Dahiric

by sunnypack

11 - Backtrack

Chapter 11: Backtrack

These creatures were too friendly. I couldn't understand how they could be so nonchalant about having a stranger around. Even going so far as to provide accommodation and food to one such as I. By the Ancestors, I was all fangs, teeth and claws, and they were all smiles and hugs. Especially hugs. I’ve only been here a couple of days, but I wanted to go back. I decided that I’d leave them with a nice gesture, something they could appreciate, and then I’d make my way back to Earth. I would recover the Sphere and begin to set right what my father had started.

——————

Twilight led me to a small chamber that housed a bed and a small lampshade. The room was sparse except for a bookshelf that was devoid of books and a study desk bare of any documents and parchment. It looked like a room that had been recently furnished.

“I was going to make this the guest room, in case there were any visitors to the castle, but I didn’t think we’d need it so soon. Sorry it’s so bare, if you want I can bring you some books to read,” Twilight told me as she stepped into the room. She looked back at me expectantly, until I realised that she was trying to gauge my response.

Seriously, these creatures were too nice. Did I happen upon the only two individuals on this world that would be willing to do what Twilight and Spike had done, or was I extremely lucky?

Twilight cleared her throat, waiting for a response.

Instinctively, I raised the tip of my claw to a pattern. I paused, the tip hovering there. Slowly it sank away. I nodded my thanks instead.

Twilight smiled at me, she didn’t seem to mind that I was being, frankly, rude and a little condescending. I guess the shock of everyone trying to kill you, to friends or family you couldn’t trust, to being on the run between worlds and finally meeting the polar opposite… was really taking its toll. I was a bad person, and I didn’t belong here, and I certainly didn’t deserve their kindness. I wasn’t a part of their world, a world which seemed so much happier and innocent.

I admit it made me a little envious.

Twilight and Spike hung around the door hesitating in that way when someone didn’t know if they should leave. I glanced outside, it would be sundown in a handful of hours. I knew what they were thinking, they were deciding whether or not it would be too late to step outside and do something in the meantime.

I gently shook my head and mimed a yawn, making the decision for them.

“Oh,” Twilight mumbled. "You want to sleep?” She surprised herself with a yawn. “Now that you mention it, I am quite tired.”

Spike shook his head. “What, now you're sleeping before nine?” He chuckled. “That'd be a first.”

Twilight looked slightly mollified at the prospect. “Well I did have some reading to do, and some documentations to verify. I suppose I could also cross-check—”

“Twi’?” Spike raised an eyebrow. “I wasn’t serious.”

Twilight glanced back at me while letting out a nervous titter. "Ha ha! Yes! I knew that! In any case it is a little too early for me to go to sleep, so if you need anything in the meantime, don't hesitate to ask us!" Twilight grinned at me, and Spike gave a somewhat magnanimous bow.

The door closed, and I was left alone in the room. Sighing, I thought it would be wise to get some sleep, because I would be sneaking out at night anyway. Curling into a coil on the surprisingly soft mattress, I etched a faint pattern based on the oscillator my father had created, and set it to wake me up in around seven hours. They would probably be asleep that time, and I could sneak out and use the dimensional portal to get back to Earth.

—————

A faint, high pitched sound whined in my ears, forcing my eyes open. I gestured curtly to cut off the alarm and blinked furiously, but blearily, at my surroundings. My vision steadily adjusted itself to resolve various shapes in the darkness. I recognised the bookshelf, the lampshade and the twisted covers of my bedding. Looks like I tossed around while I slept as usual.

Getting up from the bed, I stopped to make sure the sheets were laid out nicely. I wasn’t going to be a slob, I’ve been enough of a burden on these welcoming creatures. Through the small crystal window, I saw the gaze of a moon that was just beginning to wane. The room was lit up sufficiently with its light, casting the room in a pale silver glow. I paused to admire the architecture. It really was beautifully alien, nothing on Earth would match this, although a couple of things might come close in austerity.

Nothing could match how ethereal the scene looked at this moment.

With a wry smile I padded over to the door and eased it open quietly. Glancing down the hallway to make sure no one was around, I made my way through the twists and turns leading to the entrance. Several times I turned a corner and met a dead end, which made me a little exasperated, but eventually I found my way to the door.

In front of the door I lifted a claw to push them open… but I froze at the massive handle. Something inside of me felt bad for leaving them abruptly in the middle of the night. I didn’t want to do that, but at the same time, did I want to explain exactly who I was? Would they understand? Would I want to put these friendly creatures in danger simply because I wanted to be polite?

I took one more look at the fantastical castle, committing it to memory. I smiled sadly.

No, I couldn’t justify it. I was alone, a little lonely, and even pausing here was showing my weakness. There was a hole in my heart, but I didn’t want it to be filled with the kindness they showed me. In fact, I don’t think it deserved to be filled at all. Again I felt the little shift of displacement, the minute prickling sensation that I wasn’t a part of this. I didn’t belong to this world.

I almost chuckled then. Of course this wasn’t my world. Of course I didn’t belong here. Why entertain the notion at all? With a despondent sigh I pushed the door open, and took a step into the night.

——————

Twilight looked on from their little perch above the reception room. The alcove hid them fairly well, but Spike had been uncomfortable. Twilight had assured him that the spell would also keep them hidden, but she knew that really wasn’t what he was concerned about at all.

“I don’t think we should be doing this, Twi’,” he murmured, not for the first time.

Twilight suppressed the urge to sigh, and instead tried one more time.

“It’s not that I don’t trust her,” she muttered back. “I just think that we should…”

“Just spy on her and make sure she’s not up to any good?” Spike shot back. “I’ve told you that she saved my life. I don’t think you can get much more trustworthy than that.”

“There are other motives to saving sompony’s life,” Twilight replied cryptically. “Besides, there’s so much about her that we don’t know about, and dragons haven’t been the best of friends with us.”

Spike gritted his teeth together. “Hey Twi’, if anything, I should be more suspicious of the dragon company I keep, but do you remember my honour code?”

Twilight groaned. “How could I forget?”

Spike ignored her impertinent look. “While I’m not going to go all overboard for her like I did with Applejack, I do think we can give her the benefit of the doubt.”

Twilight pursed her lips, considering his statement. “You don’t find her a little… odd?”

Spike cocked his head. “Odd? Odd for what?”

“Odd for a dragon?”

Spike folded his arms. “I’m odd for a dragon, and I’m okay, right?”

Twilight shook her head, her eyebrows coming together as she tried to communicate what was bothering her. “I mean, odd. Off. She’s different to other dragons, Spike, and she’s different to us. I feel like she’s still keeping us at arm’s length. Like she has something to hide.”

“Doesn’t everypony have their own little secret?” Spike raised an eyebrow, relaxing only slightly. “Is this because she can’t speak for some reason?”

“Well we don’t know if she can or can’t.” Twilight waggled a hoof. “That’s beside the point. The point is there’s more to this dragoness. I know there is.”

Evidently, that didn’t have the appeasing effect she thought it did, because Spike just harrumphed and folded his arms again. So far, nothing had happened in the past few hours, and Spike had grown bored sitting around and doing nothing in the alcove of their own residence. Twilight had brought some work with her so she could be just as productive in their little corner, but Spike didn’t seem impressed with the rapid conjuration and dismissal that Twilight performed to keep their little pretence up.

Twilight yawned. “Well it is getting late…”

Spike nodded. “Finally!”

“And we haven’t seen anything…”

“That’s right!” Spike nodded emphatically.

“So I guess…”

Spike leaned forward.

“I knew it!” Twilight whispered urgently. “I was right!” She quickly clamped a hoof over her mouth and shrank back into the alcove. The dragoness paused at the entrance, as if she heard something. She cocked her head, her paw frozen at the door.

Twilight held her breath, trying to erase her presence.

The dragoness swept the room, her eyes taking everything in. Though Twilight knew she couldn’t possibly see them, the brief moment that they locked eyes sent a shiver down her spine. The look was haunting, it had a depressive quality to it, a hidden pain. But what stopped Twilight’s heart for a moment was the raw emotion of desperate unfettered longing.

When the dragoness left, Twilight started breathing again, and she noted that Spike had gripped the alcove so tightly that his claws had gouged small furrows in the crystal. He twitched, noticing her look, and cringed, expecting a rebuke. Instead, Twilight simply gathered her assistant in her wings.

“We need to go after her,” Spike said in a small voice.

Twilight nodded, fearing to test her voice.

The dragoness was hiding something for sure, but more importantly, Twilight wanted to reach out and comfort that lost soul. From the way Spike was gritting his teeth, his eyes filled with compassion, Twilight knew that he was thinking the same thing she did too.

“She needs a friend,” Twilight whispered.

——————

I made my way past the small houses and homely cottages that this picturesque village was fond of. The light of Power could only be seen by mages back on Earth, with mortals being mostly blind to its workings. I was surprised that Twilight and Spike were able to see the glow of Power, but I guess in a fantasy world like this, a lot of things were possible. Still, that meant I had to move far enough away so my workings wouldn’t be detected.

After moving far enough so that the lights were but a dim twinkle comparable to the stars above, I started inscribing the first grooves for the pattern. The night was all around me, usually, I would be wary, for predators liked to stalk the night. Dragons may be an apex predator, but dragons could hunt other dragons. On Earth, humans with merely a few tools were almost—if not just as—dangerous.

Still, the night here warranted a bit of calm, and I was unused to relaxing so deeply, especially in an alien environment. I took the opportunity to scribe the lines carefully. A mistake could be fatal, especially if I got some of the coordinates wrong. I could end up in a vacuum, or trapped in rock.

I reached out and tapped a worn pattern on my throat. With a barely visible flash, a ring of violet settled around my neck, the torque of Power crafted specifically for speech. I looked back at the small village.

“I’m sorry,” I said solemnly, “you’ve been so kind to me, but I have to go.”

I blinked away a couple of tears and marvelled at how much trust could extend in the span of barely one day. My paw descended to the pattern and touched the focal points for Power.

“Go where?”

I froze and my gaze shot up. My eyes searched above until they found a small shape shadowed by the moon. Hovering above was Twilight and Spike, with a swoop they descended, their faces eerily lit by the moonlight.

And both looked ready to chew steel and spit nails.

Author's Note:

Special thanks to DocFlareon, who reminded me that I had to update this.

Next Chapter: A choice, between worlds, but not for our protagonist.

As always, my honeyed readers, thanks for reading!

Comments

[RadicalDishonesty]

... And she spends all this time not saying a word, and screws it up at the end by wanting to have a parting touching phrase.

That's fine! It just means it's time for stuff to get interesting, I hope!