//------------------------------//
// Chapter 15: Spike 
// Story: The Watcher: Rise of the Purveyor 
// by GnollReader 
//------------------------------//

Twilight stared at princess Celestia, torn between surprise and shock, "He... he wants me to what?"

"He wants you to be his representative..." Celestia replied, "He wishes you to be the mediator of the void."

"I... I don't know what to say..." Twilight's voice was almost a whisper as she looked at the floor. Countless thoughts flooded her mind... her letter, the possibilities... what it would mean for her future. Her gaze traveled to the face of her old mentor, "What... what should I do? What do you want me to do?"

"Twilight..." Celestia sighed, "I am afraid that you must find the answer to that question for yourself."

"What would happen if I accepted?"

"You would become the mediator of Dorchadas, deity of the void." Celestia closed her eyes, "And in doing so... you would not only attain your own title of a deity, but also cut off all bonds to Equestria... and to myself. You would be liable only to him... and you would no longer be a princess of Equestria... or the element of magic."

"I would have to leave everything behind?" Twilight gasped.

"No..." Celestia offered her former student a small smile, "We would still be friends, of course." her face hardened, "But before you talk to him about this matter or consider his offer any further, there are a few things I would like to tell you myself... and a warning."

Twilight looked hesitant, "A warning?"

"The purveyor, or Dorchadas... as he calls himself now, has not returned to this world by mere coincidence. Do you know why he has returned, Twilight?"

"He... he said he wanted to bring his race back to life in this world... and that you and him had an agreement of some sort..."

Celestia nodded, "That is correct. The two of us have made a pact." her gaze held Twilight's eyes, "I will help him to bring his race back to life... and in return, he will help us to find a way of surviving... but the more I watch him and his actions, the more I fear that..." she found it difficult to continue.

A worried expression crossed Twilight's features, "You think he would abandon us?"

Princess Celestia shook her head, "No. He needs my magic to bring back his race now and after the next cycle... at least for the moment being. If he were to find a way to do it without my help though..." she sighed, "He is driven only by one ambition, Twilight, and that is the survival of his own race."

"But... is that not the same goal that we pursue?" Twilight asked with surprise.

"No, Twilight." Celestia replied, "I wish to save our world, and while he only wishes to save those he needs... I wish to save everyone." she paused as she saw Twilight's sad expression, "And as much as it pains me to ask this of you... I wish to ask you to accept his offer."


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"My own history?" Spike asked with wonder, "Well... I was raised by Twilight and..."

"That is not what I meant." the purveyor replied with a small frown. The discussion Twilight and Celestia were having was taking a very interesting turn... what was Celestia planning? He turned to Spike, observing his form; Spike had grown in size these last two hundred years, not much... but he had grown. He was already a bit taller than himself.

"It's not?" Spike took a step back, suddenly feeling nervous as he felt the purveyor's gaze upon him.

"No..." he paused as more words were passed between the two alicorns, "What do you know of your origins?"

"My origins?"

"Have you never asked yourself how Celestia obtained you? How it came to be that she got possession of your egg?" a small smile spread his lips as he saw realization set in on Spike's features, "Or do you think dragon eggs are a common thing to find?"

"No... I... I never thought about it..." Spike mumbled to himself, "I've always been so busy with other things that the thought never occurred to me..."

"Other things?" Zaeres asked with a taint of amusement.

"I always helped Twilight... with Cadance, the projects she called into life... and before that..." Spike's face saddened.

"Rarity." the purveyor finished his sentence.

Spike hung his head, "Yeah... Rarity..." he looked up at Zaeres with a small smile, "I had the biggest crush on her... she was simply stunning in every way." he did not see the purveyor frown at his words; Stunning was the last word that Zaeres would have used to describe her... "You knew her?"

"I met her." Zaeres replied before asking, "What happened?"

Spike's face became sad again, "Life happened, I guess... one day, without me even noticing it... she had grown old." he hung his head again, "And I never gathered the courage to tell her how I truly felt... which was even more painful when I met Sweetie Belle's granddaughter one day. She looked exactly like her... and I was a stranger to her. Not Spikey-Wikey, just Spike... the big and scary dragon of princess Twilight." he mouthed the words with a strange tone to his voice. A soft laugh escaped his scaly lips, "Strange how I always thought getting big would be cool..."

The purveyor observed Spike in silence for a moment, surprised that the dragon had matured much more than his still juvenile body would allow to conceive, and even more surprised that Spike would talk about these things so openly. He looked down the corridor where Celestia and Twilight were still talking, "Do you wish to know why you have no wings?"

Spike raised an eyebrow, "You know why? Even Twilight hasn't been able to figure that one out yet!"

"Did you ever ask Celestia?" the purveyor's question hung in the air for a short moment.

"What does she have to do with that?" Spike tilted his head in surprise before grasping what the purveyor was trying to tell him, "Does it have to do with where I came from?"

"It does." Zaeres replied, "How many dragons have you met since your first visit to the migration?"

"Don't remind me of it..." Spike shook his head with a snort, "That was a very disappointing experience for me. After meeting them, I no longer wanted to meet any others of my kind... they seemed completely different from what I wanted to be." he gave the purveyor a questioning look, "But what does have to do with my wings?"

"More than you understand, apparently." he pointed to the large set of doors, "Behind these doors, there is the council of the deities... the self-proclaimed gods of this world. And at the top of the chamber, there sits Nithhogr... Do you know who that is?"

Spike shook his head in wonder, "No. I never heard of him..."

"I see..." he turned his head to the corridor for a short moment, "It seems we will have to postpone this discussion to another time, Celestia and Twilight are about to return..."

"Wait! Aren't you going to tell me why I don't have wings?"

"We will meet again, I am sure... in the meantime, I would like you to consider something..."

"What?"

"Even of the few dragons you have met... how many of them were wingless... or breathed magical fire for that matter?"

Spike stared at him, seemingly perplexed by his question, "None..."

"Spike! Sorry for the wait!" the dragon turned his head to see Twilight and princess Celestia approach.

"Think about what I told you..." the purveyor told Spike out of the alicorns' hearing, "And ask yourself, just how much do really know about yourself and what you are." the purveyor left Spike standing where he was, "When you are ready to ask the right questions, come find me."

"Hey, Spike!" Twilight watched his unmoving face, "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah..." Spike seemed to break out of some state of thought, "Just feeling a bit tired... that's all."

Before Twilight could ask any further, she realized that the purveyor was standing next to her, "Twilight Sparkle..." she cringed as she looked up into his mask, "I too, would like to have a word with you in private."