“You want me to what?”
“Turn me into pony or something along those lines.”
The Magician seemed surprised. His eyes were shifting slightly as if he was calculating an advanced equation. His hands occasionally shook and his claws shifted up and down. His head was raised but he looked straight through Spike. He was deep in thought. Eventually he righted himself and did something Spike did not expect. He laughed.
“Hah! Turn you into a pony. That’s a good one. Next you will be telling me you want t the keys to gate of Tartarus itself.” The Magician moved away from Spike still laughing in a depraved way that made Spike wince. Still it did not sate the dragon’s anger at being so blatantly mocked for his request.
“You find something funny about my request old man,” Spike hissed through gritted teeth. The Magician turned around in disbelief at Spike’s anger and his mouth curled into a scowl as he faced the dragon.
“I dislike ignorance master Spike. Do not play the fool in front of me.”
“THE FOOL,” Spike bellowed, shaking the trees with his voice as he brought himself to full height and stomped closer to the Magician. To any other creature the sight would have inspired great terror.
After all dragons were the fiercest of all known magical beings that existed outside of the divines themselves. It was claimed within rumours that there existed certain dragons whose power was even greater than that of the princesses yet Spike had not such dragons. Most of the true ancient dragons were said to have disappeared into the darkest places of the world where no mortal would dare tread. It was said that they would reside there till the world went cold and the last light faded from existence. Spike believed them to be merely legends.
“I AM NO FOOL; I DID NOT COME HERE TO BE MOCKED!”
“I’m not mocking you master dragon. I merely find your request ridiculous. You ask me to do the impossible. I’m sorry if this sad truth upsets you.”
“Surely there are other ways,” Spike squawked desperately. “There has to be. I was not lying when I said I have exhausted all other options. There just has to some form of magic that can help me.” Spike gulped and shut his eyes as he prepared to cross a line he had previously been unwilling to resort to. “Even if it has to be the dark arts.”
The Magician’s reaction was disturbingly calm. He turned his body to Spike and with some long strides returned to his seated position only to get out of said seated position again and began to pace. He repeated the process a couple of times as the steam rising from Spike began to fade. Eventually after returning to the seated position on the couch again for the fourth time an even reply came from the Magician.
“Do you know of Tierak, Spike?”
Spike honestly had no idea how to respond to the question. It seemed so far out of context his mind immediately went back to the idea that the Magician was toying with him. Spike decided to answer the question anyway. The Magician had not been straight forward with Spike since the beginning; he would not be straight forward with Spike now.
“The dark lord from like ten thousand years ago, yeah I know him. I thought he was just a kid’s story up until recently. Discord told me a bit about him.”
“Oh he was more than real, a megalomaniac warlord with a nasty taste for torture He was always full of delusions of world domination. I’m sure Discord knows well of him.
You see while he was wagering his wars he ultimately tried to win the dragon lords over to his side when things got particularly ugly.” The Magician assumed a lecturing stance not too dissimilar from a certain purple alicorn as he paced over to the cabin. He entered before exiting a few moments later with an ancient book in hand. He flipped through its pages sporadically, usually stopping on an illustration.
One that caught Spike’s eye was an illustration of the dark lord himself, a tall centaur that dwarfed the bodies of the ponies that lay broken beneath him in the illustration. The curled horns and the disfigured face was enough to make Spike grimace. He also was also wielding the infamous dark rainbow which curled around him like a great snake.
A weapon created presumably by Tierak that had gained fame as the first know weapon of mass destruction the world had ever seen. It was rumoured to be the opposite of the Elements of Harmony but that was apparently false considering the Elements were the oldest known magical artefacts to pony kind. They predated the tales of Tierak and his dark rainbow by a considerable bit.
“He failed but in truth it was no surprise.” The Magician snorted and spat on the ground. “He was an arrogant fool. The dragons serve no one let alone the self-proclaimed ‘king of the earth’. Tierak of course being the obnoxious sociopath that he was threw a tantrum and killed a few thousand prisoners in response.”
The Magician chuckled deeply as if he had just heard a funny joke that he had only got well after it was told. Spike felt a bit sick at the idea of death being discussed so casually. Murders in Equestria were rare and when they occurred it was often national news. The only place within Equestria, Spike knew where crime and murder were substantially larger problems were the border towns near the griffin kingdoms or the far off countryside. Even then Spike doubted they had the level of crime that the Equestria’s neighbours were plagued with. Then again their neighbours never had to deal with old tyrants and spirits rising from the grave. The whole subject of wholesale execution made him uneasy. He decided to try and steer the story away from its dark roots.
“I don’t see the relevance of this story.”
“The relevance comes in what happened after the dark lord’s failure. He instead attempted to breed a mix breed through dark magic. The perfect soldier if you will, who had the ferocity of a dragon but the loyalty of his own followers. While he succeeded in creating such monstrosities, they were little more than broken versions of the ones he envisioned. Sad, mentally deranged creatures that were as much a hindrance to the war effort as they were an advantage to it. Tierak ultimately had at least enough good sense to scrap the project.”
“Why did they fail?”
“Now you’re asking the right questions.” The Magician looked pleased as relaxed back into the couch. “They failed because he had not taken into account that dragon magic was sturdier than he had previously perceived. Dragons do not seem the spell casting type yet they ooze magic like no other. Their latent magic is enough to overwhelm even the greatest mage or demigod. Heck, all the pent up magic within you alone would be enough to lay waste to Canterlot itself.” Spike was taken aback by the new information but was equally sceptical as he was intrigued.
“If that is true then why dragons haven’t simply taken over the world if they are so powerful,” countered Spike. The Magician grinned in return.
“Just because they have great stores of magic doesn’t mean they can utilise it. Dragons are just among a selective group which are made up from the oldest and most powerful forms of magic like this forest.” He waved his hand towards the trees. “Dragons likely cannot harness this power because they were simply not meant to.”
“So you’re saying that somehow the natural magic, upon which my kin is made up of, interfered with the changing process.”
“Precisely! Though I’m surprised this information had not already been known to you within your home lands.”
“Ponies know little about dragons except basic biology. I mean they have met dragons but never studied a live one in detail. As far as I know I’m the only legally known dragon resident in Equestria. Twilight was always saying no to researchers about possible tests being run on me when I was young. I never liked any of them. They didn’t see me as person. They just saw a…thing.”
Spike got lost in painful memories. It had always been hard for him even before the growth spurt. There had always been an ambitious scientist or a xenophobic noble who made him feel out of place. Usually they were drowned out by all the good ponies but still he would be lying if he said it didn’t sting from time to time.
As he grew he had learned to ignore such harsh words but that was harder now considering some of those same words were now coming from ponies he knew. Ponies he grew up around. Good ponies, with good families and kids, ponies who now cursed his existence as a ‘public menace’. Old wounds started reappearing again.
The Magician decided to not pursue why the dragon was now silent on the issue of the ignorance of ponies about his kin. It had not seemed to be a pleasant topic for the dragon to converse on so the Magician garnered it wise to carry on with his previous story.
“Anyway, the story of Tierak and the dragon is of significance to your tale boy because it points out an undeniable fact. I cannot influence you with magic. Dark or otherwise. It would either drive you insane or worse. I shudder to think of the consequences.Perhaps I could change you temporarily but in the end your natural magic will always overpower mine unless I of course kill you,” the Magician wheezed in euphoria. The joke fell flat as all that was returned to him was the face of defeat. It quickly changed into something akin to angry desperation like a child telling itself that the fish in the bowl isn’t dead long after it has stopped moving.
“You’re lying. You have to be. You said there is a temporary way than why not a permanent. You’re hiding something .Something that can help me. I can usually sense when someone is lying to me.”
“Weren’t you listening I said-.”
“Don’t give me that crap. I’ve heard the rumours. You can tell me all you want about conventional magic. I’ve heard it over and over from Discord and Twilight,” Spike hissed violently spitting at the Magician. He raised his claw and tapped the Magician’s chest. “You can do things. Ponies and other creatures go to you when they need something they want. You get it done. Don’t think I came into this blind old man.”
Spike’s voice edged on the verge of sinister it was so low and deep. His threatening stance was reassumed. Spike knew that he had called the Magician’s bluff after all, the natural laws of magic had never seemed to apply to this stranger before why all of a sudden now.
Spike had expected a chuckle or maybe indignant denial but that was not what he saw in those creepy little eyes. He saw something that shook his brain for some reason. Pure unadulterated rage. It was clear that whatever Spike had said in his desperation that he had hit a nerve.
“Oh so that is what I am now,” came a shaky reply. “A magic fairy that solves every Jane and Joe’s problems that happen to be passing by? Is that what you see me as? Have I not been clear or polite in my refusal to aid you? Have I not given enough reasons?” The Magician shook violently. “Or is that not enough for a spoiled brat like yourself?”
“HOW DARE-”
“No how dare YOU master dragon!” The Magician walked to the cabin and began digging around furiously as he closed the door. He returned hold well over ten tomes in hand and began furiously launching them at Spike one by one. Spike caught one which revealed the title of a popular fairy tale on its cover.” You don’t realise it do you?” Spike turned his head from the cover as another book launched towards him.
“You think you’re unique, hmm? You think you’re the first damn living thing to come parading to me with some sob story at hoof about how life has been unfair to them? Well I’ve got tons of them in case you’re wondering.
Oh I need this, I need that. I’m too fat. I’m too old. I’m too young. Why am I not famous? Why can’t I be in charge? Where’s my wealth and happiness? Even the damn princes sometimes. I remember this dark haired one. Kept going on about how he deserved the power and all that nonsense. He was just like you. He wouldn’t listen but I being the weary soul I am helped him anyway because why the hell not.”
Spike stood in shocked silence as the figure raged and spat viciously all the while shaking and growling. He was pacing madly and with each step the small daises seemed to wilt and the clouds grew heavier. Spike swore he could see little black specs of magic forming around the Magician but upon rubbing his eyes they disappeared.
Eventually the moment passed and calm was restored. The Magician named ‘Set’ looked spent. His sigh was deep and his breathing uneven. Had Spike no still been angry with him he would have been worried Set’s health.
“I’m not looking for any of those things. I don’t want power, money wealth or fame.” Spike paused. “I’m doing this for-”
“Love.”
“Pardon?”
“You are doing it for the girl. Your eyes once again Spike, tell a lot about your character plus you weren’t being practically subtle with the reference to ‘her’ earlier.” Spike had the decency to blush. “Love? I never understood it, doubt I ever will. It’s too complex, too messy. Makes for good drama but besides I find it irrelevant.”
“I don’t care if it’s irrelevant to you but it means the world to me or at least she does. I didn’t travel the globe for just any mare.”
“No you travelled it for the most beautiful, graceful, elegant creature your eyes have ever laid eyes upon and when she looks at you, you swear it was if time itself had stopped,” the Magician replied sarcastically. Spike gave an annoyed huff but The Magician merely began picking up the books he had unleashed in his rage. He caught Spike’s eye. “Heard it all before kid.”
Spike’s annoyance was tangible within the air. The doubt though, clawing at the back of his mind, was growing stronger. Excluding some historical lessons and making his would be ‘saviour’ extremely irritated; Spike had done little to convince the Magician of his case. Broken and deflated Spike pulled his gaze towards the Everfree. Towards defeat. For a moment Spike reflected on old memories. He’d been doing a lot of that lately.
This time it was of when he was younger.
A birthday part. Presents galore. An insatiable desire. An uncontrolled rage. The one he loved caught in his grasp. Fear and terror in her eyes. She saw a monster. Yet she got him to calm down. She saved him that time. But soon she couldn’t. Soon no-one could. No one except himself and the man sitting across from him. He would not leave. He would before submission to fate.
“I won’t go until you can help me. I’m not like the others. If I go back I’m as good as dead. My life is meaningless if it means I spend the rest of my existence without those I care for. I will die before I abandon them.”
“Your determination is admirable Spike,” coughed the Magician as he stacked the books by hand before quickly shuffling them into the cabin and shaking his head. His tone was even when he started again. “Let’s I perchance I find a loophole in your…circumstance. Would you be willing to risk it all? Just for one grand pointless gesture for this…mare.” The Magician was not facing Spike but his eyes had shifted to the side indicating he was listening intently.
“I care not for the consequences if I haven’t made that clear enough already.”
For a moment the Magician tensed and remained still. Eventually the lowering of the shoulders and the sway of the cloak indicated that he had heard the response and was now ready to reply to it.
“Is that so eh?” whispered a low and not entirely friendly tone. If Spike had been facing him then he would have seen the little sparks of flame enter the Magician's eyes as they narrowed. “Damned be the consequences?” The Magician began to mumble to such a low degree that even Spike couldn’t hear it. To his ears all he heard were sharp whistles, like a disrupted animal. The Magician turned to Spike. His eyes glistened absent of flames now though he was scowling deeply. He leaned in closer to Spike.
“You must realise that my aid comes at a price. A price you may not be willing to pay.” The Magicians tone was soft but deadly serious, it was also very...uncomfortable like something had changed in his character. Spike didn't notice though, he had perked up at just the mention of possible cooperation before giving of a somewhat sigh of relief.
“What do you want?”
“No Spike. It’s not a matter of what I want but more of a matter of what you are willing to give to me,”a cold voice vocalised.The Magician turned towards the caravan. With a flick of his wrist parchment, ink, quills and a chair exited the doorway. A large wooden table also materialised from a pool of black smoke that had collected in the distance between Spike and the caravan. The equipment landed on the table and was fixed into a position facing the chair which had suddenly become occupied by the Magician.
He grabbed a quill and dipped its head in ink before quickly scribbling done some words on a golden brown piece of paper, the rapid movements of the quill becoming more and more pronounced as he increased his pace. For a while he seemed oblivious of Spike as he neared the end of the scroll. He placed a fine straight line across from an ‘x’ and laid the paper on the table before joining his hands and bringing them up to his snout.
“What do you know of time magic Spike?”
“I know it is a highly volatile and relatively unknown field of magic. It’s also extremely difficult to perform due to the strains it puts on the fabric of the universe. Basically it’s like rewriting a written text. You change one sentence and you may accidently change the course of the story. I don’t many ponies able or willing to use it. I mean the results could be…disastrous if it’s misused.”
“Well, well, well aren’t you the little magical expert in the making.”
“When you live around a pony that has travelled time, gone to other dimensions, fought gods and won, became a demigod herself and is the leader of the most powerful magical artefacts in history you tend to pick up a few things on magic.” A bemused smile donned the Magicians’ snout.
“Indeed. Nonetheless my aid will require its use if we are to ‘cure’ your disposition. I was not lying to you when I said that I cannot change you naturally. The magic you carry acts like a sponge.” The Magician fiddled with the quill before resting his right arm on the table. “But time my dear boy has no such limitations.” The quill span in front of his snout as if it was the most interesting thing around. “There are ways to get what you want without ripping apart existence.” He looked at Spike a fake grin displaying sharp frontal teeth as if he was selling a door to door product. “Especially for those who are…willing to risk it all as you…undoubtedly are.”
“Then what do you propose?” questioned an increasingly uncomfortable Spike. While the conversation in general had been irritable since their first meeting, the sudden shift in attitude was befuddling Spike. This newfound helpfulness was only heightening Spike’s anxiety. The Magician straightened himself before answering.
“You must sign away your past, future and present to me and only me and no other. Every choice that was once yours belongs to me. Through this I can effectively alter time to give you what you want, your chance at happiness.” The Magician’s tone was calm and frighteningly unflinching in his delivery.
“You want what?”
“You heard me. It is the only way. I simply undo your current form. Spike the dragon will have never existed. You will be born a pony and with that your opportunity at the life you desire. It is rather simple when you get down to it.”
“I-I can’t, no, this doesn’t seem right.”
“It is the only permanent way that doesn't horribly kill you. To refuse is to return to what you had. You said you’d risk everything for this mare. This is your risk, not mine. Take it or leave it.”
“But I’d- life would be different. How would I know you weren’t tricking me?”
“No,” chuckled the Magician. “I do not have any desire to manipulate you. Your memories would remain. Your life would remain the same…in a way. I would merely change one event. That’s all. The day you were born. That day would change.In truth it's just one little day. Nothing more nothing less.”
“How-how would that help me get Rarity?”
“You will become the pony of her dreams. Her shining knight in armour.” A smoke trail showed one of Spike’s fantasies from when he was younger. His captivation caught as he saw Rarity swoon over him and his new form.
“That much I can ensure, it will just require some subtle editing, but with your co-operation there will be very little resistance from up top. You said to give you a chance at a happily ever after. A chance I will give you. I will set up the pieces; you just have to move them into the right place. Surely that is not beyond you?”
“I’m unsure.” Spike was sputtering and squeaking unceasingly. He had no idea why, but the way his brain rattled within his skull was the basis of an oncoming migraine. Spike was not lying when he said he was unsure. Whether it be because of the requirements needed to fulfil his request or the fact that a solution to all his issues had just suddenly appeared were two of the main reasons.
“I will not force you into this. It is your choice,” he said with a shrug. “If you need time then take it but be warned dragon. My deal is limited and private. You must not speak of it to any other.It could risk our plans. Especially to that...serpent,” he spat. Spike would have questioned the suudden dislike of Discord had he not bee still in a state of shock.
“I-I want-yes, no-time, gods I don’t know.” Spike burrowed his face in his claws. “I need to get my head around this.”
“There is no trickery I place before you. The conditions are applicable only until you wish to hear of them when the contract is signed.” his now soft and sweet voice regarded Spike again, it was almost sympathetic in tone. “You are undecided. Have a day. Think with both your head and heart. When you have reached a cordial agreement then come to me again.”
Spike felt his head get dizzy. The lights began to fade as the colours of his world went black. All he saw were the now flaming eyes of a figure in a chair a soft chant entering his brain. The comfort of sleep was welcomed. A single voice echoed once in the dark as he drifted off.
“Think of what I have said dragon. I will give you your day. I wait on the outskirts of the forest. Make your decision by nightfall tomorrow evening. Your desires are within your grasp but you must make the final step whether that be to your happiness or those of others is up to you. But for now…sleep.”