Twilight lay in a sweaty heap at Fluttershy’s feet, shaking her fist at the small drake atop the yellow dragon’s head. “I know you were cheating, but that was low!”
Ice heart slid down his grand-daughter’s crest and walked over to Twilight. There was a large red bump on his forehead, and he rubbed it gingerly. “I should say the same thing to you, brat! Who said you could use rocks?”
“You never said I couldn’t!” The hatchling wobbled back onto her feet. “Now, keep your promise.”
Ice Heart crossed his arms. “So, you figured out my little trick?”
Twilight took the same pose. “Of course I did, how do you think I caught you?”
Ice Heart pointed at the hatchling. “You didn’t catch me, the rock did!”
Again, Twilight copied the drake’s action. “You’re just being a sore loser!”
Fluttershy closed her eyes and shook her head as the two continued to argue. Under her breath, she muttered, “Honestly, if didn’t know better, I’d think they were twins.” She cleared her throat loudly to get their attention, and stepped forward. “Why don’t you let me handle this?”
Applejack tilted her hat back and scratched her forehead. “Handle what, Sugarcube? There ain’t much goin’ on right now.”
Fluttershy’s eyes widened as she looked around. To her right, Rainbow Dash was sitting on Tank’s head, talking to him like a long lost friend even though they’ve only been apart for less than a week. To her left, Chrysalis was dealing with her boredom by scratching graffiti into a small ruin wall. In front of her, Applejack was sitting calmly, seemingly undisturbed by the lack of activity.
“He teleported me!” The yellow dragin made a noise that was halfway between a groan and stifled shout, and stomped away. “That drake is impossible!”
Applejack chuckled and pushed her hat over her eyes. She then laid down with her head on her claws. “Eeyup.”
Twilight’s claws rested on her hips, and her lips twisted to the side as her snout scrunched up. “You’re not wearing a watch, you know.”
“Shut up,” Ice Heart commanded calmly as he continued to stare at his wrist. “It helps me keep track of time.”
“Without a watch?”
“Even without a watch. Try it sometime.”
Twilight rolled her eyes. “What are you keeping track of anyway?”
The drake looked up from his wrist. “My grand-daughter is going to yell at me in approximately seven seconds.” He held up his claws and started counting down.
The hatchling raised an eyebrow. “That’s pretty specific.”
Ice Heart smiled. “Isn’t it though?” He reached the end of his countdown and frowned. “Hmm, I guess it was a bit off.”
“Grandpa!”
Ice Heart turned around. “Moonbeam!” he called happily. “You’re late, but it’s nice of you to join us.”
“Don’t give me that!” Fluttershy stormed up to the drake. “Teleport me like that one more time, and I’m going to start carrying around one of dad’s magic nullifiers.”
He put his claws up in a placating gesture. “Alright, alright, I won’t do it again. Relax.” He pointed over his shoulder at Twilight. “The kid’s about to explain how she caught me.”
Twilight blinked. “I am? Wait, does this mean you admit that I caught you?”
Ice Heart shrugged. “Sure, why not?”
“What do you mean, why not?” Twilight asked angrily. “I caught you fair and square. Admit defeat already!”
Fluttershy shook her head slowly. “He’s not going to, Twilight. You may as well just tell us how you figured out his trick.”
“Fine.” The hatchling shot the drake one last angry look. “At first, I thought he was doing something to speed himself up, like Spike’s spell to make himself tougher, but then I realized he was using teleportation.”
Ice Heart nodded. “Good reasoning. I modified the iron-scale spell to the iron-fur spell for Spike, and taught it to him. I’m not exactly a stranger to capability enhancement magic, but I wouldn’t say it’s my strong point. As for teleportation, now that is my specialty. I can jump from place to place as easily as most dragons breathe.”
Twilight crossed her claws in front of her. “But you weren’t teleporting yourself, you were teleporting me.”
“Of course I was," Ice heart said as he teleported himself to his right. “You were watching me closely, trying to figure out what I was doing. You would have noticed that. But, you were so focused on me that you didn’t even realize that I was pushing you backwards every other step.”
"I figured it out after I tried to pick up that first rock. Just before I could grab it, I was pushed back." The hatchling smiled smugly. "After that, it was easy to catch you."
"You've got some smarts, kid." Ice heart raised a claw to his mouth, and lowered his voice to a staged whisper. "It took Spike two months to figure that out." He hopped up on a nearby rock like it was a stage, and took a proud pose. "Now, as promised, I will explain what I meant by angels."
He held the pose for about a few seconds, then hopped off the rock. "Moonbeam, you're up."
Fluttershy sighed and walked over to Twilight. She sat down in front of the hatchling and quietly asked, "Twi, do you know the lightbringer spell?"
The tiny purple dragon nodded. "I haven't used it in a long time, but Rarity taught it to me years ago."
The yellow dragin opened her wings and brought them in front of her. She clasped the tips together as if she was trying to hold something. "It looks like this, right?" In a fluid, sweeping motion, she pulled her wings apart, leaving a glowing sphere that slowly drifted towards the ground.
Twilight stared in wonder and disbelief as the orb of light hit the ground and rolled towards her. "You... can use magic?"
Fluttershy nodded. "All dragons can use magic. Magic dragons differ in that they have direct control over their magic, meaning they have the ability to learn spells. Certain flying dragons can do that too. I am one of them, as is Rainbow Dash. Though, I'm not sure she is aware of it."
Ice heart walked up besides his grand-daughter. "That's right. These flying dragons are called angel dragons, have been for centuries. They are quite rare, and can be identitied by the feathered wings." He pointed at Twilight. "You know two of them, and therefore have two more options for your magical training."
Twilight scratched her chin. "Actually, I think it's three. Scootaloo has feathers too."
"Another friend, eh?" Iceheart chuckled and crossed his arms. "Perfect, ask them to help you."
Fluttershy leaned down and whispered to him, "Grandpa, Scootaloo is three years younger than Twilight."
The small drake blinked a few times, then shrugged. "Or, don't ask them to help. Either one's fine." He cleared his throat. "Anyway, the important thing is for you to not give up on magic. It can hurt, it can heal, but it must always be controlled. Going back to the seed metaphor, you must cultivate your magic carefully once it sprouts."
Twilight mulled it over for a moment. "How?"
Ice heart walked over to a small tree. It was almost a shrub, stunted and twisted as it grew in the scant purchase afforded by Tank's shell. "Look at this thing. It's struggling just to stay alive. A gardner would probably prune it back a bit. Or, he might add some dirt and plant food." He pointed at the grass and clover-like ground cover surrounding it. "But those smaller plants are doing just fine. They're smaller, but there's more of them." He looked back at Twilight. "There are thousands of types of plants, and even more ways to arrange them in a garden. Your magic is your garden, and you have to decide how to tend it. Do you carve the topiary into rabbits or birds? Do you focus on flowers, or foliage? Do you have a few large plants, or countless smaller ones? No dragon can make those choices but you."
Twilight groaned as she listened. She was starting to understand, but did he have to dress up every answer like a Kung Fu Tzu quote? "I would probably learn this faster if you explained it like an instruction manual. Less metaphor, and more technical details."
"There is no instruction manual!" The drake crossed his arms. "I just got through explaining that." He scratched his face, his claw making a rough sound against his cheek. "Unless you're talking about individual spells. You can get manuals for those." He went back to his previous pose and shouted, "But, uh..." Something distracted him mid-shout. "Um, not for magic in general." A faint glow on the horizon had caught his eye, and for a moment, he forgot the two dragons with him. "Of all places, it's gonna show up here?"
The hatchling shook her head. This was just getting more and more confusing. "So, what do I do?"
Ice Heart shook his head and looked over at his grand-daughter. "Is she deaf or something? I just told her that she has to make those decisions for herself." He walked over to Twilight and gave the annoyed hatchling a little pat on the head. "Anyway, I've got to go. I'm sure you'll figure it out, but I can't work with a brat that can't even listen to simple explanations. Good luck, kid, and take care of Spike for me."
"Simple? What part of anything you said was simple?" Twilight shouted at the empty air where Ice Heart once stood. After a moment, yellow fur stepped in to fill the void he left.
Fluttershy sighed quietly and leaned down, gently nudging the fuming hatchling to get her attention. "Why don't you let me help you with one of your spells. We can start with something basic."
Twilight looked up with a wide smile. The frustrations that Ice Heart had brought were already forgotten in the midst of her eager anticipation. "Ok! I know which one I want to do!"
Sand. It was hot during the day, and cold at night. And it never stayed in one place. Whether it was shifting under one’s weight, or blowing on the wind, these tiny grains of stone were always on the move. Yet, for all its fickle nature, there was one undeniable constant when it came to sand. That constant was the crunch. The inescapable feel of grit between the teeth. It didn't matter how big you were, sand would eventually find its way between your teeth.
The wind died down, and Celestia took the opportunity to spit. She was somewhere in the southern wastelands, about forty leagues south of the Tartarus gate. A sandstorm had halted her progress, and she was about half-buried from weathering it. As she wriggled herself free from the small sea of sand engulfing her, she kept spitting. As much as she had tried to keep her mouth clamped shut, sand had made its way in.
"You're lucky there's no dragon around to see you."
She looked down at the small drake that was now sitting on her shoulder. He had his scarf wrapped around his mouth like a mask. She then gave one last defiant spit, taking a little extra time to work it up good and wet. "You think I care?"
Ice heart shook his head. There was only one reason why Draconica's princess would be this abrasive. "You went to see him, didn't you?"
Fed up with slowly crawling out of the sand, Celestia spread her wings and started flapping. Another sandstorm began, spreading away from the largest dragon known to exist, who now served as a perch for one of the smallest. She was free of the would-be tomb in seconds, and shook herself to rid her fur and scales of lingering sand. "I was sorely tempted to put out his other eye."
Ice heart sighed to himself. She did go, even after promising not to. "Just try to remember what happened to me."
"An eye for an eye." Celestia shrugged, nearly dislodging the smaller dragon. "It's kind of hard to forget your brother-in-law showing up in the middle of court drenched in his own blood."
The drake nodded. "I should hope so. Heaven forbid I do anything mundane."
"Speaking of the unforgettable things you do..." Celestia looked down at him, narrowing her eyes in suspicion. "Why did you come here? I'm relatively certain it wasn't to talk me out of inflicting pain on that monster."
"As much as I would like to see that, I don't want to see the price you would pay for it." Ice Heart sat cross-legged and rested his claws on his knees. "No, I just wanted to let you know that I visited Dragonspire."
The princess laughed happily and started walking. She needed some good news right about now. "You just couldn't leave my poor Spike alone, could you? You had to check in on him. So, how is he? I already know that he met Twilight. And, it seems he's been having a good time for the most part."
"There's a lot more going on than just that." He lifted a claw and started counting things off on his fingers. "That Twilight brat was suppressing her magic. There is another angel dragon living there besides my grand-daughter. That dragon also happens to be from Casull. She also knows things about the old war that we don't." Upon reaching the end of his claw-counting capability, Ice Heart just reversed the direction he counted in. "There are ancient creatures roaming around. There are completely unknown creatures roaming around. The unknown creature seems to know something about ponies. The unknown creature also refers to itself as a queen. On top of that, it seems to have a crush on Spike. But, Spike has a crush on one of the dragons. Oh, yeah, this may be important, but the dragon that Spike has a crush on happens to be the same dragon you've had me searching for these last hundred years or so."
Celestia stopped in her tracks. "The earthmate?" she asked urgently. "She's been found?"
Ice Heart nodded. "It's the brat's caretaker."
"Rarity?" Celestia sighed quietly. "This may cause problems. According to the letters, Rarity and Spike seemed to share some mutual feelings. It would be wonderful for Spike to have a meaningful romantic relationship, but we can not allow it to reach the point where the earthmate's powers are transferred."
"Actually..." Ice Heart chuckled. "Here's where it gets interesting. The Temple of Awakening has already appeared."
Celestia's eyes went wide with bewilderment. "When?" she shouted. "For that matter, where?" She shook her head. "I don't believe this!" She tromped around in a circle and sat in the sand. This was years ahead of schedule. "The Earth King has returned?"
"Well, it's not so much that he returned," the drake said in a hesitant singsong. "Rather, you had him gift-wrapped and delivered."
Celestia blinked. He couldn't mean... "Spike?"
Ice Heart nodded. "Spike."
The princess repeated it one more time, as if to confirm it. "Spike is the Earth King?"
Ice Heart shrugged. "I told you he had potential."