Spike's Mark

by mikemuir0178

Chapter 7: The Missing Pony

Chapter 7: The Missing Pony

As Spike and Rarity reached the Carousel Boutique, parting was not easy for the two. Deep inside, Rarity wished the night would last forever. Though it was not perfect, the date she had with Spike was special, and her heart ached knowing it had to come to an end.

“We have arrived at your castle, my lady,” Spike said as he took a bow.

“Thank you, Spike. I had a wonderful time,” Rarity replied.

“Me too,” Spike said, “Do you think we can do it again?”

“I look forward to it.” Rarity said. She then kissed Spike gently on the cheek.

Spike felt his heart leap out of his chest as he felt Rarity’s touch. He watched in a daze as Rarity slowly opened her door and entered her house.

“Good night, Spike,” she said as she slowly closed the door.

“YES!” Spike shouted happily as he launched himself high into the air in ecstasy. As he reached his highest point, his wings snapped open and caught the wind. As he glided leisurely on the air currents, his mind filled with the moments he and Rarity spent with each other. Silently, he thanked the heavens for giving him this chance.

X X X X X

From inside her house, Rarity laughed as she watched Spike launch himself into the air. If she had wings, she wondered if she would do the same thing as well. She then proceeded across the room.

As she walked past her sewing room, she took a moment to check her itinerary for any dresses she still had to complete. Fortunately, with the talent show now over, her schedule was light, giving her some time to spend with Spike. It was something she wanted to do. She would have enough time to finish any unfinished work, especially if Spike helped her. For now, she needed to rest.

As she headed upstairs to her personal room, she started planning out everything she would do tomorrow. It was then that she remembered about the records Twilight had requested. They still had to clean up all those records before sending them back to Princess Celestia. A chore she was not looking forward too.

“Oh well,” Rarity shrugged, “Perhaps a nice hot shower will do.”

Rarity gathered all the shampoos and body washes she needed, placed a robe near the stall, and entered the shower. She exhaled in relief as she felt the hot water rush down her back, relieving all her tension. It wasn’t the same as a hot tub, but it still provided the desired effect.

As she was about to apply the shampoo to her hair, she heard what she suspected was a small bottle breaking nearby. “Opalescense? Is that you?”

There was no response.

Rarity sighed in frustration as she turned the water off, gathered a towel and robe, and exited the shower. As she looked around, she saw no one in the room. “Opalescense?” Rarity looked around but could not find any sign of her cat.

Rarity then noticed a broken glass perfume bottle on the corner of her vanity. “Oh! Really!” Rarity scoffed as she walked to her vanity. She could only assume that maybe Opal had knocked it over. Fortunately, there was not much perfume left so it was no big loss and cleaning up would not take long.

As she approached her vanity, she used her magic to grab a nearby towel and wiped the liquid that spilled onto the floor and vanity. As she looked at the bottle, she wondered how the bottle had shattered but the other perfume bottles around it remained untouched.

After she had finished cleaning up the mess and disposing of any glass, she caught something in the corner of her eye. On a stool next to her vanity was a red book that had been worn down by age and the elements on its lower half. The name Grey Shire was imprinted on the top.

It was Grey Shire’s journal.

Rarity had almost forgotten that she had asked Spike to bring it back from the cabin. She remembered she had taken it when they got back to Ponyville and was hoping to find some time to read it out of curiosity. Unfortunately, she got so caught up in revising the costumes for the talent show that she had forgotten she had left the book there.

Rarity cursed herself for having forgotten all about the journal. If she had remembered, they wouldn’t have needed to request all those documents from Princess Celestia. Still…

Rarity’s curiosity stirred as she levitated the journal off the stool. Normally it was rude for one pony to read the entries of another pony. However, Grey Shire was the only one that knew where Spike’s egg had come from. A tiny peak into the journal to help a friend couldn’t hurt.

Holding the book with her magic, Rarity located her glasses and made her way to her bed. She lied down on her belly and placed the journal in front of her. Her glasses then floated onto her muzzle. Using her magic, she opened the book and began to read:

Entry 1

Today is my birthday, and my dad gave me this journal. He says that since I’m not good at talking with people that maybe I can write my ideas down in here. Of course, I’m not sure I would want people reading my thoughts either now that I think about it. It’s not that I don’t want people to know me. I just find I can’t talk in front of people. I get so scared and don’t know what to do. I sometimes wonder if something is wrong with me. How do people talk with each other?

I suppose writing in this journal could help. At least I can express myself somehow. So what should I tell about myself. Well, for starters, my name is Grey Shire and I…..

Rarity was disappointed when she found the bottom half of the page become illegible. Even with magic, she doubted that the words could be remade and whatever Grey Shire said about herself was now lost.

Rarity took a moment to flip through the rest of book to see if this was true for all the pages. Unfortunately it was. What made it worse was that the back of the journal was in the worst condition. Whole pages, especially near the end, had become smeared and only a few words could be made out. But Rarity still clung onto the hope that maybe there was something more she could learn about Grey Shire. Maybe even a clue about Spike’s egg.

The next few entries Rarity read dealt with how Grey Shire coped with her classes in medicine. Surprisingly, Grey Shire seemed quite skilled at experimenting with herbs and creating medicines. Her one problem though was that when she was tested, she would become nervous and panic. One entry in particular told of how she made a cough suppressant for her teacher. Unfortunately, Grey Shire had added too much of the wrong herb in the medicine and it knocked the teacher out for a week when he sampled it.

Grey Shire’s life outside of school was no better. She did want to play with the other ponies, but could not bring herself to approach them. One entry explained how she tried to ‘dress’ herself up, but the other kids said she looked like a clown. Eventually, she decided to avoid everyone entirely and found comfort in exploring the forest. Even journeying into the Everfree Forest to find herbs to practice making medicines. It was for this reason that she had moved into the Everfree Forest.

Rarity felt sorry for Grey Shire. In some ways, she supposed Grey Shire was like Fluttershy, but as Twilight had said, her condition was worse. No one seemed to want to approach her or even talk to her. At least that was the impression Grey Shire felt.

Rarity continued to page thru the entries, looking for more clues about Grey Shire’s life. Eventually she was able find an entry that caught her interest:

Entry -----

I was out exploring the Everfree Forest again today, trying -- find some Gingko. Normally I avoid any strange sound I hear -- the forest, but I heard what sounded like a cry for help. I don’t know what I was thinking, but I decided to find --- who it was. When I got there…..

A few of the words in the beginning had been smeared, but Rarity could guess what they said. The rest of the entry became blurred from water damage. It left Rarity perplexed and wondering what Grey Shire had found. A call for help. But who was it from?

Rarity began paging through the next entries, hoping to find more about the one who Grey Shire found, but discovered that the entries were illegible. The best Rarity was able to make out on the pages was a few ingredients Grey Shire had mixed together and how she was tending someone’s injuries.

Eventually Rarity found an entry she was able to read:

Entry --

Runt says he wants to stay with me. I don’t know if this is a good idea. In fact, I’m pretty sure it’s a bad idea. But he refuses to leave. I want to tell him to go, but I get so scared. I thought about running away again, but Runt’s injuries have not fully healed. He can walk now, but it causes him a lot of pain.

Why did I help him? It’s just not me. Yet, when I found him, I could not abandon him. He looked so scared and helpless. I was surprised my medicines worked at all. What should I do? Perhaps….

Rarity groaned in disappointment as the page became illegible. She proceeded to the next few entries, hoping to piece together what happened. However, some of the pages became illegible again. Rarity was able to make out the fact that Grey Shire at first did not want this “Runt” around her. But over time, Runt had helped around the cabin and slowly grew on her. Eventually, Runt had become her first friend, or at least that’s what Grey Shire wrote.

Who was this Runt?

As Rarity continued to read more about Grey Shire and Runt’s exploits, she began to wonder what kind of relationship the two shared. From what she could read, Grey Shire began to see Runt as a friend and later as someone to confide in.

Did the two fall in love?

Rarity did not see anything in the entries so far that said that, but a part of her wondered if Grey Shire even knew what being in love was like.

Despite Rarity’s growing interest in finding out the relation between Runt and Grey Shire, it became increasingly hard for her to find the answer. The combination of the text being hard to read and her eyes beginning to grow heavy were hurting Rarity’s concentration. When she looked to a nearby clock, she was surprised to see it was in the early morning.

Had she been reading all night?

Rarity only shrugged as she resumed reading. She was fascinated by the story being told and wanted to finish it, even if some entries were missing. However, her body would not comply. Over time, she found her eyes became heavier and her concentration waned. Eventually, sleep took hold.

X X X X X

Rarity was awoken to a knocking at her door. Groggily, she lifted her muzzle out of the journal and looked around at her surroundings. It took her a moment to recall that she had been reading the journal and had probably fallen asleep on top of her bed.

Another knock at her door.

Rarity stretched herself out. Her back ached from lying on her stomach and part of her wanted to go back to sleep again.

Another knock at the door. “Rarity? Are you there?”

It took a moment for Rarity to recognize the voice as Twilight’s. “Just a moment,” she responded. Quickly she got out of bed and walked over to her vanity. With a few simple strokes with her brush, she was able to make herself appear at least partially presentable. She then headed down to the front door of the store and opened it. Standing at the entrance was a slightly concerned Spike and Twilight.

“Rarity. Are you okay?” Twilight asked as she looked over her friend.

“We got worried when you didn’t show up,” Spike added.

“Sorry. I was reading late last night and lost track of the time,” Rarity yawned, “What time is it?”

Spike and Twilight looked at each other for a brief moment before Twilight responded. “It’s past noon.”

“Huh?” Rarity said in surprise, “I slept thru the entire morning?” Rarity looked to one of her clocks to see it was near 1:00 in the afternoon.

“Uh…Yeah,” Twilight replied, “What happened?”

“I do apologize,” Rarity replied, “But I think I found something you all need to see.”

X X X X X

“You mean to tell me we didn’t need to search these records?” Rainbow Dash said in outrage when she learned about the journal.

After Rarity had showed Spike and Twilight the journal, the three of them had headed back to the Castle of Friendship to tell the others what they had uncovered. Needless to say, the news about the journal being found did not go well with the others since it meant all the records they had been searching thru and cleaning up had been for naught.

“Sorry,” Twilight apologized, “It was just sort of forgotten.”

“It seems a lot of things about Grey Shire were forgotten,” Fluttershy commented.

Twilight had to agree with her friend. Until recently, no one probably realized that Grey Shire had existed. She was like a shadow that had disappeared over time.

“So, what does the journal say?” Applejack chipped in.

Twilight awoke from her thoughts and looked to Rarity to explain.

Rarity stepped forward to address the group. “I haven’t been able to read all of it yet, but I did learn that Grey Shire was not alone like we thought. She had some-pony else with her. She called him Runt.”

“Runt? What kind of name is that?” Rainbow Dash asked,

“Sounds like he was the runt of the litter,” Applejack commented.

“Perhaps,” Rarity responded, “But there was not much I could make out about him in the journal.”

Twilight pondered the name as well. Having organized most of the records, she was somewhat familiar with the names of various ponies, but did not recall ever seeing a “Runt”. She went over to a stack of the organized records and began searching thru for the name.

All eyes fell on Twilight as she paged through the stack of records.

“Anything?” Applejack asked.

Twilight double checked herself but found nothing. “I don’t see a ‘Runt’ and I’m sure we have organized all the ponies that start with the letter ‘R’.”

The ponies then looked to Rarity.

“Is there anything else you can tell about this Runt?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“His favorite food! What he liked to wear! Does he like parties?!” Pinkie Pie shouted.

Rarity tilted her head apologetically, “Sorry, I…didn’t get that far. I fell asleep.”

Twilight then looked to Spike. “Spike. Bring me the journal.”

Spike nodded as he carried the book over to Twilight. He had been carrying it under his arm after Rarity had showed it to them back at the Carousel Boutique.

Twilight used her magic to open the book and began to read thru the last half of the journal. Like Rarity, Twilight saw that most of the entries in the back were now blurred and illegible. She was able to make out a few words and entries, but nothing Rarity had not told them already.
“Anything?” Spike asked, “Are there any entries about my egg?”

Twilight scanned each page as best she could, but could find no references to an egg. Of course, it was entirely possible that such references were now lost in the faded out parts of the pages. “I don’t see anything,” Twilight said, “But the pages are in bad shape. I can’t read some of them.”

“What about this Runt character. Does it say where he came from or who he is?” Applejack inquired.

Twilight took another look thru the journal. “No. She may have described him when she first met him, but I can’t read the words.”

“Ooh! Maybe he’s a dragon!” Pinkie Pie shouted.

All eyes focused on Pinkie Pie. However, unlike last time, this time they considered her words.

Rainbow Dash turned to Twilight. “Is that possible?”

Twilight wondered the same thing as she scanned the journal for the word ‘dragon’. Unfortunately, if there was such a reference it was now missing. “I can’t say. Grey Shire just keeps calling him by name.”

“But could a dragon actually live so close to Ponyville at that time?” Fluttershy asked, “I mean, wouldn’t they be driven out?”

Twilight admitted to herself that the idea of a dragon living close to Ponyville and not being noticed was unlikely. Dragons had not been welcomed in Equestria at the time. Sure, a few did find their way in and start their own horde, but they were usually driven away by Princess Celestia and her royal guard in order to preserve the peace. But if one lived in the Everfree forest….”I suppose it’s possible.”

“The journal did say that Runt was hurt and Grey Shire helped him,” Rarity added.

“That is true. But dragons were not considered approachable. If he was a dragon, Grey Shire was sure very brave,” Twilight responded as she continued to scan the journal.

“I wonder if Runt was the one who took my egg,” Spike thought out loud.

“Maybe,” Twilight responded as she began to theorize what happened back then.

“If he did steal the egg, maybe the other dragons tried to stop him, but he got away,” Applejack suggested.

“And then Grey Shire found it and gave it to Princess Celestia,” Rainbow Dash concluded.

Fluttershy gave the scenario some thought. “But if he was on the run, why did he stay with Grey Shire?”

Spike gave this some thought as well and then remembered the time he had spent with Applejack a while back. “The Dragon Code. Grey Shire helped him, so he was obligated to stay. Remember how Applejack saved me and I offered my services?”

Applejack rolled her eyes. “Don’t remind me.” It was hard for her to forget the giant mess Spike caused. Especially how bad his cooking was when he was so eager to please her.

Twilight could not deny that such a scenario was possible. If Grey Shire had found the egg, bringing it to Princess Celestia would have been the right thing to do. She probably also lied in order to protect her friend Runt.

But did Runt approve of this?

A dark thought crossed Twilight’s mind as she remembered that Grey Shire had gone missing after the egg was given to Princess Celestia. Quickly she opened the journal back up and turned to the last few entries. Unfortunately, none were legible. However some of the words on the last entry caught her eye and made her heart sink.

This did not go unnoticed by the other ponies.

“What’s wrong, Twilight? You went white as a sheet all of a sudden.” Applejack asked.

Twilight closed the book and put it down. “I just had a terrible thought. What if Runt was the one who caused Grey Shire to go missing?”

The ponies looked at her in shock.

“You don’t mean…” Fluttershy stuttered.

Twilight nodded. “I looked over the last entry. I’m having trouble reading it, but I was able to make out a few words,” Twilight replied. She then opened the book and turned to the page for all to see.

Entry ------

I don’t know what to do anymore. Runt is --------- ---- ---- ---. His ------ ---- ------ --- and I don’t ---- -------- -- help --- ----. ---- worse, -- -- -------- fire -------- --- ------- ---- up. -- -- worried he ----- ------------ burn down the cabin. -- --- ------- -- leave and live in --- --- ---- until ---- ---- ---- ----. I’ve ------- -- -- -- ---, even if -- ------ me ---. I ----- ---- ----- my own personal safety. --- -- ----- -- ---- -- --. I’ll pack up what I can --- -- -- --- --- ----.

“Burn down the cabin,” Spike said in a disheartened tone. It was unsettling for him to know that a dragon may have attacked a pony or at least threatened one.

Rarity felt her heart sink as well when she looked at the journal entry. Having read most of the journal, she found that she did care about Grey Shire’s wellbeing. Despite having a hard time communicating, Rarity suspected that Grey Shire was a gentle soul. She hoped by some miracle Grey Shire did escape.

But why did Runt turn on her?

Was it because of Spike’s egg?

The entries Rarity read the previous night seemed to imply the opposite and that Runt had become a good friend if not more. It did not make sense that he would turn on her. Especially if he was following the Dragon Code. Unfortunately all the later entries were illegible.

What happened between Runt and Grey Shire?

“I’ll pack up what I can…” Fluttershy read out loud. “Do you think she might have gone into hiding?”

“It’s possible,” Twilight responded, “Maybe she did escape.”

Applejack sat in thought for a moment. “If she took on a new identity, she might be in Ponyville right now.”

“WE HAVE TO FIND MY AUNT!” Pinkie Pie cried.

Everyone turned to Pinkie Pie who stood in the corner of the room.

Applejack rolled her eyes. “Pinkie Pie. She is not your aunt.”

“She is one of my relatives,” Pinkie replied, “And she’s in trouble!”

“You do know this happened fifteen years ago, right?” Rarity added.

Pinkie stuck her nose up in defiance. “I don’t care! I won’t abandon family!” Pinkie replied, “I’ll search all of Ponyville if I must!”

Before anyone could stop her, Pinkie Pie zoomed out of the room leaving a trail of dust in her wake. The other ponies looked at each other, unsure on what to do.

“Will she be okay?” Fluttershy asked.

“Knowing her, she’ll probably ask every pony in Ponyville if they know Grey Shire,” Applejack replied.

“Or ask if they ARE Grey Shire,” Rainbow Dash added as she hovered in the air.

Twilight let out a groan as she pictured Pinkie Pie doing just that. She doubted anyone would even know Grey Shire anymore. Still, Pinkie Pie had demonstrated in the past of doing the impossible. Perhaps, by some miracle, she might actually find Grey Shire.

Apparently, the other ponies expected the same thing and waited patiently for Pinkie Pie to come zooming back into the room with the missing pony. But as the moments past, nothing happened.

“So…What do we do now?” Fluttershy asked.

Twilight sighed. “I’m afraid there isn’t much we can do,” she responded, “I’ll write to Ember and ask if she knows anything about this ‘Runt’. The rest of you can take the day off.”

Applejack then turned and looked at all the files that were stacked behind them. “What about this mess? Aren’t you going to need help sending it back to Princess Celestia?”

Twilight smiled. “Nope,” she then turned to Spike. “Will you do the honors?”

Spike nodded and then ran out of the room.

Rarity looked at the boxes of folders for a brief moment. “We should probably keep the file on Grey Shire.”

“Good idea,” Twilight said as she removed the file from the stack with her magic. After Twilight had removed the file, Spike returned into the room carrying a bottle of soda pop.

“Stand back,” he said as he vigorously shook the bottle to build up the fizz inside. He then popped the top and drank the soda in one gulp.

The ponies immediately ran out of the room. As they stood outside, they heard a large belch and saw the entire room engulfed in magical green flame. A cloud of black smoke poured out of the room and quickly made its way to the nearest window where it floated back to Canterlot.

“Well…That was…revolting,” Rarity cringed. A look of disgust permeated her face.

“Hey. Better than hauling all those parchments back to Canterlot,” Applejack interjected.

“I suppose,” Rarity replied with uncertainty as she gazed into the room.

Spike then walked out of the room, covering his mouth with one hand. Small plumes of smoke rose on either side of his mouth and through his nose. “Excuse me.”

“You’re excused,” Twilight replied happily.

“You know, you should work for the post office,” Rainbow Dash teased, “Instant service by dragon fire.”

Spike was not impressed by the offer. The thought of breathing fire constantly for someone’s mail did not sound appealing. Not to mention, painful if he received mail the same way. “Pass.”

Twilight then turned and faced all her friends. “I’ll let you know when I hear from Ember. You girls can head out if you want.”

“Back to the farm then for me. Those apples won’t grow by themselves,” Applejack replied as she waved farewell and made her way to the castle entrance.

“I better check on my friends,” Fluttershy commented as she followed Applejack.

Rainbow Dash quickly flew in front of Twilight and Spike. “I’ll be seeing you,” she then flew out a nearby window and disappeared.

Twilight waved until her three friends had left. She then turned and looked where Spike and Rarity were speaking.

“Actually, I could use some help with some dresses I am working on,” Rarity said as she looked down at the little dragon, “Would you care to join me, Spike?”

Spike jumped into the air happily. “I’d be happy to help,” he then ran to Rarity’s side. Small puffs of smoke still came out of his mouth.

Rarity cringed and placed a hoof over her nose as Spike approached her. “Perhaps we better stop off at the spa first and get you cleaned up.”

Spike stopped and looked over his body. He was covered in ash. When he sniffed himself, he could detect the smell of burnt parchment. “Oh…Sorry.”

Rarity then turned to Twilight. “You are welcome to come as well, Twilight.”

Twilight smiled in response but declined. “You guys go on ahead. I’ll catch up with you after I clean up a little.”

To Be Continued…

Author's Note:

Here's a challenge for you: Grey Shire's last entry is full of missing words. I'm curious to find out if anyone can guess what the journal says. The only clue I will provide is that each "-" represents a letter and all the words are ones you would here in the television series. In other words, no curse words or questionable language. Keep it civil. I'd be curious to find out what people come up with. I have written out the journal entry and will post it at the end the story in the author's notes.

Preview: Revelations
Rarity discovers a hidden truth was out in the open the entire time.

Comments

[Silverstone28001]

I feel like I’m looking at a cross between a crypytogram and a code word puzzle.

[Hillbe]

Runt is getting worse each day... And I don't have medicine to help... He is worried he might accidently burn down the cabin...Even if he loves me(hates me, likes me?) Even if he helped me too... I wont fear about my personal safety
Is Runts wounds getting worse and Grey Laid an egg?