“It was not until the Kingdom of Equestria was founded… that we ever saw another pony… Rose… had grown old by then… and passed away peacefully not too much later… in her sleep… Rising Sun… took one of the pony settlers… as his wife… and for a few generations… there existed a small tribe of kirins… It seemed for a time… that ponies… and dragons… could indeed… live in peace... but it was not to last...” Aurum told his audience.
“Oh my, what happened to them?” Rarity sympathetically asked.
“The plague…” Aurum explained. “A plague fell upon the inhabitants of the island… The dinosaurs… had long grown immune to the disease… but the ponies were… unaccustomed to it… Many died in a matter of weeks… and they accused the descendants of Rising Sun… for they too were unaffected… Even though Rising Sun had taken one to be his wife… there was some who opposed the union… This resentment carried on throughout the generations… and when they saw that my heirs… were unaffected… they believed that they were the source… They turned… the other survivors against them… and killed them … thus ending my line… They took… my children from me...”
“Oh, Aurum,” Rarity exclaimed, horrified by what she heard. “I’m so sorry.”
“What did you do?” Spike asked, fearing he already knew the answer.
“To my everlasting shame… I retaliated… and destroyed their cities… forcing… the ponies that survived the plague… to flee back to Equestria… leaving their cities here abandoned… That explains the ruins you see… scattered about… the island…”
“And when the ponies left, the dinosaurs moved in,” Spike surmised.
Aurum coughed loudly while nodding, and then continued, “The dinosaurs… adopted the culture and civilization… of their pony neighbors… and carried on their legacy… though they adapted it to… suit their… pack… and herd… lifestyles… However… I remained here… alone… never speaking to anyone… my heart turning cold… once again… And then… one day… I met… Spike… His love for Rarity… reminded me of the love… that I had almost forgotten… Though I taught him how… he could save… this island… and Rarity… he saved me… from myself… And now you know… my story…”
Amethyst looked up to the old dragon with awe as he finished his story. The only thing the young, white-scaled kirin could think to say was, “Whoa.”
Aurum began to violently cough again, shaking the cavern once more. Rarity rushed to give him more water, but he shook his head and pointed with a massive claw to a pile of treasure and artifacts. Choking, he gasped, “Scrying stone… over… there…”
Spike looked to the treasure pile and flew over to it, beginning to look for the scrying stone. If it looked anything like the one he used during his adventure on the Krazoa Island, then he should be able to recognize it when he saw it. After digging through gems, gold, enchanted staves, ancient scroll, and magic carpets, the purple dragon finally found what he was looking for. Pulling it from the pile, Spike held a glowing, blue, crystal ball the size of a beach volleyball in his claw.
“What is that, Dad?” Amethyst asked.
“This is a scrying stone,” Spike explained as he held it out so his daughter could see it. “Aurum and I used these things to communicate to each other while I was on a mission to save this island from blowing up. Using magic, you could see far off places with it or talk to someone or long distances.”
“Like the crystal ball Pinkie Pie uses when she tries to be a fortune teller? Cool!” Amethyst remarked.
“Yes, but unlike Pinkie’s, this one actually works,” Spike told her as he placed the orb in the center of Aurum’s huge palm.
“Spike… I have no living family…” the gasping wyrm addressed the younger wyrm. “And I see… you… as my… own son… There is so much… more I wanted… to teach you… but I have run… out of time… All I can offer you… is two gifts…”
“Aurum, you have already given me so much. I couldn’t possibly ask for more!” Spike said back to his former teacher.
“Listen to me…” the dying dragon continued. “This is important… My first gift… my treasure hoard…”
Spike, Rarity, and Amethyst all blinked when they heard this and looked around the cave. There seemed to be no end to it, and the floor was covered with the priceless collection of wealth and artifacts for as far as they could see. They guessed that there was as much gold and jewels here as there was in the Royal Treasury of Canterlot.
“I-I couldn’t possibly accept this,” Spike uttered, nearly speechless. “It would take years to even transport it back to Equestria, and I wouldn’t even know where to keep it.”
“Keep it… here…” Aurum instructed. “For my lair… is well hidden… is it not?”
“Yes,” Spike confirmed. Over the years, Spike had only told a clawful of ponies about Aurum: the Bearers of the Elements of Harmony, their children, and the Royal Alicorn Sisters. At the golden dragon’s request, they have kept the secret only amongst themselves.
“I had many enemies…” Aurum explained. “Dragons that rival… my age… my strength… and my experience… If they are still… alive… and if they discover that… I no longer… guard this hoard… they would… be tempted… to descend upon it… like vultures… And if… they discover… it has been… claimed… by another… dragon… they would… seek to... hunt you… until they… find… and kill… you…”
A chill ran down Spike’s back. Aurum was massive and unimaginably powerful. The thought of even one angry dragon, or even worse, a multiple dragons, the size of an Ursa Major descending upon Ponyville in search of him was enough to make even him shudder with fear. His home, his friends, and family would be wiped from the face of the world!
“Okay, I see your point,” Spike conceded, nodding nervously.
“Are there many other dragons like you out there?” Amethyst asked, intimidated.
“There is not…” Aurum said to put their minds at ease. “Many wyrms… die in battle… over… mates… food… territory… and treasure… Only a few… ever reach my age… and beyond… But make no mistake… They are out there… Be warned… But above all… beware… the Dragon King…”
“The D-Dragon King?” Amethyst frightenedly whimpered at the ominous name. “Who’s that?”
“He is… the Archwyrm… the Alpha… the Mightiest of Serpents… the Lord of the Dragon Lords…” Aurum told Amethyst.
“But I thought dragons lived solitary lives,” Rarity interjected. “How can they have a king?”
“There is… a royal bloodline… amongst us dragons…” Aurum explained to the alabaster mare. “A line… with the… terrible power… to bend… the will… of other dragons… to theirs…”
“Have you ever met such a dragon?” Rarity asked.
“Yes…” Aurum confirmed. “He… is a few years… my senior… But do not fear… The peace… accord… with Celestia… prevents him… and the other… dragons… from invading Equestria… As long as the… treasure remains… here....”
“They won’t come looking for it in Equestria,” Spike finished for him. “And as long as it is here, they won’t find it.”
“Correct,” Aurum again confirmed. The old dragon then looked to the scrying stone in his claw. “My final gift… is the gift… of knowledge… I may not be able… to teach you… everything… I know… but I can… do this… I have enough life… within… me… to cast one last… spell… I can imprint… my thoughts… within the scrying stone… You will then… be able to… access my memories… May they guide you… when you ever… need my help...”
“Thank you, Master Aurum,” Spike graciously said with a bow of the head, humbled by the gift.
“This is the end of me…” Aurum announced. “I thank you all… for being here… with me…”
“It is us who should be grateful,” Rarity said with a bow of her own, Amethyst joining her parents as well.
A deep rumble filled the cave as the mighty dragon held the orb aloft, his eyes burning a bright green one last time and yellow electricity sparking around the crystal ball. As Aurum poured his energy into the blue sphere, it flashed a with a blinding light, forcing Spike, Rarity, and Amethyst to cover their eyes. When the light subsided, the scrying stone glowed gold instead of blue and Aurum’s arm trembled. His hand dropped to floor with a booming thud and the orb rolled out of this palm, coming to a stop at Spike’s feet. Spike picked up the orb and looked up at Aurum. The gold dragon’s scales were quickly losing their color and he didn’t have the strength to even hold his head off the ground anymore.
“If… you… ever… require… my... aid… just… ask…” Aurum panted as his eyelids drooped, the green glow of his eyes almost extinguished. “Farewell… my… friends…”
“Farewell, Aurum,” Spike muttered, unable to hold back his tears. With one last smile, the light in Aurum’s eyes went dark and he closed them for the last time.
*****
All he could see was a white light. He felt no pain. He felt no fear. In fact, all he felt was peace and serenity. Within the light, he could see two figures waiting for him; figures he knew very well.
“Welcome home,” a familiar female voice said to him as she and the other figure came into view. Seeing their smiling faces, he was certain of what he knew. Aurum the Golden was indeed home.
*****
It was night by the time Spike, Rarity, and Amethyst returned to Ponyville. Emotionally drained, the family of three entered Carousel Boutique. The round, pink, purple, and blue building had been renovated many times to accommodate a dragon of Spike’s size, it now rivaling Twilight Sparkle’s Castle. As Amethyst went to her own room, Spike and Rarity retired to the cavernous master bedroom. In this room, Spike could easily stand up on his hind feet, stretch out his long neck, and spread out his wings and not touch the vaulted ceiling or the gold and lace trimmed walls.
Spike placed the gold scrying stone on the dresser beside Rarity’s heart-shaped fire ruby necklace and stared at it contemplatively. The day’s events replayed over in his mind as he gazed into the glassy surface of the orb. It contained thousands of years worth of knowledge. He smirked, knowing that his mother, Twilight, would love to study it. She could spend countless hours asking it questions. The thought of the lavender Alicorn huddled over the crystal ball made Spike chuckle.
“Coming to bed, darling?” Turning around, Spike saw his wife already laying on the circular bed that was the size of a swimming pool. He crawled onto the red, plush mattress and curled around Rarity as she snuggled up against him. They never need blankets for his inner fire kept them both warm.
As they drifted asleep, they were unaware of what was transpiring in the capital city of Canterlot. Attached to the Royal Palace was the archives. Since records of all sorts were kept within its walls, some of which were highly confidently, there was a constant patrol of Royal Guards posted there. The more vital records were kept in a wing that was located deep within the mountain which the city was built upon.
In this room, a light from a candle flickered in the darkness. A pony wearing a hooded cloak sat a wooden desk with stacks of documents and scrolls scattered about its surface. The mysterious pony sorted through the paperwork, reading line upon line of text in his search. He came to stop and then lifted an old scroll off of the desk, holding it close to his face as he read it urgently. As he read, an triumphant and malicious laugh escaped his throat.
The sound of laughter echoed up the staircase, catching the attention of the two guards that stood at the top. After raising the gate that blocked of the entrance of this section of the archives, the gray, Unicorn stallions descended down the stairs with their horns lighting the way. When they reached the restricted wing at the bottom, the spotted the pony at the desk and saw the important documents that littered about the floor.
Marching up to the intruder, one of the guards asked, “Did you find what you were looking for, my lord?”
“Yes,” the hooded stallion answered as he looked up to the two guards, holding the scroll in his hooves. “I have everything I need. My brothers, the time is upon us! The hour of reckoning is nigh!”
Raising their hooves in a salute, the guards chanted, “Hail Hargon!”
After placing the scroll in a bag, the hooded stallion walked past the two guards and headed up the stairs. Before vanishing into the night, he thought to himself, Wait until the Dragon King reads this!