Blood Ties

by bestponydash

A Dragon's Journey Home

When the dust cleared, Spike's claw remained outreached, attempting to grasp that which was nowhere to be seen. He stood for a few seconds as if frozen in place; refusing to believe he had been separated from Twilight. What had he done? Why had he chosen to help a stranger over his friends? What did this mean for him and his values? Was his love for Twilight so shallow that he abandoned her the first chance he had? Spike's mind tore itself apart from guilt and shame as he questioned himself. He lowered his arm and fell to his knees, staring out at the mountains and scorched earth that painted his native lands. Lennox and the phoenix approached from behind, "Where are we?" the former asked.

"Southern border; should be relatively quiet around here. Where was this outpost you mentioned?"

He took a look around to attempt to find his bearings, "If I assume the borders haven't changed much since last I was here, we should head north a ways until we see two mountain ranges converging into one another."

The phoenix nodded, "North it is then." He looked to Spike and gestured.

Lennox approached the small dragon gently, "We need to go, Spike." Spike bowed his head and said nothing. "You cannot sit here forever."

"Twilight will come for me; she will find me."

Lennox shook his head, "No, my friend, she will not. You saw her back at the castle, she would not have joined us...We both have been abandoned by those whom we thought loved us. Our only option is to unite and make those responsible pay for their crimes."

"You mean Celestia."

"She caused the deaths of our old friends and families and has managed to turned our current loved ones against us."

"You're wrong; Twilight would have come with us. She would have followed you and proved you wrong every step of the way."

Lennox took a deep breath and turned back to the phoenix, "We're not going to the outpost right away, " he looked to Spike, "I will show you where this all began, where she took you." Spike looked up at him as Lennox offered a hoof. Seeing as though he did not have much of a choice, Spike followed the unicorn and saw what he had to show.

---

Twilight searched the artifact room desperately but Spike was gone, stolen by Lennox and his mysterious red friend. She turned to the rest of the mane six and the princesses, "I'm going to get him back."

Rarity stepped forward, "We are going to get him back." She smiled and Twilight smiled in return.

"Any idea where they might have taken him?" Everypony looked to Celestia and Luna.

Celestia put a hoof to her chin, "Lennox mentioned showing Spike 'where this all began'. Perhaps he meant-"

"Why don't we just ask him?" Pinkie said cheerfully.

Everypony turned their heads to her in confusion, "What do you mean?" Luna asked.

"Just send Spike a letter and he can answer us on the back of the paper. Come on, guys, it's not that hard to figure out," the bouncing pink pony chuckled.

Everypony looked at one another in surprise at the simple yet effective plan. They all rushed to Celestia's writing desk in her room to fetch a feather, ink, and paper, and prepared what to say.

"Keep it short and to the point; ask him where he is and where they're taking him," Twilight instructed. Celestia quickly wrote the questions with a hurried penmanship, and sent the letter to the dragon. They all waited, wondering if Spike was being watched close enough that the letter would simply be taken and destroyed. But to their relief, the letter came back a few moments later in a small poof of flame. They turned to the backside of the paper to find Spike's message scribbled in some sort of dust resembling charcoal. "Dragon lands. South border. Parents' house." Twilight read the words out loud. They fetched a new page. "Ask him if they're hurting him," Twilight's emotions were getting to her, but Celestia did as she said and sent the letter. And the message returned much sooner than before. The ponies quickly viewed what Spike had to say. "Outpost. Two mountains meet." Twilight paused as what came next was only an illegible scribble. She then looked below it to find two words that sent confusion and fear into her heart. "PHOENIX PONY." Twilight read the large words, hastily written and turned to the other princesses. "Does that mean anything to you?"

Celestia and Luna looked to each other and thought for a moment. "Perhaps...it could be..." Celestia wondered.

"I thought he failed his experiments," Luna added.

"Tell us," Twilight demanded in a huff.

The sisters nodded to one another, "Follow me," Celestia said.

---

"What have you done?!" The phoenix screamed at Spike after seeing him send the message to his friends.

Lennox approached, "It is too late now."

"They know where we are."

"So be it. We will simply have to deal with them when they catch up to us. This was inevitable." The phoenix growled but accepted this outcome. "By any means, we are here." Spike took a look around once the phoenix backed off. The area had been abandoned for a long time, but he could discern the remnants of a small settlement amongst the broken remains. Huts and homes were scattered about, each kept a reasonable distance from one another, dragons being rather territorial and not keen on sharing space. Spike followed the unicorns through the town until Lennox stopped in front of a small heap with a collapsed roof. The assemblage of rock, wood, and cooled obsidian left from the once flowing lava was foreign to Spike, but, nonetheless, something in his stomach felt off. "This, my friend, is where you come from," Lennox waved a hoof at the home as he lifted the roof with his horn, roughly reassembling the structure.

Spike gazed up at his parents' house and slowly approached. He lifted a claw and touched the door; it still felt warm despite that being impossible. He pushed it open and took a look inside. There were cold, empty pools lava once filled; places to relax and enjoy the warmth on a cold day. Broken pieces of storage containers littered the ground in what was probably some sort of kitchen; some still appeared to hold a few gems for a snack. Then, Spike saw two large stone chairs against the back wall. Between them, a bundle of rocks and old gems; a small gruve had been traced around it where a gentle stream of lava would have flowed. This was Spike's crib. The dragon made his way toward the stone crib and knelt down to get a closer look. He reached out and put a claw in the middle where his egg would have sat. Suddenly Spike's mind erupted and his vision disappeared, his hearing was muffled and his limbs were restricted. Spike pushed out, trying to get free, until he felt a casing that surrounded him. "Look," said a familiar voice. Spike looked up and tried to find the source of this voice. "It's almost time."

The dragon gaped his mouth, for he knew this sound well, "....D-Dad?" Spike mumbled, he struggled even more, but could hardly move.

He heard another voice chuckle, "He's ready to get out, isn't he," Spike turned to the opposite direction as the voice came closer, "just a little longer, now."

His eyes watered as he recognized this sound as well, "Mom?" Then Spike's vision began to improve just slightly, as he felt something touch this shell that encased him. Spike looked up and could barely make out the shape. It was a large claw, the claw of his mother, gently touching his egg. Spike tried his hardest, lifting his arm to the roof of his egg; he put his small claws in the shadow of his mother's. Spike could feel her on the other side of the shell.

There was a sudden knock on the door and the two voices hushed. Spike could hear steps moving away and a creaking noise. "What the?" There was a loud sound of impact and Spike shuttered. "NO!" Someone screamed as another impact sent shockwaves through Spike's body. The dragon wiggled and kicked but was powerless to help his parents. He could feel himself being lifted into the air. "Don't you dare!" His mother warned. But before anything else could happen, Spike heard a poof and then nothing.

"Spike," Lennox put a hoof on his shoulder.

Spike shot open his eyes, gasping for breath. He looked around rapidly, "Where? W-What?" He turned and looked up to Lennox, "I saw...no...I heard"

"This place has awakened some of your oldest memories. You heard Celestia break into your house and take you away while you were still in your egg. Tell me, did it seem as though she was there to spread harmony?" Spike looked back to his crib and his parents' chairs; tears fell from cheeks. "Your friend, Twilight, chose to follow this horror over you."

"No...no. I don't believe you."

"yes you do," Lennox said softly, "You just don't want to admit it."

Lennox offered a hoof and helped Spike to his feet, "Come, there is still more I wish you to see." The two left the house and Lennox released his magic. The structure came tumbling down once more and Spike watched as his past was destroyed. Spike took one last glance back before the two unicorns teleported him away.

Author's Note:

Opinions in the comments

Comments

[Starlight Nova]

Why isn't there a dark tag?

[RadicalDishonesty]

Honestly, I do think that Lennox is pretty sincere, but that doesn't mean that he doesn't pressure Spike in somewhat... unfair ways, you know? This with-me-or-against-me attitude, and hopefully there is another answer.

Like, this scene we see Spike has some memories, but not necessarily memories of Celestia attacking. It could be anyone.

I do think it's good the story is uh... building tension he might be right, but not throwing "he's right, Celestia's a tyrant" into our faces. The character is doing that, and I think that's clear.

[FanficReader920]

A lot of this story seeks a bit forced. Nothing that a good beta reader can’t fix though.