Crystal Runaways

by TheSuperTransformerFan

Rating: everyone
Tags: Mystery, Princess Cadance, Spike, Starlight Glimmer, Adventure, Thorax, Twilight Sparkle, Slice of Life, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Alternate Universe
Length: 7619

What if instead of swaying the Crystal Empire into song about how a changeling can change, Spike and Thorax both ran away to avoid being exposed? An alternate ending to The Times They Are A Changeling

Spike was put in charge of finding the rogue Changeling in the Crystal Empire, and met Thorax in one of the arctic caves. Thorax revealed that he wasn’t like Chrysalis and wanted to share love, instead of feasting on it. As a result, Spike offered to help by having him disguise as a crystal Pony to gain their respect in time.

However, Thorax’s cover was blown when Cadence introduced him to Flurry Heart, making everyone shun him. This left Spike with the most powerful decision: To tell the whole empire that the Changeling is his friend, by singing a song about how everyone...even enemies can change.

But, what if something else happened?

What if instead of meeting Flurry Heart (which led to Thorax’s cover being blown), Spike and Thorax both ran away to save face, and themselves? How different would it have been? How would Twilight and Starlight react? How would Cadence and Shining Armor react? How would the empire react?

What would happen next would be the empire, Shining, Cadence, Twilight and Starlight having to go search for the missing dragon and Changeling, and they would also learn a different way that there is such a thing as a nice Changeling. What if that happened instead of a song?

An alternate ending to The Times They Are A Changeling, and the fifth in my alternate ending series.

Published 2021-02-15 02:30:00 UTC
Last updated 2021-02-15 02:30:00 UTC

The Search For The Dragon And The Changeling

Spike had an idea! During the search, he met a changeling named Thorax in the arctic caves. He revealed to Spike that he wanted to share love instead of feasting on it, and that the Crystal Empire’s love had drawn him to it. All his life, he wanted a friend. This gave Spike an idea: He could get his new pal to venture the town disguised as a Crystal pony and get him to make some friends, and prove he’s not evil. During that time, Spike showed the disguised pal around the town, and he was being friends with the other Crystal ponies in an instant. The plan was so far running smoothly.

As they were walking through the hallway to the throne room, Thorax was excited that the plan was going without a hitch. He gasped in excitement. “This place is everything I've ever dreamed of!” He said. “But I can't keep pretending to be a Crystal Pony forever, can I?” He whispered to Spike.

“Relax. You're winning them over.” Spike reassured him. “Pretty soon, nopony will care that you're a changeling.” Thorax smiled at that.

Just then, they heard a voice that made them both jump. “Spike!” it said. Spike knew that voice. It was Princess Cadence! Spike got nervous, and his blood ran cold.

“Oh, man!” Spike said, nervously. “We’re busted! Our cover’s blown!”

“What?” Thorax asked confused and shocked. “It is? Already?”

Spike looked around the room, and knew what had to be done. “Come on, Thorax.” He said, panicked. “We’re running away!”

“But, what about meeting the baby?” Thorax asked.

“The Crystal guards could catch you in an instant!” Spike said. “We can’t take that chance! We have to leave!”

“But, don’t you want me to become their friend?” Thorax asked again, more confused.

“What choice do we have?!” Spike asked, more panicky. “Would you rather stay and let the love reveal who you are and be captured, or do you want to save yourself by coming with your friend and going to a safe place? When your choice is either capture of safety, I think it become a pretty easy decision.”

“I guess I don’t have much of a choice.” The disguised changeling said, giving in. “But, where are we going?”

“Someplace far away.” Spike told him as they went into a room, and packed a knapsack with food, water, pillows, lanterns and pictures. “...where no one will ever find you, or me!”

“But what if we get lost, or no one finds us, or we get stuck in a snowstorm?” Thorax asked, more nervous by the minute. “How will we survive? Think we’ll be safe?”

“That’s a chance we’ll have to take, Thorax.” Spike said, as he got out a piece of paper and wrote a note. Once he finished the note, he put it on the floor for somepony to see.

“Okay, you got everything we need, Spike?” Thorax asked, as he finished packing his knapsack.

“Yep. We got food, drink, and light...enough to last us a few days.” The dragon told him. “You ready?”

“I think so...” Thorax said, unsure of all this.

“Then, let’s go!” Spike said as he hopped on his friend’s back. “Hi ho, Thorax! Away!” He called out as his friend took him on a ride as they ran out of the Crystal Empire. As they ran out, Thorax reverted back to his original form. A few ponies noticed Spike on the black pony’s back, and were confused by all this.

One of the Crystal guards was walking by in the hall to find the dragon, but he wasn’t there. “Spike?” He asked. “Are you there?” He stepped on something, and looked down to see what it was. He found the note the Spike left. He read it, and was shocked at what he saw! He had to go tell the others about this!

In the crystal throne room, Cadence, Twilight, Starlight, Sunburst and a few guards were waiting for Spike to show up. A few got nervous. “Isn’t Spike coming to introduce Crystal Hoof to Flurry Heart?” Cadence asked confused.

“I hope so.” Twilight said. “I haven’t seen him since he introduced me to him.”

“I’m pretty sure they’re just a little late.” Starlight put in.

“I don’t know, Starlight.” Twilight said worriedly. “Spike’s never been gone for that long before.”

“Twilight, relax.” Starlight reassured her. “Spike and Crystal Hoof are probably held up a little bit. I’m sure they’ll come. You just gotta be positive.”

Twilight took in a deep breath, and figured she was right. “I guess so.” She said, smiling.

“Well, I’d like you to know that any friend of Spike the Brave and Glorious is a friend of mine.“ Cadence said as she came to them smiling. They both smiled back. What could possibly spoil this moment?

Just then, a Crystal guard rushed into the throne room urgently. “Spike’s gone!” He said in alarm.

“What?!” Twilight, Starlight and Cadence said in shock.

“He’s gone?” Starlight asked in shock.

“He left this note!” The guard said as he held the note he saw in the hallway out for them to see.

Twilight took the note and decided to read it. “What does it say, Twilight?” Cadence asked.

“What does it say?” Starlight and a few others asked. Twilight read the note out loud for everyone to hear.

Dear everyone,

I thought I had friends here...

I guess I was wrong.

As it turns out, my friend, Crystal Hoof isn’t who you think he really is.

He’s actually the rogue changeling I found in the Arctic caves. His name is Thorax.

He was one of the changelings who took part in the attack at Canterlot. However, he is not like the other changelings.

He wanted share love, rather than feast upon it. And so, I had him disguise as a Crystal pony to win everyone’s respect.

And since nobody wants me around because of that, I’m running away!

Don’t worry. You will never see me, or my changeling friend again.

Goodbye. signed, Spike

P.S. Also. Thorax.

Emotions of fear, shock and sadness flooded into her as she read those words. She didn’t realize Spike was trying to help the Changeling get accepted into friendship. She felt pretty awful after reading the note, as her ears flopped down. “Oh, no!” She said saddened.

At that moment, Shining Armor ran in after hearing the commotion. “What’s going on?” He asked. “You said there was urgent news regarding The changeling?”

“This is serious! Spike’s run away!” Twilight said in shock.

“WHAT?!” Everyone else asked in horror.

“And from what it looks like in this note that he left, I can’t believe I’m saying this but...It looks like Spike really is making friends with the changeling!” Twilight showed the note to her brother. He read it and a grim expression came over his face.

“I’m sorry, Twilight. But, I don’t think that’s funny at all.” He said after reading the note.

“This could be a new experience for us!” Twilight said to him. “I don’t think he’s evil! I think he wants to be a good guy instead of a villain.”

“Need I remind you that the Changeling Queen Chrysalis kidnapped Cadance and cast a spell on me?” Shining Armor reminded her.

“But don’t you realize how you’re acting?” Twilight said, her voice in a protesting tone.

“No, Twilight.” Shining said, as he got into her face, seriously. “How do you think we’re all acting?”

“You’re acting like Spike’s not wanted AND you’re acting like Chrysalis!” Twilight said to her brother.

The Crystal prince gasped, and took a breath in nervousness. “Twily’s got a point.” He said in realization.

“I am so shamed.” Starlight said saddened.

“We gotta find Spike and Thorax before something happens to them!” Sunburst said with worry. “What other explanation could there be for him running away?!”

They all knew what needed to be done. “Guards!” Shining said. “We need to search the Empire top to bottom! Spike could be in that vicinity!”

“Yes, sir!” The guards saluted as they split up in different directions to find the missing drake.

“Ooh. I hope Spike is alright.” Twilight said with worry, as Starlight and Sunburst both put hooves around her to help her feel better.

Meanwhile, Spike and Thorax were out of the aura barrier or the empire and were walking closer to the frozen north. So far, the journey was treacherous for them, but it was about to get more rough. Wind blew hard, and snow blew in heavy flurries. Spike even threw an anchor to try to keep them on the ground. But, nothing was hard for our two runaways as they tried their best to brave the elements...even if they were against them.

Finally, they managed to reach The northern boundary of the Crystal Empire. Nopony who's attempted has ever returned. Well, except for Pinkie Pie. They were about to climb, when Spike noticed Thorax lagging behind. He rushed over to help him back on his feet.

“Are you okay?” Spike asked his friend.

“Yeah.” Thorax said weakly. “But, it’s really cold, and my legs are aching tired. I don’t know how much longer we can survive the cold.” He fell into Spike’s arms.

The dragon knew they needed to take shelter and soon! He looked around for shelter, and saw Yakyakistan as he scanned. It looked like a nice place to stay. But the yaks constant smashing would keep them awake all night with no rest. Not to mention that the falling snow would make them more cold, and their stay unbearable. So far, that was out of the question.

There weren’t any other places to stay out there that they knew of, and Thorax was starting get frostbite from the cold. Spike scanned some more, and saw some hollowed-mountains that appeared empty. “We’ll take shelter in there!” Spike said as he pointed to the mountain.

He carried Thorax over to the mountain and they started to make their way inside. The mountain was cold, but not too cold. It was also dark, damp, but a little warm. Also, it was sturdy enough to withstand a terrible snowstorm. It appeared to be a good place to stay for them as they went inside.

Meanwhile in the Crystal Empire, the guards were searching for their missing hero. They checked all the rooms, and even the strangest places you could find a baby dragon. But, no sign of him so far.

Twilight was pacing around in the throne room nervously, wondering where her son could be. A million thoughts raced into her head. “Oh, why did Spike have to run away? And at a crucial time when we need him the most?!” Twilight thought. She was getting more scared by the minute. “What about the changeling? Is he going to be okay? Well, never mind about how he’s going to be fine, is Spike going to be fine? He could get frostbite out there! I can’t believe that Spike is telling the truth about the changeling being his friend! And they ran away, just as Cadence was about to welcome them?! Is Spike have any food? Will he have anything to drink? Is he going to DIE?”

Starlight came into the room and saw her friend pacing. She went over to her. “Twilight, are you okay?” She asked.

“Yeah, yeah. I’m okay.” Twilight said, nervously and seriously as she handed her a to-do list. “Here’s your list of things to do while I’m gone. Flurry’s diapers need to be changed, you and Sunburst need to take down the protection spell, oh...and make sure that Shining Armor and Cadence keep waiting if I don’t come back. Okay? Okay? Good. Okay.”

Starlight knew something was wrong with Twilight, and decided to comfort her. “Twilight, the guards haven’t found Spike. Have they?” She asked.

“NO!” Twilight said panicked and sad, as she turned to her pupil. “And Cadence was about to introduce them to Flurry, and I can’t find him anywhere!”

“Don’t worry, Twilight.” Starlight reassured her. “In just a few moments, you’ll be sitting in the Crystal kitchen with Spike and Thorax making Delicious Hot Schmoes!”

Twilight looked at her confused. “They’re called ‘s’mores,’ Starlight.” She said.

“Right. Right. Of course.” The pupil said, before regaining her bearings. “Has anypony found Spike yet?” She called out.

The purple guards were still searching around the place for the dragon. “Let's move! Move! Move! This way! This way! Let's go! Check there? Okay. Over here! Over here!” The guards said. “Look around that corner! Over there! Over there!”

“Not yet.” One guard said. “We’re still searching.”

“A few occupants and guards here haven’t seen him either.” Sunburst said to them. “But, they’re still looking.”

Cadence and Shining Armor came in with worried looks on their faces. “He’s not in the town square.” Cadence said with sorrow. “We’ve looked everywhere.”

“Everywhere?” Twilight asked in shock. “Everywhere in the whole empire?!” They nodded, as Twilight fainted.

“I know it's bad that Spike ran away, but is all this really necessary?” Starlight asked.

“If Spike’s not in the Empire, who knows where he is now?” Cadence asked.

“Cadence is right.” Shining said, worried as well. “Spike does love gems, and the empire is full of them. But, we don’t know where else besides here in the area he could have went.”

Twilight got up from her fainting moment and recollected her bearings. “True. But Starlight has a point.” She said, solemnly. “This is getting a little out of hand.”

Cadence sighed. “I understand, but I don't know what else we can do.” She said to them.

“I can’t believe Spike and the changeling ran away.” Twilight said, sadly.

“I know!” Starlight added. “I didn’t even know the changeling was a good guy. Y’know, when the Changelings invaded Canterlot...long before I met you, Thorax said that he had no involvement in the attack.”

“… Thorax?” Everypony asked. Starlight then gasped.

“Yes! The Changeling has a name! Shock and horror!” Starlight said bluntly as she held her hooves to her face with her jaw dropped. “And clearly, he disguised as a Crystal pony to gain our trust and become friends! That’s the only explanation for it!”

“What did that note say again?” Sunburst asked. “Maybe, there’s something that we didn’t see that could point us in the right direction.” Starlight handed the note over, and they read it. They read it again, and again, and saw that it was not joke! Spike really was onto to something here!

“Oh, this is terrible!” Cadence stopped reading the letter. “Thorax is trying to share love. I think Spike really did mean to help us be friends with him.” Everyone was shocked and felt huge regret for not listening to him earlier.

“Well, then Spike was right all along.” One of the guards said.

“And, you didn’t believe him!” Starlight said, pointing an accusatory hoof at Shining Armor.

“Hey, you didn’t believe him first!” Shining barked back.

“I NEVER SAID THAT!” Starlight roared.

“You might as well have.” Shining muttered as he and Starlight gave each other death stares.

“Hold it!” Twilight teleported between them. “It’s bad enough that Spike and Thorax ran away.” She said to them. “Don’t you two start!”

“Fine.” They said calmly.

“But, if that’s true, then they must have ran away to prevent themselves from being exposed...Uh oh!” Sunburst said in realization and shock.

“I should've stopped him in the hallway when I had the chance!” Shining said, seriously and worried.

“No, BBBFF.” Twilight said. “This is all of our fault! I don’t think any of us meant to put that much pressure on him like that.”

“That means Spike could be anywhere!” Cadence said in alarm. “He could be lost, cold, hungry, or itchy!”

Twilight gasped in horror. “But if that’s true, then I may never see my son again!” She cried out as she sobbed into her wings. Her friends tried to comfort her.

“I hope Spike is okay, wherever he is.” Sunburst said.

“Poor Spike! Poor Thorax!” Starlight joined in Twilight crying fest. “Poor Spike and Thorax!”

Everyone else was crying about their missing hero, when suddenly, Starlight noticed a trail of gem crumbs and hoof burns. “Uh, guys?” Starlight asked, as she nudged them, getting their attention. “Maybe, we should follow the trail of gems and burns.” She pointed to the trail.

The others saw the trail, and figured it would lead to where the missing dragon was. “Well, how come we didn’t see that?” Twilight asked.

“Spike might have gone that way!” Shining said seriously. “We've gotta go find him!”

“Well, hold it!” Twilight started. “Why does Starlight come up with the plan?”

“Uh, gee could it be because I noticed the trail first?” Starlight said snarky to get her teacher’s attention.

“I’m a princess! I could come up with a plan!” Twilight tried to reason.

“No time to argue!” Shining got between them. “We gotta help Spike!”

“We’re just gonna have to hoof it!” Cadence said.

“Let’s go, go, go!” Starlight said as they all followed the trail, that led out of the castle, and outside to the borders of the empire.

Back to our two runaways, as Spike carefully put Thorax on the floor inside the mountain. He rubbed his hands together so that they’d be warm. He then out his warm hands on his friend, making him slowly wake up. He even put a canteen of water in his mouth, as he drank it.

As Thorax recovered, he slowly got up and fluttered his wings. “Whoa?” He rubbed his head. “Where are we?”

“We’re in a mountain. We should be safe here.” Spike said, as he wrapped a scarf around his friend’s neck.

“You know, I have lived in the Arctic caves.” Thorax told him. “I don’t mind being stuck here.”

“Yeah.” Spike agreed. “At least, it’s a little more warm.”

“And, it protects us from those snowstorms.” Thorax said, as he and Spike saw the snowstorm happening so far.

“Yeah.” Spike said. “Good thing we got inside in time.”

“Yeah.” Thorax added. He then felt his tummy rumble. “I think I’m hungry. And I don’t mean for Love.”

Spike felt his tummy rumble. “Good thing we won’t die of starvation.” He said, as he got out some cookies and berries from his knapsack.

“Please hand me some of those berries.” Thorax said. Spike did so, and the two shared their snacks as they were cooped up safe, as that snowstorm was still going on.

Back to our group trying to find our runaways, as they followed the trail that led to outside of the empire, which would later lead them into a snowstorm. “Now tell me, what did Spike and Thorax at least bring?” Starlight asked them. “Some fruit? Cookies? Comic books? Pictures of Twilight? No, on second thought, don’t answer that.” She saw Twilight blushing as she smiled.

“It must've been 5 or so minutes ago, when I saw the note.” A guard said.

“Then, he couldn’t have gone far.” Starlight said. “By following the trail, we’ll be able to figure out where Spike and Thorax both went.”

Twilight facehoofed in frustration. “Uh, d-doy! Like that’s not obvious!” She said. “But, I guess, Starlight’s our leader. So, that means she’s got the plans! I mean she could even lead us out of a tomato soup can for all we know! Also, her skills as a leader...”

“ALRIGHT, THAT’S IT!” Starlight shouted as she halted, making everyone else behind her bump into her.

“One more word out of you, and you’re grounded.” Shining Armor said bluntly to her.

“Says who?” Twilight asked snarky.

“Says your own big brother!” Shining said back.

“My, aren’t we the chatty one?” Twilight asked him.

As the sister and brother pair were both arguing, Starlight touched the trail. She stuck her tongue on one of the gem shards, and instantly knew what direction it was pointing to. “Spike!” She said, determined.

They all got back on the path and followed it. They then arrived at the The northern boundary of the Crystal Empire. “That must have been where Spike went!” Sunburst said in shock.

“I can’t believe he went over there.” Twilight said in shock and sadness.

“No one has ever attempted to go there!” Cadence said in seriousness. “Except for Pinkie. But, that was for the party from Yakyakistan.”

“Pinkie was there before?!” Twilight asked. She nodded. “So, I guess we weren’t the only ones there.”

“Not important, right now!” Starlight said in seriousness. “We need to find Spike and Thorax before they hurt themselves! Who knows if they can survive in this climate?”

“Starlight’s right.” Shining Armor said coming to her side. “We’ll find Spike and Thorax in this vicinity if we all stick together.”

“Right!” The others said.

“So, let’s split up gang!” Starlight piped.

“Huh?!” Everyone said in confusion.

“We can cover more ground that way.” Starlight explained. “Spike could be anywhere in the area.” She clapped her hooves urgently. “Let’s move out!” They all did so, and went in separate directions. Each had their own goal of finding the lost hero, and lost former villain.

Twilight flew up, and scanned for her son. “Spike!” She called out. “Spike!” She flew down to get a closer look. So far, no sign of him. She continued to scan from the skies. “Spike!”

The guards were searching on ground, uncovering rocks and anything that could fit a baby dragon. “Spike!” A few said.

“Look around that corner!” One of them instructed. “Over there! Over there!” The guards kept looking, but he still wasn’t there. “Spike?” He said, as he continued checking.

Shining Armor was looking on the trail Pinkie took to Yakyakistan, as he ran into a snow creature. “Uh, you wouldn’t know where a baby dragon is, would you?” He asked him.

“No!” It said, as it swatted at him. Shining jumped back in shock and went back to the mountains.

“Spike!” He called out as he searched the area. “Where are you?”

Cadence and Flurry Heart were both searching from the lower Arctic wastes. “Spike!” They both called out, but still no sign of him.

Sunburst searched from the side of the mountain, and even Yakyakistan for the missing dragon. But, still to no avail. “Spike!” He called out as he searched from the outside of the mountain.

He went to one of the Yak huts. “Spike!” He called out, but then blushed and left.

“What?!” Prince Rutherford said, startled after Sunburst called for him as he was taking a shower.

“Spike!” A few guards shouted from the ground, on the sides of the mountain.

“Spike!” Cadence and Flurry Heart both called from the top of the Arctic wastes.

“Spike!” Starlight called out worriedly, from under a rock.

Flurry Heart scribbled out a picture of Spike and a big question Mark above him, as she didn’t know where he was either. They still continued to search for their missing friends, not willing to give up.

“Spike! Spike! Spike!” They all called out for him.

Just then, Shining heard a faint voice. “Hello?” The voice somewhat said.

“Huh?” Shining said, as he slid down the mountain to get a closer look.

“Is anyone there?” The voice asked. Shining heard the voice get louder, and he knew who that voice belonged to. He met back up with the others.

“Everyone! I think I found Spike!” He called out as they all came up.

“You did?” Cadence asked. “Where?”

“Up there!” Shining said, as he pointed up to the mountain, where he just heard that voice.

Everyone gasped, as they now knew where he was. “That mountain’s the highest peak on the northern boarder!” Sunburst said in realization.

“Oh, that looks dangerous!” Starlight said in shock as she saw how high the mountain was. “Not even I can get up there!”

“We’ve gotta call the Cloudsdale Guard!” Cadence said in alert. “Maybe, they can help get him down!”

“But, Spike is up there!” Twilight said with worry in her voice. “And, he and Thorax might not last long in that mountain!” She started to fly up.

Shining stopped her. “You can’t go up there now!” He said, trying to protect her.

“One side, Brother!” The violet alicorn said, as she pushed her brother to the side. She started to fly up, and everyone got frightened that she was willing to sacrifice herself to save her son. There was no turning back. Shining couldn’t stop her, and no one else felt like they could either.

Twilight flew up to the mountain, which was not so easy to do, mind you. She went up high as her princess wings could take her. She got thrown off by some snowstorm flurries, but she still managed to come back unharmed.

Finally, she reached the top, right where Spike and Thorax were. In the mountain, Spike and Thorax were talking about how they could get used to living there.

“Y’know, I wouldn’t mind getting used to the air temperature and altitude here.” Thorax said to Spike.

“Yeah.” Spike added. “And, we could make our own rooms, and build our beds, and even make our own adventures here!” Thorax smiled at that.

Just then, a cold gust of air swept inside, as a pony covered in snow approached them. The two braced themselves for impact, as they didn’t know what was about to happen.

The snow pony, uncovered itself and revealed it to them. The two runaways were both shocked, as they knew now who it was!

“Come back to the Crystal Empire!” Twilight called out with worry.

“You really don’t want me back there, Twilight!” Spike said, defiantly, and not willing to return.

“There’s a big snowstorm, and it’s really dangerous!” Twilight reasoned.

“I’ll never let a little thing like wind hurt us!” Spike said, staying defiant.

“Oh, this wind could!” Twilight said.

“You heard me, Twilight!” Spike said, seriously to her. “Thorax and I aren’t coming back unless you really miss us!”

“Are you serious about this?!” The friendship princess asked in shock. “You’re still hung up on all that?”

“Yes, I am Twilight!” Spike said, as he came up to her to explain why he did this. “You wanna know why I chose to run away?! I’ll tell you! It’s because I was worried about what you and the empire would do to us, if you saw Thorax exposed!”

“What are you talking about?” Twilight asked confused.

Ignoring the concerned look on his mother’s face, Spike let loose the rant he had held in since Cadence called him and Thorax to the throne room.

“I was worried that if Everypony saw Thorax exposed, I would get yelled at in the Crystal Empire and beaten up! I WAS SCARED OF BEING BEATEN! And, by the very ponies who loved me! They would hit me, call me ‘traitor’, and worst of all, Shining Armor, Cadance, you, Starlight, and Sunburst wouldn’t do a thing about it!” He trembled. “I was worried that they would LYNCH Thorax, and throw ME in the dungeon! I just don’t want to get yelled at because of who my friend is…” Spike was now on crying level as he told Twilight this. “I wanted to tell you...that a changeling could change. But I feared that you wouldn’t believe me.”

Twilight’s ears flopped down, and was a mixture of shock and sadness. She now knew why Spike ran away, because he didn’t want to risk getting caught in the Crystal Empire with a changeling. He wanted to show them that changelings could change...the hard way.

“Oh, Spike! Why would I do that to you?” Twilight told him. “I would never do that to you or Thorax. I didn’t know you made friends with a changeling.”

“I’m probably going to get banished, for all I care, and...wait. What?” Spike said, shifting into confusion.

“Spike, if you and Thorax were scared, you could’ve just told me about all this, and I would still understand.” His mom said, as she started to let out a smile.

“You still would have pulled me away from him at first.” Spike said bluntly.

“Right...” She said in realization. “But, in time, I would still realize that this would be a brand new experience for me, and for my friends.”

Spike and Thorax were surprised, as they looked at Twilight, who proceeded to say what she had to say. “And, everyone misses you here! They all love you! I love you! Everyone’s miserable without you!”

The runaways started to feel sad, as they realized that everyone did miss them. “Oh, Twilight. You DO care!” He said, as he and Thorax were pulled in for a hug, which lasted a good 3 minutes. They then broke the hug.

“Are you both ready to come back home?” She asked them sweetly.

The two looked at each other, and then at Twilight. “Yes.” They both said.

Twilight giggled happily, as she took their hooves...or claws carefully. “Come on, then.” She said, as she took them out of the mountain. Those were the magic words that got them out of the mountain, and ready to come back home.

However, it would get worse for Twilight. Once she started back down, the wind picked her up quickly and threw her off the mountain and into the sky for a good few seconds. She then started to plummet and fall down to the ground.

Twilight tried to use her wings, but somehow, they wouldn’t work. “My wings aren’t working!” Twilight cried out as she fell.

“TWILIGHT!” Cadence shouted in horror.

“TWILY!” Shining said in shock.

“TWILIGHT!!!” Spike and Thorax both cried out as they saw their friend fall.

“Someone save her!” Spike called out frantically.

Twilight continued to plummet to the ground, and the others wanted to try to help her. However, they didn’t know what would happen if they flew up or used their magic, because the snowstorm was getting worse, and none of them knew what to do!”

Thorax saw her falling, and knew what he had to do. He started to get to the ledge. Spike noticed what he was doing. “Thorax, what are you doing?” Spike asked frantically.

“I’m not going to stand by, and do nothing!” He said as he got his wings ready. Then, he closed his eyes, lept off the cliff, and dived down!

“THORAX! NO!” Spike called out in horror.

Thorax paid no attention, as he had to save Twilight from falling to an untimely death. He flew down quickly to her as fast as he could. As everyone watched in horror, seeing their friend fall, Thorax zoomed to Twilight’s tail and caught it!

Twilight was screaming as she fell, and she felt like she was falling for a long time. She then realized that she was suspended in midair, and looked up and saw Thorax holding her up in the air. “I’m safe.” She said in relief.

The others saw what was happening and were surprised. Starlight saw the changeling slowly brining her down. “It’s Thorax!” She said. Everyone cheered as Twilight was brought down to the ground safely.

Twilight was speechless and happy that Thorax risked his life to save her. “You saved my life.” Twilight said as she hugged him. “Thank you.”

“Thorax, you saved her!” Starlight said.

“You have to be more careful on these mountains, Twilight.” Thorax said to her.

“To be honest, you risking your life to save my sister-in-law is already a big relief.” Cadence said happily.

“And also, The royal guards and I want to thank you for what you’ve done.” Shining put in. “I guess there is such a thing as a nice changeling.” Thorax blushed in happiness as he heard that, as he now felt welcome and amount friends.

Just then, they heard a scream, as if someone was falling down from the mountain. Instantly, Thorax knew who that was. “SPIKE!” He shouted, as he took off, and saw him screaming and falling down to what looked like his doom. Immediately, he swooped down and grabbed him by the tail, and brought him down to safety.

Twilight was relieved that he saved his friend. “Thorax, you saved Spike!” She said in relief. “He’s okay!” She hugged him tightly, and carefully let go of him.

“Are you okay, buddy?” He asked his pal.

Spike smiled. “Never better.” He said to him.

“Oh, Spike! We were looking all over for you!” Cadence said with worry. “We’re just glad you’re safe.”

“We all are.” Starlight said, as they all smiled warmly at him.

“Though I do have to ask...how did you meet your friend, and how did he become a good changeling?” Sunburst asked confused.

Spike and Thorax both looked at each other and smiled, knowing that everything would now be okay, since they had friends here for them. “I guess we’d better explain a few things, your highness.” He said, calmly.

They all arrived at the Crystal Palace later on, as Spike explained how he and his friend met, and how he wasn’t like other changelings, and that he had no involvement in the wedding attack at Canterlot and that he wanted share his love with others, rather than eat it all for himself. The others felt like they were a little too rough on them, and realized that even they had a place in friendship.

“Spike, we were worried sick about you and Thorax.” Cadence said to them.

“Why did you run away like that?” Starlight asked him.

“I ran away because I was worried that I would get beaten up, and be known to the whole empire as a traitor, and that you wouldn’t want me around if you found out the truth.” Spike said to everyone.

“Spike, we would never call you a traitor to the empire if we found out.” Twilight said. “Sure, we would be overprotective of you, and want to keep you safe, but we’d still believe you. Why wouldn’t we?”

“Because after all that happened, I feared that you wouldn’t believe that a changeling could change.” He said to them. “I didn’t want to be pulled away from my friend, just because he was different from the others. That’s why he was different from the others, because he wanted to share his love and make new friends instead of feast on it.”

He slowly walked up to the ground, and signaled for his friend to do the same, as they both broke into song to them.

Spike:
Blown round by the wind...

Thrown down in a spin...

I gave you love.

I thought that we had made it to the top!

I gave you all I had to give.

Why did it have to stop?

You've blown it all sky high...

By telling me a lie.

Without a reason why...

You've blown it all sky high!

You, you've blown it all sky high!

Our love had wings to fly!

We could have touched the sky...

You've blown it all sky high!

Thorax:
Up, round, I've flown...

Then down, down like a stone.

I gave you love.

I thought that we had made it to the top!

I gave you all I had to give.

Why did it have to stop?

Spike & Thorax: You've blown it all sky high...

By telling me a lie!

Without a reason why...

You've blown it all sky high!

You, you've blown it all sky high!

Our love had wings to fly.

We could have touched the sky.

You've blown it all sky high!

You, you've blown it all sky high...

By telling me a lie.

Without a reason why...

You've blown it all sky high!

After they finished their song, everyone was shocked and surprised and realized that Spike wanted to make friends with him and that he wasn’t evil. Twilight slowly walked up to the both of them, and smiled. “Spike, Thorax, I'm so proud of both of you.”

“You...you are?” Spike asked surprised.

Twilight took them both into a strong hug. “Of course!” She said. “You're both celebrities here in the Crystal Empire, and you just risked all of it to save each other. I can't imagine anything more brave than that.”

She then turned to Thorax, who spoke up next. “Thorax, I may hate Chrysalis. She kidnapped Cadance, brainwashed my brother and manipulated him to turn everyone against me, attacked the city I grew up in and hurt my mentor. Chrysalis has done everything in her power to attack the ponies I cared about most: my family.”

Thorax braced himself, and prepared himself for the worst. Which is why I can never trust a changeling after what she’s done. was what he thought he though she’d say,

But instead, she said, “Which is why I’d like to ask you if you’d like to be my friend.”

“W…WHAT?!” They two said flabbergasted, as they stared at Twilight, trying to process what they just heard. “But… but… how…”

“Thorax, you are not Chrysalis,” Twilight said, her compassion towards him washing away any lingering feelings of doubt in the air. “You are your own changeling, capable of making your own decisions. And from what I’ve seen, you’ve done everything you could to not be her.”

“But… but I was there in Canterlot during the invasion!” Thorax pointed out.

“And yet, by your own admission, you refused to participate, correct?” Twilight asked.

“Yes, but…” Sputtering, Thorax couldn’t understand what was happening. “How… how can you forgive me so easily?”

“Because there’s nothing to forgive, Thorax. Despite what happened in the past, I can tell that Spike was telling the truth when he said all you wanted was a friend. And because sometimes…” Looking over her shoulder, Twilight met Starlight’s eye, smiling at her student. “Sometimes all we need is a friend to help us down the right path.”

She then turned to Spike with a serious expression in her face. Spike instantly knew the look that Twilight had on her face. Throughout his life, he saw Twilight play many different roles when it came to dealing with him. When she’s not ordering him around as the Boss, she’s being nice to him as the Friend. Though sometimes she becomes exceedingly nice to him, almost like a Big Sister.

However, there were times where she become stern with Spike. The Mom role. And Spike already knew what he’d be scolded about.

“I should be mad at you for running away like that, Spike.” Twilight said with a stern voice, and switched to comfort for what she said next. “But, since you promised never to do it again, I made you these.” She handed him a blue bakery-like box. He opened it and was surprised at what he saw.

“I got these to apologize for my behavior earlier,” she explained quietly, looking down and not making eye contact as he opened the box. The dragon’s features suddenly exploded into ecstasy when he noticed they were macaroons. And they were sparkling with tiny pieces of gems. These were no ordinary treats Twilight got him. They were jewel-macaroons! “Oh wow, Twi--”

But then confusion replaced the joy. “Wait, you’re apologizing to us?” He asked.

“Yes, Spike.” she answered, as she looked into his eyes. “I’m really sorry If you thought we were so mad about you making a changeling for a friend. We were just trying to protect Flurry for any future changeling attacks, and I realize now that you went to high lengths to save your friend, and show us all what friends you both are. As a result, it wasn’t fair for us to put so much pressure on you.” Starlight’s ears drooped in sadness to him, as Twilight confessed.

Both Thorax and Spike had gone wide-eyed, as they just heard what had been said. They exchanged looks of shock. None of them had certainly not been expecting Twilight and Starlight to consider themselves to be the ones at fault. They blinked twice, still taken aback a little by the time she was done confessing.

“Don’t worry about it, Twi,” Spike finally said, grinning and waving his hand to dismiss the hard feelings. “The past is in the past. We’re willing to forgive everything that happened yesterday as long as you are.”

“Thank you Spike,” Twilight smiled gratefully. She then turned to the rest of the royals in the room. “As the Princess of Friendship, I try to set an example for all of Equestria.” She explained. “But today, Spike taught me that a new friend can come from anywhere. I guess everypony still has things to learn about friendship. Even me! And if Spike says Thorax is his friend, then he's my friend too.” She turned to Thorax, smiling at him.

“Also, Spike? We really need to talk about earlier.” Cadence said regretfully. “We wanted to apologize. We should’ve listened to you about what happened.”

“It’s not very easy to say, but...” Both Shining and Cadence looked at each other, then Sunburst, then the guards and then back at Spike. “We’re sorry.” They all said apologetically.

“A thousand pardons, O Great and Honorable Spike the Brave and Glorious.” One of guards said as well.

The two ex-runaways both blushed the purest shade of bright red, and smiled at them. “Thank you.” Thorax said to them. “We accept your apology. Don’t we, Spike?” He playfully nudged him.

Spike smiled at him. “Yeah.” He said, nervously and happy. “I guess we do.”

“And on behalf of the Crystal Empire, I would like to extend my hoof in friendship, and I'm sure all of my subjects are eager to do the same.” Cadence announced. The Royal guards cheered as Thorax took her hoof in friendship. Flurry even cooed happily at that.

“Welcome to the Crystal Empire, Thorax.” Shining said to him. “ Like we said to you and Spike, We’re sorry we didn't take the time to get to know you. Maybe we can change that now.” He held out his hoof, and the happy changeling shook it.

“That'd be so amazing!” Thorax proclaimed gleefully. “I want to know all about friendship, and maybe one day I can take that knowledge back to the Changeling Kingdom! If my kind learned how to create love for one another, maybe they wouldn't have to take it from others!”

“To Spike the Brave and Glorious!” The guards shouted as the two were lifted up and carried by the guards happily and they both gave each other the thumbs up, knowing that the friendship mission wasn’t a failure after all.

Twilight and Starlight were both proud of their two friends as they saw the guards lift them excitedly. “Looks like you were right after all.” The pupil put in.

“Right about what?” her teacher asked confused.

“Friendship lessons can happen anywhere.” Starlight said. Twilight giggled and smiled in agreement, because she was right. Friendship lesson can indeed happen anywhere, and any place.

Later, they all said their goodbyes, and promised they would come back a different time as they got on the train. As the train left the Crystal Empire station, Twilight, Starlight, and Spike all looked out the window and waved them goodbye.

It was pretty much smooth sailing for them on the train ride. They were happy about a lot of things that happened that day, Spike meeting the changeling, him and Thorax running away, Twilight and her family finding them, Thorax saving Twilight, and he and Spike being forgiven and accepted into friendship. They didn’t say anything to start with as they all recalled this strange turn of events today.

Finally, Twilight broke the silence. “Spike, promise me something.” She said in her serious, concerned mother tone.

“What?” Spike asked.

“Don’t ever run away like that again. Okay?” She asked him.

“Trust me,” Spike said knowingly, “After all that happened today, this dragon’s not going to be running away any time soon.”

“That sounds good.” Twilight said, smiling again. Things were silent again as nopony said a word, nopony gave any facial expressions. Everything was quiet.

At that moment, Twilight decided to break the silence again. “Y’know...” she said, as a sly smile curved on her face. “This wasn’t the first time you ran away.” She playfully nudged him.

“What do you mean?” Spike asked confused.

“Well, It's just that...this has happened with you before.” She said to him. “With you being jealous of Owlowiscious and trying 1-up him by messing up his act...” Spike blushed as Twilight brought up the past, talking about this. “I just wanted to have a chance to reminisce—.”

“What?!” Starlight asked sounding annoyed as she looked up at them.

“Oh, did I say that out loud?” Twilight asked, as she blushed and hid herself in her wings. Spike managed to let out a teeny giggle, though.

And, they all enjoyed the ride as the train took them back to Ponyville.

Author's Note

And, that’s all for this alternate ending story. Spike and Thorax both ran away, but were found? That would’ve worked for the ending to said episode. Of course, it would’ve to turn out as a 2-parter on TV if that happened. But, what the heck? I decided to add a little drama in this and show how scary it would’ve been if they DID run away, and made Twilivht and the others go on a search for the missing creatures. It’s a little like Romeo and Juliet, and/or The Outsiders, don’t you think? Anyway, I’ve got some new Power Rangers crossover fics coming right up, along with more Alternate Ending series fics! So, stick around, everybody!