3799 words
Author's Epilogue458 words

Riding the Train

Author's Note:

Biggest props to B_25, who kicked my ass gently enough to actually get my writing again. Sorry about the absolutely shit length of this chapter, especially after so long, but I'm honestly just trying to uncork the dam at this point. Hopefully the more will be Sooner this time

Also, I adore all you guys who're still coming here and following this story. I'm gonna try my hardest to keep up my writing. Love you all, Darlings

Spike pulled the strap off his shoulder, readjusting the potion bottles stored inside so they wouldn't clink too hard against each other before he stored them carefully in the space underneath his seat. He shifted slightly as the train started moving, and he used the momentum to flop onto the cushioned bench.

He smiled easily over at the other side of the personal compartment, making the owner of that particular seat smile back. “Looking forward to relaxing for a little?”

“I think so, yes,” Fluttershy said, nodding. “Though I'm not really sure what we'll be doing, besides talking with Cadance.”

“I'm not really sure either,” Spike admitted. He glanced out the window to their side, watching as the train started to pull away from the station. He pulled the blind down, dimming the bright sunlight coming in. “Though we know for a fact they have some luxury spas up there.”

Fluttershy quirked an eyebrow. “I didn't know that, actually.”

“Really? It was in those pamphlets that…” Spike trailed off for a moment before smacking himself in the face with a paw. “It was in those pamphlets that Rarity ordered after our trip up there, years ago. The one where we thought that other pony was Ms. Harshwhinny."

Fluttershy was polite enough to attempt to hide the giggle behind a hoof.

"It's alright Spike, I get it," she murmured. "She was... well, your entire life, for a bit. You're gonna make that mistake sometimes." She blushed a bit, and muttered something to the hooves she braced herself on.

Grinning, Spike leaned forward. "Sorry, didn't catch quite all of that," he said.

Squeaking, she looked around the otherwise empty compartment before saying again, "We-we'll just have t-to make our own memories, th-then."

He withdrew a bit, blinking as he blushed. A moment later he pushed his head forward, nuzzling her as he muttered, "Damn, but you're cute."

Giggling, she raised her hooves to either side of his jaws and held him close as she pushed her nose to his. After a moment, they made to separate, but Spike paused halfway back into his chair.

Eyeing her side of the compartment for a bit, he nodded to himself before getting off his bench. Sitting on the floor, he draped his side over the cushion beside her. Moving with him, Fluttershy leaned to the side, and he placed his neck on her side with his head ending up on her shoulder.

"Mmmm," he murmured. "We don't cuddle like this enough. You're very soft." He blinked a couple times, his eyes feeling heavier with each closure.

Fluttershy noticed, and with a little smile, she slowed her breathing a bit. Slowly, gently, she felt her heart slowing as her breathing got longer and deeper.

"I know what you're doing," Spike muttered, his own breathing lengthening with hers. "Seen you do it with the baby mammals before..."

Letting out a short yawn, he stretched his neck and gave her a soft kiss on her cheek.

"Wake me up if someth-..."

Fluttershy waited for a second, before she let out a giggle and gently kissed her dragon on his forehead. "Goodnight, love," she whispered, before she wiggled a hoof gently out from beneath her. Reaching into her bag beneath her chair, she withdrew a soft paperback and opened it with a feather.

"Alright Ms. Swiftly," she said to herself. "Let's see what the next few hours bring... Oh, oh my... Mr. Widecroup..."

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Spike's eyebrows were the first to move, sliding down just a bit over his closed eyes. Moments later, his nose twitched and the nostrils expanded, then contracted. His breathing became deeper, shallower, like he was fighting for oxygen. His head twitched to the side once, before his eyes flew open and his entire back tensed, almost pulling him into an arch.

He felt something soft wrap slowly around his neck, and his nostrils gave him enough of a clue as to who it was that he forced himself to relax, slowly coming back to rest on Fluttershy's side. He felt her leg pull him closer, and he snuggled into her side.

"Thanks 'Shy," he started, only to pause as she gave him a gentle squeeze.

"Thank you, Spike," she said. "You kept me nice and toasty the entire ride up here. I'm sorry you had another nightmare, though."

Spike gently shook his head. "It was a short one," he murmured into her shoulder, gently nosing the muscle there. "How long was I out?"

He felt Fluttershy shrug beneath him.

"I've been in my book since you fell asleep," she said apologetically, gesturing with the paperback. "Maybe if you opened the blind on the window?"

Spike tensed his back, messing with a muscle there before he looked over his own shoulder. He sighed at the sight of his bare back, before reaching up and gently moving the blinds over the window.

They both shivered as a gentle cold started to emanate from glass, and Spike had to lean up to wipe the white fog from the window. They both leaned forward to gaze out onto the fresh landscape, their necks and cheeks coming together as their eyes widened at the scene.

At the moment they were traveling through a hilly countryside, covered with coniferous trees. The train tracks followed the gentle swerves between low hills, half built on top of the hills and half built into the lulls between them. A river followed along in a few places, always flowing between the lazy bumps and swirls of the land. A thin layer of snow sat over the top of everything, giving the ground the appearance of white dunes and the trees a light frosting.

The moon sat just on top of the trees, full and fat and bright with the soft pale light of the reflected sun, and the stars glittered brilliantly in a deep purple velvet sky.

"We must still be passing through the Frozen North," Spike whispered, his dark eyes glittering with starlight. "You know, the unsettled territories between Equestria and The Crystal Empire..."

Fluttershy nodded absently, wrapping her hoof around Spike's leg and pulling him closer.

This is how the night greeted them, and they basked in its glory until they spotted a shining pink barrier in the distance. Spike hugged Fluttershy close, and the barrier trickled over them warmly as they passed harmlessly through the circumference of the Crystal Heart.

Both of them shivered, and huddled just a little closer as they made their way towards Mi Amore Cadenza, and the possibility of bonding even closer then they already were.

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