There was a knock on the door.
"Yes?" Twilight responded, as she walked down the stairs, and headed over to open it. A bright red aura surrounded the door, and it opened. Outside there stood a grey stallion with golden eyes, wearing the uniform of the royal guard.
"Princess Twilight." He said and bowed his head. "I have an urgent message for you."
"What is it?" Twilight asked worriedly. The stallion took a deep, unsettling breath.
"... The mare, Rarity of Ponyville, has..."
Twilights eyes widened as the stallion said the rest of the sentence. The pitter-patter of the rain, immediately silenced. No. It couldn't be true. Rarity... A lump formed in her throat and her hind legs collapsed. No... Her breathing was shallow. Time seemed to have stopped. Her eyes stung, from the tears forming.
...
"Twilight? What is it?" Spike suddenly asked from behind her. Twilight turned her head back, her dark hair flowing in the wind from the outside, her eyes sparkling from the tears. She looked at his big eyes, widened in worry-
-and then she told him. Told him that Rarity had died.
Twilight had woken up feeling groggy and depressed. The pale morning sunlight came in, through the window. She squeezed her eyes together, as her blanket slowly levitated away from her, and she got out of bed.
It had been a month since Rarity's death. Enough time had gone by, for Twilight to be able to say it, without bursting into tears, but her chest still stung, when she thought about it. She placed a hoof on the mirror and watched her reflection do the same. She tried a smile. It was a fake smile, but she practised so often, that now, all her smiles seemed genuine. Her reflection smiled back at her, and she didn't know, whether to congratulate herself, for being such a good actress, or to sit in a corner and cry about the saddening outcome. Before the incident, she might have started to count the pro's and cons, of each of these actions, and figure out which one was the better action, but now, she just felt too tired to even give it a second thought. She heard footsteps, and she turned her head in time to see Spike passing her room, to go downstairs. His dead eyes met hers, and for a brief moment, it was as if they understood each other completely. Twilight wanted to talk to him, but she couldn't muster the courage. This new Spike, carried an offensive aura, everywhere he went. It felt like they were close, strangers, as odd as that sounded. He turned his head back, and started to walk down the stairs. He had grown taller. He was now a little bit taller than Twilight, when she stood on all fours, she realised.
"You've..." She blurted out. Spike turned his head sharply towards her, and waited for her to continue.
"You've grown... You're not a baby dragon anymore." She said and looked down. He looked at her.
"I've been this height for two weeks now." He said and Twilight immediately felt guilty, and bit her lip.
"I'm so sorry, Spike..." Tears welled up in her eyes.
"Thank you for noticing. I take it you're ready to talk to me again?" He looked at her. His expression hadn't changed, but his voice seemed hopeful. Suddenly Twilight broke down in tears, wiping them of with her hooves. She heard Spike walk up to her, and she looked up. He spread out his arms, and held her in a tight embrace. She let herself be the weak one for once, and cried. Spike bit his lip and tears rolled down his cheeks delicately, and although he didn't make a sound, Twilight knew he was crying. She pulled away from him and wiped away his tears.
"I've missed you to much." She said quietly. He nodded in agreement.
"I've missed you too."
