Twilight sat outside of the library, staring of into the distance with a vague smile on her face. It had been two week since Celestia had revealed her greatest Secret to Twilight and despite all that, things went on as normal...well as normal as they could be given the circumstances. She had finally accepted her feelings for Spike, as he had before her, and now things had relaxed greatly around the house, neither of them afraid to openly show their affection toward each other. They had caused quite a big stir in Ponyville when Spike had swept her off her feet during a walk and kissed her passionately in front of several gaping bystanders.
Though she had been highly embarrassed at first, she had quickly recovered, taking their stares and murmurings as a badge of pride rather than of shame. Spike had left earlier this morning, saying that he needed to go do something. The vague answer to her question made her sure that he was planning something, presumably something to do with their relationship, but she had held her tongue, realizing that if it were a surprise, there'd be no fun in forcing him to reveal it early.
She stretched a little while watching Rainbow Dash walk past, talking in great depth to her husband, a well built Pegasus, who was listening intently to what she was saying. Twilight smiled as they walked past, remembering how the two of them had met. It hadn't being the most pleasant thing in the world that was for sure. Rainbow Dash's husband, Stormwing. This Pegasus was a unique individual to say the least.
His coat was a sleek storm cloud gray and he stood a head taller than Rainbow Dash. His wings were larger than hers as well, almost twice in size, tucked neatly against his body. He was powerfully built but these trait were not what truly set him apart. Apart from the ability to create storms of various types, as was his name sake, he was also the first Pegasus to ever break the light barrier, meaning that he was able to travel faster than light itself.
Rainbow Dash had been immensely jealous of him upon learning this but she had managed to hide it well, well enough that she had been able to overlook his supremacy in speed and fall in love with him. This had always surprised Twilight, apart from still harboring jealousy over her husbands talent, she also had met him in the most unpleasant way possible. When they had met, she had just entered into her trademark Sonic Rainboom just as he had dropped from light speed, directly in her path.
The impact of their collision had affected Rainbow Dash worse than it had him, upon impact, both of her wings had broken from recoil and she had spent well over a month in recovery, with him at her side constantly trying to make up for the incident. Surprisingly enough, he had managed to avoid major injury from the impact and had felt guilty for the harm he had caused her, which was of course why he had tried to make up for it. Rainbow Dash smiled slyly and gently bumped against him, pushing him of balance a little He grinned broadly and bumped her back, a little stronger than she had. She snorted slightly and pushed him a little harder.
Twilight couldn't help but grin at this, this was their own little way of starting a race, which was frequently started by Rainbow Dash. She would always gently bump him, always getting the same slightly stronger push in return. Twilight didn't know why she bothered trying, no matter what she tried, from attempted underhand tricks and dramatic head starts, she always lost a race to him. As she expected Rainbow Dash leapt into the air and blasted away at the speed of sound with a brief,
"Catch me!"
Stormwing smiled and counted backwards from twenty, allowing Rainbow dash to get as far away as she could before he gave chase. When he reached zero he jumped into the air, his wings unfurling gracefully before he blasted away at an equal speed, the area reverberating with thunder as he dashed off after her. As he neared the edge of Ponyville, light seemed to surround him, bright and blinding until with a bright burst of light he disappeared entirely. Twilight wondered if Rainbow Dash would ever give up trying to beat him in a race.
Twilight shook her head as she got up and stretched languidly before turning to head back inside, the cold afternoon air nipping at her as she opened the door. Before she could step in however, the air shook with a resounding thud! Twilight quickly spun around to look for the source of the noise. Seeing nothing however she turned back toward the library when the same loud thud echoed through the area, building in tempo until it became a hypnotic blast that shook her knees with each beat.
She suddenly looked up as a shadow fell over her. High above her head was a large dragon, easily half the size of the library. She immediately panicked and began to form a spell to force the creature out of Ponyville when it landed with a solid boom on the ground in front of her. Her jaw fell open as the rich purple scales of the dragon glinted in the sun, his piercing green eyes gazed gently at her. She lost her spell as he walked near towards her and gently put his scaled cheek against hers, saying quietly, "Hi Twilight, surprised?"
All she could manage was a faint squeak as Spike's warm voice issued from this quadruped dragon, his large wings folding neatly against his body. Twilight opened and closed her mouth several times before finally managing to ask, "Spike? Is that you? What happened to you?"
Spike smiled as he dropped softly to his belly and replied, "Yes Twilight its me, I used my magic to change my shape, at least for today." Twilight shook her head, was this what he wanted to surprise her with?
Before she could ask why he did this he nuzzled her cheek again and said, "Twilight, for years you carried me on your back, it my turn to do the same."
At this he turned a little in place and offered her his front leg, an invitation to climb on. Twilight hesitated for a brief moment before a smile split her shocked features. She took a tentative step onto Spike's foreleg and slowly climbed onto his back, using magic to aid in her ascent. She situated herself in a small area at the base of his neck, devoid of any spikes and said, "Okay Spike, I'm ready."
He dipped his head in acknowledgment and spread his new wings, this action alone made Twilight tense, feeling like she was going to be thrown off. With a mighty flap of his wings, he rose off the ground, rising quickly into the air as his flapping increased in speed. Twilight yelled in a mixture of great excitement and terror as the ground sped quickly away, the wind blowing her mane around wildly. After he reached a fair height he craned his neck around to look at Twilight with one eye, seeing her eyes closed as she held on tightly. "Twilight, open your eyes."
She did so, her eyes sliding open to see the ground, hundreds of feet below her, Though scared she gently sat up straighter and looked around, her breath catching in awe at the sight.
All of Equestria lay sprawled out in every direction, the rolling hills and smooth valleys were fields of green silk that mingled together gracefully with the rich colors of the trees of the forest, which were ablaze with the fiery colors of fall. The clouds drifter smoothly by, insubstantial in form and texture but so close Twilight felt like she could relax on them for forever. "Its beautiful... I can't believe how small the world is from here."
She leaned against his back and cuddled against him, sighing peacefully as she said, "Thank you Spike, I just have one question though..."
He cut her off and said, "Oh don't ask questions now, all you need know is that we are together, away from the world."
She smiled and nodded before settling back down on his neck while he glided slowly through the air, heading off away from Ponyville. Twilight's head swiveled back and forth as she gazed around at the world below her, marveling at how the world looked from this height. She smiled as she watched the repeated flashes of light of in the distance that was Stormwing, taunting Rainbow dash by constantly staying within a few hundred yards of her.
She shook her head as she settled to watch the birds and other animals of the land below her. She rested her head on his back and closed her eyes, listening to the slow steady beating of his heart, the hypnotic pace of his breathing. She shivered as the air cooled sharply, suddenly feeling like it was the heart of winter. She opened her eyes and looked around, the ground seeming over a mile away. "Spike, where are we going?"
Spike didn't answer, possibly because he couldn't hear her. She tried to cuddle closer to his bulk, want more of his warmth as the temperature continued dropping, the wind whipping her through her mane. She just started wondering how much more of this she'd have to endure when the air suddenly felt warmer. She opened her eyes, ice crystals clinging to her eye lids as she looked up.
The cloud cover was thick and unyielding but she could see a faint light in the clouds. She looked back down at Spike's back and tried to ask him again of what was going on. Again he was silent, but he turned his head to look at her with one eye. He looked out back towards the glittering light. Minutes went by, the warmth in the air getting warmer and warmer until it felt like the air of a bright summers day. "Spike, where are we going?"
This time Spike did answer by saying as he broke through the clouds and bright light blinded both of them temporarily,
"Welcome Twilight, to the capital city of the dragons, Daranna."
Twilight's eyes widened to the size of apples by what she saw. A large island floated before them, held aloft by magic unknown silhouetted by the clouds around it. The light that had blinded them was caused by an enormous sphere of light that hovered over the city, glowing brightly like the sun, illuminating everything below it. The city itself however was what truly took her breath away.
Arrayed like a pyramid, the city rose in tiers upward, a large, cathedral like build rested alone on the topmost one, the orb of light floating directly above its highest tower, all the buildings in the city seemed to be carved of various shades of Marble and granite, formed into intricate and impossible designs and glittering like tiny gemstones as the false sun light hit them. Spike angled toward the bottom tier of the city and alighted on a patch of ground made from carved marble, runes of various kinds and numerous patterns ran along the edges of it, flowing together into a fluid, almost life like diagram.
Spike crouched down so that Twilight could jump off. She promptly did so, her hooves clacking on the perfect marble. She looked around excitedly at her surroundings while Spike stood up again and asked with a grin on his face, "You like it?" Her vigorous nod was answer enough as she carefully began examining a carving of a flying dragon on the pedestal that they stood on. He nudged her gently and said, "Would you like to explore the city?"
Her grin only seemed to brighten as she took up a position next to Spike and followed alongside him as they walked up from the landing area to the first tier of the city. The area was built for farming and agriculture, small houses, built also from marble and granite but unlike the buildings further into the city, sat foremost in the area. Large plots of land surrounded them, often as large as the orchards of Ponyville, many of them growing various plants from fruit trees to wheat. The whole area was thick with growth, as if the plants had never been tended to in years, some of the houses where completely over run and sections of the road where also buried in undergrowth.
Twilight was slightly confused by this though, some of the buildings were buried in plants and some buildings were crumbling, but most of the city was well maintained and gorgeous, as if suspended in time. She looked at him questioningly and he motioned for him to continue to follow him. After a few more minutes of walking they came to another set of stairs that they walked up to the second tier. This tier was dominated by many more buildings, running along both sides of the street, the street stretching off into the distance, curving around to go the full circumference of the tier.
The buildings were of various shapes and sizes, some of them had stalls and stands in front of them, empty baskets and crates scattered around along the streets. This tier was obviously dedicated to trade and commerce. Twilight was getting the uneasy feeling that this whole city was a ghost town, empty of all live except them.
"Spike, where is everyone, you said this was a capital city of your people?"
Spike nodded sadly, sitting back of his haunches as he sighed heavily, "It was our capital, we abandoned it thousands of years ago..."
Twilight cocked her head to the side and asked, "Why? An even better question, how do you know this?"
Spike sighed again and said, "Instinct, I didn't even know about this place until a week ago, and only knew where to find it two days ago." A thousand questions burst into her mind as she tried to process what he had said, and what she had been shown. Spike had only recently learned of this ancient city through his instincts and only just recently, but why? Before she could ask Spike got up and continued on, walking up the stairs across from them with Twilight close behind.
Upon coming over on the top step she looked around at the buildings on this tier. All of the buildings where beautiful in design often studded with various gemstones ranging from diamond and amethyst. She could tell by the buildings alone that the upper class lived here. She didn't have much time to admire them before Spike was climbing to the next tier. Twilight's legs felt like they were burning as she finally alighted on the final step. This tier was the last one, the massive cathedral stood before them, its doors crafted of thickset and beautifully carved wood, of what type she didn't know.
The building was made entirely of marble and was inlaid with gemstones and gold. Despite this impressive sight however, Spike walked to the left of it, following a path to a large domed building. Twilight continued to follow after him until he pulled the doors of the building open and motioned for her to go inside. He had remained strangely quite this whole time and she felt that she finally was about to learn why. He closed the door behind himself and walked a little farther ahead before he came to a clearing, in which sat a large fountain and four benches of stone.
The fountain was adorned with a large statue of a dragoness, who wore a solemn expression with her arms held out in a sign of welcome. The statue looked a lot like how Spike didn't when he was in his normal shape, on two legs, with a height and build that were similar in design. The only difference however was that the statue had wings where Spike was usually without. She heard as faint whoosh behind her and turned to see Spike changing back to his original form, a faint light surrounding him before he stood before her stretching. "Back to normal I see, how do you feel?"
Spike shrugged as he sat down on one of the benches and said, "I feel fine, just...a little uneasy."
She frowned and sat down next to him placing a hoof on his claw, starring at him with a look of concern, "Are you okay?"
Spike shook his head, a deep frown making his face look gaunt as he sat there. Eventually, after a few moments of silence, in which the only sound of the fountain could be heard. After a few more minutes Spike took a deep breath he said, "I wanted to bring you here, because...well, I don't want the ancient secrets of the dragons lost."
Twilight shook her head, preservation of knowledge? There had to be more to it than that. She shook her head and moved her hoof to his face, tilting it so that he was looking at her. He kept his eyes averted from her as she asked again, "Spike, whats wrong?"
Spike inhaled shakily and looked into her eyes before gulping audibly and answer her, "This city was abandoned thousands of years ago, no dragon has ever known of it until now and my mind is flooded with all of the knowledge of what happened to my people, because I am the only dragon alive who cares." Twilight felt a little disconcerted as he continued without giving her a chance to ask a question, "Several thousand years ago, probably before Equestria was founded, we dragons were a powerful and wise race, we built many wondrous things and delved deep into the mysteries of magic. We were responsible for a lot of magical developments as well as the creation of a number of magical plants."
He paused here briefly to look back at the statue beside him before turning his gaze back to Twilight and continuing, "This city was our greatest achievement, here most of us lived and died, here most of our greatest achievements were stored or created. It was here also that our decline began."
A tear spilled from his eye as if memories of great pain were flooding his mind, but he fought to keep the pain at bay. He took a deep breath and resumed speaking before she could interrupt, "About three hundred years before Equestria was formed we crowned a new king, King Araela, the last King of the dragons. He was a great proprietor of wealth, both physical and intellectual. Shortly after his coronation he began enacting laws that decreed the gathering of wealth to the capital, whether we owned it or not. Few of us seemed to notice that these laws were wrong The sad thing was, we had developed a hubris that many of us were blind to...arrogance. Our believe in our might and magic had spawned in us a seed of greed and arrogance that blinded us from the truth of our actions."
He paused for a moment, looking out past Twilight, as if seeing things long past. Twilight didn't say anything, she knew he wasn't done and what could she say about the dragons of old and what they had become. After a few more moment he concluded his tale,
"For a hundred years this went on until dragons everywhere were reduced to the brutes you know today, not caring about love, life, or art. Squabbling over simple petty items of value and bullying other for amusement. Our greed had grown without us ever realizing it and now, we are doomed to suffer a slow decline into oblivion."
Spike took a hold of her hooves and sat there in silence, tears of sorrow at the fate of his people rolling down his cheeks. Twilight felt tears running down her own face as she looked at the dragon before her, the one she'd grown to love. She reached up to his cheek and gently stroked it feeling helpless in this situation, she couldn't tell him it was going to be alright, she couldn't tell him she knew how he felt. All she could do was sit here with him and comfort him until his grief passed. She knew why he had only just recently become aware of this past, of this knowledge.
As dragon's had become increasingly more consumed by their greed, those few who remained honest and pure must have cast a spell that blinded the entire dragon race to the history of their kind and this great city, so that it could never be raided or exploited. She pulled him gently into a hug and held him as he wept openly and bitterly into her shoulder. After a several minutes of weeping, in which she stroked his back lovingly, did he finally calm down. He pulled away from her gently, still keeping his arms around her. "Twilight, thank you...for listening to me."
Twilight smiled and kissed him gently, "It was no problem Spike, I'll listen to anything you need to say."
Spike smiled and wiped his eyes before looking around carefully. There was something in this garden square that he wanted to give her. He saw what he was looking for hidden behind some bushes. He got up and moved over to the bushes, pulling them apart to reveal the flowers behind them. He smiled as he reached down and picked one before turning back to Twilight, a wide grin on his face.
Her eyes widened as he offered her the flower. It was unlike any blossom she had ever seen, the petals fanned out like a lily but the petals and stem seemed to be made of pure crystal, the petals were a radiant magenta and the stem a deep emerald green. He placed the delicate flower behind her ear, the plant felt like a real flower, as soft and as supple as a rose petal. She marveled at the beautiful flower and kissed him passionately.
When they separated, she laid her head on his shoulder and stood there in his arms, feeling somehow like she had reached a level of intimacy with him that she had never experienced before, nothing physical or erstwhile in that regard, but rather on a deep emotional level, a level of understanding she'd never obtained with anyone ever.
She didn't know what lay in store for her but it could only keep getting better from here.