//------------------------------//
// Chapter 4: Protecting a Friend 
// Story: Dragoon Wars; Seven Lords Rising 
// by Crystalis McCloud 
//------------------------------//

“Yeah, it’s me, Twilight,” Spike mumbled, stretching out like a cat, his wings opening up in a scintillating clear film of webbing. The light traveling through his wings seemed to make them glow, and refract faint dots of rainbow light onto the ground beneath him. After the brief stretch he folded his wings into his back once more, the light show vanishing. He padded over to stand between the two beds, giving an apologetic look to the orange mare on his left, “I’m sorry I hurt you, AJ. I don’t know what came over me.”

“Not a problem, Spike. ‘Long as you’re, well, you again, then all is forgiven,” Applejack reassured with a smile, tipping her hat to him.

Twilight watched on in stunned silence as Spike regarded each of the girls with a small apology, each of which was swiftly accepted. Celestia watched on in silence as he lastly addressed the lavender mare, “Twilight, are you okay? Did somepony attack you? Or did a spell backfire? All I heard was that you were found unconscious and taken here.”

How could this be the same little dragon? His voice was so much deeper, like a full grown stallion, and his form was nothing like it had been before. The wings, the horns, even the way his body took a shape closer to that of a pony, his forelegs equal in length to his hind legs, and the length of his neck only a bit longer than the average colt, far from the slender and exaggerated serpentine length of a normal dragon, but also longer than would seem normal on a pony’s body. Not only that, but strangely enough his body showed signs of being completely matured, and yet he was not hundreds of feet in height. She’d never heard of a mature dragon of such small stature. He was completely different in every way, except for the faint traces of his old colors, and his eyes. His eyes were the same gleaming green that she had seen so many times, though there was an inexplicable maturity behind them now. Just how much had he changed inside because of this other dragon’s influence?

Spikes voice snapped her out of her thoughts. Come on, Twilight! Answer me!

“So it was you I heard,” Twilight murmured softly. Spike’s expression lit up before suddenly he was yanked forward by his horns with magic and her hoof struck the top of his head, right between the horns. “Don’t you ever say anything like that again! Where in Equestria did you even learn a word like ‘bastard’?!”

Silence filled the room, Spike just blinking back at her, until he started to softly chuckle. Pressing his head forward, he nuzzled against her neck with relief on his face, “I’m glad you’re okay, Twi. But what do you mean by-“

“I am sorry to interrupt this moment,” Celestia coughed, bringing all of their attention to her once more, “but how did you get out of my barrier spell? Am I to assume that you struck a deal with Discord to get out?”

Spike was the only one that didn’t turn to face the regal white alicorn, pulling away from Twilight and instead looking at all of his friends for a moment. Still without looking at her, he answered, “Yeah, he let me go. The guards didn’t try to stop him since they knew they couldn’t. All he asked was that I wait until he was done talking to come inside.”

Celestia did not back down, her voice growing more deep with pressing authority, “You had better not be hiding anything from me, Spike. This is a very serious matter. Did Discord have any other terms for helping you?!”

Twilight felt a rush of anger in the back of her head, and Spike’s face turned feral and vicious as he let out a long threatening hiss at Celestia. A collective gasp echoed from the ponies as his wings unfurled slightly. The webbing began to glow a ghostly white, and a spark of pale light formed between his horns, pointed straight at the Princess. “You should know me better than that, Princess! There is no way I would agree if there were any more to it than that, not even so I could make sure Twilight was alright! He wanted me to wait outside the door, and that was it!”

Twilight’s mind reeled as she felt the primal rage boiling in Spike’s head, making her dizzy. Slowly, the transformed dragon began to calm, folding his wings back in and letting the light fade from between his horns. She could see and feel the fear rising in him as Celestia watched with a critical eye. “No. I’m not going to let this thing overtake me,” he whispered softly under his breath. Looking back up at Celestia, he pleaded, “Please, don’t put me away again. I have the power under control, I swear it. I won’t put anypony in danger.”

“This is about more than just the safety of Ponyville, Spike,” Celestia declared. “You heard what Discord said. A war is coming, sooner or later. The other seven dragons have likely already taken bodies all around the world, and before long enemies of Equestria will be pursuing their power. To protect my little ponies, I must do the same. Once I find a warrior suitable to do so, I will be performing the ritual.”

Spike was silent for a long moment, and then his eyes snapped wide open as he snarled at Celestia, “No! No, there is no way I will allow you to do that! I do not acknowledge you, or anypony else as rightful!”

“This is not something for you to decide, Spike!” Celestia boomed, her voice echoing through the room, “Equestria needs the Dragoon power! You are going to be held in confinement until a warrior is found to perform the ritual!”

Spike’s reptilian eyes contracted into thin vertical slits as anger bristled in him, but as he tried to step towards Celestia, he found his claw trapped within a golden light. Celestia’s horn shone the same brilliant gold as she held the dragon in place. Pushing against the magic, the gleaming claws moved slowly forward, struggling against the resistance. As he pushed against the magic, he saw another glow start to build around him slowly. A yellow barrier started to build up from the ground, being woven together by the Princess.

Twilight felt total helplessness wash over her, and leaping from the bed, she moved next to Spike. She had no idea what was going on, but none of it sounded good at all. She could scarcely separate her own emotions from what she felt from Spike, which was another mystery. That would wait for later, though. Priorities, Twilight. Priorities.

Turning to Celestia she pleaded, “Please, Celestia, I don’t understand what’s happening, but please let Spike go. I’ll watch over him. I promise!”

“As I said, Twilight, this is about more than what danger Spike could pose if provoked,” Celestia said firmly. “Everything has happened much sooner than I expected it to. I’m sorry, but you’re not ready for this. I will be taking over responsibility for Spike so that his magic can be used to protect Equestria from Discord’s scheme. The Dragoon power must find a wielder. Whether Spike believes so or not, it has become his destiny. Twilight, I’m sorry to do this, but you are not ready to stand on the bloody path I must lead my little ponies on.”

Despite the softness of her words, Twilight saw no reprieve in Celestia’s eyes. Her words however, held a meaning that Twilight and her friends quickly realized. A bloody path… Twilight felt anger boil up inside her, her own anger, as she vaguely understood what the Princess was alluding to. All at once her and her friends sprung forward, each of them taking a place around Spike, standing between him and Celestia. Twilight stood at their front, all thoughts that screamed against opposing Celestia being crushed beneath the desire to protect her dragon. Her friend. Her… his place in her heart defied any one description.

In a surge of emotion, Twilight’s horn flashed in a strobe of magenta. In an instant the magic that had begun encasing Spike was shattered. Were she in a more coherent state of mind, Twilight would have marveled at how she had stopped a spell from Celestia herself, but at this moment all that filled her mind was the words that flew from her lips, “No, Celestia! I won’t let you, or anypony else hurt Spike! I’d sooner give up my power as an alicorn and a princess than let anything happen to him!”

Celestia backed off suddenly, surprise twisting her face, the verbal assault did not halt.

“Certainly you must know this isn’t the right way, Princess. Even if some terrible war is going to come, treating Spike in this way won’t help anything,” Rarity said calmly, but her voice holding a twinge of hostility that was unmistakable at the danger posed to the dragon.

“It’s… not right, Princess. He hasn’t done anything w-wrong,” Fluttershy stammered only slightly, a big deal when she was standing up to the pony that everyone always looked up to.

“Ah know yer just trying to protect everypony,” Applejack attempted to comfort Celestia, “An’ how much this here is affecting ya speaks volumes of how serious the situation is. Still, ya need to think about how this kind of thing will make ya look.”

Rainbow Dash was next, “Yeah, you can’t get desperate just because that creep Discord is getting his way! You’ve always been calm and collected before today, don’t let him get to you now of all times. I hate to say this, but I’ll smack you around myself if you keep going like this!”

“Do you need a party, Princess? I can throw you a party I that will make you feel better! It’ll be a, um, a ‘Cheer up, Princess’ Party!” Pinkie giggled, bouncing in place.

Each having said their peace, Twilight turned and looked between Spike and Celestia. She tried to give a comforting smile to the white dragon but a look of soft pleading to her mentor. The solar princess was silent for several long seconds that seemed to stretch into minutes. Twilight grew more anxious under Celestia’s scrutinizing gaze with each moment.

Finally, Celestia’s expression softened, and her voice lost its edge, “I’m sorry, Twilight. I didn’t want you to see a side of me like this. I’m afraid I’ve had little control of the situation since Discord released the Spirits, and the stress had gotten to me more than I imagined. I am proud of you as a fellow Princess for standing up for what you believe to defy me and calm me.”

Turning towards the doorway, she continued, “Still, there are certain things that are unavoidable. I will leave Spike with you for the time being, but there are certain things you must be aware of. I have already received word that the griffons have been fighting one of the dragons. We have enjoyed peace with them for a long time, but I fear that if the balance of power shifts with the power of Dragoons on their side, then war with them will be inevitable. You and your friends should take the time I’ve given you to think about the repercussions if we don’t have Dragoons of our own to meet them in battle. Many lives could be lost.”

Twilight nodded somberly, those facts quickly beginning to weigh heavily in her mind. The chilling prospect resounded in all of her friends as well.

“So please understand that Spike will be needed, and decide what you plan to do about it,” Celestia implored softly, “I will be looking for a warrior among my guards and any others that may stand forward. When I find one I believe is ready, I will be back to hear your decision, Princess Twilight.”

Her composure completely regained, the Princess left the room. Twilight sucked in a deep breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding. Looking to her friends, she saw they all were in a similar state, all scarcely believing what they had done.

“Wow, we really stood up to her… and she backed down,” Rainbow Dash said numbly.

“Thank you so much everyone,” Spike thanked them all, tipping his head down. “You really didn’t have to go so far for me. She has a point, this power is needed to protect Equestria.”

Applejack chuckled, punching him playfully in the shoulder. “Don’t ya worry none about that, Spike. The Princess just needs to calm down. We don’t need the leader of all ponydom making rash decisions that make her look bad. And you shouldn’t need to be harmed for her emotional state.”

“Yeah! And since the Princess didn’t accept my party invitation, we can throw a different party! A ‘Congratulations, White-Silver Spike’ Party!” Pinkie threw her hooves into the air, confetti and streamers popping into the air and showering on them all. Uncontrollable giggles bubbled up as all of them fell over into a fit of hysteria, venting out all the pent-up stress of the last few moments.

Wiping tears of mirth from her eyes, Twilight sat up and nuzzled against Spike’s long, smoothly scaled neck. “Come on, let’s go home,” she giggled.







Opening the doorway, Twilight and Spike entered the library, both happy to be home where they belonged, even if one of them had gone through a life-changing transformation. Now that she thought about it, she realized that counted for both of them. First she had become and alicorn and princess, and now he had become a lord of dragons. She smiled softly, amused at the similarity.

I hope the girls will be okay, Spike’s thoughts echoed in her head as he closed the door behind them. She could feel his regret over the rampage he had caused and how much he must have scared them.

“They’ll be just fine, Spike,” Twilight assured him, smiling as she looked around for the book Celestia had sent him.

So you really can hear my thoughts, huh? I wonder if I can hear yours.

Twilight shook her head and shrugged, searching under the table for the book, That’s an experiment for another time, I suppose.

HA! Seems like you’ve already proven my hypothesis true, Spike’s laughter filled both her mind and her ears as she stood up. She rolled her eyes, ignoring the fact that he was right, and began scanning the shelves. When did he mature so much? She could still hear the mischief in his voice, if she could even call it a voice, but at the same time he acted so much calmer in general, less wide-eyed with innocence.  Looking for the book?

Yeah, I need to read up on the dragons and Dragoons, I need to know more about them before I can make a decision. Celestia seems determined to keep me away from this conflict in any way she can, but- She stopped mid-sentence, thinking about the war that had been mentioned. She’d never seen any bloodshed or violence. The closest to that they’d ever been a part of was the changeling invasion, and even then, they’d never seriously harmed anypony in that fight, and they were all repelled shortly after by her brother and Cadence’s love-powered magic. Celestia had emphasized that blood stained any fight involving the Dragoons. Did she really want to get herself involved in that sort of thing? Already knowing her feelings, she continued, -but I’m going to do everything in my power to protect you, the girls, and everypony in Equestria. Even if Celestia thinks I’m not ready, it’s my duty to do so as a Princess.

Spike smiled, and she felt the pride emanating from him, I’m glad you feel that way, Twi. We’ll find a way to protect everyone together, without any sacrifices.

Twilight nodded, and let her concerns return to the book, her search becoming more frantic, terrified at the thought of having lost such an ancient and valuable treasure of a book. It couldn’t have just disappeared.

“Twi, over here,” Spike said aloud.

Looking up from several books floating around her, Twilight saw Spike over by the door. He reared up on his haunches and pulled a piece of parchment off of the inside of the door. Returning the books to their places, she joined him at his side and carefully took the paper from his claws, reading over it, trying to let Spike hear it through her mind.

Dear Princess Twilight,

I have taken that musty old tome of half-truths from you. I know you’ll be upset, but in the times to come, you will need something different from what that book can offer you. You will need to learn the truth of history on your own.

The path will not be easy, and you may decide to give up and let fate take course on its own, and I won’t blame you for that decision. However, I must implore you to take up the mantle of power I once used to wield in the defense of all of Equestria. Whenever the Dragoons rise throughout time, history comes alive with them, so by taking this path, you will eventually uncover every truth you could hope to discover.

If you wish to follow this path, then use the spell outlined on the back of this paper to call to you a new tome that shall teach you what you need most to learn: How to create the Dragoon Spirit, and the nature of the magic wielded by the Lords and King.

Resting hope upon you,
Starswirl the Bearded