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One Down
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Stepping out of the shower, Spike took a look at the clock that hung on the wall above the door. It was just about time to go pick up Rarity, and he was a bit giddy, which to be fair, was something he often was when it came to going out with her. He thought he’s get used to being out with her, and having every stallion around them envy him, wishing Rarity was theirs. It was surprisingly satisfying.
Quickly drying himself off, he exited the bathroom.
Walking into the common room, Spike glanced back and forth to see if anypony was back from their respective trips. Applejack had stopped in for a few minutes with Pinkie Pie to grab some money, and Rainbow Dash had been pressing her face against his bedroom window while he had been sleeping, which had turned out to be a very unpleasant alarm clock.
However, just as he reached to open the door, it was shoved open as they tumbled through the door, on to the ground, and exploded in laughter over something Spike was out of the loop regarding.
“Uh… What’s so funny?” Spike asked looking at them, wanting to get in on whatever was so hilarious.
“O-oh…” Alex stammered through the tears, “You h-had to be there.”
“Oh,” Spike said, a little put out, “Well, I’m going to pick up Rarity from the Spa, you wanna tag along?”
Dash looked at Alex and shrugged, “You interested, Spot?”
Alex scratched his head, he had come home to shower and eat something… But if Dash went out… Maybe he could find some cookies or something instead.
“Na,” Alex said, “I’ll do my thing here, you two go grab Rarity.”
“Sure thing,” Dash said, turning to Spike, “You good to go now?”
Spike nodded, “She’ll be done any minute.”
“Alright,” Dash nodded, “See you in a bit, Spot.”
“See ya’!” Alex called as the closed the door behind them.
Walking into the small, stocked kitchen, Alex opened a few cupboards, and eyed a box of crackers. Levitating it out, he noticed the steam escaping from where Spike must have just bathed, and got an idea.
“Could I eat these and shower at the same time…?”
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“So, what did you and Alex do today, besides scaring me out of bed?” Spike asked, walking out of the main hotel, and into the large courtyard.
“Nothing really,” She giggled, recalling the look Spike gave her when she pounded her head on the window, “We ate something, flew around, explored the area, looked at movie times. How about you?”
“Shopping,” Spike shrugged, “I went to the arcade and had a pretty lame time. Then I dropped Rarity off, and took a nap.”
“I hope everypony else is having a better time than us,” Dash said, glancing around, remembering where certain places were, so she could drag Alex back to them, “Where’s the spa? I missed the tour.”
“Just there,” Spike said, pointing to the large building on the opposite side of courtyard, “It’s only five minutes away from the room.”
“That’s it?” Dash asked, cocking her head, “It looks… Big for one customer at a time.”
“Maybe it has some administrative space or something,” Spike suggested, “Or maybe more rooms...”
“Oh, Rainbow Dash, Spike!” Fluttershy said, approaching them from a café in a gazebo, “Where are you two headed?”
“We’re going to pick up Rarity from the spa,” Spike said, “Then we’re heading back to the room.”
“Wonderful!” Fluttershy said, “I’d love to ask rarity about how it was in there!”
“Come with us then,” Dash gestured.
Fluttershy nodded and smiled, “Thanks.”
Reaching the front of the building, Spike walked up to the booth, and spoke to the same mare that he talked to when Rarity first went in.
“Hey,” Spike said to her, “Do you know how long it’ll be before Rarity is done with her treatment?”
Looking at the clock, the pale green earth pony turned back to Spike, “She’ll be out any minute.”
“Thanks!” Spike smiled, excited to see his marefriend.
After a few minutes of idle chat between the three of them, the large doors opened up, revealing a very relaxed looking Rarity.
“Hey!” Spike beamed, “How was it?!”
“Oh Spike,” Rarity said breathlessly, “It was simply divine!”
“Really?” Fluttershy asked expectantly.
“Fluttershy, dear,” She said with a warm smile, “You MUST go next… I’ve never been so pampered in my entire life.”
“You’re next?” The mare in the booth asked.
“Oh…” Fluttershy said, “I wouldn’t want to—“
“Go!” Dash cut in, “Nopony else is here waiting!”
“Well, I guess I could give it a try,” Fluttershy said with a small smile, hiding her excitement.
“Perfect!” Rarity said, walking over to her, and gently nudging her to head through the door, “We’ll be back for you in a couple of hours, okay dear?”
“Um… Okay,” She said, turning away from them, and heading into the building as the massive doors closed behind her.
“My goodness…” Rarity sighed, “I think I may need a small nap before we go anywhere, Spike.”
“Oh…” Spike said, a bit dejected that he wouldn’t be going out right now.
“Don’t fret,” She smiled, “I just need some time for my muscles to wake up from the massage.”
“Alright,” Spike smiled, “Let’s go back, we’ll figure something out from there.”
“Thank you…” Rarity said, her eyelids becoming surprisingly heavy, “Let’s hurry before I fall asleep in the park.”
“Oh, sure,” Dash said, picking up the pace as Spike stood next to Rarity, and walked parallel with her.
“Rarity, are you okay?” Spike asked, feeling her putting more weight on his side to keep herself supported.
“Of course dear…” Rarity said, shaking her head to keep herself conscious.
Giving Dash an odd look, Spike turned back to Rarity and kept her as close to him as possible. This spa sure was strange…
////
Opening the door to the room, Spike now had Rarity’s arm wrapped around the back of his neck as he walked her into the common room, and then beyond into her room, leaving Dash alone.
“Alex?” She called, walking toward the bathroom, seeing the steam pouring out of the crack under the door.
Opening the bathroom door, she walked over to the stall, she noticed that the glass door was open a crack, and a long bag of crackers was floating outside shower as one exited the bag, and flew inside.
Swinging the door open the rest of the way, Dash scared Alex into stopping his levitation spell, and dropping them on the floor.
“Hey!” Alex said, standing up and instinctively covering his nether regions.
“…What are you doing?” Dash asked, “Why do you need to cover yourself in the shower?”
Remembering that he was a pony now, Alex laughed nervously and lowered to a normal stance, “Sorry… It’s a thing from my world.”
“Why are you eating crackers in the shower?” She asked, obviously judging him.
“Because you KNOW you would if you could.” Alex challenged.
Dash gave him a hard look before her expression softened, “Yeah. I can’t say I wouldn’t.”
“So?” Alex said, moving on, “You get Rarity back?”
“Yeah…” Dash said, getting a look of frustration.
“What?” Alex asked, “Something wrong?”
“Well…” Dash said, “Rarity was pretty out of it when she left the place… Spike had to carry her back.”
“Really?” Alex asked, “Sounds like they did a good job!”
“I guess,” Dash said, “It just felt weird to me.”
“You’re just saying that because you’ve never been to a spa before,” Alex laughed, turning off the water, and stepping out of the stall, “A lot of ponies are tired after a spa trip. And with a place this fancy, it’s no wonder that she’s exhausted.”
“It almost makes me want to try,” Dash laughed, seeing Alex open his mouth to respond, but, she stopped him before he could speak up, “ALMOST.”
“Sure, sure.” Alex laughed, “You ready to hit up that movie?”
“Yeah,” Dash said, “Hopefully, Rarity is feeling better after that!”
“Quit worrying,” Alex said, “She’ll be fine.”
As much as Dash tried to agree with her own sentiment, she felt like something was still wrong. She'd see how Fluttershy was doing when she came back from her appointment. That would be all the proof she needed to calm down.
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