Chapter 1: Ruby Hearts

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For many a fashion designer, inspiration for a new line of clothing is always just around the corner come rain, shine or snow, whether for such a formal event as the Grand Galloping Gala or just for simple everyday attire; from the blooming of early spring to the throes of winter, there is always plenty of business. Rarity, Ponyville's famed unicorn fashion designer, was no exception; she had almost finished applying the final touches to her latest line of dresses for the Best-of-the-Best Boutique in Canterlot, owned by none other than the renowned fashion critic Hoity Toity. She had been putting a great deal of effort into designing and making these, and was planning a trip to Equestria's capital city to deliver them in person.

Using the magical powers with which all unicorns are blessed, Rarity carefully guided the last pearl bead onto its thread and tied it firmly into place. “There,” she told herself triumphantly, taking all twelve dresses in her magical grip as she made for the laundry room. “My latest fashion line is finally complete! Now to get these washed and make the travel arrangements for my trip to Canterlot.”

As the pure-white unicorn placed the fruits of her labour carefully in the wash-tub, she happened to glance out of the window on the far side of the room. It offered a good view of the Golden Oak Library where her friend and fellow unicorn Twilight Sparkle, who had not long ago become an alicorn princess, lived and worked, and looking upon the hollowed-out oak tree, she couldn't help but wonder how Spike, the young baby dragon under Twilight's care, was getting on. She could still remember when they first came to Ponyville a few years back, merely half a day before that fateful night when the dreaded Nightmare Moon had returned to Equestria after a thousand years of exile on the moon. Back then, Twilight was still only a unicorn, and having devoted almost all her waking hours to studying magic, knew virtually nothing about friendship; it was only after they defeated Nightmare Moon and restored her old self as Princess Luna that she had realised its true value. Since then, she had taken up permanent residence in Ponyville and learned a great deal more about both magic and friendship.

But it was little Spike who seemed to have made the bigger impression on Rarity. She had always had a soft spot for him ever since they first got to know each other, and he himself always seemed to go out of his way when it came to doing favours for her. Slow in the head he may have been at times, but even though she may not have shown it sometimes, she always felt deeply grateful for his assistance.

Breaking out of her reverie, Rarity trotted back into the storeroom for a quick stock-take before getting the dresses washed. From the numerous bolts of fabric stacked against the wall, she could see that although she was still well enough stocked with all the other fabrics she normally required for her dressmaking, there was one particular colour that seemed to be lacking.

“I must have used up all my gold linen on those dresses,” she mused. “Looks like I'll need to pay Royal Ribbon a visit too; but first things first, dresses need to be washed and dried, packing needs to be sorted out, and I need to make a reservation on the overnight train to Canterlot – not to mention a hotel room for moi.”

Just as Rarity was in the middle of giving her dresses a thorough rinse, however, she was interrupted by the ringing of the store bell as the door opened. Once again she left the laundry room, and headed into the lobby to find none other than Spike waiting for her.

“Hey, Rarity,” he said cheerfully. “Just came to collect those new robes you said you'd make for Twilight. Are they ready yet?”

Rarity smiled in reply. “Of course, Spike,” she affirmed. “Stay here a moment while I go and fetch them,” and she made her way back upstairs while Spike waited on a nearby couch.

She returned quite shortly with what the little dragon thought were the finest set of royal robes ever created by ponykind. Their royal blue base fabric was wonderfully offset by the golden frills at the edges, while on each side stood a wonderfully crafted image of Twilight's star-shaped Cutie Mark made of pure diamond and pinkish rubies. It was so stunning that, at first, Spike could only gaze in awe upon Rarity's creation.

“Wow,” he breathed at last. “That is one awesome set of robes. You've really outdone yourself, Rarity; I bet Twilight's gonna be really grateful for these.”

“Just glad to be of assistance, darling,” said Rarity modestly. “It took a lot of planning, crafting and stitching to get these robes right, but the honour of working on royal clothing always makes it worth the extra effort. I can't wait to see how they look on Twilight.”

Spike chuckled in a somewhat bashful manner. “Well, certainly not as radiant as you always do, Rarity,” he answered quietly. “You may make the most beautiful dresses in Equestria, but you're far more beautiful than anything else in the world.”

Rarity smiled warmly as she lowered the robes into his little arms. Whether or not he actually meant it, she couldn't quite tell, for Spike had seemed more than a little infatuated with her since they first met; but she greatly appreciated the compliment nonetheless. “That's ever so kind of you to say, Spikey-Wikey,” she replied fondly.

“Ah, it's nothing really; it's what friends are for,” murmured Spike, blushing shyly. “Anyway, I guess I'd better get these back to Twilight – unless you need anything done for you, that is.”

“Well, thank you for the offer, Spike, but I'm almost finished around here anyway. Besides, I'm sure Twilight will be wondering where her robes are, and I wouldn't really want to keep her waiting.”

“Okay, Rarity,” conceded Spike, trying not to look disappointed. “I'll see you when I see you then.”

“See you later, Spike,” called Rarity as the little dragon passed through the door.

By mid-afternoon, Rarity had finished washing the new dresses and was just returning from Ponyville Central Station after booking her trip to Canterlot. As she approached the boutique, she noticed a certain white unicorn filly waiting just outside the door.

“Why, Sweetie-Belle,” she remarked, “what a pleasant surprise. How are things with you and our parents?”

“That's what I came to talk to you about, Rarity,” answered her little sister enthusiastically. “Mom and Dad were planning on a trip to Fort Maine this weekend, and they wanted to know if you wanted to come.”

Rarity looked rather eager at first, but her face fell before Sweetie-Belle could finish. “Well, as much as I'd love to, Sweetie-Belle, I'm afraid I can't,” she confessed. “I'm completely out of gold linen and have my new fashion line to bring up to Canterlot, so I'll be away for a week.” She smiled apologetically at her sister's downcast expression; plainly little Sweetie-Belle had been looking forward to spending some time with her. “Never mind; I'm almost finished for today anyway, so we can hang out here while I pack for Canterlot.”

Sweetie-Belle brightened up at once. “Aw, thanks, sis,” she smiled, and bounced merrily into the boutique after Rarity.

As the older unicorn began organising a few suitcases, bags and hat-boxes for her week away, she listened attentively as Sweetie-Belle told her about her latest activities with Scootaloo and Apple Bloom. The three of them had been trying to gain their Cutie Marks by herding sheep at Sweet Apple Acres, but only Apple Bloom seemed to have been any good at it, and in any event it wasn't enough to gain them their Cutie Marks.

Rarity was understandably relieved to hear that her little sister had managed to stay clean throughout the fiasco that had ensued, but she still couldn't help wondering if Sweetie-Belle and her friends would ever stop and smell the flowers. Getting their own Cutie Marks may have been the most important thing in the whole world to them, hence why they had formed the Cutie Mark Crusaders, but sometimes it seemed as though they were trying too hard.

“If you find out your talent is in singing and song-writing, don't say I didn't tell you so, Sweetie-Belle!” she giggled to herself as she opened another drawer. But as she did so, she noticed something in it that made her stop dead and stare in amazement.

Noticing that Rarity no longer seemed to be paying attention to what she was saying, Sweetie-Belle stopped talking and walked curiously alongside her. “What's up, Rarity?”

In response, Rarity levitated a gold necklace out of her drawer with a heart-shaped red gem at its centre. “I wondered where that had gone,” she mused.

Sweetie-Belle blinked in amazement. “Is that the Fire Ruby that Spike gave you the day before his birthday?” she asked.

Rarity nodded, fondly remembering how she first saw the gem whilst asking Twilight for a book that would help her with the birthday present she was making for the little dragon, and how generous he had been to give it to her when he had been saving it for his birthday dinner. “Oh yes, Sweetie-Belle,” she sighed dreamily. “That Fire Ruby had to be the most beautiful gem I'd ever laid my eyes upon – and for little Spikey-Wikey to say it belonged with me......that was the kindest, most generous thing anypony – or dragon – has ever said or done for me in all my life.”

Sweetie-Belle was taken aback. “That's odd, considering he went on that massive dragon greed rampage two days later,” she said. “Even Scootaloo hasn't forgotten how he nearly stole her scooter – and yet he actually gave you that gem before all that?”

“It wouldn't be the first time he showed me a little generosity himself,” observed Rarity. “He's always been doing me favours every so often. When I told him about Sapphire Shores, for example, and how I needed more gems to make her other outfits, he offered to help me find some. He's taken out the trash and helped me with my dressmaking more times than I can count, and he was a great source of support when I was organising that fashion show of our Gala dresses – even if that didn't turn out so well.” She breathed another dreamy sigh as the memories of all the good times she had had with Spike came flooding back – but then her eyes widened. “Oh my stars!” she gasped.

“What is it, Rarity?” asked Sweetie-Belle, suddenly concerned.

Rarity gazed at the Fire Ruby pendant on her necklace, gaping in wonderment and completely unable to say anything. Just as Sweetie-Belle was about to ask if her sister had heard her, the older unicorn finally found her voice. “I can't believe it!” she said breathlessly. “I think I may be falling in love with Spike!”

Sweetie-Belle blinked, trying to process what Rarity had just said. When at last she had, a broad smile spread across her muzzle. “Aww,” she gushed, “that's so sweet, Rarity. I knew Spike had always had a crush on you, but to know you feel the same way is just......adorable!”

But Rarity wasn't so sure. “Me and Spike – adorable? But he's so...different to me!” she stammered.

“What's wrong with that?” quizzed Sweetie-Belle, cocking her head in confusion.

“Don't you get it, Sweetie-Belle? Spike is not only a dragon, he's also just a baby; there's a huge age gap between even in pony terms,” protested Rarity. “It's like a filly or a colt having an affair with their teacher – surely if one of your classmates was falling for Cheerilee you wouldn't think much of them, would you?”

Sweetie-Belle considered this. “Well, I guess not,” she agreed thoughtfully, “but I wouldn't start bullying them about it if I ever found out. That's Diamond Tiara's job!” She cringed uncomfortably at the mention of the selfish pink filly who always made life so difficult for herself, Apple Bloom, Scootaloo and countless other foals before resuming her speech; “It's not as if they can help the way they feel, after all. I mean, can you?”

“No,” replied Rarity unhappily, “and that's what's frustrating me right now; I feel like I want to spend my whole life with Spike – maybe even marry him one day – but it just feels so wrong on so many levels!” She collapsed dramatically onto her bed, raising a foreleg to her brow. “I just can't decide whether to pursue my feelings for him or just ignore him altogether!” she wailed pathetically. “Of all the worst things that could possibly happen right now, this is THE – WORST – POSSIBLE – THING!”

Sweetie-Belle sat and watched as Rarity freaked out over her dilemma, frowning with worry. She was used to seeing her sister overreact every so often, but even she could see how difficult it was for the older unicorn at this very moment. “I sure wish I could help right now, Rarity,” she lamented, “but I'm not really sure how. I'm really sorry.”

Seeing how useless her behaviour was making Sweetie-Belle feel, Rarity composed herself and patted her sister's back. “It's okay, little sister,” she soothed. “I understand you want me to be happy, but I guess you're right; this is an issue I need to work through by myself.”

Her little sister smiled appreciatively. “Thanks, Rarity,” she replied softly. “I guess I'd better leave you to it then. Anyway, I've gotta go, or Mom and Dad will be wondering where I am.”

“Okay, Sweetie-Belle. I'll see you in a week,” said Rarity kindly. “Tell Mother and Father I said hello, and I hope you all have a wonderful time at Fort Maine.”

“Will do, sis,” and Sweetie-Belle bounded cheerfully out of the boutique, and onwards towards home.

Chapter 2: An Emotional Conflict

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Trying to deal with her own emotions alone, however, proved far more difficult for Rarity than she first thought. Even though she managed to calm herself down sufficiently to not look all panicked in public, her thoughts about Spike still played on her mind, and her conscience was practically bombarding her with endless questions about her feelings for him. Nothing could defy how thoughtful the little dragon had been of her over the years, and after hearing from Twilight how brave he had been to lead the rescue after she had been taken prisoner by the Diamond Dogs, she couldn't help seeing something of a hero inside him; but on the other hoof, there was the question of whether she really felt so strongly for him as she thought she did, and if so, how would she get round the problem of the age gap and the fact that he was a dragon?

And then there was her one biggest fear of all, something that had stuck with her ever since her bad rap at the Grand Galloping Gala with that stuck-up excuse for royalty – Prince Blueblood! In her youth, Rarity had always had a deep crush on him ever since she first knew about him, and following that episode with Twilight's Gala tickets, she had been truly delighted to finally be able to meet him. However, once she was actually at the Gala, she soon discovered that Blueblood was nothing more than a shallow, selfish, high-and-mighty boor; in the end she had lost her temper with him, described him as a “royal pain” and even spattered frosting over him in her rage.

As Rarity made her way through town to do her weekly shopping, she frowned at the bitter memory of Blueblood and how upset she had been afterwards. Even though she had managed to see the bright side of the night, she was still plagued by how badly she had failed at winning the stallion of her dreams by the time she had returned home, and had cried herself to sleep just thinking about it. Luckily for her, Spike had had the presence of mind to visit the Carousel Boutique the following morning and see how she was doing on Twilight's behalf, and though to this day she was still angry at Blueblood, she was glad Spike had been there to soothe her ruffled feelings.

But what if Spike didn't really love her the way she seemed to love him, her conscience kept asking her? What if it was just a passing fancy that simply hadn't faded yet? She didn't want to experience pain like that again after what she had been through at the Gala.

“Something up, Rarity?” asked a familiar voice.

Rarity jumped and looked back to see Spike standing close by. He had gone out to fetch some extra ink for the library, but had overheard the pure-white unicorn muttering to herself as she was battling with her emotions, and couldn't help worrying about her. She stood firmly in place, tensing up as she tried to think of an excuse; her heart seemed to be telling her “To blazes with it, Rarity, just tell him how you feel and get it off your chest!!”, but her conscience was still holding her back with such force that it took all her willpower even to try and say anything.

“Rarity?” asked Spike again, concerned. “What is it?”

“Um...nothing, Spike,” answered Rarity hurriedly. “Got to go, mustn't be late, I have the thing at the place!” and she galloped away, leaving Spike at a confused loss for words.

Spike gazed after her, completely unable to make head or tails of what had just transpired. Normally Rarity was just as thoughtful towards him as he liked to think he was to her – maybe even more, considering how concerned she had been when he decided to head off to the Dragon Kingdom on that self-discovery quest – and yet here she was making feeble excuses and just running off! Something, he told himself, didn't seem right.

It was lucky for Rarity that she didn't have any important orders that needed finishing the following day, but she still felt rather annoyed with herself for sleeping in. She still hadn't been able to clear her head by the time dusk had fallen, and had lain awake in bed half the night thinking about Spike. She had even dreamt about him when at last she had fallen asleep, and was almost reluctant to rise out of her slumber when Celestia's sun rose over the horizon.

Even after she woke up and started her day's work, she couldn't stop brooding over her feelings. After only a few minutes of stitching and crafting, she decided that she was in no fit state to be making dresses right now; her work was getting increasingly sloppy, and if she tried to carry on regardless, she would only end up with an even greater headache from all the inevitable customer complaints about poor stitching, inconsistent sizes and countless other errors. If any of that happened, her reputation would unquestionably be in tatters – and all because she was so preoccupied with worry over how she felt about nothing more than a baby dragon.

Rarity sat unhappily on her couch, too distracted to even notice the cup of Earl Bray on the nearby table. She had been hoping that a spot of tea would help soothe her nerves, but had almost completely forgotten she had made one in the first place.

“How in Equestria would everypony react if they heard that I, Ponyville's very own fashion designer, a pony whose designs are worthy of the Canterlot elite, had fallen in love with a dragon of all creatures?” she lamented. “I can't bear to fall from favour just because I have feelings for somepony...I mean, someone other than a pony – but how can I possibly get over this?!” She collapsed dramatically over the couch, burying her head in a pillow as she did so. “This would have been so much easier if he was actually a pony – or if he was older, at least...”

Suddenly, it occurred to her – what if there was some spell that could make Spike the same age as her in dragon years? Better still, what if she could turn him into a pony somehow? Elated at the idea that her dilemma may well be solved once and for all, she got up from her couch and cantered over to the library.

Upon arrival at the library, Rarity immediately set about searching the Magic section for a book that might help her find one or other of the spells she was looking for. But to her utter dismay, even after she had looked through practically all the books in the section, she couldn't seem to find anything; there was plenty of other information regarding transformation spells, but nothing for turning dragons into ponies, and certainly nothing on ageing spells. She had just placed the last book onto the shelf when Twilight came in with a number of new books that she had just been cataloguing.

“Hullo, Rarity,” she said curiously, “what brings you here?”

“Do you have anything around here on ageing spells perchance?” asked Rarity hopefully.

Twilight shook her head in reply. “I'm afraid not; the only ageing spells I know of are in the Star-Swirl the Bearded Wing at the Canterlot Archives,” she told the white unicorn apologetically. “In any case, only alicorns are powerful enough to use them.”

“What about transformation spells? Is there anything on turning a dragon into a pony?”

“Why would you want to do that?” inquired Twilight, puzzled.

Rarity looked away, trying her best to seem innocent. “Just out of interest is all,” she murmured.

Twilight paused. “Um......not that I know of, sorry,” she said at last.

Rarity's ears drooped in dismay. “Oh...that's okay, Twilight,” she replied solemnly. “I didn't think you would. Thanks anyway,” and she turned towards the door.

Just as she had come out of the library, she noticed Spike again, this time with a bunch of roses. The little dragon noticed how downtrodden she seemed, and turned to walk towards her. “Everything okay, Rarity?” he asked anxiously. “You don't seem your usual self right now.”

But as soon as she saw the roses that Spike was carrying, Rarity immediately thought he must be planning on giving them to her, and completely lost control of herself as per the previous day. “No, I'm fine, thanks, Spike!” she stuttered hastily, and ran off before the startled dragon could answer.

Spike could only stand and stare in utter shock, confusion and disbelief as the mare of his dreams tried to get as far away from him as she could. He glanced down towards the roses in his hand, wondering what he had done; he had only gone out for them because they were necessary for a new recipe that Twilight wanted to try out, and yet Rarity had fled upon taking no more than a passing glance at them. He thought about all the times he had helped Rarity with her dressmaking, taken out her garbage or carried out other small chores for her, trying to work out where he might have gone wrong. But he more he thought about it, the more downhearted he became. Maybe it was because he wasn't giving Rarity any space – maybe she just didn't appreciate his company any more.

“Maybe I ought to just leave her be,” he told himself sadly. “Maybe I should try and hook up with someone closer to my age.”

With a few depressed tears in his eyes, he entered the library, left the roses on Twilight's writing desk and trudged glumly upstairs. Whether or not Twilight wanted his help at this moment, he knew not, but neither did he care right now; all he wanted was some time alone...

Having arrived home, Rarity lay across her couch tracing non-existent patterns on the heart-shaped pillows with her hoof. She was most disappointed by how badly her search at the library had turned out to be, and even more so that she couldn't seem to make a relationship with Spike work without being looked down upon by so many of Equestria's upper-crust. It was almost as if fate was giving her a choice between her career and her heart. She glanced out of the window once again, morosely nibbling on a tulip she had picked up from one of the flower stalls; it was already three in the afternoon, and Rarity should have had lunch more than two hours ago, but she didn't feel very hungry right now.

A knock on the door broke her train of thought, and she gloomily got up to answer. Upon opening it, she noticed her canary-yellow Pegasus friend Fluttershy standing outside.

“Um...Rarity, I'm so sorry if I'm interrupting anything,” she said in her usual shy manner, “but I...well, it's Thursday afternoon, and I just wondered...”

Rarity's eyes widened as she suddenly remembered. “Oh, goodness!” she exclaimed ruefully. “I'd completely forgotten about our weekly spa appointment. So sorry, Fluttershy.”

“Um...that's okay, Rarity,” replied Fluttershy with a weak smile. “I thought you might be busy right now, and I thought I'd come and check how you were doing. I can leave it until next week if you want.”

“It's not necessary, Fluttershy,” Rarity smiled back. “I was just a bit distracted today, that's all.”

Not surprisingly, Fluttershy looked rather worried when she heard this. She and Rarity had always been best friends with each other, and to know that something was bothering her always made the timid Pegasus more than a little anxious to help – but then that was the same with all her friends, considering that she was the Element of Kindness. “Is anything wrong?” she asked.

Rarity hesitated. “Well...yes, there is something wrong,” she affirmed at last, “but do you mind if we save it for the spa?”

“Whatever you want, Rarity,” conceded Fluttershy.

As they made their way to the spa together, Fluttershy tried to make small talk with Rarity in an attempt to maintain a healthy level of conversation between them; but Rarity was still deep in thought, and barely said anything until after they arrived. Fluttershy thought it rather ironic, and a little disturbing, that she should have been the more talkative of the two that day, since it was normally the other way round. Only when they were going through their usual full spa treatment did Rarity finally come clean about the problems she was having with her emotions.

Fluttershy stared at her best friend, open-mouthed. “You're falling in love with Spike?” she asked.

“That's about the size of it,” answered Rarity, trying to keep her head still while one of the spa ponies carefully filed her horn. Deep down, she was already starting to regret mentioning it even to her best friend; so perhaps Fluttershy was always ready to lend a sympathetic ear as befitted the Element of Kindness, but it didn't stop her from worrying.

“That's...oh, Rarity, that's so sweet,” gasped Fluttershy, almost causing her white unicorn friend to turn her head in bewilderment. “You and Spike make such a lovely pair. I'm so happy for you.”

“Well if you are, I'm not,” confided Rarity glumly. “You may think well of my feelings for Spike, as does Sweetie-Belle for that matter, but what if you were another one of those high-class Canterlot ponies? They tend to be very particular about this sort of thing, and if they found out that so many of their dresses were made by a mare who is in a relationship with a baby dragon – a creature who happens to be a completely different species, eight years younger than I – then they wouldn't want anything to do with me or my creations.”

“I don't see anything wrong with that. Big Macintosh is about four years older than me, and no-one's ever complained about the notion of me going out with him – not that I actually suggested it in the first place.”

“Maybe not, but with Spike it's different. Dragons age a lot slower than us ponies, so by the time he's physically matured, I'd probably have died of old age.”

“Not necessarily,” replied Fluttershy. “My aunt Dancing Butterflies has a friend named Golden Inferno who works as an ambassador for Equestria in the Dragon Kingdom, and he's written a book on the life cycle of dragons. I actually have a copy of it back home.”

Rarity shot Fluttershy a surprised look as if she had only just noticed her. “But I thought you were...”

“Rarity, I haven't finished yet,” said the spa pony, mildly annoyed.

“Sorry about that, Lotus,” apologised Rarity. “Do carry on,” and she rested her head on the pillow while the spa pony continued filing.

“Well, yes, I am scared of dragons,” Fluttershy resumed, “but ever since Spike and Twilight moved in, I decided that I needed to know everything there was to know about them in case Spike should become ill or injured. If you were to look in there, I think you'd find that there's more to a dragon's ageing process than just greed.”

“Is there?” asked Rarity curiously.

“Golden Inferno had studied the history and physiology of dragons and worked out that certain other factors could fuel their growth rate, many of which depended on their subspecies,” explained Fluttershy. “Among these were bravery, intellect, anger, or even love.”

Rarity blinked. “Did you say......'love'?”

“Yes – with most dragons, if one fell in love with another, much older than he or she happened to be, and that other dragon, or pony in this case, returned those feelings, then the growth rate of the younger one would increase to the point where he or she would be at a more compatible physical age in at least one tenth the time it would normally have taken. It doesn't disfigure them in the same way that greed does, but the process is irreversible, and takes several months – even a few years,” finished Fluttershy.

Rarity paused, mulling it over. Now that Fluttershy of all ponies had provided her with a new perspective, she felt a lot less worried about the age gap between herself and Spike; but still, this was a dragon they were talking about. No matter what their respective ages may have been, the chances of Equestria's upper-crust ponies approving of somepony of the same class getting into a relationship with a dragon was probably so low that being hit by lightning seemed like an everyday occurrence. “So if I went ahead and showed my feelings for Spike......then he would soon 'come of age', as it were?” she asked.

“It'd take time, but yes, he'd soon grow to the point where you would never have known there was an age gap at all,” affirmed Fluttershy. “Does that make your problem any easier?”

“Very much so, Fluttershy,” smiled Rarity gratefully. “Thank you so much. You're the best friend a pony could ever have.”

Fluttershy blushed. “Oh, it's nothing,” she smiled modestly. “I'm just glad I could be of help.”

Chapter 3: A New Search for Love

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Despite Fluttershy's input, Rarity was still in turmoil over her own emotions by the time the sun rose the next morning. She had managed to sleep a bit easier, but her dreams had been plagued by visions of her finest creations being thrown on a huge bonfire by a mob of disgruntled upper-class ponies, many of whom were grumbling about being ripped off by a dragon-lover.

These, however, paled in comparison with one particular nightmare she experienced at one point, about herself lying tired, cold and hungry on the streets of some random town or city next to a sign saying “NO JOB; MARRIED TO A DRAGON”, while several townsponies walked past with disapproving looks on their faces. As a result, she was almost afraid to make her appointed trip to Canterlot; but she knew that her boutique was bound to lose business if she didn't, so having eaten breakfast, carefully washed and groomed herself and checked that everything was ready, she made her way across town to Ponyville Central Station.

Within half an hour of her arrival – almost too soon for Rarity – the train pulled smoothly alongside the platform with a gentle hiss and squeaking of brakes. As the engine passed her by, Rarity glanced up to notice a headboard attached to the front of its smokebox, proclaiming this train to be the Crystallion Limited, Equestrian National Railways' top-link express that connected the Crystal Empire with Canterbury West Station in Canterlot.

Once the train had come to a halt, two porters came forward to help transfer her belongings to the luggage van upfront. “With all that stuff you've got there, ma'am, anyone would think you're trying to transport the whole of Ponyville!” joked one of them. “Ever heard of 'travelling light'?”

Rarity simply huffed with dignity and looked away. She was used to hearing that sort of thing from the railway porters; but to her, travelling light was like having to look unkempt.

A few minutes later, once Rarity had found her compartment and her luggage had been safely stowed away, the express steamed regally out of the station and onto the open line. Little did the pure-white unicorn know that a certain fire-breathing reptile was watching from nearby, quietly mourning over what he thought was no more than a one-sided crush on a pony far out of his league. But if she didn't want to be with him, Spike told himself sadly, then he had no right to try and interfere, so as soon as the train had left the station, he turned his back on it and walked sombrely towards the Carousel Boutique.

As chance would have it, Sweetie-Belle was just outside the door of the boutique as Spike came into view. She had been hoping to wish Rarity a safe journey to Canterlot before either unicorn left, but was a little disappointed to find that her big sister had already gone. Just as she was turning to head for home, she noticed Spike coming her way.

“Oh, hi, Spike,” she called. “Everything okay?”

Spike barely seemed to notice her. “Yeah, I'm fine, thanks,” he answered nonchalantly. But then a sudden realisation made him stop in his tracks; if Rarity didn't like him as much as he had hoped for, maybe Sweetie-Belle would be the next best filly. She was closer to his age for a start, but more importantly, even though she didn't act quite like her sister, she was the closest he was likely to get to the older white unicorn.

“Actually, Sweetie-Belle,” he began shyly, “I've just been wondering...” He tailed off, trying to work out what he was going to say.

“Wondering what, Spike?” asked Sweetie-Belle curiously.

The little dragon didn't reply immediately, however; he just stood fidgeting uncomfortably. Maybe Sweetie-Belle was by no means as fussy or picky as Rarity, but she still might not be overly enthusiastic about what he wanted to ask. “Um......how do you feel about dating?” he blurted out.

Sweetie-Belle beamed joyously as soon as he said that, and for a moment, Spike thought that she would accept his invitation. Much to his surprise, however, the young unicorn filly's answer was completely off topic from what he was implying. “Oh, I love the idea of dating!” she gushed happily. “I'm already good friends with a colt in my school named Lickety-Split, and I think he might have started to like me – as in 'like me' like me – he actually asked me if I wanted to go out for dinner next week, and I...” but she broke off mid-sentence when she noticed a downcast expression on Spike's face. “What's wrong, Spike?”

“So......you're already taken then,” muttered Spike gloomily, not even bothering to look at Sweetie-Belle he was so disheartened. “Oh well, I sure hope you and he are happy together,” and he turned to leave.

“Spike,” inquired Sweetie-Belle, confused, “were you trying to ask me out too?”

Spike merely nodded in reply.

“But why? I thought you had a crush on my big sister.”

“I did,” replied Spike, “but she's been avoiding me like the Cutie Pox lately, so I'm starting to think she probably doesn't even want to be friends with me anymore. That's why I was asking about a date; I thought if I couldn't hook up with Rarity, maybe I should try somepony who's closer to my age.”

Sweetie-Belle looked away, deep in thought. This must have had something to do with her conversation with Rarity two days previously, she thought; and if so, Spike probably had no reason to worry. But she didn't want to rush her sister into this too soon, so she decided against saying anything about her emotions in front of the little dragon.

“Don't worry about it, Spike,” she soothed. “Everything's gonna turn out okay in the end. You'll see.”

“How so?”

“Not telling!” replied Sweetie-Belle coyly, and galloped back towards home leaving Spike in suspense for the umpteenth time that week.

Applejack had been up since daybreak gathering the first crop of apples, and was now making her way back to the farmhouse with her cart heavily laden with Ponyville's finest fruits. As she pulled up alongside the barn, she noticed Spike walking towards her.

“Howdy, Spike,” she drawled cheerfully, tipping her Stetson hat in greeting. “What brings y'all up to Sweet Apple Acres this mornin'?”

“Oh, hey, Applejack,” replied Spike. “Any idea where Apple Bloom is right now?”

“She's up at the clubhouse plannin' her next Cutie Mark Crusader mission,” said Applejack. “How come?”

Spike looked away uneasily. “Oh...nothing,” he answered quietly. “I just wanted to talk with her about something.”

But despite his best attempts to make out as if there wasn't anything out of the ordinary, Applejack could sense that something wasn't right; for the little dragon seemed far lower than he was letting on. “What did y'all wanna talk with her about, Spike?” she asked.

“Nothing of any real importance,” Spike tried to assert; but even he knew that wasn't true, and this rather worried him. Applejack was the most honest pony he knew, and could easily tell if someone was lying to her, but he didn't want her to find out what was going on in his mind at this moment. Fortunately, the bright yellow filly came sprinting into view before Applejack could question him any further.

“Hey there, Spike,” said Apple Bloom, pleasantly surprised. “Ah wasn't expectin' ta see y'all 'ere today.”

“Morning, Apple Bloom. How's the Cutie Mark Crusader stuff coming along?”

“Um...not very well so far,” admitted Apple Bloom ruefully. “We tried gettin' Cutie Marks in woodcarvin', but Ah din' bring the right tools, an' all we ended up with was just a pile o' wood-chips! Seems we're not cut out fo' woodcarvin' after all.”

“So......any plans for today?” asked Spike, secretly crossing his fingers in the hope that she would have some free time.

Apple Bloom looked down at her hooves, scuffing one against the ground. “Well, Ah was plannin' on me an' Scootaloo an' Sweetie-Belle tryin' our hoof at pottery, but Sweetie-Belle is away fo' the weekend an' Scoot's havin' 'er leg looked at after she cut it on one of our woodcarvin' tools,” she replied, “so Ah've not really got anything to do.”

Spike smiled wryly. “That's a shame,” he sympathised. “I guess you were looking forward to getting that pottery Cutie Mark, huh?”

Apple Bloom merely nodded in response.

“Well I've got some free time; how about we go out to lunch together?” suggested Spike. Once again he crossed his fingers, trying not to look overly fussed about what the answer would be.

The yellow filly considered. “That okay with you, Applejack?” she asked.

“Fine by me, Apple Bloom,” conceded Applejack. “Hope y'all enjoy yourselves.”

“Okay then, Spike, let's go.”

“Sure thing, Apple Bloom,” smiled Spike, cheerfully leading the way out of the orchard. As they made their way back towards town, he subconsciously raised a delighted fist and cheered triumphantly; this seemed to be going far better than his earlier attempt with Sweetie-Belle. Okay, so perhaps Apple Bloom would soon catch onto his plan, but hopefully by the time she did, the two of them would be so close that there would be no way she would not want to be with him, right? Right!

After a journey of around twenty hours, the Crystallion Limited finally pulled into the terminus at Canterbury West. As soon as it was stationary, Rarity disembarked from her carriage and went forward to collect her luggage, the unloading of which seemed to be taking the station staff a long time; not only was one of the porters attending to her belongings, but also the conductor, guard and stationmaster!

“One of these days, we'll have to charge you double for all this lot, milady,” chortled the guard. “The number of times you nearly had Atlas hospitalised with a slipped disc is just unbelievable.”

“Well maybe you shouldn't be using colts to carry luggage around like this,” retorted Rarity feelingly. “It's nothing but cheap labour!”

The stationmaster just laughed, and carried on transferring Rarity's luggage onto the waiting cart. Once it was loaded, the porter set off to the hotel where Rarity would be staying while she bought her supplies and dropped off her couture.

Having unpacked and settled into her room in the hotel, Rarity paid her fee to the porter and went to deliver her new dresses to Hoity Toity's boutique; but even as she trotted through the streets of Canterlot, she couldn't stop worrying about how her reputation would suffer upon revealing her feelings for Spike. It didn't help that Canterlot was bustling with high-class ponies wherever she looked, plenty of whom wore garments that she herself had made and therefore easily recognised. To think that what at this moment was such a rewarding sight would soon be rarer than hen's teeth, all because......but she quickly snapped herself out of it. Fluttershy was probably right; it probably wasn't that big a deal.

But what if it was? If so many of the high society ponies were as shallow as they often made out to be, the only dresses she would be making would probably be for the poor and homeless, and her career would be ruined – and yet the last thing she wanted to do to little Spike was turn him away. Either way, it seemed that this would lead to heartbreak and depression for both of them.

At last, she reached a large-windowed building not too far away from the Canterlot Castle, through which any passing pony could see numerous ponequins clad in the latest Equestrian fashions. A few of them even wore examples of her own dresses and accompanying accessories, and stood proud at the front of the display area. Upon seeing her own work taking pride of place in the Best-of-the-Best Boutique, Rarity felt a little better about herself as she entered the shop with her latest creations.

The unicorn mare behind the counter looked up from the paperwork she was currently sorting out. “Can I help you?”

“Is Hoity Toity available?” asked Rarity. “I came to drop off these new dresses he ordered.”

“Oh, of course!” the mare exclaimed, suddenly remembering. “I'll go and fetch him at once,” and she made her way round the back of the store.

Shortly after, she returned with a certain bluish grey stallion with purple-tinted shades. “Ah, Rarity,” he said, “I see you've brought the latest of your new fashion line, my dear?”

“As promised, Hoity Toity,” affirmed Rarity, proudly revealing the dresses she had been working on for the last week or so.

Hoity Toity looked them over with great interest. As a renowned fashion critic, he had to be sure that these creations were up to scratch, but he could already see that Rarity had done a wonderful job on them as always. The long rows of gems glimmered so beautifully in the sunlight that they almost looked like fairy lights, and the golden lace stood out splendidly against the base fabric.

“Marvellous,” proclaimed Hoity Toity at last. “Once again I take my hat off to you, Rarity; these new creations of yours are truly the bees' knees. I shall place them on display at once.”

“Thank you so much,” beamed Rarity with delight.

“You're very welcome. Now how about a spot of tea?”

Rarity simply nodded her approval. A nice, refreshing cup of tea was everything she needed after her long journey, and she still had a lot of time to spare before returning to Ponyville the following Wednesday. She followed Hoity Toity into the living room behind the store, leaving his shop assistants to deal with the dresses.

Rarity and Hoity Toity spent an hour or so talking about what had been going on since they had last seen each other. Hoity Toity had apparently thought Rarity such a role model when it came to fashion that he had told a number of other designers at most of the fashion shows he had been attending that, while their own creations were still fairly magnificent in their own way, they could learn a great deal from her. Such appreciation from Equestria's best fashion critic as to recommend her to other designers made Rarity feel deeply humbled; though many other ponies loved her creations, she sometimes felt like only Spike ever thought higher of her dresses than Hoity Toity.

Her face fell as her mind went back to the little dragon. It had only been around twenty-four hours since she left for Canterlot, but already she was beginning to miss him. Hoity Toity noticed this, and was rather concerned. “A bit for your thoughts?” he asked.

“I'm sorry, Hoity Toity,” apologised Rarity meekly, “I'm just so distracted right now because of an issue I have with a friend of mine back at home.”

“I see,” mused Hoity Toity. He shifted his shades a little; “Might I ask what this issue may be?”

“Well......I don't want to bore you with details, but......how do you feel about a pony falling in love with a dragon?”

Hoity Toity looked thoughtful. “I'm afraid my strong point is in fashion, not romance,” he said gravely, “but if it's any help to you, I don't see a problem with it. But as I said, I'm no expert on the subject.”

“Oh,” said Rarity, disappointed. “Well, thank you kindly all the same.”

“That's perfectly alright, Rarity. Always happy to lend a listening ear to one of Equestria's best fashion designers,” replied Hoity Toity kindly. “I'm only sorry I can't be of help.”

Rarity nodded in understanding. “I didn't think you would, but I do appreciate it nonetheless.”

Chapter 4: The Heart Wants What It Wants

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The days went by, and Rarity soon had most of the supplies she needed for the Carousel Boutique; but aside from the linen she was after, the one thing she was still lacking was the answer to her dilemma regarding Spike. Her talk with Hoity Toity had helped to soothe her nerves, but only by a minute amount, and she certainly couldn't see any of the other ponies understanding her feelings for the young dragon if she told them. She remembered the time she had come to collect some fabrics for a dress that she had planned as a birthday present for Twilight; two unicorns in particular, Jet-Set and Upper-Crust, had been far less than impressed to hear that she was from Ponyville, and when she had told them that her five best friends were the most important ponies she could ever know, they simply laughed and brushed them off.

Rarity rounded a corner to see Royal Ribbon's Fabric Emporium up ahead. It was from here that she always obtained the finer fabrics that went into her dresses, and she was therefore great friends with the proprietor. As she entered the shop, the cerise, blue-maned unicorn came forward to greet her; “Rarity, wonderful to see you again. What can I do for you?”

“I'd like a roll of deep emerald green satin and a further three of gold linen please,” Rarity requested.

“One roll of deep emerald green satin and three of gold linen coming up,” answered Royal Ribbon, heading into the storeroom. “How's the dressmaking business in Ponyville?”

“Very nicely, thank you, Royal Ribbon. I'd just finished a new fashion line for Hoity Toity last week, and I do of course have Twilight keeping me busy. Having Equestria's newest royalty as a regular customer is providing my boutique with a massive boost, and I must say, I feel oh so honoured!”

“Well, that's royalty for you!” chuckled Royal Ribbon as she came back out with the rolls of fabric. “Anything else been happening?”

“Oh, well I think I......” but Rarity quickly stopped herself when she realised what she was about to say. She could understand discussing her problem in a living room or spa, out of the public eye, but was it really a good idea to bring it up in a shop with several other ponies listening in? More to the point, would Royal Ribbon understand as well as Fluttershy, Sweetie-Belle or even Hoity Toity?

Royal Ribbon looked rather perplexed at Rarity's sudden change of attitude. “Is there something bothering you, darling?” she asked.

Rarity looked at her hooves, embarrassed. “I can't keep this a secret from anyone, can I?” she sighed, and reluctantly explained to Royal Ribbon about her new-found feelings for Spike, and the dilemma with which it had been facing her.

The cerise unicorn chuckled. “Well, I don't know about the age gap, but for a pony of your class to date or even marry a dragon...well......”

Rarity cringed. She was for it now!

“...there's nothing wrong with that as far as I'm concerned.”

The white unicorn gave Royal Ribbon an odd look. “Seriously?”

“My brother Crown Jewel is a perfect example of such an alliance,” explained Royal Ribbon sagely. “He's a well-respected socialite even today, but there was one time when he was abducted by some pretty desperate criminals. At that time, we had a dignitary visiting Canterlot from the Dragon Kingdom named Ember Heard, who had taken quite a shine to Jewel, as we called him; she managed to track them down and force them into releasing him with the threat of burning them if they resisted. After that, the two of them started going out together and eventually married.”

“So...no great age gap to worry about?”

“In dragon terms, no,” answered Royal Ribbon. “Ember was around a hundred and twelve years old when they married, which is more like twenty-five in pony years – just a year older than my brother. They both live in Vanhoofer now.”

“That's good to know,” said Rarity with a weak smile. That conversation she had been having with Royal Ribbon just now plainly hadn't helped to come to terms with the difference in age between herself and Spike, and neither did it make her feel any better about the fact that even though he would eventually reach a more appropriate physical age for her, it would take quite some time; but at least she had gained some reassurance that relationships between dragons and ponies were not exactly unheard of among the jet-set of Equestria.

Back at Ponyville, Apple Bloom lay on the grass at the top of the hill, deep in thought. Spike had been hanging around her quite a lot lately, and though she couldn't say she didn't enjoy it, she was starting to experience a few doubts. As with so many other ponies in Ponyville, she knew perfectly well about the crush Spike had always had on Rarity and how he always seemed to try and win her heart – and yet here he was trying the same with her. Why was he doing this? Had he just lost interest in the white unicorn mare or something?

The little yellow filly felt something touching her front hoof, and blushed slightly when she noticed that Spike, who was sitting next to her and watching the stars, had rested a gentle claw on it. By this time, she could no longer contain herself; she needed answers, and now would be a good time to get them. “Spike,” she asked cautiously, “was there a special reason y'all 'ave been askin' me out so often this week?”

Spike turned his head away, trying to hide his own blush as he fidgeted nervously. “Um...no,” he stammered. “I just thought...since we don't spend enough time together...” but he broke off, unable to finish.

“If Ah din' know better,” remarked Apple Bloom suspiciously, “Ah'd say y'all were tryin' ta date with me.”

“What makes you think that?”

“You an' Ah hadn't spent so much as a second outta each other's company. How could Ah possibly not know?”

Spike slapped a claw to his face. It seemed as though his game was up. “Okay, okay, I admit it, this was a date,” he groaned. “I know you're probably annoyed with me, but just hear me out first; Rarity has been acting very strangely lately, and won't even talk to me. I don't know why, but I imagine she's getting fed up of me overcrowding her, so I thought I'd date someone more my age, and......well, the Cutie Mark Crusaders were my first choice. I didn't have any success with Sweetie-Belle either, but since we had been getting on so well together, I decided I'd be better off with you.” He then buried his face in both claws, ashamed; “But how wrong I turned out to be.”

So it was something to do with Rarity, thought Apple Bloom. What she didn't understand, however, was why the pure-white unicorn would have turned Spike down when Sweetie-Belle had been confiding to her about Rarity having feelings for him only last Thursday. Rather wisely, she decided not to bring up the subject for fear of hurting Spike's feelings further.

“Oh, Spike,” she said in a more comforting tone, “Ah know Ah'd always taken a la'kin' to ya since Ah first met y'all an' Twi before Nightmare Moon returned, but as much as Ah'd la'k the idea of bein' with ya, Ah'm not so sure Rarity would want her li'l Spikey-Wikey leavin' her hangin'. Besides, Ah've got mah eye on another colt in mah class, so Ah'm afraid Ah...”

“Never mind, Apple Bloom,” answered Spike morosely. “I guess finding a new fillyfriend outright was too much to hope for. Maybe I ought to just go home; sorry I wasted so much of your time.”

“It's okay, Spike,” smiled Apple Bloom. “Ah hope y'all find what yo' lookin' fo'.” But what she didn't have the heart to tell Spike was that what she meant by “what yo' lookin' fo'” was in Canterlot at that very same moment.

Spike didn't even bother to reply as he made his way down the hill towards the library. Two fillies and one mare he had tried going out with so far, and none of them seemed to want to start dating him. Other dragons would definitely be out of the question, for while in Canterlot there were so many other baby dragons besides him, he was the only one who actually lived in Ponyville.

Rarity checked her luggage one more time to make sure she had everything she needed before heading off to Canterbury West Station. Having satisfied herself that everything was ready, she went over to the en-suite bathroom for one final wash and brush-up, but needless to say when she looked in the mirror, she felt a little disheartened by the tired look on her face. Her mane would only take a few seconds to sort out, but even after applying her make-up she couldn't help noticing the bags under her eyes that had resulted from lack of sleep over the last few nights.

“Pull yourself together, Rarity!” she told herself sharply. “You're just going to make yourself ill, you cowardly foal!”

“Need any help, ma'am?” she heard the porter calling from the hallway. Rarity flinched slightly when she realised that she had spoken it out loud.

“No, I'm alright, thank you,” she called back, quickly placing her hairbrush and eye-shadow back into her bag as she dashed out of the bathroom.

Rarity and the porter made it to Canterbury West Station in good time, but with three quarters of an hour to wait before the train had been prepared for the run up to the Crystal Empire via Ponyville, she was left with nothing to do except pace the platform until the coaches had been brought in. Usually she didn't mind the wait, but today she felt rather agitated. Perhaps it was because she just wanted to get she wanted to get back to her boutique and catch up on her orders – or perhaps it may have been because she was anxious to see Spike? She wandered aimlessly into the station café, almost at her wits' end.

“Why, Rarity,” called a familiar voice, “fancy meeting you here!”

Rarity suddenly perked up as she turned her head towards the one who had just spoken, for there, sitting at a table near the window was the one stallion in all of Canterlot who might be able to solve her problems once and for all.

“Hullo, Fancypants,” she said, trotting up to their table. “What brings you to Canterbury West?”

“Oh, Fleur de Lis and I were attending a show in Ponychester over the weekend and had just got back,” answered Fancypants. “How about you, Rarity dear? I presume this is to do with the Carousel Boutique?”

“Yes, actually,” affirmed Rarity. “I was just buying some more fabric and other materials – and dropping off some of my latest dresses for Hoity Toity's place.”

“Ah yes, that reminds me; Fleur and I wanted to ask a small favour of you,” Fancypants remembered.

“Yes, you see, Fancypants proposed to me a few weeks ago, and we wanted to ask if you would mind awfully making a wedding dress for us at some point,” added Fleur, raising a hoof to show the wedding bracelet she was wearing.

Rarity blinked in amazement. “You two are getting married?” she gasped. “Oh, Fancypants, that's wonderful news. Congratulations to both of you.”

“Thank you very much,” smiled Fancypants gratefully. “We're planning our wedding for next April, so we're in no rush right now. Would that be alright?”

“But of course it would. I'd be more than happy to provide a dress or twelve for your wedding.”

“Much appreciated.” Then Fancypants noticed a solemn look in Rarity's eyes. Though she was trying to hide it with a somewhat feeble attempt at a warm smile, she didn't appear to be doing a good job of it. “What seems to be the matter, Rarity?” he asked gently. “You seem a little bit off.”

Rarity sighed. “Yes, I am in a bit of a jar at the moment,” she replied. “I'm not entirely sure you would understand, really, but...”

“Nonsense,” objected Fancypants. “Of course I would understand; you don't need to hide your feelings from me any more than you needed to make that excuse about your Pegasus friend Rainbow Dash being the trainer of the Wonderbolts when in truth she was just an ordinary weather pony. Now then, what is it that seems to be bothering you?”

After a long pause, Rarity finally plucked up enough courage to explain. “I'm having a bit of a struggle with my own emotions regarding a dragon friend of mine.”

“Oh, as in that young Spike fellow I met at the Royal Wedding! Yes, I still remember him.”

“Well, the thing is, Fancypants, I think I might have fallen in love with him,” continued Rarity. “I know I once told you I'd been looking for my one true love for many, many years, but I had always thought that it would be a handsome stallion; the last thing I had expected to find out about him was that he was a dragon. And yet, after looking back over all that Spike has done for me, the thought of me being married to a stallion suddenly made so little sense it was untrue.”

She paused again, taking a deep breath to try and calm herself as much as she could, and explained why it was such a problem; “But when I think about my clientele, I realise that so many of them tend to be so shallow and self-important, and just thinking about them makes me scared of my own feelings; if they found out that I had feelings for a baby dragon, they'd never want to buy my dresses ever again. It's not just the difference in species though; Spike is eight years younger than me, and the fact that dragons age slower than us ponies makes him only a toddler compared to myself. Though my friend Fluttershy told me that dragons can age faster if they fall in love with someone older and have their feelings returned, she added that it takes time before they've grown to a similar age to their lover. I want to share my feelings with him, but I just......I feel like a dragon molester!” She suddenly broke down into tears at this point, her distress finally overwhelming her.

Fancypants gave her a small, sympathetic smile. “You don't need to feel that way, Rarity,” he soothed, placing a gentle hoof on her back. “Even the best of us can find ourselves in equally impossible dilemmas. Let me tell you a little story about myself and Fleur.”

Drying her tears as best as she could, Rarity sat up and listened intently as Fancypants began his tale.

“A few years ago, when I was in my final year grammar school, I became acquainted with a stunningly radiant young mare while at a social gathering here in Canterlot. I didn't know her name, her age or where she lived; all I knew is that I wanted to get to know her better. The two of us started to chat, and I found out that the mare's name was Fleur de Lis, that she had exquisite tastes in fashion and hoped to go into modelling someday. Eventually the two of us started to see a lot more of each other, and after I had graduated, we began dating each other – but that was where the trouble began.”

“I was of a lower class than Fancypants, and though my own parents were perfectly fine with me going out with him, his were most offended that their own son should fraternise so strongly with a middle-class mare such as myself,” continued Fleur gravely. “They castigated him to no end about our growing relationship and even threatened to cut his allowance if he didn't stop seeing me. Eventually though,” she went on, smiling at the fond memories of how her career had truly begun, “I caught the attention of the fashion photographer Photo-Finish; she was so impressed with my modelling that she offered to help me shine across Equestria. I was delighted to accept, and in a short time, I became one of the greatest supermodels who ever lived.”

“Upon hearing this, my parents mellowed towards her very quickly, but they still objected to our relationship on the grounds that the age gap between Fleur and myself was almost as great as yours – she was seventeen at the time she started under Photo-Finish and I was twenty-four. Nevertheless, being the reasonable stallion that I like to believe I am, I eventually managed to reason with them that it should be my choice as to whom I wanted to be with,” added Fancypants, “and if we wanted to be together, then it should really be up to us. Only then did they realise just how strong our feelings for each other were, and they finally consented to me and Fleur becoming an 'item', as it were.”

By the time Fancypants and Fleur had finished their story, Rarity had been reduced to tears once again, though not out of distress over her indecision about Spike. She was truly touched by the revelation that two of Canterlot's finest ponies, apart from Princesses Celestia and Luna, had gone through almost the same crisis as she was going through now and therefore understood exactly how it felt.

“The point we're trying to make, Rarity,” finished Fancypants wisely, “is that by the end of the day, it isn't the age, physique, species, social standing or even your own reputation that matters – it's how you feel about that someone. If you truly love Spike, you should follow your heart, not the opinions of all those other high-society ponies.”

And in that very instant, Rarity realised just how right Fancypants was. She no longer cared about what other ponies would think of her feelings for Spike, whether it was to do with him being younger or of a lower class, or even just because of him being a dragon. All she cared about was that she loved him with all her heart, and if anypony didn't like it, that was their problem and theirs alone.

“Thank you, Fancypants,” she said softly. “Yes, you're quite right. Other ponies may complain bitterly about who I choose to be with, but I can't let that cloud my judgement; as soon as I get home, I'm telling Spike exactly how I feel about him.”

Fancypants smiled broadly. “That's the spirit, dear,” he encouraged. But before he could say anything else, they heard the station announcement;

“The train now standing at Platform Four is the 15:30 Crystallion Limited calling at Trottingham, Ponyville Central, Ponychester Piccafilly and Crystal Palace Junction, Crystal Empire. Passengers for the 15:30 Crystallion Limited, please make your way to Platform Four.”

“I guess that's me,” remarked Rarity, getting up from her seat. “I'm sorry I can't stay and chat, Fancypants, but I do have a train to catch. Thank you for helping me with sorting my feelings out; I hope to see you again soon, and I'll gladly provide that wedding dress for Fleur when the time comes.”

“That's quite alright, Rarity. Have a nice journey home, and I hope everything goes well with Spike,” replied Fancypants. Rarity thanked him once again and cantered over to find her compartment on the Crystallion.

Chapter 5: Rescue from Heartbreak

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It was only twenty minutes before the express began its long journey north, but Rarity was so anxious to get home that it seemed like ages. But at last, the train had left the outskirts of Canterlot and was now speeding through the open countryside on its way to Ponyville. As it pounded down the main line, Rarity decided that it would be a good opportunity to work out what she was going to say to Spike when she arrived home. But working out a mental “script” for her arrival back in Ponyville, although not half as difficult as her previous dilemma, turned out to be a bit of a challenge in itself.

“...let's try this again. Um...hullo there, Spike – lovely weather we're having here today......you missed me? Oh, Spikey-Wikey, I missed you too. You're such a sweet little dragon and – no, that's too mushy! I can't tell him that, or I'll have him off to the Dragon Kingdom again!!” she castigated herself. “Okay, this needs some serious work!”

But before she could start again, she was interrupted by a knock at her door. She opened it up to find an Earth pony stallion staring blankly into her compartment. “Can I help you, sir?”

“Um...sorry, madam,” apologised the other passenger, “I just heard your voice from behind the door and wondered if everything was okay.”

“Oh no, everything's fine,” replied Rarity with an awkward smile. “I was......just rehearsing for my latest fashion début next month, but I couldn't work out what to say.” It wasn't much of an excuse, but it was all that she could think of.

Luckily the passenger seemed convinced. “Okay, madam, that's fine,” he replied, and headed back to his own compartment. Breathing a sigh of relief, Rarity closed the door and began rehearsing once again.

“Right, here we go – good day to you, Spike, how are you feeling? ......Oh, I'm so sorry that I had to leave at such short notice, but I needed to get some dressmaking supplies from Canterlot......I know, and I missed you too...listen, Spike, there's something I need to tell you...”

But once again she was suddenly cut off, this time by a somewhat explosive roaring sound as a goods train swept past them, nearly causing Rarity to jump out of her skin.

“Come on now, Rarity,” she told herself again, “you've got to remain calm, or else you're going to mess it up really badly with Spike. Now where was I......oh, botheration! Now I've forgotten what I was going to say!” she growled with frustration.

But her annoyance quickly turned to concern when she heard the screeching sound of the brakes being applied. The pace of the countryside bypassing her window seemed to slacken and wane until it was going no faster than a butterfly, and then not even that. Then, with a light jolt, the screeching diminished completely as the express finally stopped.

Rarity pulled her window down to look along the train in both directions. She was confused to find that they had stopped in the middle of nowhere; there was no station platform, no junction, not even a signal to show where they were. She noticed the driver levitating a long wire up to the telegraph cables on the lineside while the firepony opened up a wooden box, but couldn't seem to work out what they were for. At that moment, she heard a knock at her compartment door, and opened it to find one of the train attendants standing outside.

“Terribly sorry, lady, but our locomotive has burst a steam-chest,” he reported. “We're sending for a pilot engine to rescue the train, but it may be some time yet.”

Though she only just managed not to show it, Rarity was most dismayed at having to wait for longer before arriving back in Ponyville. Already she was getting quite worked up about how to tell Spike of her feelings for him, but to have to wait longer before telling him – she just couldn't bear the suspense.

“Okay, well, thank you for the update,” she replied. The attendant nodded, and made his way down the corridor, closing the door behind him. Only then did Rarity let her feelings out; “Oh, disaster!” she wailed. “Just when I've come to a decision regarding Spike, fate has to throw more obstacles in the way by making my train break down! Of all the worst things that could happen, this is THE – WORST – POSSIBLE – THING!”

But then another thought occurred to her that made her forget her hysteria. “Or is it? Yes, my train may be more than a little late getting me home, but that does buy me a bit more time to work out what I'm going to say to Spike,” she thought aloud. “But later, maybe; I need to soothe my nerves with a nice dry Martini.”

As she left her compartment and headed for the bar coach, she happened to glance out of the corridor-side window, from which she could just make out Ponyville in the distance. Looking upon its rough location, she couldn't help but wonder if Spike was alright.

But what Rarity couldn't know was that Spike was anything but alright. The following morning, after his lack of success with Apple Bloom, he decided to try Scootaloo instead – but while he took the same gentle, almost stealthy approach that seemed to have worked quite well before, it didn't work quite so well on the orange Pegasus filly. If anything, however, Spike's major downfall came in the form of a rather cheeky little unicorn filly they passed on their way to Sugarcube Corner.

“Look, Mommy!” squeaked the filly, pointing a hoof towards them. “It's a dragon on a date with a pony!”

“Put your hoof down, dear,” chided her mother, “it's rude to point.”

Scootaloo overheard the other filly and shot a death-glare at Spike. “So,” she hissed, “the whole reason you asked me over to lunch at Sugarcube Corner was so we could go on a date, huh?”

Spike backed away nervously, trying to think of a response. “I-I-It's not what it looks like, Scoot...” he stammered.

“Spike, have you even met me?!” demanded Scootaloo, raising her voice in anger. “Going on a date is the mushiest thing anyone can expect of me! I don't – do – mushy!”

“But Scoot...”

“BUT NOTHING!!” shouted Scootaloo. “You're not doing my reputation any justice by making me look sappy, Spike, so I'd greatly appreciate it if you could just forget your lousy date and GO AWAY!!!”

This stung the little dragon quite hard. “I – I didn't mean to ruin anyone's reputation,” he faltered, trying to hold back tears. “It's just that Rarity won't talk to me, and...”

“Oh, so you're getting on Rarity's nerves too, huh?!” spat Scootaloo rudely. “Well, I'm not surprised; you're so annoying with all your sappy romance antics that it's a mercy the whole of Ponyville hasn't been infected! Just get out of my sight, you irritating lizard!” and she slapped him hard across the face before storming off in a huff.

Spike stood firmly rooted in place, watching in distress as Scootaloo ran further and further away from him. Her words had cut him to the core, and the sound of his heart breaking was almost audible as he raised a claw to his throbbing cheek where the disgruntled Pegasus filly had slapped him. Maybe Scootaloo was right; maybe he was nothing more than an irritating lizard. Maybe...maybe the whole of Ponyville would be far better without him. Even Rarity seemed to think so – why else would she be avoiding him so much? His eyes brimmed with tears as he ran off in the opposite direction.

The pilot engine having arrived to rescue the train at long last, the Crystallion Limited finally pulled into Ponyville Central Station, late but safe. Rarity wasted no time in unloading her luggage from the van, and as soon as she had finished, she carefully carried the whole lot across town to the Carousel Boutique. As she went, she beamed with anticipation; after many more hiccups along the way from Canterlot, she had managed to work out what she was going to tell Spike, and couldn't wait to see him.

Normally the pure-white unicorn would have spent a good few hours carefully unpacking her belongings and stowing them away, but today was different; she was so anxious to let Spike know what she felt about him that unpacking was the last thing on her mind. She placed the dressmaking supplies in the storeroom, carefully stacked the rest of her luggage in the lobby and cantered over to the Golden Oak Library.

Twilight had been busy reorganising the library that morning. One of the resident Pegasi had taken an interest in starting a flying chariot service, but had left the Transport section in complete disarray in her excitement over the whole venture, and Twilight had to spend the best part of an hour carefully alphabetising the books in the correct order. But that wasn't what seemed to be bothering her right now; Spike had been unusually downcast over the last week or so, and when she came to wake him up for his morning's work, she had found his bed completely devoid of any dragon. Just as she placed the last book onto the shelf, she heard a knock at the library door.

Rarity stood outside, breathing heavily to try and calm herself down before Spike opened the door. She didn't want him to see her all tense and uneasy. Much to her surprise, when the door opened, Spike was nowhere to be seen.

“Oh, Twilight, it's you,” she exclaimed.

“Hey, Rarity,” replied Twilight. “How was your shopping trip in Canterlot?”

“Um...very well, thanks.” Rarity stood and fidgeted uncomfortably as she tried to steel herself once again. “I, um......I was actually wondering if I could have a talk with Spike. Is he in?”

“Actually, I haven't seen very much of him all week,” answered Twilight, visibly perplexed. “I think he left early this morning, but there wasn't even a note to say where he had gone. Why did you want to know anyway?”

“Oh...private matter,” said Rarity quickly. “Thanks anyway, Twilight; let me know if he comes back.”

After checking the library, Rarity cantered around Ponyville checking the various shops and other areas where Spike may have gone. Sugarcube Corner, Bonbon's sweet shop, the marketplace, the school – everywhere she looked, there was no sign of him, and even when she asked around, everypony seemed to have the same answer; “Sorry, Rarity, haven't seen him all day.”

By the time she reached the bowling alley on the far side of town, the white unicorn mare was almost ready to give up. Luckily, Sweetie-Belle was just outside; but she too was looking rather worried.

“Hi, Rarity,” she called.

“Hullo, Sweetie-Belle,” smiled Rarity. “How was your weekend at Fort Maine?”

“It was okay, I guess,” replied Sweetie-Belle anxiously, “but I'm a little worried about Spike. He'd been asking me if I wanted a date with him the same day you left for Canterlot, and Apple Bloom and Scootaloo say he had been asking the same of them too.”

Rarity was almost speechless. Spike had always been so kind and helpful to her, and now he was trying to date one or other of Sweetie-Belle and her friends? “But why?” she asked in disbelief.

“He seemed to think you didn't like him anymore, and said he wanted to try and move on from you so you wouldn't have to put up with him.”

“But that's what I'm trying to talk to him about!” objected Rarity. “I finally managed to come to terms with my feelings while in Canterlot, and I want to tell him that I feel the same about him as he does me – or did, anyway,” she added meekly.

What Sweetie-Belle was about to say next, Rarity couldn't yet tell, but she seemed extremely uneasy about it. “Well, we've all had to let him down gently because we all have our own crushes,” she said nervously, “but from what Scootaloo had been saying, she didn't even try being gentle with him. She seemed all edgy and irritated when she told us all about it, so I'm pretty sure she might have yelled at him.”

“I see,” answered Rarity grimly. “Well that ungrateful filly had better watch out, because as soon as I see her next, I'll be having severe words with her!”

“Actually, sis, I'd probably wanna think about what Spike may be doing at the moment.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, last any of us saw of him was when Dinky saw him taking a walk along the path that leads to the Ponyville Dam,” explained Sweetie-Belle, her voice starting to sound more urgent. “I dunno what he's doing up there, but he...could be......”

Rarity didn't need to hear any more. Before Sweetie-Belle could finish her sentence, she took off for the dam as fast as her legs could carry her...

Spike wandered aimlessly along the top of the cliffs near the dam, tears still flowing from his eyes like the river-water through the sluices at the bottom of the huge wall that held it all back. He could still feel the stabbing pain of heartbreak in his chest from when Scootaloo had angrily chewed him out over that date to which she hadn't consented, and the thought that Rarity didn't feel the same way for him as he always had for her made it so much more unbearable.

“I'm really sorry to have to leave you all like this,” he wept, “and especially you, Twilight; you've been a far more valuable friend than anyone can ever know, and I've been really honoured to be your faithful assistant. But I just can't carry on. I have to end this right here, right now,” and he slowly diverted his course closer to the precipice.

At that very same moment, Rarity had come to the shore of the river at the foot of the dam, but couldn't seem to find Spike anywhere. Just as she was about to call out for him, she saw the little dragon walking along the very edge of the cliff.

“SPIKE, NO!” screamed Rarity frantically; but she was too late. One moment, Spike was still standing at the top of the cliff, the next, he toppled over and plunged towards the rushing water. The white unicorn aimed her horn at him and concentrated hard on her magic, trying to levitate him to safety. But by the time she had built up enough energy, Spike had disappeared into the river with a loud splash.

Without thinking another second, Rarity darted towards the river and dived in after him.

“Hang on, Spikey-Wikey!” she called bravely. “I'm coming!”

The strong currents were sweeping Spike downstream at an alarming rate, but Rarity was a surprisingly good swimmer, and soon caught up with him. Draping him over her shoulder and clinging onto him for dear life, she turned and swam towards the riverbank; but as she did so, she suddenly realised that there weren't going to be many hoof-holds in the cliff that she could use to climb out. This also meant that she wouldn't be able to place Spike on firm ground even if she used her magic. All it needed was one small error of judgement, and he would be back in the river again – and this time, there would be no saving him. She clung desperately to a rock by the bank, hoping that somepony or something would come to her and Spike's rescue.

Up above, Fluttershy was helping a group of sparrows find a home when she heard a voice from down in the ravine. Wondering what might be wrong, she strained her ears to try and identify who it was.

“Help! HELP!” wailed the voice again.

Fluttershy went pale. “That's Rarity!” she cried, and dived towards the rushing waters to find her unicorn friend still hanging onto her rock, but only just. “Rarity, what happened?!”

“Spike and I can't escape the current!” called Rarity. “Get us out, Fluttershy, quick!!!”

Carefully, slowly, so as not to get caught in the strong flow of the river herself, Fluttershy descended towards both dragon and unicorn and wrapped her arms tightly round Rarity's waist. Then, with all the wingpower she could muster, the canary-yellow Pegasus lifted them out of the water and lowered them gently onto firm, dry ground. The moment she had released Rarity from her grip, the white unicorn pumped her front hooves feverishly against Spike's chest, trying to bring him round.

“Spike, wake up!” she pleaded. “Please, don't leave me now!”

Fluttershy placed a hoof against the little dragon's wrist to check his pulse, and was alarmed when she could hardly detect one at all. “Oh my, that looks critical!” she gasped. “We've got to get him to hospital, Rarity, or he could die!”

That was more than what Rarity wanted to hear. Levitating him onto her back, she raced away towards the hospital faster than she had ever gone in her life. Such was her speed and the effort she was putting into her desperate dash to save her little dragon's life that her limbs felt like they were about to drop off, and her lungs felt like they would burst if she didn't stop for breath. But she didn't dare stop for one second; the thought of losing her Spikey-Wikey forever was far too much for her to bear.

Even when she saw the hospital up ahead, she didn't even slow herself down. Close to her target at long last, the white unicorn mare let out one last burst of energy and charged through the doors, almost smashing them to matchwood. The receptionist looked up, startled, as she finally came to rest against the front desk. “What's all this?” she exclaimed.

“Emergency...Spike...drowning...please...help him...” panted Rarity breathlessly.

The receptionist took one look at Spike and immediately turned to the intercom; “Staff announcement, we have a Code Blue at the front desk! Prepare the recovery unit, stat!”

Not long after, three doctors rushed into the waiting area pulling a stretcher behind them. Leaning heavily against the desk, the exhausted unicorn watched as they laid Spike down on the stretcher and whisked him away to the recovery unit.

“Spike...” she moaned weakly, “...please...hang on...don't...don't die...on me...now...”

She could just make out the image of a fourth doctor standing next to her, but the image was very blurry, and she couldn't make out what he was saying. Her head was spinning as fast as if she had been in a tumble-dryer, and she was shivering deliriously, as if somepony had just thrown her into a tub of ice-cold water. Her vision gradually blurred even further until it became a grey haze, then a thick fog, and finally just a complete blank as she plunged into oblivion......

Chapter 6: The Truth Comes Out

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Pitch darkness was all that filled her vision. There wasn't a single speck of light to show where she was. Somewhere in the distance she could hear a distinct beeping sound, but where exactly it was coming from she knew not, for it seemed to be echoing all around. Other than that, the strange, black void in which she seemed to have ended up was silent and still, and there wasn't even so much as a scent to tell her whether it contained anything or anypony other than herself.

“Rarity...”

A faint voice echoed through the void, causing her to stir slightly.

“Rarity...”

There it was again. It sounded so familiar too.

“Rarity...”

Rarity cautiously, ever so slightly opened her eyes. She could just make out a purple blur hovering above her, and as her vision cleared, the blur gradually shifted until it had reformed into a certain lavender alicorn wearing a golden tiara. She tried to sit upright, but her strength was so low that she couldn't even lift a hoof. The best she could do was to slowly turn her head towards the direction of the beeping noise, which she had finally realised was coming from her right; there she noticed a heart monitor measuring her pulse, along with a bag containing some form of medicine that had been hooked to her front right-hand leg through an IV tube. The air smelt so sterile and odourless, and the walls were almost pure-white, so she clearly wasn't in her own room at the Carousel Boutique.

“Where am I?” she asked groggily.

“Take it easy, Rarity,” soothed Twilight. “You're still not in very good shape right now.”

Now that she was more awake, Rarity realised that she was in one of the wards at the hospital. “What happened? Why am I in a hospital bed?”

“You passed out from exhaustion shortly after you came in with Spike,” explained Twilight gently. “The doctors later discovered that your dive into that river had left you with a pretty bad case of hypothermia too; that and the hard sprint had nearly killed you, and it was lucky that you actually made it to hospital before it did. As it is, you were out cold for around four days.”

At the mention of Spike, Rarity almost fainted from shock as she began to worry about him again. “What about Spike?” she asked anxiously. “Is he alright?”

Twilight pointed to the next bed along from Rarity. There lay the unconscious form of Spike, his eyes closed and his entire body motionless, with an oxygen mask over his mouth and a life-support machine standing next to his bed. His face was soft and peaceful, and his breathing was shallow; it was as if he was hanging onto life by a thread far more frail than any that she had ever used on her dresses and other clothes. Just looking at him brought tears to Rarity's eyes, causing her vision to blur once again.

“He was nearly dead by the time you arrived,” Twilight clarified. “It took a while to get his heart going again once he was in the recovery unit, but they only just managed to save him. He's in a pretty deep coma at the moment, but he'll soon recover.”

Rarity felt deeply ashamed of herself. Not only had she nearly broken Spike's heart as well as her own, but he had put his life on the line because of it. “I'm so sorry, Twilight,” she faltered. “Spike had nearly killed himself, and it's all my fault. I shouldn't have been such a coward over my feelings.”

The lavender alicorn looked confused. “I don't follow, Rarity. What feelings?”

“I suppose I'd better start from the beginning; ever since you first came here, I could see a firm friend in both of you, but had taken a particular interest in Spike. The whole reason I never told you about it was that I only thought it as being a mere whim at first, him being such a cute little darling and all; but as time went on, I began to grow so fond of him that the very thought of him brought a smile to my face somehow,” Rarity explained, raising a hoof to her chest as she poured her heart out. “When you and the others told me about what happened when you tried to save me from the Diamond Dogs, I was grateful to all of you, but once again it was Spike who stuck in my mind after that. He was the one who led the rescue, and was even brave enough to part with the gem I gave him as a reward for helping me. And then there was the day after the Gala...”

“I remember that,” interrupted Twilight with a faint smile. “I had given him the day off then, so he went out for a walk; but when he returned, he was telling me how upset you were about Prince Blueblood. I still can't understand that pony,” she added. “Back when I was young, he was so genial and friendly, and yet he has to be all high-and-mighty?”

Rarity nodded weakly. “That royal pain in the neck had broken my heart quite badly, and I had a difficult time trying to hide the pain,” she went on. “But I managed it nonetheless, and when Spike came in and saw me crying, he didn't make too much of a fuss over me. He just hugged me tight and told me to let it out. After that, I began to wonder if I actually wanted to hook up with a stallion for life – certainly not with another mare though. I couldn't understand why, but there it is.

“But the thing that really convinced me was what happened around the time of Spike's birthday, when he gave me that Fire Ruby he intended to save for his dinner – and later still when I managed to bring him back to his natural state after his greed caused him to grow out of control and turn the whole of Ponyville upside-down. As we fell, he began to tell me of his crush on me; but I was so deeply touched by his words that I had to stop him before he finished.” Rarity smiled warmly at the fond memory. “I didn't actually realise that I felt the same way, however, until I rediscovered the necklace I had made to go with it, and that's why I was probably acting so erratically back then.”

Twilight blinked in amazement, almost as if, for the first time since her brother Shining Armour had married Princess Cadance, she was unable to comprehend the meaning of the word “love”. A long pause followed, with Twilight carefully processing what had just been said while Rarity was left wondering what she was thinking.

At last, the lavender alicorn broke the silence first. “Wow, Rarity, I never expected you actually felt that way about Spike,” she remarked. “I always thought it was just a one-sided crush, and that he'd soon find that he'd probably be better off with finding someone closer to his age.”

“That's what he seemed to have been thinking while I was away, according to Sweetie-Belle. She told me that he thought I didn't want to be with him, and had been trying to date the Cutie Mark Crusaders one by one after I had left; but I think that might have what drove him to the point of suicide, because she had been saying that Scootaloo had proverbially tossed him aside like a ruined ball-gown,” confessed Rarity, starting to shed tears again.

Twilight rested a comforting hoof on Rarity's shoulder. “Calm down, Rarity, it wasn't your fault,” she told her softly. “From the way you were behaving last week, and what you told me today, you were clearly struggling to come to terms with your own feelings.”

Rarity turned her head away, avoiding eye contact. “I know, but I still feel so responsible for what happened,” she lamented. “I should have told him how I felt the moment I realised my feelings for him, and to Tartarus with anypony who disapproves.”

“It's not too late for you to tell him, though,” observed Twilight. “As soon as he wakes up – and he will wake up soon enough, the doctors are sure of that – you'll be able to come clean to him about how you feel. But it has to be done, or else it'll come back to haunt you for the rest of your life.”

Rarity nodded bravely. “Of course you're right, Twilight,” she conceded. “When Spike comes round, I'll definitely tell him this time. It was unfair of me to leave him in the dark for so long, and the sooner he knows the truth, the better.”

“Good girl, Rarity,” encouraged Twilight. But just then, another thought popped into her head; “Actually, if you're planning on revealing your feelings to Spike, it's only fair that I let you in on a little secret he had been keeping.”

“What's that?” asked Rarity

Twilight checked to make sure Spike wasn't secretly listening in on them. “It's about the Fire Ruby,” she replied in a low whisper, having satisfied herself that Spike was still unconscious. “He hadn't actually been saving it for his birthday dinner as he said he was; he had wanted to show how much he loved and cared for you, and had decided that since you loved gems, that was how he should go about it. But he didn't just stop at finding a twenty-four carat Fire Ruby; if it was for you, then it had to be carefully cut into a more regular shape, and so he decided on making it into the shape of something he had wanted to give you for a long, long time – his heart.”

Rarity was so touched by this revelation that her own heart skipped a beat. Despite all her ignorance, Spike truly did love her. For the umpteenth time that day, tears glistened in her eyes, but this time not out of guilt or sorrow, rather out of joy and affection. “Oh, Twilight,” she wept, “I never realised that he was so fond of me. Of all the kindest things anyone could possibly have done for me at any point in time, that was the kindest possible thing. I really don't deserve someone so chivalrous and thoughtful as him.”

“Well I think you do, Rarity,” smiled Twilight kindly. “You rest yourself now; I'll see you tomorrow with the girls.”

“Okay, Twilight,” replied Rarity, and watched as the young alicorn left the room before drifting off to sleep.

A whole week went by, and still Spike hadn't woken up. Even after she had fully recovered, Rarity refused to leave his side, and kept a close eye on him day and night to make sure he was alright. She only left periodically to use the little fillies' room or to get something to eat or drink, but otherwise she was sat next to him round the clock, waiting hopefully for him to open his eyes again.

The pure-white mare sat almost alone in the ward, tearfully watching over Spike again. The hospital staff had deemed him stable enough to take him off the life-support machine three days ago, but he still lay unconscious on his hospital bed with IV tubes hooked up to him. Rarity hung her head in her depression, wondering if maybe her little dragon would never wake up ever again...

Suddenly, her ears pricked up to the sound of groaning. She looked up at Spike, hoping she wasn't hearing things – sure enough, his breathing was picking up, and he was gently stirring. His eyelids flickered, and he slowly turned his head towards her; it seemed like a struggle for him, but at last he was looking directly into her eyes. He lay still for a while, letting his own eyes adjust to the light.

“Hullo, Rarity,” he murmured in an almost slurred voice.

The sudden wave of euphoria Rarity felt was so strong that she found it hard to suppress the urge to fling her arms around Spike and hold him for as long as she could manage. “Oh, Spike,” she wept, “thank Celestia you're alright. I was so terrified for you.”

Despite his groggy state, Spike's face somehow managed to take on a rather disheartened expression. “But why?” he asked weakly. “I thought you didn't want to see me again.”

“Oh no, Spike, far from it,” replied Rarity softly. She climbed onto the bed and lay next to Spike, resting a hoof on his hand. “I know I may have seemed a little ignorant of your feelings on occasion, but it's never your fault. Dressmaking can be very stressful sometimes, and that gets me worked up about the pettiest things.” She closed her eyes, unable to make eye contact with the little dragon; “In fact that was why I was acting so strangely two or three weeks ago.”

“What are you talking about?”

“I had worked myself to the bone with my newest fashion line, and had gotten into such a horrible dilemma over my feelings for a certain other creature after I noticed a certain jewel,” explained Rarity. “That was putting me under so much stress that I had lost a lot of sleep – but then Fancypants told me the most insightful story about himself and Fleur de Lis, and that was when I realised that all my worries about how my reputation would suffer if I allowed myself to come to terms with these feelings weren't worth worrying about.”

Spike blinked. “I still don't understand, Rarity,” he objected. “What 'certain creature' are you referring to?”

“The one lying right next to me at this very moment,” answered Rarity simply. “It took an awfully long time to realise that I'd fallen for you, Spike, but that Fire Ruby you gave to me was what helped me see the light. I'm only sorry I hadn't realised it sooner.”

“So...you mean......”

“Yes, Spike,” affirmed Rarity. “I love you, and always had done ever since the day before your birthday. When I saw you go over that cliff and into the river, it felt like my world was falling apart, and after I noticed you fighting for life when I'd got you out and rushed you to hospital, I......it just broke my heart.” She wrapped her arms around Spike and hugged him tight. “But I'm so glad you survived; I don't know how I would have carried on if you were no longer in my life.”

The little dragon started to shed a few tears in his happiness. Out of all the ponies that could have come to his rescue when he had tried to take his own life, Rarity had been the one pony who cared for him enough to get him to the hospital in time to bring him back from the brink of eternal oblivion even though his salvation was almost beyond hope, and not merely out of fear for his safety either. No, she had done so out of love – love that he had been craving for ever since he had first come to Ponyville all those years ago.

“Oh, Rarity,” he murmured affectionately, returning the embrace. “Thank you so much for saving my life. I'm really, really sorry about what happened earlier.”

“That's okay, Spikey-Wikey,” replied Rarity, planting a small kiss on his forehead. “Just promise me you'll never do that to yourself ever again.”

“Don't worry, Rarity,” soothed Spike. “I love you too, and I'm never leaving you again – Pinkie Promise.”

Rarity's eyes twinkled as she smiled fondly upon her new love, happier than she had been for weeks. With one foreleg still wrapped around Spike, she slowly leaned in towards him, puckering up her lips. Spike didn't need to ask what she was about to do; he wrapped his little arms round Rarity as best as he could, and the gap between both dragon and unicorn slowly closed along with their eyes until finally their lips met for the very first time.

Epilogue

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It took another five days for Spike to recover sufficiently for him to leave the hospital, and even then he was unable to walk very far on his own without going into a relapse. Rarity stayed by his side while his strength slowly returned, and even allowed him to stay at her boutique until he had been nursed back to full health, an offer that Spike was only too delighted to accept.

After only a few more days, Spike had been fully revitalised and was able to carry on as normal. Having seen to a few chores at the library, he was now packing a basket with sandwiches, cupcakes, lemon squash and a few small gems. Rarity had expressed to him how sorry she was that he had to return to the library after she had taken such good care of him, to which Spike had reminded her that while that little episode was over, their relationship certainly wasn't, and invited her out for a picnic in the Whitetail Woods. Rarity had never looked so overjoyed in all her life!

As Spike prepared for their first date, Rarity sat at the writing desk taking down a letter to Princess Celestia;

“Dear Princess Celestia,

Over the last month, I learned a very special lesson not just in friendship, but also, more importantly, love.

Sometimes in life, one can feel more than a little insecure about one's feelings for a certain stallion, mare, filly, colt, or even dragon, particularly when it comes to what others may think of such a relationship. But as I myself have found out, you should never let such fears cloud your judgement or prevent you from pursuing the one you truly love, otherwise it will only lead to heartbreak.

In fact, my good friend and confidante Fancypants summed it up with what he told me before I returned home; 'by the end of the day, it isn't the age, physique, species, social standing or even your own reputation that matters – it's how you feel about that someone.'

Your honoured subject,
Rarity.”

Once she had finished, she rolled up the parchment and tied it up carefully with a length of ribbon. Having packed everything they needed for their picnic, Spike picked up the scroll and blew on it with his fire-breath, reducing it to ashes that drifted softly out of the window towards Canterlot Castle, where they would re-materialise in Princess Celestia's study.

“Right then, Spike,” said Rarity, “shall we away?”

“Yes, let's,” replied Spike with a smile, and walked towards the door.

At that same moment, Twilight came into the room. “You off then, Rarity?” she asked.

“Yes, Twilight; I've just finished that letter, and I believe Spike has the picnic all ready?”

“All present and accounted for,” affirmed Spike. He then opened the door and stepped aside, extending an arm; “After you, Lady Rarity.”

The white unicorn beamed affectionately as she approached the doorway. “Thank you so much, my knight in shining scales. You've always been so kind to me,” and she kissed Spike's cheek gratefully.

“See you later, Spike, Rarity,” called Twilight as they left. “I hope you enjoy yourselves.”

“Oh, we will, Twilight,” smiled Rarity. “I know I will, now that I've finally found my Prince Charming.”

“So long, Twilight,” added Spike, and closed the door behind him before walking alongside Rarity in the direction of the woods.

While the two of them were walking away from the library, Twilight gazed out of the window and smiled, a small tear in her eye. She had always seen Spike as being like her own little brother, and to see that at last he had found love brought joy to her heart. And how ironic it was that she had all too often doubted that it would actually be in the form of Rarity, when after all this time she had gradually come to love him back despite not always showing it.

“Oh, Spike,” she thought fondly, “you've no idea how happy I am for you.”

Dilemma

by Locomotion

Chapter 1: Ruby Hearts

Chapter 2: An Emotional Conflict

Chapter 3: A New Search for Love

Chapter 4: The Heart Wants What It Wants

Chapter 5: Rescue from Heartbreak

Chapter 6: The Truth Comes Out

Epilogue