//------------------------------// // Chapter 11: Thezithālais (The Unknown) // Story: Üā Sūt Cktüis (How to be Dragon) // by Rammy //------------------------------// A wise dragon is weary of the unknown ~ Ancient Dragon Proverb "Twi!" Spike sat up as he awoke with a start. Spike breathed hard as he slowly came to realize that everything was fine he had just woken up from a nightmare. A bit odd, but not unheard of, given that Princess Luna usually was good about... Why was his mattress so lumpy? He reached down and pulled out a handful of bits and gems. What!? He wasn't allowed to have snacks in bed! Wait, these aren't bits... The gold was vaguely bit shaped but for one lacked the raised edge and stylized alicorn face. For another, they didn't smell like bits which had special alchemic coating that made them hard and taste nasty among other things. His heart started to pound in his chest as he looked about the room. Instead of purple walls with crystal tree branch embellishments like he expected the walls were merely roughly hewed crystal. His table and bookshelf were also missing. Lastly the bed he was on was also not his bed. Okay, calm down Spike. Maybe this is a prank. There were only two ponies, well one pony, and a draconequss that would do a prank like this. And he wouldn't put it past Rainbow Dash finding or Discord snapping in an undiscovered room and taking advantage to use one in a prank. Wouldn't be the first time except he couldn't hear the usual tell tale sign of barely stifled snickers. Getting up out of the bed he slowly walked around the dim room looking for the door. He at least hoped there was a door... Thankfully he found it after looking only for a few minutes. It was a good thing he was dragon and thus could see with the slight glow all gems and crystals gave off. It made it possible to see the comparatively dark hinges that marked where the door was. He imagined that a pony would have taken a lot longer finding it... well unless they were an unicorn of course. Spike blinked in surprise as he stepped out into a blinding, bright light. He blinked a few times, trying to get his eyes to adjust enough to see. When his vision finally cleared enough his jaw dropped. Wherever he was it was not most certainly not the Friendship Castle nor Ponyville, maybe not even Equestria... It was as if somepony had scooped out the top Canterlot mountain with an oversize ice-cream scoop to expose the crystal caves that lied underneath it and then plopped him down on a wide ledge along the inside. Spike smacked his suddenly dry lips as walked to its edge and peered down. It was long way down and he snapped his eyes up to stop the sudden nausea. Which was a mistake. Much to his growing unease the sky looked... broken? Pulling his eyes down, but not too far, only made his rattled brain spin even more. What the hey? Across the chasm, crater, hole... whatever was a crystal tree just like the Tree of Harmony or the Friendship Castle only far, far larger like mountain sized large. Also... seriously?! Pink leaves!? He rolled his eyes. No offense to Pinkie Pie but there is such a thing as too much pink. There was no way that this was a prank by Discord. It was just too frilly and not random enough (even counting the strangeness that was the sky). That left dragonnapping or magic accident and he really hoped it was the latter and not the former (and given who he lived with the latter was quite high). Last thing he remembered... Spike dropped to the ground as pain surged into his head like a thousand mirror cloned Pinkie Pies were bouncing up and down on it. His vision whited out and he was sure that he had screamed at one point but the pain was just too much. He didn't know how long he laid there but he was sure it was quite some time before the pain subsided enough that he felt he could try sitting up. It was as he sat there letting the pain continue to fade that he heard the sound of soft rhythmic plinking similar to claws on crystal. Someone or something was approaching. He debated for a moment whether or not to hide back in the room that he awoke in but quickly decided against that. At this point it was likely that whomever it was knew he was where ever here was and he wasn't sure if he could walk yet. As the plinking got louder the more nervous Spike got. Was he about to meet a friend or another villain bent on destruction, taking over the world, yada yada yada? What walked up the slope and towards him was not what he expected. A large red fox the size of Big Mac that appeared to have been near the Crystal Heart after a recent activation with... four tails!? "Um..." Spike gulped as the fox stopped a few hooves away its four tails slowly waving behind it. Whoever the fox was looked friendly but that could just be a ruse to gain his trust. "Hello?" "Index known as Index," came a male voice out of the fox. Spike blinked. He was not expecting the voice that came out of the fox to sound like windchimes, gravely not songbird. Though once he recovered he found himself annoyed at the Trixie speech pattern. His left eye twitched as he snarked. "And Spike known as Spike." "Look, um..." Spike mumbled sheepishly when Index merely stared. "Where am I?" "Index can not say." Spike smacked his lips as he felt his heart start to race in his chest. Part of him, at first, hoped with the way the fox looked that this place was just some lost part of the Crystal Empire. But the amnesia curse that Sombra had placed over it should ended when they managed to destroy Sombra with the Crystal Heart, right? So why could Index not say? Was his fears right and he truly was dragonnapped? Or was Index afraid of King Sombra and was not aware of his destruction. "Uh, Index it's okay. King Sombra is gone. I saw him get blasted by the Crystal Heart. " "Tyrant King Sombra that 'cursed' Crystal Empire at defeat? Dead?" "...Yes." Spike drew out the yes not liking the fact that Index didn't even flinch at the mention of the Sombra's name or death. If anything he seemed indifferent. Maybe he just was able to deal with it a bit better then the crystal ponies. Or maybe his lack of emotions is just his way of coping... "Yes, similarities." Index nodded before shaking his head. "Here not Crystal Empire. Here ocean. Here island." "So you know where 'here' is then." "Index can not say." "Okay..." Spike tried not to grumble as he rubbed his forehead. Okay don't panic Spike! Think! He wasn't going to pull a Twilight and jump to the worst scenario just yet. Maybe if he tried something else he could get more then a headache and an 'Index can not say.' "Then can you at least tell me why I was brought here?" Index titled his head as his gaze moved up and down Spike. "You know not reason?" "No. The last thing I remember I..." Spike groaned as flashes of fire and magenta magic and most worrying of all Twilight screaming his name flooded his mind along with a sharp increase in pain. He was now sure something bad had happened he just couldn't remember what! "Remembering hurts?" Spike was not sure if this Index was benevolent or was responsible but, and as much as he didn't want to admit it on the off chance Index was evil, he had a point. He knew that had no chance of figuring out what happened nor escaping, if needed, if thinking hurt like it was. So with a whimper he nodded. "Index recommends against forcing. With time remembrance likely." Spike flinched back when one of Index's tails suddenly appeared holding out a tea cup to him. Wearily he accepted the cup. He could smell that it contained a mint tea with a touch of lavender. There were hints of several other herbs in there as well but he wasn't sure what they were. He was about to ask when it dawned on him that the tail that had given him the tea had appeared out of now where. The four tails had never stopped slowly waving back and forth. It was a previous unseen fifth that had given him the tea. "Wait... didn't you, uh, have four tails?" "Index have tail or many." Spike eyes narrowed. That was the first time Index's chime like voice sounded emotional and he was 100% sure that he was being smugly proud about it. Index gestured the fifth tail towards him. "Tea soothe cephalalgia." "Seph a what?" Spike repeated, eying the tea with even more trepidation. "Cephalalgia: medical term for headache." Then just say headache! Spike grumbled to himself as he pinched the bridge of his snout. A Twilight-Trixie... that's who I woke up to... Luna save me from this nightmare, please! As leery as he was drinking the unknown tea, the headache was just too painful to not accept the offered help. A sip later and Spike breathed out in relief as the pounding faded to a dull ache. A dull ache he could handle. Dull ache was something he dealt with on a regular bases. Now if only this tea could stop the metaphorical headache he was already getting trying to pry anything out of Index. He hummed happily as the pain faded fully away with the last of the tea. If all else failed he needed to get Index to tell him the recipe. "Hungry?" "What?" Spike blinked, his head snapping up. He had been focused on the tea and the relief he felt that he wasn't sure if he heard Index or not. "Spike hungry?" Spike blushed as his stomach answered for him, but a concern crossed his mind. With Index being a fox there was a chance that the food could contain... "I... I don't eat... meat." Index head tilted as if he was a bit confused. Spike tried not to sigh. While he was sure that Index was probably innocently wondering why a dragon wouldn't eat meat it was still annoying. At least he wasn't reacting like some ponies did. "Gem curry with rice acceptable?" Index said after a moment. Gem... curry? Spike had curry before from that one restaurant with the spicy food in Canterlot but would gems in curry even be doable? He had tried putting gems into food after that birthday cupcake the Cakes made but found they just didn't work as anything more then crunchy sprinkles which is why he mainly ate them on the side or in deserts like cakes, cupcakes, and cookies. But it was possible Index found a way and really what did he have to lose? "Sure." Index nodded once then turned and walked back the way he had come from. Spike just stared, blinking before rushing to catch up to the multitailed fox. He was flapping his wings in preparation to fly given that it was easier to keep up that way when Index spoke without stopping or looking back. "Flying unadvisable." A single tail rose and pointed to the 'broken' sky. "Here many dangers. Crystal dome not sky. Dome reflects sky into caldera." Spike bit back a curse as his wings snapped closed. Great... more complications. At least he had an explanation for the 'broken' sky. But that added a new issue. He was who knows how far underground which could make it harder to impossible to send flame mail. Luckily, unless there was a ward or spell to prevent it, he should still be able to receive, maybe... It was a bit worrying that he had not yet received a scroll from either Twilight or Celestia trying to find him. It just keeps getting better and better. Of course it won't matter either way if he didn't find out where exactly on Equus he was, assuming he was on his Equus. A map would be best. Failing that he would send everything and anything he found to Twilight. If anypony could figure where he was it was her. Hay, if he must, he could sketch the stars. Twilight could definitely find him using them... Spike was starving by the time they had reached the trunk of the crystal tree. Index had said virtually nothing on the long walk. Well, that was a lie. He got a fair amount of 'Index can not say.' When I get home I am going to find the pony that invented twenty questions followed by the one that invented the phrase 'broken record' and burn their manes and tails off! At least, for the first time since he awoke, he found himself seeing something other than crystal. Imbedded into the wall were strips and cords of different metals that weaved in out and around each other and rose high up many hooves. He was tempted to move back just to see if there was a pattern to it or if it was random. Spike didn't get the chance as Index causally walked up the middle of the wall of metal, stick a paw into it, and slid one side of the metal into the mountain as if it was a sliding door. His jaw dropped as his brain went full tilt. That was a door!? That huge mass of metal a door!? And the largest door he had ever seen. And Index opened it like it was nothing! Even if the door was hollow between its size and all that metal it had to weigh many, many tons. He doubted even Twilight could move them without struggling and Index was able to move them like they weighed no more then a grain of sand! He hesitated at the threshold for a second then reached out placed a hand on the door only to nearly fell flat onto his snout as the door unexpectedly moved. It felt and move as if it was a normal size door. What. How!? He was sure it was magic but the amount of magic that would be needed... Spike shook his head as he could feel his headache returning. For now he was going to have to let it go and file any more oddities under 'Pinkie Pie.' At least until he could get to the bottom of his headaches and even then he probably will have to leave it for Twilight figure out. He almost regretted making that decision when he saw the 'room' beyond the door. Yes, it was massive (duh), but in the center of it was a tall raised circular platform with a set of small stairs that curled up and around it. Under those stairs was a normal sized kitchen with a small table and cushions for chairs. Did he get transported to the land of the breezies? It would explain why the world seemed super sized... Spike had to swallow his drool as the smell of something delicious wafted from a pot that Index was now stirring. He quickly took a seat at the table trying not the tap his claws on the table as he waited. Thankfully it wasn't long, but when he saw the gem curry he had to resist the urge to scowl. The gem curry looked like somepony vomited up glitter onto a plate of rice. Hesitantly he scooped up some of it onto a spoon and sniffed. It smelled good, really good but... For a moment the nagging thought that maybe this was a Discord prank after all rose up before the growling of his stomach made up his mind for him. Spike melted when he popped the spoonful into his mouth. The curry was thick and smooth and not at all gritty like he thought it would be. And the flavors! Oh the flavors! He had died and gone to the pasturelands. Before he knew it he was ravenously licking the plate trying to get every last drop. He growled in annoyance when the last bit hit his tongue. He had to have more... no all... Snap out of your alüatīsa! Spike nearly screamed as the pain returned with a vengeance. A wave of nausea followed close behind nearly making him throw up. He didn't hesitate to take and drink the tea when he saw another cup slide in front of him. He took several deep cleansing breaths as he let the tea ease his pain and settle his stomach. Why did gem curry set off a headache? Also, alolayteza? What was that word? It seemed familiar somehow... Wait... Spike started to shake in fear as something just occurred to him. Everything here was big enough for Ex-Dragon Lord Torch and he was given, gem 'food.' That could mean only one thing! Forget breezies he was in a dragon's hoard and he just ate some of it! "Oh no no no no! Not again! I ate part of a dragon's hoard and he or she is going to be pissed and Twilight can't save me and..." "Spike be calm." Index gently put a paw on Spike shoulder. "No harm from eating gem curry! Gem curry not dragon hoard." "You sure?" "Index knows." Spike nodded as if he understood even though he was so not convinced. Between Index's 'can not say,' his inability to remember anything without debilitating headaches, and his reaction to the gem curry he was beginning to think that things were on the worse side of the scale. The sooner he found a way home or Twilight found him the better. He just had to make sure that he didn't lose hope in the mean time... "Come. Index will show you what Index can." Spike sighed as he stood to follow. Great, more walking... Maybe he would get lucky and Index will slip up and either show or tell him something useful. But with his luck all he will get more 'Index can not say' and headaches.