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// Tribulations 
// Story: Carry the Fire 
// by Slywolf930 
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Tribulations

The world was nothing but darkness, enclosing him in pure black. Spike could feel something beyond this darkness, a calling to his small heart. He tried to reach up, to grab onto what he could not see. Instead, he could not see his own claws through the pitch dark space. A cold feeling gripped his arm, and then it spread to his body. He felt it wash over his eyes, just as the darkness receded and a light blue wall covered his vision.

“What?” Spike asked in a daze, stuck in shock as a cloud rolled slowly past his vision.

“Next time you plan to pass out, I’m not carrying you,” Spike heard a familiar voice say to his right.

Spike turned his head to see the dragon from before. Strife was standing over him, and next to him was a larger green scaled creature, another dragon, that was eyeing Spike with caution.

“And next time I won’t be there to save you,” The green dragon said. His nostrils puffed out steam that warmed up Spike’s sides. It was at this moment he realized that he was freezing.

“I’m so cold,” Spike said, hugging his body as he tried to raise himself off the ground. He was shivering, and the warm breath of the two other dragons was like fire to his chilled scales.

“You’ll warm up when we get you back to your mother,” Strife said.

The green dragon turned to Strife and squinted his eyes, expanding the scar that had went across his left eye. Then, the green dragon gave a small grunt that resembled a chuckle. He eyed Strife and then Spike before finally speaking.

“This is no baby dragon,” The green dragon said in a voice that reminded Spike of Granny Smith.

“He’s not?” Strife said, looking back to Spike like he was a new species.

“Far from it, he is perhaps within the same decade as yourself, though he may not look like it,” The green dragon said.

“But Faren, he looks like a hatchling and he doesn’t have any wings,” Strife pointed out.

“Looks can be deceiving, Strife. Have you tried asking him how old he is? Or would you like to question the gender as well?” Faren said, a slight smile spreading on his face.

“Hey, tell me you’re a hatchling,” Strife said to Spike, who had warmed up enough to pay attention to their conversation.

“I’m not a… hatchling. I’ve been out of my egg for years, even decades,” Spike said, glad he’d learned vocabulary from Twilight, even if it wasn’t too advanced.

“Then, then why’d you come with me?” Strife asked, unsure of what else to ask.

“I thought you could help with my little… problem,” Spike said, looking down to his body. After having seen the scales and tails of these dragons, he was even more depressed to see the small scales, as well as some charred ones, as they reminded him of his size problem.

“Little? I’d say,” Faren said. His eyes looked down to the charred scales Spike had noticed earlier.

“You’re lucky your scales were grown enough to hold back the fire. Otherwise you woulda died the moment you passed out,” Faren said. Then, to his surprise, he saw Spike bow.

“Thank you for helping me,” Spike said, realizing that this dragon had probably saved his life.

“Thanks? I want more than thanks. You’ll need to do me a favor for this, little dragon,” Faren said. His eyes were materialistic as Faren looked him over with a new eye.

“What’s your name?” Strife asked, having finally come to an understanding of what was happening.

“Spike,”

“Alright, Spike. If you ever want me to do you a favor like this before, you’ll need to pay beforehand,” Faren said.

Faren turned away and Spike followed his gaze to a tall mountain nearby. There were holes in the mountain, as well as dragons perched atop. At the very peak a large dragon could be seen for miles. It had black scales with white horns and released grey smoke as it breathed in and out during its peaceful sleep.

“I want you to bring me a chest of gems, simple,” Faren said.

Spike could hear a tinge of sarcasm, added to the fact that he was grinning, Spike decided that this task would be harder than it seemed. It already sounded pretty bad, considering that without Rarity, Spike had no idea where gems were in the ground.

“Can he even carry a chest of gems?” Strife asked.

“No, I don’t think so. That’s why you’re going with him,” Faren decided.

“What? Do I gain anything for this?” Strife asked, dumbfounded he had been given this task.

“I’m sure the next time you break your wing I’ll ask myself the same thing,” Faren remarked. Strife looked down to the ground before nodding.

Faren launched himself into the air, sending a blast of wind around him as his wings flapped and he flew towards the mountain. He flew into one of the lower caves, just large enough for him to fly inside. It wasn’t long before he came back holding a golden chest. He dropped it in front of the pair of dragons, who eyed it like it was the heaviest thing ever. The way it hit the ground, it practically weighed as much as both of them combined.

“Don’t come back until you have the gems,” Faren said before flying back to his cave.

Spike looked down to the chest for a moment. He wondered how many gems would fit into a chest that size. Probably a full cart would do, he realized, as Faren would be expecting it to be packed with gems. Spike wondered where he could find that many gems in a short time. After a while, he noticed a pair of eyes watching him. He looked to Strife who was giving him a look that could catch him on fire.

“What?” Spike asked, uncomfortable with the burning stare.

“Look what you got me into, I should left you passed out in the forest,” Strife said.

“Weren’t you the reason I passed out? You almost killed me with your fire,” Spike said, annoyed he was being blamed for this.

“I said duck, didn’t I? Besides, he saved you, not me. Why do I have to tag along?” Strife asked himself more than Spike. Then, he lay down on the grass and looked up at the sky. “Where are we gonna find gems around here?” Strife asked the sky.

“What about Diamond Dogs? Do they have any tunnels around here?” Spike asked, wondering how easy it would be to scare the puppies if two dragons walked in.

“Why does it matter?” Strife asked. He dismissed the question as he continued to rake his brain for ideas.

“Diamond Dogs usually have loads of gems in their caves,” Spike explained.

“Really? I didn’t know that,” Strife said, getting out of his thoughts and then back in to think of where Diamond Dogs lived.

“I remember seeing a few by the river nearby. It shouldn’t be too far from here,” Strife said. He turned away from the mountain and Spike could just make out a river in the distance. It would be an hour’s walk, but at least it was a start.

“Let’s get going,” Spike said.

Strife struggled to pick up the chest, and finally settled with pushing it along. Spike helped pull but it wasn’t much of a difference, and in the end Spike walked alongside, watching their surroundings. Spike had the feeling that he was being watched, but he could only see birds eyeing the fearful dragons and small critters darting from bush to bush.

“This is where I saw a few of them,” Strife said, laying down on the grass to rest while Spike looked around for any sign of Diamond Dogs.

“Why would they be at a river?” Spike asked himself.

“To drink, duh. They’ll get thirsty too,” Strife said, taking slurps from the river.

“Diamond Dogs don’t bathe, and they have underground pools to drink from. They would only go to a river if…”

“Watch out!” Spike heard from behind him.

Spike was slammed to the ground and he could taste dirt as his teeth were enclosed around a handful of earth. There were voices behind him, but a loud ringing was blocking the sounds. Eventually, he was picked up from the ground and a cold metal container was strapped around his mouth, tied to the back of his head. His arms and legs were bound with a smooth fibrous rope.

“Two!? We got two!” Spike heard aside from the ringing as it faded away. The voices were raspy and sounded jittery.

“Let’s eat ‘em!” A voice called out from behind Spike.

“Let’s make them work!” Another called out, from farther away.

A Diamond Dog, grey coated and with long arms walked in front of Spike. He carried a cane with him, a sign that he was the leader of this pack. The leader eyed Spike with curiosity before chuckling.

“We’ve got the father and child, soon we will have mother!” The leader said to the Diamond Dogs out of Spike’s view.

There was a metal scraping sound and a muffled voice beside Spike. It was Strife, attempting to correct the dogs of their mistake. They didn’t pay him much mind, however, even as he struggled more furiously at the bindings.

“Don’t worry, mother be with you soon,” The leader said, triggering a thought in Spike’s head.

Twilight would flip out if she heard them speak, and he was both glad and disappointed that Twilight wasn’t with him here in this moment. Even as he thought this he realized that he wouldn’t get anywhere if he wished for a miracle. He’d have to make a miracle.

Spike noticed the leader turn his head towards the other diamond dogs. He made his move by thrusting forward, falling onto his face but freeing his tail long enough to slice the rope connecting his feet. He reached his claws down and cut off the bindings. Spike reached up to remove the metal muzzle that rendered his fire useless. He felt adrenaline pulsing through his veins, ready to act and make a difference.

Spike received a club to the back of the head. The adrenaline left him faster than his consciousness. He fell like a rock, lifeless and with a heavy heart as he lost consciousness. The throbbing in his head did not hurt as much as his failure did. The darkness took him under, dragging him from his problems to be thrown into a deeper problem.

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From darkness, unto darkness. Spike awoke to a dim light. It was a dazzling blue light, reflected off the walls of the caves. Echoes from these walls told stories about that light. Stories of whippings and screams. Echoes that bounded off the walls to reach no listening ears, no others that cared. These stories were a perfect tragedy, told through the voice of a monotone author.

Spike could feel a hollow pain in the back of his head. It was overcome by grief as his situation overwhelmed him. What was he to do now? What could he do?

“It’s awake!” Spike heard a voice, not as echoed as the others. It sounded close.

“Bring the chains!” A voice sounded through the caves.

Spike tried to raise his head, but the metal muzzle was too heavy in his current dizzy state. He tried to look around further, but a furry paw grabbed the top of his head and pulled him up to look into the Diamond Dog’s cold and inspecting eyes.

Spike heard the metal clinging as his claws were moved around against his will and a large weight was added to his legs. The chains were tight against his scales. When they finished attaching the bindings, Spike heard another howl of pain from somewhere in these mines. 

As Spike was forced to walk forward with his heavy chains, he lost his charismatic grin, replaced by a morbid scowl. Spike could feel an encircling aura around him, like a cage that he was destined to remain in. He had a feeling that the sun would not shine in his near future. The Tribulations will start soon, and Spike will see that the fire he carries will constantly flicker.

Oh, how it will flicker…