Chapter 9: Real
Spike flew calmly over a vast empty desert. The heat was intense, and the desert air battered his eyes, but he pushed on towards an imaginary destination. Then he saw green shrubs and flowers growing out of the placid landscape below. He broke his steady pace and began to beat his wings wildly.
He landed and was overcome with joy. There was a fresh oasis, and the water was cool to the touch. He plunged his muzzle into the water eagerly quenching his thirst. “Hey!” He paused, but passed it off as his ears playing tricks on him. “Hey you!” Okay that was someone. He lifted his head and saw a dragon on the opposite side of the pond.
He said nothing but stared awkwardly at him. “Hey, are you okay buddy?” he asked.
“Oh, uh. Y-yeah I'm fine,” Spike answered. “Do you need anything?”
He came closer. Spike got a better look. He had light gray scales, with haphazard black Spike's running down his back. “I'm kinda lost, do you know how to get to the Equestria from here?”
“No… sorry, he lied, well partially.
“Don't sweat it, name’s Aneta by the way.”
“Aneta?” Spike asked.
“Yeah I know, it's a dragoness’ name…”
“It's not that, I've never met a dragon whose name isn't associated with mutilation or fire.” Spike chuckled.
“Oh…”
He continued to drink from the water. A hot desert breeze came through gently shifting the sand. It had became quiet. Spike looked around to see if the dragon had gone. He was nowhere to be seen. He thought he was alone until he heard a loud slurp from behind him. He stopped the moment Spike looked at him.
“Sorry,” he said with a goofy grin. “I've been flying through this dessert for days.”
“Why do you think I'm here?” Spike laughed. “This desert always has at least one watering hole.”
“Really? This is my first time going through,” Aneta said.
“There's nothing to see, just sand for miles. So, what are you going to Equestria for?” Spike asked.
“I'm trying to beat the migration,” Aneta answered.
“Migration?” Spike asked.
“Yeah, I'm trying to get a good spot in the Badlands before we move to Griffonstone.”
“The dragons fly directly over Ponyville…” Spike thought. “Ponyville…”
Regret quickly filled his heart. He just up and left in the middle of the night, leaving her there probably with a broken heart. She wouldn't want to see him, maybe she found someone who would stay instead of running away like a little brat.
“I best get going,” Aneta said. “Where do I go from here?”
“Hm?” Spike was snapped out of his hypnotic state.
“You agreed to give me directions,” Aneta reiterated.
“Oh, you want to keep heading east until you reach the edge of the desert. From there you should be able to see Smoky mountain, once you do start heading southeast –the mountain has a cave, in case you want to rest– keep that heading until you are in Equestrian airspace.”
“How will I know?” Aneta asked.
“You will either see towns and villages below you, or you'll see Cloudsdale. And to answer your next question, Cloudsdale is a Pegasus city made of clouds.”
“Uh huh… Thank you, I hope to see you there.” He took to the air and was soon out of sight. Spike went about his business, hunted for a little snack. He found little sand serpents, not the most satisfying meal, but it would hold him over, then he relaxed in the cool water. He looked up at the forever blue sky, he was at peace. As much peace as he'd been in months.
“Spike…”
He found himself in darkness, chilling darkness. It was freezing, and he was wet. He scrambled to his paws and found that he was in the same oasis, only he wasn't alone. Several other dragons were nesting, so he decided that it was time to make his leave.
“Spike, can you hear me?”
“What the hell?” Spike spun in circles looking for the origin of the voice. He soon came to the conclusion that the cold water made him delirious, he needed to warm up. He moved away from the other dragons with a clawful of dried shrubs from the edge of the water's influence, setting them ablaze before lying on them, even the sand was cold to the touch.
“Spike!”
“Who’s there!” He snarled.
“Spike? Yes, we finally found you!”
“Who are you and who is we?” He readied himself for whatever creature dared to attack him.
“Oh sorry, It’s Twilight. Luna and I have been searching for days.
“Twilight?” Spike loosened some. “How exactly are you speaking with me right now?”
“Through Luna,” Twilight answered.
“Right,” he skeptically chuckled. “Why isn’t she here now?”
“Because she can't travel that far through dreams. Look, this spell won’t last for much longer, it’s taking all of our combined strength just to hold it let alone have a conversation.”
“Mhm… So what do you need?”
“Why did you run away?” Twilight asked. Spike said nothing. “Spike why?”
“Because I wanted to, why do you care?” he spat venom.
“Why wouldn't I, it was the first time we've seen you in years, then you just fly away without so much as a goodbye!” Twilight shot back.
“Twilight, stay calm. If you exert too much we’ll lose him,” Luna interrupted.
“If you want to know why I left ask Luna! She’s seen my dreams…”
“What do you mean–” they were gone. Silence returned to the land.
“Twilight?” he called. The only answer was a freezing midnight wind that lapped against his ankles. Then he woke up, it was the early morning. The sun just barely crested over the horizon, setting fire to the clouds. Spike would always look at the sunrise when he was younger, it made him feel safe and secure. Because he knew that when Luna finished her job in the night, Celestia would greet him in the morning.
He looked around, the other dragons had left, early fliers like that one he met yesterday. The air was dry yet warm. He rose to find that the water he slept in was reduced to nothing but a large puddle. The desert was unkind to even the elements that once seeded it. Spike had to move on, even though it wasn't a necessity. He didn't want to stay, so he took back one last swig of the now sandy water and went on his way.
He has been flying nonstop opposite the migration. Even though he never flew in the migration, he knew that they would nest once in awhile. He just had to find one. Finally after hours of flying he saw in the distance scattered trees. He saw it as a potential nest area for dragons coming though, and even if it was her couldn't fly forever. He landed cringing at the sound of the dry hay-like grass crackling under his claws. “At least it isn’t sand,” he sighed. The air was still dry and itchy, nothing compared to the lava lakes he's visited, but still enough to cause discomfort. He stood there planning out his next move. Nothing much on the order of water. This place is just as dry as the desert. And the sun beat down just as hard. His stomach began to rumble slightly. “Is there anything to eat out here?” he questioned.
He lowered his head to the grass sniffing around for any evidence of recent animal activity, truthfully he hoped to find a gem, but out here he may as well forget it. The grass was all he could smell, there was nothing here. He was about to fly away when he heard rustling coming from a nearby thicket. Just as he was about to investigate the disruption a small dragon lunged at him with teeth bared.
“Tell me who you are, or else you'll be spending a better part of the afternoon putting your face back together!” she snarled. He panicked thrashing and kicking trying to get out of its grasp but it dead no use, he was pinned to the ground under this dull pink dragon who threatened to tear him to shreds. “Oh my goodness,” she got off of him. “Sorry bout that bud, thought you were a lion,” she said with a nervous chuckle.
“How do I remotely look like a lion??” Spike shouted.
“ I didn't have a good look at ya. I thought my life was in danger…”
“I didn't know you were there!”
“Are ya hurt?” she asked.
“I'm fine, except for nearly having a heart attack,” Spike said with his claw to his chest.
“I best get going then.” She turned around and disappeared into the brush.
“Hey, wait!”
“Whaddya need?” She poked her head up through the tall grass.
“Do you know where I can find some food or water?”
“Yup, got plenty of both of those back at my place,” she turned around and walked away. Spike watched in confusion as this odd dragoness disappeared into the ground.“Ya comin or not?” Spike followed her and stumbled into a trench. “Pretty cool eh? Whole area’s perforated with em’. The absolute best way for sneaking up on folks.” He followed her through what seemed like miles of tall grass until they reached a massive smooth rock. “Here we are.”
Spike looked around. “We are?”
“Yup, just gotta move this here boulder.” the boulder lifted on it’s own revealing a hole with faint light glimmering inside. “Do mind your step, the rocks are kinda sharp,” she said before entering the hole. Spike followed behind was was hit by a strange scent. Against the mostly leafy and grassy landscape, this smelled like an animal. “You comin?” she impatiently asked.
“Oh, right.” He dismissed the scent and jumped down into the hole. “OW!”
“Told ya they was sharp.”
They meandered through a tunnel before coming into a large cave like opening. It was tall enough for him to stand on his hind legs, and spacious enough to house an entire family. There were paintings on the wall of mountains and trees, and a pink dragon soaring over them. “You painted those?” he asked.
“Yeah, my mum always said idle minds go stale,” she chuckled
“And this cave! How did you find it?”
“I built it.”
“You… built this?” Spike asked in disbelief.
“Yes I did,” she sassily replied. “I dug until I found this Monolithic rock and hollowed it out.”
“How in Equestria did you do that?” he asked with little intrigue.
“I can control rocks, I’m what you call an Elemental Dragon. You didn’t see me move the boulder back there?”
Spike did, but he was caught up in whatever he was doing, so he paid it no mind. “Huh, well, that is absolutely awesome,” Spike said with a grin.
“Thank you, oh my I must be going bonkers. I invited ya into my home without even learning your name.”
“Oh, it’s Spike.”
“That an odd name for a dragon, especially for a male,” she stated.
“What do you mean?” Spike tried to hide the offense in his tone.
“Well, most males name more akin to fire like Ignaltus, Conflager, or Pyro -she paused- “Once dated an Inferno, but we’ll not get into that. Now if your mum ate samì berries while she was carrying your egg, you get names like Grunt, Ablerger, Garble, and the weirdest name I ever heard: D’Flamno…”
“Wait, D’Flamno?” Spike snoted.
“I know, it’s as ridiculous as it sounds,” she laughed.
“Well, what's your name?” Spike asked.
“Tourmaline.”
“Tourmaline… That’s a nice name.”
“Heh, thanks,” she giggled. “But you can call me Tori if you like. Now let's go and get you some sustenance. There’s a little freshwater grotto I found right over here.” he followed her, finally feeling at ease.
“What's a Samì Berry?” Spike asked.
“Acid…”
A few hours passed, Spike was content for once throughout his journey. He had a belly full of delicious fish, and a place to lay his head that wasn’t out in the open. In hindsight he should stop doing that, if Tori is having problems with lions who knows what could attack him.
Only one problem though, the fire made the air extremely stuffy and toxic. Smoke want harmful but it smelled something awful. He wanted to go get some fresh air, but as far as he knew the tunnel they came through was the only way in or out. And he most definitely did not want to wake Tourmaline. She was sleeping peacefully, he watched her. Only then did he notice all of the scars she had, and…
“No…” he whispered. He pieced it together. The link dragon flying on the walls, he thought it was just a dream of hers. Because she didn't have wings, but the nubs on her back suggest otherwise. He couldn't imagine the physical let alone emotional pain of losing your wings. “She's trapped here…” He left her be and began to search around for a way out. He eventually came to the grotto where they got their fish from, when he noticed a breeze coming from the other side. He wadded through the shallow water and found an opening to endless grasslands.
“Spike if you can hear me, or if you care to hear. It's Rarity, I don't know what you're running from or you're running, but I want to you know that I don't see you as the monster you believe you've become. You're a kind soul, more generous and loving than most ponies I know. Whatever that dreadful Zebra did to you wasn't your fault. Wherever you are, just know that I love you, and I should have told you when you were here…”
He knew he wasn't dreaming, that was her. He would recognize that sweet loving voice anywhere, on any world. He knows she loves him, but he can't accept it. Why can't he accept it?? He wants to fly back and be with her and the rest of his family, but he can't do it! He doesn't even feel like he's real anymore… He's running away from his pain… Every time he thinks of Luci, Rarity comes to mind. While he was home, every time he looked into those big beautiful blue eyes he saw Luci giving him the same look, the same smile. And it tears him apart inside, piece by piece.
“Rarity, I don't want to hurt you, I don't want to hurt anyone… I know that I am capable of horrendous things, and when I saw what capacity I had for murder I couldn't live with myself… I still can't…”
“Spike we know that you would never ever intent to harm us.”
“Twilight?”
“I've known you since the day you hatched, and I know that you aren't a bloodthirsty murderer.”
“It's not that I am a murderer, it's that I can be used so easily! That Zebra fucked with my head! Do you know what it's like to watch yourself kill your brother and the one you love, while you have no control over your actions?? I can't let go, I know I should and I've tried so hard to! Their blood and the blood of those innocent Zebra's are still on my claws…” tears began to fill his eyes.
“Running away never solves anything young dragon. Luna has shown me your dreams… Your are a tormented soul. Your morality is on question for an act that you had no will over.”
“Celestia I… I don't know what to do, I don't know what I'm doing out here…” he sobbed softly.
“Then come home, the only way you can heal is with the help of those who love you.”
“O-Okay…,” he turned back to the cave. “I'll be there soon Rarity…”
“I'll wait for you,” she said tenderly. He wiped away his tears and went back inside to get some much needed rest ignorant to the predators stalking him.
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very very good chapter
6942199
Thank you
6942436 I mean it I was missing this story for a while there
Hell yeah! An update!
Nice chapter, was a tiny bit confusing at parts with use of pronouns instead of names, but aside from that it was good.
I'm getting the feeling that Spike's going to die. Like he's not going to get to enjoy any peace, only live a tortured existence jumping from one short-lived solace to another. And finally when he gets a chance for redemption through love, he gets cut short.