Of Laurels & Lace

by WritingSpirit

A Glass Pendant

"But wasn't it that one?"

"That couldn't be it," Crimson replied.

"I remembered the ballroom doors to be a bit... bigger."

Rarity groaned in frustration, looking at the endless row of doors sliding down the walls of the corridors with Spring right beside her, the filly's eyes sparkling with mesmerism, unbeknownst of the shortage of the time they have left.

"Is this what Winter did?" she cried out jovially.

"Is it? Is it?"

"Maybe?" the white unicorn responded with a shrug, trying to smile.

"Soarin'," the red stallion turned to the Wonderbolt.

"Wanna use those wings of yours and fly up ahead?"

"I don't really think Dashie wants to see me fly around like that right now."

Both Rarity and Crimson immediately turned to him, their eyebrows raised with surprise.

"Dashie?" the white mare quipped with interest, the stallion beside her trying his best not to laugh.

"I'm serious!"

Soarin' tucked his wings, pouting as the two ponies just giggled at him, making him furrow his brows.

"Rainbow wanted me to call her that. I had nothing to do with it at all!"

"And you actually listened?"

Before he could reply, the pair burst out in laughter with Spring just looking at the two, befuddled.

The pegasus just scrunched his hooves, his face reddening with annoyance.

"You know what?" he griped. "I'm just gonna go find the ballroom for our filly here. Do some proper missions that it seems only proper ponies can do."

"Hey, Soar!" Crimson shouted amidst his snickering, chasing after the pegasus.

"Wait up! It's only a joke, bro!"

Rarity just sighed, her chest heaving with stress running off the bottom of her hooves as she let out her last, few spurts of laughter. With a grin, she galloped towards the huddled group, continuing their search in the maze-way of doors shifting around her, the two stallions still arguing ahead.

"Well, it doesn't seem like a joke to me."

"Come on, Soarin'. I thought you were a good keeper with jokes!"

"Not in a serious thing such as this! Even I have my own limits, don't I?"

"Hey, it's just a short one."

Crimson wanted to continue, though the pegasus's darkening face made him stop immediately, instead switching his gaze towards the mare behind them.

"So where exactly are we again?"

"To be frank with you, I'm not really sure where we actually are."

The white mare beckoned her head at the doorways sliding down beside them, reminding them of their frustration. All three sighed in unison, with Spring the only one giggling happily.

A loud rumble suddenly rocked the palace, nearly making them stumble onto the floor. Rarity's hoof clung tighter onto the filly's, glancing around at the swinging chandeliers above them, trying not to scowl at the trickle of dust.

"We don't really have much time."

"... lost..."

The unicorn whirled around immediately, stopping in her tracks.

"What was that?" she asked.

"What was what?"

"That sound..." she answered Crimson's question, the four of them now staring at the empty hallway.

The two stallions could only stare at each other in confusion, the white mare still glancing uneasily at their backs, before Crimson was the first to shrug.

"Doesn't seem like there's anything to me."

"M-Maybe you're right."

Without a minute to spare, they continued their path down the hallway, despite Rarity still glancing warily around them, only making the others worry. The white mare herself clenched her hooves tighter with each step forward, but it wasn't long before she started to relax, the tension in her shoulders gradually fading away.

"You see, Rarity?" she muttered to herself. "It's only your imagination."

... never satisfied..."

With a short gasp, she fell back suddenly, whimpering on the spot at the voice pouncing into her head. Crimson quickly galloped towards her, mouthing out something... she couldn't hear what.

"They were liars..." the voices kept going, mercilessly attacking her sanity. Her hooves started to shiver as she covered her ears, her horn flaring a dark blue.

"No..." she gave her reply, the world around her darkening.

"No, no, no, no, no...."

The worried expressions of the three ponies started to blur out, the walls of the hallways bending down towards her. She could hear each of their muffled voices straining to break through her obscured hearing.

The soft, peculiar patter of footsteps were the only thing that she could register, before a purplish blur quickly raced into her view. A small gasp jumped from her as the familiar texture of claws frantically gripped onto her hoof, trying to shake her out from her dazed reverie.

Her vision started to clear, as well as her hearing. She could feel the sharp claws digging into her skin, making her whimper, yet with relief.

"Rarity!" a familiar voice echoed, the mare now realizing who was shaking her as her foggy vision cleared.

"S-Spike...?"

The mare stopped and stare at his concerned face in disbelief, feeling herself being hauled forward with a gasp of surprise the instant his arms wrapped around her body.

Her heart tingled at the sound of slight sniffling, before the dragon finally spoke coldly:

"Don't ever do that again."

"S-Spike," Rarity stammered, unsure of what to say.

"I... I w-was..."

"Promise me," he said sternly, looking into her azure pupils.

"Promise that you'll never give in to this... this darkness."

"But Spike, I was-"

"I don't want to lose you!" he yelled, making her cringe. His grip on her hoof tightened, already beginning to leave a few marks on her skin. Spike finally let loose a tear, the mare of his life only being able to watch as it dripped onto the floor, her heart aching with the pain of guilt.

"Not here, not now... never..."

"Spike..."

Rarity started to quiver, leaning against his chest. The rest of them just smiled at the couple as they huddled away quietly, not wanting to disturb their moment of silence.

Silence fell upon the hallways, with the two relishing the moment of quiet embrace. Their breath shuddered, mostly with pure comfort at each other's warmth, with claw and hoof entwined in the middle. The dragon started muzzling against the side of her cheek, making the mare - his mare - blush with ease.

The white unicorn herself just closed her eyes, feeling safe under his guise. A small tear crawled down her cheek, prompting Spike to quickly wipe it off, before continuing their solace in each other's presence.

"Spike?" she suddenly called out, staring at the bright moon outside.

"What is it, Rarity?"

"Can you... move in with me? If we get back?"

The dragon blinked at her request, watching Rarity's eyes shimmer with hopeful yearning, the white mare continuing with a defeated sigh:

"I don't think I c-can... that w-without.... without you I might... I don't know..."

"We will get back, Rarity," he replied suddenly.

"There's no 'if'. We will go back to Ponyville once this is over, and when we do, I'll ask Twilight for permission. See if she would tag along with it."

"After all," he continued with a wink.

"I think she'll be very happy to see the both of us together."

Rarity giggled at his comment, the dragon giving her a wry smirk.

"You really think so, dear?"

"Calling me 'dear' already? Really?" he said with a stare, making her laugh.

The pair stood up, quickly walking down the corridors. Despite all the time that had passed, the doors were still moving, only making Rarity wonder how long the Patriarch can keep his magic up.

Her worry, however, was focused more on herself; more accurately, the darkness stirring in her head. She pondered about it a little, trying to figure out of the whispering she had heard before Spike had arrived.

"Let's go this way," she suddenly spoke with determination, making the dragon look in surprise.

"You sure about that?"

"Positive."

With a clench of her hooves, she started to trot towards where she had heard the whispers come from. Her heartbeat gradually quickened as Rarity held her breath, betting her faith on her instincts.

"Must be this way," she mused without a second thought, the dragon blindly following her around. There was no other thought in her head except for one:

There must be something causing all this darkness in Pendant Lakes, she told herself, and by Celestia's hoof, she's going to find it.

No matter what.

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"Yes."

Tourist Trap rubbed his eyes with fatigue and frustration, listening with rapt attention at the voice on the other end of the phone. His head ached in irritation at the news being relayed before him, before his eyes widened.

"What do you mean it's closed down?!"

There was a noisy chatter from the phone, the stallion finally slamming his hooves onto the table.

"Listen," he demanded, his face retching up in spite.

"I don't give a bucking bit for whatever the heck's happening over there. If you think you can walk away safely, without making any amendments to the mortgage and expecting no consequences, then you better leave your bucking suit on the rack because I won't be hiring slackers like you, got it?"

In a fit of rage, he slammed the phone down, letting himself fall back into his chair with a dejected sigh.

Without further ado, the stallion reeled himself towards the table, continuing his somewhat pointless flips through his account book, his interest only in the savoring of his home-made espresso, whipped up for another work in the darkness of the midnight.

A small knock on the door received his attention, his rage sedated as his wife, Penny Royal, slowly strode in with a smile, the amber pegasus just asking:

"Aren't you suppose to be asleep?"

"Aren't you?" she queried as she approached her husband, giving him a wink.

"Is it about your press conference tomorrow?"

"To be honest, I've completely forgotten about that."

Leaning back against his chair, Tourist let out a purr of satisfaction, feeling the mare's hooves stroking his aching shoulder with another sip of his coffee.

"Ridiculous really: all these talks of me staging the body of the minister," he remarked sardonically.

"Seems the press would believe every pathetic rumor nowadays."

"Well, we both know the truth, don't we?" the green mare quipped, her husband nodding in response with a satiated flutter of his amber wings.

"Then they could not frame us for telling the truth."

"I suppose you're right..." he said, crossing his hooves as he glanced out of the window.

It was then that he saw it: beyond the field of trees in the outskirts of town, sifting seamlessly through the clouds - his eyes stopped with a jolt of disbelief - were reptilian silhouettes, soaring towards the town with a gentle flap of their wings; a silent wraith in the middle of the night.

"What is that...?" he muttered.

"Is that..." Penny began, paling immediately.

"But they couldn't have..."

"Seems that way," he replied with a frown, remembering the incident on the news a week ago. The dragon invasion of Canterlot was now the main story, spreading across Equestria like an uncontrolled blaze, and now the cause of it was starting to get closer and closer...

Without hesitation, he quickly marched out of his study, his ever-faithful wife following him behind, frantically asking:

"Where are you going?"

His hoof landed onto the elevator button, biting his lip at his decision.

Trying to smile, Tourist turned to Penny with a flutter of his amber wings, giving her a small reply:

"Welcome them."

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"Just a little more, my Princess..."

The alicorn could only nod at Pinkie, who was trying her best to give her princess a reassuring smile as they venture up the spiraling staircase. Caduceus himself was ahead of them, his own weight being the unconscious Harmony resting on his shoulders, the doctor being careful not to wake her up.

The steps seem to go on forever, even more so from the fatigue in their hooves due to their expectantly long journey from the mausoleum into the corridors of the palace. Their circling journey up into the Tower Room only fueled their frustration, despite it being necessary.

The cochlear structure of stone finally came to a relieving halt as the tall, crystalline doors rose into their view; the majestic entrance to the Tower Room. The doctor was the first that advanced upon it, pushing the thin, cylindrical handles inwards, earning a grinding roar of stone with the doors parting.

Hurrying in, Pinkie settled the alicorn onto the floor, ignoring the sweat drenching her entire being. Closing her eyes, her mind uttering at some foreign words, her focus was quickly diverted onto Princess Celestia, before she suddenly struck her hooves onto the stone floor.

The alicorn closed her eyes, feeling the whispers of time plummeting into her head as an incandescent, rose-colored clock design flourished from beneath the pink mare, its intricate hands turning the wrong, but necessary, way.

As Pinkie let out a loud cry, the alabaster mare felt the pain seeping away immediately, before the immense glow of the otherworldly, ethereal timepiece receded back into the pink mare's body, who collapsed as a result.

"I-It really worked," Pinkie muttered as she slumped to the side, whimpering in slight pain.

Princess Celestia and Caduceus both rushed to her side, the alicorn looking more frantic than the other pony, who placed a hoof over her head as the pink mare panted, her eyes clenched shut from fatigue.

"She's over-exhausted," he surmised.

"She'll have to rest."

"It's too risky."

The alicorn glanced at the other unconscious mare in the room, knowing full well she would wake at any moment. Once she does - she bit her lip - their arrival to the Tower Room would be a waste.

"We need Pinkie to observe, just in case anything goes wrong."

"I'll try to get Stellar to replace her," the doctor suggested.

"I'm pretty sure he had prepared his end of the deal already."

With a satisfied sigh at their backup plan, the princess glanced out one of the few windows of the room, down at the rest of the palace nestling below. Her worries soon rested from the urgency of searching for Tantrum's weapon; the one that Twilight and her sister were trying to find.

"Please be swift..." she mumbled, praying silently.

"You need to make it up here as soon as you can, Stellar," Caduceus's voice broke into her thoughts.

There was a slight pause, the butler's voice inaudibly muttering through the radio, before he continued:

"She's too tired to help us at the moment."

"P-Princess...?"

Princess Celestia turned to Pinkie, watching with concern as the pink mare stifled a modest, weak smile. Her mouth soon opened, though it managed to only let out a small whisper, prompting the alicorn to edge closer to her.

The alabaster mare held her breath, her ears perking at the mare's request.

"Bring her back... please, bring her back..."

"I-I'll..." the alicorn stammered.

"I'll try..."

"Princess," the other pony in the room called to her, making her turn.

"Stellar would arrive shortly."

"Alright."

Without any more time to spare, the alicorn glanced down at Harmony, who was still unconscious, her head slightly bruised with a single streak of blood running down the side, no doubt from the painful slam of the shovel that Pinkie was forced to do.

She quickly nodded at Caduceus, who immediately cleared the ruffled papers showing the mechanisms of the Dreamscape machine standing in the center of the room, before urging Stellar to hurry up through the radio. Her hooves clenched with determination, her heart thumping with dread as she said:

"Let the exorcism commence."

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"Ya sure they'll just let us land here?!"

Applejack barely heard her brother's voice over the whizzing air, her hoof holding tight onto her hat as they soared towards the large town. There was a plaza that seemed wide enough to accommodate the majestic beasts for their small rest stop, seeing how they were already weary from their long flight.

"Maybe!" she yelled back, clutching tightly onto Kane's scales. The red dragon himself was diving after his older brother, the rest of his clan following straight behind.

Their descent was slow, nearly silent, though the sheer size of the scaly beasts had already attracted unwanted attention; the town was, unbelievably to them, still lively and filled with ponies, who were now scurrying away in fright once they've spotted them from the distance.

The plaza erupted into pandemonium as Kane finally touched the ground, watching in frantic desperation at Jovern's attempts of consolation. Applejack and Fluttershy quickly slid down from the red dragon's back, rushing towards the center of the chaotic scene.

"Everypony!!" the orange mare hollered, her voice overwhelmed in all the shrieking and screaming.

"Just stop for a darn minute!!"

"Um... please?" her friend added.

"Ya need to stop and listen for awhile!!"

"...but it's alright if you don't want to..."

Applejack turned to the yellow pegasus, trying her best to smile.

"Ah think ya... um... t-tried enough, sugarcube. Yes! That's it!" she stammered with a sheepish grin.

"Ya have a... erh... foal to care for! Granny Smith might wanna see her grand-whatever, ya know what I mean?"

"Oh," Fluttershy squeaked.

"If you insist..."

"Thank you."

With a relieved sigh, the orange mare quickly continued her frantic shouting, now joined by the couple of the ponies from Ponyville. All of them struggled to ease the panicking crowd with their voice, though she herself could feel her throat starting to crack.

Out of frustration, she quickly turned to Kane, saying:

"Ya know, maybe recklessness can answer to some of our problems."

With a grin, the red dragon held his breath in, before letting out an ear-splitting roar.

The town practically rumbled at the powerful demand of cessation, the rushing ponies all skidding to a halt, only able to shrink in fright on the slate floor. Their eyes flickered with terror at the dragons, prompting Applejack to sigh.

"Hey y'all, everypony," she tried, though the lack of response that followed only fueled her disappointment.

"We've traveled a long way from the south under the orders of the Princess herself and we're just stopping by for a rest. Would somepony kindly provide us some refreshments?"

The silence was tantalizing, the loudest response so far being a flutter of wings from Fluttershy.

"Anypony?" she tried again, the awkward situation reminding her of a week ago, when she had asked the citizens of her hometown of the directions that the dragons have went through.

At least there was a reply that time.

"Come on, come on..." she muttered to herself, forcing a wide grin at the frightened crowd.

A small tap on her shoulder made her turn, her gaze immediately facing Kane, who whispered:

"Maybe they're just overexcited?"

Applejack just raised an eyebrow at that, the red dragon snickering quietly.

"Ya serious? Of all times?"

"Excuse me!" a voice suddenly called out, interrupting their short conversation.

Both of them turned at the direction of the voice, watching in surprise as an amber pegasus eased his way through the crowd, hastily scampering up to them.

He turned to Applejack, the mare squinting her eyes in suspicion as he said:

"You must've been one of Pinkie's friends."

"Uh-huh," she replied skeptically.

"And you are?"

"One of hers as well."

He whistled suddenly, though it took him another try and a stumble back into the crowd and dragging out a trembling waiter to meet his goal. A wide smile aligned his face as he nudged the waiter, who immediately held forward a tray of teacups, the water within juggling about, slipping off the edges of its porcelain container.

"I know the dragons might need something bigger than that," he mused with a laugh.

"Maybe I'll get something bigger later."

"Thanks," Applejack said, her parched throat beckoning her hooves toward the teacup.

"Ya know Pinkie Pie, ya say?"

"Tourist Trap," he grinned.

"Owner of Paddock Palatial's, one of the finest hotels of Equestria. We've met during one of her journeys around Equestria."

Kane just glanced around as the two ponies spoke, before asking:

"Where exactly are we?"

"The exquisite town of Fenderville, the town just south of Aston Reach. Your destination - I presume to be Pendant Lakes - is just northeast of here."

Tourist seemed to smile with pride at that, adding on:

"Where you are now on is known in town as Piazza di Incendio, its translation in conjunction to all the dragons resting here for the night..."

"The Plaza of Fire."

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Two more right turns...

Spike had been trying to memorize the route that he and Rarity had been taking, which he would usually do from the certain 'landmarks' around each corridor, though the ever-changing hallways had wiped out any chances of that.

Oh well, he told himself just a moment ago, it was all down to the directions then. Time to start over...

One left turn, three right turns, one more to the left... what was that bit again?

"Darn," he hissed at himself, before asking the white mare:

"How much further do you think it is?"

"Just a little more..." she muttered halfheartedly, feeling the dread growing within her and, with that, her certainty. Her horn glowed a darker shade of blue with each step closer, acting like some sort of detector for whatever the nucleus of all the darkness that had lingered in the town.

The source of the chaos of Pendant Lakes... she could only shiver at the thought of it.

Her twists and turns finally ended her up in a familiar corridor, albeit one too familiar from the shell-shaped torches and the hint of humidity in the air. The doors before her only added to her confusion; the dark brown surface flourishing in its standstill elegance, purely unaffected by any of the Patriarch's tricks.

No, she mumbled to herself. This can't be it.

"Spring's room?"

Spike's skeptical question only earned a small nod from Rarity, the mare herself trying to perceive the fact that the source of all this darkness... emanated from the room of a small, innocent filly.

"There must be something wrong!" she exclaimed in frustration.

"She wouldn't keep something like that!"

"Maybe it's worth a shot?"

The unicorn just gave a cynical look at the dragon, who hastily defended himself as he added:

"You know how the Palace was built! Secrets here and there!"

Rarity wanted to argue, though she had to admit he does have a point.

She had already seen the numerous abnormalities around the town, ventured through the hidden passages around the palace, discovered a book in a secret tunnel down the cellar, found the family's mausoleum hidden behind a few bushes in the sanctuary by accident, and even knew of the giant cavern with the obsolete academy right under the town.

What's the chance that they've made one more?

"Might not hurt to take a peek," she replied, before opening the door.

Sure enough, the dazzlingly colorful room of the filly met her eyes, softened only by the blanket of dim moonlight shimmering from the glass dome above their heads. There was a faint smell of the humidity of morning dew, somewhat soothing the nervous flicker in their hearts.

Rarity felt her head lurch immediately, following the invisible steps that her horn had been guiding her through. It wasn't long before she faced the wooden door of the cupboard, the sight of it adding to her realization.

"It must be here!" she quickly exclaimed, prompting the teenage dragon to rush over.

Hastily, Spike pulled the wooden doors apart, though they've only faced the numerous clothes that hung within, much to their dismay.

The white mare could only stop and stare at the cupboard's miscellaneous contents whilst the dragon scanned the room before him, in the end only throwing his arms up in defeat.

"This is ridiculous!" he snarled with cold hatred, giving into his frustration.

"Why must everything be hidden in some sort of secret passage for us to find?"

"Let me see here..." Rarity only spoke, pondering over the possibilities.

The filly might've not been able to find anything that would activate any mechanisms, if there are any. If Spring did, Winter would've known about it and, in turn, she and her friends themselves. That means that the trigger might be in a place where the filly would not be able to reach, such as...

She immediately gazed upwards, at the designs of the stained glass windows. It had been, so far, the only room with such an articulate architecture in the whole palace, making her wonder.

What if...

With a grunt of pain, her head working up a storm, the white mare's horn started to flare up, directing it towards the glass ceiling. Her hoof clenched tighter as she felt the aura build up suddenly, before releasing the burst of magic.

A large, blue ray from her horn immediately shot towards the glass, though it did not shatter it, instead diverging into a spectrum of voluminous colors. They shined around the room, churning about as the center of the dome started spinning slowly.

In response, the cupboard panel started sliding down with the unexpected grinding sound of stone, the two only gazing ahead into the dimly-lit room to see a long trail, the width rivaling to that of a tightrope.

At the end - their eyes sparkled with fickle delight and amazement - was a pendant, made out of complete, white crystal. There seemed to be a lock on it, as it glinted a brilliant gold; comparable to a great array of gems in the world.

Rarity smiled at the queer coincidence, looking at the dancing colors, before glancing back at the pendant at the other end of the foreboding walkway, the thin surface of it gleaming in the brilliance of colors reflected from Spring's bedroom.

The treasure at the end of the rainbow.

She took a small step, her breath taken away, before realizing how dangerous the task actually is.

Beneath the darkness nestled a forest of colossal brass bells, the surface being shiny enough to reflect what was resting over her head; a giant ceiling of stained glass, filled with intricate designs of a luxury of tales and stories of old, with a few mesmerizing words in the center that said:

Never awaken the dragon that sleeps before his treasure.

She gulped in realization: by dragon, they meant the glass ceiling. One wrong step, and the whole ceiling comes crashing down.

Mouthing out "I'll go alone," to Spike, who nodded silently, having read the words on the ceiling as well, she slowly crept forward, heaving a sigh of relief.

The pendant seemed so tempting, the thought of it wanting to push herself from a dainty step on the narrow avenue to a frantic gallop for the prize, though the majestic panel above only reminded her of the horrific events that might follow as a result.

"Come on," the voice in her head encouraged.

"It's just over there.... out of your reach..."

Her breath a shiver, Rarity slowly edged towards the end, her heart thumping rapidly in trepidation, a bead of sweat already crawling down her face. Spike could only watch helplessly from afar, unsure of how to help the love of his life.

Step by painstaking step, yet the path never seemed to grow shorter. The thought of it was tormenting, her mind already straining under the pressure she was under.

"One... more... step!"

It was as her inner voice had said, making her squeal silently with glee: she had made it! She had reached the end!

Rarity stared in awe at her reward for her goal, the crystalline pendant glimmering like a lone star at midnight. Her hoof reached for it, carefully lifting the priceless object from the pedestal it was laid upon.

*CLICK*

Her eyes widened at the sound, the pedestal now plunging downwards, circling around on the spot as it suddenly slammed onto the ground with a loud boom, the sound making both her and Spike look up in horror.

Their eyes froze at the glass, waiting for it to shatter any second. Rarity placed a hoof onto the tightrope of the path she was on, wanting to journey back, thought not before she heard a small crack.

"Sp-Spike?"

With a loud crash, the glass ceiling suddenly shattered, the shards of it plummeting down onto the room like knives. The dragon watched in disbelief as the mare froze in horror, watching the blades of glass heading straight towards her.

"RUN, RARITY!!"

Snapping out of her daze, Rarity started to gallop towards the exit, whimpering plaintively as the first few shards landed onto the walkway, some already slicing past her fluttering mane. Her jaw clutched onto the surface of the crystalline pendant tightly, her four hooves racing towards the frantic dragon.

Suddenly, she stumbled, wincing in pain as she felt her body sliding against the stone floor, barely reaching the exit. She clenched her eyes as the glass fell closer towards her, bracing herself for the pain...

*SCHDK*

The white mare let out a loud yelp of fright, feeling the glass shards crashing all around her, yet she couldn't feel any land onto her body. It was only when she reluctantly opened her eyes at the shadow looming over her that she gasped in horrific realization.

Spike was over her, panting on all fours with his body shielding her, his face wincing in slight pain. There were about a dozen shards that jutted out from his scaled back, with some already forcing out a few drips of blood.

"Sh-shit..." he cursed.

"SPIKE!! she immediately screamed, pulling him back out into the bedroom.

Her face turned a slight green, her eyes blighted with tears as the dragon turned over to his back, her horn hastily plucking out the fragments from his scales.

"Hold on!" Rarity cried frantically, tossing aside all the stray glass. The dragon tried not to yell as she plucked the larger ones out, knowing that they penetrated deeper into his back.

The mare tried to battle her tears with every shard she pulled out. How could she be so stupid, she yelled at herself. How could she let herself be fooled by this...

It was only a short while after her job was finished that she gave Spike a tight hug, openly sobbing into his chest. The dragon himself whimpered as he tried to stand up, his back painfully stinging from the few scratches and stab wounds, forcing out a grin at the mare.

"At least I have scales," he mused, trying to lighten things up.

"You could've DIED!!" she screamed amidst her sobs.

"Don't you ever dare to do that again!! Don't you ever d-dare...!"

"R-Rarity..." Spike could only stammer, hugging her as she cried loudly in his arms, letting a small tear fall from his eye.

"I-I just don't want to see you get hurt..."

Rarity just kept on crying in his chest, which was already damp from the countless number of tears. With a quivering sigh, the dragon just hugged her tighter, trying his best not to break down as well.

The pair just sat there, in the dark silence of Spring's bedroom, their words gripped by the twisted horror of their close call. Neither wanted to move, nor dared make a sound. Neither wanted to let their other half go, lest they lose them again. For now, the two could only sit there, silently sobbing in each other's embrace, happy for the fact that their lover was still alive.

Happy that they were still together in the cradle of life; that their greatest treasure was having more time to share their love together.

Comments

[WritingSpirit]

Finally done!

Got a little carried away with finishing one of my other, newer and more conceptual short story, but here it is!
Chapter 68!

[Fury of the Tempest]

A bit more emotional this one.

[MasterSpike]

Only a few chapters left to go!

[Pia-chan]

oh shit loved this chapter... Rarity and Spike