But First!! Here are Some Doubts....

Chapter 3!!!!!

Read it!!!!!

Read before I end your miserable lives in the rack!!!

..........I'm just kidding, you're too sexy for the rack......................

Haha ok but seriously, here's the next chapter--

          Two things hit Spike as he walked into Rarity's room that first night

1. He had never been within mare's bedroom alone before (excluding the space he shared with Twilight back at the library)

2. Not only was he in a mare's bedroom alone (which he was sure had some rule against it), but he was in RARITY's bedroom alone.

          Slowly working the towel over his wet back scales, he allowing his eyes to scan over the room. Every part of the room seemed to follow a pattern from the color purple, the gentle lavender of the walls flowing down to the stronger, bluish violet color of the plush carpets. Draping his towel across his shoulders, the dragon slowly made his way further into the room. Every color in the room appeared to be very neutral and relaxing to eyes, no doubt this was intentional on Rarity's part (and not because the colors matched her mane).

          The only vibrant color detectable in the room came from its centerpiece, the four post bed. Spike ran a claw over the finely polished wood as he took in the brighter, more pinkish purple of the comforter. An experienced mare would be able to tell you that this was a color pattern built for intimacy in the bedroom,  with the vibrancy of the bed drawing a colt's attention to the mare laying atop it. But to Spike, this was simply the creativity of the most creative pony he knew at work.

          "I hope everything is okay, it has been quite a bit messy in here lately."

          Spike whirled around, suddenly very self-conscious of being in this most private part of Rarity's home. He hadn't heard her come in, for if he had he would have presented himself sitting in a chair across the room rather than right on the verge of sitting in her bed.

          "This isn't messy at all, as a matter of fact I can't remember the last time I even saw a room this pretty," Spike said sincerely, his hands securely at his waist lest he unwittingly touch one of her knickknacks.

          "Well that is very kind of you to say darling, but really I simply -must- make time to tidy up in here," Rarity made a face as she looked upon the rather organized "mess" that sat atop her desk.

          Spike rubbed a claw along the back of his neck, worry gnawing at him. He couldn't help but feel that he was overstepping a boundary here. So finally, swallowing to make his voice firm, he voiced his concerns.

          "Yeah well, Rarity about this.....are you sure I'm not overstaying my welcome just a bit? I mean I don't want you to have to sleep on your couch until Twilight gets back."

          "Oh nonsense," Rarity began and she walked over to Spike, sweeping him up and placing him upon the bed, "You know that my home is your home, for obvious reasons. You are one of the kindest little dragons a mare can hope to meet."

              With that said, she leaned in and gave him a peck on his cheek before turning to exit the room, his wet towel in tow.

     "Now get some sleep dear, you don't want bags under your eyes do you?"

          Spike sat there with his claw pressed over the cheek she kissed, warmth bubbling strongly in his stomach. For the second time that night, he watched Rarity's tail sway before it disappeared behind the closing door. Spike's stomach did an odd flip as soon as he heard the door click closed however, as his earlier realization suddenly hit him again. Now Spike was no snoop, but this was THE ONE. There were clues here, right here in this very room that could help him win her heart. But where to look, and where to draw the line?

          The dragon bounced off of the bed, adrenaline suddenly rushing through him. He had of course been in this room a few times before, but never long enough to admire the work in it, let alone scan it's potentially private contents. Spike was no stranger to the idea of privacy, after all he respected that Twilight kept a journal and never once perused it's contents. And he would honor that again should he happen across a diary in Rarity's name. That was the line he refused to cross, as reading such a book would debunk any form of trust the mare could put in him, and that would be a heavy burden on his conscience. But everything below the diary-status was a potentially pivotal clue to the workings of Rarity's emotions. And Spike was determined to find at least one.

          He his vision danced along the top of the desk Rarity had been inspecting earlier, it's contents mostly limited to multicolored spools of thread and off to the side her trusty sewing machine. Of course this was something Spike had been expecting, as he knew Rarity was very passionate about her job. Deciding it better not to snoop through the drawers of the desk, Spike turned his attention to the far corner of the room, where the lights reflected from the mirror on Rarity's vanity table.

          This would probably provide more insight to his mare's emotions, rather than a worktable that reflected her business attitude. After all, judging by how splendid Rarity looked every time the little dragon saw her, he figured she spent a healthy amount of time sitting in front of this very mirror. Letting his claws run along the smooth wood, he took in the objects that were sitting in a pile atop it. Oddly enough, the myriad of brushes and makeup kits were severely disorganized, as if they had been dropped and quickly gathered up at some point.

          The next ten minutes found Spike gingerly picking through the mess, neatly organizing each piece into a place he deemed appropriate. Makeup and eyeliner pencils went to one side, whilst her brushes and curlers sets went the other. Unfortunately the mess told him very little other than Rarity liked to keep herself enticing. Sighing deeply as he set the last brush in place, he noticed a photograph pressed in between the glass of mirror and it's wooden panel. Pulling it free, Spike backed up to hold the photograph in the light.

          What stared back at him from the photo was a black furred pegasus stallion. He had a light blue mane, and a pair of piercing dark yellow eyes. Eyes like that griffon that had came to Ponyville a while back, Spike thought, eyes like a hawk. The stallion was leaning against the side of a table, a cocky smile on his mouth. Spike decided then and there that this was probably not a pony Spike would like to meet, let alone be friends with. He reminded him of Rainbow Dash, but figured he would have very little of her good traits. The dragon carefully placed the photograph back in its place on the mirror, letting his mind wander over who the stallion could be. A coltfriend? No, couldn't be.Rarity only liked fancy colts, as much as Spike hated to admit it. A brother perhaps? It was possible, but very unlikely. The fur was much too different from Rarity's.

          If not a brother or a lover, perhaps a friend? Spike's mind played over the details of the photograph, trying to match the face to someone he knew was related to Rarity. However nothing came to mind and he jumped back onto the bed, a defeated sigh jumping from his mouth as his back hit the bed. He had learned nothing other than Rarity had friends he didn't know about.

          He slowly stretched his arms above his head, a yawn escaping his lips. The little dragon usually began to settle down for the night around this time,

he could already begin to feel the exhaustion stinging the corners of his eyes. He let his arms settle above his head, not wanting to move them after such a good stretch. His hand, however, felt a strange lump under the comforter, something soft but large and wadded up. He sat up and pulled the bright blanket back, only to find a white and pink bathrobe lying forgotten underneath it.

          Spike gently picked up the robe, handling it as if it were some thing alive and fragile. Slowly bringing it to his nose, he breathed in a scent of lilacs and.....something else he could not readily place. This was the way Rarity smelled when she leaned in to kiss his cheek, or when she would pull him into a hug. Suddenly feeling a warmth in is stomach that was all too familiar, yet new a d wonderful, Spike let himself fall back down onto the bad with the robe still pressed to his nose. He felt a relaxation like a glass of warm milk, or perhaps a fire warming his back. The little dragon let his eyes droop as he held the robe much like a security blanket, feeling a warmth his young mind had only experienced when Rarity would kiss him. Allowing this small comfort to hold him, Spike closed his eyes and pushed the black colt from his mind.

                   Yeah so this was a bit shorter than I had previously planned, but it felt right to leave it the way it was. Anyway, on to chapter 4.

"wish I knew what you were looking for,

Might have known what you would find,

and it's something quite peculiar,

something shimmering and white,

it leaves you here despite your destination,

under the milky way tonight"