“WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON IN HERE?!“
Spike and the pegasus both turned their heads to the door that led to Abdarul’s bedroom. There, between the doorframes, stood the absolutely livid zebra that mustered them with a glare that would be able to melt a block of metal. Spike gulped once when he saw the anger in Abdarul’s eyes.
“Fuck,” he muttered silently to himself while still holding the wardrobe above himself. Looking up at the wardrobe, then at the pegasus who seemed to look at the zebra with a raised eyebrow, then at the devastated room, then back to the wardrobe, and lastly at the zebra. He realized how that looked like, and his gut twisted. That’s not good. That’s not good at all!
“And who are you?” The pegasus asked with a raised eyebrow and with a voice that sounded like he would have been talking to somepony that was way inferior to him.
Spike looked at the pegasus in shock. He had hoped that he could avoid seeing a pony die before him.
Abdarul looked with his anger filled gaze at the pegasus, who suddenly felt the sensation of a cold hoof caressing his hide. It felt like he had been touched by death. Abdarul raised his hoof and pointed it at the pegasus.
“You! Bed!”
The moment the words left Abdarul, the pegasus suddenly got thrown to his right like he had been hit by a speeding chariot. The pegasus sped through the air and crashed loudly at the wall. After some time, he slowly peeled off the wall like some piece of paper and slumped on the bed that was under him, unconscious.
Spike felt himself shudder at the display of power and gulped, not daring to move otherwise. Suddenly, Abdarul’s gaze went on Spike, and his scales began to shiver. “Put it down!” Abdarul ordered, and in Spike’s panic filled mind he firstly didn’t know what he meant, but realized that he meant the wardrobe that Spike still was holding above him. He quickly put the wardrobe down but avoided sudden movements, like there was a dangerous animal in front of him. When he had finished, he continued standing there and only looked nervously at Abdarul.
“Now, explain to me why you think it’s a good idea to attack a patient that was practically dying some hours ago!” Abdarul demanded to know.
“I was only defending myself!” Spike quickly justified himself, but Abdarul’s gaze didn’t lose anything of its heat.
“I used the Nightly Chaos Flower on him! It should be impossible for him to even stand now. I can’t imagine him being a threat to you in this state!” He explained while pointing a hoof at Spike.
“But he was! I was finished cleaning up, a-“
“Yeah, good job cleaning up. It really looks splendid in here,” Abdarul remarked with thick sarcasm.
Spike’s left eye twitched a little of annoyance. “Yes, I know. Well, I was finished cleaning up, and then I looked out the window and thought about some stuff, whe-“
“What stuff, on how to destroy my shed as effectively as possible?” Abdarul asked again, tipping his hoof in impatience.
Spike’s teeth grinded on each other. He hated it when he was interrupted while speaking, but he controlled himself. “No, I was thinking about my upcoming journey and about what I wanted to do until then. Well nonetheless, I was thinking when I suddenly felt some kind of blade on my throat.”
“Blade? What blade?” Abdarul asked again with a bewildered expression. He was sure that there were no weapons on this pegasus that he hadn’t already taken off of him. Spike gestured over to the table where some kind of knife was lodged in, and Abdarul walked over to it. Taking the knife in his hoof, he moved it around a little and examined it. “Spike, could you come over here, please?”
Spike gingerly tip toed over to his teacher and stood beside him. Suddenly, Abdarul turned around, and something happened that Spike never would have thought would happen. Abdarul stabbed Spike with the knife.
He couldn’t comprehend what happened. He simply saw Abdarul make a fast movement and then felt a dull pain in his abdomen, like someone hit him with a hammer. Wait, like a hammer? I thought getting stabbed would feel more… stabby. Spike looked down at his abdomen, and he saw that the knife didn’t penetrate his scale coat.
“This is a plant knife!” Abdarul stabbed Spike again, and it felt exactly the same. “He couldn’t have stabbed you if his life depended on it!” He did it again, and Spike felt the dull pain again. It wasn’t exactly painful, but rather uncomfortable. The fact that he was afraid of a knife that wouldn’t even have been able to injure him was more painful.
“You’ve got thick scales! You are dragon for fucks sake! A common tool for farming can’t hurt you! Get that into your equally thick head, idiot!”
Spike simply averted his gaze to the right with an annoyed expression. He hated it when Abdarul was correct.
“You were attacked by a pegasus with a weapon that can’t hurt you while he shouldn’t even have been able to walk. He probably felt dizzier than you after our weekly sparring matches! And what do you do? You try to squash him with a full wardrobe? Are you insane!?” Abdarul scolded, and Spike still averted his eyes.
“Sorry.”
“Sorry? SORRY? You could have killed him, and all you say is sorry?”
Spike threw his arms up in exasperation and made an overly done bow. “May I ask for your forgiveness for this monstrous act, oh lord of stripes?” Spike asked, his voice oozing sarcasm.
“Spike!” Spike flinched a little at the sudden loudness of his shout. “This isn’t something small! You attacked a patient of yours! This isn’t… this just…!” Abdarul inhaled deeply and let out a humongous sigh. “Alright.” He put a hoof on his head. “I understand that you were in panic. You don’t know your own strength and durability, but please think about what you are doing the next time you are getting attacked by a half-dead pegasus with a worthless weapon.”
Spike also sighed. “Yeah. You’re probably right.”
“Good!” Abdarul turned around and walked back to his bedroom door. “And now you will clean this mess up.” He turned around and looked at Spike with an intense gaze. “And I hope for your sake that I won’t get woken up again.” With that said, he went through the door and closed it behind him.
Spike looked around the destroyed room and cursed silently. With a shake of his head, he began to clean again…
---------- ---------- ----------
Finally finished. Took me long enough. Spike looked around the half-cleaned room and pushed his chest out in a proud position. The room didn’t exactly look clean, but in his eyes the room seemed to be sparkling.
“So you really aren’t a wild beast.”
Spike quickly turned around and saw the purple pegasus from earlier sitting on his bed with a tilted head and a curious expression. Spike calmed down when he realized that the pegasus wasn’t attacking him. “No, I’m not. You may have realized this if you hadn’t attacked me as soon as you saw me,” Spike remarked.
The pegasus cringed a little at the small jab. “I know, I know. I’m sorry,” he silently uttered while looking sadly down at his hooves.
Spike wanted to shoot something back, but then realized that the pegasus apologized. Wait what? That guy that mercilessly threatened and attacked me simply said sorry? Spike lifted an eyebrow and looked at the pegasus. “Er, apology accepted?” He more asked than stated.
The pegasus’ tail wagged out of happiness, and he showed a wide grin. Spike looked with confusion at the tail of the pegasus. What is he? A dog? “Well, it doesn’t matter now. Nobra got hurt, and the mess is cleaned.”
The pegasus’ head tilted a little in confusion. “Nobra?”
Spike looked at the pegasus with a look of confusion, but quickly understood what he meant. “Sorry, my bad. I lived so long with that zebra that I am talking like him now. Nobra is the zebra version of nopony. Nozebra simply doesn’t roll off the tongue like nobra,” Spike explained while putting the last broom away.
“Oh, okay,” the purple pegasus stated, and then silence took reign of the shed again and both looked at each other awkwardly. After some seconds, the pegasus talked again. “My name’s Purple Bell, but everypony calls me Purple Edge, or Edge for short.”
Spike had to stifle a giggle, but couldn’t entirely suppress it. “Purple Bell? That doesn’t fit you at all.”
The pegasus sighed. “Yeah, I know. My parents thought they would get a filly, so when a little colt appeared, they simply didn’t have a spare name. In my job, they started calling me Purple Edge because I was the best one with the blade. After a while, they simply called me Edge. I stuck with that name since then. I think it kinda fits me more.”
Spike hummed a short time. “It really fits you more. Oh my name’s Spike, by the way.”
Silence reentered the room again, but this time it didn’t stay that long. “Spike listen, I wanted to say thank you for treating my injuries.”
Spike waved a dismissive hand. “No problem. Also, Abdarul was the one that did the most stuff. You should thank him later.” Suddenly, Spike’s stomach growled, and both of them looked at it. Spike sighed once. “Well, I think it’s better for you to get back to bed. I’m gonna get me some food and hit the hay too.”
Edge crooked an eyebrow and looked to his right at a table with plenty of vegetables and fruit. “Er, can’t you just eat something from those fruits over there? Dragons can eat those, right?” He asked with curiosity, and Spike turned around to him.
“Oh those? Yes, dragons can eat these things, but they aren’t enough. Abdarul told me that when a dragon reaches puberty, he requires nutrition and magical energy from at least two different food sources. Dragons can effectively eat three different kinds of food. Plants, gems, and… well meat.”
What spike was surprised about was the fact that the pegasus didn’t even look nervous or scared, even after this revelation. One would think that a pony would feel a slight bit nervous around a partial carnivore. Either he didn’t care, he didn’t show it, or he already knew.
“So, are you hunting for gems or for meat now?” He asked with a strange calm.
Spike let out a silent nervous laugh. “Well, gems are rather hard to come by, so I don’t really have another choice than to hunt for meat.” Spike rubbed the back of his neck in nervousness.
Purple Edge turned around and put the blanked over himself. “Cool. Wish you luck. I’ll catch some sleep now. Good night!” He stated and began to relax.
Spike was still dumbfounded by the calmness of the pegasus. With a shake of his head, he turned to the front-door of the shed and left it. Outside, he took a deep breath and looked around the dark forest. The smell of the night air assaulted his nostrils, and he couldn’t get enough of this. Spike always said that the night smelled differently than the day. Looking further around the forest, he frowned a little when he noticed that it probably was already past 12 AM. This meant the trees were the most dangerous of the day.
Taking another deep breath of the night air, he walked away from the shed to his usual hunting spot. He was hunting and eating meat for two years now and was already quite skilled in it. Sadly, he never learned it from a professional, but, for teaching it himself, it was outstanding.
After a short while, he came to his usual hunting spot. A clearing in the forest, with an unusually small hill in the middle. Abdarul told him that legend has it that there was once an epic battle on this hill that decided the fate of the entire world. Absolute nonsense of course. Walking over to his usual hunting tree, he prepared his muscles for climbing. He sped up and jumped on the tree, ramming his claws into it. He climbed it easily and sat himself on top of a thick branch.
And now we play the waiting game. Just when Spike thought this, he remembered his wooden sword that he still had tugged at his belt. Just then, he also realized that he used his belt way too rarely. He got it from Abdarul after an exceptionally well done job. It had some pockets and fit him perfectly.
Grabbing the wooden sword, he looked at it while it failed to reflect the moonlight. Spike smiled a little. Maybe one day, I will own a true weapon. A weapon of legends. A weapon that can defeat anything in my path. A true weapon of heroes. Leaning himself backwards and laying on his back, he felt an inner calm. It often came to him whenever he laid himself on his back on a branch. This wooden sword is my first weapon. It isn’t much, but it is something.
Suddenly, he heard a silent rustle, and he quickly looked down from the tree. Under him was the head of a white bunny that peeked out from a bush. Spike stood quietly up and went into a jumping ready stance. When the bunny saw that everything was clear, it silently crept out of the bush and stopped under Spike’s branch. With a smirk, Spike readied his wooden sword. He wanted to try his “weapon”.
When the bunny didn’t move for a while, he let go of the branch, and he fell down towards the bunny. He didn’t make a sound and the branch also didn’t make any loud noises. The only thing that could be heard was the silent “thump” of two feet landing on the floor and a cutting noise. The forest lost one critter, and a young dragon smiled in anticipation of his food.
About an hour later, Spike was finished with his food. He thought about walking back to the shed, but decided to simply sleep on the branch of the tree tonight. He was too tired to walk back now. Tiredly, climbing the tree, he flopped on his stomach and closed his eyes on top of the tree-branch.
---------- ---------- ----------
Spike woke up when he heard some deep scratching under him. Groggily, he opened his eyes and looked down at the tree he slept on. A big fat manticore was scratching its back and mane on the rough bark, and Spike felt his heart stop. Manticores were rare in the forest and even rarer in these sizes. This thing could seriously injure a hydra.
Luckily, it didn’t take long for the manticore to be finished and it continued walking through the forest, away from Spike. It took him some minutes, but he finally was able to get back his bearings. Shaking his head slightly, he jumped down from the tree. Fuck this shit man. I’m outta here.
Quickly looking up the sky, he calculated where which direction was, and walked towards east, where the shed of Abdarul was located.
When he arrived, he walked over to the door, but before he could open it, he heard talking from inside. Are they awake? Opening the door, he walked inside and saw the PERFECTLY clean shed. He only cleaned it to the point where he considered it clean, but right now the shed looked brand spanking new. Spike saw Abdarul and Purple Edge happily chatting away with each other.
When they noticed him, they looked over to him, but continued talking. “Well, then I hope you’ll have an adventurous and merry journey in front of you,” Abdarul told him with a happy smile on his face.
Spike recoiled and looked absolutely shocked. Abdarul can smile? What sorcery is this? He looked over to Purple Edge who laughed a little.
“Thanks, I also hope this journey won’t be boring.”
Spike walked over to them. “You’re already leaving Edge?” He asked, and Purple Edge looked at him, an excited smile still on his face.
“Yeah, and you’ll come with me!”
Spike simply looked bored to his left and walked into that direction. “Cool cool. Wish you a hap-“
He instantly stopped.
Wait… what? Spike turned around and walked back over to the two equines. He lifted an eyebrow and shook his head slowly in an expression that said something like ‘Are you completely bonkers?’
“No?”
Purple Edge grinned at him and again his tail wagged. “Yes!”
Spike recoiled a little and looked at Abdarul. “No?”
Abdarul let out a little chuckle. “Yes.”
Spike recoiled a little again and looked at Purple Edge and then repetitively changed his gaze to Abdarul and to Edge. After a while, he stopped. “What?” Suddenly, he shook his head. “I mean, why? I mean, I thought you wanted me to stay with you until I learned how to fight. You said I would fail miserably if I left now.”
Abdarul chuckled a little. “And that still stands. But if you remember, I also said that it was unlikely to find a teacher for you that would be able to teach you fighting. Well, seems like the unlikable came true.” He gestured to his left at the pegasus. “Purple Edge here is a magnificent fighter. I talked a long time with him and also sparred with him. I think he is more than capable of teaching you fighting.”
Abdarul walked forward and put a hoof on Spike’s shoulder. “Listen, I think you are more of the practical than the theoretical type. You need to go out and actually fight to learn how to do it. I think if you stay here, you would most likely never be ready for your journey. It’s better if you accompany him.”
Spike looked with an unsure gaze towards Purple Edge. “But it’s only a matter of time until we walk separate paths again. I mean, I doubt that he would accompany me to the end.”
Edge simply shook his head lightly and laughed a little. “Spike, I don’t have a home. I am an adventurer. I travel the known world, work at different spots, speak with many ponies, occasionally help the helpless, the usual stuff you know. I have no set goal for my journey. I don’t want to sound cheesy, but in my case, the old saying It’s about the journey, not the destination, is strangely fitting.”
Spike’s look changed to hopeful. “So, you will accompany me?”
Edge smirked. “As long as it doesn’t get boring, sure.”
Spike smiled and closed his eyes. “Thank you, really.” He opened them and looked at the two. “Both of you.” Then he closed them again and took a deep breath. Seems like my dream is coming true sooner than I thought. “When do we go?”
“Now!” Both of the ponies answered.
“Pack your things, we are leaving as soon as we are ready,” Purple Edge told him, and Spike complied. He waited way too long. He wanted to go as soon as possible.
Edge went to his things, and Spike walked over to a bag he made himself. Before he felt a force push him silently over to the side towards Abdarul.
“Listen Spike,” Abdarul whispered, keeping an eye on the pegasus. “I want to tell you one last thing, but you need to promise me that you will tell nobra of this, except the pony that should hear it, understood?”
Spike wasn’t quite sure why Abdarul made such a big deal out of this, but he nodded nonetheless. Abdarul sighed once. “No price too great, no distance too far, if we could wish upon a blackstar. Remember this phrase. You will know what pony you have to tell it to. Now go and get ready for your journey,” he quickly stated and turned around to his bedroom door to stop any answer from Spike.
Spike simply raised an eyebrow and looked confused at the door Abdarul just went through. The Tartarus? What was that? Well doesn’t mind. I’ll simply remember it. With a sigh, he turned to his bag again and took it up. Looking through it, he saw that everything he possessed, which was not much by the way, was in there, and he effectively was ready to go. He walked over to the pegasus.
“Ready to go?” Edge asked, and Spike looked at him.
“Where’s your stuff?”
“I don’t have much stuff. Only my weapons.”
Spike looked around and over the pegasus. “What weapons? I don’t see any.”
The pegasus giggled a little. “No worry. You will see it in due time. Now, let’s go.” Edge turned around and walked out of the door.
Spike turned to Abdarul’s door, but the zebra didn’t come out. He waited a little, but in the end he simply left. Maybe it’s better that way. I never had any touching goodbyes. Might as well keep it that way. Spike walked over to the pegasus and passed him.
“Won’t you say goodbye?” He asked.
Spike didn’t turn around. “No. I think it’s better that way. Let’s just go.”
Purple Edge shrugged and walked together with Spike to the west.
Inside the shed, Abdarul looked smiling out of the window. “Go young dragon. It was fun with you as long as it lasted. I’ll look forward to the time when you are strong and mature. When we see each other again, we’ll spar again. And hopefully, you will best me.” Abdarul wiped a single tear from his right eye away and walked to the middle of his room. Suddenly, he stopped and looked at the shelf with the plants.
His expression changed to rage.
“Bitch took my herbs!”