Spike: The Dragon Princess

by IndiBrony

A Readiness to Fight

Cadance beat her wings at a frantic pace, hoping to catch Twilight before it was too late. The force of the wind as she passed through it left her unable to catch a sufficient breath, but she sped on, fearing the consequences of her failing to reach the scene on time. Power levels dotted all over the screen of her scouter. Making out which one was Twilight's would prove difficult with the sheer volume of data laid out in front of her.

Acres and acres of endless trees sprawled across the land; but the steep hill which concealed the village lay just ahead. Unlike Twilight's subtle approach, Cadance simply fired herself over the village like a fighter jet, glancing down at the ground to locate her fellow Princess. As she passed over the top of the castle and into the farmer's fields, she banked and spun herself around in full view of the armed villagers. The distraction was enough that Twilight had enough time to make her escape. Not wanting to risk being impaled by a spear, she powered up her magic and teleported herself closer to Cadance.

Her sudden move startled the Princess of Love. She held a hoof over her chest as she caught her breath. "I forgot you could do that." she sighed. "Remind me why you don't just do that every time you find yourself backed into a corner?"

"Takes a few seconds, and I don't always have control over it." Twilight explained.

Cadance nodded in approval, "Ah, plot convenience. I like it."

Twilight stared down back toward the villagers who were all watching them precariously, "We need to go back down there." she stated.

"I'd call you crazy, but really, I agree. If we don't try and sort this out then things are going to get out of hoof." Cadance admitted.

"So..." Twilight pondered, "How do we go about it?"

Cadance flashed up a defensive bubble, "Safely."

The two Princesses glided slowly down toward the crowd. A couple of men threw their spears, but were deflected by Cadance's protection spell. The two of them settled themselves down on a beaten track in between the cornfields. The men did not hesitate and attacked directly, thrusting their spears into the transparent cyan orb. It was of little use, though, as spears were cast aside with ease.

Their leader, who had since retracted his sword, realised the futility early on and called for them to cease attacking the ponies. "Halt!" he hailed, and like obedient dogs the men ceased and retreated. The Princesses glared, awaiting his next action. He approached the Princesses, smiling confidently, waving his arms down to the floor, signalling to his men to lay down their weapons. "Weak weaponry won't work against such a strong spell." he concluded, as he reached around to his lower back and pulled out a single shot pistol. "To pierce something like that, you need something with a bit more force."

Twilight was nervous, but largely bewildered as she'd never seen a pistol before and was unsure of its capabilities. Cadance, however, had experience with firearms and was fully aware of the danger they found themselves in. The forcefield disappeared. "Cadance!" Twilight fretted. The armed men picked up their weapons once more, dashing quickly to surround the Princesses. There was no escape. "Cadance!" the purple alicorn cried.

The pistol was steadied and pointed towards Cadance. "Tell me: what did you hope to achieve here? The dragons have tormented our village; we will defend our settlements. What business do Equestrians have shoving their muzzles where they're not wanted?"

"You're not defending yourselves!" Twilight barked, "You're sending men to the Dragon Realm to slay them in cold blood!"

"As much as they have done to us!" the unnamed leader argued.

"I highly doubt that." Cadance interrupted, "Princess Duciel travelled to the Crystal Empire to talk with me. The dragons of the Realm had no idea where you were sending your men from, and the King himself was vehemently against fighting back - as are we. We want to settle this peacefully, and we can't do that until we know exactly what's going on here. Who are you?"

The sharp-suited man withdrew his weapon, not holstering it, but keeping it in hand as he relaxed himself. "I am King Lydda, and if you wish to speak then you shall refer to me appropriately."

"Yes, Your Highness." Cadance bowed; Twilight followed suit.

The King twisted his face disapprovingly as he looked around. "I don't care much for discussing politics in a peasant's field." he explained, "Accompany me in the castle. My men will escort you." he chuckled to himself as he turned and lead the way.

---

Spike was stood in front of Captain Espoir, feigning confidence to overshadow his trembling fears. The volcano rumbled below their feet as Twilight's faithful assistant dictated his orders. "The first thing I want you to do is find the King. He's in the forest at the bottom of the mountain. Bring him back here."

Espoir immediately snarled at the request. However, he was quite happy to let the baby dragon make decisions that he thought were a waste of time or would, at least in his own mind, help confirm Spike's incompetence. The Captain pointed to two of his men by separating the index and middle finger of his right claw, closing them together and waving them towards the exit of the palace as a gesture to signify that he wanted them to find the King. Espoir's two chosen companions acknowledged their silent command and saluted their leader before taking off to carry out their duties. "Consider it done." the Captain grinned. Spike was caught slightly off-guard that his demand had been so swiftly followed. "Anything else?"

Spike stumbled over his thoughts. He remembered the conversation he'd had with Cadance earlier about the Crystal Trade. "Crystals!" he exclaimed excitedly.

Espoir twisted his head and stared at the baby dragon in confusion. "Crystals?" he questioned.

"Yeah!" Spike smiled, "Princess Duciel had been talking to Cadance about bringing crystals to the Realm from the Crystal Empire to help defend against the Heroes. Do you know anything about that?"

The Captain nodded, "There's a very particular gem which can be used against the Heroes and can only be found in the Crystal Empire. We call it the Manifest Crystal. It takes energy from the holder to generate crystal spikes which manifest from under ground - hence the name."

"The Crystal Empire is really far away, though, and the Heroes could attack at any time, but..." Spike was conflicted, "we need to be ready for them. How quickly do you think you could get there, grab the crystals and get back?"

"It could take hours." Espoir insincerely fretted, "We'd have to leave immediately, and the Realm would be near defenceless in our absence."

Spike frowned, "Do you not have any more guards or anything?"

"We would be forced to draft the other dragons of the Realm. They could fight - all dragons can - but without training or enough armour, they'd be slaughtered." the Captain explained.

"But what choice do we have? I mean we could get lucky; the Heroes might not attack while you're gone, right?" Spike sweated with nervousness.

"You want to base your decisions on luck?" Espoir snorted.

"Do you have any better ideas?" Spike scowled.

The Captain laughed, "What's wrong? Feeling the pressure? Why don't you run home to your precious little ponies and leave the fight to us?" he goaded.

Spike growled, unable to keep his temper at bay. "Go!" he barked, "Go to the Crystal Empire, get those crystals and get back here! But before you go, you're going to warn the other dragons to be ready for an attack on the Realm! Got it?" Spike's anger flared.

Espoir nodded, "Fine, but may the fall of the Realm be on your shoulders."

Before Spike had a chance to respond, Captain Espoir and the remaining dragons shot out of the palace to follow their orders. The baby dragon was completely alone in the silence of the grand building, leaving him with only his thoughts on the situation. He sulked, "I hope I'm doing the right thing..."

Comments

[DanvilleBengal]

I'm really starting to dislike Espidor....he is making dragon a worse name then they already have....and I don't see him making any plans or other alternative maneuvers except for show contempt that Spike's temporarily taken charge from himself...

No wonder pretty much most creatures have issue with dragons--it doesn't matter if you are the top of the fucking food chain, you will live and thrive if you learn that sometimes you need help...