“Twilight! Wake up!” Gallus shook Twilight awake while he hastily put on his armor.
The chill breeze from the window woke Twilight up immediately, and the smell of smoke was still thick in the air. She shook off her blankets and cast a quick spell to clear up the air.
“I'll handle the smoke. Make sure you’re decent and go see what’s happening,” Twilight said. “I’ll clear this out.”
Gallus strapped on the last piece of his armor over his belly and hurried out. Twilight thought through her spells and settled on one to clear out the smoke. It worked like a charm, and the smoke nearby immediately vanished. She cast it a few more times. She’d hate to have the smoke ruin any of her books or paintings, or the elegant dresses that Rarity had put so much time into making. Once Twilight had cleared out her room, she stepped out into the dining hall. The elegant table was empty at this hour, and all the seats were neatly pushed in until a sleepy Spike stumbled from his suite.
“Hey, Twi… what’s going on? All this smoke woke up Gabby and me.”
He stretched and yawned. He pulled out a seat and slumped into it with his legs spread wide. Twilight laughed as she looked him over. It was a good thing they weren’t going out in public yet. Twilight cast her smoke-removal spell on the dining hall until the smoke was gone. She peeked into Spike’s room. A sleepy gabby opened one eye but remained under the covers as Twilight's spell vanquished the smoke. Twilight didn't want to wake Gabby up, so she quickly finished clearing the air. Twilight turned back to look at Spike. He definitely wasn't his usual polished self, but the main doors of the dining hall burst open and stopped Twilight from saying anything to Spike. Gallus and an earth pony chef stepped in.
“We are so sorry for disturbing your sleep, princess,” the chef said. “One of the new assistants started a small fire as he was preparing for the morning baking. We have things in hoof now, and I shall come up with a proper punishment to teach him a lesson."
“That’s what I found,” Gallus reported. “Fire is out, so now it’s just clean up.”
“Good. Gallus, go close my window and secure my chambers. Chef, could you bring some hot chocolate for me and Spike? I think that should help me relax and get back to sleep. And there are a few things we need to talk about."
“Oh, can you also grab some rubies and moonstones?” Spike added.
“Of course. I will have someone bring them as soon as possible.” The chef quickly bowed and trotted off.
Gallus walked by and ran a wing against Twilight’s side. She pushed him away with her wing and giggled.
“Report to your post, captain. I’ll see you in a bit.”
Gallus grinned and left the room. Now Twilight could finally mention the small problem Spike had failed to notice.
“Spike, you really do need to keep up public appearances as Friendship Ambassador.”
Twilight used her magic to pluck a few downy feathers of white and gray that were stuck between some of Spike’s scales. Spike blushed as she pulled a dozen of them from around his belly.
“You don’t have to treat me like your little dragon, Twi.”
“I do if all the tabloids will run a piece about it. But it’s nice to know you’re keeping relationships with the griffons extremely close. Especially one in particular.”
“You should follow your own advice.”
Spike laughed and scooted closer. He plucked off a few blue and yellow feathers that had been stuck in Twilight’s flowing mane.
“I suspected those rumors about giving your favorite guard some extra night-time duties were true, but it’s best not to give them more credibility.”
Twilight couldn’t look Spike in the eye for a moment as the warmth of embarrassment made her face flush red. The room was in awkward silence until one of the kitchen ponies knocked then entered with a fancy tray with two steaming mugs of hot chocolate. The whipped cream was quickly melting into the hot drinks, and their rich smell filled the room. Twilight thanked the kitchen pony and sipped her drink.
“It seems that we both somehow have a thing for griffons.”
“They are very soft. And don’t like being woken up and kept waiting. And their beak nibbles... mmm...”
"Spike! I mean... it's true, but what if somepony hears you saying that?"
Spike chuckled and downed his entire mug of hot chocolate. He could always drink it like that, no matter how hot. Twilight had to sip her drink to keep it from burning her mouth until she thought to cast a spell to cool it to a nicer temperature. Spike picked up a ruby and munched it slowly.
“We both should get back to bed, but are rubies really the thing to be eating right now?”
“Rubies for energy and passion,” Spike said between bites. “And moonstones for easy sleep and restful dreams. I think I’ll need both.” He picked up the tray and paused at the door to his room. “Goodnight, Twilight.”
“Goodnight, Spike. And be sure to check for feathers in the morning."
Twilight watched him slip out of sight. It was strange to think of him as a mature dragon when she remembered helping raise him, but she was glad he had found someone to make him happy. But it was too late to be stuck in memories, and Twilight’s favorite griffon would get grumpy if he was kept waiting too long.
Gallus had shut the window, but the chill still lingered in the air. He undid the last straps on his armor and quietly placed it next to the bed before slipping under the covers. He lifted the blankets for Twilight.
"No intruders, but I better stay close to make sure you're safe."
"I wouldn't have it any other way." Twilight gave him a soft kiss on the cheek and snuggled until she could feel the pleasant warmth radiating from beneath his soft feathers.
Author's Note
A short fluff fic written mostly to get the idea out of my head. I hope you all enjoy it!
