//------------------------------// // Princess Spike // Story: Spike: The Dragon Princess // by IndiBrony //------------------------------// "Spike?" Twilight called. "Spike!" she shouted. "Here!" Spike replied, running through the castle into the throne room. The Map was glowing with Twilight's Cutie Mark hovering above a volcano. "Seems the map wants me to go check out the Dragon Realm for a friendship problem. I know I've been telling everypony to go to their callings on their own, but I figured you might want to come with me on this trip. Maybe you'll learn a few things about your heritage." Spikes eyes opened wide at the prospect. "You mean it? You really want me to come with you?" Twilight smiled acceptingly. "Alright!" Spike cheered, repeatedly running off down the hall and returning with more and more suitcases in tow. "I'll just pack a few things for the trip. You never know how long we'll be gone for. We might need some extra quills, and a check list, and I'll bring some gems in case I get extra hungry, and-" Twilight interrupted "Spike!" The baby dragon stopped in his tracks "I'm sure you won't need all of that. We shouldn't be gone for too long." Spike frowned, picking up all the suitcases and shoving them into a nearby closet. "Fine." he mumbled. Twilight trotted out of the castle as Spike followed. The purple dragon jumped on her back and they took off. They flew for quite a while until the volcano came into view. The sky was red, the volcano smoked, and several dragons flew around the top of the volcano. The Princess and Spike settled down by the foot of the volcano, trotting confidently into the Realm. Shortly upon arrival, they were greeted by a gigantic red dragon with a yellow stomach and scales. He slammed his body down in front of Twilight and Spike. "Measly pony," he snorted "step away from the Princess." Both Twilight and Spike looked at each other in confusion. The dragon smacked Twilight out of the way, grabbing Spike and flying off with him. "Twilight, help!" the baby dragon yelled, but Twilight had been knocked unconscious. Spike was flown into the top of the volcano where there were a collection of different coloured dragons, and a cavern lined in gemstones. The baby dragon was flown into a throne room and placed upon it gently by his captor. A green dragon approached him immediately. "Princess," he bowed "you've returned!" "She had been taken captive by the ponies." the red dragon growled "I rescued her and brought her back here" The green dragon nodded in acknowledgement, turning to Spike "I believe the ponies have overstepped a line this time, my Princess. We were insulted enough when they mocked King Crackle, but to kidnap our beloved Princess simply can not go unpunished. They have declared war upon our kind. Shall I mobilise our defences, Princess? We could crush their land in a matter of days." Spike listened nervously. He knew immediately that he'd been mistaken for their Princess, but feared retribution if he declared he wasn't the dragon they were looking for. "No." he answered nervously. "Princess?" the green dragon questioned as the red dragon looked on. "Are you okay? Your voice sounds rather coarse." Spike nodded, trying to soften his voice "Oh, yes, I'm fine," he squeaked "just a little worn out from my adventures." The dragon looked on in confusion "'Adventure'?" "Uh, yes," Spike continued "the pony you saw wasn't holding me captive, she was... my assistant!" The red dragon suddenly looked a little nervous "My Princess, I apologise! I thought they had taken you captive. I-" Spike held up his claw. "Enough! You may redeem your actions by fetching me the pony and bringing her here." The red dragon turned to leave, "Immediately, my Princess!" and he flew off in haste. The green dragon addressed Spike, "I am pleased to see you have returned, Princess. Unfortunately, however, in the days of your disappearance, there have been many issues we've been unable to resolve. We placed Prince Crackle Jr in charge, but his incompetence knows no bounds - he is nothing like his father - Smaug rest his soul." He flipped open his check list "I have attempted to take care of our Royal duties to the best of my abilities, but we ultimately need your official decree on these issues." "By all means." Spike slouched lazily in his throne. The green dragon flipped a page and rattled off some issues, "Uh, well, some of our residents are becoming concerned over the prospect of our volcano becoming more active over the past few weeks. We're worried about our home flooding and being destroyed." Spike smiled and confidently decreed "Have the locals seal their residences with boulders, creating a seal the lava will not be able to penetrate. This should protect their belongings from being destroyed should an eruption occur." The green dragon nodded and noted down Spike's response. "Next order of business. The Griffons have been advancing further onto our lands, taking our jewels and gems. How shall we respond?" Spike sat up. He realised there were a few pressing issues here in the Dragon Realm and wondered if he was a little out of his depth. "Uh..." he stuttered "send someone to talk to their King. Meanwhile, reinforce our defences around the area." The green dragon nodded in agreement, noting down a response. "Who shall we send, Princess?" Spike tried frantically to think of a response. He didn't know the names of any dragons, nor anything about their hierarchy. "Uh... Crackle! Send Crackle." "Are you sure that's wise? Crackle hasn't spoken on our behalf since he accidentally sank Draglantis." Spike backed up his decision with some confidence "We all make mistakes - some larger than others - but we all need to be shown a bit of confidence. I'm sure Crackle can come up with a solution." The green dragon reluctantly noted down Spike's decision. Just then, the red dragon returned, dropping Twilight into the room. "Princess. I found her and brought her here as you ordered." Spike beamed. "Twilight!" he squee'd. He turned to the red dragon. "Thank you. Consider yourself redeemed. Now be gone with you." "Of course" he replied, flying off without delay. Twilight looked on at Spike with concern. "Spike? What's going-" Spike quickly shushed her, speaking to the green dragon. "This is Princess Twilight Sparkle - the Princess of Friendship in Equestria. We have some important business to discuss. If you wouldn't mind, I'd like you to leave us alone for a while. I shall call you when we're done." "Of course, my Princess." The green dragon nodded, leaving the room. Twilight scowled at Spike. "Spike? What are you doing?" "I haven't done anything! They carried me here. They think I'm their Princess." "Princess?" "I don't know what to do." "Tell them you're not their Princess, maybe?" "I can't. Not now. They've been asking me what to do. I've already been acting as their Princess." "What? Why in Equestria would you do that?" "I don't know. I was nervous! I didn't know what they'd do to me if I told them I wasn't the real Princess. You remember the last time I had to deal with dragons; they threatened to smash me if I didn't break that Phoenix egg, remember?" Twilight sighed loudly. "Well we can't just let you rule these dragons. We need to find the real Princess," "Whoa, whoa!" Spike interrupted "Why not?" Twilight rolled her eyes "because you can't keep up this charade forever. Someone will notice sooner or later, and then what will they do to you?" Spike frowned in horror "You're right, but how are we supposed to find the Princess?" "Well I doubt they'll let you just wander off again. I'll have to do it myself." Twilight declared "I'll find her and bring her back here. Until then, you're just going to have to sit here and play 'Pretty Purple Princess'."