The Judas Kiss

Chapters

The Fusspot of Fashion
Eve of Realization
Countered Feelings
The Great Wall of Emotions
The Part of Her
Chapter 1: The Usual Duo

The Fusspot of Fashion

Rarity gazed upon her current work in progress at her sewing desk, scanning it up and down and making sure that the dress would come out perfect when finished.

"Oh, dear heavens, this will not do." she said to herself as she noticed a small error in stitching just near the collar. She couldn't help but smile all the same, even if she had to fix it. The white mare always loved to have an excuse to work on a new dress, even if there was no special occasion. Usually, she found herself making new dresses for all of her friends if they were about to go to a formal party, or more importantly, to the gala. That, or she made and fixed dresses for her customers that would show up here and there. Sadly enough for her, the boutique was never as busy as she wanted it to be, but thankfully, she always killed time by constantly improving and fixing up her own dresses.

She hummed to herself as she ran her dress through her sewing machine, making sure that she wouldn't mess up a second time, as it would most likely ruin the dress completely.

"Careful, Rarity, you wouldn't want to mess this up again, now would you?" she asked herself as she neared the collar, where she had messed up earlier. Just as she started stitching up the collar, a knock on her door startled her and caused her to jump a little in her seat, and her hooves to shove the dress past the collar too rapidly, causing the dress to tangle with the sewing needle and tear entirely. Rarity looked at her dress in shock, and then her face turned red immediately afterwards. She growled a little, but then tried to calm herself down.

"Well, so much for that." she said to herself as she made her way downstairs to greet the one who cost her her dress. After fixing up her hair for a brief moment, Rarity opened the door to reveal no other than Spike, Twilight's handy little assistant.

"Oh, Spike!" Rarity said, both pleased and a little irritated. She was pleased because she always enjoyed Spike's company here at the boutique. He always offered to help any time that he was given off from Twilight, and the white unicorn was grateful for that. She was irritated, though, because it was him that caused her to ruin her dress. She winced a little. "So nice of you to drop by!"

"Any time, Rarity!" Spike exclaimed excitedly as he walked in, just as Rarity proposed him to do so by opening the door fully. "Twilight gave me the rest of the day off, so I decided to come visit you and see if you needed help with anything."

Rarity smiled. "Well, the boutique is a little dead at the moment, darling, but I still think I might have something for you to work on upstairs in my room. Come, follow me!" Rarity said, Spike following her as she went back upstairs and into her room. Spike noticed the torn dress on her sewing desk right as he walked in.

"Oh, what happened here? Did you mess up with the machine or something?" Spike asked as he inspected the ruined toggery. Rarity looked at it and flinched a little.

"Oh it's nothing, really. I just uh...had a few technical difficulties with the machine, that's all." Rarity lied. She didn't want to let him know that he was the one that caused her to tear it. It would break his heart.

"Oh, I see. Well, what can I get started on, oh beautiful one?" Spike asked as he gazed into the mare's eyes, causing her to chuckle nervously.

"Uh, well...here! You can get started on folding these up and putting them away in my wardrobe." Rarity said as she pointed to a pile of clothing just beside her bed. "While you're doing that, I need to find a way to fix this garment...again." Rarity pouted as she walked over to her destroyed masterpiece. Spike frowned a little at her sadness. It always bothered him to see her gloomy.

"Anyway darling, after you're done doing that, I have something that I need to give you. I wasn't planning on giving it to you for another few weeks, but I finished it early, so I suppose I'll just give it to you now, if that's alright." Rarity said as Spike began folding and sorting out the clothes that he was assigned to organize.

"Oh, really? What is it?" Spike asked, curiosity getting to him. Rarity gave the dragon a brief wink.

"I'll give it to you as soon as you're done with your task, Spike. I wouldn't want to spoil the surprise!"

Spike only picked up the pace at which he was working. He really wanted to know what Rarity had for him. Even the smallest of gifts from her were like gems to him, in every single way.

For a little over two hours, Spike and Rarity were each doing their own tasks, talking whilst doing so about each other's endeavors. This tended to happen almost every time that Spike dropped by to give her a visit, and even Spike could tell that she enjoyed his company a lot. He kept her company in the days that she was bored, or whenever her store wasn't exactly at the peak of its business. He one day hoped to have her fall in love with him, but the only issue was how he was going to do it. Sure, Rarity already knows of his feelings for her, but they never really liked to talked about it, most likely due to how awkward it would be.

What bothered Spike, however, was what Rarity thought about the fact that he even had such feelings towards her. Does she think it's weird? Does she feel comfortable about the fact that a dragon has feelings for a beautiful mare such as herself? Would she choose to accept it? These were some of the most annoying unanswered questions that constantly swam around in the wyvern's head.

"Alright," began Spike, "I finished folding all of your clothes and put them back in your closet."

Rarity turned from her work to see that her bedside no longer had a giant pile of dis-organizational chaos, as she liked to think of it. She smiled at his handy work.

"Wow, good work, Spike! I believe I owe you my thanks." she said as she made her way into her wardrobe to pull out a box with her mouth. She walked over to Spike and gently set the box down beside him.

"There you are, darling, your gift, as promised." Rarity said as Spike immediately started opening it. He took the top off of the box, and pulled out what appeared to be an outfit, a tuxedo-like one at that. Spike held it in both hands and spread it apart to see the full view of it, and his eyes widened in surprise. Normally, Spike wasn't really the one to swoon over clothing, but this one was an exception, and for many reasons. For one, it matched his body colors. The main color was purple, but with a green undershirt that came out just above the collar, and even showed between the first few top buttons. Secondly, it had a nice, scaly texture to it, and what appeared to be his name engraved just where the heart would reside when put on. Also, it was from Rarity, so that alone was enough to make the dragon smile sheepishly.

"W-whoa, Rarity. This is just...this is great!" Spike exclaimed as he gave Rarity a long, tender hug. Rarity was happy to see that the dragon was pleased.

"For all the hard work that you help me around with here, darling." she said. "It's the least that I could do."

Spike tried on the uniform to see if it fit right, and sure enough, it was a perfect fit.

"Oh wow, it looks really good on you, dear! I am pleased with my work!" Rarity said with a hint of conceitedness.

"Thank you so much, Rarity. I really like it!" said the dragon as he put the uniform back into the box nicely. "I really think I should head back home, though. I have a feeling that Twilight might be wanting me home soon. It's getting pretty late." he said as he noticed the window losing its light in Rarity's room. She simply nodded understandably.

After the two walked downstairs, Spike set the box down in her living room, and made his way to Rarity, who had made her way into the kitchen. She offered him a quick snack of gems, and then made his way to the front door.

"Thanks again for the help, Spike! Do come again soon, will you?" Rarity said as she made her way back upstairs and into her room.

"I sure will!" Spike said as he opened the door to leave. Spike ran out and-

THUD!

Spike immediately was knocked down onto his back on the ground, from what appeared to be a large purple object that stood in his way. He stood up to see that the purple object was Twilight, and she too was knocked over, groaning a little in pain.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, Twilight! I didn't see you there." Spike said as he walked over to help her up.

"It's okay, Spike, it's not your fault. We both weren't paying attention where we were walking." Twilight responded as she winced a little in pain from the fall. "Anyway, were you just leaving Rarity's?"

Spike nodded. "Yeah, I finished helping her out, so I was heading back home to see if you needed anything, but now you're out here, so I don't really know now." he said, chuckling a little.

"I need to speak with Rarity about a few things. In fact, I did leave you a note at home of all your tasks that you need to complete before you head to bed, but it's only a few small ones. Could you go home and take care of them for me? It's for my report that I start tomorrow."

"Sure thing, Twi. I'll get started on them as soon as I get there." Spike said as he ran home, leaving Twilight to walk to Rarity's. She sighed to herself.

"Thank goodness he left now and not later." she said to herself, smiling a little

______________________________________________________

As Spike continued running home, his thoughts were focusing on nothing but the cayuse of his dreams. He thought back to whenever he got the gift and how excited he was to have been given it. It truly made his day. Suddenly, his thoughts were interrupted by his own faux pas.

"Oh drat, I forgot the gift back in her living room!" Spike said as he turned around without a moment's hesitation, and began sprinting back to Rarity's. How could he have forgotten the gift from his own crush?

Spike arrived back at Rarity's in a flash. He wasn't really far from it in the first place, as he didn't run too far off to begin with. He was about to knock on the door, but noticed that it was cracked open. Carefully, he peered inside, but he didn't see anyone. They must be upstairs, he thought. He turned to his right and saw the box still laying in the living room, just as he had left it. Shrugging, Spike slowly but quietly made his way into the living room and retrieved his box. He held it tightly and kissed it, as if winning it for a second time. Just as he was about to head back out, a certain voice, or rather just a certain word, caught his attention.

"Spike? What do you mean 'what do you think about Spike?'" Rarity said from upstairs. Spike's ears raised at this, and he moved closer to the base of the stairs to understand more clearly.

Eve of Realization

Spike approached the bottom of the staircase, listening intently to the conversation that was taking place upstairs in Rarity's boutique. Why did Rarity just ask that?, thought Spike.

"Well, you...is all...curious." came Twilight's reply to Rarity. For some reason, Twilight's voice sounded very muffled, and very hard to understand. It sounded as if she were in a closet or something.

She must be trying on a few clothes that Rarity made or something in her closet, Spike thought, unable to come up with a better explanation.

"Well, I'm not exactly sure what you mean by the question, darling. Spike is a good friend. He helps me out a lot, and I appreciate it very much." Rarity said, clear as can be, as opposed to Twilight's voice. She was obviously not in the closet with Twilight.

"But...maybe something...more...at all?" Twilight responded. Spike cursed under his breath at not being able to understand her. What was she asking Rarity, anyway? What's she trying to pull? Spike gulped a little. The curiosity was killing him.

"Something...more? What do you mean, Twilight?"

"Well, Spike has been...a lot lately, and...you. Don't you...any way....at all? Even...little?"

Spike hissed at Twilight's reply. He may have not been able to make out some of the words, but he understood enough to know what she was asking: she was trying to find out if Rarity had any romantic feelings for him. Spike clenched his teeth slightly, a little angry at Twilight's ambitions.

"For Spike? Oh, Twilight, me and Spike...well, simply put, we just...cannot be." Rarity said.

Spike's heart took a little plunge upon hearing this. Before he could do anything else, he was interrupted as Rarity continued on.

"Spike is a sweetheart, darling. He comes over to visit a lot, and offers to help me out quite often, and although I do admire his actions, I simply could not ever find myself to ever date the young dragon. Think about it, Twilight: he's a dragon, and I'm a pony. It would simply never work out."

Spike felt a tear involuntarily make its way down his left cheek.

"Besides, do you have any idea how embarrassing it would be to be seen dating a small dragon like him? Oh, it would be horrible. Everypony would give me us funny looks, and they would just snicker behind our backs, most likely something nasty about our relationship."

"I see...well, I...with him." Twilight said, disappointment clear in her ironically unclear voice.

Spike could barely even stand at this point. From his own crush's mouth, he found out that he was...an embarrassment. To her, he was nothing more than someone that offered to lend a helping hand for her. Another tear made its way down his other cheek, followed by another, and another, and another. Before he knew it, he was silently crying and letting tears stream down his face freely and without care. He didn't even bother to wipe them away.

He turned and darted out of the boutique, tears falling off his face with every step. He ran for about a minute before stumbling due to the box that he had in his hands. He fell to the ground, and the box flew forward and opened up, the outfit falling out of it and onto the ground. Spike growled a little and stood up, and looked at the "gift" in front of him. His eyes just stared at it, and the longer he did, the more tears came down his face.

Am I really that pathetic? Am I really an embarrassment to be seen with her? Is that....truly what she thinks of me? All this time, I thought...I thought...

Spike, wanting to scream, ended up falling to his knees and began sobbing. He cupped his hands over his face, trying to prevent the tears from coming, but to no avail. They had to fall. His heart had broken clean in two. Ponies would walk by and see him sob, and he knew it, but he didn't bother trying to hide from them. He didn't care who saw.

After a few minutes of crying to himself, he looked back up at the outfit that had sprawled out onto the ground, and silently huffed. He didn't even feel like picking it back up. Hell, he didn't even want to look at it. All it seemed to do now was remind him of Rarity, and for once, he actually didn't want to think of her in the slightest. He wanted to think of anything but her. Standing up, he turned around and began walking to the library, leaving behind the very thing that he had cherished not ten minutes ago.

He slouched as he walked, looking as if he were some kind of mummy. Once he finally reached the library, he walked in, knowing that Twilight was still away, and went upstairs to his bed and lied down on his back. Another tear had found its way down his cheek. He cursed to himself for still weeping.

"He's a dragon, and I'm a pony. It would simply never work out." Rarity's words were repeating in Spike's head, stinging him more and more he thought about them.

"Besides, do you have any idea how embarrassing it would be to be seen dating a small dragon like him? Oh, it would be horrible."

Spike growled a little, not very happy with the tone Rarity had used when she had said that particular sentence. It sounded almost as if she knew he was overhearing her. It was almost as if she wanted him to hear her.

Before he could reminisce on the thoughts any longer, he heard the door to the library open downstairs. Twilight was here.

"Spike, are you here? Have you looked at the list I left you yet?"

Spike growled to himself again. He had forgotten all about the tasks that Twilight had left him to do, but it's not like you could blame him.

"Yeah, I'm up here, and I forgot about the list. I was kind of...lost in thought for a bit."

Twilight huffed. "It's fine, Spike, just start on them now. It's no real rush, anyway."

Spike simply nodded to her as he walked down the stairs to retrieve the list that Twilight had posted on her desk. Twilight noticed the slouchy and gloomy way that he was walking.

"You okay, Spike? You're walking really strange."

"I'm fine, Twilight," Spike lied. "I'm just tired, that's all."

Twilight, obviously aware of his lies, simply shrugged the topic off for now. She was in no real mood to start any arguments with him at the moment, for she too was a little disheartened of the same news that Spike had overheard.

Twilight was too still thinking about the conversation that she had had with Rarity earlier. She watched as Spike looked at the list and began the first written task, which, in this case, was to take out a few certain books that related to her new report that she was about to begin. She sighed, feeling sorry for Spike. Was dating a dragon really all that embarrassing for a pony? Did it truly matter at all? Shouldn't love be the one to decide that, and not one's simple misunderstanding of two different species? As long as the two were in love, then shouldn't it just not matter at all? All of these questions were clouding Twilight's mind, and she couldn't help but let her ears droop in sadness as she too let a single tear fall down her face.

Poor Spike. Twilight thought, he likes her...no, *loves** her so much, and she doesn't even give him the light of day.*

As Twilight thought about it some more, she began to realize just how hurtful Rarity's comment really was. Sure, she may not have meant for it to sound rude, but her tone wasn't exactly very appealing nonetheless. Twilight was only thankful that Spike wasn't there to hear it. It would have broken his tender, loving little heart.

Oh, if only she knew.

___________________________________________________________________

Meanwhile, at Rarity's boutique, Rarity was just finishing cleaning up and putting away her dresses that Twilight had volunteered to try on. Twilight had been a great help for her. Most of the dresses looked satisfying when worn on her, but other simply didn't have that "pizzazz," as Rarity would say. Then again, that was the whole purpose of the "fashion show," as she now knew which ones still needed some extra work before she could think about selling them.

As she was putting her dresses away and sorting them about, her thoughts immediately made their way to the conversation she had with Twilight. She gulped a little, nervous about the whole thing. She remembered the look on Twilight's face when she told her her true views on Spike, and how she simply didn't see anything much in him.

Why did she bring that up? Rarity thought. She knew Twilight well enough to know that she wouldn't just talk about anything if she wasn't up to something, or even if she knew of something that she didn't. However, that wasn't the case at all. She already knew of Spike's feelings for her, and her stomach seemed to rise a little the moment she thought about it. She couldn't help but feel a bit guilty. Spike loved her, and she didn't love him, and for some reason, that was reason enough for her to tell Twilight directly like she did.

But that didn't seem to rid the uneasy feeling that she was currently feeling in her stomach.

Suddenly, Rarity heard her door burst open downstairs, followed by a high-pitched 'Rarity!"

Rarity knew all too well who that was.

"Yes Sweetie Belle, I'm up here, darling." Rarity called out to her sister. "What is it that you want? Why are you here?"

Sweetie Belle could be heard running up the stairs, and she soon walked into Rarity's room.

"Hello, Sweetie. What brings you he-?" Rarity paused when she saw that Sweetie Belle was holding a rather torn-up box in her muzzle. "Goodness, what's that?"

"I found this on the ground outside! I brought it here because it looks like one of your works, so I wanted to make sure that you didn't lose this or something." Sweetie Belle responded, dropping the box down in front of Rarity. She inspected the box a little bit, and then let out a little gasp when she looked inside.

"S-Spike's outfit? Why was this on the ground outside?" Rarity asked, a little shocked to see that Spike had apparently left it out and had not taken it with him home.

"Wait, that's for Spike? Did you make that for him?" asked Sweetie.

"Yes, yes I did, but that's not important right now. What's important is that Spike forgot this, and it must be given to him. The poor dragon deserves it." Rarity said. However, she still felt a bit suspicious, and a little scared. She knew Spike would never ever leave behind anything that she would give him. She didn't want to sound too conceited, but it was true. He was head-over-heels for her. Something wasn't right.

"Well, you look pretty busy, sis, so if you want, I can go over and give it to him for you!" Sweetie proposed.

"Actually Sweetie, I think I should go over and give it to him personally. I want to make sure he gets it."

Little did Sweetie know that Rarity was more interested in finding out why it was even left out on the ground like that in the first place. She wanted to make sure that Spike didn't get hurt. Rarity used her magic to pick up the box, and hurried down the stairs to the front door.

"I'll be back soon, Sweetie. Stay here until then." Rarity called out behind her just as she walked out.

A faint "okay!" was all she could hear she she closed the door, and made her way to Twilight's library. The more she trotted and the closer she got, the more her stomach started to turn. She didn't know why, but she felt so...nervous. She felt as if she was about to find out about something that she wouldn't want to find out about at all.

Oh, please tell me he's alright, she thought as she began to trot faster, the box floating in front of her as she did.

Countered Feelings

Rarity continued running toward Twilight's library, her mind rushing with 88 thoughts per minute. There were so many questions that she had running through her head, and she could hardly even keep up with how fast her mind was asking them all.

"Why was Spike's gift left on the ground, seemingly abandoned?"

"Why hadn't he come back to retrieve it?"

"Why do I care so much?"

Rarity began to trot faster absentmindedly, truly realizing that Spike could have been hurt.

However, just as she was about to near the library, she felt an ominous, evil aura in the air. It wasn't exactly the feeling of somepony evil being near, but rather something evil. It was as if the library had suddenly become a dreadful mansion, just waiting to be approached so that the visitor could be scared or traumatized.

Rarity slowly walked up to the front door of the library, the box still floating magically beside her as she did. As she raised her right hoof to knock on the door, she realized that her hoof was shaking vigorously, and that's when it hit her like a brick to the face:

She was about to find out about something that she was not going to like. The fear of that was there for sure.

Twilight was still deep in thought when a faint knock on the door interrupted her from her thoughts. Composing herself back to normal, she walked up to the front door, and slowly opened it to find a slightly-shaking Rarity.

"Oh, hey there, Rarity. What's with you? You look like you've just seen a ghost." Twilight remarked. "And what's that?" she asked as she noticed the box that was floating beside Rarity.

Spike, who was still in the middle of gathering things for Twilight's upcoming report, heard Rarity's voice downstairs, and frowned slightly. He really didn't want to hear that voice at the moment. Not now.

With a silent "hmph," Spike made his way deeper to the outskirts of the upstairs room so as not to be seen by her.

"I've come here to...to give this to Spike. I had given it to him earlier today as a gift, but for some reason, it was left outside on the ground. Had it not been for my sister Sweetie Belle, I don't believe I would have ever known about it." Rarity replied to Twilight. "Do you think I could come and give it to him" Rarity asked, a little more pleading than expected, especially to Twilight.

"Um..sure, I don't see why not. Spike? Rarity is here to give you something that she thinks you might have forgotten!" Twilight yelled towards the upstairs room. However, there was no answer.

"Spike?" Twilight repeated.

Still no answer.

"Here, let me go get him. He's probably too caught up with his current tasks." Twilight replied as she turned around to go upstairs. Twilight, however, knew that that wasn't the case at all. She knew that even just hearing the name "Rarity" would make him jump down in a jiffy, much less make him excited and lovesick. The fact that he wasn't responding simply worried her.

As she neared the top of the staircase, she found Spike casually organizing books and papers, just as he was supposed to be doing. That was the very thing that bothered her, though.

"Spike, did you hear me downstairs? Rarity's here, and she has something for you that she believes you might have lost. Think you could come down to get it from her?" Twilight asked.

Spike placed a book on top of another on a certain pile, and then looked up at Twilight. "Actually, I'm fine. I don't really want the gift, anyway." came his simple reply.

Twilight gasped a bit, unbelieving as to what she had just heard.

"Wait, what? W-what do you mean? Rarity says that she gave you a gift earlier today. Is that true?" she asked

"Sure is."

"Well then, why was it left outside? She says that Sweetie Belle found it. I'm sure you should be thankful that somepony else didn't take it!"

"I said I don't want it, Twilight. Go tell Rarity that I no longer desire her...her gift. Spike said, putting a certain sarcastic emphasis on the last word.

Twilight was, simply put, at a loss for words. What was with him? Did something happen to him? Why was he suddenly so sour about Rarity being here with a gift, and for him for that matter?

Spike normally treasured such things, especially if it was from Rarity. What was going on?

"Spike, I...I don't really know what to tell you. What's wrong? Why are you acting like this? You're scaring me!" Twilight said with concern in her voice.

"Actually Twilight, I think I'll just go tell her myself." Spike simply stated as he suddenly started walking toward her, then past her, and then down the stairs. Twilight, who had just computed what had happened, turned around to watch as Spike slowly made his way toward Rarity, who was still wiating impatiently at the front door.

Upon seeing Rarity, Spike's heart skipped an entire beat.

And another.

His heart was skipping beats like no other. He frowned a little, the conversation between Twilight and the ex-mare of his dreams flowing through his head with every step.

"Spike's a dragon, and I'm a pony."

He takes another step closer.

"It would simply never work out."

Another step.

"Besides, do you have any idea how embarrassing it would be to be seen dating a small dragon like him?"

One final step.

"Oh, it would be horrible."

Spike was now just a few feet in front of Rarity, who had sighed in relief to see that he was alright. That smile faded just as fast as it had appeared when she saw the expression on his face. Was he...mad?

"Hello there, darling. I came to give this back to you! It seems as if you forgot it outside." Rarity said, trying her best to give him a caring smile.

The fact that Spike simply stood there silently worried the white mare, and Twilight as well, who was still watching from atop the stairs.

"What in Equestria is going on?" Twilight said to herself.

Spike looked down at the ground. He couldn't dare look the unicorn in the eyes, not after what she had said about him. Just as Rarity was about to say something, she noticed a drip of water that hit the ground just below Spike's head.

"Was that a...a tear?" Rarity thought.

It was then that Spike rose his head to look Rarity in the eyes, and that's when Rarity gasped.

His eyes were practically beat-red from crying. Tear after tear began pouring down his face, and even though he kept trying to growl or frown in anger, all he could manage to do was frown is sadness and continue to let the tears stream down his face.

Rarity was shocked. Even though she still had no idea why he was crying, she could practically feel the pain. Her eyes began to water up.

"Spike, what's...what's wrong? Why are you-?"

"Im that horrible, huh?" came Spike's interrupting reply. Rarity simply stuttered.

"I-I beg your pardon?"

"You never really cared for me, did you?" Spike asked, this time raising even Twilight's alerts.

"Spike, what's this all about?" Twilight asked from upstairs, growing impatient. Spike simply ignored his roommate, and continued to look into the now-painful eyes of the white mare before him. Never in his life did he think he would actually come to despise such beautiful eyes.

"Spike, what are you talking about?" Rarity asked, trying to hold in a tear.

"For months, I came to visit you, to help you, to keep you company! For months, I thought that I could one day win your heart, or at least so much as a smile! Your smiles were always the sort of thing that would make my day!"

Spike raised his voice louder and louder after each passing sentence. This time, it was Rarity's turn to let a tear fall down her cheek.

"I came to visit you every day that I could, Rarity, but for some reason, the only thing that I will ever be to you is...is...some tool!" Spike yelled, his tears still falling freely and without care.

Twilight began to silently cry to herself as well. She had a feeling she knew what was finally going on, and why it was going on.

"Dating me would be nothing more than horrible, huh? To you, I'm just some pathetic baby dragon who's only good for giving you an extra hand whenever I'm able to." Spike's voice began to calm down.

Rarity gasped at this last sentence, and immediately looked up at Twilight, giving her a slight glare.

"Spike, I...I didn't...how did you..?" Rarity was still stuttering, and was unable to fully ask her question.

To both her and Twilight's surprise, Spike bolted past Rarity out the front door, and began running as fast as he could in no general direction.

As soon as he did, Rarity immediately looked up at Twilight, who too was now crying.

"You told him? Twilight, how could you?!" Rarity asked as she covered her face with her hooves, fell to the ground, and began weeping.

"Rarity, I didn't tell him a word! You know I would never do that!" Twilight protested, running down the stairs to comfort Rarity and help her up.

Rarity, accepting her friend's help, stood up and looked Twilight in her watery eyes.

"Twilight, he practically almost mimicked the very words that I had said earlier today? How does he know about it? There's no other way that he could have-."

Rarity stopped her sentence immediately. She turned to the box, which was no longer floating in the air due to loss of concentration during the conversation. It was laying on the ground beside her. She looked at the dirty dress that was inside it, and she simply realized why all the events that happened earlier happened. Rarity fought back more tears.

"Oh Twilight, he...he was...he heard us! Twilight, Spike heard us when we were talking at my boutique!" Rarity practically whimpered as she turned back to an already-knowing-faced Twilight. "He must have eavesdropped on us earlier today! Why else would this have been left outside? It makes so much more sense now! Oh, Twilight, this...this is all my fault!"

"I think you may be right, Rarity. I figured the same thing in the middle of his outbreak." Twilight responded, her eyes still watery. Rarity was still practically sobbing. Because of her, the dragon that she adored so well was running to Celestia knows where, and with feelings of complete despair and sadness. He now saw nothing more in her than a complete witch. Rarity continued to sob. She remembered the look on Spike's face as he screamed at her. His voice was full of sorrow. He meant every single word, and it cut Rarity deep. Was this how he felt whenever he evidently eavesdropped onto their conversation? No. This was nothing compared to that. Her words were much worse.

"Besides, if anything, this is all my fault, Rarity. I shouldn't have asked such questions back at the boutique. None of this would have ever happened if it wasn't for me." Twilight said.

"Twilight, don't be ridiculous. I was the one who replied to your questions with such rudeness. I was the one...I was the one who broke Spike's heart." she finally said, allowing another tear to make its way to her mouth.

Both Rarity and Twilight turned to look outside into the direction that Spike seemingly ran off to. Twilight sighed, and turned around to slowly walk back into the middle of her library, where she lied down and buried her face into her hooves, and began to cry silently.

Rarity continued to gaze out into the darkness. She watched for any signs of Spike running back, but to no avail. The dramatic turn of events was too much for her. She didn't want to believe that any of this was happening. She wanted to finally wake up from this dreadful nightmare, and be done with it.

But sadly, that wasn't the case. All of this was real. Spike had run away, and now probably hated her as well.

After looking into the darkness for what seemed like an eternity, Rarity herself fell to the ground, and began crying like she never did in her life.

_______________________________________________________________________________

*Author's note*: For those of you who wanted so badly to see Spike slap Rarity:

Shame on you.

The Great Wall of Emotions

Spike ran as fast as his little legs allowed him to. He didn't care where he would go, or when he would even return home. All he cared about was getting away from Rarity, from Twilight, and from heartache.

He just wanted to get away from everything.

All he could think and feel was distress as tears slowly trickled and bounced off of his face after every step. He eventually came across the Everfree Forest, and without a moment's hesitation, he ran onwards and inside the dark forest, uncaring as to how late it was, and considerably dangerous at that.

After what seemed like ages, Spike slowly came to a halt, and fell to his knees on the ironically rough grass, put his hands on the ground, and continued weeping pathetically. How could all of this happen to him? What in Celestia's name did he do to deserve such hurt?

Spike stopped sobbing, and sat on his behind, putting his head in his crossed arms over his knees. He began thinking about Rarity, about how cold and carelessly heartless she was to say those things about him, even if he wasn't meant to hear it. It ached him badly to know the things that she thought of him, yet there was still an aching feeling in his heart. He still felt something that he knew he shouldn't be feeling right now. His heart wouldn't deny it, and even if he had wanted to, he knew that he never could:

He was still in love with Rarity.

The mare had gone and practically called him a pathetic dragon, yet the poor dragon himself was still hopelessly in love with her, and that's why this whole situation hurt him all the more. Her words stung like alcohol to a wound, and memories that the two spent together slowly began to blur in Spike's mind as he realized that they may just remain that way: simple memories, and nothing more.

He mentally slapped himself, knowing that he had wasted all this time to win her heart, but only to gain the opposite effect for himself. He had won heartache, and that was all. She didn't love him, and that was all it took for him to run off.

"Dear boy, you look like you're going through some emotional issues." Came a voice behind Spike, causing him to jump up and squeal in surprise. He darted around, but saw nothing, just darkness. This scared Spike, to say the least.

"W-who's there?" He asked, hoping that he would get an answer.

"Tell me, what's she like?" Came the voice again, but this time, it came from the left of him.

Again, Spike snapped his head in the direction of the voice, but found only emptiness. He was beginning to panic.

"Ha! You're too easily startled and frightened, boy, but I guess that's why I'm here." Came the voice again. Spike, hearing this voice for a third time, realized that it was now coming from directly in front of him, and his eyes widened as the heir of the voice slowly made its way into the open to reveal themselves.

"Discord?!" Spike yelled, both with shock and anger. "How are you-? What do you want?!"

"Calm down, kiddo. Why I'm not a statue isn't exactly important right now. What is important, however, is the fact that you seem to be in quite the blue mood. Was I right? Is it because of a mare?" He asked. a devious smile on his face as he leaned his long neck down towards Spike.

"W-what's it to you? It's none of your concern! Just wait until Twilight and the others know about you being out here! They'll come and defeat you again!" Spike yelled, hoping to intimidate his enemy. His response, however, was far from what he had expected.

Discord raised his head high in the air, and began laughing maniacally. "Hahaha! Boy, what are you talking about? Are you telling me that you're still going to stand for the very ponies who have despised you? You truly are pathetic!" He said, lowering his head back down to Spike's level. Spike, still scowling at his enemy, tried to deny his words, but couldn't. Discord, although he hated to admit it, was right; he was entrusting the very thing that he ran away from. He was hoping that Twilight and the others would come and save him. Spike felt degraded.

"W-wait a second, how did you know that-"

"That you ran away from your 'friends?' Kid, you're forgetting who the Element of Chaos is. I can smell and see these things from miles away. I feed on other's pain and sorrow, and my friend, you are leaving one hell of a trail of it."

Spike, eyes wide, simply fell on his behind, unable to find any other way out of this fiend's horrible tactics at deceiving him.

"So, tell me! What's she like? Hmm?" Discord asked, almost tauntingly.

Spike felt very hesitant to tell him his problems. Why should he? What did this monster care for his feelings towards another mare? Why did this seem so important to him?

Then again, what else could he possibly do? He had nothing to lose. He had already ran away from his friends, who probably deceived him now due to his recent outburst. Not that he cared, though.

"She's...her name...her name is...is Rarity.." Spike began. Discord simply nodded slowly, and his grin spread wider.

"She's, simply put, the most beautiful mare that I have ever laid my eyes on. Her coat glistens in the moon, her mane flows elegently around her in smooth transitions, and her voice is just...just heavenly. I've loved her ever since I met her, and I know that this one isn't just a silly childhood crush. I knew that this was something more. I could feel it in my heart."

Discord let out a silent grunt.

"But...but today, I learned that she not only doesn't share the same feelings towards me, but she-" Spike paused. He felt as if he was going to choke out the last remaining words. Discord waved his hand in forward motions, telling Spike to go on.

"She thinks that I'm pathetic."

"There!" Discord shouted. Spike shook in surprise at his outburst.

"W-what?" Spike questioned, confused.

"Your emotions. They're getting the best of you, and because of the love that you share for her, you care about what she thinks of you, and now you feel nothing but despair in your heart because of it. Am I right?" Discord asked, grinning mischievously at Spike as he spoke.

Spike simply stared at him in confusion, oblivious as to what Discord was trying to say exactly.

"Kid, what you need to do in order to live through this is simple; you have to kill your feelings. With feelings, one is able to feel things towards another that makes them feel all jittery and fuzzy inside, and for the most part, if makes you feel good." Discord said, making Spike nod in agreement. Discord simply chuckled at this. "However, when one feels compassion and love for another, then they are just as bound to experience heartbreak and deception. With feelings, one is able to feel the most sorrowful of feelings, and at times, it can take a huge tole on the one that feels such things."

At this, Discord turned his head away, and Spike could have sworn he saw his evil smile briefly turn into a sad frown. A quick mental slap to the face, however, quickly changed that back into a mischievous one, and he went on.

"Right now, you're experiencing a lot of pain, but in your heart. Have you ever considered or thought that if it wasn't for your love for this mare, that you would never be hurting right now? In order for one to feel pain, they must first experience bliss. Ironically, that very bliss is what brought you here right now. Your heart is basically having an argument with what your mind thinks, and until you rid your feelings, you will always see things with emotional despair."

Spike stood up slowly from where he sat on the ground. He raised his claws to his chest level, and looked at them as if he were holding something dear to him. Realization hit him.

Although the way that Discord chose to describe it was confusing, Spike understood enough to know that he was making sense; in order to be hurt emotionally, you must first feel. If there was anything that Spike hated, it was emotional distress, and right now was now exception.

"Do you understand what I'm trying to tell you, boy?" Discord asked, waiting for the little dragon's reply.

Spike remained silent. He was still contemplating on the speech that Discord had given him. Why did feelings have to be so complicated?

"I...I understand, but why are you telling me all of this? Why are you trying to make me believe in such things?"

Discord looked up into the night sky, his gaze falling upon the bright moon that was illuminating the ground beneath them. Letting out what Spike could have sworn sounded like a sad sigh, he began to speak.

"Kid, I don't normally do this, but I see...potential in you. To be honest, you remind me me of how i was whenever i was just a small, incompetent fool, like you are now."

Spike scowled at this.

"Wait, I remind you of how you used to be? How's that? Are you trying to tell me that you too were in lo-"

"Don't think for a second about even finishing that sentence!" Discord growled, dropping his head right down next to Spike's in an attempt to scare him. Successful, of course, as Spike fell down on his back in fear.

"S-sorry! I just didn't know what you meant, that's all.." He retaliated. Grunting in annoyance, the large, snake-like behemoth before him rose up to his full height, and looked down upon Spike, as if he were some kind of overlord.

Granted, in a way, he was.

In a quick, swift motion, Discord waved his right hand just above Spike's head-spikes, causing the dragon to flinch. A large aura of black and red began to swirl around the dragon, and in a panic of not knowing what was going on, SPike began to scream.

Soon, the dragon was no longer even visible to Discord, as he was completely covered in the small tornado-like cloud of mystical aura that he had bestowed upon him. Discord simply grinned as he watched on, awaiting his little plan to finally finish.

_________________________________________________________________________________________

The innards of the Carousel Boutique had never looked so disorganized in ages. What was once the most top-shape place in Ponyville quickly turned into a pile of mess, as the host couldn't find herself enough time to even care about taking care of it. Orders were piling on, and she was greatly behind in her schedule.

Rarity, Ponyville's most generous and caring pony, hadn't come out of her house ever since Spike ran away.

It had been five days since that fateful night that the dragon had fled from town, and his screams of anger and heartbreak still stung and lingered in the ivory unicorn's mind. She had been a fool. A fool to ever even have said such horrible things about him to Twilight. What drove her to say such things in the first place? Did she truly mean it? Did she really think Spike was pathetic? Didi she really think he was all that horrible?

Did it truly matter that she was a pony, and that he was a dragon?

No, no it didn't. None of that mattered. Now that she thought about it, such thoughts were only mere excuses and heartless misconceptions.

Spike wasn't the pathetic one, she was.

Spike wasn't the horrible one, she was.

All the things that she had said about him now ironically described her in her current situation; she was a pathetic, heartless mare who had just thrown away one of her greatest friends thanks to her carelessness. She would never forget the hurtful look that Spike had worn as he screamed at her, just as she deserved. A tear formed in her eye as she thought back to that day.

She would never, not even in a thousand lifetimes, forget that day.

Rarity sat up in her bed, and looked out the window. Another beautiful day. The sun was shining all around town, and she could hear the laughter of several fillies and other citizens just outside.

Another beautiful day for her, however, to stay inside. She couldn't even think about walking outside anymore. All it did was remind her of her mistake, remind her that she would have to see Twilight, and although the two weren't exactly in a quarrel with one another, she still felt guilty.

She had, after all, driven her number-one assistant away, and Twilight had every right to be angry with her.

But then again, this is what bothered Rarity even more. Why was Twilight not angry with her? Why had she forgiven her so easily? Perhaps the lavender unicorn and her both understood the situation was a complete mistake? An unintended mistake?

Or maybe, perhaps, Twilight knew Spike well enough to know that he would simply just return home one day and completely forget about everything?

Rarity huffed to herself. She knew it wouldn't be that easy, if that were to be the case.

She finally mustered up enough energy to get down from her bed, and lazily walk down the stairs and into her kitchen, where she began to prepare herself some coffee. Getting some water to boil, Rarity sat down on one of her sofas, and planted her face into her hooves. She was the worst pony that she had ever met in her entire life.

Hot tears began to well and mash themselves with her hooves, and she slowly began to weep. For the first time in what seemed like years, the mare began to feel a very hurtful feeling that she feared of ever having to feel again.

Her heart had broken in two, and a particular purple dragon, who now most likely despised her, had taken a half of it with him.

*Author's note*: Don't expect the next chapter to take as long to be published. I have been working on another long one-shot as of late, but have made enough progress with it to continue with this story, so yeah.

The Part of Her

When one experiences pain or sorrow, they are usually left to weep and bask in their own thoughts of how they can fix it, what they can do to prevent it from happening again in the future, or simply to reminisce on the very events that led them to feel such things in the first place.

For a particular magical, lavender unicorn, it was all of the above.

She felt as if this whole ordeal had been her fault, but for a good reason: she was the one who had started asking Rarity all of those cursed questions. It was she who had incautiously forced these hurtful answers out of the ivory-colored unicorn, and now, because of her selfishness, she had lost her assistant. She had lost her friend.

She had lost what was once to her a brother.

Shaking with both fear and despair, Twilight weakly got up from her bed, and made her way downstairs to prepare herself for breakfast. Surely, she didn't feel like eating, but she had to. She didn't feel like eating ever since Spike had run off to Celestia-knows-where, as a matter of fact. Lazily, she made herself some cereal, and ate at it slowly and unwantingly. After what seemed to her like an hour, Twilight finished up her meal, and tossed the bowl into the sink, not bothering to clean it. Her whole library was a complete mess. Books were scattered across the floor, papers and scrolls lay about torn and wrinkled, and even some of her past reports were lost and torn apart. Without her assistant, not only was she alone, but she was also hopeless.

She hadn't bothered telling Celestia about any of this yet. She was afraid of what she might say, or how she might scold her for asking Rarity those questions in the first place. She mainly didn't tell her because she was afraid that Celestia might want to take Spike away from her, fearing that the dragon was maturing and growing into a dangerous, threat-inducing beast. Celestia may have been the one to let Spike stay with her, but she was also the one that was very skeptical about the dragon's aging process, and how risky it would be to let such a creature stay in a pony residence.

Twilight huffed and sat down on one of the many piles of books in the library, and let out a big, heavy sigh. She wanted to cry, but she had already done so for the past three days, and she wasn't sure how much more of this she could take. She looked down on the pile of books below her, many of them being about magical spells and enchantments that she had already mastered long ago. One particular book, however, caught her interest. Not because of it's contents, but rather because of what it reminded her of. It was a book that she had used to read to Spike whenever he was still barely a hatchling. There were times that the dragon had trouble sleeping or falling asleep at night, and those nights, Twilight would read this book to him. He would always seem to fall asleep just fine afterwards, with a smile on his face that only Twilight knew oh-so-well.

The Mare and The Beast.

It was at this moment that Twilight, even though she had tried to fight it, let some tears fall down her face, leaving a darker trail of hairs where they ran.

As she continued to weep more and more, a particular owl made his way inside, and flew over to the crying unicorn, a letter gripped in his beak. Twilight, sensing the owl's arrival, lifted her head to see Owlicious, her secondary assistant. She toke note of the letter he had. Funny. She hadn't sent any letters to the Princess recently, so this was a bit rare. If Twilight ever received any letters from the Princess that weren't replies to her own, then that meant either really good news, or really bad news.

Obviously, Twilight had hoped for the first. She was going through enough "bad news" as it was already.

"Thank you, Owlicious." Twilight said in a low tone.

Taking the letter with caution from his beaks with her magic, Twilight brought it over to her and unrolled it, beginning to read.

Dear Twilight Sparkle,

It is with my utmost concern and acknowledgement to tell you of a terrible act that has inflicted a potential threat to Equestria. There is not much time to explain all of this through a simple letter, and it would be easier to explain to you in person.

I will, however, tell you this right now; your friend Spike is in grave danger, and we are unable to locate him anywhere. I am not sure what happened to him or why, but I am sure that you can possibly tell me any details that you know whenever you arrive here to talk to me.

There is a chariot already on it's way over to you. By the time you have finished reading this letter, they will be about twenty minutes away from you. Please be ready.

With love, Princess Celestia.

Twilight felt her heart drop. Spike was in danger? How did she know that? Does it have anything to do with this so-called threat that the Princess is talking about?

Her head began to spin from all of the unanswered questions that she wanted answered too badly. This was bothering her. Not only was Spike now missing, but he was now also in danger? What exactly was going on?

"Twenty minutes. That's more than enough time to get anything ready. But wait...will I even need anything? She didn't exactly say that I would be doing anything about this...this threat...." Twilight said as she went upstairs to prepare for something that she didn't really even know if she was supposed to prepare for.

"Oh, this is not good! When if I never see Spike again? What would I do without him, and what would Rarity-?" Twilight stopped mid-sentence.

Rarity.

Twilight's eyes popped open. She knew all too well that Rarity wasn't fairing too well ever since Spike not only ran away, but screamed in her face at how horrible she was to say those things about him a few days ago. However, Twilight also knew very well that Rarity was just as concerned for the dragon as she was, and it only seemed fair to tell her of the letter that she had gotten from Celestia.

No.

She didn't want to just tell her about it. She needed to go with her. Celestia may have not said for anypony else to go, but neither did she say that it wasn't allowed, and Rarity was just as involved with this as she was.

Without wasting another moment's hesitation, Twilight ran downstairs and sprinted to the doorway and out the door, leaving a very confused and seemingly-lifeless owl to stand in the very place that it had landed.

"Who?"

_______________________________________________________________

Twilight ran as fast as she could to Rarity's boutique, both excited and scared to tell her of the news she had received. She hadn't seen the unicorn ever since that fateful evening that both had grown to memorize, replaying the night's events over and over in their heads. She was worried about her, no doubt. Rarity was always one to be over-dramatic about a lot of things, and Twilight assumed that this was no exception. At the same time, she also knew that, although the white mare didn't really show it too much in a serious manner, Rarity was very emotional.

Finally arriving at the boutique, Twilight began to knock patiently, waiting for her friend to come down and open it. Just as Twilight was about to start another round of knocking, the door opened to reveal Rarity. Twilight's purple eyes met Rarity's eyes.

Her blue, blood-shot, half-opened eyes.

Twilight winced at the sight. She looked as if she had not slept in ages. Her mane was a mess, which was far from normal for her. Rarity barely looked like she was even able to lift her head.

She was taking this a lot harder than even Twilight herself.

"Rarity, I-I need to talk to you! It's important! Equestria is in danger! Not only that, but Spike-!"

"You've found Spike?!" Rarity interrupted, alarming Twilight. Rarity's eyes seemed to have shot open upon hearing the dragon's name, and a dead-hopeful smile slowly smeared onto her face.

"N-no, I haven't...but that's not it! I received a letter from Celestia, and she claims that a threat has been made on Equestria! She also said that Spike was in danger, but sadly, she too doesn't know where he is. She wants me to come to Canterlot to talk with her, but you are a part of this too, so I thought it would only seem right if I asked you if you wanted to come with me!" Twilight said, rushing through every sentence. Rarity gazed at her lavender friend, her smile fading away again at the news.

"Spike is...in danger? Why? What happened to him, Twilight?" Rarity asked, her voice peaking to desperation.

If only she knew the answer to that question herself.

"I'm not sure, Rarity, but we can find out once we get to Canterlot! So do you want to come, or do you not?" Twilight asked, realizing that the chariot that would take them to Canterlot would be arriving at her library at any minute.

Rarity looked at the ground below her. She stepped inside of her boutique, and closed the door slowly in Twilight's face.

Twilight was a bit shocked to see this. Rarity wasn't interested in going? Didn't she at least care about Spike at all? This didn't make any sense to her.

"I guess-I guess not, then..." Twilight said, letting out a long sigh.

With a feeling of disappointment, Twilight turned around in a slow, depressing manner, her head hanging low, and was about to make her way back to her library when she heard the door behind her open. Turning around curiously, she saw Rarity step out of her boutique. However, something was different about her. Her face was now full of confidence, and she looked as if she were ready to face anything. Her mane, while still rather messy, was half-heartedly combed back to it's original state. But that wasn't the thing that Twilight noticed the most. What caught Twilight's attention almost put a smile to her face.

She was wearing the fire-ruby that Spike had given her on his birthday.

"Let's go, Twilight. Spike needs our help." She said as she walked past Twilight, her voice fearless and full of pride. Twilight, now smiling at her friend's confirmation of going with her, ran to catch up with Rarity, and the two began to trot on over to Twilight's.

We're coming for you, Spike. *I'm** coming for you,* Rarity thought as she trotted.

Chapter 1: The Usual Duo

"Spike, can you help me for a second over here?" shouted Twilight to her number one assistant.

"Yeah, I'll be right there, Twilight!" replied Spike as he happily walked over to his sister to help her out.

While Twilight and Spike weren't actually siblings, the two always treated each other as such. They had been close ever since Twilight had "accidentally" hatched him out of his egg due to her magical outburst back whenever she was just a filly. With nowhere else to go, Spike was given to Twilight as a gift for her excellent display at the school just prior to earning her cutie mark. The two had practically grown up together, and Twilight always treated Spike as if she were his mother or sister.

"Here, I just need you to sort these books out real quick." Twilight said as she levitated a few books over to Spike using her magic. Spike nodded in affirmation as he grabbed a few books at a time, and began sorting them as he was told.

"Twilight, what are your plans for the day?" asked Spike as he finished putting up the last book.

"Well, I need to head on over to Pinkie's to pick up my cake order. She decided to bake me one as thanks for lending her a hand with babysitting Pumpkin and Pound the other day."

Spike chuckled to himself. Pinkie could be so nice to anyone for the smallest of favors.

"I need to go there before the shop closes, though. They close early today. You want to come, Spike?" asked Twilight. Spike looked outside through a window. It was still bright out.

"Yeah, I guess I could come with you. I might stop by Rarity's later on while I'm at it!" Spike said with sudden enthusiasm. Twilight laughed.

"How come I knew you would say that?" she replied.

After a few moments, both Spike and Twilight headed outside and made their way to Sugarcube Corner. The sun was, indeed, still out and shining as bright as it could. Ponies were strolling about left and right, enjoying the beautiful weather. It was Spring time in Ponyville, and everyone was outside these days. Twilight looked up as they walked, and could see a certain blue pegasus pony clearing the already-beautiful sky of clouds, giving the sun full access to shine its rays down upon the peaceful village. As she turned to her right, she could see Lyra and Bon-Bon walking alongside each other, as they usually did, talking about something that must have been amusing, as Lyra was seen laughing just as the two seemed to finish their conversation. Twilight then turned to her left, and saw Fluttershy leading a small pack of bunnies through a crowd of ponies, making sure that no one was in their way so as to harm any of them. Twilight just smiled to herself. She loved days like this whenever everyone was so active and happy.

After enjoying the view of the town, Twilight turned to her purple assistant walking beside her.

"Well Spike, what about you? What are your plans?" she asked him.

Spike looked over at Twilight with a confused expression. "Um, I'm going to visit Rarity later, remember?" he told her.

"I know that, silly. I meant what do you plan on doing once you get over there? What will you be helping Rarity out with?"

Spike put a hand up to his chin in thought. "You know, I actually don't know what I'm going to help her out with today. I guess I'll just have to wait and see whenever I get there." Spike said. Twilight chuckled a little.

"You know Spike, you really are nice to be giving Rarity a hand with her duties, but be sure not to visit her too often. The last thing you want to do is invade her free time. A mare needs her space every now and then."

Spike simply frowned a little. He never really thought of that.

"But don't worry, I'm sure she might not mind too much, if at all. You two seem to be getting really close!" Twilight reassured, not wanting to disappoint the dragon too much.

Spike blushed a bit at that last statement. "Aw shucks, Twilight, we're just friends right now."

"I know, but I bet if you keep this up, you will eventually grow on her." Twilight said, giving her companion a supporting smile. "If only she knew about your feelings for her. She may see you in a different light."

Spike couldn't help but laugh silently to himself. Oh, if only you knew, Twilight, he thought. Spike thought back to whenever he and Rarity were falling to their near deaths, and how he wasn't even able to fully confess his feelings to Rarity, as she placed a hoof over his mouth just before he could finish his sentence, a sign that she already knew. Oh, what a tender moment that was for Spike, and possibly even for Rarity.

"Yeah, if only she knew." Spike lied.

As they finally approached Sugarcube Corner, Twilight and Spike made their way to the front counter to greet Mrs. Cake. Upon seeing the two, she immediately called out for Pinkie Pie to come down and give her friends their cake. After a few bounces off of walls, a two-minute happy-go-lucky cake song, and a marathon of ear-to-ear smiles, Pinkie finally gave Twilight the giant pastry. Spike had to laugh at all of this. Pinkie never failed to be....well, Pinkie.

"Thanks guys! Come back and see us!" Pinkie cheered as Spike and Twilight headed back outside, Spike holding the cake in his hands.

"Hey Spike, let me have that cake. You can go along and visit Rarity right now if you want." Twilight said, giving Spike a little wink as she did and taking the cake into the air with her magic. Spike beamed at this.

"Really? You don't need me to do you any favors or chores back at the library? I was expecting to be given off later in the day!"

"Well, I was going to have you help me out with my studying, but after I checked my schedule earlier today, I found out that I wouldn't have to start my latest report until tomorrow, so I'm just going to give you off for the rest of the day."

Spike grew a smile on his face. "Oh thanks, Twilight! You're the best!" he said as he ran off towards the direction of the Carousel Boutique just after giving Twilight a hug. Twilight just chuckled and watched him run.

You really do deserve her, she thought.