during dinner yesterday.”

Starlight looked at Twilight, surprised, while the lavender Alicorn’s ears drooped in embarrassment and fear. “I wasn’t afraid to be seen with him in a romantic light,” She told Cadence. “I was afraid of what ponies might do to him if they saw him with me.”

“Did they do anything to him or you?” Cadence asked, suddenly worried.

“No, thankfully none of the ponies at the Tasty Treat did anything to him,” Twilight reassured. “But there was a stallion at the Canterlot Train Station who didn’t know he was Spike and attacked him.”

Cadence sighed gustily in relief. “Alright. Spike told me as much last night.” She told her before turning and trotting toward the balcony. “Now I must go and talk to Rarity and see if I can’t uncover why she acted the way she did towards Spike.” Spreading her regal wings, she jumped off the balcony and flew off towards the Carousel Boutique.

Once Cadence was out of view, Twilight sighed sadly, looking at a picture of her and Spike at the crystal fair a few months back. “Oh, Spike. I wish I could take all your pain.” She whispered to herself, a single tear splashing on the glass.

“Hey, Twilight, I was wondering if you could help me make some cupcakes!” Pinkie Pie suddenly spoke from the doorway, causing Starlight to jump and shriek in surprise, to which Pinkie just giggled. “Oops, sorry, Starlight.” She looked back at her lavender friend, her mouth open when she noticed that she wasn’t smiling or reading. “Hey, why are you crying, Twilight?”

*****

Back in the Crystal Empire, Spike was looking at the Crystal Heart that he helped Twilight retrieve, stopping and destroying King Sombra. “Did we destroy him?” He whispered to himself. “I should probably find a library to do some research on him... Wow, never thought I’d say that I needed to do research. I think I've been spending too much time with Twilight.”

Shaking his head, he started walking in the direction that he knew the Crystal Library was in. He may not have been a baby dragon anymore, but he was still young, barely a toddler by Dragon Standards. He suddenly stopped when it occurred to him. I’m still a toddler…. Anypony that isn’t an alicorn will die long before I do… If I ever do…

Running towards the library now, he had to find out exactly how long he would live for. Screw King Sombra, his real fear was hammering into him with a vengeance. He just hoped he wasn’t given more bad news.

Chapter 7

Twilight was mad. She wanted to talk to Cadence about Spike, ask how he was doing, and if she could go see him. Instead, the pink alicorn had brought Rarity back to Twilight's castle in hopes to get to the root of the situation. And of course, the pearly white unicorn sat oblivious to her friend's anger.

“Rarity, while you don't think so, you hurt Spike with what you said to him.” The Princess of Love spoke. They had been talking for a good thirty minutes with the seamstress, hoping to understand why she blatantly ignored Spike's own feelings.

“I was just explaining that it's wrong for a dragon to love a pony.” Rarity replied, for the umpteenth time. “It's not my fault if he refuses to see reason. You must see what I mean, Twilight, being a princess and all.”

“See what you mean?” Twilight asked, growling, surprising her seamstress friend. “No, I don't see what you mean. Haven't you ever thought that Spike has only known ponies since he was born? Can't you at least try to see what you said from his point of view?” She was practically screaming by the time she was finished.

“Twilight, I know how you must be feeling,” Rarity said, trying to be diplomatic. “But what would ponies think if-”

She was suddenly cut off by a lavender hoof slapping her across the face.

Twilight's eyes were brimming with tears as she stared at Rarity. “You're so insensitive!” She shouted at her before running up to her room, crying the whole way.

Why? She asked herself as she ran. Why does she have to be so clueless, so hurtful…. So much like the Canterlot Elite that she despises so much.

It was true, Rarity hated the Canterlot Elite, but it was them that made most of the orders from Rarity. She's not infallible, after all. That didn't stop Twilight from being mad at her for hurting Spike like that.

Flinging herself on her bed and using a burst of magic to close her door, she buried her face in her pillow.

“Spike…” She whispered. “I hope you're okay. Come home soon…”

*****

Spike stared at the book in front of him. Shining Armor had brought it to him upon the librarian's request. But now, he was wishing he'd stayed blissfully unaware.

His specific breed of dragon, it turns out, was considered immortal, until an outside force killed them, such as a dragon hunter, or another dragon. Which meant he'd only be able to fall in love with an Alicorn, or a Dragon.

“Cadence had the same fear when she fell in love with me.” Shining confided to Spike. “I may die, but she'd rather love me than not love at all.”

Spike sighed before looking at the ex-royal guard captain. “Yeah, I guess that's a better way to look at it.” He agreed. “But what's really plaguing my mind is whether or not I can even love a pony. Will ponies think I’m weird, or even unnatural?”

Shining brought his hoof up to his chin in thought as Spike looked straight ahead. The library was a bit darker than he remembered, but, he had only been in it once when he was young. Shelf after shelf of books of all different colors and sizes spread out like some kind of researcher’s paradise. The crystalline blue desk that they sat at had an almost polished glow to it as if it were a finely crafted gem. Of course, thinking of such made him hungry, so he returned his mind to other thoughts…. Even though they were the last thoughts he wanted in his head at the moment. Thoughts of love He didn’t even think it was possible for dragons and ponies to be romantically involved, and that thought burned him to his core in more ways than any natural fire could. Maybe he should leave and be with dragons? No, Twilight would just burn her castle down without him. So, it was with unhappy resignation that he finally chose to stay with Twilight in Ponyville, even if he may never find one that he may call his one true love.

“Who’s to say what ponies are going to think?” He heard Shining finally say. “There are always going to be ponies that accept your choices and ponies that are going to challenge your choices. But you have to decide which side to listen to.”

Spike stared at him, thinking that his words were infinitely wise before a sly grin crept onto his muzzle. “Those were Celestia’s and Cadence’s words weren’t they?” He asked the ex-guard captain.

“What? No, they were, uh…” Shining stammered, a flush along his cheeks before he slumped his head down. “Yeah…”

Spike laughed at his honorary brother’s discomfort, a strange numbness encasing his heart.

*****

The next morning, Twilight awoke to a bright flash of green and the sound of a scroll landing on her bed.

Groaning, she slowly sat up and used her magic to unravel the scroll, the letter waking her up faster as she read.

Dear Twilight,
I’m sorry I just left a couple nights ago, but I had to do some research, and I knew Princess Cadence still had some books on dragons from when you were a little foal. I’ll be arriving back at the castle later this evening, so if Cadence is still there can you tell her that I’d like to ask her for a bit of advice? Don’t worry, I’m fine, and as an apology, I’m going to make you that dandelion and wild poppy salad with apple and peach slices that you love so much. I’ll see you tonight.

Spike
P.S. Try not to do anything crazy that results in you burning the castle down.

Twilight smiled at the letter, hearing Spike’s usual upbeat and snarky voice in her head helped her relax. “Thank you, Spike.” She whispered to herself before setting off to writing a reply to him.

Dear Spike,
You better make good on that promise mister. Only then will I forgive you. Cadence is staying here until tomorrow, so you'll have plenty of time to talk to her until then. And I'm the one who should be apologizing. I let my own fears cloud what was important to you, and as a result, I ended up hurting the best and oldest friend I've ever had. I can't wait to see you tonight, and I think we all need to sit down and talk about you. And, no, you're not getting out of it that easily. I know you think you need to take this burden on all by yourself, but you don't. You have me and your other friends who are willing to help you out. (Except Rarity, obviously, as she's made her claim fairly knows to all of us) Have a safe travel and please don't freeze to death on the return flight. I'm glad Shining Armor was there to find you, otherwise, I'd have more to worry about.

A stray tear fell onto the parchment and she quickly wiped her eyes before continuing the letter.

I also have a surprise planned for you, but you're not finding out until you return home, mister. So hurry your scaly butt up. I'll see you tonight.
Twilight
P.S. I can't make any promises.

Rolling the letter up and chuckling to herself, she watched as her magic made the letter burn up it a bluish-purple fire, on it's way to Spike.

Getting up from her desk, she made her way down the halls of her castle, already planning her little surprise for the dragon of her heart.

A dragon's heart... She thought to herself giddily. I never thought I'd find myself excited about the prospect.

Chapter 8

Spike flew through the warm air above Canterlot, glad to be out of the snow of the Crystal Empire. He was feeling much better than when he had arrived there two days ago and was ready to start helping Twilight around the Library again. He reminded himself that he shouldn't avoid Rarity, but at least move on from her. Her point of view stung, yeah, but at least he knew how she felt now.

There was a sudden gust of wind, knocking him off course for a bit, as he slowly started to spiral down before he managed to correct himself and get back onto his previous flight course. He sighed in relief, before opening his eyes to look back into two aquamarine ones staring right at him.

Giving off a yelp of surprise, he stumbled in the air a bit and had to catch himself before he fell again.

“We are... I mean, I am sorry Dragon Spike.” Princess Luna apologized. “But my sister has requested your help in a personal matter.”

Spike sighed, knowing nopony can say no to a direct summons from Princess Celestia, unless you either have a banishment wish or just feeling ballsy.

“Alright. But, can you send a letter to Twilight, explaining this? She's expecting me to get home today.” He replied, resigning himself to helping.

“Of course,” Luna replied, with an impish smile on her face. “In fact, she's been summoned to come to Canterlot as well for the same reason you are.”

“Oh... well, okay then.” He shrugs. “Alright, well, I'll head down to the throne room then.”

Luna gave him a single nod in return before watching as he made a lazy loop and flew down toward the Castle of Canterlot, most of the city flashing past him as he flew. Making his final approach to the castle, he used his wings to slow his descent before gently landing in front of the main gates, the guards looking at him in shock, before getting ready to charge.

“Seriously? I know I haven't been to Canterlot much since moving to Ponyville with Twilight, but that doesn't mean-”

Sadly, he didn't get to finish his sentence as one of the guards charged at him, knocking him flat to the ground, his armored hoof pushing down on Spike's throat, making it hard to get breath into his lungs.

Just before he passed out from lack of oxygen, he heard a very pissed off Princess Celestia charging at them.

*****

Twilight sat with her friends in one of the many passenger compartments of the train as they rode up to the great city of Canterlot, from a direct summons from Princess Celestia. Of course, she was a little sad that she wouldn't be able to give Spike his little surprise, even if he was also going to Canterlot.

“So, she didn't give any reason at all as to why we were all summoned?” Applejack asked, sounding confused.

“No. All the letter said was that she needed us all in Canterlot as soon as possible. I just hope it's nothing major.” Twilight replied, sounding just as confused, if not a bit frustrated over the whole ordeal.

The rest of the train ride was uneventful as the train slowly made it's way past the Canterlot mountain range, and into the royal city itself, where they found that Princess Luna was waiting for them.

“You must come with me to the castle immediately.” She informed them. “Spike is in the castle infirmary.”

“What's wrong with Spike?” Twilight asked immediately after hearing that Spike had been injured.

“Unfortunately one of our guards did not know who he was, and attacked, mistaking him for a rogue dragon.” The Lunar Princess informed them. "Thankfully, Celestia saw this and saved Spike before taking him to the infirmary.”

Twilight was furious. As they all followed Princess Luna up to the great Canterlot Castle, she couldn't help but growl out little threats about if she ever caught who hurt her Spike.

“Twilight, um, please calm down, um, I mean, if that's alright with you, that is,” Fluttershy spoke up. “B-but I don't think Spike would want you to be mad while he's resting in the hospital.” She continued, causing Twilight to sigh, calming down a bit.

She was right of course. Spike would try to calm her down, let her know that he was alright, even if had a bloody bandage around his torso. Actually, come to think of it, he did have a bloody bandage around his torso once. That had been a bad time for all of them, not just her.

“You're right, thank you, Fluttershy,” Twilight replied, smiling at her.

“Before we enter, I must ask that you do not cause any outburst,” Luna told them as she turned to face them. “Even if he wakes up, he is going to be a little sore. The guard that attacked him was a unicorn and knew a spell that would allow his hooves to harm Spike through his scales.”

Twilight grit her teeth at the news, but kept her anger in check as much as she could, nodding to Luna while the others voiced their agreement.

Luna nodded in reply to them before opening the door and walking into the infirmary, only to see Spike sitting up, wide awake. But something still felt off about how the drake was acting. Celestia stood near Spike, two slices of birthday cake floating in her magic while she magically fed Spike like she used to when he was younger, seeing as she still considered herself his mother.

“Spike!” Twilight called in relief as she as she quickly made her way to the side of his bed. “I’m glad to see you’re up.”

“Yes, I was concerned as well for a while there,” Celestia commented. “But thankfully he’s doing better. I’d hate for him to have to spend all day in the hospital on my birthday.”

Twilight gasped at the news. “Happy birthday, Celestia!” She called, before giving her old mentor a hug.

Spike gave a quiet snicker at the scene, causing Applejack’s eyebrow to raise in suspicion. “Why ain’t ya sayin’ anythin’, Sugarcube?” She asked.

That’s when they all realized what was wrong with Spike. He opened his mouth to answer, but no noise came out of it at all, even though his lips and tongue were moving.

“Spike, unfortunately, has gone temporarily mute due to how hard the guard was holding his windpipe down.” Celestia finally revealed, causing every mare present, including Princess Luna, to gasp in utter shock.

Twilight quickly looked over at Spike and saw his head droop, tears starting to fall from his eyes, said tears quickly crystallizing into the rarest gems possible, Dragon’s Tears. And she knew that he rarely cried, only when he was truly afraid of losing somepony, or when his heart or trust was damaged in such an irreversible way. Spike was afraid that he’d lose the support and love of his friends until his voice returned.

Chapter 9

Twilight was beyond mad. She was furious. A guard attacking an unprovoked dragon like it was nothing more that a beast from the depth of the Everfree Forest. As she stared at Spike, her anger only grew. They had hurt her dragon. Her dragon. And she would make them pay.

“Where is this guard now?” Twilight asked, her mane and tail starting to become more and more frazzled the angrier she got.

“Twilight Sparkle.” Celestia suddenly spoke in a calm, yet commanding voice, causing Twilight to jump in surprise. “I will not let you just go off and attack one of my guards, even if they unlawfully attacked a dragon. It seems that the whole royal guard needs to be reminded that there is a treaty between us and the dragons.” She spoke, looking angry herself. It didn’t take long to find out why. “Besides. I already dealt with that treasonous little bastard for harming my son. I don’t think I’ve ever intentionally hurt a pony in all my life. They’re currently in the Canterlot hospital being looked after. Then they will be given dishonorable discharge and spend 6 months in jail. After which, they will be sent home.”

Twilight stared at Celestia. It took a lot for her to get angry at somepony. And to attack them then throw them in jail? She only did that when Spike’s life was on the line - which it was - she rapidly reminded herself as she calmed herself down.

“I’m sorry, Princess,” Twilight replied, before trotting up and nuzzling Spike. “I’m only going to ask yes or no questions, okay?” She asked him.

Spike nodded, glad that he wouldn’t lose Twilight, but, at the same time, he hadn’t expected to.

“Are you afraid of any of the other girls leaving you?” She asked him, as Celestia kept feeding him some of her birthday cake, while also making a request to the kitchen staff to bring some more cake for her guests.

While spike chewed on the cake, he looked at the other 6 mares who were looking at him with different expressions on their faces. Rainbow looked like she wanted to go find the stallion herself. Fluttershy had a hoof covering her mouth, tears forming in the corners of her eyes. Pinkie was watching the other girls nervously as if she was trying to decide who to comfort first. Starlight was staring at Spike in shock, worry slowly creeping onto her face. Rarity…. Had unsurprisingly fainted on the spot. Applejack was trying to calm her marefriend down before she did anything rash.

Spike nodded, finally answering Twilight’s question, to which she gently hugged him, letting him cry in her embrace.

Rainbow was the first one to break the silence as she started to walk toward the door, “Pinkie hold my tail.” She instructed.

“Okie Dokie Loki.” She replied before grasping the rainbow tail in her mouth.
“Lemme at him. I’m going to turn that no good stallion into a cloud wetting pansy.” Rainbow suddenly exploded, struggling to get out of the room.

“Okie Dokie Loki.” The pink mare said, letting go of Rainbow’s tail.

“I think you’re missing the point here, Pinks,” Rainbow told her, lifting her tail up while AJ came up and held the mare from behind.

“Oh.” Pinkie blinked before bursting into giggles. “My bad. Hey, did anypony get that reference?” She asked.

“What reference?” Starlight asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Oh, I forgot, none of you saw that movie.” The pink mare giggled.

Twilight just rolled her eyes, before she remembered the letter. “Oh, I almost forgot!” She exclaimed before turning to Princess Celestia. “What did you summon all of us for?” She asked.

“Oh yes. I wanted to tell you all in person.” She began before she gave them a shocking reveal. “Discord and I are getting married.”

*****

Spike stared up at the ceiling of the hospital wing he was in, the IV for pain control and medicine attached under his scales along his left forearm, and the gentle, yet annoying beeping of the EKG to his right. After the initial shock that Celestia was going to marry Discord gave him some hope that he could one day marry a pony as well.

A gentle snort from the sleeping pony beside him gave a reminder that he wasn’t alone.

Smiling as he looked down to his right, Spike saw Twilight curled up and snuggled against him, sleeping peacefully with a smile gracing her features. She had stayed by his bed the whole day, even after everyone else went off to get settled in the guest rooms, declaring adamantly that she was staying by his side until he was released.

Finally deciding that she had the right idea and that the rest of the world could move on without him for a while, he gently pulled Twilight closer to him, and closed his heavy eyes, slowly drifting off to sleep.

When he opened his eyes again, he was back in the same nightmare. The events of Rarity’s rejection played out just like they had in the waking world, but then things got weird.

“Oh, I know that little rejection didn’t hurt a beast like you.” Rarity suddenly told him, a look of hatred on her face. “A monster like you can never feel love. We only keep you around because you’re useful when it comes to manual labor.”

Spike knew this was a dream. That didn’t stop it from hurting him still. As the dream played out, he realized that these were his subconscious fears that had been awoken the day he finally told Rarity how he felt.

“Nopony can ever love a beast like you!” Rarity shouted into his face, her white hoof swinging in to slap his face.

But the slap never came, and he didn’t wake up like normal. Opening his eyes after not realizing he had closed them, he saw a familiar purple magic holding Rarity’s hoof in place.

“You are wrong, Rarity.” The voice of Twilight Sparkle suddenly cut in from all around them. “I keep him around because I love him, something you are too vain and shallow to see properly.” The purple alicorn herself walked into view, her horn glowing angrily as she glared at the dream Rarity. “You’re hurting Spike. And you know what happens to ponies when they hurt Spike.”

Suddenly, the magic that held the seamstress’s hoof threw her out the window, removing her from the dream altogether, before Twilight turned and smiled at Spike. “Luna brought me into your dream, after telling me that you were having a nightmare.” She explained. "Although, Celestia’s sun is rising, and the wedding is today. Canterlot surely puts a royal wedding together fast.” She chuckled then pulled Spike into a hug. “I’ll see you when you wake up.” She whispered, before slowly fading away.

Spike stared at where Twilight was just standing. After a few minutes of just staring at the floor, he smiled and nodded to nopony in particular, before allowing himself to wake up, slowly opening his real eyes to be greeted with Twilight’s now open and awake eyes staring back at him from a few inches away.

“Th-Thank you.” He whispered to her, his throat still sore from when the guard attacked him.

Twilight’s eyes widened at the sound of his voice before tears of happiness started forming at the corner of her eyes. After wiping the tears away, she pulled him into a hug.

“You’re welcome, Spike.” She whispered back. “I’m glad your voice is coming back.”

*****

Spike stood next to Discord - wearing a suit that felt a little tight on him - as his best man. He had been roped into it when the lord of chaos realized that he didn’t have one to begin with. Of, course it wasn’t the weirdest thing that the draconequus has done before. At least, no weirder than Princess Luna, the bride’s sister, conducting the ceremony.

Once the bridal march started, the purple drake gave an apologetic look to Twilight, before his eyes being drawn to Celestia, who wore a pale blue wedding dress with a flowing skirt, the veil and train easily touching the floor, but not as long on the floor as one normally would be. As she made her way up the aisle, Spike couldn’t help but wonder what it would be like to have somepony walk up the aisle, place their hoof in his claw, and smile at him just before the ceremony started.

“Fillies and Gentlecolts,” Luna called out in a regal tone, snapping Spike out of his daydream. “We are gathered here today to join, two souls in celestial matrimony.”

The whole crowd was fixed on the unlikely couple, smiling faces adorning them. Spike knew that only a select few of those faces held some truth to how they looked. The rest just didn’t want to get on Celestia’s bad side after hearing what she did to a guard who unlawfully attacked him, her proclaimed son, no less.

“Celestia, if you’d like to start with your vows,” Luna suggested.

Celestia nodded her head and turned to face her draconequus lover. “Discord… It broke my heart the day I had to turn you into stone. I was a fool, afraid of what ponies would see if I had confessed my feelings long ago. All that time, I constantly visited your statue, I am overjoyed to finally spend the rest of eternity with you, as your loving wife. And I promise you will never have to feel alone again.”

Some of the ponies had tears in their eyes, while Fluttershy was silently crying into her hooves, overjoyed for her draconequus friend. Spike smiled and looked to see what Discord's vows were, or even if he had any.

“My dearest, Celestia. The first time we met, I thought you were the most beautiful mare in all of Equestria. The first time I called you SunButt, I was happy to finally give you a nickname worthy of me.” He chuckled with Spike and the rest of the crowd. “The longer we spent together, the more I fell in love with you. It’s true that when you called me nothing more than a beast that couldn’t be tamed, no matter how hard you tried, I gave in to my chaotic nature, ready to throw the whole world away.” He took a deep breath. “I’m glad you stopped me that day. If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t be able to stand here and say: I love you.”

Almost everyone was crying now, Fluttershy crying tears of joy as she leaned against the pink mare beside her who looked about ready to cry herself. Even Spike had to wipe a tear from his cheek as it rapidly solidified into another Dragon’s Tear. Way to go, Discord, He thought proudly. You finally did it.

“Celestia, do you take Discord to be your lawfully wedded husband, to love and to have, in sickness and in health, for as long as you both shall live?” Luna asked, to which Celestia replied with a simple, “I do.”

Luna nodded and turned to Discord. “And do you, Discord, take Celestia to be your lawfully wedded wife, to love and to have, in sickness and in health, for as long as you both shall live?”

Discord looked into the eyes of Celestia and grinned. “I do.”

Spike watched as a young colt brought the rings up and presented them to the couple, Celestia using her magic to place the ring on Discord’s Gryphon talon, while he used his lion’s paw to place the other one on Celestia’s horn.

“By the power vested in me, granted by Princess Celestia, I now pronounce you Mare and Draconequus,” Luna announced. “You may kiss the bride.”

Celestia and Discord leaned in slowly and lovingly, before their lips finally met in a kiss, lasting but only for a few seconds, before pulling back with happy loving smiles adorning their faces. The crowd soon erupted into cheers as Spike gave a few whistles in congratulations to the newly wedded couple.

During the party, Vynal Scratch - AKA DJ PON3 - Played a remixed version of the wedding song that Twilight sang at Shining Armor’s and Cadences wedding, while Spike danced with the purple alicorn herself. As the events of the night slowed down and Spike went to a room he was to share with Twilight, he felt her curl up against him again and kiss his cheek before she slowly drifted off to sleep.

Spike stared at her with a blush on his face, a claw where she had kissed him. Man, Twilight’s really being affectionate tonight. He thought to himself, before chuckling. Well, she did drink some of the hard cider before asking to dance with me. Maybe she’s actually attracted to me? He shook his head, realizing that he wouldn’t get any answers out of the situation and he held his closest friend to his chest, slowly letting the comforting feeling of her snuggling him lull him off to sleep.

Chapter 10

As the sun shined through the window of Twilight’s old room, the purple alicorn in question was snuggled up close to her favorite dragon as the two were still asleep. Spike had one of his arms wrapped around her back while his other hand was resting on her waist, while Twilight had her head resting on his broad muscular chest, her forehooves folded comfortably under her chest, a soft smile adorning her muzzle.

Once the rays of the morning sun reached the closed eyes of the purple and green dragon, he groaned in annoyance as he was pulled from the land of sleep and into the waking world. He gave a toothy yawn as he slowly opened his eyes to greet the new morning. However, they soon widened in shock once he saw the position that he and Twilight were in. Oh crap, oh crap. He thought to himself in a panic. How did we end up like this? Why are we this close to each other? Suddenly the memories of the previous night came flooding back to him and he blushed a bit. “Oh, right...” He muttered to himself before letting out a sigh.

He slowly untangled himself from Twilight, trying as hard as he could to not wake her up, which was easier than he expected, but, deciding not to test his luck, he slowly snuck out of the room to go down to the Castle’s dining room to get some breakfast.

As he descended the stairs, part of him couldn’t help but wonder as to why things were happening the way they were now, almost like karma was deciding that he had enough torment, but still giving him new challenges to slowly overcome. Speaking of challenges, he still needed to speak to Princess Cadence about everything going on, and maybe hopefully get some advice on the matter.

When he finally got to the bottom of the stairs, he came face to face with one of the last ponies he wanted to see at that moment. The one and only pearly white unicorn that used to fuel and now torment his dreams.

“Oh, Spike. I was hoping to speak to you at some point-” She began. Unfortunately, Spike didn’t want to hear what she was going to say, opting instead to walk right past her. “I’m sorry, Rarity. But I can’t speak to you for a while. I’m sorry, but you destroyed my heart.” He told her, opening the door to the main dining room. “Just give me some more time, please. I just need to get my thoughts together.”

He didn’t even turn to look at her as he walked right past her into the great dining hall where the rest of their friends were already eating, with Celestia, Luna, and Cadence in attendance as well.

“Ah, Spike. I see you're finally up.” Princess Celestia commented upon seeing him enter. Her face flashed a bit of uncertainty for just a moment when she looked past him at Rarity, but it was gone before he could even register it.

“Yeah, I feel like I was finally able to get some sleep, not having to worry about any nightmares keeping me from resting,” Spike replied, before continuing with, “By the way, Cadence, once you're free, I need to talk to you about something that's been bothering me for a while. Alone, if at all possible.” He glanced at Applejack who was giving him a warm smile, which greatly helped brighten his mood after dealing with Rarit.

The pearly unicorn in question had walked into the dining room at that point and sat down with her own breakfast, which caused Spike's stomach to growl. “Yeah, that's my queen to go and get some food.” He muttered before walking off to do just that.

*****

Yawning a bit, Spike idly listened to his friends talk about some upcoming party. The bulk of his mind, however, was replaying the conversation he had with Cadence before getting on the train.

*****

She had led them to an unused ticket stand, knowing that it was partially soundproofed inside it.

“So, what did you want to talk about?” Cadence asked him, sitting patiently across from him. Even at full height she barely stood just under his chin.

“Well,” Spike took a deep breath before starting. “I was wondering if you had any advice or information that could prove useful in my situation.”

Scratching her chin lightly, the pink Alicorn thought about it for a few moments before finally answering. “I'd say just trust your heart. Though I'm not sure that's applicable in this situation…”

The purple drake just chuckled a bit darkly, his wings shifting a bit. She soon continued before he could reply however, with, “To be honest, trust your friends. They truly want to help you.” Upon seeing his deadpan expression, she appended, “Well, maybe not Rarity. She thinks you'd be better off getting together with Ember rather than trying to date a pony.”

“Even though that would mean leaving Ponyville and Equestria forever, making Twilight, Celestia, and not to mention the Crystal Empire sad?” He asked, sounding annoyed.

“I tried telling her that,” Cadence pseudo-answered. “And her reply was 'I don't mean immediately, he can obviously wait until we no longer need him as often.’”

At that, Spike slapped his face, his mind screaming in frustration and annoyance.

*****

The train had arrived at that point, cutting their conversation short, unfortunately. Though now, he was listening to Twilight tell the others to not talk about the party on the train.

Well, why can't they talk about it? Why would they need to hide information about… an… upcoming… party….

It suddenly dawned on him what party they were talking about.

How could I have forgotten that my own birthday is tomorrow?! He mentally asked himself, feeling stupid.

Now, he had another event to look forward to. Though he didn't know if it was going to end on a high note, or another low note. Only time would tell.

Chapter 11

As the train slowly pulled into the station in Ponyville, Spike leaned against the open-air railing of the caboose, wondering what he was going to do for the rest of the day while his friends got ready for his birthday the following day. He could head down to Sweet Apple Acres for a while and chat with Big Mac. Or he could go see what the Crusaders were up to. He soon realized that he mostly did chores for Twilight or Rarity, and barely had any free time to himself, which was kind of sad, if he thought about it.

The train suddenly stopping ripped Spike from his thoughts as he stumbled a bit, realizing that he might want to get off. After meeting up with Twilight, he soon found out that he would be able to return to the castle at around 8 PM which gave him around six hours to roam around Ponyville. Now all he needed to do was figure out what he was going to do for that time.

Deciding to just walk in a random direction, he soon found himself walking to the schoolhouse. Most of the fillies and colts were playing in the yard around the slide and swing set, and he easily spotted the big red bow of AppleBloom, one of the few ponies who actually helped Spike through his growth spurt. That reminded him that he’d have to thank Big Mac, Carrot Top, and Noteworthy again when he had the chance.

Before he could move on and leave the foals to their playing, he heard someone calling out to him.

“Oh, hey, Spike!” He heard Starlight call.

Turning around, he saw Starlight and Trixie were making their way over to him.

“Oh, hey, Starlight. Trixie.” He replied, letting them approach. “What’s up?”

“We were wondering if you’d like to help us with something?” Starlight asked him.

“What, exactly, would that be?” He asked her, raising an eyebrow.

She blushed a bit, no doubt understanding his meaning. “Nothing like last time, I swear!” She defended quickly, flailing her forelegs, causing Spike and Trixie to chuckle a bit at her.

“Alright, alright!” He chuckled before noticing the saddlebags that the two mares were carrying. “Uh, what’s in those?” He asked.

Starlight looked confused for a second before Trixie spoke up. “They contain secret materials for Trixie’s next greatest show!”

Spike and Starlight just stared at Trixie as she posed as if waiting for the fireworks to commence. After a few moments, she seemed to notice their stares before coughing awkwardly into her hoof.
“A-anyway…” Trixie began. “We were wondering if you could lend us some of your magical fire. You once said that it won’t go out or burn anything unless you want it to, right?”

“Yeah, that’s right. Why do you need some of my fire?” Spike asked.

“Well….”

*****

Twilight opened the main doors to her castle, her five friends in tow behind her as they all entered the main entryway.

“Alright, y’all,” Applejack started. “We need to get this place looking nice and dandy fer Spike’s birthday party tomorrow.”

The other girls gave their own sounds of confirmation as they headed up to the main hall to start decorating for the party.

“Oh, Spike wanted to say thanks again for the weights, Rainbow,” Twilight told her friend. “He says it helps curb his greed, plus, I think he likes working out.”

Rainbow’s ears perked as she heard this. “Oh, really? I didn’t think it’d be that helpful to him.” She replied as she and Fluttershy lifted the ‘Happy Birthday, Spike!’ banner up to hang it.

Rarity’s own ears perked as she listened to them, not realizing how much the drake had to do to keep his dragon instincts under control.

Applejack chuckled before looking over to Rainbow. “Come now, Rainbow, y’all should know Spike better than that by now.” She told her. “Ah mean, Spike was talkin’ ta me about possibly helping out on the farm a few weeks ago. Said somethin’ ‘bout wanting to expand his exercise routine or somethin’.”

As the girls continued setting up the decorations for Spike's birthday, Rarity quietly listened to them talk about everything he's doing to control his dragon greed.

*****

"Are you sure about this?"

"Of course Trixie is sure! She is always sure!"

Starlight sighed. “Yes, we’re, sure, Spike. We just need you to breathe your fire into these jars and make sure that they only burn fuses.”

Spike looked at the glass jars in front of him and nodded, picking one up before blowing his magic fire into it. Once he was sure there was enough inside it, he closed the jar and set it aside before he repeated the process with three other glass jars. Once he was done, he looked around the backstage area. Most of the boxes were covered in tarps or still sealed up, and he knew from experience to not look inside any of those unless he wanted a magical boot to the flank. The only box that wasn’t sealed or had tarps on it was the box of fireworks that they showed him for proof that they were going to use his fire to light them off.

“Well, I have a feeling this show will be amazing.” He told the two mares.

“We certainly hope so.” Starlight replied a bit sheepishly.

*****

Twilight was sitting in her “throne” by the Cute Map with 5 of her other friends in their respective “thrones”. The decorating was finished, now, all they had to do was wait for Spike to show, have a small party the next day, then take him to Trixie’s and Starlight’s show where they would perform a special birthday show for the drake of honor.

While they were waiting, they began telling stories about their best memories of Spike, which had evolved from talking about what he had to do to keep his Dragon Greed from spiraling out of control.

“And he managed to pull Applebloom outa the frozen lake, despite him riskin’ his own hide ta save her.” Applejack was telling them, recounting the time he was watching the Crusaders at the farm. “We got him warmed up by the fire after that. Least we coulda done, after all.”

Twilight was still wide-eyed after hearing that Applejack’s sister had fallen through some thin ice on her family’s farm.

“Seriously?” Dash asked her orange friend. “That big old lug has gotten a lot gutsier recently. Remind me to stop teasing him about that.” She continued. Everyone laughed of course.

“Speakin’ o’ gutsy.” Applejack suddenly spoke up, looking to Rarity. “I think it’s time y’all told us why ya decided to destroy Spike’s heart like that.” She told the seamstress.

“Whatever do you mean, Applejack?” Rarity asked as if she had no idea what they were suddenly talking about.

“Don’t play dumb with me, I’m talking about when Spike finally confessed his feelin’s fer ya.” Applejack replied, her eyes narrowing.

Everyone gathered was watching the scene unfold between the two friends with wide-eyed anticipation of what was to come.

“I simply just told him that Dragons should be with Dragons and Ponies should be with Ponies.” Rarity finally replied after a few moments of silence.

Surprisingly, it was Fluttershy to speak up next.

“Rarity! How could you be so insensitive?!” The usually timid mare asked. “Think of how Spike felt at that moment. What if you were Spike and you were in love with a pony? How do you think you would feel if that pony suddenly told you that you should be with your own kind when Spike is nothing like his own kind?”

Everyone stared at Fluttershy in shock, obviously not expecting their shy friend to reprimand Rarity.

“Is… is that why he’s been refusing to talk to me these past few days?” Rarity asked, not realizing how her words hurt her friend until now.

“Uh, duh,” Rainbow replied, looking a little annoyed. “Everyone here kind of already knew why he wasn’t talking to you.”

Rarity looked down at the Cutie Map, regretting the way she treated one of her oldest friends. “Oh. I… I see.” She muttered, disheartened.

Suddenly, the sound of the main hall opening snapped them all out of their stupor.

“Twilight! I”m home! Is it safe for me to head up to my room now?” Was suddenly called up the stairs from the very same Drake they were all just talking about.

Looking over at the clock on the wall, Twilight noticed that it read eight-thirty in the evening. They had spent over an hour just talking about Spike.

“Well….” Pinkie spoke up cheerfully. “This isn’t awkward at all.”

Author's Note

OOF. It's been a while since I managed to update this story. Sorry, all life got in the way. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and hopefully, I can get the next one out sooner.

Chapter 12

The door to Spike’s room slowly opened, light from the hallway illuminating his resting form on the bed, his breathing slow and calm. Twilight Sparkle gazed at her number one assistant, a smile gracing her lips.

Already asleep. She thought as she watched him sleep. I envy his ability to fall asleep so fast sometimes.

Closing his door, she slowly entered his room and gently climbed into his bed next to him, using her magic to lift up the blankets and snuggle up against his chest. Once she was comfortable enough, she set the blanket back down around them and closed her eyes, smiling as she breathed in his comforting scent.

He always manages to keep the nightmares away. She thought before her mind succumbed to the relaxing feeling, using her magic to turn off his alarm as she fell away into dreams.

*****

Spike stared up at the clear night sky as he rested on a grassy hill, his hands folded behind his head and his ankles crossed. He couldn't remember the last time he felt so relaxed, or even the last time he fully relaxed. Twilight was a mess without him, as she couldn't cook a thing without almost burning down the castle, nor did she remember to put books away after she was done with them, though, that was more a bad habit she picked up when they used to live in Canterlot.

"Old habits die hard." He muttered to himself with a slight chuckle.

"Indeed they do, Dragon Spike." Was suddenly spoken from above him.

Yelping a bit in surprise, Spike's eyes shot open as he watched the Princess of the Night descending toward him, an impish smile on her face. "Though, I think you know that better than anyone." she finished as she landed next to him.

Sitting up Spike sighed in relief. “Jeez, you scared me,” he told the moon princess, trying to calm his rapidly beating heart. “Wait, shouldn’t you be in Canterlot right now?” he asked her, suddenly remembering Princess Celestia’s and Discord’s wedding a few days ago.

“I am in Canterlot,” she answered. “We are currently in your dream.”

As if to prove her point, it started raining gemstones, all of Spike’s favorites, emeralds, rubies, and even diamonds. Upon seeing such delicacies falling from the skies, his mouth started watering, salivating over the pile of gems that was beginning to form. Then what Princess Luna finally registered with him.

“Wait, this is a dream?” he asked, looking over at the dark alicorn in surprise.

“Yes, Dragon Spike,” she answered. “It’s sort of my birthday present to you, as I was told by Twilight that I shouldn’t get you physical gifts.”

Spike chuckled a bit nervously, scratching the back of his head. "Yeah, that was a bad time for everyone involved," he replied, the memory of spending time in Canterlot and singing about wanting to die coming to mind rather easily. Then, something Prince Blueblood once told him came to mind. "Oh, yeah, what's number five?" he suddenly asked her.

If Luna had been drinking something she would've spat it out at Spike's question. As it was, she nearly choked on her own saliva.

"I heard that you had to put Prince Blueblood through a number five while I was staying in Canterlot after my greed growth incident," he explained. "Though, he himself refused to elaborate what a number five was."

"Trust me, Spike," Luna started, sounding how she normally did when it was just her, Celestia and Spike. "The less you know about it, the better," she promised, making Spike more curious, but also dreading the answer.

"Alright. Anyway, you said this was a birthday gift. May I ask why?" he asked the Lunar Princess.

"It is because you have been suffering from nightmares for the better part of a week," she answered, sounding concerned. "Twilight is growing increasingly worried with each one you have."

Spike sighed, looking back up at the night sky, watching as two shooting stars flew across the starry backdrop. "I know. Unfortunately, I think only time will help me." he finally replied after a few moments of thinking.

Luna nodded before her ear twitched a bit. "Ah, it is time for me to lower the moon so Celestia can raise the sun," she told Spike. "I hope you enjoy your birthday."

And with that, she spread her wings and flew off into the night sky, flying through the moon and out of Spike's dream.

*****

As Spike slowly woke up, he couldn't help but smile at the fact that he finally got a good night's sleep thanks to Princess Luna. Resting in his bed, he kept his eyes closed until his alarm was to go off.

Wait a minute… He thought to himself, suddenly realizing an issue. I never wake up before my alarm. Nor do I ever sleep through my alarm.

With his mind now fully awake, he became aware of several things. First, it was brighter in his room than it should be when he wakes up. Second, Twilight wasn't breaking down his door to wake him up. And third, there was another body in his bed with him.

Quickly opening his eyes, he pulled the covers off him and looked down at the sleeping form of Twilight Sparkle curled up against his side, her head resting gently on his chest.

As the light hit her still closed eyes, she scrunched them tightly closed, trying to stay asleep, but, she was already awake. Slowly opening her eyes, she lifted her head off of Spike's chest to look straight at him.

"Oh," she muttered, not surprised to find him awake. "Morning, Spike." she yawned out, staying curled up against him.

"Uh…. What are you doing in my bed?" he asked, sounding very confused.

"I had a nightmare last night, and you always have a way of calming me down," she explained, blinking the sleep out of her eyes. "But, when I came in here, you were already fast asleep. So, I turned off your alarm and climbed into your bed to keep any other nightmares away."

Well, that solved all three mysteries for Spike.

Sighing a bit, he placed a hand over his eyes for a few moments before removing it. "Alright. Well, good morning, Twilight." he finally replied.

She smiled at him before stretching out and sliding out of his bed onto her hooves. Using a burst of magic, she opened his bedroom door before walking out into the hall. "By the way," she told him, stopping just inside the hallway. "Happy birthday, Spike," she said with a happy smile before heading down the hall.

*****

As Spike made his way into the main hall, he was suddenly blasted by a few bursts of confetti, temporarily blinding him from the impact. "Happy Birthday!" Was suddenly shoutedby a group of ponies, with Pinkie Pie, unsurprisingly, being the loudest.

When he could see again, he saw Twilight, Pinkie, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Fluttershy, Rarity, Starlight Glimmer, Trixie, Big Macintosh, Granny Smith, Applebloom, Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, Derpy and Doctor Whooves standing around the room and smiling at him.

Blinking a bit, Spike chuckled softly before walking the rest of the way into the main hall of the castle. "Thanks, everyone," he told them as he looked around at all the purple and green balloons, streamers, and party hats. "Though, you do know that I would've been fine with just a cake."

Pinkie gasped as if the idea itself offended her.

"But that would mean we couldn't throw you a party!" she lamented. "And we want to throw you a party because you're an awesome dragon, and you always help us out whenever we need help, even when you have things that you want to do, and I know that it makes you sad, and no one should feel sad, especially not on their birthday, and today is your birthday, and I wanted to make you happy, so I had to plan a party and-"

"Pinkie, ah think ya need ta breath." Applebloom reminded the pink mare.

"-get all the decorations and make sure that you were here." Pinkie blinked as Applebloom's words suddenly thank in. Taking a deep breath, she sagged a bit with a slightly dopey smile on her muzzle. "Oh, that's better."

Everyone laughed a bit as derpy flew up to Spike with a green party hat that read "Birthday Drake" on the front in purple letters. Smiling, he took the hat from her and placed it on his head, his topmost head spine being covered by the hat.

"Thank you, Derpy." Spike thanked, smiling at the grey pegasus.

"No problem, Spike," she replied happily.

For the next few hours, Spike talked with his friends, playing party games, like pin the tail on the dragon, musical chairs, and even spin the bottle truth-or-dare. Spike had gotten dared to eat a whole cupcake, wrapper included (which he did easily), use his tail like a spatula with a cookie (a little harder, but, doable) and to spin around in a too-too (which was very embarrassing).

Once the party started to wind down, Trixie and Starlight used their magic to blindfold Spike and lead him to the town square.

"With the way you're leading him, it looks like you all are going to play a round of Blind Man's Buff." Doctor Whooves spoke up as they walked.

"Blind Man's Buff?" Spike asked, not bothering to turn his head toward the Doctor.

"It's a children's game where one pony is blindfolded and has to try and find the others. Barnable used to love that game." Doctor Whooves explained, a bit of a wistful undertone to his voice.

Derpy giggled somewhere behind Spike. "Doctor, they don't know about your adventures." She reminded.

"Oh… Right…" The brown stallion replied, sounding a bit embarrassed.

Spike was suddenly stopped, causing him to nearly trip, if not for a familiar feeling magic surrounding his torso.

"Thanks, Twi."

"No, problem, Spike."

After a few minutes of waiting, the blindfold was finally taken off him to reveal that he was standing in front of the stage that Trixie and Starlight were performing on.

"Fillies and Gentlecolts, Stallions and Mares of all ages!" Trixie's voice suddenly sounded out from the stage, as lights shined onto the closed curtain before them. "Welcome to Trixie's and Starlight's birthday bash magic show! This show is a special birthday present for our good friend, Spike."

The curtains opened up and the Magic Show commenced.

As the show went on, Twilight gently tapped on Spike's arm. "Hey, Spike? There's something I want to talk to you about." She told him a bit nervously.

Turning to face her, he smiled kindly at his oldest friend. “You know you can talk to me about anything, Twi,” he told her, smiling.

Fidgeting a bit, the lavender alicorn, looked up at Spike with her eyes hiding behind her bangs slightly, before she looked back down at her hooves. “Can… can you kneel down? I don’t want everyone to hear it right now.”

Tilting his head a bit, he gently knelt down in front of her and nodded, smiling kindly at her, hoping to help her relax.

Everything seemed to grind to a halt as Twilight leaned up to him and pressed her lips against his, gently cupping his cheek with her hoof as she did. As the two kissed, Spike felt like the fireworks for the magic show were set off early, even though he knew they weren’t.

Once Twilight pulled back, too soon for either of them, she had a soft blush gracing her cheeks.

“I love you, Spike.”

Chapter 13

"I love you, Spike."

Spike stared at Twilight, the feeling of her lips still tingling on his. He wanted to believe her, to believe that he finally found someone who loves him the same way he loves them. But, Twilight's words before she kissed him but a fire in his mind and ice in his heart.

"Is this a game to you, Twilight?" he asked her, sounding angry. "You know that most ponies hate the idea of a pony being with a dragon, so you tell me you love me in one of the most crowded parts of Ponyville?"

Twilight stared up at Spike in shock. He was right. She was too hasty in telling him how she felt. She should've waited until her friends knew about it before confessing to him in front of them. Tears formed in her eyes as Spike turned away from her.

"I thought you would know better, Twilight," he told her, a growl escaping with his words. Spreading his wings, he launched himself into the sky just as the fireworks started.

A sudden cry of fear could be heard below him. Taking a look below him, he saw one of the firework rockets racing up to him. All he had to do was widen his eyes before it exploded right in his face, knocking him out.

Twilight's eyes widened in fear as she watched the dragon of her heart start to fall out of the sky.

"SPIKE!" She cried out, watching as the drake crashed into the Everfree Forest. Even if he was a dragon, some of the creatures there would still try to kill him. If he wasn't already… No, she couldn't think like that, she needed to go and make sure he was alright.

"We're right behind ya, Twi." Applejack spoke from behind her.

Turning around, Twilight saw her closest friends were standing there, ready to help Spike with her, including Starlight and Trixie.

Nodding with a small smile, she turned and ran towards the dark forest, her friends right behind her.

“Why did Spike fly off anyway?” Rainbow asked as they ran, flying alongside them.

“I…” Twilight started before sighing. “I finally told Spike how I feel about him. How I truly feel.”

“What do you mean, Twilight?” Rarity asked, uncharacteristically not complaining about her mane getting messed up from running.

“Well, duh,” Pinkie spoke up, the tree line to the forest coming into view. “Twilight’s in love with Sike!”

“What?” The rest of the girls gasped in shock, stopping just before the Everfree Forest.

Twilight looked back at her friends before sighing as she hung her head. She was afraid of this reaction. But, Spike was her oldest friend. He’d been there for her since he hatched, well before she even knew what friendship was, or how powerful it could be. Whenever she needed help, needed a shoulder to cry on, or an ear to listen to her rant, he was there. And once he hit his first growth spurt, she began to realize why she was starting to get jealous whenever he would talk about Rarity. Twilight was in love with Spike, and had been wanting to tell him for so long.

“It’s true,” Twilight told them. “I’m in love with Spike. And I have been for a while now.” She looked back up at her friends, who each had a different expression on their faces, ranging from shock, to supportive. “I realized that I loved him in this way after his first growth spurt.”

Rarity stared at Twilight in shock, her mouth hanging open. “But, Twilight,” she stammered, trying to find the right words. “Think of your position, your reputation. Even if you are in love with him, you can’t-”

“Can’t what?” Twilight interrupted angrily. “If my reputation is lowered because I’m in love with a dragon, so what? I never cared about ponies treating me like a princess to begin with. Not to mention, Spike is Celestia’s adopted son. By all rights, he is technically a prince.”

Rarity’s eyes widened further when she realized that Twilight was right, as usual. Spike was technically a prince. She broke the heart of the one prince that acted more like the prince she wanted than any prince could ever be to her.

“Well, Ah for one, fully support ya, Twi.” Applejack told her, placing a hoof on the purple alicorn’s shoulder. “And if anyone disagrees with ya, Ah’ll gladly knock em down a peg er two fer ya.”

“Heck yeah!” Rainbow replied, landing next to them. “We’ll show everyone that a pony can love a dragon!”

“Thanks, girls,” Twilight told them before looking back toward the Everfree Forest. “Now let’s go save Spike.”

They all nodded and ran into the Everfree forest, Twilight leading the charge hoping that her dragon wasn’t hurt.

*****

Spike slowly opened his eyes, a loud and painful ringing in his ears. Slowly sitting up, he held his head with a hand as he groaned in pain.

“Damn… Gotta remember to watch wear while I’m flying more often.” he muttered under his breath.

Once his head had stopped ringing, he looked around at his surroundings to try and figure out where he was. What met his eyes were dark, twisting branches and brambles, the leaves muddled and dark, moving on invisible currents, making strange whispering sounds as they did.

Sighing, Spike slowly stood up. “Of course. It would be the Everfree Forest.” Taking quick stock of his situation, he listened closely for any signs of monster or creatures that could attack him.

“So…. The little dragon is all alone…” A sinister voice resonated out through the forest.

“No…” Spike muttered, his eyes dilating in fear.

“You at least have the ability to fly now…” The demonic voice of King Sombra continued. “But, one thing stayed the same…”

“And what’s that?” Spike asked, trying to control his fear and to find the source of the voice.

“YOU ARE STILL GOING TO DIE!” Sombra roared as his black shadowy mist suddenly swept in from the trees and caught Spike square in his chest, launching him into some of the nearby trees.

Groaning, the dragon slowly got to his feet, feeling a bit sore from that, but, not too terribly hurt by the attack.

“Ahh…” The dark stallion sighed in delight. “Your dragon scales make you incredibly durable, which will make this all the more enjoyable.”

Spike stared at the demonic stallion before him, the curved red horn glowing like luminescent blood, the green mist flowing from the glowing crimson eyes, and the red cloak looked torn near the bottom, the silver armor looking more dull and rusted in spots, giving him the look of a resurrected demon.

“Oh, don’t worry, I’m not here to fight you. At least not tonight.” Sombra finally told the dragon. “I want everyone to watch as I snuff the life from your eyes. Until then….” He grinned evilly before disappearing in a cloud of black smoke and red energy.

Panting, Spike sat down to relax, only for a groaning wheezing sound to snap him back to attention. To the amazement of the Dragon a blue box suddenly appeared before him, crackling with energy. Once it finally settled and the door squeaked open, he was surprised to see the Doctor, Derpy, and an orange unicorn with deep green eyes, and dark orange, almost red, ginger mane and tail, a pair of goggles around his neck.

“Well, Spike, not the birthday you wanted is it?” The doctor asked. “Speaking of which, we were reading signs of high energy that seemed to just vanish right before we got here. I mean, honestly, if another bolt of light comes out of nowhere and swaps me with that grouch of Doctor Clockwork again…”

“I doubt that’ll happen, Doctor,” Derpy told him nervously. “After all, that cat isn’t even here.”

“I still find it hard to believe that a being like the one you described would actually exist.” The orange unicorn spoke up, adjusting his goggles idly. “The probability of any of that actually happening are astronomically low.”

Spike remembered hearing about that one day when he was helping Derpy move some furniture around her house. “I still can’t believe you managed to call Twilight ‘Uptight Snoodle’ for so long.” The drake replied. “And, uh, who is this pony? I don’t think I’ve met him yet.”

“Oh, right, I forgot about gingicorn here!” The Doctor exclaimed. “This is Tick Tock. When we first met him, it was during a nasty little war. Not something I should really be repeating, nearly had Miss Whooves here lose her lunch on several occasions.”

Spike shuddered at the thought, finding the idea of war almost as sickening as what some of his own race did, and that was saying quite a lot as some dragons still hunted and ate animals raw.

“I think we’re getting sidetracked here.” Tick Tock cut in. We should be investigating the source of that power.”

“Quite right!” The Doctor replied. “Well now, we best be off. Avan-”

“It was King Sombra.” Spike told them, interrupting the Doctor. “Challenging me to a fight in which he claims to kill me.”

At the mention of killing Spike, Derpy’s eyes rolled up into her head as she slumped up against the Doctor who looked quite shocked at what Spike had just said.

“And I intend to fight him.” The dragon finished. “If he’s challenging me, then I’m going to accept that challenge. I mean, I am the one who delivered the Crystal Heart to Princess Cadence. It makes sense that Sombra would hate me the most.”

“Are you sure, Spike?” The Doctor asked, sounding uncharacteristically somber.

“I’m positive.” He replied. “And I’m not going to let anypony else get hurt because of me.”

As if on cue, the Doctor burst out laughing. “Anypony! That get’s me every time!”

Spike just groaned at the Doctor’s antics. What have I gotten myself into? He thought as he watched the Doctor continue to laugh. He should be used to “horse puns” by now.

Author's Note

Special thanks to Ponies with Pockets Productions for allowing me to reference some of their episodes! The episodes are listed below in order of mention:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cDKdoJYp04E&list=PLfqRSZ9R_hLwXzIuQjng8KimMEHTaNIBq

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Ao-xczcKcw&t=381s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HV79xNp4uZk&t=1203s

Chapter 5

Twilight lay on her bed as she silently cried, watching Starlight stare at her room wall, a thoughtful look plastered on her face. She wanted to go find Spike and tell him how she felt just to get it over with, but the logical side of her brain told her that Spike might find it as a cruel joke, so she decided to wait for Starlight's opinion. Glancing around her room, she looked at all the mementos she had gathered throughout the years to distract herself. Her bed was in the far right corner of her room, with her desk placed right next to the head. Along the right wall were a few posters of different plays the Crystal ponies had put on about Spike saving the Crystal Empire, she even got him to sign the one that has him looking like a big strong hero. She blushed at the picture before moving on to the front wall, where a few shelves of her personal books were located. The Elements of Harmony guidebook was among them, as well as a few dragon and pony romance novels. She hasn't told Spike about them yet, as she didn't want him getting embarrassed over her own interests.

Moving on to the left wall, she looked at the frame that held half of Spike's shell from when she hatched him. She and Princess Celestia shared the halves of his shell, as they both considered each other guardians of Spike. A bittersweet tear slid down her eye and she returned her eyes back to Starlight, knowing the only other thing on the left wall was the door that led to her personal bathroom, and Spike's old basket.

Finally breaking the silence, Starlight sighed. "Well, it's not surprising that Rarity would react that way. She has her muzzle stuck so far up the plots of the Canterlot Elite that she can't see the consequences of her words or actions." She commented, sounding annoyed.

"I know," Twilight started before pausing. She was actually feeling a bit of anger towards the seamstress mare, which she thought would never happen. Annoyed maybe, but never angry. After a bit of thought, she realized that she actually wanted to be angry at her for hurting Spike like that. "But that still doesn't give her the right to just destroy his heart like that. I don't care if she does idolize the Canterlot Elite, she should know better than that."

Starlight opened her mouth to agree when a purple flame flared up and deposited a letter right next to Twilight. Raising an eyebrow curiously, the lavender alicorn levitated it up and began to read. After a few minutes of silence, she let off a depressed sigh.

"Spike's with my brother in the Crystal Empire. Maybe being there for a few days is exactly what he needs." She told Starlight, looking up at her.

Starlight frowned but nodded. "Well... Then we need to get you ready for when he returns." She told her, suddenly smiling.

Twilight looked up at her friend with a worried expression. "What do you mean by that?" She asked cautiously.

Starlight just grinned at her before walking out of Twilight's room. "You'll see."

*****

Over in the Crystal Empire, Spike was sprawled out on the ground of the main guest room, just too tired to move. The cold had done a number on his body, sapping his energy until he had collapsed in the snow where Shining Armor had been leading a squad through training.

The door to his right opened and he looked up and over to see a crystal guard escorting a crystal pony who was carrying some hot soup and a mug of hot cocoa.

"I thought you could use some hot food, oh great and wonderful, Spike." The mare said, placing the tray of food in front of him.

"Oh. Yeah, I don't do well in the cold." He admitted sheepishly. "Thank you."

She smiled and blushed at his smile, even if it was a sheepish one. "Oh, uh, it's no problem." She answered before scampering out the door, leaving Spike confused.

"I'm sorry to bother you, oh great hero Spike." The guard finally spoke up. "But, Princess Cadence would like to speak with you."

Spike sat himself up and nodded. "Okay, I'm ready."

The Crystal guard saluted and walked off to get Cadence. While he waited, he started glancing around the room. There were two big beds sitting side by side in the middle of the far back wall, with a dresser on either side of each bed, each topped with a crystal lamp. Along the right wall was a desk and mirror for ponies to get ready in the morning (even though he didn't even need to do anything to get ready, due to not having a coat nor mane or tail). The left wall was plain, save for the different shades of blue that the whole room had, and a door near the back of the wall leading to a private bathroom.

Well... He thought to himself. It is a guest room. Even if it was the same guest room he's shared with Twilight for the past 2 years, given his new size.

As Spike took the mug of hot cocoa and began to gently sip at it, he heard a soft knock at the door, followed by Cadence's soft, caring voice.

"Spike? May I come in?" She asked him gently.

"Go right ahead, Princ- Er, I mean Cadence." He called back. Ever since he first found out he was a hero in the Crystal Empire, he's had trouble remembering to just call her Cadence. It just... didn't feel right to him.

"I felt something wrong with your heart, so I decided to come see if there's anything I can do." She explained.

Spike blinked, then sighed. There was no way he was hiding this from the Princess of Love herself.

"Yeah... there is something wrong." Spike answered uneasily. "And I wish it was over with already."

She gave him a puzzled look as her head tilted to the side, causing Spike to sigh. Biting the arrowhead, he resigned himself to just tell her what was going on in between bites of the hot soup.