--- Near A Journey's End ---
Twilight Sparkle was the first to awaken, greeted by the first rays of sunlight for the day shining through the cave's wide entrance, alongside the distinctive and familiar sounds of light snoring nearby. This sound brought a tired but sincere smile to her face, the purple pony let out a loud yawn as she lazily rubbed the sleep out of her eyes with a hoof. Sitting up from her bedroll, it wasn't long before she instinctually reached out with her magic and claimed the heavy cloak she had temporarily discarded the previous night, clicking the clasp around her neck and concealing all but her head from outside eyes. Despite being mostly isolated, she still felt better with the cloak on. It wouldn't be long before she would be back in a settlement anyway, so it was good that she still hadn't kicked the habit. A flash of arcane light emanated from under the cloak for a brief moment, the sounds of shifting metal being heard within and completing Twilight's ensemble, even if she was the only one who knew the true intricacies of what lay underneath her veil. Once the morning ritual had been completed, alongside some quick mystical adjustments of her mane, Twilight turned her attention to her little makeshift camp.
The dying embers of last night's campfire had all but died out, only the tiniest orange sparks still dancing about the charred wood. But still, the scent of fire lingered in the area, and the heat from the fire had yet to fully escape the cave. It must've only died out moments before Twilight had awoken. Closer to the small firepit than her own was another bedroll, one that had been twisted and deformed into what could only be described as some kind of nest. The mass was shifting up and down ever so slightly, perfectly in tune with the snoring that had helped in waking Twilight up this morning, bringing a much more alert smile to her face. Lastly, Twilight's attention was drawn to the two large pouches that sat propped up against the cave wall. They were still in the precise location she had left them before turning in for the night.
Another yawn escaped Twilight as she quietly trotted over to the saddlebags, her horn lighting up once more as she mythically reached into one of the bags. And after a few moments of quietly rustling around within, one of the bags popped open with a click of the buckle and several items came forth in Twilight's magical grasp. A large sealed bottle of ink, a rather plain-looking quill, and a large journal stuffed to the brim with makeshift bookmarks and other loose strands of paper.
Taking these items and leaving the saddlebags behind, for the time being, Twilight walked over to a part of the cave that was currently illuminated by the bright morning sun and took a seat. Cracking the book open and prepping her quill, the pony began to write. It had been a few days since she had made an entry in her journal, and she felt enough had happened within the past few days to warrant a new memo.
Journal entry number three hundred and forty-three.
May 16.
Year 1,011 on the Grand Celestial Calendar.It has been four days since Spike and I have begun our latest expedition for the fabled Dragon Kingdom, with very little progress to show for it, unfortunately. I'm starting to believe that the lead we picked up in Klugetown might have been more superstition or rumor more than concrete information. It doesn't help that the information was second-hoof, to begin with, Spike having overheard some likely less than morally upstanding individuals talking about "a kingdom's worth of gold." But Spike was insistent that we at least investigate a little, and had been hoping that we'd at least be able to see another dragon, so here we are. I want to tell him not to get his hopes up to high, but at the same time, he has been getting more and more anxious about this with each passing day. I'm starting to get a little worried about him.
Moving on. The "source" of information had suggested that this mountainous region was draconic territory, and the environment itself seems to support this claim. The various mountains would provide more than enough cave systems to allow a number of dragons to make their homes here, and the distinctive scent of sulfur in the air suggests that at least one of them is volcanic in nature. Both of which are tell-tale signs of a dragon's natural habitat. On a slightly unrelated note, Spike is absolutely enthralled by the scent, likely a byproduct of his natural instincts and his excitement over possibly finding the Dragon Kingdom or even just other dragons in general.
Though as stated before; I am beginning to doubt that there are even any dragons, other than Spike of course, here at all. Let alone a kingdom of them. In the past days, we have found several caves that would be more than suitable for draconic nesting grounds. Though there were no territorial claw marks, no shed scales, nothing at all. The rations brought along for the expedition are also beginning to dwindle to a dangerously low level. We have day's worth of food left, at best, and we are a far way's off from the nearest town. I promised we'd search one last cave or two before we begin making our way back to civilization to resupply and regroup. Thankfully, the amulet has finally recharged, and I caught sight of a root not too far from where we are now. So at the very least, we won't have to travel very far to do so.
It won't be long before Spike is up and demanding we get to the next cave, so I should end this entry here. He really wants to see if we'll actually find anything in the next cave, and it took more than a little willpower for me to get him to settle down last night. I will provide more details of the expedition's conclusion in the next memo, but for now, I promised him we'd search one more cave. Either we'll find what we're looking for, or we'll leave empty hoofed. Or clawed, in his case.
After giving the ink a moment or two to dry, a process accelerated thanks to a bit of magic, Twilight closed the journal with a content sigh. She was immediately greeted by the sight of a small dragon's face, and the massive bright green eyes that decorated it, uncomfortably close to her own. Purple scales covered the youthful-looking creature from head to toe, a series of small green spikes running down from the top of his head all the way to the tip of his tail, which was decorated with a tuft of green fur, not unlike the end of a lion's tail. While almost undeniably a dragon based on these facts, his physique was anything but traditionally draconic. Dragons were thick, stocky, winged creatures that radiated authority and power, even in their younger stages. And while there were a few subspecies that didn't quite fit this description, not one of them perfectly matched Spike's specific traits. This dragon, in all honesty, was rather thin and lanky for his kind. In fact, if one were to compare him to a serpent, it wouldn't be that far off of an observation. Aside from the more draconic features of his face, the spines along his spine, and the clawed limbs he had, he'd just be a purple snake in the eyes of any given passerby. And that comparison had been made many times in the past, much to Spike's dismay.
"Finally!" Spike chimed with a large toothy grin, returning Twilight's personal space as he began to run excited laps about the long-dead bonfire. The way he was bounding about on all fours like that reminded Twilight of an excited puppy, and she had to stifle a small laugh on her part at the admittedly adorable sight. "Come on! We're gonna miss the dragons!"
Twilight couldn't help but roll her eyes as she returned her journal and writing utensils to the saddlebags. "Calm down Spike," she instructed with a chuckle, "The dragons will still be there after we eat breakfast!" If there are any here at all, she added internally.
The prancing reptile ceased his celebration and gave his pony companion the meanest death glare he could muster. With an angered huff, he dashed over and dove headlong into one of the saddlebags, disappearing completely inside of the travel pouch. Moments later, he resurfaced with a different book gripped in his dexterous foreclaws. The crimson covered tome was one that Twilight knew all too well, it was only the book that Spike had been obsessed with ever since she showed it to him early on in their friendship. This book, in particular, was a collection of information that ponykind had gathered about dragons over the years. Seeing the book again brought back distinctive memories of a younger Twilight using it to try and disprove that Spike was a dragon. Though she had been disproven herself when Spike had almost burnt the book to a crisp with an accidental burst of fire (along with a good portion of her mane). Thankfully, ponies were great at magically restoring damaged books (manes, not so much), so the damage wasn't permanent. But despite the unusual context in which he had been introduced to it, this book had been Spike's favorite for as long as they both could remember. The fact that other dragons were so different than he was was fascinating to him. Heck, the only reason Twilight had been able to teach him how to read was because he wanted to know what all the weird scribbles in the book actually were. And since then, he had gone through the book countless times.
Spike eagerly flipped through the pages of the tome with great speed and ferocity, still taking careful precautions as to not shred the pages with his claws. It wasn't long before he found what he was looking for, turning the book around and pointing at the displayed page.
"Here! Right here!" Spike shouted grumpily. "It says that dragons migrate!" He paused for a moment, his frustration melting into uncertainty. "That... that means they move around... right?"
"Yes, Spike, that's what 'migrate' means," Twilight confirmed with a smile, paying more attention to the breakfast preparations more than her friend at the moment. "But if you read a bit more carefully, you'd see that dragons only migrate once or twice a year, and we're a long ways off from that." She finally turned back to Spike with an expression that Spike had come to call the Twilight knows everything look. "And there are plenty of dragons who make permanent nests in areas just like this one. Not to mention the fact that we're looking for this dragon 'kingdom' you've been on about. And it wouldn't be much of a 'kingdom' if they all just got up and left, right?" She turned back around and continued sorting through their foodstuffs, her mind already putting together the morning's menu. "Besides, you're a growing dragon. You need to eat."
Spike's expression sunk into a further scowl and he snapped the book closed. "I'm not that hungry..." But the dragon was betrayed by his own biology, the growl of a draconic stomach echoing through the cave. Twilight didn't call him out on this blatant contradiction, she was far more inclined to dig through the remains of their rations in search for something that sounded appealing. Thankfully, having access to magic made traveling with food a much easier process, and thus the two of them were able to explore with a much more varied selection of foodstuffs at their disposal.
"Hey, Spike? We still have some eggs left. You sure you aren't hungry?" She teased, levitating a few of their remaining eggs around in a small circle for emphasis. Twilight didn't have to look to know that the gesture had gotten Spike's mouth to water.
"... Are you gonna make omelets?"
Hook, line, and sinker. "I think we have enough for that... but you finished off the jalapeños yesterday."
The differences in Spike's visible reactions to the two halves of that statement were like night and day. The first was a look of optimism that was only rivaled by his enthusiasm over the idea of finding other dragons. But once the pony finished her statement, all traces of hope and joy were seemingly slain right then and there, leaving behind nothing but a jalapeño-less void of despair and sadness. But it probably wasn't as bad as it looked, Twilight knew for a fact that Spike had a habit of blowing things a bit out of proportion.
But regardless of how severe the lack of the spicey vegetable actually was, the two of them still needed to eat. And Twilight was going to get Spike to sit down and eat if it was the last thing she did, and it seemed it would be much easier then that based on the continuing rumbles of the dragon's stomach. She didn't even have to ask him to get the fire started back up, the kindling still useable enough for their needs.
The purple pony had to keep herself from laughing at Spike's antics as she prepped their morning meals. The young dragon spent almost the whole time either hovering over the frying pan itself—or on Twilight's back with his head resting atop hers—practically drooling from the scent of the slowly cooking eggs with wide, glittering eyes. She had to give him a few pieces of bread and cheese just to get him off of her back for a few seconds—literally.
Other then his hounding over the food, the rest of the morning meal went off without a hitch, aside from Spike barely chewing his food in his haste to get to the dragons. The cloaked pony found a way to twist this development to her advantage, telling Spike that if he began to clean up the camp while she finished eating they'd be able to leave sooner. He didn't need to be told twice, moving with blinding speed granted to him by his small and sleek body frame. While it wasn't the most organized re-packing of their camp, Twilight had never once specified that he had to do it neatly. And she couldn't muster up the necessary willpower to make him wait any longer than he already had this morning, she could fix it at the next town.
With everything completed, there wasn't much else here for the two of them. Twilight wasted no time in getting the saddlebags strapped to her person, Spike impatiently waiting at the cave's entrance with his head down low, and his long wagging tail up high. Once again, Spike's behavior reminded Twilight of an overly excited puppy, not that she was about to tell him that. With one final check to make sure they hadn't forgotten anything, the two were off and out of the cave in no time, much to Spike's elation.
While supportive of her friend's curiosity in his own kind, Twilight couldn't help but be a bit anxious about the whole situation. The evidence—or lack thereof from the past few days had led her to believe that there were no dragons in the immediate area. And even if there were, she was uncertain if they should be seeking them out like this at all. Assuming that dragonkind hadn't somehow formed a civilization without anyone knowing, dragons weren't typically the most social of creatures. The book Spike had been obsessed with claimed as much, yet he still insisted on seeking them out regardless.
Searching for dragons was far from the safest or wisest pastime the two of them could partake in, but Spike was utterly determined in his quest for draconic knowledge. And Twilight would be lying if she claimed that she wasn't curious about Spike's heritage. He was one of a kind, for all intents and purposes, a completely unique subspecies of dragon that had never been seen before. Information on this yet unnamed subclass of dragons could prove to be quite valuable to society as a whole. And even if it wasn't, Twilight still wanted to know regardless. Not just for her own curiosity's sake, but also to help her closest friend find some form of closure.
Who knows? Maybe we'll finally find another one like him. Twilight mused as she and Spike continued down the mountain. One way or another, the two of them were in for a long day.