I wake sometime later in a bed with white sheets and fluffy pillows. The throbbing in my head is grateful for the pillows, but I have to force my eyes shut from the searing light. I can hear some loud mumbling in the distance. I'm not sure who it is, but their conversation sounds heated. I think I can hear Mom out there, but I'm not completely sure. I let out a groan as I roll over, trying to lessen the increasing headache I have. Everything that happened before is a bit of a blur. I can remember most of it, but the end is... that filly. The alicorn. She's the last thing I remember clearly. Who was she? Where did she come from? I've never seen her before, is she new around here? Well, I'm new around here, so maybe she's always been here.

"Ahem." I glance up and see Tempus looking down at me. He has a neutral expression, but I can already feel my guilt building up.

"I-Im sorry." I croak, my voice coming out dry and cracking.

"It's okay," he tells me in a whisper as he lowers his muzzle to touch my forehead. "You are young. I can remember a time when your mother and aunt acted with such recklessness. Just promise me when we start training that you'll listen to what I say, okay?"

"I will... w-what happened though?"

"You blinked. You attempted to jump through time, but without the understanding of time and manipulating it's properties you began to jump erratically. Whatever you witnessed were blips in either the future or the past."

"... it was scary." He lets out a little hum and begins to nuzzle me, making me sigh.

"Seeing things without understanding their why can be terrifying. In the future I'll show you how to face the unknown without succumbing to fear." I close my eyes and lean into his affection. I don't know if I want to be doing that anytime soon. Maybe with Tempus there to help it won't be so bad. He'll probably keep all of the scary stuff away too. "Now, I must go. But I have one last thing to bring up."

"What's that?" I ask, leaning back to look at him.

"You must not tell your parents about Spatium and I-"

"What! But that would make Mom so-"

"I know, I know. Leaving them... wasn't easy. But it had to happen. It's all essential for the better ending. You'll come to understand that when we begin to train. But, until then, do I have your word to keep us a secret?" He glares down into my eyes, giving that sense of authority that I only really ever feel from Dad. I advert my eyes, succumbing to his authority.

"O-okay. But what do I tell them then?" He lets out a small chuckle as he steps back, grinning slightly at me.

"Tell them what you must. Until next time Tempestive."

FLASH

He teleports out of the room, leaving me slightly confused. I don't know what he means by that. So, tell them whatever without telling them about... them? UUUHHHGG! This is too much for a headache this size! Can I just pretend that nothing happened and move on with life!? I can tell now from Mom's tone that this isn't going to be dropped anytime soon. I can tell it's her voice now, along with Auntie Celly and some other stallion. At least I don't have to face Dad right now, that's going to be gruesome. I just hope they aren't mad at me.

"Psst!" I ear flick back when I hear somepony calling out to me. I look behind me and see a unicorn filly hiding behind one of the beds. She has a white coat and pink hair that has a light blue strip going through it. She has a band aid on her left cheek just under her eye... I hope I didn't do that. I look around to check that there isn't anypony else she could be talking to before looking back into her light yellow eyes.

"Um.... hey?" I offer with a small wave as I sit up, feeling my head spin for a second. She slowly lowers herself out of view, giving me the stink eye the entire time.

"O... kay-"

"So!" She practically yells as she pops back up, this time right next to me. I let out a small yell from the sudden appearance. "You're the colt that tried to beat me."

"Oh... uh-"

"Well... try isn't quite the right word. Cause, you practically did. I mean, you even broke through my shield. That's impressive!" she says while looking a bit nostalgic.

"... it is?" I ask, trying to follow her logic... I'm not.

"The names Princess Gleaming Joy, but you can call me Joy!" she says loudly as she sticks her hoof out towards me. I stare at her for a moment, unsure as to why she just called herself a princess. Maybe it's a self appointed title?

"Tempestive Mortem-"

"Oooh! Tempestive Mortem! That sounds ominous! I like that! Tempestive Mortem! It's all mysterious, cause nopony knows what it means-"

"It means Timely Death-"

"-and it gives that little edgy tough guy sound! Like, don't mess with me, kind of vibe, ya know!?" she asks me with a large smile. I look around, trying to find somepony else to try and help me with this filly. For somepony that was nearly beaten, she seems pretty upbeat about the whole thing. Speaking of which.

"Hey, I'm sorry about... the whole... beating you up thing-"

"Aw, that's sweet of you to own up to!" She says, making me blush from embarrassment. "Don't worry about it. I get into fights all of the time-"

"All the time!?"

"All the time!" she confirms with another large smile. "See this bandage? Got it fighting a griffin fledgling! I have a few bruises from the colts in the barracks too! And don't give me that look, their bruises are much bigger."

"... barracks?" I ask, lost again.

"Yeah... oh, right! I'm not from here, I'm from the Crystal Empire. My dad is in charge of the guard and my mom is in charge of the... well... everything! Isn't that cool!?"

"... you mom is... is-"

"Well, here she's Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, but back home she's Queen Mi Amore Cadenza. I usually just call her Mom though." Oh... oh no. I... I beat up royalty. I'm going to jail. They're going to drag my sorry flank down to the dungeons and toss away the key. Why did she have to be royalty!? She sure doesn't act like it, that's for sure. "You okay over there? You're going a little pale."

"I'm going to jail." I state before I fall back onto the pillow. I'm going to jail, it's official. There's no way around it. I'm going to jail, goodbye life in Ponyville. Hello dark, dank dungeon with a bucket.

"You're not going to jail," she says with a wave of a hoof.

"I'm not?" I ask, looking back to her with surprise.

"Nah, trust me. Softy and I weren't even suppose to be in there! But we heard Celestia freaking about somepony disappearing so we decided to try and find... you! And we did! Mission accomplished! Waffles all around!" She cheers triumphantly, pumping a hoof in the air.

"So... how does that-"

"Well, Celestia is really the one to say whether or not you're in trouble. Well, her and your parents. Who are your parents by the way?"

"Oh, my mom is Luna and my Dad is Miles Eremita." I tell her, getting her to look surprised.

"... well that explains how you bested me in a fight so easily! And to think, the son of-"

Before she could finish the doors to the medical ward open loudly. Mom is walking down towards us, and she does not look one bit happy. Celestia is behind her, looking a bit down. Last in line is an all white stallion with blue hair that has a lighter strip of blue in it. He looks as equally mad as Mom, but that drops when he sees Joy standing beside me.

"Joy, what are you doing in here?" he asks when they all take their place around my bed. I glance over to Mom and shrink a little when we make eye contact. If emotions had literal feeling, I'd be burning from her anger right now. I can see it all in her eyes.

"I came to talk with Tempestive daddy," she says innocently, looking up to him. "We had a little talk and now we're friends! So if you're going to throw him in jail then you have to throw me in too!" Aw... hey! You said I wasn't going to jail!

"Sweetie, nopony is going to jail," he says softy to her, dropping his previous anger as he looks down at her. "Why don't we head back to our room so Tempestive here can have a talk with his mother?"

"Hmm... okay! See ya Timely!"

THUD

"AH!" I yelp when she punches my foreleg. Why did she have to do that!? Well... I guess I deserve that much. The two of them trot out of the room, leaving us in a awkward silence as Mom stare down at me. I rub my foreleg a bit while I wait for her to begin. I try to get Celestia to look at me, but she's avoiding eye contact with me for some reason. "Um... so... am I grounded?"

"*sigh* no honey. You're not in trouble." Oh... cool! "Celestia is."

"Wait, what?" I ask, looking between the two of them.

"Celestia is grounded for the time being. You, though I am a little... put off, by what happened, I'm not mad-"

"How do you ground Celestia?" We all perk up when we hear Dad enter the room. He has a slight trot to his step with his signature grin. That one grin he gets when it's going to be a good day, well, for him at least. There's only been a few times when it's been bad for others, but usually when he's grinning getting out of trouble is tremendously easier. He trots up to Mom and wraps a wing around her, pulling her in quickly making her yelp slightly.

"You're in a good mood." Mom notes, eyeing him curiously. "What gives?"

"What? Are good moods bad?" He asks, making Mom roll her eyes. "So how can you ground Celestia?"

"My home, my rules," she states simply, closing her eyes with confidence.

"Ha, you're grounded... grounded from what?" Dad asks, tilting his head slightly.

"Tempestive."

"WHAT!?" Dad and I yell at the same time.

"It's not her fault I read that spell! I won't do it again, promise!" I yell, looking back to Auntie Celly. I don't want to be grounded from my favorite aunt because of something that wasn't in her control. If they knew Tempus put that spell there then... then...

"Hold on, can we have a Mom Dad meeting real quick?" He asks, pulling Mom towards the back of the medical ward. I look over to Celestia and motion for her to come closer, which she does.

"It's not your fault that that happened." I whisper to her.

"Sweetie, I shouldn't have brought you in there to begin with. I don't want to lose out seeing you, but what I did put you and others in danger. I love seeing you, but that doesn't excuse my carelessness. And it also doesn't mean you get to disobey your parents." I frown at that. I know I should listen to them, that they only want what's best for me, but it's different this time. Tempus planted the book there, he knew I was going to be there. If I hadn't been in there, I would have probably found it somewhere else. I wish I could just tell them that.

"But... I never get to see you as it is." She frowns at that and leans in to nuzzle my cheek.

"I know sweetie. I'll make it up to you next chance we get. But for now, we have to learn from our mistakes and grow past them, okay?"

"But it wasn't your fault." I mutter as I let out a sigh and look down. Before I could say anything else Mom and dad return, Mom looking much more at ease than before.

"Well, given what your father has told me, and given what's to come, I've decided not to ground Celestia-"

"Really!?" I ask, sitting back up.

"Yes, your father made several good points and has agreed to... assist me with some matters tomorrow. Because of this, I'm asking that she watches over you tomorrow."

"Of course sister! I'd love to!" Celestia exclaims, bringing her smile back. "But... I'm curious, what exactly did Miles agree to?" Mom just smirks. I know that smirk, it's something Dad really doesn't want to do, but sadly is going to do it. Usually Mom gets that smirk when she gets him to do the dishes. But this time... there seems to be a bit more to it.

"He's agreed to join me at the coronation tomorrow." Mom states happily, making Dad groan and deflates slightly.

"Really?" Celestia asks, eyeing Dad. "I didn't think you'd ever agree to go to a par-"

"It's not a party!" Mom cuts off, stopping Celly from saying the 'P' word. Dad's already sweating. "It's a coronation! The christening of that new air ship for the Royal Air Force."

"Oh cool! Can I come!? Please?" I ask, sitting up excitedly.

"Sorry kiddo, they aren't allowing foals in." Dad lets me know, getting me to groan and fall back against the pillow. Darn, and that sounded really cool too!

"We'll have to do something equally as cool then, won't we?" Celestia asks, making me grin.

"So... am I off the hook then?" WHY? WHY DID I ASK THAT? ALL I HAD TO DO WAS SHUT UP AND ENJOY THE MOMENT? WHERE DID THAT EVEN COME FROM!?

"Tempestive-"

"We can't blame you for what your soul did." Dad cuts Mom off. The statement catches me off guard. My... soul? What does that even mean? I sit back up and look up to him curiously, waiting for him to explain. "My magic and your mothers magic are inherently different. I've always thought they would act different within you, and today it did."

"Oh... so you use your soul for magic?" I ask for clarification.

"Yes, well... sometimes. Originally we were going to explain this to you when you were eight. We didn't want you to worry about... learning something that drastically different yet. What do you think? Think you can learn two forms of magic at once?" They all lean in and look down at me, waiting silently for me to answer. Do I want to learn a new form of magic? I'm barely grasping magic as it is! Plus, if Dads power is anything to go by, this magic seems much more difficult.

"I... I think I want to continue my magic the way it is, for now at least." I tell them, getting them all to sigh in relief.

"That's very mature of you Tempestive." Celestia comments as Mom leans in to kiss the side of my head.

"Who said you could grow up?" Mom teases, nuzzling my side. I giggle a bit from the contact, smiling up to Mom.

"Well then, think you're up for some food?" Dad asks, to which I nod. "Alright, lets see how much of the staff we can freak out on the way." I laugh at that, but Mom doesn't seem to think it's that funny.

"Miles-"

FLASH

I suddenly appear on Dads back. I grab onto his neck and hold on as he steps toward Mom.

"Pout with me," he says with a quick glance to me. I chuckle before pouting to Mom. I have to fight to not burst into laughter as Dad joins me in pouting. Mom rolls her eyes, looking at the two of us unfazed by our antics. "Hm... Celestia joins us."

Without even a moments argument Celestia quickly runs over to my side and lifts me up. I'm squeezed between both of their faces as the three of us pout to Mom. Mom stares back at the three of us, blinking slowly as we plead back her. What feels like minutes on the hour start to pass by as she silently returns our gaze, unmoved by our apparently feeble attempts to win her over.

"Why am I the one to say yes or no to this?" She asks.

"Because you are Mom." Dad replies quickly, making me chuckle. "Realistically, you're the only one who could put all three of us in trouble. So, are you in for the debauchery, moon butt?" I giggle at the name. Dad only uses it, and even then it's only when he's being really playful. It takes a few moments, I almost thought she was going to be mad about it, but eventually she started to smirk back to Dad.

"Oh... fine. But nothing too drastic, oka-eep!" Before she could finish Dad pulled her over to his side with his magic and started to trot out. The four of us made our way out of the infirmary and down the main corridor of the castle, Dad leading the way.

"Alright team, operation 'scare the nobles' is a go!" he says before running down the corridor. I rear up and let out a battle cry as we race towards the group of older ponies from before.

"DEBAUCHERY!"

And with the ring of the bell another day of summer school ends. Good too, becuase I was getting tired of listening to lecture. After quickly tossing all of my things into my bag, I trot outside and wait for the others in our usual spot. It doesn't take long for most of them to show up. Scootaloo and Pip, Sweetie and Button; they show up relatively quickly. Shadow, on the other hoof, seems to take her sweet time joining up with us. And when she does, she keeps quiet... well... quieter then usual.

"So, what are we going to do today?" Scootaloo asks as we start to walk to town.

"We could hang out at the park." Pip suggests, getting some head shakes.

"Nah, we've done that too much recently." Sweetie points out. "We could get a table over at Emerald Diner. Grab a few shakes and stuff."

"Mmm... I'm not really hungry." I point out, looking back to Shadow. "What about you? What do you want to do?" She pauses when I call on her, looking away slightly.

"I... I don't really care," she mumbles quietly, getting a huff from Scootaloo.

"Okay, no friend of mine is going emo. What'll it be? Beat up Rumble? Hang out in Mooseden with gallons of ice cream? Sky diving? Beat up Rumble?"

"You already said that." Pip points out.

"I know. I really want that one," she retorts, making Pip roll his eyes.

"I'm sorry, I just... I just to be alone for a bit to think some things over. Sorry. " She turns and starts to head home. I look back to the others before rushing in front of her to stop her.

"Ya aint getting away that easy Shadow. C'mon, lets just go somewhere private and talk this out, kay?" She looks down, but shrugs along. "Okay... where can we go that's private?"

"Why not the farm?" Button asks.

"Because Hammer has his lackeys are working the entire thing, so it's over run with ponies... among others." I really need to pin Applejack down one day and let her know she's driving me crazy with all those workers. I'll need Big Macs help as well.

"Alright... what about..." We all wait for Scootaloo to come up with an answer, but eventually she lets out a long breath. "I've got nothing." Is there really nowhere for us to be private? Where could we go that would give us a moment to ourselves. Somewhere nopony goes. Somewhere most ponies would only be caught dead near. Somewhere we're allowed that is guaranteed empty. Somewhere...

"The library." I say, getting everypony to look at me.

"Spikes library? Won't he be-"

"He's out with Rarity." Sweetie cuts Pip off. "Whenever she goes out shopping she drags him along. Plus, I know she's out looking for additional fabric suppliers, so they're going to be out for awhile."

"Then won't it be closed?" Button asks.

"Only one way to find out, lets go!" I say before I start to walk towards the library.

It doesn't take us long to get there. The library looks the same as it's always has. Empty. I'm sure it has it's visitors, but I doubt there will be many ponies inside. Plus, we know our way around the building, so finding a secluded area won't be that hard. We look to each other before I take the initiative to knock on the door. After a few moments of silence I give it another, louder knock. When nothing happens I look back to the others for ideas, but only get shrugs. I mull it over for a moment before trying the door knob. Luckily for us, it wasn't locked, so we all enter the library.

"Hello? Spike? Are ya home?" I call out as we all fill the main room. Everything seems to be in order here. Clean shelves, neatly placed books, giant pony head figure piece. We all start to look around, trying to see if there's a note or something here. I doubt he would just leave the door open for no reason.

"Hey, I found a note!" Sweetie calls out from the podium. We all walk over to her as she starts to read it over. "To anypony who's here for a book:

I'm not going to be here for a few hours. I have to run a few errands with... a friend of mine-"

"Why did you pause?" Scootaloo asks.

"He wrote the ellipses!"

"Whatever, what's the rest say?" Pip asks, getting Sweetie to continue.

"In the mean time, feel free to look through out the library and read any of the books. Don't think about stealing anything either! I had a friend enchant the door so if anything that belongs to this library leaves, I'll know. Also, don't eat any of the food either... it's enchanted as well!"

"Did he seriously use ellipses again?" Button asks, getting a nod from Sweetie. "... just keep going."

"And lastly, if this happens to be Miles reading this, I've completed the task you've asked of me and am ready when you are. I look forward to our trip, even if it'll most likely end poorly. I doubt the Hierarchy will side with anypony completely, but it can't hurt to try, right?

Spike the Dragon.

P.S. Seriously, don't touch my food."

"We should eat his food-"

"Pip, not now." I snap at him, making him shrug and chuckle. "Lets head upstairs, ah think we can find somewhere comfortable to talk things out there." I glance over to Shadow and see her frown a bit. I know she doesn't want to talk abut this, she never wants to talk about her personal problems. But if we didn't force her to spill her guts, she'd still be holding a grudge against Scootaloo for taking her juice box in grade school.

We go upstairs and find some cushions to relax onto. It's a little odd to be sitting in Spikes room, that used to be Twilights room, but it is private. Plus, if we do get caught in here, I have a feeling that we'll be able to explain ourselves pretty well. Nopony says anything for a bit, as expected. We all just sit there as Shadow tries to hide behind her mane. i swear, one day I'm going to get some shears and shave her head so she has to look at us.

"Well?" I ask, getting her to lower her head. "Where do ya want ta start?"

"..."

"Was it when Rumble boinked D.T.?" Scootaloo asks, promptly getting smacked upside the head by Sweetie bell. "Ow! What!? That's probably it!"

"Actually... it's not." We all look back to her and stare.

"How... how could that not be it!? You trusted him and he went behind your back!" Sweetie practically yells in astonishment, making her flinch.

"Well... it's uh... we..."

"It's alright Shadow." I reassure her, rubbing her back. "We're yer friends. We only want what's best fer ya. No judging, promise." The others nod and agree with me, making her loosen up a bit.

"Well... things between Rumble and I may have gotten heated... but... we were never actually together. I mean... we wanted to be, but I never really confirmed with him."

"That doesn't excuse him being a whore." Scootaloo says quickly, flaring her wings in anger.

"Scoots," Pip says, getting her to calm down slightly. "He's a slut. Whores get paid."

"Whatever," Scootaloo rolls her eyes at that.

"He had a weak moment, and I've already forgiven him for that. Not to his face, but... I've found peace with that," she says slowly.

"So, what's got ya all moody then?" I ask as we all lean in.

"... it's ... it's ...*sigh* so, when I was with him, I felt different. Like... I wasn't as nervous, I became more bold about things that I thought would terrify me, I was even willing to do those things that I thought I would never be able to do. With him gone now, I don't think I can do those things. What has me down is that I'm afraid that I'll be dependent on others for my own emotional fortitude. That I'll never truly be able to choose my own path without having somepony guide me. Even now I can't come out of my own shell without you guys forcing me to! I'm afraid that I'll never be myself without somepony else."

"... I'll be honest, I thought we were going to smack talk Rumble. That's a lot deeper than I expected." Button says, making me shake my head.

"Shadow, there's nothing wrong with taking help from others-"

"But there is something wrong with not being able to help yourself," she retorts. "Even now, if I get an answer from you guys, I'm doomed! I don't want to be dependent on others, and I know you guys want to help, but that's exactly the problem! I need to become self reliant! If I don't, I'll be stuck with depending on others for the rest of my life!" She stops to fight back some tears. We all look to one another and silently agree on this one.

"Alright then." I say while the rest of us stand up, getting her attention. "We understand."

"You... you do?" she asks hesitantly.

"Ya darn right we do! Ya'll need ta figure this one on yer own, so we're not gonna help one bit!" I tell her proudly.

"But if you ever do need help, you come straight to any one of us, okay?" Sweetie Bell adds reassuringly.

"Yeah! We've got your back!" Scootaloo announces cheerfully. "Just... not this time. Well, we do! We just don't... we uh... help?"

"We'll be here when you need us." Pip says, wrapping a hoof around Scootaloos back. Shadow looks between us before wiping her eyes clear and stands, smiling to each of us.

"Thanks, you guys are-"

BANG

We all drop down when a loud explosion sounds off near one of the windows. Once we're all sure there isn't going to be any further explosions we all rush downstairs to see what happened. Before we make it out of the main room though, somepony kicks the door open.

Spike walks in and stares at all of us. He's in his usually get up. White jacket, red scarf, black pants, and a black shirt with red designs on it. Ever since he's grown, Miles has made it mandatory for him to wear clothing all of the time. Something about him walking around on two legs making him uncomfortable. After a moment of silence, he sighs and continues in, dragging an unconscious Rumble in behind him.

"Rumble!" Shadow exclaims, moving to his side. "What happened!? What did you do?"

"Easy there Shadow, I just knocked him out with a flash bang spell. He'll come around in a moment or two. Why are you all in my house?" He asks when he tosses Rumble on the couch.

"This is public property, we're allowed in here." Pip answers quickly.

"Yeah, plus the door was open." Button adds. Spike looks between us all before shrugging it off.

"As long as you didn't touch my food, it's cool." Spike says as he checks on Rumble. I glance to the others and motion for them to leave, getting nods from all of them. I wait till they're all out before moving to Shadows side, nudging her to gain her attention.

"Do ya need anything?" I ask her quietly, trying not to get Spikes attention.

"No. No I-I'd just like to be here when he wakes up." I nod to her and give her a quick hug, one that she returns. I quietly leave the building and join the others, who waited for me just out of earshot.

"So... does anypony else think it was a bad idea to get Shadow dating?" Scootaloo asks, getting glares from the rest of us. "What? It's started a ton of drama, and the school year hasn't even started!" I ignore the feather head and start to walk away from the library. Yeah, pushing Shadow into this has started a lot of drama, but better now then later. I just hope she doesn't do anything stupid while we're not there.

She's a smart girl, so I shouldn't have anything to fear... right?

After a long, and rather uncomfortable, period of being incapacitated, yet being somewhat conscious, I finally begin to regain my senses. My head is spinning, there's a ringing in my ears, and my whole body feels as if I've crashed through a thunder cloud at full speed. Why couldn't I just have been knocked out? Just save me the trouble of feeling shitty. After accepting my fate, I calm myself and focus and trying to open my eyes. It takes a bit of effort, but eventually I pry them open.

Everything starts out fuzzy and somewhat bright, burning my eyes to the point where I have to shut them again. After a few moments to recover, I open them again. Once everything dulls back to normality I find myself in the library. I'm alone in some cot in what seems to be the down stairs room. I groan as I try to push myself up, but stop when something grabs my shoulder and forces me down.

"Take it easy Rumble." A masculine voice tells me. I look up to see Spike sitting by my side. I nod to him and collapse back onto the couch, letting out a long breath. "Sorry about this... well, mostly. I didn't mean to hit you that hard with that spell. How're you feeling?"

"Shitty." I grumble. "Why did you attack me to begin with?"

"Well... funny thing is, I thought you were a burglar. So... I went and... yeah, my bad." I shake my head at his somewhat irrational fear. Given, I was snooping around his bedroom window. But, come on! This is Ponyville for Celestia sake! We don't get petty crimes, just world ending phenomenon and mythical legends coming to take over Equestria!

Actually...

"There's a bathroom over there if you want to wash up. And... you have a visitor upstairs. I suggest not keeping her waiting." Spike tells me, patting my back roughly a couple times. I groan from the rough treatment, getting Spike to chuckle at my pain. Who the heck would be waiting for me here? Unless... unless Shadow actually was willing to wait.

With that in mind, I force myself up and rush to the nearby bathroom. I splash some cold water on my face to help wake me up quicker. I also gargle some water as well, trying to get the nauseous taste from my mouth. Satisfied, I rush back out of the room and find my way to the font room where I see Shadow waiting patiently. I go to rush to her, but stop when she holds up a hoof to me. She has her eyes held shut and seems to be trying to hold an authoritative stance.

"I-I have some things to say and y-you're going to listen to them!" she says in a shaky voice. She's obviously trying to be assertive, so I stand there and wait for her to continue. It takes a bit for her to peek out at me, closing her eyes quickly when we make eye contact.

"Ahem." Spike coughs from the side kitchen, getting Shadow to jolt.

"I-I don't blame you for what you did with Diamond Tiara!" she practically yells at the top of her lungs.

"SHH!" Spike shushes, rubbing his ear slightly.

"Sorry," she mutters, returning to her normal voice. "We weren't technically together, so I feel as if I shouldn't put that much blame on you for it. It still hurt, but I can look past it."

"... okay." She can't be serious. She can't be. She should be yelling at me, strangling my neck while stomping my bits to Tartarus! And, just like that, she puts it behind her... why!?

"I... I uh... Spike, do you have to be here?" she asks, opening her eyes for the first time to look at him.

"This is a public area, right?" He retorts with a smug smile. Shadow lets out a sigh before forcing her eyes shut to look back to me.

"Even though I am looking past... that incident, I'm not taking you back. Not right away at least." At the same time I feel crushed and hopeful. I knew she might not take me back. That was a long shot on top of a long shot. But, apparently there's a chance for us to be together again.

"I understand." I try to make my answers short and to the point. She's obviously having trouble just standing there talking to me. I don't want to add to that by complicating my answers.

"R-right. Um..."

"Conditions!" Spike yells, making Shadow falter for a second.

"I-I have conditions! That is... uh, if you want to... to be together, I want you to fulfill these... things." She gulps nervously, her breath quickening.

"Anything."

"First! I mean, first; I want you to earn my trust back. Secondly, no more secrets. Ever. And lastly, if you want to be with me... so... ahem, you need to ask my fathers permission."

"Wait, what?" Spike asks from the side. "Isn't that kind of against what you were talking about earlier?"

"He doesn't need to say yes. But I want to see Rumble face an authoritative pony for me. Not many ponies are more authoritative than Dad." She reasons.

"That's true." Spike grumbles.

"I know you already faced my Mothers and most of Terradisia, but... just know my Dad can be much worse than all of them combined. He's the one who brought all of them together, forced all of their differences aside and... well..."

"That's Miles's little Princess." Spike finishes, getting my attention as he stands and takes Shadows side. "I've personally seen him start fights because ponies talked about doing things with her. He's extremely protective of her. You might not walk away from that conversation a stallion."

"I'm sure-"

"I've seen it happen." Spike cuts me off.

"Wait, what?" Shadow asks, equally surprised.

"Yeah. Remember when I was... gone, for a period of time?" He asks, rubbing the back of his head nervously.

"Yeah, it was after the whole Discord thing, why?"

"Well, when we were coming back from the Southern Badlands, a pony tried to barter for... things. He... well... Miles didn't like that. So, watch yourself." Shadow and I stare at him in silence, trying to gauge if he's serious or not. Judging by the looks on his face, I'd say he's completely serious. This Miles guy sounds like a sociopath.

"Those are my terms." Shadow concludes, stomping her hoof down. "What... what do you have to say?" I take a deep breath and try to ready myself for this. I have to earn her trust, that mainly sounds like it's going to take time. I also have to stay completely honest with her. That one sounds the easiest. Lastly, I have to confront her father, the sociopath.

One one hoof, I get gelded. One the other hoof, I earn back Shadows trust and possibly more. Gelding, possible love. No balls, or no love... balls, love.

"Shadow." I say, pausing when I hear my own voice falter. I cough and try to gain my confidence back. "What you're asking for... it's going to take a long time to get-"

"I-I know. But-"

"It could never happen. There's even a chance that it'll happen, but I become... er, less of a stallion. That's a lot to put on the line." She lowers her head slightly, hiding her eyes behind her mane. I reach forward and lift her chin to look at me. "So do me a favor, and be there when I make it, okay."

"R-rumble?"

"Get ready Shadow Knight, cause I intend to do all of those things and then some. I bucked up once, and now that I have a second chance, I will be the stallion you want me to be. I promise." I lean forward and give her a quick peck on the cheek, making her face flush. Spike coughs, signaling his discomfort. We wordlessly leave the library and pause a few steps away from the front door.

"S-so... um..."

"Too soon for that kind of stuff?" I ask, getting her to nod. "Sorry... uh... hug?"

"Uh... I don't..."

"Hoof shake?" She bobbles her head while thing about it before slowly holding her hoof out. I smile and take it gently, giving it a few shakes before letting go of it. It's going to be a bitch to reprogram some of my quirks around her. I can't help it if I've somehow become a huger. "So... can I walk you home?"

"I-I don't know-"

"I'll keep a safe distance between the two of us. I'll keep whatever pace you want, crack your whip and I'll oblige." I tell while straightening out my poster. She smiles at that but shakes her head.

"Thanks, but I think I can manage the walk home... besides, I don't think I'm going home right away." I lean over to see all of her friends peering out from behind a nearby building. I chuckle when they duck behind cover before looking back to her.

"So... I'll see you at school?" I ask with a bit of hope. She looks back for a moment before looking back at me with a small smile.

"I'd like that." I can't stop myself from widening my smile from that. She turns and walks away, leaving me to stare back to her in some sort of daze. I've got a second chance at this, I can still make things work out between us! It'll be difficult to do, and from the sounds of it, possibly dangerous. But I don't care about that right now! I'm coming for-

"You know," I turn around to see Spike leaning in the door frame. arms crossed. "You're the first pony I've ever seen take an interest in Shadow. Romantically at least."

"Um... thanks?" I'm not sure how to respond to that.

"It wasn't a compliment," he says shortly, unfolding his arms as he approaches me. He stands off in front of me, fist clenched and eyes narrowed as he glares down at me. I stand my ground and stare back at him, unfurling my wings slightly. "I'm only going to ever say this once, so listen closely. I don't care about past incidents. But if you hurt her again, I will return the favor. Miles is my mentor, and as such Shadow is practically a little sister to me. Don't fuck this up."

"I don't intend to-"

"Don't interrupt me lover boy," he cuts me off. "I would also suggest saving Miles for last. If you go up to him and tell him your intentions while you're friend zoned, as you've appointed yourself... well, let's just say things won't go so smoothly for you-"

"I Miles really this big of a prick, or is this just how you paint him?" I cut him off, narrowing my eyes. Spike smirks in response, loosening his stance slightly.

"That depends on how things go between the two of you. Now, I have my own matters to attend to." With that he walks past me, bumping into me roughly. I snort in anger as I watch him walk down the road. I don't know Spike that well, but apparently he can be an ass when he wants to be. Part of me knows that it's just him putting up a front for Shadow, but... It's hard to look past that when it's directed at you.

Whatever. I have bigger things to deal with at the moment. I have to come up with a way to get Shadow to trust me again. I know it's not going to be easy, but I there has to be a way for me to show her I can be trustworthy.

Wassup my bronies!

Next on my things to bring up, I've been mulling about with several ideas and whatnot for a couple of days now, and I've decided to start taking in OCs again. You can find the blog here at Ponyville OC. Other than that,

Brony on!