Dear Princess Celestia,
How are things in Canterlot? I can only imagine that you must be busy with all the preparations for Hearth's Warming Eve going on. But, as you always said, royal protocol is royal protocol. I have my own fair share going on here at the castle, especially with all my friends stopping in almost constantly.
Aside from the preparations, things are going quite nicely here in Ponyville. We finally finished unpacking the books you sent me from the Canterlot Astrology Department last month, so I gave Spike the night off to do whatever he wants. Rarity's coming in by train later tonight, so I'll be stopping by the station lasted tonight to meet her. As for the rest of us, things have been running pretty smoothly around here.
Despite all the bustle, I've managed to get some thinking done. So I must ask: is there some kind of magic associated with this season? I've tried to collect some conclusive evidence, but no matter what, I can't seem to find an answer. I know you've been around for a while, so I think you might have an answer for me.
Well, that's all I can think of right now. If Cadence and my brother show up in Canterlot while I'm here, tell them I said hi, and make sure to leave some tea for Luna in the morning!
Your Faithful Student,
Twilight Sparkle
Sweetie Belle laid down on the ground, staring up at the night sky above her. Sure it was chilly, and the snow had coated everything as far as the eye could see, but that didn't really bother her. It just was nice to be able to enjoy some time with Spike, even if he was completely absorbed with the stars above.
"...and that constellation right there is Orion," said Spike, pointing to a line of stars in the sky. "According to legend, he chases Taurus across the sky every night."
Sweetie nodded, taking in the magnificence of the stars. They were already fantastical enough on their own, but when Spike started to tell their stories, her imagination started to run wild. Not just about the stars, but about him.
Ever since the Running of the Leaves, she had started to have feelings for Spike. They hadn't really gotten to know each other much before then, but Rarity had offered to buy them tickets for a movie while she ran some errands. Little did she know what that would lead to.
He was just so... gentlemanly! Yes, he could be a bit clumsy at times, but he was a genuinely nice person. At the movies, he had bought her popcorn and held the door for her on the way in. If only she could have kissed him there and then.
But she didn't, and she hadn't since then. She was just so scared of what might happen if she did that, or even just asked him out. She had almost gotten the nerve to do it last time, but it was all said and done before she could do anything.
It has to be tonight. Sweetie mentally prepared herself for what she knew came next. A nervous chill ran up her spine as she opened her mouth to speak.
"Spike?"
"Yeah?" said Spike, startled by the sudden intrusion on the temporary silence.
"I'm... I'm just having a nice time." She turned her head back to sky, letting out a small sigh. After all this time, she still couldn't prepare herself for this.
" I didn't know you knew all this!" she said, trying to ease herself into the topic. "After all this time, I still didn't know you knew so much!"
"It's nothing really," he replied, deflecting the flattery. "I just picked it up from hanging around Twilight."
Sweetie Belle tried to give a response, but she couldn't get anything past her lips. Unable to further the conversation, they looked back to the stars.
After a few moments of silence, she spoke up.
"Spike?" Her heart heated loudly as he looked back at her.
"Yes?"
"I love you." As the words left her mouth, Spike looked away for a few seconds before responding.
"I... I love you too."
Sweetie Belle gave a sigh of relief, fidgeting exictedly on the ground. Surprised, Spike said, "Oh. Are you cold Sweetie? We could go inside i-"
"No! I'm good. I just feel so... close to you." She looked over at him, only to see that they were a few feet apart.
"I mean, when I'm out under the stars with you, I just feel so safe!" She slowly nugded her way closer to him. "I likes being close to you. In fact, I think I'm about as close to as I could possibly be."
She was now so close to Spike that she could feel the heat radiating off his skin. His focus was no longer on the stars, but was instead on something in his head. He sat quietly for a second before responding. "Well, not really."
It took a moment before it registered. Confused, she asked, "Huh?"
Mildly confused himself, Spike tried to explain his reasoning. "I mean, if you think about it in a different way, we might be farther apart than we appear. If you presume that the world is round like a ball, like-" he scooped up some snow from the ground and sculpted it, "-a snowball, then being right next to some pony is really the farthest you can be from them."
He looked back over to a dazed Sweetie Belle. "Guess that wasn't very helpful." She nodded in agreement. "Let's try again. You see, if I'm here-" he pointed to a spot on top of the snowball, "and you're here-" he pointed to a spot indistinguishable from the other, then circled his finger around it, "that's far."
Sweetie turned away dejectedly. "Yeah." She picketed herself out of the snow and started to walk back toward Ponyville.
Trying to salvage the moment, Spike shouted to her, "but now you're closer!"
She paused in her tracks and looked back at Spike with a grim determination, before turning back around and continuing homeward.
"And closer!" This time, she paused but didn't turn around. He started to smile before she continued to walk away.
"And closer..." She was already just a black speck against the snow. His half-smile faded as she disappeared over the horizon.
"And closer... and closer... and closer..."
He let out a defeated sigh, letting snowball roll out of his hand. It rolled a few inches before it settled in the depression where Sweetie Belle had been lying moments before.
