Between a Maud and a Hard Place

Rarity Belle lived in a house of her own not too far from Twilight's castle, that doubled as a lavish boutique. Besides the Carousel Boutique, she had another house in Toola-Roola Rd, which was leased to a pair of musicians. She owned also a considerable and profitable estate in Trottingham, and owned bonds for a factory of some sort in Fillydelphia. In former days, the young fashionista, as her friends knew, had been hired to work in garment shops, clothing factories, and even, to their surprise, and her discomfort, a pit-mine, applying her gem-finding spell for her employers. Now she had shares in some well-established companies, and could afford herself the luxury of running her own boutique. She handled herself with grace and modesty, never flaunting her earnings; but she possessed enough pride to display her considerable wealth through the garments she designed.

The Carousel Boutique boasted some of the finest garments in all of Ponyville, and its reputation stretched well beyond the small town, improved considerably by Rarity's close connections with some of Equestria's most distinguished ponies, which included the Royal Sisters, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. All was not bits and roses, but there was much on which the young mare's hopes and plans had been long and earnestly invested in; and any friend or client of Rarity could see firsthand the unquestionable joy and pride she felt in her designs, even when stressed to the point of theatrics.

It was during one of these dramatic fits that Rarity was informed of the upcoming party at Twilight's Castle. She hadn't anything prepared, and it seemed, at least to her, unbecoming that she should attend her friends party without some form of gift.  Rarity considered a number of potential gifts she could offer to Twilight and Spike, before at last settling on a taaffeite brooch for Twilight, and an assortment of fine gemstones for Spike.

Twilight Sparkle’s party was on the third story, in a very clean, light, spacious room, and was already fitted with various party favors and decorations which Rarity immediately recognized as Pinkie Pie’s personal hoof work. Though the design were a bit juvenile for Rarity’s taste, it seemed somewhat appropriate that the decorations should be so festive, considering everything she and her friends underwent.

It had been especially difficult for Twilight and Spike, who not only suffered the loss of their own home, but were the sole residents of such a sizable estate. Twilight frowned, and considered such a large castle to be unnecessary  even if she was a princess, and it made her feel ashamed to have such a place when some of Ponyville’s residents were still fixing and rebuilding their own homes. Spike didn’t discuss the matter, and, as Applejack pointed out, seemed strangely immune to everything going on around him. For some time past he had become extremely and quite disproportionally accommodating, and if he did in fact suffer any of the grief which Twilight felt, he in no way discussed it with his friends, including Rarity, who could extract anything she wished from him simply by batting her eyelashes.

Rarity was especially interested in seeing Spike during the party, and was disappointed to find no sight of him. Rude as it may be for her to neglect her friend Twilight, she felt it to be important that she speak with him. Rarity greeted Twilight very cordially, not wanting to appear cold in front of her friend, greeted Pinkie, but hadn’t greeted Maud, who was carrying such an absurd amount of party favors she remained perfectly hidden from Rarity. Twilight Sparkle said a few friendly words to Rarity, and appeared perfectly happy, to Rarity’s relief. But when the subject of Spike came up, she immediately became dejected, and said simply that Spike would not be attending.

“Spike’s not coming!!!” shouted Pinkie Pie in shock, from the top of a ladder.

“I’m sorry Pinkie Pie,” said Twilight sadly; “I know you wanted everypony to be here, but Spike’s feeling a bit under the weather."

“I’m surprised,” said Rarity; “It’s very rare for little Spike to get sick."

“I wouldn’t say he’s sick,” corrected Twilight; “He’s just feeling a bit… under the weather."

“So he’s not sick?” said Maud Pie plainly, underneath the mass of party favors. Rarity nearly jumped in surprise at the sound of her voice.

“Oh, by the way, Maud came over to visit,” said Pinkie Pie, gaily.

“Nice to see you again Maud,” said Rarity, awkwardly, before turning her attention back to Twilight.

“Did something happen to him?” she asked.

“No,” said Twilight earnestly, “he’s just a bit out of it today."

Spike being ‘out of it’ was as obvious to Rarity as haute couture. He’d been ‘out of it’ for weeks. Granted she didn’t know Spike nearly as long as Twilight Sparkle, who was, technically, Spike’s mother, though no court in their right mind would ever recognize a filly as the legal parent of a dragon. But Twilight also wasn’t very good at reading other ponies, and Rarity was afraid she might have failed to notice Spike’s behavior.

Rarity paused to consider her options, and, deciding that Twilight was either too polite or too ignorant to step in to Spike’s aid, gently pulled Twilight by the hoof out the room and into the empty hallway, far from the busy Pie sister’s, who quickly took note that Rarity wanted to speak with Twilight in private.

“Twilight, I know you’ve had a rough couple of weeks,” she said firmly; “ and I don’t mean to suggest that you’ve been inconsiderate; but haven’t you noticed how different Spike’s been acting lately?"

“I did,” answered Twilight softly, her tone one of obvious sadness. “He’s always been a good assistant; but lately it seemed like he was at my beck and call. I’d try to talk to him, but he always insisted that he was alright. I guess, after a while, I just assumed that maybe he really was fine, and that he was just trying to help me. But when I mentioned that we were having a party, he just broke down in front of me."

“Did he say anything?” asked Rarity.

Twilight gave a brief account about what had happened earlier.

“I suppose cancelling the party isn’t an option?” asked Rarity.

“I would, but I don’t want to ruin Maud’s visit; and Spike insisted I go through with it. If I cancel, it might just make Spike feel guilty."

“Well somepony has to have a word with him,” said Rarity.

“I appreciate the thought Rarity; but maybe it would be a good idea to let him have his space. He’ll talk to me when he’s ready."

“Sweetie, listen to yourself. You sound worse than Fluttershy. If we just leave him alone now, he’ll probably crawl back into his shell."

“You really think so?"

“Absolutely,” she insisted. “Spike’s a dear, but sometimes he can be almost as stubborn as Applejack.”

Twilight took a moment to consider Rarity’s words. Even if she did try and speak with Spike, Twilight wasn’t sure as to what she should say. There were plenty of books in her library regarding such topics, and, of course, Twilight had read through most of them; but she wasn’t a therapist, and she knew better than to try and treat Spike like something she read. But in forgoing the usual route, she was limited to a more basic approach; asking for help.

“But what do I say?” asked Twilight.

“Oh, ‘you’ say nothing,” answered Rarity.

“What?” asked Twilight incredulously.

“Sorry if I mislead you darling, but when I said ‘somepony should have a word with him’ I didn’t mean you, specifically,” Rarity explained. “In fact,” she added cautiously, “I thought it might be best if I spoke with Spike.”

It wasn’t that Rarity was wrong. If Twilight did try and speak with Spike, it was likely possible he might simply stonewall her. But allowing Rarity, a pony whom, everypony knew or easily determined, Spike secretly admired, to speak with him seemed like cruel manipulation. But Twilight pinkie promised Spike she would never mention his crush on Rarity to anypony, and, feeling a startling chill in her spine, understood that she couldn’t mention that as being her reason to refuse Rarity’s help.

“I know what you’re thinking,” said Rarity, “but I actually wanted to speak with Spike for some time. Applejack and I saw how he was behaving, but thought it best to leave the matter between the two of you.”

Twilight wasn’t sure what to say. Rarity was being a good friend to Spike, and far be it from Twilight to refuse her help. She felt a knot forming in her stomach, as she weighed her options. She needed to say no, but couldn’t think of any reason why, short of  telling the truth. Twilight quickly glanced at the half-closed door, looking as Pinkie Pie, who was busily pulling up a Tirek shaped piñata. She wasn’t sure how, but the brief instant that Pinkie Pie’s eyes met her own, Twilight was certain she knew what she was thinking, and could almost see the cold glaze in her pupils, which reminded Twilight just why nopony ever broke a pinkie promise.

Twilight sighed defeatedly. It just couldn’t be helped.

“Spike’s room is downstairs, second door from the dining room. If you want I can go with you.”

“That won’t be necessary,” said Rarity politely. “I’ve actually been in his room once before,” said added humorously. “Funny story behind that, but for Spike’s sake I won’t go into details.”

“Okay,” said Twilight suspiciously. “Just try and be gentle with him. I don’t want to make him feel forced into talking.”

“You have nothing to worry about darling,” said Rarity confidently. “I’ll make sure to use the utmost courtesy."

Walking towards the stairwell, she added: "I’m sure he’ll feel much better once he’s gotten everything off his chest.”