> Stories of True Love
>  by MiraculousDragonMaster
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> The Pony and the Dragon Part One
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Stories of True Love



The Pony and the Dragon



Part One


In the marketplace of Ponyville, two identical young ponies, twins about 10 years old, were walking around, seeing what could be good to buy. But, they did look different from most other ponies. They are the youngest kids of Applejack and Spike.

One was a colt that had a wild green mane with tiny green spines going down a scaly dragon tail, a tangerine orange coat, and his draconic eyes were a light teal. He also had freckles on his cheeks, paws in the front, and hooves in the back. His cutie mark was an apple having the same light green and yellow coloring as a pear.

The other beside him was a filly that had her green and purple striped mane tied back with her tail the same colors, a purple coat, and she also had the same draconic light teal eyes. Like the colt, she also had paws in the front and hooves in the back. Her cutie mark was a topaz in the shape of a pear.

The two eventually saw something that seemed interesting. There was a cloaked figure heading out of the marketplace. It seemed a little too big to be a pony, and it was bipedal. They decided to follow with a simple shared nod.

Once they saw the figure leave the market, it headed to the outskirts of Ponyville. The two little ones watched with anticipation as the figure removed the hood covering its face. They quieted a gasp of surprise when they saw that the figure was a dragon.

The dragon seemed feminine and stood a few inches taller than another dragon they knew. Her scales were cyan blue, she stood on her two feet, she had curved horns on her head, and her eyes were an amber color.

The filly decided to make herself known. "Hi, there." She said, making the dragoness spin around in surprise and the colt tried to pull the filly back.

The dragoness looked at them like she was seeing a ghost. They were ponies, but the colt had a dragon tail, they both had draconic eyes and paws in the front, and the filly's coat color is a purple that is eerily similar to the purple of the scales of the only dragon she knew who lived in Ponyville.

The filly smiled at the dragoness. "I'm Pear Gem, and this is my twin brother, Apple Pear." She introduced.

The colt, now known as Apple Pear, grinned nervously at the dragoness, showing tiny fangs in his mouth.

The dragoness seemed to calm down her nerves. "I'm Ember." She said.

Pear Gem smiled widely. "Welcome to Ponyville."

Ember chuckled. "Well, it has been a while since I have been here in Ponyville."

Apple Pear raised a curious eyebrow. "You mean, you have been here before?" He asked.

Ember nodded. "It's been a few years since I last visited."

Apple Pear then eyed a satchel Ember had over her shoulder. "What do you have in there?" He asked, pointing to it with his paw.

Ember opened the satchel, showing many different gemstones, all sparkling and glittering. The twins' eyes widened, seeing the yummy jewels inside. They both smiled widely, showing dragon fangs. "I was looking for someone to give these gems to. If he would even want to see me again after all this time."

The twins looked at each other in a sideways glance. If she was really talking about who they have an idea is, then he isn't here in Ponyville. He's in the Crystal Empire, along with their mother, and some of their favorite aunts and uncles.

Ember saw the hungry looks in the twins' eyes as they looked at the emeralds, sapphires, and rubies in her satchel. If she was right about who they are, then it couldn't hurt. She grabbed two of the gems and handed them over.

"Go ahead." She said.

AP and Gem looked at the large emerald and the pink diamond in her claw with surprise. "Thank you, Miss Ember." Apple Pear said, taking the emerald and putting it in his saddle bag, while Pear Gem put the diamond in her own.

"It was nice meeting you." Gem said as she and her brother left the dragoness to head back home. Ember smiled fondly at the two as they ran off and away from the market. They really were a lot like him.





A few minutes, Apple Pear and Pear Gem arrived at Sweet Apple Acres and into the kitchen. There, they saw their two older siblings preparing dinner. The eldest, Apple Jewel, was pulling out an apple pie out from the oven, while the second eldest, Apple Shield, was preparing two tables.

Apple Jewel was 14, and had an orange coat with little freckles on her cheeks, a straw blonde mane, and green eyes; but they weren't draconic. Out of the four of them, she was the one that looked the most like a pony, but when she smiled, she had fangs. Unlike her youngest siblings, she had all hooves. Her cutie mark was a ruby in the shape of an apple.

Apple Shield was 12, and he also had an orange coat, but his mane had a purple cut, looking like spines, a dragon tail with the same spines, and his green eyes were draconic. Just like Jewel, he had all hooves as well. His cutie mark was a red apple on a golden shield.

Apple Jewel then noticed that the twins had entered the kitchen, and placed the pie on the second table. "Great, you're back." She said.

Apple Shield finished putting the last fork on the first table. One of the tables was for the adults; seating eight, and the second table was for the kids; seating eight as well. AS then noticed that there was something in the twins' saddle bags.

"Hey. What do you two have there?" He asked, pointing to the saddle bags.

Apple Pear and Pear Gem saw where their older brother was gesturing to. They reached into their bags and pulled out the gemstones. Jewel and AS had their eyes widening in delight at the delectable gems.

"Where did you guys get them?" Jewel asked. "You didn't get any of the gems from Dad's collection or from Aunt Twilight's castle?"

AP shook his head. "No, we got them from the market, from this dragoness."

Their elder siblings' eyes widened again, this time in shock. "A dragoness?" Apple Shield asked.

"Yeah." Pear Gem said, tilting her head curiously.

The two elder siblings looked at each other, but then both jumped up when they heard hoofsteps coming down the stairs.

"Hide them." Apple Jewel hissed to the twins', and they both quickly did so with Apple Pear asking, "Why?"

"For some reason, Granny and Grand Pear don't like talking about something that happened to Mom and Dad concerning a dragoness before we were born." AS explained. "We know they're hiding something, but every time one of us asks, they both get so upset, they won't talk."

"But, that dragoness AP and I met earlier seemed really nice." Gem said. "I wonder what happened."

"Me, too." Jewel agreed. "But, we'll talk about it, later."

Granny Smith and Grand Pear (it was a miracle to see that these two were still alive) took their spots at the table.

Next, it was their Uncle Big Macintosh and Aunt Sugar Belle. Their two children, Apple Bright, who was strong like his father, and Sweet Pear, who was a unicorn like her mother, sat down with the four other Apple kids.

Finally, there was their Aunt Apple Bloom and Uncle Pipsqueak, or Uncle Pip. Their young daughter, Apple Butter, took her spot, while her parents sat at theirs; Pip helping his heavily pregnant wife sit down.

After supper and heading over to their beds, the four Apple Dragon siblings thought that if they can't ask their great-grandparents about what happened with Applejack, Spike, and Ember, then maybe they can ask their other relatives. Big Mac doesn't talk much, anyway. The others, Sugar Belle, Apple Bloom, and Pip, they might know, since Sugar Belle had Apple Bright when their parents were wed. Then that is who they need to talk with first.





The next morning, Granny Smith and Grand Pear had left for the market, so now, it was time to act. The Apple Dragon siblings went to their Aunt Sugar Belle, who was cooking breakfast.

"Aunt Sugar Belle?" Apple Jewel asked. The unicorn magically put down the whisk and turned to her nieces and nephews.

"What's up, you four?" She asked.

Apple Shield took a deep breath. "We want to know what exactly happened with our parents. You know, with Ember."

Sugar Belle froze. "Now, you know that Granny and Grand Pear don't like us talking about it."

"We know." Apple Pear said.

"But, we met Ember yesterday, and she was really nice." Pear Gem explained.

Their aunt sighed. Well, it seems that history is repeating. She thought. "I suppose you have the right to know." She magically moved some chairs over to the four Apple Dragon siblings. "You best take a seat." Once they did, she began to explain.

"You remember how your parents first met, right?"

"Yeah." Jewel said. "When Dad and Aunt Twilight first moved to Ponyville." Sugar Belle nodded. "And that they both started to develop feelings for each other after the Timberwolf incident."

"Yes, but there were a few complications before they began to act on their feelings." Sugar Belle said.





Applejack kicked hard at the base of the tree, and apples came tumbling down into the baskets down below them. She wiped some sweat off her brow while some trailed down her orange coat. Her blonde mane was sticking over her shoulder with the perspiration. But her green eyes were glowing with satisfaction as her work would soon end.

"Psst!" A whispered voice caught her attention. "Applejack!"

The mare in question turned to where the voice came out. From behind one of the trees, there was a very familiar dragon who towered a couple of inches above her, with purple scales, edgy green spines, and matching draconic eyes.

AJ came over to him. "Spike! What are you doing here?" She asked. It sometimes still amazed her that only a few years ago, he was only up to her shoulders. Spike have had quite the growth spurt in those recent years.

Spike seemed nervous as he looked around the area. "Not here." He said, and beckoned her to follow him.

Applejack raised a confused eyebrow, but followed him anyway.

Soon, they found a spot near the edge of Sweet Apple Acres, where the breeze was cool and soft. Applejack noticed that just nearby, the symbol of the love between her parents stood. Once they stopped walking, AJ placed a hoof on Spike's shoulder.

"All right now, Spike. Now what is all about?" She asked.

Spike took a deep breath. "You know that I'm the ambassador of peace to the Dragon Lands." Applejack nodded, gesturing him to go on. "Well, even though Ember is my friend, and she has visited a few times before, but I still get nervous, since dragons are still adjusting to friendship."

"Come on now, Spike." Applejack said. "You're doing a mighty fine job, teaching the dragons about friendship."

"Well, Ember will be coming here again in a couple of days." Spike explained. "She told me that things have been improving, but I'm not sure what else I can do."

AJ only smiled. "Hey, you have learned a lot since you first came to Ponyville, right?" When he nodded, she continued. "Then, you have what it takes to help your kind understand the things that you do since you have lived with ponies your whole life, right?"

After another nod, she placed her hoof on his claw, both of them feeling a spark when they made contact. They looked up into each other's eyes, green meeting green. Not breaking the eye contact, Applejack spoke again. "Besides, ya know that I'll always be here if ya need me."

Applejack didn't understand then, but recently, she had been getting a warm fuzzy feeling when around Spike. She knew that she developed a soft spot for the dragon ever since the Timberwolf incident a few years back. But now, she feels on air whenever he's around her. But what is it exactly?

Spike was going through the same thing as he gazed into AJ's emerald green eyes. Ever since he first met her, he knew that there was a certain appeal about her. And ever since the episode with the Timberwolves, he get the same feeling about her like he did with Rarity. However, recently he noticed that the heart-thumping sensation he'd get around the sophisticated unicorn had greatly faded. And now, when it comes to the country mare, that emotion had turned to her and was increased tenfold.

But, to both of their disappointment, Applejack removed her hoof and turned her gaze away. "Remember that, okay?" She said.

Wanting to feel that spark again, Spike touched her hoof and secretly relished in the feeling as if the warmth of Celestia's sun was in her gentle touch. He took in the appearance of the friend he always knew he could count on. The sweat that had beaded her forehead was gone as the coolness of the breeze cooled her down. At that precise moment, the sun shone its beams on her, making her blonde mane gleam like gold and her orange coat shine in the sunset, despite some dirt splotches.

"You know I will." He whispered.

AJ felt her cheeks slightly flush as she looked into Spike's draconic eyes. She hoped that the red color wasn't showing. But, despite the embarrassing heat she was feeling in her face, she smiled softly at him. When he returned it, they both felt heat course through themselves. The good kind of heat.





"Wait a minute!" Apple Shield said, who was on the edge of his seat with the rest of his siblings. "Dad was an ambassador to the dragons?"

Sugar Belle magically put down her whisk again, as she was still preparing the batter while she told the story. "Well, he still is." She corrected. "But, it has been a while since he had helped the dragons understand friendship."

"And you had mentioned Ember." Apple Jewel added, but then froze as the realization hit her, Apple Shield, Apple Pear, and Pear Gem. "Are you saying that Dad and Ember were old friends?" When their aunt nodded, the four Apple Dragon siblings were in shock.
> The Pony and the Dragon Part Two
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Stories of True Love



The Pony and the Dragon



Part Two


Once their shock had faded, Apple Shield spoke up, rubbing his head from the mental connections he was making in his head. "Why didn't anypony tell us?" He asked.

"Tell y'all what?" A voice asked. The Apple Dragon siblings turned to the kitchen door and saw their Uncle Big Macintosh come in.

Sugar Belle went over to her husband. "Honey, they wanted to know what happened with Applejack and Spike before they were born." She explained.

Big Mac looked over at his nieces and nephews. "Is that so?" He asked.

"Please, don't be mad at us." Pear Gem begged her uncle. "We just wanted to know."

Big Mac went over to her and ruffled her mane. "Well, I was hoping y'all would one day ask." He said, surprising them. "It's nice to talk about they got together."

"Really?" Apple Pear asked, raising a confused eyebrow.

Big Mac nodded. "We just never known when to bring it up. But, you seemed to have your ma's desire to know the truth."

The Apple Dragon siblings smiled shyly. Then, they settled back into their seats.

"Where did ya stop, honey?" Big Mac asked his wife.

"After Spike told Applejack about his insecurities about Ember." Sugar Belle said. Her husband then began chuckling.

"Then after that, they started to become big slip-ups, along with Spike visiting the farm more often." He laughed, turning to his nieces and nephews. "In fact, one time, he and I were trying to see who could kick or throw boulders the farthest into the pond, and he and I were neck and neck. We might've seen who'd win if your dad wasn't so..." He chuckled again. "Distracted."

All four of the Apple Dragon siblings slightly giggled at the notion. 



Spike had just threw a boulder about his size into the air, watched it land near the pond's edge, and then gave Big Mac a confident smirk. The red stallion returned the smirk and then kicked his own boulder with his hind legs, the large stone going a little bit further than Spike's first attempt.

When Spike grabbed another boulder and got ready to toss it, he stopped when he saw Applejack near the pond down the hill, kicking the boulders away from the shore with all her strength with her hind legs. A goofy smile unknowingly came onto his face, knowing that most likely, she will beat both him and her brother in competitions like this.

Suddenly, he lost his balance and he came tumbling down the hill with the boulder following him, having escaped his grip.

Applejack heard his screaming and saw him tumbling down towards her, but she was too slow to move out of the way, and both of them went crashing into the pond with a big splash. AJ swam up and spit out some water, Spike following suit. Both of them then got out of the pond, and Big Mac came down to see if they were both okay.

"What in tarnation happened?" Applejack asked, shaking the water off her mane and coat, and then wringing out her Stetson hat.

Spike shook the water of his scales to distract himself from looking too intensely at how the remaining water droplets made her coat sparkle. "Sorry about that, AJ. We were just having a little competition." He explained.

"Without me?" Applejack asked with a challenging smile. Spike returned it, and the two locked gazes.

"Applejack!" A voice called out from the hill. The three of them turned to the direction of the voice and saw Apple Bloom. "Granny needs ya! Guess who's back?"

Applejack rolled her eyes with annoyance. "If it's those conniving con-ponies, Flim and Flam, I'll send them back to Las Pegasus with a single and mighty good kick." She angrily muttered to herself. "I'll be right there, Apple Bloom." She called back to her sister. Before she ran up the hill, she turned back down to the guys, Spike specifically. "Let me on in the next one, all right?" She asked with a bright and challenging smile.

Spike could only give a dopey little grin back at her. As AJ left, turning back to Spike one last time with a small smile, hearts began materializing all around him. He would've even began floating on air if Big Mac kept a hoof on his shoulder and used his other one to wave in front of his face to snap him out of his lovestruck daze. When that failed, he sighed with a roll of his eyes and then gave him a firm and friendly slap on his back, making the dragon almost tumble forward and the hearts vanished.

"Hey!" He exclaimed at his friend, who was giving him a knowing smile.

"You best find some time to hang out with my sister real soon." Big Mac teased as they both headed back up the hill. "Or else, you might find yourself in the same situation that happened with me and Sugar Belle."

Spike only blushed bright red and rubbed his neck, embarrassed. Well, if that were to happen, at least he has his permission. 



Big Mac laughed again at the memory. "And that was one of the first of many times I caught him stealing glances at your mom." He said.

The Apple Dragon siblings laughed as well. "Well, Dad can be a bit of a goofball sometimes." Apple Jewel pointed out.

Sugar Belle magically placed a plate of warm apple fritters onto the table as her husband continued. "But, I'm glad that the two of them started to hang out more often after that. Especially with what your mom was facing."

"What was Mom facing?" Apple Pear asked.

"I think I know the answer to that." A voice piped in. Every pony turned to the kitchen entrance and saw Apple Bloom and Pipsqueak come into the kitchen.

"Aunt Apple Bloom, you know about what happened with our parents and Ember?" Pear Gem asked her aunt.

She nodded as Pip helped his wife into a seat. AB turned over to her husband. "Pip, I can sit down by myself." She said.

Pip shook his head. "Not when you are so far along, love." He said as he sat down beside, gently touching her stomach.

Apple Bloom rolled her eyes with a smile, then turned to her nieces and nephews. "I remember that day that your uncle was telling you about. I called her over there because that Trenderhoof guy was back in town."

"Trenderhoof?" Apple Shield asked, slightly recognizing the name. "Was he the stallion who came to Ponyville a long time ago, and who Aunt Rarity had a thing for at the time, but he fell head over hooves for Mom, even though she turned him down?"

AB nodded again with a grimace. "Eeyup. And apparently, he came back then to "properly" pursue your mom. I remember the look on Applejack's face when he said that. She looked like she would rather handle another vampire fruit bat infestation, along with a cockatrice, than date him."

The Apple Dragon siblings shared her disdain with a shudder. Though they didn't know much about that, they knew that their mother made the right choice with their father. "So, what happened?" Apple Jewel asked.

"Well, he started trailing your mom around like a grade-A nincompoop, and annoying her to no end. She would persuade me to keep him occupied so that she could sneak away. But as time went on, I saw that when she would come home later in the day, she would be like she's on the clouds. It didn't seem suspicious at first, but then one day, I decided to find out where she goes." 



A teenage and non-pregnant Apple Bloom had finally evaded Trenderhoof by leaving him lost in the local market. She then saw a familiar blonde tail quickly head off to the edge of Sweet Apple Acres. She followed her sister until she reached a hill overlooking the orchard. Apple Bloom looked around, wondering where AJ went. But then, she suddenly heard voices coming and dove behind a nearby bush. When she carefully peeked over the shrubbery, she was surprised to see Applejack walking alongside Spike.

"I really don't like this, Spike." AJ said to the dragon beside her. "I don't like havin' to sneak off just so that I can see ya."

Spike nodded. "Me, too." He said. "Ember just has been keeping me so busy that I can't have any time to myself, or to see you. I hate having to lie to her, but it seems like the only way that I can have some quality time with you."

Applejack slightly blushed. "Aw, that's kinda sweet of ya to say." She said, rubbing her foreleg with her hoof.

"Because it's the truth." Spike said, taking her hoof, making her look up into his eyes. "And you know it."

The two looked into each other's eyes, gazing in deep. They didn't know that they both were starting to lean their faces closer to the other's, their eyes slowly closing.

Apple Bloom noticed, though. She blushed a little at what was happening, and decided to give them some privacy. However, as she was stepping back, she accidentally stepped on a twig, making it snap loudly. AJ and Spike backed away from each other immediately, ending their moment. They turned to see who made that sound. Apple Bloom nervously came out from behind the bush.

Applejack breathed out a sigh of relief, but then glowered at her sister. "Apple Bloom? What are you doing here?" She asked.

"Sorry, Applejack." AB apologized. "I just wanted to know where you go after ya got away from that weirdo." AJ's face fell into an annoyed scowl. "But, now I see that there is a reason why ya come here." Her little sister gave her a teasing look.

Applejack glanced over at Spike, then they both realized what Apple Bloom was implying, and they both blushed bright pink, with AJ tugging her hat slightly lower down to her face while Spike was looking away while rubbing his arm. Applejack then turned back to Apple Bloom.

"You promise ya won't say anything for now?" She asked.

Apple Bloom blinked in confusion, even though she nodded. "Not that I won't tell no one, but why keep this a secret?" She asked.

"Things have been really crazy right now." AJ explained. "We can't have any pony doing anything different, including the two of us."

AB saw why, then nodded again in understanding. Suddenly, a voice had called out.

"Oh, Applejack!" The mare in question froze, then groaned in annoyance, recognizing that voice.

"You've got to be kidding me." She muttered. Quickly, she then pushed Spike and Apple Bloom into the bushes. "Stay low." She told them.

No sooner did AJ move away from the bush, Trenderhoof came up to her.

"There you are." He said, having a lovestruck smile on his face. Applejack resisted the urge to kick him in the face. Violet magic lit up his horn and he held up a bouquet of flowers. "For your dinner table."

From in the bush, Apple Bloom cast a quick glance over at Spike, and the dragon was silently snarling with his eyes glaring fire at the stallion.

"Will I be joining you this evening?" Trenderhoof asked.

"Sorry." AJ said, pushing the flowers away. "Not tonight."

"Are you busy?" He asked.

"No..." Applejack said, before rolling her eyes and quickly heading down the hill.

Trenderhoof watched her gallop down the hill with a lustful look. "Playing hard to get, are we?" He asked. "Okay, I'll play along, Applejack." He then went after her.

After he disappeared down the hill, Spike jumped out, looking ready to attack. "He'd better keep his hooves off her, or else I'd break his horn." He hissed.

Apple Bloom held him back slightly. "Easy there, lover boy." She said. "Come on."

The two headed down, and soon found Applejack behind one of the trees, once again having evaded Trenderhoof. She locked gazes with Spike again, but before either one could come any closer to the other, another voice called out.

"Spike! Where are you?" The dragon in question flinched when he recognized that voice.

"That's Ember." He said. "I gotta go." He turned to leave, but then stopped and turned back to AJ. "I'll see you tomorrow." He added with a wink, making the country mare smile shyly. Spike finally then ran out of the orchard, keeping his eyes on Applejack. Though that did make him bump into some of the trees a couple of times, making her giggle a bit while waving to him.

When the dragon left, Apple Bloom noticed that her sister was having that same look she had noticed when she would come home for the past couple of weeks. She waved her hoof in her face to snap her out of it.

"You and Spike, sis?" She asked, raising a surprised brow. Applejack blushed red, knowing what she was implying. "Now, that was something I didn't see coming. But, he's a dragon. You're a pony."

"I guess, things like this, they can't be helped." AJ said, remembering a certain story that is getting eerily close to her and Spike's situation. "They just happen." 



And that was how it went for the next few weeks. Both Spike and Applejack would hide, then meet up at whatever hiding spot they could to spend time together; having a private picnic or just to talk. During those few weeks, their feelings for each other grew stronger and stronger.

One particular afternoon, Spike had decided to tell AJ how he felt about her. He just hoped that she felt the same way. Once he had everything ready, he then hurried to where he was to meet her.

After a pleasant picnic that Applejack had brought for them, Spike slowly got the much-needed courage he needed for this.

"Um, AJ?" He began to ask. She turned to look out at him, her emerald green eyes meeting his. Those eyes could bore deep into his soul, even from the beginning when they first met. He could feel his confidence slowly start to waver.

"Yes, Spike?" She asked, her small yet dazzling smile beaming as bright as the setting glow of Celestia's sun.

"I, uh..." He quickly thought of what he wanted to say. He looked over to where he had his surprise, and he regained his confidence. He took a deep breath. "I have something to show you."

"What is it, Spike?" Applejack asked. Suddenly feeling mischievous, Spike slid her hat over her face. "Hey!" She exclaimed.

"It's a surprise." He said. He then took her hoof and began leading her down the hill.

"Where are we going?" AJ questioned, her Stetson hat still over her face.

"You'll see." Spike teased.

Soon, they had arrived. "We're here." Spike said to her, stopping in his steps. Applejack readjusted her Stetson hat back on her head, and then quietly gasped.

Spike had led her to the spot where her parents exchanged their secret vows to each other. Just like the many times she would visit, the magnificent sight of the tall and beautiful apple tree entwined with an equally amazing pear tree into the shape of a heart stood wondrously in the afternoon sun.

"How, how did you find this place?" AJ asked. She knew that one day, she would want to show Spike this place soon, but, it seems he beat her to it.

"I remember the story you told me of your parents," Spike explained, "and then not too long ago, I found this spot when I was heading off to meet you."

Applejack turned to the dragon next to her and smiled softly at him. "But, why did ya bring me here?" She asked.

"Follow me." Spike took her hoof again and led her behind the intertwined trees. "And, surprise!" He gestured.

There, a little further away from a boulder having her parents' cutie marks engraved inside of a heart at its center, AJ saw that there was a similar boulder, but this one had her own cutie mark and Spike's symbol of his dragon head inside a heart.

Applejack walked over to that stone and touched it with her hoof, feeling overwhelmed with an emotion that she had been feeling for a long time, ever since she and Spike started spending more time together. Right now, she knew exactly what it was.

"So, what are you trying to say, Spike?" She questioned, turning to the dragon with a glimmer of hope in her eyes.

Spike took another deep breath and went over to her, touching the stone as well. "Well, I thought that if this was one of the symbols of the truest love I've ever heard, then, maybe... it can maybe work for us as well." The moment was here, as he took her hoof one more time. "I... I love you, AJ. I've never felt this strongly for any pony, not even back when I had a thing for Rarity, and I hope that you feel the same about me, because there is no pony else that will ever change how I feel about you."

Applejack felt her spirits soar higher than she could ever imagine when she took in this declaration. Tears of joy sprung into her eyes and she threw her hooves around his neck, holding him close to her.

"I love ya, too, Spike." She said, wiping away a tear. "I never really thought too much about love before, but then I started to get sweet on ya. But then, I got worried that you would always be hung up on Rarity, so I kept them to myself. Now, I'll tell ya this: there will be no other pony or other creature that will keep me away from you."

Spike felt a huge weight lift off his shoulders when he heard those words, and he then felt his spirits rising rapidly with such strong passion as he held the true and real love of his life closer to him, feeling the shape of her form against him. Strong, yet gentle. Tough, yet sweet. Fiery, yet honest. Simple, yet beautiful. That was all Applejack.

AJ then let go of their embrace, yet still stood close to Spike. She felt the indentations of the heart, her cutie mark, and his symbol with her hoof. Finally, after a few more seconds of comfortable silence, she began to sing.

Applejack: Gazing out my window,
There you are.
You're so very close,
And yet so far.

When I see your face dear,
Then I know this much is true.
There's no other one for me but you.

As she sung, Spike listened intently to the melody. He could hear the love and passion she has for him in her voice.

No other love for me.
No other one for me.
No other love for me, I know, deep in my heart.

No other one for me.
No other love for me, it's true.
There's no other one for me but you.

Applejack then felt Spike's claw take her hoof and place it over his chest, so that she could feel his heartbeat. His voice that was beginning to sing along drew her attention to him and gazed up at him.

Spike: Kept pretty far away,
I dream of you.
Thoughts of all the scrapes
That we've been through.

Giving me the courage
For the fight that's sure to be.
There's no other hope for me, you see.

She then joined in again, her gaze never leaving his eyes.

Applejack: No other love for me.

Spike: No other one for me.

Applejack: No other love for me, I know, deep in my heart.

Spike: Deep in my heart.

Both: No other one for me.
No other love for me, it's true.
Nothing's ever keeping us apart.

AJ placed her other hoof on Spike's shoulder as their song ended. Both lost in the other's green eyes, they both started to lean closer with their eyes slowly closing. Finally, their lips had touched in their first kiss. It was gentle, sweet, and passionate. Applejack slid her hoof up Spike's chest to join her other one to wrap around his neck, while Spike followed her curves down with his claws until they were at her hips and he pulled her even closer to him.

(The adults left out that particular part in the since there were 10-year-old ponies listening.)

Soon, they broke apart. Neither of them said a word as they once again made eye contact. Eventually, AJ rested her head against his chest, listening to his heartbeat, while Spike still held her close. They both knew that they were smiling blissfully. This moment was absolutely perfect. 



The next day, Spike still was on air as he went to meet with Ember again for another lesson. Usually, he would feel exhausted or annoyed, but after his perfect night with Applejack, nothing could spoil his happy mood.

Ember noticed that he was a little more happier than usual, but didn't ask. Instead, she said, "Spike, I really appreciate all that you have been helping me with."

"I'm glad that's working out." Spike answered, still on cloud nine with how his relationship with Applejack has grown wonderfully. 

"But, I think it will be more efficient to teach dragons about friendship if you can come with me to the Dragon Lands." Ember added.

That statement finally got Spike to snap out of his lovestruck trance that was almost letting him fly without wings, as he almost tripped on air.

"WHAT?!" He shouted.
> The Pony and the Dragon Part Three
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Stories of True Love



The Pony and the Dragon



Part Three


"Wait a minute!" Apple Shield interrupted. "Ember wanted Dad to come with her to the Dragon Lands? But, Dad had his life here, with Mom and the rest of our aunts. He couldn't leave all of a sudden."

"That was what he was probably thinking." Apple Bloom said. "But remember, according to dragon customs from what he had told us, his love with your mom was considered immoral."

"What does that mean?" Pear Gem asked.

"It basically means that their love is forbidden." Apple Jewel explained. "Meaning they can't be together."

"But they did get together." Apple Pear piped up. "Or else, we wouldn't be here."

"You're right about that, little bro." AS said, rubbing AP's head playfully. "But still, it's hard to imagine that you're not allowed to love whoever you want. So what if Dad's a dragon and Mom's a pony?"

"Well, it wasn't easy trying to tell that to Ember, knowing what might happen if he did." Apple Bloom said. 



"You want me to come with you to the Dragon Lands?" Spike asked, not believing what he had heard. "Uh, you know there are certain dragons over there who would try to burn me into a crisp if they see me."

"Don't worry, I'll make sure that they won't lay a claw on you." Ember tried to assure him.

"But, what about my friends?" And Applejack. He thought. He couldn't bear the thought of not seeing her for who knows how long. And with Trenderhoof still in town, he would try anything just to have AJ, even by any means possible.

"Well, they can visit you." Ember suggested. "But, you might have to stay a while; just until the dragons know a little more about friendship." Spike felt as if there was a humongous weight pressing down on his shoulders. Ember turned to fly away. "I'll give you until tonight to think about it." With that, she was off.

Spike was devastated. He knew he couldn't say goodbye to Applejack, but how was he going to explain that to Ember? He might get in big trouble for falling in love with a pony. Yet, he can't bear to leave her, not knowing when he will see her again.

"I need to talk to AJ about this." He quietly said to himself, and he started for Sweet Apple Acres.

When he got to his usual meeting place with Applejack, he found the mare in question sitting there, looking like she wanted to cry and shout insults at the same time.

"Applejack, what's wrong?" He asked, coming up to her. Applejack looked up at him. "Did something-" He didn't even finish his sentence before she quickly stood up, wrapped her hooves around his neck, and pressed her lips roughly against his.

This kiss was very different from the one they shared last night. While the last one was sweet, loving, and gentle, this one was rough, demanding, and searing hot; fuelled with fire. So hot that it was turning his brain to mush. He had never seen this side of Applejack before. But, it was still just as pleasurable; maybe even more. Spike gave into her demands, deepening their kiss further. Unsurprisingly, she tasted just like apples.

(Once again, they adults left out this particular scene because of much younger ponies listening.)

Once they finally broke apart for air, Applejack moaned in frustration as she held her dragon close to her. "I hate this, Spike." She said.

Spike got out of his heat filled trance and looked down at her. "What happened, AJ?" He asked.

"That Trenderhoof is now givin' my family bargains!" AJ answered angrily.

"WHAT?!" Spike growled loudly. Forget about what Ember had told him. This was much worse.

"And that last bargain he just made, he promised my family a hundred bits for their permission to marry me! And I ain't a prize to be won or a sow to be sold!" Applejack continued, getting out of Spike's arms and giving a nearby tree a very firm and hard buck with her hind legs. How the tree didn't turn into a stump, he didn't know. But every single apple and even several leaves fell off the branches and into the baskets underneath. "I stormed out before I heard their answer, but I know they said no!" 

"Okay, now he has crossed the line!" Spike exclaimed. "When I find him, I'll show him that I can be really scary!" He threatened. "And I know what Ember had said was bad."

Applejack's anger vanished and turned into confusion as she lifted up a brow. "What did Ember tell ya?" She asked.

Spike mentally kicked himself for letting such a thing slip up so easily. But, there was no avoiding it now, not with her keen sense for detecting lies. "I think we both should sit down for this."

Applejack raised her curious brow higher, not too sure if she liked where this was going. "What happened?" She asked as they both sat down on the grass.

"Ember wants me to come with her to the Dragon Lands." Spike said, not looking in her eyes. "I don't know how long before I can come back."

"What?!" AJ shouted in disbelief. "You can't leave!" Spike finally glanced at her, and he felt his heart being stabbed when he saw the sadness in her eyes.

"I know." He said, holding her close to him. "I don't want to leave, either. But, I'm not sure what Ember will do if I say no. She is pretty unpredictable."

"But, who knows what might happen while you're gone?" Applejack replied, almost sounding like she was about to cry.

Spike then had a crazy and ingenious idea. He moved a little bit away so that he could look AJ straight in the eye. "What about we run away?" He suggested.

"What?!" Applejack shouted again. "Are you crazy?"

"Hear me out, AJ." Spike said, calming her down. "You want to be away from Trenderhoof, and I can't face Ember if I don't know how she'll react to my answer. So, if we're somewhere where they can't find us, then, they'll leave. After that, we can come back home and come clean with our friends."

Applejack thought deeply about this. She hated the thought of running away from Ponyville, but she also wanted Trenderhoof out of her fur. But Spike needs to tell Ember why he can't leave. However, who knows how she'll react when she realizes that he's in love with AJ. A pony and a dragon, it can't be. Yet, it did happen. And she wanted him as much as he wanted her.

She gazed into those green draconic eyes that always had an entrancing effect on her and sighed. "All right. But where will we go?"

"Well, it's either Dodge Junction or Las Pegasus." Spike said. "Your choice."

"Ya know that I won't go back to that crazy party city on yer life." Applejack stated. "I'd rather head to Dodge Junction. Cherry Jubilee can cover us there."

Spike smiled. "Then, it's settled." He said, bringing his beloved closer to him. "We'll meet here at midnight."

"I can do 11:45." AJ said with a loving smile.

Spike returned it as he held her face. "Not soon enough."

The two then touched lips once more, but Applejack pulled away too soon for his liking and started running towards the farmhouse. He smiled a lovestruck smile, and then headed towards Twilight's castle. 



"Hang on!" Apple Jewel cried out. "Mom and Dad were actually planning to run away?!"

Apple Bloom nodded. "Yeah, and me and your uncle were just as shocked when she told us in secret. But, since we knew the stress they were feeling then, it seemed that they just needed each other and some space to figure all that out."

"Figure what out?" A familiar voice asked.

The adults froze and turned to the doorway of the kitchen, along with the Apple Dragon siblings. There, standing there, was the middle couple of the Apple family.

"Mom! Dad!" The four pony-dragon hybrids exclaimed.

"Some pony wanna tell us what's going on in here?" Applejack asked, turning to her brother and sister.

"Don't get mad, Mom." Apple Pear pleaded.

"Uncle Big Mac and Aunt Apple Bloom were just telling us your and Dad's story about how you fell in love." Pear Gem explained.

Applejack and Spike looked at each other, then at their kids. "We're not mad, but how much did they tell you?" Their father asked.

"Up to the point where you and Mom were planning on running away." Apple Shield answered.

AJ sighed. "Well, we were planning on telling you four one day soon." She admitted as she and Spike sat down at the table. "We just didn't know exactly when."

"So, what happened next?" Apple Jewel asked.

"Well, after we secretly packed a few things, we met up over at our usual spot in the orchard." Spike began to recall. 



In the quiet of the night, Applejack quietly trotted through the orchard toward her meeting place with Spike. On her back was her saddle bag, which was packed with some of her stuff. She still couldn't believe she was doing this. She loves her home, her family. She would never leave it. At least it's not for forever.

Finally, she saw Spike waiting on the hill, carrying a knapsack tied around a long staff. His scales and spines had a silver sheen from the moon. She slightly chuckled at the sight of him, making herself known to the dragon waiting.

Spike felt a soft smile come up on his face when he saw the beautiful mare standing at the foot of the hill. Her emerald green eyes were like bright beacons in the darkness, and the pearly silver glow of the moonlight illuminated her orange coat and blonde mane. He ran down to her, dropping his knapsack and taking her in his arms.

"Are you still sure about this?" He asked her. "I know you don't want to leave Ponyville. I don't, either. But, I'm tired of all this pressure we're facing."

Applejack looked up into those green draconic eyes. She moved her hoof to caress his face. "I still probably won't be okay, but as long as I'm with ya, I know that everything will be all right."

Spike smiled softly. Then, he carefully leaned in closer to her and kissed her lips, gently yet passionately. AJ returned it as she wrapped her hooves around his neck, and he in turn wrapped his arms around her.

But they didn't notice that their touching moment was being watched. From in the shadows, two hazel draconic eyes weren't believing what they were seeing.

Ember was shocked. So, this was why Spike was acting strange for the past few weeks, and one particular reason why he seemed against going with her to the Dragon Lands. He was in love. And it was obvious that this mare felt the same. Applejack was her name, she remembered, since it was a name that didn't have "light" in them.

At first, she felt like she should confront them, saying that whatever was going on between them can't happen. But instead, she remained in her hiding spot. They knew that their love is forbidden, so that is why they kept it a secret in the first place. Besides, Spike has lived his whole life with ponies, and still isn't too keen on dragon customs, so even if he wasn't in love, he wouldn't care about it.

Unbeknownst to every one there, someone else was seeing the romantic scene, but he had a very different reaction than Ember.

A violet blast of magic came towards the couple, but the two of them broke their kiss just in time to split apart and dodge the attack. Then, Trenderhoof jumped out and tackled Spike, pinning him to the ground.

"What are you doing with her?" He angrily demanded, jealousy burning in his eyes.

Applejack ran over and tried to pull the jealous unicorn stallion off her dragon beau. "Let him go, Trenderhoof!" She shouted.

Finally, she managed to kick him off of Spike. Trenderhoof looked over at the angry mare, his own anger diminishing a bit, but he was still pretty mad.

"You'll come back with me to your family, and you will be mine." He said. "Just as you should've been years ago."

Applejack glared at him viciously as she spat out her answer. "Never!"

Trenderhoof ignited his horn and tried to pull Applejack closer to him with his magic. She dug her hooves deep into the ground to try and slow herself down, but it wasn't enough.

Spike quickly tackled Trenderhoof, releasing AJ from his magic grip. "Keep your hooves off her!" He snarled, sounding like an animal protecting his mate.

The unicorn stallion pushed the dragon away, leaving the two in a face-off. "You took her away from me!" Trenderhoof shouted.

Applejack was about to yell at him, saying that she isn't a prize to be won, but Spike beat her to it. "She was never yours!"

Trenderhoof fired blast after blast at Spike, but he dodged them all, while Applejack snuck behind the stallion and bucked him in his ribs.

"I ain't your anything, Trenderhoof." She said. "And I never will be. It's over."

"Not yet." The stallion said, before igniting his horn again. Applejack quickly found herself floating with the help of purple magic enveloping her. She felt herself getting constricted, and couldn't move.

"LET HER GO!" Spike roared, his pupils dilating in anger at the sight of his beloved being trapped. He charged at Trenderhoof, but this time, the unicorn stallion fired a magic blast at him, and he got knocked into a tree.

"Spike!" Applejack shouted.

But then, she found herself being pulled in Trenderhoof's direction again.

"Come along, Applejack." He cooed, making AJ growl in disgust.

"I said no, you giant piece of-"

"Ah, ah, ah." The unicorn stallion teased. "That's not nice language." He then turned to Spike, who was a little battered and bruised from the last attack and struggling to get up. "What were you thinking, dragon? A beast like you falling for a beauty like Applejack?"

That last comment made the country mare quickly charge at him, fighting against his hold on her and screaming angrily. But, he tightened his magic grip on her, making her stop a couple of meters away from him.

"Who's the beast here?" She asked, glaring furiously. Trenderhoof only rolled his eyes and began pulling her closer to him once more.

Suddenly, a pink stream of fire came out of the shadows, forcing Trenderhoof to finally loose his magic hold on Applejack and dodge it. Ember then came out, surprising the three of them.

"I believe the mare said, no." She said, growling.

Trenderhoof froze at the sight of the larger dragoness in front of him. AJ immediately went to Spike and helped him get back on his feet.

"Get lost, before I torch you, and I think you don't want that." Ember threatened. The unicorn stallion glanced over at Spike and Applejack, who were staring daggers at him. With that, the frightened stallion ran out of the orchard.

Ember then turned over to the two lovers. Spike froze, realizing that his secret was out. "Ember, I..." He started to explain.

"It's okay, Spike." She cut in. "I understand why you didn't tell me." She looked over at Applejack, who got a little bit closer to her dragon. "I'm sorry you couldn't trust me enough." With that, she took off into the air.

"Ember!" Spike called after her. But, the dragoness was already out of sight. Spike looked down, feeling downcast. A hoof was then placed gently on his shoulder. He turned and saw his lovely marefriend smiling softly at him. That gave him a little reassurance. He then had her in his arms, knowing that the worst was finally behind them. 



"So, Ember just left without saying anything?" Apple Jewel asked once the story was finally finished.

"Eeyup." Her mother confirmed. "Just up and left, not angry or happy or disappointed that your dad kept things from her."

"And your mother and I never saw her again, not even when I would visit the Dragon Lands on my ambassador errands." Her father added.

"Well, guess who Gem and I saw in the marketplace yesterday." Apple Pear said. "And it seems that she is willing to talk."

Applejack and Spike looked at each other, wondering if it is who they think it is. 



Soon, the Apple Dragon family were in the marketplace, just as it was beginning to close. The twins led their older siblings and parents to the hill just on the outskirts where they had met Ember. And there she was.

"Excuse me. Ember?" Pear Gem asked.

The cyan dragoness turned towards the voice of the youngest Apple Dragon and froze at the sight of her old friend and his wife.

"Hey, Ember." Spike greeted with a soft smile.

"Spike." She breathed. "I'm sorry." She said. "I just...didn't know what to say all those years ago. After what had happened, I thought that what I would say would only make the situation worse. So, I ran and hid."

Spike went up to her and hugged her. "It's in the past, Ember." Applejack then joined in the hug, then the twins, and then the other two Apple Dragon siblings.

Ember felt her tough exterior melt away, and all that guilt had washed away. The comfortable silence was enough for her to shed a few tears. At least everything between them was cleared up at last.
> The Princess and Her Knight Part One
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Stories of True Love

The Princess and Her Knight

Part One


Pacing circles around in his room, a young colt about 10 years old, was getting a little bit worried. But, this colt was different than others his age. He was actually an alicorn. This was the youngest kid of Princess Twilight Sparkle and Flash Sentry.

The colt had a pale orange coat, matching his wings and horn, a wild navy blue mane with a bright purple highlight through it, and ocean blue eyes. His cutie mark had a navy blue shield with a bright white comet with light yellow sparks shooting across it.

Midnight Comet knew that he was probably going to wear a hole in the floor of his room if he kept up with his pacing. He couldn't help it, though. He really needed to talk with his parents. He needed to talk to them about something that had happened a couple of days ago, when his family went over to Canterlot.

He remembered that while his mom and dad were speaking with Princess Celestia, that a tall white unicorn stallion with a long gold mane was looking weirdly at his mother, while at the same time, staring daggers at his father. But, when his parents saw him, he put on a polite face and greet them. His parents slightly narrowed their eyes at him simultaneously, but returned the greeting courteously.

Midnight knew he had shared a confused glance with his older brother and sister. And when the stallion saw them, he had a different weird look on his face before he trotted past them stoically.

And that still was bugging him, even though he can't ask his parents right now. They were at the Crystal Empire with the rest of the Elements of Harmony, his aunts, and their husbands, his uncles. They were to discuss something with his Uncle Shining Armor, and his Aunt Cadence. Midnight wanted to come along, so that he could hang out with his older cousin, Flurry Heart, who was an alicorn like him. But, it was strictly non-social.

A knock on the door brought Midnight out of his thoughts. His brother Fire Spark, and his sister Starling, entered into his room. Midnight gave them a relieved smile.

Fire Spark was a 14-year-old pegasus, and was a dead ringer to their father Flash, having the same amber orange coat and blue eyes, but his mane was a light purple, like the highlight in his mother's mane. His cutie mark was a yellow and dark orange flickering torch.

Starling was 12 years old, and a unicorn like their mother Twilight was before she had become an alicorn. She even looked a lot like their mom, having the same lavender purple coat and violet eyes, but her mane was blue with the purple and pink highlights in it. Her cutie mark was a blue five-pointed star.

"You okay, Midnight?" Fire asked his little brother.

"I guess so." Midnight answered blankly.

"You still upset about not going with Mom and Dad to the Crystal Empire?" Starling asked.

"No." Midnight shook his head. "Something has being bugging me. You both remember that stallion back in Canterlot? The one that was looking weird at Mom and Dad?"

"Yeah." Fire said. "When I asked Dad about that earlier, he seemed like he didn't want to talk about it, like something had happened between the two of them."

"I asked Mom about that, and she just only said that he was Prince Blueblood." Starling added. "But, that was all, like she also didn't want to talk about it."

"Prince Blueblood?" Fire asked his sister. "I remember Mom and Aunt Rarity mentioning him once when we went over to hang out. They both seemed to hold some disdain towards him."

"So, I'm not the only one who was getting a bit suspicious about what might have happened with Mom, Dad, and that Prince Blueblood." Midnight said.

"Then, who should we ask?" Starling asked. "We know that Mom and Dad are definitely out of the question, even if they were here right now."

"Maybe we should ask Princess Celestia about it." Fire suggested.

"Are you sure about that?" Starling questioned the eldest one of the three of them. "Mom and Dad said that we need to stay here at home until they get back from the Crystal Empire."

"If anyone has the answers to what had happened, she does." Fire pointed out. "She was Mom's mentor, and technically, she is family."

"Good point." Midnight said. "What do you say, Star?" He asked his sister.

The boys turned to the middle sibling and only sister. The lavender unicorn glared at both of them for a few moments, then sighed heavily, giving in. "If we get in trouble, I'm blaming you two." She said.

Fire and Midnight rolled their eyes, but grinned. 



The next day, the three royal siblings had snuck away from their sitter, and quickly boarded the train headed to Canterlot. They hated having to disobey their parents' specific instructions, but their growing curiosity got the better of them, even Starling.

Soon, the train had pulled into the Canterlot station. The three royal siblings got off the train, and started their trek to the castle.

Once they had entered the throne room, the guards had opened the doors. Princess Celestia looked up and were surprised the children of her beloved pupil here.

"Fire Spark, Starling, and Midnight Comet." She said, coming off her throne and giving the three younger ponies a quick hug. "I'm delighted to see you three. What brings you here?"

"Well, Princess," Fire Spark began, "there is something on our minds that we think that only you can clear up."

Celestia looked at them curiously. "Of course." She replied. "What can I do for you three little ponies?"

Starling nudged her little brother closer to the Princess. "Well, this was your idea in the first place, Midnight." She said.

Midnight glared at his sister while slightly sticking out his tongue at her. Then, he regained his polite behavior when he turned to Celestia. "Did... did something happen between our parents and Prince Blueblood?" He asked.

Celestia froze. "It's just that... when we visited you a couple of days ago, he was here, and he was looking at our parents strangely." Midnight continued.

The Princess of the Sun sighed. "I knew that eventually you would have questions about that." She said. "Almost nothing escapes your eye, little one." She ruffled Midnight's mane, making him giggle. "But, how about we discuss this somewhere else?"

The three siblings exchanged a glance with each other, then nodded. 



As they followed their grandmother-like figure throughout the many halls of Canterlot Castle and up one of the towers, they listened to her talking, even though it aroused a bit of confusion for the three of them.

"I'm surprised that your parents haven't told you yet." Celestia said to them. "But then again, I shouldn't be, not after what had happened."

Soon, they had arrived in a place that was pretty familiar to the three siblings. There were tall bookshelves everywhere on the walls, a couple of desks and book stands scattered everywhere, and there was a huge window leading out to a balcony.

"Hey, isn't this Mom's old observatory?" Fire asked, looking around. "I remember that Star and I would sneak away from meetings that Mom and Dad would have with other nobles and come here to hang out."

"I remember that, too." Star added, a fond smile on her muzzle.

"How come you never brought me here?" Midnight asked with a frown.

"Well, after you were born, when Mom and Dad would go to meetings with the other nobles, they often placed you in our care during meetings." Fire explained.

"And you were quite the hoof-ful." Star added with a smirk. "With uncontrollable bursts of magic and always flying everywhere."

Midnight blushed with embarrassment. He was told that he was quite the rambunctious one from what his family had told him. His mom even joked that he was like a male version of his cousin, Flurry Heart, when she was an infant. Minus the whole breaking of the Crystal Heart.

"I remember all of the many times that I would come here to check on your mother and your Uncle Spike." Celestia said.

Starling saw a few soft pillows in one of the corners. She smiled fondly when she realized that the cluster of pillows used to be her Uncle Spike's bed when he was younger and would stay with her mother when she would be up late studying. Then, when she and Fire were younger, they would catch a nap in that corner if they didn't feel like reading.

She ignited her horn with dark blue magic and levitated three of the pillows over for her and her brothers to sit as Celestia sat down on the floor.

"So, what was this about something with our parents?" Fire asked.

Celestia had a sad look on her face. "Well, it was before you three were born." She began. "Your mother was beginning to handle more responsibilities as the Princess of Friendship. And your Uncle Shining Armor and Aunt Cadence had presented an idea to her that she should have her own personal guard in her castle. Eventually, Twilight conceded to their idea, on one condition. She would only have one guard over at her castle for now, just to see how it would go."

"And that guard she chose to come with her was Dad?" Midnight asked.

Celestia nodded. 



Princess Twilight Sparkle ignited her horn with sparkling magenta magic. The doors of her castle opened, and she entered inside. She was relieved to be inside. It was an exceptionally hot day. She knew that her indigo mane with purple and pink highlights and her lavender coat and alicorn wings needed a nice, cold shower.

"Finally!" She breathed out. "It is hot today."

"I agree." A voice came from behind her. Twilight looked behind her and saw an orange pegasus stallion wearing gold armor with blue eyes, and a matching blue mane sticking out from the opening in his helmet. "I was just about to die from heat exhaustion in this helmet." His comment made the lavender alicorn giggle a little bit, making him laugh slightly as well.

Flash Sentry removed his helmet to wipe away some sweat from his forehead. Twilight felt her knees grow a little weak at the sight of him without his helmet. She quickly regained her strength before it would get noticed.

The pegasus guard looked all around the main foyer of the castle. "So, this is the castle of the Princess Twilight." He said with a smile.

Twilight felt herself blush slightly, but returned the smile. "You sound like you're a fan." She said teasingly.

Flash rolled his eyes, but felt his face grow a little warm at the princess' playful expression. "Well, not in that way, but I have heard of your many quests."

"It wasn't just me, mind you." Twilight said. "I did have some help from my friends."

Flash nodded with a smile. "You must be really lucky to have such devoted friends." He said.

Twilight smiled at him. "Thank you." She said.

The two ponies unintentionally locked eyes for a couple of seconds, but then Twilight forced herself away to remain in royal protocol.

"Well then." She said. "Follow me. I'll show you around."

"Lead the way then, Princess." Flash said. Twilight felt a weird pang in her heart when she heard him say that. But, why did she feel that? It wasn't like she was still attracted to him just because he reminded her of his counterpart in the mirror world. Right? 



Soon, Twilight showed Flash all of the rooms that he needed to know for the next few weeks. The map room, the library, and others, including a guest room set up for him. Flash proved himself to be a pretty quick study, already memorizing where each room was. Then, the two parted ways to clean and freshen themselves up.

An hour later, Twilight was fresh and clean from her shower. Suddenly feeling a little constricted in the castle walls, Twilight went out to a balcony. She was instantly relieved when she saw that the sun was setting, and that the heat was less intense, with a gentle breeze blowing.

Twilight sighed happily, relishing in the gentle wind. "I guess you and I had the same idea?" A voice asked. The lavender alicorn turned around and saw Flash standing on the balcony.

She slightly chuckled. "It seems so." She said. She then gestured to a spot next to her, telling him to come over. Hesitantly, Flash complied. After a couple of seconds of comfortable silence, the orange pegasus spoke up.

"You know, if you don't mind me saying so, you are not like the other princesses." He said.

"What do you mean?" Twilight asked him.

"Well, you're definitely more open than the others." Flash pointed out.

"Is that a bad thing?" She questioned with a tilt of her head.

"No." He replied. "I actually like it. It's just that, even though the other princesses are kind, but they don't try to establish personal connections with simple guards like me."

Twilight blinked. "Well, why not?" She asked. "If you are to be a guard for me, we need to build up trust. And besides, I was first against having my own personal guard."

"Is that why you just asked for one guard?" Flash asked the princess.

Twilight nodded. "Yes. And besides, ever since our meeting," she looked away to hide a blush and Flash did the same, "you always seemed to be an interesting pony. And, I wanted to see if we can be... friends."

Flash looked back at the Princess of Friendship, his eyes slightly widening. She, a Princess of Equestria, wanted to be friends with him, a simple guard? If he were being honest, the idea seemed... very nice.

The sun that was setting chose that moment to shine some beams on the two ponies. For a few seconds that felt like hours, Flash thought that he was seeing an angel. Twilight's eyes were like beautiful amethyst gems, sparkling in the sun rays. Her mane was slightly flowing with the soft wind, giving a replica of her namesake that was quickly approaching. Twilight was in a daze, too. Flash's eyes seemed like sapphires, and his coat was matching the orange hue of the sunset.

"Are you sure, Your Highness?" Flash whispered softly, not wanting the spell that was on him to disappear.

Twilight only nodded with a soft smile. "I'm sure. And please, call me Twilight."

Flash returned the smile. "Okay then, Twilight."
> The Princess and Her Knight Part Two
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Stories of True Love

The Princess and Her Knight

Part Two


"Okay, we knew that part." Fire Spark said. "And that was when Mom and Dad started to become friends."

"When did they start to fall in love?" Starling asked excitedly.

"Somewhere along the way." Celestia answered with a chuckle. "And they just didn't know it yet until much later. Your mother keep denying your uncle's suggestions of having a full guard, saying that just having your father was enough."

"And let me guess." Midnight said, crossing his hooves. "Uncle Shining Armor started to act all overprotective."

"Well, a little bit, that was after they learned that Twilight was getting requests for courtship from other nobles. Especially from Prince Blueblood, my wayward nephew."

"What!?" Fire exclaimed. "That pompous stuck-up stallion wanted to date Mom?!"

Starling and Midnight stuck out their tongues in disgust. "That's just wrong." The youngest pony commented.

Celestia chuckled again. "I can't imagine how your mother and father reacted to that news when they found out themselves." 



Twilight and Flash were visiting the Crystal Empire for a couple of weeks. When they had arrived, Princess Cadence had wanted to speak with Twilight alone. So the younger princess complied, and they left Shining Armor and Flash to play with a four-year-old Flurry Heart. 

Flurry was ecstatic to see Flash again. Apparently before he was transferred to her aunt's castle, he was the only guard who would watch over her if her parents couldn't, so she attached to him fairly quick.

Soon, Twilight was in her sister-in-law's personal chambers. "What is this about, Cadence?" She asked. "What's been going on?"

Cadence took a deep breath. "I wanted to tell you this here because I don't want your brother to explode again."

Twilight tilted her head in confusion. "Why?"

"It seems that there are some noble stallions that wish to court you." Cadence explained.

"WHAT?!" Twilight shrieked, her mouth dropping. "But I just recently became of age!" She said.

"I know, Twilight." Cadence assured her. "But you know that word travels very quickly in Equestria. And the most persistent suitor is Prince Blueblood."

Twilight felt her jaw drop again. That snob and pompous prince who mistreated Rarity all those years back wanted to court her?

"Excuse me?" She said, starting to feel her blood boil.

"I know about you and your friends' brief history with Blueblood." Cadence said, trying to calm her sister-in-law. "And you might know the reason why the sudden interest in you."

"Yes!" Twilight shouted. "He only wants to get as close to the throne as he can! Obviously, Celestia and Luna are out of the question, and you are already married. So that only leaves me!"

"That's right." Cadence said. "But you know that you can't avoid it forever."

"But there has to be a way!" Twilight pleaded.

"Well, unless you are already seeing somepony, then you might have to face it." Cadence said.

Twilight remained silent. Well, technically she was already seeing somepony: Flash. Once they started to connect and become friends, they would hang out in secret as just two normal ponies, and not a princess and a guard. During that time, her feelings for the orange pegasus had increased to a much deeper extent.

But the reason why they are keeping this somewhat complicated relationship a secret was mostly because of how her older brother might react. Twilight knew that he wasn't really the overprotective type, but he can get on her nerves. And Flash trained under him. Second, Flash wasn't quite ready to let their relationship known to others. She didn't blame him, though. Until they had full confidence of their feelings and how others will take it, they best keep it on the down low. 



Later, in her room on the bed, Twilight was still pondering on what Cadence had said. A knock on her door brought her out of it. "Come in." She said.

Flash Sentry entered the room, double-checked to see if some pony was watching or might be eavesdropping, and closed the door. "Is everything okay, Twilight?" He asked. He noticed that Twilight wasn't really happy after she had returned with Princess Cadence. He had glanced over at his old mentor, Shining Armor, and saw that the white unicorn stallion was glowering slightly.

The lilac princess shook her head. "No, I am not!" She almost shouted, but quieted down when Flash placed a hoof over her muzzle. "Sorry." She said a bit quieter.

"It's okay." He said, taking off his helmet and sat down next to her. "So what happened?" He asked.

"Cadence told me that there are already offers of courtship for me." Twilight explained.

"What?" Flash whispered-yelled, doing that to prevent himself from speaking too loud.

"And that snobby Prince Blueblood is the most persistent." Twilight continued.

"Oh, I remember him." Flash said. "The apple fell pretty far away from the tree, considering who he's related to."

"You think?" Twilight agreed. "He's just interested in me because he wants to get closer to the throne through me."

Flash glowered. "Well, that's great." He said sarcastically. Knowing Twilight, if she ever married, it would be for love, like with Shining Armor and Cadence. And she deserved some pony way better than that gloating show pony.

Twilight groaned loudly and flopped down onto her bed. "There has to be a way to get out of this." She said. "And I'm not considering telling everypony that we are- um..." She trailed off, not sure how to word the next part.

Flash knew what she was trying to say. "Dating?" He suggested.

Twilight sat up. "Are we?" She asked, a small red blush on her blush on her muzzle.

Flash rubbed his hoof nervously, a similar blush on his own face. "Well, I guess so." He said, looking down at the floor.

Twilight smiled nervously and scooted a little closer to him. "Well, I'd like that." She said. "If anything, I would rather date you than Blueblood."

Flash chuckled slightly, feeling a small twinge of pride at her comment. He then felt her timidly put her hoof over his own. He looked over at the princess and once again found himself lost in those amethyst eyes.

"How about this?" Flash suggested. "We can't make Blueblood leave right away, but we can try to push him away. When does he get here?"

"Tomorrow." Twilight answered.

"Then, we can both make up excuses so that we can hang out more, and you can ditch that Blueblood at the same time." Flash said.

Twilight beamed, and threw her hooves around his neck. "Flash, you're a genius!" She exclaimed.

The orange pegasus stiffened a little in surprise, but then melted into the princess' embrace, returning it with his hooves around her back. Twilight felt so secure in Flash's embrace, like she would never want to leave them. And Flash felt like he could never let her go. 



Everything then went according to plan. Blueblood had arrived the following morning, greeting Twilight a little more courteous than necessary. But when they were out for lunch, Flash had came by and told the prince that Twilight had a study session right then. Then, the two would hang out in the library or go out for some smoothies in disguise.

So it went like that for the next few days. Blueblood was getting more frustrated that his plan to woo Twilight kept getting de-railed. So soon, he had begun yelling at Flash to leave them be, but Twilight would yell back at him, telling him that he was her personal guard. In fact, one time she had stormed out on him to follow Flash after he shooed him off. So he didn't do that again to stay on Twilight's "good" side. 



One night, after Twilight had dinner with her family and Blueblood (the only bright side to that evening was when Flurry Heart threw some food at the pompous prince when she saw that her aunt didn't like him and sent him scurrying to his room to clean himself up), she was surprised to see that Flash wasn't in her room waiting for her. Instead, when she peered into her room, she saw a note on her bed. She levitated it over to her and read it.

Meet me over at the hill where we would have lunch. I have a surprise. Don't forget to wear your disguise.

-Flash.

Twilight smiled fondly. Well, maybe this night won't be so bad. She magically placed the note inside one of her drawers and went over to her closet. She brought a royal purple cloak with silver trim out. This cloak had come in handy when she and Flash went out.

She kept it in her hooves as she went outside to her balcony. Twilight then closed her eyes and concentrated hard. With a blast of magenta magic, she teleported from her balcony down to the courtyard, her cloak still in her hooves. She then put on the cloak, pulled the hood over her head, and galloped out of the courtyard. 



A few minutes later, when the sky had turned pink and purple, giving her namesake, Twilight had arrived at the hill. She pulled down her hood once she was sure that nopony was around, and quietly gasped in awe at what she saw.

There was a picnic dinner placed there, on top of a red and white plaid blanket. Candles were placed in small lanterns all placed around in a circle, all decorated with red roses. Twilight smiled softly at the beautiful sight.

Just then, a dark gray cloaked pony came up to the picnic spot. The figure removed its hood to reveal Flash. The orange pegasus then saw Twilight and smiled brightly. "What do you think?" He asked.

The purple alicorn came down to him. "Flash, it's beautiful." She said.

"I'm glad you like it." Flash said. He then was taken a little aback when Twilight gave him a big hug.

"I love it." She whispered in his ear.

Flash returned the hug, relishing in the feeling that he would always get whenever he was around the princess. He just hoped that tonight would go as he had planned.

"Come on." He said, guiding Twilight over to the picnic blanket.

Soon, a few minutes later, everything was eaten.

"That was delicious." Twilight said. "I couldn't really eat during dinner earlier."

"Regent Snob giving you a hard time as usual?" Flash asked before catching a grape with his teeth.

"Of course." Twilight said. "The only good part of that was when Flurry used her magic to dump her food on him."

Flash swallowed the grape and laughed. "I love that little squirt." He said.

Twilight giggled as well. "Me, too." She agreed. "She is my niece, after all." She then levitated another grape with her magic. "You think you can catch?" She asked with a challenging smile.

"I know I can." Flash said confidently.

Twilight smirked and carefully tossed the grape, and Flash caught it in his mouth.

"Oh!" He exclaimed victoriously.

"Beautiful!" Twilight complimented.

"Yes!" Flash said, pumping his hoof and swallowing the grape. "You want to try?" He asked.

Twilight shook her head. "No thank you."

The two of them then laughed for a little while, lying down on their backs. Soon, after their laughter died down, they turned over on their backs, looking over at each other. Sapphire blue eyes became lost in amethyst purple, and vice versa.

Soon, Flash sat up with Twilight following. He took a deep breath in his mind. Here goes nothing. "Um... Twilight?" He began.

She turned over to him. "Yes, Flash?" She asked.

Flash calmed down his nerves. He can't abort now. "There's, uh, something I've been meaning to tell you." He then looked over at the beautiful princess beside him. "From the moment we first met, I was drawn to you for some reason. I couldn't understand what it was until I was transferred to you and we started to become friends." His hoof then went over hers. "At first, I didn't want to tell you because of what you have been dealing with, but now, I don't care. Princess Twilight Sparkle, I... I love you, with everything I have, and I always will, no matter what."

Twilight felt her heart soar as her cheeks went red at this proclamation. She then scooted closer to him. "I love you too, Sir Flash Sentry." She said, making him slightly gape in surprise as he listened to her words. "I too was drawn towards you when we had first met. When I had returned from that alternate world I told you about, the feeling only grew. I was at first hesitant to tell you because of our professional positions, and because I didn't want to make you feel like I was choosing you because you reminded me of your counterpart. I fell in love with you, in this world because of who you are. If my brother and Cadence found love, then we can, too."

Flash beamed at her, and Twilight returned it just as bright. The two of them then hugged each other once more. When they slightly broke apart, they looked into the other's eyes, getting lost in them. Slowly, they began to incline closer to the other, their eyes fluttering closed. Then, their lips touched in a slow and gentle first kiss. Twilight wrapped her hooves tighter around Flash's neck, while he brought her closer to him, keeping his hooves around her back.

Soon, they broke apart, gazing into each other's eyes again lovingly. Twilight then nuzzled into Flash's neck, while he softly played with her mane with his hoof. 



Minutes later, Twilight and Flash were back in the castle courtyard, wearing their cloaks with the hoods over their heads. Twilight leaned against Flash, while he placed his chin on top of her head. When they reached the doors, they maintained a professional distance side by side, removed their hoods, and Twilight opened the doors with her magic.

No sooner did the two of them entered the main foyer, crystal guards came up to them. "Princess Twilight, your presence is required in the throne room." One of them said, possibly the lead guard. He then turned to Flash. "You as well, Sir Sentry."

Twilight and Flash exchanged a brief worried glance. Did they get caught? They couldn't get a word in between each other as the guards surround them and began escorting them to the throne room.

When they entered the room, they saw a worried Cadence, a smug yet infuriated Blueblood beside her on the left, while Shining Armor on her right with an unreadable expression. Twilight felt her blood run cold as she gestured to Flash to stay behind while she went up to talk with them.

"I think we need an explanation from you, Twilight." Shining Armor said, his voice devoid of any emotion, postive or negative.

Twilight felt her knees wobbling as she went up to her brother and sister-in-law.

"We just want the truth, Twilight." Cadence said, coming up to the younger princess. "Are you and Flash Sentry seeing each other?"
> The Princess and Her Knight Part Three
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Stories of True Love



The Princess and Her Knight



Part Three


"Oh, no!" Starling exclaimed. "Was Uncle Shining Armor angry that Mom and Dad were keeping secrets from him?"

Celestia shook her head. "No, he wasn't angry. Just disappointed that his only sister was hiding something like this from him. Personally, I'm glad he didn't say anything while your Aunt Cadence was trying to find out the truth."

"Knowing Uncle Shining, he would most likely blow his top and say something wrong if he got involved." Midnight said.

"You said, little bro." Fire Spark agreed.

"However, it didn't make the situation any easier." Celestia said.





Twilight felt her entire body freeze. She felt like she couldn't move or even breathe. She caught Flash's eye for a second to see that he was shocked as well, his eyes widened in horror.

When she felt like she could move her head, she looked around the room. Shining Armor was standing to the side, looking at her with disappointment. Cadence was watching her, seeing if she could figure out an answer without Twilight telling her.

But what really ticked off Twilight and got her frozen blood boiling was the smug look on Prince Blueblood's face. He was watching her with a supposed charming smile, obviously showing that he was responsible for this.

Twilight glared at him before turning to her sister-in-law with a determined and fearless look. "Yes." She answered simply yet sternly.

Everypony's eyes widened with different amounts of surprise, except for Flash, who was looking at the Princess of Friendship with a touched expression and a smile. Twilight looked over at him and returned the smile fondly.

Blueblood seemed to not like the loving gesture the two of them were sharing. He went over and grabbed Twilight's left hoof roughly, forcing her to tear her eyes away from the pegasus guard.

"Why would a beautiful princess like you be courting a lowly, pathetic guard like Flash Sentry?" He asked, giving her another supposed charming grin that made Twilight sick to her stomach. "You should be with a pony of nobility. Like me."

Twilight pulled her hoof away and glared at Blueblood. "You only see me as a trophy! A ticket to get close to the throne!" She yelled angrily.

"I deserve that crown!" Blueblood shouted back, grabbing Twilight's hoof again. "It should be mine!" That harsh grab made Twilight cry out in pain.

Flash gritted his teeth. He wanted to go over there and push that snobby, selfish prince away from her, but he forced himself to stay where he was because Shining Armor beat him to it.

"Keep away from my sister." He commanded from his spot by the throne. "Now!"

Blueblood eventually released Twilight, who in turn out of anger and defense, slapped him across the face.

"You were spying on us!" She shouted. "You must have saw me sneaking out earlier!"

Blueblood rubbed the cheek where Twilight had smacked him. "And earlier, I saw Sir Flash Sentry head out of the castle a few minutes before you did."

Twilight practically had steam fuming out of her nostrils. "Let me make one thing very clear." She hissed. "I will never be yours! I would rather die than marry you!"

With that, Twilight started running out of the throne room, tears streaming down her cheeks.

"Twilight!" Cadence called out after her. But Twilight didn't stop running as she burst open the doors and headed outside.

"Twilight!" Flash shouted, running over to the open doors to see Twilight's fading figure head out of the castle grounds and into the hills. But before he would start after her, he felt magic tightly restricting his wings and he was pulled back towards the throne.

The one who was using magic was Blueblood, and he looked furious. "How dare you address Princess Twilight like that?" He bellowed. "You are worth nothing compared to me! She will be my bride, whether she likes it or not!"

Flash managed to gain control over one hoof and punched Blueblood square in the jaw. The force made the blonde unicorn stallion lose his magic hold on the orange pegasus.

"You're not gonna lay another hoof on her again!" Flash threatened. "She deserves somepony who will love her as a normal pony, somepony who will treasure her forever. And I know that that isn't you."

"And what about you, soldier?" Blueblood asked.

Flash only answered him with a stern glare.

"Blueblood." Shining Armor said. "You are not to come near my sister again. Pack your belongings and leave."

"B-But, Your-" Blueblood stammered.

"Now!" Shining barked.

Nervously, the snobby unicorn stallion left the throne room, leaving Flash alone with Shining Armor and Cadence.





Twilight just kept on running and running until she was out of breath. She looked around her and saw that she was on the outskirts of the Empire, near the snowy border of the Frozen North region of Equestria.

She collapsed on her haunches and started to sob uncontrollably. This was probably not the first time that she wished that she wasn't a princess. Everypony expects her to follow protocol and stick to what they consider is tradition. Except she wasn't like a normal royal. She wasn't born royal. She was appointed one by her mentor Princess Celestia to spread and teach Friendship to all of Equestria and beyond.

But now, she wished that she could just have the courage to toss away the book for once. She knew what love is, and who she found it in. And who she will forever be with, no matter what.

The lavender alicorn looked up at the velvet purple sky and saw Luna's moon high up and shining bright, surrounded by all of its countless stars. A sad look came on her face as she recalled the many times that she and Flash would lay out on the grass, stargazing. Now she would never do that again. Softly, she began to sing sorrowfully.

Twilight: In a perfect world,
One we've never known.
We would never need
To face the world alone.

As she sang, she saw animals in the distance, all of them in pairs. Then she looked back up at the starry sky.

They can have the world.
We'll create our own.
I may not be brave or strong or smart,
But somewhere in my secret heart,

I know love will find a way.
Anywhere I go,
I'm home if you are there beside me.

Like dark turning into day,
Somehow we'll come through
Now that I found you,
Love will find a way.

While Twilight was singing, she didn't notice that a few yards away, Flash was watching her. A sad look then came on his face as he realized what her musical lament was about. Softly, he too started to sing.

Flash: I was so afraid,
Now I realize
Love is never wrong
And so, it never dies.

Upon that, a loving smile came on his face as he started over towards the depressed princess. He then started to sing a little louder to make himself known.

There's a perfect world
Shining in your eyes.

Twilight heard the singing voice and perked up once she thought that the voice sounded very familiar. She turned around and saw Flash coming towards her. She brightened up and a loving smile came on her face. Then, the two of them started to sing together.

Both: And if only they could feel it too,
The happiness I feel with you.

Twilight then began to dash over to Flash, and he met her halfway. Immediately, she was nuzzling his neck, and he returned the gesture by burying his face in her indigo, pink and purple mane.

They'd know love will find a way.
Anywhere we go, we're home
If we are there together.

After their loving nuzzle and embrace, the two of them spread their wings and took off into the air, holding each other's hooves as they both flew around in a spiral. Soon, they landed on a cloud and just relax in the other's company.

Like dark turning into day,
Somehow we'll come through,
Now that I found you,
Love will find a way.
I know love will find a way.

After one more nuzzle, Flash stared into Twilight's eyes, getting lost in her amethyst purple eyes. She also was lost in his sapphire blue irises. Slowly, the two of them shared a passionate kiss, holding tight to each other, not wanting to let go.

Eventually, they had to break away for air. Twilight placed her head on Flash's shoulder, loving the warmth she would feel when she was in his embrace.

Flash held onto her for a few more seconds before lifting her up so that she can look at him. "Come on, Twilight. Let's head back."

Twilight shook her head. "I'm not going back there." She said. "Not with that pompous future pincushion there."

"Shining Armor sent Blueblood away." Flash said. "He won't bother you again. But, he and Cadence still want to talk to us."

Twilight winced. "Are they still mad at us? I don't want you to get discharged."

Flash smiled faintly. "No, I don't think either of us were in trouble in the first place." He said. "But still, they want to see us."

Twilight sighed heavily, ultimately giving him her consent.





Eventually, the couple arrived back at the palace and entered the throne room again. Twilight was looking down at the floor as she walked up.

"Twilight, it's okay." Cadence assured her. "Please look up." Slowly, the younger princess raised up her head to stare up at her sister-in-law and her brother.

"I'm, I'm sorry about the way I acted." Twilight apologized. "And for not telling you that Flash and I were seeing each other."

"We're not mad at you, Twilight." Shining Armor said. "All we wanted to know is why."

"It's because, well, I didn't want Flash to get in trouble because he is my personal guard and I'm a princess." Twilight began to explain. "Also, I wasn't sure on how to tell you about this, since I wasn't sure how your own courtship happened in the first place. So Flash and I decided to keep it a secret until we got the courage to tell you and when Blueblood was out of my mane."

Cadence looked at the younger princess, processing what Twilight had said. "How do you truly feel about Sir Flash Sentry?" She asked her.

Twilight glanced back at Flash, who smiled assuredly at her. Seeing his smile made Twilight feel a bit stronger, and then she turned back to the Princess of Love.

"I'm in love with him, Cadence." She answered surely. "Ever since we first met, I have felt a connection with him, and during our time together, that feeling had only grown. I love him for who he truly is. He is smart, caring and fearless. He would never hurt or mistreat me in any way. In any way, he is like a prince to me."

Flash was slightly surprised by Twilight's declaration, but beamed at her with love. Shining Armor then turned to him. "And what about you, Flash?" He asked. "What are your intentions towards my sister?"

Flash shared a quick glance with Twilight before turning to his captain. "Sir, I love your sister, Princess Twilight. I too felt a connection with her from the very beginning, and I love her every bit as she does for me. I only wish that I can be the stallion I know she deserves."

Twilight gave him a smile and came over to him, nuzzling the side of his neck lovingly. "I know you are." She said. "And you will be the only one for me." Flash returned the nuzzle.

Cadence felt like she could literally see the love radiating from the younger couple standing before her. Their love is as real as it could be. She glanced over at her husband, and he seemed to be beaming with pride.

"Twily, I'm happy for you." He said, making his sister look at him with surprise. "I know that Flash is a great guy, and I trust him completely."

Twilight felt tears of joy springing into her eyes, and she shared a happy glance with the stallion she loved. She then hugged her brother and sister-in-law before she went back to Flash and wrapped her hooves around him, tackling him to the ground. Everypony laughed as the younger couple hugged each other tightly.





"Aww!" Starling gushed. "That was so romantic!"

Midnight only stuck out his tongue slightly in disgust at his sister's mushiness before smiling up at his brother, who had some liquid stuck in his eye.

Celestia giggled. "Yes, it definitely was quite a story." She said. "And your uncle made sure that my wayward nephew would never lay a hoof on your mother again."

"Now he would never get close to the throne now." Fire Spark said. "Mom and Dad got married soon afterward and then, they had us." He gestured to himself and his siblings.

Celestia smiled. "And I know that the three of you will become just as great as your parents." She then glanced over at the grandfather clock next to the wall. "Oh, my. It is almost sunset now. Your parents will back from the Crystal Empire in about an hour."

The three siblings' eyes widened. "We'll never get back to Ponyville before they do." Midnight began to fret.

Celestia smirked. "I can help with that." She said. "Tell your mother I said, 'hello'."

Before either of the royal siblings could speak, Celestia lit up her long white horn with sunny yellow magic. In a flash of sparkles, they next found themselves back in Midnight's room.

"Okay, she needs to teach me that." Midnight said, impressed.

"Me too." Starling agreed.

"Come on, guys." Fire said. "Let's go wait for Mom and Dad at the train station."

"Couldn't Princess Celestia teleported us there in the first place?" Midnight whined. His older siblings just laughed as they all left the room. But before they did, they stopped to look at a framed photo of them with their parents.
> The Sweetest Love Part One
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Stories of True Love



The Sweetest Love



Part One


As the sun continued to shine its noonday light above Ponyville, a young earth pony filly was walking around the marketplace with a hot pink saddle bag over her back.

The filly had a soft rose pink coat, her poofy mane having a darker shade of pink along with a small stripe of brown and it was tied into a poofy ponytail over her shoulder. Her eyes were a forest green, and her cutie mark was a jelly jar with a pink poppy flower on the label. This is Peanut Jelly, or Poppy as she preferred; the younger daughter of Pinkie Pie and Cheese Sandwich.

Since her parents were in the Crystal Empire currently, she and her older siblings were being watched over by the Cake family. She was sent to the market to get some cooking ingredients for double chocolate chip cookies and other desserts they were planning to make.

Then, she saw something. Or rather, someone. It was an older earth pony mare with a dull appearance. She had a stony gray coat, a short dull lilac mane and turquoise eyes. Accompanying her was a stallions that looked as dull as she did, but he took on a more earth tone color scheme, with a mud brown mane and an ash gray coat.

"Aunt Maud?" She called out, an excited smile coming on her face. "Uncle Mudbriar?"

The dull pony couple slowly turned around and saw their youngest niece come over to them with a cheerful smile on her face. But they quickly ignored her and went on their way.

Poppy stopped right in her tracks. She was a little confused. Normally, when she would see them, they would stop and let her come to them, but not this time. It was just confusing to her. Eventually, she went back on her way to get ingredients.





Soon, she came back to Sugarcube Corner, where she and her family live and work, alongside the Cake family. When she came into the kitchen, she saw her older brother and sister already starting to work on desserts.

Her brother, Butter Ball, took more after their father, with the same brown mane and mustard yellow coat, but his mane is in their mother's hairstyle, and he also had her crystal blue eyes. His cutie mark was three butter ball cookies in a triangular pattern.

Her sister, Cotton Candy, was the spitting image of their mother, except she had lighter shades of pink coloring for her coat and mane, but she also had the same blue eyes like her mother. Out of the three of them, Poppy was the only one who inherited their father's green eyes. Cotton's cutie mark is a cone of pink cotton candy with fireworks around it.

"Hey, Butter Ball." Poppy said glumly. "Hey, Cotton."

Butter Ball noticed his youngest sister's sadness. "What's with the frown, Poppy?" He asked.

Poppy took off her saddle bag and placed it next to a cabinet. "Nothing." She said.

Cotton stopped mixing the batter for chocolate chip cookies and went over to her little sister. "You sure about that, little sis?" She asked. "You seem a little down in the dumps. Are you still upset that Mom and Dad went to the Crystal Empire without us?"

Poppy shook her head, though earlier, she was upset that her mom said that their trip to the Empire was strictly for friendship business, and that her dad and the other husbands of the Mane 6 went along because they were needed as well.

Butter Ball stepped away from the cup where he was sneaking small bites of chocolate chips and joined his sisters. "You sure?" He asked.

Poppy knew that they were just going to keep prying if she doesn't tell. "Well, I saw Aunt Maud and Uncle Mudbriar in the market today." She said.

"Really?" Cotton asked excitedly. "Did they say why they were here?"

Poppy shook her head again. "No, they didn't, because they never said anything to me."

Butter Ball raised an eyebrow. "Wait a minute." He said. "They ignored you?"

"Not exactly." Poppy explained. "When they saw me, they ran off."

"Well, that doesn't sound like them." Cotton said. Then, she gasped. "What if they were taken over by aliens and they were being mind-controlled?"

Poppy and Butter Ball gave her dry looks. "As much I think that may be a reason, I don't think that's what happened." Butter Ball said.

"I agree." Poppy added.

"We think we might know." A voice male chimed in. The three Pie siblings turned to the kitchen doorway and saw the now teenage Cake twins, having some other ingredients in separate saddle bags.

Pound Cake was a pegasus, with a cream white coat and wings, a slick brown mane brushed to the back and chocolate brown eyes. His cutie mark was a chocolate bundt cake.

His twin sister, Pumpkin Cake, however was a unicorn, with a pale yellow coat and horn, a bushy pumpkin orange mane pulled up into a high ponytail and sky blue eyes. Her cutie mark was a decorated pumpkin cheesecake with cinnamon dusting the top.

Poppy looked at her babysitters with wide eyes. When she and her siblings were little, and when none of their aunts and uncles would watch over them, the Cakes would be the next option. "You do?" She asked.

"How?" Butter Ball asked.

"It's actually quite a story." Pound said. "One you should probably sit down for."

Cotton immediately grabbed a nearby cushion and sat down on it, pulling her brother and sister near her. "Oooh! I just love story time!" She squealed.

Pound and Pumpkin each took a seat on the stools. "Well, we don't know much, but from what we understood and remembered, your parents were not supposed to get together in the first place." Pumpkin said.

The Pies nearly fell off the cushion. "WHAT?!" They exclaimed.

"Well, according to what your mom's family wanted." Pumpkin continued to explain. "But in the beginning, they knew that they were meant to be together."





Pinkie Pie was down in her secret party planning cave, looking through all of her inventory that she kept about everypony and what things they like at parties. Reorganizing it was pretty exhausting, even for her. Sometimes, she wished that she had a partner to help with all of the party planning she had to do.

Her raspberry pink curly mane was almost drooping from exhaustion, her crystal blue eyes had bags under them, and her cotton candy coat was pale. She might have been working herself too hard. But, there was nothing that a little chocolate milk couldn't cure, if she had any.

Suddenly, there was a banging coming from the communication pipe that was in her room. She zipped on over to it.

"Hello?" She said into it.

"Pinkie?" It was Mrs. Cake. "Somepony is here to see you." She called from up in her room. "A Cheese Sandwich, I think?"

Pinkie felt like everything had come screeching to a halt. Cheese Sandwich? He was here? It was like an immediate answer to her prayers!

"I'll be right up!" She called up, and zipped up the slide that led up to her room. She slammed the trap door closed and slid down the stair railing down towards the bakery that was on the second floor of Sugarcube Corner.

When she landed on the floor with a flourish, she grinned at the sight that was in front of her. There was Cheese Sandwich, looking at her with a bright smile. He tore off his dark gray poncho and matching hat.

"Hey there, Pinkie!" He said cheerfully.

"CHEESE!" Pinkie exclaimed, feeling she had drunk a whole gallon of chocolate milk, now wide awake as she zipped over to the mustard yellow stallion and gave him a huge hug. "I haven't seen you since the Friendship Festival!"

"It definitely has been a while." Cheese said. Then, he noticed that Pinkie looked a little worn-out. "Are you okay?" He asked. "You look like you haven't slept in days."

Pinkie broke the hug and rubbed her foreleg in embarrassment. "I actually haven't slept in almost two days." Seeing Cheese's worried look, she began to explain more. "Well, all this month, there are going to be a lot of parties, and I haven't got a chance to get some resting with all of my planning."

Cheese then took her hoof, which sent a strange tingling sensation right up Pinkie's foreleg, making her quiver slightly. "Well, that's probably why my Cheesy Sense brought me here." He said. "I'm here to help you plan all of these parties so that you won't overwork yourself."

Pinkie felt an unfamiliar heat creep up on her cheeks. He was really being thoughtful, and that made her insides turn gooey. But before she felt like losing her balance, she smiled at him, this time grateful and soft.

"Thanks, Cheese." She said. "I really mean it."

Cheese felt his heart leap. She was looking at him with such a softness that he felt like he could melt at any moment from her gaze.

"You're welcome." He whispered, as if he were under a spell. He felt like he was already under one, though as he gazed deeper into Pinkie's crystal blue eyes. They may be tired, but they were still as beautiful as they had always been.

Pinkie felt like there was a power within Cheese's deep green eyes, as if they were hypnotizing her. They felt like they are, since she felt like she could stare into them for the rest of time and she wouldn't care a bit.

But, knowing that one of the Cakes might peek in and see what was going on, Pinkie broke the gaze. "Come on, then." She said, guiding Cheese towards the stairs. "I'll show you my secret party planning cave."

Cheese had his eyes widened in surprise. "You have a secret party planning cave?" He asked in amazement.

Pinkie nodded. "Yep." She answered. Cheese had a look of admiration on his face. Could this mare get any more amazing?