*TICK, TOCK, TICK, TOCK, TICK, TOCK...*
The grandfather clock Rarity had in her sitting room kept its steady pace as silence filled the room, the quiet only broken by the soft sipping of tea from her cup every now and then. She hadn't asked me a single question after forcing me to sit on the chaise across from her, only a small glass coffee table separating us. The tension was growing within the room as the quiet started to bother me, and I knew that any moment I was going to crack.
Crack and tell what, I'm not entirely sure; I could only hope I didn't say anything too stupid.
After a few more stressful moments of silent waiting I finally blurted out, "What do you want to know?!" I cringed at how desperate I sounded, and felt my shoulders sag of their own accord with self-loathing at my inability to control myself.
Rarity's eyebrows rose as she glanced to the clock merrily ticking away. "Fifteen minutes -- I'm impressed, Spike." She gently placed the cup of steaming tea on its saucer before leaning over on her elbows and resting her chin on a bridge of laced fingers. "Well, let's start with something simple and to the point: what was bothering you during and after lunch today?"
I sighed and lowered my head as the finished asking, even though I knew she was going to be direct about this. "Umm...promise you won't get mad?"
"I will never be upset from honesty, Spike;" she replied firmly, "I am upset because you are hiding something from me, and secrets are not good for any relationship, romantic or otherwise." She sighed heavily, causing me to finally look up and see a deep frown on her face as she looked directly at me. "I love you Spike -- so much more than I thought possible when I met you those many years ago, when you were but a cute baby dragon -- but if you cannot be honest with me, no amount of love I have will be able to overcome that; if you cannot be honest, we will not work."
Knowing that Rarity was far more intuitive than I was, I opted to only answer with, "Herding..."
Rarity's eyes widened in understanding, and she nodded slowly. "I see. And I assume it is quite clear who immediately came to mind, given the situation." I nodded in response, but chose to keep silent to prevent any further embarrassment. Rarity silently pondered her thoughts for another few moments before assuring, "I'm not upset, if that's what you were worried about."
I raised my eyebrow while choking out, "Y-you're not? Really?"
Rarity smiled gently and shook her head. "No Spike, I'm not. I know you try your best to stay true to at least some of your draconic heritage, but you don't live with them, dear; you live with ponies -- you are in love with a pony for Celestia's sake. Why would you hold yourself to the standards of dragons in terms of relationships when you don't even live around them?" Before I could answer, Rarity's eyes widened once more as she blurted, "Greed...you're afraid this has something to do with your greed and hoarding instinct." She then stood and began pacing -- something she rarely did -- and muttering to herself.
"I'll just be over here if you need me for anything..." I snarked, resting my feet on the coffee table and-
"Feet off the table, Spike." Rarity commanded without stopping her pacing, or muttering.
I placed my clawed feet back on the ground and just waited patiently as Rarity continued her pacing. I couldn't help but admire the way her decidedly-casual wear still hugged her body and brought out all the femininity she possessed. She truly was beautiful no matter what she wore, but seeing her in her natural state, without a front put up for her clients, was far more attractive than anything else. Even though she was currently not in the most positive of moods, she was still real, and I loved her for it.
After some minutes passed Rarity finally turned and asked, "How long have you admired Twilight as a mare, Spike; be honest."
Her tone was gentle and non-accusing, so I softly answered, "A few years now -- ever since I could look her in the eye, really; it seems my hormones changed with my size and made me see her differently." I shrugged as I without shame added, "I've always loved Twilight -- that'll never change -- but the type of feelings I have toward her have slowly evolved as time has gone by." I sighed as I looked directly to Rarity's eyes, knowing that any further withholding of truth would only frustrate her. "I love you Rarity, so much, but Twilight is unequivocally the most important pony in my life, and it's always going to be that way."
Rarity, to my surprise, was not offended in the slightest. Instead of a scowl or a jealous twinge in her face, I only saw an understanding smile and nod. "The two of you have been through quite a bit together, and I imagine there are many things you both have experienced that the rest of us can only guess at. If it works out, living with somepony else can make the two closer than most on the outside could even fathom." Rarity then took a seat next to me on my chair, placing her hand upon mine with a loving grin. "What you're feeling isn't greed Spike, it's love. The heart -- whether it be that of a dragon or otherwise -- doesn't follow rules, and it refuses to allow culture to decide who it can love. Gryphons, for example, are monogamous in their relationships, and while I can understand their reasons for it, I imagine having to basically choose who you love the most causes a great amount of heartache and struggle in their society."
"But you're okay with that?" I asked nervously, staring at our hands since I was unwilling to look Rarity in the eye. "You're okay with knowing I love another pony?"
Rarity tittered softly and gave my hand a gentle, affectionate squeeze. "So long as that pony is someone I know will treat you well then yes, I am."
I sighed and shook my head at her answer. "I don't think we have to worry about any possible complications though."
Rarity tilted my chin up to look at her while she frowned with concern at me. "Why is that, Spike?"
"Because Twilight's not at all interested in me that way." I answered plainly. "As soon as I went through my little magical growth spurt, she moved me out of her room. I got the distinct impression it was because she didn't want me gawking at her like some lovesick teenager."
Rarity raised a single eyebrow at me skeptically. "And did you gawk at her?"
I bobbed my head around with a shrug of my shoulders. "M-maybe a little, but that's not the point. The point is that ever since that moment, it's felt like there was this...I don't know, barrier between us. We're still close and everything, but it's different now." I sighed in frustration. "It's...hard to explain, really. It's just a feeling."
"Has it ever occurred to you that maybe she's nervous about having an attractive drake living with her?" Rarity blandly countered, as if she were teaching a child...and somehow, it felt like she was.
I shrugged. "Maybe, but it's unlikely. Twilight told me that we wouldn't keep secrets from each other ever again, so if it was something that important, she would have told me."
"Unless she doesn't know about it." Rarity commented with a knowing grin. "Our Twilight has a habit of being romantically oblivious, most often about her own feelings no less."
I sighed heavily as I sank into the cushioned chaise. "You're not going to let this go, are you?"
"Of course not." Rarity immediately replied, a loving smile upon her perfect lips. "I will love and support you in anything you are going through, and that includes pushing you to confront things that are uncomfortable. While Twilight tends to be oblivious, you tend to ignore things that you are afraid of confronting, if you have the choice."
While I felt a little offended she felt the need to point that out, I couldn't deny it. Instead, I simply threw a glare her way. "Thanks, Rares. Love you too."
She giggled softly, situating herself between my legs and laying back against my chest. She then looked up at me from her position and shot back, "The mark of a true adult is being able to admit your faults, but sometimes we need friends to point them out to us. I don't do it to be cruel dear, I do it because I want you to continue to grow and mature properly as the years progress."
I slipped my arms underneath hers and rested my hands against her firm stomach, smiling as I did so. "Alright Rarity, I understand. I'll ask Twilight about it tonight." Groaning, I flopped my head back against the cushion. "Ugh, this is gonna be so awkward!"
Rarity playfully tapped my knee with the tips of her fingers. "Have more faith in Twilight, Spike. I have a sneaking suspicion there isn't much you and her haven't discussed over the years."
“That doesn’t make asking my oldest and closest friend if she has the hots for me any easier, Rares.” I grumbled, but with a smile adorning my face.
Even though I wasn’t necessarily looking forward to my little conversation with Twilight in the near future, Rarity had done a great job of reassuring me. I could only hope that confidence would hold strong until I spoke with Twilight. Rarity had understood and accepted what I felt -- even encouraged it, strangely enough -- which did wonders to calm me and correct my assumption that what I had been thinking was wrong. One question still remained, though…
“What if she’s attracted to me too, Rarity?” I questioned, at a loss for what to do if the future answer to my yes-or-no question ended up being an affirmative. “I mean...what do we do? I don’t know much about courting as it is other than that I should be nice and smell good, and make sure that I’m attentive and all that stuff.” I shrugged helplessly. “All that comes easy to me because it’s who I am as a drake, but I have no idea how to approach this situation.”
Rarity brought her hand to her chin as she thought aloud. “Indeed...what to do…” While her act said she really was poring over the issue, her tone told me she had not only predicted my question, but had an answer ready as well. “Well, what do you want to do? Could you see Twilight as a romantic partner?” Before I could spit out some lovely and careful explanation of how devoted I was to Rarity and the idea of an “us”, she interrupted me. “Forget about me for a moment and just think about Twilight: could you be with her not as simply her friend, but as a mate? Could you love her as a marefriend, and perhaps one day, a wife?”
That was the question, wasn’t it?
Opting to put some real thought into Rarity’s question, I went silent as I pondered the issue. ‘So,’ I thought silently, ‘could I? Could I love Twilight the same way I love Rarity? Could I be comfortable showing my love to her in a physical way?’ In theory alone, yes, I could. I had no problem admitting Twilight was an attractive mare, far more than she believed herself to be. While it’s true she was no Fleur de Lis, Twilight had a beauty that was real instead of just some unattainable thing. While I could readily admit that Twilight looked drop-dead gorgeous when Rarity had her get dolled-up for one reason or another, she never needed makeup to catch my attention; she simply had to just be herself, and that was enough.
Unfortunately, physical attraction wasn’t the only component of a healthy relationship.
While Twilight and I rarely -- if ever -- openly spoke about relationships in a general sense, I knew her well enough as just a pony to recognize that she was the type to worry more about ruining a relationship than enjoying it, which had caused her to unintentionally sabotage a few prior attempts of hers in the dating world. A fellow intellectual named Silver Lining had been her first, which she had unintentionally driven away by -- for lack of a better term -- trying too hard. Essentially, she had smothered him in an attempt to show her affection, and an unfortunate instance of “too much, too soon” had caused them to drift apart. Following that, her logical thinking had led her to believe that showing affection had caused the breakup, so her next attempt -- a gardener by the name of Golden Harvest -- failed abysmally, simply because Twilight showed minimal affection. This made her miserable and mistakenly insinuated to Golden Harvest that she only wanted a friend, all because the scientist in Twilight decided to completely remove the variable of physical affection, rather than just reduce it. From then on, every potential romance had failed, now because Twilight was so afraid of the possibility of failure that she was too nervous to devote herself to the other pony.
Now, logic would dictate that since Twilight already knew me -- better than anyone else, if you wanted to be specific -- that she would be more comfortable with the idea of a “me-and-her”. I knew in the back of my mind that would be untrue, since she would be so afraid of ruining what we already had that she would likely blatantly turn me down. While I was the kind of drake that could be turned down for a date by a friend and still be cool with them, Twilight was the kind of mare to feel awkward about it for weeks afterward, going so far as to avoid that pony -- or drake, in my case -- to keep the awkward feelings to a minimum. Before we moved to Ponyville, avoiding possibly awkward situations had led to Twilight missing out on a lot of potential friendships; I just hoped she cared and trusted about me enough not to do the same thing to me.
“So, what would you recommend I do?” I asked directly, foregoing small talk or beating around the bush.
I enjoyed the feeling of Rarity’s shapely form pressed against my body as she fully lay against me, sighing as she did so. “I would recommend you follow your heart, darling. You may swear up and down all you want that I would perfectly satisfy your wants and needs, but I know you better than that.” She glanced up at me and grinned. “I know it feels strange to hear me say this to you, but if you find yourself loving others as well as me, I give you my blessing to court them. If the attraction between you and any others is mutual -- and they treat you well, of course -- then I say follow through. To be honest Spike, many of the mares in Ponyville -- your friend Lyla included -- had expected you to start a herd at least a few years ago, or already thought you had one. You’re just about the only one who lives here that hasn’t mentioned or thought about it. We all know your heart is far too large for just one pony.”
I shrugged. “I’ve never understood why stallions are pushed to form herds. I mean I know it’s part of pony culture -- and it’s not like I’ve lived anywhere but Equestria, so it should make sense -- but I just don’t know why.”
“What’s the ratio of mares to stallions in Equestria?” Rarity asked ominously.
I looked to the ceiling as I called on my memory. “Um, I think last time the census was done, it was like 5.5 or 5.6:1.”
Rarity nodded. “Yes, and females are naturally conceived more often than males. Why would having herds be so important then?”
With a roll of my eyes I boringly drawled, “Because to keep the population stable, the males that exist have to be available to offer their specific ‘assistance’ so that foals can continue being born, yadda yadda…” I shrugged. “As far as I know though, ponies and dragons aren’t compatible for reproduction; believe me, I’ve tried without thinking about it and- don’t look at me like that.”
Rarity’s glare would have been paralyzing to anypony else, but I had built up quite the resistance to it over the years.
“With whom, Spike?” Rarity ground out, her voice quiet in a way that a bomb was just before it exploded.
I chuckled and shook my head, knowing what she was basically asking. “It wasn’t Sweetie Belle. I know what the rumors around town have said over the years, but we’ve never dated or been anything other than just friends. Shoot, I’m closer with Scootaloo than I am your sister.”
Rarity’s righteous anger was replaced with embarrassment as she glanced back down and away from me. “O-oh...forgive me Spike. Um...who was it, if you don’t mind me asking?”
I shrugged with a warm smile. “It’s alright Rarity, I forgive you. It was actually a mare by the name of Moonshadow; her and I were friends back when Twi and I lived in Canterlot. She invited me to her birthday a year ago, alcohol got involved and...well, you can guess the rest.”
Rarity raised her eyebrow as she turned her head to stare skeptically at me. “I thought alcohol doesn’t affect dragons, what with the whole ‘inner fire’ and all.”
I shook my head. “Untrue. The fire is actually created by four glands near the back of my throat, so there isn’t actually any fire burning inside me. Not to say it would hurt me if I were to swallow something that was on fire, but that’s not the way dragons work.”
Rarity hummed and pursed her lips in thought. “Hmm...learn something new every day. Do you still speak with her?”
I nodded. “From time to time. We had a long talk the day after about our relationship and where it would go, but decided that in the end we should just remain friends. She was going to be travelling a lot because of her career -- she’s a pianist with the Royal Symphony Orchestra -- and I wasn’t going to be leaving Ponyville anytime soon, so we both knew any attempt at romance was going to fail because of the lack of being able to be there for each other. She’s still a good friend of mine and I care about her, but it just wouldn’t work out. She’s not the type to settle down anytime soon, nor is she one to stay in a single place for longer than a month or so.”
“So the lack of physical intimacy is what drove the two of you apart.” Rarity surmised, then narrowed her eyes in my direction. “Spike, we taught you better than to be so superficial.”
“You did,” I growled in annoyance, “so I’m kinda offended that you think so little of me. You mean to tell me that you would be able to be with somepony if you couldn’t touch or hug them? You could stay in love with a pony that you were unable to hold as they cried, or who could hold you as you did the same?” Rarity’s mouth opened once for a rebuttal before she closed it and sighed, looking away. I nodded firmly. “I thought not. While the desire for physical intimacy is always there -- especially for a guy like me, who’s surrounded by mares twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week -- it’s not the most important thing in the world for me. Still, I want to be able to reach out and touch the one I love to let her know that I’m there for her, and so she can do the same for me.”
A few more moments of silence surrounded us as I just relaxed and felt the soft breathing of the pony in my grasp. Then, reluctantly, Rarity replied, “I...I suppose I can understand and agree with what you say, Spike. I do not like it, but you are correct in thinking that it is nigh impossible for long-distance relationships to work out for similar reasons.”
I chuckled softly. “I have learned a few things over the years, Rarity.” Then, as my laughter tapered off, I revisited what we had been speaking about before. “So...Twilight then.”
“Talk to her tonight.” Rarity answered, grasping my hand in one of her own and running her thumb lovingly along my smooth scales. “Tell her exactly how you feel, and know that you have my full support no matter what happens.”
“You know this still feels weird for me, right?” I muttered in defeat. “My marefriend is telling me to tell my closest friend that I totally want her.”
Rarity giggled softly and nodded. “Your marefriend is a mare of the times, and beyond that, trusts Twilight and the others with both her life and yours. As a male Equestrian citizen, you are encouraged to shoulder the duty of ensuring love continues to flourish here.” She then paused and laced her fingers in my own. “As Spike, I encourage you to spread the love that overflows from you to whomever is truly worthy. I am not the only one whose eye you have caught, and something tells me Twilight is not the last of the females that have drawn your attention.”
“There are already enough rumors that float around Equestria about me; I don’t need to make any of them right.” I grumbled, though I can’t say I wasn’t interested in just who Rarity might be talking about.
“Ponies always talk, Spike.” Rarity commented sagely. “You can no more stop the rumor mill than you can change iron to gold.”
“Actually,” I began, a smirk adorning my face, “through some clever transmutation that rearranges the protons and electrons of atoms, changing iron to gold is theoretically possible with enough magical control and a strong enough spell matrix.” After a moment of revelling in Rarity’s inability to come up with a better metaphor, I added, “I understand what you mean, though. Even so, that doesn’t mean I like it.”
Rarity tittered softly as she sat up and pulled away from me. “I don’t enjoy it when it rains just after I’ve done my hair, but that doesn’t mean it won’t happen.” She then glanced out the window near us and nodded resolutely. “You have a little over two hours until nightfall, so here is what you’re going to do: you will go to Sugarcube Corner and purchase something tasty for Twilight, and then you will cook dinner for her tonight -- something light yet flavorful would be ideal. You are going to prepare the dining area for the two of you to create an atmosphere of relaxed intimacy, which I am sure Twilight will find unusual, but not unwelcome. Then, after a lovely evening with each other, you will confess to her exactly how you feel, how long you’ve felt this way, and that I have given my full support.”
I took a deep breath, exhaling through my nose as I stood and stretched. “Alright then, we’ll see how this goes. Here’s hoping Twilight doesn’t freak out and teleport again; it took me almost two days to clean up last time.” I took a few steps toward Rarity and cupped her cheek before naturally leaning in and planting a gentle kiss on her lips, which she returned, causing a smile to blossom on my face. “I’m heading to the market to pick up some supplies, then I’ll head home to start preparing.”
“Good luck, Spike!” Rarity called after me as I made my way to the door and left, unable to keep a bit of a bounce out of my step.
The market was pretty empty, which made it easy to quickly gather what I needed and make my way home. True that with my burdens I was unable to fly without jostling them, but I liked to walk around Ponyville from time to time. While pegasi were able to see the world in a very different way from others due to their unique vantage point, the same went for earth ponies and unicorns; seeing things from the ground offered a different perspective, and made it much easier to experience the living, breathing organism that was Ponyville.
With the changing of the seasons though, Ponyville -- and Equestria in general -- was preparing to hunker down for the winter that was to come. In a few weeks the Running of the Leaves would be taking place, and then the first snowfall a few weeks after that. Rainbow had told me that the Weather Factory of Cloudsdale was preparing for a pretty severe winter, which meant really cold temperatures and a lot of snow. Technically speaking dragons were impervious to extreme temperatures, but painful ice crystals forming underneath my scales was not the way I wanted to spend winter. Nonetheless, I couldn’t deny that lazy days spent in front of a fire sounded really nice, and tonight would be cool enough for one as well, which would only add to the content atmosphere I needed to create.
Even with Rarity’s approval and suggestion that I actually talk to Twilight about us, the whole situation still felt odd to me.
Luckily for me, Twilight was out in town for whatever reason, which meant I had time to mentally prepare myself as I cleaned up the living quarters and prepared dinner for the two of us. I had quite a bit of experience with preparing meals in general, and etiquette training from tutors in Canterlot had refined my manners, the latter of which would let me look like someone respectable instead of...well, a dragon. Not that dragons couldn’t command respect, but I wanted to cook and eat with dignity instead of charring the food and shoveling it into my mouth like a savage.
“Almost done…” I muttered to myself as I pulled a pan of baked eggplant parmesan out of the oven, using my dextrous tail to grab a spoon and stir the simmering vodka sauce as I hummed a jaunty little tune. I then brought the spoon to my mouth and flicked my forked tongue out, allowing my well-developed sense of taste to work its magic. “Needs more cream and tomato.”
As I added a dash of the two ingredients to the mix and set the pan onto the countertop to cool, the door a room away opened with a loud, “Spike, I’m ho- oh wow, what is that?” I heard the hurried steps of Twilight’s hooves clicking along the crystal floor until she appeared in the doorway, taking a generous whiff of the air. “Mmm...what are you making tonight?”
“Just a dish I’ve never got around to actually cooking; I thought it would be nice for a treat.” I answered, bringing my eyes back to my work. “It’s called eggplant, and it’s a part of the nightshade family. The Zhongian people discovered it a few hundred years ago, but have only recently begun exporting to other nations. Soon as I tried it the first time a few months ago, I fell in love with it -- it’s got a ‘meaty’ texture that you can’t really get from other vegetables. I know you girls say you’ve accepted my diet, but I still try and stay mostly vegetarian.”
Twilight nodded with a smile. “And we appreciate that Spike, but you shouldn’t cut essential nutrients out of your diet; you could get sick, and that wouldn’t help anypony.” She then glanced at the pot of sauce and the noodles boiling merrily nearby. “Looks good though, Spike. What’s the occasion?”
I set the different utensils and pots down before turning to her with a smile. “What, I can’t cook a nice meal for you once in awhile?”
Twilight stared at me disbelievingly. “You can, but more often than not it’s because you want something...or did something.”
I rolled my eyes and pointed to the counter, which had a large bottle of marelot resting on it. “Pour yourself a glass of wine and go sit down; dinner’s almost ready.” Twilight stared at me skeptically for a moment before using her magic to comply, while I grasped my now half-empty stemmed glass and took a sip. Hopefully Twilight wouldn’t notice the bottle was only three-quarters full.
After taking a few more minutes to drain the noodles and arrange the meal on our plates, I wiped my hands off and brought them to the table with a smile on my face. A bit of liquid courage had done wonders to calm me, but while I still worried a bit about what would happen after tonight, I was confident that my fears about Twilight abandoning me or something crazy like that were unfounded. Besides, the warm fuzzies caused by the wine made it much easier to ignore the fact that my very recent marefriend was directly ordering me to confess to another mare.
“Your meal, princess.” I quipped playfully as I set Twilight’s serving in front of her, followed by me taking my own seat across from her at the crystal dining table. For those who would wonder, yes, crystal making up nearly everything in my home got on my nerves from time to time; stars, even most of our dishes were crystal.
Twilight didn’t seem to care much, but more importantly at the moment, she seemed embarrassed as she glanced away from me with a shy smile. “Spike, don’t call me that. You know how I feel about my friends using my title.”
“That doesn’t eliminate the fact that you are a princess.” I retorted with a grin. “You know I don’t mean it negatively, and I don’t treat you like a princess -- none of us do. You’re just Twilight to us, and no matter how much political power you have, that’s never going to change.” I shrugged as she looked unconvinced. “I know you’re still getting used to the whole thing, but just know that me and the girls are more than happy to remind you of who you are should you ever forget; a title isn’t going to change who you really are.” I then picked up my cutlery and pointed with my fork to her plate. “I made that for Twilight Sparkle, the adorkable alicorn that’s the pony I’m closest to in the entire world. For a princess, I would have made something unreasonably elegant that wouldn’t taste half as good as it looked.”
I couldn’t help but smile even wider at the cute way she squeaked and refused to meet my eyes at the word “adorkable”, but assured myself I had teased her enough for now. Instead, I allowed her to eat the meal I’d prepared, opting to remain silent instead of mess with her further. After a few moments of silent munching, Twilight thought it prudent to shout at me.
“Wow, this really good, Spike!” she exclaimed with a radiant smile, tearing into the saucy meal with gusto. Twilight was the picture of poise and grace due to Rarity’s etiquette training (which Rainbow Dash referred to as “lady-fying”), but put a plate of food she liked in front of her and she tended to wear a rather staggering percentage of it all over her face. Never in public of course, but it seemed over the years some things never changed about Twilight, regardless of how much the world wanted them to.
Twilight would always be Twilight, thankfully.
A content air of quiet enveloped the two of us as we ate, though happy hums of approval came from Twilight from time to time. I couldn’t help it as an amused smile found itself on my face, but said nothing. I was happy just enjoying the mutual companionship between the two of us as we ate and drank our fill.
A good amount of time later, the two of us were sitting satisfied at the table, me rubbing my stomach with a pleased grin at how well the meal had turned out. While I was definitely no slouch in the kitchen, it was nice to know I was able to get things right on the first try when it came to a vegetarian recipe. I had a lot of practice after all, since only Lyla and a few of my other friends and acquaintances ate meat.
“Okay,” Twilight finally sighed out, “what did you do?”
I raised my brow in slight offense. “Who says I have to have done something wrong to cook a nice meal for you? Besides, in case you haven’t noticed, I ate too, you know.”
“Yes, but the last time you cooked such a nice meal for me, you had started a forest fire in the Everfree.” Twilight returned with a frown. She then gestured around the main common room. “Plus there’s a roaring fire going, and you served wine with a meal; Spike, you hardly ever drink. What’s going on?”
Using a tactic Luna herself had taught me, I used my next sentence to both distract Twilight and unknowingly build up to my true point. “Twilight, why don’t you date anymore?”
Raising her eyebrow and sitting up straight, Twilight squeaked out, “W-what?”
“Date...why don’t you date anymore?” I repeated, louder this time. “It’s been almost two years since the last time I’ve seen you accept a date from anypony, or even be interested in another. You gave me a vague explanation of it not being worth it, but you never said anything beyond that.”
Twilight stared at me for a few moments in silence before she was able to put words together -- nervously, I might add. “W-why are you asking?”
“Why are you avoiding the question?” I shot back smoothly.
Twilight raised her hand, ready to fire off a response...but after a few moments she lowered it and slumped slightly. “I really don’t like talking about this, Spike -- bad memories and such, you know?”
I reached across the table and grasped her hand in my own, leaning closer and looking into her eyes with concern. “Then tell me about it. I’m curious about it lately, and I don’t like seeing you lonely.” Before she could counter my latter statement, I quickly added, “And don’t say you’re not, because I saw it very clearly when you found out Rarity and I are together. You’re happy for us -- I’m not denying that -- but I know a part of you wishes you had that same sort of connection with somepony. I want to know why you’re so reluctant to get yourself out there again.”
She sighed and closed her eyes, tightening her grip on my hand. “I already have too much to worry about as a Princess of Equestria, and while I’m allotted a fair amount of free time for royalty, the bulk of my weekdays is full of paperwork, meetings, and even court appeals. Outside of spending time with my close friends, I have just enough time to sleep and eat; it wouldn’t be fair to another pony to have to wait weeks or even months for us to go out and do something together.” She shook her head with a frustrated grunt. “Most ponies wouldn’t understand, and would just get frustrated.”
Seeing my opportunity, I took it. “Well, what about your friends?”
Twilight opened her eyes and glanced to me quizzically. “What about them? I always make time for you and the girls, as well as the few other ponies around, but-”
“No,” I interrupted firmly, “I mean why not choose somepony you’re already close to -- somepony that understands you and your obligations?”
Twilight’s eyebrows raised up into her bangs in surprise. “You’re suggesting I ask one of the girls out on a date? Something tells me that’s going to be more than a little awkward.”
“I never said that,” I answered with a grin, “I only said you should try it with a friend, and you have far more friends -- both personal and professional -- than just the other five Element-bearers.” I let Twilight simmer in her own thoughts for a moment before deciding I’d let her squirm enough. “Twilight, I’m just going to come out and say it: the possible romantic partner I was hinting toward is me.”
Twilight’s mouth fell open, and her eyes became focused as she entered what I call mind-freeze panic-mode, in which she quite literally freezes on the spot because something was so shocking that she honestly has to stop thinking for a moment, restart her brain, and then address the problem. It usually took a few moments for her to go through said process, so I simply sat back in my chair and waited, sipping the remainder of my wine.
After a minute or two of amusing face contortions, Twilight’s eyes focused on me as she squeaked out, “D-did you just ask me on a date?”
I shook my head. “No, but I do have something I need to tell you in regards to that.” Swallowing my nervousness with a close-eyed grimace, I took a deep breath and opened my eyes again, locking my gaze with Twilight’s. “Twilight, I love you. I have for a long, long time now, and we both know it. You’re the most important pony in my entire life -- even more than Celestia -- and we’ve grown in each other’s company for years now. We’ve been through some of the world’s worst disasters together, and used one another as life rafts when the world threw metaphorical tsunamis at us. We say ‘I love you’ to each other every day; is it so strange that over the years, I started to feel differently about you besides just as a friend?” At her shocked and uncomprehending expression, I continued to explain. “Today when we went to lunch with Rarity and she started asking about herds, I’m sure you can guess what I thought, because you were obviously thinking the same thing. Guess who was the first pony to come to my mind when I thought Rarity was suggesting I start a herd?”
Twilight stared blankly at me. “But Spike, you and Rarity just got together and-”
“Talking to you about it tonight was her idea, Twilight.” I interjected with a smile. “We had a long discussion about this, and she supports me 100%.”
“-and I can’t be with you like that!” Twilight nearly shouted.
Her outburst completely took the wind out of my sails, and caused me to gape like an idiot. “W-why not? What’s wrong?”
Twilight pulled away from the table and stood, taking a few breaths before looking back at me with moist eyes. “I’m...I’m sorry Spike, but I can’t…” Without another word, she hurriedly left the room, her hooves clopping as they ascended the stairs to her room. I heard a door close from upstairs, and then save for the crackling of burning wood in the hearth, there was silence.
Rarity and I had apparently completely read Twilight wrong, and now I feared that I may have made a horrible mistake. Because of one little assumption, things between Twilight and I might never be the same. Twilight gave me her answer as a resounding no, and for some reason, I couldn’t help but worry if I’d just screwed up my relationship with the closest friend I might ever have.
With a long-suffering sigh, I stood and proceeded to clean up the remains of dinner.