Twilight Sparkle had gone through three more books by the time Flash Sentry finished the one she had assigned him. It was hard for him to focus when she was so close to him, when he could watch her eyes flash and sparkle with intelligence as she scoured the book for answered against the nightshade. He did try his best to concentrate on his work, but he kept glancing up at his princess.
"Find anything?" she asked suddenly, her voice startling him as he scrambled to look busy.
"Uh...no, I haven't found anything yet, Your Highness."
"My name is not Your Highness."
"Princess?"
"That's not it either."
Flash Sentry blushed furiously. He considered it respectful to address her by her titles, not to mention that it eliminated the risk of familiarity between guard and princess. But now Twilight was looking at him with a good-natured smile and asking that he use her first name. He swallowed hard. "T-Twilight."
Her smile widened, and she nodded. "Flash."
His blush deepened and he trained his eyes on his book.
Down the hall, Pinkie Pie took a deep breath and approached her lover. "Cheese?"
The yellow pony looked up from tuning his accordion and smiled. "Hello, little filly."
Another deep breath. "We need to talk."
Cheese Sandwich's smile instantly vanished. "What's wrong, Pinkie?"
"If I go with you to party around Equestria, would I never be able to come home and see Ponyville?"
"Of course not. And you don't have to come with me on every single party tour."
"Do you have a place where you live when you're not partying?"
"Sure do. I'm from Manehattan originally, and I drop in on my folks when there aren't any parties going on."
"So why don't you drop in on Ponyville in between parties instead?"
Cheese Sandwich paused for a moment, as if working out a problem in his head. Then he cackled delightedly and picked Pinkie up and twirled her around. "That's genius, Pinkie Pie!"
Pinkie squealed at being picked up, and returned her lover's gleeful embrace. When he set her down, he pulled her face to his and kissed her eagerly, smiling against her mouth even as he pulled her closer. He left his accordion sitting on the floor as he and Pinkie raced each other to their bed.
When Rarity finally allowed Applejack to leave her beauty session, the cowpony's mane was tangle-free, deep-conditioned, and freshly styled. She immediately trotted back to the room where Fluttershy and Discord slept, and she found Rainbow Dash already there, sitting stiffly on the floor and watching the sleepers with dark-rimmed eyes.
"Rainbow," Applejack murmured, going to her friend. "You should sleep."
"No."
"It's been two days. You need to rest."
"I'm not leaving her." She forced herself to blink, making her eyes sting and water. Applejack set a comforting hoof on her shoulder, and Rainbow eventually leaned against her.
"Come on, RD. The guards will take care of her. You won't be any use to 'er if you're too tired to help."
She sighed. "Okay." The rainbow pegasus allowed Applejack to lead her down the hallway to her room and tuck her into bed. Almost as soon as her head hit the pillow her eyes closed and she started snoring.
Rarity put her brushes away and went back downstairs; she knew it wasn't ladylike to eat too much, but the whole business with Fluttershy and her entanglement with Spike was making her hungry. When she arrived in the kitchen, she found it empty except for a purple dragon, whose feet no longer dangled from his seat at the table. She almost turned around to retreat, but Spike looked up and mumbled, "Hey."
The white unicorn put on her most polite smile and walked cautiously into the room. "Oh, hello...Spike." She tried to avoid his gaze, but something nagged at the corner of her eye and she had to look. "Have you grown since last night?"
Spike looked down at himself. "Yeah, a little bit."
She frowned in confusion. "That was awfully fast, wasn't it?"
He shrugged. "Well, I got something I've always wanted last night, didn't I?"
Rarity stared at him. "You mean...you grew because of...of...?"
"Yep. It's part of the greed thing, you know?"
"Then we shouldn't---" Rarity was horrified at the thought that her affection could cause him to turn into the rampaging greedy dragon he had become on his last birthday.
"Don't worry about it, Rarity." Spike stood up from his chair and took his coffee cup to the sink. Once he was standing it was apparent that he was a full head taller than Rarity now, when only a week ago he had matched her in height.
Rarity squeaked in protest. "Don't worry?! How can I not worry that just one little kiss might turn my little Spikey-Wikey into...into..." She wobbled, ready to faint.
Spike set a stabilizing arm around her shoulders, and Rarity was painfully aware of his muscles holding her upright. "It's fine, Rarity, really. We don't have to ever do anything again. I don't want to grow into what I could become."
"But--" Rarity stopped short. She had no idea what to say, but for some reason every part of her being cried out in protest. To never be able to hold her Spike again, to never again experience the cool smoothness of his draconic lips against hers, she wasn't sure she'd be able to stand it. The night after she kissed him, her dreams had been filled with images of him, of his new adult body, of his muscles and his masculine face, even his teeth...
She shook her head. "No, Spike. It isn't that simple."
He looked down at her. "Huh?"
Her dark blue eyes shone as she turned her face to him. "I don't want to let you go that easily. You're not the only greedy one, Spike." She very gently leaned against his chest, letting her eyes slide closed as she listened to his heartbeat.
Spike stiffened subtly. "B-but, if I grow like this every time you kiss me..."
Rarity frowned. "I suppose that's true. I wonder if there's a way to get around that."
"Get around what?"
The two looked up suddenly to see Princess Celestia strolling down the stairs, looking at them with soft curiosity in her face. Rarity and Spike quickly jumped out of each other's arms, both of them coloring in embarrassment.
"I--well, um, I don't want to keep growing," Spike explained, tactfully leaving out the cause of his sudden growth. "I know how big dragons can get and I want to stay about the same size as my friends."
Celestia smiled as she moved past the couple to the kitchen counter, pulling a banana away from the bunch with her magic. "Don't you grow the most when you practice greed?"
"Yes, but..."
"Well, what if he receives something that he likes? Like a...gift."
"I don't see why that should cause a problem."
"What about...physical affection?"
Celestia calmly threw the peel of her banana into the trashcan, taking a bite of the fruit. "Is this affection a gift?"
Rarity and Spike glanced at each other. "Yes."
"Then again, there shouldn't be a problem."
"But there is."
The princess chewed thoughtfully. "Then was it really a gift?"
Both pony and dragon stared at her. Celestia finished her banana, smiled at the two of them, and went back upstairs.
The two of them looked at each other.
"I don't understand." Rarity stood, perplexed.
Spike shrugged. "Maybe we should just think about it for a little while."
She nodded absently, then walked back upstairs, leaving Spike alone with his thoughts.
He trudged outside into the courtyard, looking for a pebble to kick, one of his favorite things to do while thinking. With his eyes on the ground, he got full view of his reflection when he came across the pond. Spike stopped and looked at himself. He was almost three times his original size now, with broad shoulders and a muscular frame. HIs snout had lengthened, and he had grown at least twelve new teeth to fill his larger mouth. Even his spikes had started to sharpen. He was looking more and more dangerous every day.
What did Celestia mean when she asked if the kiss had truly been a gift? He hadn't been expecting it, and he certainly hadn't taken it from her by force, like he had with the things he had stolen the last time he got greedy.
Spike sighed and found a pebble, kicking it around the courtyard. What were the other elements of a gift, besides it being freely given from one pony to another? Gifts made the recipient happy. That was the point of them, actually. And Rarity's kiss had certainly done that. He had been deliriously happy all night.
Then he remembered Rarity's face when she saw how he had grown. It hadn't made her as happy as it had made him. He had taken that kiss. He had only been thinking about himself, about the joy of finally having her. He hadn't given a single thought to how she felt about it. Love wasn't one-sided. It had to make both sides happy. It wasn't enough for him to be obsessed with her because he wanted her. He had to want her happiness more than anything.
Spike looked back towards the castle. So that's what the princess meant. He grinned widely and hurried back towards the castle to find Rarity.
Inside, Princess Celestia and Luna were observing Fluttershy and Discord as they slept. Both of the royals looked grave. Fluttershy's ribs were beginning to show, and Discord's eyes had sunken in.
"Was he making any progress?" Celestia asked her sister.
"Yes, but he must overcome his own fears before he can rescue her."
"She doesn't have much time left."
"I have aided him as much as I can. The rest must come from inside him."
"You believe he truly has the power to save her?"
"I do. I have seen it in him."
Celestia looked at her seriously. Luna returned her gaze steadily.
"Trust me, big sister."
The white alicorn smiled softly down at her little sister. "I do." She turned and left the sleepers to their dreams.
She almost collided with Spike as he hurried down the hall to Rarity's room. He knocked eagerly. "Rarity!"
The door creaked open and the unicorn peered out at him. "Yes, Spikey--" She bit her lip halfway through her usual nickname for him, afraid that it would affect him negatively.
"I think I figured it out! Can I come in?"
Rarity pushed the door open so he could come through, then closed it behind him. She motioned for him to have a seat in a plush chair next to a polished wooden table as she placed herself in the chair across from him.
Spike took his seat eagerly. "I think I've got it. You know how Celestia was talking about if the kiss was really a gift?"
Rarity nodded silently.
"Well, the point of a gift is to make the other person happy, right?"
She looked at him questioningly.
"But lo--um, physical affection isn't just a gift from one pony to the other, it has to go both ways. Last night, I...I was being greedy. That's why I grew. I was only thinking about myself." He looked up at her. "I'm so sorry."
There was a moment of silence while Rarity processed what he had said, but then she smiled softly. "Like I said before, Spike darling, you weren't the only greedy one. I've treated you thoughtlessly and been terribly selfish. When I kissed you, I was only thinking of myself." She colored and looked away.
Spike looked at her sadly, then he reached across the table and took her hoof. "But I want this to work. You know how much I care about you, Rarity, and I...I want you to be happy, more than anything. I know now that's what it takes to truly be with someone."
Rarity looked up at him with shining eyes. He took both of her front hooves in his claws and leaned forward. "I swear, Rarity. From now on, you will always come first. Always. If you want to try and make this work, I'll be your willing slave. If you want to just be friends, I'll never bring it up again. On my Dragon Code, I swear it."
For a moment, all Rarity could do was stare into his vertical pupils, before gently, very gently, she leaned up and met his lips with hers.