//------------------------------//
// Chapter 33 
// Story: Tale of Two Dragons 
// by Kind of Brony 
//------------------------------//

They had made their daring escape a couple hours ago, but Amy still hadn't stopped moving, and he was beginning to worry. As soon as they reached the base of the mountain, his sister had taken off into a sprint, not even bothering to ask if he were alright.

They slowed to a fast walk, and the older dragon used the opportunity to get their bearing and set her younger brother down. Apparently, they had fled in the right direction to be headed towards Heaven's Break, which was good to know, but that didn't stop Amy from trekking on.

The dragoness was so focused, so serious, that Spike was afraid to tell her the bad news. It didn't take long to realize what he had dropped, and his heart sank when he did. How would his sister react when she realized he had messed up the one job she had given him? The intense look in her eyes made him dread finding out.

But it had to be done, and every second he waited would make it worse. "A-Amy?"

"We'll take a break in a couple of hours when we find some cover. Arbez'll have his fliers searching for us as soon as possible."

Flinching at the curt reply, Spike powered on nonetheless. "It's... it's not that, Sis, it's- I have bad news."

Amy immediately came to a halt and whipped around to kneel before him, dropping her staff. "What is it? Were you hurt in the fall? Is it an ankle? Gods, have I been making you walk on a sprained ankle?"

"No, no, I'm fine," Spike assured, brushing his sister's claws away as she tried to examine him. "I'm not hurt, it's just that... I dropped something."

The dragoness cocked her head. "In the fall?"

"Uh, yeah, it was the-" Gulping, he forced himself to finish. "It was the tablet... I'm sorry, Amy."

"You... lost the tablet?" she asked, expression inscrutable.

"Yeah... I did."

"The tablet that is key to finding Bahamut's Hoard?"

"Yes, that one."

"And you didn't think to tell me sooner so that maybe we could try to find it?"

"Not at first, no... the thought maybe crossed my mind a few minutes after you were already sprinting away from Peregrine, though."

"And now it's sitting somewhere at the base of the city where Arbez will have his lackeys searching? Meaning he'll probably get his hooves on it."

Spike winced and nods. "Yeah, that sounds about right."

Amy stares for a few more seconds before releasing a long, slow breath. "Okay, I'm not mad."

"You're... you're not?" Spike asked disbelievingly.

"Nope," she answered in a clipped tone, grabbing her length of dark wood and standing up. "What's done is done. Even if you'd said something as soon as we landed, we probably wouldn't have had the time to look. There were a lot of boulders and crevices for it to get lodged in, and flyers could have been on our tails any minute." She ran a claw down her face. "It's a good thing you didn't say anything."

"Really? How?"

"Because if you'd have told me right away, I would have rummaged around in the rocks looking for our rock, and we probably would have been caught. When it comes to Bahamut's Hoard, my priorities get messed up."

The two fell silent as Spike watched his sister stand motionlessly, claws on her hips and head tilted back. "... So, what do we do now?" said the smaller dragon, disrupting the quiet.

Opening her eyes slowly, she looked down at him. "The tablet's all you dropped?" He nods. "Good, we still have all of our supplies then. If we travel fast, we should be able to make it to Heaven's Break long before the striped bastard and his crew. Even if we can't figure things out without the tablet, we can still lay in wait for them to show up, then we can get the drop on them for once and steal the tablet back."

"You think that'll work?" Spike asked. "I mean, even if we get it and they don't find out right away, they'll be, like, right there. They can follow us."

Amy shrugs. "Maybe, it's hard to say with so many unknowns. We'll make it up as we go."

"You seem really... calm," commented Spike. "Are you okay."

"Just resigned, is all," she answered. "I'm done trying to send you home, pretending that I can ignore my life's goal to do so. We're in this together 'till the end, now."

Spike blinked, stunned. "Are you... serious?"

"Yep," Amy chirped with a nod. "Even though your family's never going to forgive me or let me see you again, and your super-magical sister is probably going to turn me into a newt, we're still going to finish this. I've wanted to find Bahamut's Hoard because it's something Dad always dreamed of, and, well,  you're his son..."

A shiver ran down the young dragon's spine as the idea cemented within him. What Amy was implying, he wanted to be part of. During their journey, his sister had told him all sorts of stories about their parents, about how gentle their mother was, or how their father had memorized a thousand legends from around the world. Though he never got to meet them, the picture Amy painted was both heart-warming, and wrenching.

Spike knew he'd never get to meet the couple, but if he could do this, find this treasure his own father had wished to find, maybe it would make him feel that much more kinship with the dragon. Expression steeling, Spike straightened his back. "You won't regret this, Sis."

Amy gave him a smile in return, but there was a hint of sadness to it. "I know you won't..."

"Hey... it's not like you didn't try," Spike began, "I mean, we sent the letter, just like we planned, so what else was there to do?"

It was actually the first thing they had done after leaving the seedy inn earlier that day. Amy was adamant about that, marching to the nearest post office with a determined glint in her eye. The glint had faded ever so slightly when she was told the price of sending a letter to Canterlot. Apparently, mailing over borders was a serious upcharge.

Not deterred, however, Amy had written up a quick letter to send to Lore Finder instead, glad the mare lived outside of Equestria so that they could still have money left for supplies. Amy assured him that the pegasus would gladly pass the message along for them.

Really, before their current situation came about, his sister had been in a spectacular mood.

Now, she looked tired. "What could we do?" she asked blandly. "Well, I was thinking about maybe hiding out here in the wilderness and staying close to the city. I'm sure we could find a small cave, after all, overlooking the roads that could keep us hidden well-enough. The move would surprise the bastard as well; he'd never expect me to sit around and just let him get the treasure. He's right, of course, but still.

"If we stayed out here, then I'm sure someone would come looking for you soon enough, either Twilight, or somebody sent by the Princesses. They'd be easy enough to spot, being ponies, and then you'd have a safe escort back to Equestria. It's the most responsible thing to do for you...

"But I'm not responsible, so let's get going," the dragoness finished, marching away.

"H-hey! Wait up!" Spike called, adjusting the straps of his back pack and going a little jog to catch up. He wanted to argue with his sister more, remind her of how well she'd taken care of him so far, but he could tell that, for now at least, the conversation was over.


><


Citrus Spritz and her two friends sat at the outskirts of the camp, eating a late dinner as the last of the Sun's light faded over the horizon.

Grey ignored the glare being sent his way as he ate his meal with slow, methodical bites. "You know, I was skeptical at first, eating vegetables cooked in animal fat, but I have to admit, it's damn delicious."

Citrus Spritz smiled tentatively, eyes darting between the two males as she answered, "Thanks. I'll admit, I've never quite been able to bring myself to enjoy meat, it's just too strange for me, but I think this is a happy medium. I can eat it, and it's a good way to get some of the more stubborn dogs to eat their vegetables."

Grey chuckled as Citrus turned her attention to their feathered companion. "Um, how about you, Gerard? I haven't seen you take a bite yet... I could, maybe, make you something else."

"Don't bother," Grey, commented, "He's more stubborn than any of your dogs, but he'll come around eventually."

Gerard growled. "What's that supposed to mean."

"That you don't like eating your vegetables. What else could it mean?"

"I'd rather be stubborn than a traitor."

"Really? I'm a traitor?" Grey asked, raising a brow.

"We came out here to bring that dragon to justice, and you helped her!" Gerard accused, voice rising.

"Keep quiet," Grey snapped. "The entire caravan doesn't need to hear your wining."

"Wining? You put me in a headlock! You let her get away!"

"I did," agreed the stallion. "Doesn't make me a traitor, though. I never said I was coming out here to catch Amethyst, just that I was watching out for you. Making sure you didn't go making mistakes and getting yourself hurt."

"The only mistake made was yours! You let a criminal escape!"

"Criminal? By the gods, open your eyes and look around! We're surrounded by criminals!  I know you said you didn't care, but at least blame the ones responsible!"

"Amethyst is responsible!"

"No she isn't, damn it, she was defending herself and the little one with her! She may have struck the blow, but it was Dr. Zariba that stirred us all up in a frenzy with lies! If Phantom hadn't showed up talking about an evil dragon needing to be stopped, Amethyst wouldn't have had to hurt anypony, and that includes your sister!"

Gerard looked ready to retort, but was interrupted by a meek voice. "Grey's right, we are the criminals here."

The bird stutters for a moment, eyes whipping over. "What?"

Citrus Spritz, eyes downcast, elaborated. "Amethyst Thistle was captured by us, because Dr. Zariba needed her to translate some stone tablets. He got her to agree by threatening her little brother, and even used dark magic on him. If you need to blame anyone for what happened to your sister, blame us, and me especially."

Gerard was stunned, beak working to find words. "Citrus, no, y-you're just a cook. I mean, okay, maybe your boss isn't good-"

"It's because of me that Amethyst escaped in the first place."

Beak snapping shut, Gerard stared for several seconds as his expression became unreadable. "What do you mean?" he asked just above a whisper.

Citrus chanced a glance up, but her eyes snapped back down upon seeing the dull stare. "I... I don't know exactly how it happened. I didn't even know they had been captured at first, not until Amethyst tried to escape, but once I knew... Knew they were there, tied up in the dark without food or water, I couldn't stop thinking about it. The little one looked so scared and helpless. I heard later that Dr. Zariba had done something to him, hurt him somehow. He did that to a child, and then left him to starve through the night.

"I had to do something. Amethyst didn't trust me when I came in the middle of the night, I can't blame her, but I just wanted to give them something to drink. I lit a lantern so that I could show her the lemonade wasn't poisoned, and then I left. That was the big mistake. She broke that lantern and used the fire to get out of the ropes, and then she ran to Bedville...  And then your sister..."

Her voice trailed off, leaving nothing but the popping of firewood and cricket chirps as she waited for her companions' judgment. It was Grey to speak first after several moments. "You were just trying to do the right thing, Citrus, there's no shame in that."

"I wasn't, though," Citrus mumbled back. "Amethyst was right back then. She said I was just trying to ease a guilty conscious, and I was. I'm a coward. A despicable coward. I travel with Zariba, turn a blind eye to his crimes, all because I'm too afraid to leave. I say it's so I can travel the world, try new foods and become a better chef, but that stopped being true the first time we robbed a tomb and Zariba ended up taking a skull for his dark magic.

"And my family, what they would think, that terrifies me even more," she finished in a whisper, eyes shimmering in the firelight. Flinching, the green mare is surprised by a gentle embrace. "G-grey, what are-?"

"You aren't a bad mare, and you aren't a coward, you've just made some bad choices. We're all guilty of those." soothed the stallion, hugging Citrus across the withers. "What's important is that you acknowledge and try to right them."

For a moment, Citrus was reminded of the strong embrace of her father and her heart was awash with homesickness. Gerard spoke low, ending the moment. "Even you, huh? Guess Amethyst is the real victim here, then. She's out there, running the wilds with her brother, not in a hospital bed, not afraid she'll never walk again, but she's got it so hard otherwise."

"Dammit, boy, nopony's saying what's happened to your sister isn't a tragedy," Gray snapped, gently pushing away from Citrus to face his feathered charge. "But what's getting revenge going accomplish? What? You beat the dragon bloody, and suddenly Gertrude's gonna be up and out of bed, spry as a fledgling? No! It won't change a damn thing but make you feel better and put another innocent creature in danger!"

Gerard growled, "I know that, dammit! You've been beating it into my head since we started this, and now I've got Citrus preaching the same shit! But you know what? It doesn't change how I feel! Knowing in my head that she's innocent doesn't make the hatred in my heart suddenly go away, so what do you want from me? All I've got is this burning hatred and anger to tell me what to do!"

Expression losing some of its anger, the stallion stepped towards the young gryphon with hot tears in his eyes. "Don't be such a fool, Gerard, despite all the evidence saying otherwise,  you're smarter than to believe something like that." Standing directly in front of his quivering ward, Grey could only see a child at that moment, not even out of his teens yet and so scared for the little family he had left. "We aren't telling you to stop feeling the way you do, you love your sister more than anything and have every right to be angry, but letting yourself feel that way and actually acting on the feeling are two very different things.

"You've been saving it up, letting it fester this whole time, waiting to vent it all on Amethyst, and don't tell me you haven't. Ever since it happened, you've kept yourself from healing, trying to stay busy. First it was the search back when Amethyst first got away, and then it was this quest for revenge. Tell me, Gerard, have you even let yourself cry?"

At the flinch, Grey knew his answer. "Cry? What good will that do? Nothings ever been solved with a couple of tears," the gryphon retorted, looking away.

"I don't know about solving problems, but it might make you feel better," Citrus spoke up, wiping her own tears away. "I feel a little better, anyway."

Gerard glanced her way, then to his plate of food. "Whatever, let's just finish eating already so we can do the dishes and get some sleep. And Grey? Go sit your flank down over there. You are not going to hug me." The stallion smirked and shook his head, walking back to his seat. Gerard would open up when he was ready. At least know he knew it was okay to.

Citrus couldn't help the tiny giggle as the gryphon started chucking vegetables into his mouth. She wasn't entirely sure where the two stood now after what she admitted, and guilt still sat heavy in her heart, but the fact that he was still willing to help her cleanup made her hopeful for their friendship.

"What are you staring at?" he asked through a mouthful of food.

"Nothing," she answered, smiling lightly. "Just wondering if you like it."

He stared, swallowed, and mumbled, "Yeah, it's okay."