Things hadn’t changed in the last weeks. But definitely, there was something different. Twilight could feel there was something different between her and her assistant. Or it would be better to say that the way she perceived the relation between them had changed. It was as if she felt a little more cheerful when being with him. Like she enjoyed his company much more, their talks and even as if his food was even more delicious. The question was: why? Where did those changes come from? Her life routine hadn’t changed. Twilight studied, attended the library and her new students. Spike worked in the evenings at the town hall and on the weekends he would often go help Rarity with her dresses or Applejack to harvest, mostly as an exercise.

What was it that made her feel things differently then? She didn’t understand. And if there was something that pissed Twilight off, it was to not be able to understand something. Her not understanding something! It was as if Pinkie Pie couldn’t become friends with someone! IT MADE NO SENSE!

She had to put a stop to the matter, especially because it was starting to affect her daily life. Spike would often notice something wrong with her and try to talk with her about it, causing uncomfortable conversations between them. And sometimes, even her students would notice something was wrong.

Finally, one Saturday when Spike would leave her alone to help Rarity, Twilight decided it was time to find the unknown variables of the equation once and for all.

She sat in front of her desk with several blank sheets in front of her.

“Very well, Twilight. What are the new things we’ve seen?” She said, trying to make a list of things that, in the last weeks, could recently be affecting her perception of the environment and her assistant.

“Well, let’s skip this point… What are the things that stay the same?... Everything! Nothing has changed” She said while gritting her teeth.

“No, no, keep calm. We have all the afternoon” She relaxed by exhaling deeply.

“Very well… When did this start happening exactly?” She tried to look for another point of reference.

“A little after the hurricane” She concluded after a while.

“Thinking about it, that night Spike and I slept on the same mattress for the first time after 10 years” She said while laughing a little.

“Wait a moment… That’s it! The night we and Spike slept together was the first time I felt these… Strange emotional patterns” She wrote on her notes, not having a more appropriate name to describe what she felt.

“When Spike revealed he had come back from Canterlot only to be by my side and protect me from the storm, I felt… I felt very flattered. Spike and I have shared thousands of hugs in our lives, but that time felt different. I felt as if a… Strange warmth wrapped me. In my state of despair, and though I didn’t have full control of my actions, I asked Spike to promise me he would always be by my side. After I thought that, though he answered he would, he’d only done it to calm me down or in any case because I forced him to say it. But the next morning he reaffirmed his oath and assured me he was serious. Knowing that made me feel… A great and unusual joy”

That continued for a long while she was trying to make things make sense.

“Ugh! Twilight, what are you writing?!” She shouted frustrated, throwing both of her hooves at her face.

“You’re just writing the same subjective and ambiguous nonsense you already know! Yes, living with Spike is an activity you are enjoying more than before. Yes, you feel much better when he makes you a compliment, when you didn’t use to give it a lot of importance. Why can’t you write something more coherent? Something like… I don’t know! I’m in love with Spike”

Twilight suddenly felt as if the hamster that was responsible for making the gears of her brain spin had suffered a fatal heart attack.

“What did I just say?”

Twilight suddenly felt it was harder for her heart to pump blood through her body.

“Me… In love with Spike?... Pff! Hahahahahahah! What nonsense!” She laughed out loud.

“How could I be in love with Spike? He’s my… My…” Twilight’s cheerful laughter got nervous when she realized how difficult it was for her to answer that question.

“He’s my assistant, of course! And I’m his… I’m his…” Her nervousness increased because of a great panic when she realized she was in front of a question she probably hadn’t make to herself in a long, long time.

“What the hell am I to Spike?”

When Spike was born, Twilight used to think of herself as Spike’s adoptive mother, though that role was certainly mostly exercised by Princess Celestia. During his childhood and his current part of his adolescence, she always saw herself as Spike’s big sister. Taking care of him and guiding him, but without being as authoritarian as a mother. But now, what was her to him? Was she her boss? NO! To begin with, she didn’t pay him…

“That doesn’t matter!” She yelled.

“We’ve been all our lives together. We’re like a family… We trust each other. He once told me I was the most important pony in his life, which clearly indicates he loves me, right? But I guess its only brotherly love, nothing romantic. Just like me. I lo… I love Spike. Just as I always have, heheh” She laughed nervously, trying to make things make sense.

“Then why is it now so difficult to me to say it? Why do I now hesitate to use that word it now feels so heavy?” She said, trying to process what happened in her head.

“Sweet Celestia…” Twilight rose from her desk and ran to get several books.

She took a Social Psychology book, another of Relationships and another of Multiple Intelligences, reading the part of Emotional Intelligence, and started to read them simultaneously. A talent she had developed over the years.

“Is it possible? Have I fallen for Spike?”

Twilight knew when it comes to making hypotheses, she had to be careful, for the researcher can subconsciously convince themselves too much and consequently fall into cognitive biases that divert the objectivity and impartiality of their investigation.

“But, is there another reason? And however… It’s ridiculous! Why would I fall for Spike?”

Why not? Answered her subconscious In fact, is there anyone better than him to be your mate? Isn’t he all you’ve been looking for?

Spike knew her better than anyone. He respected her, admired her and clearly loved her enough to risk his life for her. He’d always helped her with each and every one of her tasks and projects. He broke his back (figuratively speaking) to protect her and make her happy everytime; and despite her frequent opposition, he would always try to relax her by maintaining a good mood to calm her bad temper. In addition, Spike was the only one in all of Ponivile who could understand her in a conversation in which she used academic language and he could exactly knew what she was talking about. The only one who would never dare to call her a nerd or a bookworm, though she herself considered those nicknames fitted her perfectly.

“Spike is… Actually what I’ve been looking for in a coltfriend. Holy heaven! Is this really happening?”

“Twilight, I’m home! Rarity sent to you the dress you'll wear on Fluttershy birthday party. She wants you to try it and give approval” Said Spike when he entered the library, after 6 pm.

“Twi, are you here?” He asked when she didn’t reply to him.

After a while of looking for her, Spike found her slept in her bedroom and uncovered.

Spike smiled when he recognized the image of a Twilight who had gone to her bed very tired after a long study session. He withdrew a second blanket from the drawers below the closet and covered the sleeping beauty, being careful to not awaken her.

“What would you do without me?” He smiled.

“Surely you wouldn’t be as bad as I would be without you” He said as his smile was transformed into a melancholy expression.

He came closer to her and gave her a kiss on her cheek, to after roll over with intentions to let her rest.

“Spike?”

“Twilight? You’ve woken up, good. Did you work a lot while I wasn’t here” He tried to maintain a relaxed feel.

“Yes, more or less. What time is it?”

“It’s quarter past 7. Do you want me to make the dinner or you’ll keep sleeping?”

“Yes, please. Call me when it’s ready”

“Sure. By the way, do you know where Owlicious is?”

“No. He must have gone to find his dinner. You know how he prefers meat”

Spike left the bedroom smiling as Twilight yawned. She’d spent all the afternoon debating and reasoning with herself about her dilemma. She’d given a lot of thought to the matter in a lot of different perspectives, but having to deal with an emotional chaos she wasn’t used to, her magnificent brain was overloaded.

The dinner was the most awkward one they had shared in years. Twilight remained silent, avoiding eye contact with Spike and looking at him only when Spike didn’t notice.

Later, Twilight was awake on her bed while looking at the ceiling, still trying to disentangle her situation.

“The age difference shouldn’t be a problem… Spike never minded Rarity was 6 years older than him, so I doubt he minds when it comes to me, for I’m only 4 years older than him… Urgh! Why am I thinking about the advantages and disadvantages of a relationship if I don’t even know what I feel for him yet?” She said, rubbing her forehead with both of her hooves.

“But all my books say I’m actually in love with him. It’s true that when it comes to feelings, science isn’t a perfect science, but…”

“What if there is a way to test it? How can I know if my feelings for him are legitimate or I’m only inventing them after thinking so much about this?” She tried to shift the focus of their questions.

“That’s it! I only have to sleep with him again. It’s probable my emotions were only a circumstantial consequence because of the hurricane and all that happened that day. If I manage to sleep with him, but in a different situation and I have different emotional outcomes, it will mean that what I felt that night wasn’t the spark of a new love, but… Pure nerves caused by the storm. That’s what I’ll do!” She said, jumping from the bed and going to the door.

“But wait! I can’t simply enter his bedroom and say: I’m going to sleep with you. I have to make an excuse… A justification.”

Spike suddenly woke up when he heard a knock on the door of his bedroom.

“Spike, are you awake?” Asked the unicorn, from outside her room.

“Twilight? It’s quarter to midnight. What’s wrong?” He said, exiting his bedroom to see her.

“Spike, I’ve had a… How embarrassing… I’ve had a nightmare” Said Twilight, faking an attitude of shyness and shame.

“How terrible. Are you alright?” Asked Spike, who had bitten the bait.

“No, Spike, by the way… Could I sleep with you, just for this night?”

“Sleep… With me?” Sleeping together in the basement was one thing, but for some reason, inviting Twilight to his bed, in his bedroom, sounded like a taboo to him.

“Well yes. I mean, if you don’t mind” She said while chuckling.

“Well, I don’t know… Is it right?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean if it’s right that we sleep together”

“I guess it is, isn’t it? We did it a couple of weeks ago” She said while Spike’s nervousness was infecting her.

“Or don’t you want it?”

“No, not at all. Come in, please"

Twilight entered Spike’s bedroom and smiled when she saw the dragon kept his things so tidy. She climbed onto the bed on the right side, leaning sideways, as Spike lay looking at the ceiling.

“Do you want to talk about your nightmare?” Asked Spike when he noticed Twilight kept looking at him.

“Heh… No, let it be. I’m better now” She decided to start with her plan.

She approached to Spike and wrapped him with her foreleg, letting her head rest on his shoulder. Spike’s body tensed for an instant when he felt Twilight touch his body.

“I’m serious. You can tell me what you want”

“I’m fine like this. Thank you”

Spike moved his left arm under her body to bring her closer to him. A gesture that surprised Twilight, but she quickly got comfortable again.

“If you need something, just tell me. Ok?” He said while yawning.

“Ok, don’t worry”

Spike fell asleep after a while, but Twilight stayed awake, waiting to experiment the reactions of her mind.

And after a while, they appeared. Twilight felt very comfortable, but in a different way she would normally experiment. She felt relaxed, as if she had just had a SPA session. She felt a strange warmth, like she was rounded by some bonfires heating her body, neither much nor too little. And finally, though this time she was only wrapped by one arm, she felt safe and protected.

Twilight couldn’t help but sigh and let her emotions take over her.

“I feel so safe when being with you” Whispered Twilight, rubbing her face against the dragon’s chest and then opening her eyes when she realized she said that instead of thinking it, but to her luck, Spike was already deeply asleep.

Twilight took some time to contemplate Spike. Definitely, it was difficult to see the dragon who used to ride on her back. He was now bigger and stronger than her. His green Spikes, which used to have round tips, had now sharp edges towards his tail. His round face had spread to the front, giving him a more reptilian look. His little forearms had become forepaws, making it difficult to walk on two legs. Besides, all his body had acquired a visible musculature, though nothing spectacular.

Twilight didn’t know a lot about draconian appearance standards, but right now, she was sure her assistant was becoming a very handsome dragon.

“But, does this mean I… I’m really in love with Spike?" Wondered Twilight when she felt her heart was pounding with a strange sensation. She felt happy.

Days kept passing. The sun and the moon continued their dance. Twilight kept deepening in her difficult task of understanding her feelings. She concluded that keeping beating around the bush would only bring her problems, for all she managed to do when she thought about it, was to convince herself more and more about what was happening in her head and her heart. So she tried to ignore her feelings and carry on, as if nothing was happening, with the hope they would eventually die.

Far from helping her, it only made things get worse. Because in the moment Spike smiled to her, made her a compliment or gave her any gesture of affection, Twilight’s defenses would break and her feelings for him would return stronger than before. The sorceress had no choice but to accept that, actually, she had fallen for her assistant.

“But I can’t! It’s… It’s unethical, immoral… It’s… It’s unprofessional!” Twilight tried to think.

There were more reasons to resist her feelings. He was still a minor (in and out of dragons’ standards). He was her best friend forever. He was practically her family, to the point she literally had made him be born with a spell not even Celestia had been able to decipher. This last part created a lot of conflict in Twilight. How could she be in love with the creature she herself brought to the world?

“Isn’t this an incest? How the hell do I call this? What if he thinks I’m a crazy sick unicorn?” She lamented.

“Besides, how can I stand a chance to win over his heart when he’d been in love and not with anypony, but Rarity? One of the most beautiful ponies in all of Equestria. When she enters a place, everypony remain drooling when they see her. The only reason they look at me is because of my title of nobility” She said while looking at herself in the mirror, making the terrible mistake of feeling ugly, and worse, comparing herself to her friend.

“What would happen if he rejects me? How would our lives carry on after that? That would be very awkward. Things would never be the same again. Would he move to another place and leave me alone...” Twilight's heart cringed at the thought of the consequences.

“No… He promised we would always be together, no matter what” She reminded herself, putting a hoof on her chest.

Twilight had to find a solution to the issue, and soon, or the matter would end up end her mental sanity.

Then came Fluttershy’s birthday and the gang met at her home. There were all The Guardians of Harmony, including Rainbow Dash and her boyfriend Light Strike. There were also Big Mac, the CMC, Zecora and obviously, Spike. As well as several Swift Relief’s coworkers.

“Your attention, please. I have to make an important announcement to you” Spoke Fluttershy’s husband.

“First of all, I want to thank everypony for coming and being with us in this special occasion. I’d like everypony to applaud Spike for preparing this delicious food. Thank you very much”

Spike shrugged when he received everypony’s praise.

“Let’s also thank our special organizer: Pinkie Pie, who also gave us all the decoration and the snacks. I swear I’m going to pay you”

“Not at all. You don’t have to”

“Yes, well… We’ll see about that. A round of applause please!” He said, accompanied by everypony else immediately.

“Very well, now the reason for this interruption is my wife and I have a very important announcement to make you”

Fluttershy walked over to her husband with a smile that mingled pride and shyness.

“My husband and I… Are expecting a baby” Fluttershy revealed shyly.

Everypony got shocked at the revelation and got muted.

“YYYYAAAAAYYYY! CONGRATULATIONS!” shouted Pinkie, who ran to hug the couple.

“Holy flying jumping beans and cupcakes! This is the best day ever! I’d never been so excited! Well, except when I inherited Sugar Cube Corner…”

One by one, the rest of the guests gave their congratulations to the couple. Twilight remained behind them while seeing the look of absolute happiness on Fluttershy’s face.

Is that the true happiness of love? The happiness of being loved?... Will I be able to be loved? Will Spike and I share love and happiness like that? Thought Twilight, waiting for her turn to congratulate the happy couple.

Shortly after, Pinkie put calmer music so the lovers could dance together. Light ended up dragging up a not very convinced Rainbow to the dance floor, but she soon started surrendering surrender to the dance. There was also Rarity, who was dancing with Big Mac, and several guests who were invited by Swift.

Twilight was about to ask Spike to dance with her when Applejack appeared.

I DON’T EVEN KNOW HOW TO IMITATE APPLEJACK’S WAY TO TALK. SHE’LL TALK NORMALLY HERE, SO PLEASE DON’T BITCH ABOUT IT

“Hey, Spike! Would you like to dance with me?” Asked the cowgirl.

“Madame, it will be my pleasure” Answered Spike with a gesture of reverence, offering her his arm to guide the earth pony.

“Come on, simpleton! Just dance!” she said with the exact reaction that Spike had expected.

“Why do you want to dance? You’re not too much into these things” Asked Spike, for they were already on the dance floor.

“A boy asked me out the other day and wanted to take me to that snob restaurant that was opened, in which there was a dance floor. I would have refused, but Granny Smith insisted that I accepted. I haven’t danced to this kind of music since our hosts’ wedding” Explained Applejack.

“Why couldn’t you practice with Big Mac?”

“He has two left legs” She said, turning to see where he and Rarity were dancing, just in time to see him fall to the ground.

“Yeah, I see”

“And Applebloom is a worse dancer than me… But don’t think I’m using you!”

“Calm down, it’s ok. I’m enjoying this evening” He said with a sincere smile.

“You know what? Me too. Thanks, Spike.”

Twilight was seeing her assistant and friend dance, smile and enjoy the afternoon and each other’s company. She started feeling a strange sensation she had never experimented. She felt as if her bowels were boiling. Her forehead had wrinkled and her eyes had sharpened. And there was an increasing and irrational desire of violence in her mind that was asking her to kill someone.

“Is everything alright, Twilight Sparkle?” Asked a familiar voice.

“Zecora?! Yes, everything is alright. Why shouldn’t it be?” She feigned insanity, being afraid of being discovered by the zebra.

THE RHYMES ARE ORIGINALLY IN SPANISH AND ZECORA WILL SPEAK NORMALLY IN THIS FIC

“Frowning is something you usually do, but breaking a glass of punch with your magic is something I don’t usually see”

Twilight looked at the glass she was using a few moments ago, compressed by her magic.

“Oh my goodness. I’ll have to tell Fluttershy the glass tableware I gave her now has one less piece.” She said, trying to divert the conversation.

“Don’t think I accuse you of ignoring my question, but is there something you’re hiding from me?” Asked Zecora again and coming closer to Twilight with a suspicious look.

“N… No. It’s only I was thinking about some delayed projects I have for the Princess”

Zecora stopped using the suspicious look and smiled honestly while putting her hoof on Twilight’s shoulder.

“If there’s something that needs to escape your chest, don’t hesitate to share it with me” She said, expressing sympathy.

“Thank you, Zecora. I’m fine. I’m serious” said Twilight, returning Zecora’s smile.

Eventually, the guests started to say goodbye until it was Twilight’s and Spike’s turn to come back home. Twilight teleported them to the library.

“So, Fluttershy is going to have a baby. Do you think it will be a unicorn or a Pegasus?”

“I don’t know, but I wonder what will be like to be so happy. Having someone to share everything with, until the love they feel for each other ends up having the form of a baby” Whispered Twilight.

“Hehhh… Twi, are you ok?” Spike asked very confused.

“Uh? Ah yes, sorry! I got a little distracted. Yes, it’s wonderful Rainbow has found a coltfriend” She said while laughing nervously and going to her bedroom.

“But I…” Twilight closed her bedroom’s door.

“I never said anything about Rainbow” Spike concluded, very perplexed.

Twilight took off her dress and threw it to the floor to collapse on her bed.

I can’t continue like this. Not only is this eating my brain up. Today it made me feel jealous of one of my best friends! I have to put an end to this once and for all… Tomorrow… Tomorrow I will confess my feelings. Tomorrow I’ll tell Spike I’m in love with him Twilight said to herself with determination.

“May Celestia and Luna give me strength to seek my happiness” She said while falling asleep.

The rest of the night, Twilight dreamt about her lovely future next to her beloved assistant.

Author's Notes:

Don't forget to tell me if I made a mistake. I hope you've enjoyed it. That's what makes me keep translating the fic.