Warming Up (Belongs to Proteus-92)

Chapters

Body Heat
Sparks
Fanning The Flames

Body Heat

Winter had officially come to Ponyville. When Twilight Sparkle woke up that morning, she could see a thick blanket of snow covering the whole town through her window. Spike's basket was empty- no doubt he had awoken already to begin his chores. She trotted down to the kitchen- Spike was there, cooking something. "Good morning Twilight," he said. "Hope you're in the mood for pancakes."

She smiled. "What kind?"

"Daisy pancakes. Those ones are your favorite, right?"

"You know me so well." Spike finished a few minutes later, and the two began to eat not long after. Owlowiscious had flown south for the winter several weeks before; until Winter Wrap-Up in several months' time, Twilight and Spike would be completely alone in the library. She finished her pancakes, wiping her mouth. "Delicious as always, Spike," she said.

He smiled and blushed ever so slightly. "Thanks. …So Twilight, are you going out at all today?"

"As a matter of fact, I am." She picked up a book and dropped it into her bag, before slinging it over her shoulder. "While I'm out, could you start gathering all my research materials?"

"Sure. You need all those astronomy books, right?"

She wrapped her favorite scarf around her neck. "That's right. Don't worry if you can't gather everything together before I get back- I'll only be gone for a few minutes."

"Okay. I'll be waiting." Twilight stepped outside into the snow. As she made her way down the street, she could see ponies enjoying the new weather everywhere she looked. Twilight, however, had some business to be attending to- and in any case, Twilight had found snowy weather to be the perfect opportunity to stay at home and curl up with a good book and a hot cup of cocoa.

At that moment, a light blue pegasus dropped down in front of her from out of the sky. "Hey Twilight," Rainbow Dash said. "You headed to the town square? The Mayor's dividing everyone up into teams for the town's annual snowball fight."

"Sorry, but not this year, Rainbow. I was just going to give something back to Rarity, then I have to get back home and finish some research I was doing."

"Aw, but everypony's taken the day off! Everyone will be there! Can't it wait?"

"I wish it could, but it can't. I need to go, I'm sorry."

Rainbow sighed. "…Okay. I guess I'll see you around." She was just about to take off again, when she suddenly stopped. "Oh, that's right! Rarity wanted me to tell you that she finished that order you left her." She was about to take off again, when she stopped herself again. "One more thing- don't forget what I told you last week. This winter's gonna get real bad, so you might wanna get more than just a scarf from now on." She sped off; a few moments later, Twilight continued on her way.

A few minutes later, a small bell tinkled as Twilight entered the Carousel Boutique. "Rarity?" she called. "Rarity, are you still here?"

"Oh, Twilight darling," a voice replied. "I wasn't expecting any visitors." A white unicorn descended the stairs at the side of the boutique- Rarity.

"Sorry, I know you're closed, but I just wanted to return this." She removed the book from her bag.

"Oh, that's quite alright- just, set it on the counter." Twilight did as Rarity asked. "I take it you're here to pick up your order as well." Rarity grabbed a small bundle from a nearby shelf and gave it to Twilight. "If anything doesn't fit, be sure to bring it right back- Spike can't afford to take any chances in this weather."

"I will." As she put Spike's new winter clothes in her bag, Rarity asked, "So Twilight, will you be taking part in the town snowball fight?"

"Not this year, Rarity. I have some studies I have to keep up with. Why, are you?"

"Well, I like to think that I'm above such things, but I daresay that it's quite… fun. It's a shame you can't participate this year." As she left the boutique, the unicorn called after her, "Don't be a stranger!"

A few minutes later, she was back at the library; she stepped inside to see Spike gathering the last of her supplies together. "Hold on," he said, staggering under a massive stack of books. "I almost got the last of it!" By some miracle, he made it to the desk and set the books down on the floor. Wiping the sweat from his brow, he said, "Hey Twilight. Did you return Rarity's book?"

"I did. And I got something for you too." She took the package and gave it to him; he unwrapped it excitedly, only for his face to fall once he saw what was inside. "Clothes?" he asked.

"For you to wear outside in the snow. …Aren't you going to try them on? Rarity made them for you." At the mention of Rarity, he was dressed seemingly in the blink of an eye; when she turned to him, he was wearing a knit cap, a jacket, pants, and boots, all made in purple and green. "There should be some gloves in there too," she said. As he reached into the package to find him, she continued, "So, how does everything fit? Does it all fit okay?"

He slipped the gloves on. "Yeah, everything fits just fine. But, uh… is this all really necessary?" he asked, tugging at the uncomfortable new clothes.

"It's for your own safety, Spike. Now if you hurry, you might make it in time for the town snowball fight."

"R-Really! I-I mean… are you sure? You don't need me to help you?"

"I'll be fine, Spike." She sat down at her desk. "Now go out and have some fun. I think you've earned it."

"Oh thank you Twilight! Thank you!" And before she could change her mind, Spike dashed out into the snow.

Twilight was still at her desk when Spike came back inside several hours later. "Hey Twilight," he said, taking off his clothes.

"Hey Spike," she replied, remaining firmly focused on the book in front of her. "Have fun out there?"

"Yeah. I would have stayed out longer, but I figured you'd probably need help with your research." He began to carry a large stack of books toward her desk.

"That's very considerate of you. But are you sure you want to start helping right away? Are you sure you don't need a few minutes to rest, maybe warm yourself up a little?"

"Nah, I'll be fine. Now, is this all the books you needed?"

"No, there's another stack over there." She pointed with her hoof.

"Right, I'll get them." Several hours passed- Twilight continued her studies, with Spike constantly moving back and forth to get her anything and everything that she needed. However, Spike was beginning to lose steam- he yawned loudly as he dropped one last book on the stack. "Getting tired, Spike?" Twilight asked.

He nodded. "Is it okay if I turn in for the night?"

"It's fine. I'll be down here for a few more hours."

"Okay Twilight." Spike headed off to bed. Twilight stayed downstairs, continuing to take notes. Eventually, she reached a satisfactory point to stop, put away her things, and followed Spike to their bedroom. She peered into Spike's basket- he was fast asleep there, curled up under his blanket. She always had to check on him before going to bed; she wouldn't be able to sleep soundly herself otherwise. Satisfied, she made her way to her bed, climbed in, and fell asleep not long after.

Much later, Twilight suddenly awoke. The first thing she noticed was that the room was freezing- Rainbow Dash hadn't been kidding when she said this winter would be bad. The next thing she noticed was a long series of strange stuttering sounds- she couldn't see their source, but from their direction they seemed to be coming from Spike's bed. Something suddenly popped into her head: Spike was a dragon. Dragons were reptiles. Reptiles had cold blood. And in cold weather, cold-blooded animals…

Twilight leapt out of bed without thinking. She didn't have to- not when her assistant, her best friend, her surrogate brother could be dying not ten feet away. She galloped to his basket- sure enough, he was curled up under his blanket, shivering violently. With all the noise she'd made, Twilight was surprised he hadn't woken up. She put her hoof on Spike's back and began to shake him. "Spike… Spike, wake up. Wake up."

Slowly- much more slowly that Twilight would have liked- Spike came to. "T-T-T-Twilight?" he stuttered. "W-W-What's g-goin' on?"

Though he was now awake, Twilight wasn't any less worried. "Just… come with me Spike. Everything will be fine, I promise." With care, she scooped up the small dragon and put him on her back. She shivered- he was cold as ice. Not wasting any more time, she trotted back to her bed.

Spike could hear the anxiety in her voice, but for some reason, he couldn't bring himself to full alertness- it was as though a cloud was hanging in his mind. The warmth of Twilight's back began to put him at ease however, and he relaxed. Twilight pulled back her blankets and put Spike onto the bed, before climbing in after him and pulling the blankets back over them both. Spike relaxed even more- the warmth felt absolutely wonderful against his cold body, like his entirety was being hugged. "Th… Thank…" was all Spike managed to say, before falling silent.

"Spike?" No response. She shook him. "Spike?" Still no response. "Oh no…" She put an ear to his chest, breathing a sigh of relief almost immediately- he was still breathing. He'd simply gone back to sleep. But she couldn't help but worry. She pulled his sleeping body against hers- he was warming up, but he was still so very cold. Ignoring her own discomfort, she held him tightly, and slowly, the coldness faded away.

At some point, in spite of her best efforts to avoid it, Twilight fell asleep as well.

The warmth was the first thing Spike noticed as he woke up. He kept his eyes closed, snuggling into the warmth- he found it so very pleasant. However, his eyes shot open when he heard a soft sigh in response. At first, all he could see was purple- he looked up to see Twilight lying next to him, holding him tightly in her forelegs. He almost cried out, but he managed to stop himself- then, with care, he began to extract himself from her grip. He might not know why he was in Twilight's bed, but he did know that he had morning chores to get started on. Once free, he climbed down from her bed, resisted the urge to hop back in when his feet touched the cold floor, and headed downstairs to start breakfast.

The scent of Spike's cooking woke Twilight from her slumber a few minutes later. She headed downstairs to find him in the kitchen. "Hey Twilight," he said. "I'm almost done with breakfast- just give me a few more minutes."

Twilight waited patiently until Spike brought their food from the kitchen. They ate in silence for a few moments before Twilight said, "Spike, you and I need to have a talk."

Spike froze. He remained calm on the surface, but in his mind he was panicking. What would Twilight need to talk to him about? Had she found the collection of drawings he'd made of Rarity? Had she read his diary? Or worse, had she woken up in the night to find him… pleasuring himself? He was too terrified of these possibilities, and how Twilight might react to them, to give an answer.

She gave him a few moments to reply; when he didn't, she continued by asking, "Well, you're probably wondering why you woke up in my bed this morning, right?"

Spike breathed an internal sigh of relief- she didn't want to talk to him about… that. And as a matter of fact, he had been wondering about that all morning. "Uh, yeah. So, what happened?"

"Well, I don't think I have to tell you that winter's here. And because of that… I think that you should sleep in my bed at night. At least, until the end of winter."

He dropped his fork. "What? Y-You can't be serious."

"I am. You're a reptile, Spike- this kind of weather is dangerous to you. It could kill you. And I could never forgive myself if that happened."

"Well, I've been through plenty of winters before without any problems. Why's this one different?"

"Spike, we're not in Canterlot anymore. It didn't snow half as much as it does here, remember?"

"…Then what about last year?"

"I talked to Rainbow Dash yesterday- she said this winter's supposed to be much colder than the last one."

"But… what about your studies? You have to keep up with them."

"This is much more important. Princess Celestia would understand if I explained the situation to her."

"There's gotta be something else you can do. Can't we just buy a heater?"

"We don't have the money for that, Spike. And I really wish there was another way, but there isn't."

"You're a unicorn- can't you make a spell that can-"

"Spike, I'm not arguing with you about this anymore. Until winter's over, you're sleeping with me in my bed. That's final." Spike grumbled angrily. "Spike, I'm only doing this because I want to keep you safe. You understand that don't you?"

Spike relented. "I understand…"

"Good. Now bundle up- you have to go help Rarity today, remember?"

Night came. Spike lay under the covers of Twilight's bed- Twilight herself lay next to him, reading a heavy astronomy book. The library was dark, the only light coming from the glow of Twilight's horn. Spike couldn't help but be reminded of how he and Twilight used to live many years ago- when they had been younger, they slept in the same bed. Their favorite thing to do before going to sleep was to read- they'd lay in bed, side-by-side with a novel floating over them. Spike would read the boys' lines, Twilight the girls', and they'd alternate back and forth for everything else. Spike would always fall asleep before long as Twilight read- it had taken the two of them months to finish Harry Trotter and the Philosopher's Stone because of it. As the years passed though, Twilight and Spike grew bigger, and couldn't share the bed anymore. When they would reminisce about those days, she always told him how he cried when she said he had to sleep in the basket from then on.

As though reading his mind, Twilight asked, "It's just like old times, isn't it?"

Spike was taken aback for a moment, but he then replied. "Yeah."

"You remember what we used to do, right?"

"Of course."

"Do you… want to do it right now?"

"… I would like that."

Twilight closed her book and set it on her nightstand. She then climbed out of bed and walked to a nearby stack of books. "Spike," she began, "did you ever manage to finish the Harry Trotter books?"

He shook his head. "No, I never got to."

"How many of them did you finish?"

"Uh… I think I got about halfway through the fifth book."

"Alright." She returned a few moments later, with a large blue book in her mouth- on the spine was written Harry Trotter and the Order of the Phoenix. She climbed back into bed with him, asking, "Can you remember where you off, or should we start from the beginning?"

"Uh, can we start from the beginning, Twilight?"

"Of course, Spike." So, she opened the book on its first page, and began to read. It came back to them in a flash- after she finished her line, Spike began to read. They read for a good long while- eventually, she finished her turn. When Spike didn't start up right away, she said, "Spike? It's your turn." He didn't reply- she looked over to see that he had rolled onto his side, fast asleep. Twilight couldn't help but smile- it really was just like old times. If she did one last thing, it would have been a mirror image of how things had been all those years ago. She leaned over and kissed his forehead, whispering "Goodnight, Spike." With that, she set the book down, rolled onto her side, and fell asleep as well.

Several nights passed. Spike's grumblings subsided, and his and Twilight's nightly reading sessions integrated seamlessly into their daily routine. They would climb into bed, read for a while, Spike would fall asleep, and Twilight would kiss his forehead and wish him a good night before drifting off to sleep as well.

Twilight had said to Spike that this was only for his own good. However, she would have been lying if she said she hadn't missed this. She could tell Spike did as well, even if he wasn't willing to admit it. She thought that maybe after winter was over, she would ask him if he wanted to keep this new, not unwelcome addition to their routine.

Spike had once again fallen asleep while she had read. She kissed his forehead and wished him goodnight, before snuggling up to him and falling asleep as well. However, on this night, something different happened. Twilight was awoken by a very unusual sensation. At first, she thought little of it, simply believing it was Spike shifting in his sleep. But then, she felt his legs clamp down on her back. Now, she was confused- was he having a dream about riding her? All that confusion dissipated when she felt him grind his hips against her spine. She blushed- oh goodness, he was… he was… humping her!

Twilight wasn't sure if she wanted to laugh or cry.

She had read extensively on the biology, life cycle, and behavior of dragons after first hatching Spike, to the point where she could quote several books on the subjects almost verbatim. One of the books had said that dragons started puberty fairly early. Signs of that were apparent- Twilight was well aware of Spike's fixation of Rarity, knew about the numerous pictures of her he kept under the cushion in his basket, and had read more than a few naughty entries in his diary (she swore that it fell open on that page when she was gathering Spike's sheets for the laundry). Sometimes, when she woke up in the mornings before him, she would even see his small erection unashamedly standing tall as he slept. She certainly wouldn't judge him for any of that- she had her own share of diary entries, dreams, and daydreams that she wasn't exactly keen on sharing with others. She understood perfectly.

Her understanding did nothing to dampen her shock when she heard her own name leave Spike's mouth.

She lay still for a few moments, paralyzed with indecision as Spike continued to violate her back. Should she wake him up and embarrass him, or simply ignore it and let him… have his way with her? No, she had to stop him. If she was lucky, maybe he wouldn't even realize what had happened. She reached back her hoof and gently began to shake Spike. "Spike… Spike… wake up…"

Spike woke with a start. He looked up at her, down at himself, then back up at her. Before she could stop him, he suddenly scrambled to the edge of the bed. "I… I-I'm sorry!" he stammered.

"Spike? Twilight asked, inching closer to him. "Is everything alright?" He didn't reply. "Spike, what happened?" She was already fairly certain she knew the answer.

"I… don't want to talk about it."

"Are you sure? I won't get upset."

"No! Just- …forget about it."

"Alright, if you insist."

Twilight simply couldn't get the events of last night out of her head. Spike was growing up- she had been preparing for this for a long time. She wouldn't judge him because of his hormones any more than he would have if their situations had been reversed. But she was the last pony she expected Spike to have… those kinds of dreams about. She couldn't imagine what had been going through his head, partly because she really didn't want to, but also because she didn't think he thought of her that way. But if he did think of her like that, then that could-

"…Twilight, Twilight! Is something wrong?" Spike asked, worried.

Feeling a little embarrassed, she shook her head and said, "No, nothing's wrong. Now, what were you saying?"

"I asked you what supplies you needed from the writing store."

"Oh, that's right! Um, let me think…" In truth, Twilight didn't need anything- all she wanted was Spike out of the house, if only for a few minutes. "Right, I need a few new bottles of ink, a box of quills, and blank scrolls. Lots of them. Can you remember all that?"

"No problem." Spike hurriedly put on his winter clothes. "I'll be back as soon as I can." And with that, he stepped outside, pushing the door shut behind him.

Twilight was finally alone. Almost as soon as the door closed, she rushed up to the bedroom, lifted up the blankets of Spike's bed, and slowly lifted his journal out. She simply stared at the cover for several moments, unsure if she should really do this. This was invading Spike's privacy- if he ever found out what she had done, there was no telling what he might do. She might even lose him. "Forever!" Pinkie Pie's voice added on in her mind. But she had to know. She just had to. And with that, she opened the diary, and began to read.

Unsurprisingly, she opened up to an entry talking about Rarity. She briefly skimmed through it before turning the page to another entry. Another entry on Rarity- she skimmed through, noting that Spike was rather… imaginative. She flipped to another entry. To her surprise, this one wasn't about Rarity- rather, it was about Fluttershy. She flipped through entry after entry. There seemed to be several for every mare in Ponyville: Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Mrs. Cake, the spa twins, Vinyl Scratch, the Mayor, Colgate, Ditzy Doo, Lyra, Bon Bon, the Cutie Mark Crusaders… but there was not a single entry about her.

Disappointed, she closed the diary and put it back on his bed. She was just about to pull the blanket over it when she spotted something- a small notebook, wedged between the cushion and the side of the basket. With care, she lifted it up with magic- the cover was well-worn and the pages were yellowed with age. It was clear that this notebook was much older than the first. She opened it- to her shock, she opened to an entry talking about her. She flipped to another one. And another. And another. But no matter what page she flipped to, what entry she read, it would always talk about her.

She could hardly believe what she was seeing. It was a journal, dedicated to her… and her alone.

She flipped to a random entry in the journal. She was surprised- if Spike had been imaginative in the previous journal, he was going all out in this one. And she was surprised to see just how romantic he was at heart. But looking more closely, Twilight could see that the journal wasn't entirely about her; intermixed with various romantic and… sexual scenarios were entries that left his feelings bare: Anger at himself for being unable to express his attraction to her, fear that she would reject his affections or worse become upset because of them, embarrassment from being attracted to pony rather than a dragon…

Twilight had to sit down- she had no idea that Spike had such a strong maelstrom of emotion swirling around inside of him. How long had he been holding these feelings inside of him? She flipped to the beginning- judging from the childlike, almost illegible scrawling she found there, it may have been for as long as they had known each other. As she read, trembling, she eventually came across what appeared to be a letter, addressed directly to her. She read:

Dear Twilight,

If you're reading this, then you probably already know about how I feel about you. I really, really wanted to tell you some of this, but I've just been too scared. I thought maybe you'd be angry with me. I even thought you might throw me out if I ever told you how I feel about you. I know it's not natural for me to have feelings about you the way I do, but I just can't help it. You must think I'm some kind of sick freak and that I need help. But I can't help it. If you could see yourself the way I see you, maybe you'd understand. If you could see just how strong and smart and beautiful and amazing you really are, maybe you'd understand.

I love you. I love you so much that it hurts. And I wish that just once, I could tell you that. But I'm too afraid. And I know it's selfish of me to want more than what I have now. I'm sorry. You must think-

She couldn't go on. She shut the journal, tears flowing freely down her face. "No Spike…" she began, as though her words would somehow change what had been written. "I'd… I'd never be angry with you. Not over this." How could she not have seen this sooner? There must have been signs, signs that she somehow overlooked, however much she didn't want to admit it.

Suddenly, the door creaked downstairs. "Twilight, I'm back!" she heard Spike call. "Twilight? Twilight, where'd you go?"

Twilight quickly stuffed the journal back into its original position. "I… I'm up here Spike!" She quickly wiped her tears away and climbed down to the first floor. As she walked over to him, he asked, "What were you doing up there, Twilight?"

"I was… taking my telescope inside! I don't want the snow to ruin it."

He bought it. "Okay. Anyway, I got the supplies you wanted." He handed a large bag to Twilight.

"Thanks Spike." She set the supplies down on a nearby table. "Spike, could you come here? There's something I need to tell you."

Spike swallowed hard, and followed her. "Okay, what is it?"

As soon as he came close, Twilight lifted herself up and wrapped her forelegs around him in a tight hug. "Spike… I love you."

He blushed slightly. "Uh, what's this all about?"

"I just wanted to let you know. I know I don't tell you very often- well, actually, I hardly ever tell you anymore… but I just wanted to say that I love you."

"Uh… thanks." Come on, he thought to himself. Just say it. It's only four words: I love you too. You can do it. But in spite of how badly he wanted to, Spike just couldn't bring himself to say those four small words. She held him for several long moments; eventually though, he said, "…Twilight? I think we should get started on your studies."

"R-Right. Sorry." She let go of him. She then made her way to her research material and began flipping through a large book. "What chapter were we on again?"

"I think it was Chapter 14: The Life Cycle of Stars."

"Thank you, Spike."

"Anytime."

Night had come again. Spike was fast asleep. Twilight was not. She sat up in her bed, trying her hardest to build up the resolve she needed for what she was about to do. She loved Spike dearly, but it hadn't been in a romantic sense. It wasn't because he was a dragon, or even because he was a baby dragon- more than anything else, it was because she saw him as her little brother. But despite her own aversions, it was clear that Spike didn't feel the same way about her- and from what she had read in his journal, he'd been harboring those feelings for her long before he really understood them. Twilight shook her head- she had to do this. Though his journal had given her an idea, she couldn't possibly imagine the loneliness Spike must have felt for all those years.

She promised that Spike would never feel that way again.

Spike was sprawled on her mattress snoring- she couldn't help but notice how cute he looked as he slept. It made things that much easier. She took a deep breath- it was now, or never. Slowly, she leaned herself down and kissed Spike… on the lips. She pulled away after a moment, and her heart melted as the corners of Spike's mouth turned up in a smile. Before she could stop herself, she bent down again, pulling Spike into a much deeper kiss. Her tongue probed around his small mouth; it had a rather sharp mineral aftertaste, but right now she didn't mind it in the least. Twilight had a long list of things she wanted to do in her life- kissing a dragon hadn't been one of them, but if she'd known it would have been like this, she would have added it on sooner.

Meanwhile, Spike was having a most wonderful dream- Twilight had swept him off his feet and was kissing him. He had plenty of dreams like this, but this one was so much better! It felt so real, he could hardly believe it. But suddenly, his eyes opened. He breathed a disappointed sigh now that the dream was over but… but the sensation remained. He blinked, confused- the darkness above him faded, revealing he was face to face with… Twilight. Wait a minute… Twilight was kissing him! Now he was confused. He tried to pull back, but she was firmly pressed down on him- he brought up his hands, trying in vain to push Twilight away.

Twilight was suddenly brought out of her musings by several muffled cries and something pushing against her muzzle. She opened her eyes- Spike's eyes were wide open, staring directly into hers, as he flailed and struggled to push Twilight away. She hadn't planned on waking him up, but if she played her cards right, then maybe… just maybe, things would turn out okay. She closed her eyes, and deepened her kiss. His struggling slowed before ultimately coming to a stop, and his panicked cries became low, almost pitiful moans of pleasure.

Twilight finally broke the kiss, leaving Spike gasping for breath. As he tried to make his heart settle down, he rested his arm over his eyes and said out loud, "This has to be a dream."

"Would you feel better if I said it wasn't?" she asked, her voice dropping into what she hoped was a seductive tone.

He locked eyes with her again; when he did, Twilight wondered why she'd never noticed just how cute he was until now. "What? But Twilight, I thought-"

She silenced him by resting a hoof over his mouth. "Shhhh. Just relax, Spike." She stroked her face with her hoof- he was just so cute that she couldn't stop herself… not that she really wanted to. "This is all about you. If there's anything you want from me? Well, your wish is my command."

"Anything?" Spike's eyes grew wide again, and it took all of Twilight's willpower to keep from taking him right then and there. "Well, if it's okay with you, could we… well… can you… um, kiss me again?"

Twilight smiled. "If that's what you'd like." She bent down and kissed Spike again. He kissed back, his small tongue dancing awkwardly around her much larger one. He felt like the luckiest dragon in the whole world and nothing could change that, even if this turned out to only be a dream. Here he was, with the pony he'd wanted for so long, kissing him! It wasn't as good as he had imagined it- it was better. It was more than he ever could have asked for. But before long, he could feel his eyelids begin to droop; he would fall asleep any minute now. He pulled away.

Twilight couldn't help but feel a bit disappointed. "Is there something wrong Spike?"

"No, everything's fine. It's just… can we hold off until tomorrow?"

"Of course."

"And, uh… could we… cuddle?"

She wrapped her forelegs around him and pulled him close. "Anything you want, Spike." He snuggled against her, perfectly content, before falling asleep almost immediately. Twilight joined him not long after.

Sparks

As always, Spike awoke first. Ever so slowly, he disentangled himself from Twilight's forelegs, only to cry out in surprise when they suddenly wrapped around him again. "Going somewhere?" Twilight asked. "Don't you want to stay a little longer?"

"I have to start breakfast, Twilight," Spike replied.

As though on cue, a very loud growl emanated from Twilight's stomach. She blushed slightly. "Maybe breakfast wouldn't be such a bad idea." She hopped out of bed, scooped up Spike and dropped him on her back, and carried him down to the kitchen. She waited patiently as Spike cooked for the two of them.

Twilight's food was gone almost as soon as Spike set down her plate in front of her. She then sat quietly across from Spike and stared at him, resting her head on her hoof. Every few moments, he would glance at her nervously- when their eyes met, she would smile, and he would look elsewhere. Every time their eyes met, she wondered more and more how she'd never noticed how handsome the little dragon had become.

Across the table, Spike's heart beat frantically in his chest. Every few seconds, he would steal a glance at Twilight- she flashed him a seductive smile every time their eyes met, and he would quickly look elsewhere. He wondered for a moment if Twilight had fallen ill- she was acting much differently than her more reserved, bookish self.

Spike finally finished his food. "Well, I have to go- you know that Rarity needs my help today." He hurried to get himself dressed, and opened the front door, only to be immediately buried under a large pile of snow. Spike quickly dug himself out, and saw that the door was completely blocked by a massive wall of it. "It looks like we're snowed in, Spike," Twilight said. Using her magic, she pushed the snow back outside and closed the door.

"W-Wait, Twilight what are you doing?" Spike tried to pull the door open again- Twilight's magic held it shut.

"Spike, are you really going to dig through all that snow by yourself?" He was just about to say something, but stopped himself. Twilight was right, as usual- as important as helping Rarity was, there was no chance that he would be able to dig his way through the snow to the Carousel Boutique by himself. He got undressed and looked back at her. "What are we supposed to do then?"

When their eyes met again, she almost threw herself at him- she resisted the urge, just barely. "Well, you could help me with my studies," she began. "Or maybe, you'd rather do something… else. Hmm?" She winked seductively at him.

He couldn't contain himself any longer- something was definitely wrong. "Twilight, what's gotten into you? Why are you acting so… weird?"

"Spike… I read your diary." She decided to come clean. Spike was smart- he would've figured it out eventually.

Spike stared at her in shock, before his face reddened in anger. "You… you… how could you! How could you invade my privacy like that! I-I-I can't even look at you right now! You… you…" He suddenly dropped to his knees, clasping his hands in front of him. "Oh please, you can't tell Rarity about what you read! I'll do anything! Anything!"

"I was talking about your other diary."

Spike's face reddened again, this time from embarrassment. He squeezed his eyes shut and flinched, expecting a long-winded lecture about how his feelings for her were wrong and that he should just forget about them… or worse, that she would shout at him and throw him out because he was a sick, depraved little dragon.

Neither ever came. Spike nervously opened one of his eyes; Twilight was now standing directly in front of him. The warm smile she gave him made his heart flutter in his chest. "What's the matter?" she asked.

"I… I thought you'd be upset with me."

"Spike… I'd never be angry with you about something like this."

"R…Really?"

She pulled him into a tight hug. "Of course not."

Spike was too stunned to say anything. After a few moments, Twilight continued, "Spike, I had no idea just how… lonely you must have felt for all these years. But, I promise you that from now on, you'll never have to feel that way ever again."

"I won't?"

"I'm always here for you, Spike. If you ever need anything, anything at all… all you need to do is ask me."

It took a few moments for him to ask, "Twilight, could you… help me get rid of my loneliness?"

"Of course I can. And I have just the way to do it."

"W…What did you have in mind?"

Twilight released him from her hug and began to circle around him, not unlike the way a shark might circle its prey. "Well, there's you, me, a nice warm bed upstairs…" She playfully flicked him with her tail, and began to walk towards the ladder to the bedroom. "I think you can figure out the rest."

"Are you sure Twilight? I mean, if you're-" He was immediately silenced when she saw her wiggle her flank at him. She climbed up the ladder to the bedroom- seemingly of their own volition, his feet began to carry him toward the ladder after her.

As soon as he had come to the top of the ladder, Twilight suddenly grabbed him and tossed him onto the bed- she raced over to him, pinning him down beneath her body, and peppered his face with kisses. He laughed and pretended to push her away- he didn't really want her to stop… and it wasn't like he had anywhere to run to even if he did. "Hahaha, Twilight stop!" he laughed. "It tickles!" All of a sudden, to his disappointment, she actually did stop- when Spike managed to compose himself, he looked up into her eyes. A heavy silence settled over the library, disturbed only by the wind blowing outside. Neither Spike nor Twilight said anything, simply gazing deep into each other's eyes.

"Twilight…" Spike began nervously, "…you know, you don't have to do this."

"I know I don't have to. But I want to." She kissed him again, this time on the lips. He kissed back, putting his small hands on her muzzle. She pulled away, to his chagrin, and began to leave a trail of kisses down his front- it didn't take long for Spike to figure out Twilight's destination. She stopped just before she touched his erect member.

It was… different from a pony's- granted, she'd never actually seen one for herself, but through her studies she learned what the average one was supposed to look like. It was pointed, and small, but only because Spike himself was small. She stared at it in fascination, watching every twitch and subtle movement it made. Spike couldn't help but blush as he watched Twilight- she was staring at his dick so intently… She looked up at him, and flashed him a devious smile, before placing a light, almost imperceptible kiss on the tip.

Spike's hips bucked upward almost immediately. Twilight pulled back, another devious smile breaking across her face- it was exactly the reaction she'd hoped for. She kissed it again, before slowly taking it into her mouth. It was easy for her to fit the entire thing inside- Spike's short legs immediately wrapped around her neck as she sucked it and teased it with her tongue. It was surprisingly warm, in spite of Spike's cold blood. The taste was odd, but not in an unpleasant way.

Spike couldn't believe what was happening to him. He'd always fantasized about being… "serviced," but he never would've imagined, not in a million years, that it would've felt anywhere this good. He wanted to do something, anything, other than just lay there passively, but the overload of pleasure coursing through his body made it difficult to think about anything. He could feel pressure building up inside of him, much more rapidly than when he simply masturbated. The pressure escalated as the minutes passed… or was it only seconds? Spike wasn't sure- the cloud hanging over his mind distorted his sense of time. Regardless, the pressure mounted more and more, and Spike's breaths became heavy and erratic.

This was not lost on Twilight, and she pulled away, worried. "Spike, are you alright?" she asked. "I'm not hurting you, am I?"

It took a few moments for the hazy pleasure clouding Spike's mind to dissipate. "No, I… I'm fine. It's just… good. Really good." She took him into her mouth again- he rubbed her ears as she serviced him, wishing he could do more for her. The pressure that ebbed away rapidly returned- Spike knew that he wouldn't last much longer. "T…Twilight?" he said, forcing his way through the cloud of pleasure. "I'm gonna… cum soon…"

She glanced up at him for a moment- then, she began to bob her mouth up and down his cock. Spike involuntarily cried out- if what Twilight had been doing before was good, what she was doing now was absolutely fantastic, and the library rang with his moans and cries. The little dragon never stood a chance- after only a few moments, he came in Twilight's mouth. She hadn't prepared, and nearly gagged as the strange substance filled her mouth. However, she kept her lips firmly wrapped around his member, not letting even a single drop escape. In spite of its bitter taste, she swallowed all of it.

She released his shrinking cock and wiped away a small trickle of Spike's seed from the corner of her mouth. "Spike? I'm gonna go wash my mouth out, okay?" He didn't reply; he simply stared up at the ceiling, breathing faintly, his eyes glossed over. She hurried to the bathroom and rinsed her mouth out in the sink. Spike was still in his stupor when she returned. She reassumed her position on top and kissed him; slowly, he came to, placing his hands on her muzzle again and kissing back. He pulled away and whispered, "Twilight… that was amazing…"

She smiled at him. "Thanks."

"Can I… do it for you, too?"

"Of course you can." She held Spike against her chest as she rolled onto her back. He climbed down her body until his face was at the same level as her haunches. It wasn't the first time he'd seen a mare's… private area; he'd had a few glimpses before, both from the mares around Ponyville and from living with Twilight for so long. But it was the first time he'd ever seen one from this close. He scratched his head, unsure where to start- everything just looked so… complicated.

She looked down at him. "Is everything alright Spike?"

"Yeah, it's just…" He blushed. "I don't know what to do." It was true- he'd written down all sorts of things that he wanted to do in his journal, but now that he had an actual mare lying in front of him, he couldn't remember a single thing. "Is there any particular way you want me to do this?"

"Anything you want to do is fine. Just… don't be too rough. And, mind your claws, okay?"

Spike nodded, and began to reach for Twilight's slit. He paused for a moment just as he was about to touch it, then, he gently began to rub around the edges. Twilight nearly kicked him by accident- the sensation was much different from when she used her hoof. Much… better. She moaned, despite her best efforts to contain it; Spike pressed on, encouraged by her reaction. She was amazed by how soft his claws were, and how good she felt at that moment- she'd… touched herself before, but it had never been quite like this. He put a finger inside, and marveled as he felt the inside of her… pussy clench rhythmically against it. Spike couldn't help but be amazed- as much as he fantasized about it, he never thought that Twilight would be so warm inside. Or so wet- his fingers glistened in the faint light as he pulled away.

"Why'd you stop?" Twilight asked, sitting up to look at him. Their eyes met again- this time, Spike was the one who gave a devious smile. Slowly, he brought out his tongue and gave it an experimental lick.

She clopped a hoof over her mouth to keep from screaming. His tongue felt a thousand times better than her hoof, and even better than his fingers had. Spike pulled back and looked up at her, concerned; Twilight merely gave him an encouraging smile in reply. Taking the hint, he lowered his head and went back to work. Twilight bit down on her hoof to keep her moans quiet. She wasn't sure why she did- the wind outside had picked up considerably, drowning out any sounds that might have come from the library. He buried his face firmly between her legs, licking the edges of her love, probing his tongue inside from time to time.

He liked the way she tasted.

Twilight could feel a pressure building from deep inside her hips. It built slowly… too slow to her liking. But she knew how to change that. "Um, Spike?" Twilight asked, her face flushed. "Could you… lick near the top?"

"You mean right here?" He licked the area she had indicated, his tongue meeting a hard bump.

Her leg suddenly kicked out. "Oh goodness, yes!" she cried out, no longer even trying to keep quiet. "Right there!" Spike continued to lick, Twilight's legs twitching and kicking uncontrollably as he did- Spike was rather glad he was out of their range. The pressure escalated rapidly- she was so close now. Twilight urged Spike on with disjointed pleas and praises; he complied with gusto. She rested her hooves on the back of Spike's head, keeping him from pulling back… not that he wanted to. All of a sudden, Twilight seized up- her back arched, driving her pussy into Spike's face, and her thighs wrapped around his head, squeezing it painfully. She tried to let out the scream she wanted so desperately to scream… but all that would come out of her mouth was an odd stutter.

Gradually, she slumped back, her body quivering uncontrollably. Spike climbed up her body until they were face-to-face again; he leaned down to kiss her, but to his surprise, she turned her head away. "Eew, Spike! Go wash your mouth out first!"

"What? Oh, right!" He dashed off to the bathroom- there was the sound of running water for a few seconds, then Spike sprinted back toward the bed as fast as his tiny legs could carry him. Twilight couldn't help but laugh when he stumbled, and almost fell on his face on the way back. As he climbed back on the bed, she asked, "Well, aren't we eager?"

He merely blushed in reply. For a long while, the two only looked at each other in silence- their bout of experimentation was about to reach its natural conclusion. Then, Spike asked, "Uh, Twilight? You're… okay with this, right?"

She lay on her back, exposing herself to him. "We've come this far, haven't we?"

He swallowed at the sight. "Alright… I'm going to put it in now…"

"G…Go ahead." Being a student under Princess Celestia hadn't exactly been kind to Twilight's social life, with her dating life in particular- it went without saying that she was a virgin. But she'd read about such things (under the cover of darkness, of course- who knew what sort of things ponies might say about her if they found out?), heard about them from others. They'd always said that the first time was painful- how painful it was varied, but there was pain all the same. So as Twilight laid on her back, she closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and braced herself against the pain.

It never came. Several seconds passed, but nothing seemed to happen. She sat up and looked down at him. "Is… is it in?"

Tears began to well up in Spike's eyes- it took a moment for Twilight to realize just how insensitive her question had been. "Oh no, Spike! I-I didn't mean it like that! I… I always heard that the first time was supposed to hurt." She could see now that Spike seated himself deep inside her- she'd been so focused on the potential pain that she hadn't felt him enter. "Just… well…"

Spike took the hint, and started to thrust his hips, slowly. She stroked his body with her hooves- they couldn't kiss, as her body was much longer than his. It was… well, strange. It wasn't bad by any means, just… strange. Maybe it was because it was her first time, but as Spike thrust his small dick into her, she just couldn't figure out why sex was such a big deal to some ponies.

Meanwhile, Spike was in absolute heaven. He was living his dream- he was finally, finally, making love to Twilight. The pressure began to rapidly build up again; he wanted nothing more than to slam into her as fast and as hard as he could, but he fought that urge with all the strength he could muster. He wanted this to last as long as possible; but more importantly, he wanted to make Twilight feel as good as he did.

"Twilight… how're you… feeling?" Spike asked, huffing.

"Uh, alright, I guess," Twilight replied.

"It… doesn't… feel good?"

She couldn't lie. "Not really."

Spike stopped his thrusts and caught his breath. "Am I… doing something wrong?"

"I don't think so- it seems right based on what I've read."

"Maybe I'm just too small." He sighed. "I'm sorry Twilight. We should stop- I don't want to do this if you're not having any fun."

"But I am having fun." She leaned forward and rested a hoof on his shoulder. "Spike… all I want is for you to be happy. This is supposed to be all about you, remember? I-"

"But I don't want it to be just about me! I want both of us to have fun! I'm not doing this by myself you know!"

Now Twilight felt a little guilty. After all, she had said his wish was her command- if he wanted to spend his time pleasing her, then he could go right ahead and do it. "Well that's very gentlemanly of you, Spike. And I think I have a solution. Do you remember that little… bump you found earlier?"

"That one that made you feel really good? Yeah I remember." Before she could reply, he then said, "I think I know what you're getting at." He began to thrust his hips, searching around for that bump; Twilight's hips bucked up once his fingers touched it, nearly throwing him off the bed. He regained his balance, and continued his work. Now, Twilight was beginning to understand why ponies made such a big deal about it. It was… well, good. Very good. Better than she had ever imagined. N-Not that she ever put much thought into it, of course. Her back legs twitched as she rubbed the young dragon with her hooves- he paid no mind to this, completely focused on his thrusts and teasing her clit.

The whole library rang with moans, cries, and other sounds of their lovemaking. The pressure built up rapidly for both- Spike pumped faster and faster as Twilight gave him disjointed praises and urgings. "T…Twilight…" he huffed, fighting through the cloud hanging in his mind, "…do you want me to… cum inside… or outside?"

"You can do it- oh… inside." There was no worry of pregnancy- without magical assistance, dragons and ponies were completely and utterly incompatible. Her leg kicked out as a jolt of pleasure shot up her spine. "Ohh… Spike… just a little more… I'm almost… almost…" She never finished- a great gate seemed to have been thrown open inside her, and Twilight was swept away under a tidal wave of pleasure. She cried out, bucking her hips up as pure ecstasy coursed through her entire body. At the same time, Twilight clamped tightly around Spike's member, and he exploded as well- his body seized, and his mind went utterly blank.

Several moments passed before the two finally relaxed. Spike slumped down on top of Twilight- she massaged his small body with her hooves, the two of them breathing heavily. Spike was exhausted, but he'd never been happier. He snuggled against her body, basking in her warmth- how had he never noticed how soft she was? She was much cuddlier than his blanket, and he was so very tired- he could just… fall asleep… right… here…

"Spike? Spike…" Twilight shook him.

He pushed himself up. "…What is it?"

"Well… I think we should go wash up." Twilight did have a point- the two of them were covered in each other's sticky juices, filling the small room with a very pungent smell. "Uh, yeah, we should take a shower. You wanna go first?"

She pouted. "What, you don't want to go with me?"

"Uh…" But before he could offer any more protests, Twilight scooped him up and trotted off to the bathroom.

She dropped him in the tub and turned on the water before joining him. It was cramped even when Twilight showered by herself, and with the two of them it was miserable; Spike was pressed flush against the tiled wall by Twilight's body. But regardless, the hot water washed the juices from them. In spite of his best efforts, Spike began to relax- the warm water and Twilight's soft coat were just… so… soothing…

"So, Spike…" Twilight began. "I… I had a lot of fun. What about you?" He didn't reply. "Spike, I asked you a question." Still no reply; she reached up and tapped his shoulder. "Spike?"

Spike was fast asleep. She shook him and called his name, but he didn't stir. She didn't blame him- the little guy must have been absolutely exhausted. She was too- as fun as it had been, no one had ever mentioned just how exhausting sex really was. Twilight turned off the water, dried off both herself and the sleeping dragon, and carried him to her bed. She pulled back the sheets and tucked him in, smiling.

Twilight had never put much thought into how she'd lose her virginity, but now that it had actually happened, she was glad it had been with Spike. But what should she do now? She could resume her studies, but as she saw how peaceful Spike looked, a part of her wanted to stay with him. Much to her own surprise, she decided… her studies could wait. And a little nap sounded absolutely wonderful right about now.

With that, she climbed into bed as well, snuggled close to Spike, and drifted off to sleep.

Fanning The Flames

Twilight rarely woke up before Spike, but today was an exception. She sat up in her bed, holding Spike's diary in front of her- the depth of his imagination was truly staggering. The day before, the two had refrained from any further intimacy after their bout of lovemaking (as much as they didn't want to) so Twilight could catch up on her lagging studies. Determined to make it up to him, she searched through his diary for any sort of fantasy she could act out for him. After scanning a few pages, she struck gold- it was sweet, slow, she was certain both of them would enjoy it. So with care, she stuck Spike's journal back into his basket and waited for the baby dragon to awaken.

Spike began to stir a few moments later. As he yawned and stretched, Twilight said to him, "Good morning, Spike."

"Oh, hey Twilight. You're up early. Were you trying to sneak in some early-morning studying without me?"

"No, it wasn't anything like that. I just wanted to see what the next few sections would be about," she lied.

"Okay." He hopped out of bed, and as always, resisted the urge to jump back in when his feet touched the cold floor. "I'm gonna get breakfast started."

"Hold on just a second, Spike. There's something I need to ask you."

"Sure, what is it?"

"Spike, would you like to… brush me?"

Twilight swore that she could see a twinkle in his eye. "Oh, would I ever!"

She smiled at his enthusiasm. "Alright. Just hold on for a second while I get things ready for you." A minute or so later, Twilight laid down on the freshly-made bed, tucking her legs beneath her; Spike sat across from her, a wide assortment of brushes at his side. His face burned as he did his best to make the fluttering in his chest go away; he'd wanted to brush Twilight for almost as long as he could remember. But how did she know he wanted to do this? He never told her, either yesterday or any other time before that. She must have… but, she wouldn't do that again, would she? Well, there was no other explanation. Eh, he'd chew Twilight out for secretly reading his diary again later.

He suddenly realized Twilight was staring at him. "Oh! Um… comfy?" Spike asked nervously.

She nodded. "Start anywhere you'd like."

Spike merely nodded in reply, his face bright red. Cautiously, he picked up a brush, and slowly began to brush her mane. She shivered- ordinarily, she used magic to brush herself. She never thought having somepony else brush her would feel so… pleasant. She smiled at him, letting him know she was perfectly comfortable; in response, his brushstrokes became faster and more firm, taking care to avoid her horn. She let out a content sigh as Spike finished brushing her mane. He switched brushes and began working on her coat- his brushstrokes were firm and vigorous, like a massage. She let out an involuntary groan as she felt the tension in her neck and shoulders melt away under Spike's capable claws. As he began to brush her back, the deepest feelings of relaxation Twilight had ever had washed over her, and she fought to stay awake.

However, as he brushed around her hips, Twilight was snapped back into full alertness when Spike asked, "Twilight, can I tell you something?"

She looked back at him. "Sure. What is it?"

"…You're really pretty."

She blushed and looked away. "No I'm not…"

"Of course you are! You're the prettiest pony I've ever met. Could you roll over please?" She rolled onto her back, and he began brushing her neck- she had no choice but to look him in the eye. "You're just saying that…"

He moved down to her chest. "I am not! I'm telling you because it's true."

"…Do you think I'm prettier than Rarity?"

Spike stopped brushing up her foreleg for a moment, before switching to the other and replying, "Absolutely."

Twilight couldn't help but blush at this. "Am I… prettier than Princess Celestia?"

He finished brushing her belly, and made his way lower. "…Yes."

"Now I know you're lying." She was glad he couldn't see how red her face had become, and it wasn't because she was completely exposed to him.

"I am not! You know… you really need to learn how to take a compliment." He brushed around her love, without touching it. "Twilight… you really are beautiful." She blushed again as he began working on her hind legs. "I just wish you could see that for yourself." After a minute or so, he finished brushing her thighs and calves. "Okay, we're almost done. Just have to get your tail."

Twilight rolled back onto her stomach- Spike switched brushes again and began to brush her tail. He brushed it for a good long while, ensuring each and every hair was perfectly straight; a part of him wanted nothing more than to sit on that bed and brush Twilight's tail forever. It took some effort, but eventually, he managed to make himself stop, and set the brush down. "There we go. All done."

"Thanks Spike." Twilight couldn't help but feel disappointed- she'd never been the subject of such lavish attention, and she would have been lying to herself if she said she hadn't enjoyed it immensely. "You know, you're really good at this; you should see if you could get a job down at the spa."

An idea suddenly popped into Spike's head- he asked excitedly, "Oh, can we give each other massages later?"

"Not today, Spike." When she saw his frown, she quickly added, "We'll want to take a whole day off for that."

Still, Spike sighed in disappointment. "Okay…" For several moments, the two simply at on Twilight's bed in silence, until Spike asked, "Twilight, can I ask you something?"

"Ask me anything."

She saw him blush. "Well, can I… um…" he said something else, but his voice faltered and became inaudible.

"Uh, what was that?"

"Can I… suck on your horn?" His voice faltered again, but this time she caught what he said.

She blinked. It certainly was an odd request- she could understand why Spike might be so reluctant to share it. "Um… sure, Spike."

He moved around to her front; Twilight lowered her head so he could reach her horn, but rather than setting to work right away, Spike asked, "You're… sure you're okay with this, right Twilight?"

"Of course, Spike."

"Okay, I-I just wanted to be sure." He brought his face up to Twilight's horn, and after a moment to collect himself, brought his mouth down around it. For a few moments he sucked on it forcefully, maybe a bit more forcefully than he should have, but if Twilight was uncomfortable, she didn't say it. As a matter of fact… she didn't say anything at all. He looked down- Twilight merely looked back up at him, a confused expression on her face. He began rubbing his tongue against its rough surface, but still, Twilight gave him no indication that his actions had any effect. Finally, he bobbed his mouth up and down her horn. He nearly gagged- how had Twilight been able to take his member so easily? But, just as with his last attempt, it was seemingly all for naught.

He stopped. "Is anything happening yet?" he asked, his words slurred by the horn in his mouth.

"Nothing yet," she replied. Twilight wasn't sure what Spike was trying to do- horns weren't exactly an erogenous zone… well okay, horns didn't even have nerves in them. But for some reason, she just didn't have the heart to tell him that. However, she did have the heart to stop him from getting her mane all slobbery. She concentrated, preparing to lift Spike off of her with her magic, completely unprepared for what was about to happen.

When Twilight had been in school in Canterlot, her teachers had always warned to never let anypony touch her horn, or touch it herself, while she was casting a spell. Twilight had just assumed it was to prevent spells from becoming unstable. She couldn't have been more wrong.

It felt as though pure, undiluted pleasure had been injected directly into her brain- she screamed and bucked forward, nearly goring the back of Spike's mouth with her horn. He pulled away, jut narrowly avoiding such a fate and stumbled back, gagging and choking- even if he avoided being stabbed, the horn had still scraped against the back of his mouth. "Oh my gosh Spike, are you okay!" Twilight asked, moving closer to him; the pleasure had dissipated as soon as Spike pulled away.

It took a few moments, but Spike recovered enough to reply, "I was about to ask you the same thing."

"I'm alright." There was silence for a few moments, and then Spike asked, "What happened? Did I… hurt you?"

Twilight could see the concern on his face. "No, it was just… really good. I… I wanna try it again."

"Are you sure?"

"Of course. Just… don't use your mouth- I don't want you to get hurt."

"Okay." He approached her and took his horn in her hand. Twilight concentrated again- she didn't have any spell in mind, but her horn began to glow brightly with magical energy regardless. Spike looked on, confused, but she merely said, "I'm ready now." He nodded, and began to lightly stroke Twilight's horn with his hand.

Even this light touch was almost completely overwhelming for Twilight. She shrieked; Spike clapped his free hand over her mouth to silence her. "Twilight, shh!" She quickly composed herself again. "We need to keep quiet- you don't want someone busting in here, do you?"

"No, but…" Just then, a solution came to her. She concentrated; after a few moments, a ball gag appeared in the air in front of her, and she used her magic to put it on. Spike stared at her for several moments, incredulous, before saying, "…You can't be serious."

"Mmmhmph hhhnng mmm dnnnn mmfhh nnng mmph," Twilight replied.

"Uh… could you repeat that?"

She spat the ball gag out. "I said, it's not like we have many other options. Now, could you put it back in for me?"

"Uh, yeah…" Spike put the gag back, and asked, "You're sure about this, right?"

"Mm-hmm." She nodded.

"You're sure you don't want to make a whip or some ropes too?"

"Hnnngh!" she said angrily, glaring at him.

He grabbed hold of her horn again. "Okay, I was just kidding Twilight. Now could you…" She nodded again, and her horn began to glow. After a moment, Spike began to stroke her horn again.

Even with the ball gag, Twilight's screams were still rather loud, and her leg began to thump furiously against the mattress as he stroked. Spike couldn't help but feel concerned; although she said it felt good, Twilight's screams sounded a lot like screams of pain. But after a few moments, her muffled screams devolved into deep moans, and her eyes rolled back so Spike could only see whites; the thumping of her leg also came to a gradual stop.

"Twilight, is everything alright?" Spike asked, continuing to stroke her horn. Twilight's only reply was a low, very satisfied-sounding moan. She'd never felt better in her entire life- as much as she didn't want to say it, their lovemaking hadn't felt anywhere near this good. The pleasure of Spike stroking her horn seemed to flow through her entire body; it was almost overwhelming, but she was able to hold on, just barely.

Spike remembered what had happened only a few minutes before, but still, he was undaunted. He would just have to take things slowly. He brought his face up to her horn again, his strokes gradually coming to a stop. Then, he ever so lightly began to circle his tongue around the tip. Twilight jerked- not a lot, but enough to let him know she was aware of what he was doing- she looked up at him, asking "Mmm?" Spike took no notice of her however, becoming lost in his own little world as he began to lick up and down the length of Twilight's horn. For some reason, it tasted… sweet. He never would've guessed that magic had a taste. Before he could stop himself, Spike took the horn in his mouth; Twilight let out a muffled cry and tried to pull back, but stayed put once he began to rub her ears.

Twilight closed her eyes and let out a content sigh. Now that she'd adjusted, having her horn sucked on felt absolutely wonderful- and having her ears rubbed wasn't too bad either. She groaned as his tongue wrapped around it, and nearly cried out when he began bobbing his mouth up and down its length, her leg thumping helplessly against the mattress again. But before long, Twilight felt something… strange. It felt like there was some kind of pressure building up in her head- it didn't hurt- quite the opposite, if fact- but it was strange nonetheless. It felt like… like… why was it so difficult for her to make a simple comparison? All of a sudden though, the pleasure became overwhelming again- her whole body tensed and she cried out. If Spike had noticed, he gave no obvious sign as he continued to suck her horn. She cried out again, louder, as the pressure began to mount. Twilight was legitimately frightened now- was her head going to explode? Would she shoot off some spell that would hurt Spike? She tried to pull back, but her body wouldn't obey. She could only lie there, making muffled cries as Spike sucked on her horn, the pressure growing stronger and stronger, until…

Twilight let out a loud cry. Suddenly, Spike felt something fill his mouth. It felt like the inside of his mouth was on fire and filled with ice at the same time. His tongue tingled, like live wires had been touched against it, and felt both as heavy as lead and as light as a feather. He felt something rush down his throat- he gagged and pulled back, revealing a strange cloud of green smoke around Twilight's horn that rapidly dissipated. After coughing up a few puffs of smoke, Spike asked, "Twilight, what was that? What just happened?"

Twilight didn't respond immediately. She was slumped against her bed, glassy-eyed, her breaths shallow. She was trying to wrap her head around what just happened. It was just like an orgasm… but inside her head. Was that even possible? It seemed ridiculous, but what else could it have been? She suddenly became aware that Spike was asking if she was alright; she righted herself and took the gag off. "I… I'm okay, Spike."

"What happened?"

"I-I don't know. It was like some kind of…" She struggled to find an appropriate word. "…brain-gasm!"

For several seconds, Spike only stared at her, wide-eyed. Then, he spluttered, and burst out laughing, falling onto his back. "Ahahahaha! Oh-oh, it hurts! Hahahaha!" Twilight watched as he literally rolled with laughter for several moments; it wasn't long before she joined him. It actually had been pretty funny. Eventually though, he composed himself, wiping a few tears from his eyes. "Oh, I… I'm sorry," he said. "That-That was just too funny."

At that moment, a terrible idea popped into Twilight's head. "Oh really?" A menacing smile broke across Twilight's face, one that made Spike shiver, and her horn began to glow. "Well, I know something that you're going to find… a lot less funny." Suddenly, a pair of ropes appeared in the air; then, with blinding speed, they tied themselves around Spike's wrists, before tying themselves to the bedposts. Spike jumped from happy to terrified in a heartbeat. "Uh, Twilight, please tell me this is a joke."

"That's Mistress to you." A riding crop appeared the air next to her. "Now get ready to scream."

"N-No Twilight, please!" he shouted. "I'm sorry I laughed! It was just really funny! I'll do anything you want, just please don't hurt me!"

"Spike, I was only kidding." The riding crop began to spin in circles. "You don't have to apologize, and I'd never really hit you… well, unless you wanted me to."

"Don't. Please don't."

She tossed the riding crop away. "As you wish. Now then…" She laid her body on top of his much smaller one. "Are you ready for your punishment?"

Spike nodded vigorously- he was starting to like this game. "Oh yes, Mistress. I've been a bad boy."

She smirked and told him, "I know you have," before pressing her lips against his.

"Alright, now just stand right here, and try not to move around too much."

"W-Wait, hold on Twilight, you haven't even told me why you're doing this."

"The spell only works on living things- I'd test it on a plant first, but, you know… it's the middle of winter. Besides, aren't you even a little bit curious about how you'll look when you're all grown up?" A few days had passed- two days before, as Twilight had been skimming through one of her spellbooks, she came across an age-changing spell, and decided that she had to try it. She'd spent the rest of that time learning the steps to prepare the spell and reading up on dragon biology, so she'd know what to expect. Mostly she wanted to see for herself what Spike would look like as an adult, but she would have been lying if she said she didn't have any… ulterior motives.

"Well yeah, but… you're a hundred percent sure this is safe, right Twilight?"

"Of course I am. Now, are you ready?"

Spike still had his misgivings, but if Twilight was certain he would be safe, then he would believe her. He nodded. "Yeah… fire away." Twilight's horn glowed as she concentrated, and a glowing white beam shot out of it. It completely engulfed Spike- she had to squint because of the light, but Twilight could see the baby dragon's silhouette grow larger and pointier, dwarfing his old self. After a few moments, the beam faded away, and she looked at Spike. He was bigger now- not as big as some other dragons, but he still absolutely towered over her now. His scales were darker, and his ridges and claws were longer and sharper than before. His neck had grown longer, and two long black horns had sprouted from the top of his head- Twilight couldn't help but shiver when she saw the long row of fangs in his mouth glisten in the light. Although short and stubby compared to the length of his body, she could see the taut muscle beneath the scales of his arms and legs. The room had become a fair bit warmer- Twilight didn't doubt even for a moment that Spike himself was the cause. Everything that she'd expected was there.

The spell was successful. Spike was now a fully grown dragon.

Spike looked down at himself. "Uh, Twilight? Did you… skip a step or something?" he asked in a much deeper voice. Sure, he was much bigger than he was before- if he had to compare to somepony, he thought he was maybe just a little bit smaller than Princess Celestia. But he was still absolutely puny in comparison to the dragon he had encountered after running away from home.

Twilight shook her head. "Sorry Spike, but based on all the research I did, that's as big as you're going to get. Naturally, at least."

"Aw… are you telling me that I don't even get any wings?" He craned his neck, looking at his wingless back.

"No. But if you really wanted to, you could give yourself some."

He looked back at her, confused. "What are you talking about?"

"Well, while I was doing research for this spell, I found out that your dragon breed is very skilled in magic."

He sat down on the floor. "Really? Do you think you could teach me some then?"

"I'm not sure. Dragon magic and unicorn magic might be totally different. I'll have to ask the Princess about it."

"Do you have any idea when I'd be able to start using magic?"

"The books I've read said your abilities would develop right around your age, so you might be able to use magic right now."

A wide smile broke across his face. "Alright! I can't wait to try out-"

"We should wait until the Princess can answer our questions first- I don't want you to blow up the library by accident."

Twilight had a point. "Fair enough. Well, at least I know I'll be handsome in the future. Well, more handsome than I am now," he said, ignoring Twilight's snickers. "Uh, you can turn me back to normal, can't you?"

"Come on, Spike. Have I ever given you a reason to doubt me?"

There were in fact more than a few reasons, but Spike elected to keep those to himself. After looking down at himself one last time, he said, "Okay, you can change me back now."

"Are you sure? You don't want to 'test out' your new body first?"

Twilight's euphemism wasn't lost on Spike. "No thanks. I'm starting to feel really… heavy." Twilight nodded. Her horn began to glow, and as before, a beam of white light shot out of it, completely engulfing the dragon. He slowly began to shrink back down, and after a moment, the light faded. Spike looked down at himself again, quickly realizing that he wasn't quite back to normal. "Twilight, I don't remember ever being this tall." Indeed, his arms and legs, and even his body were longer and skinnier than he remembered.

Her only response was a devious smirk, before she threw herself at him. It was then, with Twilight lying on top of him, that he remembered something- just the other day, he said that he wished he was bigger, if only so that he could kiss Twilight when they made love. That wish had just been granted.

He blushed. "Oh… I think I like this spell…"

She gave him a quick kiss and another devious smirk. "No more talking."

"Argh, this is impossible! How do you do anything without hands!" the young earth pony asked, frustrated. He was rather short, with a purple coat and a green mane; curiously, his cutie mark was the image of a dragon. He wobbled unsteadily as he wandered around the library.

"How do you do anything with them! They keep… touching everything!" a small dragon said back- she was rather short as well, with purple scales and a ridge of dark purple spines running down her back. Like the pony, she wobbled unsteadily as she walked- after a few moments of walking, she had to stop and sit down. "I never thought walking on two legs would be so hard. How do you do it so easily, Spike?"

"Well, I've been doing it for a while Twilight," Spike replied, sitting down as well. Twilight had come across a transformation potion the day before- Spike had agreed to try it before she'd even had a chance to finish asking him. Neither Spike nor Twilight wanted to take the potion before the other, so both ended up taking it at the same time. He brought up one of his new hooves and looked at it, trying to flex fingers that no longer existed. "Really though, how do you get anything done?"

"Well magic makes it easier," Twilight replied, touching the spot where her horn would have been if she were still a pony. For a long while, neither said anything, and simply stared at each other in silence. Then, Spike pushed Twilight onto her back and lay down on top of her, being careful to keep his weight off the small girl dragon. "Spike," she began, "we can't-"

"Twilight, I just want to be close to you." He paused for a moment. "…I wish we could do it. I just want to… make love to you right now."

"I do too. But it would never fit. You know that."

He sighed sadly. "Yeah." A small smile appeared on his face. "But that's okay. There're lots of other things we could do instead, you know." He kissed her, and she cradled his muzzle in her hands. But after a moment, sooner than Twilight would've liked, Spike pulled away.

"Oh… you're so warm…" Twilight whispered, resting her forehead against his, savoring the warmth of his body. "How do you keep your hands off me?"

"Years of practice," Spike replied, pressing his lips against hers again- she gripped his neck tightly as their kiss deepened. But suddenly, remembering something, Spike pulled himself from Twilight's grasp. "W-Wait, we have to stop," Spike said as he pulled away.

"What? Why?" Twilight asked, trying to pull Spike's face back down.

"I was supposed to go help Rarity today."

A horrified expression spread across Twilight's scaly face. "Oh no, what are we gonna do? We can't go out like this- the potion doesn't wear off for another two hours!"

"You can't go out like this. I'll go tell Rarity I can't work today. You'll have to stay here- I think a new stallion in town would be a lot easier to explain than a new girl dragon."

Twilight got back on her feet. "What are you going to tell her?"

"I'll just say that you got sick, and that I had to stay here to take care of you. Well, not me as in how I am now, but me as… y-you get my point!" He grabbed Twilight's scarf off its hook; after failing several times to wrap it around his neck himself, Twilight approached and did it for him. "I'll be back as soon as I can. Go hide somewhere and don't come out until I get back." With that, Spike opened the front door and headed out into the snow.

Spike got some rather strange looks as he walked through Ponyville- obviously, nobody had expected a new pony to roll into town during the winter. He ignored them as best he could and made his way to the Carousel Boutique. When he arrived he knocked on the door, nearly falling over as he tried to balance on three legs. Inside, he could hear someone approaching the door. "You're rather late today Spike," Rarity's voice said as the door opened. "Did something happen this-" She stopped as soon as she saw the baby dragon wasn't standing at her door. "Oh I'm sorry, I thought you were somepony else."

"That's alright," Spike replied. "I came here to deliver a message. It's from Spike."

"Oh my. What is it?" Rarity didn't know why, but something felt very familiar about this pony.

"He wanted me to tell you that Twilight got sick, and that he had to stay to take care of her."

"Oh, the poor dear. I understand- you can go back and tell him-"

Spike suddenly belched; a small jet of fire emerged from his mouth, before a scroll appeared and dropped to the ground. He brought his hoof up to his mouth, blushing and absolutely mortified; Celestia had blown his cover without realizing it. Rarity stared wide-eyed at him for several moments before she stammered, "…Spike? Is-Is that you?"

There was no point in trying to hide it anymore. He hung his head. "Uh… hi, Rarity."

"J-Just… come inside, please." She stepped aside to allow him into the boutique. Her eyes raked across him as he entered- she had to admit, Spike didn't look half-bad for a stallion. Almost as soon as it had come, she pushed the thought away. Where had that come from? she wondered.

She pushed the door closed as soon as he was inside. "Now Spike…" she began, "…what in Celestia's name happened to you?"

"Well, Twilight wanted to test out some transformation potions that she made. They worked- I'm a pony, and Twilight turned into a dragon." He deliberately chose not to mention why they were experimenting with transformation potions to begin with.

"Good heavens! You're not going to be stuck that way forever, are you?"

"No, no. Twilight said that we should turn back to normal in a few hours."

Rarity regarded him for several moments, before replying, "…I see. Well, I suppose you could have the day off- I don't think you'll be much help to me in your state."

"Alright. I'll see you tomorrow then, Rarity." Rarity let him out of the boutique- once she closed the door behind him, he ran back to the library as fast as he could, from a combination of wanting to get back to Twilight and not wanting to run into any more of their friends. Before long, he re-entered the library, but not before taking a quick look around to ensure nopony was watching.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to take so long," Spike said as he took off and hung up Twilight's scarf. As he turned around, he continued, "It just took a little- Twilight!" In the middle of the library floor, Twilight was lying flat on her back, her new hands buried between her legs. She looked over at him and asked "…What? I wanted to try them out."

"What're you doing? I thought I told you to go hide! What if somepony else saw you like this?"

"Spike, the library's closed. Didn't you see the sign?" Spike opened his mouth to say something, but quickly closed it again and blushed, embarrassed that he missed something so obvious. Twilight rose to her feet. "So, did she buy it?"

"Yeah, don't worry, she believed me." He approached Twilight, a little gleam in his eye. "Now, where did we leave off? Oh, I think I remember…" Twilight giggled as Spike nuzzled his face against her much smaller body. "Spike? Do you want me to brush your mane?" she asked. He didn't reply- instead, he tossed Twilight onto his back (almost dropping her in the process) and galloped up to the bedroom.

Back at the Carousel Boutique, Rarity couldn't help but feel suspicious. She'd noticed that Spike had been in an unusually good mood for the last several days. Well, in a better mood than usual. And Twilight had been acting fairly strange as well. Something must have happened between them, and something had to be done about it. Rarity grabbed her favorite scarf and wrapped it around her neck- she was going out.

It was time for a meeting.

About a half hour later, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy were sitting at a table set up in the middle of the boutique. A few moments later, Rarity emerged from her kitchen with a tray laden with teacups and a teapot. She set the tray down on the table before taking a seat as well.

"I'm glad everypony could make it on such short notice," Rarity said to the others.

"It ain't nothin', sugarcube," Applejack replied.

"It's been a while since you've called a meeting, Rarity," Rainbow Dash said. "I mean, it's been… uh…" She turned to Fluttershy. "How long has it been since our last meeting?"

"…almost two years, I think," Fluttershy whispered back.

"Yeah, it's been almost two years. What's the occasion?"

Rarity set her teacup down. "Well, before I begin, I need to ask you all something very important- have any of you noticed anything… unusual between Twilight and Spike?"

Rainbow Dash brought a hoof up to her chin. "Well, they haven't been going out of the library that often. But considering the weather, I don't really blame them."

Pinkie Pie then interjected, "When they stopped by the bakery a few days ago to pick up an order, they kept giving each other these weird looks."

The group was silent for a few moments. Then, Applejack said, "Alright, so we got funny looks and them not comin' out of their house in what ponies are sayin' is the worst winter in Ponyville's history. So what?"

Rarity took another sip of tea. "Well, just this morning, a strange pony stopped by the boutique to deliver a message. …It turned out to be Spike."

The others stared at her, incredulous. "What? How?" Applejack asked.

"Apparently, he and Twilight had been… experimenting with transformation potions."

"…Well," Fluttershy began, "Twilight makes all sorts of potions for her studies… doesn't she?"

Rarity sighed in frustration- she'd tried to be subtle, but instead was just beating around the bush. "Alright, I'll just say it. I think that Twilight and Spike are… oh, how do I put this in a way that isn't vulgar? …I think that Twilight and Spike might be… well… fornicating."

The others stared at Rarity in shock, with the exception of Rainbow Dash, who looked at her in confusion. "Forna… forni… w-what?" she asked.

"Rarity means to say that she thinks Twilight and Spike might be having sex," Pinkie replied bluntly.

"Oh. …Oh, that's disgusting!"

"Now now, settle down Rainbow," Applejack replied. "I know yer barn door don't swing that way but-"

"That was one time, Applejack!" Rainbow shouted. She rested her head in her hooves. "Are you ever gonna let me forget about that?"

Applejack smirked. "As long as I keep gettin' that reaction out of ya? No."

"Girls, focus," Rarity said. "We have a serious problem."

"Dashie is right, it is disgusting," Pinkie Pie said, with a sudden solemnness. "And not just because it's between a boy and a girl, not even because it's between a pony and a dragon. Spike's only a baby dragon, remember?"

It didn't take too long for the implication to sink in. "Oh goodness," Fluttershy said meekly. "You don't think that Twilight… forced herself on Spike, do you?"

Silence fell across everypony at the table for several moments. Finally, Applejack replied, "I really hate to say this about Twilight, but we definitely can't rule that out."

"Well, what should we do? Should we tell the princess?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Isn't it obvious?" Pinkie Pie began. "We need to go to the police right away."

"No, not yet," Rarity replied. "We need to be sure that something's happened before doing that."

"Are you kidding me? We need to do something about this now! Before it gets any worse!"

"…why don't we just… ask?" Fluttershy asked.

"I gotta agree with Fluttershy," Applejack said. "I say that we go over to Twilight's, we sit her down, and we don't let her go 'til she gives us a straight answer."