Chapter Thirteen

Winding it Down

“I’m sure this island has seen worse,” Spike said as Celestia and he looked out over the devastation both their union and ascension had wrought. Even though the fires had long since stopped, minor tremors shook the entire island a, off in the distance, smoke billowed from the ocean in small, focused areas. In those spots, the beams of light had plunged into the ocean depths, and from the look of things, had created perfect channels through which hot magma from under the Earth’s crust could bubble and boil its way to the surface. They were on an active fault line, after all; or at least, they were on one now.

“Yes, perhaps when it was being made,” Celestia said softly, holding Spike’s arm as she snuggled next to him. “To think, within a few years, there will be several new islands all around this one, and a few years after that... who knows? New coral reefs, thick forests, rolling grasslands, countless new streams from the nearly constant storms that form over this area; it will be a paradise reborn.”

“Well, I can say this; this island won’t look anything like it did before we arrived,” the dragon said with a small chuckle, content with simply stroking Celestia’s mane. “We kind of did crack the mountain in half, not including the sizable chunks that fell off before that.”

“I am sorry that that happened, but there was no time to explain things,” the princess said. “It all transpired so fast, I just couldn’t afford to tell you what I was suddenly feeling. I knew I had to try and stop it myself, and knowing full well that would not work, I had faith in you that you would reach me in time. Truly, I am so relieved you did, for not too much longer and things may have become far, far worse than they were. I’m... I’m sorry about your bracelet.”

Spike looked down at the thing his friends had given him. It was a mere trinket to some, but to the dragon, it was far more than that; it had saved his life. He could have died from that fall from the mountain’s former peak, but this had saved him, and during their final union, Celestia and he had inadvertently done something rather odd to the jewelry. The sheer heat, combined with utterly insane amounts of magic surrounding them, had warped the bejeweled token of friendship into something else entirely. It was less a bracelet of sorts and now almost like a bizarre arm guard, almost like what one wore while rollerblading as a child to protect their hands in case of a fall. All of the stones had elongated and warped, stretching like taffy until they had completely circled the band, forming a kaleidoscopic rainbow of colors that seemed to perfectly blend into itself.

“It’s okay, I’m sure they’ll understand,” he said softly, watching the light dance over the coiling colors. “I kind of like it.”

“I do too,” the princess said, sighing slightly as the light breeze that passed over the island filtered through her mane. It really was peaceful out here, even after all that had transpired. The fact that it was so, even with all of the debris and the smell of old smoke filtering yet through much of the understory, made her feel happy. Nature could take whatever was in store for it, or at least, it could most of the time. “Out of all of our potential problems now, I believe breaking the news to your friends will be the hardest part of it all, though perhaps my sister’s reaction may be a tad more... explosive.”

“I’m sure it won’t be that bad,” the dragon said with a smile. “For your sister, I mean. I think my friends will be able to understand it fine, especially if we explain things to them carefully. Then again, this is Twilight we’re talking about, so... yeah.”

“Yes,” Celestia sighed. “Eventually, all of Equestria will have to know, and Spike... you’ll become quite the target of affection.”

“I will?” he asked. Oh, right; the whole “bed Celestia and become a Casanova overnight” deal. Wow, he’d forgotten that rather quickly.

“Oh, most definitely,” Celestia said. “You yourself explained it perfectly just a few days ago; you’ll be the object of affection and, potentially, desire for a sizable portion of the female population. They’ll all think; ‘just how good this dragon must be in the sack, to satisfy a princess to her heart’s content?’ and such,” she whispered, gently nuzzling her dragon’s neck. “Of course, this won’t be limited to just ponies; eventually, word will spread and, in time, other races will find out. Minotaurs, griffins, dragons, bison, naga, perhaps even the changelings; everyone may be wanting to find out more about you in a very... intimate way.”

Spike’s eyes did not go wide, as might have been expected, but his heart rate did pick up, as did his mind’s train of thought. There could be lines of females of all races looking for him, many likely star struck and only interested in their claim to minor fame of sleeping with “that dragon hunk”. Those he could likely handle, with a little practice of course; turning them away gently, so as not to hurt their feelings. The ones he was most unsure of were those who would seek him out for gains of another sort; power, influence, perhaps even as a tool. They would be persistent, ruthless, and likely unending in their pursuit of him. There was no telling what that Queen Chrysalis would try and do with him if he ever found his way into her clutches...

“Do not worry Spike, you will be safe,” Celestia said, interrupting his train of thought. “You need not worry for your future, or at least, not as much as you might think.”

“You could read my thoughts?” the dragon asked, surprised yet comforted by her words.

“No, but the look on your face betrayed your mind’s current processes,” the princess said with a small giggle; he could be so innocent sometimes, even after all they had done. It was endearing, and, to her, rather cute. “The protection of both my sister and me, along with all of your friends and family, should be more than enough to ward off most if not all amorous aggressors. The only thing is, this may not be necessary on our parts, especially if you learn to control yourself to a degree fitting a newfound position like yours. Learning to control your body is one thing; learning to control your mind and the actions you take is another. Perhaps that is why I believe eventually you will not need my protection from infatuated females. In time, you will be able to take care of yourself. Besides, I do not expect for you to remain by my side for all time, forever and ever, as our lives will always be different, no matter how intertwined we are now. I will not care with whom you establish relationships with, so long as at the end of the day, you still love me.”

“I... of course I will love you,” Spike said, holding her close. “I will always love you, but... why would you tell me to just be... free like that?” Spike wasn’t exactly against the idea of an “open” relationship, but after what they had been through, not pledging himself forever and ever to Celestia just felt... wrong to him. Like there was something intrinsically wrong with staying a bachelor for his life, especially with how close he was with Celestia now. It would be like denying part of his life; trying to tuck it away, like it had never happened, but... how could he ever forget that? How could he ever forget, never mind replace, all that had happened between them?
It would be a lie; he would be living a lie that he could not, would not just be “okay” with. It would destroy him.

“I am understanding; you are still young Spike, and have yet to reach an age where experience has begotten as much wisdom as it has for me,” she replied, gently running a finger down his chest. “Hmm, yes, you are young... and virile...”

“But... what if I don’t want any relationships outside of our own?” he asked with a slight blush. Surely her “time” was truly over... right?

“Spike, to hoard what you can give would be very selfish of me, and you know how I abhor selfishness,” Celestia said. “You have so much to give, be it love, friendship or something more precious than all the jewels in the world; time. You will live a very long life, even longer now that you’ve experienced just a taste of the power you could one day be capable of wielding. Friends, lovers, family... so many of them could pass you by, and to shut them out and spend all your days with only myself by your side... it would be a life filled with regrets. I do not wish for you to feel as many regrets as I do, Spike; I want you to live a full life, a very long and prosperous and fulfilling life. If that should mean I would have to... share you with others, then I am content with that. There’s only so much dragon an alicorn can handle,” she added, giggling as she gently stroked his lower back.

“But, what about your parents? Won’t they be a bit upset of your decision to, well... not have me marry you or something?” Spike asked.

“They will have to respect my decision, but it will not be as big of a problem as you may think,” the princess said. “Alicorns do not expect dragons to follow our way of life, our culture, even if we are in a relationship. They respect the wishes of others as much as they do those of our own kind, and although it may mean nothing to any other beings in this world, a marriage to me would, in fact, likely be far less troublesome than forever stating your bachelorhood.”

“What?” Confusion started soaking into Spike’s brain as the princess continued talking.

“Spike, if you were to marry me, that would simply mean you are off-limits to alicorns that are completely unrelated to myself,” Celestia said simply. “It is a cultural thing, so as to prevent divisive relationships between potentially large rival families and to prevent spouse theft. ‘Keeping it in the family’ is a saying of ours, but thanks to alicorn genetics and our inherently powerful magic, we are able to keep things running smoothly in our family tree; still, no marriages to direct blood relatives and such. My own parents share great-great-grandparents, but they are likely one of the more closely related examples in our family. Besides, you are a dragon, and as such are not related to any of my family; any of my female relatives, no matter how obscure or close, could potentially seek you out in time.”

“Um... uh... just... just how big is your whole family?” Spike asked, his eye twitching as his mind struggled to process this suddenly new and potentially terrifying information. A whole family of alicorns, just like Celestia, possibly seeking him out as a mate? He’d be a goner for sure.

“Hmm... actually, I am not sure just how large my family is,” the princess said. “Reunions are few and far between, though from what I can remember from many years before Luna and I arrived on Earth, my family had, say, over nine thousand living relatives? Possibly more, but we are scattered all over the universe, as is custom for our species, and everypony is very hard to keep track of over the millennia; it is a very big universe out there, after all.”

By the time she had reached the word “universe”, Spike had nearly fainted away. Nine thousand relatives, with a good portion of those possibly being like Celestia; oh, he would be a goner indeed. “So... how many of them are royalty? On the planet they inhabit, anyway?”

“In my family, many; in the species as a whole, a countless multitude,” she replied. “Alicorns rule through more of a system of government than most dragons did, which was often by total dominance over whatever it was they controlled. Most alicorns in general rule in some shape or form, be it a country, a world or a solar system, though there are many that serve as nigh-immortal advisors for races on other planets. Titles like “prince” and “princess” are rather bland to us, seeing as it is not titles that honor their bearers, but the bearers that honor their titles. Why else do you think I prefer for you to not refer to me as princess?”

Spike didn’t really know what to say to that, so he simply hugged Celestia close to him and sat in silence. He didn’t know why, but just sitting with his princess felt so right, even more so now that the world had been saved and they were technically something of a couple. Even if she was fine with him pursuing others or being pursued by them, he wasn’t sure if he could so quickly accept her decision. Sure, he had given it a bit of thought before they had so deeply connected with one another, but now... it felt different. Spike wasn’t one to just brush off such a relationship in favor of a predominantly bachelor lifestyle. He had technically been a bachelor for a while now, yet... it seemed just so empty to him. If he were going to pursue others, it would have to be on his terms, or else he’d just feel used.

“Celestia?” he asked softly after a while.

“Yes?” she replied, enjoying the feeling of his slowly beating heart under his scaly chest.

“We’ll tell them together, right? I’d hate to have you face your sister alone in this.”

“She likely won’t mind as much, though I thank you for your concern. However, I will most definitely be by your side when your friends learn of the truth.”

“When do you think we should be heading back?” It had been on his mind, and while it would have been lovely for them to remain on this island for quite a while longer, Spike really did miss home. It was so hard to believe he’d only been gone for about a week, when originally the plan had accounted for the possibility of several weeks, if not nearly a month. So much had happened, so fast, that he could still barely comprehend it all.

“While I do not wish to leave this island so readily, I do believe we should strike out soon,” Celestia said. “It will not take us long to fly home.”

“Fly? How are we going to fly?” the dragon asked.

Celestia merely gave him a playful look. “Come now Spike, don’t deny it; you’ve changed more than you’re willing to admit. Now, before we do fly back home, we’ll be needing some clothes, and now that my magic has been fully restored, it should not be hard for me to whip us up something to wear. Do you think you could find some palm fronds, and perhaps some small vines? I don’t think our food bag survived in all the carnage, so we can’t just reuse that fabric.”

“Yeah, seeing as the alcove didn’t survive, I doubt the bag did,” the dragon said with a smile as he walked off to fetch the supplies.

“Lo, and to the east, I saw a great pair of figures, as mighty as the sun and earth united as one. Their radiance surpassed the stars in the sky and the might of the ocean depths. The very earth trembled at their power, and lo, in the distance, I could hear the cries of joy at their descent.”

“Um, Miss Derpy, what are thoust talking about?”

“So shall the knowledge of wisdom be unto thy soul: when thou hast found it, then there shall be a reward, and thy expectation shall not be cut off.”

Luna blinked; tea time with the Royal Mailmare was often punctuated by rather odd occurrences. There was that one time Derpy had brought with her a large sack of stamps, and then stuck them to bags of marshmallows for “storage purposes”. This tea time, however, seemed to be rapidly approaching unknown territory on the odd scale.

“Therefore do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward.”

“Miss Derpy, why are your eyes spinning like that?” Luna asked. It wasn’t unusual for the mare to be looking in two different directions at the same time, but her eyes weren’t usually so coordinated in their socket rotations.

“I must go; my planet needs me,” the pegasus said with a smile, and like a bolt of lightning she zoomed off backwards, flying out of an open window with her big blueberry muffin still clenched tightly in her hands.

“What is in this tea?” the princess of the night thought to herself, peering into her cup before setting down away from her. “We must have Twilight test this for hallucinogenic properties.”

Off in the distance, a great crash could be heard, followed by a loud “I just don’t know what went wrong!” trailing off into the distance.

Luna merely sighed at the noise. “Miss Derpy is a rather odd mare, is she not, Mr. Fluffykins?” she asked, turning to the small bear next to her. Resembling a large stuffed animal, the bear nodded and took a sip of his own tea.

“Yes, though I would prefer if you called me Roger: Mr. Fluffykins is my father,” he said. “This Derpy mare… is she a Seer, by chance?”

Luna simply shrugged as she swallowed a small bite of a muffin. “It is possible, though there has not been a Seer in Equestria for quite some time. They-,”

There was a flash of light high in the sky, and peering through a window, Princess Luna saw two figures descend down onto one of the castle balconies. She knew the one with the large, feathery wings in an instant, and the scales of the other figure was an indicator of their identity as well. However, there was no happy greeting, as one might have expected; only the sound of a very upset princess of the night berating her sister for her poor decision making. Not that she was one talk, but then again, Luna’s mistake had almost plunged the world into an eternal night, not obliterated all life forms on Earth or potentially the Earth itself.
Thirty minutes; thirty minutes of screaming and shouting at him. Spike didn’t know how much more he could take.

“Luna, dear, I think you’ve said enough-,”

“Oh, now you wish to come to his defense?” the princess of the night shouted. “We know that you of all ponies should understand how the public thinks of us, but did it ever cross your mind how this could alter their perception of him? Surely you did not think that most would just roll over and accept the fact that one of the princesses has lain with a dragon-,”

“Well, it wasn’t just once,” Celestia interjected. She knew Luna had every right to be upset with how badly Celestia had messed things up not even a week ago. Even if she had been able to escape the planet and soothe the sun’s power, it still could have meant the end of the Earth. The dishonor on their family would have been immense, should the worst have come to pass. Earth was the original home of the alicorns, the one place in the entire universe every alicorn knew of by heart and revered above all other planets.

“This we did not need to know, sister!” Luna screeched, her crown nearly flying off her head. “When the public finds out about this, do you know what the minor nobles will say? What will other countries think of us, of our kingdom? What if… what if you are pregnant?”

“If I am indeed pregnant, then Spike and I will weather it together,” Celestia said, pulling Spike close to her. “Won’t we, Spike?”

“Yeah, of course,” the dragon said, trying not to look Luna in the eyes as, behind them, a small bear left the room quietly. For being rather shorter than Spike was, Luna could be so intimidating sometimes…

“Whether the two of you will weather it together is of no concern; my concern is for the safety and integrity of the kingdom,” Luna said, rubbing her temples as she readjusted her crown in as dignified a manner as she could. “By the stars, how will this be explained to nobles? Only their ambitions to one day assume the throne or have a descendant do so has kept so many of them in check, but now that, in time, there is the possibility of a blood heir, an heir of untold power, many will be suitably upset over such a development. Most will not say anything, but they will plan, they will scheme; they always do. Why, even our nephew Blueblood might be on the lookout for an opportunity to-,”

“Neither he nor anypony else will do such a thing,” Celestia said coldly, her voice dropping an octave as her words intensified. There was only so much she could take before she would respond in kind, and Luna was beginning to tread a very precarious line indeed. “Need I remind you, sister, that during your absence, an absence I was forced by you to carry out, I was able to hold this kingdom together, by myself, for a thousand years? I have had more than a fair share of nobles wishing to claim the throne, often by force, and every single time, they were beaten back. I have witnessed invasions from both kingdom and nature, attempted coups of all sorts, and every manner of unrest, and Equestria has emerged stronger from each encounter, under my guidance. I think I can handle such events as they come.”

“Oh, that is low and you know it!” Luna said, her volume lowering but her anger evidently remaining. She had realized her mistake in where the conversation had been going, but refused to let it go, even though she knew she had said something wrong. “You are so stubborn, sister, we swear, it will-,”

“Tell you what; when your time of estrus comes upon you, I will personally guarantee Spike will assist you with it,” Celestia said, and in that moment, several strange things happened. Spike blinked in confusion several times at the mention of both his name and “estrus”, a passing cloud cast the entire castle into shadow, and Luna made a strange gurgling noise, as if she were trying to say something but was too shocked to form the words. After a few more moments of near-silence, a wordless exclamation sounded forth instead, and the princess of the night turned and stomped off in a huff, leaving the two of them alone. The slamming of the door muffled the sounds of her hoof steps off in the distance until they could no longer be heard.

Spike looked at Celestia. “Really? You want me to help… that?” he asked, gesturing in the direction Luna had disappeared.

“Yes; she just needs some time to calm down,” Celestia said with a sigh, knowing for sure her sister’s temper was still one of her more personal faults. Everypony had faults; anger was just one of her sister’s more prominent ones. After all, why wouldn’t she be angry at her sister? Celestia’s mistiming of her estrus cycle nearly cost them everything; nearly cost the world everything. “She’s really quite sweet when you get to know her.”

“Right…” Spike muttered. He wasn’t so sure about that.

“Still, she did take it better than I had feared, only... now we have to tell your friends,” the alicorn said softly.

“I think most of them will take it well enough,” the dragon said. That was her taking it well? He would have hated to see how Luna might have taken it badly. Maybe go full-on Nightmare Moon again or something.

“Twilight?” Celestia asked knowingly.

“Yes, Twilight.”

“How are we going to tell them?” Celestia didn’t want a direct repeat of her sister’s reaction, though she felt as though she would be able to handle her student and Spike’s friends with far more grace and dignity. At least, the shouting might not be so bad, if they remained relatively calm.

“We’ll give it to them straight; no beating around the bush,” Spike muttered. Keeping secrets always was so bothersome to him; keeping this a secret would just destroy him. Better he tell his friends now than later, while it was still fresh in his mind and they’d have a longer time to deal with the implications of it all. “When do you want to go tell them?”

“In a few hours; right now, we need to go find some more... respectable clothes,” the princess said. “I’m sure we have some spare clothes from one of the guards that could fit you.”

“What’s wrong with these?” he asked, gesturing down at himself. “I like them the way they are.”

“Well, I made them, and... they’re not exactly the best when it comes to being actual clothes,” Celestia said with a bit of a blush.
“Celestia, you made them, and that makes them all the more special,” he said softly. “Just let me wear them when we go to tell Twilight and the others, okay?”

The princess was silent for a few moments. “Okay Spike,” she said, glancing down at herself. “You can wear those if you wish. I should really change into something else though, I-,”

“Oh no you don’t,” the dragon said with a suddenly playful growl as he held her close. “You spent all morning using your magic to turn those bits of island debris into these amazing clothes. Don’t go selling your craftsmanship short; you’re going to wear this too.”

“Why?”

“Because I can’t wait to see the look on Twilight’s face.” He gave her a small kiss on her lips; just enough to make sure the discussion was over. After they broke apart, the princess smiled; a giddy and dreamy kind of smile.

“Well, in that case, I’ll send them letter right away,” Celestia said, magically retrieving a small bottle of ink, a quill and several pieces of parchment.

“Wait, a letter? Why not just go to the library in Ponyville?”

“Well, Spike, I doubt they are all just sitting in the library, doing nothing and instead waiting for us to come to them, and besides, I need to show you around until they get here,” Celestia said, wriggling her eyebrows in a somewhat suggestive manner. “You are going to be living with me, right?”

“Um, well, sure, I guess, but all my stuff is back in Ponyville,” the dragon said, rubbing the back of his neck as he watched her magically scribble on the parchment. Everything he had packed with him in the carriage was destroyed, save for his warped bracelet.

“Do not worry; I shall send several of the newest guards to retrieve your belongings,” she said. “It is part of their training; to do what I ask, no matter how minor or great. It helps them cope with the stress of the job, by learning not to sweat the small things. Now, about your titles...”

“Titles?” Spike asked, his confusion growing. “What titles?”

“Twilight, why do ya think we were summoned?” Applejack asked, looking around the deserted hall with the rest of her friends.

“I don’t know, but maybe we’re being given details on Celestia and Spike’s mission,” Twilight replied. “If there’s another danger out there that could turn up, I’m sure she’d want us to know about it as well. It could be any number of things.”

“Well, I’m sure they wouldn’t be keeping us waiting if it weren’t for something important,” Rarity said.

“Rarity, we’ve only all been in here about five minutes,” Rainbow Dash said, rolling her eyes. “Maybe they’re taking a note from your playbook and are simply being “fashionably late” or something.”

“I’m not sure; it’s not Princess Celestia to just keep us waiting,” Fluttershy said softly. “Whenever we’ve been s-summoned before, she’s always been there, w-waiting for us.”

The others nodded in agreement. Fluttershy’s words were true, and seeing as Celestia wasn’t there waiting for them, they did feel a tad... well, the word “uneasy” wasn’t quite correct. More along the lines of curious; they felt curious.

“Really? Now?” a voice whispered, out of sight but not quite out of hearing range. Six pairs of heads turned towards the spot and didn’t see anything but an empty doorway.

“Yes, now,” another voice said, a bit louder than the first. “Come now, it’s not so bad.”

“We had to rip a pair of holes in it to make room for them, and I’m pretty sure you said this was ancient. It almost feels like it belongs in, and is on loan from, a museum.”

“Come now, it’s easily fixable if it doesn’t quite suit you, and besides, there are many more just like this one. Now go on, get out there.”

With a sigh, the first voice’s owner came out from behind a corner leading to another room, where they had obviously been hiding. Six mares gasped as the figure stepped out into the light.

“Hey guys,” Spike said in an embarrassed manner as his new clothes shimmered in the light. Well, clothes might have been a bit of a strange term to use, as he was wearing what looked to be pants made of living leaves. They jostled with every step, yet were totally silent and seemed covered in dew, for they were rather shiny, as if polished like glass. He wore no shoes, but then again, he didn’t need to, what with being a dragon and all. Covering his chest was what looked like a very old, very expensive set of blue-tinged armor, the steel shining in the light. It was several pieces layered over one another, with a chest plate, pauldrons and the like. Its patterns were almost like the ones his scales made, except each individual piece was obviously much larger than any of his own.

However, the most startling thing about Spike was not what he was wearing, but the thing sticking out of his back; two things, in fact, right near his shoulder blades. A pair of leathery wings, each slightly folded behind him, jutted upwards, reaching around the same height as the tallest of his spines on his head. Each of the wings was no doubt half again the length of one of his arms when fully spread, and though the membranes were thin, they were supported by what looked like ribbons of steel running underneath the skin, where bones would be in a non-dragon creature.

“Spike?” Twilight exclaimed as the six of them rushed him after a moment’s pause. They stopped for the briefest of seconds next to him, as if unsure of what to do, but then their joy overrode their sudden timidity and they swamped him with a great big group hug, laughing as they did so.

“You did it! You saved us all!” they cried out, eventually letting him go to get a good look at him.

“How in the world didja get them wings?” Applejack asked, removing her hat and scratching her head.

“It’s a long story,” Spike said with a smile. “They are nice, aren’t they?” Flying back hadn’t been the easiest thing he had ever done, but hey, after saving the world, learning to fly hadn’t been too troublesome. He just needed to learn how to control his speed was all... and the turning. He was terrible at making tight turns.

“I’ll say; I bet you could break some speed records with puppies like that!” Rainbow Dash said, poking the large leathery protrusions with a mixture of awe and smugness. “Nothing like me, of course, but hey, they are pretty cool.”

“Rainbow, you needn’t feel threatened by Spike’s new look,” a voice said, and seven heads turned to see Celestia walking towards them. She wore a dress that was nearly identical to Spike’s pants in appearance and design, only her dress had a string of scarlet ribbons flowing through it, giving a wonderful contrast of red against green. “I’ll be expecting you to help him to master his flying skills.”

“Your highness,” the six mares around Spike said, bowing slightly. Rarity was simply awestruck by the princess’s clothes, and in the back of her mind, she made a note to design an entire lineup for next spring based off of those patterns.

“We saw what happened in the sky, and since we’re all not dead, we know you guys did it!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed.

“Yes, quite,” Celestia said, glancing at Spike, who winked at her knowingly. “Yes, we most certainly did... do it.”

“But, but how? Where?” Rarity asked.

“Well, you guys, it was on an island,” Spike said. “An island way out in the middle of the ocean, and it doesn’t exist on any map, and nopony in the world other than Celestia, Luna, and now myself, know about it. It’s tropical, uninhabited save for some animals, and it’s a very beautiful place, though it’s not entirely safe.”

“So, like the island from Lost?” Pinkie Pie asked, earning several odd stares from her friends; even Celestia and Spike looked at her like she had just said something extra unusual. “What?”

“Anyway...” Spike continued before Pinkie made things even weirder than they’d soon become. “We went out to the island on Celestia’s carriage, which took quite a while, but... we were caught in a thunderstorm; a huge one.”

“What?” Fluttershy asked, her eyes going wide in fright. Thunderstorms were always scary to her, more so because more often than not, some of her animal friends lost their homes during such an event, or her own home was damaged by errant falling tree branches.

“Yes, it true; the carriage was eventually destroyed and we were flung from its carcass whilst above the island,” Celestia said. “I managed to mostly arrest our falls with my wings, but when we landed in a river, I was disoriented, helpless, as I sank to the bottom. The island’s magic had interfered with my magic as well, so it was only with great skill that Spike was able to find me and bring out of the water before...”

“Before something happened,” Spike finished for her as she walked over to him. “We had to make our way to the base of the dormant volcano that formed the island’s peak, but to do that, we had to go through thick jungles-,”

“Climb over a thorn wall-,” Celestia interjected.

“Cross a raging river-,” Spike continued.

“-and finally make our way through a great boggy field of mud,” the princess finished. “Needless to say, I am thankful Spike was there, though he did suffer a slight injury during the river crossing.”

“What? Spike got hurt?” Applejack asked, looking from Spike to Celestia. “He looks fine ta me.”

“His injury has by now healed fully, thanks to his dragon heritage,” the alicorn said softly, mentally taking note that, indeed, Spike did look fine; very fine indeed. “Without him, I would have never been able to cross the thorn wall and make my way through the island’s interior.” She didn’t want to add about how Spike’s selflessness had given her courage. There would be time for talk like that later.

“And I wouldn’t have made it across the river if it weren’t for her,” Spike said. “She saved my life; helped pull me out of that cold water before I was washed downstream and crushed between boulders. If it wasn’t for her finding us things to eat during my “recovery”, we might have starved as well.”

The six mares remained silent, listening intently to the story, though they were all wondering why it seemed to be missing... detail. Surely there had been more to it than that? Seemed rather linear and a bit plain, to be honest.

“When we finally made it to the mountain, it was not long before the... event happened,” Celestia said softly, wrapping her arms around Spike in a small hug. This caused Twilight and the others to give one another looks of confusion. “I take it you were able to deduce the “event” was to happen sooner than I had told you, Twilight?”

“Well, yeah,” she replied, her eyes bouncing back and forth between her mentor and her assistant. “Only, I’m not sure if I get what’s going on h-,”

Celestia leaned in and suddenly gave Spike a kiss, their tongues clearly caressing the other’s as they pulled each other’s body close.

Fluttershy nearly fainted away, her wings covering her face along with her hands.

Applejack blinked in confusion as she removed her hat and scratched her head.

Rarity gasped, as if it were the most scandalous thing she had ever witnessed, even more so than that time she had seen the mayor of Ponyville lip-locking her political opponent behind a bar.

Rainbow Dash cracked a grin so wide her face might have split in half, if that were possible.

Pinkie Pie remained silent, though her whole body started shaking as if it were going to explode.

Twilight blinked once, twice, then three times, and finally gasped. “What?” she asked as the pair of them broke apart. “What... what?”

“Spike here helped me to save the world, though the method we used may come as a... shock to you,” the princess said with an unabashed smile. “You see, Twilight, the sun and I are connected, and through that, it is influenced by both my mind and my body. It was “that time” in an alicorn’s life that, well... I’m sure you can connect the dots to what “time” it was. The truth is, I brought Spike along because he was the only one who could both survive and satiate me during that time, though that last part I did not expect at first. I am so very glad it turned out to be true, though.”

“What?” the purple unicorn asked simply, surprise punctuating every breath, blink and word she spoke.

“Spike and I became close on the island, in the quest to save the world,” the princess continued. “Very, very close. So close, you might say that we’re forever bonded to one another, though it is a bond I am far too open to letting Spike stretch.”

“What?”

“Umm, Princess Celestia, I think you broke Twilight,” Fluttershy whispered, as all the purple librarian could do was stare, slack-jawed, repeatedly uttering the word “what” every few seconds. The pegasus even gave the unicorn a little poke, which did... absolutely nothing.

“She’ll be fine... I think,” Spike said, glad Twilight hadn’t exploded or rounded on him, demanding an explanation like she always did. “Don’t forget, she reacted the same way when I solved the “what is the sound of one hand clapping” riddle she was so fond of.”

“But... you, and... and Celestia?” Pinkie Pie asked, pointing from Spike to Celestia and back. “You’re... you’re an item now? An actual couple?” Her shaking was intensifying to a point where she might cause the palace, or at least that room, to start shaking as well. She clearly wanted to just bounce around in joy, but was obviously containing her excitement; must have been a gargantuan task for her, to be sure.

“Oh, I would like to think so, but alas, it could not be under normal circumstances,” the princess said. “If Spike were a pony whom I had been seeing for some time, then things would progress very naturally and smoothly. Seeing as all of this is still rather sudden, steps will need to be taken to ensure everything goes smoothly. You see, Spike here, now that he was, I mean is my paramour, it means he will be having to live with me, as is custom amongst ponies. He has also been given a title or two; tell them, Spike.”

The dragon nodded, glad things were going better than he had feared they might. “I am technically now both the Royal Aegis and the High Prefect of Canterlot. This means I’m more or less the personal guardian and sorta-consort of Princess Celestia, as well as the highest position of authority in the administrative portion of the city, second only to the princesses. These titles haven’t been around in centuries, so... yeah; I’ve got these big responsibilities now, and that means... yeah.” He hadn’t really thought this part through all that much. He already knew all about all of the inner machinations of the palace, from all of his previous visits, but the fact that he would be working both behind the scenes and for the world to see...

It was somewhat daunting to him.

“That means you can’t stay in Ponyville anymore,” Fluttershy said softly; it wasn’t a question.

“Yeah,” Spike said; wow, this was harder to say in front of them than he had originally thought. “I mean, I wasn’t going to be staying there forever, you realize; someday I was going to have to move out, find my way in the world, you know? Only... I hadn’t expected it to be like this, to be honest. It stills feels all so sudden.”

“So... you’re in a position of power now?” Rarity asked, a strange look coming over her. It wasn’t surprise, nor ambition, or even jealousy, but... genuine happiness. “Oh, Spike, I’m so proud of you! You made your way up in the world, and all you had to do was-,”

“-bang a princess?” Rainbow managed to croak out before she started laughing her ass off, rolling on the floor in a much undignified manner. Not like she would care, anyway; who cares when you’re as awesome as she is?

“Indeed,” Celestia said with a small blush. “Now, I know you are still his friends, and from all that Spike and I have talked about, he loves you all dearly, but it is within both his and my own best interests that he stays here, in Canterlot, with me. I have also asked him to be a diplomat of sorts, by my side during negotiations with anypony or anyone he feels comfortable with. Personally, I think he will do great.”

The silence wasn’t absolute, nor did it last very long, though Spike’s blush at her sudden praise didn’t disappear quite as quickly. “Well, shucks, ah guess that makes sense,” Applejack said slowly. “Ah mean y’all did just give him a bunch of fancy titles that’re really important, so ah guess it would be best fer him ta stay here. Only... how’ll Twilight take this? Ah reckon she won’t be too pleased ta realize her assistant is movin’ in with ya, especially since you two are, ya know... together. She might do somethin’ drastic, or at least, need ta take some time ta get used ta the idea.”

“She’ll have to accept it, because since I’m technically old enough to be out on my own, she doesn’t have to make any more decisions for me,” Spike said. “I know it might be hard on her at first, but it’s for the best. She hasn’t needed me for anything in a long time other than to write the occasional letter or to send one, and I’m sure she’ll figure out a way to send them by magic soon enough.”

“Um, guys, she’s standing right here,” Pinkie Pie whispered, “discreetly” pointing at the still shocked mare, as if their conversation was one big secret and Twilight had just walked in on them in the middle of it.

“I’m not sure if she is,” Celestia said slowly. “Give her time to think it over; right now, Spike needs to go help the royal guards prepare his room. I, on the other hand, have an assignment for you six. If Twilight doesn’t remember, or for some reason doesn’t feel like she is able to perform it well enough, please fill her in and assist her, okay?”

“Okee dokee lokee!” Pinkie Pie replied, her bounciness returning tenfold; cartwheels, backflips and an errant party cannon blast sounded forth in the space of a few seconds. It was Pinkie Pie; trying to guess what would happen around her was an exercise in futility. “You can count on us, your majesty! We’ll do it; anything for you!”

“Thank you, Pinkie Pie. I need you six to help break the news to the public that Spike and I are indeed an item,” the princess said softly as she held him close, the feeling of the cool metal seeping through her gorgeous dress. “It would be much easier for the public to accept such news from the constant heroes you’ve become, rather than by some royal decree. Plus, through the power of word-of-mouth, the news will spread quicker but be far less shocking if it comes from you, and from those you tell to others. Plus, with you all being very reputable sources, more so than say, the staff of Canterlot palace, then the words will not only carry with them a degree of reputability, but will also help cut down on the news becoming muddled with all sorts of hearsay and rumors.”

“You can count on us, yer highness,” Applejack said with a bow. “We’ll start spreadin’ the news as soon as we can. Right now, we need ta get Twilight here someplace nice n’ comfortable before she comes to.” The six of them walked off, Rarity escorting Twilight, who still seemed too shocked to do anything but repeat the word “what” and walk along, assisted of course.

Much later...

“Thank you for seeing me on such short notice, Doctor Howser,” Celestia said as she reclined on her massive, incredibly comfy bed. It had taken a considerable amount of time before she had just relinquished control of the situation and just got some help.
“It is nothing, your highness,” the doctor replied, a fairly young stallion with a rather peculiar mane. “Now, what seems to be the problem? It is not every day that a princess calls me in for a house examination, so I would prefer to know just what is going on before determining the cause and effect.”

It had been nearly three weeks since Celestia and Spike had told Twilight and the others the truth of them “saving” the world, and since then, Spike had moved into the Canterlot palace. Other than just finally snapping Twilight out of her “trance” and convincing her that Spike’s newfound position of power meant he really needed to move out of the library, things had been progressing rather splendidly. Twilight was still preparing a lecture for Spike, it seemed, and was almost building it up like it were some case in court, but for now, at least, she was going along with everything. The general public now knew that Spike and Celestia had saved the world, and in doing so, had become a couple of sorts, thanks to the efforts of the Elements of Harmony.

At first, Celestia had thought her nephew might have been rather upset over the fact that his aunt was now seeing a dragon, but to her disbelief, he said nothing of it. Apparently, to Prince Blueblood, Celestia needed somepony, or in this case, some dragon, in her life, and although he wasn’t exactly praising her choice on a lover, he wasn’t disapproving of it. At least, he was being quiet about the whole thing; sometimes he could be so brazen about his views, and other times, he could be as subtle as a light breeze blowing along dandelion fuzz. She’d have to keep an eye on him, as always, just to be sure he wasn’t planning something nefarious or stupid.

The only real problem had been the purists rearing their stupid heads soon after, calling for Spike to be banished or some nonsense for “violating” their “perfect” princess. It hadn’t taken long before they were disgraced by their own female relatives asking to “see” Spike, something that caused the dragon no small amount of amusement. They had all eventually shut up when Celestia had personally visited them in the legislature and politely told them that it was none of their concern who she had a relationship with. Spike hadn’t touched another mare since Celestia and he had had sex last (that had been nearly a week ago, which now felt like forever to Celestia), and though his devotion to her was unwavering, Celestia was secretly hoping Spike wouldn’t be stingy with what he could give. She wasn’t blind to the slightly longing looks many of the maids gave the Royal Aegis, looks that he either didn’t notice or outright ignored. Celestia would have none of that; she would have him “help” others if she had to give him a command to do so.

Speaking of commands, she loved it when he took command in the bedroom...

“Your highness? What seems to be the problem?” Dr. Howser asked, looking at the princess with concern. “Are you all right?”

“What? Oh, yes, yes, I was just... thinking,” the princess said. “Princess Luna and I are on speaking terms again. There’s just been so much happening in these past few weeks that the residual anger of our spat a few weeks ago has subsided, or, at the very least, cooled to where we can actually have a pleasant conversation.”

“Right; you already told me it was she who recommended me to come visit you,” the doctor said. “Now, what seems to be the problem?” He seemed to be a rather patient stallion, though it was fairly obvious he’d prefer if she didn’t beat around the bush and just told him what was wrong.

“Dr. Howser, I’ve been feeling... off, lately,” Celestia said simply. “I’ve been princess for a very long time, and until recently, I’ve had my share of normal problems. Quarrelsome nobles, the occasional cold, a case of the feather flu, hydra infestations in the outlying areas, even a few migraines here and there, but as a whole, most of my “normal” problems have been easily managed. Only...”

“Only what?” he asked curiously.

“I’ve been having these terrible headaches,” Celestia said. “I’ve never quite had anything like them before. They aren’t the worst I’ve ever had, but they last far longer than any before them, and they’re just so... consistent. Almost like clockwork, in fact, day in and day out. I’ve had to plan around them so I can stay focused during my many diplomatic and administrative dealings.” Thankfully Spike was really embracing his role in administrative dealings within the castle, which had significantly cut her own workload, but she was a princess, and that meant she still had far more work to do than most might have guessed.

“I see,” the doctor said, taking some notes. “Anything else?”

“Well, nearly every morning I wake up, I feel ill, like I’m going to vomit,” the princess said. “I’ve been missing my early morning breakfast for a week now, simply because I can’t seem to keep down anything I eat before ten o’clock or so. I loved eating an early breakfast, all my life in fact, but now, I just... can’t.”

“Uh huh,” Dr. Howser said, his quill scribbling quickly across his tab of notes. “Anything else bothering you?”

“Well, aside from some tenderness and what might be slight swelling in my breasts, I’ve just been... really tired,” Celestia said. “Doctor, I’m a very active mare, what with running the kingdom for most of the day, and my sister taking over for me during the night. I am brimming with energy, always, even on my worst days. I manage to accomplish in hours what my constituents in other kingdoms might take days to finish. Only now, sometimes, I just feel like I can’t get out of bed in the morning, or on the converse, I just can’t wait to go to bed at night. Is that normal, or am I just imagining it?”

“Hmm,” the doctor said, his magic coming to life. “These are all very interesting symptoms, your highness. With your permission, I would like to run a small test; very simple and totally painless.”

“Yes, yes, of course,” Celestia said, gently massaging her temples as she felt a soothing presence wash over her. The doctor’s aura of magic, a very dark blue, slowly scanned her entire body, focusing especially on her horn and her wings. It felt relaxing to Celestia; she had no idea why so many ponies, according to Luna, had bad dreams about doctors and hospitals.

“Well, the good news is that you are not sick, nor do you have any sort of magical poisoning or the like,” the doctor said. “I was worried for a minute there that you may have picked up something from this island I’ve heard about. Is it really as beautiful as the rumors have made it out to be?”

“Yes, yes it is, or at least, it will be again, given some time,” Celestia said. “A good portion of the mountain did fall onto the rest of the island, and raging fires did wreak havoc on it for a while.”

“I see,” the doctor said, his magical aura fading. He appeared as calm and professional as ever, though there was a tenseness to him that hadn’t been there before. “Your highness, I’m afraid I have some... strange news. I’ve never experienced anything like this before during a test, but I’ll do my best to put it in simple terms.”

“What?” she asked. “What is it?”

“Princess Celestia, you’re-,”

“Celestia, do you have a minute, I need to talk to you about-,”

“-pregnant.”

Celestia turned to see Spike, his jaw opened, but his words dying in his mouth as the word “pregnant” seemed to reverberate through the room. A light breeze made the curtains lazily ruffle, the fabric generating a soft scraping noise against the frame; the entire sky seemed to brighten slightly as if the sun’s light output had suddenly and instantaneously increased. The doctor quietly excused himself, as it seemed he had been forgotten after delivering the news. Their eyes locked, the princess and the dragon simply looked at each other for a minute or two before saying the same thing.

“Oh.”

Author's Notes:

Well, this one took longer to write than I had originally thought, mainly due to the fact that I got distracted by other stories and college: especially college.

Okay, so, I kind of lied: there will be another chapter after this, but before the final/epilogue. It'll likely be the longest I've ever written, detailing the eleven month pregnancy of Celestia.

(If any of you reading this were my proofreaders but didn't receive this chapter, my sincerest apologies. I have had an extremely busy May.)