*+* Chapter One *+* The Beginning *+* Part One *+*

The mostly purple scaled dragon sat lazily in his bed, awaiting the day to pass. The slender drake wished Twilight had made the days go faster, when she put the spell onto the sun and moon, to automate the day and night cycle. He loved sleeping in on the rainy days, and the automated weather cycle had made it a very rainy day today, just exactly how Spike likes it. Exactly how Spike always liked it.

Spike huskily groans as he rolls over in his bed, his long scaled tail hanging out of the covers his aunt Cadence kindly provided to him, and hitting the cold crystal floor, making him jump a bit in shock. He sits up in his bed, swishing his tail around himself. He stretches all four of his limbs, knowing he needs to get up, or Cadence and Flurry Heart will definitely get worried.

He rubs his purple scaled eyelids with the back of his medium sized hand, trying to rub the eternal tiredness and burn out from his eyes. Even looking at him, you could tell he was done with it all, even if he tried to stay optimistic. He stretches out his wings, before letting out a groan, and bounding his wings to his sides. He stands up with yet another groan, and decides to go outside for the first time in awhile.

He steps closer to his crystal door, the one he’s seen so many times before. Just looking at this castle makes him think of the times of his youth, the times he had fun saving everything. The time where he had friends. True friends.

He takes a large deep breath, steeling himself for the day, and wishing he had known if Twilight was to leave, and where she was. Trying to keep his cool, he hastily opens his door, accidentally slamming it onto the wall, making a loud bang echo across the entire crystal castle.

Immediately, a white Alicorn zooms around the corner, her white and pink wings thumping the air hard, her small crystal crown nearly flying off of her head. The Alicorn lands right in front of Spike, bounding her wings to her sides.

“Spike, what have I said about slamming doors?”

The short Alicorn asks, looking up at the much taller dragon, her eyes narrowed. This has clearly happened too many times.

Spike blushes, scratching at the back of his head and at the green spines that run all the down to the bottom of his tail, and looking down at the small white Alicorn.

“Sorry, Flurry. Uhh... Just force of habit?”

He awkwardly replies to the angry Alicorn, raising his claws in a shrug motion, trying to excuse himself from the beady Alicorn’s eyes. She clearly took more from Twilight than the both of her parents.

The Alicorn narrows her eyes even more, clearly angry about how much times this has happened over the course of two hundred years. Her cousin sure had the knack to slam everything, from doors to plates on the tables and to books on shelves. Was it a ‘quiet’ emotional outburst? She had no clue, not even in the slightest.

“You’re lucky my mom doesn’t tell you off these days.”

She huffs, turning away, and spreading her wings again, taking flight, and zipping around the corner she came from.

Spike breathes a sigh of relief. She let him off the hook. Again.

‘Is Cadence stopping her from telling me off all the time?’ He asks himself, clearly unsure on what’s going on.

Spike starts to slowly walk down the hallway, bipedally, as his thoughts consume him again. He was mostly worrying about Twilight, as per usual. He always did, and everypony around him noticed. Usually, his face went a bit blank, and he’d respond like he was in a day dream, doing things like he was a robot, acting dull and stoic. He usually snaps out of it shortly afterwards, however.

He’d usually go sulk in his bedroom for a few days, like he was still that baby dragon he used to be all of those years ago. Except, he doesn’t have his mom there to cheer him up, like he used to. His steps grow a bit slower, the thoughts of him Twilight, and the rest of their friends all together making him sick. Why couldn’t he have them back? Why couldn’t he have her back?

He sighs again as he begins to walk. His steps remain slow and his tail drags across the crystal floor behind him. Once he finally reaches that sweet corner, he slumps back against the wall, putting his head in his knees. His scaled tail placed limply in front of him. While he’d rather sit in his room and sulk while listening to music, he knows it’s not what Twilight would want him to do for his whole life.

‘Eugh, why do I always think of her like she’s dead...? She can’t be dead... She’s Twilight Sparkle. An Alicorn. And I doubt she was in Equestria when the Unity Crystals were created.’

He yawns, his jaw opening wide and a short, tired sound comes out of his mouth. He’s proud of himself, he’s finally out of his room after a few days! He’d rather not be the dragon that slept the days away, like he was a few years ago, but he can’t help but regress back into that state... The longer he goes without even being able to hear her voice, or see her face, the harder it gets.

She was his boss, his best friend, and most importantly, his mother. The mare who was there for him, through thick and thin. Not anymore. She left. She left all of them.

His eyes gently close, he's tired. Tired from all this thinking. Tired of all this living. Tired of all this deep and inner loneliness that he started to feel when Twilight Velvet died, which continued on until Twilight just... disappeared. She only took her memory books, regalia, and plushies of Spike, Sunset Applejack, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and Starlight.

His head hangs at his knees as he slowly starts to snore, his lower back and the base of his tail against the crystal wall. His tail twitches at the end every few minutes or so, swishing back and forth slightly, as Spike awakens in the dream realm.

His eyes flutter open in surprise, as his head hastily lifts up from his knees, quickly making him stand in a 'brave and ready' stance. With the lessening amount of sleep he's been getting recently, it seems he doesn't know if he's even dreaming or if he's awake.

His eyes dart around him, looking at everywhere his eyes can lay upon.

A grassy field land, with a beautiful large oak tree upon a small hill. There seems to be many figures that he can't exactly put a claw on, he's too far away from them all to see what they truly look like. It's just like a ball of colourful fuzz on a luscious green hill.

He slowly decides to edge closer to the figures under the large oak tree, trying to make out who they were.

'Where the fuck am I, anyway?'

The not so young purple drake ponders in his mind, not exactly recognising where he is and how exactly he got there. He was sat in a crystal castle not so long ago.

Spike slowly creeps closer to the group bunched underneath the dark oak on the small hill, beginning to see it's quite a large group of creatures. Mostly pony, yes, though... different types of ponies. Six Unicorns, two Earth Ponies, two Pegasi, five Alicorns, a Draconequus, and a baby dragon.

Spike's eyes widen as he inches closer to the group. He can tell who they all are. Shining Armor, Rarity, Twilight Velvet, Night Light, Starlight, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Flurry Heart... but as a filly, Princess Cadence, Discord, Celestia, Luna... Twilight... and of course, a much younger and youthful Spike.

Their faces, all so young and happy. Nopony dead. Nopony missing. An era of true peace. Happiness. Something he misses ever so badly. He misses them ever so badly.

He runs even closer, wanting to see all of their faces ever so clearly again. It's been thousands of years since he's seen some of them. Some he's seen yesterday, a few days ago, or earlier today. Some he hasn't seen in two hundred years.

He narrows his eyes, not wanting to feel the sadness of seeing the group of his closest friends in a dream, and preparing to beat the tears away, yet, they never come. He just feels numbness inside, not a new feeling, though, a very bad feeling. He always had rathered to feel drained and sad all the time than... just numbness.

He walks even closer to the group, sitting down next to Twilight and his youthful self. He smiles. At least he's next to Twilight for once, even if he is 'invisible' in this dream.

Author's Note

Hah. Cliffhanger. Same thing all my favourite writers on here do. I came up with this story idea on the toilet, and shout out to all my friends on Discord on the tips of writing!

This chapter (and others) might be rewritten.

Also, if anyone wants to help me get a cover art or give me any writing tips, it'll be VERY appreciated!

9/12/24 EDIT: The last paragraph has been removed! It won't work with my current plans for Finding Twilight. Any ideas that anycreature wants added, comment them, and I might add them.