Silent. That was one way to describe it, but it didn’t do the lack of sound any credit. The silence that radiated over the room wasn’t just deafening, it was suffocating. Spending any more than an hour here would drive most beings insane. But if, before their sanity left their minds, the beings cared to listen very closely, they would hear the gentle rhythm of shallow breathing. Sadly, as the old saying goes, all good things must come to an end.
There was what could be described as the sound of two pillows being thrown together at speeds unknown to all but pegasai. This was promptly followed by the sound of a paper tube hitting a rug spread over a stone floor. A shocked squeak echoed out in the silence.
Princess Gaea, Sovereign of Flora and Fauna on Equestria, the Element of Kindness and former pegasus known as Fluttershy found herself sat up in her bed, her sheet over her head. She remained there, dumbfounded for a moment, trying to figure out where she was. Being an alicorn, she had no need for a clock, sensing the time of the day though her power. Celestia relied on the position of the sun, Luna the moon whilst Gaea had the plants and animals to help her. Consensuses lead her to understand it was 4am, still in the realm of Luna but not for much longer.
Removing the sheet, the royal pony scrabbled about on a bedside table until hooves met a group of matches. Of course, she could just use her magic and make light, but to Gaea she was still simple Fluttershy. Eventually a flash appeared in the darkness as the smell of sulphur wafted around. The light grew as the lit match was applied to a candle. Placing a reflective cover over the candle, Gaea looked around for the source of the noise.
The Princess couldn’t help but gaze upon her main for being here first. To her side, in their own beds, lay her friends in magical slumber. They looked peaceful, as if it was nothing more than a mere nap for them. There was a content sigh as Gaea realised that Pinkie Pie had been sleep partying again. She was covered in streamers and had gained a party hat. The butter coloured pony had long given up trying to work out how she did it. She remained adamant that the conga line 30 years ago was a dream though.
It didn’t take her long to find what woke her up; a royal scroll sat on her rug, the parchment a dark blue in colour. A yellow magic aura surrounded the paper and brought it over to Gaea, who opened it up. Against all odds, that day’s morning edition of the Equestria Daily flopped onto her bed.
Few ponies understood the relationship between the three alicorns. Fluttershy, as she still insisted back then, had looked to Celestia as a teacher, much like Twilight once had. Luna on the other hoof had been more like a friend. Fewer ponies still knew that to become an alicorn, Fluttershy had to effectively be reborn. Having a second foalhood was lonely at times, but Luna had always been there. The newspaper and early morning scroll was as big a prank Luna would attempt on Gaea.
For a while, the cavern was filled with soft chuckling as Gaea read the scroll. The Princess of the Moon and Night had long mastered how to write the “Straw Sandwich” letter; elements of bad or dull news broken up with good and pieces. Whilst the former pegasus was immune to severe pranks, Celestia was a prime target. Replacing the Princess of the Sun’s mouthwash with liquid Rainbow was a new pra-
Gaea stared intently down the cavern towards its entrance. The animals of the Everfree Forest were panicking; something was coming. From what she could tell, it was huge, scary and worst yet, in the air. Some animals maintained collective memories, and those ones said it so plainly.
Dragon.
Leaping out of her bed, Gaea quickly assembled her royal regalia and tidied her extremely long mane. She had no power over dragons, and one on the loose could cause untold damage to her or Ponyville. As much as the alicorn still feared them, she had no choice but to confront those that came close. Some ponies liked to think of Gaea as a great dragon fighter due to her numerous confrontations. Really, only once had Gaea been forced to anger.
Forgetting her easy morning, Gaea galloped towards the forest, already working in the plants that covered the exit before she saw it. Her wings were unfurling as it came into view and leapt into the air as soon as she could.
In the air the alicorn scanned the horizon around her but found nothing. Not even birds were airborne but that was to be expected. Her sight failing, Gaea focused on the fear of the wildlife to pinpoint where the dragon was. Worryingly, it was around her.
“You know,” boomed a youthful voice from behind her head. Her wings instantly folded by her sides and froze. Before she could fall more than hoof, a large claw caught her with ease.
“I remember when you ran to greet me the first time. There was no fear then.”
Turning in the opened claws, the ponies jaw dropped open at the sight of the purple and green dragon. There was a grin on its face as it slowly flapped to the ground.
“Spike?! Why didn’t you write me?!”
Once the dragon had landed, the yellow Princess managed to get her wings working again, allowing her to nuzzle his cheek slightly. The blush was easy to see under all the scales.
“It’s good to see you too Fluttershy, it’s been too long.” Spike rumbled. “Besides, I wanted this to be a surprise visit for a change.”
Both of them settled on the ground opposite one another and began to catch up on the last few years. The forest filled itself with the emotions of the two; flowers blooming and brightening with laughter, then shutting with bad news that flowed between them.
Eventually the dragon’s eyes couldn’t help but glance down the tunnel, an action that didn’t escape the alicorns attention.
“How are they?” his voice quivered with emotion.
“Same as always Spike.” Gaea half sighed. It was almost a ritual to the two long lived friends. “How is your research doing?”
The dragon smirked at the pony, showing a lot of teeth.
“I should ask you that Fluttershy. It’s going okay, as you no doubt know the plant has been a success, thus far. We plan to start testing it soon.”
Fluttershy looked at the dragon for a moment, confused at his statement. Noticing, Spike looked embarrassed.
“Oh there are still victims of the Hoofton Plague without us infecting anypony on purpose, if that’s what you though. It is after all, the root cause of the girls’ anguish. They haven’t been the only ones to try those remedies to cure themselves, sadly. I suppose luckily, the girls were the only ones to try so many cures at once...”
The old friends both looked down the tunnel again. Memories shared only by them replayed in their minds. Both pairs of eyes soon welled with tears.
“I can’t wait to see them again...” Spike said, his voice sounding almost like it did 500 years ago.
“Neither can I Spike.” The young Princess responded, her own voice similar to that of an age long gone. “You can visit them now you know right? I’m sure Rarity won’t mind you peeking in.”
The dragons chuckling sounded almost like an avalanche, and seemed to last as long. Eventually a single claw wiped a tear away from his eye.
“I’m certain she wouldn’t! But no, I’m going to wait until they are cured. Good things come to those who wait, after all.”
With midday approaching the dragon made his leave with a heart filled goodbye, leaving Princess Gaea on her own. With a warm smile, the yellow royal made her way back to the chambers.
The candle still burned, though it didn’t have much lift. Gaea guessed it probably had an hour left before it gave out completely. Creating a ball of light from her horn and applying it to the ceiling, she blew out the candle as the cavern exploded with light. The girls stirred slightly in their sleep before returning to sleeping bliss.
Perching herself on the edge of her bed, Gaea leant over to Twilight and put her head near the unicorns ear.
“You’ll never guess who that was Twilight.”
The unicorn made no movement to her friend’s voice.
“He flew all the way here! It was Spike!”
She was rewarded with a grin. With that single motivation, Gaea continued informing the student on the outside world, as she did every week, as she did with all her friends.
Until that day that they could reply back to her.