Chapter 4: Coming Home
“I can’t believe it!” Spike slammed the book he was holding shut and tossed it on the nearby pile. “Starswirl’s taxonomy, ‘harmless;’ The Guide to Sentience Outside Equestria, ‘mostly harmless;’ The Hobo’s Guide to World Travel on 2 Bits a Day, ‘greedy but harmless.’ Has anyone in history written more than two words about lemurs?”
He sighed and leaned against the table. He and Owlowlicious had scoured the Castle of the Two Sisters library for two full days, getting any book that might mention lemurs. History, geographical studies, travel logs, everything was scant on the strange creatures. All he’d been able to piece together was Lemuria was very far away and those few ponies who had been there found the natives odd and forgettable. He’d even thought of looking for the Daring Do book Rainbow Dash had mentioned, or at least something similar, but of course all the books in the library were at least a thousand years old, and action adventure novels didn't appear to have been in vogue at the time. Considering there wasn’t anything in Twilight’s library back in Ponyville, it didn’t seem like much had changed over the past millennium.
“So what have you lemurs done that’s so amazing it’s caught the princesses’ attention?” He grumbled to himself.
“Who?” Owlowlicious fluttered in with a book in his talons.
“I just said, the lemurs. There’s more data about breezies in these books, and they spend most of their time in a whole different dimension!”
“Whooo.” Owlowlcious laid the book down on the table in front of Spike and tapped it expectantly. It didn’t have any markings except for a silhouette on the front cover that looked a lot like a lemur. Spike flipped the book open and was greeted with a maze of incomprehensible symbols.
“What the...is it in code? No, wait!” Spike recognized one of the symbols as he turned the page. “I think this is dragon writing. I recognize this symbol. It was etched in the rock at the dragon gathering I went to.” He stared carefully at the symbols, trying to pull more meaning from it.”
“Whoo.”
“I don’t know what it means. I didn’t think dragons wrote books. None of the dragons I’ve ever met seemed like the writing type, at least. Were there other books like this one?”
“Who, who.”
“This is nuts. I wonder if Celestia or Luna can read this. It is in their library.” He perked up a bit. “Well it isn’t much, but at least we won’t come back empty handed. We’ve been searching long enough, I think.”
Spike tucked the book under his arm and stood up, but then noticed the light from the window was fading. He glanced outside and saw the sun setting over the canopy of the Everfree Forest. He shivered with the thought of wandering through those woods at night “Well, maybe we should wait till tomorrow morning.”
They set off at sunrise the next morning. The trip was thankfully devoid of any nasty surprises. The shock of the trip was from when they reached the outskirts of Ponyville to find the lemurs had multiplied. Spike saw a dozen of them as he made his way to Twilight’s library. They were talking with ponies, observing ponies as they went about their days, sometimes even riding on the pony's backs. “Owlowlicious, do you get a strange vibe from the lemurs sometimes?”
“Who.” Owlowlicious agreed, viewing all the newcomers with what Spike guessed was concern.
“I’ll ask Twilight more about it when we get to the library. If there is something wrong, I’m sure she's working on a solution.”
Twilight wasn’t home when they arrived. That was uncommon for this time of day. Twilight would usually have been inside having breakfast or taking care of her checklist if she was in a rush. Still, there was more than enough precedent for Twilight dashing out of the house due to some threat to Ponyville, an issue with her friends, or rumors of a sale at the book store. He hoped she wouldn't be disappointed by the slim pickings he'd returned with. He glanced back at the solitary book in his cart. If only he could read it. It was another reminder of how little he knew about his own people, though none of the dragons he’d ever met had been too helpful on that note. The indecipherable runes taunted him but also tempted him with the chance to make real discoveries about dragon kind. If Celestia or Luna could read the book, that also meant they could teach him, and he could go back to the Castle and perhaps find other books like this one on all sorts of topics dragons found interesting.
His thoughts were interrupted by Twilight’s voice behind him. “Spike, you’re back!” He turned to reply to her, but paused in surprise. Twilight looked the same as always, wearing a saddle bag she often used for book runs, but she was magically floating a wooden chest behind her, and there was a lemur riding on her back. As she trotted up, Twilight knelt for a moment to let the lemur hop off before giving Spike a hug. “It’s good to see you again. Did you find anything at the castle library?”
“Yes and no. Twilight, why are you and the other ponies giving these guys rides?” He eyed the lemur cautiously and noticed the lemur’s black mustache looked just like the type Twilight had given him during her magic practices.
“Ah, I can explain some.” The lemur cut in, dancing and hopping forward to offer his hand. “Spike is it? Twilight has told me much about you. Amazing to find a dragon in Ponyville.” He stopped for a moment, eyes narrowing with some unmentioned thought, but the look vanished an instant later. “I am Meerca, the High Scholar of Lemuria. Twilight and I have been sharing our knowledge with each other. You recall how your princess Celestia said we were sharing our wisdom with Equestria?”
Celestia had said that, right after the strange magical field had formed. That was the first time he'd thought about it in sequence. It was a bit odd how no one commented on it afterwards. Still, magic did tend to misfire now and then and it wasn't cause for panic after the fifth or sixth occasion.
“That’s right Spike,” Twilight added. “Meerca is very wise and knowledgeable. I’ve been learning from him non-stop since the annexation.”
“The what?”
“Ah, we can get to that later." Meerca cut in. “You should begin your studies, shouldn't you Twilight?”
“Oh, you’re right! I’m glad the gem is finally available.” Twilight picked up the chest with her magic once again and turned towards the library. “Come on Spike. You should see this, but no touching.” She gave him a playful grin.
Spike followed along, curious about this gem while eyeing the lemur, Meerca, suspiciously. Owlowlicious flew inside along with them and sat on his perch, listening silently. Twilight set the chest down inside her living room and opened it, revealing an amazing emerald. Spike realized It was the one Celestia had brought to Ponyville that had generated the magical field.
“Isn’t it awesome?” Twilight smiled and held it out. Spike had only had a passing glance at the thing last time, but seeing it up close, it did look incredible. It was flawless and beautifully cut and Spike couldn't help but imagine how delicious it would be. Because it was a magical gem, though, the flavor might be different from regular emeralds. It must be magical for Twilight to be so excited about it, and it had created that odd field. Though giving a second to think about it, Spike remembered that Celestia had done something too; her horn had started to glow. Perhaps she was using some spell on a regular emerald to make the field? But right now, all Twilight was doing was holding the gem with her magic and it seemed start glowing all on its own. As Spike looked, the light became brighter then flared like a lantern, tinting the whole room green in its light. A moment later, the light faded away.
“That’s really weird.” Spike commented.
“It just does that, apparently. Looking at the gem seems to trigger it, and it becomes more powerful with alicorn magic channeled through it. I can’t wait to figure out why. Meerca tasked me with learning how the gem works so we can adapt its effect.”
“What effect is that? Does it do more than produce light?”
“It’s ah...an inspirational magic.” The lemur cut in again. “It is our gift to Equestria. When ponies see its light, they are given deep wisdom and insight they would not normally have, isn’t that right Twilight?”
“Mhm, it’s just as Meerca says, Spike. But it only works for ponies, so it’s important to see if we can make it work for other creatures too.” Twilight set the gem back in the chest. “Before I get started on my research, it sounded like you did find something at the library?”
“I did, but I don’t know if anyone can read it.” Spike showed her the book with the lemur looking silhouette and draconic runes. “I was thinking that since it was in Celestia and Luna’s library, that one of them may know the language.”
“I suppose it’s possible, but with as little as we know about dragons, I wouldn’t be certain. Still, this is a really great find! Very nice work, Spike.” She gave him that smile that showed she was proud of his work.
“Well, Owlowlicious found this one.” Spike admitted.
“Who.” the owl added.
“Yes, it was a team effort.” Spike grinned a bit.
“I’m glad we are getting more information,” Twilight nodded thoughtfully, “Like you said, Spike, the lemurs themselves are a great source and Meerca has taught me a lot about their people, but multiple sources are always key for a proper research project. I would be fascinated to see what dragons have to say about lemurs! Celestia should be at the mayor’s office working on details of the coronation.”
“Coronation? Is there another princess?”
“No Spike the coronation of..”
“Ah, Twilight, you really shouldn’t neglect your research. I will go with Spike and get him up to speed with what he’s missed.”
“Yes, of course, Meerca.” Twilight nodded, “I know you’d do a better job explaining things anyway. I’ll see you later Spike. Let me know how it goes with Celestia.” Twilight turned back to the gem and pulled out a scroll to begin jotting down her notes.
Spike looked suspiciously at the lemur, who gave him a big grin underneath his mustache and put his arm on Spike’s shoulder, leading them both out the door. Once they were outside, Spike removed the lemur’s hand. “So what’s this secret you don’t want Twilight telling me?”
“Oh it’s no secret, it’s just a lot to take in and I worried if Twilight explained things out of order you might be confused or have the wrong idea.”
“Well I’m getting an idea of something.” Spike replied. There was something odd about the lemurs, but Spike couldn't put a firm word to the feeling.
“Ah, see, and that’s why I wished to talk with you. Now, it’s important to understand that we lemurs are a very old and ancient race with a lot of wisdom that younger races like ponies have not yet developed. Celestia and the other alicorns have recognized our great wisdom and have requested that we, ah... create a formal pact between Equestria and Lemuria.”
“What exactly can you teach someone like Celestia? She’s over a thousand years old.”
“Oh yes, Celestia and Luna are very old individuals, but lemurs are far more ancient as a people. We had a great prosperous civilization when ponies were still primitive uncivilized creatures, and we still see the childish things ponies do, like how they treat you, for instance.”
“Wh-what are you talking about?” Spike halted and glared at Meerca, but part of him was curious where he was going with this.
“Well Twilight has told me about you and some of the things you’ve gone through. I’m sure you’ve felt a little uncertain about a dragon being told by ponies how he should live.”
Spike remembered the derision other dragons had given him when they learned about him being close with ponies. He remembered the odd shame he’d felt that had compelled him to follow the dragon flight and try to learn more about his people. Of course he didn’t learn a whole lot about dragons on that trip really. Most of his attempts to be more draconic had led to horrible misinterpretations, like the fragmented story he’d heard about life debts, or they had led to massive property damage. But none of those things were Twilight’s or the other’s fault.
“I’m not being forced to act like a pony.” He protested, looking a bit less angry and more confused.
“Not in so many words,” Meerca replied, “But they don’t want you to live the way you were born to, do they? You see, every species has natural talents and roles they are meant to perform. A dragon is happiest when acting like a dragon. But did any pony try to find a fellow dragon to raise you, or try to teach you about your own kind? No, they raised you in a pony city, taught you pony language and presumed living in this way was what was best for you. Isn’t controlling your environment the same as controlling you?”
Spike wanted to retort back that everyone was very supportive when he wanted to learn about being a dragon, but the words felt slightly hollow. While Twilight and the others had never held him back from going to the dragon flight or trying to learn more about himself, they had never actively sought out information for him. The only times he learned anything about dragons was when he insisted on pursuing it himself or when his dragon nature caused trouble. None of that was anyone's fault, though. Ponies just didn’t know much about dragons, not even Celestia. There was no way for them to raise him like a dragon, and no reason to think they ever could have found a dragon who’d agree to raise him, he wasn’t even sure how dragon families worked.
Twilight and all the others wanted Spike to be happy, that was indisputable. But Meerca had brought a small, buried part of Spike to the surface. It was the part that was rankled when Fluttershy would note she was scared of dragons...except for Spike. It was the part of him that really hoped Celestia couldn't read the draconic language, because if she could it meant she could have taught him how to read it ages ago. It was the part of him that had felt truly contented only when he had started hoarding everything in Ponyville. Spike wanted to shrug off Meerca's words, but he only felt more confused and uncertain as they arrived at the mayor’s office.
There was no sign of the mayor or Celestia inside, but Luna was resting on the floor as another lemur regaled her with a story. “And just like that, we were cut off. The heathenous six ring lemurs were rushing towards our position and could easily scale the trees we’d taken shelter in. But they were overconfident and hadn’t noticed we had taken shelter in peach trees. They didn’t bother to bring any shields for their attack, and as they attempted to reach the trunk of our trees, my men rained down peaches onto their front lines. Soon the whole field was stained with peach juice and littered with the pits. Their men became so wet and sticky they had no choice but to retreat to the river to get clean, and we made our escape.”
Luna smiled happily as the lemur finished his story. “That is amazing, Sir Rington.” Your courage is most commendable. I am most impressed by your strategic brilliance.”
“If he was that brilliant he would have hidden in a pineapple tree.” Spike muttered to himself.
Rington turned to look at them coolly. “Who is this, Meerca?”
“Ah, Sir Rington, this is Spike the dragon. Remember...I mentioned him. He was looking for Celestia.”
“My sister has gone flying with Prince Lemma. They will not be back for at least another hour, but perhaps I can help you in her stead.”
“Maybe so.” Spike walked up to Luna and showed her the book. “This is from your old library in the Everfree forest, but it’s written in what looks like some kind of dragon language. I was wondering if you or Celestia are able to read it.”
Luna held the book in the air with her magic, giving it a slow glance. “I recognize this book, but I am afraid neither Celestia nor myself know what it says. It is part of a collection of ancient texts we believe were written by a dragon scribe. Why these books were written has been lost to time, and we never were able to find a dragon which had both the knowledge and inclination to translate for us. I’m sorry Spike, but only another dragon scribe would know how to read this.”
He sighed and bowed his head. “Thank you Princess. I guess nothing came of my trip after all.”
“Your dedication alone is admirable, Spike. And you need not call me a princess anymore.”
That brought Spike’s head suddenly. Meerca hopped over between the two of them. “Yes yes, I was in the middle of explaining this to Spike when we arrived.” Spike looked at Luna, noticing for the first time she wasn’t wearing the crown she usually did, then looked back to the two lemurs. The whole day had been a series of small oddities, but the idea that Luna was not a princess was shocking all on its own. “As I was explaining earlier, Luna and Celestia saw the wisdom we could provide and requested that Equestria become part of Lemuria, so that we could share our wisdom directly. As a formality, there could not princesses of Equestria if they were to become part of Lemuria. You see? It’s all very normal.” Meerca looked over at Luna.
“He speaks the truth Spike. We have much to learn from the lemurs and a royal title is meaningless next to the well being of our people. Nothing of this is amiss.”
“But it…” Spike looked at the three of them, Meerca’s saccharine smile, the other lemur’s silent staring, and Luna’s calm stoic demeanor. Could this really all be perfectly normal, perfectly understandable? “Did that gem tell you this was a good idea?” Everything had started with the gem. Celestia had shown it to everyone in town, and only after that did everyone seem over awed by the lemurs. Did it really provide wisdom? Was it really a smart choice to hand the kingdom over to lemurs?”
“I can see you are skeptical about the benefits of the gem.” Meerca stated. “That is, ah, understandable, as it only works on ponies, so you have not been able to receive its wisdom. Perhaps though, if you saw a demonstration? Let us show you the wisdom the gem can provide to a pony first hand, and you will see that everything is as it should be.”
“Yes, Spike. I think that is an excellent idea.” Luna added. “All will be well if you see things first hand.”
“Well….I guess, if you can show me.” He said diffidently.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Spike sat quietly, looking back and forth between Luna giving him reassuring smiles and Twilight furiously taking notes as she prepared for the “test” despite Luna’s repeated insistence it was a demonstration. Twilight had cleared away everything from the table in the center of the library and placed the gem up on a metal stand in order to provide light coverage for the entire room. She had set up chairs along the perimeter of the room to observe. Everything had been set up as needed and Twilight was working on her commentary, writing down hypotheses and expectations of the upcoming experiment. Spike could tell she was getting increasingly excited and pent up.
Finally the door swung open and Twilight brightened at the first guest. “Celestia! I didn’t think you were going to be here for the test.”
The former princess walked in with her characteristic warm expression. “I wouldn't miss this for the world, Twilight. I learned of this upcoming demonstration just as the prince and I returned from flying. Spike is a dear friend and I want to be here to help reassure him. Prince Lemma was also curious and decided to observe.” The prince was a few steps behind her and hopped his way in, giving a cursory greeting to Twilight before they both took seats at the chairs that had been laid out. Celestia sat next to Spike and gave him the same reassuring smile that Luna had been giving.
Meerca stepped into the library a moment later with another pony in tow that made Spike jump up from his seat. “R-Rarity?”
“Oh hello Spike,” The white pony walked in a bit uncertainly. Then her jaw dropped as she saw the company Spike was sharing. “Oh goodness! Prince Lemma is here, along with Celestia and Luna! This must be important. High Scholar Meerca said I was needed, but he didn’t tell me why. Unless you need something fashionable I’m not sure how I could possibly be of help.”
“Ah, ah but in fact, you’re the most important person here.” Meerca assured her, hopping over to join the spectators. “Please, stand over there near the gem and keep your eyes on it, and think about Spike. Everything will be made clear soon.” Rarity complied and looked at the gem, while her eyes periodically darted back at everyone observing her. There continued to be a look of uncertainty on her face.
Meerca gave a nod to Twilight who beamed in response. “Alright! Test commencing!” Twilight took two steps closer to the gem and concentrated. Her horn bubbled purple with the flaring of alicorn magic. The gem immediately began to glow, bathing the whole room in its green hue. The magic in Twilight's horn intensified and the same green magical field from before expanded outward to the walls of the room, so intense it seemed to shove the daylight from the windows back outside. Rarity’s eyes widened as she stared into the gem, and her mouth hung loose, totally transfixed.
Spike’s claws dug into the armrests of his chair. All the uncertainty and insecurities of the day had been set aside as he watched the gem do...something to his precious Rarity. All his focus was on concern for her and what was happening. He almost asked them to stop, but looking at Luna and Celestia’s calm confident expressions made him lose the courage to speak up.
A few seconds later, Twilight withdrew her magic and the emerald faded. Spike immediately stood and dashed over to Rarity. “Rarity are you..okay?”
Rarity let out a slow sigh and turned her gaze from the gem down to Spike and gently gasped. “Oh...Spike….” She leaned down and gave him a warm kiss on the cheek.
“Wa...what?” Spike stuttered with the sudden affection, putting his hand on the spot she had kissed.
Rarity giggled and kissed his other cheek and smiled at him with deep affection. “Oh Spikey Wikey. I understand now. I’ve been lying to myself for a long time, but when I was looking at the gem, I realized the truth. I love you, Spike.”
He tried to say something back, but as she confessed to him the words became caught in his throat. Rarity wrapped her front hooves around him and nuzzled him happily.
Princess Celestia walked forward slowly with a smile. “I had suspected Rarity had some unrecognized feelings towards you. I’m glad that she has finally seen them thanks to the gem.”
Luna moved next to Celestia to admire the two.“Indeed, Sister. The gem has been able to provide much wisdom for everyone. Congratulations Spike. I know that you and Rarity will be very happy together.”
Spike only half heard them, lost in the feeling of Rarity’s warm hug. “Rarity do you really mea…” Spike was interrupted as Rarity kissed him on the lips
“Shhhh, I love you with all my heart Spike. I just couldn’t see it until now. But you're my mighty dragon.” She squeezed him closer and Spike melted into the embrace. He looked back at Celestia and Luna’s approving looks, and Twilight’s proud expression. He’d dreamed of a scene like this many times before: after some act of heroism or grand gesture he would be hugging Rarity close along with cheers from all their friends. He’d always been a bit embarrassed by those dreams, but now here he was with Celestia and Luna, no less, offering their congratulations and approval.
There was still part of him that felt uneasy, but in that moment he couldn’t seem to find anything that was wrong and Rarity’s kisses made another part of his mind tell him that everything was right. And if the gem could make Rarity understand her feelings for him, could it be that bad?
“I love you too Rarity.”
Stats
Page generated in 0.021 seconds
Total duration
652 users online
942,901 hits today, 2,314,256 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
good chapter, it didn't show how much more about the Lemurs where taking over Equestria, but the cliffhanger of young Spike succumb to the temptation of his lust for Rarity's brainwashed acts of seduction really made up for it all. On spike end, I can understand being so young, he doesn't have the critical mind to admit to himself that Rarity's acts of love are fake, and the fact that he is a dragon who are naturally incline to succumb to his desires only compounds the case. I can't wait to see if he will manage to get out of his daze, before it is too late. On the other hand I can I always love it in hypnoses stories where the bad guys win, so my stance on this is neutral on the out come, as long as the lemurs almost win or their victory is complet.
Very clever. They can't control him, so they placate him by giving him what he covets most.
Man, its going to be satisfying seeing them fall.
7276133 It took a long time for me to feel like I'd threaded the needle when it came to Spike for how genre aware he would be, and how easily he could be manipulated, and hopefully what you see with this chapter and upcoming ones will be what feels like an accurate balance of the intellect and emotional maturity of a baby dragon.
7282648 Always happy to lead to anticipation :)
Looks like those Lemurs really do have some wisdom to them, beyond a magic gem! I can't wait to find out what is in the dragon book.
So well handled.
"What's this big secret?"
"Not a secret, just a big amount of stuff to take in. Basically, the ponies are not letting you be a dragon"
"Sure they do!"
"Not really. They know nothing about dragons, and if you want to learn, you have to try to find out on yourself. They make everything around you pony-based, and use peer pressure to make your behavior pony-based."
Every bit of that is the truth. We've had an episode of the show on that, perhaps not well handled.
What I like so far is that this really looks like it could be a movie, or a TV 4-parter (2 parter to end one season and set up a cliffhanger; another 2 parter to start the next season and resolve it). Mind control in an acceptable manner for a child's show.