Spike shot upright in his bed as he awakened. He breathed out a sigh as he realized that he had been dreaming again. He rubbed his eyes and stretched out his wings as he looked around, remembering that he was still in the royal palace in Abyssinia.
Beats sleeping in a cave.
He threw on his cloak and exited the room, making his way through the halls of the castle until he met up with the others in the foyer. He saw Ember talking with Benga, who issued an order to some of the guards as they took their leave.
“Look who finally decided to join us.” Smolder said sarcastically as she nudged Spike in the side. Benga gave a slight bow to the group.
“I trust you all slept well?”
“Well enough, I suppose.” Spike responded as he rolled his shoulders and cracked his neck.
“Good. Since you’re about to head out, I’ve taken the liberty of having the guards fetch some rations for you. It’s going to be a long journey.” Benga said.
“Here’s a question. How’re we gonna go about getting to Klugetown?” Smolder asked as she crossed her arms.
“We’ll walk until we reach the edge of Halflinger Grove, and then we’ll have to fly across the sea to Klugetown.” Ember responded.
“Let’s hope there’s not a Roc or something waiting for us.” Spike stated flatly. He remembered the first time he dealt with a Roc and shuttered. Thank Celestia that Twilight and Zecora were so resourceful.
“Even if there is, we could just beat it up, like we did with that Manticore yesterday.” Garble said with a grin as he pounded his fist into his hand. Benga gave a soft chuckle.
“There’s certainly never a dull moment with Dragons is there?”
Everyone started to laugh as the guards returned with their rations. After loading up and making sure they have everything they need, Benga leads them to the gates of the city. Ember turns to him and extends a hand.
“Guess this is where we part ways. Thanks for all your help Benga. And give my regards to King Challa.”
Benga doesn’t turn to her at first, instead looking out upon the horizon. When he does, he gives a small smile.
“The King ordered me to take a few guards and scout out the surrounding areas for potential survivors. And since it’s dangerous out there, it’d be safer if we traveled together. Guess you’re stuck with me for a little while longer Dragon Lord.”
Ember looks confused but gives a slight grin of her own. “I suppose we are. Whaddya say guys?”
“I’m game.” Smolder retorted with a short wave. Spike simply nodded in agreement while Garble put an arm around Benga’s shoulder.
“If we get attacked, I hope you’re gonna be able to pull your weight in the fight.”
Benga gave Garble a cheeky grin. “Let’s not forget who saved who from the Manticore. My weight will be pulled just fine.”
Garble let out a hearty laugh. “I like this guy! Let’s roll!”
And with that, the group set out across the land. They walked for what felt like hours, and eventually they decided to make camp for the night. As everycreature settled in for the night, one guard noticed something on their watch.
“What is that?” The guard wondered aloud. He focused his sapphire blue eyes on a strange object in the sky. At first he thought it was nothing, until it started heading right for them. He unsheathed his sword and took a defensive position, but it was too late as the creature snatched him up effortlessly and carried him away, his screams awakening the rest of the camp. As everyone jolted awake, more of those creatures descended upon them.
“Harpies! Everycreature get ready!” Benga shouted as he drew twin sabers from his side. Spike looked to the sky and saw them; flying creatures with bat like wings, razor sharp talons, and long serrated beaks. He remembered Twilight saying that Celestia had once told her about vicious and predatory harpies were.
That’s an understatement.
One of the harpies landed in front of Spike and let out a shrill shriek. It lunged forward with frightening speed and sunk its beak into Spike’s arm as he brought it up to block. Luckily, his thick dragon scales prevented it from doing any real damage, though it still stung a bit. He responded with a swift punch to the harpy’s abdomen, which caused it to let go. It responded by taking a swipe with its talons, which Spike countered by belting out a stream of green fire. It managed to burn away part of one of its wings as it shrieked in pain. More of them descended onto the camp, as one in particular went for Ember, coveting the Blood Stone Scepter as a prize. As it reached out for the Scepter, Ember twirled it in her claws and delivered a powerful swing to its face. As another harpy landed next to Ember, she jabbed it with butt of the Scepter and followed it up by slamming the head of the Scepter down on the harpy’s head with all her might. As one of them went for Smolder, she grabbed it by the throat, lifted it up, and slammed it into the dirt. She let out a stream of flame at another who came charging at her from the air and bringing down both fists on the head of another who came for her. Garble had three harpies on him at once, one on each arm and one clinging to his back. He batted one away with his right arm, punched the one on his left arm, and then propelled himself directly backwards with his wings, slamming with great force into a rock behind him, causing the third harpy to slough off his back. Meanwhile, Benga was surrounded by several harpies, all chirping and shrieking at the prospect of fresh prey. As they began their assault however, Benga twirled his twin sabers with lethal skill, doing flips and twirls as he avoided their onslaught. Their numbers whittled down one by one, until eventually there was only two left. They both took to the air, thinking they had the advantage, but Benga leaped upward and flung both sabers like boomerangs through the air, cutting down both remaining harpies in the process. He landed on the ground in a tripod pose, raising both paws up to catch his sabers. As the battle came to an end, the group took stock of the situation.
“Is everycreature alright?” Ember asked as she looked to everyone who was left.
“Unfortunately, we lost a few soldiers in the initial strike.” Benga responded as he sheathed his sabers. “Many more were injured. I’ll tend to their injuries as best as I can, but in the meantime, we should try to get some rest.”
And with that, everycreature did their best to get some rest, as dawn was still quite a ways off. Smolder, however, found it difficult to quiet her mind. She got up and went over to the fire they had made for the night and saw her brother also sitting next to it, lightly tapping away on his bongo drums.
“Couldn’t sleep either? That’s the first time we’ve had to fight harpies. It was pretty intense.” Garble said with a slight grin while tapping on the bongos lightly. Smolder said nothing as she just looked vacantly into the fire. Garble’s grin slowly faded to a look of concern when he saw his sister’s expression.
“Hey, you ok? You normally don’t get this shaken up.” He asked as he set his bongos aside. Smolder closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
“It’s just, I can’t help but think about my friends. Even if they got out of Canterlot okay, they’d have to face things like what we just fought. They may not have been prepared. I’m… I’m scared for them.” As Smolder recalled her old friends; Sandbar, Yona, Ocellus, Gallus, and Silverstream, it became harder for her to fight back her emotions. Garble pulled his sister into a firm hug.
“If they’re even half as tough as you, I’m sure they did just fine. But beside that, why didn’t you say anything sooner?”
“We have an important job to do. We need to be focused.” Smolder responded.
Garble chuckled slightly as he gave his sister a noogie.
“That doesn’t mean hide your problems you dork. You and Spike convinced me to give this whole “friendship” thing a shot, and I gotta say, it hasn’t been that bad. So just tell me if you’re having problems alright?”
Smolder laughed before smacking her brother in the chest.
“Deal.”
Unbeknownst to them, Spike was still awake and had been listening to their conversation. He had no idea this situation had such an effect on Smolder, and he felt bad for not noticing it sooner. His thoughts drifted to all his friends; Twilight and her friends, Starlight, Trixie, Sunburst, Thorax, and so many others. He had no idea what became of them after Canterlot’s fall, and with that thought his resolve hardened as he drifted off to sleep.
We’re going to set this right. No matter what.
Morning soon came, and the group set out once again. Benga had managed to patch up the wounded but had decided to get them back to Panthera for proper treatment.
“Well, I guess it’s goodbye. For real this time. Thanks for all your help Benga.” Ember said as she held out her hand. Benga took it and gave a firm shake.
“You never know. Maybe I’ll catch up with you somewhere down the line.” He said with a sly wink. “Take care, and may you all be safe on your travels.”
Benga turned and took his leave with the rest of his troupe. After parting ways, the dragons walked for a while longer until they reached a cliff overlooking the sea.
“Alright everyone. Ready?” Ember asked as she stretched out her wings.
“Born ready.” Garble retorted with a grin. “Last one there’s a rotten egg!” He then took off into the air. Smolder called after him and took off herself. Spike and Ember just looked to each other, chuckled and shook their heads as they too ascended. They flew for quite a while, with Ember occasionally swooping down to run her hand through the water. As they continued to fly, the sky began to grow darker, symbolizing they they were fast approaching Klugetown.
“We should be close now. Get ready!” Ember called to the rest of the group. All of a sudden, Spike was caught by a net and dragged down to solid ground. The others saw this and descended to try and help but they were caught in similar nets and tied up. Spike looked around to see who was responsible, when he saw standing above him a creature with white fur, big muscular arms, and armor covering his body, complete with a mask adorning his face that had strange markings on it. It was carrying what looked like a spear in one of its giant hands.
“A… Storm Creature?” Spike wondered aloud. The creature struck Spike in the temple with the butt of the spear, and suddenly the world went dark.