The Destroyer of Worlds

Spike blinked he looked around the busy streets of the market district he was in. Ponies zipped to and fro, with the odd griffon, minotaur, and goat sprinkled in. Spike walked past a stand with strange bowls and plates, Twilight quickly walking over, a book in her magical grasp, reading it, then looking at the pony running the stand.

"Do you have anything in purple and green?" Twilight slowly spoke, then looked at the pony running the stand.

"No, sorry." He replied, making Twilight smile kindly, and walk away after thanking him.

"Why are we here, Jackie?" Rainbow Dash asked Applejack, which tore said farm mare from admiring Spikes smiling face.

"Twilight said we could get souvenirs for ourselves. We don't meet this...whatchamacallhim until later today."

"Right...so why are we here?"

"So we can buy something to help us remember our trip here." Rarity said as she passed by, humming softly as she inspected some kimonos.

"Ah...right." Rainbow Dash said, then zipped away to a stall, making Applejack shake her head in amusement. When she turned around, she saw Spike staring up at a strange little figure on the shelf.

She tried to walk over, maybe to talk to him, before she was pulled away by Pinkie, who was talking a mile a minute.

Spike was, currently, staring at some artwork; a strange piece showing a raging sea and, in the middle, a familiar figure was roaring. It's plates were glowing blue as it roar, glowing smoke erupting out of its angry jaws.

Spike shook his head, shaking his thoughts away as he walked away, walking up to Twilight.

"Hey Spike. See anything you like?" Twilight said, staring at all the rubies, saphires, and other assorted gems.

Spike looked through the rings and gems, before stopping at a necklace, giving it a soft stare. On the necklace was the emblem of fire, though this was colored green, like his own flames.

Spike looked over at Twilight, tapping her flank. She blinked, brought back to reality as she looked at Spike, then asked, "You found one?"

"Yeah. This necklace."

Meanwhile, Applejack hummed with Pinkie, looking through different knickknacks and other assorted items.

"What do ya think Spike would like?" Applejack asked, looking around.

"I dunno. He's your romantic interest, I assumed you knew what he liked." Pinkie said, hopping after her, her mane bouncing along with her.

"Well, Ah wanna give 'im somethin' that'll knock him off his feet." Applejack mumbled as she looked through, giving a confused look as she saw a little toy robot with a shield, before moving on.

"Well, I suggest you get him something shiny and colorful." Pinkie said, staring through the glass aquarium, seeing lobsters laze about. "Ooh, pet lobsters."

Applejack looked through all the options, humming softly. Seeing all the options, she stopped, took a deep breath, then slowly let it out.

This wasn't some meat head or prince from another nation. This wasn't some warrior general or rock star celebrity. This was Spike. She was sure that, whatever she got Spike, he would absolutely love it.

That's when she spotted it. She squinted at the necklace: a cute little red apple on the end of it, with a small, golden dragon claw print in the middle of it.

"That'd be lovely." Rarity spoke from right next to her, a bag of kimonos held in her magic.

Applejack smiles, flicking one of her ears. Handing the bits over to the mare in the stand, she grabbed the bag with the necklaxe in, and smiled, even though she was holding it in her mouth.

"You shnow Shpike better than anyonesh, think he'll likes shis?" Applejack spoke, the bag giving her a mixture of a lisp and muffled sound.

"Oh, darling, I am sure he'll love it. Now, come along, we have more things to look at."

Parting Glass sighed as he stared through the paperwork, tapping his hooves impatiently. Normally, he would be happy to do this work, but now, he felt...a sinking feeling in his stomach.

Something was wrong, he could feel it.

Warming Stone noticed this and slowly walked up, her snout nuzzling against his, giving an affectionate rumble.

Parting Glass smiled, nuzzling into hee snout, before staring at the papers again, clicking his tongue.

"Something on your mind?" Warming Stone asked, gently rubbing his shoulder with her claws.

If any animal put rheir claws on any normal ponies shoulders, they would have screamed and ran. However, Parting Glass was no normal pony, as he happily leaned into her touch.

"Just...I just have this feeling that something is wrong. I cannot place my hoof on it, though." Parting Glass said, his worrying gaze traveling to the window outside, the soft waves crashing against the docks nearby.

"Well, I am going to go home and sleep. Wanna come with?"

Parting Glass chuckled, then said, "I wish I could. I still need to do all this paperwork for the princesses arrival tomorrow."

"Well...there is a blanket in the closet, in case you get tired." Warming Stone walked over to the door, then looked back at Parting Glass, saying, "Don't pull an all nighter again."

"No promises." Parting Glass smiled playfully at his wife, before returning back to his paperwork.

She walked to the door, flashing him a soft look, before walking out. Had she noticed, the door was held open by a hand, the individual silently sliding in.

Parting Glass sighed as he stretched out, before humming as a shadow fell over him.

"Waming Stone, I told you, I'd be fi-"

THWACK!

Parting Glass fell the floor, giving a groan as his vision started to darken. He looked up athe figure, seeing it put a finger to its lips and make a quiet shushing sound.

Parting Glass slipped into unconsciousness, his last vision showing the strange figure grabbing ropes.

Said figure gave a dark chuckle as he tied the unconscious pony, wrapping a rope around his hooves. "This was too easy. You think a pony who created such a weapon would at least take more than a punch to knock out."

"Quit your blabberin' an' tie him up! Boss says we need to get ready." A second figure spoke, tapping its claws on the ground.

"Where is the boss anyway?" Spoke the first figure as he wrapped a rope around his mouth, before lifting the pony over his shoulder.

"Preparing the surprise for our guests."