//------------------------------//
// Big Decisions 
// Story: Big Decisions 
// by Scavenging Otter 
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	A dim light shined in the basement of the library. Spike tended to the various gems that he grows. Some labeled "Food" while others are labeled "Commissioned by...." It's been years since he grew that fire ruby to which he gave to Rarity. Ever since he started to grow up and became as tall as Twilight, she felt as though he deserved a space of his own for his hobby. Thus the basement of the library became his possession even though Twilight still uses it for research from time to time. He doesn't mind, Spike often enjoys when she works down there with him when he's working on his gems. Having company to talk with him breaks the monotony of the silence when he's generally working alone. 

Today, however, was different. While working on the shaped gem commission that he gets from time to time, there was a visitor at the library. Unknown to who it was, Spike continued to work diligently as this was now his form of income. Being able to grow different gems into various shapes made him more reliable, although time consuming, to get gems that fashion designers want without having to dig up a large amount of gems or sift through hundreds to find the perfect shape they desire. His interest wasn't perked until Twilight had opened the door to the basement. 

Pausing his production of the fluid he puts the gems into to help them crystallize, he turned to her atop the stairs. "Who was at the door?" he asked her. Twilight didn't answer him at first. She just looked at him, admiring how much more responsible he looks ever since he started growing gems for money, making his name rather well known in the fashion industry due to Rarity. She tried not to smile but can't help but feel happy for him. "It was Rarity" she started, "she wanted me to tell you that... well, she says she feels ready to take your relationship to the next level." 

Spike was unsure of what this meant exactly. Every since he started getting older and more mature, Rarity thought it was time that if he really wanted her love he could take it. Ever since then they have been dating for about a solid year or so. "So..." he wondered, "what does that mean exactly?" He puts down his vials and looks at her with his full interest. "Well," Twilight said as she began to descend the steps, "Rarity told me that she feels as though you two have been dating for quite a while and says that she's ready for you to move in with her if you want to." 

Hearing this, Spike was a bit conflicted. It was quite the information to take in but he was unsure if he was ready for such a change. His whole life was spent with Twilight. She was like an older sister to him, sometimes even a mother in some cases. "Well, aren't you excited?" Her voice snapped him out of thought. "O-oh, yeah! Right!" He honestly was, but the thought of leaving still festered in his mind. 

"So, should I start moving your stuff now?" Twilight asked Spike as she eyed his gem growing setup, wondering where Rarity would have the space for this stuff. "No," he stopped her, " I-I mean, not yet. I want to give it a few days before I get going, you know?" Twilight, giving him a questioning look, decides to not press the matter and accepts his decision. "Alright, no real rush. Whenever you're ready just let me and Rarity know. We'll help you get your stuff to her place." As she takes her leave he calls back to her, "Haha, thanks Twilight. I'll let you know." 

After Twilight had left the basement and closed the door leaving Spike alone with his thoughts, he released a deep sigh as he slumped onto his desk. "I don't know what to do" he thought to himself. Deep in his heart he knew this is what he wanted. He had always loved Rarity ever since he first laid eyes on her. The thought of this change, however, has always bothered him. He never truly thought of what would happen when this day came. Even though he loves Rarity, he still loves Twilight just as much. She raised him into the dragon he is today. He wasn't sure he was ready to just up and leave her. 

Soon enough a day had passed. One day turned into two, then into three. Next thing Spike knew it has already been a week. He tried his best to avoid all questions pertaining to him moving in with Rarity, as if to deny the concept completely. This day, however, something was going to change. As Twilight went to visit Rarity, Spike continued to worry in the basement of what to do, just wanting everything to work itself out and everything to be normal again. Wanting the questions to just stop and end these thoughts of his. 


At the boutique sat Twilight as Rarity brought her a cup of tea. "So, what did you want, Rarity?" Twilight asked her. Taking a sip Rarity sighed, "It's about Spike." She looks towards the room that she cleaned out for Spike that he could take for his gem growing hobby and such. "I feel as if he's grown to attached to you," she continued, "he always avoids me, I don't know about you, whenever I bring it up." Although Rarity doesn't know, Twilight has noticed as she nodded to confirm her thoughts. "Do you think..." she pauses, "...You could talk to him about it? I can't keep waiting forever. I need to know if he wants this to happen or if it's going to wait." 

Taking a drink of her tea, Twilight rubs her arm as she thinks about it. "Yeah," she told her, "I'll talk to him about it tomorrow." Rarity smiled at her as she continued. "I think he's just nervous about it. You're the only one he's always wanted ever since we came here you know. I think he's just scared of making such an important decision, he's always had me to help decide what hes wanted." Rarity began to hug Twilight as she thanked her for doing this. "But," Twilight started, "I'm going to need you to do something for me." 


The next morning Spike was woken up by Twilight. "Come on, Spike! Get up, we're going out today." Trying to shake her off and continue to sleep, he turned his back to her. "Ugh," he grumbled, "Why? Where are we going? Can't I just sleep in today?" Twilight gave a sigh and used her magic to forcibly remove him from his bed. "Hey! Whats the big deal!?" She took him outside and set him down. "We're going to have fun today," she told him. "You've been festering in that basement for the past week and have been avoiding everyone, so we're going out today to have fun in town." At first Spike was feeling nervous about it because she mentioned how he was avoiding everyone. Although he felt more at ease when he thought that Twilight just wanted him to cheer up. 

The two spent the whole day together. It felt somewhat like a date to Spike. They went and had breakfast together and talked at the cafe. They went to the market place and walked around and visited the nearby stores and bought some snacks and things. At lunch they went to the restaurant in town and Twilight listened to Spike as he talked about his gem growing and how it works and such. Later that evening they went to the bowling alley and played a few games as Spike said Twilight was cheating with her magic. That night she decided they could skip dinner and go straight to dessert as they went to sugar cube corner and hung out with Pinkie as they bought some sweets and some to take home. 

Once they had arrived at home and settled down in the living room, the mood was interrupted by Twilight. "Spike," she called to him, "We need to talk now." Spike's joy immediately turned to worry as he knew what she wanted to talk to him about as he tried to avoid it. "I don’t want-" as she interrupted him. "I know you don't," she said, "but even if you don't want to, we have to." He couldn't even look at her. She got close to him and put a hoof on his shoulder. He looked up at her as she had a worried look on her face. "I just....I.. I don't." Spike stopped, he couldn't think about it straight. 

"Spike," Twilight spoke softly, "I know this is hard for you." As she spoke, Spike began to breath heavily trying to hold his emotions back. "This is a big decision for you to make, but you need to understand that you need to make this. You can't just ignore it, this is important." He choked a bit and then fell into her as he hugged her tightly. She hugged him back as he began to sob lightly, trying not to break down into a full cry. 

He held her tightly as he tried to talk with his shaky voice. "Please, Twilight, don’t force me to leave. I don't know what to do, I don’t know what I should do." As he got louder he began to let go more and more as he continued to talk, soon crying without knowing why. "I want to do this, but I just can't. Why can't this just end. I don't want to leave you, but I do love Rarity. I can't help it, I just-" Twilight cut him off as she patted him on his back as she calmed him down. 

"Shhhh," she said softly between his sobs, pulling him closer to herself. She knew that he wanted to leave, but she knew in his heart he didn't want to leave her just as much as he wanted to love Rarity. "Shhhh, Spike, it's okay," she assured him, "everything will be fine." As he started to calm down, she pushed him back by his shoulders and looked him in the eyes as he tried to do the same. "Twilight," he started, only to be cut off by her again. 

"Listen, Spike, this is important. You're not a baby dragon anymore. You're practically an adult now. These decisions are for you to make. I'm not forcing you to leave, but I'm not gonna make you stay either. If you want to stay, that's your decision, but if you want your love with Rarity to bloom, you know you'll have to leave at some point." She stopped for a moment to wipe away his tears as she tried to hold back hers, failing miserably as her eyes began to water and a few tears escaped them. 

"One day you would grow up and make your own decisions in life. You forge the path ahead of you now. I led you here, and now you need to carry on with or without me. I can't make your life choices for you forever, you need to learn that you're growing up." Now completely unable to hold back her tears as they stream from her face, she continued. "I'll always be proud of you Spike, and you'll always be my number one assistant no matter what." Immediately hearing this, Spike pulls her close as she now breaks down with him. 

The two hold each other for what seemed like years. In the end, Spike accepts that he is growing up and needs to accept responsibility. Between the sobs they spoke. "You think...." he started, "you think I should?" She wiped his tears as she looked at his face. "I know you should, and deep down in your heart, I know that you know." He placed his hand upon her face as he looked at her. "But....what about you?" 

She gave him a smile as she rubbed his face lightly. "Spike, you don't need to worry about me" she told him. "I'll always be here in Ponyville if you want to visit. Whenever you want no matter the reason. You'll always be welcome to visit anytime." Spike gave her one last big hug, holding her tightly as she hugged him back. "You should leave tonight," she continued, "Rarity is probably waiting for you." Holding her tightly, Spike wished this moment could last forever. "Okay." 


After Twilight escorted Spike to the boutique, she gave him a kiss on the cheek and tells him to take care of himself, it's not so bad. After he closed the door Rarity came to him and gave him a hug. "I know this is hard for you, darling. If you need to go to the library to sate your home sickness and to help you adjust to such a big change, please don't hesitate to do so." As he held her, he noticed a box in her tail. "Whats with the box?" 

She levitated it out and took a step back to allow him to receive it. "Twilight wanted me to give you this," Rarity says. "I'll give you a moment, come to bed whenever you're ready." She left him to ponder the contents of the box as he took a seat in a nearby chair to open it. He choked a little as he tried to hold back his tears. Inside the box is a mangled looking heart shaped amethyst embedded into a gold necklace. Under the necklace was a note. Tears begin to steam down his cheeks as he read it. Looking at the necklace, he held it close to his heart as he put it on. 

"Dear Spike, 

I know how much you love gems. I also know how hard to work to make gems. I'm so proud to see you find something you can do that you enjoy doing and able to make money off of it. I was honestly surprised when you came to me with your first commission for a star shaped sapphire, especially with the price they were willing to pay you to make it. Before I took you out today, I knew in the end you would have chosen to be with Rarity. Even before then I knew that one day this would come. With all the knowledge that you've given me, and from what i learned from studying your set up, I decided to do a side project of my own. It didn't turn out as great as the fire ruby you gave to Rarity so many years ago, but I tried to emulate it at least. I won't be able to do it as much as you do, but maybe in the future I can improve and give you a proper one. You can thank Rarity for making it a necklace for you, though, I thought it would be nice to have rather than just dumb old gem lying around. If you ever need me or just want to visit, you know where to find me. I love you, Spike. " 

As he made his way to the bedroom, he found the room that Rarity made for his gem growing equipment. Everything was already there. He put the box on his desk with the note still inside, leaving the necklace to lay atop the box. With Rarity already settled in bed, he entered the room. "You feeling alright darling?" she asks him. He swallowed his emotions as he made his way towards the bed. Pulling the covers up so he could slide in, he cuddled with Rarity. "Yeah," he said, "everything is going to be fine."