Twilight Sparkle's eyes fluttered as she woke to the cheerful calls of birds outside. Across from the couch where she laid sunlight shone through an open window and a crisp breeze rolled in off the lake, cooling her. The fire in the fireplace had died down to coals and the weather had taken a turn for the better with a warmer morning.

She let the blanket over her fall off to the couch as she stepped down to stretch. Her joints popped, flooding her with relief before she walked over to the window to investigate a sound outside the window. The soft sound of a hoe striking soil metered in between the sweet calls of birds and the soft whistle of wind through tree tops.

Shining Armor held the hoe in his telekinetic grip and worked the garden's soil in measured movements. Twilight watched him work silently for several minutes, taking in the simplistic beauty of the quiet lakeside landscape. Twilight thought about sneaking out the window to go and surprise her brother when he turned around and waved a hoof at her. Of course she couldn't sneak up on the Captain of the Royal Guard. Sometimes she wondered if he could even read her mind. She waved back and said, "Good Morning."

"Morning Twilley," he said. "I've left your breakfast prepared on the table. Come on out when you've finished eating.

"Alright," Twilight said. She turned from the window and trotted through the living room to the kitchen. A bowl of cold cereal sat on the table with a bottle of milk in a bucket of ice next to it. Twilight uncapped the bottle and overturned it into the bowl and sat down to eat.

She finished quickly and trotted outside to join to her brother. Shining Armor held a bag up to her with his telekinetic grip that Twilight took with her own. He continued hoeing down the line toward the shore.

"I've already finished an entire row so you can start on that one, and I should be finished with this one before you catch up," said Shining Armor.

"Okay," Twilight said. "What's after that?" She started pulling seeds out from the bag two at a time and placing them in the ground then covering them with a hoof full of dirt.

"Nothing. We're ahead of the schedule that Auntie gave us. I just want to keep up with the daily activity of gardening."

"I see," Twilight said. "Then we don't have anything else planned for the day?"

"Nope. Well I've got a meeting with Cadance to make sure everything's going smoothly back in the kingdom, and we could both use a bath, but otherwise we're completely free."

"Oh gosh. I don't think I like that." Shining Armor watched Twilight levitate a paper and quill from the bedroom window on the top floor and nearly face hoofed. "Okay then. First thing for the day is gardening, then I need to make a schedule for everything I want to do after." Twilight scribbled on the parchment. She then rolled it up and levitated it back through the window and into the bed room. Shining Armor silently applauded Twilight for her ability to grab items without sight.

"Geez Twilight, can't you even relax during vacation and not try to schedule it?" he asked.

"Contrary to what unorganized ponies seem to think, scheduling is something that, for me, is very relaxing," Twilight said.

"I guess I can see what you mean."

Twilight was halfway done with planting the seeds in her row and had just passed Shining Armor. "You better hurry with your hoeing or I'm gonna catch up to you," she said, trying to turn the gardening into a competition. Everything seemed to turn into a competition between the two. "Bet you can't beat me," she said. Shining Armor was glad to see his sister acting like her old self.

"You're on Twilley," he said, and he started to work the hoe quicker. A smug smiled crossed Twilight's face as she pulled out a group of over fifty seeds. She levitated them each into the remaining holes in the ground and then covered each hole simultaneously with dirt. Shining Armor stopped.

"I win," said Twilight.

"That doesn't count, you cheated," Shining Armor said.

"How is magic cheating when you're a unicorn?" Twilight asked.

"The entire point of this kind of work is building character, concentration and discipline with a repetitive task."

"And the entire point of a competition with your older brother is to wipe the floor with him." Twilight's grin nearly reached her ears.

"Well congratulations. Now you get to sit there and watch me work," Shining Armor said smiling, thinking he had at least won a little bit.

"No, I get to watch you try and work with only three legs. That's your punishment for losing."

"I don't get a punishment since you cheated."

"Tell that to somepony who cares." Twilight wrapped Shining Armor's left hind leg in her magical grip and pulled the muscled limb off the ground, bending it up at the knee.

"Hey quit it Twilley," Shining Armor pleaded as his leg was stolen out from under him mid-stride. He stumbled for a few more paces before face-planting in to the soft soil. Twilight burst into a fit of laughter that had her down on the ground as well. His leg freed, Shining Armor stood up and shook himself off. He went back to work just shaking his head and chuckling to him, simply glad to see Twilight enjoying herself.

He nearly finished half of his remaining work before Twilight could stand again. She wiped tears from her eyes and fought back more laughter. "Oh, that was perfect, you should have seen the look on your face before you ate dirt," she said.

Shining Armor shook his head again; a tinge of red seeped into his cheeks. "So did you enjoy the picnic yesterday?" he asked.

"Oh gee, pfft, I can't possibly, pffftchgk, I can't imagine *snort* Ican'timaginewhyyou'retriyngtochangethesubject," Twilight blurted out before another bout of laughter overtook her.

Shining Armor continued to work without stopping. "No I'm serious Twilight, what did you think of the picnic?" Twilight wiped the tears in her eyes and calmed her laughter.

"Oh, you really mean it? Didn't I tell you yesterday? I had a good time," Twilight said. "Picnics at Fluttershy's are always a good time; though I was a little surprised to see Big Mac tag along with Applejack. I take it that was your doing?"

Shining Armor shook his head. "No, that was all Applejack's idea, and she didn't tell any of us. So how did you feel?"

Twilight shrugged. "Fine. I didn't feel threatened or anything, but it's not like he particularly stayed around me or anything. Plus I mean come on, it's Big Mac after all. He wouldn't hurt a fly." Shining Armor nodded. He was slightly surprised that Twilight felt so easy around the large stallion, but she did have a point.

"Well that's good news. Maybe we should try again this week to see how you feel around a stranger."

"Maybe, but I don't think anything's changed. I haven't felt any safer recently. It's just like I said, Big Mac's sort of an exception."

"Okay I see, maybe we'll try an acquaintance or something before somepony new," Shining Armor said as he finished his work on the last section of ground. Twilight planted the remaining seeds and covered them with dirt. Shining Armor placed the hoe next to the shed and tied the seed bag closed before placing it next to the garden tool. "Now what do you say we hit the lake?"

"Sounds good. Do we need anything?"

"Nah, Auntie keeps a bucket of brushes and some soap hanging on the side of the dock." Both ponies trotted down the slope toward the shore. The siblings bathed in relative silence, each staying to themselves. Shining Armor kept glancing over at Twilight. He expected her to saunter over any second because she had been so aroused lately.

A short while later, both ponies clean and dried off, they sat in their own parts of the house. Twilight sat out on the front porch with her quill locked in frantic telekinetic writing and Shining Armor sat upstairs. He sat on a small stool in front of the hutch. His horn glowed light blue as he worked his magic spell on the mirror. An oval shape appeared in the middle of the glass, rimmed with a light blue glow. The inside of the oval blurred like water until a picture appeared. Inside the oval sat Cadance, hundreds of miles to the north in the Crystal Empire, but both ponies were connected for a brief time by a powerful communication spell.

"Can you hear me, Cadance?" Shining Armor asked.

"Yeah hun, I can hear you," Cadance replied. "How are things going at the cottage?"

"They're going pretty well. I think you were right, Twilight's settled down after the first two days. She didn't climb all over me this morning wanting to be intimate. Not even while we bathed just a few feet away."

"Well that's good. Do you still have my instructions? Now is the time to talk about her problem when she isn't fawning all over you, drowned in hormones."

"Yeah, I've got the list in my saddlebags."

"Excellent. Don't forget, this is the most important step. You've got to start weaning her off the moment she loosens her attachment to you. She'll see reason then and be open to discussion."

Shining Armor nodded at the pink alicorn. He almost hated talking about Twilight as if he didn't love her, and the relationship they had, but he reminded himself that it was for the best. He lived so far away and a long distance relationship just wasn't healthy for Twilight. If she had been as desperate for attention as she was at the start of this vacation, after just a few weeks without seeing him, the unavoidable months of separation that were to come would tear her up inside.

"I won't forget baby. Did you send the letter to Celestia, and did she respond?"

"Yeah Spike should be delivering the books sometime this afternoon."

"Good. Then I'll have no trouble getting started in the evening," said Shining Armor. Cadance gave him a nod. The rulers then delved into issues regarding the empire.

Twilight checked off the third mark on her list, marking the completion of her schedule complete. She stood up from the bench and began to work on her fourth task. She had decided that a long walk through the orange orchard would be a lovely way to spend the rest of the morning leading up to lunch. She started off at a brisk pace, wanting to get deep into the orchard before slowing down to take in the sights. She veered off to the east before moving north, trying to keep the lake in sight on her side. The morning air had gone from crisp to gentle and it felt refreshing running through her newly washed coat.

Twilight took the solitude as a time to collect her thoughts. Shining Armor had surprised her by suggesting, so early in their vacation, to try and work on her trust issues. Didn't he want to spend some time with her? Twilight shook her head, and the notion from it. She was being silly she told herself. Her brother loved her more than he ever had. He only wanted to see her get better. Deep down she knew it was necessary; she couldn't be with her brother forever, not when he had an empire to run and she friendship to explore. She didn't like the thought however, and tried to bury it deep. All that mattered, she told herself, was this week. She finally had time to spend with the only stallion she could trust and she wanted to make the best of it.

Best of it? What did that mean? Go on dates with him? No, that wasn't it. Sex? Oh goodness. Twilight blushed, realizing that this was the first morning she hadn't lusted after him like a filly new to heat. Sure it was nice, but that wasn't what she wanted. No, what she wanted was to simply spend time with him, placing trust in the only stallion she could. The last few weeks of always looking over her shoulder were eating away at her and she loved that she just felt so safe in Shining's presence. That was what she wanted, to feel safe.

Before Twilight realized it she had walked a full circuit around the lake and was back in front of the cabin. She pulled out the schedule and marked off the walk, glad that it had been just as helpful as she hoped. The next task on her list was lunch and Twilight's tummy rumbled when she read the passage, agreeing that lunch was indeed a good idea. Twilight entered the kitchen and started making some food. She almost called up to her brother but stopped herself, telling herself that she shouldn't interrupt important political matters. So she ate her salad in silence, thinking a little more on the ideas from the walk. She was interrupted by a knock on the door, and a call from someone who sure sounded a lot like Spike.

Twilight walked out through the living room, toward the door and called through it, "Spike? Is that you?"

"Yeah," came the reply. Twilight's magic gripped the door handle and opened it, revealing Spike standing with a stack of four large tomes in his arms, threatening to crush him underneath their weight.

"Oh my gosh," said Twilight, she lifted the tomes from the dragonling's arms. "Did you really lug these things all the way out here?"

"Yeah, I came as soon as they arrived in the mail along with the Princess' letter," said Spike, rubbing his forearms where the edge of the books had been digging in.

"The Princess?" Twilight asked. She looked at the tomes then, and jumped slightly in surprise. They were the tomes she had been looking for in the library when she met the pegasus. Twilight had felt uncomfortable looking at them since then, and to think the Princess had sent them to her on her vacation! "Why in Equestria would she send me these?"

"Here, read the letter she sent with them," Spike said through panted breath. He held out the rolled letter and Twilight took it, unrolling it in the air before her. She skimmed it once before reading, a little upset with Celestia.

"Sometimes I wish that pony would mind her own business," said Twilight. Twilight rolled the parchment up with as much distaste as her magic could show and tossed it to the side. She thanked Spike and pushed him out the door. She instructed him to screen any further letters from the Princess before rushing over to deliver them, just during the vacation though.

Twilight watched from a front window until the little dragon was out of sigh. She turned to the table she had set the tomes on and stared at them. She had no desire to open them and possibly relive the moments that led up to inviting the pegasus inside her home. She took the tomes, four in all, and levitated them over to the bookcase her Auntie used more for knickknacks than reading material. She placed the tomes on the top. “Out of sight, out of mind” as the saying goes. She had no desire to read them.

Then why hadn't she made Spike take them back? Twilight sighed, seeing her subconscious reasoning. Overcoming her distrust wasn't about following her desires. It was about proving to herself that everything was going to be okay, and sometimes to prove that she needed to make herself do the uncomfortable things.

Twilight cleared her head of the thought. She would work on that at a later time. For now, she needed to get back on schedule. Spike's visit had interrupted her lunch and that was pushing into her reading time. She returned to the kitchen and finished the meal she had started.

When she was done and had finished cleaning up she pulled out her schedule and checked off the task. Now was the time she had allotted to read up on the two books she had brought with her to the cabin just for times like these, when Shining Armor was busy with necessary check-ins. She pulled the two books out of her saddlebag hanging on a peg by the door. One was the latest Daring Do novel and the other was a composition of all the new spells created last year in Canterlot. She set the composition down on the table and leaped over the couch, plopping her plot down on a cushion and bringing the Daring Do novel to hover in front of her face. It had just been released last Wednesday and she had yet to begin it. She made a bet to herself that she could finish the whole thing before Shining Armor was done talking with Cadance.

She flipped the book open to the first page and began to race him.

Twilight closed the book with a contented sigh, another fantastic adventure, and a new villain appearing in the cliffhanger. Dash was right the ending was superb. She couldn't wait to talk with her about it. Twilight thought she had beaten her brother, and one of her hooves shot up in triumph.

"Was it that good?" her brother asked. Twilight jumped, the book launching from her telekinetic grip. Shining Armor stood by the fireplace. He had laid a few logs in the fireplace, and Twilight never noticed. His sister's reaction made him laugh.

"Geez, Shining, I never heard you come downstairs. How long have you been there?"

"Long enough."

"Long enough to what?"

"Oh nothing. What do you want for dinner?"

Dinner? Had she really been reading for that long already? She turned to look out the window beside the fireplace. The sun was lower in the sky than when she had started, but not low enough for it to be time for dinner. She looked back at her brother; he had a stupid smile on his face.

"Geez, stop teasing me," she said, sitting up straight. "How did the meeting with Cadance go?"

"It went well; she and the advisers are doing fine without me. She just wanted to run a few policies by me first," Shining Armor said, walking over to the bookshelf. "Did someone visit? I thought I heard a knock on the door and then some talking."

Twilight rolled her eyes; she knew her brother had noticed the tomes. "Yeah, Spike came running over to drop off some tomes that the Princess had sent. They're the tomes I was going through back in the Canterlot library when I met...him." Her stomach sank just thinking of the pegasus.

"Did you look at them?"

"No."

"Just set them high on a shelf to be ignored?"

"No!” Twilight flinched, embarrassed at her outburst. Meekly she said, "I just didn't want to get to them yet." She twirled a hoof on the couch. Shining Armor pulled the top most tome down and set it on the bed next to Twilight. She visibly recoiled away, backing toward the edge of the couch.

"If you're still scared to read it, at least try and get used to just being around it. It's just a book."

"A book tied to some pretty terrible memories."

"C'mon," he said, putting a hoof on her shoulder. "You love reading about famous unicorns, don't let that guy interfere in your life anymore, he's gone. I'm sure once you start reading and rediscover your love for it you'll never think about him again when you're reading about them. Don't you think so?" Twilight nodded. "Good." He took his hoof from her shoulder and went back to the bookcase, taking the remaining tomes and placing them with the other on the couch. Twilight scooted back farther, now sitting more on the edge than the cushions.

Twilight's stomach felt like a rock inside her, weighing her down. She looked at her brother and he smiled at her. She straightened up, for him, and moved off the side of the couch, sitting full on a cushion, next to the tomes. Shining Armor smiled a little more. "Is this good enough?" she asked, her voice shaking.

"It's a start," he replied. "Do you think you could sit there for a few minutes?"

"Minutes? Won't a few seconds be enough?"

"No Twilley. You can do this. How are you feeling?"

"I guess it's not too terrible," she said, eying the tomes. "They are just books after all and I'm getting used to the memories they're evoking."

"That's good." Shining Armor was standing next to her now, and again he placed a reassuring hoof on her shoulder. "Do you think you could touch one? Maybe even open it?"

Twilight raised a hoof, but set it down again. She raised her other hoof, but set it down just as fast. "No, no I don't think I can. I think we're moving too fast." Twilight backed away from the tomes.

Shining Armor reassured his sister, and he got her to sit closer. Shaking, Twilight lifted her hoof and successfully set it on top of the tomes. She shuddered. Shining Armor nudged her shoulder. "There you go sis. It's not so bad is it? It's just a book."

Twilight nodded. "It's just a book," she said under her breath. The rock in Twilight's stomach seemed to shrink. Shining Armor removed his hoof from her shoulder and stepped back. He waited to see what she would do.

With her hoof steadying, she moved it over to the side of the tome and put it under the thick leather cover. She opened it up and Shining Armor would have sworn he saw a small smile sprout on Twilight's face. Engrossed in the tome after reading just a few sentences she cleared the couch of pillows and blankets, propped the tome up on the side of the couch, and laid in front of it. Hours flew by as she read and read, only stopping once, when Shining Armor forcefully slammed the tome shut to make her eat her dinner. She wolfed it down and opened the tome right back up.

Shining Armor could only shake his head that night, when the moon peaked through the curtains, as he walked up the stairs to bed, leaving his sister to read.

Author's Note

Well I finally got around to writing the third chapter. No clop this time, just working on the story. Next chapter will continue the clop. Let me know what you think.

Thanks for reads, favorites, comments and watches. I love you all <3.