Spike's Doom and/or Destiny

by terrycloth


River Town

They managed to get to River Town without being jumped by any more wolves, or anything else for that matter. What they found was a small riverside town with only a dozen or so houses and shops, stretched along a riverside with a small fort next to a bridge at the far end.

“Any news?” Bon Bon asked the guards standing near where the gate would have been if the town had a wall.

“The Nameless One is on the move,” one of them said. “The Immortal Emperor Destiny has temporarily restricted access to the capitol. This isn’t normally a checkpoint, but we’ve got an imperial patrol at the bridge blocking all traffic. King McGuffin has been acting strangely lately, and there’s a rumor that he might be in league with the Nameless One’s forces.”

“That can’t be good for trade,” Derpy said, frowning.

The other guard shrugged. “They’re not stopping the boats, so we’re still in business. Most of our land traffic is from the Kingdom of McGuffin anyway.”

“This place is a lot smaller than I expected,” Moondancer said. “Is there anywhere I could find some books on magic?”

“Ah, you want the Preposterous Mage Tower,” the first guard said. “It’s just across the bridge.”

Moondancer sighed. “Of course it is.”

“We’ve got most of the other sorts of shops on this side – an armor smith, a weapons shop, a general store, some weapons training in the fort, and of course a giant floating crystal in the inn.”

“A what?” Spike asked.

Bon Bon smacked him. “A giant floating crystal. You know what a giant floating crystal is.”

The guards laughed. “It wouldn’t be an inn without a giant floating crystal.”

Bon Bon gave a fake laugh in return, while the rest of them smiled and tried to look a lot less confused and uncomfortable than they were.

Once they were out of easy earshot of the guards, Bon Bon hissed at Spike, “What were you thinking? Don’t give us away.”

“Don’t give what away?” Spike asked. “I thought everypony knew we were heroes.”

Bon Bon sighed, and rubbed her forehead with a hoof. “Spike… those imperial agents at the bridge are looking for us! They think we’re in league with the Nameless One.”

“So… do we have to fight them?” Derpy asked.

“We came here early,” Bon Bon replied. “They’d wipe the floor with us. Come on, let’s see if we can figure out what a giant floating crystal is for.”

“Oh, you’ve never used a giant floating crystal?” said a random pony passing by, making Bon Bon jump. “It’s easy, just touch it with a hoof, and zap.”

“Zap,” Moondancer said, flatly.

The pony nodded. “I wouldn’t go anywhere without a crystal’s protection – even if you stick to the roads, it’s really dangerous out there.”

“So it’s some sort of save point?” Spike asked.

“Just touch it, it’s pretty self-explanatory.”

===

The inn was small and homey, with a maritime theme. The rooms were upstairs, the front desk was near the door with a smiling pegasus behind it, and there was a crude but spacious lobby with a giant floating crystal right in the middle. It looked similar to the magic crystals the wizards in Castle Town had used to summon them, but where they were all tinted in different colors, this one had a clear mirror-like shine, although still slightly translucent.

“Spike, go touch it,” Moondancer said.

“They said you had to touch it with a hoof,” Spike said. “Bon Bon?”

She shook her head. “If it’s a trap, you’re the best equipped to survive it.”

Their argument was interrupted as Derpy flew over them and bonked headfirst into the crystal. There was a flash, and everything went blue.

Eventually, things stopped being blue. The four of them sat around the crystal, dazed.

“What happened?” Spike asked.

“I can’t…” Moondancer said, burying her head in her forehooves. “I can’t get my head around it.”

“Everything was blue!” Derpy said.

Bon Bon glared at the crystal. “I think it brought up some sort of control panel for the game… but we weren’t in control.”

“Yeah, okay,” Spike said. “There were words, right? Save… Skills… Exit! One of the words was ‘exit’!”

“And it does us no good because we’re not in control,” Bon Bon growled. “We’re so close. So CLOSE!” She slammed her hoof into the crystal, and everything went blue again.

===

After being chased out of the inn because the owner was worried they’d damage the giant floating crystal, it was finally time to go shopping. Bon Bon led them towards the weapon shop first. “We’ve got a few thousand golz saved up, so we should be able to get some good equipment for everypony.”

Then they saw the prices. The cheap weapons on display were around five hundred golz, but the best weapons were more than a thousand.

“There’s no sense buying the cheap ones if we have to upgrade to the expensive ones later,” Bon Bon said. “Let’s see if the armor is more reasonably priced.”

The armor was a little cheaper, but it wasn’t just one piece of armor per pony. There was the main body piece, hats, boots, and ‘accessories’ that ranged from ribbons to bracers.

And of course there was no equipment for cooks.

Derpy plopped the bundle of demon-cow leather on the counter. “Can you make us armor out of this? It’s from a really really evil bull.”

The shopkeeper looked it over. “Yeah, I can work with this. Say… 500 golz.” He glanced at her eyepatch. “Do you want a suit of pirate armor?” He looked over at Bon Bon. “Or I can make a chef’s apron, although you’ll have to promise not to tell anypony. I don’t want to get on the cooks’ bad side.”

“Can you make wizard robes?” Spike asked. “Moondancer really needs something more protective.”

“Hmm,” the pony lifted a hoof and stroked his chin. “It won’t be a robe, exactly, but I think I can make something light enough not to interfere with her spells.”

“Let’s do it, then!” Derpy said. “Bon Bon, can we have 500 golz for a special order?”

“Huh?” Bon Bon said. She and Moondancer had been comparing the accessories.

“We’re making some armor out of the Baalzebull hide,” Spike explained. “It’s a quest reward, so it’ll be better than the standard stuff, right?”

Bon Bon frowned. “I guess it’s worth 500 golz to see.”

“I promise, you won’t be disappointed!” the shopkeeper said, taking the money and the hide, and heading into his workshop in the back.

===

When it was obvious that it was going to take him a while to get back, they left the shop and decided to split up.

Everypony agreed that Bon Bon was most in need of a new weapon – Spike and Moondancer had the recent upgrades they’d found at the farm, and there weren’t any ranged weapons for sale except crossbows, which Derpy still insisted weren’t piratical enough. So Bon Bon took most of the remaining golz and headed off to find a restaurant with a large enough kitchen to supply a battle cook.
Moondancer, for her part, headed down to the riverbank. “I’ve got an idea, but it’s going to take me a while,” she said. “I’ll need a little money for supplies…”

Spike handed over the golz that was left. “It’s not like there’s enough to buy anything good.”

Moondancer smirked. “Oh, this should be good,” she said, “if it works.” She frowned. “I really wish I had my reference materials.”

That left Spike and Derpy to explore the town. Derpy laughed and bounded ahead of him. “Let’s break into some houses!”

===

They all met back at the armor shop after a few hours. Bon Bon had a very nasty-looking cleaver strapped to her side. Derpy and Spike had a small bag full of random items they’d managed to steal from ponies’ houses.

“We couldn’t take anything from the houses with ponies in them, since we’re not supposed to tell anypony we’re heroes,” Derpy said. “But most of the houses were empty, so we still got plenty of stuff.”

“Not much golz, though,” Spike said. “We did find a ribbon. Ribbons block status effects, right?”

Moondancer lifted the pink ribbon, and examined it carefully. “Not this one. It’s not magical.”

“Oh,” Spike said. “So what does it do?”

“It’s not magical,” Moondancer repeated, a little slower. When Spike continued to stare at her, she added, “It looks pretty?”

“Mine!” Derpy said, pouncing on it and tying it in a bow around her tail. “How’s it look?”

“Very, um, piratical?” Spike said.

Derpy grinned. “Yep! Pirates need all kinds of fancy things.”

“So,” Bon Bon said, rooting through the rest of Derpy and Spike’s loot and fishing out the golz. “Your secret project?”

Moondancer smirked, and opened a small satchel hanging near her shoulder, bringing out a tiny pot. It was somewhat crude and undecorated, but it had been fired, and looked sturdy enough.

“You made pots?” Spike asked.

“I study more than magic,” she explained. “I also study history, chemistry, and pottery. This is a replica of a Minoan firebomb from the Labyrinthine Age.”

“Shouldn’t a bomb have a fuse?” Bon Bon asked, leaning closer.

“It ignites when exposed to air,” Moondancer said. “All I have to do is break the pot.”

The other three took a step back.

“How many did you make?” Bon Bon asked, glancing at the satchel nervously.

There was a sparkle of magic and the bomb dissolved into thin air. “Enough to prime a cornucopia spell, so I can have as many as I need,” Moondancer explained. “They should last long enough to explode.”

“Heh, I guess you’re a real wizard now,” Spike said. “You’ve got fireballs.”

“Fire bombs,” Moondancer corrected.

“Just try not to blow yourself up,” Bon Bon said, her eyes still locked on the satchel.

Moondancer raised an eyebrow, then lifted the satchel’s strap up over her head, and threw it to the ground. As the others scrambled for cover, she reared up and brought her hooves down on it, stomping on it a few times, lifted it up into the air with her magic and crumpled it into a ball, and tossed it hard against the wall of the building, where it hit with a smack, then flopped to the ground.

“It’s a cornucopia spell,” she said again to her friends as they peeked around the corner of the buildings and boxes they’d hidden behind. She took the satchel and replaced it around her neck. “It’s empty as long as nopony’s looking.”

“Oh,” Bon Bon said, gingerly coming out from cover. “You could have said something.”

Moondancer scowled. “I did. I said I used a cornucopia spell. It’s not exactly obscure. Did you really think I’d hang a bag of volatile explosives around my neck?”

“Sure!” Derpy said.

“Maybe?” Spike said, sheepishly. “You did go into battle wearing a dress.”

“More than once!” Derpy added. “But you won’t have to any more. Let’s go see if he’s done with your new armor!”

===

“What. Is. That.”

“You like it?” the shopkeeper asked, holding the red leather outfit up proudly. “I call it a Battle Saddle, although it’s actually got a full set of tack. Minus the bit, of course – wizards sometimes need to talk to cast their spells.”

“That is not armor,” Moondancer said. “That’s not even clothing!”

“It’s more protective than it looks?” The shopkeeper lifted up some strands dangling from the saddle. “You braid these around your legs and into your tail – you’ve got nearly full coverage.”

“Come on, try it on,” Spike said. “I’m sure it’ll look great once it’s on you.”

“You’d like that, wouldn’t you,” Moondancer said, glowering at the young dragon.

“Yes?” Spike said. “I mean, I just asked you to?”

She looked at the others, who were watching her expectantly.

“Derpy used up her demon-bull hide to get it,” Bon Bon said. “You should at least try it on.”

“It’s okay, I can wear it if she doesn’t want to,” Derpy said. “It’s not the most pirate thing I’ve ever seen, but it’s awfully fancy.”

“Fine,” Moondancer said, snatching up the skimpy saddle and tack. “I’ll try it on. Do you have a dressing room?”

The shopkeep indicated one of the doors in the back of the shop.

“Spike, go help her,” Bon Bon said, as Moondancer headed back. As she turned her head in shock, Bon Bon continued, “it’ll take a lot of braiding to get it on properly, and you’ve got those nimble little claws.”

“She has magic,” Spike noted.

Bon Bon shook her head. “She won’t be able to see what she’s doing for the back part.”

Moondancer blushed. “Fine, Spike can help,” she said. “But only because he’s too oblivious to know when something’s supposed to be sexy.” She walked through the door, and slammed it behind her.

“Um…” Spike said, glancing at Bon Bon. “I mean, I’m not saying anything because I know it would bother her, but –”

The door opened again. “Are you coming?” Moondancer asked.

“Right away Ma’am!” Spike said, giving a grin and a salute before running for the dressing room.