Under the Weight

~5 days before the execution...~

“Hm~... Oh~, I hate it!” Rarity sighed with exasperation. She levitated emerald colored fabric, mulling over her most recent client’s order. From Manehatten no less! “Glittered Gold wouldn’t want an emerald put into the dress! Very well, think Rarity. What works well with gold? Oh~, if only I had a picture to work with!” She bemoaned. Sighing, she shook her head and turned to the recesses of her boutique. Setting the materials down, she began to head towards her kitchen. “Maybe some tea will do some good?” She asked herself, letting her stress melt away little by little at the thought.

She paused her stride when she heard her door being knocked upon. Using her horn to open the wooden opening, she spotted a familiar baby dragon. “Oh! Hello Spike. What brings you here?”

“Hey Rarity! I finished my chores back at Twilight’s castle, so i figured I’d come by.” Spike smiled widely.

“Well you’re just in time. I was just about to make myself some tea.” Rarity giggled, letting the dragon come in before shutting the door behind him. “Perhaps you could help me?”

“Well… sure! What’cha need help with?”

“Well, a pony from Manehatten named Glitter Gold is asking for a dress. I’ve no appearance to work with, but I can only assume that their fur is rather… well, golden.” She sighed. “What do you think, Spike? I’ve been trying to figure out what would be an excellent color that could contrast and show, but nothing seems to come to mind!”

Spike, hummed. Well, he didn’t have much of a mind for fashion like Rarity, but she seemed like she was in a real rut. He racked his brain for a minute. “Well… Whenever I look at topazes, they usually end up next to sapphires or rubies. They actually look pretty nice together.”

Rarity hummed in thought, a golden furred, featureless pony appearing in her mind’s eye. The colors seemingly converging into the dress she had in mind. “Hm… why Spike, it’s actually coming together in my head rather well!” She beamed, relief coursing through her. “Thank you-- I’ve been stuck on this conundrum for hours.”

Spike grinned and nodded. “Anything I can do, Rarity!” In truth, Rarity wasn’t really stuck on it for very long. Today was just a bit of a rough spot. But she wanted to help the dragon feel better about himself. As of late, she’d noticed that he’s been rather… well, ragged wouldn’t be the word for it. Exhausted? He just seemed so tired lately, she figured that it’d be good to offer this much.

“Well, it certainly did help. While I’m making the tea, I hope you don’t mind if I ask you something.” The concern in Rarity’s voice made Spike pause in his mental preening, staring at the ivory mare curiously. This glance prompted her to continue, setting kettle of tea on the stove to get it ready. “Well, I’ve been noticing that you’ve been rather tired lately, Spike. Is there any particular reason? I do hope Twilight isn’t overworking you. I know how she can get when she’s on a research spree.”

“N-no, no. It isn’t that.” Spike sighed. He didn’t really have any reason to hide anything from Rarity. Should he talk about it? Shaking his head, he finally answered. “To be honest, I haven’t been sleeping really well.”

“Princess Luna hasn’t been helping with any nightmares?” Rarity asked, glad that her favorite little dragon was being forthcoming instead of bottling it up.

“It’s… I don’t think they’re nightmares… I guess they’re kinda like Pinkie’s pinkie sense…? I dunno.” He muttered. “But lately I’ve just been having this really bad feeling. Been like this for a few days, and I dunno why.” Folding his arms on the table, Spike rested his chin on his forearms and groaned.

“Well, what’s the feeling like?” Rarity pressed, checking her fridge. She wasn’t sure if she needed to pick up any milk or cream-- Oh! She was almost out of honey! Best to add that to the grocery list. Hive Mind’s honey should be on sale tomorrow anyway. “I’m sure if we get to the bottom of it we can figure out what’s wrong.”

“It’s like something’s bad gonna happen!” Spike exclaimed into his arms. “I just-- I keep feeling like there’s just something crazy that’s gonna happen and I dunno what to do!” He looked up at Rarity, the unicorn finally noticing the slight bags under his eyes. “It’s been keeping me up a lot. Ugh… sorry for dumping this on you Rarity.”

“No no! Think nothing of it, Spike.” She patted the drake’s head gently. “If you’ve been this concerned for… how long?”

“A solid four days.”

“Four days!? Goodness darling, you should’ve said something earlier!” Rarity chastised, but relented for a moment. “Well, regardless, you’ve been worried for this long, I’m only glad that you finally said something. Do you feel better?”

“Like a weight’s off my chest and I can finally breathe.” Spike sighed in relief. “Anyway, what--” He was cut off by the tea kettle letting out its telling screech. “Tea’s ready.”

“Ah! Good, good. I hope you like ginger.”

“More of a Chai guy.” Rarity held back a snicker at the unintentional pun, Spike pausing and laughing at what he said. “Hehe, I didn’t even mean to do that. Anyway, thanks again Rarity.” He added as the mare poured the tea into a cup, placing the saucer in his hand and resting the cup gently on it.

“Hardly any trouble dear. So, now that--” A scream cut through the conversation. “Sweetie Bell!?” Rarity exclaimed, looking in the direction her little sister’s scream came from. Spike and Rarity rushed to the source, and found it originating from the basement. “What in the world was that filly doing in here!?” Rarity panicked, rushing down to find…

“Please be quiet, please be quiet! I’m not here to cause trouble I just-- OOF!” A box full of spools of yarn smacked into a large diamond dog that had raided her basement, prompting him to let go of Sweetie Bell. The filly scurried behind Rarity.

“Get your filthy paws off of my little sister you filthy dog!” Rarity screamed, her horn glowing.

“Wait! Please, I’m just--!” The dog barely dodged another crate by ducking. Rarity would’ve thrown another one had Spike not put a clawed hand on her forehoof.

“Wait! Rarity, hold on!”

“Spike, you saw what this brute was doing! He was--”

“Was saying he wasn’t trying to start any trouble. I heard him.” Spike sighed. “I… Geez, as crazy as this sounds, I think we should hear him out.”

“H-He… He was just trying to keep me quiet. I just got surprised when he popped out of the ground.” Sweetie Bell added, getting a thankful nod from Spike. Rarity stared at the dog hard for a few moments, narrowing her eyes before sighing. The glow on her horn dissipated, and she sat on her haunches, staring at the dog.

“Fine. I’ll… I’ll hear you out. What is going on? Why are you here?”

The dog looked sheepish, pressing two fingers together out of what was most likely a nervous habit. “E-erm, would… would it be better if we do this not in the basement? I don’t want you all uncomfortable.”

“Very well. Let’s go upstairs.” Rarity nodded, rising to her hoofs and leading them all into the kitchen where she and Spike were originally. Spike looked back, noticing the dog still stayed within the shadows. Rarity turned back as well, and sighed. “Well, come come, you came all this way, you may as well show yourself.”

The shadowed form of the dog sighed, ducking underneath the doorway and… Everypony’s eyes widened at the sight, a much larger Diamond dog they’ve ever seen hunched over. His features were clipped, built like a… Dane…

“H-Hello.” The large dane waved a clawed hand, a sheepish smile on his face. “Yes, erm… this is why I was reluctant to step forward. I understand you ponies tend to be a bit nervous around my kind, and I know I’m a large dog in comparison to you ponies. Uh… Well, introductions.” Despite their previous encounter telling them one thing, this dog’s voice wasn’t nearly as scratchy, to Rarity’s surprise. In fact, he sounded rather eloquent!

“No no, think nothing of it. It’s… different. You’re different from the other brutes I--”

“They’ve names.” The dog interrupted. He was frowning. He sighed, shaking his head. “Sorry, sorry. They’re… they’re my friends. Rover, the one ring leader, as well as his friends Fido and Spot.” He shook his head. “It’s… I want to apologize for what they did to you. They’re not used to dealing with your kind at all-- and they’re of the lower caste, so manners aren’t the most well versed thing.”

Rarity paused in her musings, taking in the information that was just presented to her.

“Lower caste? Wait, what? You… you guys have a government?” Leave it to Spike to ask the question she was just thinking about.

“Yes. You would be surprised how much goes on in the Stone Sea.” The Diamond Dog smiled. “But we are getting off track. I…” He looked down. “My name is Prince Rocky of the Danes, A Son of Lupusgrad, and offspring of the Great Dane himself.” Rarity’s heart almost stopped. A Prince!? Here!? The brutes have a king!? The information swirled in her head for a few moments.

“W-well! Your Highness, I… Goodness, you’ve caught me off guard!” She finally let out. “This is certainly not what I had in mind for my afternoon. Um… Well, before we get further off track, why are you here exactly? Don’t be mistaken, I truly do appreciate the apology you gave me. It’s good to know that despite that whole situation that Diamond Dogs aren’t entirely brutes.”

Rocky nodded, his earth colored eyes veering to the wall in a nervous manner. “It’s… it’s complicated. Perhaps I should explain why we use gems, so you can understand our stance.”

“Gems? Well, they did want me to find the gems for them. I always assumed you used it for food much like Spike.”

“To be honest I kinda did too,” said dragon added, “I mean, with how crazily you guys were diggin’ for it I kinda thought that your friends were starving or something.”

“You mean you guys met them before?” Sweetie asked.

“Yes, Sweetie. A good… oh, two years ago?” Rarity looked up in thought, trying to recall completely.

“Yes. It has been two years since that incident.” Rocky helped. “Two years, four months, and seven days.”

“...That’s kinda creepy dude.” Spike deadpanned. “You actually kept track?”

“Had to.” Rocky shrugged, rubbing the back of his neck. “I had to figure out the best way to help them.” That got Spike curious.

“Huh? Help?” He asked, trying to figure out more of the situation.

“Yes. They are-- Agh, I’m sorry, I just… I’m a bit of a wreck right now. I don’t have much time left to stop this.” Rocky took in a deep breath, slowly letting it out. “Rover, Fido, and Spot are set to be executed in five days.”

Rarity’s blood ran cold. Ex… executed? Whatever for!? Their expressions must have said it all, as a bitter laugh escaped Rocky’s maw. “Yes… They’re to be executed on crimes of embezzlement and fraud, as well as dishonoring the caste system by trying to forcibly rise above their stations through bribery. As set forth by my father. That is why I am here.” Raw emotion seeped into Rocky’s voice as he explained.

“The gems you dug up are what we wished to use for currency. It is what we use, you see. It’s the only trustworthy source to us, as your ‘bits’ are considered useless. Gems… the worth of a gem never diminishes. It is trusted.” He eyed Spike for a single moment, an apologetic smile on his face. “It is for this reason we are often at odds with dragon kind. They eat what we use. I do not hold it against you however. It is just how things are-- one cannot be blamed for what their biology demands.”

“So you’re saying we were stealing from… your kingdom? And those dogs took the blame for it?” Spike asked, his heart gripped by ice. That… that’s just messed up! Why would anypony-- or dog, in this case, do that!?

“It pains me to say, but yes. But that is why I… Why i came to you. You could help fix this. You could save them. I…” To everyone in the room’s surprise, Rocky fell on all fours and bowed his head.“Please! I don’t want my friends to die! Please… please help me!” He was begging them… “They are rough around the edges, yes… but they’re good dogs! They didn’t mean any harm!” His head rose, his eyes shimmering with shed tears. “They were only trying to better their lives! They didn’t want to live in the poor conditions their caste is subjected to, labor constantly breaking them and killing their loved ones… I can’t bear the thought of not doing anything! This trial is the only chance I have, but I can’t do it alone.” His skull met the floor once more, surprising them with how hard it struck. Cracks formed on the tiled floor like a spider’s web, hints of blood leaking from the very spot. “I can’t just sit back and let them die…” He whimpered.

Rarity was moved. As was Spike. How could they not be!? A Prince had made friends with the poor, and was going above and beyond to save their lives, just because they were his friends! Despite how much it goes against his laws, and more than likely his upbringing, Rarity could see that he cared deeply. Though she was wary of it all, she let out a faint breath. Trotting over to where Rocky prostrated himself.

She sat herself down, placing a hoof upon his head, prompting the prince to glance at Rarity. She smiled, patting his head gently. “Please, dear. You’re a prince. It’s unbefitting to be begging so much. That…” She held back a sound of disgust as she looked over the head wound. “And I simply must stitch that cut. Really, that was hardly necessary to prove your point.”

“Yeah dude. We’ll help!” Spike smiled, encouraging with the idea. “We just need to get Twilight and the others, and we’ll be good to go!”

Rarity had scooted Sweetie Bell along to have her go play with her friends, leaving the three of them to continue the conversation. “Actually Spike, it might be a bit more complicated than that. Do remember that we won’t be dealing with Ponies, but the Diamond Dogs. This is an entirely different political field.” Spike stared at the mare for a few moments, making her titter sheepishly. “I… might have read more than a few novels on this.”

Spike raised a claw to comment, paused, hummed, then shrugged.

“Unless I sanction your visit. That might be what helps.” Rocky offered.

Spike rubbed his chin, then nodded to Rarity. “I’ll go talk to Twilight. Maybe we can get a solution to this?”

“If that’s the case, it’d be better if I kept young… I’m sorry dear, I don’t even know if you’re fully grown or not. I didn’t even know they made dogs your size.” Rarity smiled sheepishly, still a little weirded out that she has to look up just to stare at his muzzle.

“Oh, I understand. I’m still only a pup, so I hardly blame you.”

As Spike began to leave, he could hear Rarity’s fretting over what is now discovered to be a young Dane like Spike’s a young dragon.

Ponyville was busy this time of the day.

When Spike left the Boutique, he was almost immediately ran over by a rushing cart being pulled by a gray earth pony that Spike only knew in passing as Graymane.

The dragon could only assume that not only was he in a rush, his parents were also very uncreative. “Oh shoot, I forgot that today was the big sale down in the market…” Spike groaned. “Okay Spike. Maximum effort.” He immediately took off into the crowd, sidestepping the ponies that weren’t paying much attention. “Excuse me, s’cuse me, pardon me!”

It wasn’t a matter of getting passed all the ponies that was the problem. It was the various little events going on that made this a bit of a hassle. Vinyl was having a demonstration of one of many records she had made with whomever had the talent in her studio, a small square set up for anypony to show off their dance moves.

It just so happened that it was in the way of Spike’s progress.The music Spike instantly recognized as, again, one of the many songs that came out of the Crystal Empire. Internally groaning, Spike did a little hop, spin, and landed into the running drake, performing the dance to move along. He could hear the cheers, did a small bow, a wave, and immediately went back to running.

Spike had to weave through the crowd so he could avoid getting stepped on once more. Wasn’t anything different than usual, but that’s the main reason he didn’t get out so much. “Okay… Now let’s see if--”

“Howdy, Spike!” The baby dragon stopped at the familiar voice of an orange colored earth pony calling out to him from a stall.

“Hey AJ!” Spike greeted, approaching the stetson-wearing mare. “I was actually looking for… well, one of you girls.” Spike sighed. Applejack quirked an eyebrow, prompting Spike to continue. “There’s uh… bit of a situation goin’ on at Rarity’s.” Noticing the farmpony’s worried expression the drake immediately assuaged it. “N-nothing dangerous! But uh… Look, could you get Pinkie and everyone else while I get Twilight and Starlight? It’d be easier to explain once everypony gets there.”

“...Well, considerin’ yer goin’ outta yer way to get everyone, Ah can see it’s pretty important.” AJ rubbed her chin, her muzzle stuck in a frown. Luckily enough, Big Mac was coming by with a cart full of their Zap Apple jam. Spike guessed their harvest was really good this year. “Big Mac, could ya mind the stall today?”

“Eeeyup. Sure thing.” the big red Earth Pony nodded, sighing.

“Thanks big brother. Alright Spike, let’s skedaddle! I’ll meet you, Twi and Starlight at the Boutique with the others.” Applejack began her run through the market, leaving behind the baby dragon to let him continue on back to the castle.

Seeing the many, many ponies that stood in his path, Spike sighed once more. “Rocky better appreciate this…” With a deep breath, he took off once more.

~Deep within the Stone Sea, in the Great Dane’s Castle~

“Your highness! Your highness he is gone!” A large, lumbering dog barreled into the grand chambers of Castle Lupusgrad. Sitting upon a great throne made of bedrock, sat the Great Dane himself. His fur was a chocolate brown, various scars lining his body that was of a lighter tone than his flesh.

The amber yellow eyes of this powerful figure bore down upon the dog that barged in, the silence almost suffocating. “I-I- Would you like for me to send out guards to bring him--”

“No.” The Great Dane rumbled out. “Leave him be. I am already aware of what he is doing. The Earth told of his dismissal long before he even realized it.”

“And… you are fine with it?” The guard questioned. Now that the Great Dane got a good look, he could see that it was one of the many Shepherds that patrolled the castle. “S-sire, normally you--”

“You question my judgement?”

That single sentence froze the Shepherd in place, his tail tucked between his legs in fear. “N-no sir! Not at all! I will return to my post!” As he turned tail and ran, the shepherd could’ve sworn that he saw a faint glow in the Great Dane’s eyes.

Once he was alone, The Dane let out a faint, tired sigh. “All this posturing… how simple it was, two millennia ago.”

“Back then, you were far more aggressive and couldn’t tell your ass from your elbows.” Stepping from the shadows was a much smaller, black furred dog. The head of the Chihuahua clans, and an old friend of the Great Dane. He was an old dog, that barely made it past the Great Dane’s knee. “Titan, really. You let that pup off far too easily.”

Titan snorted, his muzzle faintly rising into a smile. “Roscoe. Always a pleasure, old friend. I see magic has kept you pruned, rather than dead still.”

“And your ties to the Great Spirit of Earth keeps your brain mush, yet you don’t see me pointing it out cabron!” Roscoe’s staff met Titan’s pectoral, a booming laugh escaping the ruler. “Being your damned court wizard isn’t easy! I have to figure out some ways to keep up with these young pups or you’re gonna have to get yourself a new wizard. But that’s not my point! Your boy is in Ponyville as we speak, you know this yes?”

“As I told the guard, yes. I am aware.” Titan muttered.

“Then you’re aware of what he is hoping to do.” Roscoe pressed, the violet hues of untapped magic staring into the large Dane.

“Yes.”

“Thus you do nothing? You know how much of a backlash this will cause amongst Lupusgrad, especially within the council.”

“Indeed.” Titan rested an arm on his knee, placing his chin on his knuckles and fiddling with the claymore that rested against his throne. “I know full well that it will cause ripples amongst all clans, from lowest to highest. You need not tell me.”

“...You want this to happen, don’t you?” Roscoe accused, eyes widening ever so slightly. “You wish for this to snowball.”

Titan’s faint smile turned into a full smirk. “Now what gives you that idea?”

“I- Titan, you know how much the clans are settled into their ways. This will cause nothing but chaos!”

“Verily. But perhaps that is what is needed?” Titan asked. Seeing the confused look from Roscoe, the king continued. “Think about it, Roscoe. How long have we been stuck here? How long has Lupusgrad been buried within the Stone Sea because we are too afraid to go back?”

“A millenia at best. I know, I was there.” Roscoe replied. “In that time you were the one who led us to this foundation, and we built Lupusgrad. We rely upon gems as money, our city-state is ever growing, what’s your point?”

“Change must come, Roscoe. We have been stagnant. Never going beyond what we have… I can see it in Rocky. That change will come in our time. I simply need to let this play out and act my part. Everything else is relying upon him.”

“...A thousand years of tradition flung out the window. Sheesh, why’d I even bother helping you with those accords?” Roscoe grumbled. “Wasted my time, practically!”

“I certainly didn’t count on you living for so long.” Titan replied flatly. “Go and take your medicine, you crotchety old dog.”

“Joke’s on you pendejo, I already took them.”

Rolling his eyes to the ceiling, he could hear Roscoe leaving in a huff. His friend would come around in time. As for now… “Do me proud, boy.”

~TO BE CONTINUED...~