Between a Maud and a Hard Place

The light of Celestia's sun shined against the crystalline facade of Twilight's Castle. Long vines dangled graciously from its branches, allowing the occasional gust of wind to carry them about, causing the tiny gems to shift and clang. They sounded like wind chimes.

Twilight paused to look at the imposing structure, her eyes gazing at the pointed star perched at the very top. It seemed to look back to her, welcoming her into her home with blank innocence, its doors open and inviting. Twilight looked back down the road, and could see the distant patch of land past a few small cottages. There was a a large oak, its trunk painfully split open, revealing the hollowed charred remains of her old home. She stood still by the castle for a long time, looking at the dead oak. Then she turned back to the castle, giving the star piece another quick glance before flinging the open, as if accusing it of some horrible crime.

She closed the door, and looked back again, still thinking about the dead oak; and she felt herself trembling. She sat down quickly, and felt anger at herself for the weakness of allowing that moment to mean so much to her, for the sudden knowledge of what the months and years she had spent at the Golden Oaks Library had really meant to her. Her eyes were shut, as if the thought would evaporate at any time, as a dream one couldn't remember upon waking. She took a deep breath. Then she proceeded further inside.

The castle was nearly as large as the one in Canterlot. Its interior was cavernous, colorful, and seemed out of place with the world outside. When Twilight first peered inside, she understood why it seemed so out of place. She recognized the vines, the gems, the soft glow and delicate music they produced; she saw the colonnades that were neither the style of Cantelot nor Cloudsdale, but appeared as a sort of vegetation grown in the light of a newly formed cave. The castle seemed to radiate magic, and Twilight could not help a sense of calm as though the castle understood the pain she had felt and sought some means to comfort her.

Twilight knew what to expect from then on. She would never see the Golden Oaks Library again, only pieces of it, which she preferred not to see; but she would be free to pay her respects and would have the experience of being a princess in her new home. It was not what she had expected, and it would take some time adjusting. She accepted it at that. She walked to the library, putting down her saddlebag, and looking at the small dragon perched atop a ladder. She giggle impishly to herself, gliding towards the dragon, and scooping him up between her forelegs, giggling as the dragon squirmed under the pressure of her hug.

"Wha' the, Twilight?" said the young dragon in surprise.

"Nice to see you too Spike," said Twilight cheerfully.

"C'mon thats not funny, this is really high up," said Spike anxiously.

"Don't worry Spike, I've got you." Twilight landed herself gently before letting go of Spike. The young dragon paused to take a breath before looking annoyingly back at Twilight.

"I think all those flying lessons with Rainbow Dash is giving you some bad habits," said Spike.

"Oh c'mon Spike I was just having some fun," replied Twilight, "besides my flyings a lot better."

"Right," said Spike incredulously, "so how did the shopping go?"

"Pretty good actually. Most of the shops have reopened, so I was able to finish most of the list. Although," added Twilight irritably, "Quills and Sofas hasn't gotten their next order of quills. It shouldn't be that hard to find good quills."

"Well you and Tirek did do a number on Ponyville."

"Hey!" snapped Twilight.

"Not that it's your fault in any way," added Spike hastily. "Heck it was pretty awesome to watch. Like watching something out of a comic book."

"Hah hah," said Twilight sarcastically, accepting Spike's apology with a hard petting with her hoof.

"Lets go put this food away, before it spoils," she said.

Spike wondered whether Twilight was offended by his thoughtless comment. He could not be sure. She didn't once look at him as they made their way to the kitchen; her eyes seemed just a bit too candid. He decided not to say anything.

As they began putting the food away, Twilight turned to Spike with a glance so gentle he could discern nothing from it.

"You can relax Spike," she said. "I'm not mad or anything."

"I'm really sorry," said Spike, not looking back at her. "I didn't mean anything bad about it, and it was great seeing you guys beat the snot out of Tirek."

"Apology accepted, now stop sulking."

He wanted to walk up to Twilight and hug her; and knew, in furious helplessness, that he wouldn't. He said:

"How about I make use some dinner? I'm kinda hungry after putting all those books away."

"Dinner sound nice, but Pinkie Pie and everypony else is coming over. We're going to have a housewarming party."

Spike looked incredulously at Twilight. "A housewarming, why... "

"Pinkie Pie wanted to do something special for us, but thought I wouldn't approve. I told her it was okay. Her sister Maud came over also, so you'll get to see her."

"I don't know... "

"Oh cheer up Spike, I know you'll do fine with Maud. She's pretty excited to get too see you." Twilight didn't really know what Maud felt. It just seemed perfectly correct.

"I'm not going," said Spike suddenly.

"What?"

"I don't want to have a party. I'm not going."

Spike looked away from Twilight. There were moments when he could be stern, cold, and even sometimes hurtful when he needed to be; when he felt he or somepony else was doing something incredibly wrong.

Something rose within him when Twilight mentioned the party, not a thought nor a feeling, but a wave of some physical violence, and then he wanted to stop, to shut his eyes, to make that selfish urge in him fade away. The urge didn't go away. He walked up to Twilight, trying to stay calm. But his claws betrayed what he wanted to hide. His claws reached out, and he wrapped his arms as best he could around Twilight. The alicorn had noticed it. She extended a wing, and wrapped it around the small dragon. She said: "I know it hurts Spike, that's why I want Pinkie to do this. I want us all together; I want to see them smiling and laughing, because in that moment I was afraid I would lose all of you."

"I saw you fly over there," he said. "I thought, for a minute, that you were a goner. I was so scared, and then I saw you, and I hated myself for ever thinking about something so awful."

Twilight nuzzled her head atop of Spike's. She felt the dragon's warm body pressed against her, his claws holding her tightly; she could hear him sniffling, his face buried against her chest, trying his best not to cry so obviously. From outside Twilight could hear the towns-ponies ; a jumble of voices shrieking without purpose, and hiccoughs of laughter. These ponies were enjoying a day of their existence; they were shrieking to the sky their joy; they had nearly been the victim of a horrid malevolence, but were saved thanks to the magic of friendship- and this was the outcome; a peaceful life with their friends and family.

Twilight shut her eyes, as she focused on the sobbing dragon. She thought that there was a difference, between what they had and what she lost. She thought that she had lost something precious. But she didn't. She held Spike closer to her, and in an instance she felt a heart beating.