Author's Notes:

This story prompt was suggested to me by jizzerman as a Patron on my Patreon page. If you have a story idea you want to suggest, feel free to check my page out and consider contributing to my work.

Just another moment after Sunburst reactivated the surveillance spell, he and Starlight Glimmer caught sight of a familiar location through the magical screen. The image that faded in was a rather well-known location in Ponyville: Rarity’s Carousel Boutique. However, the spell gave the unicorns a bird’s eye view of the fashionista’s backyard, which looked like a hidden oasis within the tall walls of her white picket fence. A stunningly beautiful koi pond was right in the middle of the tranquil space with Neighponese-style landscaping all around, which had to have taken an absurd amount of time and bits to maintain. Honestly, Starlight had to have wondered how her friend managed to keep such a stunning location hidden away for so long; although, when she caught the faintest hint of a blue-tinted glimmer around the perimeter of the fence, she was willing to theorize that Rarity may have learnt a camouflage spell or two from Twilight.

Of course, the attention quickly went towards Rarity herself, who was seated by her pond on a beautiful bench made from recycled driftwood. The bench itself was rather small, but there was enough free space beside the white mare for her friend to be comfortably seated beside her. Spike, who was fidgeting his claws sheepishly in thought, had his bottom lip bit while looking down at his reflection in the koi pond. Even with the sight of about a dozen beautiful koi fish swimming peacefully beneath the surface, the purple drake seemed more focused on the nervous blush that was glowing across his cheeks.

Spike kept himself silent, and it was unsure through the surveillance spell how long he had been in such a state. However, it didn’t take long for Rarity to exhale softly and look down at him with a smile. “So… I take it you had something important to tell me?”

A sharp breath came out from Spike’s nostrils as he briefly tensed up to that question. His pudgy arms crossed together while keeping his blushed gaze down at the water instead of her. “W-Well, ummm… I guess it should be kinda obvious, you know? I mean… I didn’t want anypony to come into the shop and hear us.”

“Well, it’s perfectly alright,” assured the mare with a warm smile. She wrapped a foreleg around the drake’s back so she could pull him in soundly. “You already know how effective the enchantments around this garden are from the outside. I can promise you, there is nothing to worry about.”

Back at Twilight’s castle, Starlight Glimmer bit her lip in uncertainty as she looked away from the screen. “Ummm… Sh-Should we keep recording this?” she whispered when she glanced back at Sunburst worriedly

“Don’t worry, I’ll stop it if necessary,” he whispered back with a shrug, even though neither of them needed to keep their voices unheard. “Besides, would you rather have Twilight eavesdropping on her assistant right now?”

That point was more than enough to make Starlight shut up, and sighed with a shrug of her own. Even though she was wary about what they might witness, the two looked back to the screen as it recorded Rarity and Spike’s private moment.

Fortunately, the drake’s fretful pause was just as long as the unicorns’ quick discussion, and he took a deep breath before speaking again. “O… Okay…”

Rarity kept a comforting hold around Spike’s shoulders, staying patient so he wouldn’t feel pressured to speak until he was ready. After another couple of seconds, the little dragon closed his eyes to make one last exhale. “Okay, ummm… The… The reason I wanted to talk was because, uhhhh… I’ve been talking with Doctor Turner a lot lately…”

Rarity’s brows raised quite a bit, and she could only make a brief “Oh,” in response to that detail. Ever since the Royal Wedding incident, Princess Celestia ordered for Spike and all the Elements to attend therapy sessions to cope with all that transpired; while a few of the girls thought that requirement was a bit much, none of them could deny that the fallout at the Royal Wedding Rehearsal could’ve easily ended their friendships beyond repair (and by relation, made their Elements useless and endangered Equestria’s safety) if it wasn’t rectified quickly. Over the years, all of the girls have ended up visiting Dr. Time Turner at various times in regards to their personal problems and relationships. However, Spike was the only one of the group who had continued visiting him regularly since that wedding; while that fact concerned her and others at first, Rarity couldn’t exactly blame the only dragon in a pony-centric society to feel the need to talk with somepony who would really listen to his concerns.

Because of that, the unicorn bit her lip for a second before she asked worriedly, “Ummm… I didn’t do anything to make you see him more often, did I?”

“N-No!” blurted the drake almost instantly as he finally looked back up at her. “Believe me, Rare. You didn’t do anything to trigger me or anything! It’s just…”

Upon realizing how uncomfortable this discussion might end up, Spike slowly breathed out and looked back to the pond in front of them. “Well, uhhh… I guess it’s... kinda related to you…”

As the dragon scratched the back of his neck awkwardly, Rarity tried to keep from appearing too concerned while asking, “How… How so?”

“Well, ummm…” The dragon closed his eyes for a moment, and tried to keep his tone of voice casual in order to get his explanation out coherently. “I… I know you’ll probably get what I’m about to say, but… It’s kinda hard to really feel normal in a place like Equestria, you know? Like… when you’re the only one of your species, it… it feels kinda essential to do whatever you can to fit in, no matter what…”

Rarity wasn’t sure what Spike was trying to tell her, but she understood enough of his words to pull him in closer in support. “Oh, Spikey… You know you never have to feel ashamed for who you are. You’re an amazing drake, and you always will be, no matter what.”

Spike blushed with a weak smile, and nodded thankfully at hearing his friend’s honest words. “Th… Thanks, Rare. But ummm… Anyway, I… I’ve been talking with Doctor Turner a lot about those things, and I… I realized a while back that I’ve been doing it a lot internally as well…”

Rarity tilted her head in slight confusion. “Ummm… however do you mean?”

“Well, I…” Spike had to take a second to collect his breath, and kept his eyes closed as he tried to maintain his courage to continue speaking. “I… I was already kind of an outcast, and… A-And I think over the years I’ve been… k-kinda lying to myself to try and feel more ‘normal’ about things…”

Rarity stayed silent while holding him close to her side, but she grew worried when she saw how flustered the drake’s expression became. His lips started to purse tightly shut during his brief pauses, like he was subconsciously trying to keep from saying much more. But alas, the little dragon was still able to breathe faintly as he continued his strained words. “A-And… And when I first saw you, I… I thought that I was normal, you know? Like… I managed to feel something special for somepony that felt, like… expected of me. B-But…”

Spike could feel his throat tightening up, and his heart was racing as he reached the point of his ramblings. While he knew it shouldn’t be something to worry about admitting, his mind was becoming overwhelmed from the emotions and thoughts racing through his head. But alas, after all they went through together, he knew that Rarity deserved to know the truth before any of the other Elements. So with a final shaky exhale, Spike tried to ignore the numbness in his legs while speaking sheepishly.

“B-But I… I couldn’t keep that up forever, I guess… B-Because, ummm… Because even with all the time I tried to spend around you and… and how much I tried to convince myself how I felt, I… I couldn’t keep lying… To myself or you.”

Rarity blinked a couple times, and her eyes started to widen like she realized what may have been happening. Even though it would’ve been unbelievably shocking, the unicorn kept herself close to Spike’s side when she asked in a faint voice, “Spike? Wh… What are you trying to tell me?”

The purple drake let out one final breath, which helped to sweep away his apprehensions just long enough to answer the mare he claimed was his crush for so long.

“Th-That, ummm… That I’m gay.”

Back in the castle, Sunburst and Starlight’s mouths were fully dropped in stunned silence.

The bout of silence that came after that response lasted only a second, if not two at most. However, that pause was more than enough to make Spike’s face clench in worriedly. He tried not to cry, mostly from the wave of emotions that swept out of him after admitting such a personal thing about himself. However, that dam was certain to break the instant he felt Rarity’s hooves wrap around him for a tight and supportive hug.

“Ohhhhhh, Spike!” Rarity clenched her eyes shut while burying the dragon tightly against her chest. Upon hearing the surprised and overwhelmed sniffles Spike made in response, the unicorn tightened her grip and said with an undoubtedly supportive tone of voice, “Spike, it’s okay… I promise you, this doesn’t change a single thing about us! You know I still love you with all my heart, and I always will...”

Spike may have known that his former crush wouldn’t be too judgemental at him saying such a thing. However, that didn’t keep him from tearing up and hugging her back between his sniffling breaths. “I… I l-love you too, Rarity…”

For about five minutes, the unicorn and drake hugged it out while seated by the koi pond in silence. Meanwhile, Sunburst and Starlight were left in a rather awkward situation at the other side of the surveillance spell. When the stallion glanced back to his temporary assistant, he could tell that she had no idea of Spike’s revealed orientation. And judging by the way Starlight was repeatedly blinking with a flustered stare on the screen, it seemed that Twilight possibly didn’t know either.

“So, ummm… should I stop the recording, or--”

“SHHHH!!” Starlight waved her hoof dismissively towards him while keeping her eyes glued to the screen. While she made a mental note to discard of this recording for Spike’s sake, she was going to be damned if she didn’t see what might happen next. Since the spell was still active, it seemed that there may have been more to this moment than expected.

After a long hug shared between the two of them, Rarity used her magic to conjure up a box of tissues from the kitchen. Spike seemed fairly surprised at the unicorn’s sudden teleportation skills, but he wasn’t complaining as he took several tissues to wipe his eyes. “Heh~ So… did you learn that from Twi, or Starlight?”

“Trixie, actually,” noted Rarity as she wiped the matted fur beneath her own eyes. After an especially strong sniffle, the mare glanced back at Spike and asked, “Although speaking of that… does Twilight know yet?”

“No,” he answered with a shake of his head. “I mean, I know she’d be cool with it, but… I’d rather wait a little bit before letting her know, alright? You know how she gets when unexpected things happen around her.”

“Yes, I suppose so…” After a pert sigh, Rarity used her limited teleportation magic to also bring out a small wastebasket. She dropped her used tissues into the trashcan, and then placed it on the ground between them. “And before you say anything, I already know better than to tell her myself. In fact…”

To emphasize her point, Rarity turned around on the bench to face Spike before bringing up her hooves. She then made the familiar movements associated with the unbreakable vow she and the other Elements knew very well. “Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye. I promise I won’t out you to anypony, Spike.”

Spike wanted to say something about that not being necessary, but he was still thankful enough to smile and nod kindly to the gesture. “Ummm… thanks for that, Rare. I mean, it’s not like I’m gonna hide it for that long or anything, but… I really do appreciate that.”

“Well, what do you expect me to do?” asked Rarity with a raised brow and a cheeky smirk. “I do work in fashion, after all. When you work with enough gay ponies and learn of their struggles, it doesn’t take long to realize how horrible it’d be to out someone before they’re ready.”

“Yeah, that’s true…” Spike couldn’t help chuckling as he threw away his tissues, and looked away from Rarity while rubbing his scales awkwardly. His heart was still racing, but he practically felt weightless after telling Rarity the truth about himself. Plus, the fact that he could actually have such a casual conversation about it afterward was a great bonus. However, he also knew that there was more he wanted to talk with her about that day.

“But just so you know, uhhh… you’re not the only one who knows I’m gay,” noted the drake as he turned himself around to face her. Now, the two were sitting directly across from each other on the little bench.

“Well, I figured that,” replied the unicorn with a smile and a roll of her eyes. “Although, I’m guessing you mean more than just Doctor Turner, correct?”

Spike nodded with a bashful shrug, and took a breath before admitting, “Yeah, ummm… Thorax knew about for a while, and… he actually helped me come to terms with it before I ever mentioned it to Time Turner…”

Rarity didn’t want to ask anything too personal, but her brows raised quite a bit when she saw the small blush growing across Spike’s cheeks. Her mouth involuntarily began to open a bit, and she grew an intrigued smile before asking, “Spikey Wikey… are you interested in Thorax, by chance?~”

“W-WHAT!?” The drake jolted strongly enough to nearly fall off the bench, and his face grew as red as a cherry tomato from his immediate blush. “N-N-No!” he replied rather quickly as he tried to avoid his friend’s piqued grin pointed at him. “It… It’s not like that, okay? I mean… yeah, he’s a really good friend and all, but I don’t have a crush on him.”

“Oh, you don’t have to lie to me, darling~” cooed the unicorn as her knowing stare intensified alongside her smirk. “You’re acting just as flustered at the mention of him as you were with me.”

“I-I’m not flustered, okay?!” Even though he knew it wasn’t helping his case, the dragon couldn’t help grabbing a few more tissues to wipe the sweat beading across his forehead. “I just, uhhh… It’s weird being accused of having a crush on a guy, you know? But, ummm… I really don’t have a crush on Thorax…”

Rarity narrowed her eyes on him as her expression grew more studious. While she didn’t want to accuse Spike of lying, his tone didn’t seem to carry much dishonesty for her to detect. However, the drake’s apprehensive expression prompted her to pry just a little deeper as her muzzle skewed. “Hmmm… why do I have the feeling you have more to say?”

“Ugh…” Spike closed his eyes and sighed with an apparent groan. While he didn’t want to be pressed for more, he knew better than to assume a pony as detail-oriented as Rarity would overlook any unsaid additions. Even though he didn’t add any flames to the fire, he trusted Rarity enough to not keep it from her. So after a sharp huff, the drake rolled his eyes and admitted, “Alright, I… I may have had a crush on him when we first met. But like, you can’t blame me for that!”

“Of course I’m not,” she assured him with a courteous smile. “However… I am curious as to how that may have changed. Is it because of his transformation?”

Spike scoffed at that assumption with another roll of his eyes. “No! I’m not the kind of guy to only focus on appearances, Rarity!”

“Not anymore, you mean~” Rarity made sure to lean in with an especially perky grin across her muzzle, making the context of that reply fairly clear.

Spike’s preemptive reply fumbled for a second, and he ended up blushing as he looked downward and shrugged. “W-Well, I… Okay, fair enough,” he admitted meagerly.

“Alright, I do apologize for that response,” she added insistently before pulling her head back, making sure to give Spike the space to continue without any intimidation. “I just felt like pointing that out.”

“Yeah, I get it,” replied Spike with a shrug. “But, uhhh… that really wasn’t the reason why I stopped crushing on Thorax, alright? I think it’s mostly because… well, after a while, I think I liked him more as a friend than as a potential boyfriend, you know?”

Rarity nodded in understanding to that response. “Yeah, I can see that.”

“Plus, I think he’s looking for a Queen right now, so it’s probably for the best that I stop lingering down that road.” After a brief chuckle, Spike looked back up at Rarity and added while smirking, “You know, I bet you could ask him out~”

“Pbbt!” Rarity scoffed and waved her hoof playfully. “Oh, please! I’m running a franchise now, darling! That whole, ‘chasing Royalty’ thing was mostly a phase. I don’t need a high-ranking stallion to feel satisfied with my life anymore. That goes for a Prince or a King.”

“Fair enough,” responded the dragon contently. “I just figured you should know that fact. But, uhhh...”

Spike felt a little hesitant about changing the subject, but he felt the need to do so for Rarity. He bit his lip for a second while taking a breath, and blushed a bit deeper as he tried to speak. “Well… I might not be into Thorax anymore, but ummm…”

Rarity’s ears raised a little while sitting in front of the drake, realizing that Spike may have something rather telling to admit following his coming out.

“He… He may have helped set me up with someone who... he figured would be a good match for me…”

Rarity’s mouth opened once more, but this time it was accompanied with a surprised gasp. “Ohmigosh!” she exclaimed as she became excited at what he might confirm next. “Are… are you talking about a date, Spikey Wikey?!”

Despite his heavy blush, Spike was able to chuckle nervously and nod while maintaining his shaky smile. “Uhhh… heh heh heh… Y-Yes?”

“EEEEEEEE!!!~” Rarity’s excited squeal rivaled that of something Pinkie Pie would muster, and she quickly pulled Spike into her hooves for a much-deserved hug in celebration. “Ohmigosh, ohmigosh, oh my GOSH!! Spike, that is fabulous news!!”

“Nnnnghhh!!” Rarity may have not been the strongest pony, but Spike still felt suffocated by her tightening squeeze around his torso. “I… Ineedtobreathe!”

“Oh! Sorry, darling!” Rarity quickly let go of the drake, and chuckled apologetically while letting him sit down and catch his breath. After a brief moment of silence, the mare had calmed herself down enough to say giddily, “Oh, I’m just so excited to hear this! And you have my word, I’ll help you look absolutely amazing for him!”

“W-Well, I… I was kinda hoping that…” Spike bit his lip as he looked away bashfully, and scratched the back of his head with a sheepish expression. “I… I may have considered inviting him as my date for that dinner party you and the girls were having…”

Rarity gasped with her hooves over her mouth, and it took everything in her not to burst out of her bench. “Oh… Emmm… GEE!!! Ohmigosh, SPIKE!! Tha… That is so clever! Oooooh, I can only imagine the other girls’ reactions when they see that!”

“Y-Yeah,” said the drake nervously as his blush deepened immensely. “I just… I thought it’d be a good way to do it, you know?”

“Well, I wholeheartedly support your plan!” she exclaimed proudly. After leaning in to give him one last quick hug, the supportive unicorn pulled away once more and tried to ask curiously, “So, ummm… may I ask who it is?”

That question made the dragon wince a little, and he glanced up to the giddy mare with an apprehensive look. “Well, uhhh... Will you promise not to freak out?”

“Oh, balderdash!” With a wave of her hoof and a scoff, Rarity almost looked offended by that assumption. “Young man, I know that you might not have hit your growth spurt yet, but that doesn’t mean I think you’re still a child. I know you’re a legal adult, and no choice you make would hinder my approval and acceptance of your decisions. If you’re adult enough to come out to me with respect, I feel it’s only fair to return that gesture with a non-judgemental reaction of my own.”

Despite his nervousness, that mature response from the pony was more than enough to make Spike sigh and nod gratefully. “O-Okay then… Welllll… When I said it’s someone Thorax set me up with, it… it’s because he’s, uhhh…”

After a brief pause, the dragon grew a worried smile as he finished timidly, “... his brother?”

Rarity may have promised not to judge, but her eyes shot to the size of frisbees at hearing that answer. “You… You mean…”

Before Rarity could finish, Spike nodded with a blush as he squirmed a bit on the bench. “Y-Yeah, I… I’m seeing Pharynx…” He then grew a more sheepish smile, hoping the unicorn wouldn’t freak out anyway.

While the mare kept from flipping her lid, she did blink rather notably in silence to hearing such an option as Spike’s mate. After a few seconds of silence, all that she could say in response was a faint, and very confused-sounding, “Ummm… Wow.”

It was just at that moment that the screen began to dissipate, leaving the remainder of Spike and Rarity’s conversation unseen. After the scene was finished, Starlight and Sunburst were left with fairly confused reactions of their own. Of course, given all they learned about the drake with that recording, it was fairly safe to assume they had a lot of questions.

Fortunately, the first response to come out audibly was from Starlight Glimmer towards the stallion. “So… will you make sure Twilight doesn’t see that recording?”

“Oh! Absolutely,” he said with the utmost assurance and a raised hoof. “Although… I can easily hide it from Twilight until after that dinner party, if that’s alright.”

That option seemed iffy to Starlight, mostly due to knowing how good her mentor was at finding things. However, she also knew that recording could be a good thing to keep for future notes on friendship intel. So with an apprehensive shrug, the mare decided to nod her head in reluctant agreement. “Wellllll… I suppose that could be alright. But we have to be thorough, alright!? I do NOT want to be known by Spike as ‘That bitch who outed him to Twilight’!”

“Hey, I don’t want that to happen either!” Sunburst trotted over to his nearby research notes, and tried to toggle through the pages studiously while saying, “I just need to find the specific castings needed to encase it in a physical space.”

“I’m sure I can figure that out myself,” replied Starlight as she sighed and rubbed her temple. Even though she knew she should try to find a suitable place for that specific recording, another thought came to mind which made her start to leave the room. “Hmmmm…”

As soon as she opened the door, Sunburst looked up from his notes and asked, “H-Hey, wait! Starlight, where are you going?”

“It’ll only be a moment,” she said with a cheeky smirk while glancing back at him. “I happen to know where that dinner party is being held, so I wanna get my video camera set up there before I forget about it!”

She then galloped out of the room, leaving Sunburst standing alone with a shocked look on his face. He wanted to chastise her for even considering such a thing, but he only needed a moment before he thought it over enough to reply to himself, “Well… Okay, I guess that would be interesting to record…”