The Shoshoniensis Boutique

As the purple alicorn and the yellow pegasa entered the front gate, they were met by a disappointed Rainbow Dash and a relieved-looking Applejack.

Twilight glared at the azure pegasa and asked, “Didn't I tell you to stay at the boutique?”

Glaring back at the representative of magic, the azure pegasa retorted, “I couldn't let Rarity kill another one of my friends.”

The representative of magic sighed before responding, “I know how you feel. But, Rarity's also one of our friends.”

Rainbow Dash had to take a few seconds to fight down her emotions, although she couldn't keep a tear from escaping from one of her eyes. When she thought she had her emotions under control again, she squeaked, “I know.”

In an effort to calm her fellow element bearer down, Twilight nuzzled her. Then she backed away again and asked, “So, what happened?”

The representative of loyalty cleared her throat, then answered, “I managed to free Applejack, then Rarity came in and tried to use her magic. But, I guess she was so drunk she couldn't. So, she ran off.

“I tried to stop her, but she went to this tall … thing behind the palace. I thought I had her at the end of that pathway on the way up, but she jumped me when I landed in front of her, knocked me off the path. When I finally managed to get back up, she was gone. I searched the palace, but I couldn't find her or anypony with her.”

Twilight nodded before saying, “I've got good news. The zebras are going to help us free everypony here.”

Rainbow Dash smiled uneasily as she said, “Well, I guess that's good. But, like I said, I haven't been able to find Rarity anywhere.”

The representative of magic reasoned, “Well, if you haven't been able to find her in the palace, then she's not there anymore. She may not even be in these ruins anymore. And, if that's the case, maybe we can finally reach her and get her back to Shoshoniensis so we can free her from that King Noah that's been possessing her.”

The orange earth mare said, “Ah hope so. But, Ah ain't 'spectin' much. If'n it'd been us that c'nvinced 'er t' leave, then maybe we could'a taken 'er back with us. But, she done gone run off, 'n' Ah think it's with 'er group o' ponies 'n' zebras.”

The representative of magic nodded and said, “Well, in the mean time, the chief of Shoshoniensis is sending word to a nearby village, Simplicidens, to help in the rescue. Although, if Rarity isn't here anymore, that rescue may go better, quicker, than I was expecting.”

After a few more minutes of talking amongst themselves, the four element bearers separated and went to each of the houses in the ruins, knocking on doors and telling ponies and zebras alike that it was time to evacuate.

In the mean time, Spike, hiding against a wall to keep out of sight, heard what the element bearers were saying. Looking down at the fire ruby, he thought to himself, “Maybe she's still alive. I sure hope so.” And, with that, he headed off in search of his favorite pony.

Somewhere in the jungle, Rarity and her herd of ponies and zebras emerged from the underground pathway, then galloped as fast as they could for perhaps a minute or two until they were worn out and figured it was safe for them to stop and rest.

One of the ponies, after catching his breath, said, “I feel like we left something behind.”

Rarity approached him and said, “Well, we can't very well go back and get it now. No doubt the zebras've swarmed the place and destroyed everything just after we escaped.”

Another pony turned to her and said, “Wait, I thought you and your zebra and pony friends said nopony'd be able to destroy that place.”

Rarity indignantly responded, “Well, that may be true. But, I didn't say anything about the zebras now, did I?”

The zebra in closest proximity to the white unicorn glared at her and growled out, “Hey.”

The representative of generosity scoffed and said, “What, you didn't really think I was going to trust you striped horses now, did you?” And, she started cackling.

This angered zebras and ponies alike.

One of the few zebras that remained close by the white unicorn leaned toward her and said, “This is not the time for that kind of attitude. If we're gonna survive this, we need to work together, and you're just antagonizing those you should be uniting.”

Rarity growled back, “Don't you dare talk to your queen that way. I shall say and do whatever pleases me. “ To the group as a whole, she continued, “You are my subjects, and you shall do everything your queen tells you to do. Or, would you prefer to die as Abinadi did?”

At this point, ponies and zebras separated into two different groups, one forming behind Rarity, the other behind the pony stallion that had been first to speak.

In the mean time, that stallion answered, “If you're referring to your friend Pinkie Pie, then no we wouldn't. But, maybe you would.”

By this time, it was clear that Rarity had made more enemies than friends.

Rarity, as though ignorant of the meaning of the stallion's words, paused and grunted in confusion and incredulity.

The stallion turned to one of the other ponies and said, “I saw some dead trees and bushes as we were galloping past. Go get them and bring them back here.”

As the pony nodded before turning and galloping away, the white unicorn mare growled, “How dare you threaten your queen. I shall see you burn in the fire you prepare for me.”

The stallion glared back at her and snarled, “I don't think so. You were never a good ruler. You couldn't even rule yourself.”

Rarity grinned at the stallion through her fury as she snarled back, “Oh, you shall regret the day you spoke so insolently to your queen.”

The stallion turned to one the zebras behind him and said, “There should be some vines nearby. Get them. We'll strap this mare down.” Turning back to the white unicorn, he concluded, “I have had more than enough of this 'queen' nonsense.” And, he reared up and, taking a step toward the white unicorn, dropped on top of her, striking her with his hooves.

Spike had spent maybe an hour maneuvering around the zebras that had suddenly flooded the ruins, doing his best to keep out from under their hooves. After seeking shelter in an underground pathway, he noticed that it seemed to continue for some distance. Curious, he started following the tunnel until he found an exit, evidently well beyond the ruins. From there, he found it easy enough to follow the trail of trampled vegetation to a spot where a campfire had been prepared, and apparently a meal cooked.

The purple dragon began to feel hungry until he saw the remains of what had been cooking, incorrectly. And, as far as he could tell, none of it had been eaten. In fact, unlike most meals he'd heard of involving cooked meat, the creature had been restrained so it was standing, not laying down. But, the most telling evidence was the skull. Even though all else had been burned away, the skeleton remained. And, the skull clearly had a horn sticking out of it.

As Spike, abandoning the valentine-shaped gem, ran toward the remains, he didn't want to believe that they were those of his favorite unicorn. But, a part of him had to be sure. And, when he freed the skull from the rest of the body and sniffed it, the familiar scent was all he needed. Indeed, though he didn't know who or how, somepony had trapped his Rarity in a fire, one that that pony, or perhaps zebra, had made, and perhaps left her to burn to death.

Spike just stood there, holding the skull so that it was facing him. He stared into those sockets that had once held the blue eyes of the unicorn he'd loved so much, knowing they'd never smile back at him again. The purple mane and tail so well groomed, the fur white as snow, all had been burned away. All that was left of Rarity was her skeleton, and all he could free from that log was her skull.

Perhaps there was some part of him that hoped that if he stared into those sockets long enough those eyes would return, the skin would reform, the mane and fur would grow back, and he could hear her voice just one last time. But, dragons aren't designed to hold something for very long, not the way Spike was holding Rarity's skull. And, after maybe a minute or two, as the remains of the white unicorn's head slipped out of his hands, so did his hope of seeing her alive again. And, so also did his control over his emotions. No longer did it matter who had done this to his favorite unicorn. What mattered was she was no longer alive. And, all the purple dragon could do, all he could think of, was to collapse onto the unicorn's skull and sob like a hatchling.

Late in the afternoon, Twilght and her remaining friends returned to the boutique, happy that at least they had succeeded in freeing all the prisoners.

The purple alicorn called out, “Spike, I've got good news!” Then, when she didn't hear a response, she again called, “Spike?”

Rainbow Dash flew up to the second floor saying, “I'll check in Rarity's work room. Maybe he's asleep in there.”

Somehow, the representative of magic knew that her azure pegasa friend wasn't going to find him there. But still, she said, “Yeah, maybe you're right.”

As the representative of loyalty proceeded to enter the room, Applejack said, “If'n he ain't in there, he could be in th' kitchen, cookin' dinner fer us all.” And, she proceeded toward that room.

In the mean time, Fluttershy said, “If Spike isn't in the boutique, maybe the creatures outside know where he went.”

Before Twilight could agree or disagree with the representative of kindness, Rainbow Dash emerged from the white unicorn's work room and said, “He's not in here.”

As if on cue, Applejack emerged from the kitchen and said, “He ain't here neither.”

Worries quickly built up in the purple alicorn's thoughts. But, she pointed a forelimb at her chest as she inhaled deeply, then away from her chest as she exhaled slowly. Now calmed down, she said, “Alright, everypony, there's no need to panic. Here's what we'll do.” Pointing to the azure pegasa, she said, “Rainbow Dash, you check the other rooms up there.” Pointing to the orange earth mare, she continued, “Applejack, you check the rest of the rooms on the main floor.” Turning to the yellow pegasa, she concluded, “Fluttershy, you go talk to the creatures in the nearby woods, just in case—“

Before the purple alicorn could finish giving orders to the representative of kindness, the door opened behind her; and the purple dragon slowly entered, apparently hugging a white object.

That's what Twilight first saw when she turned to her assistant and shouted, “Spike, you're back! Where have you been?” Then, noticing that he wasn't paying attention, not to mention there was something oddly familiar about the object he was carrying, she paused for a moment before asking, “Spike, is something wrong? What are you holding?”

Spike said nothing at first, just held out the object he was carrying, waiting for Twilight to take it with her magic. Then, when she did, Spike said, “I w-was going to t-take the f-fire ruby to R-rarity. I thought I c-could snap her … snap her out …”

It took only a few seconds of study for Twilight to realize Spike had brought back the skull of a unicorn. Turning to the dragon, she asked, “Spike, where's Rarity? What happened to her?”

Spike continued, “I w-went to the r-ruins. I couldn't find Rarity there. I found an underground t-tunnel. I followed it. It led to, I don't know, somewhere outside. And there I saw a trail of b-broken s-stuff on flattened ground. I knew it had to be Rarity and everypony that went with her. So, I followed that path.” Fresh emotional wounds reopened, and Spike's voice started to crumble as he continued, “Th-th-there was a f-f-fire. It wasn't me, I don't know who did it. B-b-by the t-t-time I got there, it'd b-b-burned out. All I know is th-th-that … that skull … is … R-r-rar-r-rit-t-ty.” His legs folded under him, and he collapsed into a sitting position. Folding his arms over his knees, he buried his face in his arms and started whimpering again.

Rainbow Dash, hovering above the upper floor, came in for a landing next to Twilight.

Applejack slowly trotted up next to Fluttershy, opposite from the representative of magic.

It wasn't hard to tell they were all feeling the same thing. No matter what Rarity had done, she was still one of them, an element bearer, a friend, a pony.

Sincerity coloring her voice, Twilight nuzzled her assistant as she said, “I'm so sorry, Spike.”

Suddenly Spike stopped whimpering and, with a dark determination none of them expected, growled, “Shut it down.”

The purple alicorn took a step back and grunted in alarmed confusion and curiosity.

The purple dragon slowly clarified, “This boutique. Shut it down.”

The representative of magic froze in place. Only her mouth moved as she said, “I don't understand.”

Spike finally looked up at his adoptive mother, revealing in his expression the fury he felt, before saying, “This place has been too expensive. If I have to burn it down myself, I'll make sure it closes and never opens again.”

Seeing the expression on her assistant's face, Twilight immediately felt her wings clasp tightly against her sides, and her ears folded against her skull. While she hadn't seen Spike this way before, instinct told her that he was determined to do what he said he'd do. Turning to the other three ponies, she ordered, “Everypony, get whatever you want to salvage, and get out!” And, she proceeded to head out the door, hoping her assistant would follow. But, before she left, she turned to see he hadn't moved. She took a step toward him and said, “Please, Spike, whatever you do, leave the building before you burn it down.”

Spike slowly answered, “You, too.”

It wasn't long before the four ponies, the dragon, and a pile of their belongings were outside the front yard of the building.

Seeing all was safe that needed to be, Spike approached the front door. With an angry scream, he shot a flame out of his mouth, one larger than any of the four ponies could've expected to see from such a small dragon. He went to a corner, then the center of a side, then another corner, then another center of a side, screaming his fiery scream at each one, until the boutique was engulfed in flames. Then, back at the front door, but a few feet away from it, his fury spent, the purple dragon turned his back on the inferno and walked away.