Spike placed the final dish onto the stack in the cupboard and closed the door.
That's the dishes done. Satisfied that his chores were complete, he exited the kitchen and headed towards the library.
Without erring, he made his way to the library, expecting Twilight to be there. Sure enough, he found her there practicing her magic with Starlight Glimmer.
"I've done the dishes Twilight."
"Thanks Spike."
"Do you need any help there?"
"No. It's okay. Starlight and I have it covered."
"Right." Disappointed, Spike turned to move away.
"Actually, Spike?"
"Yes?", he turned back brightly.
"Can you fetch one of the big mirrors from the basement?"
Spike sighed. "Sure."
Fifteen minutes later, a grunting and sweating Spike re-entered the library carrying a mirror three times bigger than himself. He placed it on the floor and wiped his brow.
"There you go. One mirror."
"Thanks Spike. I can always rely on my number one assistant."
"Yeah... " Spike muttered to himself.
"Is everything okay?"
"Huh?... Ahh... Everything's fine... Umm... If there's nothing more, I'll go and visit Rarity."
"Sure! But clean yourself up first. You wouldn't want to show up there all sweaty and smelly."
"Right." Spike ran off down the hall.
Starlight turned towards Twilight. "Is it just me, or is Spike spending more time with Rarity than usual?"
"Well, things have been slow lately. Say, when we're finished here, can you help me with some scheduling? That friendship problem yesterday caused me to get behind."
"Sure thing."
Spike made his way to the Carousel Boutique, taking advantage of every shortcut he knew. So, in no time he was knocking on the front door.
"Come in!" A sing-song voice emanated from inside.
Spike opened the door and entered to be met with the beautiful visage of the unicorn, Rarity.
"Oh Spike! You don't have to knock. Dear friends such as yourself are welcome here anytime. So what do I owe this pleasure?"
"Is there anything I can help you with?"
"There is always something you can help me with. I am currently working on a commission for uniforms for the new restaurant opening, and I can use your help to keep the material organized."
"Restaurant uniforms?"
"Why yes. The establishment wants to experiment with a new look. It may not be be quite as glamorous as Sapphire Shores, but I saw an interesting challenge, and took the job."
"Nothing too big or too small for one of your talents."
"Ooo, Spike! You are so kind... Mmmm.... I was thinking that after, we could go gathering gems. If Twilight doesn't need you, that is."
"Nah! She's fine."
"Lovely. Let's get started shall we?"
A few days later, Spike was moving a mop from one side of the corridor to the other in long, practiced sweeps. He had been working for the past hour and had a good rhythm going. Looks like 'll be setting a new record. He thought.
At that moment, he was interrupted by Twilight walking past.
"Hi Twilight!"
"Huh? ... Oh, hi Spike," she responded. "Say, have you seen Starlight? I need to ask her something."
"I think she's out flying her kites." Spike mused. "Are you alright? You seem distracted. Anything I can help you with?" He asked, hopefully.
"No, it's okay. I'll talk to her when she gets back." Twilight noticed Spike's work. "I wouldn't want to cramp your style."
Spike sighed as Twilight walked away. Suddenly, breaking his record lost its appeal.
Later that night, Spike lay awake in his bed, thinking about how things had changed. He used to love being Twilight's assistant. Helping her with her studies and duties was something he found rewarding. Lately, however, Twilight had been spending most of her time with Starlight. It made sense. Starlight was a pony, a female, an adult, and a fellow spell caster. It was natural for them to gravitate to one another.
But that meant that Spike was no longer filling the role he once did. His work now was limited to cleaning and carrying. He felt that had become number two in Twilight's life, and it made him depressed.
He got out of bed and left his room. At this time of night, Twilight would be reading in the small study she favored for personal time. He was feeling lonely and was hoping to could spend some time with her.
As he approached, he could hear voices coming out of the study. Starlight and Twilight were talking together, laughing over something Spike couldn't make out. He thought about joining them, but wasn't in the mood to be with someone he was beginning to see as a rival.
He wondered what Rarity was doing. It wasn't too late, so she could be still up. Desperate for company, he decided to make his way to her home.
Spike knocked on the front door of the Carousel Boutique.
"Rarity?"
He tried it and found that it was open. He went inside and found himself in a dark room.
"Rarity?"
Looking up, he saw a light coming from up the stairs. Relieved that she was awake, he started climbing them.
As he reached the top, the light went out and he stopped. A part of him told him he should go home. But, driven by a desire for companionship, and a deeper, less acknowledged urge, he kept going.
"Rarity?" He opened the door to Rarity's room.
"Umm... Sweetie? Is that you? Can it wait until morning? I'm trying to get to sleep."
"It's me, Spike."
Rarity shot up out of bed, and took off her sleeping mask.
"SPIKE!?" She exclaimed. Then she lowered her voice to a sharp whisper. "What are you doing here!?"
"Ahh.. "
"You can't be here!"
"You- you said that I could visit-"
"Not in the middle of the night! This is highly inappropriate. What were you thinking?"
"Rarity? Is everything okay?" A voice came from down the hall.
Rarity opened the door a crack to find Sweetie Belle standing in the hallway, a look of concern on her face.
"Everything's fine Sweetie darling. Just a nightmare. Go back to bed."
She closed the door and looked back at Spike.
"You have to leave. Now!", she whispered.
"I-"
"Not another word. No, not that way", she started when Spike moved towards the door. "Sweetie Belle will see you."
She picked him up with her magic and took him to the window. She opened it and lowered Spike to the ground.
"Go! quickly! Before anypony sees you." She shut the window and drew the curtains.
She was breathing hard as she climbed back into bed. I'm going to need to set some boundaries on what is and isn't permissible. She struggled to get to sleep.
As luck would have it, Spike was seen. And by the next morning, it was all over Ponyville.
As Rarity walked through the town on her way to the Castle of Friendship, she noticed that something was amiss. Everypony was talking in hushed tones, and fell silent whenever she drew near. Enough of a gossiper herself, she knew what that meant. And it didn't take a mind reader to guess what they were gossiping about.
"What is it? What are you all talking bout? If there is something, have the courage to say it to my face." She challenged.
One of the ponies stepped forward. "What exactly is the nature of your relationship with Spike?"
"Spike? Whatever do you mean?"
"A young boy visiting a grown mare?"
"We're friends. He helps me with my work."
"Late at night? Through your bedroom window?". A pony snickered in the background. She heard the word "busted" muttered in a low voice.
"There is nothing untoward between us, if that is what you are insinuating. How could you possibly think of such a thing."
But from the looks on the other ponies' faces, Rarity could see that not only did they think it. Many of them appeared to believe it.
"I would never..." She turned around, and walked away with as much dignity as she could muster. Once she was out of the vicinity of her accusers, she galloped as fast as she could to the Castle. As soon as she arrived, she started pounding on the door. "SPIKE! TWILIGHT!" She shouted.
After several minutes, the door opened and a very annoyed Twilight poked her head out.
"Rarity! What are you doing?"
Without answering, Rarity brushed past and went straight to the map room. Twilight hurried to keep up.
"Rarity! What's going on? Why were you pounding on my door?"
"Something terrible has happened."
"What has happened?" This better not be one of your dramas
"Spike came to my house last night. He came into my room while I was trying to get to sleep!"
"WHAT!?" Twilight moved to the door "SPIKE! ... SPIKE! YOU GET DOWN HERE MISTER!"
"What was he doing at your house late at night?"
"I told him he was welcome anytime. I didn't think that he would take that to mean literally any time."
Twilight put a hoof to her forehead. Spike! You've really done it this time! "SPIIIIIKE!"
"What's going on?" Starlight Glimmer put her head around through the door. "What's all the yelling about?"
They quickly filled her in on the details.
"Wow! I knew he had a thing for you. But I didn't think he would do something like that!"
"Neither did I. But that's not the worst of it."
"What do you mean?"
"In my haste, I made him leave by the window. He was seen leaving, and now everypony's talking. Some are saying that I am ... having relations with him!"
"What!?" Twilight and Starlight both exclaimed together.
"You don't think he was trying to...?"
"I don't even want to imagine what he was thinking." Rarity stated pacing. "This could ruin me! A mare of my stature cannot afford to have this kind of scandal."
Rarity wasn't the only one in trouble, Twilight realized. As Spike's guardian, this would reflect badly on her. Celestia could decide to take him away from her. The thought chilled her to the bone.
"This is all my fault!". Rarity stopped pacing and lowered her head to the floor. Her ears drooped as she chastised herself. "I should have said something about his feelings a long time ago. Instead I let it go on, gave him liberties, and perhaps even encouraged him."
Twilight's ears also drooped as she realized that she herself was not blameless. She should have intervened, particularly after he acquired that plushie doll resembling Rarity. She still didn't know where he got it. Any remaining anger drained away.
Starlight walked over and put a hoof on Rarity's shoulder. "Don't be so hard on yourself. Who would have thought it would go this far? And Spike can be so mature at times, its hard to remember he's still a child."
Rarity nodded. "I suppose I should go and have a talk with him. Oh, it's going to crush his little heart."
The three of them walked up to the upper levels of the castle. It felt like a procession of guards fetching a condemned prisoner. They stopped outside of Spike's room and Twilight knocked on his door.
"Spike? Are you there? Rarity is here. We're not angry, but she needs to talk to you."
There was no answer.
Rarity opened the door a little and looked inside. "Spike?"
Spike was lying in his cot, facing away from the door. He didn't move.
Rarity closed the door and walked over to the cot.
"I want to apologize for being so curt with you. You simply scared me. You know its not polite to enter a lady's room without permission."
Spike still didn't move.
"Spike. Can you please look at me."
Spike slowly turned around and got to his feet. He reluctantly lifted his gaze to her, fidgeting with his claws.
She knelt down to be at the same eye level as her friend. "I know how you feel about me, Spike. And I am very, very flattered. But you must understand that I don't feel the same way about you."
"But-"
Rarity place a hoof over Spike's mouth. "Please Spike. Don't make this harder than it needs to be. I do consider you a dear friend, and I enjoy your company. But we cannot be together they way you want us to be. I'm much too old for you. You do understand, do you?"
Spike's shoulders slumped. He lowered his head and nodded slightly.
"I'm sorry if I ever gave you the wrong impression. I should have said something sooner. But I am afraid that ponies are talking about us. What you did has put my career and reputation in jeopardy, and I cannot have that." She shuffled her hoof a little. "I think that, perhaps, for now, you shouldn't visit me at my house."
Spike winced. "I'm sorry", he said in a very small voice.
Rarity gently stroked Spike's cheek. "You're a very special dragon, and someday you will meet a nice lady dragon, or pony, who will love you and you'll love her. You'll see."
She moved her hoof to Spike's chin. "Can I have a smile from my Spikey Wikey?"
Spike smiled wanly.
Rarity gave Spike a gentle hug, and held him for a minute. "I have to go." She released him and stood up, turned around, and left the room, closing the door behind her.
"Well. It's done." she reported to the other two.
"How did he take it?" Twilight responded.
As if in answer, the sound of sobbing come out of Spike's room.
"I'm guessing, not so good." Starlight observed.
Twilight looked over to find Rarity being comforted by Starlight. It was hard on her to have to hurt her friend's feelings. She cared for Spike much like Twilight did. A thought suddenly occurred to her.
"You gave him the plushie."
Rarity confessed with a nod. "I thought it was cute. A gesture to repay the one he showed me." She was referring to the fire ruby that Spike has originally intended as a birthday present for himself, but gave to Rarity instead. "I thought he would eventually grow out of it, and it would end up on a shelf collecting dust. It was a foolish thing to do."
"Why don't you take her to the kitchen." Twilight suggested to Starlight. "I'll stay here with Spike."
Starlight nodded and lead Rarity away. Twilight turned back to Spike's bedroom door. She wasn't sure whether to go and comfort him, or give him his space. She eventually decided on the latter, but stayed where she was anyway.
She thought about what Starlight had said about Spike's maturity. If he was a pony, Spike would have had more boundaries placed upon him. As it was, he was often left alone. He didn't go to school. He had a full time job. He associated almost exclusively with adults. He'd fought in battles. And for a brief moment, he was even the Lord of all dragons. At times, it was easy to forget that he was a child.
After a while the sobbing died down, and Twilight decided it was time to go in. She opened the door. Spike was curled up in his cot, facing away again.
Twilight slowly walked into his room. Amongst his collection of comic books, action figures and other possessions was a medal of bravery, awarded by Princess Celestia for helping to defeat a flock of cockatrices that had attacked Canterlot. Next to that was another medal honoring Spike for saving the Equestria Games. Next to that was a token given to him by Thorax, for his role in helping his people. If Spike hadn't befriended Thorax and then stood up for him, the changelings would never have reformed.
So young, and yet he has accomplished so much. Twilight thought.
"Spike?"
Spike turned around. His face was all puffed up.
"I'm so sorry Twilight. *sniff*, I didn't mean to hurt Rarity. *sob*" He started crying again.
Twilight reached out and drew Spike to her chest. She cradled him in her forelegs until he settled down.
"I know it hurts, but things will get better."
"She doesn't want to be friends with me anymore."
Twilight drew back a little and looked down at Spike. "Did she say that specifically?"
"She said I can't come to her house anymore."
"It's probably best for now, but Rarity still considers you a friend, and the two of you will still be able to do things together. But you must accept that the two of you are just friends."
Spike nodded. "She says that ponies are talking about us. That it's hurting her reputation, because of me."
"Well, I can't sugar coat it. What you did, did put her on the spot. Hey.. Hey.. It's okay.", Twilight comforted as she saw Spike tearing up again, "Rarity's tough. She'll handle it. It will all blow over eventually. As soon as somepony else does something silly, everypony will likely forget about it." She paused. "I know you didn't mean to do anything wrong, but why did you go to her house last night?"
"I was lonely."
"If you're lonely, you can come and see me. In fact, I've been missing you a bit lately."
"You're always with Starlight nowadays. You don't need me anymore."
Twilight opened her mouth. She was about to say "Don't be silly. You're my number one assistant." But she realized that Spike spoke the truth. She did rely more and more on Starlight to assist her, and turned to her when she needed somepony to talk to. She was spending less time with Spike, and his duties had become little more than menial chores.
Spike continued. "I understand. She's good at magic, and she's a pony, and a grown-up. I ... I just felt lonely ... and jealous."
Twilight tightened her hold on him, trying to think of what she could say. "Spike." She finally responded. "I don't care if you're my assistant or not. I love you for who you are, not what you do. Even if you do nothing at all, I will still love you and you will always have a place in my life and in my home.
"Besides, you have other responsibilities now. You're an ambassador. That's way more important than being some assistant. And I'm sure Princess Celestia can give you more duties if you want." Ambassador. Another grown up task shouldered by this amazing little dragon.
"You think so?"
"I know so."
She let go of him. "Why don't we both take the day off and go and do some kite flying, or something. Whatever you like. Just you and me, nopony else."
"I'd like that."
The two got to their feet and walked out.
"Does this mean I no longer have to do the dishes?"
"Not on your life."
Several weeks later, Twilight passed by Spike's room, and noticed, though the open door, that the plushie given to him by Rarity had been placed upon the topmost shelf. She smiled and moved on.
Author's Note
I made some edits in response to feedback.
