4 YEARS LATER

It has been 4 years since Twilight hatched Spikes egg, and things were going rather well. Shining Armor had been maintaining the armor well, and training almost every day, so he could join the guard the day he turned 18. As for Twilight, the now 9 year old filly had learned much from Celestia. She quickly learned many spells that took even the most skilled mages years to learn, and her personal projects started to become some of the most influential research documents in the modern magical world.

Spike, however, underwent the most change. In just 4 years, he had not only grew to the size of a medium dog, he had also learned how to read, write, speak, and even do multiplication. The now four year old dragon was more intelligent than Ponies 3 times his age! After all, when your sister is the smartest mare in the world, you’re bound to pick up a few things. Not only that, but he was incredibly physically fit as well. He joined almost every training session his brother had. He had even begun to learn how to control his fire from Princess Celestia. However, not all looked up for the drake. For deep in his heart, he felt that he was alone.

He knew that he had his family, of course. He deeply cared for them, and they for him. But that didn’t help the fact that he was an outcast. For in Canterlot, almost all creatures within its walls were ponies. Occasionally a griffon or zebra could be seen, but even then, he was not one of them. He was a dragon: only one of his kind. Wherever he went, Ponies would give him dirty looks, and foals would hide behind parents. He could make no friends, for everypony feared him. Even Twilight, his book nerd of a sister, was able to find friends. But he was truly, well alone.

Spike was beginning to feel depressed. Many a night he would sneak out, and just stroll the alleys of the city. At one point, he tried to walk on the street, but the reaction of the ponies kept him from doing it again. Eventually, he came to his own private sanctuary: an abandoned warehouse. He snuck in through the hole in the wall, and entered his little makeshift haven. When he first found it, he had began to plant a couple of seeds he had found in a trash can. Now, it was essentially an indoor garden, filled to the brim with luscious flowers and plants. He sighed as he took in the scenery. His mind begins to slowly drift away, into the sweet bliss of true inner peace, surrounded by the flora he had grown himself.
*snap!*

His trance broken, he jolted, looking around rapidly. As he came back to his senses, he heard another snap, and a cry. He ran to it, expecting a pony, stomping around and breaking his plants. What he found however, surprised him: it was a small, green bug like creature, with beautiful purple eyes, huddled within a bush. The creature’s leg was broken, green blood seeping out the cracked carapace, and it was quietly sobbing. Spike took another step closer, trying to not to scare it. But it was no use, as the bug swiveled its head to him, and began to noticeably shiver.
”Please… Please don’t hurt me!”
Spike backed up a bit, before speaking.
”I promise I won’t. Are you okay?”
”No, I’m not. It hurts so much! I was trying to hide from some mean pony who hurt my leg, and my leg began to crack when I got in here. When I got to the bush, it… it…”
”It’ll be okay, I’ll help you. My name’s Spike, what’s yours?”
”Th-Thorax”

Spike quickly ran to the nearest first aid kit in the warehouse, and began to get to work. He quickly bandaged it to stop the bleeding, before beginning to splint the leg. All the whole, he made small talk to Thorax.
”Hey Thorax, I hope you don’t mind me asking, but what are you?”
”I’m a ch-changeling. Most of us have black chitin with blue eyes, but I’m different. We feed off of love, and are supposed to be able to shapeshift. It’s to impersonate loved ones. But, I c-can’t. Mommy said I was a *sniff* useless. I was a massive f-failure. S-she left m-me here. She called m-me a useless, g-green freak. She Said that i-if I came back h-home, she would m-make sure I w-was fed t-to the t-tatzlworms.”
Thorax began to cry even harder, but yelps when he was suddenly embraced by the drake, causing him to blush slightly.
”Im sorry. I’m sorry that you had to go through that. But you don’t anymore. I’ll keep you safe. I promise.”
With those words, Thorax began to sob into Spike’s shoulder, glad to finally have one to cry on.

As Spike kept tending to his injuries, thorax asked spike a few questions.
” Now that you know what I am, what are you?”
”Im a dragon with feathers. Only one of my kind. I was hatched by a pony from an dormant egg.”
”One of a kind? L-Like me?”
Spike thinks for a moment, as his eyes slowly widen a smidge.
”Yeah. Like you.”
Thorax and Spike both smile at this, before spike returns to helping Thorax.
”We freaks gotta stick together, right?”
”Right!”

As spike finished splinting his leg, he smiled again to Thorax.
”There! All better!”
”Thank you so much!”
”Its no problem! What are friends for?”
After saying this, Spike and Thorax froze. Friends?
”F-Friends?” You wanna be friends?!”
”Yep. I do!”
This time, Spike is the one to yelp as Thorax hugs him, tears of happiness streaming down the changelings face.
”Thank you for everything! You’ve saved my life on more ways than one!”
”I’m glad to have helped. I hope my friendship is enough to keep you fed.”
”It’s more than enough.”

As Thorax began to let go of spike, they both yawned.
”Guess it’s later than I thought. Tell ya what: you live here for as long as you like. I’ll come over every night to check up on ya and talk.”
”O-Ok. Thank you again. For everything.”
”Its no problem Thorax! I’m glad we met, and I really look forward to getting to know you better! Goodnight!”
”Goodnight!”
As Spike leaves, he gives one last wave to his friend, before once again navigating the alleys. Eventually, Spike got home, and as luck would have it, right as Shining Armor got home.
”What the heck were you doing out so late?”
As spine says this, Shining sputters and blushes, before shifting the conversation, causing Spike to snicker.
” W-Well where were you, young man?!”
As he thinks back to the night he just, had, Spike begins to smile before answering.
”I finally made my first friend!”

Author's Note

Spike made a fellow outcast, and a new friend! maybe even more in the future? Hope y’all like the chapter, because this is one of my favorites!