“Two weeks?!” Spike stared up at his teacher in a state of near panic. “But that means I’m derelict! They’ll make me serve another year!” Spike’s ears slowly unfolded from his head as panic slowly gave way to a sobering realization. “Ice Heart planned this, didn’t he? He said he wasn’t going to let me go. I thought he was joking, but now, I see I was wrong.”
Celestia’s laugh echoed through the chamber once more, causing spike to clamp his ears back down. “That does sound like something he would do, but Ice Heart didn’t plan anything. I asked him to send you here because I have a mission for you.”
“A mission?” Spike breathed a sigh of relief. He was glad that he wouldn’t end up in the military another year, but he couldn’t imagine what sort of mission would be so important that Celestia would assign it herself.
“Yes. Follow me, Spike.” Celestia turned and started walking towards the back of the chamber. She kept her pace deliberately slow, but Spike still had to trot at a relatively quick pace just to keep up. “Aside from me, who is the most powerful dragon you’ve met?”
Spike thought about that for a moment. “Are you talking about power in terms of strength, or are you speaking of magic?”
A door opened in the darkness before them. Spike followed Celestia out onto the balcony. Out of the entire castle, this was Celestia’s favorite spot. Spike walked to the edge of the balcony. Far below, rising from the floor of a great cavern, carved from the rock left behind by a long extinct volcano, stood the subterranean city of Dragartha. The city spread out above them as well, carved into the craggy stalactites clinging to the ceiling. Fires burned everywhere, leaving the air smoky, yet still breathable, even if you aren’t a dragon.
“There are many kinds of strength, Spike.” Celestia walked to the edge of the balcony and spread her wings, bright white contrasting with dark volcanic rock. At their full extension, Celestia’s wings created a wall of white that was visible from the farthest reaches of the city, a city that was now cheering, all for the mere presence of its ruler. “Just as there are many kinds of power.” Celestia folded her wings and stepped away from the balcony’s edge. “A leader’s power comes from those who look to them for guidance, but that leader must have the strength to provide that guidance. Physical ability is one sort of strength, a keen mind is another. Magical ability, depending on how it’s used can be strength or weakness. There is also a strength that is much harder to define, one that comes from within. Call it what you may, courage, force of will, an indomitable spirit, or one of a hundred other names, the fact remains that it is just as important as anything else.
Different kinds of power require different kinds of strength. A powerful fighter can rely on his physical capability, but another can be just as powerful through the use of his wits. Love is a form of power as well, one that both requires and gives the strength to put another before yourself. The bandits that roam the wastelands hold power over those that fear them. Similarly, one may gain power through trickery and deception. What is power? There is no simple way to answer that question, Spike. In truth, there is no answer at all that can truly define what power is.
Knowing all that, I will ask you again, aside from me, who is the most powerful dragon you know?”
Spike took one last look at the city below. Most of the cheering had stopped, but a few enthusiastic shouts could still be heard. Celestia managed to draw that much of a reaction from the city below, yet he couldn’t even be seen. “I guess I would have to say Ice Heart. Though, Bluescale and Commander Rotwick come close.”
Celestia nodded politely, betraying nothing of what she thought of his choices. “Those certainly are interesting choices. Please, explain them. Start with Commander Rotwick. She was severely injured in battle, how does that make her powerful?”
Spike stepped away from the balcony’s edge. “She was fighting against five other dragons. She knew she couldn’t win, but she loved her hometown enough to risk her own life. She also had the physical ability to take out two of her opponents in a direct fight and the mental ability to force the other three into a standstill until help arrived.”
Celestia lowered her head. “So, the nobility of her actions affords her the respect of others. That is one way to look at it. What about my nephew, Bluescale? Though he is a member of nobility, I doubt many would call him noble.”
“Yeah,” Spike scratched at his mane, “he is kind of a jerk sometimes. But I was part of his squad before serving with Ice Heart, I know him a little better than most dragons. He was the one who rescued Rotwick; he defeated the three remaining dragons without chipping a scale.”
There was a series of loud clicks as Celestia tapped her claws against the stone floor. “Then he makes the list through physical strength alone?”
“No.” Spike looked back at the city. He knew there were dragons there far stronger, physically, than either Bluescale or Rotwick, but he didn’t consider them powerful. “He may not show it, but Bluescale cares about what happens to Draconica. He also has a strong sense of pride. A little too much pride at times, but he sees it as a point of honor to keep the innocent out of battles and will do so even at his own expense. He also has a good deal of political sway, even if he’s a little frivolous about how he uses it.”
“I see you lean towards inner strength in your appreciation of power.” Celestia turned and started walking back into the chamber they left earlier. “I can guess why you chose Ice Heart. However, there is one other thing about power that I wanted to discuss with you, being able to see it in others.”
Spike was trotting along beside her. She was walking a little faster than before, but Spike was able to keep pace with little effort. He would have been out of breath by now before his training. “Isn’t that what we were just talking about?”
“In a sense.” They walked through the door leading from the chamber into the rest of the castle. They started down a hallway devoid of any markings. The only features were torches along the rough stone walls. “But most dragons, and ponies, if you are any indication, can recognize power and form opinions about it. I am referring to seeing it even when there is nothing yet to see. I am referring to potential.” Celestia turned a corner down a hallway much like the previous one. This one, however, had a blue carpet running its length. Spike’s heart skipped a beat as recognition set in. This was the path to the library! He practically grew up in that room, to him, it was as close to home as any place could ever hope to be. “Do you know why Ice Heart wanted you to stay in the military?”
“Huh?” Spike’s attention was more on the path ahead of him than on the conversation. Without noticing it, he had even sped up, pulling ahead of Celestia in his desire to reach the library. “Um, no. I never understood half the things he did. I mean, why he would keep me around when there are thousands of dragons to choose from?”
“Potential,” Celestia said simply.
They approached the giant wooden door that led to the library. Spike rushed ahead. He couldn’t wait anymore. Celestia was always adding books to her collection, and the thought of how many she must have added in the last two years was making his mouth water. He put his shoulder to the door and shoved it open, not waiting for Celestia to catch up before rushing in.
Celestia chuckled as she followed him in. She sat down on a large cushion in the corner, watching spike as he ran back and forth, checking bookshelf after bookshelf. “I am afraid there are no new books.”
“What?!” Spike spun around. Beneath his widened eyes, his mouth slowly fell open as he worked to form his thoughts into words. “You get new books every week! There should be hundreds of them!”
With a nonchalant wave of her head, Celestia gestured to a small cushion on a raised platform near her. “There is a reason for that. Come, sit down.”
Spike did as he was told, but the only thing going through his head was a list of possible reasons why there were no new books. The only possibility rose above the rest, and that was that she, and by extension he, had read every book in existence. That was not a comforting thought. “Looks like it’s time to start writing, huh?”
Celestia lifted a claw to her mouth and chuckled into her wrist. “I would like that very much, my student. Your experiences and analytical mind should produce a most interesting work. However, if you do decide to write a book, please consider writing a piece of fiction; it would be most interesting to see how a non-dragon mind handles the imaginary.” She gestured the claw towards the still open library door. “Returning to the matter at claw, or hoof, in your case, you have never been able to open that door before. There are even dragons in this castle who are unable to do so. That is potential. You are able to do things you once could not. You will, one day, be able to do things that you now believe impossible. Ice Heart saw that potential in you, the potential to become even more powerful than he is.”
Spike didn’t answer; he was too busy staring at the door. She was right, he never could get that door open, he had even given up on trying, but today, he didn’t even think about it. But there was no way he could become as powerful as Ice Heart. Celestia was rarely ever wrong about anything, but he just couldn’t see how he could be expected to surpass the leader of Draconica’s military.
Celestia slumped her shoulders and let out a sigh. Spike had to hold on to his cushion to keep from tilting over in the sudden gust. “By doubting yourself, you also doubt Ice Heart. He has faith in you, in your potential, don’t let him down.”
“Sorry,” Spike shifted uncomfortably, “I just don’t see how any dragon, or pony, can match up to Ice heart. You’re the only one more powerful than he is.”
“At the moment, Spike, that is true.” Celestia lashed her tail out at the door, flicking its tip against the door and slamming it shut. “This brings us to your mission, and the reason there aren’t any new books. I sent the books to somedragon, and I want you to go meet her.”
“That seems simple enough,” thought spike. At least it wouldn’t involve bandits, mudslides, or large amounts of explosive substances like most of the missions that Ice Heart gave him. “Who is this dragon anyway?”
Celestia smiled a wide toothy grin that would scare the life out of most creatures. Spike just recognized it as her getting excited about something. “She has the potential to become the most powerful dragon of her generation. She even has the potential to become as powerful as I am. Her name is Twilight Sparkle.”