Draconian Prince

Spike burst open the doors and ran out as Twilight chased after him. “Spike, wait! Let’s just calm down and think about this rationally!” Twilight had to jog alongside him in order to keep up. “Spike, please don’t be upset. I know you’re angry and confused but-“

“What’s there to be confused about?” Spike snapped back. “I was abandoned, used as a test subject by Celestia, and she kept all of this a secret from me since the day I was hatched! Everything seems pretty clear to me!”

“Spike, please listen,” Celestia pleaded as she caught up with him. “I didn’t want to tell you until you were ready! Just slow down for a minute and allow me to explain myself properly.”

They had all reached Spike’s room when he had turned around to face them. Both his eyes and face were tinged with red. “You explained yourself just fine! If going to Draconia is the only way I’m going to get any answers, then that's what I'm going to do. So if you don’t mind, I have to start packing.” Spike stepped inside the room and slammed the door.

After a moment of silence, Celestia sighed. “His reaction was both expected and understandable. It was my mistake for keeping the truth from him for so long. I just wish there was a way to tell things honestly without it being so painful.”

Twilight nodded. “Although I wish you hadn't hidden this from us, you did the right thing. He is hurt, but I’m glad that you told him the truth. I’ll take things from here, princess.”

“Thank you, Twilight. I will explain the rest when he is ready to listen. I’ll be in the throne room.”

Celestia began trotting to the throne room as Twilight waited in front of the door. After a few minutes, Twilight knocked and slowly opened the door. The room was completely messy as books and papers littered the floor. She walked in slowly so as not to disturb Spike as he packed his belongings. Spike sniffled and wiped his face occasionally as he gathered materials into a small bag. Twilight trotted up behind him.

“Spike, are you ok?” Twilight asked as she wrapped her wing around him.

“I’m fine! You don’t have to worry about me anymore. I’ll be going soon anyways.”

“Spike, I always worry about you. Especially with this crazy plan of yours! Are you going to just waltz into Draconia and wander around aimlessly? Draconia is the most dangerous continent in the world!”

“Well what am I supposed to do? Just sit here and wonder who I am for the rest of my life?”

Twilight nuzzled Spike's face. “I didn’t say that. I just think that there’s a better way to go about this. Maybe we can go set up a meeting with their king or bring some escorts with you. Anything Is better than going about this alone!” Twilight had never dealt with a situation like this before, and would have preferred that Spike stayed with her. But she knew that she had to let him go and support him as much as she could. “Spike, please. Let me help.”

Spike softened up a bit. It wasn’t like it was Twilight’s fault or anything. She was the one who hatched him after all. “Oh, alright. Can you help me get ready, Twilight?”

Twilight smiled and gave Spike a big hug. “Of course, Spike. That’s what I’m here for.”

After they finished packing, Twilight asked Spike to forgive Celestia so that they could talk. Spike reluctantly agreed and promptly made their way to the throne room where Celestia was waiting for them.

“Hello, Spike.”

“Um... hi, Princess Celestia. I’m sorry for yelling at you and-“

Celestia raised her hoof. “No, Spike. I should be the one to apologize. I’ve kept secrets from you for far too long. It’s about time that I told you everything. No secrets.” Spike nodded and was ready to listen. “When I had first found you in a basket, I did not know what you were. Research had shown that you were in fact a dragon egg, but what confused Starswirl and I was how… strange your egg was.”

“Strange? How so?” Twilight asked.

“Twilight, do you remember what Spike’s egg looked like before you hatched him?”

Twilight thought back to the day of the test. “I believe the egg was fairly small, lavender, and was dotted with purple spots.”

“You’re memory is as sharp as always, Twilight. However, that’s not how a typical dragon egg looks like.”

"What was so different about my egg?” Spike asked.

Celestia pulled out a book from a nearby drawer and opened it to reveal a picture of a large, white egg. “Dragon eggs are plain white and can be as large as a full grown pony. Not only did Spike’s egg differ in size and color, but was nothing short of indestructible.”

Twilight was puzzled “You mentioned that neither you nor Starswirl could hatch Spike’s egg, but I hatched it when I was just a filly. That can’t be right! No matter how talented I was, I was nowhere close to your magical abilities.”

Celestia nodded. “I was just as confused about it as you were. But as Starswirl always said, all the answers came with time.” Celestia floated a letter over for Twilight to read.

“This is written in the Draconian language but… there’s only one word. Arcaniss?” Twilight tilted her head in confusion.

“It is translated to the single word 'magic'.” Celestia stated. "When you used the Elements of Harmony to save my sister, I was able to understand how you were able to hatch Spike’s egg. You, Twilight, the element of magic, were destined to hatch Spike. I was reluctant to leave Spike with you in the beginning, but I’m glad that I did. You have done an excellent job raising him.”

"So that means that this whole time, I was waiting for Twilight to be born to hatch me? That's awesome!" Spike said.

“But it’s time for him to go now… isn’t it?” Twilight sighed.

“Indeed. Spike must now begin a journey, one that will undoubtedly be filled with obstacles and dangers awaiting him. But I know that his time with you has prepared him to overcome any challenges that he will face. After all, it wasn’t a coincidence that you hatched him.”

Twilight tried to keep herself composed but failed as tears began to well up in her eyes. Spike was caught off guard and looked over at Twilight worriedly, unable to think of what to say or do next. Spike settled with going over to Twilight and giving her a hug. “C'mon, Twilight. It’s not like I’m going to die or anything. I’ll be ok, I promise.”

Twilight hugged Spike back. “Is that a Pinkie Pie promise?”

“Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye.” Spike said as he did the motions.

Twilight wiped her tears and let Spike go. “Ok. Make sure you don’t break that promise, or Pinkie and I will gallop all the way over to Draconia to punish you.”

Spike gave a little laugh. “Hehe, yeah I know. And Pinkie would really do it too. Don’t worry about a thing, I learned from the best after all.”

Twilight gave Spike one last hug. “And don’t you forget it.”

Celestia gave Twilight and Spike some time to say their goodbyes as she set up a chariot for Spike. When Twilight finished talking with Spike, she walked over to Celestia.

“Princess, couldn’t I accompany him? Or maybe you and I could meet with the king to discuss Spike’s situation.”

Celestia shook her head. “We haven’t spoken to Draconia’s royal family in over a thousand years. But the last time that we did, we agreed to never interfere with one another. That means having royalty on Draconian soil is out of the question. Even my guards can only go as far as the border.”

“But what about that dragon that was hibernating in an Equestrian mountain? Or how the dragon migration goes right over Equestrian territory?”

“The dragon that was trespassing on Equestrian land was acting as an individual and did not serve in the Draconian military. And the dragon migration was already factored into the treaty.” Celestia answered.

“I see. Is there nothing else I can do to help Spike?”

“You've already done everything you could. The only thing you can do now is pray to Faust that Spike finds the answers he is looking for and comes home before he gets caught up in anything dangerous."

"Don't count on it," Twilight laughed. "With Spike's luck, he'll be chased home by Ursa Majors before dinnertime!"

"Hey, give me more credit! I'm a lot bigger now. I can handle myself." Spike said as he puffed out his chest.

"Oh, we're only teasing, Spike. Of course you'll be ok. The only things chasing after you will be dragon girls going after my handsome little dragon." Twilight said as she noogied Spike's head.

Spike rubbed his sore head. "Geez, do spontaneous noogies run in the family or something?" Spike was glad that he had Twilight to take care of him. He didn't know what he would do without her. I guess it's time to find out. "Thanks for everything, Twilight." Twilight didn't say anything but simply smiled.

Spike turned to Celestia. "I'm ready to go."

Celestia nodded. "Spike, meet Swift Wing and Blue Angel. They are the fastest pegasi in the royal guard and they will take you to the Draconian border by chariot. With their combined wing-power, the ride should take about 12 hours. If you ever happen to meet my old friend, Fewihl Itov, in Draconia, ask for her guidance. From then on, I'm afraid you'll be on your own."

"F-fewir.. what?"

"Most dragons called her Fewi," Celestia said amusedly.

"Fewi, got it. Thank you for everything princess. Take care of Twilight while I'm gone."

"Of course," Celestia said.

Spike jumped onto the chariot. "I'll be back before you know it. See you soon, Twilight!"

"Bye, Spike! Don't forget to write to me every day!"

How could I forget? More than half my bag is stuffed with parchment and quills. Spike waved goodbye as Swift Wing and Blue Angel pulled the chariot and started flying towards Draconia.

When Spike was out of view, Celestia wrapped her wing around Twilight who began crying on Celestia's shoulder. Come home soon, Spike.

Spike kept his eyes on Canterlot until it was too far away to see. When Canterlot was too far to see, he turned towards the two guards. "So... you guys ever had sapphire pancakes with emerald syrup?" Spike asked.

Blue Angel replied cheerfully. "No, but it sure sounds interesting! How do gems taste? Us ponies have a hard time chewing the stuff so we wouldn't know."

Spike was glad that he had someone to talk to during the ride. "Well, the higher purity a gem has, the better the texture is. The taste of the gems depend on how you mix them together."

"Well that's interesting, isn't it, Swift Wing?"

Swift Wing kept a neutral face and only grunted in response.

"Sorry about my friend here. He just got out of the academy and he still does things by the book. Isn't he adorable?" Blue Angel said as she prodded his shoulder.

"Stop it, Angel. Princess Celestia called for us personally to do this job, and I'm not going to let her down." Swift Wing said as he shrugged her off.

Blue Angel chuckled. "Aww, you're no fun. So Spike, have any good stories to tell? Being the only dragon in Equestria must mean that you led an interesting life."

The last time he had told his life story was when he met Fluttershy. It felt good to have someone listening to him for a change. "Well, l started out as a cute little purple egg," Spike began.

"Uuugh..." Swift Wing groaned.

"Hey, that's exactly what Twilight said! Now where was I? Oh yeah..."