//------------------------------//
// Spike's Rage 
// Story: Earning Freedom 
// by Daxisle 
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Spike's Rage



Spike looked at his reflection in the water, the teeth marks from Fido's bites had taken a hefty toll on his top spine, while his face could look worse, the incisions around it were noticeable and throbbing, much like his eye. 

But he didn't care about the pain, he really didn't care about anything right now. He was tired, a certain kind of tired that could only be brought about by the hollow feeling he had inside. For the life of him, he couldn't understand why he felt this way. When he'd fought that minataur youngling, he felt on top of the world, invincible so to speak. 

But now... Well, he may not have found the specific dog he was looking for, but he managed to take on the entire pack by himself. That had to count for something right? The void inside didn't seem to agree, instead making him feel like the whole ordeal was pointless. It wasn't a guilty feeling for what he'd done, as far as he was concerned they deserved what he'd given them, but just. pointless.

He groaned and went back to observing himself in the lake's reflection, he noticed the long and short strands of dark brown ribbons that used to constitute his cloak. That wasn't good, especially since the day was a bit colder than the others. It wasn't really a problem, surly he could find another one, or have this one repaired. 

Spike's mind screeched to a halt as his first thought was to ask Rarity.

His hands tightened to fists. 

Rarity.

Oh how hopelessly in love he was with her not long ago. How he'd willingly dig for hours on end for jewels he'd never get to eat just to see her smile or receiver her gracious touch on the top of his head. Her sapphire eyes shining with joy at any opportunity to gain something "fabulous" or "to die for" was enough to make his heart melt. Hay, he'd even help her with making dresses. Fetching cloth and recording measurements, working late into the night all just so he could be around her.

But now, just the thought of her made him want to punch a filly in the face. Why? Why was he so enraged by the image of her smile? Was it because she lead him on for so long? The fact that she used him? Maybe it was anger at himself for being so naive as to believe there could ever be something between them.

Spike sighed and laid back. He didn't want to sleep, he didn't want to think, he just wanted to rest. The cool ground felt good against his scales and he slowly moved his feet so they would slightly dip into the lack before him. The water was cold, but damn was it relaxing. 

So there he lay, his muscles beginning to unwind and his mind going into an uneasy numbness. Perhaps some rest was all he needed after all.

"Hey Spike?"

Of course, rest would be too much to ask for.

Reluctantly, the drake opened a disinterested eye to find Rainbow Dash looking down at him with a mix of concern and anger. "Sup?"

"What were you doing in the Diamond Dogs' mine?" She asked. As much as Spike didn't want to fight, a part of him swore that her words had a tone to them, even though they didn't. 

"Just checking for any loose gems." he lied placing his arms behind his head. Why should he tell her the truth? So he could get yet another lecture? Pft, screw that.

"Uh-huh." Rainbow replied skeptically. She didn't say anything for a while, which only served to make the air tense again. Spike wanted her to either speak her mind or get lost. All he desired was solitude..

"Spike." The mare sighed, oh boy, here it comes. "Why were you really down there?"

"I told you, just looking for gems." 

"Then explain why you're cloths are thrashed and the marks on your face."

Spike opened his good eye and looked dead center into both of hers. "The locals didn't like it." His tone was solid and unwavering, hell, only Applejack could tell he was lying if it wasn't put in context. "What's with the third degree anyway?" Seriously, what business was it of hers what he did in his spare time?

"What do you think it's for?" Rainbow threw her forelegs into the air, then threw one against her face "Look, if this is about that incident with Rarity, then-"

"Hey!" Spike barked, silencing his friend before standing up and towering over her. The subject of that day was a little touchy, all things considered. "Don't talk about stuff you know nothing about."

As expected, the cyan flyer didn't back down. She flapped her wings and with got up to eye level with him. "What? You think you're the only one who cared about her? The only one who was scared for her when she was taken by those mutts?"

"This isn't about her, Rainbow." Spike seethed.

"Than what is it about? Huh?" 

Two convincing lies were all he had in him. The emotional trigger pulled at his primal side again, but he did his best to keep it under control. Celestia knows what ponykind would do to him if that part of him was realized. 

He ventured to change the subject to something else, but Dash wouldn't have it. As much as her just tried to push the conversation in another direction, the pegasus would call him on it and return to the original topic. 

. "Look, drop it, okay? This isn't any of your business."

The rainbow maned pegasus obviously didn't see it that way, evident by her getting directly in his face so her words hit home. "You're my friend, Spike. You going and picking fights with Diamond Dogs is my business!"

Spike took an involuntary step backwards. "Yea? And why is that?" He growled, she wanted to talk about friendship? With as many reports as he'd written on it, he could freaking teach the subject! "When have the two of us really done anything together? What exactly makes us 'friends'? Twilight? She's the only thing that connects us. With out her we wouldn't even say hi on the street corner and you know it."

THWAK

In a blur of light blue, the dragon's head was now facing to his right, a deep sting shooting through his cheek. He had to bite his tongue to keep himself from knocking her senseless. 'Keep calm Spike, this will turn out alot worse if you hit her.' It was kinda ironic really, that single slap had caused more pain than the entirety of the melee underground.

"You bucking idiot!" she nearly yelled before going into a tirade about how out of line his comment was. While not really debating the actual point of his words, she claimed that she would walk through a lake of fire to help him if he needed her, bringing up another topic that was discussed not a few days ago. 

"It doesn't matter how we met! I consider you my friend now and I care about you enough to see that you need help."

"HELP!" Spike barked in restrained anger. "What do you think you can help, huh? I've already told you how I felt about what you did at the Dragon Migration, or did you just conveniently forget that?"

Rainbow's eyes narrowed. "That's it," She took higher to the air. "We've tried it Twilight's way, and this is what you do? No. I'm not going to let you get yourself killed because you're being a stubborn ass." And with that, the speedster took off to the town, probably to rally her friends.

Spike's eyes grew wide as exactly what that meant dawned on him. He'd wandered into a Diamond Dog's mine and intentionally beat down every single dog whom challenged him. He may have tried to avoid inflicting actual harm, but the fact was that he was the aggressor, and in the eyes of a judge, that's how he would be treated. 

The inclusion of Diamond Dogs was very strict in Equestrian law. While they may not be as mainstream as griffins, they were certainly considered citizens.

If the law was after him, that meant one of two things: Either he'd be imprisoned like any other pony, or worse because of his species. It was too late to stop Dash from letting the cat out of the bag on the issue, and with the way he'd been acting to the lot of them, the only thing he could do was run.

He remembered what had happened sitting on the park bench before and almost slapped himself. Of course Rainbow would have followed him! The way he was acting wasn't suspicious or anything. This could have gone a lot smoother if he had taken just two seconds to think out the consequences. A disguise, attacking at night, a plan. Just one of those would have avoided this situation.

In a mad dash, he went back to the only place he had enough time to get to undetected. The mines. After that, his logic left him, all he wanted was to avoid the trouble that was about to come his way. After a few minutes of the fastest run of his life, the drake reached one of the tunnels and dove in. 

His heart was pounding a mile a minute, his eyes shifted suspiciously around to find the way clear of all life. He began running again. He didn't care where he was going, he just knew that he couldn't stay still. Keep moving, don't stop, they'll catch you if you stop. 

And so he ran, he took random tunnels that inclined and declined into the earth. A left loop around or a right overpass. The only noise he could hear was the sound of his own grunting and his scaled feet slapping on the earthen floor. The longer he ran, the faster his heart slammed against his chest, the faster his heart was, the more panicked he became. And the more panic, the faster he ran. The cycle gave him energy to run, run for a time he couldn't even measure. All the turns and tunnels were just blurs to him. As long as there was a place to put his foot forward, that was what he did.

After what felt like hours of running, the adrenaline in his system began to wear off and his pace slowed. His vision began blurring from exhaustion and his legs ached from the exercise. A light at the end of one of the tunnels told him exactly where he was and he went into it. As expected, he found himself in the chamber where he'd faced the new Fido. Though the alpha wasn't present, come to think of it, none of the dogs were. 

Spike sat himself down by a pool of dripping water from an high up stalagmite and took a drink. It wasn't the most pleasant or sanitary thing he'd ingested, but it certainly wasn't the worst. The cooling liquid quenched the burning dryness in his throat and he coughed before sitting with his back to the wall, eyeing the only entrance to the cavern.

"You've done it this time." His conscience lectured.

He sat in thought, trying to figure out what to do now. He couldn't stay here long, this would be the first place the guards would look for him.

"You could turn yourself in and try to explain the situation?"

Yea, because that would go over well. What exactly was he supposed to say? 'Oh, sorry I went and beat down a bunch of Diamond Dogs and damn near ripped one's face off. I was still upset about what they did three years ago. Hope you're not too upset.'

"It's the truth."

Yea, the truth would probably land him in the Equestrian Mental Institution. They wouldn't understand what he went through and how he felt. And the fact he didn't even accomplish what he set out to do was just insult to injury.

"Really? You still give a flying feather about that right now? Seriously?"

Stupid as it was, that dog was still on his mind. Maybe his banishment from the pack was enough of a consolation. Yea, being an outcast was probably the worst humiliation that could happen to a pack animal, certainly worse than anything he could do, that was for sure.

That was a bitter pill to swallow actually. One one hand, he could end up escaping this place and maybe finding the dog and giving him his own brand of what he felt Fido deserved. On the other, the dog had already received his just punishment, and the drake threw his life away for nothing but the marks on his face and the blood on his claws.

The situation for his life seemed hopeless. He was screwed no matter what, the only thing on his mind was keeping out of jail by avoiding the law. If he found a place to wait it all out long enough, maybe he could sneak out of the country unnoticed. Head up to griffin territory, or the west with the minotaur.

As Spike sat in contemplation, a nearby aroma made his stomach growl. His eyes found their way on to the gigantic pile of gemstones in the middle of the cavern and his mouth began to water. He hadn't really eaten anything since the day he got here besides a few shavings from his sculpture.

And there was a mound of them, his for the taking.

All... His.