A Dragon's Duty

by CalebH


Chapter 11

Celestia felt Discord shift against her. He was trying and she loved him for it but he didn’t really know what to do. She wished that somepony did. The crystal heart, so dependant on the will of it’s ponies, would fall before night’s end. All it would take is the realization that it was their very own princess who was attacking.

Discord hadn’t left her side, as much for himself as her. Luna and Shimmer had always been better than him, was the only reason he gave. Celestia understood better than he knew. There were none of the warning signs, Shimmer had always been so bright and friendly. Her latest foray into romance had ended in disappointment but nothing so painful.

Shimmer had not fallen to some internal darkness she had been corrupted by force. If something were so powerful that it could corrupt one alicorn then why not two? Luna had taken a much more extreme step than simply hiding in Canterlot.

Only a few shafts of pale moonlight made it into the throne room but Celestia could still feel the Mare in The Moon’s burning gaze. For a thousand years it had accused her and now it was back. Celestia took in another shuddering breath, even hours after raising the moon she had not regained her composure. Even Luna’s reassurances that this was only a temporary measure were of no comfort.

There was shouting at the door. Somepony too dense to understand that armed guards and closed doors meant that Princess Celestia was not taking visitors. Her guards would turn them away. In times like these they protected the image of resolute strength she presented as much as her privacy.

Discord shifted again as the shouting crescendoed. Doubtless he wanted to see what the chaos was about and even participate. She was tempted to tell him to go and have his fun, that she would be fine without him for a few moments but she knew before opening her mouth that it would not come out right.

The muffled argument rose even further becoming almost impossible to ignore. It would be good for her, Celestia decided. She needed to make an appearance and the nation needed reassurance. Her nation needed an explanation and she could not afford to wallow in self pity any longer.

She took a deep breath to brace herself for the outside world when something slammed into the large double doors of the throne room. They buckled under the stress as enchantments struggled to keep splintered wood in place. Another slam and now she could see light streaming in between the doors.

A narrow jet of fire streamed in and began lowering itself towards the large wooden beam that barred the door. Wood and magic melted away before the impossible heat. The doors slowly swung open on nearly melted hinges.

The hulking purple dragon pushed it open with savage claws. Its overgrown scales each came to a sharp point and they rattled like chainmail with every step it took. Its features were all sharp angles and cruel points and its eyes seemed to glow a menacing green. At least thirty of her guard were outside trying to stop the beast but it’s scales shrugged off every attack and its thrashing tail made approach impossible.

The dragon took a step forward only for a green aura to wrap around his front claw and hold it in place. Its other claw shredded the aura off like it was spiderweb and Celestia heard one of her guard shout with the pain of magical backlash.

Another guard nimbly dodged the dragon’s tail and charged it’s neck with a raised sword. The dragon’s head shot forward and caught the sword in its jaws and wrenched it out of the guard’s grip. The dragon worked it’s jaws deliberately and with a muted ‘ping’ bit the sword in half. He turned from the stunned guard to regard the throne with cold green eyes.

“I’ll tell you the same thing I told these guys,” The dragon’s voice was low and grating like a mountain being ground down into gravel. “I am Sir Spike of Equestria, savior of the Crystal Empire and Guardian of Harmony.”

Celestia blinked in shock. This dragon was nothing like Spike. She couldn’t imagine that beneath all this cruelty Spike’s bright eyes and warm smile were there.

“I have been given the right to approach, meaning that only Princess Luna herself may turn me away I exercise this right now and demand to see her!”

The throne room rang with Spike’s shout and the guard’s lined up behind the dragon, waiting for Celestia’s signal to charge. She made eye contact with the captain and slowly shook her head. Equestria had lost too much already today.

“Spike?” she asked.

He only growled in response. “What did you do to her?” he demanded.

“Spike,” Celestia began only to have Discord cut her off by teleporting between the two.

“Spike, she’s not here.”

Spike roared. Princess Celestia heard the windows rattle as instincts kicked and her heartbeat quickened. She could see green fire filling Spike’s mouth and lighting his face up with an eerie glow.

“Do not patronize me Discord!” Spike took a single step forward so that he was leaning over the draconequus with bared teeth. “I grew up under the Mare in The Moon, I know where she is!” At the end of his tirade Spike was standing over Discord, who was leaning back so that he was nearly horizontal.

Spike’s eyes rose to regard Princess Celestia with cold fury. “Why has she been sent away?”

With a ‘pop’ Discord was between them again. “The Nightmare returned, she thought it was-”

Spike shot a claw forward and wrapped it around Discord’s neck. He lifted the draconequus off his feet and slammed him down onto the marble tile.

“The only nightmare I care about,”  Spike roared, “is the one she’s living on the moon!”

Out of the corner of his eye Spike saw a bright golden light and then his world went black.


He was alone. Afraid. He hated this place. Hated being alone. He wanted to go back but it wasn’t safe.

Somepony was here. He was surprised. Torn between happy and horrified. A visitor. Another prisoner. Somepony he knew. A friend! Somepony he-

Spike!

He was dimly aware that the voice wasn’t his as he wrapped himself around the friend and suddenly everything Spike felt doubled, tripled. Feelings he could not explain and a voice not his own rose until he was drowning in them.

His friend was diminishing. He was being overwhelmed. He wasn’t like her. He had never spent a thousand years fighting just to keep existing in this place like she had. She quieted herself and pulled back giving him room to find himself again.

The foreign thoughts faded away around Spike. It was empty, quiet. There was a thought nagging at the edge of him. There was somepony he needed to see. He was angry. He remembered flying, his wing hurt. It just made him more angry so when he finally landed in Canterlot he could barely see the Mare in The Moon for all the red.

Mare in The Moon.

Luna!

The desperate cry became all Spike knew. He needed to find her. To save her.

I am here Spike.

She was in the moon again, Spike could only guess what horrors she was reliving. He could only guess how she hated her prison.

He felt it at the very edge of his consciousness, a tight ball of thoughts and emotions not his own. This was how she defended herself from the nightmare. Spike didn’t know how he knew, but he was sure that she had spent a thousand years like this, curled over herself over and over again so that there was almost none of herself that had to touch the nightmare.

It made him want to hold her close and wrap himself around her until there was nothing in the world left to be afraid of.

I can hear your thoughts too you know.

Embarrassment flooded through Spike. It occurred to him that he should feel blood rushing to his cheeks in a fierce blush but he didn’t feel anything. In fact he hadn’t felt anything related to his body since he got here. No feeling, no pain, no sight. He breathed a small jet of fire and waved a claw in front of his face to see if he could even see.

At least he tried to. All he accomplished was flailing his consciousness around awkwardly as he tried to control a body he wasn’t attached to anymore.  He felt her amusement as he heard the sound of her musical giggles.

Do not be afraid, you are in the moon with me.

Spike was afraid. Being banished to the moon was many ponies’ worst case scenario and one that he was currently living. Sure the company was nice but so was living in Equestria and being able to eat when he was hungry and being able to get hungry and-

Something warm wrapped itself around Spike interrupting his panicked train of thought. It felt very much like a hug.

Calm yourself Spike.

He could feel her gentle admonishment. He could feel her affection wrapping him up like a warm comforter. He could feel her joy that somepony had come for her. That Spike had come for her.

She pulled away. Spike couldn’t tell if he felt her embarrassment or his own.

This is much less awkward when one of us is simply trying to dominate the other.

Even the passing comment carried with it a thousand unspoken things. Memories of jokes they had shared before flooded Spike along with feelings of happiness and affection. She liked his smile. A lot.

I see what you mean.

Spike didn’t even want to guess what unspoken things had been passed with the thought. They had spent so long dancing around words never spoken but here there was no music. There was nothing separating his bared soul from hers. All they had to do was listen and they could hear everything they had ever left unsaid.

Princess? 

Give me a moment.

The thought came with equations and patterns that Spike came to recognize as a spell.

Heh, I’ve never seen one from the inside before.

Once again the world shifted around Spike. His senses were barraged. Touch, taste, hearing and feeling assaulted him but they were drowned out by sight. There was a sea of white below him that stretched out for as far as he could see in every direction. Above him was a vast vault of black dotted with pinpricks of light and color.

“You came.”

Spike felt something heavy and warm wrap itself around his neck. Even with the princess holding on to him it still felt much more distant than they had been. Instead of a snapshot of her emotions He only got the vague impression that she was happy to see him. Probably.

Spike brought a clawed hand up to return the embrace as he settled back into comfortable confusion about the thoughts and intentions of the mare in his embrace.

“Princess-”

“-Luna,” She cut him off. “My name is Luna. Even your bared thoughts hide me behind my title. Why do you not just say my name?”

“I can’t,” Spike said. “I can’t just say your name. I try but it never comes out right. It’s always so much more breath than voice. You would have to be an inch away to even hear it. I try to just say your name but it’s always too close, too intimate.

“I call you princess to remind myself that you’re a princess and I’m a dragon and maybe a dragon and a princess can be friends but how can we be any closer than that when I’ll outgrow mountains.”

She cradled his head, almost as big as her torso and pressed her muzzle against his.

“Spike, I want you to say it.”

“Luna.” It was only two syllables whispered delicately, reverently but Spike found that he was out of breath.

She brought her head up and rubbed her cheek along his neck. “It will get easier with practice.”

Spike was shivering. Her touch warmed him to his very core but he found that he wanted more. He wrapped greedy arms around her and cradled her against his chest like a delicate treasure. He brought his head near her, seeking her lips with his, only to get stopped by her hoof.

“We are in borrowed bodies. Manifestations of magic and memory. These will hardly do justice to anything more than a hug.”

With a long exhale Spike rested his head against hers. “Why are we even here?”

“Shimmer has fallen to the nightmare.”

“What?!”

“Even now she lays siege to the Crystal Empire. It will not hold for long once they learn who truly attacks them.”

“Why didn’t you go and stop her? What were Celestia and Discord doing just sitting in Canterlot?”

“Spike,” Luna said. “I was afraid. We were all afraid. Nightmare Moon was a gradual change. It took decades, centuries even. I saw no signs of that change in Shimmer. There were no nightmares plaguing her, there was no shortage of love from her subjects. She was perhaps a bit lonely in her position but her heart was healthy. If something could force her to fall in a single day how could any of us risk facing it? Celestia is scared and it is only Discord’s love for her that keeps him on this plane.”

“Don’t you know how to fight it though?”

Luna shivered in Spikes grasp and his arms tightened protectively around her. “I know what it is to be beaten by it. The elements alone seem to know how to fight this evil.”

“There were six of us,” Spike said.

Luna gave him  a skeptical look. “We have not bonded with them, we do not know who will bear which element, and besides they have already rejected me.”

“Luna that was ages ago. You’ve grown since then. You’re a better pony than you were then. Twilight didn’t even know what the sixth element would be. She ran off with five ponies she barely knew to find artifacts she had only read about and she won!”

“Yes Spike I was there.”

“Well if she won we can too. Maybe the elements just need us to take a leap of faith with them before they will bond with us.”

“Your leap of faith would risk everything on a broken wing.”

“That’s why it’s a leap of faith. I know it looks impossible but impossible is just a word for something nopony’s stupid enough to try.”

Luna rolled her eyes. “How can one argue with that lack of logic?” she said sarcastically then gave a frustrated snort. “Fine.”