//------------------------------// // Fulfilled // Story: Spike Finds Love At Last // by Soothing Stone //------------------------------// The rest of the night felt like a blur to Twilight. She dreamed many dreams in her sleep, some of which felt real to her mind; others felt just as imaginary as a normal dream. When she opened her eyes, she wondered if she was still dreaming. She didn’t recognize the room she found herself in, wherever it was, but she knew it was a bedroom. Then it hit her that this was her bedroom. She groaned and stretched out her hands, but she ended up touching something right next to her. Spike was wide awake in bed with her, content with watching his lover sleep peacefully. “Wait, I don’t remember coming in here last night,” she murmured. “That’s because you fell asleep in the living room,” he replied. “I picked you up and laid you down in bed right after that. Do you think it’s weird that I slept with you, too?” “Not at all. Just weird we’re still in our clothes from yesterday.” She kissed him on the forehead and snuggled up. “Last night happened, right? We kissed, hooked up, the whole thing? It doesn’t feel real to me anymore.” “It doesn’t feel real to me, either.” He was relaxed as he sighed contently, snuggling up to her. “But it really did happen, and I couldn’t be happier if I tried.” Twilight followed that up with a tender kiss on the lips. Spike returned the kiss and came in for a hug. Their emotions started to well up from the touch, and they found themselves cuddling and kissing each other for a long time again. For all they’ve been through lately, they definitely earned a moment alone to do this. “You really like kissing me, don’t you?” she laughed. “I think you like it more,” Spike teased with a boop. “And here I thought your first kiss was gonna be with Flash Sentry.” “Which Flash? The human one or the pony one?” “Both. Come on, you were looking at him with gaga eyes in either universe.” “Spike, you can be a real tease sometimes,” Twilight snorted. “It was never going to work out with him either way. The human Flash was from another world, and the pony Flash was never interested in me to begin with. Honestly, I’m glad it didn’t work out. That left me open to be with you.” He replied with another series of kisses, something they were eager to have more of. “I know what that feels like. It stung a lot to have Rarity dump me like that, but come to think of it, you were more perfect for me, anyways.” “Oh, Spike…” They found themselves in the middle of another intense cuddle-and-kiss session. However, she turned to the window and saw the sun shine through. “It’s morning already? How long was I asleep for?” “Not very long,” he noted. “Oh crap, you got a meeting with the Yak prince later today! I should have reminded you. I had the whole schedule in my mind and I forgot. Granted, a lot of things happened yesterday, but that’s no reason to forget all this.” “You did nothing wrong, Spike. I just gotta get dressed and stuff for the day. We’ll hang out after the meeting, okay? I don’t want to leave you out in the cold when I’m done.” “Like you’ve ever done that. What do you want to do when the meeting’s over?” “Come to think of it, there is a pretty cool forest I just discovered that we should check out. It would take some flying to get there, but since we both have wings, why don’t we give it a try…” ------ Tall trees. Green grass. Fresh air. A clear blue sky. It was starting to come to him. Whatever this place was, it was where he needed to be. Get his mind straightened out. Take a deep breath. Another one. He felt relaxed and still. It was what he wanted. It was what he needed. The difference was, this forest was real. It wasn’t a figment of his psyche or imagination. He knew it it was the real deal. Just like he did in his dream, he laid down against a tree trunk with Twilight laying on his lap, resting her head on his chest. This time, he wasn’t fearful or thought that this was the stuff of nightmares. No, this was quite the opposite. He enjoyed this as much as she was. She kicked off her shoes to the side and enjoyed the feeling of grass blades on her feet. “How did you find out about this forest?” he asked, resting his chin on the top of her head. He was careful to avoid the horn, and her mane felt silky smooth today. “I found it when I was flying home from Cloudsdale,” she explained. “I had some time to kill after the last Wonderbolts show, and this forest looked amazing from the clouds. So I landed down in the middle of it, took a look around, and fell in love with it. It’s almost kind of magical, isn’t it?” “Yeah. It really is.” He thought about the situation he found himself in, and he started to laugh a little. Then some more. A lot. It turned into a huge outburst of laughter. “What’s so funny? Are you okay?” “I’m okay. It’s just so funny though, because I had a dream that went almost exactly like this. I was in a forest, you were laying down with me like you’re doing right now, and we were together. That was back when I knew I had feelings for you, but I still didn’t want to come clean about it, so it was almost like a nightmare.” “Please tell me that’s not how you feel about this,” she thought. “Are you kidding? It was a nightmare at the time, but now, this is the best thing I could be doing at this moment. It’s probably what you needed after that Yak meeting, right?” “You think? The Yaks are getting a lot better at the friendship stuff, but Rutherfold’s social skills could still use some work. Thanks for coming through with your note taking, though. You’re still a lifesaver when I need it.” “You mean your #1 assistant, right?” “I wouldn’t say that. More like my partner in crime.” She brought her hands on top of his and started to intertwine their fingers together Spike let out a tear as he felt it happen. “I like the sound of that. It’s just that...the thing is…” “Okay, now I know something is wrong. You don’t have to hide anything from me.” “You’re right. The thing is, dragons live for a long time. Everpony know this by now. Like, the oldest one I met is over 1200 years old! And now that we’re together, it does have me thinking about that.” “Wait, I see where this is going. Are you scared that you might outlive me?” “All the time. It’s something I’ve thought about in the past, not just recently. I really don’t want to outlive my pony friends, but that’s something I have to live with, but I started thinking about us last night. What it’s gonna be like when we get older? I really, really don’t want to see you die when I’m still young for a dragon. Is that something I should be worried about, or should I just let it go?” Twilight pondered the question for a little while. He had a good point, and she couldn’t just brush it off like it was nothing. She didn’t want to give him a fluffy answer that didn’t fix anything. This one needed a special touch to it. When she figured out what to say, she turned around to meet him face to face. “Spike, you have to keep in mind that I’m an alicorn. I wasn’t born into it like Celestia and Luna were...and Flurry Heart...but I’m still an alicorn. You know how long they live, right? The royal sisters are over a thousand years old, and they look wonderful for their ages. And now that I’m one of them, maybe I’ll live as long as they have.” “That’s true. I thought the whole ‘you ascended into being an alicorn’ thing might stop you from living that long, but I hoped that wasn’t the case.” “Even if I don’t, there’s something else to consider. You might be right that we’ll have to deal with this one day. But what would you rather do, enjoy the time we have together right now, or turn me away and remain forever alone, all because you live longer than most ponies ever will?” “Well, when you put it that way, I’d rather enjoy the time we have now.” “Exactly. Look, I don’t want to see my friends die when I’m still young for an alicorn, either. Those will be the worst days of my life when they happen. But my friends are alive right now. They’re still young, and they’re still in the prime of their lives. I need to cherish every moment I have with them when I can. If you stay with me, I’m going to cherish every moment I have with you, too, and I will do everything I can to show how much I love you. Nothing will ever change that between the two of us. Can you do the same for me?” “Yes. I love you so much, and I want to spend all the time I can with you. I just can’t believe how stupid I am. I need to stop that.” “You aren’t stupid, Spike. It is a pretty serious thing to think about. Just don’t let it get in the way of what’s happen in front of you, okay?” “Okay. Then let’s do something together right now. Err, what did you want to do?” “I think we both know that answer. It is pretty fun, kissing and cuddling you.” She kissed him yet again. It was getting almost impossible to keep away from him for very long anymore. Spike was eager to get back to it like he was, smacking his lips with hers. His arms pulled her in a little closer, as they couldn’t stop touching and kissing each other. Her hands cradled his chest as the two new love birds were eager to express their love for their partner, in whatever way they could imagine. “I’m kinda happy nopony’s here to see this,” she commented. “This felt like it was a long time coming, wasn’t it?” “It feels like that, come to think,” he wondered. “How long do you think we’ve been feeling this way for? Years?” “I don’t know. You’re just now an adult, so it wasn’t on my mind until recently, Keep in mind that I loved you like a brother to begin with, but maybe there was more to it all along.” “That sounds right to me. Does it really matter in the end? We’re together right when we need to be, and that’s all there is to it.” “Yeah. Just don’t want to leave anytime soon…” “I don’t think we have to. There’s nothing on your schedule for another couple of hours. Even then, it’s just reading to a class of fillies at Cheerilee’s class. Nothing you can’t handle.” “Good. That means more time with you.” “You always know what to say, don’t you? I noticed you’ve developed a knack for that recently.” “That’s all those years of friendship lessons talking,” she giggled. “Just be glad you didn’t ask me out when I was using time travel spells, just to tell myself to stop worrying.” “Yeah, I think I picked my moment out perfectly…” They would remain in the forest for a long time after that, cherishing and loving each other. They still weren’t ready to go all the way just yet, but they would get there one day. For now, though, simply expressing their love through a heartfelt kiss and touch would be enough to get the point across. It seemed like things could get any better for the love stricken dragon and alicorn, and they would only get closer with time. However, that wouldn’t be the best part of their relationship. Matter of fact, that moment would come in eleven months’ time.