Rain was falling, and Twilight hated it. She didn't need to look skyward to know the clouds darkened the day almost as black as Luna's night. The darkness she didn't care about. It could be dark forever as far as she cared.
She didn't want to share her tears with the rain.
She looked into the grave that looked so small but held eternity in its depths, a forever she knew she would see when she closed her eyes that night and every night ever after, to see the little coffin marked with the royal seal as it floated in the darkness. From there she looked up and saw all her friends surrounding the grave and staring in sadly. Fluttershy was sobbing, being held by Rainbow Dash, whose bright colors seemed faded and deadened, as all colors seemed to Twilight just now. Pinkie Pie's eyes were closed, but tears streamed from them steadily. Applejack was consoling Rarity, poor Rarity who was collapsed on her forelegs and absolutely breaking down, unable to stop crying for the longest time....
"The sea has kept him on an eternal dream." Twilight heard Celestia beside her.Twilight looked up to her, draped in somber colors, then on her other side, where Luna stood in quiet respect. "It has borne him to the next adventure that awaits."
Twilight began to cry harder. "It's not fair..."
Luna turned to look at her. "Not fair, my dear?"
"No. Spike shouldn't have died.... He saved Ponyville." She sobbed.
Luna considered. "That doesn't mean he couldn't die. Performing a heroic act does not necessarily mean one is invulnerable."
Twilight couldn't help shaking. "B-but I never got to tell him..."
Luna paused. "Tell him what, dear?"
"H-How much I appreciated him... how much I needed his help..."
"Oh?"
".... How much I loved him..."
"Ah. There never seems to be time to tell someone how they feel, until that time is gone."
Celestia, sternly, from the other side, "Luna."
Twilight looked back to Celestia. "I'm... I just wish I would have said it... instead of just hoping he knew..."
Celestia nodded. "We must do with what time gives us. These are hard lessons to learn, my student, and they are lessons that cannot be studied in the Library, or passed from teacher to pupil."
Twilight closed her eyes tightly, crying so hard she couldn't stand and collapsed onto the cold wet earth. She felt like she could cry forever as she heard the first clods of gravedirt strike the coffin lid, covering Spike for all eternity, putting him the dark....
She felt hooves pulling her into an embrace, and far away, a small voice from all around her....
"It's okay. I'm here."
She wanted to cry harder when she understood who it was.
"It'll be okay...."
Twilight's eyes sprang open and blinked away her tears. She saw the top of Spike's head and knew she was back in her room. She sniffed and started to cry again, still frightened from her dream, sobbing for a moment when she felt it.
She just wasn't holding Spike. His arms were around her neck, and for a moment she was frozen with surprise.
Spike's voice, rusty and cracked with disuse, murmured sleepily. "Don't cry, Twi, I'm here."
She looked down. His eyes were still closed and she prayed to Celestia that she wasn't just hearing things. "Spike?!" She asked, half panicked.
The eyelids pinched shut twice as if they were too heavy to open, then a small gleam of green sparkled in the darkness. "Hey, Twi...."
"SPIKE!!" She nearly screamed and hugged him tightly.
Spike was still woozy when he had awakened and heard Twilight crying. He was still very tired, but he was wondering what was going on with her, and he wanted to calm her down in case she was having a nightmare. The problem was, his throat was so dry, it felt as if he had gargled sand before bed, and when she finally woke up, she'd screamed and put him in a choking death hug. While he was processing all THAT, he suddenly realized where he was and in his confusion and inability to remember how he'd gotten there, had a sudden irrational fear that they might have drank the wrong cider and had done something VERY inappropriate. Was that why she was crying? Because they'd done something wrong? If so, then why was she hugging him now?
"Uh... Twi? Can't breathe..." He managed.
Now she was shaking him back and forth in the hug. "I'm so glad you're awake!"
Huh? "Twi.... can't breathe..."
"Oh, Spike! IloveyouIloveyouIloveyouIloveyouIloveyou!"
Two very short words occurred to Spike at that moment in very large red flashing letters in his mind. The words were: UH OH.
"Twi... can't breathe and REALLY NERVOUS!!"
She let go then and held his thinner cheeks in her hooves. His big green eyes were darting back and forth nervously at first, then they settled on her.
"Uh... Twi? Have you been eating?" He asked, now worried about her.
She had missed that and giggled a little bit. "It's all right, Spike."
He was nervous again. "Sure doesn't LOOK all right."
Twilight smiled, her eyes shimmering with tears as she looked at his eyes. But it was all right, these weren't sad tears. "It's all right for now. Come here, Spike." He pulled him into an easier embrace and wept happily. After a moment, he held her back, and this time, he was calmer.
"It's okay, Twi." He whispered. He didn't care if they had done something wrong anymore and was content to let her hold him and cry as long as she needed to cry.
Twilight's eyes fluttered open in the early morning sun and she found she was holding Spike, as she had the night before. In the bleary moments between sleeping and waking, she felt a sudden pang that she had dreamed Spike had woken up and wasn't sure she could stand if her mind had played such a cruel trick on her.
"Spike?!" She asked in a panic.
The little dragon's eyes squinched and opened. "What, Twi? Is everything okay? Did I oversleep?"
He was pulled back into her embrace again. "Oh, you ARE awake!"
He was muffled against her neck. "Uh... yeah... I'm awake.... uhm... Twi?"
"Yes, Spike?" She didn't relinquish her hold.
"Uhm.... what's going on?"
She let him go and looked at him, wondering where to begin. "Oh, Spike. This is not going to be easy for you."
Spike swallowed. "Then... can it wait til after breakfast? You're thin as a rail and I'm thirsty and starving to... AAAAAAAAHHHH!"
He had begun to scratch an itch and found the deep grooves in his side. He stared down at them in shock.
"It's okay, Spike, really, it's okay, I'll tell you all about it, just relax...." It was all she could think to say.
"But I..." He tried to push himself up, but his weakened limbs wouldn't support him right now. "OOOF!" He plopped back on the pillow and his eyes started looking scared.
"Spike...." She soothed, stroking his forehead. "It's okay. I'm here. Let me get us both a big breakfast and I promise I'll tell you everything. Okay, dear?"
He calmed under her touch and said "Okay." Partly it was her gentle tone and calming touch. Partly..... she had called him 'dear'.
"T-Twilight?" he stammered.
"Yes?"
"Can you get breakfast from.... not our kitchen?"
She smiled as she covered him back up and with a gentle prod, made him stay there. "Gem muffins it is."
Twilight thought she was early enough to avoid any of her marefriends, but she couldn't have been more mistaken. All it took was Pinkie Pie spotting her picking out her order at the bakery, and then it was just a matter of nearly tripping overself to find Rainbow Dash. After that, word spread like wildfire. Fortunately, Applejack was already in town and Dash didn't have to fly out to the farm and the five mares were gathered together before the muffins finished baking.
Twilight had ordered quite a large amount of food, having rediscovered her appetite not only after Spike had woken up, but also the wonderful layered smells of the bakery. As she watched her order starting to pile up she wondered if she and Spike could possibly eat so much. Her stomach reassured her they could probably do it twice over. When it was finally done, she had to take five minutes trying to figure out how to get the packages through the door.
Arriving back home, she added two glasses and two pitchers of cider, thought it over and made it three pitchers, and delivered entire thing to the bedroom.
Spike was still weak and his glass felt like lead in his hand, but set to the cider with a will. He was so thirsty he could hardly stand it. Twilight watched with sad amusement.
After they had demolished quite a bit of the hefty breakfast, both felt much better and some of Twilight's color had improved. Spike rustled nervously as he girded himself to ask one of the many questions that had been on his mind since the night before, and finally settled on one of the ones he thought most pertinent.
"Twilight?"
She hoofed a crumb from her chin as she swallowed a bite. "Yes, Spike?"
"..... Why were we in bed together last night? And.... cuddling?" He found he couldn't meet her eyes when he said it. That was bothering him more than those mysterious scars on his side, but he couldn't say why.
"Oh.... that." Twilight reddened. She hadn't considered his perspective on what had happened, waking up with no memory, being held by her in her bed, her so emotional.... any wonder he was confused? The very thought of what he must have concluded drove every coherent thought out of her mind and she tried to express twelve different explanations at the exact same time, making Spike think the impossible MIGHT have happened.
"Well, Spike... You, ah.... well, I kind of... you, you were uhm.... we didn't... that is..." Twilight wished for one outlandish moment that she had a blackboard so she could write it all out. She put her head on her hoof and closed her eyes. In her utter frustration at her inability to articulate her thoughts, she shouted, "Oh, *#@%!"
That froze them both. Twilight had just sworn for the first time in her life. Her eyes popped open and went right to Spike, whose jaw was dropped to his chest.
Then he began to titter. Then giggle. Then he burst out laughing. Twilight was right back in teacher mode.
"Spike, that is NOT--" and she chuckled. "It's not f-fuh-funny..." And they were both laughing, roaring with it, almost, and it carried on for what seemed like forever.
"No more.." Spike managed. "No more, I'm gonna bust! Ow ow ow..." His scarred side stung a little with his laughter, but he didn't care. "What you SAID!!"
"Don't you EVER repeat that!" Twilight laughed. "I'll turn you into a---"
She never got to finish her threat, because at that moment a white and violet streak landed on Spike with a huge exclamation of "SPIKEY-WIKEY!!" and the sound of numerous kisses. Twilight jumped back and heard two familiar voices behind him, one with and unmistakable southern twang.
"Well, there goes the element of surprise."
"Shoot, I dunno about that. The purple fella seems real surprised."
Twilight turned to see AJ, Dash, Fluttershy and Pinkie all in the doorway, smiling.
Pinkie darted her head in. "Is he awake? Is he reallyreallyreally awake?"
Twilight started, "Yes, but..." She broke off, nudging Rarity. "He's kind of weak right now, all right?"
Spike's voice was dreamy. "It's okay... I can take her...."
Rarity did step off the bed as the others gathered around. "Of course. Plenty of time later, darling." She smiled.
Spike started to compose himself and Twilight looked at the others. "He just woke up last night... and I'm afraid he doesn't remember much of what happened."
That almost immediately started a chain reaction of five stories from five different ponies at the same time that didn't really help at all.
Spike was more lost than ever when Twilight shushed everyone calmly.
"Maybe I'd better tell the story... and then I can tell you all mostly how it happened and what Princess Celestia told me."
That silenced them all, and Spike's jaw dropped. "P-Princess Celestia?" he moaned. "Am- am I in trouble?"
She gave him a reassuring smile. "Of course not, Spike. I'd be even more worried than you if you had been.”
Twilight told the story from the beginning and ran all the way through to the point of Spike waking up, editing small bits such as her dream and a few other potentially embarrassing parts.
When she finished, all six of her listeners were awestruck in silence. Twilight waited for it to sink in to all of them and to see who would break the silence.
It turned out to be Spike, saying sadly, "Aw, poor Honeywing."
"She's okay, Spike." Dash said. "And she knows it wasn't you that hurt her."
Spike's eyes brightened. "Yeah?"
"Yeah. In fact, she'd probably like to see you when you get better."
"But... what about... I mean, I turned big again, what if I..." Spike was still trying to cope with yet another transformation.
Twilight put a hoof on his shoulder. "You only did that to protect us and Ponyville. You didn't step on a single building or hurt anypony. You made the bad dragon get out of town. And like Celestia said, when you get older, you'll be able to be more like you when you transform because of your...." She faltered for the words.
"Dragonwrath!" Fluttershy said suddenly as the word just popped in her head.
Everypony paused, then nodded. It was as good a word as any.
"That doesn't sound very... nice." Spike started.
"Aw trust me." AJ said, "That was one powr'ful form y'all brought out." She tipped him a wink. "Make a girl's mane crackle, y'know."
Rarity gave her a glare that would have burned steel. AJ ignored it (mostly, just to get Rarity up) and looked to Spike.
Fluttershy spoke up in her little voice. "I'm glad you're here to protect us, Spike." She blushed.
Pinkie trumpeted "SPIKE, BIGDRAGONPROTECTOROFPONYVILLE!!" and giggled.
Dash gave him a grin. "Y'know, if you ever DO get wings, I'll still be faster." She teased
Rarity snuggled up to him. She whispered "I do love you, Spike, darling." She paused and planted a firm kiss on his mouth. "MY darling. My dearest. My Dear."
Twilight smiled. There was so much she had to say, but she thought it best for later. For Spike alone.
The others left, besides Rarity, who fawned over her new love, who in turn, agreed with her on a great many things while they cuddled together until late in the evening, when Twilight had to get between them and usher Rarity out even as she was discussing when they would attending the next Hearts and Hooves festival with a lovestruck foal's fantasies that Twilight had no doubts they would bring about together.
At last, she came back to the room and saw Spike moving toward his basket.
"No no no." She said. "In bed."
"Huh?" He asked, confused again.
"From now on, we share." She said firmly
"Th-the bed?"
"Of course the bed." She lifted the covers magically and climbed in. "Come here." She soothed with her hooves open, and he slowly moved into her embrace. She laid her forelegs around him and he put his arms around her. It was the most natural feeling either of them had ever experienced and they both knew that they were home. Truly and completely, and forever more. They were part of a family, and for the first time in what seemed like forever, they shared a dream that nopony would understand but the deepest of friends.
They held each other closer, and in a bedroom miles away, Princess Celestia smiled in her own dream, and all was right in Equestria. She had a new Protector, and her world was safe.
"I love you, my dearest Son." She whispered, and rested in her new comfort.