//------------------------------// // Chapter 8: Chasing Your Echo // Story: Dragon’s Odyssey // by GrumpyMonk97 //------------------------------// Dream: Spike found himself standing in the ruins of Canterlot once more, his shadow self by his side as usual. “You tried to tear Opaline limb from limb, and you wanted it to hurt. Not very heroic of you. What would Twilight think?” Shadow Spike taunted. “Do you ever stop talking?” Spike asked in an annoyed tone. Shadow Spike simply chuckled. “Is it finally sinking in yet? The only one you’re doing this for is yourself. You didn’t even give a second thought to those dragon eggs Opaline stole. Because they come second to you getting your revenge.” “That’s a lie!” Spike snarled, reaching out his hand to grab his shadow self, which just passed through his ghostly form. “Is it? How long are you planning to keep up this little act of yours?” Shadow Spike asked. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Spike said, dodging the question. “Hmph, sure. You keep this up, and it’s gonna eat you alive, from the inside out.” Real World: Spike jolted awake, noticing that it was still very quiet, just barely being dawn. He sat up and dragged a hand across his face, pondering his dream and what his shadow self said to him. I’m doing this for the right reasons. It’s not about me. Spike thought to himself as he looked at his hand before clenching it into a fist. He stretched and went out to take a walk along the grounds, taking in the quiet atmosphere of the Dragon Lands in the early morning. He eventually took a seat on a small cliffside and looked out onto the horizon, seeing the sun just starting to rise and lighting up the Dragon Lands in a soft golden glow. He basked in the warm golden rays, thinking over everything that had happened so far; reaching Klugetown, meeting Luster Dawn again after all this time, nearly dying. He put his hand over his abdomen, feeling the scar and causing his face to drop into a frown, remembering the trek through his memories. He thought about how he shouldn’t have ignored Twilight’s message that day, how maybe things could have been different had he not blown off his duties. He also thought about Sweetie Belle; he missed her smile, her laugh, the way she lifted his mood even on the worst days. Wish I could see you Belle. Even just one more time. Spike’s attention returned to the present as he saw that many other dragons had started to awaken, and he took a deep breath as he stood up and went to find his companions. Making his way past several dragons who were engaged in conversation, he eventually found Ember talking with one of the dragon elders. They bid each other farewell as Spike approached. “Hey Ember.” Spike said with a slight wave. He could tell that she was stressed. “Everything okay?” “Yeah. I’ve just been talking with the elders about the dragon eggs that were stolen and there’s a lot of pressure to get them back.” Ember told him, rubbing her arm as she did. “That can’t be easy.” Spike said. “Definitely not. But we have to do what we can, no matter what.” Ember responded, trying her best to keep the pressure from getting to her. “Come on, let’s go find the others.” As Ember led the way, Spike’s thoughts drifted once more to what his shadow self told him in his dream. The only one you’re doing this for is yourself. Spike shook his head to try and get the thought out of his mind. They walked for a little bit until they finally met up with Garble and Smolder outside in the main gathering area. Garble was entertaining some of the younger dragons with his poetry, while Smolder was simply leaning up against a rock. She sent a wave to Spike and Ember as she noticed them approaching. “Hey guys. We ready to head out?” She asked. “Yeah. We need to get to the Perilous Peaks as soon as possible.” Spike responded. “Yo, Garble! We’re heading out!” Smolder called over to Garble. He bid a farewell to the dragons who were gathered around him, who were disappointed that he had to leave, and ran to catch up with the others. Smolder gave him a grin as he joined them. “Well, someone’s popular.” She said as she gave him a playful punch in the shoulder. “Eh, it’s what I do.” Garble said with a grin. Spike smiled to himself; for the most part, the dragons no longer mocked Garble’s love of poetry. In fact, they had become quite curious about it, especially the younger dragons. Those kids were always super excited whenever Garble started reciting poetry, and it was good to see how much he had grown. On that note, the group set out for the Perilous Peaks, eager to find out what exactly Opaline had planned. After trekking for quite some time through dense jungles and woodlands, the four dragons finally arrived at a sheer cliffside. Ember did a quick search of the area before landing next to her companions. “The winds look too strong to fly up there, and the walk doesn’t look any safer.” Ember stated after getting a lay of the land. “So how do we get up there then?” Smolder asked. Spike started to look around for something specific. “What’s up Spike?” Garble asked. Spike didn’t answer as he continued to search. Eventually, he found a path that was hidden by some scattered plants. “I knew it. This way.” Spike called to the others. They all followed and looked surprised when they found what Spike had discovered. “How’d you know about this?” Smolder asked. “When Applejack and Fluttershy came back from their first trip here, they talked about a shortcut through the mountains that leads directly to the Kirin Grove. It should help us get around the dangerous terrain.” Spike answered. The group made their way down the alternative path, eventually emerging into the Kirin Grove. Surprisingly though, the grove was completely silent, not a soul in sight. “That’s weird. Where is everypony?” Ember wondered aloud. “Yeah. You’d think we’d have seen Kirin by now.” Garble concurred. Spike saw burns and patches of ice seared into the trees and homes around them. “These marks look recent.” Spike relayed to the group. They wandered through more of the grove, still not seeing anyone. It had started to become unnerving. Suddenly, they could hear the sounds of fighting off in the distance and they all stopped in their tracks. “You hear that?” Garble asked. “Yeah. Don’t let your guard down.” Ember responded. The group cautiously approached the sounds of fighting, none of them daring to take a breath so as to not draw any unwanted attention. As they drew closer, they eventually came into a clearing and saw two flaming Kirin engaged in a fierce battle against a creature made entirely of ice. The creature shot out a beam of magical ice but one of the Kirin shot a blast of fire from its horn to counter it. “Woah, what is that?” Garble asked in awe. “I remember reading about this in a book Twilight had on rare creatures. It’s an ice golem. Supposedly, Grogar figured out how to make elemental monsters and used them to terrorize Equestria during his reign. They must have been locked in a really deep part of Tartarus.” Spike explained as the Kirin sent out burst after burst of flame against the golem, seemingly not doing enough to penetrate the magical ice that composed its body. “Yikes.” Garble responded as he scratched his head. “Should we jump in? It looks like they won’t last much longer.” Smolder asked, seeing that the Kirin were barely holding their own against the golem. Ember studied the situation more closely before nodding in agreement. “Garble, Spike, see if you can get its attention.” “Let’s do it.” Garble replied as he gave Spike a quick pat on the shoulder. They both charged out from their hiding spot, with Garble chucking a rather large boulder at the golem. As the rock shattered against the golem’s back, it turned to face the dragons and held out a hand, forming sharp ice crystals that then launched like missiles. Spike and Garble just barely ducked as the crystals wizzed past them, shredding the trees behind them as if they were made of butter. “What are you doing?! Why are you here?!” One of the Kirin shouted towards them, going on the defensive at what she perceived to be a new threat. “It’s ok, we’re here to help.” Spike called back. As he did, the golem swiped with its arm, knocking Spike back into one of the nearby trees. Smolder jumped out and shot out a stream of fire breath, which the golem blocked with its arm before thrusting its hand forward, shooting out a charged blast of ice. As it blasted a tree apart, Ember leapt onto the golem’s back and tried to bash it with the Scepter, but to no avail. Suddenly, Ember felt the ice that composed the golem’s body shift and saw that there was an opening beneath her feet. Her eyes went wide and she leapt away as a beam of ice shot out from the opening that had just formed. “This isn’t working. It’s like our attacks aren’t having any effect.” Ember grunted in frustration. As the dragons and Kirin gathered around the golem, Spike noticed something; as the golem’s form shifted, he briefly caught a glimpse of a glowing blue gem in the center of its body. “That’s it! We have to destroy the gem inside it.” Spike exclaimed. “How do you suggest we do that?” One of the Kirin asked. “Keep it distracted. I have an idea.” Spike said briefly. The others started pelting the golem with blasts of fire while Spike ran over to one of the fallen trees. He grabbed it and hoisted it onto his shoulder, turning back around to return to the battle. He saw that the others were gathered in a circle around the golem, blasting it with continuous streams of fire. The golem was unable to move from the concentrated assault and it was then that Spike saw his opportunity. “Now!” He shouted as he charged forward. The others immediately dropped their assault and before the golem could recover, Spike rammed the fallen tree right into its center. It split apart and toppled over and as it did, that glowing blue gem started to float, along with the various chunks of ice surrounding it. Spike knew he had to act fast, so he grabbed the gem from where it was floating and gave a strong squeeze. It took some effort, but Spike finally managed to crush the gem into dust. As he did, the chunks of ice floating around them fell back to the ground, the arcane shimmer on them fading away. Everycreature stopped to take a breath and the Kirin returned to their normal forms, with the dragons finally seeing what they look like; One of them had dark brown fur, yellow eyes, a green mane and tail, and that signature scaled pattern along her back. The other had light peach fur, red eyes, also has a green mane and tail, and also had that scaled pattern on her back. The one with the lighter fur stepped forward. “Well, I feel like we should introduce ourselves. My name is Spring Leaf, and this is my companion Forest Fire.” She gestured to the darker furred Kirin, who the group now knew as Forest Fire, who gave a short wave with her hoof. Ember stepped forward. “I’m Dragon Lord Ember. And this is Garble, Smolder, and Spike.” Ember says as she introduces her companions. “We appreciate the assistance, but what’s the Dragon Lord and her entourage doing out here?” Forest Fire asked as she gave a quizzical look towards the group. “Before we answer any questions, we should go get the others from the shelter.” Spring Leaf piped up as she headed towards the outskirts of the village, stumbling a little bit as she did. “No you don’t. I’ll go get the others, you get back to the village and rest.” Forest Fire told Spring Leaf as she helped her back to her hooves gently. “I’m gonna need some help opening the entrance to the shelter. It’s blocked by a large boulder, and I don’t have the strength right now to move it myself.” “We’ll go.” Smolder told her as she gestures towards Garble. “We will?” Garble asked with a raised eyebrow. Smolder gave her brother a swift smack in the chest as they followed Forest Fire. “Ow.” “Oh don’t be such a hatchling.” Smolder snapped as their voices grew more distant. “Shall we?” Spike asked Spring Leaf as he gestured towards the village. She nodded as she led Spike and Ember back towards the village. “So, as Forest Fire asked, why are you here?” Spring Leaf asked as they made their way back into the village. “We’re tracking a dangerous pony who stole a whole clutch of dragon eggs. We were told she had come here for something.” Ember answered, her gaze still fixed forward. “Oh she was here alright.” Spring Leaf growled. “What did she want here?” Spike asked. “I’m not sure. But that hag took our leader, Rain Shine, and left that golem behind to terrorize us.” “First the dragon eggs, and now the leader of the Kirin. What is it that Opaline is trying to do?” Ember wondered aloud as Spring Leaf took a seat next to a nearby tree. “You gonna be ok?” Spike asked. “That was a pretty tough fight.” “Yeah, I’ll be fine. I’m more worried about Rain Shine. She’s been such a pillar of the Kirin that I don’t know what would happen without her.” Spring Leaf said as she took a good look at her village. Night had just begun to fall, and the grove lit up with bioluminescent lights from the plants. They all sat in silence for a while, Spike and Ember watching in amazement as the forest lit up like a festival. After a little bit, Spring Leaf noticed that Smolder, Garble, and Forest Fire hadn’t returned with the other Kirin yet. “You think the others are ok? They haven’t come back yet.” Spring Leaf asked. “Let’s find out.” Spike said as he pulled put that communication device he received from Luster Dawn. “It’s about time I get more practice with this thing anyways.” He fumbled with the device for a bit, still a bit unfamiliar with how it functioned. Sunset and the others always made it look so easy. Eventually, he found the button that let him contact someone, and he saw that his contacts were already labeled. Guess Luster had these in the works for a while. He pressed the button for Smolder and let it ring for a while. After ringing a few times, the screen changed and showed Smolder fumbling with the device before bringing herself into view. “Does it work? Is it on?” Smolder asked in a confused tone. “I can see you. Everything ok over there?” Spike asked. “Yeah. Took a little longer than expected to get all the Kirin out of that shelter. What’s the situation?” “I’ll tell you when you get here. It’s something all the Kirin need to hear.” Spike responded. “Sounds like a plan. See you then.” Smolder said. She fumbled with the device again, trying to hang it up. “Oh come on!” She groaned as the screen went back to its default mode. Spike chuckled and put away the device. After a little more time waiting, the other Kirin finally arrived, with Smolder, Garble, and Forest Fire in tow. “So what’s this big news you had for us?” Garble asked. Spike and Ember looked to Spring Leaf, who took a position where she could address the other Kirin. “Everypony, I have something to say.” She paused for a moment, taking a deep breath before delivering the news. “Rain Shine has been kidnapped.” There was audible gasps from the crowd as they started discussing what to do. “Everypony, everypony please! I know that this is a shock, but we have to stay strong. No matter what, we’re going to get her back. I promise you that!” Spring Leaf proclaimed to the crowd of Kirin, who started to calm down a bit but still kept some of their chatter going. “Now, it’s been a long and stressful day, so I suggest we all get some rest.” The Kirin all voiced their agreement before turning in for the night. “So not to state the obvious, but how exactly do you plan on getting Rain Shine back?” Garble asked as he leaned against a branch, which almost snapped under his weight. “With your help.” Spring Leaf said. All of the dragons looked to each other confused. “You said she stole some of your dragon eggs, correct? I think this is the perfect opportunity for us to help each other.” “She has a point.” Spike agreed. The other dragons nodded in agreement. “You sure about this Spring?” Forest Fire asked. “I am. Don’t worry, with these four I should be ok.” Spring Leaf reassured her. “I don’t know about you, but I’m about ready to take your advice and hit the hay. That fight with the golem wore me out.” Smolder yawned as she stretched out. “Same. Let’s turn in for the night and we can set out in the morning.” Ember agreed. As they all went to turn in for the night, Spike mulled over his thoughts. He had missed Opaline again, and now she had kidnapped the leader of the Kirin. He frowned and clenched his hands tight. You’re one step ahead. But not for much longer. “Spike, you ok?” Smolder asked as she saw he was lagging behind. “Yeah. I’m fine.” He responded as he gave a small smile. Smolder grinned and turned to walk ahead once more, and Spike’s smile faded. He followed the group to where they’d be sleeping, though with everything that was on his mind at the moment, he doubted that his rest would be peaceful.