01 - The Girl from the Forest
Chapter 1: The Girl From the Forest
The Everfree Forest was a dark and foreboding place that not many ponies had the guts to go, but for Spike and his best friend Twilight Sparkle, it was quickly becoming like a home away from home. Not only was it a place where they could find peace and quiet away from the town, and privacy to practice Twilight’s magic, it was the home of one of their friends, Zecora. It was Zecora who had brought them out into the forest this day, and had Twilight walking at a comfortable pace through the trees while Spike rode on her back.
“Mmm, Zecora makes the best tea.” Twilight Sparkle licked her lips as she walked. “Always relaxes me, which is something I could use more often.”
“You’re telling me,” Spike chuckled, earning a wry sideways glance from his companion. “Ahem, I mean, yeah, it is pretty good.”
“I wish she’d just give us the recipe already.”
“Maybe it’s a family secret,” Spike suggested. “Or maybe she just likes that it makes us come out to see her.”
“Wow, do you think so?” Twilight frowned. “That’s actually kind of sad, if that’s the case. I wonder why she hasn’t moved into Ponyville now that everypony has accepted her? I hope she doesn’t still feel too different and singled out…”
Spike could only shrug. “But we’ve all done everything we can to make her feel welcome. Maybe she’ll move into town when she’s ready.”
Twilight sighed. “Yeah, you’re right… still, maybe I should come by more often, make sure she knows how welcome she is.”
Spike smiled. “Yeah! And we can invite her to town some time too. You know, instead of going out to see her or waiting for her to come on her own.”
“Spike, that’s a wonderful idea!” Twilight smiled. “We can invite her into Ponyville for dinner soon, I bet she’ll have a wonderful time.”
“I’m here to help.” Spike saluted with a warm smile, followed by the two friends fading into a comfortable silence.
There wasn’t much wind today, so the leaves overhead were almost eerily still, but that didn’t keep a pungent, but familiar scent from wafting out of the trees. Spike’s eyes darted back and forth across the path as Twilight came to a stop, her ears instantly perking up on top of her head.
“Do you smell that?” Twilight asked.
Spike leaned in close to Twilight’s head, resting his claws on the sides of her neck. “Smells like timberwolves…”
“Just keep quiet, and I think we can get out of here without attracting attention.” Twilight started down the path again, stepping lightly through the leaves and grass underhoof.
The smell of a timberwolf’s breath was overpowering even from a distance, but thankfully they couldn’t hear its snarling or footsteps nearby. It seemed it wasn’t on their trail, which was good for them. The Everfree Forest was full of predators of all kinds, but the timberwolf was near the top of the food chain even here. They were supernatural predators who lived to devour… though nopony really knew whether they ate flesh, or souls.
Spike nearly leapt off of Twilight’s back when he heard a screech of terror from inside of the forest, followed by the spine-chilling howls of the timberwolves on the hunt. The sound of bushes being brushed aside and screeches of terror were moving around them, but not getting any closer.
“Twilight, they’re onto somepony…” Spike gripped her fur.
“Is it a pony? I can’t tell who or what it is…” Twilight narrowed her eyes.
“Aaaahhhh! Get away from meeeeee!” A piercing voice was cut off suddenly by a heavy thump from inside the tree line.
Twilight Sparkle’s hesitation ended instantly, and she bolted into the trees with Spike clinging to her mane to stay on her back. They burst through the trees on top of a small hill, looking down on a sight that made Spike shudder. It wasn’t a pony the timberwolves had surrounded, it was a dragon. A baby dragon no larger than Spike. A dragon with a coiling, snakelike body and a pair of large, quivering wings, though the wings were folded in with several tears on the thin membrane.
“I’m… I’m warning you! Get away from me!” The dragon huffed a spurt of bright orange flame at one of the Timberwolves, but even as it backed away another of its pack lunged forward, one massive claw raking across the dragon’s side and sending it whirling through the air to the grass, tumbling away from them with a yelp of pain.
“Twilight!” Spike gripped her mane tightly in both claws as the timberwolves approached the limp form on the grass. A soft growl emanated from the scene as their jaws opened, easily big enough to snap the dragon up from the ground in one bite, though given that there were three, it would likely be far more gruesome than that…
Twilight’s brilliant royal wings flared out to the sides and her horn pulsed with powerful magic. A blinding explosion of light erupted just over the dragon’s body right before the first timberwolf could take a bite, and Spike suddenly found himself cradling the small, limber form in both claws. Twilight grunted and hunched over slightly to catch her breath. Spike knew that teleporting herself was fairly easy for her now, but teleporting someone else from place to place was extremely difficult. It always wore her out.
Unfortunately, she didn’t have time to catch her breath now. The three timberwolves had whirled toward them even before the magic had faded, as if sensing the small dragon’s exit point.
“Hang on!” Twilight whirled away from the scene to barrel back towards the path.
Spike clung to her back with his feet while his arms clung tighter to the dragon curled unconscious against his chest. The branches and bushes whipped against Twilight’s legs as she sprinted at a full gallop through the trees, but the snarling and stomping of the timberwolves would not be left behind. Spike could see glimpses of them keeping pace through the trees, their bodies almost blending in with the forest if not for their movement and glowing green eyes.
Twilight gasped as one of the wolves turned suddenly to barrel right into her path, its massive claw scraping through the air inches under her belly when she managed to leap into the air at the last instant. She came down hard with a slight stumble, and quickly corrected course before their pursuer could lunge again, but the other two were still pacing them on either side.
Twilight’s horn shimmered with magic, but the magic didn’t stabilize into an actual spell. She was still too tired from the teleportation, and the rapid gallop wasn’t helping her recover any.
Suddenly the second timberwolf lurched through the tree line toward her with its jaws wide. This time Twilight skidded to a stop and whirled to the side just out of reach, but the pursuing timberwolf closed the distance almost immediately. Twilight’s wings flared open and swept forward with a powerful stroke, the force of it sending her reeling back just out of range as it bit down on open air.
The third timberwolf came at them from behind Twilight again, barreling straight towards Spike and the unconscious dragon in his arms. Spike’s eyes widened in shock. Twilight was still facing the other way, there was no way she could turn in time to see it coming…
After only a moment’s thought Spike took as deep a breath as time would allow, and let it out in a burst of brilliant emerald flames. It was a bigger plume of fire than he’d ever conjured before, big enough to easily catch the timberwolf as it approached. The flames engulfed the wooden creature completely, the smoke fading and materializing again inches in front of Twilight.
The flailing timberwolf yowled in pain as it fell from the cloud of smoke in front of Twilight with emerald green flames roaring up and down the length of its dry wooden frame. Its two companions yelped in surprise and lurched backward to get out of its way as it flailed straight towards them.
Spike didn’t see much more, Twilight had already whirled away from the scene, leaving the stunned timberwolves far behind. They raced through the forest until at last they emerged out into the small field separating Ponyville and the Everfree Forest. Once they were safely out of the shadows of its long branches, Twilight heaved a gasp and collapsed to the grass with the two baby dragons on top of her.
“Are… you… alright…?” Twilight panted back at them.
Spike patted his friend’s mane with one claw. “We’re just fine, Twilight, thanks to you.”
“Thanks to me?” Twilight smiled back once she caught her breath. “I’ve never seen you blow fire like that before, it was incredible… almost magical.”
Spike blushed deeply. “I-I panicked, I couldn’t think of anything else to do, so I just tried to blow fire… I had no idea that much would come out.”
“Well I’m glad you did, we would’ve all been goners if not for you.” Twilight leaned back to nuzzle his cheek with a bright smile.
Spike’s blush deepened. “Aw come on, stop it…” He looked down at the limp form still cradled in his arms. “A-anyway, maybe we should get back home…”
“Oh my gosh, you’re right…” Twilight climbed to her hooves with a grunt, stumbling forward towards Ponyville. “We need to get him home and tend to his wounds…”
“Her.”
“What?” Twilight perked up.
“Get her home… she’s a girl.”
“Oh…” Twilight blushed deep crimson. “I’m so sorry… I’ve never seen a dragon girl before… I couldn’t tell…”
“It’s alright Twilight… I had trouble telling at first too.” Spike raised one claw to brush some of the dirt away from the dragon’s smaller face. “I’ve never seen a dragon girl either… but I’m pretty sure this is one.”
Twilight nodded. “Alright then… let’s get her home and get her fixed up.”
The trip back into town was as swift as Twilight could make it. The afternoon sun was high and there were ponies everywhere going about their daily business, but thankfully Twilight reached their home in the Golden Oaks Library without any delays or distractions. Once inside she marched the two baby dragons into the back, where the bathtub was set up near the wall, with a water pump pointed down into it.
Twilight dropped them off near the tub. “Spike, will you get her into the bath? We need to clean her up first thing, I’ll gather up the medical supplies.”
“Will do.” Spike saluted with his free arm, the other holding the girl against his torso.
Twilight trotted out of the bathroom while Spike laid the dragon girl carefully on the floor beside the basin so he could pump some water into it from the spigot sticking out of the wall. Once it was about half full he lifted the surprisingly light dragon into his arms and climbed into the tub. His arms were simply too short to hold her head out of the water from the outside, and he didn’t mind getting a little wet. His scales were fairly water-resistant anyway.
With her head resting back against his shoulder he dipped a washrag into the water before running it over her body. Slowly her true form came to light, and it was borderline magnificent. A long, sinuous body with four feet-like claws coming out the sides, and a pair of wide wings coming out her back. With the dirt being washed away, he could see that every scale on her body was as white as freshly fallen snow.
He hesitated when the washrag reached her side, where several scales had been broken, showing the tender red skin underneath. Letting the rag fall beside the tub, he very gently lowered his claw to cup some water into his palm, and lifted it up to let the water trickle lightly over the wound, washing away the dirt without aggravating it too much.
“Nngh… ggguh…” The dragon girl grunted in pain and squirmed in his arms as the water washed over the wound.
“Careful, you don’t wanna hurt yourself anymore, I’ve got you.” Spike spoke softly into her ear.
“And… who’re you…?” The girl replied in a low, but undoubtedly feminine voice now that she wasn’t screaming. She hissed softly as his claw brushed over her wound again, brushing away the last of the dirt.
“My name’s Spike. We found you in the Everfree Forest. Are you okay?”
He felt her body relax just slightly under the water, her head leaning back against his shoulder. “I’ll be fine… where the heck am I?”
“Welcome to Ponyville, little dragon.” Twilight Sparkle smiled as she entered the bathroom, with several bandages, washcloths, and salves hovering around her head.
The girl opened her eyes slowly and turned her head toward the sound of Twilight’s voice. Spike’s breath caught in his throat at the sight of her eyes… or lack thereof. Where her eyes should have been were bright red pools of light.
“Ponyville? I came this far? Ugh…” The girl grunted. “I was running from those things for so long I got turned around…”
“Don’t worry about it, you’re safe now.” Twilight approached the tub and floated the girl onto the edge. The washcloths moved down toward her to finish washing off her wounds, the salves and bandages going to work soon after.
“Nngh, thanks, I guess…” The girl grunted, her sightless red eyes turning back toward Spike for a moment. “Who are you guys?”
“Oh, I’m Spike!” Spike chimed in helpfully. “This is my best friend, Twilight Sparkle!”
“Hi there!” Twilight smiled brightly. “It’s nice to meet you… well, not under these circumstances, of course. What’s your name?”
The dragon girl looked up again. “Me? My name is Pyralsprite.”
“Pyralsprite.” Twilight smiled warmly. “That’s such a pretty name.”
“I’ll say…” Spike agreed quickly with a smile of his own.
“Thanks…” Pyralsprite grumbled with a soft blush on her pure white cheeks.
“There.” Twilight’s horn pulled the bandages around Pyralsprite’s torn wings and around her waist where the scales were missing, then floated her down to the bathroom floor. Spike followed quickly, climbing out of the tub to stand beside the dragon girl. “I’ve done what I can, but I’m afraid ponies don’t know enough about dragons to do much else. Thanks to Spike knocking a few off I know scales grow back, but do wings heal themselves?”
“Yeah, they should.” Pyralsprite ran her claws lightly over the bandage on her right wing.
“Where’s your mother? Can we help you find her again?” Twilight asked worriedly.
“She’s in the Dragon Lands…” Pyralsprite gripped her wing a little tighter. “I don’t need help getting back, really… I just can’t get there until my wings are healed.”
Twilight smiled. “Well, you’re certainly free to stay with us until they are.”
“What? Really?” Pyralsprite looked up in surprise.
“O-of course!” Spike chimed in again as he leapt to stand beside his pony friend. “We’d love to have you here! I mean, if you have nowhere else to go.”
Pyralsprite was silent for a moment, wringing her claws together in front of her before speaking again. “I guess I really don’t. So… if you don’t mind, sure, I’d love to stick around here… for a while.”
Twilight smiled. “That would be just fine. Spike, go set her up a bed in the bedroom, then you can show her around Ponyville.”
“Yeah, okay! Come on Pyralsprite! I know you’ll love it here!” Spike turned to lead the dragon girl out of the bathroom. The girl dropped to her four claws to walk, her body slinking back and forth like a serpent with each alternating step. Despite her eyes being unable to focus or seemingly even see, she navigated her way easily past the books that had fallen to the floor in the living room, and didn’t bump into the stairs, making her way up with grace and ease.
“So um… this is the bedroom!” Spike led her into the bedroom. “And this is my bed, over here!” Spike approached the cushy wicker bed that sat at the foot of Twilight’s bed, climbing in to look back at her. “Pretty cool, huh?”
“That’s your bed? Then what’s that?” Pyralsprite pointed toward the bigger bed.
Spike glanced over in surprise. “Oh, that’s Twilight’s bed. I guess maybe it’s kind of weird for some ponies to sleep in the same room together, but we’ve been doing it my whole life, so it’s not weird at all.”
“Your whole life?” Pyralsprite asked.
“Yeah, I’ve been her assistant since the day I hatched.” Spike sighed wistfully. “I don’t remember that day, but I think it must have been a good day.”
“Uh-huh…” Pyralsprite shook her head. “So where am I gonna sleep?”
“Oh, of course! Come on, we can get you another bed! We keep a backup for me from back when… uh…” Spike blushed deeply. “N-never mind that, we just have another one, we keep it in here!” Spike rushed toward the large closet set in the wall, pulling out a second wicker basket with a fresh, fluffy bed cushion ready and waiting inside. He dragged it across the floor to position it beside his. “There, why don’t you try it out?”
“Um, alright…” Pyralsprite snaked over to the bed and climbed in, her sinuous body easily sliding into the confines of the wicker bed and settling down onto the cushion, with her wings draped lazily over the sides.
“What do you think?” Spike smiled eagerly.
“It’s… um… nice. Thanks.” Pyralsprite gave him a toothy smile.
“Heh, don’t mention it!” Spike leapt onto the comfy cushion in the bed beside hers with a hearty chuckle. “Ahhhh, warm and comfy…”
“Yeah, warm…” Pyralsprite turned her head toward him, resting her chin on the side of the bed.
Spike looked back at her curiously for a few moments, then took a deep breath. “I don’t want to sound rude, but… your eyes…?”
“Oh, noticed, huh?” Pyralsprite lip curled into a wry smirk. “Yeah, I can’t see. I was born that way.”
“I had a feeling… but you get around so well,” Spike noted.
“I’m a dragon, Spike, my other senses are more than enough.” Pyralsprite cocked her head. “Haven’t you ever just closed your eyes and let your other senses take over?”
“Nah, I like my eyes.” Spike smiled. “Besides, I tried being a dragon once… I didn’t like it much. Those guys were real bullies… I’m way more comfortable here with my Ponyville friends. Hey, maybe you’ll be more comfortable here too. It really is great here, they don’t usually serve gemstones in the restaurants, but there’s plenty of gems in the mountains, and the ponies here are all really friendly!”
“Hehe… yeah, maybe.”
“Hey, now that we have your bed sorted, we should go out and I can show you around.” Spike jumped out of his bed quickly. “I bet you’ll love my friends once you meet them!”
“Yeah, sure. Let’s go.” Pyralsprite climbed out of her bed and turned to leave with Spike. She looked strangely thoughtful, Spike thought, but he dismissed his worry quickly. She was just hurt and probably still confused after being attacked by the Timberwolves. She would snap out of it soon enough. It was going to be so nice to have another dragon to talk to…
To Be Continued
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Huh, this should be interesting.
You have my attention. I like it so far, and I'm curious to see where this goes.
Not bad. Will I need to know anything about HomeStuck for this to make sense, or is it just an inspiration for the character?
3510354
The only similarities between Pyralsprite and Pyralspite are the characters' color scheme and blindness, but the nature of Pyralspite's ability to "see" is integral to both Pyralspite's and Terezi's existence and pretty well identified with them. Plus while it's not an entirely unique idea to have a blind character "see" with his other senses (DareDevil came first I'm pretty sure, plus all those "blind swordsman" stories from centuries ago), I thought given the character's draconic nature, identical coloration, and similar name it would be dishonest of me not to at least point out the inspiration.
TLDR version: No, you do not need to have ever read HomeStuck to enjoy this story. I highly recommend it though. It's a good comic.
3509472
Thank you very much, I hope the future does not disappoint.
If Pyralsprite was voiced, what would she sound like?
3788690 yogscast hannah
Kinda rushed, but I like what I see so far. Will keep on reading.
Is she an albino, albinos do have bad eye so it would be to much of a a leap for one to be blind.
6070595
Actually, albino people lose completely their sight because their eyes lack keratin, if your eyes don't have keratin then the cells that register both light and color stop working, and after that, you're completely blind.
This takes a LOT of time though