Twilight has finally had the talk with Spike, and it's been quite some time since he's opened up. But when Spike starts carrying around a Rarity doll, it is clear that Spike hasn't let go of his crush on Rarity quite yet, and he may need another talking to.
But Twilight doesn't know about how much thinking the little dragon has been doing since then. Or just how much Spike values Rarity's attention, and how badly he wants to keep his love for her. Because even if it's just a plushie, to him, it's all he has left in the world.
And he doesn't want to let it go.
Chapters (1)
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6323100 Seriously...
Huh.
Another story that deals with the potential consequences of Spike's crush on Rarity.
Interesting to note, I co-wrote a story that dealt with this same issue.
But back to the matter at hand. Another great story, Lightning. Really well done. Though, I felt it was a bit rushed at points. And Spike also felt a bit out of character, though I guess it's because I don't really understand what he's going through?
I mean, crushes are part of many an adolescent's life. Yet I find that most of them don't end the way we want them to. I guess I was one of the few in my age group to realize this, as I quickly dropped all of my "crushes" in favor of friendship. The consequences of crushes, I realize, can be huge, if not dealt with properly, as demonstrated here.
It's a bit hard for me to understand why Spike is so attached to this crush of his. To go to the point of fantasizing a relationship is not what I expected. If anything, anyone going that far would be labelled creepy by a vast majority, and a few could even pity them. But Spike?
Spike, thinking that Rarity is all he has? No; thinking that the object of Rarity, not the pony herself, is all he has left?
That's... pretty frightening.
I don't understand love, nor crushes, nor romance. What I do understand is where one has to draw a line. This is an example of someone unable to come to terms with the inevitable, and is coping with it in a negative way. The fact that Spike has to have a plushie of his crush speaks volumes of his conditions. As the title says, he's attached. Overly attached, in fact, to the point of obsession.
And that's sad. Sad that, when faced with reality, Spike can't cope as well as he does with other things. Sad that, in order to try and move on, he takes two steps back. Sad that, all he thinks he has is an object, not a concept. Not an abstract like the caring love that the others have for him.
Love is poison, but it is also the cure, I suppose. In the end, perhaps the greatest love that you can show is when you learn to give it up for someone.
I do hope that in the future that Spike's crush is resolved in similar fashion, either to this story or perhaps even to the one I collaborated on. After all, no crush can last forever; and a mature lesson would be one teaching how you have to let go of these crushes in order to learn to love.
(I really hope I'm making sense; I'm suffering from heat exhaustion and sleep deprivation, too tired to bother to correct my muddled thoughts.)
6323136 Thanks, and thanks for favoriting!
6323142 I understand. It's not really something you can process in an in-depth manner if you haven't experienced it firsthand. I've had crushes I was never really able to get over (though, I didn't carry it this far, thank goodness), so I have a pretty good understanding of Spike's feelings. I just took Spike's need for a doll as a sign of denial, or a sign of weaning himself off of Rarity herself, and ran with it, delving into the psychology of displaced attachment. Mind you, I'm no psychologist. I'm just fascinated by how the human mind--or in this case, the dragon mind--works.
Thanks for reading.
WARNING. WARNING. SYSTEM HAS REACHED CRITICAL FEELS LEVEL. MOTHERBOARD SHUTDOWN IMMINENT. ALL STAFF EVACUATE THE FACILITY. REPEAT, ALL STAFF EVACUATE THE FACILITY. MELTDOWN INBOUND.
6323109 Just let me have this, this story was heart breaking/warming nonetheless
6323309 Thank you. I'm glad you enjoyed it. And thanks for the fave!
6323309 Eh, I guess I can't argue with that.
I want to read this, but I know this's going to hurt...like heroine needles.
img08.deviantart.net/c2cc/i/2015/105/0/9/i_lost_it_by_hillbe-d8ptaov.jpg
6323100
Oh no, it's leaked everywhere! YouTube comments have leaked everywhere!
Amazing read. I'm just glad I can rarely feel sad for other things because I would be bawling my eyes out at these feels!
6323369 Thank you so much.
I've never really understood why there has to be a time when someone steps in and tells Spike he'll never be loved by Rarity. Crushes are a natural part of a child's development, and there's no real point in pushing these things through prematurely. No parent rushes into their kid's room and says "Son, there's no Santa Claus/Easter Bunny/Love between your Mother and I and you need to stop believing in such things right now for all of our convenience" after all. I especially liked how you linked his crush to how it is emblematic of the larger issues in his life. Thank you for presenting a story that deals with the consequences of Twilight dealing with it poorly, and leaves some hope for Spike at the end.
Also, be aware that you said "Unicorn" in reference to Twilight, and the plushie only appears after she'd become an alicorn, if you wish to correct it.
6323386 I'm honored to get such commentary from a better writer than myself. Thank you for reading!
6323386 Is it weird that I still remember you from when I first joined this site? Thanks again for the help
Very good indeed. Now, if we could start getting Spike-centered episodes like this, instead of rehashing his inability to handle whatever (it'll never happen, but one can dream, eh?), well...I dunno. Pacing felt natural, neither hurried nor drawn out. Well done.
And I see what ya' meant about certain inspiration. Keep up the good work.
6323450 Thanks. I'm glad you enjoyed, and I'm more than happy to credit you with the inspiration for this fic, if you choose.
6323393
My pleasure. I don't get to read (much less write) much anymore, but a nice little fic like this deserved a view. So, who was that "better writer" who commented here, anywho?
6323427
My pleasure!
This fic is awesome! Even Descy commented on your Spike fic. That is amazing.
6323487 I was pretty surprised at that myself.
But thanks for reading, and thanks for the fave! 
6323459 I wouldn't object, but that's your call. I'm fine either way.
6323495
NO problem. You won it.
This...This! THIS!!
YOUR MAGNUM OPUS! THIS IS IT!
I was moved! Tears barely come to my eyes, and yet, you shook my heart like a doll, and made tears of silver flow from my face! I....I can't even begin to tell you how deeply this made me feel, but you...This piece is where you come forth from your metaphorical cocoon, and become the butterfly, showering us with such moving words!
Wow. If this doesn't get featured I'm going to eat my foot. And then I'll eat the nearest living creature's foot. If they have one.
But nonetheless, awesome story as usual. 
6323533 I am so touched that you would say all of that. Thank you so much for reading. I can't tell you how grateful I am for your praise. I did put my heart and soul into this piece, and I'm so glad it paid off! Thank you for reading and favoriting!
6323534 Turn on the Mature filter and take a look!
LoL, but that aside, thank you for reading, and for favoriting! 
That fanfic made me cry. Seriously, I just clicked it by chance and found one of the best "We're not a couple" fics I could ever read. it was so well written i could almost SEE the events, not the words. this is an instant fave.
6323618 Thank you so much for favoriting. I'm glad you enjoyed it so much, and I am so touched that it got that kind of a response from you. Sincerely, thank you.
Isn't Twilight an Alicorn?
Those Feels! You've done it again! 
6323643 Damn, you're right! Gotta fix that. Thanks for catching it.
6323355 Heroin* Heroine is a Female Hero.
6323646 Thank you. Just doing my civic duty.
6323656 And you've done it well. And thanks for the fave!
6323660 You are welcome. But now I want to make a Fluttershy plushie... Maybe I'm losing it.
6323669 You're not alone on that one.
6323679 As long as I don't accidentally make a Flutterbat.
6323624
The compliments are well-deserved. ^^ You keep up this level of writing and you'll soon gain a loyal fan.
6323100 You must be lost friend, this is the FimFiction comment section. Not a YouTube video comment section, YouTube is That away
Well... I like this!
I must say I'm very fond of using a superficial problem of Spike's to indicate a more important underlying problem. Spike having an unrequited crush? Usually this is just somewhat painful, and it certainly could get worse if he starts getting yanked around as a result of it, but if he doesn't then it's something that will eventually work itself out. But... Spike feeling neglected? Spike feeling unloved? That's some serious problems.
The ending leaves me feeling just a little uneasy. It should feel great that Rarity makes it clear that he's more important than her than just a boy that she can get to do things for her, or is a friend of her friend, but... in some ways it feels a little bit like a platitude. Like Spike's only problem is that he misinterpreted the situation of him and his friends, rather than there being an actual problem.
During the story Twilight and Spike constantly reference a talk they had previously, that seemed like a very important point to just gloss over. Without knowing the cause of these events it's hard to be interested.
Imma be upfront with this. Bro, it's clear that effort did go into this story but in the end, this story is incredibly hollow. After all the pain, after all of the perils, after all the lies he'd come to realize, after all the melancholy he has had to endure... an apology and reassurance from Rarity is what makes him feel better and realize his self worth?
I am not buying it. He feels complete despair and instead of everyone coming together to help this poor soul, he gets the one pony who has caused him the most pain and she says some pretty words which somehow make him feel better. Hell, even her actions and the actions of all his so called 'friends' have proven that they can talk a good game, but in the end... he truly has no one true intimate friend. Their actions have shown how little they truly think of him, even though they would vehemently deny it.
Yet in spite of all of that, he'll readily accept their apology and be okay?..... I hope you see why I call this hollow.
Hopefully Lightning, you can see where I'm coming from. That whole ending sequence did not sit well with me. Good effort, but that's it. But hey, I'm one guy so what do I know :P
the story was good it's a little flawed and It was sad but It dident make me cry like anthor story almost did but it was good
6324036 Well I buy it.
And I've been pushed to consider suicide 13 times. And counting.
I know what it's like to feel the way Spike does here. Not for the same cause, but I do know what it's like to feel worthless. Alone, unloved. Like you can never do anything with yourself, with your life. And I especially know what it's like to not have your own friends. For a long time the only thing resembling friends I knew were my sister's friends, so I quite literally know what that's like. There are times I feel like the only two people who love me are my parents, and that's only because they're awesome enough to love everybody.
I also know what it's like how such a tiny thing can make such a huge change with that thinking. I know how healing a heartfelt talk with someone you love can be. A simple hug, even, can change a lot of that. Heck, one day when I was feeling down at work I bought donuts for my coworkers, which was pretty neat. It cleanses, it really does. Imagining myself in Spike's place, which isn't all that hard, I can see Rarity saying and doing exactly what she said and did, and fixing everything. The answer is love.
All that said, Pon de Don, I guess I can see where you're coming from. All that that I just said there, and in the story, could sound a little empty, and I do agree with LS that one can't entirely understand how this would feel unless one's experienced it firsthand. I do agree that the Mane 6's relationship with Spike feels a little loose, in canon and in fanfiction. That's something I look forward to Hasbro fixing with the coming season, among other things. Read this and think what you want to think. And brilliant story, LightningSword! I've never cried yet reading a story, but some have got me very close and this is one of them!
One more thing...
That was cute. I liked it.
6323649
Whoopsie-daisy, musta been high when I wrote that.
6324582 I get what you're saying friend and I can respect that; you're not the only one who's been pushed to suicide. Perhaps I'm jaded, but I care about what people do, not what they say. Rarity can say whatever she wants to if she thinks it'll make Spike feel better, but her past actions, and the actions of all the others, speak much louder than any sorry ever could. And we all know what they did in the past. It was said in the story:P
That's why it feels like nothing has changed.
Nicely done! This is a great story about Spike, and I really appreciate how it is both respectful of him as an individual and deals head-on with the issues he faces being by far the youngest of Twilight's circle of friends.
6324833 Thank you. And thanks for the favorite.
6324036 I understand. I'm sorry you feel that way. Thanks for reading, anyway.
The feels!!!
This is really good, well done
This certainly caught my interest; the long description especially intrigued me. As such, I have formed an opinion.
The story, here, intact, is great. Your idea is given just the right amount of life. I think you picked a great time to start it and the prior conversation that Twilight and Spike had prior to the story beginning was irrelevant, as it would be the obvious conversation we knew they already had. Kudos on that choice.
Good sense of progression, the story didn't really drag out much, and attention was drawn to exactly the right things to keep the story moving and interesting.
On that note, the wording choice was a little bland. I found myself getting bored about 700 words in and thinking, "Eh, I'll just skip ahead and see how it ends." Which is a shame, because a story that built up to the end would have been far more enriching overall, I think. So, the substance is there, and I think it's just about the perfect length... you just need to spruce it up to sound more enrapturing.
At the risk of sounding patronizing, it sounds like a teenager's word choice. All that's needed is someone with a dictionary in their head and some acute attention to sentence structure to make everything more vibrant, more exciting. Half of the struggle in being an author is making your thoughts sound as good on paper as they do in your head.
For being a fairly ambitious project that was written slightly under expectations, you have earned yourself a 7/10. You are on par with Pacific Rim.