The Rise of Clavus Draconis

by PonyManne215

The Beginning and the End

“So, you wish to hear the tale, eh? You want to know how Equestria’s throne changed from hooves to hands, how a little baby dragon beat the two Princesses of the day and night? Well, come on over and take a seat. You’re going to need a drink for this story..” A gruff voice calls you over as you sit down on the chair. You cannot see their face or body, as the mysterious cloaked pony is wearing a hood and a shroud.

You order two drinks from the proprietor and sip on yours slowly but surely. You turn your attention to towards your new found friend and wait for them to finish. They drink the entire mug in one gulp and turn their blue eyes back to you. You hear a cackling which stops abruptly. The voice then begins to speak up.

“Long ago…”

---

Spike just couldn’t wait for his birthday. It was just in an hour or so and Pinkie decided to include a waterslide this time. Spike was so hyped up that Twilight actually had to use a spell that would hold him down. He was still laughing gleefully and was darting his head all around the room.

“I can’t wait Twilight!” Spike called out.

He heard the sound of hoofsteps behind him which answered his exclamation.

“I know, Spike. You’ve been bragging for the last six hours! The least you could do is read a book while you wait.” Twilight replied.

Twilight trotted over to a bookshelf nearby and levitated an ancient novel on the top, third one from the right. As she opened the dusty old book up, some musty air shot up into her face which caused her to cough. Her fit of coughing was noticed immediately by her helpful apprentice.

“Are you alright, Twilight? I can go get a glass of water if you’d like.” Spike asked sincerely.

Twilight shook her head and set the book down on a table gently. She then took a glance at the clock and perked up.

“Spike we can go now!” Twilight unbounded him from the spell and nudged for him to leap on her back.

“Alright!” Spike was biting his claws in anticipation.

Twilight shut the lights for the library off, opened the door and galloped towards Sugar Cube Corner. She remembered that she forgot to close the door and laughed sheepishly. She went back to the door and closed it, making sure it was locked. Then she moved back towards the confectionary.

The day was cool and the sun was up high in the sky. The clouds were all clear; Rainbow Dash had made sure of it herself. Today was Spike’s special day. For some reason, this birthday seemed to stand out the most to him. He could not explain it, but his heart and soul were begging him to do something. What they wanted him to do, he didn’t know. But he knew that it was something life-changing.

While his mind wandered, Twilight came to a stop. Spike quickly snapped back to reality and saw that they arrived in no time at all. He hopped off of Twilight’s back and proceeded to the doors. He turned the gold doorknob and the entire inside was dark. He stepped inside and not a moment too soon, the lights flicked on and explosions rang in his ear.

“HAPPY BIRTHDAY SPIKE!” Everypony that he knew was there in front of the little purple dragon with green scales. The entire place was decorated in streamers, confetti, and balloons. A large banner was strung across the center that read ‘Surprise!’. The tables were littered with every single sweet imaginable. Spike’s mouth watered as he spotted the large pure chocolate replica of himself just on the opposite side of the room.

The first thing that he did was he greeted and thanked everypony for being there. There were just so many party-goers though, that Spike could barely count them all. He remembered seeing Bon-Bon and Lyra, Ditzy ‘Derpy’ Doo, Berry Punch, Caramel, Carrot Top, and then after that, it all became blank. Thankfully, by the time he had said hello to everyone, the chocolate replica was still there, safe and sound.

Waiting no second, Spike leaped at the delicious mirror of himself and opened wide. He managed to somehow take the whole thing in a single bite. Not wanting to question the physics of what he did, which was something that Pinkie could probably do, he went over to dance with the girls.

It was a great party, he had his friends and there was tasty treats along with it. The day couldn’t get any better than this. But wait, it still could. Spike forgot to realize that he still had not opened any of his presents yet. After playing a quick game of pin the tail on the pony, he ran over to his presents and shredded all of the gift wraps away.

His eyes glittered with tears of joy as be gazed upon the mountain of generosity. There was a large rubber ball, cool looking hats, some exotic looking knick-knacks, action figures, dolls, and other toys and gifts that seemed age appropriate. What was coolest of all to Spike was the gift that Rarity had given him.

She gave him a razor and some shaving cream whose scent matched that of the pampered unicorn goddess. He had yet to grow any type of facial hair without the use of magic, but the incentive was nice enough. The fact that Rarity cared about his appearance made his heart soar. He grabbed his chest in order to contain the beating organ that was going nine hundred beats a second.

Along with the present, came a note. Spike didn’t hesitate to open it up.

“Dear my little Spikey-Wikey,

Know that no matter how old you are, or how different you look, you will always be my little knight in shining armor. I want you to know that you will always have a place in my heart. I know that you have feeling towards me but I still have nothing to say to that. Anyway, I hope that your birthday is rather enjoyable.

P.S. Don’t forget to shave when you do grow some hair. I find that sort of thing just absolutely ghastly.

Your beautiful and loving unicorn friend,

Rarity.”

Spike’s large eyes widened and his pupils turned into hearts. He rocketed into the air and through the rooftop. Debris dropped all over the floor of Sugar Cube Corner. All of the ponies inside looked through the hole that revealed the sky, waiting for the dragon of the hour to drop down. It was a long and silent two minutes before the long white stream of smoke came down.

Spike landed pretty gracefully for someone who had just flown into the sky. He was calmer now, and turned towards Twilight, who had a present on her back.

“Twi, I don’t even care that it’s a book.” He assured her nonchalantly.

She smiled nervously and her cheeks began to blush because every year during Spike’s birthday, she always gave him a book for a present.

“…Hehehe…this is different, though! It’s a book that I only saw once in my life.” She levitated the book over to Spike who hastily opened it.

Inside, was a cover that looked torn and shredded. It seemed to be something as old as Princess Celestia herself. Spike could not help but starch his head while wondering what it was. He grasped it tightly in his left arm and whistled loudly to gain everyone’s attention.

“Hey everypony, thanks again for coming. I can’t even begin to tell you all how fun this was but I’m getting a little tired, so I thi-” Spike stopped as he fell to the ground snoring.

All of the occupants laughed at his childish manner and began to continue on. Twilight took this time to lift the child on her back and teleported to their home. She set Spike down in his little bed and she went downstairs to catch up on some needed research time. She carefully went down each step as to not wake up the sleeper.

After Twilight reached downstairs, Spike put his ear to the ground to hear what she was doing. He heard pages flipping, indicating that his ruse worked. He needed some alone time to read the book in his claws and being awake was not the way to go. He took a nearby candle and lit it with his flame breath.

He examined the front page of the aged book. The title read ‘Dragon King Tyrannus X’s Final Speech.’ He opened the book up and skimmed through the pages. They all seemed to be just the retelling of dragon history. None of it seemed out of place as Spike had known all of this from research with Twilight. He was beginning to consider just putting the book away when a hidden envelope fell out.

On the envelope, was a seal, that of a dragon. It was covered in gold lining, meaning that it was from royalty. Spike carefully opened the container and found a perfectly preserved letter inside. He unfolded the letter and began to read.

“Brothers, sisters, this is the last writing of your beloved king, Tyrannus X. I write this last letter in my final hours to inform you of a secret plan and prophecy foretold by the oracles. Do not weep for my passing, for I am going to the new eternity, the final paradise of dragon kind. I will be honored and harked as a hero along with every other dragon, for in Dragongorde, all are equal. I worry for all of you, as our decline as a species is to come. The two so-called princesses want nothing more than to take away our culture and civilization. They wish to make pony-kind and the like the most advanced species to exist. I write this to inform you that we, the dragons, were the most advanced. Our society had a class system in which none was left in poverty, the law was equal and just, and culture and diversity were welcome. The princesses Celestia and Luna have taken that from us. They have used their ‘Elements of Harmony’ to banish us out of our homeland and abolish any sort of improvement we have made. I write to you now, as the world crumbles around me. I do not fret for myself; I fret for you my future fellow dragons. If pony-kind has taken over, then all is lost. We have most likely been spread thin and viewed as barbarians and have probably been adapted so. But there is still hope, a small beacon of light that can blight this atrociousness. There is one, as it has been prophesized, that one dragon shall rise above all. He will seem very unlikely to rule or even regain our right. But follow him nonetheless. I appoint this future harbinger of peace as my heir. Let it be known, that when the light strikes the sky, it is time for the dragons to rise. All of you shall know it, as your souls will become drawn towards the radiance. Follow your hearts brothers and sisters, and establish our rights as a people. Long live the Draconic Republic!”

After Spike had finished thoroughly checking the letter and it’s authenticity, he felt changed. He felt like something had reached into his mouth and put in a flame that had ignited in his body before. The next thing he knew, his mouth opened as wide as it could a large stream of flame erupted. The flame burnt through the ceiling of the library and struck the evening sky.

The racket had drawn the attention of Twilight who had been studying the entire duration. Now frantic at the flames enveloping the hollowed-out tree’s rooftop, she yelled at Spike and motioned for him to run outside. She used a spell that removed all oxygen in a certain area so that the flames would die out. After removing the flames, she saw a huge hole made in her ceiling.

The furious and steaming librarian turned her attention to a baffled Spike who was kicking at the ground with his feet in embarrassment.

“Spike, what did you do!? You put a hole in the library! What were you thinking!?” Her mane was starting to get messy as hairs started to move out of place.

“Uh..I can explain!” Spike reassured, although he had no idea what had just happened.

“Oh right, a fire pops up out of nowhere while you’re in the room and you have a good explanation. Let’s hear it.” Twilight rolled her eyes and folded her forelegs, waiting for the excuse her assistant had this time.

“I think I might be the chosen one..in the book you gave me, there was a secret letter that talked about all of this stuff that Princess Celestia and Luna were evil and they made dragons turn into stupid monsters. Then he said that a savior would step forward and lead the dragons back to normal.” He twiddled his claws while explaining. He was still a bit skeptical himself.

Twilight laughed at the most idiotic excuse Spike had ever made up. “HAHAHA! Right, I’m supposed to believe that the Princesses are evil and that they made dragons barbaric. Come on Spike, you were there with me when you read the history on dragons. We tried to make peace but they just wanted to fight.” Twilight wiped the tears of joy off her face.

“But it’s true!” Spike pleaded.

“Spike..I have known you all my life, and the only thing that I know that you could be chosen for is for cooking and being an assistant, which is what you’re good at!” Twilight replied patronizingly.

Spike was upset. Why would his best friend just put him down like that? He just wanted to walk away and have a moment to contemplate. Without thinking, he went outside and slammed the door, causing Twilight to wince in shock and realization over the harsh words she just said to her beloved helper.

He mumbled to himself in a fit of anger. “Good at cooking huh? I’ll show you! Just you wait..I’ll…I’ll..aww forget it.” He realized just how silly the whole idea seemed. He sat down on a bench and closed his eyes. He thought about the cool weather, the party, the history of Celestia and Luna, and the breathing on his neck.

Wait what?

Spike realized that something was breathing heavily upon his entire form. He looked up, and shrieked like a little girl. Right in his face, was a giant gold-scaled dragon. It’s breath smelled like volcanic ash and it’s piercing lizard eyes were staring right into Spike’s large pupils.

“Greetings Harbonger.”

Spike’s mouth was agape as he stammered to get some words out.

“H-h-hi! W-why are y-you here, Mr. Dragon, s-sir?”

“I am here because I have seen the sign. The beacon has been lit. As the ancient king wrote, ‘Let it be known, that when the light strikes the sky, it is time for the dragons to rise.’ You have finally arrived, as the oracles foretold.” The dragon spoke in an elderly and wise voice, but sounded completely civilized and refined, unlike most dragons that Spike and met previously.

“The sign? You meant the fire that I shot out of nowhere?” Spike inquired.

“Yes. The prophecy has been fulfilled. The time to regain our land has come. Come brother, as I have summoned the peoples for the strike.”

Spike gulped at the word ‘strike’. If there was truly a dragon army ready to battle, then he knew it would not bode well for his beloved friends. “An army?!”

“Yes. You have many questions young one. How foolish of me, I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Advisor Archimedes. And what is the name of my new lord and commander?” He gave a warm, old smile that elderly people could muster with some effort.

“..S-spike. My name is Spike..” The little pony-raised dragon whispered.

“This is most amusing, Master Spike. A humble and young king? The others shall have a feast day with this.” Archimedes stated as he swept Spike up onto his back.

“Hold on young one, we shall arrive in the camp set up outside of Canterlot in minutes.” As Archimedes flapped his massive wings, Spike could hear a high pitched scream from below.

“SPIKE!”

The elder advisor had not been exaggerating; they reached the camp in less than five minutes. As Spike slid down Archimedes’ left wing, he took notice of the large gathering of dragons forming around him. There were dragon men, women, elders, and children. They all stared in astonishment at the child who was to lead them to victory.

A mature male dragon stepped out, clad in armor and battle scarred. He bowed his head and moved his right arm across his chest in allegiance. “My lord, my name is Captain Achilles. I swear to protect you with my life.”

Following the captain, more dragon soldiers moved forward and sore their loyalty to him as well. All of the other dragons, who were citizens or just everyday dragons bowed their heads in respect. A hatchling came forward, crawling on it’s knees. It looked up to Spike with bulging eyes and cooed. It started to hug Spike’s leg.

Spike wanted to eat that thing up right there, in a loving way. It was just too cute. Spike observed as the baby’s mother smiled at him and scooped it up. Some officials moved to converse with Spike.

“Milord, we are the dragon council. We want to inform you that we have been lying in wait for some time now. We are happy that you arrived at this particular time because the less-fortunate dragons cannot fare any longer. We must seize the throne so that our people can survive.”

Spike scratched his chin in contemplation. “How do I know that Celestia and Luna are actually bad and that they did all of those things to us?”

An old looking emerald-scaled dragon with a grey beard flew above them. “Because I was there when it happened.”

The council spoke softly to the flying old veteran. “Former commander Augustus, you must not strain yourself. You have been through much and deserve some rest after all of it.”

Augustus sighed and slowly descended. As he made a loud thump, he began to speak again. “Forgive me, my lord. I was just upset that you were not there to witness it. Celestia used her sun to burn all of our buildings down and Luna used her moon to ensure we could not thrive. They starved us and then used magic to push us out of their land. They had waited until the great king had passed before acting. I was there the day that our people exiled and some who stayed to fight were banished to the moon. Or worse..the sun.”

Augustus seemed to become solemn at this point. His saggy face dropped with an obvious sadness around it. Spike walked up to the old dragon and patted him on the side.

“It’s alright, dude. If this is true, I promise that I’ll make our race equal again. Just go and get some sleep.” Spike commanded gently.

The old dragon nodded and was helped by some others to his tent. The council resumed the battle plans.

“Lord, we must wait until sunset before striking. This is the only time in which Celestia and Luna’s powers are low. The shifting day will cause a disruption in their balance, allowing us to gain the advantage.”

“Sunset’s only ten minutes from now!” Spike realized.

“Yes. That is why we ask that you rally the men and give a speech.”

Spike sighed and walked to the open plain in which a single stand and horn laid. He moved atop the stand and blew the horn, which caused a massive force to gather. They awaited his final commands in this decisive battle.

“Listen, dragon buddies. I know I haven’t been around for long. Hay, I barely even knew about this until this evening. I was raised with ponies all my life and it was sweet. But if it’s true, that Princess Celestia and Luna really took our home and caused our people to go into hiding, then I say that it’s not cool. I say that today, we stand up to those bullies and kick their flank! Who’s with me?!” Spike concluded his speech as he raised his claws up.

The dragon soldiers looked at each other in confusion. Spike had just given a speech that one would give for a children’s game. They didn’t argue though, so they shrugged it off and began to roar.

“Just don’t hurt anypony okay?” Spike added.

Captain Achilles flew to Spike’s side. “Sir, we don’t plan on hurting anyone. We just plan on knocking the guards out, and regaining the castle. The civilians are off limits, I assure you. The only thing that we have to actually do is beat the Princesses, which is where you come in.”

Ride of the Dragons

Spike just gasped at the thought of having to defeat the two goddess-like alicorns, let alone fight them. But he knew it was his duty, and that justice would always prevail. He nodded and jumped on the Captain Achilles’ back. Spike turned to the crowd for one final word.

“FOR THE REPUBLIC!”

Roars, growls and cheers shook all of Equestria. An army of dragons filled the sky as they flew towards their home. Canterlot was starting to form ahead of them and the dragons yelled ‘charge’ to each other. The flapping of wings echoed through Spike’s ears. He could see catapults being lined up off in the distance. Objects started to fly towards the army.

Giant pies and other sorts of things that would defeat the army hit multiple dragons in the face. They plummeted into the large lake below.

“KEEP ON GOING!” Captain Achilles commanded.

The dragons did not relent, as Canterlot was much closer. Many dragons were being hit with pies and were faltering. There were still many others that were determined to win. They were upon Canterlot now. Screams and shrieks from ponies below could be heard in the air. Magic beams were being shot into the air which caused the dragons to momentarily turn into flying squirrels.

Spike was almost there. The cold mountain wind was hitting against his face. Just a little further....

*Crash*

The windows of Canterlot Castle’s throne room were broken as Captain Achilles landed. He was suddenly thrown against the wall. Spike jumped off just in time to avoid the debacle. He turned his attention to the two surprised princesses aiming their horns at him.

“Spike?” Princess Celestia asked unsurely.

“Little dragon that art the underling of Twilight Sparkle?” Princess Luna followed in the old Equestrian tone.

“I know. I know that you took our lands and I’m here to take it back!” Spike shouted with as much gusto and bravado as he could. He flexed his arms and kissed the small pea-sized muscles.

“Thou doth not wish to fight us, Spike. “ Luna enveloped her horn in a dark blue aura.

“Please Spike, it was the best for pony kind.” Princess Celestia followed suit.

“No! You were jealous and took away my people’s home! You made my people into barbarians! Well, it’s high time that this comes to an end.” Spike charged at the two Princesses, dodging the magical rays that they shot at him.

It was intense for Spike on the most part because he never really thought about how to fight them per say. All the Princesses had to do was to exhaust him until he gave up. Accidentally, Luna shot a powerful spell that would break through walls at Spike. He was hit with the spell and flew into a wall, leaving an impression of his body on it as he slid down towards the ground.

The Princesses, afraid that he might actually be injured, ran up and scanned his body with their magic. Spike moved his head up and gave a cocky grin as his mouth seemed to fill up with something.

*BURP*

The Princesses manes were smoky and ashy, and the amplified force of his fire breath caused them to pass out from not only the sheer magical force but the stench as well. As they fell to the floor, more dragons swooped in and restrained the alicorns. Spike made his way up to the throne and sat in the oversized chair. He was but a mere speck compared to the entire entity.

The dragons in the room bowed their heads and exclaimed “All hail, King Spike I, Harbinger of Peace and True Ruler of Equestria. All hail Clavus Draconis!”

And so, the rest of the days were spent with the dragons cleaning up the mess and destruction, the establishment of a treaty that made dragons equal with ponies, the princesses becoming royal jesters for punishment, albeit just for a day or two, and Spike reconciling with his friends.

The Elements of Harmony couldn’t believe that the little pink-apron wearing chef would be so important in such a movement. Twilight became the official mage of the court, Rainbow Dash was made lead Wonderbolt, Applejack was given authority of overseeing the farming efforts for the city’s new food scource, Fluttershy was made the ambassador to dragons and ponies, Pinkie was made the head chef, and Rarity, most important of all, was given the title of queen.

At first, she wanted to decline the offer because she wasn’t sure that it would be appropriate, but the moment that Spike led her to the royal treasury..yeah you get the idea. So Spike had his old life back, just a little ‘adjusted’. And everypony lived happily ever after.

---

“The END.” The mysterious pony in front of you concludes the most stupendous story you have ever read.

You ask her just where did he/she get their sources and they simply laugh at you. Throughout the tale, the voice was gruff and manly, yet the way they spoke was that of a chattering woman in a salon.

The mysterious pony unveils their hood, and discards the cloak, revealing a grinning pink mare with a dark pink curly mane. Her eyes are a bright blue and she smiles at you mischievously as she heads for the doors. Her Cutie Mark consists of three party balloons. As she reached the doorway, she cranes her head in your direction and answers your question after a long silence.

“I dunno know.”

Comments

[deathtap]

Spike needs one of these:

i.imgur.com/PGp17.jpg

[Path_of_cloud]

Okay the idea is interesting, but that where it starts to take a turn for the worse.

Republics do not have kings.

No one puts in a letter "I know you love me, but I don't really want to talk about this right know." Now if he confronted her directly sure, in a letter with a gift no.

There's a lot of useless information. Twilight forgetting to close the door adds nothing to the story for example.

The dragons did a horrible job of proving their story.

You never explain what actually happens to the princesses. You made Rarity a gold digger, which prompted a from me.

Spike never did anything to the girls to reconcile for, at least not directly
.
A huge number of grammatical errors (not that I'm one to talk) and a decent number of spelling errors.

It could be a really cool story but as it is, it feels rushed. I found the fact Rarity didn't want Spike having a mustache hilarious, as well as the way Spike defeated the princesses. See if you can find a proofreader or editor, it needs work.

[PonyManne215]

730678
It was just an idea, and also, I have no idea what you're talking about with the spelling. I have literally scoured the enitre thing and I only found some grammer errors. I'll admit, there were a lot of gaps in this thing but I think you should've at least just let it go. I mean come on, when I see some fic that has so many spelling errors that it's not even funny, and it receives so much good recption, it makes me wonder if I receive all of the sticklers on this site while they get the baboons.

[Path_of_cloud]

730704 Harbonger is harbinger

arth is art

scource is source

sore is swore

it’s authenticity should be its authenticity. Possessive its has no ' only it's as in it is has one. This mistake was made multiple times.

Alicorn is always capped so is Unicorn, Pegasus and Earth pony.

When using dialogue if you're going to have something like, "Hi Twilight," Spike said, you use a comma at the end of the dialogue. Now if you have something like "You won't get away with this." Spike turned towards the princesses and exhaled a giant emerald fire ball, than you use a period.

Other numerous grammar errors.

Better to get reviews from a stickler trying to help then a baboon.

If I let it go, I would be cheating you of a chance to improve.

[PaladinOfChaos]

Sometimes i was like: and sometimes i was like
Loved this fic! All hail King Spike!!

[Ekhidna]

Pies? seriously?........................AUTOMATIC FAVE!!!

[Gunzerker343]

this is in my opinion the best spike fic good job bro

[IMNC]

Your Latin is wrong. Really, really wrong. You can't just use an online translator. Latin is a highly inflected language. You would need knowledge of Latin grammar before you can translate anything correctly. What you have there are two nominative words in the place of what should be two genitive words. The genitive case implies "of", so the word "of" in the title is redundant as well. If you want it to mean "The rise of Spike, the dragon", it would have to be "Clavi Draconis".

[rakdoz]

LIKE A BOSS

[Vict0r1994]

Well, this was a nice short fic, and I really liked the idea of dragons being an actually civilized ancient race! Yet, I have the feeling you went over some important parts of the story with too little detail! For example, if you are going to show a "prophecy of the ancient oracles" being fulfilled, then you might want to explain a little bit who were the gods and/or mystical powers which chose Spike to be the harbinger of a new era, how did they make him fire the beam, and, last but not least, what was their true purpose and nature! The MLP universe portrays only Celestia and Luna as godesses, and a stronger ancient divine force of dragonhood which could predict the future and their downfall is something which might bring interest if interacting with Spike (maybe in a dream or a vision).
Anyway, it was a happy story I really enjoyed, so congrats! Also, you might want to replace republic with kingdom, and I'm still curious why twilight got upsot about the library's roof being destroyed by Spike, while she didn't show any concern when he did the same thing to the Sugar Cube Corner's roof...

[Linkonpark100]

Haha! Love the twist ending!