//------------------------------// // Chapter Three // Story: One Sided Crush // by Arctofire //------------------------------// The following morning, Rarity woke up without her usual cheeriness. Her eyes glanced up at the purple canopy above her bed, tracing the lines all the way down the post. She followed the lines down to the floor and then towards the washroom. She sighed, shuffling out of bed and going about her daily routine. Makeup, check. Blush, check. Curled eyelashes, check. I look fabulous! … So then why don’t I feel the same way? She groaned, and her reflection groaned with her. She glared at herself, before looking down at the sink. “Just give the kid a chance, Rarity,” she mumbled. “After all, he’s your friend; he should be treated no less!” But what was less? Telling Spike the truth? Why would that be considered less-than-desirable behavior? He’s just a kid; he wouldn’t fully understand anyway. Spike has his head in the clouds for me; if he were a stallion, perhaps I’d be flattered, but he’s a dragon. And I’m a pony. She clenched her eyes shut. Oh, sweet Celestia… what have I done? What am I getting into? “It’s just a friendly date, girl,” she tried to assure herself. But deep down, she knew it wasn’t. Spike will think this is the next step in our “relationship.” She almost gagged at the word. Pretty soon, he’ll be making us go on another date; then another, and another; then our first anniversary date, then the second, the third— “Get a grip, Rarity!” she exclaimed looking back up at her reflection. Tired eyes met hers, and she realized how much stress she was under. “Maybe I could come up with a ruse,” she murmured. “I could say I have a headache, that I can’t go out today, doctor’s orders!” She thought for a moment, before shaking her head sadly. “No, I could never do that. Not even to poor Spike… I can’t just lie to my friend, after all. It would be rather rude of me.” So what could she do? Perhaps Spike had forgotten that their “date” was today; maybe he’ll walk on by, and not notice Rarity. She smiled a little. Yes, that was it; he would miss her, and they wouldn’t have to go on the “date”— “Where are you, my beloved?” Rarity face hooved. Of all the miserable luck… She sighed, looking back at the mirror. “I guess I have no choice, then,” she said dejectedly. She hesitantly left the room and made her way downstairs, trying to make as little noise as possible as she walked down the steps. She held onto the hope that, if she was quiet enough, Spike would think that she wasn’t there— “C’mon, Rarity, I know you’re in here!” Well, so much for that. She cringed as she trotted up to the door, almost as if in pain. Using her magic, she held the door slightly ajar. “Spike?” In response, the door was flown open on the opposite end, revealing Spike in a black tuxedo and wearing a fake mustache. “Here’s looking at you, foal,” he quoted, giggling as he put aside the stache. “Good morning, Rarity! Ready for our date?” Rarity was still in shock over Spike’s appearance, but she managed to recover enough to murmur out a “yes.” “Good! For a second there, I was thinking that you had forgotten about today!” She inwardly groaned in frustration. “Yes, well… I guess it’s a good thing I didn’t, huh?” “Absolutely! Come on; we’ve gotta get a move on!” Without warning, Spike suddenly began dragging Rarity out the door by her hoof. He didn’t see Rarity’s growing discomfort crossing the mare’s face. *** Rarity did her best to wave off the questioning stares of the town as she and Spike made—well, in her case, she was dragged—their way to Sugarcube Corner. Lyra Heartstrings and Bon Bon were particularly curious as to what she was doing. They seemed to want to come over and talk but, with growing anxiety, Rarity waved them away. She put on a seemingly confident smile so as to ward off other snooping bystanders. “What do you want to eat when we get there?” Spike asked her. She started. “Uh, well, I-I’ll decide when we get there.” They arrived at the door only moments later. Spike was quick to open the purple door, leading Rarity inside. The unicorn took note of the inside of Sugarcube Corner. She smelled the morning scent of the bakery coming somewhere from the back, and her stomach growled as she remembered that it was breakfast. Her eyes wandered to where they had set up a row of baked goods, tongue slipping out of her mouth and licking her lips. If it weren’t for the awful situation she was in, she was sure she would have bolted for the good right there and then. She did her best to compose herself as Spike led them to a table, doing her best to avoid attracting attention. Yet her defenses were easily breaking with each passing minute, and her face cracked underneath her glossy complexion, revealing the face of a mare worried beyond belief. “Well, good morning, Spike and Rarity!” Mrs. Cake greeted. “How may I serve you—” Her voice faltered as she saw the look of fear in Rarity’s eyes. “—you…” “I’ll have an order of the croissant with cheese and butter, please!” Spike said. “And for you, Ms. Rarity?” Mrs. Cake asked carefully, not breaking her gaze with the mare. “Uh-I-I’ll have the… um… “ She seemed unable to complete her sentence. Sensing something was wrong, Mrs. Cake was quick to offer a suggestion: “Blueberry muffin?” “Blueberry muffin!” Rarity exclaimed. She blushed at her outburst. “I-I mean-yes, please, thank you.” Mrs. Cake nodded slowly, before going back to her husband near the oven. “Something’s wrong with those two,” she whispered to Mr. Cake. He nodded. “I noticed. Rarity seems awfully uncomfortable.” “Do you think we can do something, Carrot?” He narrowed his eyes in contemplation. “Maybe…” He glanced back up at the table, seeing Rarity turning away from Spike while the dragon droned on about how 'beautiful and majestic' she was. “I have an idea,” he whispered to his wife. She raised an eyebrow, but listened anyway. When he had finished, she gave him a worried look. “Are you sure?” she asked. “It’s the best we can do right now, Cup,” he answered. “Hey, Spike?” he called. The dragon looked up at him in confusion. “Want to help me bake the croissants?” Spike’s eyes lit up. “Sure!” He glanced at Rarity. “Hope you don’t mind, Rares.” Rares resisted the urge to gag at the name. “It’s nothing, Spike,” she said, secretly relieved that he would be gone for a little while. “Go help Mr. Cake out.” The dragon nodded, and walked over to the back. The two of them disappeared behind a wall, and Rarity heard the distinct sound of an oven being started. Once the two had gone, Mrs. Cake walked up to Rarity. She sat down at Spike’s seat and stared at the unicorn. Rarity felt a bit small under her gaze, and she unconsciously shrunk herself down. “Rarity,” Mrs. Cake called, making the unicorn look up, “tell me what’s wrong.” “W-wrong?” Rarity stuttered. “N-nothing’s wrong—” “Does this have anything to do with Spike’s crush on you?” Rarity sighed. “Is it really that obvious?” She rubbed her eyes. “Yes, it has everything to do with it.” Mrs. Cake eyed her for a second, before saying, “Tell me what’s happened.” *** “He did what?!” Mrs. Cake nearly screeched. “Please, quiet down!” Rarity hissed. “I don’t want Spike to know about this!” Mrs. Cake calmed down somewhat. “Sorry, it’s just that… he practically broke into your home!” Rarity sighed. “Yeah, well, he’s just a kid. He didn’t know any better.” “And now you two are on… a date?” Rarity cringed at the word. “At least, I guess that’s what he thinks this is.” “But you don’t feel the same way, do you?” “How can I? He’s just a kid; I’m a full-grown mare! I like him as a friend, nothing more! But this crush of his—” She looked away, suddenly feeling panicky, “It’s become bothersome.” “I see…” Mrs. Cake placed a hoof on her chin, thinking. “Is there… you know… any advice you can give me?” Mrs. Cake raised an eyebrow. “I don’t know if I have any advice to give.” “Are you sure? I mean, you are married. I just thought—” “Just because I am married, does not mean I know the ins and outs of love, Rarity, dear.” Mrs. Cake sighed. “I truly am sorry for your situation. Believe me, if there was anything I could do to help, I would.” “But… what do I do? I don’t want to keep lying to him forever.” Mrs. Cake sighed again. “Rarity, if there is one thing in life that I’m sure of, it’s this: you have to follow your heart.” “Follow my heart?” “It may surprise you to know that it hardly lies to its owner.” Mrs. Cake smiled. “And it will lead you to making the right decision, I assure you.” “But…” Rarity looked down. “How will I know that it’s the right decision?” “Because your heart will tell you it is.” She stood from the table, giving Rarity a caring smile. “I know this sounds confusing, but please, give it a shot. You’ll be surprised in the long run on how happy everypony will be in the end.” Rarity nodded, still unsure. She returned a slightly strained smile. “I… I’ll try.” “Good.” Mrs. Cake nodded, before walking back to the bakery section. Mr. Cake and Spike emerged shortly after, carrying their orders. Spike saw Mrs. Cake leaving the table, and he raised an eyebrow. He nodded a thank you to Mr. Cake, before going back over to the table and sitting down, placing down their food. “What was Mrs. Cake talking to you about?” Spike asked. “Just… something confusing,” answered Rarity. “Eh, don’t worry. You’re very smart; you’ll figure out what she meant eventually.” He proceeded to dig into his croissant. “Yeah, maybe,” Rarity murmured, glancing out the window with a distant look. *** Sweetie Belle was concerned. No, more than concerned. She was distressed. Troubled. Fretful. And a whole bunch of words that meant worried. Her sister refused to leave the couch, even when a friend popped by for a friendly hello. At first, Sweetie had reasoned that Rarity was feeling under the weather. But she remembered how, in the past week, she had shown little signs of a sickness creeping up on her. Sweetie was by no means an expert in medicine, but even she knew when somepony was getting sick. Her final proof that something was amiss came when Rarity outright refused to see Fancy Pants. “Are you sure, Sweetie?” Fancy had asked her. “Rarity’s feeling down?” “Yep,” she had answered. She had glanced back at her sister. “I’m not sure when she’ll get better.” “I see… I suppose I’ll hold off on the luncheon, then.” He had turned to leave, but then added, “I know it’s not my place, but… I suggest you talk to her.” She had nodded, and now here they were. Next to her big sister who was chowing down on buckets of ice cream. Sweetie cringed. “Rarity, you know that this isn’t going to help you keep your figure.” “It’s not my figure I’m worried about!” Rarity exclaimed through a mouthful. “Then what is it?” Sweetie looked at her with wide eyes. “Please, Rarity, you’re worrying me. You haven’t moved from that couch ever since you got back this morning!” “Well, maybe I don’t want to move! Have you considered that?” Sweetie ignored the outburst. She knew that when Rarity got angry, something else was wrong. “Please, just tell me what’s wrong.” Her eyes turned pleading, the pupils enveloping the whites of her orbs. Rarity took one look at her sister’s face and felt her anger fade away. She took a deep breath. “I’m sorry for snapping, Sweetie Belle. I’m just under a lot of stress right now.” “That’s okay, Rarity,” Sweetie said, smiling. “Just tell me what’s wrong. It might make you feel better.” Rarity let out a slow breath. She wasn’t sure if Sweetie could truly understand; she was certain that the filly had no experience in this particular type of experience. But a part of her told her that she needed to talk about this; she needed advice, from whoever she could get it from. “It’s… Spike,” Rarity began. Sweetie gasped. “Oh, no, what happened?” “He’s been acting… oddly…” Rarity quickly told her of the past events, starting with Spike’s sudden entrance in her room to their recent date. Sweetie, like many other ponies, was well aware of Spike’s crush on her sister (he wasn’t particularly good at hiding it). It surprised her, then, to learn that Spike was actively being forward in their “relationship;” it was quickly delving into creepy territory. When Rarity was finished, Sweetie placed a hoof on her chin and thought. She and Spike were good friends; she ought to know what to do. But she didn’t. Mostly because she had no extensive knowledge in the workings of love and crushes. The little experience she had was when she and the Cutie Mark Crusaders had accidentally given Big Mac and Ms. Cheerilee a “love poison.” She shuddered as she remembered the outcome of that fiasco. “Oh, Sweetie Belle!” Rarity wailed, leaning back and placing a hoof across her eyes. “Whatever shall I do?” “I… I don’t know,” Sweetie answered guiltily. “I mean… I don’t really understand how this crush stuff works…” “Then it’s all hopeless!” Rarity continued wailing. “Oh, woe is me, woe is me!” “Hey!” Sweetie jumped up onto the couch and removed the hoof from Rarity’s eyes. She glared at her big sister. “Just because I don’t know what to do doesn’t mean you can lose hope!” “B-but what can I possibly do?” Sweetie looked up in contemplation. “Why don’t you ask your friends?” “My friends? The girls?” Rarity looked at her sister with uncertainty. “I don’t know if any one of them have ever had somepony—or some dragon—crushing on them.” “Well, you still have to try!” Sweetie insisted. “And besides, their your friends; they’ll do their best to help you out, even if they have no idea how!” Rarity wiped away her tears and sniffled. Her sister was right; she knew that. Looking at Sweetie, she managed a small, grateful smile. “Y-you’re right. I should.” Sweetie nodded, but gave her sister a pleading look. “Please, go talk to them. Alright?” Rarity hugged her sister gently. “Of course I will, Sweetie Belle. In fact, I should go right now!” They unlatched, and Rarity got off the couch, making her way to the door. She hesitated for a moment, then opened the door with her magic and walked out. Sweetie watched her go, still worried. I hope my sister manages to find an answer to her problem. She fumed. The moment I see Spike again, I’m going to give him a good lecture on how to not treat my sister!