As the Great Fox landed back at ThornTail Hollow, the Star Fox Team disembarked the airship and headed to the Queen EarthWalker’s shelter. Once inside the underground bunker, they found the Queen waiting for them. Spike reached into his backpack and pulled out the large green gem.
“I see you have found the SpellStone of Earth,” she remarked as she gazed upon the magical stone that Spike held in his claws. “Now you must take it to one of the two Force Point Temples.”
“Where are the Force Point Temples?” Captain Pepper asked.
“There are two; one to the north and one to the south,” the Queen explained. “Each temple requires that its respective SpellStones are placed inside.”
“Which stone goes where?” Slippy asked.
“The four SpellStones represent the elements of earth, water, fire, and air. The elements of earth and fire belong in the Volcano Force Point Temple to the north and the elements of water and air belong in the Ocean Force Point Temple to the south.”
“Right, since I have the SpellStone of Earth, I need to head north then,” Spike summarized. “Come on Tricky, there’s no time to waste.”
“Oh Spike,” the Queen called after them. “The path that leads to the Volcano Force Point Temple will take you through Moon Mountain Pass, a strange and eerie land. Many dangers will await you there. Be careful.”
After receiving the warning, Spike and Tricky headed north through the Hollow until they came to a trail that led into the mountains. Before Spike and Tricky could head up the trail, the communication stone glowed gold as Spike’s master started to hail him. Spike looked at the glowing stone on his wrist and then back to Tricky.
“Hey Tricky, why don’t we take a lunch break before we go? I’m pretty hungry,” Spike said as an excuse.
“Yeah, me too,” the young dinosaur agreed.
“Here, go buy yourself something special at the store. Meet me back here when you’re ready,” Spike told the dinosaur as he tossed him the scarab bag. Tricky picked up the bag in his mouth and ran excitedly to the store. Now that Spike was alone, he headed to his master’s cave which was located between the trail and the aqueduct. He entered the cave and went down the crack that led into the gold dragon’s lair.
“You have recovered the first SpellStone,” the master stated. “Well done.”
“Thank you Master,” Spike replied. The older dragon turned his head to the large scrying stone that rested in the pile of treasure nearby. It looked like the crystal ball that Pinkie Pie would use when she would predict the future as “Madame Pinkie.” However, this one was larger and glowed white with a myriad of colors swirling within.
“I must say that I am impressed by how quickly you are mastering your new wings.”
“I’m still breaking them in, but they’re coming in handy.”
“I watched as you defeated the Galdon,” the Master told Spike. “I am proud of you. You have slain a creature that the SnowHorn have feared for ages. Many have fallen in attempts to slay it.”
“You could have stopped it, right?” Spike asked. The colossal nodded his massive head in confirmation. “Why didn’t you?”
“Are you questioning me whelp?” the dark gold dragon slightly growled, his green eyes flashing at hint of anger.
“No Master,” Spike clarified. “I was just wondering. You’re so powerful and could squash him with one claw.”
“That I could, but it was not my problem,” the Master coldly responded. “The Galdon posed no threat to me or my hoard.”
“But he was a threat to the SnowHorns. You could have helped them,” Spike argued. The master glared down at him, not approving of his tone.
“Do not question me,” he darkly snarled. “Until now, I had no reason to help them. Why should have I done anything for them?”
“Because you could have saved many lives,” Spike protested. The elder dragon glared down at the younger dragon. He then smirked when he remembered that he was speaking to a dragon who grew up around ponies. Their sentimental values and morals have certainly rubbed off on him.
“You truly think like a pony,” the gold dragon chuckled. “You are selflessly helping the inhabitants of this island when other wyrms would care less.”
“Then why are you helping me?” Spike demanded, irritated by the older dragon’s attitude. “If dragons like you only care about themselves, then why are you helping me?”
Spike’s Master sat in silence as looked he down at the little dragon that was standing up to him. He remembered the fire ruby that Spike was carrying, the one that belonged to the mare. Spike was willing to do anything for her for he truly loved her. It was strange for a dragon to love someone more than them self. It reminded him of something from long ago. Love; that was an emotion that the old dragon had not felt since…
“It matters not,” the elder dragon said. “All that matters is that I am. Go and return the SpellStone to the temple.”
The older dragon shifted his large body and turned his back on Spike. The purple dragon looked at his elder, wondering about his motives, and then flew out of the cave. Once Spike was gone, the older dragon reached into one of the mounds of gold and jewels and pulled out a tapestry. It would be considered large by pony standards, but it neatly fitted in the dragon’s palm. It was ancient, created thousands of years ago, from a time before Celestia and Luna. He stared at the embroidered images on the fabric, each one telling their own story. However, the ancient wyrm only focused on one. It was the image of two ponies, a prince and a Unicorn princess, staring into one another’s eyes. With one claw, he gently caressed the image of the mare. The dragon then closed his claw around the tapestry as he closed his eyes with a remorseful look upon his face.
*****
Tricky ran into the store beneath ThornTail Hollow. Once inside, he saw something unusual; the strange floating shopkeeper was arguing with a bunch of multicolored ponies. Tricky had seen ponies before. Trade ships that traveled between Equestria and the zebra homeland would rarely stop by the island to do some business here. However, most ponies were too intimidated by the island’s inhabitants to do so.
“Listen, all I want is this map,” a lavender mare said in a frustrated voice. “And I’m not paying more than seven bits for it.”
“No, that’s too low. Ten scarabs,” the shopkeeper tried demanded. The lavender mare groaned in annoyance.
“Ooh ooh! How much for this lantern?” an excitable pink mare asked the hooded shopkeeper.
“Put that down!” the shopkeeper shouted in his high pitched raspy voice. “You don’t have enough scarabs!”
“Now who the hay uses bugs for money?” an orange one wearing a hat asked.
“Eew, that sounds weird,” a light blue pony that floated in the air commented.
“Hey! Put that bafomdad back!” the store keeper shouted at a yellow mare holding a rabbit like animal.
“Aw, but he’s so cute,” she cooed as she and the little critter snuggled. Before he could say anything else, there was a crash and a bunch of green firefly went flying around the store.
“My fireflies!” the shop keeper shrieked.
“Oops, sorry,” the pink pony sheepishly apologized as she stood by a knocked over bug cage.
“I’ve got it,” the blue mare announced as she started to fly after the escaped bugs.
“Um, excuse me,” Tricky said to the shop keeper while giving him some scarabs. “Can I get some candied Grubtubs?”
“They’re in the back,” the hooded dinosaur told Tricky as he tried to deal with the mares. After picking up a few of the sweetened mushrooms, the EarthWalker headed back out of the store. As he left, he took one last look at the five ponies. The blue and orange managed to round up the escaped fireflies, the pink one was playing with a red ball that was on display, the yellow mare was petting the bafomdads, and the lavender one was still arguing over the price of the maps with the store keeper.
Huh, they kinda look like the ponies Spike told me about, Tricky thought. He then shrugged and headed out the store, overlooking the obvious. Oh well.
Tricky found Spike sitting by the start of the trail with a pensive look on face as he munched on a topaz. The Prince EarthWalker thought about asking what was the matter, but he decided it was best to leave the dragon be. Instead, he sat down and at the mushrooms he had bought from the store.
“Are you ready?” Spike asked as soon as they had finished their meal.
“Ready,” Tricky enthusiastically answered. They then headed up the trail towards Moon Mountain Pass. As they traveled along the path, they noticed the terrain started to change. It went from being green and lush to gray and rocky. This was to be expected when going up a mountain trail, but something felt off. As they came to an area filled with chasms, Spike stopped to look around. He could see a haze floating down in the depths of the canyons. Geysers would emit green vapor into sky. The rocks were dotted with craters. Weird fungi that glowed pink and white grew along the edge of the trail. The rocks started to take on a bluish shade. It felt like they had stepped onto another world. It reminded Spike of the time when the Nightmare Forces had possessed Rarity and he had to go with his friends to the moon to save her.
“This place reminds me of the moon,” Spike said to Tricky.
“Well it is called Moon Mountain Pass,” his companion reminded him. “But I have to admit, I’ve never been here before. My parents say it’s too dangerous.”
“No kidding,” Spike snidely remarked as he watched a geyser erupt. In the distance, there was a wooden building. From the outpost, a large gray Diamond Dog was watching the approaching pair through a spyglass. He wore a gray vest and a studded collar which signified that he was one the Diamond Dogs leaders. This was Fido, and he was a beta dog along with Spot. Well, now he was gamma dog ever since their alpha, Rover, became the beta dog to General Scar, the new alpha. Next to Fido was one of the guard dogs. The lesser Diamond Dogs was snoring and had his feet propped up on the railing.
“Wake up!” Fido ordered as he smacked the sleeping dog upside of the head. The other dog jolted awake and looked about in confusion. “Somebody coming.”
The dog looked out in the distance and saw Spike and Tricky heading towards the outpost. He then howled to sound the alarm. Other dogs joined in with the howling and soon the entire canyon was filled with the sound.
“It sounds like they know we’re here,” Spike muttered. He could see a pack of dogs running downhill from the outpost in their direction. They’ll be there in a matter of seconds. Spike cracked his knuckles and prepared for combat. As the pack drew closer, he noticed that another of the dogs that kidnapped Rarity was leading the pack. It was the larger one, Fido. Spike smirked, ready for the rematch. “Stay back Tricky.”
Fido was the first one to reach Spike. He raised his large gorilla-like arms and tried to smash Spike. The dragon grabbed them by the wrists as they came down. Spike was surprised by how strong this dog was, but not as surprised as Fido by how much stronger the dragon had become. The two stood in a stalemate, both of their arms shaking as they pushed against each other. Just as Spike was starting overcome Fido and pushed him back, two dogs blindsided him and tackled him to the ground. As Spike wrestled with the dogs, two more started to beat at him with their clubs.
“Hold him,” Fido barked. The four dogs held Spike up, two restraining each arm. Spike took in a breath, ready to breathe fire, but a fifth dog came from behind him and clamped his mouth shut. Spike shook his head in attempt to shake off the dog, but he held on fast. Fido chuckled sinisterly and then punched Spike in the stomach. The dragon groaned through his shut mouth as Fido pounded him. As the large dog took his time in beating Spike, Tricky came out of his hiding place and ran up behind Fido. With his beak-like mouth, he clamped down on the dog’s club-like tail. Fido’s eyes bulged and then he let out a howl of pain. Fido turned around and glared at Tricky. He reached down and picked the EarthWalker by his frill.
Using the distraction, Spike used his spaded tail and smacked the dog that was covering his mouth right between in the legs. The dog immediately let go to fall to his knees while singing soprano. Now that his mouth was freed, Spike unleashed his dragonfire and the four dogs that were holding his arms jump to get out of the way of the blazing heat.
“Why you little…” Fido growled at the small dinosaur.
“Hey!” the large gray dog heard Spike yell to him. To turned just in time to see a purple fist before his vision flashed red as Spike punched him in the face. Fido dropped Tricky to cover his sore face while howling in pain. Spike grabbed Fido by the vest, spun him around, and threw him at the five other Diamond Dogs. The flying dog slammed into his pack and they all went crashing down to the ground. The six dogs moaned unconsciously as Spike and Tricky stood over them.
“Thanks for help back there,” Spike said to Tricky.
“Hey, that’s what partners are for, right?” the dinosaur responded. Spike smiled down at his little friend and then they both continued up the trail towards the volcano. On the other side of the outpost, they could see a doorway with a tiled hallway leading inside. On either side of the doorway was a pillar with a torch on it. Looking up, they could see smoke rising from the mountain that loomed overhead. Pretty sure that this was the temple they were looking for, Spike and Tricky headed inside.
The hallway led around a few corners. Each dark corridor had fire braziers on the wall, lighting the rooms with a flickering orange light and caused the shadows to dance. The hallways led to a long room that a stone bridge that went over a pool of magma. Spike and Tricky crossed the stone bridge to the other side and exited through a door that was a start of tunnel. The tunnel led to a cave made out of dark red rock that must have been a magma chamber at one point. On the other side of the cave, there was opening where orange light poured in. Once they stepped outside of the cave, the two adventures found themselves standing on a platform overlooking a lake of magma. Spike looked up and could see the walls of the volcano rising up to the circular mouth of the crater above them. On the other side of the crater was large stone building supported by pillars and decorated by large fire braziers. An arching bridge connected the platform to the temple and Spike and Tricky started to cross it.
Keeping with the theme of the temple, torches lined the railing of the bridge. In the center of the bridge, Spike and Tricky came to a circular grated gate. Before the gate was a round altar that was glowing with a yellow light. On the altar, there was a symbol in the tear-like shape of the SpellStone. Spike pulled out the green gemstone to compare it the symbol. As he held it over the glowing altar, electricity started to crackle around the SpellStone.
“Whoa!” Spike and Tricky exclaimed. The dragon nearly dropped the stone in surprise as the sparks arched between the green gem and the symbol. As quickly as it began, the electricity stopped and the circular gate started moved. It spun around, revealing an opening that allowed the two to enter the temple. Spike and Tricky gave each other unsure looks before passing through the gate.
As they crossed the bridge to reach the temple, Spike noticed two statues on either side of the temple’s main door. The statues had long simian faces with bearded chins and round headdresses. In the center of their foreheads was a gem. Spike tilted his head as he studied them curiously, but then returned his attention to the door. Again, there was a symbol of the SpellStone. Holding up the green stone again, electricity arched from it and into the symbol to open the door. The tall stone doors slid open and Spike entered the main hall of the Volcano Force Point Temple. The pillars that supported this room had torches that had blue flames. At the end of the main small, they came to a circular room with more of those statues. At the base of each statue was a torch that held an unnaturally red flame. Spike looked around, but didn’t see another door.
“So, what now?” Spike asked and looked about.
“There’s an inscription on the wall,” Tricky pointed out. They both went to the plaque, but Spike couldn’t read Saurian.
“What does it say?”
“It says, ‘Only he who dims the flames of the Krazoa may pass’,” the dinosaur translated for the dragon. Spike looked up at the six statues.
So that’s a Krazoa, he thought as he looked at the strange beings.
“But how are we going to put out the flames?” Tricky asked. “You start fires, not put them out.”
As soon as Tricky asked the question, Spike’s communication stone glowed gold again. Spike looked around and saw stairs leading up to a terrace that went around the perimeter of the statue room and the main hall.
“Tricky, stay here. I’m going to check something out,” Spike told the dinosaur.
“Okay.” Spike walked up the stairs and stepped on to the terrace of the main hall. Once he was out of an earshot of Tricky, he looked back at the communication stone.
“Hello?” Spike whispered to the stone.
“Spike,” he heard the voice of his master say to him. There was an awkward silence and Spike remembered their conversation from earlier.
“Look Master, I’m sorry,” Spike apologized. “I should have been more respectful towards you. I really am thankful for you helping me.”
After pondering in silence for a moment, the master finally said, “Do not apologize. You… you were right.”
“Master, I…” Spike started, unsure what to say.
“Never mind that now,” the master interjected. “What matters is your mission. In order to move on, you must learn your next lesson; mastering the power of ice.”
“Ice?”
“Yes, it is a talent that only a few wyrms bother to master. Fire is easy and natural for a dragon to master. It comes from a dragon’s raging emotions. To breathe ice, you must first control those emotions; anger, greed, fear, determination, courage, passion, desire. All of these things add fuel to the flame. Only by clearing your mind and suppressing your emotions can you breathe ice. It is same as breathing fire, but you must not be feeling anything while you do so. Since most wyrms allow their passion to control them, only a few have mastered it.”
The golden glow faded and the stone returned to normal blue color. Now that Spike had received his instructions, it was time to apply it. He returned to statue room where Tricky was waiting for him.
“Got any ideas?” Tricky asked.
“Just one,” Spike answered as he stood before one of the red flames. Okay Spike. You can do this. Don’t think about anything. Be calm, cool, and relaxed. Spike took deep steady breaths and closed his eyes. He pushed away any concerns he had to the side and exhaled. A bluish-white mist exhaled from his mouth and extinguished the magical flame. Spike opened his eyes to see that the brazier was covered with frost and steam rose from where the fire used to be. “I did it. I did it!”
“Wow! That was cool! I didn’t know you could do that!” Tricky exclaimed. Spike was excited that he learned a new ability, but then remembered the lesson.
“Okay, calm down. Calm down,” he told himself, suppressing his emotions again. He went to the next flame and repeated the process. Once all six flames were put out, a grate in the center of the floor pulled away and a platform rose up from the hole in the floor. Spike and Tricky stepped on the platform and it took them down to tunnel that was supported by stone arches. Glowing yellow stained glass windows lined the tunnel’s walls in between each arch. At the end of the tunnel was a large round door which Spike rolled away. Inside was a round chamber with a circular walkway suspended over another magma pit. As they entered the room, Spike’s communication stone glowed a bright blue and Peppy’s head appeared over it.
“Hi Spike,” the white maned Earth Pony greeted. “I’ve been studying the ancient records of the island and you might be interested to hear this.”
“Go ahead Peppy,” Spike said to the navigator.
“This temple has been built over a Force Point,” Peppy continued. “A point where pure magical energy is forced up from deep below the island. This energy is so powerful that it continually attempts to pull the island apart. To stop this, ancient beings know as ‘the Krazoa’ placed two SpellStones inside the temple to absorb the energy. When General Scar removed the SpellStones, the island began to fall apart. By returning the SpellStones back to the temple, you’ll bring the island together once more. Peppy out.”
The image of the older stallion faded and Spike looked back to the circular walkway. On one end was a red altar and a green one on the other end. He figured that since the SpellStone of Earth was green, it belong on the green altar. He walked onto the walkway and walked around to the green altar. In the center of round green platform was the symbol of the SpellStone. Spike placed the SpellStone of Earth over the altar, but nothing seemed to happen. All the other altars were glowing, but this one wasn’t. He then remembered something that the Queen EarthWalker had told him; only a dinosaur of noble birth could breathe life into the SpellStones.
“Tricky, come here for a moment,” Spike called to his partner. The dinosaur carefully made his way across the suspended platform to the altar. As soon as the young dinosaur touched the altar, it started to glow green and sparks connected the SpellStone to the altar. Then Spike felt a surge of energy envelope him similar to the magic of the Warp Stone’s magic. There was a flash of light and Spike found himself in another chamber along with Tricky and the SpellStone. The room was like a larger version of the statue room with six large Krazoa statues acting as pillars. They were standing on a platform that was suspended over a large chasm. From the dark abyss, a swirling vortex of magic rose like a tornado through the center of platform, passing through a hollow pillar like smoke through a chimney. Since this was the source of the magical energy, then the chamber had to be far beneath the island.
On the sides of the central pillar were four frames for the SpellStone. One of the frames had a green border. Putting two and two together, Spike inserted the SpellStone of Earth into its spot. The green gem glowed as it absorbed the magic from the vortex. It wasn’t enough to stop the flow of energy, but at it decreased by one-fourth. After the SpellStone was in place, there was another flash of green transporting magic and Spike and Tricky found themselves back in front of the Volcano Force Point Temple.
“Alright! One down,” Tricky cheered.
“And three to go,” Spike concluded. As the two walked back out into Moon Mountain Pass, they heard a voice traveling on the wind.
“Help me… Help me…” the voice whispered. The dragon and the dinosaur stopped and looked around for the source of the voice, but they couldn’t see anyone.
“Can you hear that?” Spike asked Tricky.
“Please help me…” the voice continued to plead. It sounded very familiar. It sounded like…
“Rarity!” Spike exclaimed, recognizing the voice of the mare he loved. Then a translucent figure appeared before them. It wore a red robe with a gold trimming. It had a broad collar and wore a headdress. It had a golden mask-like face with white glowing gems for eyes and another one in the center of its forehead.
“A Krazoa!” Tricky gasped in awe.
“Do you wish to accept our test?” the spirit questioned Spike.
“What is it talking about? What test?” the dragon asked.
“Help me… Help me…” Rarity’s voice echoed.
“I was released when she completed my test,” the spirit explained. “But she is now in great danger and for her to survive, you must continue what she has started and collect the remaining Krazoa Spirits for only the pure of heart can enter our shrines.”
“We can’t just stop now to help this stranger,” Tricky protested. “The island is falling apart!”
“Please…” Rarity’s voice sob. “Please… help me…”
“But she does sound like she’s in big trouble,” the Prince relented.
“Find the remaining five Krazoa shrines,” instructed the spirit as it motioned towards a narrow passage in the canyon wall. “Complete the test within each and bring the spirits to Krazoa Palace.”
“The Warp Stone can get you there!” Tricky told Spike.
“When all spirits are returned, she will be saved. She is depending on you… for her life,” the spirit emphasized before vanishing, leaving Spike and Tricky alone in the canyon.
“I guess we better help her,” Tricky commented.
“Hold on Rarity, I’m coming,” Spike promised.