Dragon that Would be Pony Ch. 1

Part 1: End of a Dream?

I DO NOT OWN MY LITTLE PONY: FRIENDSHIP IS MAGIC. IT'S THE PROPERTY OF LAUREN FAUST, AND HASBRO. ALL RIGHTS ARE RESERVED TO THEM.

It was another hot and dry summer day in Ponyville. Princess Celestia's sun was shining brightly over the town and heating it up. The pony citizens were doing their best to beat the sweltering heat by any means. There were stands set up selling drinks or fans and other things to cool the ponies. Many others opted to stay in the shade as they talked with their friends, making the streets nearly deserted. Along one of the streets a purple dragon with green spines ran along with a smile on his face.

Spike made his way towards Carousal Boutique to run an errand for his mentor and friend, Twilight Sparkle. He was going to get a book on sewing from Rarity and return it to the library. Spike hurried as fast as he could to the white unicorn's shop to see her. His mind raced with thoughts of being with the pony many he adored and gawked at since he first saw her. He remembered Twilight saying something about not swooning or something over her, but all he thought of right now was Rarity. The baby dragon reached Carousel Boutique and rang the doorbell. A tiny little chime played from inside the shop.

"Coming!"  A singing voice shouted that Spike recognized as Rarity's.

Spike straightened his spines and sprayed some breath spry into his mouth just as he heard hoofsteps approach the door. The door opened and Spike felt his heart soar as he looked upon Rarity. Her pristine white coat, gorgeous curled purple mane, and azure eyes seemed to reflect in the sunlight. The sight made Spike's heartbeat increase and sighed in content.

"Hello Spike."  Rarity said with a smile. "Whatever do you need from me darling?"

Spike broke out of his daze and said, "Hey there Rarity, I'm here to get a book you borrowed from Twilight."

"Oh thank you so much for reminding me Spike."  Rarity said. "I nearly forgot about that, please come in."

Spike happily nodded and entered the dress shop, but was shocked by what he saw. The shop that was usually tidy was rather messy with rolls of fabric on the ground. Ponyquins were clustered together into a large pile in a corner. There were desks filled with plans of dress designs covering them entirely. It dumbfounded Spike since he and every other pony knew Rarity strives for the best in appearances.

"Just give me a minute please Spike."  Rarity said.

The white unicorn went around digging through the entire mess of the shop. Spike watched as she ran around looking for the book desperately and listening to the sounds of stuff shift around.

"Erm…Rarity, do you need some help?"  The dragon asked her.

Rarity stopped rummaging through items and gave Spike a small smile. "Nonsense darling, I don't want to trouble you at all."  She went back through another pile throwing stuff across the room.

Spike shook his head at this response. "Rarity, I can help you look for that book and clean up this place."

"Oh I can't ask you to do that darling. You do more then enough work for Twilight and I can't just take advantage of you."

"Rarity, no offense, but this place looks like a pigsty."

Rarity stopped looking through piles and looked at her shop. She saw how much of a mess her shop was and looked at Spike with a smile. "You're right Spike, I need to get my boutique in tip top shape. I hope Twilight won't be mad though."

Spike shook his head and gave Rarity a reassuring smile. "Don't worry about it Rarity. Twilight said she would need some time alone with doing some work in her lab."

Rarity nodded at the baby dragon. "Alright then Spike, let's get to work!"

---

For the next hour, Spike and Rarity cleaned and organized Carousel Boutique. The baby dragon's knowledge of organizing and cleaning helped speed up the process considerably. The ponyquins were placed in several rows with clothed ones separated from the naked ones. The fabric rolls were alphabetized and organized in the shelves of cabinets. Spike even managed to sort out the dress designs with Rarity's help throwing out old ones and organizing what were completed and what were still in planning. They found the book later on one of the desks and put it close to the main door. When the dragon and unicorn finished both of them were tired, but happy to see the shop was clean. Rarity moved towards her kitchen and brought out some tea in one of her tea sets.

"Thank you so much for the help Spike."  Rarity said.

"Ah it was nothing Rarity, I'm just helping out."  Spike said trying to hide a blush. "Why was your shop a mess? You usually like things clean and pri....pris....um in order."

Rarity gave what looked like a forced smile and said, "Oh it was nothing at all darling. Here drink up; you're looking quite parched from all that hard labor."

Spike drank the tea, which tasted sweet with a twist of lemon in it, but he thought there was something wrong with Rarity. "Rarity. Are you sure you're okay?"

Rarity looked to see that the baby dragon had a mix between a concerned look. She just looked away. "I...it's nothing really Spike I can assure you that."  She said with a little shakiness in her voice.

Spike still wasn't convinced by the white unicorn's words. "Rarity, didn't you say that it was never good to hide secrets from other friends?"

Rarity tried to think of something to counter the argument, but realized that what the little dragon had said was true. She looked at Spike and gave him a him a sad smile. "You do have a point darling. You really are a gentlecolt, or in this case, gentledragon."

Spike felt himself blush, but was more interested in hearing about what Rarity said.

"I haven't really been myself Spike."  Rarity said with a sad look on her face. "I have been feeling rather down ever since the Grand Galloping Gala."

Spike gave a concerned look and nodded in understanding. He heard about what happened between Rarity and Prince Blueblood. He heard about how selfish and rude Blueblood acted towards Rarity and broke her heart. Spike wanted to go find Blueblood and give him a piece of his mind, but Twilight held him back from doing so. The baby dragon saw that Rarity may have looked happy and fine around the others, but noticed that she acted distant ever since the Gala and seemed less confident.

"I...I know it's been nearly two weeks since it happened, but it still haunts me."  Rarity said as she looked down. "I just can't believe that all my dreams went up in smoke like that. I've just been feeling like I'll never get back into it now. I feel like I'll never find a real gentlecolt to be by my side."

Spike saw that a little tear fell from Rarity's face and frowned. He and the others knew Rarity was always dreaming of her own prince and was now emotionally and spiritually devastated by Prince Blueblood.

He gave Rarity his best comforting smile. "Rarity, listen to me. Those stallions don't know who they're missing. After all you've done like how you defeated the Diamond Dogs you deserve some better pony then Blueblood. They just don't know about how great you are."

Rarity gave Spike a tearful smile and hugged the little dragon. She held him in this embrace for a long time while Spike felt love struck and dazed. Rarity let go of Spike and looked at him with a warm smile.

"Thank you so much Spike."  The white unicorn said. "You really are a noble dragon."  Spike was going to talk to Rarity more, but before he could they both heard a knocking at the door. "Oh please excuse me Spike. It may be a customer picking up some order."

Spike gave a sad nod and watched as his crush ran off. When Rarity was out of ear shout he cursed that he had missed his opportunity again. He barely got time to talk to Rarity since she was busy. The times he did get a chance to say something to her he was interrupted by something or somepony. Spike heard hoofsteps and looked to see that Rarity had returned with Twilight by her side. The lilac unicorn looked a little stern on her face.

"Spike where have you been?"  Twilight asked. "I've been wondering where you were. You've been one for well over an hour."

"Twilight, you told me that you were not to be disturbed in the lab anyway."  The baby dragon shot back. "I stayed over at Rarity's and helped her out."

"It's true darling."  Rarity said. "Spike here has assisted me and we were just talking."

Twilight smiled at her friend. "Well thanks for looking over him anyway Rarity. I hope he didn't get into too much trouble."

"Oh nonsense darling. He just gave me a hoof in cleaning up my shop. It was a pigsty in here."

"I see then, well I'm glad Spike was able to help you out."  The lilac unicorn waved a hoof towards the door. "Come on Spike, it's time to go home now."  Spike felt crestfallen from hearing that and gave a sad nod. He grabbed the book and left with Twilight.

"Spike!"  Rarity's voice shouted from the entrance to Carousel Boutique. Spike and Twilight turned to see that Rarity had a smile on her face. "Thank you for everything darling. I'll be sure to repay you for this one day."

---

Spike smiled and waved farewell to Rarity and went along with Twilight. When they got back to the library, Twilight locked the door and looked at Spike with a concerned look.

"I think we need to talk Spike."  Twilight said and indicated Spike to sit in a chair. Spike gulped a little and went over to sit down in the chair with Twilight following suit.

"Spike I want to talk to you about Rarity."  The lilac unicorn said. "I know you have these 'feelings' for her, but I don't want you to feel disappointed."

Spike gave a confused look. "What do you mean Twilight?"

"Don't take this the wrong way Spike, but you are just a baby dragon and she's a unicorn. She may not feel the same way about you."

"But Twilight."  Spike whined. "I do like her a lot I just haven't told her yet, a...and besides you don't know if she doesn't like me or not."

Twilight shook her head and said, "Spike listen to me, you're a dragon only. There are too many differences between you two and she is looking for a real gentlecolt, not some love struck dragon. You'll also outlive her along with all of us as well. This 'love' you have is just childish and you will find another dragon later on."

"Twilight I don't want another dragon."  Spike said. "Rarity is the perfect pony for me. She's beautiful and a wonderful pony to be around with. It's not just some puppy love like you keep saying to me."

"Spike it's time to let this crush go now. Rarity is looking for a stallion and a dragon just doesn't fit her criteria."  Twilight said. "I know it's hard, but please just let it go now. She may just want to remain friends. I don't want you to feel disappointed when you confess your feelings to Rarity and she turns you down."

Spike gave a sad look and barely nodded at this. Twilight gave a sad smile and hugged her friend. "I'm really sorry about this Spike. Why don't you get some rest now? You look worn out from the heat and all that work."

Spike said nothing and went up to the bedroom he shared with Twilight. The baby dragon collapsed on the bed and stared at the ceiling. He could still hear the words Twilight said to him about his crush.

'What if Twilight is right?'  The dragon thought to himself. 'What if she does reject me and leaves me?' Why was I even born a dragon? I found some pony I love and it may not work. I wish there was a way to win Rarity's heart. But...Twilight does have a point. I'll lose Rarity and the others as I get older.'  Spike looked up at the ceiling and drifted off into an uneasy sleep with thoughts of what to do with Rarity.

---

Spike looked around and saw that he was in an altar. There were rows of seats with silhouetted ponies he didn't recognize all staring at the front. He looked up to see a blue coated priest along with a stallion and mare standing together. The baby dragon decided to get a closer look at the two ponies standing together. The crowd was oblivious to Spike as he slowly made his way towards the two ponies. As he got closer, he saw something that made his heart sink and his stomach churn. It was Rarity standing next to Prince Blueblood.

"By the power of Celestia and Luna themselves!"  The priest shouted in a deep booming voice. "I now declare this couple married and may they have many years together!"

The crowd applauded, but Spike felt horrified by this. "NO!"  He shouted as loud as he could over the thunderous applause. "RARITY DON'T DO IT! HE'LL HURT YOU AGAIN! PLEASE WAIT! I...I LOVE YOU!"

Spike started to run towards the unicorn couple, but no matter how fast he ran they got further and further away. He tried to pick up the pace, but it only seemed to make them go further away. He watched in horror as both white unicorns got into a chariot and took off leaving a heartbroken Spike behind. The baby dragon heard some hoofsteps and turned to see Twilight Sparkle with a stern look on her face.

"I told you Spike."  The lilac unicorn said coldly. "She isn't interested in dragons like you. Now come on it's time to get back to work."

Twilight levitated Spike and took him away. Spike was kicking around and trying to break free. "NO, RARITY COME BACK!"  He shouted tearfully.

Something hard hit Spike on his head, and looked to see that he was back at the library and lying on the floor. He saw that the bed he slept on fell to the side. The baby dragon let out a sigh of relief knowing that it was all a bad dream. He looked to see that it was in the late afternoon. He decided to go see if he could do some work to get his mind off the nightmare. He went downstairs to see Twilight was reading a few books while taking some notes.

"Hi Twilight."

The lilac unicorn looked up to see Spike giving a wave and smiled at him. "Hey there Spike. How are you feeling?"

Spike hesitated on how to answer. He felt that he couldn't tell Twilight about his dream. He thought that she would dismiss it and tell him to move on with his crush. "I'm fine Twilight."  He said with a forced grin. "I'm just still a little tired. Do you need anything done right now?"

Twilight looked at Spike suspiciously for a few minutes, but shrugged at Spike's answer. She gave her assistant a smile and gave him a bag of bits. "I need you to head to the market to get some apples from the Sweet Apple Acres stand. Applejack should be there today."

---

Spike took the bits and with a nod left the library. As he walked down the street, the baby dragon thought of the nightmare he had. He tried to shake it out of his head by looking around town. He looked to see other ponies were hanging out with friends or being with loved ones. He saw other ponies like Lyra sitting on a bench while Bon Bon cuddled her and Snails talking with Applebloom. The sights only seemed to dampen his moral more and quickly ran off to the market to get away.

The Apple Family stand was rather empty since most ponies were heading home for the night, but there stood Applejack counting the bits she gathered from the day.

"Hey there Applejack."  Spike said.

The orange mare looked up from counting to see the baby dragon give a friendly smile. "Well howdy there Spike."  She said in her upbeat southern accent. "What brings y'all down to mah stand?"

Spike told her that Twilight needed a bucket of apples. Applejack gave a nod and gathered the best apples for her unicorn friend. Just as Applejack was about to hand Spike the bucket of apples, she noticed a sad look on the baby dragon's face and looking off in the distance.

"Are y'all alright sugarcube?"  Applejack askedin a concerned tone.

Spike snapped out of his thoughts and gave Applejack a forced smile. "O...oh it's nothing Applejack really."  He said with a tinge of nervousness in his voice.

Applejack didn't buy the lie and gave him a stern look. "Come on now Spike, y'all can tell me anything yer mah friend."

Spike looked to see the farmer pony had a determined look on her. He knew how stubborn Applejack could be; the whole town learned the hard way from her attempts to buck all the trees by herself and resulted in damage to the town.

"W-well Applejack it's about…Rarity."  The baby dragon said in a shaky voice.

"Well what about her sugarcube?"

Spike twiddled his fingers and looked at the orange mare giving a reassuring smile. "I...it's just that I...I don't know how I can tell Rarity how I feel about her."

Applejack gave a sad smile. "A'hm mighty sorry Spike, but Ah ain't that good with that romance stuff. It's just the farm fer me."

Spike shook his head and looked back at Applejack. "Applejack it's not just that, but I've been feeling afraid that I may not be good enough for her."

"Like Ah said Spike, Ah ain't too much into that romance fru fru. Why would ya think that y'all might not be good enough fer Rarity?"

Spike explained the argument he got into with Twilight about how it was time to stop chasing Rarity. She said he should look for a dragon of his own, but wasn't interested in one. He told of how Twilight was looking for a stallion Prince Charming, and not a dragon. When Spike finished he looked at Applejack who had a sad look on her face.

"Spike, Ah think what Twilight is telling ya is true."

Spike felt his heart sink. "Applejack why do you believe Twilight?"

"Spike, she does have a point."  The farmer pony said. "Yer just a dragon and she's a pony. Ah just don't think y'all can really make it work out. Rarity is a one of them sophisticated types, but you Spike are just a baby dragon.  Ah thought it was cute of ya to be head over hoofs fer Rarity. Twilight does have a point though. Ah believe she just sees ya as a friend and nothing more."

Spike couldn't believe what he was hearing and felt a mix of rage and sorrow in him. "B...but Applejack."  The dragon said with his voice starting to crack. "I do love Rarity a lot. She's such a wonderful beautiful unicorn. I've done so much with her and she makes me happy."

Applejack shook her head and said, "Ah understand Spike that y'all did treat her kindly, but y'all seem to care more 'bout her looks than anythin' else. Spike it's time to stop this wild goose chase and let her go now."

Spike felt emotionally devastated by what Applejack said. He took the apples in a fit of rage and ran off to the library, ignoring Applejack's shouts at him. The baby dragon tried to shake those words out of his head and felt tears build up in his eyes. He soon reached the library and wiped off his tears before entering. The baby dragon saw the library was clean, but Twilight wasn't around. He heard a crash from the basement, making him realize she was down in her lab. Spike took the apples and put them on a table. He looked to see that Princess Luna's moon was rising and decided to turn in for the night.

Spike slowly dragged himself into his bed and looked through the window with thoughts buzzing through his head. Twilight and Applejack's words of letting go of Rarity echoed in his mind. Spike felt that he couldn't just leave Rarity after all he did to make her happy. He helped her find gems at where the Diamond Dogs were and cleaned her place. Every time the baby dragon saw Rarity he saw a beautiful pony whose love, generosity, and bravery knew no bounds. Spike felt that this wasn't just some puppy love, but had feelings for Rarity. Despite all that though, he was always chastised by Twilight about it.

He looked back at the moon once more. The white surface reminded Spike of Rarity's white coat and felt tears build up in him once more. He eventually fell into an uneasy sleep with thoughts on Rarity and his future with her.

TO BE CONTINUED