Chapter 1: The Evening Cometh
The sun was setting when Spike, Rarity, and the Cutie Mark Crusaders arrived at Twilight's castle. You could hardly tell though, as dark storm clouds had started to form over the town.
"Oh I'm sure it'll be taken care of, maybe just some loose clouds from Cloudsdale making their stormy little way here. We'll be safe and hopefully dry inside." Rarity said to Sweetie Belle, trying to calm herself more than her little sister.
Sweetie Belle rolled her eyes as she and her fellow crusaders entered the castle with Spike. Rarity nervously stared at the clouds and then quickly followed them in, making sure to close the door securely behind her.
"Shining Armor! Cadence! You made it!" Spike exclaimed as he ran up and greeted them both warmly.
"Hey there little guy, we wouldn't miss it for the world." Shining Armor wrapped his foreleg around Spike. "You get bigger every time I see you." Cadence added, wrapping her foreleg around Spike as well.
Twilight greeted Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie at the entry way to the Great Oak Hall as Spike greeted Shining and Cadence.
The Cutie Mark Crusaders were off to the dining room.
"Apple Bloom! Get off the table! You know better than that!" Applejack shouted.
"Sorry!" Apple Bloom and her two friends could be seen quickly running out and into the Dance Hall.
Sweetie Belle, screaming in excitement at the lights and music, could be heard from anywhere in the castle.
Applejack walked to the group to greet them and raised an eyebrow. "Was that there my lil' sis or yours?" She gave a questioning look at Rarity.
"Unfortunately mine. Although it was hard to contain their excitement long before we even started to make our way over here. I'm a bit disappointed as they had more excitement than Spike himself."
"I appreciate you watching over Spike while I met with Cadence and Shining." Twilight said as she walked up to Rarity and hugged her.
"Think nothing of it darlin', it was my pleasure."
"Enough with the emotions, let's get this PAR-TAY STAR-TED!" Balloons and confetti shooting off all around the loud pink pony, followed up with a "yay" from Fluttershy.
They gathered for dinner first, the dining room full of ponies and one baby dragon. Spike's seat had a booster in it to make him appear taller. Twilight sat between her BBBFF and Spike, with Rarity on his other side.
No one was talking to Spike throughout the meal, mostly chatting with each other.
Rarity going on about fashion to Fluttershy. Rainbow exaggerating details of her latest exploits to the CMC. Pinkie and Applejack conversing with Cadence about life in the Crystal Empire, mostly which contained Pinkie blabbering on about the cold on her adventure to the Yak's that surrounds the Crystal Empire.
He didn't mind any of this, as he was still in awe that all these kind hearted ponies not only showed up, but actually wanted to be there.
He got a tear in his eye that slowly fell down his cheek onto his plate of brightly colored, half-eaten gems.
Twilight immediately noticed. "Spike?! What's the matter?"
He wiped his eyes and stood up onto his boosted chair, everyone took notice and immediately silenced themselves.
"I have never been one to make very good speeches, or even be that helpful in times of crisis," he raised his juice box above his head "but you all are so kind and loving. I just wanted you all to know that and… and you all make me so happy to be your friend."
Waterfalls of tears sprayed from Pinkie Pie as Spike finished his speech.
She ran across the table knocking food over and grabbed onto Spike. She squeezed him tight with tears flooding down like an unkempt watering hose.
"WE LOVE YOU SPIKE!" She screamed as she practically broke the baby dragon's spine.
"Aww." The rest of the table looked on with smiles.
"Get UP HERE! All of you!" Pinkie screamed at them.
All the guests got up onto the table and surrounded him with a great big hug.
"I'm not gonna get in trouble fer standin' on the table again, am I Applejack?" A worried Apple Bloom asked.
The entire party laughed, and then the table collapsed underneath their weight. Eleven ponies and a dragon are not smart table decorations.
The party continued on after their unstable table accident. It was time for Spike to open his presents.
He received the fake moustaches and box of 'business' cards from Pinkie and Fluttershy accordingly.
Twilight got him a book, as is her tradition, but this year it was different. It was a big strung together comic book of the Mane-iac series Spike oh so loved. The pages fit together perfectly as not to interrupt the story being told. Twilight herself took many hours crafting it in secret.
His face lit up and he hugged her. "Thank you so much Twilight!"
Shining and Cadence got him a miniature statue of Spike that resembled the larger one in the Crystal Empire. His ego was sure to grow ten-fold by being around it.
Applejack's gift was rather unique. A piece of timber carved into the shape of a bone with the name Spike on it.
"I figured somethin' like this would always remind yah of the time we fought off them timber wolves. Those varmints showed me I had somethin' truly special with a friend like you Spike. I'll never forget it."
She hugged him tight and he returned it in kind, thanking her for the special gift.
Scootaloo and Apple Bloom simply got him a large sack of gems the size of ice cream sprinkles. It would make a great cake topping for his desert later that night. …And a quick snack at that moment!
Rainbow Dash was certainly right in saying her gift was not as thoughtful as Fluttershy's, but being a baby dragon he was still a child. She gave him with a secret code creator that could be used to write and decode messages. It was actually a simple decryption, one that used the number in the alphabets line as its letter. Double zeros were A, a zero and a one were B, leading all the way to Z.
'Just call me dragon, Spike the dragon.' Spike had thought to himself, amused by the decoder.
Rarity's gift was simple, a white cloak. It fit him perfectly, it wrapped around his chest and didn't drag on the floor as he walked. Sweetie Belle had also sewn in an emblem of Spike on the lapel.
"It's nonflammable." Rarity said to him as he finished putting it on. "I know how much you want to be a true knight, and true knights wear white. Plus, I hope you'll think of me every time you wear it. Perhaps one day you'll be my knight."
Rarity blushed, and turned her head away to prevent embarrassment.
"I love it!"
Spike ran up and hugged Rarity. Spike didn't take it as infatuation, but he did know Rarity truly cared about him.
"And I sewed the emblem!" Sweetie Belle shouted with glee.
Spike hugged her too.
Since the presents were unwrapped, the cake was served and the ponies carried into the dance hall.
They spent the few last evening hours dancing and socializing with one another, playing pin the tail on the pony, and a special song and dance performed by the very own Cutie Mark Crusaders.
The party was ending and the goodbyes were being said. The foals and Pinkie were tired from all the dancing.
Spike said his goodbyes in the Great Oak Hall, close to all his presents. He was exhausted and started to curl into a ball, still wrapped in his cloak and wearing the top hat. The guests were escorted to the entrance by Twilight. Cadence and Shining Armor were to be staying in the guest quarters but walked with them to the door.
"I appreciate all you did, I know Spike had a wonderful time tonight." Twilight said as they arrived at the door. She used her magic to open the door. "He and I both are very lucky to have each of you as friends and…"
"and…"
"AND…"
Twilight struggled to finish her sentence as she tried to pull the door open.
It wasn't budging.
"Uhh. Let me try I guess." Shining said as he too tried to open the door.
The door seemed to be stuck.
"Is it bolted? How about we try a window?" Fluttershy suggested.
Cadence attempted to open the shutters to one of the windows to the side of the door.
"You would think two alicorns and the captain of the royal guard could open a simple door or window! Whatever your castle is made of Twilight, I want it in mine!" She said.
Applejack and Rainbow Dash grabbed onto the door handle with their teeth and tried to pull as hard as they could, eventually failing they tumbled back into the stairs behind them.
Twilight peered out the shutters unable to see anything more than pure darkness and the occasional light flash from a lightning strike.
"Well I suppose you all could stay here for the night, and we could figure it out in the morn—"
Twilight was cut off by the loud crash of thunder, followed by the entire castle's lights going pitch black.
Screams could be heard and the stomping of feet.
"Calm down everypony!" Twilight yelled as she light up the area around her with a magic spell.
The only two still close to her was Cadence and Shining.
Cadence, wrapped up in her husband's embrace, gained a strong fear of the dark after being trapped underground by Queen Chrysalis.
"Are you two alright?" Twilight asked as Shining used his own light spell.
"I'm fine! I'm fine." Cadence said, removing herself from her husband's comforting grasp. "We should… look for the others. It's not safe for them if they can't light their path."
Twilight nodded. "Come on, I'll lead the way."
Two corridors were on both sides of the stairs that opposed the entrance to the castle.
They walked up the stairs in an attempt to find any of the remaining main six or the Cutie Mark Crusaders.
The lights flickered on for a few seconds, then came completely back. Three high pitched screams could be heard all around the castle the moment the light returned.
"This way!" Twilight yelled as she charged on ahead to find the source of the distress.
She led all the way to the Great Oak Hall and was immediately met by the other main five outside the entry way. The screams were coming from the room itself.
"Girls!"
"Twilight!"
They skidded to a halt in front of the hall entry door. Another scream pierced the ears of the ponies.
The guests charged in to find the source of the screaming, it was the three little foals who were the cause.
They were the first witnesses to the unspeakable, as they sat huddled together when the lights had returned. These young, innocent foals bore the ghoulish sight of a mangled bloody corpse.
This mangled bloody corpse was that of Spike the dragon.