Princess Twilight Sparkle's glaring gaze must have looked more fierce than she had thought. If the looks on the faces of Rarity and Spike were anything to go by, she'd certainly had an effect on them. Rarity looked positively shocked at what she'd just heard Twilight say. Spike almost looked like he would cry. Both of them looked uncomfortably between Twilight and each other, standing dumbfounded as Twilight confronted them in the middle of the Golden Oaks Library.
It was Rarity who finally found the courage to speak. "Wh-what did you say?" she asked.
Twilight took a deep breath. "I said, I want the two of you to break up." she said firmly.
Spike swallowed hard. "But, we're not really going out. We're friends!" he said, trying to plead his case.
"Really?" asked Twilight. "You'd never know it by looking at the two of you." Turning her attention to Spike, she added, "You follow her around like a puppy, always offering to do anything she asks. She's nearly twice your age! Did you really think there was going to be any sort of chance that it would get serious?"
Spike looked down at the floor, brushing a foot over it nervously.
Twilight then turned to look at Rarity. "And you lead him on!"
Rarity gasped in surprise. "I do not!" she protested.
"Oh, yeah?" asked Twilight. "You practically coo over him when you thank him for helping. You shower him with little gifts. Even when I said I wanted to talk to both of you, you come over wearing that!" She pointed her hoof sharply at the base of Rarity's neck. There, hanging from a thick gold band was the large, brilliant, heart-shaped fire ruby Spike had given her. Rarity covered the treasure protectively with her hoof.
Twilight didn't let up. "Every pony in Ponyville knows about the two of you. I can only imagine what they must think amongst themselves. What if some of those rumours got back to Princess Celestia? What would she think if she heard how you two were acting? What could I say if she asked why I didn't say or do anything about it?"
Neither Rarity nor Spike could think of an answer. Both looked sheepishly away.
"You," Twilight said to Spike, "are my number one assistant." She looked to Rarity next. "You are the bearer of the Element of Generosity. You are both my friends. I didn't want to stick my nose into your private lives but I could no longer ignore something that I couldn't defend and that I do not condone." Her voice carried a conviction that Spike and Rarity knew they couldn't argue against.
Twilight took another deep breath. "I want you two to go and tell each other anything you need to get off your chests, and then that will be the end of it. After sunset, this whole little affair is over, understood?"
Rarity and Spike both sighed. "Yes, Twilight," said Spike. Slowly he made his way to the door of the library, with Rarity following behind. Watching them shuffle outside, Twilight couldn't help but feel bad for the two of them, but this was something that had to be done.
Once they were outside, Rarity's horn glowed a brilliant blue, and the door to the library swung shut behind them. Looking to Spike, she said, "I guess, if we don't want to cause any more scandal we should go to my shop to talk. Would that be all right, Spike?"
Spike nodded, but didn't say anything. The two of them walked in silence towards Carousel Boutique. Rarity glanced up at the afternoon sun, streaming down warmly on the town below. Sunset wasn't far off as it was, and she wondered if there would be enough time to say everything they needed to. The two of them soon arrived at the boutique where Rarity ushered Spike out of the view of anyone passing by the window displays, into the sitting room. Sitting upon her chaise lounge, she patted the seat next to her with her hoof, inviting Spike to sit beside her. Even after he did, the two of them couldn't think where to begin, staring at the floor beside one another.
Rarity brushed a hoof over her necklace again, and sighed, then looked over to Spike. "Do you want this back?" she asked. "I've taken good care of it when I've not been wearing it. It would probably still taste very good. I don't know how often I could get away with wearing it now, after what Twilight said."
Spike looked up at Rarity, his eyes falling to the ruby around her neck, then back up to her eyes. "No, you keep it. I meant for you to have it and I still do." he said. "You could still wear it at home, or if you go to Manehatten or Canterlot again." he suggested.
Rarity smiled softly, reaching out to curl her hoof around him in a little hug. "Thank you, Spike." she said.
Spike leaned against Rarity a little, looking at the floor again. "I guess I must have looked silly, always following you around." he said, swinging his feet above the floor. "I'm sorry if I was ever a bother, I just really enjoyed being near you, no matter what I was doing."
Rarity tightened her grip around Spike a little. "You were never a bother, Spike. Not once." she said softly, then sighed and looked down again herself. "The truth is, I did lead you on a bit."
Spike looked up at her suddenly. "What do you mean?" he asked.
"I knew you had a crush on me," she said, "long before you gave me this ruby. Deep down I knew that it could never really work but you were so sweet about it that I hoped you would see that for yourself one day so that I wouldn't have to be the one to break your heart." She brushed her hoof under one of her eyes, wiping away a tear.
Now it was Spike's turn to slip his arm around Rarity's back, rubbing it gently with his small, clawed hand. "You didn't, Rarity, don't worry." he said, trying to sound reassuring.
Rarity sniffled a little. "There's something else," she said, "the longer you and I spent together the more it made me realise something." She blinked her eyes, trying to hold back more tears before looking into Spike's eyes. "Not one stallion I have ever been interested in has treated me as kindly and as affectionately as you have, Spike." She paused a moment, letting her words sink in as a tear rolled down her cheek. "You're going to make some lucky girl very, very happy one day, and I am already jealous of her."
Spike could virtually feel himself blush, and he smiled almost shyly. "Well, any stallion who can't see how lucky he'd be with you isn't looking hard enough, and if any of them don't treat you right, you just tell me."
Rarity smiled a bit at his words. "My knight in shining scales," she said, a slight giggle in her voice as she wrapped her other hoof around his shoulders and hugged him close.
Spike sighed happily, his short arms around her waist softly, resting his head against her gently. A long, quiet moment passed as they embraced. It almost could have stretched forever, in Spike's mind anyway, so it was with a tinge of guilt when he asked, "Rarity, will we still be able to act like friends after today? Twilight will be watching me, I'm sure."
Rarity stroked her hoof down Spike's back again. "Well, I'm not sure what she's expecting, but she certainly can't expect us to just stop being friends altogether." She took a deep breath, and then said softly, "I guess it will have to take a little getting used to. We may not be able to see each other as often, or for as long, or..." her voice trailed off into a sad sigh. "I honestly don't know how it's going to be, Spike." she admitted, leaning her head upon his. She could feel Spike shiver at her words and nestle a little deeper into her hug. Opening her eyes, she could look out the window of her home, see the shadows begin to lengthen as the sun began to set.
Rarity took a deep breath to strengthen herself, then held Spike by his shoulders so she could look into his eyes. "Which means we have this one last chance. Tell me everything. Tell me everything you wanted to say to me but couldn't."
Spike looked up into her deep blue eyes, her resolve giving him a courage he hadn't felt before. "I love you!" he said immediately. "I have since the day I met you. You're beautiful and you're talented and you're smart and you're generous and I love you for it all and more." Even he couldn't believe everything he had said, but the weight that lifted off his heart told him that it was exactly what he needed to say to her.
Rarity could feel her eyes swell with tears again. Swallowing the lump in her throat, she finally found her voice again. "You charged to my rescue. You comforted me when I cried. You even stood by me when I was at my absolute worst." Quickly she wiped her eyes before she could no longer see. "I should have told you this after each and every time you were there for me, but I was afraid to say it. I love you. I love you very much!"
Spike held Rarity's hooves in his claws, gazing at her face. She was lovely, even with her cheeks streaked with tears. Her mane shimmered in the orange glow of the light streaming in from the window behind her, giving Rarity an angelic halo in the sunset.
The sunset! Spike glanced over Rarity's shoulder, then to her again. "The day's almost over!" he said, nervously.
Rarity quickly looked behind her, then back to Spike. "There's not much time left." she said.
Both of them looked to the other. Each one could see the longing gazes, the quick, hungry glances at each other's mouths. Without another word, they were drawn to one another, their lips meeting. Rarity pulled Spike to her chest as he slipped his arms around her neck. Their eyes closed tight as their lips opened, lost in a little world of their own that was about to end.
It could have been minutes, or it could have been hours later. Minutes would have seemed to last forever, yet hours would have gone by too quickly. There was still the soft light of dusk in the window when they opened their eyes, Rarity lying on her couch where she had fallen back with Spike held tightly to her. Slowly, she lowered her head to rest on his shoulder.
"The sun has set, hasn't it?" she asked.
Spike nodded, brushing his head against her silky soft mane. "Yeah," he said softly.
Rarity blinked hard, trying to keep her tears in. "No matter what anyone else says, Spike, I will always be your friend."
Spike brushed Rarity's back with his hand softly. "And I'll always be yours," he said.
Their only vow now spoken, they silently sat up. Rarity brushed her face with her hoof before trotting to the front of the shop. Her horn glowed its brilliant blue, and the front door swung open. Spike stood at the door a moment, looking back to Rarity, a slight smile on his lips, before turning and beginning to walk back to the library.
Rarity stood watching out the open door until she could no longer see her friend, then turned, and walked back into her home, the door swinging shut behind her.
Author's Note
At BABSCon 2014, Meghan McCarthy said in a discussion panel that the relationship between Spike and Rarity would never progress beyond a childhood crush because the age difference between them meant a serious relationship would be inappropriate. This really wasn't a surprising revelation. Characters with unrequited crushes have become so common in cartoons that they're virtually a cliché, and almost none of them ever progress any further. The real story was that she felt the need to address it with the fans. Had this been any other cartoon series, it never would have warranted a mention from the writing or production staff, but when your show's popularity is such that it spawns its own conventions, the more persistent questions require an answer.
Even so, while not unexpected, it did create plenty of discussion among fans of the two's budding romance, not the least of which was a little sadness for them both.
That's what inspired me to write this story.