Dragon Quest
Dragon Quest
Daytime in Ponyville…
Somewhere outside its boundaries Applejack and Pinkie Pie are excavating a trench, shovels in their mouths. They were preparing for an event of sorts, and other ponies were similarly preparing in other parts of town or outside it.
As for their friends, they were at Fluttershy’s cottage, trying to convince its occupant to go with them. Surprisingly for most of them, she was being very, very resistant to their insistence, but given what the event entailed, it shouldn't have been.
"Come on, Fluttershy. It’ll be fun," Twilight Sparkle pleaded.
Inside the cottage, she stood worriedly by the fireplace, watching as Rainbow Dash dragged the most unwilling yellow pegasus across the floor by the tail. And Chronicle was doing absolutely nothing to help, simply watching with dreamy eyes.
"There’s nothing fun about dragons! Scary, yes! Fun, no!" Fluttershy quickly broke loose and galloped back, Rainbow flying after to push her across again.
"But, Fluttershy, the Great Dragon Migration happens only once in a generation. Do you really want to pass up a chance like that?"
At this point, Fluttershy has latched all four hooves onto the frame of her open front door, and Rainbow was straining mightily to shove her out. And Chronicle was still doing nothing.
"Now that you put it that way, yes!"
Twilight teleported onto the step. "Aw, Fluttershy, we just don’t want you to miss out."
"Miss out on what? Dragons? Big, scaly, fire-breathing dragons?"
"Well…yeah."
"Thanks, but no thanks!"
At this point, Rainbow stopped pushing. "Look, Fluttershy." She then pulled out a photo out of…the rumored limited hammerspace Chronicle's cousin Ginger Cloud claimed all non-unicorns in Equestria had. "I watched that boring butterfly migration with you."
Said photo depicted both pegasi wearing pith helmets and in a meadow. Fluttershy was siting on her haunches, watching a long procession of flitting butterflies through binoculars, while Rainbow hunched grumpily off to one side. Chronicle remembered coming along, and having taken that picture (with a standard camera, though Surveillance also had that covered). Apparently, the Wonderbolt wannabe was somehow convinced when she was told that Spitfire was there. Obviously, it was a flimsy ruse (complete with cardboard cutout), but at least Rainbow didn't leave in a huff after that and stuck around.
Rainbow lowered the photo while Fluttershy looked quite out of sorts. "So now it’s your turn to watch the Dragon Migration with me. You owe me!"
"I…said…NO!!" Executing a lightning-fast 180, Fluttershy plowed the daredevil down to the rug and drove a few too many hooves into her belly. Twilight had time for one shocked gasp before Fluttershy galloped to a rear window with a rising growl. When she reached it, the half-deranged naturalist stood up on her hind legs, ready to smash the panes to atoms—and then she gave the gentlest push to open them before leaping out and away with a terrified whimper.
Twilight stared after her with jaw hanging wide open, watching Fluttershy gallop across the meadow and turned her attention to the dazed sky-blue pony still laid out on the rug—eyes spinning and butterflies circling her head.
"Okay, I guess I’ll let you off the hook this time," conceded Rainbow.
"I think that was too big a step," said Chronicle, still looking dreamy. "Try something else next time."
"Why didn't you do anything?" Twilight asked her bodyguard, which shook him out of his reverie.
"I promised not to force her to do anything she doesn't want to do, even if it's for her own good."
"Can't you break it just this once?"
He raised an eyebrow. "If you want Pinkie Pie to break a couple of my bones after…"
"You made it a Pinkie Promise?!" gasped Rainbow as she got up.
"Yes." In truth he didn't, but he respected his marefriend too much to force her to watch the migration if she was persistent in not watching. Besides, they can check it out via Surveillance at a later time, after asking permission from the others. And something in what she did "turned him on", which is why he didn't interfere.
"Oh well. Let's head to the trench. I'm sure Applejack and Pinkie Pie are done by now."
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At the trench, the two earth ponies were indeed finished, and they had added a few bushes for cover. Everypony present has donned camouflage shirts and either leaf/branch-covered army helmets or leaf-covered (or not) caps, the type used by Canterlot military advance scouts since the royal guard armor was sorely lacking in the stealth factor.
Twilight popped out with a pair of binoculars, and had mud smeared on her face. "I don’t see any dragons." she reported.
Applejack was right alongside with a set of her own, but instead of a helmet she was using a poncho with its hood up. "Me neither."
Pinkie, with a leaf-covered cap, also had binocs to her eyes, but turned the wrong way around. "Me neither, neither. Shoot!"
Rainbow had the same attire as Pinkie, but minus the leaves and plus the mud across her cheeks like Twilight. "You don’t think we missed ’em, do you?"
"No. I don’t think so," said Twilight. We’re just a little early, and I’m glad we are. This way, we can watch every moment of the Migration without bringing any unwanted attention to ourselves."
Also present was Chronicle, who had the same helmet as Twilight, but that was about it, and no mud streaked his cheeks. "Are you sure about this, Twilight?" he asked. "Aren't you worried about things like dragon dung raining down on our position?"
"Do you really think I’d be so eager to witness it this close if I had to worry about that?" retorted his charge. "Do you really think Rarity would would want to be anywhere near it?"
"So…dragons don't defecate?"
"Dragon bodies don’t produce waste at all. They just get bigger. I should know, since I raised Spike since he was an egg."
"Speaking of which, where is Spike?"
"He's coming around with food soon."
"YOO-HOO!!" a certain voice called. Four startled heads and one exasperated one turned in unison towards it, just in time to catch sight of a very long red carpet being rolled out toward the steps leading down into the trench. Rarity walked along this, maintaining normal volume while the others kept their voices down. "Well…"
Confetti and streamers burst from the end as it reached full length. As she approached, it could be seen that the designer was wearing her own version of camo, with the usual greens and browns replaced by a purple background and plenty of bright colors. Yellow ribbons adorned each foreleg sleeve, a matching ascot puffed out from the neckline, and the small hat bore a deep purple feather.
"…what do you think? Am I the toast of the trench or what?"
"You’ll be toast all right, when the dragons see you paradin’ around in that getup!" Applejack warned. Chronicle stifled a chortle at that.
"You look very nice, Rarity," Twilight said as she warmed up her horn, hitting the carpet and confetti with a burst of magic, making them vanish while Rarity descended the steps. "But could you maybe look nice down here in the trench with us?"
"'Nice' is an understatement. I look fabulous! Who says camouflage has to be drab?"
"Camouflage is explicitly meant to not attract attention," Chronicle said. "If those dragons see you, I wouldn't be surprised if one of them decided to kidnap you."
"Do you really believe those old fables where dragons kidnapped (non-alicorn) princesses and gallant knights came to their rescue?" Twilight asked.
"No. Just wanted to make a quip."
"Ahoy, mateys!" Pinkie called out. "Dragons, ho!"
"We're not out at sea, Pinkie." Though I wish I was.
As broad winged shadows started to pass over the trench, five pairs of binoculars and one set of opera glasses were brought to bear. Pinkie had hers turned around the right way now.
"Ooooh…ahhhh…"
Right above was a plethora of soaring dragons, in a bewildering range of sizes, colors, and body types. One particularly large orange specimen did a loop-the-loop that carried it low over the trench.
"Wow… Amazing!" Twilight.
Applejack and Rainbow were also awestruck—at least until the latter waved it off with a dismissive raspberry. "Pretty lame move. Is that all they’ve got?"
A vivid magenta dragon got sideswiped in midair by a green one and unleashed a broad jet of fire toward ground level. All but Rainbow hit the dirt and the flames bathing the area in a lurid glow.
Once that was over, Applejack was the first to stand and was smug in her comeback. "What do you think of that move, Rainbow Dash? Still think they’re lame?"
The gobsmacked blue face was now smudged with soot from the three-alarm close call. Her cap had been blown halfway off her head, and the fringe of her mane was singed and smoking. "Uh, not so much. The word 'fierce' comes to mind."
"And 'formidable'!" Rarity.
Pinkie was hunched down, hooves to head. "And 'super-duper scary'!" Holding out one front hoof, she got a cupcake plunked onto it by a familiar clawed hand with light purple hide.
"Yeah," agreed Spike, who has shortly joined them in the trench, wearing a frilly white apron with a bright pink heart and wheeling a loaded snack cart. "Us dragons are definitely a force to be reckoned with." As he gave Applejack a cookie, Rainbow toppled on her back and yukked it up as Applejack and Pinkie snacked.
"Yeah, right, Spike. That’s one of the scariest aprons I’ve ever seen!" Everypony except the unicorns then laughed.
"What’s wrong with wearing an apron?" he protested. "You won’t be laughing when you spill blueberries all over your scales…uh, feathers. That’s one tough stain!
"One tough stain against one lame dragon!"
The reptilian green eyes cycled from shock to resentment.
Rarity stared her down in response. "You leave him alone, Rainbow Dash! Spike’s style is unique. He doesn’t have to look like other dragons."
"Or act like them," added Twilight as the other unicorn mare jumped over to the baby dragon and twanged his head spines.
"My little Spikey-wikey is perfect the way he is."
Spike was puzzled at this. "I don’t act like other dragons?"
Pinkie jumped over. "Oh, not even close!"
Applejack then stepped up. "But why would you want to, Spike?"
"Yes!" agreed Rarity. "You’ve got something those dreadfully fierce dragons can only dream of."
Spike perked up at this. "What’s that?"
The white unicorn proceeded to pinch his cheeks and do baby talk. "Your cutest wittle chubby cheeks!" She ended this with a happy little squeal.
"And cordial relationships with ponykind," Chronicle added. "You should be proud of that."
Spike was shocked and blushing at Rarity's statement. "Cute?! Dragons aren’t supposed to be cute!…Right?"
"Oh, sweetie, you are turning the most delightful shade of red. It is most becoming."
All five mares were now gathered around the cart and smiling. the only stallion just continued watching the dragons, vexed that his friends were being insensitive to Spike's feelings as his eyes darted nervously from one to the next, after which he let go with a furious growl before climbing/jumping out of the trench and stomping away as the dragons continued their flight. Rarity poked her head up after him, followed by the other mares in short order.
"Oh, isn’t he adorable when he waddles off in anger?" she said.
"Waddle?!" Spike then let off a loud, frustrated yell.
"You girls are being insensitive again," Chronicle warned as he turned away from the migrating dragons and to them. "You know what I do when you do that, right?"
The five mares gulped in nervousness. Sometimes, they're able to heed his warning; sometimes, they don't, and he has to do what he warned he would be doing. For some reason, despite the punishment (slaps to the face and a harsh chewing-out), it was sometimes very easy to forget, and so there are quite a number of those sessions.
Thankfully for them, they didn't reach that threshold.
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Nighttime, at the library…
"What am I?" Spike pondered as he gazed through the bedroom window from his basket. All the lights were out. "Where am I from? Who am I supposed to be?"
Chronicle was already sound asleep in his bed, too deep to be awoken by a dragon's pondering. Twilight however did not have that same talent, and had been jamming a pillow over her head to block out his voice but failing to. Finally, she put it back in place with a loud groan.
"I don’t know!" she said. "For the last time, Spike, you were given to me as an egg. I don’t know who found you or where they found you."
"Seriously? That’s all you know?" Spike asked as he turned away from her.
"I’m sorry, Spike."
He then sat up. "That doesn’t tell me anything about who I am!" Spike then jumped out of the basket and approached a mirror at the wall. "I need answers! I feel like I’m…" His eyes swelled with tears as he touched the glass. "…I’m looking at a complete stranger."
He sank to the floor with a dejected moan, as Twilight walked over to him. Oh, Spike…" She then gave a smile. "…why don’t we do some late-night research? See what we can find out."
He wiped his eyes as she stepped away. "Really?" The lights were turned on, though Chronicle was too deep in sleep to be disturbed by it. "You’d do that?"
The inquisitive unicorn was already in the reading room downstairs and levitating a book off one of the shelves. "Of course! I’m sure we can find something." She then opened it and started reading.
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Meanwhile, in the dreamscape…
Chronicle stood in the darkness, with only a beacon of light from somewhere above illuminating a small section of white barren floor. He was in the middle of a spells-reviewing session, to ensure that he's able to remember all the spells he may need in certain situations. Telekinesis, teleportation, the magic shot, the magic horn blade, barriers, clone summoning, his hammerspace, and the Binding Circle were on the top of that list. Next are the personal enhancement spells, water-walking, 'magic transfer', cloud walking, magic sight, Glimmer Wings, and the magic tether. Following that are the pinpointing spell, double jump, wall stick, small burn trail, enhance vision, and airblast.
There are also a few other spells he's been learning as well (and learned during his studying stint post-Discord). There's the vision-enhancing spell, which he picked up from Bullseye, a basic illumination spell from Twilight, an "immunity veil" he decided to pick up on after the Cutie Pox incident, a "Heat Veil" spell he had forgotten but finally recalled during his studying stint, night vision, and a silencing spell that merely blocks speech (and not magic as he thought when he decided to learn it).
There's also a "holding Spell" from Rarity, which constrains its target, but allows for speech and breathing, and uses less energy than his Binding Circle, though it cannot be used on larger targets. And then the "Summon Item" from Luna Equestria's Lyra Heartstrings, which consists of creating a sphere of magic and taking an item from anywhere (as long as he knows where it is) and once the sphere pops, the item is teleported there. He's still struggling to remember he has those spells, and he keeps a 'notebook' in the dreamscape to ensure he at least remembers. I mean, it's not like I have little beings in my brain doing that for me, right?
There's also a lot more spells than that that he's learned, like a Paralysis Scattershot, 'spirit' beams both homing and raining, smoke conjuring, a slow-down spell, mind-hastening, object-hastening, runes, and explosive clones, but it was too much to memorize right now.
On top of that, he's been trying to learn the spell Morpheus has trouble using; the "full disguise" spell, but without much success, as it was a very complicated spell. He'd like to learn it though, since it was a very useful spell. He found it pitiful that very few civilian unicorns, or even Royal Guard specialists for that matter, learn more than one spell in their entire lifetimes save for ones that pertain to their special talent (and basic telekinesis). Twilight and Mystic Shield were always aspiring to learn more, the former out of curiosity and the latter so he can continue on teaching. As for the latter's students, he wouldn't be a good teacher if he couldn't impose his philosophy to keep on learning. And this could probably be because of her friends, but Rarity is beginning to learn more than what her talent calls for as well in terms of spells.
All of a sudden, there came a presence that meant only one thing; a relative of his has entered the dreamscape. There's a different sign when Princess Luna comes in, and it always heralded by some sort of conventional dream in which he'd have to notice what was amiss before revealing herself, if she doesn't do so after a while.
Thankfully, this arrival came quietly and appeared in front of him. However, he took note that the arrival was not a pony like most of his family members. This one was a dragon, but curiously not like the ones native to Equestria. In fact, they looked more like one fom some other 'target' world. This dragon looked like they can walk of fours or twos, and was very solidly built with a large body, tail, and thighs. They had two small wings on their shoulder blades, spiky ridges down their spine, and a strong tail tipped with a triangular plate. They also had large ears, and an obvious underbite. Their scales were a deep blue like Chronicle's own coat.
"Um, hello, Timmy," he greeted meekly as he raised an arm up.
Keeping calm, Chronicle answered, "That would be me, but call me Chronicle. Who would you be?"
The dragon lowered his arm. "David, real name and assigned name."
"Assigned world?"
"None so far, but I'm due for one tomorrow. From what I'm told of it, in its past, both Princesses Celestia and Luna turned bad, and a third Princess overthrew and sealed them away."
"Third Princess?" Chronicle tilted his head in confusion. It was the same in Topaz Spring's, except Discord is the ruler.
"Don't know her name yet. But it has something to do with music." David put a claw to his chin. "Cadence, I believe."
"Cadence, huh?" Now that's a new name.
"I'm also told music is a main theme in there, and that I'll need an instrument of my own. Luckily, I still happen to have my ocarina." And David pulled one out from the dreamscape, colored brownish-red like the terracotta it was made from.
"I happen to have one too." Chronicle 'summoned' his black one, which was for calling forth Princess Luna. They both then put their ocarinas away. "But why are you here, anyway?"
"Well, I already know what I'm going to do there, but I want to know what is ponykind's stance on dragons? I mean, I know it may differ between each Equestria, but I'd like to hear what it's like in yours."
The answer was easy, really. "Well, in my Equestria…" No need to tell about Spike for now. "…dragons are unknown, rare, and feared. You'll have to work really hard to gain ponykind's trust, and keep on earning it. Don't act as I do; I can only get away with it because I'm also a pony, don't ask how that makes sense."
David nodded. "I think I do. Because dragons are rare, I'll be setting an example of my race, or asserting that I'm not like them. You on the other hand are just regarded as different and nothing more."
"I believe that's it."
"Thank you for your wisdom, Chronicle."
"I'm no idol to revere. Just a Field Operative like most of the rest of the family."
"I know. Well, I gotta go."
"Take care of yourself," Chronicle bid farewell as David vanished from his dreamscape, then let out a sigh. "Now where was I…"
SCFIM—SCFIM—SCFIM—SCFIM—SCFIM—SCFIM
Morning…
As was proper for an all-night study session, Twilight was now slumped over in fatigue and dishevelment. The shelves behind her were now completely bare, their contents piled up all over on the floor as they moved to the ground floor. By this time, Chronicle had woken up, frowned in disgust over the mess he saw around him, and then deployed a few magical clones to sort the books in proper tiles before going downstairs.
Unlike Twilight, he doesn't know where every single book goes, and she once flipped out on him when he tried returning books to the shelves so as to not make a mess on the floor, going on an extended rant on which books go to which shelf, which order they go in, and how he should "obviously" know after living in the library with her all this time. He sorted books in piles ever since to at least make it easier for her (and Spike).
Around the same time, at a bed similar to Spike's but smaller, and positioned next to Chronicle's own, the amradillo that went by the name Rock awakened, ready to roll. He saw the multiple copies of his master working in the room, but he knew the real one has already left it. With that, he made his way downstairs.
After prepping himself for the day, as Chronicle made his way down to the ground floor of the library, he saw his charge float a book over to herself and magically flipped pages. "Nothing," she said as she sent it away to 'grab' another. "Nothing in this one either."
Elsewhere in the room, Spike sat among the jumbles and looked through one volume. Nothing at all about dragons?" He then threw it aside. "This is getting ridiculous!" He then hunkered down miserably, eyes tearing up.
"I know! It’s hard to believe, but ponies know next to nothing about dragons. Apparently they’re too rare and too scary to try to talk to or study." She then noticed Chronicle make his way to her. "Oh, Chronicle. Thank goodness you're up. Perhaps in all your travels, you know at least a few dragon facts none of us know."
"Sorry, but aside from Spike, all of my dragon encounters were hostile-on-sight," he replied solemnly. "Although I did discover that Spike's letter-sending fire isn't unique to him; most dragons use it to transfer their hoards. Why don't we ask Zecora? She seemed to know quite a bit about dragons when we last visited her."
"Zecora's currently away. According to the note she left behind, she's visiting her mother since it's her birthday today."
"Ain't that convenient." Chronicle's statement was dripping with sarcasm. At around this time, Rock made it to the ground floor, and joined his master's side. A little sob from Spike’s direction changed the stallion's mood.
"I wonder if…dragons…cry," the dragon asked himself.
"Of course they do." He said nothing more, as that would ruin the mood. He recalled all the times Spike had cried, the time Basil was brought to tears after Fluttershy scolded him, and one eccentric dragon whose name he can't remember from his freelancer days; that last one was an embarrassingly easy job. If only he had tried making friends with them like he did with Steven Magnet… but the past is in the past.
As for Twilight, she stepped over with a hankie to wipe Spike's eyes and nose. "Aw, Spike…"
But he pushed it away and stood up, filled with determination. "It’s okay, Twilight," he said as he crossed the room. "I’m gonna discover who I am if it’s the last thing I do!"
The front door was thrown open, exposing Rainbow and Rarity on the step.
"Hey, guys!" greeted the former.
"Yoo-hoo!" greeted the latter. Spike got out a surprised yell and dove into the nearest pile of books. "Good morning!"
The two then entered. "You want to join us for breakfast?" offered the pegasus.
"That sounds great," said Twilight. "I’m famished."
"Sure thing," agreed her bodyguard. "I haven't even had coffee." His pet armadillo nodded.
As for Spike, as he picked a book off his head… "Count me out." He then jumped down. "I’ve gotta get an early start."
"An early start?" Rarity asked as he stood at the door.
"Yes. I’m going on a quest of self-discovery. I need to learn what it means to be a dragon. And the only way I’m gonna do that is to join the Dragon Migration!"
"What?!" everypony gasped.
Now back inside, he lay a stick and a large square of cloth on the nearest table and walked off.
"Spike, that’s nonsense talk! I know that you’re a dragon, but those dragons mean business!" Rainbow tried to talk him out of this as he retrieved a few items from a pantry cupboard: sandwich, apron, and the apple-patterned blanket he received as a birthday present from Applejack before he returned to the table and set them on the cloth. "They’re big and tough and scary."
"And I’m small and meek…" Spike finished sullenly as he picked up the apron. "…and I like to wear aprons." …and threw it aside. "See? This is exactly why I need to spend time with ’em."
"All I’m saying is that you could get hurt." Rarity joined the two as Spike started tying up the bundle.
Darling, this time I really do have to agree with Rainbow Dash. I don’t want those big, ugly, nasty dragons—" She then proceeded to baby talk him, rubbing his head. "to hurt one little scale on your cutesy-wutesy head."
With the bundle now knotted onto the stick, Spike hefted it onto his shoulder and stalked off, knocking her hoof away. The show of affection has, if anything, only hardened his resolve. "I’m sorry, but I’ve made up my mind."
Rarity immediately turned to Rainbow and sputtered, "Quick, do something! Stop him before it’s too late!"
The speedster’s wings propelled her over to the door in no time flat and she got the bundle in her teeth, starting a fierce tug-of-war. "Hey!" He grunted hard. Meanwhile, the two library-residing unicorns were deep in thought, though their ideas were different. "Give it back!"
Just then, Twilight teleported over to stand between the two. "Hold it!"
Two more quick teleports removed them from the spot and re-materialized them a few feet back on either side. Once they and the bundle have all hit the floor, she levitated the impromptu luggage and eyed it ruefully before floating it down to Spike.
"Really?" he asked.
"Don’t tell me you think he should go!" Rainbow argued. Spike, now up, got his bundle on his shoulder.
Twilight just smiled. "Yes, Spike. I couldn’t answer your questions. My books couldn’t, either. I understand why you want to look elsewhere. I truly believe you need to go on this quest. And we have no right to stop you!"
"I suppose not," agreed Rarity.
At this point, Rainbow was upright again. "I still say you’re nutty, but…hey. I’ve done lots of nutty things."
"We know," everybody else said wearily. She snarled at herself at that.
"We all have at one point or another," added Chronicle.
Twilight hugged Spike. "Well, then, I guess this is goodbye, Spike. We can’t wait to hear about it—when you return."
"Yeah!" agreed Rainbow. "We hope your trip—"
"Quest."
"—your quest answers some of your pesky 'who am I' questions."
"Thanks, everypony. I know it will," Spike replied before walking away. As he left, the four ponies have gathered on the step and waved.
"Goodbye, Spikey-wikey!" Rarity.
"Go get ’em, big guy!" Rainbow.
"We have faith in you!" Twilight.
"You better come back!" Chronicle.
The mares had ear-to-ear grins, while the stallion already knew they were planning something.
"We’re following him, right?" Rarity asked Twilight.
"Of course."
"Allow me to go on ahead," Chronicle replied as he 'took out' the stallions-only carpet given to him on his birthday. Rock shortly got on, but his master wouldn't notice until it was too late. "You girls rally the others, but leave Fluttershy out of this." And with that, he cruised…in a different direction from Spike's.
"Um, Spike's that way," Twilight helpfully pointed out.
"I need to get some food!" he called back. "This is going to be a long trip!" And with that, he was off.
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Eyecatch (video-type)
[A/N: Due to the video not being available, please look for (and envision) Digimon Adventure's first eyecatch.]
{Six cards fly in from the right and pile up on one another, depicting the following in the following order: a star-tipped wand spreading stardust, a pink cross with four hearts between each of its 'arms', seven bubbles, a trio of smiling daisies, a compass rose, and a simple spiral sunburst.}
{The seven cards then shine into white and form together into something else: A picture depicting one row of six ponies. From left to right: Nurse Redheart, Cheerilee, Trixie, Derpy Hooves, Zecora, and Daring Do. The show's logo shows up on the bottom right.}
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It didn't take as long as he thought it would. Even if it did, Chronicle's Surveillance and his tracking spell would help him find Spike. Though the migrating dragons were still a pretty good indicator. And he was a little incensed that Rock decided to come along without his consent. Then again, he did decide on adopting Rock with the express purpose of helping in battle. He just didn't want to start with dragons, but the armadillo's pleading eyes couldn't get him to drop off Rock at the library. It would be much worse if Rock were to take off by himself after him; he wasn't certain that would happen, but Chronicle wasn't willing to take the risk. Perhaps he wasn't thinking rationally, but he didn't care right now.
After recalling the survival skills he utilized in forest trips, especially the one he had when he was Chocolate Sun's charge, he purchased the necessary supplies. Well, more like requested from Pinkie Pie with her abilities and emergency stashes. Thankfully, the sight of him flying on a carpet has no longer become a sight to behold and was now just another regular thing. Well, semi-regular, as he doesn't use the carpet often.
Once he was ready, Chronicle bee-lined out of Ponyville and after Spike, Rock in tow. With the hordes of airborne dragons above him amidst the clear blue sky, he was deep in thought.
With dragons in general being hostile to ponies, who knows what may happen if they encounter him in their territory? Will it cause complications in their relations with Equestria? If only he learned the invisibility spell Blue Diary's Trixie learned. Or even just an invisibility spell learned here. But there's also the case of whether or not they can somehow sense past unicorn magic. So many questions, so few answers. He will have to 'wing it' from here and hide the best he can, using Surveillance to keep an eye on Spike, and keep Rock close.
The weather was clear at first, but eventually it got windy, and then rainy. Spike kept on going, and so did Chronicle as he kept out of the attention of any dragons. Somehow, it was easy, even though a pony on a flying carpet could look like easy prey.
The following morning, while Spike stopped for a breakfast of tea and cookies, Chronicle similarly camped two-thirds of a mile behind him and consumed enough provisions to not go hungry, as well as fed Rock; that would not be good for him if he had to get into a fight. When the unicorn was ready to go, he saw Spike already moving on, but there was also a saucer and teacup left behind. His inner scavenger compelled him to retrieve the items, and that's what he did.
Later on, the trek took the two Ponyvillians (and probably a couple more behind them) up a snowy mountainside in a violent blizzard alongside a couple of rams. Well, instead of bothering with going up (and inevitably down), Chronicle decided to fly around the mountain; no need to make the trip more difficult than necessary, and he can always relocate Spike with a tracking spell on the teacup and saucer the dragon left behind.
After Spike finished descending the mountain, he took a raft poled down a river through a forest by a donkey, with Chronicle still sailing overhead. The two would eventually know his name to be Cranky Doodle Donkey, and he would one day reach Ponyville, but that's another story. Eventually, Spike reached his stop, thanked the donkey, and continued through the forest, passing a nest holding a pair of phoenixes. The unicorn committed that scene to memory; as far as he knows, phoenixes are extremely rare, though they can probably be not as rare as he thought in Equestria.
C—S—C—S—C—S—C—S—C—S—C—S
Later afternoon…
Chronicle could now see a line of smoking volcanoes dead ahead, with most of the migrating dragons making for the craters. Spike had also accumulated a scruffy gray beard out of ram wool and dirt, which was shortly discarded as soon as he saw the volcanoes as well and sprinted ahead, climbing up the steep rock face, though he tripped and slid down once.
Now that he was close, Chronicle had to find a place to hide, somewhere he won't be disturbed as he uses Surveillance to check on Spike. He quickly found it in the forest under a bush. After taking cover there, and deploying a clone to watch for whoever might encounter him, he took out Surveillance and started watching, and made sure Rock wasn't straying by keeping him between himself and the Surveillance device; it wasn't like the armadillo could recognize the significance or think of telling others about it. But it wasn't long before the ones following him and Spike caught up, and they invited him along.
Spike climbed up, peeked warily in over the edge of one crater, and let his eyes go wide in pure amazement. Before him, full-grown dragons of all types glided through the hazy air and perch on the rocky ledges. Chronicle could recognize Reginald and Basil among them, and the latter let go with a blast of fire that came within an ace of torching Spike's stuff; he himself would be fine. A last-second duck kept them unburnt, and he peeked back up to find smoke rising from the impact point and a slab of red-hot rock. As it cooled off into black slag, he swallowed hard and turned his attention elsewhere. He looked around, seeing a couple of other full-size beasts, then tilted down to the crater floor, where a half-dozen smaller ones were goofing off amid piles of gems.
"All right!" Spike cried out enthusiastically. "Teenage dragons!" He began to run down. "Now that’s more my speed…and size."
He didn't notice a rather strange-looking dragon that lumbered up to the lip after him. The hide is green, the neck a lighter shade and sporting a bright magenta scarf, and the ears and back spines displayed a multitude of vivid colors. In addition, the snout was bright yellow-green and various jewels were set into the thing’s carapace; the mouth gaped open and the eyes pointed in different directions. Quite a few details give it away as a not-quite-authentic dragon: the visible seams and stitches, the legs of Rainbow and Rarity protruding from underneath, the blue pegasus wings sprouting from the back, the eye holes cut into the chest so Rainbow can see out, and Twilight’s head barely visible within the shadow of the open mouth. Various grunts and groans pointed up the trio’s difficulty in moving and balancing.
Chronicle had watched them pass by and declined their offer to join up, preferring the safety of his position, and also asked where Applejack and Pinkie Pie were. Twilight replied that they were busy at work, so they couldn't come. And they knew that asking Fluttershy would be a waste of time. Skyla and Mystic Shield had summarily refused as well, as they were also busy.
"I’m telling you, we’ll never pass for a real dragon!" Rainbow complained.
"Oh, pish-posh!" argued Rarity. "This costume is fabulous! One of my finer creations."
"Shhh!" Twilight shut them up. "We’ll never pass if they hear three voices coming out of one dragon. Now come on! Let’s go!"
Rainbow took a step forward over the edge, where gravity did its thing and dragged the group into the crater. Down below, four of the six teenage dragons cheered as the last two square off for a fight. One was red, with yellow-orange back/tail spines and head fin and pale yellow underbelly/wings. The other, much fatter one had brown hide, small red wings, thick blue horns, and a spiked ball on the end of a chunky tail.
The red one managed to get the brown one in a full nelson before Spike’s voice cut in.
"Um…excuse me?" the new visitor was now standing next to them. "Uh, hi. I’m Spike."
Upon closer inspection, it could be seen that the teens stood at least twice as tall as he does. There was general surprise from everybody as the red one dropped the brown one, and a purple dragon moved in close. This one had pale green hide on his underbelly and the lower surfaces of his wings, along with a shock of blond hair that hid his eyes.
"You sure your name is Spike and not Shrimp?" he asked derisively before bursting into laughter with the others.
"No! It’s Spike! I-I mean, I’m sure about that!"
The brown dragon poked him. "You look more like a Pee-Wee to me!"
More laughter came before the red dragon got them to stop. "Hey, guys, come on, seriously." He then walked over to Spike. "Leave him alone, or he might fly away—that is, uh…" He proceeded to dangle the smaller dragon upside down by his tail. "…if he had any wings!" He then dropped the little guy back to the crater floor, prompting a fresh wave of jeers.
"You flying on your mommy’s back during the Migration?" teased the brown dragon.
"Not exactly," Spike answered.
"No, no! Can’t you see baby Spike just hatched? I bet he still sucks his claw at night!"
"No! I haven’t sucked my claw in months!"
There was more laughter as the red dragon leaned down to him and the thumb that had reflexively found its way into his mouth.
"Well, if you weren’t just hatched…" he interrogated as Spike pulled the digit out. "…how come we haven’t seen you around before?"
"Oh! Well, you see, I live in Ponyville and—" The red dragon straightened up at that. "—and I’m—"
"Ponyville?" the red dragon interrupted with a nasty laugh. "That explains it! I knew there was something vaguely pony-ish about you!" He proceeded to back Spike against a rock. "If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you were part pony."
Spike was really scared at this point. "Who, me? I’m not part pony. I’m all dragon. See?" He then let go with the most vicious roar he can muster up—that is, not very—and thoroughly failed to impress the lot.
"Or maybe you’re a pony in a dragon costume," the ringleader taunted back with baby talk.
The others had a good laugh, not noticing the ersatz bejeweled one that had made its way down here. Back in his hiding spot, Chronicle bit back a laugh. It honestly was funny, given the presence of Twilight and the others, were it not for the fact that it was at Spike's expense.
"A pony in a dragon costume!" parroted the purple one as he fell against the costume.
Twilight let out a laugh in a faux deep voice. "Yeah. Hilarious."
The purple one then managed a puzzled squeak. Who let this joker in the place? he thought to himself.
"I am a real dragon!"
"Oh, yeah? Prove it!" dared the red dragon.
"Well…how?"
"By acting like one." He then called out to the others. "Who’s up for a little belching contest?"
The brown dragon and three other crew members—white with pink spines; blue with lavender spines/wing hide and light blue horns, and dark gray with forward-swept green hair and brownish-underbelly—cheered this suggestion with gusto. A couple of full-grown dragons took notice of this and decided to watch.
The white one was the first to step up. He cut loose with a jet of light blue flames. Up next was the purple one, who countered with a green blast of his own. The brown one’s louder, more sustained effort generated a sheet of orange fire that briefly enveloped the spectators and burnt the eyelashes off the three mares’ disguise. Thankfully, most of it was fireproof, and the mares also had a heat veil spell cast on them by Twilight to be able to survive so close to lava. The red, gray, and blue dragons voiced their enthusiastic approval as the brown one followed up a smoky little cough.
"You think you can beat that, Pee-Wee?" the red dragon teased as he elbowed Spike.
“Pee-Wee” swallowed hard and walked up to the line as Twilight grimaced within the costume’s mouth. Now standing alongside the other dragons, he let his cheeks bulge out and forced out a little burp of green fire that solidified into a scroll. Confused murmurs floated down from the teens, and their ringleader picked it up and unrolled the document.
“From the desk of Princess Celestia,” he read. “Dear Spike: Please tell—” He then cut himself off with a laugh. "Get this, guys! Spike’s pen pals with a namby-pamby pony princess!"
Spike was mortified on the end of this, and the others laughed themselves stupid.
Hmm. Maybe I could show this to Princess Celestia next time we meet, mused Chronicle as his mind wandered.
All of a sudden, every single dragon in front of him, including Spike, balked as they saw something come up from behind the ringleader, and then quickly zipped away.
The red dragon noticed and said, "Huh? Hey guys! Where are you going? What the heck is wrong with you?"
"Gah ha ha ha!!!" a very familiar voice came. "Namby-pamby pony princess!! That's a good one!! Boy! Girls really must get the hots for you!"
The red dragon began to sweat profusely as he slowly turned around to come face-to-face with the one and only Princess Celestia. And judging by her size, she must've cast a spell on herself in order to look so imposing that the teen is currently only just taller than her leg height.
"You and your jokes, you little wall lizard," she continued. "But now, I have a riddle for you…" Celestia then shoved her snout right into his with a maniacal grin. "What's red, insignificant, worthless, full of crap, and ready to go to the moon?!"
"Ummm…a rotten tomato in a space shuttle?" the dragon stammered.
Wait, what?
D—R—E—A—M—T—W—I—S—T
The last two words broke Chronicle out of his reverie as he realized he was just daydreaming. As a result, he missed what really happened, though he could always check it later; the letter was balled up, and thrown over the red dragon's shoulder to in a lava pool, which promptly incinerated it. Twilight was particularly incensed at such disrespect.
Nobody will ever know it, but the letter was an invitation to a wedding planned in the future between two ponies Twilight knew very well. They would never know about this wedding until just days before the actual event.
Right after that incineration, the red dragon has turned back to Spike. "Maybe tail wrestling is more your speed," he suggested.
"Uh…"
"YEAH!!" the other dragons agreed before Spike could get a word in edgewise.
C—TS—S—RD—R—?—C—TS—S—RD—R—?
The blue and gray teen dragons looped the ends of their tails together, and stood back-to-back with their legs braced. The ringleader of the group, who went by the name Garble, was on hand as the referee, and all the others watched from the sidelines. Chronicle decided it wasn't worth knowing the others' names and just pegged them by their colors until such time he encounters them again and they supply their names.
"Ready? Go!" Garble declared.
Every muscle in both combatants’ bodies kicked into overdrive, trying to drag the other off balance as Spike stared wonderingly. They remained at a stalemate for several long seconds, but one heave from Blue dropped Gray onto his belly to end the match.
"The winner!" the red dragon announced as he lifted the victor's tail, who flexed for the crowd as the loser nursed his freshly kinked tail.
Spike, meanwhile, cradled his own with visible unease while cheers rang out around him. "Good old tail wrestling."
Behind him, the ponies under their disguise discussed.
"We can’t let little Spikey-wikey wrestle one of them!" said Rarity."He’ll get clobbered!"
"Let’s go!" Twilight agreed, seeing Spike jittering and stiff as a board, then spoke in a faux deep voice "I challenge Spike to a tail wrestle!"
"Who’s this weirdo?" Garble asked Blue.
"I think he’s Crackle’s cousin," guessed Purple.
At an overlooking ledge, a rather strange-looking green dragon was perched. Tiny, light-green wings, matching back spines, thick, stubby blue horns, beady red eyes that steadfastly failed to point in the same direction, jewels embedded in the hide. It was a happy coincidence that there was actually a dragon with the same appearance as the costume. Crackle let off a yawp and scratched a spot with one hind leg.
"Oh. That would explain it."
The two adversaries’ tails were extend toward each other, with Rarity’s hoof supporting the fake one. It thumped to the ground as she retracted the limb, it falling over Spike’s tail after another nudge.
"Ready?" Garble called. "Go!"
The purple pipsqueak strained, but cannot even budge the green appendage hanging limply over his own. However, Chronicle, through Surveillance, 'grabbed hold' of the faux tail and flopped it over. It wasn't known if other ponies can do this, but he wasn't planning on having Twilight try it out; bad enough they knew he even had this, it'd be worse if she spends too much time trying to exploit it, as it would be a breach in Story Crew protocol.
Garble hoisted Spike upside down by the tail. "Spike’s the winner!" He announced before dropping the latter. Cheers ensued as Spike sat up. "Nice going, little Spike. Maybe you are a dragon after all." He flicked the short one under the chin and backed off.
"Yeah! Maybe I am!"
As the three mares made their way out of the combat zone, Chronicle contacted them via Surveillance.
"You're welcome," he said. "Please don't do anything to compromise your disguise like say falling over. I won't be able to make it in time to rescue you."
"How did you know that was my plan?!" Rainbow whisper-gasped.
"That was your plan?! Good thing I intervened, then."
Rarity then nudged the pegasus hard. "Ow."
Back outside the disguise, Spike’s confidence has now risen quite a few notches. "All right. Who’s next?"
"Getting a little cocky, huh? I like that. So how about you wrestle…" Garble pointed at— "…him!"
Hunkered down between White and Brown was a small and rather scared-looking blue-green dragon with yellow underbelly/horns and a tuft of orange hair. Only the head and upper body could be seen. Spike threw him a taunting smile, which was the cue for White and Brown to step out of the way to show that the underdeveloped forelimbs were attached to a smallish body that was in turn hooked up to a massive tail, easily three or four times the body length. As a final touch, the last few feet popped out a set of very unpleasant-looking spikes.
"Go!"
Up near the crater lip, Spike’s panicked yell cut the smoky air and the spiked appendage flung him up to smash into the rock face, from which he slowly slid down. As a couple of adult dragons watched the aftermath of what might be the shortest tail-wrestling match in history.
C—TS—S—RD—R—G—C—TS—S—RD—R—G
Later…
Garble was stepping nimbly up along a jewel pile’s slope, carrying Spike under his arm. So, Spike. You haven’t exactly proven yourself as a dragon yet…" He shortly dropped him on the end of this as they reached the top of the pile. "…have you?"
"But I get an A for effort?"
"Uh, maybe. Let’s see how you do in this next contest." A good shove sent the little guy on a long, bouncing, yelling tumble all the way to the ground, ended in a prostate position, and earned laughs from Blue and Brown. And that's when the contest began. "KING OF THE HOARD!!"
On the end of this, Gray, Brown, and Purple yelled and charged toward it as Spike dazedly peeled himself up and joined in. Up top, the dragon on the summit flipped one after the other off the slope. Spike crawled timidly up as the hooligans went flying past him.
Garble and Brown are left to grapple it out, and Chronicle was exploiting his Surveillance to telekinetically mess with the other competitors like moving the gems under their feet, 'pulling' their tails, 'tossing' gems at their face, and so on.
"This is my chance," Spike said to himself as he continued ascending. Just as Purple made another run up the hill, the disguised ponies dove right at him and knocked him away.
Finally, Spike reached the top and stood up between Garble’s hind legs to knock him off balance. Predictably, down he went, taking Brown with him and leaving Spike alone atop the mound of precious stones. Both eyes were squeezed tight shut, and the sight he found upon opening one brought a surprised smile to his face: dragons sprawled out senseless on all sides. "KING OF THE HOA—" He trailed off into a yell as the gems under his feet gave way and sent him bouncing down like a scaly Superball. The unceremonious descent dropped him on his back at Garble’s feet.
"Looks like this is another fail for you, little Spike," he said "Can’t wait to watch you fail at Lava Cannonball, too." Spike sweat and swallows hard at that.
"Actually, he made it to the top and knocked you down," Chronicle spoke, channeling his voice through his Surveillance cam on Twilight. He even used the faux deep voice she used earlier. "I saw the whole thing."
The ringleader turned to face the faux dragon. "Well, he didn't get to stay up, so there," he countermanded "A real dragon must have a secure footing even while atop his hoard, and he just proved he didn't."
"…Okay, then."
"What are you doing?" Twilight hissed at her bodyguard.
"Just defending Spike, that's all. He's got to know there's at least one dragon not belittling him."
C—TS—S—RD—R—G—C—TS—S—RD—R—G
Later…
The six dragon delinquents and the Ponyvillians were gathered atop a high ledge overlooking a bubbling lava pool. Spike peeked nervously out from the far end of the line.
"Whoever makes the biggest lava splash is the ultimate dragon!" Garble declared before jumping off. "GERONIMOOO!"
His landing in the pool threw spatters of molten rock up to the ledge. Spike cried out and flinches to avoid one, and another nearly burnt Rainbow’s foreleg off. Twilight was looking properly apprehensive in the costume’s mouth and decided it was best for them to back off. "Spike’s on his own this time." While Twilight had cast a "heat veil" spell to keep herself, her friends, and the costume from burning up in the sweltering heat coming from the lava, making contact with lava itself was still extremely inadvisable.
Purple, White, Blue, and Gray leaped off in quick succession, each yelling all the way down to the pool and sending up their own splashes. Brown waited for the hubbub to subside before making his move.
"CANNONBALL!!"
A geyser of lava rocketed skyward to mark his impact. Displaying a look that suggested his desire to grow a pair of wings and vacate the premises post haste, Spike stepped to the edge, looking to his feet, then to the pool, and then back to his feet again. His arms flailed for balance as he got out a choked cry of terror and backed up, plastering himself against a rock face.
"What’s wrong, Spike?" Garble taunted from below. "You afraid the lava will hurt your soft pony hide?" This was followed by a round of jeering laughter.
The brows above the reptilian green eyes lowered in a silent snarl, and a moment later Spike was back at the precipice. He stood tall, paying no mind to the sweat that began to run down his face. Now he took what might be the last hard swallow of his life, put his hands together, and took a screaming leap off the ledge. Instead of generating a splash like the others, he struck the pool surface spread-eagle, face down, and sank slowly into the bubbling mass.
"Ohhhh!" The entire dragon gang winced at the sight.
Spike’s head shortly broke the surface and he spit out a mouthful before seeing the others looking strangely at him. "Uh…was I…that bad?"
Garble instead gave a smile. "No, dude, that was awesome! Nobody could live through a belly flop like that!" He then started laughing as he picked him up by the head spines. "You’re one tough little dragon."
He dropped him shortly after, and the admiring murmurs from the group brought a smile to Spike’s face.
C—TS—S—RD—R—G—C—TS—S—RD—R—G
Once everybody was out of the lava pool, the teen dragons held what seemed to be some sort of fraternity-type ritual. Gray stuck a couple of fingers in his mouth and blew a braying whistle, then the tails of all but Garble were extended upward at an angle toward each other—three facing two. An apprehensive Spike was at one end of this impromptu gauntlet, and he slowly advanced toward Garble at the other.
"Spike!" the ringleader called. "By belly-flopping so hard, you have proven yourself worthy." He then touched each shoulder with his tail. "I hereby dub you “Rookie Dragon” and will now perform the initiation ritual." He then proceeded to pick him up, give a noogie hard enough to dizzy him, and set him down as he laughed. "Now let’s party dragon-style!"
As the others whooped it up in response, "Crackle's cousin" assumed a napping position from a safe position as the ponies inside took the time to eat from the supplies they brought with them. Far outside the craters in their hiding spot, Chronicle and Rock were doing the same thing. The former had deployed a magical clone as lookout.
"Twilight, I hope you're also trying to learn as much as you can about dragons," he advised. "It's not like we may have a chance to come back here."
"I know," she replied as she munched on a hayburger before re-casting the "heat veil" spell. "But Spike…"
"I'll watch over Spike. I promise."
"Not a—" Rainbow suggested.
"Not that kind of promise. I won't have her ditch work just to come and call me out."
"Do you seriously think Pinkie would go all the way out here just to do that?"
"I'm not gonna risk it. I've seen the consequences. We've all seen what happened when she thought a Pinkie Promise was broken. She's done impossible things. You think making her way here isn't out of her league?"
"Shh!" Rarity shut them up. "Multiple voices coming out of one dragon will make us suspicious."
Chronicle relented. "Fine. You're lucky Crackle looked a lot like your costume, you know."
C—TS—S—RD—R—G—C—TS—S—RD—R—G
The ensuing party was wild, but thankfully "Crackle's cousin" managed to not get burnt. The six goof-offs plus their new initiate were all sprawled out and sleeping off the effects of their party.
"Man…" said Spike. "…was that a great party."
"Great?" replied Garble. "Heh. Maybe by Ponyville standards. Stick with us, Spike." He thumped a shoulder. "We still got plenty to teach you about being a dragon."
"I’m not going anywhere. The way I feel right now, I could hang out with you guys forever."
Watching behind a nearby outcropping, three ponies showed expressions of disbelief. One much farther away instead showed worry, though worry was also in the three as well.
"Forever?" gasped all four.
C—TS—S—RD—R—G—C—TS—S—RD—R—G
Eyecatch (video-type)
[A/N: Due to the video not being available, please look for (and envision) Digimon Adventure's first eyecatch.]
{Eight cards fly in from the right and pile up on one another, depicting the following in the following order: a trio of butterflies, a trio of apples, a trio of balloons, three rhombus-shaped blue gems, a six-pointed pink star, an orange circle depicting an open book inside, a red-yellow-blue striped lightning bolt coming from a white cloud, and a couple of green flames.}
{The eight cards then shine into white and form together into something else: A picture depicting seven animals and a small nondescript silhouette. The top depicts (from left to right) Gummy with balloons tied to his body, Tank with his copter attachment, the silhouette, and Owlowiscious. The bottom row depicts Winona, Angel, Rock, and Opalescence. The show's logo shows up on the bottom right.}
C—TS—S—RD—R—G—C—TS—S—RD—R—G
The three-pony fake ducked back behind the rock before its three occupants started talking.
"Spikey-wikey is going to stay with these awful dragons forever?" Rarity was particularly distressed.
"Oh, no! This is terrible!" gasped Twilight.
"I shoulda stopped him back at the library when I had the chance!" Rainbow blamed herself.
"No, Rainbow Dash. This is all my fault. I encouraged him to go."
"Let's not get too ahead of ourselves, girls," Chronicle assured. "Spike may change his mind yet."
Outside the faux dragon, the real ones were stretching and yawning after a good nap. "You know, Spike, I think you just might be ready for a real dragon raid," said Garble. There were cheers all around. "There’s a nest full of phoenix eggs nearby, and we’re gonna swipe ’em."
Spike voiced an unsettled little squeak. "Heh. Aren’t you totally psyched to go on this raid?" Brown said before shoving him down to the ground.
The young dragon shortly stood up with false bravado. "Oh, yeah. I’m excited. I mean, I-I’m psyched!"
"All right, then." Garble then gave the order. "Let’s fly!"
The unwilling accomplice can only glance at his own wingless back as Garble, Brown, and Purple lifted off. Pink had been called back by his mothers, Blue was still asleep, and Gray couldn't be bothered to get up with the rest, so they weren't participating.
"Uh, sorry, guys!" Spike called after them. "I guess I’ll meet you back here at the crater—after the whole raid thing’s over? We’ll totally hang then!" Brown then swooped down and snatched him, eliciting a scared yell.
"Oh, no!" Rainbow gasped, now peeking from the costume mouth. "They took Spike!" she shortly ducked away. "We gotta go after them!"
Without waiting for a consensus, the overeager pegasus did her best to lift the rig off. All she did was get the middle section a couple of feet off the ground, so that Twilight and Rarity were dragged along. The latter's terrified squeal was heard from beneath the gaudy green costume. The head unicorn looked forward, and balked at the sight of the rapidly approaching lava pool dead ahead.
"Rainbow Dash, stop! We can’t fly!" Twilight yelled.
"You're getting too close to a lava pool!" Chronicle.
"And you’re ruining my fabulous costume!"
Fortunately, they skid to a stop with only inches to go before plunging into the smoldering liquid.
"I’m sorry, but we gotta help Spike!" said the pegasus.
"Well, we’re just gonna have to hoof it!" declared Twilight.
"I'm going on ahead," Chronicle told them as they did just that, passing over the crater lip. "I should still be able to track his whereabouts."
"Don't start a fight with them."
"No promises. It all depends on how they're treating Spike. If they're gonna harm him…"
"Okay, I get it."
C—TS—S—RD—R—G—C—TS—S—RD—R—G
Evening…
Chronicle was cruising just above the ground on his carpet, Rock clinging onto his back. Thankfully, that teacup and saucer still had enough of Spike's…"scent" in them for the tracking spell to work. It works both better and worse than a dog's nose; even when an object's scent is masked by a stronger smell, the spell can still look for its last physical holder, but some scents can last for longer than the 'scent' the tracking spell checks for.
Anyway, he finally got close to their location, and he realized it was close to the phoenix nest he and Spike saw earlier. Speaking of Spike, he and the other dragons were hunched down behind a nearby bush, with Garble peeking out through and at the nest. He shortly closed it and turned to the initiate. "All right, Spike. Since you’re our rookie dragon, you get to lure the parents away from the nest."
Spike laughed nervously. "Heh. Lucky me."
Garble then shoved him into the open. "Well, go on, then!"
A beat and a half of silence followed before Spike proceeded to call overhead, waving his arms. "Hey, Mr. and Mrs. Phoenix! I was hoping I could have a word with you?" The two avians just traded a confused little caw. "Um…I’d, um, like to ask you some questions, actually!"
Already impatient, Garble peeked out… "We haven’t got all day, Spike!" …picked up a rock, and dropped it into the purple clawed hands before ducking away.
Spike then hauled back for a throw and taunted, "Hey, you birdbrains! Come and get me!" With that, he let it fly.
The rock dropped nearly inside, a loud bonk was heard, and two annoyed phoenixes sat up. The fresh lump on the male’s head told the tale, and he let go with a growling caw that spooked Spike into a full retreat before swooping with his mate, both fully ignited, after this impudent interloper.
After they have gone, the three teens flew up from their bush and hovered by the nest. But what they saw caught them by surprise. "What the—?" Garble gasped. The nest proved to be full, not of eggs, but of five brand-new, happily cheeping hatchlings.
"The eggs have hatched!" Purple pointed out the obvious.
"What do we do now?" Brown asked the ringleader.
"We take the hatchlings, of course," the "obvious was pointed out menacingly.
All mentioned five screeched and scattered, leaving Garble to grab only a handful of air. One popped up behind his shoulder and zipped ahead, dodging his straight-arm grab—and then two more emerged out of thin air and perched on that limb. A dual dive through Garble’s legs had him snatching at nothing under his tail. The next three appeared on his head and split up as he tried to slam his jaws closed on them. The sum total of all these contortions was to leave his whole body tied in a knot, after which he toppled onto his back as the five baby firebirds blew a hearty raspberry and bugged out.
Wow. Looks like pranking is inherent in all phoenixes here, Chronicle mused from his hiding place as the brown and purple dragon got their leader untied.
"Get ’em!" Garble yelled and the others took off as he—now back on his feet—got a running start on the nest to catch up. His motion caused part of the structure to crumble away and send an intact egg tumbling over the side. Its shell was a glossy orange and streaked with yellow flames, and it bounced from limb to limb, skimmed off a spiderweb, and dropped from the end of a low branch into some bushes before rolling into the open.
Chronicle didn't witness this since he had immediately went after Garble and company on his carpet. He didn't condone whatever it was they were going to do, even if phoenixes were long-living.
Meanwhile, Spike continued his frantic getaway from the two hot-tempered parents. The male came within an inch of chomping his tail off before the hatchlings’ distant shrieks cut in. When Spike tripped on a rock and went face first in the dirt, he looked up to find the pair doubling back toward the distress call.
Back at the chase, Garble and company were hot on the quintet’s tails, Chronicle following discreetly from below on his flying carpet. The red dragon tried to munch one down, only to get a huge lick of fire across the kisser instead. This cleared to leave his face smudged with soot and no hatchlings in sight. He looked around, groaned loudly and charged ahead as one of the adults streaked across his path.
"GET THEM!!" he yelled impatiently.
Wow! Chronicle was amazed. Phoenix flames are hot enough to burn dragons?!
All seven birds have since regrouped and sped up somehow to stay ahead of the marauding dragons. A nasty laugh drifted up to them, and Garble very nearly snagged a couple of incandescent tail feathers in his teeth. The male’s counter-move was to turn and face them while hovering backwards, his wings spread to full length. An intense sunburst issued from his body, blinding the dragons so that they ran flat into a tree. Chronicle on the other hand had his carpet stop as soon as the flash came.
Once it faded, he saw the three dragons had embedded themselves in the trunk, with Garble at the top and Brown and Purple below him. A frustrated growl floated down from the boss. "They got away! I hate that!" he cursed before the tree decided that now was the perfect time to fall over.
Glad that the phoenixes were safe, the unicorn sailed back to the nest, his pet armadillo still holding on.
C—S—G—C—S—G—C—S—G—C—S—G—C—S—G
Back where the raid started…
Spike saw the family of phoenixes flee as he approached the scattered twigs and eggshell fragments that marked the remains of the nest. He then saw the lone egg resting on the ground and walked up to it.
"Huh. What have we got here?" he asked himself as he picked it up, whereupon the three vandals landed facing him, having separated themselves from the timber. As for Chronicle, he was already back at his hiding spot and managed to evade their notice. "What happened?"
"They got away!" Garble growled before noticing something that surprised him. "Hey." He leaned down to Spike. "You stole an egg?"
"Uh…"
"Well, I guess the raid wasn’t a total waste after all." Brown and Purple cheered and he clapped Spike on the back, causing him to almost drop the egg. "Nice going, Spike."
"Well, what are you waiting for, Spike?" Brown asked. "Smash it!"
"Smash the egg?"
He laughed. "Yeah!"
"Yeah!" agreed Purple. "Throw it on the ground as hard as you can!"
The three began to laugh and start into a chant of “Smash it! Smash it! Smash it!” Uncertainty gave way to determination as he raised the egg overhead, ready to dash it against the rocks.
The trio fell silent.
The green eyes squeezed shut and reopened under a sweaty brow.
They leered down at him.
He tensed himself for the throw…
And then he stared levelly up at them even as tears started to well up in his eyes. And he yanked the egg away.
"No! It’s just a defenseless egg, like I was! And I’m not gonna let you hurt it!"
"What did you say?" gasped an indignant Garble.
"I said no!"
"No one says no to me." Garble began to lean threateningly over him as he started to back Spike up with a snarl. The little guy runs into something green and jeweled, with an eye peeking out through a hole.
It was "Crackle's cousin", their teeth and spines gleamed viciously in the dim light, and the whole thing threw off a burst of brilliant light that caused all three teens to rethink the idea of attacking Spike, at least for a moment, which Chronicle used to discreetly teleport behind them. He had left a magical clone at his previous location for them to find and they debated on a plan; he was not going to be left out this time.
And then the "dragon" revealed itself to have been a costume as it revealed the three ponies beneath it, all with their forelegs up, ready to slug it out. Twilight and Rarity stood on their hind legs, while Rainbow hovered above Spike’s head. Behind the dragons, Chronicle remained on all fours and entered a battle stance for a surprise attack.
"Nobody’s gonna lay a claw on him!" Rainbow.
"That’s right!" Twilight.
Rarity smoothed her mane. "Fighting’s not really my thing, I’m more into fashion…" And then her tone changed with sudden ferocity. "…but I’ll rip you to pieces if you touch one scale on his cute little head!"
Bewilderment gave way to a gale of mocking laughter. "Ooh, scary!" Garble said with sarcasm before chuckling. "Spike, are these namby-pamby ponies your friends?"
"Yes! They are!" he admitted with pride. "And they’re better friends than you could ever be!" He then walked to Garble, jabbing a finger in his underbelly. "Now, if you don’t back off, you’ll see what us ponies do when confronted by a huge group of jerky dragons!"
"Oh, yeah?" He snorted smoke into Spike’s face. "What’s that?
There was a short pause.
"RUN AWAY!!" Which he did with enough speed to break every sprinting record ever set, leaving only his frantic, echoing cries and Garble’s growl to mark his exit.
The mares were quick to catch up, but the dragons wasted no time in closing the gap from above. That is if a barrier hadn't stopped them in their tracks.
"Maybe that would apply to most ponies, but there are always some exceptions," a voice said as the barrier was shortly dispelled. The dragons turned around to see Chronicle with his magic horn blade ready and Rock 'tethered' to his tail. "I've fought adult dragons before, but never teens like you."
"You'll do!" roared Garble as the three proceeded to dogpile him. The unicorn responded with a teleport, making the three crash into each other. An armadillo then slammed onto the back of Brown's head. The dragons got off of each other and turned around again to see their opponent looking a little smug.
The three of them charged him again, this time one by one. Chronicle's response to that was to flash-step at them one by one and slash at them, sending them crashing again. He also used Rock to conk them in the heads during his slash maneuver as he passed them by.
"How can—" Garble was in disbelief as they got up again. "Our parents told us nothing could penetrate dragon scales!"
"That's because I'm not trying to cut you," Chronicle decided to answer. "What exactly it is you'll never know." He then fired a salvo of magic shots.
The dragons covered their faces with their arms as the shots struck them harmlessly. "That's it! We're gonna burn you to a crisp!" Brown was the first to let off his fire breath. The stream of flames was promptly blocked with a barrier, and since the flames encompassed it entirely, he took the time to teleport away after hearing his pet whimper in fear. Apparently, dragon flame wasn't something he was keen on testing his armor on.
During the phoenix nest raid, Chronicle had taken the time to summon a few magical clones. Thanks to the magic conserver he had gotten from Rainbow Dash on his birthday, it wasn't as taxing on him as it usually would, though he did wonder how exactly it worked and what it expended in exchange. He would have to ask the speedster in detail later.
When Brown's flame stopped, there was no pony to be seen, not even a charred one. And since they had not heard any screams, there was no way his breath could've completely vaporized them. His breath wasn't that hot.
"Show yourself, you wimp!" taunted Purple.
And he did. All of the clones emerged from their hiding spots, and all of them were prepared for battle. "Let's see if you can find the real me, if I'm even here."
Already having lost their patience, the three charged at one clone each.
C—TS—S—RD—R—G—C—TS—S—RD—R—G
Erstwhile, at a clear patch of grassland outside the forest…
Twilight emerged from a teleport with Rainbow, Rarity, and Spike. While the others slowed to a stop, Twilight crashed down on her belly and slide ahead thanks to the momentum of her run. Spike took a moment to catch his breath. Miraculously, the egg was still unbroken.
"That was a close one," sighed the little dragon. "Thanks, you guys."
Twilight got up and wiped the sweat off her forehead. "Of course. What are friends for?"
"You’re more than friends." He began to tear up. "You’re my family." All three gave him a group hug and Rarity voiced a happy little squeal. Then, he asked, "I hope Chronicle's okay."
"He's faced numerous foes before. I'm sure he'll be fine. I worry about his armadillo, though. He really shouldn't be bringing a pet to a fight, especially against other dragons. Perhaps we best not tell Fluttershy about that."
There were murmurs of agreement as the four broke off from their hug. And then the last member of the party emerged from a teleport. "Present," he said.
Everybody else sighed in relief. "You shouldn't have brought Rock along in this quest," Twilight warned.
"It was he who came along, and I sorta forgot to drop him back off. Don't worry, I didn't even get to use him much before I decided to bug out." He then winced as a magic clone of his dissipated and its memories transferred to him. "Left some clones behind to stall for time and learn some more about them. Now let's get out of here."
"Way ahead of you."
C—TS—S—RD—R—C—TS—S—RD—R—C—TS—S—RD—R
Days later…
In the Books and Branches Library, Spike was sitting at a window in the reading room, writing something. The phoenix egg was resting in a cushioned basket on the floor.
“Dear Princess Celestia: Seeing the Great Dragon Migration made me wonder what it meant to be a dragon. But now I realize that who I am is not the same as what I am. I may have been born a dragon, but Equestria and my pony friends have taught me how to be kind, loyal, and true. I’m proud to call Ponyville my home, and to have my pony friends as my family. Yours truly, Spike.”
Just as he looked up from the parchment, the egg suddenly hatched right on cue. Unlike the other hatchlings and the adult phoenixes, this one was entirely deep yellow, with no orange or red plumage.
"Aww…" Spike said affectionately as he leaned down to it and laughed. "Hey, welcome to the family, Peewee!" It then perched on his hand. "Stick with me." He then rubbed his cheek against its head. "I’ve got plenty to teach you about being a pony."
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I just got one question for you. When do you plan on completing the story I was hoping to read the rest of season two and all of seasons three, four, and five?
7117768
Yes. Eventually. It's just that I got other stories in line in FanFiction.Net. At present, for this story, I'm working on a series of random shorts, because I can't cover "A Friend In Deed". I didn't quite like the chapter, just the song.
6560701
As much as I'd like to disprove you, I'm afraid I'll have to say "yes". I guess I'll try to give him more appearances in future.
Okey dokey then
Well when you do let me know okay
7141216 because lemonade is a sour person, with no jokes.
7138776
Becuase doing the whole "getting used to Equestria" deal has been done hundreds of times before. Why not subvert it with "lessons having been done" in the backstory?
7138945
It has something to do with the "Who's on First?" routine. And maybe just to plain confuse readers like with the "STILL THE BEST 1973" from NES Godzilla Creepypasta, even though I only discovered that much later.
7141319
In actuality, someone else did that before me. In an fanfic featuring an OC based off of a Spartan, and paired with Twilight Sparkle, and her singing that song, I can't quite remember the title of that fic.