The Mane Six Chronicles Book 5: The Long Vacation

Chapters

Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Epilogue
Chapter 5

Chapter 1

Spike lay leisurely under the leaves of a grand oak tree, the summer sun falling gently on his scales as a light breeze blew by. It was only a month or two until fall came and yet despite the official first day of fall being only a few weeks away, today was surprisingly warm. Spike relished the feel of the sun, being cold blooded, it was always relaxing to him to sunbathe. It was one of his favorite pass times when he was finished with work for the day. He often did this to relax, particularly after a stressful or busy day.
He was the personal assistant to Twilight Sparkle, a unicorn who studied under the tutelage of Princess Celestia, the ruler of the land. Twilight had been in her studies for nearly sixteen years now and through all this, Spike had been with her the whole time.

Things had changed in Ponyville, some pretty big changes, most notably were the marriages of their friends to colts from in and around the town. Of the original group, only two of them remained unmarried, Twilight and Rarity. Twilight had been so engrossed in her studies that she hadn't found time to date and Rarity had declared over three quarters of her suitors as unfit to be her husband.

Spike had a feeling, and hadn't shared it, that Rarity was looking for a mate who fulfilled all her requirements, wealthy, kind, handsome, powerful, with an eye for fashion. So far, only two of the ten or so suitors had come close to doing so, but she had turned down their proposals with almost cold politeness. Most everyone in the town believed that she had commitment issues and the gossip had sparked a small scandal when Rarity had thrown a customer from the boutique when she had over heard them gossiping about her.

Spike sighed and stretched languidly, moved a little to be back in direct sunlight, he knew that this fall would be particularly chilly, mostly due to the early chill that had started to set in. He was determined to spend as much time as he could in the sun until the temperature got really chilly. After another hour or so he sighed and gave up trying to stay in the ever shifting sunlight and got to his feet dusting himself off as he did so. He was fully grown now, standing a head taller than Twilight, it having been 17 years since Discords defeat. Twilight had said that without magic or the power of greed, he would get no bigger than he was now and he was okay with that. He often liked to jokingly pat Twilight on the head whenever she finished with one of her frequent lengthy talks and it never failed to annoy her.

Twilight had grown into her own over the years, though you'd never be able to tell by her appearance, which hadn't changed much. She was certainly more knowledgeable than she had been seventeen years earlier, but she also had grown more beautiful with each year that passed. Spike froze at that last thought, It was true, that as Twilight had matured, she had grown increasingly beautiful, but so had everyone else, Rarity in particular, but to hear his own thoughts complimenting that fact. He had never actually thought about Twilight's beauty let alone compliment it.

He shrugged simply as he sat up, noticing as he did so that the sun was setting to the tree line now, he had probably head back to town. He turned toward the town, the sun warming his back as he trudged off toward it. He noticed Applejack running along the field to his right with a handsome stallion chasing after her, her giggles evident from even this distance.

She had been the last to get married, due mainly to her older brother. He had jealously protected his sister, usually with his presence alone, but when this stallion had shown no intention of being dissuaded from his pursuing her hoof in marriage, it had gone way past heated words. Spike remembered it clearly as Applejack's older brother had returned from that confrontation with a busted nose and black eye and told his sister that he'd given her suitor permission to marry her. Spike hoped very much that when he decided it was time to settle down, that his fiance wouldn't have a brother or father like that.

He stopped suddenly, there he went again, rhapsodizing about the relationships and marriages of his friends and wondering when it'd be his turn. It was weird, he had never much wondered about it, but as time went on, particularly in the past couple of months, he'd dwelt on it frequently. He unconsciously turned toward the library that was his and Twilight's house, the lights blazing as usual. He shook his head in amusement, sometimes he wondered if she'd eat if he didn't make her do so. He opened the door and ducked a set of carving knives flew past him. "What the..?!"

Twilight stood at her desk feverishly flipping through the pages of an innumerable number of books, obviously looking for a counter spell for what ever it was she had done. He looked around the room, and it didn't take much to surmise what had happened, earlier that day, he had asked Twilight if he could have the day off to enjoy the sun before it got cold again. She had agreed, with her usual cheer, and Spike had left earlier this morning. From what he could see, she had attempted to do all of his chores by magic but had failed to cast the spell correctly.

Dishes were flying into the sink so hard they shattered, then repaired by magic they'd get scrubbed by a wash brush that was spinning like a rotary blade, sometimes shattering the plates again and forcing them to be repaired again. The carving knives that had flown by him was a different matter all together, pots, pans, and assorted cutlery flew around the kitchen like a cyclone, often smashing things or flying lethally trough the air. It appeared she'd been trying to make dinner as well, even as he watched two of the knives flew at a bowl of fruit, seeming of a mind of their own, and diced the fruit, bowl and all, into a fine paste before flying like bladed rockets to join the washing before getting propelled by the spinning scrub brush into the bookshelf.

If that wasn't enough, the entire wash bin, for bedding and dress clothes was suspended in the air with all of the washing in it, spinning around like a top, creating a loud whooshing sound as he heard the vortex of water inside. Spike raised his own claw and commanded the magic to cease, his claw glowed blue as everything that was magically controlled fell to the floor with a loud crash. Twilight let out a sigh of relieve as she said, "Whew, I'm glad that spell worked, now to clean this up before Spike gets back."
He cleared his throat sharply and she wheeled around to see the very person whom she didn't want to see at that moment. "Spike! Oh, I'm...I'm So Sorry!"
Spike stood there, just staring at the pony, she had managed in a few hours to completely destroy the entire downstairs of their home. He shook his head and asked, "Twilight, what on earth were you doing?" Twilight looked away shamefully as she stammered, "I was...I was trying to do the chores."

If Spike had known that things would have gotten this bad, he'd have done without the day of sunbathing. Twilight looked as if she was about ready to apologize again and Spike headed her off, "Don't worry about it, I'll get this fixed."
Spike closed his eyes and focused his own magic, his claws emitting a radiant blue aura as the rooms began repairing itself. Dishes were mended, knives sharpened and all as they flew back into their respectful places, all the bedding was wrung out and dried before being neatly fluffed and sent back upstairs. Books that were damaged mended instantly and all mess and debris vanished. Finally with a last loud thud, the washing drum thudded back down into the corner of the room and the room was clean. Twilight looked like she was about to cry as she sat back down at her desk with a soft, "Thank you."

Spike knew that she wasn't so much angry at the state of the house, but at the fact that she couldn't, even with all her training, use her magic to cook or clean. She could summon and control elemental avatars but couldn't wash a dish without smashing it. Spike walked over to Twilight and gingerly removed the book from in front of her. She hadn't been reading it, in fact she hadn't even been seeing it. He put a claw on her shoulder and she sighed wearily, "Spike, how do you use magic so easily?"

Spike was of a species of dragon who was exceptionally gifted in magic, and could use it at will, normally with thought and willpower. Twilight already knew that Spike was more capable than her with magic because it was in his blood but it didn't stop her from being slightly jealous of him. Spike didn't want her to be jealous of him, she was a dear friend, and he wanted nothing but the best for her. "Twilight, lets go to bed for tonight. Lets worry about your studies tomorrow."
Twilight shook her head and said, "I can't Spike, I have to finish reading this by tomorrow. I have a whole report to write about it."

Spike smiled and pulled her gently away from the desk, "No, your going to bed. I'll move back in your room to make sure you stay if I have to."
She laughed gently and said, "No thanks Spike, I'll be good and sleep."
Spike smiled as she headed upstairs, he trusted that she'd do the right thing and rest. Maintaining all the spells she had been doing when he had arrived had to have taken a toll on her. He moved over to the stairs, hearing the sound of the bathtub running to make sure she wasn't coming back down before pulling out ink and parchment and beginning to write.

Dear Princess Celestia,

Twilight is suffering from overwork, today she almost burst into tears when she failed to do my work with magic. I request that she be allowed time off from her studies and given time to relax. If need be I'll assist her with her studies when her rest period is over.

Spike

Spike rolled up the scroll and tied it shut before lighting it with his fire breath and sending it to Celestia. He didn't know whether or not he'd get an immediate response from the princess, but Spike was adamant that Twilight would get time off. He continued to do things around the house, dusting and organizing things mostly but before to long spike belched and a scroll appeared in the air. He grabbed it and unrolled it to read.

Spike,

I haven't given Twilight an assignment in three weeks, I told her to take it easy but she is still sending me homework, study assignments and reports. Please, for her own health. Do anything to keep her from working. Take her on vacation, hide her books, do what ever it takes. She will have the remaining seasons of this year off. This is a declaration, not a suggestion.

Yours sincerely,

Celestia

Spike was taken aback by this. Celestia had directly ordered Twilight to take time off and Twilight had continued working anyway. Spike rolled the scroll up and went up stairs, intending to confront Twilight about this but as he entered her room, what he saw disarmed him. She lay curled up in her bed, dozing peacefully while the newly risen moon shone in through the window. Now given the chance, he inspected her closely taking notice of the bags under her eyes, she had obviously hidden them with magic. Spike sighed in exasperatedly and closed the window shutters to keep out the light. As he was leaving, he made sure to grab every single one of her study books and took them downstairs. Putting them all into a large chest and putting a spell on it to keep it shut. He also did the same for all the books in the entire library. Until he said otherwise, she'd be unable to do anymore studying.

She could get angry at him, yell at him, or throw him out of the house, but for her, he'd endure. He wouldn't let her cause herself harm over her studies. He went back upstairs passing by her room. As he did so he heard a distinct sound from her room and looked in, Twilight seemed to be curled into a tighter ball than before and was muttering to herself in her sleep. He pushed the door open gently when he heard his name uttered, "Spike...I'm sorry, I'm so Sorry."

He frowned as he sat down gently next to her putting a claw gently on her shoulder, trying to comfort her. It had no affect as a tear rolled her cheek. It was clear to him that she still was feeling bad about the disaster earlier. She continued to ask for his forgiveness in her dreams before Spike leaned forward and whispered, "Twilight, I forgive you, now please rest peacefully."
That did it, Twilight smiled gently and relaxed again, her mind slipping into a peaceful slumber. With a final pat Spike left the bedroom stopping at the door to say,"Sleep well, I'll see you in the morning."

Chapter 2

Spike woke sharply from his deep sleep as a piercing scream echoed through the house. He sat up as Twilight came barreling into his room in near hysterics, If he knew it wasn't possible, he would have sworn both her eyes were on separate circuits.
"Spike! Oh Spike it's just terrible, some one has stolen all my books!"
Spike had to refrain from rolling his eyes as he said, "Twilight..."
She abruptly interrupted him as if she hadn't even heard her name and said, "I mean its unbelievable, who would steal in Ponyville, I can't believe it."

Again Spike had to refrain from rolling his eyes as he said, "Twilight..."
Twilight was now in a frenzy as she again interrupted him, "I'm going straight to the princess, she'll know what to do." Spike headed her off before she could teleport out of the house by loudly yelling, "Twilight! Please Calm down, I took your books." Twilight gasped as she focused her full attention the dragon in front of her, "You? You took my books? But why?!"

Spike had to be honest with himself, he hadn't expected a reaction like this as he sighed and explained that Celestia herself had decreed that Twilight was to take a 5 month vacation and that it was final. Far from looking grateful, she instead looked enraged, "I don't think Celestia would order me to do that, if she did say that then she must be testing my resolve, Give me my books back!"
Spike sat back idly on his bed and simply stated, "No."

Twilight snorted in anger and demanded firmer than ever, "Give Them Back!"
Spike smiled cheekily and said again, "No."
Twilight huffed loudly as she sat down on the bed and asked, "What do you want?"
Spike looked at her in confusion, She thought he was trying to get something from her in exchange for her books, how long had she gone without rest to come to that conclusion? He sighed and shook his head before saying,
"Twilight, I want nothing. I was ordered by Celestia to enforce your vacation, if you don't believe me, read the note yourself."
Spike reached over to his nightstand and picked up the note that Celestia had sent him the night before.

Unrolling it, he allowed Twilight to take the note and she promptly read it, several times and with reread, her face grew more solemn. Finally, after a full 5 minutes Twilight let out a deep sigh and said, " I guess, this means my studies are over, I thought she was happy with my work."
Spike did roll his eyes this time, what was wrong with her? Ever since Applejack's wedding 5 months ago, Twilight had kept her face buried in her books, barely leaving them for an hour at a time. This new, near zealous form of studying had been slightly worrying at first, but as it had progressed it had bloomed into a full fledged fear.

Spike shook his head and said, "Twilight, she is very happy with your work, but she's getting worried about you and frankly so am I. You've been running yourself ragged."
Twilight didn't look at Spike as she said, "Its nothing, I'm just focused on my studies."
Spike placed a claw on her shoulder and asked, "Twilight, whats bothering you?"
Spike knew that something was wrong, something was bothering her and she was using her studies as a shield to protect her from whatever it was. She looked at him sadly and took a deep sigh before saying, "Sometimes... I feel lonely, Spike."

Spike was now more than a little confused, why would she be lonely, he was with her everyday of the week. Before he could inquire to what she meant she got up and moved to the door, "You know, getting that off my chest helped, Thank you Spike." Spike was still very confused by both the reason for her fanatic studying and the abrupt end of the conversation, so he merely nodded, as she left the room. He didn't quite know what was going on, but he would help her if he could.

Breakfast was usually the meal of each day in which Twilight would lay out the schedule for herself and Spike, but as the house was already spotless and her forbidden from studying for the next 5 months, not much was said. Spike fixed their breakfasts in near silence while Twilight sat at the table with her head propped up on one hoof, staring idly out the window. It had been awhile since there had been complete silence during breakfast and the only words spoken during the whole thing was when Twilight politely thanked him as he set her food in front of her.

As they eventually finished their meal, it seeming to go by much slower without the usual chatter Spike finally broke the funeral silence by asking, "So Twilight, what do you want to do with your new free time?"
Twilight shrugged halfheartedly and said, "I don't know, normally I'd be studying, but now..."
Spike knew that she had tried to take some of the books from the shelves while he was bathing this morning. The spell he'd put on it alerted him to any attempts to break it. She'd been unable in breaking it but she had taken this defeat with good grace and had said nothing more about him allowing her access to her books.
Spike looked out of the window on his right, it was bright and sunny outside of the window, one of the last few sunny days left.

According to the weather report, it was supposed to start raining all of next week, the next 3 days were going to be the last couple of warm days available for awhile. Spike smiled as a thought occurred to him, "Hey Twilight, how about we go to the beach? Have some fun while we still have some warm days."
To his relieve Twilight smiled at the idea and nodded, "Sure! We haven't been to the beach in awhile and it'd be good to get out of the house for awhile."
She headed upstairs to pack a few things for the trip while Spike prepared a picnic lunch, he was going to make sure they stayed outside for a while.

She came back down after a few minutes wearing a nice bathing suit and carrying a small bag by magic, which she handed to Spike before saying, "Are we ready?"
Spike nodded and put a claw on her back as she teleported to the beach. Despite having been teleported several times in the intervening years, he still swayed as a wave of nausea hit him upon landing. It was very unsettling to be standing in a room with a solid wood floor under your feet and the to be standing on sand with the waves crashing into the shore nearby. Spike opened the bag he'd been given by Twilight and retrieved insect repellent and proceeded to spray Twilight and himself in the water proof deterrent.

The beach they stood on was remarkable, in fact, Spike didn't recognize it, He looked questioningly at Twilight and she smiled in response, "I came to this beach with my family, about a week or two before you were born. It holds a special place in my heart." Spike smiled and walked toward the waters edge. The sea was beautiful, the sunlight of the early morning sun glittering on the waves like little gemstones. The sand was fine and pleasant under his feet and the air was as clear as could be. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath of the sea air, feeling revitalized by the smell alone.

Without warning he felt a ball of water hit him and he stumbled and fell into the water. He came up gasping to the sound of giggling, "I'm sorry I couldn't help myself, you were wide open."
He looked over at Twilight, who stood in the water a few feet away from him, with three balls of sea water revolving around her. Spike grinned broadly, so that's how she wanted to do this? Magic users could get into some pretty spectacular water fights, so much so that all pools in all of Equestria had forbidden Magic users from using magic in the pool, but here there were no such limitations. He used his own magic to cause water tendrils to wrap themselves around her legs, holding her still as he made a small wave wash over her, drenching her completely, Twilight spluttered as she said, "Okay, new rule, no holding the other still, deal?"

Spike nodded and the battle began. Twilight was very adapt at playing with water like this, but Spike was no pushover, she sent two more balls of water flying towards him and he created a wall of water to stop them, rolling out from behind it and sending a wave toward her. She teleported from out of its way and directly behind Spike and gently pushed on his back. His previous wave attack had left him in an awkward position and the small push was enough to unbalance him and he once again fell into the water. He rolled over, gasping and looked up at Twilight who stood over him smiling broadly.

He grinned mischievously and created a large wave from behind her. Her eyes went wide as it knocked her forward and straight onto Spike, he hadn't intended for it to be that strong. Spike held onto Twilight as the wave washed over them and onto the shore, thankfully, their stuff remained untouched by the water. When it finally stopped Spike looked at her and said, "Well, I guess that makes us even, you all right?"
Twilight shook the water from her mane and looked back at him with a grin, "Yeah, I'm fine, just try and tone it down next time." He chuckled and smiled, he never noticed before, but her eyes seemed to be brighter than usual, It must be good for her to be out and about.

He suddenly became keenly aware of the fact that he was holding her in his arms and quickly let go, a faint blush tinting his cheeks as he said, "Well, you want to swim some more or take a break?" She smiled, and got up saying, "Yes, lets take a break." He didn't notice it, but she had a faint blush as well, she'd never been held like that in her entire life. It wasn't the same coming from Spike, being her best friend and all, but it had still been, interesting none the less. They moved back to the beach where their stuff lay, and sat down on it, both pretending that the last few seconds of their water fight had not happened.

It wasn't long before they both returned to their normal selves, the day moving along quickly as they laughed and talked for a good four hours. During lunch both of them laid back and enjoyed their meal in the bright sun, sunbathing for a while until Spike nodded off to sleep. Twilight smiled as she heard her companion snoring gently. She opened her eyes and rolled over to look at him, It was about 3 in the afternoon and the sun was beginning to set. The afternoon sun glittered off his scales as he slept peacefully.

She sighed contentedly as she looked out over the sea. This day had turned out better than she could have expected, and for some reason, she felt way better than she had been for the last 5 months. This vacation had indeed been what she needed. Her smile grew wider as a thought occurred to her. She focused on her magic and summoned a scroll of paper. She concentrated on a single thought and allowed her magic to flow out of her and into the scroll. When she opened her eyes, she felt her spirits rise further. On the scroll, was a photo taken with magic of Spike, exactly as he was, sleeping peacefully with the sun shinning off him.

She'd keep it as a reminder of today. Today was the best she'd felt in a long time, and it could only get better from here.

Chapter 3

Spike sat on the kitchen table, watching in amusement as Twilight sprinted around the table with a small pink blur following behind her. It had been two weeks since their day trip to the beach and not much had changed during this time. On occasion, they would accept the offer to babysit one of the many young children of their friends.

Pinkie Pie had asked this time and Twilight had gladly accepted but was now more than likely regretting her generosity. Rose, Pinkie's daughter, had nearly twice as much energy as her mother, which was saying something. Twilight and Spike had attempted to wear the small pony out through rigorous play time, rough housing, tag, hide and seek, all kinds of games. But so far nothing had even remotely dented the child's energy.

They had soon realized that if they played with her together that they'd both be worn out well before Rose did, so they had taken turns. This last turn was Twilight's and she had decided to play another game of tag with the child. It seemed like a good idea at the time but as Twilight was breathing as if she had just run a ten mile marathon, Spike figured it was time to stop. Spike slid off the table in front off Rose's path, raised a claw and said, "Okay Rose, I think that's..."
WHAM!
Spike was sent reeling as the pink comet collided with him at full speed, winding him completely. Rose expertly landed on top of him and squealed, "Tagged you!, My Turn!"
Before she could run off Spike managed to gasp, "No! Lets take a break."
Rose immediately deflated with a resounding, "Awwwwww! Your no fun!"
Twilight, who had collapsed to the floor in a heap said in a muffled voice with her face pressed against the floor, "Rose dear, we've been playing for over three hours, both Uncle Spike and I would like a break."

Rose seemed not to hear her as she bounced up and down on Spike Squealing, "Play! Play! Play!"
Spike gave Twilight a look that clearly said, "This is your fault." and proceeded to try and negotiate with the ball of energy bouncing on his chest. "Rose, its nap time."
Well, that got Rose off of him, but it didn't have the desired effect as she bolted to the living room squealing, "NO! Play time!" Spike sighed as he wearily pulled himself to his feet and followed after her, "No Rose, its nap time" Spike followed after the little pony and found her hiding under the living room table. He bent down and said, "Okay Rose, lets go take a nap."

Rose shook her head vehemently and declared, "No! Play Time!" For such a small child she had boundless energy and a stubborn streak to boot. Spike hoped he wouldn't need to do this but he looked her square in the eye, a faint blue glow encircling his irises. "Rose, what time is it?"
Rose suddenly yawned broadly and said wearily, "*Yawn* Nap time."
Spike smiled and motioned for her to come to him. She did so, climbing into his arms and snuffling as she curled up against him, falling asleep as soon as she was comfortable.

He walked out of the living room and back into the Kitchen with the sleeping child in his arms saying, "I think we can take our break now." Twilight looked at the sleeping child and rolled her eyes, "You didn't have to use magic, I'm sure we were wearing her down." Spike snorted as he gently sat down at the kitchen table, "Yeah, sure and when we collapsed from exhaustion, you can explain to Pinkie why we were unconscious rather than watching Rose."

Twilight began giggling but quickly stopped for fear of waking Rose up. She looked at the small child, dozing peacefully in Spike's arms, her smile widening as she compared Spike to the image of a proud father. She had no doubt that he'd be a good father and his skill in tending to the children they babysat together was further proof of that. He was never angry or aggressive but rather, firm, calm, and collected. Every time a child disobeyed him, he need only give them the look, the one that silently told them of his disappointment and generally they would listen afterward.

Twilight had suspected that he was bewitching the children to listen to him, but having closely observed him during the times they babysat, she knew that only two of the tots they looked after required magical influence, Rose and Rainbow Dash's little boy, Blitz. Both of these kids were full of incredible amounts of energy to the point that even their parents couldn't keep up. If it hadn't been for Zecora and her sleep aids, Twilight very much doubted that either Rainbow Dash or Pinkie pie would be getting any sleep at all. Spike had started rocking slightly in his chair looking curiously at Twilight, who had been starring at him for the past 20 minutes, "Something on your mind?"
Twilight started slightly and focused her attention on the dragon. "What? Oh its nothing Spike, just thinking of how good a father you'll be one day."

Though slightly taken aback by this he smiled and said, "Thanks, its good to know you think so. Of course you will be a good mother."
Twilight blushed at the compliment and replied, "I hope so, I just hope I get the chance, not a lot of guys are attracted to bookworms like myself."
Spike shook his head at this, dismissing her statement entirely and saying, "Rubbish, any male who can look at you and say your not lovely is blind and stupid. Your very beautiful."
Twilight's blush deepened at this compliment and she only managed a smile as a response.

The expected uncomfortable silence never came as they continued to chat about what kind's of parent's they'd be, what they'd teach their kids and how they'd raise them. Surprisingly, they had many of the same views about the matter and the minutes began to stretch into hours as they began to discuss schooling. Twilight wanted to teach her kids everything that Celestia had taught her and everything she had ever learned. Spike meanwhile wished for his kids to learn from Twilight, seeing as she could teach everything that a child could possibly need to learn.

After a while Rose began to stir and thankfully, just as Pinkie came in. She was followed by her husband, a tall palomino with a light gray coat. He stood taller than pinkie and currently had a look of some one who was very tired. Pinkie bounded up to Twilight and asked, "So, where's my little Rosie?"
In a split second after completing her sentence Pinkie Pie was flattened when her daughter flew from Spike's arms and straight to her mother, knocking her down with a high pitched, "Mommy!"

Pinkie laughed as her daughter rolled off her and Spotted her father and promptly screamed, "Daddy!"
He winced as he braced himself for what was coming, but even braced he was still knocked over as his daughter collided with him. Pinkie picked herself off the floor and smiled as her husband vainly attempted to wrestle with his little girl and said, "Thanks, for watching Rosie, I just hope we don't pass out before we get home."
She trotted lightly over to the door and said, "Come on dear, time to go home now."
Her husband got up and followed after Pinkie, the little ball of energy was hanging of his tail squealing in delight as he swung it back and forth.

When the door had snapped shut behind the happy family Twilight let out a relieved sigh and said, "Whew, I'm glad that's over. I thought we were going to have to babysit her all night."
Spike stretched wearily and answered with a sarcastic grin, "Well, Why not? It'll be good training for when you have kids." Twilight laughed and hitched a look of mock indignation on her face as she said, "You think my kids will be that hyper, well then I'll go get Rose again and you can help me raise her."

Spike shook his head vehemently and said, "No No NO! You win. Your kids will be bookworms like you."
Twilight laughed again as she said, "Gee, thanks." She turned towards the entrance to the second floor and said, "Well, I don't know about you, but I'm tired. I'm going to wash up and then head to bed."
Spike closed the distance between himself and Twilight and blocked her passage. Twilight was more than a little confused by this and asked, "Spike? Something upstairs I should now about?"

Spike shook his head slowly. There was nothing physically wrong with the upstairs of the house, but Spike had formed a surprise for Twilight and he wanted to now give it to her. A few days earlier, on a rather Stormy day, Twilight had had virtually nothing to do. With the ward still in place around the books in the library, she couldn't read anything to pass the time. Spike knew that it was unlikely that she'd be able to go the remaining four and a half months of her vacation without doing something intellectually stimulating. To that ends he'd come up with a plan. Tonight was supposed to be the night of the Millennial Shower, a star shower that took place once every thousand years.

This night was to be the clearest for a while and he had intended to star gaze with her tonight.
"Twilight, I have a surprise for you.." Twilight perked up as she asked, "What is it?"
Spike smiled widely and asked, "Do you know what happens tonight?"
Twilight was silent for a moment as she thought. It wasn't his birthday or hers, it wasn't any holiday she was aware of, so what could happening tonight? She shook her head gently and said, "I'm sorry Spike I don't know, what is happening tonight?"

Spike wasn't surprised that she didn't know, he'd only heard about it from Celestia, who had told him of it. As old as Celestia undoubtedly was, he trusted that she was right about the date of this spectacular event. Spike smiled if possible a little bigger as he said, "I thought that we'd do a little stargazing tonight, map the constellations, work the mind."
Twilight smiled broadly and nodded vigorously. He'd planned to surprise her with a little work, for that she was both grateful and relieved.

She rushed over to her desk and Spike briefly lifted the wards to allow her to gather writing materials. After grabbing all the needed material Spike replaced the ward and she dashed through the front door with Spike following behind. The walk through the town was relatively quite, it was about 9 pm and most everyone was either at home preparing for bed or heading that way. Not much had changed in the last 17 years, the town had gotten bigger with the new residents and families, but it was often pleasant and quiet.

The stars were quite beautiful tonight and there was no place better for it than the fields on the outskirts of town. The walk was pleasant, the breeze swaying the fall wheat and carrying the smells of the Apple orchard as well as the evening dew. Twilight settled on onto the ground beneath the oak tree that Spike liked napping under on his days off. She rolled onto her back and began to search for the constellations in the night sky, the paper, pen and ink floating in front of her. Spike laid down next to her and help her, anxiously waiting for that magic moment when the Millennial Shower began. Within twenty minutes Twilight had identified over fifteen constellations and drawn them in on her paper.

Spike was beginning to get worried that perhaps he'd gotten the days wrong when he saw something. High in the northern sky was a small streak of blue, the first star to fly through the sky. He reached over and nudged Twilight, "Twilight, look."
Twilight looked over the top of the paper as a red streak flew through the sky, followed by a yellow one, then green and soon the sky was a multicolored tapestry of lights, painting a different picture with every minute.

The awed sound that Twilight made was conformation enough that his idea had worked. He stared into the sky which was alight with thousands of stars streaking through it, truly a sight to behold. It was a few minutes before he realized that He had scooted closer to Twilight, her head resting on his arm as the lights continued to shine. Twilight looked up at Spike and asked, "You knew this was coming didn't you?"

Spike smiled and nodded, his arm curling around her neck, "Yes, I did, I thought you'd enjoy this, it only happens once every thousand years." Twilight smiled broader as she resumed staring at the sky, her head resting on her comfortable pillow as the star shower slowly began winding down.

Despite the stargazing having been a setup for something greater, Twilight couldn't help but be overjoyed at how beautiful this night was, and not just the stars, or the star shower, but the fact that Spike had done this for her. He truly was a one of a kind friend. She yawned gently and soon found herself dozing peacefully as the shower finally came to an end. "Well, that was incredible, don't you think Twilight?"

She didn't respond as he looked at her and it didn't take long for him to realize that she'd fallen asleep. Spike grinned and gently removed his arm from under her. With great skill and strength, he picked her up and carried her gently back to the house. After finally managing to get through the front door and up to the second floor with Twilight in his arms he eventually laid her gently into her bed and whispered into her ear, "Good Night Twilight."
She smiled in her sleep and curled up in bed as Spike tucked her in.
As he left her room he clearly heard her say, "Thank you, Spike."
He smiled and nodded as he closed the door. In his mind, the night could not have gone any better.

Chapter 4

Spike sat at the kitchen table enjoying his breakfast. It wasn't often that he got to have gems for a meal but today was special. It had been two weeks since the Millennial Shower and he and Twilight seemed to have gotten into an unspoken competition about who could surprise the other best and today Twilight had won. She had given him a large breakfast of gemstones and one particularly large diamond, easily half her size. He had refused to eat this one, he had other ideas in mind for it.

The competition for surprises had been pretty competitive in the beginning, mostly centered around things that were sure to excite, but as the days went by, ideas were getting a little thin. Earlier this week Spike had surprised her with a full set of Arcane tomes, to replace her old ones, and a book on the ancient dragon language. It didn't surprise him when she started walking around speaking in draconic a few days later. He reclined a little in his chair while the sound of the bath upstairs reached his ears. He smiled as he remembered this morning, the sight of Twilight standing there next to Rarity, who had helped, covered head to toe in mud had been rather amusing.

He had thanked both the ponies for the gift but he held more regard for Twilight's efforts than Rarity's. He was grateful that she had gone through so much trouble for a breakfast that would only last today. He popped a few more gems in his mouth when a knock sounded on the door. He swallowed the mostly whole gems and gasped, "Come in."
His eyes where watering as the door opened and Applejack walked in. She frowned at Spike as he clutched his throat and gasped, "Yes, Applejack?"

AJ moved next to him and asked, "Are you okay?"
Spike nodded, unable to speak and AJ looked around the kitchen before asking, "Is Twilight here?"
Spike finally managed to find his voice again and said, "Yes she's upstairs bathing. Your welcome to wait here if you want, she shouldn't be much longer."

Applejack nodded and sat at the table across from Spike, watching as he resumed eating his meal. She watched as he picked up a diamond and tossed into his mouth, wincing as she heard the precious Gem shatter as he bit it. She had always wondered how on earth he could do that but had never asked, well, now seemed as good a time as any. "Hey Spike, how can you eat gems?"

Spike swallowed his mouthful of Gem fragments and picked an emerald off the table. He visualized eating the Gem and opened his mouth, allowing some of his saliva to fall on the stone. There was a light hiss as it made contact, the Gem beginning to dissolve in the area it had made contact. He looked up at AJ and wasn't surprised to see that she had backed about 4 feet away from the table. He smiled and said, "My species eats gems as a delicacy, our teeth are harder than diamond and our mouths produce acid when we eat them. But don't worry it's only when I eat a gem that this happens."

With that he threw the mostly dissolved gem into his mouth and continued to eat. AJ eventually managed to get over her shock and moved back to the table. It wasn't long before Twilight came back downstairs from her bath, her mane and coat were sleek and smooth, the scent of lavender wafting from her as she smiled at AJ and asked, "Applejack, what a lovely surprise. What can I do for you?"
Spike didn't know why, but for some reason he seemed to be holding his breath. Twilight seemed so radiant, so lovely, Spike couldn't seem to find words to describe but why was he thinking this all of a sudden?

Twilight moved on the other side of the table after offering to make some tea for them, putting the kettle on when Applejack agreed. After she was seated she stared over at Applejack, who seemed to be nervous about something, rocking side to side a little as she stared fixedly at the table. Twilight had rarely known AJ to be this silent and every time that had happened had been before, during, or after something dramatic or devastating. The last time had been when the apple orchard's produce had been destroyed by insects. Twilight immediately began worrying for Big Macintosh and her husband as she hesitantly asked, "Applejack, what's happened?"
Applejack's response was slow and broken, as if she was afraid to utter every word, "Twilight...I...I think that...that I'm...pregnant."

Twilight's reaction was a mix of intense joy and utter confusion. Even as she about bowled AJ over with squeals of delight, she couldn't help but wonder why this most joyous of news would be cause for worry. When Twilight finally calmed down she asked, "Applejack, what's wrong? I'd thought you'd be happy to be a mother."

Applejack looked even more depressed as she turned her head away from her best friend and said, "I haven't even told Big Mac."
Twilight was now seriously worried. Whatever it was that was bothering AJ about this pregnancy, it had to be extraordinary for her to not even tell her brother. Spike had stopped eating entirely to give his fullest attention to this conversation as he asked, "AJ, What's wrong with your being pregnant?"
Applejack looked close to tears as she choked, and then began sobbing freely. She looked up at Twilight and said through her tears, "My mothers family has a history of miscarrying."

Finally, it all made sense and Twilight couldn't help but feel a lump in her throat as she looked at her brokenhearted friend. She'd never known this darkest of family secrets and she was sure that no one else did either. Applejack was afraid of a mothers worst nightmare, losing a child. Spike had no Idea what to say or do as both of his friends began weeping, comforting each other as only two friends could. He felt so out of place in this situation but knew all too well what the a history of miscarrying meant. If AJ's family had a history of miscarriages, there was a high likely hood that she could lose her first child.

Finally after a full 10 minutes the two mares had calmed sufficiently for Twilight to ask, "Is the child alright?"
AJ nodded and answered, "So far, its doing fine, I'm about a month along but I can't help but be worried, My grandma said that Ma was blessed to have three children and have never experienced the heartbreak of losin' one."

Applejack put a hoof to her stomach and said, "I just hope that I am as blessed, sooner or later I'll have to tell Mac and..."
She abruptly stopped as her face went from its usual brown to pale in two seconds flat, her eyes fixed on the window behind Spike. He looked around and saw exactly what it was that caused it. There, outside of the window, was a tall, thick set stallion, his fur a deep mahogany with flecks of white. In his mane were several feathers, the largest of which was a gryphons, all tucked neatly into braids of his mane. His piercing eyes were fixed directly on Applejack and everyone at the table knew that he knew exactly what was being said.

He moved to the door and it opened effortlessly as a gust of wind opened it and the stallion entered. He looked over at Applejack and said in a deep voice, "Apple, why do you try to hide this life from me?"
This stallions name was Wind Chaser, an Indian mustang from a tribe up north. He had found the Apple orchard and had helped himself to the apples there, not realizing that they belonged to some one. Big Mac had found him but Applejack had prevented the fight. Shortly after beginning to help with the orchard to repay for the apples he had admitted to her that he thought she was, "As fair as the flowers, sweet as an apple and fiery as the sun." Despite his deep set love for her, at this moment he was angry. Applejack looked as if she were deeply ashamed as she confessed to him the truth, saying, "I'm sorry Wind, I didn't want to hurt you, my family has a history of miscarrying."

His appearance did not soften as he walked purposely across the room until he was eye level with her and said, "That matters not, our child will be strong, like the earth, and proud like the eagles. Do not doubt me when I tell you that all will be well."
Applejack looked up into the Stallions deep eyes, seeing her own reflected in them. She smiled and said, "Yes, your right, I am sorry I tried to hide this from you Wind." Wind Chaser nodded and nuzzled her gently, her cheeks tinting as she blushed at this. He turned to look at Twilight and Spike and said, "I thank you, for tending to Apple, I will take her home now."

Twilight nodded, she had always found the stallion to be a bit forward and slightly brusk but she knew it was because he was relatively unused to interaction with others outside of his Tribe. Applejack had had great understanding of him and had fallen in love with him almost as quickly as he did towards her. Twilight moved to take the tea kettle off the stove, steam hissing from it loudly having been completely forgotten in the depth of the conversation that had just been held.

She hadn't had a chance to make tea for herself and Applejack, she might as well pour it out. Spike cleared his throat and she looked at him, "Twilight, I would like some tea if you don't mind." Twilight smiled and levitated two tea cups and tea bags to the table. She poured the hot water into the cups and sat back down at the table, watching as Spike gradually finished his meal.

She took a sip of her tea, chamomile, her favorite and thought idly to herself. She was still worried about Applejack, but there was nothing that she could do to help her beyond moral support. She was sure that Wind was right in saying that everything was going to be alright but still, she was still worried for her.
She took another sip of her tea as Spike crunched on the last of his gemstone meal, looking across the table at Twilight, his own mind filled with his own thoughts. Eventually he swallowed the last gem fragments and asked, "Do you think that Mac will let AJ work in the fall harvest today?"

Twilight smiled and said, "Oh I highly doubt it, after all, she's pregnant now." Spike chuckled as he took a gulp of his tea, noticing as he did so that the door was open. He pointed this out to Twilight and she rolled her eyes as got up to close the door, she could have of course closed it with magic, as could Spike, but she didn't feel like doing it like that at the moment. She gently pushed the door shut and turned away from it. She took less than 2 steps when the door violently flew open as Big Mac flew through it. The door smacked hard against her rear, causing her to go face first into the hardwood floor. Twilight lay dazed as Big Mac ran over to Spike and exclaimed, "Have you heard?! Have you heard?! I'm gonna be an uncle!"

Spike gave Big Mac a rather weak smile as he rushed past him to the stunned Twilight, who lay on the floor in an undignified manner, her rear in the air with her face pressed against the floor, her sleek mane now lay in a mess on the floor around her head.

Spike worriedly shook Twilight asking, "Hey, are you all right?!"
Twilight's muffled voice was relieve enough as she answered with obvious annoyance, "I just face planted the floor Spike, How do you think I'm feeling?!"
Spike shook his head as he pulled her to her feet, her face a deeper shade of purple than normal as she looked at Mac and said, "Yes, we already know that she's pregnant. Despite your obvious excitement about it, could you please knock next time, the floor doesn't taste very good."

Big Mac looked slightly ashamed of himself as he apologized to Twilight and promised not to come in without knocking. She nodded in acknowledgment to his apology and asked, "So, Wind or Applejack told you about the child?" Big Mac nodded, his pride seeming to radiate from him like a visible glow. He grinned broadly and said, "I can't wait to have the little tyke around, to think, my sister will have kids before I do."
Twilight grinned at Mac's obvious excitement and said, "Well, I'm happy for you and the family. Actually, Spike and I had a question. Will AJ be able to help with the fall harvest?"

Mac's face dropped a little as he answered, "I'm afraid not, she wants to, but I won't allow it. Not now."
Twilight thought, and apparently Spike agreed judging by the look on his face, that as Applejack was just over a month along in her pregnancy that there was very little to worry about in her helping. Big Mac shifted slightly from hoof to hoof and asked, "Hey Twilight, if it's not too much trouble, could you and Spike come out and help with the harvest this year?"
Twilight wasn't remotely surprised to be asked this and nodded, "Yeah, I figure we can help out, after all, this is for Applejack."

She giggled as Big Mac turned and opened the door saying, "Yeah, Just make sure to be out there to help, we'll need it."
With that he walked out the door, closing it carefully and leaving Twilight and Spike to prepare for the day ahead.

Chapter 6

Spike lay on his bed gazing up towards the ceiling, a broad smile upon his face. The last two weeks since the fall harvest had been something indeed. Nothing much had really changed between them, the single kiss upon the cheek had been taken easily by both parties and none had made any attempt to exploit this. Twilight had however taken to giving Spike a kiss on the cheek every morning at breakfast as a greeting.

While this was a sign of romantic interest, Spike took it to mean more of a simple greeting, Twilight's way of thanking him each morning for all that he'd ever done for her. Currently though, life went on as normal and the reason why Spike was in his room alone was because Twilight was currently visiting with Celestia. He wondered when she would get back, he had an Idea in mind for what they could do today.

In Canterlot Castle

Celestia smiled as Twilight relayed the events of the past month, the stories of what she had been doing certainly caught her attention. It certainly seemed to Celestia that her pupil was developing feelings for her dragon companion, but she kept her mouth shut as Twilight went on.
"I mean, I don't know what the next three and a half months will have in store, but I know that whatever happens, I'll have a good time. Thank you Celestia for ordering me to take a vacation."

Celestia smiled as she took a sip of her tea before replying, "It was either that or have you end up in the Ponyville hospital psychiatric wing. I'm glad to see that you are having fun."
Twilight nodded and fell silent for a moment, thinking deeply. She wanted to ask Celestia about what she was feeling, this faint swooping in her stomach every time she thought about the dragon who was back home. She felt confused when she felt it and at the same time happy that she did.

Celestia watched the young pony, lost deep in thought. She knew exactly why she had become so quite and said nothing, Twilight would ask when she was ready to do so. Eventually after another five minutes Twilight sighed deeply and said, "Well, that's all I wanted to talk about. Its always nice visiting with you Princess. I hope we can do it again another time."
Celestia nodded wisely as Twilight got up from the table that she and the Princess had been having their tea at and stretched. "Twilight, If you ever need to ask me anything, don't hesitate to do so."

Celestia's sentence made Twilight feel that she already knew what she was feeling. While not an unpleasant thought, of having someone like Celestia to go to for advise, she couldn't help but feel slightly embarrassed that the princess might know. Twilight thanked the Princess once more and teleported back home, fighting back the urge to vomit upon landing, teleporting was ill advised when one had a full stomach, at least over long distances.

After taking a couple of deep breaths Twilight called, "I'm home!"
She heard the sound of Spike's clawed feet hitting the floor from his room above her. He'd obviously been in his bed while she'd been gone. It wasn't long before she saw him, coming down to the first floor with a large grin on his face, "Welcome back, have fun at Celestia's?"
Twilight nodded and answered, "Yes, it was nice to visit with her again."

Spike smiled a little broader and motioned for Twilight to sit in the living room saying as he did so, "Twilight, there's something that I'd like to ask you." Twilight sat comfortably onto the sofa and looked curiously at the dragon, who smiled as he sat across from her. "Twilight, I was wondering if you'd like to spend today on a hike with me, through the forest."
Twilight raised an eyebrow at this, A hike? Not that she was against the idea, it just seemed an odd thing to ask especially when she just got back from being gone all morning.

She reclined a little, thinking it over, with Spike looking hopefully at her. His stare was not lost on her and she smiled, realizing that he had to have been planning this for a while now. She nodded and answered with grace, "Of course Spike, I'd love to. I take it you've already prepared for this?"

Spike nodded and motioned to the door saying, "Of course, We'd better go. In a few hours the sun will start to set and I'd rather not be on the way home in the dark." Twilight nodded and followed after him outside.
The afternoon sun hung high in the air, shining down brightly onto Ponyville and its many bustling inhabitants. It wasn't very surprising to see many of their friends bustling around, either playing with each other or their children, or heading to various shops, or even still heading home to have lunch. The air was slightly chilly despite the noon sun, an early warning of how cold the evening chill was going to be. Spike breathed deeply and proffered a crooked arm to Twilight saying, "Shall we?"

She smiled, a little embarrassed and whispered, "We're not exactly going to a ball, you don't need to do that."
Spike grinned and said, "I know, but humor me regardless." Twilight rolled her eyes, but couldn't hide her embarrassed smile as she stood on her hind legs and wrapped an arm around his own, walking with him down the main road out of town.

She did her best to ignore the many curious looks and ill hidden whispers from a few bystanders as she walked along with him but soon she came to realize as she looked at the dragon with whom she had her arm locked with, that all the gossip and stares were nothing more than a little meaningless. She flushed a little more as Spike leaned near her and whisper, "You'd think they'd never seen this before."
Twilight gulped a little and whispered back, "That's probably because they haven't."

Spike realized that she was of course right, but it didn't bother him. He chuckled a little as he continued to walk, talking about nothing of any importance with her. It wasn't long before they we're leaving the town, both of them having to quickly evade a bright red wagon which flew past and a blinding speed, containing a squealing Rose and being propelled by Blitz. A few seconds later, a rather irate Pinkie Pie sprinted past them after her daughter, her husband bringing up the rear a few seconds after she had passed breathing as though he'd run up the Solstice heights and back without stopping. Spike shook his head sadly as he watched after him, not remotely envying the constant activity lifestyle he currently led.

Twilight was looking after the family with a look of worry, probably for the young ones, one accident at the speed they were going, Twilight shuddered at the thought. After a few more minutes the pair of them mentally shook themselves and returned to their walk toward White Tail Woods. It was certainly a much nicer place to walk through than the Everfree forest, especially at this time of year, where all the leaves of the forest would be a multitude of shades of red, yellow, orange, and gold. After a little while, Twilight could stand on her hind legs no more and gently released Spike's arm, dropping gracefully back to the ground. Spike sighed gently, as if the loss of her presence was saddening and shrugged simply as he continued to walk along.

She wasn't sure of what exactly was happening as of yet, but what she did know was that whatever it was it seemed to be affecting Spike as much as her. Within fifteen more minutes they were entering the edge of the wood, the trees casting a faint shadow on the ground, the leaves of the trees were a flame with the colors of fall, red, orange, and gold was every where they looked. There were leaves covering the path as well, and a light breeze swept invitingly by them. Spike smiled a little wider and bowed Twilight through the forest entrance, earning him an exasperated sigh followed by Twilight rolling her eyes. He didn't see it but she smiled none the less as she walked slowly through the woods, her dragon companion following silently by her, grinning broadly like this simple walk was the most amazing thing in the world.

She had to be honest with herself, that she too found herself enjoying this walk a great deal. She glanced back over to Spike and cheekily pushed him before dashing of with a loud, "Tag!"
Spike, who had fallen after being caught off guard, got up and chased after her, her laughter ringing through the trees as they both expertly dodged branches in the chase. Spike was starting to gain on Twilight, despite her having four legs to his two when she suddenly vanished, leaving him to skid to a halt in front of a mass of trees Looking around it he saw her standing yards away, smiling at him cheekily before turning and trotting off.

So that's how see wanted to play this game was it? Spike looked up into the tree above him and got an idea about how to easily catch up with her. Focusing his own magic he leapt up into the tree, landing smoothly on a branch and getting a fix on where Twilight was, looking back to see where he'd gone. With a grin, he used his own magic to jump from the tree he was in, the wind catching him as he flew across the field she'd stopped in and landed in the tree next to her She'd seen him flying through the air and promptly turned to continue running, feeling her heart racing as she realized that what he was doing could easily win him the game. She began using her teleportation to quickly move from one spot to the next, hoping to through him off, but every time she tried she could sense his magic as he landed near her.

Twilight entered into another clearing and stopped, breathing hard, trying to catch her breath. She couldn't sense his magic anymore, but that probably meant that he was sitting nearby watching her. She calmed her breathing and began scanning the tree line, trying to catch a glimpse of the dragon in the trees but she saw nothing. She sighed and took a step back to turn around and suddenly the world became a world of pain as she fell backwards to the ground, her hind left leg caught in a sink hole she hadn't seen.

Her knee felt like it was on fire, her mind swimming in pain as she tried to correct herself, tears streaming down her cheeks. She heard a loud thud feet from her and felt Spike's claws ever so gently remove her leg from the hole, every nerve in her leg screaming in protest. Spike felt horrible, he felt that this was his fault, causing her to run here by keeping up with her, her knee was so swollen that he couldn't stand to look at it.

He gently reached down and touched the damaged leg and allowed his magic to flow out of him and into the hurt leg. He felt sick as he heard an audible pop as the joint reset itself into place and the muscle and tendons healed. "Twilight, I'm sorry, its my fault this happened to you."
Spike's heartfelt apology only made Twilight shake her head as she tried to roll onto her front, tears still fresh in her eyes as she managed to say, "Its not your fault. I started the game and should have been paying better attention to my surroundings."

Despite this, Spike still felt bad as Twilight continued to try and roll back on her front. She sighed as she decided to let her leg rest more from its rapid recovery, ceasing her attempts to roll over and closing her eyes. It was a few minutes before she felt Spikes claws slide gently under her.
She at first was alarmed, opening her eyes only to have them greeted by Spike's piercing emerald green ones, his nose a mere inch from her own as he gently said, "Here, my princess, allow me to carry you to safety."
This disarmed her completely, her heart felt like it was melting away as a blushing Spike lifted her easily, cradling her in his arms.

She knew that so many times in the past he had dreamed of doing this, being the heroic knight to save the damsel in distress, but it had always been fair Rarity who had been the princess, not her. She couldn't help but feel honored that Spike had chosen her for fulfilling his dream over Rarity. She felt so safe here, in his arms, her ear placed firmly against his chest as she curled deeper against him, hearing the strong reassuring beat of his heart.

"Oh, my dear prince, take me to safety. Help your princess in need." Twilight's words held more power than anything he'd ever heard, not even from Celestia herself. He stood there, his heart thudding madly against his ribcage as he look down at the beautiful pony that he held like a precious gem. He nodded and began walking through the woods, shielding Twilight from the branches, promising himself that not one of them would touch her sleek mane

Soon, far, far sooner than Spike would have liked, he was coming out to a small pond and gently sat Twilight down on the bank, under the canopy of a large hickory tree that grew there. She immediately missed the sound of his heart, the slow steady rhythm of his breathing, the warmth of his body.

She opened her eyes and looked at him as he sat there, starring back. She knew now, more than ever what it was she was feeling, and for some reason she felt as if she had always known that it was there. She scooted closer to Spike, her eyes locked steadily on his own, her mind in a flurry of confused thoughts, her heart beating a violent tattoo against her ribs. She felt his breath on her nose, his eyes closing, as he inched nearer to her, her own eyes drooping shut as the realization of what was about to happen crept over her.

The moment happened in one long agonizing moment as their lips met. This one kiss was both the last thing they ever expected and the one thing they both wanted as they gently kissed for the first time on this pond bank, under the fall leaves of the hickory tree. Never before in her life did she think she'd experience this most magic of moments and even as they gently broke apart, she knew that what they had could never be broken. Spike let out a content sigh and curled an arm around her, pulling her close to him, her head resting gently on his shoulder. "Hey Twilight?"

Twilight's only response was a soft hum as she look up at him. Spike smiled a little bit wider and said the three words that at that moment she yearned to hear above all others, "I love you."
She smiled and cuddled closer to him. This day had ended unexpectedly but wonderfully none the less, and the next few months were bound to be wonderful.

Chapter 7

Twilight lay on her bed, staring up into the ceiling, the late afternoon sun pouring into her room. It had been two weeks since that fateful walk in the woods and the time following it had been some of the most tense that Twilight had ever felt in her entire life. She had kissed Spike under the leaves of a hickory tree on the bank of a pond then and it hadn't been a friendly kiss on the cheek either, but a sweet and deeply passionate kiss. He had said that he loved her, and she had smiled in the glow of their moment but as they had entered back into Ponyville, the power of their moment began to fade.

Twilight's rationality returned with disturbing coldness and her mind had since been troubled. The morning after that day he had kissed her gently, but she had awkwardly and shyly returned it, an act that had not been lost on him. He had, fortunately and correctly interpreted her awkwardness and reserved disposition, doing and said nothing more about his feelings toward her. Twilight sighed heavily, feeling lost in her mind and heart as she pondered the question that frequently plagued her, was what she was feeling right? Was it normal to feel this way about her dragon friend?

She couldn't deny the definite feeling of love for him that burned deep within her, but she also couldn't ignore her own reasoning. She felt that it would be wrong to encourage his feelings to a point more than they were now, half tempted to sit down and talk with him about finding him a nice dragon female to settle down with, but the thought of Spike marrying and having kids with anyone made her feel sick and angry, despite her numerous attempts to tell herself that it was probably for the best.

Turning onto her side she gazed out toward the setting sun, the rays blinding her but she tried to focus on the suns brilliance to distract her troubled mind. She had always envisioned in her youth of meet a handsome, strong, and very noble stallion who would whisk her away to some hidden castle and give her a happily ever after, with each passing year however, she realized that the chances of that happening were increasingly unlikely, until when turned nineteen and judged it as a childhood fantasy and nothing more.

Spike, he'd be a knight in shining armor to her, she knew it, he'd leap over the top of a volcano to save her, even if he didn't have wings as such was his devotion. She smiled a little at the thought of being heroically saved by him from almost certain death, her head tilting towards his, their lips inching closer. Realizing that she was fantasizing about the very thing she said to herself was impossible and unnatural, she mentally forced herself to expel the images, feeling a sense of regret as the images fade from her mind, a feeling she deliberately ignored.

She sat up and looked over to the wall across from her, the wall that divided her room from his. Inside was Spike, her friend, her companion, her stalwart and faithful dragon, who had been with her through all her troubles. She relied on the bonds that they had formed over the years more than she cared to believe, his friendship had been what carried her through the most difficult of times.

She shook her head sadly, lamenting her own inability to decide on what to do with her conflicted thoughts and emotions. She desperately wanted to make a final decision, to put her waring thoughts to peace, but she couldn't do so...at least not alone. She looked back out the window at the setting sun and wondered about how she hadn't thought of it before.
Celestia, her mentor and guide, she could go to her for advice in the matter. Twilight nodded vigorously to herself as she slid off her bed and prepared to teleport to Canterlot Castle. She was sure the princess would be able to set things right with some sound advise.

She allowed her magic to flow and felt the familiar shift of time and space around her as she moved from her room into the Princess' chambers. Celestia stood on the balcony, her eyes closed as her horn glowed with magic, the sun slowly dipping down toward horizon. Twilight knew not to interrupt her and sat patiently on the Princess' bed as the minutes ticked by until the sun finally sank beneath the horizon and darkness began to fill the sky.

Celestia released a soft sigh and turned back to her room, slightly surprised to see Twilight sitting there watching her. "Have you been waiting long dear?"
Twilight shook her head and said in a hesitant voice, "Princess, I need to talk to you about something."
Celestia smiled and said as she sat down next to Twilight, "You needn't be so formal Twilight, not here in my room, please relax and tell me what it is."

Twilight gulped, now that she was here, starring into the Princess' kind eyes she couldn't help but feel scared to retell of her feelings and thoughts, particularly of her and Spike's first kiss. She licked her lips gently while Celestia waited patiently for her to respond and after a few more minutes of silence Twilight could avoid it no more and whispered softly, "I think that I've fallen in love..."

Celestia grinned broadly and said with obvious cheer, "Well, what's wrong with that? Love is a truly wonderful thing."
Twilight nodded in agreement before finishing the sentence, "I think that I've fallen in love with Spike."
A look of understanding came into Celestia's eyes as she said, "Ah, I see, that's why your troubled, you doubt whether or not this can be real."
Twilight shrugged, she knew well enough that the feelings were real but whether or not it was normal was her question.

Twilight looked away from Celestia and said in shame, "It isn't normal, I shouldn't be feeling this way about him, its not right." Celestia frowned, and nudged Twilight's cheek gently before saying, "Its perfectly normal, I know dear, believe me." Twilight couldn't help but get angry at this, what did she know about how she was feeling. She had never once mentioned to her about being in love or of having been in love and you'd have thought she'd have told her this in their many conversations, particularly when she began to reach adulthood.

Twilight pulled away from Celestia and said, "What do you know of what I'm feeling, you haven't said anything to me about experiencing love, or of being in love. So before you tell me you know how I feel, actually..."
Before Twilight had finished Celestia's voice thundered out over hers, the walls, floor, and ceiling quaked, the windows cracked as Celestia bellowed, "Twilight Sparkle, Be Silent!"
Twilight cowered from the Princess as her mane began to emit such heat the the air around her began to ripple.

Twilight knew that she had spoken far out of line and simply sat there, ears ringing as Celestia glared at her until a single thought occurred to her, the simple fact that Twilight did not know the truth. Celestia closed her eyes and took a deep breath, her anger quickly fading as she thought to her self. After so long...could she real find it withing herself to speak of it again? She looked at the trembling pony, who had sought after her advise but had now been scared witless by Celestia's anger, an anger directed at Twilight's comments, but caused by a lack of knowledge created by Celestia herself. She sighed and gently nuzzled the scared pony and said, "Twilight, I'm sorry for yelling, you are wrong about what you said, but its my fault that you were."

Twilight gently relaxed under Celestia's gentleness and asked cautiously, "Wha...What do you mean?"
Celestia sighed heavily, a sigh that seemed to carry the weight of the centuries with it as she slowly rose from her bed and walked over to her bookshelf, her horn glowing softly as she touched it. To Twilight's surprise, the bookshelf split in two and slid aside, reveal a very large, thick set book, resting alone on a pedestal of stone.

Celestia picked the book up and turned back to Twilight with a sadden look on her face as she moved back to the bed asking, "Twilight, what I am about to show you, you must never speak of to anyone, it is my most cherished and closely guarded secret. Can you promise me that you will not utter a single word of this to anyone without my permission?"

Twilight, after a brief moments hesitation nodded and swore to the Princess that she would say nothing of this conversation. Celestia sat back onto the bed and set the heavy book in front of Twilight, who was repulsed to see had a leather cover. Leather had been banned in Equestria shortly after its founding, as the hide of another living being was needed to make it, that meant that this book predated Equestria, or its laws at any rate. Twilight inspected the cover to see words etched into in runes that she only vaguely recognized.

She looked questioningly up at Celestia who smiled and touched the book with her horn, the runes reshaping into words that Twilight could read. The words at the top of the cover read, "My Diary."
Twilight's jaw fell open again as she realized that what lay in front of her must be a complete account of the princess' entire life, from when it began till now. Twilight reached out for the cover and when Celestia made no attempt to stop her, gently opened it. The cover peeled back effortlessly and Twilight tried to see when the first entry had been made.

The date was scribbled at the top in childish hand writing, so unlike the princess's current writing style. Twilight couldn't believe her eyes as she read the date, only with her knowledge of old time keeping was she able to determine the date, this same day some three thousand years previously. She looked up at the princess with a look of understandable disbelieve but the princess simply smiled and nodded in conformation. Twilight returned to the book and read the first entry,

"Dear Diary,
Today Princess Solaris picked me to be her apprentice and I'm already being taken to the castle to begin training. Mom and Dad said they were proud of me and gave me this diary to keep me company while I'm there.
I don't know if it's likely I'll have many friends, but I know that it'll be okay in the end."

Cramped under this was a different date, dated some 5 years after the first date, it took Celestia explaining that the first date was her birthday and the second was the actual date of the entry. The realization that today was the Princess's birthday made Twilight smile as she opened her mouth to wish her a happy birthday, Celestia forestalled her by saying with a smile, "Twilight, I stopped celebrating my birthday for a number of reasons, the main one being that it took the royal bakers all day just to put the candles on."

Twilight giggled and nodded as she tried to turn to the next page, but found that she couldn't. She looked questioningly back up at the princess who said, "I don't think you need to read my entire life history, besides, it would take you to long."
Twilight nodded again in understanding and turned to the next available entry, dated some two years after the first. It read,

"Dear Diary,
Today I made the most amazing discovery! I found a dragon egg! Solaris says that the egg was probably abandoned by its mother and has given me permission to take care of it. I don't know if its a boy or a girl, but what I do know is that I'll make sure this little one enters the world unharmed."

Twilight was beginning to see quite a few similarities between her own childhood and Celestia's, looking curiously out of the corner of her eye at her, seeing that the princess face remained deliberately blank. Twilight noticed a small photo, taken with magic, fixed to the corner of the page. It showed a dragon's egg, easily the same size as Spike's had been if the photo was any judge, the pattern on it was curious to say the least but the colors were unmistakable as silver and gold. Twilight wasn't sure where this was going but she flipped to the next entry, which was a full year later. The picture on this page was of a young infant dragon, awkwardly trying to correct itself while bits of shell lay around it. The entry read,

"Dear Diary,
Today the egg hatched! Even though everyone kept telling me that it was probably dead and that was why it was abandoned, I knew that they where wrong. He's such a cute little thing! I asked Solaris if I could raise him and she agreed without pause. I decided to name him Valukan, after a dragon hero I read about during my studies. That dragon was a miracle in what he did, and its a miracle that my Valukan came into the world."

Twilight smiled widely at these words and continued to read the entries allowed to her. She read of Luna's birth, of how a few years after she was born that the then Prince of the moon, Prince Noctus had taken her as his apprentice. Twilight had found this odd, believing that there had only been princesses of the sun and moon, and not a prince, but also at the very young age in which Luna entered into apprenticeship. She flipped to the next entry, which was dated at around the time that Celestia would have been sixteen. It read,

"Dear Diary,
Today marks the first every Royal Canterlot ball, that my mother and father are hosting in honor of my sixteenth birthday, I have the princess's permission to go but...no one has asked me to be their date. I think that my position as both the daughter of the king and queen as well as the apprentice to the princess of the sun intimidates them. I want to go, but not alone... Hold on diary, some one's at the door."

Here the entry broke off and from what Twilight could deduce was continued after the ball had concluded,

"Diary,
Valukan is so sweet. He asked me to the ball, though hesitant at first, I realized how much courage he had to have had to ask me. When we got there I introduced him to mother and father and they took an instant like to him. It wasn't long before the dancers started and to my great surprise, he asked to dance with me. I'll admit, I was afraid, having never done so in my entire life. As we danced, I couldn't help but notice a change come over me, as if my heart was beating for the first time, my face hot and my mind in a spin. I didn't realize it at first, but I knew that he was feeling the exact same thing I was. When was it that I stopped viewing him as a friend and more as a companion, who had come to mean so much to me."

Twilight felt her mind racing a little as she quickly came to the realization of where this tale was leading, and as she turned to the next entry, she was only slightly surprised to see what the photo contained, her breath catching as she saw it. The photo depicted a radiant Celestia, as a grown adult, walking arm in arm down the isle with the gold and silver dragon that was Valukan. Twilight knew that this photo was of her wedding, of so very long ago. Twilight was taking in every single detail she could about this photo, of Celestia's gown, right down to the arrangement of the wedding procession.

She felt honored that Celestia would share such an important event with her and wondered why she hadn't done so before. Without bothering to read the entry Twilight turned to the next entry in which she learned of Luna's inauguration as princess of the moon, about a year after Celestia's wedding which surprised Twilight until she realized that Luna was younger than Celestia, which means she stopped aging before Celestia did. Smiling at the photo she turned to the next entry and her jaw dropped open yet again, there in the photo on this page sat Celestia, with her husband standing behind her, a small tightly wrapped bundle lay against her side, the face still clearly visible, a perfect mix of dragon and alicorn blood. Twilight had to force her eyes from this stunning scene and read the entry in the diary. It read,

"Dear Diary,
I barely have the strength to write this. Today I gave birth to my first born, a son. I haven't thought of what to name him as of yet, but I simply needed to put down on ink and paper, that this day, I am the happiest I have ever been in my entire life."

Twilight couldn't contain herself as she flung her forelegs around Celestia's neck and began congratulating her.
Celestia smiled as she said, "Thank you, though your a fair bit late for that."
Twilight giggled again but a thought occured to her, why had she never met the boy, or any of the other children she must have undoubtedly had. She returned to her reading, thinking that surely the answers lay further along. The next entry explained how Celestia's parents stepped down as the rulers of Equestria and how She and Valukan had ascended the throne.

At this, Twilight thought for a moment about what her position would be then, if she was the princess of the sun and queen, then what did she rule as? After a few moments, in which Celestia reread the old entry she deduced why Twilight had paused and explained, "I am a princess Twilight, but by blood only, The title of Princess of the Sun is just that, a title to represent the importance of my position. In reality the princess of the sun commands only the sun."
Twilight nodded, though slightly confused and flipped to the next entry. This entry was the birth of Celestia's daughter, Twilight smiling as she saw the picture of the tottering child.

The entry after this one however, was nothing like the earlier ones. The photo depicted Celestia standing beside her husband, but her outfit alone hinted at the true depth of the event. Celestia was robed in black, a veil of equal black around her face as on her other side stood Luna, also dressed in mourning and Celestia's two children in front of her. Twilight dared not to read the entry but did so as if compelled, it read,

"Dear Diary,
I barely can form the words to express what I feel. Today, was the day I said my last goodbye to my mother and father, who both died within hours of each other earlier this week. All of Equestria came to mourn their passing, but the pain of my family, of Luna and by extension Valukan, is the greatest of all of them. I shall miss them dearly, diary, but I know that deep in my heart, that as long as I have my family, that everything will be well in time."

Twilight felt a sadness in her heart at reading these words, looking up into the princess's eyes to see a shadow of an ancient pain reflected in them. She mentally wondered how they could have died within such a short time of each other. She Decided to let the matter alone, but Celestia spoke before Twilight could continue by saying, "They got sick, a rare illness from another land that has long since been cured."

Twilight frowned and nodded somberly before flipping to the next entry learning of Celestia's coronation to the position of Princess of the Sun, a little after she learned of her third pregnancy. She flipped to the next entry and her frown deepened as she read of Solaris' death. Twilight had thought it impossible for the princess of the sun or those who came before her to ever die. Celestia knew what Twilight was thinking as her pupil had paused her and explained, "I was not immortal always Twilight, upon assuming Solaris' position, her immortality passed to me. Time can only be delayed and upon becoming mortal again, it rapidly caught up with her and she died."

Twilight nodded in understanding, hoping to never have to witness that event ever. She flipped to the next available chapter smiling as she saw the baby boy child posted the, skimming briefly to learn its name.

As Twilight moved to flip to the next one, she found that it was by far the largest jump, mostly likely stretching hundreds of years. She she finally laid eyes on the page she felt her heart stop.

The page glowed silver, a bright silver that Twilight had only seen once before, when she had first seen Celestia weep. The whole page shone bright with the pure tears of Celestia, tears that had been shed so long ago. Around the edges of the page where several photos that painted a clear picture of the events that had unfolded and Twilight felt intense sorrow by what she saw. The first photo depicted Celestia, hunched over the still and unmoving form of Valukan, as several knights, maids, butlers, and all manner of creatures from all over the land knelt around the death bed.

Twilight felt tears running down her cheeks as she shifted her gaze to the next one, another stab of sorrow hitting her as she saw the silver streaks of Celestia's tears running down her cheeks, outfitted in a far more regal funerary garb than Twilight had remembered seeing, her eyes closed as all of Equestria and beyond was gathered around Canterlot to mourn the passing of this king. She looked down at the entry, penned by magic with liquid gold,

"Diary,
My world has ended... Valukan, my dear, sweet, and most precious love has died.
Every minute that I breathe is agony, every beat of my heart is torment, and every morning that I awaken from my sorrowful sleep is like dying as I no longer feel him beside me. This is the price that I pay for the immortality of my position, that for every generation I live, more and more of my friends and family are lost to the flow of time. But this one event has left me scarred more deeply than I can possibly put into words. My soul screams for him, to be with him one more time, to mend my shattered heart. I would give all that I have and more, if only that I could undo time itself. Valukan, my love, we will be together again, but I pray, that I have the strength to see my task to completion. My love, be there for me, my light when all others go out. My Love, farewell...we shall be together again."

Twilight could not put into words the deep pain she felt in her heart for the princess as she hugged her again, sobbing pityingly into her shoulder, Celestia's own tears mingling with her own. Twilight knew that had she not had the gift and curse of immortality, that she would have died long ago, from the pain of her shattered heart alone. She knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt that Celestia truly understood the depth of true, unrequited love and that she above all others knew of its beauty and pain.

Twilight's sobs slowly began to fade away as she listened to the firm beating of Celestia's heart. She eventually managed to pull away and look at the princess, who's eyes echoed a deep pain that she had tried for all her life to keep at bay. Celestia closed her diary and cleared her throat before saying, "Twilight, do you understand now why I asked why your love for Spike should be a problem? Is what I have endured for nearly two thousand years, a life bereft of the man that I love what you want?"

Twilight vehemently shook her head and said, "No Celestia, it isn't I want to experience love, and I don't care who or what the man I love is, you have shown me that that doesn't matter."
Celestia smiled as she returned the book to its rightful place and said, "Well good, then I believe you have some one at home you need to say something to." Twilight smiled a little as she wiped her eyes and nodded but before she left, Twilight had one final question for the princess, "Why? Why is it that no one knows of your love, of your history, why can't I remember ever having seen a hint of it?"

Celestia smiled sadly and looked away from her pupil as she answered, "Twilight, it was for a short time recorded, but with each passing generation that learned of my life with him and of the family I had, they would come from far and wide to offer their condolences, which always caused me to relive the pain. I removed all trace of my life with him from history, erasing the books and scrolls that contained the information and altering the memories of those who knew. By removing the knowledge from history, I allowed myself to keep my pain hidden and the memories at bay."

She looked back at her student who wore a shocked expression as she continued, "Only myself, Luna, you, and both of my surviving children know the truth." Twilight looked like she was about to ask of Celestia's children but Celestia raised a hoof to forestall her and said, "In time Twilight, bu not now, all you need to know is that as I watch over the sun, they too watch over aspects of Equestria in the same way. Now, the hour is late and both of us need our rest."
Twilight had a million more questions to ask the princess but knew that the conversation was effectively over. Twilight nodded and said as she turned to teleport home, "Wish me luck Celestia."
Celestia smiled and said as Twilight teleported home, "I have a feeling you won't need it Twilight."

Twilight landed on the ground in front of Spike's room and hammered on the door, determined to wake him, it having been several hours since she left. There was no response so she continued to beat on the door until she heard Spike's voice from behind her, "I'm not in there, you can stop trying to beat the door down." She wheeled around and saw a grinning Spike who simply motioned for her to follow him before she could say anything.

She did so, following him down into the Kitchen. Once there he turned at the table and said, "Twilight, I know that our first kiss caught you a little off guard, so I made you something to make you feel better. A way of apologizing I guess"At this he pulled a tea towel of a large apple pie that was still emitting steam into the air, the smell of it alone was mouthwatering. Spike shifted sheepishly and said, "So, will you forgive..."

He didn't finish the sentence due to Twilight flying at him and planting a firm, passionate kiss on his lips. After she finished kissing him she placed her head on his shoulder and whispered into his ear, "Spike, I Love you too."
Grinning from ear to ear, Spike wrapped his arms around her and held her close, pure joy the only emotion he felt as the stood there together. The day had concluded and both of them with their feelings known to one another and the secret past of Celestia revealed to Twilight.
She had no Idea where things would go from here, but she knew that they could only get better.

Chapter 8

Twilight sat outside of the library, staring of into the distance with a vague smile on her face. It had been two week since Celestia had revealed her greatest Secret to Twilight and despite all that, things went on as normal...well as normal as they could be given the circumstances. She had finally accepted her feelings for Spike, as he had before her, and now things had relaxed greatly around the house, neither of them afraid to openly show their affection toward each other. They had caused quite a big stir in Ponyville when Spike had swept her off her feet during a walk and kissed her passionately in front of several gaping bystanders.

Though she had been highly embarrassed at first, she had quickly recovered, taking their stares and murmurings as a badge of pride rather than of shame. Spike had left earlier this morning, saying that he needed to go do something. The vague answer to her question made her sure that he was planning something, presumably something to do with their relationship, but she had held her tongue, realizing that if it were a surprise, there'd be no fun in forcing him to reveal it early.

She stretched a little while watching Rainbow Dash walk past, talking in great depth to her husband, a well built Pegasus, who was listening intently to what she was saying. Twilight smiled as they walked past, remembering how the two of them had met. It hadn't being the most pleasant thing in the world that was for sure. Rainbow Dash's husband, Stormwing. This Pegasus was a unique individual to say the least.

His coat was a sleek storm cloud gray and he stood a head taller than Rainbow Dash. His wings were larger than hers as well, almost twice in size, tucked neatly against his body. He was powerfully built but these trait were not what truly set him apart. Apart from the ability to create storms of various types, as was his name sake, he was also the first Pegasus to ever break the light barrier, meaning that he was able to travel faster than light itself.

Rainbow Dash had been immensely jealous of him upon learning this but she had managed to hide it well, well enough that she had been able to overlook his supremacy in speed and fall in love with him. This had always surprised Twilight, apart from still harboring jealousy over her husbands talent, she also had met him in the most unpleasant way possible. When they had met, she had just entered into her trademark Sonic Rainboom just as he had dropped from light speed, directly in her path.

The impact of their collision had affected Rainbow Dash worse than it had him, upon impact, both of her wings had broken from recoil and she had spent well over a month in recovery, with him at her side constantly trying to make up for the incident. Surprisingly enough, he had managed to avoid major injury from the impact and had felt guilty for the harm he had caused her, which was of course why he had tried to make up for it. Rainbow Dash smiled slyly and gently bumped against him, pushing him of balance a little He grinned broadly and bumped her back, a little stronger than she had. She snorted slightly and pushed him a little harder.

Twilight couldn't help but grin at this, this was their own little way of starting a race, which was frequently started by Rainbow Dash. She would always gently bump him, always getting the same slightly stronger push in return. Twilight didn't know why she bothered trying, no matter what she tried, from attempted underhand tricks and dramatic head starts, she always lost a race to him. As she expected Rainbow Dash leapt into the air and blasted away at the speed of sound with a brief,
"Catch me!"

Stormwing smiled and counted backwards from twenty, allowing Rainbow dash to get as far away as she could before he gave chase. When he reached zero he jumped into the air, his wings unfurling gracefully before he blasted away at an equal speed, the area reverberating with thunder as he dashed off after her. As he neared the edge of Ponyville, light seemed to surround him, bright and blinding until with a bright burst of light he disappeared entirely. Twilight wondered if Rainbow Dash would ever give up trying to beat him in a race.

Twilight shook her head as she got up and stretched languidly before turning to head back inside, the cold afternoon air nipping at her as she opened the door. Before she could step in however, the air shook with a resounding thud! Twilight quickly spun around to look for the source of the noise. Seeing nothing however she turned back toward the library when the same loud thud echoed through the area, building in tempo until it became a hypnotic blast that shook her knees with each beat.

She suddenly looked up as a shadow fell over her. High above her head was a large dragon, easily half the size of the library. She immediately panicked and began to form a spell to force the creature out of Ponyville when it landed with a solid boom on the ground in front of her. Her jaw fell open as the rich purple scales of the dragon glinted in the sun, his piercing green eyes gazed gently at her. She lost her spell as he walked near towards her and gently put his scaled cheek against hers, saying quietly, "Hi Twilight, surprised?"

All she could manage was a faint squeak as Spike's warm voice issued from this quadruped dragon, his large wings folding neatly against his body. Twilight opened and closed her mouth several times before finally managing to ask, "Spike? Is that you? What happened to you?"
Spike smiled as he dropped softly to his belly and replied, "Yes Twilight its me, I used my magic to change my shape, at least for today." Twilight shook her head, was this what he wanted to surprise her with?
Before she could ask why he did this he nuzzled her cheek again and said, "Twilight, for years you carried me on your back, it my turn to do the same."

At this he turned a little in place and offered her his front leg, an invitation to climb on. Twilight hesitated for a brief moment before a smile split her shocked features. She took a tentative step onto Spike's foreleg and slowly climbed onto his back, using magic to aid in her ascent. She situated herself in a small area at the base of his neck, devoid of any spikes and said, "Okay Spike, I'm ready."

He dipped his head in acknowledgment and spread his new wings, this action alone made Twilight tense, feeling like she was going to be thrown off. With a mighty flap of his wings, he rose off the ground, rising quickly into the air as his flapping increased in speed. Twilight yelled in a mixture of great excitement and terror as the ground sped quickly away, the wind blowing her mane around wildly. After he reached a fair height he craned his neck around to look at Twilight with one eye, seeing her eyes closed as she held on tightly. "Twilight, open your eyes."
She did so, her eyes sliding open to see the ground, hundreds of feet below her, Though scared she gently sat up straighter and looked around, her breath catching in awe at the sight.

All of Equestria lay sprawled out in every direction, the rolling hills and smooth valleys were fields of green silk that mingled together gracefully with the rich colors of the trees of the forest, which were ablaze with the fiery colors of fall. The clouds drifter smoothly by, insubstantial in form and texture but so close Twilight felt like she could relax on them for forever. "Its beautiful... I can't believe how small the world is from here."
She leaned against his back and cuddled against him, sighing peacefully as she said, "Thank you Spike, I just have one question though..."

He cut her off and said, "Oh don't ask questions now, all you need know is that we are together, away from the world."
She smiled and nodded before settling back down on his neck while he glided slowly through the air, heading off away from Ponyville. Twilight's head swiveled back and forth as she gazed around at the world below her, marveling at how the world looked from this height. She smiled as she watched the repeated flashes of light of in the distance that was Stormwing, taunting Rainbow dash by constantly staying within a few hundred yards of her.

She shook her head as she settled to watch the birds and other animals of the land below her. She rested her head on his back and closed her eyes, listening to the slow steady beating of his heart, the hypnotic pace of his breathing. She shivered as the air cooled sharply, suddenly feeling like it was the heart of winter. She opened her eyes and looked around, the ground seeming over a mile away. "Spike, where are we going?"

Spike didn't answer, possibly because he couldn't hear her. She tried to cuddle closer to his bulk, want more of his warmth as the temperature continued dropping, the wind whipping her through her mane. She just started wondering how much more of this she'd have to endure when the air suddenly felt warmer. She opened her eyes, ice crystals clinging to her eye lids as she looked up.

The cloud cover was thick and unyielding but she could see a faint light in the clouds. She looked back down at Spike's back and tried to ask him again of what was going on. Again he was silent, but he turned his head to look at her with one eye. He looked out back towards the glittering light. Minutes went by, the warmth in the air getting warmer and warmer until it felt like the air of a bright summers day. "Spike, where are we going?"

This time Spike did answer by saying as he broke through the clouds and bright light blinded both of them temporarily,
"Welcome Twilight, to the capital city of the dragons, Daranna."
Twilight's eyes widened to the size of apples by what she saw. A large island floated before them, held aloft by magic unknown silhouetted by the clouds around it. The light that had blinded them was caused by an enormous sphere of light that hovered over the city, glowing brightly like the sun, illuminating everything below it. The city itself however was what truly took her breath away.

Arrayed like a pyramid, the city rose in tiers upward, a large, cathedral like build rested alone on the topmost one, the orb of light floating directly above its highest tower, all the buildings in the city seemed to be carved of various shades of Marble and granite, formed into intricate and impossible designs and glittering like tiny gemstones as the false sun light hit them. Spike angled toward the bottom tier of the city and alighted on a patch of ground made from carved marble, runes of various kinds and numerous patterns ran along the edges of it, flowing together into a fluid, almost life like diagram.

Spike crouched down so that Twilight could jump off. She promptly did so, her hooves clacking on the perfect marble. She looked around excitedly at her surroundings while Spike stood up again and asked with a grin on his face, "You like it?" Her vigorous nod was answer enough as she carefully began examining a carving of a flying dragon on the pedestal that they stood on. He nudged her gently and said, "Would you like to explore the city?"

Her grin only seemed to brighten as she took up a position next to Spike and followed alongside him as they walked up from the landing area to the first tier of the city. The area was built for farming and agriculture, small houses, built also from marble and granite but unlike the buildings further into the city, sat foremost in the area. Large plots of land surrounded them, often as large as the orchards of Ponyville, many of them growing various plants from fruit trees to wheat. The whole area was thick with growth, as if the plants had never been tended to in years, some of the houses where completely over run and sections of the road where also buried in undergrowth.

Twilight was slightly confused by this though, some of the buildings were buried in plants and some buildings were crumbling, but most of the city was well maintained and gorgeous, as if suspended in time. She looked at him questioningly and he motioned for him to continue to follow him. After a few more minutes of walking they came to another set of stairs that they walked up to the second tier. This tier was dominated by many more buildings, running along both sides of the street, the street stretching off into the distance, curving around to go the full circumference of the tier.

The buildings were of various shapes and sizes, some of them had stalls and stands in front of them, empty baskets and crates scattered around along the streets. This tier was obviously dedicated to trade and commerce. Twilight was getting the uneasy feeling that this whole city was a ghost town, empty of all live except them.
"Spike, where is everyone, you said this was a capital city of your people?"
Spike nodded sadly, sitting back of his haunches as he sighed heavily, "It was our capital, we abandoned it thousands of years ago..."

Twilight cocked her head to the side and asked, "Why? An even better question, how do you know this?"
Spike sighed again and said, "Instinct, I didn't even know about this place until a week ago, and only knew where to find it two days ago." A thousand questions burst into her mind as she tried to process what he had said, and what she had been shown. Spike had only recently learned of this ancient city through his instincts and only just recently, but why? Before she could ask Spike got up and continued on, walking up the stairs across from them with Twilight close behind.

Upon coming over on the top step she looked around at the buildings on this tier. All of the buildings where beautiful in design often studded with various gemstones ranging from diamond and amethyst. She could tell by the buildings alone that the upper class lived here. She didn't have much time to admire them before Spike was climbing to the next tier. Twilight's legs felt like they were burning as she finally alighted on the final step. This tier was the last one, the massive cathedral stood before them, its doors crafted of thickset and beautifully carved wood, of what type she didn't know.

The building was made entirely of marble and was inlaid with gemstones and gold. Despite this impressive sight however, Spike walked to the left of it, following a path to a large domed building. Twilight continued to follow after him until he pulled the doors of the building open and motioned for her to go inside. He had remained strangely quite this whole time and she felt that she finally was about to learn why. He closed the door behind himself and walked a little farther ahead before he came to a clearing, in which sat a large fountain and four benches of stone.

The fountain was adorned with a large statue of a dragoness, who wore a solemn expression with her arms held out in a sign of welcome. The statue looked a lot like how Spike didn't when he was in his normal shape, on two legs, with a height and build that were similar in design. The only difference however was that the statue had wings where Spike was usually without. She heard as faint whoosh behind her and turned to see Spike changing back to his original form, a faint light surrounding him before he stood before her stretching. "Back to normal I see, how do you feel?"

Spike shrugged as he sat down on one of the benches and said, "I feel fine, just...a little uneasy."
She frowned and sat down next to him placing a hoof on his claw, starring at him with a look of concern, "Are you okay?"
Spike shook his head, a deep frown making his face look gaunt as he sat there. Eventually, after a few moments of silence, in which the only sound of the fountain could be heard. After a few more minutes Spike took a deep breath he said, "I wanted to bring you here, because...well, I don't want the ancient secrets of the dragons lost."

Twilight shook her head, preservation of knowledge? There had to be more to it than that. She shook her head and moved her hoof to his face, tilting it so that he was looking at her. He kept his eyes averted from her as she asked again, "Spike, whats wrong?"
Spike inhaled shakily and looked into her eyes before gulping audibly and answer her, "This city was abandoned thousands of years ago, no dragon has ever known of it until now and my mind is flooded with all of the knowledge of what happened to my people, because I am the only dragon alive who cares." Twilight felt a little disconcerted as he continued without giving her a chance to ask a question, "Several thousand years ago, probably before Equestria was founded, we dragons were a powerful and wise race, we built many wondrous things and delved deep into the mysteries of magic. We were responsible for a lot of magical developments as well as the creation of a number of magical plants."

He paused here briefly to look back at the statue beside him before turning his gaze back to Twilight and continuing, "This city was our greatest achievement, here most of us lived and died, here most of our greatest achievements were stored or created. It was here also that our decline began."
A tear spilled from his eye as if memories of great pain were flooding his mind, but he fought to keep the pain at bay. He took a deep breath and resumed speaking before she could interrupt, "About three hundred years before Equestria was formed we crowned a new king, King Araela, the last King of the dragons. He was a great proprietor of wealth, both physical and intellectual. Shortly after his coronation he began enacting laws that decreed the gathering of wealth to the capital, whether we owned it or not. Few of us seemed to notice that these laws were wrong The sad thing was, we had developed a hubris that many of us were blind to...arrogance. Our believe in our might and magic had spawned in us a seed of greed and arrogance that blinded us from the truth of our actions."

He paused for a moment, looking out past Twilight, as if seeing things long past. Twilight didn't say anything, she knew he wasn't done and what could she say about the dragons of old and what they had become. After a few more moment he concluded his tale,
"For a hundred years this went on until dragons everywhere were reduced to the brutes you know today, not caring about love, life, or art. Squabbling over simple petty items of value and bullying other for amusement. Our greed had grown without us ever realizing it and now, we are doomed to suffer a slow decline into oblivion."

Spike took a hold of her hooves and sat there in silence, tears of sorrow at the fate of his people rolling down his cheeks. Twilight felt tears running down her own face as she looked at the dragon before her, the one she'd grown to love. She reached up to his cheek and gently stroked it feeling helpless in this situation, she couldn't tell him it was going to be alright, she couldn't tell him she knew how he felt. All she could do was sit here with him and comfort him until his grief passed. She knew why he had only just recently become aware of this past, of this knowledge.

As dragon's had become increasingly more consumed by their greed, those few who remained honest and pure must have cast a spell that blinded the entire dragon race to the history of their kind and this great city, so that it could never be raided or exploited. She pulled him gently into a hug and held him as he wept openly and bitterly into her shoulder. After a several minutes of weeping, in which she stroked his back lovingly, did he finally calm down. He pulled away from her gently, still keeping his arms around her. "Twilight, thank you...for listening to me."
Twilight smiled and kissed him gently, "It was no problem Spike, I'll listen to anything you need to say."

Spike smiled and wiped his eyes before looking around carefully. There was something in this garden square that he wanted to give her. He saw what he was looking for hidden behind some bushes. He got up and moved over to the bushes, pulling them apart to reveal the flowers behind them. He smiled as he reached down and picked one before turning back to Twilight, a wide grin on his face.

Her eyes widened as he offered her the flower. It was unlike any blossom she had ever seen, the petals fanned out like a lily but the petals and stem seemed to be made of pure crystal, the petals were a radiant magenta and the stem a deep emerald green. He placed the delicate flower behind her ear, the plant felt like a real flower, as soft and as supple as a rose petal. She marveled at the beautiful flower and kissed him passionately.

When they separated, she laid her head on his shoulder and stood there in his arms, feeling somehow like she had reached a level of intimacy with him that she had never experienced before, nothing physical or erstwhile in that regard, but rather on a deep emotional level, a level of understanding she'd never obtained with anyone ever.
She didn't know what lay in store for her but it could only keep getting better from here.

Chapter 9

Twilight sat at her vanity, slowly brushing her mane with slow steady strokes, a distant look in her eyes, a smile playing across her face. It had been two weeks since the trip to the capital city of the dragons, and things had relaxed greatly around the house. Spike seemed much more at ease, as if his startling revelations of the weeks prior had set him at peace. He had said that he didn't mind talking about these things with her and would so if she asked him to.

She had wondered if there was anything more about the dragons he wanted to tell her, but she had not asked; whatever it was he would tell her in time. She thought back to that long forgotten city and smiled, she had been unable to sleep when they had gotten back, that city was a treasure trove of knowledge, one that could keep her and her descendants studying, learning, and cataloging for generations to come.

Even if she had a thousand years of life she'd never uncover all the ancients secrets of the dragons and that thought brought a wide smile to her face. After ensuring her mane was smoothly brushed, she pulled out a small mahogany box that Rarity had given her on her last birthday. She smiled as she opened it to reveal a large number of perfumes and and a good array of make ups. She picked out a fragrant rose scented perfume and sprayed it on lightly before applying a light powder and eyeliner. She smiled at her appearance in the mirror before closing the case and placing it back into small area of her desk where she kept it.

She hadn't taken this much time to touch up her appearance and found that she really liked taking the time for it. She left her room and walked downstairs, the noon day sun pouring in through the windows. The house was empty but for her. Spike had left earlier today to go back the Dragon city for some reason or another, he'd been somewhat vague but she trusted that whatever it was that caused him to go there was important. She sat down in the living room and picked up a chapter book off the side table and began to read it while she waited for Spike to get back.

She'd been able to get to her story books by exploiting the one loophole in Spike's wards around the bookshelves, it prevented her from getting Study material, not from reading in general. She opened to the page she was last at and continued to read. The minutes stretched in a couple of hours before she heard the library door open and clawed feet walking on the hard wood floor. "I'm home, Twilight?"

She closed the book with a snap and placed it back onto side table before sliding off the couch and walking towards the hall that lead to the front door. She smiled at Spike and stood on her hind legs, putting her front legs around his neck in a loving hug. He smiled and returned the hug, rubbing his nose along her neck, smelling the scent of roses on her. He smiled and looked back into her eyes, the feeling of closeness palpable in the air. He leaned close to her and said, "You smell divine love."

Her face felt very hot as a blush colored her cheeks magenta. She grinned and leaned close to him her lips inches from his as she whispered back, "Thank you, I did it just for you."
He let out a soft hum as he leaned still closer, his lips barely touching hers and whispered, "All the more lovely everyday I see you." At this he leaned in the miniscule distance and kissed her.

She sighed audibly as she returned the kiss with equal passion, loving every single second of the embrace. Spike was in a daze, the beauty of the pony in front of him, the rose smell in his nose, the tingling excitement running down his spine. However, before he knew it, an all too familiar sensation came to him. A warm glow spread up his throat, rolling upward till it hit his mouth.

Before Spike could do much more than open his eyes wide with shock with the emerald green flames escaping his mouth. Fortunately, his dragon fire did not burn individuals when receiving a message, and that alone was what could cause his fire to come out involuntary. He tried to stop it but it was to late. His green fire flowed from his mouth to Twilight's who's eyes went large as saucers as she suddenly found herself holding a scroll in her mouth. She pulled away from Spike and quickly spat it out.

He apologized repeatedly as she slowly recovered from the shock. Having her moment with Spike interrupted so rudely was not at all pleasant. She bent over and examined the letter before picking it up and opening it. It was from Celestia, and as pleased as Twilight was to hear from her, she couldn't help but feel a sense of profound irritation at her timing. The letter read,

"Dear Twilight and Spike,
I would like to invite you two to join me for a picnic lunch. I would very much like to introduce you to my children if you would like to meet them. Lunch is in one hour at the small pond in Whitetail woods. I await your response.
Celestia"

Twilight smiled in spite of herself and summoned a quill and ink before writing her agreement on the back of the same message and asking Spike to send it to her. Spike took it from her and read it before lighting it and sending the reply back to Celestia. He shook his head and leaned against the door frame with his eyes closed. Twilight watched him while she thought about what to do. "So, Twilight, what do you plan on doing?"

Twilight shook her head and said, "I already said we'd go, I'm not going to be so rude as to say yes, then not show up. Just let me grab my scarf and we'll head out to the pond in Whitetail woods." With that she turned and walked back upstairs, returning shortly with her lavender colored scarf, which she wrapped around her neck. "Okay, lets go." Spike nodded and opened the door, bowing Twilight out of the house with a smile. She rolled her eyes and walked out of the house with Spike following behind.

20 minutes later

Twilight and Spike came to a stop on the small hill near the sycamore tree that they had shared their first kiss under. She smiled at the blanket laid out on the ground under it and moved toward the pond. The blanket was a quilted pattern, simple and comfortable, perfect for the uses of a picnic. The air was cold, but not unbearable as she settled down on it, looking around for any sign of princess or her mysterious children. The blanket had obviously been laid out by her, seeing as she didn't recognize it but some it appeared that she was no where to be found.

Spike slid down next to her and put an arm around her neck, holding her close in a warm embrace. Twilight noticed that he was shivering slightly, as the weeks progressed, the temperature got steadily colder. She laid her head gently against his and waited. The princess couldn't have forgotten about this, That much she was certain about. Just when she was beginning to wonder if she should wrap the two of them in the quilt for warmth did something happen.

There was a noticeable change in the air, suddenly seeming to be warmer, as if she were sitting downwind of a bonfire, the air suddenly feeling as if it had risen ten degrees. She looked at Spike, thinking perhaps that he was the source, only to see that he was also looking around curiously, obviously wondering where the sudden heat was coming from. The air seemed to be getting warmer and warmer, slowly beginning to feel as though they were sitting in a sauna when Twilight looked behind her as a sudden surge of magic flared. The ground five feet away from where she was sitting was smoking slightly as ripples in the air indicated the intense heat in the area.

She grabbed Spike's shoulder and turned him in the direction of the spot she had seen when the grass and leaves there erupted into flames. The ground split apart, like an earthquake had hit it, the air seemed to become sweltering as from within the damaged ground rose roiling magma. Twilight was now panicking, half rising to her feet until she realized that the lava was not obeying the laws of nature. It flowed upward, fluid and lithe, like a stream of water flowing over rocks, twisting and bending forming an intricate pattern in the air. After a few minutes Twilight realized that what she was watching was forming into the shape of a peculiar creature, the likes of which she had never seen before. Before she could gauge what it was, the magma cooled into a solid black rock.

She took a step toward the statue, to examine it. Before she had taken a half step, the rock face of the statue cracked and a section of it fell away, revealing a single, mahogany brown eye. In a split second, the entire carapace shattered as the occupant shook himself. Twilight shielded her face as fragments of rock flew past her and when she looked back she gasped. Before her stood a creature that was beyond believe, a perfect mix of Dragon and Alicorn blood, there was no mistaking that this was one of Celestia's children.

The pony, for want of a better word, stood a head taller than Twilight was. His coat was a deep crimson red, smooth and sleek, a line of golden scales running down his back towards his tail. His wings where those of a dragon, large and scaled, but with what appeared to be feathers or feather down, on the back side of them, his wings were currently folded neatly against his body. His horn was similar in shape to Celestia's but was lined with gold and raw gem fragments. His mane looked like it was made of lava, flowing and moving like the liquid rock itself.

He smiled and nodded towards both Spike and Twilight, both of whom wore a deeply shocked look. He cleared his throat after a long uncomfortable silence and said in a deep, calm voice that offset his appearance, "Greetings, you must be Twilight Sparkle and Spike, I've heard a lot about you from my mother."
Twilight's brain was sagging from her attempt to process this new information, He had few things in his appearance that looked like they came from Celestia, the horn and eye shape where what stood out the most.

Twilight opened and closed her mouth repeatedly before managing to ask, "Why do you look so...different?"
The pony smiled as he walked closer to the picnic area, gemstones and crystals growing around his feet with each step. He settled down on the ground next to the blanket and said, "I didn't always look like this, My appearance has changed since I became the prince of the earth."

Now Twilight understood, though she was surprised to know what he was, the prince of the earth, she was more surprised to be talking to some one she had not until recently known about. He looked around, examining the area before looking back at Twilight and asking, "Where is my mother, is she not here yet?"
Twilight shook her head and replied, "No, and I believe your sister is coming as well, by the way what is your name?" The pony dipped his head apologetically and said, "My name is Tetran, Prince of the Earth. I'll let my sister introduce herself."

At this he nodded in the direction of the pond and Twilight and Spike looked around at it. The surface of the water had become enshrouded in a thick mist, flowing just over the surface of the water. Twilight felt a calm presence coming from the pond and relaxed as she just stared wistfully at the water. The water rippled and seemed to flow up the side of the small hill, like a shadow of the clouds before the sun. It was a few seconds before Twilight Realized that it was water flowing towards where the small group sat.

It flowed upward, much in the same way that Tetran had appeared, but instead of solidifying after taking the same of another of the curious creatures it seemed to be being filled with color. It soon looked like she was looking at another persons reflection in a pool of water. The water melted away to reveal another one of Celestia's children, standing at the small picnic area with her eyes closed as if deep in thought.

She was frighteningly beautiful, despite her unique appearance. Her coat was a cloudy white with a similar stripe of scales running down her back, except they were a deep sea blue rather than gold. She had two horns, one above each eye and angled backwards, much like some of the dragons she'd seen in books. Her wings were feathered and Pegasus like, the feathers were a iceberg blue and nearly see through. Her feet were different as well, cloven an scaled, the blue scales running up her legs to her knees.

Her face also had scales on it, in a small patch that ran the length of snout. She finally opened her eyes and looked at the three gathered ponies, her eyes a piercing crystal blue before saying, "I am Ocaena, the Princess of the oceans and tides."
Tetran smiled and said, "You were always one for your introductions."
Ocaena snorted and said in reply, "And you aren't always showing up like a volcano."

She sat laid down on the opposite side of her brother and looked around, obviously trying to spot her mother, who had yet to arrive. She looked back at the group and said nothing, merely watching each of them, as if gauging each of them in turn. Spike felt acutely uncomfortable under her piercing gaze and instead tried to talk to Twilight, suddenly wishing that he was alone with her, away from these strangers.

Twilight meanwhile was talking in great depth with Tetran and seemed not to notice his attempts to get her attention. Boiling jealousy rose like wildfire in him, lapping at his heart and mind as he glared at the male who sat across from him. Tetran noticed this and stalled slightly before looking back and forth between Twilight and Spike, correctly guessing where the glare originated. He halted his talk With Twilight and bowed his head towards Spike and said with complete honesty,
"I have no intention to take your mate from you, I apologize."

This left both Spike and Twilight spluttering as they tried to form words with which to explain that they were dating and nothing more. Ocaena assisted by correcting his statement, much to his chagrin and he again apologized for the misunderstanding, leaving the pair of them highly embarrassed and unable to say much more. Fortunately, as Twilight began a round of twenty questions with Ocaena did Celestia appear. She alighted on the ground a good ten feet away from the group, a smile teasing her face at the sight. She wasn't wearing her crown or necklace in fact, this was one of the few times that Twilight had seen the princess without them. Celestia took two steps forward when she was suddenly bowled over by both of her children.

Twilight raised an eyebrow as both of the full grown adults that she was in the process of being acquainted to wrestled around with their mother, like small children all over again. She still couldn't resist smiling at the loving family scene before her however. Twilight watched as Celestia handily flipped Tetran over onto his back and held him there with one hoof before tripping up Ocaena with a spell and causing her to tumble onto Tetran into an undignified heap. Celestia smiled and said, "947 to me, you'll have to try harder than that little ones."

Celestia walked over to the quilt and laid down on it while Ocaena and her brother attempted to untangle themselves. "I see you've met the two of them, how have you been getting along?"
Celestia's question brought a smile to Twilight's face as she said, "It's wonderful to finally meet them, I wish I could have me them sooner."

Celestia nodded and said, "Unlike me, their responsibilities are far more taxing. They govern the land and the sea, this includes the tides, volcanoes, the growth and nourishment of the plants, creation of new land and the maintaining of balance in both the land and the seas. I control the sun's rising and setting."
At this Spike wondered how on earth they could have found the time to attempt to pin their mother almost a thousand times, let alone come to a picnic lunch. He reasoned that they learned how to maintain their duties without thinking about it.

Celestia focused her magic and summoned a good sized lunch to them, more than enough to feed all those present. She motioned for Twilight and Spike to help themselves and as they did so, they were soon joined by the disheveled siblings. They all sat down to eat with much laughter and merriment, swapping stories and tales of their lives, of lessons learned, adventures undertaken and great deeds done by all those present. It didn't seem like it lasted very long, but soon enough, the sun began to dip behind the horizon and the sky darken.

Twilight was sitting next to Spike, laughing cheerily at a tale of Ocaena's of the time she'd accidentally encased her brother in ice and attempted to pass him off as an ice sculpture to avoid getting in trouble when Celestia called a halt to the tales, just before Tetran could retaliate with a story of his own.
"I think its time we called a halt to this party of ours. Its late and we all have things we need to do. Both of her children had looks of disappointment that they hid very well, nodding in agreement to Celestia's statement before rising to their feet. Ocaena smiled at Twilight and Spike and said, "It was good to meet you two, I hope that we can do so again." Tetran nodded in agreement to this and said, "Indeed, You are good friends, I am honored to have met you."

He turned to his mother and hugged her, Celestia smiling as she kissed him gently on the cheek and smoothing back a lock of his mane, the perfect image of a mother and her son. She moved to her daughter next and gave her a hug as well, kissing her lightly on the cheek and smoothing out some of the feathers on her left wing. Celestia nodded to them and said, "I hope you'll come to visit me again, I miss the pair of you."

They both nodded and promised that they would before walking off together toward the woods and vanishing in an altogether unspectacular way. Twilight found that there were tears in her eyes, a deep longing in her heart that she couldn't explain. Watching this family, reunited for a brief time made Twilight wish that she could go back to the beginning of the day and do it all over again, so they could be together always. She sniffed and wiped her eyes, causing Celestia to turn around to look at Twilight, silver tear tracks on her cheeks as she smiled and said, "I've wept enough for the both of us, come Twilight, its late and we both need to be heading home."

Twilight didn't want to leave, she had a million questions she wanted to ask Celestia, but she respected the princess enough to know that on this particular matter, it was better left alone. She nodded and rose to her feet, Spike standing next to her, shivering and yawning, to cold eating away at his energy. She took ahold of Spike's arm and teleported home, taking the weakened dragon to his room so he could rest. Twilight sighed as she closed his bedroom door behind her and looked out to the rising moon.

Today she had met the two children of Celestia, both of whom had been extraordinary individuals in their own right. She wondered why she'd not seen them around Ponyville or Canterlot, but she left such questions for another time. What time of her vacation that remained was sure to bring more surprises her way, and she was sure that they couldn't possibly be as startling as the last month had been.
She looked forward to it.

Chapter 10

Spike lay on his bed, staring up at the ceiling, idly spinning a long wooden, rectangular box in his hand, snow falling lightly outside the window. It had been two weeks since their picnic with Celestia and her children, and life progressed on as normal. Twilight had been spending a fair bit of the last two weeks in the company of Tetran and Ocaena, learning all she could from them and trying to become friends with them.

Spike didn't mind this, it gave him ample opportunity to work on his greatest surprise for Twilight. He stopped spinning the wooden box and used his claws to carve a little intricate pattern on it, relying on the ancient knowledge of the dragons to guide him as his talons traced a delicate pattern before going a bit deeper to carve it out. He felt knots in his stomach as he thought what this box was going to be used for, nerves causing his feet to feel slightly chilly. He redoubled his focus on his task, trying to keep his mind away from his nerves.

He traced out another delicate pattern on the side when he heard his door handle turn. Thanking everything in creation for his keen ears he rapidly spun around and rammed the box under his pillow before smoothing all the sheets out and in the process removing the wood shavings. He settled back down on his bed and stared up at the ceiling as the door opened and sure enough, Twilight stepped in. He turned his head to look at her and smiled saying as he slid his feet off the bed, "You know, knocking is really in now a days."

She paused for a second, eying him. She had never had to knock to enter his room, even as he'd grown into the adult he was now. She shook her head and decided to not to ask why he'd said that. She moved next to him and said, "Spike, I'm sorry I haven't been around the house very much."
Spike waved a claw and said, "Its alright Twilight, your making new friends and I don't mind that."
Twilight shook her head and insisted, "Nonsense, you're my boyfriend, I should be spending more time with you so I'll make up for it, so what do you want to do?"

Spike shrugged and looked around the room, trying to find something to inspire an event they could share together. It wasn't until his eyes caught the build up of snow in his window did he get an idea. He grinned slyly and feigned, "Oh I don't know Twilight, give me a few minutes to come up with something." As he hoped she nodded and turned to leave. He opened his window with magic and used his magic to cause a snowball to form, hurling it at her. It hit her flank with a poof of white snow and she yelped in surprise.

She looked over her shoulder at him with an amused and annoyed expression on her face. So that's how he wanted to play, hmm? She laughed and sprinted down the stairs with Spike running behind her, grabbing her scarf with magic and opening the door, running out into the snow. Spike smiled as he pulled the door shut behind him, it had been years since he and Twilight had a good snowball fight. He didn't have much time to revel in it before a large snow ball smacked him across the face. He grunted and spun, dropping down to grab a handful of snow, before he could ball it up, two more snowballs hit his chest. He threw the snow towards Twilight and ducked as ten snow balls sailed by him.

Instead of grabbing snow, he used his magic to rush past Twilight at a blinding speed, the air whooshing behind him as his magic wrapped Twilight in layer of snow. Spike skidded to a stop and looked back at the stunned Twilight, covered in snow.
He walked over to her and said, "Oh look, I made a Snow pony in the shape of Twilight."
Twilight's laughter could be hear from inside the the shell of snow and she shook her head, the snow falling from her face. She looked back at him and shook the rest of her body, the snow flying away. Turning to face her companion she said, "How about another round?"

Spike grinned broadly and hurled a fist of snow at her before rolling sideways to avoid her wave of snow. Spike skid back to his feet and used his own magic to pull a wave of snow towards her from behind, he wasn't surprised when it parted around her effortlessly. He picked up another snow ball and tossed it at her, the small ball turning direction and colliding with him instead.

He smiled and created a massive ball of snow and tossed it at her, following it with a large wave of snow. She broke the first attack apart with her magic but her eyes went wide as the second one knocked her over and buried her. She shook the snow from her eyes and look at Spike, who stood there with a large grin on his face. She sighed and shook her head, "Okay, you win." Spike smiled and offered a claw to her, she took it and grinned mischievously and pulled him into the snow bank she was in. Spike laughed as he landed next to her, his eyes filled with snow and unable to see anything. He wiped his eyes off and looked at Twilight.

She was beautiful to him, even when the snow clumped up in her mane and coat, making her look comical, she was still beautiful to him. He reached over and wiped some of the snow from her face, causing her to blush at the touch. Even though she'd kissed him and dated him for some time now, she still blushed when he touched her like this, soft and loving. He could feel her shivering from the cold, soon coming to realize that he was as well, how long had they been out here? He got to his feet and pulled her to hers, guiding her inside to the living room where he sat her down on the couch and lit the fireplace with a puff of his dragon fire. He turned back to the couch and smiled as he saw Twilight sitting there, wrapped in a blanket she had summoned. She smiled and lifted one side of it with her magic and Spike sat down next to her, wrapping his arms around her.

He nuzzled her neck and sighed contentedly as the fire crackled merrily. He could her heart beating madly at the closeness they felt. He ran a claw through her mane and smoothed it out. He smiled at her and leaned in close to kiss her. She loved it when he kissed her, leaning the rest of the distance to kiss him. The moment was brief but sweet and Twilight marveled how she had come to this point in her life. For so long, she had lived in the same house with Spike, she had taught him, and helped him in all his problems as he'd grown.

Never once did she think that she'd be here, in his arms, kissing and cuddling together. She sighed and laid her head on his shoulder, his claws rubbing along her neck and shoulders bringing a sense of contentment over her. She stared into the fire, her mind slipping as the feeling of his claws made her body relax. Her eyes closed and she snuffled closer against him, falling asleep in his arms. He smiled as Twilight relaxed completely and her slow steady breathing took over. He shifted into a more comfortable position, lying prone on the couch with Twilight asleep beside him, her head on his chest, a foreleg draped over him in the hug they had had before she had fallen asleep. He kissed the top of her head before he closed his eyes and fell asleep with a soft, "I love you."

Several Hours Later...

Shining Armor stood on the front step of the library where his sister lived. He'd been knocking on it for the past half hour. Twilight was always home, it was odd that she hadn't opened it for him. He walked over to the living room window and tried to look in through it. The curtains were closed and the window shut, unsurprising given the cold temperatures. He returned to the front door and focused his magic on the door lock. He was annoyed to find that it had been unlocked the entire time he'd been there.

He opened the door softly and stepped inside, thinking that perhaps the reason why Twilight had not answered was because she'd fallen asleep at her books again. He took off his traveling cloak and hung it on the hooks along the wall just inside the door, reserved for scarves, cloaks, and capes. He noticed Twilight's scarf on one of the hooks, soaking wet and dripping.

She was obviously home, but where was she. He took the stairs to the second floor and looked into her room, she wasn't there. He went to the bathroom, knocked and looked in, yet again, no Twilight. He checked Spike's room, then the study, then the kitchen and didn't find her. The only room left to check was the living room. He realized he should have checked this room first, but he didn't think it likely she'd be here and not hear him knocking. As he stepped into the living room and looked around, his mind disengaged completely.

There, on the couch wrapped in a blanket and snuggled against each other were Twilight and Spike. Shining closed his eyes and tried to back out of the room as quickly as he could, trying not to envision what could have happened to put these two in this position. As he backed up rapidly, his foot collided with the side table and he tumbled backward onto the floor with a loud crash. Both Spike and Twilight jolted awake in a heartbeat, Twilight rolling onto the floor as Spike sat bolt upright. Twilight looked over to the living room door and saw her brother attempting to juggle the lamp and flower vase that had been sitting on the side table he'd knocked over.

Twilight caught the objects with her magic and righted the table, setting both items back onto it. Shining was looking away from his sister embarrassed and said, "I...I'm sorry Twilight, I didn't mean to disturb you. I'll go now."
Twilight shook her head and responded cheerfully, "Don't be silly, I haven't seen you in months! Please come in."
Shining shook his head and said, "I don't want to disturb you and Spike. You are obviously...busy."
It took a few moment for Twilight's sleep fogged mind to register what he meant, when she did she spluttered and exclaimed, "No! No, no, no! Its not like that at all! We are dating yes but that's not what happened, I promise you."

Shining paused for a moment, then nodded, he knew Twilight would never lie to him like that. He smiled and rose to his feet and apologized to both of them for the misunderstanding. Shining stepped into the warmly lit room and sat on the sofa, opposite the couch and said, "I hope the two of you have been having fun together. I also hope that your treating Twilight well Spike."

Spike nodded as he folded up the blanket that had been covering them as Twilight went to the kitchen and said, "You know me Shining, I would never hurt Twilight, I love her."
Shining found it odd to hear these words from Spike but ignored the feeling. He nodded and sat back comfortably, appreciating the warmth of the fire after the cold of the winter air. Twilight came in from the kitchen, floating a try of tea and cookies. She set it down on the table in the middle of the room and moved around it to hug her brother. He gladly returned the hug and took a tea cup from the tray, watching as Twilight went back over to Spike and sat down next to him. Shining watched as Spike put his claw on her hoof and held it there as they helped themselves to the snack.

He sighed, he had to be honest with himself, he'd thought that Twilight was going to be an old maid at the rate she was going, spending more time with her books than the living. He was glad, albeit a little out of sorts, that Twilight had found a love in Spike. He took a gulp of his tea and thought a little more about how he felt about his sister dating a dragon. He had always thought that the one to pull her away from her books would be some highly intelligent and handsome bookworm of a colt who could out study her in every way possible.

He shook his head and took a cookie from the tray, munching on it as he resumed watching the two across from him. Both Spike and Twilight were starting to feel a little uncomfortable under his gaze and eventually Twilight sighed and said, "Shining, would you like to hear how we fell for each other?"
Taken slightly aback, he didn't immediately respond but eventually he nodded.

He listened as Twilight told him the story, of her obsessive studying that caused Celestia to order her to take a five month vacation and then of the day trip to the beach. She told him of the Millennial shower, of the fall harvest, where they had had their first dance together. Of their walk through white tail woods and their first kiss, of he indecision and final acceptance of her feelings for Spike and of the trip to the ancient dragon capital. She deliberately left out the picnic with Celestia and her children, or the manner in which she learned of them. When she finally finished, it was well after dark and the snack had evolved into dinner. Shining sat back on the sofa and thought quietly to himself.

He eventually smiled and said, "Well, after all that you've been through, I'm not surprised that you've fallen for each other. I only have one thing to say, I am happy for the both of you." Twilight smiled and leaned over to kiss Spike on the cheek, causing him to blush. He grinned and put an arm around Twilight's shoulders and gave her a one armed squeeze. Shining shook his head at these signs of affection and rose to his feet. Twilight frowned as she stood as well and asked, "Are you leaving already?"

Shining nodded and said wearily, "I've got to Twilight, I had to make time for the visit and I can't delay my duties as long as I would like."
He hugged his sister again and said as he ruffled her mane, "Don't worry about it Twilight, I'll visit you again, and next time I'll bring Cadence along with your little nephew." Twilight smiled and said, "I'll hold you to that, I'd love to see her again, and my nephew. I bet he misses playing with Auntie Twilight." Shining chuckled and said, "Yes he does, I'll bring the other two little ones if I can."

Twilight smiled broadly and nodded as she relinquished her brother and watched him walk away to the door. She felt Spike by her side as Shining pulled his cloak on again and stepped out into the night with a final goodbye. Twilight felt sad at his leaving, but knew that he had his own responsibilities to cope with back in Canterlot.

She turned back to Spike and hugged him, kissing him gently on the lips before moving to clean up the mess from dinner. Spike felt a sadness in him as he watched the slightly subdued movements as Twilight cleaned the living room. He felt a determination in his heart to never let her be sad again, he'd do whatever it took to make her the happiest Pony in all Equestria. He nodded to himself as he moved to help her, He had a month left in which to plan, and he intended to make full use of it.

Chapter 11

Twilight sat on her bed, staring around her room. The room was quiet and suffused with a warm glow. Candles were lit and spaced at regular intervals adding a soft mood of romance that made Twilight's coat stand on end. She sighed and smoothed out the white night gown she was wearing and settled down on her bed. Her heart was fluttering in anticipation as her eyes drifted back towards the door.

Slowly, as if time stood still, the door handle turned. Spike walked in, a grin on his face as he spotted the woman he loved, shutting the door behind him. His heart was pounding madly, as he knew hers must be as well. They had come so far together and now, they had reached the peak. He walked over to the bed and slid down on it, gliding a claw along her cheek, causing a blushing smile to spread across her face. Spike leaned close and kissed her, his lips meeting hers sweetly and passionately. She let out a contented sigh and leaned back onto the bed, pulling Spike into her arms. Spike pulled away from the kiss and looked into Twilight's eyes. "I Love you."
Twilight Smiled and said, "I Love you too."
With this, they kissed again as Spike stroked her neck…

Twilight snapped awake with a grunt. Her mind was fogged with the intensity of her dreams. She blushed as she remembered the contents of the dream. It had been so intense, so…intimate. She shook her head and looked down at the book in her lap, a romance novel that she'd been given by Celestia. It was about a dragon consumed by greed that kidnapped a pony princess. Her strong heart burned through his greed and allowed him to return to normal, the two falling in love. She was convinced that this book was the direct cause of her dream. Twilight was also getting the strong feeling that Celestia wanted her to take her relationship with Spike to the next level, but she had never even that about it… Could she marry Spike?

The thought was both alien to her and endearing. She was unsure if she could marry the dragon, but she wanted to, of this she was sure. She got to her feet and returned the book to the book shelf. Regardless of her feeling in this matter were irrelevant, she couldn't just go ask Spike about this, it just wouldn't be proper. She returned to the couch and stretched out on it. She'd been confined to the living room since this morning, on Spike's orders no less.

He had told her he was going to do something extra special for her today, something that obviously involved cooking as he had not only confined her to the living room, but also had used magic to create a black barrier between the kitchen and the rest of the house. Even if she had wanted to know what exactly it was he was doing, she didn't want to ruin his surprise. She wasn't sure how much longer he was going to be in there and she hoped it wouldn't be much longer, she was very hungry.

Fortunately, she felt a shift in the air as the magic surrounding the kitchen archway dissipated. The tantalizing smell off several of her favorite foods wafted in from the kitchen and she felt her stomach writhing in anticipation of the meal ahead. She felt Spike slide down on the couch and she turned her head towards him, smiling broadly. He smiled back and proffered a bright red rose to her which she took, smelling it with exaggerated motions.

She summoned a vase with water and put the rose into it, positioning it in the middle of the table. She shifted around and wrapped her arms around his neck, hugging him in thanks. He smiled and returned the hug, allowing it to stretch on for a minute before pulling away gently. "Twilight, shall we go eat?"
She smiled broadly and nodded, "Yes! I'm starving!"

Spike nodded and pulled her to her hooves before instructing her to close her eyes. She did so, relying on Spike to guide her as she walked with him to the kitchen. The smell of food got stronger and stronger, causing her empty stomach to growl menacingly. Finally, when the smell got to be too much, Spike whispered in her ear, "Open your eyes." She did so and her breath caught; the room was so different to what it had been earlier.

The table was covered with a white silk cloth, a single candle sitting on it with place setting for two. The night sky outside adding to the mood as the moon hung hi in the air. She turned to Spike as kissed him, wrapping her forelegs around him. She broke away from the kiss and whispered, "Thank you Spike, it's wonderful."
Spike chuckled and said as he guided Twilight to the table, "Wonderful and we haven't even got to the meal yet."
It was Twilight's turn to chuckle as she let Spike seat her at the table. Spike moved to the counter and returned with every single dish he had cooked floating with him. He caused them to rotate around him as he offered each of the dishes to her in turn. She didn't skimp on his offers and took some of everything he made, desserts included.

As he served her dinner, she couldn't help but feel a glowing happiness inside at what he was doing. There was something about this simplest of settings, dinner with the one she loved, that was more romantic than the most intimate of kisses. It was a feeling of closeness that could only be described as longstanding, a feeling as if this had become, well, passionate, loving and deep in its simple nature.

She watched Spike as he fixed his own plate and sat across from her. The meal passed wonderfully, the two of them laughing and talking about various things. She smiled as he offered her a particularly tasty bit of his food, opening her mouth to allow Spike to place it in her mouth. This exchange went on for most of the meal, sharing bits and pieces of their dinners with each other. She smiled, staring at the dragon across from her. He did so much for her and she loved him for everything he did and for who he was. Spike was dear to her, she would do anything for him.

Soon, the last crumb disappeared from the plates as the meal came to an end and both of the slumped back comfortably in their seats. Twilight felt pleasantly drowsy as the warmth of the house and the fullness of her belly washed over her in waves. "Oh Spike, that was a wonderful dinner, thank you."
She heard Spike chuckle tiredly and say, "I'm glad you enjoyed it. Though now we need to head to our rooms before we fall asleep at the table."

She nodded and slowly got up and got a surprise as the drowsy dragon moved around the table and swept her of her feet, kissing her gently as he held her in his arms. "You're always carrying me Spike. I can walk you know."
Spike chuckled and said as he left the kitchen with the pony in his arms, "I know, but I want to, humor me."
She smiled and cuddled against him as he carried her out of the kitchen and up the stairs to the second floor.

He shouldered her bed room door open and placed her on her bed with a light kiss. Twilight couldn't help but compare the scene to that of a married couple. Though she wouldn't allow her mind to wander to those thoughts, she could help but smile at the comparison. She also couldn't help but wonder…is it possible that her future was destined to be with him. She closed her eyes and curled into her bed as Spike kissed her again and quietly bowed out of the room, leaving her alone.

Spike smiled as he entered the hall. Soon, very soon, his final surprise would be ready and he knew just when to give it to her. As he returned to his room, he looked at the completed wood box and white cloth that covered an area next to it. He went over to it and placed a claw on it. Two more weeks… that was all that he needed. He reluctantly moved away from his desk and lay back onto his bed and said as he closed his eyes, "Twilight…I love you."

Chapter 12

Spike sat at his desk, his eyes closed, his head tilted back as he leaned back in his seat. It had been two weeks since the romantic candle lit dinner and things had grown tense in the house, at least in Spike's eyes. He had commonly stayed in his room during this time, his door locked and his curtains closed. He knew Twilight knew that he was up to something, but as such, she respected him enough to not confront him about it... at least not yet.

Spike was resting now...he had finally, finally completed it, his final Surprise. On the desk in front of him was the completed gift, the long rectangular wooden box, carved with such delicacy that Spike himself could hardly believe that he had done it himself. The design on the box depicted his and Twilight's love, the center of it embossed with a picture of a heart, created by two pictures, those of a pony and a dragon, the two with their heads angled toward each other along with their tails. The edges of the box were carved into the relief of a forest, the trees and vines twisting and twinning around it, A gold clasp holding the box shut. Spike sighed and looked back down at it, all his hopes and dreams riding on both it and Twilight.

He picked it up and inspected it once more, looking it over. He was glad to see that there were no faults on it at all. "Well, I guess its time." Spike sighed again and stood from his desk, his legs and back popping in relief from the movement. He used his magic to store the box away and unlocked his door.

Leaving his room, looking around the quite house, he felt a strange sense of calm wash over him. His own fanatic actions had finally ended, now all that remained was the wait. He had already arranged the specifics of this day with Tetran and Celestia and now... Spike stopped in the hall outside Twilight's room. He felt slightly sick, despite his feeling calm, underlying nerves made him queasy.

Taking a deep breath he knocked on the door. A minute later, the door opened and there stood Twilight, looking lovely with her mane brushed out and a light scent of lilac coming from her. He wordlessly cupped her face in his claws, stroking her cheek with his thumb He leaned in and kissed her gently, she let out a soft sigh and returned the kiss with as much passion as he gave. The two of them were as one in their love, this much was certain, but this moment of intimate contact wasn't why he came. As he broke away from the kiss she blinked and asked, "Spike, are you ready to talk now?"

Spike smiled and nodded in agreement, "Yes, I am. But I want to talk somewhere else than this."
Twilights eyebrow raised and she looked out the window in the back of her room, the window full to the brim with snow, the house was pretty much the only place to talk. She looked back at him and expressed her concerns. He nodded and took her left fore hoof in his claws, lifting her onto her hind legs. He looked into her eyes and whispered in her ear, "Trust me, love."
Twilight looked hesitant for a moment before smiling and nodding in agreement. Spike closed his arms around her and teleported out of the house.

They landed on the bank of the same pond where they had had their first kiss, despite this winter being the snowiest in ten years, the air was balmy, the ground dry, and the pond unfrozen, at least for fifty feet in every direction from where they landed. Twilight looked around stunned at the fall like scenery, her mind racing while trying to compile a reason as to why this was like this.

Spike sat down on the edge of the pond and patted the ground next to him. Twilight, confused, dropped down beside him, observing her surroundings with a quizzical look. Spike scooted closer to her and asked, "Do you remember our first kiss?"
Twilight let out a snort of laughter before responding, "Of course I do, how could I not?"

Spike smiled as he put an arm around her, "Yeah, kinda silly of me to think that, its just, that one moment changed both of our lives." He turned his head to look her in the eyes before continuing, "A moment that I will forever cherish." Twilight blushed under the intensity of his stare and smiled happily before saying, "I will cherish it forever as well, your love gave me new found purpose and I will always be grateful for that." Spike smiled a bit wider and put his lips to hers in a sweet kiss. When he broke it, he got up and pulled Twilight to her hooves.

Offering a claw to her he asked, "Would you care to dance?"
Twilight let out a light giggling laugh before standing on her back hooves and placing one of her front hooves in his claw. With more grace and elegance than their last dance, Spike spun Twilight around before closing the distance between them and holding her close. She blushed as they revolved, twirled and dance with such intimacy and precision that even the celestial dance of the stars paled in comparison.

The exuberance of the movements, the grace, the closeness brought to Twilight a burning feeling in her heart, a sensation that spread up her spine and echoing with the heat she felt in her body. Spike stopped the dance suddenly and caused a groan of disappointment to eek from Twilight as the powerful feeling slowly dissipated from her. Spike pulled away gently and looked into her eyes, correctly interpreting what he saw in them.

He kissed her gently and said, "Twilight, my love, the two of us have come so far together, we've grown so much." Spike took a claw away from Twilights hooves and puts it behind his back, summoning his gift to Twilight with magic. Twilight was catching on rapidly to what was happening and a gasp escaped her when Spike descended slowly to one knee.

Twilight began tearing as Spike produced the box with a flourish. Without a word Spike opened it to finally reveal its contents. There on a satin pillow lay a truly magnificent necklace of platinum and gold, structured in a similar fashion to Celestia's own necklace. The center of it bore a design similar to the one on the box itself, of a dragon and pony forming a heart shape with their bodies, a flawless amethyst carved into the likeness of a heart set in the center between them. Every individual section of the necklace was inlaid with a lining of diamonds and the whole thing bore an intertwining pattern of vines and leaves, making it look like nature itself had grown it.

Spike looked up into Twilights eyes, his own eyes Sparkling as he asked the one sentence Twilight desperately wanted to hear, "Twilight Sparkle, would you do me the honor of becoming my wife?"
Twilight choked back a sob of joy as she used her magic to pull her mane back, allowing Spike to place the precious item around her neck, the clasp snapping shut gently as he hooked it together.

Twilight threw her forelegs around him and screamed it out so that all the world could hear, "YES!"
Spike wrapped his arms around the half laughing, half sobbing Twilight as he felt tears sliding down his own cheeks. After so much time working so hard on this greatest of gift, the gift of his eternal love, the promise of a future they'd share, embodied in a work of art that at that moment was as nothing in comparison to the precious gift of eternal love that he and Twilight had given one another.

Spike pulled away from Twilight and looked deep into her eyes, feeling her heart beating as he closed the distance and kissing her passionately. In this moment, they were as one, lovers bound eternally by love.
Spike knew, now more than ever, that the rest of their lives were bound only to get better from here.

Epilogue

"Ow! Stop sticking me!"

Twilight stood on a wooden stool, staring into a mirror as Rarity pinned a flowing white gown together on Twilight. At the moment, however, Rarity was pulling a misplace stick pin from Twilight's flank. Rarity let out an annoyed sigh as she tried to reposition the fabric she'd been pinning when Twilight had shifted. As She moved the pin again, Twilight did a full half turn to view a section of her dress in the mirror, the pick sliding against her skin roughly as Rarity again missed her mark. Rarity let out an irritated growl and used her magic to physically shift Twilight forward, so the rear of the dress was once again in front of Rarity. "Twilight, for the love of Celestia, stop fidgeting!"
Twilight visibly stilled her body while Rarity continued with her work.

Twilight grinned in the mirror at her appearance. The dress was over half done and Twilight had to admit that it would be going much faster if she'd hold still, various sections of her body felt like they'd been used as a pincushion already. Rarity's thorough irritation was pretty evident as she finally pinned the last section in place, her face was sullen and her eye brow knitted together.

She moved around to her sowing table to pick out a decent thread to start sowing the dress together, Twilight taking the time tub rub the sorest parts of her body. Rarity Caught the movement and looked over her shoulder at Twilight, who's leg immediately snapped to the stool as if she hadn't done anything. Rarity threaded a sewing needle with silver thread and turned back to Twilight saying as she did so, "You know, it wouldn't hurt if you had held still like the first twelve times I asked you."

Twilight shifted sheepishly and endeavored to hold perfectly still while Rarity used her magic and began sewing together the gown. Rarity kept her attention focused solely on the dress, making doubly sure to not accidentally sew the dress to Twilight's skin. Twilight eventually let out a sigh and said sheepishly, "I'm sorry."
Rarity let out a distracted, "Hm? What was that?"

Twilight repeated her apology and Rarity shook her head, dismissing it with an unseen smile. "You needn't be sorry dear, its your wedding today, you've every right to be excited." Twilight smiled and nodded, a blush rising in her face at the idea of finally being wedded to her beloved dragon.

It had been a month since Spike had proposed to her, and in no small way created a massive stir in Ponyville at the news that Twilight Sparkle was finally marrying. Her entire family came to the town a week prior to help with the wedding plans and Twilight had been so busy that her wedding gown had literally come down to the wire.

It was now two hours before the wedding, which was set to take place at noon today, she'd been up since dawn just for her dress alone. Rarity moved around to Twilight's left side and began sewing there, focusing on her dress and little else. It wasn't long after Rarity shifted behind Twilight to start sewing the two halves of the dress together that the door to the fitting room opened and Twilight's mother walked in.

She walked over to her and stood on her hind legs, wrapping her forelegs around her daughter, tears spilling from her eyes as she stood there. "Oh my baby girl, you've grown so much...I am very, very proud of you Twilight." Twilight raised a hoof and wrapped it around her mothers forelegs. Twilight didn't say anything, she was at a loss as to what to say. Even now as her mother pulled back and smoothed out Twilight's mane a little.

Twilight smiled at her mother, tears running down her cheeks as she realized how much she'd grown, it didn't seem like all that long ago that she had been wrapped in her mothers forelegs when she was little, the loving kisses her mother would place on her head before tucking her in. Even now, face with the prospects of a happy life ahead of her, filled with love and family, she couldn't help but feel a sense of distant loss at the knowledge that she no longer was the young filly she once was.

She kissed her mother on the cheek gently before wrapping her own fore legs around her mothers neck, sobbing gently. Rarity smiled faintly at the family scene as she cut the thread on the last seam, pronouncing the gown finished. Twilight's mother took the veil off the table and placed it onto her daughters head, standing aside to allow her to view her reflection. Twilight let out a teary laugh of joy at her reflection, the veil, crafted of white silk that draped down across her face was affixed to a wreath of white winter orchids. The gown was made also from silk, it shone with a silvery sheen as the light from the windows hit it.

It was simple, yet elegant, beautiful in all aspects of its design, the dress trailing out a good ten feet behind her. She turned to her mother and smiled broadly. Her mother smiled back and turned to leave with a parting hug. "Mom?"

Twilight's mother stopped and looked back at her daughter with a smile, "I know dear, I love you too. In my heart, you'll always be my little Twilight, I'll always be there for you in all your troubles, if you ever need me, you need only call." She smiled again as Twilight nodded, allowing Rarity to make a few minor adjustment as her mother left the room to join the wedding procession. Twilight stepped down off the stool and looked at Rarity asking, "Well, how do I look?"
Rarity smiled and opened her mouth to respond when a warm male voice came from the doorway, "As lovely as I would expect from my bride."

Rarity twirled around and bellowed, "Out! Go on, get out! Your not supposed to see her in her dress till the wedding! Shoo!" Spike flat out ignored Rarity as he entered the room with a large wrapped package under his arm, his crisp and very handsome suit making him look strong and imposing as he set the package on the table.

Rarity ran up to him and threw up a barrier of blackness between him and Twilight, so he could not see the dress more than he had. Rarity planted her hooves firmly on the ground and demanded in a firmer tone, "I told you to go! I don't want you ruining it!" Spike stared her down as he grabbed the cloth covering on his package and pulled it off, revealing the huge diamond that Twilight had given him all those months ago. Spike motioned to the gem and said, "I want to give this to Twilight, may I?"

Rarity shook her head and said, "No! A wedding gift, you could have done that after the ceremony, but not now!"
Spike raised and claw and Rarity fell silent immediately, unspoken protests failing in her throat. Spike gave her that look he'd developed so well over the years and Rarity's fight left her. She sighed exasperatedly and lowered the barrier. "Fine, just hurry up and get it over with."

Spike nodded and looked at Twilight, a smile playing across his face as he said, "You look beautiful Twilight." She smiled in return nodding at Rarity, who sighed and left, leaving Spike and Twilight alone.
Spike shifted a little from side to side as Twilight stared at him curiously. "Spike? Is there something you wanted to show me?" Spike nodded and motion to the diamond next to him, "I wanted to give this to you, but not in the way I am sure that either you or Rarity are thinking."

At her curious stare, her eyebrow disappearing into the flowers of her veil, Spike lifted the gem with his magic bringing it in front of him. Focusing his magic he placed a claw against the gem and it shattered soundlessly, the fragments floating in the air like fragments of ice. Spike directed the fragments to float towards Twilight, the gem fragments fixing seamlessly to the hem of the dress, along all the seams, and finally all along the veil, making it look like she was wearing ice crystals in a cloud of white.

She stared shocked at the gown, words utterly failing her. Spike smiled at her and turned to leave while saying, "I'll see you at the isle my love." He walked out of the room and Rarity came back in, her jaw about fell off as she beheld the modified gown. "Oh my...did Spike do that?" Twilight nodded as she smoothed out the front of her gown, the diamonds sticking fast to the fabric. Rarity worked her mouth a few times, no sound coming from here as she examined the dress.

Rarity eventually shook her head and said, "I suppose I can forgive him coming to see you for this, he simply must teach me how to do that!" Twilight let out a snort of laughter as she picked up the bouquet of flowers and moved to the door, "Well, Rarity. I guess this is it, we better not keep to wedding waiting." Rarity smiled and nodded, opening the door and following Twilight out of the room.

The noon sun hung high in the sky, its warm rays shining down onto Ponyville and it inhabitants, all assembled on the outskirts of town, a large area of the plains beside the town had been changed into a glorious depiction of spring. Though the land was locked in the grip of winter, this area was warm and dry, Spring lilies and wild flowers grew in the area, coating it in a carpet of multicolored blossoms. Ponies of various colors, of every kind of hue were grouped around, all chatting together excitedly at the union to be held here this day.

All of Twilight's friends stood at the front of the crowd, smiling broadly as the minutes ticked by. At the front of the procession stood Spike, Shining Armor standing beside him as the best man, an odd choice but one Spike had felt appropriate. Spike was shifting from side to side, obviously anxious, eventually necessitating Celestia, who was leading the procession to put a hoof on his shoulder and nod silently.
Reassured by the Princess, Spike took a deep breath and tried to calm down.

It was then that the music began, the wedding march picked up as Spike turned in the direction of the isle. The crowd let out gasps of awe and wonder as Twilight appeared at the end of the isle, her gown practically glowing with the light of the sun glittering off her. Her father stood next to her, head held high in pride as he walked along with his daughter. Following behind Twilight, carrying the trailing end of her garment were Sweetie Belle and Apple bloom, each of them wearing flowing gowns of white that matched Twilight's. When they finally reached the front of the group, Twilight took her place beside Spike and sighed happily as her father looked at Spike.
Celestia cleared her throat and the music and crowd immediately fell silent.

Celestia smiled at both Twilight and Spike before speaking, "My friends, we are gathered together today to bear witness to the union of Spike and Twilight Sparkle. I would like to take a few moments to speak before the vows." She closed her eyes and looked up at the sun, sighing lightly before continuing.
"Love is one of the most beautiful forces in this world, it binds us in ways that none can fully understand. It surpasses our ability to understand it and defies all our ideas on how it should work. My friends, here we have before us love in its purest form. Now, let us proceed." As Celestia looked back down at the group, her two children came out from the back of the crowd and moved to the front to stand alongside all of Twilight and Spike's friends amidst the many gasps and cries from the crowd. Celestia nodded to both of them with a smile and proceeded to explain to the crowd at large of who they were.

When she had finished, she forestalled all the coming questions with a raised hoof and said, "We will have a question session after I've sent these two on their honeymoon. Now, shall we?" This statement caused both Spike and Twilight to blush as they nodded.
Celestia looked at Twilight's father and said, "Do you give Twilight, your daughter, to be Spike's bride with your blessings?" Twilight looked out of the corner of her eye at her father and was pleased to see him nod, knowing full well that he would.

Spike turned to Twilight and pulled her veil back, taking one of her forelegs in his claws before speaking his vows,
"Twilight Sparkle, my love. I vow to love you forever, to be with you through all the hardships and all the joy. I shall be with you, even as the sun goes down in the horizon and the moon rise at night, I shall be with you. My heart is yours, my love is yours, my life is yours."

Twilight had tears in her eyes as she felt his vows echoing in her very soul. She smiled, yearning to kiss him, holding back the urge and reciting her vows,
"Spike, my love, I vow to love you forever more, to be their for you always as a wife should. I will bear your burdens with you, I will share your pain. I will bear your children, I will raise them with all that I am and above all else, be yours and yours alone."

Celestia nodded and said, "Spike, Twilight, upon the confession of your love for one another and the exchanging of your vows, I hereby confer upon you my blessing, May the two of you live long lives together, filled with joy, love, and happiness. May the two of you find comfort in each other and always be in each others hearts." She moved toward Twilight and placed her horn against her head, whispering to her, "Twilight, my gift to you, for as long as Spike shall live, so too shall you. Neither of you will suffer the pain of losing the other."

One of Celestia's tears slid from her eyes as she focused her magic and a gold band appeared at the base of Twilight horn, a formality of the ceremony, a mark of the bond she would soon share with Spike. Celestia moved to Spike next, setting her horn against his head and whispering a quite blessing to him. Her horn glowed and the golden band appeared on Spike's left claw.

Celestia stepped back from them and said with a loud voice, "As all here bear witness to the vows that have been shared by these two, by the power vested in me by the crown I bear and the position of Princess of the sun, I hereby pronounce that these two be bound together as dragon and mare. May they live in love for the rest of their days."
Celestia nodded to Spike who needed no further encouragement.

Spike took Twilight's other fore hoof into his claw and lifted her to her hind legs, brushing back an escaped lock of her mane, cupping her jaw in his claw, he leaned in close, pausing just short of her lips to whisper, "I love you..." With that he closed the infinitesimal gap and kissed her lovingly to thunderous cheers from the crowd.

As they turned to the crowd, walking down towards them, they both couldn't hide their smiles as the crowd rushed towards them, their friends and family at the head of the group. Even as they were swamped by friends, cheering and congratulating all around, Spike felt distant as he reflected on the past. It had started five months ago, hard to believe it but it had only been five months. He had started with the intent to keep Twilight happy and cheerful in her forced vacation and as time had advanced, the vacation had evolved into so much more.

They had entered into it as friends and had emerged from it as a wedded couple. To some degree, it was almost overwhelming but even as he stood there, with his new wife next to him, he was confident in saying that no matter what happened, they would never be divided. Spike swept Twilight off her hooves and into his arms, the cheering of the crowd so much meaningless noise as he stared deep into her eyes, his heart burning with a feeling best described as passion as he leaned in and whispered into her ear,
"Twilight, I love you..."
Twilight smiled in response and said, "I love you too."

With that, they joined their friends in their celebration, no longer just friends, no longer just lovers, but now, so much more... they were a family.

Fin

Chapter 5

Twilight stood under a great apple tree, staring up into the branches, doing her best to determine which of the apples in it were good to pick. She had only helped with the apple harvest once before and even then her involvement was more along the lines of organizing and tallying the apples as they were gathered. Sure she had used magic to gather them, but had later learned that some of the apples weren't ready when she did, but it was all she had to gather them.

She used her magic to pick a couple that looked ripe from the tree and deposit them in her basket. As she did so Big Mac came from around a tree, carry two full baskets on his back and shaking his head.
"Twilight, there is a reason for applebucking you know, it shows us which of the apples are ready to be picked."

Twilight looked at him curiously causing Big Mac to give a heavy sigh as he deposited his baskets on the ground. He turned his back to the tree and kicked it with all his might. The tree shook violently and over a dozen apples fell from it to the ground, the remaining apples clinging tight to it. Twilight sighed and used her magic to pick the fallen apples up, placing them in her basket. She'd only been here for a few hours and already she had been corrected four times by AJ, Macintosh, and twice by Fluttershy, when Twilight tried to keep animals away from the harvest.

Twilight knew that her skills were more adapt to organizing the harvest, but the yield was larger this year and required all of the ponies to help out with this harvest. Twilight turned to another apple tree as Big Mac went off further into the orchard. She thought it silly of him to expect her, as inexperienced as she was, to applebuck as skillfully as Applejack. Twilight turned away from the tree and kicked it as hard as she could. Twilight let out a cry of pain, both of her ankles felt like they had broken as she limped slowly away.

She flopped down under the apple tree that Big Mac had cleared moments before, looking sadly at the underside of the tree she had bucked, noticing that a measly three apples had fallen from it. Sighing pitifully she began to painfully flex her ankles, trying to feel if she had actually damaged them. It certainly felt like she had as her ankles popped painfully while moving.

"Great! Barely three hours in and I already bruised my ankles. How am I supposed to help now?" She laid her head down, tears running down her face as she tried to set her hind legs down on the ground, whimpering in pain as they took but a fraction of her weight. She couldn't, even her desire to help couldn't force her to her feet. She let her hind quarters fall back to the ground and lay there, hoping that Big Mac or somepony would find her and take her to Zecora. The minutes seemed to stretch on forever as the animals of the orchard ran through the trees, chattering cheerfully as the day went on. She suddenly became aware of a new sensation, relief.

She felt a set of claws gently caressing her ankles and knew that it was Spike. She looked back at him and saw the soft glow encircling his claws as he massaged her ankles, the bone and muscle healing under his touch. Spike wore a sympathetic look as he gently ran his claws over the injury, a slight shiver running down her spine at the touch.
"You know, you could just organize the gathered harvest. There's plenty of ponies helping out for you to do that."
Twilight sighed and shook her head, "I don't want to disappoint Mac, I said I'd help with the harvest and I'm going to."
Spike shook his head as he finished healing her ankles, Twilight could be so stubborn at times.
"Twilight you did say you'd help, but your not cut out to harvest the apples like AJ and Big Mac, if he wants the trees bucked, he'll need to find some one else to do it."

Twilight looked at Spike as he moved to pick up the baskets she'd dropped when she'd hurt herself. She didn't know what to say, she knew he was right, but at the same time wanted to do what she'd promised and help gather. She slowly stood back up, her ankles feeling a little tender as they took her weight again. "Well, I hope Mac won't mind if I go a little slower with the harvest after this."
She took a few tentative steps and staggered a little bit, nearly losing her balance, but something caught her. She blinked as she looked into Spike's eyes, now suddenly inches from her own. Her breath quickened suddenly, Spike's green eyes seemed to be looking deep into her very being. "Are you alright Twilight?"

All she could manage was a faint squeak as her face started feeling warm. Spike smiled and moved away from her again carrying her baskets with him. She about fell over again, the loss of his presence seemed to her to make her feel weaker all of a sudden. She mentally shook herself and followed after Spike. She wasn't sure why she had felt like that, not that she minded but it was odd none the less. Before too long they came to the staging area for the harvest and Twilight was surprised to see the number of baskets and bushels scattered everywhere, as well as the huge number of ponies milling around the area, some gathering wheat, some coming from the orchard, and still others coming from the greenhouses of to the east of the wheat fields.

She watched as they'd deposit their load of vegetables, fruits, and wheat near the staging area before a dozen ponies would sort and check it all. Spike hadn't been kidding when he had said that there were plenty of ponies to help with the actual harvesting. He deposited the two baskets he was carrying down in the pile and turned to look at the gathered harvest, "So, think your up to cataloging this Twilight?"
Twilight smiled and said with obvious cheer, "You have to ask? Okay lets get started!"

So the next 4 hours went, Spike helped to move things around while Twilight counted and tallied everything. Things were relatively uneventful considering, the most interesting thing that happened during the whole session was when a particularly large spider, easily the size of a ponies head, fell from the tree that Rarity had been gathering from and landed on her face. Seeing her tear from the trees, wailing like a possessed banshee had been both nerve wrecking and hilarious. She had run into Spike, over Twilight and headlong into Celestia. Realizing who she'd hit, Rarity seemed to snap immediately from deranged fear to deep regret in half a second. She had apologized profusely and had about run off again, in shame, before Celestia calmed her with magic, accidentally rendering Rarity unconscious. She still lay on the ground near the staging area even now, dozing peacefully.

Spike stretched wearily and moved to sit next to Rarity, taking a break from the long days worth of work. The sun was beginning to set behind the tree line and the harvest was nearly completed, which was good because Spike was beginning to feel the drop in the temperature, shivering slightly as he watched Twilight busily counting out the last of the wheat that had just been brought in.

It was good to see her doing something she enjoyed, helping others in one of the few ways where she truly excelled above all others. Spike turned to look at Rarity, suddenly becoming keenly aware of her curious stare, he hadn't even noticed her waking up. She looked at him with a quizzical look before asking, "Is the harvest over already? How long was I out?"
Spike smiled wryly and shook his head, feeling an odd sense of relieve as he responded, "About two hours, we figured it'd be best to let you be, considering what happened."

Rarity frowned as she remembered vividly her dramatic reaction to the harmless arachnid. She didn't know whether she'd over reacted or simply been terrified of the creature, but either way, she had embarrassed herself. She sighed heavily and settled back into a comfortable spot while the last ponies deposited the last bits of the harvest. Rarity watched as Twilight moved like a worker bee around the harvest, emptying baskets, counting everything and then replacing it all before moving on to the next one.

She turned her head to look at Spike and saw that he was idly watching Twilight, as if what she was doing was the most intriguing thing in the world. She smiled as a thought occurred to her and she said, "You know, I just realized something, I'm surprised I never noticed it before. I've had 11 suitors in the past seventeen years and I can't count you among them. When did you lose interest in me?"

Spike had no idea how to answer that. It was true that as the years went on that he had grown to view Rarity as more of a friend than a potential partner, and he now realized that when he looked at her, he felt none of the previous desire that he had in his youth. Spike shrugged and said, "I guess I grew up, moved on." Rarity smiled and nodded wisely before saying, "Yeah, you have your heart set on another girl."
Spike shook his head and said, "No, I don't think that's it."
Rarity laughed and said with a sly smile, "Yeah well, the look in your eyes says something different."

Spike looked at her curiously before realizing that his face felt warm, despite the chill of the fall air. Spike shrugged halfheartedly as Rarity, giggling, got up and moved towards the large area set up to provide food to those who were helping with the harvest. It wasn't long after she left that the sun finally set beyond the trees, the harvest was finally finished. All the ponies who had assisted were milling around, chatting animatedly with each other, satisfied with the long days work.

Finally Celestia cleared her throat and all fell silent as she said with a smile, "I thank each of you for your efforts today, because of you the harvest is in before the fall chill hit. By your efforts this was possible and for that I again say Thank you. Now Enjoy your meals and have fun!" A great cheer went up from the crowd as music began to play all the ponies everywhere beginning to sing and dance as the evening festivities began. Spike gathered together two plates of food and began searching the crowd for Twilight, eventually finding her in the place he most expected to.

She sat alone at a table, drinking apple cider while watching the others make merry. He shook his head, he knew she wasn't trying to be antisocial, but it didn't seem right for her to be like this. He sat next to her and slid her food over to her, which she accepted with cheerfully. Twilight sighed as she looked back at the crowd saying, "Today was certainly a good day wasn't it, I can't believe the number of ponies that came out to help."

Spike smiled and reclined a little as he said, "Well, its an important event, the harvest needs to come in, and with it as big as it was, we needed the help, besides, how many ponies do you know would leave others to flounder in something as important as this." Twilight smiled, nodding gently as she took a bite of the food Spike brought her, she wasn't surprised to see that all of the food was things she loved. He knew her better any individual alive. Everything that there was to know about her, from her morning routine to what she liked to eat.

Even now, he stood resolute beside her, enjoying this evening together with her as only he could. She sighed as she watched Fluttershy dance past, arm in arm with her husband, a thick set and muscular horse with a black and white coat. They seemed so happy together, looking at each other with looks of love, lost together in their own little world, where only they and their children existed.

Twilight felt a slight twinge of disappointment at the thought that she had no one to dance with, looking quite out of place sitting at this table alone...wait, where did Spike go? She looked to her side and confirmed that he wasn't there before she heard someone clear their throat in front of her. She looked to see Spike, standing there in front of her, one claw proffered to her as he asked, "Twilight, would you like to dance?"

Twilight could have sworn her heart skipped several beats as she stood on her hind legs and took Spike's claw. She couldn't believe that she was about to dance with him, her mind rushing with indecision as they stepped into the dancing couples. She turned to face him as he put a claw on her back and asked, "Ready?"

She knew she was blushing, whether from embarrassment or joy she didn't know but she nodded none the less. Spike smiled and began dance with her. The slow, easy movements were as graceful as they were precise, her eyes locked onto his own, a curious sensation spreading through her heart as she slowly revolved with him.

Some how, for some reason, she found her head resting on his shoulder, basking in the comfort she felt with him. Her mind was in a gentle haze as other dancers stopped to take notice of the curious new couple dancing among them. Soon, far too soon for Twilight's taste, the music stopped and she took her head from his shoulder and looked at him, a smile playing across her face as her eyes locked with his again. Nothing was said between them as they left the dance floor with the other couples, rejoining the feast before Celestia gave her closing remarks, all of this seemed like an unimportant blur to the two of them as soon they found themselves standing in front of the library again.

Twilight shuffled her feet as she said, 'Spike, I had a wonderful time tonight. Thank you."
Spike smiled and said, "Well, so did I. I'm just glad you enjoyed yourself, and that you weren't silly enough to try and continue applebucking."
She laughed softly and said, "Yeah, I don't know about you but, I'm tired. I think we should head to bed." Spike felt slightly crestfallen as Twilight turned to enter the house, was that all there was? Much to his great surprise and joy it wasn't as she turned abruptly from the door and gave him a firm kiss on the cheek, dangerously close to his lips. She blushed heavily and smiled as she went inside, a dazed and ecstatic Spike following after her.

He felt comfortable in thinking that things had definitely changed between them and that it most certainly was a good thing. Only time would tell what the future had in store for them.