Streams to Rivers to Valleys
Light faded from the sky. The blues of little birds turned to dark colors of forest wolves. Heartwood looked up to the sky. She could see specks of light glowing in the murk. The moon did not come out tonight. It rested once a month so the stars could shine brighter. The din of the day receded with the light. It carried away the joyous life of the forest like the ebbing tide. Where did that life go during the night? Was the darkness, so reminiscence of the forever closing of eyes, trying to steal it away? Life ebbs and leaves the day, yet the dark brings about a new kind of life. She stepped by rotting logs covered in moss.
Light leaves the eyes just as it flees the sky. It closes over all sight just as it did in her first death. Sleeping was practice for death, Heartwood felt. The eternal sleep that keeps the light from ever reaching the creature again. The stars flicker in fright. They flickered in awe at the darkness. Should they run? They were the rabbit in the bush waiting to know. Should it stay? Too afraid to make a move. Dark and light moved on forever. Each had their own sense of what life should be defined as.
The dirt and pebbles called out in mewls to her moving feet. They beckoned her to stay. Tall trees swayed in a gentle bow. They gave their respects to her. Branches and leaves only brushed past her form in light kisses. She was the forest in truest form.
Up ahead, Heartwood felt where the earth had been worn away not only by wind and water but also by claw. She gave a sniff. It was an unnatural form. The stone still ached from the deep wounds made long ago. Only time will soothe them with gentle wind. Soon, all will be gone.
Darkness fell heavy. It clogged up the air with its cool breath. Light suffocated. The darkness felt small and narrow around her. Echos of footfalls rang out. There was nothing here but dark. She walked through with a strong will. She stood in a wide emptiness after it had been so small. Her roots feed into the beckoning earth. Heartwood closed her eyes and let herself be felled.
Spike stretched out his body allowing his spine to crack pleasantly. He rubbed his eyes. His eyes blinked several times in the darkness. Spike sat up with a groan. There was a large hole in the ceiling that let light in. It must still be very early as the room was still so dark. Spike gave a dead stare off into the distance. He yawned and stretched again. A flickering light caught his eye so he turned around.
The rose colored light illuminated the dark cave. Spike look up and heard himself gasp. It must have been at least twenty feet tall. The sculpture stood in a gentle pose of a dragon looking up to the skylight. It was posed as if it might have been in deep thought. The light of the morning sun started to reveal more of the cave's contents. The dragon stood with no wings upon its back. The rose color of the main scales were offset by cyan crystals of the belly and frills.
He tilted his head around till it hurt looking at it. Just how many crystals did it take to make this thing?! Each one was so beautifully cut. The scales were their own individual gems! The nails on the claws looked too perfect to have been rounded that way.
But it was the eyes that captivated him most. They were so, so...Spike stared up at the creature's face. It looked like it was thinking deeply about the most wonderful things. Thoughts that brought rose colored realizations to mind. He chuckled at that. Things were truly rose colored in here.
Sparkling rays of light turned his head to the ground. Piles and piles of gems filled most of the floor. Curiously enough, there were cubby holes pox marking the walls. Gems and crystals filled them too. He slowly climbed down Heartwood's tangles to the floor. The gems smelled wonderful up close! He reached out for a sapphire. His hand tingled instantly and Spike almost dropped it. He pulled it close to his face. It was so odd.
The sweet smell was tinged with a crackle of static. It wasn't like a spice. Spike breathed in deeply. He felt it more than smelt it. It turned over in his claws. Each facet shined up at him but...
That was it. The facets didn't shine right. It was so smooth and perfect. Not a single flaw. Yet why did some shine dimly like it was smudged? Snapping came from behind him as Heartwood woke up. She pulled her roots from the floor.
"Hey, Heartwood!" Spike warmly smiled. She slow blinked at him.
Her long neck popped with each stretching inch towards him. "Gems. Crystals. Knowledge. We are here."
"Yeah, I could guess that." Spike looked up around the cave again. "Hey, what's up with this gem? It looks smudged, like the light doesn't shine right." He held it up to the light to show her.
"The only imperfections are those etched with arcane magic. All other imperfections are to be consumed."
Spike's face contorted in confusion and he raised an eyebrow at her. The gem still turned over in his hands. A thought passed him mind to make his eyes widen.
"Is this one of the gems that holds a book in it?!" He held it up again.
She nodded. "Magic and knowledge. To become a library of stone. This is the place."
Spike's mouth gaped open. His eyes looked straight to the sculpture of the dragon again. This is no sculpture. It's a body. The peaceful look of the dragon staring up to the light. What had he or she been thinking about? Spike left the sapphire forgotten on the ground. His hand reached out for the rose colored crystals. His claws gently tapped the surface before he pressed his palm to the cool surface. A rage of magic tingled up his whole arm. It reached out for his mind and searched his chest.
The veins of power talked to him. Each one shouting, calling, whispering, chanting its words to him. His hand snapped back like he had touched the hot stove. Spike cradled his hand.
"Woah."
Heartwood sniffed the crystal dragon. "Voices of the past will whisper to the future its warnings. Do not take lightly what they have to offer. It will tell you both yes and no in the same answer. Riddles dot even the simplest nodding of the head. A library will hold any book it comes across. Not all are for reading."
"Yeah." Spike chuckled. "I've come across a few books that shouldn't be read." He looked down at his claw. It still felt as if he had been shocked or burnt, but nothing appeared wrong. "Heartwood? Can you show me how to read the gems?"
She tiled her head at him. Spike felt a punch of fear in his stomach. What if she can't? Heartwood walked over to the honeycombed wall of gems. A vine reached out to a tiny purple gem. It was no bigger than a hair pin. The vine dropped it in Spike's out reaching hands. He held it up with two fingers. Not even a prickling came off of it.
"Are you sure about this one? It seems empty." He raised an eyebrow.
"Five Seven Five is, all that is needed in here. The empty is wide."
"A haiku! I get it. This must hold something really small but could unlock something bigger. Or it even means more than its simple words would suggest." Spike scratched his chin, "I guess this is what you meant by riddles. So, what do I do?"
Heartwood turned around and started to walk out the cave. "Stay in the wide empty. Be the wide empty. Look into the gem and find the color in the white for color is nothing and something. There is no meaning. Just realization."
Spike stared after her too stunned to move. What in Equestria did that mean!??? He stared at the gem. It felt like nothing in between his finger and thumb. Spike sigh deeply and sat down. Zecora would make more sense than her.
Spike had fallen asleep after hours of staring at the gem. He had only taken a break to have breakfast and lunch. The light of the sun grew dimmer in his sight even though it was still well within the skylight. In a moment, his mind was gone.
white is all. all is white. burning glow of light. white is all and all is white, burning glow of light.
Don't let go of the light that burns in my eyes.
We are here to hear you are near.
That light should burn in your eyes as it burns in your heart. Alight! Light the burning and let it glow.
Spike squeezed his eyes tightly. He grimaced as the whispering sounds kept at it. It was like they were trying to needle their way into his skin. His body tossed around onto its belly. His hands gripped his head.
A simple and concrete saying, popularly known and repeated, that expresses a truth based on common sense or the practical experience of humanity. They are often metaphorical. A proverb that describes a basic rule of conduct may also be known as a maxim.
..associating it with spiritual and mystical theories about alignments of land forms, drawing on the...
..in association with anomie to explain the general mood of despair at a perceived pointlessness of existence that one may develop upon realising there are no necessary norms, rules, or laws.
The voices rang out in his head now. What started as meaningless words soon turned to a lecture hall of differing topics. Spike's eyes opened on their own. Words and letters, runes and lines all laid out before him. They swirled around without a clear path. He could hear bit and pieces of the different conversations. It all reminded him of the times the Canterlot library hosted the Philosopher's Maxim. All sorts of old scholars from all over the country came to seemingly argue about anything they got in their heads.
Spike would tune them out but Twilight would sit in the doorway listening in. Maps whizzed by his head making him duck down. Sharp words and clever sentences clashed against each other like blades. Their metallic sound send Spike into the fetal position. The words above started to crush down on him. They fell like hail in a winter storm. Screams echoed over the void. They all wanted him to answer them. To agree with them and not the other.
Listen! Listen!
I'm right!
You're wrong!
Mine are the words you should be hearing.
Spike gasped out for breath. Why were they talking to him? What was the point!? It was all mindless chatter anyway!
Like being pulled out of the cool waters of a still pool, Spike opened his eyes. He stared up at the light. His body was laying on its back covered in a cold sweat. A shadow blocked the light out. His eyes tilted up to the figure obscured by shadows. Spike hiccuped a sigh. It was Heartwood.
"Talking too loud. You could never hear the one small voice. The empty is wide but here is it closed. Are you okay?"
Spike trembled as he pushed up into a sitting position. His chest felt tight. "I'm fine now. What was that?"
"Words are meant to be known. Read and heard." She stepped on a pile of glittering gems. "They were too excited to tell you everything. You have to teach them patience even after so long in the dark." She pursed her brows. "Being alone too long. It can make you forget manners. I forgot how to talk while they forgot how to stop. They were rude but you should forgive them." She smiled at him like a spring meadow.
Spike grinned at her. He stood up on unsteady legs. A prickling made him look down at his right claw. It uncurled slowly after gripping so hard. The little gem still laid in his palm.
"Go out to the air and the light. The chattering is too loud here." Heartwood gave a swat of her hand to push the pile over. A few gems scattered onto the stone floor. Spike felt strangely sad for them.
A breeze of air brushed past his scales. Spike stretched out his arms over his head. He had been asleep when they got here so he took the time to look around. It looked as if a path had been made leading to the entrance of the cave. Stones laid under grass and the trees stayed out of the way. He walked down the path. The sun felt nice out here.
Spike found a large oak tree growing in its own clearing. He sat down in a space between the roots. Reminds me of the old library. I wonder if it'll be growing back. Spike's eyes watered. He rubbed at them.
"Stop that. The new library isn't that bad. It's cool in fact! It's... it's like..." An image crossed his mind. "It's like the dragon in there! A library of stone." Spike laughed out loud. "How fitting." He held up the gem in the light again. "Now, what were all those things Heartwood said."
"As an Arcane, you can instill knowledge into a stone. Each facet is a page of text. A breathe of flame brings forth the knowledge to the mind."
"Your flame can carry knowledge."
...When you hold the stone, your kind blows its flame. The flame engraves the words into the stone's foundation. You hold the stone again, your flame is trapped inside now. It glows and you know all it knows."
"WELL DUH!" Spike yelled out. He laughed and slapped his head. "She told me what to do. Good going, Spike."
He looked at the small gem she had given him. A flame no bigger than a candle's blew out of his mouth. The purple grew bright. A fire within burned and flickered. Spike was entranced by it. Magic started to uncurl itself into little veins of power. Only this time, he could control the place it traveled to and how fast. It was just like the teleportation spell! Spike squirted his eyes.
A void opened up. It was as if he was opening a book and the first few pages were flypaper. Then, the words appeared. They looked more like colors. Runic swirls of color. Each one pulsed to a foreign code. Spike pushed forward with his flame. The colors reminded him of the time Twilight had shown him how some materials give off different colored flames. There were only five colors.
The green flame opened like a flower. He gasped as a feeling fell over him. He wasn't reading it. He was feeling it.
The Everwood dragon is the element of Nature. Upon its second death, it will turn into a form of magical plant life. Such examples are a tree that bears fruit all year round, a tree that gives magic infused wood used for staffs, and a fruit that cures all illnesses.
The purple flame unfurled in a rush of pages.
The Crystalline dragon is the element of arcane power. Upon its second death, it will turn into a form of stone. Such examples are gems to hold power, silver used for scrying mirrors, and metal used to forge weapons of unbreakable strength.
The yellow flame rushed past him.
The Barometer dragon is the element of air. Upon its second death, it will turn into a form of gas. Such examples are clouds of illuminating gas that lights up the sky, winds that never stop blowing, and clouds that always give water.
The red flame burst and popped at him.
The Hazemire dragon is the element of fire. Upon its second death, it will turn into a form of flame. Such examples are flames that never go out, flames cool to the touch, and flames that do not need a fuel source.
The last blue flame whooshed over him.
The Ebbing pool dragon is the element of water. Upon its second death, it will turn into a form of liquid. Such examples are magic pools of healing waters, ice that never melts, and waters with strange abilities.
Spike felt like he had just pulled his head out of the apple bobbing tub. The small gem was dark now. He was still in the same position as before. Spike grasped the gem with both hands. There was still more to know! The little thing was a quick index of the types of dragons. He could feel it after the sentences ended. There were other things like where they mostly lived, what their body types were like, and other things like food needs!
He jumped up out of the roots and ran back towards the cave.
"Heartwood! Hey!" He called out.
She was staring into the face of the stone dragon. She made a hollow sound he took as a 'hmm'.
"I figured it out. Well, you had told me what to do. Exactly what to do in fact. But I did it!" He held up the dark gem.
She turned her head down to his level. "The color in the wide emptiness is only a feeling of realization."
"Yeah! It's more like a thought or feeling than actually reading or hearing something."
Heartwood nodded.
"What should I do now though?" He looked puzzled at the gem.
"What did the voices tell you?"
"Huh? Oh, um, at first it was some stuff about burning lights then it was some stuff like out of a book."
"Then burn." She pulled her head away to stare back at the dragon. Spike was still. His face fell into a glum frown. More riddles.
"Am I supposed to put in knowledge now or something?" He waved his hand around and inquisitively looked at her. She made the hollow sound again. "And how am I to do that?"
"Dead wood and ink."
"Ahhh." A letter? Spike slapped his head again. "Wow, I'm just not getting anything today. I can send knowledge with my flame." He walked over to a large stone to sit down. Heartwood moved her eyes to look at him. She stood the bag of gems at him. It fell in a clatter. "Hey! That's my dinner."
Spike opened the bag to see if any had cracked. He realized her intentions. "Do I have to? Only the perfect gems taste the best." He whined. She didn't make any moment or noise. He signed. The best gem in the bag was an opal he had scooped up for dessert.
"Hmmm, hmmmm, hmmmm." He hummed with each tilt of the head. Should I make a letter then burn it to send into the gem? No, that would just make the paper appear in the gem and that wouldn't be good. "But how do you transmit a thought? That's something Twilight would know."
Spike's lip trembled. Twilight. He kept thinking about her. It had only been a day and his guilt was already gnawing at this thoughts. She would be so worried about him. They had grown up together! He was her only real friend for so long. She might have been over reacting again but she would have given it some better thought afterwards just like she always did.
"Heartwood." Spike looked up at her. "I think I want to go home."
She curled down to him, "You have not learned all yet. Why go now?"
"I miss my friends. I shouldn't have run off like that. I think they would be so worried about me. I know how overly protective Twilight came get." Spike grimaced. "They would also love to see this! I don't want to be here on my own. Let's go back and get them."
"If that is what you wish."
"Ick! Mud." Rarity squealed again for what seemed the tenth time that hour.
"For Applebucking's sake, Rarity. It's the forest! What did you expect? Canterlot Plaza? It's all mud and dirt and leaves and germs. Now quiet up and keep moving. We want to be there by next night fall. Or do you want to sleep out here in the mud?" Applejack was ashamed of her outburst but Rarity's complaining was grating on her nerves.
"We don't even know where are going," Rarity shot back.
"Now, now Rarity. No need to be a downer!" Pinkie hopped up besides her. "Twilight and Helden are following the trail. The trail that we blaze!" She pointed to a large rock wall, stopped, then pointed to the path they were following. "That trail that we blaze!" Pinkie laughed till she had to slow down from a trot to walking.
Rarity's face relaxed into a smile. "You're right, I am being a downer and we really can't be too pessimistic when we have those two leading the way."
Twilight and Helden Guard lead the way through the forest. Twilight held up a map of the area. They had joined up the previous day after Twilight had come back to hotel only to find Spike gone. The rest of the girls had all been busy spreading word to the townsponies about the creature not being a threat anymore. She hadn't been sure how much to tell them. They had all wanted to know about the epic battle they must have raged against it. Especially the ponies still in the hospital. It hurt her to have to lie to them.
The path wasn't a clear one. Heartwood, or so her name was, didn't leave much in the way of footsteps or broken twigs. It all looked like nothing that big had ever been there. It was a mix of Twilight's magic and Helden's tracking abilities that lead the way.
A thumping in the forest stopped the group. Helden held up an arm. He motioned for them to fall back. Twilight felt silly letting a mere guard pony take the lead when she was 'Princess Element of Magic'! No wind was blowing, yet there was a loud rustling of leaves.
Creaking and popping came out from the direction in front of them. They gasped as the trees started to bend back out of the way. A wooden face appeared in front of them along with a purple speck.
"Twilight!" Spike jumped up to his feet. He nearly leap down Heartwood's side. Twilight, in turn, came running towards him to scoop him up in a hug.
"I'm so sorry I ran off like that." Spike didn't mind the crushing hug Twilight was giving him.
She looked at him with puffed out cheeks. He could already feel the words coming out at him. Yet, she breathed out and rubbed his head. "I'm glad you're okay. Are you well?"
"Ahh, yeah. I'm really well. I missed you."
"I missed you too. And I'm sorry too, Spike. I shouldn't have written you off like that. You're right, you aren't a baby anymore. You need to go out on your own and learn about being a dragon."
"Thank you, Twilight." They parted only for Spike to be enveloped by the other girls in a group hug. Helden smiled at him.
Twilight looked up at Heartwood. She was still wary of the strange creature. "I... thank you for taking care of him."
Heartwood bent down to Twilight who jumped back. "You... are arcane too." She smiled. Twilight looked at Spike.
"It means you're one of us." Spike laughed. Twilight relaxed and smiled up at Heartwood too. "Oh, Twilight! I have so much to tell you I don't even know where to start!"
"We go," Heartwood said. She turned back around and walked off.
"Hey, slow down! Come on you guys. We have something cool to show you!"
Twilight shook her head in mock disapproval. They ran after Spike to climb up onto Heartwood's back.
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completely remade and reposted... as both 20,407 and 0 words total
5154092
What the? I have no idea what just happened.
Christ, suddenly eight chapters in 3 minutes. Did you rewrite and repost the whole thing or something?
5154092
It'll take a bit for the word count to update.
5154134
Yep! I had some minor and major issues depending on the chapter so I just took it all down and reworked it.
*looks at picture* I bet that dragon gets morning wood a lot
I'm sorry I couldn't resist
5154253
Ha, too bad she's not a boy.
5154303 ................. I knew that
5154306
Knowlege in gems? Like spirit gems in spyro games(the ones that let you talk to the ancesters?).
5156046
In a way, but not really. They're more like flash drives with word documents on them. Spike can read them like a book.
Can't wait for the next chapter already. I especially love what you did with Heartwood's dialogue. I really get the impression that an ancient being is trying to vocalize thoughts when it had no need to for centuries.
Yay a reference to The Road to El Dorado i love that movie.
I have the feeling Heartwood would get along swimmingly with Yoda.
Does that mean that the Mirror Pool is an Ebbing Pool dragon in your story?