//------------------------------// // Resolution // Story: My Shining Love // by DraconequusMaximus //------------------------------// Twilight Velvet wandered through the castle until spotting a guard on patrol. Though it was awkward, she stopped the crystal pony and asked him where she could find the kitchens. After politely declining the offer to escort her, Velvet went on her way through the ridiculously large castle. Eventually she had no need to remember the directions the kind guardspony had given her. Velvet needed only to follow her nose. The corridors Velvet passed through on her way to Spike were filled with pleasant aromas that filled her with nostalgia and set her stomach to grumbling in anticipation. If she hadn't known better, Velvet would have thought it was Hearth's Warming Day. But then she would have been the one in the kitchen. Oh Celestia, I forgot how much I taught that boy about cooking. Velvet thought to herself. Within fifteen minutes of receiving directions and following her sense of smell, Velvet managed to find herself at the source of her current troubles and the barrage of heavenly smells. Spike was no doubt cooking up a storm beyond the double-doors, meaning Velvet needed only to muster the courage to open them and do what she knew was right. She had broken Spike's heart, and it was her duty to fix it. If she could just open the door. "Come on Velvet! You raised two foals, and helped raise Spike! Why can't you open a bucking door?! You know Spike is still the tender-hearted little boy he once was... He's just... really, really, big now. And pointy." Velvet berated herself under her breath. He also has bigger ears now too. A familiar voice shouted from beyond the doors. Velvet blushed with great intensity, but regardless pushed open the doors into the kitchen. She was actually rather grateful to Spike, as his knowledge of her presence made things a surprisingly great deal easier. Spike hadn't looked up from his work yet as Velvet entered the kitchen. He was removing a truly enormous pan of what Velvet immediately recognized as her favorite casserole from the oven. There were already a great number of dishes on one of the counter tops in the room, and through the glass of one of the other ovens Velvet could see a number of ramekins with what she guessed contained her favorite chocolate souffle. Velvet had mixed feelings about all of that. On one hoof, Spike obviously still cared for her and still remembered all of her favorites. On the other hoof, the same was still true, making Velvet feel all the worse for hurting him. Almost everything could easily be identified as Velvet's favorites or at least her own recipes. Everything looked perfect, lovingly made as if she had made them herself. If Velvet was honest with herself, she had doubts as to whether or not she could match Spike's level of culinary expertise. He had made everything by himself, and in a fairly short amount of time. Once Spike was out of tasks to do for the moment, he and Velvet looked at one another. Neither of them knew exactly what to say, but Velvet didn't flinch or turn away. After seeing everything Spike had done for Shining, and seeing every dish Velvet had ever taught him to make she knew Spike was still who she had known for his entire life. Even Spike's eyes were still the same, big, emerald green pools full of kindness. Eyes that if you looked into without judging the rest of Spike's intimidating form, would tell you you had nothing to fear. Unless you were made of gemstones. Likewise, Spike looked into Velvet's eyes. There he saw the loving eyes of the mare that had taught him so much. The eyes of one of his closest friends, who wanted very much to say that she was sorry. "Good to see you again Velvet, face to face I mean. I guess this whole situation could have been avoided if I'd stayed in touch. I should have made time to go see you when I had days off from helping the princesses. If I could make time for the girls back in Ponyville, I could've dropped in to say hello at least. Maybe if you'd seen me growing a little at a time this wouldn't have happened." Spike started. Velvet vehemently shook her head in opposition, almost becoming angry at Spike for trying to make her feel better. "You were working, for little-to-no pay I might add. You were helping the princesses with their day-to-day duties. I can't tell you how many times I heard Twilight tell me how grateful she was to have you around. You were right to spend your free time off having fun, not sipping tea with an old grey mare like me. "You let me be in the wrong, Spike. I'm mare enough to admit I hurt you, and it made me almost sick when I saw how hard I'd hit you. I didn't intend to do it, especially after you gave me my son back, but I hurt you. I'm sorry it happened, but I'm glad we can move past it. Cadence would haunt me to the grave if I got between you and Shining." Velvet ranted. Spike suddenly felt like he was five again, and had sneaked an extra cookie after dinner. Velvet's tone told him he had no say in anything at that point, and he was to take her word as law. Velvet was a mother, and a teacher. She had far more experience making children cooperate than any mare should, at least in Spike's opinion. "Okay then. Apology accepted. Wanna help me make sweet potato pie? It's Shining's favorite, and by my count he hasn't had one in like, three years. I might even give the castle staff the recipe so he can have it a little more often." Velvet smiled, and walked right up to Spike and gave him the best hug she could manage. Spike's arm was the only thing she could wrap her forelegs around, but Spike reciprocated by patting her on the back with his other hand. "Geez, Spike. Are you always this warm? I know you've always run a little hotter than ponies, but you're like an oven now." Velvet marveled. "The fire inside get's bigger along with the rest of me. Shining says it's like snuggling an electric blanket made of snake-skin." Spike chuckled. Velvet laughed as the two separated. She had missed Spike's sense of humor, even if she had to look up to him now. Quite literally. Velvet levitated an apron from a nearby hook over to herself. For the first time in years, she was going to cook with Spike, and she was going to cook for her son which had been long overdo as well. ~Several Hours of Quality Time Later~ Shining, Twilight, and Night Light all entered the dining hall promptly at seven as instructed. They found Spike and Velvet going through photo albums, sitting next to each other. It did the trio good to see the two had gotten back onto their previous terms, though Shining knew that baby pictures were almost definitely going to come into play in the very near future. Though Shining's worries were soon assuaged when he was hit with the fantastic array of aromas wafting off of the veritable feast laid out on the table. Shining estimated that even his family and Spike combined wouldn't be able to devour everything. What's more, Shining's senses told him there was sweet potato pie in the direct vicinity. "Oh Celestia, Spike. If you were any other dragon I'd say you were fattening me up before eating me. And even then, I think I'd die a reasonably happy guy." Shining mused in anticipation of the meal. "Don't worry. If you get fat I can just schedule gym time or more training sessions. The castle staff loves a good show, and once Wordplay starts we'll have a little more flex-time." Spike reasoned. As everyone sat down at their own seats, Spike took the liberty of serving up the food. Once everyone had received a plate of generous portions, Spike loaded up his own platter. Velvet and Night were mildly surprised at how much Spike planned to eat, but after looking his new size over they both thought better of saying anything. If anything Spike was eating too little for his size. Shining eagerly sampled everything on his plate, finding himself flashing back to every holiday of his youth. Spike's food tasted exactly like his mother's, if not better. If Shining had known that he could have been having Spike's home cooking until now he would have already gained a great deal of weight. "Oh man, Spike. I'm sorry I ever doubted you. I feel like an idiot for not knowing how good a cook you are." Shining praised. Spike swallowed his current mouthful of food before replying, though he had a pleased expression on his face. "Glad you feel that way. I was thinking of cooking our dinner on Thursdays from now on. I had forgotten how much I genuinely enjoyed cooking, what with being around maids and servants so often in the last few years." Spike proposed. "Sounds great. Open court is always kinda dull. It'd definitely make Thursday worth looking forward to." Shining agreed without hesitation. Night, Velvet, and Twilight listened to the exchange between the Spike and Shining, finding the conversation very interesting. Despite their relatively new relationship, Spike and Shining seemed close. Their relationship was certainly different than Shining and Cadence's had been, for a vast number of reasons. Still, they worked well together. Spike was the surprisingly gentle thinker, and Shining was the one that was relaxed, if just a bit scatter-brained. Spike could dote on Shining, which had become accustomed to doing through his many years as an assistant and aid to Twilight and other ponies. Conversely, Shining could help Spike unwind, and enjoy their many shared interests as an escape from work. "You two make a surprisingly good couple. There's very little effort in the two of you coming to terms acceptable to the both of you. I'm kind of envious really." Twilight observed. Spike and Shining looked at each other without saying a word, but seemed to carry out an entire conversation. Spike used some hand signs Twilight and her parents were unfamiliar with, and Shining's face lit up with what seemed to be realization. Shining briefly looked at Twilight, and responded to Spike in kind with ear motions and less complex hoof-signing. Twilight was completely flummoxed, and just a little annoyed. "What the hay was that about? I've read books about every kind of non-verbal communication and I didn't understand any of that." Twilight complained. Shining decided to field the question, giving Spike a short signal which he returned with a simple thumbs-up. "We invented our own. For combat purposes initially, and maybe inside jokes or things others wouldn't care to hear. None of the other sign-languages really fit because Spike has hands and I have hooves, not a lot of parallels." Shining explained. Twilight briefly examined her hooves, then compared them to Spike's hands. They were radically different, which Twilight hadn't really bothered to consider before. She used magic for almost everything, so appendages weren't normally on her mind. "Okay, I could see that. But, what did you say?" Twilight implored. Shining opted out putting his hooves up at either side, looking to Spike. Soon all the other eyes in the room were glued to their resident reptile as well. Spike sighed, but looked to Twilight, red showing through his scales. "We thought that maybe you should get back on the dating scene. I told Shining you hadn't even tried since the Flash Sentry incident, causing him to agree with me." Spike admitted. Twilight went through a range of emotions, such as disbelief, anger, disappointment, and other negative feelings. However, sensing the oncoming storm Twilight Velvet quelled her fury the only way she could see fit. By promptly shoving a jumbo, homemade dinner role in Twilight's open mouth. Twilight looked at her mother with a profound sense of betrayal. "Don't you look at me like that young lady. The clock is ticking, and somepony is giving me a grandchild. Unless male dragons can somehow reproduce with stallions, I'm putting my bets on you Missy." Velvet commanded. Twilight immediately retreated from the conversation, quietly taking to eating the dinner roll instead of commenting for fear of digging herself a grave. Twilight hadn't considered her parents' arrival to see Shining and assess his relationship with Spike might also drag her into the spotlight. The battlefield of love was one Twilight felt quite unprepared to siege. Luckily, her father was a neutral party. "Ah Velvet, let the girl find her special somepony in her own time. We're as fit as a couple of fiddles, and I'd wager we'll be around long enough to see our grand-kids." Night reasoned. Velvet huffed, but her next bite of practically orgasmic food made her forget her cares for a moment. The meal went just fine, everyone enjoyed their food, and everyone got along for the most part. Spike and Twilight were mostly content to watch Shining and his parents catch up, interjecting or adding things when necessary. The whole meal did a world of good for everyone at the table, and everyone felt like a family again, even though things were a bit different now. After dessert had been eaten, and the table had been cleared the group stayed at the table at Night's request. Night briefly departed the dining hall before returning with something brought from the family home that he hoped Shining would remember. It was a black box the size of a small sheet-cake, made of laminated cardboard. In big white letters, the box read Who Done It?, and below that in red letters it said that it was Equestria's number one, family-style, mystery-solving game. Judging by the wear on the box, it was quite old. "Oh-my-gosh. That's my favorite board game! I didn't even know you guys still had it! I haven't seen it since I moved out of the house. Can we play it?" Shining exclaimed, clopping his hooves together like an over-excited filly. Just as quickly as his parents could nod in approval, Shining used his magic to set up the board and deal out the necessary cards and game-pieces. Shining even took the liberty of doling out everyone's character identities. Everyone picked up their cards, which had a picture and name of their character. "I'm Professor Sugar Plum." Twilight read, reasonably satisfied with the title. "I'm Colonel Dijon Mustard." Night Light added, amused at the ridiculous name. "I'll be playing as Mrs. Saccharine Sweets." Velvet continued. "I of course will be Detective Deerstalker, as always." Shining Armor stated proudly. That of course left Spike, the last to reveal their character name, causing everyone to look at him. Spike sighed and threw his card down on the table, allowing them to see it. On the card was a rather villainous looking griffon, complete with a thin, remarkably curly mustache, black cloak, monocle, and a tall black top hat. Beneath the overly stereotypical drawing was a name in the same golden-brown bubble-letter font as the other characters, which read Randy Butternubs. Needless to say, everyone but Spike began laughing heartily. Though soon Spike's deep laugh joined the fray, the out pouring of laughter reverberating in the enormous dining hall. It took a few moments for everyone to calm down. "Meh. At least he's got a sweet mustache. Who gets to pick the crime card?" Spike asked Shining, since he seemed to be in charge. "Crime card?" Twilight asked. Shining floated the instructions out of the box, looking to the section about the crime cards. "A crime card is drawn before the game to provide a background for the game session. On the card will be instructions on how to play that specific scenario. Then all character cards to be used are to be put in a stack, shuffled, and the top card is to be put into the center of the board, face-down. The players then move around the board according to dice rolls and collect evidence cards to try and legitimize their guess as to Who Done It, or give reason for themselves to be seen as innocent via alibi cards." Shining read. "Oh. I see. Well then, since this is your game why don't you do it, Shining?" Twilight suggested. Shining nodded, and placed his hoof atop the stack of cards still residing in the box. Without looking, Shining drew one card, and brought it up to his face. Once it was there, Shining looked back at it, preparing to read it. In keeping with his cheesiness, Shining made quite a show of the reveal. Shining levitated the card out in front of himself, just so he could use his hooves to do an impersonation of a drum-roll on the table. "And the crime of the century is,-" Shining began. Unfortunately, a familiar red unicorn crystal-mare and two guards burst through the door just as Shining was about to read the card. It was Wordplay, the mare that was going to become Spike's assistant after her desperate journalistic endeavor earlier in the day. Her mane was frazzled and done up in what was likely an impromptu bun with a pencil run through it. Unlike earlier she was wearing a set of half-moon spectacles, and was carrying a clipboard in her yellow magic beside her. Wordplay and the guards didn't even bother bowing, as there was an urgent look on their faces. "The Dark Magic Artifact Vault just outside the empire has been robbed!" Wordplay shouted, panic in her eyes. Everyone was speechless, and soon looked to Shining to see the king's reaction. He seemed deep in thought, and after a moment he grabbed his white game-piece and brought it up to his face. Shining dramatically glared at the piece, as if he was appraising it so it would tell him what secrets it held. "Detective Deerstalker always catches his culprit." Shining told the group with conviction, not looking away from the game-piece. His only response was several confused looks and face-hooves (and claws).