The Heartbreaker and the Cultivator

by XSomeGuyX

My Little Drama

My Little Drama

Apologies given and friendships repaired, time was an amazing healer or so it seemed. No sooner than a week did the dragon and white unicorn’s relationship return to normal. On the surface, it looked like the dragon acted just as he did before but inside, it certainly did not feel the same, similar but not the same. Perhaps Spike was just a good spy or maybe Rarity’s mountain of orders blinded her but in any case, the fashionista could not see the dragon’s new critical eye that watched how she treated him. To his discerning eye, their relationship had shifted or altered, however small but significantly.

But, to the white unicorn, everything almost felt exactly the same as before. She had her old part-time assistant back and her old life, nothing weighing heavy on her conscience, anymore that is. If it was, it was certainly was not shown in her work ethic. She was going strong, almost like a sewing machine, stitching this, cutting that. Though something about Spike nagged at her at the back of her mind, she noticed how the dragon was now more reserved than before.

All the while, she had the young dragon running errands, from cooking her lunch to running across town to retrieve a fabric she “just absolutely needed.” Lucky for him, his affection for the unicorn gave him the strength to persevere through this tough time. The days he worked with the designer pony seemed to drag on indefinitely, which was the first thing that struck him as unusual. Before the incident, the day would fly by with only small parts he remembered as he stared at the most majestic unicorn he ever laid eyes on.

It seemed that new mare had snuck her way into his mind as Spike found himself often dozing off and daydreaming of the new apple of his eye (pun fully intended). He continuously had to shake forlorn feelings as he remembered and missed helping Applejack at Sweet Apple Acres. This confused the young dragon as the only time he ever daydreamed of anypony was when he thought of Rarity… and on one special occasion, Twilight, though he will never admit it.

“Hmm…” Rarity hummed as inspected her latest design brought to life.

“Rarity?” Spike called the unicorn, bags formed under his eyes from the never ending list of tasks given to him.

“Oh! Yes, Spike can you get some more fabric from over there, I believe I almost have it,” the dress maker ordered him.

“Ok,” the green-bellied dragon said with fatigue in his voice, obeying the unicorn’s whim.

“No, no, this just will not do,” Rarity said once she saw what the dragon had brought her.

“Rarity?” Spike asked with a yawn.

“Yes, Spike?” the unicorn replied, coming up from shuffling through all the material she had in a chest in her workplace.

A sight from the corner of her eye caught her attention. She turned her head to the window to find that the sun had set, not just now but much earlier. If she had to guess, she would put her money on it already being passed midnight as the moon was in full view and no pony could be seen wandering the dark streets of Ponyville.

“Oh my! Spike, it’s late! You should have gone back to home already,” Rarity exclaimed, causing Spike to roll his eyes as she finally realized what he was trying to say to her.

The dragon was all but ready to go home and fall like log right into his basket-bed but he had a bit hope that perhaps Rarity would walk him home or at least show him out. However, he saw how she was in what he called “the zone,” when the creative juices in her brain allowed for little else than to create the vision in her head. He was used to it, he really was. It was often that he stayed up past his usual bedtime for his “Lady Rarity” and he would never mind but he had been very careful to notice every little detail in the way she treated, ever since the incident.

“Bye, Rarity…” Spike said, waiting at the open shop door to hear a farewell from his crush but unfortunately, nothing of the sort came as he close the door behind him.

“Take care, Spike,” Rarity replied, only after the dismayed dragon had left.

---

This had been a rough week for the dragon, helping his unicorn crush with all the excessive amount of custom order dresses had taken a lot out of as Twilight clearly saw. Every night for the entire week, the studious unicorn saw the dragon leave early and return exhausted. In all honesty, she missed her assistant’s… well… assistance as well as his company. Usually, he always would create a ruckus which never allowed her to fully concentrate on her reading or organizing but, for some odd reason she could not quite put her hoof on, she missed it.

Suddenly he walked through the door and, again, the overworked dragon collapsed.

“Oh, Spike…” Twilight said to herself as she carried his unconscious body to his bed. The purple unicorn could not help but feel somewhat guilty about his fatigue. The dragon had been her only friend for years and continued to be her friend, not only that but he served as her assistant for just as long. After all those years together, she had grown love her assistant, maybe more than she had even thought. With that, she tucked her friend into bed and gave him a peck on his forehead, nuzzling him afterward. “I love you more than you’ll ever know.”

---

Spike awoke the next day to find that he somehow had made it to his bed last night though he only remembered dragging himself to the door.

“Hey, Spike!” Twilight greeted the still sleepy-eyed dragon. “You’ve been coming home late… Rarity’s been keeping you busy, I bet.”

“Yeah…” Spike yawned.

“I was thinking about it, Spike,” the purple unicorn said. “And I want to give you the day off as long as you promise that you’ll use it rest up. It’s not healthy for you to use all your time helping everypony.”

“Yeah, I think I do need some to myself,” Spike said as he sat their small dining area.

“I also made breakfast, all by myself!” Twilight beamed with pride; usually it was Spike who acted as the chef of the house. “Dig in!”

“Looks delicious!” the dragon exclaimed as his mouth filled with drool just by smelling the feast. Suddenly, something hit him, a scent from the food, reminding him of something. “Apples…?”

“Yes, Spike? What about apples?” Twilight said as she took a bite out of her homemade apple pancakes.

“Apples… Apple-jack!!!” Spike said as he remembered that he promised to help Applejack his help. “Oh no! I completely forgot I promised to help her. Sorry, Twilight! Got to go!”

“WAIT!!! SPIIIIKE!!!” she called to the baby dragon but he was already out of hearing range.

---

The dragon went along the dirt road that led through Ponyville to Sweet Apple Acres as fast as his little legs could take him. Though he was in a hurry, he did not forget to greet all the ponies as he nearly crashed into them. It had nearly been a week since he had promised Applejack that he would return and make up for leaving during the busiest time of the year for the Apple family.

Honestly, the young dragon did indeed miss working with the Apples over at their farm. The work was a good more physically taxing than anything that he did for Rarity or Twilight but he still enjoyed it. Maybe it was the fresh air or the scenic view but something kept drawing him back to that farm. He never felt more energetic than he did during those days he worked with Applejack, he would even dare say that he got a bit stronger, at least he would like to think, from the labor, something he did not mind one bit.

As he reminisced about past days, he finally arrived at the farm, wheezing and barely able to stand, but still with the full intention of helping Applejack. “Whew! Made it!” Spike said, all the while breathing heavily.

“Spike? Wasn’t expectin’ to see ya here today?” the blond farmer asked as she approached the small dragon.

“I made you a promise, remember?” Spike said. “I sure do.”

“You feelin’ ok, Spike?” Applejack asked, noticing the bags under his eyes and his abnormal breathing. “You look plumb tuckered out. Maybe you should go back to the library and get yourself a good long rest. I know you’ve been helpin’ Rarity out this past week, must be as tired as bull after a rodeo.”

“But…” Spike said with a yawn.

“Gotta learn to pace yourself, sugarcube,” the work pony said, picking the tired dragon up onto her back. “Trust me, Spike. Learned that the hard way.”

“But I promised to help you,” the purple dragon said, slumped over the pony’s back.
“Spike, I love ya helpin’ me but I’d love it more for ya take care of yerself better,” Applejack responded. “Now, Spike, I have big job for ya to do for me when we get back to the library, I want ya to take the rest of the day off, no chores, no helping, just rest those weary lil’ scales of yers.”

“Ok, Applejack,” Spike said, signaling his compliance.

“But before we go, just gotta make a quick stop over at the farmhouse, got somethin’ I want to give ya there, and then we’ll head on back to Ponyville,” the apple farmer said. “Sound good to ya?”

The dragon simply nodded as he fell asleep on top of the earth pony.

---

Twilight was somewhat torn in the library all by herself. She did not know what to do, whether to go after Spike and force the dragon to take a day off or not. She knew all this extra work was driving the little guy into the ground but she also knew that he was free to do as he pleased. He was not so much a baby dragon anymore, in fact, he started to become bothered when she would call him a “baby dragon.”

He did quite a bit of growing up during their relatively short time here in Ponyville. His small crush on Rarity had developed into full blown love from what the purple unicorn saw but he still called it a crush, not really knowing what love was yet. But the recent incident seemed to dealt a significant blow to that relationship, call it mare’s intuition, but Twilight could clearly tell that it had affected the dragon much more than he led on, even though she had not talked or seen Spike much since the beginning of this mess. After living with him so many years, the unicorn could tell when something was bugging him, she only hoped it did not work the other way around.

A knock at the door derailed the studious pony’s train of thought.

“Hey, Twilight,” Applejack greeted her friend as she opened the door.

“Oh, hey, Applejack,” the unicorn smiled at the farmer, noticing her assistant on the earth pony’s back. “I thought you’d be at Sweet Apple Acres with Spike. I did give him the day off but he’s grown to be quite the stubborn little dragon.”

“I can tell, he ran all the way to the farm after all the work Rarity’s had him doin’,” Applejack laughed as the unicorn levitated the sleeping Spike onto her own back. “Poor lil guy, must be sore all over.”

“I’ll make sure he stays and doesn’t lift a claw this time,” Twilight assured her friend.

“Here’s something for him, not much but it’s all you find lyin’ around a farm,” the work pony said as she handed a sack of gems over to the unicorn. “I know how he loves ‘em.”

“Wow, thanks Applejack! I’m sure if he was awake, Spike would have thanked you too,” Twilight said, levitating the bag.

“T’werent nothing, the little guy’s really earned it,” Applejack said as she tipped her hat. “Now, if ya’ll excuse me, I’ve got to go see Rarity.”

“About what?” the unicorn asked inquisitively.

“She’s gotta take it easier on Spike, I know she’s busy and all but that doesn’t mean ya should take advantage of a friend,” Applejack said as she headed off to the fashionista’s home and shop.

Comments

[x-Kiryu-x]

-Kiryu

[Bennet001]

What a twist! I honestly didn't see that coming... No I actually didn't, yeah I'm surprised too. But I digress, nice little update keeping us inthralled in the story very nice. Although what more Twists do you have planned? Oh my gosh I'm waiting in suspence!

[Celestias Paladin]

Wait... Twilight as well? Err... must not be reading as deeply into it, still see her in this fic as his big sister.

[DARKPHANTOM13]

This should be interesting.

[Adjier]

WHAT A !

I do love myself some AppleSpike and TwiSpike

I love updates more though.

[Slice141]

this is great keep going

[Level0Hero]

A love rectangle? Holy sh*t! I expect a triangle! can't wait to read the "discussion" between Rarity and Applejack.

[AL]

wooooooooooooow nice chap C: , but mmm twili really love spike in da way ? o: i was thinkin da she loves him like a son really , but wooooooooooow :DDD i want to read da next chap soon pls !!!!!!!!!

[KARLOS1234IFY]

Love rectangle? What a !
Carry on.

[XSomeGuyX]

Ok, one big thing that'll explain last in this response to your comments: Why that twist?
1929975
Thanks, and I see that you've also read next chapter.
1936317
If you were following it on FFN, you should know I've revised it a bit. The revisions will eventually hit fanfiction but not until a little later. Probably once I'm ready to post chapter 5 on both websites.
1939521
lololol This comment made me crack up. I love Friday! Well timed and well done, good sir!
1939565
Yup. I'll reserve explaining it till last.
1939584
Yup, a couple of more twists are planned. Not as big as that one but still, you can expect to see a few more on the way.
1939621
Again, I'll wait till the end because I'd feel like I would be redundant explaining it over and over again.
1939690
Is that an angry face? lol
1939771
Alright, that what a twist comment, I didn't see coming. lol
Also, unfortunately, you're going to wait for the next update. Still haven't started, need to finish up the update for "The Check-Up Blues." Not that I'm advertising it but I am currently writing that one's next chapter. It's almost done but I still need to go over it to proofread it. Then I'll start on this one's next chapter.
1940771
Don't worry, I'm like the Energizer bunny. I'll keep going and going and going...
1940815
The love triangle is so played out. It was time for something fresh and new!
1940910
Now I'm being redundant with this. I'll explain a bit about this at the end of this comment.
1941191
Don't worry, the next chapter will be coming soon. Hopefully.
1941521
Thank you!

As I promised and repeated, I'll explain a bit about that sudden curve ball I threw at you guys. I see a lot of people weren't expecting that, Twilight's confession. But if you read, I dropped hints, not too many and maybe to subtly, but I did. And I'll explain how this love came to be within the story but no spoilers. Sorry! If you saw, Spike hadn't been around Twilight for a while. Twilight immediately feels alone and as if something is missing around her library. Just Rarity felt, Twilight was missing her assistant but not because of the assistant part, but because her closest friend was no longer around. Somewhere along the line, Spike had snaked his way into her heart without her even noticing and since he was always around, she never knew how it felt without him. You'll see more of this in the later chapter as well as from the rest of the rectangle. Hope you all hang in there while I write the next chapter!

[x-Kiryu-x]

1942381
You have no idea how much time I had this waiting to be posted, usually everytime theres a twist or something like that in a story someone allready puts it, but I rained victorious in this one!

-Kiryu

[DARKPHANTOM13]

1942381 More like I'm interested face. Best I can get the the econs.

[MarshmallowSundae]

Spilight? I can't wait to see how the Spilight in this story develops and how it's going to affect the AppleSpike.

At the end of this chapter I was expecting Rarity to show up at the library and beg for Spike's assistance, ignoring how tired he was. Basically the complete opposite of what Applejack did.

[Ignaltus]

When out a new chapter?

[chinlamp]

Huh... the Twilight thing seemed to come out of nowhere. Then again, she's hardly been in this since the beginning, so it couldn't have come from anywhere else

This chapter was definitely better constructed and composed than the previous ones, pacing still seems a little fast, but it's better than before and there's far fewer spelling mistakes.

[Inferno demon Dash]

ROUND ONE!

RARITY VS. APPLEJACK

FIGHT!!!

Gods damn, poor dude, am I sensing some bits of Spilight now? Is it to late to change my bet? Buck it, I'll vote for both of them

[110calligraphybrony]

It's gonna be a "hoe down." Pun intended.

[kotor511]

2095028 Cliffnote: (I love replaying to old as buck comments)

The thing with Twilight was more as a motherly, family kind of love she meant.