“Have you ever been to the Crystal Empire?”
Diamond Tiara looked up to where Spike was sitting. She kept getting surprised that she had to look up to him. She also kept forgetting he had wings now until he put one over her shoulders.
The two of them had spent the early morning looking though his comic book collection. She’d just been about to suggest getting an actual breakfast when he asked that.
“I haven’t been,” Diamond answered, shaking her head. “Dad’s been a few times for work, and mother keeps saying we should go, but we haven’t yet.”
“She’s probably repelled by the Empire’s Aura of Happiness,” Spike snickered.
“Probably,” she chuckled.
“So, would you like to go see the Empire?” he asked.
“Like, right now?” she wondered.
“Yeah,” he said.
“Could-could we even do that?” she asked.
“I’ve gone on a day trip to the Empire before,” he said. “Well, usually I end up staying, but we could come back later.”
“I’d have to ask Dad but it sounds like fun,” she said.
After stopping in downstairs to tell Twilight their plans, they headed out the door towards Diamond’s house. It was still early. Shops were just opening, full of ponies starting the day and setting up, but very few customers walked the streets.
Most ponies would question why Diamond was up this early. Her answer was that she had gotten up even earlier most days. There was something ethereal about walking through empty streets, as if she was walking between worlds.
She’d taken to walking to her friends’ homes early in the morning, before the sun had risen, since she was getting less good sleep at home. Going to Twilight’s castle was her default, as Spike and Twilight had sleep schedules just as strange, if not stranger, than hers. Even if they weren’t awake, there were many rooms that she would be allowed to stay in until they were. Sometimes she’d catch up on sleep, since it was easier to sleep when she knew her Mother couldn’t interrupt it.
The duo made their way back to Diamond’s home, greeting the still-awakening staff on the way in. Thankfully, Diamond’s father was still in his home office. He usually checked over things there before leaving for the shop or a business trip.
“Good morning, Diamond!” her father greeted as they walked in.
“Morning, Dad,” Diamond said. “Uh, we wanted to ask you something.”
Her father looked up from his paperwork.
“Sorry, didn’t see you there,” he apologized. “Good morning to you as well, Spike.”
“Good morning, Mr. Rich,” Spike said, a little too formally.
“So, what is it you wanted to talk about?” Rich asked.
“Well,” Diamond began. “We were talking about how I haven’t been to the Crystal Empire yet, so we were thinking about making a day trip up there?”
“We’d be back by tonight,” Spike said. “If something happens I can send a letter to anyone almost instantly no matter where I am. Or if there’s an emergency and you need Diamond to come home early you can find Twilight and have her send one to me.”
Her father thought about it for a moment. He walked around his desk, looking almost like he was inspecting them. Diamond watched as Spike stood straighter. Was he nervous? It was just a day trip. What would he have to be nervous about?
“I think it’d be okay,” Rich said, leaning back and smiling. “You two are nearly adults now. I think I can trust you on a day trip.”
“Thanks!” they both smiled.
“Have fun, and be careful,” Rich said.
“I will!” Diamond said. “See you later!”
Diamond felt the tension leave when they left the room. She wondered why it was there in the first place, but decided it didn’t matter. A different kind of tension popped up as they made their way down the hall.
“What is that thing doing in my house?” her mother’s voice demanded.
“Hi mother we’re going to the Crystal Empire for the day see you later bye!” Diamond said.
Without looking to her mother, she pushed Spike down the hall before either of them could say anything else. She let out a sigh as the door closed behind her.
“You really need to tell your dad about that,” Spike said. “What she’s really like. About the cut on your cheek.”
“I know,” she agreed, absentmindedly rubbing the cut. “I will. Before Hearth’s Warming, I promise. Can we not talk about her today?”
“Just remember that we’re here for you,” he said, putting a wing around her shoulders.
“I know,” she said. “So are we picking anyone else up?”
“Well, no one’s able to go today,” he said.
“Really?” she asked, raising an eyebrow. “No one?”
“Yeah,” he answered. “Sweetie and Pip have rehearsal all weekend, Applebloom’s in Appleoosa for a family reunion, Silver’s on vacation in Vanhoover, and Scoots is spending the day with Dash and Flash-Hey, that rhymed- and they invited Alula to the Wonderbolts show, Rumble has his internship this week, Twist’s helping Bonbon on a candy order, and Dinky’s on tour of her new school. ”
“So they are,” she laughed. “Then it really is just us?”
“Hope it doesn’t change your mind about going,” he said.
“No, we can still go,” she said.
It was only a few minutes before they were on the train. Diamond had been on a train many times, but this was the first time she could really enjoy it. Most train rides were for vacations or weekend trips with her family. Naturally, her mother being the way she is, they had to have an expensive private car, which was like a small room. It was like being at home and suddenly walking out the door somewhere else.
This time they were actually in a normal train car with other ponies. Thankfully it was only a few ponies, and even less after it stopped in Canterlot. They bought breakfast while the train was stopped. It wasn’t supposed to be ‘fancy’, but considering the stop was in Canterlot, even a few muffins felt special. She watched out the window as they passed by. Farmlands turned to forests, and the forests turned to mountains.
“I think I should’ve grabbed a jacket,” Diamond said, looking at the heavy snowfall. “Thankfully the train is heated, but if we’re going to be walking around I might buy one while I’m here.”
“You’ll be fine once we get inside the Empire,” Spike said, looking out with her. “It might even be warmer than Ponyville this time of year. But wow that storm’s going.”
“Does the weather just stop inside city lines or something?” she asked, a bit thankful for his Dragon bodyheat right now.
“Sort of,” he answered. “It’s a side effect of the Crystal Heart.”
“How does it work?” she wondered.
“Do you want the basic version or exactly what Twilight said?” he deadpanned.
“Basic,” she replied, scrunching her muzzle at the idea of him repeating it word for word.
“Figured,” he laughed. “Basically, the Crystal Heart absorbs emotional magic and pumps it out in an ‘aura of emotion’. That much magical energy generates enough heat to make the Empire a comfortable temperature in the frozen north. It’s probably why the Empire is here and not somewhere like Las Pegasus. Imagine how hot you’d get!”
“I think I’m sweating already,” she groaned.
“We could always open the window,” he said.
“Rather cold than hot,” she said.
Diamond felt the train slow to a stop. When the doors opened, she felt the air. He was right about the temperature. Cold enough to want a jacket but warm enough to not need one.
The view of the Empire itself was breathtaking. As its name implies, everything was made of some sort of crystal or gem. Buildings of every color shone in the sunlight. She’d thought Twilight’s castle was impressive, but it was tiny compared to the towering Crystal Palace.
“Wow,” she breathed.
They stepped off the train, Diamond still looking at the buildings. Even the road was made of crystal. She jumped when her hoof touched it. Frowning in confusion, she tapped the crystal road with her hoof.
“What’s wrong?” Spike asked when she didn’t stop.
“You can’t feel that?” Diamond asked, still prodding at the crystal. “It feels like it’s zapping me. It's kinda like the thing the castle does.”
"What thing the castle does?" he asked.
"Well, the zapping thing," she said. "I'm used to it so it's more of a warm tingle now, but it's similar. I just thought the castle did it because it was made by that 'Rainbow Power' stuff. But you have no idea what I'm talking about do you?"
“I don’t feel it,” he said, walking on the road. "You going to be okay?"
“I don’t think it’s enough to bother me as we walk,” she said, taking a few steps. “But I still don’t know why it’s happening.”
“I can explain that!”
The voice came from a girl close to their age, maybe a year older. She was a Crystal Pony, as expected, with a blue coat and a silver mane, both translucent and gleaming. There was a look in her eye that both of them knew from time with Twilight: the look of a mare excited to talk about something interesting to her.
“Hello, I’m Glass Slipper,” she introduced.
“I’m Diamond Tiara,” Diamond said. “And this is-“
“Everypony in the Empire knows the Great and Honorable Spike the Brave and Glorious!” she chirped.
“That’s a lot of titles,” she glanced at Spike.
“Well, I did help save them from King Sombra,” he shrugged. “Uh, sorry for bringing him up.”
“It’s alright,” Glass Slipper said, ignoring her own shudder. “Ponies tend to bring him up a lot. Who knew tyrannical Demons could be such a great tourist attraction?”
“You were going to explain why the road’s zapping me?” Diamond reminded.
“Oh, right!” she exclaimed, her cheerfulness returning. “You see, way back when, well, all that nastiness with King Sombra and the Empire disappearing, there were a hoofful of Crystal Ponies outside the Empire!”
“How come we didn’t know of them until you came back?” she asked.
“You see, when we Crystal Ponies feel negative emotions,” she explained, “we lose the ‘crystal’ look, and can pass for Earth Ponies. Without the Empire, those outside were stuck like that, even generations later when they didn’t know we existed! When the Empire reappeared, many ponies all over Equestria turned Crystal and, what’s the term, ‘freaked out’?”
“Sounds like a reasonable reaction,” she laughed. “What does that have to do with the zapping?”
“It means you’re descended from one of the Crystal Ponies,” she smiled. “Even though you’re not a Crystal Pony yourself, a part of your magic recognizes it and can feel the magic just like a Crystal Pony would!”
“That’s cool!” Spike said.
“Other than looking like an idiot and tapping the road for five minutes,” Diamond said.
“That’s not the worst reaction,” Glass Slipper laughed. “I remember back when Mr. Sunburst first showed up here! He jumped a foot in the air and teleported back into the train.”
“Sunburst’s part Crystal too?” Spike asked.
“Yep!” she said. “He’s descended from Lady Sunstone, who was the Crystal Mage before him. I’m sure if you went through your family history, you could find which Crystal Pony you are descended from!”
“Interesting,” Diamond mused, feeling out the magic under her hooves.
“If you’d like to know more, we have a section on it in the Library,” she said. “I should probably stop keeping you from your day.”
“It’s alright,” she said. “If you hadn’t I probably would’ve gone nuts trying to figure it out. Thanks.”
“No problem!” she said. “Have fun in the Empire!”
They waved goodbye to Glass Slipper and headed down the street. Diamond could still feel the magic under her hooves, but it was more of a light buzz than a shock now.
They walked for a while, taking in the sights. Diamond made note of a few shops that she wanted to stop in later. Might as well do the shopping last so she didn’t have to carry bags around. Then she saw it.
“Is that what I think it is?” Diamond asked,
“Giant statue of me holding the Crystal Heart?” Spike chuckled. “Yeah, it is. It really needs an update though.”
“Little bit,” she said. “It’s kinda weird. Like finding a picture from a fifth birthday party. Except that statue will live on forever.”
“On one hoof, kinda cool,” he said. “On the other hoof, as adorable as I was, I’m pretty hot now, don’t you think?”
“Literally, Mr. Fire-breathing-Dragon,” she laughed. “Also you don’t have hooves.”
“It’s an expression,” he said, waving a claw.
“Still, kind of cool to have a statue,” she said. “Although, nowadays I wouldn’t like that long title. What was it? ‘Great and Honorable Spike the Brave and Glorious’? Almost sounds like one of Trixie’s shows.”
“Don’t give her any ideas,” he chuckled. “Do you want to get lunch?”
“Sure,” she said. “Those muffins in Canterlot were good, but yeah, actual food would be nice.”
“I know a good place,” he said, leading her down one of the streets. “The food here is really interesting. They use a combination of Earth and Crystal magic to grow it, so even their food is crystallized. Honestly, it’s the closest to the taste of gemstones a pony can get. Like, a caramel apple will taste like a caramel apple, but a crystal caramel apple will taste like a caramel apple with Peridot in it.”
“As if that makes sense to anyone other than a dragon,” she rolled her eyes.
“Actually, hold that thought for a second,” he said.
She followed his gaze to a building off the street. It was a decent-sized shop, empty with a sign saying it was for rent. Spike walked off and talked to the pony out front for a moment. Diamond waited, wondering what was going on.
He was back almost as quick, leading her to the restaurant next door before she could ask. It was a lovely place. Not too fancy, but then again, it was hard not to look fancy with furniture made of crystal.
“So, what was the thing with the building about?” Diamond asked once they were seated.
“Oh, just a thing Rarity was talking about,” Spike answered. “She mentioned wanting to open a boutique here in the Empire, so I just wanted to ask the guy about the building prices. It was a bad idea because, well, hero worship and all that.”
“Let me guess, he wanted to give you the building for free?” she smiled.
“Pretty much,” he laughed.
“So, how is that going,” she asked. “Your thing for Rarity.”
“Oh, you knew about that,” he chuckled nervously, rubbing the back of his neck.
“I’m pretty sure everyone knows,” she said. “You did kind of kidnap her while Berserk, and she was the one to calm you down from that. Not to mention that no one in Ponyville knows the meaning of ‘subtly’.”
“Fair enough,” he said. “When Twilight and I first came to Ponyville, she said ‘All of the ponies in this town are crazy!’, and honestly it’s a bit true.”
“Rude,” she laughed.
They paused as the waitress delivered their food. Spike was right. It tasted a lot different than usual. A good different. She wondered if she was tasting ‘Sapphires’ or ‘Rubies’, or even if the two gems would taste that different, considering they’re both Corundum. If they did, Sapphires were probably more metallic.
“Still, how is the Rarity thing going?” Diamond asked in between bites. “I mean, obviously it’s not going well, since she’s in a relationship, but still.”
“It’s okay,” Spike said. “I’ve moved on a bit.”
“Really?” she asked, feeling bad that the news made her smile a little.
“Yeah,” he said. “I guess a lot of it was simple kid crush stuff, you know? She’s pretty and nice and all that. Not to say she isn’t a wonderful pony, because she is, I just realized she’s not the one for me.”
“Thinking of going for another pony, or will you look for a Dragon this time around?” she asked.
“Well, there is a whole Empire happy to know I’m still on the market,” he laughed, gesturing out the window.
“I bet they are,” she laughed. “How many have actually asked you out?”
“Two, actually,” he said. “It was last year, but there was a little filly named Rock Candy, and a colt named Frosty Quartz. Even if I wasn’t still caught up with Rarity I would’ve turned them down because of the hero worship.”
“Fair enough,” she said.
“By the way,” he said, “If you wanted to grab dessert, the pie here tastes like amethysts.”
“Maybe we should try it then,” she laughed.
After lunch, they did indeed try the pie. And while Diamond wasn’t sure what amethysts tasted like, it was delicious.
After they left, they continued to wander the city. It was still amazing to see. The Crystal Heart itself was especially amazing. Diamond could feel the buzzing under her hooves become more of a constant thrumming as they stood near it.
They did manage to swing by the library, looking up the stuff Glass Slipper told them about. It was pretty interesting, though they didn’t stay long. Honestly, they came for a mini-vacation, not to spend the day in another crystal library.
They went back to shopping after. They bought little gifts for all their friends, and a gift for Diamond’s dad as well. They stopped by the stadium too. Diamond sort of regretted not being able to have gone to the Equestria Games that year, but her mother had decided that ‘since she lost the chance to be on the flag waving team, she lost the chance to go to the games’.
Oddly enough, as big of a tourist attraction as the Empire was, there were little things to ‘do’. Probably because it was an actual city and not a theme park. Still, there were cool places to hang out all over.
As the day went on, they started getting tired. They debated about getting dinner, but decided buying a few snacks for the ride and having a late dinner back in Ponyville was probably better. They wouldn’t be home too late.
By the time they’d gotten to the train station, a crowd had formed. At first they thought it was more fanfare for their Hero, but the crowd looked annoyed. As they walked up, the crowd parted for them. Diamond was unsure if it was because of their Hero, or because ‘let’s not stand in the way of the Dragon’, but either way Spike took the lead.
“What’s going on?” Spike asked.
“Sorry, sir!” one of the train workers replied. “The snowstorm was a bit too strong. Tracks won’t be cleared until at least tomorrow morning.”
“T-tomorrow morning?” Diamond repeated.
“Sorry, miss,” he replied.
“N-no problem,” she replied.
She followed Spike away from the train station. They stopped a little bit away from the crowd.
“What are we going to do?” Diamond asked. “We can’t get back!”
“It’s fine,” Spike said, putting a wing over her to calm her down. “Letter spell, remember? Your dad knows trains can have issues.”
“I know,” she said. “I just don’t want him to worry.”
“It’ll be fine,” he said. “On the bright side, now we get to spend the night in the Empire!”
“Where?” she asked. “I’m pretty sure we don’t have enough for a hotel.”
“Diamond,” he chuckled. “You do remember I have a brother and a sister-in-law who live in a freaking palace?”
“Right,” she said. “I-how do I keep forgetting that?”
“To be fair,” he said, leading her back into the Empire, “Twilight forgot to tell any of her friends about Shining until they were invited to the wedding. Then again, Shining forgot to tell us there was a wedding.”
“Really?” she laughed. “I can get not telling a friend about your family for a while, but how do you forget to tell your siblings about a wedding?”
“I think it’s hereditary,” he rolled his eyes. “Mom, Dad, Shining and Twilight do that thing where they get so focused on something that important things slip their minds. That, or Shining thought that if he ignored the fact that a wedding was happening he could avoid the curse.”
“The curse?” she snorted. “There’s a curse? That you actually believe in?”
“A wedding curse,” he said.
“Okay, you’ve got to tell me that one,” she said.
Spike looked up the road to see how far they were from the palace. It was still a bit of a walk.
“It started with our grandparents’ wedding,” Spike said. “One of Grandma’s ex lovers burst into the wedding and tried to kill her.”
“Oh my stars!” Diamond gasped.
“They were fine, obviously,” he said. “But as the guards took him away, he was screaming about cursing them and all that. He meant to say a curse of ‘all your family’s marriages will end in disaster!’, but he said ‘all your family’s weddings will end in disaster!’, and thus the curse was born.”
“I’m guessing there’s reason to believe it’s real?” she smirked.
“Well, Mom and Dad’s wedding wasn’t as, uh, deadly,” he said. “But both of their fathers got way to drunk and started a full on brawl during the vows, both sides of the family fighting each other.”
Diamond lost it. She actually had to stop to contain her laughter a bit.
“Tell me you’re not serious!” Diamond laughed.
“I am!” Spike laughed with her. “You can ask Shining! And speaking of, you heard of how his wedding went down.”
“Changeling Invasion,” she brought a hoof to her face. “Think you’re cursed too?”
“Well, I’m adopted so probably not,” he shrugged. “But stars help Twilight’s wedding. I might skip out just so I can’t be involved in whatever tops a Changeling Invasion.”
“If we went, we might get a chance to fight the supervillain,” she said. “Then I could get a statue too!”
“Do you want to look elegant or heroic?” he asked.
“How about we go over concept sketches before deciding?” she suggested.
“Deal,” he laughed.
By that time, they’d made it back to the palace. The Sun was beginning to set, and Diamond knew by the time they got up to wherever they needed to be, the Moon would be up.
The inside of the palace was beautiful, like the rest of the Empire, but ramped up to eleven for the extra pieces that screamed ‘palace’. It was as beautiful as Canterlot, but it felt older, even though the castle was technically standing for less time.
The guards that patrolled the halls nodded at them. A few even smiled at Spike. Honestly, Diamond found the guard a little creepy. The way the glamour on the armor made them all the same colors. It was a bit unnerving.
The throne room was just as magnificent. It was almost impossibly tall, with windows on each side to let in the Moonlight. A carpet created a path from the doors to the throne.
Standing in front of the throne was Princess Cadence. Diamond had seen her before, mostly in newspaper pictures, but it was different to see her in reality. And different to see her smiling so enthusiastically.
“Why didn’t you tell me you were visiting!” Cadence exclaimed, hurrying forward to hug Spike.
“It was a last minute decision,” Spike chuckled. “Didn’t want to drop in on you guys and all so we just played tourist. We would’ve left, but the train’s down and won’t get fixed till morning.”
“You know you and your friends are always welcome to stay here,” she said before glancing to Diamond. “Of course, I’d love to meet this friend first.”
“Oh, uh, hi,” Diamond stammered. “I’m Diamond Tiara. And I already know who you are so, um, nice to meet you, Princess.”
“Nice to meet you too,” she replied, her smile giving a hint of amusement. “And you know, a friend of Spike’s is a friend of mine, and my friends don’t have to call me ‘Princess’.”
Diamond seemed to short-circuit. She was just given permission to call a Princess by name. Sure, she should be used to it with Twilight, but Twilight wasn’t always a princess so it’s different. The thing that pulled her out of it was the two of them snickering at her expression.
“I-thank you,” Diamond said once she found her voice.
“On that note,” Spike laughed. “Where’s my favorite niece?”
“You just missed her,” Cadence said. “She’s been sick the last few days. It’s just a cold, but she gets really tired. We got her up for dinner, but Shining just went to put her back in bed.”
“Probably for the best,” he sighed overdramatically. “Wouldn’t want the fire-breathing Dragon to catch a cold. One sneeze and the whole place goes up in flames!”
“You lived in a library inside a tree for over a year,” Diamond pointed out. “You had to sneeze at some point.”
“Fair enough,” he shrugged.
He looked about to say something else, but instead he tilted his head as though he heard something. Giving them a gesture to be quiet, he jumped into the air and hovered close to the ceiling. By that point, Diamond could hear hooves on crystal walking towards them.
Looking to the opening door, she saw Shining Armor walk in. While she had no idea how Spike could tell who it was by hearing alone, she could guess that something stupid was about to happen. You get a sense for that when you grow up in Ponyville.
Shining came up alongside his wife. He raised an eyebrow at Diamond, and seemed just about to ask who she was. Then Spike dropped down behind him silently.
“Boo!”
Two seconds felt like two minutes. Shining whirled around to face ‘whoever’ was behind him. As he did, his pink magic wrapped around Spike and threw him through the air. There was a thud and a swear as he hit the far wall.
“Ow,” Spike groaned. “A little late on the cushioning spell there.”
“Oh my stars! Are you okay!?” Diamond screamed, running over to help him up.
“I’m fine,” he answered.
“Are you sure?” she asked.
“Well, I have one question,” he said. “Have you always been a triplet?”
She snorted at the smirk he gave her. She did offer a hoof to help him up, but not before she smacked his shoulder.
“Now that I know you’re fine,” Diamond sighed. “Why did you do that?”
“It’s fun?” he offered. “Don’t give me that look, Diamond. He knows it’s me as soon as he picks me up in his magic, so he adds a cushioning spell. Honestly just living in Ponyville is more dangerous than that.”
“I hate that that’s an actual argument you can make,” she rolled her eyes.
“There’s a reason the family doesn’t visit often,” he said, with a pointed look at the Royal Couple.
“If you want to run an Empire while taking care of a toddler for a day, be my guest,” Shining teasingly retorted. “But at least we warn you when we come down for a visit.”
“It was last minute, we weren’t going to drop by the palace but the train was out,” he explained again. “We brought enough money for a day of tourist-ing, but not enough for a hotel. And I’m not going to ‘hero’ my way into a hotel room.”
“As I was saying before all this,” Cadence said, rolling her eyes despite her smile. “You and your friends are always welcome here. Shiny and I have a little more to finish up here, can you find the room by yourself?”
“Are you asking if I remember how to get there?” he asked, sticking out his tongue.
“You know what I mean,” she said.
“Thanks!” Spike said, leading Diamond toward the doors.
“Thank you!” Diamond called as she followed.
“You’re welcome!” both Royals replied.
They walked down a few more halls. Diamond couldn’t figure out all the turns they took, but Spike seemed to know where he was going. She decided to just enjoy the view. Of the palace.
They eventually went in one of the doors. Inside was more of a common area. It had a small kitchen, a couch with a fireplace, and a dining table. The open doors led to bedrooms.
“These are usually used for visiting royals or ambassadors,” Spike said. “There’s a large bedroom for them, and a smaller one for either their kids or if they brought any staff with them.”
“Who brings their staff on a trip with them?” Diamond wondered.
“Some ponies like their own chefs better,” he said. “Others trust their own Guard more.”
“Right,” she said.
“Usually they keep a few things stocked in the fridge,” he said. “I can make us dinner.”
“Is it more crystal food?” she asked. “I can’t wait to taste how you cook with it.”
“First, let me send a letter so your dad knows we’re okay,” he agreed.
As he said, there was a hoofful of food in the kitchen. Once dinner was started, Spike took a moment to write a letter. Diamond laughed when he added a spell that would make the letter beep until a reply was sent. It was a good way to make sure Twilight actually went and told Diamond’s father where they were.
And apparently necessary, as by the time a reply arrived they had finished dinner and settled on the couch with a game of cards.
“Glad you finally figured out how to receive messages without actually burping it up,” Diamond muttered.
“Trust me, I am too,” he laughed. “If I know a letter’s coming I can just breathe fire like normal. Not that ‘breathing fire’ is normal to you.”
“How do you send a letter with firebreath anyway?” she wondered.
“Magic,” he shrugged, opening the scroll. “Apparently the spell’s easier for a Dragon than it is for a Unicorn, so Celestia taught it to me instead of Twilight at first. That, and sometimes Twilight gets a bit too distracted, and a letter would just float beside her for hours, so it’s better to have me do it even though she can cast the spell on her own.”
“Which is why it has that alarm function,” she laughed. “So, what’d she say?”
“Well, she reminded me that she’s ‘very much a responsible adult and does not need the alarm,” he snickered. “Other than that, she says she did go and talk to your dad and tell him what’s going on. Her exact words are ‘he’s worried, but in the parental way’, which means ‘I’m freaking out but he’s freaking out a lot less than I am, so you’re good’, and to keep them updated on when we leave tomorrow.”
“Good to know he’s not too worried,” she said. “I wonder how Mother reacted.”
“Well, she probably-“ He began.
There had been a snarky comment at the ready, but he stopped when he saw her face. Diamond wasn’t sad, exactly. It’s not like she was crying at the thought. She just sort of stared into nothingness, almost lost.
“Hey, come here,” Spike said, pulling her closer to him. “We’re not going to think about that, okay? We’re going to have a nice little mini-vacation. If you really need to talk about it now, we can. But if not, I can find a few ways to distract you.”
“Thanks,” she said, leaning into him a bit more. “I’m fine. It was just… strange to not hear someone lie and say ‘your mom is worried too’.”
“I doubt Twilight even talked to your mom, if only for her own safety,” he said. “I mean, you say I have sarcastic comments, but I learned it all from Twilight Snarkle.”
She snorted in laughter at the nickname. Gently, she flung her hoofful of cards at him in protest.
“Well, it’ll be a bit difficult to play now,” Spike said, looking at his own cards knocked to the floor.
“Honestly, I’m not really thinking about cards right now,” Diamond said.
“So , uh, what did you think of the trip?” he asked.
“The Empire is wonderful,” she answered. “Even with the whole ‘the road occasionally zaps you’ bit.”
“Well, it was interesting to see you tapping on the crystal,” he said. “I almost thought you’d start up a musical number!”
“Oh yeah, that would’ve been great,” she rolled her eyes. “If you joined in, we could’ve gotten the entire Empire as background singers couldn’t we, Mr. ‘Great and Honorable Spike the Brave and Glorious’?”
“Pinkie would be so jealous,” he laughed.
“I know, but imagine it!” she said, gesturing dramatically. “Is there some sort of record for ‘largest amount of ponies in a musical number’? Because I’m pretty sure we’d shatter it.”
“Tell you what,” he said. “You do the songwriting and choreography, and I’ll convince the Empire.”
“And you ruined it,” she said. “You know I can’t organize a dance number if my life depended on it.”
“Hopefully it never will,” he said. “But hey, even if the dancing would be terrible, the singing would’ve been great!”
“I think I’ll leave the singing to Sweetie,” she said.
“You do know you can sing, right?” he asked.
“Well yeah, but not like her or Pip,” she said.
“Yeah, but you’re you,” he said. “You sing like you, and that’s just as wonderful. Okay maybe not as trained as them, but still great.”
“Thanks,” she smiled. “You know, I really am glad we came here today. And I’m glad I came here with you.”
“Well, we did get the Hero Tour,” he said.
“That too,” she said. “But I meant, as in, it wouldn’t have been the same if my first trip here was with someone else, you know? It wouldn’t be as…. Nice.”
Diamond looked over to him, only now realizing how close they were, noses probably less than an inch apart. Her heart raced when she saw small details that could only be seen from here. Some of Spike’s scales were a little lighter or darker than the rest, almost like freckles. She could see small traces of blue in his eyes, just enough to notice if one was, well, this close.
He was smiling at her. That stupid, lopsided smile he always used with her. Not exactly a smirk, but more like an inside joke itself. Her face heated up, though she wasn’t sure if it was because of the situation or just his bodyheat again. Still, no part of her wanted to pull away.
Diamond hadn’t known what to expect when she kissed him. It wasn’t as if she had never kissed someone before. There was a colt, years ago, that she could barely remember. Then last year she dated Alula in secret for a couple weeks, before paranoia of her mother made her break it off. So she thought she knew what to expect.
This was different. But a good different.
After what could have been an eternity, they broke apart. Realization hit Diamond like a train. And when Spike didn’t say anything, it was followed by a wave of fear.
“I-uh…” Diamond stammered, getting up from the couch. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have- I- I’m going to bed.”
Reigning in the impulse to leap over the couch and run for it, she made her way out of the room. She’d made it half-way to one of the bedrooms before she heard Spike getting up from the couch, having finally processed what just happened. It was only a few seconds before he caught up to her.
“Diamond, wait!” Spike asked. “Can we-“
“It’s fine,” Diamond answered. “I-I’m fine.”
“Diamond, we need to talk about this!” he insisted.
“No we don’t,” she said. “I know what’ll happen and I don’t want to hear it!”
“If you don’t want to hear it then you don’t know what I’m going to say!” he answered.
Reluctantly, Diamond stopped. Without turning to face him, she let him catch up. She didn’t say anything. She felt like she couldn’t breathe, maybe like she would throw up. Her legs gave out, and she ended up sitting on the floor.
“This is about more than just me, isn’t it?” Spike asked. “You think I’ll reject you. Why?”
“Why wouldn’t you?” Diamond asked in turn, her voice almost a whisper.
“What does that mean?” he asked.
“I mean, why would you like me?” she said. “I-I used to think I was the best pony to exist. All of the stuff my mother said, I believed. I was above everyone. Even when she told me I screwed up, I was still better than everyone else. Dad gave me the freedom to be who I wanted, but my mother wanted me to be just like her. Rude and condescending, never having to work a day in my life because I’d find some wealthy stallion to marry.”
“You’ve worked past that,” he said. “You’re a better pony now. I know that, we all know that. And you can choose your own destiny without her.”
“Yeah,” she agreed. “But when you take away the confidence her lies gave me, what else is there?”
“What else of what?” he wondered.
“Just… what makes me a better option?” she asked. “I know better now. I’m not ‘perfect’ or ‘the best pony to exist’. But without blindly believing it, what is there? I’m not…. I’m not like the rest of our group. Sweetie is a beautiful singer, Scoots can do breathtaking tricks. Silver’s well on the way into her dream culinary school. I’ve seen the way Pip enraptures an audience when he’s on stage. Have you seen what Applebloom can build on the farm? She has so many ideas for rebuilding and reinforcing the town next time it gets destroyed. Alula’s training to be a Wonderbolt. Rumble got an internship in Weather Management. Twist works in her sister’s candy shop already, and Dinky just got accepted into Celestia’s School For Gifted Unicorns. And I can’t even begin to list everything you’ve done. Stars, you have a freaking statue and an Empire practically worshiping you! I wouldn’t be surprised if you got a holiday!”
“But what do I have?” she repeated. “Using my old bully skills to talk ponies into things? Metalworking? Stars, I’m not even good enough with numbers to inherit Dad’s business. Everyone else is so amazing, but I’m just…. I don’t know. I’m not amazing or powerful or even ready with a career. I have my past, my mother, the-the cut on my face. It’s still healing, but I know it’ll be a scar. I already asked Twilight about healing spells, but she just gave me that look before telling me that healing spells don’t work on scars and transformation spells don’t like working with things so small even if I had the power for a permanent one, and a glamour would be impossible to maintain and-“
“Diamond,” he said, lightly putting a claw on her back. “You don’t have to have some sort of fantastic destiny or high career or anything. You don’t have to have some amazing talent. You’re you.”
“But why would you chose me, when you have them?” she asked. “The only ones I for sure know aren’t into guys are Alula and Twist, so you could fall in love with any of the rest. Or there’s plenty of ponies in the Crystal Empire that would love to date you. Or another dragon. Or-or even someone like Rarity. Beautiful and successful, earning her wealth instead of just having a rich dad.
“That’s not-“ he sighed. “Okay, you like me, right?”
“I think it’s obvious at this point,” she scoffed. “I think the phrase is ‘hopelessly in love’ but yes.”
“Why?” he asked.
Finally turning to face him, Daimond raised an eyebrow. Spike sat there, and returned the expression. Arms crossed, he waited for her answer.
“Because you’re you,” Diamond said. “You’re sweet, and funny. You’re always trying to cheer me up, even on my worst days with my mother you’re right there caring about me. You make me smile.”
“That’s the answer,” Spike said. “You didn’t mention l-loving me because of my Hero title, or my ties to the Royal Family. Nothing about any of my ‘talents’ from memorization to magic. And hey, I’m not the best either. I screw up a bit. I can be too snarky sometimes and say something rude. And I really don’t measure up to Pony beauty standards. But you still love me.”
“But you’re not like I was,” she said. “My mother’s fault or not, I’ll have to carry that forever.”
“I know that,” he said. “But so many other ponies have to carry it around too. Luna, Discord, Starlight, Sunset. They all have a reputation that’s just as bad or even worse. But they’ve managed to recover and find some romance. If I have to listen to Twi’s flirt talk one more time….”
“But why would you ever want to choose me over any of them?” she asked.
“Because they’re not you,” he said. “Because yeah, they might have major things going for them, and I have my own accomplishments. But as Cadence says, Love isn’t about ‘the best option’; it’s who you click with. Look at her love life. Back when she and Shining first started dating, he wasn’t even in the Guard yet. They met because she used to foalsit kids in the city, including Twilight. He didn’t even come from anyone important. Just a mystery writer and a Royal Mage. She had no idea that Shining would be Guard Captain one day, or that the family would soon have the status bump from Twilight being Celestia’s Student. But they clicked in a way she hadn’t clicked with any of the Nobles or Ambassadors.
“I don’t care that our friends are ‘better options’,” he continued, holding her face up to him. “Even though, despite what you think, you are plenty of a good option. You have your past, but you’ve worked to make up for it. I can handle your mother. And if you think one face scar is enough to make you not beautiful, you’re very mistaken. And no, you’re not sure where your life is going, but we can figure it out together. I you want to talk career, your ability to analyze and talk to ponies could be good help to Twi, or your metalworking could help out the Dawn Guard. Stars know they need armor and weapon repairs all the time.”
“But that-“ she tried to protest.
“But as for the things that matter to me,” he cut her off, “you can be pretty sweet yourself. You care about others. What you call ‘using your bully skills to talk ponies into things’, I see someone who can analyze others and know so much about them. You used to use it to find insecurities, but now you help them by knowing what they’re feeling, why, and how to help. And while you’re definitely nicer, it is good to have someone to share your snarky comments with.
“Being around you makes me happy,” he said. “It’s why I brought you to the Empire in the first place. I mean, sure, I wanted to have a fun time and show you something cool, but I was planning to officially ask you out at some point. I kind of worried about what you’d say, so I kept putting it off, but I ended up deciding that I’d do it when we got back home.”
“You don’t have to be worried about anyone liking you,” she said.
“Yeah, well, I think I absorbed all of Twilight’s Romance Anxiety,” he laughed. “If she likes somepony, she’ll go right up and flirt with them in her own dorky way. But I end up freaking out over it and deciding it’s better to not say anything. Though I’m not the most subtle, so sometimes ponies figure it out. Like your dad did.”
“Is-is that why you were so nervous this morning?” she asked.
“Totally,” he said. “Did you see the way he was inspecting me this morning? He definitely knew!”
“What do you have to be afraid of?” she wondered. “He thinks you’re great. He thinks all my friends are great. Even my mother’s only complaint of you is the fact that you’re a Dragon.”
“Logically, I know that,” he said. “Anxiety makes you think things that aren’t true, makes you freak out over the potential bad situation, no matter how much you know what will happen. Like how you think that you’re not amazing as you are. How you think I’d have to be out of my gourd to love you just because of your mom or your scar or the ‘better options’.”
“I think you’re ‘out of your gourd’ because you use phrases like ‘out of your gourd’,” she rolled her eyes.
“There’s a smile,” he grinned. “Now, to answer your earlier question…”
He brought her closer and kissed her again. Diamond felt as if she were melting. In a good way, mostly. Dragon body heat and all.
To call it ‘electrifying’ was almost literal. It felt like the thrum of the Crystal Heart, or like the aura of the Elements of Harmony. Powerful, and Magical, but also safe. Like a smile. Like love.
The next morning, Diamond woke up feeling happy, warm, and safe. She opened her eyes, taking in the sunlight on the crystal walls, dark blue sheets, and something purple and green just a few inches away.
Smiling, she settled back in and tried to catch a little more sleep. Just a few more moments of peace.
Unfortunately, as payback for Spike’s jump scare on Shining last night, the two Royals had decided to sneak in and shout ‘wake up sleepyhead!’, ruining any chance of peaceful waking the new couple had before running out cackling at their discovery.