Sweet and Complete

by Blazewing

Closure

The castle doors closed with an oddly foreboding finality as the three mares stepped inside. Despite the personal touches the friends had made since Twilight first expressed homesickness, the place still gave off a formal, imposing vibe when stepping in for the first time. Especially now, with the sunlight failing, the dark shadows and silent corridors made it rather spooky, almost like the Castle of the Two Sisters.

This atmosphere wasn’t at all soothing to the nerves of the two special someponies as they followed in Twilight’s wake. Rarity was still in a state of miserable agitation. She still couldn’t believe she had forgotten Spike so easily. After everything the little dragon had ever done for her, helping her find jewels, orchestrating a rescue mission when she was captured by the Diamond Dogs, assisting her in trying to impress Trenderhoof, and trying to restore her creative spirit with the Inspiration Manifestation spell; after all this, and Rarity hadn’t given any serious consideration to his crush on her. She’d thought, as she told Twilight, that it had just been a silly game, a childlike fantasy. To know that she had inadvertently put him into a depressive state...it was more than she could bear to think about.

While not as agitated as Rarity, Applejack wasn’t without her own feelings of trepidation. She loved Spike like a little brother, and had accepted him as part of the ‘family’ when he and Twilight first moved to Ponyville. She had been as patient as she could be when he felt he owed her a life debt for saving him from the timberwolves, and still felt grateful when he, in turn, had saved her. She had always thought of him as a sweet, playful kid, even if he wasn’t the best at hiding his feelings for Rarity. And there, right there, was what gave her the pangs of guilt. She, unlike Rarity, had had some inkling of how Spike might react when he heard the news, and had even tried to tell Rarity about it, but she didn’t seem to have registered that part when she calmed her nerves on the subject. She had let it slide, but she should have thought more about it. She hated to think she’d played a hoof in Spike’s sadness. It wasn’t as if she regretted getting together with Rarity, and she knew Rarity didn’t regret it, either. This was simply another bridge they had to cross together…

Finally, Twilight stopped outside a door with a little plaque set into the wood. It read, in large block letter’s, ‘SPIKE’S ROOM’. Both Rarity and Applejack couldn’t suppress smiles at this. It had been a source of great comfort and joy to know that Spike now had his own bedroom within the castle. It was proof of how the little guy was growing up, after all.

Twilight knocked three times against the door.

“Spike?” she called, softly. “Are you awake?”

A muffled voice replied, though it sounded like ‘Yeah’.

“There’s somepony here to see you,” said Twilight. “Can she come in?”

There was a pause, during which Rarity felt sure the beating of her own heart beneath her ribs would echo through the hallway. Finally, another ‘yeah’ met their ears, though it sounded much more subdued. It felt like a bad sign.

“Applejack, could you wait out here with me?” asked Twilight. “Rarity and Spike should have this discussion alone first.”

Applejack swallowed hard, but she nodded. Rarity stepped toward the door, legs trembling. As she met Twilight’s eye, a small smile came upon the alicorn’s face, and she placed a hoof encouragingly on Rarity’s withers.

“You can do this,” she said.

Rarity nodded, though her stomach felt like it was twisting into a knot. This change of tone from Twilight was welcome, but didn’t entirely dispel her apprehension. However, she couldn’t just stand here dithering. Just like when she was getting ready to tell her parents about her and Applejack, she had to be strong...for Spike. She opened the door with her magic, and stepped inside.

She couldn’t remember ever having been in Spike’s room before. It was reasonably well-furnished, and obviously tailored to the likes and style of its occupant. She was just admiring the basket of snackable gems in the corner when a soft cough made her turn towards the bed. Seated on top of its bedspread, a sad smile on his face, was Spike.

“Hi, Rarity,” he said.

Rarity’s lip quivered. The innocence in his voice, mixed ever so gently with the tone of one who had been crying recently, went to her heart.

“Hello, Spike,” she said. “Do you...mind if I sit next to you?”

Spike shook his head.

Rarity settled on her haunches beside his bed, looking anywhere but directly at him. Not just yet, anyway.

“Very...nice room,” said Rarity, gesturing vaguely. “I’m...I’m so glad you have a space to call your own.”

“Yeah,” said Spike, simply. “Yeah, me too. I mean, at first, I missed being closer to Twilight, but now...now I like having my own room. Now I can stay up as late as I want without disturbing her.”

He gave a weak chuckle, and Rarity grinned. They were only making random conversation. Next thing she knew, she’d be talking about the weather...

She cleared her throat, braced herself, and looked Spike straight in the eye. Spike gazed right back, his narrow reptilian pupils doing nothing to dispel the child-like gentleness within the green.

“...Spike,” said Rarity, “I know...I know that you heard from Sweetie Belle about...well, you know.”

Spike nodded, without saying a word.

“It’s...not the way I would have chosen for you to find out,” Rarity went on. “I’m not blaming Sweetie Belle for wanting to tell her friends, but I still feel it would have been far better if I or Applejack had told you ourselves.”

Again, Spike nodded. His expression was unreadable. Rarity couldn’t tell what he was thinking or feeling, so she pressed on.

“But even then, Spike, regardless of who it was who told you...I find myself still the guiltiest party of all…”

“Rarity-” Spike began, but Rarity held up a hoof.

“Please, Spike, let me finish.”

Spike closed his mouth, keeping his eyes fixed on Rarity. She drew a deep breath, sighed, then said, her voice quivering slightly,

“...I’m so sorry, Spikey-wikey...I knew, we all knew, that you were...rather taken with me. I’ll admit, it was flattering, but at the time, I...well, I never thought much about it. I was a bit more selfish back then, more absorbed in my work, not having much time for friends or even my own family. Heads would turn as I walked down the street, and that was normal for me. I thought you had simply been bitten by the same bug that had bitten everypony else who admired me. And besides, you were young, and, forgive me, still are. I had thought this would simply be a phase that would burn out eventually, once you got a little older, a little wiser.”

Spike said nothing. He was clasping his tail now, and there was a tremulous light in his eyes. It hurt Rarity to see it, but she continued, her voice growing more choked as she went.

“But Twilight has shown me how absolutely foolish I’ve been acting towards you, Spike. I should have taken your feelings more seriously, and realized how this would have affected you. You are, and have always been, the most loyal, kind, and generous little dragon I have ever had the pleasure to know, and I never, ever would have wanted to hurt you in any way. All I can hope for is that you will forgive me, and that we might still be able to remain friends...”

A tear rolled down her face, splattering onto the floor. Spike stared at her for several seconds, which seemed to stretch for an eternity. Then, he stood up, took a deep breath, and spoke in a voice that, like Rarity, was tremulous.

“Rarity...I don’t want to be angry with you. This should be a happy time for you, you finding somepony to call your special somepony...but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t disappointed.”

Rarity felt her heart sink. Spike’s face had hardened very slightly, but it was still a noticeable change from his previous post-tears expression.

“You only remembered me now, after Twilight told you how I was feeling. You needed to be reminded about me, just like everypony else did for the longest time…”

Rarity winced, her eyes beginning to grow wet anew. The cold bitterness in Spike’s voice was worse than Twilight’s, and yet she didn’t interrupt him.

“You didn’t care how I might feel about you getting together with somepony else, when you knew about my feelings for you. Even if you thought they were ‘silly’ or ‘childish’, they were still there, Rarity, and I wasn’t just playing games! It was real to me! From the moment I saw you, I honestly thought you were the most beautiful, wonderful pony I had ever seen! Your eyes, your hair, your coat, your voice...and knowing that beneath all that beauty was a kind and generous heart, it all blended together to make the perfect combination of my heart’s desires!”

Spike’s eyes were tearing up again, but he pressed on ruthlessly.

“But even then, even if I was a little careless about trying to keep it to myself, even when you knew how I felt about you...you still treated me like a child, like my feelings never mattered to you. Sometimes...I even wondered if you were just using my feelings to make me do what you wanted me to…”

Rarity could feel her heart breaking under these words. She wanted to comfort Spike, to console him, to tell him it wasn’t true...but she couldn’t. She knew he was right...

“And it wasn’t just that...you completely disregarded me when Blueblood and Trenderhoof came along. You knew how I felt, but you never gave a thought to me when you and the others abandoned me at the Gala, or when you wanted to change the whole Ponyville Days festival just to impress Trend. I didn’t want to say anything, because…”

He paused, shutting his eyes briefly, as though willing himself to say something against his will.

“...because I wanted to hope you’d strike out with them…”

Rarity gave a small gasp, covering her mouth with her hoof.

“Spike…”

“It’s true!” Spike went on. “They were jerks anyway, weren’t they? Well, Trend was actually kinda nice, but pretty weird. My point is, I felt sure that if you didn’t succeed with them, you’d see you still had somepony who had always been faithful to you, somepony who’d never left your side, somepony willing to dive down a manticore’s throat for you! I thought...I thought I’d proven I was that kind of pony for you...that day I went to rescue you from the Diamond Dogs…”

Spike’s whole self seemed to sag at this point. His anger was ebbing away, leaving only sadness and misery behind. Tears dotted his cheeks, while more ran nearly waterfall-like down Rarity’s.

“Oh, Spike…” she murmured.

To think the little dragon had been bottling these feelings up for so long...it must have been absolute torture to him, and he’d always seemed like the most cheerful little fellow one could ever meet, when he got enough sleep, that is.

Spike wiped his arm across his eyes, sniffed, then said,

“But...I should have known it would never work between us...The evidence was staring me right in the face, but I didn’t want to admit it...I’m too young for you...I’m still just a baby dragon...I wanted to hope I was the one who deserved your love, and that you deserved mine...but I guess I was just deluding myself…”

“Spike…” Rarity whimpered.

Then, to her surprise, Spike reached down, took Rarity’s hoof in his claws, and held it firmly between them, staring straight into her wet blue eyes.

“...I honestly, truly want to be happy for you and Applejack,” he said. “And...I am. It’s...disappointing that I couldn’t be the special somepony you wanted, but...I’m glad it was Applejack. I know you’re perfect for each other. More perfect than I could have been for you. I realize that now...and…”

He faltered, and his tears seemed to redouble.

“I’m sorry I got so angry...I was just…I just...”

But he didn’t go on. At that moment, Rarity scooped the little dragon into her forelegs and hugged him tight against her barrel, allowing him to settle against the pillow-like softness of her belly as she nuzzled the top of his head.

“That’s enough, Spike,” she said. “I can’t stand it anymore...I can’t bear you speaking about yourself so harshly...You were perfectly right to be angry with me. Even if we weren’t special someponies, I did treat you shabbily even as a friend...I admit, there were times when I was being rather selfish towards you, and you did not deserve that at all…”

She pulled Spike back so she could look him in the eye again. He did not resist.

“I will always be your friend, Spike, and I hope you will always be mine. I only wish I could have been more sensitive about your feelings, and I humbly hope you might forgive me…”

Spike’s eyes began to overflow in earnest, his mouth quivering.

“...I do,” he said. “I might have lost you as a marefriend...but I don’t want to lose you as a friend friend…”

And he threw himself against Rarity, hugging her plump body as much as he could, sniffling against her soft fur. Rarity embraced him all the tighter, resting her cheek against the top of his head. Neither could say how long they stayed like this, but the time they broke apart, little smiles were back on their faces.

“Thank you, Rarity,” said Spike. “I’m...I’m glad we could talk this out…”

“Me too, Spikey-wikey, me too…” said Rarity. “I only hope you won’t be too jealous when you see Applejack and me out and about…”

Spike actually managed a small laugh.

“Nah,” he said. “I need to stop acting like such a kid. I’m not always going to be a baby dragon, after all.”

Rarity’s smile became warmer. It was wonderful to see him being so mature.

“Just know this, Rarity,” said Spike, gripping her hoof, “that I still think you’re the most beautiful mare in Ponyville. Nothing’s ever gonna change that.”

Rarity felt as if she might cry again, but she retained her smile.

“Thank you, Spike…” she said.

And she bent down and kissed him on the cheek. It wasn’t a romantic kiss, but rather like one a mother bestows on her child, full of warm platonic affection. Spike took it as such...but felt all the better for it.

***

Outside the bedroom, Twilight and Applejack sat, waiting. They could hear the two talking inside, but could only barely distinguish what they were saying. Then, when Spike started on his emotional tirade against Rarity, both alicorn and Earth pony flattened their ears with pained looks on their faces. Neither of them had ever heard Spike so angry before. Twilight made a quick mental note never to leave the little guy out of anything ever again, to always be honest with him, and to hope he would always be honest with her. It wasn’t healthy for him to keep all of this bottled up…

Then, his voice died down, but it could still just be distinguished what he and Rarity were saying, as Spike calmed down and Rarity consoled him. As they concluded, reaching their understanding between one another, Twilight and Applejack looked at each other, teary-eyed smiles on their faces. It could have been so much worse, they felt, but it seemed to be over now. All that could be hoped for was that, with time, Spike’s wounds would heal fully…

The door suddenly opened, and the two sprang back. There stood Spike and Rarity, both with reddened, puffy eyes and tear stains on their faces, but both smiling. The little dragon approached Applejack, looking her straight in the face, green eye meeting green eye.

“...Congratulations, Applejack,” he said, sincerely. “I’m...I’m glad it was you.”

Applejack felt as though she might bust out into full-blown crying at this.

“Thanks, Spike,” she said, in a choked voice. “C’mere.”

She threw her foreleg around him and drew him into a tight, warm hug against her barrel, while he nestled against her fur. It was funny, really. Applejack had achieved what Spike hadn’t been able to, and yet, he never considered the sturdy farm pony to be anything like a rival who had stolen his prize. He was beyond such thoughts now, and wanted to continue to be. It would take time, but he would be strong, for them…

They finally broke apart, and Spike, waving to her and to Rarity, went back into his room, closing the door gently behind him. Rarity and Applejack turned to Twilight, who nodded, and the three of them made their way back to the front door.

“Thank you, Twilight,” said Rarity, once they had reached the entrance. “I wish I hadn’t needed a reminder of what should have been obvious to me, but…”

“It’s alright, Rarity,” said Twilight. “I know it wasn’t easy for either of you, but I’m glad you were able to talk it out. It might take some time for him to fully recover, but I know he wants the best for you two, and so do I.”

“Thanks, Twi,” said Applejack. “That means a lot to us…”

The three mares converged into a three-way group hug, then, at last, Applejack and Rarity bid Twilight farewell, turned, and side by side, departed back into Ponyville. As Twilight watched them go, walking so close their curvy flanks were nearly touching, she saw Applejack’s tail flick to Rarity’s, and the two seemed to clasp each other tenderly as they went. Twilight smiled at this, then softly closed the castle doors, feeling exhausted but satisfied.

Comments

[Hillbe]

Ah Rares we got a little problem here
What's that AJ?
Foals Rarity foals
Oh I had no idea at the time
Spike?
Spike!
Spike?
Double or nothing?
Spike!

[OmniFox]

Total closure.