//------------------------------// // Too Much Affection // Story: No Room to Admire // by Draconian Soul //------------------------------// “Spike! Could you be a dear and help me clean up this fabric?” The silver mare levitated her pin cushion and stored it on the shelf, making sure she put everything back in place. Trailing behind her was the love-struck purple drake, following every one of her request. “Yes my lady!” Spike gushed eager to help his Goddess with anything she needed. He picked up Rarity’s organized chaos and placed them on the racks. He loved being around Rarity. Every moment the young dragon was around her he felt his heart skip a beat and he longed to be around her more and more. “Done!” he announced proudly as Rarity beamed with joy patting him on the head. “Why thank you Spikey-Wikey! You’ve been a big help today; if only a certain somepony else was as reliable as you were.” Rarity sighed referring to her little sister. “Ah, it’s nothing,” Spike blushed, rocking back and forth. “I’m always willing to help. Is there anything else you could possibly need?” Rarity put a hoof to her chin and pondered on it for a moment. “No. I think you’ve done enough for the day.” “Are you sure?” Spike continued, nearly begging for the chance to help Rarity further. “I mean, I could do the dishes, or maybe your bathroom needs cleaning, or…” Spike was interrupted by a soft hoof to his lips, silencing him. “It’s fine Spike.” Rarity said warmly. “You’ve done enough today already. Go home and rest okay?” Her eyes were nearly hypnotizing to Spike. He couldn’t look away from her dazzling gaze, fabricating a mental picture far more beautiful than the situation he was in. “OK.” He replied dreamily. “And for your hard work in the past few days, I think you deserve something special for your efforts.” “Pfft! Nah it’s alright! There’s no need…to…” he lost his train of thought as Rarity levitated a radiant clean cut amethyst over him. His mouth was salivating uncontrollably over the treat that was dangling over him. Rarity couldn’t help but chuckle. ““I knew my little helper would appreciate such a divine gem. I hope you enjoy your snack Spike.” Her silky words sent shivers down his spine. Spike found it hard to put his words together coherently and started to mumble. “Th..thanks. It’s really…nice,” The purple drake managed to stammer out, too stunned at both the beauty of the gem and Rarity. She just warmly smiled at him. “Well you better be off. It’s getting late and I’m sure a certain somepony wouldn’t like her number one assistant being out all night now would she?” Spike groaned at that realization. He knew how Twilight was when he didn’t get back at the agreed time to help around the library. “You’re right. I guess I should get going then. See you tomorrow then?” “But of course!” Rarity smiled, waving at his departure. “Have a good night, Spikey Wikey!” “Yeah…goodnight.” Spike replied, walking out of the boutique and into the darkening streets. He held the gem to his chest and sighed dreamily, swooning over the unicorn that stole his heart. With a goofy grin set on his face, he merrily skipped towards the library. As Spike was heading home, he couldn’t help but think about Rarity, making him happier and happier. The time spent with her made Spike jump with joy and sent his soul ablaze. “Hello Twilight!” he exclaimed enthusiastically causing Twilight to smirk a little. “Well it looks like Romeo had a good time today,” Twilight teased setting down a book she was reading. “Why shouldn’t I be?” Spike gasped, shocked Twilight would suggest otherwise. “I mean, I get to be around the most beautiful pony in all of Equestria. She’s radiant, stunning, just out of this…” “Spike, you’re monologuing again,” Twilight rolled her eyes with a slight smile. “I can’t help it! It’s almost unbearable for me not to be around her! I mean, you wouldn’t understand since you don’t really have anyone interested in you, but I feel like I need to always be there!” Twilight groaned at Spike’s intense admiration (as well as his quip towards her love life). “Spike, don’t you think you might be a little too eager to see her?” “I don’t know what you mean,” Spike replied innocently setting down his amethyst in a safe area so it wouldn’t shatter. “You’ve visited her every day for the past few weeks.” “And?” “Every time she goes shopping you offer to carry her bags back home. Don’t you think that’s a little excessive?” “I’m just being a gentledrake whenever possible!” he defended loudly. “There’s nothing wrong with that!” “You even offered to help give her a bath before!” This accusation made Spike blush a little. “Well…I offer to give you baths too.” “That’s different!” Twilight retorted. “How? I’m giving you a bath out of the kindness of my heart when you can’t get to those hard to reach places so I don’t see why I couldn’t do the same for her! Not like she accepted it anyways.” Spike grumbled upset with that fact. “Well gee I wonder why.” Spike sighed and sat at the table with Twilight listening to what she needed to say. “Listen Spike, I know you admire her, but you have to learn when enough is enough. She might not tell you this, but you can be a little too affectionate and it might disturb her a bit. Wouldn’t you be annoyed after a while if Rarity constantly bothered you all day every day?” Spike sat and thought of that possibility. A vivid picture of Rarity nuzzling the little drake eagerly brought a dopey grin to his face. Oh Spikey Wikey! I never ever want to leave your side. Can you keep me company for the rest of the day? Pretty please? The cheesy dialogue playing in his head caused his cheeks to warm up as his grin began to spread more. Twilight knew what was going on in his brain and planted a hoof on her face. “You know what…forget I even asked that question,” Twilight sighed giving up on trying to explain to Spike. “At any rate, it’s getting late. You should get ready for bed.” “Huh wha…” Spike still in a daze clumsily responded to the purple mare. “Oh yeah, sure.” Snapping out of his fantasies, he trailed upstairs and headed towards his bed. While Twilight fell asleep with ease, Spike was lying in the bed thinking back on what Twilight said. Wouldn’t you be annoyed after a while if Rarity constantly bothered you all day every day? His mind then began to filter the filler and formed the words in his own way. Rarity…all day every day. All day every day… He once again began to smile, snuggling into his covers. “Yeah…being with Rarity, every day for an entire day…” He said to himself softly. “But she doesn’t show the same interest in me as I do her. There’s no way she would agree to be with me for that long.” He sighed in defeat, staring out of the window. A noticeably bright star twinkled in the night sky, illuminating the darkness. An innocent sliver of hope beamed on his face as he closed his eyes and used the star as his wishing tool. Eventually, the young drake fell into slumber with a grin still painted on his face. Spike began to grunt as the rays from the sun illuminated the room. Eyes half closed, he sat up in his bed and rubbed his eyes, trying to get rid of any tiredness he still had. He groggily got out of the bed and headed downstairs to get him something to drink. Twilight was already down, eating a salad at the table. “So I see someone decided to wake up finally!” Twilight said in a snarky tone causing Spike to role his eyes in tired agitation. “Yeah yeah. I’ll deal with your sarcasm after I get me some cocoa.” The snarky tone was returned in full as Spike headed to the kitchen to grab a mug and boil him some water for his cocoa. Using his flames, he heated the pan to quicken the pace. Knock Knock! “Spike, could you get that for me?” Twilight asked. “Not now! My hands are kind of full. You know, cocoa and such,” replied Spike sarcastically, ignoring Twilight’s request. Twilight mumbled under her breath and went to go answer the door. She swung her front door open surprised to find Rarity outside looking a bit more lively than usual. “Hello Twilight,” Rarity greeted her friend. “Rarity, you’re here quite early,” Twilight replied. “Did you need anything here?” Rarity cleared her throat. “Yes actually.” She leaned in looking around eagerly, causing Twilight to stare at her in confusion. “Is Spikey in here? I need to ask him something.” Twilight blinked slightly. Rarity has never actively sought out Spike, at least not in the manner she was doing. “Yeah, he’s here. I’ll see if he isn’t so busy anymore when I tell him Rarity’s looking for him.” Twilight flinched as she heard shattering glass from the kitchen. Spike swiftly ran towards the front door to confront the mare of his dreams with love struck eyes. “He..hello Rarity!” Spike enthusiastically greeted stumbling slightly over his words. “Did you want me for anything?” “Well sweety, if you don’t mind I’m going gem collecting this morning, and I could use someone as helpful as you to help me dig them up! That is, if you don’t mind.” “Mind!? Of course I don’t mind!” Spike answered enthusiastically. His eagerness was rewarded with Rarity picking him up and nudging his cheeks. “Oh thank you thank you thank you!” Rarity squealed in delight. Spike’s felt as if his heart was going to burst out of his chest. “Come on. Let’s go ahead and get started shall we?” “Yeah, sure…” Spike dreamily responded practically floating behind her. “See ya later Twilight.” “Wait Spike, you didn’t…” before she could finish, the door closed in her face. “…clean up the mess you made.” She let out an exasperated sigh. “I wonder why Rarity was so happy to see Spike?” she thought to herself. “I mean, she’s generally very pleasant to him, but she was practically gushing over him.” She decided to shrug it off and focus on the bigger issue at hand. She grabbed a mop and broom and headed towards the kitchen. “Don’t expect me to clean up after you again…especially since you broke my favorite mug.” <3 With combined effort, Rarity and Spike gathered a vast assortment of gems from the local mountain range. The haul was bountiful and was surely able to supply Rarity for months to come. “We found quite the bounty today, didn’t we?” she commented smiling at the purple drake. “Thanks to you of course Spikey Wikey.” Spike’s cheeks turned a hint of red. “Ah, it’s nothing really,” he said, kicking at the ground giddily. “I guess we should start heading back so you can finish doing…whatever it is you need to do.” “Why do you sound like I’m sending you off Spike?” she asked in a puzzled manner. “Well, you generally like to have space when you do your fashion pieces, and as much as I want to help…” Rarity interrupted him there by placing a gem inside his mouth. Spike stared at her wide eyed wondering as she came closer to him. “If you want to help, I won’t stop you. I was actually hoping that you could accompany me for the rest of the day!” “Reafly?” he muffled with the gem still in his mouth. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “Spike, it isn’t polite to talk with your mouth full,” Rarity giggled as Spike’s purple cheeks soon were engulfed in red. “And of course; I figured you might want to help me, and to be honest I could use the company. I even took the liberty to prepare those diamond crusted cookies you seem to like. So, would you like to spend the day with me?” Spike couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Rarity, the mare he dreamed about constantly, the one who he couldn’t get enough of wanted him to spend the day with him. Spike nodded his head with vigor with gem still stuffed in him mouth. “Well then what are we still doing standing here?” she stated lifting up Spike with her magic and placing him on her back. “We still have a whole day ahead of us darling!” <3 Rarity was humming to herself while Spike was trailing behind her gazing at her beauty. Though he was delighted to be with his princess, he had trouble understanding why she was being so eager to be with him. “Rarity?” Spike started walking beside her. “Hmmm?” she responded still humming. “Well…it’s just…” Spike rubbed his head awkwardly, trying to make sense of it. “…you seemed really eager for me to help you.” Rarity’s eyebrows rose seemingly offended. “What, are you saying that I’m desperate right now?” “Wait no!” Spike exclaimed in frenzy. “I didn’t mean it like…” Rarity giggled at Spike’s attempt to correct himself. “Oh I’m just teasing Spike. I know what you meant.” Spike calmed down a little, but his face slightly flushed in embarrassment. “But why wouldn’t I want to be around you? You’re a very dashing, young dragon and a very helpful one at that. I find it very rewarding to be around you.” “Re…rewarding?” Spike’s heart was racing at this point. He couldn’t believe the pleasant words he was receiving. “You sound so surprised by this.” Rarity planted a small kiss on Spike’s cheeks. It took every force in his body not to collapse right there. “How else can I describe one of the most wonderful gentledrakes I’ve ever met?” “I’m the only gentledrake you’ve ever met,” Spike responded giggling awkwardly. “Well I don’t see why any of that should matter,” she replied pulling Spike closer to her. “All that matters is that you’re my little Spikey Wikey, and nothing will ever change that!” The amount of affection he was getting was unreal. The drake soon found his emerald scales turning a shade of ruby, and his eyes filled with love-struck gazes. This is going to be a good day, a good day indeed. They eventually made it to the boutique to go through their normal work routine. Spike assisted with whatever Rarity needed while she sewed and weaved her fabric into perfection. This normal ritual continued until Rarity managed to finish her current projects. “Well, it looks like we’re finished for the day,” Spike sighed, “I better head back to Twilight.” Rarity turned swiftly once she heard that Spike intended to leave her. “And why would you do that?” she practically whined. “Well, we finished all the stuff you needed, and there’s nothing else I could possibly do. I just thought that since you were done with this, I wouldn’t be of much use to you.” Rarity made light tsking sounds and smiled softly at Spike. “Well you thought wrong darling. If there’s anything I’m not, that would be a liar. I meant it when I said we would spend the day together; these projects were only a small part of our planned day!” Spike’s hope instantly shot back up. “So that means that…” His thoughts were interrupted by a set of lips hitting his forehead. His eyes widened and his body felt heavy; any attempt to stay balanced was destroyed as he fell to the ground, melting in bliss and happiness. Rarity could not contain her giggling sounds. “Oh Spikey, I can assure you that you and me both are going to enjoy ourselves.” For that entire day, the two deemed inseparable. Spike followed Rarity wherever she went, and Rarity made sure Spike was well taken care of. She fed him gems by hand, took him to the spa with her, allowing him to enter with her, and even made him a nice outfit. When they were tired from all the activity, they rested side by side under a shady tree, Rarity’s arms wrapped around a kiss coated dragon that happily nestled against his love. However, as much as they enjoyed each other’s company Luna was about to unveil her night sky and they had to part. Rarity and Spike walked to the library, preparing to say their goodbyes. “I must say, this was the most fun I had in a long time!” Rarity complemented Spike, pulling him in for a hug. “I did too,” he responded warmly. “However, you didn’t have to walk me home. Not that I don’t mind, but I can handle myself out here; this isn’t really a dangerous neighborhood so I can easily take care of myself.” “But it is late, and if anything was to happen to my precious Spikey Wikey I wouldn’t be able to forgive myself!” She lifted Spike up with her hooves and planted a kiss on his cheek. His entire face at this point was caked in lipstick from Rarity kissing him. “So, same time tomorrow?” The moonlit stars made her eyes glow. She looked even more beautiful to Spike than ever. “Yeah…same time tomorrow.” The two parted with each other and Spike watched his silver goddess trot away. When she finally disappeared he skipped into the library giggling merrily. “Looks like someone had a good time today.” Twilight said gaining the young dragons attention. “Yeah, you can say that,” he said with a high sense of confidence in his voice. “Rarity couldn’t get enough of me today! Turns out I’m a real lady killer.” Twilight rolled her eyes at Spike’s excessive gloating. “So how was your day Twilight?” “Oh it was great Spike! I love cleaning up broken bits of glass because you didn’t decide to clean it up yourself,” she sarcastically stated glaring at Spike. “Well glad you had an eventful day,” Spike responded oblivious to the tone Twilight had given him. “I should probably get some rest though. Rarity and I are going to have another day out tomorrow.” “Don’t think this will excuse you from your duties though,” Twilight commented as Spike began walking up the steps. “I’m glad you’re having fun, but I still need your help around here.” “Relax, I’ll still make time to help you when you need it,” Spike assured. “I’m sure this will only be a brief thing.” Rarity made it her mission to spend every waking moment with the little dragon. Spike made sure to enjoy the moments he had for he figured that they wouldn’t last long. However, as the days passed, Rarity seemed to become even more obsessed and longing to see him more. The idea of having Rarity constantly around was thrilling to Spike. Thrilling until it she started being needier, latching onto in almost every situation giving him very little room to breathe, or even admire Rarity’s beauty. As much as Spike hated to admit it, he was starting to receive too much of her beauty. “Yet another wonderful day with my precious Spikey Wikey!” proclaimed Rarity in a childlike bliss. “I’ll be sure to come get you again tomorrow!” She grabbed Spike and trapped him into a suffocating hug, causing him to struggle. “Rarity…can’t…breathe…” Spike wheezed trying to break away from Rarity’s grasp. “Oh, sorry!” Rarity responded loosening her grip on him. “I just get so excited when I’m around my favorite little dragon!” “Yeah, about that…” Spike began, “I don’t know if we should meet at our normal time tomorrow.” It was really tearing Spike up inside to try to find a way to explain to Rarity that he wanted some space from her. He didn’t want to make her upset in the progress. “Huh? Ah, you’re saying that we should see each other earlier!” she assumed grinning widely. “Wait, no! That’s not what I…” “Oh that’s a splendid idea! We would have so much more time if we started earlier! All the gem collecting, dress making, the picnicking and those lazy hours were we just nap together!” Rarity sighed dreamily at the thoughts. “Oh what a splendid idea, Spikey!” The weary dragon’s spikes drooped at the thought of having to spend even longer with an overly obsessive Rarity. Maybe letting her down (gently though) wasn’t such a bad idea. “Rarity, I didn’t…” “Well I’d say it’s a date then!” Nothing was getting through to Rarity, which was starting to grate at Spike a little. She gave him another kiss on the forehead causing Spike’s concerns to melt momentarily. “See you bright and early. I’m off to get some rest; a lady must look her best, especially if she has to get up early. Ta-ta!” Rarity waved at Spike and out of politeness, he waved half-heartedly towards her. “Yeah, see ya.” Spike entered the library, groaning a bit as he entered. “So, how was day six with Rarity?” Twilight asked. “Everything you ever hoped and dreamed of?” “And then some!” Spike replied sighing a bit. “Though I’m starting to see the errors of my fantasies.” “Oh and why is that?” Twilight amusedly asked. “Well, at first it was like a slice of heaven; I enjoyed every smothering kiss filled moment of it. But now it’s kind of overstaying its welcome.” “Yes…” “I mean, she’s always hugging me and smothering me!” “I see.” Twilight leaned on the table with a smug smile on her face and hooves on her cheeks. “When I want a little alone time, she’s always there, right next to me. In fact, I don’t think I’ve had a legit hour to myself since we started spending more time together! It’s exhausting!” “It’s almost like she won’t give you your own space!” “I know! That’s what I was trying to…” Spike paused understanding what Twilight was implying. He glared at the smiling unicorn in annoyance. “Oh ha ha; you just had to prove a point didn’t you?” “It’s what I do best,” Twilight teased looking at the agitated dragon. “But I’ll be honest she has been very clingy of you recently. It’s kind of odd really.” “Well what do you think it could be?” Spike wondered. “I’m not sure. “I don’t understand what would make Rarity so attached to you all of a sudden...” She paced around trying to think of possible reasons why Rarity was acting the way she was. “Spike, did you do anything that could have triggered her reaction towards you?” Spike pondered on it for a moment. “I shouldn’t have! The only thing I did with her the day before this happened was help her while she was doing her projects like usual. Then I came home, you nagged me about overdoing affection, then I went upstairs and…” Spike paused and a look of horror came on his face. “Oh no!” “What?” Twilight walked towards the dragon with a genuine look of concern on his face. “Twilight, I might have made a wish on a giant glowing star about spending every waking moment with Rarity.” “So you wished your situation on a star?” Spike nodded. “Well that can’t be it. That’s an old fairy tale that you are told as a child. There’s no way a star could grant a wish…unless…” “Unless what!” Spike exclaimed eagerly. Twilight walked to the bookshelf and located the section of astronomy books. She pulled out a book of stars and constellations and browsed through it, looking for the information they needed. “Spike,” Twilight began scanning through a page of her book. “Describe the star you saw.” “Well, it was just like any other star you would see,” Spike explained, “except it was a little brighter not to mention bigger. In fact now that I think about it, the star wasn’t shaped like a normal star anyways.” “Was it a sizable diamond shaped star?” Twilight inquired. . “Yeah, why?” Twilight’s expression stiffened, causing Spike’s worries and concerns to grow. “Spike, you aren’t going to like this,” Twilight began clearing her throat, “but you made a wish on a rare star that’s known to grant the wish of the individual. It’s referred to as the Night Eternal.” “Night Eternal? As in, forever?” Spike gulped not liking the foreboding implication of the name. “So I’m fated to my decision for life huh?” “Well not exactly,” Twilight replied trying to lift the dragon’s hope. “It says whenever you see the star, you are allowed to make another wish, so it could potentially cancel out yours.” This news brought a spark of faith in the young dragon. “Really!? So when does it return so I can revert this wish?” “Well, according to this book it…” Twilight’s optimism soon shrank as she continued reading on. “the next time the star will come around…is in around a thousand years. “A thousand years!” Spike exclaimed in near panic. “That’s her entire lifetime!” Spike flopped to the ground and covered his face with his claws. “Why did I ever wish this upon myself?” Twilight felt sorry for the dragon. “It’ll be alright Spike. We’ll find a way to reverse this wish.” “How are we going to do that?” “Well, we could always go to a certain zebra who could probably find a concoction for your troubles.” “Zecora! Of course!” Spike never even considered her for the job, but now that it was suggested, it seemed like the most logical choice to him. “We’ll go first thing in the morning,” Twilight stated. “In the meantime, I think you should get some rest. Looks like you’ve had a long day…a long week for that matter.” “Yeah,” Spike chuckled before heading upstairs. “You’re telling me!” <3 Twilight was awoken by rapid tapping of the front door. She groggily got out of her bed to see who was tapping on her door (though she had a sinking suspicion of who it was). When she opened the door, her suspicions were proven true. “Twilight, I came to pick up Spikey!” Rarity’s eyes twinkled in anticipation. “We have a big day ahead of us!” “Um, Rarity, I don’t think now is a good time.” “Why not?” Rarity asked poking her head through the door trying to see if anyone else was inside. Twilight continued to block her vision, slightly agitating Rarity. “Is something wrong with Spikey?” “Actually,” Twilight began, trying to make a diversion to so Rarity would leave. “He’s suffering from a severe case of influenza.” “Oh no! Poor Spikey! I have to go see him!” Twilight blocked Rarity from entering the library. “I don’t think that would be a good idea. I’ve done some studies and dragon influenza is highly contagious, and can result in others catching the same nasty symptoms he has.” “I don’t care if I get sick, so long as I get to see him!” Rarity stated. “You do not understand Rarity. Dragons have different immune systems then we do. If you were to come in contact with him, you would catch symptoms even worse than what he has!” Rarity was not swayed by her words. In fact, she was more determined to enter the house. “That’s just something I’ll have to deal with! Spikey needs me!” “One of the symptoms I might add is pale skin.” “Well…I could always work around that,” Rarity said with hesitation. Twilight could tell that it was working; she just needed the extra push. “Can you work around swollen tonsils, aging of the skin and hair loss? Lots and lots of hair loss!?” Rarity was biting her lower lip slightly, cringing at the thought of those symptoms being possible. “Oh dear; I guess Spike wouldn’t want me to have to go through such horrid ordeals. Maybe I should come back a little later.” “I think that would be best,” Twilight nodded as Rarity sadly began to turn and walk off. “Will you promise to tell me when he gets better?” she whimpered. “I promise to tell you when he progresses.” Twilight watched Rarity walk off with her head hung low. It was devastating to Twilight to lie to her like that but she needed to find a way to solve this problem. She went to the staircase and shouted out to Spike. “Spike, I’m leaving now! I’ll be back momentarily, hopefully with a solution!” Spike replied in inaudible muffles. He was obviously still half sleep, so she just left it at that and left the library, heading towards the Everfree Forest. Twilight reached Zecora’s hut, knocking on the door with her hooves. The zebra in question showed up to the door, opening it for her visitor. “Ah Twilight, what a pleasant surprise! What brings you here on this pleasant sunrise?” “Well, there’s something going on with Rarity, and I wanted to know if you had a solution to this.” “Oh?” Zecora’s curiosity was peaking. Twilight explained the situation to her, hoping that she will have the answer she needs. Zecora sat down pondering on the issue. “Hmm, what an unfortunate plight, to be cursed by such a star of the night.” “So, you don’t know of any ways to reverse its effect?” Twilight sighed disappointed. “I’m sorry Twilight, but there’s no cure. This is something Spike alone must endure. He gained the affection of the one he adores. Now he has to live with it…forevermore.” Twilight sighed. It wasn’t the answer she was looking for, but there was nothing she could do. Twilight was just going to have to break the news to Spike. She trotted back to the library to break the bad news to Spike. “Spike, I’m sorry to say this but there’s no solution. You’ll just have to live with it.” There was no answer. “I know this is upsetting but there was nothing I could do about it!” Still no answer. Twilight was starting to get weary about why there was no answer. She walked up the stairs into the bedroom and noticed an empty, unkempt bed. Spike was nowhere to be found. Twilight checked the bathroom, the library again, and even the kitchen, but the purple drake was nowhere to be seen. She trotted in place nervously trying to understand where he could have gone, when she noticed a piece of paper lying on the table. Twilight, I wanted to come back and check to see if poor Spikey was okay and to my delighted surprise, he was in the kitchen fixing him something to eat! It’s a good thing dragon influenza isn’t too potent huh? Anyway, I took him with me to Sugercube Corner for relaxation. I just wanted to let you know where we were at this time. See you later! Your Friend, Rarity Well at least that explained where Spike was dragged off to, but Twilight could already tell this was going to be a long lifetime for the poor dragon. <3 “Oh Spikey, isn’t this wonderful,” Rarity sighed dreamily cradling an annoyed Spike in her arm. “The view from here is just magnificent!” “Yeah, magnificent,” Spike nonchalantly huffed. He could barely breathe with Rarity squeezing him like a plush toy. “Oh, I can’t wait to dress you up in the new outfit I made for you!” Rarity gushed squeezing Spike’s cheeks. “It’ll make you look so cute!” Spike’s face grew more agitated by the second. This is humiliating. As the two admired the clear view (or at the very least Rarity; Spike was more or less forced into it), they noticed one of their farm friends toting a cart of apples. She turned to see the pair together, both amused and puzzled at the same time. “Um, not to interrupt such a sweet moment, but might ‘Ah ask why ya’ll are all up on each other two lovesick dogs?” Applejack asked with raised eyebrows. “Oh, no reason really,” Rarity began softly, “We’re just sitting here enjoying the nice, cool breeze with Spikey over here, isn’t that right?” “Yeah, sure,” Spike answered nonchalantly. His expression however was different, as if imploring Applejack to help him out of this situation. “Well, if ‘Ah do say so myself, Spike over hear doesn’t look like he’s enjoying himself much?” “Whatever do you mean?” Rarity asked unaware of what Applejack was implying. “Well, ya see, as ironic as this may sound, don’t ya think you’re being a little obsessive over the little guy?” Upon hearing this accusation, Rarity let out a loud “hmph” and glared at Applejack. “How dare you! You have some nerve implying that! I’ll have you know that he enjoys my attention, and hasn’t complained about yet!” Because you haven’t given me a chance to complain. Spike wouldn’t dare say what he was thinking out loud, especially since it could potentially hurt Rarity. Though even he had to admit, Applejack hit the nail on the head. The farm pony just rolled her eyes and continued about her business, noticing Twilight racing towards Rarity and Spike. “Ah Twilight!” Rarity happily smiled at her friend. “I see that you received my note that I sent to you.” “Yeah, I received it,” Twilight stated stoically. “Oh I was so worried about Spikey-Wikey that I had to go check up on him. To my delight, he was up and about filling his cute little tummy!” She began rubbing Spike’s belly, causing him to blush in embarrassment and making Twilight internally gag. “Who would have thought dragons could get over illnesses so quickly!” “Yeah, it must have been a real miracle,” Twilight sarcastically replied. “I know! I thought our day would be ruined because of that, but it was all just a minor setback. And look at us now; resting under a nice, shady tree enjoying the view before we begin our long, eventful day.” Glee filled Rarity’s voice as she smiled fondly at what she had planned for Spike and her to participate in. “Speaking of which, me and Spike were just about to go get prepped at the spa! He’s going to look dashing after we get done!” Spike winced a little at the comment Rarity made. He was at the end of his rope, and he needed to get away fast. “Hey, before we do that, I need to speak with Twilight about something,” Spike requested. “Alright deary. Go ahead.” Rarity sat their intensively waiting for him to speak. Spike was a little annoyed that Rarity didn’t catch on. “Rarity, I want to talk to her privately.” This caused Rarity to frown a little. “Really, but I…” “Rarity, I promise that I’ll come running back to you!” Spike exclaimed feigning enthusiasm. With reluctance, Rarity let go of Spike and smiled weakly. Spike made a quick dash towards Twilight. “We’ll be back shortly Rarity,” Spike waved pushing Twilight to an area away from Rarity. Spike made sure they were a good distance away from the obsessed mare and began to talk to Twilight. “So, what did you find out at Zecora’s?” Spike asked desperately. “Is there any potion or magic spell that can reverse the situation?” Twilight somberly shook her head. “I’m afraid not Spike. It appears that the only possible thing to do is to just live with it.” “What! So I have to live with this for the rest of my…urm…her life?” Twilight nodded. “Oh that’s just great! So now I’m stuck with Rarity until one of us croaks!” “Well you have no one to blame but yourself,” Twilight lectured. “You were the one to wish for this to happen.” “It’s not really my fault. How would I know that my wish would have actually been granted? I still care for her, but this is just ridiculous.” “Spike…” “She never gives me my own personal space! Half the time I don’t even have the energy to do anything because she’s too busy sucking whatever life I have out of me…” “Spike, I wouldn’t…” “…and on top of that she doesn’t know when to leave me alone! I’ll be eating a stack of sapphires and she’ll be breathing down my neck!” Twilight kept trying to motion Spike to cease what he was saying. “Yeah, I know you don’t like me whining but I just don’t want to hang around Rarity that much anymore. She’s being a little, well, grabby and as much as I hate to say this, it’s really getting annoying and old. It kind of makes me wish I never…” “Never what? Never knew me?” Spike froze as he noticed the whimpering third voice behind him. He turned around to see a teary eyed Rarity looking at him. “Oh, Rarity…” Spike clumsily stated kicking the ground. “Um, how much did you hear?” “I heard enough,” she sobbed whipping the streams of tears flowing down her face. “So you really think I’m that much of a burden to you?” “Well, I…” Spike was struggling to find a way to bounce back from the words he said but he failed to find anything to say. “It’s…it’s fine Spikey,” Rarity interrupted sniffling. “I understand. You’ve lost interest in me…” “Wait, no that’s not…” “…I’m nothing more to you then an annoying presence that you wished never existed. So I’ll do you that favor, and stay as far away from you as possible.” “Rarity, that’s not…” “Goodbye, Spike.” Rarity lowered her head still crying and trotted away from the dragon. Spike stood there with a pained look on his face. He had hurt the pony he cared the most about. “Great, now I feel like the lowest scum on the planet,” Spike sighed turning towards Twilight. “Well while you could have been a little nicer in your wording,” Twilight began, “this won’t be the end of the world. I’m sure she’ll get over this soon; she just needs some space.” “Space…” Spike repeated this word like it was some sort of revelation. “That’s how I got into this situation in the first place. I didn’t respect her privacy before, and now that I got my wish I selfishly want her to respect mine.” New looks of determination and resolve formed on Spike’s face. “Well I’m done thinking about only myself this time. I’m going to find Rarity and accept what I brought upon myself.” Spike darted towards the Boutique in hopes to make everything right again. <3 Spike opened the door to the boutique and walked in. It looked empty and dead, with nothing but the ticking of the clock making a sound. Opal was asleep in her basket, oblivious to any movement the purple dragon was making. “Rarity?” Spike called out. There was no answer. The windows inside the boutique were closed, making it depressingly dark and eerie. “Rarity?!” Though he didn’t receive an answer, he did hear the soft sobbing of a distressed pony coming from upstairs. He slowly climbed the stairs leading to Rarity’s room and pushed open her bedroom door. Inside lied a distressed looking mare with a ruffled mane and her robe on. Spike also noticed that she was suckling on the fire ruby he gave her, tears still welling in her eyes. It was a sad display, in more ways than one. “Rarity?” “Spike?” Rarity noticed the young drake walk in and turned away from him. “Please leave me alone. I don’t want you to be around if you don’t want to.” “But that’s the thing,” Spike began as he climbed on top of the bed and sat by her. “I do want to be around you.” Rarity sniffled a little and rubbed her eyes in disbelief. “You’re lying.” “No I’m not,” Spike refuted rubbing Rarity’s back in an attempt to calm her down. “I mean it Rarity; I want to be around you.” “B…but out there you were ridiculing me for being too obsessive.” “Yeah I did do that didn’t I?” Spike frowned and rubbed the back of his scales. “And all of that was unjustified. I claimed to have wanted my own space but failed to give you yours.” Rarity turned towards Spike with a confused look. “Even when you needed your own breathing room, I always insisted on helping you and following you around until you had to make me go home. And now that you started doing that to me, I’ve been acting like a jerk and being selfish and for that I’m sorry.” Rarity still didn’t understand what he was talking about, but he sounded sincere about it so she listened to what he had to say intently. “Rarity, whatever you want to do with me I won’t complain. I asked for this anyways so I’ll own up to it.” Spike bore a heavy smile on his face, causing Rarity’s tears to fade. She couldn’t stay upset with her little “Spikey Wikey” staring at her like that. “Oh, come here,” Rarity embraced Spike in a hug, smiling softly at him. Spike hugged back as they sat there for just enjoying the moment. This is what Spike wished for, so he was going to handle it and accept it. “Spike?” “Yes Rarity?” “This is nice and all…but could you please explain why we’re hugging each other now?” Spike let go of Rarity and noticed that she was wearing a very confused look on her face. “Matter of fact, why are you even in my bedroom and…” she felt her face and noticed the salt tears that were still there, “…was I just crying?” Spike could almost feel the happiness well up inside of him. His Rarity, the old non-obsessive Rarity was back. “Spike, what is going on?” Spike explained about the star that he wished on, what had happened in-between and why she was sitting in her bed wallowing in tears with a fire ruby in her mouth. During the time, Spike had come to a realization; the only way to possibly undo the wish if wanted was to accept the fate brought onto whoever used the star. After the explanation, Rarity’s suspicions turned into soft sympathetic giggles. “Well, seems like you went through a lot this week Spikey Wikey,” she stated winking at him. “Well…yeah I guess I have,” Spike laughed blushing, “I’m sorry for using it to force you to…” “No need for apologies Spike,” Rarity interrupted. “As long as you learned from this experience, I don’t see any reason to linger on it. Now how about finding Twilight the good news while I try to tidy up after my little drama fits.” “Do you need help with that?” Spike asked, “Because I could…” “Spike?” Rarity raised an eyebrow as Spike lightly chuckled, catching onto what he was about to do. “Oh right. Yeah, I’m just going to go then.” Backing up awkwardly he began to leave Rarity’s room. “But if you’d like, you could come back and visit me sometime this afternoon.” Spike was about to let a eager “yes” flow from his mouth, but after remembering the week’s events, he decided against it. “You know, I think we could honestly use a day away from each other.” “Yeah, I bet,” Rarity chuckled, “See you later Spikey Wikey!” “Yeah, see ya.” Spike walked out of the room and made his way to the library. While in the back of his mind he wished that the moment could have lasted forever, he was glad to have Rarity back to her normal self. If he never saw that star again, it would have been all too soon. Rarity picked up the saliva coated fire ruby and stared at it briefly. A small smile formed on her face as she opened her drawer cabinet, displaying a picture gallery featuring her and Spike together. She placed the fire ruby in the center of the pictures, having it held in place by a hole drilled into the wood. Once she planted it in, she stood back and admired the memories of her and her little Spikey Wikey. “He really is a sweet little dragon.”