Score

by Waterpear

Smoke Signal

The road to Canterlot had not been used for some time. It was solid, despite being made of dirt, and, in its glory days, had been pleasant to travel on. That it was still recognizable, let alone useful, was a testament to the engineer’s wisdom and the workers’ tenacity. Even then, the road was beginning to crumble, and weeds poked through the cracks that spidered across its surface.

As Rarity and Fluttershy went through a section of the Unicorn Woods, the cloud cover began to disperse. They had gone out from under a disk of cloud, leaving a slate-blue sky filled with fuzzy clumps of down. Sunlight stroked Rarity’s back, its warm rays reminding her of happier times.

Soon, they reached the foot of Canterlot Mountain. Rarity was not exactly thrilled by the idea of hiking up the mountainside path. True, she’d gone through mountainous terrain many times to feed her boutique’s hunger for gems, but those scraggly ridges, compared to Canterlot Mountain, were infants playing at the feet of a tall, solid father.

That hike, however, would not happen. The start of the path was barred by a gate, made of straight steel tubes. It was unpainted, yet free of rust. The gate gleamed in the afternoon sun, its glare as obstinate as angry wasps.

“I don’t like this gate,” Fluttershy said.

“Nor do I.” Rarity turned to face away from the gate. “Stand back, Fluttershy. I’m going to terminate this crime against fashion.”

Rarity stepped back, preparing to strike, She looked over her shoulder, trying not to let any of the reflected light shine in her eye. Aligned with the gate, she was ready to strike. Though she wasn’t particularly experienced with heavy kicks like these, Rarity knew she could do a lot of damage to something if she really wanted to. And this gate was, of course, both hideous and obstructive. It had to go.

Rarity let loose and kicked, bracing for the impact. It turned out to be more than she was expecting. The gate didn’t buckle or sway, and a good chunk of the kick bounced back into Rarity’s hooves. It stung, and Rarity nearly stumbled forward into the dirt. Regaining balance was easy, but her hind hooves still throbbed.

“Rarity!” Fluttershy shouted. “Um, why’d you kick the gate? Isn’t it there for a reason?”

“What reason could possibly be good enough to have a gate blocking the way to Canterlot?”

Fluttershy looked at the gate, squinting. “Whoever put this gate up doesn’t want anypony to go up there, and they might get angry and even hurt us.”

“Hm. Good point.” Rarity looked back at the path the two had just taken. “But now what are we going to do? We can’t just give up.”

Fluttershy nodded in silent assent.

“I say we keep going until we find something.” Rarity absently took a step. “We could just wait here for somepony to open the gate, but that could take ages, and I’d rather not stare at this—thing—for hours on end.”

“Oh, that’s a good idea.”

They left the gate behind. The path they chose turned away from the forest, heading through the craggy terrain of the gem fields. Rarity had gone through this road many times, and, while she was used to dodging sharp rocks and climbing over lumps in the ground, Fluttershy was not. The pegasus had started flying a couple feet above the ground, massaging her hooves as she floated.

The pair had their eyes trained on the sky, rather than the drab, blocky earth around them. The sun was setting, a fire-color painting of ashen orange and delicate pink. A thin pillar of smoke cut through the image, but its source was somewhere over the horizon.

“It’s rather early to be lighting a fire, don’t you think?” Rarity asked.

“Well, it is a bit chilly. And maybe they’re going to cook dinner.”

“Dinner, right. Ugh, don’t remind me,” Rarity grumbled. “But once we get through, we’ll be able to graze again. Not that I’m thrilled about having more wild grass, but it is. at the least, something.”

“Me neither.” Fluttershy giggled, and her stomach growled as well.

“Perhaps those ponies would share a bit of their food with us, and we can have a proper meal for—”

Fluttershy gasped. “Wait a second. How do we know that they’re ponies?”

“It’s a campfire. What else would that smoke be?”

“It could be a d-dragon—”

“Fluttershy, don’t worry!” Rarity laid a hoof on her friend’s shoulder. “Dragons are forbidden from these gem fields, with the exception of Spike. It’s part of the agreement, as it were: we ponies leave them alone, and they leave us alone.”

“Oh, thank goodness!” Fluttershy sighed.

Rarity ached, and Fluttershy sank closer to the ground. But they trudged on towards the source of the smoke, propelled by the desire to be at a place where they could adequately stop.

No fire came into view, nor was there any pit of smoldering embers. As the ponies approached, they soon realized that the smoke was coming not from a campsite, but from a pit in the ground.

Fluttershy stopped, landing. “Rarity.” She nearly whimpered. “That looks like dragon smoke.”

“How can you tell?”

Fluttershy pointed up. Rather than dispersing, like smoke from a fire, it coagulated into jet-black wads of soot that drifted through the sky.

“That is unusual. Wait right here, Fluttershy. I’ll go check.”

“Are you sure you’ll be alright?”

“I’ll be fine.” Rarity walked into the pit.

Fluttershy waited. Images flashed through her mind: Rarity choking on smoke. Rarity being gored by a dragon. Rarity falling into a trap and being enslaved by diamond dogs. Rarity’s egress being blocked by a cave-in…

‘I’ll be fine,’

Fluttershy fixated on that sentence, trying to ward off the waking nightmares of her imagination with echoes of her friend’s voice.

The sun had slipped to the horizon, lighting the sky orange, as if it had been lit ablaze. Rarity came out of the pit at last, and called to Fluttershy.

“Oh, Fluttershy! Come here!”

“Is it a dragon?” Fluttershy shouted.

“It’s perfectly safe! I’ve found our little Spikey-Wikey!”

Fluttershy tiptoed to the pit, eyeing the column of smoke all the while. Rarity practically jumped back in, and beckoned Fluttershy to come in as well.

“Is this smoke Spike’s…”

Rarity nodded once. “Come in. I’ll explain everything.”

Fluttershy jumped down, gliding with her wings. Immediately, she felt warm; she hadn’t realized it was that cold above ground. The smoke poured out of a small hole in the ground, but only a weak odor, a mere innuendo of burnt something-or-other, tickled her nose.

“Hurry!” Rarity jittered her hooves on the ground, a grin on her face. “Go down that tunnel!”

Fluttershy did so, and Rarity followed. The tunnel swallowed up the last of the setting sunlight, and it soon became too dark to see. Rarity lit her horn up, casting everything in a dim blue glow.

Rarity took the lead, allowing Fluttershy to follow the light. Keeping her eyes and ears open for danger, Fluttershy trudged forward. The ground sloped, and Fluttershy slowed her pace, trying not to slip. Rarity, however, did not, and her light slowly moved away from Fluttershy, until she abruptly halted.

“Stop!” Rarity whispered. The ponies had entered a chamber, held up by pillars of rock, crudely carved, but strong enough to support the ceiling.

Rarity pointed at one of the pillars. A note was attached to it.

“Read this.” Rarity pointed her horn at the piece of paper, and Fluttershy read it.

To whom it may concern:

Please don’t disturb me. I am a dragon. While I’m normally easy to get along with, I am currently taking my hundred-year sleep. This is very important to me. If you awaken me for no good reason, I will be very grumpy. If you try to loot my hoard, you will be injured, and possibly burned to a crisp. After all, I am a dragon.

I’ve tried to filter my breath smoke to make it thinner. But if you came here because there was a large smoke cloud that was blocking out the sun and making it hard to grow crops, then please ring the bell, and I’ll relocate. I’m very sorry for almost destroying civilization.

Sincerely,

~ Spike

P.S.

Have I mentioned that I am a dragon, and that I have very sharp claws and am very large?

I do not suggest trying to loot my hoard.

“We found somepony! Er, someone. But the point is, we aren’t alone!” Rarity grinned, her smile gleaming almost brighter than her horn.

“That’s wonderful,” Fluttershy said. “Can we turn in for the night? I’m getting tired.”

“Oh, but you simply must see what Spike’s done with the place!”

“Yes, but—” Fluttershy cut herself off with a yawn.

“I suppose you have a point, Fluttershy.” Rarity yawned as well. “Get yourself comfortable—as comfortable as you can here, anyway—and I’ll turn off the light.”

Fluttershy tried various positions, eventually deciding to curl her legs under her body. “Good night, Rarity.”

“Good night, dear.” The light from Rarity’s horn extinguished, and Fluttershy heard Rarity shifting around. Despite Rarity’s excitement just a few minutes ago, and despite the sheer inelegance of the accommodations, Fluttershy soon heard gentle snores, as delicate as the chirp of crickets.

Fluttershy’s mind then drifted to the subject of Spike. She was not looking forward to seeing him, though Rarity probably would. True, this was Spike. He was definitely not a bad dragon. He was easily the most good-hearted dragon she had ever met. But he was still a dragon. And Fluttershy’s fear of dragons, while not as bad as it used to be, was still an irrational fear. Just thinking about what Spike might be made blood rush to her feet.

She concluded that, as long as she didn’t actually see Spike, it wouldn’t be scary. And she soon fell asleep.

---

Rarity didn’t know what time it was, and wasn’t even sure if she’d woken up. It was completely dark. She’d encountered darkness like this once, when she was a filly, searching for gems. She’d gotten stuck, and night fell before her parents came to rescue her. But it was warm here. The air did not nip at her flank, and she did not shiver.

She lit her horn up. Ah, this was the chamber in Spike’s den! Fluttershy was on the floor, curled up and breathing peacefully. It reminded Rarity of the day before, when Fluttershy had failed to wake up.

Fluttershy stirred, and Rarity let go of a breath she didn’t know she’d been holding.

“Good morning, Rarity.” Fluttershy stretched, sighing in relief. “Well, I guess it’s morning? My goodness, I’m hungry!”

Rarity winced, suddenly aware of her own hunger pangs. “As am I.”

There was a pause, then Fluttershy sighed. “We had it so good, didn’t we?”

“Pardon?”

“Remember how nice everything was? And then it all just...I don’t know if I can make it.”

“You’re tougher than you think, Fluttershy.” Rarity turned to face a passage on the other side of the chamber. “I wonder if Spike has any food tucked away in his little hidey-hole…”

“A-are we going to steal food from a...dragon?”

“Fluttershy, dear, our little Spikey-wikey wouldn’t mind a bit!”

“That smoke didn’t look like it came from a little dragon.” Fluttershy grimaced.

“Either way, he’s our friend, and he wouldn’t mind sharing with us. Especially if we only take just enough to get us to the other side of the gem fields.” Rarity’s stomach growled. “Which, ah, might be a rather large portion.” She giggled. “Spike will understand.”

“All right. But I’m going to stay here, if that’s alright with you.”

“Do you really want to sit here by yourself in the dark?”

Fluttershy paused. “On second thought, I think I’ll follow you.”

The passage looked like two different areas mashed together. The floor below was rough and tumble; a few loose gems were scattered on top of slabs and juts of rock, glittering only due to Rarity’s light. But the walls and ceiling were as clean as blocks of soil could possibly be, supported by beams of hewn stone.

Rarity trod slowly. The passage was steep; slipping would earn her a tumble to the bottom, complete with gashes and cuts. Fluttershy, at least, was floating, leaving Rarity free to worry about herself.

“Are you sure this isn’t a trap, Rarity?” Fluttershy looked around, avoiding looking at the supports as if they were the bones of the Ur-Dragon himself. “I hear dragons sometimes dig labyrinths to keep thieves from getting to the hoard…”

Rarity groaned, rolling her eyes. “It’s Spike,” she hissed. “He doesn’t do traps.”

Fluttershy flinched. “S-sorry.”

“Don’t be.” Rarity had regretted her tone the moment she slipped. “It’s just...” She saw no need to finish that sentence. If I’m going to act so brutishly just because I missed a few meals, then I have no right to call myself a lady.

“No, it’s still my fault. I’m, um, having trouble adjusting to all this. This is Spike’s lair, but it’s a dragon’s lair, and Spike is a baby dragon...but he’s not anymore.”

Rarity chose not to reply.

Near the end of the passage, the floor turned on a sharp edge and became less steep. The final stretch formed what amounted to an antechamber, and Rarity knew what she’d see in the next room.

She whispered to Fluttershy. “If you don’t want to see a full-grown dragon—”

“I don’t.” Fluttershy paused. “But I do want to see Spike.”

“Very well. Do you promise to remain composed?”

Fluttershy nodded.

They went forward. The room they entered was immense, for it was a dragon’s bedroom. The ceiling was high; the room was as tall as any building in Ponyville. After going through so many tunnels, just looking up made Rarity almost dizzy with awe.

The most obvious thing in the room, of course, was the great purple dragon sleeping upright. Smoke poured from his nostrils, but the warm, black clouds of soot drifted through a hole in the ceiling, leaving the bedroom’s air clear, if a little stale. Next to him was an immense, mangled bell, a contortion of brass that looked mostly like a dome.

Piles of things were stacked here and there. Rarity’s horn light wasn’t bright enough to make out what they were precisely, but—oddly enough for a dragon’s lair—they didn’t seem to be gems.

Fluttershy shuffled to one of the piles near the edge of the light cone, trying very hard not to look at the dragon. Rarity, however, looked up, straight at the dragon’s face—at least, as best as she could in such conditions. Even from this distance, and even in this light, his was a fearsome face, a mass of angular scales pointing into one solid wedge. It was hard to imagine that this was once Spike.

The cute little baby dragon with a cute little crush on her—he built this passage. He was king of the gem fields. He could doom Equestria to a century of starvation by accident. He was the biggest, meanest thing around, and would bring a swift end to anything that woke him too soon.

He’s all grown up, Rarity thought. Oh, I wish I could have seen if. If only—

A clatter rang from the corner of the room, echoing dimly off the soil walls. Rarity’s breath caught. Would the dragon—would Spike wake up? She turned to the source of the noise just in time to see Fluttershy skitter into the corner.

Spike didn’t even stir. Rarity’s breath returned, still ragged and clammy. She went to examine what Fluttershy had apparently done.

“S-sorry!” Fluttershy said. “I just wanted to see what this stuff was.”

Now that she was close, Rarity could see that these were sealed aluminum cans, gleaming like the gate that barred the climb to Canterlot. Unlike store-bought canned food, the cans were unpainted, a tacit proclamation that their contents were useful yet unpleasant. The only clue to their contents was scrawled on the lids: Spinach.

“Thank you so much, darling!” Rarity couldn’t help but hug Fluttershy. “It’s not great, but it’s food.”

“Oh, don’t thank me. Spike brought them down here, and I just, um, kinda stumbled into them. He won’t mind if we take them, right?”

“Of course not, Fluttershy! Why would a dragon keep canned spinach, anyway? Surely you don’t think Spike’s going to eat that stuff!”

Fluttershy giggled. “I don’t think any of my animals would eat it if they had a choice. But I hope it helps us get to the other side of the fields. Wait, how are we going to open them anyway?”

The cans began to glow one by one, floating to follow Rarity. “I figured out a trick back when I was first trying to start the boutique. Now, come along, Fluttershy. We have a civilization to discover.”

Rarity began climbing out the lair, hardly noticing the strain of carrying the cans. How could she? While far from palatable, canned spinach was much better than wild grass. She planned to treat herself to a more civilized meal at the first opportunity, but for the time being, this would suffice for Fluttershy and her.

Fluttershy, swallowing her fears, finally took a look at Spike before leaving. He wasn’t so bad for a dragon. After all, he left a cache of food.

Comments

[Arez]

Ooohhh I really want to know what happened to Equestria.

Hell, I'll be glad with finding out what happened to the others

[Manaphy]

I'm glad that this fic is still going. Anyway, that was a wonderful chapter with many mysteries waiting to be solved and the characters were all great in my opinion. Nice work!

[howard035]

Very interesting. It's still a really bad idea to take that food without asking though. Dragon instincts being what they are, you don't wave a red flag at a bull, even if that bull is a good friend.

[Rammy]

Authors Helping Authors
Name of Story: Score
Grammar: 9/10 I only saw a few minor errors
Pros:
* Your word usage in describing the situation or an object is great( wish I was that good...)
*I'm so glad you didn't have Rarity go ballistic when she discovered the layers of dust... I find that her over dramatizing everything to be grating...
Cons:
*I expected more reaction from the ponies when they discovered the destruction. this is where over dramatizing rarity might have been okay.
*I do find it a bit odd that Spikes dragon instincts didn't warn him about the stolen spinach...
* 20 years of napping and some how Spike is now an adult and in his 100 year nap... OOOOkay...
Notes Section
Its still a wonderful story I have fav'd it.
Enjoy your review! Please help me out by looking at my story: The Last Keeper of Harmony