The Mystery of the Silver Spoon
Spike walked through town, picking a chicken feather out of his razor sharp teeth. It was getting worse. This was the third chicken this month, and Fluttershy was starting to notice that they were missing. It hurt to see how panic stricken the pegasus became when she saw that her animal friends were missing. But somehow, someway, the satisfaction Spike felt from the juicy, tender meat in his stomach far outweighed any shame and guilt he felt from the action itself.
Inside his mind, and his heart, Spike couldn't help but resign to this. He may have been raised by ponies, but that can't change the natural tendencies of his species. He was a dragon, and although dragons could life off of gems, they still craved meat. When Spike thought all this over, he found that he wasn't disturbed by it at all.
However, what did bother him was how he had to go about it. Spike felt the need for a chase, a hunt so to speak. It was far to easy to grab one of Fluttershy's chickens. Spike wanted to be a noble dragon. He wanted to do some good with his hunting, maybe make Equestria a better place while at same time satisfying his appetite for meat.
The question was, how would he do this?
Little did he know, that Spike would receive the answer to his question.
An answer that would also lead to his imminent death.
"Hey! Get away from MY table, Blank Flanks!"
Spike looked up towards the tables outside the ice cream parlor to see Silver Spoon glaring at Applebloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle, who were sitting at a table.
Applebloom just smiled and said, "Ya know, your 'blank flank' slur just doesn't sound the same without your master here to sing it with ya."
Silver Spoon turned red in the face. "You can't talk to me like that! You three are worthless! This table is for me and Diamond Tiara!"
Sweetie Belle sat up tall and said, "One, Diamond Tiara isn't here. She went with her daddy on that Barnyard Bargains business meeting she kept bragging about. And two, I don't see either of your names on this table."
"So SCRAM!" Scootaloo shouted vehemently.
Silver Spoon humphed and walked briskly away, only to bump right into Spike.
Spike fell back onto his tail, and the gray filly sneered at him nastily. "Out of my way you worthless little reptile! Go crawl in a cave and stay there! Where you belong!"
Spike got up quickly and glared into the back of the fillies head. "Jerk," he said darkly.
Scootaloo nodded, "You can say that again, Spike."
Spike walked over to the three fillies and asked, "How do you deal with her and Diamond?"
Applebloom replied in a slightly depressed tone, "Well, it sure is hard. The things those two do to us, boy howdy, talk about going above and beyond the call of duty."
Spike became curious after that remark. "What do you mean? What do they do?"
Scootaloo peered at Spike closely, "You really wanna know?"
Spike nodded.
Scootaloo pointed to a fourth stool and said, "Well, sit down, Spike. Have we got a story for you."
"So Diamond Tiara was behind that whole Gabby Gums nightmare!?" Spike gasped.
"Mmm-hmm," the three fillies replied.
"And she blackmailed you, and she and Silver turned your own cousin against you, and Scootaloo's wings- oh my gosh!" Spike said in shock.
"Yup, they're really pretty horrible," Applebloom said.
"Horrible? Are you kidding me! Those two are monsters!" Spike said angrily as he balled his claws into fists, "They sound like the kinds of monsters that the Elements of Harmony are used on! They're on Sombra's level!"
"Woah nelly! Calm down Spike!" Applebloom said quickly, looking a bit nervous at Spike's fierce reaction.
"Yeah. It's not so bad when there's only one of them!" Sweetie Belle said brightly.
Scootaloo sighed, "Yeah, but Diamond Tiara will be back next week. If only there was someway to make it so there was only one of them. You know, make one of them go away and stay away."
Spike sat in deep thought, his anger and disgust for the pair of spoiled brat bullies welling up inside him. This began to meld with the thoughts and emotions he had been feeling that very morning. His hunting instinct, his hunger for meat, his desire to use his dragon-like tendencies to make Equestria better, to be a noble dragon who hunted for Justice . . .
"I gotta go," Spike said as he got up from his seat.
"You doing something for Princess Twilight?" Applebloom asked.
"Yeah, yeah, sure, sure. I'll see you guys around. We'll hang out a little more," Spike said in a slightly deeper, more mature voice as he walked away from the fillies with a smile on his face and a hungry look in his eye.
"Okay then. See you around, Spike," Sweetie Belle said brightly.
One week had passed, and Diamond Tiara was boldly walking towards the school house, fully content on having skipped a few days of Miss Cheerilee's pathetic school thanks to her daddy's very important work. Work that made him and her so much better than anyone else in this town, with the exception of Princess Twilight, but then again, she was a goody-four shoes. Perhaps she, Diamond Tiara, should have been the Princess.
Diamond walked over to the door, where the Cutie Mark Crusaders, and Spike the Dragon for some reason, were discussing something, blocking her way.
"Hey, get out of my way, Blank Flanks!" she said nastily.
The fillies and dragon turned to look at her for a moment. Then they shrugged and continued talking.
Diamond Tiara was furious at this development. "HEY! I'm talking to you! You can't just block my way! I could buy and sell you three worthless piles of-!"
"I'm sorry Diamond, but you're not very intimidating without Silver Slave to back you up," Sweetie Belle said smoothly with a sly grin.
"Good one, Sweetie Belle," Spike said with a chuckle.
Diamond Tiara's mouth dropped open in shock. Then she closed it and said in calm tone that sounded as if she were on the verge of exploding, "Where is Silver Spoon anyway?"
Scootaloo answered, "Didn't you hear? She's been missing for a week. Nopony knows where she is."
Diamond Tiara poked Scootaloo in the stomach and said, "Don't play games with me, chicken!"
Spike and the three fillies all stepped out of Diamond Tiara's way as Applebloom said, "No games, Diamond. Go ahead and ask Miss Cheerilee, she'll tell ya."
Diamond glared at the Cutie Mark Crusaders, and then ran into the school house. She bolted over to Miss Cheerilee's desk and asked the teacher, "Miss Cheerilee. Scootaloo, Appelbloom, and Sweetie Belle said that Silver Spoon been missing for a whole week. They're lying, right?"
Cheerilee had a sad expression on her face. She shook head head and closed her eyes. "I'm sorry, Diamond Tiara. I had hopped your father would have found out and broken the news to you when you got home last night, or maybe this morning. I know this must be so hard for you-"
Diamond Tiara's pupils shrank in disbelief of what she was hearing. She didn't hear what else Miss Cheerilee was saying, her brain was too busy processing this information over and over again. Her only friend, her slumber party partner, her partner in crime and lackey was missing in action.
Diamond turned around slowly to see the Cutie Mark Crusaders making their way into the classroom and towards their desks. She clenched her teeth, and in an instant, she was standing right in front of the three fillies, thrusting her enraged face at her mortal enemies. "What did you do to Silver Spoon? You piles of manure!" she sneered in a medium tone, but the fact that she wasn't yelling it, shouting it, or screaming it may have made it even worse.
"Diamond Tiara!" Miss Cheerilee said sternly, "We do not use words like that! Apologize this instant!"
"But they-!"
"They did nothing! Whatever happened to Silver Spoon has nothing to do with them! Now apologize now."
Diamond Tiara growled, and she turned back to the three shocked and angry fillies. As three pairs of eyes glared at her, Diamond attempted to glare back at them. "Fine . . . I'm sorry for calling you . . . that . . ." she said, but then she narrowed her eyes in an attempt to look menacing and said, "But I will find out what happened to Silver Spoon, and if it turns out that any of you are responsible for this, I'll make sure that all three of you pay."
"That's enough Diamond Tiara. Everypony, please take your seats," Cheerilee said sternly as she walked back to her desk.
Diamond Tiara shot one last "if looks could kill" glare at the Cutie Mark Crusaders, who looked back at her with a slightly creeped out look, and then they all sat down to an uneasy day at school.
Diamond Tiara tiptoed up the steps to the Cutie Mark Crusader clubhouse. She had been to Silver Spoon's house earlier, and all she had found was sobbing parents and an empty room void off all clues. Sure, the police had been there already, but they couldn't possibly be as smart as her, Diamond Tiara.
And so, she decided to start her own investigation, beginning with the Blank Flank's home base. Hopefully those fools had written down some sort of kidnapping plan on paper somewhere. Or maybe she'd fine some of Silver's property there, proof of their involvement.
Diamond slowly opened the door to the clubhouse and looked inside. Nopony was there. She had made it to the center of the room when all of a sudden-
"What are you doing here!?"
Diamond turned to see Applebloom, flanked by Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle. Spike was there too, standing next to Sweetie Belle. Applebloom and Scootaloo looked furious, while Sweetie Belle looked very nervous. Spike had his arms folded and was tapping his foot impatiently, with an annoyed look on his face. Diamond Tiara couldn't help but notice that Spike's arms, and legs for that matter, had a bit more muscle on them than usual. Diamond Tiara dismissed the observation quickly and focused on the situation at hand.
"Alright," Diamond Tiara said as she tossed her hair arrogantly, "You caught me looking for evidence. Maybe there was some here, maybe there isn't. But it doesn't matter, because I'm gonna find out the truth about Silver Spoon no matter what you do!"
"Diamond Tiara! Open your ears already!" Scootaloo shouted, "We did not kidnap Silver Spoon! GET IT!?"
"I told you to stop playing games, chicken!" Diamond Tiara shot back venomously.
"Get off'a mah property!" Applebloom shouted as she pointed to the door.
"Make me," Diamond Tiara said with a smirk.
Before the argument could continue, a loud, blood curdling shriek rang out through Sweet Apple Acres.
"That sounded like Granny!" Applebloom gasped, and she turned and ran in the direction of the shriek. The other ponies quickly followed behind.
Spike, however, stood there, breathing heavily and fast. After he got his breathing and heart-rate back under control, and the ponies were out of sight, Spike turned and ran back in the direction of Twilight's Castle.
Big Macintosh did his best to comfort Granny Smith as Applejack looked over the grizzly sight before them. Big Mac had been carrying up barrels of yeast fermented hard apple cider from the apple cellar when he noticed that one of the barrels just "felt" wrong. So, he set the barrel down and pried the lid open. Out of shock from what he saw, he knocked the barrel away from him, and it hit the ground and busted. Along with the hard cider, out came the body of a young filly. Only the head was intact. The rest of the body had its flesh stripped off, revealing only bone. One thing led to another, and soon the other members of the Apple Family were gathered around in the area.
"Ah don't believe it. Ah just don't believe it," Applejack said with a blank expression on her face.
Meanwhile, a few yards away amid the apple trees, the Cutie Mark Crusaders plus Diamond Tiara watched from afar.
"Ewwwww! What is it!?" Sweetie Belle squeaked out.
Diamond Tiara suddenly sprang and pinned Sweetie Belle to the trunk of an apple tree. She pressed her face against the unicorn's face and said venomously, "You know who that is! That's Silver Spoon!"
Applebloom and Scootaloo quickly pulled the earth filly off of their unicorn friend and backed away from her.
"Listen here, Diamond Tiara," Applebloom said in a dead serious tone, "Don't ya dare blame any of us or mah family for this. That cellar is locked, and only Big Mac got the key. Who'd hide a body on their own property anyway?"
"To make it so that nopony would suspect them," Diamond Tiara said accusingly as she pointed a hoof at Applebloom.
Applebloom smacked the hoof away and pointed at her family, "We couldn't get in their! And do they look like they let anypony hide a body in their cellar?"
Diamond Tiara turned and took long glance at each of the Apple Family members' faces.
"No . . ." she said in a grumpy tone, "And Honesty is your sister's thing after all . . ."
"So leave us alone already!" Scootaloo shouted in a hostile voice.
Diamond Tiara "humphed" and began walking away from the fillies, frustration eating away at her mind. As much as she hated to admit it, she knew the Blank Flanks were right. If they had killed Silver Spoon, they would have never hidden her in a barrel of hard cider. It was almost around the time when Sweet Apple Acres starting selling the alcoholic brew, so to hide anything in those barrels was suicide. No, it had to have been somepony else who had no place to put the corpse, and so they panicked and stuffed it in a cider barrel. Whoever it was must have picked the lock and either re-locked it, or left it unlocked so Big Mac would just think he forgot to lock it. Diamond knew that Big Mac couldn't have just forgotten, because everypony in town knew about Big Mac's impeccable memory. That stallion didn't forget anything. But what Diamond wouldn't forget was how Silver Spoon's lower half looked eaten. Bizarrely enough, Diamond Tiara didn't actually feel sad for Silver Spoon's death. Rather, she felt robbed, cheated, like someone had taken a very valuable asset away from her. Loosing loyal partner would make things a little bit trickier, but on the other hand, the Gabby Gums affair proved that she worked well alone. Diamond Tiara took a moment to smile about how well she had done with that, then went back to frowning and thinking. Why had Silver Spoon looked all chewed up?
"I'm so worried, Twilight. The thought of my poor chickens nowhere to be found is just too horrible," came the voice of Fluttershy.
Diamond Tiara realized that her aimless walk had led her to Fluttershy's cottage, where Princess Twilight was visiting the pathetic pegasus. The pair were having a conversation near the chicken coup.
"Are you sure they hadn't just wandered off into the Everfree Forest?" Twilight asked.
"I don't think so," Fluttershy replied, "There weren't any holes in the fence."
"Well, I'd hate to say it Fluttershy . . . but at the rate that this kept happening this month, three times . . . I think some small predator has been sneaking in an taking your chickens," Twilight said sadly.
Fluttershy's eyes shimmered, and she hid her face within her mane as she started weeping quietly.
From her vantage point some distance away, Diamond Tiara considered what she was seeing. "A small predator has been eating little Miss Kindness' chickens this month?" she thought, "Well, that's news to me."
Suddenly, and at that moment, everything clicked into place in Diamond Tiara's mind. The small predator that had been eating chickens this month. Silver Spoon disappearing during the same time frame. The way Spike was now hanging around the Blank Flanks. The larger muscles the small dragon had. The way Silver Spoon had turned up half eaten.
A wicked smile slowly spread across Diamond Tiara's face. She now knew what she had to do to get her revenge. All she needed to do was type up a special document.
The next day, Diamond Tiara boldly walked into Princess Twilight's castle and made a beeline straight to the Princess herself.
"Princess Twilight?" she asked.
Twilight looked up from the large manuscript she was writing and said, "Diamond Tiara? What is it?"
"I know who killed Silver Spoon," Diamond Tiara said with a smile.
Twilight dropped her quill. "How do you even know about that?! Applejack only told the authorities and her family. They're still investigat- Oh never mind, look, you shouldn't get involved in these things. Fillies shouldn't-"
"It was Spike! You're little dragon pet!" Diamond Tiara declared.
Twilight gasped, "How dare you accuse Spike of murder! He has nothing to do with this," Twilight narrowed her eyes, "Now would you please leave now."
"But wait, I can prove it!" Diamond pressed.
"Spike is innocent, end of story, now get out!" Twilight said with growing agitation.
"I thought a good Princess always has time for her subjects?" Diamond asked with wide eyes and an innocent voice.
Twilight frowned in frustration, and then used Cadence's breathing technique to calm down. "Okay," she said with a straight face that betrayed no emotion, "Where's your proof?"
Diamond Tiara reached into her saddlebag and pulled out an official looking multi-page document. "Would a good Princess ever break a legally binding contract?" she asked.
"No . . ." Twilight said tentatively.
The filly held the document out to Twilight and said, "If you sign this document, this will require us to hold Spike in custody and perform an interrogation as outlined in the document. If Spike admits to the crime, then you will be required to execute him on the spot. No waiting."
"And why would I ever sign something like this?" Twilight asked in disgust of both the document and the filly giving it to her.
"Because the document says that if we can't prove Spike's guilt in one single interrogation, then Barnyard Bargains will become a partner of the Orange Wing Foundation."
Twilight's eyes widened. She had created the Orange Wing Foundation after the Equestria Games to help benefit Pegasi with crippled wings, like Scootaloo, hence the name "Orange Wing Foundation." She had approached Filthy Rich and asked if he'd like to fund the charity, but he had politely declined due to other charities and financial matters. Getting Backyard Bargains on board would be a great help.
"But you father-" Twilight began.
"He signed it!" Diamond Tiara said as she showed Twilight her father's signature.
"Oh . . . " Twilight said.
Diamond Tiara felt slightly bad about forging her daddy's signature, but since she had a sure fire plan of getting Spike's confession, it wouldn't matter anyway.
"Sooooooooo," Diamond Tiara said sweetly.
Twilight used her magic to pick up the document. She magicked up a pair of glasses and took a long look at the document. Diamond Tiara waited patiently as Twilight scrutinized every word of the document.
"You'd know I'd never try to pull anything over on a Princess," Diamond said.
Twilight nodded slowly. "Yes. I don't see any loopholes that either party could take advantage of." Twilight smiled, "Your father probably signed off on this as a way of changing his mind about the charity. He knows Spike is innocent. Everypony knows Spike is innocent. But if you want to try and prove a point, fine. At least the poor flightless Pegasi will benefit."
Twilight then picked up her quill and unknowingly signed Spike's life away. Diamond took the document back and signed it as well.
"Thank you, Princess Twilight. Now, I'll just put this document in a safe place, then we can go pick up your little assistant."
"You really think it was Spike?" Sweetie Belle asked in shock as she and her two friends walked through Ponyville.
Scootaloo nodded, "Well, think about it. Silver Spoon disappeared right after we had that talk with Spike. Remember how angry Spike looked?"
Applebloom gained a thoughtful look and said nervously, "Yeah. He was angry. And then you said that thing about 'making it so there was only one of them. To make one of them go away and stay away'."
Scootaloo stopped dead in her tracks, causing Sweetie Belle to bump into her.
"Oh my gosh! It's all my fault! I'm a murderer!" Scootaloo said in horror.
"Shhhhh!" Sweetie Belle said as she covered Scootaloo's mouth with her hoof. "Don't say that! We don't know for sure."
Scootaloo removed Applebloom's hoof and said, "Well, Spike is a dragon right? Don't dragons eat meat? Sure, he's small, but he's still got those claws, and those teeth! And you remember what Spike called Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon?"
"Monsters . . . on Sombra's level . . ." Applebloom said in horror.
Scootaloo nodded, "Yeah, and Rainbow Dash told me what they did to Sombra." Scootaloo made a slashing motion across her throat.
"Stop it, both of you!" Sweetie Belle said in panic and frustration, "Spike wouldn't do that! And none of us are killers!"
"Yeah. We're accomplices. On the way to jail," Applebloom said fearfully.
"NO!" Sweetie Belle said, her eyes darting back and forth between her two friends, "Please stop talking about this. We're not going to jail. Sure, we gave Spike every reason to despise Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon. Sure, we told him we wished one of them was gone. Sure, Spike looked pretty angry. Sure, he had a hungry look in his eye. Sure, his voice got a little deep. But that doesn't mean-EEEEEP!"
Sweetie Belle pointed across the road. Her friends turned to see Diamond Tiara and Twilight Sparkle leading a nervous looking Spike towards Twilight's castle. Diamond Tiara turned to look at the Cutie Mark Crusaders and gave a malicious smile or triumph as she, the Princess, and the prisoner moved closer to the castle.
Once the group was out of sight, Applebloom and Sweetie Belle both clung to Scootaloo in fear.
"Oh no, oh no, oh no! They got him! They know he's the killer! All the clues add up! He's guilty!" Sweetie Belle squealed.
"Spike we'll tell Twilight everything, including that talk we had! They'll find out the truth about Silver Spoon!" Applebloom cried tearfully.
Scootaloo violently pushed her two friends off of her. As they fell flat on their backs, the orange pegasus quickly issued directions in loud yet hushed tone. "Quiet you too! Listen to me, we don't have much time, so we gotta hurry. The both of you, go home and pack bags of food, one or two small personal items, and all the bits you have. Take some from your sisters if you have to. Sweetie Belle, snatch some of Rarity's gems if you can. Once you've done that, meet me at the train station. Don't just lie there, get going! Our lives are at stake here, so go!"
Spike stood trembling in the basement of Twilight's castle. A magical chain fastened him to the wall as he stared at Diamond Tiara and Twilight Sparkle. Twilight looked very apologetic, while Diamond Tiara had a face that said "business".
"It'll be over soon, Spike," Twilight said, "I promise."
She then turned to Diamond Tiara and nodded. The filly nodded back and walked closer to the chained dragon.
"Tell me, Spike. Who killed Silver Spoon?" she asked.
Spike blinked, then he narrowed his eyes angrily, "Why are you asking me for? I don't know!"
Diamond Tiara nodded, then she tapped her chin with her hoof and said nonchalantly, "You know, Spike. In Tartarus, it's said that your body is trapped in a state of constant hunger, thirst, and despair. I heard the other Princesses experienced it first hand when Lord Tirek sent them there. Heh. I figure it would be a fitting punishment for the evil doers who are sent there, especially for the murderers. Hunger gnawing away at your insides. Your throat as dry as sawdust and painful. Never having any hope or happiness ever again. It sure sounds brutal, doesn't it?"
Princess Twilight Sparkle was so focused on growling at Diamond Tiara that she didn't notice how sweaty and fearful Spike's face had become.
Diamond Tiara smiled and said, "But you know what? I'm pretty sure a murderer who admits to his crime and begs for forgiveness would never get sentenced to Tartarus. And, come on, Spike. We know the truth." The malicious filly then pulled a chicken feather out of her saddlebag and held it in the palm of her hoof, right in front of Spike's face. "We know everything . . ."
Twilight's heart skipped a beat when she saw the chicken feather, while Spike seemed on the verge of a mental breakdown.
Diamond Tiara put the feather away and continued in a friendly tone, "But, maybe I'm wrong about all this. . . But, that would mean that you shouldn't have any problem Pinkie Promising to Princess Twilight that you didn't kill Silver Spoon. So, go ahead."
Diamond Tiara stepped aside and motioned for Twilight to get closer to Spike. Twilight followed and looked Spike right in the eyes. "Spike," she said in her most kindest, sympathetic voice, "We can talk about the chickens later, because that's not important right now. What's important is not letting people accuse you of things just because you had the opportunity or the means." Twilight smiled warmly and said, "So just make the Pinkie Promise so I can get you out of those chains and we can figure out how to help you with the chicken situation."
Spike merely stared at Twilight with wide eyes, a pained expression on his face. He turned away-
"LOOK AT HER!" Diamond Tiara screeched.
Spike instantly obeyed.
"Spike, I know you. You know yourself! Whatever she's doing to you, don't let it corrupt the truth," Twilight said urgently, taking two steps towards the chained dragon.
Spike swallowed hard.
"Spike. Prove your innocence," Twilight said in a quiet voice. It almost sounded like she was begging.
Tears pooled in Spike's eyes, until finally they overflowed and ran down his face. "Twilight . . . I was only trying to help the Crusaders."
Twilight's heart felt it was kicked by a Windigo.
Diamond Tiara's heart felt as warm as the Sun.
"That's better, my little dragon," Diamond said with a wicked grin. "Now, tell us the why and how, in that order please. Come on, don't you worry. We'll make sure you stay out of Tartarus."
Spike sniffed loudly as tears continued to flow from his eyes. "The Crusaders told me about all the evil things Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon had done to them and everyone else in Ponyville. Don't you remember how much pain the Gabby Gums articles caused us? And all our friends too! You put up a force-field! Fluttershy was a total crying wreck! Those two are monsters! And then the fillies talked about how great it would be if one of them went away and never came back, cause then one would be easier to handle! And then . . ."
Spike looked at the floor in shame and took a few seconds to catch his breath. Then he continued, "And then I was having all these urge all month. I just wanted . . . I wanted meat, okay! I wanted to hunt. I couldn't help it. I felt bad for taking Fluttershy's chickens, but then I thought that if I went after Silver Spoon in the Crusader's honor, I'd feel like a noble dragon and get meat to it. I thought it would be good for Equestria!" Spike looked Twilight in the eyes and said, "Cadence killed King Sombra, so why is it bad when I do it?!"
This snapped Twilight out of her catatonic shock, and she shot back, "One, Sombra was already dead. Two, he was an adult. Three, he was a dictator who committed crimes against equinity. And Four, you know that Cadence acted out of self-defense!"
Spike's throat made a loud whimpering sound after Twilight shouted at him.
"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Get to the how already!" Diamond Tiara said impatiently.
Spike gulped nervously, and then he explained with a grievous expression on his face, "I followed Silver Spoon onto the Sweet Apple Acres. She was heading towards the Cutie Mark Crusader's tree house. As I followed her, I began to have second thoughts about this. My . . . hunting urges were going hard, but I didn't think I'd be able to do it. But then . . . then I heard her . . ."
Spike squeezed his eyes shut tight, then he opened them and clenched his teeth in anger. "She said she was gonna vandalize the tree house. Break stuff, loosen the stairs, stuff like that! I couldn't take it anymore! I dropped to all fours and went into some kind of predator mode. It's . . . all a blur now, but the next thing I knew, I was . . . gnawing on bone."
Spike took a few deep breaths as Twilight looked on with horror, and Diamond Tiara stood with a straight face.
"Her head was the only thing I hadn't bitten something off," Spike said, "I was scared. I knew that no one would understand if they found out. Part of me felt bad for doing it, but another part felt glad that I beat a monster, and went on my first hunt. I was full too. So, I didn't really feel . . . anything. Except fear of getting caught. I saw that I was really close to the Apple Family Barn, and that I'd be seen if I tried to take Silver Spoon somewhere else. So, I ran to the closest thing I could see. The Hard Cider Cellar." Spike took a huge deep breath, and began speaking very quickly, "I used my fire-breath to melt the loop of the lock, brought her down there, rolled out one of the big barrels, opened it, put her in, closed it, got out, and used my fire-breath again to weld the lock back so it looked like nothing even happened. I thought that I could buy the whole barrel when Hard Cider Season came, maybe claim it's for someone else, or mail order it under a fake name. But I guess I was so nervous at the time that I didn't realize that Big Mac or Applejack or somepony would have realized how heavy the barrel was."
Spike sniffed in spite of the snot and tears covering his lower face. "I was so convinced that Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon were evil monsters like Tirek or Sombra, and my body felt so good about getting meat . . . I just . . . didn't feel bad about it. I even starting hanging around the Crusaders a little more often." Spike held his head high and said, "But now, I see how terrible what I did was. That Silver Spoon didn't deserve to die. But I'm a dragon! I eat meat! My instincts wouldn't stop talking to me! It's what I am! I had to obey!"
Twilight and Spike both turned to look at Diamond Tiara when the filly started clapping with her front hooves, that wicked, victorious smile on her face once again. "You see, Princess Twilight? I knew it all along. I only needed proof. And here it is."
Twilight nodded gravely. "I see . . . well, we should probably have a talk with those three fillies-."
Twilight was walking towards the door when Diamond Tiara extended an foreleg to block her, "Not so fast, Sparkle. We have a legally binding contract to fulfill. spike has confessed to the crime, just like I knew he would. So, you may execute him now. Remember, don't try to cheat me by zapping him dead. It has to be just as I described in the document. The proper reward of evil: a long, slow death."
Spike's eyes went wide as grapefruits as he saw Twilight slowly turn to him, a look of brokenness in her eyes. They were the eyes of a mare whose world was shattered like glass, and then crushed into dust which was scattered to the four winds. Through those eyes, a broken mind and a wounded heart could be seen. This mare had just lost one of her closest friends.
"T-T-Twilight!?" Spike stammered out nervously as he felt his armpits start dripping sweat.
"The Spike I know and love is not a murderer," Twilight said in an emotionless tone that betrayed no anger, only heartbreak.
And as Twilight magically conjured up a long, thin, razor sharp dagger of black crystal, Spike let out a horrified shriek as the magic chain binding him held him even tighter as the Alicorn Pincess with the broken mind approached him.
Diamond Tiara lay on her stomach, folded for forelegs, and enjoyed the show.
Meanwhile, three fillies, along with a scooter-drawn wagon full of stuff, sat in a train car of the Friendship Express as it chugged off away from Ponyville and into the world.
Babs Seed blinked her eyes solemnly. "That's the end of your story?" she asked.
The four Cutie Mark Crusaders sat in a makeshift clubhouse in an alley of Manehatten. It was made of old, empty orange crates with a tarp for a roof, with the Cutie Mark Crusader emblem spray painted on the side. A small lantern cast light upon them as the Sun began to set above the city.
"Yes, that's it," Applebloom replied to her favorite cousin's question.
Babs wiped the sweat off her brow, "Whew! Well, that sure is intense, cuz. Man, my heart was pounding! Being caught up in a murder, the murderer getting caught, his accomplishes on the lamb. You could make that into a movie!"
"So it was better than anything you could come up with?" Applebloom asked.
"Eyup!" Babs said in perfect imitation of Big Mac.
The four fillies shared a good laugh from this.
"So, how long are you girls gonna be staying here in Manehatten with me again?" Babs asked.
"As long as we can, sister," Scootaloo said with a smile.
"Obviously," Sweetie Belle chimed in happily.
"Awesome," Babs said, sounded very pleased.
Applebloom held a hoof up, and everyone else met her hoof with their own as they cheered:
"CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS BIG CITY CAMP OUT! YAY!"
The End