A Day in the Life of a Princess
Twilight woke up to Celestia's sun with a smile. She stretched her forelegs out and simply laid in her new princess-size bed. Today was going to be another great day of princess training for her. Granted, at first it was difficult to deal with the change of pace, going from a simple librarian to a princess and all. But after a few years, she had grown accustomed to it. Every morning would begin with flying exercises with her instructor as well as diplomatic studying with the Celestia. In the afternoon, Twilight would sit in on court meetings with both Princess Luna and Celestia, which after a while proved to be rather boring. By the evening she was exhausted from both the physical and mental stress of the day.
It wasn't all bad. Twilight sometimes received a pleasant surprise visit from her friends. Most of the time it was Rarity, who was in town selling her dresses, with Fluttershy as her model. But there was always the occasional "Pinkie Pie Surprise Party" or maybe an event which Rainbow Dash or Applejack was a part of. Seeing them all was a great joy, but sometimes a great pain. When they left, Twilight would once again go back to her usual boring and tiring routine. A type of routine that, till she went to Ponyville, was normal for her. But after spending so much time in a place like Ponyville, a place where she had so many adventures with her friends, it all felt so alien.
The only good thing still left from her old life was the company she kept. Spike hadn't really changed physically really. He was still shorter then her with a baby face that never seemed to change. His color scheme was a slightly darker mixture of purple and green. But his mental state was a different story. In the months that followed her coronation, the Spike she once knew as her sometimes lazy little brother of an assistant was now a studious drake who had knowledge very much beyond his years. It didn't seem like him at all. All day while she was training or hanging out with friends, he would spend his time reading books. But these weren't ordinary books. Each book Twilight saw him with was an educational book. No comics or works of fiction at all. It was strange. Whenever she asked him why he was doing this he simply replied, "Because I want to." The only time he ever seemed to stop was to greet any friends who had stopped by. But even then he would make small talk and go back to his studies. It worried her, but he seemed happy doing it, so she let it slide.
Every night she asked him if he learned anything new while she was gone. And every time he simply nodded at her with a smile. But that smile, a smile that to most seemed genuine, haunted the corners of her mind. She didn't understand why.
The day started like any normal day if you were a princess. Wake-up, eat the breakfast that was served to you by a server pony, train with wings, magic, and diplomacy, etc. It was all hard work, as usual, but it was tolerable. As Celestia's sun started to set as Luna's moon began to rise the cooling air gently blew through the royal garden where Twilight was strolling. Now a days, going here seemed like a little escape for her. A little moment in time that she could call her own. After all the hustle and bustle of training, it felt good to hear her own thoughts.
She sniffed the air, letting out a sigh of content. "If only the whole day was like this," she smiled. Usually she lived for studying and magical training; but even she ran out of steam from time to time. As she strolled along the stone pathways, seeing a guard or two and bowing, she gazed over the various statues. Some were of heroic ponies long gone, some depicted ponies playing, all with smiles on their faces. But there was one that stood out amongst the rest. It was the only one of its kind. It was a statue of a dragon holding a heart shaped object above its head. The plaque that was attached to the base read, 'The Hero of the Chrystal Empire'. Twilight smiled at the sculpture. It was clear to anypony that it was a sculpture of Spike. But she knew in a few generations, no one would know that let alone believe it.
When the piece was originally unveiled to Spike and Twilight, only Twilight was happy. Spike on the other hand, looked at the plaque with a frown.
"Is it not to your liking sir?" asked the architect who made it.
"No it's great, amazing even. But…" he trailed off.
"But what Spike?" Twilight asked him.
"Does my name have to be on it?"
Both the architect and Twilight looked at each other with a confused look. "What do you mean? You’re the one who saved the Chrystal Empire."
"I know but let's say I died…"
"Spike!" Twilight gasped.
"Hang on Twi, let me finish," Spike took a deep breath. "Let's say I died tomorrow. How many ponies will remember me?"
"Spike, I highly doubt anyone would forget you." Twilight assured.
Spike didn't buy it. "Maybe now. But what about after one or two centuries from now?"
"Huh?" Twilight stared. "Then those ponies would learn about you. What is this about?"
"Twilight," Spike began, "How many statues here depict dragons as being the good guys?" Twilight looked around. Besides Spike's, there were no others.
She turned to Spike, "Well…That's because there haven't been any dragons like that till now."
Spike scowled at her. "And when is there ever going to be a dragon like me?"
"I don't know. Spike please, just tell me what's wrong," she begged, not expecting what came next.
"It doesn’t feel right Twilight. I'm worried. Worried that when ponies see this statue, all there going to think is 'That Spike wasn't like other dragons; he was one of the good ones'. No pony will actually think that dragons can ever be good. I mean, it's great to praise heroes, but if there can be bad ponies like Sombra, can't there be good dragons like me?"
Twilight put a hoof to her mouth. Spike wasn't angry about the statue itself, but of what it would stand for. He didn't want ponies thinking he was the only good dragon history would ever know. He wanted everypony to see that ANY dragon could be good; he certainly was an example of that. So even though he hated to do it, the architect changed the plaque to where only Spike's name was gone.
Twilight smiled. She was doing it again. No matter what happened during the day, be it normal or stressful, whenever she was alone, her thoughts would somehow always revolve around Spike. What he was probably doing, what he would say or do during one of those boring court meetings. It helped her endure the sheer boredom of it all. It wasn't like her to get lost in thought. But when it came to her little assistant, she couldn't help it. The way he smiled always lit up her dreary day, much like Pinkie's did. The way he was so committed to the job at hand with no hesitation. His devotion alone made him worthy of being a back up for the element of loyalty. If only it could work that way. It was clear what was going on with her. She was falling in love with Spike.
To be honest, she had always been in love with her little dragon. But due to their mother/child like relation, as well as Twilight's lack of understanding of the emotion itself, she never took notice. After experiencing her first crush with Flash Sentry however, a relationship she rarely thought about now, she began to understand. Unfortunately for her, unlike his human counterpart, Flash wasn't single. Not only did he have a marefriend, but he was happily engaged to be married. The sting of a love lost before it even could begin hurt Twilight's heart a lot more then she had anticipated. Night after night she cried herself to sleep. Every time she saw him, her chest burned with both anger and pain. But she got through it; all thanks to her "Number one assistant". Spike never left her side, not even for Rarity. He comforted her through her sleepless nights, helping her in any way he could. His behavior reminded her of the lengths he would go for her, just like in the past. It was most likely back then that she began to realize her feelings, though she didn't fully understand them at the time.
It was a week after her mental breakdown over the tardiness of her weekly letter to Princess Celestia. She reflected over the events and realized something. After obviously showing worry over it, her friends had simply brushed her problems off as a small worry. Spike on the other hoof, instantly notified Celestia. Granted, he boasted about it a little too much, but his intentions were well-meaning. After that, she began to see Spike in a new light.
It started off simple enough. She would wake up each day and instantly look to see if Spike was still asleep. When he wasn't there, she felt saddened. But when he was there, silently sleeping in, she would spend a few moments looking over him. The cute face he made, the toothy smile he had. Just the sight alone made her cheeks blush. When he made her breakfast, she watched him with extreme fascination. She rarely, if not never cooked for them. That was always something Spike did. Almost every meal they had, unless it was ordered, was made by him. Spike by this point would have taken notice of her daydreaming and ask if she felt alright, always in the same caring/worried tone.
As the days past, Twilight began to heal from her broken heart and began to change. She could no longer look at Spike without losing her train of thought. Her heart skipped a beat whenever he complimented her. The fur on her hooves grew damp with sweat as he held it in times of comfort. She was completely thrown off balance by him. It seemed obvious to anypony how she felt about him, even to herself.
However, several problems kept her growing desires to at bay. For one thing, she had personally hatched Spike, practically raising him since he was born with the help of Celestia. To come out and tell him "I love you" seemed difficult enough. But the fact that she was his mother/sister-figure only made it harder. Their relationship was good as is; and she had no intention of ruining it. But there was a much larger obstacle than this. And it's name was Rarity
Spike had his emerald dragon eyes set on her since they first arrived at Ponyville all those years ago. Though she hated to admit it, Twilight knew that even if she tried, she could never out do Rarity when it came to attracting attention. Her fashionista friend was much more beautiful than her. Her abilities with magic, though nowhere as great as Twilight's, could always make her the talk of the town. Her looks so stunning every young colt, or dragon in this case, fantasized about her. At first his crush seemed so innocent and childish; but time made his heart grow more fond of her. It didn't really bother her before. But now that she had discovered her feelings for him…it intimidated her. True, Rarity didn't seem to reciprocate his feelings, but there was a chance she would. As long as that chance was there, Spike remained hopeful.
However, if there was anything learned from her friend/rival, it was to be persistent in getting what you want. So Twilight decided to do something that she could only hope would work, confess. "As Celestia and Luna as witnesses, I will tell him tonight," she said admittedly.
Quickly she trotted to her room in the castle. As she approached the door that held her cutie mark, she took a deep breath. "Come on Twilight, you can do this." As she opened the door, she was greeted with a large moon-lit room. It was very simple, not as extravagant as one would think. It held a desk with a window view as well as chests that held clothes. A large canopy bed large enough for two or three ponies with a nightstand parallel to it. Next to the bed on the floor, a basket lay bare with its blanket neatly tucked in, which confused Twilight.
"That's strange, where could Spike be?" she asked the empty air. While searching the room, she noticed a note on her desk, neatly rolled and bound by a single ribbon with a seal. On the parchment Twilight read the words, 'To Twilight'. She levitated it to her, unfurling it in the process. What she read next made her eyes widen in shock…and tear up from sadness.