"Stiff wings. The worst part of sleeping." Thorax groaned in discontent before crawling out of bed to grab his scarf. If he was going to spend the day outside, he should at least try to be warm. "I wonder if Spike is awake..." A rumbling snore from the next room over told him that it wasn't so. "Guess I'll have to wake him up." He left his room, hissing at the brighter light of his living room. "Spike?" He knocked on the door. "Spike we have to go!" He knocked a bit more. "We're spending the day around the empire, we planned this all da-" Thorax backed away as flames licked at the edges of the door.

"Thorax, you're up way too early! It's 5 AM! Go back to sleep or watch tv or something. Anything for the next two hours." Thorax returned to his room to check his clock, and sure enough, Spike was correct. The clock read 5:13, though how Spike knew that witnout a clock was beyond Thorax.

"I guess I'll just read for a while. Now the question is, what?"

"Thanks for taking me around the Empire, Thorax!" Spike smiled his usual grin for a moment before turning to face forward again. Thorax simply smiled back.

"It's nothing. I just wanted to show you how much it's changed. And that they're adding a new statue of us." Spike's eyes widened at this. "Since you introduced what people considered impossible, you've become an even bigger legend." Thorax smirked before shaking his head. "Don't get too big a head over it though. You've gotten big enough." Probably in more places than one. Mmmmm. Wait, where did that come from? Thorax closed his eyes and shook head. "Either way, I wanna show you my favorite place in the whole Empire." Thorax licked his lips,"Welcome to Frozen North Fro-Yo."

"That." Spike began,"Was the greatest and worst thing we've done." Five hours were spent in that frozen yogurt shop. And over 40,000 calories between the two of them. Of course, Spike having eaten most of those.

"Ughh. Agreed. Can we never do that again. Ever." Thorax shook his head at the discomfort in his stomach. Definitely not a good idea. "You know, even if it was half off, 50 bits worth was a lot. Ugh, I don't even wanna move." I might like to move a bit closer to- Seriously, where are these thoughts coming from?! "Let's go visit Crystal Oak Lake. It's pretty quiet and the walk will help work off some of the yogurt." Spike released a burp before getting up from the table.

"Alright. Let's go. Walkin' off this fro-yo is definitely what I need."

"There's a legend that says that if you come here with someone who has changed your life you can tell if they're your soulmate. I don't know how it started, and it's probably superstition, but I've always found it interesting." Thorax relished in the possibility of somehow finding his soulmate here.

"Well, I guess we should tell each other if either of us get any signs huh. Heheh." Thorax was confused for a split second before realizing what Spike meant. Thorax was given love for the first time and was able to share it because of Spike. And Spike gained who he considered his best friend. They've changed each other's lives a lot more than he could have realized. "So Thorax, harboring any other big secrets?" Thorax smirked and punched the drake in the arm.

"No. But I do have one question. Why didn't you grow wings with your growth spurt?" Spike scratched his cheek before thinking for a moment.

"I guess it's based on the type of dragon I am. I'm a wrym or sort of earth dragon. We have quite a few different abilities than normal flying of fire dragons. But we never do grow wings evidently. Still, I do enjoy being able to tell time without a clock or seeing the sun." Well there's the answer to that question. "And of course, my gem sensing abilities are pretty great. Although, I did have to suppress it while I'm here. Seriously, who came up with the idea of a crystal frickin castle." Thorax rolled his eyes trying to supress a snicker.

"Hello, Crystal Empire. Honestly it should be expected. But anyway how about we-" Thorax cut off his sentence having noticed the spectacle everypony was staring at, two crystal butterflies flying above the bench they were sitting in. While this was no odd sight in the summer, winter was an entirely different thing.

"Wow... I've never seen butterflies like these before. They're amazing..." Thorax realized very quickly that Spike didn't know what was happening. It could be a pure coincidence, but this was what everyone who's told about the soulmate myth has seen. Two crystal butterflies. But that was all wrong, Thorax didn't love Spike.

Or do you?

"That was pretty cool, huh Thorax? Thorax jumped at the sudden question.

"Oh! Y-yeah, pretty cool. It was pretty weird though, that's what people said happens if you discover your soulmate at Crystal Oak." Spike tilted his head and smirked.

"Well, we might be soulmates. Unless the legend with no proof, and no confirmed witnesses could be not true." Spike laughed it off, and Thorax followed suit.

"Yeah, heheh." The forced laugh evidently went unnoticed. "Guess it probably wouldn't be true. It's still weird to think about though." Spike nodded, and began to shake with a yawn.

"It's getting pretty late though..." He was interrupted by another yawn. "I think I'll hit the hay, goodnight Thorax." He returned to his room leaving Thorax on his own to ponder.

"Okay, I can't deny it anymore. There is no way those butterflies were just a coincidence. Spike might just be my soulmate. And I think... I might be...gulp in love with Spike.

Damn right, you are.