Love On The Air

Chapters

1: Last Caller of the Night
2: Welcome Home
3: Outside Advice
4: The Morning
5: A Magical Night
6: A Magical Call
7: Rarity
8: A Meeting in the Boutique
9: Another Boutique Encounter

1: Last Caller of the Night

“Welcome back to Sweet Jazz with the rare delight, Lady Luxury.” The mare’s mellow voice deadened by the magical soundproofing enchantment placed on the room. She spoke clearly and carefully into the microphone, careful not to let her own magical enchantment break. She sat on one of her favourite cushions while occasionally glancing to her side, through the production window where an orange pegasus with purple hair managed the audio equipment.

“Thank you all for tuning in to this show, we love all our supporters and listeners at Equestrian Public Radio. Today, our show will be a bit special. We’re gonna be playing the most romantic jazz you’ve ever heard. From the lovely local Octavia’s sweet songs to the sensual songs of Alexio Andante. Phones are also open for anyone looking to talk about love. We’re all waiting to hear from you, but first, a song special to my heart.”

Lady Luxury took off her headphones and let her concentration drop as she took a sip of water, pinching her pale pink and purple hair to her neck. She did her best not to spill a drop on her alabaster white coat, while watching the song timer tick down. Three minutes until we’re on again.

“Great start sweetie, We’ve already got some callers.” Scootaloo’s scratchy voice filled the small recording booth as she gave her longtime friend a wide smile through the glass. “You want me to screen them or are you feeling lucky with this bunch tonight.”

“We better screen them. Don’t want any weirdos on our big love show.” Luxury dropped the spell altering her voice, her naturally high pitched tone returning as she took a moment to cool off between broadcasts. Luxury was a mystery to many of her listeners, a character or a facade no one was able to crack. No one yet had put together that in fact, Lady Luxury was the former Cutie Mark Crusader, Sweetie Belle.

After finishing up her time in the local schoolhouse, Sweetie was on the cutting edge of a technological revolution in music. She had been watching the development of not only a new method of listening to all your favourite music, but a new industry about to hit it big. She was on the ground floor of EPR, a program part of the royal cultural initiatives. Starting as an audio engineer, when a slot opened up in the schedule for a weekend night show, she jumped on the opportunity.

Scootaloo came later, after Sweetie Belle came up with the premise. A secret radio host who would host a jazz music block just after sunset. But to keep a secret, she would need someone close to her, someone who wouldn’t spill who was behind Lady Luxury. Apple bloom was busy back at the farm, Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon had gone off to Canterlot for further education, which left just Scootaloo, an upstart jack of all trades who’s carpentry work allowed her the time to join Sweetie’s production.

From study, to love, to just plain conversation, Sweetie provided. Every night, the phones opened and listeners could ask her anything. However some nights like tonight, Sweetie and Scootaloo would organize something special for their audience, themed nights where Sweetie would offer advice to the callers.

Ever since the beginning of the ‘advice nights’, one of her top requested topics was love. Over and over, ponies called in asking when a romance night would happen, and tonight was the night.

Scootaloo flipped through pony after pony, listening to their problems and screening to make sure there weren’t any trolls on the other end. “Okay, so line 1 is a stallion looking for first date advice, line 2 is a mare who’s gotten into a relationship with a much younger stallion, 3 is some dude asking to marry you, so is 4…”

“Let’s start off with number 1. That one seems easy enough.” Sweetie says as she flips her headphones back on and begins to cast her voice changer spell. “Testing Testing. La la la la la.” She presses the button on the mic just as the song ends and she is connected to the mare on the other end of the line. “Good evening, you’re on the air with Lady Luxury. How may I be of assistance tonight?”

***

It was a long night. Not just in the normal sense that the show ran past midnight, but answering so many questions was always hard. One or two simple questions for advice, that was fine, But dozens over a few hours, that was exhausting. As the calls slowed down, the breaks between conferences became longer and longer as more and more jazz hit the airwave.

It was relaxing. Nothing too formal, and nothing too casual. She could feel the smooth jazzy tones putting her to sleep, but her job wasn’t done yet. Whenever she wasn’t chatting with a caller, or introducing the next song, she was talking with Scootaloo discussing what to do next.

“No calls on the line right now, but we’re getting close to the end. There will probably be a few more at the last minute as usual.” Scootaloo told Sweetie as she preened her wing idly as the downtime ticked past. “Sorry about that last one, they said they were just interested in how to make a mare happy, I didn’t expect it to be happy in that way.”

“Yeah, no worries. As long as we shut them down when they come up, the station doesn’t mind.” A few times something similar had happened before. Someone looking to either prank the station by talking about adult content, or maybe someone so desperate they’d share everything on live radio. EPR tried to be safe for all ages, even at this late in the night, but a caller or two slipping through wouldn’t matter too much at this hour.

“Yeah, but the show already has a strike on that front.”

“For what it’s worth, that night was pretty wild.” Sweetie said as she thought back to the night they learned the station’s boundaries, dedicating the night to talking about the princesses’ scandal when it was exposed that the monthly summit of princesses was just an excuse to have royal foursomes, or more when they occasionally invited others to join.

The two laughed, both remembering the night as the song timer ticked down. Sweetie had to get back to the show. By this point in the show, it was easy for sweetie belle to slip in and out of her magical voice. She did her quick sound check before pressing the button on her mic.

“Well wasn’t that just lovely. The kind of track that would just be perfect for a slow dance under the stars. Or the kind that makes you want to just grab a nice cup of tea and snuggle up by the fire. Now, we are going to close out the show shortly, but we should have time for one last caller. Our phone is waiting. Now, how about one final local song…”

Time passed as Scootaloo checked over the last few calls, just as expected a surge just as the show was closing out. Taking the time to stretch out and get ready to head home after this was done.

Finally, just before the song ended, Scootaloo piped up. “Oh, I think I found one you’re gonna love.”

“Yeah, what’s it about?”

“It’s a surprise to close out the night.”

“Okay, but if I have to cut them off, I’m throwing you under the bus to Ms. Scratch.” Sweetie says as she puts on the headphones again.

Switching to her deeper voice, she begins. “Good evening caller. Congratulations on being the last voice of the night. Now what situation were you looking for advice about?”

The voice on the other end of the line was crackly, almost unsure of what they were saying, while also clearly trying to disguise their voice. However the voice was unique enough to start something in Sweetie’s mind. Maybe they had been a previous caller.

“Hi Lady Luxury, I’ve listened to your show for a while now but I’ve never actually made it through.”

That possibility was gone. Maybe someone from ponyville, someone she went to school with? Sweetie interjected in the pause, “It’s always nice to hear a new voice on the show, especially for such a special show.”

“Yeah, that’s why I phoned in. You see, for years and years, I have been in love with this beautiful pony, one of the most beautiful ponies I’d ever met. Pure white fur and eyes like the tas- I mean, the most brilliant aquamarine. It was love at first sight. But after years of friendship, I’ve had to come to terms with the fact that she isn’t interested in me.”

“Well sounds like you’ve already got this all figured out.” The situation sounded familiar, but unlike anything she had heard today. Maybe further back.

“Yeah, she’s out of my league and I think I’ve moved on. The problem now is I think I’ve fallen in love with her little sister…”

It all clicked at that moment. Where she knew the voice from and why the situation was so familiar. It had been someone she had known about since she was a filly, and became much closer with later in life. Someone who had a crush on her big sister since the day they met. The assistant to Princess Twilight, Spike the dragon.

Following Twilight’s ascension to the throne, following the establishment of the friendship brigade, Twilight’s own detachment of guards, Spike was practically out of the job. Technically he was a prince through adoption, but that didn’t mean much to the people, especially considering he was a dragon. Last time Sweetie had seen him, Spike was setting off to Las Pegasus to start a year of free time, gifted to him by Twilight. That was about a year ago.

But here he was, calling about his failed attempts at a relationship with Rarity, and seeking advice from the person who he was trying to court.

The seconds ticked by as Sweetie sat in shock. Scootaloo, through the window, gestured to keep going, an extremely wide grin on her face as she knew exactly what she was doing to one of her best friends.

“Hello? Still there?” Spike asked, his own practical fake voice faltering. One of the many reasons Sweetie used this magical fake voice.

She shook her head as she recovered from the surprise. “Yes, I was waiting to see if you had any more details about this little sister.”

“Sure, yeah. We’re uh, about the same age. I’m pretty sure she’s a year or two older than me still. We met shortly after I moved into town and I started spending time with her sister. She is a lot like her sister in many ways, but… I don’t know, maybe I’m just trying to use her as another in with her sister, but I don’t think that’s the case.”

“So then you truly love this little sister then?”

There was a pause as Spike went silent. It took a few moments, but he gave a response. “I- Yes, I love S- Her little sister.”

What was he going to say? He was definitely going to say that he loved her, Sweetie Belle, the mare behind Lady Luxury. He was going to say it, Sweetie just knew it. “Well if you love her, give it a shot. Take your chance and see if she likes you back.”

“But what if she doesn’t? What if she ignores me like her sister did? What if she rejects the advances right out of the gate?”

“Like we’ve said many times on this show tonight, the worst that can happen is rejection. And rejection isn’t the worst outcome in the world.” Sweetie had to try not to stumble over herself as she just told a close friend to ask her out. “You’ve said you’ve known her for years already. When was the last time you saw her?”

“About a year ago. I went on a long trip around Equestria while I was coming to terms with my failure with the big sister. That’s when I realized my feelings for her. But I’m coming back in to town later this week and I’m hoping to do something then.”

Sweetie took a moment to really consider how to answer, wondering if her own advice would be followed and used on herself. “Okay, then there’s a few things you could do, but I think this would get her attention the most. When you get back, test the waters. Invite her to hang out and catch up, somewhere nice like an old hangout place. If that goes well, arrange another meeting, somewhere more private. Take your time, don’t rush it, but if you still love her by the end of that date, ask her the question.”

The show was near silent save for the sounds of the dragon hastily writing down the advice. Glancing up at the clock above her, she noticed just how close to the end of her shift it was. She needed to wrap things up before the next show could come in. Spike continued, “Okay, what do you recommend for that date?”

“I’m sorry caller, but we’re out of time for tonight. But I’ll tell you what. What’s your name caller?”

“Sp- Smith.”

“Okay Smith, I’ll tell my producer to let you through if you call back. I’m interested in how this goes.”

“Okay. I’ll call back if everything goes well.”

“Lovely, thanks for calling.”

Sweetie passes the line back to scootaloo, taking a deep breath as she only now realized how hard her heart was pumping, how rapid the rhythm of her body had become. Deep breath. Deep breath. Calm.

“What an interesting situation to close out the show. We’re gonna send you off with a personal favorite of mine, dedicated to that lovely caller who ran out of time, Smith. One final romantic jazz piece to end the night. This is Lady Luxury, signing off.”

She hit the button to cut her mic before hitting the button to play the song. She wanted to get up, to ask Scootaloo why she put her in this awkward position, but she couldn’t. That last few minutes of conversation drained her more than any other show ever had. She just sat there and thought.

“Pretty great way to end the night right?” Scootaloo asked over the intercom while setting up a short playlist for between the two radio segments. “Seemed like the perfect way to end the show to me.”

Finally, Sweetie rose from her seat and marched over to the door, a blush completely covering her face as her magical voice dropped. Swinging the door open, she was ready to throw hooves. “Scoots! What the heck? Why would you do that? Do you know how embarrassing that was?”

Scootaloo just laughed as she saw how red her friend had become. “Come on, just a little fun to cap off our first romance segment. From the sounds of it, you may get a practical lesson on your romance advice.”

“That was Spike asking about how to romance me. How is that funny?”

“Shh, shhh shhh shhh. Sweetie, relax. If he doesn’t take the advice, then you can make a move, but if he does, you could finally get some practical romance experience.” Scootaloo casually suggested as she pulled her own headphones off and stood from her cushion. “I know you’ve been dateless since we were twelve. That’s one of the reasons we held off on doing one of these romantic advice nights, isn’t it?”

“Hmm, I guess you’re right.” Sweetie pondered as she paced back and forth. “I mean, it’s Spike. He’s a dragon, he’s been a great friend for years and years, he’s always smiley, and he knows how to cook and clean and take care of anything.”

“Not to mention dragons are fucking hung.” Scootaloo jokes as she slings her saddlebags over her back and joins Sweetie for their walk out of the building. “Maybe you’ll finally lose your V card with him.”

“I’m no virgin, you know that!”

“Crusader sleepovers don’t count.”

Sweetie deflated, completely ready to remind Scoots of their club activities, but already getting shot down.

“Hehe, yeah.” Scootaloo pushes the door open for the two of them as they make their way down the quiet post-midnight streets down to central Ponyville. As the duo walk by Sugarcube Corner, almost at the Carousel Boutique, Scootaloo asks, “So, you gonna give him a shot?”

Sweetie wasn’t ready to answer that. There was so much flipping through her mind, both past memories of the days spent with Spike, the times that he had joined the crusaders for whatever wacky adventure they used to go on, or the rarer, more intimate moments of just the two of them. Way back when they were foals when Spike was too nervous to dance but Sweetie convinced him to join her. The many Flying lessons with Scootaloo where she and Spike talked while Scootaloo tried and eventually succeeded in flying. That final night when the crusaders and Spike went on a wild drinking spree in the clubhouse and almost missed his train. That soft, hungover hug as they wished each other goodbye, the way his cool, scaled chest pressed to her warm, fluffy fur, the way it lasted longer than any other crusader, or even pony that showed up to wish him farewell, the way they looked in each other's eyes as the last call started. The way something more might have happened in their half drunk state if not for that last call.

“I will, if he wants to. But if he decides it was just a phase, then I won’t press the matter. He seemed really nervous when he called in, and I don’t want him to worry about it if he’s not gonna make a move.”

“Sounds about right. But don’t if things go too long, I could always leak out who the real Lady Luxury is.”

“You wouldn’t dare.”

“Try me.”

The two laughed as they waved goodbye. Scootaloo walked home, preferring to take things a bit slower at this time of night, while Sweetie walked upstairs to her bedroom. She took a peek into Rarity’s workshop to see if her sister was still up, but Rarity had long since worked herself to sleep. She magically pulled a blanket from the cupboard and draped it over her sister before crawling into her own bed and thinking, restlessly turning as she considered what would happen with Spike.

***

Spike was laying on a royal sized mattress in the guest wing of the princesses’ Canterlot castle, staring up at the ceiling as Lady Luxury’s final song of the night played. The private phone line wired into the room hung by his side, a dial tone buzzing back at him. He barely knew why he called in to the show tonight, but he couldn’t shake the thrill and the embarrassment of it.

A year ago on his birthday, his boss and adoptive sister Twilight gave him the year off. She bought him a train ticket to Las Pegasus and an allowance to do anything he wanted for the year. What at first thrilled Spike slowly became a wallow of self pity as he came to terms with his first crush never reciprocating his affection. His nights became tiring as he lost contact with his friends back home, bouncing from place to place without any consistent number. He still got weekly letters from Twilight, but since dragon-mail become more common, twilight was dealing with a constant barrage of both important messages and spam.

But one night, after a long night at a dance club trying to find someone to share the night with to no success, he tuned his bedroom radio to EPR.

The dulcet, smooth voice of Lady Luxury had calmed him, letting him relax as the station flipped between relaxing music and the host’s casual chatter. As the broadcast closed out with a reminder to tune in next weekend, Spike knew he had a new favourite weekend activity.

It wasn’t long after while he was making a stop in the dragon lands that he started to realized where his new affections lay. After talking with Ember about his love life, Ember reminded him of Rarity’s sister. Though the two had only met briefly on one of her diplomatic excursions, she remembered Spike and the girl were quite close friends.

He laughed it off at the time, claiming Sweetie was just a friend and that he was just starting to get over Rarity, and not trying to get with her sister.

But after that seed was planted, spike slowly remembered all the good times he’d had with Sweetie. The adventures, the parties, and that goodbye at the train station… He denied it for weeks, while weeks turned to months, until finally, tonight, learning what Lady Luxury’s show would be, he was entranced and needed to call.

He glanced down at the note, hoping Luxury’s advice would work. With a sigh, he rolled on to his chest and let the jazz rock him to sleep.

2: Welcome Home

“Who could be knocking at this hour?” Sweetie paused the video game she had been playing as she heard someone knocking on her door. The boutique had been closed all week as Parity prepared for the release of her next fashion line, and it was pushing eleven o’clock, later than most ponies who didn’t work night jobs stayed up. She pulled herself up off the ground and trotted over to the door.

Peering through the peephole, the sight waiting for her on the other side a big blue eye looking back at her with pink fur on the borders of the image. The surprise eyeball staring back at her made her jump, but quickly putting it together, she realized it must be Pinkie waiting on the other side. Quietly, as to not wake her sister, she slowly lifted the bell with her magic to stop it from ringing, and cracked open the door.

“Sweetie Belle. It’s so good to see you again. It’s been too long.” Pinkie Pie excitedly shouted as she bounced in place, leading the four other elements of harmony as well as Scootaloo and Apple Bloom behind her.

“Pinkie, I saw you like, a few hours ago when I picked up a dessert. What are you all up to so late?”

“Hi Sweetie. We got a last minute alert from Celestia and Luna that Spike was on his way home.” Twilight took a few steps forward, saddlebags full of various party supplies. It seemed like everyone was carrying something to help set up the party. Well, everyone but Pinkie, but her hair seemed to be able to carry a seemingly infinite amount of random things. “He got the express train so we’re expecting him back home tomorrow morning or afternoon.”

“Really? He’s gonna be back that soon?” Sweetie tried to act surprised, but she knew it was only a matter of time. When he called in to the station, he mentioned seeing her again soon. The only things that could mean were that he would be in Manehattan for Rarity’s fashion show in a few weeks, or he would be home soon. And given what he said to Lady Luxury, she doubted the former. But how soon he would be here really surprised her, it hadn’t even been a week since they talked pseudonymously, not a single more broadcast since.

“Yeah, I thought he would be home on his birthday, but apparently he’s cutting his trip early. We didn’t want to bug Rarity with her deadline coming up, but when we picked up Applejack, Apple Bloom wanted to come along.”

Scootaloo had a sly grin on her face, the memory of Spike’s call lingering in her mind. However, Apple Bloom showed genuine excitement as she looked forward to seeing a close friend again. “Ah suggested we gather up the crusaders to help out too. Ah mean, he practically was one of us for years. We gotta help out with his welcome home party.”

“Yeah, I’m sure you’ve got lots of advice on how to welcome him back.” Scootaloo said with a giggle. Rainbow looked at her number one fan a bit awkwardly, but the only one who really understood the laughter was Sweetie, and she was far from impressed with the joke.

Sweetie rolled her eyes and magically pulled over some loose purple fabric which her sister had left out. “I’m no Rarity, but I’ll see what I can do. I want to help out however I can.” She closed the door behind her and formed her trio with the younger crowd.

“Cutie Mark Crusader Party Decorators on three?” Apple bloom suggested a cheer as the pack of ponies walked back down the street to the sugarcube corner to get everything ready.

***

It took a few more hours before the party was set. Fluttershy helped out where she could, but not wanting to wake up her animal friends in the night, she went home early so she could gather a bird choir in the morning. Rainbow was the next to go. No one really saw where she went, she just vanished after midnight. Applejack left later, wanting to check on how the cider stock was and how much she could bring to the party tomorrow.

Banners had been hung, party signs had been made, and purple and green streamers hung from any part of the ceiling they could reach. Twilight and Pinkie, the only elements of harmony left at the cafe, had shifted into the back to double check if the Cake’s still had stuff to prepare Spike’s favourite emerald and ruby dust cake. Their search through the pantry left the Crusaders alone.

“Allright spill it Luxury. Something happened on your show you’re not telling me.” Apple Bloom accused Sweetie in a whispered tone as soon as she was sure no one could hear. One of the few others outside the station that knew her alter ego, she quickly picked up on Scootaloo’s countless jokes throughout the night.

“Nothing happened. Just, a little stressed about having Spike come home is all.” Sweetie lied as she cut up the fabric, trying to make little fabric cutouts of gemstones for the party.

Scootaloo couldn’t let Sweetie’s lie stand though. Quickly, she added, “Yeah, nothing. Only Spike calling in and casually admitting that he loved you to Lady Luxury.”

“Oh mah Celestia. What happened on the show? How could ya not tell me about that? That’s huge, that’s amazing, that’s…” She paused as she let it sink in what that all meant. “That means he’s given up on yer big sis and moved on ta you.”

“It’s not as simple as that.” Sweetie let out a sigh as she maneuvered the scissors around the edges of the hexagonal Amethyst she was making. “You see, ‘Spike’ didn’t call in, someone named Smith did. They sounded like they were using a fake voice, and they talked about how they loved a mare at first sight, but after years of being ignored, his affection shifted. I know it sounds like our spike, but it couldn’t be. I’m sure there’s all sorts of people in that situation.”

“Or maybe she’s just nervous since she recommended he make the first move at a gathering with friends. What was it you said? Catch up with them and invite them back to your bed after the first date?”

“That wasn’t at all what I said.” Sweetie protested, only getting another laugh out of her Pegasus friend and a chuckle out of the earth pony. “Okay, it’s some of what I said, but I told them to invite their crush to do something a bit more private.”

“Yeah, the station would cancel us if we gave out fun advice.”

“Like a date?” Apple Bloom asked, ignoring her friend’s joke.

“Not a date. Maybe a date? I- I got caught up in the moment.” sweetie released the scissors with a half completed cut out and pressed her snout to the table. “That’s even if that was Spike. It could have been Smith from the other side of Equestria, Holed up in an apartment in Vanhoover.”

“So, you think tomorrow that spike is gonna ask you out because of some advice you gave on your show?” Apple bloom looked at her friend inquisitively, waiting for the silent response of her friend. When Sweetie nodded, she continued. “Is that so much of a bad thing?”

Sweetie looked across the table at her friend, wide eyed and curious. “What do you mean?”

“Well, a couple things. First, Ya got it better than most girls got it. You know when it’s coming, if it’s coming, and you have a direct way on tellin’ him exactly what you want. Then the fact that it’s Spike. Ah mean, we’ve all known him for years. He’s fun and always up for a little adventure, just like the rest of the Crusaders. Not only that, but he can do pretty much anything.”

“He was always really cute.” Sweetie admits, blushing as she had to look away from Apple Bloom while she hyped up their friend for her.

“There ya go. Why wouldn’t ya want yerself a cute man who you already know so much about. That’s not even mentioning the fact that he’s a gosh darn prince since Twilight became princess. You could do anything ya wanted to.”

Sweetie couldn’t help but laugh as she was reminded that it would be a prince courting her. If she were to accept spike, she could be princess, living out her days in a castle with a cute, handsome prince by her side forever.

She smiled as Apple Bloom reached over the table and held her hoof. “And whatever happens, the crusaders are here ta help you out.”

Scootaloo leaned over and wrapped her arm around Sweetie as well, the three for a few moments were bonded just like they were when they were younger, all united around one goal. No longer were the crusaders hunting for their cutie marks, now their main goal was to bring Spike and Sweetie together, if that was indeed Spike’s intent.

As the silence grew between the three, Scoots was the one to finally break it with another of her raunchy jokes. “And if you can, invite him to a crusader sleepover. Dragons are supposed to have the biggest co-”

Twilight and Pinkie strolled out of the Pantry cutting off the orange mare. “Okay, everything is set for the night. Sorry for the last minute wake up call. Do you girls need me to walk you home still?” Twilight asked as Pinkie zipped between tables, setting out her standard party equipment.

“We were actually just gonna stay at Sweetie’s for the night.” Scootaloo said as she slid out of the booth and on to her hooves. “As long as that’s fine with you Sweets.”

“Yeah, my bed’s big enough to share. We just can’t wake Rarity.”

“I make no promises.” Scootaloo jokes, earning her a light kick to her front leg by Apple Bloom.

“We’ll be good. See ya in the mornin’, Twilight.”

***

It felt to Spike like he had to fight his way out of the castle to get on the train home. He only intended his stay in Canterlot to be Brief, a day or two to talk to the princesses again. But at Luna’s insistence, Spike stayed a few extra days just to spend more time with his aunts.

Between the days spent wandering the streets while Celestia was busy in meetings, the Evenings spent playing dozens of board games with Luna, and the nights where he denied Celestia’s more scandalous advances on her nephew (Spike could never admit it, but knew Celestia’s scandal was both true, and not completely exposed), the days began to feel repetitive. He loved to talk to his Aunts, Luna especially seeing as she wasn’t trying to get in his bed, but a dragon could only do so much.

When he told Luna this, she was understanding, still requesting he stay, but okay with letting him get back home. Celestia on the other hand made one final gambit the night Spike planned to leave, ending up with Spike sneaking out through the guardhouse.

Finally, He got to rest on another train car bed. He held the note he had scribbled while talking to Lady Luxury in his claws as he read it over and over, wondering what to do.

At an event with friends. Maybe the crusaders would want to hang out in the clubhouse and catch up, but in the club house, there was no way he could manage to talk with just Sweetie to invite her on another date. He really didn’t want this to happen at Carousel Boutique, since that meant the friends in question would involve Rarity. Maybe he could wait for a Wonderbolts performance or maybe when Trixie came to town for another magic show, but who knows when those would happen. His birthday was more definitive, happening about a month from now, but that’s a month with this heavy feeling in his chest wondering what would happen.

He sighed as he played with the paper. This was step one, and he couldn’t even figure that out. If the time even did occur, what would he even say to her? Spike knew that pretty much everyone knew about his crush on Rarity. It’s not like he hid it well when he was a kid, and even up until last year it was obvious if others were paying attention. Now he was gonna sit down with her little sister and invite her to go do something private with him.

The humiliation and ridicule could be devastating. The entire town turned against him as he jumps from one sister to another. Even his own sister, the princess of friendship, may scowl as she sees him do something only some twisted pervert would do.

The thoughts alone were almost enough to make him tear up the paper and burn whatever was left. But Lady Luxury’s words rang in his head. There was something about the way she said it that sounded authoritative, like she knew exactly the situation and knew it would work. Even if he got rejected, he could still call in again with a story to tell.

He smiled as he read over the page over and over again, letting his mind drift to the best case scenario with Sweetie Belle. A future where the two of them live alone, waking up in each other's embrace every single day. Even the soft way Sweetie would say ‘I love you.’

As those bright thoughts filled his mind, he drifted off to sleep, thanking the stars that Luna was the princess of dreams and not her sister.

***

The lurch of the train cars pulling into the station woke up Spike from his sleep. Even though he went to sleep no different than normal, he slept longer and was more refreshed. Maybe a parting gift from Luna since he couldn’t spend another night in the heavenly comfort of royal sleeping accouterments.

As Spike stretched out on the bed, waking himself up from his extended rest, he could feel the train coming to a complete stop. Out the windows of the car, the plains and grasslands Spike saw before sleeping were replaced with the bustling city of Ponyville. The former country town’s population surged with the rise of Twilight, fans came first, desperate to be able to live in the same town as their hero, then came the people looking for safety, which a city with a princess was sure to have, especially after the formation of the Friendship Brigade. It still held a lot of those charming country views and locations, the farms pushing into the distance and the forest pressing right up to the city, the farmers market where the people could buy local farm grown food and the night market where artists, craftsmen, and escorts would hawk their wares. However, modernity encroached on that rural memory every day, as Twilight’s Magi-technological Research Department, run by Starlight Glimmer, made advancements every day.

The core of the town, the farming village didn’t change, but larger and larger buildings kept being built, including the large tower that dominated the skyline, a wireframe skyscraper that served as a beacon for new technologies. The EPR headquarters and main broadcast facility.

Somewhere in that building, Lady Luxury performed every weekend. Which meant that Lady Luxury must be in this town. Maybe he even knew Lady Luxury. Maybe they put the pieces together.

A pit formed in his stomach, but he had no time to consider what may come of that as the conductor started up the intercom and informed the passengers of their arrival. “Ponyville. We have arrived in Ponyville. Please gather your belongings and make your way to the nearest exit.”

Spike pushed his luck, waiting in the cabin as he rummaged through his souvenirs from across the country, trying his best not to have to leave. Unfortunately he was not to be a stowaway today, as one of the attendants knocked on his door, informing him he would need to leave soon.

With a nervous sigh, Spike grabbed on to his bags and with a bittersweet smile, hopped off the train.

“Spike! Over here!” A unicorn with a pale pink coat and multicoloured purple and blue mane called out to him as he stepped off the train, galloping to his side. “It’s so good to see you! It’s hard to imagine it’s been almost a year. How are you?

Spike smiled at his former rival as Twilight’s assistant came to greet him. “Hey Starlight. I’ve been good. You wouldn’t believe some of the stories I have now. Twilight too busy with princess stuff?”

Starlight levitated the bags out of his claw and passed them to two waiting friendship guards. With his claws now free, Starlight reared up on her hind legs and gave her friend a hug. Though friend is used loosely as after years and years under the same roof, she began to feel like another sister to him. He softly hugged her back, though he couldn’t help but remember the way Sweetie had hugged him the day he set off.

“Princess stuff, bureaucracy stuff, pretty much anything that isn’t fun.” Starlight fell back to her hooves as she began leading the way off the train platform. “Things just haven’t been the same since the elements retired. Sure, nothing bad has happened, but so much of that excitement is gone with it.”

“Do I need to remind you that your village was one of those sources of excitement a decade ago?”

“Geez, you try to forcibly create a society without talent one time and suddenly it follows you around for your whole life. That was the old me, when I was angry.”

“I saw you after trixie bailed on you in the middle of the night. You still can get pretty angry.”

“No, that’s frustration. Very important difference. You’ll learn about it when you’re older.”

Spike rolled his eyes, despite knowing exactly how those nights went down while living in the room beside her.

The two talked for a while as they walked away from the market and towards the castle, talking with Starlight about her job and his journey. It was one breakthrough after another on Starlight’s job, figuring out how to bypass crystal power altogether with a chemical reaction. Spike had other breakthroughs, emotional breakthroughs which he didn’t want to admit to his long-time friend, so he would just talk about the interesting things he tried while away.

When they made it back to the crystal palace, the guards took Spike’s bags back to the same room he lived in a year ago, and left the two on their own. Their chat continued until they walked in to a very empty throne room.

“Strange, Twi was here when I left, and there were more people too.” Starlight lied, barely able to contain her smile as she knew she now had to play her role. Luckily for her, Spike was too consumed in his thoughts to notice her odd manner of speech. “Oh, looks like she left a letter on her throne.”

Spike moved up and grabbed the letter, lifting it up to reveal a few bits below. Spike read the letter out loud while scooping up the bits. “Dear Spike. Sorry I couldn’t be there to greet you personally but I had to run to Sweet Apple Acres. I’ll be back soon. P.S. I left some bits for you to get a nice welcome home meal.” He folded up the letter and placed it back on the chair. “Weird, shouldn’t the kitchen make something.”

“Oh, you know how the kitchen staff get when we raid them between meals. Say, is there enough bits in there to cover me as well?”

“Ehh, maybe? Depends on where we go.”

“Sweet. Want to make a run to Sugarcube Corner?”

***

Sweetie sat in a booth at Sugarcube Corner, both dreading and idolizing the coming event. When Spike and Starlight arrived, Sweetie wanted to be the first in line to talk to spike, to hopefully try and get a feel for what may happen today. But then she saw Twilight, princess of friendship and sister to spike and backed down, satisfied with being second.

Then came Fluttershy, who many times had acted as comfort and caregiver to the dragon when he was younger. She was also like his extended family, so he couldn’t deny her some time with Spike.

Then Applejack, then Rainbow Dash, Then Discord and Big Mac. Even the other crusaders got their time with spike while sweetie sat there waiting.

Pinkie had come by multiple times dropping off cupcake after cupcake in an effort to make the mare happy, but with so many other party details to work on, there was only so much time she could devote to one person. So Sweetie ate her mountain of cupcakes while watching the party pass her by.

***

Spike had seen Sweetie sitting by herself, looking off into the distance. He caught himself stealing glances at her any time he had the pleasure of turning that direction. He even lost track of a chat with Mr. Cake as he found himself admiring her from afar.

But try as he might, want it as much as he did, he just couldn’t bring himself to trust in himself. He feared that the advice Lady Luxury had given him would fail. He didn’t even know what Sweetie would say when he visited her. Maybe she was just paying a visit because Rarity was too busy, a fact she learned while talking to the other crusaders.

Maybe he was just doomed, a life eternally spent watching the ones he loved so deeply pass him by and leave him on his own

***

“Oh buck this.” Scootaloo muttered to Apple Bloom as she watched both Spike steal glances of her friend and Sweetie do her best not to meet the gaze of the guest of honor.

“Come on Scoots, Justa bit more time. Ah don’t think we should interfere in this. Remember all the other times we tried to set people up?”

“This is totally different.” Scootaloo protests, wrapping a wing around Apple Bloom as she began walking them both over to Spike. “We’ve always used magic or those raunchy seduction techniques from Twi’s dirty novels. This time is gonna be different.”

“Ah’m not so sure about this one.” Apple Bloom looked to the ground before looking at both of the people silently pining after each other. With a sigh, she relented, “Would be more interesting than what’s currently going on, but we shouldn’t.”

Scootaloo leaned in close while pulling her along, “Well our little Lady Luxury is already orchestrating this whole thing. All we’re gonna do is give him a little push.” She pulls away as they get closer and closer to the prince, interrupting a chat he was having with one of the guards. “Yo, Spike. You got a bit more time for the crusaders.”

Spike looked back and forth, hoping Sweetie would be with them, but she unfortunately was not. “Hey guys. Yeah, I’m down.” He turns to the guard, dismissing him back to the party. “What’s the plan now?”

“We’re gonna go cheer up Sweetie. She’s been in a weird mood all day.”

“Really, is she? I hadn’t noticed.”

“Sure you hadn’t, big guy.” Scootaloo laughs as she nods to the booth. “Come on. Only got so much time in the day.”

“Wait. Uhhh, if she’s been like this all day, maybe it’s me. Maybe she just doesn’t want to be here.”

“If she didn’t wanna be here, she woulda stayed home with Rarity.” Apple Bloom says as she scoops a cupcake off of pinkie pie, still passing out her seemingly endless supply.

Spike winced at the name, maybe something to do with Rarity, probably wasn’t the best tactic to remind him. Scootaloo kicked Apple bloom’s back leg when Spike wasn’t looking to try to signal not to bring it up, being responded to in turn with a soft oof from the farm pony.

“Come on. AB’s right. Maybe she’s just sad because you haven’t gone and talked to her yet. You’ve basically been with everyone but her by now.” Scootaloo nudged him forward. “Go on, we’ll be with you.”

With enough encouragement, Spike nodded and finally made his way to the booth where Sweetie was waiting for him. Sensing that either might bail immediately, the two crusaders squished them in, blocking them in and forcing them to talk.

“Hey Sweetie.”

“Oh, h-hey Spike.” Sweetie jolted out of her wistful distant stare hearing the voice of the man she had been thinking of, praying he would finally stop by.

Spike shifted nervously in the seat, trying to find the perfect way to start but finding nothing. Apple Bloom took charge of the situation and started up a conversation. “So, Spike. Ah heard from Applejack that ya spent some time with Braeburn down south. Run in to any other apple family on your trip.”

“Not too many. Appaloosa was really welcoming. A bit too welcoming…” His mind drifted to just how ‘open’ that group became with the blending of buffalo and pony culture, Little Strongheart winking to him in more ways than one. He shook himself back, “There were a few on the far side of the Equestria as well. I saw some before dipping in to Saddle Arabia.”

“Wait, you went to Saddle Arabia?” Sweetie Belle perks up. “That place is so interesting. They have such interesting fashion there, and I’ve heard the food is amazing too.”

“The fashion was different, a lot of thin fabrics, veils and headdresses, but everyone wears them all the time. As for the food, eh, not so much. Nothing is quite as good as Pinkie’s special gem cakes.”

“Well she’s been dropping a bunch off over here, there’s gotta be at least one of them somewhere in the pile.” Sweetie begins to magically sift through the cupcakes delivered to her, finally finding one gem one and offering it to spike. “But that’s so cool, you need to tell me about more of the places you visited. Especially if you found any interesting music.”

The conversation just took off from there. After their initial push, the two finally got to talking and nothing could stop them. Back and forth about city after city, country after country. From the mountains of yak territory to the islands of Horsolulu. Sweetie prodded for any little detail she could extract from him, especially about the music he heard while he was there. Spike was sure to fill her in whenever he could, but didn’t want to say he spent most weekends in his room listening to Sweet Jazz rather than at local bars or clubs.

Watching them go back and forth like that, Scootaloo and Apple Bloom nodded to eachother. As the night started to wind down, Apple Bloom was the first to slip off. She mentioned talking to her sister and then just didn’t come back. Scootaloo looked around for an excuse and, noticing a distinct lack of Rainbow Dash, used her as an excuse. “All right, see you all later, Rainbow wanted me to join her private after party. See you at work Sweetie.”

“Work?” Spike asked as Scootaloo walked off. “Aren’t you a carpenter Scootaloo? When did you and Sweetie start working together?”

Realizing that she’s put everything in danger, Scootaloo did the first thing she could think of and took off, flying as fast as she could out of the bakery, shouting back, “Ask Sweetie.”

Sweetie’s body tightened as she realized she’d need to play this pretty cool, or come up with something. She forced a bit of laughter as she looked away. “Oh, it’s more like a side project than actual work. Nothing really special, just a weekend thing.”

“Hmm, so where exactly are you working then?”

Sweetie couldn’t answer that truthfully. There was no way to answer that without pushing him away or giving herself up. She scrambled to think of something, but no matter what, nothing came to her.

Spike waited and watched Sweetie grow more frantic, eating a bite of one of the many cupcakes in front of her just to not have to say something. Maybe it was embarrassing, or she didn’t have a job or something. Maybe he screwed up. He nervously looked at Sweetie and, no longer blocked in, tried to bail. “I’m sorry. I’m sure I’m just bothering you.”

“No, stay.” Sweetie reaches out across the table, pressing her hoof to Spike’s claw. “It’s just, it’s been so long since we hung out. And you know, after the stuff with Rarity and the day you left, I didn't really know what to do when we met again.” Sweetie kept bluffing, telling half truths to hide why she was nervous.

“Well, I’m always up to talk to you more. You’ve been such a close friend for ages, and I’ve missed you… As well as everyone else in Ponyville that is.”

“I’ve missed you too Spike. It’s been a shame not having my favourite dragon around for a whole year.”

“Not quite a whole year.”

“Well it felt like two to me.”

The two look into each other's eyes, both getting transfixed in the colour. Sweetie got to see those beautiful emeralds she was so fond of, while Spike after a year away finally got to see her bright peridots. Slowly, Spike came back in to the booth and just sat there, looking at her as she looked back.

It wasn’t until Pinkie came back around offering more cupcakes did the pair finally realize what they were doing and how long they had been like that. They both retracted, laughing it off as Pinkie hopped away, adding more cupcakes to the pile. “Well, we shouldn’t let these go to waste.”

“I’m already on it, Sweetie Belle.”

***

No one else came to talk to Spike when they saw how engrossed he was with Sweetie Belle. The two got on each other's wavelength pretty quickly after that little embarrassment. As the cupcakes slowly got eaten, more and more people packed up and headed home. Even the guards had shifted, replacing the last batch with a duo to escort Spike back home. All that was left was the pair and the last few stragglers enjoying the company of others.

Spike just finished his story about meeting his little fan club in the crystal Empire. He was still recognized as a hero to the people for saving the crystal heart when he was younger and apparently with a surge in Dragon immigration to the region, his popularity had flared up again. Sweetie was still just as attentive, asking questions frequently to get Spike to just keep talking. But the conversation had to end somewhere, and Spike knew there was one more thing he needed to do before the day ended.

It was the hardest part, asking a simple question that felt like it would change the world around him. His chest pounded and his mind was both racing and blank at the same time. He felt like he couldn’t do it, but then he got caught in Sweetie’s eyes once again.

“Hey, Sweetie?”

“Yes Spike?” Sweetie knew it was coming too. Something she had recommended he do. She wanted to say yes before he even asked, knowing exactly what was coming, but had to bite her tongue as she tried to play it cool.

“This was fun.”

“Pinkie does throw some pretty good parties.”

“No, no. I mean, the party was fun, yeah, but I meant getting the chance to catch up, just to spend time with you.”

Here it comes. Sweetie braced herself, trying not to jump the gun while Spike fought against himself just to finally say, “Do you want to do something like this again?”

“Yes, absolutely. This was so much fun Spike, thank you.” Sweetie let out her breath as she finally got to hear it. He didn’t call it a date, but it was practically one in everything but name only.

“Alright. Yeah. I’ll have to think of something, but some time next week?”

“I’ll be around. Thanks, I hope it will be amazing.” The two sit together for a few more minutes, silently eating the last two cupcakes, simply smiling at each other.

3: Outside Advice

Spike sat alone on his bed, letting the radio play whatever it desired. He had a few more hours until Lady Luxury returned to the airwaves, but he just couldn’t think straight. He spent all of last night going back and forth, thinking about the date he needed to plan and the radio show he wanted to call and ask for more advice. He spent so long just talking to himself, arguing what to do that he missed his chance, and the Saturday show ended before he could pull himself to call.

Maybe not even advice, but to share the story and get a little empathy. He was ecstatic to have a locked in agreement, a promise to be together, alone, even if only for a short time. But he was still as lost as ever, not sure what to do, where to go, or even what to do next.

He considered asking around the castle, his sister and Starlight may have what he needed but to even ask them was to get their judgement. Those constant hang ups eating away at him, that Sweetie was Rarity’s sister, that his love was fake, that it was crazy thinking, or worst that Sweetie was going to reject him, they all kept swirling in his head, getting louder and louder the more he thought about Sweetie.

The only thing to pull him out of his cerebral spiral was a knock at his door. “Prince Spike, her majesty Twilight requests your presence in the dining room, dinner is to be served in ten minutes.”

"No need to be so formal. Tell her I’ll be there in a minute.”

He could hear the soft clopping of hooves against the crystal floor as whoever was sent to fetch him returned to their post. Spike rolled off the bed as the host of the radio show began to talk about some political story out of the Crystal Empire. As he climbed to his feet, he looked to his bed stand and read over Lady Luxury’s advice one more time.

Whatever was to happen tonight, if anything were to happen tonight, it wouldn’t happen for hours. Spike needed to go eat.

***

The Crusaders sat together in their twice renovated treehouse, improved and reinforced since the trio grew up. The treehouse was still their go to meeting place for both crusader business, which was more and more rare as they all went off to their careers, and for their casual hang outs, which never slowed down even a little.

“I’m telling you. He’s gonna call again today. I just know it.”

“That’s what you said last night Scootaloo, and now we’re here.” Sweetie fidgeted as she ate with her friends, all of them sitting around a barrel of apples. “He probably figured it out after Scootaloo said we work together on weekend nights. Maybe he’s solved it and doesn’t want to call.”

“Ah’m with Scootaloo on this. He probably just got nervous, or Twilight or Starlight needed him…”

“Or he was deep in some cheap mare.”

Apple Bloom elbowed her friend as Sweetie grew more and more concerned. “Not helping Scoots.” Apple Bloom snatched the apple out of her friend’s hooves and took a bite. “You have nothing to worry about. We both saw how much he wanted you at the party. It will all be okay.”

Sweetie took a few deep breaths before flopping back and looking up at the roof of their little sanctuary, lost in thought as she tried to figure out what was going on in that dragon’s mind, why he didn’t call, and what to say now. “Even if he does call, what do I tell him? Do I give him my genuine advice on what I would do, or do I feed him what I want to happen. Last time it all just happened so fast but now, oh the anticipation is killing me.”

“Why dontcha give no advice at all?”

Both of the mares looked at Apple Bloom, a suspicious glare from Sweetie said that she didn’t like where this could lead, but an intrigued smile from Scootaloo encouraged her to proceed.

“Ya see, If ya think yer too close to the problem, let other people answer Spike’s question for ya. Encourage callers to give him advice, and add comments as you talk to the rest of ‘em. You’re not giving any advice, but it will still help spike.”

The looks flipped as Scootaloo was hoping for Apple Bloom to give her own bad advice but Scootaloo saw nothing wrong with it, while a bright, beaming smile formed on Sweetie’s face as the idea sunk in. It solved all her problems. No need for her to give the perfect advice or give herself away, while still
providing a guiding insight to her upcoming private excursion with Spike.

The three sat quietly together, emptying more of the barrel as Sweetie let her mind run once again. At this point, she saw no downsides to the plan, only the glorious solution she had been circling around but not seen for days. However it all came crashing down as she realized there were still several things she’d need to solve.

“But what happens when Spike asks about my work again. He’ll figure out what I do eventually.”

“I don’t think you’re able to solve that. You’re either in or you’re out. Lady Luxury lives and eventually Spike finds out, or ‘Lady Luxury’ ends and you take over the show as yourself. You may have to take it up with Vinyl since your secret identity is a selling point of the show.” Scootaloo relaxed as she tossed another apple core out the window. “You and I are pretty much in this together. I’ll go with you no matter what.”

The last bit reminded Sweetie why she was friends with Scootaloo. After all the teasing and stuff, she was almost as loyal as her hero Rainbow Dash. “We’re in it together. Would have been nice if you had passed on that question last week but now we’re here.”

Apple bloom heaved the mostly finished apple barrel out of the way and pushed a table into the center of them, pulling a few papers and a quill out as well. “If yer gonna be lying longer, probably want to get your story straight. Scootaloo already almost blew it once, and I’m sure you both don’t want any more surprises like that. So what kinda job are you two doing together weekend nights that isn’t radio.”

***

“Welcome back to Sweet Jazz with Lady Luxury. A special thanks to the girls on before us, but now it’s time for your dose of the best jazz selection in Equestria.”

The planning went longer than expected, with several hours flying by as the three bounced every possibility back and forth, figuring out what the best lies would be. After several good ideas and even more bad ideas, they settled on a plan, less than 20 minutes before the show was supposed to start. The production duo raced to the studio, but were still pushing a late start.

Sweetie continued the introduction. “Tonight is another free night. No major news to talk about, no world shattering mysteries or magical misfortunes, only the cool relaxing sounds of EPR’s late night Jazz show. Call in and you may be featured on the air, where we can chat about whatever’s on your mind.”

Sweetie was still getting into the voice and was convinced it sounded funny, but Scootaloo just gave an approving nod and a wing gesture to show everything was alright. This happened last night as well, as the prospect of Spike’s next call ate away at her. This was her zone, one of the things she was best at, but the stress was slowly getting to her.

“We’re gonna start the show off nice and slow. So settle down, grab yourself a nice book or a cup of tea, and unwind with one of my personal favourites.”

Sweetie set up some songs to play next while turning to address Scootaloo, careful to wait until the music started so she wasn’t still broadcasting. Since she was feeling nervous, she did her best not to break her concentration, speaking still in her artificial voice. “I’ll take whatever, but If ‘Smith’ calls back, send him to the front of the queue. Normal rules.”

“Gotcha, nothing fancy. Just a normal night.” Scootaloo pressed a few buttons, listening in to what the caller wanted to talk about, knowing that she would once again be barraged with both interesting requests and strange fantasies from people all around Equestria. It was something she had gotten used to, and sometimes hearing what they would say about a mare none of them knew really made her laugh. The first was exactly one of those types of callers, starting Scootaloo’s night off with a laugh.

Meanwhile Sweetie’s dread just grew and grew. Over and over she tested her voice, just to try and hit what she thought was its normal sound. “Do, mi, so, mi, do. Do, mi, so, mi, do. La la la la la.” Exercise after exercise, nothing sounded right. She broke her concentration again and reset her spell only to have no change, just the same irritating inaccuracies she kept hearing.

“You okay in there Sweetie?”

“No, something’s wrong. The voice is wrong. I can’t get it.”

“There’s nothing wrong. It’s the same as ever. Or if there is, it’s so slight that even I can’t notice it. If you need to, throw on another song and take a sip of water. We’ve got the full night ahead of us still.”

Sweetie reluctantly followed her friend’s advice, magically grabbing some water while doing her best to relax for what would certainly be another stressful night.

***

“And so with this new understanding, we can improve our current technology and potentially even usher in a golden era of research and understanding. Imagine a world where we didn’t even need magic anymore.”

“You’re getting a little too close to your old self Starlight. Don’t let your research go to your head.”

Twilight and Starlight talked as the three permanent residents of the Crystal Palace wrapped up their personal time following their dinner. Starlight was so gung-ho about her research that Spike didn’t want to step away, but his eyes were firmly on the clock, watching as minutes ticked by, getting closer and closer to when he would need to make a decision.

Just when he knew the show was supposed to start, Twilight stood up from her cushioned seat at the table and backed away. “I really have enjoyed spending this week with you spike. It’s been great to catch up and hear about your adventures across Equestria. And it’s always a pleasure to hear about your research Starlight, but my job never ends. I need to read over some policy proposals before royal court tomorrow. Thank you for the time, but if you’ll excuse me.”

Spike forced a smile as his adoptive big sister left, waving a forced goodbye. When Twilight left, the pair of guards at the doors left behind her, leaving Spike and Starlight alone in the dining room. However it was only moments after twilight excused herself that Spike rose from his seat as well. “Yeah, it’s been great Starlight, but I’m gonna head off to sleep.” He scrambled out of his seat and began to make his way to the door.

However he never reached it as the familiar light glow of Starlight’s magic covered him, lifting him up off the ground to prevent his escape. “You’re not going anywhere dragon boy. We’ve got some things to talk about.”

Spike gulped hearing Starlight’s ominous proclamation, quickly trying to cover up anything she may suspect. “W-what do we need to talk about. There’s nothing to talk about that I haven’t said already.”

Starlight smiled as she brought him back to his chair, releasing him from her grasp. “Yes there is. Twilight may be the princess of friendship, but she’s still incredibly dense. She has to be if she can't see how nervous you’ve been today. You’ve been fidgeting all day, you barely ate any food that wasn’t gems or deserts, and you’ve been locked away in your room any time food wasn’t being served. If it’s something you can’t tell Twi, that’s fine, but I want to know what’s got our dragon all wound up.”

Spike was shocked at just how perceptive Starlight was. His many years of living with Twilight got him used to no one being able to read him, but Starlight picked him apart better than Twilight ever had. This wasn’t the first time, but it was the first time she was being so direct about it.

With a sigh, he looked down to the crystalline table. “I- It’s about a mare.”

“Thought so. Am I gonna get any more details out of you, or do I need to guess who this mystery mare is.”

“It’s just some mare. She’s been on my mind for a while. A few months now but it really picked up last week.”

“Princess Celestia?”

Spike couldn’t help but laugh at the suggestion of what was basically his adoptive mother/sister/aunt. Sure, she came onto him pretty strong last week but nothing like that. “No, why would you even think that?”

“So it’s Luna then.”

“Where are you even coming up with this?”

“Well you were staying with them last week. Who knows what happened there. Or what legally didn’t happen.” Starlight giggles with a wink. “But if you’re not gonna give me anything to go off of, I’m gonna take some guesses. Moondancer?”

“Have you even met Moondancer? No. Not Moondancer. Not anyone from Canterlot.”

“Hmmm, interesting. Continue.”

“Well, this mare, she’s just been on my mind for a long time, and I think I invited her on a date. I’m just not sure if she sees it that way or not.”

“Ahhh. Sweetie Belle then.”

Spike hesitated before trying to deny it. “W-what, not Sweetie Belle. That’s Rarity’s sister, I can’t date her after so long obsessing over Rarity.”

“Please, I saw you two at the party. You two were basically falling over each other. I’m surprised you didn’t bring her home after what I saw.”

“That’s not at all what happened-”

“So you invited Sweetie on a date and you’re trying to figure out what to do about it. I mean, fair enough.”

“That’s not why I’m worried.” Spike scratches the table with his claws, pulling out chunks of crystal that dissolved from his claws before rematerializing where it was pulled from, one of the many magical properties of Twilight’s magic castle. He kept doing this while looking away from Starlight. “Last week, I called in to this radio show and asked for advice. And the advice they gave worked, and I want to call in again and ask for more advice, but I’m not sure.”

“Well if it worked and they’re willing to give more advice, then why not call in again.”

“Because it’s embarrassing. It’s nerve wracking and embarrassing. It’s so hard to even just pick up the phone.”

“Okay, then why did you call in last time.”

“I… don’t know. It just kinda happened.”

Finally, Spike looked back up to his pale pink friend, expecting some smug reaction but instead just getting a sympathetic smile. “Things can be hard, Spike. No one’s gonna make you call, or make you ask for advice from some stranger on the radio, but at least it’s something right?”

Spike paused as he looked to his friend, before inevitably looking away again. “I’m not sure about it. What if Sweetie hears it and knows I don’t have anything. What if she’s listening to that show while she works with Scootaloo. What if it all goes wrong?”

“Then you smile, you explain what you did, and you move on.” Starlight got up from her chair and moved around the table to Spike. When Spike saw this, he got up to dash away again but was again caught in Starlight’s magic. “Spike, you know who you’re talking to right? I was the villain. I hurt people and robbed them of their talent. But I moved past that. I became Twilight’s right hand mare, and things worked themselves out.”

Starlight pulled the dragon into a tight hug, wrapping him in a deep embrace to reassure him. “If you like Sweetie, and she likes you, who cares where the story started. You’ll be fine, and hopefully, be able to live a long, happy life with her.”

Spike sighed as he slowly accepted the hug and wrapped his arms around Starlight’s body. “Thanks. I think that’s what I needed. I’ll give them a call and see what advice I can get. You’re the best Starlight.”

“You are correct.” She released Spike from his hug and lowered herself back on to her hooves. “Now if you’ll excuse me, there is a great and powerful mare in my room who needs to be punished for how much she frustrates me. Good luck Spike.”

Starlight gleefully trots out of the room leaving Spike all by himself, with new reassured courage to call Lady Luxury for advice.

***

“Although I don’t think I have any book recommendations…” Sweetie had gotten back into the zone once callers started filling in. She was still nervous but she had managed to get in to that perfect state where talking was just easy. So long as topics kept coming her way, she could go for hours. She knew, she had done it before.

Meanwhile Scootaloo took her job seriously, but got the chance to relax. No major incidents, nobody slipping through the cracks and having to be shut down, and more than a few giggles she got listening to random people simply talk.

She could hear the automated response questioning what people wanted to talk about, listening to calls with one ear while the other listened to the show going on right now, headphones pressed to her head with a wing. She passed through some softballs for Sweetie, a few tougher ones as well, but nothing too serious or dire. And especially no relationship advice as she didn’t want to throw Sweetie off her game.

The show had been going for a bit over an hour, flipping back and forth between talk and jazz. It wasn’t Scootaloo’s favourite genre, but she knew what to listen for in case something went wrong. She had the show under control.

She had everything under control, until about an hour and a half in. Just another caller, another possible guest and conversation. But just as the automated response ended, she recognized the voice on the other end.

“Hello. This is Smith. Lady Luxury said I could call back and I’m looking for more advice.” The same crudely disguised voice as last time. Not nearly as much detail, but clearly the dragon she had known for years.

She pressed some buttons on the setup to put him on hold and got herself ready to pass him through to Lady Luxury. She waved her hooves to get Sweetie’s attention.

“Interesting. I’ve never heard of that author. Thanks Luxury.”

“No problem madame. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do. We’re gonna spin on in to another few songs but don’t tune off, we’ll be back with more listener discussion after. And now, for some jazz from the Crystal Empire. Enjoy.” Sweetie ended off the current conversation and set up some music to allow herself to talk to Scootaloo.

But Scootaloo didn’t want the time, she was chomping at the bit to tell Sweetie. To get her ready for what was to come. “Luxury, It’s Smith up next. You think you’re ready for this?”

It’s what Sweetie thought once she saw Scootaloo waving so frantically. Her heart sped up, pounding in her ears, but with a few deep breaths, she was back in line. “Okay. I’m… Wait, my voice. They’ll figure it out immediately.”

“I’ve been on the phone lines all night and no one has said a thing. I think this might be going to your head.”

“It most certainly is not in my head. I’m telling you, something is wrong.”

“No it’s not. Are you still gonna open up advice from other callers?”

Sweetie wasn’t happy that Scootaloo kept brushing her off, but she relented. “Yeah. I think so. We’ll see once it starts.”

“Well he’s waiting for you now. Not much longer now. Unless you want to throw on one more song and delay the inevitable.”

“Not much longer. I can do this.” Sweetie sat straight on her cushion, psyching herself up for another of the most stressful calls of her career.

***

Despite Starlight’s pep talk, actually making the call was the hard part. Spike burned an hour just holding the phone in his claw, waiting to dial, staring at the oversized buttons fit for hooves instead of fingers, and ready to call. But he couldn’t.

Twilight was somewhere in the castle, able to drop in at any moment. He requested the guards to not let anyone in, but Twilight was still princess and could command otherwise. Sweetie was somewhere, maybe listening to the same show he was about to call in to. He hoped Scootaloo didn’t like jazz so they would have other shows playing, but who knows. There weren’t many broadcasts anyways, so maybe they just worked in silence. That was the best Spike could hope for.

Time ticked past as Spike built up the courage to dial in the number. He was so nervous that he nearly forgot the name he used last time. Smith. Smith, from Canterlot. Hopefully if he introduced himself that way, they wouldn’t pay attention to the changed phone number since last time he called.

He waited for minutes, the radio’s music playing over the phone. Something experimental, more stressful than relaxing in his opinion. Not helping.

Finally, he heard the phone connect, and he knew he was on the air.

“Hello caller. What are you interested in talking about tonight?” The smooth and melodic voice of Lady Luxury came through the phone speaker, loud and clear for the dragon to hear.

“Hi Lady Luxury. I called you last week about relationship advice-”

“Ahh, so Smith has returned. Interesting. For the listeners who missed that show, would you care to say what it is you are going through?”

Spike gulped as he realized he’d need to go over everything once again, but it was the price he would have to pay. “Yeah, sure. You see, I had this crush on an older mare for years, but she rejected me. After I got over the rejection, I sorta, kinda developed a crush on her little sister.”

“Yes, if I remember correctly, friends from a young age, she’s still a few years older than you, and you hadn’t seen her in almost a year.”

“Yeah.” Spike winced as his false voice fell for just a second. He turned away to cough to help him get the voice back. “Yeah. You gave some really great advice and I was hoping for more. We finally met up and your advice worked amazingly-”

“Thank you. It’s rare we get to follow up on our advice, but it’s always nice hearing a successful story.”

“There’s more though. So, I invited her to do something more private like you suggested. We, uh, spent some time with her friends but I invited her to spend some time alone this week. Just the two of us.”

“So you set up a date.”
“I- I wouldn’t call it a date. I didn’t say it was a date when I asked. I’m not even sure if she would want to go on a date.” Spike scrambled to justify and defend, not sure on where Sweetie stood with the idea of going out as more than friends. “I have some ideas but since your advice was so good last time, I was hoping you could suggest something.”

The pause was deafening, a long, empty cacophony of silence as seconds, hours, years passed by between him speaking and her reply. Although likely only breaking for a moment, the temptation to hang up was growing in him.

“You know, since you called in last week, I’ve been thinking about your situation. It’s strange and, while I am fascinated by your predicament, I think I’m not the best person to ask about this.”

Spike deflated as the voice on the radio denied his request. Devastated, he was about to hang up, but didn’t as the mare continued.

“But I am interested in hearing the rest of this story. So after this next song, I’m gonna open the phone lines back up and we’ll spend some time taking audience advice. With my own personal additions of course.”

“Oh, okay. Sure.” Spike said, confused at the process but interested in the outcomes.

“Excellent. Stay on the line and while we play this next song, we’ll get some calls ready to help you out.”

The line went quiet as he could hear the radio start up once again. He was put on hold again, like he was when he first called. Would it really be the best for even more people’s advice, especially after he had so much success with Luxury’s advice. Maybe it wasn’t the best, there was no turning around now. Just to wait for a caller.

***

“Scootaloo. It’s time.” Sweetie said while setting the song to play out. “Direct line for anyone with advice, good or bad. I really want this to work out.”

The moment that stressed Sweetie out all night was finally upon her. All she could do was hope that the callers would be good, and that her producer would be kind enough not to play any more games with her love life. A hope that she could almost guarantee would fail.

“Already on it. We’ve already got one caller. Date idea. I’ve got my ears peeled.” Scootaloo casually relaxed in her chain, more than confident in the plan.

The problem was all that confidence Scootaloo exuded practically doubled Sweetie’s anxiety. Why would Scootaloo think this is so easy? It may be the hardest thing Sweetie’s ever done in her life and she was able to relax during it. And why did her voice still sound off!!?

The calm personality heard on the radio was all a facade, almost completely different than what Sweetie felt in the moment. But it was her job. She was an actress and the invisible medium of the radio was her stage. With a deep breath, she settled back on to the air. “That one may be one of my favourites. Now for those of you just joining us, we’re doing a little follow up with one of our dear callers. He’s got relationship trouble and, I know I don’t do relationship stuff often on this show, but his situation is just so special that I want to help out however I can. That’s why I’m asking all you listeners to call in and help us solve this sister lover’s problem.”

Scootaloo pressed some buttons to pass the caller on to the show. “Thanks for calling in. Now what might your name be?”

“Hi Lady Luxury. This is actually my first time listening to your show. I’m Starlight.”

“And I’m The great and Powe-”

“Sorry about that. My partner was the one who really wanted me to call in.”

Starlight Glimmer. The Starlight Glimmer was calling in. Sure, there were the rare times when Sweetie would get a name she recognized, Silver Spoon was a surprisingly frequent caller, but she never would have guessed Starlight, right hand to the princess and Twilight’s chief researcher, would call in.

Still Sweetie had to play it cool. Lady Luxury had to be neutral. “Starlight, great to have you on the show. So, what advice do you have for our friend in an awkward situation?”

“Smith was his name right? I think you’re overthinking this. Who cares what your past was like? So what if you used to love someone’s sister? Things change. You just need to go for it.”

“I’m inclined to agree, Starlight. Smith, you just need to put yourself out there.”

“Exactly.”

Smith was still on hold, but listening. Sweetie could only hope that a few miles away, the dragon took the advice of one of the mares living in the same building as him.

“As for what to do on this ‘not a date’ thing. Well why not still make it romantic. Take this girl out, see the sights, or even just take a stroll through the markets.”

“And see a traveling street magician along the way.” Another, quieter voice came through the phone before making a small oof, sounding as if she was just thrown on to a bed.

Starlight continued. “A walk in the park, or maybe even just stargazing at the end of a night.”

Sweetie just listened, taking in what Starlight suggested. She nodded to her unseen audience, liking what she was hearing. “I think that could go a long way to helping. Just something casual. Nothing too formal or anything like that. I think that’s wonderful advice, Miss Starlight.”

Trixie shouted back, “And if it all goes well, you can take her home, throw her in bed, and ru-”

Sweetie rushed to end the call before things could get inappropriate. “All right, thank you for calling Starlight. But please, a reminder to all listeners that we are a family friendly show please.” Her voice shifted as she went from the serious reprimand to her audience back to the dragon on the other end of the line. “Now Smith, how was that advice…”

The line was dead. Spike had hung up.

After a brief panic by Sweetie, she tried to play it off. “It seems like our caller disconnected as well. We’re gonna take one or two more in hopes that they’re still listening before we bring it back to the music. All right caller, you’re on the air.”

Author's Note

Special thanks to Aadilmode who helped wigth the proofreading. I put it up before they finished for stress reasons, but their spelling and grammar check will make this better for future chapters.

4: The Morning

“Do you think today will be the day?” Sweetie asked Apple Bloom as the two of them walked through the apple fields, Sweetie talking her friend’s ear off while she was trying to buck apples off the trees.

Apple Bloom reared up and kicked the tree with her hind legs. She wasn’t a bucking queen like her sister, but years of practice had added up. Sweetie was made to carry the basket, lazily trying to catch the falling fruit as her mind drifted away from the task.

“You’ve been sayin’ that all week. Ever since that show, you’ve come here every day asking me what ah think.”

“Well it’s not like I’m gonna stay at home. Rarity asked me to leave the house for the week so she can put the finishing touches on her dresses in peace.”

“That mare gets crazy when it comes to dresses. She used to run Spike ragged when he acted as her assistant.”

“Yeah, it’s not like-”

“Incoming!” Apple Bloom interrupted her, trying to get her back on task for what she had volunteered to do.

Sweetie didn’t catch many, but at least her magic made it easy to clean up what she missed. She collected the rest of the apples. “A bit more warning would be nice.”

“You may not be busy, but AJ’s got me on a quota. So help out or no crusader sleepover next week.”

Sweetie made quick work of the remaining fallen apples as she continued. Though the sleepover threat was on her mind, the dragon was far more present.

“Anyways, she never treated him kindly. He was just blinded by beauty, or whatever he saw in my sister.”

“Yer right about that much. She is pretty hot. ‘Nother buck coming up.”

Sweetie does better to catch this bunch than before. “We’re talking about my situation here. Not Rarity.”

“Okay okay, Jeez. I get it. Incoming.” Apple Bloom pauses as she kicks the next tree, letting Sweetie do her part before continuing. “How I see it, if he doesn’t ask today, then yer probably gonna have to be the one to show up and set him straight. Once this weekend passes, who knows what’ll happen.”

“It wouldn’t be so bad. It’s just a bit more time to wait.”

“And what if the invite is for when you’re at work. What are you gonna tell him then?”

Apple Bloom’s concern hung in the air, as a Sweetie too wrapped up in her own concerns began to consider just what it might mean for something like that to happen. Maybe nothing, maybe everything. She could get found out still and upset Spike, if not lose her job. That would be a huge risk.

Sweetie Belle finally stopped talking as she picked up the remaining apples and threw them into the basket.

Up and down the row of trees, apples fell from the sky. The two crusaders worked until their flying companion found them. “Hey, I’m here and ready to work… Why’s the mood so low?”

“It’s nothing, just thinking,” Sweetie says as she pulls a bucket free and levitates it to Scootaloo. “The faster we get this done, the faster I can get home and see if Spike has invited me somewhere.”

***

Spike sat at the dining table once again, facing down Trixie and Starlight. It had been days since they pulled their little stunt and finally, Spike was willing to talk to them rather than just ignoring them, giving them the same silent treatment a petulant child would give.

“You’ve got to understand Spike, I was just trying to help you out.”

“So was I. The Great and Powerful Trixie suggests-”

Starlight magically forced her lover’s mouth shut before she could finish her speech. “Maybe don’t worry about what Trixie says. One step at a time.”

“Okay, then what is that first step?” Spike presses the bite-sized gems on his plate back and forth, staring at them as if peering through a crystal ball hoping his future would be displayed in front of him. Something that Starlight had specifically said she would not do for him considering their past experience with time magic.

“Well, the first step is exactly what I said on that radio show. You’re working yourself up over what is likely nothing. I saw you both at your welcome home party, the long stares as the night dwindled away. You two will be fine, and if not a couple, then you’ll still be friends. I mean, you’ve known her longer than you’ve known me after all, and feelings won’t get in the way of friendship.”

“Is this about to turn into one of Twilight's friendship lectures?” Spike acts flippant, but is invested in what his pseudo-big sister has to say.

Starlight laughs, “No, no. Maybe. I did have to relearn a lot of this stuff for myself. Maybe it rubbed off. But I think you’ve got this Spike.”

Trixie raises a hoof, looking her marefriend in the eyes innocently as she silently requests another chance to speak. Reluctantly, the magical aura dissipated. “Rejection is part of life. Even the great and powerful Trixie had some failed loves before I met Starlight.” She places a hoof on starlight’s, leaning in close to her companion.

Both listeners were surprised by Trixie’s genuine attempt at assisting, not used to it from the mare. However, she still undercut it moments later, continuing, “And if things don’t go well with Sweetie, then there’s a spot for you in our be-”

The aura returns as she is forced to be quiet, a smirk on her face as she relaxes, cuddling into Starlight.

Spike rested his chin on the table letting out a small bout of flame as he took it all in. He knew that both of the mares were right. And even if they weren’t then he would turn back to his favourite radio station and ask for comfort and support from Lady Luxury. Things would be fine… maybe.

“I guess you’re both right. I have nothing to really lose from this date. So much to gain too.” Spike shoveled the remaining gemstones into his mouth, packing as many in as he could before chewing them as fast as he could. “I’m gonna go ask her right now. I know exactly what I’m gonna do.”

Spike got up and rushed out of the room, barreling back towards his room, however he caught himself just as he was about to leave the room. He turned back to the couple sitting at the table. “Actually, I could use your help if you wouldn’t mind…”

***

The three Crusaders sat on the Apple farmhouse’s porch, each with a glass of juice as they looked over the field of freshly plucked trees, their wagon load of produce stowed in the barn until Granny and Applejack could go through and examine them.

Celestia’s sun was still high in the sky, but they could all feel the subtle chill in the air, the afternoon slowly cooling down for what was sure to be a crisp early autumn night.

“All I’m saying is that if every day you hang out around apples, working with apples, and are named after apples, maybe you should be a bit more adventurous than apple juice.” Scootaloo retorts as she slurps down the last drops in the bottom of the glass.

“It’s not like ah’ve never had other juice before, but this is a heck of a lot cheaper than buying anything else. We literally make it in the house.” Apple Bloom defends her choice in drink, but even she was ready for a bit of a change. Maybe she could convince AJ to get something a tad fancier next time they closed up shop in the market.

The two went back and forth debating the ideal juice for a while as Sweetie just stared into her amber drink. She had gotten through the harvest, but that was only half the day gone. There was another half still left to go, and if nothing happened before then, things would only get more and more risky of blowing her secret identity.

Her mind drifts to and fro, wondering if she had done or said something wrong before. Maybe it wasn’t even Spike who she was giving advice to. Starlight called in to offer advice, but then she never got a response from the caller or heard his conclusion. Surely if it was just Spike, then Starlight wouldn’t need to call in to give her advice to him, when he literally is down the hall from her.

She was so distracted that she didn’t even notice that the other two had stopped chatting and instead watched as a grown-up, purple dragon strolled down the long path to the farmhouse.

“Hey, SB.” Scootaloo flicked her friend with her wing to break Sweetie out of her delirium. “Get your eyes off the drink. There’s someone coming.”

Sweetie was so worked up about the idea of it potentially being the one dragon she waited the week for that the cider was a more hopeful sight, compared to ruining the dream of the dragon she loved coming to whisk her away. It was her sister, probably. Rarity come to drag her back to the boutique to do some menial task, or Vinyl here to collect her for a meeting she had forgotten about. Or maybe Twilight, come to break the bad news to Sweetie that spike died, or something equally tragic. The thought of Spike was far more acceptable than the potential heartbreak of breaking her gaze with her glass.

Scootaloo began waving her wing between the magically held glass and her friend’s face just to force her out of it.

There he stood. A mature dragon. Just slightly taller than her and with a pair of powerful wings tucked closely to his back. Purple and Green scales that would be worth more than diamonds to her. The one she couldn’t help but feel bad for acting as a puppet master towards. Spike walked past the gate to Sweet Apple Acres, waving to the crusaders while walking up the path.

“Spike! Heyyy…” Sweetie Belle was so excited and so nervous that her magic dissipated, forcing Scootaloo to dive for the glass while Sweetie awkwardly called out to the approaching drake. “What uh… What brings you down to the farm?”

“We just finished with today’s harvest. Freshest apples you could ever get. Maybe even with a special discount for one lucky customer.” Apple Bloom quickly added.

“Hey girls. I think I’m good for apples, I just finished lunch with Starlight and Trixie. It’s great being back in town with them, but Trixie can be a bit much for me.” Spike finished the journey up the drive, leaning up against one of the posts holding up the veranda. “I’m actually here because Rarity told me Sweetie would be here.”

“Really?” Scootaloo answers, covering up the stunning revelation Sweetie was having. This would be her moment. This would be where he asked her out. She wasn’t ready. She needed time. She was just thinking about how she wanted Spike’s proposal but now wasn’t the time. She hadn’t even showered after working in the fields all day. Scootaloo continued, “Must’ve been rough seeing her again, seeing that she wasn’t at your welcome home party. Also, you know…”

“Yeah, it uh, wasn’t great.” Spike sheepishly admits, using a claw to scratch the back of his head, where his soft back spikes met his spine. “I’ll save you all the details, but I’m not here to live in the past. I’m past that part of my life now, and here to prove it. Sweetie, do you want to go on a date tonight? Meet me at the cinema at 6. Okay bye.”

Spike didn’t even leave time for the paralyzed mare to respond, shooting up into the air while giving the time he wanted them to meet up. Sweetie just stood there, admiring the dragon while her mind felt like it turned to mush. By the time Sweetie came to her senses, the dragon was out of sight, on his way back to the castle.

“Yes.” Sweetie mumbles while staring at the direction Spike disappeared. She was so quiet that her friends barely heard her, certainly not spike either. But with a deep breath, she shouted “Yes! I’ll see you there!”

The two other mares on the porch couldn’t help but giggle as the third member of their club did more to embarrass herself than anything the pair would do. “Ya really are just a filly in love, aren’t ‘cha?”

“Shut up Apple Bloom.”

“You’re right, it’s more like Winona when she fell in love with that Timber wolf. Puppy Love?

“Quit it.” Sweetie protests as Apple Bloom wraps a hoof around Sweetie.

“We wouldn’t have to do this if you weren’t so embarrassed by this all. Can you show you’re a virgin any more?” Apple Bloom jokes as she begins to walk the white filly off of the farm. “Now shut up and follow me. We’re takin’ you to the spa. Lotus and Aloe will doll you up, and you’re gonna look perfect fer yer date tonight.”

“We?” Scootaloo confusedly asks as she gulps down the left over apple juice that didn’t spill from Sweetie’s cup.

“Yes we. Yer comin’ too. Ah can still cancel the sleepover ya know.”

Scootaloo places both glasses she held onto a table and bolts to join her companions. “Yep. I’m in. Spa Time.”

***

Spike beat his wings faster than he ever had. He could barely hold himself together once he saw her. Sweetie was just, so, so, so beautiful to him. There wasn’t a thing he could see other than her stellar smile or marvelous eyes.

He’d probably embarrassed himself as much as when he had to admit to Rarity he was looking for her sister. He just had to trust in the advice Lady Luxury gave him. The advice Starlight and Trixie gave him. Trust in the plan that he had been formulating ever since his welcome home party.

Tonight would be magical.

Author's Note

This took far longer than expected due mostly to school, but also for personal reasons. Hope you enjoy. Next chapter is the actual date

5: A Magical Night

Celestia’s golden light hung low in the sky, time seeming to slow as Spike waited for his friend to arrive. Marefriend? No, it would be wrong to put that strong of a label on their relationship, Spike thought as he let his hind claws run through blades of grass.

He sat on a bench in a park opposite to the movie theater, letting his mind wander while trying to remain calm for what was sure to be a strange encounter.

A date with Rarity’s sister. A date with one of his best friends. A quiet night alone, just the two of them. He could only hope Trixie let Starlight finish what he needed from her before the movie ended.

Across town, a trio of mares walked out of the Blossom family spa. Their bodies freshly cleaned, hooves polished, and hair masterfully treated and dressed giving their manes a beautiful shine. Among the trio, two of them still dragged the last to their next destination though now Sweetie and Scootaloo had swapped roles.

Sweetie still was in shock over Spike’s sudden request. Though she had been looking forward to this all week, now there was so much more on the line. Her relationship with the dragon. Despite him planning their night, there was the ever present chance Spike could find out about her radio job and disapprove of her meddling. So much could go wrong for her.

“Sweetie, come on. Yer gonna be late.”

“I’m not ready. I need more time. I need to go uhh… Get him a gift. Yeah.”

“No you don’t Sweetie. We spent all day getting you ready. It will be fine. You already know what to expect from the evening.” Scootaloo pushed the mare from behind, not letting her coerced spa trip be for naught. “Just go and have fun. It will all be fine.”

Apple Bloom, tugging on her friend’s hooves, agreed with the orange miscreant. “Fur once, she’s right. Ain’t nothing to do now but go have the time of yer life.”

Scootaloo smiled until she clued in on the not so subtle insult thrown her way. Apple bloom stuck out her tongue teasing her friend while Sweetie lowered her head and braced herself.

“Guys. Listen. I seriously just don’t know what to do. I don’t want to ruin things, and I just feel so weird sorta pulling the strings.” Sweetie sighs as the stress, freshly washed away by the town’s expert masseuses, already began building in her once again.

Her statement hung in the air for a few moments as the two other mares considered how best to approach it. Although they both had their own ideas about what was best, the two united in their desire to see Sweetie happy. “Just go do it. You’ve loved this dragon since we were fillies, and now you’re gonna go and take what you deserve.”

“And if it goes south, you could always admit yer little secret to him.”

The words of her friends reassured her, but didn’t put her worries to rest. These emotions may build up over the night, things could go wrong immediately. Everything could fall apart and Spike could hate her for the rest of their lives. Something so much worse could happen, and she would have to face the wrath of the princess of friendship.

She caught herself getting worked up, and decided to embrace what Scootaloo said. She steeled herself and stood with newfound confidence. “You’re right. Let’s go. I’ve got this.”

The crusaders cheered as Sweetie walked confidently in the direction of the movie theater, where Spike waited for her. As a radiant golden light bathed the mare, her two friends couldn’t help but smile.

Scootaloo couldn’t help herself though. Just as Sweetie crested a hill, disappearing from sight, she turned to her apple farmer friend, “So. What was that about a ‘sleepover’ after the spa?”

***

Afternoon transitioned to evening while Spike and Sweetie watched a new pony adventure movie. Back to back scenes of action, interspersed with a minimally important plot that connected the high adrenaline shots. It wasn’t exactly what most ponies would call a ‘date’ movie, but Spike knew they would both enjoy this.

In their younger years, the two of them shared a love of various series. Spike helped sweetie get into comics, while Sweetie introduced Spike to a couple different video games he really got into. They once even had a sleepover, just the two of them, where they watched three action-y spy movies back to back in the back of Carousel Boutique.

What made this different though, was the pair’s constant awareness of each other. When they were foals, they could just set up in their sleeping bags and it wouldn’t be any harm. But now, Spike had to fight off the worries that his plan might fail or that Sweetie wasn’t enjoying the movie as much as he thought. Where should he place his claws? should he reach over and hold her hoof? Should he rest his head against hers and cuddle up to her?

Meanwhile Sweetie had practically identical thoughts, wondering if the spa trip had changed something about her. The sisters did change her hair style, curling it as opposed to her natural wavy style. Maybe it was too much and Spike didn’t like it.

Neither of them became much more comfortable when the big romantic scene hit, and just as Spike tried to cuddle up to Sweetie, a pretty graphic sex scene started making the pair that much more awkward. Still, they laughed it off before settling back into their previous positions while watching what felt more like pornography than a feature film.

The nervous laughter failed to quiet their internal monologues. Horny internal screams and flustered babbling bubbling beneath the surface, ready to escape. Faces flushed as the single scene that made them the most awkward seemed to drag on for most of the movie, even if it wasn’t longer than a tenth of the total runtime. The dragon and pony couple squirmed beside each other, not helped by the graphic PDA displayed by the couple in front of them.

But as the scenes faded and the movie concluded, the two felt a bit closer, laughing at the same jokes, sharing nervous glances during ‘intense’ scenes, and even by the end finally letting Spike’s claw rest against Sweetie’s hoof, and Sweetie’s head begin to nestle in to the crook of Spike’s shoulder.

It was small, a tiny improvement to just existing with each other, but for the two hopelessly inexperienced romantics, it was the little things that changed their worlds. The cool sensation of Spike’s scales containing a raging heat beneath them, the way Sweetie’s fur would slide between them, tickling the scale’s roots in a way he so rarely felt.

It was a position the two would stay in forever if given the chance, though neither of them would admit it to the other… Yet.

Spike was the one to start as the credits rolled up the screen. “So…”

“So, what?”

“Soooo…” Spike draws out his question, uncertain if the others had things set up. It wasn’t much, but with Trixie around there was a non-zero chance she would pull Starlight into one of those ‘intense’ situations like the movie. He rested his head on hers using her warmth as reassurance, calming his uneasy nerves, “how are you feeling?”

Sweetie paused, watching the last few names fade from the screen, lights rising around them as ponies shuffled out of the theater. The tension released from her trip to the spa already more than built up once again from just being with her crush for so long. She fidgeted and was nervous, but wasn’t unhappy. “Good. I’m feeling good.”

“Yeah. Me too.” Spike fidgeted in turn, the emptiness of the illuminated theater making it hard to decide whether to stay here for longer, or move on to the next plan of his date. Neither of them wanted to be the one to break this moment.

Some time passed and finally a pair of theater workers came to clean out the room before the next showing. As they were forced to separate and make their way out of the theater, Spike rested a claw on Sweetie’s back, pulling her close to his side. “The night’s not over yet. I have just a little more planned for us.”

***

Since Twilight’s coronation, Ponyville had undergone significant transformations. The former village began to rapidly grow as hundreds of new ponies came to the brilliant princess’ domain. Ponyville quickly became the country’s capital for innovation and research with the many programs Twilight put in place. The new houses, businesses, and other developments quickly surrounded the castle of friendship.

In that hasty development, Ponyville had lost some of that old village charm. The quiet, rural, go-with-the-flow town urbanized slowly creeping into the domain of a second canterlot, much to Twilight and the Element’s frustrations. Before developers could shred away all their favourite out of the way location and transform them into new housing developments, Twilight designated many of them as parks and preserves keeping them under her aegis indefinitely.

Some of these places were practical in nature, like keeping golden oaks under her purview as the library regrew. Some of these places were more historic, like the canyon where the physical elements were found. The castle of the two sisters was also protected like this, preventing it from being turned into a hotel as one development group attempted. Finally, there were the sentimental locations Twilight protected. Locations like the tallest hill in Ponyville, which spike was currently leading his date towards. A beautiful place to chart constellations while resting against an old maple tree, a place to watch the first sunrise of a new year with friends, and a place to escape the hassles of being a princess and just embrace what used to be. For spike, this was also the perfect place to bring Sweetie Belle to enjoy a romantic picnic to cap off their first date.

However, just out of view, cuddled up together in an enchanted blanket of invisibility to support Spike’s plans, was the most magical couple in Ponyville. Trixie Lulamoon and Starlight Glimmer held each other tight as they watched the setting sun, knowing Spike would be along any minute now. But until his arrival they were more than happy to just enjoy their romantic scheme together.

“Now you remember your cue right?”

“Of course Trixie. It’s way less complicated than the cues from your magic shows, this shouldn’t be a problem.”

Trixie smiled at her pink lover, the only other person who could see her while they shared their blanket. She rested her head on Starlight’s. “Good, good. We’re gonna make this night unforgettable.”

Starlight pulled Trixie in even closer, snuggling her as she ran through everything else that needed to be done. Picnic blanket, basket filled with goodies from sugarcube corner, A bit of weather schedule chicanery to delay the evening showers and clear the sky which she would have to pay Rainbow Dash back for, and ensuring Twilight was still too busy to notice the three of them gone.

“Why did we ever stop doing things like this Trixie?” Starlight wonders aloud as she lets her eyes drift closed, satisfied that everything will fall into place.

“We can do this more if you want. Research can wait for once we take over the world.”

Starlight laughed as she spotted the pair they were here to support. “We can figure it out once we get Spike the girl of his dreams.” They shared one more kiss as the two watched the dragon and the unicorn turn off the main path up to the hill.

The dragon took the lead, but kept himself side by side with the pink and white pony walking in step with her. Spike nervously spun his claw around, not quite sure what to do while they strolled. If it was another dragon they could hold hands, but that was impossible with a pony. Maybe he could wrap his arm over Sweetie, letting his claw rest on her belly, but maybe that was possessive. Resting it on her back wasn’t ideal either since that felt more patronizing than anything.

His options floated through his head indecisively until they reached the base of the hill that Spike had set up for them. He however was not the one to reach any conclusion as Sweetie belle used a bit of magic to lift his claw so she could slip herself as close to him as possible.

Though the two mostly walked in silence, each equally reveling and fearing the remaining time they had together. It had been years since they had been this close, not since the crusaders were still blank flanks had they shamelessly enjoyed each other’s presence. It wasn’t either of their first time in this sort of romantic position, but to them it meant more than any other date or fling could hope to mean.

“Stargazing?” Sweetie asked as the two walked up the hill to where the blanket and telescope were set up.

“Yeah. I’ve been bouncing around from town to town for months, and none of them have ever had as gorgeous a night sky as in Ponyville.”

“Hehe, I can really tell you grew up with Twilight. Sometimes her influence is a bit too obvious.” Sweetie laughed as she jumped on to the picnic blanket ahead of Spike, pulling him along with her instead. “So are you gonna tell me about the consetllations?”

“No no no,” Spike sat beside her on the blanket, pulling the basket over to him and procuring a few pastries for the two, a gem studded cupcake and a vanilla cupcake less likely to break Sweetie’s teeth. “Well, I could if you wanted me to. There’s a lot you can see around this time of year. But there’s actually something else supposed to happen tonight.”

“Oooo, like a meteor shower?” Sweetie asks, lifting the cupcake out of his hands and pressing her small body against her date’s.

Spike hesitates, glancing up to the tree he knew his friends were hiding in. Spike actually didn’t know what Trixie had in store for them, just that it was something she was confident she could do. With some cajoling from Starlight, she shared the plan with her, but then she also refused to tell. Only that he had to ask her to be his marefriend before the two would do anything.“It’s a secret.”

“Come on, it’s totally a meteor shower. A whole bunch of shooting stars.” Sweetie kept prodding but was content with the secret. “So, tell me about those constellations.”

Spike started talking about the things he had picked up from his time with Twilight and Luna, myths and stories about creatures raised to the heavens along with the sun and moon.

The sun dipped completely below the horizon as Spike kept talking. A few times he came to the end of a story and considered what to say next, how he could possibly go from talking about myths of literal star crossed lovers to the question he had burning away inside of him without pushing her away and making a fool of himself.

Sweetie was more than happy to indulge him, listening to each story waiting for her chance to ask the same of him. To be together, to love each other, just as the mythical Queen Bode had loved her astrologer and moved the stars to show her feelings and united them eternally.

“He really has no idea what he’s doing, does he?” Starlight whispered as Spike circled his point for longer and longer. Though she was patient, she could see her companion getting more frustrated and restless, especially as the two started to really feel the bark of the tree pressing against their bodies.

“Just give him time. He’ll get it. It’s all building to the big finish. When He’ll-”

Starlight quickly shut up her companion as the two were invisible, but could still be caught if they were too loud.

Unfortunately, Spike was not building up to anything. More and more he spun around his point, dancing so close to the edge, when he would finally ask her his one small question. The more he talked, the less sure he was and made up for it by talking more and more, spiraling as he got caught up in the idea of what they could be together. Future dates, nights spent cuddling or even just the rest of the night closer than before, it was all wonderful but he had to cross the immense barrier that was asking her his one simple question.

“Will you be my coltfriend spike?”

Sweetie smiled brightly as the two looked at each other. Spike’s mind froze as it put together exactly what Sweetie had just so simply said. A silence hung in the air for just a moment as Spike’s mind caught up, before he could with his whole heart respond with an emphatic. “Yes Sweetie. Yes, I’ll be your coltfriend… if you’ll be my marefriend.”
Sweetie let out a small giggle as her own heart finally stopped racing. She caught Spike’s spiraling, and though she was more than confident because of what Spike had told her radio persona, she knew he might back down. Tonight may end and they may not be together. So she took the reins. “Of course Spike, I’ll be your marefriend.”

It took a few moments before Spike slowly reached out his claw, leaving it open for Sweetie to place her hoof in. That was the signal the two hidden mares had been waiting for.

As Sweetie took Spike’s claw, Starlight began her spell. It took a lot out of her but with some time, she was able to conjure a small but brilliant light show, miles and miles above the ground to mimic a meteor shower. Trixie began to shower the new couple in light, ephemeral strands of magic, twirling around in little hearts.

As the two watched Starlight’s magical meteors, the two magicians teleported away, their mission complete.

Author's Note

So, this may be one of the most difficult things I've ever written. For some reason, once you get two characters together trying being romantic and doing more than just talking, my brain short circuits and I start putting things off for half a year. Good to at least figure out what I need to work on.

This will probably be the only proper date chapter in this story, however there is still more in store for these two lovebirds. Thank you to my proofreader Aadlilmode.

6: A Magical Call

A week went by for the new couple in the blink of an eye. Sweetie spent her days off work just talking to her love, and any time she had away from him talking about her love. The crusaders all had heard about their first kiss under the beautiful streaked sky a dozen times, and a half dozen more about each kiss after that. She never thought she was bragging, but the two single friends in her club couldn’t help but feel a twinge of jealousy at each revelatory declaration of her love.

Spike, on the other hand, kept his experiences mostly to himself. A week in and he wasn’t even sure Twilight knew about this relationship progression, or if she did it was relayed to her by one of his accomplices. Their help was appreciated, though now both Trixie and Starlight wanted to keep playing matchmaker and making sure things went well. He had to shoo them off when they went on a cafe date, though they still would casually walk by and spy on them both every couple of minutes.

What was the most shocking to both of them was how little things seemed to change around them. They were both in the throes of love, the first time either of them had a relationship this meaningful with one another, but after the kisses and dates ended, they just felt the same as when they spent their days testing dozens of crusader ideas. Best friends who just happened to also be in love.

“But it’s been on your mind, right?” Scootaloo asked as she and Sweetie Belle strolled through the mostly empty station, on their way to start their Saturday evening broadcast. “You were so excited to hear about it last week and we got nothing.”

“Last week we had been a thing for less than a day.” Sweetie brushes it off while using magic to play with her voice, trying to find her regular radio tone again. “I really want to hear from him, and to hear what he thought of the whole night. Did I tell you about when we were in the movies and he-”

“He wrapped his arm around you right as the couple moved from kissing to bucking?”

“No, I was gonna say-”

“How he spent the rest of the movie with his claw open between you two, but you were too nervous to take it.”

Sweetie sighed as the two stopped outside the recording booth, letting the last crew before them finish up. She dropped the spell and returned to her normal voice as she whined “I’m not predictable. There’s lots more than just those things. I just, I want to know what he thought about it all so I can plan a date just as well.”

“You’ve got him, now you can relax. Whatever you do, you can trust that he’ll enjoy it. Or at least he’ll give it a shot, so you’ve got nothing to worry about. That’s why I say you take him to a wonderbolts show, they’ll be in town next month so we can all go together. I could even probably convince RD to give us the best seats.”

Sweetie giggled as Scootaloo was already trying to pull them along to group events. “We’ve had two dates so far and you’re trying to pull us into a group date? It’s better than Apple Bloom’s suggestion at least.”

“Heck yeah. What did she suggest?”

“Running the market stall with her when her week rolls around. I think she just doesn’t want to keep asking Applejack and Big Mac to help her and pulling them away from apple bucking season.”

Their conversation shifts away from Sweetie’s love life just as the people ahead of them begin heading out of the studio, leaving it free for Lady Luxury to get started for the night.

It didn’t take long, their months of practice carrying them through the motions as they setup their stations for the night ahead. Sweetie quickly made a list of over a dozen songs to get them through the first hour of the night between calls, and Scootaloo got them all ready to go whenever she requested. It was a pretty standard night for them, despite the idea of Spike’s call hanging over the host’s head.

Spike, in the same dining room where Starlight had confronted him about his crush, was mulling over what exactly he should say to Lady Luxury if at all. Despite Starlight and Trixie’s constant interference, they had no problem leaving this decision completely up to Spike.

“You know just a little guidance this one time would be really nice.”

“Well, we never really asked anyone for advice about us. We just kinda happened on a whim. I didn’t even get any support from Twilight, who was supposed to be teaching me about friendship at the time.”

“Yeah, something about me being dangerous just because I played around with dangerous artifacts and also kinda almost let the town be eaten by bears.” Trixie smiled and sighed, as if remembering good times. “But also, I don’t think she’s ever had a relationship like that before, so she’s probably just as clueless as you are. She is the princess of friendship afterall. Maybe we can call up Cadence.”

Starlight giggled while lightly elbowing her love. “Oh, you’re so bad. She’s totally been like that before.”

“This really isn’t helping me figure out what to do guys.” Spike interjected. He stood up from the dining table and began to walk up and down the room. “Lady Luxury really seemed interested in this relationship. I’ve never heard her put a caller on priority like she has for me, so she might be looking forward to my call. But Sweetie deserves privacy, I’m not even sure I should have been talking to someone else about this all.”

“We’re still right here Spike.” Starlight said as she got up from the table as well. “I’ll go grab us some dessert, maybe some sweets will help you.” She leaned down and kissed Trixie’s forehead before heading off, leaving the two of them alone.

“I’m not sure how hard it would be to figure out, but we are probably the only ones who have experienced something like this. If any of the crusaders or even the elements are listening then they might completely expose us and start gossiping about us. I probably wouldn’t mind but Sweetie might be upset if she found out about it. Maybe if I change some of the details around, but it might not be enough.”

“Spike, can we talk for a minute?” Trixie leaned forward and lowered her voice, dropping her usual flamboyant persona to talk seriously.

This sudden change caught Spike's attention and pulled him away from his rambling. He approached the mare and nodded.

“You’re overthinking things. You’ve been overthinking things the whole time. Do you know how Starlight and I ended up together?”

“No. Probably something lewd based on what I hear in my room.”

“Wrong. We ended up together because we just happened to click together. And that’s what I saw when you and Sweetie nervously confessed to one another. You understand one another, and you two just click.” Trixie leaned back in her and pulled her hooves up on to the table, leaning her chair back as she talked. “Whatever you decide here won’t change Sweetie’s mind. One fault should never be enough to break a relationship and believe me, I’ve made way more than one fault.”

Spike was stunned that Trixie, who had never given him any proper advice, layed out a compelling and surprisingly helpful argument. “So, you think I should do it?”

“I think that you should do what you want. And if things go wrong, you can blame me. Tell them as much or as little as you want, and don’t worry about Starlight hearing you, I’ve got something planned for her tonight.”

Spike nodded as Starlight came back with a carton of ice cream for the three of them. Trixie shifted back to her normal flamboyance and deviance leaving Spike to consider her words. She winked back at him before digging into a bowl of vanilla.

***

Hour by hour the night passed by. All the regular calls passed by, half a dozen interesting topics mixed with another dozen daily stories. Someone with a new million dollar idea and of course, a couple stallions looking to ask the illustrious Lady Luxury for help in their love lives. It was about as normal as one of Sweetie’s nights could be. The only thing that really changed was whenever she talked about love, she had to catch herself from mentioning her own recent adventures in romance.

Finally, the graveyard shift wound down as her show came closer and closer to it’s end. Scootaloo was passed another list of tracks to get ready as Sweetie leaned back away from her mic, stretching from being hunched over all night. “Any sign, Scootaloo?”

Scootaloo queued up the next record before taking the list and beginning to search for the records she requested. “No Spike so far. He might be done calling for advice SB.”

Sweetie sighed, her voice kept lower by her magic. “I guess. I just want to know what he thinks. It’s my first time and I want to be the best I can for him.”

“If you’re thinking like that, then you probably are the best for him.” Scootaloo grabbed the requested album and placed it on the small stack she was gathering. “He liked you before calling in, you don’t need to worry.”

“I guess. Song’s wrapping up now, you ready with the next.”

“You know it. I’ll get back to the phone queue once I’ve got the next few ready.” Scootaloo brought the pile back to her station, a full analog audio board with two turntables to set records on. It was one of only a handful in existence as radio grew in Equestria. The dials and levers would confuse almost anyone, Scootaloo didn’t even know what half of them did, just Sweetie’s normal settings. At this point in the show, all that really mattered was adjusting the caller volume. The rest could almost always be left alone.

What couldn’t be left alone was the small switchboard along the far wall to receive calls. It was her job as Sweetie’s radio partner to screen calls to be passed along to the show. She’d normally pass along a description of what the caller wanted to talk about after ordering or rejecting calls, but since her little surprise with Spike she had been handing more off without the moment of prep time. Just the ones she thought would be interesting to get an honest reaction from.

Scootaloo watched as Sweetie got up to stretch some more, as she picked up the receiver and recited her normal script. “Hello, thank you for calling in to Lady Luxury, what would you like to talk about tonight?”

“Hi, I’ve called a few times before to ask Lady Luxury about my relationship. She had other ponies call in and help me out last time as well.”

It was Spike, the exact dragon Sweetie was waiting for. Scootaloo normally didn’t try to change her voice when receiving calls, but when it was someone she recognized, she did her best. She spoke clearer than normal, trying to get rid of the rasp in her voice. “Ah, I remember you. Thanks for calling again. Is there anything specific you want to tell the Lady?”

There was a pause for a moment and Scootaloo could practically hear the gears in Spike’s mind turning. Slowly, he spoke “I want to thank her. I took her advice and we ended up going on two dates so far.”

“Mhmm, mhmm. I’m sure Lady Luxury will be happy to hear back from you. But is there anything else you would like to ask?” Scootaloo prodded, hoping to get a better idea about what she was about to hand off to her friend.

Another pause as the dragon was surely wondering what to say. “I… Want to know how to tell my uh, mom that I’m dating someone.”

Scootaloo smiled as she began to consider exactly what may play out with another unsuspecting spike phone call. “All right. Please hold, you will have her attention shortly.”

She returned the receiver to its bay before turning to her friend in the booth. She pressed a button to speak with her again. “Ready for more advice or one more song?”

Sweetie gulped down her water and magically pulled the mic back to her lips. “If you have something interesting, we can get going again.”

“All right. We’ve got someone waiting on the line. You’ve got 30 seconds until we’re back.” She released her talk button and plugged the call in to the board.

The anticipation Scootaloo felt was almost overwhelming, almost as much as that first time she heard Spike’s voice on the line. Even if she didn’t think his question was as interesting as the first time, the thought of surprising one of her best friends with the exact thing they’ve been waiting for all week was exhilarating. Sweetie probably would put together what she had in store if she could see the wide smile on her face, so Scootaloo hid behind that stack of records she had just fetched.

Moment by moment the last seconds of the song played out, and Scootaloo only grew more and more excited. Finally, the moment came when she flipped the feed back to Sweetie, and her surprise would be complete.

“Wasn’t that just lovely. One of my favourite songs from the scene in the Crystal Empire. You can hear the passion in every note, and maybe, we’ll hear some passion out of our next Caller. So tell me, what’s happening, caller.”

“Hi Lady Luxury. I don’t know if you remember but I called you a few weeks ago for romantic advice and I just wanted to say how thankful I am…”

Sweetie gasped as she recognized the voice. A mix of glee and frustration washed over her as she shot a dirty look to Scootaloo, who was laughing to herself on the other side of the glass. Sweetie would bet that she was howling, and if not for the magical enchantments on the room she would be able to be heard on air.

Spike continued. “I followed your advice and it really worked. I took her out to see a movie and then took her to watch the sunset together. It was amazing, Swee- we had a great time and we became a couple.”

Sweetie recovered, quickly clearing her throat to make sure her voice change spell hadn’t broken. “Well if I remember correctly Smith, it wasn’t my advice at all last time. It was our lovely listeners and even Starlight Glimmer who helped you. I can’t take too much credit.”

“But still, if not for you I’d probably still be circling around the truth, not able to tell her how I really feel. So thank you.”

“And thank you to everyone who helped out as well. I believe we lost you after Starlight called, but more ponies shared their wonderful advice as well.” Sweetie was trying her best not to get lost as she heard her love indirectly complimenting her. All she could do was redirect that thanks somewhere else so she didn’t break character and blurt out something she would regret. “If thanks is all you called for then I am more than happy to welcome it, but something tells me there is more here.”

“Yeah, well, you see. After we went on our first date, we did a second date that was just to the market. It was nice but the whole time we were out together, I was nervous about others seeing us. And then after, I talked to my uh, my mom and I just couldn’t tell her that I was in a relationship now. I don’t know how she will react. Do you have any advice on how to tell others you have a marefriend?”

Scootaloo kept laughing as Sweetie processed exactly what he said. Was it really embarrassing to be his marefriend, or was he nervous about something else. By mom he probably meant Twilight, and she always thought Twilight would understand any relationship. Also, she was the sister of one of her closest friends. The friend who Spike had an obvious crush on for… over a decade… and rejected him and made him go on a year long tour of the world.

Okay, she understood the problem now. But she would still give the same advice.

“Smith, I think you just need to tell her. She’s your mother so you would know best and if you can’t tell her, then don’t feel the pressure to. But if you believe you can, then you should try it. In fact, I’m so confident in this that I don’t even need to open the phone line for this one…”

Sweetie continued talking to Spike over the phone as Scootaloo finally came down from her laughing fit. Seeing Sweetie get like this was completely worth it, and she was more than happy to let her friend have some time to talk to the one she likes, so she returned to prepping the next track to play.

She pulled the last record off the table and carefully put it back in it’s sleeve, before getting up to put it away. However as she got up to shelve the music, she noticed the switchboard light blink on, as another caller waited.

On to the next thing she had to do, back to work and taking calls. She took off her headphones and pulled the receiver up once again, running through the same script.

This time, a Stallion’s voice came over the phone. It was clear but there was something strange to it she couldn’t quite pinpoint. “Wonderful. I’m listening in right now and I think I can give your current caller some excellent advice. You see, talking with family can be quite hard, and I know first hand, and I figured I could help out some.”

Scootaloo looked over to Sweetie smiling, listening to Spike and considering how her character would respond. She did ask for callers last time, so maybe having someone else ready to help would be right. “Okay. Hold and I’ll ask Lady Luxury.”

She placed the receiver back and scribbled out what she knew for Sweetie to confirm. She finished talking just as Scootaloo slid her headphones back on to listen in on the conversation again.

“You just need to believe in yourself, just like when confessing your feelings.” Sweetie held up her hoof and nodded to Scootaloo, giving her the clear. She continued talking into the mic. “Now I’ve just been told by my producer that we have someone else on the line who thinks they can help you out. If you don’t mind, we’re gonna take you off and let them share their thoughts.”

“All right. Last time that really helped, Thanks Lady Luxury.”

“Any time. Thanks for calling.” Sweetie began to vamp for time as Scootaloo reached over and unplugged Spike’s line, and plugged in the next caller’s.

However once the call had been connected, shiver ran down Scootaloo’s spine. A feeling like a grave mistake had just been made as the magic connected the call to her friend. The same kind of feeling when a trick starts to go awry or a tool is about to break, a panic that can’t be quieted.

“All right, and you, my dear caller, have something to add to aid our friend Smith?”

The feeling reached all the way from her mane to tail. Her entire coat standing on end as a familiar voice came through the phone. Not the stallion she just talked to, but a feminine, generous voice she had known for years.

“Yes, I do. I believe you shouldn’t be toying with your boyfriend Sweetie Belle.”

Sweetie’s Jaw dropped as she heard her sister on the other end. Rarity.

Scootaloo was thrown into a panic as she had about fifteen seconds to kill the feed. An emergency feature was installed in case someone began talking about something not allowed on the station. The show was on a very slight delay, and could be shut down before anything was put on air.

She leaped to the other side of the sound board, flipped the protective cap, and cut both Sweetie and the call off the air. The needle on the next record dropped and the show was replaced by the soft jazz Sweetie had previously queued.

With that panic out of the way, she pulled the phone cord out of its socket just as Sweetie stomped out of the booth, dropping the altered voice to yell. “Scootaloo! The Spike call was nice, but RARITY!? What are you thinking?”

“That call wasn’t Rarity. It was a stallion, so someone with a deeper voice. I know Rarity’s voice and that wasn’t it.”

“Scootaloo. No more games. This is bad. Really bad.” Sweetie took the cord away from Scootaloo and jammed it into the receiver port to put her sister back on the phone with her, but this time not on the air. “What the heck Rarity? You know you aren’t supposed to call during my shift, and you sure as heck aren’t supposed to talk about my job. What are you doing?”

“And why were you a stallion a minute ago?” Scootaloo added, shouting over Sweetie’s shoulder.

The same stallion voice came back over the phone. “You aren’t the only one to practice voice manipulation magic Sweetie. At least, not any more.” She politely giggled as her own false voice came back on the line. “And you know I wouldn’t be doing this if I didn’t have to, dear. However you seem to be playing games with someone and I can’t have you doing that, now can I?

The shift in voices made Sweetie nervous for a second as she thought Rarity had told her secret to someone else to pull this stunt, but if Rarity could convincingly pull off voice changing magic like her, every call could become a bomb that could destroy her carefully created persona, and take the show’s mystery and her anonymity away with it.

“You rejected Spike. You didn’t even welcome him home. You don’t care for Spike, so what are you doing?” She spit out, each word soaked with a bassalisk’s venom.

Still, rarity just politely laughed. “My, you have quite the awful tone to be speaking to a listener, let alone your big sister. I thought I raised you better than that. Of course I care for my little Spikey-Wikey or else I wouldn’t have called. I don’t want him to have his heart broken again.”

“And who broke his heart the first time?”

“I cannot deny I am the source of this pain, but you will be the next Sweetie. Do you not think Spike’s mind will change if he knew your little secret? Do you not think his little heart and soul would be crushed if he found out his precious Sweetie Belle had manipulated him from the start?”

Sweetie grit her teeth as her sister spelled out every anxiety that had faded once Spike and her got together. Every worry that Spike would hate her for pulling his strings hidden behind her fake voice. The crushing feeling that she could lose one of her oldest friends just from a slip of the tongue. The worry he would be crushed alongside her. Not to mention the fears of her show and job falling apart if she were to be exposed, or if not, becoming unable to be a normal person outside of her recording booth. Both anxieties she thought had faded months ago shortly after becoming Lady Luxury.

She could feel her anger turning to bitter sorrow as her eyes began to tear up. Her voice caught in her throat as she asked her sister, “What do you want?”

“Careful, it’s not lady-like to have your voice crack. As for what I want, it’s simple. Stop taking Spike’s calls, or break up with him. Stop playing your little games with him, or stop seeing him so you can’t play games with him.”

Sweetie scoffs as she turns to Scootaloo, who was busy changing out one record for another. “Easy. I’ll take Spike over his calls any day. I wasn’t even the one who started this, he called me first.”

“Good. A heartbroken Spike would be a no good assistant.” Rarity pauses as she thinks for a moment, “Well I am off to get my beauty sleep, but we must have a talk when you are home. Tomorrow over lunch? Wonderful. Until then dearie.” Without waiting she hung up the phone, leaving Sweetie shattered.

Scootaloo wasn’t normally the empathetic one in the Crusaders. That was mostly handled by Sweetie or Apple Bloom, but seeing her friend like this hurt her emotionally more than she ever had before.

Slowly, she extended a wing over her friend, trying to offer a hug the same way she knew Sweetie would if she was hurt like this. Sweetie shook it off first, but after another moment, accepted it as tears started to stream down her cheeks. She sniffled and fell in to Scootaloo’s embrace, using her friend for support. “I… She just… She’s my sister…”

Scootaloo squeezed her friend silently as she kept crying, building from small sobs to full wailing. Scootaloo held her silently and just let her have her time. She would be ready to talk when she was ready.

“Hey, do you mind if I stay at your place tonight? I don’t really want to head back to the Carousel Boutique.”

***

Rarity hunched over her phone, surrounded by scraps and half finished ill matching sets of apparel that should have been done months ago. She had sewn and stitched for hours, days, weeks with no solution to her current state.

Ever since Spike had left, since he stopped assisting her, she had lost that beautiful skill of keeping her outfits perfect. Seasonal releases went by one after the next and not a single outfit breached the fashion world. Each one premiered and was thrown away half way through the season, and then forgotten.

If she wanted to set her wardrobe back into the world, she needed her assistant back. And there were only so many ways she could pull him back to her.

Author's Note

I had originally planned to combine this chapter with the previous, but as I kept trying to write them together, I struggled more and more. Once they were seperated, all my problems vanished.

I'm currently in the middle writing my last essay for my last summer course, and will be dedicating more time to writing in the near future.

7: Rarity

Day in and day out slamming her head against a fashion wall. Days to weeks, weeks to month, she would spend in her workroom sewing together piece after piece only to be completely unsatisfied with her designs. Clashing colours combined with gaudy accessories, or a skirt that is simultaneously too short and too long. Nothing ever just seemed to come together.

Slowly, her inability to draw up her own designs ate away at her. Her sudden and overwhelming creative block felt insurmountable, a titan preventing her from seeing what she felt was right in front of her. And it was all Spike’s fault.

It was his fault for that stupid crush, it was his fault for being so closely linked to gems for her, it was his fault that she had to turn down his feelings after a decade of his now obvious in hindsight pining. But just because it was his fault didn’t mean that she hated him. She adored how much Spike cared about everything, about making sure others were happy and at times sacrificing his own happiness for others. She loved how he would drop practically everything to help him, and how she could ask the world of him and he would do his best each time.

With Spike back in Ponyville, she began to loathe her own inaction towards bringing him back to her. Skipping welcoming him home, working through his birthday, and now Sweetie’s affair with him. She would see it in her nightmares, her talents withering away as unbeknownst to her, her sister and most loyal follower moved on without her. It was sickening.

She didn’t hear the first time ‘Smith’ called in to the program, but it didn’t take a genius to work things out. As she worked on her newest designs, the dragon’s familiar voice came over the show, only to be followed by Starlight’s. Of course it was Spike behind the fake name. A pathetic fake name at that. Smith, so common.

After noting her sister slipping away to go on her dates, her suspicions became an undeniable truth. Spike was being manipulated by her sister, and being pulled away from Rarity when she needed him most. This couldn’t stand. What else could she do but confront her sister about what she had done.

Now Sweetie had missed their shared meal, and had missed her chance to talk it out. Of course she didn’t care, she never did. Not about her sister, not about fashion, and not about the one she seemed to love.

While Rarity sat at the table drinking her morning tea, there was only one thought ringing in her mind. Sweetie truly was a disappointment.

“Come one Sweetie, I even made some breakfast for you, you gotta get up.” Scootaloo stood at the side of her bed, where she let Sweetie sleep last night. Following the call from Rarity, Scootaloo wasn’t about to let her friend go back to whatever was waiting for her back home. “The pancakes are getting cold.”

“Just, give me a little bit more time, Scootaloo.” Sweetie said as she stared up at the ceiling.

“I’ve given you three little bits more time. You sure don't want me to bring them up for you.”

“No, no, I’ll be fine.” Sweetie finally pulled herself up in bed, pulling over some pillows to rest on as she rolled from her back to her chest. “I’m just not sure what to do now. Spike’s gonna find out about all this and he’s gonna hate me, Rarity’s gonna tell him and pull him away from me, Twilight will be so mad she’ll banish me from ponyville, I’ll lose my job as Lady, I’ll have to-”

“Shhhh.” Scootaloo takes a pillow and presses it against her mouth, quieting her. “You’re going a bit overboard there Sweets. Relax, and think about what you’ve been doing. Your job is to entertain and give advice, isn’t it.”

Sweetie nodded.

“And I handed you a call I thought would be funny, that has grown into something way bigger. What exactly have you done wrong?”

“Mmmmph mmm mmmph-”

Scootaloo presses the pillow harder, cutting her off. “Wrong. You’ve done nothing wrong. And the rest you can talk it out. Got it?”

Sweetie’s eyes darken for a second as she reluctantly takes her friend’s advice, and gives a sullen nod to Scootaloo. This finally causes her to remove the pillow. “I guess.”

“Good enough. Now, pancake time.”

Spike had been moderately concerned about the sudden ending of the conversation last night, with his favourite show stopping midway through it’s next guest introduction only to cut to the music once again. It was strange, but it was something the show had done before. He assumed it was for some reason but Lady Luxury hadn’t explained it this time. It remained a weird anomaly which shut down the conversation and halted any further guests.

Spike eventually was lulled to sleep after a couple more songs, but Lady Luxury hadn’t returned in that time. With no explanation, not reasoning, and no conclusion, Spike’s sleep was a tad restless.

Though by the next day, sitting at the table beside Starlight and Trixie eating breakfast, Spike had recentered himself ready to start the day. And what exactly did that day entail, you may ask? Simple, going over to see what Sweetie was up to and hopefully getting to spend another day together. The question of whether he would continue calling Lady Luxury’s show pushed to the side to consider at a later date.

Trixie shot Spike a sly wink just out of starlight’s gaze, her previous advice still rattling in his head. Maybe it didn’t matter as much as he thought, maybe he could just relax and have fun, the Trixie way of living. He smiled just a bit before Trixie opened her mouth and ruined the illusion, “Do what I would do Spike. Make the night one to remember.”

With that lewd thought placed in his mind, he quickly excused himself and made his way down to the boutique.

It was strange walking there now, over a year since he last made this trip. Last time he walked this path into the heart of the old city, it ended with his heart shattered and needing time to reset. But now, there was a strange mix of thrilling excitement mixed with his dread. The potential to see Rarity again mostly drowned out by the feeling of swiping her sister away from her. He wasn’t proud of that feeling, but he would be lying if he said getting back at her by wooing her sister didn’t provoke some cathartic lust in him.

His rage and bitterness, that sore spot where she carved his heart out never really closed. The feelings had been tempered with time, but even now, he found himself resenting the woman who broke his heart. With each step closer and closer to the boutique, that resentment grew in tandem with his giddy excitement to see the mare he now chose to love.

It was so cruel that as he stood at the door, he considered not knocking. Turning and making his way to Sweet Apple Acres, trying the clubhouse before trying her home. But he slowed his breathing and collected himself. This was her home too after all. With a burst of confidence, he firmly knocked on the door, waiting to see which sister would greet him.

With a slow, deafening creak, the door opened. The bell hanging above chimed as the strong, familiar scent of perfume overwhelmed his senses, bringing back so many memories of the times he had spent here. His body clenched as he could hear the mare’s soft, song-like humming. Finally, the door opened wide enough to finally see the pure, alabaster white coat and beautiful purple curls that captivated him long ago, and those kind, brilliantly blue eyes that sparkled like the purest sapphires to ever grace ponykind. An angel and a seductress, a noble and a manifestation of generosity. Rarity greeted him.

“Hello Spike. Please come in, it’s been so long since we’ve seen each other…”

Author's Note

Hello People who have read this far.
first, I should apologize. In the last chapter, I said I would be trying to put this chapter out sooner, and that I would be working on this more. Well, things change. I had initially wanted to write another date where spike caught on to Sweetie Belle's feelings a little and would seek out rarity for answers. However, after some writing and rewriting, I struggled so much that I ended up putting off this story for months. So the story has been slightly rerouted to get to the stuff I am more confident about writing, Rarity's insideous villainy and some character drama.

Second, I want to thank people who have kept reading this far. I mentioned this before but this was a concept bouncing around in my head for years before I finally published the first chapter. This is still a story I am passionate about and simply love conceptually, even if at this point I am struggling to do justice to exactly what I envisioned for it. Still, I want to finish this story, so despite long breaks, know that this is still on my mind, and I am still working on it until it is completed.

Thank you, Burny

8: A Meeting in the Boutique

Spike stood at the door to the Carousel Boutique, the slow consuming feeling of dread washing over him as he was greeted by none other than Rarity Belle. The mare who broke his heart and sent him packing for a whole year just to work through his feelings for her. The mare who didn’t even bother to show up to his welcome home party, or say anything to him in the month he had been back.

Though Rarity seemed completely unphased by their history. She greeted Spike with a smile and stepped to the side, giving him a clear path into the boutique. She smiled softly, raising a hoof to beckon him inside. “I just made some moonflower tea. I find it’s just perfect to ease you into a new day. Won’t you join me for some, darling?”

Spike’s wings unfurled slightly, hanging off his back as he was caught between running away and remaining motionless. It was an inevitability, in the city Ponyville had blossomed into, the elements were all major figures. Not to mention him dating her sister which made this meeting not only inevitable, but closing in.

His lack of a response was only met by Rarity’s simple smile. With a quick light of her horn, she wrapped her magic around Spike’s claw and began to guide him inside.

It took until the door closed behind them for Spike to resist as he came to his senses. “I’m sorry Rarity, but I’m only here to find Sweetie Belle. I wanted to see if she’d…”

“I’m sorry but I don’t have the faintest idea where she is right now. She never came home last night, and she never tells me anything anymore. She’s just gone and forgotten about her dear old sister.” She cut in before he could steer the conversation in a direction she didn’t want. “But enough about her, you’re here so let’s finally catch up darling. I’m so very interested in how that little train tour went.”

Spike froze up as she led him to the kitchen, still not releasing his claw from her soft magical grip as she guided him through the house he knew so well. So well in fact, that he could probably find half her fabrics blindfolded if asked. “I- I’m not sure. I think I should just-”

She cut him off again but levitating a tea cup to him, the delicate flowery aroma bringing him back to all the times he had prepped the same brew for her. “Please don’t go just yet. I have so much to say to you, Spikey Wikey. Please won’t you just stay for a few minutes. Maybe Sweetie will even return in that time, if it is indeed her you’re looking for.”

Presented with this, with the memories and the nickname he hadn’t heard in over a year, he relented, and took the teacup. Rarity released his claw and he followed her over to the table. Spike wasn’t entirely sure what Sweetie had told her sister, in fact he was willing to bet it was relatively little based on how little her home came up on their dates. Maybe it was entirely wrong to start his search here anyways, but it was her home, where else could he have started. Just, it had to still be her house too.

“I never did get to apologize for the way I acted that night, did I?” Rarity started as she poured Spike some of her tea. “It must have taken a lot of courage for you to do so. Quite the dashing and stunning display if, well, you know.”

Spike kept quiet as she brought up their last meeting. His birthday and the day he promised to ask Rarity to be more than what they were. There was a whole song and dance Pinkie helped him put together, with the pinnacle coming just as Luna’s moon crested the horizon, rising opposite of Celestia’s sun providing the perfect light across the perfect backdrop. Well, perfect if not for the fact she rejected him before getting to the chorus and made a beeline out of the party. “It’s okay, Rarity. It took some time but I think I’m good now.”

“Yes, quite. But that day has weighed on me since. I don’t mean to accept your proposal but, can we not still be friends Spikey?” She poured herself her tea and sat opposite of him. “We had so much fun together when we were younger, I’d love to see if we could bring back those wonderful days.”

Spike continued to drag, his responses coming out seconds later after his brain fired through half a dozen possible responses. Sure he wanted to in the past but, now he wasn’t sure. “Rarity, I’m not sure I’m ready for it. I’m not-”

“So you’d consider it then? Oh how I’d love to pick up where we left off, maybe a month prior to that dreadful evening.”

“I don’t think you understand Rarity. I’m not sure I’ll ever-”

“No, no Spike, I assure you it would be just fine.” She cut him off before taking a quick sip, and continuing before he could finish. “Just think of how things could be, like when we would go gem hunting and you would protect me from any nasty beasts we encountered underground.”

“Did you ever get your blue hat back from the wurms?”

“No, but last I heard the diamond dogs had stolen it and put it on some sort of altar. I’m being worshiped down there.” Rarity gave a small haughty laugh before taking another sip. “Add them to the list of my adoring fans.”

“I guess, maybe.”

“Oh but you traveled, surely you saw some of my work while in the major cities? Did you see Coco in Manehatten? How has she been?”

Rarity navigated the conversation away from the old times together and shifted to his trip. It was a risk having him talk about it but it got him talking, it kept him here. The stories were moderately interesting but Rarity had little time for them as she was focused on her own things, still she laughed and smiled along with him as she prodded more and more out of him.

The two remained together for a while, sipping tea as time passed. A simple minute long excursion to find his beloved Sweetie Belle had transformed into a rekindling of old friendships. At least, that’s how it seemed. But for Rarity, each word was carefully chosen, practiced and rehearsed, letting Spike talk aout his adventures while she steered the conversation to stay away from the reason he came. She needed him here, so she wouldn’t let the mention of her sister steal Spike back to his quest.

“Ahaha, you mean to tell me the princesses didn’t give you your own room?”

“Luna is always busy at night so it wasn’t too bad. Her room was really cozy.”

“I’d never imagined the princess of night to have a room described as cozy. Far more cold than comfy I’d expect.”

“No, Luna’s just like anypony, just, with far more plushies than the average pony.”

“Well I’m glad you enjoyed your adventure. Maybe what happened wasn’t the worst thing then if you got to go see the world afterwards.” Rarity gave a light chuckle as she had sprung a trap, adding her own spin to the past.

The gleeful tone in her voice threw Spike for a loop. For such a jovial response to one of the worst days in his life was just cruel. But sure, maybe good did come from it. He had a lot of fun, and if not for that disaster, he’d never have moved past her and gotten together with her sister. He took a long sip of his tea as he considered.

“Maybe you’re right.”

“Yes, a bit of pain can be worth a world of pleasure. That’s something I learned in my line of work, if something hurts, it can still be the most gorgeous outfit at the gala.”

“I’m not sure that’s comparable. Pain is still pain, and you left me full of it.”

“Yes, well I must apologize for that again. I simply had no idea you felt that way and it was quite a shock.”

Spike deflated slightly as she denied knowing about his love. He’d learned in the past year that everyone, even the rulers of their kingdom, multiple kingdoms in fact counting Ember and Thorax, had known about his crush. Sure, some of them didn’t enjoy it (it was Celestia), but they still knew. How could she not. Spike took a long sip draining his tea cup so he could leave and search for Sweetie some more, but Rarity wasn’t out of ploys yet.

Rarity continued to maneuver the conversation, forcing the topic from what Spike’s self discovery adventure had been to what it was like for her while she was gone. This was the Rarity he remembered. The one far less interested in hearing the stories of others and only wanting to hear her own voice. The moonflower turned bitter as he relived so much of his life in the blink of an eye. Rarity thought she had a handle on everything, but she was losing him more and more with each glamorized, self centered story she recounted

“And then Fluttershy finally agreed to model my spring line with me. Clearly it was fit for the most nature loving of ponies so it was only natural she showcase them. It truly was a wonderful show.”

Spike shifted in his seat, Once again emptying his teacup as he listened. With a smile and nod he planned to bow out, to find Sweetie wherever she went.

But Rarity wouldn’t let him.

As she saw his posture shift, Emergency bells rang in her head. She thought things were going her way, exactly as she planned, but things may be becoming so much worse. Maybe she couldn’t talk her way out of this. She had to do something, pull out one of the biggest tricks in her arsenal.

With a small gasp, she hopped off her chair and acted as if she had just remembered something. “Oh my. Spike, would you mind filling my teacup while I go get something. Our little chat just reminded me of something.”

“I’m not sure Rarity, I really need to go find Sweetie-”

“Oh pish posh. She’ll be back soon enough, she doesn’t start work until late anyways.” She called back while rummaging through her closet to find just what she needed.

Rarity returned with a purple and green gift box, tied closed with a golden bow. The same gift she failed to give him over a year ago repurposed and finally given. “I made this for your birthday. Tragic that I couldn’t make it to the celebration but I have been quite busy with requests and deadlines. Consider it an apology as well as a gift.” She levitated the package over to him, as she returned to the table.

Rarity’s pleasant behaviour set off some eerie alarm in Spike’s head. She was too casual, too obstinate, and too self-centered to give him even the slightest bit of acknowledgement. To nod along and simply listen. But seeing the carefully wrapped present put him right back in her grasp. A reminder of the generous pony he had loved.

He cautiously began pulling the ribbon on the package and opening his long delayed present. He pulled the bow and unraveled the fabric around the box, opening the present. Tucked inside was a purple and green satin cloak,decorated with a dozen little gems and in the corner, an embroidered copy of Rarity’s Cutie Mark.

“It was originally meant to show you were my number one. The person I could count on all the time. I do hope we can make it back to that one day.” Rarity smiled as she was sure she just sealed the deal, pulling Spike back to her.

She had just made the biggest mistake of the morning.

As Spike held up the cloak, he was hit by waves of nostalgia. There was something about the feel of the fabric that pulled him back to the countless hours he spent in her workshop. The feel of the embroidery, the luster of the gems, and the scent infused with the garment that just pulled out every positive memory he had with the designer. Maybe he should try to give her more, let her sway him just a bit longer, let her control…

The thought of her control caused every single nostalgic memory to break. The waves of nostalgia collapsed into a single thought that she just wanted to control him. The joy turned to revulsion as he let the weight of everything he’d done for Rarity hit him again. Suddenly he was back on stage, confessing every feeling he’d held for her and getting stomped on. Nothing would be the same with her again.

“I…” He placed the cloak on the table, pushed the chair back, and turned to the exit. “This-, I need to find Sweetie Belle.”

“Sweetie Belle is Lady Luxury.” Rarity called as she got up, letting the teacup drop just enough to make a crashing noise. The prim facade dropped for just a second as she lashed out, pulling her last possible card to ruin their relationship. If she couldn’t have Spike, then her sister wouldn’t either. “She took your question, Smith. She was the one who told you exactly what she wanted. She’s been controlling you from the start of your relationship.” Rarity’s voice strained as she held herself back from shrieking. “She’s manipulated you too, it’s what Belle’s do.”

“Sweetie is nothing like you Rarity.” Spike couldn’t even comprehend what she’d said. He didn’t want to consider anything she had to say right now. He just wanted to leave. “Don’t talk to me again. I’m done here.”

Finally, Spike escaped, leaving the cruel clutches of Rarity behind as she stood frozen. She knew she had lost, but any damage she could do was done already. With nothing more she could do, she pulled a pillow over to the kitchen and let out a manic screech as she reeled from her failure.

She’d lost, and nothing would be the same for her again.

Author's Note

So uh, I might have done a character assassination of Rarity. Oops.

This is another reason I have had trouble working on this. I have always disliked how rarity treated people around her in the show and I thought I could write this in a way where that came across, and I did, but it honestly just made me so bummed out making a character I still for the most part like become a monster in like, a way that felt too real.

9: Another Boutique Encounter

“I’m just saying, Appaloosa apples taste better, but the Sweet Apple Acres apples make better ciders.”

“You barely even buy any of our cider, let alone my cousins. How could you even tell.”

“Rainbow Dash lets me have some whenever we hang out.”

“Can we please get back on topic girls?” Sweetie interrupted the two other crusaders as they went off on another tangent. Sure she had stopped crying, with the earlier promised pancakes doing a lot to cheer her up, but the threat of what Rarity could do hung in the air. She probably wouldn’t make a move on Spike yet, but there’s no telling what she may do. The possibility of her sister sabotaging her love life and potentially the job she loved so much couldn’t stop eating away at her, and her friends wanted to argue about apples.

The two immediately broke their conversation and refocused their attention on the last member of their trio. “Sorry, some people just don’t know good apples when they eat them.” Apple Bloom chuffed as she turned back to Sweetie. “But if Spike was the one looking for advice, what’s the difference between getting it from a stranger and getting it from the source?”

“You’re missing the point Apple Bloom. It’s not that I gave him advice, it’s that I manipulated the situation to be with him.”

“And you stopped after you confirmed it was actually him, and you were the one he liked.” Scootaloo interjected once again, repeating what she had already said multiple times today as Sweetie spiraled about her love life. “It’s not like you could keep it a secret forever anyways Sweetie. You’d eventually either have to tell him or leave your job to keep them separate.”

“I’ll figure that out when I have to. But for now, I just can’t let Rarity ruin this for me.” She rejected the advice yet again in favour of letting her anxiety grow, just as she had been doing all day.

Scootaloo sighed as she flopped on to one of the many cushions scattered about the clubhouse. “Come on, we need to get you out of here. Do something to pull your mind off of everything happening. Do we have any new crusader requests or anything AB?”

***

Sweetie’s endless cycle of thinking what Rarity might do, worrying about how Spike would react, trying to figure out if Lady Luxury could salvage anything, remembering Rarity’s call, and then thinking again eventually sputtered out as the Crusaders spent more and more time together. With a new mark request, she had to push her fears out of her mind to focus on figuring out just what their new junior crusader's talent could be.

At the end of the day of attempts with no success, Sweetie’s mind was still working trying to figure it out what it could be. She was so focused, when she split from the others and walked home, the thought that she was walking into Rarity’s den didn’t even cross her mind.

That ended when she stood in front of the door to Carousel boutique. The colourful home she spent most of her childhood in seemed completely alien to her. Though perhaps alien would be wrong as she knew what was before her, just not the creature lurking inside.

As she tried the door, open sign still hanging from the knob, she found it was locked. More than once she had been asked to grab the sign on her way in, though never in her life has she ever found the door locked, especially on a standard business day. She had forgotten the door even had a lock, nothing bad ever happens in Ponyville, it’s still growing with almost no crime, no one locks their doors. Something was off, and Sweetie sensed danger.

Still, she pushed on. With no key, she simply magically turned the simple mechanism to unlock the door and let herself inside. She pushed the door open hoping she could just avoid her sister and make it to her room without having to talk to her.

Ding

The bell hanging above the entry sounded, ringing louder than she ever remembered hearing. Her heart pulsed as she dreaded what was to come. The hooves rushing to meet her, that accent she constructed berating her for ‘stealing Spike’ or something, the looming presence that she could do so much to ruin all she had built up for herself. But nothing came.

Sweetie heard a slight noise come from the kitchen, but nothing was approaching. Maybe Rarity didn’t want to see her so she wasn’t reacting.

With that assumption, Sweetie did her best to quietly make her way to the stairs. One hoof at a time, she tried as hard as she could to not make any noise, trying with more effort than ever not to be seen.

But she knew it could all fall apart. She had to pass the Kitchen doorway to reach the stairs. She could be seen if she wasn’t careful, or even if she was just unlucky. As she made it to the doorway, she pressed her body to the wall and slowly leaned out to see if the noise really was her sister, praying she didn’t see her.

Though seeing might have been worse, as passed out on her fainting couch was Rarity. A complete mess, hair uncurled, eyes puffy, and clutching something she couldn’t quite make out in the moonlit room. Rarity was absolutely off.

Seeing her sister like this, clearly broken and pathetic, Sweetie stopped trying to hide. Her racing heart slowed as the adrenaline pumping through her body subsided. Her hooves echoed in the room as she slowly approached.

“Rarity… I-”

She paused as Rarity sniffed, clearly having been crying for who knows how long. She readjusted herself, clutching the object harder but not turning to face her sister.

“Rarity, you… Please don’t come between me and Spike. I know what happened was wrong and I know I manipulated him. I know I’ve done so much wrong but I love him. When I’m with him-”

Rarity sniffed again and gently sobbed hearing her sister proclaim her love so easily. To be able to so simply put into words something she had felt for so long but didn’t know how to say. She hated her sister for it, but in the moment she just hated herself.

“Go to bed Sweetie Belle. We can talk about this tomorrow.”

For the first time in ages, Sweetie didn’t accept her sister’s orders. She just stood there watching. She continued. “My work means a lot to me, and it means a lot to him too. Lady Luxury is his favorite show. Please don’t take away what we both love.”

Rarity just kept sobbing as she listened. It was all she could do, just listen to see how much she had messed up this time. She pulled her entire body in close, wanting to feel comforted but knowing she didn’t deserve any.

But Sweetie saw it. Without saying anything else, she backed away and went up the stairs to her room. She went to her closet and grabbed the first spare blanket and made her way back downstairs, back to her sister. She draped the blanket over her sister, hoping to bring some comfort to her clearly broken sister. They could work things out another time, when they were both thinking rationally. Just after a good night’s sleep.

But that would never happen.

As she pulled the blanket up to her sister’s front legs, the light of her magic hit the thing Rarity cradled just enough to see the dark purple fabric and light green thread of a cloak she helped her sister make a year ago. Spike’s gift he had left behind earlier that day.

The shiny reflective wrapping from the gift’s box shone with the magic too, kicked across the room and laying at the foot of the wall. Looking at the scene longer, she saw the outline of two teacup in the darkness.

Spike had already been there. Rarity had already talked to Spike.

“R-Rarity…” The pressure in her heart welled up again. This was bad. Panic filled her in an instant as everything could start collapsing any moment now. The walls would cave in. The ceiling would fall. A scream louder than a train rang in her ears. The pulse of her heart rattled every bone in her body. She couldn’t have.

“I told him everything.” Rarity whined before sobbing more, breaking any hope Sweetie might have had left in, and causing everything to fall apart.

Author's Note

Another shorter chapter just to wrap up what will probably be the most intense section of this fanfic. We're entering the home stretch now, as I plan on wrapping this story up soon.