IN RELATIONSHIPS, some things must be said, while others are best left unspoken. At the end of an exasperating day, Spike and Rarity camp in the desert and talk.
Story Paladin: Cerulean Voice ● Editor: BlueBook ● Proofreader: Tigerose
Featured on Las Pegasus Tribune 5th Jan 2014 Site defunct - replacement pending
Featured on Equestria Daily 21st Jan 2014
Third place winner Sparity Contest 13th Feb 2014
Featured in Top Tier Fanfics to Read for Spike Day! 19th Jan 2018
Featured in 50+ Fanfics To Read for Rarity Day! 10th Sep 2018
Chapters (1)
That was bloody brilliant.
3717884
Thank you. A real complement coming from an author of your magnitude.
Not sure how to feel about this story except that it didn't really feel like a Sparity. Rarity seemed like she wanted to be more then friends with Spike but would rather be 'just friends'
3718123
Well, I can tell you've never read my stuff. Because if you did, you'd realize what a poor choice of word "magnitude" is. Then again, magnitude only implies relative importance, so I guess you're not technically wrong. In any case, this is some top quality storytelling, much better than what I'm capable of for certain. I'm off to read the rest of your stories that have managed to elude me.
Kind of sad but a bit heartwarming at the same time. It's kind of nice having a Sparity story that doesn't end up with them actually together, but still implicitly shows that they'd like to be.
Dunno if this fic makes me happy or sad... guess bittersweet will do.
Decent story; doesn't really feel like Sparity tho. Probably because nothing really came from it.
This was good but...I feel,like it was more like a bit out of a long piece than a one shot. I liked it though. The characters were good, the setting and history was nice. Its a good story.
I don't follow. Are they 'friends' or something more. Because it seems like Rarity loves him but doesn't want to go into a relationship with him. Please correct me if I am wrong.
This was fantastic. It's great to read a nice bittersweet heartwarming drama scene done with these characters. And, it's excellently written, too.
You have just reminded me just why I read fanfiction.
That is one dedicated dragon. Spike, you now officially have all my respect.
As for rarity... sneaky mare is sneaky. Mouthing the words instead of openly saying them. Way to get around your own speech lady.
I
this story. At first, I was wondering what the hell was up with all of the conflict. I mean, a romance story where the characters are just bickering and fighting? Whatever next? But that speech, and that ending... I can honestly say I enjoyed this story. It may be a common ship, but this was a very uncommon read. Well done.
Keep an eye on this page later today for a pleasant surprise...
Nicely done, sad and a little one the friend side... but nicely done, short, but powerfully done, powerfully paced.
It's a shame I've been momentarily distracted from getting to this, as I really did love it. A very powerful story that focuses on the fear of advancing and losing what you had. Well done.
Congrats on the EqD feature
A moment of silence for comrade Spike, perpetually doomed to stay in the friendzone.
Finally, this is getting the appreciation it deserves!
Relevant:
Fantastic story! Loved it :)
Ah, like all good Sparity stories, a stop at dysfunction junction (what's your function?). Fun times!
I agree with Bico's desire for variation, but I still say this is what Spike should have done: laughed to dismiss her fears, then told her she's already everything he'll ever want.
Rarity said it all in silence,
Spike and Rarity awoke the next morning, The tent a shambles and both in a compramizing embrace,
Rarity cleared her throat " Ah hemm,Spikey dearest I do believe an explanation is in order?"
Spike cooed "Sleep walking?"
Rarity sighed"Sleep something My Spikey Wikey,A night mare and a Sleep loving Drake"
Oh gosh such a beautiful story.
inner brain conflict, up and down roller coaster emotions. so very brill!
This is a brilliant story. I love the wording you use, it really brings their characters and the location out; and that one sentence that you wrote about Rarity not cutting through the silence, but pushing it aside and making it beg for forgiveness was really amusing to me.
I loved their conversation at the end most of all however. I agree that they know an amazing amount about each other. And I am fairly certain that when he said he was thinking the same thing as her that they both knew he was lying. I am left looking more on the hopeful side for them both and I would be acting the same way as Spike, letting what he really wants to tell her go for her. There would be a dopey grin on my face while star gazing at the end though for the hidden words within her speech to him.
I loved it.
I'll be honest, I'm not really sure how to come off from this story. I agree with those saying this doesn't feel like "Sparity", partially because I think the nature in which they presented their "feelings" comes off as more of a "dancing around the issue" approach, which is kind of disappointing. Rarity talks about how being in a couple means that you just sort of know things without saying them, as if you finish each other's thoughts automatically. But....that's not what's really happening here. If it was, Spike wouldn't feel the need to say those special 3 words but he does because he does NOT feel that Rarity hasn't been listening to him as much as he hoped. She uses the word couple but I never get the feeling they are a couple in this story. It feels like a slightly more dramatic version of what they'd be doing in the show, in other words, remaining the same with very little progress.
Yeah she gives him an "answer", but if their thoughts were truly one then she'd know how important it is for Spike to actually speak his heart and express his feelings. This feels almost exactly like what happened in "Secret of my Excess", where Spike tries to tell her but again Rarity does or says something that gives the image of acknowledgment...but never really does. “Sometimes, we must be satisfied with what we have, instead of wanting more.” In other words.....nothing changes. That's what I couldn't get past in this story; to have nothing change and have it all say the same. That just sounds contradictory to me. If nothing changes, no one grows, everyone becomes stagnant. Rarity talks about things being worse by saying those words, but it's just the same problem looped back around again; no one is doing anything. At least if Rarity gave an open answer Spike would have been given a solid answer, but I feel this approach just tip toes around the issue without taking the characters anywhere new. I get the feeling people aren't 100% always comfortable with this ship and so they chose a route that feel is more "realistic" in how it would go down.
I'd challenge that. I've been in a stable relationship for almost 10 years and I can tell you from personal experience, it's much worse to keep dodging the question rather than giving a solid answer. Rarity still feels like she's dodging her, and even when she gives a final decision, it feels like a silent suffering deal that just makes it seem worse for both parties. The fact that she felt the need to say things the way she did proves she was NOT thinking on the same level as Spike, because if she did then she would have understood how vitally important it was for Spike to say it. The amount of courage it takes to profess love for another is profound and more terrifying than facing death itself. To me, Rarity comes off as more selfish and misleading with her "shared thoughts" angle because it gives her a simplified means of cutting off Spike before he says anything. This doesn't feel like Rarity is allowing Spike to be himself. "His soul plunged. So this is my fate? He would submit, but never abandon hope. Whatever her wishes, he would comply, and if silence was her cost, he would pay a thousand times over."
This sentence could easily sum up how Spike is in the show too. Never moving forward, never making any headway, just spinning in the same circle and accepting what he gets; but never truly being satisfied because he was not allowed to be satisfied. Its a lot on Rarity too, yes, I totally get that, but this "solution" doesn't solve anything, if anything it just goes into a giant 360; inevitably setting up the same situation to happen: Spike will settle, bide his time, build his feelings, eventually it'll explode and he'll have to say something and then Rarity will interject; never letting him have any ground. I adore Sparity, I love it so much I find myself physically incapable of enjoying any other shipping story featuring Spike or Rarity with anyone else. But even if they don't end up together in a story, I respect and can understand that so long as a clear answer is given. The biggest question about their "relationship" isn't important, we all know what that question is, it's the answer that people are waiting to see given. As well written as this story is, I feel like everything's just spun into a big circle and Rarity and Spike don't feel like they went anywhere productive or made anything clear.
It feels like the exact same thing Rarity did to Spike in that season 2 episode, but worded differently. Even non romantic stories can develop growth or change and that;s why the Sparity part doesn't feel accurate to this particular story. I don't feel there is any legitimately explored or processed romantic development between them, they both feel like their projecting indifference. I know a lot of people enjoyed this story and I'm glad they did, but I just can't get past that part enough to enjoy it and as someone who loves these characters passionately, both individually and as a couple, I just don't feel this did what it was set out to do. But that's just me.
Now, this is quite the romance story!