//------------------------------// // Chapter 15 // Story: Love Keeps Dragon On: The Return of Sapphire // by The Lord Thunder //------------------------------// Zog stood on the balcony overlooking the courtyard of his fortress, unable to suppress a smile as he watched his dragons work. Between them and the ponies, he'd soon uncover whatever it was the ancient shadow dragons had hidden eons ago. The legends never explicitly stated what was supposed to be buried here, but they promised it was something of incredible value. Perhaps a cache of gems large enough to satisfy the stingiest of kings. It could be some sort of ancient superweapon or an artifact of incredible power. Whatever it was, Zog wanted it, and the shadow dragons under his rule and his pony slaves were going to find it for him. Except, as he took a closer look at the courtyard, he noticed there wasn't one equine to be found. "Cyrus!" Zog yelled. Within seconds, a shadow dragon ran onto the balcony and gave his lord a salute. "At your service, sir." Zog turned his glance from his subordinate and back to the courtyard. "Something's not right here. Where are the ponies?" "They were taken to the mines, sir." Zog glanced over his shoulder at Cyrus, his single red eye squinted in confusion. “What? Under whose orders?" "Yours, sir," Cyrus replied dubiously "I didn't give the order to..." The look in Zog's eye flashed from confusion to anger as he looked down at the courtyard once more. "Son of an alicorn. They're escaping!" "Sir?" Cyrus asked, still as a statue from fear of his emperor's wrath. "Fool!” Zog snapped around, eye burning with fury. “Don't just stand there. Stop them, NOW!" Cyrus saluted again. "Yes, sir!" He took to the air with all due haste and descended to the courtyard to form a search party. *** The ponies of Buckington led Spike and Sapphire, still under the disguise of shadow dragons, to a large mouth in the face of the mountain overlooking Zog’s fortress. Inward lied a cavern carved from the bowels of the mountain, with mine cart tracks disappearing into the darkness of a tunnel. Five carts were hooked together, all of them empty. “Zog’s been forcing us to work here,” Sunset’s mother said with obvious disgust as Spike went to work unlocking their shackles. “We get maybe three hours of sleep a day and we're lucky if we’re fed at all.” A lifetime of living with ponies made the very idea of such a thing difficult for Spike to fit in his head. “That’s just wrong,” he growled. Beside him, Sapphire snorted out an angry burst of ice breath from her nostrils. “We’ll save the details for when we get back to Equestria,” Sunset’s mom turned around to face Spike and extended a hoof to him by way of greeting. “I’m Autumn Gale, Sunset Breeze’s mother.” “Spike,” he replied, shaking Autumn’s hoof. “And I’m Sapphire, Spike’s girlfriend.” Autumn pulled her hoof from Spike’s claw and accepted Sapphire’s. “Nice to meet you both. Thanks so much for looking after my little filly.” “Pleasure’s all mine,” Sapphire said. “And I’m Dustin Wind,” said the pegasus stallion with a sandy-colored coat and dark brown mane, “Sunset’s father. I have to say, I didn’t expect dragons of all creatures to take care of my daughter, seeing as dragons were the ones who foalnapped us in the first place.” “See, we’re not really shadow dragons,” Sapphire explained. “We’re in disguise. It was the only way we could get past Zog’s guards.” “You know who Zog is?” a mare with a pink coat and a cutie mark depicting a pair of strawberries asked as Spike removed the last shackle from the chain of ponies. “Yeah, we’ll explain later,” Spike said. He shifted his attention to a stack of crates that had been piled against the wall of the cave. Each of them had a painting of a pony’s skull and a pair of crossbones, along with the word “DANGER!” printed under the skull. Hopefully they could use whatever was in them to cover their escape. “What’s in these boxes?” Spike asked. “Dynamite,” Autumn said. Spike’s eyes lit up at the word. “We’ve been using it to mine this tunnel,” Dustin explained. “Perfect.” Spike walked over to one of the boxes and lifted it. The crate probably weighed about 80 lbs, and there were five crates piled up. 400 lbs of dynamite would be enough to destroy the entire mine and make sure Zog never forced a pony to work there again. “Sapphire, help me load these up into the rear cart.” Nodding, Sapphire walked over to the pile of crates and grabbed one, seeming to know what Spike had in mind. After they both placed their crates into the cart, Spike and Sapphire returned to the remaining crates. “We don’t think we’re mining here just for materials for Zog’s fortress,” Autumn said as the two dragons worked. “It seems like Zog’s looking for something. That’s why he’s making us mine this tunnel, he thinks it might be buried somewhere in this mountain.” “What do you think it is?” Sapphire asked as she gently set her crate on top of one of the others and added the sack of Dragonspice to the rear cart’s contents. “No idea,” Dustin replied. “We just overheard his guards talking about it.” Distant roaring made Spike freeze in place for a few seconds as a chill that had nothing to do with being near an ice dragon run down his spine and tingled his toes. Once he mustered the nerve, he moved to the mouth of the cave and looked to the sky to confirm his suspicions. A v-shaped formation of shadow dragons was approaching fast, rage evident in their shrieks. Spike swallowed the lump in his throat and ran back inside the mine. "I don't want to be an alarmist, but we're gonna have company in about thirty seconds! We’ll have to continue this conversation later." Sapphire stepped up to the mouth of the cave as the ponies, murmuring amongst themselves at this news, grouped themselves in five to a car, with Sunset and her parents taking the front. Spike heaved the last box of dynamite into the rear cart, but Sapphire was still standing there with her palms outstretched to the entrance of the mine. Spike waved a foreleg, summoning her. "Come on, Sapphire! Let's go!" There was no answer as Sapphire held her pose, sealing off the entrance with a gradually growing sheet of ice. Spike shivered from the sudden cold. Grotesque spines grew and protruded from the block of frozen mass, creating what she and Spike hoped would be an effective deterrent to the attackers. "That should hold them off," she said, running for the train of mine carts. "For a few moments, anyway." "It'll have to do." Spike grunted as he and Sapphire pushed on the rear cart, sending the train moving across the tracks. "This is gonna be fun!" Sunset shouted from the front. Sapphire's barrier tremored, prompting Spike and Sapphire to push harder on the cart. When enough momentum had been built, they ran ahead to the second to last cart and hopped in. The walls of the cave, lit by flickering magic torches, rushed past as the mine cart hit a dropoff and picked up speed. Sunset Breeze squealed in fillyish delight. Dank air filled Spike's nostrils and caressed his face while some of the ponies screamed in excitement or fear. Above the rhythmic clack-clack of wheels against the tracks, Spike heard a distinctive cry of animal fury and dared to glance backwards at the shadows of winged forms in the torchlight. The ground behind them was littered with shattered ice. "Here they come!" Spike yelled. Pony voices rose in fright. Working quickly, Spike dug under the lid of one of the crates with a claw and forced the box open. At least a dozen sticks of dynamite were stacked inside, sitting harmlessly; waiting for their destructive power to be unleashed. Spike plucked one from the top of the pile and blew a small green flame from his nostrils on it. The fuse sparked and hissed, signaling that the explosive was live. Spike drew his arm back and let the dynamite fly down the corridor. Even with the rapidly growing distance between where they were and where the dynamite had landed, the explosion was deafening. Spike's ears rang painfully as flames reddened the tunnel, wrapping Spike with a sudden burst of warmth as if he'd just stood in front of an oven while the door opened. Bits of blasted rock hailed down the corridor, stinging Spike's scales as they pelted him. What rang above this commotion were dragonish cries of pain and rage. "Did that do it?" Sapphire wondered out loud, gazing beyond the last cart. Thick smoke obscured much of the tunnel behind them, but Spike could hear the sound of flapping wings growing closer. Winged reptilian forms burst from the wall of smoke, roaring in anger and closing in fast. “What do we do?” a pony asked. "Get down, now!" Sapphire yelled. Spike and the ponies did as instructed, seeking shelter by crouching down inside their mine carts as the dragons passed over them. Everything turned cold and dark in an instant and for a fleeting moment Spike wondered if he was dead. Then he realized Sapphire had closed off the tops of the carts with ice, creating a seal that prevented the dragons' shadow breath from reaching any of them. But Spike knew it would be only precious seconds before the dragons tried to smash the carts to pieces with their physical strength when they realized their breath weapons were useless. There was the sound of splintering wood as a claw broke through the side of the mine cart, reaching out to grab him. Spike instinctively snapped his head back to avoid the savage nails. A sudden shriek of pain rang above them and the dark veil gave way to light once again. The ice sealing off Spike’s cart tore off like the lid to a can being peeled open. Looking behind, Spike saw where the pained cry came from. Sapphire had impaled the dragon through the armpit with an icicle she summoned from the top of their sheet of ice. The dragon kept tumbling and vanished in the darkness. More winged shadows were closing in on them fast. Spike lit another stick of dynamite and threw it down the corridor. This time he and Sapphire ducked to avoid being pelted by the exploded rock. A tremendous blast rang Spike’s ears as he felt his body warmed by the explosion. Vibrations began tickling his feet. The ground was shaking! An earthquake? A powdery substance fell down on Spike, prompting him to look up and see what it was. Dirt and bits of rock were falling from the ceiling of the cave as the mountain itself seemed to moan in pain. This was no earthquake, the tunnel was collapsing! “Look out!” a pony cried, pointing to a stalactite ahead that was wiggling like a loose tooth with the mountain’s rage. Spike grimaced. If that thing fell on them… He and Sapphire wrapped their arms around each other tight for comfort. If it DID fall, at least he wouldn’t see the certain doom coming. The ceiling above crumbled ominously, spitting out chunks of rock on the tracks that made unstable terrain for their wheels. Spike prayed to Celestia that they didn't derail. If that happened, it would be game over for all of them. Spike winced as a boulder-sized hunk of rock dropped from the ceiling, missing them by inches, but not missing the dragon who was trailing close behind. The rock had slammed into the top of his skull and smashed his face in the ground where he lay in a scaly heap. The boulder was almost big enough to block the entire circumference of the tunnel, which gave Spike a sense of relief. Maybe it would slow the other dragons down a bit. Before the carts moved far enough to lose sight of the boulder, Spike saw cracks web their way around the chunk of rock only seconds before exploding from the force of the dragons' fury. "Well that didn't last long!" Spike yelled. A sudden sheet of white obstructed his view of the tunnel and the pursuing dragons. He didn't need to inquire as he glanced at Sapphire, who had her forelegs extended towards the rear of their train. Her magic was creating a thick wall of ice that followed them for several yards, effectively sealing off the shadow dragons' route. As if that wasn't enough, razor-sharp icicles grew in all angles from the walls of the tunnel when Sapphire was finished with her ice-wall, making it look like the cave had just grown icy teeth all around its perimeter. "Nice going, Saph!" Spike said. He cupped his claws over his mouth. "Come and get us now!" "I see daylight!" a pony in the front cart yelled. Gotcha Spike thought to himself. Now it's time for the real fireworks to begin. He began fidgeting with the hitch between his cart and the rear one full of dynamite. "Spike, what are you doing?" Sapphire asked. "Detaching the rear cart." "Why?" Sapphire looked at Spike with concern. From the worry in her eyes, Spike could tell she knew the answer. "Don't worry about 'why', just keep going. I'll catch up!" “What are you doing back there?” a stallion asked. "I'm gonna put an end to this little chase." Spike looked over his shoulder, smiling at the ponies. "And buddy, it's gonna be blast." "Spike!" Sapphire yelled as he stood up, pushing against the rear cart with all his might to slow it. "Just go! Don't worry about me!" Spike leapt over the edge and tumbled over from the momentum, the train of carts still moving for the exit. He stood up, shook the pain off and grabbed the mine cart full of dynamite. "Alright, I got a little present for you jerks." He pushed with all his might, slowly picking up speed and momentum. Once he was satisfied the cart was moving fast enough for him to safely escape, he took a deep breath and belched a cloud of green flame on the wooden cart, igniting it along with its deadly contents. He smiled, then flew down the opposite end of the tunnel. *** For a moment Sapphire watched Spike run down the corridor in what seemed to be utter suicide. He was going to destroy the entire mine with all that dynamite! “End of the line!” Autumn Gale shouted, bringing Sapphire’s attention to the front of their train. “Everypony brace yourself!” Sapphire turned around and saw that the tracks indeed ended at a hole in the side of the mountain where sunlight lit the tunnel. At the speed they were going, they'd sail right over the valley and land on the bluff on the other side, if they were lucky. She could have made a bridge out of ice to link the two cliffs, but ice offered metal wheels very little traction and they’d risk slipping off the edge. Seconds later, they were airborne as the side of the mountain spat them out like a piece of bad fruit. Ponies screamed as they awaited the impact of landing on the bluff or for the long descent down the canyon, whichever came first. Their ride came to a sudden, violent halt as the mine carts slammed into the bluff and overturned, spilling their equine contents like dice. Sapphire tumbled several feet across the dusty, flat bluff. “Everypony okay?” Autumn Gale asked as Sapphire picked herself up and dusted herself off. All the ponies voiced confirmation that, while a little scraped up, they suffered no serious injuries. “That was fun!” Sunset Breeze trumpeted. “Let’s do it again!” Autumn put a hoof over her daughter’s muzzle to hush her. Sapphire guessed Autumn could see fear in her eyes and could tell they both knew the possibility that the dragoness might lose a dear friend was very, very real. “I’m fine,” Sapphire said. “But Spike…” Silence had never been so loud to Sapphire as she stared at the exit of the mines, waiting for Spike to emerge. Each passing second seemed longer and longer still as she stared hopefully at the mountain. Come on, Spike, you can't do this to me. We just found each other again. You can't do this... The rumbling of a distant explosion snapped Sapphire out of her thoughts. Another one followed soon after, and another. Explosion after explosion filled the air like thunder and the mountain began to crumble inward as if the ground was swallowing it whole. Spike must have lit all that dynamite at once, she realized. Enough to destroy half the mountain, and although this move buried the shadow dragons under countless tons of rock, might have kept Zog from finding whatever it was he was looking for and bought her and the ponies enough time to escape back to Equestria, she knew Spike was still in there, too. "SPIIIIIIIIIIIIKE!" Sapphire screamed once she'd gathered the nerve to do so. She dropped to her knees, quietly hoping, begging for Spike to emerge. A few seconds passed before Sapphire felt a small hoof rub her back. "I'm sorry, miss Sapphire," Sunset Breeze's voice said. Before Sapphire could form a proper response, her eyes lit up at a purple form that shot out of the hole seconds before it collapsed. He was flying towards them fast, but flailing as if he'd pushed his wings too hard and lost all voluntary control of his flight muscles. When he hit the ground, he tumbled several feet, coming to rest on his back. Sapphire kneeled down beside him and inspected his body for injury. A few minor burns spotted his chest and forelegs but other than that he seemed to be alright. "Spike! Say something!" she pleaded, resting his head on her knees. "Please tell me you're alright!" First Spike opened his eyes, then he exhaled a small puff of smoke he’d inhaled while fleeing from the mine. He then smiled up at Sapphire, who smiled back in relief. "With his head on your lap, who wouldn't be?" Sapphire didn't know whether to slap Spike or hug him from the remark, but she wrapped her forelegs around his neck anyway with a quivering sigh of respite. Her eyes tingled with fresh warm tears. "Don't you ever scare me like that again!" The smile vanished. “I’m sorry, Sapphire.” Spike returned her embrace, prompting Dustin Wind to step closer to them and nab their attention with a stomp of his forehoof. “Can we save the love scene for later?” Dustin asked. Spike let go of Sapphire and stood up. “He’s right. We're not out of the woods yet. It probably won’t be long before Zog realizes his dragons failed and he sends reinforcements. Let’s get you guys back to Equestria.” “Yay!” Sunset cheered with a playful hop. “We’re going home!” *** An exhilarating feeling overcame Spike as their group moved on for Equestria. He was tingling from head to toe, but on the inside he felt warm and happy, and he knew why. This was sure to have been a suicide mission, but he and Sapphire had worked together to overcome the odds. It was then he realized the two of them had something most other dragons didn’t: a powerful connection. Dragons were, at their core, greedy and self-serving creatures. Safety in numbers was more important to them than true friendship. Fear and intimidation meant more than close companionship. They mated and gave birth to new broods for the survival of their race, but few of them ever felt genuine love and stayed with a mate for life. This connection had given Sapphire and him an edge over Zog’s dragons, and he knew he owed it to his pony upbringing. Which reminded him, he couldn’t wait to get back to Ponyville and share the story of his latest adventure with Twilight and all his friends. Silently he pulled Luna’s moonstone from his pouch and smiled as he gazed into it.