//------------------------------// // Suspicions // Story: My Shining Love // by DraconequusMaximus //------------------------------// True to his word Shining Armor had begun contacting his family again as soon as new trade agreements had been struck. Shining made use of Spike's magic flames to mail out various letters to his relatives as well as samples of the empires new exports. Both were met with responses of delight. Things were still a bit hectic to entertain family but it was a start. Spike had been a fount of valuable insight in the last few weeks since the crystal fair. Spike had even managed to redouble the speed at which the empire was being modernized after it's millennium of absence. Everything was running smoothly again for the first time in years but were still very busy. Shining couldn't help but notice that Spike, the source of all the swift repair and reform was growing continually distant. The dragon would occasionally cast glances at the stallion but would quickly look away if Shining met his gaze. Aside from meetings and political functions Shining never saw the dragon which was confusing as he occupied a very large amount of space. Shining even asked the staff were Spike had disappeared to but none of them had a clear answer. Spike had been given his own chambers but Shining found them nearly untouched when he entered them. It was clear that he was being avoided but he couldn't figure out why. Shining may not be the greatest political mind but he knew everything there was to know about military matters, combat, and the like. He knew if he wanted to get to the bottom of this he would need to set a trap, so he had the schedule changed with an added meeting and left the revised copy in Spike's chambers. The meeting was supposedly about the agricultural minister's new proposition for increasing the yield of truffle crops by thirty percent. Shining knew that Spike followed this topic as closely as a mother would a foal, after all it had been one of his more successful early ideas. The meeting had been scheduled for noon the next day and surely enough Spike arrived right on time. However Shining was the only pony found in the meeting hall much to Spike's confusion. "Uh, Shining? Where's the minister of agriculture?" Spike said glancing around nervously. "He's not coming Spike, I arranged this meeting to confront you on why you've been so distant." Shining said in a stern but caring tone. Spike looked for a way out of the situation but conceded defeat when he found no satisfying solution to his dilemma. He sighed deeply and took a seat in a chair specially designed to accommodate his heavy bipedal form. He hung his head for a moment in thought. He spent a moment articulating his thoughts to words before speaking up. "Have you ever developed feelings for someone that you knew you had no business being with?" Spike said still avoiding Shining's eyes. Shining wasn't sure what to make of the unexpected question but soon came up with an answer as he knew a bit on the subject. "Well, I did fall in love with a princess you know? I wasn't even a guard at the time. I was a nerdy teenage colt who played tabletop RPGs with multi sided dice when we met." Shining answered reminiscing about the past he had with Cadence and the strange way they had confessed feelings to one another during a hectic school dance. Spike internally face-palmed himself for phrasing his words like that. Of course he knows what that's like! Now you've got him thinking about Cadence! Spike berated himself in his head. Spike was glad that Shining wasn't visibly saddened at the recollection of his past love but still didn't know where else to go with the conversation without blurting it out. Luckily Shining was next to speak so he had more to work with. "Oh, I get it! You've fallen for a pony here in the empire! You're worried about the species difference right? Well don't worry about it, everypony in the empire loves you Spike." Shining said excitedly at the prospect of his close friend finding somepony. Spike was speechless for a moment before he again began formulating a plan. This time however he managed to come up with an acceptable means of escape. "Heh, yeah you got me Shining and you're right, I should go confess to them right now." Spike said nervously as he got up from his seat with feigned enthusiasm. Shining seemed to buy it and smiled sincerely at the dragon as he marched out the door. As soon as Spike was out of sight Shining dropped the smile and began following behind the dragon staying just out of his line of sight. He continued his pursuit until his target lead him out of the palace and into the courtyard. He watched as Spike spread his membranous wings & began taking off. Shining watched as Spike steadily grew smaller as the distance grew greater. He thought Spike was being true to his word and began to trot off when he stopped in realization. Spike had flown north, the only thing in that direction was abandoned crystal mines. Shining rescheduled all his appointments for the day under the pretense of "urgent business". His staff saw the look of determination in his eyes and readily accepted the flimsy excuse as fact. He packed his emergency expedition gear & a sabre he had received upon his ascension to prince of the empire years ago. Not having enough pegasi at the ready was annoying as he had to make the trek to the mines on hoof. He made a slow but steady course to the mines. It took him several hours to reach them but he was little worse for wear. The mines were normally boarded shut and placed under an enchantment he himself had created after Sombra's second fall. Now however, the boards were in pieces and strewn all about leaving the cave wide open. Shining didn't feel lingering magic in the air from his spell breaking so the barrier had been taken down at least a week previous. It seemed this is where Spike had been disappearing to when not fulfilling his duties. As Shining entered the cavernous mine he illuminated his horn as not to trip or worse in the hazardous tunnels. After a few minutes of walking Shining saw piles of enormous crystals that seemed recently disturbed from the earth. The further he went the more the chambers seemed to widen and the number of crystals seemed to increase. Has Spike been doing all this himself? There are millions of bits worth of crystals here! It's only been a few weeks since he started vanishing. Shining thought to himself, amazed at the progress the lone drake had made. But this didn't explain why Spike had lied to him and came here instead of meeting the mysterious pony. As he continued onward he began to hear a great rumbling noise and felt the earth around him shake weakly. It definitely wasn't a cave-in but he couldn't figure out precisely what was making the unnatural rumble. He pressed onward unsure of how long he had been here. Continually going deeper underground through off his sense of time's accuracy. The noise continued to grow louder until it was much more clear, sobbing. Spike was somewhere ahead bawling his eyes out like a foal here where nopony could hear his distress. Shining found an intersection at the front of a new set of tunnels and chose the one the sound was coming from most clearly. He doubled the illuminating spell to better view his surroundings. He could now see a shape at the end of the tunnel. There sat Spike the dragon balled up and surrounded by half eaten crystals wallowing in molten tears. Shining was unsure of what to do but took a step forward & heard a distinct crunch a long thin crystal Spike had been snacking on broke in half under his hoof. Spike's ear fins twitched at the sound and he opened his bloodshot eyes to see Shining before him. Neither of them said anything for a moment before Shining spoke up. "Spike, wha-" He was cut off half way through by Spike's shaky but still powerful voice. "Leave! I'm a monster! I just wanna stay down here in the earth until everypony forgets about me." He said covering his face with his claws. Shining was taken aback by the almost roar-like tone his friend was using. "Spike, why would you think that you're a monster? Everypony likes you! You helped save the empire. Twice!" Shining exclaimed. "I'm a monster because I've fallen for you when you're still grieving for Cadence!" Spike bellowed angrily at the now dumbfounded stallion. Shining stood there mouth open and stared at the distressed dragon before him. He was unaware how long he stood there before his brain started functioning properly again. He finally saw all the pieces fit together, the lack of eye contact, avoidance, doing everything he could to keep attention away from himself. Spike was behaving just like he had as a colt around Cadence. The realization hit him hard but he knew he needed to stand strong. "Spike, I should have realized what was going on, I was a foal not to. I know this might be hard to believe but I've come to terms with Cadence's passing... and I know that she would want me to try and find love again. She was the earthly embodiment of love, she'd haunt me till I died if I let her weigh me down forever. You helped me realize that when you brought me back from depression." Shining said stepping as close as he could to the bubbling magma-tears surrounding Spike. Spike looked at him with a look of confusion but there also seemed to be a glimmer of hope. "I-I thought you were into mares?" Spike asked in disbelief. "Spike, I loved Cadence for who she was, not because she was a mare. I don't really have a preference, I go by personality. You're a really great guy Spike, I'm not promising anything but I'd feel terrible if I didn't give you a chance." Shining said as he placed a hoof across the miniature magma moat onto Spike's claw. Spike slowly rose from the spot and walked through the magma directly in front of Shining. He looked down at the stallion nervously as he tried to figure out what to say. Shining took the lead however. "How about we get out of this cave and get home before anything else?" He said looking into Spike's eyes. Spike could only nod in reply. They ventured out into the light together. Both of them knew this was going to be an awkward beginning but neither could complain.