//------------------------------// // Chapter 1: I Hate Wood! // Story: The Voyage Home // by Warmaisach //------------------------------// The Everfree Forest, one of the most mysterious places in all of Equestria. A place where many ponies traveled to, but only few returned from. What was it with this strange forest? Did it enjoy taking lives? Were the ponies simply not able to handle the purest form of nature? Was there something more in there? There were a lot of theories regarding the forest, yet none of them sounded plausible. It could be practically anything. Ponies knew near to nothing about the forest. The old saying “go into the Everfree for a walk, and you will never return to talk,” was still known by ponykind for a reason. Only a few returned to tell the tale of their sightings. Yet, there, somewhere in the forest, is a being that once lived with ponykind, but now lives in the Everfree Forest. It actually was a rather rare being. It was a male teenage dragon, and his size was a little bigger than a pony’s. The legs and arms of the creature were slender and long, giving it the ability to run remarkably fast. While the dragon normally walked on two legs, to keep his arms free, he could speed up with going into a quadrupedal position. Every fully grown dragon was quadrupedal since their massive body weight would put too much pressure on only two legs. Of course, they could still stand for quite a while on two legs, but they preferred to stay on four. Why would they need to stand on two legs? They got their fire. They got their sharp teeth. They got their wings. They got their tail. Yet, this dragon had no wings. His scales were a deep purple with green fins adorning his appearance. His emerald green eyes were hidden behind purple eyelids. He did something that he had been doing often throughout his entire life. An action that he was well acquainted with. He sighed. He currently walked through a forest clearing, a long brown walking stick being held in his right arm. The sigh escaped him and with a bored expression, he drifted his gaze upwards. “Why the Tartarus am I doing this?” he asked himself with an annoyed voice. Suddenly, he straightened himself and tried to look imposing. With a mighty stomp, he hit the ground with his stick and spoke in a serious voice. “Spike, you need to get me those plants! I do not care if you are having the best dream of your life! I want my plants, and you will get them!” Spike relaxed and put his claw to his face while letting out another sigh. “Sometimes I still believe that zebra is some kind of demon. I mean, come on, who wakes a dragon up while he sleeps peacefully?” He made a short pause and looked around the forest. “Well, better get this over with.” With another sigh, he continued walking. This dragon was Spike. A zebra named Abdarul found him unconscious in the forest beside a river. Spike was running from three timberwolves but fell down a ravine. On the bottom of said ravine was an aggressively flowing stream. Apparently, Spike had a lot of luck. Not only did he survive the fall plus the rapid flow of water, but he was also found by a zebra shaman that took him in. Due to the clashing personalities of the two, they quickly were able to anger one another. Spike, in his anger, burned the broom of Abdarul down, who then forced Spike to make another one. In the process of getting the materials for the new broom, Spike found himself in a mighty lot of danger and nearly died at the teeth of another pack of timberwolves. Somehow, he always ran into them. Abdarul rescued him again, but saw that Spike was practically helpless in the forest. He then decided to teach Spike some of his skills, in exchange for manual labor. Spike planned to stay with him for about three months. He thought he would learn everything needed in that interval. This was now three years ago. There was just so much to learn; so many things to know; that many skills to acquire. He underestimated the forest. There were plenty of dangerous things that he didn’t know. So many plants he could use. So many plants he should avoid. After some time under Abdarul, he began to realize how lucky he was to have survived for that long in the forest. Maybe he should have never left his home? Spike sighed another time. Why do I think about Twilight again? I thought I made my peace with that matter. If I wouldn’t have left, nothing would have changed. She treated me like a slave, and now I’m gone. It’s her own fault. Yet, he still caught himself thinking back to his peaceful life under the ponies. How Twilight treated him when he was just a baby; how he had, at least, some fun in those three days he lived in Ponyville; his two best friends, Moon Dancer and Fluttershy. Spike quickly shook his head. Yes, I miss them, but I would never choose friends over freedom. I’d rather be alone and free than in company and imprisoned. Even if he always tried not to think about his past, he often observed himself doing it anyway. He often thought back to the day he had an argument with Twilight. It was the same day he had left her and Ponyville. It all started with her telling him how annoying his sarcastic attitude was getting. She had a point. Spike actually acted extremely sarcastic and unfriendly towards her and her five new friends. Spike then explained how she was practically enslaving him under her. In the heat of the moment, Twilight misunderstood his argument and got even angrier. At some point, she said something out of impulse that pushed Spike over the limit. Spike left Twilight after this and wandered through the Everfree Forest. He was being chased by nearly every carnivore that lived in there and caught poisonings from about everything. After some time, he met Abdarul, and well, here he was now, running through the forest, searching for a flower that Abdarul wanted. Suddenly, Spike stopped again. Wait, what am I looking for again? He put a claw up to his chin and hummed. After a while, he snapped with his fingers, a smirk on his mouth. Right! I need a Greg’s Herb. As far as I know, they grow on the trunks of dead trees. After a short while, his expression changed to discomfort. Oh… right. I totally forgot that dead trees can attract timberwolves. Spike had a point. Timberwolves were known for eating wood of dead trees. Since timberwolves were part tree themselves, they could eat dead trees or other timberwolves in desperate situations. Of course, neither of those things had nearly as many nutrients as meat, but it was better than nothing. So Spike had to be terribly careful around dead trees. In comparison to living creatures, dead trees were oozing of decaying magical energy. While Timberwolves couldn’t sense the magical energy in unharmed animals, they could sense dead trees. After a while of thinking, Spike let out a sigh and began to walk again. “I should just get this over with. The chances of actually meeting timberwolves are pretty slim. I still wonder how I managed to walk upon so many of them three years ago. Well, there is still the chance that somepony up there in the administration zone of this realm hates my guts. That would probably be the most plausible explanation.” Spike chuckled a little at his own joke. Spike knew a lot of stuff. Back in his old home with Twilight, he hadn’t had many things to do, so he simply read nearly every book in the library. Well, what else can a dragon do when he was 24/7 in a library? He literally was 24/7 in there. In the morning, he had to make breakfast. In the day, he had to reshelve the whole library. In the evening, he needed to assist Twilight with studying. At night, he needed to sleep. Spike continued walking down the path. Well, it wasn’t actually a path. It was more of a line without trees that wriggled itself through the forest. Pushing away some branches and bushes, he contemplated about the general outlook of his life. What am I even doing here? Living in a forest, learning shaman things? I’ve been living in here for the past three years, and I haven’t even begun to prepare myself for the search for my home. Suddenly, the teenage dragon stopped walking, and his expression changed into a longing one. Home. Such an easy word. It is used by nearly everypo—bra. Do I even have something I could call home? No, I don’t think I have. Even if I’ve lived three years with Abdarul, I would never be able to call his shed home. It belongs to him, and I do not officially belong there. He gives me work for every piece of food and for every night of sleep. Whenever I plan to sleep inside, he would give me a ton of work to do. Well, I have slept more than once outside in the forest in the last three years. With a sigh, he continued walking again. But even if he gives me a lot of things to do, he is still better than Twilight. Spike’s face changed into a frown. At least, he does not force me to do those things. I could always choose to decline his requests. It would mean that I would sleep outside for that day, but he at least accepts it. On top of that, he is OK with haggling. Spike’s expression changed even more and now even looked a little aggressive. Twilight always made me do everything she said. I never had the opportunity or right to refuse something. I was a slave. I could even go as far as to call this abuse. His breathing pattern changed to a deeper one and his jaw muscles clenched together. She doesn’t deserve to keep me with her. She doesn’t deserve my help. She doesn’t deserve my affection! His steps changed from calm ones to loud and stomping ones. If I could meet her, I would tell her everything. I would go up to her, and I would tell her in her face that I do not love her. I would tell her how much I hate her. I would… Suddenly, Spike hammered his clenched fist into a tree, which vibrated for a short time. Then he just turned around and sat down on the trunk of a fallen tree. With a sigh, he put his head into his two claws. Who am I kidding? I went over this often enough. I still love her, and I know that. The only reason I am acting and feeling this way is because of her stupidity. Why couldn’t she see my pain? Why did it take my leave in order for her to realize this? Did she even realize it? Spike shook his head. The fact that I have never received any letter from Princess Celestia or Twilight means that they probably don’t care. If they seriously wanted to find me, they would have sent me a letter. There wasn’t even one. This could only mean that they abandoned me. Spike the Dragon was not important anymore. He was never important. Even for Princess Celestia, I simply was a device to contact her student. When I left, they probably searched for something different that could be used to transport messages between the princess and Twilight. Spike continued sitting there for a while. He thought about different things. How he lived; how the ponies have forsaken him; how his life was in general. After some time, he suddenly punched the trunk he was sitting on. “So what if they have abandoned me? So what if I lost my old life? I got a new life right here! I am getting bigger. I am getting stronger. The only thing I need to do is to find a new home.” Spike stood up and took his staff in his claws. “There must be someplace I could fit in. Not here, but somewhere. A place with dragons like me. And if there isn’t such a place, then I will search for the next best thing. And by the raging fires of Tartarus, if that doesn’t even exist then I will make one!” Taking up his staff, he smashed it with full force against the trunk he was sitting on earlier. The trunk made a loud cracking noise and split in two parts. It was an old and dead tree. More than one kind of mushroom was already growing on it, and it was no great feat in breaking the trunk. Yet, Spike was still surprised to see the now broken form. A smirk crossed over his face. “Yes, I can do it.” Suddenly, his expression changed to discomfort, and he put a hand over his mouth. “By Celestia’s flying nipples, what is that smell?” Looking at the broken trunk, he spotted some kind of weed growing out of the bark on the inside. It had a red stem and purple leaves. With his hand still engulfing his nose, Spike gingerly went to his knees in order to get a better look at it. He moved his other hand to the herb and picked it up. Looking closer at it, he spun it around in his claws and watched closely. Purple and red flower? Check. Grows around dead trees? He looked at the trunk of the dead tree. Check. Lovely and healthy smell? No, I don’t even want to check that. As if I wanted to smell the air right now. I’d probably lose quite a bit of body weight through my mouth. Think I should just take it and get away from here. It smells like wet timberwolf here. Getting back on his legs, he turned around so he could walk back to Abdarul’s shed. Sadly, he never took even one step. In front of him was something he hadn’t seen in quite some time. Just before him were two wet timberwolves, looking at him through their yellow eyes. Spike’s brain wasn’t acting like he had thought. He would have thought he would be shocked or scared, but no. Something entirely different went through his head. Something far more abstract. Wow, so that smell actually came from wet Timberwolves? Seeing one of their twigs jerk, Spike instantly put the herb in the bag he was carrying and readied his staff in something that couldn’t even remotely be called a combat stance. Seriously, it looked more like he tried way too hard to look intimidating. His posture was wide open and he only held the staff in one of his hands. His feelings quickly changed. Now he actually felt like he anticipated; shocked and scared. He rarely met timberwolves, and when he met them, then only together with Abdarul or from a safe distance. Or in strange conversations with doctors. Spike quickly shook his head. This was no time for such thoughts. He needed to think of a solution for this problem. He knew exactly that he had poor cards if he would fight them. Yes, his breath could hurt them, but when he would shoot a breath at the first of them, the other one would attack him, and it would be over. He could try to block the second attack, but then the first one would hit him. Timberwolves weren’t able to feel any pain, and fire would take quite a while in order for it to damage a timberwolf. It essentially has to burn until the wood was weak enough to collapse on itself. Running was also not an option since the wolves both stood between him and his way to Abdarul’s shed. Running in the wrong direction, especially while being chased by vicious plant-beast-monster-things, could make him get lost. Intimidating them was also out of question, since Timberwolves were known for attacking nearly everything, even if it meant sure defeat. They were just that brave, or stupid. Screaming for help would be bad, since he was too far away from the shed and the trees would muffle the scream. On top of that, more predators could hear him. Great. What now? It felt like something inside his spine slowly crept up and made every spike on his back stand up. His knees weren’t wobbly like imagined, but rather seemed like they anticipated being used; like they were ready to jump in any direction if needed. There seemed to be movement in the corner of his vision, and he quickly moved his eyes towards the area, only to realize that nothing moved at all. Of course, that didn’t even take half a second. His main focus still lingered on the beasts in front of him. The beasts that stood between him and his survival. One of the legs of the timberwolves made a step forward and Spike violently jerked his staff upwards. He took it in both his hands and held it like he wanted to block a vertical sword slash from the front. The timberwolves also seemed to shudder for half a second. They had anticipated an attack. Slowly, they took another step and Spike didn’t move this time. The two wolves parted ways and both started to slowly circle the dragon. Spike had a million things running through his head. The things all fused together to several different plans, every plan ending with failure on Spike’s side. What could he do? No matter what, he would lose either way. Oh, why didn’t Abdarul teach me how to fight? I wouldn’t have such a problem now. Spike’s gaze drifted to his right and left in quick succession. Both timberwolves were still slowly circling him, and if this continued, one of them would get out of his field of vision, and that is the last thing Spike needed right now. An attack out of a blind spot would spell doom over him. He had to act quickly. There was no time for hesitation. With a quick jump, he bolted forward one meter and turned around to the wolves, only to see that the left one started charging at him. Spike’s breath stopped in his throat, and for a seemingly eternal amount of time, he could only watch in shock at the charging timberwolf. Out of reflex, he held out his staff again, and the timberwolf tried to jump at him, but was blocked by the staff. Hanging over it, it tried to bite Spike, who now felt the true terror of panic. Pushing forward, he threw the timberwolf a slight bit away. There was a silent rustle to his right, and he turned his head, just to jump back out of reflex. The second wolf landed on Spike’s old position. If he hadn’t jumped, he would be dead right now. The color seemed to drain out of Spike’s scales. His life could have been over right there. One misstep and he would never find his home. He would never get back to Abdarul. He could never tell Twilight how he felt. Quickly he shook his head to regain his bearings, and he readied his staff again. It could have been over, but it wasn’t. He was still alive. Both wolves began to growl, and it didn’t take long until they both charged at him again. Feeling the cold grip of fear and potential death lingering upon him, Spike turned around, put his staff in his mouth, and sprinted away on all fours. He was faster on four legs than on two. His staff was also important to carry along since this was the only thing that he could use in order to defend himself. He ran like never before in his life, never daring to look back. He heard them. They were hot on his tail, their steps being loud and audible in his ears. They were full on chasing him. Spike never looked back, never slowed down. He needed to get away. Suddenly, there was a snap behind him that sounded like a violent bite from one of them, which was accompanied by a blast of wind besides his tail. One of them tried to bite it. Spike, feeling his sure death coming closer and closer to him, pulled his tail forward and sped up even more. The steps of the chasing timberwolves still seemed to be directly beside his ears. They just seemed so loud and close. Suddenly, another timberwolf jumped out of the bushes from his right, bearing its fangs. Spike saw him and time seemed to stop. He was directly jumping at him. He was probably lurking inside the bush and waited for his turn to attack. There was no way for Spike to evade anymore. It was over. His whole journey. Just when he found new motivation to continue his search, he had to end it. It was impossible for him to evade the timberwolf. Goodbye. THUNK The head of the jumping wolf got thrown to the side, and Spike felt a massive tug on the staff in his mouth. Now he realized what happened. Since his staff was still in his mouth and he turned his head towards the new wolf, he turned the staff too. The wolf jumped at him but instead got hit by the staff. It was a lucky shot, but it still saved Spike’s life. The amount of relief and shock Spike felt in this short amount of time was indescribable. He could continue. He could still search. He still had a chance to find his home. Suddenly, all the dread returned when he heard the frantic and aggressive steps from behind him. The other two wolves were still chasing him, and Spike instantly bolted forward again. He had to survive! There was no way he was being stopped now! I will survive! he screamed in his mind and put even more strength in his legs. The fatigue built up further and further, and his legs were burning like the fires of Tartarus. His lungs were screaming at him and it felt like he was breathing razors. His whole body was on the border of self-destruction, but there was no time to stop; no time to rest; no time to die. His legs throbbed with a strong pulse and began to slowly cramp together. Spike’s will to live was the strongest it had ever been, but his legs just wouldn’t listen to him. The borders of his physical body showed themselves. With every last bit of determination, he pushed himself closer and closer. There was no way he would give up now! He nearly outran them. He was on the way to Abdarul! He even survived the ambush of the third wolf. His body slowed down further and further, and the chasing wolves came closer. No, it’s not over! It can’t be over! I still have so many things to do; so many things to live for. He felt the border. It was there. The restriction of his physical body. It stopped him from going faster. The wolves came closer, and everything seemed to be over. He slowly closed his eyes and turned his head downwards. “No,” he said silently to himself. “I will not die.” His voice got louder. “I will not die!” he said again in a near shouting voice. He grinded his teeth and looked forward again. His slow and exhausted step changed to a strong and more powerful one. “I will not die!” he screamed with all his power and slammed his foot down on the ground. When his foot impacted with the ground it felt like something broke in him and Spike let loose a cry like a beast. With unreal ferocity, he instantly bursted forwards, his speed being faster than ever before. He screamed like a mad monster while running like he put all of his soul and life into this sprint. His whole body burned and felt like it wanted to break at any moment, but that was not significant right now. Just run. Just run. Just run. Just run, he continuously chanted to himself while running away from the timberwolves. Suddenly, a fourth wolf jumped out of the bush in front of him, and Spike narrowed his eyes. “Get outta” - with a jerk of his head, he rammed the head of his staff into the side of the head of the wolf - “my way!” Time seemed to stand still as the staff utterly broke apart just like the timberwolf’s head. Spike felt the impact of this in his mouth and suddenly had a feeling like his teeth were pushed back into his gum. He instantly spat out the remains of the staff, which was accompanied by some blood, and continued running. The steps of the chasing timberwolves got quieter and quieter until he couldn’t hear them anymore, but Spike didn’t care. He didn’t even realize that he wasn’t chased anymore. He simply ran and ran. He didn’t see anything around him. The only thought in his mind was screaming at him to run. Suddenly, Spike’s head perked up, and he looked back, while still running. Wait, what? They aren’t chasing me anymore? His expression slowly changed to a relieved grin, and he turned forward again. Just to see a door not even one meter in front of him. Fuck my life, was the last thing he thought before everything went black.