• Published 6th Jan 2013
  • 10,623 Views, 386 Comments

The Heartbreaker and the Cultivator - XSomeGuyX



A small lapse of judgment on Rarity's part sets in motion a series of events leading to realization, admission and development of the feelings of three mares for Spike. How will this affect their friendship? Who will win his love? Read and find

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All Eyes on You

All Eyes on You

“Twilight! Twilight!” Applejack knocked forcefully, nearly tearing the door off its hinges. “Twilight!”

“Applejack?” Twilight asked, surprised to see her friend again so soon, and even more so by her intensity. “What’s wrong?”

“Well… I-I ain’t too sure…” Applejack stuttered. “It’s Spike… Spike and Rarity…”

“You shouldn’t feel so bad…” Twilight said, misunderstanding the earth pony’s anxiety. “Rarity… just had too much of a lead on us. She has been working her way into Spike’s heart since we came to Ponyville… guess we really never stood a chance...”

“Wait, Twilight, listen!” the apple farmer interrupted her. “It’s not that… I ain’t jealous… Ok, maybe a lil’ jealous. But there’s somethin’ off about the whole thing! Rarity’s…”

“Now, now, Applejack,” the purple unicorn hushed the ranting mare. “There’s no need to call each other names. We’re still friends after all, aren’t we?”

“Yeah, we are… but ya ain’t hearin’ me, Twilight!” Applejack answered, rather frustrated that her friend simply waved off her worries. “There’s… somethin’ wrong with Spike… And Rarity… she’s not acting like herself… I mean, Spike… he was always happy to help her whenever she needed it… But this time… it looked like he was fighting… somethin’… Somethin’ that Rarity was doin’ to him. And Rarity… she was usin’ some sort of weird magic… I don’t know too much about all the unicorns’ hocus pocus, but this magic… It didn’t feel right. I’ve seen you and Rarity use magic… This was nothing like before, not even close…”

“What do you mean, Applejack?” Twilight asked, her own concerns growing with each small pause her friend took.

“Rarity… wasn’t actin’ like herself,” Applejack continued. “She used Spike, sure, but I never thought she meant no harm by it… This time, the magic she was usin’… it looked like it was hurting him… on the inside… Even the way she called him… She called him ‘drake’… Even if she did use him before, even if she did hurt him… Rarity always cared about Spike… Ya could hear every time she called him ‘Spikey-Wikey’. That’s why I wouldn’t have minded losin’ Spike to her. ‘Cause he would still be with some pony that can make him happy and cares about him… But that unicorn I saw ain’t a pony I would ever leave Spike with…”

“Well, even if I do believe you… There’s nothing I can really do… I’ve never heard of a spell that does what you said,” Twilight replied. “I wouldn’t know where to begin to counter a spell like that.”

“Why don’t ya try talkin’ to him?” the blond earth pony asked. “I think I was gettin’ through to him until Rarity did… somethin’. Then Spike told me he never wanted to see me again…”

“That doesn’t sound like something Spike would say…” Twilight commented.

“Exactly! Maybe since Spike is alone with ya here… away from Rarity…” Applejack paused as she exited the library. “Maybe ya can help him…”


“This is becoming very risky…” the Changeling Queen thought out loud. “That lowly little farmer has grown suspicious of me… and of my pet… The Gala is still some time away.

“So it seems that having complete control over your mind is not the wisest choice at the moment. We both must keep up appearances,” she turned to Spike. “However, I can’t afford to have you on such a loose leash. Seeing as you already have it engraved in your mind that I’m your precious Rarity, I will simply lock away those memories of the other two pesky mares. Your mind will remain mine as long I am near. Not even Celestia’s little pet will be able restore them…”

“Ah, yes!” Chrysalis said as invaded the dragon’s mind once more. “The little incident that caused this whole situation… Perhaps erasing that is all that is really needed. It will ensure that your love for me, your Rarity, remains strong. You will return to me of your own will, you will listen to my demands of your own will. Forging a memory of your choosing of me would not hurt either. A little insurance. Truly, I should have thought of this long ago.”

“It is actually quite laughable…” she said, turning her attention to the still-cocooned unicorn. “I do believe that, was it not for that incident, his heart would unquestionably still have been yours. It must really be painful to think you brought this heartache upon yourself. Such a shallow creature you are. However, this makes it all the easier for me.”

The Changeling did not even care to see her captive’s enraged frenzy as she carried the unconscious dragon out of the room.

“Wouldn’t want his little head to become confused from seeing two Raritys…” Chrysalis laughed as she resumed her disguise. “Now would we?”


Twilight paced the library floor, anxiously awaiting the return of her assistant. Her mind raced with unnerving ideas of a magic that could result in complete control over Spike. Surely if Applejack’s suspicions proved true, she would have to report Rarity to Celestia for using such egregious magic on an innocent creature for her own ends. It was her biggest fear and the very reason she desperately hoped it was not true. She now understood why Applejack also had doubts that this was the same pony they had come to call friend. A new knock on her door derailed her train of thought.

“Spike…” Twilight said under her breath, cautiously opening the door. “Rarity?”

“Yes… I brought you back the dragon…” the white unicorn answered, coldly leaving Spike’s limp body in front of Twilight. “He seems to have fallen asleep, and I don’t have the room for him to lie around.”

“Rarity… wait…” Twilight called out to her, to no avail.

“I have no time for small talk…” the unicorn said, her back continuing to face her purple counterpart. “When he awakens, tell him to report to me as soon as possible. I require his assistance in some matters.”

Before Twilight could even protest, the white mare had already moved out of earshot. She turned her attention to her sleeping assistant, deciding that seeing to Spike’s well-being outweighed investigating Rarity’s behavior in importance. Twilight gently tucked the dragon into his bed, and promptly fell into her own. Exhausted by her own worries, she took one last look at the sleeping dragon before falling asleep herself.


The purple unicorn awoke to the sounds of dusting and bristles sweeping the floor. To her surprise, Spike was happily fulfilling his daily routine, and even whistling. Normally, this would have proved to be just that: normal. However, after all the strange happenings, and his own strange, absent minded behavior before this, Twilight could not simply dismiss what Applejack had warned her about. Reaching a hoof out towards her assistant’s back, she flinched when he suddenly turned around.

“H-hi, Spike…” Twilight stuttered. “Are you ok?”

“Oh, hi, Twilight!” Spike beamed. “Yeah, I’m doing pretty good! I mean, I have the most beautiful mare in all of Ponyville as my marefriend! So I think I’m doing a-ok!”

“You mean Rarity?” Twilight asked tentatively.

“Well, yeah…” Spike answered, looking down at his feet. “Sorry that things didn’t work out between us… I hope we can still be friends.”

Twilight backed away from the dragon, her head totally lost in thought. Applejack had told her that Spike had said that he never wanted to see her again, and yet, here he was apologizing for the failed romantic relationship they had together. Something was not adding up. Applejack would not lie about something so serious, and her worry seemed genuine. But she could not simply ignore that Spike was acting like his normal self once more. Applejack was certainly right about the fact that something strange was going. Whether it involved Rarity was yet to be seen.

“Twilight?” Spike asked, snapping her out of her self-induced trance. “Are you feeling ok?”

“I-I don’t know…” Twilight said, drawing further back from him. “You haven’t talked to Applejack lately, have you?”

“Oh yeah…” the dragon replied, hanging his head. “Rarity said that Applejack was getting really jealous of her. She told me to tell her that it would be best if we didn’t see each other anymore.”

“Rarity, huh?” Twilight whispered to herself. “I need to go see Applejack for a while.”

“I guess I’ll go over to Rarity’s after I finish here,” he told her as she reached the door.

For a moment, Twilight hesitated. She wanted to tell him to stay away from Rarity. Moreover, she wanted to tell him about her suspicions. However, she knew that might only yield the same result as Applejack achieved, distancing Spike from her and causing him to mistrust her as well. Instead, she simply nodded and faked a smile, then hurriedly galloped to the farm on the outskirts of Ponyville.


“Ya sure about this, Twilight?” Applejack asked as they both hid in the bushes near the town’s boutique.

“No, but it’s our only choice right now,” Twilight answered, keeping a quill and scroll handy for any suspicious behavior. “I don’t have any proof that Rarity’s done anything to Spike. And Spike looks like he’s back to his normal self… So we need some kind of proof that there is something strange going on with Rarity and Spike.”

“Here he comes!” Applejack said as both ducked back under the brush.

As the little dragon said he would, he arrived at the shop and waited patiently at the door for the unicorn to allow him in. The white unicorn hardly gave him a proper greeting. Instead, her eyes were instantly glued to the very bush that the two mares hid in. Both felt cold beads of sweat form at the foreheads and drip down their faces. They saw turn her narrowed gaze on their bush, almost as if she knew they were there, but neither really knew how. They had not seen her leave the shop once, or even stare out any of the windows.

“You’re late!” the unicorn scolded Spike, finally allowing him entrance after a long stare down with the shrub outside the shop.

“Sorry,” Spike apologized, disappearing into the shop.

Giving the bush one last cold look, the unicorn slammed the door shut.

“Did she know we were here?” Applejack whispered, feeling a shiver travel down her spine.

“No…” Twilight answered uncertainly, swallowing hard. “I mean… how could she?”


“Clean this place up!” the unicorn ordered harshly, startling the dragon.

“Umm… ok…” Spike said, grabbing a handful of fabric and rolling it back onto its tube.

“I’ll be in my room…” the mare said. “Do not disturb me!”

Leaving the dragon for the safety of her locked room, the unicorn promptly dropped her illusionary disguise. Letting out an angry snort, she turned her attention to the only window in the room. Pushing the curtains aside, she peeked through the window to see the heads of her two spies quickly retreat back into their hiding place.

“It seems that your friends have finally caught on to me…” Chrysalis told the trapped the unicorn, her eyes never leaving the bush. “I can easily have them join you up here, but that would raise even more suspicion, something I cannot have. It will still be a while longer before the Gala… I can’t afford for them to give their pompous princess a reason to be on alert. I guess I’ll just have to play drama queen until the day of the Gala…”

“What is it that drives them to go to such lengths?” the Changeling Queen asked herself. “Their friend is acting so coldly to them, their dragon has rejected them… Yet they still won’t leave me alone! It doesn’t matter. In a few more days, none of this will…”

Author's Note:

I'm sorry for the LONG wait. I know you have waited patiently, but I got myself buried in other projects and school for awhile. I'm going to finish this story. Do not doubt that. It may take me a bit longer than originally planned, but it will get done. I know I said I would reduce the number of author's notes, but since it's been such a long time since I last updated, I thought I would apologize for the hiatus. Please bear with me on this story. I am working on it again and thank you for reading. Your support means a lot and it keeps me in good spirits to write.

Comments ( 33 )

Eh, I don't know. The premise of this seems to have completely changed from the love square between Applejack, Rarity, Twilight and Spike to Chrysalis' ridiculously obvious folly and somewhat obscure plans, which seems to be what the plot will circle around until the ending. That's not what I came here to read, man.

I'm just waiting for Chrysalis to make a mistake and end up with the ultimate ass kicking.:flutterrage::twilightangry2:

4568407

I added her for more of a... comparison really. She'll be gone soon. Give it about 2-3 more chapters at most.

Hit that right on the head.... even though our favorite mares are in what looks to be a romantic free-for-all for all Spike's affection, they still know each other well enough that sudden shifts in persona will rustle their jimmies...

Chrystalis is attempting to accelerate her plans.....I just have a feeling that she moving too fast for her own arrogance, she will slip, and once again she's gonna get defeated once again.

I hope whatever spells Chrysalis did to Spike becomes undone otherwise Rarity gets an unfair advantage

They saw turn her narrowed gaze on their bush,

Awesome chapter, really like how jerky chrysalis is. Just a grammar mistake in the chapter.

4568753
4568536

Who's to say she hasn't already? Maybe that fatal mistake has already happened...

Glad it's back but I still say this would have been better without a villain.

Its great to have this little gem back.
Hope to see more of the Heartbreaker in the near future.:heart:

Reaper_67 :duck:

Nothing like a sweet update to a great story. I will happily wait however long it takes for each new chapter.

Most excellent.

If it means anything, I cast my vote to Twilight. :derpytongue2:

great to see this story is back on track

AJ gets my vote

next chapter pls!! im following history :pinkiehappy::moustache:

Damn that was good, keep it up .It would be a shame if this story died off.:raritystarry::moustache::facehoof::ajsmug:

I really want Twilight to win. I need an ending.

"What is it that drives them to go to such lengths?" - Chrysalis

I don't know Chrysalis. It's probably some sort of strange internal drive. Almost like... an emotion. Actually, it kinda sounds like that one thing... what was it? Oh yeah, love.

That thing you eat.
And apparently know nothing about.

All the same, good story. I'm kind of with Kellar, since I came here for the romance, and am getting a fairly straightforward villain. But the main protagonists are written well and believably (even if the Twi x Spike route seems a bit sudden to me).

I'm all about that OJ...I mean AJ! XD *facepalm*

When are you going to update. It's been almost a YEAR since the last chapter.

6526928

Contrary to what most people think, the story isn't dead. I've just been EXTREMELY busy with all my university work as well as preparing some stuff for my post-undergraduate education (sorry for being vague, but I'd rather not put so much information out there). With all that, I only have had a little time to actually write. I have finished two chapters (written three, but the third is just a rough draft). However, I want to just finish off the story so that you guys don't have a long wait between chapters. After I've finished with everything for the story, I'll be posting a chapter every week.

To give just a rough estimate, it'll probably take maybe 6-8 more chapters before I finish the story (from the point that I've written so far, so 9-12 in total maybe). There may be a possibility of an epilogue. And by "possibility" I mean there will be an epilogue, but that will probably be released much after the main story... or shortly after. Really depends on how much spare time I have.

Sorry to you and all my fans, but please be patient while I work on my school stuff and write this.

6528598 Hey, no worries. I was just wondering (and maybe a tad worried). Also, good luck with the school work. Wish I could help you out on that (it'd give me something to do XD).

6947136 You are a genius!
It all makes sense!:pinkiegasp: Why was I blind?!?

PartyDragon, of course!:raritystarry:

You better finish this.

Hey everyone! Here's a fan made ending while you wait, it's a little shirt but it's very sweet! https://pandaisqued.deviantart.com/journal/Fan-ending-of-The-Hearthbreaker-and-the-Cultivator-712856151

Plz continue writing this story

8869508
Thanks for agreeing with me.


Even after 6-7 years I still see this part of Rarity as a opportunistic side with a slice of connivance. What she want's she gets by using her charms on the opposite gender, and this always has been at the peak with Spike.

Sure she deals out some presents and gifts for "friends" or loyal customers, but with a young male boy being so infatuated with her, getting him to do whatever she wants is nothing but extortion to a high degree, especially when the reward for said boy is either meager or amounts to nothing, compared to his workload.

I would even go as far as to claim that this dabbles with child abuse.

Of course, if it was ever mantioned or pointed out to rarity how she treats spike, either by him or her friends, she'd go sincerely doting over him and apologize, turning her charms up, and whatever she said would be true and honest of course. But that makes it even worse when you think about the the fact, she didn't realize how much of a bad person she actually displayed herself as, in dealing with Spike particularly.

This is probably one of her biggest flaws.

In my personal opinion I don't ship Twilight and Spike I see them as more of a brother sister kind of relationship

Let the crazy Antics ensue. :pinkiehappy:

Why is this fic not getting chapter updates anymore? It sucks.

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