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- =Hope Rides Alone 6: I've Given Everything I Can=
- >You bring your hands up and splash a glob of ice cold water onto your face as you scrub some dirt out.
- "If there's one thing I miss here, it's showers..." you mutter to yourself.
- >The mountains are quiet as you scrub away at the dirt and grime collected on your person in the small stream you found.
- >Spike was off...somewhere. You had let him wander in the wilderness for a time, to get out from that knapsack and to stretch his legs a bit.
- >You knew a growing boy when you saw one, and you knew when they needed space.
- >On cue, you hear the clattering of rocks to your right and see Spike walking down from higher up the mountain.
- "Hello buddy. Did you have a nice walk?"
- >"Hmm?" Spike puts his claw and something in it behind his back. "Oh, yeah, it was nice."
- "What have you got there?" you ask.
- >He turns his back to you to protect it. "Just something I found."
- "May I see it?"
- >Spike walks over to you and holds his claw out, inside it rests a single small ruby.
- "Impressive, my friend...where did you find it?"
- >Spike gestures up the slope. "Underground a ways up. It reminded me of a...friend. Lucky find, too."
- "Why is that?"
- >Spike shrugs. "All the gems around here have been mined out, I guess we're not the only ones who stopped here."
- >Your ears perk up at the sound of a twig snapping.
- "...Yes...stay close."
- >You scoot back to where you set your ring down to wash and paw for it.
- >"Uh...Anonymous?" Spike says.
- >You turn around and spot your ring floating in a silver telekinetic glow.
- "Hey!"
- >Before shooting off at high speed into the forest.
- "HEY!"
- >You jump to your feet and take off after the ring.
- >"Anon!" you hear Spike shout before giving chase.
- >You pump your arms and legs as you race through the trees, keeping a stern eye on your ring in the silver glow.
- >You needed that, saving this land and the people in it would be a hell of a lot harder without that ring.
- >You hear a strange noise behind you and start running faster. The last thing you needed when you were ring-less was to get eaten by some monster in the woods.
- >You weave around a few trees and leap over a log until-
- >There's no sign of the ring to the left. No sign right. Nothing straight ahead.
- >...Damn.
- >You hear the growling again, this time from behind you.
- >You reach down and grab a stick, raising it to prepare and defend yourself.
- >Hope must not be lost, even without your ring. You were going to defend yourself, find and get your ring back, and continue on with Spike to-
- >Spike leaps out from behind some bushes and looks up at you smiling.
- >You release the breath you had been holding.
- "Oh...Spike, thank Adara it's you."
- >His hopeful eyes turn to one of confusion, he opens his mouth to speak.
- >"Dtay wonna wanga?" he says.
- >Your face falls and you sigh.
- "You don't have any idea what I'm saying, do you?"
- >He tilts his head to the side. "Eechuta?"
- >Being outside of the range of the universal translator made this a lot harder than it already was...
- >You sigh and run your hand through your hair.
- "A whole hell of a lot harder..."
- >Spike walks closer. "Apoo?"
- >You steel yourself with a sigh and turn to him.
- "Okay, Spike? We can't understand each other until we get my ring back."
- >You point to your empty ring hand.
- "Do you understand?"
- >Spike sniffs at the ground and his eyes shrink.
- >"Radoosame!"
- >And off he bounds further towards the mountain.
- "Spike! Wait! It's dangerous!"
- >You throw the stick and chase after him.
- >You keep Spike in your sight better than you did your ring as you give chase.
- >Forrest gives way to barren mountain edge as Spike continues to run ahead at a speed you've never seen from him up the mountain.
- "Spike, wait!"
- >He doesn't slow, he probably can't understand you.
- >Blast!
- >You hurry up the mountain, dropping to all fours as the incline increases.
- >Getting close to the top, you hear voices speaking in a language you cannot understand, but you recognize one as Spike.
- >"Bars mato r'aas iish, Radoosame!" he shouts.
- >The other one speaks. "Fo untam nar gek, Sposs! Futalla mek shir noteluas!"
- >You keep climbing, spotting jagged gems sticking out of the mountain as you make your way up and the voices continue to bicker.
- >"Mes itam nu!"
- >"Mek all teem yiss daw, Sposs! Gram nwo an thgr-verything I see is mine, mine, mine, mine!"
- >You understood that.
- >But that would mean you were close to-
- >You reach the top of the cliff and pull yourself up onto a ledge. Spike stands defiantly on all fours in front of you and past him, in the mouth of a cave, is a golden throne surrounded by glittering coins, shimmering jewels, and rich tapestries.
- >Sitting in this throne, gowned in purple and white furs and with a golden jeweled crown on her head, sat a pale white unicorn.
- >And on her horn rested a blue ring.
- "Ah...that makes sense..."
- >She looks to you and scans you with her sapphire eyes. "Tell me now, Spike, have you brought me another possession?"
- >Spike shakes his head. "People aren't possessions, Rarity! You know that!"
- >...This is starting to take on a very orange hue.
- "Spike...you know this pony?"
- >Spike turns and looks back at you. "Th-this is Rarity, Anonymous. She was the...special one I told you about."
- >...Ah. That explains the skittishness.
- >You get to your feet and dust yourself off. You look over the riches that shine in the afternoon sunglass wearing sun.
- "Hmm...I'd hazard a guess that she represented altruism before everything?"
- >"GENEROSITY." Rarity corrects from her chair. "You will do well not to forget -MY- title, you ape. Not on your knees! I will not have my possessions acting as such to me."
- "Oh but I much prefer to stand. The view from here is spectacular."
- >Rarity's horn glows silver and you feel immense pressure pushing down on you from above as your shoulders glow the same color.
- >You grunt as you're pushed to your knees by the magic.
- >"Rarity!"
- >"Silence, Spike! I'm disciplining!"
- >Spike shakes his head. "This isn't you!"
- >Rarity continues to stare steely eyed at you. "Well it is now."
- >Through gritted teeth, you speak. [spoiler][/spoiler] "Can I ask...what...changed?"
- >Rarity's eye twitches. "Do you think I didn't see what they did? I gave everything to my friends, my time, my kindness, my designs, and yet every time I saw it thrown in my face! Rejected! They vacated to that Maybelle mare once they were done with me!"
- "May...belle...?"
- >"Don't ask..." Spike says, rolling his eyes.
- >"From then I decided that it may pay a bit more to -take- things as opposed to give them away." Rarity scoffs and turns her head. "Honestly, I cannot believe I was so naive."
- >Spike's eyes dart between you and Rarity. He holds up his claw with the small ruby in it and clamps his eyes shut. "It's like you don't even remember..."
- >A glint from the gem catches Rarity's eyes, she turns her head and looks to Spike with...hunger.
- >"-What- might you have -there-, Spikey~?"
- >Spike perks up and turns away. "N-nothing. I don't have anything." he says, but Rarity is already circling him like a shark.
- >"Oh ho ho ho don't lie to me, Spikey Wikey~." she says in a sing-song voice. "I saw the most -magnificent- reflection there in your claw...what is it, let me see, give it to me."
- >You crawl a bit towards them in the silver grip.
- "Let...him be..."
- >spike turns around and around, keeping his back to Rarity while she eyes him like a steak dinner.
- >"Oh! Oh! Give it here, Spikey. Give that beautiful shiny thing here." she says.
- >Rarity gets around Spike and gasps, grabbing Spike's claw in her grip and levitating it up to her face.
- >"My -WORD-! look at all the fractals and facets! Oh I -must- add this to my collection! I want it! I need it!"
- >Spike jerks his claw back, or tries to. "Rarity!"
- >Some sense returns to Rarity's eyes. "Ah, of course...you'd want to keep it. What if we were to trade?"
- >Rarity floats your ring off her horn. "I'll trade you this...lovely little trinket for that stunning jewel."
- >Spike blinks and looks to you.
- >Getting the ring back could be just what you needed.
- >Through the field pinning you, you nod to him.
- >Spike look up at Rarity. "P-promise?"
- >"Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye." she says.
- >Spike shakily extends the claw out to her and opens it.
- >Rarity smiles and floats the gem up to her eye, examining the facets and seemingly being drawn into them.
- >she tears herself away with some reluctance and looks down at Spike with a smirk.
- >"Sucker."
- >Spike's eyes shoot wide open. "Wh-wha-"
- >"AHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Rarity leaps back from Spike with the ring and the jewel, examining it again up close.
- >"First rule of business, Spikey. Never give up something you don't have to."
- >Spike hangs his head and grits his teeth while Rarity looks to the jewel over him.
- >"I got that...because of you..." Spike says.
- >"Hmm?" Rarity looks over her shoulder at him.
- >Spike looks up at her with tears in his eyes. "I picked that gem up...because it reminded me of the one -I- gave -you-...the broach you asked for so long ago..."
- >"Hmmm...well hopefully this has been an object lesson for you, Spike."
- >Spike hangs his head again. "I-I got it for y-you because...because I-I..." Spike doesn't finish and just hangs his head, his light sobs coming above the high wind.
- >Rarity looks at him cocking her eyebrow before she looks between the gem and the ring on her forehead. "I...see... What's so important about this trinket, anyway?"
- "We're using it...to make...everything better." you grunt out.
- >Rarity looks to you and the pressure that stopped you from talking dissipates, but you're still locked in place.
- >"Everything better -how-?" she asks.
- "We hope to oust Discord and turn the land back to the way it was before him..."
- >Rarity blinks. "B-before him? This little thing can do all that?"
- "And more."
- >She floats it off her horn and looks at it, eyes drinking in the symbol. "If it can do all that, why don't I just keep it? Use it for myself?"
- "I don't know...I hope you're better than that."
- >She turns away from you and looks to Spike. The boy looks up at her for a moment but tears his crying eyes away soon after. Rarity...looks displeased.
- "...Are you?"
- >She turns back to you, the pressure lifts some more.
- >"I-I don't rightly...know. I don't...everything before now is so...fuzzy..."
- >You lift your arm and open your palm.
- "I know one way to find out."
- >Rarity looks to Spike once more and then back into your eyes. "Oh...I suppose I can let you...hold it for a moment."
- >Rarity releases her silver grip on the ring and lets it fall for a moment before it catches itself and flies right onto your finger.
- >"Hope detected."
- >You hear Spike gasp as the azure glow from your ring washes over Rarity.
- >She stumbles back a few steps in surprise but then lets out a sigh as the light washes over her.
- >As the blue field fades back into your ring, Rarity rights herself, not a stark white and rich purple as she looks herself in a nearby gold plated mirror.
- >"My -WORD-, a few days out in the rough and tumble will certainly ruin ones mane."
- >"Rarity!" Spike shouts as he runs up to her and throws his arms around her. "You're back!"
- >Rarity gasps in surprise but instantly warms to the dragon's touch. She wraps her hoof around him and gives him a kiss on the head. "Thanks in no small part to you, my brave knight..."
- >Spike visible reddens. "Aw...I-I didn't do anything special..."
- >you walk over and rub his spines.
- "Don't be so sure."
- >He reddens some more.
- >"And you mister...Mystery, I suppose I should thank you for your part in this as well."
- "No thanks are needed...it's what I do."
- >"Now the only one left is Twilight..." Spike says.
- >Rarity perks up. "Twilight? You're traveling all the way to the Crystal Kingdoms?"
- >Spike grabs his forehead. "Crystal Kingdom's!? That's half the kingdom away!"
- >You grimace.
- "Rarity, you're sure she's there?"
- >"Why there's no other place she could -be-, darling."
- >You hold your ring up.
- "Ring, status report."
- >"Ring capacity: 10%."
- >Ten percent...that might do.
- "Spike, grab a hold, we're headed to the Crystal Kingdom."
- >Spike cocks his eyebrow but grabs your leg, he's learned to trust you.
- "Rarity. It was a pleasure meeting you. We must as a favor."
- >"Anything, dear." she answers with a warm smile, you can see why Spike likes her.
- "Please, travel as far as you can and tell everyone you can about what happened today. Help them believe."
- >Rarity bows. "They will not be able to quiet me!" She turns and begins to trot down the hill.
- >"Uh...Anonymous? Shouldn't we go get our stuff?"
- >You smile down at him.
- "No need, Spike. We'll be there soon."
- >You squeeze your hand and cover you and Spike in a soft blue aura before you rise off the ground. You hear Spike gasp as you re-orient yourself.
- >It was only 10%, but it'd do.
- "Alright, now which way is this Kingdom?"
- >"N-north!" Spike says.
- >You extend your arm out and start flying north, picking up speed as you go until the trees below were just a blur.
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