Change Of Heart

by No Pony


Over A Cup Of Tea

Over A Cup Of Tea

Spike bounced from one foot to the other, the tiny fangs at the top of his mouth digging into his lower lip ever so slightly as he continued forward. The anxiety radiating off of the young dragon was almost enough to give anypony looking at him a heart attack. Fortunately for his companion, she was well versed in the antics and attitude of her young ward and merely sighed, shaking her head.

"Spike, you need to calm down. You're going to tire yourself out if you keep that up." Twilight Sparkle stated, stretching her wings out ever so slightly. Despite having been an alicorn for a good bit of time now, she still wasn't quite used to the wings, which is why she was all the more fine with simply walking with Spike instead of flying.

Not even paying her a glance, Spike replied "I can't help it Twi, it's been forever since Rarity invited us over for something without everypony else." The mere thought of being alone with the radiant unicorn brought a goofy grin to Spike's face, even though he was overlooking the fact Twilight would be right there with them. An idea that was basically like bringing your mother on a date, hence why she left her out of his little fantasy.

Although Spike's behavior was a bit childish, Twilight couldn't help but smile and shake her head. He was just a baby dragon after all, he was free to let his imagination roam free, so long as it didn't run wild. Rather, she wanted to encourage it. After Spike's first birthday in Ponyville and the dragon migration incident, Twilight was in no rush to see the dragon grow up. She knew he was different than other dragons, kind hearted and loving, but those few incidents with older dragons had left her... far less anxious about seeing him mature. Besides, as an alicorn now, she had all the time in the world to watch him grow.

Her thoughts on Spike's growth could wait for another time though, as the Princess of Friendship found herself fast approaching Carousel Boutique. At the sight of Rarity's home and workplace, Spike's anxiety, well, spiked. The energy he had suddenly turned to concern as his little claws ran over his scales, making sure they were all as prim and proper as could be. The mere sight made Twilight giggle as they came up to the door. Seeing as Spike was too busy grooming himself, Twilight took the liberty of knocking on the door with one of her hooves.

In a few seconds, the door opened to reveal the home owner, a smiling Rarity. "Darling you made it! I'm so glad you could join me today." Rarity declared, giving Twilight a kiss on each cheek in greeting, a custom from Prance she had been trying out, as all the big wigs in Canterlot were really into it right now apparently. While Twilight used her wings to wipe her cheeks, Rarity's attention fell upon Spike. The appearance of the dragon made Rarity's smile drop for a moment, although it quickly returned, albeit clearly strained. "And you brought Spike, how... marvelous." she stated, leaning down to give him a light kiss on the forehead, making him blush red through his purple scales.

Twilight tilted her head to the side in confusion, then nodded slightly. "Well, yeah, you said you wanted me to come over to have a tea party with Spike."

Her smile shrinking somewhat, Rarity shook her head and corrected Twilight. "You must have misheard me deary, but that's fine. It's always a pleasure to have my Spikey-Wikey around." Stepping back, Rarity motioned for the purple duo to enter into her hardly humble abode. "I will need to have just a quick word with you privately though. Some mare business I was hoping to discuss, so if Spikey wouldn't mind giving us just a moment, would you mind heading upstairs until we call for you?"

Spike blinked a little bit, a bit surprised that he apparently hadn't been invited for the tea party, but nodded regardless. "Sure, just let me know when you two are done. I'll just... keep myself busy." Spike stated, wandering past Rarity and heading for the stairs leading to the next floor. It was hard for him to refuse Rarity, especially after she had just given him a kiss.

As he ascended the steps, he could catch a little bit of what Rarity was saying to Twilight as they made their way into the kitchen.

"I'm terribly sorry deary, I must have been mumbling when I asked you to come here today. I wanted to have a tea party with you ABOUT Spike, not with him." Rarity apologized before disappearing past the threshold of her kitchen.

Spike's ears were ringing at the couple of words he had heard. Rarity wanted to talk to Twilight about him? What did she want to talk about? Could it be that Rarity wanted to take a more active stance in their "relationship"? She had already acknowledged his feelings, but had never truly made any move to progress it from there. Of course, it was Spike who had the crush on Rarity, and while she accepted his feelings, he never did know how she felt about him. How she TRULY felt.

Biting his claws, Spike began fretting over the possibilities. She could be asking Twilight how to let Spike down gently, to let him know it just wasn't going to work. Or... maybe she was asking how she should further it? Twilight was like his mother after all, so maybe she was trying to get permission to court the young dragon?

Shaking his head, Spike found himself quickly going in circles, figuratively and literally as he paced around the top of the stairs. He had no clue what they were talking about other than the fact it was about him. He wanted to know just what it was that was being discussed, but they wouldn't talk about it with him around. There was a point she had asked him for some privacy after all.

"Spike? What are you doing here?" a young voice asked, drawing Spike's attention.

Looking over his shoulder, he found Sweetie Belle had peeked her head out of one of the rooms, apparently visiting her sister... and not alone. Two more heads popped out from behind a door, revealing all three of the Cutie Mark Crusaders were currently at Carousel Boutique, likely in another one of their ever fruitless endeavors to earn their... cutie... marks...

Smiling in a surprisingly sly manner, Spike tapped his claws before his chest as he slowly approached the fillies. "I wanted to know if you three wanted to try something to earn your cutie marks."


Twilight watched curiously as Rarity prepared tea for the two of them. There was nothing strange with it at all, just two cups of tea she had added milk and sugar to and was mixing with a spoon using her magic... except for the fact that for the past five minutes, she had just been mixing the beverage. Twilight would have spoken up about the peculiar behavior, but she could see in Rarity's eyes that there was a great deal of concern and that the act was more of a stress reliever...

However, the tea was getting cold and Twilight was getting thirsty.

Coughing into her hoof to try and gain her unicorn friend's attention, Twilight spoke up. "Rarity? Is everything alright?"

Looking up, Rarity flashed Twilight a smile and nodded. "Oh yes, absolutely wonderful deary, and yourself?"

"I'm... fine... maybe a little parched." Twilight admitted, not wanting to be rude.

The mention of thirst made Rarity's eyes widen, glancing to the cups of tea, then offering an embarrassed smile as Twilight's cup levitated over to her. "My apologies deary, I suppose my mind is miles away right now. Must be enjoying some lovely boutique in Canterlot I should hope." Rarity apologized, giving a nervous laugh at her own joke before looking down into her tea, a slight pout forming at her lips.

Sighing, Twilight took a sip of her tea. Lukewarm. It could be worse.

Ignoring the drink, Twilight brought her focus to her friend, reaching a hoof over the table to slightly cover Rarity's. "What's wrong? You're usually not this absent minded." Twilight asked. Then, a thought crossed the princess' mind as she remembered what Rarity had said earlier, giving her a more concerned look. "Is this about what you wanted to talk to me about? Regarding Spike?"

Rarity's ears twitched at the mention of the baby dragon, then gave a solemn nod as she set down her own cup, not even taking a sip of it. "I'm afraid so deary. I was rather prepared to talk about this, but it's a bit more difficult to discuss knowing he's just upstairs." she acknowledged, looking back to the alicorn before her.

Offering a comforting smile, Twilight stroked Rarity's hoof gently. "Whatever it is, we can talk about it. I know you Rarity, you're a good pony. You're the Element of Generosity after all, I know you've got Spike's best interest in mind." Twilight stated, confident that whatever there was to be said, she'd be able to help. Something about the sincerity with which Twilight spoke had made Rarity cringe a bit, making Twilight's smile lessen a bit.

"It's... it's difficult to say darling." Rarity admitted.

"It's okay, just... start from the beginning."

Taking in a deep breath, Rarity shut her eyes and nodded. "As of late, I've been thinking about Spikey-Wi-... Spike's feelings for me." Rarity stated, the fact that she corrected herself from her usual pet name for the dragon did not slip past Twilight. "It was no secret that he's had a crush on me for the longest time, and the fact that he hasn't let up after all this time has shown true conviction. Why, even in what could have been our last moments during the whole... greed incident, the last thing he wanted to do was confess to me. It was truly the most flattering thing I've ever experienced." Rarity said with a chuckle, the thought of how dedicated Spike was to her had brought her lips to curl up yet again.

"I can't help but sense a "but" coming along." Twilight interjected, one of her hooves starting to nervously tap against the floor.

Rarity shook her head at the comment. "Not necessarily. I do love Spike, he's the bravest, most kind hearted male I've ever met. I'm truly honored that he's attracted to me of all ponies... it's just, I've done a bit of research lately, regarding dragons."

Twilight's brow rose ever so slightly at this revelation, not recalling Rarity coming to the library in the slightest as of late, let alone taking out any literature on dragons. Taking notice of the odd look she was getting, Rarity shook her head once more.

"I've gone to a few different sources, each with different interpretations and facts, like Zecora for example." Rarity admitted, the thought of having to travel through the Everfree Forest to see the zebra an unpleasant task, but one worth doing. "Anyways, while the full expanse of facts regarding dragons seems to be... rather scarce, I was able to gather a few certainties that are... less than ideal."

Concern welling up in Twilight once more, she rose to her hooves and leaned against the table slightly. "What do you mean? Is there something wrong with Spike?"

Instead of shaking or nodding her head, Rarity focused her gaze on Twilight's eyes, trying to show her the full extent of her seriousness. "Twilight, darling... Spike is just a baby dragon."

Furrowing her brow, Twilight leaned back a little as she nodded her head slowly. "Yeah, I hatched him from an egg myself. He's only a couple of years old."

"Indeed, but a couple of years old for a pony would mean he's at least Sweetie Belle's age. Now, she's still just a child herself, but the fact is she's not a foal. But Spike is... still a baby." Rarity stated, pausing to see if Twilight had anything to say. The princess didn't speak, but the look on her face told Rarity she was starting to connected the dots, so she continued. "Darling, I love Spike, truly I do. The problem I've come across is, and as obvious as this may sound, Spike is a dragon. By all means, I'm not against an interspecies relationship, but dragons are much more complex than ponies. Spike is just a baby now, and he'll still be just a baby for a couple more years. Then he'll be an adolescent, and he'll be an adolescent for many more years than he was a baby."

"But... you're... not going to stay young as long as he is." Twilight remarked, her face twisting in a mixture of understanding and frustration.

Rarity gave another nervous laugh as she finally took a sip of her tea. Cold. "If you were to have said that to me any other day, I'd have freaked out and cried myself to sleep over the idea of being an old mare." Rarity admitted, a sad smile unable to leave her face. "In this case though, I've realized that it's not just my problem. I'm already a young adult. Mind you I have many years ahead of me, I'm an adult, plain and simple. Spike however... Spike has so many more years before he even reaches what would qualify as his teenage years. I don't know the exact number, but... it could very well take a century for him to reach puberty."

Twilight's jaw was clenched tight as Rarity spoke. She knew where this was going and she knew that this was really an issue between Rarity and Spike, but... but Spike meant so much to her. She couldn't stand the thought of something like this happening. Something breaking his young, fragile heart.

Leaning forward again, Twilight spoke a little louder than she had intended. "But Spike's far more mature than his body would give him credit for! He's basically as developed as you or I in terms of-"

"Darling, that's not the problem here." Rarity interrupted, waving a hoof in front of her face to dismiss the thought. "By all means, if it was just that, I wouldn't care. Sure, some might call me a cradle robber, but I could deal with it. Why, I'd even rather enjoy the idea of having such a young suitor when I get old and wri-wr-wr-wri-... Well, old." Rarity acknowledged, unable to even bring up the idea of her getting wrinkly. "The problem is the fact that... I'll die long before Spike ever does. Given many ponies will outlive their spouses, not many die side-by-side with their loved one. But Spike... will have so much longer to live than I will that he'll end up alone."

Twilight merely stared at Rarity in silence. She had heard of this before. Not exactly a pony and a dragon, but other long lived or flat out immortal beings. It was a known fact that, while many still romanced Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, many were turned down because both princesses had undergone love before. They had stallions who stood by their side long ago... and over the years those stallions withered away and died, while the princesses stayed forever young. Celestia herself had admitted to her young apprentice that, while she had gotten over those old flames, the scars of losing them still remained with her.

"I'm not trying to say I don't want to consider Spike as my one true suitor, but I don't want him to think back to me when I'm gone and miss me. Maybe he'll move on, maybe he'll find another pony or even another dragon, although part of me thinks that it would break my heart if I were to spend my life with him and be replaced by another pony." Rarity explained, knowing that Twilight was following every word she said, even if her expression was constantly changing, practically unreadable. A shallow chuckle escaped her mouth, a few tears welling up as she added "Some Element of Generosity I am. I should be fine with anything that will make others pleased, but here I am thinking how much I don't want him to love somepony else if I devote myself to him... and I'll admit, there's the concern that I'd like to have foals someday, and even if it were possible for ponies and dragons to, well, "intermingle", he wouldn't reach the suitable age to do so until I've already become but a memory."

As frustrated as she was with all of the thoughts Rarity was dumping onto her, Twilight just had to reach across the table yet again, placing her front hooves over Rarity's. "It's not selfish to want things for yourself. I understand how important it is to want these things. Besides, you've got Spike's best interest at heart as well."

It hurt her to say those words, like some sort of icicle stabbed at her heart. She meant what she said, she was trying to be supportive of Rarity's concerns and decisions, but at the same time there was this feeling of defeat. Like they had already conceded to the idea of Spike ever being in a relationship with the pony he loved... or perhaps ever. Spike was so much different from other dragons, he had a loving heart. He didn't just want some mate to create children and move back to guarding some hoard. He wanted somepony to spend his life with. That was something he'd likely never find with another dragon.

Then, Twilight felt Rarity's hooves on top of hers, breaking her from her thought. Rarity's tears had welled up enough that they looked like they would spill over any minute... but it would appear it was that bad because Twilight had already begun crying. Frustrated, angry, sad. It was too much for her to hold back. Twilight did her best to offer a weak smile, then took her hooves back, wiping her foreleg over her eyes, while Rarity used a handkerchief to dab at her own.

"S-so, I, uh... I'm not sure what to say about this now." Twilight confessed, the new knowledge about Rarity's view on their favorite dragon still far too new for her to formulate some sort of solution, if one even existed.

"Neither do I, darling." Rarity echoed, putting away the handkerchief before taking in a deep breath. "I'm not admitting defeat just yet. I came to you about this because, besides being the most influential pony in Spikey-Wikey's life, you're also the most intelligent pony I know. If there's some way to fix this, I'm sure you'll be able to find it." the white coated unicorn announced, smiling sincerely once more, referring to the baby dragon by his pet name making her somewhat happier.

"Right... as an alicorn, as a princess, I'll do whatever it is I can to see if there is a solution somewhere that can make everyone happy." Twilight declared proudly, only to get an unusual chuckle and shake of the head from Rarity. Seeing her friend's confused look, Rarity cleared her throat.

"I apologize for laughing darling, but those things... they have zero meaning here. As an alicorn, as a princess, those aren't the things that I know will drive you to help Spikey-Wikey and I. Rather, it is because you are an adoptive mother and a friend that I can put so much faith in you to do your best." Rarity said with such confidence in her friend, part of her wanted to already said they would find some way to make everypony happy, even though some part of her kept nagging that it was an impossible hurdle to overcome.

Giggling a little bit at the correction, Twilight smiled back. "You're right. I am the Princess of Friendship after all, if I can't do something based on that alone then I've already failed." Feeling a bit better after the rather stress inducing talk, Twilight took another sip of her tea, only to cringe a bit as she realized how cold it had gotten.

Noticing the expression, Rarity magically took both of their cups and dumped the contents out into her sink. "I apologize darling, I invited you over for a spot of tea, not to simply throw a burden on your shoulders. I'll get to work on making us something fresh, why don't you go ahead and let Spike know he can come down now?"

As Twilight moved to fetch the dragon in question, neither her nor Rarity took notice to a lone box that had been situated near the kitchen's entrance since right around the beginning of their conversation. Given with all the materials Rarity needed for her dresses, it wasn't unusual for there to be a box of this or that lying about. However, as soon as their discussion seemed to be noticeably over, the box started moving on its own away from the kitchen.

Slowly creeping around the corner, it suddenly took off once out of anypony's potential line of sight, practically scurrying up the flight of stairs leading to the second floor. Once at the top, it made a beeline for the room the Cutie Mark Crusaders had been hanging out in when Spike first found them. It nudged open the slightly ajar door, arriving right before Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo, the former holding a two-way radio.

"It's clear Apple Bloom, you're good to come out now." Scootaloo announced, knocking a hoof against the box. There was some shuffling from the box before it flipped up, revealing the bottom side had been removed and within had been Apple Bloom, dressed in an unusual spandex get up and a headband. With her was the other radio of the set.

"That was, uh, fun." Apple Bloom stated, unsure of how to feel. There was a part of her that was a bit invigorated, playing spy to hide nearby while Twilight and Rarity conversed, relaying everything back to the others through the radio. However, what she had just heard, what everypony had just heard, left her feeling less than excited.

"Seemed pretty rough to me." Scootaloo stated flatly, earning her a hoof to the ribs from Sweetie Belle. Yelping, Scootaloo shot her a look, but stopped when she noticed that Sweetie Belle was nodding her head past either of them, reminding Scootaloo just who had suggested they try to earn their cutie marks in espionage.

At the back of the room, Spike sat facing the wall, his forehead pressed against it with his eyes shut tight. He had clearly heard every last word that had been exchanged and was taking the contents of the private conversation pretty hard.

Apple Bloom took a step forward, opening her mouth to address the dragon, wanting to comfort him in some way, but Sweetie Belle stepped between them, shaking her head. She and Scootaloo had already seen every contortion on Spike's face as he overheard the serious matter that had been discussed. She knew just how hard he had taken it and how close to breaking out into tears he had come. He didn't need anything else to push him over the edge. As far as any of the young fillies present, Spike was ready to give up on his long standing crush on Rarity just to avoid any further heartbreak.


Far away, in the Changeling Kingdom, Queen Chrysalis stood once more before her crystal orb. It had been a long time since she had first spied the dragon through the magical object, biding her time and regaining her power before she made her move. And at this time, she had been spying on the dragon further to make sure the subject of her latest scheme was still well.

The queen wore a grimace across her face as the scene within Carousel Boutique slowly disappeared in a green cloud, dispersing until nothing remained in the crystal orb. Clicking her tongue, Chrysalis turned her back on the orb, making her way back upstairs, her wings spread out and flapping a few times to test them.

"It would appear I've recovered just in the nick of time." Chrysalis muttered as her hooves clopped against the decayed wood of her "castle". She would have liked more time though. Time to prepare. Time to learn. Time to ensure that her next plan would end in her absolute victory. But it seemed that once more, those insufferable ponies were going to ruin it before she even got it off the ground. If she didn't act quickly, she'd lose a window of opportunity and be forced to wait until the young dragon found another to love. But with him having just overheard that conversation about the unlikelihood of him ever finding someone he could ever truly bond with, there was very well a possibility that all of her plans could be for not.

Narrowing her eyes, Chrysalis unintentionally let out a hiss that sent Changelings scattering as she reached the first floor of her home. No. She wouldn't let it go to waste. All the effort she had expended would not be worthless. Not only because it was her best chance at conquering Canterlot, but because it was those ponies that would ruin it. The same ponies that made her first plan fail. It was the very principle of the matter and she would not stand for it.

Spying one of the few Changelings that stood out, with a helmet adorned on his head, Chrysalis' horn emitted its usual green glow, dragging the Changeling before her. "Prepare the elite division for travel. We're heading for Ponyville."