//------------------------------// // — Chapter Three — // Story: Finding Friendship // by Kamen-Zero //------------------------------// --- Mistakes and Regrets --- "Come on, Twilight!" Spike shouted with glee, leaping and bounding towards the next cave entrance with great vigor and speed. His movements bringing no end of comparisons to various felines and canines to the mind of his purple pony companion. He stopped momentarily to give her time to catch up, beaming back at her with the biggest brightest look of joy he could muster. "Just one more cave! Then we can go!" Twilight shook her head slowly, trotting slowly behind the long dragon with a chuckle. The phrase "just one more cave" had been uttered quite a number of times this morning, enough to almost drive the cloaked alicorn mad. But at the same time, she couldn't help but comply with his requests up till now. They had come to this region in search of dragons, based on the rumors of a "dragon kingdom" Spike had apparently overheard in the last town they were in. It was also the last day they were spending in the area, so she saw no harm in indulging his childlike glee. She honestly couldn't recall a time in her life where she had seen the unusual dragon so excited and happy before. It was hard for her to say "no" to such elation for fear of drowning it out. She was certain that they wouldn't find whatever it was they were searching for, but at the same time, there was no harm in being thorough in that search. "Alright, Spike. One more," the alicorn spoke with both compassion and authority, "And that actually means one more this time. Got it?" Spike nodded enthusiastically as he darted ahead once more, disappearing into what would be the final cave of their expedition, whether he liked it or not. This cave, in particular, looked to be much too small for a full grown dragon to fit into, making it a poor choice for their final stop. Despite this, Twilight began to pick up the pace, transitioning from a slow stroll to a brisk trot in order to keep the infant dragon within some semblance of eyesight. Just because this cave couldn't be home to a dragon, that didn't mean some other sort of creature couldn't be found here. Thus it was wise to keep Spike within reasonable proximity, just in case— "TWILIGHT!" The young dragon suddenly blared out, joy and excitement clearly present in his tone. Just in case that happens! Twilight began sprinting towards the subterranean entrance. Her eyes quickly locked onto the only blotch of purple and green in sight, fully expecting something terrible to greet her vision. Instead, the young alicorn was witness to a sight very few ponies would ever see. Mounds upon mounds of seemingly endless treasure, glistening in the sunlight let in through a massive hollow in the larger-than-expected cave's ceiling and filling the chamber with an enriched radiance. The opening was clearly large enough for an adult dragon to fly through, Twilight quickly realized. The horde was made up of everything from gold and other precious metals to large raw deposits of gemstone ripped straight out of the ground. Finer cut jewels could also be found amongst the collection if one were to investigate closer. Assuming one could complete the impossible task of claiming every single piece of treasure, they would have more than enough monetary value to purchase the entire Kingdom of Equestria. Twice over! Despite it's worth, this trove was entirely unprotected. And while Twilight was glad that there were currently no dragons in sight, she was also incredibly worried that there were currently no dragons in sight. Spike had vanished from sight in the time it took the cloaked alicorn to catch up. And that was more than enough to send a surge panic through her veins. Venturing further into the cavern, her eyes blotting in every direction in hopes of catching a glimpse of purple scales, she began to curse herself for letting Spike talk her into this. Looking for dragons was one thing. The fire-breathing titans were a rare sight, and their hordes were an even rarer one at that. Knowing this, Twilight didn't see any harm in letting Spike indulge in his own curiosity for a bit. But not once had Twilight considered what she would do in the event that they actually found something. As she doubled the efforts of her fearful search, she was able to find a small amount of solace in the fact that the dragon who called this cave home was currently absent. Or at the very least, seemed to be absent. "Spike?!" She called out in a raspy half-yell-half-whisper, fearful of the possible presence of the treasure trove's owner. "Where are you?! We have to go!" "Twilight! Come look at this!" Spike yelled back with no such caution or tact, "This is so cool!" There was a wince at the young dragon's chosen volume, but also comfort in that she knew where he was now. A general direction, anyway. With much haste, the cloaked alicorn dashed towards the shout, gold coins and other trinkets being kicked up with various links and clatters. The various mountain like stacks of treasure was like a maze, forcing her to take a twisting-turning route that only served to further her own anxiety. Grab Spike, leave the cave, explain later. Grab Spike, leave the cave, explain later. Twilight continued to internally chant as she traversed the treasure horde. After what felt like an eternity she finally found what Spike must've been gawking over. A large, solid gold statue of the legendary Starswirl the Bearded. And while it was an impressive sight to behold, it only served to further induce a growing sense of fear into the young alicorn. A dragon capable of stealing something like this was not something to be trifled with. Unfortunately for Twilight, it seemed that Spike had already moved on from the impressive discovery he had found. "Spike?!" Twilight dared herself to yell louder, hoping her young friend would take notice of the panic in her voice and come find her. "I'm over here!" The young dragon replied with childlike glee, his voice coming from behind a much larger mound of gold. "This place is AMAZING! I haven't seen this much stuff since I got locked in that vault!" Twilight instantly knew what he was referring to. The time he had "accidentally" wormed his way into the vault of the First National Bank of Equestria. That had also been a stressful time for Twilight, though the irony of him bringing up that incident was lost on her at this moment. The alicorn didn't bother responding, choosing instead to make a mad dash for her dragon in a desperate attempt to get out of here as quickly as possible. But those particular events would never get a chance to play out. A shadow was soon to fall over the cave, and Twilight froze in horror at the sound of beating wings announcing the arrival of this cave's owner. Slowly craning her head around to face the massive entrance that was the cave's ceiling, her eyes locking onto the silhouetted form descending from above. The red scales of the dragon all but overtook her vision as it came in for a landing towards the very pile Twilight was attempting to sneak around. Slamming down into its horde with a thunderous crash that shook the earth beneath her hooves. By some miracle, the beast had failed to notice the comparatively small pony that was trespassing upon its home, and that was currently situated uncomfortably close to one of its hind claws. Twilight was too frightened to even breath as she watched the dragon adjust himself, seeming to be intending to sleep for some time. If she had just been a few small feet further ahead of where she was, she would have been utterly decimated under the weight of the titanic creature. If it weren't for the massive dragon attempting to go to sleep nearby, she would have laughed in celebration of her insanely good luck. Alright... now to find Spike... Her next steps were slow and deliberate, taking extra care to make as little sound as possible as she made her way towards the dragon's head. A phenomenally stupid idea in most circumstances, but it was currently her best course of action. Spike wanted to find a dragon, the best place to do that would be at the dragon's head. A glimmer of joy returned to her heart as she caught sight of something small and purple. Spike was staring with wide eyes at what he had found, much like his expression that he had worn earlier in the day. But this was no longer a look of joy and curiosity, for as she got closer Twilight could see the fear in his eyes and the subtle twitches of his shivering form. She couldn't blame him, after all, he was currently staring up at a much larger dragon's massive sleeping face. How it had failed to notice him was a mystery, but Twilight wasn't about to complain. She was far to busy suppressing her own panic attack, coping by not so subtly twitching the restrained wings underneath her cloak. "Spike!" She whispered while approaching, still taking care to make as little noise as possible. "Don't make a sound." "... They looked a lot smaller in the book..." he muttered quietly, not taking his eyes off of the titan for even a second. For a moment, Twilight considered using magic to retrieve her friend. But just as she was about to, she stopped herself. One of the drawbacks to pony magic that one doesn't normally think of is the sound it causes when it becomes active. While not loud by any definition, it was more notable than a few minor whispers. And thankfully she had managed to remember that just before she began casting it. "Spike, slowly crawl to me and get in the bag," Twilight commanded quietly, her eyes darting to the resting behemoth they were attempting to escape from. She noticed as Spike heeded her advice, ever so slightly beginning to advance to her position as she approached him in turn. Her gaze shot back and forth between both dragons, making sure that one was still sleeping while the other continued moving towards her. Twilight's heart nearly stopped when she glanced back to the red scale one last time, only to see two furious yellow eyes now staring back at her. The dragon once again shook the very ground she and Spike were treading on, this time with a mighty roar. She gasped loudly as her eyes shot open, being greeted to only by further darkness. She pushed and fidgeted against whatever was restraining her in a silent frenzy as she stood to her hooves, frantically looking around for any sign of the red-scaled beast. But there was no red dragon to be seen, the only thing breaking the darkness being the pale moonlight shining through the curtains. As her breathing and heart rate began to descend to normal levels, her horn lit up with a familiar pinkish-magenta hue that illuminated the sparsely decorated room that she was in. The pony looked down at her hooves, seeing that the thing restraining her had been nothing more than a simple bedroll. A dream... It was just a bad dream... Twilight soon remembered where she was and how she had gotten there, a relieved sigh echoing through the room. It seemed her mind had been lingering on today's previous events more then she realized if that nightmare had been any indication. The fact that it was already something that had been dealt with was soothing in its own right, but that didn't help the fact that they had happened in the first place. With tired eyes, Twilight looked over to the room's single bed. Her nocturnal outburst had seemingly no effect on the baby dragon in her care, as he was still sound asleep in his own self made den. Just the sight of him peacefully at rest was enough to bring her own chaotic thoughts and bring ease to her panicked heart. Ease that was soon overtaken by guilt as she chastised herself for letting it get that bad in the first place. I should have told him no... I should have told him dragons were dangerous, Twilight continued to berate herself, lightly pounding a hoof against the side of her head in some attempt at penance. She halted the self-abuse and looked down at Spike once more, still sound asleep. I could have gotten us both killed today. What was I thinking?! Silent tears began running down her face as she walked away from the bed, choosing to replace the light of her horn with the much calmer radiance of the moon, slowly pushing the drapes open and peering out to the slumbering village just beyond the glass. I wasn't thinking... I just wasn't thinking... The fact that she somehow managed to get both of them out of that situation without any major setbacks was unbelievable. Even now, it didn't feel like it had really happened the way it had happened. Dumb luck. It couldn't have been anything more than dumb luck, she told herself. That was the only explanation that she could think of that made any sort of sense as to how they both survived, physically unscathed. Placing her forehooves atop the window seal so she could somewhat relax, Twilight's gaze trailed upwards as she continued to ruminate on today's events and her part in causing them. Her eyes locked onto the calm silver radiance of the sun's nocturnal counterpart, and the mysterious and alluring stare of the Mare in the Moon.