//------------------------------// // 37 – "You Run, despite Not Knowing Where You Must Go" // Story: Spike Quits His Job and Goes on Numerous Quests // by B_25 //------------------------------// ~37~ "You Run, despite Not Knowing Where You Must Go" Spike found himself wandering the dimly lit halls of the deteriorating castle, the stained glass being the only source of light as well as displaying the waves of the ocean, while the golden wisp just a few paces ahead of the drake served as his tour guide. “So, what exactly is this place anyway?” The drake finally ventured to ask upon realizing that the suits of armor or the magic that still inhabit the castle were no longer a threat, but oddities that were more appealing to the drake than the pain still lingering in his system. “It doesn’t take Twilight’s genius to…” Blurred images of the lavender mare along with her distorted voice flashed in the drake’s mind but were erased by the shake of the head. “What I meant to say, is that it doesn’t take a genius to guess that this castle has been here a while. But the weird part is, is that it doesn’t feel like that was always the case.” The golden wisp sensed the dragon walking slower due to his mind sourcing his attention to the thought-thread he was now analyzing across and slowed down along with him. “It just feels so out of place here. Well, to be fair, everything feels out of place here. You have a forest right next to a desert, that’s just across from the snowy peaks, all of which, sit before sea that slowly devours land.” The wisp stopped in its path that prompted the drake to do the same, as it spread out once more into the form of words which the drake could read. “To which do you most desire the answer? The mystery of this castle which you are halfway to solving on your own, or the place of which I am now leading you to?” Spike blinked at the words, taking a moment to contemplate the lesser of the two evils, before answering with a gesture of a claw that beckoned both forth again. “Take me to wherever you want me, I guess.” The wisp gave a nod by having its words bob back into their original particles and pinpricks self. It streamed forward evermore, with the drake just behind it, eyeing the scenery outside the window as if crumbling mountains would inspire an answer to his mind. Eventually, the two beings approached a crossroads of open doors, the wisp trailing through the right door without a moment’s thought. Spike decided to be cheeky and try his luck, opting to walk toward the door on the left to see what would happen. Just as his foot was about to step into the separate hall, the wooden door slammed shut onto his snout, only giving an inch of space between the two object. Spike’s eyes drifted from the wood of the door to the particles of magic hovering to the right of him, which fixed him a look the drake couldn’t quite explain before it wafted once more back into the hall. “Huh.” Spike followed the golden wisp down the same hallway, which went on for quite the length, where once again at its end there were many doors to be chosen. Deciding he had seen enough scenery of the castle and wanted to test how badly he injured himself, the drake bolted down the hall, spreading the wisp into different balls as he phased past it. The wisped merged back together a moment later, following the line of dust that lead to the moving feet of the drake, in an attempt to reach one of the doors before they could be shut on him once more. Quite simply, the drake was trying to choose his path through the castle. And if magical auroras could have any expressions that would showcase whatever it was they still felt, then this particular aura would have a smile spanning across its lips. It chased after the drake with speed alone, not relying upon teleportation which could end their game early. Spike watched the upcoming door slide to a shut, causing his feet to drift across the carpet as prepared to once again take off into the hall to the left. When he was but a few feet from entry, the door was enshrouded by a golden aurora that snapped it to a close. The drake didn’t care as lept from the floor and placed his foot against the door. When it failed to open against all of his might, however, the drake kicked off it and prepared his other foot on the original door that had been closed. He too bounced off that, did a flip in the air, and landed on the floor with the same momentum he began with, allowing him to keep ahead of the wisp. Though Spike’s tactic did little against the thing that lacked a body to hold it back, never needing to pain or for muscles to tense. It also helped that the wisp hadn’t fallen from a great height and whacked its head against solid wood. Spike caught in the corner of his eye the speeding form of golden magic, creating a dust trail behind it despite lacking a body. It morphed once more into words which would only occupy one of the drake’s eyes. “You run, despite not knowing where you must go. You attempt to barge into places where you are not yet welcomed. And you leave those who only wish to help you in the dust of your adventure.” Spike’s brow hurled upward, pace starting to slow due to the comprehension of the words before the golden mist of magic drove into first place. He was about to ask what was going on, but the golden mist kept on ahead of him at the same pace, once again morphing into words. “I wouldn’t expect anything less out of a teenage dragon.” Spike blinked after reading the message, mind too gunked with the recently stirred feelings to process the situation. All he could do was keep at it with the same speed and read the next message. “Race me to the place where your mind has long forgotten, but your instincts still remember.”