It is a quiet night in Ponyville, all the residents were asleep, embracing the slumber. It was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. One dragon however, was wide awake in a castle. He had a look of worry and nervousness plastered all over his face. The baby dragon was looking over an array of items on his bed. Sweat trickled down his forehead. One look at him and you know he had a lot on his mind.
"Alright let's go through this again. Gem supplies, check. Water, check. Flashlight, check. Map, check. Compass, check. Some quills, check. Paper, check. Some bits, check. Book on survival tips, check. And my pillow, check!" The dragon said aloud to himself. Unbeknownst to him, he had already gone through this check routine 7 times. He packed all the items into his special made backpack given by a white coated mare whom he very much adores. Spike sighed to himself, he knew he was just stalling time. Ever since his sister figure, Twilight Sparkle, became a princess, Spike began to feel ignored. Twilight was always busy with her princess paperwork that she barely spends time with the little dragon. Even so, the dragon has been feeling this way for a long time. Everypony else had found their calling except for him. Was he stuck being a lowly assistant?
So for the past few months he had secretly planned his journey to find his purpose in life. He had made notes for everypony close to him and the whole town. He had saved up the gems as a supply of food and collected the rest of the items by either buying them or asking for them. Spike was lucky no one had asked him of his intentions behind the supplies.
He looked around his room once more, this was truly the last time he would see it. With a heavy heart, he went out his bedroom and closed his door. Walking down the empty castle halls, he truly felt terrified.
"Will anypony even miss me?" The dragon thought to himself with a questioning face. He shook the thoughts out of his head, of course they did! They were his friends....so then why is he leaving? To find his heritage? His calling in life? At this point, he could only assume it was the latter.
After a few minutes of walking, he stopped and turned right.
"Twilight's bedroom" He thought to himself. The words kept bouncing in his head.
Twilight Twilight Twilight
The sister figure he had. He began remembering the memories they had together. Every fond cuddle and hugs they gave each other. Back when they lived in Canterlot, when Twilight and Spike read books together. Tears began forming on the corner of his eyes. He began sniffling and was about to wail out loud but caught himself at the last second. He couldn't let Twilight see him now. He walked towards the door and stayed motionless.
Eventually, he made up his mind and twisted the doorknob. If he was going to be gone, he had to at least see the mare who raised him all these years for the last time. As he entered in, he could tell it was dark but his dragon eyes made it seem like it was lighter than usual. He could see Twilight snoring on her bed. As he crept up closer, he could smell her lavender scent. Spike began to tear up once more and wiped his tears.
"I'm sorry Twi...I have to do this..." Spike mumbled to himself. He gave the sleeping mare a final kiss on the cheek, before departing off. She shifted with a slight smile on her snout. As Spike exited the castle, he didn't notice a flying figure with black beady eyes, staring at him, following him.
Spike walked around the town for a little why. There was no worry of anypony spotting him as the whole town was usually asleep at this time. He walked around to each of his friend's houses.
First stop, Sugar-cube Corner. He could smell the bakery's treats from a mile away. It had been a favourite spot of his besides Pony Joe's, to get the best cupcakes. They would even make a sapphire cupcake for the dragon and sell it to him at a discount. He would also miss Pinkie's parties. Her bubbly personality made it hard to hate her. You can't fault the random mare. Whenever Pinkie's around, boredom would never be felt. The dragon dreaded leaving her but he had to move on.
After walking for a few more minutes, Spike stopped once again at his next station. He looked up and saw a white cloud. On the cloud there was a building. Rainbow Dash's house. Rainbow Dash, they were not that close to be honest. Spike would always get teased by the athletic and competitive mare but he paid no mind to it. She was still a loyal mare and would jump in harms way for the drake. Whenever she was free, she would take him pranking or let the dragon ride on her back to experience flying. She was not a close friend but a good friend. A loyal one.
Spike continued walking to the next stop, and when he finally reached it, he could see miles and miles of apple tress. There was a sign that read, "Sweet Apple Acres" Applejack, the Element of Honesty. Whenever you needed a helping hand, she would be there. She was a hardworking mare that deserved the best. The dragon tried helping her once, that ended bad. They agreed that Spike was a good dragon with good intentions but the farm life wasn't for him. Spike still remembered the day he tried the apple cider for the first time, Twilight was worried but dragons could handle alcohol better than ponies. He would miss the blonde mare.
Spike went to his next stop, Fluttershy's cottage. Right off the bat, Spike could see the an array of animals sleeping outside her cottage. From bird houses to mouse holes. The shy mare was the first pony to take an interest to Spike. She was really nice to him and feared offending him. Whenever Spike was free and not busy helping Rarity, he would come to Fluttershy to have a cup of tea. Angel however, hated the dragon. But after a certain incident, they agreed on a truce. He would miss the shyness and kindness of the yellow mare.
Spike then walked to his last stop, Carousel Boutique. This was the number one place Spike would go whenever he was finish with helping Twilight. The years of helping Rarity without her batting an eye to the drake finally died off. Spike finally snapped out of his baby crush and realized it was going no where. Rarity was a pompous elegant mare, and Spike was a low-life dragon. He hasn't got the riches nor the beauty. He gave up but, made a vow to hold no ill feelings towards Rarity.
Spike slowly walked away with an aching heart. He went towards the entrance of the Everfree Forest and began pondering once more. All his friends he had made in this humble town. Was he willing to leave all that behind? And for what? To find some stupid destiny? He was planning to go to the badlands through the EverFree Forest and start anew once more. He had done that before and it didn't worked but he could try again. Maybe they would accept him again? Maybe not?
"C'mon Spike, you already prepared for this. Just let them go! Don't back out now!" The drake convinced himself. So far it was a losing battle.
In the middle of his inner turmoil, the dragon was startled when he heard a familiar sound.
"Who?" Spike turned right and saw Owlowiscious looking at him while hovering on the air with a confused gaze.
"Oh you scared me Owlowiscious," Spike said.
"Who?" The owl repeated.
"No me, Spike?" The drake responded but was met with an even further confused look, "Oh whatever. The thing is, I'm leaving Owlowiscious. I don't belong here."
The owl stayed silent but made a gesture for Spike to continue on.
"I mean, everypony else found their calling in life but not me! Am I stuck being a lowly assistant? I wanna be more than that! I mean, I know I saved the Crystal Empire but still! That was mostly Cadance! I want something I can become and do forever! Something that makes people appreciate me more!" Spike told the owl with frustration in his voice.
"Who," The owl replied while flying up to him and landing on his head. Spike sighed at the owl's antics and smiled.
"I'm gonna be leaving Owlowiscious..." Spike said. The owl gave a sad look before responding, "Who..."
Spike remembered the first time they met. He had been jealous of the owl but once all was forgiven, they became really close. The owl would help Twilight during her night studies while Spike took the day shift. Whenever Owlowiscious was awake during the day on those rare occasions, he would always help the dragon complete his chores. They had bonded a deep friendship.
Suddenly, an idea popped into Spike's head, "Say Owlowiscious, could you take down a note for me?"
'Who?" The owl responded.
"No me, Spik-nevermind," The dragon said while taking out a quill and a paper out of his backpack. He began writing his note.
After Spike finished writing his letter, he gave it to Owlowiscious and waved him goodbye. The owl flew back to the castle and left Spike.
"I hope they understand..." Spike thought to himself. He began walking in the forest, with a new found determination. Once entering the forest, he immediately began to feel chills crawl up his spine. The aura of the forest was scary enough in the morning, entering at night, it was ten times worse! Spike began breathing in and out in order to calm himself down. It was a tactic he adopted whenever he was stressed out. Once he began feeling more calm, he trudged through. Most of the animals in the forest was asleep although there were some nocturnal dangerous creatures. The dragon hoped he wouldn't run into any of them.
As Spike walked for the past few minutes, making use of the map and compass he packed, he began to see an exit at the end of the trail he was out. He ran and came out the forest only to be met with a bridge leading to the Castle of The Two Sisters. Spike realized in order to progress, he would have to cross the rickety bridge. With a fearful heart, he stepped on foot at a time.
"Okay Spike, you can do this, just baby steps...." Spike said to himself. Each step he took would always seem to unbalance the bridge, making the dragon's heart leap, only for it to balance back. The anxiety was too much for the drake.
After what seemed like eternity, the dragon finally reached the end. He breathed a sigh of relief that the torture was over. Spike began walking towards the castle with a rolled up map and compass in his hands. Before going further, he decided to explore the castle for any useful things. It was a habit that he had picked up from the survival book tips. To scavenge for any useful items.
As he entered the ruined castle, he began feeling terrified once more. He felt as though somepony was watching him, through the ruined pillars. Everytime he would turn around, he would see nothing. After a few minutes of walking around the castle, he found nothing useful and went back to the entrance.
Spike then heard a chilling voice, "My, my. What do we have here?"
The voice spoke slyly. Spike stopped in his tracks and looked around the castle, "Wh-who's there?"
"No need to be afraid, it's only me!" The voice said with menace. Suddenly, a dark blue shadow began spinning in front of Spike. It spun and spun until it formed...
"N-Nightmare M-Moon!" Spike yelled in fear. The queen smiled and began laughing maniacally.
"Yes, that's me. I'm glad one of my subjects remember me," Nightmare Moon said with a smirk.
"Wh-What do you want?!" Spike yelled while taking a defensive stance.
The queen laughed, "I should be asking you that question! Why are you intruding on my home?"
"Well, I was just passing through...wait, your home?" Spike responded, no longer stuttering.
"Yes, my home. Ever since the elements, blasted me, I was separated from Luna! I had taken refuge in this wretch, gathering my energy back for this past moons. Well, enough about me. What are you doing here?" The queen exclaimed.
"Well, like I said before I was just passing through. I came from Ponyville, and wanted to go to the badlands." Spike told her.
"Why would you want to go to that horrible place?" Nightmare Moon asked.
"Well, I feel left out in Ponyville. I want to find my own destiny! Instead of being stuck in Twilight's castle all day being her assistant," Spike said forgetting who he was talking to.
The queen smirked at the dragon's comment, "You are the assistant to Princess Twilight? Oh this will be easier than I thought dragon! I must congratulate your bravery, but it all ends here now!" Nightmare Moon said before charging up her horn with a bluish smokey-glow.
Before Spike could make sense of what she said, Nightmare Moon launched her smoke body towards Spike, entering his body with the intent to control it.
Normally, Nightmare Moon's plan would have worked. The spell she did would break the willpower of a pony weaker than her and control them. They would be trapped in their own body. While she could do this to ponies, she couldn't do it to Alicorns. Their willpower rivaled her own. However, dragons have a far larger willpower than alicorns. It would take twenty of the strongest mages to even beat a dragons willpower. So essentially, Nightmare Moon picked the wrong host.
"GAH! WHAT IS HAPPENING?" The queen screamed inside of Spike's mind.
Spike opened his eyes, he was laying on the ground with the map and compass gripping tightly in his hands.
"What happened?" Spike asked himself.
"WHAT HAPPENED IS THAT I SHOULD HAVE CONTROLLED YOUR BODY! THAT SPELL SHOULD HAVE WORKED!" Nightmare Moon kept screaming in Spike's mind.
"You tried to control my body! GET OUT!" Spike began to yell as well.
"Hey dimwit, it's a one way ticket. And I used up all my magic that I saved up all those years ago..." Nightmare Moon said with a sigh.
There was an awkward silent for a moment before Spike spoke up, "So what you're saying is....you're trapped in my body...."
"Yes...."
That night, the Everfree had experienced a scream that shook the earth. It wasn't of rage or grief...it was of nightmares.
"So you done yet?" The queen asked inside the mind of the now panting dragon.
"So what do we do now?" Spike asked to himself. He hadn't plan on this!
"Guess I'm stuck with you to wherever you're going. I can see what you see so this should be interesting..." Nightmare Moon said nonchalantly.
"What makes you think I'm gonna let you follow me in my mind?" The dragon said with a hint of bitterness in his voice.
"Well, what can you do otherwise?" Nightmare Moon asked with smugness.
She was right. The dragon thought that he could always go back to Ponyville and let Twilight know about this...but then she would be asking why he had been out in the first place and that would raise too many questions. With a heavy sigh Spike began to walk and continue his journey.
"Well, okay but you better be quiet up there!" Spike said while tapping his head. He heard no response and took the queen's silence as an agreement.
"So what do you have in your bag?" The queen asked.
Spike sighed, this was gonna be a long journey. He hadn't planned for this but sometimes, plans do change. Looks like he would have to deal with it. This was the beginning of Spike's Quest!
Author's Note
This went from slice of life sadness to an adventure story...dafuq?
Anyways, I haven't plan on a sequel....not yet anyways. I still have another story needing to be completed. Hope you guys enjoy this story!
