Chapter 2: Places We Don't Want to Go
Chapter 2: Places We Don’t Want to Go
Long ago, a young mare had sat shaking by the side of a well.
Long ago, hands that had promised to keep her safe, had promised to watch over her, drew through her mane.
The young mare sat there, waiting, as the woman opened and closed the books, as the woman said words that the mare did not understand. The filly trembled and shook, the cold waters running down her coat, dripping out of her mane and running the length of her body.
The well was dark and deep, and the room was made of stone. The young mare once more gave a shake, shuddering with the cold, and the woman cooed at her. Taking something in her hands, the woman ran it up and down the pony, her crooked, aged fingers wiping the water from the shaking, trembling body. The towel was warm and dry, and it did much to end the chill that sat in the young mare.
The woman drew the towel along the young mare, but there was no comfort in her touch.
Long ago, a young mare sat in the cold stone room beside the well, and soon the towel had been taken from her.
Long ago, the woman had pointed to the well, and the young mare shook from the fear and the chill.
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Comfort did her best not to eavesdrop on Spike and Celestia as they sat upon the couch. The earth pony instead tried to focus on her work. Princess Twilight Sparkle would need a moisturizer compress across her eyes before too long, substituting for the natural tearing that was absent in her current state.
The nurse tried not to listen in on Spike as he recounted what had happened in the faraway city. It was useless though, and Comfort’s eyes and ears kept wandering to where Celestia’s white wing lay across the dragon whelp.
Spike’s voice was tired, and he was fighting not to show it. Comfort sighed as she heard it, and she tread lightly on her hooves, trying not to betray her eavesdropping. Something else caught in the nurse’s ears though, something other than the weariness that sat in the child.
“Spike,” said Celestia, “I know it must be hard for you, but I need to know all that you can tell me.”
Spike blinked. As he did, he fought to hide the tiredness that not only hung in his breath, but which also sat behind his eyes. He blinked some more, and his eyes settled on the dearly familiar form upon the bed.
He just wanted her to wake up. He just wanted to see her eyes.
He felt the warm touch of Celestia’s nuzzle, the heat of her nose being pressed into him, encouraging him to speak. Across the room, the nurse did her best to pretend that she wasn’t listening and Spike continued.
“A-after… after I found my way back to the park,” he explained, “I... I tried my best to c-calmly tell them what I saw…”
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“Door! Head! Spin! Magic! Moan! Gate!” the dragon cried, gesticulating wildly as they raced along the remains of the courtyard.
“Yes, Spike,” Twilight said with a concerned groan. “You’ve been going on like that since you came running back to the park! What are you talking… about…”
Twilight skidded to a halt so quickly that Spike bumped into the back of her head. Around them the other ponies came to a stop as well, their hooves slowing as they looked upon the structure that loomed before them.
The ponies stood there in the ancient streets, the wind singing out in mournful tones as it whistled through the remains of the buildings. The ponies stared at the monolith with unease, observing the gated structure that seemed planted there at the vestibule at the end of the courtyard.
It seemed ill. It seemed lopsided and unsteady. Yet, at the same time, there was a power in it. It was a deep power, one that hovered around the gates of the structure with a foreboding aura.
It should not have been there. It was as different from the rest of the buildings nearby as the sun from the moon, and it seemed to be dropped there, inflicted upon the courtyard rather than built as part of it.
Twilight felt Spike’s familiar touch as he wrapped himself around her foreleg, and in their silent language the two gave each other strength. She looked down at him with a reassuring smile, and then she turned to one of the ponies that stood nearby.
“Lord Mayor,” she asked, “w-what is this structure?”
The crystal pony’s mouth hung open, and he slowly shook his head from side to side.
“I… I have no memory of this, Majesty,” said the mayor. His eyes flew around to the other crystal ponies that stood nearby. Twilight watched as each answered his gaze. In each of their eyes sat the same confusion, and worry, that the mayor wore.
“No, Majesty,” he finally answered. “I... I don’t believe that any of us have seen it before. It certainly wasn’t here when we were lead off to become… become slaves…”
Twilight let the words hang there, and she pondered for a moment, letting Spike rub her foreleg in support and to ease the little dragon’s worry. As she did, she lifted the other hoof to her mouth and let out a contemplative hum. Remembrances and questions floated on the breezes that drifted through the ruins, flitting past the princess and her dragon. The moaning structures floated their music over them, adding to the sense of unease that hung there.
“Hmmm,” she said again. After a moment, a look of insight flashed across her face. “Well, logically,” said Twilight as she raised her hoof as she typically did when imparting factual information, “if none of you remember it, then it must have been brought here after you… well, were taken away.”
Twilight’s eyes went wide. Spike jumped a little as her “professor mode” fell away and was replaced with a look of surprise and horror.
“Then the only pony who could have placed it here,” she said in a small voice, “was Sombra.”
The assembly went quiet. Each set of eyes turned back to the gates. Nervous noises arose from the crowd, and anxious hooves sounded out across the ancient tiles of the courtyard.
At once there was a deep thrumming, and something unseen seemed to move around the ponies… a deep magic, a terrible one.
The gates moved on their hinges.
A cry of alarm went up from somepony, and the entire assembly took a few steps backwards, their hooves sliding around beneath them or kicking up more of the ancient tiles. Spike felt Twilight’s hooves fall around him, moving him inside the frame of her legs, pressing him closer to her body.
Spike looked up to find her gazing down at him with concern. He nodded to her, hiding his own fear, and her smile showed him that she understood. He kept watching Twilight as she looked to the others, gathering up the fear and desperation that sat in the faces of the ponies, emotions that the name of the tyrant alone could reveal in them.
Spike ran his hand across her leg, and she pulled him in tighter, accepting his offer of comfort. The ponies looked on as their princess began to contemplate all that swirled around this unwelcome discovery.
The gate groaned once more, as though reveling in their fear, and she gathered him even closer.
A short while later, Princess Twilight Sparkle walked back and forth in front of the Lord Mayor, Spike, Shining Armor, and a gathering of the various unicorns, pegasi, earth ponies, and crystal ponies. All eyes were on her as she paced back and forth, their heads swinging side to side as the princess scrunched up her face and thought… and thought, and thought.
“Okay,” Twilight said as she came to a halt, “if we’re going to figure out what this thing is, and why Sombra dumped it here, we’re gonna have to think like Sombra.”
The ponies looked to one another in confusion. “Think… think like Sombra, Twily?” asked Shining Armor. “How… wow, how would we…”
“Rawwwrrrroowwww,” came a deep growl from their midst. The ponies looked down to discover Spike with one of his fingers held out upon his head. The little dragon squinted his eyes and began to trundle around before them.
“Crrryyysssstttaaallsss,” Spike grumbled, approximating the rumbling voice of the vanquished unicorn. “Crrrryyyyyysssssstaalllllllls,” he continued, marching back and forth, grins growing on the face of ponies as they watched his startlingly accurate impression. “Stttaaaiiiirrrrrrs, wavvvy eyeshadowwwww, and extra large horn as commmpennnssatttion for…”
“Spike!” interrupted Twilight, glowering down at him.
“… not having wings like an alicorn?” Spike said, some hurt showing in his voice. “What? What’s wrong, Twi?”
Twilight blushed deeply.
“No, Twily, that’s it!” exclaimed Shining Armor.
Spike arched his eyebrow, and Twilight did the same. In an instant a cynical look shot between them, the princess and the dragon sharing some doubt, and then they looked back at the stallion.
“What?” they asked in unison.
“Lord Mayor,” Shining Armor asked as he turned to the crystal pony, “what was Pursopolis’s main purpose… ya know, what was the city known for?”
“W-we were a major trading post along the Inner Gateway, the only major line of trade between the central part of Equestria and the seat of the Crystal Empire and the peoples who lived to the northeast. You’d have to use the Northeastern Road along the sea, otherwise,” the mayor said, pride falling into his voice as he went on. “Actually, we’re hoping to start that all up again! We’ve got sponsors all lined up, and we’re recruiting celebrity endor…”
“Right, okay,” said Shining Armor, cutting off the mayor as he rushed to capture the thought that was running around in his head. “So, we know that Sombra brought all of the crystal ponies back to the seat of the empire, where the palace is. That means that he didn’t have any ponies here to defend this city. He still wanted the money and power that came from having it though, right?”
“Well, yes,” answered the mayor. “We heard rumors that he had some mercenaries… and even a few crystal ponies that were loyal to him, but they were only ever very few in number.”
“Ohhh,” said Twilight, realization growing in her voice. “So, to defend his claim over this city, and protect the wealth he gathered here, he built this thing as compensation—”
Spike crossed his arms and looked up to Twilight with a smirk. She answered it with one of her own as she completed her thought.
“—for not having a large standing army.”
“So,” said Shining Armor as he stepped forward, the tactical part of him coming to the fore, the guardpony captain inside of him coming awake, “whatever is behind that gate, he meant it to keep guard over Pursopolis.”
Twilight turned, a deep seriousness coming over her features. “That means that whatever is behind that gate… is a weapon.”
“Right,” said Spike, stepping up between them, forcing himself into a heroic pose of certainty to match the brother and sister as they stared down the deep magic that hovered around the monolith. “A weapon,” he said, holding his pose. “So… ummm, what does that mean?”
“It can only mean one thing, Spike,” Twilight answered, her face becoming even more deathly serious.
“Right!” Spike answered, trying to contort his face to match her graven solemnity. After a moment his jaw cramped, and as he massaged it he turned to her and said, “So, what is that, Twi?”
“That I get to study it!” she said, bouncing into a happy, jubilant pose that only the idea of intellectual pursuits could bring to the features of the alicorn.
“Ughhh,” moaned Spike, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Right. I’ll find some notebooks and quills.”
Minutes passed. As they loaded Princess Twilight Sparkle with her gear of scholarly exploration, two creatures, perhaps two of the dearest to her in the world, tried to talk her into letting them come along.
“I mean, it could be dangerous,” Shining Armor said as he levitated the parchment and quills into the borrowed saddlebags.
“… and don’t teleport where you can’t see. Don’t try to fly in a narrow space,” Spike said, continuing a litany of warnings as he slipped beneath her to tighten the straps. “And, oh, oh, don’t talk to any strangers…”
“I’ll be okay, you two!” she said with a giggle. “I’m the only one here who is as powerful as Sombra was, so I have to go alone. Besides, whatever is in there was meant to fight an army, so one pony probably won’t even attract any attention. I mean, well, it hasn’t done anything to anypony yet. We don’t want to trigger anything either. Wow, huh, the last thing I need to do is try to clean up if you’re all sent flying off to the Badlands like the changelings.”
“Humph,” snorted Shining Armor, a deep growl developing in his voice. “I wouldn’t mind. I still wanna have a talk with that queen of theirs.”
“Just… just be safe, Twi,” Spike said, running his hand up and down her leg.
“I’ll be safe, Spike,” she said. She lowered her head, and Spike raised himself up on his tiptoes to receive her nuzzle. He found himself leaning into it deeper, running his face to hers for an extra moment, something wanting to communicate itself… a sense of unease wishing to make itself known.
“Step back here with me, bro,” Shining Armor said, lifting Spike onto his back with his magic.
They took a few steps back, and both of the males watched as Twilight looked the arches of the structure up and down. Spike followed her eyes, guessing what she was looking for. “Aha!” lifted Twilight’s voice, and he knew what she had found.
There, near the center of the keystone, was an abscess. “That’s just like the one she found over the door in the magic stairwell,” he said, leaning down and speaking into Shining’s ear. “Ya know, the one that showed off her fear of failing Celestia, of failing the ponies.”
“Hmmm,” said Shining, tilting his head to listen to the dragon while at the same time watching his younger sister.
“Ya know,” Spike continued, pointing to himself with a certain amount of smugness, “the one I saved her from!”
Shining smiled up to the little dragon. He had been about to mention that he remembered Twilight telling him that the door had made a certain prideful dragon reveal his worst fear too, one that made him cry and that only a loving hug and nuzzle could make better. The words died on his lips as a green flash of light lifted around them, and the magica vasto of a potent dark magic lifted from the alicorn.
Spike looked away, lowering his head to interpose Shining Armour’s body between him and the scene, shielding his eyes and clinging to the back of Shining’s neck. He didn’t like seeing Twilight use dark magic. It seemed unnatural. It seemed wrong and bad and, and… it didn’t seem like Twilight.
It just didn’t seem like Twilight.
A great groan ripped out over the courtyard, one that made the dragon grip even harder upon the unicorn stallion. “Spike!” Shining gasped. “Can’t breathe, bro, can’t breathe!”
The gates began to swing open, the black and green of dark magic lifting around them. The shriek of the ancient hinges sounded out once more, a high squeal that caused all gathered in the monolith’s shadow to cover their ears. It echoed through the city streets, and it had force and power behind it. There was a cry of alarm, and to their right, one of the ancient domes of the city came tumbling down, sending dust over the ponies standing in the courtyard.
After a few moments of coughing and wheezing, the ponies looked up to see the gates wide open, a dark expanse standing there before their princess.
Twilight Sparkle shifted back and forth, as though making the saddlebags settle upon her shoulders and withers. A pale purple light suddenly broadcast itself, emitting from her horn.
“Twi?” Spike called. “Be careful, okay?”
She turned back to them, and a smile settled over her face as she lifted her hoof to wave. Spike waved back. He kept waving as she turned around and began to walk forward. He kept waving as her purple light became a ball around her, one that highlighted her body and became smaller and smaller as she stepped forward.
He kept waving until she disappeared, finally consumed in the dark, and then kept waving for a few moments after. Eventually his hand fell against his side, and the little dragon said nothing.
Silence held sway around the group of ponies. Soon they began milling about, making small talk and discussing things of little note. Shining Armor felt Spike move oddly upon his back. He realized that the dragon’s hands were now on his stomach, as though he had a tummy ache. A long sigh escaped from Spike, and Shining Armor could feel the dragon’s eyes upon the distant gate.
“So, Spike,” Shining Armor said, lifting his head so that he could look back at the little drake, “tell me about Flash Sentry! Is it true what the rumors say?”
Shining Armor chuckled to himself, dropping his head as hilarious images of Twilight dancing around with little hearts above her head went through his mind.
“Does Twily really have a thing for him? How serious is it, bro?”
Shining Armor chuckled some more. His little sister... finally having a special somepony! He lifted his head. “I don’t know much about him, never served with him or anything, but he’d better be a great colt, a friggin’ amazing colt, if he wants to try to get past us, right? Ain’t that right? Spike?”
Shining startled in place as he looked at Spike, the stallion jumping so noticeably that the little whelp seemed to lift off of the stallion’s back.
“Spike...” Shining breathed.
Spike pressed the tips of his claws to those of his opposite hand in slow motion, dancing them together as an expression went across his face that Shining Armor could not name but did not like. He did not like it at all.
“ I... I don’t,” Spike stammered, and then quickly looked away. “C-can we talk about something else, please?”
“Spike, buddy?” Shining said, turning his body and dropping his tone, trying to catch Spike’s gaze. “Buddy, what’s wrong? You can talk to...”
No sooner had he begun to speak than a cry of alarm came from the gate…
… and soon Twilight came trotting back out, a large sheepish grin across her face.
The entire assembly looked on in surprise as she giggled, grinned wider with a huge blush, and trotted up to the side of her brother.
“You know,” she said, blushing even brighter and wiping a few cobwebs from her mane with her magic, “I think I’d like for Spike to come along after all. You know, it could be a great learning experience for him! And, yeah… c’mon, Spike!”
Although the others looked dubious, Spike only had to share a single glance between himself and Shining Armor, and then he leapt to Twilight’s back.
Spike kept his mouth shut as the princess looked at them all with a big blush. In a moment they were once more walking towards the monolith.
Shining Armor watched them go, more questions than answers presented to him by his sibling... his siblings, in fact, of a kind.
“Wow,” said Spike, looking up to the arches as Twilight and he passed beneath the gate, noticing how they towered high above them.
His eyes fell down to the ground for a moment, and as they did he gave a yelp and clung tighter to Twilight.
The head of the statue lay there on the ground, the very same one that had led him to discover the gate. The endless look of shock upon its face met him, staring up to him, warning him against some unseen threat.
“You okay?” Twilight asked as she looked over her shoulder. Her light enveloped them, illuminating the inside of the structure.
As it did, he suddenly felt much better.
“Yeah. Heh, just saw an old friend,” he said, gesturing with his thumb. He looked down, and a scowl fell across his face as he lifted some more cobwebs out of her mane.
“So, Twi,” he said, dropping the cobwebs off of her, fighting them as they stuck to his own scales, “an educational experience, huh? Really, why did ya come back for me?”
“Oh, you know, it was just…” she began, her voice trailing off as they made their way deeper into the monolith, her last word fading away before it reached his ears.
“Twi?” he asked, looking down at her suspiciously.
Twilight sighed, and once more repeated the word.
“Snakes,” she whimpered.
“Snakes?” he replied.
“Snakes,” she whined. In an instant she felt the comforting touch of his clawed hands behind her ears, patting her with a reassuring caress.
“It’s okay, Twi, I know ya hate snakes,” he said, stroking her mane. “I’ll take care of ‘em for ya… tough scales and stuff.”
“Thank you, Spike,” she said with an embarrassed laugh. “I can always count on my Number One Assistant. Snakes, why did it have to be snakes?”
“That’s what I’m here for, sister!”
Soon they had reached what Spike had guessed was the rear wall of the monolith. The air hung deathly still around them, and no matter how hard he tried, Spike could not see how high overhead the roof of the structure hung.
Twilight let out a low moan, and then levitated him off of her back and placed him on the floor.
“They were just small ones,” she said, dancing on her hooves. “I... I wouldn’t want you to try to scare away big ones… but, but they were snakes!”
Spike smiled up to her. He stretched, smiled again, and then let a small stream of flame escape his lips.
“Careful!” Twilight called, her voice filled with worry. “If they move or look too big or are poisonous or, or…”
“Twi,” he said in a self-assured tone, “it’s no biggie. Worse comes to worse I’ll just blink the inner eyelids and slip the old forked tongue, reptile to reptile and all that stuff. Well, I’m kinda a reptile, sorta.”
“Just be careful!” said the princess, the highly powerful alicorn, as she danced her hooves once again and squealed like a filly. “Gah! I hate snakes!”
Spike chuckled, lit a small flame that lingered upon his lips, and then walked forward into the dark.
In a moment he came back out, smiling at her broadly.
“What?” she said, looking back at him with probing eyes. “Are they gone?”
“You were scared of the snakes, but you must have scared ‘em pretty bad too, Twi,” he said with a smirk. “They are absolutely petrified!”
“What?” she asked flatly, realizing the context of his rather old joke.
He waved her forward, and there in the darkness his flame and her light illuminated two slim vipers, ones that reared up from the floor as perfectly carved statues. In a moment she realized that they were hoofrails, guarding the entrance to a stairwell that sat between them.
“Ugh!” she moaned as she placed her hoof over her eyes.
“Heh, it’s okay, Twi,” he said, stepping towards her. Once more the comforting touch of her little dragon fell across her foreleg. “I won’t tell anypony.”
She removed her hoof from her face and found herself looking down into his emerald eyes. “Thank you, Spike,” she said, smiling over him before pulling him into a hug.
“D-do ya want me to go back,” he asked from within her embrace, “or do you want me to go with ya, Twi?” The inflection and tremble of his voice told her very clearly which of the two he preferred, and so Twilight Sparkle placed her nose to his, and with a gentle nuzzle and a giggle let him know where he belonged.
“Well, I’d like you to come with me, Spike,” she said, once more settling her magic over him. As he found his place upon her back she smiled up to him, fluffed her wings, and then finished her thought. “Who knows how many more statues I’ll need to be protected from, hmmm?”
Spike laughed. Twilight’s steps sounded out through the dark until the light grew brighter upon her horn. As it did, the dark stairwell seemed to push back, hiding whatever secret it possessed jealously. It was deep, foreboding, and black. It was a broad space, one that challenged them with its presence.
A deep thrum arose from it, as though answering their fear. As Spike leaned deeper upon her neck, Twilight gulped silently.
“C-c’mon, Twi,” he said, “you can do it.”
He stroked her mane once more.
“A-and… and whatever is down there, I’m here tah protect ya!” he said, painting more resolve into his voice. “Ya know, whatever kinda stone it’s made out of!”
Twilight’s single laugh exploded around the dark chamber, ending whatever curse had seemed to settle over them. “Well then, mighty protector,” she said sardonically, rolling her eyes, “let’s go!”
“Heh, that was pretty good, huh?” he said, laughing at his joke. “I’ll protect you no matter what kind of stone it’s made of! I gotta write this stuff down!”
With that they passed between the two toothless, immobile vipers. As Twilight’s hooves touched the stairs, she paused only momentarily, feeling the ripples of deep magic growing around her.
Whatever reluctance she may have felt washed away as she listened to the chuckling dragon that sat upon her back, and with yet another roll of her eyes, she and her companion descended into the deep reaches of the stairwell.
Soon, only the fading light of her horn loitered around where they had disappeared down the stairs. Before long, darkness filled the space again, and the sound of the dragon’s chuckling drifted away.
Only the words of Spike’s promise to protect her from whatever may be below, whatever it might be made of, seemed to remain, as though carved upon the very stones of the chamber.
As the light faded away it caught among the carved vipers, illuminating them as it fell away, and Spike’s promise became a hiss that hung around them as they slipped into darkness once more.
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Oh man, I can already tell this story is going to be epic!
*checks feed* Just a blog.
*Looks at feed again* Another group update?
NOPE, LIQUID AWESOMENESS.
24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_l7n418DNCP1qb00y6o1_500.jpg
2864514 I know right.
i.qkme.me/3rljsh.jpg
Buckle up and put your tray tables in their upright positions, this is going to be an epic ride
Oh hell yeah.
Edit: 7 hours later, top of the feature box, as it deserves to be.
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2864655 LIAR! HOW DARE THOU CLAIM THESE WORKS AS YOUR OWN!
Humor, drama, d'aws...such are the tools of The Descendant.
Today we can add suspense and fear to his arsenal. I am legitimately afraid for Spike and Twilight. And we've just begun.
Well, it seems I have found you once again! Not that you are really that hard to find, I just don't really go around and look for you. So, I decided that I would follow you, and then add this to my Read Later list.
Either way, it has be quite a while since our last talk, no? How art thou, Descy?
This is based off those series of pictures on DevArt...
I thought you'd never get around to it!
Looking good thus far!
...a story to my favorite "Not story" images.
Goddammit. I have my OWN writing to do, you know.
*marks to read later tonight* Im sure itll be incredible. As always.
Holy shit... Holy shit holy shit holy shit.
I'm gonna track this fucker. That's how awesome it is so far.
~Skeeter The Lurker
Yeah. This... Just gets better and better.
~Skeeter The Lurker
*posts story* *featured three hours later*
THATS HOW MUCH AWESOME THIS IS
2865060 I know right.
Ahh, there's the promise. And it may even be specific to stone monsters in particular, interesting.
Every time I think I might be done editing my stories, I find a story like this and have to go back and work on them again.
Followed, Liked, Fav'd
I'm looking forward to this.
Why isn't this romance? It should be for Spike and Twilight!
mlpg.co/arc/q/raw/aspirant/cute_quest/src/1355531670525.gif
And here we go
*Liked and Fav'd*
I'll comment more once I actually read it.
Fantastic!
But... but... why are you making them have global war, Spike?
Don't make me hafta brutally slaughter you like Pinkie did ta Dashie in her basement!
Cuz I totally will...
brace yourselves, for greatness is apon us.
Argh, if only this story was already complete! I can't wait to see it in its entirety.
In my opinion, that's some pretty terrible logic. The details of the episodes are somewhat hazy for me, but I thought one of the major points of the Crystal Empire was that Twilight couldn't do everything alone, no matter how capable she may be.
Anyways, I'm loving the rest of what I have read.
Your headcanon shows even in the description.
) here. And I love you for it!
Consistency - you have the most of it from all the authors I r&f (respect and follow
Let the reading commence. In due time, once I find some of it free...
So, this is the fabled unfinished, unpolished story?
I wish my polished stuff was that good!
fc05.deviantart.net/fs71/i/2012/156/e/1/mlp_fim_day_28___why_did_it_have_to_be_snakes_by_ah_darnit-d3jp35z.png
...further reading.....stone railings...
This story so far.....
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BY THE POWER OF CELESTIA'S BEARD, GIVE US
i2.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/original/000/472/042/383.jpg
Looking forward to more.
Huzzah! More gold from the bowels of The Descendant!
I told you bro! I told you it'd be popular in an instant!
This is brilliant. Ever since you first teased us with a name and outline, I was looking forward to it. Now it's on it's way, and I'm loving it so far.
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Irony: I think that art was commissioned by TD for this fic, he's been working on it for months.
(I might be wrong and confused, in which case you may point and laugh and jeer)
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This just reminds me of the Hellsing Abridged series: at 3:29
[youtube=TgnIjJexut4]
Always love how you keep your humor in this stories.
Here's to Team Spilight! The awesome and unbeatable pair no matter what relationship they have together.
So will this be the official story for the picture series by Lysok or just your take on it?
Pre Faved. Will read soon.
I had just completed a six-hour spell of the tedious busywork of re-points costing forty-one stasrship fleets and I was desparately looking for something to read while I had supper, something that would be easy reading (by which I mean, "not drive me to want to smack all the characters upside the head for being silly" like I am having a spate of at the moment...) Clearly, you also have a Pinkie sense of a sort, as you placed this up at exactly the right time to come to my rescue.
This sounds like it is going to be awesome; a big-huge-massive Descendant-Spike story (in which we finally might get some answers to all the tantalising hints you've been dropping!)
It's certainly off to the flying start I have come to expect from you.
Bonus points for using Sombra, even if as an indirect legacy. (To me Sombra always seemed the most ruthlessly efficient evil enemy, a pony after my own lack of heart.)
I will look forward to this with great glee.
(Ah, yes, I will finally[/] remember to put you on watch...)
Wow, this is going to be good. Too good for words.
Normally I would try to take the time to find fitting words, but my very being on the internet right now is terrible procrastination.
But I will say that even though my Read Later list is creeping up on 400 stories, I've never been more excited to read pony fanfiction.
A very interesting start to a spike story!
You''re good at this, Mr. D. All that stuff about war, racism, hate, and gryphons had me curious.
But that last line? Ethos be pulling on the heart stings, mate. I just woke up, but I'll read this and then edit my post with my thoughts. We can probably assume it will be praise. Maybe righteous anger. Hell, I might even cry; been doing that a lot lately.
so...i asked spike what he did today...
His answer) "i went for an enthusiastic walk" then proceeds to tell this story
i asked him "you did ALL that.....while on a walk?'
His answer)"I go on VERY enthusiastic walks"
I smell a witch. Witches have old-lady hands.
Your reservations aside, I think this is going to be a great story. I think you are "the only person in this fandom who sees [Spike's] character the way that [you] do" because you are the only one who can see him the way you do. Your combination of personal experience and beliefs combine into a single image of Spike that I have come to love.
I think that this story will take the Spike I love, drag him through hell, and make him stronger than ever before. He may see pain, loss, war, evil, betrayal, even death, but Spike will never stop in his quest to save Twilight. Never ever.
Look out, Spike; here comes a journey of both the body and the mind.
Go get 'em little guy.
2865463 Negatory! In Descy's world, Spike looks at Twilight as his Sister/Mother/Best friend. Rarity remains as Spike's love interest. His love for Twi is that of a brother.
TD, I am tickled pink that you decided to go ahead and share this with us!
Of course, the suspense of what happens next is going to drive me a little more crazy than usual, 
The roller coaster has started its climb, hold on tight folks, this is going to be one heck of a ride!
2864491
It is my intent to make it so!
2864493
Indeed!
2864504
I'm hoping that I can live up to those expectations, Swirl!
2864514
Oh, it certainly does begin... it certainly does...
2867558 do people get killed by red wearing vampires on these walks?
2864542
I guess so! He's Gandalf the White, not even Gandalf the Grey but Gandalf the Friggin' White!
2864571
That rejoicing only came about because of the hard work of you and my other Dedicated Staff Members, John. Now, nose back to that grindstone!
2864572
I can't even begin to tell you the last time that I saw a Babylon 5 reference, Pal!