//------------------------------// // Intervention // Story: Spike the stallion // by Wonder //------------------------------// Rarity looked between the young drake and three fillies in horror, her mind trying and failing to understand the situation. The stallion she had spent all night with, the one that had confused her emotions, had been her little Spikey-wikey all along?! To top it all off, her younger sister and her friends had witnessed her kissing said Spikey-wikey whilst they had been pretending to be ponnequins! Her life was over. They'd never let her live this down. Through all her thoughts, one question kept repeating itself. "Why?" Rarity said shakily as she looked back to Spike who was looking as guilty as anypony could. "I am so sorry, Rarity." Spike hung his head in shame. "It didn't mean for this to happen." "Spike." Rarity didn't know what to think. Spike was a dear friend to her, one of her best friends in fact. Why would he do this? How could he do this!? The confusion in her eyes was replaced by a steely glare. "I'm not sure what you hoped to accomplish with this little stunt of yours but congratulations. You've succeeded in breaking a mares heart." Rarity sighed, not looking the young dragon in the eyes. "I think you should leave." "Rarity. Plea-" Spike went to speak but Rarity held up a hoof and silenced him. He wanted to object but when he saw the first tear hit the floor he knew he had messed up, bad. He didn't offer any more words as he turned and left, his eyes watering as he left the boutique, the door swinging shut behind him, severing his connection the the mare he idolized. The mare who probably hated him now. The Crusaders watched on in shocked silence as this unfolded, scared to speak lest they face the wrath of Rarity, who thankfully seemed to have forgotten them for the time being as she slowly made her way upstairs, fresh tears streaming down her face and soft sobs filling the room. Soon the three fillies were alone, unsure of what to do next. The silence would have continued forever were it not for the uncouth nature of fillies. "So is operation 'Boogie Monster' still on or what?" Scootaloo whisper before receiving a prompt slap to the back of the head. Rarity raised her head off the pillow when a dull knocking roused her from the blissful confines of sleep. Why couldn't ponies just let her rest in peace. She attempted to return to sleep but the sound of hooves hitting wood returned. With a groan of irritation Rarity sluggishly made her way out of bed and down stairs to the door. The pony on the other side look at her in poorly concealed shock when she opened the door. Sure she hadn't brushed her mane in two days or done anything but wallow in pity but she couldn't have looked that bad. Could she? "Hey, Rarity." Twilight said, trying desperately to keep eye contact. "How are you doing?" "Oh everything is simply smashing." She said with enough sarcasm to ruin any meal. "Or at least my feelings are but that's just me. How are you darling?" "Do you mind if I come in?" Twilight asked, giving Rarity a genuine smile. "Well the sign does say closed but why not." The fashionista rolled her eyes and lead Twilight through her home into the kitchen. "Tea? I'd offer snacks but I haven't gone shopping recently." "I'm fine." Twilight waved her hoof. "I just want to talk to you about-" "About Spike, I know. You were bound to come by sooner or later." Rarity interrupted, letting out a defeated sigh. "Do the girls know?" "No, I thought you'd like to keep this private. I've asked your sister and her friends to stay quiet too but I'm sure Applejack already knows." "And it won't take Pinkie long to find out." Rarity stated. "I just can't believe my little Spiky Wikey would betray me like this." "Rarity, it's not like that. It's a bit more complicated. Spike didn't mean for any of this to happen. He was originally just going to talk to you but things got out of hoof." "Out of hoof?!" Rarity snarled. "He completely broke my trust. He pretended to be somepony else, got close to me and shattered my heart in two. I actually thought I had found a nice stallion." "Rarity. I know that things didn't turn out well but Spike really is sorry. It was all just a big misunderstanding. Can you please just go talk to him." Twilight pleaded. "I can't get him to go outside. He's devastated." "Humph." The pale mare tilted her muzzle to the air. "Serves the little guy right for messing with a ladies feelings." "Rarity!" Twilight said sternly, with a level of anger that surprised Rarity. She even flinched a little bit. "I don't care what happened but you shouldn't treat a friend like this. If you won't do this for Spike, then do it for me. Please." Rarity sat in silence as her friend stared her down. She doubted Twilight would let the matter drop but she didn't know if she was ready to face Spike yet. Would she be angry or sad if she saw him? Her mind told her it was a good idea to go with Twilight but her heart was stubborn and just wanted crawl back into bed. She certainly knew which of the two she would prefer at this moment. Alas, her conscience was the tie breaker and she knew talking to Spike was the right thing to do, so with much hesitation Rarity gave Twilight a feeble nod. Spike shambled through the library, his mind working on autopilot as he silently placed books into their proper locations. At one point an earth pony came in asking for something new to read to which Spike murmured a few halfhearted suggestions. The stallion easily sensed something was up and for a moment considered inquiring what was wrong but decided to eject himself from the premises. The young dragon sighed aloud and continued with his work. He found manual labour calming when he was upset. If he tried to relax his mind would always focus on what was wrong but when he started working things grew quiet, so work he did. He didn't care how long or how hard he had to work, as long as he didn't have to think about the colossal mistakes he had made. Spike could have been working for minutes or hours, he wouldn't know or care how much time had passed but eventually fate declared it's intentions to him as a slow and hesitant knock reached his ears. Spike replaced the small stack of books he had been carrying on the table and answered the door. He kept his eyes low, staring at the ground with disinterest, as the door arced it's way open. The visitor had alabaster fur that had once been smooth but now was matted and displeasing to behold. The once polished hooves hadn't been maintained properly with the occasional mark or scratch. For a time he didn't dare look up to confirm his suspicions but he was a creature of curiosity and eventually he succumbed to his need to know. The face that greeted his was familiar yet unknown at the same time. The purple mane that had once been expertly cared for and styled was now a tangle of matted hair with split ends that would sent any hairdresser to an early grave. Rarity stood before him with a look a displeasure on her face but that wasn't made the young dragon avert his gaze. He felt terrible for what had happened but he couldn't bare to witness Rarity in this state, and it was all his fault. He couldn't even look her in the eye. Pathetic. "So." Rarity said after a considerable length of time. Her voice was devoid of it's normal cheeriness. "Are you not going to invite us in?" Spike looked up in surprised at both the question and the mention of 'us'. A quick glance revealed a sheepish purple pony hiding behind Rarity who was looking at the both of them nervously. He should have known Twilight would stick her nose where it didn't belong but that's what sister figures do. He didn't have any other options so Spike stepped to the side and gestured for the two to enter. Once they were beyond the buildings threshold Spike closed the door, blocking the ambient sounds of Ponyville and dooming the library to an awkward silence. The three found themselves sitting on cushions around the libraries central table with Spike staring uncomfortably at the table, his nerves refusing to let him look Rarity in the eye. The white mare in turn seemed adamant to not make the first move. Through the void of silence the clock from Twilight's room resounded through the library. Four-hundred and ninety seven. That's how many ticks of the clock it took for Twilight to grow restless. Over eight minutes and neither had even looked at each other. Despite her lack of experience in social matter, even Twilight couldn't help but squirm in the unpleasant atmosphere. They needed something to get them talking and her just sitting there didn't appear to be helping them open up. "Well~" Twilight chirped, trying to put on a convincing smile. "I'm starving. How about I grab us something to eat?" Before waiting for a response she sped out of the room as fast as was appropriate. She had hoped they would start talking things over immediately. She hadn't expected several minutes of intense silence. She hoped that maybe something to eat would calm their nerves... and hers. Maybe some soothing tea and biscuits would be suitable. Rarity and Spike however did not start talking immediately. It seemed that silence would reign forever but boredom has a way of turning things around. It is amazing what someone would do when they were bored. Time had a funny way of stretching itself and soon enough Rarity had run out of things to look at. One could only stare at books for so long before growing to detest them and apparently her patience with them was rather low. She had tried to inspect her hooves but the sight of her neglect was painful to behold. For a moment she had considered simply leaving but she had the suspicion that Twilight would hunt her down and drag her back kicking and screaming. She had told her friend she would do this and Rarity was a mare of her word, no matter how much she hated it. "I'm not going to forgive you." Rarity stated out of nowhere, not turning the the drake. If no one said anything they would be there till the sun went down. She might as well get the first word in. Spike didn't give any indication that he had heard her, in fact he almost seemed lost in thought. Rarity was almost about to repeat herself when she heard his soft reply. "I know." Spike mumbled, his voice barely audible. She almost thought she had imagined the voice, he was that quiet. "I am so sorry, Rarity." "This isn't something you can apologize for." Rarity sighed. "I can forgive a lie, Spike. But you stole something from me. I have never kissed a pony before, correction, had never kissed a pony. Do you know how important a first kiss is to a mare?" "I swear I never meant any of that to happen." Spike muttered solemnly. "All I wanted was for you to see me as something other than just a kid. Things just got out of control." "This is beyond 'a little out of control'." She exclaimed, turning to face the young dragon. "If you don't like the way I act towards you, all you had to do was tell me. I would have listened. Instead you went through this whole charade to get close to me. I understand you didn't intend for it to end out this way but it doesn't matter what you meant to happen. What matters is what did happen and you can't change that." "I know that." He sighed in defeat, his eyes fixed on the floor. "I know that nothing I say can make up for what happened but I really am sorry. It was a stupid mistake and I'll do anything to make amends. I just don't want you to hate me." "Spike... I don't hate you." Rarity features softened as Spiked spoke, his words making her forget her anger for a moment. "I don't really know how I feel. Everything is just so confusing. Even after a few days I still can't get my head around it but I do know one thing. You are one of my best friends, Spike and as much as I think you deserve it I can't bear the thought of losing you." "So you're not angry?" Spike finally raised his head to meet her gaze, the beginning of tears forming. "I wouldn't say that. I'm definitely upset so don't think you're off the hook. I'll be expecting a lot of help around the shop to make up for this but right now... I'll settle for a hug. Sound fair?" "Yeah." Spike nodded sniffled as he wiped the moisture from his eyes. "I can work with that." Rarity held her hoof out and signaled for him to come closer. The young Drake slid over to her and clutched her frame tightly. Rarity gladly returned the hug, a small smile gracing her features. The two held the hug for as long as they could, each trying to hide the blushes that had overcome their cheeks. When the two finally broke apart Rarity couldn't help but let out a short giggle which Spike frowned in confusion at. "I'm sorry, darling." She waved a hoof dismissively. "I just realized how silly this whole situation is. It's like something out of one of those novels I read. "Your books have dragons turning into ponies?" Spike asked in surprise. "Well, not that specific but there is this one where a young commoner pretends to be a prince to win the heart of a lady. It's a long and complicated story but she eventually finds out his secret and she turns him away." "Do they get back together?" The young dragon asked hopefully. "Not right away but after a while, when the young pony becomes a stallion, he returns to her, challenges another stallion who is trying to woo his true love and proves his love and loyalty to her and after that it gets a little..." Rarity coughed nervously as she turned a bright shade of red. "...well it gets a little complicated after that. Let's just say they live happily ever after." "How is that complicated? What happened next?" Spike pushed for more information which only made Rarity get redder and more fidgety. "Anyway!" Rarity looked around anxiously before jumped to her hooves. "I think it will just get awkward if we wait for Twilight to get the snacks. I think I might just go home." Rarity quickly trotted to the door, Spike following just behind. The outside ambiance returned as the wooden door swung open. Spike expected Rarity to leave without another word but it seemed his friend had one last thing to say. "Oh, before I forget. Don't forget to stop by for your suit, darling. You need to look your best for the weekend." "The weekend?" Spike looked bewildered at her. "What's happening then?" "The fashion show, darling." Rarity smiled and for a moment Spike swore she looked like an angel. "Do try to keep up." She chortled and she left, leaving the small dragon in a state of confusion. They were friends again, which brought him joy to no end but the fashion show was meant to be a date wasn't it? Did she want to go as a friend or was this another date? Before he could ponder the situation longer Twilight returned with a tray of tea and biscuits held aloft with her magic, a content smile on her face. "So, did it work?" Twilight grinned as she set the tray down of the table. "Yeah, I think we're good now." Spike smiled as he picked up a biscuits and chomped down on it. "we're going to a fashion show later in the week." "That's fantastic." She exclaimed. "I knew you two just needed some time to sit down and talk. Oh, maybe you could write a letter to Celestia about what you've learned." "Wait, are we still doing that?" Spike asked in surprise. "Well, it couldn't hurt. Plus she hasn't heard from you in a while." Twilight smiled as she summoned a quill and parchment. "And feel free to leave out the reason why you turned into a pony. Just in case." "Twilight..." Spike said, deadpan. "You just don't want to get in trouble, do you?"