The Ones Forgotten

Chapters

Sparks
Embers
Flames
Backfire
Ignite
Ablaze
Inferno
Ashes

Sparks

Spike Dragonowitz marched down Main Street, Ponyville, bag of groceries in his hand and swagger in his walk.

“Hi, Spike!” Called out Apple Fritter, waving to Spike as he marched on by.

Coaxing a giggle out of the pony with a toothy dragon grin, he dug his claws into the earthy road and let his tail sway in time with his continued stride.

Damn. Spike thought to himself, his grin still a white smattering across his face. Today's the kind of day a dragon feels like he could lift the moon. Mockingly slicking his ridge-scales back with his open hand, he thought over his life and how the sun seemed to shine brighter with each passing day.

Thinking back to his youth, he remembered the days where Twilight considered him her number one assistant and how proud he was. Now, he and Twilight shared shifts as Ponyville Librarian. In just a few years, he had gone from being the tag-along baby dragon among the six to a true, mature friend.

Pinkie often called Spike over to help make treats that he could hardly prevent himself from eating– this had never changed. What he had come to realize in the last couple years was the bundle of insight and energy Pinkie turned out to be when they came across the topic of life. It seemed like that pony had happiness all figured out, and was a wonderful resource for when Spike had a down couple of days.

Applejack had always asked Spike if he wanted to come over and sample some of the apple family's latest delicious concoctions, but only recently had she come to think of Spike as someone who could help around the farm. Helping shake apples out of trees led to long working conversations with the pony that let him realize how determined and kindhearted a pony she really was.

Friendship, to Spike, now meant more than it ever had. He knew it's ins and outs and knew just how to be the friend that ponies needed. In less than ten years in Ponyville, his studies of friendship had grown to a near-mastery of the subject.

Which led to moments of notice about the brightness of the sun on a given day, or how the dirt road felt beneath his claws, or how Rarity's hair was more illustrious than ever, or–

“My, Spike, have we gotten taller again?” Rarity said, smirking from the porch of Carousel Boutique.

“Ehwha–!” Spike bumbled, tripping and unintentionally admiring the dirt road with all his senses. He had been absentmindedly admiring the mare, but hadn't even really realized she was there!

“Oh, my... whatever are we going to do with you, Spike. You had such a good stride going there for a moment,” Rarity said, trotting over to the felled dragon and beginning to gather the spilled groceries. She smiled concernedly at the dragon. He was still trying to comprehend what had happened to his motor skills.

“You know, I had almost forgotten what it looked like for you to be below my eye level!” Rarity tilted her head to the side and giggled. “However, that stare is an unforgettable 'Spike' classic! But wherever did my manners go! Let me help you up, dear.” Rarity's magic wrapped around Spike's hands and hoisted him to a sitting position.

“Ah, Rarity, um...” he mumbled, brushing himself off and thanking Celestia that eggs were not on the grocery list. “Sorry, I was just... thinking! Yeah– about all the library books that need to get sorted.” He grinned, his cheeks turning redder than scales should be. “It's, um, a spiderweb. No, I mean, they're books, but I mean the problem is like a spiderweb. And you um, you blew on the spiderweb, and I fell out, and onto the ground,” he explained in perfect logic that befitted the scholar who lived in a library.

Rarity began giggling, stuffing a hoof in front of her mouth to try and dam the tide of laughter that did not befit such a high society mare. Spike could only blush further, unsure of why exactly his sentences could not form, but oh so sure that Rarity was adorable when she giggled. He tried to grin the grin of confidence that had so easily been smirked not two minutes ago but ended up looking like Twist whenever a stallion walked within four feet of her.

“Well, um, got to go! G-Great talk, Rarity! Haha! See you later, marefriend!” He said, before stopping and letting his eyes grow wide. “Er, I didn't mean marefriend. I meant, like a mare that is my friend! Like Twilight! Or... or Fluttershy! B-But not that I think they're my marefriends either, just...” He stopped, as her giggles grew greater than he was able to manage.

“Oh... Okay. B-Bye Rarity,” Spike bumbled, frantically grabbing the groceries up in his arms and dashing towards the salvation that was a hollow tree-library. Inevitably dropping groceries as he managed to open the door without clawing through it, he pushed himself through the door with all of his belongings as fast as possible.

A pair of purple eyes stared from a cocked head. “Spike,” Twilight said simply. ““Why are you rushing through the door, gripping our dinner like an Ursa Minor was attempting to use it to spice up the flavor of a certain dragon?” Immediately, the possibility ratios of such an occurrence flew through the unicorn's head.

“No, no, Twilight,” Spike huffed, leaning back against the door. “It's... it's even worse!” Snapping upright, Twilight kicked the book she was reading aside and began to prepare a spell to account for the likely scenarios.

Spike gulped. “Rarity...” he started.

Twilight's eyes widened, the likelihood of her friend's survival alone not matching up nicely against such a foe.

“She... She...” he started, the emotion of the incident causing him to shut his eyes and bang his head against the door.

“What! What, Spike!” She said, her pupils frantic pinpricks that danced along the windows.

“She talked to me,” he whispered in horror.

Twilight's rear hit the ground with almost more force than her hoof hit her face. "Spike, you've known and been around Rarity for far too long to seriously think that–"

“No, Twilight, you don't understand! I... I couldn't talk back! I just kept looking at her, and I acted so stupid, and it was like I was paralyzed, I just couldn–”

“You have a crush on Rarity! I know, Spike!” Twilight said, making a mental note to factor Spike into her imminent-danger-probability-cycles.

“SsshhshShhhsh!” He frantically whispered, his eyes darting around the windows to make sure no other ponies were in earshot.

“That's not just it, Twilight.” he said, recovering slightly from the immense embarrassment. “I've had a... crush on Rarity since I first saw her, but I could always at least talk to her. We've had entire conversations while we're out finding gems!” He sighed, moving over into the kitchen and putting the fruit he had bought into the sink. “Now it's like I can't even contain myself. All my experiences go out the window, and I just...”

Twilight cocked an eyebrow, unsure if Spike was just frustrated, or attempting to turn on the kitchen sink with his forehead.

“I just completely lock up!” Spike spouted, and in one swift motion threw his claws in the air, leaned back and kicked the stool beside him to swivel and catch his fall, while kicking his other leg up onto the kitchen counter to flick a toothpick into his mouth.

Spike chewed pensively on the pick as Twilight sat slack-jawed from the other side of the room. “Spike. How did you do that?”

Spike furrowed his eyebrows, turning his gaze to meet Twilight's look of awe. “Do what? You mean sit down? Catch a toothpick?”

Now Twilight bumbled, making swirls in the air with her front hooves. “All of that! Don't you see? That was the smoothest thing I've ever seen anypony do!”

Now Spike cocked a brow. “I'm a dragon, not a pony, Twilight. Besides, we've had these stools for years, and I'm the only one who ever uses those toothpicks. I guess I'm just used to everything here.”

“Exactly!” Twilight exclaimed, jumping to her hooves and trotting over to Spike. “Spike, you're still a growing dragon,” she began to explain, reaching a hoof way up to Spike's shoulder, “even if you are a pretty big one now. Your body is probably just giving you new signals that you're still trying to deal with. What used to be a crush could now really be...” she paused, wondering if she needed to explain the logistics.

“Something. It could really be something! Rarity might have made some comment that made you feel like she's finally looking at you.” Twilight smiled. “So, what you need is practice. You just need to get used to talking to Rarity now that your mindset has changed.”

“How would you know any of this, Twilight? You haven't even been with anypony like that yourself!” he countered, shooting a skeptical look.

“W-Well...” she mumbled, not expecting her own personal expertise to be questioned. “I read! I study about these kinds of things!” she countered, silently sliding her copy of 'Fifty Shades of Neigh' under the couch across the room.

Spike blinked twice, taking time to comprehend the possibility Twilight was implying. Rarity had commented on how tall he was, and had started asking him over more to help with her shop. He had thought that it was simply that fall was rolling around, and that more ponies were going to need thicker coats, but this was the first fall she had needed so much help from him...

Twilight smiled as she saw Spike's toothy grin growing slowly as he thought. “No time to waste!” she said, hoisting Spike up off the stool with her magic and pushing him towards the door. “Rarity's out there waiting, and you're never going to get any better sitting there smiling at the ceiling!”

Spike nodded frantically, beginning to think of what he would say to Rarity to start conversation...

“Hey, good lookin'”...too unnatural.

“Find any good gems lately?” …too lame.

“Your mane shines like the infinite tessellations of Celestia's sunlight er' it bask across the mountains and skies o' Equestria” …too shakesponian.

“Try 'How was your day.'” advised Twilight as she pushed Spike out the door and closed it. Sighing, she trotted back to the book she had been interrupted from, annoyed slightly at the realization that she would have to find her page. Sliding in on the couch next to Owlowiscious, she turned to the statue-like bird. “And how was your day, Owlowiscious?” she asked, smiling sweetly.

“Hoo?”

“Thank you Twilight! My day was fine,” Twilight mimicked. “And might I add, your mane looks beautiful and well brushed this evening!” Twilight beamed. “What was that, Owlowiscious? Thank you! You know, I brush it every day, but you're the first one to notice like this!”

“Hoo?”

Twilight sighed. “That's what I thought you said.”

She turned to her book, levitated a blanket over herself, and continued reading.

–

Spike marched down the short segment of road that led to Carousel Boutique, his confident stride bolstered, grinning with the strategy of success he had devised. It was so simple! Just talk to her, and talking to her would get easier!

His grin was almost as large as his probability of success– there was no way he could fail! He may not have run through every scenario in his mind preparing himself for situations like Twilight did, but when the chance of success was 100% why even practice? One foot after another, he climbed the small wooden staircase that led to the door to the shop. He observed the Boutique door– the final obstacle to his dreams being fulfilled.

Knock, knock, knock. Spike flexed his shoulders, waiting for a response. Upstairs in the boutique, he heard running water slow and stop– a sure sign that his presence had been noted. Leaning on the wooden beam to the side of the door, he grinned into the window, making sure his signature move was perfect– and for a moment, it was.

The next moment, he noticed what was behind the window: Rarity walking down the staircase.

The next moment, he noticed her hair was wet.

The next, he noticed the steam coming off her body. Then the way her hips swayed as she approached the door, and the way her snout crumpled as she must be wondering “who could be interrupting my bath?”

By the time the door opened, Spike could not even be confident of whether his heart's beats-per-minute was in the triple or quadruple digits.

“Spike?” Rarity asked, looking up at him from underneath dripping bangs parted to the side.

Spike was absolutely speechless. His mouth stayed completely agape as if it were blissfully unaware that words simply were not coming up. He was now practically hugging the wooden beam for support to stay standing.

"Spike, dear, is something the matter? You look positively stiff as a mannequin against that railing!" She noted, concernedly cocking her head and raising her eyebrows.

Spike blinked, trying to ponder what she had asked, but instead shocking his body into realization that time was still passing.

“Spike, dear... are you trying to practice beating Owlowicious in a staring contest? Because I was in the mid–“

“Oh, gosh! HahaHAHA!” Spike laughed, slapping his knee and practically falling over “Sorry, I just– how could I not realize that! Of course you were in the middle of a bath! And here I am just...” he paused and took another moment to look “Staring! At you! Yes, gotta beat that owl, right? Been the champ for a lot of years!”

Now Rarity was speechless, completely unsure of just what in Celestia's name was happening.

“Sorry to interrupt! Didn't mean to, uh... I'll just come back later!” he said, smiling awkwardly. Rarity could only stare dumbfounded at him. “Or not! Just keep showering it up! B-Bye Rarity!” he said before attempting to stand up, but instead falling back over the railing that was supposed to be acting as his support.

Rarity gasped, exclaiming “Oh, dear, are you all–“

“Yep! Just fine! Great, in fact! Ohgosh... Bye!” Spike blurted out, his thoughts scattering like a poorly composed staccato amongst a dissonant melody. As if mocking his own previous self-assurances, he rushed as quickly as possible away from the scene of his utter failure.

Rarity simply stood in her home's threshold, tapping her hoof. It had always been quite obvious Spike had been infatuated with her from early on, but she couldn't imagine that his anxiety could have gotten worse. Pouting, she closed the door and returned upstairs, unsure if he would even be willing to try again. The last thing she wanted to do was to push him away, but it seemed as if now simply existing was enough to make him feel as if he had failed.

Turning the hot water knob slightly with her telekinesis, she let out a contented sigh as the warm water wrapped around her. She hoped Spike had something in his life that could help troubles melt away as easily as her bathtub filled with warm water.

–

“I can't do it. I can't do it. There's no way. Oh Celestia, you should have been there Twilight. It was absolutely horrible,” Spike whined, pacing around the room erratically. He picked up some books and shoved them into a bookcase, motivated by sheer force of habit. Tapping his foot for a moment, he shook his head, mumbled something to himself and went about reorganizing the entire bookshelf.

A hoof fell on his shoulder, causing him to wheel around frantically, coming eye to eye with a look of worry.

“Spike, you're being a chronic assistant again. You're freaking yourself out, or playing this up in your head as worse than it probably was,” Twilight said softly, pulling two stools over and sitting down next to her friend.

Even as he sat down, his eyes were still frantic, neurotically attempting to find something to distract him from playing over the scene in his mind again. “No, Twilight, you don't understand. What happened there was... the worst! Possible! Thing!” he exclaimed, flinging his claws in the air.

“Calm down!” Twilight demanded suddenly, shocking her friend into being still. “Rarity has been your friend for a long time, Spike. There is no way that she'd think any less of you for being on edge. She's probably worried about whatever could possibly be going through your head.” Twilight suggested, smiling as he began to nod slowly.

“You couldn't prepare for something that unexpected, could you? You're a much older dragon now– obviously old enough to... admire a mare,” Twilight explained, shifting her gaze upwards slightly. “So when she came down from a bath... I mean, any stallion seeing Rarity come out of a bath might be petrified for days!” Twilight explained furrowing her brow and standing up from her stool.

“I mean Rarity is pretty!” she continued, now apparently taking her turn to pace around the room. “More than pretty! Beautiful, even! When she walks down the street, stallions stop and gawk at her! She gets so many love letters every month, she's devised a grade-scale for them that even I have trouble understanding! For Celestia's sake, the reasons she wears such huge hats is so she's not stopped constantly when she leaves her–“

“Uh, Twilight?” Spike interjected, his eyebrow cocked.

Twilight snapped her head back to her friend, a wide eyed look plastered across her face. “R...right, well you get it!” she stammered, returning to the stool and giving an audible 'harumph'. “The point is...” she started slowly, taking a moment to compose herself as she regained her train of thought. “The point is, there's no way you're the worst case she's ever seen. On top of that, you're also her close friend! I bet when you go back, and she's not in a state that would... surprise you like that, you'd do much better.”

Spike began to nod again, finally coming down from his frantic state of mind.

“Now– I'm going to go make dinner. You've got to be starving by now, anyways.” Spike nodded, and gave a sheepish grin in agreement.

“How about... lavender lasagna tonight? If I remember correctly, you're a fan, right?” Twilight said, grinning. Spike's eyes widened and twitched, a choir of angels echoing through his mind over the glory that was his favorite dinner.

“Oh, yeah, that sounds great! Here, I'll get the dishes ready and put in the–“ he began, standing up and skipping to the kitchen before being pulled back by a purple glow of light.

“Not necessary!” Twilight beamed. “You made a good effort, Spike, and I'm proud of you. So, let me make you dinner! Call it... motivation!” she exclaimed, trotting into the kitchen alone. “Though, start the fire, would you? It's already getting pretty brisk out, and I can't imagine it's going to get any warmer as the sun sets.” Twilight instructed, pulling some pans out of the drawers.

“Right! Thanks, Twilight, you're the best!” Spike said, grinning and rushing over to the fireplace. He had always wondered what the fireplace was doing inside of a tree-library, but he just assumed it was some sort of magic, and that no further explanation was needed. After all, no explanation was needed to enjoy its warmth. Sitting down, he set out to start the blaze going in preparation for the chilly autumn evening ahead.
–

The fire was a modest blaze by the time Twilight trotted over with the two plates of food. Spike's mouth was watering in anticipation of his dinner and, with a smile to Twilight as she sat in front of the fire beside him, immediately began eating.

“So now that you're calmed down...” Twilight said, forking her dinner and pausing to take a bite. “Tell me again how everything happened. Maybe we can find out where things started going bad?” Twilight suggested, looking up at Spike with an understanding smile.

Spike paused, and raised his claw to tap his chin, never ceasing chewing the pile of food he had shoveled into his mouth initially. Twilight laughed at the sight of her friend trying to pull off a poise of intellect with cheeks full of lasagna. He shot her a raised eyebrow and swallowed, taking in a deep breath as he began the story. “Well, I left here totally sure I was going to do it. Like... like I was Vinyl Scratch and Rarity was going to be my roaring crowd!” Spike raised his empty claw and swiped it across the air dreamily before mimicking his confident stride and grin. “So I walked over, feeling like there was no way I could fail... like, I was the best. I psyched myself up to really be ready for it.”

“Stop.” Twilight instructed, an eyebrow raised. “It sounds like you let yourself get an over-inflated ego, huh?”

Spike paused and thought back, directing a ponderous look towards the ceiling. “No... not ego, I'd say, I just had to convince myself I was smooth enough that there was no way I could fail.” He paused, and turned his gaze to the ground. “Or else... well, I don't think I even would have tried.”

Twilight nodded and gave an understanding smile. “There we go, then! That was easy.” She said, in absolute realization.

Spike gave a look indicating he had not yet had that epiphany. “Hwhat?”

Twilight sighed. “Spike, you just need to be yourself! Rarity is your friend because she likes who you are– not who you think you need to be to impress her. When you were thrown off by the whole bath thing, you freaked out because you had nothing to fall back on after your little persona dissolved!” She explained, before grinning. “Though, I would have never thought false personalities were water-soluble.”

Spike grinned back. “Go into comedy, Twilight. Equestria couldn't manage without your talents.” Twilight stuck her tongue out and squeezed her eyes shut in response.

Spike thought about it for a moment. “I don't know, Twilight. It didn't feel like I was masking who I was... just I want to be accepted in a different way!” He leaned back onto an elbow and continued. “Sure, Rarity has always liked me as a friend because I've always been the dragon everypony could laugh and smile at, but...” He sighed and stared into the fire for a moment. “I want to be respected by her now, you know? Acknowledged for what I know, and for how I've grown. I just want to be more than that tag-along dragon, and I don't think Rarity has ever really seen me as more than that.” The fire reflected in his eyes, flecking the vibrant green with orange, and his words with ambition. “I don't think I have to change to be more than a friend to her, I just need to be able to get her to see it. To comprehend that maybe I could be more, and maybe to give me a chance.”

Twilight nodded at Spike, providing her smile and ear to his worries. “Well, certainly you've gotten more mature over the years... never mind that Rarity still is considerably older than you. I believe in you, Spike, but you're going to have to get this right– you'll have to make her see how you've grown, and that's only to even get a chance to be with her.”

“How, though?” Spike groaned, his thoughts returning to his botched performance earlier in the evening. “I can't even seem to talk to her normally, much less have a convincing conversation with her. And that's not even considering how I'd approach it: do I be subtle about it, and let her come to the conclusion, or do something that would prove it to her?” He pondered, going over the situation in his head. “I want to take your advice and just go over and practice talking to her, but I don't want to mess it up even further! I just... sometimes I forget if I even know how to have a conversation with a mare in the first place.” Spike burrowed his face behind his knees and groaned.

Twilight blinked. “Well, sure you do, Spike!”

“Oh, yeah? How do you know?” He groaned, clearly content in simple frustration.

“I... I'm a mare, remember, Spike?” Twilight said, looking at the rug beneath her with a frown.

“Oh, yeah, well of course you are Twilight but–“ Spike began, before blinking and going over that thought in his head once more. Twilight was a mare... and Spike had never had any trouble talking about anything with her! Then all he had to do was...

“I've got it!” Spike exclaimed, rocking forward onto his knees and looking at Twilight with a smile. “You're a mare, Twilight!” he repeated giddily.

Twilight's frown grew, raising her head and twitching her eyebrow as she met her friend's gaze. “Yes, we've covered this, Spike. Congratulations.”

“No, Twilight... you're a mare, and I can talk to you just fine about all sorts of stuff! My thoughts never scatter and I never mess up my words or anything!” he said, grinning wildly. “You're the one who said practice makes perfect, right?”

Twilight's frustrated stare morphed slowly into a look of shock as Spike's implication hit home. “W-Wait, you mean practicing... with me? I... Spike, I don't see how... I mean, I'm not Rarity! It's...”

Spike nodded fervently. “You don't have to be, Twilight! I can get used to talking and stuff with you, and then I won't feel so nervous around Rarity because I won't have to worry about doing anything I haven't practiced!”

Twilight blushed and looked into the rug once more. “W-Well, Spike, I mean, part of being in a relationship is for the practice, and I don't know if–“

“Please?” Spike said with a grin.

“Spike, I'm just not sure–“

“Please, Twilight? I'm sure I'll be able to do it if I can just practice without having to worry about anything!” Leaning forward, he put his eyes into the path of Twilight's.

Twilight gave him a frustrated look for a moment before sighing and lowering her head. “If you really think it will help, Spike... then, sure.” Spike's grin grew to atmospheric proportions. “As your friend, I guess if you really feel that comfortable around me, then–“

Spike picked up his friend in a huge dragon hug, mushing Twilight's cheek against his as he repeated “Thankyou thankyou thankyou!”

“All right, all right Spike! I get it, you're glad!” she said, laughing at the sudden gratitude. After a moment more, Spike put Twilight down again before leaning forward and giving her a wide smile.

“So, what are we going to try first?” he asked eagerly.

“What, you mean right now?” Twilight questioned, tilting her head to the side.

“Yeah! There's no time to waste, anyways. The faster I can get back to Rarity the less time she'll have to think about...” Spike frowned and took a moment to shudder. “The last time.”

“Seriously? Well, I don't know. Let me think.” She said, pausing between sentences. She let her mind wander back to the books she had read on the subject, but dismissed them as too analytical. No... what they were going to need was material that could relate to real life. Something straight out of the novels that kept Twilight sane over the years she had spent in Ponyville. Something with romance.

After a moment consulting the compendium that was her own psyche, Twilight nodded. “Perfect!” she said with a smile.

“What? Am I going to learn dining manners? Or how to be smooth?” Spike questioned, eager to begin, silently wishing it was going to be the latter.

“Nope. We're going to sit here.” Twilight smiled as Spike's face turned confused.

“Sit... here?”

“You have a problem with talking, so let's cut talking out of the equation. You're just going to have to sit here, next to me, and be able to react to things that I do that aren't verbal. That way, you'll understand more how mares work inside!” Twilight said simply with a sweet smile.

Spike raised his claw to his chin and thought. “Hey... yeah, that could really wo–“ his words interrupted by a lavender hoof to the mouth.

“Ssh. We start now,” Twilight said, continuing her smile and scooting in next to the dragon.

Spike nodded quickly, and returned her smile. The two smiled at each other, the fire's crackling almost awkwardly against the new-found silence. Unsure of what to do, Spike began to look around. He knew he was expected to do something, but what– just sit there?

Moments passed, feeling like minutes as the interaction grew as static as the ever-present crackle of the fireplace. Spike began to feel restless, his gaze turning unsure, darting around to try and find something to focus on. Oh man, I'm even useless like this. I can't imagine how I'll–

Twilight's head leaned against Spike, diverting his focus away from his downward mental spiral. He dropped his chin, seeing her smiling confidently at him. He blinked, and shifted his eyes left to right, seeking direction.

Twilight pulled back her head, slipping it under the arm lying at his side so his claw lay across her back. Once more, she smiled into the face of her friend before closing her eyes and simply leaning against him.

Spike blinked twice, turning his focus completely to Twilight, attempting to understand what she was trying to get through to him. For a focused moment, nothing ran through his mind, as he paid attention to the slow rising and falling of Twilight's breath. Finally, his mind slowed, truly beginning to relax for the first time since being put on the spot.

Unable to talk, Spike found it easier to notice the things in their immediate environment with more vivid detail. The fire's light and warmth and provided a wonderful contrast to the dark blues of the evening surrounding the rest of the library. The normally intense smell of lavender now only lingered in the air, the remnants of their dinner just now beginning to cool off beside them. Even his own breathing slowed, relaxing and acclimating to the intimate setting as a content smile rolled across his face.

He felt a warm presence nuzzle up beside his neck, focusing now to Twilight, who had pushed up further against him. For a moment, his brain was thrown off-balance again, reminding him he was supposed to be doing something. But... he couldn't help but notice just how warm she felt! Never having been so close to a pony for an extended period of time, he reveled in how her warmth seemed to radiate into him. Her breath was soft and warm across his shoulders, smelling sweetly of lavender and causing him to lean closer, tantalized by the scent.

As Spike began to calm down, however, Twilight couldn't help but feel more and more unsure about the scenario. Opening her eyes slightly, she looked concernedly at the ground, conflicted of how to feel about the close moment with her friend of years. Spike had practically been her little brother as they grew up together, and she couldn't help but worry that Spike's view of her might be changed somehow by the exercise. Despite her worries, however, she couldn't deny how nice it was to have someone close to her like this.

Feeling Spike lean back into her, though, she remembered why Spike had asked in the first place. He needed her help– something she had never failed to offer over the years. Her psyche took solace in the fact that Spike approached the situation as platonic as the event could get. Besides– he probably wasn't even envisioning her sitting there next to him. Which begged to asked the question... why couldn't she do the same? She might not have anyone so close to her again in... well, from experience, it could be quite a long time. She should be allowed to enjoy it as well. Resolved, she returned his motion with a slight nuzzle into his neck, closing her eyes again and smiling.

Finally, Twilight allowed her mind to relax and simply react to the situation. Spike's breathing was slow and relaxed, and she could tell he had already keyed his mind into being perceptive of the situation. His long arm around her reiterated how nice it felt to be supported by her friend in such a way. Spike smelled good, too: nothing like the musk of a stallion, but rather subtly inviting, like an orchard around the bend one could only sense from the passing breeze. She had to admit that in front of a fireplace on an evening like this was quite a setting. Slowly, her senses came around to the subtle intimacies that set the stage: the soft rug beneath them, the warmth spilling out from the fire, the smell of the evening air mixing with the lavender from her cooking. Smiling, she couldn't help but to sigh...

Spike heard Twilight sigh contentedly, and press her muzzle into the crook of his neck once more, sending tingles down his spine. Without even thinking about it, he moved a claw, shaky with nervousness, over to her hoof and wrapped his angular fingers around it. He was actually surprised at how soft even a pony's hooves were! Twilight murred so softly that Spike was not sure if he had actually heard it, or simply felt the vibrations against his neck. Spike's heart began to beat quicker, edged on by the approval Twilight seemed to show at his slight advances. He began to stroke his claw that was draped over her shoulder slowly between them, letting the contours of his claws direct the fur like a brush. And speaking of soft things, how had he lived without fur for his entire life! He reveled in the feeling of thousands of strands between his claws, and brought his head slowly downwards onto–

Twilight giggled as Spike tried to bring his head against her own, seemingly forgetting that unicorns had horns. Nuzzling him encouragingly into a spot that wasn't already occupied, Twilight began playing with his fingers with her hoof. She was breathing faster now, her heart swimming deeper into the pool of intimacy their contact provided her. The way his claw played with her fur sent shivers down her spine, edging on an instinctual desire for closeness that she was miserably inexperienced with. For once, though, she was not afraid of the new experience– her entire body and psyche was effervescent with the contact she had sought for... far too long.

Spike was actually surprised at how Twilight reacted to his explorations. A few times she had actually squeaked when he rubbed his chin against her mane, or brought his claw across a sensitive spot on her back. He wondered, though, how far this was meant to go. Although beginning the contact, she had practically just melted since the two began cuddling in front of the fire, and Spike found a desire to explore. Perfectly on key, he felt her head nudge up against him, and he lifted his own head and crooned it downwards to look into her eyes. Immediately he was entranced by the gaze, gushing in how adorable a mare's eyes looked close up. The only thing warmer than her smile was the fire as it bounced off the curious purple globes of Twilight's eyes.

Unaware that she was even moving, Twilight nuzzled her snout against Spike's nose, smiling as she gazed into his eyes. She had never appreciated how kind and soft his eyes were until now, staring into them, captivated by the emotion they portrayed. His eyes said things she was completely terrified of exploring, but her mind was too curious to pull away and compose itself.

Spike shivered slightly in the contact as Twilight brought her nose against his, and nuzzled back against her, but letting out a strained breath. He found his heart pounding in his chest, pumping nervousness into his mind– but this time, it was simply a harmony to the myriad of signals he was getting. Looking down over Twilight, he pulled her close, pressing her body against his side. Her breath allured him forward, curious of how much more intense it could get as the already short distance between them shrank.

Twilight felt Spike sliding his face forward, and let her eyes close slowly, allowing the rest of her senses to reign dominant. Feeling his breath less than an inch from her own, her body forced a hoof upwards, onto his cheek, pleading him onwards.

Finally, they kissed, Twilight letting out a soft moan of delight as Spike brought their lips softly together. Her breath was tantalizing and short as he broke the sweet tasting kiss, and he felt her hoof against his cheek pressuring him onwards again. Again, they kissed, and again Twilight's body asked for more, as she pressed herself against him and moaned softly again. Spike wrapped a hand around the back of her neck, and pulled her forward, now parting her lips with his own, feeling the warmth of her mouth.

Twilight found herself completely unable to process thought for the first time in her life. She could only lean forward, pushing her face into Spike's as their kisses grew in intensity, and pulling him to lean on her. Her body pushed her to bring him close, to dive headfirst into the pool, but she was enjoying the moment far too much to change a single thing.

Spike leaned onto Twilight, coaxed on by a hoof around his neck, as he laid her back against the rug beneath them, never breaking their kiss on the way. Finally when she was against the ground, he crooned his neck and kissed her deeply, flecking the inside of her mouth with his tongue and eliciting a now audible moan from her, before slowly exploring her mouth entirely with it.

Twilight wrapped her hooves entirely around him, pulling him close and begging him to kiss her deeper. Their tongues now slowly danced as the two explored one another with an insatiable curiosity. Her body begged for more, but her hooves stayed where they were, shaking as Twilight fought the losing battle to contain herself.

Spike leaned into the kiss, completely made alert from the contact between them, exploring deeper and evoking more moans from Twilight. Completely caught up in the contact between them, he slid a hand to her flank–

“Spike!” Twilight gasped, forcing herself to push him away.

Spike's eyes went wide as he was pushed away by Twilight's hooves, as if woken up by a bucket of cold water. “S-Sorry! I just...”

“No, no, Spike it's okay...” Twilight said through labored breaths, turning her gaze away from him. “Just... that was enough for practicing... for today.”

“Sorry. Sorry. Oh gosh, I don't know what I was thinking. It's like something was telling me to just keep– “ Spike mumbled, trying to rationalize the lust-driven trance he had been thrown into.

“Trust me, Spike, I know,” Twilight said, her smile returning. Sitting upright again, she finally turned her gaze back to the dragon. “You're a real natural, Spike– I could hardly tell you'd never done anything like that before. You just needed to let yourself relax.” Part of her mind mentioned that neither had she, but she masked the thought with as close to a friendly smile as she could get.

“Really?” Spike said, smiling slightly. “I... I was so nervous I just couldn't think straight after a point.” he said, bashfully staring at the ground. “Sorry, again.”

“Please don't apologize,” Twilight asked, attempting to stand up but finding she was actually weak in the knees and opted to simply sitting back down. “I got caught up in it too. I just hope... you know, it was helpful to you.”

“If nothing from that helps me at least be near a mare then I am helpless, Twilight.” Spike said, smiling, walking over and helping Twilight up, who smiled at his assistance.

“Well, it's definitely getting late, Spike. I'm gonna turn in for the night,” Twilight noted, dismissing herself and walking up the staircase slowly.

“Twilight?”

“Yeah, Spike?” Twilight replied, standing at the threshold of the door to her room.

“Thanks... for always being there when I need help,” Spike said, smiling appreciatively, and moving over to the door at the bottom of the staircase that housed his bed, long having outgrown his old one at the foot of Twilight's.

Twilight beamed down at her friend. “Likewise, Spike. That's what friends are for!” she finished, closing the door behind her with a creak.
–

As soon as she was behind her door, Twilight Sparkle fell forward onto her front legs, letting out a sigh of relief. The only thing that had allowed her to contain herself was the shock of Spike's hand on her... she shivered, recalling the moment precisely. She had wanted it, Celestia, she had wanted it more than anything else she could imagine, but by sheer luck and force of will she had prevented herself from pouncing on the dragon.

She stood, barely, and hobbled to her bed, which she had to use for support as her breathing came heavy and hot. She was devastatingly aroused, her body not allowing her to think of anything but being pressed down, kissed on the neck, and made love to until she could no longer walk– which wasn't far away already.

Slowly, she pulled back her bed’s comforters and climbed up into it, lying on her back and letting her tail flick aside as she ran a hoof across her nethers. Her marehood was soaked, nearly dripping outside it's slightly parted lips and Twilight let out a deep moan as she pressed against it. Unable to wait a moment longer, she pressed the front of her hoof inside and let the edge trace around the inside lips, moaning deeply as she did so. Immediately, fluid fell from her now-parted lips, running down her flanks in hot trickles.

All Twilight could think about was being ravaged, wishing her hoof could do her body more justice for what it needed. She stuffed her other hoof in her mouth for a moment, then brought it down and massaged her clitoris with it, eyes closing slowly in ecstasy. Constant moans escaped from her throat, and she found herself already near climax, only digging deeper with her hoof, begging for release.

“Yes... yes,” Twilight panted, her spine beginning to arch as she reached her limit. “Oh, yes, please!” be begged, hoping Spike couldn't hear her from downstairs. She pressed farther with her hoof, digging with rapid spasms as her body began to shake violently. “Oh Celestia!” she said, feeling the wave of escasy beginning to hit her. Bringing the hoof that was massaging her clit and stuffing it in her mouth, she screamed a muffled shout of absolute pleasure as her back arched violently. Her entire body shuddered as her marehood was wracked with spasms, cum splashing down onto her bedsheets, dousing the area beneath her flanks as she orgasmed in multiple waves. The ordeal lasted nearly thirty seconds, before Twilight slumped down back against her bed panting in exhaustion.

The air was heavy with the scent of her sex, completely dominating the usually-musky air of the library. Twilight could only pant, finally escaping from the grips of absolute arousal that she had so desperately needed to be rid of. Brushing her disheveled mane out of her eyes, she was no longer sure if she would be able to walk normally, instead opting to crumple up her bedsheets with her magic and burying them far in her closet for the night.

Pulling the comforter of her bed back over her, she was finally able to hear her own mind again clearly, despite still breathing heavily. Her mind immediately went back to the events of the evening.

Twilight knew she was playing a dangerous game– and promising to continue it. Though everything in her rational mind told her that the friendship she had forged with the dragon over the years could never be broken by something as trivial as fooling around, the fears of such a thing still clawed at the edges of her mind.

But oh, how it had felt: to just be touched, appreciated, and held by another living being was a feeling of happiness that she had craved for years. None of the stallions in Ponyville even looked at her– even Spike had ceased to think of her as a mare. Over the years, the self-deprecation and jealousy over the fact that she would never be as attractive as her friends or peers had gotten to a point where she even considered herself as a mare nopony would ever want. She had learned to throw desires out the window and simply learn to be content living a life centric around her career and passions.

All it had taken to rekindle the fires of so many years alone was being stroked and nuzzled for mere minutes. This was a friend who she had grown up with, who she considered like a sibling, and had only ever thought of as a friend! And one simple moment of cuddling had drawn up feelings of instinctual desire that were terrifyingly overpowering.

For the first time since her early days in Celestia's school for gifted unicorns, she was unsure if she could control herself. She began to shake, hoping only that Spike would catch on quickly and Rarity would give him an answer. The next time they did anything, it would have to be nonphysical, Twilight decided. The chance of her physical reaction being too great to control was a risk she could not take.

Content with this self-ultimatum, she tossed in bed, her mind still awake despite being physically spent.

Sleep, it seemed, was going to come slowly for Twilight Sparkle. Her mind had some organizing to do.

Author's Note

Thank you for your support. Special thanks to Khakispony for being a great fresh set of eyes and my first go-to for proofreading.

Embers

Twilight let out a short yelp, falling to the ice yet again. "Ugh... Spike, why did it have to be ice skating? You know I'm awful at it..." she groaned, letting her head fall to the ice in defeat.

Spike chuckled as he looked over his spaghetti-legged friend. "Well, I just figured that if I'm here trying to improve myself, you could give it a shot too."

Twilight shot an annoyed glance at him. "You know, it's not very polite to laugh when your date falls over." She wiggled and stumbled back to her feet, then let out a determined sigh. "Okay, Twilight. This time you will not fall!" Cautiously, she pushed off her right hooves and began moving slowly. "That's it... one... after the... oh Celestia..." In a mess of wobbly legs and awkward balance, Twilight crashed to the ice once more with an "Oof!"

Spike fought hard against his grin, gracefully skating over as Twilight wobbled to her feet once more. "Here, Twilight, let me try and show you," Spike said with a smile, placing his hands on Twilight's sides.

"No!" shouted Twilight as she jumped away, plummeting to the ice once more and sliding away from Spike. "I mean, no thank you!" she said with an awkward grin. "I... I can learn myself."

Spike cocked an eyebrow and shrugged. "All right, I guess. Suit yourself." Spike gracefully skated circles around Twilight as she rose to her hooves once more.

"Ugh... where did you ever learn to skate so well, anyways?" Twilight grumbled as she pushed off her hooves.

"Never really had to. Comes pretty easy when your feet are talons, you know."

"Not fair," Twilight said with a playful smirk. Finally she was moving, albeit shakily, and her confidence grew. Hoof after hoof, she began to pick up speed, sailing slowly around the ice.

"Pretty good! Though, you look a little paralyzed. Try bending your knees a little bit when you push off of them," Spike instructed, sailing by Twilight with ease.

Twilight nodded, and did as he said. Immediately the wobbles went away, and Twilight began to feel in control of her movements. Cautiously, she looked up from staring at her hooves and saw the edge of the lake some fifty feet in front of her. "Uh... Spike? How do I turn?" she asked, her voice quivering slightly.

"Turn? You just lean!"

Twilight tried leaning, to no avail. "It's not really working, Spike... oh Celestia," she grumbled, gliding inescapably towards the unforgiving ground in front of her. She tensed as she braced for impact.

Suddenly, Spike appeared in front of her, catching her in his arms and skating to safety, sitting down in the grass outside the pond. Twilight sighed, and looked up at Spike. "Thanks, I really..." she began, before realizing how close their faces were. Panicked, she jerked out of his grasp and onto the grass beside him, averting her reddening face.

Spike blinked. "Uh, Twilight, are you alright? Every time I've so much as brushed you you've freaked out!"

"W-What? No I haven't! I just... uh... I was really looking forward to get my legs on solid ground again!" she stammered through an awkward smile.

"Uh-huh. What about when I sat next to you at dinner last night?"

"Well... I..." she stammered, her face reddening more.

"Or three days ago when you just stood weirdly next to that park bench!"

Twilight coughed, turning her attention to her saddlebags. She pulled out a timepiece and laughed uncharacteristically. "Woah, would you look at the time? It's already time for me to go help Applejack! I... I've got to go!"

"Wait, Twilight, you didn't even answer--"

"No time to waste! Can't be late! Haha... Bye, Spike!" she rambled as she galloped off.

Spike was left stunned. With a dismissive shrug, he sighed and lay back in the grass. "I wonder if all mares are this wound-up..." he grumbled with a frustrated smirk.

Twilight walked through the front door of the Apple Family home with a smile. "Applejack, I'm here!"

"Whoo-wee! Finally!" Twilight heard from the kitchen. Applejack stuck her flour-covered face into the doorframe. "Me an' Pinkie are in here."

Twilight walked through the kitchen door, smiling politely at Applejack. Pinkie Pie was hunched over, staring intently into a glowing oven. "Pinkie, what are you..."

"SSSH!" Pinkie commanded, her eyes never leaving the stove. "If I let this dough out of my sight, I swear it's gonna misbehave. You can just tell with batches like these..." she explained seriously.

Applejack rolled her eyes, her skepticism betrayed by a wide smile. "Ah swear, watchin' dough rise ain't never helped me before, but Pinkie ain't made a bad batch in her life. Earth Pony magic, ah guess." Applejack stepped forward, smiling as she hugged Twilight. "Glad yer here, sugarcube. Kneading this dough always goes so much smoother when ya got yer magic to work on it."

"No problem!" Twilight said with a smile. "I'm just glad to help!"

"Ah know ya are. Take this over fer me, ahm' gonna start mixin' a new batch up."

Twilight stepped forward, encapsulating the dough in a purple glow. It rose into the air, and began to push and pull into itself, kneading smoothly under her telekinetic influence.

Despite being at Applejack’s, she could not put Spike's comments behind her. Surely after a while he'd realize she was being distant on purpose. But... the risk of getting too comfortable was ever-looming. She shook her head and groaned, unsure of what exactly to do.

"Uh... Twi. Ya all right?" Applejack asked, looking over at Twilight oddly.

"All right? Sure! I'm perfectly fine! Why?"

"Well, uh... yer kneadin the dough a bit rough, Twi."

Twilight looked over to the dough, which had splattered all over the table she was working over, and was practically liquefied in beneath her magic field. "Oh," she gave an awkward laugh, apologized, and began to clean the dough frantically.

"Twi, now ya know it ain't right ta hide things from yer friends. Ah ain't never seen ya take out yer frustrations through magic before," Applejack said, approaching her with a cocked eyebrow. "Now, are ya gonna tell us or ain't ya?"

Twilight sighed, and dropped the dough with a plop. "Well, you know how Spike's been chasing Rarity his whole life?" Applejack and Pinkie both nodded, though Pinkie’s eyes were still locked onto the stove. "Last week he asked me to help him."

Applejack tilted her head slightly. "Help him?"

"You know... with the whole dating thing!" Twilight stammered, turning her eyes to the floor.

"Uh... no offense, Twi, but..."

Twilight sighed, dropping her head between her hooves. "I know. What sort of place am I in to be helping anyone with dating. No stallion will even..."

"Now hang on, Twi. We've had this talk before. Yer a great mare-- yer pretty, successful, and smarter than pretty much anypony else. That's the honest truth." Applejack said, sternly looking at Twilight and placing a hoof on her shoulder. "That's just real intimidating to stallions who don't really know you!"

Twilight sighed. "Thanks, AJ. This isn't about my history with stallions, though. Spike and I... We had dinner and got closer than we ever had before. Not mare-and-stallion close, mind you, but it was still enough to throw me off guard. I don't know if I can keep helping him like that! I've been avoiding even the smallest touch because I'm worried he'll think he needs more practice."

Applejack narrowed her eyes. "Hm, well ah..."

"Silly! Of course it's about your history with stallions!" chimed in Pinkie with a smile from across the room. "Getting all cuddly-wuddly with your friends can be fun! But since you've hardly done it in the first place, you don't know the difference!"

Twilight blinked. "I guess, but..."

"Nope! No guesses! Spike has been your friend for your whole life! Do you really think a little bit of cuddling would change that?"

"Ah think Pinkie's hit the nail on the head, Twi. Ah know yer worried about yer friendship, but ah think you need to make a decision. If ya wanna really help Spike, ya gotta show him as much as you can. If yer uncomfortable, ya need to tell him," Applejack interjected with an understanding smile. "He came to you cause he trusts you, Twilight. He's old enough to know ya probably ain't the best mare fer the job, but I dunno if he could really go to anyone else."

"Besides! Cuddling is fun! Nothing says you can't have fun yourself while you help him, silly!" finished Pinkie, turning from the oven with a pleasant smile. "The pie's done, Applejack!"

Twilight mulled over the words for a moment before nodding slowly. "I... guess you're right, girls. I honestly don't know what I was so paranoid about... I just--"

Applejack dropped a hoof onto Twilight's shoulder. "Hey, now. Don't forget ya ain't the most experienced neither. Now, help me get this pie outta the oven. Ain't exactly comfortable if Pinkie or me have to stick our noses in there."

Twilight smiled sweetly. "Sure. Thanks, girls."

Applejack tipped her hat and smiled a welcoming smile. "Shoot. Helpin' ya get yer thoughts together is just what friends are for, Twi."

Spike walked slowly back into town, gazing at the sky. Even though it was late into spring, clouds had been scheduled for some showers to allow the plants to finish growing properly. Thankfully, this allowed Twilight to try out the spell to freeze the lake; if the clouds had not been there, the sun would have ate through the ice in a short hour.

Still, the presence of the clouds alone loomed over Spike and his thoughts. It still bugged him: at first, Twilight had been perfectly willing to be close. He simply couldn't pinpoint what he had done to make her so vehemently against the idea. He shook his head and crossed his arms, hardly noticing the structures of Ponyville beginning to populate the side of the road.

He couldn't discern what exactly Twilight's motive was. Surely she wasn't uncomfortable with it-- the first evening together had proved that, to a point. He could only imagine it was something he had done afterward. Unfortunately, being close and intimate was the one thing Spike had no experience with whatsoever. He felt almost desperate to explain such a thing, but pushing Twilight into boundaries she wasn't comfortable with just seemed... underhanded.

Before he knew it, he had walked straight into the market. It wasn't very populated today, and the shops were just beginning to close down for the evening. Spike wandered over to Apple Fritter, who was waving at him with an eager smile.

"Heya Spike! How ya doing?" Apple Fritter said with a toothy grin.

"Introspective," Spike said simply with a shrug.

"In-tro-what? That sounds just like another word for gloomy, sappyscales!" Apple Fritter said with a pout. "Here; whenever I'm feeling gloomy, an apple fritter and a hot bath cheer me right up!" she said, handing him a fritter in a paper bag.

"Hot bath, huh? Guess it's worth a shot. Thanks for the fritter, Fritter," he said, smiling slightly.

Apple Fritter giggled. "Any day of the week, Spike! Well, except Sundays. We're closed! Heh." The caramel-colored pony finished, turning and resuming her closing duties. She hopped ontop of a cardboard box and began reaching for the mechanism that held the canopy up.

"Let me help you with that," Spike said, stepping forward and loosening the ropes with ease. The canopy of the small stand furled up quickly and tucked itself against the cart.

"Thanks, Spike! You wouldn't believe how hard it is working that kind of thing as an Earth Pony."

"No problem. Got anything else?"

Spike worked with Apple Fritter to close the shop, lifting the heavy crates of apples and wheeling the cart back to her small house across town. All the while, Apple Fritter beamed and walked beside him.

"My, my, you might be having a low day, Spike, but you sure just made mine a whole lot brighter! I just wish I could return the favor!"

"Don't worry about it. Free food is the key to my services." Spike said with a grin.

"Well, if I didn't know you had your eye on a certain lovely mare, I might be tempted to ask you to dinner! You know, that's the one thing I hate most about some stallions: just don't know how to be polite!" Apple Fritter said with a sly smile.

Spike blinked. "Polite?"

"Yup!" Apple Fritter replied, bouncing up and planting a kiss on his cheek. "That's the key to a mare's heart; being a gentlecolt. Especially with a mare like Rarity," she finished with a wink. "Well, I hope you'll stop by again, Spike. See you!" Fritter said, before disappearing into her house.

Spike simply stood in place. "How could I be so... stupid!" he exclaimed to himself. "Of course!"

With fervor that betrayed a gloomy day, Spike rushed off to prepare.

"Spike, are you going to tell me why we've been trotting up a hill for nearly twenty minutes any time soon?"

"Patience, my mare. Patience." The words were met with a sly dragon grin. "We're far too close now for me to even think of spoiling the surprise."

Twilight rolled her eyes. "Spike, I know 'being smooth' is one of your things, but this is a bit much."

Response came in the form of a pleasant grin that persisted until they were right below the peak of the hill.

"Stop." Spike said, turning to Twilight and smiling. "What do you see?"

"What do I..." Twilight sputtered, before blinking twice and rotating her head slowly to observe her surroundings. "We're on a hill, Spike. Granted, a nice, grassy hill, but I don't see why we had to go so far away from Ponyville to come to a hill,"

Spike said nothing, simply continuing to stand at attention and listen to the mare. Twilight sighed, looking around again. "Well... I can see some trees over there, and Ponyville is quite a ways behind us." Finally, she turned her gaze to the sky. "Oh, wow. The stars are really nice out here. It makes me wish I had my-"

"Telescope?" Spike said, leaning forward and beaming before turning around and practically skipping up the rest of the hill.

Slowly, she followed her friend, the top of the hill rolling into view. Her head tilted more and more as the hilltop came into view.

A shape came into view amongst the grass, dark and hard to see in the lowlight. Spike stood next to it, a small wooden half-sphere that housed...

"My telescope!" Twilight gasped, trotting over to it. "But how did you get it from-"

"No, not your telescope." Spike interjected with a smile. "You know, you did always mention regretting that Ponyville didn't have a proper observatory. Well, I did some digging. Apparently, you weren't the only pony who thought so. I bet you never thought that a little old mare who spends all evening in a rocking chair liked gazing up at the stars as well."

"Applejack told me all about how Granny Smith always had these wild claims: that the stars are clearer out in the fields than they'd ever be near Ponyville or that her Telescope had to be the best darn telescope in Equestria if it let her see the stars so clear. Well, I figured I might come out here to see for myself. Only, you know... share it with someone who I thought might want to know."

Twilight's eyes were wide, gazing over the shabby wooden observatory like it was sacred. "But, how did you..."

"Admittedly, not without some help. You'd be surprised how good Applebloom has gotten with a saw since getting her cutie mark." Spike said, leaning against the structure.

"You... you found out all that, and went through all this work in one day?" Twilight said, mouth agape. "On top of dinner, and the flowers, and..."

"So, you like it?"

Twilight jumped forward, wrapping her hooves around Spike and pushing him backwards into the grass. "Like it? Spike, this is the most thoughtful thing anypony has ever done for me! This is... this is amazing!" she squealed in happiness as she hugged him.

Spike returned the hug, still smiling his cheeky smile. "Okay, okay! I'm glad you like it!"

Getting up, Twilight looked back at Spike, beaming. "Spike, Rarity is going to be extremely lucky to have someone like you."

"Well, that's if she says yes, remember..."

With a stern look, she approached her friend. "No. No ‘ifs’. There is no way way she can say no to you. Not after you've shown you can do something like this!"

"And you're the one who told me not to get an over-inflated ego," Spike joked, incapable of hiding his proud smile in the process. "Well, come on now, you haven't even looked through it! I could have been making that whole thing up for all you know!"

Twilight nodded and laid down, shuffling herself into the tiny wooden observatory. Carefully, she brought her eye to the base of the telescope, eliciting an immediate gasp.

"Oh my... you can see Canis Major from here! And... and Lacerta! This is way better than from our porch at the library!"

Spike followed Twilight and lay down next to her, poking his head into the observatory. "I'm really glad you like it. It took forever to get this thing up here, you have no idea."

Twilight smiled, pulling her eye back from the telescope. "Well, I appreciate it. This is really special, Spike." Her eyes glimmered as she looked into his, but the gaze was broken by a dejected sigh from Twilight. "Listen, Spike, I'm sorry about pushing you away this last week. I did some thinking and... well, this whole thing is new to me, too, and I don't really know how to--"

Spike silenced her with a finger against her lips. "Don't apologize. I would never expect you to do something just for the sake of me. You're helping me, and however you want to do that is fine with me.”

Twilight’s eyes widened and a giddy smile formed across her face. She pushed her nose into his chest and nuzzled him sweetly. “Thank you, Spike.”

Spike simply nodded in response, a goofy smile spreading across his face as he raised a hand and patted it down onto Twilight’s head. “Looks like you’ve changed your mind, anyways.”

“Well, I mean... If I am going to help you, I can’t rightly just ignore it completely. Being close is important! Besides-- it’s probably what you need the most.” Twilight replied with a shrug. “And anyways...”

“Hmm?” Spike said, as Twilight let the pause go on.

She bit her lower lip. “It’s... it’s kind of nice to be close to someone when no stallion has ever really looked at you, I guess.”

Spike frowned and wrapped his arm around Twilight. “Twilight... you’re a great mare, and my best friend. If no stallion realizes what they’re missing, then that’s their loss.”

“Yeah.” Twilight sighed and dropped her gaze to the ground. “Their loss.”

Spike’s eyes glowered, placing a finger beneath her chin and raising her eyes to his. “Let me rephrase. Twilight, you’re a smart, funny, beautiful mare, and any stallion who can’t see that simply isn’t worth your time. I know how hard it is to be lonely. I’ve pined after the same mare my entire life. I just...” His words stopped flowing so easily, and he sighed.

“Don’t you think it’s better to wait, Twi? For the one who’s just right for you?” His eyes were determined and pleading, begging her to see the truth.

Twilight blinked.

“Y...yeah. You’re right, Spike,” she said softly, smiling sweetly. “Thank you.”

Spike smiled back and embraced his friend. He couldn’t help but notice how her mane smelt of lavender and lilacs. Almost unashamedly, buried his snout in it’s soft length and took a deep breath.

Twilight giggled as Spike nuzzled into her mane. “Spike!” she said, crooning her neck around to rub up against him.

He pulled back, returning her lighthearted giggle. “Sorry.”

Once again their eyes met, and Twilight smiled shyly, almost embarrassed by the attention. In the lowlight of the evening, Spike’s eyes were dilated and glowing an almost neon green. They looked almost aloof and attentive at the same time, filled naturally with confidence and warmth. Smiling, she slid a hoof over to rest on his claw, which opened up to accept it readily.

Twilight looked absolutely stunning out in the moonlight. Her regular lavender color seemed to stand out even more, and glowed intimately next to the deep greens and browns in the field and wooden observatory. Her eyes were huge, adorable pools that Spike was completely lost in. She lay comfortably, a single leg directed away from her body, leaning over on one side. The way it curved against the deep colors behind it was almost enchanting, looking smooth and inviting.

“So... you think I’m beautiful?” Twilight whispered, blushing and dipping her nose slightly as the words escaped her lips.

Spike’s mouth went slightly agape, opening enough to show just the edge of a single fang. Speechless, he raised his free claw and, brushing her mane to the side, ran it down the side of her neck.

Twilight’s heart fluttered as Spike caressed her neck with his fingers. She leaned forward, pushing her head beside his and resting it on his shoulder.

Spike moved the hand that was clutching Twilight’s hoof around, and pulled Twilight’s torso against his own. She was warm; the kind of warmth one felt lost without, like a cozy blanket before a hard day. Spike could feel her heart beating fast, causing his breaths to be short and hot over neck. She smelled absolutely intoxicating, the strong scent of her mane combining with the earthy musk of the field.

He couldn’t help but to turn his mouth and let it rest on the base of her neck. Twilight’s heart picked up as he planted a single, sweet kiss just above her collarbone. His hand pressed her neck against his face as he kissed her again, higher up this time. Twilight moaned softly in response, tensing her forelegs against him. Twilight’s neck tasted like a slightly salted berry, an intensely entrancing taste that coaxed him onwards, covering her neck in damp, warm kisses. As soon as he had tasted one area, he moved onto the next, dying to collect all of her sweet taste for himself.

Twilight couldn’t help herself. She moaned quite audibly as Spike tantalized her neck with kisses. She couldn’t pinpoint why, but his searching mouth on her neck left her in absolute ecstasy. She breathed deep, and clenched her hooves around Spike, pulling him almost roughly into her. “More,” she wanted to beg as his tongue began to leave warm, wet circles over her. The only sounds that came were deep, intense moans.

Her mind was entirely absent. Her self control, and all her worries therein, had jumped completely overboard as she melted in his arms. With instinctual fervor, she turned her own head and bit down softly onto Spike’s neck. He groaned, and his claws flexed against her back, but that only coaxed her to bite harder.

Spike lost it. Feeling Twilight’s rough kiss against his neck sent him completely spinning. He brought his head to her own, eyes half-closed and kissed her deeply, his tongue immediately pressing into hers. The kiss was wonderfully sloppy, and the two of them moaned in harmony, turning their heads to get complete access to one another. Spike’s hand moved quickly to the back of Twilight’s head, pulling her into him fiercely. The two gazed into each other's lust-filled, half lidded eyes as Spike pushed forward, toppling Twilight onto her back.

Twilight wanted to scream with delight as her back hit the earth and Spike crawled over her, his face pressing down onto hers in crazed passion. She felt herself getting wet: dreadfully, unashamedly wet. She could smell it even through Spike’s muzzle and breath, but it only edged her onwards.

Spike was almost painfully erect, hardly even noticing it until he climbed over Twilight. Without even giving it a second thought, he pressed his body-- shaft and all-- against Twilight’s soft stomach.

“Mmh, Spike,” Twilight moaned, pulling him closer, squeezing his shaft between them. It was rock hard. Frighteningly hard. Hard and new enough for her brain to realize she’d never felt one so close before. New enough to turn her mind back to thinking, and away from passion.

Twilight began breathing faster and faster, not in fervent excitement, but in terrifying panic. Spike, her lifelong companion and most trusted friend, was pressing his rock hard member against her.

“Spike...” she panted, breaking the kiss.

Spike was completely entranced, completely unaware of the thoughts traveling through Twilight’s mind. Once again, he pressed down onto her.

“Spike!” Twilight shouted, slamming her hooves against him, pushing him out of his lust-driven trance.

Spike flew back, his head colliding with the hard, wooden observatory behind him. In an instant he was out cold. The sharp hit echoed into the field around them, disrupting the serene sounds of nature with a sickening bang.

“Oh no. Spike. Spike!” she shouted, as she leaned forward and tried to shake him awake. He lay completely still, mouth slightly agape, against the cold ground.

Twilight began to shake as panic set in. “Oh, Celestia, Spike!” she yelled again, shaking him more vigorously to wake him up. She looked around frantically, unsure of what to do. Oh gosh, oh gosh, oh gosh oh gosh! Her mind repeated, before finally kicking into gear.

Focusing hard, Twilight wrapped a purple telekinetic field around her downed friend and hoisted him onto her back. She had to get him to someone-- fast. Using magic to keep him stabilized and light enough to carry, she began marching back down the hill.

Almost immediately, she misjudged just how steep the slope was and went toppling down it, concentrating painfully to keep Spike aloft as she rolled ten, twenty, thirty feet down the hill before she slammed into a tree. Lances of pain pierced her back right leg, and her vision went white. Her grip on Spike loosened, and he hit the ground with loud thud. Tears came, and Twilight groaned in pain as she tried to get up.

With a cautious lean she discovered the pain was far too great to consider carrying Spike on her back anymore. C...Celestia, why do I have to be so clumsy. She looked over at her friend-- still unconscious, potentially with a concussion that could just have just been made very serious.

She swallowed hard, and took a deep breath. She had to get him into town, no matter how bad it hurt. Painstakingly, she focused her magic to pick him up once more, and began walking slowly, levitating Spike beside her.

After ten minutes, her horn burned and crackled in vicious outcry. She was hardly halfway, and already she felt the magic slipping.

Using the last ounce of her strength, she lifted Spike onto her back, letting him fall and eliciting a series of sobbing shouts in pain. The ferocity of the pain on her leg was torture, and she nearly buckled with every step.

Still, she walked on, gritting her teeth and sobbing between steps.

Author's Note

To my readers,

Due to overwhelming support and more love than I could ever have hoped for, the story will go on.

This chapter is for you. Thank you.
Special thanks to Khakispony for being a wonderful fresh set of eyes and a diligent proofreader.

Love,
Idylia

Flames

Knock... knock... knock.

Fluttershy tossed, cracking her eyes open, and peering around the dark room through nearly-closed eyes.

Knock... knock... thud!

With a jerk, she sat up in bed, sure that the sound wasn’t false. “O... Oh gosh,” she whispered, shaking in the onset of fear.

She shook her head. “No, Fluttershy! Come on, get yourself together.” She sucked in air, and hopped out of bed, putting her hooves into slippers. Slowly, she inched towards the doorway, looking frantically around her house as if she was lost in the Everfree Forest itself.

Fluttershy paused, taking a deep breath to reignite her resolve, before finally opening the door just a crack. “H-Hello? I was... Oh Celestia.”

Twilight lay bruised and hardly awake at the foot of the door, struggling to breathe as Spike lay unconscious over her. She coughed, and looked weakly into the eyes of her friend before passing out with a soft cry.

“Angel! Come quickly!” Fluttershy shouted, panicked into protective mode. Fluttering above them, she hoisted Spike off Twilight with all of her strength. Across the room, she saw a familiar white rabbit limp grumpily out of the living room, glaring daggers at her.

“Angel! Get Giovanni! NOW!” Fluttershy commanded, stepping aside to let the rabbit see the scene. He let out a bunny gasp, before his eyes turned determined and angry. As fast as the old bunny could muster, he hobbled out of the house and into the forest.

“Oh gosh... please be okay... please be okay...” she whimpered as she flew around the cottage, gathering all the medical supplies she could.

It was going to be a long night.

“Nng...”

Spike tossed uncomfortably, his eyes pressed shut, attempting to ignore the dull, pulsing pain from his head. He wondered while under the effects of his groggy stupor if he had fallen out of bed again, but the warmth of blankets over him dismissed the theory shortly. After a minute of fruitless attempts to re-enter the calm of sleep, he cracked his eyes open to see the sun rising out a window beside him.

This isn’t my room. He thought, immediately seeing the stuffed animals, wooden furniture and homely knitted artifacts strewn about. Blinking twice, he assembled the puzzle pieces inside his head into a vague state of recognition. Why am I in Fluttershy’s room...

Grunting, he shifted his body, uncomfortably landing the lump on his head against his pillows with a wince. Rubbing his head with his hand, he wondered why am I in Fluttershy’s bed...

He felt breathing over his shoulder. Faint, tiny breathing.

Even with a mind awash in morning fatigue, the implications hit home.

After a minute or so of frantic contemplation, he sat up slowly and looked over to...

“Twilight?” he said, blinking and utterly confused now.

It was Twilight, but she looked like she had been on the bad end of a timberwolf. She had cuts and scratches all along her, and her forehead and torso were bandaged over. Her mane fell in strands, stuck together by dirt and grime, and the bags under her eyes were reminiscent of a three-day cram session.

His mind immediately swam, attempting to remember the last thing that had happened before he went under. Twilight and the telescope... her eyes... He gulped once more. Kissing... and then...

Nothing. It was all a blur, taken from him by a lump on his head the size of a small fist. So, then, what had happened to Twilight...

Seeking external guidance, he got out of bed, stumbling as he walked away his morning fatigue. Tiptoeing, he reached the door on the far side of the room and ducked through it as silently as a 5 foot tall dragon could muster.

Fluttershy was dead asleep on the couch, the floor around her populated entirely with open first aid kits, bottles of medicine, and tubes of ointment. An enormous grizzly bear slumbered beside her, and Angel was perched sleeping atop it’s belly.

As he closed the door behind him, Fluttershy began to stir from the noise. Though her mane completely covered her face, she began moving slowly, looking past the tangled mess and over to Spike.

“S... Spike!” she squealed, albeit softly through fatigue and ache. She yawned out a tiny squeak as she stretched her body awake, before settling on a small, sincere smile. “Ah... I’m so glad you’re awake! I...” she began to shake slightly as the memories of the night returned to her. “When you two showed up at my door I... I did everything I could! But... oh, I was so worried, I...”

Spike furrowed his brows, trying to take in what Fluttershy was saying. Fluttershy stopped talking suddenly, hiding behind her mane as if guilty of some unspoken transgression.

“Is... Is Twilight awake?”

Spike blinked, and shook his head. “I can’t even remember what happened, Fluttershy. We were up on the hill out in the fields, and I...”

He bit his lip. “I tripped, and got knocked out I guess,” he said lamely, shifting his eyes to the ground. “I can’t remember anything after that, though. What happened?”

Fluttershy was quiet for a moment as she collected her thoughts, before slowly beginning to recall the happenings of the previous evening. “Late last night, Twilight collapsed on my doorstep carrying you on her back. She was out cold from the moment she saw me. I saw you were unconscious, and so I thought you were hurt, so I didn’t...” Fluttershy stopped, and tears began to well in her eyes.

“I... I didn’t check her until I was done with you... so I didn’t see how bad...” she whispered, looking to the ground in shame.

Spike’s eyes widened, and his mouth opened slightly. “What, Fluttershy? You didn’t see what?” he said, taking a step forward.

Fluttershy closed her eyes. “Her leg... she broke it somehow, but it wasn’t just that. It looked like she had just kept going. She... she had a severe concussion and there was a lot of blood... ” she whimpered softly. “I... I promise, I did the best I could. She would be at the hospital right now if moving her wasn’t so dangerous.”

Spike stood silently, piecing two and two together. He felt the wave of realization hit him, and he had to lean against the wall for support.

Fluttershy sat on the other side of the room, shaking. “I... I did everything I could, I’m sorry. W-When she got here, her leg was completely...” Fluttershy could not even muster the words, instead wincing as the memory assaulted her brain.

“I did this,” Spike said, beginning to shake.

“Spike, no, you can’t really—”

“Twilight carried me here all the way on a broken leg because I was too stupid to...” he continued, before choking on the beginnings of a sob. “She’s... she’s asleep in there, suffering because she had to carry me all the way back into town,” he continued, standing up and turning his back to the pony. “I did this.”

Before Fluttershy could give a word in rebuke, Spike walked into the living room and slammed the door behind him.

Angel awoke from the sudden noise and rolled over, grumbling, before looking around the room. After a moment, he lifted himself onto the couch beside Fluttershy. With a sympathetic gaze, he wrapped his body around her hoof, embracing it softly.

Fluttershy smiled warmly. “Oh, thank you Angel. But really, if there’s anyone you should be comforting it’s Spike.”

He quieted her with a shake of his head, tapping his foot and pointing to the other side of the room.

The door to Twilight’s room was open a crack, and through it Fluttershy saw a single moving hoof, beckoning her closer. Fluttershy jumped to attention and galloped into Twilight’s room with as much speed as she could muster.

“Oh, Twilight, you’re awake! You can’t imagine how relieved I am that--”

Twilight shook her head weakly, her eyes barely slivers. She motioned with her hoof for Fluttershy to come closer.

Almost inaudibly, she whispered “Rarity,” before lying her head back against her pillows and receding back into sleep.

Spike sat on a couch, facing the fireplace and staring sullenly at the bricks and mortar as if their presence would somehow provide him the guidance he needed. His face was still damp, but the questions that evoked the tears still ate at his conscience.

For the first time over the course of an adrenaline and excitement filled week, the implications of his actions hit home. He hadn’t even asked if Twilight was comfortable with their growing closer, or if she even cared for him intimately at all. While the week for him had been filled with joy, he had almost seemed to forget that his feelings were forged on an artificial premise.

Twilight had no feelings for him beyond friendship, and yet he had let his heart get involved. All it had got him was a terribly wounded friend and a lump on the back of his head. After that first night by the fire he had realized that the way he acted couldn’t just be for practice. The flush it brought to his face, the way it made his heart race, the lump in his throat whenever he looked into her eyes; they were results of true feelings. All the while, he had forgotten that Twilight had simply agreed to help him because they were friends— not on the premise that they should become anything more.

And he had taken it too far. Much too far, without ever considering that Twilight only felt he was a friend. He felt the tears begin to swell up again, as his mind forged the only ultimatum that could save their friendship.

He could never put Twilight in a position like that again. The risk of letting himself lose control and destroying their friendship forever was too great to push it any further.

Almost on cue, he heard hoofsteps slowly enter the room. He did not turn around or address them, asking only “Is Twilight awake?”

“No, dear,” came a soft voice, accompanied by a hoof placed onto his claw. “But I’m not only here for her, you know,” murmured Rarity, looking sympathetically into Spike’s eyes.

Spike blinked, immediately bringing his hand to his face to wipe away the tears. “R-Rarity, what are you doing here?” he mumbled, looking away from her in embarrased shame.

Rarity placed her hoof on the side of Spike’s face, directing his gaze back to her. “Fluttershy fetched me because she felt a certain dragon was beating himself up over something he had no control over.” She smiled slightly. “Have any guesses as to who that could be?”

Spike attempted to look away again, but only managed to drop his gaze. “I... you don’t understand...”

“Truer words have never been spoken. I’m sure no one could understand with you shoving up all that guilt inside, sweetie,” Rarity said, finally dropping her hoof to allow him to look away. With a short nudge, she scooted Spike over on the couch and sat next to him. “You don’t have to say a word. Just know that, if you’d like, I am here for you.”

Spike shifted uncomfortably, unsure of where to direct his eyes now that another was present. Here he was, sitting next to the lifelong mare of his dreams, and all he felt like doing was crying. But crying was not an option-- not in front of her.

Like packages left unopened, the thoughts that had plagued him for the last hour still remained.

How... how could Twilight ever forgive him? His face grew somber again.

Would their friendship ever be the same? His jaw clenched and his eyes instinctively shut.

What if she never recovered? He felt the tears coming on again, but he held them back.

She would never love him. The thought panged torturously against his psyche, and the inevitable wave of despair finally hit.

He turned to Rarity, embraced her and began bawling into her mane. The tears felt wonderful, letting go the pressure of shame drop by drop. Rarity wrapped her forelegs around him, but he hardly even noticed, thoughts enveloped completely in his own choking sobs.

“I’m so sorry...” he bawled, heaving pitifully into the beautiful purple of Rarity’s mane. “I’m so, so sorry...” Why did Twilight have to get hurt? Why had he realized what he was doing too late? Couldn’t he ever just learn a lesson by himself?

Spike cried for nearly ten minutes, mumbling abject apologies and worries as Rarity held him. Finally, his sobs were reduced to sniffles and heavy breaths, reluctantly pulling back from the hooves that comforted him.

“Thank you,” he whispered shamefully, but Rarity dismissed his worries with a nod and a caring smile. If only she knew just how involved she was in his guilt. She would understand; she always understood.

“We were up on that hill because we were on a date,” He blurted out. Rarity’s eyes widened slightly, but she promptly repressed her curiosity and simply gave another nod. “Twilight... I just wanted help. I just wanted to know what to expect,” he confessed, finally raising his eyes to look at Rarity. “I didn’t want to keep messing up, Rarity. I asked her to try and help me, but I took it too far. She shoved me away... she must have hated me right then. Stupid me had to get knocked out from a little shove like that, but...” He let out a long breath and dropped his head into his hands. “She carried me all the way here anyways. Even after she got hurt; badly. She walked all the way here, just for me. Why couldn’t I have just...” he groaned, made his claw into a fist and hammered the couch next to him.

“She does not hate you, Spike,” she said softly, placing her hoof on his leg. “Nothing you could do would ever come between the years of friendship the two of you have, dear.” Spike looked into her eyes, wide and understanding as she addressed him. “She carried you back because she must have worried the worst about you.”

Spike cringed, guilt panging his conscience as if her words were an accusation.

Rarity dropped her eyes, letting out a frustrated sigh. “The responsibility for her actions does not lie on you, Spike. Twilight has a way of turning frantic when the unexpected happens, but she also cares deeply about her friends,” preached Rarity, nodding as she finally found the words that fit her motive just right. “It was her duty to ensure your safety, Spike, no matter how foolish. Her ‘Pony Code’— understand?”

Spike sat in silence for a moment, before acknowledging her comments with a nod. Rarity smiled sweetly, beckoning a slight smile in response from Spike. “Thanks, Rarity. I just don’t know if I’ll feel right about this until I talk to her about it. Thanks for...” He flushed as he thought back to his rather emotional outburst. “Thanks for being here, I guess.”

Rarity smiled warmly. “Of course, dear. I couldn’t bear the thought of a cherished friend destroying himself inside, no matter how dire the straits.” The two sat in silence for a moment, but Rarity seemed discontent to allow Spike to recede back into his own mind. She extended a hoof, dropping it onto his leg with a warm smile. “I am always here for you, Spike. Don’t ever think any problem is too large to share with me for my own sake. All right?”

Spike looked away, though his slight smile betrayed the battered persona he was attempting to portray. After a moment, he looked back to Rarity, whose eyes instantly locked on his own. Her smile was truly infectious, and despite himself he felt obliged to return it fully.

“Now, then. Onto the other issue, why don’t we?” Rarity said, grinning and fluttering her eyelashes.

Spike blinked, and cocked his head. “What other issue?”

“The issue of you, Spike,” Rarity said firmly. “It’s been years, Spike. I just don’t understand why you’ve kept your feelings under wraps for all this time.”

Spike’s eyes widened and he looked away immediately. He said absolutely nothing. His mind whirred as it realized that, for the first time, he had spoken about his feelings for her in his guilt-laden rant.

Rarity giggled, causing Spike to flush with embarrassment. “And now I learn that you’ve even gone to your closest friend for a rather personal vein of advice?”

“What I just don’t understand, Spike...” Rarity purred, scooting herself closer to the dragon. “Is why you haven’t ever said a word of it to me.”

Spike’s eyes widened as he felt Rarity scoot up against him. “A... I... bu...” he mumbled, blushing as red as his scales could manage. He finally turned his head, forcing himself to address her but finding her eyes immediately locking onto his.

“Didn’t you ever consider...” Rarity continued, her voice low as she smiled and held her gaze. “That after all these years of friendship, you were not the only one smitten?”

He blinked, and he was sure he felt his heart stop. “What did you just...?” he began, but quieted himself as he saw Rarity leaning her head closer to his own. His mouth opened, trying to say something, but was shushed quietly by Rarity.

Her nose rested against his, and he felt her breath against her face. “Oh, Spike. The things you said were never foolish,” she whispered, putting her hoof on his hand. His heart beat rapidly, entranced completely in the beauty of Rarity up close. “The only foolish thing you did was saying nothing at all.”

She closed her eyes, and he met her as she leaned forward, locking her sweetly in a kiss. He felt her heart flutter in her chest, and heard her lungs expand with a long, elated breath. He pulled back only for a moment, then pushed forward and kissed her again, bringing his claw up to rest lightly on the side of her neck. Her lips were soft and delicious against his own, and tingled faintly, tasting of peppermint. The kiss was indulgently long as he took in all of the finite beauty of Rarity up close. Her breath passed wistfully over his own nose, smelling like a smooth vanilla, his mind reeling over the desires it evoked.

He felt a hoof push softly against his chest, and slowly, painstakingly, broke the kiss.

They sat silent for a moment, though Spike was so spellbound by the scent of her breath he had to constantly fight against his desires for more.

Rarity smiled with her eyes, face still against his as she slid the hoof on his chest down to his hand. “That wasn’t so difficult, was it?” she whispered, nuzzling him sweetly.

Spike had no reply, his brain still buzzing with frantic amazement at the events that had just transpired. Rarity simply giggled, and kissed him on the nose. “You have no idea how long I’ve been waiting to do that, Spike.”

“No,” Spike replied, hushed and bewildered. “I don’t have any idea. I wish you would have just...”

“Told you earlier? Well, isn’t the pot calling the kettle black,” Rarity mused with a grin. “I somehow knew I might be the one to tell you, as many romantic bylaws as that does break. Though, I guess that’s the point. You’ve never given me the regular courting others have, Spike. All you had to do was give me the time of day and just... be there. Dedication, more than smoothness or confidence, is...” She shuddered slightly. “Immensely attractive.”

The only thing that kept Spike from wholeheartedly believing he was in a dream was the tingle that lingered on his lips.

“It’s not hard to fall into devotion when a mare so beautiful calls you a friend,” he whispered dreamily, coaxing a loving smile from Rarity.

“So, I get smooth and dedicated, then? Mmm... yes, I do believe that qualifies you for a first date,” she murmured with a twinkle in her eyes. She leaned forward, kissing him again, this time leaving her eyes half open as she did.

A squeak sounded from across the room, followed by a crash and a hushed “Ohmygosh ohmygosh ohmygosh.” Spike and Rarity turned their heads to see the tail end of Fluttershy diving out of the doorway. Spike immediately began to blush again, but Rarity only sighed and rolled her eyes.

“Come out, Fluttershy. What is it?” she called, backing off from Spike and sitting at a regular distance on the couch.

At first, there was no indication that she had been there at all, but after a few moments Fluttershy peeked her head back into the threshold of the door. “H-Hello you two!” she chirped, her face entirely red. She gulped. “I... I didn’t mean to interrupt your... discussion,” she said, laughing awkwardly as if she had just told a joke. “Just, um... Twilight’s awake.”

Twilight opened her eyes slightly as Spike rushed into the room with far more speed than was necessary or appropriate. Inwardly, she felt tired in every perceivable way, that even simply realizing her fatigue pushed her ability to critically think. Talking was out of the question, but she was sure she could manage a few nods or something akin to them.

The only thing keeping her awake was an odd sensation that she simply could not physically sleep any longer. She had woken up once, but she could hardly remember what had happened in the hours since: her only memory was that she had spoken to Fluttershy very briefly. The deed had seemed of utmost importance at the time, but now she was having trouble picking out why she had gone through the trouble at all.

Already she felt the instinctive desire to close her eyes returning, as if doing so would allow her to hibernate her discomfort away. The only clue to how long it had been already was the death-like feeling of stiffness that came in muted aches from her limbs. She would stretch, but the intermittent dull pulses of pain advised her convincingly against it.

Spike was apologizing. She could tell, even though she had not heard a word he said. Rather, she could simply hear the word “sorry” reverberating as if her mind was an empty ballroom. The intricacies and careful words of the deed were left untranslated.

She nodded, evoking a surprised pause from Spike, but that was all she felt up to attempting. He mumbled a few final words, then made way for Rarity to approach.

Rarity understood. She sat there, silently, and placed her hoof onto Twilight’s. The simple physical contact left a more profound impact than any words could have at that moment. After a minute or two, she mentioned she would return again, smiled, and stepped back.

Spike had been standing awkwardly at the back of the room, averting his eyes from Twilight as if she was a victim in a burn ward. Rarity’s presence, however, provided him some much needed comfort, and he managed a smile in Twilight’s direction. She did her best to reciprocate, which seemed to help things a bit.

After a moment that would have been awkward if Twilight was coherent enough to pin it as such, Spike and Rarity left. Only Fluttershy remained, allowing Twilight to turn her full attention to the yellow pony.

Fluttershy was preparing something in a bowl, but the thought of consuming anything at all made Twilight feel uneasy. Instead, she attempted to listen to what Fluttershy was saying.

“Concussion” was the first word that struck her as important. The details behind how it had happened still eluded her, but the word explained her condition well enough— though she had never expected a concussion to feel this debilitating.

Then came the second sensible phrase: “Blood Loss.” That sounded more like it, but the fact that she could not feel any wounds or cuts across her body disturbed her. She let out a shudder, to which Fluttershy nodded sympathetically.

Fluttershy turned to her and brought a spoon to her face. Logically, she should be ravenous, but the soup smelled as stale and unappealing as soup could get. Begrudgingly, she opened her mouth slightly, and felt the soup run warm down her throat. Fluttershy smiled an approving smile, and went to fetch another spoonful, while going on with her report.

Over the course of the session, she picked up on her leg being wounded, and how Fluttershy had used possibly every combination of pain numbing treatments to keep her under. The combination of the medication, the blood loss, and the concussion explained how trapped she felt within her own mind. She figured she should be in the hospital, but assumed that she was simply too hurt to move at this point. By the tenth spoonful or so, she began to see a creeping blur roll in from the edges of her vision, and figured she could go back to sleep again.

Worrying and problem solving could come later; it was time to go back under.

Author's Note

Special thanks to Khakispony for being a wonderful set of fresh eyes and a diligent proofreader.

Backfire

The rain fell in droves, a solemn choir that mirrored Spike’s inner turmoil in dreary reverie. The night was frigid, and the windows in the aging library sputtered and cackled in protest against the bitter wind. Darkness engulfed the tree, as if the lifeblood that had once fueled it through so many sleepless, study-driven nights was now dead. Only a faint ember of an orange glow could be seen from the bottom-most window as the fireplace crackled in harmony against the pouring rain.

The rain slammed against the branches and ceiling as if a hundred omnipresent hooves begged for entry. Spike sat alone. He trembled, staring into the page as if he had never written a letter in all his years. It’s just the cold, he lied spitefully to the crackling fire in front of him. He dipped the pen into the ink.

“Dear Princess Celestia,”

A thunderous noise shot through the house, jerking Spike awake.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The door buckled under repeated assault, and Spike pulled himself from his warm place on the rug, running over to the wooden frame and opening it in a panic.

A white alicorn stood shaking before him, the colors of her mane splattered against her body and one another in awful disarray. Eyeliner poured from around her wide eyes, painting black rivers against her pristine coat.

She took a step forward, a flash of lightning behind her illuminating her daggerlike glare.

“Where is she.”

“I... I’ve never seen her cry before, Spike. Are you sure the princess is okay?” It was another consecutive sleepless night for Fluttershy, but her eyes searched frantically around the room as if she had taken a shot of adrenaline.

Spike shook his dripping head. “She’s not a princess tonight, Fluttershy.” After a moment of contemplation, she gave a simple nod.

The sobs of a wounded mother echoed into the night.

The train ambled forward, bouncing softly as it began the ascent onto the steep mountainside. Cursed into a sleepless trance, Spike stared lifelessly out the window. As he gazed out into the dying night, he wondered if Celestia had failed to perform her duties for the first time in a thousand years; the sun should have risen already.

A hoof fell onto his hand.

“You must try and sleep, Spike,” said Rarity, her voice hushed. He did not turn to meet her gaze, but took her hoof in his hand.

“Can’t,” he muttered simply.

Rarity exhaled a long, worried breath. “Well, I suppose I’ll forgive you this once for keeping a lady awake,” she said, before her words transitioned into a yawn.

He shook his head. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have awoken you to all this trouble. I could have just come by myself.”

He felt her soft hoof land on his cheek, tugging slightly, beckoning him to look. After a moment, he obliged, turning himself and looking absently into Rarity’s eyes. “Never speak those words again,” she whispered, her caring gaze betraying her words. “If ever you find yourself in need, no matter if the morning has come or if the night is eternal, I will be there.”

He couldn’t bring himself to smile. Tears could not come. Instead, he gazed languidly at her for a long moment, and nodded. That was enough for her to understand. She laid her head against his chest, and soon they breathed in harmony.

Glimmers of light danced and refracted around the carriage as the dark horizon finally gave way to a tiny corona of orange.

Even goddesses could be late.

“Celestia is... what?” Luna demanded in a rushed whisper, ushering Spike and Rarity into a room and closing the door swiftly.

“Not coming back. Not for awhile, at least.” Spike repeated matter-of-factly. “She wouldn’t budge.”

“Heavens!” Luna cursed, stifling a yawn with a small shake of her head. “We knew... er... I knew Twilight Sparkle was wounded, but I can’t imagine it would be so grievous as to call Celestia from her duties!”

“I just don’t know; she acted as if Twilight was dying. She hardly spoke a word!” Rarity explained, taking over the conversation as Spike sat down on the far side of the room. “She only demanded someone travel to Canterlot immediately to inform you.”

Luna sighed in exasperation. “Well, I certainly am glad the two of you made it in such post-haste. Fine-- Celestia had done my duties for a thousand years while I wallowed in madness, so surely she may be granted her time as well. I simply hope she is not looking to trump my record,” Luna said with a smirk.

Rarity laughed politely, but Spike was morosely silent. He stared out the window of the small room as if he was a prisoner of its walls.

Picking up on a concerned look from Rarity, Luna walked over and stood next to the dragon, gazing out the window in tandem. “Even princesses grieve, and must sleep and eat, and face problems just like any of our subjects, Spike. To expect more of yourself than of your princesses is the noblest heresy I have yet encountered in all my years.”

Spike did not respond. His eyes stayed firmly planted on the horizon.

“Get some sleep,” the princess finished, turning and walking to the door. She nodded to Rarity. “You too, even if he won’t. Element of generosity be damned; you can’t help him if you can’t help yourself,” she instructed tactfully.

Rarity gave a worried smile, saying “Thank you, Princess,” in a near-whisper.

Luna cocked an eyebrow with a grin. “Remember? Call me Luna. Consider this room yours for as long as you require. I have daytime to attend to. However...”

“Spike,” Luna called, as she opened the door. He turned his head and stared blankly at her.

“If ever you are overburdened by this ordeal, do not hesitate to seek me out. My heart, too, knows the guilt of deeds once done. My mind, too, is unable to place the blame on anyone but myself.” She gave him a small smile. “All you need do is ask.” Without another word, Luna closed the door.

Rarity let out a devious yawn as Luna left, finally revealing her fatigue. She meandered over to the single, enormous bed in the small room, and climbed atop it. “Come along, now,” she called, lying her head back against the pillow and closing her eyes.

The irony of the situation almost forced a crooked grin from Spike. The sight that normally would make his heart flutter and his legs weak instead seemed like an obligation. Still, he stood up, and made his way to join her. As he lay down, she turned to face him and shuffled closer. She lay his head on him, draped a single hoof over his body, and closed her eyes to meet the languid drolls of sleep.

Among Rarity’s hold, Spike could no longer fight the fatigue that ate at his consciousness. Finally, his eyes fluttered shut, and his mind gave way to peace.

The time for tears had come and gone, a luxurious moment of emotion that Celestia had not felt in years. She left the stains around her eyes and down her cheeks in place. Moving for the first time in hours, she turned swiftly to face the window behind her, slamming the curtains open with her hooves.

A deep breath. In through the mouth, and out through the muzzle. The trick had worked for years to alleviate the weight of the crown, but its magic was lost amongst real pony emotion. Still, her duty called whether she was ready for it or not; she had allowed herself to be late already, but the day could not wait any longer.

Looking to the horizon, she sat back onto her haunches, and her horn began to glow. Her body began to shake; the weight of her duty was quite literal. She clenched her eyes, and began to lift her hooves from the ground, as if she was hoisting a large, invisible object. Trembling, she unfurled her wings. Across the valley and over the horizon, an orange glow began to peek over the tips of the mountains. Transfixing herself on the light, she let her magic flow, imagining the light of the sun spilling out into the valley like an unstoppable flood of liquid energy. Allowing herself another breath, she took hold of the light with her magic and pushed her hooves up into the air. The edges of her wings twitched as the weight raised off her shoulders. Her legs began to wobble, and she fell to the floor beneath the windowsill in a manner much too unbefitting for a princess.

The first ray of light shined through the window, dancing across Celestia’s form. The energy she had given to the sun was being given back. After a minute of sunlight, she sat up, reinvigorated by the sliver of orange peeking over the mountainside.

Hmm, the sun said to her curiously. The night has not invoked such emotions in you for years, Celestia. Let me take them. To rule under such burdens would be unwise.

Celestia remained silent. She brought a hoof to her own cheek, feeling the dried mascara against her matted fur.

“No. For now, such things are my fuel forward. A reminder that, once, I was a unicorn who did not have the luxury of abating her problems with the light of eternity.” She narrowed her eyes, her basest duty to Equestria completed, filled with determination. “Now help me.”

Celestia turned back to Twilight, pulling back the blankets that covered the sleeping mare. Fluttershy had not lied to her, but she had certainly been holding to her element when she had given her status report. She had been trying to soften the blow as she spoke about the injuries. Hope clouded the diagnosis; the mare found comfort in the chance that Twilight would fully recover.

Twilight would never walk again without agony trailing every step. Her hoof had compressed into her leg, crunching the bones together. On top of that, she had fractured her hip, presumably from repeated falls.

Celestia grimaced, breathing slowly and closing her eyes. She had been granted princess-hood for her ability to care, heal, and give herself wholly to ensure that a pony stayed alive. Those years, fending for their tribe in the Everfree Forest, were lost to history, and nearly from her memories as well. Between her ability to doctor, and Luna’s ability to fight, they had forged civilization over many years in the harshest of climates.

Celestia’s heart went out to those who did not have the luxury of personally knowing a miracle worker; too many ponies would suffer an injury like this for the rest of their days. Perhaps the act was selfish: if she had time to grieve and attend to Twilight, why not all the other ponies who desperately needed her?

She knew both the edges of omnipotence well.

Her horn began to glow, encompassing the leg in a soft yellow light.

Rarity awoke to a room bathed in the orange of late afternoon. She had always been quick to wake; her frantic mind always seemed to pull her from bed at the first thought of being productive.

Today, however, it was distracted. Spike held her close in his sleep, his arms wrapped tightly around her midsection. She battled the urge to nuzzle up against him, finding her muzzle tucked sweetly in the crook of his neck. Aside from a not wholly-unpleasant musk that surrounded Spike, he smelled earthy, like an aging pine tree. She looked up into his face through half-lidded eyes, wishing only for him to be awake and gazing back into hers. Her waking mind swam, entranced in the romance of the moment wholly.

Instead, she inched her hoof along his chest, feeling his scales and the ridges of his light muscular frame beneath them. It was odd, admiring someone who was quite far from the epitome of strength and endurance, but refreshing. For years, she had been told that those were the things a lady would look for; and she had. However, there was a certain charm in him now, and for the first time she felt as if she were attracted to someone’s mind and insight along with their body. Not that she had been vain over the years, but rather... oversaturated with choices. As pleasant as the memory sounds, in truth it had simply turned affairs of the heart into sinking knee-deep into a pile of rubbish to find the gems she was looking for. Which, in recent years, she had abandoned as a fruitless endeavor, deciding once and for all that bland and uninteresting partners were not worth trudging through for simple physical satisfaction.

Now that her mind had come to it, though... it had been quite some time since she had been with another stallion. She shivered slightly at the thoughts assaulting her mind, pushing herself closer into Spike’s musk as she did so.

As much as she desired it, though, there was still Twilight to address before she went forward with her ambitions. She knew her friend and, while it was unlikely, the chance that she had developed feelings for the dragon during their “practice” together was still there. Such chances were too dangerous landmines to risk treading near.

Still, Spike seemed perfectly willing to accept her affections, and that meant that building their relationship in other ways was not off the table. And since they were in Canterlot...

Ah, there it was. The need to get up and do something. At least planning a date in Canterlot was exciting and new. Rarity smirked, pulled herself close to Spike one last time, and crawled out from beneath his grasp.

Spike lay perfectly still, his body stiff and unforgiving. The warmth of the blankets and softness of his pillow kept his mind in a groggy, lucid state. He did not want to be conscious; all he desired was to keep sleeping forever. But the discomfort of being at rest ached his mind into believing it had no other choice.

As his senses returned to him, he faintly realized the sensation of a breath across his nose. Warm and sweet, it could not have been his own.

Peeking his eyes open, he was met with the sight of two luscious blue orbs gazing brilliantly back at him. The top of Rarity’s cheeks perked happily over the bottom of her eyes as she saw Spike’s open.

“Good morning, darling.”

Spike smiled back, and sidled his nose against Rarity’s muzzle. Rarity blinked once, slowly, so her long eyelashes tickled Spike’s cheeks playfully.

“You have beautiful eyes,” mumbled Spike, though the words were hardly coherent.

Rarity’s eyes gleamed as if in response, and she smiled once more. Leaning in, she kissed him sweetly, never breaking her gaze.

Spike brought his claw up, albeit slowly due to his morning aches, and rested it on her neck. As they kissed, he stroked his fingers up and down through her short, soft fur. Rarity’s hoof rested against his chest, trailing up and down affectionately.

They lay together for close to half an hour, fiddling with one another and reveling in one another’s touch. Whenever Spike’s claw would pass over a sensitive spot on Rarity’s body, she would giggle and squirm cutely, tickled by the sharp contours of his fingers.

Rarity was careful to keep her distance; she never brought her body against his own, or hinted that their playing should continue further. Spike followed her happily, content with the simple intimacy of the moment, too groggy to desire more.

Finally, Rarity pulled her face away and laid it on the pillow next to his.

“As much as I’d love to lay here all evening,” Rarity said, biting her bottom lip with a sigh. “There’s just too much to be done! Come along, now.”

Spike blinked in confusion as Rarity shoved him playfully from his spot in the bed. He tumbled slightly over the edge, before wobbling to his feet and looking around perplexed. “What do you mean, ‘too much to be done?’”

Rarity looked over her shoulder and cocked an eyebrow. “Well, you can’t expect me to waste a free night in Canterlot confined to a single room, can you? Now come on; go have a shower!” She instructed, tugging on his arm with her magic and pushing him playfully into the restroom. “We’ll be late for our reservations unless you’re quick!”

With a final smile and a wink, she shut the door quickly before Spike could recover and ask any further questions. The night had officially begun.

Spike and Rarity walked into the restaurant, catching a nod from the attendant at the front, as if he knew that they belonged. The place was absolutely lavish; the walls were draped with satin and silk, and crystal chandeliers hung from the ceiling, casting warm low-light over the room. The room was a giant oval, and the walls on the far reaches gave out to a glass patio, stairs leading down to the beach below.

Rarity grinned as she noticed Spike looking around awkwardly and adjusting his bowtie. The crowd that they had walked into was far above his comfortable caliber-- the stallions were dressed in suits and the occasional monocle, and nearly every mare had a designer dress of some sort.

Rarity, however, wore only a dress of confidence. She strolled leisurely through the tables, her perfectly styled mane bobbing in time with her steps, followed closely by her lanky, stumbling dragon companion.

She was catching eyes. Whether they were disdainful, inquisitive, or approving, she had been around Canterlot enough times to know that it made no difference. What mattered was the impression. She stopped a waiter politely with the wave of her hoof.

“Excuse me, Sir, but could you direct us to our table? I believe the princess called in...” she said in a hushed tone, loud enough for only those at the closest table to hear. It mattered not-- immediately the table began whispering to one another, catching a smirk from Rarity. She might as well have announced her words to the whole room; in a matter of minutes, everypony within these walls would know.

The waiter nodded courteously, turning and leading them out onto the back patio. They walked up a staircase made entirely out of crystal onto the roof of the building, which housed only a single table. The table, though, was in the middle of what appeared to be a deep, crystal-clear pond. Rarity rose a brow as she realized that the water was flowing in from the lake below the patio, enchanted to flow up the side of the building like a river running in reverse. Fish swam to and fro beneath the surface, seemingly unaware of their proximity to civilization.

“Follow me,” instructed the waiter, taking a step onto the surface of the pond. A blue ring pulsed out from his step, a flashy indication that the water was enchanted to be able to be trod upon. Rarity followed his gait gracefully, smiling as she looked over his shoulder to see Spike extending a toe, as if to test if the enchantment was truly there. His face lit up in wonder as his foot pressed into the water as if it were glass. She giggled; the dragon looked as if he were about to let out a squeal of excitement as he skipped forward to catch up with them.

The two sat down on opposite sides of the pristine, marble table, and the waiter stood affably before them. “Bring us whatever the princess would have. Oh, and... something with gems for him, won’t you? Thank you kindly,” Rarity directed, dismissing him with a nod.

When he was finally gone, Spike could no longer hold his tongue. “What kind of place is this? This is amazing! You can walk on water, Rarity! I knew that was possible, but to use it as decoration? I wonder what kind of enchantments they needed to get the water to flow up the building?.” Spike sat back into the plush seat on his side of the table, pushing himself into the cushions as if he were being swallowed whole by them.

Rarity rolled her eyes, but giggled in response. “My goodness, Spike. I haven’t seen you this bubbly in years!”

Spike blinked cautiously. He pulled himself from the confines of the chair and sat up, straight back, his hands folded politely on the table. “Sorry. I got a little carried away,” he excused, pointing his nose into the air.

Rarity cocked an eyebrow and grinned, before shoving him back into his chair playfully with her magic. “Spike, if I minded, I would be down there gallivanting with the rest of those haughty pure-breeds. I’ve long since had quite enough of the prim and proper; perhaps I could deal with it years ago, but it all just seems so... fabricated.” She laughed at the irony, lifting her glass of water and taking a small sip. “My dresses provide me with enough prim and proper fabrication, thank you.”

Spike leaned forward and grinned. “Ponyville has really got to you over the years, hasn’t it?”

Rarity tossed a hoof over her shoulder playfully. “Oh, it has its charms, I suppose. Familiarity is certainly one of the reasons I decided not to move to Canterlot,” she said with a smile.

“Move to Canterlot? When were you thinking of doing that?” Spike said, somewhat aghast at the notion.

Rarity took another sip of her drink. “Well, about a year ago I got an offer from a certain Hoity Toity to move my shop to Canterlot. He remembered me from his visit, and was looking for independent designers to help kickstart his new design label. Perhaps you’re aware of it?” She asked, pointing to a skyscraper looming above Canterlot with the letters “Hoity” on it.

Spike gasped. “And you didn’t go? Why in Equestria didn’t you go?”

Rarity’s gaze turned wistful and happy in a moment. “Funny that you, of all my friends, would ask.”

Spike blinked. “What now?”

Rarity smiled sweetly. “I went to Fluttershy, and Pinkie, and Applejack, and all of the girls. They all said I should go, and that we would keep in touch somehow, but that I should follow my dreams. I agreed with them. Canterlot is close enough to Ponyville that we could still see each other.”

“So, why did you stay?” Spike asked, now perplexed.

“Well, I still had you to tell. I figured I would tell you when we were out gem searching. I knew it would be hard on you-- I could only think of what it felt like when Blueblood destroyed my dreams all those years ago,” she said, rolling her eyes, embarrassed by the memory. “But I treated that trip like it was going to be the last. And I began to notice. How helpful you were. How you made me laugh. You were always there when I needed you. I finally saw the one that I had forgotten over all these years,” she said, blushing slightly.

“You were tired at the end of the day; I stayed out as long as I could, avoiding what I knew I had to tell you. So I told myself ‘Well, I’ll tell him next time, perhaps when he’s not so tired.’” Rarity looked almost bashfully at Spike from across the table. Spike himself was slightly slack-jawed, his mind slowly processing what she was saying.

“The next time was, of course, the same. I found some excuse to say nothing, all the while, I found myself uncovering the true gem I had come across on all those trips.”

“So I gave Hoity a call. I told him that I was making quite enough in Ponyville, and that I had business yet unresolved.” Rarity shrugged. “I haven’t thought twice about it.”

Spike, however, was looking at Rarity as if she had just escaped from an insane asylum. “You gave up your dream... for me? But... what... Rarity, I’m just some dumb dragon! You gave up everything you’ve worked for on the chance that I would someday finally tell you how I feel?”

“Yes,” said Rarity with a sweet smile. “But you don’t have to be so melodramatic about it. I told you; this life isn’t for me, Spike. I spent my entire youth wishing I could be somewhere else only to find that the only place I wanted to be was right where I was.”

She looked out over the lake, and into the sun, which was inching ever closer to the horizon. “Even if coming to Canterlot would have been my ‘dream’ as a designer, what kind of pony would I be here? Without my friends? Surrounded by more of the same ‘proper’ stallions that have been courting me all my life.” She sighed. “No. This place is not my dream. The dream has been my life so far; coming here would have just been a rude awakening.”

Spike’s mouth fell slightly agape, his mind hardly able to believe that the pony who had said those words was Rarity. He couldn’t shake the feeling that the words could have come from Twilight instructing him to write a letter about the magic of friendship. His face twisted into a concerned grimace almost immediately.

“Dear...” Rarity chimed in softly, “are you quite alright?”

He shook his head, giving a crooked smile. “Yeah, everything is perfect. I...” He gulped. Why couldn’t he just let it go? He felt like banging his head against the crystal table.

Rarity looked unconvinced, frowning worriedly at him. “Spike, if something is amiss, know that you can always trust me to be a sympathetic ear. You don’t have to put on an act for me.”

He let out a dry laugh. “It’s nothing, really. You just sounded like...”

Rarity’s brows furrowed, leaning forward slightly and looking sympathetically at the dragon as she finished his words in her own mind.

Immediately, he averted his eyes, unable to bear her gaze. “Sorry,” he groaned, shaking his head. “I didn’t mean to...”

She began to open her mouth as if to speak, but Spike silenced her with a disgruntled sigh. “I’ll be right back,” he said, standing up from the table in an instant, muttering some excuse about using the restroom.

Rarity’s eyes never left Spike as he sulked across the pond and down the stairs.

Cold water rushed down Spike’s face, but not even the pure liquid from the porcelain sink could dam his self-loathing. He slammed a fist down onto the sink’s edge, groaning desperately through eyes squeezed shut.

Despite the cold water, the warmth of the fireplace on the very first night was still burned into his mind. The porcelain of the sink felt like the soft, ample flesh of her hooves, and his tense breaths felt hot, heavy, and laced with the plague-like lavender scent that permeated his better intentions.

Somehow, before he saw her again, he had to forget. He was certain he would lose everything if he couldn’t. Now that Rarity was open about her affections, Twilight’s goal was complete. If she could never trust him to look upon her as a friend again, she would have to create the distance herself. She would never leave him as a friend; she had learned too much in her years in Ponyville to ever consider that.

I... I don’t want to go! Please, Twilight... don’t leave me!

He remembered the door. She had promised she would never send him away. But now, he was older; old enough that, were he a pony with regular parents, he would be sent to live on his own soon. He knew if he was unable to withhold his advances, and rid himself of his feelings for her, it could be the end.

Why don’t you find somewhere by yourself, Spike? Start a home, and life for yourself!

He could imagine her saying the words as if the mirror reflecting his sullen eyes was Sombre’s door itself. If he had imagined it only a week ago, he might not be so frightened by the idea. All it had taken was the simple idea that she could be more than a friend. He felt more vulnerable and dependant than he ever had when he was only a dragonling.

He dropped his head sullenly into the sink once more, letting the water flow over his head, begging for divine clarity.

A hoof landed on his shoulder. Surprised, he whirled around to face the pony that had intruded onto his moment of self reflection.

The smiling face of a royal blue alicorn gazed into him. “I’ve been listening, Spike.”

“Luna?” he stammered, his eyes looking around the room as if his senses had betrayed him. “What are you doing here?”

“I told you; all you need do is ask. Sometimes, our mind does the asking whether we mean it to or not.” With a smirk, she removed her hoof from his shoulder and materialized each of them a chair, without even so much as a glow from her horn.

“How...?”

“Consider yourself in...” she smirked as she found the word. “A daydream. Being the ruler of the night comes with more than just the power to raise the moon, you know. But the methods of which I am here are simply semantics.”

“You feel so troubled that you abandon your friend who seeks only to help, and confine yourself not only to physical solitude, but trap yourself within your own self-loathing mind as well. There is more pain than simple guilt that Twilight Sparkle was wounded.”

Spike looked shamefully at the ground, pivoting himself so that he faced away from the princess. “How did you...”

“It is not by arcanery that I know your thoughts, young dragon. In truth, your actions alone have telegraphed all that needs to be presumed,” Luna asserted, taking a step forward to stand alongside Spike. “Tell me.”

Spike hesitated, turning his head slowly to look into the eyes of Luna. They seemed strong, confident, and full of experience. It was an odd look of understanding.

“I asked her to help me; I thought I needed to know what it felt like to be with somepony, and she obliged. I just never thought that...”

“You would fall in love?” she asked, with a smirk and a cock of her eyebrow.

Spike averted his eyes. “L-Love? No, I just began to look at her as if--”

A hoof landed on his chest, and he glanced into her confident gaze for a moment before continuing to look away. “Yes. Love, my dear dragon. Ponies go lifetimes without finding it. To come across it and push it away is a tragedy waiting to be written. Do you love her, Spike?”

His heart pounded in his chest. He looked away, gulping as the question bore into his mind. He opened his words to speak, but no words came forth.

“You see? Your body knows, even though your mind does not. You need not say anything at all; merely know that love is nothing to fear.” She removed her hoof from his chest, averted her eyes, and climbed back into her chair.

She waited a moment, allowing Spike to recompose himself, sit back, and look in her direction once more. “Why,” she continued, more softly now “does this cause you such distress, my dear subject?”

“She... she can’t know,” he spat out, clenching his eyes shut as if saying the words wounded him. “She doesn’t feel the same way. She was just helping me, and I pushed her to even do that. If she knows, she may never look at our friendship the same way ever again. I can’t risk pushing her away... even a little.”

Spike sighed and slumped over in his seat. “What’s even worse is that Rarity picks now, of all times, to finally be interested in me. And... she’s... she’s everything I ever dreamed of. She’s gorgeous, and understanding, and down to earth, and wise, and I’m sitting there like an idiot moaning and pouting, completely wrapped up in my own thoughts. I want to be here with her. For years, I’ve waited for this day, and I’m the one ruining it.”

Luna’s eyes finally relented to a sympathetic form, and she gave a single nod. “I understand the feeling, Spike. Tell me; when did your affections for Rarity begin?”

Leaning back, Spike turned his thoughts to the past. A smile creeped over his face as the memories came to him easily. “I remember my first day in Ponyville. Looking back on it, it was the best day of my life. I met Rarity as we walked into her shop for the first time, and I immediately knew I was looking upon the most beautiful pony I had ever seen. I remember watching her as she fixed Twilight’s hair; the way her hooves moved was a magic I’d never seen before.”

Leaning back into his chair, he ran his claws through over his head, letting out a sigh and a chuckle. “I woke up the next morning, and all five were closer friends than Twilight had ever had before. And it was all in one night. Twilight told me everything and I felt so stupid for falling asleep and missing it all... but the real friendships were forged in the years to come. Every time Rarity would ask me to help her find gems, I’d wake up hours early, doing whatever I could to get as ready as possible. At first, it was a foolish affection; she was pretty, and that was it.”

“Things started to change when I gave her that fire ruby. That whole day was... such a mess. I still remember how she looked when we were falling from the sky. And after everything that I had done, she never even once held it against me. Every day I saw her, I told myself I could do it-- that I just had to be patient. I guess... I was more right than I thought.”

Luna gave a nod. “Do you love her, Spike?” she asked softly after a moment of hesitation.

His body and mind once again screamed ‘yes’, urging him to lean forward and destroy any doubts that the question harbored. Instead, he simply sat looking at the princess, and did not answer.

“Good. No answer at all is sometimes the best answer we can give. However...” Luna’s words trailed off and she closed her eyes briefly. She breathed a long, deep breath before continuing.

“Millenia ago I knew the same strife you know now. One might think an Alicorn finding love should be impossible; so many years creates such great distance, to truly connect might seem impossible.” She opened her eyes, looking once again determined and serious. “The heart, however, does not play by rules.”

“All those years ago, my heart was torn between a stallion by the name of Star Dancer and a mare by the name of Night Glider. For years, I remained friends with both, my heart longing to pursue, but my mind indecisive and concerned. After years of friendship, and promises left to the ages, Night Glider confronted me. She told me she would wait however long it took, but she asked why I hesitated so. I told her everything.”

Luna took another breath, her face twisting into a visage of pain. “That night, she lept from the castle walls with her wings tied to her sides.”

Spike’s eyes widened and he gasped in horror.

“I found a note. She could never ask me to choose. She wanted me to find true happiness. It was only in the face of such tragedy that my mind finally heard the message my heart had been trying to send all those years.”

“My heart grew cold and dark for many years. The seeds of darkness found refuge in my mind. My strife knew no end.” Luna glared darkly into Spike’s eyes from behind her mane. “I toiled endlessly, never knowing respite of mortal death, despite all my attempts to find it.” Her soft voice quivered in fear. “And now all the ponies in the land know the ending to the story, told in fairy tales and retold in nightmares. I am cursed to watch each and every time a foal jerks awake, terrified of the face I once called my own.”

Luna leaned forward, planting her hooves on the ground, her metal shoes chiming eerily against the bathroom floor. “The heart can destroy you, Spike.” She grinned, her teeth sharp and vicious. Her coat turned black in an instant, and her mane twisted horribly into an evil, familiar cloud. Nightmare Moon let out an awful cackle.

“Do not betray your heart.”

In a cold flash, water from the faucet poured over Spike’s head, and he jerked upwards into the faucet uncontrollably.

“Sir, are you quite alright?” asked a gentlecolt who had entered only a moment before, looking worriedly upon the dragon.

Spike’s breathing came heavy and ragged as he recovered from the image of Nightmare Moon burned into his mind. “Y-Yeah. Thanks.” He rubbed his head where it collided with the hard faucet and turned back to look into the mirror.

The heart can destroy you. The words echoed through his mind. With a determined look, he found new fire in the green eyes that stared back at him.

It was time to choose.

Author's Note

God, you guys must hate me by now. Exposition, character building, more exposition aaah!!!! When are we going to get to the interesting bits?!

Next, I would theorize. I only hope it won't take me three weeks to write like this chapter did (though I did so battling midterms as well), but I promise that, next time, the flames will rise once more.

Thank you all for your tremendous support. I absolutely adore every comment that you spend your time to give me, and I try my best to respond to each meaningful bit you guys throw in.

Special thanks, as always, to Khakispony for being a wonderful fresh set of eyes and an ever-diligent proofreader.
Special thanks for this chapter specifically to Artimae for lending his eyes and criticisms.

Love,
Idylia

Ignite

"Rarity!" She heard her name suddenly from behind her, turning her head in automatic response.

Spike stood across the pond, his eyes locked firmly on hers. The sun was directly behind him, casting an orange aura-like corona around his slender form. His cheeks perked happily over the bottom of his eyes, his toothy grin reminiscent of his days as a young dragon. This was a real smile; the first he had shown in days. She opened her mouth to question his sudden approach, but was silenced as he lifted his arm.

"Come here," he instructed playfully, curling a finger to punctuate his words.

Rarity blinked twice, but stood up from her seat without another word. She made her way across the pond slowly, smiling curiously at the dragon as she approached. His eyes never looked away. Once again she opened her mouth to speak, but was interrupted by a wag of his finger. He bowed down, extending his arm to her, and saying "Your hoof, please."

Rarity cocked an eyebrow, but raised her hoof into his claw. At once, she was pulled onto her hind-legs, the crest of her torso against his own. Their eyes were locked now inches from one another. Rarity felt her heart flutter as he brought his claw up, and ran it through her mane.

"I'm back," he whispered.

"Oh... b-be quiet and just kiss me already," she bumbled, her face flushing red.

They closed their eyes in unison as their lips met. Her shoulders rose as she inhaled a contented sigh. She pushed herself against him, squeezing him as if he were a plush pillow after days of fatigue. Their lips never parted, the kiss carrying a message weightier than all the simple desires she had ever battled before. She shivered in bliss. His lips on hers; his fingers in her hair-- the sensations were pure enough to clear her mind, as if falling into the beginning of the deepest of slumbers.

As the kiss ended, and as she was pulling herself back, she opened her eyes once more. As soon as her eyes met his once more, her heart and mind seemed to stop in unison.

Love. She had entertained fantasies of it for ages, but the moment in front of her exemplified those fantasies in ways she could never have imagined.

At once, her mind recoiled, shoving the notion out of her head. It had only been two days. It was impossible. Unladylike.

Yes, her mind decided as she finally caught her breath and regained her composure. Not love; only the possibility of it.

Her mind, however, had tried build a bridge with a pair of scissors; the heart was the tool for the job. And, looking over Spike as he gazed down into her eyes, his embrace as unwavering as his eyes, the heart knew it had decided.

Rarity's face was still flushed as she dropped to four hooves once more. Soft violin music echoed forth from downstairs, accompanied shortly by a concerto of other sounds. The band had begun to play.

"Great. They're right on time." Spike grinned, and took a couple steps down the stairs.

Rarity stood, cocking her head in confusion. "You mean there's more?"

He looked over his shoulder. "There's always more," he said with a grin. "Now come on!"

Rarity blinked in astonished disbelief, but followed him down the crystal steps of the building. Descending the final steps, she emerged into a beautiful dreamscape of color. A band of six ponies played on the rim of the patio of the restaurant. The lakeside behind them glowed an unthinkable array of colors, as if each droplet of the water had an identity of its own. A team of unicorns stood on the beach below, commanding the water to change color in waves, to rise in pillars, and to make sculptures as if it were alive and dancing to the music.

Her sapphire eyes were only a single set in a sea of astonished spectators from the restaurant proper. Mouth agape slightly, she was transfixed on the spectacle until a claw inched into her scope of vision. Spike stood at the center of the patio, his arm extended, beckoning her onwards once more.

Her trance re-fixated onto Spike. The sea of eyes that looked past them held no consequence. She walked in almost a groggy stupor to meet him in the center. "How..." she whispered, as if the air had been knocked from her lungs.

Spike responded only with a grin. "Come on. It's time to give these Canterlot prudes a taste of real class." He bowed down and presented a claw. "Dance with me?"

For the first time all evening, Rarity's look of confidence melted as she looked bewildered up at Spike. "Spike... I don't know how to dance with a Dragon," she mumbled.

"And I don't know how to dance at all. We're sure to look like fools." He winked, and curled a finger. "But it's the impression that counts."

Rarity blinked, cocking her head and thinking for a moment. In a single moment, her look of unsure confusion transformed spectacularly into an uncharacteristic grin of confidence.

She flipped her hair, and gave Spike her hoof, giving a half-second glance to the curious onlookers. Spike pulled her onto her hind legs again, and took both her hooves in his hands. The band took immediate notice, transitioning their song quickly into something slower and more rhythmic.

Spike took a step forward, and Rarity moved back, pivoting on the first chord. Spike squeezed her hoof, and led her across the stage in strafing strides. Sensing that Rarity was beginning to buckle, Spike pulled her close against him and supported her with his own body. The first minute was filled with awkward steps, off-balance support, and legs twisting around one another.

Suddenly Rarity's face lit up. "Griffons! Griffons dance upright! Spike, twist me!" she whispered hurriedly.

Letting go of one hoof, Spike stepped away from Rarity and flung her with his other arm. At once, he could tell the force was too much. Unable to hold on, Rarity was sent reeling 180 degrees.

As soon as his hand left her hoof, he felt the tingle of magic wrap around him. His arms were pulled behind him, and he felt his leg move a step to the right. Rarity's hooves found his hands once more, and her twist came to an end as she was perfectly back to back with the dragon.

A gasp echoed forth from the crowd as the maneuver finished in a fantastic display of boisterous incompetence. As if on cue, a Stallion stood up, smiling a confident smile and leading his date to the dance floor. Rarity gasped slightly as the Stallion stood upright, pulling his date up with him so they were upright, hoof to hoof. The crowd began to murmur as they too began an awkward, upright dance.

Spike twisted Rarity once more, this time anticipating the force and pulling her easily around to face him again. She was grinning, and her eyes looked over to the crowd. More couples were coming, now. Soon there were four, with another coming, an odd sense of confidence established from the examples before them.

Before long, the patio was filled with the patrons of the restaurant. The water from the lake shot up as the music reached a crescendo, and rippled in artfully excited tension when the song shifted once more.

Spike, however, had hardly noticed the crowd and the over-elegant waterworks behind them. His eyes were transfixed on Rarity's, and her reciprocal gaze was equally as unbroken. As they danced, he pulled her ever so slightly closer to him, until their bodies were pressed together.

He could feel her heart beating through her chest. She draped her hooves around his shoulders, and pressed her nose against his own. Pursed slightly, her smile radiated pure joy. It was wider than Spike had ever seen before.

"I thought I told you that over-dramatic gallivanting didn't interest me anymore," Rarity teased, her words an effervescent whisper, barely audible above the stomping of hooves.

He grinned. "Well it's a good thing Applejack's the element of honesty."

"Besides. How could I expect anypony to completely abandon the things they loved before?" He gazed into her, his green eyes half-lidded and sincere. "I never abandoned you."

Rarity's eyes widened, her mouth opening as if to gasp, but failing even to do that. She tried to speak, but was unable to summon forth any words at all. Instead, she squeezed him tightly and threw herself against him in a passionate kiss. The ponies continued their dance around them, but Spike and Rarity stood unmoving in the center of the pulsing crowd.

Tears formed at the edges of her upright cheeks and trickled down Rarity's face as the world outside melted away.

By the time they came back to their table, their dinner was cold. Refusing the insistence of the waiter to return with another hot meal, they ate in comfortable silence, simply finishing as quickly as possible. Mentioning the beach, the two descended the staircase to the lake below, and walked directionless, the sand of the shore beneath their feet.

Finally Rarity stopped. The music was a distant hum, and the sun was finally setting. She sat in the sand, and patted the spot next to her expectantly.

At once, their faces were pressed together again, the ecstasy of the moments before still bouncing through their minds. Rarity's lips were soft, but undyingly hungry, pushing against his in fervent passion. She opened her mouth, and shivered as their tongues met, pulling against him as if begging for warmth that only he could provide.

His claw wrapped softly around her cheek and the back of her neck. He felt a tingle of magic on his other hand as it was guided slowly to her flank. He squeezed, kneading her cutie mark with his claw. She shook as if shocked by electricity, and moaned pleadingly through their kiss. Her chest expanded as she pulled in a deep breath, shifting herself atop him and moving his other hand to her flanks.

She opened her eyes a sliver, and stopped kissing him, causing him to open his. She pressed herself against him, and he felt a hot wetness on the shaft of his member.

Her inhibitions had all but evaporated. "Spike... I need you to--"

A flash sounded behind the pair, interrupting Rarity mid sentence. Shocked and wide eyed, she looked up over Spike's shoulder. She gazed into equally surprised looking turquoise eyes, glowing back at her.

"We... We are sorry! Uhm... We will... I will leave now!" sputtered Luna, stepping back and looking away.

Rarity practically jumped off Spike, sitting upright in the sand next to him. Spike twisted around, looking over his shoulder. "Wait!" Rarity called, just as Luna's horn was beginning to glow.

Luna glanced back for just a second to see the two separated. "We... I... uh... apologize for the sudden intrusion," she said slowly, as if trying to find the words.

Rarity sighed, shaking her head. "Don't be. I'm sure if you're here, it's for an important reason."

Luna's eyes darted back and forth. "Yes... but I am not sure you would care to hear it, given... circumstance."

Spike cocked an eyebrow in indignant annoyance. "Well, you're already here. No use in waiting now, right?"

Luna nodded after a moment of hesitation. "If you say so," she said with a sigh. "It is only... It appears as if Celestia has gifted your Twilight with her own brand of miracle. Such is why she was kept from Canterlot all day. The process often takes many hours, especially for wounds of such magnitude."

"So... are you saying that Twilight is completely healed, now?" Rarity asked, her mouth dropping open in disbelief.

"Indeed. Twilight Sparkle is back to her old self," Luna said, nodding and tossing a slight smile Spike's way. He simply stared back.

"Understood. We will leave at once," said Rarity, picking herself up off the sand and beginning to brush herself of with a hoof.

Spike looked over at her, raising a claw and opening his mouth to protest. An immediate glance from Rarity silenced him.

Luna cocked an eyebrow. "In any case, that's it. I extend my apologies once more for barging in. Have a nice trip, then." Luna finished, turning around and disappearing once more in a flash.

"Rarity, we don't have to go back now," Spike pleaded at once, sitting upright.

Rarity sighed. "I know we don't have to. I'm certain we need to."

"Why? Everything is fine. I want to be here, with you," he pleaded.

Rarity turned to look over her shoulder at Spike. "Do you remember what you felt like on the way here this morning?" She relented her words for a moment, and stepped over to where Spike sat in the sand. "That was as real as anything that's happened tonight."

"I'd be lying if I said I didn't want to forget that just happened, at least for tonight. I feel the exact way you do, Spike. But we can have all of this again. Any time you want." She sighed, and dropped her gaze to the ground. "But I remember what you were like this morning. I cant to be the one keeping you from whatever you have to say in apology. It's simply not something I will allow. Twilight is awake and ready to hear it, now, and the sooner you fix that, the sooner we can come back to this."

Spike's eyes narrowed. He wanted to disagree, to fight back, but he couldn't open his mouth. He had pushed Twilight out of his mind since Luna had asked him to choose, but that didn't mean he didn't owe her an explanation, and it certainly didn't mean he had forgotten. "You're right," he said with a sigh.

"Wonderful. Now come on; we have a train to catch."

Twilight Sparkle awoke from what seemed like the deepest sleep she had ever had. Orange light from the afternoon slanted down onto her face and had slowly tantalized her awake. Yawning deeply, she opened her eyes a crack, finding them heavy from after-sleep.

At once, things seemed off. She was in Fluttershy's room; she recognized it almost immediately. But the details as to why eluded her in her waking fatigue. The quilted blankets piled atop her were heavy as she pushed them aside, and crawled up into an upright position.

It was as if some feeling she had grown to know intimately had vanished overnight. Slowly, carefully, she retraced her thoughts. She had woken up. She had done her morning errands. She had read a book. Then in the evening, she...

The memories of the date came back to her. An image of Spike atop a moonlit hill shot to the forefront of her mind, and the film continued agonizingly through to the very last step, collapsing onto Fluttershy's door.

Oh. Questions assaulted her at once. How many days had it been? Was Spike alright? How had she been eating? She jumped from the bed, landing on her hooves, only to fall to her knees as she felt them wobble beneath her weight. Her legs felt like she hadn't used them in months. Her front hoof met the bedside, propping her up as she readjusted to the weakness. After some slow, steady steps, she found the front door.

She opened it with a small creak, her jaw dropping at the sight before her. Princess Celestia was sprawled out on Fluttershy's couch, her breath rising and falling shortly as she slept. Head cocked in disbelief, she made her way out of the bedroom and into the house, new questions seeming to pop up with every step of her hoof.

She slowly made her way to the kitchen, looking out the window and seeing Fluttershy tending her animals outside. Fluttershy glanced back through the window, and gasped, her eyes going wide.

Faster than she had ever moved before, the pegasus flew through her front door and over to Twilight. "Oh my, you're awake! This is amazing! I can't believe it!" she blurted out excitedly, flying into her friend and picking her up for a hug. "Your leg!" she gasped, letting Twilight down and looking at the subject of her sudden disbelief. "It's... it's fully healed!"

"Mhm." Twilight said with a short yawn, passing it off at once as if it were some common matter. "How long has it been, Fluttershy? I feel like I've been asleep for days," Twilight asked softly, punctuating her words with a slight wobble. She found the nearest chair and sat down, feeling her body relax and stopping the slight spinning of her head.

"Oh, my... that's the thing, Twilight. It's only been one day! You... your leg was the worst I had ever seen! It should have taken at least a couple months to heal!" Fluttershy's eyes went wide, peeking her head around the corner and looking over to the alicorn that slept in her living room. "I had no idea that Celestia was capable of anything like this..." she said in an amazed whisper.

Twilight frowned, furling her eyebrows into a frustrated look. "One... day?" she said, sighing. "No, Celestia doesn't heal her subjects. She has a rule against it. If she did, she would have to spend all day every day doing so. She says her subjects must not rely on their ruler to solve all of their problems for them."

Fluttershy blinked, looking to her friend. "Well, I guess she made an exception."

Twilight moved her rear leg experimentally, still unconvinced. "I do seem to be suffering from some muscle atrophy... which is characteristic of healing spells, especially of this magnitude. But... if I was going to heal anyways, why would she..."

A cough resounded from the living room. Twilight and Fluttershy both turned their heads in unison, eyes wide. Celestia was peering at them through nearly-shut eyes. "Come here," she said, her voice breathy, as if some great weight sat upon her chest. At once, Twilight and Fluttershy ran to her side.

"My faithful student..." she whispered, lying her head back and closing her eyes. "You would never have walked again."

Fluttershy's eyes went wide, as she let out a gasp, but Twilight only narrowed her eyes, trying to take in the message to come.

"I healed you, not because you are a subject, but because you are my friend. Were this public, the ponies would scream in anger that I have made a terrible mistake, playing favorites. I would have to agree," she said with a slight chuckle. "I could not bear the idea of such sacrifice to ensure the safety of your friend. I remember what I took away from my own sister, all those years ago, in the name of my people."

A tear fell from her eyes. "But more than anything, I could not bear the thought that one I loved so dearly would have to embrace agony for the rest of their days. Surely there have been hundreds that have been through worse. I have made a mistake; I have favored you over the lives of so many others, and that is unjust."

Celestia opened her eyes again, looking straight at Twilight through eyes glistening with tears. "And I would do it one hundred times again."

Twilight smiled back. "I don't know how I'll ever be able to thank you," she said, her voice cracking slightly.

Celestia closed her eyes. "Let me rest," she said, as if pleading the pony to go. "It has long since been I called upon such echelons of my magic. I am not still an athlete, and yet I have run a marathon against the aches and moans of my own body. I need some precious hours of sleep before I'll be able to sit on a throne again."

"More importantly, see your friends. I... I did this in trust that you will craft a beautiful lifetime with those you care about. You... you may soon find that a lifetime is not as long as it seems to be."

"I understand," Twilight said softly, standing up and retreating back to the kitchen with Fluttershy. Her questions could wait; there was one who she needed to see.

"Fluttershy, where's Spike?"

The train-car was uncharacteristically empty, meandering forth into the night with humble pace, as if it knew that the week was over. Rarity smirked; of course the train was empty. What canterlotian in their right mind would travel to Ponyville at the beginning of their weekend?

She peered out the window into the night sky. Since they had begun walking, she had regretted every word she said, her desire beating on the gates of her self control. Her mind swam with scenarios in which she had not, and with ways she could veer off the road her words had placed her on.

The train; she had made it to the train. There was no stopping, and she could finally breathe a sigh of relief as the burden of choice was lifted off her shoulders.

The sigh, however, had not come. Instead, she shook and shivered, her body once again betraying her mind's plea for relaxation. She had hardly said a word the whole way, and sat silently, contained within her own mind.

The worst was the knowledge that Spike was under the same chemical spell as she. His eyes had hardly left her the entire way to the train station, and he had adopted a similar oath of silence. Yet, here they sat, close but entirely separated, the sheer primal presence doing what years of friendship could not.

She felt a claw land on her back, and she shivered, reveling in the touch as if she had slipped hoof-first into her own steaming bathtub. Agonizingly, his claw ran up and down the ridges of her back. Rarity knew Spike was aware of what he was doing; the infrequent shivers in response were ample enough notification. She wanted to speak, but she was yet afraid she could only beg as a champion of her own desire.

Spike blinked as Rarity finally turned to look back at him. Her brows were slanted upwards, her eyes wide and pleading. Trying to dam the flood of suggestions was over; he was here, Rarity was here, and they were alone. Her eyes spoke as if she was yet unsure, but Spike could only gaze upon her as if she were a paragon of beauty.

Shaking, Rarity looked away, unable to bear the continued longing gaze. She tried fruitlessly to find another object to distract her eyes with, but finally settled on simply closing them. She felt Spike's body touch her own as he slowly, agonizingly, lay himself against her. Like a wave, his breath poured over her snout in short, unrestricted bursts. She could take no more.

Rarity jumped forward and threw her hooves around Spike, pulling herself against him as her mouth found his. She let out a moan of relief as her lips parted and their tongues found eachother, clashing fervently, warriors of passion locked in combat to the death. His tongue was long, and forked, and tickled all the right places, and she could only moan her approval deeply and press herself into him. He began to run his claw through her mane, and moved his mouth to her neck, immediately pressing himself onto it and sucking hard. Lightning bolts of ecstasy shot through her body, and she writhed in pleasure. She moaned freely, and loud, as if celebrating the fact that nopony was in earshot.

He ran his tongue along her neck, allowing Rarity to calm down from the suckles that had sent her reeling just before. He found every nook of her neck, leaving a trail of approval in her short fur wherever he explored. Then, just as her breaths were beginning to normalize again, he all but bit down and suckled on a spot just above the crook of her neck. Rarity let out an approving yelp, and shook once more beneath his grasp.

Finally, Spike pulled back and inhaled a deep breath of faint vanilla, overpowered by Rarity's enthralling arousal. She opened her eyes a sliver, gazing lustfully into his whist literally panting her approval, fogging the window above the seat she was sprawled on. His eyes ran over her, taking in her lustful gaze, her ruffled neck, her expanding chest, and finally her glistening marehood. His eyes lingered, and Rarity took notice, shifting her legs further apart so he could see the fruits of his labor. She smiled, her eyes still open but a sliver, and finally Spike's eyes returned to her face, laying himself against her once more.

Now he kissed her slowly, parting his lips slowly, and breathing in through the kiss as to take her breath into his own. Apprehensively, he moved down to her neck, planting sweet, ginger kisses down the slender form of it, eliciting a shiver in remembrance from Rarity.

Rarity felt his hand move from her cheek, and down the side of her body, tickling it with the edges of his angular claws, down her chest, and to her flank. He squeezed her flank a single, soft, time, before moving around it, to the front of her loins, and down over her marehood. He pressed the base of his thumb down onto her nether-lips, eliciting an excited shiver from Rarity. At once he found just how wet they were, feeling the slick fluid coat his thumb as he ran it up and down the entrance. Gasping softly, Rarity closed her eyes and leaned her head back against the seat. His thumb pushed between her lips, letting out a pool of arousal that had collected behind them, coating his hand with a warm, viscous layer of the liquid. Moaning, she rocked her hips against his touch, writhing as if tortured by his slow progress.

Sweetly, he planted kisses one by one down the frame of her body, finishing with a kiss onto the wet lips of her arousal. His lips only teased her, drawing a shudder of anticipation out of the desperate mare. After a moment of hesitation, Spike plunged his tongue deep between her lips, drawing a single, long, slow lick up the length of her marehood, and Rarity let out an equally drawn out moan, her hooves writhing and pressing against the seat frame next to her.

The time for teasing was over. Spike buried his forked tongue deep into the folds of Rarity's marehood, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath in through his nostrils. Using the forked ends of his tongue, he ran rings around her inner lips, licking up all the wetness there for it to be replaced only moments later. Rarity's body buckled in pleasure, letting out loud yelps each time she exhaled. She pressed her hooves onto Spike's head, pulling him forth in the throes of desire.

Letting out pants of excitement, Spike guidelessly lapped at Rarity's arousal; his inexperience showed, but the tension Rarity had built over the evening was more than enough to make up for it. Still, Rarity's body burned for more, and she brought one of her hooves over her own opening and pressed it down gently against the nub at the top of her marehood. Lightning shot through her body, her clitoris pulsing sheer euphoria into her. Her mind ached, begging her to grind all she was worth into it and find release already, but Rarity held off, rubbing it gently and letting the feeling rise slowly.

Fervently, Spike matched the rhythms of his licks with the bucking of Rarity's hips. Thoughtlessly, his hands wrapped around her and squeezed her flanks, pressing her entire arousal against his angular snout. Her own marejuice was leaking out, running down her thighs in warm streams, and dripping onto the seat below. Spike wanted to pull back, and lick it all up, but he sensed that pulling away now would be tortuous for his partner.

Rarity's yelps grew into deep, gutteral moans of pleasure, and the rocking of her hips became more and more violent. Half-worried that the conductor 5 train cars away would hear, she removed her hoof from Spike's head and stuffed it into her own mouth, biting down to stifle her screams.

In a final act of gusto, Spike pressed his snout as far into her as he could manage, and pushed his long tongue out as far as it would go.

His tongue had flicked her most sensitive spot. Immediately, Rarity spasmed and arched her back at being so deeply pleasured. Spike continued, fervently, and Rarity felt her pleasure begin to reach it's apex.

She felt her body shake and spasm and, like a tsunami finally cresting, she evicted her lungs of all air as her orgasm finally hit her.

Her body shook in waves as her nether-lips clenched, and her legs streched wildly as she screamed into her hoof. She could feel her own juice pushed out from her marehood, flowing down her flanks in rivers. Her back arched, and time seemed to slow to a crawl. Finally, she was able to inhale again, but almost as quickly as the breath came, it was gone again in a high pitched, girlish moan.

Spike felt Rarity's marehood clench around his tongue, and continued licking through her orgasm, lapping up the juices that came with it. She rode out her orgasm, the sweet, girlish screams plateuing eventually downwards, until she simply lay there, panting.

Spike pulled his face back from Rarity's loins, looking over the mess they had made; a small pool of her juice had leaked down her curved flanks in rivers onto the seat below. Her thighs shuddered every once in a while in aftershock, her juice still dribbling out of between her lips.

For the first time since they had began, his concentration let up long enough to realize his own burning arousal. His member was rock hard, sandwiched between him and the seat, and was leaking precum. It painfully ached, as if jealous of the release Rarity had found.

Rarity opened her eyes after many moments of laboured breathing, and she looked at Spike, who's eyes were locked solely on the mess below her own arousal. Rarity flushed red, noticing his mouth was still drenched in her own juice.

"I..." she breathed, averting her eyes to look away from Spike's face. "I hope I didn't taste too--"

Spike's lips were against hers in a deep kiss, pushing his tongue into her own. Her eyes went wide as she tasted herself for the first time; it was sweet, and not altogether unpleasant, but unlike anything she had tasted before.

Spike moaned his arousal into her as he pushed her lips open with his own, his hands caressing her shaking body, unable to refrain from the urges his instincts were shouting into his ears.

"Oh...mmph," Rarity began to say, interrupted by his kisses, "my, mm..."

He finally pulled back, realizing she was trying to speak through the barrage of kisses, and Rarity gave the dragon a grin.

"Someone's still a bit excited, aren't they?" she teased, pushing a hoof into his chest, and leaning forward to press her body against his. Her hoof ran down the front of his body before finding itself pressed against Spike's alert member.

"Well, what kind of lady would I be if I were not to return a favor?" she purred, grinning and pressing Spike back against the seat. She brought her muzzle down to his member, looking past the upright thing and into Spike's eyes. "Would you like that, Spike?"

Spike only groaned in approval, his eyes wide and shaking as the stared into Rarity's.

Rarity opened her mouth, placing her wide tongue at the base of his member. As slowly as her still-twitching muscles would allow, she brought her head up, giving the thing one long lick and collecting the precum on the tip of her tongue.

She grinned, and rolled her tongue back into her mouth. Dragon spunk tasted very mushroomy, she decided. Much better than the salt-covered bitter stuff of her own race. As it rolled down her throat, she almost couldn't wait to taste more, and her the way she batted her eyelashed conveyed the message to Spike as curtly as body language would allow.

She opened her mouth again, positioning herself at the top of the thing, and prepared to go down on it.

Shreeeeiik. The train came to a stop, and Rarity and Spike's momentum carried them into the seat in front of them with an untimely crash.

Rarity yelped in surprise, jumping up at once as to not crush Spike under her. Spike, however, just lay there, not moving whatsoever. "Spike?" Rarity asked, standing over him awkwardly. "Are you quite alright?"

Spike only groaned a long, desperate, pitiful groan. Rarity had to stifle a giggle. "I... I know. I know!" she exclaimed breathlessly. "But come on; get up! The conductor is going to come back here to make sure the train is cleared out, and I think the last thing he wants to see is a grown, frustrated, and... um... frisky dragon."

Spike pushed himself off the ground and put a claw against his face. Rarity was beginning to wonder if he was actually capable of speaking.

Hesitantly, he grabbed his bag from the carriage above, shot a look of pure despair to Rarity, and began walking.

Rarity looked around cautiously; she couldn't really expect Spike's arousal to just suddenly go away, but she wasn't sure if the ponies outside would handle seeing it. Or assume from seeing it. Thankfully, it was already late evening, and there were no ponies whatsoever outside the station.

The two walked down the steps, both their heads darting back and forth, looking out for anypony that might be in the area. But when they made it to the beginning of town, they breathed a sigh of relief, seeing that Ponyville was, characteristically, deserted this evening.

Rarity looked over at the dragon, eyebrows raised and sympathetic. "I..." she began to say, but Spike just began to walk away.

"You're... you're welcome to spend the night with me, Spike! I can't imagine leaving you like--" she blurted out, taking a step towards the dragon.

He turned, and cocked an eyebrow, a cocky grin on his face. "Tomorrow," he said, uttering his first word since they had left the beach hours ago.

With that, he turned and walked away, grumbling something about his luck, and the cruelty of whichever horrible god that was doing this to him.

Rarity stood flabbergasted. It was the first time anyone, or anypony had refused. She was... should she be proud? Offended? She sighed, and decided only on a shake of her head.

She began the walk back to Carousel Boutique alone.

Spike stood at the door of the Library, shaking with indescision. The lights inside were on. She was home, and still awake.

He looked down, realizing that the three minute walk from the train station had not done his visible arousal any good. Try as he might, he could not flush thoughts of Rarity out of his mind, and the late-spring air was not even close to cold enough to do the job for him.

He dreaded the thought of walking inside in his current state, but he knew he could not walk away or wait much longer to see Twilight awake and well. He had too much to say to put it off much further.

With a sigh, he looked at his bag. It was his only salvation.

With a gulp, he positioned the bag awkwardly over his loins and opened the door to the inside of the tree.

Author's Note

Oh, Spike, I feel so bad for you. If I ever found the guy who was responsible for getting continuously interrupted JUST when things were getting started, I'd clock him.

"You mean there's more?"

He looked over his shoulder. "There's always more," he said with a grin. "Now come on!"

Ablaze

Inside the oaken Ponyville library sat Twilight Sparkle, resting in front of the fireplace after a long day visiting her closest friends. She could pay no attention to the book she was reading, gaze wandering with her errant mind as a thought scratched at the back of her brain. Shouldn't Spike have been home by now...?

As if in orchestrated response, a figure moved into the scope of the front door's window and caught her attention. As her eyes fell over the lanky dragon standing before the doorway, Twilight felt her heart flutter in nervous glee. Though it had been just a single day since she had seen him, it was time enough to remember the night before a hundred times over. As Spike stood awkwardly fidgeting in front of the door, hesitating to enter, she couldn't help but wonder if he had done some thinking of his own.

The memories enchanted her mind like a sweet flowery breeze on a summer's day: Spike's green eyes staring down into hers; the warm pressure of his body; hooves wrapped around him in content. She shivered in excitement, the sensations of the moment lingering even still.

Why, then, had she pushed him away? Fear had plagued her mind; what if nothing was ever the same? She couldn't bear to lose her closest friend. But she had enjoyed it, almost dangerously so. Every moment they were close was like a crack of lightning, frightening and yet beautiful.

And now, the moments finally faced with resolution. If he and Rarity had finally found happiness together, there was no hope for her. What if he thought of her differently now? What if he never wanted to be so close again?

Though she sat in front of a fire, she trembled, the doubts assaulting her in an inopportune wave of grief and panic. Calm down, Twilight. Get yourself together. This is.... this is your friend, not a test. A part of her wished it was the latter.

Click.

The door swung open, taking Twilight's breath of anticipation with it. Her head shot up, eyes fixed on the threshold, body still shaking tremendously.

Spike stepped through, his eyes locking immediately on hers. Immediately, his stride stopped, shocked into submission by Twilight's gaze. He looked at her through wide, unsure eyes, as if in disbelief of what he saw. His mouth opened slightly, but no words came.

Twilight only stared back, blinking once, taking in the sight of her friend proper. Still, she shook, but a bubble-like swell began to rise from her chest. Finally, Spike stood before her. Finally, she beamed a wide smile.

"Spike!"

"Twilight!"

Just as the word left her mouth, she skipped up from her seat and ran to meet him. With a leap up onto her hind legs, she hugged the running dragon. Her hooves wrapped around him as tight as she could muster, and she closed her eyes as she pressed her cheek against his, still smiling in glee.

Spike immediately regretted getting caught up in the embrace. His only defense, the bag, had been flung astray, and Twilight pressed painfully against him. Try as he might, he could not cut the hug short. Surrendering, he tossed his arms around her, praying to whichever divinity watched over him that she would not notice.

Twilight noticed the hot bulge against her belly only moments after she had tightly pulled him in. She blinked, flushing red immediately, but Spike's arms around her removed any chance of avoiding the confrontation.

"I... I'm so glad you're home!" she exclaimed after a moment, hoping desperately to call attention to anything else at all.

Spike coughed awkwardly, removing his arms from around her, nodding. "I... uh... I'm just glad to see you!"

You don't say... her mind replied, her face turning even redder than before and forcing a giggle from her. She pulled back and hopped down, catching a glance of his arousal before turning away in embarrassment.

Hearing the giggle, Spike groaned, realizing what he had said, trying to reprimand the situation by saying "S...Sorr-"

"Would you like some dinner?!" Twilight blurted out suddenly, skipping over to the kitchen and beginning to shuffle through the drawers in a frantic haste.

"D..." Spike started to say, pausing and allowing his brain to tick. "Dinner? Twilight it's uh... it's nearly midnight."

"Oh. W-Well, I know that, of course! I was just thinking... we... we've got some catching up to do, right?" she mumbled from across the room, burying her face behind the counter to hide her flushed face. "You... you catch up over dinner, right?"

"I... guess?" he said, staring incredulously at Twilight from across the room.

"Great! I'll... uh... I'll get some salad! Just sit right down, then!" she chirped, too sweet to be Twilight, and too quickly to be comfortable. Spike groaned internally, glad at least that she wasn't asking him to explain himself to her. He stumbled slowly over to the fireplace, moving his bag back over his loins, and sat down.

Twilight took a deep breath, halting her rummaging to allow her brain to recoil. He... he was... why was he? Well, at least the nervousness had been shocked out of her. Inside her burned a curious flame, proud in a shameful way, but confused above all. Maybe... maybe he was nervous to see her too?

Maybe... maybe he had remembered their night together? Had he... liked it? Like she did? She pulled out a bag of salad, prepared from a night prior, and began pouring it into bowls to clear her mind. She poured the salad from the bags, into the bowls, and back into the bag as many times as it took to be able to think clearly again.

No matter what the cause, it didn't change how she felt. She had always been taught it was psychologically damaging to keep feelings to oneself, especially ones so tumultuous. Considering the situation reasonably, there was hardly a chance Spike would abandon her friendship simply for admitting that she enjoyed not being alone.

Yes... she didn't have to tell him everything. Perhaps even just hint to it. But the curious flame nagged at her to know more; how would he react? How had he felt?

And if he really had found something with Rarity, as unlikely as it was, in the one day they had been apart...

No matter how much the realization shook her, she knew; It was now or never.

She gulped, picking up the two bowls of salad in her magic, not entirely content with the ultimatum.

She walked over to Spike, who was staring into the fireplace, and placed the bowl at his feet. "Here you go," she said, forging as normal a tone of voice as she could.

Spike mumbled his thanks, but did not look back to address his friend. Instead, he ate quietly, looking into the fireplace and ignoring Twilight's presence completely.

Twilight frowned. There would be no talking about feelings if there was no talking whatsoever. She wondered briefly why Spike was separating himself so, but chocked it up to simple lingering embarrassment. Still, something had to start the conversation...

"S...So how was the trip to Canterlot?" she probed, her voice wavering and unsure.

Still, he stared into the fire. "Nice."

"Just... nice?"

She thought she heard a gulp from Spike, but put it out of her mind. "It was... uh... fun," he continued, then let out a small chuckle. "Bit disappointing near the end, I guess."

"Really, though, not that much to say," he hesitated for a moment, putting down the bowl of salad. He had hardly touched it. "Look, I... I don't know how to say this... but..."

He paused again, letting out a sigh this time and looking as far away from Twilight as he could.

"I'm sorry. I guess it's all I can really say. I'm sorry for everything; for that night, for forcing you to do that, for... for..." he cringed, clenching his fists as if something had struck him through his heart.

"For the way you got hurt. I don't know why it took me seeing you like that to realize what an awful friend I had been, but... It hurt, Twilight. Looking over you lying in that bed, hardly breathing... I thought I was going to lose you."

He jerked around, looking at Twilight whose mouth was stretched open in disbelief. There were the beginnings of tears in his eyes, and he trembled as violently as Twilight had only moments before.

"I can't lose you Twilight. I can't. I... I had to think about how short our time together is really going to be. I couldn't lose you before that. It's going to be hard enough after. It's going to be... I..."

Shamefully, he looked back into the fire. It's orange glow lit the tears running down his cheeks in shimmers.

"Oh, Spike..." Twilight murmured, moving over and wrapping her hooves around the dragon from behind. He shook beneath her grasp, putting his head between his claws and crying. "Spike... don't think about it like that. I'm not going anywhere."

Her words seemed to go right through him, though she continued to hold him as the weight of the world forced more of his tears outward. After but a moment more, he turned around in his seat and held her back, pressing his damp face into her neck and mumbling softly.

"Ssh... It's okay, Spike," she whispered, trailing her hoof up and down his back.

"Please... please forgive me," he whispered, pulling his face back and looking into her eyes. "Please."

"Spike... I cant! You didn't do anything wrong! It was my fault I got hurt, not yours. If my wits had been about me, I would have just teleported back to town for help. I wasn't thinking."

She bit her lip, and turned her eyes to the ground.

"If I was, I wouldn't have kicked you away like that. I'm sorry. Everything, that whole night, was..." her voice trailed off, but with an unsure, shaky breath, she continued.

"It was wonderful. You were wonderful. Everything was fantastic, and I messed it up." She raised herself to look into his eyes again. "You don't understand what you did for me... I was so lonely before that week. Just being able to be close to someone was... remarkable. I just freaked out. My brain over-thought it all. I was worried you'd never be able to look at me as a friend again."

"I can't lose you, Spike. I... I didn't want to risk anything that could hurt our friendship." She gulped, and took in a deep breath, the weight of the words finally off her chest. "But I was foolish. I wasn't thinking. I should have known nothing so trivial would hurt our friendship. We're stronger than that."

Spike blinked, only staring back as his brain processed the words.

"You... liked it?" he finally said, his words a slight whisper.

"More than any test, any spell, or any book," she whispered, fighting a blush and looking away. "It was breathtaking."

Spike fought to stifle a crazed laugh inside of him; it had been only a day since he had so adamantly convinced himself that she had hated every second of it. As the unicorn sat bashfully before him, he could think of only one thing to do.

The dragon leaned forward and pulled the surprised pony into a hug, unable to express his appreciation in words.

Almost as quickly as the decision came the regret for the decision followed. Twilight pressed tightly against him, sandwiching his still painfully stiff arousal between them. A jolt of pleasure shot through him, and he flinched in immediate abject regret.

Twilight felt it too; Spike's shudder shot through his body and into hers, bringing the realization of the act to the forefront of her mind. The friendly moment was cut short again by Spike’s cursed arousal.

"S...Sorry..." Spike groaned out, letting her go from the hug.

Twilight's face went red, but her brow raised nonetheless. "It's uh... it's okay. Shouldn't it have... like..." she mumbled, pulling back from Spike and tossing an errant glance down to the topic of conversation.

"Should have..." he gulped, thinking back to the moments on the train that had cursed him so. He grabbed his trusty bag, pulling it to guard him again.

"W...Well, wait. What are you going to... you know... do about it?" she questioned, her face flushing red as she looked away.

Spike groaned, desperately trying to avoid the awkward topic. "There's really only one thing to do."

Twilight blinked, flushing red at such a direct answer. Well... if the only thing to do is... Her mind pondered it's own implications, and she looked away from him to continue her thoughts.

"Well, I guess there's no use putting it off..." Spike said, with a sigh. "I'm going to go take a shower. I'll try to keep it quick, but..." he let out a small chuckle. "No promises."

W-Wait! Twilight's mind instructed her to say, but her bashful state got the better of her. She watched as the dragon slowly meandered up the stairs, and entered the bathroom, tossing a glance back at his friend before he entered.

Again, Twilight's mind was at war with itself. Though it was her best friend who had gone up to... take care of himself, Twilight's body burned desperately to follow him. Everything was finally out in the open; she had little left to hide from him. She should be absolved of the guilt, the stress, and the... desire. She gulped as she mulled over the word.

But it was desire. It burned inside her. Every thought that strayed to what Spike must be doing drew a shudder from her.

Finally, and most dangerously, her mind came to a conclusion; one born out of simple logic, and nothing more. Wouldn't it be faster if she helped him? They... they could get back to talking, like friends, if he could only get this over with. Besides, it's not like she hadn't been so close to it before; being together on the hill was practically worse than helping him with his problems as a friend would!

She almost wanted to laugh at the mental gymnastics her mind was throwing her through. The notion was practically insane, and yet here she was trying to justify it to herself.

When it came down to it, there really was no helping it. She had to at least try. On shaky legs, she stood up, and climbed up the stairs, each clop of her hoof on the hardwood hammering in the suggestion her mind was feeding her.

Uncharacteristically, she didn't pause in front of the door, or wait, or anything. She was driven solely by the visceral act of not thinking, and the feeling was beautifully empowering.

The soft running water of the shower enchanted her forward. She knocked three times, before opening it to allow her words to carry better.

"Twilight?" Spike questioned, his voice echoing off the walls of the porcelain room.

She could almost not believe the words she was about to say, and yet her mouth opened to speak them anyways. "Y... you know...." she hesitated, unsure of the words that would guide her forward. "I mean... why do you have to do it alone?" The words came slow and awkward, Twilight's face turning redder and redder as she spoke them.

"...What do you mean?" Spike replied, just as slowly as Twilight had.

Twilight scoffed, embarrassed at having to repeat herself. "Well, I mean... wouldn't it be faster if I... couldn't you just get it out of the way if... I... I could help you?" she continued, her words softening, hardly audible among the flow of the shower.

"I... I mean it's not like I haven't been... you know... on the hill... I wouldn't mind," she continued, spouting any justification her mind could think of. "If it's not, you know, weird. For you."

Spike blinked, mouth slightly agape in disbelief of Twilight's words.

"I... are you sure?" he said, hesitating slightly between words.

"Well, I mean... sure. It... it might be good practice, right?" she squeaked, finally peeking her head through the crack to glance at him.

Eyes wide, Spike looked upon Twilight incredulously. It seemed he was as thrown off by the gesture as she was. His face contorted from confusion into thought, and the two spent a spectacularly awkward amount of time silent.

Eventually, though, he opened his mouth to speak. "Yes,”

"Yes?" Twilight replied, a tinge of hopefulness cracking through her voice.

"Yes... I mean... if you want. Which isn't to say I don’t... but..." he sighed, cutting off his bumbling. "Yes."

Twilight smiled as sweetly as she could, pushing the door open completely and closing it behind her. She took a deep, shaky breath, and walked slowly across the room, her hooves clinking on the tiles as she made her way over. Spike's eyes never left the unicorn, even as she opened the shower door and stepped inside.

As soon as she came in contact with the water, Twilight cringed and yelped out in surprise. "Aah! Spike! W...Why is the water cold?!" she exclaimed, pouting up at the dragon as the cold water poured her mane into her eyes.

Spike's eyes narrowed, confused by the question. "Well... how else did you expect me to get rid of this?" Spike replied, reaching out and turning the shower knob.

Twilight blinked. "I... I thought... weren't you... with..."

"With my claws?" he said, holding them up with a smirk and wiggling them as if to accentuate their sharp contours. "Are you kidding?"

Twilight blinked again. She had never really thought of it that way.

Thankfully, the water turned warm, pouring over her shoulders and head as a wave of blissful relief. She let out a relaxed "Ah..." and used her magic to push her mane out of her eyes, instead letting it fall across her face and neck in strands. Finally, she looked up at Spike, smiling a small, awkward smile.

Spike looked down, still in disbelief, over the soaking mare smiling up at him. His thoughts were simply absent. Instead, he let his eyes do the thinking. Twilight looked fantastic with her mane down, and her coat fell short and furry under the dripping water.

"You're staring..." Twilight mumbled, her cheeks going red as she looked to the side.

"Who wouldn't?"

Twilight gave Spike an embarrassed giggle, though her face blushed even hotter. Finally, her eyes trailed down his body, and rested firmly on the dragon's stiff arousal that even still stood at attention.

She had, understandably, never really looked at it so close before. It was wider at the base than it was at the tip, and was covered in hardly noticeable bumps along it's length. Every so often it would throb, it's red-pink flesh raising slightly as if it knew it were being watched. It wasn't exactly big, though it seemed to be a little wider than a stallion's at the base while the tip came to a thinner, rounded point.

She shuffled closer, moving her muzzle right in front of it. With every breath that fell over it, it's curved length seemed to throb upwards in excitement.

With a final glance up to Spike, who was gazing down at her in awe, she pressed her muzzle against the tip. She cautiously opened her mouth and let it rest against her tongue before closing her lips back over the flesh. While it didn't taste like anything particular at all, the length pleased her tongue with it's hotness.

She began to experiment slowly, pushing her muzzle forward and letting the tip press into her tongue as it slid further into her mouth. A pained groan echoed out from Spike, tortured by the slowness of the act. Slow was just about all she could do, however, though she closed her eyes and tried to focus more intently on the act.

With a devious flick, she let her tongue slip around the tip, teasing it as it pushed into her mouth, drawing a breathier, approving moan from Spike. Again, she flicked her tongue around it, and again Spike clenched in approval. Satisfied, she continued the teasing with each bob against him, her heartbeat picking up in excitement at her own success. She shuffled her haunches forward, and rested her hooves on his hips so she could lean her weight against him.

With proper leverage under her hooves, she found herself able to push forward more, taking just over half of his dick into her muzzle. Spike threw his head back and groaned, his sensitive member pulsing excitedly at the continued attention. He brought a shaky claw up, resting it on her head in unthinking approval.

Twilight's breath came hot and short, her own loins beginning to burn with desire. Her nether-lips were hot, and felt as if they were dripping from the water that poured down her. They begged for a hoof to attend to them, but Twilight could not spare the leverage, and the neglect was quickly sending her body into a fitful frenzy.

As if possessed, she pushed as far forward as she could, opening her jaw and letting Spike's cock push into the back of her mouth. His hips rocked slightly, and she felt it push dangerously into her throat. Spike's groan echoed around the small bathroom.

For Spike, the feeling of Twilight's hot tongue against his dick was intoxicating. He could not bring himself to close his eyes; the sight of his closest friend pumping back and forth against him exhilarated the fire inside him like nothing he had experienced before. Every experimental flick of the tongue drove him mad, adding more fuel to his own burning desire.

So badly, he wanted to take control. Grab her mane, and pull her forward. Give her all she could swallow, and finally be rid of his curse of arousal.

Sheer care for the being before him held back his frenzy. For just a moment, a twinge of worry plagued his pleasure-ridden thoughts; could he possibly... hurt her?

In almost an instant the notion was gone; Twilight had made her most ambitious dive yet. He clenched his claws, taking strands of her mane between them, and finally squeezed his eyes shut.

Twilight was beginning to establish a rhythm, and had learned quickly that swirling her tongue around his length brought forth the deepest moans in reply. Like a demon fighting to escape from a cage, her heart beat deviously against her chest. Her body experienced pleasure-- real pleasure, somehow. She moaned her approval through his throbbing length, and ground her hips against the floor in a futile effort to relieve the burning that was housed there.

Finally, she felt ready for the full push. She raised her head, opened her throat, and slammed forward onto Spike's member, letting out a desperate moan with her push.

Spike lost it. He let out a moan that echoed off the small enclosed walls, and rocked his hips forward, pushing himself as far down Twilight's throat as he could manage. Amongst the storm of pleasure that set his body aflame, he heard Twilight stifle a choke, and pulled out as quickly as he had thrust in.

Twilight, however, seemed entirely undeterred, pushing her muzzle down it's full length with only a moment's hesitation. She pressed Spike back against the wall of the shower with her hooves, leaned on him, and began to suck as fast as she could.

Spike's entire body clenched in pleasure. He half-opened one eye. The sight of Twilight, sopping and dripping wet from the shower, hooves pressed against him and mouth pounding quickly down his length pushed him over the top.

The abandoned pleasures of the night built up all at once. A shuddering wave of ecstasy rocked through his body. His dam of self control cracked, and the unstoppable flood of orgasm poured through him, devouring every other bodily sensation.

"Twilight," he pushed out in one breath, buckling forward and pushing out hot air over the unicorn's ears. "I'm... I'm gonna..."

Twilight let out a deep, needy moan in response, never letting her assault relent for even a single moment. She knew what was coming, and she needed it more than anything in her life. To taste it; to swallow it; to be drenched in it. She felt his entire body shake beneath her hooves as his member pulsed in anticipation.

The first wave came just as Twilight was pulling back, shooting seed all along the length of her tongue and splashing into the top of her mouth. Twilight moaned deeply, sharing in his ecstasy, and pushing her mouth completely down the length of his erupting cock.

Cum spurted down her throat, pouring down the farthest reaches of her mouth, but Twilight did not pull back. She held her muzzle on the base of his dick, milking it with twists from her tongue, and reveling in the feeling of Spike's love coating her throat.

More and more poured into her mouth, beginning to fill it completely, coating her tongue in layer after layer of heady semen. Though she needed to swallow desperately, her body was unable to, Spike's pulsing dick providing too big an obtrusion to clear her mouth.

Desperately, she pulled off of his dick, sticking out her tongue and pulling in a deep breath through her nose. Spike groaned, and let his cock rest on her outstretched tongue, shooting a load of semen onto her muzzle and over her lips. Another wave shot over face, and she closed her eyes, letting his cum fall into her mane. Still, she felt some spurt into her mouth, adding layer after layer to her already coated tongue

With a final, deep groan, Spike emptied himself over her face for a final time, before slinking back against the wall. Though he leaned all his weight onto it for support, he still fell to his knees, legs wobbling too much to stay upright. He began to pant, as if pushed beyond physical limits, letting out slow, shuddering breaths.

He felt Twilight breaths pouring hot and slow over his face, mirroring his own. He opened his eyes just a sliver, and let his vision lay on her face that was only inches in front of her own.

As soon as Twilight found Spike's eyes on her, she pulled her coated tongue in and pushed his seed down her throat with a long gulp. Her eyes stayed clenched shut for a moment as it went down, but as a shudder rocked her body, they shot open again, burning with bestial vigor. Uncontrollably, she pushed herself forward, pressing her muzzle into his, and pulled him into a deep, sloppy kiss.

Spike let his eyes fall closed again, letting his tongue explore the still-partially coated mouth of the mare that had finally freed him from his curse. Normally the sheer thought of having his tongue push around his own seed would have made him gag, but the kiss made it only sexy, as if she was begging him to clean up the mess he had made.

Twilight still moaned deeply into him, pushing herself against him and sidling atop him. Her tongue danced frantically against his, hips rocking in desperate need. Spike opened his eyes, instantly entranced in the half-lidded messy gaze Twilight was giving him.

He had a feeling that he had awoken a beast that would not let this end here.

He moved his claws to her cutie marks and squeezed, hard, kneading her flanks between his angular fingers. Twilight moaned, throwing her hooves around him and burying her face into his neck, biting down on his scales uselessly as he worked her plot.

Spike slid the panting unicorn forward, pulling her hips against his and letting her grind against him. Though he had only just rid himself of a night's worth of arousal, Twilight pushing her wetness against his loins was too much to handle. He felt his member twitch, knowing full well that if the teasing continued he'd be ready again.

"Twilight?" he rasped, squeezing her ass even harder to accentuate his words.

"Mmmph..." she moaned into his neck.

"What do you want, Twilight?"

She groaned, letting out a sigh and pulling back to face him.

"What do you want?" he repeated, softer now, letting his fingers trail over her body.

"I..." she breathed, her eyes shifting back and forth... "I... Ugh... T-That's not fair."

He smirked, giving her a small kiss, and letting his fingers trail up her back. "What do you want?"

She bit her lip.

"Hmm?"

"I..." she said, more breath than words. "I..."

"Say it," he whispered, straight into her ear, grinning wildly at the desperate unicorn before him.

"I... I want you to... f... fuck me," she whispered, eyes trembling even as she held his gaze.

The dragon smirked. "What?" He let his tongue play with the word like the ego-swathed taunt that it was.

"I want you to fuck me!" she shouted, breaths frantic. "I need it. I want to feel you spread me open... and... and I want to feel you inside... I... I want to pour out for you," she rasped, body trembling as she said the words. "Please... please. D... Don't make me wait."

"Come on then," he whispered, leaning back against the wall and pulling Twilight with him. She writhed atop him, throwing her muzzle into his and moaning into the kiss. Squeezing her flank, he pulled her hips against his own, teasing her dripping nether-lips by pressing them against his now-upright shaft. His strong arms pulled her up and down his length while Twilight ground herself against it and breathed hotly over his nose.

"We can take this fast..." he whispered into her ear, squeezing her flanks hard and sandwiching her against him. "Or slow..." he hummed, freeing his claws from her flank and running them softly up the sides of her body. As if to drive home the meaning of his words, he pressed the tip of his arousal gently against Twilight's engorged marehood. "Either way, you're in control."

Twilight shuddered, the feeling of Spike's hot tip caressing her nether-lips rousing unstoppable bolts of desire within her mind. She threw her hooves around his shoulders and leaned her breast against his, bringing their dripping faces nose to nose.

Slowly, tortuously, she pushed herself downwards, letting out a long "Aaah," as Spike's member pushed apart her glistening marehood. Every bump on his arousal pushed against her silken walls, tantalizing them to quake from the delicately slow contact. Twilight's eyebrows quivered, her eyes closed to a squint, and her whole body clenched as she was entered for the first time.

The feeling was unimaginable; he was inside her. Spike was inside her. She tightened her hooves around him, and pushed further down, feeling him ache and tremble under her glacially slow assault. Like petals of a flower, Twilight's inner lips parted one by one as she bored down onto him, squeezing his pulsing member more tightly with each inch.

She pushed her muzzle softly against his, kissing him sweetly and reeling in effervescent bliss. Finally, she pushed on her back hooves, sliding her flanks upwards, her nether-lips sucking at Spike to keep him inside as she rose back to the tip. He groaned in agony, claws and teeth clenching desperately.

Again, Twilight slid herself down his length, stopping halfway and letting out another smooth "Aaah," as she was spread apart by his member. Slowly, she slid up and down, grinning and moaning as she planted sweet kisses over Spike's face and neck.

"Y...Y...You're torturing me..." Spike hissed, rolling his head back and resisting the impulse to take control.

"Mmmhh," she moaned, pushing down into him even slower than before. "Y...You made me b...beg," she groaned, grinning down over the dragon as she straddled him. The double edge of Twilight's teasing was quickly taking it's toll on her own body though.

After one final agonizing rise, Twilight let gravity take control of her hips, impaling herself downwards onto Spike's pulsing cock. Twilight screamed, one part pain and one part bliss, eyes clenching close as she rode down onto him. Twilight felt a gush of her own lovejuice pour out of her, splashing over Spike and trickling down her loins in streams.

Spike himself leaned back and let out a guttural groan, feeling his dick squeezed exasperatingly between Twilight's supple walls. He ached hysterically to arch his back and push his full length inside, but Twilight's scream was too dangerously sudden to risk going too far so soon.

Twilight rose again, still slowly, but dropped her marehood down over his hot length once more. A bolt of ecstasy shot through her, clenching her eyes shut and forcing another shout from within her bosom. This time, as she fell, she ground her hips back and forth, wiggling Spike's member around as she fell.

Spike groaned out desperately; her hips working his cock had pushed a wonderful button somewhere inside of him. Instinctively, he shifted his claws to her hips, clenching them and letting her sopping fur sprout between his fingers.

Again, Twilight pushed down and rocked her hips, beaming wildly as the same response came from the lust-ridden dragon. She leaned forward, pulling him into a deep kiss as she bobbed up and down, establishing a slow rhythm and matching it with her dancing tongue.

Twilight let out a cute "Oh," with each drop of her hips, and closed her eyes sweetly as she rode and kissed him. More-- her body continuously called for more, but try as she might, she could rock herself up and down no faster than the pace she had made.

"S-Spike," she called out, pulling back from the deep tirade of kisses. "I... I need you to go from here."

With a grin, Spike leaned forward to oblige, letting Twilight stay upright by holding herself against him with her hooves. The mare's slow grind had slowly pushed him into a frenzy and, though he had kept it subdued for Twilight's experience's sake, he was finally ready to let go.

In one swift motion, Spike thrust his hips forward, pushing deeply into Twilight's aching marehood. She let out a yelp of pleasure, but her half-lidded grin told him it was not too much.

Again, Spike thrust, pulling out and leaning forward as he pushed inside her, groaning as her entrancingly tight lips wrapped around his cock. He thrusted deeper inside, feeling her walls ache against him as he stretched her deepest parts. Twilight moaned maddeningly into his ears, squeezing her hooves around him as if to beg for more.

With another push, Spike lowered himself and sucked at her neck, squeezing every ounce of pleasure out of the moment. He wanted to drive her wild; so past her wits that she could only express herself in squeals and moans of approval.

As far as she was concerned, Twilight was already there. She pushed her body against Spike with as much fervor as she could muster. Bouncing up and down, she dropped her hips lower and lower, feeling Spike push her tight lips apart with every probing thrust.

Twilight's juices poured forth, coating his cock in a layer of love, and dripping down his loins onto the shower floor. As if to squeeze more from her, Spike kneaded her cutie marks and pulled her further against his cock.

The feeling of his member impaling Twilight was like nothing Spike had ever felt. Her insides were so moist, and seemed to undulate around him, squeezing every inch of his sensitive shaft. He ached with every inch he traveled, body pleading for more.

Twilight's moans soon turned to audible “Oh,"s of approval, and she clenched her eyes shut as if overcome by the pleasure. While the ecstasy of the act ached through her body, the fact that it was Spike who was deflowering her sent her mind into storms of blissful pleasure. So dangerous, and yet so exhilarating because of it.

She felt the pleasure building more, and more, to overpowering amounts, and found herself almost pushed over the cliff of orgasm. In a single, hurried act, she pulled off of Spike, shaking as he pulled out of her, and fell back against the tile floor.

The two panted, staring at each-other with lust still deep in their gaze. Twilight rose to her hooves slowly, accentuating every movement, never taking her eyes off the dragon before her. Tortuously she turned, placing her forehooves and cheek against the shower wall and arcing her back so that her ass was in the air. Water trickled down her rounded cheeks, and speckled her fur, making it look like she was drenched in sweat. The fur around her marehood was disheveled from grinding against Spike, and a pool of slick moisture pooled just within her nether-lips, dripping down her thighs and becoming quickly indistinguishable amongst the water from the shower.

As Twilight's shower-soaked tail flicked aside, Spike's brain went into a frenzy. He jerked forward, eyes solely on the lips of her dripping marehood, and squeezed her ass between his claws. Twilight moaned her approval, wiggling her flanks in desperate need.

Pushing inside of her again was like experiencing everything all over again; Twilight's marehood squelched as he thrust quickly inside, and Twilight let out a guttural shout as she felt him stretch her open. "M-More..." she moaned, feeling her cheek compress against the well.

Spike put one claw on either side of her, and bottomed out inside of her with a single, powerful thrust. He no longer was careful; he thrust as deeply and quickly as he could. He pounded Twilight against the wall, and she howled in ecstasy, each thrust accompanied by a resounding "Unf."

As he thrust into her, he exhaled his breath hot and heavy, inadvertently pushing green dragonfire from his lungs. The water from the shower vaporized immediately, fogging up the glass shower and coating them both in a hot, dripping layer of steam.

In the midst of thrusting inside of her, Spike grabbed the base of her tail and pulled hard, turning her gutteral spouts into a steady shout.

As dreadfully as Twilight seemed to be enjoying it, Spike swore that she tightened with each thrust. His cock was being squeezed in the most supple ride of his life, and he could quickly feel the pressure within his own loins building to a peak.

Combined with the tugs on her tail, Spike's thrusts were driving Twilight over the edge. Her mind raced, and her body trembled, preparing for the sweet release she so desperately needed. A single, particularly deep thrust sent Twilight over the point of no return. With each time Spike slammed into her, Twilight's accompanying moan grew more high pitched, and her body trembled more and more, until finally she screamed out in blissful release.

Her body shook, and her walls clenched around the dragon's still-thrusting member. Waves of her juices poured forth, gushing outwards, drenching Spike's cock and pouring down her thighs in hot spurts. She rocked her hips backwards, pushing herself as far onto Spike as she could, feeling him press against her deepest, sweetest button in the midst of orgasm.She cried out indulgently, raising one of her hind legs to open herself further.

The feeling of Twilight’s marehood clenching down around him sent shuddering waves of ecstasy pulsing through Spike’s body. As Twilight raised her hind leg, he reached down to grab it, pulling it upward and giving her tail one final, rough tug.

Spike leaned forward, biting down on her neck and emptied himself as deeply inside her as he could. A hot burst of cum immediately coated her insides, as wave after wave of her own juice gushed forth. Spike pulled back and rocked his hips all the way forward again, slamming his dick into her and pushing his own seed out of her lips.

Twilight screamed out in bliss as the displaced spunk was replaced by a flood of cum. Feeling Spike’s hot love pour into her deepest alcoves drew another racking tremble from her, and she clenched her walls down on Spike’s pulsing cock. Spike rooted himself deep inside Twilight, synchronizing his own gushes of seed with her moans.

Twilight gave out a final, deep shudder, and pulled off of Spike, slumping down against the shower floor. She panted heavily as three hot spurts of Spike’s cum shot over her trembling body, making a mess of her fur. A wave of seed pushed out of her still-quivering marehood, dripping slowly onto the tile below, coagulating in a pearly white pool.

Spike’s breaths came as slow and laboured as her own, and he put his claws out against the wall to stay upright. The two were still, shellshocked by their shared earth-shattering orgasms, only breathing and letting the shower pour over them as they recovered.

Minutes passed them by in complete silence before Twilight found the will to speak again.

"S...Spike..." Twilight mumbled, head still buried in her hooves.

"Yeah?"

"I need you to... carry me to my room, please," Twilight hummed with a sigh.

Spike let out a small chuckle, turned the knob of the shower, and kneeled shakily down before his incapable lover. He reached down to help as she pushed off her hooves, quaking as she clambered onto his back in such a way that she could drape her hooves around his neck.

He pushed through the bathroom doors with his shoulder, walking out into the hall, carrying a soaking Twilight on his back. Twilight began planting soft, loving kisses on his neck as he walked.

"That was... incredible..." she whispered into his ear as he opened the door to her room.

"You were incredible," he mumbled back, flushing red at her direct approval. Twilight let out a tired yet bubbly giggle over his shoulder.

Step by step, the lanky dragon wearily stumbled his way into the familiar room, grunting softly as he bent down and allowing Twilight to roll off his shoulders. He smiled as he watched her silhouette shuffle it’s way under the blankets delicately. He let his eyes linger over her sweetly for just a moment longer.

With a sigh, he stood upright, turned, and made his way back towards the door.

Just as he was about to reach out and turn the knob, he felt a force on his claw tugging it away. A purple glow surrounded it, and pulled it back into the darkness softly.

He pivoted around, smiling playfully and letting the soft tug guide him back to the horn-glow where it originated. Twilight’s eyes glittered through the dusk, watching him as he was directed back to her side.

He lifted the blankets with his free claw, and clambered in, shuffling up against Twilight’s damp coat, and let his arms lay around her. Her eyes glowed, cheeks perked over their bottoms, and she leaned forward and gave Spike a final, sweet kiss, before nuzzling up into the crook of his neck and sighing sweetly.

Spike stroked her mane softly as she drifted to sleep. Though her hooves against his chest let his smile linger onward into the night, a lump formed disturbingly in his throat. His eyes were locked on the window across the room, unable to close, and though he ached in fatigue, rest would not come.

His mind focused dreadfully on a story a princess had once told him.

He wondered who would be the first to jump.

Author's Note

Special thanks to Norrie McFly for being a wonderful proofreader and for motivating me to push through the days and days that I struggled with this chapter to make it as best as I could.

Inferno

What have I done...

His arms still fell around her, warm in the shared heat of their intimacy. No matter the guilt, he could not bring himself to pull away.

He had broken his promise. He wished to loathe himself, to feel depraved and worthless.

Why, then, did he feel so whole?

Had he betrayed his heart? Or had his heart betrayed him?

Contempt raged through him. He exhaled a ragged, trembling sigh, as if to extricate the confusion and guilt, but the action brought no clarity. What would she say? Would she cry? He gulped, the lump in his throat expanding another notch. What of their friendship? Of Twilight's friendship?

The questions were handfuls of hail thrown even after he had curled up, waiting to freeze.

What can I do...

He wanted desperately to turn away, to stand up and trod to his room, to be alone in his misery... But the being of his greatest turmoil was nestled sweetly beneath him. Her chest rose and fell, breaths coming calm and warm, ignorant to the sensations they procured. Her soft lavender scent entranced him in all the ways he wished to ignore.

As much as his pride begged him to leave, he knew he must stay. He hunched over her, letting his sobs torment his body once more, and pulled her closer against him.

A response. Her hooves pressed against him softly, doing their part in the embrace.

"Mmm..." she murmured, squeezing her eyes together as she stirred. "Spike?" The response was equally beautiful and terrifying.

He tried to choke his sobs, rubbing his face into the pillow, but small whimpers escaped, refusing to be smothered.

"Spike...?" she called again, drawn further out of slumber by his trembles.

Spike sniffed, trying to clear away his tears. "Uh... uh-huh?"

Twilight pulled her head out of its warm nook, opening her eyes a sliver.

"Spike... are you... have you been crying?" she whispered, her face next to his on the pillow.

He rolled over to face the other side of the room. "N-No... it's just... just..." his words trailed off into a long pause. No excuse found its way into his mind.

"Oh, Spike..." Twilight murmured, wrapping her hooves around him. "It's okay."

Still, he fought against himself, antagonized by his ignorant awoken partner. He coughed forth a choking sob, clenching his body in disgust.

"Spike... what’s wrong?” she asked, voice still languid from fatigue.

She pulled on his side, pressing him to turn over and face her, but he resisted still. She sighed, instead shifting herself close to him, and nuzzling into the back of his neck.

He felt his heart flutter as her lips landed on his scales. She began placing slow, soft kisses on his neck. His body crawled in contempt, trying desperately to inch away from her irresistible antagonizing.

"S...Stop."

She pulled back. "So, this is about me."

"No!" he hissed, cringing at the dejected tone in her voice. "No..." he repeated with a sigh. "It's about me. Just... go back to sleep. I'm okay; I promise."

"Spike..." she said, her voice low with worry. She let her hooves rest on his back, and let the silence roll on for a while.

She would blame herself... The notion ate at him angrily, confused desperately between self-loathing and appreciation for his caring friend. This was his issue to bear. After moments of hesitation that brought nothing near the clarity he so desperately desired, he turned slowly to face her.

"It's not your fault," he said, frowning dejectedly and looking past her.

"Then what is it?" she pushed, trying to meet his errant gaze.

He sighed. "I... I don't want to talk about it. I can’t..."

Twilight's eyes narrowed. "Spike... there isn't anything you could tell me that would make me think less of you. Especially if it's troubling you. Please..." Twilight moved her hoof to comfort spike, but he stayed silent, shuffling further under the blankets.

Twilight spoke up before he could go any further. "This is about what we did, isn't it. I... I knew I shouldn't have... I knew you would regret—"

As soon as the words hit his ears, Spike's heart took the reins. "I could never regret that," he reprimanded, finally fixing his gaze on her. "This is something I did, not you."

She half-smiled, comforted slightly by his words, but pressed on. "Well then I can help you with it. Spike, before anything else, you're my friend."

“I...” Spike started to speak up, but let it die with a crestfallen sigh. He wished to keep his misdeeds to himself, but she had played a role... If anything, she deserved to know at at least that. “Just... promise you won’t hate me, okay?”

“Spike...” Twilight said quietly with a frown, "I could never hate you..."

Spike hesitated; no words that came to mind seemed proper, as if even his vocabulary was disgusted is his misdoings. “...I messed up bad, Twilight," he said with a gulp. "I don't know what to do." He closed his eyes and took a deep, long breath before opening them to address his friend again.

"In Canterlot... Rarity and I went on a date. Finally. It was just like I had always dreamed." He sighed looking away in shame. "We got... kinda close..." his mind danced around the specifics, not wanting to revisit them, letting his words trail off."But then...I saw you and I just... forgot."

Twilight's eyes widened, and she looked down, away from him.

"I didn't know how you felt,” Spike continued, his voice rising, “and so... when you told me, all I was thinking about was us, together. And... I wanted it. More than anything I've ever wanted before, I knew I had to be close to you, and—"

"You cheated on Rarity," Twilight said, a slight gasp leaving her lips with the words. "You cheated on Rarity with me."

Spike whimpered slightly, cringing as the words he so dreaded were finally said aloud. "Please... please don't be mad."

"Spike... I'm not mad. I just..." She furrowed her brow, closing her eyes and exhaling. "Oh no..."

"I-I'm sorry... I never meant to—”

Her own body began to shake as she began to consider the gravity of their deeds. “I know you wouldn’t mean to...” she said as softly as she could, trying her best to compose herself and be comforting despite her racing mind. “I would never mean to. What matters is that we did.”

“N-No,” Spike said, shaking his head. “You didn’t do anything. Twilight, you couldn’t have known...”

“Of course I knew.” Twilight closed her eyes and rolled to face away from Spike. “I’ve known how you felt about Rarity from the first time you laid eyes on her.”

Her mind mulled over the implications of her self-accusation, twisting her conscience into a guilty knot. All she had wanted was to for once, finally, be able to express how she felt unrestricted.

“Spike... I knew that if I waited any longer I could lose you to Rarity. I knew that something could have happened, and that’s what pushed me forward. This is my fault.”

Spike gave a frustrated groan, clasping his head between his claws. “No, Twilight, you can’t—”

“Ssh.” She lowered her eyebrows, ardent in her position. “It doesn’t matter why it happened, it matters that it did.” She paused her words, softening her gaze and putting a hoof to his cheek. “Look, Spike. I... enjoyed what happened,” she said, her body shivering slightly, feelings grossly understated. “I just... I just need a minute to think about it, okay?”

“But...” Spike started, before quieting himself and replacing his sentence with a bated sigh. “Yeah... I do too.”

For the first time in her life, Twilight could not help but be terrified that a friendship could slip away... but despite the worry, despite getting hurt, and despite the ever-so-ominous feeling of confronting what must come next, she could not imagine having to trade even a single moment.

Spike had walked in vulnerable. He had even tried to avoid her, and she chased him down and cornered him for what she wanted; not what he did.

“Of course he doesn’t want you,” her mind lashed out, “Who would?” The dark room seemed to close in around her, and an overpowering desire to be alone began to overcome her.

Worst of all, she had come between him and his dream; he had ached for Rarity for even longer than she had struggled with her own crippling loneliness. It was not only her own failures that devoured her inside, but the feeling that she had shared them like a plague.

She shifted uncomfortably upwards, cheek landing squarely on where Spike had earlier buried his tears. The same pillow that had taken all of her own sleepless, sobbing nights.

No, she thought, eyebrows narrowing as her mind filled with purpose. As Celestia is my witness, I will not let this happen.

She trembled as a thought pushed itself into the forefront of her mind. No matter what it takes...

Twilight steeled her resolve, and finally turned to face Spike again. “I’m sorry,” she started, looking him square in the eyes. “I took advantage of you. I chased you down. I put you in this situation.” She closed her eyes, and took a deep breath. “Let me make this right.”

Spike’s brows furrowed in frustration, opening his mouth to object, but Twilight placed a hoof against his lips.

“Forget about me.”

“Tonight, the night on the hill, and the one by the fire: everything. I... I want you to be happy, Spike. I know Rarity will be able to do that for you. So just... forget I ever told you how I feel, okay?”

“After we wake up in the morning, I won’t mention it ever again. You can be with Rarity, and... I’ll find someone else.” She hesitated for a moment, dropping her gaze from his as her mind continued spitefully on. Eventually.

“I’m not asking you to say yes; not right now. I’m not saying it’s the best thing to do... If you wake up and you want to tell Rarity everything, I’ll even go with you, look her in the eyes, and tell her exactly what I did. I’m just saying...” Twilight’s voice trailed off, and she let out a hesitant sigh. “Sleep on it. Okay?”

After a moment of hesitation, she slowly pulled her hoof back from his mouth.

Finally, Spike was given a chance to speak his mind. “Twilight, you can’t honestly be suggesting that...”

Twilight’s gaze remained serious and unwavering, breaking down Spike’s resistance with every word he pushed from his lungs. After a moment of frustrated realization, he simply gave a dejected sigh and nodded.

“ I’ll sleep on it,” he relented, finally resting his head against the pillow once more. “But only if you promise...”

Twilight blinked, and raised a curious eyebrow. “Hmm?”

Spike softened his gaze, putting his claws on the mare’s shoulders as he addressed her. “You can’t blame yourself. No matter what you said, this is not your fault. This is mine to deal with, okay?”

Twilight looked away as the words reached her ears. “Spike, I... I don’t know...”

“Promise,” he repeated, shifting closer and putting his face against her own.

Again, she looked unsure of herself, but with a bated sigh she nodded. “I’ll try... but only if you promise me something.” A moment of silence crept over them as Twilight hesitated to speak. “I...I don’t want to forget. Not yet.” Her voice was a low whisper as she peered through the darkness into his curious eyes. “Stay here. Just... just one more night. Please.”

Spike smiled, and rubbed his nose against hers sweetly. “It’s a promise.”

Twilight’s returned his warm smile, feeling her heart flutter. Eyes half-open, she pushed forward to express herself through a kiss, but recoiled in sudden realization before their muzzles met. In the beginnings of shame, she turned her face downward to avoid the desire that came with their lingering eye contact.

She felt a claw tickle the bottom of her chin as Spike guided her gaze up to his. His claw trailed up, pushing her hair out of her eyes and caressing her cheek softly. His face moved closer to hers in a slow, purposeful way, until their noses rested warmly against one another.

She noticed her racing heartbeat as he rested his splayed claw across the crook of her neck. Warm breaths poured down her muzzle, cascading over it’s crooks like a wave of relief.

More than her limbs strewn perfectly about the blankets, more than the rise and fall of her breaths as they tickled his face, more than the glow of her eyes amongst the shadowy miasma of the night, Spike’s mind found itself entranced in the scent of his guilty partner. Sweet, enchanting wafts of lavender found their way not only into his breath, but into his mind, absolving him of each and every transgression that burdened his consciousness. Drawn on by her special brand of a siren’s song, he entertained his fantasies of becoming closer... closer...

Spike’s lips pressed against her own and her shoulders perked up in bliss as she inched herself into the kiss. His hand stroked down her neck tenderly, making long strides that paralleled every movement of his lips.

The trembles began again, against her will and better judgement. Though she knew the stakes and the barriers between them, her heart could not. Desperately she wanted to pull away, to do the right thing, but she could conjure no force from within to do so.

Their eyes remained open, locked firmly on one another as the kiss rolled from seconds, minutes, until time was no longer of concern.

Waking up seemed a foggier burden than it ever had before. Spike’s claws flexed experimentally, expecting warmth but feeling no fur beneath them. He groaned, and pushed his arm outward, feeling cold, empty mattress everywhere he could reach. Discontent with the results of his probing, his eyes peeked slowly open.

She was gone. With a small frown, he felt his heart pushed to the precipice of disappointment. She did often wake up earlier than he did, but he had hoped...

With a sigh, he forced himself up and gave a great, shuddering yawn. Claws clacked against the wooden floor, which in turn creaked as he stood up and began shuffling towards the door. With another smaller yawn, he opened it, looking over the balcony of the library as he stepped outside.

The first floor of the building was as inactive as his still-languid mind. With a shrug, he shuffled down the hall and into the bathroom, closing it behind him with a soft click. Mindlessly, he stumbled forward and entered the glass shower, flicking the “Hot” knob as far as it would turn.

The magically-heated water poured over his shoulders and onto the ground, vaporizing immediately into steam. Spike breathed a deep, relaxing sigh of relief as the smell of fresh, clean water surrounded him.

This morning, though, the clean smell seemed a little... sweet? The inclination sparked a bit of life out of the groggy dragon, piquing his interest and pushing him to take a single, deep breath, attempting to capture the oddly familiar scent.

It... Was that... Lavender? He took another deep breath and, like a flood of cold water that poured over him, mirages of soaking fur, sparkling eyes, and bodies locked in lust bombarded his senses, staggering him and forcing him to extend an arm to the shower wall for support.

This was a bad idea. He trembled as he pushed his mind to conjure any other memory. As if fighting against him, the more desperately he tried to forget, the more vividly he could feel the warmth of her body against his own.

Twilight’s choice meant besmudging everything that had happened here, and whether he appreciated the memories coming back or not, he could hardly think about tossing them away completely. Or even trying to.

But even if he could casually “forget,” everything that happened between them, he couldn’t just lie to Rarity about it. No— forgetting was the wrong answer; the trouble was that he didn’t know the right one.

He groaned, overcome with a feeling of uselessness that put his days as a baby dragon to shame. If Twilight was anything, it was a wellspring of knowledge. If she had asked him to choose, then surely she had insight as to why.Finally armed with a sense of shaky direction, he exited the shower and dried his slick scales off with a towel.

He walked out of the bathroom door, trudging down the stairs, smelling the pancakes she was cooking before he could even see them. She looked back to him and smiled her greetings as he walked over and sat down into a kitchen chair. “Good morning, Spike. Did you sleep well?”

He cocked an eyebrow. “Uh. Sorta. Look, I’ve been thinking about what you said last night, and I could really use some help thinking this through.”

Spike leaned back in the chair and gave a hesitant sigh. “About the choice; I... I don’t think I’m going to be able to just forget. But at the same time I don’t want to give up my chances with Rarity. And... I know how much this has all meant to you. It’s meant the world to me, too. But to throw everything with Rarity away because of one night seems...” his mind ached as he tried to find the word. “Senseless... I... I just can’t see a choice that’s fair to both of you.”

Twilight did not turn around, continuing her work facing away from Spike. “Choice? What choice?”

Spike blinked, cocking his head in confusion. “You know... if I should forget what happened between us? You said for me to sleep on it?”

Twilight stuttered the beginning of a sentence, before clearing her throat and walking over to a far counter to chop up some carrots. “S...Sorry, Spike, I just don’t have any idea what you’re talking about.”

Spike narrowed his eyebrows, and leaned forward in his chair. “What do you mean you don’t have any idea? How could you forget? You know... I came home... The shower... the—”

“Sorry.” she said, voice stressed as she interrupted him. She hesitated oddly before speaking again, and began chopping the carrots as if he had not been speaking at all. “Must have been a dream, huh Spike?”

Spike’s jaw dropped open, feeling a nervousness pile up inside of him as the words entered his ears. “T...Twilight,” he stammered, a slash of pain panging through his heart. “You can’t...”

Twilight stood still, not dignifying him with an answer. The swell of nervousness and confusion began to rumble within him as his mind processed what was happening.

She was making the choice for him.

He began to tremble as his hesitance boiled slowly into rage. He slammed his fist onto the counter, standing up so quickly that the chair beneath him clanged to the ground.

“A dream?!” he shouted, his anger overflowing. Twilight winced uncomfortably, but still did not turn to address the dragon. “You... You think you can just pass off everything that happened as a stupid dream? Doesn’t it mean more to you? Don’t I mean more to you?”

Twilight remained sturdy, keeping her head low and her eyes behind her mane as she continued with her work.

“You can’t do this, Twilight. You can’t just pretend to make it all go away! What, you think we can just go back to being friends like none of this ever happened? It will never... I will never...” he let his words trail off, realizing the gravity of what he was saying. His heart was awash with pain, and his mind was enveloped in an inferno of anger.

“Didn’t you mention you were going to see Rarity today, Spike?” Twilight said, calm and collected. “I had hoped you’d stay for breakfast first, but it seems like you’re in a hurry.”

Spike’s jaw dropped in disbelief. He stood in silence, letting his anger burn inside.

“Fine!” he yelled, slamming his fist down on the counter again. “Fine! Let everything go to waste. Let it all die. Go on, forget, keep living your life like it never happened.” He swallowed the lump in his throat and took a single step forward. “But I can’t forget, Twilight. I’ll never forget. I... I...”

He killed his words after a long silence, instead breathing in a deep breath.

“I hope you like being alone. Goodbye.”

Twilight cringed, but did not turn to watch him leave. Only after hearing a series of heavy footsteps, then the slamming of their front door did she let her wobbly knees buckle, falling to the floor as the despair welled inside of her.

Finally, she let the tears come. In a way, it was relieving to feel them trickle down her face. She let the knife clang to the kitchen floor as the sobs began to wrack her body. So desperately her heart told her to run, to chase him down the streets and say it was all okay.

But her legs would not move, and the inclination that she would rather be alone in her misery began to creep in.

Finally, it was over.

Knock, knock, knock. Rarity’s ears twitched as she noticed the sudden noise that infringed upon her peaceful bathtime. With a sigh, she leaned forward and turned the spigot off with her magic, climbing carefully out of the tub.

Now, whoever could be interrupting my bath?she wondered, her snout crumpling in irritation. Grabbing a white, cutie-mark embossed towel off the wall, she wrapped herself in it carefully, making certain that she would not drip water onto the wooden floors. Grumbling in discontent, she opened the door with a flick of her head and a huff. Before she left, she scowled into the mirror, making sure her glare of annoyance was perfect– and for a moment, it was.

The next moment, she trod down the stairs and noticed who was behind her window: Spike, standing tall and waiting expectantly behind her door.

The next moment, she noticed his confident smile as he gazed into the distance.

The next, she remembered the night before; the way their bodies pressed together; the way his scent lingered even still in her mind, and just how close she had been to dragging him back to the boutique, refusing to let him leave until the sun rose in the morning.

By the time her horn glowed, swinging the door open, Rarity could not even be sure if she was shaking from the brisk air or from indulgent anticipation.

“SpikmmMph?!” As she opened her mouth to speak, the dragon swept her off her hooves and pulled her against him into a deep, passionate kiss. Almost as quickly as it came, the surprise went away, and Rarity felt herself melting beneath his claws, leaning against him and purring happily.

As the kiss began to end, Rarity found herself absolutely speechless. Her mouth stayed completely agape as if it were blissfully unaware that words simply were not coming up. She was now practically hugging the dragon for support to stay standing.

“Rarity, dear, is something the matter?” Spike hummed through a clever grin. “You look positively pale as a ghost this morning!”

“You...” Rarity breathed as her senses came back to her. She once again became acquainted with her own heartbeat, though she was half-certain someone had replaced it with an excited hummingbird. She simply giggled a bubbly, girly giggle and nuzzled herself lovingly into Spike’s neck. “Don’t take this the wrong way, dear, for the effort is more than appreciated, but... What’s gotten into you?”

The dragon gave a cocky smirk. “I’ve just come to realize how lucky I am to be with the mare of my dreams.” He moved his claws down to where her cutie marks rested and gave the mare a single, playful squeeze.

With a grin, Rarity hopped down and trotted away from the dragon. “If there’s one place flattery won’t get you, my dear, it’s between my sheets” Her voice was low, yet rife with hidden invitation. “Well. Not before a proper dinner, at least,” she continued tossing a seductive smirk back over her shoulder.

“Oh, I know,” Spike said, with a sly smile as he slid inside the house. “Which is why we’ve got reservations for Le Cuisine du Rose this evening.”

“Le Cuisine du Rose?!” Rarity said, turning with a gasp. “On such short notice?”

“Mhm. Let’s just say a certain apple fritter merchant I know is a little more influential than I gave her credit for.”

Eyebrow perking curiously, Rarity opened her mouth to inquire further, but simply settled for rolling her eyes and shrugging. “Well aren’t we the popular one as of late? You... you mentioned our reservations are for this evening, correct? May I be so presumptuous as to inquire when this evening?”

“When?” Spike said, blinking once. “Seven o clock! Sharp!”

“Seven o clock?!” exclaimed Rarity, jumping in surprise. “Spike, that’s an hour from now! And I’m right in the middle of... Oh my... I must make haste!” She pranced around in a small circle as her mind decided her first direction. “Uh... Hm... Spike, feel free to make yourself at home; I’ve got some tidying up to do!”

With that, Rarity dashed upstairs, leaving Spike to his own devices.

A wave of soul-sucking energy moved in to occupy the void Rarity’s presence left. Spike slumped over, shuffling slowly to the nearest chair and plopping down it it. The vibrant purples and blues of Rarity’s boutique filtered into his mind as shades of dusty grey, ashes of once-beautiful architecture. His mask of enthusiasm had disintegrated, replaced with a languid, somber gaze as he looked out the window.

He felt tired; more mentally exhausted than he ever had before. This is what you want, isn’t it?

As Fluttershy stepped into her kitchen, her ears perked up. Was that... could she hear... thumping? It was soft, and it did not persist, but she was certain she had heard somepony or something knocking on her front door.

Sighing, she turned around and trotted slowly to the front door. As she approached, a peculiar noise droned it’s way into her mind. It seemed almost like... crying? The thought disturbed her, but as she stepped closer and closer, heavy sobs became more and more audible.

With confused haste, she rushed forward and opened the door with her wing.

Twilight Sparkle sat sobbing into her foreleg, peeking out as she heard the door open in front of her. “F...Fluttershy,” she managed between sobs.

“Oh, no...” Fluttershy murmured, stepping forward and immediately wrapping her wing around the distraught unicorn. “Come here, come inside...”

Rarity’s eyes sparkled as she trotted giddily into Le Cuisine du Rose, eyes panning around the restaurant like a school-filly on a field trip. She was surrounded by flowing tapestries of pink, purple and deep blue; even the walls were painted to match the vibrant-yet-dusky feel of the place. It was not often she got to wear a dress for an occasion, but Rarity felt right at home, having picked a deep blue dress that poured over her curves like a bottle of fine wine being poured into a glass.

“Tre magnifique, no?” a nervous-looking earth pony mare half-stuttered as she approached the pair.

Rarity stifled a giggle. It had been a long time, but the falsified accent made Rarity fairly certain that the waitress’ Prench was... not actually Prench.

The waitress seemed to immediately pick up on the infraction, her light blue coat flushing a pale red. “S-Sorry. It’s, uh, my first week here.”

Rarity gave a warm smile and nodded. “Oh, it’s quite alright, Ms...” she paused a moment to read the nametag, “Sleepy Reprieve! I couldn’t honestly expect Ponyville to find tried-and-true Prench speakers. The atmosphere more than makes up for it. Don’t you think so, Spike?”

The dragon shook his head, as if suddenly awoken from a dream. “Huh? Ah... uh... Yes! Of course! It’s beautiful, Ms. Reprieve.”

“Thank you!” The waitress mare smiled a practiced smile, seeming to relax at least a little. “Would the two of you care to sit on the lower deck, or the higher one?”

Rarity bit her bottom lip, tossing over the option in her mind. On one hoof, the lower area seemed a bit livelier, with warmer lighting and tables placed closer together. On the other, though, the upper seemed much more personal, with low candle-like light bathing the deeper blues and purples. Of course, for a date, the obvious choice was...

“The upper deck, please,” hummed Spike as he stepped forward in confidence. “I rather think Ms. Rarity’s mane would look beautifulin that lighting. Don’t you agree, Reprieve?”

“Ah... Oh... Of course! Wonderful!” she stammered, throwing Spike a sly toothy smile as she caught on. “Well, then, just follow me!”

Spike shot Rarity a quick glance back, winking and procuring his signature grin. She looked dumbfounded back at Spike, beaming in surprise as she followed his and the waitress’ gait.

They ascended a short staircase and found themselves at a table against a large window, Reprieve dismissing herself to allow the two to look over their menus. At once, Spike stepped forward and pulled out a chair, gesturing to Rarity. “My lady.”

Rarity let out a pleasant giggle as she slid into the seat. “My, my, such a gentlecolt this evening.”

“Gentledragon,” he corrected with a playful smirk as he found his seat.

Rarity rolled her eyes, but could not help but pick up on his infectious grin. “Oh, forgive me, my dear gentledragon,” she replied, voice thick with the same crafted emphasis. The two shared a long moment of parallel grins before Rarity cracked, bursting out into a fit of laughter.

Her horn glowed, and she rose her menu to eye-level, admiring it’s stylish layout as she pondered the options. “Don’t you simply adore the charming colors they used as their motif?” Rarity commented casually, glancing up at Spike, who had a look of confusion on his face as he gazed over the menu.

“The... colors?” He raised an inquisitive eyebrow. “Oh, yeah, of course. They’re very... purple.”

Rarity giggled into her hoof, appreciating the attempt. “Purple is certainly one word for it. Forgive me; it’s simply the designer in me that I can’t quite silence. I do appreciate the attempts the staff made to make their establishment feel uniquely... Prance, but in Ponyville!” She continued, letting her eyes drift around the room once more. “Ah... though I do hope I’ll be able to see Prance in it’s own right, someday.”

Spike leaned forward and tapped his chin. “So why don’t you go?” His expression paused for a bit as his mind seemed to work through something. “Or, hey! Why don’t we go?”

“What? Just drop everything and take a trip to Prance?” She chuckled heartily, entertaining the idea for a moment. “Well, as much as I would love to, I can’t rightly say I could afford to lose all the work...”

Spike shrugged. “I wouldn’t worry about it. You’re the only dressmaker in Ponyville. So they’ll have to hold off a week. You, out of everypony, deserve the break.”

Rarity smirked. “I... suppose,” she said, playing with the words tentatively as they left her throat. “But what about you? Don’t you have the Library?”

As if she had uttered some unspeakable curse, Spike went pale and his confident expression melted. “I...” he struggled, picking up his menu and clawing through it again. “I... I could use to get out of that stuffy old place more often,” he settled with, his smile returning weakly.

He took a deep breath, his confident air returning more and more with each errant moment. “B...But enough about that! Can’t you just imagine it? Prance... the lights... the boat rides; it would be fantastic! Everything a hard-working, beautiful mare like you deserves.” He emphasised the compliment with a wink as he said it, and Rarity flushed in adoration.

“Well, with a hook like that, how could I say no?” Finally, she began to entertain the idea seriously: Prance, with Spike, underneath the stars. The idea of it sent her mind reeling in joy. She leaned forward, gazing into the dragon’s eyes and extending a hoof across the table. “Fine,” she concluded as Spike took her hoof in his claws. “Life is meant to be lived, yes?”

“Yes!” Spike agreed, smiling and gazing into her eyes. Rarity felt her insides flutter with glee as if in anticipation for her words.

“Then yes; someday, we shall go to Prance!” she sang, practically squealing in excitement. Rarity bubbled inside, closing her eyes and allowing the warm glow of joy to radiate through her cheeks.

“There, there...” Fluttershy cooed, her comforting hoof making another countless lap up and down Twilight’s back. She knew her words held no meaning; whatever had happened to Twilight, she would have to cry it all out before any progress could be made.

The tears had not ceased, despite nearly an hour of despair. In between the cracks of the overpowering grief Twilight could feel only her cold, wet tears streaming down her cheeks.

“T-Thank you... Fluttershy,” Twilight sobbed for the thousandth time, squeezing her again. Inside, it felt like she had deflated slowly over the last hour, and finally she began to feel that soon there would be no tears left to cry.

“It’s alright, dear...” she hummed, patting Twilight’s head. She wondered briefly if Twilight noticed or cared that she had been speaking to her as if she were a wounded animal, but after so long, she could not bring herself to deviate from her default words of comfort.

Eventually, Twilight’s sob’s devolved into dry chokes as her chest convulsed weakly, and she pulled back from where she had rested her head against Fluttershy’s neck. “S...Sorry for...” she mumbled, glancing errantly at the damp and matted fur that composed Fluttershy’s neck.

“Don’t you worry at all, Twilight,” Fluttershy said, smiling warmly and moving her hoof to rest on Twilight’s. “Now... do you want to talk about what happened?”

Twilight’s pressed her wet eyes together as she considered the question. She pulled in a long, wet snuffle, and nodded weakly.

“I... It’s...” she started, but sighed, and stopped her words as they came. She lifted a hoof to her eyes and wiped them as dry as she could manage before trying to start again. “It’s about... Spike.”

“Spike?” Fluttershy gasped, nodding for Twilight to continue.

“He... We...” Her breathing became more and more rapid as she thought back to the night. Her frantic neuroticism raged, pushing forth a swell of buried anxiety from within her, building and building until she felt she might throw up.

“Oh no... Twilight, are you—”

“We had sex!” Twilight shouted, more loudly than she had intended to, breathing heavily as a long silence crept it’s way into the cottage.

Fluttershy paused, unsure if she had heard correctly. Her face began to flush red as she processed the words. “Oh... Oh my...”

Twilight sniffed, and buried her head in her hooves. “I know...” she groaned. “It was stupid...”

“No, no...” Fluttershy began to comfort, inching closer to her friend and wrapping her wing around her. “A-And... You... Regret? That?

Twilight groaned even louder. “No. The farthest thing from regret. I... It was...” she gulped, shifting her eyes uncomfortably. “No, I don’t regret it. It’s that... W-Well, you see...”

“He’s in love with Rarity?” Fluttershy offered experimentally. Twilight’s hesitance had given her plenty of time to put the pieces together in her own mind, thinking ominously back to only a day before when she walked in on Spike and Rarity kissing on her couch.

“Y-Yes... But... No? I’m not sure, and I don’t think he is either,” she said with a sigh, lowering her head in dejection. “It’s that... he told me afterwards that they were already seeing eachother. I... I figured he might have, but I...” she stopped as she considered her words. “I was afraid to ask.”

“So, he couldn’t choose... I... I knew what he wanted. Rarity has always been his dream.” She turned her gaze upwards and looked desperately into Fluttershy’s eyes. “I couldn’t come between that. I told him to forget about me... to forget about everything that happened. I could never ask him to choose between us. I chose for him.”

“Oh, no...” Fluttershy murmured, shaking her head slowly. “Twilight, you didn’t...”

Twilight nodded slowly, looking down in shame. “I... there was nothing else I could do... he yelled at me... he said... said we would never be friends again... and I...” A sob assaulted her stream of words.

Fluttershy hesitated, choosing her words carefully.

“Twilight... do you love Spike?”

Twilight blinked in surprise, avoiding Fluttershy’s gaze as she thought about the question. “L-Love? I... I just...” she stammered, unable to procure an answer.

“Yes, Twilight,” Fluttershy said softly, moving her hoof to her cheek. “Are you in love with him?”

Twilight went completely silent, feeling her heartbeat in her ears. She twiddled her own hooves, finding it hard to even approach the question within her own mind. Instead, memories of their nights together found their way into the forefront of her mind. Even now as she thought back to their playful experimentation, her heart fluttered and her fur stood on end. Even though despair, the images that danced across her mind’s eye coaxed a small smile from her.

Again her breathing picked up, and she looked around the room as if her eyes grew anxious from sitting in the same place. She thought to better days, to when Spike would have picked her up and held her if she was crying, playing the role of a true friend. She thought to their first kiss, as his lips pushed softly into hers, how his claw pushed the hair sweetly from her eyes. She thought to just the previous night, how the feeling of ominous despair had evaporated as she slept against him, feeling his arms around her body.

She thought of the morning. How hard it had been to pull away. How broken she had been when she denied their bond. How alone she had felt when he walked away.

“Y... I... I think I’m in love with him, Fluttershy,” she said, she words coming slowly, the realization foreign and exciting. Immediately her breath became frantic and rapid, and she looked her friend straight in the eye.

Fluttershy beamed wider than Twilight had ever seen her smile before, leaning forward and pulling her into a warm embrace. “Oh, Twilight, this is so wonderful...” she chirped.

“W...Wonderful?” Twilight asked as she pulled away. “Fluttershy, this is awful... Spike... He’s... He’s with Rarity, now.”

“No, Twilight,” Fluttershy said, her gaze becoming more assertive, despite the smile lingering on her face. “He may be with Rarity, but his thoughts are with you.”

Twilight blinked, confused at the notion. “Fluttershy, how would you know if...”

“Trust me, Twilight,” Fluttershy said, pushing her hoof into Twilight’s chest to punctuate her words. “The heart works in pairs.”

Fluttershy’s eyes narrowed, and she leaned forward. “Run to him, Twilight.”

“W...Wha... F-Fluttershy, I can’t just—”

“Twilight, just... listen to me, please,” Fluttershy said with a sigh. “Love is not to be ignored. Love is precious— fleeting. Some ponies go their whole lives and never learn the meaning of the word. You can’t let it pass you by.”

“B...But what about Rarity?”

Fluttershy shook her head. “If Spike doesn’t love Rarity, we’re saving her from mountains of trouble in the long run. Trust me, Twilight.”

Twilight’s eyes widened as she heard the soft wisdom of her friend. Slowly, yet ever so surely, she began to nod.

“F-Fluttershy... y...you have to help me. He could be anywhere! Please; we have to go now, before it’s too late!” Twilight said, jumping up from the couch and prancing around in frantic circles.

Fluttershy remained calm and collected, smiling and raising to her hooves. “Come on now; the sun is just setting. It will be easier if we have light.”

Twilight nodded, and rushed to the door. In an instant, she threw it open, rushing down the beaten dirt path from Fluttershy’s cottage and into Ponyville.

“Are you quite alright dear?”

The words snapped Spike out of a hazy stupor like a kick across the head. He blinked, then remembered his mask, and pushed his cheekbones into a confident smile.

“You’ve hardly touched your food...” Rarity finished, voice wavering with worry. “Not enjoying it, I presume?”

“Hm?” He hummed, looking down to the revolting tangle of ivy and flowerbuds that the Prench called a meal. “No, no; It’s great!” he said, the words thrashing at his insides as they escaped. “I just made the mistake of eating right before I came to get you.”

“Ah, well, that’s unfortunate,” Rarity said, dabbing her mouth politely with a napkin. “I can assure you, it’s quite well worth the hype! Ah well; sometimes these things happen. At least you can still enjoy the atmosphere!”

“Oh, yes. Beautiful place,” he agreed, the inferno within roaring in discontentment. The purples, pinks, and blues of the restaurant clashed angrily, forcing his eyes downward to avoid a piercing migraine.

“I quite enjoy that quaint little fireplace most,” Rarity commented, gesturing a hoof over to the center of the lower-floor. “It really brings the whole feel of the black and color together in a cozy way!”

Spike turned his eyes to the fireplace; he had not even noticed it before. As his eyes panned over the dancing flames, he flexed his claws, remembering oddly how enjoyable it was to feel fur between his fingers.

As if his mind had started on a downhill slope of ice, his eyes widened as he remembered holding Twilight next to the fireplace inside the library. ‘No,’ he said to himself as the sensations of warmth and the beauty of touch filtered into his mind. ‘No, no, no, no,’ he repeated, beginning to tremble, expression melting away, a total loss of self-control.

“Spike?”

He blinked, and his head snapped to look at Rarity.

“Are you alright?” she pushed, leaning forward and clutching his claw between two hooves.

The flames burned inside.

“Perfect. I couldn’t help but imagine how beautiful you would look by that fire,” he said, gaze softening as he leaned forward. “Sometimes I just get overcome by how lucky I am.”

“Oh, Spike...” Rarity purred, smiling in joy. “You flatter me, dear. But... you need not flatter me so much. I’m here for you, Spike.”

The blaze raged hungrily within.

Spike smiled warmly. ‘I mean it though.’ “I mean it though,” he repeated, accepting the instruction blind as his mind spat it out.

Rarity gave a sly smile, leaning back in her chair and staring half-lidded at him. “You know what they say about that, don’t you, Spike? Show... don’t tell?”

He blinked. The gears did not work quickly enough, and so she continued, leaning forward and motioning for him to meet her in the middle. Slowly, he leaned forward until their faces were inches from one another.

“How would you like a chance to show me, hm Spike?” she whispered into his ear, trailing a hoof along one cheek and slowly kissing the other.

The inferno inside roared in anger.

Spike trailed his nose across the tip of her muzzle, meeting her gaze and feeling her breath on his face. “I’ve been waiting since last night to hear those words,” breathed Spike, stomach tying in knots as he tried hard to avoid thinking about what he had said.

“I’ve been waiting since last night to say them, my dear.”

“Well, then, what are we waiting for?” he replied, heart furiously slamming into his ribcage. Dumping far too many bits onto the table, the pair stood up. Rarity wrapped her tail around Spike’s leg and, just as the stars were beginning to twinkle in the sky, the two walked out of the restaurant and into the evening air.

Hard hooves slapped against the stone and dirt roads of Ponyville as Twilight Sparkle gasped for air; she had teleported around north Ponyville until her horn felt like a nail that was being driven through her skull. Though her lungs were on fire, she ran on, coming around the last mysterious corner.

Everywhere she went she had seen ponies: ponies on the road; ponies selling their wares; ponies on benches. But the town seemed to be surprisingly absent of a certain green and purple dragon. She wondered, briefly, if the two had absconded to Canterlot again, but she knew Rarity was tied to her boutique for work come the next morning.

Just as her legs were about to give out, she spotted a slowly-flying yellow pegasus above, and pushed on towards her beacon of hope.

“Flutter... Fluttershy!” she called, panting as she trotted up to her friend.

“Any sign of them?” asked Fluttershy softly as she landed on the ground.

Twilight groaned. “I... I was going to ask... You the same thing...” she said, catching her breath between fragments.

Fluttershy gave a concerned smile. “Don’t worry, Twilight. Carousel Boutique is right across the square!” Fluttershy said, turning her head to show her friend. “It’s getting late; surely Rarity will have to come home some— AH!” Her words cut off in a surprised squeak.

“What!” Twilight asked, raising her head.

The two peered across the square, and in the low-light were able to make out Rarity and Spike, ascending the steps into Carousel Boutique.

“W... Wait!” Twilight called, trotting forward slowly, but her voice was hampered by the fatigue of exhaustion. As she mustered her second wind, she began to pick up speed.

As Rarity’s horn glowed to open the door, she wrapped her tail around Spike’s neck and gave him a devious grin. Spike pulled Rarity off her front hooves into a deep, kiss, and, locked in embrace, they bumped their way inside the building.

Twilight stood not twenty feet from the door when she felt her heart break. Her eyes went wide, and she dropped to the dusty ground, wanting to scream at the sky but too exhausted to do so.

“Oh no....” Fluttershy lamented, flying over to her friend. Slowly, she helped Twilight to her hooves again, and supported her over to a patch of soft grass.

“It’s... It’s too late.”

Rarity’s shapely flanks swayed back and forth as she led Spike, hoof after hoof, up the stairs. She had not bothered to turn on any lights as they pushed into the door, and so Rarity’s round behind was the only thing in sight.

She stopped at the door to her room, turned around, and hopped up on her hind legs so their faces were on the same level. “Now, you wait right here,” she said, biting her bottom lip in pause between her words, “and when I’m ready, I’ll call for you.”

Spike nodded mechanically, giving her a short parting kiss and watching her prance inside, closing the door all but a sliver behind her.

Everywhere he looked was black; he could make out the vague shapes of the walls and bannisters of the building, but that was it. He wondered, briefly, if he was looking at the confines of his own mind, but he quickly abandoned the notion.

This is going to be fantastic. He repeated, wearing a blank stare at nothing in particular. This is everything you ever wanted.

After a brief amount of shuffling about from inside the room, he heard Rarity call his name through the darkness.

Raise your arm. He did, and pushed open the door.

Walk inside. Slowly, he entered the dark room.

Rarity was lying on her side on the bed, and her blue eyes glowing through the shadows, staring directly into his. She had pulled the bottom of her dress up to reveal only the tip of her cutie mark, her slender curves only more beautifully mysterious under the cloth. As his eyes ran up and down her body, she flicked her tail in his direction, biting her lip as she did so.

Truly, she was the most beautiful mare alive. Truly, she was the most beautiful mare alive.

One after the other, Spike raised his claws and stepped forward, the scratching of his feet against the hardwood floor filtering into his mind as metal on metal. His heart thumped eagerly, like a pump being overburdened with liquid.

He placed a claw on her thigh, and ran it up and down the length of her body, feeling her shiver in anticipation under his touch. He pulled up a knee and slid onto the satin sheets of the bed, laying himself out next to her.

As he pressed their faces together her warm lips breathed life into his cold and despondent flesh. His body went through the motions: slow, sensational kiss with only the lips; share warmth, pressing tongue in lightly; passionate, driven kiss, pressing together tightly.

His senses were unresponsive. He simply raised his claw, and began removing the dress. Strap. Strap. Slowly pulling down the zipper. He slid the cloth off her form, breathing in her shapes and curves as his eyes rested over them naked.

Her fur was matted in places; that was cute.

Her hooves wrapped around him, pulling him atop her; that was sexy.

Slowly, he planted kisses down her muzzle, and to her neck, beginning to suckle softly. Soft, enticing moans escaped her lips, and the hooves on his back flexed blissfully. His claws squeezed her flanks, pulling her against him, his own cold scales drinking in the heat of her body. But through her soft moans, and through his own trance, a familiar, dreamlike scent wafted into his mind.

Lavender.

His body convulsed.

Why did she smell like lavender.

He took a deep, sudden breath of air and pushed himself off her, beginning to breathe heavily as anxiety took hold. No; not here. Everything was perfect. Not here.

“Spike... what... wrong?” shot into his mind in fragments like pieces of a greater lightning bolt. He clutched his head between his claws, and began to curl up into a ball, wishing for all the stimuli to leave him alone.

Aided by the scent that lingered on his tongue, the mechanical stupor melted away.

Finally, the world came back.

“Spike!” Rarity called, her eyes darting around in a panic. “Spike!”

“Why do you smell like lavender?” He demanded, glaring spitefully at her as if she had accused him of some horrible crime.

“Why... W...What?!” she recoiled, blinking in surprise. “Lavender? It’s... perfume! I put it on while you were outside...”

Spike began to tremble, shifting himself away from Rarity. “I... I can’t do this,” he said, gulping as he pushed himself off the bed and rose to his feet. “I can’t...”

“Spike... What’s wrong?!” she appealed, flustered, her pleading sapphire eyes pushing through the darkness. “Do... Do you need more time? Do you not like the perfume? I can—”

“I cheated on you,” Spike said, turning and looking Rarity dead in the eyes.

“I cheated on you with Twilight,” he repeated again, finally turning away and sitting on the edge of the bed. “And... I can’t do this. Not this, Rarity, but all of this. I...”

He gulped, and dropped his head between his claws as he uttered the words.

“I’m in love with her.”

Like a calm before a storm, a silence creeped in as Rarity’s jaw dropped lower and lower. As if the words hung in the air itself, she began to shake.

Then, she smacked him.

She slapped him hard across the face, fury in her eyes. “How dare you!”

“Is that any way to treat the mare you love, Spike?” she demanded as he recoiled in shock. “To run around behind her back, charming and beguiling those who would be so ignorant as to play along with the little ruse?”

“I...I know, Rarity, I never should have done that to you. And I’m sorry, but I hope—”

“Me? To me?” she continued, stomping forward and staring into his eyes inches from his face. “No, Spike, to her. You’re in love with Twilight, and yet you run away from that, trying to convince yourself otherwise? Let me tell you something...”

“A man does not run from love, Spike. A man does not hide behind what he should do; he does what must be done. And you and I both know that you are a man.” She took his claw in her magic and glared into his eyes

“Now find her, and be sure to bring her what she deserves, because Celestia as my witness you will not break two hearts tonight.”

“Go,” she ordered, letting her magic fade and turning her head away at once.

Now Spike was the one who’s jaw had dropped, but he had no time or willpower to indulge in his surprise. He stood up and dashed to the exit, hesitating only in the threshold to look back upon the mare he was leaving.

Rarity was hunched over, mane falling down her her eyes as she trembled.

“I’m sorry,” he spoke, words pushing through the darkness as a broken, battered parting gift.

The first of many tears dripped down onto her satin sheets, twinkling in the moonlight as they fell.

“I know.”

He rushed out the door, down the stairs, and out into Ponyville.

Rarity let her sobs take her completely. Her horn glowed as she reached out into the bathroom, and turned the spigot on her bathtub. As she heard the water begin to fall, her magic gripped an object under her bed, and she pulled her diary before her as she cried.

“Dear Diary,

‘Tis not the ones we lose that harbor the most suffering, but the ones forgotten.”

Like a lightning bolt cracking through the sky, Spike burst out of Carousel Boutique full of energy and fervor. Claw after claw, he ran across the square to the library, pulling open the door as if an Ursa Major was chasing him.

“Twilight!” he called into the dark building as he dashed inside.

“Twilight!” Fluttershy spouted, jerking upright in the grass as if she was struck by a lightning bolt.

Twilight recoiled in surprise, looking through tear-stained eyes at her friend. “What?”

“Spike... He just ran out of the Boutique! Right towards the library!” Fluttershy said as quickly as she could muster, jumping to her hooves.

Twilight blinked as her mind processed the words. “To the library?”

“Yes! To the library! Come on, Twilight!” Fluttershy pleaded, beaming as Twilight hopped upright.

The two dashed across the square, burning desire renewed by a kindling of hope.

She wasn’t here. Spike had looked through all the rooms, but no lights were on, and no unicorns were present. It didn’t matter— all that mattered now was that he needed to find her elsewhere.

Jumping down all the stairs of the library at once he stumbled as he hit the floor, but pushed out the same door he had entered only a minute ago.

As soon as he was outside again, he scanned his surroundings, trying to decide which direction he would pursue first.

Through the darkness he spotted a lavender-furred mare, running towards him across the square, pink streak in her hair and fire in her eyes.

Twilight’s heart leaped as she saw Spike exit the building, his eyes falling directly on her. She beamed in joy, shaking her head as if to cleanse her of all of her worries, and took a deep breath.

“I love you!” they both shouted in unison across the square, all the remaining townsponies turning their heads at once.

Twilight leaped into Spike’s arms and threw her hooves around him, pulling him into the truest kiss either had ever given. Twilight had pressed her eyes shut, but Spike’s were wide open, glistening with the beginnings of happy tears as he held his love. Spike slammed back into the closed library door, but flipped himself around, pushing Twilight against it and pushing his lips into hers.

Though nearly all the jaws of the townsponies had dropped, a quiet yellow pegasus and an apple fritter merchant across the square began cheering together. Soon, the cheer grew infectiously into the small crowd, until everypony was shouting their approval in unison.

Neither Spike nor Twilight heard the cheers above a soft whisper, enraptured so totally in the love and lips of one another that not even Celestia herself could have pulled them apart.

Author's Note

Special thanks to Norrie for being the best writing partner I could ask for.

A note: I realize Rarity says "man." Surely some of you realized that too. I couldn't find an appropriate word. Gentlecolt, Genteldragon, Stallion... none of them fit, all for different reasons. The meaning to me is more important than the semantics of wordplay. Sorry if that bugged you.

Ashes

Epilogue

“Wait!” called Twilight as she dashed across the square.

Rarity turned her head to see her approaching friend, but Spike could not, concentrating on carrying the luggage stacked in his arms.

“Ah! Twilight! I thought you might join us for our little walk,” Rarity said with a curt smile.

“‘Little Walk’?” Twilight raised her eyebrow as she trotted up to walk beside them. She sighed, dismissing it, and shook her head. “Rarity...” She paused, as if choosing the next words carefully. “This isn’t because of me, is it?”

Rarity gave a polite smile. “I was wondering when you’d ask me that. You were so silent at the going away party, I wasn’t certain you’d bring it up at all. Would you mind taking some bags from Spike here? I’m sure he could use the help and I think this is something he should hear as well.”

Twilight’s horn glowed, pulling three brightly colored bags from the top of the stack. Spike breathed a sigh of relief.

Rarity’s eyes were focused somewhere in the far distance. “I would be lying if I said the two of you had no part in this decision, but to say that I’m not happy that you have found love for eachother would be even more dishonest,” she said, turning and giving each of them a warm smile. “You must understand; in truth I have considered this decision for quite a long time. I had only stayed in the first place out of respect for your heart, Spike.”

The dragon looked sheepishly downward. “I just hate to be the reason to see you go...”

“You’re not, dear. You’re simply the final domino to fall.”

Spike’s seemed to lighten up a little but his frown was still apparent. “I thought you gave up on Canterlotian life?”

Rarity sighed, turning her eyes to the ground. “It’s true. Ponyville is my home, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. But my business lives in Canterlot. Every year I find myself shipping more and more dresses there. Business here is... good,” she said, her eyes scanning over the quaint homes with a cautious smile, “but once everypony here who has a dress wants one, the orders only trickle in until some new style sweeps through.”

“Up there,” she exclaimed, pointing her hoof to the mountainside metropolis on the horizon, “is where my work deserves to be. I should be making the styles happen. If I must tolerate the smug and selfish to follow my dreams, I will do so. Besides-- if there is one thing you girls have taught me over the years, it’s that you can’t ever assume who ponies are just by the way they dress or seem.”

“I... I think that’s very wise of you.” Twilight turned to her friend and placed a hoof on her shoulder as they stopped at the train station. As if on cue, a lonely train sputtered softly into the station.

Rarity gave a genuine smile. “That means a lot coming from you, Twilight.” The two friends smiled in harmony. “Though... if you wouldn’t mind... I would like to talk to Spike alone for a moment.”

Twilight blinked, and looked over to the dragon, who was staring back just as perplexed as she was. “Um... sure! No problem! I’ll just bring your bags inside, I guess.”

With a final smile to the both of them Twilight cast a magical aura over the bags and trotted up the steps of the station.

Rarity looked up to Spike. Once again he was avoiding her gaze. “Spike...”

“I’m sorry,” Spike said, crossing his arms, his face painted in a deep frown.

“You already said that, dear.”

“I... I did?”

Rarity gave only a discomforting smile in response.

Spike thought back to that night. Oh. Soon he shared her smile, but the guilt welling inside him forced more words forth. “I... I just can’t help but think of how horrible a friend I was to you. I... I lied, and I hurt you, and now you’re moving away because of me. Can... Will you ever be able to forgive me?”

Now it was Rarity’s turn to look away. For a long moment, the two stood, long shadows cast across the earth. Slowly, thoughtfully, Rarity took a single step forward, pushing herself onto her hind legs one final time. Her hooves wrapped around him, simple and tight and she rested her head against his neck.

As if he was waiting for a cue from the universe to reciprocate, Spike hesitated, before finally raising his arms and embracing his friend.

Rarity looked to the ground, smiling. Their shadows pushed into eachother, creating a single, indecipherable form. It was comforting, in a way. She pulled her head back and looked into Spike’s eyes, letting him share in her gaze as the seconds pushed tirelessly onward.

With only a small sigh where words might’ve been, she pulled back, dropped to her hooves, and walked silently into the train.

He watched as she approached Twilight. They shared some short last words and a final hug before Twilight walked down the stairs of the station, tear-filled eyes glistening in the low sunlight.

The train coughed and sputtered to life, wheels turning with a creak, and pushed off, rounding the corner just as the final sliver of the sun bathed the world in it’s last shimmers of light.

“Spike?” Twilight said, sniffling back her inevitable sadness. “What’s your dream?”

“My dream?”

“Rarity went to chase her dreams. What’s yours, Spike?” A tear trickled down her cheek.

Spike smiled, and kneeled down to eye level with the purple mare. “Do you want to hear a story?”

Twilight smiled sheepishly, nodding.

“Come on; climb on,” he said, pointing to his back. Her smile grew wider, but she humored him, trotting around and carefully draping her hooves over his shoulders.

He stood up with a soft grunt and pointed himself home, walking claw over claw, kicking up dust with every step. “Well,” he whispered softly, pointing his eyes up and smiling as the stars began to pierce the low-light vale of the evening sky.

“It all started a long time ago. I remember my shell suddenly being gone! Naturally, I opened my eyes, wondering what could have woken me up. Before me was a little, purple filly and, though I didn’t know it yet, someday she would grow into the most beautiful mare in all of Equestria...”

Author's Note

Perhaps the only words a writer will never learn to express are those lovely enough to tell his fans how much they mean to him.

Which is to say, I am at a loss for words.

Thank you for reading.