“But,” Spike stuttered, “I’m only a baby dragon! My wings will grow eventually…. right?”
As much as Twilight wished to comfort her companion with an affirmative, she had to admit that she didn’t know. Giving Silverline a concerned look she asked, “Are there other dragons in… Sheon… without wings?”
The stallion nodded. “Yes, Princess. It is a common side effect of tamed dragons.”
“Tamed?” Spike repeated, his tone strange, as if the word tasted odd in his mouth.
Twilight couldn’t help but feel uncomfortable with the choice of wording either. “When you say ‘tame,’ what do you mean? Where do you find these ‘tame’ dragons?”
“They are kept in a large pasture and breeding farm near the palace. Only a select few of the unicorn class are allowed to train them. From a hatchling to an adult, they are raised to guard and escort the royal family. They are symbols of our nation’s nobility.”
“Breeding farm?” The words felt cold and dead on Twilight’s lips. She noticed, in the back of her mind, that the soft sounds of her friends working off to the side had stopped.
“Yes,” Silverline continued, not noticing the odd expression on Twilight’s face. “Although, only one family has actually breeded thus far. It was a recent break through. Until recently, only abandoned eggs have been hatched there.”
Twilight blinked, more aware at the turn in the explanation, although Spike’s tense silence told her that he was far from at ease. “Abandoned eggs? You mean, dragons just… leave them? Do you know why?”
Silverline tilted his head. “I am no dragon keeper, but I believe they are abandoned when the parents can sense that the hatchling within will not have wings. It is a genetic flaw. Our kind retrieve these eggs and raise them ourselves. Although, the event is rare and thus tamed dragons are few in number, even after hundreds of years of raising practices.”
“A flaw?” Spike’s small, nearly broken, voice made Twilight’s chest ache.
This time Silverline caught on. His eyes growing large for a moment in realization, he hurried to explain, his voice quiet. “A flaw to the other dragons. From their point of view, a hatchling that can never fly is one that will fall behind easily and thus prone to an early death. Living with only those that fly when you cannot is a dangerous position, is it not?”
There was an awkward silence and eventually the soft sounds of Rarity’s last minute sewing project continued.
“I realize that you might not know this, but…” Twilight glanced back nervously at Spike. “Raising dragons is really unheard of in Equestria. Spike was given to me as an egg in Canterlot. So far as I know, a dragon egg has never been found there before or since and I have no idea where it came from.”
Silverline gazed at Spike with apologetic eyes. “You are right in saying I know little of such matters, Princess Twilight. Those that might know would be the dragon keepers. However,” his eyes turned to Twilight and narrowed, “it wouldn’t be unreasonable to theorize that it might have been smuggled out of Sheon.”
Twilight’s own eyes also narrowed in thought. “Is that common?”
Silverline shook his head, his black mane waving in a soft, though hot, breeze. “Simply finding a discarded egg is rare enough. Smuggling one out of the pastures would be extremely difficult, although not impossible. The more pressing question would be: why?”
Twilight’s brow wrinkled in concentration. She brought up her head as an idea hit her. “Couldn’t the egg have been abandoned and found within Equestria? Oh, sorry,” she blushed, “you wouldn’t know that either.”
Silverline gave her a small smile. “True, I wouldn't know, but I agree to the possibility. Although,” he rose an eyebrow in question, “does Equestria have any dragon egg laying grounds?”
Twilight sighed, frustrated yet again by their lack of dragon knowledge. “To be honest, I don’t know one way or another. My nation largely stays out of the way of dragons.”
“So we know almost nothing about what I am,” Spike spoke, his voice startling the alicorn.
Worried for her friend, Twilight turned an attempted smile back at him. “You’re my number one assistant, Spike. Isn’t that enough?”
There was a pause and Spike then smiled back, finally relaxing, the tension in the air dissipating. “Yeah. More than enough.”
Twilight’s small smile turned into a grin and she felt Spike’s small arms wrap around her neck in a hug. Looking back at Silverline, Twilight noticed that his eyes were soft looking at the warm scene before him, but also curious. She once more wondered just what kind of relationships ponies had with dragons in Sheon. But recalling the country they were heading towards brought a few other issues to mind.
Frowning, Twilight carefully informed, “Actually, Silverline, we have a reason for our sudden… visit. I’m not sure how much you’d know about this either, but you’ve already told us a lot so…” She took a shaky breath, hoping she wouldn’t offend anypony by her next words. “We’re out here because of an alarming… text.”
At Silverline’s attentive gaze, she rushed on. “It was about Sheon, though it’s so old that few of our ponies can read it any more. Anyway, it talks about… Darklings.”
Recognition, and a bit of surprise, flickered over Silverline’s face. “It’s a wonder you know of them. They are legendary even among our own ponies.”
Twilight’s face increased in worry. “That’s just the thing. We don’t know about them. At least…” she shifted uncomfortably, “not the same way you seem to…”
“They are bringers of good,” Silverline spoke slowly, catching Twilight’s caution. But when he saw her tense at the word “good,” he stopped, his eyes narrowing once more. “Perhaps you should go first, Princess. I have a feeling our stories differ considerably.”