A Dog and Pony Snuff Show *

Warning: The following contains graphic depictions of extreme violence that will be marked by a " * " at the beginning and end of the sequence, to minimize the break in story flow as much as possible. That way, should you, the reader, choose to skip the sequence you can do so without missing any part of the overall narrative.

Disclaimer: There is no sex in this chapter.

There was a time, for days after her mother died, when Starla would sit on a hill outside of Baltimare at sunset and watch the coming night sky fill with the brilliance of the stars and she'd bask under the glow of the moon.

She would do this every night. Just sit there in quiet thought, looking up at the peaceful blanket of twinkling lights that her mother had begun teaching her about for the first time just a year prior.

One night, a neighborhood colt stumbled onto her private moment when he lost track of his brother and his friends, all of whom were much older. She was aware of the group, knowing full well that they'd often pull pranks on the colt.

Feeling responsible for the younger earth pony's safety, Starla decided it was better to have him stay put with her rather than let him try to make his way back to town on his own. It eventually became quite natural for the both of them to make their way to the hilly spot outside of town and just watch the orange waning sunlight transform into the enchantingly pale glow of evening.

"Say, Starla?"

"Yeah?"

"What are all those lights in the sky?"

Starla frowned, choosing not to keep up her sweet act as she normally would back in town. The sole reason the filly started to go out to this spot was to calm herself in order to not snap at anypony from the stress of her grieving. No matter how sad she felt, there was nothing that could compare to whatever her dad was going through, and she thought it would be unfair to lash out when he could be so strong to keep moving forward whenever in public, or even when only she was present with him, despite the pain. But in the privacy of her spot on the hill, the then-filly wasn't as forgiving as she would have been to the colt sitting next to her if he'd asked her this with anypony else watching.

"What, you mean the stars? You should have learned that in school already, dummy. They were made by Princess Luna a long long time ago to let us ponies not feel as scared of the night, duh!"

Rather than freeze in shock from her harsh tone, the colt countered, "I know that, geez! I mean, what exactly are stars? Like, how does Princess Luna make 'em?"

"Hmmm..." Starla pursed her lips in thought, becoming enchanted by the sparkle of the candle-like lights that dotted the sky.

"Because my big brother told me that they're fillies and colts that were victims of Nightmare Moon for not giving her enough treats on Nightmare Night!"

"Well, Clydesdale, your brother is a dingbat for telling you such a mean lie. And you're gullible because you believe him." Starla huffed with a squeaky touch in her voice. "Besides, Princess Luna stopped being Nightmare Moon for a while, already. They're not the same pony."

"That's not what you said just last year, Starla! You were as scared as the rest of us when she came to visit on Nightmare Night!"

"Buh...!?" She sputtered, both surprised and irritated simultaneously for being called out on that embarrassing memory. "F-fine, that used to be true, but now I know better because my mom told me..." Starla had been in such a rush to explain herself, that she realized just then that she hadn't even spoken about her mother since she had died and the filly stopped mid-sentence, her voice trailing off until only an uncomfortable silence remained between the two little ponies.

Clydesdale looked at the older unicorn as she cast her gaze downward to the ground rather than at the starry night like she was supposed to. "Sorry."

"No...it's alright." She lied in her harsh, defensive tone.

Sensing the intent hidden within her reaction, Clydesdale looked upwards again. "Um...what do you think stars are made of?"

"I don't know..." He heard her say in a low voice, making him in turn begin to feel as depressed as she sounded, however she continued, "...my...mom told me that, when she told me that Princess Luna wasn't Nightmare Moon anymore, that the stars are just like the sun that Princess Celestia raises up every day."

"What? How's that possible? The stars are so tiny but the sun's way bigger!"

"They're all like tiny suns, but spread out across the sky. But my mom never exactly told me what the sun was made of...but if I had to guess, they gotta be the same because looking at them all at once makes you happy like how you feel while seeing the sun during the day, right? But in order to let us ponies sleep, they're spread out like a blanket so their light isn't as harsh and strong like the sun's. It makes me kinda sad to think that ponies didn't stop to enjoy looking at them all before going to sleep all those years ago..."

The small earth pony looked up as Starla did, inspecting what looked like a thick band of stars across a single strip of the sky. Each and every light twinkled at a different pace, some bigger in size than others. Some white, others blue and there were even a few that gave the slightest impression of red twinkling. Despite the chilly night air, he suddenly felt much warmer after looking at the starry blanket. He couldn't help but smile. "Yeah...what you said makes a lot of sense. Thanks for clearing that up, Starla!"

"Really?" Starla glanced over at the colt with wide eyes. Her dad had only laughed when she tried to explain what she thought about the stars. The colt next to her bobbed his head affirmatively, which was slightly bigger than the rest of his body.

"N-no problem!" Starla said, feeling more encouraged just as Clydesdale gave an involuntary yawn. Seeing this, she let out a happily squeaky chuckle which was soon joined by the colt's higher pitched laughter.

No sooner had they begun to laugh did the filly's cutie mark finally appear...

--

Chapter 4

Strange. It was all so strange.

After completing her affairs concerning Glamorous, Rarity returned to find her home recently tended to. Nothing broken. Not a stain of any kind to be found. The living room was especially clean, the pillow and fabric of her favorite red couch taken care of and the wooden legs and raised back varnished and lacquered. The large antique vase that was once set on the nearby rounded side table was replaced with a smaller flower pot that held a half dozen orange and red flowers; Gerbera plants that were obviously taken from the ones planted outside of the house.

Overpowering the fragrance of the flowers, the smells of grilled pumpkin and a sort of sauté--a woody, smoky scent--wild oats, perhaps? Rarity wasn't entirely sure. Quick footsteps arrived from the kitchen and Starla appeared before her. Frazzled and haggard, but not at all in the condition Rarity expected the young mare to be in when she returned that evening after a long day of "supervising."

"What's the meaning of this?" The unicorn hissed, touching the fire ruby hanging off of her neck to assure herself. "Explain!"

"I'm...I'm just making dinner..." Starla said with a quick glance to the floor to avoid eye contact with the other mare.

"Bullshit." Rarity scoffed, scowling at the sight of Starla wearing an apron with her mane tied back in a ponytail. Suddenly pushing her way through, Rarity nearly fainted when she saw her husband sitting at the dinner table, looking bored while moping his chin onto hand which was propped up. "S-spike?!"

Looking over to the two ponies, the unenthused dragon took a moment to yawn before replying, his tail lazily sliding back and forth on the floor behind him. "Spike was hungry..." he growled out, "...Rarity late from work..."

The thought that it was her husband that usually cooked did not even register in her mind. Rarity grew nervous and began to stammer with embarrassment flushing her face a deep red. "Is...is that so? I'm ever so sorry, dear. I-I lost track of time, you see."

Spike replied with a grunt and returned his attention back to the stove-top, staring with bored fixation at the pans and the food cooking atop them. "We eat when Starla done." Hearing this the unicorn in question rushed back to her job preparing dinner, telekinetically moving utensils and plates to stir and remove the food from the heat onto the proper serving dishes to let it rest and ready to serve on the counter top.

With wide eyes and a quivering smile Rarity was unconcerned with the whys or hows and felt only an excitement from deep within her that made her knees weak and her nethers moisten. Her tail flicked from side to side, unconsciously trying to fan the sign of her arousal into the air. "...of course, love. Whatever you say."

--

"Starla? Starla Shine, get your butt over here this instant!"

The young mare hurried downstairs to where Rarity was impatiently tapping her hoof against the wooden floor, waiting in the foyer. Adorned in the black and white frilled uniform plainly recognizable as to her status, Starla stood at perfect attention when she reached the bottom of the stairs and waited for Rarity to speak.

If she was going to play the role of domestic help Rarity was damn sure that the girl would look the part. Her plans for Starla were changed because of reasons beyond her control, and so as a pragmatic businessmare Rarity was able to make the best of the situation.

The semester was finished and grades had already been disbursed. The rest of Starla's peers had gone on to work full time in other boutiques or to start their own business, haven earned their licenses and gained not only experience but a notable reputation for being Rarity's students. Starla herself, because she had earned a license as well--a surprising turnaround from the earlier obstacles that stood in her way from earlier on in the year--was now helping at Cute Boutique in both sales and preparing for the next batch of students in the coming semester.

"I'll be busy until late this evening." Rarity spoke in a cold tone to her undesired help. "You'll do the shopping and tend to Spike's needs until I come home. I want you to close the boutique at five today so you can make it in time to the markets."

"Of course, mistress." Starla said without a hint of hesitation or embarrassment, bowing her head and making a curtsy with a bend of her legs. Rarity did her best to fight the swell of pride from hearing the girl acknowledge her place in her household and left without saying any further. Like clockwork the door took on Starla's shade of blue magic to open and Rarity strode away down the street toward Canterlot's fashion district.

A number of things had arisen over the past few weeks that prevented Rarity from dealing with the day-to-day responsibilities of her shop. And while she didn't feel it necessary to have Starla's help to run the business which lessened the stress of tending to so many responsibilities, if that was what Spike wanted, well...Rarity was the last pony in Equestria that wanted to get on his bad side. She shuddered with a thrill that caused goosebumps when she thought about what sort of trouble she'd get into.

She caught herself as she was let herself into an unmarked, two story building. After walking down the hallway that was kept alight by high windows that let the light in during the day, she arrived at a door that was flanked on both sides by heavily armored stallions. Both unicorns, one would be hard pressed to find anypony as well equipped as the two that began escorting her to the next set of doors down another hallway outside of the Royal Guard.

In another sense nopony was quite as well "equipped" as her husband was. Rarity chuckled to herself in a giddy but hushed fashion, unable to contain her excitement as the two guard ponies opened this next door with their magic, letting Rarity into a windowless room where two other ponies sat at a table.

The table was situated on a raised platform at the far end of the room to the left of a podium and a sea of twenty or so older ponies crammed together, mostly stallions but a few mares could be spotted, were keen to remain chatting amongst themselves on the lower floor until the doors alerted them to her arrival.

Ignoring their stares and hushed whispers Rarity continued down the red carpet laid in the center of the room that ended at the edge of the platform and she stopped just in time for a gavel to slam and echo against the podium which brought the room to silence.

Instantly smiling to the unicorn who had control of the gavel, Rarity felt her hidden anxiety dissipate by the return of her sentiment by her sole friend and ally in Canterlot (aside from her husband), Fancy Pants. The unicorn stallion sitting next to him received no such warm greeting from her. There was no love lost since he returned the meager acknowledgement of her existence with a dismissive look of his own as he approached the podium, earning the attention of the gallery who had approached the stage, filling up the empty space all around her on the floor.

The third and fourth seats at the table remained empty. While it was well known that Windfall was out of town on 'vacation', Rarity smiled privately at unexplained absence of the fourth member, especially since the overlapping murmurs of the ponies around her discussed the varying rumors about that very thing.

Before speaking, the doe-eyed, gray-maned unicorn stallion at the podium tapped at the microphone to check if it was on. He then cleared his throat, and despite the color of his mane said in a youthful voice, "Before we begin I'd like to first say how grateful I am for all of your words of support and well wishes. However, I feel that it is important to deal with the unfounded rumors that have been spreading around once and for all. You see, my wife Glamorous has been undergoing much undue stress as of late and so now that she's back in good hooves after her sudden disappearance, she can focus on recuperation and hopefully come back to working with us in fashion, where her presence is dearly missed."

The gallery politely clacked their hooves against the floor in applause while quietly talking amongst themselves of their doubts and less-than-kind things to say about the announcement of the model agency head's current state.

"Let us bring this meeting to order, shall we?" The gray-maned stallion announced in a stately manner as he gave way for Fancy Pants to take his place at the podium to slam the gavel twice more.

"Why I do believe so, Honeybuzz, my boy!" With a simple nod the mustached unicorn gave a hearty chuckle that immediately lightened the heavy atmosphere of the room with little effort. "That leads to our most immediately pressing issue, which is the current vacancy on this council as a result of our friend Glamorous' leave of absence."

To this the crowd's whispering grew loud and raucous, requiring Fancy Pants to hit the gavel in three light pats to regain everypony's attention and train their eyes away from his purple-maned friend within the crowd back to himself. "Well, I won't hide the fact of who my nominee is." He announced with a broad smile and glimmer in his eyes.

The stallions and mares laughed in their sycophantic way, making Rarity roll her eyes and sigh despite knowing full well Fancy Pants' intent with his joke...

--

With the meeting adjourned, the throngs of ponies had mostly left to attend to their respective responsibilities leaving only a small group of stallions and mares in the quasi-secret room. Which was all the same since the vast majority of the gallery never had any real participation in the certification board except to be seen by everypony else or voice their grievances on whatever issue they had. Such sorts of administration was so far below the purview of the royal court that it was one of the few chances the nobility had to feel truly empowered and influential outside of governing a city or town.

There was really only so much the elite of Equestria had to do to pass the time and make themselves useful in such a peaceful territory as theirs.

Beyond accepting recognition to temporarily chair alongside Fancy Pants and Honeybuzz on the board or having them as customers at her boutique, Rarity would rather have as little to do as possible with the lavishly bored and disconnected idle-hoofed that populated the capital city. There was a time when she would want nothing more than to join their ranks, but finding true meaning in her passion for both clothing and her husband had a way of enlightening and protecting her mindset when she and Spike eventually moved to Canterlot.

She of course appreciated all the support that she got from the few friends she had in the capital, most especially ponies like Fancy Pants and the princesses themselves that could understand beyond their privileged station that there was more to life than being extremely, extremely pretentious and worried about one's reputation.

'Speaking of which,' Rarity thought to herself as a voice called out to her just before she managed to leave the windowless room.

"Congratulations on your appointment, Rarity!" Turning around as demurely as public etiquette dictated, she saw the yellow colored Honeybuzz flash his practiced Canterlotonian smile at her. "I'm sure a pony with such a breadth of interests such as yourself will serve us well with the coming fashion seasons to come."

"Yes, I do say that I will try to my utmost ability, Honeybuzz." Rarity replied in much the same forced courtesy despite her need to escape the slimy aura the stallion before her exuded. What's more, she had to look slightly lower than her normal line of sight toward a stallion given Honeybuzz's smaller-than-average stature to most adult males. Despite his gray mane his face was boyish and disarming, which greatly contrasted the sorts of schemes he cooked up with the bakeries he inherited that could be found in the major cities and towns throughout Equestria. One such scheme involved trying to shut down all of the potential competition in Ponyville, which Mr. and Mrs. Cake just barely managed to fight off.

As the last few ponies other than themselves now left, Honeybuzz's expression became more guarded. Rarity knew the attitude quite well. In fact she was so familiar that she decided now was the time to leave, rather than having to waste her time playing cat-and-mouse games of melodramatic intrigue and wordplay with the stallion. Just as she opened the door to leave, she heard him comment in a light manner, "You know, a little bird told me that you actually were one of the last ponies to see Glam before she disappeared."

"Really, now?" Rarity gave up feigning her interest in what he had to say and sighed, "I wonder how that little bird could have come up with such an idea." It did not even take a full turn of her head to see the blue-coated blond-maned earth pony stallion receptionist. Realizing she had spotted him, even though he and another pony were simply standing to the side in the hallway just outside of the door, the bespectacled pony had frozen in fear and with wide eyes did his best to avoid eye contact with her. Considering the overabundance of bandages wrapped around his jaw and the surprisingly fashionable-looking neck brace he was wearing, Rarity wondered to herself about her assumption of him being Glam's private plaything. Shrugging off the thought she looked ahead, haven ignored most if not all of what Honeybuzz had been saying to posture himself as intimidating or some silly thing she didn't really care about.

"...in any case, congratulations again. Take care, Rarity."

"Hmmm? Oh, right. Um, you too." She said in half-interest and left the stallion to head back home as the sun was raised up to the meridian to signal that it had just turned noon.

--

Sighing to herself as she walked down the empty street, Rarity marveled at how tired she was at this point of the day, from just sitting in place for a few hours and listening to others prattle on and on about nothing. There was the occasional absurd situation she found privately hilarious, such as the argument that rose up between two well known designers protesting the other's use of a very similar stitching pattern for a dress, not wanting to there to be confusion with the other despite their using the same color, length, material and making it for the same purpose: the Grand Galloping Gala.

And at the very least Fancy Pants was there with his ever-so subversive sense of humor flying too high or under most of the ponies' head to understand that he was making fun of them.

Rarity let out a chuckle, wondering how best to thank him for all that he had done for her and Spike since they had moved to Canterlot, when she heard a second set of hoofsteps following behind her.

In fact, the road that she had been trotting down for the past few minutes was indeed empty of anypony else. There was no reason or event she could immediately think of for no one at all to be here.

Stopping suddenly, Rarity quickly turned around but the street behind her was empty and there were no alleyways to hide within. Her eyes darted side to side then toward the high rooftops. She knew very well that she could trust her instincts.

That she was being followed.

It was not a question of who would most likely want to follow her, but more a matter of how many there were; what they planned to do. Turning back once more, she-

--

Hours had passed.

Not only while she was unconscious, but since waking up to find herself tied up and blindfolded in some unknown place. And soaking wet. Not in an enjoyable way either, like whenever she and Spike would play around, no. A bucket of cold water was thrown at her, jerking her to wakefulness and the fact that she was tied up nearly made her topple over in the chair she was placed upon.

"Wake up!" She remembered a gruff voice yell out. "Time to answer some of our questions. And if you don't, well...heheh...I'll just leave it at that for now." Then his voice became closer. "First question: who is Geyser Cozy?"

Rarity openly scoffed in-between sniffles from the chilly effect of the water that had soaked her from head to toe. To be perfectly honest that mystery pony's attempt at threatening her sounded quite adorable, since there really wasn't any way to back it up.

So she tried to be smart about it. "You know, usually I'm asked to have dinner before I I tell them I'm married. I guess this will be the first time I'll have to reject mid-date!"

Suddenly there was a crack. It had happened so suddenly that the pain had not even registered until seconds later and Rarity only then realized her cheek was sore and stinging, head thrown to the side from a heavy blow, probably from a hoof from the feel of it.

"Let's try number one again: Who is Geyser Cozy?" The voice repeated his question, sounding much more insistent.

"Haaaa..." she breathed out and righted herself on the chair to look forward, to where her assaulter was probably standing. "...my...apologies..." Rarity said with a tremble, more from the chill of her soaked coat than any fear, "I didn't realize that...my suitor today was a lady, considering that weak punch just n-" She was hit again, on the same side as last time. It magnified the soreness and stinging, made her jaw feel like sand and her head jumble around from the heavy hit.

Despite that however, Rarity laughed. At first a wheezy, then increasingly louder laugh. "Are-are you serious?" Her laughter slowed somewhat as she tried to catch her breath. Realizing that she had yet to be hit again, Rarity figured that her captor was probably thinking she had something pertinent to say. At this point she only worried that she wouldn't be able to finish her next quip before being overwhelmed from laughter at the thought. "Wh-what's next? You're going to threaten to cut my ear off? Release information you found about me? Oh! How about cement shoes? I've heard that that usually gets ponies' knees really shaking!"

"Take care of her until she wants it to stop." The voice then grumbled. Several other hoofsteps came closer now and secretly she braced for it, which led to the state she was in now...

Rarity was bruised and scratched and beaten. Her bones ached; lungs burned with every inhale. Sticking to her coat was probably flour or some sort of powder, making her feel sticky thanks to the water from earlier on. The condition of her mane was anyone's guess.

Yet still the smile on her lips remained.

Whoever had taken her also made sure to seal up her magic. Around her horn Rarity could feel the same binding that was placed onto Glam's just a few weeks ago. Obviously her captors had high level connections just as she did.

Rarity's curiosity was tickled by that.

She heard the heavy breathing from the several ponies who had just finished 'taking care of her', guessing about three to four other ponies in addition to the one who had given the orders. With what scant amount of saliva was left in her mouth, Rarity swallowed to ease her dry throat, tasting iron. "I'm...starting to get bored of all this foreplay, darlings." She said in a low tone, "When is the torture going to begin?"

"Cripes..." she heard her 'friend' mutter farther away as a quick succession of thumps like that of hooves on stairs, became louder and louder until a loud creak to her far left drew her attention.

"What's taking so long? Haven't you broken her, yet?" A new voice yelled out in the echo-prone room they were in.

Several chairs scraped the floor as it sounded like the group of ponies came to attention at the guest's arrival. "N-no." Her 'friend' admitted, sounding disappointed. Rather than spoil the moment by interrupting, Rarity decided to keep silent and listen, trying to place where she heard the new pony's voice from.

"No?" The guest suddenly shouted, "What are you talking about? Aren't you supposed to be a professional?"

"Hey, I'm the best there is! But with all the restrictions you're putting on me I can't do anything to her. Which means I won't get anything out of her."

Ignoring her bruised and battered form, the guest sounded somewhat disturbed by what her 'friend' said. "Well...it's not like I want you to maul her, or anything! That's just...unbecoming!"

Rarity smirked, unable to hold back her tongue any longer from the instance she recognized the guest's haughty tone. "Oh, Honeybuzz. Ever the gentlepony."

The guest gasped and there was a tense silence before he responded. "What!? H-how did you know?"

"Oh-ho-ho-ho-ho, how could I not have known? I mean it all makes sense. The high-level magic seal, the smell of sugar all around me. The motivation for kidnapping me. That one's a sort of 'duh' moment, really. Well, even without any of that, I'd recognize the sound of your whining anywhere. And trust me, I know my whining!"

"Fine, then. Let's drop all of this pretense." He growled out then quickly ripped off the blindfold from Rarity's eyes.

The sudden light from the single light bulb dangling in the center of the room made her eyes hurt until they slowly adjusted to the dimness. Focusing entirely on the baby-faced stallion before her, Rarity easily counted the five other ponies in the room, including a very burly-looking earth pony stallion with a rounded shield for a cutie mark. Much more intimidating than the other ponies, she quickly figured that the blue-haired pony with a thick mustache was the identity of her 'friend'. Nearby, a group of three Diamond Dogs of the larger breeds stood in wait, two posted on either side of the only door in the room and one right behind the unicorn businesspony.

"You're going to pay for what you did to my wife!" Honeybuzz's attempt to sound tough was enough to make Rarity want to pat him on the head.

Dropping her smile Rarity raised an eyebrow to give the best incredulous look she could with a swollen right eye. "What? Why am I responsible for your marrying a slut?"

"Because you attacked her in her office then dragged her off to who knows where! And I did not marry some slut!"

"Well she is now." She mumbled just loud enough for everypony to hear. Managing to earn a few snickers from the dogs and ponies Honeybuzz growled but did not hit her. Although it seemed that he really wanted to, but barely managed to restrain his hoof from striking her. Rarity mused about how cute it looked. "She attacked me first, alright? And besides, after a while she 'came' more than willingly."

"Shut up! Glamorous was no such thing until you...you broke her!"

Rarity sighed, becoming bored with the banter while she felt wave after wave of head-splitting migraine course through her. She would have to get checked for a concussion after all of this was over. "Sir, rather than arguing this over with a third party such as moi I would highly suggest that you bring up the issue with your dear friend Windfall before you start slinging accusations my way."

"Windfall?" He blinked, looking incredibly stunned as to what she had just suggested. "And why, pray tell should I do that, hmmm?"

Rarity's lips curled upward. "Because everypony knows that they were fucking."

--

Caramel Glaze sighed, irritated somewhat for having to be at work overtime.

While some of that irritation was aimed at her boss, who had suddenly asked her near the end of her shift this afternoon if she was available to work that night, Caramel was mostly upset at herself for agreeing to do so.

Put into numbers the sources of her bad mood was maybe at 25% her boss - 35% herself. The remaining 40% was directed at her boy-no, ex-boyfriend for dumping her just the other day.

Probably for some easy-lay skank of a pony that spread her legs whenever he wanted.

Which was a plenty dumb reason, Caramel thought to herself. The red haired baker snorted and blew a huff of air through her nose, causing the hanging sign that was strung up from the ceiling near her head to wave to and fro until coming right back to a stop.

Just when she was about to masturbate to relieve her boredom, going so far as clearing a spot behind the counter with the tiniest hope that she'd be caught--hopefully by somepony cute--a sharp buzz filled the store. Then another.

Caramel raised an eyebrow and headed to the back of the store, to the stockroom where crates of food coloring, and bags of flour and sugar were kept. The buzzing continued every few seconds as she proceeded out of the sales area of the shop to the delivery door. It was an odd time for deliveries but Caramel shrugged off the hassle, appreciating it as a way to break up the tedium of this extra shift.

"Yeah, yeah, hold your horses." She muttered to herself and unlocked the door and opened it to see a gray-coated mailmare holding a package by the ribbon with her teeth.

"I ha-hagh or hack-igh." The pegasus mumbled out.

With a sigh Caramel asked, "What was that?"

"Whoops, my bad." The gray pony said after setting the package down and realizing her mistake. "Um, Ms. Glaze, correct?" The earth pony baker nodded. "Right, well Ms. Glaze I have your package!" She repeated what she said. Shuffling through her side bag the mailmare presented a clipboard for Caramel to sign which, after some hesitation she did and the clipboard returned to the bag.

Glancing at the package sitting on the floor between them, Caramel let curiosity get the best of her and asked, "Couldn't you have just left it at my house?"

"Well normally that'd be true for regular ol' packages, but there's a different procedure when dealing with overnight deliveries like yours." She began to explain, nudging the ribbon-wrapped cardboard box with her hoof to point out the words CAUTION: FRAGILE written onto the sides and top. "It's required by Equestrian law that after inspecting the contents for any hazardous materials that it is given to the receiver within twelve hours. And...I didn't want to just leave it at your house ma'am, considering...um..." The mailmare blushed

Caramel smiled when she saw the other pony's growing nervousness. "So you're saying that you...looked at its contents, yourself?" She asked teasingly.

"Um..." The mare tried to look away but her right eye remained staring ahead.

Although surprised by this at first, Caramel thought it to be increasingly cute when combined with the pegasus' obvious embarrassment. Caramel slinked ever closer to the pegasus, managing to brush her leg against the gray-pony's forearm.

The blonde-maned mailmare jumped back from the light touch, surprising even Caramel as her wings suddenly unfurled. "L-listen, you're pretty and all, and I guess I wouldn't mind...uh, no, wait! I-I mean...it's-it's very inappropriate to be having this discussion since I'm on duty! There are other ponies that need their mail delivered as well! So..."

"...you mean it's ok when you're not on the clock, then?"

"Wha?! I...uh...that is...ohhhh!" Still flustered, the gray pegasus leaped up and took to the sky, flying awkwardly with a slight leftward list, obviously having some difficulty flapping her wings.

"Darn..." Caramel sighed as the pegasus disappeared around a tall building. After a moment of admiring the section of night sky where the mysterious mailmare had left, Caramel brought the package she had ordered just yesterday as a self-gift that she planned to use and show her now ex-boyfriend.

She closed and locked the door then brought the package with her back to the sales area and behind the counter, where she could at least be happy in knowing that she'd be getting a dick (even if it was fake) rather than a rolling pin inside of her tonight. Using her teeth she removed the ribbon and tore open the box with her hooves to take a glance at her 'Fragile delivery'.

Its head was flared and wider than the shaft's diameter, long from tip to end and purple in color. From where she stood it definitely did not look 'fragile' to her. Securing her usual spot right in front of the mirrored cabinet so she could get a second perspective on the fun she was about to have, the delivery buzzer sounded off once more.

At once she bounded to the stock room as the buzzer rang again. "Heh. I knew you'd be back soon. They always do." Caramel said to herself smugly and opened the door to find herself standing in front of a drooling opened maw full of jagged teeth.

--

"SHUT UP!" Honeybuzz screamed and struck Rarity as hard as he could. "I've had enough of your lies, you witch! Don't you dare spout your nonsense about my friend and...my wife...ARGH!" In a fit of rage he struck her again, so hard that she was tossed to the floor while still tied down to the chair.

"Heh, you look like you enjoyed that, boss." Nickel commented, hoping that now he'd be given greater leeway with what his current employer hired him to do.

"Like you wouldn't believe." The unicorn sighed happily.

Still on the floor, Rarity began to cough, haven inhaled the powdered sugar strewn about that was now seeping into her wet coat. Tasting the metallic flavor of blood, her eyes flickered toward the back of the room and she mumbled something, letting out a chuckle despite her coughs.

"Huh?" Honeybuzz seethed as he rubbed his sore hoof. "What did you say, you cunt?"

Rarity simply smiled, making the stocky earth pony gesture to two other stallions to set the chair she was sitting on right. As soon as the legs were placed back on the floor Nickel smacked her with the back of his hoof. "ANSWER THE BOSS WHEN HE ASKS YOU SOMETHING, BITCH!"

Red-tinted spittle escaped her mouth, staining her shoulder as she faced her left. "...I said...that you're not getting out of here alive." Slowly her eyes met with Honeybuzz's.

For a moment he felt intimidated by her low tone, stepping backwards even, but then he calmed himself by remembering she was tied up. Not to mention the charm wrapped around her horn prevented her from being able to use her magic. Honeybuzz smiled and regained his bravado after remembering those assurances. "Oh really? And what makes you so sure that you are, Madame Rarity?"

Rarity smiled. "Because my husband knows what just happened."

The icy confidence in her voice made him fully aware now of a presence looming over him. The stallion turned around to be confronted with a wicked maw, full of jagged teeth and cast under a furious glare. After flinching, Honeybuzz realized how there was nothing there. He blinked several times and his trembling made the thugs look at him with some concern. No one else had seemed to notice it, but to Honeybuzz a murderous intent was beginning to seep into the small room.

"Ch-check what's outside!"

"What?" One of the Diamond Dogs cocked his head in confusion, making Honeybuzz's breathing grow heavier and quicker.

"I said CHECK!"

Noticing his growing anxiety Nickel nodded to the confused Diamond Dog to go ahead. He looked to the shaken unicorn once more. "Boss, are you alright?"

"It's...it's probably just my-"

The door exploded inward, sending shards of broken wood and clouds of white sugar and flour everywhere.

"Y-you damn Dogs!" Honeybuzz shouted, "How did you not notice!? What the hell am I paying you for? Kill it! KILL IT!" As soon as he screamed out Nickel dragged the smaller stallion away from the door as the ponies and dogs turned to face the intruder. From within the thickest part of the cloud, the biggest of the three Diamond Dogs was tossed across the room to slam against a far wall and pained whine.

Several more screams and shouts, one after another were heard as one after another the thugs were thrown like rag dolls.

As the chaos ensued, Rarity thought she was hallucinating as a result of the growing fatigue and dizziness she felt when a white-coated unicorn maid galloped in through the crowd of thugs. "Mistress, are you...alright?" Starla said with a pant as she used her magic to begin to unravel the ropes. With her hooves and teeth she pulled off the metallic charm on Rarity's horn.

"Yes." Rarity said straightforwardly, instinctively irritated from seeing the other mare.

As she was helped off of the chair to stand on her legs for the first time in hours, leaning on Starla's shoulder to keep balance, a deafening boom like thunder, shook everyone and everything.

Starla trembled from the force of his roar and nearly fell to the room in fear, but remember she was carrying the other mare and took her away from the screams and yells going on at the entrance.

As though he saw straight through the thick clouds of settling sugar and flour, a beast rushed through and pushed aside the ponies and dogs that managed to stand back up and gathered to stop it, bowling them over to the floor and immediately picked Honeybuzz up by his neck. Seeing his employer accosted Nickel charged the scaled attacker but was knocked away like a ball to bounce along the wet and powder-covered floor into several heavy bags that toppled over him.

*

The dogs and ponies that remained rushed in to engage Spike, to which he tossed Honeybuzz away to thrust at the nearest Diamond Dog with his free hand, tearing through its cheek and ripping off the jaw from its socket in the follow-through.

Undeterred the others split up, some charging from the left, others the right. The only other unicorn lifted up several jagged pieces of the door and threw them at the growling dragon ahead of the others' attack.

Without looking Spike caught the first stake mid-air and ignored the rest as they crumbled and exploded harmlessly against his scaled form. His focus now was on the nearest pony and dog on his left and he swung the jagged wood held tightly in his clawed hands through the dog's temple, piercing through its head and shattering the side of the skull on the other side. As flesh and tiny pieces of bone flew off in all directions along with the broken splinters the sheer force of Spike's swing carried the impaled dog against the pony next to it, jamming the point that had been sticking out and imbedded itself into him, making the stallion's legs buckle and collapse under the weight of the dog carcass.

The remaining two ponies and dog charging on his right tackled him and did their best to pin Spike's arms to his sides. As they did so the unicorn had picked up three larger pieces of wood and lobbed them at the dragon's face. With a deep inhale Spike belched a torrent of green fire, overwhelming the pony in the blaze. The pony let out a horrible shriek and dying whinny as his coat, completely singed and caked in black where it was once a yellow color and his flesh peeled and dripped to the floor to reveal the pink sinews of muscle and the white portions of bone along his ribcage and his jaw line.

The three ducked under the dragon fire while continuing to restrain him, ignoring the unicorn's gurgled pleas for help.

"Spike, that's enough." Rarity said desperately but noticed that he didn't obey.

Instead, he lifted his arms despite the ponies and dog's efforts and wrapped his bulging biceps around them, hugging the three to their surprise. The pony in the middle screamed and coughed out blood, haven been lifted up to take the three wooden projectiles into his back. Linking his hands together he squeezed his arms tight, pressing the dog and pony closer and closer against their dead comrade on either side of him, ignoring their screams for mercy. Rather, Spike squeezed even tighter, making their eyes bulge out and their faces turn blue from the pressure.

"Spike."

Finally, sickening pops and cracks could be heard. Trails of red seeped out of the ponies and dog's eyes and noses, their wide frightened stares frozen in time as their heads flopped because rigor mortis had yet to sink in.

Without a care Spike unlinked his hands and loosened his hold, letting the three bodies hit the floor, where they lay in a crumpled pile. The three bodies remained there on the floor, unmoving.

Rarity whispered out, unsure what to make of what had just happened. "S-spike?"

Without pause he stomped back over to where Honeybuzz slowly writhed and grabbed the stallion's neck with his blood soaked claw once more, lifting him up from the floor to dangle his legs uselessly.

*

"Spike!" Rarity suddenly yelled out, surprising Starla from the volume she managed but it was to no avail as the dragon proceeded to choke the unicorn stallion in his grasp. Growing impatient Spike clenched his other hand into a tight fist and raised it for Honeybuzz to see, pulled it back and threw with full force a punch meant to kill.

"SPIKE, YOU LISTEN TO YOUR WIFE AND STOP THIS INSTANT!"

The stallion in Spike's hold squealed as the fist stopped less than an inch away from his face. The scales that brushed against his nose cut the skin from the slight upward movement of the aborted punch. Immediately the smell and sound of urine streaming to the floor filled the room.

"Drop him. Now."

Spike did so without hesitation this time and Honeybuzz found himself wet in a puddle of his own piss on the ground. The dragon stepped away from him and turned toward her, breath heavy and full of rage.

Shrugging off Starla's shoulder, Rarity slowly hobbled over to the hulking beast as the single light bulb in the room swayed and made the orange din of its light ebb and flow making the shadows move about. After a few agonized steps, the two of them were merely a foot from one another.

"Come here, Spike." He lowered his head as she asked and remained unflinching as she pressed a hoof on either side of his face.

Rarity stared into her husband's eyes, intense and green and deviating from left to right as he took in the sight of his wife's bruises and scratches.

She sensed his anxiety and quickly tut-tutted him, softly stroking her hoof along the scaly ridges of his brow. "Oh, don't be so upset. You've done worse than this in the past, love. Or have you forgotten? Hm. In any case, what they did today was easy enough to endure. Because I knew you'd come and save me." As his gaze softened, she smiled and leaned in to kiss him on the nose, both of them closing their eyes. "My handsome dragon in shining scales."

Author's Note: I'd like to thank ExplicitEscritoire and The Great Derpsby for each submitting an OC for my use (as thanks for reading and leaving a comment). Expect more reader-generated OCs in future chaps, and if you'd like to have one featured on this or another story don't hesitate to PM me! In both this and last chapter I tweaked what I had written because I liked the OCs people sent.

Edited on 9/30/2012 to include Windfall as a committee member