Epilogue: Burning Bright

Twilight walked through the halls of the Canterlot Royal Palace, a bright smile on her face. It was a beautiful winter's day- the sun shone on the pure white snow, ponies frolicked in the gardens without a care, and all was right in the world.

Well, almost everything.

Ever since Spike had been whisked away to Canterlot to begin his magic training a month earlier, Twilight had been completely and utterly alone in the library. Of course, everypony in Ponyville was affected by the young dragon's absence- the town's colts became dull and humorless without their pal around, Rarity's various projects progressed much more slowly without Spike's assistance (and her designs seemed less inspired to boot), and even the Cutie Mark Crusaders went on their adventures with a noticeable lack of enthusiasm. But as his caretaker, Twilight got the worst of it. Her studies ground to a halt as she found herself unable to concentrate on anything other than her absent assistant. When she talked with anypony, Spike would inevitably become the focus of their conversation. And when she went to sleep at night, her dreams would be filled with images of the young dragon, his smile, the sounds of his laughter… and she would inevitably awake to find her pillow soaked with tears.

But Spike wasn't the only missing resident of Ponyville. Just a few days after Spike's departure, Pinkie Pie checked herself into Ponyville Hospital's psychiatric ward, vowing that she wouldn't leave until she'd worked out all her issues. Twilight and her friends supported her decision… but not the vow- they had used every means they could conceive of trying to convince the party pony to leave the hospital at least occasionally, to absolutely no avail. The Cakes tried their best, but without access to Pinkie's baking skills, the confectionaries of Sugarcube Corner became bland and tasteless. And without her antics to liven things up and bring smiles to ponies' faces, it felt as though a dark, inescapable cloud hung over the entire town.

Twilight's friends (sans Pinkie Pie of course) visited the library frequently to give their condolences. Rarity in particular was the most sympathetic- not a day went by where she didn't stop by to share some new "technique" for Twilight to try, or loan some manual about intimacy. Twilight knew they were her way of trying to patch things up between them, and she greatly appreciated her fashionista friend's efforts, but the gifts only served to remind her of the empty bed she had to return to every night after her studies.

Her one true respite came when she visited Spike in Canterlot. They could never talk for long, or be intimate- their separate responsibilities saw to that- but just being able to see him, to hug him, kiss him, gave her the strength to keep going. Of his friends, she was the one who visited the most often, dropping in every few days- the others visited when the opportunity presented itself, both with and without Twilight, though their visits were much less frequent.

Before long, Twilight came to a very familiar door. She knew what lay beyond- it had been her and Spike's quarters when they had still lived in Canterlot together. Now, Spike lived here alone for the time being, as the Princess trained him in the ways of magic. The guards posted by the door glanced at her briefly, before turning their attention forward again. They knew who she was, and thus did nothing to bar her progress. She smiled briefly at both of them, receiving only another quick glance in return, before pushing the door open and stepping inside.

The room beyond looked exactly the same as it had the day she and Spike left for Ponyville. Spike himself stood directly across from her at her old worktable, with his back to her- from the flickers of light that danced on the wall in front of him, he was working with some sort of fire spell. She approached him as quietly as she could, not wanting to disrupt whatever he might have been working on. Just a few weeks earlier, Twilight had accidentally startled Spike as he worked on a spell- the resulting misfire turned her mane and a large patch of his scales a bright shade of orange for several days.

Even though she had been as quiet as possible, Spike suddenly asked, "Hey Twilight, do you remember when you told me I could give myself wings? Well, watch this." The flickering lights were replaced with a solid white one that glowed brightly for several moments. Then, the light flared- it wasn't blinding, but Twilight brought up a foreleg to shield her eyes regardless. Her jaw dropped as she saw a pair of massive wings unfurl from Spike's back, blocking out the light.

"Spike, that's… incredible! You really pulled it off!" Sure, the massive leathery wings looked more than a little silly on Spike's much smaller body, but for him to be casting such high level magic as transformation spells after only a month of training… Celestia wasn't joking when she said Spike might be the most talented student she'd ever trained. "…Aside from you of course, Twilight!" she'd hastily added afterward. Twilight asked, "Can you fly with them?"

"Yeah! I'd show you right now, but Celestia says I'm not allowed to fly inside anymore." Spike looked over his shoulders, admiring his new wings. "Aren't they cool? Man, I can't wait to show these to Rainbow Dash- I bet she'd be so jealous."

"I'm sure she will." She walked the rest of the way up to her assistant as he made his wings vanish. "So?"

"So… what?" His eyes widened for a moment. "Oh, right! Well, I asked Celestia, and she said it would be alright for me to come back to Ponyville for Hearth's Warming Day. But she also said that I might finish with my training before then."

Twilight threw her forelegs around the young dragon. "Oh Spike, that's wonderful news! And I'm sure the others would be glad to hear it." She looked over at a large stack of boxes that had accumulated on a nearby reading desk. "I see Pinkie is keeping her promise."

"Yep. She's sent me a cake every day since I got here." There was silence for a moment. "…Is she still in the hospital?"

"Yeah…"

"Is… is she getting better? She doesn't visit or send letters like the others- all she sends are cakes."

"It's been slow, but yeah, she's been getting better. The counselor says that if we're lucky, she might be able to go home in a few more weeks."

"That's good…" Silence fell between the two again. Eventually, Twilight spoke again. "Spike?" she asked.

"Yeah?"

She kissed him. "Spike… please come home."

"I wish I could, Twilight. But you know I can't- not until my training is finished." Twilight didn't say anything, simply holding Spike in her forelegs. Then, she kissed him. Then she kissed him again. And again. And again. She pinned him to the floor, peppering his face with kisses. "I miss you," she told him between kisses. "You have no idea… how much I miss you."

He ran his claws through her mane. "I miss you too, Twilight."

She began to rock against him in a very unsubtle way, and her voice took on a sultry tone. "Spike… let's do it."

Spike stammered as his member slowly began to slide out from between his scales. "What? Listen, I know the Princess said she'd let me move back into the library when my training's finished, but that doesn't mean-"

"I don't care," she replied bluntly. "Just give me five minutes. No one would ever know."

"…You know I don't like quickies."

"Spike, please do this for me. I just need something to hold me over until Hearth's Warming. When you come home, I promise you -I promise you- that we'll go for as long as you want. Okay?"

"…Alright." He put his hands on her muzzle, and pulled her into a deep kiss. She rubbed against him firmly, eliciting a long muffled groan from the small dragon. He'd missed this. They both had. They both became aware of strange little details as they kissed: the sharp mineral taste of the inside of Spike's mouth, the way Twilight's coat rubbed against his scales, the way her breaths tickled the tip of his nose, the way his tail would wrap around her own… Their tongues danced around each other expertly as Spike began to move his hips in time with Twilight's rocking, drawing out a pleased moan from the young mare.

But at the worst possible moment, the door to Spike's quarters swung open. "Good morning, Spike," Celestia's voice said. "For today's lesson, I was thinking…" He words trailed off as her eyes fell on the two. She stared at them in silence, her mouth slightly agape. "…Oh. I see that you're… busy. Well I suppose your lesson could wait until this afternoon…"

Twilight and Spike scrambled to her feet. Twilight spluttered and stammered, trying to formulate some sort of explanation for what the Princess had seen. "Um, it wasn't what you… it was just… you see, I was…" she babbled. Spike said nothing- he merely blushed, his claws resting over his groin in an attempt to preserve his modesty.

Twilight's babbling stopped when she realized the Princess was smiling at them. "Wait… you're not mad?"

The Princess simply shook her head, still smiling. "Come with me," she said, and left the room. They followed. Celestia led them all through the palace- servants and guards would bow to the Princess (and to a certain extent, to Twilight and Spike as well) as they passed by in the halls. After some time, three began ascending one of the spiral staircases leading to the top of one of the palace's many spires. As they climbed, the daily sounds of the palace faded into an eerie silence, broken only by the sounds of their footfalls- Twilight couldn't even hear the wind blowing outside. It occurred to her that she hadn't asked where they were going yet. "Uh, Princess? Where are we going?"

She answered Twilight's question with a question of her own. "Twilight, what can you tell me about Solaris's Tower?"

"Solaris's Tower? Um… it was one of two towers built late in the reign of King Solaris to… commemorate the birth of you and Princess Luna, along with Dusk's Tower. It was originally named Dawn's Tower, but following his death after your and Luna's ascension to the throne, it was renamed in his memory."

"That's right, Twilight. You're a smart filly. And do you know what Solaris's Tower was used for?"

"It was where your bedchamber was. Until you moved it to the Aura Wing after Nightmare Moon's banishment."

"Correct again. But as you'll soon see, I didn't completely abandon my old room." They finally reached a landing, with a large wooden door. Celestia stood aside, and motioned for Twilight and her assistant to proceed. Though wary, Twilight approached the door with Spike in tow, and pushed it open.

To call the room beyond "beautiful" would have done it a severe injustice. Set into the wall of the circular room was a long, curved window that provided an almost 360° view of Equestria. Twilight could see Ponyville in the distance in one direction, swore that she could see Appleoosa in another, and could even see the shining blue line that was the ocean in a third. It was, in a word, perfect. But then again, why wouldn't it be? It was the Princess's bedroom, after all (keyword: was).

"Whoa… this was your bedroom?" Spike asked, incredulous.

"Indeed," Celestia replied, stepping past them. "And although it's no longer where I rest my head for the night, I still have some use for it." Twilight and Spike's attention was then drawn to what lay inside the room. For the most part, the room itself was empty- all it contained was a large bed, surrounded by numerous candlesticks arranged in an odd pattern. It was apparent that they had been used, recently at that. "Just give me a moment to get things ready for you." Her horn began to glow- a large set of curtains Twilight realized had been hanging behind them began to unfold, covering the window and slowly plunging the room into total darkness.

For one brief moment, an impenetrable blackness filled the room. Then, the candles surrounding the bed suddenly came alight. Now that they were lit, the reason for their peculiar arrangement became apparent- their light illuminated the bed but nothing else in the room, creating the illusion of it being its own little world, floating in the darkness.

Speaking of floating, Twilight could feel an invisible force lifting her off the floor. She yelped in surprise, but Celestia quickly said, "It's okay Twilight, I've got you." Twilight was lifted into the air and over the candles, before being gently set down on the bed. Spike was placed next to her a few moments later. Then, Celestia carefully navigated through the numerous candlesticks before taking a seat next to the bed.

"Sorry. I know I should have told you what I was going to do, but I didn't want you to disturb the candles. It took me nearly a decade to set them up just right."

Celestia rested a foreleg on the bed. "Now, since the laws of Equestria were written with ponies in mind rather than dragons, you could in theory make the argument that your relationship with Spike is perfectly legal, Twilight- however, once you make that argument, the laws would most likely be rewritten to close that particular loophole. So I'm going to make things much easier for you- from this time forward, I am giving you and Spike the freedom to fully explore your relationship in any way you see fit."

Twilight's jaw dropped. So did Spike's. Eventually, she managed to stammer, "R…Really?"

"Of course. I believe that both of you are emotionally mature enough to handle a relationship."

Instantly, Twilight leapt up, wrapping her forelegs around her mentor's neck. "Oh thank you, Princess! Thank you so much!" she cried. She looked up and unashamedly kissed her on the lips, eliciting a surprised "Mmmph?" from the she turned and tackled Spike, pinning him against the mattress and drawing him into a very deep kiss. The Princess watched, a small smile on her face, until Twilight looked up at her. "Uh, Princess? Do you mind?"

"Hmm? Oh, of course." Celestia took a few steps back, becoming completely engulfed by the darkness. "Have fun, you two. And, be sure to blow out the candles when you're done." There was a bright flash, and then silence. Twilight's horn glowed brightly for a few moments, illuminating the rest of the room, but it was empty.

"It looks like she's gone," Spike said as he sat up. "What should we do now?"

Twilight smiled at him. He thought her smile looked absolutely beautiful in the candlelight… but then again, he always thought her smile looked beautiful. "Oh, I've got a few ideas, Spike." She nuzzled against his chest, causing the young dragon to giggle. "Twilight, stop that!" he laughed, petting her neck. "It tickles!"

She shot him a sultry look. "Oh? Well I know something that doesn't tickle." Her head moved in between his legs to kiss the scales there… but to her surprise, Spike pushed her away. "Hold on, Twilight," he said. "I want to start us off this time."

Twilight was taken aback for a moment, but then asked "Are you sure?" Although there wasn't any particular rule as to who started things first, Twilight generally played the role of the instigator.

He stood up to kiss her. "Yeah," he answered as he pulled away. "It's fine, don't worry." Gently, Spike pushed her onto her back, and pulled her legs apart- even after everything they had done together, Twilight still couldn't help but blush when she… assumed the position. But before he got to work, Spike climbed up her body, and kissed her again, softly. "Twilight… have I ever told you how beautiful you are when you blush?" His words made her face darken even further. He kissed her one last time before climbing down to her haunches again. He stroked the inside of her thighs gently, savoring the feeling of her soft fur against his fingers.

"Twilight, is it weird for me to say that I like your thighs?"

She blushed. "A little… but I still appreciate the compliment." He kissed her thighs, drawing a few soft, but pleased moans. His trail of kisses travelled up her leg, nearing her most private area. She shivered with anticipation- sure, there had been times in the last month when she'd needed to do some… stress-relief, but it just wasn't the same as when Spike did it for her.

She cried out when Spike kissed her lower lips. Her rear legs twitched and kicked uncontrollably as he mouthed her slit, rolling and wrapping his tongue around her clit; her euphoric moans easily coaxed his member out from between his scales again. She shrieked as his tongue plunged inside her without a care in the world- three hundred feet above Canterlot, there were no worries about any wandering eyes or ears. Even after their month apart, Spike still considered them the most beautiful sounds in the entire world, and it was with a very heavy heart that he pulled away.

Or so he tried. As soon as Twilight felt him pull back, she pushed him back into position, first with her hooves, and then with her magic. "Spike what are you doing?" she demanded; Spike wasn't the kind of stallion- er, dragon to leave her hanging. Especially not when she was so close.

"I… I wanted us to cum together. Today is a special day after all."

She softened almost immediately. "Well, I guess that's understandable. Hold still for a moment." Her horn glowed, and a white beam shot out of it for a few moments. When it faded, Spike was now the "perfect size." She spread expectantly, but to her surprise, Spike gently rolled her onto her side and nestled himself against her back; he lifted up her leg, and positioned himself to enter her. "This is new…" Twilight whispered.

"That's okay… right?" he asked nervously.

She didn't reply. Rather, she turned her head and craned back to kiss her assistant… but she couldn't quite reach. The young dragon caught on, and craned his neck to press his lips against hers. His arms wrapped around her chest, hugging her tightly.

He loved her warmth.

She broke the kiss for a moment. "Well, what're you waiting for, stud?" she asked seductively. Spike shivered- it always brought a puff of pride to his chest (and just a little twinge of embarrassment in his stomach) when Twilight talked up to him. He took a deep breath to calm his nerves, held her tightly, and pushed inside of her.

Twilight cried out in a mixture of happiness and ecstasy. Nothing- not her hoof, not magic, not any of Rarity's lent toys- could compare to having Spike. A pleasant warmth crept into her belly, and she felt her knees go weak- she was glad she was lying down. "Ohhh, I've missed this…"

Spike kissed her neck. "I did too." As he began to thrust into her, Spike slid an arm down Twilight's chest, and stroked her belly. Twilight shuddered as his claw ran over such a sensitive area, but it didn't linger. It went lower and lower, until finally touching a small nub of flesh in-between her haunches. She gasped, one of her legs kicking out involuntarily. Burying his face into her neck, Spike thrust faster and harder as he massaged her clit; her legs kicked frantically as Spike's claw traced over her love. "Hah… nnn… oh, Spike… that's perfect…" The pressure slowly began to build up as Spike pounded against her, spurred on by her disjointed pleas and praises.

"T-Twilight…" Spike huffed. "I think… I think I'm gonna… cum soon…"

"Just hold on for a little longer, Spike. Can you do that?"

"I… I'm… s-sorry, Twilight… but… I… I… can't!" With one last thrust, Spike seized up as he released all the tension built up inside him deep inside Twilight, his mind going completely and utterly blank. He relaxed after a few moments, but he didn't pull out. His thrusts continued, despite his diminishing cock- he wouldn't stop until Twilight was satisfied as well. "I… I'm sorry. But, I'll finish… what I started."

Twilight squirmed as Spike teased her clit. Her hips bucked forward, pressing his claw against her slit. His seed leaked out, covering his hand, but he paid it no mind. The pressure building in her hips was finally reaching its breaking point. She seized, clenching tightly around his flaccid member as a scream erupted from her throat, making Spike's ears ring. After what felt like an eternity, she slumped against her lover, the silence of the room broken only by the sounds of her labored breathing.

While she was still in his grasp, Twilight rolled over to face him. She squeezed him tightly, before pressing her lips against his again. Her eager tongue easily pushed its way into his mouth- he returned the favor with gusto, their tongues dancing and swirling around each other. For some reason, at that moment Spike realized that he'd neglected to wash his mouth out before kissing Twilight- if she was disgusted, she was doing a fantastic job of hiding it.

After a long moment, he broke the kiss. "Twilight…" he whispered, "…I love you."

Twilight kissed his forehead. "I love you too, Spike. Her horn glowed for a moment, and the candles went out. Spike cuddled up against her in the darkness. "Twilight?" he asked.

"Hmm?"

"I'm glad we're together again."

She squeezed him tight. "Me too, Spike."

He nestled his face into the base of her neck and sighed contentedly. "This… this feels right."

Suddenly, one of the candles lit up. "I have to say, you two put on quite a show," Celestia said, stepping into the light. "And Twilight, I didn't know you were familiar with age changing spells."

"Ack- gah- P-P-Princess!" Twilight stammered, pulling the bedcovers over herself and Spike defensively. "Were you… were you watching us this whole time?"

"Not the whole time, no." She stripped naked and climbed onto the bed. "I actually came up here to ask if you wanted lunch, but… well, my curiosity got the better of me. I hope you can forgive me."

Twilight had the sinking suspicion that wasn't entirely what the Princess's visit was about. And she voiced her suspicion. "What's this really about?"

"I'll be blunt- Spike's mating cycle will be beginning again very soon. Spike now has the capacity to suppress his seduction powers, but-"

"Wait what?" Twilight asked, incredulous.

"I do?" Spike asked, confused.

Celestia propped herself up to get a better view of her students. "Indeed you do, Spike. And now that you can control these abilities, for all intents and purposes, your training is complete. At this point, there isn't anything I could teach you that Twilight herself couldn't."

"So… does that mean I can… go home?" he asked. The Princess nodded. Spike leapt up and threw his arms around the Princess's neck. "Oh thank you Celestia! Thank you!"

Celestia embraced the small dragon. "However, though Spike can now suppress his seduction powers, he still needs to mate. Magic can't change that." Twilight remembered what she'd read in The Complete Unabridged Encyclopedia of Dragons, 3rd Edition- if denied the opportunity to mate, dragons of all breeds will go on highly destructive rampages that could last for several days, Spike included. "And I'm sure that he would prefer that you take care of his… condition, Twilight. So, I'd like for you to stay here in Canterlot for the next week… to ensure everypony's safety, of course. In truth, you only need to mate with Spike once during his cycle to avert disaster… but if you two wished to mate multiple times every day during this week, then that would be alright as well."

Twilight and Spike looked at each other in disbelief- the Princess had more or less ordered them to have sex. "And, may I make a selfish request?" Celestia asked. "I would… like to watch you… kiss. If that's alright."

The two simply stared at the Princess, and then at each other, trying to process her strange request. They'd never kissed in front of others (at least not on the mouth), but now they Celestia herself had requested that they kiss. And who would be crazy enough to refuse a request from the Princess? So, the two pushed their lips together as Celestia watched, not really enjoying it- their tongues swiped across each other from time to time, but the white alicorn in their bed proved to be a little too difficult to ignore. But as their kiss began to intensify, they grew less concerned about their sovereign ruler lying right next to them. They closed their eyes, becoming lost in the sensation of their each other. Twilight wrapped her forelegs around the young dragon, pressing her lips against his. Spike fell back against the Princess's body as their tongues danced, wrapping his arms around her neck, feeling as though his entirety was being hugged. Celestia smiled approvingly as she watched the two lovers kiss.

But before long, Twilight felt Spike's tongue move less and less before coming to a halt entirely, felt his grip around her neck loosen before his arms finally fell away. She broke away- the young dragon was fast asleep as he rested against the Princess, snoring lightly. She couldn't help but smile at him.

He was so cute when he slept.

"I don't mean to ruin the moment," Celestia began, "but I would like to ask you something, Twilight." Twilight didn't reply. "I love all my subjects, both great and small… but I hold a special place in my heart for you and Spike. And I would be greatly honored if you would… invite me to bed. With you." Celestia looked away, a faint but noticeable red tint on her cheeks.

She held the sleeping baby dragon in her forelegs defensively, as though shielding him from Celestia. "N… No offense, Princess, but… I think that's a decision both me and Spike have to make."

"You need time to think it over. I understand." The Princess climbed out of the bed, dressed herself, and began to walk toward the door. "Take as much time as you need." The door opened- Twilight had to shield her eyes from the blinding light that streamed in. "And when you finally do make your decision, you know how to find me." She stepped out, closing the door behind her.

Twilight continued to hold Spike in the darkened room. Throughout the last month, Twilight's friends had asked if they could… borrow the young dragon. She'd always told them she needed to talk about with Spike first before giving the okay, but in truth, she'd never brought up the topic even once.

Gently, she shook Spike awake. "Spike? Spike… wake up. It's important."

Slowly, he came to. "Nngh… Twilight? Where's Celestia?"

"She left. But Spike, I need to ask you something important."

He sat up. "What is it?"

"Well, some of the girls have asked me if they could… borrow you. I wanted to ask you what you thought of it."

"What? No. No! Absolutely not! You and I are-"

"Spike, I want you to tell me the truth, not just what you think I want to hear." Spike inhaled deeply, but said nothing. "I promise I won't get upset, no matter what you tell me."

The young dragon took a deep breath before replying. "If… if I was… single, and they asked me… then, I'd say yes, if only to do them a favor. But, I'm with you now Twilight. I don't need anypony else. I don't want anypony else. Just you."

She embraced him. "Spike, that has to be the cheesiest romantic thing I've ever heard you say." She felt silent, simply holding Spike. "But, just so you know, I'd…" She shook her head. "No, never mind. This is something we should talk about with the others."

"Alright."

She kissed him. "I love you, Spike. No matter what."

He kissed her back. "I love you too, Twilight."

She blew out the single candle, plunging the room into darkness once again.

"Uh… Twilight? You forgot to turn me back to normal. Again."

Twilight grumbled to herself, and there was a bright flash in the darkness.

"Thank you, sweetheart."

"Anytime… honey."