Chapter 1: Desire of The Heart

The purple dragon Spike sat inside of Twilight Sparkle's castle with his nose in a book. Surprisingly it was not a comic book like he usually would read. Spike was reading something far different from his usual tastes. His very reason for reading was extremely unlike him. The young dragon wasn't reading for entertainment. He was doing some important research. Spike kept reading the heavy book in front of him as his mind focused on the reason for his behavior. The purple drake was researching a way for him to impress a certain pony. This pony was known as Rarity.

Spike had always had a huge crush on the white unicorn. He would do absolutely anything to have her love. The young dragon wanted to be with her so desperately. His nose was buried in a book that told him of a treasure that he was certain would cause Rarity to finally return his affection. This treasure was known as The Amulet of Hearts.

The Amulet of Hearts was an extremely curious object. It was a simple golden necklace with a clear colored heart shaped gem in the center. According to many reliable sources, the amount of this treasure was unknown. This was due to the fact that it could not be created by anypony. This object could not even be found by anypony. The Amulet of Hearts would only appear to one who felt a deep affection for another. Legend said that if somepony were to give it to another the heart shaped gem would change its color if the two ponies were meant to be together. Spike was very determined to find this treasure. He was certain that Rarity was the one for him. Presenting The Amulet of Hearts to her would undoubtedly make his dreams come true. Spike could not find any sort of clues as to where the amulet could be found. With an annoyed sigh, he shut the book and put it down. He had made some notes but they were far from helpful. If the amulet appeared when somepony was in love with another then Spike felt he should have been buried in them since he was madly in love with Rarity. Even if Rarity wasn't the one for him surely The Amulet of Hearts should have appeared by now. He had been in love with Rarity for over a year. He had even gone on a date with her at one point.

The purple dragon smiled to himself as he remembered that date. It wasn't anything fancy. He had asked Rarity out after Gilda and Rainbow Dash had re-befriended each other. The unicorn politely accepted and the duo went on a small picnic in a nearby park. Nothing extremely romantic but they had had a good time. Spike was saving up his bits for a very special date with Rarity. He had been working for his friends so that one day he could take Rarity on a date at a very romantic restaurant. He was completely certain that the unicorn would love it and him. Unfortunately getting a reservation at such a place wasn't cheap. Spike was still short a good amount of bits even with all of the work that he was doing.

Spike's head perked up as he heard the door to the room open. Twilight Sparkle walked in and looked through the various books in the room. What she was looking for Spike didn't know. It wasn't until she decided to speak that Spike realized that the book he had been reading was still on the floor. He hastily picked it up and went to put it back when Twilight Sparkle spoke up.

"Spike." she began. "Have you seen that copy of Mystical and Mysterious Treasures by any chance?" she asked.

The young dragon handed over the book and Twilight Sparkle thanked him. She opened it up and Spike's page of notes fell out. The purple alicorn picked it up and Spike's face turned from purple to red as he realized what she was holding. The young dragon quickly snatched the paper from Twilight Sparkle which earned him a very curious glance.

"What's on that paper Spike?" Twilight Sparkle asked.

"Nothing!" Spike replied in a panicked tone.

Twilight Sparkle's eyes narrowed as she looked at the paper in Spike's hands. Her horn glowed and she used her magic to move the paper out of Spike's grasp and read it.

"The Amulet of Hearts?" she asked. "Why were you trying to hide that from me?"

Spike looked down towards the ground and shuffled his feet in embarrassment.

"Can you keep a secret?" he asked.

"Of course Spike." Twilight Sparkle replied with a smile. "So why are you looking up The Amulet of Hearts?"

"I wanted to find it so I could give it to Rarity." Spike said with a huge blush on his face.

The purple alicorn had a smile on her face when she heard this. That was one of the most touching things that she had ever heard in her entire life.

"Oh Spike." Twilight Sparkle said. "That's so romantic. Rarity would love it."

"You mean it?" Spike asked in disbelief.

"Of course." the purple alicorn replied. "Rarity would love it if she got her hooves on it."

"Too bad I can't find one." Spike said sadly. "I'll never win her over."

The young dragon looked down to the floor and sighed. Twilight Sparkle walked over to him and wrapped a foreleg around him. She then spoke in the most soothing voice possible.

"Don't worry Spike." she said. "I'm sure Rarity will warm up to you. She'll appreciate the fact that you thought about getting that amulet for her."

"You think so?" Spike asked with a hopeful smile on his face.

"I'm sure of it." Twilight Sparkle responded.

"Thanks Twilight." Spike said as he gave the alicorn a hug.

"No problem Spike." Twilight Sparkle replied as she returned the embrace.

The duo sat down and researched The Amulet of Hearts. Spike was determined to know everything he could about it so that he could finally have Rarity's affection. He wanted to be more than just a friend to her. Twilight Sparkle was so touched by Spike's thoughtfulness that she decided to help him in any way that she could. The duo agreed to keep it their little secret. Spike wanted to be able to surprise Rarity with the amulet if he ever managed to find one.

Meanwhile Rarity herself was thinking about something similar to the young dragon. The unicorn wondered just who she was meant to be with in life. She had gone to The Grand Galloping Gala with a sophisticated colt but he was very stuck up and snobbish. Rarity truly wanted to find somepony with a sense of sophistication but she also wanted to be treated right. She had tried to date some of the stallions she met in Canterlot. Her fashion career involved frequent trips to the city so she had met quite a few fine gentlecolts there. However all of them turned out to be arrogant, rude, or just downright unpleasant. The white unicorn tried to figure out just what she wanted in a lover.

"If only I could find somepony who truly loved me." she whispered to herself. "Somepony that would do anything for me and would give me the absolute best that he could."

The white unicorn laid down in her bed and her mind was plagued with dreams of some fine colt dating her but then becoming a horrible pony. Why was it so hard to find love? The only one that seemed to meet her requirements was Spike. Rarity knew that the purple dragon had a serious crush on her. Rarity had dated him once and she was quite surprised at how polite he was. Granted she knew that he was a kind dragon but she had never expected to see such chivalry from him. Spike had treated her with the upmost respect and caring. But what would Rarity's friends say if she started to have a relationship with him? Shouldn't a mare like her have a stallion that was just as refined as she was? For all of his kindness, Spike wasn't exactly sophisticated. He tried his hardest but he couldn't truly match the sort of behavior associated with a gentlecolt.

Rarity tried to get to sleep but her thoughts kept her awake and confused. What did she want to find in her special somepony? Who would be a perfect match for her?