Spike woke up long before Thorax did.
Frost seemed to hang in the air around him as he breathed, and as he raised his head out from the crook of Thorax’s neck he realized with a slight fright that the room seemingly had frozen over in the middle of the night.
During his dream of Rocks and Water.
He slipped out from under the bed with much greater ease then he would’ve normally had, and he realized with a start that he’d transformed with his dream, turning into a sort of halfway point between his true form and the form he’d assumed for so long, the one that felt like Spike the Dragon instead of Spike the Life Bringer. This was somewhere in between the two, something along the lines of Spike the Dragon of Life, if he had to describe it. He was more slender than his typical form, and slightly taller, but still slightly broad in the chest. He was a matte lavender, a more washed out version of his typical purple, and rather than the usual chartreuse, his belly scales were a xanadu color, which seemed to shift slightly? Sort of like a holographic card. He looked around the room, feeling ice crackle and crunch beneath his claws, and slowly, he waved his hand across the room. Behind his hand trailed what seemed like a path of heat, as the ice melted, and water evaporated, but as he reached Thorax, the sleeping changeling didn’t even react. Spike took a deep breath, before creeping out into the hallway, walking through the frozen Crystal Palace, bringing with him a wave of restorative heat, melting away the invading ice. He finally stopped once he’d circled most of the castle, ending back up at the room he’d shared with Thorax. He’d been here for what? Three days? He still had four more to spend here, and he intended to make the most of it.
First he had to deal with one last thing.
With a snap of his fingers, Spike appeared on a mountain thousands of miles from the Crystal empire, where a tiny, greyed out dragon sat on the edge of a mountainside. It stared intently at something miles away, something that would remain unseeable to virtually anything. The air around it seemed to quiver with distortion as it went from the freezing cold of high altitude to the calm warmth of summer, and Spike approached quietly and softly, only drawing it’s attention when he was just a few steps off from it.
“I wanted to help.” It said, voice crackly and distant, like it was being carried through a pipe from miles off. “Do you not want me to help?” Spike was quiet for a moment, before moving to slide down next to the Static.
“I think… you were useful when I needed you to get by. You were great when I needed help, but I’m standing on my own now. Like… when an elephant sticks close to the older elephants, and learns which plants to eat and things like that. Now I’m doing alright.”
“...I see.” The Static seemed to shrink just a little more, and Spike waved his claw ever so slightly, clearing away the fog so he could see where the Static was looking off to.
In the far distance was the ocean. The very same that he saw in his dreams. His dreams of Rocks and Water.
”Take me?”
Without saying a work, Spike scooped up the Static, and snapped his fingers.
“It’s really nice.”
“This is where we’re supposed to be, I think.”
“Well, it certainly feels right.” The Static continued to shrink, before eventually becoming so small that the only way Spike knew he was still there was the feeling of his own power, sitting in the palm of his hand.
“Do well without me?”
“...I’ll do my best.”
Spike arrived back home just as the sun was coming up, sitting at the table in the dining hall they usually sat at, laying his head on the table until the others got there. When Cadance and Shining Armor arrived, dragging a frantic Thorax behind them, Thorax shot at Spike like an arrow, flying over the table, and landing in the seat next to him with the most relieved expression he’d ever seen.
“When I woke up and you weren’t there I got worried, especially with how worn out you were last night, and I-”
“I’m here, Thorax. I’m here.” Thorax smiled, dragging Spike into his lap.
“And I’m very glad you are. Now, why are you so much lighter?”
“I got full control over the Static, so now I’m a bit more grey. It happens. Either way, we should probably get some breakfast.” Thorax seemed to be holding Spike just a little closer than usual. He didn’t mind, he was a little on the thinner side now, but it seemed like a little bit more than the fact that he went down a waist size. Spike quickly leaned up and gave Thorax a peck on the cheek, and like clockwork, the Changeling loosened his hold to normal levels.
Unfortunately, Cadance and Shining Armor were the next to hop to attention.
“WHICH ONE OF YOU CONFESSED FIRST?!” The two shouted it in unison, and Thorax nearly jumped out of his chair in fear.
“It’s important, there’s ten bits on the line.” Spike pursed his muzzle at that.
“Why were you betting on this?”
“Because the two of you had been mutually pining for around a year now and everyone knew but you.”
Thorax blinked. “...Well that’s disappointing. This could be our one year anniversary instead of just getting together yesterday.”
Spike sighed. “Well, to answer your question, I technically said I love you first, but I’m pretty sure we were just dating without the dating before then. I really don’t think either one of us actually asked the question.” Cadance cheered, and Shining Armor groaned, walking towards the door, presumably to get 10 bits.
“So, what are the two of you gonna do now?” Cadance asked. Spike furrowed his brow, before looking up at Thorax.
“How long do you have to be dating before you get married, because that’s definitely happening.”