Secrets in Equestria

Spike and Ember arrived early that morning in Canterlot before the sun had risen. The two flew to the top of the waterfall above the city. They laid down next to the water fall and fell asleep. When they woke, the sun was out and Spike could tell it was near noon. He let out a loud yawn and then heard an echo. He turned his head toward the sound and smiled before looking down at his claws. A part of him wished everything had been a dream but another part was glad it wasn’t. He curled and uncurled his claws many times before another claw grabbed his. Spike looked up at Ember with a smile. “We had better get going.” The two took to the sky and flew above the city toward the castle. The last thing Spike wanted to do was cause a panic of having two dragons walk through the streets of Canterlot. Most ponies knew Spike but none knew Ember. A walk wasn’t worth the risk.

Spike and Ember arrived at the room Spike and Twilight stayed in. Spikes heart beat rapidly and he began to sweat. Ember caught onto Spikes discomfort and grabbed his claws in hers. “Hey, don’t worry, you said everything would be alright.” Ember gave him a kind smile and released Spikes claws.

Spike relaxed with some calming breaths and dragged Ember into the air. He flew with Ember to the building he and Twilight lived in. The birds whistled which served to help Spike to relax more. Regardless of the help he was getting, his heart raced, he was terrified. He opened the door slowly and yelled out for Twilight. “Spike, I’m so glad you’re home. The Gala is tonight and I, oh, you brought a guest with you.”

“Yes, she is a rather important guest but she won’t be here long. I wanted her to meet my family before she heads off.” This was it, everything happened so fast and his anxiety was rising. What would Twilight think? What would Twilight do? What was she going to say? What would he say to Twilight? There were so many questions and soon many would be answered.

“It’s good to meet you, um?”

“Ember and you must be Twilight, Spike speaks highly of you.”

“Does he now?” Twilight looked at Spike with a smile but noticed he looked nervous. Perhaps he liked Ember and wanted Ember to make a good impression. Spike was being silly or so Twilight thought until she noticed something. She cocked her slightly and looked closer. Spike had a scratch on his face but the scratch didn’t call for being nervous did it and then she noticed Spike had his claws behind his back. Something wasn’t right and she would figure it out but she wasn’t going to come out and say something. She wanted Spike to say something but that didn’t mean she wouldn’t pry a little. “What has he told you exactly?”

“He told me that you’re his family and you taught him everything he knows.”

“That’s so sweet of him.” Twilight glanced down for only a moment but saw a ring on Embers claw which looked a lot like Spike. “So Ember, are you married. I noticed you have a ring on?” Ember looked to Spike unsure of what to say but Twilight didn’t need for Ember to say a thing. Embers action told her everything she needed to know. “Spike, what is going on?” Spike gave a defeated sigh and revealed his claws. Twilight however didn’t talk about the ring but the missing claw. “What happened, was this Garble?”

“I uh, yeah but don’t worry Twilight, it’s not a big deal.”

“Big, not, what do you mean not a big deal? You’re missing a claw Spike, a missing claw is not something that isn’t a big deal.”

“I’m fine Twilight, I can still write just fine I’m sure and”

“And nothing Spike, this is not ok! You are not going back there ever again and don’t think I didn’t notice the ring on your claw. What were you thinking. You know what, I know what you were thinking, you weren’t. Until further notice, you are not to leave here Spike.” With her anger rising, Twilight left in a flash leaving both Spike and Ember alone.

“Well, that went better than expected.”

“What are you talking about? She flipped out on you without giving you a chance to explain.”

“Ember, Twilight is like that. She flips out and then thinks about things. She is family and she worries about me which is something you aren’t familiar with.”

“How is yelling at you at all caring?”

“She doesn’t want to see me hurt Ember. She is scared is all and I would probably do the same if something happened to her.”

Ember just didn’t get it. “She cares about you and so she yells? I don’t understand.”

Spike chuckled. “Ember, give it time and you will see just how fear and worry for another can affect you. It’s something you haven’t really had to deal with.

“I was worried about you when Garble attacked us but I wasn’t yelling at you. How is this different?”

“Ember, it’s because I went to the Dragon lands away from the safety of home. My choices eventually led us to getting captured indirectly or otherwise. In this case, I put myself in this position, granted Twilight doesn’t know this. Not knowing is part of the problem. Now when we were captured, it was Garble attacking us. What I did or didn’t do is irrelevant. I didn’t leave home, I didn’t make some choice. This was all Garble. It’s amazing how much the perspective can change how the worry is brought out. You wanted Garble to stop, Twilight doesn’t want me hurt. When something changes like this, the not knowing can really mess with Twilight or any creature really. Do you understand?”

“I’m not sure Spike, I’m just not sure.”

“Perhaps this is something you need experience in and can’t be explained. Every creature reacts to fear, worry and pretty much every emotion in their own ways. Twilight just doesn’t know how to handle this info yet. Anyway, I need to get ready for the Gala, it’s up to you what you want to do. You can stay or you can go.”

“I guess I’ll go, I don’t want to ruin your relationship with Twilight.” Ember turned to leave but her arm was caught by Spike.

“You can’t ruin our relationship even if you tried.” Spike let Ember go and waved goodbye. Ember returned the gesture and slowly disappeared out of sight. Spike smiled and turned around. “Twilight.”

“I’m sorry Spike, tell me everything.” Spike nodded and sat down with Twilight. ��(O2