Heart of Scales

**Heart of Scales

Turn 14: Sweet Bells**

Interlude Quartus

Rarity sat at a booth in a reasonably visible part of a large showroom, located in the inner parts of Canterlot Castle. She wasn't exactly sure which part of it she was in. The hallways of the castle built who-knows how many years ago were as confusing as they were old. No matter how “inner” this part of the castle may be, if it was still open to the public for reservation and use, it must still be far enough from the actual innards to do so. The navigation situation was not as serious as Rarity had imagined it to be. After all, she was probably the only one in the room who wasn't completely familiar with the layout of this part of the building. The others were quite used to the castle as far as they had been allowed in, given that they had used and attended many events that took place there. The other designers were currently enjoying themselves in the room more than Rarity was. Canterlot was a playground for ponies as such, it was still to be for Rarity.

A more detailed description of where she was would be at a Pre-show Designer Dress Presentation. It wasn't in the main hall, where the actual Fashions Show was scheduled to take place. It was held in a smaller show room for the attendees were smaller in number. Presentations such as these were traditionally held a day to two before the Main Fashion Show. Designers who had made dresses for the show were given a chance to display their dresses, in their dress forms, for the each other to see. For this event, many dress forms decorated the showroom. A variety of selections from a variety of designers.

This was also a good time to socialize with other designers. Forming groups, they would circle the area, examining, rating, commenting on the presented dresses, giving advice and telling each other what a difficult feat they had managed to pull off completing their own particular dress, how special their talents were for completing such a piece. This event could potentially be more important than the Fashion Show itself. Getting good word and spreading one's name among the designer community, making friends, keeping good relations, meeting new ponies and adding to one's contacts, all of these were just as important as dazzling the common audience at the main event. It could have a bigger impact on one's future with a bit of charm and luck.

Rarity was the exception in a lot of ways it seemed. Not only in being unfamiliar with the area, but she appeared to be the only one at her own booth, alone at that, watching other designers pass her dresses, not bothering to look at others, which would probably just be an intimidating experience for herself, anyway.

She should be socializing, shouldn’t she? It was one of the things she was meaning to do when she came to Canterlot. Alas, it was not as easy and open as Rarity had hoped it to be. This event was nothing like the small catwalk shows she was familiar and used to. These weren't the smaller, less known, designer circles that she was able to lunge into and fit in seamlessly. The Canterlot Fashion Show, the mother of all shows, and the top designers in Equestria competing against each other. Rarity found herself unable to separate her tail end from her chair. She was only here because Princess Celestia was kind enough to give her the opportunity. It would never be because she had the actual talent. Here she was, as the other designers questioned how such an unknown managed to get herself into the most prestigious of Fashion events.

While Rarity was the least known of the designers, and had the least credentials to her designing name, that didn't keep her from being a formidable contestant in the event. Sure the others questioned how she came to be here, but the dresses she presented was enough to convince them that this wasn't a freak decision on the part of the organizers. They could somehow see how it happened. Her dresses were good, in the eyes of some, great in the eyes of many, and excellent in the eyes of the forgiving.

Some designers stopped to look at Rarity's work. Rarity glanced at them occasionally to see if they had any kind of disdain on their faces. Rarity would have been happy to see that her superiors had stopped to give a fraction of their time to appreciate her work. She found it hard to look at them as they did, however. Groups examining a line of dresses would exchange reviews with each other, telling each other that they were either nice or substandard, never ecstatic at a work, unless it was to be in the good graces of a particularly higher designer. The groups stopping Rarity's dresses tended to discuss the actual maker rather than the dresses itself, which were, whether they wanted to admit it or not, undeniably a factor to consider in the competition.

Rarity felt that there were miles between her and the rest.

“Rarity, from the town, Ponyville?” somepony asked Rarity as she was in her thoughts. The designers who had been at her dress was now before her booth, speaking to her, a group of three mares. They sounded rather friendly and welcoming. Something Rarity hadn't expected the other designers to do, make the first move. Their clothes hinted that they weren't too high in the social ladder themselves, yet they seemed just right for her to be with.

“Yes, that would be me.” Rarity replied.

“Come and join us. We've taken an interest in your work. I see you are very skilled with the thread and needle. It would be a treat to hear how you've managed in the designing period.”

Rarity's eyes widened, ever so slightly, but in somewhat pleasant surprise. What kind of luck was this?

“...Of course.” Rarity nodded when she finally accepted what was happening to her.

“Please, start with this piece. I say there are elements in it that I've never seen in this competition.”

In Rarity's eyes, her dresses were better than they were ever supposed to be. She wasn't supposed to have had enough time to make the dresses as they were now. She wasn't supposed to have the leisure to have added the precise details that made them better than without. She wasn't supposed to be receiving this much attention for her dresses.

They spoke of the dress closest to Rarity's booth, dazzling purple and green, sharp, but smooth and elegant. Her best dress, the dragon dress.

“It would be my pleasure.” Rarity smiled, tapping into her knowledge of Canterlot socializing.

It was then that Rarity was realized, no, reminded that it wasn't just the Fashion Show. Her dresses had always been better than they were ever supposed to be. It's been that way for quite a while now.

The headpiece glimmered in the light of the chandelier hanging above.

Nopony would hold it against Spike for what happened at the Fashion Show. While he was accepted as a pony in the town, things weren't exactly perfect with Applejack. However, it wasn't to the point of irreparable damage. A small talk would clear everything up, a small and honest talk. It was sure that both of them wanted the best for each other, and cutting cords definitely wasn't the way to it. Things on that end, as far as Spike was concerned, were going to be all right. There was still disappointment, Spike had to admit. He had placed his hopes, and in the end, they had amounted to nothing beyond his expectations.

Hope and expectation... there was a curious, tragic, ironic relationship between the two.

Then there was the matter of Rarity. She was supposed to be a dead end. Try to put his mind to working out a solution, it had been almost impossible. He had been avoiding it all this time. Now he knew, from her answer, what the problem had been. It was a simple problem, a matter than had already been resolved from the start.

Rarity turned Spike down because he was a dragon. He wasn't a dragon anymore. So had the problem been solved?

That was as far as Spike was willing to think, through. No further, not yet. Somehow, he felt that he was going to need more than Rarity's answer to truly consider what he was to do about it. There were other factors to consider beforehand.

But why? He wasn't a dragon anymore, problem solved. What more is there to consider?

A whole lot... That was why Rarity's answer sounded and felt slightly off to Spike.

Maybe Rarity... just wasn't ready to make that kind of decision.

…

“No,” Spike said to himself. “Still not ready...”

It was neutral. There was no reason to see it as a problem anymore. He could leave it as it is and there would be no problems. Even if she did find out that he was “Spike” all along. He didn't have anything against her did he? His actions towards her as Ruby would prove it. It would be a shocking revelation for everypony, no doubt. In the big picture of things, did that matter? He would be truly back with his friends and the Fashion Show incident would truly be a thing in the past. No tension between Twilight and Rarity, Applejack as well. He and Rarity would continue to be good friends. That would be a good ending.

Or so Spike expects...

Could it be better? There was a chance, another one, with Rarity. It was matter of if the problem was really as simple as it was presented to him. The more he thought about it, the stranger it was to him.

It couldn't have been just because he was a dragon... As easy as it was, as easy as he wanted it to be, was Rarity that shallow? Ignoring his feelings because he had some scales, spines, and claws?

No... He was now going further than he was willing to. He needed more.

She's anything but cold and indifferent. If she's the emotional, over-dramatic mare I know... If it's anything otherwise, the worlds coming to an end.

Spike then realized how much time had passed. He was supposed to be on his way to meet Applejack at the Cooking Center. He was late, complicating things for him even further. How much easier was it going to be, repairing things between him and Applejack after breaking his promise to meet on time at the factory? He might just make it, if he hurried. The ponies entering the Town Hall were startled as a blinding streak of violet flew out of the doorway and ran into the evening. Spike cleared his mind, letting the wind in his ears blow away his thoughts.

Spike arrived in front of the Cooking Center just as most of its lights were beginning to switch off. It appeared that most of the ponies working there had called it a day and the last of them were closing the place down. There was a chance that he just might be right on time. He took a few steps forward as even more lights in the building began to shut off. The feeling of doubt began to grow as the only light left was the one just past the front entrance. If there was somepony in the building, they would be just past that front door. If Applejack had indeed waited for him, she would be pony behind it, or so he hoped.

There was a feeling in his gut that it would happen. Things tended to be that way for him. What did Spike mean? He knew that as soon as he reached for the door knob, it would open from the inside.

As he predicted, the door opened right on cue, but it wasn’t who he had been expecting behind it. For a moment, he had mistaken her for Applejack, as he did the first time. It was one of Applejack’s many cousins, Apple Cobbler. The same coat and mane, just different eyes and cutie mark. It was still amazing how similar the two cousins were in appearance.

“I was beginning to wonder if you were going to come.” Apple Cobbler said to Spike before he could say anything to her first. “Applejack isn’t here. She asked me to tell you that for her, before she left, of course.”

Spike wondered what this whole thing was about. Applejack should have no reason to stray from their original plans. At least she told Cobbler to tell him for her, which means that she trusted him to be here as much as he trusted her to be somewhere Spike could find her to ask her about it.

“Did she say anything about where she was going?” Spike asked her.

“Wherever you two were planning to go together before she decided to first, I suppose. She said she was ‘going on ahead’, which should mean the obvious. The party is what I heard, if I heard her correctly.”

“Why would she just leave?” Spike asked. “Did she say anything else?”

“She asked me to pass on an apology for leaving you like this. I’m not sure for what reason she had to leave so quickly, but it appeared to be urgent.”

Something urgent? At least Applejack didn’t just leave without saying anything at all. She had some business she needed to attend to. Spike knew where to find her, and that was good enough, wasn’t it? The only thing that would have changed is that they’d meet at the party instead to laugh everything off. Considering it now, wouldn’t that be better than a long, uncomfortable walk by themselves to the party. Talking in the lively atmosphere would make it much easier to have that honest discussion, the reason being that they would be too busy enjoying themselves. Yes,  that would hopefully be the end of stormy seas.

Spike’s eyes turned to the hallway behind Apple Cobbler the moment the light inside had switched off with seemingly nopony inside to make it do so. After staring into the dark hallway behind her and soon hearing some light hoofsteps, Spike learned that Apple Cobbler had not been the only one in the building this whole time. The pony who emerged from the darkness was somepony Spike hadn’t been expecting.

“Why hey there, Ruby!” Sweetie Belle greeted cheerfully. “I knew you’d come!”

Spike had an impulse to strangle Sweetie Belle on the spot, pick her out of the ground like a ripe onion and throttle her, but then he realized those feelings were reserved for Applebloom and Scootaloo. Sweetie Belle as far as he knew, didn’t really do anything to cause him any trouble. She just followed the other two troublemakers around, mostly because she didn’t have anything else to do or anypony else to be with. As instantly as Spike felt his violent impulse swell, it imploded at the realization that there was no fault in Sweetie Belle.

“Why are you alone?” Spike asked. “Where did your friends go?”

“After Applebloom’s plan sort of fell apart, they left, leaving me alone here.” Sweetie Belle replied quite cheerfully. She sounded awfully happy for somepony who got left behind by her friends. “I didn’t have anywhere else to be or anypony else to be with, so I stayed and hung out with Apple Cobbler.”

Apple Cobbler looked away when Spike turned to her in surprise for making work such an unusual pairing with Sweetie Belle. With her seemingly uptight personality Spike doubted that she would be any good with fillies, when it came to the part of having fun with them at least.

After spending a good amount of time being their caretaker for Applejack, Spike couldn’t help but feel a sort of gratitude towards Apple Cobbler for taking care of Sweetie Belle for a while.

“You make it sound as if it was a lot of fun.” Spike noticed Apple Cobber quietly leave them after realizing that her work was finished.

“I tried getting a cutie mark in baking, cleaning, turning off lights, and locking doors...” Sweetie Belle went off, Spike was used to all the crazy things the CMC did to earn their mark. He was actually surprised she hadn’t tried to do more than just four during the short amount of time Sweetie Belle spent with Cobs. She wasn’t just being used to close down the Cooking Center, was she?

Spike wanted to thank Apple Cobbler before she left, but she was already out of sight. Now it was just him and Sweetie Belle. He tried to spot Cobs in the distance, even though she was gone. Where she was going to spend the rest of her evening, her day off tomorrow, Spike wasn’t sure. Just how was he going to spend the rest of this evening? How was he going to spend his holiday tomorrow? The future was a mystery, as it has proved to him over and over again.

“Say Sweetie Belle, how would you like to come with me to a party?” Spike broke out of his stare into the distance and turned to the filly.

“I already promised to go with Applebloom before she left.” Sweetie Belle went ahead of Spike. He expected her to lead the way to the Library, but she was walking in another direction.

“The Library’s that way, Sweetie Belle.” Spike caught up, hopping in front of her in an attempt to direct her down the right street.

“I also promised Applebloom that I was going to spend the night with her at the club house.” Sweetie Belle, ignored Spike’s obstruction and continued after going around him. Leaving him looking back at her walking away, with a puzzled expression.

“The farm is also that way.” Spike noted to her pointing in the same direction.

“I know that. I just need to pack a few things for the night. I won’t be coming back to Rarity’s for a little while, so I better be prepared.”

“We’re going to the Boutique?” He asked in surprise. “Won’t she be home? Like, right now?”

“Yeah, that’s what whole reason I’m bringing you with me.”

Spike wasn’t surprised after realizing what Sweetie Belle really meant to do, bringing him along on this trip to Rarity’s home. He knew after spending the week close to Sweetie Belle as Ruby, and most of his life in Ponyville as a dragon that she wasn’t one to hide her motives. It was clear what she was trying to do, pair him up with Rarity as Applebloom had tried to do with him and Applejack. She had a very “Sweetie Belle” way of doing things and whether it puts her in an advantage or disadvantage, she was, as Spike was about to learn, honest.

“You’re just going to take me to Rarity? Somehow we’re just going to see each other and then you’ll get what you want?” Spike asked. “No tricks, no spying? Is this all you’ve got?”

“I’m doing my best, Ruby!” Sweetie Belle suddenly sounded frustrated. It appears that Spike had touched a nerve. “I’m not good at this like Applebloom is. Plus, I don’t have anypony helping me out. My friends all left! It’s not fair that I’ve had to help Applebloom with her dumb plan just to have her bail when it’s my turn! I thought Scootaloo would help me, but it turns out she never really cared in the first place!”

“Wow, I didn’t know it was like that...” Spike bit is lower lip, raising his brow. “Sorry...”

He never realized how deep the conflicts were even in the Cutie Mark Crusaders. If Spike was correct, Applebloom was really the only one who actually wanted all of this to happen. Never did Sweetie Belle do anything to cause him trouble today, as he realized before. Not that he knew of, at least. Even if he didn’t know, and she somehow had some behind-the-scenes part in all of this, he would still be thankful that she was never enthusiastic about Applebloom’s plan.

It was actually kind of cute how she was working so hard, putting up with Applebloom, waiting patiently for her turn. Now that it was her turn, she played the game fair, clean, and honest. Continuing even though she didn’t have any pony to help her, even though her plan was a little simple and thoughtless. It was a quality he had never expected out of a member of the CMC.

There was indeed one other pony in this town that could help her. She wasn’t completely alone. She had him, after all. The least he could do was make this as easy as possible for her. That didn’t mean he consented to everything Sweetie Belle wanted to do, or wanted him to do. There was no guarantee he would go to Rarity anymore than he was sure to go to Applejack now.

Then why in the world was he following Sweetie Belle when he should be heading to the party as soon as he could to see Applejack? It was then that he wondered if there was even a need to. He already had her answer, didn’t he? Maybe it was because it felt incomplete. Not everything was said when they last met, or so he felt. Did he want to go to the party just to hear that Applejack really did want him to forget about their supposed relationship? That she didn’t want one? Did he really want to finally confirm that? Even though he had been telling himself that the whole time, it didn’t make it any less painful, the fact that Applejack didn’t want to be in a relationship with him, that it should be forgotten, not even set aside for the time being.

Then he was avoiding Applejack? To avoid hearing something he had realized he didn’t want to hear?

“Aww, don’t worry about it,” Sweetie Belle said after a while of silence. She thought that she had hurt Spike’s feelings with her sudden rant, but that wasn’t the reason at all. “In the end, you can say that I came out on top! All of Applebloom’s plans have failed, and while she’s busy trying to save it, I’m here with you! Going to meet Rarity as we speak!”

There was really no point to seeing Rarity now after their talk back at the Town Hall. In fact, it would be better to avoid meeting her while Sweetie Belle was present. Meeting her again would just create an awkward atmosphere when Sweetie Belle blatantly asks the two of them to start going out. He can’t have two Appleblooms working against him, and Sweetie Belle was just about to cross line of turning into one. Should he just run from her now and avoid that situation?

No, Sweetie Belle was the only pony he could speak to before he had to meet Applejack. Why was she the only one? The reason was, because she had seen Applejack most recently. He needed clues as to how she was after their meeting in the middle of the street earlier this evening. Perhaps that would help him figure out what he had to say next time he met her. It would indeed help to know more than Applejack expected him to know.

This wasn’t the first time he had heard Sweetie Belle say that Applebloom’s plan had failed. Spike was afraid of what that might mean. If Applebloom’s plan “didn’t work”, there would be less weight on Spike’s chest. After hearing that it “failed”, he could only wonder how hard it did. Things were definitely different than he had made them out to be.

Never again, never again, he told himself many times.

“Applebloom’s plan failed?” Spike asked. “Where is she now?”

“She went after Applejack,” Sweetie Belle. “To try one last time to get her to see things her way.”

Spike was suddenly more concerned about Applebloom than he was with Applejack at the moment. Even if everything’s been talked out, in his and Applejack’s case, laughed off and forgotten, their friendship would still be in jeopardy if Applebloom continued to force this.

“So in the end, Applebloom’s plan failed... What happened?” Spike asked even though he knew exactly why it had failed. Applejack had refused to listen to Applebloom once she met Spike and agreed together to put everything behind them.

“We went to the Cooking Center to tell Applejack about what Scootaloo had heard from you. We were doing so in an office when Rainbow Dash suddenly appeared. Applejack forced her to tell what she heard and she straight-up told her that you liked her.”

Spike let slip a groan he had been meaning to keep inside.

“I was fearing the worst, but it turns out, she wasn’t too happy to hear the news. It was like the she didn’t want to hear it. She tried to rationalize it, tried to convince herself that it wasn’t true. After that, she told Applebloom to stay out of her business forever and left to take a walk, Applebloom, as usual, asked her to reconsider before leaving. I guess that’s when she met you, during the walk.”

“We did meet. She said she was out on a break.” Spike sighed. Not to happy to hear the news, huh? He guessed that he didn’t even have to be at the party now to come to a conclusion on Applejack’s feelings. At least he could accept that Applejack didn’t want anything between them before confronting her. It would make the encounter easier. He would be less likely to do or say something that he would regret later. He knew what she wanted, and he could discreetly give it to her.

“What did she say?” Sweetie Belle asked, but then changed her question. “Better yet, what did you say?”

“Whatever we said to each other, it was supposed to put to rest everything Applebloom’s been stirring up,” Spike replied. “Since she was taking a break, I can take it that she went back to the Cooking Center. You were still there when she got back. How was she then? She should have calmed down, am I right?”

“You’re right, in a way... I’m not too sure myself, she was hard to read. She certainly wasn’t happy though. Applebloom was completely baffled and chased after her when Applejack decided to leave. That’s the last I saw of them.”

Wait, what?

Spike couldn’t make sense of anything Sweetie Belle just told him. He thought nopony could be as happy as he was for resolving the whole misunderstanding except for Applejack. Why wouldn’t she be happy after making up with him? Didn’t she wish for the same friendship that they shared before Applebloom decided to try and turn it into something else? As everything went on, Spike could only be more and more sure that Applejack was keeping something from him, something that could quite possibly hurt him. Maybe it was for a much bigger reason, that she left in such urgency. Maybe it’s just Applebloom getting on her nerves one last time, as Sweetie Belle had told him. Yes, that was it, wasn’t it?

“Wasn’t happy, you say?” Spike chuckled. “Was Applebloom that desperate? Bothering Applejack until the end, driving her out of the Cooking Center before we could meet. Isn’t that what this is all about?”

“I don’t even think Applejack was all that angry at Applebloom. She was just really gloomy, you know? It was like she was completely shut Applebloom out. It’s kind of hard to believe that you did say something that would put all of this to rest.”

“But we did.” Spike sounded very uneasy. “There shouldn’t be anything wrong... I said what she wanted me to say.”

“Well, I don’t know, Ruby. I can’t help you either.” Sweetie Belle stopped in her tracks, turned and stared at him looking doleful. Spike looked back with a look similar to a disappointed foal whose balloon had just burst.

“But here we are!” Sweetie Belle spread one of her arms big windmill motion forward and pointed towards their destination just a few more seconds ahead.

Spike recognized it immediately. The Carousel Boutique, Rarity’s home. The lights were on upstairs, which meant that Rarity was indeed home this evening, as she had told him at the Town Hall. He had been too worried about Applejack now to think of how to explain to Sweetie Belle why he couldn’t see Rarity.

Before Rarity heard Sweetie Belle’s voice, checked outside her window through drawn curtains, and saw both of them in plain view, Spike pulled Sweetie Belle behind the tree, a short distance from Rarity’s home.

Sweetie Belle was going inside the house and meet Rarity to get her stuff one way or another. Spike couldn’t change that. He couldn’t just run away and leave her with the chance that she’ll tell Rarity that Ruby had been with her but ran away at the idea of meeting her. He had to persuade Sweetie Belle to act as if she had never seen him tonight, and not even bring his name up to Rarity for the rest of the evening. If he could just do that, Sweetie Belle would cease to be a problem to him, for now.

“I can’t meet Rarity right now,” Spike said bluntly. He then placed his hoof over Sweetie Belle’s mouth to answer her question before she had the chance to ask it, but he had moved faster than he thought. He had silence Sweetie Belle, but had nothing to give as an explanation.

“Why?” Sweetie Belle pushed away Spike’s hoof and asked in a surprisingly quiet voice. “You’ve been asking me about Applejack all the way here. Now you don’t want to meet Rarity? If you don’t like her just say you do and be over with it. Is Applejack that much better than my sister?”

There were some things Spike couldn’t ever tell a CMC member, even if it was Sweetie Belle.

“You can be sure, Sweetie Belle. It will never be because I don’t like your sister,” Spike said in an extremely serious tone. He was hoping that she would buy in, no, accept his reassurance. “I’ll never say that Applejack is better than your sister either, nor the other way around.”

“Then which one is it?” Sweetie Belle asked, sounding very depressed despite Spike’s choice of words. “If you can tell me, I’ll leave you alone... I don’t want to be like Applebloom. I don’t want Rarity to be like how Applejack was.”

Like how Applejack was?...

“What...” Spike swallowed.  “What if I can’t tell you?”

For a few moments they listened to the leaves rustle in the wind above them. None of them fell to the ground, no matter how strong the gusts were. In the distance they could hear echos of celebration, but it was only beyond the tree that concealed them.

Sweetie Belle’s sober eyes met Spike’s for just a moment, but they both turned their head to the sound of a door opening, breaking the silence surrounding the Carousel Boutique. Spike was too distracted by it to notice Sweetie Belle leave his side and rush out into the open. Spike was about to chase her but his hooves instinctively caught the trunk of the tree before he made himself visible to everypony on the other side of the tree. He could only peek as Sweetie Belle met her elder sister. After seeing Rarity’s white coat and almost looking directly into her eyes, Spike immediately whipped himself completely around behind the tree and pressed his back completely against it’s surface, drawing slow heavy breaths.