In the Hour of Twilight

by Blue Dragon

Spike's Sorrow

Fluttershy shook nervously. Spike had asked her for something so personal—something so hard to help with. The pegasus wasn't even sure if she knew enough on the subject to even do anything for him. She could remember every detail of what had occurred perfectly.

---

Spike held his tail between his claws. Fluttershy waited patiently for him to ask for whatever it was he needed.

“Um…Fluttershy, I kinda wanted to ask for your help… I know that you’re best friends with Rarity, and, um, I was hoping you could give me advice. You don’t know this, but uh…” The purple dragon leaned in and whispered, “I have a crush on Rarity.”

Fluttershy blinked. She already knew—everypony did. But Spike was completely oblivious. There was no way that the yellow pony could do something that could possibly hurt him, so she simply nodded, trying to look surprised.

He looked satisfied, but continued, “Anyway, what do you think I should do? You were the one who made a move on Twilight, right? So could you coach me, or something? Please!” He looked insistently into her eyes. Fluttershy couldn’t say no—he reminded her too much of Angel Bunny.

“Um, Spike…” She hesitated. She knew she shouldn’t give him false hopes, but still couldn’t say how she really felt about the situation in fear that she may break his heart. Fluttershy wished Twilight was awake to help her. “Do you…Do you think she likes you, too?”

“I…” He deflated, “I don’t know.” Fluttershy gulped uneasily.

“Well…Having feelings and not saying them can eat you up inside. When you finally tell her, you feel relieved, but still nervous. Um…”

Fluttershy decided that she wanted to be supportive of Spike, even if she felt that Rarity wasn’t going to return the feelings. It wasn’t her place to crush his hopes.

“…You should tell her how you feel…She may or may not feel the same, but at least you’ll get it off of your chest and if the um…need arises, you’ll be ready to move on.” Fluttershy glanced to Twilight. She wasn’t sure why she had felt the need to check on the unicorn.

Spike sunk lower to the ground. “I don’t think I have the courage to tell her. I tried once—but she stopped me. What if…What if she does the same thing again?” His innocent eyes gazed imploringly into Fluttershy’s own.

“It took me some time, too. Why don’t…um…Why don’t you write her a love letter? And maybe leave it anonymous. We could have Rarity give the reply to me, and I can give it to you.” The yellow mare stared at the ground, feeling as if her idea was stupid.

“Fluttershy! You’re a genius!” Spike cheered happily. Fluttershy glanced urgently at her marefriend, but she was still unmoving. The purple dragon apologized swiftly, and quieted down as best he could. “Oh wow, Fluttershy, you’re so smart… I just knew coming to you would be the best. I asked Twilight before, but she wouldn’t say anything no matter how hard I tried.”

Fluttershy tried to smile. If Spike ended up hurt badly, would Twilight hold it against her for encouraging him? Apparently the lavender mare hadn’t wanted him to confess. The yellow pony’s anxiety started to fester more than usual.

“I still need some help though,” he pulled parchment, quills, and an ink well out of nowhere; probably from years of experience. “What should I say?”

---

Fluttershy pondered the thought. She had read many romance novels, but would never readily admit it. In the past she had even read ‘filly-fooling’ material and imagined it was her and Twilight. She blushed lightly when she remembered the more mature books.

“Just…write from the heart. Tell her exactly how you feel. And don’t forget to be completely anonymous and to include how to reply…If you think so.”

Spike’s tongue stuck out of the corner of his mouth, seeming to be in deep thought. He jotted down for a few minutes, and sighed.

“You know what, Fluttershy? Thanks for all your help, and this love letter was a good idea, but I think I’m gonna march over there and tell her exactly how I feel to sweep her off her hooves! I’ll be her dragon in shining armor! …Uh…not Twilight’s brother.” He coughed, “I need to go do this before I lose my nerve. Bye Fluttershy!”

Before the yellow mare could protest even a squeak, the dragon was out the door. She shuffled her hooves. Just the other day she was in his position—she felt almost as nervous now as she did back then.

Fluttershy looked over at Twilight. The poor mare was still asleep, and she almost wished she was awake. Almost. All the other animals were resting peacefully, recovering.

The yellow pony walked over and sat right in front of the couch, content with watching her marefriend sleep. Once she even went so far as to steal a kiss. It was nice, but she felt so bad for doing it, and quickly pulled away. Fluttershy berated herself for a full ten minutes afterwards.

She wondered when the lavender mare would finally wake up. Twilight must have been really tired to sleep through this much. Fluttershy sighed blissfully and briefly snuggled into the other pony’s side.

“Sleep well, my dear Twilight…”

---

Spike was practically skipping. He was so excited—and yet so very nervous, too. On the way to Rarity’s Boutique, he passed by Sugarcube Corner, and decided to take a quick stop. Pinkie had always said that sweets could settle your nerves fast.

He pushed the doors and immediately saw the pink baker. She had just finished with the last customer in the shop, and positively beamed when she saw the purple dragon.

“Hey, Pinkie Pie! Do you have any emerald cupcakes in stock?” He glanced through the glass, but didn’t see any.

“Of course! I have emerald cupcakes and ruby cupcakes and sapphire cupcakes! Don’t forget the diamond cupcakes and the onyx cupcakes and my personal favorite: ROCK cupcakes!” She chirped quickly, showing him each cupcake in surprising speed.

“Um…” Spike hadn’t heard a single word, “I’ll just take an emerald cupcake…”

“Why so sad, Spike? Don’t you remember? You’re getting twelve emerald cupcakes, free of charge!” Pinkie smiled, setting a box full of cupcakes on the counter.

“Huh? I only asked for one…” Spike scratched his head, confused.

“You won our bet, silly! You know; the one about how we wanted to see if Fluttershy and Twilight would get together?” She giggled.

“Oh yeah!” Spike was going to ask how Pinkie knew that he had actually won the bet, but decided to spare his sanity. “Actually, Pinkie, I’m headed over to Carousel Boutique to see Rarity about…uh…stuff.” He smiled unconvincingly, shifting the cupcakes uneasily in his claws. Why had he even brought it up?

“Ohhh, stuff? I see ponies all the time about stuff! There’s all kinds of different stuff—there’s important stuff, not important stuff, cool stuff, and even nerd stuff! But that’s only when I go to see Twilight. That pony’s a silly filly sometimes! So what kinda stuff are you going to see Rarity about?” Pinkie bounced over next to the dragon, abandoning her work.

“Eh…You gotta promise not to tell anypony, Pinkie!” The dragon checked to make sure no one else was around.

“Okie dokie lokie!” Her smile only grew wider.

“I’m pretty sure you already know, since, well…you know everything, but I have a crush on Rarity, and I was just now going to go confess. What do you think?”

“Hmm,” Pinkie had a rare thoughtful expression, “Give her a cupcake.”

“Huh?” Spike didn’t see how that was relevant in the least.

“You have to trust the CUPCAKE! Good luck!” Pinkie was already pushing the poor dragon out the door.

“I don’t understand, Pinkie!” He cried out, but he was already outside. His distraction had proved unsuccessful, and now he had to go to Carousel Boutique to see his love. Any other time he would gladly welcome that chance, but his nerves were getting to him again.

And that’s when he saw Applejack across the street selling apples. The dragon jumped at the chance to avoid going to Rarity's yet. “Applejack!” He waved and ran over, clutching the box of cupcakes under his arm. AJ had just sold some apples, and was apparently free for the moment.

“Hey there, Sugarcube…” She barely gave him a glance as another customer grabbed some apples. Spike blushed under his scales. Even though AJ called everypony by that silly nickname, it somehow felt worse than ‘Spikey-wikey.’

“Applejack, have you ever been in love?” The orange pony turned and stared at the dragon incredulously.

“Beg pardon?” Spike gulped.

“Have you ever been in love before?” He found himself clutching his tail with one claw, as the other was occupied. Spike absolutely hated that old habit of his.

“Why ya asking?” She wasn’t exactly glaring, but she was giving him a stern look. Obviously she was scrutinizing him for any telltale signs of a lie.

“I’m, uh, curious.” He tried to grin, but when AJ continued to give him that look, he caved. “Okay, okay, I’m planning on confessing to somepony, and wanted to know if you’ve ever done it before.”

Applejack smiled smugly. She attended to another pony before answering his question. “Well, you see, Sugarcube, I have been in your boots before. That was a long time ago, though.” She blushed before continuing, “All you gotta do is speak from yer heart and be honest. Move along, now, yer holdin’ up the line there.” With a hoof, she pointed behind him, and the dragon noticed several ponies glaring at him.

“Oh, heh…” He sheepishly scratched the back of his head, “Thanks, Applejack! I’ll try my best!” He walked along, feeling much better after his talk with the farmer. In fact, he’d even go so far as to say he was in good spirits. He snacked on one of the emerald cupcakes.

Spike decided to take the long way around to get to Carousel Boutique, as it was a nice day outside. (Ignoring the returning nerves, of course.) The dragon even went so far out of the way to pass by the hospital, where he actually spied RD snoozing on a cloud. Seeing as it was well into the afternoon, he called up to her.

“Hey! Rainbow Dash! Wake up!” She rolled over slowly, glaring at Spike for the interruption. RD yawned loudly.

“What is it, Spike?” The pegasus had red rings around her eyes, but the dragon ignored that.

“Can I get your advice? You’re always cool, so I think you may be able to help me with my situation.” Rainbow Dash perked up from the praise, and rubbed her eyes. She still seemed drowsy.

“Uh, yeah, of course. But I need to check on Fluttershy first…” Spike saw the worry evident on RD’s features.

“She’s okay. I actually just got back from over there. I’m not sure if you know or not, but Angel got hurt last night and was at this hospital, but got discharged this morning. I was taking care of the animals while Twi and Fluttershy stayed all night, but they are at her place right now.”

Rainbow Dash ruffled her feathers, looking unsure. “Alright, Spike, let’s make this quick. What is it you wanted from a cool pony like me?”

Spike smiled cheerily. “I was wondering, actually, how would somepony confess their undying love?”

Rainbow Dash fell flat on her face, falling from the cloud onto the land. She quickly flew up, circling the purple dragon. “Woah, Spike. You’re asking me for advice on how to say you love somepony and be cool about it?” She pulled out her favorite ‘cool’ sunglasses.

“Yeah! I want to, you know, sweep her off her hooves.” He held his claws together firmly. Rainbow Dash looked pretty confident, and he was hopeful that this was the pony that could really help him.

“I see, I see…Well! You’re head over hooves for this mare, am I right?” She sounded like a hoofball coach. Spike felt compelled to answer like he was a player.

“Yes, sir!” Her eyebrow rose at this, but she didn’t question it.

“Do you want to be with this mare?” She analyzed him, and he felt as if her own assurance was pouring into him.

“Yes, sir!”

“Are you going to SIT this one out and let some other STALLION take her away?!”

“NO, SIR!!!” He felt pumped. Spike was breathing hard in anticipation.

“Then what are you doing here?! You gotta go get her, and fast! Rarity won’t wait long! Just tell her how you feel, no stuttering, and make sure you look her in the eye. You better not chicken out, Spike!!!”

“Yes, sir! Thank you, sir! I mean, thanks Rainbow! I can do this!” He ran straight for Carousel Boutique, hearing the cheering pegasus behind him. He didn’t notice that one of his cupcakes was missing.

Rainbow Dash munched on the treat, spitting out the gems. She wondered if it was a good idea to get him so pumped up for success, but dismissed the thought easily. It was all up to Rarity. Rainbow stretched her wings before taking flight. She had to make sure, for herself, that Fluttershy was still okay.

---

“I can do this, I can do this, I can do this…!” Spike chanted to himself. He was right in front of Rarity’s shop, poised to knock. He gulped. “I can’t do this…”

He sighed. “I’m such a scaredy-pony. I don’t deserve somepony like Rarity…” Spike turned to go back to the library, disappointed in himself. Before he even got two steps away, the door swung open. Rarity was standing there.

“Darling! I thought I heard you out here. Come in, come in,” the unicorn pushed him inside, not taking no for an answer. Spike swallowed numbly. His fate was sealed.

“What brings you here, Spikey-wikey?” She was smiling. The dragon liked that.

“I brought you some c-…cupcakes.” Spike berated himself. Rainbow had told him not to stutter! He held out a single emerald cupcake gingerly.

“Thank you! Darling, the gesture is very generous of you, but I couldn’t possibly eat emeralds…” She smiled good-naturedly. Spike deadpanned; he had completely forgotten that ponies didn’t eat jewels!

“I’m sorry, Rarity,” he fought to maintain eye-contact, just as RD had told him to, “Pinkie Pie kinda just…forced these on me, so I thought maybe I could give you some…”

“Once again, darling, thank you. I very much appreciate it. Now, was that the only reason for your visit?” She looked so knowing—Spike didn’t know what to do.

“Um…” Speak from yer heart and be honest. “No. No it wasn’t.” He looked up defiantly—determinedly. Applejack’s words set him on fire all over. All of his friends’ advice, (even Pinkie’s), were going through his head. He was going to do this! Rarity was going to be his…!

Rarity looked taken aback at the answer. She probably expected him to lie and say ‘yes.’

“I have something I have to say Rarity, and I really need you to hear me out, please.”

She looked concerned. Really concerned. Spike suddenly felt nervous, but continued. Now that he had already gotten this far, he felt compelled to say it all.

“I’ve had a crush on you ever since me and Twilight came to Ponyville. Literally—just ask Twi if you don’t believe me! You were the most beautiful unicorn I had ever seen, and I really like you. A lot.” His gaze got a little shaky, but he maintained eye contact, and didn’t even stutter. He hoped his words made sense.

Rarity looked terribly sad. She seemed to be faraway. Spike bit his tongue in anticipation.

“Spikey-wi—…no…I shouldn’t call you that anymore…” She sighed, and then forced a smile. “Darling, I am flattered, really. But I’m afraid I do not return your feelings.” Spike’s heart shattered into a million pieces.

"I’m sorry…I’ve known for some time, but I was a coward and ignored them. Spike, please, do forgive me. I hope that we can still be friends…This is hard on me as well…” Spike didn’t want to think about how his expression must have looked. He didn’t care—all he knew was that he didn’t want to be there anymore.

“W-W-Why, Rarity?” He felt hot tears spring into his eyes, “I-I did everything they told me! What did I do wrong? I-I-I kept eye contact and didn’t s-stutter like Rainbow told me, I spoke from my heart like Fluttershy said, I gave you a cupcake like Pinkie said, and I was c-completely honest like A-A-Applejack told me! So why???” Spike felt wetness on his cheeks.

Rarity looked really pained. “No, darling, it’s nothing like that! Feelings come of their own accord—nopony can give you advice on how to make me fall for you. It’s…It’s not you, dear, it’s me. Please, just listen to me!” She stared pleadingly at him, but he glared harder than he had ever done before. Even more than the day Twilight had forbade him to go outside in Canterlot while she was studying. Back then, he had blown up and told the unicorn that she wasn’t his mother. She cried for weeks and wouldn’t forgive him.

Spike turned on his heel and ran as fast as he could, dropping the cupcakes at some point. He was crying, but he didn’t care. The dragon made a beeline for the library, and passed so many ponies, and heard familiar voices calling out to him, but he didn’t stop. His heart felt like it had been torn in two.

Comments

[Blue Dragon]

First interlude.

I felt that I needed to give the other characters more screen time, and this leads to what I have planned next. I feel really bad for what I did to Spike, though. It was more like...me testing my plot-twist skills. If you didn't see the chapter title and were just reading through, would you have guessed what happened? Let me know what you think.

Oh, and if you find any formatting errors, let me know. I especially have troubles with 'extra spaces.'

[YayFlutters]

1580413

Good chapter, but I noticed that there wasn't any quotation marks before 'I'm sorry... I've known for some time.

Other than that, don't think there were really any errors. Might've looked over them if they were there.

[Ninjayorkshire]

i think it would be even worse if Rarity had a crush for Twilight, i'm a evil very evil

[Blue Dragon]

1580513
Ohh, thanks for finding that. I had a feeling I had missed something.
1580935
Heh, that would be a bad situation... You'll see what I have in store later..

[YayFlutters]

1581278

I have a feeling I won't like the ending

[Blue Dragon]

1581290
Hm, that would depend on what kind of endings you do like... but it will be relevant to the tags. No spoilers, haha.

[YayFlutters]

1581332

Bad endings are good if done well, but I love this ship too much to like a bad ending...

[Blue Dragon]

1581355
I have to agree with you on that statement. This ship really is one of my favorites, and I hope I can do it justice in the future.

[ThaStrangr]

NEED. MORE. CHAPTERS!!!
Fluttershy is my favorite pony, and FlutterLight is my favorite ship (Don't like TwiShy, seems a bit... lazy)

[Blue Dragon]

1607737
I'm glad you like it. I'm working on the next chapter now, and it'll be done pretty soon.

Hm, FlutterLight? I kinda like that too... The reason I use TwiShy is because it's easier to type, and because it makes me think 'Twice Shy.' Considering both of them are rather awkward socially, and because they seem like they'd both be shy in a relationship I figured that this name would fit well.

[ThaStrangr]

1612242"Twice Shy".... I hadn't considered that.
Clever

[MysteriousStranger]

Nice to give other characters a turn in the story!
Poor Spikie... I really don't know if I should ship RarityXSpike... So confusing!

[PatRoison]

Poor Spike.

On another note, Pinkie is obviously a cult leader. Trust the cupcake? Next will be: The cupcake will bring you happiness and Don't question the cupcake.

Off the next chapter.

[Lily Gingertail]

Seeing as this chapter is called "Spike's sorrow" i kinda figured this was not going to turn out well.
I think he should have done what Fluttershy told him and just sent a letter with the name "Secret admirer", although i think Rarity wold know it was him.
Great story so far. Must keep reading