Twilight felt that this day would be much calmer than she had originally anticipated. The week before Heart's Warming Eve had begun, so there was a lot of work to do. The party that year would be at the castle once again, so she had to prepare not only her house but also Spike and Starlight. Starlight, in particular, due to her inexperience with such things, and Spike...
"Spike! I need you to stop cooking for Rarity and... Spike?" Twilight would have burst into the kitchen to call Spike to start helping her, but instead of finding Spike cooking the buffet he would dedicate to Rarity like last year, she would only see Starlight and Spike sitting at the table with two breakfast plates with some crumbs on them.
"Oh, you woke up already, Twilight? You have breakfast in the microwave if you want," Spike said, pointing to the microwave in the kitchen where she would see the silhouette of a plate of food that belonged to Twilight.
"Oh... Umm... thanks?" Twilight would raise a confused eyebrow. Ever since they had arrived in Ponyville, the dragon always dedicated the week before Heart's Warming to getting the best things for Rarity, also for all his friends, but especially for Rarity. Not wanting to give it more thought than necessary, Twilight would simply open the microwave, finding a Daisy sandwich with two fried eggs on the side, making her smile a little at the care Spike put into that meal for her.
"Thank you, Spike." Loading the plate with her magic, she would walk over to Spike and give him a soft kiss on the forehead before sitting down next to her number one assistant and her apprentice to begin talking about the holiday preparations.
"I already have an idea of what to get you guys," Starlight would say as she levitated her plate and Spike's to set it down in the dishwasher carefully. "But... should I get the girls something too? I don't know if they consider me a friend yet."
"Starlight? What did I tell you?" Spike would say to Twilight's mild surprise, as she hadn't expected the two of them to have had a conversation on that topic previously. "Everyone here adores you... well, maybe not as much as they do me, but they do."
That little joke would make Starlight chuckle slightly at the way Spike was helping her feel more comfortable, lightening the mood as Twilight tried to understand when they had become so close to each other.
"So... First, we need to get some good decorations; Pinkie and Rainbow Dash broke most of them at the last party," Twilight would say as she ate her sandwich leisurely, floating a parchment and quill towards Spike. "Write it down, and when it's done, send it to the party store so they can hold the merchandise for us until we go shopping."
Even if Twilight didn't like abusing her power with the other ponies of Ponyville in the slightest, getting good things just by being a Princess wasn't THAT bad, and what if she gets some benefits? Having a couple of extra items saved for her so she wouldn't have to rush was not a bad thing when she was just asking for a simple favor that everyone accepted.
After a couple of minutes of having everything divided into several scrolls headed to different stores, Spike would get up, and with a flash of fire, send all the scrolls to each store. "That's how it is!"
The mares would smile and applaud calmly to celebrate Spike's achievement, who had long ago managed to improve himself with the use of his messenger fire, being able to send multiple scrolls at the same time to different places.
"Okay, guys, now let's clean up the library!" Twilight would say with a big smile, raising her hoof towards the sky, earning a sigh of frustration from her two companions.
"Okay," Spike would say as he got off his chair and walked towards a broom closet, taking out his apron and a broom, putting on the apron and starting to walk towards the library, to start cleaning.
"Why do you make him wear an apron? Although it looks adorable, I don't deny it," Starlight would say as she calmly got out of the chair and began to put away the things that Spike had made dirty while cooking.
"Make him wear an apron?" Twilight would say with a joking smile, making the two mares laugh lightly at the situation before starting to clean.
For a few hours, the trio would be cleaning the castle, with Spike doing most of it not only because of the experience he had but also because of the lack of experience of the two mares.
"Hey, you can just admit that you want me to clean. You're not soooooo bad at cleaning either, are you?" Spike would say as he quietly polished the head table in the room where much of the party would occur, laughing at the fact that neither of them knew how to polish a glass table. "I mean... yeah, I'll admit that without context, it seems like weird knowledge, but it shouldn't be for you two."
"Spike! We get it!" Twilight would say pouting somewhat annoyed at the way Spike was laughing at her lack of table-polishing knowledge.
"Yeah Spike, you'll make her buy a book about table polishing," Starlight would say as she shared a high five with Spike, laughing at Twilight's reaction to his actions.
"Mhhg... Hehehehe." Twilight couldn't stay mad for long, so she would just laugh lightly and shake her head and go back to her cleaning task.
"Oh shoot!" Spike would say dropping the rag where he was polishing to jump down from the chair and start running. "I GOTTA GO PICK SOMETHING UP, GIRLS! I'LL BE BACK!"
And just like that, before any of them could say anything, Spike would be out the door of the castle, leaving a rather confused Starlight Glimmer.
"Umm... do you know what that was all about, Twilight?"
"He probably has to go pick up some super special gift for Rarity or something; he always does the same thing since we got here. That's why I'm asking him to do everything important before he can leave."
"Good thinking," Starlight would say laughing a little at what Twilight would have done to spare herself extra work and still allow Spike to retire to do whatever he was going to do.
After a couple of hours, Spike would arrive quietly at the castle, with a large wheelbarrow overflowing with wrapped gifts of various shapes and sizes. The pile was so large that it would even seem comical how nothing would fall, defying all existing laws of gravity.
"Wow, that's a lot of presents, Spike." Starlight would walk over to that wheelbarrow, about to touch one of the gifts curiously, only to receive a hard swat on the hoof from Spike.
"Nuh uh." The dragon would say with a shake of his finger, wheeling the wheelbarrow inside the castle as he continued talking. "These babies won't come out of their wrappings until it's time for presents, not a minute more, not a minute less!"
"A no would have been enough..."
"We both know that's not true Starlight!" Spike would calmly walk to a door and pull a key from the cart, unlocking the door and leaving the gifts stored there, relocking the door and turning to look at Starlight with one last menacing look.
"All right, all right, I'll wait."
"...Great! Want me to make us some hot chocolate?"
"Count on it!" Starlight would use her magic on Spike to levitate him onto her back, before quietly trotting into the kitchen to enjoy Spike's hot chocolate. "Really, all those presents are for Rarity?"
"Mhhg? No, they're just various gifts for my friends... Among that including Rarity, obviously," Spike would say as he lay down on Starlight, somewhat exhausted from lugging that cart all over Ponyville collecting different gifts.
Starlight would be surprised to hear something like that, for while she had no experience with Spike and his attitude at Hearth's Warming, she did know of his crush on Rarity, so even if Twilight herself hadn't said it, she would still have assumed that most of it would be for Rarity.
"And you already have any ideas for the girls? I can help you think of something so you don't buy her the same thing I did," Spike would say quietly as they both entered the kitchen.
"We can talk about it over chocolate! Hehe," the unicorn would say with a big smile, letting Spike get off her back near the refrigerator.
———————————————
The week had finally passed, and all the ponies were arriving at Twilight's castle with their gifts ready.
"Sorry the others couldn't make it. Big Mac went to meet Sugar Belle's family along with Applebloom, and Granny Smith is going to spend it with her friends at the senior retreat in Manehattan," Applejack would say as she left a couple of bottles of apple cider on the table, several with "Alcohol-Free" labels so Spike could drink along with the girls.
"And my Sweetie Belle decided she would spend it with mom and dad this year. I guess this will be a day for us girls, won't it? Hehe," Rarity would say as she walked in carrying with her a large number of bags, whether they be gifts or items for the night. "And my little Spikey-Wikey, obviously!"
Rarity would linger for a couple of seconds, waiting for Spike to appear to greet her and help her with her bags. However, the white-furred unicorn would be met with silence, slightly overshadowed by the conversations going on in the castle.
"Thanks for letting me know Big Mac wouldn't be here. I've already mailed him his present. I hope it gets to him before he gets back," Spike would say, speaking to Applejack as he helped her arrange the drinks and various apple-based foods that the cowpony had brought.
"...Ujum!" Rarity would clear her throat somewhat loudly to get the young dragon's attention, causing him to turn around and at last notice Rarity's appearance in the castle.
"Oh! Hello, Rarity! I'll be right there to help you. Just give me a second," Spike would say and then quickly arrange the missing bottles, then hop down the table and walk over to Rarity.
"Oh, there's nothing to worry about, Spikey-Wikey! Would you be so kind as to carry my things for me?" Rarity would say, moving her bags with her magic to leave them near Spike so he could move them.
"Sure, give me a moment-"
"Oh, Spike! Discord says he really appreciates the master guidebook to the game you usually play," Fluttershy would say with a letter in her hoof, which Discord apparently would have somehow sent at that very moment.
"WHAT!!!? I specified not to open it until midnight!" Spike would say with a frown before running over to Fluttershy to look at that letter, leaving Rarity very surprised that she had left him alone to move her bags herself.
"Whew, that had to hurt!" Rainbow Dash would say as she flew in with several bags dangling from her saddlebag, mocking Rarity's reaction.
"...Wow, that was rude," Rarity would say with a frown, levitating the bags once again and trotting over to the area where the main gathering for the holiday would be.
———————————————
"And then Flim beat up Flam for almost blowing his act!" Spike said with a grin, talking about the time he ran into the con-artist twins and spent nearly an hour making them think he was going to buy but "wasn't sure" he was going to.
"Haha! Those two deserve it!" Rainbow Dash said with a bottle of cider in her hoof, taking a nice leisurely swig of it.
"You should have swindled them out of their money!" Pinkie said with a big smile, sitting at the candy table, being basically the only one eating from that table.
"Pinkie! Don't fill Spikey-Wikey's head with that kind of stuff!" Rarity said as she tried to bring her hoof up to Spike's head to pet it but would be met with an emptiness that would cause her to fall to the ground in surprise.
"Please Rarity, I'm not a baby either. I'm just... what, five years younger than Twilight?" Spike would say as he walked over to the candy table to grab an emerald cupcake from among the various jeweled desserts Pinkie had brought specifically for him.
"Mhhg... I never thought about it, I guess because of your race you're kind of... middle ground? You're a teenager but legally you're no more than a baby," Fluttershy would say with a smile as she calmly walked over to the table and grabbed a Daisy sandwich with her mouth, starting to eat it as she walked to her seat once again.
"Mhhg... I guess it's true, maybe you should send Ember a letter to see how dragon youth works?" Twilight would say with a hoof against her muzzle, thinking of some way to help Spike.
"You've known Ember so long, and you still haven't talked about your dragon doubts?" Starlight would say with a raised eyebrow.
"Heh! And what do you talk about in all the letters you send each other? Eh, little rascal?" Rainbow Dash would say flying over the drink table, grabbing a cider and flying over Spike mockingly, though a flare of green fire would end up teleporting the bottle off his hoof before he could take a sip. "Hey!"
"Next time it won't be to the bottle," Spike would say with his arms crossed, watching Rainbow with a slight blush at the embarrassment of that comment.
"Ha, thanks for agreeing with me." Rainbow would say, grabbing another cider and then flying off towards the circle of ponies, avoiding the flare of fire Spike would have thrown at her.
"Spike and Ember sitting in a tree! K-I-S-S-S-I-N-G!" Pinkie, still leaning on the candy table, would grab Spike's cheeks from behind to shake him lightly as she teased him, earning a laugh from nearly every pony.
"Mhhhhg! That's enough!" Spike would say, throwing kicks in the air to get Pinkie to stop shaking him.
"Come on Pinkie, stop it," Rarity would say using her magic to stop Pinkie and levitate Spike quietly next to her, leaving him lying on one of the cushions.
"Thanks, Rarity," Spike would say with a smile, stretching a little as he let out a slight yawn.
"Wow, you're exhausted this early?" Fluttershy would say somewhat surprised that the dragon was already tired.
"I was up all night preparing the food you're devouring right now," Spike would say with a smile, taking a bite of the emerald cupcake in his hand.
"Mhhhg, it's not my fault you cook this great."
"Don't worry, Spikey-Wikey! You can take a break and get some sleep before gift time!" Rarity would say quietly, leaning back on the cushions to give Spike room to lie next to her for a while.
"No thanks," Spike would say, finishing that cupcake and tossing the gem into his mouth. "Oh! Right! It's doll time!"
"Doll time?" Starlight would say with a raised eyebrow.
"A lot of families put dolls of themselves on the mantel during Hearth's Warming Eve, so we decided to make dolls until gift time!" Pinkie would say with a smile, tossing several strands of fabric and other strands out of her hair.
"Oh, that sounds great!" Fluttershy would say, clapping her hooves lightly, enjoying the idea of making dolls with her friends.
"I'll go make hot chocolate for everyone!" Spike would say as he got up from that cushion, running quickly to the kitchen to prepare that drink.
Twilight would quietly get up and start walking towards a large door near them. "I would bring more things for making the doll-"
"TWILIGHT! WE NEED TO TALK!"
Everyone present would see Rarity get up from the floor and run to Twilight, grabbing her like a doll and dragging her out of the room in a matter of seconds.
"Umm... should we be worried about that?" Fluttershy would say somewhat confused while observing the situation, although when she turned around she would only see her three friends lying down drinking cider and eating peacefully.
"It's Rarity, she'll get over it," Rainbow Dash would say as she lay on her back, letting that delicious apple elixir go down her throat peacefully.
"I'm too full to move..." Pinkie would say as she rubbed her slightly bulging stomach from the large amount of food she had eaten, then grabbed a sapphire cupcake and removed the gem, leaving it in a bowl filled with other gems, and then ate the cupcake as if it was nothing.
"Not on my day off sister," Applejack would say as she covered her eyes with her hat, enjoying the tranquility of that cold day with her friends.
After a couple of seconds, Fluttershy would just sigh and then smile a little and follow the same path as the rest of her friends, lying down next to them to eat cupcakes by the fire.
———————————————
"Rarity! Now what's the problem!?" The Alicorn would say as she was dragged by Rarity to a couple of aisles away from the rest.
"It's Spikey-Wikey! Something terrible must be happening to him!" Rarity would say dramatically as always, using her magic to make a couch appear behind her to fall into theatrically.
"What are you talking about? Spike is even better than ever," Twilight would say with confusion at the way Rarity was talking about the baby dragon.
"But don't you notice how he's ignoring me!? The love of his life! The first one to steal his lovely heart?" Rarity would say as she brought her hooves to her chest.
"...Is this just because Spike isn't in love with you anymore? Rarity, you promised you would no longer-"
"No! It's not that! Don't you know what that means?"
"...What are you talking about Rarity?" the alicorn would say again, being very upset with her friend for the way she treated her little baby dragon, but she would give Rarity the benefit of the doubt out of mere respect for her friendship.
"If he's not in love with me, it means he loves someone else! What if Pinkie's jokes are true, and he's in love with Ember?"
"What would be wrong with that?" Twilight would say with a raised eyebrow, genuinely confused.
"It means he's going to leave us! That he's leaving us to go claim his dragon lord throne to live with the love of his life!...Oh, that's so romantic~...Or it would be if he wasn't going to leave us!"
"Good Celestia, Rarity! That's total nonsense! Spike's not going to leave us!"
"So what's he gonna do? He'll give up the love of his life so he doesn't hurt the feelings of his best friends!? Spike wouldn't break a damsel's heart over nonsense like that!"
"For Celestia's sake, don't be over the top! He...He'd find a way!"
"What possible way would there be where he wouldn't abandon us!?"
"..." Twilight would be silent for several seconds, even though she knew it was the most nonsense Rarity would have said in a long time, she felt it impossible not to see the sense in the White Unicorn's words.
"Which way!?"
"I don't know!" Twilight would say fed up with her friend's shouting. "I just know that Spike wouldn't just abandon us!"
"Uh-huh! So you don't disprove that he's in love with someone else!"
"Rarity, that stopped being the relevant part to your argument minutes ago!"
"But if that's true, then the option of him leaving us is even greater!"
"I'll see if he loves someone, okay?! So just enjoy tonight and be done!" Twilight would say as in a burst of magic she made the couch where Rarity was lying disappear. "Now go with the rest while I get the tools to make the dolls!"
"Ouch! That's very unladylike Twilight!" Rarity would say, but Twilight's serious and somewhat annoyed look made her swallow saliva and laugh a little, before walking off to where the rest were.
———————————————
A couple of hours would have passed; everyone would have made their dolls and placed them on the mantel, with Pinkie going the extra mile to create a few rock dolls of each other.
"And here's yours!" Pinkie would say, handing that rock doll to Starlight, who would look at her in confusion.
"Huh?...You made one for me?"
"Of course I did silly! For my soul best friends forever and ever!" Pinkie would say, giving Starlight a tight hug.
"...Thanks, Pinkie," she would say, reciprocating the hug with a slight smile.
"Okay! Time for the best time of the day!" Rainbow Dash would say, flying with a watch on her hoof, spinning in the air a couple of times to emphasize her happiness.
"Nap time?" Spike would say with a teasing grin, only to have to dodge the watch that would have been thrown at him. "...Fair enough."
"Time for presents!" Pinkie would say with a big smile, causing everyone to gather with their respective gift bags to hand out to the group.
"And Spike?" Applejack would say with some confusion, not expecting the baby dragon to miss something like this.
"Oh, he went to get his presents from his closet," Starlight would say as she ate the last non-dragon muffin of the party.
"Sorry, girls! I'm done!" Spike would say, dragging the large wheelbarrow with presents towards the group, who would watch him in surprise.
"Wow, Spike! How could you afford...that!" Rainbow Dash would say, seriously wondering if Spike had some kind of cool super-spy life hidden from everyone.
"Sometimes I forget that my literal dessert is gems that can be worth thousands of bits a piece," the dragon would say with a shrug, making them all realize the truth in his words.
"Mhg...I got used to watching Spike eat gems or Rarity wear them on her dresses so easily that I forgot that they are genuinely expensive things," Starlight would say, laughing lightly, which everyone present would follow.
"Okay, girls! Time for the...gift exchange!" Pinkie would say proudly as she raised her hoof high in the air, before everyone present would start handing out their gifts.
"Hey Rarity! Here are yours!" Spike would say as he handed her a bag with about ten boxes of gifts.
"Mhg? Oh thanks, Spikey-Wikey!" Rarity would say as she grabbed one of the boxes and opened it, revealing a large roll of shiny yarn, made entirely of ruby ground with gold thread, a kind of material that only royalty could afford. "W- WHAT WHAT!?"
"Hehe, did you just forget how an entire kingdom worships me as their savior? A couple of cards, and I already had that and 9 different strands of different gems, big deal," Spike would say with a shrug, as if it was nothing relevant.
"I-I...I don't have anything to say! It's so beautiful! ...Spike, this is seriously the most perfect thing anyone has ever done for me, not even ponies who swore eternal love to me, I-" Rarity would look up about to say something she hadn't even thought of when she opened her mouth but would only watch him leave to deliver his gift to Starlight, standing in total shock at how the dragon wouldn't seem to care in the slightest what his heart had just spit out.
"Whew, that had to hurt!" Rainbow Dash would say, smacking the Wonderbolt-patterned mini-bell that Spike would have given her.
After that, the rest of the gift-giving, the girls would notice that while they were all enjoying their gifts, Spike was just sitting there eating out of his bowl of gems instead of looking at the things they had gotten him.
"Hey Spike, what's going on?" Starlight would say somewhat confused as she walked over to the dragon, noticing all the gifts the baby dragon would have received that were in the cart where Spike would have brought the gifts from the others; none of them would have even been touched, much less opened.
"Mhhg? It's just...I've been waiting for Ember and Thorax's gift! I told them about this tradition, and they said they'd love to send me a gift! Just like I'll send them one!" Would say the baby dragon with pride in his voice, with half a Ruby in his hand.
"So you're going to wait to get all the gifts from your friends instead of just...opening them?" Rainbow Dash would say with a raised eyebrow, now wearing a pair of Daring Doo style pajamas that Rarity would have made for her.
"Well of course it is! Is that so weird to believe?"
"Like the time you almost trashed Twilight's room to find your present for your birthday?" Starlight would say with a teasing smile, tapping Spike on the elbow.
"T-This time it's different!" Spike would say with a big blush of embarrassment, looking away as he folded his arms.
"And why is it different?...Ohhh, it's because of Ember's gift isn't it?" Pinkie would say appearing from inside Spike's bowl of gems, grabbing Spike's cheeks between his hooves with a big smile.
"O-Of course not!" Spike would say walking away from Pinkie, dropping the bowl on the ground, shaking his head quickly.
"Come on girls, leave the poor thing alone," Applejack would say from the fireplace as she drank cider from a personalized glass Spike would have given her.
While the rest of the girls were talking amongst themselves or teasing Spike, Rarity would turn to Twilight to whisper to her somewhat rudely.
"See!? He's literally refusing to open his presents until Ember sends him her own gift!" Rarity would say as she gripped her friend's shoulders tightly, shaking her quickly to get her point across even more.
"Rarity! I told you to stop!" She would say grabbing Rarity by the shoulders as well so she could stop her and speak directly. "Spike is simply waiting for a gift from one of her best friends! Besides waiting for Thorax's, or do you think he's in love with Thorax and will leave us to go with the changelings?"
After a couple of seconds, Rarity would let out a sigh as she realized that she was probably just being a crazy mare.
"Spike's just...growing up, okay? He couldn't be following an impossible love forever."
"Yeah...I guess I'm the one who should let Spike go huh?" Rarity would say with a slightly uncomfortable smile, feeling like a fool for how she had acted all day.
After that, everyone could spend a good, relaxing night together, with Pinkie and Spike preparing everything so they could all have a sleepover together, where after enjoying the warmth of the fire and Spike's hot chocolate, everyone would end up falling asleep before the fireplace light.
Or that is until after a couple of hours, Twilight would wake up to the noise of people murmuring something near her.
"Mhhg?..." Twilight would wake up somewhat confused, looking around her as she rubbed her eye with her hoof, before noticing the silhouette of Spike and Starlight sitting near the fire, with Starlight's hoof on the baby dragon's shoulder.
"Look...I know it's complicated Spike, but that was a long time ago, if I could forgive myself and get forgiveness from everyone I affected, why couldn't you?" Starlight would say, catching Twilight's attention, so she would get up and slowly walk towards them.
"Because you know you'll never be like that again...Mine is in my DNA, I literally have to get my birthday gifts days apart so it doesn't happen again," Spike would say as he leaned softly against Starlight, probably looking for some affection with which to feel better.
"You don't HAVE to do it, you do it because you don't let your fear finally go away," Starlight would say as she gave Spike a gentle hug, Twilight was now so close to her that she could clearly hear everything the two were saying.
"Because if I let it happen again, I don't know what the hell I'd do...Last time I literally locked up the Wonderbolts in one fell swoop and almost killed all my friends...You should have been there to understand why I feel this way."
"But I do...Knowing that everything I ever believed and did was so fake and cruel hurts...Knowing that everything I based my life on was torture for those around me, and that only I stopped because a couple of random mares were sent by a magic mirror or table to help..."
"Well, that's the magic of friendship for you, huh?" The little dragon would say with a joking smile, letting the silence embrace them for a few more seconds, until by mistake, Twilight would step on one of the many gift wrappers that were all over the floor, catching the attention of her oldest friend and of her newest friend.
"H-Hello Twilight, we were just talking about.... about..." Starlight would say as she tried not to reveal the real topic of conversation.
"I heard it all, guys," Twilight would say, walking towards them and sitting between the two of them, looking at their faces of shame.
"So that's why you didn't want to open your presents Spike?" Twilight would say in a light motherly voice, reaching behind Spike to give him a gentle hug with her wing.
Spike would bury her face in Twilight's chest silently, nodding slightly as he wrapped his arms around Twilight's torso.
"Apparently he still feels guilty about the whole... greed attack thing from a few years ago," Starlight would say, deciding to provide some extra information that Spike probably wouldn't say in his current situation. "He's been like this for weeks, refusing to receive gifts or money to help others, ignoring Rarity too-"
"Wait, what does Rarity have to do with that?" Twilight would say, slightly surprised by that revelation, perhaps noticing that although they were silly, the white unicorn's worries apparently had their sources.
"I...I don't know, I didn't want to ask."
"Spike...What's wrong with Rarity?" Twilight would say, separating Spike from her chest, gently grabbing his cheeks.
"It's just...It's just so dumb."
"No, nothing you said is 'Dumb' Spike, please, what's wrong?" Starlight would say with a noticeable tone of concern in her voice.
"It's just...I'm just a dragon, okay?" Spike would say, separating himself from Twilight to cross his arms.
"...But what difference? When did it affect you?" Twilight would say with confusion.
"She is literally the element of generosity!" He would say shouting to the surprise of the three present; Spike would remain silent to turn around quickly and see if he had woken up anyone, which luckily would not have been the case. "...And I am a simple dragon who cannot receive a couple of gifts without destroying the entire town."
"So...that's what it's all about?" Twilight would say, surprised by Spike's attitude, since it had been a long time ago, that it was just affecting him like this now was... strange.
"I've been having nightmares ever since..." Spike would say as he sat back down on one of the pillows, bringing his knees to his chest to hug them and feel calmer. "Lately...since I've been sending letters with Ember...Everything has gotten worse, knowing all the things my race does instinctively...I'm afraid, I'm afraid that I won't even be able to open one of those gifts and not being able of coming back..."
"Spike...You're not-"
"I'm not what? A Dragon?...She's a unicorn who literally represents generosity and my race is greed and pure cruelty..."
"Spike...Look, I'd be lying if I said I didn't want you to give up that silly romance with Rarity but...Not like this, not hating yourself for who you are," Twilight would say, passing her wing behind Spike once more to give him a soft hug once again.
"Spike, come on, you are so much more than what your race makes you out to be," Starlight would say, standing next to Spike, using her hooves to wrap Spike around Twilight.
"You always sacrifice what you have to help others," Twilight would say rubbing circles on the dragon's back. "Your time, your gems, even that Ruby...in the shape of a heart."
"The one I gave to Rarity huh?"
"Yes...it was a bad example I know but...Please Spike, you can't believe that you are like the other dragons," Starlight would say, somewhat embarrassed by Twilight's example.
"What has happened to prove otherwise?" Spike would say with a slightly frustrated tone.
"...The time you saved that baby phoenix?" Twilight would say, almost as if she were saying it on the fly, catching Spike's attention.
"The time you had the power to control every dragon, and you gave it to Ember so she could fulfill her dream and you could return to us," Twilight would say once again, remembering the few minutes as a dragon lord that Spike had had.
"When you risked more than any pony to deliver the crystal heart! The most valuable gem in the entire history of Equestria," Starlight would say, making the hug a little tighter to make Spike feel better.
"Maybe you're not the dragon you want to be right now... But you always make the effort to be the best version of yourself, and that makes you a million times better than all the dragons... and many ponies I know," Twilight would say as she wrapped her wings around both Spike and Starlight, giving them a soft hug as they let the silence envelop them.
Maybe he was not an element of generosity, and maybe he still has a long way to go to call himself a good dragon... but he did know that all that path he would cross with who he could call his best friends and his family.
Author's Note
I'm sorry to everyone that I'm going to disappoint with this, especially those who are waiting for an update on my main story, but this is a story that I wanted to write since the beginning of December, but I kept putting it off and when I started writing it, It take all the time away from writing the new chapter
I just hope you enjoy it, and that those who celebrate Christmas have a very Merry Christmas, that everyone has a very Happy New Year, and that all my Hispanic brothers have an amazing Three Kings Day ♥️
