Unknown Time - Inside a Cave...

Spike was bringing back some firewood to make a campfire.

In his little cave, Spike brought with him a small cauldron, a sleeping bag, his blanket from his basket, a pillow, a back-sack, some snacks, and a bucket of clean water. All of these were carried via wagon.

Using his nature skills, he found flat rocks, sturdy sticks, and very strong vines.

Spike started striking the rocks together above the wood. After a few, the fire started, and he started to give it oxygen. After the fire was fully risen, he sighed in satisfaction, and sat in front of it.

He started thinking about what he was going to do for the rest of his life, and what was going to come to him in the future. It hurt him so much to leave the only home he ever knew, but it was for his own good to stop the pain, the abuse, the neglect, the sorrow and grief.

Suddenly, Spike started to feel funny, and then he belched out a letter with a golden hoof seal. He picked up and opened it. Inside was the penmanship of Princess Celestia.

He began to red the letter.

My faithful student,

A powerful evil has arisen, and all of Equestria is in grave danger. I request that whatever your current activity is, that you postpone immediately and come to Canterlot as this is gravely urgent. I will explain everything once you and your friends have arrived. I must leave now, my sister and I will be waiting for your arrival. Please hurry.

Your friend and Teacher,

Princess Celestia

Spike's eyes widened, and a lot stuff started going through his mind. He couldn't just throw the letter away, this bad guy might win if his friends didn't know about. But he didn't want to let them see him either. He swore to himself that he would never see them again. If he went to go see them again, he would just be abused and forgotten again.

Spike was in a loop, and he needed to escape.

"I can't go back in person, they'll try to look for me and take me back. But if I don't, Equestria will be in danger because I didn't give them this letter. What about if I send a letter back to Celestia explaining that I'm not with Twilight anymore? No, then she might try to send somepony or someone to come get me, and then my life will be ruined again," Spike sighed, "It's almost like I'm gonna just walk to a stranger and say, "Hey! Equestria is in danger and I have this letter that needs to be given to Twilight, but don't tell her where I am." However, right as he said that statement, he got an idea as he gasped.

"That's it! If I give the letter somepony or someone that I actually know, but they don't know what's going on, Twilight won't ever know where I am! And by the time the pony gives her the letter and she asks where I am, I won't be there anymore, and I won't be abused and neglected anymore! YES!!" Spike shouted in triumph. "I think that also means that Princess Celestia won't use me as a mailbox anymore." Then Spike ran out of the cave, flared his wings, and flew off to the Changeling Kingdom.

Little did he know however, two pairs of eyes watched him leave.

2:30 pm - Ponyville...

Snow had finally arrived around the world, but that was not the true celebration of the world. The snow started as soft, but then it grew in size, blanketing the lands all around. However, Ponyville didn't have to time put up the decorations for Hearths Warming Eve.

All around Ponyville, the residents were calling out for Spike. Soon everypony heard about the news, and they too started feeling guilty about Spike's mistreatment. The news came from Pinkie because she's biggy-loud mouther, and Rarity just loves to gossip. Twilight was mad at first, but Rarity and Pinkie thought that it would be faster if the whole town searched for him, and Twilight agreed. After all, Spike was really the only dragon in Ponyville, even Equestria for the matter. Smolder was in the Dragon Lands with her family preparing for the first Global Snow Celebration.

With all of Ponyville on the lookout, Twilight's friends brought her back to the castle to help her relax. All of her friends sat with her in her bedroom, except for Rainbow Dash. She didn't like being cooped up in a room without little to no awesome activity, and she said that she might be able to catch Spike the fastest because she was the fastest flier.

Everypony was silent, and they wanted it that way. Nopony dared to say a single word, worried or scared about how the other would react.

Twilight was thinking not just about Spike, but also about the ponies helping her friends and she finding her number one assistant. If they didn't find him, they might not go to sleep, and she was also worried that they might be mad at her and her friends for what they did to him. All these things rushed through her head until somepony spoke up.

"Twilight? You okay?" Asked Starlight.

"Huh? Y-Yeah, I'm fine," She said, not turning to Starlight.

Applejack, however, didn't accept that answer. "Twilight, just because you're not fine, doesn't mean you can hide what's really goin' on. It's pretty obvious that you're all mopey cause of what's goin' on right now."

Twilight simply sighed, "I don't know, Applejack and Starlight. It's just that Spike's always been there for us- for me, and we never showed him any appreciation for it. When I accidentally switched up of your cutie marks, Spike encouraged me to not give up and fix it. When Discord was evil and turned you all heartless and cruel, Spike kept on burping up letters from Princess Celestia- which I just realized now that he really hated."

"Ah think he might've hated being a "mailbox" from the beginning," Said Applejack.

"I think you're right."

"Aside from that, Spike was also willing to stay in the Dragon Lands to keep all of Equestria safe from all of those teenage dragons. Spike always knew how to keep me going, and he was always willing to put himself at risk to protect others. But instead of thanking him and protecting him, all I did was just leave him without trying to help him, protect him, or even thank him for all the things that he does for me," Twilight explained guiltily.

"Not to mention that we never pay him for all the work he does for us," Says Fluttershy.

"And that we never let him take any breaks from it all," Says Pinkie.

"All I've ever done to him is just use him as pincushion and never pay him any thanks when he tries to help me go through dramatic times," Says Rarity.

"I just can't believe that he did his best to put up with every little joke or insult I said to him. He's one very tough dragon to put up with all of that," Rainbow Dash says with a weak smile.

"And who are we fooling? Spike is just a kid, and we all treated him an adult when he wasn't even there," Starlight stated.

"And when Shining and I told him that he was the little brother that we've always had, we we're just joking around with him. But he thought we were serious and he thought of me as an older sister. It turns out I became the worst," Twilight said as she put her head down with great shame and heavy guilt.

The others also put their heads down in guilt. The too were the "worst big sisters" to Spike, too.

2:47 - Changeling Kingdom...

Spike landed on the ground just a few steps in front of the entry way. He saw two guards in front of the gate and decided to walk up to them.

The two guards were minding their own business until they saw someone up ahead. They both pointed their spears at the trespasser.

"Who goes there?" The left guard asked.

Spike stopped in front of the two. "I'm Spike, Spike the Dragon."

The two guards recognized the baby dragon and put away their spears. "So, what brings you hear?" The right guard asks.

"I wanted to see King Thorax," Spike began. he pulls out the letter that Celestia wrote and showed them to the guards. "It's really important."

The two guards looked each other and then nodded. "We'll let you see our ruler, but I'm afraid the changeling you speak of is no longer king," The guard on the right said.

"He's not?" Spike asked in confusion.

"No, the ruler you speak of is the gracious Queen Chrysalis," The guard on the left said.

"Oh," Spike said in a surprised manner. "Chrysalis is queen again? Why din't Ocellus or Thorax tell me!?" He thought to himself upsetily.

"Um,... You okay?" The guard on the right asked.

"Yeah, it's just that neither Ocellus nor Thorax told me about that."

"That's... weird. You and Advisor Thorax are really good friends," The right guard pointed out.

"W-Wait a minute, Thorax is an Advisor?!" Spike almost shouted. The guards reeled back a little. Spike noticed and cleared his throat. "S-Sorry. So, Thorax is an Advisor now?"

"Yeah," Says the left guard.

"Is there anything else I don't know?" Spike kindly asked.

"Well, Ocellus is also addressed as 'Princess'."

Spike's eyes widened. the guards were a little concerned. "You think we should've told him that?" The left guard asked the right guard.

"No..." The right guard said concerningly.

"N-No, no, it's fine. I just never knew that Ocellus was a princess," Spike said.

"Yep," The right guard said.

There was a lot of stuff going through Spike's mind, but then he remembered the letter. "What am I doing? I almost forgot about the letter!"

"Oh yeah! Queen Chrysalis is just above in the throne room," The guard on the right said.

"I... don't know where that is. Nopony ever gave me directions in the Hive," Spike stated.

"Oh... I-I could show you where it is," The right guard offered. However, Spike then looked at his wings.

"Actually, you know what, I'll just fly up there. thanks for the offer though," He said with a smile.

"Anytime."

Spike flared his wings and was about to fly, but then he thought of something. "So, what are your names?"

"I'm Carapace," The right guard said. Carapace was a female.

"And I'm Telson," The left guard said. Telson was a male.

"Okay. Thanks, Carapace and Telson," Spike said before he flew upward.

"You're welcome!" The guards called. Carapace smiled.

"Such a nice dragon," She said.

"Yeah, he's a really good kid," Telson said.

Changeling Hive - Throne Room...

Chrysalis was simply sitting on her throne with Thorax beside her. Chrysalis looked very different, physically and in personality.

Her eyes were brilliant cyan and circular, her chitin was light fuchsiaish gray with a bit of gold on her neck and 3 pearls as well, the carapace on her back was gradient of banana to daffodil-yellow, her eye-shadow was very light turquoise, her mane and tail were light to dark sky-blue and they were no longer tattered with holes, her mane longer, the under side of her ears were daffodil-yellow, her wings were much longer and slimmer with the color of bright sky-blue and sparkles on the upper edges, and her crown was hot golden-yellow with teal-blue orbs curved downward.

Chrysalis and Thorax were simply talking about interaction with others.

"So, how will I know when to react calmly to a bad situation?" The reformed queen asked her advisor. Her voice was more serene and silvery, and it no longer had the distorted echoed quality. It was no longer deviated and was perfectly in sync as one.

"I think that might be a question Princess Celestia can answer, your highness," Thorax answered.

Chrysalis managed to smile, but then she heard flapping above. She looked up to see a familiar dragon landing softly in front of her throne. It was Spike.

"Um... H-Hi," The baby dragon said nervously. Chrysalis slowly rose and flared her wings with grace.

"Spike, I did not expect to see you hear. Is something wrong?" Chrysalis asked kindly.

"With me? No, but I did bring a letter that... I was hoping you could have one of your messengers take to Twilight?" Spike pulled out the letter and showed it to Chrysalis. Chrysalis took the letter with her magic and opened it to read it. Spike waited, and saw that Chrysalis had a concerned look in her eyes. She rolled up the letter and resealed it with her magic.

"Please have Cornicle take this to the Castle of Friendship," Chrysalis says to Thorax. Thorax nods and flies of to find the messenger. Chrysalis looks over to Spike to see that he was walking away. "W-Wait!" She calls out. Spike stops and turns to Chrysalis, who flies over to him. "If you wouldn't at all mind, why did you ask me to have one of my messengers deliver that letter to Twilight instead of yourself? You are her prized assistant."

"I... was. But not anymore," Spike sadly. Chrysalis could see the sadness and decided to sit in front of him.

"Would it be of to much concern for you to tell me?" She asked sympathetically.

"Uh... I guess not. It started about a few days..." And Spike began to discuss what happened those few days ago.

"And... that's why I'm on my own," Spike finished. Chrysalis had a rather sad look in her own eyes. hearing all of those things that Twilight and all of her friends did to him was heartbreaking. What was even more shocking was that he told her that Celestia turned him into a "living mailbox" when he was finally old enough. Chrysalis was starting to think that Spike and Celestia had very close relationship with each other, and Celestia just abused him by placing a mailing spell on him, and she just abandoned him because of all of her duties, thinking of him nothing more than just a waste of time mentality.

She felt such remorse and empathy for the dragon that a small tear escaped her eye. She wiped it and looked at the baby dragon in the eyes. "I am... so sorry to hear what twilight and her friends did to you. Even I look back on the crimes I committed on you, and now they were the worst things I've ever done to anyone," She said guiltily. Spike simply put a claw on her right leg.

"It's okay. We all do terrible things when we're angry or hurt, but it all works out in the end, right?" He said with a smile. Chrysalis looked at the dragon with a soft smile.

"Yes, that is right," She said. Spike nodded and then retracted his claw.

"Well, it was nice meeting you," He said as he waved goodbye, flaring his wings and taking off to his cave.

Chrysalis waved at him and then walked back to her throne. "I hope you find peace, Spike." She thought to herself.

3:28 - Castle of Friendship...

After an hour searching, Rainbow Dash came back and joined her friends in Twilight's bedroom. Nopony wanted to say anything. All they did was stay silent.

Everypony sat silently, until they heard a knock upon the doors. "Letter for Princess Twilight Sparkle!" Once heard, Twilight rushed down the stairs to see a Changeling Messenger. Then her friends came down to see who was calling.

"Oh, hello. Can I help you?" Asked the Princess of Friendship.

Cornicle pulled out a letter with a golden seal. "I have a letter for you," He said as he gave the letter to Twilight. She had a confused look on her face.

"Um, Cornicle... Where did you get this letter?"

"I got it from Advisor Thorax, who got it from Queen Chrysalis, who got it from... Uh..." Cornicle was trying to remember the name of the dragon.

"Trying to remember?" Asked Applejack.

"Hang on, it's coming... Oh yeah! Now I remember."

"Okay, so who did Chrysalis get the letter from?"

"Spike," Cornicle answered with a smile.

Unknown Time - Unknown Place...

Snow fell through the roofs of the unknown place where the dark magic wielder relaxes.

Arkumon was relaxing on his throne until the orb he used to communicate with Sylviura earlier, started rolling toward him. He noticed and walked towards the orb and levitated it with his magic. Then a projection came on, only showing a large black light in the center of the orb.

“How much longer, Arkumon?” The orb asked. The voice belonged to another hybrid.

“Not long, Supreme Highlord Darkfang. Sylviura is preparing the tome. The release of the Tainter and his people will be absolute.”

“Excellent.”

“We just need a week to prepare. Is our deal still intact?” Armak asked with expectation.

Darkfang was quiet for a moment.

Arkumon instantly regretted asking the question. He could only imagine the expression behind the darkness on his associate's face.

“Do not fail the Tainter, Arkumon,” Darkfang warned dreadfully. Then the projection ended, and Arkumon was left intimidated.

Author's Note

Hey, guys and gals! Done with the fourth chapter. I hope you all enjoyed reading it! 😊