A/N It is set a couple years before they move to Ponyville and it is the first story that I published so please give me your honest opinion so I can grow as a writer. Also for those who might scream incest: 1 Twilight was a filly/child when she hatched Spike and I highly doubt she raised a baby dragon but I am sure that she played a crucial part in his life. 2 I watch many anime and I have read a large variety of fanfiction so I know I'm not the only one to make an incest pairing so deal with it. Sorry for the long A/N please enjoy the fic.
Spike groaned as he carried a stack of books three times his size. If it had only been this stack he wouldn't be having trouble. Sadly, this was the 14th stack of reference materials Twilight had him get. Finally making it to Twilight's desk he dropped the materials and sat down. Sighing in relief he took a glance at the filly he had cherished his entire life. Well then again filly wasn't the right word.
Twilight was fifteen now but was easily one of the most talented unicorns in all of Equestria. Her textbook knowledge and practical prowess had made her princess Celestia's prized student. However, with that kind of pressure she was prone to nervous breakdowns. Thankfully Spike had been with her from the day she became a student. In order to gain entry to Celestia's school Twilight used her magic to hatch Spike. She took care of him but since dragons mature faster than ponies he quickly became her intellectual equal as well as her assistant.
Not many accepted Spike because of the fact that he was a dragon but Twilight was never bothered by it. She was his constant source of love and affection in the world. So while she did her best to become the greatest student Celestia could want Spike spent his time being her friend and support system. It was hard at times because she spent nearly all of her time as a student instead of as a pony but Spike trudged on through for her sake.
So here he was helping her study for a big test in the middle of winter. She was going at it hard and had barely slept a wink. Spike was seriously worried about Twilight so he stood up and walked to her side. "Twi you've been studying for the last week and have barely gotten 20 hours of sleep. You need to stop and rest." He said putting his claw on her arm.
"I will in a minute Spike." she said not bothering to look away from her book. Spike sighed and put a bit of pressure onto her arm.
"That's the same thing you said an hour ago Twilight. If you don't get some rest you'll pass out . . . again." He felt her tense up and knew what was coming. She had barely slept and was a nervous wreck so he braced himself for whatever she was about to say.
"I said to give me a minute Spike! I need to pass this test and if I don't study I'll fail! Is that what you want Spike? I need to pass this or everything that I've done up till now would have been pointless. So can you just leave! me! alone!" She had pushed him back a bit which startled Spike but the second to last sentence had hit him in the worst way possible.
"So I guess that means I'm pointless. Right?" Spike turned and walked out of the library. He needed to give her some time to cool off and went to get them something to drink.
It took Twilight a few minutes to realize what she had said and the weight it had carried. "Spike. I didn't mean that . . ." Twilight stopped speaking when she realized he wasn't there. Tears started to fall from her face as her heart felt like it had shattered into a million pieces. Not knowing what to do she sat down and sobbed.
Meanwhile Spike was roaming the streets and doing his best to keep his heart and mind together. He knew that Twilight would never mean to hurt him. Nor would she ever say that his life was pointless. Sadly that's all he could hear as his mind replayed her words over and over again. Rubbing his eyes to stop any tears from falling Spike began to shiver. It was then he remembered that today was supposed to be a bad snow day.
For ponies it wasn't that bad but dragons were cold blooded and today's weather could make him seriously ill. He sped along the street and went inside a café. It didn't have many customers so Spike went forward and ordered a cup of hot chocolate. After paying for the beverage he sat down and tried to warm himself. It took some time but Spike managed to calm himself and restore his body heat.
He payed for 2 more cups of hot chocolate to go. Opening the door Spike bolted for the library. While Spike was in the café the weather outside had taken a turn for the worse. Now it was practically a blizzard. Spike held the hot chocolate close to his body to preserve as much heat as he could. He was getting slow and sluggish but he managed to make it back to the library in one piece.
Shutting the door Spike shivered from the sudden temperature difference. He walked further into the library and heard crying. Putting the hot chocolate on a table he opened the door to Twilight's study and saw her crying. Spike didn't waste a minute and wrapped her in a hug. He felt her body tense up as he held her. "What's wrong Twilight?" Spike asked as his grip tightened.
"I di-didn't think you wou-ld come back. I di-didn't mean what I-I said. You're my best friend. You always worry about me and I wouldn't have been able to do half the things I've done without you. After what I said you should hate me. You've been the most wonderful dragon in my life and I hurt you." Spike pulled her off the chair and onto the floor so that he could look her in the eye. He moved his claw and wiped away her tears as she sniffed and tried to pull away.
"I could never hate you Twi. You are without a doubt my most precious treasure. You are my first true friend and I am completely ok with that. I love you Twilight. So please don't say I should hate you. If I didn't have you to love I don't know what I'd do for myself." As Spike said this he blushed a deep crimson, which Twilight unfortunately noticed. He grabbed her hoof and pulled her out of the study. Stopping at their eating area he grabbed the hot chocolate and handed her a cup.
Twilight looked at Spike as they drank in silence. She didn't know how to react to Spike's short speech. Mustering up what little courage she had Twilight cleared her throat. "Spike . . . what did you mean when you said I was your most precious treasure?" Spike choked at her question.
*cough cough* "I um really don't want to answer that. Besides a pony wouldn't understand cause it's a dragon thing." He turned so he wasn't facing her.
"Spike. Please tell me?" she wrapped her hooves around his neck and held him. "You know you can tell me anything . . . right?" he sighed and leaned into her embrace.
"I wanted to know more about dragons so I asked Celestia if she had anything I could read. There were only 3 books . One of them was about dragon eating habits and the other two were about dragon culture. The first one went into how dragons would fight one another for territory and other stuff. The other went into what dragons view as treasure. For the most part treasure consists of gems and gold. However . . ."
Spike bit his lip and tried to think of a way to lie to Twilight but nothing came to his mind. He looked at her and saw the eyes of the most amazing mare in the world. He sighed and continued.
". . . There are two things that a dragon can consider their most valuable treasure. The first is their children. The other is one thing that most dragons don't worry about until adulthood. Unfortunately, my species looks for it from birth and onwards. This treasure is referred to as a dragon's mate." She felt him shudder as he spoke. "Imagine if you loved something so much that losing it was a fate worse than death." Spike stopped not wanting to tell Twilight.
"Am I your mate, Spike?" She asked so quietly that Spike barely heard her.
"You are the one I want to be my mate. You are the most amazing and beautiful mare I know. You have always been there for me. I know that you don't feel the same way but I-"
"You're wrong." Spike turned around and saw that she was blushing with tears in her eyes. "You're always doing something to help me. Always making sure that I'm ok. You put up with me when I'm horrible. How could I not fall in love with you? But why would you fall in love with somepony as plain as me?"
"You're anything but plain. You are the second most brilliant pony I know with the only one surpassing you being Celestia. The few times that you snap from the stress you're always quick to apologize. besides . . . as far as I'm concerned you look a lot cuter than Celestia." Spike looked around for a few minutes. "Man I thought I might be banished for saying that out loud."
"You don't have to lie for my sake Spike." Spike's eye twitched at that statement. He pushed her down and gently kissed her. It wasn't fast or passionate just slow and lovingly tender.
"I would never lie to you." he kissed Twilight again. "You are more beautiful than you could ever imagine." again "And if I'm the only one who can see it then fine. I will keep the most gorgeous mare in all of Equestria in my eyes only." Spike ran his claw through her mane. "So please don't think I will ever lie to you. Your perfect for me Twi. Can you please see yourself the way I see you."
She was still breathless so Twilight nodded her head. Even if she didn't think much of herself Spike obviously thought the world of her. Finally she pushed Spike back a bit so she could sit up. "Is it sad that a part of me wants to say you're wrong so you'll kiss me again?" Twilight questioned with a small chuckle.
"If you really want me to you just have to ask." Spike replied with a smug grin.
"Don't get too ahead of yourself. It's getting late and we both need some sleep." She said with a small yawn.
"Yeah I wonder who's been telling that to a certain mare who is as beautiful as she is stubborn." Twilight just rubbed her head against his.
"You might have been right. I also think you need to sleep next to me tonight. Your body is colder than normal and I can't have my number 1 partner getting sick."
"I can gladly agree with that." The two walked to the bed in a comfortable silence. As they were lying down Spike wrapped his arms around Twilight. She was about to snuff out the candles but she saw that Spike was holding back tears.
"What's wrong?" she asked worried about she was doing something wrong.
"I don't want this to be a dream. This is the best thing to happen to me and I'm scared it isn't real." He said barely above a whisper, as if he believed his words could shatter what his heart had longed for. Twilight herself was scared of the same thing. It was the real reason that she wanted him beside her.
"I'm scared to Spike. So how about we stay beside each other tonight so that when we wake up we know if what happened today was real. Because if I am being honest . . . I'm terrified that I'll wake up and be alone again. Every day with you has been a dream come true." They looked into each other's eyes and kissed. Slowly they drifted off to sleep in a loving embrace hoping more than anything that the day hadn't been a dream.