> Dragon Quarry
>  by Mimkage
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Ch1: Cloak in the Snow
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Light reflected off the shined surfaces of the streets and homes of the Crystal Empire as Celestia’s sun rises high in the sky. It was a beautiful day with white puffy clouds drifting over the empire today. None would believe that just beyond the boundaries of the empire a constant, unforgiving storm raged on.

That was no problem for the crystal train, however, as it chugged along; cutting through the ice welded on the train tracks like butter; even if the action of doing so slowed the train quite a bit. While it was quite frightful on the outside, the appearance within was actually nice with the seats being nice and plush.

Sitting in the second train car, a familiar purple alicorn mare sat along with her always-faithful assistant Spike.

“Twilight, are we there yet?”

Complained the baby dragon as he laid on his back. Twilight, who sat in front of him, sighed as she scribbled on a piece of parchment with her magic.

“I think so, just be patient.”

“Yeah yeah, I know. It’s just the train never takes this long getting through the Arctic North.”

Twilight pulled her eyes from the parchment, levitating the pen she used next to her as she gazed out the window. The weather was unforgiving, hitting the train with all its might as a hailstorm released its full fury upon it.

“Well you can’t really expect it to be fast with a storm like this.”

Spike pulled himself up in a sitting position, watching the storm. The wind rattled the windows as ice hit it, causing some concern to rise in Spike.

“Are you sure the train will be okay in this weather?”

He asked, moving closer to the window to watch the relentless winter land that seemly never ended.

“Of course it can, it was built for this kind of weather.” She smiled at Spike, reassuring him before returning to scribbling on her parchment. Spike, feeling much more relaxed but still impatient, continued to look out the window blankly.

He focused on nothing in particular, just leaning against the windowsill. Something about watching the blinding, foggy storm felt somewhat hypnotic as Spike’s mind began to zone out any noise around him. He felt as if he was in a trance, watching the hailstones dance with the wind.

It was then he spotted something odd. Something became visible in the distance; seemly being some sort of fabric or light in substance as it waved along with the wind. It was brown in color, becoming clearer and clearer the more Spike focused on it. He was convinced he was seeing things as the object began to take a form of somepony. After all, no pony would be foolish enough to battle the treacherous nature of the Arctic North and, if there were one crazy enough, there was no way they would survive.

It became clearer still, soon revealing it was something wearing a cloak. Spike stood, his eyes glued directly on them. A hand, pink and scaly, slipped from the cloak and motioned him to come.

“Come to me, come with me.” It practically screamed as Spike stared at it. His claws pressed against the glass, his curiosity beckoning him until a loud voice snapped him back into reality.

“Spike!”

He turned to face Twilight, dumbfounded. It felt he just had woken up from a peaceful sleep, causing him to shake his head to fully awaken. Looking at Twilight he could see a concerned look on her face.

“Hey, are you okay? I kept calling you but you weren’t paying attention!” It took him a moment to register her words but the moment he did he flailed his arms up in the air like an crazy pony.

“Oh! T-Twilight! There’s somepony outside! Look!” He pointed outside, frantically. Twilight raised an eyebrow, turning to see what he referred to.

“What? That’s not possible. The weather out there is impossible for any pony to go through.” Looking out, she saw nothing, which served only to convince herself that Spike was just seeing things.

“See, there’s no pony there.”

“What!” Spike pressed his face against the glass, seeing that she was indeed right. All that was there now was snow and ice.

“There was somepony there! I swear there was!”

“Please Spike, that’s impossible. No pony could go through that weather.”

“B-but…”

The intercom turns on, interrupting him as a stallion’s voice comes through.

“Attention all passengers, we are approaching the Crystal Empire! Please collect all your belongings and traveling companions! We will be stopping shortly!” As the intercom cuts off a magical field cuts by the window as it entered the pleasant weather of the magically contained empire.

“You probably just imagined it. You have been staying up really late the last couple of nights reading comic books.” Twilight stands, stretching her limbs as Spike jumps off his seat with an angry face written on it.

“Hey, it’s not my fault Mareval is releasing some really great titles. I mean the Amazing Spiderpony alone is just… amazing!” She giggles, rolling her eyes as she starts to make her way over to the train door. Spike thinks for a moment to himself, looking back at the window for a few seconds before running after Twilight who was already at the door. He just pushed the thought aside, believing Twilight was right.

The train pulls into the station, making a loud squealing as the wheels sparked to a stop. The doors suddenly slide open, allowing the workers standing by to put down ramps so those upon the train can exit. 

There, waiting to greet his little sister, Shining Armor approaches her as she walks off the train.

“Twily!”

“Shining!”

The two run up to each other, giving one another a tight hug. Thankfully, he didn’t seem overworked or sleep deprived like he was back when Flurry was first born so it was easy to see he was happy to see his sister.

“It’s great to see you again kid, how have you been?”

“Great! The work’s been a bit… overwhelming but I’m think I’m doing well.”

“Yeah I bet.”

The three walk together, heading for the crystal palace that stood proud and beautiful just ahead. As they walked the two ponies talked, catching up with each other, while Spike’s brain still insisted on thinking about the thing he saw. In fact, he was so focused on it that he bumped into one of the legs holding up the castle.

“Spike!” Twilight walks towards him, making sure he wasn’t hurt before sighing.

“What’s wrong?” Shining armor approached them, curious about what was going on. Judging by recent events, Twilight was easily able to infer what was wrong.

“Hu? Well...." Spike interrupted, believing he should explain himself rather than Twilight.

"I saw somepony out in the Arctic North wearing a cloak! I know I saw them but Twilight says it's impossible."

"Because it is Spike!" Shining tapped his chin, thinking for a moment.

“Well…”

Hearing Shining possibly question Twilight, Spike was instantly all ears.

“Well?”

“There an old legend about cloaked figures wandering the Arctic North. They seem to come out of nowhere and disappear just as fast. No pony really knows where they come from or what they are since the Arctic North isn’t a safe place to explore.” Hearing that Spike instantly stood, his interest along with Twilight’s.

“Really? See Twilight! I told you I didn’t imagine it!”

“Well I guess…”

A familiar voice rings from behind Shining, prompting Twilight’s ears perk up.

“The Cloaked Ghost? It’s just an old Crystal Empire Legend; a Boogie pony story to keep ponies out of the Arctic North really.”

“Cadence!”

Cadence approached them, a smile on her face. Before anything else, Twilight galloped over to Cadence and hugged her sister-in-law lovingly.

“Hey Twilight, nice to see you too!”

“B-but… I saw one outside the window! It was telling me to go with it and everything!”

Cadence goes over to Spike, lowering her head down to him and speaks with a soft, gentle voice.

“Well legends come from something right? It’s probably just the Arctic North playing tricks on your mind. We don’t really know what’s out there or how things work. It’s better if you just relax, Spike. After all, you are on vacation right?”

“Yeah, I guess…”

Cadence giggled, petting him slightly.

“Have some fun, you earned it.”

The four walked into the castle together, Spike walking behind them. Cadence was right. Even if Spike did see something out there it’s not like they were going to drop everything to send ponies into peril just to discover what it was if it was even there at all. It’s better that he just relaxes and enjoys the rest and relaxation.

>A few minutes later<

Twilight held little Flurry Heart in her arms, talking to her in the little baby talk adults usually do when spoiling foals with attention and affection. Poking her playfully with her hoof, the tiny baby alicorn squealed as her auntie played with her.

“Sunshine, sunshine, ladybugs awake~” Twilight tapped Flurry’s hoof, making the baby giggle.

“Clap your hooves and do a little shake~”

She held up the baby in the air, laughing as Flurry flapped her large, fluffy wings out of glee. Truly she was a happy baby full of joy and innocence; how Twilight adored her.

While Twilight spent time doing that Spike wandered around the castle looking for things to do. Usually he would have the staff loving him for being the ‘brave and glorious Spike,’ but they all seemed to be either attending to Cadence, who took the opportunity of Twilight’s visit to have her maids spoil her, setting the table for tonight’s meal, or have already gone home.

“Spike, if you really want something to do why don’t you go check out the library?” Spike recalls Shining’s advice.

“There are some comics there that might catch your interest.”

While usually the mention of comics would send Spike running he wasn’t so keen this time. He wanted company, not lurking in a dark library alone reading a book. So, when he finally spots a pony he instantly perks up.

It was a palace maid digging through what seemed to be a closet of some kind.

“Hello!” He said, trying to be polite. The pony, knowing exactly who he was dropped the broom she held and bowed down to him.

“O-oh and hello to you too, Spike the honorable, brave and glorious!” Finally, some attention, it made Spike feel much better. He couldn’t help but feel his ego lift from this pony’s admiration but he didn’t want her to grovel at his feet as she was.

“So… what are you doing?” He asked, seeing the pony reluctantly get up and watch him to see if her doing so would offend him. Thankfully, Spike was a kind dragon and simply waited for a response.

“W-well I was looking for duster to finish cleaning the vases but…” she pointed into the closet, revealing it was much bigger than first thought. In fact, it simply seemed to be just a regular room with a lot of random junk stored inside it.

“I can help you if you want.”

“Y-you want to help me!? O-oh no I can’t ask that of you!” Spike scoffed, waving his hand to dismiss that comment.

“Oh no, it’s not that big of a deal. I want to help.” He walked into the dim room, digging through items scattered around. The pony hesitantly followed, looking though the closet. Dust was on everything in the room, showing that no pony has been in here for long time. Moving the objects around Spike soon spotted a duster in the very back of the closet.

“There you are!” Walking towards it he trips over a fallen broom and collides with something that was hidden under a tarp, knocking it over. Hearing the loud noise the mare gallops over to Spike, seeing him groaning and rubbing his head.

“O wow ow….”

“Oh my! Are you okay!?” she helps him up, looking at him with concerned eyes as he rubs his head.

“I’m okay, not the first time I’ve hit my head on something. I’m pretty durable” He picks up the duster, tapping it a few times against his claws to shake off he dust on it and offers it to her.

“I found the duster.”

“Oh! Thank you!” she takes the duster in her mouth, bowing slightly to him. After doing that Spike looked over to what he had tipped over. Tarp now off it what it was made him raise an eyebrow as he stood it back up.

It was a statue carved from a hunk of jade of a dragon; however, unlike all the other statues or images of dragons he’s seen, this one was different.

It was like him, in a sense

Clearly this dragon was designed on a much larger dragon but like him it was wingless and actually pretty long in comparison to other dragons. It stood proud, looking up with a look of majesty to it.

“What is this?” He asked, amused and amazed. The maid looked at it, taking a moment to think.

“Umm... I think it’s an earth dragon.”

“Earth... dragon?” The maid nods, examining the statue for any cracks.

“I’ve never seen a fully grown one myself but my mom said that before King Sombra took over the Crystal Empire there used to be many of them but after he came into power they just... vanished. No pony really knows what happened to them.” She grabs the tarp, tossing it back over the statue and began to head out.

“Fully grown?” She stopped just outside the door, looking back at him.

“Well, you don’t really have wings so I just kinda assumed you were one. You are one, right?” Spike stared at her for a moment, his claws touching his chest.”

“I don’t know.”

> Ch2: Jade Dragon
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	“Spike!? Spike?” Twilight wandered down the halls of the Crystal Palace in search of Spike. Dinner was ready and it seemed no one had seen him since they arrived. Twilight was slightly annoyed as she didn’t want to keep Cadence and Shining waiting but she wasn’t about to start eating without knowing where spike was. 

As she made her way down she spotted a maid dusting the vases so she approached her.

“Excuse me, miss.” The pony looked at her, duster in mouth, “You wouldn’t happen to see Spike anywhere right? Small purple dragon?”

“Oh yes, Spike the honorable brave and glorious? I saw him in a closet just down the hallway. He helped me find a duster but he hasn’t left the room. At least, I don’t think he has your majesty.”

“Okay, thank you!” The maid bowed, walking off to continue her work as Twilight went down to said closet. She assumed Spike was probably reading in there or something but it still struck her as odd he would do that in a closet. Coming down the hall she spots an open door which she assumes was the closet the maid spoke of. She peered in the dark room, squinting as she looked around the room before calling out to Spike.

“Spike?”

“Over here!”

Spike waved, attracting Twilight’s attention. All she managed to see was a silhouette of his claws waving in the very back of the room so she approaches him; prepared to give him a good ear lashing about being late for dinner. Her horn flared to light the dim room, finding spike sitting by himself and looking up at something

“Spike! Princess Cadence and Shining are waiting for us so we can eat! Why are you sitting in the back of a dark room by yourself?” Spike said nothing, he just pointed up at the thing he looked up. Light now upon it Spike and Twilight could see the true detail of the dragon carved proudly upon it; the light illumining the smooth jade. Twilight tiled her head.

“It’s… pretty I guess.”

“No Twilight, look at it!” She wasn’t exactly sure why he would be so fixated on it but she decided to humor him. Upon closer inspection she did notice there was something off about this statue but nothing really screamed out at her.

“It’s… green?”

“Agh no! It doesn’t have any wings!” She looked at him, realizing he was right. Of course, she didn’t find that to be much of a big deal so she just raised an eyebrow at it.

“Well yeah but there are dragons without wings. Like…” 

“Like me?” Twilight looked down at Spike, seeing him stare at the statue. He approached it, touching the tail that wrapped around the jade pillar it was carved into.

“I’ve never seen a dragon without wings.”

“Well, I suppose not. But I do wonder why there a statue of a dragon at all in the Crystal Empire. It’s too cold for them this far north.” She keep her eyes on Spike, sensing that something was brewing in his little head.

“One of the maids called it an Earth Dragon. I’ve never heard of those.”

Twilight thought, placing her hoof on her chin.

“Umm I don’t think I’ve ever heard of ‘Earth dragons’. Just a regular ones.” Spike sat back down, looking up at the statue.

“Anyways, we can always look into that later. Let’s go eat something. Cadence has some large, juicy emeralds for you.” Spike just waved back at her, not even looking directly at her.

“Eh I’ll join you guys in a bit.”

“Well… okay…” Hesitantly, she began making her way back to the door; looking back just before leaving the room.

“You sure?” Spike nodded, keeping his eyes on the statue.

“Yeah.” She lingered, looking at him with a look of concern before leaving him to be. Her hoof steps echo as she walks away until they pitter into silence, leaving Spike with only the sound of his breath to fill the room. He stared into the eyes of the statue, feeling as if he should know who that was but he didn’t.

“Who… are you?”

“Empress Jade…”

Scared out his wits, Spike jumped to his feet and turned to face the voice. To his shock, the cloaked figure from the train towered before him. His hear pounded in his chest as he stared up at the towering figure that seemed to be even taller than Twilight. White puffs of smoke released from the dark hole of the hood as the figure breathed out slowly. Spike didn’t know what to make of this as the figure just stood there before him without uttering a single word.

“U-uhh…”

“You don’t belong here.”

Spike raised an eyebrow, looking at the figure before him cautiously. He was thinking running for security but if he tried this stranger could easily catch him.

“W-what do you mean?”

While that was going on Twilight sat at a large table with Shining and Cadence, the married couple enjoying their meal. Twilight, on the other hoof, just sat there staring at her grilled carrots. Clearly there was something on her mind. While Shining chowed down on his meal Cadence instantly picked up on Twilight’s odd behavior and, judging by the fact a full bowl of gems sat right next to her untouched, she could easily infer why.

“So, when is Spike joining us?” She asked, deciding to be a bit more cautious with her approach.

“Umm he should be here soon. Any minute now.” Twilight looked up at Cadence, noticing her raised eyebrow that instantly clued Twilight she couldn’t play Cadence. She sighed, deciding it would be better to be honest then to try anything else.

“Umm.. I don’t think he’ll be joining us.” Overhearing the conversation, Shining decided to throw in his two bits.

“Mmm.. mmm why not?” He spoke with his muzzle full, placing his hoof over his mouth to keep from flinging any food at anypony.

“Well.” She looked down, pushing her food aside as she explained. “He found a statue of a dragon in one of the castle closets. For some reason he insists on sitting in front of it and staring at it.”

Cadence tilted her head, looking at Shining who shrugged in response.

“A dragon statue? The castle doesn’t have any dragon statues as far as I know. You said he found it in a closet?”

“Uh hu. It was sitting in the very back.” 

“Well he’s seen dragon statues before no? There were a few of them back in Canterlot.” Shining shoved another spoon full of broccoli in his mouth, looking at Twilight as she explained.

“That’s just it, it wasn’t a normal dragon. This one was made without wings and it was carved into what I think was some green jade. “ Shining tilted his head, looking at his wife.

“A wingless dragon? I didn’t know those existed.”

Cadence stood, starting to make her way out of the dining room. Twilight and Shining stared at her with a questioning stare.

“Where are you going?” Asked Twilight. Cadence turned around to face her as she spoke.

“I’m going to go see it for myself. If there is a statue like that in my castle I should know about it right?” She continued to make her way, Twilight and Shining instantly following her.

Back with Spike, he still stood before the stranger with a cautious look.

“Why are you here? Who are you!” He demanded, fear gripping his insides. It took a moment for the cloaked figure to reply.

“I’m here for you. You shouldn’t be here, ponies are dangerous.” Spike tilted his head.

“Dangerous? How?” The cloaked figure didn’t reply, they just extended a scaly pink arm to him and held it out for him to take.

“We don’t have time now. Come with me, I’ll tell you everything.” They took a step towards Spike and Spike took a step back. His heart raced as this stranger came closer and closer.

“Come with me.” His back hit the wall, ceasing his attempts to back away from the stranger. There was no way for him to get away so he did the next thing he knew.

“HELP!” He cried out, causing the stranger to back off in surprise. His voice echoed through the hallways, reaching the ear of Twilight and company.

“Spike!” Twilight galloped at full speed, Cadence and Shining behind her.

“You fool!” The stranger lunged at Spike, attempting to grab him only to have him dodge and run for the door. However, Spike could not escape as the stranger slithered around like a snake, moving at blinding speed. They stood in his way, a growling sound coming from them. They jumped for him again only to be blasted into a pile of cleaning materials by a powerful, purple magical beam.

Twilight stood at the door, an expression of pure lividness drawn across her face.

“Twilight!” Spike ran over to Twilight, going behind her front leg for protection. Shining Armor jumped into the room, his horn glowing and ready to attack as he approached stranger. They didn’t move, not an inch.

“Freeze! Move and I will engage!” He moved slowly, keeping his head low as he came closer and closer. Twilight used her wing to shield Spike, her magical aura still in effect. Slowly, Shining reached over to the stranger, attempting to touch them. The moment his hoof touched the fabric the stranger coiled around him like a snake and flung him into the wall; knocking him out. They ran towards Twilight at a blinding speed, prompting her to attempt to shoot it down. It was too fast however as each beam missed.

They were right on top of her, seemly like they were going to attack to which Twilight responded by shielding herself with her wing. However, they instead leaped over Twilight and attempted to run away.

But before they could even attempt to they were blasted with another magical beam from Cadence. The beam flung the figure down the hallway. Their claws screeched across the crystal floors as they caught themselves. Instantly they were off but Cadence and Twilight chased them down with Spike riding on Twilight’s back.

“Guards! Guards! Stop them!” Cried Cadence, only to turn the corner and find a hallway full of knocked out crystal guards. With no pony to stop them the cloaked figure slid through a window and ran out into the castle courtyard. Cadence and Twilight flew after them, attempting to chase them, only to loose them in the gardens. The stranger was just to slippery and fast to keep up with.

“No, he got away!” Cadence looked all over, hoping to stop them to no avail. Twilight, however, shifted her attention back at Spike.

“Spike, are you okay? They didn’t hurt you did they?”Spike shook his head, sighing in relief as the fear calmed.

“I’m okay, thank you Twilight.”

> Ch:3 Ice and Snow
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	“Back before the rule of King Sombra there once lived a large village of unique dragons. It was said that they have lived in the Arctic North even before the empire existed. For many years the crystal ponies and, what we called them back then, earth dragons lived in peace as the Crystal ponies searched for gems in the mountains for the dragons to harvest for a share of the wealth. It was a very beautiful relationship that survived many generations until…” An old mare, seemly so fragile that just touching the poor dear would likely bruise her, spoke. Cadence, Twilight, Spike and said old mare sat together in the palace library around the jade statue that sat in the center of them.

“Until?” Asked Cadence, paying very close attention to her.

“When Sombra came into power all the dragons just vanished. No pony knew what happened to them nor was anypony brave enough to find out.” Twilight tilted her head slightly.

“Wait. If the dragons were so closely tied to the Crystal Empire, then why aren’t there any books on them?”

“King Sombra destroyed them; burned them up in a black blaze.” This angered Twilight, her wings poofing up as she placed her hooves on the table.

“What? Why!”

“Well, it’s just a rumor but it’s said that the dragons were responsible for the creation of the Crystal Heart. They gave it to our first queen as a gift to thank her for helping them thrive on gems. Seeing the joy and gratitude of the dragons lite up the souls of the Crystal ponies, filling their own hearts with joy and this, mixing the power of the light of both species, the heart began to beat and thus became the magical artifact we have today. Sombra, the one who wanted us all to forget the existence of the heart all together, thus destroyed all books having any mention of the dragons in hopes that none of us would be able to find them and have any chance of making another.”  The elderly pony looked up at the Jade statue, touching is softly with her shaky hoof.

“But seeing this statue now depicting said dragons… it makes me believe that perhaps it was more than just a tall tale. Judging by the gemstone she’s carved into I’d say this is empress Jade, the dragon who was said to be in charge at the time of Sombra’s rule. I wish I could tell you more but that is all I can remember in my old age. Judging by how long it’s been I doubt any pony could add more I’m afraid….” Princess Cadence shook her head, smiling at the old mare.

“No no, it’s fine. You’ve been a great help, thank you.” Cadence gave her a slight bow to her, making the old mare blush a bit and bow frantically in return.

“Oh my, no p-problem at all your highness.”

“Tell your daughter thank you for telling you to come see us and tell her I said she’s been doing an amazing job keeping the castle clean.”

“Yes, of course. See you another time, your highness.” The mare steps down from her seat, leaving the library with only Twilight, spike and Cadence. They were silent for a moment, thinking about what the mare just said.

“Well… that’s surprising.” Cadence giggled slightly, using her magic to surround the statue and lift it up into the air.

“That’s the understatement of the century. To think there might have been a village full of dragons here once.” Cadence begins to walk off, taking the statue with her. Spike, who was clearly lost in his own thoughts instantly interjected.

“W-where are you taking that?” He asks, nearly falling off his seat only to have Twilight catch him with her magic.

“Well I’m going to put in on display. It’s too beautiful to just hide it away in a closet.”

“B-but… did you not just hear what that old lady said? There’s a whole village of dragons out there! We have to go see them!” His voice echoes in the large library, Cadence just standing there without even turning back to look at him.

“Spike… It’s better if you don’t chase this.” Both Twilight and Spike look at her, confused, but Spike’s expression began to turn to frustration as he ran towards Cadence.

“Why not!” Cadence looked back at him, wearing a sad expression as she spoke to him.

“Because Spike, even if there is a village of dragons out there I can’t just send a group of ponies into the Artic North! It’s beyond dangerous! Even Celestia and Luna couldn’t combat the hazardous weather for long. What do you think would happen if we did try and chase this myth?!” Meekly, feeling like a child getting scolded, he spoke out in protest.

“B-but…”

“But nothing Spike, the answer is no! I’m not going to risk the lives of my subjects just to chase something that might not even exist. That’s final!” Cadence said nothing else as she slammed the doors of the library closed; leaving only Spike and Twilight inside. Silence gripped the room, leaving the two just standing there as Spike tightened his claws into a fist. A tear fell down Spike’s face as his emotions boiled inside. Twilight's hoof steps echoed in the room as she approached him.

“Spike?” He didn’t reply; just stood there with his body trembling.

“I know you want to find out about this but Cadence is right. It’s just too dangerous, please understand.” His claws loosen, flopping to the sides of his body as he kept his back to Twilight.

“Yeah, I understand.” With that he made his way to the door, trying his best to keep his face hidden from Twilight as he opened it.

“I’ll be… in my room.”

The door closed softly behind Spike as he left. He walked down the halls, ignoring anything and everything around him from objects to the odd pony or two still in the castle. The moment he reached his room he opened the door slowly, the hinges squeaking as he entered, and closed it behind him. He leaned against it, looking up as he fought back the urge to cry.

But he couldn’t fight it, his heart was just to crushed by the reality of the situation. Tears trickled down his purple cheeks as he slides down into a sitting position and sobs silently to himself. How he wanted to know, he had never wanted to know something so badly as he did right now but the knowledge of doing so would result in somepony getting hurt was more than his child-like mind could handle.

“Mmm what a pity. Poor pony’s pet can’t go against their say… Actually no, pity isn’t the right word. Pathetic’s more like it.” Spike knew that voice, he didn’t even jump at it as he looked up at the windowsill where the cloaked figure from before sat. In their hand they held a flower encased in black crystal, allowing it to glitter in the light. Spike didn’t say anything, he just looked up at them with eyes stained red from tears.

“Sensing his coming defeat by the hooves of the Princesses of Equestria, the evil pony King Sombra thus cursed the Empire to vanish into obscurity and from reality. Ponies and their complex leads them to believe that the only crime he committed was against his own kin; never knowing that that wasn’t all he had done. But of course, can I blame the princesses from erasing the very history of the empire from knowledge? After all, they aren’t blameless… not in the least.” They stood, walking toward Spike’s little doggy bed next to the larger, comfy, plush bed meant for Twilight.

“I thought you left…” Said Spike, standing up and wiping his tears away as he looks up at the stranger.

“Ha! I’ve been in this castle the entire time. Snuck into an open window after you guys lost me in the garden. I swear these ponies have no defense what so ever.” They kick the little bad, plopping down into Twilight’s bed as they look down at Spike.

“Oh…” Spike walked up to them, seemly still sad as he came up to them. “Why?”

“Why do you think?” He instantly stopped, taking a step back as the memory of the trouble they caused before rushed back to mind. The cloaked figure took notice of that, laying back in the bed.

“Don’t worry, I’m not gonna try and kidnap you again. I got a few bruises from those magical blasts.” They hold the flower up to their face, sniffing it. “Not fun really.” Spike just looked at them, wondering what they wanted.

“Then why are you here?” The figure chuckles, sitting up.

“I guess you don’t want to know more about Empress Jade and the Earth Dragons. I’ll just take my leave then, get out of your mane Pony pet.”  With that they were off, lingering by the window for a second before bolting off. It took a second for Spike the catch up but the moment he did he ran to the window after them. He could see them running off at top speed down the courtyard. His thoughts rushed a million miles a second as he fidgeted.

“Hey! Freeze in the name if the Princess!” Guards chase after the figure, spotting them instantly as the bolted. They didn’t stop, running towards the empire’s boarder. Instantly, Spike made up his mind as his impulse took over. He jumped out the window after the cloaked figure as fast as he could. Unknown to him, Twilight was with cadence in the throne room talking when suddenly. The guard protecting them was the one who noticed the cloaked figure and was one of the guards chasing them now. Twilight watched as they chased them, her eyes widening as she sees Spike book it after them.

“S-spike!?” She instantly flew after him, quickly catching up with him.

“Spike! Stop!” He ignored her however, something compelling him to just go. His heart pounded in his chest as he went onto all fours and began to run faster than he ever had before. Something about this just felt... right as he moved faster and faster. However, he could not get away as Twilight uses her magic to grab Spike from his tail and pull him back. His claws dug into the crystal floors in an attempt to defy Twilight but she was to powerful. The cloaked figure, who quickly noticed this stopped in their tracks and roared loudly. The sound of the roar unlocked something deep in Spike’s heart, an instinct awakening deep within as his eyes dilate. 

Suddenly he breathes fire, engulfing himself with it and turning himself into a wisp of magical smoke. This shocked Twilight, causing her mind to panic, as she did not know what to do. The wisp flew down further down the road, rematerializing Spike into his original form. He groans, shaking his head as he regained focus only to find he was now next to the cloaked stranger.

At that moment, the stranger leaped out of the Empire’s boundaries into the Arctic North and booked it off into the snow. Spike, now more hesitant to follow thanks to seeing Twilight just stood there for a moment as he watched the guards and Twilight run towards him. He felt terrible for doing this, but he knew he would not be satisfied unless he got the answer he desired. Therefore, with a heavy heart, he jumps out of the force field and battled the icy cold as he ran after the stranger. Twilight attempted to jump out after him only to have somepony grab her tail and pull her back. Cadence held her back with all her might as Twilight pushed against her.

“Cadence! Let me go!” she cried, desperate to follow Spike. However, Cadence refused to let her go, keeping her from leaping away as Spike vanished into the distance. With her tail still in her mouth, Cadence tried her best to reason with Twilight.

“Twilight, stop! It’s too dangerous!” She kept fighting; trying to go after him but soon gave up, plopping down to the ground.

“But...Spike...”

He ran and ran and ran, fighting the bitter cold that assaulted him as he followed the footprints left by the stranger. Soon, he had gone so far the empire was no longer visible but he did not care. He had to know, he needed to know, besides, if he went back now Twilight would be furious at him so he just continued.

“B-brrr.... s-so cold.” White puffs of fog left his mouth with every breath, his body trembling. The cold nibbled at him, making his skin feel numb. He stopped, looking out in the distance for any sign of where the stranger went only to see nothing but white fog and blinding snow for miles around. Even the footprints he followed had been swallowed up by the ice and snow; leaving him stranded out in the middle of the winter wasteland. Therefore, he just kept walking forward, hoping to bump into something only to feel his body get colder and colder.

He could not find his way back nor could he find the stranger so he instantly regretted this decision. Soon, he could not even move anymore, his muscles tightening from the attack of cold around him. Giving into the cold, he collapsed into the snow, curled up into a ball as his consciousness began to fade. From the fog, the cloaked figure appeared before him. Spike looked up at them, his vision blurred as they looked down at him.

“Hu, pony life made ya soft. Couldn’t even take 10 minutes hu?”

With that Spike passed out; the last thing he remember was the stranger picking him up and carrying him off.
> The Stronghold
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Darkness, that was all Spike could see. All around him all he felt was cold nibbling away at him. He couldn’t move nor could he speak. All that was there was an empty silence that gripped him to his very soul. While to most this would drive one to insanity to Spike this felt oddly familiar and safe to be alone in the silence.

That is, until a voice resonated from somewhere far away.

“My little gemstone, my precious gemstone. You make me happy when we’re alone. No matter how gray the blinding snow fall, my arms will always keep you warm.”

A delicate light began to radiate in the distance growing larger and larger. With it reassuring warmth came, washing over his body as his heart felt strangely at peace. Suddenly, the light flashed over him, smothering his heart with the feeling of calmness he never knew before.

“Sleep now, my little gemstone.”

A silhouette, blurred in the light, became visible to him as he realized he was cradled in a pair of arms.

“Sleep now.”

Spike’s eyes opened, finding himself being carried by the cloaked stranger with the warmth he felt coming from a flame they blew with every exhale. It served to warm the air they breathed in and to fight off the cold attacking the tiny dragon they held. He didn’t move, just looked up at them, as they entered a cave carved into the side of a mountain made of ice.

“Where…?” Spike muttered, still feeling weak as his muscles refused to move no matter how hard he tried. While his voice was mostly drowned out by the whirling sounds of the wind outside the stranger still noticed he made a noise and looked down at him.

“Well well, good morning sleeping beauty.” They chuckle, continuing to make their way deeper into the cave. Soon, they came to a dead end with an odd carving chipped into the wall with a hoof-sized hole in the middle.  The stranger stopped before it and took in a deep breath before unleashing a powerful fire blast the hole. Nothing happened for a moment, confusing Spike, until he felt the ground rumble under them. The carving glew, a light splitting it in half and opening like a pair of doors.

As the door opened, Spike’s eyes widened in wonder. Crystals covered the walls everywhere as the cave opened up into a giant, underground air pocket that rivaled the size of the entirety of the Crystal Empire. Rocks were carved into homes with hole dotting the sides of the giant pocket. Moss acted as grass, covering the walls, floors and roofs of some to the homes in a decorative way. But, the thing that really caught his eye, was a giant, green, gemstone planted in the very center of the caverns. In a way it was like the empire’s castle but just a hunk of crystal rather than a carved piece.

“Beautiful, isn’t it?” Spike looked up the stranger, noticing softness filling their usually taunting voice. Carefully, they put Spike down and while he struggled to maintain his balance he managed to stand on his own.

“What is this place?” He looked around, amazement filling him as he took in every detail of the area.

“Welcome to the Stronghold, home sweet home.” They finally removed their hood, revealing to Spike at last who they were.

Scales lustrous and pink with soft, long white back and head scales flowing down their side, Spike was amazed as he saw this stranger was in fact a wingless dragon and boy was she a beautiful dragon to say the least. Her emerald colored eyes looked down at the awestruck dragon before her, making her chuckle as she patted his head.

“What’s wrong, Pony Pet? Surprised?”  There it was, that taunting tone Spike had grown accustom to. So many questions rushed through his little head that all that escaped his mouth were odd stutters as he looked up at her.

“I’ll take that as a ‘yes’.” She stood; removing her cloak completely and tossing it aside to allow her long, slender, snake like body drink in the open air she had denied it for so long. Her tail was the length of her body, slamming onto the ground as she went down to all fours and stretched out her limbs. Spike didn’t know how to respond. How was he suppose to respond? Everything displayed before him overwhelmed him.

Finishing her stretch; she gazes at him with a smirk on her face.

“Race ya to the giant green gem!” With that she was off like a bullet, slithering down the sharp slope leading down to the ground. Spike ran after her, nearly falling off the edge only to catch himself with his claws.

“W-woah!” Thankfully, he managed to dig himself into the slope side and spare himself a painful tumble for the moment. Looking over his shoulder he watched the pink dragon make her way off to the green crystal, almost completely out of sight from how far ahead she had gotten.

Just then, a baby, yellow dragon even younger than him passes him by casually with its little head held up high. He didn’t have time to dwell on it though as the ground began to shake. Looking up, he panics as he sees a giant, adult, slender, yellow dragon make it’s away down towards him. He scrambled to the side, just barely evading getting squashed by a giant foot. However, doing this made him lose his grasp as he rolled down the slope; earning him a face plant with the ground bellow. 
He stayed like that for a moment, groaning as he pulled himself up and rubbed his nose.

“Ow ow ow…. Why do these things always happen to me?” Taking a moment to look around he began to see more and more dragons crawl out of the holes in the walls and from the homes planted on the bottom. They all seemed to head towards the green crystals the pink dragon had scampered off to.

“Woah, that’s a lot of dragons.” He stood taking in everything before walking towards the crystal while keeping his eyes out as more and more dragons passed him. Small dragons, like him, did walk on two legs like so not many adults paid much attention to him but the larger dragons all seemed to walk on all fours with most of them looking either snake like and thin or bulky and strong.

He did his best to blend in, but his muscles still ached horribly from before so he walked pretty slowly and struggled to walk straight. In his mind he expected some dragon to make fun of him or bully him since that was all he knew of dragons but something else happened instead.

“Are you okay?” Spike looked up, seeing a large, bulky, orange towering over him. Seeing them Spike scrambled, falling over as his muscles couldn’t keep up. He trembled as he looked up at them, terror filling his entire body. They just stared at him with a pair of blue eyes wearing a stern look.

“Hey, are you just gonna stare at mommy like that?” Hearing another voice seemed to distract Spike for a second, tilting his head. Suddenly, a little tiny dragon, slightly shorter than him, popped over the bulky dragon’s head.

“Mommy?” Spike looked closer, almost not believing this huge being was a female.

“I’ll ask again, are you okay?” The dragon lowered their giant head down to Spike, trying to seem less threatening as she asked again. It seemed to work as Spike stood, struggling to do so, in an attempt to look tough.

“I’m okay. Just a little sore.” He said, attempting to turn and continue to walk only to have the large, orange dragon grab onto his tail with her mouth and pick him up.

“W-woah!” Gently, she places Spike on her back along with her son, releasing his tail and began to walk again.

“You should rest then. Don’t push it, you’ll just hurt yourself little one.” He seemed surprised, staring at her with confusion. But his confusion wasn’t allowed to stay long as her son jumped on his back playfully with a small growl.

“Hiya! I’m Splinter and that’s my momma! It’s nice to meet you!” He said, his tail swooshing from side to side. Now having a closer inspection of him, he looked similar to Spike but his tail was longer with similar colors to his mom and his back scales and frills were all diamond shaped, sharpened at the tips. He seemed nice, if a bit hyperactive.

“My name is Crush.” Said the giant dragon, keeping her eyes set on where she went. 

“And you are?” It was obvious she was much less quirky than her son but she seemed nice enough. Spike’s expression soon changed from one of confusion to a smile as he properly sat and answered them.

“My name is Spike!”

He didn’t know what it was, he couldn’t explain it, but his he felt so overwhelmingly happy in this moment; just hanging out with a group of nice dragons. He heard Crush chuckle, looking back at him with a smile.

“It’s nice to meet you, young Spike.”

> ch:5 Never leave a friend
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	It didn’t take long for Spike and his new friends to reach the green gem riding on Crush’s back. Splinter and Spike had played the entire time, enjoying a small game of tag. For them time seem to go by in the blink of an eye.

“We’re here” said Crush, calling the attention of both of the little ones. Spike, still curious, slowly climbed up to Crush’s head to see what was going on. To his surprise, the crystal appeared to have an opening which clearly hinted that it was hollow inside. Dragons entered it, seemly taking their places in front of a pedestal with a curtain behind that. From far away the crystal indeed looked huge but Spike didn’t think it would be big enough to hold so many dragons. Most sat on the floor with the baby dragons playing in an open area near the front and the teenagers sitting just beyond them, closest to pedestal. The rest sat on outcroppings placed on the sides of the crystal above but those seemed to be much older dragons than the ones bellow. Spike was in awe as seeing so many of his own kind, it felt so odd to him.

“What’s going on?” He asked, confused out of his mind. Splinter tilted his head, finding that question both dumb and odd.

“Why do you think? We’re here to see the Empress! She’s gonna burn the teenagers!” Spike panicked, finding what Splinter said to be horrible and momentarily forgetting that dragons are fire proof. Thankfully, Crush explained further.

“They’ll be fine; fire is harmless to us. It’s just a ceremony to introduce the tykes to adulthood. Every dragon knows that.”  It appeared Splinter still wanted to freak Spike out further as he hops around.

“She’s also gonna light the babies to!” Of course, Spike already expected Crush to explain.

“That’s to release their magical potential. All earth dragons have a magical quirk that we’re born with. We just need a kick start to get it into gear. Speaking of which…” Crush looks back at Splinter.

“Yeah I know mom! Common Spike!” He grabs Spike’s tail, dragging him down with him as they side down Crush’s back. Spike, digging his claws into the ground to prevent Splinter from just pulling him away, resisted.

“W-w-what?! Let me go! What are you doing!?” He cried, pulling his tail away. Splinter just stood, looking at Spike confused. This behavior made Crush frown, a light, displeased growl emanating from her as she thought.

“All baby dragons are to go through this ceremony. It is law of the land!” Spike looked up at Crush, seeing her glare was enough to make him jump. Her voice became menacing as she spoke her next line.

“Go, now.” Splinter, knowing very well what his mom was like, grabbed Spike’s arm and chuckled nervously.

“Yes mom! We’re just playing around! Come on Spike, let’s go!” With that he pulled Spike away in a hurry, bringing him over to the rest of the kids. Once away from earshot Splinter let Spike go and whisper-yelled at him.

“Stupid! Don’t play jokes like that around mom! She doesn’t like it when you mess around with traditions!” It seemed Splinter thought of it as just a big joke but Spike honestly didn’t know. But he decided to play along. After all, he didn’t know how they would react to someone who isn’t from here so better safe than sorry.

“O-oh! Sorry…” He followed Splinter to the circle of baby dragons around his age. The played together, tag, play fighting, and all the other normal things kids his age did. Watching them made Spike tilt his head slight.

To him this behavior was fine every once in a while but it all them playing this much seemed foolish to him. Maybe it’s because he grew up around adult ponies and matured faster from everything he’s been though. Either way, he wasn’t exactly sure what to make of this.

“Hey! Why don’t I show ya some of my buddies! Then you can show me yours and we can all play tag!” Spike panicked. He didn’t know anyone here besides Splinter, Crush and that one Pink dragon that brought him here. But before Spike could do or say anything further Splinter was off, running towards the open area on all fours.

“Splinter!” Cried Spike as he chased after him.

Meanwhile, as Spike dealt with his crash course of dragon culture Twilight paced around the throne room of the crystal palace with a look of distraught on her face. Her breathing was heavy, her wings trembled, as she walked around like a mad mare mumbling to herself. Suddenly, she slammed her hoof against the ground, snorting as she glared at the door.

“That’s it! I’m not waiting anymore!” She cried out as she galloped off towards the doors square in her sight. She used her magic to fling them open only to find Cadence, Sunburst and Shining standing only inches away. They were so close they were nearly smacked by the doors. But they didn’t have much time to linger on that as Twilight came charging towards them like an angry hippo. Sunburst and Shining stepped back, fearing the glaring eyes they’ve never seen from Twilight before but Cadence stood firm. Twilight stopped just before Cadence, staring at her unphasing eyes with her own anger filled ones.

“Twilight, please calm down.” She said in a monotone voice. This only fueled to fill Twilight’s rage more as she slammed her hoof hard against the crystal.

“Calm down?! Spike is out there probably frozen into an ice cube and you want me to CALM DOWN?! No Cadence, I won’t calm down! I’m going out there and I’m going to bring Spike back now!” She attempts to run around Cadence only to be stopped by Cadence’s wing. Utterly frustrated and seemly ready to tackle Cadence, Twilight’s predator eyes glued straight on her.

However, Cadence paid it no mind.

“Twilight, I know you’re worried sick about him but I need just a bit more time to gather a larger team. With more ponies we can look further and faster through the Arctic North. Please, just wait a bit lo-“

“I can’t!” Twilight yelled, but her voice cracked as she shivered. Her mane may have covered her face but everypony could see the tears tricking down Twilight’s face. Her head hung low, small whimpers leaving her mouth as she tried to get her next words through.

“Back even when I was a unicorn, when I felt lonely or afraid Spike was always there to remind me I was never alone. No matter how bad I mess up or how crazy I got Spike would always be there to pull me back. Whenever I have a job to do, as a princess or not, Spike is always there ready to help me with anything I need. He’s never left me from the day he was born, never turned his back on me, always there for me, always had a smile when I need one, always had a shoulder for me to cry on and was always there to listen to my problems.” Twilight’s ears drop as more tears flood down her face. It was hard for her to form words passed her tightening throat but she still talked.
“Spike... he’s my first and closest friend... I will not lose him now! I won’t let Spike freeze alone out in that winter waste land! So say what you will! I am not waiting a minute longer!” her head flung up, staring directly at Cadence with red, puffy eyes. Looking at them, cadence couldn’t reply as what she saw left her speechless.

In her eyes, Twilight begged, in her eyes, she showed unwavering determination and love just screaming at Cadence to let her go. How could anypony say no to that? With a heavy sigh, Cadence wiped away Twilight’s tears with her hoof and looked at her softly.

“You’re right Twilight. Spike is an invaluable friend that needs our help.” She pulls Twilight into a hug, holding the dumbfounded mare close.

“Take Shining armor and Sunburst with you out into the arctic north. Shining’s magic and Sunburst’s spell knowledge should buy you some time to go searching for Spike. I’ll stay here and wait for Princess Celestia and Princess Luna.” Cadence’s words made Twilight go “hu?” in confusion.

“Cadence wrote a letter to the other princesses the moment you two came back to the palace. Luna and Celestia should be on their way now to help us.” Explained Shining armor.

“I wanted all four of us to go together since all our magic should stay the storms longer. But we don’t have time to be ideally standing by as long as Spike is out there. The moment the other Princesses get here we’ll go after you guys to help.” Twilight didn’t know what to say, hear heart was just so overwhelmed with happiness at that moment. But she knew she didn’t have time to drink in the sentiment. So, she just hugged Cadence back.

“Thank you so much.” She whispered before pulling back, smiling at Cadence for a second before trotting off. Shining Armor and Sunburst were right behind her, leaving Cadence alone in the empty throne room.

“Be careful...”

Unknown to them, Spike was completely safe at this moment as he approached the open area. There, he saw Splinter play fighting with other baby dragons he knew. While to them this was all in good fun it seemed a bit to crude for Spike as he just stood near the back of the area. All this was just so hard for him to process, this new information. Dragons who were genuinely kind, dragons who had no wings and lived under ground, who would have thought anything like this was even a possibility? It was just amazing.

As far as his eyes could see dragons just acted civil and happy with the adults having conversations, the children playing and the teenagers just sharing a laugh. To him, it all seemed too good to be true. He didn’t have much time to soak it all in though as Splinter finally spotted him.

“Hey Spike! Over here!” He waved his claw in the air, an inviting smile scribbled across his orange face. While this was all new to Spike it all just felt so familiar, so right, to him and it made odd feelings rise in his little body. Running over to join Splinter and his friends Spike ran on all fours, feeling his heart pumping for joy within him. His body felt free, it made him want to burst out into a song but of course, that would be totally weird. So, instead, he just tackled Splinter playfully, rolling over him and landing on his back with a laugh. Splinter to laughed, with other baby dragons joining in as they approached him.

The moment was cut short however as a loud roar blasted through the curtains. The sound, it was so loud Spike covered his poor ears to shield them from the sound but, to his surprise, the other dragons seemed completely unaffected. The moment the roaring stops Spike notices the dragons begin to line up into neat rows, even the babies, and sit down before the pedestal before them. Spike, confused still, just followed Splinter and copied him. They sat next to each other three rows back.

“What’s going on?” Asked Spike, making Splinter groan.

“Did your mommy dragon not teach you anything? The Empress is coming! Shh!” Splinter attempted to silence him but Spike’s heart fun filled with glee as his eyes widen with excitement. He looked to be a little fan boy as he stared up at the stage.

“We’re going to see Empress Jade?” He asked, whispering but in an exciting way. This completely took Splinter a back as he stared at Spike completely shocked.

“Jade? B-but Jade was...”

He didn’t have time to finish his sentence, however, as the elder dragons above began to roar together. Something was happening and Spike couldn’t wait to see what.
> Ch 6: The Dragon Quarry
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	The wind howled like an injured Timber wolf, tossing the snow and at its mercy around relentlessly in its wake. It was impossible to see anything in the never-ending storm; blinding any pony that dared to face it’s might. Truly, the Artic North was a force of nature none could tame, not even ones of the greatest powers.

“How long will these force fields last?” Asked Twilight, enveloped in a protective bubble channeled by her magic. Before her stood Starburst, nose deep in a book and Shining armor, which keep his eyes peeled for any trouble around them. Each had their own bubble matching the color of their magic.

“It should last at least an hour if we stay within 10 meters of each other, we’ll have to recast them after that.” Explained Starburst, flipping through his book.

“What happens if we get further than 310meters of each other?” Asked Shining, looking at the orange stallion.

“Then the magical link we have will break thus popping the one who passes the mark.” He closes his book, putting it back in his cloak pocket.

“So in other words, stay at an earshot. Gotcha.” Twilight said, looking at both stallions, “Ready?”

Both nod, galloping off in different directions. Twilight did the same, looking around with squinted eyes.

“Spike!”

The ground rumbled, shaking under him as he stared up at the curtain as the adults fell silent. Within Spike’s little body, his heart pounded away like drum. All the Dragons held their heads up high, sitting in a very proper manner as they all stared at the pedestal. Everything was silent, just the ground rumbling with every heavy step from behind that curtain.

“Twilight! Shining!” In the distance, Twilight heard Starburst’s voice over the whistling wind, spotting his blinking horn in the distance. She trots over to him, seeing Shining and him looking down at something.

“What’s wrong?” She asked, looking down at what they stared at. In the snow, poking out, was a flower encased in crystal.

“A Crusted Daisy… these flowers only grow in the castle’s garden. They died off a couple hundred years ago everywhere else.” Explained Starburst as he picked up the flower, dusting off the snow on it.

“The castle gardens? But…. Why is it out here the-” In that instant, Twilight remembered something, something that wrote shock across her face.

“The cloaked figure! It was in the Gardens!” Shining tilted his head, thinking about Twilight said.

“Yeah, you’re right. They got away from Cadence and you in there right? Then they’ve been through here.” Added Shining, looking at both of them, “Quick, fan out and look for any other clues.”

Twilight and Starburst did just that, running off in different directions. The snow was thicker here, sucking down Twilight’s bubble as she tried to gallop through it. The thought of being so close, it drove her further on.

“Spike! Spike!”

However, in her frantic search for him she failed to see the snow covered cliffs just ahead of her. The moment her hoof stepped over the edge she felt herself roll off the edge with a loud cry. She attempted to fly and regain her balance but on the fall she hit her head on a chuck of black crystal and was knocked out. The bubble took most of the force but it popped as a result. She kept plummeting down, vanishing into the raging snow.

Suddenly, the curtains few open and behind them was not a beautiful, elegant green dragon that Spike expected but rather a large, bulky red dragon that was terrifying in appearance. They wore no crown, only a thick, golden necklace and gantlets, both decorated in lovely, rare gemstones. The expression upon Spike’s face turned from excitement to terror and shock as his eyes gazed upon this massive beast before him.

“T-that doesn’t look like…”Splinter glared at him, giving him a look of confusion and anger.

“I don’t know what kind of game you’re playing but it isn’t fun anymore. You’re disrespecting Emperor Sard.” He said, yelling but whispering at the same time to keep from being audible.

“B-but I thought Empress Jade was the one in charge.” Spike did the same, genuine confusion upon his face as Emperor Sard stood at the very edge of the pedestal with his head held high up in the air.

“Empress Jade isn’t out leader anymore! She hasn’t been in a long time”

Twilight groaned, her eyes opening as she regained consciousness. Around her, she felt warmth hugging her body delicately.

“It feels… nice.” It took her mind a moment to realize what she was doing but the moment she recalled she instantly snapped back into reality. Her wings flapped wildly as she yelled out.

“Spike!” Now fully aware she realized she was in a large hot spring at the base of the cliff she fell from. In fact, while she could still see the snow falling above her, none of it seemed to even come close to the ground that was bare, brown and black stone. Looking around she notices black crystals unnaturally sticking out all over the area, pulsing venously around the area. She swam over to the edge of the pool, pulling herself out and shaking off the water. It wasn’t at all cold down here; in fact it had weather similar to an average Ponyville spring day.

“Where… am I?” Asked Twilight, looking around as she walked cautiously. She walked up a slight slope, gasping at what she saw when she reached the top.

Stone houses, old and ruined with black crystals having destroyed most and leaving large holes in others all over. Everything was destroyed, torn to shreds and left abandoned. To Twilight, it was devastating as no place like this could ever be found in Equestria. This area had a powerful feeling of dread and sadness; gripping it in a suffocating way. 

“Oh my gosh… what is all this?”

Walking down the roads Twilight could see within these buildings paintings, vases and other things dotted the inside of them with one even having plates and empty glasses set out as if whoever lived there was getting ready to eat, left untouched. Distracted by everything she saw Twilight was startled as she stepped on a small, stuffed dragon doll laid out in the road. It was missing an eye and any color it once had was gone.

She carefully picks it up with her magic, to look at it only to have one of the arms fall off and rock hard stuffing pour out. Gently, she held it, looking at the flat doll for a second before placing it on a windowsill. Inside the house Twilight saw a black crystal popped through a table with pieces of glass and plate shards all over the ground. The looked so familiar to her and it clearly made her feel unsettled.

So she dismissed it, trotting off down the streets. Finally, she finds what appears to be a sign and something was carved on it but it was hard to make out.

“Dr_g_n Q__r_y.” It read. Twilight, allowing her curiosity to take her, uses a spell she knew to restore the sign to its original state. The moment she noticed what the sign said she gasped as what was written upon it proved what the old pony from the castle said.

“The Dragon Quarry.” 

Instantly, she was off, going to go find Shining Armor and Sunburst. As she flew off she saw a large, almost completely destroyed stone building with black crystals bursting from the back. She made note of it, casting the bubble spell on her own before flying off to find her wayward partners.

> Ch:7 Punchin
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	 “An entire village just sitting a few hundred feet away from the empire, who would have guessed it!” Starburst looked at the structures with a magnified glass, geeking out about this new information at hoof. Shining and Twilight stayed a good distance behind with Shining eyeing the pulsing, black crystals dotting the area.

“Twilight, it doesn’t look like anyone’s been here. In fact, looks like nothing has lived here for years. Why do you think Spike would’ve even passed through here?” he asked, seeing a focused and intense look on his sister’s face.

“I just know he did. Spike just so happens to spot a strange, cloaked out in the snow the same day he finds out this place might exists and then follows that stranger out into the snow? That can’t be a coincidence, Shining! Spike HAS to be somewhere around here, he just HAS to.” He could hear it, the concern in her voice as she scanned the area for any clues.

“B-but Princes, this place is huge.  Where do we start?” Asked Starburst, trotting back to the group. Twilight points off to the distance in the direction of the large building she saw before placed in the center of the Dragon Quarry.

“We should start there. That building looks important; maybe it’ll have some clues.” Shining nods, going on ahead to look for danger only to trip over a small black crystal poking from the ground.

“Ow! Stupid things…. What are those? They’re everywhere!” He stood, dusting himself off as Starburst took a closer look at the crystals with his magnified glass.

“They look to be magically erected, not at all natural.” He said, touching the crystal with his hoof. “I think they might be made of dark magic.”

“If they are then that’s more reason to find Spike as soon as we can!” Twilight said, looking at they crystals with a concerned look, “Those look so familiar… I don’t like it.”

Unknown to them Spike was nearby, right under their hooves, staring at a giant red, fierce dragon by the name of Sard. He could only stare at him with eyes of shock as the beast approached the teenaged dragons; they bowing to their majesty. He looked down at them and then spoke in a voice so powerful it made the crystal they sat in vibrate.

“My beloved subjects, how it brings me joy to see all here to witness these tyke’s journey from fledgling-hood to Dragonhood. May we all rejoice in their growth and progress!” the other dragons roared, showing they too were happy to be a part of this tradition. Emperor Sard’s noise flared, smelling something he seemed not to like as he looked around the area.

“J-join me now, bow to me my fledglings and accept the bright future that awaits you as I burn away the obstacles in your way. Remember, my fledglings, today may mark your passage into adulthood but never forget the prized times of your youth for they will be your fangs against the troublesome foe of life! Bow to me now, young ones!” The teenagers bow down, lowering their heads in respect. Suddenly, Sard released a powerful fire blast that engulfed all of them in flames. Spike stared, the heat making him sweat as if felt like the sun was in front of him. Splinter watched, seemly very excited but Spike only watched in fear.

The teenagers glowed, raising their heads up to their leader as some of their forms began to change. Some became slightly lengthier and others bulkier, their bodies developing slightly. Once the flames stop the looked up proudly at their king, new small changes made to them. Spike was still afraid but he noticed a look of pride in Sard’s face, gazing down at the dragons before him.

“Congratulations my subjects you may now take your place among the adults whom raised you! Roar for me, my subjects, show me the strength of your hearts!” The teenaged dragons roared, having much more strength to it than before. As they stop Sard nods, smiling at them. This seemed to install happiness in the teenagers, as they look at each other wit bright eyes.

“Now, bring to me the Whelps. It is their time to take your places as Fledglings. My fellow dragons, join your elders!” With that the baby dragons stood around Spike, prompting him to scramble up to his feet. Splinter glared at Spike, growling as the teenagers run back to the adults to sit with them.

“Spike, seriously. It’s not funny. Fa-… Emperor Sard doesn’t like it when you mess around during ceremonies!” He whispered yelled as he starts to walk towards the stage. Spike mumbled a quite ‘sorry’ and followed. Again, Sard’s nose flared as the smell assaulted his nose again. It made him growl a bit as he looked down at the baby dragons approaching him.

“Cease, my children! Stay where you are!” All the baby dragons stop in their tracks, looking at each other confused. The adults whispered, concerned, as Sard lowered his head down to the babies. Spike shivered, staring up at him as his eyes scanned the children.

Suddenly, his eyes locked on Spike, his growling growing louder.

“You! You are not one of my children! How dare you intrude on this ceremony!” Instantly, Splinter stood in front of Spike to protect him but also shivering.

“F-father please! Spike meant no disrespect! He was just playing around!” Sard growled more, moving closer to the two. His head was so large Spike could fit in Sard’s Nostril and still have stretch room. He was petrified with fear, staring up at the enraged dragon.

“Hey gramps, give him a break. Poor kid looks like he’s about to pee himself.” Everyone looked back at the stage, the pink dragon from before. She had a decorative robe on, her tail swaying side to side as she walks to the edge of the pedestal jumps down from it.

“Punchin! What did I tell you about referring to me as ‘gramps’ during a ceremony!” She just waved his angry comment off, going towards Spike. Splinter looked up at her, bowing a bit.

“It’s cool Splint, I got this.” She stood in front of Spike, standing between him and Sard. 

“What is the meaning of this?! Who is that and why does he have the horrible stench of ponies!?” Punchin pats Sard’s nose, trying to calm him down.

“Just chill, gramps. Finish your little ceremony and I’ll explain everything okay later? I have my reasons so I’d prefer it if you didn’t crush him into a bloody pancake.” Sard growled a bit more, glaring at Spike before lifting his head up.

“Fine. You’d better have a very good reason for him Punchin. Take him back to my chambers and get him a bath. His stench insults me.” Punchin nods, seemly pleased with what he said.

“Aye aye Gramps.” She looks down at Spike, seeing him still shaking in his scales. “Come on pony pet.” 

She walks off, heading back towards the pedestal. Spike lingered for a second, looking up as Sard who still looked like he was about to maul him, before running off after Punchin.

“W-wait for me!”

As they dip behind the curtains Spike looks back at the crowd, seeing every dragon staring at him with a look of fear and uncertainty. It made him feel a pit of guilt inside as he dipped behind the curtain after Punchin. He followed her through the emerald hallways, looking down at the smooth, stone floors in deep thought. Punchin looked back at him, sighing as she opened a small door that was attached to a much larger door.

“What’s wrong kid?” She asked as she walked in with Spike behind her.

“Well.. for starters I thought… he was going to eat me.” Hearing that made her burst out into laughter as she tossed her robe aside.

“Eat you? Please, you’re so small it wouldn’t even be worth his time. No, he’s harmless. The guy may look like the most terrifying beast this side of the continent but he’s just a big cinnamon bun.” She smacks her tail against the wall, making a waterfall open up and pour into a large, pond sized bath.

“But you’d better jump in and scrub those scales. Gramps hates the smell of ponies.” She said, tossing in some soap into the water to make it bubbly. Spike did as he was told, lowering into the bath.

“He’s not actually your grandpa is he?” He asks as he scrapes his scales with a rough stone that was on the side of tub.

“Na, I just call him that.” She took a bite of a ruby that laid in a bowl nearby, sitting on a pedestal. As she did there was a loud ‘thud’ coming from the hallway.

“Speaking of which, looks like he cut the ceremony early. Better scrub fast kid.”

With that Spike scrubbed harder and faster, making more and more bubbles flow into the bath as he bathed for his little life.

-----------------------------------
Hey, sorry for the late update, life and junk. To make it up to you tomorrow I will post two more chapters~ yay

> Ch:8 Dragon Tears
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Oh my celestia!” Twilight’s voice bounced off the tattered walls of the largest building in town. Following it was only dead silence as Sun Burst and Shining Armor just stood and stared in utter shock. The three were speechless, their voices captured by the silence gripping the air with only the sounds of falling stones from the walls falling to the ground and water droplets dripping from the ceiling.

After what seemed to be an eternity someone finally shattered the silence with a simple question about the thing that stood before them.

“I-is that…” stuttered Shining as Twilight approached what left them in awe. 

“I think it is… the dragon in the statue! It’s Empress Jade!” Said Twilight, her eyes widened in amazement. Before them stood a large, green elegant dragon bowing down to them, standing in the center of the room, and encased in dark black crystal, seemly trapped in time within the crystal. Seeing her now it was clear the gem statue they found could not possibly capture the image of her as she was the picture of beauty and radiance. Even bowing down she had an air of pride to her that demanded respect. As Twilight approached her she noticed a look of despair on her face, tears frozen upon her face.

Seeing her tears broke Twilight’s heart as she brushed her hoof against her cheek. She wanted to wipe away those tears away but this was a sadness Twilight could not remedy for the source of her pain was clear.

Her kingdom in ruins and abandoned, her subjects gone without a trace and venous black crystals replacing them as residents. If what Twilight heard was true it was likely she stood here, frozen in time, alone for centuries having to stare at the empty shell her once glorious kingdom. Just the thought of being so utterly alone with no choice but to live in the ruins of her home, it made Twilight want to cry along with her.

“This is awful.”  She looks out through a hole in the wall, seeing the ruins that Jade was forced to look at every day. Her expression of depression clearly captured the feelings attached to this place. It was just a dark, cold pit of sadness and dread. This was the nightmare of any leader, to have the land and subjects they loved just gone.

Shining approached Twilight, placing his hoof on her shoulder to comfort here. He too felt the grim nature of this place, it was truly suffocating in every sense of the word. Craving a bit of comfort, Twilight snuggled against her brother, a tear falling down her cheek as she tried to collect herself.
“I-I’m okay… come on, we have to find Spike.” She said, smiling sadly. Shining nods, walking off to search the area. Twilight lingered for a second, looking out the city again before following him. The three spilt up, searching the area for any possibly clue.

Meanwhile, bellow them, Spike scraped his scales until they sparkled like a freshly waxed car. Punchin continued to chow down on rubies to her content, seemly not at all concerned that Sard was on his way. As Spike began to work on his tail he noticed something on the side of her body, a nasty, purplish-blue bruise. It was then he remembered back at the castle Cadence had blasted her with a magical beam when she was trying to escape. She even mentioned later on that she had a few bruises from the impact but Spike wasn’t expecting one that looked that bad.

“That’s one nasty bruise…. Does it hurt?” He asked, prompting Punchin to look down on her side. Seeing the bruise instantly made her panic as she looked around. She spots the rode she had before and leaped for it, slipping it on to conceal the nasty bruise. This confused Spike but he didn’t have much time to dwell on it as the ground began to shake with a ‘thud thud thud’ sound coming from the halls.
He was almost here.

Spike resumed his frantic cleansing, scrubbing his tail as the large door slowly open. Sard entered, his eyes instantly glaring down at Spike which made him jump, dropping the stone he used to scrub. His nose flared, sniffing the air as he entered the room. Ever so slightly Spike could see him relax a bit which helped relax him too. Still that intimidating fear still persisted, making him cower before him.

“At least you’ve erased that insufferable stench.” His eyes wandered down to Punchin, his eyebrow raising as he noticed something odd.

“Why do you still wear you Chancellor’s cloak, my child? It’s not like you to honor your garb outside your duties.”

Punchin waved off his comment, scoffing as she leans against the wall with her arms crossed against her chest.

“Hey, you’re the one who always complains about how I just throw the thing aside, gramps. Last thing I would expect is you complain about me actually taking care of this old thing.” She was so calm and collected that Spike was unsure as to whether he should be impressed or afraid that she was such a natural, deceptive, dragon. Sard raised an eye brow, staring at her for a second before turning his attention back to Spike.

“Well we can discus that later. First things first.” He says, reaching his giant hand down to Spike, grabbing him gently in his palm and lifting him up to his face. Spike, who was still afraid, just gave a nervous chuckle.

“Who are you, young one?” Hearing his voice now Spike could hear a certain softness in it. Without the smell of ponies to fuel his rage he was actually a very calm dragon with a father-like tone in his voice. It helped to lessen the fear gripping Spike, allowing him to talk.

“I’m umm…. Spike, your majesty.” He bowed a bit to him, showing his respect only to have Punchin burst out into laughter.

“Ahh you’re killin’ me pony pet.” She says, leaning against Sard’s leg with a light giggle still in her voice. Spike blushed, feeling embarrassed.

“Punchin, please do be friendly. Judging by his way of speaking he clearly is not one of us. He has been through quite a bit, I assume.” Punchin scoffs, looking to the side as Sard continues to speak with Spike. “I must apologize for my earlier behavior; it was not my intention to frighten you so. It is my job as Emperor to protect my children and our history with ponies… well it’s been horrid to say the least.”
Spike gave him a confused look, not understanding at all what he meant.

“Horrid? What do you mean?” He asked, urging Sard to look down at Punchin.

“Punchin, where is this whelp from? All Earth dragons knows of the travesty and crimes committed against us by the ponies. Clearly this young one is completely oblivious to our history which is impossible.” He said, growling a bit until Punchin said something that slapped a look of shock on his face.

“You’re right, all Earth Dragons know of our history... except one. The one that was taken from us.” Sard’s eyes instantly looked at Spike, making him step back nervously. He looked him over with squinted eyes. He stared at him for a long while before speaking again.
“Come child, there is something I must show you…” He placed Spike on his snout, carrying him out into the hall. Punchin follows them, staying close.

As all this happened, back at the Crystal Empire, Celestia and Luna finally made it. They sat together with Cadence in her throne room as she explained the situation at hoof. A grim look was glued onto Celestia’s face, Luna looking at her with concern.

“So, that is why you have called us.” Celestia looks out the window out to the mountains in the distance. “We must hurry. If there are truly Earth Dragons still alive out in the artic north we must hurry and clear up this mess before we find ourselves in conflict…”

> Ch:9 Mother
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	“Hey, wake up! We can’t keep mother waiting!”

It happened 1,000 years ago, before our neighbors, the crystal empire, vanished. The events may have occurred a very long time ago but I can never forget that day. It started like any other with my best friend Sparks waking me up for our guard duty. I was only Punchin’s age and size at the time, still a young one myself.

“Ugh do I have to. Yawwwwwwn... I stayed up with sentry duty last night.” I said, feeling nearly like a zombie under my bedsheets.

“Oh? That is not the behavior befitting of one of my guards.”   The moment her voice graced my ears I instantly awakened. Mother Jade, or Empress Jade as you know her, was also here with her standing right next to Sparks. You see, our beloved mother was always the playful kind with her always messing with her guards. That day was no different as I finally leaped from my bed at attention.

“M-m-mother! Forgive me, I did not mean any disrespect... I...” She shushed me, petting me gently with her soft claws to calm me. The look in her beautiful eyes always worked to quail all who looked at her. She was Jade and her eyes were emeralds with all the grace of both gems.

“Shh shh, no need to apologize. If anything I should apologize. I wish not to disturb you but... Admiral Grant has yet to return from his meeting with Princess Amore and I need a dragon to stand next to me. I hope that is no trouble to you.” Of course, I instantly said I would. There was no greater honor than to stand beside Mother as only the guards of high valor were allowed to do so. If only we had known at the time that at that same moment Admiral Grant was no longer among the living, encased in black crystal and shattered to pieces.

You see, Princess Amore had requested a meeting with Mother Jade but Mother had something that demanded her attention so Admiral Grant had gone in her place. When he arrived he had discovered that Princess Amore was no more for this was the start of King Sombra’s rule. He had overthrown and disposed of the princess, taking her place to call Mother. But when Grant had arrived instead Sombra instantly destroyed him as he attended to do with Jade. His plan having failed he instead decided to take some of his enslaved subjects through the snow to meet us head on.

Why did Mother sent Grant in her place? Well, it is because Mother had given birth to three beautiful dragon eggs on the same day. She was too tired to make the trip herself and she wish not to leave her beloved young ones so soon. Even the day I was told to stay by her side she still smothered her eggs with affection. She kept them in a basket next to her throne and sang to them a song in her sweet voice, it enchanted all who heard it.
“My little gemstone, my precious gemstone. You make me happy when we’re alone. No matter how gray the blinding snow fall, my arms you’ll always be warm.”

It brought a smile to our faces, hearing such joy in her heart and seeing such softness on her features, it made our hearts to fill with joy. If I had known it would be the last time I would see her smile I would have savored it more than I had because later that evening, as Mother held one of her eggs lovingly in her arms, a purple egg that had darker purple spots all over it, Sombra approached.

We heard the doors open, crystal ponies with odd armor entering the room in line. Of course, at the time we did not know these crystal ponies were under some sort of hypnosis nor were we at all concerned. We and the ponies had a powerful friendship, respecting each other as peers. 

From behind them King Sombra appeared, a menacing smile upon his face. It was then we felt something was wrong as we drew our weapons to him. Jade’s smile turned into a serious frown as she stared down at the dark, shadowy pony before her. He had this horrible air to him, a definite evil, but Mother didn’t wish to judge him just upon appearance so she attempted to be nice.

“Hello there, friend. What brings you to my Quarry at such a late hour?” She asked, carefully watching the pony’s every move as he chuckled in response.

“Empress Jade, you’re as radiant as a crystal. What an honor it is to finally meet you.” He bows, keeping that smug look that made all of us feel tense, “I must ask why you did not come to the empire as requested. It is very rude to dismiss a fellow ruler in such a manner.” 

At that moment Jade’s look turned from caution to slight rage as a low growl came from her.

“That is no concern of yours. If Princess Amore was insulted by me not going than she may come herself and ask me the reason. I will confide to no one but the pony rulers.” Again he chuckled, mocking her words as he replied.

“But I am a ruler my dear. Princess Amore had... stepped down... I am King Sombra, the new king of the crystal empire!”

“Liar! If there were a change in power Amore would have told me for certain! Where is Princess Amore! What have you done to her!?” At that moment, black crystal shards were teleported from the ceiling, falling before Mother. They pulsed venomously with dark magic but that was not what bothered her, no, it was what laid inside. Within the pieces, dragon scales would be found.

“Princess Amore? She shared the fate of the dragon before you now.”

“You... you monstrous fiend! Guards! Attack!” We did as she commanded, lunging for Sombra with our teeth bared and our claws ready to strike. But Sombra was a creature unlike any other we’ve faced before. He used his magic to erect black crystal from the ground, sending many flying who weren’t pierced by the crystals. I to was flung back, landing on all fours and standing before him and Mother.

I stared into his dark, dead, merciless eyes. It made me feel a dread I had never felt before, however, I could not let that dread intimidate me. I let out my strongest fire breath, melting the crystals. Sadly, I made a fatal blunder that, without luck, would have ended me. The hypnotized ponies he had brought attacked me, throwing a stone against my head that stunned me. Sombra took advantage of my moment of weakness, using his crystal to send me flying through the wall. Thankfully my shield had absorbed the impact, keeping his crystals from piercing me.

All I can recall before blacking out was hearing Mother’s horrified gasp filling my ears.

It would only be until I awoke that I realized what happened. My head throbbed, my body hurt as I found myself on the floor, surrounded by broken walls pieces. Once I remembered what was going on I sprinted from the room into the throne room, only to find a horrifying sight.

My fellow guards motionless upon the ground, black crystals consuming the entire room which was destroyed and finding our beloved mother, her head bowing down, a look of agonizing sadness upon her face all trapped in time within black crystal that encased her. I couldn’t think, I couldn’t breathe, the shock overwhelmed me to my very soul and the shame of being unable to defend her consumed my very being. To this day, I would have rather died protecting her highness, protecting mother, than living to remember that wretched day. 

But it simply got worse as I looked around. Before her laid a sight no mother should ever have to see that even breaks my heart just to think about it. Before her, yolks splattered on the floor with egg shells everywhere. I could only assume that during the fight Sombra had smashed her children before her. Something only a tyrant without a soul at all could do he did, leaving the remains there for her to look at. I failed as a guard; I failed her; I failed her children and for years I had to live with the guilt. Including the guilt yet to come.

I looked through a hole in the wall, finding the quarry in ruins, falling apart, with many of its dragons slain. It was truly a traumatizing sight, etched into my mind for the remainder of my days. As I stared at the devastation I prepared to leave to the one place I knew any surviving dragons would have gone, the secret stronghold we had under the quarry only to pause.

There, standing at the very top of an icy hill, on the boarder of the Artic north I saw her.

Princess Celestia

My teeth were out, my growling emanating from my throat as I stared up at her with hate. How dare these ponies betray us! Why would they do this! In her arms she held something, the last remaining hint of our mother. The purple egg with dark purple spots mother held, she held it close to herself as if it were some sort of treasure. 

I wanted to confront her, I wanted to get the egg back. But my legs refused to move, my body froze in place. If Sombra could do this much damage on his own then what could an alicorn do? The thought petrified me, refusing to allow my body to act as I just stood there and stared. Soon, Celestia flew off into the snow, vanishing, and only then could I move only to find it was too late.

Our mother was no more, our kingdom in ruins and our last link to our leader stolen from us. If you wonder whether or not I blame Celestia for taking mother’s egg the answer would be yes but her crime goes beyond that.

A few days later, once we managed to collect all who survived I left in the dead of night to go to the Crystal Empire. I wanted to make up for my shame by bringing mother’s egg back, by confronting King Sombra and removing him from this world.

But when I arrived the kingdom was gone, no more. It was later we discovered from our winged brothers that the Empire was placed under a curse and had vanished from existence and we also discovered that the royal sisters had done their best to hide what had happened. They erased the empire from history, the erased us from history, all so they could preserve face. As time went on ponies forgot we ever existed at all, leaving us trapped without way of asking for help. Resentful, hurt and angry, from that day forth we swore never to show ourselves before ponies again, to never allow them to find us, so that we may never relive that pain again.

The pain of losing all we had, having knives in our backs from those we once considered close friends.

> Ch10: Acceptance
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	“The few of us who remained after the tragedy began to rebuild down here underground, most of us never leaving these caverns except for a select few. I, being one of the few of Mother’s guards to survive, was appointed as one of the leaders to restore our kind. Later that lead to me becoming Emperor, a father to my dragons and as father it is my job to protect them from all harm.”

Sard stood in a large room dotted with candles, baskets full of eggs and precious gems. In the very back was a picture of Jade, looking as regal as she always did in every image. Spike listened to Sard’s story, sitting on his snout and looking at the dragoness with a sad expression. He was confused, staring at her in a thinking manner.

“So when Punchin’ said ‘except for one’ she was talking about the egg Celestia took.” Spike looked down, knowing very well what the two implied. Sard lowered his head, allowing spike to slide down as he stared at the young dragon.

“Yes. For all this time we assumed that Celestia had kept the egg as a prize, after all dragon eggs cannot hatch without a powerful magical burst such as that found in our flames. However, seeing you here now, covered in pony stench it’s hard to deny.” Gently, Sard slid his claw under Spike’s chin as he spoke, lifting his head to get a good look at the young dragon. His expression was soft, accepting and delicate as he did finally speaking again after a sigh.

“Yes, you have her eyes. There is no denying it, you are Mother’s kidnapped son.”

The moment those words left Sard’s mouth Spike back off, looking up at him with clearly conflicted eyes. Punchin watched the two, looking to the side as Spike stuttered out.

“N-no! I can’t be! Celestia would never... I mean I’m just Spike. I know who I am, I’m not some dragon Emperor’s son!” However, Punchin quickly interrupted him.

“Celestia would never what? Lie to you? She has never told you about your proud heritage has she? That is the reason you followed me here, because you wanted to know about a past those PONIES never told you about. Why do you think in all the time you’ve been their little ‘pet’ they haven’t told you about the quarry.” She looked down as him, growling as Spike tried to defend himself.

“I am NOT their pet and they DIDN’T lie to me!”

“Oh really? Then why did you follow me then if you’re so confident in them hu? Why do you think that hideous pink pigeon princess didn’t want you to come out here? Why do you think you’ve never seen an earth dragon outside here? Look around you Spike. All this, everything here is real, everything gramps said is real! You can’t deny that they, even if just a bit, lied to you about all of this.” Spike began to tear up, placing his hands on his head as he stepped back more.

In his head, everything he thought of Celestia, Cadence, Luna, even Twilight began to warp a bit. Before him was proof that everything Punchin and Sard said was true and if it were true it meant to everything Spike thought of Celestia was wrong. His life was a lie, and that shook him to his very core.

“I-I...” His eyes glued shut, his body shivering uncontrollably. Punchin, however, was dead set on making him see the truth. So, she approached him, grabbing his arm in an attempt to lead him away.

“What? You need more proof?! Fine!” She tried to pull him out of the room, only to have Sard’s tail block her path. He glared down at her, making her back up a bit.

“What’s the deal Gramps!”

“Punchin, relax young one. The poor lad has been through enough for one day. All of this must be very shocking to him. Allow him time to rest for a while.” Punchin glared back up at Sard but she knew she couldn’t argue with him. So, she released Spike, allowing him to just stand there staring at the ground blankly, lost in thought. 

“Take as much time as you need Young Spike. I understand this is not something that is easy to accept. Once you have come to terms with the truth I shall be in the infirmary with Punchin.” Punchin looks up, seemly shocked.

“I-imfirmary! Why!?” He lowered his head, biting her robe and removing it, revealing the nasty bruise from before. While Spike was still zoned out he could hear everything Sard said to her.

“Did you think you could conceal it? I may be elderly but I am not blind, child. Cleary this is the work of those pony brutes.” He picks her up in the palm of his hand, turning to leave only to stop to add something else.

“It is the duty of a leader to ensure the wellbeing of his people and it is the duty of a father to take care of his children...”

With that he leaves spike alone to think, standing in the center of the room as the doors close. 

Meanwhile, above ground Twilight was in tears, her forehead pressed against the forehead of Jade as both Shining and Sunburst look to the ground. They too had teary eyes, fighting back the urge to join Twilight as the Remembrance laid on the ground before them.

“I’m so sorry... I’m so sorry Jade.” Said Twilight over and over again, brushing her hoof against Jade’s cold, cheek. Her tears fell on her snout, tricking down as her whimpers echoed through the area.

“Sombra really was a heartless monster. To do something so horrible and cruel... only a beast without a soul could do that.” Muttered Shining, his voice cracked from the urge to cry. There was rage along with it along with disgust as what he saw made him want to vomit. Twilight continued to sniffle, opening her eyes to look at Jade. She had no idea the pain this poor dragon had witnessed, there was no way twilight could ever image what it was like to lose one’s children to a monster.

Slowly, her sad face turned determined as she grits her teeth and closes her eyes, whispering to her. “I promise, I’ll bring him back to you... I promise.”

Twilight looked back at the other two, wiping her tears away as she waited for them. They nod, knowing exactly what her determined look told them. Twilight and Shining Armor run, going off towards something they saw in the crystal. Sunburst took an odd, clear crystal, placing it in his saddle bag before following suit.

However, just as the exited the building Shining stopped, looking up at the sky to see something heading straight for them.

“Twilight!” Hearing her name she stopped, looking up at what he was looking at only to see the three princesses fly towards her. Her face was still in a frown, staring up at Celestia, Luna and Cadence as they hover down towards them.

At the same time Spike sat before the painting, hugging his knees as he sat deep in thought. Everything was confusing to him yet it made perfect sense but still, something plagued him. A simple questioned that both he and Twilight muttered out at the same time....

“Why?”

> Ch 11: Lingering secrets
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	“Gramps?”

The sound of water droplets echoed in the silence, dripping from the roof of the moss covered infirmary into a large bowl. Punchin sat on a bed of moss, allowing a purple dragon with black frills treat her wounds, placing a salve on it to soothe it. Sard laid next to a window, looking outside to watch a group of young dragons play. Hearing her voice, he simply lowering his head down slight and replied to Punchin.

“What is it, Punchin?” He asked, keeping his gaze away from her and to his kingdom. 

“What’s wrong?” Hearing her reply made him sigh, closing his eyes as he laid his head down on his arm.

“I am just thinking.” He was clearly avoiding the question but he should know better; there was no way to hide from Punchin. As the purple, nurse dragon finished her work, placing a bandage on Punchin’s side, Punchin thanked her and jumped from her seat. She made her way over to Sard, placing her hand on his arm which prompted him to open an eye to look at her. Her expression was oddly soft, delicate, a face she rarely wore. Seeing it seemed to resonate something inside Sard as he snorts a bit and decides to finally speak up.

“It has been a very long time. In all honesty I had lost all hope of ever seeing any trace of Mother ever again. However, seeing young Spike now. It’s very shocking to me to say the least.” He looked out forward, his eyes slightly squinted as he spoke. “His eyes, they are her eyes. The same eyes of a loving dragon who would play pranks on her guards when she was bored; who would tell stories to the whelpings to help them drift to sleep; who would always scoff down the green gems first because she loved them.”

He spoke in a soft tone, smiling as he did as he reminisced on all the times he spent with his beloved leader. It held such joy in his heart, the memories he treasured so. But as he thought his soft smile turned into a frown. A growl emanated from his throat, rumbling softly as he continued.

“But Spike is not Mother. Unlike her, who had the well-being of her kingdom, her children, in mind and in heart, Spike’s interests I fear may be elsewhere.”

Punchin tilted her head, petting his cheek slightly to calm him only to notice his eyes grow watery.

“No bath can wash away the smell of ponies. He may be dragon in body but he is pony by heart, that is clear by his reaction to Celestia’s actions. I fear he may desire to return to them either because he cares for them or for answers. I cannot allow that.” Punchin’s eyes squinted as she listened to him.

“Why?” She asked, giving him a serious look. He took a moment to respond, gritting his teeth and shivering as his eyes glued tightly shut. Memories of Sombra’s horrifying face, his action, the memory of seeing his home in ruins and many of his fellow dragons hurt or even dead flashed in his mind with the final memory being of Celestia, towering over him on the side of the ice cliff, her face blurred out, with Spike’s egg in her hooves.

“Because if he leaves there is a chance he will tell the ponies of us, where we are. They could come here, harm us again. Destroy our home like Sombra did before.” The more he spoke the more he shook, his eyes opening to reveal his pupils dilated in fear. “All that destruction, the way they hurt us, they took Mother away from us.”

“Sombra took Mother away from us.” Sard lifted his head, staring down at Punchin with a look of disgust and confusion. Punchin continued to speak, rubbing Sard’s arm.

“Gramps, whenever you tell the story you always say it was Sombra who did those horrible, soulless crimes. I don’t blame you for hating the ponies so much after one of them would do those things to us and I agree that Celestia’s a snake for altering history. But it’s been over a thousand years.”

Punchin looks up at Sard as she speaks, seeing his expression of disgust only grow more as she spoke.

“Look, I’m not defending them, not at all Gramps but I’ve been in the castle. Ever since I have become your right hand dragon you’ve been sending me on recon and well they don’t seem all that dangerous. I just don’t understand why you keep sending me there if the point is for us to stay hidden.” It’s then his expression turns from disgust to concerned. He glances to the side, a growl coming from him again as he hesitated to answer.

“Because I want to know something.” With that he calmed down, looking out the window again at the playing dragons as he spoke. “Canterlot is so far away that, without the Crystal Empire it would be impossible to reach them through the snow and considering that the Empire was under Sombra’s control at the time how did Celestia make it to the quarry?”

This surprised Punchin as she had never even thought of that. His words confused her.

“What do you mean?” She asked.

“It would take a day at least for somepony to reach the Quarry back then but yet, the yolks of mother’s eggs were still wet. In the temperature of the quarry they should have been dried out in an hour or two so that meant Celestia and Luna were already on their way or…..” He paused, an angry look filling his features.

“Or?” Asked Punchin, trying to get him to talk.

“They were already nearby. If that were the case, then why did they not come sooner? Is it possible they too had a hoof in Sombra’s actions? If so it would make sense, why they erased us and the empire from history. Or at least it did. Now the empire has returned but according to you Sombra was destroyed and the empire loves Celestia and Luna.”

“Then letting Spike go back and ask them himself makes perfect sense in this situation. If anyone could get answers, it’s him.” Said Punchin, replying to Sard only to have him yell at her.

“No! I cannot allow that! What if they did work together with Sombra. If they found out that we’re still alive who knows what would happen! I cannot and will not put my children in such danger!” He growled at her which simple aided to angering her.

“Then what will you do if he does decide to leave. Spike is Jade’s son and even if he wasn’t you know as well as I that you wouldn’t do a THING to harm him. You’re not that kind of dragon!” Sard slammed his tail, standing up and glaring down at Punchin. Her words clearly enraged him as he snared out his next words.

“I am the Emperor and protector of the Stronghold! I will ensure the safety of my dragons no matter what I must do. You will go and convince young Spike to stay here. If you fail, then I will not hesitate to do what is necessary to defend this place!” With that he leaves the infirmary, sliding his tail right and left as his feet slam against the ground heavily. Punchin stood there, watching him leave with her hands balled up in fists. Her teeth grit as she looks to the ground and mumbles to herself before leaving herself.
As this happened Spike finally left the Egg Chamber where Sard and Punchin had left him. He kept his head down as he walked down the long, cold halls of the giant green gemstone castle. His mind was still heavy with thoughts. As he walked down the hall he saw Sard exiting a room and walk down the hall a bit further down. After a few seconds Punchin followed suit, noticing Spike. She tried to perk up, going up to Spike to pet him.

“Hey there po-…. Spike. How you feeling?” She asked, trying to get him to perk up a bit. But he insisted in keeping his head down.

“You wanted to show me something…. Right?” He asked, his voice shaky and sounding like he was about to burst into tears at any moment. Hearing it made her look to the side, seemly more hesitant now to do so. So instead she thought of a way around it.

“Actually… I have a few things to do first as Gramp’s right hand dragon.” That’s when an idea came to mind. “Hey, why don’tcha tag along? Then I can show ya what it means to be a real dragon.”

She didn’t really give him time to reply as she scoped him up, jumping out a nearby window. Sard watched them as they left over his shoulder, a sad and confused expression on his face as he continued to walk.

> Ch 12: Breaking Clouds
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Spike swung side to side, his chin resting in the palm of his claws, as Punchin carried him down the road. He had given up fighting, just swinging there and letting the older dragon carry him around with an annoyed look. Walking through town he noticed the other dragons act warry of him, giving him cautious stares as he passed them. Then again who could blame them? Considering Sard’s reaction to him it seemed the entire village was on guard with it came to him.

Well almost the entire village at least.

“Spike!” A familiar voice rung in Spike’s ears, making him peer towards it only to find Splinter dashing towards him at high speed. Instantly, the tiny, orange, dragon jumped at Spike, pulling him from Punchin’s grasp and rolling onto a bed of moss with a happy giggle. This startled Punchin, making her give him a stink eye.

“Splinter!? Don’t do that!” Splinter just ignored her screeching, clinging onto Spike in delighted laughter. Little tears gathered in his eyes as he laughed, his laugh being that of relief. Spike, seeing him on the verge of sobbing, offered comfort to the little guy, petting him with an uncomfortable look on his face.

“H-hey Splint, What’s wrong? Common man, don’t cry…” Crush soon caught up, standing next to Punchin. She let out a sigh of relief, looking down at the two children.

“Splinter, honey, please don’t pounce of dragons like that. You can accidentally hurt them, sweetie.” She said, lowering her head down to the pair. Sniffling, Splinter let Spike go and wipes his eyes. He had a hard time speaking over his hicks and tears so Crush chimed in further.

“There, there sweetie, it’s alright.” She brushes her head against him, comforting her child as she continued to speak. “Forgive him Spike, we were worried sick about you since you left with Father. It’s such a relief to see you’re okay.” Splinter simply nodded, his eyes slightly red from crying and, while it was often very hard to see what Crush’s emotions were, it was clear by the tone of her voice she was happy to see him in one piece. 

Knowing that these two worried about him so much brought a smile to Spike’s face, making him scratch the back of his head.

“W-well I’m sorry about worrying you. I’m okay, really.” He stood, walking over to Splinter to pat his back. This seemed to cheer the little dragon up, making him hug Spike again.

“Why did Father act like that? Did you do something to make him mad?” He asked, curious, only to have Punchin interpret.

“It’s a bit of a long story, Splint. I’ll give ya the low down later.” It’s then an idea comes to mind. “Hey, ya know what? Why don’t cha spend some time with Crush and Splint Spike? I gotta go check in with something and be back in like an hour or two.” She didn’t give him much of a chance to respond as she just pats his head and runs off. Spike barely manages to get of a “Hey!” before watching her vanish among the moss covered buildings. 

“Is she always like that?” He asks, letting out a heavy sigh. Crush lifts her head, watching her storm off with a light growl.

“Punchin has always been quite... energetic… She doesn’t like taking no for an answer. But she means well, the young tyke. Anyways, it seems she’s left you with us. We were just about to head home for dinner, would you like to join us?” That offer seemed to make Splinter light up, staring at Spike with a begging look that Spike couldn’t possibly refuse. So, he smiled, nodding happily.

“Yeah!”

Meanwhile, back on the surface, Twilight and the rest of her group sit in one of the quarry houses that somehow remained mostly intact with the exception of a sizable hole in the roof. Most of them laid on the ground as the beds and other furniture were completely dust ridden and unstable. Night was fast approaching and, considering the day they had, it wasn’t a bad idea to get some rest before pressing on.

Twilight simply laid her head on her legs, staring at the wall with her ears lowered and a look of worry on her face. The others remained silent, sitting in a circle. Celestia and Luna wore a face of guilt and sadness, both looking down at the ground in shame.

“Princess Celestia, why didn’t you ever tell Spike about this? I understand why you had to take him but… something like this. Why would you hide this?” Asked Twilight, avoiding looking in Celestia’s direction. The question made her sigh, looking to the side as she spoke.

“I had intended to tell him someday. Preferably when he was older and could understand everything better. The actions of Sombra and our failure to save this place, to this day, remains to be one of mine and Luna’s biggest regrets. We didn’t want to let Spike know of how horribly we failed them, his dragons, Jade, our friends. Yes, it was selfish of us to keep that from him that I couldn’t bring myself to tell him for the guilt was too much to bare.” She bit her bottom lip, her eyes gluing shut as she tried to contain herself.

“Maybe if we had told him we wouldn’t be in this mess now. What must the dragons think of us now? Maybe if I had just…” In that moment Luna interrupted her, putting her hoof on her shoulder to quail her sister.

“It is not your fault, sister. It is I who is to blame.” This perked Twilght’s curiosity, her head lifting to look at Luna.

“What do you mean?” She asked, looking at Luna as she finally took her turn.

“After the events of the Empire and the Quarry some things went wrong. Without them we had to find ways to adjust without them which already provided distraction on top of… me turning into Nightmare Moon.” Silence gripped the room, leaving the wind to fill it for a long while before Luna began to speak again.

“With me gone, Celestia had to maintain Equestia on her own. She struggled so, trying to keep our kingdom from collapsing. As a result, she couldn’t come back here, she was simply too busy.”

“It is not your fault sister; we are both to blame. We have a chance now to hopefully remedy our mistakes, assuming the dragons are willing to heed us after all these years.” Celestia interjected, ensuring Luna did not completely blame herself. The group just remained silent, deep in thought after that.

Twilight, trying to process all this, looked up through the hole in the roof and noticed something rarely seen in the Arctic North.

“Oh wow.” She said, prompting the rest of them to look up. The clouds above the quarry had broken, revealing the beautiful, star lite sky sparkling in all its glory being hugged by a ray of color. An Aurora had formed, allowing strokes of green, yellow, red and blue stretch across the sky like a painting. Everypony just stared up in awe, admiring the view before them. Somehow, this brought a sense of hope to the group. A small smile spread across Twilight’s face and, while her face still had a worried look to it, seemed to be more assured. Cadence, who has been watching Twilight this entire time, smiled to see her sister-in-law finally relax a bit. 

“It’s late, we should get some rest. Tomorrow, we find Spike.” Said the pink Alicorn, the others nod in agreement. Soon all of them were comfortable and calm, sleep finding them in the night.

Back in the Quarry, Spike sat in Crush’s and Splinter’s cave house, shoving down a bunch of gemstones down his throat. Considering all the things that happened today, he didn’t have much of a chance to eat anything, so having a nice meal seem to do him some good. Splinter was already asleep, sucking on a large, yellow, gem as he laid on a stone carved into a couch.

Crush picked him up, placing him gently in a small nest rested on an outcropping with a blanket and a pillow. After tucking him in and rubbing her head gently against him she finally shifted her attention over to Spike who had just finished his food. 

“Do you want some more?” she asked, laying on a rug she had next to her stone carved table. In response, Spike burps, licking the gem dust off his claws.

“No, I’m stuffed. Thanks though.” He said, patting his stomach. Now that Splinter was asleep it seemed Crush was no longer concerned about being silent about her thoughts as she asked him a question she had on her mind for a while.

“Spike, why do you smell so odd and why did Father react so badly to it?” The question made Spike wince, seemly very unsure about telling her.

“Umm… Punchin said she was gonna tell ya…” He replied, trying to weasel his way out. But Crush was not one to toy with as she replied in a firm tone.

“I am not asking Punchin, I am asking you.”

This made him sigh, rubbing his neck nervously. There was no point in lying so he was just straight with her.

“It’s because… I smell like ponies. I was sorta raised by them.”

“I see. That explains why I have never seen you before. You must be the ‘taken’ one father always used to talk about.” Her calm reaction to this shocked Spike, making him question why but she didn’t give him the chance as she provided an answer.

“I, unlike Father Sard, don’t believe all ponies are as bad as he believes. Then again, I was only a baby, younger than Splinter, when the fall of our Quarry had happened so I do not remember much. I do understand why Father holds such feelings towards the ponies so I don’t question his authority when it comes to avoiding them. But I never shared his feelings. What I’ve seen today seems to prove that.” This made Spike tilt his head, confused.

“Hmm?”

“Well, tell me young one, if the ponies really were as bad as he believes then how would a tyke so polite such as you come to be. Surely if they were bad then you to would be bad no? Perhaps I am simplifying it a tad too much but that is what I believe.”

> Ch 13: Memories in Crystal
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

            The wind whistled, tossing snow about in the harsh cold of the Arctic North. It was relentless, as it always was. Thankfully, in the shelter of the Dragon Quarry Twilight and her team remained unharmed but not unsupervised. Standing on the cliff edge of the quarry, Punchin looked down at them in the brown cloak she had before. Her face was stern, a light growl escaping her throat as she suddenly blazes off into the snow, running off into the blizzard.

The sudden motion captured Twilight’s attention, causing her to look out up only to see just some snow being kicked up. She stared for a long while, attracting the attention of Shining who approached her and placed a hoof on her shoulder.

“You okay Twilight?” He asked, giving her a worried look. Twilight nods, smiling

“Yeah, I’m okay.” She replied. Celestia approaches her, giving her a calm look.

“Come on you two, we must go. There is only so much time to search before the sun must be set again.” She said, looking down at Twilight.

“We might have way to narrow the search.” Sunburst added, pulling the clear crystal he picked up from his saddlebag.

Instantly Celestia knew what is was, taking it in her own magic and looking at it closely.

“This is a Remembrance. Where did you find this?” She asked, turning the crystal in the light.

“Back in largest building, on the floor close to where Jade stood. Sunburst found it and we saw something in it.”

Time flashed back to them searching the area, looking around with Twilight narrating over it.

“He had tripped over it, making it glow and project something.”

Both Twilight and Shining jumped in surprise, their horns flaring up defense only to realize it wasn’t real. The crystal floated in the air, glowing brightly. From it a scene was projected.

Clearly this was a glimpse into the Quarry’s prime with the broken walls restored to their former glory. Dragons stood in front of a throne, by it a basket of eggs sat on a small perch. Looking at it Twilight’s eyes grew wide as one of them she recognized.

“Spike?” She said, her hoof reaching to touch the egg, purple adorned with slightly darker purple spots. However, her hoof simply phases through it, wisps of purple swirling around her hoof only to recollect back into the egg’s shape. Her face winces a bit, looking at it until the sounds of doors opening, echoing, attracted her attention. Entering the room was Jade, a bulky red, teenaged dragon standing by her with his head held high. She to held her head up, giving off a feeling of regality only a true leader could give.

As she approached her throne she walks through her future, the crystal encrusted sorrow self, completely unaware of the eternity of sorrow she was to endure. If anything her face showed only joy as she approached her throne, her eggs.

Gently she picks up Spike’s egg, brushing it against her cheek happily.

“Dear Mother, your eggs look splendid. I am sure they shall hatch to be healthy Whelpings someday.” Said the red dragon accompanying her. He sat beside her throne, holding a sharp spear. Jade simply giggles, hugging her precious egg with bright sparkles in her eyes.

“I do hope so,” she looks down at Spike’s egg, stroking it gently, “I feel like this one shall be one healthy dragon. Strong with a heart of gold. That is my wish for all my children.”

“Just like you?” The red dragon’s words made Jade blush, shoving him playfully with her tail.

“Oh hush Sard, you charmer you.” Everyone in the room chuckles, making the red dragon blush a bit. The moment didn’t last long however as the doors suddenly flew open and a familiar, horrid pony entered.

“S-sombra!” Cried Twilight, stepping back with an expression of fear as Shining Armor glared at him angrily. Crystal ponies stood on either side of him, wearing odd armor and seemly unresponsive to all except to their evil king. Jade’s face turned from happy to cautious, holding her egg close and shielding the others with her tail.

“Hello there, friend. What brings you to my Quarry at such a late hour?” She asked, carefully watching the pony’s every move as he chuckled in response.
“Empress Jade, you’re as radiant as a crystal. What an honor it is to finally meet you.” He bows, keeping that smug look that made all of us feel tense, “I must ask why you did not come to the empire as requested. It is very rude to dismiss a fellow ruler in such a manner.”
At that moment Jade’s look turned from caution to slight rage as a low growl came from her.
“That is no concern of yours. If Princess Amore was insulted by me not going than she may come herself and ask me the reason. I will confide to no one but the pony rulers.” Again he chuckled, mocking her words as he replied.
“But I am a ruler my dear. Princess Amore had... stepped down... I am King Sombra, the new king of the crystal empire!”
“Liar! If there were a change in power Amore would have told me for certain! Where is Princess Amore! What have you done to her!?” At that moment, black crystal shards were teleported from the ceiling, falling before Mother. They pulsed venomously with dark magic but that was not what bothered her, no, it was what laid inside. Within the pieces, dragon scales would be found.
“Princess Amore? She shared the fate of the dragon before you now.”
“You... you monstrous fiend! Guards! Attack!” We did as she commanded, lunging for Sombra with our teeth bared and our claws ready to strike.
Back in the present, the crystal sat illuminated in the light of Celestia’s magic. Looking up at her Twilight found a deep sadness unlike any she had ever seen. Her lip quivered, her magic flickering as Twilight told what she had seen within the Remembrance. 
She continued to speak, revealing to them all the fate befallen the Empress and as she did Celestia’s face became more and more distraught. Luna too wore a similar expression but it held more regret than it did sorrow like her sister.
“After everything, after you took Spike’s egg that red, bulky dragon from before showed up. He glared at the both of you until you two left and borrowed underground. The crystal blacked out after that but…” Said Twilight, explaining only to let out a small gasp of surprise as she saw something she never thought she’d see from her beloved mentor.
Tears welling up in her eyes, her head hung low. However, she quickly shook her head, wiping the tears aside and composing herself. Her sister simply looked to the side, lost in thought as Celestia spoke.
“Then, we know where to start. Twilight, let us go where you found this crystal.”

Below them, the dragons began to rise from their caverns to start their day. One by one adult dragons crawled down the walls of the stronghold, heading for the large green gem.
Spike slept quietly in a straw nest snuggled next to Splinter. The two seemed precious together, snoozing away as Crush watched them. There was no sunlight down in the stronghold, only the light of crystals to fill the room. The only indication of day was the sound of dragons collecting below as they always did.
“Hmm sounds like it’s morning. I wonder what daylight looks like, it has been so long since I’ve last seen it. The sun, the moon, the wind.” She looks at Spike, mumbling to himself as he dreamed. “They must seem so familiar to you young one.”
Crush turns away, walking off to the kitchen. Just as she did Splinter turned his back to Spike, shoving his sharp spines right into  Spike’s face.
“WAHHHHHHHHHH!” His cries of pain blasted through the entire Stronghold, startling every dragon in the area.
Now wide awake, Crush pats Spike’s small cut with a cotton swab, placing a band-aid on his head.
“There we go, good as new.” She said, all of them sat at the stone dining table with a pile of green, yellow and blue gems piled up on a plate. Splinter nommed on one, giving Spike an innocent look who back at him with an irritated expression. Spike grabs a random gem from the pile, taking a large bite out of it. It was green in color, making him pause and stare at it. He stares at his reflection in it, his face growing grim as the image of the painting of Jade flashed through his mind.
“What’s wrong young one?” Asked Crush, noticing his lacking of shoving gems down his gullet.
“Nothing just…” The gemstone let off a glossy sheen, shimmering in the gemlight. “What was Jade like?”
Crush’s eyes widen then narrowed, looking to the side. She thought, looking down at Spike who still just stared into the gemstone in his hands.
“I promise to provide you with answers. There’s a place I want to show you after breakfast.” 
> Ch 14 Eternal Friend
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Using her enormous strength Crush pushed a giant boulder out of the way. It laid just behind the giant green crystals the other dragons were currently gathered in, concealing a tunnel beneath it. Spike looked down it, staring into the inky blackness below.

“Umm… That’s really dark…” He said, squinting his eyes  to try and see what was in there.

“This tunnel’s been sealed off for many years. Very few dragons go in here as there is no reason for most to but down there might be the answers you’re looking for.” said Crush, Splinter sitting on her back with a curious look. “Shall we?”

Spike nodded, allowing Crush to pick him up and place him on her back next to splinter as she created a small fireball in her mouth, illuminating the way with the light coming from her mouth.

The tunnel went down a long way, seemly not being acess for a long time as moss and mushrooms dotted the walls of the tunnel and the floor. Thankfully Crush had a hard grip on the ground, preventing slipping. Soon, Spike noticed another light at the end of the tunnel, it seemed to open up to a large room. As they approached Crush extinguished the fireball, allowing the gemlight to light their way. As they entered the large cavern Spike’s eyes widened in amazement.

Five, different colored crystals magically float upon magical pedestals, each one accompanied by a painting of the past. All except two pedestals that held no crystal nor picture. The light in the room seemed to come from the pedestal, clearly each crystal they held were special.

“They’re just a bunch of gems and pictures.” Said Spike, glancing over the room to see there wasn’t much else.

“Oh no, these are not just any gems. Each one holds a moment in time, moments important to the history of Mother. The Remembrance records all, just choose one and see for yourself.” Explained Crush, laying down so Spike can slip off her easier. 

He looked around, examining each crystal until the painting behind them attracted his attention. One had Jade and a pony holding up the crystal heart so he chose the crystal in front of that first. Gently he touches it, causing it to flare up it’s magic. The entire room was filled with light ,only to have the light fade into a memory from the past. He panicked at first, falling back in surprise as a pony appeared right where he stood but Crush caught him, reassuring him

There stood Jade, her head held high and clearly younger as she stood before a small group of Crystal ponies.

“Miss Jade, we owe you a lot. If it were not for you and your dragons the we would not be here” Said one of the ponies, equally as regal.

“That, believe it or not, was first Queen of the Crystal empire. Jade found and saved her small group of nomad ponies by providing them shelter from the storm. In return they used their magic to help find gemstones for us and we developed a tightly knitted relationship” Explained Crush, making Spike smile, clearly impressed.

“Oh no, think nothing of it friends. You have been of great help to my dragons. I hope the best for you in your future endeavors. We are always here if you are in need of us. Oh! And please, accept this gift as one leader to another.” One of Jade's guard, taking her que, presented the ponies with a very familiar, heart shaped crystal. Their leader levitated the heart in the air with her magic, she and her ponies staring at it in awe.

“J-jade! This is a solid, clear Taaffeite heart! Are you sure you want to give us such a rare gemstone?” Asked the leader of the crystal ponies, earning simply a smile back from Jade.

“Think of it as a token of our eternal friendship. May our friendship be more valued than any gemstone.” Jade walked down to the small group, extending her claw out to them. Her eyes sparkled like the heart, her gratitude clear upon her face. She reached out to shake Jade’s claws, the moment they touched a powerful light flooded from the bodies of the crystal ponies and from Jade and her dragons. The Crystal Heart spun around in the leader pony’s magic, soaking up that light and burst it out around them. The memory ended there, the magic of the crystal subduing until it returned back to the way it was before.

“W-wow… that was so cool!” Exclaimed Spike, a smile on his face.

“With the crystal heart the empire was built. The crystal ponies and earth dragons, while now distant, still had a close relationship.” Crush explained, pointing to a painting with Princess Celestia in it. “And had a close relationship with the royals.”

Seeing it instantly perked Spike’s attention as he ran over to the crystal in front of the painting, poking it. 

The crystal flared, Jade stood nearby, holding a cake in her hands, watching as Celestia and Luna stood on a large pedestal. Between them stood Star Swirl the Bearded, two crowns floating above both the Princess’s heads. Well, the soon to be princess that is. This seemed to be their correlation, standing proud before a large crowd of ponies cheering for their soon to be rulers.

“Celestia, Luna, between the two of you the monstrous fiend Discord has been defeated and for that the ponies and other residents of Equestria owe you deeply. For your bravery it has been decided by I and the other pony tribes, that you two for now on will be crowned the Princess of Equestria. We shall look to you for guidance, we will look to you for strength!” Coming to the end of his speech, Star swirl lowered the two crowns to the sister’s heads. As he did he bowed slightly to the rest of the crowd did the same. The two princesses held their heads up high, looking with pride but on closer inspection Spike noticed Celestia smiling at Jade. Jade smiled back, smirking sneakily as she blew a light flame over the cake.

As StarSwirl lifted his head back up the cake fell straight on him, splattering cream and apple filling everywhere. Celestia snorted, then burst out laughing along with Jade followed by the crowd of ponies gathered around. Luna to giggled but tried to muffle it out of respect.

Jade made her way over to the three, a grumpy expression on Star Swirl’s face. She and Celestia gave each other a high five, still giggling. He sighs, brushing the cake frosting off his face with his hoof and gave it a taste.

“Mmm, apple, not bad.” He let off a soft chuckle, using his magic to clean himself off. The memory ended there, the magic of the crystal pittering out until it was back to normal but there was still a bit of laughter.

Spike and Splinter still giggled, the two trying to compose themselves.

“Man, I’ve never seen Celestia laugh like that. Those two were really close.” Said Spike, finally managing to stop his laughing.

“Indeed they were.” Added Crush, “Watching these memories, it’s clear that the two were very close. All of them were, Celestia, Luna, Amore and Jade. How they laughed, how they prospered. Most of these are moments Jade recorded as her most precious, moments with them.”

Spike looked up at Crush, noticing her expression of deep thought.

“That’s why I could never believe Sard, believe all ponies are indeed as bad as he says. All this, their friendship, everything Jade adored, this is real. There must be a reason for all that happened.” She continued, looking down at Spike who nodded in agreement.

“That’s right! Celestia must have her reasons.” Spike stood, his face becoming stern and determined. “I have to go back, I have to find out the truth!”

“Mommy, why are some the crystals missing?” Asked Splinter, pointing at the pedestals in the room without crystals.

“Well, one is still up on the surface. Sard left it up there, to grief stricken to bring it down here and the other.” Crush thought, “I don’t really know. It vanished around the same time as Jade’s fall according to Sard. No one knows where it is now.”

Crush stood, grabbing Spike from the tail and placing him on her back.

“We should go, I’d imagine the morning meeting is about done. Not a good idea to stick around in here much longer.” She said, carrying the two off back through the tunnel.

Meanwhile, back on the surface, as all the ponies searched for an access point to the underground Celestia sat before Jade, encrusted in her black, cold, crystal prison. She sobbed silently to herself, placing her head on Jade’s as she did with her hoof placed against the purple gem embedded in her neck piece.

“I’m so sorry, my friend. I’m so, so sorry….”

> Ch 15: Choices
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	The boulder back in place, Crush carried both young dragons on her back through town, blending in with the crowd of dragons exiting the giant green gemstone palace. They made their way back to Crush’s home before speaking about their plan to avoid being heard.

“It is very rare for us to leave the stronghold. As of right now only Punchin has Sard’s permission to leave and enter the quarry at will for what I can only assume is recon reasons.” Explained Crush, placing a now napping Splinter back into his nest.”Even if we were allowed to go, however, doing that is much easier said than done for dragons like me as most of the major ways into the stronghold have been destroyed by Sard. The only way out for someone like me is to break through the rock to the surface but that will make a lot of noise and surely attract Sard’s attention. There used to be a way in here from the Quarry palace but it leads right into the green Palace. It’s to risky of a path.”

Spike enjoyed some gems, snacking on them as Crush thought.

“I remember when Punchin’ brought me we came through a weird door in the side of a mountain or cliff.” Explained Spike, remembering the details vaguely of when he had arrived, “I didn’t get a really good look at it since I was still out cold but…”

“Ah! Yes, the southern door. It lays just on the edge of the Dragon Quarry itself. It’s a small door, built after Sard became Emperor. But it’s only a one way door, dragons can enter but not leave.” Replied Crush, “The crystal palace door is the only way but the castle is sealed when night falls. I don’t know what other options we have…”

“Simple, I’ll just open it for you.” Punchin entered the cave, interrupting Crush and scarring Spike, causing him to jump in surprise. Crush, however, remained neutral, simply staring at the pink dragon. 

“You? Sard’s right hand dragon go against his orders? How curious, why is that?” Crush’s words instantly perked Spike’s ears up.

“Yeah, usually I’d just do what gramps wants to keep him from barking at me. But, there’s been a new development that’s made me think maybe his command isn’t the best idea.” She explained, moving over to lean against Crush. Her words made Spike sweat, extreme unnerved by Sard’s orders to the point he shivered a bit as the two females discussed.

“New development?” Crush looked down at her, her face still as stern as always even when questioning.

“Yeah, believe or not those pony friends of yours are more persistent than I first thought, squirt. I found em sniffin around the ol’ quarry looking for ya.” Punchin’s words instantly brought light to Spike’s eyes, his heart enlightening with news. “Turns out they care about ya a lot more than I thought; at least enough to come sniffing their nose around here. So, if giving you to them will make em go away then I’d send ya over with a pretty pink bow. Only question is do you wanna back with em?”

Punchin’s question made him pause.

“Yeah, of course I do. Why wouldn't I?” He asked, seeing Punchin turn her head away and seemly hesitate a bit.

“Because if you try to leave and if Sard catches you… he’ll…” She tried to finish her sentence, having trouble doing so which worried Spike more. He could guess, his assumption making his heart drop.

“Well let’s just say Sard really doesn’t want you to leave. If you do manage to escape without being caught you can’t come back here, ever. So I ain’t playing when I say it’s them or us.” Explained Punchin, looking down at Spike with an oddly serious look that did not at all suit her. It made him feel unease, taking a step back from her.

“B-but… I …” He hesitated in answering, looking up at Crush who sighed and lowered her head to his level.

“Spike… I believe you should go back with them.” She said, nuzzling her nose against him gently. “Sure, you would be with your own kind down here but living in this dark, small cave is no life for a dragon like you. You should grow up under the sun, under the moon, seeing the world and enjoying life in a way we here never can. Live as the ponies who clearly love you like family under that blue sky we will likely never see.”

Spike’s eyes watered, hugging Crush’s nose as she spoke, shaking his head.

“B-but…” He clung close to her, feeling a deep grief in his heart, “I want to go back but I don’t want to lose you guys. You’re all my friends, it’s not fair!” 

Crush closed her eyes, showing pain in her features as she pulled away from Spike, looking to the side.

“There was a phrase Jade would always say, something that always stuck with me. ‘May our friendship be more valued than any gemstone.’” She looks down at him, smiling “No matter where you go, young dragon, we will always be friends and we will always be in your heart. Know that no matter what you choose, I, Splinter and yes, even Punchin will always hold you in ours as well.” Punchin gagged, clearly finding Crush’s words disgustingly sweet. 

“Geez Crush, that was just cheesy. But ye, you’re a hard one to forget, that’s for sure, Squirt. So, what do you say?”

Spike stared at the two, thinking and taking a deep breath.

“I want….”

Meanwhile, back on the surface Shining dug through some snow by the Dragon Quarry cliff side, using his magic to levitate it out of the way. As he did he came across an old, metal, rusted door that seemed to be recently used. He pried it open, making a loud creaking sound as he lifted the heavy door to reveal a dark tunnel leading deep into the earth.

“Hey!” He exclaimed, aiming his horn up in the air and sending magical flares up to sky above. The others, scattered along the quarry wall and alerted by the flare, made their way over to where Shining was, collecting together  to where Shining was. All expect Celestia, whom lingered by her dear friend, and Luna who was searching the palace, watching her sister mourn over her friend. It brought Luna much pain, seeing her sister in such a state. In the distant, she saw Shining Armor’s flares, knowing it wasn’t a good idea to linger. 

Besides, it wasn’t healthy to leave her sister here, mourning and sobbing over Jade’s crystallized body.

“Celestia, Shining Armor’s found something. We should get going.” She said, placing a hoof on her sister’s shoulder.

Celestia nods, standing up and wiping her remaining tears away.

“Yes, of course. Let use go my sister.” She made her way to a hole in the wall, flying to join the others. Luna lingered for a second, looking at Jade with deep sorrow and regret in her eyes before flying off after her sister.

“It looks like it goes pretty deep. Do you think it’s just one path?” Asked Cadence, squinting her eyes to try and see deeper. 

“I don’t know, but only one way to find out.” Replied Twilight, flaring her horn, using the light from it to illuminate the way. The others did the same, following her deeper and deeper down through the tunnel.

They walked for a while, not noticing that night was already befalling them as they approach a dead end with an odd carving chipped into the wall with a hoof-sized hole in the middle. It was the same exact area Punchin had brought Spike into the quarry from.

“No, this can’t be a dead end!” exclaimed Twilight, looking around the area. 

“Ugh, there has to be something here. This place was sealed off for some reason.” said Shining, also inspecting the area.

“Oh, look, it looks like this has burn marks on it.” Sunburst pointed out, pointing his hoof at the hoof sized hole. Upon closer inspection of the carvings on the walls, Twilight noticed that they were that of dragons breathing fireballs. Seeing them gave her an idea.

“Hmmmm”

Back in the Quarry, Crush, Punchin and Spike snuck around the stronghold, Spike hiding under a blanket on Crush’s back as they carefully made their way. All, if not most, the dragons were now in their caves and crystal houses, preparing for sleep if they weren’t already doing so. They remained as quiet as possible, keeping their eyes peel as, if they were spotted, they would stand out like a sore thumb in the middle in all this gem light.

“Are you sure the castle will be empty, Punchin?” Whispered Spike, peaking out from the blankets.

“Shhh! Pipe down and stay under the blanket. Gramps may be old but he can hear a pin drop half a block away.” Spike instantly covered his mouth, simply doing what Punchin said without question. They snuck against the walls of the green palace, making as little noise as possible as they reach the entrance.

“Well, well, What are you two doing out here so late?” 

His voice was like a cold, rough stone, scraping across the metal blade of a scythe ready to use to end someone. Their scales turned pale as they faced him, looming in the entrance of the palace with guards on either side of him.

Not like he needed them as his presence alone shook the two females to their very core.

“H-hey there Gramps. What are ya up to?” Asked Punchin, standing between him and Crush whom just backed up, trying to keep herself composed.

“I could ask the same from you.” His nostrils flared, taking deep whiffs of the area. The guard dragons swarm around them, surrounding the two dragons so they can no longer escape.

“Gramps, I know this looks bad but let me explain, please.” Punchin backed up, keeping a close eye on the guards surrounding them. Crush let out a low snarl, glaring at the guards. Spike shivered under the blanket, holding his breath as he heard all that was going on.

“Do not call me ‘Gramps’!” His voice was firm and very stern, rumbling the entire stronghold with its strength. It would make even the blood of the bravest run as cold as ice, “Never would I believe you would betray me this way, my child, betray your kin. To go behind my back this way, it’s unforgivable.” 

“Look, I’m not betraying you I’m doing you a favor. We give him back, the ponies go away, it’s the best course of action. Jus-”

“SILENCE!” Sard’s powerful voice vibrated through the area, shaking the entire stronghold to the point that some dragons were even awakened from it. They peeked out of their houses, watching at their beloved leader glared down at two of their own. 

“Whatever weak justification you have matters not. You have gone against my direct orders and for that there will be punishment for both of you! But, that can wait. I have another matter to attend to.” Sard looked to one of his guards, motioning to them. The moment he did they lunged at the two. Instantly, Punchin was pinned down, trying to fight them off in a futile attempt to escape only to be held down and put in shackles and muzzled. Crush, however, was a much harder challenge as she roared out, swinging her large, powerful tail to keep them at bay. However, she too would not last long as Sard reached down, holding her down with a single hand. Quickly the guards did the same to her as they did to Punchin, holding her down as Sard scooped Spike up in his blanket. He struggled in it, flopping around.

“S-Spike!” Cried the two females, trying to fight free. 

Spike thought quickly, trying to think. Instantly, this reminded him of when Twilight held him back with her magic back in the Crystal Empire. Swiftly he engulfed himself in his own fire, the smoke trail bursting out from the cloth of the blanket and reforming again behind the now bewildered Sard.

Spike was dazed for a second, shaking his head as he gathered himself. The moment he did he found three guard dragons rushing at him. He let out a yelp, scampering to his feet and attempting to run away.

“SPIKE HALT! STOP NOW OR THOSE TWO WILL PAY THE PRICE!” Sard’s threat hit Spike hard, instantly making him pause.

“Spike don’t listen to him! Run! Hurry we’ll be okay!” Cried Crush, staring at Spike in both sadness and horror as he ignored her. He just stood there, hands clenched in fists, his body shivering. He ground his teeth together, closing his eyes tight. His heart felt as if it were about to explode from the fear; every muscle in his body screamed at him to run but he couldn’t do that. 

So instead he turned to face Sard and three guard dragons pointing spears at him, ready to strike if he were to run.

“Spike, it pains me I must do these things. Never would I, even in my dreams, dare harm my beloved children. However, you must understand I cannot allow you to leave here. I will do what I must to protect them no matter the costs.” Slowly he approached, each time he took it rattled the earth below him but still Spike stood his ground, “If you stay then I shall forget all of this. I’ll release both Punchin and Crush. You may live happily among your kin, where you belong. However, if you leave I will have no choice but to end you. So tell me young one…

What do you choose?”
> Ch 16: Our Purpose
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	“Once upon a time there lived a great dragon empress. Her heart full of love and her soul full of kindness, she watched over all her beloved subjects as a mother would her children. Under her rule the land shifted in many ways, ponies came to live among a land where they were not meant to. But instead of scaring them away like those before her she embraced them. She held no malice towards them nor them towards her. She loved the ponies dearly, not as the dragons whom she treasured so, but as friends whom she may show weakness to. Friends who she could cry to, friends who didn’t see her as important,valuable, Mother but just another dragon.”

“But mommy, Father says that ponies are evil, He says the ponies took Mother away.”

A dragon, gold in color, smiled down at her child, reading a story to a young Crush, seemly not much older than Spike was now. Her question simply made the golden dragon sigh, brushing her nose against Crush’s cheek.

“It is true, my child, a pony did take mother away. But, the actions of one does not reflect the actions of all.” Crush’s mom turned to the next page, an image of Luna, Celestia and Amore all flying happily around Jade, “Sard only cared about protecting mother, it was an obsession he possessed to the point he would even neglect himself, “We can hang out another time, Sparks,” he would always say. Training, day in and day out, every day since our youth for that sole reason. Protecting her, it was his purpose and nothing else mattered. In his eyes, the day Sombra came, all he saw was a pony destroying all he had worked for, destroying the dragon he admired most.”

“But mommy, that was a long time ago right? If protecting Mother was his only purpose what’s his purpose now?” Asked Crush, the flashback fading back to present day as Crush watched Sard loom over Spike.

Sard approached Spike, his presence overwhelming the young dragon to the point he had to take a step back. All Sard needed to do was step on him and that would be all she wrote, the thought terrified him but Spike refused to run. The thought of what would happen to Punchin and Crush scared him more so than his own demise.

“I...I” Spike struggled to speak, fumbling over his words as Sard simply glared down at him. Spike knew, he couldn’t let anything happen to his friends. So, he took a breath, looking at Sard with an angry expression Sard did not like.

“I wi-”

“He’s not staying!” Yelled Crush, snarling at Sard who simply turned back to glare at her.

“Stay out of this! You have already tested my patience enough!” He said, but Crush ignored him.

“Sard you can’t do this. Spike doesn’t belong here, trapped in this dark, tiny place. Making him stay here is just cruel! Please, just let him go!” She pleaded, lifting her head up slightly.

“I cannot allow that, if he leaves he will jeopardize the stronghold! The enemy will find us again and I will sooner DIE before I allow anyone to harm my children!”  He replied, a snarl in his voice.

“What enemy!? Sard you can’t blame ponies for the actions of just one or two of them! Mother’s death was a tragedy and I understand you are just doing what you think is right but you know as well as I that Mother wouldn’t have wanted this! She wouldn’t want you to hate the ponies she loved, she wouldn’t want you to keep us trapped down here for centuries!” Crush’s words hit Sard hard, making him slam his tail into the ground, shattering it under it’s immense power.

“How do you know what she would have wanted!? YOU’VE NEVER EVEN MET HER!” His tone, his voice cracked as he tried to contain himself, “All I ever wanted was to protect her, keep her beautiful smile safe and those PONY MONSTERS TOOK HER AWAY!”

Crush pushed herself up, looking Sard straight into the eyes and seeing tears well up in them. His arms trembled, his heart clearly hurting from the truth he always held inside, that ate away at his very being.

“I worked so hard for the entirety of my life to protect her, keep her radiance safe from any who would harm her and in the end I couldn’t even have to honor to die to do so. She’s gone… Mother is gone and I’m still here. I failed her, useless to her. So I swore I would never fail her again! I will protect her children, I must follow in her place and protect our dragons!”

“By destroying the only real piece of her we have left?” Crush’s words destroyed him, reducing her Emperor to tears. His face showed agony, fear, the things that ate away at him since the day Jade was ripped away from him. The guards, seeing their leader in such a state, simply watched, baffled it. Crush, no longer pinned down by the guards stood and took small steps towards Sard, her shackled legs preventing her from moving much. She soon managed to reach him, snuggling against him to comfort him.

“Sard, for as hard as you worked to protect her you never really got to know Jade for what she really was. All her memories, all the times she cherished were with them and you know that. While she would have done anything to protect us in her heart she had only love for the ponies who could see her in a way we could not,” Gently, she lifted Sard’s head, looking him in the eyes now red from the tears dripping down his face. “I know it hurts, accepting that she is gone but you can’t replace her and you know that. Nothing you can do can remedy what happened in the past and, while we can never truly understand how you feel, we all miss her dearly. We all share in your sorrow and, yes, we are all afraid of what may happened as you are. But you mustn’t let that fear allow you to destroy her last, living, legacy. You mustn’t allow that fear to warp you into something you are not. You are no murder, Sard. So please, I beg of you to just let him go.”

Sard simply stared at her, then looked away, turning his head to her with his lip trembling. He closed his eyes tight, letting out a sharp breath of smoke. Crush touched his arm, looking up at him with a pleading expression. From the corner of his eye he could see it, it made his already injured heart ache. He knew she was right and, while he believed it to be horrible idea, he sighed and spoke out his next words quietly.

“Go, leave now before I change my mind.”

Punchin stood,crying out to Spike.

“The escape tunnel is behind the throne! Go!” Spike hesitated for a moment, seeing Sard’s back turned to him. He refused to look at him, simply growling lightly.

“DID YOU NOT HEAR HER, GO!” Yelled Sard, making Spike jump in fear and run off. Before going behind the throne he looked back to Punchin and Crush. They looked back, waiting for him to leave. He gave them a meek, sad wave goodbye to which they returned it, Crush giving him a smile. 

Behind the pedestal there was a curtain. Moving it aside Spike found a tunnel going deep into the earth.With a deep breath he walked in, biting his lower lip as he lingered near the entrance for a bit before walking.

“Thank you, Sard, You did the right thing.” Said Crush, only to feel him pull away from her and walk away with his head lowered.

“For the sake of the Stronghold, I hope you are right.”

Spike walked down the tunnel for a long while, attempting to do the fireball trick that Crush did earlier only to find it was much harder to do that he thought. His fire kept spilling out, making it hard to see anything at all with it flaring in front of his face. So, eventually he just gave up and felt his way around. 

“Ugh, I can’t see anything.” He groaned, walking with his hand pressed against the tunnel wall. Suddenly, he slipped. Finding himself sliding down a sharp decline. He yelled out, going on an extreme slide ride until he was suddenly spat out from a wall and into an old, ruined bed, breaking it apart and sending dust everywhere.

“Ahh ohh… that smarts…” He coughed, pulling himself out of the rubble and dusting off his scales. He continued to do so as he walked out of the room he was shot into.

“Where am I?” He wondered, picking out a dust bunny out from behind his ear. As he turned the corner he got his answer, finding her glittering in the moonlight.

It was his mother, encrusted before him.
> Ch 17: Broken Bonds
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Sparking in the moonlight, her figure showed through the slightly transparent, inky, black crystal, Spike was stunned to finally see her.

How it pained him to see her.

“Jade?” He walks over to her slowly, his eyes wide in amazement and in shock. He never imagined he would ever physically get to see her, in his mind she was buried somewhere, but no. Here she stood, frozen in the moment everything fell apart around her and it agonized him deeply.

She certainly didn’t deserve this fate.

He said nothing, only moving to stand before the large, serpentine dragon and stared at her tearful face. He felt a deep, sharp pain, almost as if he could feel the sorrow she endured for so long.

“M-mo….” He tried to speak but his voice cracked, shaken and brittle. It sounded like he was on the verge of joining his mother in tears. His lip trembled as he slipped down to his knees, stunned to the point he didn’t know how to react. He placed his shaken hands on her snout.

It felt oddly familiar, even if there was inches of cold crystal between him and her. Closing his eyes, it was almost like he could faintly hear her; remembering the echos of her voice when he was still in his egg.

“My precious gemstone… I love you…”

Her voice had a hint of roughness to it but yet, sounded so comforting and warm. It was like a crackling fire, soothing, comforting, bright, yet held a strength to it. It roused a memory in him, yelling, crying, fighting.

Cold

They echoed in his mind like far away voices, locked away in the deep recesses of his mind. They scared him, left him unsure until he heard a voice more familiar to him.

The motherly tones of Celestia ringing in his ears. 

“I’m sorry, my friend… If only I had arrived sooner…”

Slowly he opened his eyes, turning to face the moonlight cascading from the hole in the wall away from Jade, unable to keep looking at her as he wore a deeply sorrowed face. He saw the dark crystals consuming the place that was once his home, Jade’s home, destroyed and abandoned. Here, there were no clouds, no cave walls, no dragons only the quarry and the sky.

Such an empty place, void of life, void of hope,to stare at this for centuries was a cruel fate indeed. As he walked to the hole he noticed some dust shifted in the shape of hooves and instantly the reason he was here returned to him.

“You know, she’s a real close friend but Twilight was kinda like a mom to me growing up.” He said, seemly speaking to no one specifically, “Well I guess more like an annoying sister but still. She was my family.”

He turned back to Jade, walking over and sitting down in front of her and looking at the ground.

“Kinda like you and Celestia.” Those words, they echoed in his mind as a realization struck him. 

“We were both happiest,” he looked up at Jade, eyes wide, “with our pony friends.”

Knowing that he saw her pain in a very different light. In his mind, memories of the dragons trapped below ground flashed , doing the same thing day after day, isolated from the world. 

Crush’s pleads echoed in his mind, the words holding a different meaning now. “Sard you can’t do this. Spike doesn’t belong here, trapped in this dark, tiny place. Making him stay here is just cruel! Please, just let him go!”

“With the ponies, earth dragons were happy, they were free. The crystal heart was born from their friendship, the empire built from their relationship, Equestria’s princesses chosen with you there.” He stood, his face grim as the realization struck him, “You’re crying because… that friendship was broken. Because they’re all alone down there… stuck and blind.”

He stared at Jade, his grim face evolving into into that of determination and stern. His resolve was struck and hardened, sharpened to a point. He knew now what he had to do.

“BOOOM!”

The ground shook violently, shaking down weak buildings in the quarry, rubble falling from the roof of the building Spike was in, nearly crushing him. A loud roar exploded from the earth below, making it shake as if out of fear. 

“W-wha is goin o-on!?” He asked, holding onto Jade’s head to keep from tumbling over. Suddenly, a giant fireball shattered through the Quarry wall, destroying several buildings and crystals in it’s way, leaving a deep trench in it’s path.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Twilight, having used context clues, used her magic to simulate a flame and shot it into the hole and opening the door Spike and Punchin had used to enter the Quarry. The moment they entered they were met with, not only the beautiful crystalline and rocky appearance of the Stronghold but also many Earth dragons collected near the center in panic and confusion. Two of them seemed to be in shackled but they couldn’t make them out well.

“Here we are.” Said Shining, letting out a nervous sigh as his eye caught the giant form of Sard. It made him and Starburst gulped in nervousness. Twilight shivered slightly but remained firm in her resolve.

“I guess we should go talk to them?” said Twilight, opening her wings to prepare to fly towards them. Celestia took a deep breath, Luna looking at her sister with a very uncertain look.

“I don’t know, they seem to be frenzied. Are you sure simply approaching them is the best course of action?” Asked Luna, not as eager to fly off to join the fray. 

“Perhaps not but simply staying here isn’t going to accomplish anything.” Answered Cadence, stepping forward.

“Maybe we could just sneak around a bit, just keep an eye on the situation before we do anything.” recommended Shining, joining Luna in her hesitation.

“Perhaps, but we will need to cloak our smell if we do. Earth Dragons have an exceeding acute sense of smell. If we get too close they’ll find us for sure.” Celestia replied, her wings shaking slightly in fear though only Luna seemed to notice.

“But won’t it be worse if they catch us sneaking around? Suspicious? We should just fly up to them and have a civil conversation. What’s the worse that can happen?” Asked Twilight, instantly flying off towards the group. Celestia again took a deep breath joining her and was followed by Cadence. Luna hung back for a bit, looking at the two males with her.

“What could go wrong? How about getting burnt to a crisp. Look, you two stay here. If there’s trouble be ready to blast the door open for us to escape.” She said. Shining and Sunburst nodded.

“Yes ma’am.” They both said, watching as Luna joined her fellow princesses.

Cadence approached Twilight, seeing she had only her resolve in her eyes but still sensed a hint of nervousness.

“Scared?” She asked, whispering to her fellow purple alicorn.

“Terrified, but I have to get Spike back.” Cadence nodded at Twilight’s respond, prepared to protect her sister in law if anything goes wrong. Celestia, on the other hoof, elected to stay back, her eyes slightly dilated as she stared at the dragons they approached. They closer they got the more afraid she became to the point even her breathing reflected it. Thankfully, Luna was there to keep her calm with a reassuring hoof on the shoulder and an understanding smile.

It didn’t take long for some earth dragons to notice them, yelps and cries of fear coming from the small group that saw them. Sard was busy instructing the guards where to put Cursh and Punchin which had his attention for a few moments but the two imprisoned dragons instantly noticed them, terror written across their faces as they saw the four alicorns land.

Sard needed not turn to know they were there. His nose flared, the stench of ponies assaulting his nostrils, making his eyes dilate with both rage and absolute, soul crushing, fear as he realized he recognized two of those smells. It only took a second for the other dragons to instantly see the ponies and back away with the same terror Sard had, crying and huddling away from the tiny ponies. All four of them instantly noticed this, Celestia now sharing in their fear as her hooves trembled. All of the alicorns noticed, impossible for them to ignore it now making Twilight extremely nervous and very unsure in what she was about to do. She took a breath, slowly approaching the dragons only to have them back away and cry. Sard’s scales stood on end, his eyes becoming cat like as a loud, rumbling growl escaped his throat.

“E-excuse me, I am Princes-” Instantly Sard let out a powerful roar, shaking the caverns more as he spun around and instantly release a powerful fire blast at them. The four of them yelled, flying out of the way as the blast struck the wall of the stronghold, causing a tremendous earthquake. Sard just kept launching fire blasts in all directions, trying to shoot them down as the other earth dragons ran in terror. The guards ran towards the ponies, attempting to assist their ruler, leaving Punchin and Crush to watch, still in shackles and muzzled.

Every blast that hit the walls shook the entire area violently, causing rubble and crystals to fall from the roof above. He built up his fire into a giant fireball, seeing Celestia triggered a deep seeded hatred from within, fueling the fireball more as she tried to fly away. With a loud roar he spat the fireball directly at Celestia. Frozen by fear she simply flew there in place, petrified.

“TIA!” Cried Luna, flying over to Celesta, grabbing her and pulling the both of them out of the way. The ball flew towards the wall right towards Shining and Sunburst. Thinking quickly, Shining’s horn flared and a large, protective, powerful bubble shield enveloped the two as the ball struck em, completely shattering the wall and making a giant hole in the wall of the stronghold.

It sent the two flying to the side, completely shattering Shining’s shield and leaving them to stare, stunned at the large trench it left in it’s wake.

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Spike stood, stunned and fearing the absolute worse. He could hear him, Sard yelling and roaring in an never ending, savage fury none could possibly quail. Even Jade seem to shake, the vibrations of Sard’s constant fire blasts sending shock waves through the ground. He wasted not a moment, running down towards the large, gaping hole in the stronghold.
> Ch 18: Burning hate
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Blast after blast escaped Sard’s mouth, causing the entire quarry to tremble under his tremendous power. Trying desperately to dodge, Twilight, Cadence, Celestia and Luna flew out through the hole Sard blasted through the earth only to find themselves followed by another fire blast. Twilight, using her own power, encased all four of them in a magical bubble. It only served to protect them from the initial heat as the impact itself flung them into a building and shattered the bubble, sending them flying to the ground. Twilight hit the ground hard, landing on one of her wings.

Twilight groaned, shaking her head and dazed as she heard Shining’s voice call her name.

“Twily run! Twily!” Looking up all she could see was the towering figure of Sard charging straight at her. Quickly, nearly instinctively, she teleported out of the way and fell into a pile of snow where she passed out. The other Princesses were instantly thrown into action, blasting at Sard with magical beams to keep him at bay to no avail. They wished not to harm him, causing hesitation in their offence.

He seemed not to feel their blasts, his thick scaly, body acting like armor but they did fuel his rage more. He swung his tail around, roaring wildly as his legs slammed against the earth and smoke flowing from his mouth and nose like a volcano ready to explode.

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Crush thrashed about, trying hard to escape her shackles as she watched her leader act like a vicious beast, destroying everything in his path without remorse or thought. Deep in her heart she felt a pit of despair as, she knew, as long as Sard rampaged this way they were all in very real danger.

“Cruse these vile shackles!” She yelled, shaking her head to try and get the muzzle off at least. Suddenly, she heard the sound of crystal falling to the ground. Looking she found Punchin standing next to her, shackle-free and with a ring of keys around her fingers.

“You learn a trick or two sneaking around castles. Here, don’t move.” said Punchin, moving to release Crush at last. Her shackles off her mouth free the orange dragon stood tall; facing towards the fight ensuing.

“Punchin,Go get Splinter and take him out of this place. Get the dragons to a safe place quickly.” She said, a low rumble coming from her. Punchin simply scoffed, looking up at her.

“What? Why should I listen to you? Whatcha plannin?” Punchin asked, watching as Crush looked back at her.

“I mustn’t allow it to end this way. Sard, Jade…. Spike… I will not stand by and remain silent any longer when they are in need. I know you have no reason to obey me Punchin but I am asking you, not as an friend, but as a fellow dragon. Please, keep the others safe.” Crush had an intense look, it made something rouse in the young slender dragon before her. Punchin said nothing, simply nodded in reply. Crush smiled at her, running off towards the war brewing outside.

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“Twilight! Twilight!” Shining frantically galloped around, digging in the snow with Sunburst just beside him. From the corner of his eye he saw some snow shift, instantly attracting his attention. He ran over to the area, using his magic to blow away the snow to find Twilight laying there, letting off a soft, pained groan.

“Twilight!” He picked her up in his arms, brushing the remaining snow off her. This seemed to rouse her, her eyes opening slowly to find herself in her brother’s hold.

“Shining? Wh-what happened?” She asked, her voice still a bit weak. Sunburst approached the two, flipping through one of his books.

“I don’t know, that dragon’s nuts.” Said Shining, allowing his sister to finally sit up on her own, seeing her wince in pain from her injured wing. Suddenly, her eyes flew open, remembering what had happened.

“W-what about the other princesses?! Cadence, Luna, Celestia, are they okay?” Her question was answered nearly instantly as she heard another loud, earth shaking roar. Her head looked up to the sky, watching as the other Princesses did their best to subdue Sard to no avail. She instantly tried to fly up to help only to let out a pained cry from moving her injured wing. Shining held onto her, keeping her from moving.

“Twiliy stop, you’re hurt!” He said, seeing his sister look up at the fighting in desperation.

“Princess, don’t move, I think I can help you.” Said Sunburst, enveloping Twilight’s wing in a light, weak magic. She was confused at first until she saw it turn green and seep into her wing gently., healing it. This seemed to tire Sunburst quite a bit, the spell being very strenuous for him.

“Thank you Sunburst.” She said, waiting for the magic to take effect. However it seemed she was no longer needed.

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Sard, thoroughly frustrated, stood up on his back legs, preparing the mother of all fireballs. However, before he had the chance to launch it Cadence blasted his face with a powerful, magical beam, blinding him for a few seconds. This provided ample opportunity for Celestia and Luna to wrap the giant dragon in magical chains.

“Ready Luna?” Asked Celestia, spinning around his legs.

“Yes my sister!” Replied Luna, dealing with his arms. The two fly up, pulling on the chains as hard as they could. Falling, like a giant tower, Sard slammed into the ground hard, the ground shaking even from just his large size. Instantly, Celestia shot a magical beam around his muzzle, closing is shut so he could no longer attack, causing the fireball he had building in his mouth to be sealed inside. Violently, he thrashed about trying to escape to no avail.

“We got him!” Cried Cadence, reinforcing the magical chains with her own magic to ensure he could not break free. His tail slammed against the ground, loud roars escaped through the gaps in his mouth, he was clearly furious.

“Dragon, we demand you cease your rampage! We mean you no harm!” Yelled Luna, amplifying her voice so he may hear but it seemed to not affect him as he just thrashed around more. The princesses were forced to land just to keep his restrains tight around him; it proved difficult to contain him.

“We are simply looking for a friend of ours!” Added Celestia, also amplifying her voice but it seemed her voice specifically enraged him even more. Sard was beyond reason now, his rage and fear consuming him completely. It seemed being restrained just worked to fuel his fear further as more and more smoke flowed from his mouth. The rumbling from within his chest rumbled more and more, his pupils vanishing from his eyes as his mouth began to tremble.

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Spike watched all this unfold, trying his best to approach them as quickly as he could. The trip was made difficult by the fallen rubble of collapsed buildings caused by Sard’s thrashing. It was clearly tiring, pulling himself over the rubble and flopping down on the ground.

“Ugh, what I wouldn’t give to be Punchin’s size.” He complained, letting off a deep sigh. Scanning the area he spotted something that instantly attracted his attention. There, on the other side of the trench caused by Sard he spotted Twilight, Sunburst and Shining all sitting, seemly tending to Twilight’s wing. 

“H-hey! Twilight! Twilight!” He cried, trying to attract their attention only to have his voice drowned out by Sard’s thrashing. So, he went for plan b and continued to jump over rubble to reach them. However, he was better staying put as Sard began to reach a savage point.

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The fireball growing still in his mouth, Sard could hold it no longer. Biting down on it, it caused a powerful, heatwave to burst from it. While it wasn’t enough to outright throw the princesses it was enough to stun them, the heat washing over them. That moment was enough for Sard’s mouth to fly open and, unable to contain it, instantly unleashed the powerful blast at max power.

The heat of it was so intense it was enough to melt the rock around it, turning it into hot lava. It consumed everything in it’s path in it’s fiery might, leaving nothing behind. It was almost like a tiny star with all the power, sparing nothing. Worst off all Spike stood right in it’s path, the massive blast approaching him like a raging, flaming bull. He simply stood stunned as he felt the heat wash over him. He couldn’t move nor escape, he had no time to, so he just stared in both awe and terror. 

“Spike!”

The last thing he could remember was a familiar voice yell out his name and something large appearing in front of him, the silhouette even being unclear as everything around him just seemed to go black in an instant.


> Ch 19 Warmth
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Warm

Yes, warm was how he felt wrapping around him protectively, lovingly, from the inky black around him. Spike laid, curled up in a fetal position with his eyes closed and specks of embers fluttering down around him from above.

How wonderful it felt, soothing and, even though he laid un-moving in his curled position, he felt oddly free. Everything was peaceful, quiet, until he heard the sound of sobbing coming from the abyss around him, echoing. It made Spike mumble, his features becoming concern as he slightly squirmed around. Quietly, his voice leaked through his lips.

“Don’t cry…. Don’t cry mo…” He ground his teeth, his closed eyes twitching as he tried to  speak further only to seemly be struggling.

“I’m so sorry, my children.” Jade’s voice, broken, and full of sadness echoed, “My Sard, my precious son, my subjects, please forgive me. I couldn’t protect you. If only I had called for help sooner maybe things would be different. If I had just called Celestia sooner maybe you wouldn’t be imprisoned by fear and hate. ”

The embers sprinkling around Spike began to pitter away, less and less falling. They turned to dust, a cold wind surround Spike. He shivered, his face still grim as Jade’s sobbing returned again.

“Mom,” said Spike, clearly and loud. His eyes peered open slightly, looking into the darkness around him.

“My Son, I beg for your forgiveness. Never had I intended for all of this to happen. Never did I want you to see such a dark battle between pony and dragon. Never did I want Celestia to suffer so. Ne-”

“Mom.” Spike slowly rolled over, pushing himself up with his claws to his knees. His eyes were still mostly closed and his head and back here still curled up.

“It wasn’t your fault, you can’t blame anyone for this. You did your best, that’s all you could have done.” He said, the ash from the embers swirling around him in a vortex.

“Perhaps, but that does not change what is happening now, Sard is scared beyond reason, Celestia and Luna are suffering, my children, my precious children are trapped and there’s nothing I can do to stop it!” Her loud voice echoed through the area, her sobbing following it as the vortex of ash died down, drifting down in a circle around Spike. As the last of it finally met with the ground Spike stood up, head still down but otherwise standing tall.

“Than I will!” His reply instantly made the sobbing stop, leaving only silence as the ashes again got caught up in wind. Except, instead of swirling, the ash began to collect in mass, forming the large figure of Jade, her eyes glowing green to stand apart from dark gray ash. She stood there, looking down at her son with eyes of concern and uncertainty.

“My son, that is very noble of you but you are simply a whelpling.. You have no power, no influence among my earth children, there is nothing you can.” She said, lowering her head to Spike who still held his down. 

“Maybe that’s true. But I still want to try.” He closes his eyes, lifting his head slowly to face her, “And even if I can’t by myself I’m not by myself. I have my friends by my side all the way. My pony friends taught me that.”

He opened his eyes completely, looking up at his mother with not a hint of hesitation. Jade just sighed, reaching out and grabbing him in her arms. Gently she brought him up in a hug, resting her chin in his back as he hugged her back.

“I to will always be by your side, my dear sweet Spike. I love you very much, my son.” Spike teared up, closing his eyes tight as he held his mother close. The inky blackness began to crack, breaking apart to let in the light. Jade’s body began to blow away with the wind, vanishing slowly.

“Wake up Spike, please, wake up.” Her voice seemed to change merge with another, the sound of crackling fire and falling rubble becoming clearer with the second voice. Suddenly, everything turned white then became flooded with red.

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His bod hurt, aching as his eyes began to open. Around him, collapsed buildings and fire surrounded the area. Holding him weakly was a large, orange arm he instantly recognized as he heard her speak to him.

“Spike please… ugh...wake up…” Her voice was weak, her breathing heavy and labored. Instantly, Spike pulled himself out of her grasp, turning to face Crush laying in the remains of a house.

What he saw made him gasp in horror, his eyes dilated as he stared. On her side, many scales ripped clean off her was a giant bruise full of cuts and deep gashes from the massive impact.

Fire did no harm to dragons but even a species as resilient as them stood no chance in the face of a meteor. Despite how bad it looked on the surface, within it was surely much worse as it was clear that breathing caused her agony, her head flopping down as she took many, sharp, short breaths, trying not to expand her ribcage which likely had many fractures to it. It seemed her arm was broken to, seemly hanging by just the skin.

“A-ahh… thank goodness. You’re okay…” She said, her voice very gravelly and pitiful. Spike ran over to her head, seeing her wince at any motion she attempted.

“C-crush!” He cried, placing his hand on her cheek. She looked at him for a second before closing her eyes and seemly passing out.

It’s then he remembered what happened. 

Sard’s fireball was headed straight for Spike, ready to consume him like everything else in his path. Just before it struck him Crush cried out for him, jumping on top of him to shield him. She took that blast with Spike probably passing out from the after effects.

He escaped with a few cuts and bruises but she did not. Spike tried to remain calm but he couldn’t help but let panic set in. She couldn’t last like this long; he had to do something. 

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Sard settled, his mouth re-muzzled and his body restrained. Smoke still cascaded from his nose as he glared at the ponies around him. He shivered in his scales, clearly mortified but keeping a brave face. Twilight, Shining and Sunburst soon joined the them, Sunburst using his magic to heal the small wounds the pony royalty had on them.

“You scum are lucky you posses such an ability. Without it all of you would be reduced to nothing but ash by now.” said Sard, a threatening his in his voice as he spoke. This didn’t shake any of them as Twilight approached Sard with a very serious look. She held her head high, showing not an ounce of fear to the titan before her.

“I’m only going to ask this once. Where is Spike?” Her own voice held spite that surprised even the princesses. Never has she held such hate in her tone; in a way it was frightening. However, Sard paid it no mind as he huffed at her, blowing smoke at her.

“Sorry to tell you ‘princess’ but you just missed the nasty little pest. He left just before you arrived. Wouldn’t be surprised if he was freezing his scales off in the Arctic north as I speak.” His response did nothing to quail Twilight’s rage, simply fed it as her horn flared in a purplish black , dark aura.

“Twilight, stop!” Shining approached her, placing his hoof on her shoulder which made her swing her head to glare at him. His face was stern, giving her a strong expression that seemly calmed her down slightly. Her magic died down a bit, her features becoming more neutral.

“Why stop her? It’s in her savage pony nature to attack.” Snarled Sard, growling at her.

“This coming from the dragon who attacked us without warning!” replied Twilight, calmer but still very upset.

“I simply attack before you had the chance to. The last thing I’ll do is ever give a pony the chance to act.” Sard turned his glare to Celestia, making her take a step back, “Especially considering the record you treacherous snakes have.”

Twilight turned to look at Celestia, seeing her hold an expression of sadness and guilt she couldn’t hide no matter how she tried.

“Celestia, what is he talking about?” Asked Cadence, noticing Luna also sharing a similar expression. Celestia simply looked down, biting her lip.

“Oh yes ‘princess’ why don’t you share why you erased you ‘closest friends’ from history.  Do tell us why you let Jade die.” Sard’s voice held only malice towards Celestia, his glare showing clearly his deep hatred for her.

“I… I…” Celestia tried to talk, her voice shaken when suddenly Luna interrupted.

“Sister, enough. This was all my fault not yours!” Everyone looked to Luna, both confused and surprised.

“Ah! Will somepony please just explain what’s going on!?” Cried Twilight, thoroughly confused and upset when suddenly, a big fireball flew up into the sky and exploded, making a loud noise that surprised all of them.

“What the?...” Shining looked out towards it, squinting his eyes.

“Dragon fire? But no dragon should be out here except…” Sard hesitated to speak but Twilight instantly got it.

“Spike!” she took off without missing a beat, flying straight up and spotting Spike waving his arms next to another dragon.