Author's Note

VI | More Than Just Tea (Celestia)

~ VI ~

More Than Just Tea (Princess Celestia)

Spike awoke with a blink.

Soreness was the first thing to fade back in. No matter how he moved, his joints were stiff—and his back needed a desperate stretch—but down in his crotch, a faint pleasure from before still lingered in him. He cast his eyes downward, finding the cyan pegasus still in his arms and against his chest, her eyes just beginning to open as well.

"Mmhmm." Rainbow stretched out her cute little hooves as her back rubbed against her scales. Her eyes fluttered open, settling upward on the drake's face. "Mornin', big guy. Did ya have a good power nap?"

"You kidding?" He replied, twisting his back to work out some kinks there. "You keep being my body pillow, and not even Princess Luna can hit me with nightmares." He glanced down at his crotch, seeing his cock already shrunk and retreating to its cavity beneath his scales. "Though maybe a few nightmares wouldn't be so bad after all."

"Hey. Don't forget you're still in bed with me." Rainbow rolled in place, her fur and feathers tickling his scales as she laid face to face with him. "And about that. I seriously doubt you haven't had any practice in this with the crazy moves you pulled earlier." Her eyelids dropped seductively as she smirked. "You fancy kissing and telling, sailor?"

"Not sure that's kind of stuff I should—"

"Since when have you cared today?"

"Hmm." Spike blinked into space, waited for a second, and then shrugged. "You got me there. Alright. So I jumped out of the window this morning for the sake of it, ran into, and somehow, banged all the girls as I was trying to get away from Twilight, then decided to come to Cloudsdale because I wanted to." He began to stroke her chromatic mane with his digits. "Not much more to it than that—I just wanted to be truly free for a day."

"Hey, I can respect that!" Rainbow gave a light punch of encouragement to his arm. "Just a day to yourself to be yourself. We all gotta cut loose or else we all go crazy."

"Exactly," Spike said with a grin. "I'm not sure why, but right now, I feel like I can do anything. Doesn't matter what or who gets in my way. I'm going to do all the things I've always wanted, to actually do them before I become too scared again."

"Oh, is that so?" Rainbow raised an eyebrow. "You feel like you can do anything, huh?"

Spike nodded.

"You must feel like big stuff," Rainbow continued. "You got with all your closest friends on the same day, so that must mean you could make any mare yours if she knew how to flick her tail properly?"

Spike nodded.

Rainbow rubbed her forehooves together. "Alright big guy, I've got just the thing to test that newfound confidence of yours." Her voice became progressively quieter as she talked, causing him to bring his head closer. Soon, her lips were at his ear fin, smiling. "I dare you...to date the ruler of Equestria!"

"C'mon, Spike!" Rainbow cried as she hovered above the expanse of cloud. "What are you doing? Get the fuck down from there!"

"No can do, Rainbow," Spike replied as he laid back in the launch pad of the catapult he was in, which was aimed in the direction of Canterlot—at least, he hoped that was the case. "All my life, I've always dreamed of banging a princess. Now is the time to make fantasy into reality."

"It was a joke!" Rainbow threw up her forelegs. "No one actually dates the princess—she's a princess! She's like, unattainable and untouchable." She shook her head. "I'm not sure if I've seen Celestia even have a coltfriend."

"All the better." Spike looked over his shoulder and down at his back, seeing the parachute bag tight against him. He looked forward. "Even if I do fail, at least I can say I tried—which is all that's within my power." He brought his claw to the holding latch. "I've been missing her anyways. It's been too long since we last hung out."

Rainbow opened her mouth.

The latch was pulled.

The pad of the catapult was launched.

And the drake was flung across the sky.

Rainbow Dash sighed.

The day stretched into evening, and court was already over.

Princess Celestia found herself trotting along a long hallway, rolling her neck from a day spent sitting still at the throne. Day in and day out, it was always the same story: some trivial issues to be heard, a few irritated noble ponies to be assuaged, and more than a few stacks of paperwork waiting inside her private chapters.

The repetition of the monotony would have killed most ponies.

Princess Celestia, for better or for worse (mostly worse), was immortal.

It's hard to find a pony who hates hallways, but Celestia was one of them. It was always this particular hallway which was the fastest route from her throne to her chambers, from work to respite, but there was a catch to this path—the history of her kingdom was repeated each and every time she looked out the stained glass windows.

All her mistakes. All the tests she'd made her students endure. Many high points could make a smile on her lips, but the effort was quickly vanished by the failure that made everything come before being in vain. How many times had she walked this hallway? How many times has history repeated itself, both in the past and in the present?

Princess Celestia tried to ignore such thoughts. She was not a mare that could keep away from her duties, but even with her best efforts, depression seeped into her mind under a shadow of a passing thought.

She would have lowered her head and returned to bed, that was until something caught the corner of her eye. It was stained glass, the piece of history that always managed to lift her spirits—the picture of 'Spike the Brave and Glorious.

She paused before the glass, which was probably for the best, seeing how it shattered apart from a sudden impact on the other side. In a split second, shards of glass shot through the air as the story was destroyed, a parachute of all things floating into the hall as its owner collided against the floor.

The ground of the castle trembled.

Princess Celestia felt her throat tense as she prepared to call for a guard. The parachute deflated around the ground, conforming around its owner at its center. She waited with held breath as the intruder snaked their way underneath the fabric, causing her to step back with her eyes narrowed, horn charged at the one who destroyed the precious memory of her dragon.

The one who destroyed the memory of the dragon being, of course, that very same dragon.

"Spike?" Celestia felt her heart beat faster at the sight of blood on his cheek, racing toward him just as he came out from under the parachute. "Spike!" She was at once by his side, resting her soft white hooves on his left arm and helping him to his feet. "You've got a cut on your cheek! Oh my, are you alright?"

"A cut?" Spike paused as he rose to press his claw against his cheek, pulling it back a second later to find blood on his digits. "Huh, that's it? This was a much smoother landing than when I jumped out of the castle." He stood up and nodded to Celestia. He glanced over his shoulder at his entry point. “Well, smoother in some areas.”

Princess Celestia sighed as her dragon didn't seem to be all that hurt. She narrowed her gaze. "So, do you care to explain what has occurred here to me?"

"I haven't been fond of caring about anything today, so I'm going to skip answering that." Spike began to dust off his body, starting from his arms and then downward. "But I'll totally pay for that glass and all that—just send the bill to Twilight."

Princess Celestia was caught off by the reply, and as much as she shouldn't have, found herself giggling at the joke. The stress and dullness of the day were cut away by the shattering glass, and she was now in too good of a mood to become scornful—it had been too long since she saw Spike to get mad at him.

"Very well," Celestia said as she stepped in front of him. "Twilight will pay the bill for your mess, and you will be the one to clean it up." She tilted her head as a smile tugged at her lips. "Unless, of course, you would like to tell me the reason behind your sudden visit."

"That's it? Alright." Spike finished dusting himself off and stood back up. He took a step forward, the movement powerful and subtle, making Celestia blink as even she had to tilt her head back to look up at his face. "I was dared by somepony to have a date with the ruler of Equestria, and I plan to make them eat their words."

Princess Celestia should have been offended or mad, but all she could do was giggle and lightly push her dragon away. "Spike. I asked you to be serious."

"I am?"

"Oh, is that so?" Princess Celestia gazed up at him with a smirk, shifting her weight to the right. "And just how do you plan to take a princess like me out on a date?"

"That's the thing," Spike said, laying his claw on the white fluff on her neck. She didn't shake him away. "The first thing I learned when I stopped caring is that I spent too much time talking and not enough doing. What better to tell you my plan when I can just show it?"

In one swift movement, Spike brought his other claw to the princess flanks, and before she could protest, swiped her off her hooves as he used the claw around her neck for support. He held her close to his chest, almost blushing at the sight of her tummy exposed before his face as he held her bridal style. Her flowing mane and tail tickled at his scales as he turned around and began to walk forward.

Celestia was in a state of shock to even struggle or fight back against her position. Never before had a creature been so big, so bold as to carry her in such a style, and as much as she didn't want to admit it, her hooves were becoming sore, and she loved the feeling of being pampered, of being protected by a dragon as dashing as her Spike.

Spike didn't stop even as he reached the window he broke in from. With the use of his powerful legs, he sped up and jumped through the window much more with the princess in his arms, disappearing from sight.

Down the hallway, a door burst open. Guards ran in two files, filling the long hall with their weapons and armour clanking as the broken glass caught their sights at once. They filed over the disappearance of their princess, but they were too late to do anything.

Princess Celestia had already been kidnapped.

In the fewest words possible, Bakery Cafe was a cafe that sold bakery—but you probably already knew that. It was considered even by nobility as a natural landmark of Canterlot where all, no matter their size or status, fought for their space in both the line and for a table in the two-story establishment.

The set of wooden doors were kicked in by a scale foot. From the ones in line to the ones sitting down, all patrons looked to the sudden disturbance. None could stop their jaws from dropping as a dragon came inside with a stride, the princess of their kingdom held in his arms—who was too embarrassed to face her subjects as she pressed her muzzle into his chest.

She was blushing.

"Um, hi?" Spike had his attention caught by the sudden voice, looking to his right, where he found its source. Behind a wooden stand stood a pegasus of a brown coat but with red streaks of highlight running through her black mane. She was biting her bottom lip. "Can I, uh...help you my m-majesty?”

"She's just feeling a little weak," Spike said for the princess as he turned himself slightly. "Do you think we could score the VIP lounge? Or something private like that? Just something for the poor princess to gather her strength and get some food in her?"

“I-I-I see.” The waitress checked over her shoulder as she bit more and more of her bottom lip. "The thing is, today has been rather busy— "she turned to face them again, averting her gaze from his eyes "—and without a reservation, I'm not sure if—"

"Are you sure there's nothing you can do?" Spike held the princess closer to his chest, and upon the moment, the latter let her hooves dangle freely. Some patrons were rising from their seats so they may offer them. "I'd hate to create a panic here, but the princess skipped her breakfast today and has been light-headed since. If I carry her like this through the city, then ponies may get the wrong idea."

The mare seemed troubled in thought until, finally, she dropped her shoulders. "...I have a VIP room upstairs that'll be vacant for most of the evening. I was instructed to not rent it out, but if the princess needs it..."

"I promise she'll write a letter to both you and your boss." Spike felt something soft rubbing against his chest. He looked down at the mare in his arms, at the princess who had one eye closed and the other open, eyebrow arched. He smirked down at her before looking back at the mare. "Could you show us the way?"

It didn't take long for the princess and the dragon to settle into their private booth. The room was compact but comfy, from the leather couch that stretched into a 'U' shape to the wooden table set in the middle. There was no window on the walls or the door, and the only way they could be interrupted would be by the knock of the waitress.

Spike had set the princess down on the sofa, a blush very much still on her cheeks—one that became only brighter once he had sat down by her side. Even when sitting with her back straight and her fluffy white chest out, the drake slouched and was still a head taller than herself—she had forgotten what it felt like to be meagre, to be...weak.

On the table sat two slices of every kind of cake the bakery had to offer, along with two very tall and very chocolatey chocolate milkshakes. Spike had ordered them only a second minutes before, but the duo waited for the waitress to leave the room before they dug into their treats.

Princess Celestia leaned forward and picked up the plate with a rainbow-style cake. She cut off a part and stuck it into her mouth, coming to moan at all the flavours packed into a bite—she quickly had to wash it down with a swig of her shake. Then, upon swallowing, she promptly came to her senses.

"Why are you doing this?" Princess Celestia asked as she put down her plate. She looked over to the drake, who was too busy stuffing his face with cake to hear her. She tried again. "Breaking into the castle and then jumping out of it. Lying to get us a booth just so we could sit here and stuff our faces with cake—what is the point of all this?"

Spike took a few seconds to take a mighty gulp of food before replying. "We're supposed to be on a date. Haven't been on too many of them myself, but you're supposed to have fun with a mare you like and get to—"

"But why are we on a date?"

"Because Rainbow dared me to," he replied, picking up another plate, "and I never back away from a dare. My ego is too fragile for that. Besides, we haven't hung out in a while, and what better way to steal you away than with a date?"

"...you don't seem too hung up on the fact you've kidnapped a princess just to take her on a date."

"I enjoy doing stupid things." Spike threw the whole slice into his maw, mushing it with his tongue alone as he took his shake and downed a quarter with it. He took a big breath afterward. "Stupid things make me happy. Other ponies don't like it when I do stupid things, but I'd rather be happy than care about what they think."

"This will not go over easily," Celestia said. "I hope you know that. Even with my explanation of these events, there will still be repercussions for you to pay."

"I know," he replied, "I just don't care. Whatever happens, happens, and I'll find a way to deal with those repercussions in the most stupid ways possible."

Princess Celestia thought it over for a moment. She really didn't know why she was so pent-up, why she was fighting so hard against a respite she needed so desperately. She dreamed of this, of leaving and doing as she pleased, to just have one day to herself—and now she had it, alongside her dragon no less.

So the princess dropped her shoulders and slumped into the cushion. "Fine. If you're willing to pay the price for my respite, then I'm willing to go on a date for you." She blinked after saying that as realization dawned. "That is, what exactly do ponies do while on a date?"

Spike stopped eating at that. "...what do you mean?"

"A date," Princess Celestia repeated. "The thing that we're on. What do ponies usually do when they're on a date?"

"How do you not know that?" Spike couldn't stop himself from throwing up his claws. "You've been around since, like, forever! You must be a goddess when it comes to romance with all the experience you've got under your coat." Spike then blinked as his arms began to drop. “You do have experience, right?”

Princess Celestia only looked away.

"Really?" Spike said. "You? Impossible."

Princess Celestia kept looking away.

"There is no way!" Spike brought his knees onto the sofa and crawled closer to the shy princess, causing her to shift back from him. "You're the greatest figure when it comes to, well, figures! Both in figures and, uh, your figure."

Celestia tilted her head at that.

"You're the epitome of beauty to all who even glance at you." Spike returned to sitting properly, but still kept most of his body facing her. "There's no way some prince or noble or some other third thing hasn't tried to hit on you! Have you been shooting everyone down? What's the story?!"

"Spike!" Princess Celestia shot back as she shot forth. Her muzzle was both a few inches before and above his own. "You should know better to ask somepony else such questions! And a mare no less."

"Oh, come on!" Spike whined, though he dared not to raise his head. "You can't tell me that the goddess of beauty—"Celestia shifted at the words "—hasn't been with anyone in over a thousand years and not expect me to be curious. It just isn't fair!"

Princess Celestia did not move an inch, though her cheeks were tinted pink. "There are reasons why have truly dated nopony. The matter shouldn't even be a concern of yours."

"But it is," he said, spreading out his claws. "A big one." He shook his head and sighed. "You seriously telling me no one has fessed up in all these years? A comment from a guard? An engagement with a few gold diggers? A hero that saved you from a tower some time ago?"

"Like how you saved me from the castle?"

"So you have been on a date before!"

Celestia sighed and looked down at the table. "I'm sorry to disappoint you, Spike, but romance is an aspect I've enjoyed only from the sight or fiction of. Duty and vulnerability have held me back from such a wonderful indulgence...among other reasons."

"I get the whole 'ponies being too afraid to flirt with me' thing, I really do. Ponies consider you to be, well, something more than a pony, something better than them, something divine, something untouchable." He let his head drop as empathy overcame him—being a dragon had a similar connotation to that of being a princess.

Ponies began to act strangely once the dragon had grown taller and more muscular. His smiles, once producing a wave from others, caused them only to cower as his fangs would reveal themselves. Friends were no longer such when they fled from the sight of him. The panic of his appearance soon calmed down, but no one dared to approach him—he'd become something other than normal, and it was up to him to bridge the gap of prejudice.

It too... was something that had been wearing him out.

"What about your students?" Spike wasn't sure how or why the words came tumbling out of him, but they caused his eyes to widen and his mind to fill with images of Twilight. "Surely they're the ponies that know you as more than just a princess. Twilight...Twilight didn't even flinch when I woke up one day and towered over her, so the same must be true of the students that got close to you."

"If only such a thing could be true, my loyal subject." Even though Princess Celestia came to sigh, a frown no longer occupied her muzzle. "All of my students, from now until my rule began, have been mares of great ability. I must confess my sexual preference has been something that eludes me for one simple reason..."

Spike leaned closer as he fought the urge to put his arm over her shoulders.

"All of my ponies, from my students to my subjects, are like children to this immortal soul—regardless of their age," she said. "When the infinite gaze upon the finite, it is difficult for one not to feel like a second mother. All love me, all adore me, all respect me, but none, not even my own sister, have forged true intimacy with me."

Spike gazed down at the table, his claws clasped as he was without words.

"This is the duty of being a princess," Princess Celestia said, looking over at the drake, "and the duty of being a second mother to all my little ponies...and dragons." Spike looked at her upon hearing this. She giggled. "I still cherish the moment I witnessed your hatching. Your egg was so alone and so frail, abandoned by your kind and resistant to pony magic, I thought you would lay trap forever in your solitude."

Spike couldn't summon forth any memories from his egg. His birth was a blur. No feelings should have overcome that which was forgotten, yet the words of the princess hit some buried truth inside his soul. A hurtful aspect that only the mare beside him could expand, and quite possibly, love.

"When Twilight was able to bring about your birth, she was still too young to properly care for another living being." The princess shifted closer to the drake, her soft coat rubbing against the scales of his side. "So it became the duty of both myself and a trusted maid to care for you through your infancy. It was I who changed your diapers and fed you, I who taught you the basics of life and the art of being an assistant."

This very knowledge created a paradox inside the drake: an embarrassment of having a pony do such things, yet the warmth of love filling at the center of his being.

"I've seen you grow from a cute little baby to the handsome dragon before me now." Princess Celestia smiled as her mane hovered in the air. "You were the only orphan that I've ever loved like a son, whereas my students always returned to their parents once we were done. You are my son, since I have raised you more than anyone else."

Spike kept silent as this relation coursed through him. A moment later, a knock came through the door, and with words of approval from the princess, the waitress opened and came through the door. She had several plates and two more cups of milkshakes to replace the previous ones.

The princess was at once sitting tall and proud, the pose she adapted from many hours ruling from her throne. Her stoic mask had returned, but yet, the drake could see the twinkle in her eye as the plates of cake were set on the table.

"I-Is there anything else I can d-do for you today?" the waitress said as she rose.

"This will be everything we required for today," Celestia replied in a motherly tone, allowing a soft smile to tug at her lips. It set the waitress at ease at once. "You may go now with our thanks."

The waitress bowed before leaving.

The cake wasn't anything special despite the esteemed establishment. Of course, the slices on the table looked wonderful to the drake, who cooked and ate whatever ingredients he could find. However, with the princess, she was used to the cooking and baking that only the most skilled chiefs allowed in the castle could make.

Despite this, Celestia was positively drooling.

Spike couldn't help but smirk at her predicament. Looking at the food on the table, he licked his lips as he set forth a plan in motion. "Well, I guess it's time to dig in!" He grabbed a slice with a claw, and without any hesitation, tossed it inside his maw and set his fangs to work.

The taste of banana was heavenly on his tongue.

Princess Celestia was taken aback by how her dragon was eating in her presence. Nobles spent hours before dinners learning the proper manners to have around her, and yet, here was a drake eating like he were in the comfort of his own room. She struggled with this thought as she looked to the table, unsure whether to use a fork or her hooves.

"Are you going to eat that slice?"

Celestia was startled. "That I will." She paused. "I'm...just having difficulty in the dining procedure for this kind of scenario."

"Procedure?" Spike shook his head. "I thought you just take something and stuff it in your mouth. If it tastes good, swallow." He picked up her slice of cake, stuffing it in his mouth. "And if it tastes bad, well, swallow anyway."

"Hey!" Princess Celestia pointed a hoof at him. "That was mine! I did not give you the command or the permission to take that which was mine!"

“Cake isn't going to eat itself, Celestia.” Spike went in for another slice, but her hoof slapped his claw away. He smirked as he leaned back. "I'm not one for manners or procedures or any of that kind of stuff. Just eat your cake, relax, and enjoy yourself."

The words began to settle in the air a few moments after they were said. Celestia looked at the table, and with a sigh, she summoned the magic from her horn and enveloped the slice of cake with her golden aura, raising it into the air and floating it into her open mouth, ceasing her magic and closing her mouth once its taste settled on her tongue.

She couldn't stop herself from moaning. The mediocre look was deceiving.

And then Celestia dove right in. Kinda hard to blame the princess known for her slimness—a chance to eat, not fruits but cakes was a sporadic event, and one she wasn't going to take lightly. It was just her and her son, and manners, high-sounding meaningless and morals: they meant nothing as her teeth bit off another chunk of cake.

Meanwhile, a little ways from her on the couch, the drake munched quietly on his own cake, an ever-present smile on his lips as he watched his princess eat. It was refreshing, in a way, to see the princess chow down like any other pony, as well as the chance for her to feel as such.

The date carried along in its space of contained chaos, where manners were forgone, morals were forgotten, and the princess and the dragon challenged each other to a feast off—a feat of who could clear the table first. Spike won, of course, though in Celestia's defence, they left nearly the same amount of dirty but cleared plates on the table.

"That was certainly something," Princess Celestia managed to say through her daze, the food settling in her fuzzy stomach. "Can't say that I—"an untimely burp slipped past her lips, and in a flash, her majestic wings opened and covered her muzzle "—I've had such a meal before."

"I'm sure the cooks have prepared all kinds of dinners from here to what they serve in the Crystal Empire," Spike said as he leaned back against the couch, tossing a glance her way. “Issue is, those chefs are high-class. You need to treat yourself to something tasty and dirty once in a while, y'know, to develop an appreciation." He peeked through the gaps in-between the tips of her wings. "By the way, you've got a little something along and around your lips."

Celestia blinked in surprise. Slowly, she lowered her wings, and in sticking out her tongue at them, an action that actually relieved him, she then licked around her lips, collecting the leftover cream of previous devoured cakes. She brought her tongue back and swallowed its contents.

Then she stuck her tongue out again, reaching for the cream further along her smooth cheek, but the tip of her tongue coming just an inch short from its distance. She should have used a napkin, Spike knew, but since she'd given up being a princess, then the habits of princess-hood had also left her for the time being.

"Here," Spike said as he sat up and leaned over. His tongue slipped between his lips, slim and long, slither through the air, touching down against her cheek, making her fur slick with his saliva as he collected the remaining cream.

Celestia did her best to not tremble, move, or scream.

Once he was done, she was blushing

"W-What in Equestria posed you to do s-such a thing?!" Celestia watched Spike as he leaned back, his tongue slurping back into his mouth.

"You were struggling," he replied as he put his feet up on the table, "and I was hungry. Besides, we're still on a date, and I'm just doing a date's job." With the spade of his tail, he impaled the stack of napkins on the table, raising them into the air and tapping them along Celestia's cheek, cleaning her of his saliva.

"And it would appear you're still playing games with me, Spike." Celestia sat tall once more, wings tucked at her side, and no matter the confidence that filled her words, they couldn't save the alicorn from the heat resonating from her cheeks. "Or has this ceased to be a game to you?"

Spike starred up from his laid-back position. He gazed at the ceiling instead of replying straight away, and then, after a few moments of silence, his voice broke through it. "Look, Celestia, I'm not going to lie to you and say this wasn't a game."

He turned his head and looked straight into her magenta eyes.

"This whole day has been a bit of game to me, or at least, it started off like one in order to amuse myself." Spike let out a long sigh. "But in each of those attempts of amusement, to do the things that always scared me before, I was able to learn more about those who were close to me, to...deepen our friendship."

Celestia raised an eyebrow, but her lips kept still and plush.

"I'm...not exactly sure how to phrase it." Spike reached a claw out to the ceiling above, letting it rest there as he gazed through the gaps between his digits. "But no caring has let me get over myself, to actually risk getting close to ponies, to the girls, to you."

His claw dropped and collided against the cushion. He turned his head to gaze at the princess.

"There's no way I'd pull something like this yesterday," Spike said. "Kidnapping a princess for a date? The fear of being caught by your guards, blasted by your horn, or, heck, being rejected would have kept me from even talking to you, much less pulling the stupid shit of shattering your window."

“Which, of course, you will be paying for,” Celestia said, half-jokingly, half-serious.

Spike chuckled. "Sure thing. Once I get those bits Twilight doesn't pay me, I'll be sure to not have them on your throne." They both chuckled, though tension still lurked in the air. "But yeah. By throwing caution to the wind, I've been able to do things I normally wouldn't, and because of that, it's changed my life in just a day and a date."

Princess Celestia smiled. She could see it, too, from behind the strands of her flowing, ethereal mane. The dragon she knew and raised, the shrimp that grew into a stud, the shut-in that suddenly scored with all his closest friends—she could see how much of him had been locked away, and now, with his fears swept away, all that remained was the underlying desires he was now striving toward.

The corners of her eyes burned. She lifted a hoof to her chest, feeling her heartbeat press against it. This wasn't the first time she'd felt pride for one of her students, for one of her children, but the quickening of her heartbeat wasn't due entirely to mere satisfaction.

It was quickened by love.

One repressed for too long.

"Spike...you know we can't date, right?" The words felt like thorns tearing up her throat coming out; being a princess meant she'd never dated before, and since she had never dated before, she wasn't sure of the procedure on how to turn someone down. "All of you ponies and dragons are my children. To actually be with one would be morally wrong."

Spike was silent for a moment, letting the words digest. He clasped the claws around the back of his head, stretching for a moment, before speaking. "The thing is, I'm going to reject your rejection on the grounds that it's dumb."

Celestia blinked and tilted her head. "Pardon?"

"If you truly didn't want to date me, or anypony for that matter, then I would leave you be," Spike said, looking back up at the ceiling. "But that's not the case—you're lonely. Sure, you have friends and students, jesters to give you laughs and all that." He exhaled sharply. "But you don't have anypony there to see when you take off your crown, to listen not to court hearings but to your feelings."

He then looked at the large white alicorn. "I'm jumping off from my own feelings here, but it seems like you're longing for intimacy." He shrugged. "I've only been doing this life stuff for twenty years, and loneliness has already craved a huge chunk of my heart out." He glanced down. "Can't imagine the kind of chunk you are missing after all these years."

Celestia kept still and quiet. Her body felt weak, hollow. All at once, she wanted to vomit. The skin underneath her fur was shivering from a horrible kind of sensation. The room felt like it was spinning.

"If you wanna hold yourself back because of some dumb moral principle that doesn't really matter, then be my guest." Spike finally had the guts to look up at her. "But you would need to find another immortal to fall in love with, like Discord or your sister, and both know you want none of them as a lover."

Celestia didn't speak.

"And the whole age argument is just one big sham," Spike continued. "You're going to be older than everypony, so either you bask in loneliness, or you toss aside the whole idea of dating 'children' and find someone of equal maturity." His lips swept into a smirk. "Or immaturity if you still fancy me after this date."

"There's still the issue of—"

"That's it!" Spike stood from the couch, and once on his feet, came to the side of the princess, and, in clasping his claw around her hoof, quickly led her out of the room, through the aisle of clothed tables and dining ponies, past the sharply-dressed waiters, down the steps of the establishment, stopping only at the front desk.

Celestia was blushing the entire time—the feeling of the claw clutching her hoof overpowered all of her other sensations. It was weird. She was the Princess of Equestria; the chooser in any course of action—leader of ponies. She was always the one in control, yet a dragon was leading her through the restaurant, taking matters into his own claws—his determination, bravado, and will were highly attractive.

I shouldn't be feeling these kinds of things for him, Celestia thought. But his back is just so broad and strong and... sexy.

"Mind if we get the check?" Princess looked up from between her legs to where the dragon was standing. He was before the counter, an elbow on the wood; a claw still tightly holding her hoof. "Would have waited in the booth, but we got the whole sun and moon thing to deal with, y'know?"

Celestia saw the pony behind the counter talking, mouth moving, but couldn't hear anything—sound faded from her ears, overpowered by raw sensations, like the feeling of hard scales on her soft fur, of having her hoof held like a little filly in love, and watching as a someone else, a dragon of all creatures, took care of things for her.

She felt young again, like a filly on a date she wasn't supposed to be on—which was sorta true.

"No, no, no!" Celestia shook her head, sound returning again. It came from the mare on the other side of the counter, the one who had trouble gazing at the alicorn. "Having the princess dine with us was our honour. We wouldn't dare think of charging you two."

"Now, we can't have any of that!" Spike chuckled as he stepped back, and with a heavy inhale, blew a small fire—the green jet of flame manifesting a brown pouch in the air, whose gravity took hold, and it plummeted to the counter, the clanking of its resounding. "And you had no princess with you tonight—just a dragon and a mare enjoying a date."

“D-D-Date?!” the mare stammered.

Spike laughed and turned, which surprised Celestia, who felt his claw tug on her hoof. She was lifted into the air, felt another claw land dangerously close to her rump as, once again, her body was pressed close to the dragon's chest, and she was carried bridal style out.

She pouted. "I can walk perfectly fine on my own."

"I know you can." Spike walked along the red carpet to the establishment's entrance, where the colossal wooden doors were held open by a duo of stallions, both silent and wearing vests. "But it's much easier to hold you whole than drag you by a hoof. Besides!" Spike smirked as his other claw raised to her horn, curling his digits around it. "I can stop you from teleporting this way!"

Celestia, despite herself, couldn't help but giggle.

"Alright then, Mr. Dragon—" Celestia could hardly hold back her smile "—where are we going then?"

Instead of looking down at her, Spike looked up to the sky. "To watch you perform a miracle, of course."

Celestia looked up from the chest she was pressed against to the sharp muzzle of the dragon that held her, all the way to the dimming sky high above. It was nearing night, her duties arriving, and for the first time in a long while, the princess may be late to her duties.

I didn't even know how much time had passed. Memories played, ones of her and Spike together, each and every one warming her heart. Being with him makes time so much more enjoyable... even if it all passes a little too quickly.

They reached the Royal Gardens before dark.

Entering the castle was easy—far easier than it should have been. The gates were empty when the duo arrived, each one opened and alone, allowing them to sneak inside, much to their confusion, though it wasn't enough to actually make them care.

Celestia was still being held, and if it was up to her, the only one allowed to see her like this would be Spike. Speaking of which, his feet meshed against the grass, walking across the small field of flowers and trees, all trimmed and tame, exuding a majesty air.

He stopped underneath a rather large tree that sloped near the top, so it covered the ground below, its breaches not too high and not too low for those sitting down. Spike lowered himself onto a knee, gently lowering the princess to the grass, and as much as she wanted to be on her own hooves again, her body longed to press against his again.

Spike didn't say anything after that. He resolved to sit down, stretching his legs out and leaning back, and with a sigh, set his gaze on the alicorn and waited. He knew about her sacred duty and, for the first time today, cared enough to keep quiet during the careful art.

Celestia nodded softly at him, smiling. It communicated more than just her thanks, though she set those feelings aside, alighted her horn in a golden glow, then closed her eyes. In the backdrop of the sky, the sun descended through the stars, light fading and darkness gaining, though pinpricks of light still remained, dotting the sky with their beauty.

Just as the sun dipped below the horizon, the moon took its place, casting a different kind of light across the land, taking its rightful place among the stars. All too soon, the magic ceased from the long white horn.

"Looks like another date tactic we can cross off the list," Spike's voice floated over her shoulder, and when she turned to look at him, she saw he was smiling. "Watching the sunset from a romantic spot. If that isn't smooth, I don't know what is."

Celestia wanted to smile, but along with the night came the feelings she tried to repress. The creature before her, this handsome dragon, was the son she raised, someone she loved as a mother, like all of her other subjects, though her affection for him was much stronger than the rest. It was so wrong to date him, to love him, to fantasize about him... much less try kissing him now.

"This has been wonderful, Spike," Celestia said, clearing her throat to deny it any emotion, "but I have other duties to—"

"You don't have any other duties once the sun is down," Spike replied, then patted the spot next to him. "Part of growing up close to you is knowing all your little secrets—you always leave everything for when the sun comes up again." He smirked. "But you still have one duty left, and that's to finish this date properly."

"But there's nothing left for us to do!" Princess Celestia said as her wings flared an inch up. "It's night! Ponies and dragons are supposed to be asleep by now."

"And that's why Luna's still pissed with you," Spike replied as he stood from the grass. "Night is for more than just sleeping. It's long walks and deep talks, feeling alone with someone else, like the whole world is asleep except for you and me."

Celestia wanted to say more, but the dragon moving toward her kept her silent. She was scared, all so afraid of what was to take place. Spike seemed finished talking, and now, towering over her, took a single leap into the air, and at once, was on top of her; both bodies collided against the soft grass.

Celestia became aware of the grass on her back. She also became aware of the weight of the broad chest pressing down on her soft one, the face against hers, the solid but yielding lips meshing against her own—something she never felt before in her thousand years of existence.

The white cheeks flooded red with a blush. Celestia, knowing the sensation, the course of action to be wrong, pushed the drake away. It was in vain, though, for though her hooves pressed his face out, she was not nearly strong enough to make his frame go away. He kept atop of her, silent and still, smiling.

"Why?" Wisdom and intelligence left the ancient ruler, who had lost her stoic mask, and left only with a confused heart. "Why did you do this?"

"A kiss is the next step of the date," Spike replied gently. "It's been a crime to never kiss a mare so beautiful, with lips so soft and so white that I thought I'd almost died instead."

"And I thought this was all a joke," Celestia said as her voice recovered its strength. "I played along because I thought this was all some ploy for you and me to spend some time together again, but this? This is too much, even for me—you can't just play with a mare's heart because of some bet."

"Would you believe me if I said I'd already forgotten about the bet?" Spike brought a claw to the side of her head, letting his fingers run through her ethereal mane. "Soon as we hit the restaurant, in fact. I was so swept away by you that my mind has yet to stray away from our date."

Celestia kept silent as she didn't fight away from his claw.

"This is a real date—even if the context is whack," Spike continued. "And you're not some untouchable goddess either. You're my mare, and while everyone else gives you their respect, I intend to give you my love."

Celestia's blush intensified. She looked away as something strange fluttered in her stomach: a raw, venerable feeling that left her weak but alive, genuinely alive at the same time. "...what do you even see in an old mare like me?"

"Who cares about age when you're still beautiful?" Spike lowered his muzzle to hers, rubbing their noses together. "You may be as old as the nation itself, but your elegance will never falter, never perish no matter the years that may pass."

"Andy-you would be willing to see all of that with me?"

"That I would," Spike replied. "Besides, I promise not to be too much of a bother—you would be my one, the duo that lived through time for a thousand years, watching all the ponies grow old and die, and we would help raise the next generation."

"That's quite the advancement."

"You make me wanna do more with my life."

Celestia was finding it easier to concede to the wishes of her heart, but her mind had yet to cease in its bombardment of reasons; restrictions born of some moral goodness. "But Spike... I am like a mother to you. You went from a cute baby to a handsome teenage dragon underneath my care."

"Most of your care," Spike replied. "You'll have to thank Twilight for the other half. And just like her, though our bonds may run deep, our blood is not the same." He smiled. "We're related by our hearts alone, so stop sweating the small stuff, alright?"

"And what will the others think?"

"Who cares what others think?" Spike drew his lips closer against her own. "Let them think I'm a motherfucker—better that than not chasing after what my heart beats for. I've lived too long in fear of what others think of me, feel about me, so much so that I forget to check what I've thought and felt all this time." He shook his head. "And I'm not wasting another second. Tonight, no matter what, I'm gonna make you feel like a pony."

Celestia's restraint broke. She arched her back, her lips meeting his, meshing together, pressing together, desperate to feel more of his hardness against her softness. He was just so powerful, so strong and genuine—her heart was done with all these games.

The princess wanted something that night: love. Not the kind where subjects bowed to the crown, but when a male and female joined together. Their kiss deepened, lips splitting, tongues mingling; explorations of the other's mouth.

As the passion continued, both parties felt their bodies become heated; the sudden sensation collating in the area between their legs. The princess felt something wink, a part of her never used sexually ever before; the drake felt his cock harden for the sixth time today against the white underbelly.

Celestia's eyes went wide at feeling his stiffness press against her. The wetness of her pussy wasn't helping either. She didn't think the date would carry on this quickly, shocking her system, causing her to end all of this here and now—until something else spoke in the back of her mind.

It was a primal feeling, something raw and coursing through her body, demanding she be touched, that she get to know what it feels like to truly be alive—to have this drake atop of her touch her more and more, each one more intimate than the last.

"Maybe we should move to a spot more private and comfortable than this?" Celestia said, exhaling as more of his weight pressed against her body. "Somepony may... catch us here."

Spike smirked. "From how you're feeling below, I'd rather do what is on both our minds right here: in this open field right underneath your sister's night sky." He chuckled. "Besides, getting caught has a certain thrill to it, don't ya think?"

Celestia rested her head on the grass.

"The fear of getting caught in an intimate act with your most loyal subject." Spike brought his lips to her fuzzy ear, whispering. "Seeing you as a normal pony like the rest of them, with her own needs and wants as well."

"It's still a bad i—"

Spike pressed a claw against her lips.

"You talk too much," he whispered. "You may wanna keep quiet, or else somepony will hear us, and we'll get caught for real."

Celestia kept silent. With a claw still on her lips, she felt another one, touching against her chest, travelling down, reaching her the crux between her legs, the tight little pussy that had longed for contact for far, far too long. His fingers, unique in Equestria, didn't attack her just yet—they resorted to tracing along her vulva.

The slowness was killing her! Celestia moaned, a bit louder than she would have liked, but nothing would stop her from expressing this good feeling that was coursing through her body, all coming from the work being done between her legs.

Spike's claw repressed more of her moans, but some of their sounds still escaped between his fingers. She was starting to buck her hips now, trying to get his claws to hit the mark she so desperately wanted to feel. He was more than willing to comply—fingers stroking along her labia, ever upward to her winking clit.

The caress was enough to make her orgasm for the very first time.

Celestia lost control of her body as cum gushed out from her quivering pussy. She didn't know how sensitive she was! It was a good thing a claw was covering her mouth, or else Canterlot may have heard her scream from the shameful act—her first orgasm in a thousand years of life.

"You know," Spike began from above her, "you're the worst to do outside stealth sex with." He chuckled at her pants as redness filled her cheeks. Her expression would have changed to annoyance were it not for the pleasure that consumed her. "Well, what do you know? Looks like you're a squirter on top of a screamer."

Princess Celestia tilted her head at the words. His claw pulled from her mouth—allowing her to breathe easier—as his other left from between her legs. Then, upon holding up before her muzzle, he showed the white liquid cooling itself between his fingers, waving the smell to her snout.

Celestia's embarrassment killed her, so much so, she covered the front of her face with her forehooves, unable to look at the dragon that was like a son to her, the same son about to take her thousand-year virginity away.

Spike didn't ask for permission with words, but rather with action. He started to rub the ridges of his cock with Celestia's winking clit. The two made eye contact, a communication of desire and trust through a single gaze, the understanding of beings.

There was no going back from this; the relationship would never be the same. But everything had already changed for Celestia. She could continue to hold herself back until the end of time, or at last, finally, enjoy herself, and take a day from worry like the dragon on top of her head.

Whatever Spike had was contagious.

And she nodded her head anyways.

Spike, even while under this spell of apathy, was gentle in lowering his cock against her slit, lining it with her opening, pushing inside her, inch by inch, holding her hoof all the way through. The sensation of his sharp cock pushing out against her sensitive wall was too much for Celestia, for her horn glowed gold, and a bubble formed around two.

Then Celestia moaned her loudest.

Spike slid all the way inside the princess, whose pussy was now swollen from the act. His tip nearly reached her cervix—his cock was bigger than most stallions and was enough to serve even a Goddess like Celestia.

"How are you feeling?" Spike asked before a sharp exhale.

"Very... good," Celestia replied. "I'll admit that I'm not a complete virgin, using my hoof once or twice in the past, but I've never had anything inside of me."

"Why is that?" Spike asked, keeping himself still while her body adjusted to having a penis in it. "Figured with the size of your treasury, you could have gotten a golden dildo or somethin'."

Celestia giggled. "Sex toys appeared in Equestria only four hundred years ago, and besides, it would give me a bad name if I bought one for myself."

"So why not a plant?" Spike shifted in place. "Like a cucumber or an eggplant?"

Celestia laughed loudly, snorting slightly. "Please. I'm not that desperate for sex. When you're a princess, there's always work to be done, ponies to be raised, kingdoms to be ruled. Sex and lust never come to mind when one is responsible for everyone else." She sighed. "Besides, I can live without those two."

Spike chose that exact moment to start rocking his hops, moving his dragon hood inside the goddess marehood and making her stop talking and start moaning. The sensation was too good for Celestia, a feeling yet to be beaten by anything else, and when the tip of his dick almost slipped out of her pussy, the excellent feeling began to vanish.

"You really sure life is okay without sex?" he said. "Is it fine to live without the experience of this physical pleasure?"

Celestia smiled and shook her head. "No. I want you to continue making love to me. For so long, I've gone without this bliss, and for much longer than that, I forgot what it feels like to be a pony with needs and wants. I want you to fuck me, Spike, like any other ordinary pony."

Spike was refilled by the big dinner before, but his body still felt depleted from a day of fucking, his balls needing time to produce new sperm. He dedicated this time to pleasuring Celestia, to thrusting his hips back and forth, pushing in and out of her pussy, ridges expanding against her sensitive walls.

He couldn't keep it like this. Fucking the princess in one position wouldn't give her even a glimpse at what she had been missing over the years, the bliss she had yet to pick up again, the moves she needed to become excited to see.

He switched positions, each one bringing her a mini orgasm each and every time, working at every angle possible. Her pussy was so tight and wet, folds softer than any other, and the bliss she felt was tenfold to himself. With every rock of his hips, his cock ached, building toward a climax his balls were ready for.

"I'm getting there, Tia," Spike said with his eyes shut, switching to the missionary position. "Are you ready for me?"

The princess had her body filled with pleasure and endorphins. Without a second thought, she spoke: "Cum in my thousand-year-old dry womb, soaking and filling it with your cum."

Spike smiled. He crashed his hip against hers for the final time, letting the aching in his cock be free by the release of his cum, shaft welling at her entrance as his seed gushed into her. His knot prevented any of their liquid from spelling as the two climaxed as one.

Spike roared as he came, a sound that threatened to break the barrier set up—but even a dragon was no match for a princess. Celestia screamed, her first true orgasm, the pleasure rocking her voice, loud enough to shatter the barrier, the sound screeching across Canterlot.

Luckily, none who were awake assumed it to be a voice of pleasure.

But the guards wandering the street now knew where their princess was, and not only that, they assumed the scream to be a cry of pain. They all turned and started making their way back to the castle.

Spike panted from above her. "Never expected you to be the loud type in bed."

"Now's not the time to be joking," Celestia replied. "My guards will be here any moment. None of them can see us like this. We need to separate."

"We can't." Spike rocked back his hips only for him to stop. "My cock is still knotted for the next little while."

Using her gift of size difference and earth pony strength, Celestia pulled herself out of Spike's penis lock easily. He was surprised by that, not expecting her pussy to hold his juices even without his cock acting like a plug.

"This was a good time," Spike said, coming to stand on two, wobbly feet. "We should do it again soon."

Footsteps came from afar.

"Quit joking around and start hiding!"

"I've got a better idea than that."

"What do you have in mind? Act quickly!"

He didn't answer her. When she raised her head, she saw him standing up, upon the ledge of the platform, and upon turning around, gave her a smirk, a salute with his claw, and then he fell backward—into the roar of the waterfall below.

Celestia stood immediately and went to rush to the ledge—the drake had survived crashing through grass, but she wanted to make sure she was alright. But voices from behind stopped her from moving, and when she turned around, she saw her guards, all wide-eyed at seeing their princess all sweaty.

"Miss, are you alright?" one of the guards from the group asked. "Where have you been?!"

She laughed nervously and hope her guards don't see her backside that was still messy from recent sex with her son-like but lover now dragon.

"Well... I went here for exercise, you know? The thing that's good for a diet."

(edited)