The Imperial Army paraded down the streets. Their black, chitinous armor and stubby horned helmets gave them a bug-like appearance. It’s like they’re not even trying to hide how tyrannically evil they are. Here to collect tribute for the Queen, no doubt.
Spike stood on the roof of a building a few blocks away from the marching army. He was sure they couldn’t see him; not that they should even care. He hasn’t caused them any trouble; just the local government. Bunch of cowards. We have our own military force, but we don’t even try to put a fight. Sure, they have superior numbers, but they act like drones. I doubt they even have free will; I wouldn’t put it past the Queen to have brainwashed her entire army.
He knew there was nothing he could do to stop them, but he believed in a bright future. One day the Empire would fall, and he would be on the front lines when it happened. He could have joined the military, like his friend Harwell, but then he would have be taking orders from the same people who just let the Empire march right over them. Harwell’s probably at attention with the Imperial Army around. I should try and find him. He opened up a hatch in the roof and dropped down inside.
He always could find Harwell wherever he was. He wasn’t sure why; he just sort of knew. Right now he was standing on the side of the main street near an alleyway. The Imperial Army was gone – some were patrolling the city while the others stood by as the Imperial Ambassador convened with the city officials – but the city’s military remained at attention, afraid to leave their posts.
Spike snuck up behind Harwell. “Hey Harwell,” he said casually. Harwell shuddered before quickly turning around, his spear at the ready. As soon as he saw Spike, he relaxed his stance.
“Don’t sneak up on me like that,” Harwell whispered loudly, “I could have hurt you!”
Spike rolled his eyes. “Ah yes, the ever-vigilant soldier.” He did nothing to hide his sarcasm. “What would you have done if I had been one of those Imperial goons?”
Harwell opened his mouth, but then quickly closed it. He sighed. “I knew you weren’t. One: I recognize your voice, and two: no Imperial would call me by name, even if they did know it.”
Spike gave him a smirk. “You always were sharp. I still can’t believe you joined the military; you’re not that great with a weapon, you would rather be reading your books, and to top it all off,” he said as his smirk grew wider,” your favorite color is purple. I bet all of the other soldiers get on your case for that.”
Spike could see Harwell’s annoyed face through his helmet. “First off, there is nothing wrong with a man liking purple. The color used to represent royalty-“
“Which fits you so well,” Spike interjected with his regular sarcasm.
Harwell ignored his comment and continued. “Secondly, I joined the military because tactical history happens to be a particular topic of interest for me, and this is the only place where that kind of information could be useful.”
Now Spike was starting to get annoyed. “Not if you’re just letting the enemies walk through the city like they own the place.”
“Technically, they do own the place,” Harwell replied matter-of-factly.
Spike leaned against the alley wall and shifted his eyes away from Harwell. “Only because those doormats we call ‘city officials’ don’t mind being stepped on.”
Harwell sighed. He just didn’t understand why Spike insisted on fighting all the time. “What would you have them do? Going against the Empire would put the entire city at risk.”
Spike looked like he had more to say, but he had enough of this pointless chatter. “Whatever, I’m going back to the hideout.”
Harwell shook his head at another of Spike’s quirks. “Why do you insist on calling it that? It’s just our house.”
Spike had already turned his back towards Harwell. “It’s where I go when I don’t want to be found; to me, that’s a hideout.” He raised his hand and signaled back to him, “See ya later,” and with that, he disappeared back into the alleyways.
As Spike traversed the alleyways, he began to hear a pair of female voices coming from around a nearby corner. He stopped and pressed himself against the wall. They’re not Imperials; they don’t have that distinct droning voice. Still, better play this safe. He took a quick peek around the corner. What he saw were two females, one taller than the other, standing across from each other. The taller female had dark tan and sported her long blonde hair in a ponytail. The shorter female had fair, almost radiant skin that contrasted greatly with her dark, curly hair. Both of them were wearing white robes with light gold trim, emblazoned with a symbol resembling the sun. Spike knew he had seen that symbol on their robes before, but he was having trouble placing where.
“Priestess, please, we really shouldn’t be out here. Imperial soldiers are about,” said the tan female, “It’s not safe for you out here.”
“Kala, you have been my guardian for several years now, the least you could do is call me by name,” responded the smaller female. She looked about with energy, as if she were quite interested in her surroundings.
“Pries… Ari,” Kala quickly corrected herself, “I know this is your first time to the city, but we did not expect the Imperial Army to show up while we were here. You and the elders should remain hidden until they leave.”
“The elders are safe in this city’s temple, and I have you to protect me. Please, I just want to see more of the city,” Ari argued.
Kala persisted in changing her companion’s mind. “I may be able to protect you from a few soldiers, but once they know we are here, they will not rest until they have captured us. The Queen would do anything to stop the Cult of Tiela.”
Those words struck Spike like a hand to his forehead. Of course! The Cult of Tiela! They’re the ones that prophesize the downfall of the Empire. That would explain why they are so worried about Imperial soldiers. Well, any enemy of the Empire is a friend of mine. He casually stepped around the corner, calling out and waving to the two. “Hello ladies. I couldn’t help but overhear that you two are from the Cult of Tiela.”
Kala quickly moved to position herself between Spike and Ari. She addressed Spike with a commanding voice. “Who are you and how long have been spying on us?”
“Calm down, I mean you no harm,” Spike said with that level of sincerity you learn when you often have to talk yourself out of a sticky situation. “I wouldn’t say I was spying as you; just playing it safe. You can’t be too careful with those Imperials about.”
Ari moved up to stand next to Kala. “You see, he just as unhappy about the Imperials being here as we are. He must be a local.” She looked him over. “Not a bad looking one at that.”
Kala quickly turned to Ari. “Priestess! Really, now is not the time!” She turned back to look at Spike. “He’s just a boy; scrawny, probably no good in combat,” she scoffed.
Spike merely smirked back. “I can hold my own. There’s more to combat then brute strength.”
Kala furrowed her brow. “Don’t talk to me about fighting, boy. I was raised as a warrior. I could take on five Imperial soldiers at one time, probably more!”
Spike raised his hand into the air. “Hold on! I didn’t come to start a fight. We’re on the same side, after all. I’ve heard the prophesies spoken by your order, and I can only hope they are true.”
Ari took another step forward. “Of course they are true! ‘The Chosen One will lead her heroes against the Empire and cause it to crumble all around them.’” She turned to look at Kala, motioning her to calm down. “Kala here is just performing her duty as a guardian; keeping me safe from any threats.”
Spike gave a light bow. “I understand, but I assure you I’m no threat....” He raised his head and stared kindly at Ari. “… Certainly not to a pretty woman such as yourself.” Color came to Ari’s cheeks, but Spike could feel Kala’s stare boring into him. He raised himself up and gave a small cough. “I want to help keep you safe. I take it neither of you are very familiar to the city, but I happen to know these alleyways very well. I can make sure the Imperial soldiers don’t even know you’re here.”
Ari seemed very pleased; she clasped her hands together and gave a big smile to Spike, but Kala seemed preoccupied, looking towards the sky. “Did you here that Kala,” she said with excitement. “I can finally see that city!”
Kala suddenly looked at Ari with a serious look on her face. “No time, the elders have just contacted me. We need to get back to the temple immediately. Something is wrong….” She quickly turned to Spike. “Alright, you can help. Can you get us to the north end without being seen?”
Spike stuck a thumb up at them and gave a quick wink to Ari. “No problem! Just stay right behind me and keep up!” He quickly headed down a nearby alleyway, and the two women followed right after him.
“Well, there’s no way we’re going through the front door,” Kala pointed out the obvious. They were hiding on a roof several buildings over from where the elders were hiding, which was currently surrounded by Imperial soldiers. She turned back to look at the other two. “The elders are fine for now. Their chamber hasn’t been found yet.”
Spike looked at Kala quizzically before turning back to Ari. “Explain to me how that works again?”
“All guardians of the cult have a psychic link with the elders and their chosen ward. This way the elders can communicate with them and they are aware when anyone in their care is in danger.” Ari’s sweet smile showed little concern about the current situation.
Spike sat in silence for a bit while he let this information sink in. Then he turned to address Kala. “Do these elders know if there is a secret entrance in to this temple through the back?”
“There is a back entrance,” Kala declared after a brief moment, “but the entire perimeter is being patrolled.”
“Well, as I see it,” Spike began to say as he stood up, “they already know the cult is here. They’re not about to give up anytime soon,” he pointed at Kala, “you said so yourself. At this point, getting into the temple undetected seems unlikely, so I propose we work our way towards this back entrance, take out any Imperials that may nearby. As long as none of them see any of the secret doors we use, their reinforcements won’t be able to follow us, right?”
Kala gave a heavy sigh as she stood up. “Looks like we don’t have any other choice.” Then Spike saw something he didn’t think he would ever see: Kala smirked. “Let’s get to it then.”
They made their way across rooftops and down alleyways; taking the long way around to the back of the temple. They eventually reached a vantage point where they could see three Imperial soldiers patrolling the back wall. Spike did a preliminary scan of the wall. “You sure there is a secret entrance here? I don’t see anything.”
Kala gave him a condescending look. “If you could see it, it wouldn’t be much of a secret, now would it?”
Spike gave her a look from the side. “I’m usually fairly good at spotting secret doors, but I’ll take your word for it.” He turned his towards the soldiers. “Only three of them. Shouldn’t be problem for you,” he said, turning back towards Kala, “should it?”
Kala had somehow produced a large, metal mallet that she was now carrying in her left hand with little effort. I’m not even going to ask where she was hiding that, Spike thought as she approached the edge of the building. “Not a problem, you just make sure the priestess gets down safely,” said Kala, shortly before jumping down to the ground below.
Spike turned around to face Ari, who had been standing by quietly awaiting their instructions. “Sorry about this Ari,” he said as he approached her, “but we’re going the same way she did.”
“What are you –“Ari started to say before Spike grabbed and lifted her into his arms.
“Hold on!” Spike shouted as he ran towards the edge of building and jumped off. Ari let out a little squeak as they fell for a moment, but Spike managed to land on his feet and remain upright. Ari was holding on tight – which he certainly didn’t mind – but he was reminded there was more important business to attend to when one of the Imperial soldiers crashed into the wall nearby with a satisfying crunch. Spike convinced Ari to let go and told her to get to the entrance before he saw how Kala was doing.
The two remaining Imperials had Kala flanked; they both brandished their swords as they closed in on her. She showed little concern for the situation, however, as she swung her hammer at the enemy in front of her. It made contact with the soldier’s head, causing him to shift slightly to the right as he crumpled to the ground. She maintained her momentum from the swing to turn around and face the final soldier. He appeared unfazed from seeing his companions fall and he lunged at Kala with his sword. Kala didn’t miss a beat, deftly side-stepping the attack and landing her weapon square on his back. The soldier hit the ground hard, refusing to move after receiving such a strong blow.
Spike just stood there, his mouth hanging open. Note to self: Do NOT get on her bad side. Kala quickly approached him. “Well, don’t just stand there. We need to get inside before more of them show up!” Spike turned around as she passed him. Ari was standing near a doorway that he hadn’t seen before. She was waving them in, “Come on! Hurry!” Spike quickly followed behind Kala, and Ari entered after them, closing the door behind them.
There they were; the elders of the Cult of Teila. The three of them wore robes just like the two women, but their hoods were up, obscuring their faces. The room they stood in was round, with torches attached to columns that made a circle in the middle. Their heads were bowed, but they rose when Spike, Ari, and Kala entered the perimeter of the columns. When they spoke, the do so one at a time, the next taking up where the last had left off. They all sounded the same to Spike; a steady, deep but harmonious female voice. “Finally, you have come.” “The prophesy begins.” “You all have a part to play.” “Even you…” They all pointed a robe-covered arm at Spike.
“Me?” Spike was taken back. “I want the prophesy to come true; I want to be there when the Empire falls, but I can’t fight an army.”
“Not every hero fights with a weapon.” “You have power deep inside you.” “You are the foretold hero.” “The one that is to travel with Chosen One.” “To bring an end to the Empire’s reign.” “Spike…” The eyes of the elders lit up like bright stars in the night sky. “… You are a dragon.”
As the elders spoke those final words, Spike’s mind was barraged with images; images of Chrysalis and the changelings, of Twilight, of Applejack and Rarity, even of Princess Celestia. Suddenly, everything began to make sense. As the world around him began to fade, he heard himself utter three words in his voice; his real voice…
“Yes I am.”
*Spike awakes*