//------------------------------//
// #16 - Spike's Friendship Triangle [new chapters being added between #14 and #16] 
// Story: The "Season 11" Project! -- Camp Harmony! (And What Is Patriotism?) 
// by starponys87 
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Section #1:

Once again, it was nighttime in Ponyville. At the Carousel Boutique, Spike was modeling again for Rarity. He was wearing a cheerleader outfit. The skirt covered his feet.

"Just a few more measurements, Spikey," said Rarity -- and then we'll get to the boy's outfit!"

Rarity was now doing some final measurements, carrying her tape measure with her horn.

"I'm glad I could help!" said Spike. "By the way, how do you use me as a model -- if the outfits you're making are too big for me?"

"I've used you for so long," replied Rarity -- "I know how to adjust the outfits accordingly!"

As the two spoke, Rarity measured the length of the shirt. Then she measured the length of the skirt. Finally, she measured the waistline, the "chest line", and the collar. (There were no sleeves, so that was a step she could skip.)

"Perfect!" said Rarity. "I now have what I need to make all five!"

"Whew!" sighed Spike with relief. "I could use a rest."

With her horn, Rarity took the cheerleader outfit off of Spike.

"Thank you so much, my little Spikey," said Rarity, "for modeling these cheerleader outfits! When my sister and her friends see their new dresses, I'm sure they will be cheering!"

Rarity now brought the boy's cheerleader outfit. It looked like a sleeveless shirt (no skirt).

"Rumble's cheerleader outfit should take only a minute," said Rarity. "He wanted just a shirt, so that makes things much simpler."

Rarity dressed Spike up with the boy's outfit. "I wish Sweetie Belle loved designing clothes as much as you do!"

"Well," said Spike, clearing his throat ... "if you want to know the truth ... it's mainly because I love to make you happy."

Rarity gasped with surprise. Her horn lost grip on the tape measure, and it dropped onto the floor. "You mean ... you were pretending to enjoy being my assistant?"

"Wait! Wait!" stammered Spike. "That's ... that's ..."

Rarity sighed. She hung her head. "You ... you love to do everything together with me. ... Or ... at least ... that was what I thought ..."

"I just wanted you to be my friend," protested Spike. "When I first met you, I was in love, don't you know? All I wanted was for you to love me back!"

For a moment, Rarity was speechless. "I ... I do, Spike! When ... when you started making friends with Gabby ... I missed having you around ..."

Spike sat on the floor. "I do all these things to make you happy. But how much do you think about me? And not just what I can do for you?"

"Don't I do nice things for you, too?" Rarity was shocked, and getting a bit alarmed. "Don't you love the presents I've given to you? And my hugs and kisses?"

"But was it ever for me? Or were you just trying to be popular?"

Rarity sighed again. Then she started to sniffle, her eyes getting wet.

"I confess!" wailed Rarity. "Too many times, I've taken advantage of you. You were willing to do just about everything for me ... and I ... I couldn't resist ... I'm such a terrible friend!"

Rarity sat on the floor. With her hooves over her eyes, she continued to cry.

Spike was taken aback. By now, he knew that Rarity could be a drama queen. But this time, it seemed more serious.

Spike took off Rumble's cheerleader shirt. He flew to another part of the room. With the help of his wings, Spike pushed that long red chair that looked kind of like a sofa -- the thing that Rarity loved to lie down on when having a breakdown. (This sofa-chair was called a "chaise longue".) He pushed the chaise longue to Rarity and set it just behind her.

Again, with the help of his wings, Spike dragged Rarity onto the sofa-chair. Rarity was now lying against the headrest, with her neck against that pillow shaped like a cylinder.

Spike now hovered above Rarity. He descended toward her, now hovering only inches above her.

"It's all right, Rarity," he tried to assure her.

"No, it's not!" she cried.

"I know what you feel. I know what it's like to be greedy. I once turned into a giant monster, you know, who nearly destroyed Ponyville. But then you reminded me how fun it can be to give -- and not just to take. When I realized I didn't want to live without your friendship, I couldn't stand to be filled with greed and hate. That is one thing you've done for me -- and not just for your glory."

"You were more generous than me," said Rarity. "I didn't really teach you the joy of giving. You learned it for yourself -- doing it for someone who pretended to appreciate it ... until the day it saved her and everything she loved."

As Rarity spoke, she sat back up. Spike moved out of the way and landed on the floor. He now stood on the ground, continuing to face her.

"To be fair," admitted Spike, "when I first saw you, I wasn't really thinking of you as a friend. You were this pretty, beautiful thing -- and I wanted to keep you all to myself. Could it be ... that most of my greed was ... my dangerous obsession with you?"

Rarity started to smile again. She laughed a little, and so did Spike.

"I'm really proud of how you've grown!" said Rarity. "You're not the silly little boy you were when I first met you. You're now a true ambassador of friendship!"

"I'm really proud of you, too!" said Spike. "You're no longer the self-absorbed gold digger who could just barely bear the Element of Generosity. Finally, you actually deserve to be popular!"

Rarity was shocked by that remark. For a moment, her teeth ground with anger. But then she hung her head, realizing he was probably right.

With her horn, Rarity picked up Spike. As she reclined on her chaise longue, she placed him on her lap.

"When I first met you, I made you think I was your best friend. I loved having you as my servant, and all you seemed to want was a few hugs and kisses in return. I was being mean to you. But I didn't want to admit it."

Spike laughed. "Sometimes I feel Twilight is no better. Yet she's called the Princess of Friendship!"

Then Spike sighed. "How is it that Twilight is so attached to me -- yet sometimes I feel she doesn't think much of me? How much does she care how I feel?"

"The girls all care about you," said Rarity. "But maybe we've often seen you as a pet, rather than a full member of our family."

"Let's write a new chapter in our book!" Spike pulled out a scrapbook that contained pictures of him and Rarity. He turned to the first blank page (more than halfway through the book), and then he pulled out a quill pen. "Let's be what we were meant to be all along!"

"I want to believe that I'm your best friend," said Rarity. "But I know you really love Gabby now. I suppose you're already over me."

"Don't get me wrong," said Spike. "I haven't made my mind yet. But you know what's so funny?"

"What's that?"

"I don't think I completely appreciated you as a friend ... until I got over my puppy love for you. You were an object of my desire. You are a pretty face. But now I see so much more in you!"

"Even if we are just friends," said Rarity, "can we still hug and kiss?"

"I don't see why not," said Spike. He tossed aside the scrapbook and quill pen. "You're like family to me. You're like a big sister!"

With Spike still in her lap, she gave him a great hug and kissed his cheek. Spike did the same for her.

As they exchanged their affection, Spike glowed a faint yellow once more.


Section #2:

With a big smile, Gabby flew to the Carousel Boutique. She knocked on the door.

"Rarity!" she called, bubbled up with excitement. "I can hardly wait to try on my new cheerleader outfit! Is it ready yet!?"

Gabby waited a few moments, but there was no response. Gabby knocked again.

"Are you there, Rarity?" she called.

Gabby grew a little concerned. "Where could she be?"

Gabby hopped to one of the windows. She looked inside.

Back inside the Boutique, Rarity was lying down again in her chaise longue. But this time, she was not distressed. Instead, she was relaxing. And Spike was relaxing on her belly, his arms wrapped around her.

"You know, Rarity," said Spike, with a warm smile, "when I'm in your arms, I feel so safe and warm!"

"And when you're by my side," replied Rarity, "I feel you're my knight in shining armor!"

Spike climbed up Rarity and gave her another kiss. Rarity kissed him again. Spike glowed even brighter, with his mysterious yellow aura.

Gabby gasped with horror.

She stormed to the door. She burst into the store -- and marched toward Spike and Rarity.

"Spike!" scolded Gabby. "What do you think you're doing!"

Spike gasped with surprise.

"We're just hugging and kissing," protested Rarity. "Do you have a problem with that?"

"Yes I do!"

Gabby walked toward Spike. "Spike! Come with me!"

Spike looked nervously toward her.

"Now!" demanded Gabby.

Spike jumped off of Rarity. He hovered in front of Gabby, his yellow glow fading away.


Section #3:

Gabby stormed out of the Carousel Boutique, with Spike flying just behind her. With her hind foot, she slammed the door shut. She now walked toward the street.

"I can't believe you, Spike!" exclaimed Gabby. "I thought I was your best friend. But now I see you're still hugging and kissing Rarity!"

"Rarity is my friend, too!" protested Spike. "She's like family to me! I can't believe that you, of all creatures, would have a problem with it!"

"How did you expect me to feel!"

Spike started to burn with anger. He flew in front of Gabby (now flying backward) and looked her in the eye. "You don't own me, you know!"

Gabby stopped in her tracks. She was kind of surprised by Spike's outburst.

Spike hovered in front of Gabby. "I am best friends with Rarity. I am best friends with Smolder, Ember, Thorax, and possibly a few others. They all feel like family to me!"

Gabby was speechless. Then she protested, "I thought we had something special!"

Spike's eyes got a little wet with anger. "You're acting like a jealous girlfriend! It seems to me that you want to keep me all to yourself! I won't let you do that. That is not how friendship works! If I can't have my other friends, then I don't want you!"

Gabby paused for a couple moments. Her eyes started to get wet.

Then she started crying like a baby, wailing toward the moon.

Spike was stunned. He started to feel a little bad about the way he spoke to the sensitive gryphon.

Gabby sat on the ground, on the grass beside the street. She cried into her hands.

"I want to think the best of you," sobbed Gabby ... "I really do. ... I ... I don't want to lose you as my friend. It would break my heart. ... I got jealous ... and had it in my head that you were cheating on me. ... But I guess it was all my imagination."

Spike landed on the ground. He sat in front of her.

"It's all right," assured Spike. "I don't want to lose you, either."

"You don't understand!" Gabby cried out. "Everyone thinks I'm so happy, naive, and trusting of everyone. But they forget where I come from. In Griffonstone, I could never count on anyone -- except sometimes Gallus and occasionally Gilda. Gallus was my best friend before I met the Cutie Mark Crusaders. And they were my best friends before I met you!"

Screeching with anger and frustration, Gabby cried like an eagle.

"The day you said you were too tired to go out with me ... and then I saw you playing a game with Rarity ... I thought you'd lied to me!"

"I didn't mean to lie!" cried Spike. "I didn't even know what was happening! One moment, you were my friend ... the next moment you seemed to hate my guts. If Rarity hadn't confessed that she was to blame, I don't know if you ever would've forgiven me. You seemed so angry and unforgiving ... I never expected that out of you! I felt so rotten! I thought it was all my fault!"

Spike roared with anger and frustration, blowing a great flame of fire into the sky.

"Maybe you're right," wept Gabby. "If it weren't for some guardian angel, I might have stayed angry at you forever."

Spike sighed. "I feel the same way about Twilight. When some lowlife dragon pretended to be my father, he caused me to hate Twilight -- the one who'd cared for me since she hatched me. If Smolder hadn't stepped in, I might have forgotten all my friendship lessons! I might have become a giant greedy monster all over again, and this time forever! I was that desperate to be like my father -- and win his approval!"

Spike hung his head. "And you know what's ironic ... I was the one who introduced friendship to other dragons ... along with changelings."

Gabby wrapped her arm around Spike. "It seems that both of us have been tempted beyond what we could handle. But each time, the spirit of friendship gave us the friend we needed to save us. When we were too weak, someone else made us strong!"

Gabby took a few deep breaths. "I confess, Spike -- I have some serious trust issues. More than I knew."

"I guess I do, too," said Spike. "Like, sometimes I don't feel I know who Twilight is. Am I her son ... her little brother ... her pet ... her servant? I know she's deeply attached to me ... she might surrender her kingdom just to save me ... but somehow, I feel she's kind of selfish and insensitive. For a Princess of Friendship, she leaves me confused."

Spike also took a few deep breaths. "But I could never leave her, knowing I literally mean the world to her. I guess ... I guess ... I'm like her favorite teddy bear ... or a precious jewel ... or a little dog? I'm her most valued possession. She's the Princess of Friendship ... but I don't feel she loves me as a friend. I guess I didn't know how to put it into words ... until now."

Spike hugged Gabby, clinging to her. Once more, his body started to glow yellow. "Twilight is the most wonderful princess I know. She doesn't expect her subjects to bow to her. I don't think she even wants to call them her subjects. I think she just wants to call them her friends. The way she treats her fellow ponies, it is a great inspiration to me. So what makes me feel separated from her?"

Spike cried into Gabby's fur. "Maybe it's because I'm a lost dragon in a pony world. Maybe it's because ponies don't understand dragons very well. How can I think the worst of Twilight? She's one of the kindest creatures I know. I think she just doesn't know what she's doing. If I told her how I feel, would she brush me off? Or would she work hard to make things right? Shouldn't I know by now?"

Spike's body glowed brighter. "I'm so proud of Twilight. She's not the unicorn she was when she first moved to Ponyville. She cares far more about me now. But old habits are hard to break ... and sometimes we have bad habits without realizing it."

Gabby sniffled. Her eyes were still wet, but she started to smile. "I guess we just have a hard time trusting other creatures -- even when there's nothing to fear. And sometimes we think too much about the bad and fail to enjoy the good."

"I feel kind of broken inside," said Spike. "And it seems you feel the same way. We could be broken together -- and comfort each other!"

Spike glowed even brighter. "Wouldn't it be ironic ... if our trust issues proved to be the thing that brings us closer than ever?"

Now Gabby clung to Spike. "I swear, my dear Spikey -- from now on, I will always trust you. Innocent until proven guilty!"

"Same with you," said Spike, clinging tighter to her. "I love both you and Rarity. And I love Smolder, Ember, and Thorax. You are all the best friends I've ever known. One of these days ... I hope there's a creature I can be more than just friends with. I feel you might be the one ... but I have no serious plans at this time."

"Sometimes," said Gabby, "I think romance stinks. I think it ruins too many friendships."

"Sometimes," said Spike, "I think the same way. I don't want to 'just' be friends. I want to be friends for the love of friendship. Maybe my romantic interest won't actually be my best friend -- just a good friend who enjoys having fun with me. Romance and friendship are very different things."

"Can I kiss you just the same?" asked Gabby.

"Of course! You're like a sister to me, too!"

Gabby gave Spike a big kiss on the cheek. Then she rubbed her beak against his snout. Spike did the same in return. Now Spike glowed so bright that both of them had to close their eyes.

Rarity walked out of the Carousel Boutique. With her horn, she was carrying the six cheerleader outfits. She saw Gabby and Spike on the grass beside the street.

Gabby was lying on the grass. Spike was resting on her belly, giving her a big hug. Spike was still shining bright yellow. Standing some distance away, Rarity found the light to be very bright -- but she didn't have to squint her eyes.

Spike climbed up Gabby's belly and gave her another kiss. Gabby did the same for him.

Rarity watched the scene with loving eyes. Her eyes began to water, but she was more happy than sad.

"My dear Spikey!" she said softly to herself. "I think you've finally found the friend you deserve. I think she connects with you more than I ever could. Just as you started falling out of love, I started falling in love. But now I'm ready to let go ... and learn how to be a real friend for you. And a real friend would want you to be free. Go on, Spikey! Enjoy your new life with Gabby!"

As Rarity spoke, she, too, started to glow. She glowed bright green. The light was so bright that it shone into Spike and Gabby's eyes.

Spike and Gabby looked toward the light, squinting their eyes.

Gabby watched with amazement. Rarity was floating a few inches above the ground. Spike also watched with amazement.

"Rarity," said Spike softly to himself, "you're no longer just a popular girl. You're now the kind of friend who deserves to be popular. I know there's a special creature out there ... who will fall in love with the power of your generosity!"