//------------------------------//
// Of Far And Few 
// Story: Part Dragon, Part Princess 
// by Ultimus Pendragon 
//------------------------------//

“Don’t panic, don’t panic, don’t panic, don’t panic, Cadence stop panicking!” Spike hoped his wings wouldn’t seize up from all of the sudden movements.

He was calm. Twilight even told him so before he flew out of the nearest window in the library at full speed with Cadence in his mouth.

“Spike, do you even know what direction you’re going?!” Cadence gripped her own body a bit hard as Spike took off with reckless abandon in the general direction of the Dragon Lands. When Twilight told them of the items they would need to be put back to normal, it never crossed her mind that it would take different cultural artifacts, some of which she was sure to be lost to time, or plain destroyed. ''We can't just fly blindly into the face of the unknown!''

Without missing a beat, Spike willed his body to fly faster, the world nearly appearing to be a blur for the dragon-turned-Alicorn as he merely had the goal of getting to the Dragon Lands as quickly as possible, and nopony would deny him the chance to make things right after what Twilight put the two of them through. Not only was this particular instance the one to take the cake, but it was also the one that had to blur the line between reality and whatever else stood on the other side of the madness, and he was friends with the literal Spirit of Disharmony. ''I am not being anywhere near Shining Armour in this body for another second if I can help it, and you should know that by now!''

Well, she was able to see where he was coming from, however little an amount that was. ''Do you even know who would even have the Bloodstone Staff?!''

''Scepter, and I actually do!'' Spike craned his head back to face his sister-in-law briefly, the crazed, but determined look in his eyes made Cadence wonder if Twilight had rubbed off on the drake a bit too much when it came to accomplishing certain things and if any long-term effects came up. ''Ember should if she hasn't thrown it away or used it as something she shouldn't! And there's no way she can tell me no! I'm like her best friend!''

Ducking her head from hitting the brush that quickly approached as Spike continued in a straight line, letting nothing stop his advance.

FWISSH! POP! POP! DUNNNNN! CRASH! WHISTLE!

Apparently, not even the face of a small mountain.

''Don't worry, I'll be fine, as long as we get to where we're going!'' Spike laughed manically for a moment, the small chunk of rock stuck through his horn to the base that Cadence was pretty sure that it obstructed half of his vision made her wonder the exact thought process going through his and her mind. (more specifically, Spike's mind inside her own body). ''We'll get the Bloodstone Scepter!'' Spike cheered to himself as he began to spy the Dragon Lands in the distance, the air soon turning hotter, and the ground charring.




''Yea, can't give you the Bloodstone Septer,'' Ember said, giving a half-hearted shrug and leveling with the pair who displayed a different range of emotion than the other, well the little she was able to see from the face masks they wore. Weren't they hot wearing those? It was hard enough to hear them with all the commotion in the background, now she had to contend with pieces of cloth? From what she could make out, 'Spike-Cadence', as Ember came to a conclusion after being explained 3 times, held a slack jaw and ever-persistent twitching eye while 'Cadence-Spike' held her claws in her head, muttering something Ember was sure was confirmation of something they must have discussed before they came here.

''Whaddya mean?! We need it; we explained what'll we do with it, and then you'll get it back. What's so hard that you can't look out for a friend?'' Spike asked, hoping he could get through to her. . .standoffish attitude. If anything, it seemed that him that she did care, but she needed something more than his word that nothing bad would come about her doing something like this. ''Have I ever lied to you?''

''A few times, actually, yes. Which is why you should see why I kinda don't want to do this.'' Ember replied, not letting the conversation sway from her point. ''I forgave you, and even understood, but that doesn't make it ok to lie to your friends. It's that much harder to trust something you'd say you'd do or want to say.'' Ember said, paying little mind to what she was sure was changes where there shouldn't be. Since when did Spike start to turn pink in some areas and grow a pony's tail instead of his own? And then there was his friend, who started to look more and more like a youngling dragon with those claws and almost bright red eyes. It looked very much out of place, but Ember wasn't one to judge really, after all, she was a dragon.

So there wasn't much room to work with.

''But this is serious!'' Cadence chimed in, the blue dragon looking at her a bit more confusion than Spike, well, Spike-Spike, versus. . .ugh forget it. ''Twilight told us that one of the things that we would need to go back to normal, and one of the first things she said we would need is-''

''-Twilight, or Starlight? I keep getting those two confused.'' Amber said, her mind in the realm of how the two of them, and by extension, all ponies looked pretty close to the same and even had almost the same name, and she was put on the spot for not being able to tell the difference when they couldn't do it themselves.

''Yes!'' the both of them shouted, Ember shrugging even further. She didn't get paid enough for this; let alone at all.

''Regardless, do you even really know why you need the scepter? How convenient is it that you need it on the one day that I call all of the Dragons here to do something very important where I'll need the scepter? Can you explain that?'' Ember had the uncanny feeling that Spike was trying to pull a fast one on her. 

Again.

''Bad timing?'' Cadence threw the idea out in the open, hoping it would land. Ember narrowed her eyes. ''Will of the universe?''

''Mmm, nope; not buying it.'' Ember shrugged again, causing Spike's mental state to get worse the longer the conversation went on. ''Sorry, this whole 'situation' is confusing as is, and you two coming here just doesn't make it any better, so I gotta turn you guys away.''

''B-But we'd be quick about it,'' Spike said his growing realization that his days with Shining Armour may be the highlight of his questionable life, and for him, that would mean. . .

''Well, what's this major event that you have going on today? Is it something that can wait, or maybe we could help streamline it?'' Cadence asked, seeing the Dragon Lord contemplate the question for quite a while, paying no mind to the chaos of the other dragons in the background escaping from the former Dragon Lord when he came by to do his weekly visits, to help assist his daughter in making sure the dummies didn't do too much damage to the sacred land; even though Ember could not tell that he was just looking for an excuse to be more active in her life following his change of heart and position. ''And are you sure that it's today?''

''Am I,'' Ember started, a glint of indifference in her eyes as she looked at her friend, and Twilight's friend by extension with equal looks of shock and timidity. ''the newest Dragon Lord of my lands, sure that I planned an event just for today with the Bloodstone Scepter that I need? Yeeeeeeeahhhh; prettty sure.'' Ember clicked her tongue before leaning against her throne, motioning for the two to follow her to a nearby lava pit as she watched her subjects triaspe about under the rage Former Dragon Lord Torch. ''Try some other time.'' Ember twirled the scepter in question around a few times before burying the hilt in the ground a tad, a small amount of heat cascading from it as Spike's eyes began to bog out of his soon-to-be permanent body.

''So, when you said this would be easy, did you mean easy to come here and get turned down, or for the fact to settle in that we may be this way and the little bit of our social lives are pretty much gone?'' Cadence fumed to herself, the small splotches of pink fur and oddly enough, what looked to be precious metals decorating her small frame as Spike's body began to sprout scales and hoof-claws? ''Did I get that right, or were you having another panic attack?''

Bringing a shaky, claw-laden hoof to his face, Spike's mind. . .in the realm of understanding did the only that he knew would get results.

And that was action.

Taking his time to hoist Cadence on his back as Ember conversated with a pair of dragons who had a burning question that just could not wait provided Spike with just the opportunity he needed as his friend's back was turned, and conveniently, next to a rather deep-looking lava pit.

Dragons were fireproof, and besides; it would be like a bath, just a really long one that she had no time to think about taking. Ember could be mad later, this was something Spike had to do, if he was ever going to hear the end of this story someday.

SPLASH!

''BLEUGH! SPIKE!~'' Ember called out in suprise, feeling herself being pushed into the scorching hot pit and her scepter snatched from her grip as she heard the flapping of wing as she fought to get up.

''SORRY!~'' Spike nervosuly chucked, feeling his voice change as well, only it got. . .higher in pitch? ''I can explain later!''