Twilight had removed Spike's jacket and muscle shirt to see an assortment of bruises on his arms and upper torso.


"I'm sorry I snapped at you earlier."

"Don't worry about it. Just tell me what happened."

"Remember what you asked me about earlier?"

"The promise you made?"

"Yeah."

"What about it?

"The night before you found me in the library, I saw something."

"What did you see?"

"More than likely a ghost."

"Spike, you know ghosts don't exist."

"That's what I thought too, but it led me right to the library and into a section about the supernatural; a non-fiction section."

"It led you there?"

"Yeah. I stayed up all night reading the book you found with me that morning. I found out that a lot of the paranormal experiences from the past were never seen or heard by anyone other than the victims. When doctors tried to diagnose them with mental disorders, there were things that never quite added up."

"Like what?"

"Like the fact that there was never any weapon nearby when a victim was physically harmed. There are also deaths that were covered up in certain locations around the world."

"How can you be sure they weren't coincidences?"

"Because the same types of activity occurred regardless of the tenants that resided there."

"You mean it was dependent on the location, not the people staying there?"

"Exactly, and that's not all I found. There's lots of other compelling evidence too."

"Hm?"

"For starters, my race was revered for our ability to combat the dead."

Twilight completely froze.

"Wait…WHAT!?"

"We guarded the souls of the living when statues of us were placed in their homes."

"But I've never seen anyone with a dragon statue in their home!"

"That brings me to my next point; the species I encountered that night and almost every time since isn't one we know."

"You mean the souls of an extinct race are running around!?"

"That's what it looks like."

Twilight sat on her hind legs. This was too much to take in.

"Now do you believe me?"

"I…I don't really know."

"Do you want me to tell you about the ones I've seen over the last few months?"

"I want to know what you've been doing more than anything."

"Okay. I'll start from the beginning. About six months ago, I had an anonymous ad placed in the paper for a non-profit investigation service. Before that, I spent most of my time training so I could perform exorcisms. That's why I wasn't around as much."

"Now I get it. I just thought you were distancing yourself from me."

"Never. I did it for you."

"So the promise you made…"

"Was to protect you from these spirits."

"Why did you spend so much time building your physical strength too though?"

"To test a theory. If there was any truth to the dragon statue history, then I had some sort of uncanny ability to fight spirits as if they were physical beings."

"Did it work?"

"Surprisingly, yes. My claws act similarly to reinforced metal, which is one of a few things they're weak against, and my scales allow me to grab onto them if I need to restrain them."

Twilight nervously laughed.

"I guess that makes you some kind of superhero."

"Not really, just less of a villain…"

"Spike…"

"Protecting you was the main reason I got into all of this, but as time went on, I felt I could use this strength to pay for my wrongdoing when I became enveloped by greed and transformed into that monster."

"...Thank you."

"Huh?"

"You're putting yourself at risk for me and everyone else."

"You don't have to thank me. I'm just doing what I feel is right."

"…Spike, do you trust me?"

"Of course. Always have and always will. Why?"

"In the morning, when you wake up, don't open your eyes."

Spike thought this was strange, but as previously stated, he had faith in her judgement.

"Okay. I won't."

After the conversation ended, Twilight dressed his wounds. Spike had one request for the purple princess.

"Would you mind not telling anyone else about this? It's not something I like to talk about."

"I understand."


The next morning, light shone through Spike's window. His eyes almost instinctively opened; almost. He heard a whisper in his ear.

"You awake sleepyhead?"

"Twilight?"

"It's okay. Just relax."

Spike did as instructed. He felt something touch his lips. It took a moment, but he soon realized it was Twilight. She was kissing him. It felt weird, until he thought about it. Was this her way of showing appreciation?

"Open your eyes."

He followed directions. When the light greeted his retinas, Twilight was gone.

"What…Was that…?"


Spike made his way to the kitchen after he fully gained consciousness. To his surprise, Twilight was already there cooking.

"Smells good," he said.

Twilight smiled at him for a moment, then her look turned serious.

"I know you might not be feeling one hundred percent today, but can you take me to the place you were last night? I want to see for myself what's going on."

"Yeah. I need to get a couple things from there anyway."

"Listen, about this morning…"

Spike went up to Twilight and held her close.

"I love you too. That's why I'll protect you at any cost."

"What about Rarity?"

"That wasn't going anywhere, and it's my fault anyway. There were no real feelings there. It was a silly crush. I couldn't see what I had right in front of me. Now I can, and I'm never letting it go."

Twilight closed her eyes and hugged her partner; her soulmate and guardian. She had faith that no matter what, he would always watch out for her, no matter how dark the day or how lonely the wind. Her heart was his, and his was hers. The challenges ahead were nothing but bumps in the road. However, their job was far from finished. Now was the time to go forth, and battle the forces of death with everything they had.