Chapter 2: A Little Dragon

He was sleeping so well. Sleeping was his second favorite activity, right after eating. He loved sleeping for a simple reason: he loved dreaming. He loved dreaming of Rarity, of adventures, of what he could become in the future, about anything, really.

Most of all, he loved it because, in his dreamland, he could go back to his mother, Princess Celestia. He could remember her lullabies when he was scared, her kisses when he got hurt, her laughter when he did something funny, her scolding when he did something bad, her unconditional love for him. Just about everything from his past life was a moment with his mother, one way or another. All that stopped when his mother assigned a mission of great importance upon his small self, and even though he didn't want to be away from her, he accepted. This was his mother's request, and he would fulfill it.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------************************

Year 993 A.N.M.B *Canterlot*

Celestia was sitting on her throne, reading, signing or rejecting new laws or treaties in utter dullness. Spike was at her side, just watching her scan through paper after paper. After what seemed like hours, she finally finished.

“Spike,” she called without looking at him.

“Yes, princess?”

“We are alone, my son.”

“Sorry, mommy, but it's hard to tell when we're alone or not.” Spike snuggled against her left foreleg as he said, “What's wrong?”

“There is something I must ask you to do for me.”

“Of course, mommy! Tell me. I'll do anything for you!” He jumped to his feet with a shining smile on his face.

“I need you to live with Twilight from now on.”

Spike's smiling face turned to one of shock. Small tears formed in his eyes, and his voice broke. “B-b-but w-why?” He choked a breath as hot tears started to fall from his eyes. “D-don't you l-love me any—”

He was cut off as the tall alicorn turned and snuggled against him, faster than he could react. He could feel his mother's tears running down his scales. It took him a second to hug her around her neck as much as he could, given his small size, crying as he did. It lasted for several minutes until Celestia broke the hug, and he was able to see her face and her magenta eyes, now red from crying.

“Of course not, my child. *sniff* This is h-hard for me, as well. I don't want you to be apart from me.” She kissed Spike on the forehead, “but I need you to be my link to her. It's the only way I could think of. I love you so much, my little Spike-y. Never forget that.”

“I-I'm sorry, mommy.” His hung his head, then hugged her again. “I love you, too.”

The two remained like that for some time, until Spike told his mother he accepted. He knew Twilight would play an important part in the future, as well as most of his mother's plans for her. As the two of them walked to Twilight's study, she told him everything he had to know and do. He was already trained to assist and helped Twilight in several occasions, and in some rare days, his own mother.

He already knew about Nightmare Moon and swore to his mother not to say a word to Twilight or anypony else; she had to discover the answers herself. It was true he was their link, since he could send scrolls and anything else to Celestia, and vice verse. It was not only prudent, but also helpful. He would still see her from time to time, and even spend some time with her on some significant occasions.

Arriving at the door of Twilight's study, the both of them shared one last, longing hug. Spike readied himself to begin his new role as Twilight's full time assistant and his new mission, one that echoed in his mind repeatedly.

“Protect Twilight.”

---------------------------------------------------------------------*******************************

Day 0 P.L.R (Princess Luna Return)

Spike was so glad everything turned out alright. Of course, he trusted his mother and her decisions, but he was also afraid that something might have gone wrong. Fortunately, it didn't, and everything turned out fine; with a bump here and there, but in the end, the moment he saw Twilight, he had ran to hug her, happy to see her safe and sound.

But he also cursed himself. He was so useless, having fallen asleep when he should have went with Twilight and the rest of the ponies when they marched off to the Everfree Forest. Still a baby dragon, though, meant he could not fight or even stay up late. If Spike was a big, strong, and fierce dragon, he could protect his mother, Twilight, and all of his newfound friends from anything. Yet he was still a little, weak, immature, baby dragon.

"One day, one day, I'll be strong enough to protect you from anything. Just you wait, I'll be strong enough to do anything you need me to do, mommy", Spike swore to himself as the mega party began to roll.

--------------------------------------------------------**************************************

6th month P.L.R

She had called him for “Royal Business.” Yes, being a Princess of Equestria and Goddess of the sun sure can let one do pretty much whatever you wanted. That includes calling down for Royal Business when, in reality, she just wanted to spend some time with her baby dragon.

The moment Spike saw his mother waiting for him in her room, he ran to her. He hugged her as tight as he could. Nothing was said, for no words needed to be spoken. A simple hug expressed just how much they had missed one another, the simple hug of a mother and son, a simple “I missed you.”

-------------------------------------------------------******************************************

Year 1 P.L.R

”MOM, you have to come quick. Twilight lost it—for REAL this time! She went crazy since she had no friendship reports for you this week. She even think you'll send her back to Magic Kindergarten. I think she even used the “want-it, need-it” spell on her old doll, Smarty Pants, to create some sort of problem to solve. HURRY!”

What a great guardian he was. He could have stopped Twilight before things got so out of claw, but he just shrugged like it was just another one of her tantrums about her studies. He had to call his mother to fix something that never should have happened; if only he had done his role as Twilight's guardian. What pure shame.

He thought his jealousy episode had taught him something. He also thought that not even his mother would want him around after seeing just how much “better” Owlowiscious did his job. He had been and deeply apologetic for even thinking that. Now here he was, setting aflame the letter with the message of yet another great mistake he made.

Luckily for Spike, things turned out better than expected, but still, he felt really bad about it.

----------------------------------------------------------------************************************

Year 1 P.L.R *Canterlot, after Heart's Warming Eve*

Spike had never felt so good before. He had really enjoyed his role as narrator of the play. Everypony paid attention to every word he said, and the emotions he felt at the end of the play, closing with the Heart's Warming song, was overwhelming. That paled in comparison to the joy he felt when he found himself alone with his mother.

“Did I do a good job for the play, mommy?” Spike asked her, hugging her snout.

“Yes, Spike. You were wonderful,” Celestia answered, proud and happy to see her little Spike-y perform such a wonderful role made her smile. She wouldn't tell anypony, but even though she loved every part of the play, her favorite parts were when her son did his part.

That night they slept together for the first time in more than one year.

------------------------ ---------------------------------------------**************************************

Year 1 P.L.R *Ponyville, 4 days after the Dragon incident*

Shame and fear were all Spike felt the following days of his greed-induced phase. Everything turned out fine, everything was back to normal, but he knew better. He wasn't a fool, and he certainly wasn't stupid, even if many believed he was.

He always knew he was different and wasn't ignorant to the hateful words and glaring eyes ponies and many other creatures gave him back in Canterlot. He was the only dragon, the only one that was registered citizen of Equestria. Still, that hadn't changed the fact that most hated and feared dragons.

Tales and real stories about what some dragons did to other species horrified him. Ponies and griffons would be eaten alive or burned to a crisp in seconds, cities destroyed and many killed by being torn apart, stomped, smashed, or cut in half; whatever were dragon's favorite way to kill, it seemed. So it was only natural to hate the one dragon that was living in Canterlot, walking joyfully down the road and humming a random song without a care in the world, while his kind killed and destroyed other species just for fun.

He was but a baby dragon. He had done no wrong to them, yet they still despised him just for being a dragon. Spike was small, pudgy, and to an extent, fragile, but he was going to grow into a big, pony-eating, city-destroying dragon, or so many thought.

Living in Canterlot was sometimes really hard for Spike. The undeserved detest and the heated glares were enough on some occasions to drive him to tears or have him fall into the embrace of his mother. Even when he made some friends, like pony Joe, Twilight, Shining Armor, even Phalanx, Princess Celestia's personal bodyguard, and many members of the Canterlot Elite, including many famous ponies like Hoity Toity, it was too much to handle sometimes.

Moving to Ponyville was a blessing for him. Everypony liked him, and nopony gave him harsh glares. They all accepted him for who he was, didn't put him aside because he was a dragon. But now, everything was even worse than back in Canterlot.

There was some spite for him, and only two or three ponies actually show glowers at him. The whispers behind his back and the general opinion of him pointed to not hate, but something far worse: fear.

Everypony feared him. Sure, they waved at him, and even smiled at him, but the look in their eyes told him everything. They were now afraid of him—even his best friends, Snips and Snails.

Almost everypony in Ponyville were afraid of him, and he didn't judge them. After turning into a monster, a greed driven dragon, he feared himself, too. If it weren't for Rarity, he could have remained that thing forever, and even in that moment, his mother's love for him prevailed. She only sent a group of three Wonderbolts to stop him, rather than an entire royal guard platoon to take him down, or even worse, Celestia herself. He had been lucky to turn back when he did, not wanting to think of what he could have done if he hadn't.

That night, Spike cried until he fell asleep, with nopony to console him and nopony to talk to. For the very first time in his life, Spike felt alone.

---------------------------------------------------------*****************************************

Year 2 P.L.R *Canterlot Wedding*

“She's a Changeling! She takes the form of somepony you love, and gets power by feeding on your love for them,” Cadence announced, following by Chyrsalis's unveiling light show.

“Right you are, princess! And as Queen of the Changelings, it is my...”

As Chrysalis began her monologue, Spike backed off a little, hoping to get to his mother. Everypony was watching and listening to Chrysalis too intently to pay him or anypony else any kind of attention. Spike felt something behind and turned around to find to mother.

“Spike.” Her voice was gentle, but filled with authority. “No matter what happens, don't interfere.”

“But mo-”

“Please, Spike. I don't want you to get harmed. Even if I get hurt, don't do anything harsh. Stay safe, please, promise me.”

“I... but... I-I promise.”

“That's my boy.”

Spike kept his promise. He didn't do anything and didn't leave Cadence's side. He even watched his mother be defeated by Chrysalis, but he knew she was holding back for her subjects' safety. Her true powers could have destroyed half of the castle in a blink of an eye.

He knew this, but even after all ended well, Chrysalis and her minions defeated, he felt something stir inside him. He had felt hate before, and there were many things he didn't like, but after seeing his mother collapse on the floor, defeated, and then hearing the Changeling Queen brag about it, he felt desire to hurt her, to cause her pain, to kill her for injuring his mother.

He didn't give in, for he had promised his mother to do nothing. Though not wanting to disappoint her again, he couldn't shake off a strange feeling and the little whisper in the back of his head calling to him, telling him what he ought to have done.

"Spike... KILL”

---------------------------------------------------------------------*************************************

Twilight was laying on her bed, relaxing her muscles after her flying session with Rainbow Dash. After her coronation four months ago and becoming princess of—well, she didn't know exactly what yet, but she was a Princess now—Rainbow had insisted to teach her on how to fly. She did well... except for those accursed landings.

How was I supposed to know walls were that hard? she thought, waking up from her little nap. Then, aloud, she pondered, “After becoming an Alicorn, I feel so full of energy, and my powers are stronger now, at least five times as strong. Is this how the Princesses feel all the time?”

It was true, having the endurance of an earth pony, the flight and agility of a Pegasus, and the magical powers of several powerful unicorns was overwhelming, even for her. She had to admit, she felt so powerful that she had considered never sleeping again so she could read as much as she desired. Speaking of sleep...

“Spike, time to wake up.” Silence was all that responded. “Spike?”

Twilight stepped out of her bed to wake up her number one assistance. She found him sleeping in his basket peacefully, so peacefully that he wasn't even snoring. He looked absolutely adorable.

Twilight loved Spike very much. He was her best friend, and the only company she had at one point in her life, excluding her brother and Cadence. He was always ready to help her with anything she needed, encourage her if she was feeling down and defend her if necessary, one time he even threw a pony who was bullying her several hooves away with a simple push and the look on his eyes and his words made her see that not only Shining was her only friend. She had always considered him family, or at least close to family. After Princess Celestia placed him as her assistant, they have shared a lot of moments together, let it be happy and sad, for victory and defeat, with laughter and tears, and they even shared baths and the same bed at some points.

Spike was the sweetest and most generous dragon she had ever met. It enraged her to the very core every time she recalled all those nasty things and all the spite most ponies in Canterlot gave him without any real reason. Now, after his greed incident, and finding out most dragons were horrible, it made things even worse for him and those around him. Knowing little to nothing about dragons shocked her.

“And I dare call myself his best friend, when I don't know anything about dragons at all.” Outside what she had learned from Spike himself, she hardly knew anything. Even her drakonophobic friend, Fluttershy, knew more about them than her and Spike. Ever since his quest of self discovery, the questions he had asked himself had managed to stick in her mind, because they were true.

What was he? Simple; he was a dragon.

Where had he come from? Simple again; he had come from an egg.

Who was he supposed to be? He was Spike.

“Uggh! This doesn't make any sense,” Twilight told herself, all while looking at him sleeping. “He's a dragon, but what kind? What is his strength, and why has no dragon ambassador or any dragon actually come for him yet?” Her frown deepened.

“He's Spike... but what about him? His nature, power, strength? That's what I want to know! I mean, it's not like his origins are a secret or something... secret.”

Realization hit her. She remembered something she completely bypassed as nothing important.

Spike, wake up, wake up, wake up! It’s Winter Wrap Up day!

Huh? … Mommy?

Winter Wrap Up!

Hpmh, you're not MOMMY.

Twilight stood there, her wings unfolded and her eyes open to their limit. “How-how could I ignore something like that? Spike never called anypony mommy before. At least, nopony I know of. Who could his 'mommy' be, though? It's obviously not me or mom. Maybe his caretaker. But who's his caretaker?” Question upon question assaulted her. If Spike had somepony to call his mother, why hadn't he told her about her?

It was obvious now, so obvious it made her feel stupid not thinking about it before. “Spike's origin and maybe Spike himself is a secret. The only pony who could keep a secret that big is... Princess Celestia.”

Before she could ask herself more questions, Spike began to stir and suddenly burped out a letter. He fell back to sleep. Twilight took the letter and began to read it:

Dear Princess Twilight,

You, the Elements of Harmony, and Spike the dragon are hereby summoned to Canterlot for royal business of great importance. A set of three carriages will arrive in two hours. Be ready.

Yours truly,

Princess Celestia.

“Well, I guess I better tell the girls about this.” She walked to the door as she saw Spike sleeping. “I don't know why, but I feel like things are about to change between us. All of us.”

Twilight closed the door, letting Spike sleep some more. She didn't notice, however, the weak, purple glow of his scales shining in the dark.

-------------------------------------------------------------********************************

“I missed you so much, big sister!” Derpy said as she tried to crush her big sister's back in a monster bear hug.

“Derpy, stop! Thy sister is turning blue.” A worried Luna was trying to free Daring from certain death with little success.

“Oops.” Derpy released her, making Daring and Luna tumble back. Luna mumbled something as Daring gasped for air. “My bad...”

“It's *gasp* alright, sis.” Daring coughed. “I missed you, too.” She proceeded to hug her sister back, though with much less enthusiasm.

“We—I mean, I can't believe you really are the real Miss Daring. Don't get me wrong, I believed your sister's word, but all those adventures seemed to be...”

“Unreal? Yeah, I get that a lot all around,” Daring said as the hug ended. “My very profile was blanked in order to do my job, Princess.”

“We—I understand that, but all those adventures from your books are much fun to read. I'm a personal fan of them, I must admit,” the Princess of the Night said, smiling at Daring. “Can we get your autograph, please?” The smile turned into a *squee*.

“Why, of course, Princess. I would be honored, and that reminds me.” She turned to Derpy. “Why didn't you tell me you were making books out of my letters and adventures, Derpy?”

“Surprise?” Derpy smiled.

“Also, Princess Celestia told me you live here because you don't have bits of your own. If you're the author, and seeing my books are so popular, you should be drowning in bits.” She sat on her haunches, waiting for an answer.

“I donate almost everything I have to charity. I only keep enough to live happily with my daughter.”

“DAUGHTER!?” Daring shouted in surprise. “You didn't tell me I had a niece already!”

“Thou must forgive her. It was a bad relationship, but she is married to a very nice stallion now.”

“MARRIED, too?”

“Indeed, his name is Time Turning, though he likes to be called simple as The Doctor,” Luna explained while Daring tried to pull her jaw from the floor. “Also, Derpy doesn't live here in the castle. She now lives in Canterlot near here, in fact, and she comes to pay me visits every day. I adore her little Dinky. She's such a sweetheart.” Luna almost squealed, thinking of how cute that little filly was. “She just began classes at my sister's school for gifted unicorns, you see.”

Daring was still trying to get her jaw from the floor, all the while looking between her sister, who was blushing/smiling, and Luna.

“O... kay... didn't see that one coming. Can't say I'm mad, BUT you must introduce me to my niece! I... I feel old now.” Then something came to her. “Wait a minute. How come nopony suspected you were my sister, or at least think I was a real and not fictional character? My name is Daring Derpina Doo and your name is Ditzy Derpina Doo!” she asked, pointing a hoof at her sister with questioning eyes.

“After I married, I changed my name. I'm now Ditzy Derpy Whooves. My husband's name is Time Turner Whooves, you see.”

Both Luna and Daring just stared at her, smiling childlike with blushing faces. “I see.”

A sudden knock at the door made them all jump a little in surprise. The door opened, revealing Shining Armor and Princess Cadence.

“Auntie Luna, auntie Celestia is calling for us. We must meet her at the Observatory tower at once. She says something is really important—you, too, Miss Daring and Miss Derpy.”

"The book", Daring thought.

“Of course, my niece. Tell my sister I—we shall be on our way.” Cadence closed the door. “So... the time has come.” Luna got up, followed by the Doo sisters. “Come, my friends. We must attend to my sister's call,” she said, beginning to walk towards the doors.

“Woohoo!” Derpy exclaimed, excited about the situation.

“Of course, Princess,” Daring said, following Luna and her sister. What could Princess Celestia possibly want to share with us. Just what the hay did she find inside that book?

The doors of Princess Luna's chambers opened. Said Princess stepped out, two Pegasi mares behind her, all three of them on their way to Celestia's meeting call. The doors shut behind them.

Chapter 2 End

Author's Notes:

Thanks to all those who read my fic!

Special thanks to Bennet001 for proofreading!

Special thanks to Miss Dark Angel for editing!

for the images im using I thank Derpibooru XD