The Trip

by cooopercrisp

3

Alas, Spike’s sleep was dreamless, and when he woke up in the morning he felt a feeling of dread in the pit of his stomach. His assertion that he was going to see Rarity today was fading fast. He shut his eyes to try to block out the sun and rolled over onto his stomach.

Twilight prodded him gently in the back, and his claw stretched behind him to swat her hoof away. Twilight giggled and prodded him again, and he swiped his claw harder.

“Spike, you said you were going to talk to Rarity today…” Twilight said with a giggle.

“What’s so funny?” Spike mumbled.

“Oh, nothing much. I figured you would be ready to go as soon as possible, and to see you sleeping like this is just kinda...ironic.”

“Twilight, maybe it’d be better if I didn’t know…”

Twilight’s smile faded. “Didn’t know what?” she asked.

“About Rarity. I know she doesn’t like me that way. Why do I have to hear her say it?”

Twilight sat down next to Spike’s bed, no longer in a mood to tease him. “Spike, what’s the worst that could happen? If it turns out she doesn’t like you that way, nothing will change, because you’re expecting that anyway.”

“What do you mean ‘if?’” Spike demanded, now turning back over and facing Twilight with a glare. “You were a lot more certain she didn’t like me last night.”

“I know I was. I was flustered by the situation last night and I took that out on you. I’m sorry.”

“Like I’m supposed to believe that,” Spike grumbled. “You were so dead set against me having any hope. Why change that now?”

“Because I was thinking about it last night since I couldn’t sleep, and I realized that it’s not up to me to decide what’s best for the two of you. It’s really something you and Rarity need to decide for yourselves. And if there’s actually something there, I have no authority to stand in your way. You may still be in your infancy cycle, but you’re mature enough to know what you’re getting into. I think we all fall into the trap of underestimating you…” Twilight frowned and turned away. Spike felt a warmth in his heart and smiled, rising out of his basket and giving Twilight a hug.

“I’m ready to talk to her now,” he said.

“Are you sure?” Twilight asked, turning her head to face him. “I don’t want you to do something you’re not ready for.”

“I’m not ready for it,” Spike said with a bold smirk, “but I’m doing it anyway.”

“That’s...quite mature,” Twilight said, now grinning. “See? I underestimated you again.”

“Don’t worry about it, Twilight,” Spike said, patting her on the back. “You’re not the first. You won’t be the last. Now let’s go before I get a chance to brood about it and chicken out.”

“Lead the way, then,” Twilight said, pointing her hoof at the door. Spike walked with a swagger in his step that Twilight desperately hoped would not be punctured. But, as she said, it was up to him and Rarity to decide. It wasn’t her place to dash his hopes for the sake of trying to protect him.

---

When Twilight knocked on the door to the Carousel Boutique, they heard Rarity moan for them to come in. When they entered, they saw her lying on the couch with a large cup of water in her hoof. She took a slow drink from it and rubbed her temple with her free hoof.

“As you can see, I had to close the store today to recover from...from whatever happened last night.”

“Yeah, about that…” Twilight said, unsure of how to bring up the subject of Spike, or if Rarity even remembered what had happened between her and Spike.

“Oh dear…” Rarity said, glancing over at Spike, who was wearing the most conflicted expression on his face. He was staring intensely at her with a mixture of fear and excitement. It made her stomach even more unsettled than it already was. “Why, hello Spike. Um...what brings you over here?” Rarity glanced at Twilight nervously.

Twilight turned to Spike looking for reassurance. He nodded in her direction, and Twilight nodded in reply. “I’m going to leave you two to talk,” she said. “I’ll just, um...wait outside.” She hustled over to the front door of the boutique and showed herself out.

Rarity gazed over at Spike, but she couldn’t look into his eyes for long. She sighed and took another sip of water.

Spike twiddled his thumbs, the confidence he’d had leaving the library now quickly deflating. “Do you...do you even remember what happened last night?” he asked.

“The kiss, Spike. Let’s call it what it was. No use tiptoeing around the subject when we should be talking about it like grown-ups.”

“Yeah, well, um...uh...why?”

Rarity rubbed her temple and let out a long sigh. “I’ve always known that you liked me, Spike. And I’ve always felt, well...like I was using you.”

“Using me?” Spike asked. This was the first time he had even considered that.

“Oh, darling, your naivete breaks my heart,” Rarity said. “You’re still young to the ways of the world, aren’t you? I constantly ask favors of you because, well...I know for a fact you’ll do anything for me as long as I ask it. It’s quite convenient...I mean for me, certainly not for you, and...this is all coming out wrong!” Rarity’s shouting left her head reeling, and she took another sip of water.

“I think I see what you’re getting at,” Spike said. “Well, Twilight kinda does the same thing, sometimes, but I think it’s for a different reason.”

“You’re like the little brother she never had,” Rarity said. “She talks about you all the time, you know, whenever we see each other. I imagine it’s because she knows how you feel about me and how close we are. And we are close, Spike, just...not like that.”

This was the answer Spike had been expecting and dreading since he first woke up this morning. He turned away from Rarity. “I guess I shouldn’t be surprised,” he said. “Twilight said it would never work between us.”

“Spike, that’s...well, I can’t say that’s not true, given the norms with which I grew up. And I suppose at this point I can ask no more of you. I’ve been brutally unfair to you, and it’s about time I admitted it and started to treat you better, like more of an equal.”

“An equal?” Spike asked.

“Spike, when I woke up this morning, you were all I could think about,” Rarity said. “Once I remembered what had happened last night, I realized that I was taking you for granted and treating you like a child.”

“But, hold on,” Spike said. “I mean, I’m not surprised this is how you would respond, but why kiss me in the first place if you know you didn’t like me that way?”

“I think…” Rarity said, trying to concentrate through her headache, “that I’ve been needing to find a way to express my gratitude. I knew deep down I had to repay you for all of your kindness, and in my...unsettled state, I gave you the thing I thought you wanted most. My judgment eluded me, and I want to apologize for confusing you. I can only imagine how I would feel if the stallion of my affections came onto me so suddenly in such a restless state.”

“Keep Trenderhoof away from the hard stuff then,” Spike said with a sneer. Rarity laughed heartily, but then groaned and held her head.

“I appreciate the humor, Spike, but I don’t think I can laugh safely right now,” Rarity said. “It makes me happy to see you taking this in stride.”

“Well, it’s like Twilight said,” Spike replied, “the worst that could happen is that I’d be in the same place I started. And I guess a lot of the stress has been taken away. I mean, well...I think I need some time to be sad for a while, but there’s no reason we can’t stay good friends.”

Rarity’s eyes welled up. “Oh, Spike, I’m ever so grateful to hear that.”

“Aw, don’t cry, Rarity,” Spike said, walking over to her and wiping the tears from her eyes. “I think whatever was in that drink kinda threw you for a loop.”

“You’re right, of course,” Rarity said. “I need some time to recover.”

“Well, if that’s what you need, I can give that to you.”

Rarity mouthed the words “thank you” at Spike with a smile on her face.

“Well, I guess I’ll tell Twilight we’re done talking, and we’ll be on our way. Do you want us to stop by later today to check up on you?”

“I would love that, Spike,” Rarity said. “Thank you.”

“Don’t mention it.” Spike waved at Rarity and walked out the door to meet back up with Twilight.

“How’d it go?” she asked when Spike came over to her.

“It went well, Twilight,” Spike said. “You were right, of course, but it’s not really so bad.”

“I’m glad to hear it,” Twilight said with a smile. “Let’s go home, and I’ll make you a really nice lunch.”

“Twilight, if I want nice, you know I’m gonna have to make it myself.”

Twilight laughed a bit harder than she should have, and Spike grinned as the two of them walked down the road on their way back to the library.

Author's Note:

Reminds me of another fic I wrote...

Hopefully this one's better.

Comments

[The Descendant]

I'm almost afraid to ask, but did Rarity get raped? Her demand not to be taken to the hospital because it might shred her reputation was pretty disturbing.

[AbyssXIII]

4348834
I think it was more she didn't want to ponies to see her in her 'condition'. I believe she said that she was going to go with the guy who drugged her, but then she hit him on accident. He stormed off, and she ran.

[cooopercrisp]

4348834 Not at all. I wasn't even thinking of that when I wrote this.

[The Descendant]

4349315
Yeah, I was assumed that was what happened in the section that preceded her "black out," but it was the missing time that had me concerned about her well-being.

4349735
I'm very glad about that. As for the whole story, there's something a little melancholy about how she arrived at her decision. The work begins deeply concerning, turns sad, and ends with a glimmer of hope that Rarity and Spike can still have a friendship, even if his happy little dreams are washed away.

It hurt to watch, but I applaud you for dealing with the axing of Spike's crush without making it anyone's "fault" and without making Spike into an infant who wasn't worthy of his own feelings. Twilight was also pretty much dead-on, vacillating back and forth on how she treats Spike.

In short, better than its current upvotes would indicate. Let's see what submitting it to a couple of groups will do, eh?

[Twilight Best Pony]

hmmm...
to me it looks exactly the same.....
but idk really.

[Jack Kellar]

Not bad, a cute friendshipping Sparity. We need more of those.

All you have to do now is re-ckeck the paragraph tabulations. I've seen at least two that aren't lined up properly.

[DF]

This was an interesting read.

The depiction of Rarity's inebriation was pretty spot on and entertaining, her character in general was spot on, Spike's reaction to her advances was believable, and the resolution was refreshingly sane.

That said, the pacing felt somewhat rushed throughout, especially in the second chapter, Twilight seemed too relaxed about everything for her personality IMO, and certain word choices in the dialogue didn't feel like the words that the characters would use.

All in all, interesting and entertaining for the limited size and scope of the piece, despite some flaws.

[Ignaltus]

Then, Spike becomes a man.

[Hillbe]

Spike returned to the boutique to check on Rarity. "How ya doing Rars?"
"My dearest Spikey Wikey the chat we had earlier ?" She paused" You handled that nasty bit I had better than any stallion could of" She sighed " Spikey, It's not the first I've done you wrong"
Spike interrupted her "No sweat , I'm here for you, You know that, Gosh,The whole town knows"
Rarity blushed "Spiket ? I too have a cru..." "FOREEVER!" Pinkie screamed.

[Swashbucklist]

The tag and comments (I kinda skimmed ahead) made it clear where this was going, and it was satisfying (though the sensual bits were still fun to read). This is the Spike most of us have gleaned from canon, but I'm worried nowadays that the writers don't see him like this anymore.

[Late_Night]

4349735
the resolution to this story was utter shit
like
not only did spike get friendzoned, but rarity made him do it to himself
this rarity you've written is gonna die still looking for her prince charming
and spike's gonna die regretting the fact that he didn't nut up and press the issue