Chapter 8 - The Quest for the Infinity Gems Part 2
A while later, Discord was on his way to a special cell, escorted by Shining Armor and his guards, while Spike and his friends went to Celestia and Luna's throne room. As they saw Discord getting carried away, with one of Shining's force fields covering him as an extra precaution, Twilight finally noticed the villain had a large claw-shaped scar on his chest, and recognized it as a curse mark.
"Spike... you used a curse on Discord." Twilight looked at her semi-brother. "That was..."
"Yeah, I know, cursing anyone is a bit too much... not the nicest thing to do, even to a guy like Discord... but Twilight, it was either that, or turning him into a statue again; and I don't think that's a nice thing to do either. Not that I am criticizing Princesses Celestia and Luna for doing it in the first place, but..." Twilight interrupted Spike by gently placing a hoof on his shoulder.
"I know. What I wanted to say is that it was quite impressive. You used very advanced magic."
"Well, basically, that curse mark is meant to neutralize his powers." Spike smiled back at her. "I didn't want to kill the guy, and the stone thing... well, I already said it, that's a bit too extreme for me to do, so I looked for another option."
"And how did you do that?" Rainbow asked him.
"Yeah, and how did yah get those muscles so fast? Twi and the others already guessed something about some stones, but..." Applejack arched an eyebrow at the dragon.
"Yeah, the Infinity Stones." Spike took out his staff and showed it to his friends. "Each one gives me a different power, and when you have more than one, the stones can empower each other. To fight Discord, I got access to the Elements of Harmony through you gals, and perform the curse spell, I had to use the Reality Stone, but in order to give me enough energy and concentration to use the stone's powers at maximum capacity, I had to use the Power Stone's energies to increase my resistance and the Reality Stone's might, and the Soul Stone to connect my soul and mind with the original Elements'."
"And you did a wonderful job, Spike." Princess Celestia, already waiting for everypony at the room, greeted them, with Luna at her side.
"Whoa... for a pony princess, she's kinda impressive." Fume whispered at Garble, who just nodded.
"You think she knows you once insulted her and you also destroyed one of her letters..." Vex stopped talking when Garble grabbed his muzzle, the red dragon gulping a bit at this. If these winged, horn-forehead ponies were the ones teaching Spike how to use such powerful spells, Garble REALLY didn't want to anger them.
"Thanks, Princess Celestia." Spike, like everypony else at the room but Luna, made a respectful bow. "One question... why didn't you stop Discord when he used the 'look, a distraction' trick?"
"A distraction? Where?" Pinkie Pie and some of the dragons started looking around.
"Pinkie, he said it was a trick from Discord." Fiona whispered, stopping both the pink pony and the dragons.
"To answer your question, Spike, yes, I could have done it, but, Adam will tell you the same, we wanted to see how you'd use the Infinity Stones' abilities in an urban area, in ways that wouldn't damage property too much while still being capable of capturing a very tricky enemy without destroying him." Celestia explained him. "We're more than pleased with your performance."
"About that, Princess Celestia..." Twilight walked next to Spike while addressing her mentor. "Why you gave him this... responsibility? Being the wielder of the Infinity Stones is a great deal; not even the Elements of Harmony are such a burden, as they wouldn't hurt anypony if used without care... in fact, they wouldn't even be used at all."
"That's correct, Twilight, but it wasn't me who decided to give Spike this responsibility. It was Adam Warcolt's idea, and after this visit, Luna and I fully support him."
"Thanks, Auntie." Adam smiled at Celestia. Everypony but the dragons and Mobians got a bit surprised at this.
"Auntie? Oh, man... how much family do you Princesses have... if I may ask?" Rainbow asked, changing to a more polite tone when remembering who she was talking to.
"Why is that so surprising? They're obviously the same kind of pony." Knuckles asked.
"Yes, but they're 'alicorns', Knuckles." Fluttershy explained him. "They can... live for several hundred years. In that time, they can have very large families... but since they're the rarest type of pony, you don't see alicorns very often..."
"And you can't be sure of how alicorns are related to one another until we mention it out loud." Luna continued the explanation.
"So, you're telling me that you either can have a very large family or have just a few relatives here and there, and not seeing each other for centuries?" Maria asked. "Whoa, talk about the burdens of longevity."
"You have no idea." Adam rolled his eyes yet smiled. "Anyway, I found Spike in the Everfree Forest, and, since I've made a living out of training heroes, I could recognize his potential almost immediately. Also, he was motivated and had no plans for the immediate future, so why not?"
"A Heroes Trainer... talk about a cool job." Sonic grinned.
"Yes, the salary is terrible but the schedule is very flexible." Adam shrugged and everyone jumped when hearing a rimshot. They all turned to see Pinkie Pie with a set of drums and cymbals.
"What? I thought he was joking." Pinkie grinned.
"Seriously, living with this pony must be a real punishment..." Shakes rolled his eyes and was interrupted by another rimshot.
"PINKIE!"
"What? He said a pun; you know... PUNishment."
"Okay, two things; first, cut that out; and second... where did you get those instruments?" Adam asked her. Before Pinkie could reply, Rarity interrupted everything.
"Don't tell us where you got the instruments, Pinkie; that would be too long to hear. But really, cut that out."
"Okie-dokey-lokey." Pinkie grinned and took out a saw. "I'm cutting now; which half do you want?"
"Pinkie Pie, Just stop doing what you're doing." Sally rolled her eyes at this.
Pinkie was about to reply when Celestia, smiling, looked at her.
"Please, Pinkie, we appreciate your humor, but right now we have other business to attend."
"Oh. Okay." Pinkie replied in a very calm, polite way, and carried her instruments out of sight.
"And that's why she's the Princess." Spike commented in a joking manner yet nopony argued with him.
"Anyway, unlike my aunts, or Cadence, I was never comfortable with being in charge for long periods; I can take a leading role once in awhile, but I'm not a natural sovereign. My call was either on the battlefield or preparing others for it... except, of course, for my... brief period as an artist."
"Not that brief, Adam. It lasted almost 50 years." Celestia looked back at the others. "He actually did most of the castle's windows' original vitrals including the one showing how Luna and I defeated Discord the first time."
"Ah... good times... yes, sometimes I forget that's what a brief time for alicorns is a long period for most." Adam sighed. "That makes our times with our loved ones much more... valuable."
All those with enough empathy (meaning everyone minus the dragons that weren't Spike) realized he was referring to a lost love.
"A very long time ago... long time even for alicorns... I fell in love with the most beautiful unicorn; she was an artist too... White, bright coat; the most wonderful blue eyes I've ever seen..." Adam stopped talking and gave Rarity a quick look. "Actually, she looked a lot like the young lady here, except that mine was a bit older when we first met."
"Oh. You have good taste, Sir." Rarity smiled at him before getting back a serious look as Adam continued with his story.
"We were quite happy together... but one day, she fell ill... and no cure, conventional or magical, made any difference in her condition. Then, my aunts increased my magic so my spirit could travel to the Spiritual World, where I contacted the most powerful of all entities, the Living Tribunal, and I made a deal with it... a lifetime of protecting the Infinity Stones from whoever that could abuse their power, in exchange for my beloved's life." Adam sighed. "It worked, of course, as there are few things the Infinity Stones can't do when used all at once... but... well... after some time, my beloved and I grew distant... and she... left me for another pony."
Everyone but Celestia and Luna got a shocked expression.
"You pretty much sold your soul to an omnipotent force for this mare, and she still left you?" Rarity frowned. "Okay, now I'm sure we're not that alike as I thought."
"Yeah, you sold your soul to save your gal's life, and how does she thank you? By running off with some other stallion?" Sonic frowned and softened himself a bit when looking at Adam's expression again. "Mmm... she hurt you real bad, didn't she, Adam?"
"What she did wasn't funny at all." Pinkie Pie frowned as well. "She was a very big meanie."
"Probably... still, I'm glad I could help her." Adam shrugged. "Besides, somepony had to take care of the Infinity Stones. Still, I soon realized I couldn't use the Stones myself because of how dangerous it would be."
"If these stones are so dangerous, why giving them to Spike now?" Lobo asked.
"Because Spike, being a dragon, has a good potential for developing impressive abilities..." Adam looked at Garble and his group grinning at this, "... and unlike other dragons, he already had the disposition to not grow up to become a jerk."
Garble and his group wanted to argue but realized Adam had a point and kept quiet.
"In other words, Spike was already willing to control the very considerable power level he'd get from adulthood and use it responsibly, so he'd do the same with any special power he'd gain, like the ones granted by the Infinity Stones. Plus, since he's not an alicorn or some other extremely magically-powered being, the power has less chances of corrupting him, and in the VERY improbable case he gets corrupted, it would be mildly easier to stop him than, let's say, Celestia, Luna or myself." Adam continued. When Twilight opened her mouth to argue this, Princess Celestia interrupted her.
"I know you're about to defend me, Twilight, and I appreciate it, but Adam is right; absolute power corrupts absolutely. It sadly occurred to Luna once, as we all know, and I'm not as 'perfect' as many ponies think; I have my own set of flaws, and if I appear 'perfect' at times is because I've lived long enough to gain experience and wisdom from several mistakes I committed when I was younger. If I had been this experienced a thousand years ago, I'd have found a better way to help Luna instead of sending her to the moon." Celestia sighed sadly at the last part while Luna comforted her. Obviously, even if she had to do it to save Equestria, this kind of drastic action was a big shame and a source of sadness for Celestia.
"And that's also why we had to find a good wielder for the Infinity Stones." Adam continued. "Someone who wouldn't get corrupted that easily, that is already mind-set to use his abilities for good, and is already used to control his own dark side; in Spike's case, his greed. Taking all this into consideration, Spike can use the stones far more responsibly than most ponies, and it's very unlikely he'll ever become a threat to Equestria, as Nightmare Moon, King Sombra or Discord were in the past."
"I see... and guess we all agree that, taking all those facts into consideration, Spike is definitely suited for the job." Twilight said, smiling tenderly at Spike while the others nodded in agreement.
"Uh... one doubt." Sonic arched an eyebrow. "Why you didn't ask Twilight or her friends too, I mean, aren't they some sort of magical elite force or something?"
"The Elements of Harmony." Pinkie Pie grinned at Sonic. "And of course we wouldn't be good for the job, Sonic! Those stones are gonna outlast ANYPONY here but the alicorns, so the one wielding them must be capable of living for a very long time. And dragons live for centuries."
Everypony (and not pony) at the room stared at Pinkie Pie.
"Must remember; the pink one is crazy but not stupid." Garble thought out loud.
"A very good reason, Pinkie Pie." Adam smiled at the grinning Earth pony. "Also, you Elements of Harmony already have a good amount of power, and as we already established, having absolute power can be corrupting."
"What powers do they have?" Shakes asked, a bit confused at this, just like most of the dragons.
"Twilight Sparkle is the most talented student I've ever had, with potential to become the best spellcaster ever." Celestia looked at her blushing student before looking at the rest of the Elements. "Rainbow Dash is the most gifted flyer in Equestria, capable of performing the fabled Sonic Rainboom; Applejack is extremely capable (physically speaking) and while she doesn't excel in many areas, she covers a wide range of talents; Rarity has an unique link with jewelry, so you can imagine how much she'd bond with magical items like the Infinity Stones; Fluttershy's connections with the natural world and her capacities to control wild creatures is almost magical; and Pinkie Pie is..." Celestia paused. "Pinkie Pie."
"Aw, I have a whole category for myself? Thank you!" Pinkie smiled at the sovereign who just shook her head a bit yet smiled back.
Everyone had to agree with Celestia, especially considering Pinkie's abilities; if she ever used her impossible skills for evil instead of laughter, she'd probably be more unstoppable than a hundred dragons.
"Gee, and to think we used to think ponies were all wimps." Fume said to Lyco while holding her hand. Spike turned at him when hearing his voice and noticed this, plus Garble doing the same with Nicole, Puff with Fiona, and Shakes with Leeta.
"Those guys are dating..." Spike whispered at Amy, the pink hedgehog nodding at him. "Whoa. I leave for a few days, and everything changes... Remind me to have a 'chat' with those guys later."
"The 'be a jerk to the girls and I'll beat you up' chat?" Amy, grinning, whispered back at him.
Spike simply nodded while getting a sly grin. Maybe he had to be responsible with the Stones' powers, but nopony would blame him for teaching a lesson to any punk being a jerk to his friends.
"Anyway, as you can see, Spike is pretty much the best option we have here. And now, he's ready to search for the next stone, the Mind one." Adam pointed out while Celestia nodded.
"The Mind Stone, unlike the Reality one, isn't in a secure vault, but hidden in another building here in Canterlot. Its nature makes the stone very hard to locate anyway, so adding security to it only makes the stone easier to find; in fact, without the Reality Stone, that Spike already has, it's almost impossible to locate the Mind Stone, and without the Soul, it's quite hard to control its power." Celestia continued.
"Mind and Soul... they go together, as in any good compromise, right?" Twilight deduced.
"You're right, Twilight Sparkle." Luna nodded at the young unicorn. "Some of the stones complement each other or facilitate the usage of another one. As for the Mind Stone's location, it's hidden in one of the most secure, non-vaulted places in Canterlot; my sister and mine's living quarters."
Some of the ponies gasped at this. Garble and the other non-Spike dragons, again, got puzzled looks.
"Eh... no mean to offense, Miss Luna, Princess, Sir..." Shakes, not used to speak to royalty, tried his best to use a polite tone... and got a little elbow hit in the ribs from Garble. "Oh, right, not 'Sir'... 'Ma'am'... or Mame... or whatever..."
"Your point, please." Luna arched an eyebrow, trying to be patient with the dragon while some of the ponies and Spike rolled their eyes.
"Right... why is your bedroom a very secure place to hide something as powerful as an Infinity Rock?" Shakes rubbed the back of his neck, not getting why a pony's living quarter would be safer than a vault.
"Infinity Stone. And you make a good question." Luna corrected him before explaining. "Since my sister and I can fly, the only way to enter our quarters is by flying; our living quarters have no access through stairways or normal doors. Also, we have secured them with magic, so nopony...or dragon.. can enter unless we give him/her permission. And, of course, the whole place is filled up with assorted magical and mechanical security devices to protect ourselves from any stealthy attacker and also to protect other important or valuable items of our property."
"She's right." Twilight then looked at the dragons. "Also, their living quarters are on top of two of Canterlot's highest, strongest-built towers. Even the walls have a magical protection so you can't climb them up, and if you are strong enough to break in, you alert the whole palace."
"Spike's Reality Stone already grants him entrance to our quarters, even if Luna and I didn't give him permission, which we already granted anyway. Still, even with the Soul Stone, it will take him awhile to search through the whole place; one of the reasons the Mind Stone is so hard to find is because it changes its location every certain time. Even if it never leaves our living quarters, Luna and I don't know ourselves where the Stone will hide itself or when it will change its location again." Celestia continued.
"Oh, I see... The Stone plays Mind Games." Pinkie giggled a bit. Nobody corrected or argued with her since, again, her playful logic had been totally right.
"Exactly." Celestia congratulated the pink pony before addressing the whole group again. "This stone's powers make the search a hide-and-seek game, one that can last forever unless you have the Reality and Soul Stones to help you track it down."
"And I've already have both of them." Spike nodded. "Plus I have the Power Stone too, and that one will give me the energy and focus to search non-stop for as long as I need."
"So, are yah telling us the Stones have to be found in a certain order so yah can locate and control them all." Applejack looked back at Adam.
"That's quite an ingenious way to protect them." Sally, looking at Adam too, agreed with Applejack.
"Exactly. Well, guess it's time to find the Mind Stone. I know you all might want to help Spike, but he already has everything he needs for this task; I'll be around for any assistance he might require but for the most part he must do this alone." Adam explained. Sally then approached him.
"If it's okay with you, I'd like to join Spike. Even if he's the one searching, I can give him company so he doesn't be alone while searching; even if the Power Stone will give him the physical energy to search for hours without a break, he might still need a companion to keep him focused or to make the search a bit less mentally exhausting."
Spike smiled and blushed a bit at the idea, and many of his friends got knowing grins. Celestia and Luna exchanged a glance before smiling and nodding at Adam.
"I think you might have a good point, Princess Sally. Besides, as a princess, you qualify as a noble embassador and therefore you can ask for permission to visit the princesses' living quarters." Adam said to Sally.
"Permission granted." Luna and Celestia chorused.
"Hey, that's great and all," Rainbow commented while looking at Sally and Spike before turning back at the princesses, "but what are the rest of us going to do in the meantime?"
"Well, Rainbow Dash, I think the rest of you can use this chance to know the place. Most of you had never been in Canterlot at all, and those who had only know certain areas of the city." Celestia proposed.
"Yeah... I used to live here, and the only places I know are the castle, the school and the library." Twilight grinned sheepishly.
"We can see why." Sonic smirked while the others nodded in agreement with Celestia's idea.
"I can show you around." Cadence proposed. "You are all a large group so we can divide in smaller ones, in case some of you want to see only particular areas of Canterlot."
"Actually..." Fiona got a sly grin while looking at the male non-Spike dragons. "Maybe we can give our dragon friends a tour, since they had never been in a city before. Sure, most of us hadn't been in Canterlot here either but we know how to behave in a large city, so we can take the tour together."
Garble and his friends nodded in agreement, both excited and worried about taking this tour; even if they liked the idea of spending some quality time with their new (very pretty) friends, even the less educated among them were smart enough to know they lacked the education to act properly in a civilized area.
"Okay, it's settled then." Luna said. "Those who are dating, or already in a steady relationship, can tour around the city on their own, while the rest go in a large group with Cadence."
"And if you want to take a break, we'll have a few rooms ready for you." Celestia added. "Spike will be searching for the Mind Stone for some time, so you'll probably need to spend a couple of days in Canterlot while he finishes his mission, or at least as special guests."
"I wouldn't mind having some private time." Lupe grinned at Lobo, the large muscular wolf grinning back. Celestia noticed this and, with a little grin, called some of her servants and asked them to prepare several rooms; some would be for the couples only while others would accommodate 3 or 4 'beings' (since, obviously, only a handful of them were ponies) at once.
"I can recommend you a few good places." Spike said to the couples while calling them apart from the others. Unlike Twilight, Spike had a little social life when they lived in Canterlot, so he knew some nice spots that weren't that formal so Garble and the other dragons would have less troubles fitting in, unlike the very high-class, prestigious places that Rarity was recommending to the other couples (those who didn't have an uneducated dragon) like Maria and Daemon, since the white unicorn had been in Canterlot at times and she even got a good place among the city's elite.
"And these 'donuts' are good?" Fume asked Spike.
"Oh, trust me, they're great. Almost as good as jewels but much softer." Spike's description made the dragons to salivate a bit. "And guys, may I have a chat with you all, dragon-to-dragons?"
"Heh. Boys Talk." Lyco chuckled as she and the other girls allowed the dragons to talk in relative privacy; Sally, who already knew what they would be talking about, grinned at this.
"Okay, listen up." Spike now had a more serious expression; he paused a bit to make sure the others weren't overhearing and then continued in a low yet still quite serious tone. "You're not in the wild. You're in Canterlot. A very big, important pony city, with lots of innocent civilians that had rarely seen a dragon in their lives, and I don't want any of you to give them reasons to think all dragons are mindless brutes that only live for destruction. The only dragon most, if any, of these ponies had ever seen is Me, and I have tried to be a good example for our species; so you better not ruin my hard work, and restrain yourselves from starting any problems, or you'll be in big trouble. And not just with me; but with the Canterlot guards and the princesses themselves. Got it?"
The other dragons nodded at him.
"Uh... we can see why the guards can be a problem, but what can a princess..." Puff was interrupted by Spike.
"Let me put it this way; Princess Luna has the power to enter your dreams. She makes sure everypony has nice dreams and protects them from nightmares. But if you make her angry, well, imagine you only dream with your worst nightmares for the rest of your lives; and these princesses can live as much, if not most, than any dragon. You wanna spend the next century without a single good sleep night?" Spike frowned at Puff, the other dragon gulping at the idea. "And I'm just mentioning ONE of the princesses, and doing something relatively tame to you. You don't wanna see what they do with those who are actually evil."
Again, the dragons nodded at Spike, this time quite nervously.
"Good. And If you do anything to those girls, forget about the princesses or the guards; you'll have to deal with ME. And since I don't have as many fancy magic tricks as them, at least not now, I'll be MUCH rougher. And once I finish kicking your tails, breaking your wings, and make you eat your own teeth, I'm sending you all back to the Roost where they'll never have to worry about you again, got it?"
Now the other dragons were more than terrified of Spike.
"Oh, silly me; I almost forgot to tell you I won't be the only one beating you up if you hurt the girls. Wanna hear about the blue guy who moves so quickly he can punch you a hundred times before you even realize you're going down? Or the winged wolf that can summon a storm on your heads? Or maybe the guy with the spiky hands that breaks boulders as if they were nuts? Ah, and maybe I should warn you about Lupe, the elastically-powered co-leader of a race of butt-kickers that would probably eat any of you for breakfast if you hurt a single hair of her wolves' tails?"
"Okay, okay, we get it!" Garble said in a hurry. "We do wrong, you guys'll eviscerate us. We get it, just enough with the threats already."
"Whoa... didn't know you knew what 'eviscerate' means." Spike grinned.
"Eh... what does 'eviscerate' mean?" Shakes asked. Garble then whispered something in his ear and Shakes got a panicked face almost instantly.
"Okay, the vocabulary lesson's over. Now we've chatted about why it would be a very bad idea to hurt the girls, or any pony here, you guys can go and have fun." Spike now looked much more relaxed. "Be nice guys and don't screw things up, and you'll enjoy a nice date with the gals without worrying about your internal organs getting ripped out."
The dragons relaxed a bit, yet still remembered Spike's threats, as they wanted their internal organs to remain... 'internal'. Spike, satisfied enough, joined Sally and Adam, as they were about to leave the room; after sharing a quick embrace with Twilight, the purple dragon and company left to the Princesses' living quarters.
Like Celestia and Luna explained, it wasn't easy to access the rooms. Even with the Princesses changing the protection spells so they could enter without problems, the group still felt a little shock when entering the room; not enough to hurt them but it was still strong enough to get stunned for a few moments.
"Whoa... what was that?" Spike gasped.
"A special spell that keeps anypony who isn't a female alicorn from entering this place. They lowered its power and adapted it for us to enter, but that spell is pretty much connected to this place as a whole, so it can't get completely deactivated." Adam explained to them as he recovered from the shock as well. "Okay, I sense no other defensive spells working, except some that will keep intruders from entering while we're here, but those spells aren't as hard to modify so they recognize us as guests and we're not at any risk of suffering them."
Spike sighed in relief; even with the Infinity Stones he already had, he'd still resent any protective spell casted by Princesses Celestia and/or Luna.
"Okay, time to start searching. I have an idea." Sally then morphed into her Mobian Wolf shape, but made sure of making it a bit sexier than usual. Spike blushed at the sight while Adam grinned slightly at the dragon's reaction.
"I think Spike will have troubles keeping himself focused while you take this shape, Princess." Adam commented.
"Well, in this shape, my smell sense is as good as a real wolf's. If the Mind Stone has some scent of its own, and it's similar to the other stones or the Infinity Staff's, I can track it down." Sally explained. Spike reacted and took the staff out, giving it to the princess so she could sniff it a bit and get its particular scent.
"Got it." Sally smiled before giving the staff back to Spike. Then, she got on all fours, like a normal non-anthro wolf, and started sniffing around the room, with Spike closely behind her; then, probably on purpose on Sally's side, her tail brushed against his chest, the young dragon gulping at this and freezing on the spot. Adam finally got enough self control to stop himself from laughing loudly at the scene and gave Spike a light push with his magic, making the dragon to react and continue following Sally as she sniffed all over the place.
Meanwhile, at the palace's guest rooms, Lupe and Lobo entered the one Princess Celestia assigned for them. Being the leaders of a whole race, the wolves had some special privileges, proper of any royal visitor or embassador, so their room was among the largest ones and very close to Celestia and Luna's quarters.
"And to think Spike and Sally are up there." Lobo, looking through one of the room's windows, looked up at the impressive tower. "Maybe they should have taken some lunch with them in case they really spend several hours and even days working."
"I'm sure they'll be fine. And I'm sure you should turn back." Lupe, with a very seductive voice, talked to Lobo, causing him to turn back and, almost instantly, to wag his tail in excitement.
Lupe was currently on the bed, doing a sexy pose, and, most notably, she had morphed into the most sensual shape she could imagine; besides having a much longer hairdo that covered most of her back, her body was extremely curvy, with a chest that would be the envy of any movie actress, and long, firm legs that Lobo couldn't wait to feel around his body.
"We had been very busy lately. And we can't go too... wild... at the Apples' farm, because Applebloom might hear us... So, I thought, since we're staying here for a while, and this is a nice, private room."
"I love how you think." Lobo said while sitting next to her and starting to kiss and caress her face and body. Moaning in delight, Lupe stretched one of her arms to lock the door and close the window, just to make sure they wouldn't get interrupted, and then gave Lobo her whole attention. Luckily, the room granted a lot of privacy and the walls were mostly sound-proof, or everypony in Canterlot could have heard them.
Meanwhile, Nicole, Fiona, Leeta and Lyco were already on the street with Garble, Puff, Shakes and Fume, looking for the places Spike recommended them to hang around. The dragons were enjoying their time with the females, and also were quite interested in the city, as they had never been in a pony town before, so a huge city like Canterlot was very amazing and a bit intimidating as well. Not to mention they also wanted to show the girls that they were more than a gang of brutes and that they could behave in a civilized place... even if they were obviously struggling.
"Okay... where did Spike say we could eat those donuts things?" Puff asked to his companions.
"Do any of you know how a donut smells like?" Fume scratched his head. "That way we'd find it with ease."
"Ponies usually don't use their noses all the time to find stuff; they look for the address." Nicole explained them. "Spike said we had to walk down the McGraw Lane and find Mister Ed Street."
"And that would be..?" Garble groaned, as he and the other dragons started looking at the signs at the street, and not getting a word. "Oh, come on, why ponies have to write words with letters?"
"Well, usually, when you write anything, you have to use letters." Fiona grinned at Garble's accidental humor.
"They should use drawings. Like... uh... if they want you to know there's a donut place around, they can draw a donut on the sign." Shakes commented.
"Actually, they do, and the same thing happens with most stores." Leeta then pointed out at some stores around them, most of them with drawings on their entrances. "But since you don't just find the donut store at that street, but several other stores, and maybe a few homes too, it's more practical to name the street."
"Oh." The dragons chorused before blushing in embarrasement.
"You girls must think we're a bunch of morons." Garble sighed. Nicole put an arm over his shoulders and comforted him, while the other girls did the same with their respective dragons.
"We don't think you guys are morons. Just...uh... ignorants." Nicole tried to make it sound as non-offensive as possible. "This is the first time you guys visit a city, and you hadn't received the proper education. It's natural you're not gonna know most of the stuff the ponies and even us, The Mobians, take for granted."
"Just remember, nopony... and in fact, nobody... knows all this stuff since birth. Even a rural pony would make mistakes visiting a large city for the first time." Fiona explained. "That's why we are gonna help you guys through the whole ordeal. Just try to relax and you'll learn the basics in no time."
The dragons smiled and nodded at the girls, feeling a bit better after this.
"Okay, now, let's find that donuts place." Lyco smiled before looking at a nearby sign. "Mmm... Black Beauty Avenue... yes, according to Spike, the McGraw Lane isn't far from here. We just have to go left at Spirit Street and we'll be there."
The group continued walking, as Spike had already suggested them to avoid flying, both to orient themselves more easily (since, obviously, Spike was used to read the signs while walking, it would be easier to follow his directions if walking as well) and also to avoid scaring anypony that didn't know the dragons weren't looking for trouble, especially just after Discord went full Godzilla mode on the city; after all, even if the dragons were traveling with the Mobians, the girls were from predatory species, and they would be a bit intimidating as well. After a while, and despite getting a few fearful glances from some ponies, the group felt relatively comfortable, and most of the ponies stopped feeling nervous around them.
"Here it is." Nicole pointed at the donuts place, making emphasis on the sign. "See, guys? That's what a donut looks like."
"Mmm... a food that looks like a circle? And somebody already ate the center!" Shakes groaned. "Great, we're late."
The girls rolled their eyes yet smiled, and soon they all sat at a large table. The waiter, apparently used to dragons already, attended them without hesitation and with much more courtesy the dragons expected; obviously, she had attended Spike in the past. A few minutes later, she was serving them a large amount of assorted flavored donuts, with hot chocolate to pass them down.
"Mmm... well, they smell good." Fume commented while grabbing the first one, putting his claw through the hole. "And I see why they make a hole in them; it's easier to grab the thing."
"Now, try it." Lyco smiled at him. The dragon shrugged and started licking it slightly; a moment later, his eyes opened to the max and then ate it all, making delighted noises all the time.
"Mmmmm... guys, you have to eat this! It's like... a jewel, but much softer!"
The other dragons grinned and tried the donuts as well; a few moments later, they were as delighted as Fume. The girls giggled at this, finding it quite funny how their dates were loving the donuts as if they were eating world-class cuisine.
"Heh... imagine the face they're gonna make when they put sprinkles on them." Leeta whispered at Lyco, who laughed a bit at this before started eating as well.
Meanwhile, Spike and Sally were still trying to locate the Mind Stone. Even if Spike's staff was giving them an idea of the general location of the stone, it changed constantly, and only Sally's wolf-like nose was letting them advance in the search.
"This is too much." Sally groaned a bit. "This stone changes location every time we get close to it."
Spike, who was getting a bit frustrated as well, took a seat at one of the luxury couches around the room, and motioned Sally to sit next to him; she changed into an anthro wolf shape instead of the feral one she had been using the whole time.
"I know... this stone has some sort of sick sense of humor." Spike groaned while rubbing his temples. "Maybe we should take a break; my Power Stone keeps me from getting physically tired but my mind needs a recess."
"And so does my nose." Sally pointed at her wolfish muzzle before smiling at the dragon. "So... wanna chat for a while?"
"Sure. Uh... so... any new stuff happening at Ponyville?" Spike grinned at her. "How have you guys survived so far without me?"
"Barely." Sally sighed, with Spike noticing she wasn't exactly joking. "We really need you for all kinds of reasons, both emotional and practical. Just because we Mobians have thumbs doesn't mean we are as good helping Twilight at the library as you do."
"Heh... well, I've been Twi's assistant since I could remember." Spike chuckled.
"And speaking about memories, wanna tell me how you got those stones?" Sally pointed at the Infinity Staff.
"Oh, it hadn't been easy. You heard Adam; you need to get all the stones in a particular order so the next stone gets a bit easier to find or control." Spike explained while pointing at the Soul Stone. "This one is pretty much the only Stone you don't need a previous one to control or find... and of course, getting it wasn't easy because I had no powers besides my own abilities to find it and fight the ones protecting it."
"Who was protecting that stone?"
"Diamond Dogs. Dozens, and dozens, of Diamond Dogs. Whoa, too many D's." Spike rolled his eyes while Sally gasped. After all, the reason Spike had left Ponyville in the first place was how bad he felt precisely after being attacked by Diamond Dogs.
"And you weren't scared?"
"No... just a bit terrified." Spike chuckled a bit. "Adam had already trained me, and gave me the staff for protection, but still, I had no Infinity Stones to boost my abilities, and it was just yours truly versus a whole pack of Diamond Dogs. Adam himself told me I would stand no chance in a direct fight, at least not until getting the Soul Stone, so I had to enter their lair without getting captured, and I did great... until they found me and I almost got captured. After that, it was pretty much a race to get the Soul Stone before I became dog food, and, luckily, I got it on time." Spike now looked a lot more serious. "It felt... awful... the first time, I mean, the Soul Stone was trying to absorb both my spirit and the dogs', and as mean as they can be, I didn't want the dogs to suffer (more than necessary); luckily, Adam's training allowed me to control the stone's power. The dogs were so scared after the stone almost got them, that they were just terrified of me when they realized now I had the Stone under my control; I then ordered them to be better ponies... or dragons, or dogs, creatures, whatever... and stop stealing jewels."
"You showed them who's the alpha male." Sally grinned at this.
"Yep. And with the Soul Stone under my control, I could use its energy to track down the Power one when Adam took me to the next site."
"The dragons' home." Sally guessed while Spike nodded.
"Yep. And I think you already know that part." Spike grinned. "I'm glad you guys and gals got them to behave and even to reform... but I gave them a little 'reminder' so they don't act like thugs, beasts or jerks with the girls, or they'll get another taste of the Infinity Stones... among other painful stuff."
"It seems you're getting too knowledgeable on intimidation tactics, uh?" Sally chuckled. Spike smiled, enjoying the sound of her chuckling and looking at her smile.
"Heh... better to be a bit intimidating than actually needing to use the Stones." Spike shrugged. "And guess you don't wanna hear about how I got the Reality Stone since we already talked about that with the others, and you saw what happened with Discord."
"You think he can be reformed? I don't think it will be practical to imprison him for life." Sally commented.
"You're right... but who can reform a monster that is composed of several animals..." Spike paused. "Mmm... several animals at once... Remind me to suggest Princess Celestia to make Fluttershy reform Discord."
Sally nodded at this and, after a few more minutes of random chat, they went back to searching. After a while of doing this, Sally finally got an idea.
"I can stretch my body, right? Why don't you stay in the middle of the room while I search for the stone, and when you sense it changes position, you tell me, and I stretch my hands to grab it without moving from wherever I am?"
"That's... the best idea I've heard today." Spike grinned. "Okay, let's do it."
Again, Sally went back to sniffing around while Spike remained in the middle of the room. Then, by using his Infinity Staff, Spike sensed how the Mind Stone disappeared from the general direction Sally was searching, and reappearing the opposite side of the room.
"NOW!" Spike pointed at the right direction, and Sally, without moving from her current spot, stretched her arms full length, moving a couch and revealing the Mind Stone. The stone started glowing, ready to disappear again, when Spike changed his staff into a chain/whip weapon, and swung it at the stone, grabbing it right on time. Spike pulled the whip/chain back to his hands, and a second later the Mind Stone was in his possession.
"Congratulations, Spike!" Sally smiled while changing back to normal, but paused when noticing the stone's glow was now covering Spike's entire body.
"Sally... stay away... this is the part... where I take control of this power... and it's not easy!" Spike grunted while using the other stones' powers to prepare himself; the Soul and Reality Stones would allow him control the Mind one while the Power Stone would keep him strong while doing it.
Spike felt his mind expanding, very similarly as how he felt when feeling the Reality Stone the first time, but this time, instead of sensing different realities and possibilities at once, he felt hundreds of alternative thought processes. After a few moments, he realized these thoughts were coming from everypony in Canterlot.
"SWEET CELESTIA... THESE THOUGHTS ARE... FROM PRINCESS CELESTIA... AND LUNA... OH, MY... HOW CAN THEY HOLD SO MANY MEMORIES? ARGH! TWILIGHT... SHE'S MUCH SMARTER THAN I THOUGHT... AAARGH! RAINBOW AND SONIC THINK SO FAST... IT'S TOO MUCH... AND PINKIE... SHE... UNGH... THIS IS DRIVING ME CRAZY!" Spike was feeling a monumental headache coming. "I NEED... AN ANCHOR... A MIND THAT I CAN FOCUS IN... SALLY!"
Spike immediately realized that Sally, being the closest mind around, would be the best solution; he could focus on her thoughts and memories while getting used to this power. Taking deep breaths, Spike felt himself entering Sally's memories... and the headache dissipated almost immediately.
"Sally... you... you are so great... All these memories... these adventures... oh... this hurt you a lot, isn't it? But... here... another happy memory... Hey, that's me! I am in your mind. A lot." Spike smiled while slowly going deeper into Sally's subconscious mind, seeing scenes of her teenage and childhood years.
"He's your dad, uh, Sally? Seems to be a nice guy... you told me something very bad happened to him... what happened to him?" Spike felt bad about intruding now, but he couldn't stop himself now. The dragon soon was watching some painful memories, related with the people Sally had lost in the past, and losing her father, King Acorn, was the most painful memory of them all. Spike almost cringed when looking at the king getting sucked into a portal; from Sally's memory, Spike learned this was The Void, and everything was Ivo Robotnik's fault. As Spike was pretty much fused with Sally's right now, he could feel all the despair, anger and frustration she experienced at that moment.
"Sally... all this pain... I... want to ease it... maybe... healing your soul..."
The Reality Stone, sensing Spike's subconscious mind, made him use the Soul Stone along with the Mind Stone, and he could sense her soul. This was the most beautiful sight Spike had ever seen; Sally wasn't just a beautiful, wonderful female on the outside, but also one with a wonderful, amazing, extremely beautiful soul.
"You don't need me healing your soul. I can't repair something that's already close to perfect."
Unknown to Spike, Sally had been feeling the effects of his 'mind and soul intruding'; at first she felt a bit defensive, but soon she felt a bit of Spike's feelings and how he literally touched her soul. Sally didn't remember the last time she felt such joy and peace at once.
Spike opened his eyes, smiling at an equally happy Sally, as the Mind Stone stopped glowing and occupied its right place in the Infinity Staff.
"We did it, Sally. The Mind Stone is under my control. Thanks." Spike held her hands and looked at her quite tenderly.
"You did it. I only came here for moral support." Sally gave him the same look.
"It was the right support for me." Spike then hugged her, and few moments later they kissed in a loving, passionate yet sweet manner, Adam looking at this from a distance and smiling at the scene.
"Well done, Spike. Well done." Adam thought out loud, grinning. "And getting the Mind Stone was good too."
The alicorn allowed the new couple to have some privacy, as Spike had earned this little 'recess' before going to find the next stone, the Time Stone.