Chapter 5: Bankruptcy

“Oh girls!” Rarity called out joyfully, “You will not believe the nice little number I found

in the nearby mall.” Only to go wide-eyed at the dishevelment of the room, the angry eyes

on two of her friends faces and Fluttershy still awkwardly frozen in mid-placing her piece

on the now-nonexistent game board.

“What’s going on here?” Twilight asked

“Oh my gosh, were you guys playing a game?” Jumped Pinkie “I love games! What is it?

Scrabble? Battleship?”

Spike looked down at Rainbow Dash “Just Ponopoly.” Spike muttered.

“Things, uh, got a little heated. I was trying to get Fluttershy to be more assertive.”

Explained Applejack, awkwardly. “Pardners, can I speak to you outside for a minute?”

Rainbow Dash caught on to what Applejack was doing, and wanted none of it. “Rarity,

ask you a personal question? All your former boyfriends have been Colts right?”

“Well, they were hardly what I would call a REAL colt, darling.” Rarity flipped her

bangs, laying her bags on the floor and then lounging herself on the bed.

“Yeah but nonetheless, they were ponies right? Strictly speaking, not birds, or rocks, or

reptiles. You don’t play that way right?” Asked Rainbow Dash, smirking an evil grin as

she stared at Spike.

Rarity got a disgusted look on her place “Are you implying I’m some sort of sexual

deviant? Regardless, yes they’ve all been Colts.” She said defensively.

“What about that giant rock that Discord tricked you into believing was a gem?”

Remembered Pinkie Pie.

“WE ARE NEVER TO SPEAK OF THAT AGAIN! WE AGREED!” Rarity snapped.

“Actually only you agreed to that, Rarity.” Spoke Twilight “And since I still have back

spasms from lugging that thing around for you, I’m not going to cease making sure you

don’t live it down for a while.”

“Ugh!” Rarity groaned “Why all this sudden interest in my personal life?!”

“’Cause both Rainbow Dash and Spike wanna plow your beanfield silly!” Exclaimed

Pinkie Pie.

“My... Bean field?” Rarity said in confusion and horror, glancing at the pegasus and the

dragon.

“Yeah you know, the hanky panky, the doodlehutzits, whoopie, making love, sexual

intercourse, fucking.” Pinkie went on “You know, like when two special someponies love

each other very much-”

“I know what sex is, Pinkie Pie, thank you!” snapped Rarity.

“Twilight! You told Pinkie?” Spike said, his rage growing again. “That was suppose to be

a secret!”

“Sorry Spike.” Twilight responded.

“Oh don’t apologize Twilight, I mean... it’s sooooo obvious. I mean Rainbow Dash was

more or less an educated guess but everypony, and I mean EVERYPONY in Ponyville

knows you like Rarity. I mean like, DUH, it’s so obvious, ya know? You’d have to be

like, a self-absorbed moron not to realize it.” Explained Pinkie, causing Rarity to blush in

embarrassment.

“Well I must say, I’m flattered that the both of you think I’m marvelous enough to fight

over...” Spoke a flustered Rarity.

“Well then, since the cats out of the bag, who do you pick? Huh?” Rainbow Dash asked

boldly.

“Choose? Oh... no no no no no.” Rarity laughed “Look I’m sorry, both of you, I really am

but... Rainbow I’m simply not.... swinging that way, as it were? And Spike...” The little

dragon’s head didn’t move from the soft spot on the ground “...Look you’re a nice boy

and all, but the fact is- you’re a dragon. Dragon’s and ponies can’t be together, it defies

nature!”

“Don’t swing that way? Don’t swing that way?!” Dash’s voice raised.

Rarity blushed “I told you this morning, it’s only when I drink I-”

“Look if you want to stay in the closet? Fine. But I’m done trying to make believe what

we had last night wasn’t a shared moment.” Dash outpoured herself “I felt something

when we kissed.”

“Well I don’t remember it.” Rarity brushed it off. “It meant nothing.”

“It meant nothing?!” Responded Dash, jaw dropped.

“The ruby.” Spike spoke, a hair above a whisper. “The heart shaped ruby I gave you. Did

that mean nothing either?” his head didn’t look up from the floor.

“Look I’m sorry if I was leading the two of you on, I honestly didn’t believe either one of

those actions would create so much drama.” Rarity express, sincerely.

“I was going to land on Free Parking...” Fluttershy squeaked. “I was winning.” All heads

turned to the pink-haired mare.

“Yes, sugarcube, we know...” Applejack said reassuringly.

“Ohhh do you want to play again? I’ll play! I love playing checkers!” Pinkie exclaimed.

Fluttershy gently passed Pinkie away and rose to her feat.

“Look. Whatever.” Dash said in a huff, returning her attention to Rarity “Next time you

want to play it all bi-curious choose another mare.” She floated over to the other bed,

turning away from all of them.

“Rarity...” Spike cried “I thought we had something...” He stuttered “Something special.”

“Spike...” She looked on sympathetically “I’m sorry. I do care about you, but I don’t

return those feelings.”

“But everything... I did everything I could for you!!” Spike protested, in midst of

downfall looking to Twilight “Why isn’t everything working out?!”

“Spike-” Twilight began in a motherly tone, which was cut short by Rainbow Dash from

across the room.

“Because life doesn’t work that way. Sometimes it doesn’t matter how badly you want

something or how hard your work. You’re just gonna fail.” Dash shut her eyes tight “Face

it. It’s reality.”

Spike’s gaze returned to Rarity and the quills on his back spurned, he lowered his head

and fire began to pour from his nose. He had gone feral, the reality of the situation

producing such a festering hate that if he got his hands on Rarity he wasn’t certain if he’d

rape or murder her.

Two hooves grabbed Spike by the head and spun him around. The eyes of the now feral

Spike locked in Fluttershy’s devastating stare.

“You are going to calm down, and pick up the pieces of the game board this instant

mister.” Fluttershy ordered.

Spike’s response was to continue to huff and puff.

“I said, PICK UP THE BOARD!”

Spike roared.

“Do you think I’m scared of you? You have no idea what real emotional pain feels like,

like I do. Now you will do as I say, or else!” Fluttershy reiterated.

“Or what?!” Spike growled

“This!” Fluttershy yelled back, smashing her face into Spike’s in a devastating heabutt.

As spike reared, she floated around him and snatched him up in her front legs. The baby

dragon promptly pried himself free from her grasp, and slashed her in the face with his

claw. “YOU LEAVE ME ALONE!” He dropped to the ground.

“Ah my face!” Fluttershy covered it, shrieking.

“THIS IS NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS FLUTTERSHY!” Spike raged

Twilight turned to Fluttershy “Are you all right?”

“I think he broke the skin...” She said, allowing Twilight to get a closer look. She was

right, Fluttershy’s face was a preverbal crimson mask. A wild crazy expression came over

her face. “That’s it.” She said, charging at him!

“No! Just!” Twilight cringed “At least don’t make him bleed!” She’d all but given up.

Striking and tumbling on the ground, neither side seemed to be able to get any real

advantage. Spike was a tornado, a whirlwind of pure emotion, and anger. Fluttershy was

wild, filled with angst and unimaginable rage that had been powder kegged for far to long

“Screw you and your pathetic love obsession!” Fluttershy yelled “I could of finally won

for a game!”

“FUCK YOU!” He roared back, headbutting himself free from her, breaking her nose.

“Oh you...” Fluttershy charged, kicking Spike with her hind legs and accidentally sending

him through the balcony window, spilling over the railing. Twilight,  Realizing

Fluttershy’s error, jumped at the chance to save her baby dragon with a levitation spell.

Spike floated safely back to the balcony the fright of the near death experience sobering

him from anger.

Fluttershy collapsed the to ground, horrified by her own actions “Oh dear!” She cried.

“Damn it!” Spike punched the ground “Why couldn’t you have let me fall and die in

peace!”

“GOD DAMN IT!” Rainbow Dash hollered, rolling out her bed confronting him. “Do

you realize that not everything in your life revolves around you?” She asked “Do you

every think for 5 damn minutes that maybe your actions or your suicide may affect us

all?” Rainbow Dash sighed “I don’t want you to die kid. Pinkie doesn’t. You know Rarity

doesn’t. Neither does Apple Jack or Fluttershy. And Twilight? She’s practically your

mom.” She added “She doesn’t want you to die either.”

Spike cried “I’m... I’m sorry.”

In the wake of the relief that the near death experience caused, Spike looked around the

room at his friends stopping squarely on Rarity, and acting on the intense pain, this time

he leaped off the balcony.

There would be no magic net to catch him this time, shutting his eyes right before his

head hit smack into the sidewalk below, the fluids contained within his skull creating a

halo around his head.

No moved, no one said a word, they just sat in the horror of it all. It was far to messed up

to understand, or even acknowledge how their vacation forged from their friendship had

in fact led to it’s destruction. Spike’s death was merely the exclamation point, at which

their happy and mostly secure world had been flipped over completely.

Their friendship would not endure.