Chapter 41: A Dog and Pony Show
The next week has been the quietest week ever after all the excitement in the past, which Spyro liked for a change as this allowed him the opportunity to take it easy and allow himself the rest and relaxation he needed after a couple of weeks of stress, worry, and missions he took on for Master Yen Sid and for himself. The young prince had just entered Ponyville and was looking around the shops, looking through the windows to see if there was something new and exciting he hasn't seen before before arriving at the Carousel Boutique, entering the store as the bell rung.
"One moment." Rarity said, closing the curtains before turning around and seeing Spyro. "Ah, Spyro darling, good morning dear."
"Morning Rare." Spyro replied. "Came to pick up my order."
"Oh you are actually just in time, I just finished it not too long ago." She replied. "It's in the changing room right now. Go try it on."
Spyro walked into the changing room as Rarity showed him where it was and upon entering, he saw a coat like his royal jacket, but it was blue with black waves on it going across the whole body without any kind of sleeves on. He went over to the coat and took off his jacket, putting on the new clothing as he heard someone else enter the store, not paying any attention as she gave her usual greeting to any customer who walked in, looking himself in the mirror to have a look and was astonished by her work as usual, finding it to work well with his coat and eyes. He walked out to show Rarity how good it looked on him when he saw a lemon yellow pony with sapphire blue hair wearing what looked like some kind of expensive white outfit and something holding her tail up, which he looked away every time her flank was to him.
"Who's she?" Spyro asked, walking up to Rarity.
"That is Sapphire Shores!" Rarity exclaimed excitedly. "She's the biggest pop star in all of Equastria. And she's here... in my store! Oh, if this is a dream, don't wake me up." She then walked up to the pop pony and cleared her throat, trying not to sound like a fan girl. "So, how may I help you Ms. Shores."
"Oh please Rarity, call me Sapphire." Sapphire Shores replied, turning to face her when she saw Spyro and her eyes widened. "Oh my stars, look at you!"
"Me?" Spyro asked.
"Yes you." She said walking up. "That coat, so stylish, so bold, it's you! Plus, you're kinda cute."
"Um, thank you?" Spyro said, nervously.
"Now, who is your designer because that coat is fabulous!" She said, getting a little closer.
"Rarity made it." Spyro replied.
She then started circling around him, checking out both the coat and himself, which he could sense she was liking what she was seeing, both the coat and himself.
"Ms. Rarity, this coat is fabulous." She said. "But I am looking for something for my next up coming concert. Do you have anything that will make me look sensational?"
"Oh, I have just what you need." She replied, walking over to the curtain. "Sapphire Shores, prepare yourself for the fiesta resistance of the entire store." She pulled back the curtains to reveal a suit covered in sapphires and in rubies, sparkling red and blue, which seemed to catch the pop ponies eye. "It took very last gem I had to make this one suit."
"Wow." Spyro said, impressed by it. "Kinda looks like something Elvis Presley would wear."
"Who?" Rarity asked.
"It is spectacular!" Sapphire Shores said. "I'll take it."
"Really?" Rarity asked, stars in her eyes.
"Oh yes, it and five more just like it." Sapphire Shroes replied. "Each with a different gem. Costume changes."
Rarity was surprised, looking back to her chest where she held her gems and remembered that it was empty and fainting after being given the order.
"Yeah, I have that effect on ponies." She said, walking away, but turned to look at Spyro. "And I hope to see you again soon sugar."
She then walked out of the store and left the two ponies alone in the room, Rarity seeing stars from the order that she was given while Spyro helped her back onto her hooves.
"Spyro darling, what am I going to do?" She asked. "She wants five more with different gems and she didn't tell me when she would be back for them."
"Maybe she's going to come back before her concert to pick them up." Spyro said. "Anyway, how are you going to get more gems in the first place? Aren't they expensive?"
"Yes, they are." She replied. "But I know a spell to help me find more out in the wilderness. And I know the perfect place to find them too."
After paying for the new coat, Spyro left the boutique and went back too the farm, hanging it up in his closet and went out to finish up the chores he was given, which was one of the worst ones he could ever hope for; cleaning up the pigs. He didn't understand why he needed to clean the pigs in the first place as they will just dirty themselves up in the muck again, but Applejack insisted, so he got the bucket and brushes again, getting ready to clean the pigs when he felt someone approach from behind him, looking back to see Rarity coming up with a small list.
"Spyro, there you are." She said. "I need your help real quick."
"Sure, what is it?" Spyro replied.
"I need you and Spike to help me transport some gems from the area I know that has a large bounty of them." She said. "Do you have the time to do so?"
"I think I can help out." Spyro replied. "Just need to clean these pigs off and I'll be right there."
"Great, it's not too far." She replied, handing him a piece of parchment. "This is a map of where we will be. See you soon darling."
She gave him a peck on the cheek and left the farm, leaving him stunned as she only ever kissed him once and that was back when he helped her redeem herself in front of Hoity-Toity back during the whole dress mania. As she left, Applejack came up to him, watching as Rarity walked past her looking very pleased with herself and saw a stunned Spyro about to enter the pig pen, shaking off the shock before going into the pig pen and began cleaning the pigs.
"What was that about Spyro?" She asked, walking up to him.
"She needs my help getting gems for an order for a pony called Sapphire Shores." Spyro replied. "Said she needs somepony to help transport some gems from a place she knows where some are."
"Oh, and why aren't ya going there now?" Applejack asked.
"Gotta clean these piggies first." Spyro replied, finishing the first one. "But when I finish cleaning them-" A second later, the clean pig dirtied himself up in the mud, frustrating Spyro. "The pork chop goes and dirties himself up again."
Applejack started to laugh as she understood how he felt as she also does not like to clean them up, but watched as he tried again and again, each time the pigs were wallowing in the mud, enjoying themselves. Spyro had enough and got out of the pen, going somewhere he wouldn't hurt someone before he lost his mind trying to clean them up while Applejack just smiled, remembering he might be a cool and collective guy, but does loose his temper if he gets frustrated or if one of them is ever in any danger. She followed him to under a tree and sat down next to him, leaning into him as he wrapped his wing around her, enjoying the moment as they closed their eyes.
"I hate cleaning those pigs." Spyro said. "Why do we even need to clean them in the first place?"
"Just something to keep us busy." Applejack replied. "Don't ya worry about those pigs. I saw ya tried to clean them, so yer off the hook."
"Thanks AJ." Spyro said, planting a kiss on her forehead. "See you in a bit. Gotta help Rarity. "Well, I'll see you later. Gotta go hep Rarity."
"See ya later sugarcube." Applejack said, watching Spyro leave the farm.
Spyro flew out of Ponyville, looking around for the area Rarity had written down where to find her and flew further and further away from the village until he spotted a white unicorn and a baby dragon in a barren rocky area while the dragon was pulling a wagon behind him. Gliding down, he landed in front of the duo, turning around and seeing the serious look on her face.
"Sorry I'm late." Spyro said. "Them pigs really did not want a bath."
"Oh, quite alright Spyro darling." Rarity said. "We just got here ourselves."
"Glad you could make it Spyro." Spike said. "Now we're sure to get twice as much gems for Sapphire Shores."
"That's why I'm here." Spyro said. "Now, how are we going to find them?"
"Leave that to me." Rarity said, her horn glowing as she lowered her head down, following some kind of magic.
As they walked, Spike was geeking out over Sapphire Shores, saying how awesome she is, how gorgeous and talented she was until Rarity looked back, not exactly annoyed, but did leery at him as he talked. Spyro could sense no jealousy but could sense she was trying to concentrate and Spike talking wasn't helping, which made Spike stop talking about Sapphire Shores and say all the nice things he could about Rarity as she got back to tracking gems. He just smiled at the little dragon, the little guy and his crush on Rarity and looked around, sensing a lot of gems beneath them, but could also sense something else, stopping on the spot and looked around as he felt something alive was close by, not exactly malicious, but was after something in the area, but was unsure what they wanted.
"Is everything alright Spyro?" Rarity asked, making him look back to the mare.
"Oh, just felt something close by." Spyro responded.
"Something close?" Spike asked, growing nervous. "Is it dangerous?"
"I'm not sure." He replied. "I don't sense any malice or evil in it. Must be an animal or something."
"Well, as long as you don't think it's a threat, we can keep going." Rarity said, her horn glowing again. "And Spike, a lady doesn't get jealous."
"Of course not." Spike replied. "But were you flipping out when you met her?"
"Ladies don't 'flip out.'" She replied. "But I must admit, i was in awe when I got to meet her."
"Yeah, you were flipping out." Spyro responded, earning an angry glare from her.
"Remind me again why I brought you Spyro?" She asked, her horn glowing a moment later. She trotted around following her horns magic, looking around until she stopped, finding exactly what she was looking for. "Aha, there. Spike, if you please."
Spike jumped to where she was pointed her horn, digging into the ground until the sun reflected off some gems he dug up, looking over the baby dragons shoulder and finding the hole was filled with gems, amazed at how Rarity managed to actually find them from underneath the ground. He then saw a look in Spikes eyes, watching his pupils grow bigger and droll coming from his mouth, realizing that he was eyes the crystals like they were prey, Spike dove down into the hole and picked them up, opening his mouth to eat them , which horrified Spyro.
"Spike." Rarity said, stopping the baby dragon. "I promised you gems, but I need more if I'm going to finish Sapphire Shores order."
"Wait, back up there, you promised Spike gems?" Spyro asked. "Can someone explain why and why he was eyeing those gems like a predator eyeing its prey?"
"Oh, Spike eats gems Spyro." Rarity replied, leaving Spyro completely confused. "All dragons eat gems darling. We don't know why, but they simply do."
"And they're delicious." Spike said, carrying the gems to the wagon. "Rarity promised me some gems after we get enough for Sapphire Shores costumes."
"And how are you going to find them all?" Spyro asked. "I saw your horn glowing and leading to the gems, but how does that work?"
"Oh, it's a spell I learned to help me find gems in the ground." She replied. "That way I won't need to crystal mines to purchase some."
"Huh, great way to save money." Spyro said.
As he said it, Rarity located another stash of gems, Spyro this time turning his hooves into paws and digging through the earth, finding a small deposit of gems, using his own magic to take them to the wagon. They kept on finding stashed of gems, both he and Spike digging into the ground and getting jewels for about an hours, filling the wagon up a bit, but Spike was still drooling as he stared at the ever growing pile of gemstones, so he took it upon himself to make sure Spike didn't try to eat them before they were finished or else they would be there all day. After a while they took a break and sat down on some nearby rocks, Spyro looking to the sky and enjoying the day, but then felt a disturbance in the Force, looking around as he felt there was someone watching and looked around, but found nothing.
"You have been very patient Spike." Rarity said, patting his head. "And as such, you get the finest reward."
Using her magic, she took out a large cyan gem from the pile and gave it to Spike, the little dragon looking at it and then to Rarity, his eyes ogling over the mare as pigeon noises came out of no where, Spyro shaking his head as Spikes crush was so obvious he was surprised Rarity didn't say anything about it, unless she did and wasn't saying anything and letting the little dragon have his fantasies. Spike didn't eat the gem, but instead was holding onto it as he kept starring at the mare until her horn glowed again and she walked over to a rock where her horn was glowing brightly.
"Ooh, there's something in this rock." Rarity said.
"I got it." Spyro said.
he walked over to the rock and with a single swift movement, he punched the rock and it shattered into pebbles, revealing a single purple crystal, but to Spyro, there was something strange about the crystal and picked it up, looking over the jewel until he felt a familiar energy coming from inside of it, knowing this crystal was something very important.
"A single gem?" She asked. "Well, better than nothing."
"Hold on Rare, there's something different about it." Spyro said. "It's emanating some kind of power. And it feels familiar."
"Familiar, how?" She asked, looking at it.
"It feels like the same kind of energy when I use the Aether." Spyro replied. "But, it feels completely different. More concentrated, ancient, and far more powerful." He then reached into his jacket and put the crystal into the inside coat pocket. "I think I'll hold onto this one. I'm curious about why there is Aether energy in it."
"No problem Spyro, consider it a reward for helping out today." Rarity said, her horn glowing again and pulling her somewhere else. "Ooh, I got something else. Come along gentlemen, we got more gems to get."
Spike grabbed the handle of the wagon and pulled the wagon with him as he walked over to where Rarity was going, Spyro following close behind when he felt something again, this time is was much closer and could feel more than one, sensing they were after something, or someone, raising his guard as he looked around. He couldn't see anything, but could still feel them very close by, looking to Rarity and Spike to make sure they were ok, finding that Spike was digging away and Rarity was waiting for him, both of them ok. He then looked around again as Spike pulled out a massive pile of gems form the ground and took them to the wagon, this time he could pinpoint where these things were and looked over to the nearby bushes, sensing greed and the need to get something precious.
"That should be enough for the day Spike." Rarity said. "This should get me started on Sapphire Shores outfits. We should start-" her horn glowed again, this time it was brighter and pulling her towards the trees. "Another jewel, but it's in the trees."
That single sentence was more than enough to make Spyro go on guard as he watched Rarity walk over, running over to make sure she didn't get hurt and found a yellow jewel in the trees, marveling at it until a dogs head popped out, spooking her. Spyro got in front of her and pushed her back as he backed away, the massive dog came out of the tree, grey in wearing a red vest with some jewels in it's pockets and a collar with the yellow jewel dangling from the collar.
"Um, good day my find... fellow." Rarity said, backing away as Spyro walked backwards. "I'm Rarity. And this pony between us is Spyro, and this is Spike." Spike waved his hand, laughing nervously. "And, you are?"
"A Diamond Dog!" She said, his voice squeaky, but scratchy too, approaching them.
"Well, that explains your fine taste in jewelry." She said, trying to not panic. "I mean, everypony knows a diamond is a girls best friend, and now I know they're a dogs best friend to." They kept backing up, Spyro ready for a fight as they kept backing away, which Spyro could sense he wasn't just hunting for gems anymore, but something else. "So, you're out hunting for gems too?"
"Yes, we hunt." He replied, making Spyro's blood freeze as he said it.
"We?" He asked, feeling more of them somewhere nearby.
"We hunt for gems." He replied, pointing to his collar as an example. "But you are a better hunter, so now, we hunt you!"
As he said it, two more Diamond dogs popped out of the ground, one was larger and blue while the other was tan and small. The big guy tried to grab Rarity, but she managed to duck and avoid being caught, but Spyro leapt at the big blue dog and tackled him to the ground, the two of them wrestling as the dog tried to get free, but Spyro proved to be stronger and was ready to give him a face full of fire, but the dog pushed his head upward and released the fire breath in the air, spooking him.
"Boss, he's a hybrid!" he shouted, pushing Spyro off and getting up.
"Who cares, get the pony!" The leader said, Spike using his tail like a jackhammer and hammering the smaller dog's tail.
"Rarity run!" Spyro shouted, using his ice element to freeze the dog's feet.
She didn't wait for him to repeat himself and ran away from the fight, watching as Spyro took down the big guy and ran to help Spike with the little one. But while she was distracted, she ran into the leader, getting captured and screaming loud enough to get the her friends attention, watching as the leader grabbed Rarity and was running to the nearby hole and let their guard down as the small guy punched the both of them to the ground, running to the hole as their companions freed himself and jumped in.
"Rarity!" Spike and Spyro shouted at the same time.
"Spyro, Spike, help!" She shouted. "Ew, dirt. Save me!"
The dogs reached up and grabbed her head, trying to push her down the hole, which anger Spyro as he spun around, multiple spikes growing out of his tail and flung them towards the dogs hands, missing the first two, but the leader ended up getting one in his paw, yelping in surprise, but they managed to drag Rarity down the hole, screaming as she was being pulled down.
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Spike shouted, falling to his knees as he yelled in the air.
"Spike, now is not the time to panic." Spyro said. "I'll go after Rarity. Tell the girls what happened and get them here as fast as you can."
Without waiting for a reply, Spyro dove straight into the hole and slide through the tunnel that traveled through it, slipping and sliding like he was in a slide at a water park until he saw torch light, digging his paws into the earth and stopping himself just short of shooting out of the tunnel. He felt through the Force that there was a lot of those Diamond Dogs in the tunnel and a couple of them were coming his way towards the tunnel and jumped out, leaping to the ceiling and turning all hooves into dragon paws and latching himself to the roof, flattening himself as much as possible as two of them in armored suits walked by. When they were gone, he fell to the ground and landed on all fours, looking around and finding it was a tunnel with multiple tunnels leading up to the surface while also having doors that lead to who knows where, which he didn't have time to guess where his friend was, so he sniffed the air, hoping to get a scent, but the entire tunnel smelled foul to him, making him gag and convulse at the scent.
"By the ancestors, haven't these guys heard of soap and water before?" Spyro whispered to himself.
Without a scent to go off of, he walked the corridors, following his instincts down the route he believed would get him to his friend quickly or as quickly as possible, reaching out with the Force to see if he could sense her anxiety, which he could and ran in the direction of where it was coming from, ducking and hiding from guards as they patrolled. He kept on following the source of the anxiety and fear until he reached a section of the tunnels where there were cell doors and guards everywhere, watching as some patrolled the corridor and some stood guard between cells, keeping an eye on the corridor and looking to each other to make sure everyone was where they were. He knew fighting through all of them was going to be a waste of time and his cover would be blown, not knowing what they would do to Rarity if he was caught, so he needed another way to get through and luckily for him, his darker half had left him a little present.
Looking around the corridor while staying out of sight, he noticed that the whole hall was dimly lit, barely any light at all and the only light there was was from a few torches and from the sunlight that barely got through, producing a red glow in a few of the openings, so he had a clear shot path through them. He touched his paw against the wall and melded with the shadows, moving past them through the shadows while looking through each cell to check if she was anywhere in them, but everyone of them he looked in, she wasn't in each of them until he heard something that sounded like a woman's voice further down, it was faint, but he recognized it as Rarity's and traveled through the shadows, listening as her voice got louder and louder until he found the cell she was being kept in, the dogs slamming the cell door on her.
"Spyro will come for me!" She said angrily. "And when he does he'll-"
"He won't find us." The lead dog said, scratching the injury he got. "Our tunnels will confuse him. He'll be trapped here forever."
"You don't know him as well as I do." She said, smiling as she talked. "He'll find me and free me before you can say lunch time."
"We doubt it." He said, still scratching and looking drowsy. "What did he do to me? Why is paw so itchy?" A moment later, another dog came by and whispered in his ear, the dog looking mildly disturbed and growled. "Little dragon brought friends. They not get here. We make sure of it."
The three of them walked away from Rarity's cell, leaving her fearful and alone as another dog walked up and stood guard of her cell, the white unicorn feeling anxiety as she thought about what the Diamond Dog said, about her friend being lost in the tunnels, but remembered that he could sense her through the Force and hoped he'd find her soon. As she turned around, she found the guard was on the ground, the same spike that hit the first dog in his neck, but was snoring and was dragged away into the next cell, looking to her cell and saw Spyro popped his head in view, the white unicorn mare feeling happiness and smiled.
"What was that you said about me finding you before lunch?" Spyro asked, tapping his Keyblade on cell and it swung open.
Rarity running up and hugging him before he could say anything, happy he found her and to be saved by him and happy to be getting out of there.
"How did you find me so quickly?" She asked.
"Followed your anxiety." Spyro replied. "Wasn't too difficult."
"But how did you get past the guards?" She asked, looking down the hall where the guards were.
"Snuck past them." He replied, walking to the wall. "And that's how we're going to get past them." He used his magic and lifted her onto his back, making her yelp in surprise. "Hold on. First go through feels weird."
He touched the wall and the two of them melded into the shadows, this time running right past the guards and down the hall back to the hole he entered, coming out of the shadows with a very queasy looking Rarity, letting her down as she wobbled around and put her forelegs on the wall to stabilize herself as she took a few deep breaths.
"How... do you deal with that?" She asked, trying hard not to throw up. "I think I'm going to be sick."
"You get used to it." Spyro replied. "Practiced using and traveling through shadows. Makes it real easy to sneak past. But also has its draw backs."
A moment later, the three Diamond Dogs that had attacked them the first time dug themselves out of a few holes from the roof, landing right in front of the two of them and looking happy.
"The little hybrid." The blue dog said. "He actually freed our pony."
"Who said she was yours pea brain?" He said, taking a battle stance.
"Little hybrid won't take our pony." The leader said, raising his left hand to fight, but his right didn't move.
"Seems like the venom caused temporary paralysis." Spyro said, shocking everyone.
"Venom?" The grey dog asked. "You mean poison?"
"A non-lethal strain yes." He replied. "Only stuns and causes the victim to feel drowsy, causing them to fall asleep."
A second later, the big guy charged forward to tackle him, but Spyro side stepped and knocked him down to the ground with a punch to the head, knocking him out while the smaller one tried to go under the ground to grab him, but Spyro just punched the ground and pulled the dog up by the through, his eyes building out from how hard he was squeezing and looked down to see the big guy waking up, kicking him into the air and throwing the small one into him, sending brother down the hall. The grey one looked at Spyro in surprise, trying to not freak out when he came at him and socked him in the gut and sent him flying to his friends, slamming into the wall and making it crack.
"Not the sharpest tool in the shed are ya?" Spyro asked.
"We... won't let you... take... pony." The grey one said, fighting to get up.
"Only way you'd be able to stop me is if the cave collapses on top of me." Spyro said with a smile.
As soon as he said it however, a large section of the ceiling broke off and slammed on top of his head, knocking him out cold and making everything dark. When he woke up, he found himself in a massive room where stone pillars were keeping the ceiling up and several different torches were used to light the room up, finding himself next to a wall with Rarity, who had her flank to the wall as the dogs were approaching. He attempted to get up to fight, but felt something pull him back, looking to find he had a chain on him and a collar on his neck, reaching up to tear it off, but found shackles around his paws and all connected to a single chain that is attached to the collar.
"Finally awake little hybrid?" The grey dog asked, his right arm moving again.
"I don't think I am." Spyro responded. "I think I'm having a bad dream because I'm still looking at your ugly mug."
Everyone in the room chuckled a bit, Diamond Dogs and Rarity, which annoyed him as he growled at everyone, making them stop laughing and looked back at the chained pony.
"You think you clever?" He asked. "You not as smart as us."
"Yeah, not as smart as a dog that talks like a caveman, that I'm grateful for." Spyro said with a smile
"Enough jokes!" He shouted, punching him in the head to make him stop talking. "You our prisoner now. Should have stayed away."
"You call that a punch?" Spyro said, spitting out some blood. "Someone needs to hit the gym because that felt a bit girly to me."
"Spyro, stop." Rarity said, trying to diffuse the situation. "Please, don't hurt him. Just let us go."
"No, you stay forever." The grey dog said. "You stay and get us gems."
"Oh, is that all?" She asked.
Rarity then started using her magic to look on the ground to find some gems, distracting the dogs as she looked, giving him a chance to get the restraint off, but found that he couldn't break them, something seemed to be draining his strength. He even noticed that his bracers were removed and on the ground, obviously they couldn't carry them and voted to let them remain on the ground, but as he looked down, he noticed the shackles had some old text on them that seemed to say something, but couldn't make it out as it was faded and in a dialect he didn't recognize.
"There." Rarity said, using a stick to make an X in the ground. "Now if you would be kind enough to-"
Another dog pointed a spear at the mare, making her walk to the X she made and looked to Spyro, wondering why he wasn't free yet. The dogs noticed she was looking at her friend and smiled, turning to face him as he tried to break free from his binds.
"Forget escape." The grey dog said. "They made to restrain strong creatures. Make them weak and submissive."
"Well, you'll find I'm anything, but submissive." Spyro responded. "And they seem pretty loose. Could've found something small enough to fit me at least."
"Them smallest ones we had." He replied. "And they drain magic too. Used on pony prisoners long ago."
"Oh, that explains my lack of magical abilities." Spyro said.
"Keep quiet!" He shouted, turning back to Rarity. "You, dig."
While the dog was busy with Rarity, he re-examined the shackles to find a weak point, finding they were definitely old, but still strong enough to keep him restrained, but extremely loose as he could slip his paw out if he had the opportunity. He looked up and watched as a couple of guard dogs dig where Rarity had marked, having enough of her complaining, but instead of digging, they were going to make her pull a cart they would put the gems in. He wanted to stop them, but they were already fashioning the harness to her and forced her to pull the cart, complaining as she pulled the old mine cart while marking spots where gems were. She looked over and winked at him, giving him the chance he needed to get free, but the chains made his magic useless and his physical abilities that of a child, so he tried to find something to pick the locks to free himself, watching as Rarity marked a few places where gems were.
He watched as she marked one of the stone pillars, the dogs digging it up and revealing a massive pile of gems, but the upper part of the pillar cracked and split in half, landing on top of the dogs and making him grimace from the sight, but chuckle at how smart it was, deliberate or not, she took care of two of the guards. Looking down at the chains, he knew he could slip his paw out if he had the proper substance to help make it slippery, but had nothing, so he had to resort to something he wished he didn't need to do.
"And as for chaining up Spyro, is it really necessary?" Rarity asked, walking past with the gems. "I mean, chains don;t look good on him at all and how will he even move around if you need a second set of hooves. Honestly, he's a great and very strong stallion, it's a waste not to have him help."
"Enough!" The red vested dog said. "You complained a lot about him being chained. He stays chained. You will have time together in cells when not working. Keep going and be quiet!"
As she walked past him, he noticed a couple of stones she was walking to, knowing what she was up to, he grabbed his right paw, getting ready for the moment and when the cart went over the rocks and made the crystals rattle and the cart drop, he dislocated his wrist, grimacing from the pain, but fought through it as he slipped out of the shackle, snapping the wrist back into it's socket and bringing out a claw, getting to work on picking the lock on his collar first while Rarity kept complaining and whining, really getting on the dogs nerves.
"I can't take it anymore!" The small tan dog yelled. "Stop complaining pony!"
"And I would prefer it if you didn't call me pony all the time." She said. "I have a name you know. You can refer to me as Ms., or Rarity or Ms. Rarity if you like."
"Enough!" The red vested dog said. "The whining, it hurts ears!"
"Excuse me, but I am not whining." She said, leering at the dog. "I am complaining. You want whining?" She took a deep breath and gave the biggest sad face she could. "This is whining. Oh, this harness is too tight. It's going to chafe, can't you loosen it?"
"Wow, she going to free herself faster than I can." Spyro said to himself, still picking the lock on his restraints as he listened to rarity continuously complain.
He wasn't having a lot of luck picking the lock on the collar as he couldn't see it, so he went to plan B, which was to pick the locks on the shackles and then turn the collar to see if he can then pick the lock off the collar, which he should have done first as it would have probably saved him some time and energy.
"Stop whining!" The red vest dog said, Spyro looking up to see them covering their ears.
"But I thought you wanted whining?" She asked, in the best whining voice that an even he would get annoyed by.
"No, please stop!" He said, still covering his ears. "We'll do anything pony!" Rarity then looked down at the dog, an eyes brow raised at what he said, which made him rethink his words as he corrected himself. "I mean, we'll do anything, Ms. Rarity."
"Anything?" She asked, a smile appearing on her face, looking over to Spyro. "Well, for starters, you can get this harness off me and have yourselves pull the carts full of gems while I go talk to my friend."
"Yes, yes of course." She said, the dogs getting the harness off and allowing her to walk over, dragging the cart with her.
When she approached him, she got the harness off and walked over to Spyro, smiling at her triumph and at the young prince.
"Rarity, your performance there was beyond the scope." Spyro said. "I mean, you put the biggest Diva's at my home world to shame. Holy smack."
"Oh, it was nothing." She replied, looking down at him. "I can have the guards free you if you like."
"I don't think they'd risk it." Spyro said, getting close to finishing. "They know I'd beat the snot out of them and would keep me chained up, no matter how much you complained. Besides, I'm almost..." They then heard a click, Spyro turning his hand to the right and getting the shackle off. "Got it. Only three more to go."
"Anything I can do to help?" She asked.
"Yeah, keep them busy long enough for me to finish picking these locks." Spyro responded. "I don't;t care what you do, make sure they are too busy to notice me.'
"Done." She replied, walking back to the dogs.
He then got to work picking the locks on the shackles on his hind legs, picking them as quickly as he could while also keeping an eye on the environment, making sure none of them looked over and saw him trying to pick the locks on his restraints. When he got the second lock picked, he looked up and saw Rarity had gotten some of the guards to start hanging ribbons on some of the stone pillars while others were digging in marked areas and filling up cart after cart full of gems, too busy to notice him, which he was grateful for and got the next lock taken off.He turned his back to the dogs, finding the lock to be a simple pad lock, not too difficult to take care of if they can see it, so he grabbed it and got to work, looking over his shoulder to make sure they weren't looking, but saw that Rarity's whining and complaining wasn't working anymore, the harness back on her as she started to whine again to make them submit. A moment later, he heard the final click and the lock opened, getting the collar off and calling his Keyblade, glad to see his powers were working again, turning around for another round of fighting.
"NOT SO TIGHT!" Rarity whined.
"Hah, make all the noise you want." The red vested dog said. "But make them while you move. Hyah mule!"
As he said it, he smacked Rarity on the flank, Spyro not believing the dog would do that and felt something snap inside of him. His eyes turned into Sith eyes as the air around him went stale as he felt his anger reach a boiling point, not taking the insult to his friend, nor the dog smacking her rear very well as he grabbed the chain to yank on it.
"Did... Did you just call me a-" Rarity said, being interrupted.
Everyone in the room heard rock and stone smashing and breaking, coming from where Spyro was and looked to see a massive cloud of dust and dirt where he was, wondering what had just happened. A second later, they heard some kind of music playing out of no where, confusing everyone, even Rarity as it wasn't something she heard before and it sounded menacing and destructive. When the dust finally settled down, a silhouette of Spyro was visible, the chains off him, but flames streaked across the rim of his wings, flames going down his back and down his tail, the song getting louder and louder, sounding like some kind of rock music. When Rarity saw his eyes, she knew they were in trouble as they were Sith eyes, which she or her friends haven't seen in a while, but remembered what he was like when they appeared, smiling as she looked at the Diamond Dogs and saw fear in their eyes.
"Hurt me, insult me, even beat me all you want." Spyro said, his voice dark and demonic as he spoke. "But insult my friend, kidnap her, even spank her on the flank, as soon as you hear the Doom slayer music playing, there's only one thing you can do." He stood up on his hind legs as his wings expanded to their fill length, the flames turning blood red as the whites of his eyes turned pure black, crossing his forelegs and revealing his claws on his paws, looking at all the dogs. "Pray."
"Mommy." The small Diamond Dog said, the lights flickering as he said it.
When the lights went out for a moment, Spyro leapt at the whole group of dogs like Foxy from FNAF 2, scaring a whole group of them as he tackled the first one. In the tunnel system, Twilight and her friends were following a trail of gems all the way to where their friends were currently, getting closer as they heard the Doom Slayer music playing, trying to figure out what it was as they ran.
"Up ahead, that's where it's coming from." Spike said, pointing to the door ahead of them.
"What the hay is that music?" Rainbow Dash asked. "Kinda catchy, but super menacing."
"Whatever it is, it can't be good." Applejack said. "Let's just hope Spyro found Rarity and is keeping her safe."
They soon reached a room before the main room their friends were in, about to run in and help when five Diamond dogs got on the five ponies, using rope to tie around their muzzles as they sat on their backs.
"More work horses." One said, smiling as he did.
"Hold on there little doggy." Applejack said. "You think you can take this bull by the horns, you better be ready for a ride." She then started to leap up and down, moving like a bucking Branco trying to get the rider off its back during a rodeo. "Come on girls! Kick them up, kick them down. Buck them up, buck them down."
The rest of the mares got the idea, following Applejacks example and started acting like bucking broncos, knocking them off their backs and making the dogs run away, whimpering, but one of them got the wrong idea and went into the room where all the fighting is, regretting his decision as he tried to run out the door, tripping as he opened the door, but got dragged back into the room, using it's nails to try and not go back in, but left claw marks in the dirt as he was being dragged back. The group of ponies watched the dog get dragged back in, screaming for help as he did and heard the fighting going on continuously in the next room, listening to the music as it got intense and even more menacing.
"Yeah, maybe we should sit this one out." Rainbow Dash suggested, surprising her friends. "I mean, I'm not afraid or anything, but I think whatever it is, Spyro can handle it."
"No, Rarity is in there and we need to help." Spike said, reaching up and ripping a stalactite off the roof and held it like a lance. "I'm coming for you my lady. High ho Twilight, away!"
"And what do you think you're doing Spike?" She asked, clearly annoyed by the dragons action.
"Please Twilight, let me have this moment.' Spike pleaded, the lavender unicorn rolling her eyes.
The ponies then ran forward, busting through the door and stopping just short of the next room.
"Lady Rarity, we're here to save you!" Spike said, his eyes wide with what he saw.
Everyone entered the room and saw nothing but total carnage, some of the Diamond Dogs were on the ground seeing stars while others were hanging from the ceiling after getting the stuffing knocked out of them, still moving and shaking their heads, but when they all heard the music, they played dead to not get back in the fight. A moment later, two armored Diamond Dogs ran away to find some place safe, but one turned around and got tackled, spinning around like Sonic does when destroying a robot, but they heard scratches and screaming, sounding like Tom the cat before being launched intro the air and slamming into the wall next to the ponies, jumping as he slammed into the wall.
"Yeah, definitely sitting this one out." Rainbow Dash said.
"Help, get them away from us!" The red vest dog said, running to them.
"Save us!" The other two said in unison, terrified of what was going on.
"Um, excuse me?" Twilight asked.
"So critical and so needy." The small dog said.
"Won't stop talking and crying." The big blue dog said.
"And her friend is tearing us apart!" The red vest dog said. "He's turning us into mince meat!"
A moment later, Rarity walked up to her friends, smiling and happy to see them as she was pulling a cart of gems with her. Spike hopped off Twilight's back and ran up to Rarity, hugging her and glad she is safe, but a second later, the wall next to them blew up, leaving dust as an enraged Spyro came walking through it, the flames on his wings and his back still burning bright as he walked through. As soon as he walked into the room, he saw that the rest of his friends had arrived and calmed down, the flames dying out and his eyes turning back to normal, walking over with a smile.
"Oh, hey girls." He said. "What took you so long?"
"Spyro, did you do all that?" Twilight asked, already knowing the answer.
"Yeah, kinda went overboard." Spyro replied.
"Anyway, you girls arrived just in time to help me with all those." Rarity said, looking behind her.
The group of ponies looked behind Rarity and saw there were a lot of carts full of gems, which the Diamond Dogs were bringing over and running away as fast as they could away from Spyro as he approached.
"You're letting her leave with all... these... gems?" Spike asked.
"Yes, take them." The red vested dog replied. "And those two with you! PLEASE!"
The girls were surprised the Diamond Dogs were letting them leave with all the gems that Rarity found for them as Diamond Dogs usually don't let go of their horde of jewels so easily and will put up a fight if you try to take them, but for them to easily let them go, they knew that Rarity and Spyro must have made their lives miserable. The three dogs ran away, deep into the caves to avoid them and leave them alone, so Spyro and Twilight got to work fitting the harnesses around the others, making sure they were tight enough for everyone to pull a cart before walking out of the tunnels, following Rarity as they got out and back to the surface, letting the sun wash over them as they walked back to town.
"I can't believe you found all these jewels." Pinkie said.
"I can't believe you tricked all those dogs." Rainbow Dash said.
"Just because I'm a lady doesn't mean I can't handle myself." Rarity replied with a smile. "Besides, I think they were more afraid of Spyro than anything else."
"Yeah, guess I overdid it back there." Spyro said, giving a light chuckle.
"Now you have enough gems for Sapphire Shores outfits,." Spike said, having already eaten half the cart Rarity was pulling.
"Not if you eat hem all Spike." Rarity replied, taking the gem away from him.
Everyone then started to laugh a the baby dragon, as he chopped down on thin air, enjoying the day after saving Rarity. When they returned to Ponyville, they took the gems straight to the Carousel Boutique where Rarity got to work making designs for the five remaining outfits for the pop pony while Spyro returned back to the orchard and went straight to the Gummi Garage, putting the mysterious crystal into a glass analytic tub and put in an opening nearby, typing a few commands before letting the machinery conduct it's scans to see why the crystal had Aether energy in it. When the results came back, he was shocked as it was a shard from a core of a world, but not any kind of shard, but from the world the original Spyro lived and fought Malefor, defeating him and the spirits of he ancestors sealing him away for all eternity. This made the crystal not only dangerous, but extremely valuable, so he took the crystal and went straight to the vault with the curse gold in it, opening the massive door and setting the crystal on the closest shelf he could, locking it away so it wouldn't be acquired.
At the Mysterious Tower, May was sitting in a cell with a magical barrier keeping her from leaving, runes of magic negating her magical capabilities while sitting with Master Yen Sid to come by and try to talk to her, get her to explain how she survived and why she was serving Malefor, but she kept quiet and never answered.
"It was a surprise when I learned you were still alive." Master Yen Sid said. "I had thought you perished when fighting that Destroyer."
"You'd be surprised at what you can survive." She replied, staring at the wall.
"May, we looked for you for months and thought you dead." Master Yen Sid said. "Spyro never gave up looking. It was my decision to end the search."
"Then you left me to die under that rubble." She replied, angry with him. "My master will find me, and when he does, you'll all be sorry."
Yen Sid knew he wasn't getting anywhere with her as the darkness in her was very strong, but wasn't planning on giving up on her as she is one of them, despite her current state of mind. He got up form the chair and left the room to take a break from speaking with May, leaving her alone in the cells and let her lay down and look to the ceiling, trying to keep herself entertained, but there wasn't a lot to do while being a prisoner. She then sat up to walk around a bit, but saw a familiar dark crystal on the other side of the barrier, the crystal then revealing her masters statue and smiled.
"I knew you'd find me master." She said, walking to the barrier.
"The key has been found." He announced. "Where it is I am not sure, but the key to my prison has been located."
"It shall not remain hidden for long master." She replied. "Free me and I shall get it."
"Patience my minion, patience." He said. "The time will come for you to get the key, but for now, we bid our time. We find allies, and we destroy the Prince."
The crystal then shattered as he laughed, the laughter echoing after the crystal shattered and left May alone in her prison, smiling to herself as she awaited for the time when she may take her revenge.
