//------------------------------// // Chapter 1 // Story: Fire of Love // by Alexpuddy //------------------------------// Fire of Love -Chapter 1- "W-what?" A white unicorn mare with a curly purple mane and tail gasped in shock as she leaned against the gazebo railing for support, staring at the purple and green adult dragon in front of her. "Rarity," The dragon anxiously repeated the words he had just spoken moments ago, twiddling his long draconic fingers. "I love you. I've always loved you. Ever since that first day when I arrived in Ponyville, when I first laid eyes upon you. I love you Rarity." "Spike...... Oh my dear, spikey-wikey." Rarity moaned, on the verge of tears. She looked away, ashamed of herself. Rarity had never seen Spike as anything more than a good friend. Maybe even as a little brother. But now.... Now it was different. Now she actually saw how Spike felt about her. "I..... I don't know what to say." She leaned against the railing, frozen in place from shock, embarrassment and shame. "Rarity?" Spike slowly approached her, not knowing what she would do next. "Rarity, please tell me you're ok." He said quietly as he stood next to her, scared for her because of how she was currently acting. "I'm sorry Spike. I can't." Rarity groaned as she looked out at the pond where the gazebo was located. She had started to sniffle and her eyes were very wet. "What?" Spike asked, not understanding what she was saying. His heart raced with fright and anxiety. "I can't...... I just can't be with you. I'm sorry." She was visibly crying now, unable to hide it. The grey clouds gave a thunderous clap and a flash of lightning shot across the sky. A downpour of rain gradually but also quickly began to fall. Spike took a few involuntary steps away from her. He had expected her to say as much, but it still hurt all the same. "Rarity, please. Tell me you don't mean it." He was now close to crying as well. "Please tell me that's not true." "Spike..... Please." Rarity had now buried her face in her scarf to hide herself from him. "Leave me. Please." She collapsed to the ground against the rail and cried into the scarf. Spike was close to crying, but he held himself together as long as he could. Fumbling in the pouch at his side, Spike pulled out a small diamond shaped locket and set it down next to Rarity, who didn't seem to notice. He then stepped out from the cover of the gazebo and into the rain. Unfurling his wings, Spike took off, soaring into the rainy and thunderous clouds. Not long after, a loud, agony filled roar could be heard through the stormy night sky but was soon drowned out by a clap of thunder. Still sniffling but mostly done crying, Rarity uncovered her now red and wet face from the scarf. She looked around for any sight of Spike, but saw none. Instead she saw the locket sitting next to her. Shakily, Rarity opened the locket and looked at what was inside. Sitting in a small slot of the locket was a picture that Rarity recognized instantly. It was a picture of her and Spike, her laying on top of him and the two laughing and smiling happily. Seeing the picture, Rarity dropped her scarf and the locket, got up from the ground of the gazebo, and ran out of the cover into the rain. She stared up at the sky to look for Spike, but he was too far gone. "SPIKE!" She yelled as loud as she could, tears streaming down her face. "SPIKE!" Rarity collapsed onto the soaking wet ground. "Spike.... I'm so sorry. Please, come back." She moaned in agony, realizing she had made the biggest mistake of all. Eventually, Rarity got up from the ground and returned to the gazebo. She grabbed her scarf and the locket, wrapping the scarf around her neck and stashing the locket into the scarf. Rarity then left the cover of the Gazebo and started the cold and miserable walk home. ------------------------------------- A wild torrent of wind and rain pelted down against Spike, but he didn't notice. It was mostly because he was a dragon, and his hard scales and internal temperature were great to fend off this weather. But the other reason was all because Spike was in so much agony that he was numb to the world around him. 'Why?' Spike thought to himself as he flew through the sky at a high speed. 'Why doesn't she like me? I've always been there for her. Doesn't that mean anything!' Rage filled him up but eventually died down to be replaced by agony. 'Maybe she likes somepony else. Maybe there's a stallion in her life that she has a romantic interest in.' The thoughts dug into his brain, eating away at his conscience. Eventually Spike stopped thinking about it all together and just flew as far as he could go. After a good hour of flying, the storm became extremely violent around Spike. He was forced to land by the circumstances, so Spike found a cave in a nearby mountain and landed. The cave was empty, so Spike grabbed a nearby tree, cut it up, and started a campfire in the cave to stay warm and dry. Soon he fell asleep, curled up next to the fire. All that he dreamt of that night was of the pony he loved. ------------------------------------- Rarity was a wreck. As soon as she had gotten home, the mare broke down into more tears, sobbing a river into the carpeted floor. It was a long time before Rarity got a hold of herself. She got up off the floor and went upstairs to the bathroom where she filled the tub with hot water and soaked in it, hoping to wash away her agony. It was no use. Rarity knew that there was nothing she could do. Nothing except to find Spike and set things straight. But she couldn't do it tonight. She had to wait for the morning, and she also needed help from a certain somepony. Wrapped up in a towel, Rarity went to her bedroom and slipped on a warm and fuzzy bathrobe. Not having any energy to do anything else, she slipped into bed and fell asleep where she succumbed to dreams of pain and sadness.