Spike gently clipped the last tulip he needed from the garden outside Twilight’s castle. After setting the pair of scissors to the side, the young dragon placed the freshly picked flower into a small jug of water, where eleven other botanical beauties, including sunflowers, lilies, and a couple of red roses, currently resided. He was going to form a beautiful bouquet out of the flowers and give them to a certain white unicorn while asking her if she’d like to spend the afternoon with him. The mere thought of spending time with Rarity made Spike’s heart flutter, making him want to get the bouquet finished as soon as possible.
Spike grabbed the closed blades of the scissors, and then used both arms to lift the small jug and bring it inside the castle. Even though the jug itself wasn’t very heavy, the water inside made it slightly unstable, as the clear liquid was sloshing around gently.
It didn’t take long for Spike to reach the kitchen inside the castle. Once there, he set the pair of scissors and jug full of flowers next to a clean dish towel, some parchment paper, and red ribbon. The dragon then took all twelve flowers out of the glass container at once, holding them above the opening for several seconds to allow random drops of water to drip off their stems. When he felt that enough water had dripped away, Spike laid the flowers carefully down on the dish towel and folded the ends in, drying the flowers off. Once that was complete, Spike used the scissors to cut out a large piece of parchment paper, which he subsequently flattened out and laid the flowers on. Spike then rolled the paper up around the stems, and then tied a piece of red ribbon in a beautiful bow to add a bit more decoration while it kept the bouquet intact.
When he finally finished his work, Spike held the bouquet of flowers in front of him with both his hands. He had been waiting for just the right time to pick them and give them to the mare of his dreams, and now that that time was now, the dragon couldn’t have been more excited. “Rarity’s gonna love this!” Spike said to himself. He couldn’t wait to get over to Carousel Boutique and take care of business.
Spike walked down the road to Rarity’s shop at his normal walking speed, a big smile present on his face. “Wow, I can’t even begin to think what Rarity’s gonna wanna do!” Spike said to himself, “We could end up having a picnic by the lake, working on a new line of outfits, or just spending quality time together wherever! She and I are gonna have so much fun!”
Spike was so distracted by his own thoughts that he almost slammed face-first into the front door of the boutique. Luckily, he caught himself just in time to avoid any injury. Spike took a deep breath and raised his fist to knock on the door, but stopped upon hearing laughter inside.
“She’s probably with a customer,” Spike thought as he lowered his claws. With that in mind, he decided to wait a little bit until the customer left, so he stepped back from the doorway to allow whatever customer was inside a means of exit. However, it became clear that the pony inside may not have actually been a customer, as the dragon heard a vaguely familiar name being mentioned.
“Oh, Fancy Pants!” came Rarity’s giggle-laden and excited-sounding voice from behind the door, “You’re such a card!”
“Fancy Pants?” Spike whispered to himself, “What’s he doing here?” The dragon then looked to his right and noticed that Rarity had left an empty flower pot in her garden next to her front door. Spike took a few steps to his right and turned the flower pot over, allowing him to climb on top of it and look inside the window. What he saw made him feel a bit uneasy. Rarity was sitting on one of her chaise loungers right next to Fancy Pants. The white, classy unicorns were sharing a few laughs while enjoying what seemed to be tea.
The dragon’s facial expression slowly faded to one of sadness. He then thought to himself, “Maybe this isn’t the best time to…”
At that moment, Spike received the shock of his life as he witnessed the unthinkable. With wide eyes, he saw Rarity and Fancy Pants kiss each other on the lips. It was a brief peck, but to Spike, it wouldn’t be something he’d soon forget.
A few seconds later, the dragon’s right hand slowly opened and the beautiful bouquet that he had prepared slipped from his grip, the floral ensemble falling to the ground below and kicking up a faint cloud of dust as it landed in the dirt. Spike paid no attention to his creation, however, as he was focused on what was happening inside the boutique.
What was supposed to be an exciting afternoon for Spike had turned to multiple disappointments in the blink of an eye. “Are…Are they…dating?” Spike thought to himself, multiple negative emotions flowing through his mind.
Suddenly, both Rarity and Fancy Pants stood up from the lounger, and, fearing he would be spotted, Spike hopped down from the flower pot and ran around the side of the building. As he sat down in a spot where he was sure he couldn’t be spotted, he heard the front door to the boutique open, and two voices could be heard.
“Will I be seeing you tomorrow night, Miss Rarity?” Fancy Pants asked.
“You most certainly will!” Rarity replied, “I simply cannot wait!”
“Well, neither can I, I must say!” the stallion responded.
“What the heck are they talking about?” Spike thought as he heard somepony, presumably Fancy Pants, walking away from the building.
It hadn’t even been three seconds before Spike heard Rarity speaking again. “Hmmm…what’s this?” the white unicorn asked herself.
Spike immediately knew that Rarity had found his bouquet of flowers. “Aw, great!” he thought to himself, panicking slightly as he got to his feet in preparation to run off. He knew it would be awkward for Rarity to receive those flowers from him if she already had a coltfriend.
Right as Spike took his first step away, he stopped himself upon hearing a familiar feminine voice. “Spike?” Rarity asked the young dragon as she popped her head around the side of her home.
Spike gasped as he turned around, only to find the glamorous unicorn standing in front of him, holding the previously dropped bouquet in her magic. He took a quick glance downward and noticed that he had failed to recognize the footprints he had made in the dirt, leading Rarity to where he was now. “Oh, uhhh…” Spike began with a nervous look on his face, “H-Hey, R-Rarity!” he continued with an awkward smile, “Those are…n-nice flowers you’ve got there!”
Rarity gave the dragon a sincere expression. “Oh, don’t be silly, darling,” she said in her usual high-class tone, “These are from you, aren’t they?”
Given the evidence, there was no way that Spike could argue Rarity’s question. “Y-Yeah,” he replied, “They are. I picked them for you in the castle’s garden.”
“Oh, thank you, Spike!” Rarity replied, “How sweet of you!”
“But, I…I…” Spike continued, not looking too happy, “I was gonna give them to you and ask if you’d like to spend the afternoon together, but…I kinda…saw what happened inside,” he confessed, a guilty expression on his face, “So I figured now wouldn’t be the best time to ask you that. I’m sorry I peeked in the window, Rarity. I shouldn’t have done that.”
“Oh, that’s okay, Spike,” Rarity replied in a soothing tone, rubbing the dragon’s right cheek with a hoof, “But, do tell me, are you alright? You seem very troubled by this.”
Shivering slightly as he gathered his thoughts, Spike took a deep breath and replied, “Yeah, I am a little taken aback. Are you and Fancy Pants dating or something?”
“Actually, yes, we are! In fact, we were just making arrangements to have dinner in Canterlot tomorrow night!”
“Oh, so that’s what that was about,” Spike thought to himself. He then said to Rarity, “I hope you guys have a nice time, then!”
“Thank you, darling,” Rarity replied with a close-eyed smile. She then looked Spike in the eyes once again and noticed that he still looked slightly upset. She also wondered if she hadn’t heard exactly why Spike was so taken aback by what he had seen earlier. “Spike,” the unicorn continued, “Is there something else wrong? Did I miss something?”
“You didn’t miss anything, no,” Spike immediately replied, “But, I…” he sighed after a lengthy pause. “I think seeing you kiss Fancy Pants made a part of me just…well…you know…not feel so well.”
It took Rarity a decent amount of time to ponder what Spike had just told her, and as she thought about it, a certain possibility came to mind, and she knew that Spike may feel even worse by the time they were finished talking about it. Still, she had to bring it up.
Sitting back on her rump, Rarity lowered the bouquet she was still levitating to the ground. She then said, “Spike, may I ask you something?”
Even though she sounded sad, her tone suggested she was bringing up a serious topic, and Spike was quick to take notice. “Uhhh…” Spike hesitantly replied, nervous about what the unicorn was about to ask, “Yeah, sure.”
It was now Rarity’s turn to take a deep breath before continuing. “Spike, I’ve known you for quite a bit of time, and I know how much you like me. Do you picture the two of us being a couple someday?”
Spike felt a sharp, imaginary pain in his heart. He immediately knew exactly was Rarity was trying to bring up, and he already knew what the outcome would be. He wanted to leave right then and there so he wouldn't have to physically hear her say it, but he knew that staying until the conversation was over was the right thing to do.
With a heavy sigh, Spike replied, “Yeah, Rarity. I do. You’re such an amazing pony, and I feel that we would make the perfect couple at some point.”
In response, Rarity closed her eyes and gave a very slow nod. After that, she took another deep breath, as she knew she was about to drop a bombshell on her young friend. “Spike, I appreciate your compliment, but there is something I must tell you. Believe me, you’re one of the greatest friends a pony like me could ask for, but…I’m afraid that’s all we’ll ever be…”
The two of them remained silent for a good thirty seconds before Spike finally replied, “J-Just...friends?”
“I’m afraid so, darling,” Rarity responded, “You see, I’m 10 years older than you are, and by the time you’re my current age, I will have most likely already met many stallions, and right now, I’m at the point in my life where I’d like to begin a relationship with one. Of course, I’ll still want to spend as much time as I can with all my friends, but…I think you get the idea by now…” she trailed off, her volume decreasing as she slowly closed her eyes.
There was complete and utter silence between Spike and Rarity. The completely clear sky above them may as well have been the cloudiest on record, as all of Spike’s happiness, joy, and any other positive emotions he possessed were long gone. A small amount of tears began to well up in both of his eyes, one tear beginning to make its way down the side of Spike’s small snout.
Shutting his eyes briefly and opening them again, Spike replied, “hhhh…I get it, Rarity. I totally get it…hhhh…You and Fancy Pants have a fun time tomorrow…” he trailed off as he began to walk away from the unicorn.
“Wait, Spike,” Rarity said, stopping him in his tracks. As the dragon turned back to face her, she put a smile on her face and continued. “About you and me spending the afternoon together…I barely have any work to do right now, so I’d be more than happy to do something with you!” She hated seeing her friend sad like that, and she hoped that saying ‘yes’ to what would have been his original question would make him feel better.
Unfortunately, Spike no longer cared if Rarity wanted to spend the afternoon with him or not. He had already slipped too far into his sadness. “That’s okay, Rarity…” he softly replied. Lowering his head and closing his eyes, Spike walked away from the Carousel Boutique, leaving behind a sad-looking unicorn who watched his every step as he got further and further away.
More tears began to stream down Spike’s face, and he was audibly sobbing as he walked along a random trail, his tail dragging along the ground behind him. He didn’t care where he was going, as the realization that he and Rarity could never be a couple was still settling in, making him sadder than he had ever remembered being.
At that moment, Spike’s heart was broken.
A tiny puddle sat on the edge of a trail in Ponyville's main park. It wasn't raining, but the puddle was slowly increasing in size. This was due to the fact that right above it, a young, heartbroken dragon was sitting on a bench, his tears steadily dripping from his face and onto the ground.
Spike had been sitting on the park bench for a good twenty minutes. From the first moment he had ever laid his eyes on Rarity, he knew that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her, but now, that dream could never be realized. The young dragon didn't want to accept that that was the reality of his situation, but as the minutes went by, it became more clear that he would never be able to be with Rarity for all eternity.
Ceasing his sobbing for a brief moment, Spike looked at his surroundings. It was a sunny Saturday afternoon, and there were many ponies in the park. Brothers and sisters, parents and children, and even couples. When Spike's eyes would come across any of those couples, it reminded him of the couple he would never be able to be a part of. He so badly wanted to ask Twilight to make him grow 10 years in age, but he already knew that she would say no.
No matter what Spike thought, he knew that Rarity would be nothing more than just a friend to him for the rest of his life.
Spike looked back down at the ground, his eyes focusing on the puddle that his tears had formed. It wasn't very large, but the dragon could see his sad reflection in it. He then decided that he didn't want to look at himself while he was like this, so, with his head still hung low and tears still slowly flowing from his tear ducts, Spike closed his eyes. He wasn't moving, talking, or anything. He was just content with sitting there and letting his emotions flow.
"Spike?"
The young dragon jerked his head upward and opened his eyes upon hearing that voice. It was another familiar, feminine one, but slightly higher pitched. He looked to his left, only to find Sweetie Belle standing next to the bench. She was looking up at him, a concerned look on her face.
"Oh..." Spike began in a depressed-sounding tone, "Hey, Sweetie Belle..."
"Spike, what's wrong?" the white filly asked, climbing up onto the bench next to the dragon.
Spike gave a light sniffle before replying, "It's...It's nothing, really."
"Are you sure?"
Spike remained silent for several seconds. With a sigh, he replied, "It's about Rarity."
Sweetie Belle was already fully aware that Spike was constantly infatuated with her older sister, but she was also aware that Rarity had been dating Fancy Pants for quite some time. "Spike," the filly continued, "Are you upset that Rarity's dating Fancy Pants?"
Spike was a bit unprepared for Sweetie Belle hitting his problem right on the nose, but then again, she was Rarity's sister. Closing his eyes, the dragon replied, "Yeah, I am. I just thought that Rarity and I had the potential to be something someday." He shed a few more tears as Sweetie Belle continued to look at him, concerned. "I don't know if I'll be able to get over this..."
Smiling, Sweetie Belle extended her forelegs out toward Spike and asked, "Do you need a hug, Spike?"
Spike stared at Sweetie Belle for several seconds, and as he did, he realized just how alone he'd felt since Rarity had broken the unfortunate news to him. With one swift motion, Spike flung himself at Sweetie Belle, albeit gently, and wrapped his arms around her. As he proceeded to sob audibly into her shoulder, Sweetie Belle returned the gesture, wrapping her forelegs around the young dragon and resting her chin on his left shoulder. Soon after, she closed her eyes and began slowly rubbing Spike's back with her right forehoof.
As Spike shed more and more tears, he began to notice how warm he felt. Sweetie's body heat was gradually calming him down, and as his crying began to slow, he began to appreciate how kind his friend was being. He hadn't realized that this simple hug was something he'd desperately needed. Even as his crying eventually slowed to occasional sobs, he didn't want to leave Sweetie's embrace. He let out a sigh and held onto her, not wanting to feel alone after this ordeal.
Sweetie Belle had already noticed that Spike had stopped crying, but she didn't mind when he refused to stop hugging her. She knew that this was something he needed, and she was happy with allowing him to decide when to stop. She continued to slowly rub his back as the two of them remained in their embrace on the park bench.
After what seemed like forever, Spike took another deep breath and pulled away from Sweetie Belle, looking her in the eyes as he said, "Thank you..."
"No problem, Spike," Sweetie replied, rubbing his head affectionately, "That's what friends are for, right?"
For the first time since his ordeal began, Spike smiled. "Yeah, I guess so," he replied.
Spike and Sweetie Belle then pulled away from each other completely, resting their backs against the back of the bench as they looked around. Spike was already missing the hug that he and Sweetie had just shared, but he was much happier than he was ten minutes ago, so he told himself he could manage.
As the two friends sat on the bench in silence, Spike took a look at Sweetie Belle. Even though he'd had his eyes on Rarity most of the time, he had to admit, Sweetie Belle was also very pretty. Her white coat was as pristine as Rarity's, plus, despite it not being as vibrantly colored as Rarity's, he found her two-tone mane to be rather eye-catching. On top of that, during the days that Spike was invited to spend time with the Cutie Mark Crusaders, he realized that he appreciated Sweetie Belle's personality more than the other two's. Overall, even though she would never be Rarity herself in the flesh, Spike found Sweetie Belle to be a rather charming filly, one that he knew he'd have a blast spending time with.
Breaking the silence, Spike said, "Hey, Sweetie Belle?"
The unicorn turned to face the dragon. "Yeah, Spike?" Sweetie replied.
"Thanks again for finding me when you did. I really needed that hug. I'm really fortunate to have such a kind friend like you."
The dragon's compliment brought a faint blush to the filly's cheeks. Smiling, she replied, "You're welcome, Spike."
"And...Sweetie?"
"Yeah?"
"Well...I...uhhh..." Spike stammered, his gaze averting Sweetie's while he rubbed the back of his head with his left hand, "I'm...not sure how to say this, but...throughout the time I've known you," he continued, looking Sweetie in the eyes once again, "It may have seemed like I had my eyes set solely on Rarity, but, to be honest, I've always...well...found you...kinda...cute."
Sweetie Belle's eyes widened slightly, her blush deepening a little as she hesitantly smiled back at Spike. "Oh..." she replied, "You...have?"
It took a few seconds for Spike to reply. "Y-Yeah, I have," he finally said, "All in all, you're like a mini Rarity. You like helping others and spending lots of time with your friends, but most of all you...you..." Spike rubbed the back of his head once again as he was slightly nervous to say what he was about to say. "You...look beautiful."
Though she was still blushing, Sweetie Belle couldn't help but let a heartfelt smile form on her face. She had no idea that Spike felt that way about her, considering that he had been all over her sister in terms of enthrallment. After several more seconds of silence, Sweetie replied, "D-Do you really mean that?"
"Y-Yeah, I do," Spike responded.
"Wow, I...I don't know what to say, Spike. Thank you." Spike only smiled in return. "You know," Sweetie continued, "There's something I have to tell you, Spike."
"Oh?"
"Yeah. For a while now, Spike, I've actually...had similar feelings for you."
Spike's eyes widened slightly, and he remained silent for three seconds before replying. "You have?"
"Mmhmm," Sweetie replied, "I mean, you're a really nice guy. You're kind, helpful, and just really nice to have around. I can see why everypony in town likes to see you."
The unicorn filly's statement caught Spike completely off guard. Had they really been having the same feelings for each other all this time? Had they never been able to confess their feelings to each other because of Spike eyeing Rarity all this time? Was Spike's unfortunate realization from earlier turning into something better? It most likely was, as this new realization was washing away a great majority of Spike's grief. He knew that now would be the perfect time to take advantage of this new opportunity.
"Hey, Sweetie?" Spike asked.
"Yes, Spike?" the filly asked in response.
"Well, first of all, thank you. I didn't know you felt that way about me, or for that matter, I didn't know you and I had the same feelings for each other."
Sweetie smiled. "You're welcome, Spike."
"Second of all," Spike continued, "If I can get Twilight to go on, like, some kind of outing with one or all of her friends sometime soon, do you wanna, like, maybe hang out at the castle with me? I could fix us something for dinner, and then we could, you know, do whatever we wanted for a while."
Sweetie Belle beamed at the dragon's offer. She had been waiting quite a while for just the two of them to do something together, and now it seemed like that was actually going to happen. "Sure!" the filly replied, excitedly, "When do you think we could do that?"
"I'm not sure yet," Spike replied, "I'll let you know once I hear anything from Twilight. Sound good?"
"Yeah! I can't wait!"
"Great! So...uhhh, I guess I'll see you then?"
"Yep! See you soon!" As she finished, Sweetie Belle hugged Spike once again, holding him for about two seconds before pulling away. She then hopped off the bench, took one more glance at Spike, and then started walking away.
As Spike gathered his thoughts, he watched Sweetie Belle as she walked away. He wasn't really focusing on her looks, rather he was focused on what had just happened. Sweetie Belle was just about his age, unlike Rarity, and they seemed to have feelings for each other. Plus, they had just planned their first get-together. It made the young dragon wonder if maybe, just maybe, this was the beginning of something wonderful.
At that moment, Spike's heart was full of hope.
