Spike

Spike awoke from another dreamless night. He hadn’t been able to recall his dreams for some time now, something he thought odd. I can usually remember parts of my dreams, what could be the reason that I can’t now? Wasting only a few minutes on that subject, the dragon gave up and stretched from his place on the floor. His bed was far too small now, and Twilight had no replacement for a dragon of his size. He had reassured her that sleeping on the floor would be fine, but Twilight had insisted on giving him what comfort she could.

She had some spare blankets and pillows and set them up on the first floor, Spike admitting with grief that he would be too large to fit through the door to his old room. It made him sad at first, realising that he would no longer be able to sleep in the same area with the lavender alicorn, but he didn’t look back at it too much. He would still have plenty of time to catch up with her now. His makeshift bed was not like his dragon-sized bed back in Canterlot, but it was far from uncomfortable.

When Rarity left the previous day, Twilight Sparkle had questioned him over what was wrong. He dodged the question, not knowing what to say and not having a believable excuse for what was upsetting him. He sensed that she knew something was wrong; even so, she didn’t push it. He suspected that she thought he would tell her when the time came, but Spike wasn’t sure if an appropriate time would ever arise. He’d been put down so many times before, overlooked and unnoticed, and she already knew about his love for the white unicorn, so he didn’t want to keep thinking about all that. I waited for her, but I still don’t think that she likes me, he thought glumly. ‘I really only meant it as a chance to talk’. That pain laced sentence danced around his head, until he stood up to think of something more cheerful.

That teasing tone she had used on him was a little embarrassing; even so, it wasn’t wholly unwanted. At least then he thought that her feelings for him might have changed, but he really didn’t know what to think when she had said that. “…just a chance to talk,” he sighed.

After stretching, the dragon dignitary moved to the kitchen to prepare breakfast. He might be eight feet-long and unable to enter pony-sized doorways, but in Canterlot he still managed to cook for himself. Spike could heat the pans with a little flame as well. With the help of the princesses, he had learned to control the heat of his dragon breath according to the oven’s scale. He mixed up a batch of pancakes and heated the pan with his own fire, careful not to set off the alarm. Twilight will surely be impressed by this. Within a few minutes, he flipped the doughy treats and began to make some whipped cream.

As the treats cooked on the pan, he took the opportunity to gaze around the interior of the treehouse. He remembered every single detail of the nostalgia-inducing kitchen, dining and living rooms. In the kitchen, the pans were hung up above his head by hooks on the wall; the stove top was on an island adjacent to the fridge and both faced the living room. The dining room was positioned on the opposite side of the house, a table set up for meals, surrounded by oaken chairs. A window to the left of the table showed the outside world lighting up with the sun’s rays, not quite over the tops of the trees, but enough to provide some early morning light.

He thought of the Apple family in that moment, most likely using that light to begin working the fields and watering their plants. It must look so different now since the last time I saw it. Looking straight ahead from the stove, Spike spied the stairs to the second level and the door to Twilight’s room. The wooden railing curved along with the staircase, beginning and ending in a simple downward curl. The rest of the house had shelves carved into the interior, with books galore, all categorized by genre and alphabetized according to the author, book title, or publishing date. Twilight liked to switch that around, so Spike could only guess at how she had organised it now.

When he sensed the pancakes were done, they flew from the pan to the two plates he’d set on the counter. They were golden brown and fluffy on both sides. Perfect, Spike thought. He continued this process until a veritable mountain of sweets was stacked on each plate.

Next, the purple dragon opened the fridge door and shuffled its contents along gently. Strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, wild berries, cherries, apple sauce; he took them all out and placed them in the center of the table in various containers and jars. Spike carried the plates over and sat them around, nodding at the masterpiece he had put together.

Though he was too large to fit through the inner doors of the treehouse, he was not of a size that would not allow ascending the steps to the second floor. Spike carefully snuck up the steps, keeping his tail under control so as not to make any disturbing noises. “Twilight?” Spike whispered, poking his head and neck into the bedroom. “Are you awake?”

Twilight’s bed sheets ruffled overtop the alicorn. She opened one eye as she turned to face the door. “Spike?” Her nose picked up on the delicious breakfast waiting downstairs. She opened the other eye. “Is that…pancakes?”

Spike nodded, happy that she still remembered his favourite morning meal to prepare. “Yep, I made enough for all of Ponyville.”

Twilight smirked as she stepped out from under the covers and onto the floor. “Or one growing dragon.”

The purple and green creature blushed and chuckled softly. “Uh, yeah. Anyway, come on down. I’m sure you missed my famous breakfast.”

“Famous?” Her eyebrow lifted curiously. He stepped aside to let her through the doorway. Taking the lead, Spike began to descend the steps for his magnificently tasty smelling breakfast.

“Well, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna have tried them, and many of the guards too. They all really like them.” Twilight laughed at his statement and shuffled her wings along her back as she walked. Spike blinked in remembrance as they faced each other at the foot of the staircase. “Wow, Twilight. I still can’t believe you’re an alicorn. That’s so cool. I wish I could have been there to see it happen. I feel like I should bow to you.”

“Please don’t,” she said, smiling bashfully. “But I wish you could have been there too.”

Spike felt a pang of guilt in his chest. It’s not just Rarity that I disappointed. Twilight missed me too. I don’t want to think about this right now. “How does it feel to be as powerful as the princesses?”

She shrugged her shoulders, glancing off to the side. “Well…there was so much to take in. I was…overwhelmed, to say the least. I’m better with it now, but sometimes it’s too much. I don’t know how the princesses deal with it.”

The dragon ambassador scratched the back of his neck. “Yeah. I guess I know how you feel. This whole dragon thing happened so quickly.” Except that everypony loves her, while most are afraid of me. He couldn’t help but feel a surge of jealousy go through him. In half the time it took him to grow to this size, Princess Twilight had the praise of all of Equestria. What do I have? Fear.

Spike heard a slight chuckle escape the alicorn’s lips. “So are you excited for the party today, Spike?” she asked, following the dragon to the dining area.

“Of course. It’s been so long since I’ve had a fun party.” He stopped beside the table and allowed Twilight to pick the seat she wanted. “Canterlot still has really boring fancy ones. I must have missed so many parties from being away for four years.”

Twilight nodded her thanks to the dragon and took the seat closest to the window; the sunlight just barely peeked in through the window of the front door. “That’s true. She hasn’t slowed down in that regard…or in any regard to be honest.” The two shared a laugh as Spike sat opposite the princess and decorated a pancake, covering it in blueberries and wild berries and then topping it off with whipped cream, a cherry and syrup.

“She is Pinkie Pie.”

Twilight smiled at the dragon across from her, while magicking some strawberries onto her own pancake. “So what would you like to do today? We have until four according to–” Suddenly, there came a rhythmic knock on the front door. Spike looked at the lavender alicorn and shrugged. He watched from his seat as Twilight trotted over to the door as a drum beat started up, baffling the two. Once the noise died down again, she opened the door; behind it stood Pinkie Pie, smiling like she would on any day.

“Hiya, Twilight!” Pinkie shouted. “Is Spike still here?”

“Yes, we were just having breakfast.” Twilight stepped aside and motioned to Spike for her to see.

“Hi Pinkie,” said Spike. He had a mouthful of pancakes as he spoke.

“You shouldn’t talk with your mouth full, Spike.” Twilight lectured. The purple dragon rolled his eyes, but secretly he missed when she told him he was eating too quickly. He missed many things that were too far from his reach, even though he was five feet-tall.

“Oooh, busted.” Pinkie giggled. “I just came by to grab Spike for the day.”

“Huh?” Spike and Twilight said in unison.

Pinkie grinned. She bounced into the dining room proper, switching gazes from Spike to Twilight and back again. “Well yeah. Remember when we agreed I’d be the first to catch up with you?”

“I thought you meant at the party,” replied Spike, taking another pancake in his mouth after.

She waved a dismissive hoof at the dragon. “Oh, silly, that won’t be a good time for that. We’ll all be too busy playing party games and stuff.”

Spike moved to answer, but Twilight glared at him. He stopped, chewed what was in his mouth, swallowed. “Well, I suppose. Twilight?” His spiked tail swayed back and forth and curled around the table base, lazily.

“It’s alright, Spike.” She shook her head to show she didn’t mind. Twilight wandered back over to her seat to continue her meal, picking up the blueberries with her magic. “You did promise her. And breaking a promise…” She lifted a hoof.

“Is the fastest way to lose a friend forever.” All three repeated the mantra in unison, laughing afterward. Spike smiled at the realisation that he still remembered that after all these years. He felt nostalgic suddenly, remembering all the good times he had with his six friends.

Pinkie sat down and raised a hoof, a serious expression on her face. “You’ve learned well, I see. Very well, I have nothing more to teach you.” The act didn’t last long, as the pink mare smiled and hopped up again. “Okie dokey, Spike. We’ve gotta lot of important stuff to catch up on.”

Spike smirked. He knew that whatever Pinkie had in mind, it would be good. Her ideas were always quite comical in his mind; she spoke and sang from her heart, which he had great respect for. He recalled the day in Appleloosa many years ago, when the colony’s ponies and the buffalo had a disagreement. He had thought that her song was true and in the right place, if only everypony else had thought so too. “Right, coming. Bye, Twilight.” He stood up and carried his empty plate over to the counter, placing it down and giving Twilight a hug.

“See you later,” she said as she returned the embrace. The two broke off and Spike looked over his shoulder once more at the lavender pony. Twilight waved and he waved back.

When he and Pinkie Pie were outside, Spike drew in a deep breath of fresh air. He exhaled and glanced around at the neighborhood. Four years had made such a difference for the once small town. Much of what he remembered had changed and grown immensely, he almost didn’t recognize some of the houses or stores. Many businesses had expanded along with the population, no longer being a small rural town location, but a bonafide city.

He spotted a few ponies he knew and smiled happily that they seemed to still be enjoying themselves. Some, like Lyra and Cheerilee, turned and waved to him as they went along their way. The purple dragon waved back of course, and his vision switched to take in the scenery.

It was muggy this morning, surprising to the dragon, considering the different perception of weather that he had from looking out of the dining room window of Twilight’s home. A light mist hung in the air, low drifting clouds seeking to add to the oppressive atmosphere. Spike could see larger, lighter clouds further up in the sky and made an educated guess as to what types they were. Cirrus or stratocumulus, altocumulus; he wasn’t absolutely sure. Princess Celestia had just started teaching him about the different formations of water vapour, so his guess was as good as anypony’s.

He took his attention away from the clouds and focused on the first friend to catch up with him on his adventures. “So Pinkie, what do you want to do first?”

Pinkie turned toward him, looking surprised and somewhat confused, he thought. “Oh, I don’t know, I hadn’t really thought it out.” Spike rolled his eyes at the pink pony. He should have expected this from her. She rarely planned anything out; just going by what interested her at the time. She was so different from Twilight, always spontaneous and bouncy, but he found that uplifting. “Ooh ooh, I would like to see those wings of yours, though.”

“My wings?” Spike asked, looking to either side of him as he stretched his wings out slightly. They are in need of some exercise, Spike pondered.

Pinkie nodded at the dragon as he puzzled her request. “Yeah, look, I brought my flying gizmo.” She turned away from him and pointed at the machine, resting off to the side of Twilight’s library.

Spike followed where her hoof was leading him and smiled when he saw it; a mish mash of anything and everything you could think of. Propellers, rudders, a bike seat, cup holders, bike pedals, an umbrella in case it rained, the list went on. “Alright,” he said, glad to see that contraption again.

Pinkie, grinning from ear to ear at him, trotted over and hopped onto the bike seat and began pedaling. The propeller spun, gears shifted, lift was achieved, and altitude gained. She rose up as Spike looked on in amusement. He unfurled his massive wings and took to the skies, flying level with Pinkie.

“Whoa! That’s so neat. Do you fly around all the time?” The earth pony became so enraptured with his flight she stopped pedaling, until Pinkie began to descend; then she remembered how far off the ground she was and leveled off again.

Spike shook his head. “Not all of the time, but I sure was excited when the princesses told me I could use them. Princess Luna actually taught me while she wasn’t too busy. That was early on when they were new. I couldn’t actually fly, but she explained how it worked.” She also explained why I shouldn’t fly when around ponies I don’t recognise. He tried to keep from frowning upon remembering what the Guardian of the Night and Protector of Dreams had told him. The fact that she had been right only bothered him more.

“Ooooh, that’s so cool, Spike. Hey, I have an idea! We should go and tell everypony about the party later. That way you can also catch up with all of them! I usually just give out fliers, but while I was writing them, I thought maybe you should be the one to let them know this time.”

“That makes sense to me.” I wonder how far she was in writing those letters before she thought of that though. That thought made him a bit sad, hoping she didn’t waste too much time on his invitations. He couldn’t think too long on that though, not with Pinkie staring at him joyfully. “So Pinkie, what have you been up to?”

“Hm, about four feet,” said Pinkie, lifting her hoof up to rest on her forehead.

“What are you–? That’s not what I meant…Pinkie!” Spike glared at the pink pony, but she just smiled back innocently. Within a few seconds though, Spike smiled too. He chuckled. “I meant have you done anything interesting while I was away?”

“Eh, not really,” she shrugged. I find that hard to believe, Spike thought. She was always off doing something that he found interesting, but he guessed she was just putting on a show of it. “Parties and such. The twins are growing up quickly, they’re so cute. They can speak in full sentences now.”

“Wow, time sure flies doesn’t it?”

“Uh huh, especially when you’re a dragon.” Pinkie winked and nudged the dragon’s arm, forcing Spike to crack a sharp-toothed smile.

“And…what about Rarity?” he asked, tension suddenly consuming him. Where did that come from? Why did I ask that?

His brain didn’t return an answer; instead what he received was Pinkie replying, “Oh, me and Rarity have been hanging out a lot more over the years. She’s been teaching me how to sew. That’s a ton of fun, she’s a good teacher.” Spike tried to imagine Rarity attempting to have Pinkie remain in one place and have her attention focused for long enough to explain what to do. He also imagined much bouncing and groaning and books and fabric flying everywhere. I’d like to see that, he thought. Pinkie smirked abruptly, her eyes lidded. She said in a hushed tone, “Why? Do you still like her?”

Spike remembered back to the day he told both Pinkie Pie and Twilight about his crush on the gorgeous mare, but now he regretted telling her. Although I suppose it was pretty obvious anyway, looking back on it. “Yeah…I do.”

“Oooh, well you have an entire day with her. Are you going to tell her?”

“I don’t know,” Spike said, his face reddening. “I’m a little worried about what she’d say. I tried once…at Princess Cadence and Shining Armour’s wedding, but she said I was too young. And I understand that, I do…it’s just…now, after four years away…I’m not sure she knows me anymore. I mean…look at me.” This had been his biggest problem with returning after so much time had passed. He knew he looked like a dragon, as far as he knew he was the only one of his kind to be friends with ponies; even so, over the years ponies looked at him differently as he grew. Some saw him the same way they always had, but others only went wide-eyed and silent when he went around Canterlot. If I wasn’t something Rarity would want as a child, why would she want a giant, ferocious looking adult dragon?

Pinkie Pie continued to pedal her little mismatched flying machine. He didn’t think she looked at all fatigued by the continuous activity, she smiled brightly at him. “I’m looking at you. I just don’t see what the problem is.”

Spike craned his neck. He didn’t really know what to say to that. He hadn’t planned on talking about this, but he wasn’t exactly in a position to back out now. Allotting what nerve he had left to this awkward conversation, he continued. “I’m scary looking…aren’t I? I see it in everypony’s eyes…whenever I travel. They’re afraid that I’ll…that I’m…”

“What?” She tilted her head quizzically, awaiting his reply.

Spike’s words caught in his throat. I can’t say it. I just can’t. He lowered his head down and turned it away from Pinkie, not wanting her to see him so unhappy. He didn’t want to see her glad expression fade because of him. “I don’t know.”

“Well, don’t worry about what others think,” she said. Spike raised his head at her sudden answer. Pinkie was still smiling, perhaps more brightly than before. “They don’t know you, so how can they be right about what you’re like? You’re never mean to me, or Twilight, or Rarity or anypony. Just remember that your friends know you’re not scary and don’t mind those who can’t see that.”

“Wow, Pinkie. Thank you, that means a lot to me.” It had, truly. Spike felt warmth flow through him. He had been silly to think that she would give any different kind of reply; she was his friend after all. It was truly ridiculous to think that anypony he knew would see him differently. All of those times back in Canterlot, with startled and frightened ponies, disappeared into the back of his mind.

“Don’t mention it. Now come on, we have ponies to catch up with.”

“Right behind you, Pinkie.” With those irrational, self-conscious thoughts set firmly aside, Spike and Pinkie Pie landed so she could put her flying machine back behind the library. The dragon waited outside, waving to more ponies as they trotted by. When the magenta-maned pony returned with that typical bounce in her step, the two friends headed off to the marketplace.

Author's Notes:

Another fine evening to all of you,

Here is the next chapter. We're branching off from Rarity to Spike now for a bit, to see his side of the story. I hope you readers have enjoyed the tale up until this point, because things are only beginning. I also hope you have been looking at the drawings I have been posting on Deviantart each week. So far I have not yet missed one single thing here with posting on time, so I am quite pleased with myself for sticking to what I said.

This chapter's drawing is pretty much completed as well, I merely need to transfer it to my laptop for the drawing and finishing touches to the background. I'm still working on Spike's physiology as an adult, so he may continue to appear different until I find a style and appearance I like. Not much else to say, so I will allow my work to speak for itself. Hopefully it does me justice.

Anyway, ta ta until next time. ^^