It is not known by many, but sometimes dragons are capable of reaching great speeds that allow them travel great distances in short time. The Dragon King and his escort were able to reach Draconia just in a matter of hours.
Clutched in his father’s grasp, Spike was able to see many unknown lands for pony eyes: plains, mountains, swamps, deserts. The sights amazed him, they were an example of how big the world really was. As they were reaching the Northern Wastelands, Spike began to feel a cold he had never felt before.
“There!” Kiguroth said over the wind as they approached the top of a chain of mountains. “The south frontier of Draconia!”
The cold was almost unbearable for Spike. Even in winter he hadn’t experienced such chilling conditions. His father noticed this and used his breath smoothly to warm him up. When they passed the mountain tops, the sight left the young dragon speechless.
It was in fact just a plain that extended to the horizon, yet it was dotted with several mountains and fortresses constructed like they had grown out the mountain itself. All was covered in snow up until where Spike could see, the freezing winds carrying blizzards and snowstorms. When he focused on the ground, he could catch sight of some packs of animals and some woods, but it was almost a desert down there. It was a place so harsh, that only dragons could survive there.
The group flew towards the tallest mountain, where the Capital Citadel was placed. It was constructed in the tallest mountain, much taller than the mountain where Canterlot was placed. It was adorned with towers, walls, and different platforms and balconies where dragons could land on. The group landed in a platform near the top, in front of a pair of huge gates.
“Here it is” the Dragon King spoke again, releasing Spike on the ground. “These gates lead to the upper part of the citadel, where the Palace is placed. Come on, son, your new home awaits”
The group neared a pair of dragons guarding the gates, their armor was simpler than the Honor Guard’s, indicating that they held a lower rank. The pair opened the gates and bowed deeply as the King and his escort entered the city. Spike followed suit. It was a bit hard keeping up with the bigger dragons, but he didn’t mind.
Inside Spike saw many more dragons that he had ever seen. The streets were crowded by them. Big, small, adults, teenagers, kids of his age, all were doing something; some were walking, others were talking about everyday stuff, it looked like a normal day in a town for them.
All the bustling stopped immediately when the group appeared at sight. The dragons around quickly gathered around the king, whispering and talking in their strange language.
“The King is back.”
“Look at the whelp that is walking with him.”
“Is that the Prince?”
“The rumors are true? The Prince is back?”
Finally, Kiguroth reached what it looked like the main square. He stood there, surrounded by his guard, took Spike in his hand, and let out a deafening roar.
“My people, listen to me!” He yelled in draconic “Today is a glorious day for our kingdom! For I have finally found my son, Prince Ka-Hurr!”
He roared once again, this time followed by the thousands of voices of the other dragons.
As they entered the Throne Room, Spike took a look at his surroundings. A mostly black room, lighted by torches, with many guards present, bowing in respect for the King.
At the other side was a golden throne. There was a smaller dragon sitting in there. His scales were light blue, his spines white, and his eyes were ice blue. He quickly stepped out of the throne and kneeled down.
“My King, I wasn’t expecting you would come back so soon. How was the visit to Equestria?” He spoke up with a polite tone.
“Rise up, Sarr. And for the visit, I was successful.” Kiguroth replied with a smile.
Sarr stood up, just then he noticed Spike. “Is this your son? He looks… kind of small.”
Kiguroth sighed, and chuckled “Yes, I was a bit surprised by that, but his breath didn’t lie. He is my son after all”
Sarr looked at Spike and bowed. “Prince Ka-Hurr, it is a pleasure to finally meet you”
Spike smiled sheepishly. “Hehe, nice to meet you too.”
Kiguroth nodded “Son, this is Sarr, my High Counselor, Great Archmage of the Ice Heart, and my most reliable subject for the last two thousand years.”
Spike perked up, suddenly interested. “Wait. Archmage? You can make magic?”
Sarr nodded amused, and when he sighed instead of flames he let out an icy wind. “Indeed, my Prince. We dragons are capable of using different kinds of magic, much more advanced than any unicorn magic.” He spat the word unicorn like he had eaten something rotten. “Ice magic is mostly used as a sign of high range. It shows to others the control we have with magic, as we are creatures naturally more related to fire, it is harder to learn and perform. It takes many decades for a novice to learn and perform any simple spell, for easier as it may seem, we usually dedicate almost all of our immortal lives to the study of magic. I can teach you if you want to, but I’m sure your father would prefer to teach you the ways of a warrior instead.” He grinned looking at Kiguroth, who grinned and shook his head.
“We will talk about that another time. For now, I think it’s time to show Ka-Hurr his new home.”
Kiguroth took Spike through the rest of the Palace, showing him many places such as the barracks, where the all guards of the palace lived, the storeroom, where part of the gems that were mined under the mountain were brought to feed the nobles and servants, and even Spike’s quarters, where he would sleep. He was amazed at the size of his room; it looked bigger than the library itself.
“Whoa, this place is huge, and I’m going to sleep here?”
“Yes. As you’ll grow up, you will see that this room will fit you better then now. But come, it’s now time for dinner.”
At hearing this, Spike’s stomach grumbled in response. Spike grinned sheepishly and followed his father towards the dining room. Something then bugged his mind. As it seemed, Kiguroth lacked of a hoard. That was different from any other dragons Spike had met, maybe he would ask him later.
When they arrived, many nobles were already there, all bowed in respect for the King and the Prince. Kiguroth had already presented Spike to them, it had been the only boring part of the tour for Spike, but he had to get acquainted to them as well as the servants if he was going to live there from now on. The dining room consisted in in one big stone were nobles ate at one time. Kiguroth, Sarr and Spike ate in a different table, and servants in a separate room.
Tonight something was different though; as a way to celebrate the return of the Prince of Draconia, Sarr had arranged an orchestra to play after everyone finished eating.
The meal itself was incredible; Spike was served a pile of gems in a gold plate as tall as himself, which he ate incredibly quickly. Sarr and Kiguroth ate silently, watching Spike.
After all they finished, they were led to the amphitheater, where the orchestra and the choir were preparing themselves, with several different instruments. The public sat down, and the orchestra started playing.
One more time, Spike was left speechless. It was almost unbelievable that dragons could be able to make such incredible music. As the song went on, he felt something inside of him awaking; he suddenly could almost understand the lyrics, even if he didn’t know a thing about Draconic. The tale of an ancient warrior that defeated a great evil, and which dragons reverenced as a hero. Spike started wondering what would really mean to be a dragon. ‘Maybe there is more about being a dragon than just hoarding gems. Where do we come from? What is our story?’
That night Spike went to bed with his head full of thoughts. Two days ago he had joined the Dragon Migration to find answers about who he was, and in the end he had ended being a prince. He had seen an entire city of dragons that lived in peace, order, and harmony. If someone had told him that two days ago he would have laughed in his or her face. But now it felt almost like a dream. Spike closed his eyes and slowly fell asleep. More things would come tomorrow.