//------------------------------// // Chapter 4: You Did What?! // Story: Spike's Nameless Brother // by Cold Spike //------------------------------// The orange dragon tried climbing the mountain a few times using only his claws, but this proved to be nearly impossible. He just couldn't get a firm grip, and ended up sliding down to the bottom repeatedly. Next, he tried climbing by using the rocks wedged in the side. This was a slower process, but he got twice as far—until he ran out of rocks. Flail as he might, he still slipped down again, landing hard on his tail. He growled in frustration. Several cuts were scattered across his body, testaments to the failures from the constant climbing attempts. He pouted as he sat down in anger and spat at the ground in disgust; but what came out wasn't what he expected. Sitting on the ground was more ice that came out from his lips, but it was shaped like a cone. This astonished the young dragon, and all he could do was stare at it. ‘I didn't know I can make shapes with my ice,’ he thought.He picked up the cone and studied it. He looked back at the mountain and noticed some of the rocks that he had previously used to climb, and then curiously looked back at his icicle. Licking his lips to steady himself, he jammed the cone into the side of the mountain, forming a perfect handhold. That was good, but his good mood dampened slightly as he realized that he would need a lot more to reach the top, and he had no idea how to make more. It didn't help that he had never had to climb so high before, even back when he lived in the forest. “I need to get to Spike, but that’s so damn high,” he muttered. “It was an accident and…” Memories flowed through his mind, taking him back to him showing off his ice abilities to Fluttershy, and when he was attacking the spider; in them, he saw himself concentrating really hard and blowing really slowly. This slow breathing created a lot of ice, but it was so randomly shaped it would be of no use on this mountain. “I was always spitting out the ice slowly, but if I do it quicker, maybe I can make shapes!” he said confidently, still not sure if this made any sense. The dragon tried several spit tests out by spitting out ice as quickly as he could. Some attempts did form shapes, but not the conic one that he wanted. After a little experimentation, he noticed that if he curled his tongue just right, he could change the shapes as he was forming the ice in midair. Finally, he started to figure out a pattern: if he twirled his tongue and stuck it out of his mouth just before he began to spit, he could form more cone shapes. He cheered in celebration, even though nopony was around to see him. He made more cones and stuck them into the mountain, making efficient handholds and lifting himself higher. Finally, the orange dragon had passed his previous attempts, and he knew this would work out better, but he also was smart enough to hang onto his ice creations for dear life. The mountain was indeed pretty tall. Two hours into his climb, he ended up looking down, which was not the best idea. Instantly, it put the dragon into a state of panic. He noticed the ice picks below him had all melted, so he only had two options: keep climbing up, or fall straight down to his doom. He started to second guess his actions, but he really needed to see Spike, so he slowly reached into his pouch and took out the amulet inside, draping it around his neck, all the while holding on for dear life with his feet and other claw on the slowly melting picks. He still wasn't sure if this amulet even did anything at all, but he knew it couldn't hurt, so he quickly started making more ice picks and climbing up faster and faster. To the orange dragon's delight, the castle was quickly growing into his field of view, and he noticed the waterfall falling down behind him. As the sun was setting, the dragon had just about made it to the top. Only a couple more picks and he would be on solid ground. But when he went to make more, to his horror, his breath was all dried out. No matter how hard he tried, he could not get more ice to come out. Desperate, he looked all around for water, but the waterfall was not close enough to drink and he couldn't get closer. He was afraid, until he found more of those small rocks that he could climb. The dragon relaxed and used these remaining rocks to slowly bring himself to the top of the mountain. Pulling himself over the ledge, he stood and stared at the sight that greeted his eyes: another strange town and a rather large castle. He sighed, wiping the sweat off his brow and breathing heavily. He collapsed on the grass, trying to catch his breath. The sheer physical toll that the mountain climbing had on his tiny body finally overwhelmed him, and he rolled over on his stomach and threw up on the grass in front of a few citizens that wanted nothing to do with him. “That...” -gasp- “...wasn’t...” -cough- “...so...” -gasp- “...bad,” the dragon managed to say. He even succeeded in smiling at his accomplishment at braving the mountain and making it up to Canterlot. He lay on his back, recovering, and ignoring the confused, and often disgusted, passersby. After several minutes, the orange dragon stood up, and wiped off the dirt off from the mountain. As he looked around, he noticed the ponies in this town looked pretty fancy. As a matter of fact, the way the dragon looked would be pretty out of place, and he was already starting to get more strange looks. The dragon sighed and looked down at his amulet for strength, then slowly walked into town. As he looked around, trying to ignore the rude looks he received in return, he noticed the town seemed to be an offshoot of the massive imposing castle, almost as if it had been built first instead of building the castle after the town. But no matter where he looked, he could not find Twilight or Spike. Finally, he concluded that they must be in the castle, inside that heavily guarded sanctuary. 'Oh, boy.' The dragon had been feeling more confident in his abilities, but he doubted that he could freeze the guards and just stroll inside. He sighed again, looking around for any possibilities. He found nothing, but he did notice that despite most of the town’s disgust, they did not kick him out like so many others had before Ponyville. After a while, the dragon noticed that, throughout the day, lots of things went in and out of the castle, most being carried by ponies dragging the cargo on wheels. It occurred to him that he could sneak into a box and thus get into the castle unnoticed. After some careful planning, he climbed into a crate that was heading into the castle. He managed to do it so quietly that the two ponies dragging it didn't notice anything. The two ponies stopped at the command of the guards. As per routine, they did a quick check of the boxes for security reasons, then let them inside. The orange dragon was finally in the castle but he suddenly realized a rather sizable hole in his plan: getting out of the box without being seen. This problem was compounded when he realized that these ponies dropped off packages all over the castle, and the dragon was not sure where he was going to end up. Then again, he had never been to the castle, so he wouldn't have known where they were taking him anyway. As the boxes dwindled down to his, the dragon grew slightly more nervous. Eventually, his box was lifted. He noticed that one of the ponies remained behind as the box was carried upstairs by the other, and they seemed to be ascending a spiraling stair case. “Here you are, Princess Luna, and have a nice night,” the pony said, waiting for her response. After all, it's not every day you deliver to a princess, and he was obviously hoping to win some points. “Ahh... Thank you, kind sir, I was waiting for this; and good night to you, too.” The smile was obvious in her voice, and the pony smiled back and left her chambers, leaving behind the box holding a baby dragon. Wait. ‘Did he just say Princess?’ The dragon started to panic as he realized he was going to be in big trouble when she opened the box. He started to hyperventilate. He knew he was caught and he was fresh out of ideas. He did not know who this Princess Luna was, but hoped that she was nice. He waited in nervous anticipation. He could hear some noises coming from the box while Luna tried to open it from the outside, while the dragon was trying to keep it closed from the inside. But the dragon was no match for alicorn magic, and the box lid was finally peeled open. As the princess saw the dragon, her expression quickly turned astonished. All the dragon could think of to do was smile nervously, hoping she would not scream, or worse. But instead of a scream or a shriek or a call for help, she simply picked up the dragon using her mouth, just like a mother would often pick up her young foal, and set him gently on the ground. “And who are you, young dragon?” Her voice was gentle enough, but the dragon still detected some harshness and annoyance on her surprise. “You look a lot like Twilight’s young assistant.” “Uhhh... I'm a friend of Twilight Sparkle,” the dragon said, hoping this would appease her. He could not think of anything else to say, but he knew that Twilight was welcome here, and hoped this would satisfy the massive dark-colored pony, especially since he had no name to give her. “Well, Twilight is in the library as we speak. But that still does not explain what you were doing in my box!” Even though Luna was not being mean, the new tone in her voice caused the dragon to whimper a bit, even as he kept his mouth shut. Luna moved back slightly and took a steadying breath. “Hmm... Let me start over. I have been trying to be less serious around others. My name is Luna, young orange dragon. Who are you?” This caused the dragon to calm down, just as he had when Fluttershy had spoken to him earlier. Realizing he wasn't getting out of this one either, he sighed and prepared the truth. “I do not have a name, Luna,” the dragon said. He was tired of explaining why, so he settled for giving the simple truth. Luna raised an eyebrow. “Is that so? Everypony has a name, dragon. Now, please give me your name, and tell me why you are here?” Luna was looking a tad more serious, but she kept using that calming tone, and the dragon remained at ease. “I’m here to see Spike, Twilight's friend. Please, I really need to talk to him about something very important... and... uhh... until I see him, I won’t be giving you my name.” The dragon gave himself a mental congratulations at that brilliant idea, and he hoped his impromptu plan would work. A tiny smile played at the princess's lips. Luckily for him, Luna was in a good mood, and decided to humor him. “Very well, dragon. I will play along and take you to the library, but I do expect that name when I do.” Luna picked him up and draped the young dragon across her back. As they went through the castle, all of the guards kept dropping into an attack position until realizing at the last minute that Princess Luna was escorting the dragon, and not the other way around. The castle was massive, even larger than the dragon had thought, but after several minutes they finally arrived at the library. To the orange dragon’s delight, he saw Spike and Twilight sitting at a table, lost in some books doing research. “SPIKE!” the dragon yelled out his friend's name and jumped off the black alicorn and ran over to Spike, nearly tackling him in a hug. “Whoa, what are you doing here?” Spike asked, too shocked by the sudden appearance of the dragon to even return the hug. “I was hoping he could tell me that as well, young dragon, and there is also the matter of your name,” Luna said, as both Twilight and Spike noticed her presence as well. Twilight looked around nervously, and then realized that it had fallen to her to speak. “Yeah, I’m pretty confused now, too. How did you even get here, orange dragon?” Twilight asked. Each comment made the dragon blush defensively, but it also made Luna grow even more confused. “Twilight Sparkle, do you know this dragon? And why did you not address him by name?” Luna asked, now even more curious about the young orange dragon sitting before her. Twilight swallowed before answering, knowing that the answer would sound strange to Luna. “Uhh... Yes, Princess Luna; we both know him, and the reason we have not addressed him is because he has no name to speak of unfortunately.” “So you were telling the truth, orange dragon. I apologize, but I still don’t see how you are missing something as important as a name,” Luna said as she bowed to the orange dragon, much to the astonishment of all present. “It’s a long story, Princess Luna, but do you mind if we talk to him in private and we can tell you later?” Twilight asked, shooting an annoyed glance at the dragon. Luna pursed her lips, but answered, “Very well, Twilight. I will honor your request. I need to get ready to raise the moon anyway, so I will see you all later.” Smiling (and very pleased with herself for using the new phrase), she turned to leave. As soon as she did, Spike began shooting questions faster than a hailstorm. “How the heck did you get up here and what are you doing here and where’s Fluttershy and why are you so dirty and...” “Spike!” Twilight interrupted. “Breathe, Spike. Let him answer.” “Oh, right. Sorry, Twilight. But seriously, dragon, what gives?” Spike asked. For some reason, his mind went back to the bunny incident from earlier, but he pushed it out of his mind. Twilight didn't say anything, but her expression clearly indicated that she wanted an answer, and quickly. The orange dragon started to sweat a bit as he thought back to the first pony to hear his bunny story, and how she had reacted by kicking him out of her cottage in disgust. He knew that Spike could handle it, but really did not want to tell Twilight—or any other pony, really—for fear of what they would do to him. The dragon sighed, and decided it was easier to come clean. Spike smiled at him sincerely, and gave him a silent nod, letting him know that he could trust Twilight and that it was going to be all right. He licked his lips to steady himself and began. “Twilight, when you two left, I started to get more comfortable with Fluttershy, and was forced to tell her a terrible truth.” The dragon smiled nervously, hoping to soften the blow. “What are you talking about, young dragon?” Twilight grew more curious, but she also grew more serious in her tone. “Well, before I told her, I first told Spike, because I didn't trust any of the ponies and I was feeling so guilty,” he admitted. Twilight glanced over at Spike, giving him a look for keeping such a secret from her. He winced, but both returned their attention when he spoke again. “When Fluttershy was helping me find my place, her friend Angel kept following us, and it brought back some faint memories of something that I had to do when I lived in the Everfree Forest and it made me feel guilty. You have to understand, it was do it or die.” Twilight now had a very concerned look on her face, but she did not show any anger; just concern. She listened intently to the dragon's words. After setting up the severity of the story, the dragon began to unfold what he had kept from everypony but Spike. He spoke quickly, which only sped up as he noticed a similarity between Fluttershy's expression and the one appearing on Twilight's face. After he was done, the dragon simply sighed and looked down in shame, waiting for anger or a scream. Twilight’s mouth was still open in surprise at the intense actions that the orange dragon had to commit, while Spike looked over at Twilight, concerned about how she was going to react. The dragon flinched in surprise as Twilight put her hooves on his shoulders in support and smiled. “You don’t need to feel ashamed. little dragon. Like you said, it was life or death, and you certainly don’t need to feel guilty for trying to survive.” Twilight was still smiling down at the dragon, while he looked up in utter shock that the mean pony from before was making him feel just like Fluttershy. Spike was relieved that Twilight had understood the orange dragon's issue, but there were still unanswered questions. “That still doesn't explain how you got up here. Is Fluttershy here?” Spike asked. The orange dragon shook his head. “No, I ran here after I told Fluttershy. She... um... told me to leave.” He bit his lower lip as he remembered the look she had given him. “She looked just like Applejack after I tried to steal her apples.” “That doesn't sound like Fluttershy... We are going to have a little chat with her when we get back to Ponyville,” Twilight said out loud to no one in particular. She paused, thinking on how Fluttershy must feel. “But that still doesn't...” Spike started again, trying to get a simple answer. His voice trailed off as he was interrupted by the orange dragon’s actions. The dragon twirled his tongue and spat out an ice spike on the ground, then he did several more to show it wasn't just a fluke. “I climbed the mountain to the castle using these things that I just found out I can make!” “YOU CLIMBED THE MOUNTAIN TO GET INTO CANTERLOT?” Both Spike and Twilight said in amazement as they put two and two together at the dragon’s ice spikes, his fear of Fluttershy and the dirt all over him. The dragon shrugged, a bit taken aback at their loud response. “Well, I can’t fly, and I had to see Spike… I thought Fluttershy would understand but she kicked me out and... well... you guys were gone.” He paused. “Why did you two leave Ponyville and come here, anyway?” The orange dragon asked as he walked over to their study table, which was littered with books. Glancing at a few, it quickly became apparent that the subject of choice was dragons. Twilight stammered. “Oh, um... we needed to do some research, that's all. Nothing suspicious here. Nope. Nothing strange at all.” The dragon read the closest book, which was about rare and obscure dragons and included diagrams, and easily put two and two together. “Research on me?” “Well, it’s just... you're a bit different, and we had to make sure that you would be healthy in Ponyville,” Twilight confessed, knowing that they had been found out. “Why don’t you simply try studying him with the young one's permission, Twilight Sparkle?” a new voice broke in. All spun to see a massive white pony enter the room that looked a lot like Luna. “PRINCESS CELESTIA!” Both Spike and Twilight bowed down in surprise while the orange dragon looked at both of them like they were crazy. “Hey, you look just like Luna,” the orange dragon said, pointing a claw at the royal pony, ignoring the shocked expression that his two other friends wore over his pointing at royalty. The white pony, on the other hoof, took this all in stride. “Why, yes; Luna is my sister. I take it you two met not too long ago.” A smile played at her lips. “She said something about finding a dragon in her delivered package?” The dragon blushed, but since he detected no anger or frustration, he felt safe answering. “Oh, sorry. I had to get into the castle and I wasn't sure what to do.” “Well, I suppose you could have tried asking at the front door. Once you mentioned that you were friends with Twilight, I’m sure they would have let you right in.” Her smile didn't change, but her eyes sparkled in amusement at the over the top actions that the dragon took to get here. The dragon applied the palm of one claw hard against his forehead at being so silly. Twilight tried to recover. “Princess, I’m sorry, but we needed to find any information we could on this young dragon. He doesn't even have a name, and he can blow out frozen breath, and he lived by himself in a forest, it was just too much,” she explained desperately. “It is all right, Twilight Sparkle. But perhaps it would be best if you take him back to Ponyville to study him; with the young one's permission, of course. And I suggest teaching him about the magic of friendship as your friends once did. Having no name is rather unfortunate, but perhaps he can find that as well,” the princess said, smiling back at the dragon and giving him a playful wink. Twilight sighed in relief. “I think that would be best princess. I don’t know why we didn't just try that in the first place.” There was no problem that couldn't be solved with a little study. Especially hooves-on study. The only problem with this problem-solving was, it left two dragons and two ponies on opposite ends of the room, all staring awkwardly at each other and with no idea where to go from there. “Hey, want an ice pick, Princess?” The orange dragon tried to be friendly to this new pony and randomly spit out one more into his hand and offered it to her, much to the astonishment of Spike and Twilight at his childish actions. “Oh, no thank you, little one. But I must say, that is quite a trick. You're very unique.” The princess laughed a bit nervously as she studied his ice pick before turning to Twilight. “Twilight, I must head off to bed, but please take care of this young dragon for me. He is quite special.” The princess winked at Twilight, and then left them alone. The orange dragon smiled a bit as the princess walked away. She had reminded him of Fluttershy greatly, but his smile melted as he noticed the shocked expressions on the faces of both Twilight and Spike. Spike tried to say something, but the sheer surprise that the Princess had both showed up and praised the young dragon left him speechless. Twilight tried to take charge of the situation, but she knew other matters were at hoof: the dragon needed to be not only returned to Ponyville, but Twilight had to take care of him now more than ever as it was now a unofficial royal decree. She decided to summarize the situation. “Alright then, dragon, ignoring the fact that you ran away under Fluttershy’s watch, climbed a mountain, and stowed away in Princess Luna’s mail, I think it’s just time that we get us all home.” She was too exhausted to even discuss the illogical actions of her new young friend, and her poor logic circuits could only take so much stress. “Oh, I guess I did do all of that... I’m sorry, Twilight; it’s just... You should have seen Fluttershy when I told her… I just had to leave. I had never seen her like that,” the orange dragon explained in a panicked tone, trying to warn both Twilight and Spike about her mood. Spike tried to comfort his friend. “Well, it’s not like Fluttershy to stay mad, or even get mad.” He paused. “Not that she hasn't, I guess,” he said, remembering previous times that she lost it. They were quite rare occasions, but rather violent. “No, it’s not like her at all to lose it like that. We'd better get back to Ponyville now and straighten things out.” She put away her research and lifted Spike onto her back, ignoring the other dragon. “All right! ...how do we get back to Ponyville?” The dragon asked, not walking alongside them as Twilight did not motion for him to follow. “Oh, we can fly back," Twilight answered easily. "Two of the castle’s guards can take us there pretty quickly.” The dragon nodded and followed them back to the castle gates. All three of them walked out to the castle as two pegasus ponies and a massive golden carriage waited to take them back to Ponyville. They slowly climbed in and the carriage took off, which was a huge surprise to the little dragon, who had never been in one. The wind carried up fast, which merely made him squint. It was simply a small annoyance, since he did not get cold easily. At first, he found it annoying as both Twilight and Spike smiled up at the front until he looked out and saw Ponyville, lit up enough to look like a real town. To the dragon, it was a beautiful sight he was privileged to see, but just as soon as it came, they had landed near the library and disembarked, hopping off the carriage like flying from a castle to a town was nothing. “I guess we better go back to Fluttershy,” the smallest one mentioned, cutting his happy moment short. “Don’t worry, I’m sure she will be fine after I talk with her,” Twilight reassured the dragon as all three slowly set off for Fluttershy’s cottage. The cottage slowly came into view. Their steps grew quieter when they noticed no Fluttershy outside helping the animals, and a eerie silence had fallen over the area. Each step felt awkward, like breaking glass. They all looked around, searching for any sign of Fluttershy, but found nothing but a few small animals off in the distance. Suddenly, Angel popped up and ran at them, jumping up and landing on Twilight's back, mutely trying explain what was going on. Then, he turned around and saw the orange dragon. Angel’s face instantly turned serious, and he pointed at him, and then pointed back to the door of the cottage, and waited. “I think he wants just you to go inside,” Twilight translated. “Yeah, just go inside. I’m sure Fluttershy just wants to talk,” Spike said, smiling at the orange dragon. The dragon looked down at Angel as he tapped his feet impatiently. Oddly enough, even though the bunny knew what the dragon had done in his story, he did not seem mad; just impatient. All three of the others stared at the dragon, waiting for him to go indoors. He took a steadying breath and again reached for his pouch, picking up the amulet necklace. Twilight, Spike and Angel looked at him curiously, wondering what it was and what he was doing with it. The dragon sighed and draped it over his neck, then looked down to make sure it was on straight. This earned him more curious looks, but he didn't notice. He just set his face and walked up to the cottage, opened the door, then slammed it shut, leaving them dumbstruck. “What was that about?” Twilight asked. “That amulet looked black and pretty big. I'm surprised he kept it this long, actually. I thought dragons ate jewels?” Spike nodded. “Yeah, I was hoping you could answer that. I mean, I tried to eat it earlier when no one was around, but it tasted awful!” “You what?! Spike, that was his, and it clearly means something to him!” Twilight stopped being annoyed for a brief moment, wondering just how many secrets Spike was keeping from her about this dragon. He held up his claws in a gesture of surrender. “I'm sorry! It just looked so amazing, but when I tried to lick it, the gem tasted hot. Like really hot, but also not like any gem I had ever eaten.” “How can a gem feel hot?” Twilight asked. She shook her head. “You must be imagining things, but regardless we will talk about this later. Right now, we need to focus on helping both of them.” The little dragon walked into the cottage. Some of the smaller animals looked down at him and they pointed him upstairs to where Fluttershy was waiting. The dragon slowly climbed her stairs as the animals continued to look at him as if he had done something terrible, but the dragon pressed onward, feeling the warmth from his amulet pressing on his heart as he ascended the staircase, step by slow, dread-filled step. Finally, he reached the top, and there he saw Fluttershy, waiting for him with the most serious face she could muster. When she saw him, she slowly turned on a light and pointed to the space in front of her, indicating that he should stand there. The tiny one stood before one of his few friends in this world and looked down, not wanting to see the look in her eyes. Fluttershy took a breath and began. “Little dragon… can you look me in the eyes and promise to me that what you did in the forest was really life or death, and that you will never do it again?” Fluttershy asked. Her face refused to crack a smile, but her tone was stern and not angry. The dragon cocked his head. “Fluttershy, what’s a promise?” he asked. Having lived on his own for the majority of his life, he had never heard of the concept. His most common companions—rocks, trees, and hunger—didn't make for good friends. Fluttershy’s tone changed. “You don’t know what a promise is?” When the dragon shook his head, she explained. “Well, it’s like committing to someone that you will or will not do something out of trust and respect for them. If you really trust me and want to stay in my cottage, you have to do this and promise not to... well… eat bunnies,” she finished awkwardly. It had sounded much better in her head. “I don’t want to eat them! Yuck!” The orange dragon spat, finally breaking the silence and growing annoyed that he had to go through this in order for her to trust him. His face even turned slightly angry, which surprised Fluttershy. “It’s just before when you said it, I was so shocked and...” “I told you I did it to stay alive, you think that was easy?” Fluttershy raised her hooves. “Enough. If you say you won’t do it, then you won’t, and I trust you and we can move on. But that still does not explain where you went. I was worried.” She still smiled, but her eyes were drawn to his amulet that he was not wearing before. “I went to see Spike in Canterlot, when you got upset well he was the only other friend I had.” “To Canterlot? How did you get there?” Another piece of the puzzle clicked in Fluttershy's mind. “Is that why Rarity ran up to me with a frozen horn? You ran away?” Fluttershy was not entirely sure that what he had done was right, but she was nonetheless impressed with his determination. “Oh, yeah.” The dragon began to explain. As he did, he circled around and around, gesturing wildly the whole time. “I ran when I was scared looking for Spike, but then Rarity caught me and told me where they went. When she said Canterlot, I tried to run for it, but she used her magic to bring me back, so then I froze her horn and ran for it. After that, I had to climb the mountain to get up there using these.” He spat out one ice pick at her feet, which surprised her. “I got up there, then snuck into the castle and ran into Princess Luna and she brought me to Twilight and I got to meet the other Princess and we went back here.” “Oh, my... Well, that was certainly dangerous of you to do all that just to see Spike. I was never mad at you, little one; you just scared us, and I needed some time to think.” She smiled. “You did not need to go so far, but I’m glad you're back.” Suddenly, something he had said at the end finally clicked. “Wait... did you say both princesses? Is Twilight here, too?” The dragon nodded. “And Spike. They're waiting outside. Angel told just me to come in.” “Well, let’s go get them then, little one, and tell them that everything is resolved.” Fluttershy looked at him. Then, to his surprise, she picked him up and placed him on her back, just as Twilight did so often for Spike. Smiling, both went downstairs to open the door.