Original Link:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/19c2r5O4ltQiU4CS5kWe9zbMtrEFcC7SDg2DfmRBSJuY/edit

“Applebloom! How many times more do I have to tell ya to leave yer hooves off the first aid?” Applejack shouted at her younger sister.

“But sis’, what if I get mahself hurt while constructin’? I’m fiddlin’ with some dangerous tools! Ah just need supplies!” Applebloom countered.

“You’re old enough to earn your own money, little sis’. Why don’t ya use your talent to get a first aid kit yourself?” the orange mare suggested.

“That makes no darn sense! Without a first aid, I can’t start buildin’ and repairin’ in the first place! What if something goes wrong?” her younger sister replied.

“Well, ya will just have to find a different way to afford that thing then! This one belongs on the farm! We’d look mighty stupid if we had an accident and there’s none around!” Applejack explained.

“Oh c’mon, AJ! Why do y’all need to make such a big deal about it?” Applebloom wondered.

“I said no and that’s final! And don’t let me catch yeh takin’ things out of it again!” the orange mare concluded. Applebloom pouted, turned around and walked out of the farm house in frustration.

Applejack sighed. Eversince her sister got her cutie mark, she had been gathering tools and supplies without asking. She was okay with it at first, since she was so happy that AB finally found her special talent and thought she only borrowed them until she put together her own set. But this just kept on going, forcing Applejack to use some of the family income in replacing them.

Right now was a bad time for such things to happen anyway. The farm had next to zero income until spring. What they earned from the cider sales had to be enough so they could make it through winter and there still had to be something left so the family could restock.

Applejack put the first aid kit back to its place and walked to the living room, where she met up with Big Macintosh. Next to him was Granny Smith, sleeping in her rocking chair. She had caught a cold and the red stallion glanced at her with a worried face.

“Is Granny gettin’ better?” Applejack wondered.

“Eyup,” her brother replied.

“Good. At least something’s goin’ right. Ah caught AB at the first aid again. Can ya believe it?” the orange mare wondered. Big Macintosh placed a hoof under his chin.

“Eyup,” he spoke again. Applejack sighed.

“I mean, it’d be fine if she’d at least ask. I got no idea why she feels the need to try to nick things. Is she makin’ advancements on her club house again? Do ya know anything ‘bout that, Big Mac?” she wondered.

“Nope,” he responded.

“Well we better keep our eyes on her. I’ll have a look inside the store and see how much food we’ve left,” the orange mare announced before leaving through the front door.

---

Applejack didn’t like the way the orchard looked in winter. The trees appeared so dead without leaves and it always gave her a weird impression when she walked between them and there was nothing green or red above her head. The endless white cover that was all over the farm was pretty, but this just wasn’t her season.

Applejack was a summer pony. She lived for the busy times where she had to buck dozens of apple trees every day. Winter was boring. No apples to collect, no critters to chase away and no crops to plant or take care of. The only thing she still could do was checking on the family stocks.

On her way along the fence, she heard a familiar voice humming happily. It was Fluttershy, smiling widely and skipping light-hoofed.

“Howdy there, Fluttershy! What are ya so happy about?” Applejack greeted.

“Oh! Hi, Applejack! I just had the most wonderful time last night,” the yellow mare responded euphorically.

“Really? C’mon tell me ‘bout it!” Applejack requested.

“Obsidian and I were out wandering. I discovered a whole new side of him! Would you believe me when I tell you that he is actually very romantic?” Fluttershy wondered.

“Obsidian? Well ah noticed he’s startin’ to warm up, but that’s quite hard to imagine,” the orange mare answered.

“Oh, but it’s true! He’s so gentle to me and he puts so much effort into making me happy. We had a flight through the night sky and he even took off his cloak and gave it to me, just to keep me warm!” the yellow mare elucidated with sparkling eyes.

“Well that’s quite nice of... hang on a minute. Did ya just say you were flyin’ in the night sky?” Applejack wondered with a confused expression.

“I know it’s hard to believe, but with him, I felt so safe that it didn’t matter to me anymore. We flew very high up in the air. Everything looked so tiny and pretty. And guess what! I liked it!” Fluttershy explained in excitement.

“Land sakes, sugarcube. That is a side of you that I never heard ‘bout before! To be honest, for the longest time, I really wasn’t so sure what to think of him. But I reckon, you and Obsidian really bring out the best in each other,” the orange mare commented.

“Thank you,” Fluttershy responded sheepishly and blushed a bit.

“Now that I think of it, why isn’t he with you? I thought Celestia put him on vacation,” the orange mare wondered.

“Oh, he is at Carousel Boutique. Rarity needed him for a few new outfits,” Fluttershy explained.

The conversation came to a halt as she suddenly noticed a small purple figure walking towards them. A friend they hadn’t seen very often in the past month.

“Applejack! Look who’s coming there!” she exclaimed happily.

“Spike! Howdy, partner!” the orange mare greeted.

“Yeah... hi...” the baby dragon replied in a dejected tone as he came closer. His bad mood washed the smiles out of the two mares’ faces.

“You okay, Spike?” Applejack wondered. A grim glance from him is all she got as answer.

“Twilight sent me to buy some supplies from you,” he explained.

“Well that’s fortunate! I was just on ma way to the storage! Come along, little fella! Wanna come with us too, Fluttershy?” the orange mare invited. Though Fluttershy shook her head.

“I’m sorry, but I got to make some preparations for Hearth’s Warming Eve,” she explained.

“That’s fine. See ya next time!” Applejack spoke and waved goodbye.

---

AJ and Spike were walking through the orchard for a few minutes by now. Spike was unusually quiet the whole time, so she thought she should break the ice.

“So, how’s Twi’ doin’?” she asked. Though the baby dragon did not appreciate this question very much.

“Hm,” was all he said.

“Spike, what’s wrong with you? Yer so grumpy lately,” Applejack worried.

“What do you care?” Spike mumbled through his teeth, startling the orange mare a bit.

“Spike?” she spoke with a worried face. The baby dragon sighed.

“Let’s just get this over with, okay?” he requested.

“Okay, Spike...” Applejack agreed unwilling.

Something was definitely going on with the baby dragon. AJ was sure of it. He became such a rare encounter the last few weeks and it just seems to get worse and worse. Same development was seen in his mood and behavior. Twilight didn’t seem to realize this. Or she precisely knew what was going on and just kept it secret to protect the baby dragon. Whatever the reason may be, it concerned Applejack. He looked so drained. So sad. It was heartbreaking.

Applejack couldn’t know what was developing inside him. She wasn’t there when Twilight lectured him the last time and honestly, he now was pretty happy about it. She may just have teamed up with Twilight in the end. Those ponies stick together. All of them.

AJ made such a worried face. But Spike knew better as to fall for it. He knew it was fake. She was just acting friendly, like Twilight said. Spike saw it all now. The less time he was forced to spend with these liars, the better.

Finally, they reached the storage. Winona was laying in front of the door, but jumped up instantly as she spotted Applejack and started waving her tail in excitement.

“Aw, yer guardin’ the family property? Good girl!” the orange mare commented and petted her dog a few times before finally opening the storage.

Spike didn’t need very much. He could carry all the supplies in a single bag. As he turned around to leave, Applejack stopped him to gift him an apple. Such small presents usually cheered him up. But now, this only made him angry.

“Keep that for yourself,” he responded, rejecting the gift. This now really caught her shocked.

“Are you sure you’re feelin’ alright?” she worried.

“Oh for Pete’s sakes. Stop asking me this, will you?” he countered in anger and walked off quickly.

No. That wasn’t the Spike she knew. He had been acting weird for a while now, but this capped it all. Applejack had to have a talk with Twilight.

---

Just as before, Twilight talked the situation with Spike down. She acted as if she was convinced that this was just a phase in the regular development of a dragon. But truly, she just wanted to hide the results of her lecturing.

Like in Spike, something started to stir in Twilight. Her inner conflict over what happened put her in a lot of stress. It wasn’t the first time she started to lose control. This time again, she started to talk to herself secretly. Yet, things were different from before. She had no one to go to. No one to talk to about the problems she had. The purple mare had to find a solution on her own and no one had to find out.

Twilight somehow managed to put up with her number one assistant for a few weeks more. It seemed like they both came to an agreement to at least act like everything was fine during Hearth’s Warming Eve. The harmony was only superficial, though. The relation between both of them was still filled with tension, ultimately leading Spike to wander around Ponyville all on his own.

Today was Hearth’s Warming Eve. The day Equestria was founded. He himself told the ponies in Canterlot this ancient tale of how friendship can beat any difficulty and all differences. But it was a tale made for ponies. For them, this story might apply. But for him...?

Suddenly, Spike bumped into a pony. He was so sunken in thoughts and so upset about the purple mare, he forgot to watch where he was going.

“Oh, Spikey-Wikey. You really should watch more where you are going,” the mare spoke. As the baby dragon lifted his head, he realized it was Rarity he bumped into.

“A very merry Hearth’s Warming Eve to you!” she spoke warmly.

“Hm, ye. Whatever...” he responded, mumbling quietly.

“Oh my. Applejack was right. You really are in a bad mood,” the fashion diva commented in worry. She lowered her head, trying to get eye contact with the baby dragon. But Spike only avoided it.

“Where’s Twilight? Are you not going to the play with her?” she wondered.

“Nah. She’s too busy with her studies. I don’t plan to go there either,” Spike replied.

“Not? I thought you loved the founding play of Equestria. I still remember how excited you were to be part of the play in Canterlot a few years ago,” the fashion diva stated.

“Yeah... that was then, when I didn’t know how fake you all are,” Spike mumbled, too low for Rarity to understand.

“What was that, Spike?” she asked.

“Nothing...” he responded with a sigh and continued walking slowly.

Rarity really started to get concerned. Although the baby dragon believed otherwise, she still cared a lot for him. Seeing him like that filled her with sadness and confusion. She never had seen him so down before. The fashion diva thought she needed to cheer him up a bit.

“Spikey, would you like to go to the play with me?” she offered.

This now caused the baby dragon to halt. Was she serious about this? Or was this just a trick? Spike had a crush on her for such a long time. Even after Twilight revealed this shocking truth, he still had feelings for her. After all, she never did anything to him, yet. If he went with her, Spike wouldn’t have to spend the day alone while as well being away from Twilight. He thought it might be worth it and agreed with a nod.

---

Like every year, the play in Ponyville was held in the town hall. The inside was richly decorated with seasonal symbols, long white streamers and the equestrian Flag. Obsidian Shards and Fluttershy were among the spectators. They seemed to be very happy together and were holding each other closely. A sight that filled Spike with envy.

Obsidian may not be a pony anymore, but he at least used to be one. That appeared to be reason enough for him to be accepted by the ponies, unlike him. Spike was so small, so meek, so unimportant. Nopony except Rarity even seemed to notice him.

The play was yet to start. The ponies were getting excited. Only one of them calmly levitated in the air. One Spike also knew by now wasn’t a pony, but another reaper.

Derpy Hooves rather observed the activities in the crowd and outside of the city hall instead of watching the stage. She gave up her disguise and still found acceptance. Was it really that important for ponies to be at least similar to them? Wasn’t Spike similar enough from being raised among them? Those selfish ponies... those ignorant ponies... he never was good enough for them, no matter what he did.

Finally, the play started. None of the actors were familiar to the baby dragon. He only saw them walking on the streets one or two times, but never got to talk to them. Ponyville was so small. Everypony seemed to know each other. But he, as usual, was an exception of all this.

Spike barely paid attention to what was happening on stage. The only thought that went through his head that related to it was that this play was by far worse than the one he had been part of in Canterlot. Why did Celestia even offer him a role in the first place?

Twilight. Of course. It had to be because of her. If it wasn’t for her, Spike would have missed out on most things. He had been very grateful for this all the time. But now, he realized that nopony would ever have cared about him if it wasn’t for ‘Celestia’s star student’.

Twilight here. Twilight there. It was always only about Twilight. Each time he said something, each time he wanted something, the ponies just laughed at him. Even when he just wanted to give a piece of his mind in one of the letters he sent for them, they only gave him angry looks and wanted him to erase what came from his own mind. It was just as Twilight revealed. He was nothing but a servant for her. No, for all of them.

Spike finally snapped out of his thoughts when he heard a wooden piece breaking. He lifted his head and saw one of the planks from the stage break and part of the decor falling over. A moment of shock that caused a few ponies to shriek and the reapers to fly over to the stage as fast as they could.

“What happened?” Rarity wondered. Apparently, she wasn’t able to see what caused this small disaster near the end of the play either.

“Remain calm, everypony. None of the actors is hurt. It just seems that a plank from the hall was broken,” Mayor Mare explained. Instantly, all eyes wandered over to Derpy.

“Hey! Why are you all looking at me? I got nothing to do with this, I swear!” she tried to reason.

Spike observed the villager ponies, rather than the reaper mare. This was just so typical. Jumping to conclusions so fast. Spike still remembered how they reacted to Obsidian when he was new. They put so much hate on him, he even left to live in Everfree Forest instead of staying with them. He actually had to save them all for them to start liking him.

Those ponies are fake. All of them. All this glorifying of friendship and harmony was a lie. Rarity was no different. She may have invited him to the play, but she barely paid attention to him either. No, Rarity would never love him. Never.

Uneasy mumbling started to spread through the crowd. This intermission put the actors off their stride. All of the sudden, a single, deep male voice arose over the noises the ponies made.

The voice sung slowly, but loud and clearly. To the great surprise of everypony, it came from Obsidian. The reaper was looking for a way to calm down the ponies and put the play to an acceptable conclusion for them. This was the first time the ponies heard him sing. Such social solutions were not quite in his regular repertoire. His voice had so much power and emotion in it, it gave the heart carol a whole new level of meaning.

Derpy Hooves and a few other ponies joined in. The various pitches of the pony voices enhanced the strength of this song. More and more joined in, singing with all their soul.

The present ponies finished together. Seconds later, town hall became filled with loud cheering. Not only for the actors of the play, but also for Obsidian and Derpy.

The black stallion was surprised by this. He only started to sing in order to calm down the ponies and finish the tradition. He didn’t expect them to like his voice.

Spike, again, could only watch the scenery. He watched how the ponies held together and even cheered for Obsidian. Among each other, the ponies were sticking together. But if you are not a pony, or at least were born as one, you have no chance to ever be accepted. None of them cared for Spike. None of them even realized he was here. He was a nobody.

At this moment, Spike realized he was at the wrong place. He had no business here, between all these ponies. Only among dragons, he had a chance. It would be a hard piece of work for him to become a proper dragon, since he was raised between ponies. But it would be worth it. If he ever wanted to be just as accepted, he had to leave the ponies and go back to his own kind. Once and for all.

The baby dragon turned around and left the town hall without saying a word to Rarity. She, though, saw him leave and followed up.

“Hey! Where are you going, Spikey?” she wondered.

“Home... got some things to prepare,” he replied dryly.

“Oh, pish-posh! I haven’t seen you in ages! Why don’t you come with me? I’m planning to meet up with the others and I’m sure they would be happy to see you again, too!” Rarity insisted.

“Yeah. Keep telling those lies,” the baby dragon mumbled, again too quiet for Rarity to hear. He couldn’t say this in her face. Not after all he used to feel for her.

Spike turned around to her one last time, looking in these blue eyes he liked so much. They stared down on him in confusion and worry. But Spike was convinced to see disgust in them, covered by all the fake emotions she expressed.

“Goodbye, Rarity,” was all he was able to say. He didn’t want to turn this into a big farewell. Nopony was supposed to know he was leaving. They may just have tried to stop him.

“Spikey-Wikey...” the fashion diva spoke. This time, Spike didn’t stop anymore. He headed straight to the library. This would become the last encounter between the two of them.

---

Twilight was deeply sunken in her collection of psychology books when Spike came home. He didn’t greet the purple mare. Instead, he went upstairs and directly started packing the few things he could call his property. Twilight as well just ignored the baby dragon for a while. She was too deep in her own mind to notice that, very soon, there would be no problem anymore to which she tried to find a solution. It took her until Spike came back downstairs with a bag on his back to realize what was going on.

“Huh? Hey! Where are you going?” she exclaimed.

“Like I would tell you,” Spike responded grimly.

“Spike!” the purple mare spoke in an ordering tone. But the times she was able to impress the baby dragon were over. He wasn’t going to follow a single of her orders anymore.

“I’m leaving! That is all you need to know! Go back to your oh so beloved books and leave me alone finally!” he responded, getting louder as well. Twilight now realized he was about to leave for good.

“Stop him! You must stop him, no matter what it takes!”

Twilight used a teleportation spell to cut in the baby dragon’s path.

“What do you think you are doing? I’m not going to let you leave!” she insisted.

“I’m putting an end to this chapter of my life. Get out of my way, Twilight,” he explained with a confidence in his voice she never heard before.

“You are going to lose him! Don’t let him go! No matter what, don’t let him go!”

“Come on, Spike! We can talk this out! I’m sure we will find a solution for-” Twilight started, slowly approaching the baby dragon, but he just went down on all four and inhaled deeply.

“Don’t you dare to touch me, Twilight. You are not the only one who has had enough! If you put just one hoof on me, or if I see you cast anything fancy, I swear I will roast you!” Spike growled, readying a breath of fire.

“He’s threatening you! That little scale-head is threatening you! You are not going to let him get away with this, are you?”

“What did you just say?!” Twilight questioned angrily.

“I said, leave me alone or I will roast you! I am not kidding! If necessary, I will set the whole library on fire!” the baby dragon clarified.

“The books! Save the books!”
“No, wait! The books are not important! Stop Spike!”
“Forget Spike! He is threatening you! After all you have done for him, this is how he repays you!”
“But... Spike is my friend!”
“He is just a stupid little dragon, as you said. You don’t even like him!”
“That’s not true!”
“Yes, it is. He is worthless and useless. And he is going to burn you!”

Twilight stared at Spike in fear. Her pupils started to shrink and she slowly backed away. Spike relaxed again and extinguished the flame he held ready in his lungs.

“Good. At least once we get to an agreement with each other,” Spike stated and got up again.

“Let him go. He is not worth the effort.”
“But...”
“But nothing! This is the solution you have been looking for! Get rid of this little pest!”

Twilight’s whole body went under stress. She randomly twitched her ear while she stared at Spike in anger.

“You... you know what, Spike? Fine! Just go! I-I don’t need you! I will just do as I said and enchant a broom and quill to replace you! A-and don’t you think I will miss you! I still got Owloysius! E-everything will be much easier when you are gone!” Twilight shouted.

Spike acted indifferent to her harsh words. He walked over to the front door and opened it. One last time, Spike turned around for some finalizing words.

“I have no idea what I ever liked about you ponies. You have just been abusing me since I hatched. But that is all over now. Don’t you worry, Twilight. I won’t miss you either,” he spoke with tears of anger in his eyes.

“Go! Just go! Leave!” Twilight shouted.

The front door closed again. Spike left.

“It’s better like this. Everything will be much better now!”

“That little... I can’t believe it! I can’t believe I wasted so much time on him!” Twilight mumbled in anger, still having her ear twitch every now and then.

“No need to worry about that anymore. You best get rid of everything that reminds you of him.”

The purple mare walked up in her bedroom and started destroying photos and mementos. Everything that just roughly reminded her of Spike had to go. With sheer rage the trampled his basket to pieces and turned it to dust with a spell. Each piece of memory she destroyed gave her a wave of huge relief.

Finally, while roaming through her cupboards, she discovered something. A single piece of the egg Spike was in. She had kept it for years now. She suddenly remembered that she thought of this piece as one of her greatest treasures. Because it gifted Spike to her.

Twilight couldn’t help it but to sit down for a moment and remember all the things they had been through together. All the crises they have resolved. She remembered one of the most important lines she ever said to him.

“No one could ever replace you, Spike...” the purple mare mumbled. Tears filled her eyes as she now realized how much she had lost.

“How... how could I let this happen...” she wondered and put the egg shell back in the drawer. She was about to turn around and chase after Spike, but something stopped her.

“It’s too late. It’s far too late already. You can do nothing anymore. Just stay. Stay and cry.”

Twilight collapsed to the ground and began to weep over the loss of her number one assistant and best friend.

---

Spike was walking for a few hours by now. Luckily, he didn’t come across any of his other ‘friends’ while leaving Ponyville. None of the other villagers seemed to even get suspicious about him walking away, either. This confirmed it. Nopony cared he was gone.

With each step he did towards the unknown, the baby dragon was reminded of his adventures with the ponies. If only he had known better. Everything was just a lie. He should have stayed at the dragon colony, like he originally planned.

The sun went slowly down and the baby dragon started to have difficulties to see where he was going. He thought it might be better to set camp for the night.

By now, he was pretty experienced in wandering. He built an improvised tent out of the materials he could find nearby and used his dragon breath to start up a small campfire. Spike was able to take a few cookies with him, but he knew those wouldn’t last very long.

He was free now. Independent from the ponies. Yet, he had no idea what would become of him.

While he thoughtfully ate his cookies, Spike could hear distant hoof clattering, slowly getting louder and louder. He instantly became alert and looked up to see who was coming. The silhouette was displeasingly familiar.

“Go away, Twilight! I’m done with you!” he shouted, but the pony figure kept on approaching.

“I’m warning you, Twi! I will defend myself if necessary!” he threatened.

The silhouette kept on approaching, completely ignoring his warning words. Spike knew he would not get out of this without a fight. He hid himself next to his tent and took a deep breath in. Spike was ready to toast Twilight the moment she turned up.

The purple head of the mare popped into his line of sight and Spike used the moment of surprise to exhale his flame on her. This wasn’t the first time Twilight got hit by his fire, but it was the first time he did this on purpose. The result was clear to see. The pony figure became entirely wrapped by his green flame for a good second. But as soon as it vanished away, Spike realized it had no effect on her. Was she smart enough to cast a fireproof spell on herself beforehand?

The figure stood on the other side of the campfire. His attack revealed his location and she focused Spike. It was now that Spike realized something was weird about Twilight. He knew those red eyes by now. But a black mane? A red stripe in it? A dark purple coat? And...

The figure continued approaching Spike, walking straight over the campfire as if it wasn’t there. Spike’s eyes went wide open as he realized that the purple mare had a huge, bleeding hole in her chest.

“T-Twilight?” he spoke shakily.

“I’m not Twilight,” the look-alike spoke in Twilight’s voice, a victorious grin growing on her face.

“I never was,” she continued, now presenting her demonic fangs and readying a spell.