//------------------------------// // Chapter 6 // Story: Of Age // by paleowriter //------------------------------// Chapter 6 Fish flopped along the ground, directed by Fluttershy towards their brand new pond. "Ah just don't get it," Applejack said, throwing her shovel to one side. Spike darted around, picking up the discarded shovels as Twilight finished filling the pond with water from the reservoir. "Water doesn't just stop flowing for no good reason." "No, it doesn't," Twilight agreed. "But I think that may need to be a mystery we answer as we catch up to Rarity." "Which we would've already been doing if somepony would've let us leave sooner," Rainbow Dash said, eyeing Fluttershy as she finished nudging the last fish into the pond. Fluttershy, whose nose was already near the ground, shrunk even lower down. Spike winced, even though inside he agreed with the blue pegasus. "We need Fluttershy with us," Twilight said. "And if she wanted to make sure the animals were safe before we left, that's her decision." Spike set the shovels down in a pile by Fluttershy's cottage, trying to hold in grumbles about Fluttershy's priorities. One shovel clattered to the ground as he turned away, but he didn't bother going back to pick it up. They had to get going. Rarity and Sweetie Belle were out there. Couldn't we have just asked some other ponies to take care of this whole pond-digging business? But as Spike imagined that scenario, he realized it would've taken just as long. "Now, once you've got the hole dug, you'll need to fill it up gently…no need to rush…too much water will hurt the earthworms!" Spike could just see Fluttershy micromanaging any task that involved animals. Quietly, of course. He shook his head, walking back over to everypony by the new pond. What's done was done. At least now they could get moving. "Everypony set?" Twilight asked, magically adjusting the straps of her saddlebags. Fluttershy straightened up. "Oh, yes, thank you, Twilight." "Whatever it takes to get you to come," Twilight said. Fluttershy nodded, and then they both turned and began walking into the forest, with the other ponies following. Couldn't have said it better myself, Spike thought, hefting his bag over his shoulder and walking behind everypony else. He could hear Fluttershy mumbling to herself as they walked. "Now, you've made a promise. Dragons or no dragons, Rarity needs you." Pinkie Pie bounded alongside the pony lineup as they marched through the first paths of the Everfree Forest. Naturally, she was singing. "We're coming to save you, Rarity! Don't you fret or fear! We're coming to save you Rarity, even-if-you-don't-really-need-it-and-Sweetie-Belle-is-safe-and-your-secret-quest-is-taken-care-of-and-those-Royal-Guards-just-got-lost-or-something-we'll-still-bring-you-some-friendship-and-hopefully-some-CHEER!" The pink pony gasped for air, her chest heaving in and out. Spike passed her, shaking his head. Applejack glanced back over her shoulder at Pinkie Pie. "Better keep singin' to a minimum, there, Pinkie," Applejack said. "We don't want to attract any unnecessary attention in these woods." An image of timberwolves flashed through Spike's mind, and he gulped. I hope Sweetie Belle caught up to Rarity. I hope, I hope, I hope— "We'll be fine," Twilight said. "As long as we stick together." Spike picked up his pace, barely listening to any more of the ponies' conversation. Sweetie Belle has to be okay. She has to be. And Rarity…she…she… His small dragon brain couldn't even begin to process what he'd do if Rarity wasn't okay. Air tore into Rarity's lungs as they surfaced. Sweetie Belle gasped beside her. Rarity grabbed for her sister, throwing a hoof over her to prop her upright on the raft. Her chest burned as she took a second, desperate breath. Stef'an turned his head to face them and the gold plated raft caught the sunlight as it shifted, making Rarity wince. "They're still coming," the sea serpent said, gazing up into the sky. "We haven't lost them yet. We need to get farther from the forest." "Rarity…no…I can't! Please don't make us go underwater again!" Sweetie Belle pleaded, quivering beneath Rarity's hoof. "Stef'an?" Rarity asked the serpent as he swam them snake-style through the river. Her coat dripped around her hooves, and she was sure the food in her pack was ruined. "I'm sorry," Stef'an said. His golden eyebrows creased together. "I'm afraid it's the fastest way I travel, and we need speed to lose those gargoyles." "Gargoyles?" Rarity spun to look at the creatures flying after them. What about the dragons?! But no… The more she stared, the more she realized the beasts with the leathery wings weren't dragons at all. They were far too thin, and far too ugly. …They were the same as the creature that had made off with her sister, Apple Bloom, and Scootaloo the night before. Except now, there were more of them. At least six or seven, from Rarity's quick count. All headed their way. Oh my. "Hold on tight again, please," Stef'an directed as the gargoyles drew closer. "Rarity!" Sweetie Belle squeaked, scotching even more under Rarity's hoof and hugging her sister's body tight. "Deep breath, Sweetie Belle!" Rarity said, sucking in her own. Down they dove. Rarity's pinched her eyes shut, once again using her magic to cling extra tight to their raft and to her sister. The river water rushed around them, though this time, there were no rocks hurdling past them. It seemed the gargoyles were at least out of boulder-throwing range. Judging by Stef'an's swimming rate, Rarity hoped they'd soon be long gone entirely. She could feel her mane flowing behind her in the water like somepony had grabbed it and wouldn't let go. Same with her tail. She didn't dare open her eyes for fear that sand or river grime would get washed into them as they traveled underwater at Stef'an's, admittedly impressive, super-speeds. Gargoyles. Gargoyles. Why gargoyles? What is happening? Rarity's brain couldn't begin to think of an answer, perhaps from lack of oxygen. Her chest ached between her wasting lungs and her pounding heart. Adrenaline shook her whole body. All thoughts of gargoyles quickly vanished and the thought of breathing took over completely. They needed to surface. It was too much. She needed air, and she needed it now. Same with Sweetie Belle. The little filly's grip was loosening. Rarity used her last bit of energy to magically tug on the fin on the right side of Stef'an's head, pulling it upwards. He got the message, and swam back to the surface. Both her and Sweetie Belle gasped once more, splashing through to the top of the river. As soon as she could manage it, Rarity spun to glance behind them. She couldn't even see the forest anymore, much less any gargoyles. She hesitantly allowed herself a moment of security. After all that swimming, she was pretty sure they'd done it. Pretty sure they'd escaped. Sweetie Belle coughed next to her on the raft, and Rarity pushed her sister's mane away from her face, making sure her eyes and nose were clear. "Are you alright, Sweetie?" she asked. "Yeah," Sweetie Belle said weakly. "Yeah, I think so." "You're sure?" Rarity asked, fretting over the filly until Sweetie Belle pulled away, swatting her sisters' hooves back. "Er—right then." She glanced over her shoulder once again. Still no gargoyles. They were safe. Weren't they? "We've lost them," Stef'an said. He slowed down his swimming to a more casual pace. "We have," Rarity said, breathing a sigh of relief at his confirmation. Stef'an swam onwards, presumably towards a meeting spot for others of his species, at least Rarity could hope. She'd certainly lost enough time already on her mission. "I just don't understand. Why are gargoyles attacking us?" Sweetie Belle asked, wringing out her mane with her hooves. The water dripped down onto the fancy raft, running off the sides and down Stef'an's scales into the river. "The gargoyles have been doing a lot of strange things lately," Stef'an said. "Last night a gargoyle wanted to eat us," Sweetie Belle said. Then her eyes flew open. "Do you think we weren't big enough for all of them? Maybe they've moved onto hunting sea serpents!" Their guide shook his head. "I don't think they were going to try to eat me," Stef'an said. "Though I'm sure I'd be a delicacy." He put a thoughtful finger to his chin. "Oh, indeed, of course," Rarity said, barely even thinking about what she was agreeing with as her brain turned over the facts. So now, not only are the dragons against the sea serpents, the gargoyles are as well? Or are they just a rogue group, doing their own thing? "No, I think they were trying to keep me away from the Everfree Forest," Stef'an said. "After all, it was just a few weeks ago that they chased me out of there, rather rudely, too." "Gargoyles chased you out of the forest?" Rarity asked, making sure she understood him correctly. "Yes, and I wish I knew why," Stef'an pouted. "Wait, so if they chased you out of the forest…" Sweetie Belle stared back upriver. "Maybe they were trying to take it over or something. What if…what if there's more of them? Rarity!" She spun to face her sister. "What about Scootaloo and Apple Bloom?! And Spike? Do you think they got out of there okay?" Rarity's heart flipped in her chest. Spikey Wikey? It took all of her willpower to keep her facial expression calm and collected. "I'm certain they're fine, Sweetie," she said, as reassuringly as she could. A small whimper managed to escape her mouth, but her sister didn't notice. Stef'an watched Rarity carefully, and deftly changed the subject. "I suppose that's a mystery for another day. We'll be at the sea and on our way to Sea Serpentia's ceremonial meeting isles soon." "Oh dear, the meeting isles already? Well, we better prepare ourselves, then." Rarity refocused her attention. How are the sea serpents going to welcome an ambassador whose mane looks like something Opal coughed up? She knew exactly what she'd need to do to pass the time between now and when they arrived at their destination. Her horn glowed as she began to tackle both her and Sweetie Belle's ragged coats. She could only hope it'd be enough of a distraction. She desperately needed the vision of an entire horde of gargoyles attacking her Spikey Wikey to disappear back into the far corners of her imagination. Her hooves shook. Rarity narrowed her eyes in an effort to keep them steady. Please just stop already, overactive imagination. Spike is just fine. He's safe back in Ponyville, where he belongs. Far, far away from any gargoyles. "Well, I think we can safely say we've figured out what happened to the river," Rainbow Dash said, flapping her wings to fly up higher. Spike's toes squished unpleasantly through the muck of the flooded forest. Ahead of them, the river spilled around a huge pile of boulders that had dammed the entire thing up. "It wasn't like this yesterday," Spike said, scratching his head. "I don't get it." "Um, everypony?" Spike heard Fluttershy ask meekly. He'd let somepony else answer. He needed to figure out what was going on with the river, and if it would have affected Rarity and Sweetie Belle at all. Twilight walked around the muck, examining the rock pile from every angle with Applejack. "This isn't natural," she determined, stopping in her tracks. "Ain't natural at all," Applejack agreed, poking at one rock with her hoof. "Ahem," Pinkie Pie cleared her throat. "From my professional opinion, growing up on a rock farm and all…" Pinkie picked up one rock to peer at it closely. "These rocks are definitely not from around here." "Everypony?" Fluttershy asked again. "You're right, Pinkie," Twilight said. Spike noticed she wore an expression of mild surprise at Pinkie's reasonable contribution to the conversation, though she hid it well from everypony else. "There are no cliffs around," Twilight continued, scanning the area. "No mountains anywhere close enough to have caused a rockslide into this very spot." "Um…um…!" Fluttershy squeaked. Spike hopped up onto one of the larger boulders to escape the mud for a few moments. "I mean, I know this is the Everfree Forest, and wacky stuff happens here, but random rocks?" "Just. Plain. Weird." Rainbow Dash flew past Spike, circling the rocky dam. "Everypony!" Fluttershy trotted forward to the middle of them all, her eyes darting about at the trees overhead. "Yes, Fluttershy?" Twilight finally answered. She flew up to cower behind Rainbow Dash, shrieking, "Up in the trees! There are…there are…d-d-d-dragons!" "Dragons?!" Spike looked up so fast he nearly felt his neck snap. What? No! Impossible! Above, glowing eyes glinted in the dark of the forest. Before anypony else had a chance to scream, they attacked. But as soon as they left the trees, Spike realized they weren't dragons at all. They were gargoyles. "RUN!" Twilight yelled. She didn't need to say that twice. They bolted. There must have been at least fifteen, no, twenty of the gargoyles at their heels. Applejack did a barrel roll through some thick weeds, dodging as one swooped towards her. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy flew so fast their wings became a blur. Spike ran as quickly as he could, but he just couldn't keep up with his friends. A raised tree root tripped him up, and Spike soon found himself sprawled spread-eagle in the mud. A massive roar sounded behind him, and he flipped himself over just in time to see a huge set of jaws flying towards his face. Instinct kicked in, and Spike blew out his dragon fire straight into the beast's mouth. It shrieked an awful sound, like a hoof down a chalkboard. Spike threw his hands in front of his face and scooted backwards away from the gargoyle, accidentally smashing straight into a tree. The gargoyle flew away into the canopy, clawing at its mouth. "You again!" He looked up, just in time to see another gargoyle—a familiar one—dive-bomb him. "Spike, look out!" Twilight screamed. The next thing Spike knew, he was teleported several yards away. He watched as the gargoyle from the attack on the fillies smashed into the ground, where Spike had been moments earlier. It climbed to its feet, breathing raggedly. "That one!" the gargoyle pointed. "Stuff its mouth and eat it quick!" Spike froze in place. "Oh, I don't think so!" Rainbow Dash zoomed to a halt and spun around to face the creature. Then she flew straight at its face and punched it in one of its glowing eyes. "Yeehaw, that'll teach'em!" Applejack cheered, rearing up on her hind legs. "C'mon girls, we ain't gonna outrun 'em, so we'll just have to out gun 'em!" She darted forward to join Rainbow Dash, bucking gargoyles aside like they were some sort of bizarre winged apples. But as valiant as his friends were, Spike knew they were outnumbered. And he didn't have enough dragon fire to beat them all. He was just too small. Again. "Get the little scaly one!" another gargoyle yelled, flying at him after he used his dragon fire to scare one of the beasts away from Fluttershy. "Spike, get out of here!" Twilight yelled, right before teleporting him even farther from the battle. "Hey, you said ponies would be easy food!" one of the gargoyles hissed at another as Pinkie Pie popped in and out from around the trees so quick that Spike was sure Twilight had to be teleporting her, too. "They will be!" the other responded. Spike's eyes flew open as one of the gargoyles heaved a rock straight towards Twilight. "WATCH OUT!" Spike screamed, tearing towards the unicorn. But then, a massive blast of fire burst straight past the gargoyle with the rock. And with it, a roar of epic proportions. What was THAT?! Spike knocked Twilight to the ground, which turned out to be entirely unnecessary, because the gargoyles had already scattered. "Dragon!" they screamed. "Dragon!" "Fly away!" "Just you wait! Wait until we're ready, then you'll be sorry!" the gargoyles shouted as they flew through the forest branches, leaving their prey back in the mud. The forest went eerily still. Pinkie Pie broke the silence. "Dragon?! Where? Where?" she hopped around, nosing behind the trees in search. "Dragon?" Fluttershy squeaked, but Rainbow Dash grabbed her tail before she could fly away. "It's not a real dragon," the blue pegasus said. Her eyes narrowed. "Alright, kid, come out, wherever you are." She scanned the ground around where she flew, and Spike climbed to his feet to look around, too. What's going on? "I know you're there!" Rainbow Dash said, putting one hoof on her hip. "I taught you that roar!" "Aww, come on!" a voice said from the thick of the forest. "She's caught us, Apple Bloom, there isn't much else we can do," a second voice said. "Apple Bloom?!" Applejack trotted forward. "Is that you ah hear in there?" Spike shuddered. Applejack's "stern-and-disappointed" voice could give Princess Celestia's "you're-in-trouble" voice a run for its money. "Dang it, Scootaloo, couldn't y'ave disguised yer roar some more?" Apple Bloom and Scootaloo walked out of the woods, lugging with them their wagon. In it, sat a number of items, including a burnt torch and a huge empty jar. "What are you two doin' here?!" Applejack demanded. "Yeah! How dare you save us!" Pinkie Pie leapt over by Applejack's side. "Er…that ain't exactly what ah meant," Applejack said. Spike groaned. Of course Apple Bloom and Scootaloo had followed them. He was pretty sure he saw Applejack's lasso in their cart mixed in with their other supplies. Why Applejack had thought a bit of rope was going to stop these fillies, Spike had no idea. "Girls, following us was a very dangerous idea," Fluttershy said, flying down and gently landing by their sides. "You could have been hurt! Or worse!" They pair of fillies finally had the good graces to look ashamed. "Just how did you make that much fire, anyway?" Rainbow Dash asked, flying over to poke at their cart of stuff. Pinkie was already digging through the whole lot. "Rainbow Dash," Twilight chastised. "Now isn't the time." "What? It was kind of awesome!" Rainbow Dash said. Scootaloo beamed for a moment, then shook her head, as if clearing it. "You all don't get to talk. You were going to just leave us behind when our friend was in trouble!" Scootaloo said, glaring up at all the ponies, including Rainbow Dash. "You can't blame us for wanting to help!" "Yeah, and without us, you'd all be gargoyle dinner!" Apple Bloom added, holding her head high. They did have a point there, Spike had to admit. And it seemed the others were drawing that same conclusion, too. "Well, thank you for saving us," Applejack said, grudgingly. "But don't think yer gonna get away with this misbehavior!" she warned. The fillies smiled at each other, victorious. "So we get to come along now, right?" Scootaloo asked. "Well, we did let Spike come, didn't we?" Rainbow Dash reasoned. "Why not these kiddos, too?" What?! "Hey now! Don't lump me with them!" Spike protested. Rainbow Dash gave him a playful punch in the shoulder. "Right, I suppose they did make a scarier dragon than you did! So how did you do that trick with the fire, anyway?" She turned back to the fillies. Spike's cheeks burned. He could barely even hear the pair of fillies as they described the kerosene solution they'd swiped from Sweet Apple Acres. Two fillies made a scarier dragon than me. And somehow, I still think I can protect Rarity? Puh. Yeah, right. His shoulders slumped, and he walked away as the ponies continued to chatter amongst themselves. Why am I even bothering to come along? I can't do anything useful. Spike kicked at a broken branch, sending it flying into a puddle from the flooding forest. Rarity doesn't need me. She never has. I've probably just been annoying her all these years. Now I'm going to show up, interrupting her special mission, with my uselessness. Tears welled up in his eyes, and Spike swiped at them with one arm. The other still shouldered his pack, which was now soaked with mudwater. Gargoyles are afraid of dragons, but they're not afraid of me. I guess I wouldn't be afraid of me, either. I'm kind of a pathetic. I'm a dragon that won't grow big. That'll probably never grow big. All because I can't be myself when I'm that way. Spike leaned against a tree. Apparently, "myself" is pretty lame. "Hey, there." Spike glanced over his shoulder. "Oh. Hi, Twilight." The purple unicorn walked up to him, putting a gentle hoof on his shoulder. "Don't listen to Rainbow Dash. You know how she jokes." Spike looked away from the mare out into the forest and sniffed loudly to keep his tears back. "Yeah. Jokes." "Hey," Twilight said again. "Hey. I know you. You're much more than meets the eye, Spike." "Puh, yeah right," Spike said. "I can't even protect my friends. I'm supposed to be a dragon, Twilight. A dragon! You saw how scared those gargoyles got when they thought a real dragon had showed up." "When a real dragon showed up? Spike, I think they were already plenty scared of this real dragon," Twilight prodded him. "You totally took down one of those things with just one fire blast! Didn't you notice how they singled you out after that? You were the primary threat to them. Maybe not as much as a fully grown dragon, but still. They didn't give a hoof about the rest of us." He thought about that for a moment, replaying the events in his head. He wasn't quite sure the gargoyles had been quite as focused on him as Twilight made it out to be, but it still perked up his wounded pride a smidgen. Spike looked up at her. "So you really think there's more to me than meets the eye?" he asked. "I don't just think, I know," Twilight said. "And come on, when am I ever wrong about anything?" Before Spike could respond, she shrugged sheepishly. "Wait, don't answer that." They both laughed. Spike began to feel better in spite of himself. "Now let's get back to the group," Twilight said. "We have some missing friends to find." Spike straightened up. "Right." The ocean sparkled like one giant, gorgeous sapphire. Rarity had never seen anything so beautiful in her entire life. "Oh, Stef'an, your kingdom is simply lovely!" she cooed from the sea serpent's back. Sweetie Belle propped her front two hooves up on the fancy, shimmery raft, her little filly eyes wide. "I never knew there could be so much water in one place!" Sweetie Belle exclaimed. Stef'an beamed back at them. "Just wait until you see our ceremonial meeting isles!" Rarity's imagination began to run wild, envisioning a lush, tropical locale, with white sand beaches, palm trees, drinks served in coconuts… "Do you guys wear war paint there and stomp about and set things on fire?!" Sweetie Belle asked, hopping over to look Stef'an eagerly in the eye. Rarity was once again painfully reminded of how differently she and her sister thought. "Sweetie Belle, don't be rude." "What?" Sweetie Belle asked, blinking innocently. "What did I say?" Stef'an was laughing. "Oh, Most Generous Rarity, your sister is simply adorable." He mussed up her mane again with one of his skinny little fists. Rarity sighed and went back to magically fixing Sweetie Belle's hair. "I'm so glad you decided to bring her along." "Decided to". Right. At least in that moment, Sweetie Belle's mind seemed to be thinking exactly what Rarity's was, because the filly gave her sister a sheepish grin. "Well, darling, let's carry on then," Rarity said to Stef'an, gesturing out at the ocean. "I'd love to see these isles of yours." "Of course!" Stef'an said. "Of course, of course! I'm sure everyone there is anxiously awaiting our arrival! I've told them all about you. I just know they'll love you." Goodness, I hope so, Rarity thought to herself, looking out across the water. Otherwise this is going to be a ridiculously perilous trip for negotiations that might not even take place. They traveled on for another couple of hours. Rarity wrung out the rest of the river water from the blanket she'd carried in her back, and then magically hovered it over her and Sweetie Belle for sun protection. "You need to be mindful of your coat in the sun, dear," she said, passing on what she considered to be some important, sisterly, sage advice. "Apple Bloom says the sun's good for a pony!" Sweetie Belle protested. "Well, it is if you want to live the rest of your life with wrinkles!" Rarity huffed. "Have you seen Granny Smith?" Sweetie Belle sat down under the blanket. "Good point." "Almost there now," Stef'an said after a while more had passed. "Look! You can see the isles in the distance!" Their blanket dropped to the raft, as Rarity glanced up. Both her and her sister dashed forward to look out. Rarity's jaw dropped open when she caught sight of what Stef'an was pointing at. "Oh my," she said in a whisper. Ahead of them weren't the sandy islands of paradise Rarity had been envisioning, after all. Instead, craggy rocks jutted out of the water, forming a massive circle around a much bigger, central craggy rock nearly the size of Ponyville. Giant waves crashed repeatedly into the isles, spraying water in every direction imaginable. Each rock was naturally dark in color, but most of the surfaces had been form-fitted with golden plates, making the entire thing reflect the sun so that it was almost painful to look at. Sweetie Belle shielded her eyes next to Rarity. "Wooooow," the filly said, peering closer. "Look at them all!" She wasn't talking about the rocks or the waves. Rarity was certain Sweetie Belle was talking about the sea serpents that swam around the rocks and in the waves. Dozens of them, each in different colors and sizes. Rarity winced each time a wave crashed into the ragged isles, fearing that a serpent would get smashed up against the rock, but they all seemed to know what they were doing. For such a flamboyant species, they were certainly formidable enough when in their natural habitat. And how exactly am I supposed to convince them—them AND the dragons—to stop fighting? "Marvelous, isn't it?" Stef'an asked, his eyes misting up. "It's great coming home. Now, are you ready to meet my kin?" Rarity swallowed. Ready or not, they were here. She squared her shoulders. "Yes. Yes, I am."