//------------------------------// // The Crystal Trade // Story: Spike: The Dragon Princess // by IndiBrony //------------------------------// Twilight's journey had brought her to the entrance of the Crystal Palace. Inside, she was met by one of Cadance's guards. "Greetings, Princess Sparkle. How may I be of service?" "Do you know where Cadance is?" "She's currently making preparations for Hearts and Hooves Day. She'll be in the potion room." The stallion turned to begin walking down the long hallway "Please, follow me." Not far down the corridor was Cadance's preparation room. Upon entering, Twilight was greeted with the sight of a small, but very tall, room lined with shelves of potions and different forms of weaponry. As she looked up, she saw Cadance hovering by a shelf, replacing a rifle. The sight of her sister-in-law filled Twilight with glee. "Cadance!" the purple alicorn beamed. "Twilight!" Cadance smiled, gliding gently downward "What brings you here?" "Nothing good, unfortunately." Twilight glanced at some of the potions "What's with all the potions?" Cadance smiled and shook her head "Oh, nothing, really. Just a few preparations for Hearts and Hooves Day. I've been overstocking on love potions - I have a feeling the upcoming Hearts and Hooves Day is going to be a busy one," The Princess of Love guided Twilight out of the room, sealing the door behind them. "but it sounds like you have troubling news. How can I help?" "Ah, yes, of course." Twilight internally recapped what she'd studied, "The Princess of the Dragon Realm - Princess Duciel - has gone missing." The purple alicorn noticed Cadance's instant transformation from happiness to worry, but continued to explain "I'm not sure how long she's been missing, but they've mistaken Spike as their Princess..." "I mistook her for Spike when I first met her, too." Cadance chuckled. "...I have to find Princess Duciel before they figure out that Spike's an imposter. And to make matters worse, according to Spike, the Realm is under attack as we speak." "The Heroes?" Cadance questioned. Twilight was surprised, "Y-yes." she replied. Cadance pondered "And why did you come looking for me in particular?" "Spike told me he'd found something the Princess had written about a peace treaty and a trade agreement with the Crystal Empire. You two have been in talks..." "The Princess came to me seeking crystals. Her father disappeared several moons ago and she's been left in charge all on her own. A dragon, not much older than Spike, left to rule the entire Realm..." Cadance paused "I asked her why she needed the crystals. She told me the dragons could fend off the Heroes with them. Apparently the crystals hold a power that overwhelms them." "And who are these 'Heroes'?" "I don't know. Communication with the Dragon Realm broke down once the Heroes invaded. The dragons seemed to think that we were responsible for the attacks, that we, the ponies of Equestria, had been encroaching on their land. I think a few dragons, including King Depaix, understood that we wouldn't undo all the hard work we'd put in to keeping the peace between the Dragon Realm and Equestria. He was usurped and subsequently banished from the Dragon Realm. He hasn't been seen since. The dragon who usurped him, however, was only in power for a matter of hours before he was forcibly removed by the King's most loyal servant; a dragon by the name of Nett. Nett reclaimed the throne for the absent King. He had to put Princess Duciel in charge or else their palace would be under constant attack from dragons trying to claim the throne for themselves. Nett has been loyally serving Princess Duciel ever since, whilst simultaneously searching for her lost father." "A Kingdom under siege with nobody to lead them..." Twilight processed everything she'd learned so far and suddenly sprung into life. "Well we can't just sit around. We have to find the Princess and the King. We also need to bring crystals to help fend off the Heroes, and we need to get Spike out of there, all before the Heroes bring down the entire realm. No pressure..." Twilight twitched "No pressure at all!" Cadance embraced Twilight "It'll all be fine. Come on. Look around you, you've saved empires before. You can do it again." "Let's go!" Twilight smiled. Spike, meanwhile, had made his way out from the palace and onto the side of the volcano. He could see dragons off in the distance in each direction. Their flaming breath lit the darkening sky. The baby dragon could see the shadows of figures moving about on the ground, some were attacking the dragons with swords, others with arrows. Both dragons and Heroes fell in almost equal number. Unfortunately, the dragons were outnumbered by the Heroes. At this rate, the dragons would lose the battle for sure. Spike ran around, looking for an opening between the fighting, but he could see none. Nett flew overhead, noticing the baby dragon. He swooped down and confronted Spike. "Princess. It's much too dangerous out here - you have to get back inside the palace. We'll deal with the situation out here." "You can't win." Spike reasoned. "We have to!" Nett scowled. By this point, Spike was furious "But you've already lost your King, your Queen and your Princess. Do you want to lose the whole Realm, too?" Nett grabbed Spike by the throat, lifting him off the ground "I knew it!" he bellowed. "From the moment you got here, I knew you weren't the Princess. Tell me what you've done with her." "N-nothing. I have n- no idea where she is" Spike choked. "Liar!" Nett foamed. "I'm not lying!" Spike cried, trying to catch his breath. Nett suddenly collapsed onto his back, dropping Spike to the floor. A stray arrow had pierced Nett in the back. "Nett!" Spike yelled. The weakened Nett coughed. The arrow had punctured his lung. "You're right, Nett, I'm not the real Princess, but she's out there somewhere, and I promise you I'll find her." Spike took Nett's hand. "I promise." Nett weakly observed the baby dragon's words, unable to catch his breath to speak. Slowly, Nett drifted out of consciousness. Spike clutched Nett's hand, resting his head against it, trying to hold back tears. "I promise." he repeated. "Spike!" the purple dragon heard from afar. Twilight and Cadance flew overhead. "Spike!" Twilight settled down by the two dragons. Cadance flew into the heart of the battle, blasting crystal spells at the Heroes, preventing them from advancing further into the realm. "Nett." Twilight called. "He got hit by an arrow." Spike cried. Twilight used her magic to turn the dragon over to locate the wound. "I... I don't think I can help, Spike. The arrow's went right through to his lung, and judging by the angle, I'd say it's cut through his heart, too." Twilight laid Nett back where he was. "I'm sorry, Spike, there's nothing I can do." Spike grabbed Twilight and hugged into her, sobbing. Cadance swooped in, followed by a horde of dragons, "Run!" she bellowed. Twilight grabbed Spike and the three of them fled to the woods. The dragons flew over them, shooting flames at the trees, setting them alight. The Princesses and Spike fled by hoof until they were out of the sight of the dragons. "Is everypony alright?" Cadance asked. Twilight nodded. Spike remained a sobbing mess. "Come on. We can't stay here. We need to get out of this forest before they burn it to the ground."