After demolishing just about everything Armani could throw at her and taking the rest of the night to calm herself down, Rachel and Tempest set out on their sights to go and meet The Collector the following morning.
"Now Rachel, Snowball has a way to make you part of his collection. You have to be careful of your words and control your temper." Tempest instructed as they came up to his office.
"This device he has is tied to his life line. If he dies, so does everyone in this village." Rachel said, adjusting the maroon colored waist corset she was wearing. She wore a two time long sleeve red shirt, studded belt and leggings. The ring tucked underneath the shirt.
"This is just a talk. Let's see if we can't do this diplomatically."
"If that doesn't work, I know a few tricks to make him squeal until Spike and the others are set free. He won't die but he'll wish he would."
"As much as that would be entertaining, talk first." Tempest said as she pounded on Snowball's door.
"Don't break the damn thing, come in." They heard the pig jump out of fright from the sudden door pounding.
Tempest opened the door and let Rachel walk in first.
Snowball was in his chair when he saw the girls enter.
"Why hello," he said, trying to be pleasant when seeing Rachel before his eyes looked at Tempest. "You look rather familiar, pony."
"We've met before," Tempest grunted.
"She's with me. My name's Rachel, you must be The Collector I heard so much about." Rachel said as she sizes up the small guy. Still in disbelief that this walking pork chop is in control of so many meat eating predators.
"Why yes I am. I'm humbled that such a lovely thing like you knows of me." The pig chuckled. "Please come in, have a seat." He kindly motioned them to the two chairs in front of the desk.
The two looked at each other before approaching the chairs, Tempest didn't take a seat but Rachel did. Rachel had to keep her face straight due to the horrid stench coming off of him.
"So, what can I do for you two today?" Snowball asked then.
Rachel crossed her legs and put her hands together on her lap. "I'm here because you have my mate held captive. I am willing to negotiate the terms of his release." She said, going on what she and Tempest talk about.
His eyes narrowed at her. "Is your mate my boy Spike by any chance?" he asked. "I happened to see him with you last night. I'm sorry but what exactly are you?" He motioned to her pony/dragon features.
The dragoness didn't respond to that, doing her best to not come off the fact she wants to go completely off on him and what he had done to Spike.
Snowball snorted before taking a brown rag out of his breast pocket and blew into it. "Pardon me. And as for release, this isn't a jail lady. As you could see, all these people you see in my town owe me. They all have to pay a debt and that's for them to work it off. Sometimes the jails from out of town want to deal with their overpopulated sections but refuse to just set them free to the general public, so they send them my way.. I mean, you do realize what he has done in Equestria. My client made it clear that he needs to stay here for good."
Rachel grunted. "What will it take for you to let me take him home?" she asked. "I'm trying to be very patient but I would like nothing more than to reach over that desk and slam you down on it several times until your skull cracks. I'm not a patient female, and I want to do this so that doesn't result in violence."
Tempest nudged her shoulder as she crossed her arms, glaring at her.
He sets the snotty rag back inside its pocket. "No amount of money is what it'll take. I've always wanted to house a dragon and as far as I'm concerned, he's my property." He sees her getting heated up before oinking several times. "Say, you look like a capable fighter, you look…strong." he checks her out,giving her a wink that causes her to internally shiver in disgust.
"I've been told so, yes. I can show you a few moves right now." like how she really wants to.
He looks up to Tempest. "Seems your new master is a bit angry, isn't she?"
"I'm angry just seeing your village once again. Storm King should've destroyed this place years ago." She responded.
"Where did you think he got your minions?" Snowball smirked before going over to Rachel. "Listen, for usual, I would partake in a bit of a coin exchange if ya gots it, but since Spike is mine. He brought me a lot more investment in my fights. My best boy. I also have a bit of another deal." He hopped down and waddled up to her. "You look very," he goes to touch her leg. "Enticing."
Rachel reached down and grabbed his arm and quickly twisted him around and sharply twisted his arm and pinned it against his back. He made pained squeals and oinks as his arm was on the verge of snapping. "I can easily snap this arm off of your fat body." Rachel said so coldly as she twisted.
"Owowowowowow oh shit! Okay okay no touching, got it!" He oinked, struggling but it only hurt more. "I-i-I have another idea!"
"One last chance to make this simple or I'm really going to lose it." Rachel growled.
"She's got a hair-trigger temper so I think you should hurry." Tempest suggested to him.
Hearing the distress squeals of The Collector, three of his large hog goons burst in.
Tempest takes her daggers out and gets ready for a little fight.
"Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait! Okay, okay, okay! N-normally I would take payment to release one of my creatures but since Spike is a s-special lad I have a unique way of payment and n-n-not anything sexual!" He waves his arm to try and shoo his guards away.
Rachel held his arm back. "What do you want? And if it's to switch places with him, I'm going to make your life a living hell until everyone gets released so please don't test me."
"You fight for a week!" He squealed. "For fuck sakes you're breaking my arm!"
Rachel held him there, applyingore pressure to get it to his thick skull that if he tries anything, she'll dismember him alive before releasing the pig. "Participate in your fights?"
Snowball whimpered, rubbing his sore arm. "With special cases like Spike, those who want to release those guys have to fight to prove that they can handle the murdering dangerous ones. Typically you'd be fighting in the females to release a female but since it's a male, you'll be fighting them. But you'll have to prove you can fight the males by beating my best gal and her crew."
Rachel glanced at Tempest."What he is saying true?"
Tempest nodded. "I didn't participate but I've seen the Storm King using his guys in the fights to gain more minions."
"She's right."
Rachel hummed. "If I say yes, who would I be fighting first?"
Snowball looks up at his goons. "Find her will ya!"
They waddled away. A few minutes later, they brought the fighter.
And a creepy smile was plastered on her face. It was Harpy.
"Need something, baby cakes?" Harpy asked the boss before her eyes landed on Rachel.
"I'm in." Rachel said instantly, turning to Snowball. "The sooner the better actually, I do have things that do not involve this village of yours."
"Hey, weren't you the girl all over my dragon?" Harpy asked, trying to piece where she saw her.
Rachel takes a deep breath, a thought comes to her mind and an image and she starts chuckling darkly.
"What are you laughing at?" Harpy asked.
"Oh nothing just… imagining you without your beak if you keep running your mouth." Rachel said as her intrusive thoughts ran amuck.
"Okay, typically fight nights are three nights a week, you'll fight as the main event. But since this is somewhat of a preliminary round, we can do it tonight. My village will fill in the stands as your audience. Harpy, you and your crew are going against her."
"Oooh yay!" Harpy clapped repeatedly in joy. "My girls and I are the best."
"You never fought anything like me." Rachel said with her eerie smile still on her face. Making everyone, including Tempest, uneasy. "Deal, I'll fight tonight." The smile fell. "But during the time I'm here, Spike stays with me. That means whatever shithole job or errands you have him doing stops."
Snowball nodded. "Okay, however, Miss. Rachel. If you were to fail in any fights, you stay here, forever."
"Deal." Rachel said, knowingly that she wouldn't fail and shook his hand.
She then got up. "See you tonight." She said she shoves Harpy rudely out of the way, ignoring her squawking before heading out with Tempest.
Once away, Rachel makes a cross sign with her hands, puts them together and raises them in the air. Thanking what kind God that was smiling down on her and gave her this blessing.
"You seem too happy about this, we really didn't learn anything about the advice." Tempest said, watching her before they began leaving.
"We learn how he gets a lot of his creatures, I could see the outline of some sort of object, the remote or whatever in his pants pockets. I didn't think he'd explain his device so freely. Me doing these fights is a way to distract everyone while you and Capper find a way to steal it." Rachel explained."I won't lose. But dammit it be a lie to say that I'm not going to enjoy beating the shit out of Harpy." The smile came back.
As they talked, Spike had come in to do one of his cleaning and stopped at the door to see Rachel and Tempest coming from the direction of Snowball's office. He raced over to her, wide panicked eyes, seeing that smirk.
"What did you do?" He asked as he approached him. "Rachel, please tell me that you didn't just come from Snowball's office."
"I did. We have a bit of an arrangement." Rachel hummed, patting his shoulders. "You'll see tonight."
Happy, she looks waaaay too happy after meeting with the owner and it's frightening coming off of his mate.
Hours later Spike did find out what was happening and he was not happy about it.
He quickly hunted her down to one of the locker rooms, seeing Rachel getting ready for the fight. She wore a black sports bra and leggings. Her back was exposed and saw that her winged tattoos she had when she was human were gone, light indentations indicating where her scars were. Not as visible with the fur and scales on top of it but he could still see.
"What the fuck were you thinking!?" Spike asked, his voice raised.
Rachel took a second to respond to him. "Saving your ass." She responded with a smirk before she wrapped her hands, getting them prepped for the event.
"Rachel, no, you can't get involved with Snowball. He'd find a way to keep you trapped here. None of this is worth it! " he couldn't believe this was happening. He wants out, yes, but not at the expense of her freedom!
Rachel stopped what she was doing and turned to face him.
"I appreciate what you're doing but it's not worth dealing with that fucker. Just forget about me and go home. I can't go back but you still can!"
Her hands squeezed tightly of what he just said, glaring at him. "Forget about you? Are you fucking kidding me!" She snapped back. "Spike, I spent time and energy for months looking for you, when I finally did manage to find you, you telling me all my efforts were wasted? Fuck no, I'm not leaving without you. I'm doing this fight to save you and that's what I'm going to do."
"You don't need to do this! I'm trying to protect what little I can, i don't want you here, just fucking go!"
Rachel could not believe they were having this argument!
"I'm not leaving without you. We are leaving together. You have duties and responsibilities back home that you can't ignore anymore." She growled. She could say about Iggy but if she says her child's name, her mind won't be in the game because all she would be thinking about was her baby.
"Who the fuck do you think you are?! "
"Your mother fucking Queen and mate!" They were at each other's faces. "A Queen who didn't know she was a queen after you left! We wouldn't be in this mess if you hadn't run away!" She spat.
When he didn't have anything to say back, Rachel continued. "Do you think you're the only one that was affected by what Rarity did? It affected everyone! The Elements of Harmony, the princesses, the dragons, it affected me! The shit I went through after you left me with a note!" she shoves him angrily. What she had been holding back was boiling to the surface. "You would've gotten help with what you went through, I would've helped you, but you left. I'm going out there to fight for us, you should be glad I'm taking my anger out on your little girlfriend because otherwise I'd be taking it out on you."
When he left, she felt humiliated, betrayed, questioning her worthiness and wondered if she was cursed to be abandoned. It got worse when she discovered that she was pregnant. That little baby helped her pull out of that mess in her head the thought of the three of them becoming a family.
Spike tried to argue that Harpy wasn't his girlfriend but Rachel cut him off. "But since I'm going after Harpy, I'm going to have a grand ol time. She pisses me off each time I see her and tonight is probably the last time anyone will recognize her. I'll see you out there, too-dee-loos." She began walking away.
Spike snarled, turning around and shouted. "You're a fucking bitch, you know that right?!"
She turned back around and gave him a mock bow. "Buddy, I've earned that title Bitch a long time ago and I wear that shit like a badge of fucking honors, Spike. Come up with new material." Rachel huffed before turning on her hooves and walked out.
Spike grabbed the sides of his head and let out a shout of frustration. "That stubborn woman I swear!" He snarled before groaning in defeat. "Fuck, I love her."
Begrudgingly, Spike leaves the locker rooms to head out to join others in the stands. If there was one take away from this, Harpy about to be taken down will be a highlight of the night and he knows it.