Spike was all alone.

Ever since his greed induced transformation and his subsequent reversion back to the small dragon with whom everyone was well acquainted, it seemed that all the townsponies avoided him like the plague. It was immediately clear that they all thought of him as some sort of monster, just waiting to attack at the slightest provocation, shattering the confidence that he'd struggled to build in his time in Ponyville at Twilight's side. It certainly didn't help that the five mares that he'd called his best friends had distanced themselves from him as a result.

In retrospect, she really shouldn't have been surprised. After all, for all their bravery and willingness to defend Spike when things turned sour, Twilight could tell that they were terrified and it was that terror that had caused them to distance themselves from the young dragon at least a little bit.

But the fact remained that only she, Twilight Sparkle, remained as Spike's only pillar of support.

Even though she'd been hard at work studying the magic of friendship in Ponyville alongside her friends, Twilight couldn't quite help but loathe the entire Ponyville population and this was only amplified when she saw Spike's broken spirit well concealed behind a mask of determination and willpower within his emerald green eyes. She didn't need to be a mind reader to know that the transformation and the aftermath had affected him just as badly as it hurt them. Still, it cut her more deeply than any physical wound could ever hope to do to see him so heartbroken and hurt. The pain in Twilight's heart intensified when she noticed Spike's normally confident gait had been reduced to a slow and fearful one as though he feared that an angry mob would form and run him out of town if he so much as made a single wrong move.

No, Twilight would never allow such a thing to happen. Spike was her closest friend and she would sooner live in exile in the Everfree forest than let anybody hurt him.

But there was a silver lining. There had been many benefits of Spike's isolation and Twilight couldn't quite help but revel in the knowledge that she was Spike's only solace and confidant.

Every time she saw his eyes light up when he caught sight of her made her smile stretch wider as she mimicked his steps as he moved closer to her for a hug or a nuzzle. It wouldn't have been a stretch to compare him to a lost colt, crying out for his beloved caretaker. Nowadays, Spike spent the vast majority of his time helping her with her research, clinging to her side as though afraid that if he let go, she would abandon him. Was it wrong that she enjoyed the amount of influence she held over him? Would this be a contradiction to everything she'd learned about friendship so far and that she wanted it to continue by continuing to sabotage his friendships with five mares via planting seeds of doubt and fear into their minds whenever she spoke to Spike about "talking" to them?

Twilight wanted Spike for herself. He was hers and hers alone. Ever since she'd hatched him at her entrance exam, they'd been practically inseparable. He had been there for her when she had no one else during her years at Princess Celestia's school; Shining Armor was training hard to join the Royal Guard, Cadance was busy with her own studies on being a princess, her parents had their own jobs that demanded their attention now more than ever, and the princess herself had to raise the sun and moon while also running the country almost entirely on her own. He even spent time just watching her private lessons with Princess Celestia or spent his time helping her find her research materials when she needed to study. During that whole experience, they only had each other and needless to say, it had a sizable impact on them both given the close friendship that they boasted during that time.

And that was to say nothing of how important Spike had been after they'd move to Ponyville and not just as her assistant but as a friend in his own right. He was something of an anchor for Twilight as they adapted to their new lives.

As far as Twilight was concerned, Spike was essentially already hers. The only obstacle standing in her way of completely claiming him for herself outright was his foolish feelings for Rarity. More often that she cared to admit, Twilight had forgotten that Spike, in all of his maturity and intelligence, was still a young dragon and that he was bound to harbor feelings for an attractive young mare and Twilight would be a fool to deny that Rarity was an attractive mare what with her immaculate appearance. Still, Twilight pitied Spike for his feelings towards Ponyville's resident fashionista. She would never tell him this to his face but Twilight highly doubted that Rarity, for all her generosity, would ever reciprocate his feelings. It had been widely known that she had been far too busy fantasizing about her fictitious charming stallion swooping her off her hooves to ever notice the dragon who would go to the ends of the earth for her even after giving her the heart shaped ruby that he'd been preparing for who knows how long.

Thankfully, Twilight already had the keys to claiming Spike's heart for herself. After all, she already had his trust and friendship so it would be a simple matter to claim everything else. She was the only one he ever turned to for anything and given that the scant few friendships he had with other ponies were already in shambles, Twilight didn't even need to do anything herself to ensure that Spike was hers. In fact, in the days since the incident, she'd noticed that Spike's interest in Rarity had started to wane. While a part of Twilight wept at the additional pain that Spike's heart had to bear from the incident, a larger part of her mind had started singing an angelic choir to relish in her joy at the news. Still, Twilight's blood boiled as she thought about how Rarity had essentially taken advantage of Spike's admiration of her to use him for what essentially amount to being a pack mule. Just thinking about the multiple instances had steam coming out of her ears from her rage.

Twilight pointedly ignored the fact that Spike had eagerly offered his help to the unicorn in the first place.

Still, now that Spike's feelings for Rarity were starting to fade, the last obstacle to Spike's heart had finally been cleared. His heart was hers for the taking.

It had been several days since the incident and while almost all the ponies had since settled down, there still a few that were more than a little wary on the rare instance that he went outside. Still, Spike had agreed to help repair the damage he'd inadvertently caused in his greed induced growth spurt. Thankfully, the repairs had gone by faster than expected and last Twilight had heard, today was supposed to be the last day of repairs.

He should be back by now... she mused, idly turning a page of her book, her deep purple eyes occasionally straying from the text on the page to the front door as her thoughts drifted from her book on advanced magic theory to the small purple dragon who'd become one of her closest friends (and tying for oldest with Shining Armor and Cadance) and unknowingly held her heart in his claws.

Her ears flicked up as she heard the familiar creak of the front door opening. She snapped the book shut and placed it aside as she caught sight of the exhausted Spike who placed the hardhat on the hanger next to the door while letting out an exhausted sigh.

"Welcome home Spike," said Twilight warmly, moving closer for a hug.

"Hi Twilight," Spike readily returned the show of affection as he snuggled closer to her. With Spike's face buried in her coat, Twilight couldn't quite help the smile that crossed her face as she felt him hug her more tightly than he normally did as she rubbed his back soothingly.

"Looks like today was a long day for you," Twilight remarked, idly noticing the residual sweat on his small body.

"It was," Spike agreed, stretching. Twilight could tell that Spike was ready to drop so she offered to let him wash up while she got his gems ready for him to eat. It was clear to her that Spike was all in favor of that idea as he rushed upstairs so quickly that if Twilight hadn't known better, she would thought she'd spotted a smoke outline of the small dragon left in his wake.

Shaking her head, Twilight trotted into the kitchen to do as she said she would. As she readied Spike's gem-filled meal, Twilight couldn't help but smile. Even though she knew full well that Spike was bottling his feelings, she still felt proud of her best friend for being able to take the struggle into stride.

Her ears flicked up as she heard the familiar footfalls of her number one assistant as he entered the room and took the seat next to her.

"Thanks a lot Twilight," Spike smiled at her. "For everything."

"You don't need to thank me," Twilight smiled, rubbing his spines with a hoof. "You ARE my best friend here after all. You've been taking care of me so it's only fair that I take care of you. That's how this whole thing is supposed to work."

Spike chuckled as he bit into a particular tasty gem, "I know but now more than ever, I can't help but think what I would do without you. I would have probably still be an egg in a cart in the castle if you hadn't hatched me especially these past few days; you've been a lot of help. I can't even begin to thank you enough for that."

"It's like I said Spike," said Twilight gently, as she continued running a hoof through his spines. "It's basically my responsibility to take care of you. Besides, who else would take care of you if not me?" Twilight was well aware of the fact that Spike had taken care of her just as much as she took care of him. Unconsciously she sidled up closer to him and gently wrapped her tail around his back to rest at his side. Twilight watched with a soft smile as Spike's eyes turned from the gems he'd been eating, a feat in and of itself, to her. She could see his blushing cheeks. It was one of the most adorable things she'd ever seen.

"What's wrong, Spike? Are you feeling a little ill?" she asked, knowing full well that dragons couldn't catch any pony-related illnesses. She took a step forward to rest a hoof on his forehead. The fact that he hadn't tried to move away was an encouraging sign in and of itself.

"I'm fine," Spike replied quickly. "I'm fine..." he trailed off as he spotted Twilight not wearing anything. Normally, this was standard practice for the young unicorn but given that the running of leaves had just passed a few days ago, Spike couldn't help but wonder how Twilight was handling the cold, fur coat notwithstanding.

Spotting the empty bowl, Twilight deposited it in the sink via magic before magicking Spike onto her back. When she felt his gaze pressing onto the back of her head, she responded simply, "You should get some rest. You did have a long day after all."

Spike sighed and nodded in agreement as Twilight pushed her bedroom door open. Spike blinked when he found himself deposited not in his small basket bed but in Twilight's much bigger one.

"Um... Twilight? Why am I in your bed?" Spike couldn't help but ask.

"Spike, I know you've been sleeping poorly since the incident," Twilight began carefully. "So I figured that you could sleep with me tonight just like we did back in Canterlot whenever we had nightmares."

"Really?" Spike asked, his eyes wide and eager as though he was being told that Hearth's warming was coming early.

"Really," Twilight nodded firmly. She held her forelegs open for a hug and Spike didn't even need to think before throwing himself onto her warm body as they settled in for the night. Despite having Twilight holding him close to her warm body, Spike's progressively shallower breathing did the exact opposite of what Twilight had been hoping for. Just by looking at him, Twilight could tell that he was as aware of what was going on as she was if the fact that he was looking down at the floor guiltily was any indication. Twilight found it tantalizing, seeing a sweet and innocent Spike. It made her feel like a predator eyeing her prey before the pounce. Twilight unconsciously licked her lips at the thought causing Spike's breathing to shallow even further.

"Spike," she whispered in such a way that could have made his spines stand up on end, her forehooves finding and latching onto his small claws and tenderly rubbing her forelegs up his arm as she drew him closer to her.

"W-what?" he asked shakily.

"Do you trust me?"

"Of c-course, Twilight." He could barely choke out from how shallow his breathing had become.

A triumphant smirk not unlike Rainbow Dash's stretched across her face.

"Good."

Twilight slowly pulled him closer to her as her dragon friend soon found himself on top of her with her forelegs wrapped gently around his neck. Their faces were mere inches from each other as green met purple eyes as though meeting for the first time. Nonetheless, Twilight could tell that behind all the fear and resentment that Spike carried around like an unwanted weight, there was a desire.

A desire meant for her and her alone. She was confident that he'd never looked at Rarity with that level of desire.

Twilight certainly didn't have to wait long before Spike gave in to his desires.

It had started off chaste and clumsy and it was immediately clear to Twilight that Spike hadn't the faintest idea of what he was doing. While some mares may have preferred 'good' kissers, whatever that meant, Twilight was far from disappointed. In fact, it only made her happier. It wouldn't have been a stretch for Twilight to compare Spike to a freshly published book that she'd gotten before everybody else and was just cracking open for the very first time despite being told not to read it: temptingly pure and forbidden. She smiled through the kiss as Spike, growing bolder, added more press and force to convey just how important she was to him. It was increasingly clear to Twilight that they would need to practice and the thought made her ecstatic.

Her smile widened when she heard Spike let out a quiet moan through the kiss as they clashed with their affection for each other as their weapons of choice. In the end, though just as inexperienced as Spike, Twilight had the benefit of having her mare's intuition and her ability to learn quickly, making it easy to overwhelm the poor dragon.

Of course, Spike demonstrated why he was Twilight's number one assistant when their lips connected again as she felt his small claws gliding against her coat and she couldn't help the shivers of pure elation that ran down her spine as his claws reached the base of her neck. Much like his kissing, the way his touch impacted her, while inexperienced thrilled Twilight to no end. Was she odd for enjoying this as much as she did? She neither knew nor cared and she was too enraptured in the kiss to give it any thought.

Eventually, their brains demanded they split apart. They could only handle going without oxygen for so long after all.

It was a few seconds later that Twilight smiled wickedly as she reached out to rub his cheeks before pulling him closer. This time, she took the initiative and pressed her lips to his as she made him groan in pleasure before reluctantly separating.

"Tell me you're mine," Twilight pulled away, her fiery gaze held firm as she stared deeply into his eyes, daring him to say otherwise.

"I'm yours," Spike replied immediately.

Twilight's smile was wider than Pinkie's as her forehooves roamed through his head as they rested their foreheads against each other. They remained together on that bed, their breathing being the only sound amidst the silence. All the while, Twilight had moved to listen to Spike's heartbeat: what had once been a chaotic and erratic thing as the dragon found himself caught up in the wild ride that had been the kiss was now a melodic tune that inexplicably soothed the feral beast that was Twilight's mind.

While they basked silently in the glow of Luna's moon, Twilight could hear Spike's heart beat in tandem with her own.

Twilight's lips twitched into a smug smirk as she felt Spike's scales against her coat.

He's mine. Forever...

Author's Notes:

A departure from what I usually do but I thought it be nice to try my hand at something completely different. Let me know what you think and as always, feedback so long as it's constructive is greatly appreciated.