For my friend DarkVoxis
Twilight was up in her study, her eye glued to the viewer of her telescope, when she heard the front door of the library slam. She clucked her tongue in annoyance. How many times had she told Spike not to slam the door?
Her study of the gasses of the Horsehead Nebula irreversibly disturbed, she stepped away from the telescope with a sigh and looked at the clock. It was only 8 pm! He’d told her that he’d be out until 9.30 pm at least. Something must have happened, obviously.
With another sigh, deeper this time, Twilight trotted downstairs. With all of her important research, both on stellar phenomena and on the magic of friendship, she had so little time to herself - and having to look after a little purple dragon who was just starting to grow up was a massive responsibility as well.
It was just as Princess Celestia had warned her it would be, all those years ago when Twilight had first arrived at Canterlot to live with her. The Princess had taken her to see her new study at the top of the south-western tower...
“A whole tower? Just for me?” Twilight gasped and resisted the urge to hop about for joy. Her very own tower!
“Why, of course,” Princess Celestia replied, smiling down at the little unicorn filly with fondness in her eyes. “You are my number one student, after all, Twilight Sparkle. And I have another little surprise for you as well.”
And with that the Princess had opened the door and who had been waiting inside, but a little purple dragon! He was staring intently at the scroll he was clutching in his claws and was so swept up with his own thoughts that he hadn’t even noticed that the door had been opened.
“This is Spike,” said Celestia simply, and at the Princess’s voice the little dragon jumped up in alarm, dropped the scroll that he’d been holding, stooped down to pick it up, realised that he hadn’t bowed to the Princess yet, got up again, bowed, then stooped to pick up the scroll a second time, realised he hadn’t said hello and final, totally bamboozled, he gave a salute and said, “Er, hey!”, a sheepish smile on his little scaly face.
Twilight watched the entire display with a mixture of confusion and annoyance. The little dragon seemed altogether disorganised! But finally she had managed a cold “Hello,” of her own.
“Perhaps you remember Spike?” Celestia asked. “He was the little dragon who you helped to hatch during your entrance examination.”
Twilight blinked at the little purple dragon. “Oh yes, of course.”
“Er, I guess you could say that you’re my mommy,” said Spike, with a somewhat nervous laugh.
Twilight stared at him, uncomprehending.
“Spike will be your servant during your stay here in Canterlot,” said Celestia. “He’s been trained to aid you in your magical research and also to help you with your everyday chores as well. Oh, and he has another rather special ability as well!”
This was Spike’s cue. He lifted the scroll and blew green flame upon it, and with a flash it disappeared.
“He can burn scrolls?” asked Twilight with a frown. What a totally useless power!
Celestia laughed. “Oh, he hasn’t burnt it.” The scroll straightaway appeared before her in a flash of green sparks and she plucked it from the air with her magic.
Twilight’s eyes went wide.
“It’s called Dragon Mail,” Celestia explained. “It’s all very new but I thought you’d enjoy playing around with it.” She smiled, somewhat indulgently. “All my other students have started calling it ‘d-mail’ for short.”
“I like Dragon Mail better,” said Twilight, grinning. “And it’s amazing!”
“Spike is an expert in all the major referencing systems, but there are still a lot of things that he doesn’t know about.” Celestia smiled down at the little dragon benevolently. “He is still only a baby dragon, after all. So please be sure to look after his further education closely - it’s a big responsibility.”
“Oh, I will Princess!” replied Twilight. “I’ll be sure to give him lots of homework.”
“I’ll let you two get acquainted then,” said Celestia. “Shall we meet for tea in my study later?”
“Oh, yes please!” replied Twilight. And with that the Princess smiled and departed.
Twilight glanced at the little dragon but didn’t say anything, then walked past him and looked round the room.
As she turned her head left and right, Spike just stood there, burrowing a little clawed foot into the floor until at last Twilight turned towards him.
“Spike - that’s your name, isn’t it?” she asked, looking him up and down.
Spike nodded.
“Spike, this room is arranged all wrong,” said Twilight. “I want you to move the bookcase against the north wall to the south wall.”
Spike blinked at the little lavender pony. “You want me to move the whole thing?”
Twilight frowned. “Isn’t that what I said?”
“But-“
“Didn’t the Princess say you were here to help me with everyday chores as well?” demanded Twilight, rapidly losing patience.
Spike nodded. “Well, yeah, I guess. But mainly I’m trained in the Canterlot Decimal system...”
“But you can move things, right?” pressed Twilight.
Spike nodded again.
“I’ll be upstairs looking around,” said Twilight. She began to climb the spiral staircase, but then stopped and turned back to him. “Oh, and Spike?”
The little dragon looked up at her hopefully. “Yes, Twilight?”
“Please try not to make too much noise!”
... yes, raising Spike had been a big responsibility that the Princess had left on her shoulders, and sometimes Twilight wondered if she’d done all that great a job.
Tonight was one of those times. She could see now that Spike was sitting on the couch, head down and shoulders slumped. The bouquet of flowers he’d been so proud of earlier in the evening had been tossed on the coffee table with total disregard.
Twilight clucked her tongue. It’d probably leave petals everywhere!
“You’re back early,” she said tentatively as she stepped off the staircase. “Did everything go okay?”
Spike made no reply but just sighed again, deeper this time.
Twilight rolled her eyes. It seemed she’d have to continue the interrogation if she was going to get anything meaningful out of the little dragon. “What happened? Wasn’t Rarity at home?”
Spike slowly lifted his head to look at her. His big green eyes were swimming. “She was. But she told me she was too busy working on an order of dresses for Hearts and Hooves day to go out with me!”
“Well, it is only around the corner,” said Twilight, trying to be rational. “She probably just got snowed under with her work. Hearts and Hooves day is an important day after all.”
“But this happens every single time!” protested Spike. “Every time she promises to take me on a date, something always pops up.” Spike mimicked Rarity’s falsetto voice. “Oh, I’m so sorry, Spike, but Sapphire Shores needs her dress taken up right away! Oh, Spike, the Mayor’s official gown has a tear in it and I must work on it right away! Oh, Spike, I’m so sorry, but I’m in the zone right now and these cocktail dresses have to be finished by-”
Twilight stopped him there. “Well, Rarity is an Equestria-renowned designer, Spike,” she said. “Sometimes things just ‘pop up’ - and when you’re an adult you can’t just hope somepony else will do them for you.”
“Being an adult sounds pretty hard,” said Spike. “But being a kid is no fun either. Nopony takes their promises to you seriously.”
Twilight sighed. Spike certainly did have a point, she realised. Would it really be too much trouble for Rarity to sacrifice a single evening to cheer the little dragon up? She was supposed to be the Element of Generosity after all!
“Well, maybe when she’s finished the dresses for Hearts and Hooves Day, she won’t be quite so busy,” reasoned Twilight, trying to make him feel better. “Why don’t you ask her out for Hearts and Hooves Day? I have a feeling she’ll have some free time to go on a date with you then.”
Spike suddenly perked up. “You really think so?”
Twilight nodded. “Why don’t you ask her tomorrow around lunchtime?” Yes, lunchtime was perfect - it would give Twilight just enough time to corner Rarity and make her promise to take the little dragon out on Hearts and Hooves day, if only for a little while. Nopony should be alone on that day, after all!
Spike’s face burst into a smile. “Alright! I’ll go and see Rarity tomorrow then.” The little dragon hopped off the couch and hugged Twilight. “Thanks Twilight. I feel much better now.”
Spike’s scales were surprisingly warm against her coat as he hugged her hard - a little too hard - and Twilight, blushing in embarrassment, squirmed out of his embrace and chuckled nervously. “It’s no problem, Spike.” She looked at the bouquet on the table. “But you know, I think those flowers could do with some water. It’d be a shame if they died. Why don’t you put them in that little moonstone vase I bought last time we were in Canterlot?”
Spike looked at the flowers lying, floppy and sad, on the table top. “Oh, yeah. Sure thing, Twilight.” And with that, he trotted into the kitchen, whistling as he went about his duty, while Twilight watched him, a suddenly affectionate smile playing over her face.
************
Twilight choked back tears as she opened the front door to the library. Oh, tonight had been the worst night ever!
She stripped off the pretty dress that Rarity has made for her especially for Hearts and Hooves Day and tossed it into a corner of the room, then slumped onto the couch, her violet eyes filling with tears.
For a long time, she sat there, staring down at the floor, watching as tear after tear dislodged itself from her lashes and fell onto the rug. Why - why did he have to do that to her, tonight of all nights? What was wrong with her? Was it something she’d said?
There was a sudden scrabbling sound at the door and Twilight flew into a panic. She couldn’t let anypony see she’d been crying! She grabbed a pile of tissues from the tissue box on the coffee table with her telekinetic magic and scrubbed her eyes with them. Oh, she must look terrible!
Spike stormed into the library, muttering to himself. He tossed his top-hat and silver-topped cane angrily into the same corner of the room that Twilight had thrown her dress and began to stomp up the stairs - but then he saw Twilight sitting on the couch, strangely quiet, and noticed straightaway that her eyes were red and tear-stained.
“Twilight?”
He hopped down off the stairs and quickly waddled over to her. The little unicorn turned her face away and refused to meet his gaze.
“What the matter, Twilight?” he asked, darting around her and trying to get a clear look at her face. “Have you been crying?”
She glared at him with her swollen eyes. “Of course not,” she snapped.
“But your eyes are so red and puffy and-”
“It’s just an allergy,” she replied perfunctorily.
The little dragon frowned. “An allergy? To what?”
“An allergy...” To what? Couldn’t he tell she wanted to be left alone? “...an allergy to the flowers on our table at the restaurant.”
But mentioning the restaurant brought all the horrible events of the evening flooding back, and tears came with them, hot and new. She threw herself down onto the couch, sobbing.
Spike was by her side in a heartbeat. “Twilight?” he asked, his voice breaking. He brought a claw down onto her shivering back, but she jerked away from him.
“Oh, Spike!” she cried. “Caramel broke up with me tonight.”
“Broke up with you?” Spike repeated in disbelief. “But why?”
“He’s- he says he’s in love with another filly,” she sobbed. Her voice was smothered by the cushion of the couch but the agony she was in was clear to the little dragon.
“Oh, Twilight,” said Spike, and this time the unicorn didn’t shy away from his claws but allowed the little dragon to hold her as she shuddered with sobs.
*****************
A long while later Twilight lay on the couch, wrapped in a blanket as she sipped from a cup of scalding hot tea that Spike had brought her. With each sip she felt a tiny little bit better, but her heart was still cold and heavy, like a chunk of ice in her chest.
She looked across at the little dragon who was busying himself with dusting the entire collection of the Encyclopaedia Equestriana in the far bookcase. He was already up to ‘R’.
“So how did it things go with Rarity?” Twilight forced herself to ask.
Spike sighed. “It was okay, I guess.”
“Just okay?” Twilight frowned. “What happened? Don’t tell me she gave you another excuse again.” After she’d promised her that she wouldn’t!
“N-no, nothing like that,” said Spike. “It’s just that... well, I guess we didn’t have all that much to talk about really.”
Twilight sighed. She’d been afraid that something like that would happen. But maybe now at least Spike would understand that the whole Rarity thing was really just a coltish infatuation. Still, she felt sorry for him. She was partly to blame since it was she who’d finally convinced Rarity to take him on a date.
She closed her eyes. So both of them had had an awful evening!
“I think I’ll have some wine,” she said at last.
Spike turned, but the look of disapproval disappeared from his face before it had a chance to appear. He didn’t like Twilight drinking, but tonight, of all nights, it would be insensitive to scold her about it.
“I’ll go get it,” he said. “What would you like?”
“I think I’ll have some dandelion wine,” she said.
As Twilight watched him waddle into the kitchen, she was struck by how quickly he’d set aside his own sadness to cheer her up and decided she should do something to raise his spirits as well.
“Oh, and bring two glasses, Spike,” she added, quickly.
The little dragon stopped dead in the doorway, and looked back at her. “Two glasses?”
Twilight managed a smile. “I thought you might like to try a bit.”
Spike’s eyes almost boggled out of his head in disbelief. “Can I really?”
“Oh, a little sip won’t hurt you,” said Twilight. “Besides, you had a hard night tonight, too.”
“Well, okay,” he said, trying his best to contain his excitement.
Soon he was sitting on the couch next to her, a glass of wine clutched in his claw, and the little dragon couldn’t remember the last time he felt so grown-up.
Twilight looked across at him, and a smile came more readily to her face this time.
“How does it taste?” she asked as he took a sip.
“It’s sweet,” he replied, smacking his lips. “But it burns a little.”
“It’s the alcohol that does that,” explained Twilight. She took another drink herself, and the warmth that the wine had already kindled in her quickly spread.
Twilight looked at the little dragon sitting on the couch and swinging his feet beside her. Every now and then he would take a judicious sip of the wine and shiver, trying his utmost not to grimace at the unfamiliar tartness. She stifled a giggle, and suddenly leaned towards him, offering her glass.
“Shall I propose a toast?” she asked with a giggle.
“A toast?” asked Spike. Then he realised what Twilight meant and he nodded and hastily lifted his own glass as well.
“To two dateless wonders,” said Twilight, almost tripping over the first two words which were confusingly similar. “Who, were it not for the magic of friendship, would be home alone on Hearts and Hooves Day!”
Spike grinned. “Cheers!” he said, bringing his glass against Twilight’s with a ‘clink’.
They both took a sip of their drinks. Spike murmured happily, and Twilight suddenly leaned towards him again.
“Feel better?” she asked.
Spike looked at the unicorn’s earnest face right next to his own. “Yeah,” he said, with a grin.
“Me too,” said Twilight, lying back on the couch again. And it was true. Somehow, the terrible coldness inside her was melting away.
*************
Spike could only really take tiny sips of the wine, but Twilight more than made up for it and it wasn’t too long before the whole bottle was finished. The little unicorn, already quite tipsy, insisted that they start another one and floated a fresh bottle from the kitchen. But when Spike fell onto his back on the rug while trying to pop the cork, she decided it was probably best for their little party to come to an end.
“Okay, Spike. I think you’ve had enough,” said Twilight, taking hold of the bottle with her magic. It bobbed crazily through the air as she floated it towards the door to the kitchen and it took all her concentration to keep it from plummeting to the floor. She trotted into the kitchen after it, and on the fifth attempt managed to get the bottle on the shelf, where it wobbled for several moments before at last falling still.
Spike had fought back laughter at the serious look on Twilight’s face during her struggle with the bottle, but now he fell on his back and began to roll back and forth on the rug, chortling uncontrollably.
“Oh, come on, Spike!” said Twilight, still buoyed by the effects of the alcohol and amused rather than annoyed at being the butt of his laughter. She nudged him onto his feet with her muzzle, and trotted past him to climb the staircase. But she’d only gone up two steps when she listed to one side and had to lean against the rail, her eyes spinning crazily.
Spike stifled further giggles and quickly ran up to the stranded unicorn, helping her navigate the rest of the staircase step by step and finally, together, they fell into the bedroom, giggling.
“I think I had a too few many,” said Twilight.
“Me, too,” said Spike.
“A few too many sips, you mean,” chuckled Twilight.
Spike held his head. “Does this always happen when you drink?”
Twilight shook her head and the return of her dizziness made her immediately regret it. “I guess we went a bit out of control,” she said. “We’ll probably feel a bit better after some sleep.”
“Great idea!” Spike waddled in a rather zig-zag path over to the bed and quickly clambered up onto it.
Twilight snorted. “Hey! That’s my bed, you silly dragon.”
“Aw, c’mon Twilight,” said Spike, who had already thrown the covers over himself and was holding a pillow over the upper half of his face. “Your bed is so much softer and warmer than mine is. Can’t I sleep with you tonight?”
Twilight stifled a giggle. “Sleep with me?” Oh, Twilight! You know he didn’t mean it that way.
“Oh, pretty please, Twilight!” he pleaded. “I promise I won’t snore.”
Twilight chuckled. “I know you will snore, but I suppose it’s alright. Just make sure you don’t steal all the blankets, okay?”
Well, reasoned Twilight, it was a cold winter evening, after all, and the little dragon would probably help keep the bed warm. She climbed up onto the bed and slipped under the covers, and the cosy warmth that welcomed her immediately made her glad she’d said yes.
Spike pulled the pillow from his face and turned over onto his side. “Hey, Twilight - remember when you used to let me sleep with you whenever I had a bad dream?”
Twilight smiled at the memory. “You were always dreaming about being chased by manticores, weren’t you?”
Spike shuddered. “Don’t remind me! Those things are scary.”
“Well, no manticores will get you as long as I’m here,” said Twilight.
“Mmmmm,” muttered Spike in reply, already half-asleep.
Twilight sat up to switch off the lights with her magic, then leaned over and kissed the little dragon on his scaly forehead. “Thank you for being so kind to me tonight, Spike.”
The little dragon murmured, but in the few moments it had taken her to switch off the light, he’d already fallen asleep. Twilight lay there and looked at him for a short while in the pale starlight, but soon she felt her own body grow heavy and she lay back on the bed, and within a few heartbeats she was asleep herself.
* * *
Twilight awoke. It was not yet morning, for all around her the room was still steeped in darkness. She turned over and grabbed her pillow in her forehooves, yawning widely as she felt sleep steal back over her.
Suddenly she felt Caramel’s forelegs wrap themselves around her and she sighed in delight, snuggling herself back into his embrace. Oh, his coat was so smooth and warm and scaly...
Scaly?
Twilight’s eyes flashed open, and her entire body went stiff as she tried to decide whether to scream or leap out of the bed or kick her hind legs like a bucking bronco - but then she remembered that Spike was sharing her bed and she immediately calmed down. The little guy had probably just hugged her for warmth in his sleep. All she had to do was slowly extricate herself from his embrace without waking him - the poor little dragon would be so embarrassed if he realised what he was doing!
She gingerly tried to roll away, but Spike’s arms were wrapped tightly around her chest. Her movement made him stir and mutter in his sleep, and his little claws began to move slowly down along her sides.
Twilight stifled an involuntary giggle as he drew his claws across her ribs, but when they slipped down onto her hips, she couldn’t help but gasp. The pressure of his claws reminded her of how Caramel’s hooves had used to feel, wrapped around her waist just before he mounted her and...
She swallowed. She felt herself getting wet between her haunches and she shivered with a mixture of shame and excitement. She wanted to escape from Spike’s embrace, but was afraid that he’d wake up and be humiliated – and another part of her was afraid that the wonderful feelings that had started to course through her body would stop.
Spike’s claws were stroking her coat now and Twilight was surprised at how gentle they were. If they hadn’t belonged to her little assistant, she’d have had trouble stopping herself from sliding her body up so that they could stroke her in the hot area between her hind legs.
Soon Spike’s claws slid down and Twilight felt him squeeze her rump – and then they slid down even further still. She bit her lip as his claws strayed ever close to the epicentre of her heat and wetness, and when they reached it, she gasped in pleasure and instinctively swept her tail to one side, ready to grant him access to her.
Things had gone on far enough! She gently pushed him away with the hooves of her hind legs and batted her tail at his claws, which soon ceased their stroking and moved away. Spike rolled back over and soon there came the sound of snoring from his side of the bed. Twilight breathed a sigh of relief… and of disappointment.
The itchiness inside her gave no signs of abating. First she rolled a little, this way and that, but it didn’t go away. Then she began to recite the times table in her head to try and distract herself from the tension that had built up inside her. Oh, why in Equestria hadn’t she just let him slip a claw into her...
No. Why hadn’t she just woken him up at the start of this whole situation was what she meant!
The little dragon continued to snore, but sleep still eluded Twilight. At last she tentatively brought her forehooves down and placed them between her hind legs. She cupped that sticky hot place and squeezed her hooves between her thighs until the pressure made sparks of pleasure course up her spine.
“Oh,” she said. She tried to stay silent, but the delightful sensations forced her voice from her mouth no matter how hard she bit her bottom lip with her teeth. “Uh.”
She squeezed harder and the pleasure intensified. She felt that familiar melty feeling flowing down from inside her, and she grew stickier, the heat of her juices almost scalding against her hooves.
“Oh,” she muttered again. “Oh. Oh, OH!”
“T-twilight?”
Spike’s voice was soft and sleepy, but it shocked her as if a bolt of lightning had struck the library without warning. She jerked her hooves away like they’d been burnt and tried to stop herself from panting with the ghostly surges of pleasure that were still pulsing along her lower half.
Her heart was beating as if she’d just run the Running of the Leaves again, and with all the will-power she could muster she tried to make her voice sound sleepy as well.
“Yes, Spike?”
She heard him turn over. “You’re still awake?” he asked.
After a moment’s thought, she replied, “I can’t sleep.”
He was silent for a little while, but then he said, “Hey, Twilight...”
“Yes, Spike?”
“I’m glad Caramel broke up with you.”
The words shocked her. “Why?”
“He never deserved you.”
Twilight felt her eyes grow moist as the emotions of the evening welled up in her again all at once. She grasped her pillow between her forelegs and rubbed her face against its softness. The linen quickly grew wet with the tears that she didn’t want Spike to know about.
“Thank you, Spike,” she whispered. But the little dragon had already fallen asleep again, and all she heard in reply was his deep snore.
* * *
The next morning Twilight sat reading the Ponyville Bugle as Spike busied himself with breakfast. From the direction of the kitchen came the sounds of cluttering pans and pots and the periodic clash of dropped cutlery.
Twilight clucked her tongue in annoyance. “Spike, what in Equestria is going on in there?”
“N-nothing!” he shouted back. “Just making breakfast.”
“Aren’t you just making dandelions on toast?” asked Twilight.
“Uh huh,” replied the little dragon, seconds before another crash of cutlery.
Soon Spike came out of the kitchen. He was covered in flour and his apron was blackened by fire – in fact, one small corner of it was still aflame, and he quickly patted this out with his tail as he carried a little silver platter over and placed it on the table before Twilight.
She lifted her eyes from the newspaper to her breakfast. The dandelions on toast – her favourite - looked delicious, as did the tall glass of her usual apple juice. But there was also a little vase on the platter with a red flower sticking out of it.
Twilight turned to Spike, her violet eyes questioning.
He grinned sheepishly. “I kinda wanted to do something special for you today, Twilight. I mean, after last night and everything.”
“Last night?” Twilight felt her cheeks getting hot. Wait, had Spike been awake the whole…
“You know, the whole Caramel thing,” he said.
Twilight felt sudden relief, but it was immediately tempered by the sadness of the memory of ‘the whole Caramel thing’.
She looked at the little flower in the moonstone vase. It was a zinnia, and she found its bright red face surprisingly cheering.
“Spike,” she began.
“Yes, Twilight?” The little dragon was still standing there, waiting to see whether she liked her breakfast or not.
“Did you have a dream or... or something last night?”
“A... a dream?” repeated Spike. He brought a claw to his chin. “Umm, I don’t think so… uh.” His eyes grew suddenly wide and his cheeks red.
“Are you sure?” pressed Twilight.
“Actually, now that you mention it, I think I did,” said Spike. He turned and trotted quickly back into the kitchen.
“Wait, Spike,” said Twilight. “What was it about?”
“The dream?” came the little dragon’s voice from inside the kitchen. There was the sound of taps being turned and water starting to flow into the sink.
Twilight rolled her eyes. “Yes, the dream...”
“Uh, I think I dreamt about... Rarity,” he said at last.
“Oh,” said Twilight. Her disappointment surprised her. “Do... do you remember anything about it?”
The sound of water stopped and there was silence from the kitchen for several heartbeats.
“Spike?”
“Uh, no,” came the little dragon’s voice at last. “I’m afraid I don’t remember a thing, Twilight.”
Twilight sighed. She brought her muzzle down to the toast and took a slice in her mouth. It tasted warm and salty and sweet and delicious. Spike did in fact make the best dandelions on toast she’d ever tasted.
As she chewed and listened to the clutter of cutlery and crockery in the kitchen and to the happy humming of the little purple dragon hard at work in there, she looked out through the window at the bright, sunny day that was beckoning to them.
“Let’s go on a picnic today, Spike,” she said suddenly.
“A picnic?” Spike’s voice floated out from the kitchen. “That sounds like a great idea!”
“We’ll need some daisy sandwiches, and maybe some nice stuffed zucchini flowers,” said Twilight. “Oh, and why don’t we bring those muffins Pinkie brought over the other day?”
“I’ll pack them in the hamper as soon as I’m finished here,” said Spike.
Twilight got up from the table and was halfway up the stairs to the study when she stopped.
“Oh, and Spike?”
“Yes, Twilight?” The little dragon ducked his head out the kitchen door, as he continued to wipe a foamy dish clutched in his claw.
“Why don’t you pack that bottle of wine from last night that we didn’t finish?”
“Will do!” He managed a little salute that dunked a few blobs of foam on his head and stepped back into the kitchen.
Twilight continued on up the staircase, but then she stopped a second time. “Oh, and don’t forget to pack two glasses as well.”
Spike’s mouth fell open. He dropped the dish he was washing in the sink and ran out through the kitchen door-
-but Twilight had already climbed the last of the steps and all he caught was a glimpse of her rose-streaked tail as the door to the study closed behind her with a ‘click’.
