Special
Upheaval: Legacy
Chapter 7: Special
Though he tried to make himself feel a little outraged or vindictive, Spike could only feel sorry for the dragon now placed before him. She lay breathing heavily at the center of Himfadora's lair. Her silver-scaled hide was covered with deep claw marks, both her wings had been snapped in two places, her right foreleg was a mangled, bleeding mess, and nearly all her claws had been broken. The most gruesome injury, however, was the stab wound by her right side, close to her hind leg. The surrounding scales were discolored with a sickly, green taint, kind of like that nasty coloration copper got when exposed outside for too long. The wound oozed a foul, dark green sludge, and the edges were covered with weeping pustules. The mere sight of it was enough to make Spike queasy. The horrid stench that wafted from it made him taste vomit by the back of his throat.
Spike moved forward, both to get a better look and to let the other dragons see him. He did so on all four limbs now. In the short week between Minfadora's attack and this day, he had apparently grown a little more. It was a great deal easier now to move like this. His forelimbs were longer and stronger. His front claws had grown to let him grip the ground better. Of course, his back had followed suit. Even his neck had lengthened to let him look ahead. If he had wrestled with a pony assassin now, he could probably hold his own much better. Given his luck, however, he'd probably be wrestling with a bigger dragon next.
His stomach rumbled softly. This was despite a nice big breakfast before heading here. He looked towards the other occupants of the lair to see if they had noticed.
Back on her perch, Himfadora glowered over the prisoner with a gleeful, broken-fanged grin. Her long, sinewy tail flicked lazily behind her as if she were a bored cat. Spike could swear there was still some blood on that barbed stinger.
Drezhadar was there as well, chest puffed out as if he was the one who had dragged the prisoner in. The sight of a such a badly injured fellow pride dragon elicited nothing more than a sneer.
Nazhadar was nowhere to be seen. He probably thought that this was too much of a bother to attend. Instead, a couple more dragons, ones that Spike didn't recognize, watched. Enormous as this cave was, it was going to be pretty crowded at this rate.
Next to Spike, of course, was Seethe Scale, her injuries already mostly healed. When they first arrived, she had eyed the captive dragon with some hostility. The spines across her back vibrated briefly, and threatened to rise, but she spent another moment of staring and calmed down. Spike guessed, hoped, that Seethe Scale easily overcame the urge to fight with pity.
The poor, broken creature before them was Minfadora, the pride dragon who had sent pony agents to kill him, and personally attacked Seethe Scale. She looked around the same age as Drezhadar, at least as far as Spike could guess about pride dragon ages. Seethe Scale had mentioned that she was the youngest of the Draco'dim, which was probably why she was dumb enough to go for such a direct approach. Less than a week after that incident, Himfadora retaliated with an ambush of her own, incapacitating the younger pride dragon, and dragging her back to this lair. Spike stared at the envy dragon again. In pony terms, it would be if Granny Smith suddenly hunted down a mare a quarter of her age, beat that mare to a pulp, and dragged her back to Sweet Apple Acres by herself. That is, if Granny Smith had a deadly stinger for a tail.
Minfadora seemed resigned to her fate as well. The Draco'dim didn't seem inclined to rescue her. From the way all these dragons around them looked on hungrily, Spike was getting the feeling that he might have to.
The dragons weren't the only ones eager to attack. Drellhadar's butterflies fluttered above Spike in a far more excited manner than they were when he was fighting for his life. They pulsed with pale blue light, looking almost ready to explode with magical blasts at the slightest provocation. Spike frowned, and waved them off. 'Oh sure,' he chided them mentally. 'Pony assassins come after me, and you laugh them off. Broken down dragon that's not a threat, and you're ready for war.'
"You must already understand why I asked you to come here, Seifralhadar," Himfadora hissed. "This foolish lizard attacked you directly, and I have retaliated in your stead."
"In a way, Minfadora's attack aids us," Drezhadar said. "She has forced the Draco'dim to reveal that they see us a threat. Other dragons will take notice of this." He glanced at the two newcomers. "They already have."
"Then we don't need to hurt her anymore then, right?" Spike said. The widening of all the dragon eyes in the cave told him that that wasn't the expected response. Even the butterflies around him flared up. Seethe Scale, however, appeared to have been expecting it.
"She must be killed as an example," Drezhadar said. "We shall pick her bones clean today, then make a small monument with them on top of a mountain. Afralhadar and his ilk will get the message."
"And what's the message?" Spike yelled. "That we did exactly what they knew we were going to do?"
Drezhadar let out a long, throaty growl, and shifted from his spot. For a moment, Spike feared that he was going to lunge. When Drezhadar glanced at his foreclaw, however, Spike relaxed a bit.
"Seifralhadar makes a good point," Seethe Scale said. "The Draco'dim have shown no concern about rescuing Minfadora. That Himfadora was able to capture her so easily makes it clear that they have abandoned her to us. A message would be pointless. They expect that monument."
A raspy chuckle from Himfadora's perch drew their attention.
"You'll have to excuse Nazhadar," Himfadora said. "He sees much better than the Draco'dim, but he's still a pride dragon." She leaned over from the perch, snaking her head to stare at Spike. "I spared young Minfadora here, so you may decide what should be done with her. She attacked you after all."
Spike shifted his gaze towards Minfadora. Done with her? It looked like a lot was done to her already. "I--"
As if he had already sensed Spike's reply, Drezhadar leaned forward again. "The Draco'dim may no longer have any use for Minfadora, but that doesn't leave her powerless! " he said. "Even if a strong message is redundant, killing her now keeps us safe from any more plots from her in the future. Mark my words, Seifralhadar, a pride dragon will not forget this kind of humiliation. If she leaves this lair alive, it will be with revenge plans already in mind."
"Can't we just eat her for the sake of eating her?" one of the new dragons said. "I brought herbs to get rid of the envy poison's taste." Spike recognized the crest-less, snake-like head, and was thankful that the dragon was polite enough to keep his chest maw shut. His chest plates quivered slightly, however, and acidic drool already dripped on the ground.
"Nopo-- No one is going to eat her!" Spike said. "We're letting her go."
Drezhadar and the two other dragons growled, but Himfadora merely chuckled. "Seifralhadar has decided then," she said. She looked at Minfadora. "Off you go then, youngster," she said with a wag of a lone claw. "Next time you cause trouble, remember my sting."
"This is foolishness," Drezhadar muttered.
Minfadora, who had been content to lay there and wait for a deathblow, suddenly rose on her legs. Spike stopped himself when he took a step forward in some unconscious attempt to keep the injured dragon from straining herself. This was an enemy despite her pitiful state. If he was careless, she only needed one bite, even as she was. Minfadora was not posturing for some final attack, however. She stood tall, with her head raised and her chin tilted upwards. Spike winced, his shoulder blades aching at the sight, when Minfadora folded her tattered wings to her side as best she could. Despite her sorry state, and the foul stench coming from her poisoned wound, she stood as if she was a guest in the lair and at an equal position as any of the others in it.
"Don't believe for a moment that you can win me over to your side, Seifralhadar," Minfadora hissed softly. That was as loud as she could get without straining. "I was prepared to die for my failure, and I hold no gratitude for your 'mercy'. On the contrary, I will not forget this humiliation."
Himfadora answered with her hacking cough of a laugh. "Pride dragon, you may want to bark after you've escaped my lair!"
Drezhadar grunted, and flexed his own wings. "Do as you please, Seifralhadar," he said. "I haven't eaten because I expected a meal out of this 'trial'." He stalked out of the lair, then flew off.
The other two stared at Spike for a while, as if expecting him to say he was joking, or change his mind completely. He stared back silently until they also departed.
When they were out of sight, Spike let out a sigh and let his shoulders sag. "I messed up, didn't I?" he asked Seethe Scale.
"Not yet," Seethe Scale said. She continued to stare at the entrance to the lair. "That wasn't outrage on their faces when they left. Drezhadar and the others are not sure what to make of you. It was good that you spared Minfadora, Seifralhadar."
Spike's eyes widened. "Really?" he asked. This was probably the first thing he had ever done that Seethe Scale approved of. "The others didn't think it was a good idea."
"Of course they didn't," Seethe Scale replied. "That's the point. Only you, of all the dragons in this lair, of all the dragons in general, would have chosen mercy. That marks you as special."
"And 'special' is what will keep your influence alive," Himfadora said. "Dragons will not follow someone so young so easily. Not even Reinfadora's hatchling. Drezhadar may not like it that his pride has not been satisfied, but he will respect that you have not gone out of your way to satisfy it." She looked towards Seethe Scale. "I had thought that you would advise Seifralhadar to let you burn your assailant, Lanfadora. Such restraint from a half wrath dragon."
"Seifralhadar does not answer to me," Seethe Scale said.
"At least not in front of so many dragons." Himfadora chuckled, then walked down her perch.
Spike swallowed, and instinctively held his breath. It was to no avail, however. Himfadora's hot, foul breath swirled around him. When the smell turned out to be not as bad as he remembered it, he had to shudder. He was getting used to it. Maybe it was because he was expecting it, and this was not the first time he spoke to Himfadora, but he had this creeping suspicion that it was because his body was developing that similar foulness. He crawled a few feet back, just to get away from the smell.
Himfadora chuckled again upon seeing him move on all fours. "Good progress," she said. "The half-pony can at least accomplish this much. That's a familiar smell coming from you, Seifralhadar, that and the length your tail is taking."
Spike let out a snort accompanied by a brief gout of flame. "It's nothing," he said. "Just a phase."
"I believe so too," Himfadora said. She was silent for a while, and it seemed that their conversation was over. Spike was even preparing to leave when Himfadora spoke again. "So, Seifralhadar, if it's not the envy phase for you, have you resigned to your fate as a sloth dragon?"
"No!" Spike snapped. "I like my naps, but I'm not going to be like Nazhadar who keeps saying everything's a bother." He dug his claws into the rocky ground. "I came here to help, not be lazy."
Himfadora chuckled again. "We've been expecting signs of your mother from you," she rasped. "But I see now that, perhaps, you are more like your father."
Spike's jaw tightened, and his claws dug even deeper into the ground. The defensive posture was but a small reflection of what he felt when Himfadora said that. "Wasn't my father a monster who created weird things and liked to hurt other dragons?" he asked. "I'm nothing like that!"
"Are you?" Himfadora asked. "You do not wish to be an expression or sloth dragon. I think you hold as much contempt for us as he did." She looked towards Seethe Scale. "That might be something to watch out for, half-pony, make sure his legs don't turn into tails."
"I will," Seethe Scale replied. She made her way towards the entrance before glancing over her shoulder. "Seifralhadar?"
"Wait," Spike said. As Himfadora had already started to walk away, he instinctively reached out. The sudden feel of her ancient scales against his claw sent a jolt running up his shoulder. He pulled back just as quickly as he reached out, resisting the urge to drag his claw against the ground. It felt as if that brief touch was enough to get...something on his claw, like clinging mold.
Himfadora turned around, and hunched over Spike. "Oh?" she said. "You wish to stay longer for something, Seifralhadar? How curious. You can barely disguise that loathing on your face when I'm close enough to smell." Despite this, she appeared to be still smiling.
"You know more about my parents more than anyone," Spike said.
"I do not know any ponies by name, Seifralhadar, you must be mistaken," Himfadora said with a sneer. "Ask your prince, he might know."
"I meant Reinfadora and Drellhadar!" Spike snapped.
"Ah." Himfadora chuckled. "You confused me there." She settled back on her perch. Though her eyes were still on Spike, there was a distant gaze to them as well. "You are a product of their union, undoubtedly. 'Parents' however, has meanings to it that does not work for them. We do not even have a word for it in our tongue. What is it you want to know?"
"What did they plan for me?" Spike asked. "I know what you have, and what the prince has, but what about them?"
"They had no plan," Himfadora replied. "Not that I am aware of. I remember that Drellhadar picked an egg from his half of the clutch, and gave it to the ponies. As was usual, he never told me why. Reinfadora was with him when he turned the egg over, but I don't think even she knew the full extent of his reasons. She likely went along as a formality for the ponies; to let them know that it was a decision both 'parents' accepted."
Spike raised an eyebrow. "His half? What's that supposed to mean? Wouldn't it be their egg? Why wouldn't she know?"
"When a clutch of eggs is lain, the female divides it in two," Seethe Scale said. "The male takes his half back to his lair, and the female does the same. They raise their halves independently. Or do as they please with them for that matter."
Spike opened his mouth in some futile protest, but he simply let out a sigh and let it pass. Dragons. Of course. Can't even be decent parents. He looked to Himfadora. "So, what did you know about dad's plans then?"
"Still looking for some semblance of affection from him, Seifralhadar?" Himfadora asked. "You won't find any. Drellhadar was a secretive recluse who care for nothing outside his work." She was silent for a while. "Even then, I did not understand why Reinfadora had any affection for him. I never doubted that he only saw her as a very useful resource, and she must have seen it too."
Spike didn't want to hear more. He really was an idiot, still hoping for some kind of warmth from either of his parents. They gave him away after all. Perhaps, that was the best thing they could have ever done for him. Still, there had to be some reason. If Himfadora couldn't tell what his father's plans were, maybe she could at least give some clues. "What about the other eggs then? On my mother's or father's side."
"I never saw any hatchlings leave Drellhadar's laboratory," Himfadora said. "I don't think he even let any of them hatch before he turned his instruments on them." She let out a snort, releasing another cloud of foul miasma into the cave.
Now, even Spike's sense of familiarity failed him. He staggered back, coughed, and spat. There was no point in being polite and acting like Himfadora didn't smell awful. She could see right through him anyway.
"Perhaps you can see the fates of your clutch-mates when you do find Drellhadar's main lair," Himfadora said.
"And my mother's half?" Spike asked. He clenched his jaw. "Let me guess, she made some scrambled eggs, and had them for breakfast."
"Two hatchlings survived long enough to leave her lair," Himfadora replied. Her mocking tone lowered to a grim hiss. "Afralhadar tracked them down, and ate them both after Reinfadora's death."
"But they were children of the dragon queen!" Spike said. "Why didn't the others support them? Why didn't you help them?" He pointed at her as he said that.
"Either Sanfadora or Nilhadar could have rallied their mother's supporters," Himfadora said. "That proved more a weakness. Because they were both able to, they naturally turned on each other first." Himfadora snorted. "Typical dragons after all. Nothing like their mother or father." She leered again. "Not like you at all, Seifralhadar. You've taken to the role with some reluctance, and none of the posturing. Perhaps that was Drellhadar's plan after all."
Spike suddenly looked away, not wanting the smug Himfadora see him struggle with this new information. Drellhadar, the monster who stood outside the phases that the rest of dragonkind had to go through. Drellhadar, who felt no affection for anything, who experimented on his unhatched children, who delighted in killing dragons using humiliating creatures, had somehow come to the conclusion that pony influence was needed for Reinfadora's heir.
Or at least that was what Himfadora said. He looked at her, now more suspicious than curious. She was an ancient envy dragon after all. She could easily twist the story however she pleased. Himfadora, on her part, seemed to have noticed the shift in his mood. She crouched slightly lower, and tilted her chin, as if inviting him to come at her.
Seethe Scale placed a claw on Spike's shoulder. "Seifralhadar," she said softly. "Drellhadar is dead. Don't let whatever reasons he might have had cloud what you wish to accomplish."
"He understood though," Spike said. "He knew that pony influence was needed. He looked down on dragons and up to ponies..."
"Just as you do," Himfadora said. Spike glared at her again, but all she did was chuckle. "Oh, but I should not provoke you so much. I have caught glimpses of those experiments. I assure you, Seifralhadar, I do not want to be part of them."
"Seifralhadar," Seethe Scale said again.
"We're going!" Spike snapped. He grabbed a hold of Seethe Scale's fur and pulled himself onto her back. Despite the impulsiveness of his move, she merely flapped her wings stoically.
It only took a moment for Seethe Scale's powerful wings to bring them out of Himfadora's, and Spike as all the more glad for it. He was sick of that cave with its perpetual gloom, the horrendous smell of stagnating poisons, and the constant reminder of how horrible dragons were. He could understand better now, why it was Seethe Scale who was asked to help him. "Hey, Seethe Scale," he said.
Seethe Scale raised her voice just to be heard over the whistling of the wind in their ears and the flaps of her wings. "Yes?"
"Did you really mean what you said to Himfadora? You're going to watch if my legs turn into tails?"
"That requires no watching on my part," Seethe Scale said. "My peripherals would be good enough to notice if you suddenly lost all your scales, and your legs transformed into tails."
"That's not what I meant," Spike snapped.
"I was joking."
"Oh yeah," Spike rolled his eyes "I should have noticed that. I think you need to meet my friends as much as I do. Pinkie, especially."
"You're frightened because of Himfadora's insinuations," Seethe Scale said.
Spike squeezed Seethe Scale's coarse fur just a little tighter. "Who wouldn't be?" he asked. "He liked killing dragons, he experimented on my siblings, and he didn't even care for my mother."
"He was dedicated to his work," Seethe Scale said. "Obsessed, certainly, but he achieved results that lasted long after reign of your mother."
"You're praising him?" Spike asked aghast.
"Why not?" Seethe Scale landed on a nearby outcropping of rock. Then, she turned her head to face Spike. "Do you think that he was a dragon-shaped blob of concentrated evil? Drellhadar's methods were ruthless, but they serve a purpose now. You can afford some shred of gratitude, Seifralhadar, it won't make you evil."
"What do you want then?" Spike asked. "Thanks, dad, for randomly picking my egg and experimenting on the others? Thanks for making killer butterflies that protect me when they feel like it? Thanks for being a monster that even other dragons hated and feared?"
"And yet you are alive for it, aren't you?" Seethe Scale asked. "You're alive because he chose to spare one egg. Because he gifted that egg to ponies. Because he designed the guardians he made to serve his children. Try as you might, Seifralhadar, you cannot make it so that all the good things you have received came from ponies and all the bad things you've received came from dragons."
"Why can't I?" Spike mumbled. "That's what's it looking like. Even he knew it so he sent my egg to ponies."
"Even if that were true, that means he recognized what dragons needed and acted upon it. No matter how small, there is something praiseworthy in what he accomplished at the end of it all. Give your parents some credit, Seifralhadar, and your race while you're at it. On the day you will lend your strength to your friends, it will be because of who you are; pony and dragon, the adopted child of the princess and the son of Drellhadar and Reinfadora."
Spike snorted and folded his claws over his chest, but he didn't answer to that.
"You still wish to meet your friends when they arrive in the Great Delve?" Seethe Scale suddenly asked.
Spike's eyes widened. "Yeah!" he said. "I think I'm getting the hang of this envy thing. "He swiveled his tail a bit, then held on to the pointed end. It was sort of starting to resemble a stinger, or not. It was most likely his imagination.
"You know that's not true," Seethe Scale said. "But we'll go as soon as we're able."
Spike was about to argue when the answer sank in. His eyes widened instead. "Really?" he asked. "That was easy."
"It is," Seethe Scale growled. Spike nearly let go of her fur at the sudden shift in her tone. "Far more easier that wiping ash from your claws or blood from your tail." Her eyes narrowed. "Perhaps, you think that the pony part of you that your father ensured will keep you from transforming. Then, let's put your confidence to the test. The Great Delve is capital to all of the Barrier Lands, a place you can see how wonderful these ponies you are so envious of are. It's also extremely secure and swarming with the Legion. If we go there, and you transform, you will be subdued, but not without somepony paying the price. Who will it be, Seifralhadar? Some bystander? A legionnaire? One of your friends? Go ahead, visit them. I'll fly you there myself if that's what you really want."
"I'll show you," Spike said through grit teeth. "I'll beat this envy phase. And I'll beat the next phase after that. You'll see."
Also LikedSimilarAuthor
- Visiden Visidane · 6.8k words · 111 2 · 1.7k views
- Visiden Visidane · 6.7k words · 124 2 · 1.9k views
- Visiden Visidane · 4.5k words · 111 3 · 1.6k views
- Visiden Visidane · 2.5k words · 120 2 · 2.1k views
- Visiden Visidane · 5.2k words · 121 4 · 1.4k views
- Visiden Visidane · 145k words · 607 16 · 6.8k views
- Visiden Visidane · 27k words · 78 2 · 1.5k views
- Visiden Visidane · 3.9k words · 50 1 · 1k views
Stats
Page generated in 0.15 seconds
Total duration
1,023 users online
1,564,456 hits today, 2,561,572 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
I have a feeling Spike's adult form with either be some kind of dragon never seen before, or a type that has faded into myth among dragons as one impossible to reach.
So far, dragons have all been utter assholes and literal embodiments of evil, but Spike's just being unreasonable here. This is simply a cultural thing, where they feel that five children raised by one parent is better than ten children raised by two parents. And knowing dragons, I'd say that's a good thing, since about half of all dragons would probably kill all their children if they have the chance, thus ensuring the race's continued survival.
It's really lookin bleak for Spike... There doesn't seem to be anything he can find that is positive about the Dragon race, except that they are powerful... and that attitude is just going to keep having him move down the line of envy and possibly other bad things.
I wonder if we'll see the next chapter in Journeys before we see this one update. It would be a little funny if we got any reveals on Spike there before we got to them here.
Spike's turning envious, huh? I wonder if this is going to lead him to take on some traits from all the phases of dragon growth as he goes through them.
Pinkie will use her divine power (reread the second half of this chapter) to heal spike's envyness because why not.
I wonder what kind of experiments Drellhadar was doing on those dragon eggs, also those "butterfly" guardians what are they powered with? dragon souls harvested from spike's siblings?
An Upheaval chapter on my birthday? YAY!
Well, really driving home the point that Dragons are a ruthless race completely opposite from ponies aren't you, Visiden. Though I have to wonder how much better the Wolven, Ursan, Ophidites, and even non-peaceful Griffons are. Maybe Ponies are the exception rather then the rule, maybe it's just the divide between herbivores and carnivores, or perhaps ponies benefited from having Divine leaders who have peaceful ideals (Lexarius and Celestia). That reminds me, we don't have many details on what Lexarius's rule was like before he went crazy or even what length of time it lasted for.
I'm also wondering if Spike will be become more like his mother, a Sin Dragon, rather than his father, a deformed monster, or he'll be something else entirely.
Great Delve HYPE! Between the two stories, it seems like this is going to be quite the eventful place.
Seethe Scale is definitely right about the Capital being the place to test Spike's envy phase.
His friends, mentor, and the city should offer him a new perspective on things, which will hopefully aid in overcoming his current inner strife.
With that being said I'm glad Spike didn't order Minfadora's death, but man leaving her alive is foreboding as all hell. X(
Stay non-sinful, Spike! It's clearly time to invent a race of <insert virtue here> dragons. Friendship, maybe? Harmony?
6050453 Like the Super Saiyans eh? Long forgotten myth that are going to start popping up outta the snow like Daises when the first one shows up and re-forms the dragons into something that can be respected and looked upon as an example to strive to be like, rather than turn away from.
6064406
Something like a "Bahamut" Dragon, one who has resisted all 7 "sin" stages and found the "lost" nobility of his Draconian heritage. The idea of characters either transcending their base instincts or giving in to them seems to be theme with the Upheaval series and Spike having a arch in this vein seems fitting. Twilight has/is going though this too, breaking the expectations placed on her both others and herself. Such as proving she had every right to her power to Terrato, that she can see her mentor as imperfect yet still be loyal and loving while not blindingly obedient and successfully defending her choices against Blackrose and Clover The Clever.
6052522
Personally, I find it weird that every race besides Ponies(and the equine races) are evil, vicious, or violent. And they all antagonize the pony race. Can't there be one race that helps the ponies out or at least doesn't want the other races to win out of self preservation? How can the ponies stand if EVERYONE is against them? And that isn't including Oceanus and his crew too and the Alicorns that hate ponies. Jeez, can't the pony race get one break?
6089001 To be fair, the other three nations attack each other too, it's not that Equestria is the only one targeted. We haven't seen what Griffons are like yet (if Visiden ever brings them up), and Dragons for all their violent ways, don't seem to antagonize Equestria on purpose (Appetite phases not withstanding). Remember we're stuck in one section of the mortal plane (though Visiden hasn't been entirely clear on how big Equestria is, though it does stretch from what's basically tundra to jungle), so it's possible there's other races we haven't met elsewhere in the world who are peaceful, it's just that Equestria can't reach them.
6089035
True, we know little about the continent Equestria is on. I guess they just got really unlucky with their neighbors. Maybe they're are different races, but they prefer to hide and/or not get involved. Maybe we could have an arc where Twilight convinces another race to help ponykind. Ponykind needs all the allies it can get! This war with Oceanus will probably weaken them to the point where they will be helpless again the wolven and their other enemies.
Come to think of it. Why aren't there any Cattle, Donkeys, Mules, Buffalo, and the occasional Zebra in the Legion? They are Equestrian citizens too!
6089650 If I recall from BP, the Zebra lands were within the barrier when it went up, so I assume all those other races were also within the Heartland too. Whether they're now subject to the draft or not is up in the air, guess it depends if they're citizens of Equestria or not.
6089925
Maybe Equestria should send an envoy to see if anyone in the Zebra homeland would be willing to join to protect Equestria, Man, they actually have a lot of potential recruits if they look outside of ponies.
GAS THE DRAGONS, SPECIES WAR NOW!
Seriously, how did these vile creatures slip through the cleansing of Lexarious? And where did they come from?
They are too passive about the sovereignty of the mortal world so they can't be natives, or maybe they just don't give a fuck (so much for pride dragons).
6150440
Earlier chapters were typed in MS word then transplanted here afterwards edits were made on FimFic. Recently, I've been typing chapters directly into FimFic.
is it me or did the following sentences sound sexy?
"Off you go then, youngster," she said with a wag of a lone claw. "Next time you cause trouble, remember my sting."
Hello! Im starting to read all of Upheval today! Where does Legacy fit in? Between Rekoning and Journeys? Thank you! (You see, Im downloading those to my ereader)
6579502
Legacy's timeline begins at the start of Reckoning, but crosses over to Journeys' after a few chapters. I'd recommend reading it after you have read Reckoning.
6579547 dude its been almost a year
Will there be a new chapter soon
This thought amuses me
wheres the content we live and breathe )':
I really do hope you have spike beat all of the phases.
we need an update, something, just something
seriously, its 2017 now and its been like a year and a half, why update one story and then completely neglect the other?
has this side story been dropped? Been a long while since it received an update.
7959440 eh, maybe he's wanting to finish journeys first? I mean I very much doubt this will be dropped.
8016210 I think it's more of waiting for Journeys to catch up (since it seems the next chapter will cross over with RD, Rarity, and/or Pinkie's arc).
we need a cover photo!
I really don't get why Spike cares so much that the Equestrian dragons are being killed and the Draco'dim are tyrants. He has legitimately been given no reason whatsoever to think there's anything redeemable about being a dragon, even his own parents (as far as he knows) were completely vile creatures. The only person with dragon blood he's encountered who isn't (completely) vile is Seethe Scale and that could be written off as the result of her being part Pony.
I could get behind it more if, as in the show itself, we got one or two examples of good pure blooded Dragons (who were raised by Dragons) like Dragon Lord Ember. As it stands the only reason for me or Spike to care is that he MIGHT be able to get the Dragons to help against Oceanus, he doesn't even have a guarantee that they will only that they might. I'm more interested in his reunion with Rarity than I am in weather or not he can free the Dragons from tyranny and that's a pretty big fail IMO.
Well until the next chapter I guess, take it you need to get to a certain pint in the main series before you continue this?
8751439
8751652 Yeah I know, his primary motivation isn't to help the dragons (never said it wasn't) but he still seemed way more bothered than he has any reason to be about the Draco'dim slaughtering the Heartland dragons. Not to mention pitying the dragon that sent two ponies to assassinate him and letting her live which definitely isn't going to come back to bite him in the tail later.
Just don't see why he still cares weather a dragon lives or dies at this point. Maybe he thinks he can change them by showing them kindness but that's dangerously naive when dragons literally embody deadly sins in this universe. Worked in the show because dragons were just like any other race, there are good ones and bad ones but here it doesn't make sense to even try it.
I'm pretty sure this story is about to be updated. Visiden Visidane wanted to get the Main story up to where Spike meets up with Rarity before continuing this story. Makes perfect sense to me. Hell at the point we are at in Journeys we have 6 chapters before Fluttershy's, Twilight's or Rarity's arc in the story, and frankly Everyone needs to Calm down and wait. I understand that we as readers are Impatient. Writing takes Time. Be patient everyone. Visidane will update soon. I'm sure of it.
Here's hoping this comes back soon. I enjoyed reading this, and I'm still hungry for more.