//------------------------------// // 84. Dragon Quest - Part 2 // Story: Blaze the Pony Tale // by Wolven5 //------------------------------// The next morning, Midnight ran into Soarin and Blueblood. “Hey guys, where are you off to?” “We thought we’d go check on Spike,” Soarin said. “After… yesterday, we just wanted to be sure he’s doing okay.” “Rarity wanted to come herself but I insisted to her she might unintentionally stoke the flames of Spike’s ire further,” Blueblood added. “Yeah, Dash wanted to come too,” Soarin agreed. “But I got her to go see Rarity and have breakfast.” “Well, let’s go,” Midnight said as he led the way to the library. But as they approached the library, the door flew open and who else but Spike would be stepping out… with a classic bag on a stick hanging over his shoulder, signifying he was leaving. “Spike!” Midnight and the guys galloped up to him. “You’re running away?” “No, guys, relax,” Spike growled. “I’m not running away.” “He’s going to join the dragon migration,” Twilight explained as she stepped through the threshold behind Spike. “Late last night, we woke up and decided to look through my books for anything about dragons but…” You didn’t find anything?” Blueblood asked. “No! It seems dragons are just too rare and too scary for anypony to talk to or study,” Twilight sighed. “Which is why I have to go on this quest of self-discovery!” said Spike rather dramatically. “I need to find out what it means to be a dragon and that’s only gonna work if I spend time among them!” “Spike, that’s nuts!” Soarin gaped at him. “You could get hurt!” “I must agree,” Blueblood added. “Think of Rarity, she’d be devastated were you to come to harm!” “I’ve made up my mind,” Spike said in a tone of finality as he stepped past the guys. They watched him leave and when he was out of earshot, Midnight asked Twilight, “You’re really not gonna stop him?” “He needs this, Midnight,” Twilight sighed woefully. “I’ve raised Spike since that day he was given to me as an egg, but I never took the time to find out where he came from! I at least owe him my blessing to go on this quest of his… But he won’t be going alone.” “You’re gonna follow him?” Blueblood asked. “No, you guys are gonna follow him,” Twilight corrected with a sneaky look. A look so foreboding the guys couldn’t help but gulp nervously. “But don’t worry, you don’t actually have to accompany Spike,” Twilight assured them, “Just watch over him from afar, and make sure he gets where he’s going. In the meantime, I’m gonna contact an old friend…” “Whoozat?” Midnight asked as Twilight went back into the library. “You’ll know him when you see him,” she answered before she magic'd the door shut. The guys all looked at each other and sighed. Spike was well on his way as he followed the dragon migration… on foot, that is. He hadn’t grown his wings in yet although he wasn’t even sure if he’d ever grow wings! Neither wind nor rain nor sleet nor hale would bar this little dragon’s trail. Over the next few days, Spike had to wonder. What would he find? What would the dragons be like? Would they have the answers he sought? It was that ambition to answer his questions that drove his little feet forward, no matter how much it ached and how infrequent the breaks. Finally, he stepped out of a thick wood and beheld a volcanic region just outside the border of Equestria! It took some doing, but Spike finally managed to climb up a volcano and gasped at the view. Dragons galore, everywhere you looked they were there. While the adult dragons looked too… busy to be bothered with Spike’s curiosity (given one almost barbecued him) he noticed further in, surrounded by heaps of gemstones… “Teenage dragons, alright!” Spike hurried down towards. “Now that’s more my speed.” Unbeknownst to Spike, three eyes watched him head down, those eyes belonging to three invisible presences. "Are you sure these invisibility charms of yours will work?” "They’ll conceal us from being seen but they won’t keep our presences totally hidden. They only make us invisible, so these scalies could still smell or hear us.” “So we should keep our muzzles shut for the time being, guys. By the way, when is that guy Twilight told us about supposed to appear?” “She said he’d be here before Spike arrives, so he should already be somewhere about. As far as I know, he’ll step in as soon as Spike needs his help.” At that moment however, Spike did indeed need help, as the teenaged dragons he’d approached were picking on him. Particularly, a red dragon named Garble, as he grabbed Spike and held him up by the tail, saying, “…at least he would if he had any wings! Ha-ha-ha!” The teenaged dragons were so caught up in their bullying they didn’t see a green blur until it was too late, as it zoomed straight into Garble’s stomach, making him ‘oof ‘ and double-over in silent groaning. The blur then zipped about, tripping up or smacking down the other teenaged dragons until it settled next to Spike, a flurry of green flames dispersing to reveal a lime-green pony stallion with a flaming red mane and blazing blue eyes, his cutie-mark an emerald-green sword. But he was no ordinary pony, for he had the horns and wings of a dragon, his tail serpentine with a darker green and red flame-shaped frill at the end, his eyes were reptilian like Spike’s, and a pair of fangs poked out from his upper lip. The teenaged dragons all gasped, as did Spike as he said, “Emerald Blaze…?!” “Hey Spike, what’s up?” he responded in a friendly way, the other teenaged dragons all gasping. Garble stood up, rubbing his aching stomach as he groaned, “You… know this little guy, Emerald Blaze?” “Yeah, and it appears to me you guys and my boy Spike were having some kind of problem…” Emerald Blaze’s eyes narrowed dangerously at the dragons, making them all shrink back in intimidation. “Oh no, no, EB,” Garbled chuckled nervously. “We were just, uh… welcoming… Spike! Yeah, showing him the ropes an’ all?” “Yeah? Well why don’t you show me just how fast you can run away?” Emerald Blaze said threateningly. “Y’know… before I skin you all alive and wear your sorry hides as dragon-skin belts and the like.” The teenaged dragons all whimpered as they suddenly made tracks and flapped on out of there, much to Spike’s amazement. “So Spike, what brings you here?” Emerald Blaze asked, facing the little dragon. “Well, uh… See, I’ve been… having identity issues lately,” Spike explained the whole thing, not knowing emerald Blaze had already gotten the story from his old friend Twilight Sparkle and had come on the dragon migration to watch over Spike for her as a favor. But he needed to sound curious, as simply taking Spike’s presence for granted might make him look suspicious. “I see,” Emerald Blaze nodded. “Well, Spike, if there’s anything you wanna know about dragons, I’m your guy. You don’t wanna hang out with the likes of Garble and his bunch of boulderheads.” “Speaking of them,” Spike brought up, “how come they looked so afraid of you?” “Because I’ve already established quite a reputation among the dragon community,” Emerald Blaze gestured Spike to walk with him. “See, after a while working as a wandering Royal Guard for the princess, I decided I needed to learn more about my… reptilian side. So I decided to live among and study dragons, partly to learn more about myself and also to share my findings and research with other ponies, as I’m sure you’re aware, the pony community’s understanding of dragons is quite lacking.” Spike recalled how Twilight’s entire library had next to nothing on dragons, and nodded. “So I’ve lived among them this past decade, Spike,” Emerald Blaze went on as he spread his leathery wings, and Spike gasped at the view before them. “Learning their ways, discovering their secrets, finally understanding the full extents of my power! I managed to meet a dragon who was not so ferocious enough to accept me as a… student, if you will. My master showed me abilities I never knew I had, and when I mastered my powers I challenged some dragons to various contests they practice and compete in within their culture, and came out on top in almost every single one of them!” “So that’s why Garble and those guys respect you?” Spike looked up at Emerald Blaze as though he were a shining monument! “Mm-hmm,” Emerald Blaze said proudly. “I’ve even begun to teach a few dragon hatchlings about ponies, as it’s my hope that someday dragons and ponies can live in harmony with each other instead of completely avoiding the other.” “Wow…!” Spike was in serious danger of beginning hero-worship. “Now, if you want to learn more about being a dragon,” Emerald Blaze said, “you’re gonna have to be well-rested, so go find a place to nap or something, and when you awaken we’ll get started on your training. You’re gonna need it.” “Yessir!” Spike saluted before scampering off. As Emerald Blaze watched him go, he chuckled, “So Twilight sent you guys to keep an eye on Spike?” The three presences hid by a cluster of rocks behind Emerald Blaze. “How did you know we were here?” “If you’ve learned to use your senses like I do,” Emerald said with a smirk, “you’ll find your ears and nose can be more reliable than your eyes. Anyway, don’t worry about Spike. So long as he’s with me, those jerks won’t come near him. I plan to give Spike quite a workout, perhaps to the point where he either decides to go home after having had enough or until he gets the idea that what he is does not make him who he is…”