There is no known realm of solid objects in which the past continues to exist after the lives of those who had lived it have moved on, in truth, their lives are forever constrained to the present. While they may foresee the future it will always remain unknown until they experience it in the moment future becomes present, the past can be felt through memories. Reminiscing, as it is called, of lives once lived and experiences shared, and though they had descended into the annals of history, these visions of the past could still evoke the emotions they had created as though they were material once more.

Twilight sat in the center of the library with her hooves curled neatly beneath her body as her magic turned the pages of a book that lay splayed out before her, a diligent reading pose she had perfected as a young filly. Miniscule piles of books lay across the library relatively near the shelves they belonged in, the moment Twilight had realized the minor errors in organization she had made earlier that evening she had put the job on a mental to-do list.

She let out a gentle chuckle as her magic turned the page to a picture of a much younger Spike wearing a tin pot. The photo album, "Memories" as it was entitled, held roughly two-hundred pictures of the life Twilight had shared with her family in Canterlot. Pictures of Twilight enjoying her simple life with her family as a young filly dotted the beginning of the album. these memories were sweet and filled with the love that only a tightly knit family could give, especially the pictures of Shining Armor taking of his dear little sister, however she was focused more on the pictures that lined the center pages. Experiences that Twilight had shared with Spike as the two grew up alongside one another lay sprawled out before her, captured forever in the borders of each photograph. She focused intently on the picture of Spike with his culinary accoutrement and, closing her eyes as her smile spread further across her face, began to relive the memory that danced like a dream in her mind.

"If it's the guards' duty to protect the princess, like Shining Armor said, then it's my duty to protect you."

Spike had said those very words to Twilight as he stood before her in his improvised uniform, the vividness of the memory caused tears of reminiscent happiness to well up behind Twilight's closed eyes. How Spike had followed her around even closer than he always had and his ridiculous attempts to scare away small animals that could have disturbed her outdoor reading made him all the more a devoted knight than any simple guard could ever have been.

Spike had kept up his role as Twilight's protector for two weeks until he abruptly decided to hang up his pot and descend in the ranks back to an assistant. When Twilight asked why Spike justified his actions with the decision that he would look better as her protector if he had a lance and a cape, it was a boyish decision that made Twilight giggle like the young mare she had become. Before Spike could return the pot back to it's rightful place in the kitchen, Twilight had felt the compelling need to take a picture of Spike in his "helmet".

"So I can always remember how my knight protected me", Twilight had justified.

She opened her eyes to gaze at the picture once more, Twilight laughed every time she saw Spike's ridiculous pose. One leg was raised onto a small pile of books as he pointed a scroll into the horizon as a makeshift sword, the look that Spike held on his face was that of a true knight. He looked on into the horizon, staring down the unknown future as if challenging it, saying thus without words, "Here I am, send me any challenge and I'll conquer it." Spike's visage, Twilight had decided then as she did now, was handsome, at least for a baby dragon seven years her junior. Twilight giggled at her girlish thoughts, beginning to envisioning a grown Spike wearing the cape he had once spoken so fondly of when she heard the bell over the library's door ring.

Spike stood in the open doorway, his purple scales framed by the deep blue of the rising night, eyes cast towards the hardwood floor. Twilight stood up with instantaneous concern, yet she could only watch as her assistant turned and closed the door behind in silence. His eyes seemed to wander the floor as if he hadn't entirely registered where he was, To Twilight they looked like emeralds that had lost their natural radiance. "Spike, are you okay?" She asked as she hurriedly trotted towards him.

Spike didn't respond, couldn't even, all he needed to do was look up to meet Twilight's gaze. The look on his face could spell out the waves regret and despondence to anypony who had once seen his cheerful smile. Once their eyeses met they couldn't be separated, locked into an unspoken communication that forced Spike's tears back into sight.

The very moment she saw them Twilight leaped with outstretched forelegs at Spike and pulled him into a tight embrace. As he curled his arms around her neck she could feel his back hitching and hot tears soaking into the fine fur of her shoulders. Spike didn't cry as a foal would, noisy and begging for the attention of his parents, he shed silent tears that made Twilight's comfort all the more necessary. At one point a single choked sob emanated from the dragon's snout, as if to silence it Twilight hugged Spike's body closer to hers. She didn't know what had made Spike like this nor did she know if it was anything she could solve, all she could do for Spike right now would be to hold him and comfort him for as long as it took.

The two remained in their embrace even after Spike's silent tears had ebbed away until his voice came muffled from twilight's shoulder, "Twilight?" He asked, the rasp of crying and fatigue clouding his voice.

Twilight looked down to face her assistant, upon seeing his defeated expression at a closer angle she had to stop herself from demanding to know what could put her dear assistant into such a state. Twilight knew that Spike would tell her when he was ready, but she wanted to shield him from anything that could turn his optimism into such a state. "Yes, Spike?"

"I'm really tired", he said through a yawn. All his energy had escaped through the burden of exhausting physical and mental labor. After everything he had gone through it was a wonder Spike could still coherently stand.

Twilight nodded sagely and let her hooves trail away from behind his head and rest on his cheeks, wiping away the smudges of tears with a gentle and loving touch. Twilight softly spoke, using every bit of comfort she could put into her voice, "I understand, Spike. Get yourself washed up and go to bed, I'll be up to tuck you in soon." At the end of her sentence Twilight gently brought Spike's face closer to hers and pressed a light kiss on his forehead. As she pulled her lips away she stroked his cheeks and whispered gently, "Get to bed, Spike, you deserve some rest."

After their embrace had separated and Spike had ascended the stairs leading to the second level of the library Twilight began to descend into her own thoughts. Spike, the dragon she cared more about than anypony in Equestria, had come home crying, why? Scornful thoughts about Rarity began to surface in her mind, but she shook them out as quickly as she possibly could. Spike needed her and she would be there, it was that simple, he would tell her what happened when he was ready. Twilight looked up and followed the stairs to the door of the bedroom they shared and made an instantaneous decision, she would return the vow he had made years ago and protect him in every way she could.

Twilight set the album atop one of the piles of miscellaneous books that had yet to be organized and trotted up to her bedroom, planning to keep the promise she had made to her assistant about tucking him in. She opened the door quickly and and closed it as her horn began to glow with a dull sheen of magic, softly illuminating the room before her. She stood on the tips of her hooves and made her way to the basket at the foot of her bed, careful not to make even the slightest as the synthesized light from her horn washed over the rising and falling mass that lay beneath a small blanket. Twilight looked down and smiled at the sleeping Spike, his expression held the air of peaceful dreams. This, Twilight decided, was how the dragon should look even as he lay awake, at peace with the world that lay before him.

Twilight began to lean her head down closer to Spike's, her lips were a hair's width from Spike's cheek when her eyes shot open to reveal the white that surrounded her violet irises. Her mind began to fill itself with terror as she realized the actions she had been about to take.

'What am I doing?'

Twilight stayed stock still for a few seconds before shaking the doubtful thoughts out of her head and, with a quiet strike of her hoof against the bedroom floor, steeled herself. She closed her eyes and brought her lips to kiss Spike's cheek, letting it longer just slightly longer than any goodnight kiss she had ever given him. When she looked up she saw Spike smile and shift further into his blankets, the faintest imprint of her kiss still lingered on his scales. As she walked to her own bed to descend into sleep a smile that could not be placed as either giddy or proud shone forth beneath the dwindling light of her horn.

Once the magical glow had ceased and the two had both sank beneath the covers of their beds, Twilight's dreamy voice floated through the room, "Sweet dreams, Spike." Twilight was about to continue when her breath caught in her throat, making her worry in the silent darkness. The next few words that came out of her mouth barely rose above a whisper despite their being said many times prior, "I love you."

Spike awoke with a start, panting and in a cold sweat after dreaming shapeless nightmares. A rumbling that emanated from his stomach caused him to jump, once Spike could determine it's source he quietly began to scold his stomach, "Be quiet, I just want to go back to sleep." Another rumble, deep and demanding, was the only response in the night air. With a sigh Spike conceded to the demands of his body and clambered out of his basket, silently making his way towards the kitchen. He briefly began to wonder why a library, among a plethora of other shops providing public services, would also be built with home furnishings. He placed his forehead in one claw and furrowed his brow, "What am I even thinking about anymore?" He asked to nopony in particular, talking to himself was a habit Spike simply couldn't break.

He stared into the pantry, finding only ingredients that would have to combined with others almost with an alchemist's diligence. Spike wanted something instant, something to take his mind off of the day that was already seeping back into his mind, a quick fix for his needing stomach. After shifting around scattered ingredients he found a dusty can of soup at the back of the pantry, as Spike pulled it out of it's crevice between daisy flour wheat germ he noticed it's "sell-by" date had inconveniently passed just days prior to his midnight snack. With another sigh he yanked it out and tossed the can atop the counter, slowly going through the cabinets to find a pot to cook his meal in. Spike made no attempt to be quiet as he spilled the concoction of noodles and chunks of some unidentified flower into the pot and set it to boil, all he wanted was to sate his rebellious stomach and return to the comfort of his bed.

As he stirred and grumbled to himself he was unable to hear the light clip-clopping of hooves traveling towards him. Spike jumped nearly a foot in the air when Twilight's tired voice came questioning from behind him, "Spike, what are you doing up?"

Spike turned to face Twilight, searching rapidly for an answer that could make valid sense to the unicorn, "Uh-"

"Spike, it's well past four in the morning, what are you doing in the kitchen at this hour. And what in the name of Equestria is that smell?" Twilight asked, scrunching up her snout at the end of her last inquiry.

Spike turned and shut off the stove, ignoring his appetite, and turned to face Twilight with a simple shrug of his shoulders. "I was hungry, I guess", came his only reply. The two stared at one another for a few seconds until Spike broke the eye contact, he just couldn't take all the concern that was laced into Twilight's eyes. "I'll go back to bed", he muttered, already beginning to step past Twilight. Once a lavender hoof was placed between his chest and the path back to his bed he looked up to see Twilight giving him a look he had seen for years, an inescapable look of pleading concern that he could never escape no matter how hard he tried to sink into his own pessimism.

"Spike", her voice washed over him like a soothing rain, "I'm here for you, you can tell me what happened today."

Spike stared up at Twilight and felt the tears he had shed just a few hours ago begin to resurface, "That's the thing though", he stuttered, "nothing happened." Twilight gave a confused stare, she was about to speak when Spike interrupted her again, "I had the chance, Twilight, I had it. So why?" He stared up at his guardian with a look of desperation that brought tears to Twilight's own eyes, "Why couldn't I do it?"

Twilight wasted no time in pulling her dear assistant into her chest, trying to keep him from sinking into the state he had been previously in. She wanted to help, but she needed to understand, "Spike", she cooed to him, "what do you mean? What couldn't you do?"

There was a brief moment of silence between the two, as if Spike was debating whether or not confess his failure. After a few seconds his voice came, flat and cool as glass, "I couldn't confess to Rarity. I couldn't tell her how I feel."

Hearing this put Twilight in shock, even as he stared up to her, pleading for an answer, she was unable to speak. All she could to was pull his head closer into her chest and stroke the scales that lined the top of his head, whispering promises that everything would be okay. She knew Rarity had something to with Spike's despondence, but what could she do about it? Twilight knew she didn't have the right words to comfort Spike at the time, just as she was about to give up and send the two back to bed for the comfort of sleep an idea came to her. "Spike", she gently called, "come with me." With that she turned around and walked into the living room, Spike following behind her with an inquisitive stare. She seated herself on the couch and pulled Spike close to her with a quick flash of magic, "Comfy?" She asked with a loving smile. Spike could only respond with a silent nod as he wiped what residual tears were left lingering in his eyelids. Twilight leaned her head down and nuzzled her dragon as her magic brought a familiar photo album and a blanket over to the duo. The blanket pulled the two further into a snug embrace as Twilight opened the book to one particular picture, "Remember this?" She asked with the same heartfelt gaze.

Spike looked up to see a family portrait he had taken with Twilight, her parents, and her older brother. They all sat next to one another on an elegant couch, jostled next to one another with Spike on Twilight's lap. His eyes drifted to the picture next to it, the silly version as it was called, and chuckled. Shining Armor and Mr. Sparkle were flexing next to one another with looks that were supposed to be manly painted on their muzzles as Twilight and her mother kissed each of Spike's cheeks with him looking dumfounded and embarrassed. Anypony could tell Spike had not seen the kisses coming by the blush that painted itself across his purple scales. "Of course I remember", Spike said in between chuckles. "Your mom wouldn't stop lecturing when she noticed I took off that dorky tie she wanted me to wear."

Twilight turned to him, feigning shock, and gasped, "Dorky? Why I thought you looked handsome in that tie." It wasn't a lie, exactly, she thought actually him cute at the time. However, at least at present, she could truly believe that he was handsome.

"Twilight", Spike deadpanned. "It was plaid, that is the definition of dorky."

She huffed at him with a smile, "Well I think you look very handsome in plaid."

Spike returned his eyes to her, smiling his familiar, devilish smile, "I always knew you had a bad taste in fashion, Twilight." She responded with a light nudge to his shoulder which Spike only laughed at.

The two sat and flipped through the album for hours, talking and joking as they reminisced about the pictures that had been taken throughout their shared lives. The sun could be seen tickling the edges of the night sky outside the library's circular window as Twilight looked fondly of a picture containing only her and her assistant. They were curled up together on Twilight's bed, sleeping together as they always used to. The image conjured up a warmth in her heart as she turned to Spike, ready to spark another conversation when she heard a light snore. They had both cuddled up to one another so Twilight had no idea when Spike had fallen asleep, she could have been talking to herself for hours on en for all she knew. Twilight smiled as she unceremoniously tossed the album, careful enough not to damage it, to the floor in front of the couch. She turned herself to lie at Spike's side, pulling him into a more comfortable embrace with her forelegs. She placed a tender kiss on his forehead and smiled as he wrapped his arms as far as they could go around her body. As Twilight faded into the realm of dreams alongside Spike she recalled the memory of the last picture one final time and smiled. Her thoughts filled with happy memories she had shared with Spike as she began to dream.

'This is the way it used to be and this is the way it should be now.'