//------------------------------// // Mountain // Story: Carry the Fire // by Slywolf930 //------------------------------// Mountain The stars above twinkled in the night sky. The moon cast a transcending glow over the campsite for the three dragons and the young griffon. The members of this group were staring up at the sky, absently thinking and taking refuge by the small fire that they had lit. One of the members flinched to the side as a ruffle of leaves caught her attention. “Who’s there?” Cilia asked, her voice a cold counter to the warm fire. “It’s me, please no get angry!” A male voice called from the safety of the shadows. “Did you bring it?” Cilia asked, eyeing the shadows with a predatory gaze. “Yes, I bring it,” The voice responded, now closer. Spike recognized the voice as the Diamond Dog that had put him on cart duty. When he came out of the shadows to the campsite he pulled a small cart filled with gems of various colors. Spike was surprised to say the least, but Cilia looked pleased. Strife did not look away from the gems, as if they would fly away when he blinked. “Now get out of here,” Cilia hissed to the Diamond Dog. The Diamond Dog ran away, tripping on something and falling down the incline they were camped atop. Spike could hear his screams as he fell crashing through the forested mountain. When he turned to the others, they were gathered around the cart. Lis was the first to speak. “Why did he bring this?” Lis asked, looking to Cilia for clarification. “I heard that you two needed some gems for Faren. I struck up a deal with the Diamond Dogs, and here you are,” Cilia responded. “A deal? Was it the ‘you scratch my back, I scratch yours’ kind of deal, or the ‘do what I say and you live’ kind of deal?” Strife responded, sifting through the pile of gems like it was water. “Does it matter?” Cilia asked, lying down on the grass near the fire. “Nope,” Strife said, hugging the pile. “I don’t understand,” Lis said softly to Spike. “I’ll explain,” Spike said. (One boring recap later) “You went through slavery… to repay a debt?” Lis asked. “It wasn’t part of the plan, it just sorta happened,” Strife said from his position beside the cart. “And we were just lucky that she was there to bust us out?” Lis asked. “I’ll be calling on my favor later, but for now I’ll appreciate a thank you,” Cilia said. She was curled up and ready for sleep. “Fate does some funny things,” Spike said, remembering how much Twilight was thanking her destiny and fate after she had become an alicorn. After this, the group slowly shifted to rest mode. Cilia was silent at the edge of the camp, and Strife soon fell asleep. Spike was awake for a while, but he could hear Lis’ soft breathing in the corner of the camp. Since they had been sharing a cell, he had grown accustomed to the sound. He looked up to the sky, wondering if the moon was watching them. “Luna, if you’re listening, I want you to know that I’m not gonna give up. Yeah, there’s some bigger and scarier things that’ll try to stop me, but I won’t give up. You can tell Twilight to count on that,” Spike said. The stars glowed in response, and Spike felt that Luna was actually listening. He was glad that he had somepony watching over him. Strife wasn’t as bright as Twilight, and he felt that Cilia wasn’t the type of dragon he wanted to be friends with. Still, with Luna and Lis, he had confidence that before long he’d make progress in his goal. If he hadn’t already. “Dragons don’t give up.” Spike looked into the shadows, wondering where the voice came from. He caught the sight of Cilia’s glowing eyes staring at him. Spike couldn’t see the rest of her, only the eyes. “Ever.” Just like that, the eyes disappeared and the voice was quiet. The sounds of the sleeping forest were prominent. Spike stayed quiet, laying his head down on the rocky floor to rest. He didn’t feel like shifting to the grassier area near the fire, worried that Cilia may speak to him again. Whenever she did, he felt a chilling sensation inside of him, like she was speaking into him, and not to him. ------------ The morning brought with it an air of serenity. There was a mist that coated the grass around them, and the air was cool and damp. The fire had survived the night, and its coals were glowing softly in the center of the camp. Spike awakened to the slight breeze on his face. His eyes flickered open, landing on yellow eyes that were focused on him. “Hmm?” Spike asked drowsily as he raised himself off the wet ground. “An early dragon gives less warning,” Cilia said. Spike brushed off the grass that clinged to his scales. Lis was still sound asleep, but Strife was seated next to the gem cart. Cilia opened her wings and perched atop one of the nearby trees. Spike stretched his legs and yawned. He looked up at the sky to the sun. It must’ve just risen, because it felt like he hadn’t slept very much at all. He looked down at his claws, feeling the ache of the work he had done in the caves. After being in them for so long, it felt relaxing to know that he was done with that labor of pushing. “Spike, you can push the cart while we walk,” Cilia said from her perch. Spike’s eye twitched. “Why does Spike get to push the cart?” Strife asked. “Well if you’d rather do it, be my guest,” Cilia responded, jumping down from the tree. “Wake up the brat and let’s go,” Cilia said, already walking down the trail they were going to take. Spike gladly let Strife take the cart and strode over to Lis. He shook her once and she was awake instantly. Her eyes were wide open like she’d been struck, and her wings were shaking. “Are you alright?” Spike asked. Lis nodded her head, and her pupils went back to normal size. She stood up and looked around the camp as if to assure herself that she was really here. “We’d better get going. I don’t know how long the walk will be,” Spike said, aware that even though she was definitely not alright, she wouldn’t admit it to him. “Oh, okay,” Lis said, following Spike as he followed Strife out of the clearing. The four of them walked up the mountain away from the Diamond Dog hideout. They were walking away from the fire that was still burning softly in the morning mist. It slowly turned into nothing but ash. The smoke vanished with the mist, leaving the clearing alone. The sun cast a shadow from every tree. One of these shadows stepped out from the cover of the trees and into the clearing. He vanished into the air, leaving in a wisp of smoke down the mountain. The burdens we carry can give us our passion, or they can feel like a mountain.