Time Makes Foals of Us All

“Time flies like an arrow; fruit flies like a banana.” –Groucho Marx

~~~

Canterlot, Hearth’s Warming Day, 1006 AN, 11:00 AM, Timeline 0

Horizon stifled a yawn with a hoof while Twilight trotted merrily from the train station down Mane Street towards Canterlot Castle. He was not a morning pony, and the nap on the train did little to energize him. Horizon valued his daily eight hours.

"Hurry up! It's almost noon and we have to be at my parent's house for presents before 3 if we want any chance of starting dinner on time. And Canterlot is going to be busy today which means we have to take some side streets to ensure we get everywhere on time with all the hoof traffic we can expect. If we take Stirrup Street instead of Broadway we should be able to avoid most if not all—" Twilight cantered forward on autopilot as the schedule floated in her magic next to the extremely detailed to-do list.

"Twi, please slow down, there's no need to canter all the way to the Castle." Horizon continued to blink the sleep out of his eyes. It was a long train ride by steam up the mountain and he couldn't jump out of bed at the drop of a hat like Twilight could every winter wrap up.

"Please! Pleasepleasepleaseplease can't we just hurry a little bit?" Twilight folded the items into her saddlebags and turned back to pout at her coltfriend. Horizon couldn't help hating how cute she was in that scarf, it shouldn't have been scientifically possible.

"I'm sure Spike has the presents all ready to go and we can just hop in, grab the goods, then hop out." Horizon continued to walk after her down the street as she waited for him to catch up.

"We can't do that! It's been so long since I have seen Spike, he only just moved back to our old study on the Castle grounds near the royal archives. We need to have lunch with him and catch up. It's probably been hard for him to make friends since he started growing and you know he can't go walking down the streets in Canterlot like he used to in Ponyville." Twilight brushed next to her colt-friend and leaned into him as they continued their casual pace down the sidewalk.

Horizon rolled his eyes and adjusted the scarf around his neck as it statically clung to his fillyfriends. "Twilight, you know Spike doesn't really like me. I mean you're basically his mother and I'm just some colt who started shacking up with you one day and caused him to get kicked out of the bedroom. We both know how dejected he would look carrying his basket to the main floor of the library whenever we would ask him for some privacy." The dark blue stallion looked at the thin layering of snow on the street as his hooves impacted the delicate powder.

"Horizon you know that's just not true. Spike is just a teenage dragon now and he's going through a tough time growing up. He's been adjusting to life without my friends around for a while now. Ponyville just isn't the same without Pinkie baking, Rainbow napping and Fluttershy hiding in her cottage. And Spike was crushed when Rarity finally had to tell him that they would only ever be friends this Summer." Twilight was thoughtful as she settled into the slow pace. She was glad to be sobering up and reducing the enthusiasm to a more reasonable level. She didn't honestly know how Spike was faring. Besides the letters that Celestia had been sending her as part of their normal correspondence she hadn't heard anything firsthoof.

"I mean, I never understood how you two couldn't get along. You have so much in common as far as family and—"

"Twilight we've talked about this a million times. Just because I am an only child who never had a father figure doesn't mean I'm instantly going to be best buds with every guy like me. I mean if anything, it has only made me less trusting of ponies in general and for a lot of ponies it makes me a total pariah. They can't even imagine what it must have been like, especially when you consider how I lost my mother." Horizon had long gotten over the fact that he was not raised in a normal atomic family. No brothers or sisters, no father around his entire childhood since he divorced and moved back to Germaneigh almost immediately after he was born. His mother was the only real guardian to speak of and she ensured that he could get through school with a roof over his head and food on his plate. But she never dated again after losing her husband, Horizon was her life.

When his mother passed away during his undergraduate years of college to breast cancer... Well Horizon didn't like to think about how close he came to taking the short way off of the mountain in those days. It was only his fear of wasting her efforts that kept him going. He didn't have the typical support net of extended family or friends to fall back on. He had to grow up fast.

"I don't mean to bring that up Horizon, I know how difficult it was for you, but you are a real success story. A fighter, you overcame odds that most ponies would crumble under. She would have been so proud to see the stallion you are today." Twilight nuzzled him and drew a few glances from ponies as they passed by. Twilight wasn't one for public displays of affection normally – and they were especially taboo in Canterlot – but she knew he needed it now.

"I wish you could have met her Twilight. She would never believe how lucky I am to have found a mare that would put up with all my baggage, heh." Horizon returned her nuzzle but decided it was time to drive the conversation back to Spike. He still coped with thoughts of family by emotionally shielding himself from it. Twilight didn't bring it up often and he never really talked about it with anypony else. It was just a sore spot that probably would never go away. At least his mare could understand that.

"But you are right. Spike is probably going through something similar. I mean you aren't gone in any permanent sense but you still aren't a part of his day to day life anymore. And you did give birth to him essentially, he owes his existence to you. That's a connection that you will always have with him and now that your differences in biology are finally coming into focus he is probably really confused. And that confusion maybe is what's been leading to the anger towards me... I honestly don't know how I would have reacted if my mother started to date again when I was in my teens, I probably would be mad, or at least make her coltfriends life a living tartarus haha."

"He's just trying to protect me Horizon. That's all it is. Dragons are very territorial by nature and he just saw you as a threat when you moved into the library with us." But Twilight always neglected to mention how she never asked Spike for permission. She just showed up one day with a chariot full of scientific goods and a stallion to boot. Spike was introduced to Twilight's 'coltfriend' and he immediately was put on the defensive.

It maybe shouldn't have been a surprise that he confessed his undying love to Rarity a week later and demanded she give him a direct yes or no answer. The comfortable limbo of silence they had maintained since his first 'hoarding' episode was still in full effect. Until she had to refuse his advances that summer. If anything it made Spike grumpier, but Rarity couldn't risk telling a lie and upsetting her own lover. That orange mare was the apple of her eye now.

"Well it's going to be difficult to do any bonding now that he's going to be living in Canterlot permanently. I still get chills thinking about the second hoarding episode he had when we visited Manehatten for that project on Fission. I wonder if they have finished reconstruction of the Empire State building by now." Horizon shuddered at the thought.

Spike was a dragon and always carried the inherent risk of losing control when greed could get a hold of his heart. It wasn't as bad as his destruction of the majority of Ponyville the first time it happened as far as property damage. But grabbing Twilight and climbing up the tallest building while the Wonderbolts zipped around him was more damaging just because of the sheer number of ponies who thought the dragons had finally decided to stop eating Griffons and travel up the coast to eat them instead. It took letters from friends and family in Baltimare and Fillydelphia to finally assuage the worries of some Manehattanites.

Thankfully Twilight was able to calm Spike down and have a very personal moment with him. It was the first time she had ever referred to Spike as her child. And it was the first time he ever referred to her as his mother. Celestia and Luna did their best to calm down the public fear but it would take a lot longer to get Twilight and Spike to stop crying as they held each other and she begged Celestia to let him stay in Canterlot rather than banish him. Exile for Spike was a very real possibility.

Twilight stopped and Horizon looked up from his hooves to see that they had arrived.

The guards never gave the pair trouble as they moved into the Castle grounds. They frequented the royal garden during the first few weeks of their courtship as Twilight traveled up to Canterlot as often as her studies would permit; More often sometimes as Celestia eventually had to ask her to either move back into her study to continue her work or ask Horizon to move to Ponyville. Horizon of course offered to move, Canterlot didn't feel as alive as the tree home in Ponyville. Less noise when they would walk along the Everfree forest to stargaze and talk.

But Twilight's old study had been seeing more and more activity since then. They both traveled a great deal to discuss magic, mostly Twilight's. But Horizon had essentially taken on the role of number one assistant when they hit the road or the rails. Spike usually stayed in Ponyville to mind the library before the incident, but Twilight saw this upset him and agreed to take him along to Manehatten. A choice with disastrous consequences for the young dragon’s freedom, but Horizon would never bring it up in that light to Twilight.

~~~

Knock. Knock. Knock.

"Ah! You're here already? Um... Just a minute! I'm just wrapping up some... I mean finishing some... stuff! One second!"

Twilight and Horizon shared a knowing glance. That was definitely the dragon they remembered. No matter how difficult it was for Spike to hide his feelings around Horizon it was still an endearing trait to have when he was happy or excited. Normal and mature dragons were so brutally serious and impassive. Never knowing whether they were going to eat you or ignore you was a common problem. Horizon and Twilight both hoped they would never live to see Spike become bitter like that.

"Spike. It's rude to leave ponies waiting at the door. Or have you been growing lazy since starting your little vacation here in Canterlot?" Twilight always referred to Spike’s 'forced' presence in Canterlot as a vacation. Saying he was just getting a well-deserved break for his years of service to the royal pupil. While the prison bars may not be present the guards lining the Castle walls didn't just face outward anymore.

The door opened only a moment later and revealed a large dragon with a claw surreptitiously out of sight behind his back. Spike now stood nearly a full three meters tall just on his haunches. The normal pony was just under a meter in height with only a few of the bulkier stallions breaching the meter mark. Only Princess Celestia herself passed the two meter mark, but that was all horn. He was smiling down at the pair of much smaller unicorns wearing their couple scarves with a wide toothy grin.

Horizon flinched.

"Spike remember what we talked about? Smile with your lips, less teeth." Twilight magically nudged his jaw closed but caressed his razor sharp spines and gently tugged his head down to give him a hug. Spike picked up Twilight in his arms and held her close to his warm and smooth underside as she struggled to wrap her hooves around his now long and broad neck. Spike’s growing wings flapped happily as he extended them protectively around his favorite pony, his surrogate mother.

"Twilight it's so good to see you! I'm sorry I haven't written more it's just that my stupid claws are too big to hold quills now and I can't use my fire breath anymore without causing the guards to smash down the doors and investigate. But Princess Celestia visits me every day to talk to me and have lunch. She's really something else Twilight, I don't know where she gets the energy! I mean when I'm not napping on the hoard she gave me, I am eating more gems than I ever knew existed to just keep up with the changes to my body!" Spike began licking his lips at the thought as he gently placed his closest friend on the floor of her old study. He lowered to all fours and began to walk into the heart of the high arched ceilings of the vaunted guest study of Canterlot Castle. His long and sleek tail trailed after him as his head raised high above his spined back and folded wings to look at and indicate the condition of the lavish quarters.

"I dusted off the entire place and made sure all your old books were accounted for, and I even got your presents all stacked neatly in the cart ready to go for you. And there's fresh food in the pantry and the water and plumbing all still works. I made sure the guards got all your favorite foods and your bed is set up right where it used to be with fresh sheets and everything. And the—" Twilight interrupted the dragon’s ramblings with a gentle tug on his tail as he began to give the full tour.

"Spike, aren't you forgetting something?" Spike turned to look at her and struggled to hide the frown on his face.

"Uh... Hey Spike, I know it's been a long time but I am glad to see you too!" Horizon did genuinely feel happy. He was just anxious to be around the dragon since he started to grow. The physical changes were frightening no matter how kind and gentle the soul was. But Spike was genuinely a fun personality to be around and they had their share of good personal moments and laughs. And of course they both shared a love for Twilight that went beyond mere friendship.

Yet it still didn't help to quell the anger Spike felt whenever he looked at the stallion. Spike believed that if it weren't for Horizon he would still be in Ponyville with Twilight, helping her every day instead of being back in this ivory tower. Alone.

"Yeah well I guess time flies when you're having fun you know. I mean it's a real hoot up here by myself. At least I don't have to deal with that annoying owl anymore, or you." Spike grumbled to himself and reared back up on his haunches to stare sideways at the hourglass and out the window overlooking Canterlot proper.

"Spike! That's enough! It's Hearth's Warming Eve and I refuse to let you be in a bad mood. Now I want you to shake hoof and claw and be done with it." Twilight literally put down her hoof and narrowed her gaze at Horizon as he started to back away from the dragon who mindlessly flipped his razor sharp tail side to side in agitation. Spike huffed and smoke wisps left his nostrils as he turned to extend a large and muscular arm down to the blue unicorn. Horizon stopped his retreat and mustered the courage to extend a hoof towards the meaty hands and their deep purple claws. His forehoof was completely wrapped in the powerful grasp as Spike narrowed his eyes and made it clear who was in charge.

They shook.

"There! That wasn't so hard now was it? I can feel the windigoes fleeing before us as we let the magic of friendship and love warm the air already!" Twilight beamed as the two males in the room rolled their eyes in near-choreographed unison at the unflappable nature of their favorite mare.

"Sheesh, Twilight aren't you done with that friendship nonsense. I mean I already helped you write like a hundred papers on it since we moved to Ponyville and burped out enough of those friendship reports between you and Celestia to fill an archive!" Spike gesticulated and indicated the numerous densely packed shelves that filled the deep blue decor of the study. The ladders that leaned up against them reached nearly all the way to the starry painted fresco on the domed ceiling.

"Spike, just because my academic research into friendship is complete doesn't mean my studies have come to an end. And the princess and I have developed a much more efficient form of communication since she taught me how to send the scrolls in the way she does. After all, I have begun investigating a much more powerful form of magic... The magic of love."

Twilight giggled and leaned into her stallion to nuzzle him as he continued to stare at the hulking lizard before them. Twilight was doing her best to snap him out of the mood and to close his mouth before flies started to land in it.

Spike simply indicated that he would rather be gagging himself as he stuck out his forked tongue.

"And since when are you on a first name basis with her? You aren't planning on making her your next Rarity are you?" Twilight continued to tease the no longer little dragon and push his buttons.

"Oh please Twilight." Spike waved dismissively as he continued to walk into a back corner of the study. "Celestia doesn't even talk about romance at all. She just really takes care of me you know. I mean without her and her guards some of the ponies in this town would be out for my hide. We just have lunch together and we talk alot, and she's my only friend up here now. It's not like Rainbow Dash or Fluttershy ever fly up to visit. And I know Rarity won't want to talk to me, especially since she's got Applejack now..."

Horizon barked out a laugh and poked Twilight in the side with an exaggerated nod of 'told you so' that earned an annoyed glance from the lavender mare in return.

Spike continued, "I mean honestly it's kind of refreshing to talk to somepony that isn't all lovey-dovey and talking about getting married all the time. It's not like there are any female dragons around for me to spend all my time on." Spike paused as he faced a large and heavy pair of obsidian doors that looked to be new. He simply looked down a bit somberly as he turned to face the two ponies.

Twilight let out a nervous cough at the remark about marriage as she started to make eyes at Spike, signalling to him that the topic was sensitive. The maturing dragon, who had always been wise for his years, caught on right away, but didn't let up.

"Ahhh... So he still hasn't asked you yet."

Horizon felt his heart sag. The tiny weight of the box in his saddlebags felt like it had gained the mass of a solar system as it tugged on his heartstrings and brought almost a year worth of love and anxiety to the forefront once again. But still he remained silent. No point in rising to the bait.

Twilight attempted to change the topic. "So! What's with the addition? I don't remember these being here before, is this your new bedroom?" Twilight walked up to stand next to her surrogate son as he towered over her before the large black portcullis. Spike nodded and extended an immensely powerful arm and swung the armored doors open to reveal his new bedroom. It was no basket that was for sure.

Inside was the largest pile of gold in all of Equestria.

"Woah." Horizon let out, he was immediately shocked by the glimmering sea of coins and bars that made up a pile large enough to fill the vaults at Fort Neighx, twice. "This is unreal! I didn't even know so much gold even existed!"

Twilight just looked up at Spike with a dumbfounded expression. She knew the princess wanted him to grow, but not this fast.

~~~

Dragons evolve in different ways depending on how they develop their hoards. Precious metals like Gold offered the greatest power in helping a dragon to grow. If they slept within close proximity to the pure metals they would grow large, powerful and have strong wings that would carry them high into the skies. They would also develop incredible natural resistance to the elements and disease in addition to razor sharp spines and a thick hide. These 'great dragons' would live for millennia, and the simple fear they evoked in their ilk would allow them to spend their hundred year slumbers away from the dragon lands without fear of having their hoard interfered with.

Most dragons merely garnered cheap hoards. Silver, Copper, old jewelry and adornments accompanied with alloys from machinery or decorative items like candle holders. These things would allow a dragon to grow and develop wings but they would be thinner, weaker and poor fliers. They would rarely be able to attract a mate alone and more often than not would rely on the scraps earned by pledging service to the great dragons who sought to have a hoard of pure gold to ensure their longevity. These average dragons were certainly the norm in the dragon lands, and they were the most likely to fight each other over earning mates through battle prowess.

Near the bottom of the totem pole were the 'drakonids' the dragons that were too weak, or lazy to even fight to earn their place in the cruel and materialistic society. So shunned were they by the proud dragons that they were not even considered of the same blood, they would never mate, and could only hope to extend their lives through thievery. They would gather anything and everything that held any value whether it be intrinsic like metals or simply sentimental like paintings or furniture. These were the flightless dragons and gargantuan graceless beast that would ravage border towns and outposts to ransack homes for valuables and break into storage warehouses for the bounty of the gem mines and eat their fill. These dragons never earned, they took. And it was usually up to the leaders of the dragon nations to cull these threats themselves, lest they all be seen as ignoble and mindless monsters.

When these savage and mindless drakonids entered the Griffon kingdoms after years of frustration and death at the hands of the Equestrian border forts they started the longest ongoing war the three Sovereign nations had ever known. Griffon blood had been spilled to feed the bellies of monstrous ground-bound reptiles. Lizards cut off from the gem mines of Equestria and forced to turn to their carnivorous roots or die of starvation since the dragon clans would not offer their share of gems to sustain them.

This war continued to bring a terrible imbalance to the major driving trade of luxury goods and the economy of the three sovereign states. The Dragon Clans were the most simple, having always exported the gold, silver and other precious metals that they were innately gifted at finding. The Equestrian Empire provided cotton, silk, dyes, marble and most importantly, gems. And the Griffon Kingdom was as always the most versatile since it brought the luxuries of tea, spices, wine, ivory, fur, pearls and whale oil. The Griffons were not herbivores like the ponies and did not eat pure gems like the dragons chose to, so they had no qualms with quelling creatures for their resources.

But at the very bottom of the dragon social hierarchy, lies an even more tragic tale. A dragon that is young and does not have a hoard will not develop at all. He will remain small and juvenile with chubby features and weak muscles. Without a proper hoard a dragon would grow sick quickly and become a small frail shell of potential and die young.

Twilight had learned this in her earliest studies after giving life to the long dormant egg that held Spike and it was her darkest secret to keep from him. She could never tell her number one assistant that his entire existence was an accident that could cost him his life. That his egg had been used in the School for Gifted Unicorns magical entry exam for hundreds of years as an impossible test, only to determine if the applicants had creative problem solving abilities and strong resolve.

Twilight always drove Spike to work hard and focus on proving himself to ponykind, and most of all to the Princess. Because if she couldn't help Spike to be welcomed into the society and live like a pony, he would not be granted a hoard and he would die. Cast away like the mistake he was.

~~~

The sight of the gigantic pile of gold brought tears to Twilight's eyes.

"Oh SPIKE!" Twilight jumped at Spike and tried to nuzzle him and hide her tears in the smooth and warm scales of his belly. Her little Spike was going to live, and grow strong, and fly.

"Geez Twilight I know it's a lot of money but I'm sure if you asked Celestia she would be willing to lend you some."

Horizons ears swiveled at that. It was a lot of money. More money than should ever be in one place at a time.

"Umm, hate to break up the moment but... How?"

"Well... Celestia said something about me needing a pure gold hoard to grow and develop into a 'proper dragon' as she called it. She was being kinda vague really. Talking in short sentences between sips of tea. I mean if I didn't know any better it was almost like she was lying or something. Tough to tell with that mare." Twilight tightened her grip on her dragon. He was growing fast, perhaps too fast. His physical form would always take a while to fully mature – no matter how large the hoard – but if only a month could multiply his stature by ten than his mental reasoning surely increased by a similar amount. Spike was always terribly sharp. Twilight feared that his intellect would far surpass hers in time.

She couldn't let him find out the truth on his own.

"Anyway she ordered that all the gold in Fort Neighx be brought to Canterlot and then had the old building turned into a hospital. Then she had this giant vault constructed near where I was being 'contained' so I could sleep on it and grow. And if that wasn't enough she then ordered that all the gold in all of the Empires treasury and banks be brought here as well. And THEN she put all of Prince Blueblood's money in here as well after confiscating it from him for 'being a complete lout'. Something about teaching him the value of hard work or some such, I dunno. In any case, a few billion bits worth of gold from some noble was like a drop in the bucket at that point. I mean, I don't think anypony knows how much is really in here except for Celestia herself but it's pretty safe to say that the entire monetary wealth of the nation is before you. The copper bits floating around out there as proxies should all be backed up by the real valuable material in here."

Horizon couldn't believe it. Twilight was happier for Spike than she ever had been. Spike felt hungry.

"So yeah anyway, that's that. No big deal if you ask me, but at least it's comfortable. That giant blanket Rarity made for me keeps me warm when I first get on that pile of metal but by the time I wake up its like the whole lot of it has absorbed my warmth. Celestia says it's a good sign. Means it's working." Spike closed the door as Horizon kept staring into the gigantic pile of unknowable wealth. Selling the machine to private investors would never be able to scratch the surface of the well of wealth contained in that room.

"But I'm hungry and that giant star ruby that Rarity sent me didn't last as long as it used to."

Twilight gasped.

"SPIKE! Did you cheat and open a present early?" She had stopped her tears of happiness as they trotted to the main room below the library section. The two ponies almost cantering to keep up with the large strides of the lumbering purple and green quadruped. Spike curled up comfortably on the floor near the balcony as the two ponies flopped into a large comfortable blue cushion together.

"Well it did have my name on it you know. And it was, technically, Hearth's Warming Day when the meteor shower began. I mean you guys teleported them through and woke me up right after I had my dinner and was getting ready for my after dinner nap. Seriously, I don't know what that STAR thing sounds like on your end but it was loud enough to wake up a dragon on this end. Something you might want to work on fixing before you publish mom." Spike smiled and laughed for the first time since they had arrived. Twilight smiled back.

"Well then, my sneaky little dragon of a son, I certainly hope you didn't ruin the surprise for what we got you!" Twilight began levitating the presents for Spike from the cart near the door. A multitude of boxes from friends in Ponyville all came to rest before Spike as he looked on in awe.

"I... had no idea that so many still cared..." Spike felt a few tears begin to well up. He really hadn't checked the other presents at all. He just wanted to see what Rarity had gotten him. But it was just a gem. Something that would have been heartfelt gift from a unicorn who's special talent was gem finding before; yet now just seemed like a thoughtless thing she must have felt compelled to do. It was, after all, only a snack for him. Spike sighed.

Horizon chimed in. "Spike, don't feel like that buddy. Everypony in Ponyville misses you and not a day goes by where they aren't asking about how you are doing. I know it feels like a prison here in Canterlot but know that those who really care about you wish every day that you were still there with them. You really are a great guy and the friends you made in Ponyville are still your friends. Even if you did smash a few buildings a bit." Twilight punched him in the barrel hard enough to make him let out a breath of air as she gave him the biggest stink eye she could.

"Oof. A heheh just a joke, dear. But in all seriousness Sweetie Belle comes by just about every day asking where you are. I think she wanted to sing you a song or something because Twilight and I kept hearing her practice out by the forest during our stargazing walks. She must have thought nopony was around." Spike blinked in surprise at this.

"You. You really think she cares about me?" Spike had grown rather fond of the cutie mark crusaders in his time in Ponyville. He was there in some form or another when they had all individually earned their own cutie marks. If Spike had any best friends it would be those three trouble makers.

Horizon winked at Spike. "Oh, I know so. Big, strong, scary dragon like you could probably get any mare he wants. And you know what they say, if you can't get a mare, you go for her sister. Haha" Horizon finished it off with some lewd hoof gestures about a biological process that clearly was impossible. Spike laughed alongside Horizon as they enjoyed the obviously growing discomfort of the mare in the room. Twilight was in a huff.

"Stop it! Both of you. And as for you mister," Twilight jabbed Horizon again where a bruise was surely going to form, "I don't want you giving my baby dragon any ideas. He is far too young to be thinking about that sort of thing. And it most certainly would be physically impossible and more importantly biologically impossible for Spike to have a clutch of his own with a pony. So stop joking about it. And even if Sweetie Belle doesn't realize that I don't want you getting her hopes up." Spike gave a subtle shake of his head as Horizon got an ear full from his mare. Those two are helpless.

"Oh come on Twilight, Spike would break her pelvis before he broke her heart. Haha—" Twilight levitated a large book from a shelf and smacked it across Horizons face. That would definitely bruise.

"You. Are. So. Crude." Spike raised his eyebrows in surprise. He had never seen his adoptive mother get that upset before.

"Wow, Twilight, that actually hurt. Are you OK?" Horizon looked at his fillyfriend as her angry glance shifted to concern. She used the limited healing magic she could perform to reduce the swelling that was beginning to form. It should prevent a black eye but the tenderness would still be there.

"I'm sorry... It's just... Don't joke about a mare getting her feelings hurt like that. Sweetie Belle may actually be infatuated with Spike, or at least how she last saw him... But that doesn't mean we can joke about it at her expense. A filly's heart is sensitive and easily broken. Sometimes you colts are just too careless to really realize that."

Spike sat in silence looking at the two ponies before him. His mother and her coltfriend were certainly an interesting dynamic. She clearly was frustrated with something that happened recently, and if the small amount of gold calling to Spike from Horizon’s saddlebags was any indication, it probably involved the ‘e-word’.

Engagement.

Maybe Horizon just needed a nudge in the right direction.

"So how about some lunch you two. I've got some nice eggnog to cool us down, no alcohol in it. I know what that does to you two. Then we can get to opening these presents, I want to see what you got me. Hehehehe." Spike jokingly rubbed his hands together and grinned toothily. His efforts to ease the tension were genuinely diplomatic but a little bit selfish as he wanted to sate his own appetite as well. Gems were calling.

Horizon and Twilight shared a smile then turned to spike, speaking as one, "That sounds perfect."

~~~

Spike had finished opening all but one of his presents.

He got an enormous cupcake from Pinkie Pie. It really should have just been called a cake but the party mare had somehow managed to find a paper wrapper large enough to hold the thing in its 'cup' form even with the veritable trough of frosting that must have been used to coat the top. A note was attached from the Cake family with a photo of Pound and Pumpkin destroying cardboard buildings wearing Spikes old Nightmare Night dragon costume. They wished a Happy – and safe – Hearth's Warming.

Applejack had sent a full barrel of cider, somehow both of the earth ponies must have known Spike would have a slightly bigger appetite and accommodated accordingly. She attached a note saying it was in fact alcoholic and that he shouldn't let Horizon or his mother anywhere near it. She wished him a happy Hearth's Warming as well and said the big guy was certainly grown enough to handle the hard stuff. Twilight objected vehemently.

Fluttershy had sent a giant nail file and toothbrush along with a note that said that she had a little help from Colgate for this one, and that – 'umm... no offense intended' as the demure mare put it, even in writing – it was to make sure Spike didn't look so scary when he came to visit. Lyra had appended a note to the bottom of the letter saying that you could almost read Fluttershy's writing in her voice. The trio had a good laugh at that one.

Rainbow Dash had sent a page of the foal free press with on the back side scribbled "Voucher for free flying lessons from the most awesome pegasus and Wonderbolt ever to the most slightly less awesome but still pretty damn awesome dragon ever. Redeemable whenever neither party is napping, like a boss." Spike read that aloud in his best Rainbow Dash impression and Horizon couldn't stop laughing for a few minutes while Twilight was mentally calculating how much she was going to have a word with Rainbow about the dangers of such a thing. There was a smaller print message that discretely proposed a future prank involving a certain princess of the night and the only local dragon. Spike laughed at how writing smaller made the request any less obvious. But he was definitely game.

"And last but not least!"

Spike picked up a large but pliable and carefully wrapped package. It was the size of a pillow.

"Twilight you know I don't need a pillow, my spines would rip it to shreds. The only reason the blanket Rarity made me doesn't get ruined is because it's made of gold and runeweave."

"Just open it silly, I wouldn't get you a bad present. And it's from both of us by the way." Twilight nudged Horizon and he smiled back at her. They both turned their wide open eyes to Spike in excitement.

"Alright... But i'm warning you I don't do well with soft fluffy things."

The wrapping paper was carefully peeled apart by a single extended claw with surgical precision and the single long piece of fabric within unraveled across Spikes hind legs. Spike stared down at the strange garment.

"Oh, come on, really? This is so girly, I'm not gonna wear this."

Horizon laughed. Twilight sighed in exasperation.

"Spike can't you please just try. Look I'll even tie it for you." Twilight levitated the scarf and wrapped it carefully around his large muscular neck and shoulders. Not too differently from how she had for the one Horizon now wore just the day before. The spines starting at his neck continuing up over his head would have shredded it if it weren't made of the same runeweave Rarity used to craft his blanket.

"Rarity made this. She was worried you wouldn't like just your gem and had just finished making our scarves so we all thought it would be a better gesture to get you something a little less... consumable." Twilight smiled up at the maturing dragon as he watched her magic fold the ends meticulously and give them gentle pats so they would lay flat against his large frame. The length was somehow perfect. Rarity was a miracle worker with fabric.

"But it was your mother’s idea for the colors. Lavender and navy blue. Not a bad combination if you ask me." Horizon smiled at Twilight as she winked at her coltfriend and finished admiring her handsome not-so-little dragon as he bashfully played with the loose ends in his claws. "But the criss-crossing pattern was my idea. Stripes are super lame so I thought it would be totally badass to have this teeth-like pattern. Way cool if you ask me." Horizon walked up to Twilight and leaned into her as they both looked up at the now madly blushing dragon.

"Yeah... I guess it's... Pretty cool." Spike was fidgeting under the smiles of his mom and her coltfriend. Then he felt the gentle pressure of two pairs of forehooves wrapping around his barrel and hugging him. He extended his wings to wrap around the little ponies holding him. The only two ponies to see him on Hearth's Warming Day.

"But I still have to give you your presents!" Spike lit up with joy and moved once again towards the cart and began carefully sifting through tiny boxes, in comparison to the digits searching through them at least. Finally a plain looking box was removed and handed to Twilight.

"For me? Oh Spike you didn't have to do this." Spike just playfully bounced on his haunches in anticipation as his mom opened her gift. He couldn't wait to see the look on her face.

It was a snow globe.

Inside was the Manehatten skyline and in the very center was a giant wingless purple and green dragon climbing atop the Empire State Building with a lavender unicorn in claw. Mini Wonderbolts were frozen in orbit as they circled him with his head raised high in a mighty roar.

Twilight began to tear up.

"They were selling these in town as a joke kind of and I thought it was actually really great but for the completely opposite reason. I mean that day may have been scary for a lot of ponies but for me it was the best day of my life. It was the first day I really learned what I was to you and what you were to me and so I had a guard go—" Twilight jumped and collided onto his belly and Spike rolled back to ease her momentum.

"I love you so much Spike. This is the best gift ever. Don't you ever let them hurt you with their words or jokes. I'm going to get you out of here some day. No matter what happens I won't give up on you. Count on it. You're my son and I'm not going to let them take you away from me. Never, ever." Spike felt tears welling up in his own eyes again as he held his mother close. The only pony to unconditionally love him his whole short life. Spike knew that no matter what he would love her back.

But it was all tempered by the sad reality that he was now beginning to accept. Some day he would outlive her.

"Thanks mom. But I think I have one last gift to give." Spike held Twilight close for one moment more and gently hugged her back as he lifted the unicorn off of him and back onto the plush cushion she was sharing with her coltfriend before. Her future husband.

"But uh... This gift needs to be given in private. Horizon would you mind joining me on the balcony?"

Horizon simply nodded and followed Spike to the balcony after giving Twilight a brief nuzzle. She was busy drying her tears and watching the silly snow globe showing one of the greatest and most terrifying moments of her life.

Spike cracked his knuckles in preparation.

~~~

Horizon walked through the open glass doors onto the airy balcony. The awning above stopped most of the snow but there was still plenty of sky around them as the view of Canterlot was only surpassed by the two towers holding the bedrooms of the rulers of the nation. One of which, belonging to the Princess of the Night, was the royal observatory itself.

Yes there was plenty of privacy up here, out of earshot of Twilight and out of sight for every pony in Canterlot through the gentle snow filling the air obscuring the streets below.

A clawed hand reached out and grabbed Horizon by the neck lifting him bodily into the air.

"Guh... Spike, what are you doing this—"

"Shut. Up."

Horizon stopped talking, and focused on breathing.

Spike moved to the edge and held Horizon out over the hundred meter drop onto the ground below. The royal gardens may be full of soft flower beds but at this height it wouldn't matter. Horizon gulped as the grip tightened.

"You may think that just because you got me a nice scarf and can make me laugh occasionally that I will simply accept the fact that you are in love with my mother. But I just want you to know that not a day goes by that I don't think about how I am stuck here. Alone. Nothing but books to keep me company while you are off living in MY home with MY mother and laughing with MY friends."

Horizon sputtered and tried to speak but as his vocal cords vibrated the dragon squeezed harder. Horizon ceased his efforts and struggled to keep his heart rate down. The grip loosened slightly to allow air to return. Horizon could only watch in ineffable fear as the smoke seeping from the nostrils of the indomitable creature in front of him melted passing snowflakes with their heat.

"If the completely insubstantial amount of gold I can sense in your saddlebags is any indication, I know that you are going to propose to Twilight today. And I know she's going to say yes. Everypony knows she is going to say yes. I know that it would make her the happiest mare in the whole world because it's about Celestia damned time your cowardly heart managed to reach the level of commitment she has given you. But mark my words pony. If you do anything, anything that even so much as brings a fracture to her beautiful heart I will find you and I will end you. No force in Equestria, not even the Princesses themselves will be able to stop me. You can run and hide in Tartarus itself and it won't do you any good. Because with the amount of gold Celestia is nurturing me with, no Griffon, no matter how fast, and no dragon, no matter how ferocious, would be able to protect you from me."

Horizon felt his bladder emptying.

"So tonight, when you finally take that next step, you had better be ready to work harder than you have ever worked for anything in your short and insignificant life. Because that mare in there is the greatest thing to ever grace this earth and without her none of what every common creature on this world takes for granted would be possible. Celestia herself reveres Twilight Sparkle and you sure as shit better worship her. Because if that mare ever comes to me crying and I learn that you are the cause, you are going to wish you had stayed in Canterlot as a pathetic nobody wiping down tables until you died a lonely, friendless, virgin."

Horizon was crying now. Bloodflow was weighing down his hindquarters as he flailed his rear legs in the cold winter air and pried fruitlessly against the claws pushing the lavender scarf into his neck with a calculated yet threatening force. Holding him just tight enough to prevent him from falling to a gruesome end.

"So Horizon. If you ever expect me to call you father, you had better be ready to earn it."

Spike dropped Horizon and he fell half a meter onto a cushion resting below him pressed up against the guard rail of the balcony.

Horizon could only gasp repeatedly as the frigid air filled his lungs and his heart rate dropped under 200 bpm.

Spike turned and walked towards the main room where his mother awaited, before opening the doors he turned.

"Happy Hearth's Warming."