“What are you doing, Tia?” Princess Celestia looked up from her comfortable spot on the large purple sitting pillow by the fireplace that allowed a pleasant warmth to fill the room. The steady crackling of the fire, often the only sound she heard besides the scribbling of a quill on parchment during long lonely nights, had begun to die down. Now, however, she was not alone, and so she turned away from the letter that was lying in front of her and towards the right where the sound was coming from. She was met with the deep blue eyes of her sister that were only mere centimeters away from her own magenta colored ones. Luna had tried to look over her shoulder in an attempt to find out what she was writing there, curious as she always was.
Celestia moved her head back a little, and Luna took a step back as well. “It is just a letter for Twilight, sister,” she explained calmly and looked back at the parchment in front of her.
“And what is it that you are writing to her?” Luna inquired and stepped closer again. In the corners of her eye, Celestia could see her leaning down towards the letter and trying to make out the words she had written.
"I want to make sure that the citizenship of our new subject will be handled as quickly as possible,” she said and dipped the quill into the jar of ink, letting it glow with a bright golden light.
“Why?” Luna returned, surprised. “We think this action would only bring more light on him, and is that not the reason we have arranged a meeting with the ambassadors this afternoon? To make sure that he will go on with his life here unbothered by their interests?” Celestia looked up from the letter again and returned her sister’s worried expression with a confident smile.
“It is not a meeting, dear sister. We merely have invited them for a tea party,” Celestia calmed her.
“You may call it what you want, but that does not change the point. What if they begin asking questions? We do not think this will turn out advantageously for either him or us.” Princess Celestia could clearly hear the concern in her sister’s voice. Her concerns were not without reason.
“I do not plan to give out any information,” Celestia replied without taking an eye off the paper, yet she could almost feel Luna’s confusion. “It will simply be a… friendly get-together if you want to call it that. You know just how much I dislike the tension that always forms in the negotiation rooms. And we have nothing to negotiate in the first place. We simply will have a nice afternoon in celebration of our long lasting good relationships. And while we do so, we will ask them about any news that they have heard of. Nothing more than informing ourselves about how far the rumors have spread already. No need to worry ourselves before we do not even know what they know.” After the explanation, Celestia raised her head again and watched Luna processing the information. She remained silent for a few seconds, her mouth hanging slightly open as she stared unbelievingly towards her.
Eventually, Luna closed her mouth again and nodded briefly. “Fine. I do not like the thought that we have to act this way, but I do not see a way in which we are not releasing information while gathering it ourselves which would not lead to a political conflict.”
“I know, my sister,” Celestia agreed quietly. “I have spent a lot of time thinking about how we should approach this situation.” A yawn escaped her lips that still formed a smile. “Maybe a bit too much.”
“Were you not sleeping last night again?” Luna asked, worried as she trotted over to her big sister and leaned down to her. As alicorns, neither of them were as dependent on sleep as their subjects, but it still served as an easy way to restore their powers that were drained by their daily duties. And even an alicorn as powerful as her sister would be showing signs of exhaustion after too many sleepless nights.
Celestia shook her head. “The faster we get this situation dealt with, the better,” she replied firmly although her tiredness was slowly gaining the upper hand. “Unfortunately, I have made no progress at all so far. I might have to consult Twilight for assistance again.” Another yawn left her mouth.
“You should get some rest, Tia,” Luna said as she put a hoof on her sister’s shoulder.
Celestia sighed. “Fine, just let me finish this letter first. How long until our meeting?”
“Three hours, sister,” Luna said and stepped away from Celestia. “I will leave you alone to catch some rest and inform the guards that you don’t wish to be disturbed. I will return later when the ambassadors arrive.” With these words, the Princess of the Night opened the door to her sister’s chambers with a swing of her horn. The two guards outside the door stood at attention as she walked past them.
“Let nopony disturb her for today,” Luna ordered them.
“As you wish, your Highness,” the unicorn to her left acknowledged and both stomped their spears on the ground once before crossing them over the door.
Luna nodded absently and slowly made her way back to her own quarters. Oh sister, what game are you playing again?
***
Twilight lay in bed, staring up at the ceiling of her room. The night had already begun its daily retreat against the slow march of the incoming day. If this had been an ordinary day, she would have already been out of bed, preparing for a day of studies and going over her checklist one final time. It was a Friday after all; what was a better way to start the weekend than with some light reading in the form of Starswirl’s ‘Theoretical Conjurations, Fourth Encyclopaedia’, after all? She had even scheduled some time for helping Pinkie Pie bake some cookies for the patients currently warded in Ponyville’s hospital.
However, the events of yesterday had turned the new day into a swirling mass of uncertainty, one Twilight found herself resisting the need to tackle. In her young life, she had fought against a corrupted night princess, stopped a lord of chaos in his tracks, and even stood up to a changeling queen when nopony else would stand with her. And yet despite all that, she was unsure of how to handle the angry barbs flung her way by the dragon she affectionately called her number one assistant.
Unbidden, her mind took great delight in reminding her of what had occurred. After their… confrontation, she had spent the remainder of the day in an unproductive daze, the combination of exhaustion and her indecision to confront Spike so soon afterwards rendering any plans she had futile. Spike, on the other hand, had thrown himself into his work, sweeping, dusting, washing, polishing, and mopping with a vengeance, his small body seemingly containing endless energy while a perpetual frown constantly adorned his face. For all that time, he had refused to even look in her direction. She had been unsure as to whether or not to be relieved at that. While him not wanting to see her certainly hurt, him constantly glaring at her would have been much worse.
Her eyes shifted over to the empty basket at the foot of her bed. The sheets were neat and unruffled, evidence that Spike had not slept in it last night. She had waited patiently to see if he would be in a more amiable mood as the day had progressed. By the time the clock had struck ten, she had had enough, quietly tiptoeing down the stairs in search of her charge. He had neither been in the library section itself nor the kitchen. When the first pangs of panic had begun to rise, she had finally found him in the basement nestled in between two of her machines, a thin sheet the only barrier between him and the cold floor. An old dirty blanket had covered his body, rising and falling as he breathed. He wheezed quietly on occasion from the dust in the room, probably the only place he had not managed to clean that day. She had stood there for a while, indecisive as to whether or not to leave him there or to carry him back to her room. Eventually, she had slunk up the stairs, leaving the unsuspecting dragon behind, feeling as though she had somehow abandoned him.
Now she was left with the additional feeling of guilt to gleefully mix with the other emotions that had been rolling around inside her ever since their fight.
She groaned to herself, lifting and then slamming her head down onto the pillow while blowing a few errant strands of her mane from her face in frustration. She took a deep breath before exhaling, trying to collect her thoughts from their current chaotic state in order to try and analyse the situation she had gotten involved in.
Spike was angry with her and had been so for quite a while. After all, he wasn’t somepony to be so enraged to have acted like that on impulse. Sure, he could sometimes become annoyed or grumpy on occasion, but he was good-natured for the most part and could take a prank or practical joke and wave it away with a laugh. So why had he exploded at her like that? While she believed he was being truthful about being angry with her for not taking him to the party, his own words had revealed that it was just the catalyst in a long list of grievances that he held against her.
‘You’ll just think that I’m being stupid or childish as usual.’ That had been the first direct accusation he had hurled at her. She took another deep breath, trying to block the hurt that had been associated with the memory. She was only partially successful. She took a moment, allowing herself to think back, attempting to recall as much of their interactions as possible. She had known him for so long, from the day he had been hatched. Their time in Ponyville had only increased their closeness, and yet Twilight found that there were times when her memories of Spike just melded together, the recollections of her studies overriding most of whatever memories she may have had of what he had been doing at the time.
The only thing she could be certain of was that she had never intentionally thought of him as being stupid. It wasn’t fair to compare their intellects since they both knew how to do things the other couldn’t do. She couldn’t recall ever feeling a sense of superiority over anypony just because they didn’t know the theory and history behind a shield spell while she did, and that went especially for Spike.
However… there were times when she had felt impatience with Spike over his questioning as to why she was doing something a certain way or if she was certain something would work, then having to slowly explain it to him. Was she being… condescending? Her eyes widened as the thought struck her, and she swallowed, suddenly feeling lightheaded as it seemed to strike home. But most of the time, those moments had been when she was in a hurry; she had never meant it in a way to belittle him! And yet it appeared that the young dragon had taken the tone behind her words the wrong way, taken them to heart.
‘Can we just move on and pretend this never happened?’ This was the one sentence that had caused her the most discomfort, the one that caused the guilt hungrily gnawing away at her. Even now, when she could think without being blindsided, her initial reaction to the accusation still rang through. The tired resignation that had been present spoke of his belief that whatever he had to say would amount to little. Could she honestly say that she had always taken Spike’s opinion into consideration? The answer was a swift no. She could argue that there were times when following his opinion would have led to even more damage, like the time he had decided on going with the other dragons. However, had she taken it a step further, done it to such an extent that he had come to realize that arguing with her would be a futile endeavour? She found that she could not give herself a satisfactory answer.
The accusation that he was the one who had to clean up after her was one she, having mulled it over several times, found difficult to comprehend. Not because it wasn’t true – since it was – but because she didn’t know exactly what she had done wrong. Spike was her assistant after all, and it had been his job to do the cooking and cleaning while she was studying. Nothing had changed in that regard. Except… ‘you tear it apart to find one book.’ As much as she hated to admit it, it was something she had done more than once, leaving Spike to start from scratch. She groaned again. She was doing it again, looking at things from her point of view and not taking his into consideration. He no doubt saw it as just another way she continued to treat him unfairly. Yet another red mark against her.
‘I almost never get invited to anything your friends do, and when I do, I still end up having to stay here to take care of the library.’ This was the one that had stayed with her the longest despite the fact that it was the charge she had been the most willing to accept. It still didn’t make it easier to think about. In her defence, she had insisted on Spike remaining behind on most of the adventures she and her friends and been on for his own safety. She would never have forgiven herself if she had allowed him to accompany them only for him to end up being hurt. She still sometimes had nightmares of their trip to the Crystal Empire, and a fair few of them involved her assistant. Yet… even in Ponyville, it had been so easy to continue that pattern, to leave him in the safety of the library whenever she had gone out to meet her friends.
It all added up to a conclusion that she desperately wanted to ignore, a conclusion that her conscience kept waving in front of her, demanding to be acknowledged. She felt almost nauseous, the rollercoaster of emotions not easing in their intensity on her psyche. She wanted nothing more than to just slink back under her covers and have another crying session. Her tears, however, had long dried up, and despite herself, she found herself struggling to get free from her blanket before dropping down onto the floor. She sluggishly dragged her way to her door, mustering whatever little reserves of energy she had to brace for the new day. Stepping out and closing it behind her, the most noticeable thing immediately roused her attention, the very nature of the assault on her senses causing a tiny spark of hope to tingle in her stomach.
For now though, the only thing that was running through her mind was, is that... pancakes?
***
Spike laid his weary head onto the kitchen table, allowing the coolness of the surface to seep into his body. His back ached from the rough night on the basement’s floor, and he had accidentally squeezed his right hand in one of the cupboard doors whilst trying to wrestle out his favourite cast iron skillet. Still, when all was said and done, a stack of pancakes stood tall in their steamy goodness next to a cup of hot coffee, one lump of sugar with a slight amount of milk. It was a simple breakfast but it counted as Twilight Sparkle’s favourite.
Spike sighed, the sound louder than intended in the quiet of the kitchen. He had really done it this time. He pounded a fist half-heartedly against the table. Why did Twilight have to go and push him like that? He was content to just keep grumbling to himself but nooooo, Her Majesty’s student just had to be in one of her pushy moods where she wouldn’t take no for an answer. Goaded beyond his control, he had let out all his frustrations, all his anger, all his grievances on her in one go, finding himself unable to stop once he had started talking. He had left her there, walking out on her though not before seeing how her expression had crumbled into misery.
It was that face that had haunted him throughout the day and well into the night, and he found himself too ashamed to face her when it was time for him to sleep. Instead, he had snagged a sheet from the laundry basket and used an old blanket he had found in the basement and huddled next to one of Twilight’s whacky machines, all the while thinking of how he could end up fixing the mess he’d made.
He sighed again, rubbing a scaly hand over his eyes to try and stave off the tiredness that always seemed to be nearby these days. He knew he was probably going to be in a lot of trouble sooner rather than later; he had said as much in the heat of the moment yesterday. Twilight might end up telling the rest of the Bearers what had happened, and he cringed at the thought of all six mares ganging up on him. She could also tell Princess Celestia what he did, guaranteeing that he would be receiving a stern lecture from her. He shuddered at the thought of her eyes that were filled not with anger, but disappointment. The last time he had received that look was when he had knocked over one of her valuable vases which nearly fell on top of him while running. This time she might even declare that he wasn’t fit enough to be Twilight’s assistant, and who knew what would happen to him then?
Why did I have to open my big mouth? he asked himself bitterly. The answer came to him almost immediately. It was all because of Twilight. Ever since they had come to Ponyville, they had spent increasingly less time with each other, and when they did, it was more in the role of him just taking care of the library while she focused on her work. And when she wasn’t studying, she would be out with her friends while he took care of the library. And they would go off on grand adventures while he took care of the library. And they would throw each other parties while he took care of the library.
He shook his head in an attempt to get his jumbled, disjointed thoughts in order. Deep down, he knew that the reason he was feeling this way was not because he was wrong. No, Spike liked to imagine that he would admit to any wrongdoing he did… eventually. Despite how guilty he felt for putting Twilight through all that, he knew that the bottom line was that he was right. She had been the one to leave him behind for the party, she was the one who kept piling on the chores, she was the one who kept ignoring him. So why am I feeling like I’m the one who did something wrong?
It was a rhetorical question; the answer was one which Spike had been coming to accept even though he tried to fight it. She was simply more important to a lot more ponies than he could ever hope to be. His biggest fear was the feelings of selfishness and greed that welled up whenever he thought of her leaving. Yet he knew that no matter how much he wanted to go back to the days when it had been just the two of them, he knew that it wasn’t fair to Twilight. She had ponies who depended on her, both friends and Equestria at large. And if he was the one to be left behind, well then that was oka—
“…Spike?” Twilight’s hesitant, quiet voice caused his head to rocket off the table, staring at the pony as she peered at him uncertainly. He grimaced inwardly as he noticed the puffy bloodshot eyes and the dark circles around them.
Good job, Spike, he sarcastically congratulated himself before turning to the unicorn. This was it. Time to smoothen things over. Time for her to move past this. “Good morning, Twilight.” That’s it, keep it steady. “I made you breakfast.” He swept his hand over to the mountain of pancakes awaiting her.
“Oh. Thanks.” She levitated her chair out and took a seat while Spike hurried over to serve her breakfast. She simply stared at the plate for a few moments, a tense silence filling the room. Spike took the opportunity to get in a few words.
“Twi, I just wanted to apolo—“ was all he was able to say before her head shot up, eyes wide in shock.
“No! I’m the one who should be apologizing! And I am. I am sorry, Spike,” she blurted out in a rush. Silence reigned again before Twilight took in a shaky breath, finally managing to make eye contact with the dragon. “Spike,” she said, her voice steadier this time, “I’m sorry. I should have woken you up that night for the party. I should be taking better care of the library because you already try so hard to maintain it. And I just wanted you to know that I n-never thought you were anything but a smart young dragon,” her voice seemed to break towards the end, the shards stabbing into his heart. “And I promise that—“
It was then that he held up a claw, the gesture enough for her to falter. He didn’t want to do it, but he wanted to stop her from making promises he knew she wouldn’t be able to keep. “Twi… I accept your apology.” If it had been any other situation, he would have wanted to laugh at how quickly her forlorn look evaporated. “… And I want to offer my own. I never should have taken out my frustration on you. I knew I should have spoken to you, and I know you would have listened.” It just struck him as… sad the way her entire posture just seemed to slump over in relief. “I was angry, but that didn’t give me the right to take that anger out on you. I said a lot of things I didn’t mean, and for that, I’m sorry.” To complete his apology, he bowed deeply, knowing it would catch her off guard. Sure enough, a purple aura surrounded him, and he was enveloped in a bone-crushing hug the next moment.
“Oh, Spike! Please don’t do that!” He could feel the dampness of the tears as she squeezed him even tighter. Just for that one moment in time, he ignored the discomfort and allowed himself to return the embrace, to enjoy the feeling of being so close to the pony he had known the longest. His Twilight.
He patted her sides and stepped back. Twilight took the hint and released him, allowing him to breathe once again. “Are we okay now?” she asked uncertainly.
“You bet, Twi!” he returned enthusiastically. I’ll make sure that at least you will be. “Now how about some breakfast?” And just like that, the tension between them fully dissipated, and she gave him a smile, a real, genuine smile.
It won’t be long before it all goes back to normal. She’s going to start ignoring me and leaving me behind again, he thought to himself. But as long as she’s happy, that’s okay.