> Keeping The Spark
>  by Twisted Brew
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Burning Hot!
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Twas the day of Hearts and Hooves on this fine morning in Ponyville. All throughout the town, couples were joining together in an attempt to make wonderful new memories that they could treasure for years to come. Many bought flowers and chocolates for their partners, others took their loved one's out for a night on the town or to a fancy restaurant; There were even those few who chose to remain in bed all day merely to enjoy their partner's company.

This was what your average, ordinary, everyday ponies were doing. However, there was one pony among them who stood out. She stood out by rank, she stood out by name, but overall it was how bored and lonely she was in her castle.

Princess Twilight Sparkle; Former student of Princess Celestia and current Element of Harmony, sat upon her throne in her castle. Over the years, her and her friends had grown slightly distant. Not harmfully so, but they did grow older and eventually created a bigger life for themselves outside of their friendship.

Rainbow Dash had achieved her dream of being a Wonderbolt a while ago. Now she travels around Equestria, putting on shows for all to see with the rest of her team. Shortly after officially joining the team, she grew some strong feelings toward Soarin. In time, they would start dating casually before officially announcing their relationship to their friends.

Fluttershy went into veterinary practice for a short while, but quit after one of the nurses said that an animal in the shelter needed to be put down. Nopony blamed her, they all knew how she was. She went on to start her own veterinary clinic from within her own home. Due to her sweet and giving nature though, she never charged a single bit to anypony she helped. If anything she worked for tips and whatever Celestia was willing to give her for her generous service.

Rarity was already successful with her boutiques and only continued to expand as time went by. With her popularity growing and her sales through the roof, she was quickly able to achieve her dream of moving to Canterlot. It was a trial at first, but thanks to the support of her friends, she was able to pull through like a champ. Rumor around town is that she found herself a stallion as well, but nopony knows for sure.

Pinkie Pie and Applejack were the only ones who remained in Ponyville. Their roots here were simply too deep for them to venture off. Pinkie took over Sugar Cube Corner when the Cakes decided that they were ready to retire. It was hard work, but thanks to the help of Pound and Pumpkin Cake, she was able to get by with her sanity mostly intact.

Granny Smith's funeral was a brutal one. Everypony both knew and respected her more than anything. Upon her end though, came a new beginning. Applejack and Big Macintosh took over the farm, working with both brains and brawn to keep everything in order. Apple Bloom played her part as well. While she was great with helping ponies discover who they were, she knew how to get corporate. The young mare quickly moved up from typical family chores to financial budgeting to keep them aware of how much they were spending.

While their was mostly apart, they weren't out of each others lives. Each of them had their own schedules and responsibilities, but the six friends would still find time to get together and catch up with each other.

Right now though was not one of those times.

Twilight's butt rested firmly on her throne as she stared over the small number of ponies who had shown up for court. This small development was something she had been trained for when Celestia truly believed she was ready to handle it. She went through months of both tests and training to prepare her for anything that could come through her door.

At first she was excited about the idea of having so much responsibility and using this new power of the ponies to both help others and prove herself further. Over time time though, it just became another task that was more and more tedious with each case that came in. Luckily for her, today was a holiday so not many ponies showed up.

When the courtroom was finally empty, she closed it down for the rest of the day and relieved the small number of guards she had on duty. The idea of having servants wasn't one of her favorites, but after an attempted assassination a few years back, she was more than happy to have them at her side.

With the courtroom empty she could finally let herself unwind a bit. Her firm, stiff posture sank and became lazy. Her body melted down into her seat as she took a deep, calming breath to help her relax. Silence filled the large room, leaving her in a pit of noiseless bliss. This peaceful state was short-lived, however.

In the distance she could hear some sort of loud, obnoxious sound echoing through the castle. A honking, of sort, tearing its way into her ear drums. The noise was all too familiar, but not something she could identify off of the top of her head. Curiosity set in fast and she rose from her throne, carefully making her way into and through the main corridor that ran through the castle.

Twilight was able to follow the sound all the way to the castle entrance until it finally ceased to exist. Hesitant, and a bit worried about what could be on the side, she slowly reached for the door knob, taking it firmly in her hand. Cautiously, she pulled the door open only to be greeted by the sound of a guitar being played.

Pulling the door completely open, this time with some purpose, revealed the outside world to her and she was stunned. So much so that she placed a hand over her mouth. The scenery was beautiful; Daisies ran down the walkway to her castle with red balloons along side them. At the end of the trail were dozens upon dozens of roses carefully placed into the ground in the shape of a heart.

Within the specially placed roses rested a large, black, metallic creature that Twilight once swore to never ride in again. From within it a tune was being played with the radio cranked up as loud as it could go. Ryan resided atop of the vehicle. Donning his form were a pair of blue jeans and a clean white T-shirt; His hair was gelled in a fashion that made him look like a character from The Outsiders. Lastly, he was holding a guitar across his chest.

Ryan played along to the beat of the song, silently prepping himself to do the best damn Elvis Presley imitation he could muster. His eyes shot up to Twilight, locking onto hers as he followed along to the music.

"~Lord almighty, I feel my temperature rising." Ryan sang aloud, "Higher, higher, it's burning through to my soul." He turned his attention back to the guitar. He was keeping up pretty well, but was paranoid that he'd miss a beat if he didn't pay attention. "Girl, girl, girl! You're gonna set me on fire." Laying with his back against the car, he stared up at the bright shining sky with a special warmth filling his gut, letting himself relax a bit. "My brain is flaming, I don;t know which way to go."

As the beat picks up, so does he. Lifting himself up, he now stands up straight an tall on the car. "Your kisses lift me higher, like the sweet song of a choir. You light my morning sky with burning love."

Unable to keep himself in complete control, his hips started to shake as he lets himself feel the song and enjoy it. "Ooh, ooh, ooh! I feel my temperature rising. Help me, I'm flaming. I must be a hundred and nine." Just for fun, he wiped a few drops of non-existent sweat from his forehead in a comical manner, which was just enough to get a small laugh out of Twilight. "Burning, burning, burning and nothing can cool me. I just might to turn to smoke, but I feel fine."

Ryan dropped down to his knees, his legs making an audible smacking sound as they met with the metal surface of his car's hood. "Cause your kisses lift me higher, like the sweet song of a choir! You light my morning sky with burning love!"

Twilight was absolutely awestruck, frozen in place with a smile practically glued onto her. If there was one thing she loved about Ryan, it was that he was as loving as he was spontaneous. She adored him simply for what he did, but loved him for who he was. And he was the biggest goof she had ever seen, but he was her goof. He brought her life so much welcomed excitement and could make the littlest thing seem like the most grand adventure in the world. And you never knew exactly what he was going to do next. She's found many a pattern with him, but nothing he does is ever identical to another. There's always some kind of twist, making him practically unpredictable. And that just made her life more exciting.

"Lord have mercy, I'm burning a hole where I lay." Ryan hopped off of the car, staring at Twilight with a dopey smile. "Your kisses lift me higher, like the sweet song of a choir! You light my morning sky with burning love!" He makes quick work of sailing up the stairs with a few quick motions, only stopping when he is nose to nose with his princess. "I'm just a hunk, a hunk of burning love! Just a hunk, a hunk of burning love! A hunk, a hunk of burning love!" Stopping early, he pressed his lips against hers.

Twilight, having been caught off guard, went wide eyed in surprise at first. Once she was able to recollect herself, she gladly returned the kiss, wrapping her arms around his neck and holding him dearly.

Ryan broke the kiss, his hands now holding onto her waist while the guitar rest on his side thanks to the strap that went over his shoulder. "Happy Hearts and Hooves Day, you adorkable book hoarder."

Twilight laughed, giving him a playful flick on the nose. "Happy Hearts and Hooves Day, you bald diamond dog."

Going back to his impersonation of Elvis, Ryan began shaking his hips and pulling Twilight along with him. "~You aint nothin' but a hound dog. Crying all the time; You aint nothin but a hound dog." He stopped as Twilight struggled against him, unable to hold back her laughter. "What, what's so funny?"

Twilight took a moment to gather herself together, doing her best to not bust out in guffaw. "Nothing, that was great." She said with a big goofy smile. "I loved it!"

"Thank ya, thank ya very much." Ryan said in character again.

"Knock it of, you dork!" Twilight responded, hitting him in the chest with a closed fist.

"Oh!" Ryan began in mock offense. "Oh! I see how it is" He continued, pulling away from Twilight as he over dramatized the scene he was creating. "If that's how you feel, maybe I'll take my dorkyness elsewhere. Good day to you, madam!"

Just as he went to storm off, Ryan found himself being suspended in the air. His body was lifted higher and flipped upside down before being pulled around some and finding itself hovering in front of Twilight. "Stop being such a spaz and kiss me."

Before Ryan could reply, Twilight was upon his face. The positioning was a bit awkward with him being levitated and held the opposite of how he should be, but not uncomfortably so. It was just a new experience. For a brief moment he felt Twilight's tongue slide into his mouth, only to remove itself as she broke the kiss.

The purple alicorn stared him down with half lidded eyes, rubbing the side of his face with a hand. "Come on now." She said, taking a few steps back into the castle. "I think it's about time I gave you your present." Her hand remained held out to him, one of her fingers sticking out and beckoning him to follow her.

Whether or not he wanted to, which he did, his body gently hovered to her command. Sure, he could break of of this little spell and do whatever, but if she wants to take the reigns for a while then, by all means, let her. "Yes, ma'am!"