Chapter 3: Hold Back The Rain
The next morning, rain was pouring down upon the town of Ponyville. A few of the town’s citizens were outside but they were quick to find shelter from the storm. The grey clouds seemed to blanket the entire sky as far as anypony could see and with no end in sight.
Inside the Ponyville library, Twilight was reading a book upon the sofa. Using her magic to take a sip of her tea, she heard the pitter patter of Spike’s feet along the floor. She looked up to see her dragon assistant rushing back and forth.
“Can I help you find something, Spike?” Twilight asked, looking up from her book.
“Twi, have you seen my rain coat?” his voice seemed a bit panicky.
“Not off the top of my head, why?”
It wasn’t the answer Spike was hoping to hear, “Oh darn, I don’t have time for this, I’m late as it is!”
The unicorn raised an eyebrow, “Late for what? What could you possibly be doing today in this weather?”
“Oh….uh, I’m going to see Sweetie Belle….and Rarity. You know….help them out,” Spike carefully picked his words.
Twilight mumbled something inaudible under her breath, but the dragon didn’t care. Instead, he rushed towards the front door.
“I’ll be back later!” the purple dragon shouted before he slammed the door.
Twilight shouted back, “At least take an umbrella with you, Spike! You’ll catch a cold!” However, she knew her words had gone unheard, “Sometimes, I think that little dragon doesn’t completely think.”
Out in the rain, Spike was hurrying as fast as his feet could carry him. His feet repeatedly hit the puddles that covered the ground as he rush. His arms did the best they could to shield his head from the falling water, but to no avail. Luckily for the purple dragon, the Carousel Boutique was coming into view. Taking a few steps onto the porch, he moved up to the door and knocked on the door.
“Just a moment, please!” a voice called out.
Upon hearing the voice, Spike could tell it was Rarity. His thoughts went right back to when he would visit every chance he could to. The dragon would offer to help out with her dress making whenever Rarity would help. And from this it is how he and Sweetie Belle became better friends. However, he also remembered why he would visit everyday, to be near Rarity. While he was now with Sweetie Belle, he couldn’t help but still harbor feelings for Rarity. After all, he had been infatuated with her since he had first came to Ponyville.
The door finally opened up. On the other side was Rarity in her silk bathrobe and her mane wrapped up in a towel. It seemed as if she had just finished having a spa treatment.
“Oh, Spike. I wasn’t expecting anypony to be visiting this early,” the white mare spoke a little embarrassed, “I’m sorry I’m not more presentable. What brings you to the Boutique?”
Spike’s face was turning red as he continued to look at the unicorn, “I….uh….came by the see Sweetie Belle….”
“To visit Sweetie Belle? Why didn’t you say so, come on in-“ Rarity cut herself off as she looked more closely at Spike. She saw that he was dripping with water from the top of his head to his feet, which were also coated in fresh mud, “Um, actually, how would you like to come in and clean yourself up? I still have the bathwater running if you’d like to get that….mud off of you.”
The dragon looked down at his feet and then behind him to noticed the muddy footprints that he made, “Maybe I should….” Spike began to take a step forward into the building.
“Ah no no!” Rarity raised her hooves to stop Spike, “Ah, no need to walk through. We don’t want to track the mud through the shop, now do we? I’ll just levitate you to the bath, dear.”
“Do what now?” Spike asked.
Before Spike could get an answer, Rarity used her magic to levitate the dragon. Galloping through her house, the unicorn took Spike up the stairs and into the bathroom. In one fluid motion, she lowered him into the bathtub with her magic. In the tub, Spike was flailing to make a window through all of the bubbles that were floating on top of the water.
“Sorry, dear. Didn’t mean to just throw you in like that. It’s just I’m in a bit of a rush to get back to work on my newest order. There are a few towels for you to use when you are done,” Rarity quickly explained as she hurried out of the bathroom, “Sorry again!”
Spike floated in the bathtub as he watched the white unicorn hurry out the room. Finally taking in his new surroundings, his nose tickled. He took a smell of the aroma that filled the room as well as his lungs. He figured it was lavender or something of the sort. He also noticed the bubble bath he was soaking in was still warm. His face turned bright red as his mind thought of something.
“Is this….is this the same water Rarity was just in?!” the dragon floundered in the water, thrashing his arms around in the water. In his panic, he grabbed the edge of the tub and tried to calm himself. Finally being able to ration his breathing and relaxing, he looked up to see a white unicorn filly with her eyes fixed directly at him.
“Spike?” she stared at the dragon in the tub.
“Sw-Sweetie Belle? Wh-What are you doing in here?” the dragon asked in an alarmed tone of voice.
“This is where I live….what are you doing here?”
“Um….bathing….”
The unicorn continued to keep her eyes fixed on him, “Uh huh….” Both Spike and Sweetie Belle looked at each other in an awkward silence for some time before the filly spoke up again, “You do know Rarity was just in that bath, right?”
Spike’s face grew a bright red at the revelation, “O-Oh….s-so it is….how about that….”
Another period of silence grew between the two, only to be broken by Sweetie Belle again, “Yeah….so, I think I’ll leave you be then….” Turning around, Sweetie Belle exited the bathroom, leaving the dragon in the tub.
Pulling himself out of the tub, Spike hopped down to the floor and tried to go after Sweetie Belle. His footing on the tile, however, caused him to slip and fall down onto the floor. Despite the pain from falling on his bottom, he stood up and tried to continue hurrying after Sweetie Belle. By the time he made it to the doorframe, he lost sight of the pony.
“It wasn’t what it looked like, Sweetie Belle,” he mumbled quietly.
Spike took a towel to start drying his scales dry. He then left the bathroom and headed down the staircase to the front door. Opening the door, he observed that the rain had not let up since he arrived. Taking a heavy sigh, he stepped out into the rain to return to the library.