//------------------------------//
// The Smallest Archdemon 
// Story: Ponies and Grey Wardens: The Equestrian Age 
// by Icecane 
//------------------------------//

Spike grumbled to himself as carried another stack of books toward the shelf where they belonged. With the earthquake leaving the library in disarray, he had little choice but to re-clean everything. His growing aggravation toward the situation was heightened as he was quickly abandoned by Twilight, the young scholar having run off outside to see how much Ponyville had suffered.

“Good excuse,” he muttered angrily as he placed the books neatly on the shelf. Heaving a dejected sigh, he looked around the library to see everything was once again in tip-top shape. Gaining a sense of satisfaction, the dragon assistant turned toward his next target, the door leading to the basement, where he was certain another mess was waiting for him.

The basement was simply a single room with a short, spiraling staircase that led to the bottom, that had a smaller room connected to it. Bookshelves were carved into the wooden walls much like the library above, but they were mostly filled with Twilight's personal collection of books from her time in Canterlot, research notes she had written in her studies, as well as a few books that the scholar says are “not something for a baby dragon to read.”

Spike groaned loudly as he saw it was as messy as the rest of the library home. Nearly every book had fallen from its respective shelf and was either cluttering the stairs or in one of the large piles on the bottom floor. Knowing the job needed to be done, and with no magically gifted unicorn to assist him, the dragon began the arduous process of putting everything in its proper place.

It didn't take him very long to clean up the staircase and begin on the bottom floor. There wasn't very much floor left for him to stand on however, though the tall piles of literature made it easier for him to place the books that belonged on the highest shelves. 

Holding a large stack of books, Spike walked across the room toward the correct shelves they should be on. The trip was short lived as he felt his foot strike something hard and metallic. A gasp escaped him as he was tripped and his small body toppled forward, sending books flying ahead of him. Grunting in his mixture of mild pain and agitation, he sat up and rubbed his aching shin. 

As he looked back to where he had started his crash landing, the young dragon was surprised as he saw a metal rod jutting out from the pile of books he had walked across. Curiosity outweighing his annoyance, he slowly approached the strange object and tapped it with his claw. When nothing happened, he gained an inclination to see exactly what was uncovered, so his hands grasped the metal object and he began pulling. What he first realized was how heavy it was, the claws on his toes dug into the wooden floor as he pulled back with all of his might. His small arms strained as he continued his attempt, his curious mind fueling his determination.

Then suddenly, the object began to move from the strength of the baby dragon. Unfortunately for Spike, he was ill prepared for it to suddenly become loose and he stumbled back as the resistance gave way. 

Shaking his head to regain his senses, Spike stood back up to look at what he had uncovered. It was a large handle that was attached to an even larger blade. The dragon was mesmerized by the blade's glassy blue surface, looking as though it was made from gemstones. Though beyond that, he was only able to stare at the foreign object with a blank mind. The only thing he could compare it to was a kitchen knife, though for what kind of cutting it would be used for he didn't have a clue. 

As he examined it more closely, his mind began to remember where he had seen something like it before. In Canterlot Castle, such objects were actually an occasional decoration within the regal halls, though mostly around the guard barracks than anywhere else. The purple-scaled dragon couldn't remember what they were called, only able to remember being repeatedly told that he should never touch them.

Now, there was nopony to say such a thing. Looking around, Spike made sure that there wasn't a soul nearby to catch him as his clawed hands wrapped around the handle of the sharp object. Without waiting for another moment to pass, he bent his knees and and tried lifting the heavy piece of metal. The sheer weight of the object when compared to him was lost to the dragon as he attempted to lift what little he had a hold of. 

A comical display of overexertion was twisted onto the assistant's face as his cheeks turned red, his eyes bugged out, his scales became wet with sweat and his breath was held. Spike could almost feel the weapon beginning to lift ever so slightly off of the ground, making a steady pace upward higher and higher by the centimeter. But the dragon's grip slipped as his pounding heart nearly stopped and a cold chill shot straight up his spine. 

In his startled fit, Spike relinquished his hold on the object and frantically looked around. Expecting somepony to be there with him, he looked up at doorway leading back to the library, not even seeing Twilight's return. Confusion crept into the dragon's mind as he could have sworn he had heard something, not a voice, but a noise that inanimate objects could not make. Yet that was all that was around him.

Again, Spike jumped up in fright, nearly leaving his scales behind, as he heard the noise again. It was much more clear this time, sounding like a pained groan. What made him even more terrified was how close it sounded to him. Turning toward where it had come from, his eyes fell onto a large pile of books. Minutes went by as the little dragon kept a fixed stare on the pile. Spike's breathing became stunted for a moment as he witnessed several books shift slightly in their position, as though something within the pile was moving.

With slow, hesitant steps, the assistant crept toward the pile.  Expecting for a horrific monster to jump up from the pile without warning, Spike retrieved a single book lying at his feet and tossed it into the pile. Flinching back as the book collided with the others, Spike breathed a sigh a relief as nothing happened. 

The reassurance allowed the young dragon to step onto the pile and dig into the books, tossing them aside as he kept his eyes peeled for any kind of movement. As the pile became smaller and smaller, the lack of finding anything worthwhile made it startle the assistant even more as he came across the head of a strange creature buried underneath the heavy works of both fiction and non. 

Spike had never seen anything like it. Having a pale, nearly flat face and a black mane, it was obvious that whatever he had uncovered was no pony. Moving more books, he found that the head was connected to a body, one that was wearing strange, metal clothes. 

With his curiosity overpowering his rational fear, Spike climbed on top of the creature and looked over him. Not sure if it was dead or simply asleep, the dragon poked the creature's face with his claw. He immediately stopped the action as the creature's eyelids began to quiver. 

Another groan escaped the creature as his head began to shift to the side. Spike was forced to jump off of his chest as the creature slowly sat up, the remaining books that covered him falling away without notice. His hand reached up to rub the side of his head while his eyes slowly opened. In his groggy state, it took several moments for his sights to became restored to him. As his eyes fully adjusted to the waking world, the first thing that came into his view was the small, purple-scaled dragon.

Now, after nearly dying at the hands of a blood mage, having much of his blood magically sucked from his body, as well as having suffered the sensation of traveling to another universe entirely, the commander's mind was far from rational. By this, it would be completely understandable for what one would see and hear to be blown out of proportion. Just as the commander's mind could only register one single detail as his gaze became fixed on the baby dragon before him. “Archdemon!”

“W-what?” Spike stammered as the creature he had uncovered stood up. What the dragon realized at that moment, was how imposing the creature was, with his towering height and strange attire. 

The commander didn't hear the question spouted from the frightened assistant. Instead, his gaze darted toward his sword that was lying on the ground. With quickened reflexes he snatched the blade and held it up. “I don't know where you came from, but I won't allow you to taint my lands! I'll slay you here and now, before you can spread your Blight further!” His eyes wide and wild, the commander swung the heavy sword down with all of his strength.

Spike cried out in panic as he jumped out of the way, the tip of the sword smashing down on the wooden floor exactly where he stood. 

“You won't get away from me that easily, Archdemon!” the commander shouted, swinging the sword at the dragon again. Spike grabbed a thick tome from the floor and held it up in his defense. It provided little protection as the blade tore through it and tossed the pieces across the room.

Seeing the creature stepping toward him, raising the weapon for another strike, Spike looked toward the stairs leading out of the basement and ran for it. Screaming at the top of his lungs while his arms flailed wildly, the young dragon ran up the stairs as fast as his legs could carry him.

The commander was quick to give chase to the frightened dragon, bounding up the stairs with a much greater speed. The small, purple Archdemon was the only thing in his sights as broke the gap between them with every step he took. He was right on the dragon's tail and ready to make his next attack as Spike ran through doorway that led back into the library. 

What the commander didn't notice however, was that the doorways in this new world were much shorter than those of his own. It didn't even register to him as he smashed face first into the wall above the doorway, throwing him off his feet in a violent crash. With the speeding chase suddenly halted, the commander's unconscious body fell back, tripping down the stairs with several loud thuds as his body struck nearly every step on the way down. It ended with one final, agonizing crash that even made Spike cringe. 

Then, as the library became silent once again, Spike poked his head down into the basement. There, lying sprawled out on the floor, wast the body of the creature, looking even more out of it than when Spike had first found him. 

As if the floor was about to collapse under him, Spike took cautious steps as he made his way back down the stairs. His eyes were riveted to the creature's face, not sure if he was dead or not.

Reaching the fallen form of the creature, Spike kept his distance to him as he stared at the creature for sometime. Not seeing any movement from him, the dragon assistant picked up a book and gave it a toss. With a heavy thud, the book hit the creature's head and slid across the floor, not causing a single stir from him. Spike then approached the creature, sanding next to his head as he braced himself for anything. 

As the creature continued to remain still, Spike began to poke his cheek with his claw. Once again, not a thing happened. Slightly worried now, the baby dragon placed his clawed hand just below what he was assuming was the creature's nose. His heart skipped a beat as he felt the soft push of air against his hand, causing him to retract it back and bring forth a relieved feeling that he didn't kill the creature.

“Spike?!” a voice shouted in bewilderment. The assistant wheeled around to see Twilight standing in the doorway and looking down at him, her eyes widened in shock. “What... what's going on?!”

Uncertain as to how he could answer his caretaker, Spike began to blather, his gaze repeatedly shifting between the unicorn and the unconscious creature at his feet. With no idea what to say, the dragon could only blurt out a single sentence. “I didn't do it!”