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