My Shining Love

Chapters

Arrival
The King
Crystal Fair
On to Business
Suspicions
First Date
The Routine
Caught
Conditions
Preparations
Addressing The Nation
Ahead of Schedule
Resolution
We've Been Robbed?
Sic Semper Tyrannis
A King And His People
Between Life And Death, Beyond The Norm, And Back Into The Fray
Put To Rest
Happy Ending

Arrival

Three years, Three years since Shining Armor's life had been turned upside down. The queen of the changelings had returned with a small but elite force of soldiers. Cadence had been caught alone coming out of a council meeting. The changelings had developed soldiers with chameleon-like abilities instead of shape shifting abilities, she never saw it coming. Shining heard the scream but only arrived in time to see Chrysalis standing over a pale pink alicorn. The insectoid mare had an evil grin on her face as the last of Cadence's life energy leaked into her form and her horn dimmed. All he could do was stare in horror with with his mouth agape. When the queen began charging a blast from her gnarled horn Shining snapped back into action and created an impenetrable force field bubble. Instead of using it to protect himself he formed it around Chrysalis and began shrinking it steadily. He didn't even consider the morality he had learned growing up. He used all of his magic to compress it as tight as he could, he blacked out to the sound of muffled screams.

He woke up sometime later in front of the ghastly scene. All that was left of Chrysalis was crushed black carapace shards and disgusting electric green ooze. Her soldiers lay comatose with pained expressions and blank lifeless eyes, they had been shocked by the loss of the center of their collective hive-mind. The sound of hoofsteps could be heard behind him as he shakily arose, he didn't care about who was behind him. All he cared about was getting to Cadence. He held her in his forelegs close to his heart, she was as cold as ice and he could tell she wasn't breathing. Tears streamed from his eyes as guards flooded into the room.

The news hit the empire hard, nearly all of the crystal ponies adored her as she had the blood of the original ruling family that Sombra had killed. Several of the minor royals had escaped to Equestria to avoid Sombra's evil. The nation recovered slowly but steadily and Shining Armor became king. Though the nation had healed, Shining was still broken. He strengthened the kingdom's military and hired unicorn scientists to create miniature crystal hearts fitted into the armor of the crystal guard so they could use low level magic, even earth ponies. His rule became increasingly strict as he sank deeper into his depression. He cut nearly all ties with his family and would only speak to Luna and Celestia about trade agreements. He had even refused to see his sister. The kingdom prospered but happiness was dropping steadily. Shining kept the empire's weather dome lit with his own magic as the crystal heart faded after the first year of Shining's reign.

A few miles outside the Crystal Empire a tall purple, bipedal dragon looked upon the magenta dome with great sadness in his eyes. It was Spike, long time friend of Shining Armor, he had even been hatched by Shining's little sister. He had looked up to Shining as a kid, he had once been the perfect role model.

"Shining... you used to be such a great guy. I swear that I'm going to get you through this." Spike said to himself before he took to the sky on his new wings.

He reached the dome in nearly no time at all thanks to his powerful wing muscles. The dome had been modified to repel species other than ponies. Dragons being naturally resistant to magic allowed him to easily tear a hole large enough for himself to enter. The magical dome quickly repaired itself after he slipped through his makeshift door. He was soon met by several guards who pointed large spears at him.

"Evening boys. I'm here to see the king, is he available?" Spike said calmly as he towered over them. He let out a startled gasp as the head guard chucked a spear at him. The blade merely bounced off his nearly impervious scales.

"Now is that any way to treat the dragon that brought the crystal heart back to you?" Spike said as he wiped the sweat from his brow (he had never been at assaulted with a blade before & was unaware that it wouldn't effect him).

"Spike? You've grown much in the last few years. We didn't recognize you as the pudgy little guy that helped save us back then." The same guard said apologetically as he picked up his spear.

"Yeah, I had a growth spurt a year or two back. It really hurt and I nearly ate all the food in Ponyville. But anyway, everypony back home is getting pretty worried and Shining hasn't spoken to any of us since the attack. I wanna see him as soon as possible." Spike replied awkwardly.

The guard's expressions saddened a bit as they motioned for Spike to follow them as they marched toward the crystal city. Spike could tell the land was visibly more gloomy and dull than previous years since it's return. The state of the empire was heavily reliant upon it's inhabitant's happiness. Just looking around told him things were headed south fast. Spike didn't intend to leave until he set things to rights.

Author's Note

So, in my head Twilight was about 5 when she hatched Spike's egg. The birthday he had in the show was his 13th & Cadence & Shining were together for two years after until the attack so he would be 15 so now three years later he is 18 so nobody complain about the age thing.

This probably won't be my best story because I'm not really a fan of Shining Armor so this might be slow going too.

The King

The empire did indeed seem grimmer than even the first time Spike had seen it when it was under siege. It had no sense of danger as it had back then, but everything seemed so lifeless now. The coats of the crystal ponies were barely bright enough to distinguish them from other ponies and the buildings had lost their luster as well. The group of guards showed him to the palace which seemed duller than any of the other buildings they had passed. Spike noticed something strange about the palace beyond the lack of shine.

"Where are all the other guards?" Spike asked the guard captain with a raised brow.

"His majesty stations us everywhere but here, there's an invisible barrier keeping out anyone with hostile intent. He implemented it so we could watch the rest of the empire... but we think it's also so he doesn't have to see anypony other than what's necessary to run the kingdom." The guard replied weakly
.

Spike purposely thought of doing something violent and tried walking ahead. BWONG He was repelled by the barrier and fell backwards onto his scaly rump. Annoyed by this he dusted himself off and stood back up. He pulled his arm back with claws balled into a fist and struck the forcefield. Everypony gasped as magenta cracks appeared in thin air. Spike flattened his claws and struck the epicenter of the cracks. The barrier became visible as Spike's arm went through it, it flickered for a moment before vanishing entirely. The guards looked at him in awe but said nothing as the dragon walked into the castle.

Spike had little difficulty finding the throne room as dragons had ever sharpening memories to compete with their vast lifespan and he had been here only a few years before. There sitting upon the throne was a tired shell of a stallion he had known nearly his entire life. In the center of the room was the crystal heart being fed magic from Shining himself who had his eyes closed in focus on his task.

"Shining Armor?" Spike said aloud startling the stallion in question. This caused him to lose control of the heart which clattered to the ground.

"Who goes there?" Shining said as he regained his composure and looked directly at the source of the interruption.

"Spike? Are you the one going around breaching my defenses? I've tripled my barrier strength since I left Equestria, how are you doing it?" He asked with anger in his eyes.

"Well hello to you too! I haven't seen you in five years and the first thing you do is chew me out? No Hi, how are you buddy? or Wow you've grown! You shut yourself off from everypony after the attack! We were worried about you! Twilight is too busy now but I came to see you for her benefit." Spike said with smoke coming from his nostrils.

"You are in violation of Crystal Law, you illegally breached our borders. Now prepare to be detained." Shining said dodging Spike's accusations completely as he placed a bubble around the irate dragon. Spike merely inhaled all the air he could & burned away the forcefield like it was made of wax. Shining's eyes widened as the freed dragon pounced at him. All he could do was light his horn in preparation before Spike was upon him. Spike saw the magic forming and used his thumb and pointer to extinguish it like a candle. He then lifted up the stallion by his horn and looked him in the eye.

"We are going to work this out Shining. I don't care if I have to snap your horn to get you to calm down. I'd rather not do that but these shields are pissing me off. Think you can behave if I put you down?" Spike practically snarled.

"Y-Yes." Shining replied through the pounding headache he was now experiencing. At this he was placed back onto his throne gently by the familiar assailant.

"Good, now why have you sealed yourself off from everything?" Spike said looking at him with a serious expression.

"I-I failed her, I was supposed to protect everyone like my cutie mark says. I let that monster take Cadence from me, I can't face them anymore. Mom, Dad, Twilight, the princesses... they were all counting on me to be the perfect knight for her but Chrysalis killed her before I could even get there." Shining said through tears that streamed steadily down his face. Spike could see the anger in his eyes had been replaced by the saddest look of defeat he had ever seen.

"Shining, no one could have predicted what happened and nopony expects you to be perfect. We miss her almost as much as you do, but we miss you just as much. We need to get you back on your hooves and fix the empire. Things are getting bad out there without the crystal ponies being happy enough to use the heart properly." Spike said as he placed a claw on Shining's back reassuring the stallion that his words were sincere. The two stayed there for awhile before Shining fully regained his composure. The guards eventually ventured into the throne room to see their king & their hero reminiscing about old times. They could tell that Shining had been crying but said nothing of it.

"Sirs? The main barrier is failing but the weather dome that keeps the cold out is holding with reserve power." The guard captain reluctantly interrupted. Shining thought on this for a moment before answering.

"Let it fall, we're going back to the way things my wife would have wanted them to be. We need to organize a crystal fair pronto, I was a fool to think I could keep everything running with force and magic. Things are going to get better colts, but it's going to take some effort." Shining replied, once again adopting a tone fit for a true leader.

The guards stood open mouthed for a moment before Spike motioned for them to get a move on, they obliged him but he stopped the last one before he could leave.

"Please take the crystal heart back to it's proper place too." He said as he used his long prehensile tail to grab it from it's place on the palace floor. The guard smiled & walked up to Spike who placed it on the stallion's back. The stallion trotted off quickly to complete his task. Spike chuckled a little before looking back to Shining. The stallion he had always admired when he was young looked older than he really was due to the stress he put himself under while ruling alone with might and magic. He was still an attractive stallion to be sure but his mane was visibly lighter than it once had been and there were deep bags under his eyes.

Wait... did I just think that he was attractive? Spike asked himself silently. His thoughts were interrupted before he could dwell on them further.

"Spike? I was thinking, you're very popular here and you're also obviously capable of putting me in my place when I lose it. Would you consider sticking around awhile? At least until the empire is up and running again?" Shining asked looking up at his draconian friend. Spike had intended to help out for awhile, but it couldn't hurt to set some conditions.

"Fine, sounds like a plan. But once all is said and done we're calling everypony up here for a visit or no deal. Got it?" He asked holding a claw out to the much smaller stallion. Shining was obviously hesitant but sighed and placed his hoof in Spike's claw.

"You've got yourself a deal. Now, let's get some rest we've got a lot of my mistakes to undo tomorrow." He said as they shook. This would be the beginning of a very complicated series of events.

Author's Note

ok, so i'm not thrilled with how this is turning out but it's a work in progress & before you get all in my face I think Spike got over Rarity as he grew up. I personally can't stand her so I will not be making much mention of her if at all.

Crystal Fair

The next three days were spent putting together the crystal fair. This fair was to be the largest in memory as an apology for letting Shining's personal problems interfere with the lives of his citizens. Shining was quite surprised that Spike oversaw about eighty percent of all the necessary preparations. His organizational skills were easily enough to impress even his obsessive compulsive sister had she been present. Shining felt like he was in the way more than anything, but he did have to sign off on everything as Spike held no official power in the empire. Spike even set up most of the stands and attractions himself as his immense strength allowed him to lug around all the fold-up booths with ease.

"Spike? Don't you think you're overworking yourself a little? You don't even need to really do anything, me and the crystal ponies owe you a lot. I'm sure we can manage this ourselves." Shining said as he watched Spike set up one of the concessions stands.

"Nah, I'm not even breaking a sweat. I'm not like ponies, the older I get the stronger I get. I need lots of stuff to do to keep me occupied. I've got energy to burn, that's one reason Twi cut me loose. I finished work too quickly and spent the rest of the day bored out of my skull." The dragon replied without looking away from the (soy) corn dog machine he was setting up.

"You finished everything Twily had you do that fast? We are talking about my sister right?" Shining said with an inquisitive tone.

"Yup, I figured out her filing system a long time ago and now office work is a breeze. I was basically standing around all day grabbing books off the top shelf for her." Spike said with a melancholy tone.

"Well hey, at least you're your own stallion... er... drake now right?" Shining said placing a hoof on his scaly friends hand as he couldn't reach Spike's shoulder. Spike shrugged before wandering off to set up a game booth.

Several hours after their discussion everything was in place and the fair was in full swing. Crystal ponies were everywhere playing all sorts of carnival games & enjoying greasy fair foods or simply chatting with one another about the sudden return to normalcy of their home. Spike looked around trying to decide what he should do, the cacophonous rumble of his stomach told him that it was a good idea to indulge in some unhealthy but delicious festival cuisine. He walked up to an especially large booth with many pictures of foods plastered all about. He caught the attention of the crystal stallion at the register.

"Well hello there mister hero! Rumor has it that you're the one that got the king out of his funk! I'd be honored to serve you free of charge today Mr. Spike!" He said very enthusiastically.

"No, I'm gonna insist that I pay. But thank you for the offer, I'll have... six pizzas with extra cheese, olive and mushroom, ten jumbo corn dogs, fourteen orders of nachos with extra jalapenos, six funnel cakes, five blooming onions, three cotton candies and the largest size I can get of that crystal berry slushie back there." Spike said as he pointed to the various item's photos and the machine full of sparkly swirling purple mixture behind the counter.

The stallion stood there mouth agape for a moment before he reluctantly punched the orders into the register. He was almost scared to tell the dragon the total.

"Th-that'll be two-hundred and fifteen bits sir." The stallion stammered obviously worried about being able to produce such a quantity of junk food in a short time.

"Huh, not bad for fair food. Hold up a sec." Spike said as he craned his long neck upward & let out a short burst of his trademark emerald flames.

Out of the fire emerged a slightly ashy bag bursting with bits. Which he grabbed from the air and placed on the counter. He then opened it and produced the required sum plus a thirty percent tip. He vanished the bag with another burst of flame and slid the pile of gold bits over to the still surprised stallion.

"I'm pretty sure that's gonna take awhile so why don't I come back in an hour or so?" Spike said to alleviate the stallions worries a bit. It worked as the stallion nodded vigorously."Can I get my drink now though? I'm a bit thirsty."

"Uh sure coming right up." The stallion said as he walked over to the the machine. He opened up a cabinet adjacent to it and pulled out a tall almost bucket like plastic container which he began filling.

"There you go sir one-hundred and twenty-eight oz. of our finest crystal berry slush." The stallion said as he hefted the beverage to the counter with some difficulty, Spike still doesn't understand how ponies get anything done without fingers or magic but shrugged it off. He took his drink and walked off not noticing the stallion rush to the kitchen behind the stall after putting up a closed sign.

He decided to see how Shining was doing but couldn't seen to find him anywhere. He asked around but nopony had seen him since he had declared the fair was ready and open to the public. He looked until his food was ready and continued on after downing it with remarkable speed causing the stand's proprietor to faint. He eventually made his way back to the palace to find Shining sulking about in the throne room. He motioned the guards to wait outside to which they obliged.

"Shining, the fair is up and running and everypony is having a great time what's wrong?" Spike asked as he approached the throne. Shining looked up at Spike with sadness in his eyes and sighed.

"I'm whats wrong Spike, I'm supposed to be the king but I made everypony miserable and locked myself away while forcing the guards to crack down on everything. You've done more good for the empire than I have even though you don't even live here. I don't deserve to take part in their festivities." He said as he hung his head low again.

"Shining, you screwed up but everyone does that now and again. Admittedly you could have handled everything better but you aren't at fault here. You've been through a lot because of that bug, but it's in the past. Cadence would want you to do what's best for your ponies. Now let's go, they should be about to light the heart back up." Spike said as he grabbed the stallion and put him onto his hooves beside him. Shining realized Spike was right and steeled his nerves with thoughts of his lost love.

They approached the heart to find all the crystal ponies encircling the area. Spike cleared a path for them as all recognized the dragon who was leading their king. Spike motioned for Shining to walk ahead of him which he accepted the chance to do so but regretted it soon after. Spike pushed him into the circle where all eyes were now upon him. Spike leaned down to him and whispered Speech!

Shining's pupils shrank to pin pricks but he slapped himself and took a deep breath before he trotted up to the crystal heart.

"Citizens of the Crystal Empire! I, king Shining Armor have wronged you. I let the death of my beloved wife control me, I pushed everypony away so I wouldn't have to see myself fail at protecting them as I did her. But a dear friend, a hero to all of us showed me that I was hurting my people and all the others who cared for me. I can only promise to not lose sight of what I must do again and apologize for the wrongs I have done. I will fix everything that I am able but I can't work miracles, I am just one stallion. But I wish to extend an invitation to Spike the dragon, hero of the Crystal Empire to stay here as my most trusted adviser and if the occasion should arise, brother in arms." Shining said as he displayed a full range of emotions, but ended with a smile that contained no small amount of pride & smug satisfaction.

Spike was taken aback but bolstered his nerves enough to step forward & raise a claw for Shining Armor to shake. It was accepted and roars of applause sounded from all around them. After everything had calmed everypony present lent their power to the heart and the empire returned to it's full glory once again. Spike could only stare at the stallion next to him as the crystal glow enveloped them he viewed the sheen overtake every inch of Shining. But that wasn't really what Spike was looking at. He knew Shining was an attractive stallion from an objective standpoint but now he knew he was thinking about it from his own view. He hadn't felt like this since some childish crushes years before but he knew what this feeling was, and he had just agreed to spend a great deal of time with this stallion. This was not going to be an easy stay.

Author's Note

so yeah the fair! & I have no idea how much fair food costs so whatever.

On to Business

The day after the crystal fair came a little too soon for Spike's liking, he was still unsure about the glances he found himself giving Shining Armor with increasing frequency. But he had made a commitment to the empire as of yesterday and he was honor bound by the noble dragon's code to see his promises through despite personal problems. He walked into the palace's dining hall and sat down at the large table were Shining was already seated, chatting with what Spike guessed was nobility. Or more realistically Shining was being complained at, Shining saw Spike sit down and gave him a look that pleaded Save me! Spike sighed and motioned for a server who he told to have the kitchens produce as much coffee, scrambled eggs, hay bacon, and toast as possible. The server looked at him like he was crazy but then looked over Spike's towering form and thought better of saying anything. Spike put on his best flank-kissing smile and steeled his nerves before readying his cheesy Canterlot accent to impress the nobles.

"Your majesty, I hate to interrupt but I have yet to be be briefed on the specifics of the empire and it's relations with other countries." Shining immediately breathed a sigh of relief before going through the same nobility impersonation ritual Spike had just performed.

"Ladies and gentlecolts I will have to adjourn this unofficial meeting so I can speak with my adviser, court will be held at noon. If you have questions, grievances, etc. please file them accordingly." With that the nobles grumbled off in various directions, most likely to fill out copious amounts of paperwork that would keep them out of their king's mane for some time. Spike got up and took a seat closer to Shining who was drinking his coffee now that he had a moments peace.

"How exactly are you keeping this place afloat if you can't talk to the nobles?" Spike asked in a confused tone.

"Well, when I was having my episode they weren't nobles. I decided to reinstate the nobility from before Sombra took over as a show of good faith that I was a good guy. Unfortunately, they all have things to say about my rule and how things were back in the day." Shining said as he rubbed his temples with his hooves.

"When did you reinstate the nobility? I haven't seen any of those ponies here until this morning." Spike said with a raised brow.

"The day after you forced some sense into me, the paperwork just went through last night. I honestly thought this might lighten my workload but it seems I actually increased it several times over." He said as he placed his head on the table hiding his face with his forehooves.

"Are you kidding? Nobles never make anything better! Celestia has to keep Luna from banishing or beheading them all the time!" Spike said through intense laughter. "You used to live in Canterlot, how could you not know the nobles are nothing but walking piggy banks?"

"I was always doing military stuff! The worst I ever had to do was paperwork! I'd rather be fighting hydras than doing all this junk! Cadence took care of all this and I ran the military, that's how it was until..." Shining's mood was steadily deteriorating as he spoke. Spike took notice of this and let out a knowing sigh.

"Alright. it'll be okay. I'll guide you through this, now I heard that trade is down and the economy could use some bolstering. You got the nobles back, so use them as investors and use their bits to get everything in motion. Now, what are the empire's main exports?" Spike said as he intentionally lifted Shining's mood by telling him he had done something right.

"Well, the area around the empire is ice and snow so our only agricultural product is the crystal berries that grow in the cold. Other than that we have the sparkly wool from the crystal sheep and the crystal deposits all around the lands. The problem is, after Sombra forced everypony to work the mines constantly nopony really wants to be a miner. The mines are so understaffed that we had to shut down all but one mine & move all the workers there." Shining explained as best as he could.

"Hmm that's not a lot to work with... have you tried fermenting the crystal berries? I'm sure Canterlot ponies would go gaga over imported crystal wine. Or you could market them in snacks or something for kids, we'd need to plant more berry fields but if they thrive in the cold it shouldn't be a problem." Spike said as he received a large dish of eggs from a server. He stopped talking to shovel some of the eggs into his mouth but stopped with a curious expression on his face as he began chewing. He tasted something other than eggs but he couldn't place it. He moved the remaining eggs around with his fork & found an off white chunk of something in the eggs.

"Shining what's this in the eggs? It's really good!" Spike said as he speared the little object with his fork & popped it into his mouth.

"Oh, that's a winter truffle they put it in everything around here. They grow underground near the crystal berry bush roots." Shining explained.

"You mean there are truffles all over the empire? Truffles are eight thousand bits a pound at least in Equestria! They also happen to be one of Celestia's favorites! We need to get some ponies working on growing more berry bushes and winter truffles right away! This could repair the economy faster than I thought!" Spike said jumping from his seat. Shining was at a loss for words for a moment. But soon regained his composure.

"Guard, find me the empire's best farmers as quickly as possible!" He bellowed to the guard at the entry to the dining hall. The guard snapped to attention, saluted and cantered off to complete his task. Shining took a quick look around making sure nopony was around before grabbing Spike into a hug.

"Spike! You totally just pulled my flank out of the fire! I thought I was going to have to surrender the country to princess Celestia if things kept going so badly!" Shining said through tears of joy as he looked up at the surprised dragon. Spike could only think of how warm the hug made him feel and the look in Shining's eyes. Those pretty, pretty eyes. He managed to snap himself out of it before things got weird and separated Shining from himself.

"Heh, look it's no big deal. You should thank your sister, without her making me cook all the time I wouldn't know what a truffle was." He said with a slight but visible blush as he tried to direct attention away from himself.

For the rest of their meal Spike bounced ideas for the empire off of Shining but Shining noticed that for some reason the always respectful dragon wouldn't make eye contact with him as they spoke. It was strange but he thought nothing of it and continued listening on ways to better the lives of his ponies. Spike on the other claw was getting increasingly aware of his sudden attraction to the crystal king. His new job was going to prove itself to be very interesting indeed.

Author's Note

Also if you don't believe me google "Truffle price per pound 2013" they're freaking expensive. I'm trying to take things slowly but I'm running low on ideas here.

Suspicions

True to his word Shining Armor had begun contacting his family again as soon as new trade agreements had been struck. Shining made use of Spike's magic flames to mail out various letters to his relatives as well as samples of the empires new exports. Both were met with responses of delight. Things were still a bit hectic to entertain family but it was a start. Spike had been a fount of valuable insight in the last few weeks since the crystal fair. Spike had even managed to redouble the speed at which the empire was being modernized after it's millennium of absence.

Everything was running smoothly again for the first time in years but were still very busy. Shining couldn't help but notice that Spike, the source of all the swift repair and reform was growing continually distant. The dragon would occasionally cast glances at the stallion but would quickly look away if Shining met his gaze. Aside from meetings and political functions Shining never saw the dragon which was confusing as he occupied a very large amount of space. Shining even asked the staff were Spike had disappeared to but none of them had a clear answer. Spike had been given his own chambers but Shining found them nearly untouched when he entered them. It was clear that he was being avoided but he couldn't figure out why.

Shining may not be the greatest political mind but he knew everything there was to know about military matters, combat, and the like. He knew if he wanted to get to the bottom of this he would need to set a trap, so he had the schedule changed with an added meeting and left the revised copy in Spike's chambers. The meeting was supposedly about the agricultural minister's new proposition for increasing the yield of truffle crops by thirty percent. Shining knew that Spike followed this topic as closely as a mother would a foal, after all it had been one of his more successful early ideas. The meeting had been scheduled for noon the next day and surely enough Spike arrived right on time. However Shining was the only pony found in the meeting hall much to Spike's confusion.

"Uh, Shining? Where's the minister of agriculture?" Spike said glancing around nervously.

"He's not coming Spike, I arranged this meeting to confront you on why you've been so distant." Shining said in a stern but caring tone. Spike looked for a way out of the situation but conceded defeat when he found no satisfying solution to his dilemma. He sighed deeply and took a seat in a chair specially designed to accommodate his heavy bipedal form. He hung his head for a moment in thought. He spent a moment articulating his thoughts to words before speaking up.

"Have you ever developed feelings for someone that you knew you had no business being with?" Spike said still avoiding Shining's eyes. Shining wasn't sure what to make of the unexpected question but soon came up with an answer as he knew a bit on the subject.

"Well, I did fall in love with a princess you know? I wasn't even a guard at the time. I was a nerdy teenage colt who played tabletop RPGs with multi sided dice when we met." Shining answered reminiscing about the past he had with Cadence and the strange way they had confessed feelings to one another during a hectic school dance.

Spike internally face-palmed himself for phrasing his words like that. Of course he knows what that's like! Now you've got him thinking about Cadence! Spike berated himself in his head. Spike was glad that Shining wasn't visibly saddened at the recollection of his past love but still didn't know where else to go with the conversation without blurting it out. Luckily Shining was next to speak so he had more to work with.

"Oh, I get it! You've fallen for a pony here in the empire! You're worried about the species difference right? Well don't worry about it, everypony in the empire loves you Spike." Shining said excitedly at the prospect of his close friend finding somepony. Spike was speechless for a moment before he again began formulating a plan. This time however he managed to come up with an acceptable means of escape.

"Heh, yeah you got me Shining and you're right, I should go confess to them right now." Spike said nervously as he got up from his seat with feigned enthusiasm. Shining seemed to buy it and smiled sincerely at the dragon as he marched out the door.

As soon as Spike was out of sight Shining dropped the smile and began following behind the dragon staying just out of his line of sight. He continued his pursuit until his target lead him out of the palace and into the courtyard. He watched as Spike spread his membranous wings & began taking off. Shining watched as Spike steadily grew smaller as the distance grew greater. He thought Spike was being true to his word and began to trot off when he stopped in realization. Spike had flown north, the only thing in that direction was abandoned crystal mines.

Shining rescheduled all his appointments for the day under the pretense of "urgent business". His staff saw the look of determination in his eyes and readily accepted the flimsy excuse as fact. He packed his emergency expedition gear & a sabre he had received upon his ascension to prince of the empire years ago. Not having enough pegasi at the ready was annoying as he had to make the trek to the mines on hoof. He made a slow but steady course to the mines. It took him several hours to reach them but he was little worse for wear. The mines were normally boarded shut and placed under an enchantment he himself had created after Sombra's second fall. Now however, the boards were in pieces and strewn all about leaving the cave wide open. Shining didn't feel lingering magic in the air from his spell breaking so the barrier had been taken down at least a week previous. It seemed this is where Spike had been disappearing to when not fulfilling his duties.

As Shining entered the cavernous mine he illuminated his horn as not to trip or worse in the hazardous tunnels. After a few minutes of walking Shining saw piles of enormous crystals that seemed recently disturbed from the earth. The further he went the more the chambers seemed to widen and the number of crystals seemed to increase.

Has Spike been doing all this himself? There are millions of bits worth of crystals here! It's only been a few weeks since he started vanishing. Shining thought to himself, amazed at the progress the lone drake had made. But this didn't explain why Spike had lied to him and came here instead of meeting the mysterious pony.

As he continued onward he began to hear a great rumbling noise and felt the earth around him shake weakly. It definitely wasn't a cave-in but he couldn't figure out precisely what was making the unnatural rumble. He pressed onward unsure of how long he had been here. Continually going deeper underground through off his sense of time's accuracy. The noise continued to grow louder until it was much more clear, sobbing. Spike was somewhere ahead bawling his eyes out like a foal here where nopony could hear his distress. Shining found an intersection at the front of a new set of tunnels and chose the one the sound was coming from most clearly. He doubled the illuminating spell to better view his surroundings. He could now see a shape at the end of the tunnel. There sat Spike the dragon balled up and surrounded by half eaten crystals wallowing in molten tears.

Shining was unsure of what to do but took a step forward & heard a distinct crunch a long thin crystal Spike had been snacking on broke in half under his hoof. Spike's ear fins twitched at the sound and he opened his bloodshot eyes to see Shining before him. Neither of them said anything for a moment before Shining spoke up.

"Spike, wha-" He was cut off half way through by Spike's shaky but still powerful voice.

"Leave! I'm a monster! I just wanna stay down here in the earth until everypony forgets about me." He said covering his face with his claws. Shining was taken aback by the almost roar-like tone his friend was using.

"Spike, why would you think that you're a monster? Everypony likes you! You helped save the empire. Twice!" Shining exclaimed.

"I'm a monster because I've fallen for you when you're still grieving for Cadence!" Spike bellowed angrily at the now dumbfounded stallion. Shining stood there mouth open and stared at the distressed dragon before him. He was unaware how long he stood there before his brain started functioning properly again. He finally saw all the pieces fit together, the lack of eye contact, avoidance, doing everything he could to keep attention away from himself. Spike was behaving just like he had as a colt around Cadence. The realization hit him hard but he knew he needed to stand strong.

"Spike, I should have realized what was going on, I was a foal not to. I know this might be hard to believe but I've come to terms with Cadence's passing... and I know that she would want me to try and find love again. She was the earthly embodiment of love, she'd haunt me till I died if I let her weigh me down forever. You helped me realize that when you brought me back from depression." Shining said stepping as close as he could to the bubbling magma-tears surrounding Spike. Spike looked at him with a look of confusion but there also seemed to be a glimmer of hope.

"I-I thought you were into mares?" Spike asked in disbelief.

"Spike, I loved Cadence for who she was, not because she was a mare. I don't really have a preference, I go by personality. You're a really great guy Spike, I'm not promising anything but I'd feel terrible if I didn't give you a chance." Shining said as he placed a hoof across the miniature magma moat onto Spike's claw. Spike slowly rose from the spot and walked through the magma directly in front of Shining. He looked down at the stallion nervously as he tried to figure out what to say. Shining took the lead however.

"How about we get out of this cave and get home before anything else?" He said looking into Spike's eyes. Spike could only nod in reply.

They ventured out into the light together. Both of them knew this was going to be an awkward beginning but neither could complain.

Author's Note

I based Shining off of a more adult version of him in the comics for anyone who has complaints, read them & then compare.

Next chapter: First Date! Be there!

First Date

It had been a full day since the incident in the mines, Spike was physically present but still emotionally unsure of the situation. He still managed to complete his duties to everypony's satisfaction but anypony could tell something was bothering him. Shining was still working out a few details for the date he had promised the dragon but knew it would need to be soon. He approached Spike after the days business had been concluded.

"So, you ready for that date I promised you big guy?" Shining asked the gloomy reptile. Spike immediately brightened but adopted some skepticism to replace the funk.

"Are you sure you wanna do this? I'd understand if you didn't want to do this. You got me back out of the mine, that's enough really." Spike said not looking directly at Shining. Shining was a bit annoyed at the dragon's attitude.

"Now come on, I told you that we were going to give this a go and I meant it. You're a great guy, hay if I had been looking and I knew you felt that way I would have asked you myself." Shining said placing a hoof on the slumping dragon's shoulder. Spike looked at him still a bit unsure but his mood had been repaired somewhat.

"We have reservations for The Diamond Mesa, it's supposed to be the best restaurant in the Crystal Empire." Shining said further brightening the dragon's mood.

"Are you sure you wanna spend that many bits on me? I've heard that place costs a mint." Spike said with a raised brow.

"Well, they told me they were giving me a discount because it would be great publicity for us to eat there." Shining said happily. Spike was genuinely excited but withheld his giddiness.

"So, when are the reservations for?" Spike asked

"Well... they were booked solid for awhile so we could only get in tonight at seven." Shining said rubbing the back of his neck with a hoof. Spike's eyes grew wide & he quickly turned to the clock on the wall, it read four-thirty.

"Dammit! I'm a mess! I need time to get ready!" Spike yelled out as he took flight to his chambers.

"That was unexpected." Shining said to himself as he trotted off to his own chambers to prepare.

At six thirty Shining walked up to Spike's door. He knocked on the door and waited for a moment. Spike opened the door a moment later, dressed to the nines. He was in a fancy black suit, a pale pink shirt underneath, and a lavender and lime green tie with a golden clip.

"Where did you..." Shining asked awkwardly.

"Royal tailor." Spike said adjusting an amethyst cufflink.

"We have one of those?" Shining said genuinely surprised.

"Yes, and your surprise sheds some light on why he was so eager to do this rush job for me." Spike said with a chuckle. Shining was sure to visit the tailor more often. He wore the same drab red uniforms every day out of habit. It would be nice to have something different.

They adjourned to the restaurant and arrived just on time as it wasn't far from the castle. The place was quite a sight, the illuminated sign was beautiful and the building itself was shined to a remarkable luster. Shining and Spike stepped into the restaurant revealing that it was even nicer inside. The walls were brilliant white marble and there were beautiful silver accents everywhere with diamond chandeliers above each table.

The head waiter noticed their arrival and motioned for them to follow him. There was apparently a special VIP room. It was mostly the same, though there was an amazing mural depicting the liberation of the crystal ponies. Spike and Shining were the only ones currently in the room and were seated at the largest table. The waiter handed them each a menu and took their drink orders before being on his way. The awkward silence was almost visible in the room.

"So... this place is really nice huh?" Shining said in an attempt to break the ice.

"Yeah, they had a really nice wine selection too." Spike said attempting to contribute.

"Aren't you like 19? How do you know about fine wine?" Shining asked now genuinely curious.

"No drinking age for dragons, takes three times as much to effect us anyway. Plus I played assistant for Celestia and Luna while Twilight didn't need me. They may seem regal and perfect but when they cut loose they drink like fish. Immortality breaks inhibitions I guess." Spike said chuckling at his memories of princesses acting out of character.

"Seriously? Celestia was always so prim and proper when I was around her." Shining said chuckling in disbelief.

"Seriously, you know somepony since you were born you learn things nopony else knows. Like where Twilight keeps her more risque' romance novels." Spike said as the awkwardness dissipated.

As the night continued on the two actually figured out they had a lot in common. The two had actually never spent a long period of time alone since they were both young. They chatted the night away through dinner and until the restaurant closed. Neither of them had any complaints, everything had gone quite smoothly. At the end of the night they headed back to the castle.

"You know, that was a really good night. I'd be lying if I said that I didn't wanna do that again sometime." Shining said rubbing the back of his head with a hoof. Spike smiled brightly for a moment before answering.

"I'd like that." Spike said happily as they parted ways for the night.

Author's Note

Went back through and touched this chapter up a bit. Expect more soon guys, we're off the hiatus!

The Routine

Spike and Shining had gone on several dates in the last month, they took turns coming up with activities and picking the eateries they visited. Things were going well so far, though the couple was currently keeping things quiet. They were worried that if things didn't work out it would upset the ponies, the crystal ponies loved both their hero and their king dearly. For now, the ponies merely saw them as good friends. Shining continued to rule, and Spike continued to assist. Spike kept things running smoothly, and could put Shining in his place if need be.

Spike had become somewhat of a creature of habit over the years, Twilight's influence had ensured that. Spike had drawn up schedules for every day of the week for him and Shining. Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays were for official meetings with nobles and other important ponies. Thursdays were reserved for open court, anypony in the empire could visit and petition things from Shining while Spike stood to the side to advise him. Fridays were half days, the day was for inspections, while the evening was for Spike and Shining's date nights. Saturdays were laid aside for charity functions and public appearances.

Today was Sunday, though it had become better known as training day to those in the government. The entirety of the castle was required to participate. Shining was indeed the king, but would always be a soldier at heart. As such everypony that worked inside the castle had to at least attend self-defense classes and pass yearly physicals. Shining wanted to make sure everypony could defend themselves, he feared another incident like the changeling invasions. The guards had all met Shining's approval and were sparring with one another as Shining faced a much greater foe.

"Gonna take more than shields to stop this dragon bubble boy!" Spike yelled as he tore through a magical magenta sphere before it could envelope him.

Shining scowled at the nickname Spike had given him as he charged his horn for another spell. His horn's glow spread outward, enveloping himself in another shield. Spike merely rolled his eyes, but Shining doubled the shield, the second over the first. The first shield floated in the middle of the second, somehow defying gravity without constant magic flow. He didn't stop there however, he added a horizontal ring of spikes that floated just above the second layer. Spike blinked a few times in disbelief.

"Okay, so that's more than a shield." Spike said somewhat impressed.

"Been working on this one for awhile, I think I'm gonna call it the death chariot." Shining answered smugly.

"Really? Because I like the hamster ball of doom better." Spike taunted, egging the now confident stallion on.

Shining inhaled and snorted threateningly, signaling he was about to take the offensive. Shining began running at surprising speeds, intending to use his new creation to ram into Spike. Both the first and second shields moved under his hooves with the spiked ring spinning in place. It would be difficult to destroy such powerful defenses while avoiding the saw-like ring. Spike barely had time to take to the air, narrowly avoiding the powerful assault. Shining slammed into the wall of the training grounds, producing a large hole. Shining walked backward to remove himself from the wall, the ball following as it had before. Once freed he looked upwards, noticing a distinct lack of dragon. He saw a flash of purple in his peripheries, but was too late to do anything. Spike had hidden in the corner of the room right behind Shining, using his claws to grip the ceiling, eliminating the sound of wing-beats that would give him away.

Spike landed on the ring, one leg on either side of the sphere. Shining's eyes went wide as Spike began punching the outer sphere repeatedly. Spike was aware the spikes couldn't penetrate his scaly hide, but they'd certainly hurt. This way he could avoid the spikes, and his weight held them in place. The outer sphere began cracking after ten or so rapid punches, taking much more damage than a shield could have a month ago. Shining was a force to be reckoned with now that he wasn't using up all of his power every day.

Much to Spike's surprise, Shining dispelled the magical constructs entirely. The stallion quickly rolled out from under the falling dragon, narrowly avoiding being crushed by Spike's bulk. As Spike struggled to right himself Shining lit his horn again, not taking the time to use a spell. Instead he blasted Spike in the chest with raw magical energy. Spike lay there smoking for a moment, eventually sitting up with a grin on his face.

"Okay, you got me there. Didn't expect you to let the shields go like that." Spike chuckled, no worse for the wear except for a ring of ash where the blast had struck.

"Yeah, but you didn't make it easy for me. If you'd managed to get away I might have been through, I didn't have another shot like that in me." Shining replied somewhat out of breath as he regained his normal cheery demeanor.

"I let you win, you'd look terrible if I'd managed to clock you like last week." Spike joked as he brushed himself off.

"Hey, that black eye went away after a couple days." Shining replied.

The two shared a few good laughs before heading from the training grounds to the dining hall. They always worked up quite an appetite despite stopping their brawls after the first hit. Shining had his usual after training meal, three soy corn dogs and a root beer float. Spike had his usual everything, coupled with hard cider special ordered from Sweet Apple Acres. Somehow Spike always managed to finish his mountain of food before Shining could finish his comparably meager meal. Despite the astonishing speed at which he devoured his food he always had good table manners.

"How on earth do you make all that food disappear without gaining any weight?" Shining asked as he stared at Spike's empty platter.

"I need lots of calories and variety, otherwise I'd need to start eating meat to get what I need to stay healthy. Gems are great and all, but not all that filling. " Spike explained as he patted his stomach.

"Oh, yeah. I forgot you're supposed to eat meat, I guess I've known you so long I just forgot about that." Shining said guiltily.

"Eh, it's fine. I don't particularly wanna eat meat unless I have to." Spike replied with an indifferent shrug.

"Who would have thought, a vegetarian dragon with impeccable table manners." Shining chuckled.

"Hey, I take great great pride in my table manners. A true gentleman should- Buuuuuuurrrp" Spike interrupted himself with a powerful belch, a letter reassembled itself from ashes a split second later. It landed on Shining's head, held in place just above his horn.

"Wow, that's attractive." Shining said sarcastically as he levitated the letter off of himself.

Spike blushed and grabbed the letter from Shining's telekinetic grasp. He examined the seal, revealing it to be a familiar pink star. Heh, Twi's probably just worried. I haven't written in about a month. Spike mused. He had been so busy lately he hadn't been keeping regular correspondence with the girls back home. He broke the seal, opening the letter.

Dear Spike,

You haven't written in awhile, I know I'm not your mother but I worry. The girls wouldn't mind hearing from you either, everypony misses you. We know you're busy helping Shining run the empire, and we're really proud of you. Anyway, since things are going well in the empire I volunteered to pay the two of you a visit on Equestria's behalf. I'll be there to talk about business, but really it's just an excuse to see the both of you. Depending on how fast I can get through my work for the week, I should be able to come by in a day or two. I'll be traveling using the new ultra long range teleportation spell Celestia taught me! I really look forward to seeing you, but I don't want you telling Shining about this. I want it to be a surprise.

Love, Twilight

Spike looked the letter over silently, he wanted to see Twilight, but didn't want to keep secrets from Shining. He decided to keep quiet after some internal debate, Twilight would have a fit if he spoiled the surprise. He lifted the letter into the air and incinerated it with his flames, making certain nopony would see it. He looked back to Shining who was looking at him expectantly.

"What was that about?" Shining asked.

"Just Twi, I haven't wrote home in awhile, she was getting worried." Spike replied, giving him a half truth.

"Well she did hatch you, I think she sort of sees herself as your mother or something." Shining theorized.

"Please don't remind me. I'm dating you, her brother. You see why that comparison might bother me?" Spike said shuddering slightly.

"Ew, yeah okay. Grossed out now, sorry." Shining agreed as his face took on a greenish hue.

As the nausea lessened, Spike got to thinking about Twilight's visit. He kept his silence until they got to the castle's private study. Only Shining, Spike, and Equestria's princesses knew of it's location. It was created by Sombra over a thousand years ago, left undiscovered until somepony found the tyrant's journal. The room itself was surrounded by three feet of enchanted crystal, nothing could get in or out without the password. Shining stepped up to a painting on the wall of some long forgotten noble wearing a strange feathered hat. This was the secret entrance, disguised by powerful spells. You wouldn't ever notice the painting unless you knew it was there. Shining looked around, ensuring nopony was in the area. Once the coast was clear he uttered the password in a tone barely above a whisper.

Sombra rules

Shining had yet to find a way to change the password, but it was on the to-do-list. The noble in the painting smiled as it and the wall transformed into a door. As soon as the pair were inside the door closed, and the wall returned to normal. The private study was essentially the world's most comfortable panic room, Shining and Spike came here to relax after training and dates. It had a home theater, sound system, full bar, separate fridges for food and drink, and a comfy sofa that could easily seat ten ponies. Shining had remodeled it himself after it was discovered, originally using it as his man-cave. Spike and Shining settled in on the sofa, snuggling as they could only do in this private room. They loved the quiet time they could have alone only have twice a week. There was too little time left over from running the country to do anything but sleep most days. The couple enjoyed their shared warmth for a few moments before Spike spoke what was on his mind.

"Hey Shining? Do you think we should tell the girls, and maybe the princesses about us? Just, you know, next time we see them?" Spike asked the relaxed stallion.

"Hm, yeah, I suppose so. I wouldn't have a problem with that. I wouldn't mind telling the empire either, but it's kinda early. We've just fixed the empire, I don't wanna make everypony unhappy again if something happens." Shining admitted.

"Alright, just curious." Spike replied through a big yawn.

It wasn't long before Shining drifted off to sleep, Spike made a wonderful heater. Spike lay awake with his own thoughts for awhile longer however. He had no doubt Shining had faith in their relationship, but he knew the cause of Shining's concern was that the empire's happiness was directly connected to it's welfare. Shining was still worried he'd let his personal unhappiness effect the country like it had before. Spike could relate, he had lost control of himself once, during his birthday many years ago. He had nearly destroyed his home, and could have easily taken the lives of his loved ones in a rage. He had been afraid of himself for some time even after his friends reassured him all was well. These things just took time, and some TLC from a certain dragon wouldn't hurt either. In truth, he was more worried about Twilight's reaction to their relationship more than anything. For now though, he let his cares slip away. He was going to enjoy a much needed nap with his coltfriend.

Author's Note

Woo! Back to business with this story! I realized that I needed some more conflict, so even though Shining isn't a wreck anymore he still has issues. Spike is being understanding, but will his patience last? What will Twilight think of all this? How many more rhetorical questions will I ask? Who knows?

Anyway, I've had several people ask about this story so here it is! I look forward to your continued support, thanks guys!

Caught

Today was Monday, and as anypony in the castle knew today was the start of important empire business for the week. Or at least it would have been, if the three nobles scheduled for the day hadn't all canceled their appointments. Apparently they had all been invited to a business expozay in Prance. Now that they were nobility they were wasting no time whatsoever establishing powerful connections to better their own lives. Shining was actually pleased to have some unexpected free time, Spike on the other hoof was absolutely livid.

Another thing Spike had picked up from Twilight was her frustration that made itself known when things interfered with the schedule too much. Spike was in charge of scheduling for the main branch of the empire's government, a hefty task that required much planning in advance. To have sudden changes imposed upon him meant he had to rearrange everything, and the only time-slots big enough to fit the new appointments were during Spike and Shining's date night or right after training.

Spike wasn't a dragon of many needs, but every now and again a break would have been nice. The empire was recovering, but there was still plenty of work to be done. Dates and training were the only times Spike could really cut loose, and more importantly be more than an adviser to Shining. The disgruntled dragon was currently using a large block of solid crystal as a punching bag, Shining was doing the smart thing and staying a safe distance away.

Spike needs to chill out. I wonder if I can help? Shining wondered to himself as he watched Spike abuse the building material. He played through various options in his head as he avoided the occasional piece of shrapnel.

I feel bad about picking those lousy nobles, I should make it up to him somehow. It should be something meaningful, private, and something we haven't done before. Shining continued, mentally kicking himself for not paying better attention to his duties.

Spike worked himself half to death picking up his slack without asking for much of anything in return. The stress seemed to be getting to him, he needed to do something to relieve it. Something came to mind, but it seemed out of the question. Although, it had been three years for Shining, and he had to admit he was curious about Spike's... proportions. After less debate than he'd like to admit Shining trotted over to Spike who had stopped for a breather.

"Hey Spike? I know things have gotten sort of messed up for the week, but I had an idea for something we could do in the mean time, ALONE." Shining said as he tried to emphasize the last bit while still being quiet enough for the guards outside the door to hear. There was a fair deal of blush in his cheeks, asking about sex openly wasn't something he had planned.

Spike's eyes went wide fast, his meaning wasn't hard to understand. He looked around the room, making sure nopony was within earshot.

"What the hay Shining!? We aren't even public yet! I won't deny the idea had crossed my mind, but I'd like us to save THAT for a special occasion ya know?" Spike replied in a loud whisper. Shining seemed just a little more guilty at Spike's words.

"Yeah sorry, you're right. I just felt bad about this being the only time we'd really get together this week. Those nobles were given their titles by me, I should have done more than used ponies from the old bloodlines." Shining said berating himself in front of Spike.

"Shining, you couldn't have known that they'd turn out like Blueblood given the chance. You need to stop beating yourself up over everything, things aren't going to get better unless you can trust yourself. You're young and relatively new at this, it'll get easier with time." Spike replied, placing a clawed hand on Shining's shoulder for reassurance.

"I know, but I let everypony down for three years Spike. I dunno if I can-" Shining was cut off by Spike who lifted into a kiss by grabbing him with a claw around the stallion's midsection.

Shining's eyes went wide at the surprise show of affection. He soon got into it, something Spike had only hoped would happen. They hadn't kissed more than a few times, usually after date night and some random pecks on the cheek. Neither were currently complaining about the change of pace however. The kiss lasted until the pair had to come up for air. They panted for a moment, though they wore smiles the whole time.

"Feeling better now?" Spike asked through both a chuckle and a huff.

"Better than I have in years." Shining replied happily.

"Good, because I think you just changed my mind about that offer." Spike added with a blush, he refused to look the stallion in the eyes however.

"You mean... ?" Shining questioned uncertainly.

"Yeah, but it's gonna need to be the study, dragon's have a tendency to, uh... roar." Spike explained thoroughly embarrassed.

"Nah, my bedroom is fine. Sombra had all the bedroom's soundproofed, he was super paranoid and he talked in his sleep." Shining replied.

Shining and Spike adjourned to the royal bedchambers after instructing the guards that there were important matters of state to be discussed. Nopony was to disturb them unless the safety of the empire or it's ponies was in question. Shining's loyal troops followed the order without question, the wing of the castle containing the bedroom would be nearly abandoned at this time of day. It was just the privacy the pair needed.

Nopony was any the wiser as to what was happening behind the enormous bedroom doors. The soundproofing enchantments held perfectly, though the doors visibly rattled every now and again from Spike's powerful roars. It seemed the couple was having quite the time in their own little world, completely unaware of what was going on in the rest of the castle.

-ELSEWHERE-

Flash Sentry was having an average day, he was posted at the castle doors as was normal for Monday through Wednesday. He didn't even have to check credentials or open the heavy doors for nobles, as they had cancelled for the day. Everything was going smoothly, all he had to do was stand there and watch for anyone who wanted entry. He didn't expect to see anyone though, most of the empire knew the gist of the castle schedule and that they had an opportunity to speak with the king on Thursdays. Today was going to be so easy, or so he thought right up until a purple flash of light caught him by surprise. It produced a powerful shock-wave that knocked him backwards and into the doors, he slid down onto his back with a groan.

From the flash of light emerged Twilight Sparkle, Equestria's princess of friendship. Flash managed to get to his hooves, clutching his head that now throbbed slightly from the impact. His eyes came to rest on the normally cheery alicorn who was currently glaring daggers at him. This was the moment Flash's good day burst into flames.

Twilight Sparkle had once taken an interest in him on a romantic level. Things had gone well, right up until she told him about the magic mirrror world and the humans with an alternate version of himself. He called the story insane, as it sounded too ridiculous to be true. She proved the story to him, and he apologized and things went back to normal, but they weren't as close as before. Then he accidentally lost a rare book he had borrowed from her, just as things were looking up. She dumped him soon after, he was her first coltfriend and she hadn't dated since.

"Flash Sentry, would you care to tell me why you were laying down on the job as I arrived?" The irritated purple pony princess questioned with a voice absolutely dripping with resentment.

He had had several ex-marefriends before, some were still friends, some resented him. Twilight Sparkle however, was the only angry demigoddess on the list. He was going to need to be especially careful right now. She had a lot of pull towards both the king and Spike, he would be cleaning latrines until he retired if he spoke out of term.

"Well, I was standing here on guard, but this purple light appeared and knocked me backwards. I don't want to presume anything, I mean I am a pegasus after all, what do I know about magic? But I think it may have been from your teleportation?" Flash said weakly. Twilight evaluated the situation, and reluctantly put on an expression of professionalism.

"I suppose that's possible, I was trying out a new form of teleportation. I was standing in my throne room just a minute ago, and Celestia warned me it might have a shock-wave depending on the distance. I believe I owe you an apology Flash." Twilight replied in a tone holding no emotion whatsoever.

"Oh, no Princess Twilight. It's-" Flash was silenced by Twilight raising a hoof in the air, telling him to be quiet.

"As such, you will receive an apology just as soon as you give me a mint, first edition copy of Discord's Inferno signed by the author. The book you owe me." Twilight finished before magically opening the doors for herself.

She walked into the castle without another word, leaving Flash grumbling to himself as he resumed his post. Twilight slammed the doors behind herself, leaving the disgruntled pegasus in the dust that kicked up from it's force.

Could today get any worse? Flash thought to himself.

Right on cue the sky darkened and thunder boomed overhead. A few seconds later it began to pour, drenching the armored stallion. He cursing everything under Celestia's life-giving sun under his breath as he was soaked to the bone.

Twilight quickly regained her pleasant mood, as soon as the stallion was out of sight he was out of mind. She walked through the entrance hall and into the throne room hoping to find Spike and her brother. To her surprise she found neither, only a few guards sparsely spread throughout the room. She approached the stallion nearest her, the guard bowed in respect.

"Greetings Princess Sparkle, we were not informed of your visit. We would have made arrangements had we known of your visit. The guard said as he saluted and rose to his hooves.

"No it's quite alright, I came unannounced. I wanted to surprise my brother, where exactly is King Armor at the moment? The schedule Spike posted to the Equestrian royal planners said that they would be meeting with nobility in the throne room today." Twilight asked the uptight stallion.

"Yes Ma'am the king would normally be doing so, but the nobility have cancelled their appointments for the day. The king informed us an important matter had come to his attention, he said he would be discussing it with Sir Spike in his private chambers. We were instructed to leave them to it unless there was a matter of great urgency." He replied.

"Really? Alright then, thank you sir. You are dismissed." Twilight informed the guard.

Twilight made her way to the royal chambers with little difficulty. Despite not being here since Cadence's untimely death she remembered the layout of the castle well. She came to the needlessly large doors belonging to the ruler of the empire's chambers. She took a moment to collect herself, she was practically bursting with joy at the thought of seeing her brother again. She was about to knock, but the doors shook before her hoof could reach the door. she jumped back in surprise, but kept her eyes on the doors.

"Something isn't right. Hold on guy's I'm coming!" She said as she steeled her nerves, scratching the floor with her hoof readying herself for a charge. She flung the doors open with her magic and ran into the room at full speed. She stopped in the center of the room, looking around for the source of the unknown disturbance. What she found was a very startled dragon and stallion sitting atop a massive bed. They were covering themselves with the bedsheets in an attempt to stay decent.

Twilight did her best to piece together what she was seeing. Shining's uniform lay discarded on the floor, a lamp that presumably had been on the nightstand near the bed lay broken on the floor alongside a tube of lotion. These facts coupled with the pair on the bed led Twilight to an obvious, but disturbing conclusion.

"Twily, hey... Good to see you?" Shining Armor said awkwardly.

Author's Note

Dun Dun Dun! What will Twilight have to say about this?

I was actually tempted to be a little more cloppy with this one, but I don't really wanna try that. If I was bad at it it'd mess the story up and I don't wanna do that.

Anyway thanks for reading!

PS. I totally added Flash Sentry because I know how much most people hate him. He stole your waifu, and then she dumped him. You're welcome.

Conditions

Twilight stood before the Shining Armor and Spike, the expression on her face unreadable. Shining's poor attempt at breaking the tension in the room did nothing to help the matter. None of the three could meet any of the others gazes. Twilight however was the first to break, more wanting for an escape than anything.

"You two get cleaned up, we'll talk about this afterwards." She said completely emotionless as she left the room. It may have been Twilight's way of grasping for more time to deal with the situation.

Shining and Spike took advantage of it regardless of motives. They took a long hot shower together, reasoning that it was all in the open now and didn't matter. Spike tidied up the room as Shining put on a clean outfit, though they both took as long as possible to do so. After there was absolutely nothing left to keep them from the impending awkwardness Shining opened the doors to let the disgruntled alicorn in.

Twilight walked in without saying a word, still blank and emotionless. She pulled a chair from the other side of the room to herself and sat down. Spike sat on the floor in front of the bed, while Shining remained standing. The uncomfortable silence was bravely slain by Twilight.

"How long has this been going on?" Twilight asked, seemingly unsure she wanted a real answer.

"This specifically or...?" Shining asked, seeking clarification.

"Everything I guess." Twilight replied uncertainly.

"We've been together for a little over a month. Today was the first time things got... physical. I was in an uproar about some lousy nobles, and Shining was getting down about it too. One thing sort of lead to the other I guess." Spike answered as he looked the alicorn in the eyes guiltily.

Twilight's expression softened somewhat, she could tell Spike regretted keeping this from her. She sighed, letting much of her apprehension leave her with her breath. She was unsure of the situation, but she couldn't hate two people she'd known nearly her entire life.

"I really don't know how I feel about this, but if you two are happy who am I to judge?" Twilight relented with a small, but warm smile.

"Thanks Twily, it means a lot to us." Shining replied happily.

"Don't thank me yet, there are a few conditions. I need to know you're serious about all this." Twilight said ominously.

"What do you mean exactly?" Spike inquired, somewhat worried.

"First off, I want you two to tell your subjects about this. They love you guys, they'll understand." Twilight explained wearing her normal sunny expression.

"Done." Spike answered before Shining could say anything to the contrary. If he could turn this awkward situation into something positive he was going to do so at all costs.

"Second, get rid of the current nobility. I heard about them blowing you off, just use ponies you know you can trust from now on." Twilight continued.

"Agreed." Shining and Spike both answered less than a second later.

"The third and final condition isn't optional regardless of what the two of you decide." Twilight said adopting a somewhat embarrassed expression.

"What's that?" Spike asked, taking notice of the alicorn's mood change.

"You have to talk to Mom and Dad about this because I sent them a letter while I was outside." She replied quickly and quietly hoping they wouldn't hear her somehow.

"What? You tattled on us to Mom and Dad? You've only known about this for like forty-five minutes!" Shining complained loudly.

"Not exactly, I just told them you had found someone. They've been really worried about you, dad even took up smoking. You know that's serious." Twilight explained sadly. Spike and Shining both deflated at that news, the head of the Sparkle household was always an incredibly straight laced and clean cut gentlecolt. To think that he would pick up such a bad habit was world shattering to those who had looked up to him as children.

"This isn't a big deal, Velvet and Night Light are good friends of mine. Things are gonna be fine, they babysat me even! It's not like I'm a stranger or anything, granted I was shorter than either of you the last time I saw them face to face." Spike said feigning confidence to make Shining feel better.

"That's not what I'm worried about, I haven't spoken to them since the attack. Mom is literally going to kill me." Shining practically groaned.

"Oh, yeah that's not gonna be pretty." Spike agreed reluctantly as Shining began having a minor panic attack.

The next fifteen minutes were spent reassuring Shining of his continued existence, in the end Spike had to promise he would protect him from his mother's fury. Twilight went to the kitchens to fetch him a corn dog to ease his nerves. It was a well guarded secret that every member of the Sparkle family had a weakness for different fast foods. Their mother loved onion rings, while their father was addicted to mozzarella sticks. Anyone that knew Twilight very well knew she loved hayburgers, especially with a side of horseshoe fries.

After the stallion resumed a somewhat normal disposition they left the royal bedchambers to make good on their mutual agreement about the nobility. Firing the pompous jerks he himself had hired did Shining's mood wonders. Spike even sent the orders directly to the now former nobles via fire-mail, they would have to receive news of their termination in a crowded room full of VIP's. It would take some time to find new, trustworthy investors for the empire's growing business ventures, but it would be worth it in the long run.

By the time the trio had finished their task it was nearly dinner time. They adjourned to the dining hall to talk about their mutual friends in Equestria while they waited. Time flew by as the servers brought out their meals long before they had finished talking. Spike watched happily as Shining's mood improved even further as he reconnected with his sister, he felt proud to have had a claw in all this. As the hour grew late conversation slowed a bit until Twilight remembered something.

"I suppose you two should hold off on the big announcement until after talking to Mom and Dad. It might be easier on you if you tell them before they could learn about from newspapers or gossip." She reasoned.

Spike groaned internally, but nodded his agreement. As usual Twilight was right, Shining's parents would likely be a bit miffed if they found out their son was in a new relationship from a secondhand source. Of course Shining was somewhat relieved, his confidence still somewhat shaky from all he had been through despite Spike's best efforts.

I should get him a therapist or something... Spike thought to himself. If he couldn't help Shining on his own seeking professional help was beginning to sound like a good idea.

"Okay, well I seem to have taken up most of your unexpected day off. Fortunately not all of it was... unpleasant. I'd like to spend a few days here if that's alright with you guys. I really did have some business to discuss when I arrived but it's really late already, we can talk about it in the morning." Twilight punctuated her statement with a large yawn.

"No problem sis, feel free to take one of the guestrooms for your stay. We'll have the chefs notified that they need to make breakfast for three for the next few days." Shining replied happily. Soon after he succumbed to the infectiousness of the yawn his sister had let out as did Spike. The dragon's eyes were already beginning to feel heavy, Luna's night had really snuck up on them. Spike decided to have a little fun at his stallion's expense before bed however.

Before Shining knew what was going on he found himself held in midair high off the ground, Spike had used his tail to grab hold of Shining's midsection. The stallion wiggled and flailed in an attempt to free himself, however Spike knew Shining was entirely helpless right now. He had recently discovered that Shining was extremely ticklish.

"You just settle down, we may not be public just yet but I've figured out a way for us to be closer without raising suspicion." Spike whispered as he lowered the uncomfortable stallion to his level.

"Twilight, I'd appreciate it if you played along." He said giving his former employer an evil grin Discord would have been proud of. She merely nodded, holding back her concern.

A few moments later Spike could be seen holding a disgruntled Shining Armor aloft with Twilight looking determined with her horn lit and at the ready following closely behind heading down the halls. They continued on purposely trying to gain the attention of the servants in the halls. Eventually one of the braver maids stepped forward to question the bizarre sight.

"Um... Sirs? Is there something the matter, or something I could help you with?" The maid said as she tried to avoid looking at the bound king above Spike. Shining opened his mouth to speak out against his loved ones who had him captive but was silenced by Twilight's magic.

"The king has been working himself too hard again, even today when he had no appointments. We both know nothing good can come of that, so I had his sister Princess Twilight come to assist me in making sure he gets his rest. I'll be guarding his doors during the night for the next few days to make sure he doesn't sneak off to do work. The king has proved I'm the only one in the castle that can keep him in line, otherwise I'd simply post guards. It's all in the interest of the king's health, but he is remarkably stubborn." Spike explained, using his forked tongue to spout sweet lies that warmed the maid's heart.

"That's ever so generous of you Royal Adviser, the kingdom owes you a great debt for your ceaseless efforts." The maid said with a smile and wide, bright eyes befitting a character from a cartoon for children.

Those eyes hit Spike right in the gut. He felt genuinely bad about this, despite it originally just being some playful revenge. He was just getting fed up with their relationship being just under the public eye. He wasn't used to hiding things, being a dragon amongst ponies he always stuck out like a sore claw. He was almost always open with everypony because secrets made ponies distrusting, especially to members of a species known for hunting and eating most creatures.

Twilight could tell it was eating at him, so she kept quiet about it. All throughout their childhood Twilight could count the number of times Spike had lied outright on her hooves. The only occasion he had ever done so with ill intent was when he had tried to frame Owlowicious for murdering a stuffed mouse.

Twilight left the pair without a word as soon as they made it to the doors of the royal bedchambers. Spike opened the door with a claw and set Shining down where the two headed to the bed. Shining disrobed and placed his uniform in the hamper before joining Spike on the bed. He still had a look of annoyance on his face right up until Spike pulled him into another kiss, after that his cares just seemed to melt away.

"I'm sorry about the tail thing, I regretted it just as soon as I had to lie to that maid. I guess I'm not as fine with us staying secret as I claimed to be." Spike said guiltily. He turned away from Shining, facing the opposite side of the room in penance.

Now it was Shining's turn to feel the overpowering guilt Spike felt. His paranoia was getting in the way of his new relationship and he hadn't even noticed it. Spike had been hiding his discomfort from him for the last month to make him feel better. Cadence would have spoken up about something like that right away, but that was another issue. He had only ever been with Cadence until now, Spike was an entirely different person. He hadn't bothered to learn Spike's quirks, he had just assumed things would be the same.

I'm terrible at this... Cadence was just too nice to say anything. Shining lamented silently. He needed to think about things more clearly from now on. The first thing he could think of was to do something for Spike that took him out of his comfort zone.

"Spike, take a letter."

Author's Note

OOOOOOOH MYSTERIOUS LETTER~

I'm not super proud of this chapter. I almost wrote myself into a corner last chapter... I have no idea what Twilight would say or do about that situation. My first thought was vomit. But tattling seemed okay too, Twilight always seemed to act younger when she interacted with her brother and Cadence.

Ugh, I dunno. Imma go watch Ouran Host Club on Netflix. -_-

Preparations

Spike was a very tired, but very pleased dragon this morning, Shining had surprised him last night. Shining had him writte letters to Twilight Velvet and Night Light as he dictated. They were surprised to receive responses just minutes later, apparently Velvet had taken up writing sad and angry letters to lessen her frustrations in the last two years of silence from her son. Spike continually received letters for over an hour, sometimes two or three at a time.

Shining was told he was completely forgiven so long as Spike watched him read every single hurtful word, followed by a letter of congratulations from both her and Night Light. They were a bit confused, but approved of the relationship nonetheless. They informed Shining that they would be coming for a visit in two days, and that it was not up for discussion.

Spike was currently carrying an extremely groggy Shining Armor on his back, his mother's letters had amounted to a short novel and he was nowhere near as avid a reader as Twilight. He had spent the majority of the night crying while Spike looked up the complex words in his mother's letters for him.

They arrived at the dining table on schedule thanks to Spike, despite having no nobles to meet later on. Twilight was already sitting at the table looking over an old text as she awaited her breakfast.

Spike dumped Shining in his chair and took his own seat beside Twilight. He beckoned a server to his side.

"Black coffee and the usual for me and the king, and keep it coming." Spike ordered through a yawn. The server saw the tired officials and gave an understanding nod before being off to complete her task.

"You two look like you were up all night. I know I'm going to regret this, but you weren't...?" Twilight asked uncomfortably.

"We were corresponding with your parents actually, your mother promised to forgive Shining if he read all her carefully worded hate mail. They also know about our relationship and are coming for a non negotiable visit." Spike said smugly. His sore throat and upset stomach were well worth the coming events.

"Well that would explain Shining's lack of life at the moment. I suppose he'll get over it though, congratulations boys." Twilight said happily. Spike gave an appreciative nod while Shining groaned his own indecipherable reply.

Spike's usual breakfast, a mountain of scrambled eggs topped with hot sauce arrived soon alongside a literal drum of black coffee. Shining's own meal and caffeine came as well, aiding to somewhat revitalize the nearly lifeless stallion. Twilight stuck with a bowl of cream of wheat with strawberries and some tea, nearly nothing compared to the boys' hearty breakfasts.

"Ugh, why did Mom have to be an English teacher? I didn't know there were so many ways to stab someone in the feel bads." Shining whined as the server refilled his coffee.

"Well it was either that or have her be emotionally distant forever." Twilight replied nonchalantly as she added sugar to her tea. Shining merely grumbled his response as he raised his newly refreshed mug.

After the copious amounts of food had been dispatched the trio adjourned to the private study for some time away from anyone that could eavesdrop on them. Shining tried not to get to close to Spike with his sister around, but Spike would have none of that. He pulled him back to his side with a wing. Twilight sat on the other side of the couch and smiled warmly at their antics.

When they aren't being gross they're actually kind of cute together. Twilight thought to herself.

"Okay so Mom and Dad are gonna be here pretty soon, what are we going to do to get ready?" Shining asked as soon as he was comfortable underneath the cover of Spike's wing.

"Well, we do have a huge staff that cleans the castle from top to bottom constantly, so we're good on that front. I was thinking my size might be a tad intimidating since they haven't seen me since my growth spurt. I was thinking I could cook instead of leaving it to the kitchen staff, I happen to know quite a few of Velvet's recipes. I thought that it might ease their nerves a little to know I'm still the same guy." Spike suggested.

"Wait... You cook?" Shining looked up at Spike in surprise.

"Spike has an honorary culinary arts degree, and food science degree from the most prestigious institute in Equestria. He won the national recipe write-in contest when he was twelve. He's cooked for the princesses on many occasions and was my personal chef the entire time we lived together in Ponyville." Twilight answered proudly. She may not be his mother but she had helped raise him with Princess Celestia.

"I don't really like to brag about it, it was a long time ago. And I haven't really needed to cook lately since the staff insists on doing everything. Although I have been reading all the thousand year old cookbooks the chefs here use, Sombra was actually quite the gourmet." Spike admitted, somewhat embarrassed that he was suddenly in the spotlight.

"I'm looking forward to trying your cooking, you sound amazing. I feel kind of bad that I've known you like forever and didn't have a clue you could cook with the best of them though." Shining replied guiltily.

"I had to get good at it, Twilight somehow managed to irradiate our entire kitchen when she tried cooking once. She is somehow the worst cook in the universe even with magic." Spike said somewhat seriously.

"What were you trying to make?" Shining asked his sister.

"Cup ramen..." Twilight muttered quietly.

"What was that?" Shining asked, leaning in closer to hear better.

"Cup ramen." Twilight repeated, obviously getting frustrated.

"One more time?" Shining asked as he put his hoof to his ear. Spike merely watched the scene and snickered, thinking he knew what would happen next. Unfortunately he was unaware Twilight had been spending a lot of time with Luna lately.

"IT WAS A RAMEN NOODLE CUP! I WAS TOO IMPATIENT TO BOIL WATER AND THE MICROWAVE WAS BUSTED! I UNDERESTIMATED THE THAUMATIC RESONANCE POTENTIAL OF DEHYDRATED EGG NOODLES!" Twilight bellowed in the royal Canterlot voice, she would have done the lunar princess proud had she been there.

Shining clutched his ears and fell off the sofa, his hind legs twitching in discomfort. Twilight immediately realized she had deafened her brother in her frustration and cast a spell she had had to use on herself on occasion when Luna got angry. Shining breathed a deep sigh of relief and Spike helped him back onto the sofa.

"Little much don't you think Twi?" Spike asked, regretting not saying anything before.

"Yes, I'm very sorry Shining. Let's just get back to planning. I was thinking maybe you could get them some of the new Crystal Empire specialty items, dad loves those foreign food sampler things you can order in the mail. We could put everything in a big gift basket or something. Mom loves fine wine, so give her some of Sombra's private stash at dinner. That should really smooth things out between them and Shining, and of course I'll be there to help too." Twilight said, as she made a checklist of items on a piece of parchment she pulled from seemingly nowhere.

"I don't suppose you could spare a couple pieces of parchment and a quill?" Spike asked the studious alicorn.

In response she reached behind herself and produced the requested items, seemingly from nowhere yet again. Spike took them and began writing, but stopped after a moment. His inner voice wouldn't leave him be until his questions were answered.

"Okay seriously where were you keeping these? You didn't even use magic just now." Spike asked somewhat wearily.

"It's called hammerspace, Pinkie taught it to me. I can't tell you anything else or it might break your current perceptions about life, reality, and the universe." Twilight said in a tone that sounded colder than Spike had ever heard her in all his years at her side.

"Ooookay then." Spike replied before going back to his task, some things were better left as mysteries it seemed.

Spike wrote down all the necessary ingredients and instructions for what he needed to complete the special meal he was going to be preparing for everypony on the first piece of paper. Once finished he burned it away, sending it to the royal kitchen's stock boy. The next was a letter to the official in charge of export development that reported to him, he told him to put together a large gift-basket containing samples of all the wonderful products the empire was now producing to bolster revenue. He sent it off as well and relaxed with Shining who seemed to be writing something of his own but struggling.

"Whatcha got there hun?" Spike asked. He could easily crane his neck and look at it, but that would have been rude.

Shining sighed in annoyance and crumpled the paper and threw it into the wastebasket across the room.

"I was trying to write a speech. We've got another free day before my parents get here, I figured we could address the crystal ponies about our relationship then. I just can't seem to put what I want to say into words." Shining said somewhat depressed that his efforts had failed him.

"This isn't really something that you wanna over think, we should just go out there and tell them. It's no big deal, they love us, they'll understand. They'll still like us, and even if things change somehow we still have each other and our family." Spike explained.

He snuggled closer to the royal stallion and nuzzled him affectionately, thinking to himself how nice it would be to be able to treat Shining like this in public. Shining relented, despite Spike being a few years younger than him he was already much more emotionally mature. That and Spike was so very warm, it was really hard to stay upset when you were this comfortable. Twilight was beginning to feel like a third wheel so she excused herself.

"I'm... uh, gonna go visit the royal library for a bit. See you guys later." Twilight said as she trotted off.

"Okay, see ya." Spike replied with a wave. Shining joined in the wave, bidding his sister goodbye.

After the secret door had resealed itself Shining looked back to his lover.

"You know, this is the most secure room in the world. We could-" Shining tried to say suggestively, but was interrupted by a claw on his lips, shushing him.

"Not until your parents and sister are gone. I am not having a repeat of yesterday." Spike replied seriously.

"Fine." Shining said in disappointment

"Love you though." Spike said before placing a kiss on the stallion's cheek.

"Love you too." Shining replied, regaining his smile.

Sleep overtook them before they knew it. Coffee can only help so much, and staying up all night had taken it's toll on them. A little nap couldn't hurt.

Author's Note

Would have actually had this up sooner, but having I've been having some computer issues as of late.

Anyway the next chapter might take awhile, addressing the nation about a personal matter though sounds interesting right?

Addressing The Nation

Tomorrow the parents of Shining Armor and Twilight Sparkle would be arriving to see their son for the first time in over two years. Today however, the entire empire was abuzz with gossip. The king and his adviser were going to make a big announcement today in front of the crystal heart. According to tradition, only announcements that would effect the hearts of everyone in Crystal Empire were to be made in the presence of their guardian jewel.

Nearly everypony living in the small city-state had gathered around the heart to hear whatever had been deemed so important by their king and the dragon that was their savior twice over. Stallions, mares, and foals alike swarmed around them and the heart on this day, a truly impressive turnout considering they had only been informed in the late afternoon of the previous day.

Shining stood in front of the heart in a new uniform Spike had the royal tailor cook up as a surprise. It was much like his old red uniform, but was now the same shade of purple as his favorite armor with polished gold accents. It also proved easier to move in than before, a triumph of form and function. Spike himself sported a large silver armband inlaid with one of the miniature crystal hearts in the center of the seal of the empire, marking him as an official of the Crystal Empire.

All the ponies talked amongst themselves until Twilight who was at the front of the crowd checked her watch. At noon exactly she used her magic to send up a small flare, silencing the masses. Spike nudged Shining forward with a subtle, confident smile that told him Spike believed in him.

After a few deep breaths Shining spoke up to his ponies using magic to amplify his voice.

"Ponies of the Crystal Empire, not long ago I was in a deep depression as you all know. Spike, the dragon you've all known and loved since he was a child helped me with that. I will always have fond memories of Cadence, and will always love her. However, she was more than a mortal mare, she will live on wherever there is love in the world. She would never forgive me if she saw me give up on love just because I could no longer be with her. Spike saved you all from me, but soon after he saved me from myself." Shining told the entirety of the empire, not bothering to hide the tears in his eyes.

Spike took that as his cue to speak, they had opted for winging this so now was as good a time as any.

"I've promised my time to the empire, a promise I intend to keep. I've performed my duties to the best of my abilities, but in the course of doing so I came to a realization. I have developed feelings for my longtime friend, your king Shining Armor. To my surprise over a short amount of time he began to reciprocate those feelings. He and I have been an item for a little over a month." Spike admitted, eliciting a combination of surprised gasps and girlish squeals from a surprising number of mares.

Looking over the crowd, unsurprisingly the majority of them were confused. A fair number wore smiles, and some teenaged mares had pushed to the front of the crowd wearing T-shirts bearing Shining's cutie mark with green flames coming off of it. They were talking to each other very fast, and very excitedly. Their grins rivaled Pinkie's with ease, several were even hopping up and down like mad.

Something about a cannon? Spike thought to himself as he tried to hear what they were saying.

"I know this might come as a bit of a surprise, but we know that you, the ponies of the empire care for us greatly. As such I must ask for your forgiveness, I fought to keep our love a secret because of my own insecurities. I feared that you might disapprove, and become unhappy again, that I would have failed you again. Spike and my sister have shown me that I should have had more faith in you all. I apologize for once again letting my personal problems interfere with my rule. I can only beg your forgiveness for doubting you." Shining explained sadly, apologizing was something he was becoming far too familiar with doing.

The ponies around him all looked upon their crying king once again in silence. Slowly but surely, each of the ponies expressed their own words, one after the other with increasing frequency. Each had something different to say but the message was clear We forgive you.

Spike surprised Shining by pulling him up and into a kiss for all to see, Shining didn't struggle this time and just went with it. The crowd watched and cheered for their king and hero's happiness. There wasn't a dry eye among them. The fangirl ponies in the front practically fainted, the one at the head of the group's nose started bleeding profusely and her glasses steamed to the point you couldn't see her eyes.

Flashbulbs went off for the entire length of the kiss, every newspaper in the empire was sure to have a picture of the scene on their front pages. Reporters were trying to squeeze through to get close to the royal couple. One crystal pony mare wearing a press badge managed to push her way through the crowd. She was a unicorn, somewhat of a rarity in the empire as it was almost entirely earth ponies. Her cutie-mark was assorted tiles with letters on them. Her coat was ruby red and her mane and tail were snowy white with a single yellow stripe in each.

She levitated a notepad and pen in front of herself, readying it for the answers to her inevitable barrage of questions.

"Your Majesty, Lord Spike, I'm Wordplay here for the Crystal Chronicle. Would you mind answering some questions the ponies might have?" The newsmare asked with a practiced smile.

"Uh, sure?" Spike replied uncertainly. He had very little experience dealing with the press this closely.

"Do either of you foresee any difficulties in maintaining a relationship and an empire simultaneously?" The mare asked in a warm, but somehow indifferent tone.

"We've been together a month now and our recent ventures are still rising in profit. Everything is running smoothly and our relations with Equestria are mended." Spike replied trying to keep his cool.

"And what about the news that the ponies recently granted the status of nobility have been relieved of their titles? Was that a joint decision?" Wordplay continued.

"As a matter of fact it was, the so-called nobles were prioritizing their own standing over the betterment of the empire. I agreed with Spike that they needed to be gotten rid of." Shining answered.

"Hmm, well what of the empire's future? I realize that it's a bit early on to think about such things, but if you do marry will Lord Spike rule after you die and for the rest of time? I've been told that dragons continually grow stronger with age unlike ponies, eventually nopony could stop a dragon from doing whatever it wanted. Is this somehow a ploy to gain control of the crystals and jewels of the empire, a dragon's favorite meal?" She asked, her voice gaining volume and a sense of urgency with each question. She was obviously trying to stir up controversy among the ponies.

Spike and Shining were both practically fuming from the accusations, both nearly ready to snap. Before they could yell at the mare the ponies retaliated for them. The crowd began berating her for her accusations and threw paper balls and drink containers at the reporter. As much as he would have liked for it to continue, Spike draped a wing around her to keep her from being pelted by garbage. The ponies immediately stopped their onslaught.

"You all need to calm down, we get that she rustled quite a few jimmies just now but that doesn't mean you can throw trash at her. She's free to ask whatever she wants, as is her right to do so. Despite my own dislike for her I've sworn to help the empire and I can't abide by you all ganging up on any citizen." Spike said with determination.

The mare's expression turned to one of deppresion. She suddenly felt very bad about her intense questioning of the dragon currently providing her with cover's character. She floated the press badge from around her neck off of herself and let it fall to the ground with the rest of the garbage.

"I'm quitting journalism, I'm tired of upsetting ponies with invasive questions to get good stories. I was actually counting on one of you to get angry at me so I could sell my story and get out of the business." The mare admitted guiltily.

Spike looked her over, she seemed genuinely upset and the trash in her mane added to her downtrodden image. Spike craned his neck over to Shining and whispered in his ear. The mare watched as her king's expression changed to surprise and then skepticism. He whispered something back to the dragon who seemed momentarily annoyed but whispered back again. Shining blushed for a moment before nodding quickly several times. He cleared his throat to make an announcement.

"Ponies of the Crystal Empire, as punishment for slandering the crown Wordplay is to be stripped of her journalist's license. In addition she is to be given the position of the Royal Adviser's Assistant since Spike was the main focus of her unfounded accusations." Shining bellowed with authority.

"W-what? Why would you give me another job after I tried to use you for money?" The mare asked totally surprised by the decree.

"Because you came clean about it and regretted your previous choices." Spike answered in a level tone as he pulled his wing back. He leaned in to take a drinking straw and lid from her mane and to secretly whisper to her.

"Plus with you around I can spend some more time with Shining." He whispered slyly.

"I suppose I could do with a change of pace, and I don't really have a choice huh?" Wordplay said smiling weekly.

"That's the spirit! Your get your own room in the castle and fair pay. You need to be in the dining hall by seven every morning, and you report directly to me. Sound good?" Spike asked with a toothy grin.

"Yes, I promise to work hard." Wordplay saluted.

"Good your first job is to get moved into the castle and learn the layout as soon as possible. You start Monday, so get your affairs in order and if you need anything get a hold of me through the guards." Spike explained before shooing her away to return his attention to the other ponies.

"Okay everypony thank you for attending, and we appreciate your support. Thursday will still be open court, and we are looking for new financial backers so come on by. You may go about your day as usual and we apologize for taking so much time from your busy lives. Just remember, no matter what happens the empire is our greatest concern." Shining Armor told the mass of equines with his magic amplifying his voice.

Several ponies congratulated the pair personally before leaving. As the crowd dispersed Twilight rejoined them and they started walking back to the castle entrance. Conversation started up on the way.

"That seemed to go fairly well even with the interruption. But do you two really think giving her a job in the castle was a good idea?" Twilight asked glancing away from the path ahead to look to the boys.

"Not really, but Spike promised to keep her in line and every time she makes a mistake I get-" Shining was cut off by Spike wrapping his muzzle shut with his tail.

"We are not talking about that with your sister again. Anyway she deserves a second chance and I've always wanted an assistant of my own. I've spent the majority of my life as one so it makes me feel... I dunno, validated? To finally have my own, Owlowiscious was basically just a small-time helper and not such a good conversationalist." Spike replied.

"Well I think it was a very nice thing to do. As soon as she dropped the harsh journalist act she seemed pretty unhappy." Twilight said as she tried desperately not to think about whatever Spike had promised to do for her brother.

"For now we've gotta get ready for Mom and Dad's visit tomorrow. If I know them they'll be here bright and early." Shining said as he internally groaned at the thought of getting up even earlier than usual.

"I already have a plan drawn up for a tour of the empire's newest attractions and triple checked the supplies for tomorrow's dinner. The cleaning staff has also been instructed to make the rooms they'll be staying in completely spotless." Spike explained as they reached the enormous double doors of the castle.

"Remind me why you need an assistant again?" Shining joked as he marveled at his lover's astounding planning skills and efficiency.

The guards opened the doors and the trio walked in to find something they hadn't expected to see waiting for them. Twilight Velvet and Night Light were already there surrounded by several large pieces of luggage.

"Hello boys, hello Twilight." Night Light said happily.

Author's Note

Dun Dun Dun~

They're here~

How will the couple handle this development?

I debated what to put into this chapter for quite awhile, and before anyone calls me out on it I have plans for Wordplay. I know how I put her into the story wasn't very good but I've had her in mind for something for awhile and Spike deserves an assistant right?

Ahead of Schedule

Spike was thankful that his life had been full of unexpected troubles and seemingly unbelievable catastrophes at the moment. When comparing everything he had been through to having Shining's parent's arrive early it didn't seem like much. Now all he had to do was prove to them that he was the same friendly little guy Twilight had hatched nearly two decades ago.

Spike, Shining, and Twilight all walked forward, Shining noticeably slower than the other two. Spike didn't look over at the stallion but nudged him forward with his tail. The trio stopped only a couple of feet from Night and Velvet, the latter of which was noticeably nervous. Spike's confidence waned almost entirely when he saw Velvet's eyes darting back and forth from his claws and fangs.

Shining saw the problem brewing and managed to muster enough courage to take the reigns.

"H-hi Mom, Dad. It's, uh been awhile huh?" Shining sputtered nervously.

That seemed to snap Velvet from her fear induced trance as she quickly wrapped her son into a powerful hug. Twilight was sure she heard several bones popping. After what seemed like an eternity Shining fell to the floor as his mother released him from her disproportionately strong grip.

"It's so good to see you in the flesh son, we've been worried sick you know." Night Light said happily as he helped Shining up.

"Has Mom been working out? I don't remember hugs hurting so much." Shining complained.

"I got a gym membership. I may be getting on in years but that doesn't mean I'll go down quietly." Velvet said proudly.

"Aw come on Velvet, you still look exactly like I remember you." Spike said hoping to gain her favor.

She looked up into Spike's face and flinched at the adolescent dragon's toothy grin. Spike felt like he had been stabbed in the heart, the look of fear from Velvet had cut deep. Spike took a few steps away from the group, even his spines drooping under the weight of his sadness.

Velvet saw the look of hurt on his face and rightfully felt guilty. She really wanted to believe Spike was the same energetic little boy she had known, but he was just so much different now. Before she could attempt to say anything Spike began talking again.

"I'm uh, gonna go get everything ready for your visit. Shouldn't take too long, but some things might need a little extra work. You are a day early after all." Spike said sadly without looking back at the group.

Shining was torn. He wanted to go make sure Spike was alright, but didn't want to leave his parents so soon. Spike apparently decided for him as he was out of sight before he could make up his mind. Luckily his L.S.B.F.F. wasn't going to leave him in the lurch.

"I'm gonna go help him out, he seemed... tired?" Twilight said awkwardly before galloping after Spike.

There was an awkward silence for a moment while all three of the remaining ponies tried to figure out what to say. Shining was looking at his surroundings, looking for something to go off of when he spotted his parents' luggage. He flagged down a pair of nearby guards and had them grab the luggage.

The momentary distraction gave Shining some time to think of something for him to do. He tried focusing on all the things that had recently changed in the empire, but most things were Spike's doing and brought him back to worrying. Eventually Shining's eyes caught his father's double-moon cutie mark, inspiring him.

"So, uh... While Spike straightens out our schedule and whatnot we can go see of the empire's newest attractions. It's not even open to the public yet, and we don't even have to leave the castle!" Shining suggested as he helped the guards with the luggage.

"That sounds fine dear, we did come a bit early. We can just tour the rest of the empire tomorrow." Velvet replied instantly, welcoming the distraction.

Shining breathed a sigh of relief and sent the guards on their way to the guest suite his parents would be staying in. Shining motioned for his mother and father to follow him. He had just the spot in mind to show them, and it was bound to impress at least Night.

Shining led them to a closed doorway with guards in front of it. He saluted them and they moved aside allowing their king and his parents access. To his parent's surprise the door slid open, revealing it was actually an elevator. Shining let them enter first and followed close behind. There were only two buttons, up and down with only the up button being lit. Shining pressed it and up they went, albeit slowly.

The typical boring elevator music played as they slowly ascended. Shining made note to try and find something catchier if possible, though he wasn't even sure where to go to change it or how. The elevator seemed to be taking quite awhile to reach the top floor, making Velvet and Night both look to Shining after several minutes.

"I know the elevator is kind of dull, but during Sombra's reign it was an endless magical staircase. It took us forever to disenchant, and until recently stairs were still the only way up here. The magic is still weird, making it impossible to teleport to without vanishing or getting trapped in a wall or something." Shining explained.

After a couple more minutes of relative silence the elevator came to a halt and a loud ping rang out as the doors slid open once more. As the room came into view Night and Velvet both ooed and ahed at the sights in front of them. Night was especially wide-eyed, just as Shining had expected.

The round room at the very top of the Crystal Palace that had once held the crystal heart in dormancy had been converted into an observatory. Various star charts, planetary models, and numerous other devices filled the room. A special covered walkway had been built all the way around, allowing for ponies to look to the city bellow or set up their own small telescopes.

But of course, the crowning glory of the observatory was the enormous telescope at the very center of the room. It was larger than any other telescope in the world, a truly magnificent piece of engineering. It had some kind of device along the left side of it, allowing for the adding and subtracting of lenses for varying degrees of magnification. The chair mounted to the device was equipped with control levers at the sides, allowing the stargazer to rotate the device as well as change angles.

Night Light was practically drooling as his eyes continued to be glued to the most beautiful telescope in the world. Shining was currently worried that he had accidentally broken his father. He waved his hoof in front of Night's face, snapping him out of his trance.

"Who constructed this marvelous work of art? I've never seen such a well made telescope, let alone one of this size." Night asked, his eyes still never leaving the machine.

"Uh... I think his name was Star Eyes? I dunno, Spike knew the guy and got a great deal on it in exchange for a large supply of crystal lenses. Apparently the empire's crystal quality is even better than his original source in Equestria." Shining explained with some difficulty.

Night's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates at his son's claim. Shining was genuinely worried that he might have a heart attack, or that his eyes would explode. Night grabbed him by the uniform, shaking him in his excitement.

"Starry Eyed?! He made this telescope?! He retired years ago, I've never had a chance to meet him! He was the best astronomer and telescope maker in the world! Can Spike get me an autograph?!" Night raved.

"Uh... sure? I'll ask him. But you could use the telescope if you want, I mean when it gets dark." Shining replied as he separated himself from his manic father.

Night squeed with delight and ran off to figure out all the controls of the beautiful machine, leaving Shining and his mother alone. Neither of them exactly knew what to say, making the awkwardness palpable. Velvet was the one to finally break the silence.

"I'm glad you're back to your old self again. We just didn't know what to do with ourselves, and I can't even begin to imagine what it was like for you." She said with both happiness and sadness in her eyes as well as her voice.

"It was hard, but I shouldn't have drug the whole country down with me. Spike was right to come knock some sense into me. I dunno if I could ever fully repay him. He got things running again, way faster than I ever could. Twilight instilled her love of order in him, that's for sure." Shining replied with conviction.

Velvet's expression fell at that, she had hoped the conversation wouldn't go down that path. She sighed, trying to rid herself of some of the guilt she was feeling. She had helped raise Spike, the finest young man to come from their home since Shining himself. The boy had often spent the holidays cooking with her for hours on end when he was still just knee high. Spike had been the only child raised in the Sparkle family home that shared her interests, and was always there when she needed help.

Now all Velvet could see was the dragon that towered over her, a mass of sharp spines, claws, and teeth. His gentle smile was still much the same, but her instincts flared in alert when the fangs came out. After everything the boy had done for her family she felt more like a monster than him, having no excuse for breaking the poor boy's heart.

"I know Spike is still the same person inside son, but I can't get past how he looks now. My mind just screams predator at me, and I just flinch. I feel just awful about it, he looked so hurt back there." Velvet cried. Her make up was already a blurry mess running down her face.

Shining hugged her tight, for that's all he could think to do. He couldn't blame her, not everypony could look past such things right away. He was confident things would be alright once the two really talked, which for everypony's sake was hopefully soon.

MEANWHILE

Twilight was currently searching through the rooms of the castle trying to find Spike. She was wondering how such a big dragon could just disappear. Though it was entirely possible Spike knew of any secret passages the castle might have other than the private study, which was the first place she checked. He had always had much sharper vision than most ponies, making him almost immediately privy to the secrets of any room.

Twilight tried using a spell to seek out his heat signature as she walked, but she wasn't watching where she was going and bumped into a pony. She lost her focus as her rump hit the floor, cancelling the spell. She picked herself up and helped the pony she had carelessly bumped into up, finding him to be in a stallion in a clean white outfit and puffy hat.

"I'm terribly sorry sir, I was trying to find Spike and I forgot to watch where I was going." Twilight apologized.

"Ah, think nothing of it princess. Though, I believe I can help you. Lord Spike excused the kitchen staff for the rest of the day, saying he was taking over to make dinner for The King's parents." The chef explained.

Twilight breathed a sigh of relief, but was still pretty worried. Something seemed to be bothering the stallion. He didn't want to meet Twilight's eyes, making her immediately suspicious.

"Is something wrong? You seem upset, Spike wasn't harsh with you or anything was he?" She asked.

The chef seemed almost appalled by her accusation, but said nothing of it to the princess.

"No, no. Lord Spike was as polite and courteous as always, it's just that he seemed utterly heartbroken. I fear something has happened." The chef's stunning crystal coat seemed to dull considerably as he thought about the state he had seen Spike in.

Twilight knew that crystal ponies were directly affected by their happiness, and that they all looked up to Spike. If word that he was depressed spread it could adversely effect the populace, and after the royal announcement today it would surely be disastrous. Twilight asked the chef to keep Spike's condition to himself, to which he agreed.

Twilight teleported herself outside the kitchens, not wanting to surprise Spike in case he instinctively tried to protect himself in his emotional state. She was about to push open the door when she heard something. She stopped to listen, hearing the mistakable sound of crying, and judging by the volume it was most certainly Spike.

She opened the door, rushing to come to her longtime friend's aid. However, as soon as Twilight saw the dragon she was less worried than before. Spike was chopping onions with a large knife, causing Twilight to tear up herself. Spike looked up from his work to see Twilight staring back at him.

"Uh, hi there Twi. *sniffle* What brings you here?" Spike asked as he went back to his onions.

Twilight looked around to see several pots of various things already boiling and she could smell bread baking in the oven. It seemed Spike really was cooking, but she could tell he was putting up a front. Spike was definitely crying for more reasons than the onions. Her time with the dragon made it easy enough for her to tell when he was trying to act tough, even though his now impressive physique made the act much more convincing.

"Spike, I know my mother hurt your feelings. You don't need to hide it, and you have to know she didn't really mean it." Twilight told Spike as gently as she could.

Spike sighed and lifted his cutting board full of onions, dumping them into one of the boiling pots on the stove. After tending to, or at least checking on each of his dishes he returned his attention to Twilight. Tears still traveling to his face, some of the moisture beading up, resting on his scales until another would run down.

"I know she didn't mean it Twi, but it still hurts. She taught me to walk, speak properly, read, write, do basic math, and even how to cook. I still have pictures of her spoon-feeding me crushed gems in a photo-album. I know I spent more time with you in the long run, but she means just as much to me. And now she can't look at me without flinching." Spike lamented.

Twilight believed Spike's words. She had been too busy starting her apprenticeship with Celestia to care for Spike the first couple years, leaving everything to Velvet. She eventually even started taking Spike into her English classes, letting him learn alongside the foals even though he wasn't officially a student. Twilight found herself feeling incredibly guilty for not realizing how important Velvet was to Spike.

"Spike, I'm sorry. I didn't realize she meant so much to you. Do you consider her your..." Twilight struggled, as the situation was growing steadily more awkward.

Spike shook his head no, alleviating some of the tension.

"She's not my mom. I don't really consider myself as having parents, even though I see you all as my surrogate family. She's more like what Celestia is to you I guess. A teacher or mentor, but one of your closest friends at the same time." Spike elaborated.

Twilight shivered as an icy chill ran down her spine at the mere thought of Princess Celestia being unable to look at her. She wasn't sure she could even handle something like that. It would effectively cause her to question herself entirely.

Just like Spike is now. Twilight thought sadly.

"Look Twi, we'll work out our issues when we're both ready. For now, I've got a lot of food to make. Tell Shining to wrap the tour up at about seven, I'm pretty sure they'll be in the observatory. Don't teleport, take the elevator. Sombra's magic is still semi-active where the endless staircase was, the last guy that tried didn't show up for a week." Spike said as he went back to cooking.

Twilight sighed, disappointed she couldn't be of more help. She saw herself out of the kitchen, beginning the trek to the elevator. Once there she had to wait for the elevator to make it's way back down, tapping her hoof on the floor impatiently. She hadn't realized how much time teleporting actually saved her in her day-to-day life.

After what seemed like an eternity Twilight exited the elevator, finding the rest of her family. Night Light was currently testing the accuracy of the planetary orbit model while Shining and Velvet were talking. It was apparent that Velvet had been crying fairly recently, much like Spike. Twilight took little comfort in that, even though it meant she felt just as bad as Spike. She joined them, sitting on the opposite side of Shining.

"Spike says dinner will be at about seven." Twilight interjected as casually as she could fake.

"Great! I haven't actually eaten any of Spike's cooking before. I'm kind of looking forward to it." Shining said truthfully.

Velvet turned to her son like he had just told her Celestia was actually a changeling sleeper agent.

"Are you serious? Spike has made your Granny's special sweet potato pie for Hearth's Warming every year after she passed when you were seventeen. You practically inhaled that stuff Shining." Velvet scoffed.

"That does explain where they kept coming from. In retrospect, that makes a lot more sense than my ghost-granny theory." Shining said as he rubbed his chin, remembering years past.

Twilight and Velvet both face-hooved simultaneously at that. Velvet actually eased up once the force of the sheer idiocy her son had created wore off. She found herself reminiscing, remembering how Spike had needed to stack stools and boxes to reach all the ingredients all those years ago. Spike was only nineteen now, and she was well aware of it, but he seemed so much older now. His looks had changed so drastically that it made it seem like a lifetime ago.

"I, uh... I'm going to go powder my nose, if you'll excuse me children." Velvet told her offspring as she got up from her seat.

Shining and Twilight watched as she got into the elevator, heading down. Twilight smiled warmly, knowing what was going on. Shining on the other hoof took to looking around the observatory, seemingly seeking something that was missing.

"We should really put a bathroom up here, or like beside the elevator. That elevator ride is really long." Shining thought aloud.

Twilight just stared at her brother with a flat look.

"Shining, could you remind me what year the great griffon war ended and why?" Twilight asked casually.

"1593 A.D. (After Discord), thirty six years before Luna's banishment. General Eagle Eye of the northern griffon territories underestimated Luna's dream-walking abilities, leading to his defeat. His troops hadn't slept for over a week by the time the battle of Talon's Pass occurred. The Third Thestral Battalion swiftly defeated the exhausted griffons without any casualties or serious injuries on either side. A griffon soldier was actually the first to refer to Luna as Nightmare Moon, which she is still called to this day by the majority of griffons. In their culture it's more of a term of respect than anything else, as the greatest enemy warriors are given titles." Shining recited effortlessly within seconds of Twilight's question.

"Now, what is seventeen times three?" Twilight continued.

Shining's calm demeanor soured instantly. He began sweating profusely, and looking every which direction for an answer. Shining even went as far to slap himself in the face with his hoof to steel his nerves. With his new-found focus he knitted his brow, thinking hard on the question.

"I wanna say forty-two." Shining eventually replied.

"It's fifty-one." Twilight deadpanned.

"Yes! Only eight off!" Shining yelled excitedly, pumping his hoof in the air.

Twilight's eye began twitching involuntarily at this point. On one hoof, her brother was possibly the greatest military mind ever. On the other hoof, she seriously worried that he wasn't very bright unless he was actually in combat. She hoped that her mother was actually going to talk to Spike, because if she really was just visiting the restroom she thought she might snap.

Author's Note

Ironically, it's been forever since I updated this story, and the newest chapter is called 'Ahead of Schedule'.

I've erased and rewrote this chapter several times, this being what I settled on. Having someone you've always looked up to disapprove of you is always hard. This isn't quite the same deal, since Velvet is actually afraid of him instead, but it's as close as I wanted to get. Originally I had planned for them to disapprove of the relationship entirely, but I just couldn't have Twilight's parents be douchebags. It just didn't sit right with me.

Although I'm making sure Twilight is a little bitchy from time-to-time, building up to something I have planned.

Resolution

Twilight Velvet wandered through the castle until spotting a guard on patrol. Though it was awkward, she stopped the crystal pony and asked him where she could find the kitchens. After politely declining the offer to escort her, Velvet went on her way through the ridiculously large castle.

Eventually she had no need to remember the directions the kind guardspony had given her. Velvet needed only to follow her nose. The corridors Velvet passed through on her way to Spike were filled with pleasant aromas that filled her with nostalgia and set her stomach to grumbling in anticipation. If she hadn't known better, Velvet would have thought it was Hearth's Warming Day. But then she would have been the one in the kitchen.

Oh Celestia, I forgot how much I taught that boy about cooking. Velvet thought to herself.

Within fifteen minutes of receiving directions and following her sense of smell, Velvet managed to find herself at the source of her current troubles and the barrage of heavenly smells. Spike was no doubt cooking up a storm beyond the double-doors, meaning Velvet needed only to muster the courage to open them and do what she knew was right. She had broken Spike's heart, and it was her duty to fix it. If she could just open the door.

"Come on Velvet! You raised two foals, and helped raise Spike! Why can't you open a bucking door?! You know Spike is still the tender-hearted little boy he once was... He's just... really, really, big now. And pointy." Velvet berated herself under her breath.

He also has bigger ears now too. A familiar voice shouted from beyond the doors.

Velvet blushed with great intensity, but regardless pushed open the doors into the kitchen. She was actually rather grateful to Spike, as his knowledge of her presence made things a surprisingly great deal easier.

Spike hadn't looked up from his work yet as Velvet entered the kitchen. He was removing a truly enormous pan of what Velvet immediately recognized as her favorite casserole from the oven. There were already a great number of dishes on one of the counter tops in the room, and through the glass of one of the other ovens Velvet could see a number of ramekins with what she guessed contained her favorite chocolate souffle.

Velvet had mixed feelings about all of that. On one hoof, Spike obviously still cared for her and still remembered all of her favorites. On the other hoof, the same was still true, making Velvet feel all the worse for hurting him.

Almost everything could easily be identified as Velvet's favorites or at least her own recipes. Everything looked perfect, lovingly made as if she had made them herself. If Velvet was honest with herself, she had doubts as to whether or not she could match Spike's level of culinary expertise. He had made everything by himself, and in a fairly short amount of time.

Once Spike was out of tasks to do for the moment, he and Velvet looked at one another. Neither of them knew exactly what to say, but Velvet didn't flinch or turn away. After seeing everything Spike had done for Shining, and seeing every dish Velvet had ever taught him to make she knew Spike was still who she had known for his entire life.

Even Spike's eyes were still the same, big, emerald green pools full of kindness. Eyes that if you looked into without judging the rest of Spike's intimidating form, would tell you you had nothing to fear. Unless you were made of gemstones.

Likewise, Spike looked into Velvet's eyes. There he saw the loving eyes of the mare that had taught him so much. The eyes of one of his closest friends, who wanted very much to say that she was sorry.

"Good to see you again Velvet, face to face I mean. I guess this whole situation could have been avoided if I'd stayed in touch. I should have made time to go see you when I had days off from helping the princesses. If I could make time for the girls back in Ponyville, I could've dropped in to say hello at least. Maybe if you'd seen me growing a little at a time this wouldn't have happened." Spike started.

Velvet vehemently shook her head in opposition, almost becoming angry at Spike for trying to make her feel better.

"You were working, for little-to-no pay I might add. You were helping the princesses with their day-to-day duties. I can't tell you how many times I heard Twilight tell me how grateful she was to have you around. You were right to spend your free time off having fun, not sipping tea with an old grey mare like me.

"You let me be in the wrong, Spike. I'm mare enough to admit I hurt you, and it made me almost sick when I saw how hard I'd hit you. I didn't intend to do it, especially after you gave me my son back, but I hurt you. I'm sorry it happened, but I'm glad we can move past it. Cadence would haunt me to the grave if I got between you and Shining." Velvet ranted.

Spike suddenly felt like he was five again, and had sneaked an extra cookie after dinner. Velvet's tone told him he had no say in anything at that point, and he was to take her word as law. Velvet was a mother, and a teacher. She had far more experience making children cooperate than any mare should, at least in Spike's opinion.

"Okay then. Apology accepted. Wanna help me make sweet potato pie? It's Shining's favorite, and by my count he hasn't had one in like, three years. I might even give the castle staff the recipe so he can have it a little more often."

Velvet smiled, and walked right up to Spike and gave him the best hug she could manage. Spike's arm was the only thing she could wrap her forelegs around, but Spike reciprocated by patting her on the back with his other hand.

"Geez, Spike. Are you always this warm? I know you've always run a little hotter than ponies, but you're like an oven now." Velvet marveled.

"The fire inside get's bigger along with the rest of me. Shining says it's like snuggling an electric blanket made of snake-skin." Spike chuckled.

Velvet laughed as the two separated. She had missed Spike's sense of humor, even if she had to look up to him now. Quite literally. Velvet levitated an apron from a nearby hook over to herself. For the first time in years, she was going to cook with Spike, and she was going to cook for her son which had been long overdo as well.

~Several Hours of Quality Time Later~

Shining, Twilight, and Night Light all entered the dining hall promptly at seven as instructed. They found Spike and Velvet going through photo albums, sitting next to each other. It did the trio good to see the two had gotten back onto their previous terms, though Shining knew that baby pictures were almost definitely going to come into play in the very near future.

Though Shining's worries were soon assuaged when he was hit with the fantastic array of aromas wafting off of the veritable feast laid out on the table. Shining estimated that even his family and Spike combined wouldn't be able to devour everything. What's more, Shining's senses told him there was sweet potato pie in the direct vicinity.

"Oh Celestia, Spike. If you were any other dragon I'd say you were fattening me up before eating me. And even then, I think I'd die a reasonably happy guy." Shining mused in anticipation of the meal.

"Don't worry. If you get fat I can just schedule gym time or more training sessions. The castle staff loves a good show, and once Wordplay starts we'll have a little more flex-time." Spike reasoned.

As everyone sat down at their own seats, Spike took the liberty of serving up the food. Once everyone had received a plate of generous portions, Spike loaded up his own platter. Velvet and Night were mildly surprised at how much Spike planned to eat, but after looking his new size over they both thought better of saying anything. If anything Spike was eating too little for his size.

Shining eagerly sampled everything on his plate, finding himself flashing back to every holiday of his youth. Spike's food tasted exactly like his mother's, if not better. If Shining had known that he could have been having Spike's home cooking until now he would have already gained a great deal of weight.

"Oh man, Spike. I'm sorry I ever doubted you. I feel like an idiot for not knowing how good a cook you are." Shining praised.

Spike swallowed his current mouthful of food before replying, though he had a pleased expression on his face.

"Glad you feel that way. I was thinking of cooking our dinner on Thursdays from now on. I had forgotten how much I genuinely enjoyed cooking, what with being around maids and servants so often in the last few years." Spike proposed.

"Sounds great. Open court is always kinda dull. It'd definitely make Thursday worth looking forward to." Shining agreed without hesitation.

Night, Velvet, and Twilight listened to the exchange between the Spike and Shining, finding the conversation very interesting. Despite their relatively new relationship, Spike and Shining seemed close. Their relationship was certainly different than Shining and Cadence's had been, for a vast number of reasons. Still, they worked well together.

Spike was the surprisingly gentle thinker, and Shining was the one that was relaxed, if just a bit scatter-brained. Spike could dote on Shining, which had become accustomed to doing through his many years as an assistant and aid to Twilight and other ponies. Conversely, Shining could help Spike unwind, and enjoy their many shared interests as an escape from work.

"You two make a surprisingly good couple. There's very little effort in the two of you coming to terms acceptable to the both of you. I'm kind of envious really." Twilight observed.

Spike and Shining looked at each other without saying a word, but seemed to carry out an entire conversation. Spike used some hand signs Twilight and her parents were unfamiliar with, and Shining's face lit up with what seemed to be realization. Shining briefly looked at Twilight, and responded to Spike in kind with ear motions and less complex hoof-signing.

Twilight was completely flummoxed, and just a little annoyed.

"What the hay was that about? I've read books about every kind of non-verbal communication and I didn't understand any of that." Twilight complained.

Shining decided to field the question, giving Spike a short signal which he returned with a simple thumbs-up.

"We invented our own. For combat purposes initially, and maybe inside jokes or things others wouldn't care to hear. None of the other sign-languages really fit because Spike has hands and I have hooves, not a lot of parallels." Shining explained.

Twilight briefly examined her hooves, then compared them to Spike's hands. They were radically different, which Twilight hadn't really bothered to consider before. She used magic for almost everything, so appendages weren't normally on her mind.

"Okay, I could see that. But, what did you say?" Twilight implored.

Shining opted out putting his hooves up at either side, looking to Spike. Soon all the other eyes in the room were glued to their resident reptile as well. Spike sighed, but looked to Twilight, red showing through his scales.

"We thought that maybe you should get back on the dating scene. I told Shining you hadn't even tried since the Flash Sentry incident, causing him to agree with me." Spike admitted.

Twilight went through a range of emotions, such as disbelief, anger, disappointment, and other negative feelings. However, sensing the oncoming storm Twilight Velvet quelled her fury the only way she could see fit. By promptly shoving a jumbo, homemade dinner role in Twilight's open mouth.

Twilight looked at her mother with a profound sense of betrayal.

"Don't you look at me like that young lady. The clock is ticking, and somepony is giving me a grandchild. Unless male dragons can somehow reproduce with stallions, I'm putting my bets on you Missy." Velvet commanded.

Twilight immediately retreated from the conversation, quietly taking to eating the dinner roll instead of commenting for fear of digging herself a grave. Twilight hadn't considered her parents' arrival to see Shining and assess his relationship with Spike might also drag her into the spotlight. The battlefield of love was one Twilight felt quite unprepared to siege.

Luckily, her father was a neutral party.

"Ah Velvet, let the girl find her special somepony in her own time. We're as fit as a couple of fiddles, and I'd wager we'll be around long enough to see our grand-kids." Night reasoned.

Velvet huffed, but her next bite of practically orgasmic food made her forget her cares for a moment.

The meal went just fine, everyone enjoyed their food, and everyone got along for the most part. Spike and Twilight were mostly content to watch Shining and his parents catch up, interjecting or adding things when necessary. The whole meal did a world of good for everyone at the table, and everyone felt like a family again, even though things were a bit different now.

After dessert had been eaten, and the table had been cleared the group stayed at the table at Night's request. Night briefly departed the dining hall before returning with something brought from the family home that he hoped Shining would remember. It was a black box the size of a small sheet-cake, made of laminated cardboard. In big white letters, the box read Who Done It?, and below that in red letters it said that it was Equestria's number one, family-style, mystery-solving game.

Judging by the wear on the box, it was quite old.

"Oh-my-gosh. That's my favorite board game! I didn't even know you guys still had it! I haven't seen it since I moved out of the house. Can we play it?" Shining exclaimed, clopping his hooves together like an over-excited filly.

Just as quickly as his parents could nod in approval, Shining used his magic to set up the board and deal out the necessary cards and game-pieces. Shining even took the liberty of doling out everyone's character identities. Everyone picked up their cards, which had a picture and name of their character.

"I'm Professor Sugar Plum." Twilight read, reasonably satisfied with the title.

"I'm Colonel Dijon Mustard." Night Light added, amused at the ridiculous name.

"I'll be playing as Mrs. Saccharine Sweets." Velvet continued.

"I of course will be Detective Deerstalker, as always." Shining Armor stated proudly.

That of course left Spike, the last to reveal their character name, causing everyone to look at him. Spike sighed and threw his card down on the table, allowing them to see it.

On the card was a rather villainous looking griffon, complete with a thin, remarkably curly mustache, black cloak, monocle, and a tall black top hat. Beneath the overly stereotypical drawing was a name in the same golden-brown bubble-letter font as the other characters, which read Randy Butternubs.

Needless to say, everyone but Spike began laughing heartily. Though soon Spike's deep laugh joined the fray, the out pouring of laughter reverberating in the enormous dining hall. It took a few moments for everyone to calm down.

"Meh. At least he's got a sweet mustache. Who gets to pick the crime card?" Spike asked Shining, since he seemed to be in charge.

"Crime card?" Twilight asked.

Shining floated the instructions out of the box, looking to the section about the crime cards.

"A crime card is drawn before the game to provide a background for the game session. On the card will be instructions on how to play that specific scenario. Then all character cards to be used are to be put in a stack, shuffled, and the top card is to be put into the center of the board, face-down. The players then move around the board according to dice rolls and collect evidence cards to try and legitimize their guess as to Who Done It, or give reason for themselves to be seen as innocent via alibi cards." Shining read.

"Oh. I see. Well then, since this is your game why don't you do it, Shining?" Twilight suggested.

Shining nodded, and placed his hoof atop the stack of cards still residing in the box. Without looking, Shining drew one card, and brought it up to his face. Once it was there, Shining looked back at it, preparing to read it. In keeping with his cheesiness, Shining made quite a show of the reveal.

Shining levitated the card out in front of himself, just so he could use his hooves to do an impersonation of a drum-roll on the table.

"And the crime of the century is,-" Shining began.

Unfortunately, a familiar red unicorn crystal-mare and two guards burst through the door just as Shining was about to read the card.

It was Wordplay, the mare that was going to become Spike's assistant after her desperate journalistic endeavor earlier in the day. Her mane was frazzled and done up in what was likely an impromptu bun with a pencil run through it. Unlike earlier she was wearing a set of half-moon spectacles, and was carrying a clipboard in her yellow magic beside her.

Wordplay and the guards didn't even bother bowing, as there was an urgent look on their faces.

"The Dark Magic Artifact Vault just outside the empire has been robbed!" Wordplay shouted, panic in her eyes.

Everyone was speechless, and soon looked to Shining to see the king's reaction. He seemed deep in thought, and after a moment he grabbed his white game-piece and brought it up to his face. Shining dramatically glared at the piece, as if he was appraising it so it would tell him what secrets it held.

"Detective Deerstalker always catches his culprit." Shining told the group with conviction, not looking away from the game-piece.

His only response was several confused looks and face-hooves (and claws).

We've Been Robbed?

Velvet and Night Light had headed back up to the observatory for the time being while Wordplay and the guards briefed Shining, Spike, and Twilight. First Wordplay and the guards were given water and seats at the table, as they were quite tired. Apparently they had run a fair distance to the castle in hopes of finding either Shining or Spike.

Once the trio was adequately refreshed, everyone sat at the table together to discuss the news.

"Miss Wordplay, you claim the most top-secret and well protected facility in the country has been robbed? How is it you know this? Or even that the Dark Magic Artifacts Vault exists?" Shining questioned, taking on a more professional tone.

Wordplay coughed into her hoof, looking a bit embarrassed but nonetheless replied.

"As a former journalist, I made it my business to know about all the goings on in the empire. I slipped a guard some bits while the facility was being built and he gave me the scoop. My editor refused to post the story, and until now I just pretended not to know anything.

"However, since I'm to be Lord Spike's assistant I wanted to get a jump on my duties. I already completed all the paperwork at the necessary offices, so I decided to familiarize myself with the management at all the important government buildings."

Wordplay produced several hefty stacks of paperwork from her saddlebags, using her magic to slide them over to Spike, as she was to report directly to him. Spike looked them over briefly, noticing a remarkably familiar level of organization and attention to detail. Had Twilight not spent the last twelve hours with himself, Shining, and their parents Spike would have accused her of doing Wordplay's papers for her.

Once Spike returned his attention to the situation, Wordplay saw fit to continue her story.

"Since I had already picked up my credentials, and no doubt every pony in the empire knows me after my shameless display earlier, I decided to finish my excursion at the D.M.A.V.

"Unfortunately, the building.... exploded, while I was no more than a hundred yards away. The entire back wall of the above-ground portion of the facility was destroyed in a blast of green and red energy. Once the danger had seemingly ceased, I entered the building and found the security team unconscious but relatively unharmed.

"After waking the team, I had one of them perform a cursory examination of the entire facility. Going off of his artifact inventory, I was able to create an itemized list of what was missing. Afterwards, two of the security team escorted me back here to brief you, King Shining, and you, Lord Spike." Wordplay finished.

Spike was genuinely impressed with Wordplay, but would praise her at a more appropriate time. There was no doubt in Spike's mind Wordplay was telling the truth. The mare was obviously very tired, and Spike's keen senses could tell she had been running around all day judging by the scent of sweat permeating her, masked to average pony noses by some kind of deodorant.

It was looking like Wordplay went all or nothing in her work, no matter what she was doing. Yet another thing the mare seemed to have in common with a certain purple alicorn.

Wordplay floated her clipboard over to Spike in her yellow magical aura, allowing him to view the list. Spike read the list, and it became instantly clear to him that something was very wrong. While the list was relatively short, the two items Spike could recognize were disturbing to say the least.

"The items stolen from the vault were: One, a full suit of armor with cape, previously worn by the false king, Sombra. Two, a changeling corpse floating in a stasis tube of formaldehyde. Three and four, two nondescript, high-security metal boxes, contents unknown." Spike read out loud.

Once finished Spike looked to Shining, and what he saw made his heart sink. All the color had drained from Shining's face and he looked very close to panic. It was apparent that Shining knew full well what was in the boxes. Whatever they were, it was likely bad news.

Spike reached out to Shining, placing his hand on the stallion's back. Shining blinked a few times and looked at Spike, seemingly as if he had just woken up from a terrible dream. Spike was becoming increasingly worried, but he was at least happy seeing that Shining was still with them.

"You alright there Shining? Hun?" Spike asked out of concern.

Shining turned to the others at the table, seeing that they were each rather worried. The guards and Wordplay were looking a bit more frazzled than before as well, hoping that their recently returned king was still alright.

Shining cursed himself internally for being shaken, doubly so while he had troops that needed rallying.

"I'm fine, just surprised. We need to investigate this matter personally though. Right now." Shining replied, getting up from his seat.

Spike nodded, and rose to the occasion. Twilight too readied herself for the coming investigation. Surprisingly enough, Wordplay got up from her seat and walked up to Spike to bow.

"I'd like to come along sirs. If my new vocation is to be this exciting then I wish to get my hooves wet, providing you'll allow it."

Shining was impressed, as most mares would have shied away from such a disturbing situation. However, Wordplay was Spike's assistant so it was up to Spike to decide.

Spike figuratively read Shining's mind, taking the initiative to instruct Wordplay on the matter.

"It's better if you stayed here to keep an eye on things for us, Wordplay. The guards will have the castle on lock-down, you make sure things run smoothly and personally check in on Shining's parents from time to time. Whenever they decide to go to bed, have two guards stationed outside their room, and one on either side of the corridor." Spike ordered.

Wordplay saluted and used her magic to pull her clipboard back to her. She gave the itemized list to Spike, allowing her to write on a fresh sheet of paper. Within seconds, Wordplay had written down her orders and fully intended to follow them verbatim.

"Of course, Sir. I will do everything in my power to ensure the safety of the castle and the ponies residing within it." Wordplay affirmed.

Spike nodded, happy to see he could count on Wordplay.

"Great, just one more thing." Spike told Wordplay.

"Yes?"

"Take the stick out of your plot. You've already gotten the job, and we're already impressed. No need to be a cold, calculating machine. I want you to be you, whatever that entails. And just call me Spike. Just because you're working as my assistant doesn't mean I don't wanna be your friend. Okay?"

Wordplay smiled, pulling the pencil out of the bun in her mane. Her frizzy white and yellow mane came undone, and Wordplay seemed a lot less rigid than before.

Spike smiled, and in a flash of magenta light (courtesy of Twilight), Spike, Shining, and Twilight vanished. Through the wondrous magic of teleportation, the trio was being whisked through time and space at an astonishing speed. Luckily, Twilight Sparkle was an astonishingly competent mage.

Otherwise they might have ended up in a wall or in a totally different location than the intended one.

In just a moment after their disappearance from the castle, Spike, Shining, and Twilight reappeared in the field just outside the empire.

They were still just within the boundaries of the magical weather dome that kept the city-state warm. There was a small, rather unassuming, brick building there. It had no windows, no signs, and only one door. There were two guards stationed on either side of the door, who saluted upon seeing the new arrivals. The only thing remarkable about the building that it was likely the only structure in the empire not made of pure crystal.

Twilight faltered a bit once her focus was broken, a common result of experiencing a sudden loss of the bulk of one's mana reserves.

"Ugh Spike, I forgot to account for your magical resistance on top of your weight. It's much higher than when you were little. I'm almost completely spent on mana." Twilight complained, her wings drooping from sudden exhaustion.

"Sorry. I'll fly us home later. Can you manage some diagnostic spells?" Spike asked in concern.

Twilight nodded, knowing her limits well enough to give a confident answer.

Shining and company headed to the guards once they were certain it was safe to continue. One of them had a black eye, and there was brick dust in the fur of the both of them. Wordplay's summary of their condition seemed accurate, as little was bruised beyond their pride as guardsponies of the Crystal Empire.

Shining stepped forward and saluted his troops in kind, a nonverbal show of thanks and respect for their service.

The group walked around the building where another guard stood to the side of a gaping hole in the wall. Not only the bricks had been turned to dust, but there was a hole rusted through what Spike's senses confirmed to be solid steel. It was an odd sight, and to add to the mystery there was no debris, save for the dust.

Twilight instantly sprung into action, seeing the magical anomaly. She gingerly touched the borders of the hole with her wingtips, not wanting to endanger her hooves in case there was something corrosive. Looking into the building, it was clear to see that the sub-levels of the facility had been similarly compromised.

Spike likewise began employing his reptilian senses to gain any insight.

"What kind of wards were in place here? Because I can tell there are a bunch of them still active." Twilight inquired.

Shining tapped his hoof on the ground, trying to remember. The facility had been built not long after the initial defeat of Sombra, originally to store the mad tyrant's belongings. The evil dictator was very paranoid, and it still wasn't unheard of to find a secret bunker full of creepy devices.

"All the wards Starswirl invented, and all of the basic wards they taught me in the academy, a bunch of other wards I had Equestrian mage specialists lay on it. Like, a hundred in total I think." Shining recalled.

Twilight lit her horn with a small spark and focused. Soon the magical spark grew and a hair-width tendril of magic made contact with the remaining wall of the vault building. From there it branched out, and soon there was a complex web of magical tendrils probing the air and building alike. They probed and tugged and wormed their way around each of the invisible wards meant to protect the building, carefully inspecting everything without setting off a single one.

After a few minutes, Twilight's web began to flicker and eventually faded. Twilight looked quite tired, ever more so than before.

"There are one hundred and sixteen wards in place, none of which were broken. Whoever did this was impossibly skilled. I could easily dismantle most of these wards and brute force my way through the rest, but it'd take at least twenty-four hours of continued spellwork. Celestia or Luna would have taken at least twelve. I have no idea how this was done." Twilight groused, sounding quite jealous.

"I have an idea, but I hate it. I really, really, hope I'm wrong about it." Spike announced.

Spike got right up to the wall and sniffed it, flicked his tongue out at the air, and then outright licked the crumbling brick and rusted steel. His expression soured, leading Shining and Twilight to think Spike was right about whatever he wished to be wrong about.

"Twi, would any of the wards on the building prevent somepony powerful enough from using some kind of time spell on the wall and floors?" Spike asked, hypothetically.

Twilight blinked a few times, letting the information sink in.

"No, no they would not. There aren't any wards I know of designed to defend against time magic. Time magic is almost impossible for most ponies. I've only used it once, and besides Starswirl The Bearded who invented the field the only known user is--" Twilight started, but stopped herself short.

"King Sombra, who displaced the entire Crystal Empire by a thousand years in the instant before he was sealed away." Shining Armor finished.

"That was my first guess." Spike agreed, no small amount of displeasure in his tone.

Shining looked to Spike who handed him the list.

Even though Shining knew very well what everything itemized on the list was, it was hard for him to speak on the matter. He had thought that everything was over and done with, and that everything in the vault would stay where it belonged. In a deep, dark, pit, far away from the light of day.

"The metal security boxes are designed to house dark magic materials too dangerous to risk destroying. One of them contains Sombra's horn, and other bits of him recovered after the explosion." Shining revealed.

"So the other box is-" Spike began.

"The other box is the fragments of Chrysalis's chitin, her horn, and a vial of whatever changelings have instead of blood. We kept them and the one changeling chameleon-drone's remains to try and come up with anti-illusion protection, but nothing ever came of it.

"Once I was fully off my rocker I scrapped all research projects in favor of national security enforcement. Everything was transferred here, which had been built to store all Sombra's questionable belongings." Shining admitted.

Shining almost sounded just as downtrodden as he had been just two months prior. It was understandable, having such traumatic memories forcibly brought up to the surface. But this time, Spike and Twilight were here with Shining.

Shining slapped himself with his hoof, forcing himself out of the thrall of his depressed thoughts.

"Shining?" Spike asked.

"I'm okay. I just don't know what to do exactly. We're either dealing with some dark magic cultists, changelings, or the ghost of one, or even two of the worst villains in recent history." Shining surmised.

Spike and Twilight agreed, but neither of them had much in the way of a plan to stop the looming threat of the unknown. The only feasible thing that could be done for the moment was to prepare for the worst.

"We should put more protection around the crystal heart. I'll call up reinforcements from Equestria as soon as we get back. We're kinda low on magical muscle. There aren't a lot of crystal unicorns, and most of them don't even know self-defense." Spike suggested.

"And I'll try and locate whoever is behind all this. If they're as powerful as Sombra or Chrysalis then I should be able to pinpoint their location with some effort. I'm gonna need some time, and some help getting some spell components together." Twilight added.

Shining nodded, and from within his outfit he pulled a small pad and a pen. He looked at the paper for a moment before looking back up to Spike in embarrassment. Spike rolled his eyes, but smiled nonetheless. It was comforting that Shining was still himself.

"The account number is nine eight eight zero nine zero three. It's your date of birth backwards, year, then day, then month." Spike reminded Shining.

"Oh yeah. I knew that." Shining chuckled awkwardly as he wrote out the number.

When he was finished he ripped the page from the pad and floated it to Twilight.

"Whatever you need, just charge it to that account. I'll be organizing troops and coming up ways to hush this up for the time being. Nopony needs to know about this in great detail until things eventually hit the fan. The crystal ponies would freak if they thought Sombra was coming back." Shining finished.

With everything as squared away as possible, Spike carried Shining and Twilight back to the palace in the dead of night. Hopefully, the world's hottest new power-couple could hold things together. Spike and Shining both hoped that the Crystal Empire would remain just as peaceful as it was right now, quietly glittering in the Luna's moonlight like the jewel it was.

Sic Semper Tyrannis

It had taken a whole month for everything to get set in motion. Spike had hired some extra security from Equestria, making certain that each and every vulnerable area of the empire was guarded. The majority of these unofficial guards were without armor, or dressed as construction workers, employees at nearby businesses, and other believable covers.

Spike had thought that ponies would either become paranoid or suspicious if there were suddenly guards everywhere. Especially after Shining's over-militarization of the country being still fresh in everyone's minds.

Shining himself had come up with a cover-up to explain the explosive display of magical energy seen from the border at the D.M.A.V.

As far as the public was concerned, it had been a scheduled test of the weather-dome's new defensive wards. It had been purposely fired upon by magical weaponry to prove the latest advancements in national security did their job. Of course Shining actually had Twilight implement the idea afterwards, realizing that the weather-dome failing would truly be a major catastrophe.

Twilight had also been setting up a network of scrying crystals across the nation, which thankfully went largely unnoticed by the populace. Being constantly surrounded by crystal buildings, roads, and crystal ponies made it difficult for the average citizen to notice any small additions.

As of yet the culprits of the dark magic artifact robbery had yet to do anything that might make themselves traceable, but when they did Twilight would know about it.

For the time being, Spike and Shining were enjoying an evening alone in the castle's secret study. It was after dinner on open court day, and the castle staff had been told that Spike and their king would be out of touch until morning. Wordplay had been taught the spell to send letters to Spike in case of emergencies, and in the event of anything huge happening Twilight was still around.

After a month of almost constant work, and a long day of listening to the petitioners from the entire empire Shining and Spike were exhausted. Spike laid on the large sofa on his back, while Shining laid on Spike's stomach, enjoying his lover's unbelievable natural warmth.

They were currently enjoying one of their favorite mutual activities, the art of watching bad movies. Movies so terrible that they were hilarious in their backwards way.

Tonight's feature was a little gem called Invasion of The Space Goats XII: If You Can't Bleat 'Em, Join 'Em. A film from the dawn of modern cinema recently unearthed from the ruins of an abandoned theater in lower Canterlot. Luna had sent it to the couple as a gift, knowing Spike was a lover of such tripe, and also as a sign of her well-wishing for the couple's future.

Coupled with the wine Celestia had sent, it was a turning into quite an evening.

"This is a cinematic masterpiece of monumental proportions." Shining declared, just as the Goat Emperor vaporized the Vanhoover Dam.

"Right? If you couldn't see the mic up top, or tell everything was made of cardboard this'd be just as good as what Applewood comes out with." Spike agreed.

Despite Spike being completely sober, the experience was just as good for him. Shining was happy, if a little liquored up. All that mattered for the time being was enjoying each others company, and a movie so bad it was good.

Spike doubted Shining knew it, but he had never had a really meaningful relationship before. Rarity had been snatched up by a stallion of both noble birth and intentions, and very few ponies had ever shown any signs of interest in Spike due to his species. Spike had decided to give up on ponies initially, but Shining had saved Spike in his own way.

Spike had been wanting to tell Shining about it, but wasn't sure if that was the sort of thing you told your coltfriend this early into a relationship.

Spike repositioned his long neck to look up at Shining after a period of uncharacteristic silence. He found Shining snoozing comfortably, drooling a bit. Spike smiled and found himself yawning, telling him Shining had the right idea. After making note to remind himself to put a clock in the study, Spike kissed Shining's forehead and settled in to sleep in the peace and quiet of the castle study.

They remained there for a few hours until late into the night when Twilight rushed in, frazzled and looking frantic.

She quickly lifted the couch with the couple still on it, and proceeded to shake Shining and Spike awake. Spike had to hang onto the couch for fear of falling onto Shining, but it appeared apologizing was far from the first thing on Twilight's mind.

"Up! Now! There's a thing!" Twilight shouted as her brother hit the floor.

"Ugh. The hell, Twi?" Shining groused as he pulled himself up off the thankfully lush carpet.

"That was easily the best sleep I've had in a month, and I seriously doubt it's morning already. Someone had better be on fire." Spike added, almost sounding predatory.

Twilight however wasn't alone, as Wordplay entered behind her with a serving cart in tow. It was loaded with coffee, eggs, hay-bacon, toast, and every other breakfast item one could imagine. Additionally there was a bottle of medication designed to lessen the brunt of a hangover. The couple quickly began their forcibly-imposed early breakfast, giving Twilight a chance to calm down and brief Shining and Spike.

"Okay. Less grumpy now. Thank you, Wordplay." Spike gratefully told his assistant.

"It's what I do." Wordplay replied in a semi-smug way.

"Okay, so there was frantic talk of a thing? Care to elaborate on that, Twilight?" Shining asked, wanting to get to the supposed issue at hoof.

Twilight tapped her hoof on the floor of the secret study, trying to figure out how to describe what was going on.

"It's like a big, black bubble made of everything wrong with the world. It's over the whole crystal pavilion, and you can't even see through it. I looked at it for a few minutes to try and take some scans, but I started feeling sick so I came to you two directly." Twilight explained.

"I thought it was more like a dome made out of nightmares. And... like, whatever the opposite of hugs and grandma-kisses is." Wordplay interjected.

Twilight nodded her agreement, finding that a somewhat better metaphor.

"So yeah, it's pretty bad obviously. If I could handle this alone I wouldn't have barged in here, especially after last time." Twilight finished.

Shining Armor and Spike looked at each other, uncertainty plain to see on both of their faces. They needed to see whatever the thing was in person, especially since it was in the crystal pavilion. It was the open area near the castle where the crystal heart was kept, meant to assure the crystal ponies all was well.

The group quickly made their way to the front gates of the castle, where a cordon of guards was surrounding the pavilion.

Spike and Shining saw what the fuss was about as soon as they looked past the guards.

It was just as Twilight had described, a black dome encircling the pavilion. Every few seconds the dome gave of surges of red or green dark energy, arcing of in seemingly random directions. Every second you looked at it continually drained the stamina your body possessed, as if it was somehow feeding off of your energy to further it's assuredly sinister purpose.

After looking at the abhorrent anomaly for what couldn't have been more than thirty seconds, Shining Armor had begun shivering uncontrollably and Spike felt as though he was going to vomit molten slag sometime in the near future.

As soon as the group promptly turned around to avoid looking at it, they attempted to get a grip on the situation.

"Dear gods! What the hell is that thing?!" Shining Armor practically shouted.

"That was my initial reaction too. Kinda hoping Spike could... I dunno? Smash it? That's what he does to Shining Armor's barriers." Wordplay suggested.

Spike looked at his hands, then back at the dome. As he had predicted earlier, he involuntarily blew magma-chunks onto the crystal walkway. After making a mental note to have that fixed when whatever they were dealing with was over, Spike returned his attention to the others.

"So that's probably not happening. Where did this... thing, come from anyway? It's like..."

"Three forty-seven A.M." Wordplay interjected.

"Thanks. So yeah, me and Shining went to the study at about ten-thirty. Everything was just fine then. So, when did this even get here?" Spike finished.

Wordplay checked her ever-present clipboard, looking for the clarification Spike and Shining needed.

"A patrol passes through the pavilion every ten to twelve minutes, but nopony gave the all-clear within the scheduled window at about two. We had initially suspected that the guards had forgotten how to use their walkies-talkies since most crystal ponies still aren't very techno savvy. After a ten minute lapse of contact we sent more guards who reported back with vague descriptions of the dome. Guards Rough Barrel, and Emerald Isle are still M.I.A." Wordplay read off.

Shining and Spike both stiffened up at the news that there were two of their ponies unaccounted for. They collected themselves, and marched through the circle of guards all trying their hardest not to look at the dome. While every instinct in Shining Armor and Spike's beings told them to flee, their hearts told them that their duty came first.

Shining Armor charged his horn for a basic mana-blast, and quickly let the ethereal projectile loose, carefully making certain that the magic had completely left his horn before it came into contact with the dome. It was basic tactics for facing unknown foes or magics, just in case there was a risk of magical feedback tracing back to the caster. The dome seemed extremely likely to have some such defenses, so Shining only used a small amount of mana at a high speed to see the reaction with minimal chance of recoil.

The magenta magic-bullet hit the ebony surface of the dome, and was instantaneously swallowed up by the malevolent dome's oil-colored form. The only significant effect was a minor ripple in the dome's exterior, extending about three feet from the point of impact. It was as if Shining had just dropped a pebble into a lake of unbelievably dark, deep water, never to be seen again.

"Okay, your turn." Shining told Spike, as it was clear unicorn magic wasn't going to help.

Spike nodded, looking around at the ponies gathered in the pavilion's outskirts.

"I'm going to need everybody to back up out of the way, things are about to get toasty. I've never let out a full-blown fire since I grew. Not totally sure how much I've got in me." Spike warned.

The guards and Shining Armor quickly moved everyone about as far back as they could while still being in the area in case something happened. Twilight quickly threw up a barrier wall around the civilian onlookers, and Shining Armor added an additional layer of protection just to be certain. It was impossible to tell if they were protecting themselves from Spike or whatever the dome would do in retaliation.

Spike proceeded to pop all the bones in his neck, mentally preparing himself for what he needed to do and what might happen after.

Once ready, Spike took in a tremendous breath, to the point his chest seemed almost puffed out.

As soon as his powerful lungs were full, Spike let loose a stream of fire so hot and powerful that it was almost more white than green. It was utterly impossible for anyone to see beyond the glow of the flames, and even Spike himself couldn't really see the dome anymore.

Shining Armor's barrier was beginning to warp and strain from the heat and almost indomitable dragon magic. Luckily, after a while Spike's breath began petering out and eventually stopped altogether. Though a tad winded, Spike stayed focused and examined the condition of the unusual barrier.

The dome was relatively unchanged, except the portion in front of Spike, which was on fire. The surface bubbled and burned like tar, showing that whatever it was, the dome wasn't completely invulnerable.

Spike saw it as what would likely be their best shot, and knitted his clawed hands together. He raised his combined fist above his head and brought it down on the flaming portion of the dome. With each impact, the dome shuddered and shifted a bit, as if the heat of Spike's flames had made it surprisingly-tough, magical surface malleable.

"Shining, Twi! Try hitting it after I hit it! I can feel it weakening!" Spike yelled out as he continued battering the abhorrent semi-sphere.

Twilight and Shining jumped into action, lowering their shields and preparing to assault the dome. Twilight crafted a spear out mana, while Shining chose a spiked ball to craft out of his own magic. Twilight took Spike's left, while Shining took to hitting the dome with the ball on the right side. Forming a triangle of brutality, the three mercilessly fought against the dome's defenses.

After a few minutes of repeated assault against the dome, and a few brief shots of additional fire, the dome began to crack.

Before the dome could react or attempt to repair itself, Spike jabbed his clawed fingers into the opening. As soon as the gap had widened enough, Spike slipped in his other hand and pulled the pieces apart in different directions.

As soon as the integrity of the dome had been compromised, the whole thing shattered into black fragments that disappeared as soon as they hit the ground.

What was revealed was a rather disturbing sight. There were a number of simple, circular dishes placed around the pavilion, four in total. One was full of black shards and a gnarled horn, and the one opposite it was full of slate grey bits, small chunks of black crystal, and a distinct curved horn. The other two dishes were much larger, and contained Sombra's suit of armor and cape, while it's opposite held the pickled body of the changeling drone, now freed from the capsule.

Most disturbing of all was the wisps of green and red energy circling the crystal heart in slow, consistent orbit. They slowly seemed to be growing, and the crystal heart was growing continually dimmer.

At the base of the crystal heart was two guards, who seemed unconscious but alive.

Twilight attempted to use her magic to grab the guards, but a shimmering dome briefly appeared, turned magenta, and disappeared again.

"It's another barrier, and this one's definitely drawing in magic. Celestia and Luna taught me how to make one, but breaking one from outside is nearly impossible. Someone has to walk through it, and fast. Those guards look drained, they might not make up if we don't get them out soon, but this seems like a trap." Twilight told Spike and Shining, sizing up the situation.

"It's definitely a trap, but we gotta do it." Shining Armor stated absolutely.

Shining Armor and Spike rushed forward to save the guards and stop whatever was happening, but it seemed as though that had indeed been a part of the unknown plan set in motion by the thieves from the D.M.A.V. Shining Armor immediately felt like he had been bucked in the chest, as the magic in his body suddenly left him as soon as he entered the pavilion.

Spike was more fortunate, as he couldn't enter at all. The barrier flashed green, preventing Spike from getting into the pavilion. It dimmed again, becoming invisible while still keeping Spike out.

"Shining!? Are you okay? There's a ward or something locking me out!" Spike shouted frantically, pounding on the wall he couldn't see.

Shining nodded, though his strength was nearly depleted. He barely managed to walk over to the guards and push them outside the barrier. Unfortunately, as Shining tried to leave the barrier flashed magenta and Shining fell to the ground. The trap had been sprung, and Shining was trapped inside the draining field.

"Can't move." Shining groaned, sounding incredibly tired.

Spike's pupils thinned to slits, and he let loose another gout of flames. Unlike the first barrier, this one fed off it and once more glowed green. The flames shrunk until they were completely out, but Spike wasn't deterred in the least. Instead he dug his claws into the crystalline ground, trying to get under the barrier.

When he discovered the shield went underground as well Spike's eyes softened, and his heart sunk.

"I can't get in." Spike said softly, placing his palm on the invisible wall to be closer to Shining.

"That is the point, after all." An echoing, feminine voice said from seemingly everywhere.

"We still need a little time to finish our work." A much more gruff, masculine voice added.

As soon as the crystal ponies heard the second voice every last one of them began panicking. Many of them covered their ears with their hooves, while others bowed as low to the ground as physically possible, as if their very lives depended on it. Even the ever cool-headed Wordplay was reduced to a sobbing frenzy, laying next to Twilight in the fetal position.

It took very little guesswork to decipher who the second voice had belonged to.

"Sombra!" Spike growled, almost roaring at the disembodied foe.

"So good to know I'm remembered. That's all the dead can really hope for from the living. Though soon they'll be able to do a lot more for us. Isn't that right, my dear Chrysalis?"

"Yes, once we're together and we've got ourselves a body, the Crystal Empire will be just the first locale to fall to us, Sombra."

Shining Armor watched the ghostly wisps that were Sombra and Chrysalis's souls orbiting the crystal heart, their barrier siphoning off it's tremendous power. Without a way to get the crystal ponies to the heart, it didn't seem like there was a way to prevent Sombra and Chrysalis to finish their plan. After all, Shining was barely conscious and the black dome had given the deceased villains some time.

"Chrysalis? I... I killed you." Shining whimpered in disbelief, feeling as though a knife had just pierced his heart.

There was a moment of silence before Chrysalis answered. If she had a body, Shining would have likely been given a death glare from Chrysalis.

"Yes, and in doing so you committed genocide. All of my changelings, linked to me by the hive-mind perished with me. My hate for you in that moment made it impossible for me to rest. But because of that, I was able to find a kindred spirit. No pun intended."

"I was still lingering about, stealing small amounts of energy here and there to keep myself from passing on. When we met, I proposed a plan to destroy our mutual foe. You, Shining Armor.

"While studying the darkest of magics long before I died, I found a particularly old ritual capable of bonding evil souls in limbo to a single vessel. Chrysalis and myself will become one in our prepared body, combining both of our wills, hatred, and powers. All we needed was some time, our remains, a serviceable body, and most importantly...

"The magic of our mutual foe taken by force, and the magic of someone who truly loves him, given freely. We had intended to offer his drained husk in exchange for your magic, Spike. But you were so eager to get him back that you gave it to us, even though you knew shield might eat away your magic flames." Chrysalis finished.

"It took two years for someone who loved Shining to arrive for our purposes, and another month to make preparations. But it will all be worth it in just a few minutes."

After their gloating was finished, the green and red soul-wisps ceased their orbit around the crystal heart. Instead they now circled the entire pavilion, and the items in each dish began to burn with black flames. All the while, the crystal heart continued to grow darker.

Once the heart was finally completely dim, it fell to the ground with a clink that seemed to resonate through the minds and hearts of all present. The glittering coats of the crystal ponies became duller than ever before, and all those witnessing the horrid events transpiring in the pavilion began falling to despair.

The unnatural flames in each dish rose high into the air and each of the eventual pillars that formed from the flames arced together. The flames all flowed into the air the crystal heart had occupied moments before. A black sphere hovered there until the red and green wisps flew into the otherworldly fire and joined it.

The sphere shifted and changed until it was a barely equine figure. Though it was far too large, and it's limbs were stretched and riddled with holes. The black figure soon became more defined, and colors other than black began to fade in over certain parts of the developing monstrosity's form.

Once the terrible creature had finished forming, it was stood in the light of Luna's moon for all to see.

It looked like Sombra a great deal, but there were a number of changeling features. The beast's entire body was a black shell that had seemingly lost it's gloss, full of holes in each of it's limbs. It's chest was covered in armor, as well as it's front legs. It's horn was a clear mix of Sombra and Chrysalis's misshapen horns, Chrysalis's in shape, Sombra's in color.

Instead of a proper mane or tail it had green flames, billowing in the night. They gave off no heat that Shining Armor could feel, even from his close proximity to the abomination. In fact they somehow seemed to give off cold rather than heat.

But the worst part was looking into it's eyes.

It's eyes were a soft green color with blood-red irises that seemed to look into your soul. Unlike Sombra's eyes that trailed purple smoke, this creature's eyebrows were covered in the purple miasma, flowing just like the fire of it's mane and tail. The beast gave off the same feeling of dread and universal wrongness that the first dome had, testament to the intense darkness and perverse magics that had spawned them.

The invisible barrier shattered once the horrid creature was complete, shards of what appeared to be glass littering the ground before fading away all together.

Spike wasted no time in rushing forward to grab Shining while the horror was getting it's bearings. Even though the beast in front of them was horrifying, Spike still had a slight size advantage. More importantly, he had the determination to protect the one he loved from anything, whether they be pony or monster.

Spike just barely managed to grab Shining before being struck by an armored foreleg.

Luckily, thanks to Shining's obsession with training and fitness, Spike was able to roll with the blow and ensure their safety. They came out of the roll near Twilight and the others, where Spike laid Shining across his sister's back. Spike then quickly stepped forward, preparing himself to shield Shining, Twilight, and the emotionally crippled ponies.

The monster stood it's ground, still trying to get a feel for it's own existence. As an experiment, It's mangled horn lit up with a purple energy that burned like fire with sparks of red electricity coursing through it. Spike knew if it hit anything other than him ponies were going to get seriously hurt. His instincts told him he was staring death in the face, but Spike did his best to ignore it.

Spike spread his wings, hoping to shield the ponies behind him from as much as possible. Shining and Twilight had always protected him when he was small, but now it was time for Spike to be their shield.

"Twilight, as soon as it fires on me, port everybody but me out of here and into the castle. Make sure Shining, Wordplay, and the rest are okay." Spike ordered.

"Wait! What are you going to do? This is nuts!" Twilight shouted back, motioning towards the monstrous new form of Sombra and Chrysalis.

"Hopefully not die!" Spike shouted as he reared up onto his back legs and charged toward the monster.

The monster fired it's malevolent attack, just as Spike had planned. It hit him square in the chest, and Spike's body was assaulted by electricity arcing outward, while the brunt of the blast knocked him backwards a good ten feet.

Spike moved his neck to look back at Twilight with a confident grin, even going so far as to give her a thumbs up.

"Alright then. You do that." Twilight said with renewed confidence in Spike.

Twilight lit her horn, and everyone in the immediate area was swallowed up in a wave of magenta aura.

Once everyone was in her magical grasp, Twilight teleported them away, along with herself. The castle was only a short distance away, but it was a safe as safe could be in the current situation. Spike momentarily looked back to see if everyone had gotten away safely, breathing a sigh of relief as he let tears fall from his eyes.

Spike was extremely grateful Twilight hadn't seen his chest, otherwise she would have stayed to help fight. The scales that had until now prevented Spike from being seriously harmed for nearly two decades had just had their perfect record tarnished. The majority of Spike's abdomen was charred black, and his organic armor was cracking in several places.

It appeared that the dragon magic Spike had given them was more than enough to make Spike just as vulnerable as a pony, if not just a little more protected.

"Bucking Celestia-damned hell! That hurt, you overgrown stink bug!" Spike complained as he clutched his chest while his body continued smoking slightly.

"I'm sure it did reptile. Had you been a pony you'd be not but ash and memory." The creature responded with a voice like a chorus of a million nails grating on a chalkboard.

Spike suddenly wished he had proper ears, just so he could rip them off.

"Geez. Your voice is awful, uh... Somblis? Chromba?" Spike whined, unsure what to call his foe.

With a sound like a cat screaming into a fan, the creature that had once been Sombra and Chrysalis hummed thoughtfully to itself.

"Somblis? I think we like that. Allow me to show you my thanks."

With a quick flicker of purple light from it's deadly horn, Somblis began shimmering until it was invisible. Apparently, in addition to Sombra and Chrysalis's powers, Somblis retained the ability to camouflage itself like the drone that had become a great deal of it's body. Needless to say, Spike was quickly becoming even more worried about the situation.

Spike instinctively put up his guard, bracing himself for whatever was coming, taking care to shield his already damaged abdomen.

After a moment there was no magical lights, or sounds of hoofsteps to be heard. Spike was almost certain that he was alone, up until the moment he heard a faint buzzing, as if there was a fly in his ear. It was then he remembered that Somblis had wings.

Before he could react, Spike was attacked from behind. It took his mind a few seconds to realize exactly what happened, but very quickly the pain set in. As soon as Spike's brain realized the source he looked down and moved his hand from his chest to see the end of a gnarled horn sticking out, glowing a faint purple through the crimson ichor that now coated it.

"Thank you, Spike. For my name, and for building Shining Armor back up for me. Now there's so much more happiness to tear down before I destroy him. And unfortunately, you're the bottom brick in the wall that supports his happiness." Somblis taunted as it pulled it's horn from Spike's chest.

Uncloaking, Somblis pushed Spike to the ground of the pavilion and landed. Leaving Spike for dead, Somblis leisurely strode up the walkway to the castle, obviously intent on taking it's sweet time.

Spike lay there in a daze, his mind reeling from shock, and his body trying desperately to hold out.

In his darkening vision, Spike saw the crystal heart laying there beside him. It was dim and dull, completely spent of the happiness and love that made it such a powerful force of good. In his current state, Spike was only briefly aware of how similar the two of them were.

What was first and foremost on Spike's mind as he blacked out was Shining Armor.

"Shining... I hate to go so soon. But please, please don't forget there are others that care for you out there. Just don't let that monster do you in. You're better than that, you know knights always kill the monster in the end. Just... just know I love you."

With those final words, Spike's whole world faded to black. In the same instance, a point of light appeared in the center of the crystal heart. A light that signified that there was still hope, even in the overwhelming darkness.

Author's Note

So, obviously some shit went down. It was the longest chapter of this story thus far, I think. I dunno, it's super late right now.

I probably won't answer direct questions, but the next chapter will be out as soon as I can finish it. Things are getting serious, but I promise it will end happily for everybody.

Not entirely happy with how this turned out, or my crappy drawing of Somblis. But I was having difficulty trying to transition between happy-times to oh-my-god-what's-happening-times. I debated exactly how to handle this for days. I dunno, I just hope you guys don't hate me too much now.

I really hated doing that to Spike, but this has been the plan since chapter one. It ends up working out, so try not to abandon ship. No pun intended.

A King And His People

Twilight Sparkle had faced a great many trials in her relatively short life. She was still in her late twenties, but had been through incredible things most ponies could never dream of more times than she could remember. However, for the first time Twilight felt as though lives could really be on the line.

Twilight had never seen a pony die by some miracle, but she had just witnessed two fallen evils return from beyond the grave.

Spike had ordered Twilight to leave for exactly that reason, being as he was made of much tougher stuff. She felt horrible for leaving him, but Twilight knew the needs of the many outweighed the needs of the few. Spike could handle himself, and Twilight knew she needed to get Shining up and moving.

Somehow.

Twilight had managed to teleport everyone into the castle, and had ordered all non-guard castle personnel to stay holed up in the study until someone came for them. It was down to around forty of the guards, Twilight, an unconscious Shining Armor, and a jittery Wordplay.

The guards were all strategically placed around the throne room, their current base of operations. Twilight had Shining Armor propped up against his throne, and was currently trying to meditate in hopes of speeding the rate her mana recovered at. Teleporting a whole group was almost as tiring as trying move Spike.

"Twilight...? Is Spike going to okay?" Wordplay asked meekly, not really wanting to disturb Twilight.

Twilight sighed and gave up on her meditation. There was simply too much going on for her to focus. Wordplay had simply been the nail in the coffin.

Twilight opened her eyes, looking to the normally vibrant floor of the crystal palace.

"I don't know. I'd like to say yes, but things don't look good. I'm almost completely tapped out on magic, and Shining is so low on mana he can't stay conscious. Spike is one heck of fighter, especially if he can keep up with my big brother. But we're dealing with some serious dark magic, likely older than Celestia and Luna. I'm out of ideas." Twilight admitted, just loudly enough for only Wordplay to hear.

Wordplay nodded, already knowing things were likely at their darkest.

Wordplay too felt helpless, just as all the crystal ponies had felt under the hoof of Sombra. Wordplay desperately wished to help, but she was no alicorn, or dragon, or even a competent magician. Her special talent was words and word-games. Which only served to give her a good range of options on how to describe the dire situation.

But Wordplay knew other things than just words too. She knew Twilight Sparkle is the most competent mage of the century, that their king wouldn't fall so easily, and that she felt a personal debt of gratitude to Spike.

"Twilight, is it possible to give King Shining my mana?" Wordplay asked, phrasing it as more of a suggestion.

Twilight examined Wordplay, and aside from being emotionally exhausted she seemed fine. It seemed likely that Wordplay would still have an ample mana supply, at least for an average unicorn.

"It's possible, but only for higher level unicorns. I can take it, and give it to Shining myself. It's uh... just gonna be kind of awkward." Twilight answered uneasily.

"Awkward how?" Wordplay questioned.

Twilight blushed, but knew the situation was too dire to pass up an opportunity like this.

"I need to cross horns with you, and we need to take each others hooves until the process is complete. I'll do all the work, I just need you to keep calm and stay still." Twilight explained.

Wordplay consented, and without hesitation leaned in to Twilight, crossing their horns. Had Wordplay been just a bit off the two would have kissed. Twilight and Wordplay were both a bit embarrassed, but they took each others hooves as needed.

Twilight lit her horn, and without her knowing it Wordplay's horn responded in kind. Twilight's magenta aura soon arced with similarly colored electricity, conducting to Wordplay's horn. As soon as it hit, Wordplay's golden aura was tinted magenta and she began to feel very tingly.

The sensation of getting her mana siphoned away wasn't unpleasant, as Wordplay thought it might have been. She felt as though she was drunk, or lightly anesthetized. While Wordplay felt herself becoming tired, it also seemed to ease her nerves. Likely due to the fact that she was in such close proximity to Twilight.

Twilight wasn't experiencing the same sensation. Quite the opposite actually. She could feel herself becoming less fatigued, but still not fully refreshed. Though Twilight found herself a bit more distracted than she would have thought, looking into Wordplay's big, half-lidded, golden eyes.

After a few minutes of seemingly too-comfortable closeness, Twilight stopped the process. She left Wordplay with enough mana to function, and even use some minor levitation magic in a pinch. Luckily, Wordplay seemed to have a fairly large mana pool to work with, even though she didn't know many helpful spells.

Twilight began funneling the mana into Shining, the process being much easier when Twilight herself was the source. Twilight gave her brother everything she could spare, leaving herself only enough to function. Shining was the king, and it was only right that he be the one to aid Spike once he was able.

As soon as she was finished, Twilight and Wordplay sat in silence for a couple minutes. Wordplay nervously rubbed the back of her neck with a hoof, then looked back to Twilight. She was unable to handle the quiet any longer, especially with the question that was on her mind.

"So, uh... Probably not the best time, but do you maybe wanna grab a drink if we survive? Maybe dinner? If you don't want to it's fine, just... I dunno? I'm suddenly very aware of my own mortality... And how pretty your eyes are."

Twilight blushed a shade of red that would have given Big Macintosh a run for his money, having never seriously considered a relationship with a mare. However, after spending a fair bit of time with Wordplay on her stay and their very recent extended physical contact it seem like an interesting prospect.

"Uh... Sure? It's been forever since I've dated, but why not?" Twilight accepted bashfully.

Unfortunately, before anything else could be said Shining began to stir.

"Ugh... What's happened? I feel like I just OD'd on punches."

Twilight and Wordplay helped Shining up. Twilight pulled her confused brother into a hug once he was stable. Shining reciprocated, and meanwhile looked around the throne room. The normal light the crystal palace gave off was growing continually dimmer, reminding him of what had happened.

Shining broke free of Twilight's grip, holding her across from him by the shoulders.

"Twilight, where is Spike? Where's the monster? Why are we back in the castle?"

Twilight could barely look Shining in the eye, but she wouldn't lie to her brother.

"Spike is out there fighting that thing. You were drained, and the citizens needed to get out of the area. Spike told me to take everyone and leave, so we could all be safe. But for now, we need to come up with a plan." Twilight informed Shining guiltily.

Shining's eyes dilated at the thought of Spike out there alone with the macabre creature that had once been Sombra and Chrysalis.

Shining quickly fired a blast of energy at the crystal atop his throne, triggering the secret passage that had once been used by Sombra.

Now it was the castle's armory, full of all manner of unpleasant weapons.

"Guards! Suit up, full gear! Squadron one is unicorns in binding formation, bows for backup! Two is pegasi with with wing-blades! Three is earth ponies with side-shields and mouth-swords! You've got three minutes before we march!" Shining bellowed, gaining the attention of every guard in the castle.

Each and every guard swiftly made their way down the staircase, determined to serve king and country. They all switched to heavier duty armor, and the unicorns armed themselves with bows and crystal arrows, the pegasi with wing armaments that made their extra limbs deadly, and the earth ponies were wearing tall shields off either side of their armor, making them walls as much as warriors.

Twilight and Wordplay each donned some protective gear and a sword each to be safe. Shining however had donned a gleaming suit of silver-colored armor, complete with a tall blue comb on the helmet and a matching sword at his side. On the other side was a metal shield matching the one on Shining's cutie mark. It too was outlined in silver, and it seemed attached to the armor. All Shining would need to do to block an attack was turn himself in time.

Such preparedness was the best option while magic was so scarce between Shining and Twilight.

Twilight had rarely seen her brother look so focused, having never truly witnessed Shining in his element. It was easy to forget that beneath the goofball she knew was a hardened soldier, but Twilight was currently looking him in the face. Had Twilight not known her brother would never harm her she would have been scared, but as they were about to head to the battlefield together it was reassuring.

As soon as everyone was fully prepared, Shining stood before his three squadrons with Twilight and Wordplay at either of his sides.

"Ponies of the Crystal Empire! Today is a dark day for us. Two enemies long dead have returned from the grave, catching us all unaware. Now Spike, someone we all know and love is out there fighting for us. We owe Spike a great deal. Me especially.

"So let's go defend our country, for ourselves, for our families, and for our hero! The Crystal Empire will never fall again!" Shining cried out, motivating the troops.

The response was uproarious, all of Shining's loyal guards heeding the words of their king. With Shining at the head of the forces they marched up out of the armory and out the castle doors. The courtyard was soon filled as the soldiers filtered out of the castle, looking out at the crystal pavilion.

What they saw there was mortifying.

Somblis was patiently standing there, waiting for them. Spike was nowhere to be seen, but another black dome had been erected in the pavilion behind Somblis.

"About time you got here. I've already broken my last toy. I can't wait to play with all these little tin soldiers." Somblis mocked.

Shining Armor saw the fresh coat of red on Somblis's horn, and his heart felt like it had stopped dead.

The very next instant, Shining lit his horn. With tears dripping from his eyes Shining released all his magic in one go.

Around himself Shining Armor had formed a great sphere of energy, three layers thick. It was a massive version of the move Shining Armor had tested out against Spike weeks ago. The outer layer was covered in spikes, and the whole thing was three times the size of Somblis itself.

Shining Armor was exhausted, and obviously breathing heavily. He could feel his mana reserves were once again dangerously low, but Shining Armor was fighting his body's urge to succumb to unconsciousness again. Shining needed to hang on, at least until Somblis had been reduced to a fine paste.

"*huff* Gonna *huff* kill you *huff* again!" Shining wheezed angrily.

Somblis sneered in response, anticipating Shining's reaction.

As soon as Shining got the death-ball rolling Somblis attempted to dodge. Unfortunately, it found itself unable to move. The unicorn squadron was holding it in place with bindings made of mana. Before Somblis could do anything about them, Shining Armor's attack was upon it.

Somblis was flung into a nearby building, a liquor store to be precise. It smashed through the outer wall at a remarkable speed, causing crystal debris to scatter about.

As the dust cleared, the building and much of the ground around it quickly became pitch-black.

Somblis was standing in the wreckage, several serious injuries marring it's already disgusting form. The energy stolen from the building's crystal served to heal the wounds, knitting the gross monster's flesh back together.

"That hurt. Fortunately, I am all powerful here. With all the crystal of this land I am unstoppable, but I will continue to humor you for a time." Somblis grinned maniacally.

Somblis's horn glowed a deathly poison-colored purple, but was soon caught off guard as the pegasus squadron took wing.

With speed unlike one would expect an armored pony to have, Somblis found itself being circled and occasionally being nicked by wing blades. Somblis growled, standing still and ignoring the cuts in it's shell-covered flesh. Within another few seconds of charging its horn Somblis had readied another spell.

The wing-blades of the pegasi flying around Somblis were assaulted by purple magic. Within a few moments the once lethal weapons rusted to nearly nothing.

Shining Armor whistled and the pegasi squadron retreated.

It seemed the considerable time Shining had spent molding his ponies into a well-oiled military machine were paying off. At the very least things didn't seem to be getting any worse.

Shining went in for another smash at Somblis while the earth pony legion slashed at it with their swords. Between the two, Somblis couldn't defend and took to the air.

It appeared that it's undersized wings were functional, but not on par with the speed of the average pegasi. Taking a moment, Somblis used it's air superiority to draw in more energy from the empire itself.

Shining watched Somblis heal it's wounds, a powerful glare on his face.

"Twilight?! Can you manage a spell that can ground this thing?!" Shining shouted down to his sister.

Twilight knew a great number of spells that could have been useful, but without ample mana to fuel them the situation looked dire. But just as Twilight was about to tell Shining there wasn't anything she could do, Wordplay of all ponies took up arms.

Having dove into the demolished liquor store when nopony was paying attention, Wordplay had crafted a number of Molotov cocktails.

Using what little energy she had left, Wordplay flung the bottles at Somblis. The effect was rather immediate, and the resurrected villains found themselves burning.

She is getting the biggest hearth's warming bonus. Shining thought to himself as he began running at Somblis once more.

Just as soon as Somblis hit the ground Shining rolled over it with the death-ball at high speed. Shining even went so far as to keep it in place while it spun, doing as much damage to the undead monstrosity as possible.

"ENOUGH!" Somblis roared.

Shining's death-ball's first two layers shattered, blowing Shining a fair distance away. The last protective layer burst once Shining landed, but the king was quickly picked up by some of his soldiers. As Shining recovered his balance, he and the others watched Somblis in a rage.

Somblis's horn lit up with a frightening, dark intensity like never before. In one go, Somblis had begun to drain every last bit of magic the empire had to offer. Not only did the grievous injuries it's body had just sustained heal, but Somblis began to grow to a tremendous size.

Very quickly, every bit of crystal in the empire was darkened pitch black and even the coats of all the ponies became duller than ever before. All of them becoming poor, pale imitations of their original colors.

"I have to admit you've harmed me more than I thought possible, but the novelty of playing with you lot has worn off."

Somblis's horn once more glowed a sinister dark purple that could be almost distinguished as black. A terrible sphere of malign energy coalesced above Somblis, growing more and more. Before very long it seemed as though it would be large enough to wipe Shining, his troops, Wordplay, and Twilight off the face of the earth.

Shining Armor took his sword from it's sheath in defiance, but found his neck was too tired to support the added weight. For all his efforts, it appeared as though Somblis had won. It was a miracle in itself that Shining was standing, having exhausted his magic twice in the span of a little over an hour.

Wordplay and Twilight had taken to passing around the surviving bottles of liquor, seeing few other options. It appeared that it was now or never to share a drink. Albeit not how either of them would have liked it.

Just as Somblis was about to let the ball drop, a burst of light filled the empire. It originated from the direction of the crystal pavilion, which had until now been encased in another black dome. The light was powerful and blue, the color of the crystal heart.

The light seemed to burn Somblis, and the dark sphere was obliterated by it's purity.

When the light gave out and everyone's vision returned to normal, a true miracle stood in the crystal pavilion.

A purple dragon the size of a castle, with each and every scale glittering with crystal magic. The sight of their hero rising out from the darkness rekindled the hope in the hearts of the crystal ponies, and brought tears of joy to their king.

"Spike." Shining Armor cried, knowing everything was going to be alright.

Author's Note

Please reserve judgements and comments until the next chapter which will be released quite soon. Like two or three minutes after this one.

Between Life And Death, Beyond The Norm, And Back Into The Fray

Spike already lost consciousness just before Somblis encased the pavilion in another black dome, ensuring nopony could get to the crystal heart. It seemed even though Somblis had won the evil beast still had some fear of the crystal heart. It could always be filled with more power, but only if it could be gotten to.

The utter darkness of the dome swallowed Spike. Keeping anyone from even attempting to save him as well. But against all odds Spike opened his eyes again as the darkness had suddenly grown even blacker and colder than before. It was as though Spike was in the heart of a black hole, but somehow he knew that wasn't right.

This is the end. Huh? Am I just supposed to wait for the light at the end of the tunnel? That's how it goes in movies. Spike wondered.

Now the pain in his chest was dull, but still noticeable. It made Spike think that he had almost completely bled out at this point. He couldn't move to look at the cut on his chest, but in the blackness he was drifting listlessly in an unknowable current. Spike's mind growing more muddled with each passing second.

This is weirdly peaceful... I don't wanna go, but it seems like I don't have a choice.

Now that's a bunch of horse-apples if I've ever heard any.

Spike's eyes opened wide, alerted by something. He thought he had heard something, but the sound had seemed muffled to his ears. Like someone had been talking to him through a wall.

Then, out in the distance of the blackness a light began shining.

The light grew quickly, and the dull flow Spike had been floating in became a rushing torrent. It was as though something was throwing Spike into the light. In any other circumstance Spike would have been terrified. But the light was warm, and it felt very familiar.

When the flow stopped, the entirety of the darkness was repelled in a blinding flash.

When it was over, Spike found himself standing on what appeared to be space. There were stars and warmth aplenty, and Spike somehow felt as though there was something familiar to this place. Even though Spike was sure he had definitely never been here before.

"This is new. I kinda thought heaven would be more... populated?" Spike said to himself as he looked around.

Looking down at his chest, Spike saw his wound had stopped bleeding. There was still a noticeable gash, but Spike didn't think it was all that important if he was dead. Though he silently worried it might creep out other dead people if there were actually any around.

"This isn't heaven, Spike. This is Ascended Space."

Spike turned around to see the last pony he had expected. Though after being impaled it shouldn't have surprised Spike as much as it did. Standing what could have only been ten feet away from Spike was Cadence. The princess of love, and Shining Armor's late wife.

"If this isn't heaven, then why am I seeing you here?" Spike asked, nervously clutching his chest.

Cadence looked at Spike with a motherly smile, understanding his confusion.

"Twilight probably told you about Alicorn Space right? Well, that's just what ponies call it. When I died I learned some things. Ascended Space can be used by anyone. They just need to meet the right conditions to ascend.

"For me I mastered love magic. Twilight invented magic made of strength brought out from the bonds of friendship between ponies. Now you Spike, are here to relieve me of my duties. You are to become the avatar of love in the world. My successor."

Spike's mind was something of a blank. He couldn't believe that what was happening was real.

"Cadence, why me? Aren't I dead too? This doesn't make any sense!" Spike complained, the wound in his chest starting to ache more and more.

Cadence raised her hoof and dozens of screens appeared throughout the Ascended Space.

Each screen showed moments of Spike's life. Each and every accomplishment was displayed, no matter how minor. From Spike's days as a whelp, the defeat of Sombra, the Equestria Games, and everything since returning and joining Shining. Even some of the smaller moments of Shining and Spike together, just being themselves with one another on dates or in the study.

The biggest screen directly behind Cadence showed Spike lying to Twilight so she would leave with the others. Then it showed Spike falling to Somblis's horn and hitting the ground next to the depleted crystal heart.

"You Spike, have always loved and genuinely cared for others. Ever since you could walk and talk nearly everything you did was for those you cared about, not yourself. Even when nobody noticed or didn't ask, and even when it meant you got left out. Then you eventually grew up and the first thing you did was come knock some sense into Shining Armor for his and everyone's sake.

"Even when you knew that you would die fighting for those you loved you kept on going. Your selfless love for Shining, Twilight, and everyone else has earned you the role I once held. Even though you can't use magic like a unicorn you have a way of spreading love and light to those that know you whether anyone realizes it or not.

"And as for dying, you're made of pretty stern stuff. You're hanging in there, but just barely. If you ascend now, the power of love can heal you. The crystal heart will serve as your new heart, and you will take on it's role as the heart of the empire. The love that the ponies of the empire have for the empire and you personally will give you strength, and the power to save your... our loved ones."

Though there was a smile on her face, Cadence let her tears flow. Even in death, love was the awe inspiring force that she understood better than anyone else. But the look on her face somehow told Spike that he knew much more than he thought he did.

Spike felt his heartbeat speed up, and the pain start to vanish. Looking at his chest, the wound was no longer there. Instead was a stripe of glowing blue-green crystal that felt warm to the touch. It was the crystal heart Spike had held years ago, now beating in his chest as if it were a natural part of Spike's anatomy.

"Your heart answered for you. Your love for Shining and the rest of our ponies wouldn't let you decline." Cadence explained.

Spike was still fairly uncertain he wasn't dreaming, but if he wasn't he couldn't pass up the chance to go back and defeat Somblis. Not to mention see Shining and the rest of his family again.

"Okay. How does this work? Do I have to become a star and fall to earth like Twilight? What are my new powers going to be?" Spike asked excitedly.

Cadence had to stifle a comment about Spike having changed little since childhood. It would have been weird given the situation. Though it made Cadence quite happy to see that Spike was so compatible with Shining.

"I'm not totally sure really. No dragon has ever ascended before. I guess your dragon powers will just get stronger?" Cadence shrugged.

"Okay... So how do I get out of here?" Spike wondered.

Cadence smiled and walked forward. Before Spike could say anything he found himself in a hug. After a second of processing Spike reciprocated the hug. Truthfully the thought had occurred to him before then but he had assumed Cadence would have been intangible.

"Give Shining a kiss from me when you get back. Okay? And tell him I want the two of you to be happy." Cadence asked Spike pleadingly.

"Of course. And you don't know how big of a relief that is. I still feel like I'm stealing him from you sometimes you know?" Spike replied without hesitation, a tear trailing down his face.

To Spike's surprise Cadence giggled as they embraced.

"All is fair in love and war, Spike. You're the new love and Shining is a stallion of war. I had my time. Even though I miss him, I can always look down on the two of you and smile. Being dead gives you some perspective on these things. We'll all be together one day, but for now it's time to send you back."

Cadence's horn hit the crystal visible through Spike's chest and a flash of warm light enveloped the Ascended Space.

When the light vanished Spike found himself in the darkness once more. Though this time it was merely the black dome above him. Spike was relieved that he was alive, and feeling the wound on his chest he could feel the crystal that had become a part of him. Additionally the damage done to his chest by the energy blast had been healed.

Other than that, Spike couldn't tell if anything about him had changed. But there were more pressing matters at hand.

"For now I just need to get out of here and kick bug-pony monster ass."

Spike tried clawing at the dome, but it didn't seem to do any good. Like with the last dome Spike sucked in a great amount of air and assaulted the dome with his fire-breath. Other than noticing his fire was an electric-blue color instead of his normal emerald it didn't seem to have much effect.

Spike clutched the spot over his heart once more, hoping that something would allow him to break free.

I've got ponies depending on me here. If this bubble is still up then Somblis is still around. Shining can't be in a good way yet. He used up too much energy saving the guards. If I can't do anything then what was the point of ascending or whatever? Spike lamented.

As Spike thought of the safety of his loved ones the crystal heart began to glow within him. Even through Spike's claws the light began shining forth and Spike began to feel tingly. Spike's tingles soon turned into slight spasms and before long Spike felt himself pressing on the dome.

"Oh crap. Am I growing? Is this my new power?" Spike worried frantically.

Soon Spike's form filled the black dome and it began to stress under the increasing pressure. It was as if it was a balloon and Spike's growing form was an increasing amount of air. Like any balloon it could only hold so much until it ruptures and releases it's contents to the air.

However Spike was a bit too impatient to wait that long. With the dome already straining to contain his physical form Spike sped up the destruction by releasing a truly massive burst of fire. In an explosion of blinding light Spike freed himself from his prison in a display the entire empire could likely see.

Spike's growth ceased, and when the light went out he was left standing next to the palace. Spike was easily now around the same size as the palace, and at the moment he was doing a great job of outshining it. Spike's scales shared the same type of lustrous glimmer that the crystal ponies had at most times.

Spike had no time to gawk at himself as things seemed like they had taken a turn for the worse.

Several buildings had been destroyed and all the crystals were dyed pitch black. Spike could see Shining and the military fighting Somblis a short distance away.Somblis seemed a fair bit bigger than before, but it wasn't much of a concern in Spike's eyes.

Conversely, it seemed each and every eye in the empire was on Spike. Which was understandable.

Okay... Everyone's looking at me. Gotta say something cool... Spike panicked.

"Ponies of the Crystal Empire, hear me! I have been forced to borrow the crystal heart to save myself, but only so that I may save you. All the ponies I care about! Lend me your support, and I will defeat those that would do harm to our home and all that live here!" Spike's booming voice carried across the Crystal Empire. Though oddly enough Spike's mouth didn't open, as though he was broadcasting directly into their minds.

The ponies didn't hesitate in cheering for Spike. A chorus of praise and adoration from the soldiers lit the empire anew, causing Spike to shine brighter than ever before.

Somblis wasn't having it and fired a volley of dark magic bolts into the crowd. Spike rushed Somblis, but Somblis took to the air and resumed cloaking. Spike kept his eyes peeled but scooped up Shining, Twilight, and Wordplay.

The rest of the soldiers scattered, seeing that things were out of their hooves. But still they loyally stuck to the safer areas to wait for further orders. Though with Spike's appearance it didn't look like they were going to have much more use in this fight.

Carefully, Spike placed his loved ones atop his head on the bridge of his nose so he could see them better.

Hey guys. Sorry I'm late to the party. But I think I've got a decent excuse. Spike chuckled awkwardly.

Shining Armor was a little shocked. Especially since it sounded as though Spike were standing right in front of him. It was an awful lot to take in all at once. There were too many questions running about in Shining's tired mind.

"How? What? I... I don't even know what's going on." Shining Armor stuttered.

Long story short, Somblis skewered me and I almost died. But I fused with the crystal heart and ascended to the dragon-equivalent of an alicorn. Cadence showed up and told me I'm supposed to take over as the avatar of love. And Shining... she approves of us.

Shining's eyes widened and quickly filled with tears. He quickly grabbed hold of Twilight who was just as teary eyed and hugged her in place of Spike. Wordplay placed her hoof on Spike's brow, a hopeful grin on her muzzle.

"Loving the new look boss-man. Just don't expect me to fetch you a tanker full of coffee every morning." Wordplay joked.

Eh, I think I can shrink again once everything's over with. But I can still hear Somblis buzzing about, sizing me up. Twi, do you think you could tweak your changeling revealer spell for undoing invisibility?

Twilight and Shining broke their hug and looked around for Somblis. It was a pointless effort considering it was invisible, but it was more of a reflex than anything else.

"I certainly can. But I'd have to make it a wave-like spell since I can't see to shoot it and I'm way too low on mana for that." Twilight explained regretfully.

Take some of mine. I've got tons that I literally have no idea what to do with. Spike offered.

Before they knew it Spike's glow had begun to transfer to Shining, Twilight, and Wordplay through their hooves. They each felt incredibly rejuvenated, as if they had all just had a good night's sleep, full stomachs, and a warm bath.

"Whoa. I didn't know you could do that." Shining marveled.

Neither did I really. I'm just sorta rolling with it right now. Cadence couldn't tell me much other than that the crystal heart is my heart. I'm winging this. Just don't tell the ponies that.

Shining looked over the side of Spike's head to look at his chest. There was indeed a truly noticeable crystal-swath of Spike's chest that glowed blue-green in a way that pulsated like a heartbeat. Shining couldn't help but feel had failed to protect his loved ones again, but now it seemed like it was Spike's turn to play the knight in shining armor.

"Okay! The spell is just about to trigger! Everybody get ready!" Twilight shouted.

Shining Armor lit his horn and used his magic, causing the bulky armor he was wearing to fall off of him. Spike was more than enough protection for him and he had absolute faith in him. Shining created a shield and sword of energy at either side of himself using the magic Spike had given to him. Everyone knew it was Spike's fight now, but Shining Armor was never one to back down from a fight.

Twilight's horn glowed bright pink and the entire world seemed to become a rosy color. Up in the sky Somblis was revealed, ready to fight. Spike saw it in the air and unfolded his wings, casting a shadow over a great deal of the empire.

Hang onto your flanks ponies! Things are gonna get crazy! Spike shouted as he took flight.

Author's Note

So... yeah. Getting close to the end there. I re-did both chapters several times and couldn't get them exactly how I wanted. I've had the end in my head for quite some time, but putting everything into words is something else.

I'm not particularly satisfied with this, but soon it will be all wrapped up and hopefully the next chapter will be a bit more pleasing. If all goes as planned the next chapter and the epilogue will be up sometime around the fifteenth of April.

These past two chapters would have been done sooner, but I couldn't get them right and I had a lot of personal stuff going on in the last week. A lot of touchy feely stuff that made things uncomfortable for everyone...
...

Anyway, as I said previously I'd never kill off Spike. Baby dragon is best pony. Let me know what you thought of the whole Ascended Space thing. I didn't think that only ponies should be able to ascend.

Put To Rest

Twilight barely had time time use her newly refreshed magic to secure Shining, Wordplay, and herself to Spike as he took flight. Spike was wasting no time whatsoever in going for Somblis. It was a good thing Twilight was such an accomplished mage, for it seemed Spike didn't yet have a good grasp on his new powers. The wind created by his wings alone had nearly blown everyone away.

As soon as Spike was properly airborne he let loose a pillar of electric-blue flames at Somblis.

While the attack would have sent any other foe running Somblis faced the blast head on. It used it's gnarled horn cloaked in dark magic to part the pillar of fire down the middle as it rushed Spike. Somblis moved up above Spike's fearsome jaws and straight toward Shining and company.

"No way, ugly!" Shining Armor shouted at Somblis.

Shining Armor quickly erected a rectangular barrier and flung it right at Somblis's incoming face as fast as he possibly could. Somblis confidentially continued it's charge against Shining's barrier, but it's surprise Somblis was struck with a solid hit. The barrier only shattered after Somblis had already been knocked backward.

Shining Armor was actually rather surprised that a quick-construct shield had done anything so significant. Somblis had seemed far too powerful to stop with normal spells up until this point. Shining had only intended to slow down or deter Somblis.

"Was that a new kind of shield Shining? How'd you make it so strong so fast?" Twilight gawked.

"I dunno. That was a basic move. I was kinda just going on impulse there." Shining admitted as the group watched Somblis recover.

Spike took a tremendous swipe at Somblis with his powerful claws but the monster evaded the attack with little effort.

I'm not sure about this, but it might be my magic is a lot more potent than pony magic. I'm more powerful now, but I'm way slower than before. If you guys can use it to keep the damned mosquito in one place I can probably finish it.

"I think we can manage that." Twilight agreed with great confidence.

Shining Armor conjured up a floating platform and jumped from Spike's head onto the magical lift. Likewise, Twilight took wing and lit her horn to prepare her now even stronger spells. Wordplay watched awkwardly, knowing full well that even with Spike's temporary boost she was only an average spell-caster.

"I've got just enough mana to port to the ground from this height, Boss. I'm not a fighter, and I'd like to be in one piece for my date with Twilight." Wordplay decided.

Ha! That's way ahead of the schedule I thought up. You rock Wordplay!

"Excuse me?!" Both Twilight and Wordplay screamed at Spike.

Can't talk now! Fighting monster! Spike answered quickly before flying at Somblis.

Shining felt the piercing gaze of his sister burning into the back of his head, telling him it was best to focus on the battle. Likewise Wordplay teleported down to the ground for safety in a huff. Shining was positive that he and Spike would get an earful later, but for now the battle at hoof took priority.

Shining flowed more mana into the construct shield and sword he had at his sides, making them much more durable and destructive. With a smile Shining flew toward Somblis at Spike's side. Aside from the normal rush Shining received when he went into battle there was something different about how the situation felt.

Shining had never gone into armed combat with a loved one before. Not like this. It was a strange feeling, but Shining Armor's mood had almost never been better than now.

Shining sped up his platform, planning to ram Somblis with his shield and hopefully land a blow with his sword. Even Somblis's surprising speed wasn't enough to avoid the attack entirely. Despite the shield bash having failed Shining was able to slash at Somblis, nearly severing one of the monster's back legs.

Somblis roared in anger as it tried to flee, only to find Twilight at the ready almost directly behind it. She was already in the process of casting a spell, leaving Somblis little to no time to retreat or counter the attack. Somblis's field of vision soon became nothing but vibrant pink, and any onlookers would have seen something akin to a mushroom cloud explosion in pink.

Somblis fell to Earth trailing magenta smoke, crashing through a crystal building in the process.

Spike saw his opportunity and dove after Somblis as fast as his tremendous form would allow. Unfortunately it seemed Somblis was far more durable than everyone had thought. The rubble of the building began trembling, meaning Somblis was about to act.

Spike let himself drop in front of a large portion of it since there were still ponies strewn about in hiding. Spike wrapped himself around the building, using his bulky form and wings to close the structure off from everyone else.

As Spike had predicted the building exploded, the dark magic and shrapnel assaulting Spike's body.

Spike panted as he stood in place, feeling the pain caused by the barrage. Spike looked down to see that the sliver of crystal visible through the gash in his scales was still shining brightly. Spike was fairly confident that as long as his new heart had a healthy glow to it things would be alright, and though the shrapnel had hurt it was incapable of actually piercing Spike's armored skin.

Spike suddenly realized that Somblis was currently unaccounted for, and a split second later the horrid beast was upon him. Before Spike could react or Shining and Twilight could come in for an assist Somblis had readied it's mangled horn and was sapping energy from Spike's chest.

"Let's see if I can pull off a miraculous recovery like you! I'm sure you've got plenty of crystal power to spare in that over-inflated form!" Somblis cackled.

Spike could hardly move as he felt his new-found power being siphoned away. Luckily Spike would only need to suffer for a moment before Somblis was forced to retreat.

Shining Armor had arrived with new magic-weapons in tow. Lances, four in total. One had already been used to deter Somblis, and the other three were ready to be thrown if need be. Twilight took it upon herself to herd Somblis away so Shining could tend to Spike.

"Spike? Are you okay?" Shining pleaded.

Yeah, just winded. But I think I'm a liability in jumbo-size. It's too easy for Somblis to drain me, and there's no way I can outrun it. I've gotta unload some of the magic I got from the crystal ponies. It's just too much for someone who doesn't know how to use it.

"How are you gonna do that? It's not like you can just take out the crystal heart." Shining asked in concern.

I think I know. But you're gonna have to help me. You trust me, right?

"Of course I do! What kind of a question is that?!" Shining Armor bellowed without hesitation.

Spike reached out with his right claw and took Shining from off of his platform and carefully held him in his palm. As Shining's constructs dissolved Spike brought Shining to his chest and pressed him closely and carefully against his new heart. The reaction was immediate, as the blue-green light intensified many times over until Shining was forced to close his eyes.

"W-What's happening?!" Shining cried out as the light and warmth overcame him.

Whether my heart is made of flesh or crystal you're what's inside it. I'm just sharing the love. I think you'll be able to use it better than me anyway.

Both Somblis and Twilight stopped their attacks aimed at one another as the light coming from Spike grew brighter than the sun. Somblis seemed to start smoking from the exposure to the pure light of love magic, giving Twilight the notion to get out of the way from whatever was on the way.

Twilight dove down to the ground while Somblis was distracted, but still she kept an eye on the amalgamated horror.

Almost immediately after Twilight was away from Somblis and safely on the ground the light intensified once more. Light pulsated outward throughout the empire, making it impossible for anyone to see precisely what was happening. The only thing that could be heard was the pained howl's of Somblis.

When everyone's vision returned the Crystal Empire seemed to be at it's normal luster. The only things different were the destroyed buildings.

Somblis was still in the air, but the entirety of it's body was charred black and had cracked in a number of places, releasing purple miasma into the air. It's eyes told of it's suffering, but the pain was to great for the abomination to flee.

Spike was now back to his normal size, but his crystal complexion remained. Shining Armor was cradled in his arms, now bearing the same glittering appearance as Spike. Shining opened his eyes to look up at Spike's smiling face.

"How's that feel?" Spike asked, already knowing the answer.

"Like I could take on the world." Shining beamed.

"Would you settle for a has-been villain combo platter? We still need to finish Somblis." Spike replied, pointing up into the air.

Somblis was now coughing up ash, and likely resisting the breakdown of it's body's functions. It's damaged wings could only barely keep Somblis in the air now, but the act of moving would likely cause the damaged wings to fail. And another fall to Earth would almost definitely be the end of Somblis.

"Can you give me a lift? If you can get me up there I know I can end this." Shining asked.

Spike nodded, and repositioned Shining. Spike now held him by his hind-legs in an awkward position.

"Oh, the Big-Finish Combo Attack? We've never actually tried this one out. You sure we can do this?" Shining wondered.

"We've got this."Spike said with a wide grin.

That confidence was more than enough for Shining.

Spike began spinning Shining while taking off from the ground. It was rather difficult to keep the rotation and flight steady but Spike was managing. Before they got going to a fast enough speed Spike shouted out to Twilight who still on the ground on the opposite side of Somblis.

"TWI! GET READY TO CATCH SHINING!" Spike practically roared.

Twilight barely had time to light her horn as Spike reached the optimal speed needed for the move he and Shining had devised during training.

With one last spin Shining was thrown directly at Somblis who was forced to watch as Shining Armor lit his own horn. In a magenta flash Shining's form was encased in a shield shaped like an arrow. The shape of the arrowhead itself was that of a heart.

Somblis was helpless to do anything as Shining Armor sailed through it at high speed. Somblis was cleaved in two, unable to cry out for even a death rattle.

I-Impossible... Somblis wheezed with it's last breath.

The last thing Somblis saw was a familiar mass of purple in it's blurring vision.

Spike had wasted no time in following Shining's flight path, prepared for the second half of their over-the-top finisher.

Spike inhaled with all his might and blasted Somblis's dying form with all the flame and magic he could muster. Both halves of Somblis ignited in the now electric-green flames full of Spike's power. As the fires ate away at Somblis crystals began to form from the burns.

By the time Somblis hit the ground what remained of it's two halves were encased in a large green jewel. The only truly recognizable feature was the Somblis's horned skull, forever frozen in anguish among the charred remains of the rest of the it's body.

A very tired Spike looked down at the gemstone prison and clutched his still-beating gem of a heart.

"That's a new one." Spike exclaimed nonchalantly, no longer surprised.

Spike chuckled a little knowing the battle had finally been won for real. He looked over to see Shining Armor was floating safely in a bubble of Twilight's magic. With Shining having been safely caught by Twilight, it seemed as though everypony had come out of the ordeal relatively unscathed.

The look on Shining's face matched Spike's own. A look of relief, happiness, and total exhaustion. Neither one of them minded too much as they both passed out for the second time that day. Even as Spike fell from the air to the ground, his durable body allowed him to stay asleep. He and Shining had earned their rest, and nothing would wake them before they were ready.

Author's Note

So, if you haven't figured it out yet Shining and Spike are both tremendous nerds. That's why they needed such an overly complicated finishing move.

Though I really like giant Spike, it was more of a plot device and something for a big entrance. The reason I had him shrink again was two-fold. The first of which was because Spike was too slow in jumbo-mode, and the second will be explained in the next chapter.

Also, this is the second to last chapter. This particular story isn't going to have an epilogue, but I close it on a good note I think. It was my first real story trying to integrate action-y elements with romance, and I'm hoping to learn from the experience.

As always, thank you for the support and I hope you enjoyed the ride. Just one chapter left~! It'll be up a few minutes after this one if all goes as planned.

Happy Ending

Shining Armor woke up in his bedroom with a mild headache and some soreness. Looking to his side he saw that he was alone in his bed. Spike was nowhere to be seen and the clock on the far wall led Shining Armor to think he had been out for some time. It was well past noon, while the sun hadn't even peeked over the horizon yet when Somblis had been defeated.

Upon getting up Shining found that he was in the nude, meaning someone had undressed him. Hopefully Spike.

Although most ponies are usually naked... Huh. Never really thought that before. Shining thought to himself.

As soon as Shining was on the floor his legs wobbled, feeling somewhat weaker than before.

"Whoa, that's weird. Guess the big finish took more out of me than I thought."

Shining regardless headed over to the dresser for one of his updated uniforms. As he went Shining thought he noticed something strange in the full-length bedroom mirror he passed by. Backing up a bit Shining stood in front of the mirror at an angle to properly get a look at his sides. There was definitely something there that shouldn't have been.

"Wings!?" Shining exclaimed loud enough for anyone within a mile to hear.

Shining turned to see the source of a sudden creaking noise. The bedroom door had been left open a crack, and whoever was posted outside had heard Shining's little outburst. A second later a familiar crystal mare trotted into the room with a cheery expression.

"Wordplay? What the hay is going on?! Where's Spike?! Why do I have wings?!" Shining borderline panicked.

Wordplay put out her hoof in an effort to passively calm Shining down.

"Gonna let Twi field the alicorn question. But I can tell you you've been asleep for a week straight. Spike has been running things with me and Twilight's help without leaving your side.

"Twilight and I managed to get him to go out and rest, but he just ended up helping with reconstruction efforts. You actually picked a good time to wake up. The Boss is running on fumes, but if he sees you're okay he'll most likely calm down." Wordplay explained.

Shining was a bit taken aback by the fact that he had turned into an alicorn, but perhaps more-so by the fact that he had been unconscious for the past seven days.

Wordplay used her gold-colored magical aura to reach into the top drawer of Shining's dresser and levitate a military uniform out for Shining. Shining accepted it and saw that it was a modified version of the purple ensemble Spike had the royal tailor make. Now there were wing-holes.

Seeing that Spike was still paying attention to every little detail of what needed done comforted Shining somehow. Shining slipped the uniform on and found it fit him perfectly. Or at least it did once Shining figured out how to move his new appendages well enough to slip them through their designated spots.

Once Shining was dressed he looked himself over in the mirror, taking himself in. He was still the same old Shining Armor, just as Twilight had still been Twilight after she had ascended. For better or worse Shining was an alicorn, but he was still the king of the Crystal Empire, and he was still the same pony who loved a certain purple dragon.

Satisfied with his sameness, Shining followed Wordplay out of the bedroom to wherever she was taking him. Within a few minutes Shining and Wordplay arrived to the castle foregrounds where Twilight was looking over some blueprints at a fold-out picnic table.

Twilight was wearing a construction helmet and had a walkie-talkie clipped to a belt on her new orange vest. She was too busy comparing some figures on a clipboard to the measurements on the blueprints to notice Wordplay trot up behind her in a care-free manner.

Shining Armor could barely contain his laughter as Wordplay leaned in closely and delicately nibbled on Twilight's ear, causing her wings to flare out at her sides.

"Wordplay! I told you not to do that in pu-" Twilight started.

Twilight cut herself off when she saw Shining Armor standing a few feet away. Twilight rushed over and wrapped Shining in a powerful hug, causing Shining to reflexively open his wings from being startled. Shining worked through the pain of his wings being moved involuntarily in their sensitive state from being only recently grown. It was apparent that Twilight needed the hug.

"I'm so glad you're awake! Spike hasn't slept since he woke up after the fight with Somblis. He started falling asleep while moving rubble so I forced him to take an early lunch." Twilight exclaimed.

At the word lunch Shining Armor's stomach saw fit to remind him that he hadn't had a proper meal in some time. Hearing the rumbling of Shining's stomach Wordplay coughed into her hoof and directed Shining's attention over to a food stall Shining recognized from the most recent crystal fair.

"Spike wanted to make sure the construction workers were well fed, and that you'd have some comfort food to help process the whole waking-up-as-an-alicorn thing." Wordplay explained.

A small tear of joy rolled down Shining's cheek as he trotted to the stand to order a half-dozen corn-dogs. The delicious junk-food on sticks never stood a chance as Shining Armor gobbled them up with extreme prejudice.

Now that Shining was fed the issues at hoof could be properly addressed.

"Twilight, could you use that big brain of yours to explain exactly why I'm an alicorn?" Shining asked, knowing full well that Twilight had almost definitely figured it out by now.

Twilight entered lecture-mode a second later, seemingly having been waiting to answer Shining Armor's questions.

"Essentially Spike's heavy dose of love-based, super-potent, ascended dragon magic completely assimilated itself into your own mana pool since you're the primary focus of Spike's affections. The new, extremely-dense magical energy saturated your body, putting you in an ascended-like state. Which for ponies is alicorns.

"We were worried when Spike woke up and you didn't, but after a cursory mana scan I discovered your mana signature was in flux. By the next morning you had become an alicorn and in doing so your body acclimated to the new power-level. You are now the first force-grown alicorn, though Spike had no idea that he was altering you in any way.

"As for Wordplay and myself, our mana pools increased in size a bit, but we had only received a comparatively minor dose of Spike's raw mana. Where as you received the same dose, then a dose I estimate to have been around one-hundred times larger. Spike had no way of knowing his mana pool was so vast though. In his altered state it was more like an ocean than a pool. Spike's been blaming himself because he thinks he hurt you." Twilight explained.

"Yeah. I've tried persuading the boss to get some shut-eye, but he's determined to keep going till he knows you're okay and the empire is set to rights. Everypony's been pretty worried about the two of you." Wordplay added.

Shining's mood fell hearing that Spike was blaming himself for things again.

"I've gotta go talk to him. Do either of you know where he is?" Shining implored the girls.

"Around the other side of the palace. You can't miss him." Wordplay piped up, a hopeful smile on her face.

Shining nodded and quickly started galloping his way around the outer walls of the palace. Despite the soreness of growing wings and laying in bed for a week straight Shining made excellent time.

After reaching his destination Shining saw precisely why Wordplay had said Shining couldn't have missed Spike.

Spike was once again in his giant form, snacking on the unusable chunks of crystal debris created in the fight with Somblis. It seemed Spike was having trouble staying awake, as his enormous eyes constantly tried to shut themselves if Spike didn't stay vigilant.

Even with the radiant new crystal finish on Spike's scales Shining Armor could see that there were dark bags under Spike's eyes. It was plain to see that Spike had been trying to take responsibility for anything and everything in Shining's absence.

There was a half eaten chunk of crystal in Spike's maw which was slowly and lazily being reduced to nothing. Shining's heart ached at seeing Spike beating himself up over an accident that had turned out for the best. Shining wasted no time in running up to Spike to better get his attention.

"Hey! Sleepy! Wake up!" Shining shouted up at Spike.

Spike's bloodshot eyes shot open and the dragon blinked in rapid succession out of surprise. Spike hurriedly chewed the crystal in his mouth to nothing and swallowed it. Then in a bright flash of blue-green light Spike was his normal size again, minus the crystal sheen he had inherited from the crystal heart.

The newly fused crystal heart in Spike's chest still glowed brightly as Spike glided down to Shining.

Spike had barely touched down before he grabbed Shining and pulled him into a hug so powerful Shining thought he might pass out again.

"I'm so sorry! I could have killed you! It was too much for one unicorn!" Spike cried, boiling tears freely streaming down his face.

Shining lit his horn and created an energy-simulacrum of Spike's hand. Shining then used it to slap his lover, ending the outburst that prevented Shining from actually getting a word in. Shining let the construct dissolve and partially freed himself from Spike's loosened death-grip.

Shining used his fore-hooves to pull Spike's face into his own and surprised the distraught dragon with a passionate kiss.

At first Spike's surprise prevented him from enjoying it fully, but soon the dragon's buzzing thoughts were all silenced as he got into the groove. The kiss lasted as long as possible, ending only when the two of them had to come up for air. Both Shining and Spike were huffing and puffing for breath through pleased smiles.

Once they were able to catch their breaths Shining took lead in the conversation.

"I get why you were so worried, but everything is fine now, Spike. I'm okay. Maybe even better than before. You did what needed done, and we saved all of the ponies from that monster. I couldn't ask more of you, Spike. You got pretty banged up yourself while saving Twi and the others. We're all fine now, and that's all that matters."

Spike wiped away the last of his boiling tears and placed Shining back on the ground.

"I love you, Shining. I was kind of stupid for thinking that a new set of wings or a new heart would change anything, but to be completely honest this is my first relationship. I kinda worry about stuff even if I don't show it." Spike admitted.

Shining snorted at the comment, finding it hilarious.

"I love you too, Spike. But you do remember that Cadence was my first relationship right? You're only my second ever. Plus you're the first guy I've ever been with, and obviously the first dragon. I was pretty nervous too at first." Shining admitted.

"That's actually kind of comforting, I guess it slipped my mind. But now things can get back to normal and we can send all the extra hires home. Reconstruction should be pretty quick too, thanks to yours truly." Spike bragged, flexing the muscles of his right arm.

"Yeah, I was kinda surprised to see you could grow again. I thought that was a one-time deal." Shining replied.

"I'm still figuring things out too. I can grow as long as I'm loved I think, and now I have fire breath and crystal breath. Whatever's left of Somblis is trapped in a big green diamond. No magic, or ghosts, or anything is getting out of it." Spike said confidently.

"What'd you do with it?" Shining asked, slightly concerned.

"I threw it into the repaired D.M.A.V.'s bottom vault and sealed the whole thing and all the locks with the same crystal. Then Twilight put like, a million wards on it. Including one she invented that accounts for time magic." Spike explained, assuaging Shining's fears.

Shining's mind was put to ease, knowing the Crystal Empire would soon be set to rights. Only once every other issue was out of focus did something new appear on Shining's radar.

"So, uh... Do you think that since I'm an alicorn now I'm gonna live a crazy long time?" Shining wondered.

Spike had actually considered that while Shining was asleep. He wasn't certain if Shining was guaranteed a longer lifespan or not, but had resolved himself to stay with Shining regardless.

"I dunno. But no matter what I'll be along for the ride, just as long as you'll have me." Spike replied with conviction.

Shining smiled, loving how cheesy Spike was.

"I was hoping you'd say something like that. Maybe we can double-date with Twilight and Wordplay. I was kinda surprised that we didn't catch hell for plotting to set them up." Shining said in relief.

"They said that since they found each other before we intervened we're off the hook. But for now I think we should call it a day and head to the study. I'd really like to curl up on the couch with you and watch some terrible movies." Spike said before yawning loudly.

Shining nodded his agreement, noticing Spike's already seemed closer to his normal self than just a few moments ago.

"That sounds good to me. You need a break, Spike. If you're gonna be with me you gotta be able to keep up." Shining joked.

"Pfft. Just try and shake me Bubble-Boy." Spike retorted playfully.

As the couple shared a hearty laugh they walked back to the front gates of the castle for some quality time. Both of them had been through a great deal recently, but it seemed nothing could separate them. Spike and Shining were determined to have a long, fulfilling relationship as they watch over the Crystal Empire that they loved and that loved them in return.

The End

Author's Note

So, I had a hell of a time deciding exactly how I wanted the end to be. I talked to some friends about it and the majority wanted Shining to become an alicorn to live longer with Spike. I had considered that initially, but I was on the fence until then.

Normally I wouldn't just do something for crowd pleasing, but I genuinely wanted some input to help my decision along. I couldn't ask my audience either, considering it would have spoiled things.

So I made Shining an alicorn and I'm prepared to catch some flack for that. I strongly considered letting Shining visit the ascended space to see Cadence, but I personally didn't want to deal with that much feel.

This is probably the most open-ended thing I've done, or at least I think so. I liked it this way, as now their relationship is altogether stronger after the Somblis incident. There's infinite possibility for their futures now, and I'll let you imagine what happens from that point on.

I'd like to thank everyone for reading, and I hope you'll support me in future writing endeavors. My next story will probably be up by my birthday (May 8th). I'm going to leave the plot a mystery until then, but one half of the main pairing will of course be Spike, as per usual.