“And I led the Invasion on Canterlot.”

Spike felt a chill run through him at those words, and he stared at Thorax in shock. Thorax clearly felt shame and distress, Spike didn’t need to be an empath to see that. “No!” Spike choked out. “That – that couldn’t have been you!” The memories of that day were already pouring back…

The wedding of Shining Armor to Princess Cadence had been just a few short years ago, but for Spike, it might as well have been another lifetime. He was younger then, and if not more innocent, naiver.

He, Twiley and the girls had been having a picnic in a beautiful meadow on Equuis Prime when Twilight had gotten a notification, an invitation to the wedding of her brother!

Spike was kind of surprised that Twilight hadn’t told the girls about their BBBFF, but thinking back on it, he’d never mentioned the coolest pony he knew either. He couldn’t wait for his brother to meet his best friends! And the best part was that Shining was getting married to Cadence! Even as a hatchling, Spike could tell they were head over hooves for each other, it was a perfect match.

The girls chatted happily on the speed rail to Canterlot, but Twilight was distressed that Shinning hadn’t bothered to tell her he was getting married! That was huge! Spike tried to console her by telling her that Shinning hadn’t mentioned anything to him either.

When the girls met the Prince-to-be, they oohed and ahed. It was obvious a few of them were smitten. Shinning Armor was the Captain of the Royal Guard, the perfect mix of pretty boy and ruggedly handsome, kind, funny, caring, and a huge dork. Spike didn’t have a crush on his adopted brother, that would be weird, but he hoped he could find somepony like Shinning someday. Spike hadn’t come out to anybody but his diary – uh journal, but it’d been obvious to him for some time that he liked guys. He hoped his family would be OK with that, but yeah, this wasn’t the weekend for that kind of announcement.

Shinning greeted them almost robotically, and Cadence was – weird. Almost cruel. Spike hadn’t seen her for some time, but the Cadence he remembered wasn’t a snob. She completely brushed him aside. Figuring it was just the stress of the wedding, Spike decided to give them space. He was so happy to see Ma and Pop again! He gave his parents a bone-crushing hug.

As the weekend wore on, Spike reconnected with his family and the girls, all having a very good time. Twilight started acting … weirder than normal. She seemed paranoid and was overly suspicious of Cadence’s every move. Twilight was convinced the Princess was evil or something. Spike tried to reassure his older sister. If only he’d believed her…

The weekend came to a climax with a shouting match between Twilight and Shinning, in front of everyone. Eventually Shinning delivered an ultimatum: Twilight could love and accept both him and Cadence, or he could never see her again, and live with that.

Spike was distraught. A wedding was supposed to a happy time, but his family was splitting up?! Twilight simply turned and ran, nobody noticing the smirk of triumph on “Cadence’s” face.

At the ceremony, Spike pulled on the collar of the suit Rarity had made him. It was some of her best work, and even he thought he looked good in it as he’d posed in front of the mirror, but he couldn’t be comfortable in it. He was still serving as the ring-bearer since he didn’t want to back out, but he didn’t know if he’d have a family anymore after the “I do’s” were said.

He wouldn’t be able to enjoy this wedding, as much as he’d wanted to. Partway through the ceremony, Twilight rather dramatically burst into the room, with … Princess Cadence?!

Everyone turned in shock to look at the Cadence standing next to Shinning, who gave a chilling grin and revealed herself to be Chrysalis, Queen of the Changeling Hive. Twilight had been right the whole time…

Spike could only watch in horror as Chrysalis wiped the floor with Celestia. As the Elements of Harmony prepared for a showdown, Spike heard screams coming from outside the palace. Acting on instinct he rushed to help… and felt like someone was doing the fandango on his grave. Swarms of Changeling ships had surrounded Equuis Prime and were repeatedly firing at the Orbital Defense Shield – something Shinning had helped design.

‘They can’t make it through, right?’ Spike thought. With a sickening crack, the shield broke like the world’s biggest and most expensive piece of stained glass, and the invading ships swarmed the city. With impressive tactical precision, they disabled the rest of the city’s defense grid.

Small Scout Ships zipped through the city, as larger ships descended and deployed drop troops. The Drones all wore identical masks that resembled fearsome insects, and all looked like clones of each other. Some groups broke off and took to the wing, but most marched on, each of their steps in perfect synch.

Spike watched as the battle began, the Unicorns of the city laying into the Swarm with bursts of magic and laser fire, but no matter how many Drones they took out, the Swarm seemed endless, marching forward patiently.

Spike spotted another Drone, smaller than the others, almost delicate looking compared to them. Spike couldn’t make out their body, but their mask was different to the other Changeling’s, seeming to serve as an indicator of their rank. They hovered above the fray, seeming to wordlessly direct the attack below, acting as a hub of sorts.

Spike didn’t see it, but as the lead Drone watched, they became increasingly agitated by what they saw, finally flying off to an empty Scout Ship and taking to the sky.

Eventually, they won the battle, and Shinning and the real Cadence banished the Changelings with a burst of Love that knocked them back to the Badlands. There were tearful reunions and apologies, and the real wedding was wonderful, but to Spike, it was all a blur.

He’d have nightmares that even therapy never banished about that endless marching army, and the monster in the mask who led them. Even Sombra hadn’t scared him that much when they met later.

Spike became an adult shortly after Twilight had become a Princess. He approached her one night to tell her something. He told his sister he still loved her, but her life seemed to be made up of battling monsters, and Spike didn’t think he could do that the rest of his life. He wanted to strike out on his own, and see the Sol System, and maybe even beyond!

Twilight didn’t say it, but she knew he’d never really gotten over the Invasion. She was crying, but she hugged her little brother as tightly as she could. “It’ll be OK, Shooting Star,” her pet name for Spike. Spike’s egg had been found in a meteor that had crashed to Equuis Prime eons ago. When the meteor had been mined, a preserved Dragon egg had been discovered at its heart. The egg changed hands several times before winding up in Princess Celestia’s collection, and was finally hatched by Celestia’s Student, Twilight Sparkle, who named her new brother Spike when she saw his tiny green ridges. Shining often joked that while Spike was the baby of the family, he was the oldest sibling at the same time.

Spike returned the hug and sobbed. He wasn’t brave. Or glorious. He was a scared little hatchling running away from the monsters in his head.

Twilight discreetly pulled a few strings and called in a few favors. She gifted Spike with what was frankly the wreck of a scrap hauler. Spike loved the ship on first sight, naming it The Elusive Heart. Spike’s knowledge of gems rivaled most professional jewelers, and his skill at mining was second-to-none. Shinning had been teaching Spike to fly almost since he could walk, and so he was a brilliant pilot as well.

So, Spike set off to become the best miner he could be and earned a reputation as the best in the business. And, in a way, he was happy, always coming home for Hearth’s Warming, and staying in touch with friends and loved ones.

But he still woke up screaming some nights at the sound of those endless marching hooves.

As Spike’s memory trip ended, he looked at Thorax in shock. He hadn’t seen that Drone’s face under the mask, but – Faust. It was true. That really had been Thorax.

Spike was filled with more rage than he’d ever felt before. “You – you BASTARD!!!!” he screamed. Thorax flinched but didn’t respond. “DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT YOU DID TO MY FAMILY?! WHAT YOU DID TO ME?!!!” Spike began punching and kicking the Drone almost mindlessly. “I HATE YOU, I HATE YOU, I HATE YOU!!!” he screamed, not at Thorax as much as … Thorax.

When he’d calmed down, Spike realized that Thorax hadn’t moved, or retaliated, or even tried to defend himself, taking every blow. He’d – he’d hurt Thorax! A part of Spike was horrified at that, but he didn’t know why.

Spike may not have been a full-grown dragon, but those blows could have done serious damage. A trickle of blue blood ran down Thorax’s forehead. The Drone found his voice. “You can’t hate me more than I hate myself. I was the perfect little General,” he said bitterly. “It wouldn’t have gone that well without me. But when I saw what we were doing, I – I couldn’t live with that. So I just ran. And I kept running, until I crashed, and you found me. When I first met you, I just thought you were a random dragon hauling scrap. I didn’t work out who you were for some time. And you were so nice to me!” the Changeling wailed. “As if I deserved it!”

“I should blow you out the airlock!” Spike snarled. He took a breath. “But I don’t want blood, not even yours on my conscience.” He grabbed the controls and punched in a course.

Thorax watched with fear, breathing a small sigh of relief as he realized they were headed away from Spike’s home world. Eventually, they came across a planet that was more or less a ball of ice. Yakyakistan.

Spike spoke with the Yak who hailed them, Thorax not sure what was being said. He was surprised that the drake spoke Yak, but he supposed Spike had traded here too.

As Spike piloted them towards a certain spot on the surface, the dragon said without emotion, “You should probably look like a pony when we touch down.”

Thorax changed forms, unsure what was happening. They touched down outside a Yak village. Spike greeted a large female Yak warmly as the two conversed. When he was done, he pulled Thorax aside.

Thorax felt his stomach crawl at the way Spike looked at him. “I figure not even Changelings mess with Yaks.” Thorax shook his head. “You can live here now, you’ll be safe.” There was a long pause before Spike said, “Have a nice life,” and headed back to the ship.

“Thank you,” Thorax whispered.

Spike whirled around. “Don’t thank me!” he snarled. With that, the doors to the Elusive Heart closed, and Spike took off.

Thorax bowed his head in shame. The Yak walked over and clapped him on the back. In slightly broken Ponish, she said, “Is not Equuis, but you might come to like it here!”

Thorax didn’t answer. He faced away from the village and began to walk out into the frozen wastes. He heard the Yak shouting .”HEY! HEY PONY! YOU NOT SURVIVE OUT THERE!” But the snow closed around him, and he was gone.

In his quarters, Spike twitched and thrashed in his sleep, occasionally muttering. He then sat up with a scream. He put a hand to his chest and felt his heart beating madly. In a daze, Spike headed to the cockpit and flew to Yakyakistan. He asked for permission to land almost robotically and touched down where he had before. He stepped out. The only thing he was wearing was a set of thin pajama bottoms, and he shivered as the cold assaulted him.

Spike’s friend Yvonne rushed over to him. Her Yak was far less broken than her Ponish. “Your friend is CRAZY!” she shouted at the dragon. “He just walked off into the Wastes! We’ve been searching for hours but there’s no trace.”

“Gotta find him,” Spike muttered, “Which way?”

Yvonne pointed and Spike set off in that direction. “HEY!” Yvonne shouted, “YOU’LL FREEZE TO DEATH! COME BACK!” When Spike paid her no mind, Yvonne gave up and shouted, “YOU’RE ALL CRAZY!!!”

Spike pressed on. Ever since he’d left Thorax here, he’d felt like someone had forcibly ripped off one of his arms, and since he had woken up, finding the Drone was the most important thing in the world. Spike just couldn’t say why.

He didn’t have any tracking gear, or any winter clothes, or, well, clothes. The vast whiteness around him obscured his vision and was all he could see. He could have turned around five times and not noticed. He was so cold; he’d gone straight through numbness into lack of any sensation at all. It was getting increasingly harder to move, or even think.

Dragon or not, Spike was still a half-naked lizard in a blizzard. He was going to go into torpor and die, and he didn’t even know what he was doing here! he thought with a laugh.

He had to press on though. Spike didn’t feel himself fall or feel the impact, but his perspective changed like he was watching a movie. He could just stay here a while, and find Thorax after a nice, long nap. That sounded good.

Spike’s eyes began to droop. Before he blacked out, he heard a loud droning, seeming to come from everywhere at once.

Author's Note

Thorax reveals who he is, and that he knows who Spike really is as well. We learn a bit of Spike's past too.
Don't worry, Spike isn't going to freeze to death! But what would have drawn him halfway across the Sol System to the person he hates most in the galaxy?

P.S. I've done a chapter a day, but that is a very rare fluke, probably shouldn't expect it.