Chapter Two
Spike heeded the advice of the nameless dragon that was still stuck in the forest, running as fast as he could into the distance, not daring to look back. The haunting words he had heard the dragon say were all he needed to know that something wasn’t right about all this, and that he had to figure out what. But as he was running, he realized that it was much too quiet, and that he should hear something. He got a feeling in the very pit of his stomach, but he quelled the concern as quickly as it had come up, and focused on this winding path ahead of him.
The slow burning he felt in his legs when he had begun had sparked into a fire that knew no mercy. He knew he had to keep moving, but he had to rest as well, if only for a while. But, that didn’t mean he had to stop. Almost reluctantly, he forced his aching legs to slow their sprint, and they obeyed. His pace was now a slow walk. It did two things. The first thing it did was give him a very uncomfortable feeling in his gut; the feeling that he was being watched from the shadows by anonymous eyes, and the second thing it did was give him a chance to look at the scenery.
The mountain the dragon had pointed out still dominated the landscape, but it was still very far away. For a few moments, he wondered just how long it would take him to get there, and what would be in his way along the journey. Surely there would be many obstacles, some would be much worse than others, and one might even... He shuddered at the thought. Gripping his things just a little bit tighter, he took the time to look around him. The landscape was mostly bland, a few trees and shrubberies scattered here and there, but that was really it, save for the rocky ground he was currently walking on. It was different than what he was used to, and so utterly bland. If he made it out of this mission alive, which he would, he reminded himself, he certainly wouldn’t come back for the scenery.
Now that he was back in the open space, he finally found himself growing more relaxed, although he still felt the strange feeling that something was watching him from the shadows. But, he decided that he wouldn’t focus on that. Instead, he would focus on the matter at hand, and the matter that was much more important than his own petty suspicions.
The guide had explained it well enough. He just needed to get to that mountain that was so far in front of him. Taking a deep breath, he walked at a much faster pace.
“It can’t be that far ahead,” Spike said to himself, desperate for something to break the silence. “Maybe it’s just the perspective, or something like that…that has to be it.”
Somehow he didn’t quite believe it.
Then, just as he was beginning to get comfortable…
“Hey, you hear something?”
As soon as he heard that Spike crashed through a nearby tree to try and conceal himself from whatever was approaching him. He made no movement and tried his best to look smaller in any way he could. Spike swore he stopped breathing for a few seconds. Hopefully that was enough to convince whatever it was that there was nothing of interest here, and that they could move on to bigger pastures, as the saying went. Finally, just as he was running out of air and his face was turning blue, he didn’t hear anything moving around him. At least, he thought he didn’t. Carefully, he took a slow excruciating breath in, and poked his head out of the low branch he was currently cowering in.
As far as he could tell, nothing was there. It was either the thing chasing him had moved on, or teleported somewhere else spontaneously. Personally, he didn’t care which option it chose, he was just glad it was gone. Even with the reassurance that he was no longer being watched, he still stayed behind that branch for the next…ten minutes? Maybe fifteen? There was no point in trying to count the minutes that went by, and that would probably make him more nervous than it was worth anyway. Hesitantly, he crawled out of his hiding spot, took another nervous look around, and continued on his way once he was convinced it was safe for him to do so. But, it didn’t stop him from being paranoid.
Just being out here made him so much more aware of himself, he remarked inwardly. Every time something seemed to move in the distance or he thought he heard something behind him, he would jump in surprise and pick up his pace, trying to hang onto the hope that nothing was following him even as he ventured out further into the wilderness. Once or twice he was sure that whatever it was had picked back up on his trail, not that it wasn’t hard to follow in the first place, and was silently stalking him. Almost immediately he pushed the thoughts back to wherever they came from, still not willing to let his fears take over.
Time had passed by quickly and he finally felt and heard his stomach cry desperately for his attention. He looked around nervously once again, wondering if it would be a good idea to stop for a lunch break. It took a little convincing, and a lot of looking around over his shoulder, but he finally found a secluded spot just out of sight. Eagerly, he sat down and took out the food that he had packed. He kept it in one of those containers Twilight had bought so that it didn’t spoil, and it turned out to be a good thing too.
As he ate he wondered how things were back home. Judging by the sun, it was around midday, maybe a bit later. What were Twilight and her friends doing? He wished that he was there, not stuck on this stupid trip. Spike still thought that it was a wild goose chase. Maybe if he had tried pushing for his way a little bit harder, then Twilight would not have made the decision to do this. But…it was also going to a good cause, he guessed. So, he would just have to put up with it, he thought as he ate the last bits of his meal and put the empty container back in his pack. He really wanted to gorge down the food, but he knew that he still had a long way to go, and limited things to eat. Now more than ever, he needed to be careful of his rations.
The sun felt hot on his stomach as he sat there in silence. It was rather tempting for him to just stay there, not in any danger. It was a relaxing feeling, to say the least, and he wanted it to stay like that. He knew that what he was thinking of was just something that he couldn’t do. Twilight needed him to do this and even if he didn’t know why, he would do it.
Reluctantly, he gathered his things and went out again. The sunlight that had settled itself on his scales felt nice and calmed his nerves. His pace was much more lethargic than it had been in the morning, and his erratic breathing style had stopped. The dragon had also grown a bit less aware, and less frightened of what might happen to be lurking in the shadows. Even so, he was still watching out as he walked down the path, just being quiet and small enough not to be noticed.
As the day wore on, minute by passing minute, Spike began to grow annoyed when he realized how little progress he had made. The grey blob in the distance didn’t seem to be getting any bigger. But when he looked back to where he had come from, he couldn’t even see the forest anymore, just a big dark green patch covering the horizon. How far was this stupid mountain anyway? Spike grumbled quietly to himself as he kicked a stray rock in his path.
“Did you hear that?” someone asked from…beside him?
He had to cover his mouth with a hand to avoid the shocked gasp that was fighting to move past his lips. Spike dashed to the side opposite to where the voice was coming from. As he crashed through the brush, he hoped he hadn’t made too much noise.
“Okay, I heard something that time,” another voice, different from the first, said suspiciously.
Spikes eye narrowed as he studied the voices inwardly. Was it just him…or did they sound familiar? He couldn’t pin exactly where he had heard them, it just felt like he had heard them somewhere before a long time ago.
“Why don’t you guys split up?” the first voice offered, taking on a sort of leadership role. “We’ll find him easier that way.”
“Right!” the other two exclaimed.
After that there was a few creaks and some branches snapping, but overall it was as silent as before, which made Spike even more nervous. What could those things want? They were definitely searching for him, there was no doubt about it, but what could they want with him? If anything, they probably wanted something to eat, and he was probably the only thing available. The thought sent chills down his spine. But, he couldn’t let fear take over. Instead, he would act calmly, and try to think things through.
Taking a deep breath, he hoisted his head around to look out at the pathway, just looking enough so that he wouldn’t be spotted. Luckily, it worked. Nothing jumped out at him and he could see nothing in sight, for the moment, at least. But, that was good enough for him. He carefully edged his way out of his hiding place and began running, hopefully to find another, better, hiding place from the three that were looking for him.
Spike didn’t know how long he had been running, but his legs were beginning to burn. Sooner or later he was going to tire out, and he needed all the strength he could get for outrunning the dragons, he presumed, that were chasing him. But, he knew that he couldn’t stay out in the open. Every minute or so, he thought he could hear calls in the distance, and every minute they sounded closer than the last. They would find him without a doubt. So, turning his head in every direction he could think of, he searched for a place to hide. But all that he saw was rocks and trees. His hope was starting to dwindle down into nothing, but then he saw it.
The cave was just lying on a grove of trees, shielded so that if someone didn’t have a good eye, then it would be completely invisible to them. Taking one last look around to make sure he couldn’t see whatever it was that was chasing him, he dashed into the cave once the coast was clear. As soon as he got inside, he could see that it wasn’t the biggest cave around. It could probably hold a teenage dragon comfortably, and he had no problem getting in, but the downfall of it was that it wasn’t a very large cave either, and he got to the end of it about twenty feet from the entrance. Still, it was a rather well-hidden cave, and he was glad for the safety. Then, as he relaxed, he heard the same voices from before, just outside.
“Did we lose it?” one asked as he listened.
“I dunno,” another voice replied. “I can’t hear anything around here anymore.”
“Eh, must have moved on,” the first voice said. “We should get going.”
“No, I know something’s still around here somewhere,” a new voice replied. The tone was a suspicious growl, and was just enough to make Spike back up a little bit further into the cave nervously.
“Come on, dude,” the first voice argued in annoyance, “We’ve been at it for, like, hours! Let’s just go home and get something to eat.”
“We’ll have something to eat if I can get this!” the other one replied, still not giving up, no matter how much Spike willed him to. “I know it’s around here somewhere!”
“You know what?” the other voice replied. “Fine. If you think it’s out here, then you can go look for it. We’ll be at the hangout if you bring it back.”
“Alright, I will,” the voice said.
That seemed to be it. All Spike heard was a few footsteps, some more cracks from broken branches, and then silence. Or, at least he thought it was silent after about five minutes of holding his breath and trying to be invisible. The world seemed to be frozen, but at least he was safe, or what was considered safe here.
Carefully, he gathered his courage and walked carefully to the entrance of the cave. When he got there, he poked his head out and looked in all directions, making sure that the coast was clear before he ventured out into the open any further. After looking to the left for the fifth time, he finally decided that it was safe for him to go out.
He should really have known better.
To his surprise, his head was grabbed by something from above him and yanked upward into the sky. He had no time to react to it or run away, and barely enough time to scream before he was face to face with what turned out to be a red dragon.
A very familiar looking red dragon.
“Huh…well, you’re not what I was expecting,” the dragon said as he examined Spike in his claws. “And…wait a second.” The dragon’s expression turned sour and Spike was suddenly plummeting to the ground The impact didn’t hurt him, but it rendered him breathless as he lay sprawled on the ground. Then, he was aware of the dragon landing right by his head.
“Uh…” Spike said, finally catching his breath and gazing nervously up to the face of the dragon. “Hi?”
“Hi there, Spike.” The words were laced with so much venom it was almost like the dragon above him had to spit them out one by one. And suddenly, Spike understood.
“You!?” he gasped out, covering his mouth with one hand while the other was used to help him scoot away from the offender.
“Yeah, me.”
It was indeed him. The red dragon that was the leader of that stupid gang Spike had encountered when he went on the Dragon Migration. He remembered the days vividly now, and he wished he hadn’t. Then, if he was here, then those other voices he had heard must have been those other two that he always hung out with.
“Uh…” Spike began, trying to calm down. “So, how’s it been for you? After, you know, I ruined your lunch.”
“Oh, shut it!” the dragon, Spike believed his name was Garble, retorted impatiently. “I’m still mad at you for that, and now that those stupid ponies aren’t here to protect you…” One claw was leaning menacingly down at his neck as the dragon trailed off. But, it didn’t come fast enough for Spike not to be able to move out of the way. He scrambled upward and faced down the dragon, still trying not to let his fear show.
“Hey, they’re not stupid!” Spike defended.
“Whatever,” Garble sighed. “I don’t care. And it’s not like you’re worth my time anyway.”
“Great, because I’ve got a mission to get back to,” Spike said, picking his things off the ground and walking towards the mountain once again.
“Wait, mission?” Garble asked, flying over in front of Spike and effectively stopping him in his tracks. “What kind of mission could a little squirt like you go on anyways?”
“One, I’m not little,” Spike said, clenching his fists as he tried to find a way through the elder dragon. But, whichever way he went was imitated by Garble. “And two, I’m on a very important mission to help my friend.”
“One of your pony friends?” Garble teased, putting his hands on his broad hips.
“Yeah, what’s it to you?” Spike growled. “And if you must know, one of your stupid dragon friends or whatever blinded her. To, you know, save yourself the trouble of asking…”
“Wait…” Garble’s expression softened into a suspicious glare. “You’re talking about…”
“So you know?” Spike gasped in surprise. “Huh, that guy wasn’t kidding when he said everyone knew. Now, if you could just get out of my way, I’ll be out of your mane- err, scales.” He started to fulfill his promise, when he was surprisingly picked up by Garble.
“Wait, what guy?” Garble asked, his angered expression fully disappeared and was instead replaced by a sort of curious glint in his eyes after looking around to make sure no other being was around to hear them.
“Oh, just some dragon down by that harbor behind the forest,” Spike answered, pointing in the direction he was talking about. When he looked, the dark green of the forest seemed so utterly far away. His determined expression vanished for a few moments, but Garble didn’t seem to notice.
“Well, you’re pretty brave, going after…him,” he said begrudgingly, putting the younger dragon down. “Not many dragons would do that, especially not some squirt who was raised by some namby-pamby ponies.”
“Hey, those are my friends you’re talking about!” Spike defended, his anger growing rapidly. “And I’m going on this whole stupid thing for them, so if you can just leave me alone then we’ll both be happy.” Not standing to stay around any longer, he turned on his heels and briskly walked forward. He was barely aware that he was still on the trail as his anger was hazing both his vision and his sense of direction. How dare this stupid dragon call them stupid? Maybe he was overreacting, but he didn’t care about that at the moment. He didn’t care that he was on some wild goose chase, he didn’t even care that Garble was following him.
Wait…
As Garble flew in front of him, Spike halted abruptly and glared at the elder dragon.
“What do you want now?” he spat. It was kind of funny when he thought about it. They had barely been talking for five minutes and yet the guy was just so…changeable.
Garble took a deep breath, rubbing the back of his head with his hand sheepishly, then he spoke in a very resigned, embarrassed manner.
“I’m sorry for calling those…ponies stupid,” he said reluctantly. “I just…”
“Just what?” Spike grumbled.
“Stop rushing me!” Garble growled, poking Spike in the chest roughly. “I just wanted to know if you need someone to come with you…” His voice trailed off into a barely audible whisper by the end of it, but to Spike it was loud and clear.
“Wait…you want to what?” Spike gasped, his head tilting in major confusion.
“Look, I’m not doing this for you, let’s get that point across right now,” Garble growled in annoyance. “I’m doing this for me. The jerk stole something from me that I won’t get back, and I want revenge.”
Spike blinked, barely daring to believe what he was hearing. Revenge? That seemed like a pretty stupid, yet all too plausible reason for this former enemy to want to come with him. It was true that he was doing something like that himself, but it wasn’t just purely for revenge. This guy on the other hand… In his mind, he rolled around the pros and cons of the decisions and various outcomes it would most certainly have. There was always the chance that he was just doing this to get back at Spike for ruining their ‘fun time’ in the dragon migration, and when he wasn’t looking, or had his back turned and his guard lowered, he would strike. And then there was the possibility that Garble was actually doing this for something he cared about. Spike couldn’t imagine what, but he sure sounded sincere. Besides, what did he have to lose? Not to mention that he would have some form of protection in this untamed wilderness.
“So,” Garble asked impatiently, his foot tapping rhythmically on the ground as he waited for Spike to answer him, “Can I go or not?”
Spike hesitated, still rolling out his options. But, eventually he squeaked out a feeble and resigned, “Yes.”