//------------------------------// // baltimare blitz, part 1 // Story: Journey of the Noble Dragons // by closet brony 77 //------------------------------// “UGH THIS IS HOPELESS” Twilight shouted. For the past week, Twilight and her friends had searched the castle library from top to bottom for any sort of clue to the location to the Vlemm enclave. Their working and social obligations had forced everypony but Twilight to abandon the search, making it take six times as long as it should have. But it was all in vain, as the princess couldn’t find a single reference to the Vlemm enclave or the noble dragons and she was very thorough in her studies; reading through every history and geography book several times, before moving on to fables and legends, then ending with every other book she had in hopes of there being some sort of reference, alas nothing came of it. Letting out a sigh of exasperation, Twilight slumped over onto the table “I don’t understand, I’ve checked every book concerning the history of Equestria dating back thousands of moons and yet there is no mention of anything called ‘nobel dragons’. It’s like they never even existed in the first place.” Her ears darted up at the sound of a plate being slid onto the table, she looked over and saw a daffodil and daisy sandwich coupled with some hay fries that had been freshly made. “Thank you Starlight” said Twilight, taking a bite of the sandwich. “Well somepony has to make sure you don’t waste away in here, you sure aren’t gonna” replied Twilight’s protege. “Any luck so far?” “Sadly no, nopony seemed to know anything about the noble dragons; or at least nothing worth documenting which seems impossible, so there has to be another explanation” said the princess, shoveling a hoof of hay fries into her mouth. “Well Ember is the dragon lord, maybe she knows something or one of her subjects do. They’d probably know more about dragon history than ponies do” Starlight said, only to jump back when Twilight whipped her head around so fast you’d think her neck should have snapped. “Are you crazy?! If I did that, I’d have to tell her Spike ran away and knowing Ember she’d flip out! You know how much she cares about Spike!” Unfortunately Starlight knew exactly what her mentor was talking about: Starlight had gone over to visit Ember in the dragon lands on a diplomatic mission that was really just an excuse to hang out with her second favorite dragon friend. While there she accidentally stumbled upon a small shrine dedicated to Spike, made up of some shed scales, a few stolen personal belongings, and numerous pictures. Out of pure shock she never brought up this discovery with Ember but one thing was clear: the dragon lord had a crush on Spike, one that bordered on obsession. “Besides, that dragon Connor already made it clear that neither him nor any of the dragons that have Spike are associated with Ember. So we have no more leads” “Well look at the bright side, at least things can’t get any worse.” Starlight said. As if on cue, a stream of golden magic flew in threw an open window and materialized a scroll with a royal seal on it. Recognizing it as a message from Celestia, Twilight quickly unraveled it to see the message. Dear twilight, Gather together your friends and get to Canterlot, there is an urgent matter I wish to discuss with you all concerning recent events involving Spike. Sincerely, Princess Celestia. Twilight slammed her head onto the desk in frustration “things just got worse.” ************************ “Well at least things can’t get any worse” said Connor, looking over the wreckage. A mere fifteen minutes ago, a strong gust of wind had plowed directly into the sails of the noble dragons’ ship; sending them careening directly into a set of sharp rocks that completely demolished the ship, luckily they all made it to the shore completely unharmed thanks to quick thinking. If that wasn’t enough, a further consultation of their map lead them all to the realization that they had spent the last week traveling in the wrong direction and ended up on the coast opposite to the one they were supposed to be on; not to mention they landed only a few miles away from Baltimare, putting them at a direct risk of discovery. “You really shouldn’t say that Connor” Spike remarked “that phrase causes the universe to make things worse.” A clap of thunder suddenly echoed off the horizon and rain began to pour down from the heavens, forcing the group to take shelter under some nearby trees. “See?” Spike said Connor just frowned in response, looking away from the baby dragon. Saphria let out a sigh as she and Yam looked over the map, “how in the name of Tartarus did we miss this? All we had to do was go one way and somehow we messed that up!” “Well to be fair the noble dragons have very few updated maps of Equestria” said Yam “our mapmakers only go off of what little they have seen of reconnaissance missions.” “I suppose you’re right. But we need a plan to get us out of this, we aren’t exactly in an ideal position for our current mission.” Saphria said. “Way ahead of you Saphi.” said Griffith, shutting closed a small console on his prosthetic arm. “I sent out a distress signal to the rest of the guys, they said they’d bring the airship around to come and get all of us out of here.” “Perfect, how soon until they get here?” “Eehhh, even if they double time it. They won’t arrive until tomorrow night.” Saphria few back down into a sitting position and rubbed her eyes “great, that’s just great. Where are we supposed to hide for the next day? Staying out in the open this close to a pony city isn’t going to cut it.” “I might have an idea” said Yam. “If what I’ve read is correct, Baltimare is home to a large shipping port. Most of the items that come in from overseas have to pass through here.” “How does this help us?” questioned Saphria. “Well Saphria, that means that there are likely plenty of warehouses scattered around the city made for holding all of the imports and exports; with a little luck we might be able to find an abandoned one and turn it into a temporary base. Yes we’d be right in the center of a pony hive but as long as we take the steps to remain out of sight and bar entry from any ponies that wouldn’t be a big concern.” Yam said. “Okay but then there’s the matter of actually getting INTO the city undetected Yam.” Saphria said before turning to Griffith who was about to make another suggestion. “And no Griffith we are not using your cloaking device, the last time we used that poor Crystal ended up being caught naked in the middle of our village.” “How about the sewers? It isn’t the cleanest but it can take us all over town without being spotted.” Spike said. “Well….not a great option but I can’t come up with anything better.” said the purple ninja dragon. “Let’s do it.” The group began to make their way down to the city, using the shroud created by the rainstorm as a makeshift cover for their approach. Ducking behind bushes and into alleyways everytime a pony came across; it was slow going sure, but the group was more concerned with safety than speed. Along the way, Saphria managed to swipe a map of the city from a few tourists and used it to pinpoint a few potential locations for their temp lair. After passing by a few blocks they had made it to a manhole cover that was out of the way from any busy streets and completely unattended. “Okay so I’ve narrowed it down to three possible options” said Saphria, climbing down the ladder into the damp and dark tunnels “the first is one on gallop way, only a mile from here, but it’s a bit on the small side; the second one is further down from us on mane street and used to house refrigerated goods, bigger but also next to a busier part of town; the third one is off by horseshoe avenue, honestly I’m not sure what they’re keeping there but it’s the largest of the three and it relatively out of the way, but it is a thirty mile trek there, one through the sludge of the sewers.” “Well the second one’s out. We can’t like, set up shop with all those prying eyes right outside.” Connor said. “Good point.” Saphria said, crossing out the marked warehouse. “How about we check out the first one and if it’s no good we head out to the last one, they’re both on the same route anyways” remarked Spike’s younger brother Griffith. And with that, our draconic protagonists began their trek through the rancid muck that had began to flood the tunnels from the rainfall; intent on finishing their quest no matter the cost. ************************************* Princess Celestia was currently laying on her bed, a forlorn expression painted across her face and a very important picture clutched in her hooves. Taken a few months after Spike had been hatched, the photo depicted Spike cuddled up to the princess of the sun, resting peacefully in her hooves like a newborn foal. She had plenty of photos from when she had played a role in raising the dragon over the years alongside Twilight, but this was by far her favorite; truly capturing the innocence that her adopted son held about him, innocence that she would go to any length to protect. The door to her room open and one of the royal guard trotted in “Princess, Twilight and her friends have arrived and await you in the dining room.” Letting out a sigh, Celestia placed the frame back in its usual place on her nightstand. She rubbed her eyes and said “tell them I will be down shortly” in an uncharacteristically monotone voice. Within minutes the group was seated in the dining room, five of the elements of harmony plus Starlight glimmer had been nervously fidgeting in their seats the entire time; after all given the circumstances, there was a good chance they were in serious trouble. “Oh man I feel like I’m back in cloudsdale high, right before you have to meet with the principle” Rainbow Dash whispered. The double doors that served as the entrance flew open and Princess Celestia entered, causing all of the elements of harmony and Starlight to sit up straight in response as if they were mere fillies still in elementary school when the teacher entered the room. At first there was nothing but an awkward silence filling the air, Celestia repeatedly opening and closing her mouth like a fish out of water as she attempted to figure out where she should start the discussion. Rarity ended up being the first to the punch: “Princess are….are you upset with us?” The princess of the sun just rubbed her eyes “while I am upset, it’s not with any of you. I’m merely disappointed, especially with you Twilight” “Me?!” the princess of friendship exclaimed. “When I handed Spike over to you as your assistant Twilight, I was entrusting you to ensure the safety of my son and while also giving him a much needed friend. To see that you’ve failed in such a way, it’s….it’s just disappointing” said Celestia Those words completely crushed Twilight, shattering her heart into thousands of pieces. Hysterics, she could have handled; mommy bearlestia, she could have handled; but disapproval, from the mentor that she has looked up to all her life, the one that has guided her through harsh times, the feelings brought forth by such a state was the one she feared the most: the feeling of failure. But the rest of her friends were having a very different reaction, the feelings of disappointment radiating from Celestia wasn’t what they picked up on; rather it was the shocking revelation that Spike was actually Celestia’s adopted son. “Wait an apple pickin minute, did you jus say that Spike is yer son?!” exclaimed Applejack “Why of course, originally I had planned to only act as a caretaker until Spike was old enough to be handed over to Twilight’s family. But I….I grew attached to him, he gave me what I had lost with Luna; a family. Even after he was placed into Twilight’s care I still arranged for occasional ‘mommy meetups’ to put it eloquently, just for the sake of spending more time with him.” replied Celestia. “Does” Rarity said, taking in a deep breath “does this mean that Spike has been a prince this entire time?!!” “Well considering I did use my authority as princess to make the adoption official, I would say that yes, Spike is technically a prince of Equestria” A look of disbelief crawled across Rarity’s face, her eyes twitching rapidly, before they rolled into the back of her head and the fashionista fell over on the floor; passed out cold. The pure shock of how an opportunity to become a member of the royal family had been sitting in front of her for years was something that her mind just couldn’t handle. “But we’re getting off topic. Right now it’s imperative that we track down Spike and convince him to return home.” said Celestia, trying to ignore the unconscious unicorn. “But you’re the princess of the sun! Can’t you just use your alicorn magic to locate him or something?” said Rainbow Dash “Unfortunately ms.Dash we’ve been unable to since there has been a very strange magical interference.” said Luna walking in and catching everypony’s attention “ever since we’ve heard about my nephew’s disappearance, we’ve both tried to use our abilities to pinpoint Spike’s location: but every attempt has been blocked by this strange field of magical energy, jamming up our own spells.” Celestia sighed “I’m afraid Luna is correct, this magic….it’s unlike anything we’ve ever seen in the history of Equestria, something so powerful that not even we can overcome it. So we’re forced to use simpler means, this is where you all will come in” The princess then used her magic to materialize a large map of Equestria onto the dining room table. “I’ve already sent out orders to the royal guard squads across equestria to keep an eye out for Spike along with all the dragons he’s been traveling with. But the search will have to consist of you six alone, if I were to start sending royal guards out on a dragon hunt, my subjects may begin asking questions and if they found out that there was a rogue group of dragons on the loose with unknown abilities it could cause a panic. It is for that same reason that I am forced to keep my contributions at a minimum.” “Well you’ve been around for thousands of years Celestia” said Twilight “surely you know where the Vlemm enclave is, or at least have heard a clue to its location” Celestia made a very strange face at that comment; one very rarely seen on the princess’ faces because the need to make it almost never arose, especially when said occasion involved knowledge of equestria's past: it was the face of a pony completely and utterly stumped. “Hard as this may be to believe twilight…..I’ve never even heard of such a place existing, much less its location.” said the princess of the sun, “It seems only natural.” said luna “even when the noble dragons were still around they were incredibly secretive, meticiously keeping themselves as well as their knowledge hidden from all the other races; ponies, griffins, yaks, hippogriffs, minotaurs, diamond dogs, zebras, changelings, and even most dragons lacked any knowledge of their ways; the only reason I even knew that they existed was because they asked for my assistance in their war. Which only makes them even more dangerous as an unknown adversary, I advise you all to proceed with extreme caution.” “B-but surely there must be some record of them somewhere?” Twilight protested, entering the early stages of one of her textbook freakouts “it impossible that an entire society could just be completely invisible to all of equestria.” Celestia merely sighed “several years after their defeat in the dragon clan wars, mentions of their society in text and art began to disappear; books and paintings were stolen, scholars were silenced, the noble dragons had entered a crusade to force the world to forget about them for unknown reasons and in time they succeeded. I’m sorry Twilight, but the noble dragons have all but been erased from history; if you wish to find Spike you’ll have to go searching for him” Twilight lowered her head, they were right back where they started; Spike somewhere out in Equestria, traveling with some unknown dragons who may very well have been feeding him lies and they had no clue of how to find him at all. He could be a million miles away by now for all they knew. ******************************* “Okay let’s see if this one is any good.” said Griffith, pushing open the manhole cover inside of the warehouse. So far, the dragons’ search for a temporary base had been fruitless: the first had turned out to be a production plant for hay burgers and thus was swarmed with ponies, the second was in the process of being demolished for a new barnyard bargains, which left the third as their only remaining option. “Hmmm, looks empty enough. If the cobwebs and dust are anything to go by, nobody’s been here for quite awhile either.” said Saphria following after her mechanic friend. “What do you think Artair?” asked Connor Spike couldn’t give a response, all he could do was shiver in the nature lovers arms, a look of horror plastered onto his face, it was like he had watched pony-centipede all over again only this time it was real. “Oh don’t tell me you’re still freaked out by what we saw at the first warehouse big bro.” said Griffith “I-I just can’t believe it. I never knew THAT was what went into a hayburger, or the hayfries too…..I’m never eating at mchoofs again.” Spike replied, his face turning a shade of green that matched his brother’s scales “That is exactly why I became a vegetarian bro.” Connor said. “But anyway, I’m gonna take a look outside. See what’s up with the foot traffic.” Saphria nodded “Good idea, I’ll check a few of these crates. See if there’s anything we might be able to use.” “I wouldn’t” Spike said, swallowing the bile that had built up in the back of his stomach “these crates say they belong to the Mr.Funtime Gallops company” “Which means what exactly?” “It means” said Spike, kicking one of the crates causing a wave of pogs to fallout “that they’re all filled with nothing but lame toys and other useless junk that was popular a few dozen moons ago” Griffith was the next to crack open a crate and found it to be filled with rubber bands in very odd shapes “who would trade for these?” “Eh back then it was a different time, Mr.Funtime Gallops made the most useless toys of all time; everything from horseshoes with wheels in them to these really creepy and annoying talking dolls, I think they were called ‘furnies’ or something like that. Twilight made me do a whole report on in when she was going through my homeschooling phase.” “Well at least we won’t have to worry about anyone stumbling upon this place, it looks fairly abandoned. I doubt even a single ounce of this garbage has sold in the last year.” “Not to mention that there’s like nobody outside, the street is like a ghost town. So we’re all set here.” said Connor, “Well then I guess I’d better get to work on the rest of this place, I can probably make us a home away from home even with all this junk. I’ve done more with less after all” said Griffith as he plucked a few tools off of his belt. “I’ll keep watch from the roof, see if the situation changes, remember we’re still in a large metropolitan area so there is always the threat of someone stumbling upon us by chance” said Saphria Connor just shrugged, “and that’s my cue to go rest for a bit, maybe sprout up some lavender spores, I stink” Soon enough it was just Spike and Yam standing there together, the former turning towards the latter and saying “so what’s your story Yam?” “Me? Oh no, you don’t want to hear about that. I’ll just bore you” replied Yam Spike chuckled “Yam, I’ve sat through a two hour long lecture on the entire life story of Starswirl the Bearded given by a pony who thinks the subject is way more interesting than it really is. There is no way you can be more boring than that.” Yam rubbed her arm like a nervous school filly, she was already pretty awkward to begin with but being in the presence of a living legend only served to worsen her anxiety; but then again, Artair seemed to be pretty nice and understanding, maybe she was panicking over nothing. The light blue dragon cleared her throat and took a seat on the concrete floor “well, I was born roughly forty-five moons ago and naturally I was raised on the Vlemm enclave. Ever since I was a hatchling I’d had a thirst for knowledge, I learned to read early on and began to burn through any book I could get my hands on. But I found stories about Equestira in particular especially intriguing because of all the the legendary feats of his heros alongside the numerous contradictions within their societies” “What do you mean?” “Well early on, ponies discriminated against each other based upon their abilities which I find very strange as it is both counter productive as well as just plain stupid, they’re all still ponies right? But I’m straying from the topic at hand; I spent most of my early days indoors, as a lonely bookworm.” ‘Wow, her childhood is almost exactly like Twilight’s’ Spike thought to himself “But...that all changed when Connor came by, I’ll never forget that day.” said Yam, letting out a sigh “I was still in my baby dragon form as was Connor, he had stopped by to borrow one of my many botany books and I gladly complied. But when he came back to return it a few days later, he stayed around to talk to me. Despite our differences, him being an outdoorsy nature lover and me being more of an indoor dragon, we just connected on a spiritual level of sorts; Connor was the very first friend I ever had. After a while I began to go outside more, if nothing to spend time with Connor and he ended up introducing me to Saphria.” Yam paused for a moment. “I don’t know what she saw that shy baby dragon that I used to be, potential perhaps, but whatever it was Saphria was determined to let it loose. She helped me connect with my aura.” To demonstrate, she picked up a nearby pile of rubber bands in one of her claws. Focusing in, Yam caused a blue cloud of energy to surround the pile and they began to turn completely white, a slight crackling noise emanating from them. When the energy field dissipated, Yam violently threw the bands down onto the floor where they shattered upon impact. “The power of frost, I have complete and total mastery over ice and snow and can freeze any object at will. I’d like to say that I discovered them through Saphria’s training but it happened completely by accident, I had been doing some tedious late night studying for another lesson with the dragoness in question and was severely exhausted from the lack of sleep combined with brutal exercise. I fumbled around for the drink I had prepared for myself in a half awake stupor, when I went for a sip I had found that it had been frozen solid. With some experimentation I had found out that I had activated my aura and after awhile I grew to become skilled at it, but to this day I’ve yet to discover the full extent of my powers. That was actually the reason I had stumbled upon you Artair.” “You mean the frozen north was a…” Spike began. “Training exercise yes, I theorized that if I immersed myself in an environment that suited my aura I may be able to discover more about it. What I didn’t account for was the reappearance of the Crystal Empire as well as you. I guess my life is just full of happy accidents” Yam finished. A slight blush appearing across her face. “Wow, so it was just chance that I was discovered? All this could have easily been avoided if you hadn’t discovered your powers?” asked Spike. “In a way, yes. But the universe works in mysterious ways, even I could never hope to understand them. What I do know is that everything happens for a reason” replied the frost dragon. Spike sprouted a cheshire smile “you mean like your crush on Connor?” Yam’s focus had been completely shattered and she was reduced to sputtering out incoherent phrases. “Oh don’t lie, when you mentioned him you had that same dumb look on your face as I did when I think about Rarity.” Yam finally gained back her composure and got onto her knees “please don’t tell the others, they’ll never let me hear the end of it! Connor won’t look at me ever again!” “Hey it’s fine, I won’t say anything. But you’ll have to eventually, otherwise you might just spend the rest of your life wondering what might have been.” replied Spike, “anyways, good talk. I’m gonna go see how Griffith is coming along with our beds. See ya.” This left Yam all by herself, face red as a tomato. Shaking it off, the dragoness let out a sigh “he really is the son of Frinad and Layla, both in kindness and wisdom. He’ll make for a fine prince.” Yam then decided to spend the rest of their time here doing what she usually did in her free time, reading. After all, nobody knew where they were besides the rescue. So what could go wrong?