Changing

by Closer-To-The-Sun

Rating: everyone
Tags: Main 6, Drama, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Spike, Tragedy, Slice of Life
Length: 5900

Recent events with Spike have caused him to feel neglected by everypony. Slowly, this pushes him....and causes him to change.

“What's that coming over the hill?/Is it a monster? Is it a monster?” – The Automatic, ‘Monster’

Spike is beginning to feel neglected. He tries his best, but he's only one little dragon. As he is pushed more and more, his rage builds up within him....and causes him to change.

Published 2012-08-22 23:34:02 UTC
Last updated 2012-08-22 23:34:02 UTC

Ch. 2 Here And Now

Chapter 2: Here And Now

The night quickly fell upon Equestria. In the Carousel Boutique, a certain young dragon was helping Rarity with her orders. The two were in the main room of the Boutique, busily working on different dresses.

"Oh, thank you once again Spike for being such a huge help around my shop today," the white unicorn spoke in an endearing tone.

"Not a problem at all, Rarity! I'm just happy to help!" Spike replied happily.

"I must say it was good luck of me to find you in the Ponyville Square earlier today," Rarity thought aloud.

Spike, who was humming a soft tune to himself, froze as he heard Rarity's statement. "Oh my goodness! I totally forgot to pick up the herbal leaves for Twilight!"

Rarity looked over to see a panicky dragon, "Oh goodness! And all of the shops are closed now. I'm so sorry for keeping you from your errand, Spike."

Spike, with both of his claws on his head in an alarmed state, continued, "I need to get back to the library soon."

Rarity nodded, "Yes, she's probably worried sick about you, dahling. Come, I'll go back with you."

While the purple dragon was still fretting, he agreed and the two began their way back to the library. As they arrived, Rarity knocked on the door as a nervous Spike was shaking with concern. The door was opened by a purple unicorn.

"Oh, hello Rarity," Twilight greeted her friend before her eyes caught the attention of her assistant, "Spike? Oh my goodness, I've been so worried!"

Spike stepped forward and towards Twilight, still a little worried.

"I'm terribly sorry, Twilight. This is mostly my fault. I asked for Spike's help when he was out and about and, well, the two of us were working on some of my orders up until a few moments ago," Rarity explained, hoping her friend would understand.

Twilight nodded and smiled, "It's fine, Rarity. I'm just happy Spike's back. I feared the worst."

Rarity smiled back, "Well, no need to now, dear. He's back safe and sound. And I do apologize for any trouble. Take care, Twilight." The white mare turned and headed back to her home.

"Good night, Rarity," the purple unicorn waved to her friend.

"G'night," the dragon added.

Spike and Twilight entered the library. Spike, who was expecting to be scolded for what happened, was surprised to not hear anything. He looked up from the floor to see Twilight's face show a mixture of worry and indignation.

He decided to speak first, "I'm sorry…." he managed to mumble.

Twilight's face eased up, "It's alright, Spike. I was just really worried about you. You know better than to do things without informing me. I would have been perfectly fine if you had come back after picking up the leaves and tell me you would be assisting Rarity."

Spike looked away from Twilight very guiltily.

The unicorn could easily tell why Spike was avoiding eye contact, "You didn't get the leaves did you?"

"I'm sorry…." his voice was meek.

Sighing, Twilight smiled warmly to comfort her assist, "It's alright, Spike. The important thing is that you are back here now. Now, go on ahead and get ready for bed, tomorrow is going to be a busy day."

Spike gave a small smile back to Twilight as he ascended the staircase to get ready for bed.

Ch. 3 Drown

Chapter 3: Drown

The next day was a very warm day in Ponyville. Twilight Sparkle and her friends went along to Sweet Apple Acres to lend a hoof to the Apple family with their chores. Everypony on the farm was doing their fair share of the work and even more. This included Twilight's assistant, Spike, who wanted to help out in anyway he could. During the long and hot day, the baby dragon was given the task of helping Big Macintosh of plowing and tilling the fields to plant crops. While he was puzzled that he was given the task, he didn't argue.

It was no easy task for the small dragon. He had great difficulty to get started on his plowing, even with Big Mac helping him. However, Spike wanted to do his best after the mishap of the night before.

As the blue sky began to turn warmer colors, Big Mac and Spike started to make their way back to the barn. The red stallion looked at purple dragon next to him as they walked.

"Say Spike," the stallion spoke in his low and familiar tone.

"Huh? Y-Yes, Big Mac?" Spike was a bit startled that Big Mac was speaking to him and actually starting the conversation.

"Jus' wanted to thank ya fer helpin' me all the way out here. Seems ya got the short end of the stick when it came to jobs today."

"Oh, not a problem. I'm a bit sore, but the chores I'm used to doing aren't exactly rough and tiring like yours," Spike spoke, rubbing one of his claws against a part of his arm where he was sore.

Big Mac smiled and softly chuckled, "Ya get used to it with time. But it was mighty kind of ya to help me in the fields. Most of the time it's jus' me. Nice to have some help every so often."

Spike smiled back, "Again, no big deal. Always happy to help my friends."

Big Mac added one last comment, "I have ta say that Miss Twilight is lucky to have somepony as helpful as yerself."

Spike looked down at the ground as they continued to the barn. He didn't know what to say from there and the two went along in silence.

As they arrived to the barn, they saw that all the other ponies, such as Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Twilight Sparkle, Fluttershy, and Rainbow Dash, were enjoying refreshments after a long day.

"Well, howdy there Big Mac and Spike!" Applejack greeted the two males as they arrived, "We had some refreshments for afterwards, and, heh, guess we couldn't help but start without ya. Sorry about that."

Big Mac smiled, "Not a problem."

Pinkie Pie bounced from out of what seem to be nowhere to place a hoof on both Spike and Big Mac, "But that's okay, because we have cupcakes courtesy of Sugar Cube Corner! But you need to hurry before they are all gone!"

The thought of a cupcake sounded wonderful to Spike. Moving as fast as his sore body could take him, he headed to the table where the food was. He saw that there was still three left on the table. But he was not fast enough, as three fillies rushed in front of him to get the sweets. It was the Cutie Mark Crusaders. As they left, Spike saw that the table was empty.

"Well, thanks everypony for helpin' out around the farm today! It's quite helpful for all of us here!" Applejack called out, dismissing those who had visited to help around the farm.

"We are always happy to help, Applejack," Rarity smiled as she bid farewell.

"It was my pleasure to help out," Fluttershy spoke meekly with a smile.

"Glad to have helped ya, AJ. Now if you excuse me, I got some Wonderbolts to watch!" Rainbow Dash spoke before literally dashing off into the sky.

Finally Twilight spoke, "It was a not a problem to help, Applejack. And I have to say it was really nice that Pinkie was able to get some refreshments for us."

"Still, it was might nice of you and Spike ta come out and lend a hoof around the farm," Applejack replied.

"Our pleasure. Now I do have some studying to do, so just let us know if you need any help," Twilight spoke before calling out to her assistant, "Ready Spike?"

Spike didn't speak. Instead, he pushed himself to continue moving, walking over to Twilight's side.

On the way back, Spike could hear the purple mare speak, but he didn't focus. He was too sore from working to do anything but walk forward. Instead, he just remembered what Big Mac said about Twilight being lucky to have him around to help her.

Ch. 4 When I Come Around

Chapter 4: When I Come Around

Celestia's sun rose of Ponyville, beginning a new day. Spike awoke to the rays of light peeking through the window and shinning across his face. Stretching his arms out, Spike climbed out of his bed and made his way downstairs. Twilight Sparkle was already beginning her morning reading.

"Oh, good morning, Spike. How are you doing?" the purple mare asked with a smile.

Spike was extremely sore from the work he did while assisting the Apple family at Sweet Apple Acres. "Really sore still from yesterday, but fine other than that, I guess," the dragon replied, forcing a smile to his tired face. He didn't want to add that he wasn't in a great mood.

"I'm sure you'll feel better soon. But don't worry; it'll be an easy day for you. I just have one errand for you to run this morning," Twilight spoke with confidence to her assistant.

Spike liked how that sounded. He could use an easy day after plowing fields. "Alright."

"I just need you to get some herbal leaves, same errand as last time. Got it?" Twilight instructed.

Spike nodded as he walked toward the door, "Got it. Be right back."

The unicorn said something, but Spike was already out the door and didn't hear her. Spike was confident to not get sidetracked with this errand. If it meant that he would have an easy day in the library, he would get the errand done as soon as possible.

When he arrived at Ponyville Square, Spike looked around for the herbal leaf cart that usually was around the area. Spotting the cart in the distance, the dragon began walking towards the merchant cart.

He was stopped, however, when he heard a few ponies in the distant scream. Turning his head, he saw a number of ponies running away from something. Curious, Spike jogged forward to the running ponies.

"Hey, what's going on?" Spike managed to ask one of the running mares.

"It's a rabbit stampede!" the lime green unicorn spoke before she continued her running.

"Rabbit stampede?" Spike asked himself.

A yellow pegasus with a pink mane came into his line of sight. She seemed to be in a panic and it echoed in her voice, "Oh dear, oh dear….please little dears, don't run away. I'll fix your pen soon, I promise."

Spike saw the pegasus and hurried over to her, "Fluttershy, what's going on?"

"Oh, Spike," Fluttershy spoke with a tone of relief, "Thank goodness you're here. You see, the rabbit's cage broke and all of the rabbits escaped. I need some help to get them back….um….if you don't mind…."

Spike was already afraid to reply, "Uh, I'm not sure. You see, I'm on an errand for Twilight right now and…." Fluttershy's eyes began to form tears as her lips became pouty. Spike knew better than to say no. "Alright, I'll help you out. What do I need to do?"

A smile appeared on Fluttershy's face, "Oh, wonderful. I believe there are thirty-five bunny rabbits that escaped. I'll repair the pen as quickly as I can and you find them, okay?"

The dragon was hesitant to respond, knowing he got himself into something insane, "….alright."

"Oh, thank you ever so much, Spike," Fluttershy said as she headed back to her cottage and begin the repairs.

Sighing after Fluttershy spoke, Spike began his quest to find all of the rabbits.

Spike found all of the rabbits by the late afternoon. With the last rabbit in his arms, he rushed back to Fluttershy's cottage for the final time. Dropping the brown and white rabbit in the pen with the rest of the rabbits, the purple and green dragon fell onto his knees and then laid down on his back to look up at the multicolored sky. His body became even sorer than it was when he woke up the morning before. Fluttershy came into his line of sight and moved her lips, however, he couldn't hear anything.

"I'm sorry, what was that?" Spike asked as he sat up.

"I said thank you for helping me, Spike. And on behalf of the bunny rabbits, I thank you again," Fluttershy repeated herself.

"Oh, not a problem. Just….tired," Spike replied. He paused before remembering his errand for Twilight. This time, however, he didn't panic. Instead, he calmly spoke, "Hey Fluttershy, do you know if the merchant carts would be closed by now?"

Thinking, Fluttershy replied, "I think they are, why do you ask?"

"Because now I'm in trouble."

Ch. 5 Tones Of Home

Chapter 5: Tones Of Home

The night sky enveloped Equestria. A small sliver of Princess Luna's moon hung in the sky, lighting the land below just enough for those below continue with their evenings.

A purple and green dragon was walking through the night at a very slow and depressing pace. Spike didn't want to return home. He knew for a fact that Twilight Sparkle was not going to be happy in the least. He feared few things, and at the top was an angry Twilight Sparkle (followed by zombies). As the library came into view, the small dragon braced himself for an earful from the purple unicorn.

Opening the door, he entered the library. With his head hung, he didn't bother to look up, because he knew Twilight Sparkle was standing right in front of him.

"Where were you?" Twilight spoke with annoyance.

"I was getting what you wanted, honest, but then I was pulled aside to help somepon-" Spike tried to explain himself.

"Spike, you know better than this! Honestly, I understand if you are helping somepony, but if you do, you should fulfill the duty you have at hand before taking on another responsibility!" Twilight's words were both angry and disappointed.

"But Twilig-" the dragon tried to plead his case.

The unicorn interrupted, "No buts! I raised you better than this Spike! It was a simple errand you had to run. But you keep getting sidetracked by other things and other ponies."

"It's not my fault, honest!" Spike spoke.

The mare's voice grew in volume,"Then whose is it? I need you to help me Spike, but you can't when you are running all around Ponyville! Have you forgotten that you are my assistant?"

Spike mumbled something.

"What was that, Spike?" the pony raised her voice.

The dragon talked louder and talked back, "Have you ever thought that you take advantage of me?"

Twilight was speechless at Spike's words. The small dragon covered his mouth with his claws.

Blinking a couple of times, tears formed in Spike's eyes. Removing the claws in front of his mouth, Spike shouted as the liquid fell from his eyes, "It's not my fault! I'm trying my best! I'm only one dragon!" Finishing his statement, he turned around and ran out of the library's front door into the night. Twilight Sparkle stared out into the darkness where her assistant ran into.

Elsewhere, the small purple and green dragon was running to the outskirts of Ponyville. In a grove of wild trees, Spike stopped to catch his breath and to wipe the snot and tears from his face. Sitting down, he began to babble.

"Stupid Twilight….she doesn't understand wh-what I've been doing all this time….all of the hard work….all of the ponies I've had to help…." he paused to sniffle before resuming, "and all the chores she has me do on a regular basis ju-just so she can have such an easy job…."

Somewhere in the dragon's mind, Spike's attitude about the recent ordeal changed. "Dumb Twilight….she doesn't understand what I have to go through. She's always doing whatever she wants while I have to do everything!" Spike's voice became bitter, "She doesn't know what I have to deal with! All she does is read books and have fun with her friends while I do all the work! Who says I have to do everything? Why do I have to take orders from her?" His voice was becoming more and more angry.

As Spike's rage grew, his body did as well. Spike noticed his body changing. His arms, legs, torso, and every other part of his body changed altogether. Not only did he grow in size, but also in body parts. He sprouted wings and even a longer neck.

"Wh-What's going on?" he asked himself, unable to even recognize his own voice.

Spike was undergoing a metamorphosis.

Ch. 6 Monster

Chapter 6: Monster

Celestia's sun rose again over Equestria, waking up all of its residents. In the Ponyville library, a purple unicorn awoke to the sound of birds chirping and warm sunlight on her coat. She found herself in the library's main room, unmoved from the couch where she waited for her assistant to return. With a yawn, Twilight stood on her hooves and trotted upstairs to wake Spike. She was surprised to find that he was not in his bed, nor did he even return the night before.

"Oh dear, did Spike not return last night?" Twilight asked herself aloud. After not hearing a response, though not expecting one, she continued talking to herself, "I really hope he's okay. I didn't mean to sound so harsh to him."

Trotting back downstairs, the mare walked out the front door and into town. She had a hunch or two about where Spike might have stayed the night. Her first guess would be Sugarcube Corner, hiding out with Pinkie Pie and a plethora of sweets.

Arriving at the bakery, Twilight met up with her friend, "Hello, Pinkie Pie."

"Hiya, Twilight! What brings you over here this early?" the pink pony asked with a burst of energy.

"I was curious if you have seen Spike lately," Twilight asked.

Pinkie placed a hoof under her chin and replied, "Hmm….nope! Can't say I have. Why do you ask?"

The unicorn sighed, "Well, I can't find him anywhere…."

"You can't? Did you check under the bed? That's where Gummy likes to hide when he is avoiding his bath," Pinkie suggested.

"No, it's that he ran off last night after we had a talk and I don't think he came back."

Pinkie's happy demeanor vanished, "Oh my, and you haven't seen him at all?"

Twilight shook her head.

The earth pony appeared next to her purple mare friend and gave a reassuring side hug. With a smile, she spoke, "Don't worry, Twilight! I sure we will find him! And I will help you, I promise! Or my name isn't Pinkamina Diana Pie!"

The unicorn gave a small smile, "Thanks, Pinkie. You sure know what to say and when to say it."

Suddenly, a light brown stallion came through the bakery's front door in a panic, "I'm sorry to intrude, but you have to get out of here!"

"Huh?" Twilight was the first to reply, looking over the stressed pony.

"There's a monster on the outskirts of town! We are evacuating all of Ponyville!" the stallion's words were in terror.

"Monster?" Pinkie Pie asked as she and Twilight exited the building.

The stallion pointed in a direction, "It's out there and coming over here! I have to go warn the rest of the town!" With his sentence done, the colt vanished.

Pinkie Pie and Twilight looked off in the direction he pointed.

"Do you hear anything, Pinkie?" Twilight asked her friend.

"I hear some steps that sound like FOOM! FOOM! FOOM!" the earth pony replied, adding her sound effects, "Don't sound too far away."

"We have to get closer," the unicorn said.

"Okey dokey lokey!" Pinkie replied, following Twilight as she led the way.

The two quickly moved as they went against the follow of the traffic of escaping ponies who were running away from the destruction. However, when the monster came into sight, Twilight froze in astonishment and dread. Her eyes narrowed in horror as she who the beast was.

The monster was Spike.

Ch. 7 Run To The Hills

Chapter 7: Run To The Hills

Twilight stared in horror. The beast that was terrorizing the town was her own assistant, Spike. His body might have changed, but she knew it was him. Spike stood at a large size as he walked on his legs. His body had grown massively, from his tail, his torso, and arms. His neck was longer and snake-like and his head had changed for a more reptilian feature. His back even sprouted wings. With his new transformed body, the dragon was panicking the entire town, even destroying a few buildings.

"Spike…." Twilight whispered quietly in disbelief, not wanting to believe that it was really Spike.

"Twilight!" Pinkie Pie shouted loudly into the unicorn's ear to get her attention, "We need to do something! You must know of something to do!"

The unicorn nodded nervously, "We will need some help though," her words were shaking.

As she spoke, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity and Fluttershy trotted up to Pinkie and Twilight. Pinkie Pie let out a happy cheer as she saw that her other friends were okay.

"Oh, hey, girls. I hate to ask, but we are going to need each of you to take care of the….um….problem at hand," Twilight spoke to her friends with guilt.

"Can do, sugarcube. What's the plan?" Applejack nodded.

"Applejack and Rainbow, I need you two to try and stop the….monster in anyway you can. Traps, knocking it out, whatever," the purple mare spoke.

"Gotcha!" Rainbow Dash saluted before she bolted off with Applejack following close behind.

"Rarity, Fluttershy," Twilight's words caused her pegasus friend to let out an 'eep' when her name was called, "I will need you two help get all of the citizens out of Ponyville. We don't want any causalities."

"We can do that, Twilight, not a problem. Let's go, Fluttershy," Rarity nodded to her fellow unicorn before guiding Fluttershy away to fulfill their duty.

Pinkie Pie hopped up and down, "Ooo! What's my job, Twilight? Huh? Huh?" her words were very excited, which was to be expected from the party pony.

"I….I don't even know what I should do….I helped cause this…." Twilight's eyes were starting to water as she spoke, "I did this to Spike…."

"Say wha~?" Pinkie looked at her friend with a tilted head.

"The monster is Spike….and it's my fault he's like this," wiping the tears that were starting form in her eyes, Twilight looked to see the monstrous Spike trying to deal with Rainbow Dash flying around him.

"Did you say sorry? That goes quite a long way!" the pink pony asked bouncing around her friend.

As if a switch went off in the unicorn's brain, Twilight had an idea, "You're right. If anger and rage started this, then taking it away should fix the situation! Pinkie Pie, you're a genius!"

"Well, duh! But no pony believes me!" Pinkie commented.

Ignoring her friend's comment, Twilight galloped as fast as she could towards Spike. She had no real plan of how to deal with the situation, but she knew if she just started, everything should work out as it always had in the past.

As she got closer, she saw Applejack taking a quick break to catch her breath. She looked beaten and been through a lot already.

"Twi, you don't want ta get any closer. This is tougher than it looks," Applejack said before she galloped back into the fray with the monstrous Spike.

"It's okay, I know what I'm doing," she replied before she spoke quietly to herself, "I hope…."

Taking a deep breath, she shouted out Spike's name to get his attention. This caused not only Spike to stop his rampage, but also stopped Dash and Applejack who were surprised to learn that it was Spike they were dealing with. Spike looked down the familiar purple pony. He grunted, similar to how he had for his entire rampage.

"Spike! I'm sorry! I'm sorry for yelling at you! I didn't mean to! Now, please, stop this! You are hurting and scaring everypony! Please! I'm sorry!" Twilight shouted at the top of her lungs. Tears formed in her eyes again as she shouted.

The dragon stood in silence, processing the words from the unicorn. Finally, he replied, but not with a grunt, but instead he spoke with a loud, low bellowing roar, "Lies!" After he spoke, he continued his path of destruction.

The purple mare stared at Spike, extremely hurt at his response. She stood completely still, feeling as if her hooves were trapped in cement, keeping her from moving.

"No….no…." she whispered to herself in skepticism. While she was talking to herself, she did not notice a building was falling towards her.

Ch. 8 No Shelter

Chapter 8: No Shelter

As the building was falling towards the ground, Twilight was frozen below. Her hooves refused to respond to part of her brain that told her to move. She was paralyzed in fear.

However, a pink blur swooped in to grab Twilight out of harms way. It was Pinkie Pie.

"Twilight! You need to be more careful! It's a good thing that my twitchy tail and Pinkie sense were working!" Pinkie Pie was worried for her friend, and yet a smile still was on her face.

The unicorn was still out of it, "No….Spike….he's too far gone…." Tears began to stream down from her eyes.

"Now what kind of talk is that, you silly filly? You got to show Spike you really care! Rainbow Dash and Applejack are still trying to help Spike stop destroying the town while you are sitting here on your flank feeling sorry for yourself!" Pinkie Pie was lecturing Twilight, but it didn't seem like lecturing any other pony would give.

Wiping a few tears from her eyes, the purple mare spoke, "B-But what if we can't stop him? What if we fail?"

"Then we tried! That's all we can really do, right?" Pinkie replied with a smile. Twilight nodded to her friend. The pink pony smiled and continued, "Then try!"

With new vigor from her friend, Twilight galloped toward the monstrous Spike. She whispered as she hurried, "I got to try my best. For all of us."

Spike was still rampaging. It seemed Applejack and Rainbow Dash were struggling to stop the dragon's path of destruction. Often, Applejack would have to go on the defensive to avoid being smacked by Spike's large tail. As for Rainbow Dash, she would have to evade Spike's slashing claws.

Applejack noticed her friend arriving again. "Twilight, ah really think it ain't best fer ya to be here again."

Rainbow Dash hovered momentarily to comment "She's got a point, egghead! You best get out before- GACK!" The blue pegasus was grabbed by both of Spike's claws.

"Rainbow!" Twilight called out.

Popping her head out of the gap in Spike's hands, Rainbow yelled, "Help!"

Twilight shouted at the top of her lungs and with tears falling down her face, "Spike, please let her go! Please stop this! I'm sorry! I realize it's my fault! I've been such a mule and I'm sorry! I mean it! So please….please stop!"

The beastly Spike paused as he looked down at the purple unicorn. He seemed to have eased up. Spike opened his mouth and muttered softly in his deep voice, "Twilight?"

Before the unicorn could reply, Rainbow Dash had broken free from Spike's grasp. Jolting forward, Dash took advantage of Spike's momentary pause and rammed her body below Spike's jaw. The force of the pegasus caused the dragon to be knocked unconscious. Spike's head jolted backwards.

"Spike!" Twilight cried out in horror as she watched her assistant beginning to fall to the ground.

Oddly enough, Spike's body changed from his monster-like appearance. He went from the towering beast back to his small baby dragon form. However, he was still falling from a great height.

Twilight galloped towards falling assistant. "Spike!" she cried out. Unfortunately, her cries fell on deaf ears. Spike's lifeless body hit the ground with a loud thud. The unicorn arrived as soon as she could, and she found the baby dragon's body in a freshly made crater. Entering in the crater, she grabbed Spike's beaten and battered body and held it close to her.

"Somepony get a doctor, please! Somepony, anypony!" the unicorn cried out to anypony could hear. She then spoke to the dragon body in her embrace, "Please be okay, Spike….I'm so sorry….I'm so sorry…."

Ch. 9 Hospital Beds

Chapter 9: Hospital Beds

Spike opened his eyes slowly as a beam of sunlight shot across his face. He tried to lift his head up, but it felt extremely heavy, so he returned it to the pillow. It was then he was in a bed at a hospital. He then noticed the six ponies, his friends, in the room. And he saw Twilight Sparkle seated right beside him.

It was Rainbow Dash who noticed Spike's awakening first, "Hey! It looks like Spike is coming around!"

At the blue pegasus' words, all of the ponies turned their attention to the small dragon. There was some commotion to the news.

The dragon spoke in a very groggy and tired tone, "Huh? What's going on?"

"Spike, are you okay? How are you feeling?" Twilight Sparkle's mother instincts kicked in as she worried for the baby dragon.

"Sore….what happened?" Spike rubbed his head, where he felt bandages wrapped around his skull.

"Ya don't remember, sugarcube?" Applejack asked with concern.

Spike shook his head. He put his claw up to his head again, as it hurt to move.

"Poor dear, you turned into quite the beast a few days ago," Rarity commented.

"What?" the purple dragon didn't understand.

Twilight elaborated, "It's true, Spike. Somehow, you turned into quite a monstrous dragon over a short period of time. It was quite something. Your body grew tremendously and you seemed to have lost all your senses which led to you rampaging all around Ponyville."

"I….did that?" Spike was frightened at the idea of him doing something like that.

"Yeah! You were all like 'RAWR!' And everypony was all like 'AHHH!' And then you would hit a building with your huge tail and it would be all like 'PEEUSSHH!' And then-" Pinkie Pie's description and acting out of the event was cut off by Applejack who put her hoof over Pinkie's muzzle.

Rainbow Dash filled the silence, "What Pinkie's trying to say is that it was really scary and we were all worried and all that junk."

"It really was scary…." Fluttershy added meekly. She seemed to still be shaken from the event.

Spike was in disbelief, "I really did that?"

Twilight didn't answer, "What do you remember?"

Spike scratched the top of his head, trying not to undo the bandages, "Not much. I just remember I was really sad. Sounds dumb, but that's it."

The purple unicorn placed a hoof on Spike's arm affectionately, "It's okay, Spike. Don't worry about it now. I'm just happy that you're okay. I promise I'll make it up to you somehow."

Spike smiled, "Thanks, Twilight, but don't worry about it."

Twilight shook her head, "No, I mean it Spike. I really haven't been treating you the way you deserve. I swear I will make it up to you."

"Alright, but can I go back to sleep please? Without everypony watching me?" Spike asked.

"Oh, right. Of course," Twilight was slightly embarrassed, "come on, girls."

All of the ponies slowly exited the room, all giving the dragon their condolences and wishes for him to get better soon. After everypony but Twilight had left, Spike had made himself comfortable and quickly fell back to sleep. The purple mare smiled as she trotted up to her assistant. Reflecting on the recent events, a few tears formed in her eyes and the unicorn lightly kissed her assistant's forehead.

Exiting the room, Twilight spoke softly, "No matter what happens Spike, I will always love you."

END

Ch. 1 Time To Go

Chapter 1: Time To Go

It was a calm and warm day in Ponyville. While most of the residents of the small town were out and about with their daily routine, there was one purple unicorn that was working inside of the Ponyville library with her dragon assistant. Twilight Sparkle was testing out some new potions with Spike aiding her.

"Now, just a little more gossamer to add into this batch," Twilight said as she mixed the pot with her magic.

"What's this potion for again?" Spike asked, peering into the mixture.

Twilight, using her magic to get the needed item closer to her, replied, "Oh, this is a simple recipe that will change the color of a pony's mane. Nothing fancy."

"Weird. Will it work on dragons?"

Twilight paused for a moment before replying, "I don't think so, but let's not find out."

Spike seemed a bit disappointed that he wouldn't find out.

"Besides, I have an errand for you to run."

Spike looked towards the purple mare, "An errand?"

"Yes, it seems we are running low on herbal leaves, which we will need for the next potion, and I need you to run out and get some while the store is still open," Twilight explained as she finished stirring the potion. Tapping the wooden stirring spoon on the edge of the pot, she continued, "Can you do that Spike?"

"Of course! You can always count on me!" Spike saluted. He turned around and headed out the front door of the library.

The purple unicorn called out to her assistant as he left, "Hurry back!"

Once outside, Spike moved as fast as his little legs could carry him. He didn't want to disappoint Twilight in the least, so he wanted to get back as soon as he could. The dragon got as far as the town square of Ponyville before he stopped when he heard a familiar voice.

"Oh, hello Spike!" the voice called out.

The dragon turned to see a white unicorn with a very stylish purple mane, "Oh, hello Rarity."

The unicorn smiled, "You are just the dragon I needed to see!"

Spike was puzzled, "I am?"

"But of course! I know you are such a hard worker and I was hoping you could stop by the boutique for a bit today and help me with a few orders, if that's alright with you," Rarity spoke, moving part of her mane to one side.

"Oh, well, I'm kinda already on an errand for Twilight right now….and I don't want to keep her waiting…." Spike was trying his hardest to not sound like he didn't want to help Rarity.

"Oh, but it won't be long dear, I promise you!" Rarity sounded as if she was pleading for his help.

Spike lightly bit his lower lip as he agreed, "Alright, I can help you out for a bit." Spike knew he couldn't say not to Rarity.

"Oh, wonderful! Then let's get back to the shop, shall we? The sooner we start, the sooner we finish!" Rarity gestured to the small dragon to follow her.

Spike nodded and followed her. He then thought to himself, 'Well, it shouldn't be too long, right?'