//------------------------------// // Bubble Three: Rarity’s extortion // Story: Random Pony Trivia // by Ratnap //------------------------------// Spike was in high spirits. Twilight had praised his efforts in the library for single clawily organizing all book shelves the past two days. But not only had she praised his passion for her, no she even gave him a free day to do whatever he pleases. And what did he please more than a long nap and an exhaustive breakfast? Right! Labours of love for his one and only Rarity! Daydreaming he walked towards the Carousel Boutique. What was he going to do this time? Get rid of the trash for his beautiful mare? Or even better, getting used as a needle cushion while watching her making a wonderful new dress? Oh no! His eyes were literally forming little heart shapes. Rarity and him going out on gem hunting, getting orders where and when to dig, hard manly work to impress the mare which was in his thoughts every waking and sleeping moment. That would be it! He decided and focused on the task at claw, meaning knocking on the front door of Rarity’s home. He waited patiently some moments, teetering back and forth. After several seconds without response he tilted his eyebrow and knocked again, louder this time and again without any response of either the lovely voice of Rarity, or the high pitched chirping of Sweetie Bell. He tried the knob but found it closed. Even more puzzled he looked around for any clue where Rarity could have gone. It was pure luck that he saw her on the edge of the horizon, barely noticeable. It was the blending white coat and the purple swinging mane that caught his attention before she vanished behind some trees in the distance. Spike scratched his head. That was the way to the gem grounds, but more importantly the part of the gem grounds where the Diamond Dogs lived. What would she want there? Firstly she hardly ever went alone for gem hunting if she could prevent digging for herself by any means, no the territory of the Diamond Dogs was downright dangerous! Within the flash of an eye he zipped to a hideout and grabbed his reporter clothing. “This is the time for detective Spike!” he said with enthusiasm and hurried behind the white unicorn, eager to solve this mystery! Despite his greatest efforts he couldn’t betray his small size and considerably short legs. Even with Rarity walking in a stern, but not hasty pace he barely managed to catch ground to her. Huffing heavily he stopped at a somewhat large boulder, leaning against it and catching his breath. From behind his cover he saw Rarity trotting past the holes left by the underground creatures. It was until now when he noticed the saddlebags on her side. The ones she usually used to fill up with gems, when not needing many of them. What was puzzling him was that the bags were already filled with, something. How did she want to use them to carry back the gems, or had she completely different reasons to be here? He gasped and clutched his claws on his mouth as suddenly the big head of one of the Dig Dogs plopped out of one hole almost directly in front of him. But he didn’t pay any attention to the little dragon, instead the tiny eyes kept track of the unicorn travelling further away. Before he could say anything the Dig Dog disappeared into the soil and within moments appeared in front of the white mare. She didn’t seem to be startled by this sight and changed some words with the creature before it vanished into the ground again and Rarity continued her way. With every minute the Mystery got more mysterious for him. Why was she talking with a Diamond Dog as if it was nothing? Why was she here anyways? And what was going on. Now more determined then ever to solve this puzzle he followed Rarity quietly. The entrance to the cave wasn’t far away from here on and Spike zipped from one cover to the other, not letting Rarity out of his eyes for a second. He looked nervously through the leaves of a bush. The cave was guarded by two of the huge Dig Dogs armed with spears and not looking very friendly. The mare of his dreams approached slowly, but without hesitation. It was hard to read the expressions on the faces from this distance. Some moments later the Dig Dogs gave the way free and let Rarity pass. The little dragon panicked for a second. How was he supposed to pass the guards? Was Rarity now lost forever? What would they do to her? No! He must stay cool, There was always a way and if he had to dig through solid stone with his bare claws! He searched the rough rocks for another entrance, or a weak spot where he could easily dig in. He nearly jumped in joy when he found something what looked like a chimney opening somewhat above the regular entrance of the cave. Now he had only to sneak to it and would be in the cave of the … dog! Slowly he walked back until he was around a corner where he safely could climb on the wall without being noticed by the guards. Carefully he moved closer to the chimney, hiding every time in a fissure of the stone whenever one of the guards moved more than an inch. But he was lucky the two guards were busy talking to each other and the nearer he came, the clearer her words. “Was ‘bout time that pony comes.” Said one of them. “Yes, yeees. Would get be ugly if pony hadn’t shown up in time.” The other one grunted. “Re~ally ugly.” The first one confirmed with a nod before both of them focused on their duty again. Spike flinched. Was she threatened? Did the Diamond Dogs have something against her? Have they foalnapped Sweetie Bell?! He had to find out the truth! He climbed the last few yards and slid into the chimney. He squeezed through the tight chasm and crawled out of a hole in the wall several yards inside the cave. So where to go? He looked around and followed the corridor until he arrived at a crossway. Last time they had troubles to find Rarity because they arrived so late, but now the circumstances were different. He raised his snout into the air and took a great sniff. As he thought! Rarity’s scent was still in the air. Nothing, even the terrible smell of the Diamond Dogs, could distract him from it when it was still so fresh. Spike followed his nose further into the depths of earth. He moved on very cautiously, aware that one false step could get him caught and all his efforts were to waste. He peaked around a corner where he could hear some muffled voices and stifled a gasp. There she was! But what was she doing there? He saw her standing behind one of the big Diamond Dogs and … brushing his fur? He couldn’t believe his eyes. Does she have to work for them? Has she become their slave in secret? What could they have in hand against her to make her DO that?! He pressed himself against the cool stonewall, claw to his chest breathing deeply, almost hyperventilating. This couldn’t be true. Not this. Not Rarity! It took him some minutes to calm down again and straighten his thoughts. He must stay focused to keep going. That doesn’t made sense at all. Slowly moving he took another glance into the chamber, but Rarity was gone now. His eyes darted around to see where she could have gone, when he noticed another tunnel barely visible behind a larger rock, but how to get there? Diamond Dogs were still guarding this cave, albeit most of them were busy to brush each other. He raised a eyebrow confused. What the hay were they doing? No time to ponder about that he must get going! When he was sure no dog was looking in his direction he darted from one cover to the other. Barely more than a small blur between each rock, fissure and mining tools scattered around. While hiding behind a large rock he was able to eavesdrop another conversation. “Pony is good with brushing. Hate to share her with whole pack.” “Yes, one pony not enough for all Diamond Dogs.” Did he hear right? Were they planning to ponynap more ponies? Was Rarity only the beginning? Hastily he zipped through the rest of the cave and vanished in the darkness of the next tunnel. The scent of Rarity laid heavily in the air, he was getting closer, maybe finally get a chance to catch up with the mare and ask her out what was going on in this forsaken place and what the hay she was doing here. He made haste to lessen the distance between him and his maiden in distress. The tunnels seemed to be endless. They twisted and turned around and confused the little dragon. If it wasn’t for her scent he would have lost her for sure with all those crossways, side tunnels and holes in the ground. Above that he had constantly to watch out for the guards patrolling the area. Often enough he had to stay in cover and wait for them to pass by before he could safely pursue his search. He stopped dead when he almost ran into a bunch of Dig Dogs creating a new pathway. They dug into the ground swifter and more precisely than the last time he had seen it. Were they improving their digging skills? Was it their method to ponynap more of his friends? Dig underground to the town and capture them all? “Feels so much better to sharpen claws by pony.” He heard one of them say. “Horn bestest thing to do that.” Another one agrees. “Soft pony good for hard claws, who would have thought.” A third one said while they got even further into the soil, slowly disappearing into the depths of earth. Spike only stood there rooted to the ground. In his imagination terrible pictures popped out of nowhere. Rarity being swarmed by Diamond Dogs who abused her horn to sharpen their claws, brushing through her delicate coat to smoothen the edges. His eyes were as big as saucers, seemingly even bigger than his head. A rolling boulder from the new tunnel snapped him out of his frozen state. Spike shook his head furiously. There was no time to dwell in daymares! He eyed around the corner into the new tunnel to make sure none of the Dig Dogs were looking at his direction. Luckily they were all busy with digging and paid no attention to the entrance so he could pass by without any troubles. In the distance he heard some more noises, voices to be precise. He knew the voices. It was the voice of the leader of the Diamond Dog pack and his subordinates as well. His heart made a skip when he even heard the lovely voice of Rarity, but was still too far away to make out what they were saying. At the end of the tunnel was the flaring light of some torches and what seemed to be another larger cave within this labyrinth. Carefully he peaked into the chamber only to see Rarity surrounded by the three leading Diamond Dogs. He frowned at the sight. The guy with the bright yellow gem at his collar spoke to the white mare. “Since you’re finally here…” he started and snipped with his fingers. “It’s time to get the rod for Miss Rarity.” He pronounced the last two words in a very odd way, for Spike it seems to be mocking. Out of another tunnel a female Diamond Dog came with a one yard long rod in her hands. It was around 2 inches in diameter, was twisted in itself like a unicorns horn and tipped with something that looked like a diamond. He particularly disliked the sly grin on her face and on the other ones. Rarity only stood there motionless as if she had already given in what was about to come. Only one step away from the unicorn the female Diamond Dog halted and pointed the stick at her. Spike clutched his eyes behind his paws, unable to look at the horrifying scene that was about to unfold before him. Seconds crawled along like millennia. Nothing could be heard. He expected everything, slashing, pained cries, everything, but not silence. He dared to spread his claws and peeked cautiously through them. He blinked. Then he rubbed his eyes. And blinked again. Rarity stood there her horn brightly glowing, pointing at the stick, the gem on it absorbing the magic and starting to shine. After around a minute Rarity ceased to use her magic and all the Diamond Dogs around her gave her an affectionate nod, close to a bow. The biggest one got a barked order of the tiny Diamond Dog and vanished into a corner of the cave Spike couldn’t look into, only to come back a few moments later with Rarity’s saddlebags filled to the brim with exquisite gemstones, masterly shaped and of top quality. “It is always a pleasure to make business with you Miss Rarity.” the leader said with his irritating snarl. Spike wasn’t sure if he said it genuinely or was just playing it. “Sure my dear, I always love to come here.” Rarity said chirping as if she really felt comfortable in their vicinity. “Don’t forget to take a bath once in a while, you don’t want to start smelling again.” She waved good bye and left the cave. Spike had only enough time to jump behind a small rock and dragged his hat over his eyes in the futile attempt to simply disappear. Since, when he can’t see anything, anything can’t see him as well, right? He heard the soft clop of Rarity’s steps while she walks past his hideout. The little dragon was about to sigh contently when the steps suddenly stopped and he heard her familiar voice. “Don’t you know that it is terrible manners to stalk a lady Spike?” she said firmly. Spike froze in place and little pearls of sweat formed on his forehead. How did she know? He was sure that he hadn’t made any mistake in hiding himself, even just some seconds ago. “Spi~ke.” She said again slightly annoyed. “I know you’re hiding here, don’t make me search for you.” Slowly he crawled out of his hiding place and stood there with trembling body the eyes locked to the ground unable to face that divine pony in front of him. The white unicorn approached him slowly until she was only one hoof away from him. Spike ducked his head because he expected to be scolded, or worse rejected by his one and only love. Instead he felt her patting his head. Shyly he looked up only to see a faint smile on her face. “Now tell me Spike, what do you do here in such a dangerous place? You could have got caught.” She clearly sounded worried about him and Spike nestled with his claws until he blurted it all out. “That’s because I followed you in the first place! I saw you going for the gem fields without me though you always ask me to help digging for gems when you go out and it was the direction of the territory of the Diamond dogs as well, so I was really worried about you and..” he finally tumbled over his own tongue breathless because of the sudden outburst. “That’s so sweet of you Spike.” Rarity cooed and pet his cheek. “But you don’t need to worry about me, if I was in trouble I would have told you.” Spike felt the grasp of magic engulfing him lifting him on top of Rarity’s back. Minutes ago he thought he was in for the biggest scolding known to ponykind and instead he got a pony ride on the most beautiful equine ever lived! Rarity trotted graciously through the deep caverns, Spike still a bit uneasy because of everything he had seen and heard. “So … um… If you don’t mind Rarity, what were you doing here?” he inquired. “Going for gems, what else should I do here darling?” she nodded at her saddlebags. “Yeah I see, but why are you, you know, dealing with the Diamond Dogs out of all things?” Rarity smiled contently. “Oh don’t get me wrong Spike, at first I thought these guys were simply awful and uncouth, but then again I remembered how we all acted towards Zecora once and realized, that they may be a bit misunderstood.” “Missunderstood?!” Spike gasped. “They ponynapped you the first time we met them!” he insisted. Rarity nodded and took another turn in the incomprehensible tunnel system. Spike had to admit, he would never be able to find out of this maze, not without something like Rarity’s cent leading him. “I admit they’re a bit rough and fierce competitors when it comes about gems since those and metal are the only things they can trade with. But they do trade and I had just to find something of interest for them.” “So you offered makeovers?” Spike asked quizzically and earned a hearty laugh from the mare. “Oh no Spike, don’t be silly, I just started that when I was more comfortable around them and they got used to me.” She turned her heard and winked at him. “I gave them what they desired of me in the first place.” She tapped at her horn. “The ability to find jewels more easily.” The little dragon thought about it some moments. “The rod that I’ve seen in the last cave?” “Exactly my dear, I asked Twilight if it would be possible to create an object that holds my spell. Now they have a divining rod that shows them were to look for gems.” “But isn’t that dangerous? They could just take it and never trade with you again, or dig everything out here, turning the ground and mountain to cheese and moving on?” “Oh no no no my dear. You don’t understand, they aren’t evil just a bit too overenthusiastic about their gems. Once they had what they wanted they got really nice, besides that magic stored inside the rod is limited. I have to come here ever so often to recharge it.” Finally they reached the end of the long subterranean labyrinth and Celestia’s sun had them finally back. “So what was it really about the makeovers Rarity?” The mare giggled. “You could tell that they still feared me nagging again and when I started to meet them I did made myself clear that the conditions down there were simply dreadful. One day they asked me what they should do about it and I started to ‘educate’ them a bit in personal hygiene and good manners. Apparently they liked it and the moral increased. Above all the female ones were grateful that somepony brought appropriate accessories and beauty material along. You could tell they don’t get much down there.” Spike pondered for a while and then he nodded. “I guess I understand now, I just have one last question.” He fiddled with his little claws glancing all over the place. “What is it dear? Come on and tell me.” “Well… How did you find out that I was following you?” he asked almost inaudible. “Oh Spikey-Wikey.” She smiled, turning her head stroking his cheek with her muzzle. “I know the feeling when you are watching me.” She added with a wink and continued her walk back to Ponyville. In the meantime Spike showed his skills in mimicking a chameleon. Or why else should his whole body have turned bright red?