"One, two and heeyup!" Applejack grunted as she lifted the van up with both hands. Rainbow Dash quickly worked on unscrewing the bolts and nuts and popped the first right passenger side wheel. Hands a blur as she and her girlfriend made quick work.
As the mane 7 stood near the van as the couple worked, discussing what exactly just happened while Rachel, who had turned back to her human self, was rummaging through the car the dead White Mantle was just in. Having to pull their mangled bodies in the ditches on the side of the road.
One of the girls turned to see Rachel finding what looks like a bag of chips and proceeded to open them up and began eating it.
"How is she eating after doing all that?" Elizabeth asked in disbelief. Watching Rachel act like she didn't just slaughter a bunch of Equestrian Ponies like they were nothing.
"Uh Sunset, you might have to explain a few things about our new friend because what Rachel just did was…" Cassandra trailed off.
"Awful! We don't kill others, how are we just going to do this mission with her?" Serenity whimpered.
Sunset sighed. "Okay okay, I should've made things a bit clearer. I didn't think this was going to happen but Rachel here obviously isn't normal. Not even human." she explained. "Judging by the emblem these guys wore, they are part of a group she and your ponyselves encountered and fought. A small army of them attacked Princess Twilight's castle."
"Why does she look like a demon when she turns? Not like how you turned the first time, Sunny but still." Lucy looked at Rachel as she glanced over from inside the car and waved at her.
"From what I was told, it's because she has both dragon and pony magic. Looks like she has more dragon than expected." Sunset said. "The White Mantle has been a major problem in Equestria but I didn't think it was that extreme…until a few minutes ago." Sunset then looked back at Rachel.
"Huh, no wonder she was in a foul mood." Spike responded with a shrug.
"I was shot, thrown from the air, set on fire at the same time by the White Mantle," Rachel called out. "That's just what they personally did to me."
The gang blinked in surprise that she was able to hear all of that from where she was at.
"Yeah, I heard ya'll. Get over it." Rachel spoke as she tossed a chip in her mouth as she came back to the group. She then looked at Elizabeth and offered her the bag. "Want some?"
Elizabeth took a step back from her, especially since Rachel was covered in blood.
Rachel smirked at that.
"Rachel, I'm sorry but, we don't kill. What you did was not right." Cassandra pushed her glasses further up her face.
"It's kill or be killed~" As soon as those words left Rachel's mouth, they heard something pop and a squishing sound coming from down the road. "Ah, I thought I missed two."
"What was that?" Applejack asked as she set the van down and walked around to the other side and lifted it up for Dash to work on the other tires.
"Two other ponies losing their heads." Rachel then giggled at that. "Bet their heads just popped like a zit."
"That's so morbid!" Elizabeth shouted.
Sunset, Lucy and Spike looked over Rachel's shoulders and eyes widened.
Two ponies who were on their way towards them were on the ground twenty feet from the car. Heads exploded and brains all over the ground.
"They were already dead, like I said." Rachel said as she ate more chips. "Any White Mantle that joined has something implanted in their heads. So in case they either failed a mission or were captured, their heads exploded to prevent them from being interrogated." She explained. "So in a way, killing them is a mercy, but it doesn't matter to me either way because anyone associating with them, I have zero sympathy for them. I don't care if they have families back home waiting for them, I don't give a single fuck because the crimes they committed, lives they ruined, they all deserve to die and I have no sympathy for them. Damn these are good chips."
"So you killed a lot of White Mantle guys?" Dash asked as she changed tires.
"Lost count. And trust me when I say this girls, this shit here," Rachel motioned the ponies. "Is nothing to whatever we're about to face in the Temple. Also adding the fact it's guarded by the military here. So get this shock factor out of your systems before we head on out. I did apologize about your future therapy sessions right?"
"Eeyup." Applejack grunted before setting the van down.
The Mane 7 and Spike stared at Rachel for a bit, seeing her finish the bag of chips and crumpled up the trash and stuffed it in her pocket to hold until they got to where she could dispose of it properly.
"What?" Rachel asked.
"Darling, you're covered in blood." Elizabeth pointed out.
Rachel glanced down at her bloody clothes. "Huh, won't be the first and won't be the last." she shrugged.
Rachel truly lost the will to care at this point.
"W-we have some clothes we can spare," Cassandra gulps. "We gotta go if we're going to make it to the airstrip."
Though they have a mission to do, it was clear that the girls were a bit scared of Rachel, seeing what she was capable of doing. Rachel sees this but she wasn't here to make friends.
They got a job to do.
They all climbed back in the van and quickly drove away from the possible crime scene.
Finally, they eventually drove up to a commercial airstrip. There was a cargo plane that was already on the strip, standing near the opening was a medium built man wearing a murky green jumpsuit, slick back black hair, much lighter skin tone waiting for them.
"That's my brother, Shaun." Cassandra points out the Human version of Shining Armor. "Looks like he got everything situated for us." She said as she unfastened her seatbelt along with the girls.
"I'm gonna change real quick, why don't you all go out." Rachel suggested. Her voice was a little strained. Could it be because of what she did an hour ago?
However, by the way Spike turned to look at her, it wasn't the case.
"You can use my clothes." Applejack offered. It made sense since she was the tallest of the group. Well it was until Rachel showed up by several inches.
"Don't take long, we're on a deadline." Rainbow Dash said as she got out first. Serenity and Elizabeth couldn't get out of there fast enough, followed by Lucy, Cassandra and Applejack. Spike did get out but he didn't go up to Shaun like his owner did.
The girls did go to grab their bags out, Applejack opened hers and pulled out a pair of jeans and a clean long sleeve shirt and handed it to Rachel. She then noticed this look on her face. "Sugar, are you okay?"
Rachel nodded. "Just, gimme a minute." she muttered softly as she grabbed the clothes.
"If you say so, hon." the farmer girl said before closing the backdoor. They did leave the side doors opened a little to let some air in.
Once the girls were out of earshot, Rachel finally broke down.
Burying her face in her hands, her heart racing as everything all at once dropped on her. What she had done, memories of events and trauma hitting her like a thousand ton bricks. Moaning and whimpering as her body shook. Her anxiety had blown up after everything slightly began winding down on the drive here. She didn't want the others to see her like this.
Everything associated with what happened with the White Mantle viciously replayed in her mind. Especially the moments where Garble had her by the throat.
Remembering being thrown, set on fire, spiraling out of control before crashing on the ground. She did remember using a special magic stone the girls back home gave her that gave her a shield ability but it left her in a coma.
Her hands moved from her face, one placed over her racing heart, the other on her baby bump. She knew she had to get her heart rate and breathing under control but she couldn't bring herself to.
"Rachel? Rachel?" She hears someone calling her name, it sounded like her mate but mentally she didn't know if it was him or not.
She wanted his arms around her. Wanting him to hold her, to make her feel as if everything was going to be okay instead of feeling like the end of the world was coming.
She wanted her Spike.
Rachel didn't register Dog Spike pushing the door all the way with his body before hopping in the back row seats with her.
Spike stared at her for a second before hopping on the seat and scooted as close as he could before lying down. He placed his head on her lap, pressing against her womb and closed his eyes. Bringing his heart rate down to a calm rate.
He didn't say a word, just calmly breathing against Rachel's erratic breathing.
It took Rachel a long time to register the dog on her, but just feeling his calm breathing was working, it was starting to help with her racing heart. Her hands slowly moved, wrapping around his neck and body, stroking and petting his fur, leaning into his warm body.
"Sorry…" she whispered with a soft sob.
"You have nothing to be sorry for." Spike responded as he was calming her down. "Stress is really not good for the baby, anxiety attacks are worse. You've been through a lot."
Rachel let out a humorless laugh as she continued to focus on the dog, petting his fur and trying to match her heartbeat with his. "You have no idea…"
He waited a moment before speaking again. "This is the most we have spoken since we met. I know you said you were going through things, but you haven't talked to me, much less barely look at me…"
Rachel sniffled, burying her face in his soft fur.
"I know you mentioned it before, but is the reason why you haven't looked or talked to me is because of the other me?" He asked.
He only met dragon Spike once, roughly right after the Friendship Games when the girls were still in High School. It was a funny sight, especially both Cassandra's and Princess Twilight's facial expressions that day.
Rachel nodded. "It's not your fault but…when I hear your voice, all I hear is him. I'm sorry but…" her voice quivered a little. She inhaled and exhaled twice before continuing. "The other you… My Spike, he's my mate."
"Oh?...Ooooh." Spike put the pieces together. "And I'm guessing the baby daddy is him?"
She nodded again. "Yeah."
Spike then smirked and asked, "Since you step through the portal looking human, and dragons turned into dogs when they cross over, does that mean you have a puppy in you?"
Rachel let out a groan and a laugh. "Noooo, why did you have to go and say that?" She moans and laughs at the same time. Spike giggled, his tail wagging triumphant. "I tried so hard not to think about that."
"How did you manage to hook up with him? How did you two meet exactly?"
Rachel giggled, wiping her face with her hands. "We, uh, we met on a cruise months ago. Haven't even left the sky docks and we bumped into each other."
"Cruises are nice."
She nodded in agreement. "That cruise was eventful, that's for damn sure. I don't know, we just seemed to be drawn to each other. It doesn't usually take me a week to fall in love with someone, but it took a week for me to fall for him and him for me. We had ups and downs, but what couple hasn't. With hell we went through, we could've conquered anything, got through everything together…" She pulled the chain around her neck and showed him the ring. The black banded ring with multi-colored gems across the band. "He even proposed to me and I said yes almost instantly…" Feeling another wave of emotions coming, she dropped the ring back down and continued to pet the dog.
"What happened?" Spike muttered.
Rachel shuddered. "My mate, my fiancé, he left me. Something…something terrible happened to both of us and he ran away… left a note stating he didn't want me to see him at his worst and not wanting to find him."
Spike let out a sad whimper. "You don't know where he went?"
"No… it's one of the reasons I'm here. This artifact I'm looking for, it has what I need to find him. Even if I have to drag him by his tail, I'm going to bring him home."
"You'd move heaven and hell for him, huh?"
"I'll move both a million times if that's what it takes."
"Does he know about…?"
Rachel shook her head. "No…no, he doesn't know." She answered. "I only found out two weeks ago and he's been gone for a month."
The two lay in silence for a moment before Spike spoke. "Hey, one Spike to another, what he pulled was a dick move. He'd probably been trying to save you the heartache, but him leaving only hurt you. And if he's anything like me and I had run away, especially from someone like you, I would regret it instantly. Running away from the ones you love only causes more pain than what it's worth. It'll take time, but I believe he will come back… probably do a hell of a lot of asskissing."
Rachel laughed. "That's one of his cute quirks. You think he will?" She does know if they are reunited, Spike would do a whole lot of apologizing, groveling and doing what he does best. After she whacks him good on the head for putting her through this mess.
"I know he will. It's what I would've done." Spike smiled. "Hey, you're breathing well, that's great. The kid's heart rate is back down too."
"Wait, you can hear the baby? I didn't think it developed a heart beat just yet. I'm only a month and a half along." Rachel looked down.
"Oh I can hear it. And smell it." Spike smelt her stomach, tail wagging as he senses the little one in her belly. "I was able to tell before the others knew."
Rachel chuckled. "What did the baby's heart sound like?"
Spike raised his head up to look at her and smiled. "Mighty. Strong, like its mother." And just because of doggy ways, he licks her face, causing her to giggle. "Better?"
Rachel smiled and nodded. "Yeah, I do now…thank you." She said before hugging him and kissing his head.
"As a certified therapy dog for Cassandra, it's my job. I take my payments in treats and pets." Rachel barks out laughing once he says that.
That made so much sense, thinking how Twili-nanas Twilight Sparkle back home gets. Maybe she should get a dog like her human counterpart.
"Hey, what's the hold up?!" Rachel heard one of the girls called out from the plane. "We're about to leave!"
"Right, right." Rachel chuckled. "Now, I gotta get changed, out you."
"I'm a dog, I don't really care if you get undressed in front of me. None of the other girls mind." Spike smirked before hopping out of the backseats and out the van side doors.
Rachel watched him leave and shook her head with a giggle. Feeling a bit better than how she felt before. She still had a lot of issues to work out, but she could now function a bit more.
After changing the bloody clothes to jeans that didn't go all the way down her legs and slipping on the long sleeve shirt, she got out of the van, closed the doors and joined everyone on the plane.
Scandinvania, there they come.