More Mid-Morning Incidents
“Oh dear Celestia, I almost forgot my meeting with Neighel Diamond was today and he’ll be here within the hour!”
“Can’t you just reschedule?”
“Not when he needs new attire for his upcoming tour.” Feeling the early signs of one of her patented ‘worst possible thing’ moments Rarity sprang up from the kitchen table and began to pace about the room as she tried to calm herself down. “Ohhh, okay all I have to do is maybe get that fabric from other evening and throw in some garnets.”
Rolling his eyes at his wife’s antics Spike continued to eat his breakfast. He certainly didn't go through all this work just to have the meal sit there forgotten. “Can’t you just tell him that…uh...creative passion caused you to throw out what you had and you plan on giving him something twice as great?”
“Spike I love you, but that’s downright crazy talk. Do you know what this could do to my image if word got around that I failed Neighel Diamond of all ponies?”
“Ponies around here might develop better taste in music?”
“Shush!” As Rarity continued to fret over the approaching hour at hand...err hoof, the unicorn’s mane began to reach out into the living room as well as her horn began to light up.
Taking notice of the free-spirited follicles as well as the light show going on as he ate Spike paused mid chew to try to get Rarity’s attention. “Uh, Rares is your mane supposed to do that?”
“...and I’ll need to draw up some plans. Oh, yes! I can come up with some fantastic schematics, show them to Mr. Diamond and perhaps stall him long enough.” The drake’s words apparently fell on deaf ears as Rarity galloped out of the kitchen still oblivious to her mane’s mission or her magic flaring up.
Spike let out a small sigh as he realized that his wife would probably be too busy ‘freaking out’ too want any more breakfast and he’d have to do all the dishes. “Bring back the part where you nearly had your way with me on the table.”
Dashing past the living room and making her way into her work room Rarity ‘hmmed’ to herself as she searched the room full of fabrics, mannequins and half-finished dresses for her measuring tape. Unbeknownst to her Rarity’s mane returned to its normal size after depositing a basketful of garnets next to her, while her work glasses floated into the room thanks to her subconscious magic locating it. “Oh, there’s my glasses. Hmm, I don’t recall asking Spike to locate them...oh well.”
After a half hour's time of work Rarity had managed to cobble together a few extravagant designs onto some sketch paper, fixed a few lengths of cloth that she’d use and noticed that she had a basket of garnets on hoof right next to her. Given a few more hours of hard work, some good 'ol fashion Rarity know how and a little break for some much needed affection, the unicorn was sure that she could handle this.
“Rarity what time is that guy supposed to be here?”
“Twelve-thirty, darling.”
“Um… it’s about a quarter to twelve right now.”
“WHAT?!” Her magic made a nearby lamp explode. Eyes twitching as it dawned on Rarity that though she had made great progress, there was no way that she could have anything worth seeing in only forty-five minutes. As a few stray synapses fired within the unicorn’s head, neither she nor Spike were aware of the agitated way that her mane began to flicker as well as the small hiss that emitted from anything that was currently levitating at the moment.
“I said it’s about --WHOA!” Before Spike could finish his sentence, the steam press next to Rarity rocketed from its place so that it could nearly take the drake’s head off as it embedded itself into the wall next to him.
Rarity completely oblivious to nearly ending her husband shrieked in frustration as she galloped past the stunned drake to make way toward the bathroom. “Oh no, no, no, no! I must look an absolute mess!” As the mare crossed the living room, the couch that she and Spike had previously cuddled on was suddenly encased with a dark blue aura before it jettisoned toward a recovering Spike.
“Rarity it’s ok, you look ama --*oomph*!” The drake hadn’t been as lucky that time as he found himself suddenly bowled over by his own furniture.
Once inside the bathroom Rarity was quick to levitate a multitude of brushes, hair-care products, and a few scrunchies as she prepared to tame what she was sure would be a nightmare. “I may not be able to whip something up to show my client, but at least I can make myself look…” It was then that Rarity saw herself in the mirror; her ethereal mane had remained lovely and weightless despite sleeping on her couch of all places. It would seem that the mare hardly needed to make any effort to tame her mane, as it would be what her husband would call “drop dead gorgeous”. This of course presented her with a new set of problems.
Rarity’s client as well as every other pony that she knew would be expecting to see the same well-matured alabaster unicorn when they stopped by, and instead they’d see… “This. Is. The. Worst. Possible...”
With a grunt of exhaustion, Spike pushed the couch off his form and sat up while giving the furniture a look of disapproval. It would appear that with the new body, Rarity had also gained a much higher level of strength regarding her magic, which if the couch and earlier stream press attack were any clear hints meant that his wife lacked complete control over her abilities. “Well all I have to do is keep Rares calm and we should be alright.”
“THING!” It was at that point in time that Spike noticed a strike force of combs and brushes hurling toward him from the entrance of the bathroom.
“Uh oh.”
Just like the earlier with the steam press the various objects made their way into the drywall of their home, but unlike the previous time where Spike had managed to escape unharmed, the brushes, combs and other doodads pinned the drake to the wall.
Inside the bathroom Rarity gritted her teeth in frustration as she dwelled on the just how her new form was going to be received in her daily life. What would her customers say? What would the princesses think? How would her friends react? So caught up in her own personal desires as well as the giddiness of being with her husband forever, the unicorn had completely forgotten how her appearance would probably affect her relations with everyone else.
“Oh I can see it now; my Ponyville clientele will probably think that the boutique is being run by the harbinger of eternal night and next thing we know they’ll be assembling mobs.” Another pulse of dark blue magic caused a nearby bar of soap to light itself in dark flames and hurl out the doorway earning a surprised, “Holy hay!” from the drake outside. Rarity unaware of her husband’s misfortune only worried more as she began to think what kind of reaction would come from the elements of harmony. “Of course Rainbow Dash in all her crudeness will probably shout something obscene while she careens through my house in some attempt to pummel ‘my possessor’. Pinkie Pie will tell everyone to run for their lives and jump out my window, whilst dearest Applejack attempts to lasso me while making some pun about apples or some such nonsense.”
Watching the destruction taking place within Rarity’s head Nightmare herself let out a chuckle as she admitted that even though her ‘host’ had bested her and was currently in control (somewhat) a satisfying amount of damage was being done to the premises as well as being attempted on the quick on his feet dragon. “I’d have done better I’m sure...but this will do for now.”
“Then Twilight will start lecturing me about making deals with evil entities like I’m some sort of foal. “And of course Fluttershy..”
“Uhhh, honey?” Spike after dislodging himself from the wall as well as remove a flaming bar of irish spring from his face had finally crossed the distance to the bathroom and after seeing a miasma of dark magic swirling around his wife decided to try calming the mare down.
“What?!” Rarity was quick to whirl her dark furred head around to glare daggers at the drake who suddenly wished he had stayed transfixed to the wall. “Darling can’t you see that I’m in the middle of a bit of a meltdown here?”
“Oh yeah beautiful, trust me I can see that, maybe we should just take a few deep breaths and calm do…”
“I don’t want to calm down!” The slitted irises in Rarity’s eyes glowed an angry dark blue as she took an aggressive step toward her husband.
Deciding that there was enough to clean up as it was Spike resorted to his secret weapon when things with his wife got dicey. With a near unparalleled level of agility thanks to his draconic heritage, Spike rushed his wife who was too surprised to react. Before the mare could even squeak in response Spike’s skilled claws danced lightly along her back and focused on Rarity’s shoulders.
“Whaoooaauu...ohhh” One moment Rarity had been near meltdown level of anger, the next she could hardly feel her knees as she stifled a soft whinny. There was no arguing that Spike’s digits certainly came in handy whether it was scratching an itch or soothing an enraged wife.
Deep within Rarity’s subconscious a certain entity was unexpectedly learning about the drake’s talent. “Oh! Oh now that’s interesting.” Thanks to her integration with Rarity’s body Nightmare was currently feeling the same sensation as her host causing the immortal to fidget slightly as the sensation of claws delicately pressing against her nerves overtook her consciousness. “Oooh...okay so perhaps I’m glad that I didn’t slay this dragon earlier.”
Meanwhile Spike had moved on from the light scratching to gently rubbing his now swooning wife along her neck. The magical aura that had surrounded her had dissipated, and the mare’s mane was floating calmly in the non-existent breeze. “Muuuch better.”
A relative calm passed through the boutique as Spike continued to calm his wife and the mentioned mare became more and more docile.
Even in a now, much less high-strung state Rarity let out a pout as she dwelled on the matter at hand. “My client will be here any minute, the order is nowhere near ready and I look absolutely stunning.”
“Uhhh isn’t that a good thing Rares?”
“Of course not!” Twisting in place so that she was now glaring at the dragon holding her, Rarity brought a hoof dramatically to her forehead. “I can’t let myself be seen like this! Don’t you know what the response to my new body will be?”
“Yeah, the reaction will be a ton of jealous stallions glaring at the back of my head from now on...probably a few mares too.” Spike chuckled to himself as he watched his wife’s glare intensify.
“No! The clients will think that Nightmare herself is haunting my creations and my business will be ruined! I --”
Before Rarity could start on another frantic rant she was interrupted by her scaled husband. “Don’t worry about it babe, I’ll just talk to him.”
“But, I--”
Cutting off his wife once more Spike waggled a scaled eyebrow at the mare as he continued to speak. “Hey, I took care of an emotionally unstable purple princess for almost twenty years, lived in Canterlot which is home for the snootiest creatures in Equestria and even saved the Crystal Kingdom a few times. I think I can handle one celebrity for an hour, you know I’m great with ponies.”
Rarity was about to interject when suddenly all her thoughts ground to a screeching halt thanks to the chiming of the doorbell.
Watching the color drain from his wife’s face Spike scratched the back of his head as he did his best to keep her from panicking. “W-whoa that’s odd. Probably just some pony stopping by to say hi. I mean c’mon what are the chances that Neighel Diamond is here now?”
*Knock!* *Knock!* *Knock!* “Hello there, it’s me the Neighel Diamond.”
To say Rarity responded with dignity and restraint would have been a ballpark lie, so instead she bit her lip and mouthed out a certain four-letter word.
“I’ll take care of him, so just relax. Besides, what’s the worst that could happen?”
Spike made his way down stairs muttering to himself as he reached the bottom, and stepped toward the door. “Oh right. Oh right, hold your horses.” Putting on a salesman’s face Spike swung the door open donning a wide toothy smile as his emerald pupils focused on the stallion waiting outside.
“Finally!” Peering up at the drake a tan earth stallion with a black pompadour and a sequin jacket tapped his left front hoof impatiently. “I’m here to see lady Rarity, Diamond has an order that he intends to pick up.” With a dramatic final tap of his hoof, Neighel Diamond pushed his way past a surprised Spike and began wandering about the room. “Diamond has no time for the help. Lady Rarity where are you? I’m here for that line of amazing outfits you promised me.”
Growling inwardly at the less than polite stallion now prancing around inside his living room, Spike had to shake his head to keep himself from tossing the customer back out the door. “Um, sir in case you’ve been living under a rock for the last few decades, I have a stained glass window in princess’s palace devoted to me and for the record Lady Rarity happens to be my wife.” Shutting the door behind him Spike rolled his eyes as the stallion spun around to get a better look at him.
“...You don’t say.”
“I certainly do.”
Walking up to, the drake Neighel peered up at Spike’s face with an eyebrow raised dubiously. “Can’t say that I can place a name mister...?”
Rubbing his talons across his temples to ease a small headache Spike couldn’t help but wonder how his wife found the patience to deal with clients like this all the time. “It’s Spike, Spike the dragon, now then I’m afraid that my dear wife is unavailable at the moment.”
“And why is that?” Scowling slightly as he began to fear that he would leave the domicile without his order, Diamond glanced toward the stairs. “Surely Rarity has finished the outfits she promised me.”
Letting out a loud sigh Spike looked toward the stairs as well before taking a step to put himself between them and the off put celebrity. “Well uh you see...”
As Spike scanned his brain for a good excuse both he and Neighel Diamond were unaware of a third presence silently listening in nearby. Sprawled on the floor upstairs like a cat waiting to pounce, Rarity held her breath as she strained to hear her husband’s next words. Yes, she had agreed to let Spike ‘handle’ the situation but it didn’t mean that she couldn’t ‘eavesdrop’ just a little bit. So far, it sounded like her beloved was handling Diamond well enough, but hearing Spike scramble for words led the unicorn to silently pray that the dragon would come up with something believable.
“W-well you see...funny thing my wife is….uh...actually...suffering from food poisoning.”
If Spike hadn’t been busy gauging the celebrity’s reaction his ears might have picked up on the near completely inaudible “What?!” that Rarity let out in outrage.
“Food poisoning?” The stallion allowed a slightly disgusted look to cross his face as he imagined the fashionista green in the face while laying in bed pleading for death.
“Y-Yeah poor ol gal’s been get real friendly with the um...porcelain throne.” As Spike gave the best attempt at an earnest smile to the blinking stallion, the drake could have sworn he felt the back of his head heating up.
“When this is all over I’m gonna throttle that husband of mine.” Outraged by the way the drake was handling a deal that could possibly end her career, Rarity couldn’t help but glare down at the duo from the top of her stairs. Luckily, for the mortified unicorn her guest was much more interested in the dragon’s explanation than anything else at the time.
“W-well give her Diamond’s condolences, later of course.” For a moment, the brown stallion seemed caught up in his own thoughts until a cough from Spike brought Neighel back to earth. “Lady Rarity or not I came here for what I paid for and Neighel Diamond will not leave till satisfied!”
“Oh no.” The anger in Rarity went out of her as she crept backward a few steps to hide from the inevitable conclusion to the deception her beloved was trying to keep up. Deep in the unicorn’s head Nightmare watched on with an amused grin; she was enjoying this.
Never one to back down from a challenge or know when to quit Spike thought back to the unfinished works that Rarity had been scrambling to finish earlier. “It can’t be that hard.” Sliding casually next to the celebrity while spinning him around to face Rarities lower workroom, Spike inwardly crossed his talons. “And satisfaction is what we guarantee at the Carousel Boutique, in fact why don’t you sit right here while I get grab something that will blow you away.”
Perturbed by the close contact Neighel narrowed his eyes as he was lead to the couch. “Sounds like one of my ex-wives.”
Once the celebrity was seated, Spike scrambled toward Rarity’s workroom and gave a quick scan over the unfinished fabrics that lay around the room. He had watched his wife work passionately for years and was pretty sure he’d seen enough to replicate her actions. Grabbing a large leotard made for a pony Spike tapped a claw to his chin as he wracked his brain on how to finish it. “Hmm...well if my memory serves me correctly he loves himself a shit ton of sequins.” A twinkle caught the drake’s emerald eyes causing him to turn his head and gaze down at a knocked over box that had its contents spilled onto the floor. “Bingo!”
A few minutes passed by during which Neighel wrestled with the urge to pick his nose and wipe whatever he found on the couch he sat upon and upstairs Rarity waited scarcely breathing as she tried to figure out what was going on. Finally, just as the stallion raised a hoof to his itching nose Spike strode back into the living room with a proud look upon his features and a bundle of something in his claws.
“Now then mister Diamond are you ready?” Spike raised a scaled eyebrow toward the customer whose raised hoof quickly lowered as he snapped his head to look at the drake.
“Ready for what?”
The stallion had barely finished his sentence when Spike raised the fabric in his talons before him presenting a sight Neighel had never seen before in his life. “Ready for this!”
Upstairs Rarity felt a deep shiver crawl up her spine as well as a terrible headache that made Nightmare’s earlier takeover feel like a tickle. “I...I sense a disturbance.” A look of fear crossed Rarity’s face as she looked here and there in an attempt to see an invisible foe. “As if somewhere a great fashion tragedy has been given life.”
As the golden glow from his creation finally died down Spike gave a wink to the illuminated stallion in front of him. “So what do ya think?”
From his place on the couch, Neighel Diamond could only stare awestruck for a minute as his eyes widened, his mouth hung slightly open and an unprepared tear fell from his face. “W-words cannot…”
Indeed, they could not, staring down the master of music was a concoction of patterns and color that in some places would incur death open the viewer and a well deserved public execution for the presenter. In unabashed glory, a purple, leopard-printed leotard covered nearly head to toe in glinting gold sequins starred through the celebrity's eyes and into his very soul. It was deranged…it was an obnoxious eyesore...it was a crime of nature...it was...
“...Beautiful.” His tears now flowing freely as he continued to gaze at the creation before him, Neighel felt his own heart grow three sizes that day.
“So you like it?”
“I love it more than life itself.”
“Like I said guaranteed satisfaction, now then would you like to take her home?” Puffing up just a little bit from his success Spike allowed a large fanged smile to grow on his face as he watched the stallion stumble off of his couch and reach out toward the ‘masterpiece’.
“I had you pegged wrong mister dragon. Just a few minutes ago I thought you were just some scale covered sod that must have somehow gotten Lady Rarity drunk enough to accept a marriage proposal.” So caught up in his continued admiration of the gaudy nightmare, Neighel failed to notice Spike’s smile fall just a little bit. “...but now I know that you obviously possess some amazing traits for such a lovely albeit hagged out mare to look so kindly upon you.”
“Uhhh no problem, we all make mistakes right?” Sweet taste of victory somewhat soured by his customers use of words, Spike felt the small urge to set the outfit alight just to voice his growing irritation.
“Well Diamond supposes some more than others but yes, we all do don’t we?” Neighel let out a chuckle as he nudged the drake slightly. “Back at the door I thought you were gonna take a swing at me for barging in and I’d never have seen this beautiful thing. Crazy huh?”
Laughing a little bit as well Spike shrugged his shoulder as he looked back at the now grinning stallion. “Yeah, though to be truthful I was heavily considering it.”
Rubbing a hoof against his head as his chuckle turned to a small laugh Neighel gave a dubious look to the dragon in front of him. “Glad you didn’t...that would have been stupid.”
“Agreed, really stupid.”
“I’d hate to imagine having to apologize to Lady Rarity about hurting her husband.” At this point Neighel was shaking his head while he laughed.
Shaking his head at the absurdness of it all Spike looked at the foot of the stairs as he replied. “I know right, Rares would skin me for a new suit if I told her that I beat up one of her customers.”
“Now *that* is funny.” As he continued to laugh the stallion gave Spike another nudge.
“Trust me dude an angry Rarity is the total opposite of funny.” Spike without even noticing gave Neighel a nudge right back with his elbow.”
“No, not that, I meant the part where you would tell her that you beat me, that’s seriously ridiculous.” Finally controlling his laugh a little bit Neighel nudged Spike again this time a little harder.
“Didn’t know that you found reality ridiculous.” Spike gave a weak chuckle as he noticed himself immediately shoving the stallion back with just as much force.
“Don’t take me wrong mister dragon, but I’ve knocked out more music critics than you have spines.” This time when Neighel made to shove Spike back, the stallion found his hoof stopped by Spike’s hand blocking it.
“Trust me when I say that you haven’t taken a shot at anyone like me.”
A rush of adrenaline began to course through Diamond’s veins at he looked into Spike’s eyes. “I gotta warn you, you mess with the Diamond you gonna get cut.” Neighel flexed his fore-leg muscles as he shook the dragon’s hand off of him.
Spike shot the pop star a cocky smirk. “Well, then it’s a good thing I’m a dragon because I got bigger so-called “diamonds” in my stool.”
From atop the stairs Rarity’s eye widened to the size of dinner plates as her ears picked up her husband’s latest reply. “...He did not just...”
“Oh, yes he did!” While Rarity might have been distressed by the way things were turning, Nightmare herself was materializing a large tub of popcorn as she watched on with a tinge of excitement. It would certainly be fun to watch the drake lose his temper, rend the ridiculous sounding stallion to pieces and go on a rampage that she felt this town was long due for.
Now dear readers we can’t tell you who threw the first punch, or who threw the second, but we can tell you that it was around the time that Neighel Diamond’s body went sailing into the couch that the dark furred mare ran down to the bottom of the stairs to watch the debacle going on within her living room.
“How’d you like that?” Cracking his neck as well as rubbing a bruise on his chin Spike stood with his back to Rarity while he waited for the stallion’s reply.
Instead of letting out a terse response, the stallion picked up one of its cushions and tossed it toward Spike who easily knocked it aside with his left hand.
“The hell was th--*oomph!*” While Spike had been slightly distracted with the couch cushion Neighel quickly galloped across the room and crashed into Spike. Rarity scarcely had time to retreat up the stairs by a few steps before Spike fell onto his back.
“Always leave 'em guessin'. ya fire-spittin' newt.” Neighel landed a few light blows onto Spike’s face before the drake’s tail wrapped around his arm and slung him across the room.
“This is the worst possible thing!” Rarity let out an *eep* as she watched her customer pick himself up from the floor and produce a large two-by-four from seemingly nowhere. Spike in retaliation quickly ran out of the room only to come back a second later with a large pipe gripped in his claws.
Laughing near maniacally from her spot in Rarity’s head Nightmare smiled with glee as she watched Spike and Diamond proceed to cartoonishly whack one another over the head with their weapons. “This is the best!”
After being at the receiving end of a well-aimed swing to the eye, Spike let out a loud growl before he reached out as quick as lightning and grabbed the piece of wood. “Okay, now I’m getting pissed.” To emphasize his point Spike tightened his grip until Diamond’s armament exploded into a few dozen crude splinters.
Disarmed but not done Diamond struck forward with his head aiming to knock the drake back and buy himself some time. The result was an annoyed grunt from Spike and a headache the nearly brought a tear to the stallion’s eyes.
“Dragon scales are a lot harder than you would think.” Before Neighel could back up Spike grabbed the celebrity by his shoulders holding him place. “Now let’s see if they’re harder than a diamond.” Spike pulled his head back and for a moment, Neighel watched his life flash before his eyes.
“Spike the dragon! That is...enough!” Finally having enough of playing the spectator, Rarity made her presence known causing both males to turn their heads and look in her direction.
“Uh oh...”
“Uhh nice to see you feeling better miss Rar--.” Diamond’s sentence went unfinished as the celebrities eyes fully took in the sight before him. While not being a resident of Ponyville Neighel Diamond wasn’t ignorant enough to have missed the stories or the reports of a certain would be dictator of the moon coming back to not only kidnap princess Celestia many years ago, but also nearly led an army of shadows to conquer all of Equestria. So the panic in his voice, as well as the frightened look in his eyes was somewhat called for. “Holy crap, it’s Nightmare Moon!”
Rarity realizing her mistake screamed in surprise, which sounded to the now terrified stallion to be a violent screech. While the mare ran back up the stairs desperately wishing that removing herself from the celebrity's sight might cause him to forget what he saw, a burst of fear-induced strength ran through Neighel’s body giving him the ability to throw a rather shocked Spike off of him.
“I-I-I gotta warn the town! N-Nightmare M-Moon has returned!” With nothing else on his mind, Neighel galloped toward the door intent on leaving and rousing hopefully getting word to the proper authorities before the wraith made her move.
“Not so fast!” It didn’t take half a brain for Spike to realize the consequences that would follow from Nieghel Diamond scaring all of the ponies in town before he and Rarity had proper time to figure things out. The guard would be called in; they’d circle the boutique intent on keeping ‘the returned threat’ in quarantine until the elements of harmony were called in as well as the princesses. A cold shiver ran through Spike’s spines as he imagined what would happen to his poor wife. “L-lets just calm down and talk this over.”
“The hell are you doin?! We have to warn...oh for Celestia’s sake you’re working for Nightmare Moon!” Of course, it made sense now; the dragon was the wraith’s thrall furthering her agenda in broad daylight while she silently waited in the shadows. Neighel would have gladly barreled through the door if a clawed hand with the strength of steel hadn't latched onto his rear right leg and dragged him across the room. “L-let me go!”
Spike wasn’t about to let anything put his wife in danger. Transformed or not the unicorn upstairs was the love of his life, he just had to keep Diamond stalled long enough for him for him to finally listen to sense. As he pulled the struggling stallion across the living room, Spike looked around as his mind raced to find an answer.
Unwilling to go down without a fight Nieghel bucked as hard as he could causing Spike’s grip to loosen before Neighel made another dash for the door. The drake though thrown off was instantly upon him and right as Neighel reached for the door mere inches away, Spike’s full weight struck him like a scaled cannonball causing the two to roll on the ground while the stallion shouted curses and Spike uttered profuse apologies.
Upstairs Rarity tried to calm herself as her mind dwelled on the worst case scenario that was her appearance being found out in such a way. Within the depths of the unicorn’s mind a certain spirit wore a Cheshire grin as she watched the mare imagine countless dark scenarios.
Back downstairs Spike had managed to place the struggling celebrity in a kind of sleep hold, hoping that Diamond would tire himself out and then Spike could start worrying about explaining things. “If you’d quit squirming for one damn minute I’d gladly expla--”
Before Spike could finish his sentence, Diamond rammed his head backwards into Spike’s nose causing the drake to see stars and loosen his grip enough for the stallion to make another dash for the door.
As Spike struggled to give chase while shaking his head, he clumsily reached around for something to steady himself with, the drake's claws came into contact with a hard surface, which instantly registered in Spike’s mind as one of the small tables Rarity enjoyed having him move about the house whenever she felt like changing the boutiques interior. Vision still fuzzy Spike was at least able to make out the fleeing blur that was Diamond now nearly at his destination: the front door. As his claws fumbled about Spike felt something move and on instinct, he latched onto it and heaved it forward.
Freedom so close at hoof Diamond never thought to turn around in case of approaching danger, so the stallion never saw it coming when a bowing-ball sized chuck of rock beaned him in the back of the head. For one of Equestria’s self-proclaimed superstars the curtains had closed and his show was over.
A loud thud rang throughout the house causing both mare’s to stop their thoughts and look down the stairs.
“S-Spike?”
No reply came instead only the sound of someone moving and loud tired exhales. Throwing her caution to the wind as her heart instantly began to worry about her husband Rarity glided down the stairs silent as a ghost her thoughts on what she must have missed when she left. Nightmare herself had to inwardly admit that she was curious to learn of the drake’s fate as well as what became of the pitiful stallion that had recognized her.
“Spike..please be okay.” As she finally reached the bottom of the stairs and cast an eye over the completely wrecked battlefield that was her living room, a familiar voice met her ears.
“I’m alright Rares...c-can’t say the same for our customer.” On the far side of the room next to the doorway that lead to the kitchen Spike was currently steadying himself by leaning against the wall. During his struggle with Diamond the two had rolled across the room, bumping into the couch, and knocking into a wardrobe closet causing the piece of furniture to topple over.
“W-what do you mean dear.”
While Spike had picked himself up with a groan, the brown stallion laid in place upon the floor while a trickle of blood began to soak his mane. After rubbing a sore spot on the back of his neck Spike’s nose noticed the coppery scent of blood, and he was instantly attempting to rouse the prone celebrity. After a few shakes, and a one good slap across the face Neighel’s eyes remained rolled to the back of his head and the blood brought on by a large cut at the side of his head continued to flow. An ominous feeling ran over the drake as he realized that his wife was calling out to him and a minute later, he looked right into Rarity’s eyes as she heard his grave reply.
It didn’t take Rarity long to realize what had happened as she took in the sight of the unmoving guest on the floor, her sullen looking husband standing over the stallion and the various objects laying scattered around them. Her favorite vase laid in pieces around the duo a stone the size of a cantaloupe (which was actually what remained of ‘Tom’ after years of Spike using the boulder as something to dull his claws on) was still slowly rolling across the carpet into it came to a stop when its path was blocked by the far wall. Whether on purpose or not it appeared that Spike had acted true to his mission and managed to stop the singer from leaving the premises.
“O-oh Spike...w-what did you do?” The words died in Rarity’s throat as the mare seemed to freeze in place, doing little more than hyperventilate and stare bug-eyed at the form on her living room floor. So caught up in imagining what crimes the two had just accidentally committed the dark-furred mare didn’t even react when Spike moved to her side to softly embrace her.
“I-I didn’t mean to k-k...this. I was just trying to stop him from...” Though he was comforting his wife as best as he could, Spike could hardly control his own breathing as a wave of guilt swept over him. Sure he wasn’t fond of the self-entitled stallion, but he never intended to.. “I’ll do whatever it takes to keep you safe.”
A long minute passed as both husband and wife merely leaned into one another as they looked to the mess across the room. Unbeknownst to Spike and Rarity, a third party was having a much different reaction to the tragedy that had taken place.
“Oooh...now, that’s the stuff!” A warm feeling slithered within Nightmare’s body as her slitted eyes took in the sight that her host gazed upon in the room. The destruction and slapstick violence that had taken place earlier was a mere tickling compared to the feelings of excitement and pleasure that ran through the spirit as she gazed upon the scarlet blood and the disposal of the annoyance. If only the frightened unicorn had stayed put instead of retreating back up the stairs, maybe then Nightmare might have watched the stimulating display that was this strong and ferocious dragon striking the final delicious blow.
Reaching out with her consciousness Nightmare could faintly share the sensation of being held in the dragon’s clawed hands with her host. A warmness spread across her face as she imagined the claws still painted brightly with blood, tearing, gripping...slicing. “Oooh now that’s one bad dragon.” Stray thoughts of the drake spewing emerald flames across a landscape began to flitter through Nightmare’s mind causing her to bite at her lip slightly. “...or better yet you could be so good at being bad.” As the spirit cooed to herself she wasn’t aware that the spreading of her consciousness to share the physical contact that Rarity was experiencing had created a small two-way window between the two of them. “So much better than this so-called wife of yours deserves.”
A sudden warmth began to creep over Rarity, causing her legs to wobble and a blush to cross her face. The explained sensations were enough to cause Rarity to shake her head, clearing her mind slightly as well as bringing her husband out of his own thoughts. “H-honey w-what are we going to do?”
“You’re going to stay here and catch your breath, while I figure out what to do with our guest.” Giving his wife a light kiss on the head Spike made his way back toward the body on the floor. The blood seemed to have stopped flowing which was good, but the drake was not sure what he could do with a full grown stallions body to make it pleasantly ‘disappear’. “Suppose I could bury him out back...but we’d have to wait till dark.” Spike frowned to himself as he dwelled on a few grim ways to dispose of the form in front of him. In any other case he’s probably have freaked out or at least lost his breakfast at the sight before him, but his wife was at stake….he couldn't afford the luxury of being terrified right now. As his brain failed to come up with an answer that could be put into practice immediately Spike growled to himself and a puff of emerald fire escaped from his nose. “That could work.”
Rarity had just gotten a hold of herself completely when she noticed Spike hoist her former customer over his shoulders and head toward the back room. “D-Darling what are you doing?”
“Quickest way to make this blowhard disappear is in a puff of fire, gonna try shoving him into the fireplace and hope for the best.” Spike didn’t even try to hide the disgust in his own voice as he told his beloved of the dark task he planned to enact.
“You mean...”
“Yeah.” Before the conversation could go any further, Spike exited the living room leaving Rarity alone to her thoughts.
In less than 24 hours Rarity had agreed to merge with a being whose agenda was primarily focused on the destruction of Equestia, got into a pillow fight with her husband that turned into an impromptu cuddle/sleep and now she was about to have a celebrity cremated within her home. An odd feeling of clarity settled in over Rarity’s mind as she considered the moral backlash to all of the actions that had taken place. She loved her husband with all her heart, enough so to allow the evil entity known as Nightmare to take residence within her, but this. Her gentle, affectionate gentledrake had just done something near unspeakable and for the life of her Rarity didn’t know how to feel.
“He didn’t do it on purpose...he was only trying to protect me.” There was no denying that if Diamond had escaped the entire town would be in an uproar. Scared out of their wits and lacking the patience or understanding to wait for one of the princesses to investigate the majority of the town’s ponies would be quick to round up a posse and start making drastic decisions. In his desperate attempt to stop, an ever worse outcome Spike might have ended a life...unintentionally, but did so to protect her. A part of Rarity was truly touched that Spike would go above and beyond to keep her safe; however, another part couldn’t help but pale in horror at the still present pool of blood that had already stained her floor. From where she sat Rarity could see her own reflection staring wide-eyed back at her, the reflection tinted a dark crimson as it looked on in revulsion. The scene was an unparalleled disaster.
Alternatively, in the eyes of another it was a thing of deathly beauty. Seeing the blood colored reflection caused Nightmare to lick her lips as her mind drifted more and more towards the scaled male that had so unexpectedly caught her interest. She thought less about vaporizing Spike and more about finding a way to groom him into doing her dark bidding and maybe seeing what kind of extra skills the drake might posses to cause such a level of devotion from his wife. Eyes like mint green orbs of fire, sharp fangs glinting in the room light as he conversed with her and his devotions to her and her alone. Nightmare let out a squeal akin to what would more appropriately belong to a young school filly who had her eyes on a far off crush, instead of the dark mare herself.
At some point Rarity had moved from her spot as her mind played out the possible scenarios that could come into play. A loud grunt reached her ears from the room Spike had disappeared into making clear that her husband was having trouble performing the task. Unconsciously Rarity’s body pivoted in place and made to follow the drake, when a sharp pain to the mare’s left front hoof caused Rarity to hiss in pain and to come back to reality for a brief moment. Looking down Rarity found that the cause for the dull ache in her hoof had been ‘Tom’ or at least what was left of him.
“I really should do away with this old thing, only good for tripping over, or falling on someone’s..” Rarity’s eyes widened slightly as she glanced away from ‘Tom’ and toward the scattered pieces of her once favorite vase. The material though not as hard as ‘Tom’ was durable, perhaps not enough to kill anyone, but certainly solid enough to give a knot on one’s head or possibly even… “Hmm.”
In the other room Spike growled to himself as he realized that stuffing a body into one’s chimney was no easy task, especially when he couldn’t help but try handling the corpse with the utmost care. If he was a true cold-blooded killer than perhaps Spike would have no problem using his draconian strength to stuff the body into the small space like a lazy teen would shove his clothes into a pile under his bed instead of properly doing away with them. There was just soo much...body and so little chimney as if the damned thing wasn’t made for stashing something the size of an adult stallion.
With a sigh Spike scratched his chin a bit before a thoughtful expression crossed his face. “Got it!” Leaving Diamond to lay on the ground, Spike moved across the room to head toward a closed door opposite of the one he had first entered in. After opening the door with a click the drake disappeared behind the door, but before saying out loud. “Well at least Equestria is spared any more of that racket you call music.”
Just Spike had exited the room, Rarity slowly wandered in; an inquisitive expression on her face, and her majestic mane billowing slightly. While she noticed that her husband was not present Rarity’s focus was primarily on the heap that was strewn about in front of her fireplace. A queasy feeling came over the unicorn as she imagined her husband stuffing the stallion into their chimney and setting it alight. “Certainly would make for a rather dreadful Hearth’s Warming Eve.”
After several minutes, Spike reentered the room brandishing a saw and a few garbage bags taped together as a makeshift tarp and made his way towards the body of the rock star. He then proceeded to lay the plastic underneath the stallion as he prepared to make the pony into much more manageable pieces.
Rarity could only watch in terror as her husband brought the blade closer to the singers flesh, but just as the he was about to make his cut, she noticed the chest of the supposedly late Neighel Diamond begin to stir. “S-Stop!!! He’s not dead!!!”
With that exclamation, the dragon happily flung the saw into the kitchen scaring the ever loving shit out of Opal the Third.
“ME-RWEOW!!!”
*CLING*
As well as embedding itself into the drywall like so many objects this morning (if they kept at it they could open their home as one of those watered-down family restaurants), but that really didn’t matter as Spike was just glad that he was spared centuries worth of therapy.
“I think you just knocked him out, darling.”
Spike scratched his head to consider what his wife was saying, whilst his green eyes darted over to the heap next to the fireplace. Letting out a long sigh Spike fought the urge to lift his wife and twirl her around as a great feeling of relief washed over him. “Thank goodness, I really wasn’t looking forward to the clean up.”
“Or being accused of 2nd degree murder I would hope.”
“You never know maybe they’d go easy on me, who honestly tries to go all fisticuffs with a dragon and doesn’t expect to get a little roughed up?”
“As it would seem one of my well paying customers, perhaps you should tend to him dear.” Noticing the dubious expression that began to grow over Spike’s features the mare was quick to shoot a wry smile toward their guest. “I’m quite certain that the last thing he’d like to see is a lookalike to Nightmare Moon standing over him when he finally comes to.”
Before Rarity had even finished her sentence, Spike had closed the distance between them and was now scooping the surprised mare up in a soft embrace. “Well if it’s any consolation Rares I certainly wouldn’t mind, but maybe that’s because I know you’re still my beautiful wife underneath the new look.” The drake’s word caused a small blush to form on Rarity’s face as well as her dark mane to frizz slightly out of embarrassment.
“Still have a way with words don’t you?” A small moan escaped the stallion next to the couple breaking Rarity from the flattery-induced swoon. “You can continue buttering me up *after* we’ve dealt with our comatose celebrity, darling.”
Though his wife spoke complete sense Spike still allowed a small pout to show on his face, which only prompted a small giggle from his beloved as she escaped his embrace and exited the room.
Giving his wife a few moments to get a head start Spike’s brain was already working overtime as he began to formulate a plausible explanation. As he threw away the trashbags, and began to drag the now groaning stallion, back into the living room, the drake took a moment to inwardly swear at the mess he and the unconscious musician had created within his home.
The first sensation that Neighel Diamond was aware of was a painful throbbing from the back of his head. The second was that the rest of him didn’t feel all that great either. “W-what happened?” The rock star mumbled while rubbing his throbbing head, not receiving an immediate answer Nieghel slowly began to open his eyes taking in the sight of certain purple dragon scratching his chin as if deep in thought.
Spike observed the room that their previous scuffle took place and he hatched an idea, but said plan banked on one key principle and that was the intelligence of the rock-star in front of him.
"Well...we uh...had one of those freak earthquakes."
Neighel looked at him slightly skeptically, whilst rubbing the back of his aching head. "An Earthquake?"
As he peered at the still somewhat muddled stallion, Spike took in a deep breath to regain his composure, and ran a claw through his head spines. "Y-Yeah, an Earthquake, didn't you know that every once in a while the magic in the Equestrian soil builds up in pockets overtime and sometimes it violently discharges every few thousand years or so.”
“..Really?”
“Oh yeah!” Figuring that he'd ought to go for broke, Spike nodded his head quickly in confirmation, and began to pick things up. “Funny thing actually, while the discharges tend to cause a bit of a shake up for us on the surface here and there, the magic released actually enriches the soil, and oddly enough causes nearby water sources to grow a yellowish kelp that Merponies think of as a rare delicacy.” As he continued to speak about the worldwide after effects that occur from a completely made up natural occurrence the purple drake made sure to spout as much scientific mumbo jumbo as he could. Seeing the somewhat confused yet believing expression that had settled over the rock star’s face, Spike inwardly thanked Twilight for all of the long-winded rants she tortured him with regarding the ‘Friendship Hypothesis’ or the ‘Long-term effects that came with exposure to high levels of lesser elements such as civility, and proper list taking’.
Within a minute Nieghel looked thoroughly lost and probably willing to believe anything as long as it made Spike shut up. Knowing when to capitalize Spike gave the celebrity a somewhat concerned look, before he walked over to help the stallion onto his hooves.
"You're lucky to be alive, buddy, when it hit it hurdled a few objects from the room at you and you were knocked unconscious, but luckily I was able to perform CPR and that's about the jist of it."
“Wow really?” Neighel Diamond accepted Spike’s help, though the moment he was standing again he went back to rubbing the back of his head. “Guess that explains why the Diamond is feeling a bit less than 24 carat right now.”
While Spike continued to feed the celebrity line after line of scientific BS, upstairs a few ears listened in complete shock. “By Celestia’s overrated alabaster tush...Spike really should have gotten into politics.” In any other moment Rarity would have felt somewhat uncouth for speaking that sentence, but hearing her husband cover up their current ordeal with such a delicate layer of baloney had the unicorn flabbergasted.
Rarity wasn’t the only one caught off-guard by Spike’s successful deception. Within the dark confines of the mare’s mind a certainly villainous vixen couldn’t help but prop her head on one of her hooves as she thought more and more of the drake. “A violent side, a great kisser and a forked-tongue that could sell sand in a desert, maybe it wouldn’t hurt to see if he’s interested in moving up in the world once it’s under my reign.”
Back downstairs Spike was back to cleaning up the living room as a now recovered Diamond resumed praising the insult to fashion that had managed to remain untouched during their earlier debacle.
“The Diamond has to admit Spike. You not only crafted this masterpiece, but you’ve got a mean right hook.”
Hearing such praise made Spike’s spines raised a bit as he turned toward the stallion. “Aww shucks...I’m glad that you like the new duds, but you don’t have to butter me up any.”
Oddly enough, Neighel chuckled in response before letting a small grin form on his face. “Trust the Diamond when he says you’re one tough sonuva mule. Honestly the Diamond hasn’t gotten his ass kicked this hard since his ex-wife took half of his shit.” Neighel let out another chuckle before he threw the symbol of horrid taste over his shoulders, and walked toward Spike. “You’re a bit dull and you talk a lot, but I like ya.”
With that Neighel reached a hoof out to Spike, who after a moment raised his own claw to firmly shake it.
“You’re alright dragon. Tell the missus that I’ll be back in two days to pick the rest my stage attire.”
“Will do and if you decide that you want your ass handed to ya again, feel free to stop by Mr. Diamond.”
With the handshake, ended Neighel trotted across the room and out the door his mind already focusing on other pursuits such as mares with daddy issues and where to find some fine wine. Spike on the other hand merely stood in place for a long minute, before he finally let out a long sigh and fell backwards onto the floor of his living room. “Freakin' celebrities.”
With the hub-bub all said and done Rarity carefully made her way back down the stairs so she could set her eyes on the humorous sight that is her beloved looking thoroughly out of steam. “You know I’m pretty sure I mentioned that this would be difficult dear.”
“If by mentioning, you mean having a freakout in the bathroom, then agreed point Rarity.”
Rolling her eyes playfully Rarity walked over to Spike so that she could look down at her husband with a small smile. “You’ll have to share with me how you managed to pacify Neighel, when I have next to nothing prepared for his order.”
Looking up at his inquisitive wife Spike merely placed his claws under his head, and shrugged. “Nothing special. I just ran into your sewing room, and whipped something up.”
A cold shiver ran down Rarity’s spine as she recalled the ominous feeling that had crept through her earlier. Brow furrowing a bit Rarity lowered her head so that her face as only a few inches away from her husband’s. “Y-you did what?”
“A little purple here, some leopard print, and sprinkle on a whole bunch of sequins. Honestly Rares maybe some of your gift with fashion is rubbing off on me.” Spike was expecting his wife to nod her head in congratulations, but instead a lock of horror seemed frozen on the mare’s face. “..uhh you alright Rarity?”
“Spike...what did you just sell to one of my customers?”
The icy tone in his wife’s voice caused Spike to shiver slightly in fear; his self-preservation instincts hadn’t been set off this bad since that time he accidentally sneezed on one of Rarity’s high end dresses. He figured the best way to defuse the situation was to play it cool. “Rarity, honey, love of my life, you gotta sometimes just read ponies and give them what they want even if they like crap. Just be happy you don’t have to wear it."
“B-but, my name is on it. I can’t have ponies think that I created that sequin nightmare.”
Spike looked at his wife smugly. "Just say, that it was done to be a deconstruction of good taste."
“I don’t know what is more surreal for me. That you managed to sell such a catastrophe or how nonchalant you’re being about this.” With a sigh of exasperation Rarity dramatically flopped over onto the floor next to her husband; arms crossed and with a tired pout on her face. “Oh and please pardon me if I’m mistaken, but I could have sworn that Mr. Diamond said something about expecting more in a few days.”
“Life’s so unfair for my eternally beautiful and wonderful wife. Isn’t it?” Laughing out loud as the dark-furred mare scowled at him, Spike took a moment to just watch his wife’s new mane swirl about the two of them, until it draped itself over them like a blanket cut from the night’s sky.
“Hush! Now would be the time that you can resume telling me how exquisite I am.”
“Oh is it now? Well to start things off, you’re lovely when you’re mad.” A small growl was the only response Spike received though he noticed that Rarity had inched closer to him just the tiniest bit. “You still have a voice that could sing the greatest songbirds out of their trees.”
“You and I both know that Sweetie Bell’s the one with the magnificent voice.”
“Well at least you got the enchanting beauty, the unmatched grace and the generosity of a saint.” Spike’s smirk grew larger as he felt Rarity lean more into his body while his ears picked up the sound of her trying to suppress a giggle.
“Well now I don’t have a hard time understanding how you sold that...thing to Mr. Diamond. I suppose you did try your best given the predicament.” While Rarity might have had mixed feelings with how her husband had dealt with her customer, Nightmare was far more forgiving.
From his place on the ground, Spike raised an eyebrow as he felt Rarity’s body suddenly shudder against his scale. “Well I guess I could’ve handled it better...you cold dear?”
“On the contrary, I think you handled that rather beautifully.” Rarity’s husky whisper was Spike’s only warning before Rarity had sensually repositioned herself so that she was lying on top of the surprised drake. The unicorn’s slitted eyes glowed with a slight intensity as she stared down at Spike while her left hoof traced curves and circles onto his chest. “And compared to the dark side of the moon handsome, I’m feeling quite cozy at the moment.”
“Whoa!” While Spike certainly didn’t mind when Rarity was feeling saucy, the way her voice sounded different, as well as the predatory gleam in her eyes had the drake slightly on edge. “Um, Rarity?”
The dark-furred mare gave her lips a lick before she moved her head mere inches away from Spike’s. “Wrong, dragon.” The moment she spoke again Nightmare could feel the drake beneath her tense up and before Spike could respond, she pulled back her head so she could lazily rest it upon his chest. “Relax, your mare is safe, she's just sitting backseat at the moment.”
It only took a moment for the gears in Spike’s head to mesh into place and though his emerald eyes narrowed,and his lips pulled back to show his fangs the drake reigned what would have been an angry response. “N-nightmare! What are you doing here and what did you do to Rarity?”
Eyes half closed as if she was about to fall asleep Nightmare allowed a small smile to show on her face. “The one and only. What does it look like? I’m using you as a nice sturdy heat pillow.” Hearing the distant shouts and demands from the back of her mind Nightmare let out a small chuckle. “It would seem that your wife is less than enthralled about that last bit of information.”
“Where is she?!”
“Right here silly.” The hoof that was still drawing slow lines across Spike’s chest withdrew so that it could tap lightly against Nightmare’s head. “You remember this dance we’ve had before don’t you? Your beloved wife is nice and safe within my head, while I get to prance about in ‘our’ body.”
“Lucky for you.” As much as he disliked the spirit that was now in control of his wife’s body, Nightmare’s words as well as his own memory prevented Spike from doing anything other than give empty threats.
Placing her leg under her head Nightmare gave Spike an almost apologetic smirk. “If it helps, I do regret destroying that fire ruby.” Though she was in better control of the situation than she had been the last time she had taken control, Nightmare could already feel Rarity relentlessly taking back dominance over their body.
Raising a scaled brow at the mare on top of him Spike willed a few sparks of emerald fire to escape his nostrils. “Is that so? Well it does a little, but I’m still more than ticked off to see you possessing my wife again.”
Rolling her eyes in response Nightmare let out a huff as she stared into Spike’s own oddly mesmerizing eyes. “Keep your scales on dragon, little miss prissy will be back behind the wheel in a matter of seconds. I mostly just wanted to compliment you on how you dealt with that worm.”
“Y-you did?”
Nightmare’s smirk grew wider revealing her own of fangs in response to Spike’s confusion. “Of course, the violence, the deception and the destruction you wrought when that peon brought on your ire.” As she spoke, Nightmare leaned forward and shifted her position so that she was almost straddling the dragon beneath her. “I have an eye for greatness Spikey-wikey and I’ll admit that I like what I saw.” Feeling that her time was almost up an evil thought crossed the empress of the shadows mind. “For instance, fangs bared and scorching fire threatening to be set loose, I like that.” With only a few seconds to spare before Rarity dragged her back to the back of the mare’s consciousness, Nightmare leaned further so that her mouth could purr into Spike’s ear. “By the way you’re a pretty good kisser.”
“What?!” Before Spike could get an answer, the mare merely withdrew as she began to giggle from Spike’s expression. At the height of her amusement, the unicorn let out another small shudder before she suddenly went slack and lay back onto Spike’s chest.
A silent moment passed before Spike tried to sit up, though his movement was stopped by a groaning Rarity. “Ughh the nerve of that witch!” Before she could say anything else and possibly utter a few uncouth words Rarity took notice of the unamused looking dragon beneath her.
“You know I don’t recall the two of us actually going over how you got the new body yet. Think this might be a good time to fill you loving and understanding husband in on things?”
“O-oh well I suppose I do you owe you an explanation of sorts.” It came as a bit of a surprise to Rarity that she and her husband had allowed as much time to pass as they did without really broaching the subject at hand. Thinking about the malevolent spirit that she shared a body with cause a small grimace to spread on the mare’s face; this was the second time that Nightmare had pulled a fast one on her and the second time that her attention had been solely upon Spike. Rarity would certainly had to find a way to keep Nightmare from doing that again, but first she really did owe Spike an explanation.
Looking up at his wife Spike was wrestling with a multitude of emotions as he pondered the events that had taken place. He was still slightly upset that Rarity had done this in the first place, as well as worried about the possibility that Nightmare could spring up any moment. These dueling emotions as well as the ones waiting in line were swept aside though when Spike watched a small tear escape from his wife’s eye.
“I-I suppose the best place to start would be my growing fears over the past few years.” From her place on top of Spike, the unicorn began to curl into herself, as her mane pulled the duo closer together. “I-it’s just...I couldn’t stand the idea of you being alone for a near eternity while the majority of your time with me is spent married to an old grey-furred nag.”
Feeling moisture on his scales Spike’s heart clenched in regret for even thinking about being upset with the mare he loved so much. Though they were both already pressed close thanks to Rarity’s mane, Spike brought his arms up to gently hug the mare as she continued to speak.
“I had a moment of weakness Spikey, s-she came to me promising that she could take it all away. She’d make me young again, f-forever so I’d never have to lose to...anything.” Though she was set on telling her beloved everything, Rarity couldn’t bring herself to mention the darkest parts of Nightmare’s persuasion. Even knowing that Spike would forgive her for near any mistake the mare couldn’t bare for Spike to know that the tiniest part of her feared that his everlasting love and devotion could possibly wane and that his attention could be focused on another. “So in the end I took a drastic measure a-and now look at me.” Rarity squirmed in Spike’s arms so that she could point a hoof at herself.
A moment passed before Spike brought a hand to gently cup Rarity’s face. “Easy there Rares I’m not upset with you. I might mention that it’s silly of you to think I’d ever stop loving you, no matter how grey your fur got, or how many damn Opals we go through together. You’ll always be the same breath-taking beauty that stole my heart that first time I came to Ponyville.”
Hearing the honesty behind Spike’s words brought a smile upon Rarity’s face even as a few tears still streamed down her face.
“Truth be told I never noticed you aging at all. You sure it wasn’t just all in your head?”
In response, Rarity suddenly found the other side of the room incredibly interesting. “Funny thing actually…Zecora has been providing me with a few lotions and creams that assisted in taking the edge off and I’ve taken a few...late night ventures to pick them up. It’s kind of the reason I was out last night, as well as how I ran into Nightmare to begin with.” If Rarity was expecting any form of reprimanding, she was certainly surprised when Spike’s chest rumbled a bit from a few chuckles.
“Well that does explain where you’ve been getting that goop you throw on your face from. That also explains why Zecora winks at me everytime I pass her at the market; I was honestly thinking that she was trying to send some signals out there.”
“She wouldn’t dare!” Rarity’s mane seemed to frizzle out of irritation as the mare narrowed her eyes.
“I’m sure she wouldn’t since I’m a happily married drake who only has his heart set on my mare.” Sitting up so that he could embrace his wife before she could start to pout again, Spike give the side of Rarity’s face a loving kiss before he went to work on wiping away the few tears that remained on her face. “Feel better now that we got that out in the open?”
Leaning her head into Spike’s hand, Rarity began to mirror the smile the that her husband was now wearing. “Incredibly so, thank you darling.”
“Anytime, my lady.” A moment passed before suddenly the mare in Spike’s arms darted forward planting her soft lips firming upon his. Before the drake knew it he was falling back to the floor while the unicorn held him in a liplock he certainly wasn’t going to forget. Though Spike certainly would have loved to spend the next few hours letting his equally ignited passion run its course, a nagging thought proceeded to grow in his head until he had to pull back.
“Is something wrong Spikey?” Rarity’s face was slightly flushed from the suddenly aborted moment of bliss the two were sharing, and a dubious expression grew on her face as she watched Spike’s smile change to a tight frown.
“As much as I was enjoying that, and I plan on resuming that later we have one more thing to talk about.”
“W-what?”
Spike let out a small sigh as he nagging thought turned into the husky voice that had been escaping his wife's lips only a few minutes ago. “What are we going to do about...her?”
Rarity frowned as well as the moment Spike said ‘her’ the mare couldn’t hear Nightmare’s laughter in the back of her head. It was obvious that the spirit would never be happy with just existing at the edge of Rarity’s thoughts, and quietly letting the fashionista live her now long lasting life in peace. “I-I honestly don’t know Spike, I’ve been able to wrest control over her everytime she breaks loose, but I don’t know what we can do to fully reign her in.
Spike was disheartened to hear that Rarity seemed as at a loss as he was pertaining to the villainess. The drake was currently wracking his brain for an answer when Rarity’s body tremored slightly.
“Be happy I wish not to end you.”
“Wha...” Spike’s question died in his throat when his green irises focused in on the toothy smirk that was now spreading across Rarity’s face.
“Honestly you’re very rude, I go through the trouble of giving your wife my immortality, my power and my drop-dead good looks and *this* is how you treat me?” Nightmare pulled back from Spike so that she could cross her hooves, while her grin continued to widen.
“W-well it’s not like anyone asked you too.”
“Actually dragon, all I did was give your wife the option. If she hadn’t wanted it so badly I would have looked elsewhere; I’m not able to meld with someone if they don’t want anything from me.” To emphasize her point Nightmare jabbed an annoyed hoof at Spike’s chest surprisingly enough making the drake feel somewhat bad.
“Alright maybe you have a point there.” Disregarding Rarity’s possession many years before Spike had to admit that so far Nightmare hadn’t done anything ‘wrong’ yet; maybe it wasn’t right to assume the worst of her.
“See I...damn it!” After letting out that last curse, Nightmare tensed up like a statue before a very cross expression took the place of her large grin.
“May I bring to attention that you were certainly more than eager to harm my husband just a few hours ago?” Back in control of her body Rarity grit her teeth as she felt Nightmare’s consciousness returning for a second round.
“Rarity? What is...” Before Spike could finish his sentence Rarity’s frowning face switched back to a now flippant expression, and she moved her right hoof in a manner similar to how one would wave something unimportant away.
“Well your husband certainly ‘stopped’ that from happening now didn’t he?” Nightmare seemed to be focused on something, though for a quick moment her slitted eyes glanced toward an incredibly confused Spike.
“Wait you were going to..” In another instant Rarity was raising an eyebrow at a mare that wasn’t there leaving Spike’s voice once again unheard.
“And who’s to say that you won’t try it again?”
“Ok can we just...aww forget it” Spike fought the urge to cross his arms in annoyance as he watched Rarity’s questioning frown shift to an uneasy look in another direction.
“I’ve...decided that your husband is worth keeping around.”
Before the mare on top of him could switch places with his wife again Spike in a burst of frustration leaned forward so that he could grab place both of his hands firmly on Nightmare. “Okay, I’m starting to get a headache..can you just tell me what you want?!”
Nightmare caught off guard by Spike’s actions was unable to do anything, but stare back at the drake and for some reason she could feel her heart skip a beat. An odd look crossed Nightmare’s face before the sensation of her profile heating up caused Nightmare to turn away from Spike. “W-well..to rule Equestia with an iron hoof of course...” For some reason Nightmare was having a hard time visualizing herself laughing in triumph as the land was alight with magical infernos. Instead the image of a certain purple dragon staring intently at her seemed to dominate every crevice of her mind. “...Or at least just to be around.”
While Spike wasn’t too surprised that the dark spirit was still intent on finding a way to terrorize the world, the second part as well as the unsure tone it was spoken had him for a loop. “What do you mean?”
Now Nightmare’s eyes were as wide as dinner plates when it occurred to her that she might have spoken her thoughts aloud. “The hell is wrong with me!”
Before Spike could ask any more questions the now incredibly red-faced mare withdrew into her mane as if to hide, and gave a small shiver. Within a split second a Rarity’s voice escaped past the volumes of her mane as her confused face appeared to see an equally confused looking Spike. “What?”
“Sorry dear I was talking to ‘her’.” Unknown to Spike his wife hadn’t been trying to take control back from her tenant that time; In fact Rarity had been quietly listening in on Nightmare, and Spike exchange hoping that perhaps her husband would be able to drag a non-aggravating answer from the spirit. When Spike had asked Nightmare what she wanted the thoughts within Nightmare’s head swirled about suddenly in a hurricane of confusion. So intense that Rarity’s consciousness could scarcely see or hear what was happening and suddenly Rarity felt a force dragging her back to the forefront, as Nightmare’s dark mind shoved past her own quickly to return to her usual place.
“Is she coming back?”
For a moment Rarity blinked quietly as she attempted to concentrate on the mare she shared her body with. Instead of a venomous cackle, or Nightmare’s presence threatening to burst forth again a wall of shadows and clouds seemed to fog their connection. It was as if Nightmare was content to stew in the deep recesses of their minds and was making an active effort to keep prying eyes or minds in this case away. “I-I think she’s gone...for now.”
On the other side of the mental shroud, that she had put between herself and Rarity a certain mare growled to herself as her thoughts continued to stray from where they should be. It was happening again her focus had been ruined, and she was in no shape to further taunt the mare or her husband. “..Spike.” The dragon’s image was already darting through her thoughts a she whispered his name, changing the course of her plans, distracting her from her goals...warping her feelings. Nightmare had admitted that the drake certainly could be useful and she certainly enjoyed the concept of what dark deeds he could be used for in her future endeavors. But, being held by him in such a fashion...seeing the fascinating way the emerald pools around his slitted pupils stared into her own. Dizziness had come over Nightmare, forcing her to lose her usual flare, and even say something so odd aloud. Feeling so confused and now light-headed Nightmare could only retreat back inside her body to escape the dragon’s disorientating gaze and gather herself.
“That dragon...he’s doing something to me.” A quick memory of the moment where Spike had gently kissed her right as she was preparing to destroy him flashed in front of Nightmare’s eyes causing her to grit her teeth and shake her head. “Stop it!” Despite her growing anger, the mare could do little more than growl to herself, as her thoughts jumped from forever covering the lands in darkness to somehow conjuring up a reason for a certain drake to be comfortably by her side when she made her move.
Back with Spike, and Rarity the too held a long silence as they still expected the previously mentioned entity to return. After another minute of waiting, it was Rarity who first let out a long sigh, and began to shake her head as she rose to her hooves. “Well it would seem that the coast really clear, though it bothers me that *she* of all mares would give up so easily.”
Letting out a sigh of his own Spike slowly rubbed a claw against his temple as he used his other limbs to get off the floor. “I’m really starting to think that we’ve gotten in over our heads.”
Rarity could hardly disagree as she used her magic to draw a floating brush from out of her bathroom and began to gracefully run it through her locks. “It would seem so dear, the pros to this deal are dandy and all, but I’m at a loss pertaining to how to handle Nightmare.” While the mentioned mare hadn’t caused any damage quite yet, Rarity had certainly heard Nightmare admitting to still harboring a dark agenda.
A look crossed Spike’s face as an idea crossed his mind, though thinking about how his wife had reacted to the thought of one of her customers seeing her new appearance made him hesitant to speak. Unluckily for her husband Rarity had quite the knack for picking up on when he was uncomfortable.
“Dear?”
Rubbing the back of his head, Spike was suddenly finding it hard to look his wife in the eyes as he began to speak. “Welllll...since they would probably find out sooner or later we could..”
Rarity paused mid brush as an ominous and somewhat unpleasant chill went through her body. “..You mean?”
“I think we should write a letter to Twilight.”
Though she hesitantly nodded hearing the end of Spike’s sentence caused the unpleasant feeling that she had felt previously to return and stew within in her, prompting Rarity to wonder if it was due to having her decision shared with her friends...or if Nightmare’s implications were just echoing in her head. “What’s the worst that could happen?”
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...You had to jinx it...you just HAD to jinx it!
Oh man did I love this chapter. I laughed so many times I lost count. And the sudden dark moment through me for a loop. I do hope that when Twi comes and she tries to destroy Nightmare she pleads to Spike that she just wants to live. He stops his sister from doing it. I just think your Nightmare is too cute and she is a total tsundere. But I think that might be something that will make Spike attracted to her. Anyway I cant wait to see what you have in store next time.
Okay, this was worth the wait in more ways than one.
The drama, comedy, and action was amazing.
And it looks like Nightmare is falling for Spike, it will makes things really interesting.
Last time he said that he almost committed muder and attempted to hide the body. The dark turn this story took midway was great! Combined with a love confused Nightmare Moon, the story sucks me in. Keep it up!
That dark turn, threw me. Then you brought me back as I laughed me arse off.
YAY
I'm glad this came out! I read it all and I'm quite happy with it....
Murphy's Law.
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Glad you liked it, there will be plenty more dark comedy moments in this. Even if it gets too grim, we will always go back to the Shire.
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Thank you and I think you'll be surprised how a middle aged Mane Six minus an immortal Twilight takes the news. 20 years changes things quite a bit.
Why do I get the sense that the Mane 6 are just going to brush it off like its just another day. So Rarity let the Nightmare possess her....... well at least we know we can keep her under control then.
Why do I have a feeling next chapter will be on testing how immortal the alicorn of magic and friendship is.
My reaction:
community.us.playstation.com/t5/image/serverpage/image-id/143335i8A267A6DDFA2F107/image-size/original?v=mpbl-1&px=-1
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As for Nightmare just me she'll get what she wants and then some...let's say heads will roll, laughs will be had and shipping will occur.
Thanks for the kind words.
I just try to keep it just half a notch below [mature] mostly so that the story is more accessible to everyone and because while I don't have anything against more 'mature' fics, I'm not into the idea of the wonderful readers wrestling the sea serpent or tickling the oyster ditch to the things I put out....that sounded a bit sketchy at the end.
(Nautical metaphors FTW)
I really am loving this story!
Keep up the great work.