“Success!” Trixie’s voice echoed around the very cavern Twilight had described.
Sunset attempted to look around, but nearly hit her head on a large wooden object.
“Hey, you brought a Blue Giant crate!” she exclaimed.
“Of course,” Trixie grinned. “That army of dragons is spreading across Equestria. We’d be doomed without these vegetables.”
“And that dragon who froze us knows you three are with the pony they’re after,” said Twilight. “We really should…”
She stepped on something and slipped. She looked down and discovered that she’d trodden on some rubies.
“Oh. Gemstones,” she smiled. “You’ve got something to eat as well, Spike.”
When her eyes found Spike, her jaw dropped. Spike must have been face to face with a mountain of jewels since they’d teleported into the cave. Queen Chrysalis had said that these caves were once used to imprison a group of thugs who’d stolen a plethora of gemstones. Twilight hadn’t seen them when she’d found Candace before the Royal Wedding, and she never imagined that there were this many in here.
“Dibs!” Spike yelled in a deep voice.
Twilight’s heart raced. Surely Spike wasn’t going to go through a maturity spurt again.
“What’s this?” asked Sunset.
“Dragon’s get bigger and greedier as they age!” Twilight cried. “He beat his genetics once before, but…”
It seemed Spike stood no chance of controlling his sense of greed with a pile of shiny gemstones the size of Dodge City twinkling in front of his face. Not even when they’d encountered the Diamond Dogs had he been in the vicinity of so many rubies, sapphires and emeralds. Right before the ponies’ eyes, he increased in size as he continued to gaze at the wall of jewels in front of him.
“I’m king of the hoard!” he roared at the top of his voice.
Twilight shook. Her right wing was throbbing, her horn was aching, and from what she’d seen from within her icy enclosure, any spell from Sunset would probably be ineffectual. As for Trixie, was taking evasive measures behind the Blue Giant crate. So Twilight did the only thing she could think of in the face of her massive baby dragon pal.
“Sure! They’re all yours!” she called. “We don’t want them! You can have them! You can have them all!”
The last time Spike had succumbed to congenital dragon greed, Twilight and the others had tried to prevent him from hoarding so many things, and this seemed to aggravate him and turn him against his friends. This time, when Twilight told him he could have what he wanted, Spike’s smile wasn’t nearly as disturbing as it had been the first time he’d expanded.
“Thanks, Twi,” he said in his deep, maturer voice.
Then, as soon as Twilight realized there was an addition to the huge list of risks in her plan, it happened. Spike’s large green eyes fell upon the crate of Blue Giant Vegetables. But then he looked around at his sea of gemstones again and waved his hand in an indifferent manner.
Twilight perked up. “Can we… do you mind if we keep those vegetables?”
“Sure,” Spike purred. “I’ve got everything I want already.”
Twilight exhaled a relieved sigh. Spike seemed to be in check despite his greed transforming him.
Sunset watched and Trixie peaked around the crate as Spike began to munch on some assorted jewels.
“What now?” asked Sunset.
“Maybe…” thought Twilight. “Maybe he could help us take on the invaders. Maybe he could cover us while we go to the Crystal Castle and free everypony inside.”
“I could do that,” boomed Spike, his mouth full of semi-chewed amethysts.
“Would you?” asked Twilight, putting on his sweetest smile.
“Why not? Hey, you three can practise your stunning spells on me,” Spike offered.
“Oh! Are you sure?” Twilight asked.
“You could use the practise,” nodded Spike. “Especially you, Sunset.”
Sunset went a bit red. “Well, I did say I’m kind of out of practise.”
“I wouldn’t say that,” said Twilight. “You’re teleportation spells were done very well.”
“Stunning spells are harder,” Sunset replied. “I do need to work on mine. You’re sure you’re OK with us attacking you, Spike?”
“Hey, you guys let me have all these delicious gems,” shrugged Spike.
The giant baby dragon clambered down the mound he’d been sitting on and stood before the ponies.
“Go ahead,” he said. “Hit me with your best shot.”
“Ah!”
Trixie stepped out from behind the crate and walked towards Spike with a cocky smirk.
“Let’s see if the Great and Honourable Spike the Brave and Glorious can withstand the might of the Great and Powerful Trrrrrixie!”
Twilight and Sunset gasped as Spike staggered backwards and partially disappeared in the pile of jewels.
“What in Celestia’s name are you doing?!” shrieked Twilight.
“I merely accepted his challenge,” insisted Trixie.
Some gems were sent flying from the pile and a massive purple thumbs-up popped up.
“He’s alright,” said Sunset.
“Yeah, I’ll be fine,” Spike said from within the pile. “Give me a minute before whoever’s next takes her turn.”
They heard crunching and knew Spike was eating more gems.
“Spike,” said Twilight, walking up to the pile. “If you’re really OK with us shooting spells at you, then I think we’ll wait for a bit before more practising. Some of us need to rest.”
Spike sat up, the faintest bruise visible on his chest.
“Oh, that’s right. How’s your wing?” he asked.
“Still sore,” said Twilight, rubbing her right wing.
“OK, sure, have a rest,” said Spike. “And get your hooves off my jewels!”
Twilight realised she was standing on a flat sapphire and promptly stepped backwards.
“Thank you,” said Spike more calmly.
Twilight looked at Spike. She had a horrible feeling that she might not be able to keep Spike’s usual personality from dissolving if she let him embrace his dragon genetics. But as Spike’s demeanour was much more subdued than it had been last time, she thought she’d absorb the risk.
“So, I hear you’re a good cook,” Trixie spoke up.
She magiced the crate open. At first, they all thought it was empty.
“I think you took the lightest load,” Sunset remarked when she peered inside and saw less than twenty blue vegies sitting inside the crate.
Despite the crisis, the Royal Sisters hadn’t neglected their duties. Through the haze of the Horeb Fire engulfing the exterior of the castle, Luna and Celestia could see the moon in the early morning sky. Luna’s magic lowered the moon, and Celestia’s magic raised the sun. When they looked down, they thought they saw the Crystal Heart spin just a little faster. But with an army of dragons around, there was no way the crystal ponies were anywhere near content.
“Keep it up, you two,” came a voice.
Sinomen’s face filled the gap between Horeb flames.
“It’s all you’re good for now,” she sneered. “We’re running this land now. We’re gonna find Princess Twilight and Applejack. You’ll be all be stuck here for the rest of your lives.”
Celestia’s and Luna’s faces fell as Sinomen clambered back down from the tower. The royals and the guards had made a valiant effort to fight off the dragons as they imprisoned them in the castle, but the Horeb fire was so hot, and they were outnumbered four to one. The temperature was making everypony sweaty, and all the food supplies they had in the Crystal Castle were getting cooked. And the chances of the dragons reimbursing their captives were zero. The situation for Cadance and Shining Armour was much like it was when King Sombra and the Crystal Empire returned. Cadance was using her magic to spread love and light to the crystal ponies so that their morale wouldn’t be completely destroyed. And Shining Armour was trying to cast a force field spell not to keep creatures from entering, but from leaving. Nopony wanted the invaders to spread out beyond Equestria and recruit native dragons to build up their army. Surprisingly, it seemed to be working. They have heard dragons reporting to Wrecks that they cannot seem to leave the country. It seemed Shining’s shield spell was a force to be reckoned with. Despite this, escaping the fire-enclosed castle wasn’t a good option. The castle was still being watched by dragons around the clock.
A scroll appeared out of nowhere in front of Princess Celestia. Her face lit up for the first time in hours.
“A message from Twilight,” she beamed at her sister.
The sisters walked away from the hazy window so as not to be spotted by any dragons, and Celestia opened the scroll. At first, it appeared to be one of the dragons’ composite sketches of Twilight and Applejack. But when they turned the sheet over, there was a message written in some sort of blue liquid.
“My dearest Princess Celestia,
I hope with all my heart that no one in the castle and the Crystal Empire has been harmed by this invasion. I am safely hidden with Spike, Sunset Shimmer and Trixie Lulamoon. We are all recovering and working to fight off the dragons. In case the invaders get a hold of this message, I won’t say where we are or what we’re doing to strengthen our magic. We have not been able to figure out why the portal opened, but with any luck, we’ll be able to take on the dragons and send them back where they came from. Goodbye and stay safe.
Your faithful and loyal friend,
Twilight Sparkle.”
Unfortunately, Princess Celestia’s spirits weren’t lifted too high. After the dragons had secured the castle, one of the smaller dragons walked through and removed all the paper and quills in the building. Twilight’s message and the composite sketches had taken up this whole sheet. There was nothing they could use to send a reply to Twilight.
“I shall have to wait until Twilight Sparkle is asleep and fill her in on news from our end in her dream,” said Luna.
“It seems this is our only option,” nodded Celestia. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I shall pass this news on to Twilight’s friends.”
“Funny,” Luna said before Celestia walked away. “She says she does not know why the portal is open. A judgemental pony might say that she herself is responsible for it.”
“Well done, Spike,” Trixie complimented. “These vegetables are much more befitting. Without your flavourful fire, they normally taste like apple skins.”
“What’s wrong with that?” asked Sunset.
“EVERYTHING!”
The ponies had Blue Giants for dinner last night and now for breakfast this morning. Spike had been helping himself to fistfuls of gemstones at his leisure. Twilight’s wing was now feeling much better. They were using the wood from the crate as kindling for their bonfires, and whilst breaking it apart, Sunset found a sheet of paper on which manufacturing information was printed. The back was blank, so they had a second sheet they could use if they needed to send another message to Princess Celestia.
“Alright, we’ve rested enough,” decided Trixie now that they’d finished all but nine of the Blue Giants. “Shall we begin training?”
“Yeah, I’m game,” said Spike after swallowing the diamonds he was chewing. “Twilight, how about you go first?”
“Spike, I’m having second thoughts,” admitted Twilight.
“Come on, Twilight. I don’t mind you attacking me,” insisted Spike. “Look at me. I’m indestructible now. Trixie’s spell last night didn’t really hurt me. I know you’re like ten times more powerful than her…”
Twilight avoided looking at Trixie.
“But like I said, you need to practise if you’re gonna stand a chance against all those dragons,” Spike finished.
Nothing anyone could say made Twilight feel less weird shooting a stunning spell at her trusty assistant, but no matter how many times she did it that day, Spike didn’t get severely injured or so angry he went on a rampage. The results of Twilight’s Blue Giant consumption were evident in the ferocity of her attacks. Trixie, who’d been eating those vegetables long before now, was definitely producing the most effective stunning spells. But every time Sunset’s turn came about, Spike never so much as said “Ow.”
“Tell you what, Sunset Shimmer,” Trixie grinned. “You shall take two turns in a row each round.”
“I don’t care,” Spike said, picking himself up after a blast from Twilight.
“I guess you do need more training than us,” Twilight agreed.
Sunset said nothing. She just fired another lackluster stun spell at Spike, who shook it off as though he’d had a clump of flour thrown at him.
“You’re sure we’re not hurting you, Spike?” asked Twilight for the umpteenth time.
“I’m not,” sulked Sunset.
“All you’re doing is knocking me down,” Spike replied. “And that’s all you gotta do when you’re up against the invaders. Relax.”
With that, Twilight waited for her next turn and shot another stunning spell at Spike. This time, Spike yelled out as he fell on the heap of jewels behind him.
“Oh, no!” cried Twilight.
She ran to the sprawled dragon.
“Get away from my jewels!” barked Spike.
Twilight backtracked at once and watched nervously as Spike sat up.
“I keep telling you. I’m fine,” Spike hissed. “Don’t worry.”
You’re not fine, thought Twilight. You’re about to burst. I can feel it.
Trixie knew the same time-keeping spell that Minuette did, so she was able to tell everyone how long they’d been training. When evening came, the ponies stopped what they were doing and had themselves a dinner of two Blue Giants each, having decided to save the last three for breakfast the next day before coming out of hiding and taking on the dragons in the Crystal Empire. Despite her lack of progress, Sunset didn’t take Twilight or Trixie up on their offers of extra veggies. Twilight had an awful thought before they all turned in. What if giant Spike was too obsessed with his mountains of gems to leave the cave, and Twilight, Sunset and Trixie had to head for the Crystal Castle themselves? She didn’t say anything on the subject though as she, like everyone else, was exhausted and wanted to get to sleep.
With so many thoughts swirling around in her head, Twilight’s dream was rather nondescript until Princess Luna appeared.
“I commend you for avoiding capture, Twilight Sparkle,” she smiled.
Twilight beamed. “Thank you for coming, Princess Luna! How are things at the Crystal Castle?”
“Not good, but not bad either,” answered Luna. “Firstly, nopony has been attacked directly. In the castle, we’ve been separated by Horeb Fire. Myself, Celestia, Rarity, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy are on one side, Shining Armour, Cadance and Pinkie Pie are on the other. I believe the dragons are dividing our imprisonment so that you and your friends cannot use your Rainbow Power if they manage to capture you and Applejack.”
“What about the Crystal Heart?” asked Twilight.
“It is perhaps spinning at its slowest rate ever, but do not despair. It hasn’t stopped,” Luna replied. “Cadance’s magic is still holding out. The same goes for Shining Armour’s magic. It would appear as though he alone is keeping the dragons from looking for others to join their ranks.”
“Wow,” remarked Twilight. “I never doubted he deserved to be the Captain of the Royal Guard, but I never knew his shield magic was that good.”
“Nor did he,” Luna said. “He is surprised, but not disappointed. Now, you said in your letter that you do not know why the portal to the alternate world is open.”
“That’s right,” nodded Twilight. “Have you figured it out?”
“I have. I am sure you recall what happened to the moon with the interference of Tuckaway, Golden Oaks’ former librarian,” said Luna.
Twilight remembered the long-lasting night that had driven everypony crazy.
“The moon’s cycle went wrong because it was stuck in the sky for over a week?” she asked.
“Indeed,” said Luna. “The cycle has gone awry and now the portal will be open for another d--”
“Twilight!” hissed Sunset’s voice. “Wake up.”
Luna disappeared. In her place were Sunset and Trixie. Spike was standing up behind them and looking over their heads at Twilight as she was jerked out of sleep. She saw that all three were looking alarmed.
“They’re coming,” Sunset hissed. “Wrecks and Sinomen. I heard their voices. They’ve found the cave. I think they might be gem hunting or something.”
“You three gotta hide,” said Spike softly. “Get behind that pile. But don’t take any jewels.”
“We won’t,” whispered Twilight as Trixie and Sunset ushered her behind a pile of glittering gemstones.
“I’ll try telling them I live down here and let them know that this is my hoard,” Spike whispered to the ponies before they were out of sight.
About a minute after Twilight, Sunset and Trixie were hidden and Spike had kicked the leftover kindling and Blue Giant Vegetables away, Rarity appeared from behind a corner. Spike’s pupils inflated like half-chewed unripe zap apples. Rarity had plainly been coerced into using her gem-finding spell to locate food for the invaders. Her horn was emitting a bright blue light.
“Yes, there are thousands of gems down here,” Spike heard her call in an aggravated voice, “but I believe someone is living here.”
She didn’t recognise giant Spike before, and she didn’t now.
“Go away!” Spike called, deliberately making his voice deeper than it already was.
Rarity started to back away, but two dragons appeared from around the same corner and pushed her forward.
“Any dragons in here?!” they shouted.
Sunset risked a peak around the pile of jewels, and after confirming with a visual sighting, she looked at Twilight and Trixie and whispered “That’s them.”
“Yeah, I’m a dragon!” Spike spat. “Now get out!”
“Don’t get snippy!” retorted Wrecks. “We’re dragons too.”
“I don’t care! You can’t come in here!” Spike stood up and walked towards Wrecks and Sinomen with an angry expression.
“We own this place now!” growled Sinomen. “We can do whatever we please.”
“I don’t care if you’re the owners of the whole world!” Spike barked. “You’re not getting any of my gems!”
Rarity practically exploded when she finally realized who they’d walked in on.
“SPIKE?!”
Spike tried not to show any emotion so as to keep up the façade that he was a stranger, but Wrecks and Sinomen appeared to be more surprised than he was.
“Spike?” repeated Wrecks. “I’ve heard someone say that name before. Were- were you Princess Twilight Sparkle’s scribe?”
“No,” Spike lied. “Um, but what if I was?”
“If you were,” said Sinomen, “you might be our son.”