//------------------------------//
// Reality 
// Story: Bitter Sweet 
// by Teeemu 
//------------------------------//

The skies above Ponyville remained as grey and cloudy as they had done for the past four days. The sun still battling to break through the thick layer of clouds that had only threatened to rain rather than actually do so.

This in no way helped Twilight Sparkle's mood. The constant looming masses of dark grey had prevented her from performing the various spells she needed sunlight to perfect, and as such, spent a sizable chunk of her time anxiously brooding over her spell books instead. Her mood had, in most cases, affected her handling of situations, as just yesterday she had snapped at Pinkie Pie for her usual over zealous attempts at inviting everypony to yet another party that was supposed to take place this afternoon. It had, of course, involved the usual charade of party canons and streamers that exploded directly at her the moment she opened her door. Twilight hadn't even bothered asking what the party was for before she lambasted Pinkie for disrupting her work and slammed the door in her face.

Twilight had only realized afterwards how taken aback her poor friend had been by her her harsh words and decided that spending the next few days shut up in her home until these clouds dissipated was preferable to letting herself get angry at anypony else. Especially over benign situations that she could usually handle very effectively.

Her only hope at rectifying her mistake was to ask Spike to go in her stead and present Pinkie a token of her apologies. A gesture that Spike had gratefully accepted. Twilight had no doubt that this was due to his desperation to get away from her when she was like this. He had spent the remainder of yesterday and most of today staying as far away from Twilight as possible. Yet in all things, he had still managed to perform his duties as adequately as ever without complaint. A trait she admired so much about him. He deserved a break and she just needed to be alone.

"And remember, Spike," Twilight finished off. "Apologize to Pinkie for me before you speak to anypony else."

"Yeah, Twi, you've told me that like six times already," Spike replied with a frustrated sigh.

"I'll tell you as many times as I need to! I'd go myself but I'd probably end up hurting more of my friends in the process. I just wanna make sure you understand how important this is!" she snapped at him.

Spike remained silent and began to rock back and forth on his feet, staring awkwardly at the ground.

"Sorry," Twilight sighed. "It's just important, okay?"

"Yeah... Can i go now?"

"And don't forget this." Twilight's horn began to glow as she levitated a small book shaped parcel wrapped up in a ribbon from the table beside the staircase into his outstretched hands.

Spike stared at the package with a resigned look on his face but took it without argument. Twilight didn't seem like she was in the mood to hear why a book was barely the sort of gift Pinkie Pie would appreciate. Then again, Pinkie always seemed to appreciate the thought rather than the item. Spike tucked the parcel under his arm and headed outside into the afternoon air.

"Don't forget, I want to hear exactly what she said to you!" Twilight called after him.

Spike rolled his eyes as he continued down the path and towards the center of town. Ponyville had definitely seen better days, the heavy clouds had cast the usually picturesque town into a harsh and dreary looking village. The shutters on the windows that usually stood open had all been tightly closed up. The town square that bustled with market vendors at this time of day was empty and surreal looking. Spike guessed it was all in anticipation for the rain that just didn't want to fall. Perhaps the weather teams were on some kind union strike.

Rounding the corner and crossing the town square, he could spot the bakery, home of Pinkie Pie. The place was quite literally unmissable. There were streamers, balloons, marquees and banners, all welcoming the entire town to another one of her extravagant and overly flamboyant parties. It was always in celebration of something. Sometimes it was a pony's birthday, other times something as completely obscure as the celebration of a party celebrating the second day of Winter Wrap-Up. To Pinkie Pie, parties were a gift from the goddesses to be had at any and every opportunity. To everypony else, it could be exhausting.

Spike could spot a few ponies outside all talking excitedly. There was Lyra and Sweetie Drops gossiping about something or the other by the front door, he swore he could make out Ditzy Doo through one of the windows with her head deep in a bowl of punch and the sound of EDM music vibrating through the streets could only mean that Vinyl Scratch was here too. What ever celebration this was, it had to be something  really important. Why else would half the town be here? 

The one nice thing about being a small dragon was his tendency to slip through the crowds relatively unnoticed. So with ease, Spike passed through the front door and into the overly crowded throngs of voices and music that almost perforated his eardrums. It was quite the disco on the ground floor. The party seemed to be in full swing before the sun had even (relatively) set. Spike waved at a few ponies that greeted him, some he knew only as acquaintances and others he had sworn he had never even met before. However, there seemed to be no Pinkie Pie in sight.

But before Spike could even consider going upstairs to look for her, a large bang and a joyous screech from directly behind him mad him jump almost 6 feet in the air in fright. Causing him to drop the book he was holding and gasp for air as he landed on all fours. Everypony in the room began to cheer and hoof stomp at the arrival of the ever jubilant pink pony behind him.

"SPIKE!" cried the unmistakably high pitched voice of Pinkie Pie. "You made it! I didn't think you would come since Twilight was being such a meanie pants!"

The crowds began to return to their groups and their dancing as Spike quickly gathered the dropped parcel and spun around to see Pinkie with an almost comical grin upon her face.

"Umm..." he stammered through the noise, lifting the bound parcel to Pinkie. "Twilight wanted me to come and say how sorry she was for what she said. And give you this."

It was amazing how quickly her grin had turned into a concerned and understanding expression. "Oh Twilight shouldn't have to be sorry, silly!" she replied loudly, her grin returning again. "She said she was busy, well she shouted that she was busy, but I got the message. Not everypony could make it!" Pinkie quickly gripped the parcel in her mouth. "Issa boogh inint it?"

Spike simply smiled back at her, barely able to make out her impeded speech through the loud music. "You know Twilight," he called. "The best way to make things better is to either read a book or give it to somepony."

"Mhmm!" Pinkie agreed, nodding emphatically as she placed the parcel on a nearby bar table. "I would have preferred a hundred more balloons but its the thought that counts. Althoooooough... If i think about it, maybe the thought would count much better if thoughts could talk, don't ya think?"

"Like as in counting from one to ten?" Spike inquired confusedly.

"Well, duhhhh!" she replied, rolling her eyes around. "It's so silly to say something like that when everypony knows thoughts can't actually count!"

"I think it's just and expression, Pinkie," Spike answered, shaking his head. "Besides, it was you who said it."

"See? Now I'm just being silly," Pinkie replied, as if she had just made a major break through. "Everypony sometimes says things without thinking. That's why I'm not sad that Twilight couldn't come. Or that she was a meanie! I do it too!"

Spike thought it best to simply grant Pinkie the satisfaction of agreeing with her rather odd outlook on situations and quickly changed the subject to something less mind boggling. "So there's a lot of ponies here tonight," he said, gazing around him. "I don't even recognize half of them, what's the party for?"

"Well the ones you don't recognize are friends of Shining Eclipse!" Pinkie said with barely suppressed glee. "The party's for him!"

"Umm... and who exactly is he?"

"Well..." she intoned, looking around her as if she was about to divulge some dark secret. "He's a veeerrry special pony. I'm throwing the party for him because, well, Rarity asked me so nicely to!"

"And why would Ra-" 

Before Spike could even finish, Pinkie quickly grabbed him, knocking half the air out of his lungs, and whisked him away with her to a quieter and less crowded part of the room. She looked around once more, pushed him into the wall and pressed her muzzle to his ear. "Pinkie Pie Promise," she whispered quickly. "That you'll keep it a secret for now!"

"Keep what a secret?" he whispered back, still rather disheveled and shell-shocked from being handled so roughly."

"Pinkie Pie Promise!" she hissed, her muzzle inching closer.

"Okay!" he shot back, freeing himself from her and performing the odd ritual that was Pinkie's customary way of keeping her word. Finally it ended with Spike poking himself painfully in the eye. This seemed to please her enough to allow another giant grin to form on her face.

"Rarity is getting married to him!" she answered as if she had been waiting all night to say it.

Spike chuckled in response. "No she isn't, Pinkie. Stop fooling around!"

"Its true! The party is for him to get to know her friends! Like meee!" she nodded, pointing to herself with pride.

Spike shook his head, his mind now turning towards denial. "But that's impossible, Pinkie. Why would she do something like this so suddenly without telling anypony? Without telling m-... Twilight."

Spike was on the verge of mentioning himself instead of Twilight. Rarity had always known about his feelings for her, his desire to impress her and his steadfast ability to do anything she wanted. Surely all that had meant something to her. Enough for her to actually tell him that she loved somepony else. Despite all this, he had always believed that deep down she had truly felt something for him too. All the moments they had shared and all trials they had been through together. She had called him her 'Spikey-Wikey'. Her lovingly affectionate term that he had always held so dear. No. Surely Pinkie was just pulling his leg. Rarity would never do anything so rash. She would never do this to him.

"Well, because she wants to announce it all tonight, silly," Pinkie answered, inclining her head dramatically towards the crowds. "Whachya think this party is all for?"

Spike remained quiet, unsure how to respond to this news that seemed to come from practically nowhere. It felt almost like a rug had been pulled from under him. Yet the longer he stood their staring into Pinkie's wild eyes, the quicker it all began to sink in. Why would she not marry? She was the most beautiful pony in town, if not all of Equestria. What could Spike possibly offer her that could ever match up to her standards?

"Spike? Hello?" Pinkie waved at him. "Are you like in a weird dream land or something?"

Spike shook his head again. "No. Just... Just a little tired."

"Tired?" she questioned, raising her eyebrow and twisting her head to the side. "Its not even nightfall yet!"

Spike placed his hand over his face, trying to hide his now watery eyes from her view. "I'm just gonna go home."

"Wha-" Pinkie's jaw almost drop to the floor. "But you just got here! Don't you wanna say something to her when she comes down and... ohhhhh..." Pinkies expression changed from confused to sudden realization. It seemed as if the stone had finally dropped. "Spike... She would be super duper sad if you left without even saying hello. I um..."

"I don't think she'll even care, Pinkie," Spike replied, wiping his eyes gently and turning to leave. "I can't be here."

"Spike..." Pinkie simply couldn't think of anything to say to him, her frown dropping so low on her muzzle one could wonder who was more taken aback by the situation.

Spike sniffed and quickly made his way towards the entrance, ignoring Pinkie's calls for him to return and pushing through as many ponies as he could to reach the door. He needed to just get out of this place, out of this town and back into the comfort of his small bed-box. He huffed as he pushed the door open and stepped out into the streets, he didn't even feel as if he could face Twilight right now. With one final glance at the bakery, Spike began to run towards the outside of town. Past the square, past the market place, over the bridge and towards the tree house. He couldn't bring himself to stop, not even to catch his breath.

Finally Spike reached the front door of his and Twilight's abode and pushed on through.

"Spike," Twilight said in surprise, looking up from her book and towards him. "You're home early. how did th- Spike?"

He simply ignored her and darted up the stairs towards the bedroom, blocking his face from her sight with both of his arm.

"Spike!" she called after him, now closing her book and rising from her rug by the fire. "Wha-"

Now clearly out of her range, Spike slowed to a walk and steadily made his way towards his tiny bed. He could hear Twilight shuffling downstairs as if to come up after him. He wished she wouldn't, he wished she would just keep reading that book and leave him be. Slowly he dropped to his knees and crawled into the blankets, wrapping himself into them and twisting his head away from the doorway.

He waited, listening to the sounds of Twilight's hooves as they trotted urgently up the stairs and towards him. Finally they reached the entrance way but came no further. She stood far enough away to grant him a little privacy but close enough to try and satisfy her curiosity.

"Spike," she whispered. "What happened?!"

Spike remained silent, staring resolutely at one spot in the room. He wished she would just go.

"Spike, please..." she said, a little louder. "Please just tell me what happened. Did Pinkie get upset? Didn't she like the gift?"

Of course Twilight would think it was all about her. "No." he heard himself reply, his voice sounding more like a croak.

"Then what? Why are you all huddled up in a ball under your blankets? Spike..." She stepped forward tentatively.

"Go away!" he shouted. He could hear her stop dead in her tracks. Never once had he yelled at her before, not ever had he dared.

A heated silence now fell over them, Spike lying there with his eyes shut tight and Twilight, from what he could hear, just standing there in what seemed like a mute surrender. Then he heard her sigh and turn on her hooves to leave, stopping momentarily at the door to stare back at him one last time before heading back down the stairs with heavy hooves. Spike felt horrible. It wasn't her fault, he hadn't been fair to her at all. He sat up again, almost prepared to go back down and apologize, explain himself, but he thought against it and slowly lay back down. He wanted to be left alone, so alone he shall remain.

Gradually, Spike found his thoughts drifting back to Rarity as the minutes passed by. He never quite grasped the ridiculousness of his affection for her. How it would always be one sided, how this whole time he had been fooling himself about his future. This future he thought he'd be sharing with her. He felt a surge of anger pulse through him. He felt betrayed. Worse... belittled. Rarity had not even cared so much as to bring him aside and speak to him herself. It was far more heart breaking then her get married to this stallion... this pretty-colt.

The sound of the door opening and then shutting with a slam downstairs had woken Spike from his revelry. It seemed as if Twilight was more fazed about his current behavior than he would have liked. She was off to the party.


***


Twilight felt her wings quiver as she made her way into the quickly darkening streets of Ponyville. She still hadn't truly gotten used to them in the time she had them and found herself still trotting everywhere rather than taking advantage of them like every other pegasi. Then again, she wasn't a pegasus. It was odd how her mind had always fallen onto her wings when ever she felt angry or upset. Tonight she was neither.  She was simply worried about her friend. No. Not her friend. Spike was like a baby brother to her, she had hatched him from his egg herself. Her instincts towards him almost felt maternal and she felt compelled to find out what had made him behave so wildly out of his character. Perhaps worry was yet another thing that brought her mind to her wings.

The sounds of Pinkie's party could be heard all the way from the square she had now crossed. She felt nervous about seeing them all of a sudden. But curiosity was by far her biggest weakness. She simply had to figure out what had gone wrong, even if it meant the possibility of her friends turning a cold shoulder to her for her mistreatment of Pinkie yesterday.

Finally the bakery loomed into view, the sounds oddly dying down rather than becoming louder. It seemed as if somepony had turned the music off in order to make an announcement. Sure enough, as Twilight reached the front door, the unmistakable sound of Rarity's voice began to boom rather graciously over the crowds. Twilight sneaked through the already opened front door to witness her purple maned friend beaming over the crowds at the top of the stairs. 

"And of course, as always, a special thank you to Pinkie Pie for her doing me the courtesy of hosting such an extravagant party in mine and Eclipse's honor!" the unicorns voice called down to them.

Twilight could hear Pinkie squeal in delight somewhere to the front of the room as she slowly pushed her way closer to the stairway. Who in Equestria was that pony standing beside Rarity? He was rather handsome, and tall. His demeanor seemed to give away the distinct of characteristics of a pony from Canterlot. But a genuine smile stretched across his muzzle as he stared lovingly at the pony next to him. For Twilight, the pieces had never quite fallen into place quicker than they had right now. She heard Rarity continue on about a wedding, an engagement, even the possibility of moving to Canterlot very soon. All of it seeming to confuse her. She could only wonder how this had made Spike feel. 

"Twilight!" a whispered voice from beside her. "You came!"

Twilight turned her to see Pinkie grinning wildly at her. "Pinkie, I... Whats going on?" Twilight whispered back, the events of yesterday clearly forgotten about by both of them.

"Rarity's getting married, duh... didn't you hear her?" Pinkie's smile broadened as she came to stand directly next to Twilight.

"Pinkie, did Spike see this?" Twilight asked, ignoring Pinkie's disingenuous question.

The expression on Pinkie's face changed rather quickly. "I told him," she replied with a sigh. "I just didn't realize at the time how badly he would take it."

"Take it badly?" Twilight questioned. "How does anypony ever take something like this anyway but badly? You know how he feels about her."

Pinkie's cheeks began to redden in embarrassment. "I was just so super duper excited about this Party, Twilight. It just slipped my mind."

Twilight shook her head. "Its not your fault. But seriously, what was Rarity thinking keeping this all a secret from us?"

Pinkie opened her mouth to answer but her voice was drowned out by the sudden cheering and hoof stomping of the crowds as Rarity had finished her speech and began to make her way down to the room with her stallion to speak to her friends. The music had resumed and the crowds had once more begun to dance and talk loudly. Twilight poked her hoof towards a quieter spot and ushered Pinkie towards it with by pushing against her flank with her head.

"Ouch!" Pinkie hissed. "Don't ya know your horns are sharp?"

"So you're telling me," Twilight went on as they reached the corner of the room. "That nopony is in the least bit concerned about this? Where's Applejack, Fluttershy and Rainbow? We need a group meeting."

"Well ya see, Twilight," Pinkie interjected. "If you didn't slam your door on me so quickly, which, by the way, I forgive you! I would have told you that Dashie is in Cloudsdale, Applejack is in Appleoosa, oh, and Fluttershy went with Dashie. Or... is it the other way around?" Pinkie giggled. "Who knows?"

"Oh..." Twilight felt ashamed. "I've been... busy... it seems."

"Oh there you two are!" the unmistakably posh girly voice of Rarity called from behind them.

Twilight stared at Pinkie and shook her head before turning to face her newly betrothed friend. Rarity was truly a sight to behold tonight. She had dressed herself up in a neat, simple, yet elegant purple and yellow dress complete with a gaudy golden broach and a matching hat that sat to the side of her head, allowing her delicately plumed mane to fall freely behind her neck. Her stallion, it seemed, had taken it upon himself to talk to a few other ponies elsewhere which Twilight was more than thankful for. Her day had not granted the ability to make the best first impression, not that she was inclined to make one to begin with.

"Rarity," Twilight spoke first. "I'm... I guess, congratulations?"

"Oh, thank you, darling," she replied, placing a hoof on Twilight's shoulder. "I'm so glad you approve." Rarity turned her head to Pinkie. "And dearest, Pinkie. Thank you ever so much for organizing this for me."

Pinkie beamed with pride. "Oh, it was nothing." Pinkie looked from Twilight to Rarity before glancing over towards the back of the room. "Hmmm... I think Vinyl needs some help with the music. I'm just gonna scooch on over and see whats up!"

With that, Pinkie bounced on through the crowds towards the other end of the room, leaving Twilight and Rarity alone with each other. Twilight couldn't help but feel grateful towards Pinkie's sudden development of social graces. Rarity was still smiling at her, expecting some sort of approval.

"So..." Twilight stammered feebly. "Fiance, huh?"

"Oh, yes, he's quite something."

"Bit of a surprise..."

"Oh, I can only imagine it must come as some sort of surprise, dear Twilight," Rarity said, breaking the awkward tension. "But a mare's heart is  such an unfathomable place. I fell in love, what more can I say?"

"But when? Why do we, your best friends, only find out now?" Twilight blurted. "How long has this been going on?"

Rarity was well prepared for Twilight's onslaught of questions and replied with what seemed to be a well rehearsed speech, possibly harder for her to deliver than the one she had just given moments ago. "I met him a week ago, twilight. Now now!" she held up a hoof. "I know what you must be thinking: 'How can Rarity be so rash?','What could possibly possess her to accept the proposal of a pony she hardly knows?' He was in Canterlot perusing my stand at the fashion show and the next thing I knew, he stands before me and announces his desire to get to know me. He said he had been intrigued by me for weeks, only then had he finally plucked up the courage to actually act. Naturally I was taken aback by his charms, I accepted. Twilight, you can never understand just how magical that week was for me. How magical he is. It just felt as if destiny had brought us together."

Twilight regarded her friend with a mixture of approval and sorrow. True, Rarity's happiness was important to her, but the little dragon wrapped up in the dark back home stopped her from showering Rarity with praise. She looked behind the unicorn towards her fiance who was now chatting to Pinkie. He seemed like a proper gentlestallion, the classical type that would come courting once he had picked out the mare of his choosing. For all intents and purposes, he imbibed the cultural norms of Canterlot society.

Twilight looked back to Rarity. "Spike," she said calmly.

Rarity twisted her head to the side and shut her eyes. "I know. Pinkie told me he was here."

"How did you expect him to respond?" asked Twilight, trying to sound as neutral as possible. "He idolizes you. He loves you even. I have never seen him act the way he did when he burst through my doors tonight."

Rarity stepped closer towards Twilight, dipping her head. "Oh, Spike. I'm so sorry this had to happen." It seemed as if she was saying it more to him than she was to Twilight.

"You could have at least told him," Twilight responded.

"Oh, but Twilight, I hardly had the time!" said Rarity. "I was back from Canterlot not three hours ago. This was where I was going to formally announce it to everypony."

Twilight remained silent for a moment, considering her next words carefully. "When you consider how much he has done for you, sacrificed for you and cared for you. You make the time. You do it because you care. Even if you have to break his heart in the process. It's better than him finding out like this."

"Oh, you're so right, darling," Rarity replied. "I've been swept up by this engagement, I haven't even thought about anypony else. Truth be told? I hadn't forgotten about him, nor you! This whole affair of sitting him down and explaining it seemed just too hard for me. And I agree, it was selfish to think that way. But I... I need to fix this."

"You do," Twilight replied, finally embracing Rarity. "And of course I'm happy for you. I'm over the moon!"

"Thank you, darling," said Rarity, wiping back a tear as she rested her head on Twilight's shoulder. "I'll come see him tomorrow."

"I think that would be best," Twilight replied, placing  hoof around Rarity's neck. "Let him sleep tonight. I need to get back and look after him now. I've left him alone for far too long as it is."

Rarity nodded as the two stepped back from each other. "I'm so, so sorry, Twilight."

"I know," Twilight said as she turned for the door. "But I promise you, everything will be alright."


***


"Spike..."

The sounds of the birds chirping in the cool air meant the sun was probably up. Not that it mattered. His dreams were vivid and unforgettable, he wanted drift back to sleep in order to get back to them. Because he knew that if he did, he would be with her again. 

"Spike... Wake up." 

No, he thought. Please don't let it only be a dream. He didn't want to be awake up, not now. Yet even as he wished Twilight would stop pestering him, he knew that he was already drifting back into the harsh reality of consciousness. Slowly he opened his eyes and looked at her, her expression soft and understanding.

"There you are," she whispered with a smile. "How are you feeling?"

Spike slowly raised himself up into a sitting position, blocking his eyes from the glare of the sun that had finally broken through the cover of yesterday's thick clouds. Irony was such a cruel mistress.

"Tired," Spike replied. "I could sleep for the rest of the day."

"Well, its almost lunch time. I think any more sleep probably won't be very healthy for you."

Spike knew he would have usually taken this news rather badly, but the events of last night had diminished his ability to care about oversleeping. He raised himself from bed and sauntered over to the curtains, reached up and dragged them shut. The last thing he wanted to see was the beaming sun.

"Spike," Twilight added cautiously. "I know what happened last night."

"I guess its all over Ponyville by now," he answered, returning to his bed and flopping back down. "Rarity and her Prince Charming. Guess that makes me the ugly duckling."

"Well I suppose you could have that attitude," she answered, turning to her head to magically reopen the curtains. "But maybe you should hear the whole thing before you shut yourself away from everypony."

"And what's the whole thing?" he grunted, turning his face into his pillow.

"Well did you even see Rarity before you came back here?" Twilight pressed. "Maybe if you had seen her, met her fiance, you would understand why she never told anyone."

Spike remained silent for a few moments then slowly turned his head to face Twilight. "So you spoke to her then?"

"Yip," Twilight nodded. "Would you like me to tell you what she said?"

Spike didn't reply, so Twilight decided it best to simply recount her conversation with Rarity anyway, paying careful attention to every detail she thought important. Spike had remained still the entire time, but she knew he was listening. When she was done, she trotted over to his side and placed a hoof gently on his shoulder.

"She wants to come see you, though," Twilight cooed. "Explain all this herself."

"I still don't get why she would fall for him," Spike finally answered. "A pony she doesn't even know over someone that's been there for her for years."

Twilight bit her lip. Spike had a point, but then again, she was the last pony to give advice on love or how it works. All she knew was that it hurt and that was pretty much all it ever seemed to do. But she did know about friendship, and perhaps she could think of a way to make him feel better.

"Sometimes," she began, attempting to make a point. "Ponies do things that seem right to them at the time. They feel as if everything has led them to this point in their life and that if they don't take a leap of faith, they'll regret it forever. Sometimes, it might work, other times it will fail. Rarity has never lied to you about being your friend, Spike, and neither has she given you any cause to believe she views you as anything more." Twilight paused to allow what she had said to sink in before she continued. "If you love Rarity, or at least care about her, you would act fairly towards her decision to marry rather than to simply shut her out. Even if it hurts you."

Spike rolled over and sighed, his mind still weighing heavy from his disappointing realization. Yet somewhere deep down, no matter how much he tried to deny or find fault in Twilight's reasoning, he knew she was right. He would have to suck it up and find a way to move forward.

"I suppose," he finally murmured with a sigh. "But you cant ask me to like this stallion."

"Fair enough," Twilight said with a smile. "Perhaps... You should go and see her instead of waiting for her to come here. I think she would appreciate how brave and noble such a gesture would be."

"I don't know," Spike said, sitting up again. "I don't even know what to say to her."

"Go there and congratulate her," she replied. "But don't show her a hint of sadness, pretend its all alright."

"I don't understand."

"You will," Twilight said with a smile. "Trust me. It'll be okay."

With that, Spike stood from his bedding and headed towards Twilight, wrapping his arms around her neck and holding tight. "I'm sorry, Twi. For being so mean last night, for taking it out on you. It wasn't fair."

"Oh, Spike," Twilight chimed, folding a wing around him. "Its alright. Really. I probably would have reacted far worse."

Spike let go of Twilight and began to make his way to the doorway. "I suppose I better get going, then."

"What? Now?" Twilight asked, puzzled by his sudden change of character.

"Well like you said, its almost lunch time. I'm pretty sure she'll be home." Spike was out the doorway, down the stairs and out the front door before Twilight could even respond.

And so the day continued on. Twilight was able to finally practice the spells she had been so desperate to perform, alphabetized a few books and even had enough time to do Spike's share of the work in his absence. It was only three hours later did the young dragon finally find his way back home. Admittedly, Twilight had become rather concerned about his extended visit to Rarity's and was even on the brink of making her way down there to see what was taking him so long. It was just as well he had headed in through the front door before she had resigned herself to the task.

"Spike," she exclaimed as the dragon walked in. "You took you're time, did everything go alright?"

Spike simply shrugged as he responded. "She was definitely surprised to see me at her door."

"And?"

Spike walked over to one of the chairs in the library and sat himself down. "It was really awkward at first since, well, I didn't know if her fiance was home. Turned out he had to go back to Canterlot for some urgent business and Rarity decided she would rather stay here. So, I guess, I was lucky to catch her."

Twilight walked over and sat beside him. "But what happened between the two of you? What did she say?"

"Well you know, I congratulated her and all, and she was all 'I'm sorry, Spike', 'I wish things were different, Spike.' But eventually we got down to the real stuff. We talked about what she was planning on doing, we talked about the wedding. Basically, all the usual bride things that she would normally talk to you guys about. But then something kinda dawned on me..." Spike paused for effect as Twilight leaned closer. "As much as it hurt to realize the truth about Rarity marrying another pony, it felt so good to just sit there and talk to her about her life. That's why we took so long. She had so much to say and it seemed as if she could only really tell it to me. I thought, as much I wanted to turn my back on her, it would have been the selfish thing to do. She didn't have much to be sorry for, really. Well, except for not telling us right away but I guess I sort of understand. Basically, if I love a pony enough, all that matters then should be that they're happy, even if its not me that makes them happy. Don't get me wrong, I'm still really beaten up by this. But I'm happier now that I went to see her instead of sitting here all day and bottling it all up."

Twilight wiped away a tear with her hoof. "Wow, Spike, that's probably the most noble thing I've ever heard anyone say before."

"Well, I have you to thank for talking me into it," he admitted. "Even though I kind of knew I had to see her anyhow. Truth is, I'm in it for the long run."

Twilight looked confused. "Long run?"

"Yeah," Spike said, stretching back on his chair with a smile. "Let's say if things don't work out with Prince Charming. I'll still be around."

Twilight shook her head slightly. "Well I don't think that's going to happen, Spike."

"Why not?"

"Think about it," Twilight reasoned. "You'll be holding onto a false hope, a lie. All you'll be doing is damaging your chances of finding love somewhere else. If you hold onto this idea that Rarity and her fiance will part ways allowing you to pick up the pieces. All you're doing is being selfish once again. And who's to say she'll love you for it?"

Spike lent forward. "Then, what should I do?"

"You said you love her. So support her... but at the same time, give yourself space and time to expand. You're a kind and caring soul, Spike, there will be others to fill that need of yours to love. Others who will be worthy of it. Sometimes, we never get what we want, but we may end up finding that we get something else far more worthy of who we are in the process." Twilight finished and regarded Spike closely.

The little dragon didn't respond, but simply nodded his head weakly. Twilight wasn't quite sure if her message had sunk in, but at least it had given him pause. Spike was a tenacious character, but she knew he wasn't stupid. It was just another thing she admired about him. No matter how bad things may look, he always seemed to bounce back with relative ease. He would bounce back from this.

As nightfall began to loom over Ponyville, the two of them spent the remainder of the evening as they always did. Spike finishing off his duties and whipping them up another one of his delicious hay sandwiches and Twilight with her books, revising the day's labor and taking note of all that she had learned. It was only when Spike had finally decided to head up to bed did she think to do something she hadn't done in so long. Perhaps it was a good time to write Celestia a letter in what she had learnt in friendship. Twilight quickly levitated a quill and piece parchment over and began to write, only stopping now and then to consider her wording.

Finally Twilight had finished and began to read over it with a smile.

Dear Princess Celestia

Today I learned that sometimes in friendship we hope to find more in others than what they may hope to find in us. As much as we hope for them to return our affections, sometimes they simply cannot care for us in the same way. Sometimes all we can ever hope for is a friendship based off nothing deeper than a platonic love. For most of us, it's almost impossible to get past the restrictions of being denied affection from somepony else. However, all we inevitably do is ruin that friendship with them. Sometimes swallowing our pride, biting our tongue and holding onto them is preferable to losing them outright.

At the same time we need to look out for our own interest. Distancing ourselves from those we care for in order to allow us to grow is vital for our own piece of mind. Sometimes we have to face reality. Sometimes we need to move forward and seek what others couldn't give us elsewhere.

I hope this letter finds you well, dear Princess. Perhaps even bring back fond memories of when I sent these on a regular basis.

Your faithful student
Twilight Sparkle