A heavily locked figure inhaled and exhaled in a deep, steady, practiced rhythm. This practiced, rasping melody had echoed within the vast, dripping chambers without fail for generations too tedious to count. Day in, day out, not a single breath's timing had changed in the entity's slumber. No toss, no stir, no movement at all occurred in its slumber. The only sign of life had been the audible respiratory functions of the figure's body.

Despite this dormancy, multiple guards had been placed around the perimeter of the aged, murky prison the entity knew as home. The guard watched, and watched, and watched again, watching for anything.

Over the countless decades the being had been set in the prison, the guards had come to expect nothing from the chained being. Now, they simply stood and stared, bored, for interminable hours, waiting for their shift to switch to another soul's misfortune to do nothing but watch some fossilized prisoner breathe.

Although the virtually pointless job begot resentment from all members of the guard, their superiors mandated for perpetual vigilance. The lackadaisical guards long since complied to their demands, and retained their watch on the sleeping entity.

It was due to this seemingly eternal slumber, that the guards had been frightened to no end when the prisoner suddenly broke its nature.

The inmate ceased the breathing, drawing a resounding gasp from the guards. The entity rose from its position, pulling and groaning the heavy chains that laid undisturbed for centuries. It took a shaky, tentative step from its position on the prison's wall like a newborn learning to walk, dragging the weighted burdens bound to every limb. As it staggered to the center of the keep, the only area lit by a shimmering sliver of light, a sweet, verbal aria escaped its cracked lips.

"Will you take me home and dissemble me?"

One of the guards nickered at the inmate's verse and gaped helplessly at his fellow blanching comrades, "Wha... what are we supposed to do?"

The prisoner ignored the panicking guards voicing their confusion, and carried several more steps, each more stable than the last, to reach the taunting light. "Will I be terminated with you near?"

A much more seasoned member of the guard attempted to rein order from the steadily ensuing chaos. His gravelly tone barked orders over the panicked shouts, "What are you greenhorns doing?! Somepony get the superiors right now!!!"

The jailbird acknowledged the disorderly din with a twisted smile, and quickened its jingling journey to the center, "By the others I hold so close..." he eyed the light with a slight tilt of his head, "... if I'm to be killed, then when? By whom?"

The singing entity relished the refreshing glow with half-lidded eyes, "I’ve been a bad boy, I broke all the rules... I’ve been a bad boy... I'll paid in full...!"

His eyes burst wide open, and looked up into the light with a hungry, open-mouth smile. "My light, will never die... my light, will never kill!"

The entity sucked in heaving breaths for the final verse, paying no attention to the platoons who had burst into the prison, watching the macabre performance in horror. "You look down, but far from out, and the paper reads, 'You lose!'"

A quick, eerie chuckle escaped his dried throat, sending creeping shivers down the soldiers' soul."I. Will. Never die! My light, will never die!"

Spike likes picnics. Specifically, he likes picnics with the six who were commonly known as the Elements of Harmony. Spike is not sure how much that label should matter considering the ponies had to return the Elements that channeled their power, but he does not care, because the most important fact is that they are all his beloved friends.

Spike also likes picnics so much because it is always a chance for him to make use of his homely skills for somepony else's benefit. It made Spike feel a lot more appreciated than he usually did. Due to being in close contact with Equestria's heroes, he was often taken on their extraordinary adventures, but he never really could do much. It was with simple duties like cooking or cleaning where he shined the most.

A certain, purple baby dragon happily plods up a sunlit, grassy hill. In his stubby arms is a large picnic basket, filled with delectables created by none other than him. Spike is especially prideful with today's cookery. The assistant made potato salad, gazpacho, limeade (kept in a sealed pitcher, of course), and chilled sorbets for dessert. Spike is sure that his equine friends would thoroughly enjoy the meal he had made. After all, who does not like ice cream?

Twilight calls from the top of the hill, "Spike! Are you sure you can carry it all?" She peeks at his encumbered frame struggling up the hillside and purses her lips.

Spike grunts and ascends the final steps of the hill. He places the basket on the checkered blanket spread before his feet. The dragon put his hands on his knees and pants, raising an arm to give his relieved guardian a thumbs up, "See? Huff... huff... not a problem for this dragon!"

Rainbow Dash snickers from the top of a nearby tree she had been resting in, "Suuuure, Mr. Buff Dragon, that was no problem at all."

"Oh do stop teasing him, Dash," Rarity defends with a frown. The mare was shaded under a stylish, purple parasol on a corner of the blanket, "I would not be picking fun at the chef who cooked our lunch."

Upon the mention of food, the racing rainbow zips from her perch and hovers above the basket. She sniffs profusely at the hidden contents and bites her lower lip in anticipation, "Oh man, I'm sooo hungry! Whatcha got, Spike? C'mon, open it!"

"Calm down, Dash," Applejack chides. The farmer stretches, and stands from her reclining spot against the tree, "let the boy breathe first."

Pinkie bounces down from the tree's foliage, "Yeah! Because he needs to breathe so that his muscles can move and if he can't breathe his muscles can't move and that means he can't open the basket and that means we go hungry!"

Rainbow Dash blinks several times, trying to process what Pinkie had spouted, "Did any of that make sense?"

"Um... I think so," Fluttershy answers with a slightly raised tone, pawing at the blanket she laid on.

Spike takes advantage of the mulling silence to regain his composure, and proudly opens the basket, displaying the mouth-watering victuals within. His friends ooh and aah in apparent hunger, prompting him to set the plates and food.

"Amazing!"

"Best picnic ever!"

"Simply marvelous!"

"Thanks for the food..!"

"Good job, Spike!"

Spike puffs his chest out, absorbing the slew of compliments like a sponge. His cooking skills were nothing to laugh at, but the assistant only cares that his friends could enjoy them.

Spike pulls a sapphire from the pocket-like folds in his scales and pops it into his mouth. He crunches the tart gem beneath his teeth, swallows, and stifles a burp. He was not hungry enough for the full-course meal anyway, all he needs are gems to sate his draconic appetite.

Spike turns to Rainbow Dash and asks, "So, was that new Daring Do book good?"

The pegasus snorts at the understatement, "Good? Try, absolutely amazing! I mean, that's a given considering I'm in there too, but man, you shoulda seen the actual thing!"

"Oh!" Pinkie pips as she finishes off her potato salad, "Remember when we were all at Ahiuzotl's fortress and how we fought off all those stallions, while Dash and Do got the Rings of Destiny off the pillar?"

At once, this callback kicks off a conversation about the adventure they had with one of the Equestria's greatest author who had happened to also be one of Equestria's greatest heroes. Of course, the journey ended with the rescue of Equestria by their efforts.

Well, without Spike's efforts.

Spike had not even been involved in the adventure. The drake never voiced his envy over it. He was just as much of a Daring Do fan as Twilight or Rainbow Dash, and they all actually met her...!... Spike excluded.

Spike silently broods over these thoughts as he sucks on a salty-sweet emerald. Spike wanted to meet Daring Do. Spike wanted to help. Spike did not want to be unnecessary.

No, no, no, now is not the time for such thoughts.

Spike listened in on the group's recounting of their quests, choosing to be spellbound rather than a sulking mess. Eventually, the chitchat switched to more familiar matters that Spike was more familiar with. The dragon kept an ear to their words despite the fact that there was nothing to really contribute to the conversation since it was about some fashion show.

Spike is partial to these regular exchange of words for two reasons. The first is that it made his friends, his ponies, seem much more normal than what their various dangerous quests would suggest. It always made Spike feel more at place with his friends. The second reason is because it let Spike know that things were alright. It let him know that his friends, his family, was faring fine enough to be able to talk about things where the well-being of others were not at stake.

"Spike, you there?"

"Huh?" Spike shakes himself out of his thoughts and looks into Twilight's eyes, "Oh, sorry, I sorta zoned out for a sec there. What's up?"

Twilight smiles and rolls her eyes, "I was asking if you were excited about staying with everypony in Canterlot for the weekend?"

Spike's eyes widen upon remembering their planned trip. How could he forget? After all, the much-needed vacation would commence later today, "Oh, man, of course I am! It's gonna be cool to go back home without worrying about boring Princess stuff."

Rarity daintily wipes her mouth of sorbet with a handkerchief before speaking, "Come now, that's no way to talk about Twilight's very important royal duties."

Spike crosses his arms and looks away. Rarity always knew how to make it feel like you have done something wrong, "I know, I know... it's just that the last time we had to attend to royal duties, the Princesses got kidnapped and the Everfree went psycho on everypony..."

Applejack snorts back a fit of laughter, musing that maybe the drake would have been suited for Honesty, "True, but this time we're just gonna relax, no weird or funny business."

"Maybe I'll get a second chance with the animals in the garden..!" Fluttershy says with a wishful smile.

"Just don't go crazy like you did last time." Rainbow Dash warns with a snicker.

Twilight nuzzles her assistant affectionately, "Applejack is right, Spike, this weekend is going to be some time to unwind. In other words, we'll be staying as far away from 'hero-business' for the entire stay. We'll visit Mom and Dad, wander around Canterlot for a bit, spend time with the Princesses, and just have fun. Even Shiny and Cadance are coming to see us all together!"

As Spike thought more and more about the trip, his smile grew bigger. No trouble, no weird danger, all he had to worry about was spending good time with the ponies he cared about. That was when Spike remembered something important.

He raises a claw and asks the party, "So, what time are we leaving for the train station again?"

Twilight puts a hoof to her chin, "Pinkie Pie bought the tickets so," she turns to Pinkie, "you got the 5 P.M. tickets, didn't you?"

Pinkie giggles, "Of course not, silly, there wasn't any room left on the 5 o'clock train! I had to buy tickets for a different time."

Twilight grin goes askew, and she raises an eyebrow, "So... which tickets did you purchase?"

"The 3 o'clock tickets!"

A suffocating silence drapes over the picnic, much to the confusion of the party mare.

Rainbow Dash is the first to break the quiet with a long, painful groan, and flaps to the oblivious Pie's side, "Pinkie Pie, that's fifteen minutes from now!!!"

Rarity sucks in large, gaping breaths, "Oh heavens, we don't have but a second to carry our luggage to the station! We're going to miss the train and our vacation in Equestria's most elite city will be absolutely ruined!"

Pinkie shakes her head, "Already took care of it! The luggage, train seating, pet-sitting... your Aunt Pinkie's done it all!"

Everypony simultaneously voices an, "Oh."

"Uh..." Fluttershy points to the town below the the hill, "but isn't the train station all the way across Ponyville?"

Spike pinches the bridge of his nose as the ponies worked themselves into a panic, sprinting as fast as their hooves could take them to the train station.

Spike mutters very tired words to himself before taking off after them, "Ohhhh, boy...".