The Sacrifices You Make in the Past. . .
"Merry Hearth's Warming, Fluttershy, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash!" Twilight Sparkle waved to them from the entrance of Golden Oaks Library as they headed back to their own homes. Smiling contently after a day well spent with her best friends, she closed the door and headed up the stairs.
"Come one, Spike. It's getting late, and I don't want miss a minute of tomorrow," Twilight yawned and motioned to her number one assistant as she climbed into bed. "And I'm sure you've had enough for the day as well."
Spike stopped and nearly dropped the book he was holding. "But I thought you wanted to try a new spell from this book you found not long ago."
Twilight's eyes widened as she remembered the spell she had been dying to try out for a few days now. "Oh, right! How in Equestria could I have forgotten that? Thank you so much for reminding me, Spike. As tired as I am, I think I could spare a few minutes."
In a flash of purple light, she teleported back down to the first level of the library, where Spike was standing. Grasping the book firmly in her magical grip, she flipped through the pages with keen eyes. "Now where was that spell. . . " she thought out loud to herself. Suddenly, she stopped at a certain page and stared down at the book in triumph. "Aha! Page twenty-five, first paragraph, one-inch indent. . . Spike!"
Spike flinched and jumped around from where he was observing a caterpillar slither across the wooden bust in the middle of the library. "Wha - Yes, Twilight?"
"Spike, take a note."
"Yes, ma'am!" The dragon returned less than a second later with a scroll and a quill in his claws.
Twilight cleared her throat as she entered her professional mode. "December twenty-fifth, nine forty-five pm, at Golden Oaks Library. Intent on trying out a newly discovered spell that is, as quoted from the book, "a sacrifice from the present. . . to benefit the future".
"A sacrifice. . . from the present. . . to benefit. . . the future. . . got it!" Spike exclaimed as he finished up his writing. Then, he just realized what Twilight had said. "Wait, what does that mean?! What exactly do you mean by "sacrifice"? Don't tell me we have to ki - "
Twilight laughed softly. "No, Spike. It says it all in the book. Merely a harmless sacrifice performed at current time will possibly bring you much benefit in the future, on the very same day in several years. See? Not a particularly big thing."
"A-Alright, if you say so, Twilight," Spike replied more than just a little hesitantly. "B-But does it tell you what you're going to sacrifice?"
"Well, actually, no."
"WHAT?!"
Twilight furrowed her brow as she examined the words on the book. "But it's worth a try, isn't it? I mean, you're never going to know until you try."
Spike sighed in defeat. "Al-right. But if I find any of my comic books missing. . . I'm going over to Rarity's the next time you perform a spell like this."
"Deal. Now let's begin."
Twilight's horn light up in a bright purple aura. Sparks of light leapt from her horn, dissipating into the air. The unicorn squinted her eyes in concentration as she tried to read the book at the same time.
Spike backed away as soon as he saw the aura surround both Twilight and the book. He was now feeling really bad about reminding Twilight to try the spell. After all, if the library did blow up or the world ended, it would be partially his fault.
As the light grew, so did the tension. The air was now filled with both as Spike shielded his eyes, waiting and waiting for it to happen. . .
. . . until suddenly. . .
POW!
"GYAAAAAAAH!" Spike was thrown back by a wave of energy. He hit the ground painfully, causing a small ringing in his head. But just a small ringing wasn't going to stop him from panicking. Immediately, he got back on his feet and lunged forward at the dome of light that was starting to fade.
"TWILIGHT! ARE YOU ALRIGHT!?"
He was greeted by a light round of coughing. "Yes, Spike, I'm alright," the familiar voice of his friend was heard, along with a few more coughs. "Just a little dizzy, that's all."
Spike let out the huge sigh of relief he never knew he would let go of. "Thank Celestia you're okay! I thought the world was going to end right there!"
Twilight managed a small smile. "Oh, of course not, Spike! My spells aren't that zany. And see? I told you everything was going to be alright. Now that I've completed the spell successfully, we'll just have to wait and see what good it brings in the future."
Spike suddenly felt really suspicious. "Yeah. . . thing is, we don't know what the "sacrifice" was."
"Oh, you're right! Thanks for reminding me, Spike. I don't know what I'd do without you," Twilight grinned appreciatively. "Maybe I could find the answer in the book somewhere - Wait, where is the book?!"
Spike looked around. Twilight was right. The book was nowhere to be seen. Only a trail of smoke rose from the spot where it had been.
"Well then. . . I guess we now know what the "sacrifice" was." Spike picked up the quill and the scroll. "Hey, Twi, want me to take a note?"
There was no reply.
"Twilight?" Spike looked to where the unicorn was huddling.
Forearms locked around her body.
Rocking back and forth.
One eye twitching.
Mouth stretched into an enraged line.
"Oh Celestia, no," Spike dropped the quill and scroll, and put his arms over his head as he prepared himself for the real end of the world.
Three. . .
Two. . .
One. . .
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO. . .
. . . Can Be the Best Thing in the Present.
"Merry Hearth's Warming, guys!" Twilight smiled and waved to her five friends as they departed. With a smile, she stepped back through the doors of her castle and made her way to her bedroom.
"It's been quite a long time, right, Twi?" Spike commented as he joined her on the way back to their sleeping chambers. He had a total of twenty-seven candy canes in his claws. . . and that wasn't even the most he had for a day.
"You're right, Spike," Twilight smiled with a warm glance at her dragon friend. "But it feels like it's several weeks. I guess it's just how time works. All the good times pass too quickly."
"What about the bad times?" Spike asked just out of curiosity as he stuffed himself with more candy canes.
The purple alicorn thought for a moment. "It really depends. When you are experiencing it, it feels like it's never going to end. But when you look back on it, you wonder how much worse it could've been."
She sighed. "At least I haven't lost any memories of the good times."
"Well I guess I can't argue with that," Spike agreed. "It's like the old saying, "time is precious, make use of all you have of it".
"Right again." Twilight pushed open the door to their sleeping chambers. "Time sure is precious, but so is sleep. In fact, I'd be more than glad to take a good break." She yawned. "Being the Princess of Friendship isn't by any definition easy. But as long as there are ponies who need to see the joy of friendship, I wouldn't ever deny my role."
"And I'll always be there when you need me, Twilight. The perks of being your number one assistant, y'know," Spike winked and climbed into his basket, which he was starting to outgrow.
Twilight also climbed into her bed, then blew out the light. "G'Night, Spike," she whispered, although he had already started snoring. With a smile on her face, she closed her eyes and started to fall asleep.
Then, all of a sudden. . .
POW!
A bright light burst into the room, flooding the room with light. Twilight jolted into a sitting position, her eyes straining to see. Beside her, Spike pulled the blanket over his head. Twilight leaned forward curiously as the light faded away, and the silhouette of an object could be seen.
Spike dared to bring down his blanket shield by just the slightest bit. "W-What is that, Twilight?"
Twilight glided down to examine the object. "I'm not quite sure. . . I think it looks like a. . ." The purple alicorn suddenly froze in midsentence.
"T-Twilight? What's wrong? It is a bomb? It is going to end the world in any way?" Then, Spike realized what was happening. "Oh Celestia, no," he covered his head with his blanket and awaited the catastrophe.
Three. . .
Two. . .
One. . .
"HOLY CELESTIA IT'S A BOOK! OHMYGOSH I'M SO HAPPY, THIS IS THE BEST HEARTH'S WARMING EVEEEEEEEER! COULD YOU BELIEVE IT, SPIKE? A SPELLS BOOK JUST FOR ME! Ha! Talk about the unexpected! Who would send me such a wonderful surprise like this? Must be a really nice, caring, friendly. . . "
Welp, seems like all those years really did make a difference in one's memory.
Spike groaned. "Merry Hearth's Warming, everypony."
Author's Note
I wasn't kidding when I said I wrote this in less than two hours.
Feel free to leave a comment below. I'd be glad to hear your opinion on this story.
And Merry Christmas, everyone! I hope this was good enough of a gift for you all. 
