//------------------------------//
// Chapter 16: Small Rest 
// Story: The Adventures of Test Subject SP-1K3 
// by Dedion 
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Rest was a critical aspect of any mortal creature's life. It was a way for the body to refresh itself to be ready for the trials of the next day. It also allowed for the mind to stop to relax a bit and perhaps dream about things one couldn't even imagine when they were awake. This made Spike all the more twisted as he did not dream most of the time he slept. He didn't sleep too profoundly much at all before. Finding that he could rest and drift off into nothingness for a few hours took some time to get used to. Dreams, however, were still as rare as a high-grade fire ruby. So one would be surprised if they had known Spike was peacefully dreaming. A few light snores came from the small dragon's mouth.





Etseon loved to dig tunnels. He found that digging underground and uncovering gems and ores to be quite fun. However, he knew that his sister would most likely tease him about it again when he got back to the surface. Perhaps she would poke fun at him and call him a Diamond Dog. Or maybe she would just try and sneak a few of his gems away. However, Etseon supposed that that last option would depend on how hungry she was. 'Though she won't be able to find them now that I've got a super-secret hiding spot!' he thought as he continued to dig. He had already gained a decent pile of gems, one that could last him quite a while if he paced himself. Who knows, maybe he could get a headstart on his horde now? 

After a couple more dozen of rock and dirt were removed from Etseon's path, he saw something he didn't think he would see for a hundred years. The edges of the gem glowed a soft green as it poked out from the rock and dirt. Etseon could barely believe his eyes as he gently excavated the jewel from its rocky prison. A few moments later and the young lilac dragon could see the glowing green gem in his claws. "An earth jade..." he whispered to himself. An earth jade was not as rare of a find as a fire ruby or a wind pearl, but to find one was not very common. Even though Etseon could see that the jewel was low grade, he couldn't help but be excited. 

Quickly, he worked his way back towards where he was keeping his other gems. He knew that he wouldn't be able to take all of them in one go, so he buried half of the pile and took the rest with him. Etseon was ecstatic. He was more than that. He couldn't wait to stockpile his gems in his hiding spot and make the earth jade his centerpiece. Maybe in a few decades, the catch would be suitable for eating. However, in his haste, he had forgotten one of some important lessons his parents taught him and his sister always reminded him of. When outside of the den: stay silent, move quickly, and stay vigilant of your surroundings. Etseon did none of those things and came face to face with a squad of ponies.

In a matter of seconds, the environment shifted from warm and exciting to frightening and cold. Dark clouds blocked out the sun as Etseon was forced to ditch his precious gems. He ran for what seemed like forever, and yet he could still feel the ponies on his tail. He hid in bushes and trees, held his breath in deep rivers, and risked his life multiple times to try and outmaneuver the ponies. However, they would always find a way to capture Etseon nearly. Each failed attempt made the ponies wiser to Etseon's tricks and closer to success. With each try, the clanging of the metal collars they carried with them grew louder and louder.

Etseon knew he couldn't keep up for much longer. His feet were hurting from the constant running. His legs strained to keep his body up, and his lungs burned. At the same time, he knew he wouldn't need to keep running. The area around him began to look more familiar. Soon enough, a cave entrance appeared within his sight. Tears of joy filled the young dragon's eyes as he ran towards the cave. He shouted out for his sister. She would help him, and together they could escape the ponies. If he could just make it a little bit- CLANG!

As the metallic noise rang out, Etseon's Spike's world slowed to a crawl. The color quickly faded away from the world, leaving it in a series of greys. The warmth from his body left him just as fast. Etseon Spike could see his sister emerging from the darkness of the cave. Surprisingly, she was the only thing that had any color left in the world. Her scared expression was the last thing the young dragon saw in detail as the world faded to black.





Memories passed by Spike like a blur. Thousands of needles drew his blood. Enchanted scalpels made removing his scales so easy a child could do it. Tests upon tests being performed. Pony faces flew by in a matter of seconds. As each memory came and went, the more Spike grew to hate. The more he grew to hate, the hotter his body became. 


"HaTE! Hate! hATe! Burn them All down! Burn Everything Down!!"


The voices returned in full power. They fed off of Spike's hatred and slowly unified themselves together, becoming one. What was once darkness was burned away by purple fire. The once eery and still silence was now filled with screams of pain and terror. Spike watched as the world around him burned as extensive forests were reduced to ashes in minutes. Grassfields were scorched earth in mere seconds. Mountains became volcanoes, rivers evaporated, and the very air itself became toxic to breathe. But all that failed to compare to the ponies.

Spike's smile threatened to wrap itself around his head as he watched the ponies run for their lives. Many of them were already covered in the purple flames. Spike laughed as the ponies desperately tried, and failed, to save their fellow kind. The look of horror as they witnessed their people be reduced to lumps of charcoal was priceless. The cries of anguish as a pony watched their loved one become engulfed in flames or fall into one of the many forming lava pits were music to Spike's ears. The highest grade gem of the rarest kind wouldn't be enough for the view Spike was seeing. At the same time, Spike felt as if it wasn't enough. No, no, no, the princesses were still part of the equation. He wanted, needed, to see their faces as he burns them and their country to the ground. They would be the cherry on top of his cake!


"YES!! Burn EVeryTHING!! BURN THE PONIES! BURN THEIR ASHES!!"






Jet watched as the young dragon laughed softly in his sleep. Once the kid's laughing fit calmed down, Spike curled up and was snoring again. Jet placed a shaking hand on his aching head. Something was wrong with him. Well, there was something wrong with many of the dragons in the group. Garble couldn't speak. Spike was a Black Dragon with dark magic, Little Fang was... herself, and Fizzle was tenser than he had ever been before. Jet had assumed that he was the most stable out of all of them. That assumption proved to be wrong, however. 

Lately, his head had been giving him a lot of trouble. As of right now, his splitting headache is what awakened him from his sleep. Which he really needed as his body had been feeling more sluggish too. Maybe it was something that he ate, or perhaps the events of the previous few days finally caught up to him. Now that he thought about it, this week had been completely weird. He never thought that Spike would be able to be the one that led them to freedom and not in the way that it happened either. Then the ponies and what happened to Spike at the diamond dog capital were a surprise. That served to prove that the pony government was after them. Which only proved they needed to get back to the Dragonlands as soon as possible.

If there were going to be more things like that happening, Jet could see why Fizzle was so tense. Not to mention that since that pony squad was toasted, they would more than likely not be reporting back anytime soon. Not reporting back means that whoever sent the first squad will get suspicious and send another team. When that squad says what happens, there will likely be an increase in ponies watching out for dragons. More ponies watching for dragons means more chances of them getting caught. Which is all the more reason for them to hurry towards their home.

As Jet continued to think, his head began to pound more. A hiss left his mouth as he tried his best to endure the pain. He stood up slowly and began to look around the surrounding area. He had seen a river as they flew by. A quick dunk in early winter water should dull some of the pain. While it was his turn to watch over the group, he figured a few minutes wouldn't be too long for anything terrible to happen.

It didn't take Jet long to find the river. A smile etched its way across his face before he plunged his head underneath the water. The freezing cold water rushed over the teen dragon's scales, relieving some of the pain that had ruined his sleep. Jet stayed underwater for however long his lungs allowed him to before he came back up for air. Letting the water on his head snake down his body, Jet wandered back towards his group. He could feel that it was time to switch out. A few gentle kicks from Jet awoke a grumpy Garble. "It's your turn," Jet stated tiredly. Garble grumbled before standing up. The red dragon leaned against a tree as he yawned. His eyes slowly focused on the group's surroundings.

Jet's headache wasn't completely gone. It would be hard getting some sleep, but he had to. It would only be a few more hours until the sun went down, so he tried to get some rest before they started traveling.





Little Fang awoke with a yawn. As she rubbed the sleep out of her eyes, she heard a "Good afternoon," from Spike. The green and purple dragon sat a few inches to her left. His eyes met hers for a few moments they returned to the book in his lap.

"Good afternoon," replied Little Fang as she yawned, "How long have you been up reading that book?"

"... I don't know. I would guess a couple of hours because the sun is lower than it was when I woke up."

"Ah, alright then," Fang stretched before scooting over to Spike and looking at the book herself. The letters on the page were unfamiliar to her, and it hurt her head trying to assume what the words meant. "Dude, how can you read this stuff?" she said as she scratched her head.

"My father and mother were hoarders of knowledge. They often taught me and my sister how to read, write, and speak in different languages. This book is written old Equestrian."

"You have a sister?!"

"Yeah, I had a..." Spike froze for a moment, "... a sister." The image of his sister, Emory, flashed in his mind. However, the memory had details that were missing that shouldn't be. Her eye color was pink, right? Did she have wings yet or not? Was Spike really forgetting what his sister looked like? Tears started to well up in his eyes.

"Oh... oh. I'm sorry dude."

"I-it's fine," Spike said, his voice struggling to get out. He quickly wiped his eyes clear of tears. "She wouldn't want me crying over her anyway. Especially now that I have a chance to be free." The two sat in silence for a few seconds. However, those seconds felt like years.

"So..." Fang started, rubbing the back of her head, "Have you learned anything from that book?" 

"Oh, yeah, I did," Spike said; he seemed to cheer up a bit, "Watch this!" Purple sparks flew over Spike's body until streaks of flames snaked across the young dragon's form. Quickly they converged at the stump of Spike's left arm and extended outward to form an arm. Fang watched in amusement as Spike's new arm replacement finished taking form.

"That's awesome!" she exclaimed.

"That's not all!" Spike extended his fire-arm towards Fang. "Shake it." Fang's amused look quickly shifted to skeptical. "Come on, shake it! It won't burn you." Spike said. 

Little Fang slowly inched her hand towards Spike's flame hand. She could feel the heat radiating from it. However, it was not as hot as Fang thought it would be. She grasped the hand and was surprised that it, indeed, did not burn her in the slightest. "Whoa! This feels so weird!" she nearly yelled. "I can feel it moving!"

"I know, right! I just got through reading this chapter about fully manipulating fire magic and..." The two continued to talk to each other even as the teens began to stir from their sleep. Everyone went over the plans once more before having a quick meal together. Spike asked for some pointers from Fizzle about his pyromancy while they ate while Garble and Jet watched Little Fang try to imitate what Spike could do. However, the farthest she could get was a few sparks that flew from her palms. The teens gained a few chuckles out of seeing her try. After the group finished eating, they took to the sky and continued on their journey.