//------------------------------//
// Chapter Eight:From Apples To Mountains 
// Story: What It Means To Be A Dragon 
// by FluttershyLover55 
//------------------------------//

What It Means To Be A Dragon
Chapter 8-From Apples To Mountains

"I haven't seen you, since you and your friends helped us settle the feud with the buffalo! What brings you here, anyway?" Braeburn asked, knowing that Ponyville was pretty far away.

"Well, I'm not sure how much to tell you, but let's just say, I'm on a secret mission." Spike fidgeted on the bed, where he was sitting.

"Well, may I at least, know where you're headed?" Braeburn was getting curious, since nothing THIS interesting usually happened in Appaloosa.

"Well, I'm headed to the Badlands."

"WHAT! Why would you ever want to go to such a place? It's filled with big, nasty dragons!" Spike just looked at him, nonplussed. "Er, no offense." Braeburn looked at him, apologetically.

Spike moved on, because he needed to figure out how a pony would even get to somewhere like that. "Um, how do you think I'd be able to get there? I mean, it'd be hard to cross the mountains on foot."

Braeburn thought for a moment, trying to think of a response. Spike handed him the map he had been using for reference. "Let's see, normally you could ride the train over the Macintosh Hills, but that wouldn't work to get to the Badlands."

Spike was a little discouraged at this news, but he decided to press him some more. "Do you think, there's another way? Surely, there's SOMETHING, isn't there?"

"Well, there's an old mining tunnel carved straight through the mountain, that should get you where you need to go. I warn you though, there's rumors going around that somethin's not right in that place."

This elicited a chuckle from Spike, who didn't believe a word of it. "Pssh! I'm not afraid of any ghosts!"

"I know, just be careful." As Spike left, Braeburn mumbled something under his breath. "She'll love you."

"What was that?" Spike turned to look over his shoulder.

"I said, uh, I love you!"

"Whoa, dude, that's creepy." The dragon pointed out, shutting the door behind him.

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"According to the map, it should be somewhere around here, but all I see, is a wall of pure rock." Spike said, referring to the 'X' that Braeburn had marked on his map.

A faint, screeching sound came continuously from above, causing the dragon to look up. A creature, most likely a bird of some sort, circled above. "If that's a vulture, it can look somewhere else for a meal, cause' I'm not planning on dying today!"

"Huh? What's THAT doing there?" Spike noticed a pick-axe sticking half-way out of the ground, and tugged on it.
It slid back, opening a doorway in the rock wall ahead. Spike stared into it, trying to see through the darkness into the area beyond. "Cool, a secret entrance just like in a spy movie! Detective Scales is on the case!"

Spike nearly jumped into the darkness, anxious to see what lay in the space beyond.