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// Chapter 20: Dragon Quest 
// Story: The Seventh Element 
// by PaisleyPerson 
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Chapter 20
Dragon Quest


The day was slowly crawling by. All of my orders had already been filled and shipped out, leaving me without much work for the rest of the day. I resolved that I needed to work on the series of portraits I’d been doing of my friends. I’d long since completed Flipside Reflections of each of them, even including Discord, but now I was working on some I could actually present. I’d started with Rarity, then moved onto Rainbow, Applejack and Fluttershy. I only had two left, three if I did one of Discord, though in all honesty, I really wanted to paint Celestia next. So, I abandoned that project to start on the royal Princess’s image.
While I worked, Torchwood took the opportunity to impress me with his fire dancing skills. Thestral fire, like dragon fire, had certain magical properties. It could be manipulated less easily than dragon fire, but wasn’t necessarily hot. Hence, it was usually smokeless and typically felt warm and tingly, unless the thestral intended for it to burn. However, it took lots of training to be able to accomplish such things. It came more naturally to some than others. Torchwood excelled in this so much that he’d earned his cutie mark from it. We called such skill in manipulation ‘fire dancing.’ Few could do it.
I watched and laughed as figures appeared from the flames and danced around the shop. All flames were extinguished when the door opened.
“Hey, Rainbow,” I called from the back, stomping out a stray spark.
“Hey, guys. What’s up?”
“Absolutely nothing. You’ve saved me from my boredom! What can I do you for?”
“I just wanted to see if you two wanted to come watch the dragon migration this weekend. We’re getting a group together, so, you know, if you wanted to come...”
“Thanks for the offer, Rainbow, but Torchwood was going to take me himself.” This was our one chance all year to catch up with the dragons we knew. Thestrals got along with dragons better than with ponies, and Torchwood and I both wanted to visit with some friends there.
“Oh! Well, that’s okay... you guys have fun with that.”
“You too. Maybe next year. You guys still are coming to dinner with everypony, right?”
“Wouldn’t miss it,” Torchwood promised. With a satisfied nod, Rainbow left rather abruptly. “You know, we could’ve gone with them to watch.”
“Not if we wanted to get a chance to catch up with our friends. I don’t remember the last time I got to talk to Ignition and Sparks.”
“I’ll admit, it’s been a while since I’ve seen Flintstone,” Torchwood confessed.
“You want to leave bright and early?”
“I actually have a few things to catch up on in the morning, but we’ll have to leave right after lunch if we’re going to catch up with the dragons.”
“How does ten sound? We can have an early brunch before heading out.”
“That sounds fine. Oh, I have to go!” he looked at the clock behind me. “I promised Mr. Cake I could help deliver a particularly large catering order this evening.”
“See you at dinner?”
“You bet.” He quickly pecked me on the cheek before hurrying out.
I’d only received a few such gestures of affection in the entire eight months we’d been together. Though it wasn’t a real kiss, my heart fluttered every time I received one. I’d even summoned the courage to plant one of my own, once. I loved him. I loved him with all my heart. Though we hadn’t been together very long, I waited for him to ask the question. When and if he did, I’d say yes.





Dinner came and went; so did the sun. Time was slipping right between my hooves. Before I knew it, the sun was going down, and I found tidying up around the shop before it was time to head out. That is, until the bell jangled to let me know somepony had entered. Normally, I would have just called back to tell them we were closed, but it flew open with such force I felt the need to investigate. It wasn’t actually a somepony, but a somedragon. Spike was breathing hard, as though he’d been running.
“What’s wrong, Spike?”
“Acrylic, am I a lame dragon?”
“What?!”
“Be honest. Do you think I’m a lame dragon?”
“Why... of course not, Spike! Why would you think such a thing?”
“Rainbow Dash said so.”
“Oh, Spike, you know Rainbow.” I smiled and turned back to the bottles on the shelf.
“But then all the others agreed that I didn’t act like other dragons. If I don’t act like other dragons, then what am I?”
“But, why come to me with this? Why not Twilight?”
“She was there. And she doesn’t know anything about dragons. Aren’t you an expert on legendary creatures?”
“Sort of, but-”
“So do you know anything about dragons?”
“Well, sure...”
“Tell me! Tell me everything! Please, Acrylic? I need to know my destiny!”
“I’ll tell you what your destiny is, Spike. It’s to live alongside Twilight. To stay her number one assistant.”
“But other dragons don’t write letters, or shelve books, or cook meals for their friends, do they?”
“No, Spike.”
“You can’t know what’s it’s like not to know where you come from. Where you belong. All my life, I’ve been separated for my own kind. You can’t understand that.”
“But I do, Spike. I left my own kind.”
“Your own kind? But you’re an earth pony. There are plenty of others in Ponyville.”
“I mean kin. I left my own kin. Same difference. The point is, I know what it’s like to feel all alone, lost in the crowd. Misplaced in a world where you don’t belong. You’d like another dragon to confide in. I get that. Really, I do. I was thrilled when Torchwood came into my life. He makes me feel at home, even though I’m far away from my family. But I‘ll tell you something, Spike. This is your family, right here in Ponyville. This is where you belong.”
“I know that. But it’s easy for you to say. There’s no species difference.” He started skulking away, only to find Torchwood filling the doorway. 
“You might as well tell him.”
“Tell him what?”
“You know what.”
“But... you said...”
“I know what I said, but I think we can make an exception here.” Torchwood smiled down at the baby dragon. 
“What? Tell me what?”
“Spike, can you keep a secret?”
“What kind of a secret?”
“You have to Pinkie Pie Promise, and you can’t tell anypony, EVER. Not even Twilight, or Rarity, or the Princesses. No matter what. Lives could possibly hang in the balance. Can you do that?”
“Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye.” 
“And one more thing. Just... don’t freak out.” I looked back at Torchwood one more time for permission. He laughed at my uncertainty and took the lead. Spike flew across the floor and hid behind me at the first snap of bones. He peered out from between my legs in terror as Torchwood proudly spread his mighty wings. 
“Y-y-y-you...” he stuttered, clinging to me.
“It’s okay, Spike. I can do it too.”
“No... no...” was all that came out of his mouth. He backed away from me, bumping into the wall. I let my wings loose, and after giving Spike a quick look, folded them.
“It’s still me, Spike. I’m still Acrylic. This is who I’ve always been.”
“Please tell me this is some kind of cruel joke. Did Twilight put you up to this? I bet she knows some kind of weird dragon mutation spell or something...”
“Sorry, Spike. What you see is what you get.”
“But... you never told us!”
“I told Rainbow Dash.”
“You told Rainbow Dash and haven’t been discovered yet?”
“She can keep quiet when asked. But don’t tell her about Torchwood, okay? She only knows about me.”
“We’re thestrals, Spike. Born and raised in the Everfree.”
“The Everfree?”
“See how you reacted? Imagine what the others would say if they knew! And that’s not the worst. Equestria has a rather... unpleasant last memory of us. Thestrals are supposed to be extinct, and as far as everypony else knows, we still are. Do you understand, now?” His eyes searched the ground for answers, but at last, he snapped into a salute.
“You can count on me. I won’t tell anypony. Not even the Princess.”
“Thank you, Spike.”
“Now can I have a dragon story? You must be full of them, having dragon wings and all.”
“Well, Spike, we were just on our way out...”
“Oh, the dragons can wait, Acrylic. Let him hear one.”
“You haven’t seen the dragon migration yet? I hate to break it to you, but the dragons have already gone.”
“We know, Spike. We’re going to follow the migration and catch up with some old friends.”
“You know other dragons?! Can I come?”
“Whoa, there, Spike. Twilight would never agree to let you go tramping around with other wild dragons, and remember? She can’t know about us.”
“Well, I’ll convince her to let me go on my own. I can meet up with you.”
“That’s even more improbable. But, if you do somehow manage to convince her, you’re welcome to join us.”
“We’ll be spending the night there, so you have until tomorrow.”
“You’re spending the whole night with dragons? You have to let me come!”
“That’s up to Twilight, but just in case she says no, we can at least leave you with a story.” And so all three of us huddled up on the floor, then and there, making sure the windows were closed and the door was locked. 
“Where do we start?” Torchwood wondered aloud.
“Our dragon benefactors?” I suggested.
“Dragon what-nows?”
“Alright, but you start. I don’t quite remember how we came to know Flintstone’s family.”
“Okay, Spike. The first thing you have to understand is that not all dragons are rowdy, rough, fire breathing brutes. Some have soft spots, just like you. It’s especially common among mother dragons to be more sympathetic and kind than others. It was one such dragoness that first came across my great, great uncle. Her name was Ignition, but I’ve quite forgotten my uncle’s name.” I paused in thought in an attempt to recall the title. Giving up, I soon resumed my tale. “Anyway, he was just a colt at the time. He was trying to earn a cutie mark in exploring, but got himself lost in the process. When he came across Ignition, she brought him back to his parents. She was so fond of the young colt, and the parents were so grateful that Ignition was accepted as the family benefactor.”
“Whoa...” Spike breathed. Then his eyebrows furrowed. “One question: what is a dragon benefactor?”
“Oh, I’d nearly forgotten! Of course you wouldn’t know... silly me. A dragon benefactor is just a fancy word for a dragon who’s a family friend. The only real difference is that they feel they have a vow to look out for one another, usually because an old debt hangs in the balance. At this point, most have forgotten the debts they owe to the dragons or vice versa, but we still consider each other family. Some families might even have more than one benefactor due to inter-marriages. Ours was a relatively recently gained benefactor, so we only have three. That’s Ignition, her husband Sparks, and their son Garble. Though, we may have more than that by now. Ignition and Sparks were preparing to have their second clutch of eggs the last time I saw them. That was five years ago!”
“That’s so cool! So... does that make me Twilight’s dragon benefactor?”
“I guess it kinda does.”
“Alright, then it’s my turn, isn’t it? I’m afraid I don’t have a valiant tale like Acrylic; Flintstone’s been with our family for so many generations his connection to us was lost to time. Maybe we can ask him when we get there.”
“Speaking of which, we really need to leave if we want to get there before dark,” I reminded.”
“I’m afraid she’s right, Spike.” Torchwood stood, and so did Spike.
“Oh, that’s okay. But can you tell me more when you get back?”
“You bet, Spike. But if you somehow do convince Twilight to let you come, you’d be better off asking the dragons themselves. Most of them still remember how it happened, whereas the stories we tell are a little garbled after repeating them after so many generations.”
“Don’t worry! I’ll be there!” he promised. I chuckled, watching him dash out the door.
“You think he’ll really come?”
“If I know Spike, he’ll somehow convince Twilight,” I nodded. I turned my attention from Spike and swiveled to face Torch. “You ready?”
“Only if you are,” he winked, unfurling his wings. We checked once more to be sure the coast was clear, snuck into the woods behind Art Life, and took off.
It was nice to feel the wind ruffling my hair again. I’d become accustomed to letting my hair down before a flight to slightly mask my appearance, and it wasn’t a hard decision to leave my hat at home. If I’d taken it along, I risked it being burnt to a crisp by dragon fire or one of the many lava pits. While thestrals were fire resistant, the hat wasn’t. I was looking forward to a soak in the lava pits, too. 
It was a cloudy afternoon, and we had plenty of cover. The air was a little thinner up this high, so conversation was kept to a minimum. That didn’t bother us too much. We were focused on trying to see through the thick white blanket for familiar landmarks, or better yet, the dragons themselves. Nopony should be watching this far out, especially if they knew dragons were nearby. Even if they were, it would be easy enough for us to slip into the thick swarm. Our dragon wings would disguise us to the untrained eyes.
We didn’t dare come out of the clouds even we caught the occasional glance of a spine, a tail or a wing. Torchwood finally led us down into a dive when the crackle of flames was heard and smoke drifted up to us. At first, we dove into a patch of young ones who had probably never even heard of a thestral, let alone seen one. These dragons weren’t too keen on flying alongside any kind of pony, and we received a few angry shrieks and even a few stray fire blasts. Torchwood appropriately retorted with a lashing of orange-green flame himself. After that, the young ones let it go, but gave us a wide girth. Fortunately, we were soon able to push ahead to the older dragons, which also meant familiar faces. Those were more than happy to provide extra cover, and the rest of our trip went smoothly.