//------------------------------// // 40 – "How Can We Trust the Dragon to Choose Correctly What He Wants, When He Doesn't Even Know What He Needs?" // Story: Spike Quits His Job and Goes on Numerous Quests // by B_25 //------------------------------// ~40~ "How Can We Trust the Dragon to Choose Correctly What He Wants, When He Doesn't Even Know What He Needs?" The day was coming to an end as the solar sun retreated to behind the watery horizon, as its nocturnal sister came to claim its rightful place in the darkening blue sky. Once it had reached its apex, the moon exuded a blue glow, reflecting across the waves of water and embracing the windows of the abandoned castle. Only, the castle was no longer abandoned, as heavy footsteps trekked upward on the spiraling staircase. A certain purple claw was resting against the column to help support its owner’s weight. “...I know...that this is...incredibly petty of me to say…” Spike huffed upon taking his next step, unable to keep his head raised to see how many were left to go. “...but why...did this castle...have to be made...when elevators weren’t a thing…!” As if in response to the question the ceiling of the tower rumbled, unlodging sprinkles of dust that had long since been gathered in between the cracks of stone. A voice began to speak in the drake’s head in synchronization to the rumbles of the castle. “Dragons were fit enough in our times to climb any mountain or fight any foe in their diminished size, and more importantly, able to scale any number of stairs regardless of how many times their king demanded so.” “Great,” Spike said under his heaving breath, “now I have the King of Dragons telling me I need to work out more.” Eventually, Spike cut the distance between him and the metal door to the floor he desired to be on, and threw his shoulder against the cold and rusted steel. “You know, when you spoke about saving this long lost prince, it sounded to romantic with the warm lights and all. But now that the castle is casted underneath a layer of darkness, and because it's cold, I’m not feeling so amped for the whole adventure thing.” The rumbles of the castle ceased for a moment. But just for a moment. “You’re a borderline bipolar, aren’t you, Spike?” “Hey!” Spike soon found himself in the training room which he had sped across hours prior, admiring the fallen wooden mannequins protected under the rays of light. Closer examination along the wood revealed shallow cuts slashed by a claw, and lines that dug deep enough into the wood to be done by a sword. “So,” Spike started to say, hunched over the fallen mannequins and wooden swords, “for me to find this long-lost prince, I first have to become strong enough to face whatever the world is hiding him with. And to become...that strong...I need to stay and train here?” “Yes,” the scale remnant of the King replied, its rumbles growing softer as its voice became light. “My physical manifestation is weak and confined to the walls of this castle, as my access to the lingering reserved powers of the king is only possible when closest to the place where he died.” Spike couldn’t help but envision the King sitting on his throne, bloodied all over and every breath a wheeze, as the egg that would give birth to the present dragon sat on his lap. The image faded as quickly as it came, as the drake rose back up to his feet and continued his tour through the castle. “Hey, King?” Spike ventured to have his question resound off the walls of the castle. “I know you said to get some rest first before we start worrying about how this quest is going to go, but I don’t think I’m going to get any sleep unless I ask you this question.” The rumbles had ceased some time ago and did not begin again. Spike still went on to ask his question. “How exactly do you plan on finding your son?” Spike bit his tongue as soon as his insensitive question let his lips, working quickly on rephrasing himself. “I mean! Do you have any means of coordinating where the Lost Prince may be, or if his egg was even hatched yet?” It wasn’t until the drake was walking down the hallway that led to the throne room that the rumbles of the castle resumed once more. “Aye. It’s certainly a fear that plagues whatever remains of my soul, for too I feared the solar Princess would be unable to hatch your egg, due to either produce or limitation.” “And since the Prince’s egg was lost during the final battle,” Spike paused for a moment to ponder if he should even finish his sentence, “then its likely his egg is still missing. Even if someone were to have found it, I doubt someone as talented as Twilight came across it.” The rumbles didn’t stop this time around, though they stirred a great regret in the drake’s soul. “I fear that this Twilight may be the one you’ll have to go running to after you find his egg if that’s still the case. I’ve long since wondered if there were any alternatives to finding the prince…my son, but my thoughts keep crashing back to the only way I know possible.” Spike’s claw slowly came to rest on the handle of the door leading to the throne room. He forewent going inside for the moment, opting to take a closer instead listen to the King’s next words. “The Great King still has some of his power remaining to this day, though it grows ever weaker. I plan to immerse myself fully in the means of the past to have his wholly unrestricted power and use it to spread his influences of the planes of this world, searching for a coloration that even vaguely matches the king. “Once I found those locations that bear any traces of the Prince, I’ll stop all my efforts in order preserve any power of the King that may be left over after such an exacerbating act. By then, I should have you well trained enough in Guardianship that you’ll be more than capable of making your first journey.” Spike pushed against the metallic door, which opened with a slight creak, and took the first step into the throne room. A loud snap resounded off the walls of the throne room, originating from the drake’s back, as he fell unto a knee from the sudden surge of pain. Every pinprick pore on his body exuded a brilliant green glow as it began to expand outward. “Spike!” The texture of the green glow began to pulsate, slowly morphing more into the shape of an aurora, as it lifted the drake off from the throne and sucked him into its epicenter. “Fear not, the last scale of the Great King!” vibrated the very particles of the aurora, where when all their combined sounds collected as one, they exuded a voice akin to the entity from the Orange Sea. “The excitement of hearing that you would train my fellow drake brought me so high a joy, which I could no longer contain myself within his subconsciousness.” “Yo~ou.” The walls of the castle trembled fiercely as loose stones were unloaded from their places in the ceiling. They came crashing down of the bubble of green, where once they were absorbed by the particles they began to lose their speed, averting away from the form of the pained dragon, before leaving the sphere and gaining the speed they once had. “The Count of the Orange Sea, the deity responsible for gifting me of his Drifters in my time in need, and partly to blame for the fall of my empire! How do you posses the courage, or the ignorance, to dare step foot into the place where my powers are still intact!?” If particles of green aurora could join at a particular pitch to chuckle, then whatever sound The Count was making would have to suffice for that. “My~My, when your scales were all together, you were currently a more quiet dragon. Though I guess the saying is true: the smaller they are, the louder they cry about things they can no longer accomplish.” Spike squeaked out in pain from the middle of the sphere, trying so desperately to reach out his limp claw being supported by the uplifting waves of particles. “C-Count...don’t say...that type of…” His sentence was cut short by a struggled exhale. “Hush now, my dearest drake, as I negotiate the terms needed so you can have the best possible future in this world, and as one of my Agents.” Spike felt his eyelids grow heavy, as they soon came to glide to a close. “Now then, Last Scale, as you are now to be called to me. I did you the honors of sending the precious drake, whom you sold to the species that were not of your own, back to the castle where he was first handed off to.” The fierce rumbles that had claimed most of the castle began to settle, but never did they stop when in the presence of The Count. “I am thrilled to hear that you will be teaching the drake your aspect of the sword, training him the ways of Guardianship, and even asked him to go on on a fetch-quest. What I’m not so thrilled about, however, is how you plan to have the drake not only take on such a minuscule quest on the grounds of Guardianship, but how you plan to have Spike become a Guardian when the task his through.” The rumbles of the castle struck fierce in correlation to the Last Scale’s words. “That destiny was bestowed on the drake’s egg!” “No!” The particles of the green aurora shouted as they began to expand outward. “That destiny was imposed on the drake’s egg, and I work to retract such a callous action place on another being’s free will!” The rumbles of the castle began to course further through the castle as the green sphere of energy and power grew bigger and size. “We’ve both sensed the longing that needs to be filled within the drake’s heart, for a dragon’s desire can’t be quenched like a ponies can. So I propose I bestow upon him a purpose that is noble to keep him pure, with action and journeys to sustain his arising greed.” “So you propose you manipulate the dragon to follow your way, your aspect of life! It worked wonders for Corona, didn’t it?” “You DARE mock our royal family's name!” “My apologies, I didn’t know wisps and bones could still be considered nobility in this day and age! Unlike your form and your ways, the only thing that has yet to advance is basic survival and sword place. Teach the drake those relics of the past, but commissioned him whatever valuable you have left in this castle, for him going to go find your Lost Prince.” “And why is commissioning him less evil than assigning him a purpose!?” “Because it grants him free will, to choose at the end of the quest, to choose objectively what it is he truly wants! It gives him the choice of his future, not one of us choosing it for him.” “How can we trust the dragon to choose correctly what he wants, when he doesn’t even know what he needs?” “Because we’re the one’s that are supposed to be guiding him? Or does it take a stranger to the drake’s existence to care enough to help him guide wherever he chooses to go? Because his friends among the ponies were unwilling, and even the dragons from which he was gifted seemed to be doing the same.” “You can’t say that yet!” The particles of the green aurora began to slow in their pace, no longer expanding outward, as they retreated backward in a soft manner. “Fine. When means of argument and reason are obtainable by both parties, how about we instead make a bet to decided whose side is on the right?” The rumbled began to soften as well, as the entirety of the castle stopped shaking. “What kind of game are you proposing, Count?” “If you are so desperate to find this lost son of yours, which you’re current form has a below than one percent relation to, then I propose a way that you can also make me interested in finding him.” “Why? So you can sway him away from his noble course as well?” “Not at all!” The Count replied, its formed beginning to flush back inside the pores leading back into the drake’s body. “He will be yours to deal with as Spike will be mine to care for, though he will be the one to recover your son. What I purpose, as a friendly duel between you and me, is who can use what’s left of their powers to find this Prince first.” The rumbles almost came to cease as well. “You mean to say, that you’d help me use less of my power, and assist in finding the Prince faster?” “Yes.” The green sphere shrunk to just an inch past the drake’s reach. “Only to prove which of our deteriorated forms have aged the best, and to show to the drake the best candidate to place his trust in.” “Then you have a deal, Count. Though your game will never work to sway the dragon in any way from his path, for ponies gave him morals to follow, and I’ll constantly be searching for any tricks you may have saved for the both of us.” “Never fear, Last Scale.” The Count exclaimed as he began to lower the drake to the ground of the throne room. “I’ve already brought your castle to ruin because you allowed your dreams to blind your eyes, and I merely played my trick to snap you out of your arrogance. The fact that you did not change your ways, and still blame me, show that you haven’t learned at all, and that history shall repeat itself once more.” Spike’s legs fell carefully on the red carpet, the rest of his body coming to rest slowly on the fibers, until the green glow completed retreated inside his body. “We shall see about that, Count.” When his breath was returned to him, Spike released a pained groan as he didn’t possess the power yet to open his eyes. ‘Listen carefully, Spike, for in a moment I will have retreated further into your depths, where my words will no longer be recognized by your conscious mind,’ the count whispered inside the drake, voice slowly fading. ‘I have paved the ways necessary that all lead to a better future, though you solely are the one to choose which path you get to walk. I have numbed your nerves and cleared the cloud of fear in your head, so go, and be objective and honest in which path you choose to wander down.’ Finally, Spike’s eyes slid open to the blue glow of the moon, shining upon him from the stained glass above the throne. He quickly picked himself up from the ground and glanced around the room, searching for one of the two invisible entities. “Y’know, for entries claiming to have access to a great power, you two sure lack the ability to take physical form.” Only the guest of winds colliding against the wooden door replied to the drake’s comment. “Because you two not having an argument inside my head would’ve done wonders for not bringing back the migraine from yesterday.” The rumbles stifled as if to accommodate the pain it brought on to the drake. “Apologies, Spike. There is a history between the two of us that you’d be best off not knowing for the moment, though I must ask for your answer now on how you will be accepting my quest.” Spike looked to wherever he presumed the entity was. “You want to know if I’ll be finding the Prince because it’s part of my duty as a Guardian, or because I’m trying to fulfill my self-interest because I’m on a Contract.” The castle vibrated as it felt like it was nodding to Spike. The drake’s eyes drew away from the ceiling to stare at his feet placed on the ground. “I’m not sure yet. A moment ago, I would’ve accepted it as a Guardian due to how great it sounded at the time. But now...I can’t be too sure on what I’m going to pick. I mean, I don’t know what a Guardian is, or what you may have planned out for me. I don’t know who you are, or if this royal family is worth bringing back together. “I was so hopped up on endorphins that it just felt right to help you out, without actually taking a moment to think or feel what I should do. But, even though I’ve said all this, I still believe that you should give me the proper training for Guardianship.” The winds clashed against the glass. Dust hovered in the air and served as a film layer for the glow of the moon. “Hmph. Why should I train you in our sacred ways, when there’s a chance you won’t ascend to where your destiny lies?” Spike looked back up to the ceiling with not a wrinkle near his eyes nor a grin adorning his lips. “Because you're sacred ways won’t be bestowed upon me the same way, if the lack of trainers and equipment is any indication. We’re going to have to make due with what we have and what’s around us.” “But why should I teach you anything, when it will only serve to exhaust more of my energy?” A grin began to stretch out against the scaly purple cheek. “Because there’s no one else left to go and save your Lost Prince – the last chance you have in restoring the order you so care for. Regardless of what way I may choose, the ending is the same: I need the power to fight and search for the Prince.” Silence filled the throne room. The grin began to waver as its owner believed he had gone too far for a moment but saw no use in giving up the act. The grin stayed, and a moment later, a voice responded. “So it isn’t solely The Count’s fault that you’ve become so clever. Fine. You shall have your wish.” The grin began to transform into a smile. “Thank you.” Spike dropped to a knee, slowly bowing his head. “King.” “You were right, in that our training grounds are no longer the same, but the surrounding area for which the castle was transported to will suffice. From the Lost Woods, where you will hunt your meat under the guidance of your instincts, to the trek across the Desert of Doubt, that’ll gauge the length of your will. Finally, the climb to the top of Snowpeak will test your newly gained resolve, to see if you can reach the place where your history lies.” Any lingering motivation the drake had for his training dissipated each and every time he heard an area listed, though he did not show this as he rose his head back up to the challenge. With but a nod he stood back up once more, steadying his nerves for the upcoming days. “All that is required of you today is for you to find quarters suitable for you to live in. That place will forever be considered your home, if you should so wish, despite whatever decision you shall make in the coming weeks. You’ll get to know me, and I know you, where we both can decide wisely.” “Thank you,” Spike said, beginning his approach to the door on the opposite end of the throne room. “Before I leave you to your devices, I would be remiss if I did not correct an earlier statement that you had made. It appears The Count may be behind this mistake, as I fear without a doubt The Count has already put you through an experiment.” Spike reached the door that would open to the rooms belonging to dragons of past, where he would surely find his temporary home. He forwent the trek for the moment, looking over his shoulder. “The Count, if that’s its name, laid me to rest to eliminate the fears and concerns that plagued my mental state. I’m grateful for it, though, as I feel now that I’m in a dream where nothing in my waking life concerns me.” The rumbles began to cease as the voice in Spike’s head began to fade. “You may be no longer grateful to The Count after hearing this fact. When you said before about being nineteen, you had no clue that you were lying to yourself. Dragons fear nothing of age, for its effect is minuscule on a dragon.” The rumbles grew quieter as if the voice had faded before it had said what it needed. Luckily, there was still a whisper inside the drake’s mind. “But for a dragon who cares for creatures, not of his species, then there, dwelling in his heart, may there be fear of the concept.” The drake’s heart beating increased twofold as anxiety coursed through the dragon’s veins and blurred his vision. Spike began to breathe through his mouth, though each breath pricked his chest harder than the last. “What...no...ack. What...are you...even talking about.” “Spike,” the Last Scale replied with the last traces of its voice, “you are no longer seventeen, but rather almost twenty. Two and a half years have passed since The Count has placed you in your slumber, and there’s an excellent chance that those you once knew are no longer the same.” A purple claw couldn’t stop opening and closing at the semitransparent vision of Ponyville slowly expanding, buildings filling in over the once vast land. The Golden Oak Library, where Spike and Twilight used to cuddle before a warm fire and a cup of cocoa, being lit aflame to make way for a fancy restaurant. Sugarcube Corner, the home of a certain pink mare that would surprise a baby dragon with free sweets when he had forgotten his pouch at home, only to be torn down so that a supermarket could take its place. Sweet Apple Acres, a place where Spike found himself with his worries too heavy for his shoulders, where the Element of Honesty would help alleviate the weight. It would be taken over by a company where the delicious apple cider once enjoyed in childhood would become stale. The Carousel Boutique, once a temporary home to a love sicken drake whose dream was to win the heart of its owner, now gone without a note saying why. Cloudsdale, the city where Spike used to gaze up at and wish to be so that he may grow closer to a pegasus he believed could help him improve to her level. The city now moved to some other location in the world, without a chance of being reached even with wings. Finally, that warm cottage just by the Everfree Forest, where Spike truly felt at home. The one mare who’s heart was in helping others with kindness and held the currently speeding heart of the drake had long since died, to some terrible fate in which she was only trying to help. Spike couldn’t help but see the graves of his once closest friends, pondering for the moment how they all died. So far in the future, they all seem to be, long is he in the past, reaching out desperately to phantoms. Gone or dead. “Nineteen is the age when a dragon begins his journey, and if it's any consolation, you showed up to my castle at the perfect time.” The voice of the Last Scale disappeared, as did any lingering rumbles in the castle as it finally became silent. Spike kept standing at the door, his claws before his eyes still too blurry to see. His breaths non-existent and his heart bleeding with every beat, and a mind that was too lost in of itself. The drake felt the pain and misery of being gone for too long away time from one’s friends. The drake began his training the next day.