Spike had awakened early this morning for he had a big plan for today. He knew that Rarity had acknowledged his crush on her, but he could never muster up enough of that elusive substance called “courage” to admit to her the true depth of his feelings for her. When he and Twilight Sparkle had first moved to this quaint little town, he’d been infatuated with the alabaster mare since he first laid eyes on her. And who could blame him? Rarity was indeed stunning, her silky white coat contrasted by her luxurious violet curls that framed her lovely azure eyes. But Spike also loved the fact that her outer beauty hadn’t betrayed her inner beauty. She was the Element of Generosity. Her giving nature meant that she was always willing to go out of her way to help anyone in need, and today, Spike hoped that she would be generous enough to bestow upon him her love and affection.

He sat on the floor of the upper library, staring happily into a white box with purple trim. He had spent the past few days thinking about a gift to give Rarity to help along his confession, and had spent most of yesterday working on it. He beamed at his gift a little longer before placing the lid on it, and tying it with a green ribbon. He then put it on the dresser and darted downstairs to start making breakfast for Twilight. He was so engrossed in his jubilant thoughts that he hadn’t noticed her enter the kitchen. The lavender mare’s visage was unusual to Spike; her mane and tail were frazzled and unkempt, and it appeared that she hadn’t slept in days. Her eyes were glazed over, and a hint of despair could be seen in them. Her head hung low, as though the weight of the world was pulling her down. She was surprised to see Spike up so early after the events of the previous day.

“Spike? I, uh, you’re up early.”

Her voice carried traces of sadness that Spike picked up on.

“Morning Twi, what’s wrong? You seem down today.”

Twilight hadn’t expected her assistant to be up and at ‘em this morning, and his chipper demeanor had her baffled as well.

“You seem happy today. Any particular reason?”

Spike’s smile widened. “Of course! Today’s the day that I’m finally going to tell Rarity how much she means to me! I can’t wait!”

Twilight choked back a sob as she felt her heart break for him. “He finally gathers enough of himself to tell her how he really feels, and then-“

She quickly pushed that though out of her head. She didn’t want to cry in front of Spike. He was going to go through with his plan, and she didn’t want to ruin it for him.

Spike ran over and hugged Twilight. “I went ahead and made you breakfast. I’m not hungry, so I’ll eat later. But for now, my true love awaits!” He exclaimed as he hurried out the front door. He made his exit so fast that he didn’t see Twilight break down into tears the moment he left.

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Spike walked briskly through town as his thoughts raced.

“Oh boy oh boy oh boy I can’t wait!”

It was a bright and sunny day. It seemed that Celestia had spared nothing to make sure that the sun shone brilliantly in the clear blue sky. He briefly pondered whether to send her a message thanking her for the beautiful day, the day on which his plan would come to fruition. His plan was to exclaim his love to Rarity, take her back to the library, and present her with the gift, ensuring that the she would love him just as he’d loved her for so long. He went straight to Carousel Boutique and knocked on the door. There was no answer.

Spike thought to himself “Hmm, she’s always busy making clothes, so where could she be?”

He remembered that Sweetie Belle had been staying with the Apple family for the past few days, so he made his way over to their farm in search of her. When he got there, he noticed that Applejack amidst the field of brown and green, bucking apples with a determination that he’d never seen before, while Big Macintosh watched from nearby with a slightly worried expression. He ran over to the farmer mare and noticed that she had a cold look in her eyes as she bucked a few more apples out of a tree.

“Hey Applejack, Sweetie Belle’s here, right? I need to ask here where Rarity is.”

Applejack stopped and turned towards Spike with a stony, albeit sad look on her face.

“Say what now? Well, Sweetie Belle’s inside with Applebloom, but-”

Spike interrupted her with his plan for the day, and then rushed towards the farmhouse, shouting his thanks back to Applejack. Big Macintosh, having heard the whole exchange, turned around and slowly made his way towards the barn, and for the first time since her parents died, Applejack’s Stetson hung down over her face.

As spike made it inside, he saw Applebloom and Sweetie Belle quietly sitting at the kitchen table, while Gertrude “Granny” Smith fixed them some apple fritters at the stove. Spike wasted no time in running up to the dressmaker’s sister.

“Hey everyone! Sweetie Belle, where’s Rarity? I have something to tell her.”

The unicorn looked confused. “Wha-what do you mean?”

“You know, your big sis? Gorgeous with a purple mane? Today’s the day that I’m going to tell her that I love her.”

Sweetie Belle and Applebloom stared sadly at the little dragon for a few seconds, and then Sweetie teared up and started to softly sob.

“Aw Sweetie what’s wrong?” Spike said as he put a comforting hand on her shoulder.

Applebloom said nothing and looked down at the table while Sweetie Belle continued to cry. Gertrude made her way to the table and set two plates of fritters down in front of the fillies and handed one to Spike. He thanked her and asked if she knew where the object of his affection was before scarfing down his fritter. The wizened matriarch of the Apple clan closed her eyes and patted him on the head before silently heading off to her room. Spike thought it was odd that no one knew where Rarity was, so he decided to head to Sugarcube Corner to see if Pinkie Pie had any info. He said his goodbyes to Applebloom and Sweetie Belle as he left the house. On his way back to the main road he said a goodbye to Applejack as well, stating that he was going to find love today. After he said that, he noticed that Applejack had started to tremble, with the brim of her hat still low over her face. “Maybe she’s a little cold.” He thought as he made his way onto the road to the bakery, not hearing to tear drops hitting the dirt behind him.

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He arrived at Sugarcube Corner and noticed that it was devoid of customers, with Pinkie Pie being the sole inhabitant of the shop.

“Hey Pinkie, have you seen Rarity? Today’s the day that she’ll accept my offering of love.”

Spike’s smile quickly faded as he noticed Pinkie behind the counter. The pink party pony’s mane was straight, as if all her bubbly enthusiasm had deflated like a popped balloon.

“Oh……Spike. I-I made you this.”

Pinkie produced a cupcake that made Spike’s eyes widen. The body of the cupcake was white and the frosting was striped purple and white, with miniscule pieces of purple gems flecking throughout.

“Wow! This looks amazing! Thanks Pinkie! It reminds me so much of Rarity that I almost don’t want to eat it. Almost. Spike wolfed down the confection and stood happily silent for a few moments before returning to the question at hand.

“But you still haven’t told me if you’ve seen Rarity around. Sweetie Belle and the rest of the Apples haven’t seen her, so I was hoping that you’d know something.”

The pink pony did something that Spike never would’ve have expected; she started crying.

“I’m so sorry Spike!” Pinkie managed through the tears before she ran upstairs, leaving Spike confused.

“Why is everyone so sad today?”

Knowing that he wouldn’t be getting any help from within the shop, he left to go look for Rainbow Dash, as she’d surely know something.

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Spike was walking towards the clearing that Rainbow Dash’s house sat above and he couldn’t stop thinking about everyone’s strange behavior.

“I wonder why everyone’s so down today? I tell them that I’m finally going to tell Rarity how I really feel about her and they break down into tears. Can’t anyone congratulate a guy around here?

The sunlight was fading, and he saw the Cyan mare sitting under a tree on the nearby hill talking to her gryphon friend. A few weeks ago, Gilda had returned to Ponyville. She had found the strength to swallow her pride and apologize to Dash for the way she had acted. She explained that she was lonely after Dash was kicked out of flight school and had to suffer through the bullying alone. When she had come to Ponyville before, she noticed that Rainbow seemed more occupied with her current friends, and that hurt her. She didn’t mean to make an ass of herself at the party that Pinkie Pie had thrown for her, but she just wanted her old friend to spend time with her for a change. She apologized to Rainbow Dash and everyone else she had been abrasive to and had become a fixture around town, taking up residence at the edge of the Everfree forest near Fluttershy’s cottage. She was still just as cocky and brash as Rainbow, but had grown to accept Rainbow’s friends as hers as well, and the feelings were reciprocated.

“Hey, have you guys seen Rarity? I’m going to tell her how I feel about her.” Spike called to the two. They both turned around with sad looks on their faces, Rainbow Dash appearing to be more hurt than Gilda. She flew up to her house among the clouds, leaving Spike confused as Gilda approached him. She felt that she needed to talk with him since Rainbow Dash couldn’t, and because she had dealt with heartbreak before. Spike was a good friend to her. He had a semblance of her attitude and liked to pull pranks sometimes with her and Dash. She’d grown fond of him, and she didn’t want the baby dragon to be in pain all by himself, so she sat down next to him and started talking.

“Listen Spike, when you have you have someone you care about, you shouldn’t wait to tell them how you truly feel about them. I mean, look at me. Remember what happened the first time I was here? I screwed up big time and almost lost my only friend, but when I apologized and told her how I really felt I got her back and more. You lost your chance with Rarity, but that doesn’t mean that you won’t have plenty of chances down the line, and you need to be ready when you get those chances so they don’t slip away.”

Gilda pulled Spike into a hug; her purple tipped feathers lightly tickling the young drake’s face. She rose to her feet. “See you ‘round kiddo.” she said, and gave him one last wistful look before flying up to Rainbow’s cloud house to console her.

“Lost my chance? What’d she mean by that?” Spike said to himself as he went up to sit under the tree.

“It means that your chance, our chance, has passed.”

Spike whipped his head around in surprise and saw the mare he loved more than anything else standing beside him, a forlorn smile on her face

“Rarity!” Spike yelled. “I’ve been looking all over town for you. Everyone’s been acting so strange today when I asked them about you, but none of that matters now because I can finally tell you. Rarity, I love you, and it’s not just a crush like when we first met. You’re so smart, generous, fun to be around, beautiful, and just an all-around great mare. I love you, I really do, and there’s something back at the library I want to give you.

Rarity moved to sit next to Spike, her smile never faltering.

“Spike, listen, you have to let go. I know you love me, and I feel the same way about you. You were always there for me when I needed you, whether it was helping with gems, giving me a scaly shoulder to cry on, or just being a great friend. I’m sorry that it just wasn’t meant to be, but my heart will always belong to you. Please, for my sake, don’t get hung up on me. Go on and live your life, find love, and be that wonderful dragon I always knew you’d turn out to be. And remember, you will always be my little Spikey Wikey.”

They sat there on the hill for a few more minutes watching the sunset. Rarity leaned in and gave Spike a hug and a lingering kiss on the cheek, and ethereal motion, but Spike would swear to anyone that it was real. She then gave him one last smile and said “I love you Spike”, before she vanished.

“Rarity! Don’t go yet! Your gift!” Spike yelled to the sunset. His call went unanswered.

Spike felt a little tired after his day, so he walked back to the library to get some sleep. He noticed that Twilight was already asleep. “Strange, she’s usually more of a night owl.” He thought as he climbed into bed. He yawned before closing his eyes. His last thoughts before sleep took him were “Rarity probably had some pressing business to get to. That’s why she left early, so I’ll see her tomorrow.”

His dreams that night made him realize of why everyone was glum. Rarity had died from a sudden heart attack earlier that week, and her funeral was yesterday. He didn’t understand what was happening at the service, and everyone simply told him that Rarity had gone to a better place, so he assumed that she’d be back soon. Tears breached his eyes as he slept, as he mourned the loss of the one he loved most.

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Spike awoke early the next day feeling as sad and as lonesome as he’d ever felt. He spent a few minutes thinking about Rarity and how he never even got a chance. He then remembered that Rarity wasn’t really there on the hill with him, but her message reached him all the same. He hadn’t missed his chance with her. Every day he was around her, he made sure that she felt loved and appreciated. He was always willing to lend her a hand, no matter what he had to go through for her, and if that wasn’t telling someone you love them then he didn’t know what was. He walked over to the dresser and opened the box to retrieve the gift for Rarity. Inside was a large heart-shaped emerald. Affixed to each side of the emerald was an amethyst that spike had carved into the shape of a wing, and had soldered to the emerald with his dragon fire. He put the gem next to a picture of him and Rarity that had been taken after the Grand Galloping Gala, and then retrieved a scroll out of the gift box. He opened it and re-read the letter that he had written for Rarity.

I may not have wings, but when I’m with you, my heart soars.

Spike smiled to himself as he felt the love he had for Rarity, and her love for him fill him with warmth and happiness, washing away any traces of sorrow. Spike quietly walked downstairs, not wanting to wake his still sleeping guardian, and opened the front door. He stood outside as the sun shone brilliantly in the clear blue sky. It was a beautiful day.

The End