//------------------------------//
// Chapter 3: Knight Wing 
// Story: The Dragon Sage 
// by Dragon Sage 
//------------------------------//

	The train crackled onward up the mountainside for a few hours, which felt like days to Spike. He watched as Ponyville faded out of sight many hours ago, and sat quietly kicking his feet since then. He pondered his decision for a while. It would be easy to think it was a mistake now, because he was so scared. But he knew that things would start changing for the better soon. He also trusted Princess Luna when she said that it would be better for Twilight. But what exactly was he in for? Was it physical like push-ups or sit-ups? or was it studying books like how Twilight studied under Princess Celestia? Where were they going to have him live? 

He remembered back in the days when he lived in Canterlot, spending his days helping Twilight with her studies at their old place. He hadn’t seen many of his older friends in ages, and Canterlot was the place he was born in, so it might be good to live around there again. 

The train sputtered to a stop and he gathered his bags. Princess Luna said she would send someone for him at the station, so he peered out the window to see if there was anypony waiting. He saw one or two wayward ponies, but decided that somepony the princess sent would know to look for a small purple dragon. The doors opened up with a hiss and Spike dragged his bags outside with a grunt. 

“Ok so . . .” he muttered to himself looking around for somepony important. No one on the platform sought him out, so he decided to grab a late lunch snack at the station food vendor while he waited. 

“Keep the change,” Spike flatly as he flipped the red gentlecolt a few bits. He was just about to dig into his cherry custard pie when he turned and nearly squeaked in surprise. Right in front of him stood a dark grey pegasus cloaked in dark blue armor. The strange pony bowed his head downward to look Spike dead in the eye with a harsh glare. From the corners of its mouth, Spike could see fangs. The eyes were slit down the middle just like a

“Dragon,” the pony said with a scowl. His voice was hoarse and low, and he breathed rather heavily. Spike guessed that whatever he was, he was an old one. 

“Uh . . . yes that’s, um, me. I’m Spike,” he said with a nervous chuckle. 

“Good. I was making sure you weren’t some lizard that snuck on the train from Appleloosa,” he said and turned. 

“Hey!” Spike barked. “Do I look like a salamander to you?”

“Your size could have fooled me. Let’s go. The princess will meet with us soon,” he said and began trotting. Spike picked up his bags and shot the old pegasus a nasty look, right before gasping again. The wings weren’t feathered, they were scaled! They looked more like a bat’s wings than a birds. Spike was about to ask the rude pegasus what the deal was, but he decided it best not to aggravate him. 

“So where are we going anyway?” he said and heaved his bags in his hands again. “Can’t you wait for me to finish my food?”

“You have claws right? The fact that you can walk and eat at the same time is a gift compared to ponies like me,” he said in a low, sarcastic tone. 

“Well could you help with my stuff then?” he said dragging his bags along. The pegasus shot him a cocked eyebrow. 

“If you’ve only got two hands, then you’ll have to choose what stays and what goes. Either way I’m moving along. The princess will be waiting if we take too long.” With that, the grey pega-something began trotting up the stairs and into town. Spike gave an angry growl as he tossed his treat and picked his bags back up.



	

The walk up to the castle was long and silent. Spike begrudgingly walked his little legs trying to keep up with the gray colt. They eventually began walking up a spiral staircase coiling around a tall white tower. Spike was so bitter that he forgot where he was for a moment. He looked around in surprise. 

“Hey! This is my old place!” Spike said gesturing to the top. Sure enough, the old lab and study was still up there just like it used to be. It was where Twilight and Spike first spent their years living as Celestia’s pupil. 

“Correction: It’s Princess Celestia’s pupil quarters. You could sooner own the train you rode in on,” he said dryly without stopping his stride. “Although now I believe it should be called ‘Princess Luna’s exotic animal enclosure'.”

“Why’s that?” Spike said with another heave of his bags. 

“That is where you will be staying,” he said with a smirk. 

“Why you . . .” Spike’s anger was getting the best of him. “At least I don’t look like a vampire pegasus!” 

The colt gave a full hearty laugh at Spike's jab.

“I’d rather the wings to the claws anyway,” he retorted. “Come along now dragon, the princess will be here shortly.”

“But the sun is only now just setting. She’ll be raising the moon right now,” Spike asked as he heaved his bags up the final step. 

“Leave your bags in there,” the pony said and pointed to the old study. “The princess will meet us this way,” he said and gestured to the balcony. Spike pushed open the doors and tossed his bags in with a grunt. The pony was then walking to the edge of the balcony at the top of the stairs, putting his hooves up against the wall. 

“Where are you going?” Spike asked, but the pegasus just ignored him and climbed up to the ledge of the balcony. “Wait, in case you forgot, I can’t fly,” Spike protested, but the pony climbed up and leered over the edge of the tower. They were nearly 60 feet up and the gray beast did not unfurl his wings. The pony then took one step over the ledge.

“Wait!” Spike called out, then heard the unmistakable sound of hooves meeting stone. The pegasus walked on the air like it was solid ground, each one of his strides landing with an audible clop. 

“Are you coming along or what?” he called out to Spike. The dragon shuffled over to the spot where he began walking on air. He reached his claws over the edge and patted his hand down on what certainly looked like air but felt just like ground. Hesitantly, the dragon climbed up to the edge of the wall and gulped. What a drop that would be. He stuck his foot as if he were checking a pond’s temperature before diving in. He felt his feet suspend in mid air and he stepped forward. 

“How is this happening?” Spike asked bewildered. The pony continued to walk on the invisible path that headed towards the mountainside a few yards away. 

“Princess Luna worked it up to keep this place secret,” he said and gestured towards the cliff wall in front of him. As the pony stepped forward and collided with the wall, the rock’s began to dissipate like smoke from a fire before re-solidifying behind him. The cliff face rippled and distorted for a moment before retaking its original form. Spike watched, first in awe, then again in mild panic as he found himself floating 60 feet above the ground near a sheer cliff.

“Hold on a sec!” Spike cried out and scuttled down the invisible path and walked through the rock wall being very careful to stick his arms out before him in case it decided to turn solid again. Spike’s vision went black as he stumbled through the smoke and finally re-emerged from a doorway made of similar smokescreen. The next site had Spike wide-eyed.

He was in a vast library with dark blue walls and bookshelves lining them. below him were three more floors worth of books emptying out into a large tiled floor that featured a large winged statue in the center. Two spiral staircases impaled the floors of books beneath him. In front of him was a platform suspended high above the tiled floor that was well lit by the now darkening sky. A massive telescope stood on the platform pointing straight out of the ceiling. The sky was fully-visible through the ceiling that was made from one giant dome window. 

“Wow” Spike whispered, letting his jaw hang open in awe of the sight before him. 

“Come on dragon,” the old pony spat again. He led Spike out onto the platform and Spike gazed out of the giant skylight above him. The first of the stars of the night were beginning to sparkle. It was a beautiful night and Spike could see every bit of it from where he stood.

“Quit your gawking, it’s rude,” the pony said and prodded Spike’s belly with his hoof. Spike brought his gaze back down and glared at the insufferable stallion. 

“Ok, you’re officially getting on my nerves you old colt!” Spike spat. “Is it too much to ask for a little decent respect?” The colt bowed in response.

“Forgive me your majesty,” he said gracefully. 

“Don’t give me that,” he replied with his arms crossed. 

The colt gave Spike a coy grin. 

“I wasn’t talking to you,” he said softly and continued bowing. Just then Spike heard hooves walking from behind him. He wheeled around in shock and stared right at the warm inviting smile of the princess of the night.

“P-P-Princess Luna!” Spike babbled and quickly bowed his head to the ground as well and stumbling forward with an audible clunk. 

“I see you’ve been putting your best hoof forward again, is that right Knight Wing?” the princess said with a smile in her guard’s direction. 

“Knight Wing?” Spike said and gazed back at the pony behind him. 

“Just testing the waters, your grace,” he said and rose to his feet. 

“And? What do you think?” she asked and stood proudly before the two of them. Her mane danced and glimmered in the moonlight. Knight Wing raised a hoof to his chin and pondered with a loud ‘hmmmmmm’.

“Well, he doesn’t respond too well to insults, but I doubt it’s because of any self-consciousness or vanity. He’s a capable spirit, but he needs work on physical ability. He does have plenty of patience. His courage certainly checks out too.” Knight Wing spoke in a much more clear and annunciated tone. He gestured with his hoof as if teaching a class. “From what you told me about him already, I’d say he checks out nicely,” he finished with a nod.

“Wait,” Spike said in a confused tone. “So all of that . . . at the station . . . and on the stairs . . . you were sizing me up?” Spike’s eyes dashed between Knight Wing and Luna’s. She was the next to speak. She bowed her head lower to get closer to Spike’s eye-level. 

“Allow me to introduce you to your teacher. This is the former captain of the Night Watch and my long-time friend, Knight Wing,” she said and gestured to him. The colt wore a smile that could only be seen as mischievous. “Since you’re here to train your mind, he needed to know where you stand on potential pitfalls for you, such as fearfulness, anger, and self-depreciation.”

“But apparently you've already championed your greed,” Knight Wing chimed in. “To be honest, I’ve never seen a dragon do such a thing. You’ve got potential kiddo. Just don’t mess it up,” he said and bowed again in Princess Luna's direction before turning and leaving them. Spike watched as he walked back out the hidden doorway, leaving the two of them alone. 

“Shall we walk, young Spike?” the princess asked politely. They began walking towards the stairs and the princess politely walked slowly so Spike could walk at a comfortable pace. “I’m certain you have a few more questions about what you’ve seen.”

“Well, I guess . . .” Spike said and wondered where to start. “When he said potential, did he mean I could become a Dragon Sage?”

Princess Luna smirked. “I stopped trying to guess what Knight Wing was thinking years ago. He was the first of the Night Watch to welcome me back after I returned from my banishment to the moon.”

“What’s the night watch?” Spike asked as they walked down the stairs. 

“The Night Watch is my personal platoon of guards who keep their eyes open for me during the night. See, during the day, most ponies are awake so if a disaster were to occur, many ponyfolk would be there to witness it and to warn us about it. But there are far fewer eyes open at night. The Night Watch were my eyes during the night when I was banished. They’ve done great deeds for Equestria from catching thieves to preventing an Ursa Major from walking straight into a sleeping village. Now they all report directly to me in Canterlot. After all, my telescope cannot see everything.”

“But what . . . what kind of pony is he?” Spike asked, trying to be polite.

“Perhaps I’ll answer that another time. Let’s talk about why you are here,” The princess suggested. As they reached the bottom of the stairs she began walking them to the center of the large open conservatory. The statue in the middle was a figure proudly displaying its regal head and sharp features. A pair of wings were splayed outwards and the stone face was long and cunning. Spike then noticed that in place of hooves, a set of claws gripped around the edge of the statue pedestal. Looking closer, the carved stone clearly displayed not fur or feathers but scales. Spike assumed the statue was of a Griffon at first, but he came to realize it was a dragon. 

“Is that her?” Spike asked in wonder.

“Very perceptive of you, young dragon. Indeed, this is the last Dragon Sage, Aurora.” Princess Luna stood tall and beamed at the statue of her old friend. 

“She’s . . .” Spike searched for words, “She’s amazing.” The figure before him looked like a hero from one of his comics, only much more proud. He looked at all the different features of the magnificent creature before him. Her wings were wide and spines were straight and sharp. She stood on all fours and proudly gazed down upon him with wise and powerful eyes. He then stared down at his own hands and sighed. 

“I guess this is why I’m here right?” Spike suggested. The princess blinked.

“What do you mean by that, young Spike?” She asked.

“I’m here so you can turn me into that, right?” he said pointing up at the now-daunting figure. Luna looked back and forth between the statue and the little dragon observing Spike’s expression. She gave a soft sigh, and then slowly got down to her knees. She sat neatly on the floor looking at Spike directly in the eyes. "I'm afraid you are mistaken, dear dragon."

“But you said before that I need to become the next Dragon Sage,” Spike said.

“Who you are, Spike, is entirely up to you. I didn’t bring you here to transform you into Aurora. She was a Dragon Sage, yes, but not because she was chosen for it, or because she was told to. She chose to learn and grow. She carved out her own path for herself, like the other Sages before her.” The brilliant blue alicorn spoke softly and caringly to the young reptile, who listened intently and closely. 

“You are here, Spike, because I wanted to give you the chance to grow, if you wanted to. In here, you can learn and practice and train to your hearts desire, and Knight Wing can help you grow too. But who you grow into is in your hands. You are here because I have faith in you,” she finished and offered a smile. Spike was astonished by her endearing words. He couldn’t really think of what to say in response, so he decided to smile in return.

“Thank you princess.”

“Now,” Luna said getting up on her legs again, “You must be tired. I must return to the palace for the night. Remember, take care and think about what kind of dragon you are. What is important to you?” she asked vaguely. She looked down at Spike as he sorted through what was important. He thought back to his time in Ponyville, his adventures, his mistakes, and Twilight of course. He looked back up at Luna and responded.

“My friends,” he said confidently. Luna smiled and bid the dragon good night, walking out the smoke-doorway and leaving him alone in the observatory. He peered around at the walls upon walls of books, and thought about how much Twilight would enjoy seeing such a beautiful secret place. Then, an idea popped in to his head. He scuttled to the nearest desk beside the bookshelves and began searching through the drawers. He found a quill, ink, and plenty of parchment, and immediately began jotting down a note on the page.

“Dear Twilight . . .”






Twilight flipped another page next to her candle that flickered in the night air. Say for Owlicious’s occasional ‘whoo’s, her room was dead silent. She had read nearly 3 books that day, all on dull subjects like diversity in Appleloosa, or economic trends as bit values rise and fall. She was happy for the distraction though. The occasional snore from Spike’s basket use to offer a strange comfort in familiarity. But now that comfort was replaced with silence that nearly deafened her ears. 

“huuhhh,” she sighed and looked out the window. She was better off getting sleep rather than burying her face in books all night. She wondered how Spike was getting along in Canterlot. She stared out the window and up at the shining white metropolis that hung on the mountainside so many miles away. The first few nights she spent in Ponyville, that sight was like looking at home from a distance. Strangely, it began to feel the same way again. 

Just as she decided to head to bed, a slight shimmer in the night caught her eye from a distance. It grew and danced across the sky like leaves in the autumn breeze. She smiled as a series of green flames flew threw the window and right to her horn. A letter appeared out of the flames and she flew into bed holding the note above her head with her magic.

Dear Twilight,

Canterlot is just like I remember it. You’ll never guess where I’m living. The old study where we used to live! Princess Luna showed me this secret library that I think you would totally flip out for. There’s also this old pegasus named ‘Knight Wing’ who is apparently going to teach me about being a dragon. He’s a sneaky and snarky pony, but I can’t wait to “accidentally” set his tail on fire during training. I’m excited to start tomorrow, but I miss you and Ponyville a bunch already. Tell everyone I say hello, especially Rarity. 

Your number one assistant,
        Spike