Frustrated Failure

Spike stared at his feet on the trip back to the library. Another failed attempt at getting Rarity's attention had been on his mind as he left the Carousel Boutique. He sighed. It had been his seventh attempt over the course of the week. A new record. His mood had been sour ever since he realized that no matter what he tried, it would always end with "Oh, Spike, you shouldn't have", or "You're such a nice dragon" and he would receive a few measly gems for his efforts. Only this time he didn't get a thing.

His failures just kept racking up. The more he thought about it, the more he didn't want to think about it. Once, capturing Rarity's heart seemed like something achievable. Now it he merely fought for a small chance to at least gain her undivided attention.

Spike looked at the path to the library. It wasn't much farther, but he didn't want to go just yet. Twilight and her new assistant would just remind him of his heartbreak. It wouldn't have mattered if he continued or stayed, he would be reminded anyhow. For it seemed that all of the Elements of Harmony had found a new "friend".

Well, that was except for Rarity. It didn't matter, though; love was blossoming all over Equestria. No matter where he turned, he would find another couple happily enjoying ice cream or walking to watch a romantic sunset together.

The dragon sat on a bench to think about his next plan, if he could at all. The only thing that could take his mind from it was the small gem he found wedged in a tree trunk on his way back from Rarity's. It was a ruby. Though small, he could still enjoy its sweet taste. It would be the kind of thing that could cheer him up.

He shrugged; it had been a while since his taste buds had enjoyed the delicate sensation of a ruby. He looked at the mineral and licked his lips. As he carried it to his mouth, he stopped after seeing something in the heart of it. The dragon thought he saw what looked like a small flame in the ruby. He shrugged it off as his tired brain seeing the sunset refracting through it. Once again he brought the gem up to his mouth, but stopped after deciding his stomach's overactive acid wouldn't let him hold it down. He exhaled in anger. He couldn't even eat his sorrow away.

Deciding that it was best he got to the library before Luna's moon got into the air, he left the bench to continue to the library. He held his breath as he entered the library, hoping to look more cheerful than Celestia knew he was on the inside. The foyer was surprisingly vacant for the number of packed carts of books that needed to be shelved. He sure was glad it was his day off; there was no way he could even think of more work after the day he had. From the back room, he heard somepony pushing a cart in his direction. A little waiting revealed that it was Dream Runner, Ponyville's new assistant librarian and Twilight Sparkle's new coltfriend.

"Hey, Spike", greeted the colt brightly as the dragon crossed the room. "How'd it go with Rarity?"

"I don't want to talk about it." was the harsh reply.

"Yikes", Dream Runner commented, "That bad, huh?"

Spike stopped. "It's getting harder with her, Dream", he sighed.

The Pegasus turned his eyes to the floor. "Sorry, I would hug you, but I don't think it would mean as much as Twilight's." He smiled, hoping that the small joke would in some way cheer the dragon up. From his standpoint it didn't look like it. Spike didn't even attempt to drop his frown.

"I'm going to bed", the dragon huffed. He wasn't intentionally giving Dream Runner a hard time, and the pony knew it because it wasn't the first time Spike had come home in a mood inspired by failure. Dream understood the way he felt, never actually having experienced it himself, but knew what it was like to be frustrated from an unreachable goal.

"I'll have a bowl of sapphire flakes waiting for you in the morning", Dream called up the stairs after him.

Spike wanted to smile, and tried his best to now that he had something to look forward to, but it just wasn't going to happen so long as he kept dwelling on his day. One of the good things about his life now that Dream Runner was a part of it was that the colt treated him like a little brother. He was always there to lift some of the burden from Spike's oftentimes weary shoulders. Tomorrow he expected to get a second day off as Dream Runner didn't like when he had to work with depression.

As Spike climbed into his basket, he remembered the ruby he found on his way home. Still unable to eat, he decided to just look at it. It was smaller than he first thought, just barely the size of his largest claw. The light from the window reflected through it, setting the inside ablaze with orange light. It was so pretty that he almost regretted he was going to eat it soon. His mind drifted to what tomorrow might bring. If he did get the day off like he was sort of hoping for, he was probably just going to spend it trying to get out of his sulking disposition. How exactly he was going to do that not even he knew yet. Spike lifted himself off the pillow at the bottom of his basket to reveal his small stash of gems. He pushed the pile aside for the new addition so he could find it with ease later.

He heard the front door open and close downstairs. "I heard what happened from Rose", Twilight said to Dream. "How is he?"

"I think he's a little worse this time", Dream replied, "I don't know how much more he can take. He just went to bed."

"Before seven?" Twilight gasped. "If I didn't swear myself to Pinkie Pie secrecy, I'd talk to Rarity about this."

"If it was my place, I would too."

Spike clamped his blanket around his head to drown out the voices from below. He absolutely hated it when they talked about him and Rarity. It reminded him of his lack of success. He didn't know how long he muted the world out, all he knew was that he did so until he fell asleep. The only reason he knew he had fallen from consciousness was the bizarre dream he had.

The purple dragon found himself standing inside Carousel Boutique, of all places. Thinking it a vivid pipe dream, he stood waiting for Rarity to walk in ready to go out for an evening date. He waited and waited and waited, only to find out that maybe he was standing in a nightmare with the absence of the white unicorn symbolizing his real-world grasp of her love: nonexistent. It felt like hours before something finally happened.

Behind him, Spike heard the light sounds of hoofsteps on the floor. He spun around to find a white pony standing not even ten feet away. This was no ordinary pony, though. He recoiled in fear upon seeing that her face was completely blank, no visible eyes or mouth. With a second, hesitant look, he saw that there was also lacked a mane and tail, leaving just the base of a pony standing in front of him. It stared at him intently. If he didn't know any better he could have thought that it was almost reading him like a book.

Fortunately, it didn't last too much longer. Once the pony, if one could even call it that, was satisfied with studying the dragon, it turned around and left the boutique. For some crazy reason, Spike followed it. He didn't get to see it again. The second he opened the door, everything around him went black. His eyes opened to reveal a darkened room around him. Groggily, he sat up. His dragon vision let him see the clock above Twilight's bed which read three o'clock. He sighed. Everything that had happened in the dream still confused him, but he decided to just sleep on it. Lying back down, he yawned, "Tomorrow's going to be a better day."

You have no idea Spike, echoed a voice in his head so softly that not even he could hear it.

So this is the quick reboot for the story. Thanks to my good reader Dragon Outcast, I've decided to tweak it a little to slow the plot down and add a little foreshadowing for suspense. Thanks a lot for the suggestion!

Trivia:

This story was written before a few of my first six stories, so you'll probably notice a difference in my writing style and a few things that may not make sense for the first three chapters until I can clean it up.