Just so nobody is confused, I'll be clarifying whether we're in the present time (with grown-up Spike, Smolder and Barb) or in the past (with Twilight and the others), which is the case here, at the start of each chapter. That may or may not change mid-chapter, but those changes shouldn't be too difficult to spot. Anyway, see you at the end of the chapter!


PAST


The flight to Canterlot was silent. Spike kept glancing over at his adoptive sister. Like Celestia and Luna, he honestly had no idea why Twilight was so anxious to find out about her own immortality. He had tried asking her a couple of times once they were immediately out of earshot of her two predecessors, but she was determined not to talk about it with him either. In fact, she didn't say anything until they had finally re-entered the palace grounds. By that stage, he was getting quite annoyed at her, but he refused to let it be obvious. So, he had decided to drop the subject for now, but that all changed once they had landed.

"Spike, when we get in, I'd need you to take a note for me."

"Sure thing, Twi. I'm gonna guess it'll be for Starswirl, right?"

"Yeah. I'd really like to get answers about this immortality thing."

Spike had had enough, so he stopped walking. Twilight didn't notice until she was a few paces ahead of him, before turning back to face him.

"Well? Are you coming?"

"Not until you tell me why you want to know so badly." As expected, she fell silent.

"It's complicated."

"And I'm smart. You raised me, after all."

"I know you are, Spike, but I just can't."

"Then I guess you'll need to find another way to get in touch with Starswirl!" Without another word, Spike stormed past her heading for the castle. He hesitated at the door, just to wait and see if she'd finally say something.

She didn't.

Spike struggled to hold back his tears as he opened the door and stepped through. Once the door had slammed shut, however, the floodgates opened as he ran to his room, not caring who saw.

Business at Sweet Apple Acres had definitely decreased after the whole apple sauce/apple cider mix-up fiasco at Twilight's coronation. It was a particularly slow day today, so Applejack had decided to pay Twilight a quick visit, just to check in on her after her first week as Equestria's ruler. She had arrived a couple of hours ago, only to be informed by one of the royal guards that she had left on an errand with Spike. This guard also told the farmer that Twilight would be back soon, so she decided to stick around for a while, making use of her status as a member of the Council of Friendship to gain access to the more private sections of the castle. She had just concluded her bout of exploration back at the entry hall when the door opened and a familiar, small, purple dragon entered. She was about to say hello when he slammed the door shut and ran past her in tears. She tried to ask him what was wrong, but he didn't even notice her. Other ponies had noticed as well, but their attempts to comfort the distraught dragon seemed to end in the same result. Half of her wanted to chase after him, just to make sure he was alright, but the other half wanted to find out what had caused such an emotional reaction out of him. A couple of seconds later, she had her answer as Twilight walked in through the same door.

"Twilight, what in tarnation happened to Spike? He just ran past me, crying his eyes out. Did something happen on your errand?"

"Applejack? What are you doing here?"

"Don't change the subject, Twi. I don't like seeing my friend like that, so I'd like to know what got him so riled up." There was a moment of silence before Twilight answered.

"I think I did." Applejack was understandably, and visibly, confused.

"What did you do to him?" Twilight sighed once more.

"Can we talk somewhere else?"

"Fine, but I expect answers when we get there."

The two friends made their way to Twilight's private quarters, one of the few places in the palace where they could be truly alone. Spike's bedroom was right next door to Twilight's, and in their silence, they could just barely hear his sobs through the closed door. Twilight paused for a moment. She hadn't realised how much of an impact her unwillingness to talk had affected him. Applejack stopped as well to look at his door, before turning her gaze into a glare, and directing that glare at Twilight.

"So, are you going to tell me what the buck you did to him to get him so upset?"

"Yeah. I will." She walked towards her own bedroom, with Applejack following closely behind. Once the door had been shut, she explained the situation to AJ. She explained the trip to Silver Shoals to visit Celestia and Luna, and the reason behind the trip. She explained how the former princesses were unable to give her an answer. What she did not explain, however, was exactly the subject that had gotten her into this mess: her reasons for why she wanted to know. It didn't take long for Applejack to figure out the problem. She was the Element of Honesty, after all.

"Twi, you've known Spike for his entire life so far, and that's a lot longer than you've known me or any of the other girls. He's seen how much you trust us these days, and I know you trust him more than any of us, but that's not what I'm seeing here. All he sees right now is that there's something you're not telling him, and it's hurting him. I'm not going to pry about this reason you're not telling me, you deserve that much, but you should at least explain it to him, or at the very least, explain to him why you can't."

"I know, but it's just hard to talk about."

"And? That shouldn't matter, Twi. You didn't make him your Royal Advisor for no reason. You know what that means, don't you? It means he's there to advise you. Especially when it's 'hard to talk about'. So, I'd suggest getting your flank in there and talking to him properly." Twilight looked at her, almost pleadingly. "I know you don't want to, sugarcube, but unless you want Spike to never talk to you again, it's really your only option." Twilight sighed.

"Fine. You're right."

"I'll be here when you're done. I came to see how you were doing and hang out a while, and I don't want this to be a wasted trip!" They shared a brief chuckle and hug, before Twilight left her room and made her way over to Spike's. This conversation wasn't going to be an easy one…


AAAnd, it's a cliffhanger! I'm evil I know! As for the differing timeframes that I mentioned at the top of this chapter, I will say here that the next couple of chapters will be set in the flashback timeline, because I want to get as far as the talk with Starswirl (at least) before we head back to the present time with Spike all grown up. I'll still specify at the start of each chapter, just so there is no confusion at all, but I thought I may as well explain the plan down here as well. Anyway, I don't have much to say, so that's enough out of me for this time. As always, don't forget to leave any questions you may have for me in the reviews or as a PM, and I'll answer them to the best of my ability. Ciao for now!

OnTheSpectrum