After seemingly small lapse of judgment on Rarity's part, Spike is left in an emotionally vulnerable state. An attempt to cheer the saddened dragon by Applejack quickly leads to the development of affection between the pair. But Applejack is not the only one with feelings for the reptilian assistant. Twilight also realizes her romantic love for the dragon as he spends more and more time outside the library and away from her. But her white counterpart soon admits her own feelings for her long-time, scaly suitor as well.
Three mares vying for the affections of one dragon. There can be only one winner. What will happen? Who will win? Read and find out! (An updated summary for new readers) (An update to the cover art may or may not follow. It all depends on whether I can find a better image for the story.)
I find this enjoyable, a little quirk I have is that every time you separate scenes you use the giant X's
I was worried that this would have been a bash fic, at least your note has alieved those worries for now.Though I would still disagree with her actions.
So AppieSpike, nice to have another one made.
Have you seen Secret of my Excess or Dragon Quest, Rarity starts treating him better than the girls really. She threatens to rip a dragon to pieces for him.
Luckily for you I'm not that big of a fan of Sparity.
Hey cool I read this on fanfiction!
I like how the remark is so off-hoof and taken out of context. What would make for some great extra drama would be if Rarity was trying to keep Spike away from Photo's probing into his privacy. Missing a few commas, that's about all else I have to say.
looks good though i agree rarity was out of character
A funnier end to the chapter would have been Pinkie Pie doing something wacky with the library, like rearranging the books to the colors of their spines form a picture of her face.
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OH YOU TRIFFLIN' BITCH!
First off, thank you all for the comments. I'm really taking them seriously. Now for direct replies towards those comments.
1914929
Well, don't want to be too long winded here but in "Secret to My Excess," Rarity kind of does flirt him out of his birthday to himself by batting her eyelashes and using his feelings against him. But with "Dragon Quest," I'll admit that she did go after Spike when he left out of caring for him. I'll meet you halfway, like I said. I'm not doing this to bash Rarity or to make her look bad, trying to think of how she would act when put in these situations.
1915320
lol Your comment literally made me laugh, good sir. Well done! I'm sorry about it not being a Sparity fic, though it has some tid bits later of the relationship later but for now, it's going to be build up.
1915812
Thanks for being a loyal fan, here and on FFN. Very cool of you!
1916306
Glad you enjoyed it! Second chapter coming up tomorrow.
1916460
Missing comas, huh? Should probably go back fix that if I wasn't so lazy.
1916825
Glad you at least liked the story. I didn't think I had Rarity out of character but if you want to explain better how she was OOC then feel free to message.
1917224
Oh that ending was more than just a comic relief. Trust me, you'll see throughout the rest of the story how that plays out. But thanks though, I do need to work my randomness for Pinkie.
1917886
I respect your opinion, even if I don't agree with it. You're allowed to hate whichever pony you want. Just do me a favor, don't start a war in the comments section. I'll owe you one!
Alright, I'll thanks for reading guys and I hope you guys continue too. Like I said, any opinions you have to improve the story or my writing in general, please message me and I'll respond as soon as possible!
1918242
Don't worry, though I have to ask what kind of shipping do you plan for Spike?
1918350 he already said Spapplejack (Applike? Spiklejack? W/e) before. Which is starting to sky rocket after "Spike at Your Service". Speaking of which, more evidence on Rarity caring quite a bit about being sweet to Spike; in the scene where she tries his burnt out, horrific, probably somewhat lethal cake. The way I see it, Canon!Rarity thinks Spike's crush on her is very touching and she takes it very seriously, as she does any expression of love, but is precocious, and something she has to handle with care that is ultimately not her business (except when she uses it to her and Spike's mutual advantage to grab free labor for a few kind words and maybe a little peck
) and probably does not reciprocate it.
1918242 Missed commas are srs bsnss. Srsly gys, it's srs bsnss. I notice you didn't respond to the tale end of my comment. Is this because it's a spoiler (if so reply to me on my homepage and make a dummy saying no on this one
) or because as a reader I shouldn't be telling you how to run your story? I'm okay with suggestions being shot down if it's the latter. Silence does not become me though 
.
1918685 I believe it's AppleSpike and I like to see how you pull these two together.
More AppleSpike, and this time it's going to be a longer piece? Awesome!!!
*tracking* You better not take forever for the updates. 
Glad you plan to built it up, Spike is spot on in character, and thank goodness you aren't one of those writers that feels the need to change Spike up for the romance. One thing I recommend, show the layout of the area better. Like here, I got the sense that Spike's bed was by the front door instead of upstairs, out of sight.
1918242
oh sorry i didn't want to come of like that but, damn that was mean.
I think the reason, why Rarity acted the way she did was
because she didn't want a repeat of "Green isn't your color".
While she had good intentions; She handled it wrong.
So Rarity is going to have to work for it? Well at least she is truthful, and thank you for not going into the bashing. Good chapter
Yay Applespike.
I think you may be moving a bit fast on Spike's attraction to AJ. Granted he fell for Rarity at first sight, but that began as a purely physical attraction. He's known Applejack for years, so shifting his attention from Rarity should probably take a little longer.
1921912
Well, thanks for comment but really, it's about being seen with the wrong company rather than fearing that Spike would steal her thunder as Flutters did. Glad you like the story, hope you keep reading.
1921915
Oh, don't worry. She'll work for it, you'll definitely see that later. Glad you liked the latest chapter.
1921934
Again, glad to see you like the story.
1921935
Years might be stretching, it's been maybe close to two years, canonwise I would say. But it's not sudden love, that's not the feeling I was going for. More like the development of something of a new crush. I hope you stick around to see how it'll work out. I tried to avoid that "sudden in love" cliche that most fics do or the overly dramatic Spike's feelings for Rarity being shattered.
I have to say he is holding a grudge pretty well
I don't know why, but I enjoy Spike shippings immensely. (I hope I don't turn into MallaJong....)
1922054
Oh, no worries there. I'm definitely following this fic
I actually can picture rarity doing that, great story so far!
1922220
MALLAJONG IS GLORIOUS!
I adore is so far.
AppleSpike. Mo stweey pweez?
hahahhaha poor twili xD nice fic !!
wooow nice chap hahah but oww i really wanted to keep readin more but i can wait for da next update ! nice work :DD
So he has forgiven Rarity, so que the Romantic Tension.
I feel like Rarity is going to get a little jealous of Applejack when Spike starts working for her again.
1927850
Eh... Well, I don't try to offer spoilers so you'll just have to read to find out.
1927035
Tension indeed. Tension that we will see for a couple of chapters to come.
1927002
Don't be so quick to jump to conclusions, now!
1924383
Well, the next chapter's up. Hope you enjoy it!
1924337
Po' Twilight indeed!
1922697
Hmm... MallaJong, huh? I don't know if I want to compare myself to him, whether for the better or the worse. He is quite a bit more popular than me, I am just a rookie compared with him on that. I'm familiar with his stuff, I like it. I'm glad you like my work. Thank you!
1922315
Thanks for the compliment! I do have to say that it was a bit of a stretch but I would tend to agree with you.
1922288
Thanks for not giving up on this fic, I'll try not to disappoint!
1922220
Cool, I hope I can find some good ones to read too. Don't know what you found wrong with MallaJong, I only read parts of his works but I liked them, with a few reservations, but all in all, I liked his work.
1922147
Dat irony!
1922059
Patience pays off and the new chapter is up!!!
This story has had it's first official thumbs down!!! It's a true story now!!! Or as a friend of mine said, "Someone is jelly." Either way, I'm not even mad, bro. I'm just glad that so many people liked the story. Thanks for the support guys!
BOO! HISS! BURN HIM!
Calm down everyone. He's simply going to update over a longer period.
Now this was a great update. Rarity seems a little... Put off, by Spike simply coming to help her. Don't know might be a small detail but I feel something there.
I found a few errors, I hope you don't mind if I point them out here...
I think you mean "I made a promise"
The correct word here would be "lay". Lied means to have told an untruth. (Yes, it's a confusing word, try a quick google search.
There are several other places that could be cleaned up a bit, but over all it's an excellent chapter.
I still feel you were a bit heavy handed for the ApplexSpike, but this part with Rarity was beautiful. It gorgeously illustrates that even though Spike may truly forgive her, and despite what he may even want, some things are simply not that easy to fix.
You now have my unreserved thumbs up good Sir!
Also, if you would like a pre-reader / proofreader I would be glad to offer my services.
1928880
I'm pretty sure that's a significant detail you noticed there!
Rarity has always known Spike as a dragon whom worshiped the ground she walked on, and now he shows up as simply a friend. And she may not realized this quite yet, she can tell that "something changed".
1929269
I hope it is drama has always been fix for me when it came to laugh department.
1928880
You can message me for more details.
Well, you still have one more update to look forward to. Don't worry, I'll try to not procrastinate on writing. Just for you guys!
1929184
Well, the first mistake you caught is correct and I'll go and fix that now. The second is technically correct, since a person "lies" down, "lie" is used when talking about people. While "lay" is directed to an object, like "The girl laid her books down on the desk." And also, I'll never mind when people spot some mistakes in my story that they want to point out.
And if you're really interested in being a pre-reader, sure. I could always use an extra pair of eyes to catch some errors before I humiliate myself by posting.
1929269
As a wise pony, with his "fancy mathematics," said "Eeyup!"
1929723
I see this word confused so often it's scary.
You are 100% correct with your description of lay, but what most people don't realize is that "lay" is not only the present tense as you described it, but it is also the past tense of "lie"
Here is a good reference
Anyway, I'm finished with my grammar rant now, and ready to enjoy the next update!
hahaha poor spike xD a lot hard work to do , a really great chap c: !!!!!!
Lol to funny I've was following this story on fanfiction but never got around to read it. It's very good cant wait for the next chap
-Kiryu
What a twist! I honestly didn't see that coming... No I actually didn't, yeah I'm surprised too. But I digress, nice little update keeping us inthralled in the story very nice. Although what more Twists do you have planned? Oh my gosh I'm waiting in suspence!
Wait... Twilight as well? Err... must not be reading as deeply into it, still see her in this fic as his big sister.
This should be interesting.
WHAT A
!
I do love myself some AppleSpike and TwiSpike
I love updates more though.
this is great keep going
A love rectangle? Holy sh*t! I expect a triangle!
can't wait to read the "discussion" between Rarity and Applejack. 
wooooooooooooow nice chap C: , but mmm twili really love spike in da way ? o: i was thinkin da she loves him like a son really , but wooooooooooow :DDD i want to read da next chap soon pls !!!!!!!!!
Love rectangle? What a
!
Carry on.
Ok, one big thing that'll explain last in this response to your comments: Why that twist?
1929975
Thanks, and I see that you've also read next chapter.
1936317
If you were following it on FFN, you should know I've revised it a bit. The revisions will eventually hit fanfiction but not until a little later. Probably once I'm ready to post chapter 5 on both websites.
1939521
lololol This comment made me crack up. I love Friday! Well timed and well done, good sir!
1939565
Yup. I'll reserve explaining it till last.
1939584
Yup, a couple of more twists are planned. Not as big as that one but still, you can expect to see a few more on the way.
1939621
Again, I'll wait till the end because I'd feel like I would be redundant explaining it over and over again.
1939690
Is that an angry face? lol
1939771
Alright, that what a twist comment, I didn't see coming. lol
Also, unfortunately, you're going to wait for the next update. Still haven't started, need to finish up the update for "The Check-Up Blues." Not that I'm advertising it but I am currently writing that one's next chapter. It's almost done but I still need to go over it to proofread it. Then I'll start on this one's next chapter.
1940771
Don't worry, I'm like the Energizer bunny. I'll keep going and going and going...
1940815
The love triangle is so played out. It was time for something fresh and new!
1940910
Now I'm being redundant with this. I'll explain a bit about this at the end of this comment.
1941191
Don't worry, the next chapter will be coming soon. Hopefully.
1941521
Thank you!
As I promised and repeated, I'll explain a bit about that sudden curve ball I threw at you guys. I see a lot of people weren't expecting that, Twilight's confession. But if you read, I dropped hints, not too many and maybe to subtly, but I did. And I'll explain how this love came to be within the story but no spoilers. Sorry! If you saw, Spike hadn't been around Twilight for a while. Twilight immediately feels alone and as if something is missing around her library. Just Rarity felt, Twilight was missing her assistant but not because of the assistant part, but because her closest friend was no longer around. Somewhere along the line, Spike had snaked his way into her heart without her even noticing and since he was always around, she never knew how it felt without him. You'll see more of this in the later chapter as well as from the rest of the rectangle. Hope you all hang in there while I write the next chapter!
1942381
You have no idea how much time I had this waiting to be posted, usually everytime theres a twist or something like that in a story someone allready puts it, but I rained victorious in this one!
-Kiryu
1942381 More like I'm interested face. Best I can get the the econs.