II - Uncouth Arrival
The northwest point of the Dragonlands was quiet. Dragons rarely ventured here, well, non-sea dragons anyway. It was a perfect spot to take off from. It was early morning the sun had not even risen from over the ocean’s horizon.
Sea dragons are probably the kindest race of dragons you’ll meet. They aren’t pushovers though, and will most certainly attack you if you are a jerk, but if you are respectful to them they are at least willing to talk to you.
“So directly west?” I asked a sea green dragon.
“Yup. Just follow the moon and sun west and you’ll find the ponylands. Then from there head north and you’ll be headed straight into where they live.” he instructed.
I bowed my head to show respect. “Thank you.”
He bowed his head as well in return before leaping off the cliff and back into the water.
I sat on my hind legs and tail, holding a still sleeping Kii in my forelegs. It was a clear sky over the sea, for now, so all we could see for miles ahead was water. Beneath those waves the Sea Dragons swam.
Looking back to the sky, I leapt off the small cliff I was perched on. As I headed northwest, I stole a glance back, the disappearing land mass behind us held my past, our hatch place. It felt weird leaving.
Kii was awake now and enjoying the sight of the water several meters below us. A few hours back, a group of dolphins graced us with their presence, pleasing Kii to no end. She hadn’t stopped looking for them since.
Crossing the ocean would only take us two days if I kept a good pace. I could see some large clouds on the horizon: that meant thrashing winds down here by the water. I flew higher. I could feel the wind getting faster as I climbed. A thought suddenly crossed my mind; what would happen if I went even higher?
I flapped my wings, climbing up into the extreme winds of this altitude and they swept me away, pushing me westward. I kept my wings rigid, so I wouldn't lose control. This layer of wind could carry me across the ocean if I could just keep my wings angled in the right way.
“Wa-hoo!” Kii shouted in my grasp, spreading her wings and flapping them, pretending to fly herself. I grinned at the sight. In time the clouds passed beneath us as we soared over them.
As the day passed and it got darker, I spotted seagulls below me, which were a sure indicator of land. Sure enough, mountains appeared over the horizon within a couple hours. Greens and browns dominated the view from out here.
I flew lower to get a better look at the landscape we were beginning to fly over, illuminated by the cool light of the full moon. Dark greens and browns covered the land; a number of smells assaulted my nostrils, and I scented meat. As much as I wanted to dive below the trees and go hunt for some new prey, I had a task to complete. I made for the mountains ahead of me.
After landing on the summit of the mountain I found something a little odd. The forest or swamp I just flew over just stopped at one side of this mountain, on the opposite side there was just desert. “Not here a full day and I already don’t understand,” I muttered.
Kii hopped off and started exploring the small area. I was smelling the air to see if there was a scent that could help me decide which direction to go. Nothing but warm air from the land below.
“Big brother! I found something!” Kii called out. I looked around only to find that she had already wandered out of sight.
“Where'd you go?” I called out, a knot of concern forming in my stomach.
“I’m over here,” she called out, poking her head out from behind a rock. I walked over to where she was and found that she had discovered a small cave.
“Look at this,” Kii declared. She held up a bundle of sticks that was charred at one end.
“A pony or something must have been up here at some point,” I deduced, taking the old torch from her. I lightly breathed some fire onto the end, reigniting it. Dragon night vision can only see in the moonlight, not pitch darkness, so a light was useful.
“Stay here, I’ll have a look,” I instructed Kii. She nodded and sat down at the foot of the cave. I entered, holding the torch out in front of me.
As I walked deeper and deeper into the cave the air smelled… I wanna say sweet. Like a good sapphire. Already, the echoes of my footfalls were changing; I was getting close to the end of the cave. But before I reached the end, I stepped on something like wood and snapped it. I looked down to see a pony’s skeleton. Nothing left but torn up clothes and an old and tattered set of saddlebags. Out of curiosity, I opened the still full bag and found a scroll, a book, and a whole lot of gems.
I’ll admit that I was a little surprised to see gems in a place like this. I pulled the book out to read, careful not to damage the small journal in my claws. I went straight to the last entry.
Finally, I found it the gem cache my ancestors buried. Now that I’ve found this I can finally move away from my family and to Canterlot. Those high-class ponies won’t know what hit them! When they see me walking up to those gates with all this. I’ll be able to buy all of Canterlot!
I looked up from the book to look at the skeleton. “Well, things didn't quite work out for you, eh?” I chuckled. The rotting skull did not reply.
I the took out the scroll to have a look. It was a very old map, probably outdated by a few decades, but according to this map, I was on the southern edge of the Badlands, Canterlot was north from here.
I was surprised the bones lasted this long, as well as the saddlebags that were still strong enough for use. I checked the other side of the bag and found that it too was filled with gems as well as some rope.
Since it seemed that gems could be either used as or traded for currency I figured these bags of them would be useful. I slung the saddlebags over my shoulders since they couldn't go anywhere else on me. Once collected I peered further into the cave. Instead of going further I shot a blast of flame towards the back to illuminate it. Sure enough, there was indeed a stash of gems back there, almost the size of a young dragon’s hoard, the facets dancing and glimmering in the light of my fire. I made my way back outside, already thinking that this knowledge might be useful later.
Kii was sitting by the cave entrance trying her hardest to stay awake. “Come here,” I told her as I approached. “We need to keep going, but try to get some rest while I fly.”
She nodded, yawning loudly. I picked Kii up in my arms and awkwardly walked on my hind legs and the crooks of my wings over to the cliff. I dropped off the edge and spread my wings, flying north as best I could. Kii fell asleep in my arms easily. I suspected that she will be seeing ponies by morning.
Dawn was only a few minutes away, and although I wasn't paying attention, I’m pretty sure I had already passed at least two towns. Kii was still asleep in my arms. I slowed my flight as the sun began to rise, hoping that it would shed some light on the landscape.
As the sunlight began to push away the darkness of night, I found that I was over a large, dark forest. For some reason, I had a bad feeling about the trees beneath me, or rather, what was hiding beneath the trees.
The sun rose up farther above the horizon, giving me a bit of extra energy to fly a bit farther. Over the trees, I could see what I assumed was the top of a house. When I got there, I found that it wasn't just a house, it was a town. But the lights were on in this one so I figured I’d ask for directions. Light clouds were rolling in and I don’t have the energy to fly in a storm, even a light one.
I landed in front of the pony dwelling. It was interesting, to say the least. It was tall with a flag on top, blues purple and gold colors decorated the place. I carefully maneuvered Kii onto my back, trying to not wake her. She sleeps like a Lava Turtle. I went up to the door, the sign outside reading, “Carousel Boutique”. No idea what that meant. I knocked on the door and waited.
“Coming!” I heard a voice sing out from the other side. Some locks unlatched and the top half of the door opened revealing a white unicorn pony with a well groomed purple mane, and three light blue gems on her flank. She gasped at the sight of me and began to shake slightly. “C-c-can I help you?” she stammered.
I cringed internally; I guess I hadn’t really thought this out, Lord Torch had said that ponies view us a vicious. “Yes, actually I was hoping you could help me. My little sister and I have flown a very long distance looking for the Princesses of Equestria. I’m to speak with them.” I gestured to Kii sleeping on my back.
The pony seemed to collect herself; perhaps the sight of my sleeping sister had calmed her down a little. “Well, perhaps—” She was cut off when a leaf green and purple dragon that was about as tall as a pony rushed up beside me coming out of nowhere, sprinting up on all four legs.
“Hey Rarity, thanks for finding my friend here,” he said quickly, giving me a meaningful look out of the corner of his eye. “This is..”
I picked up on what he was doing immediately. “Krein!” I declared, a little too loudly. “My name is Krein and this is my little sister Kii.”
“I’ve been waiting for them to arrive for a few days now,” the young dragon continued, nodding quickly. “I’m just gonna go get them settled. See you later Rarity.” He turned and started leading me away.
“Okay. See you later Spike!” the pony called after us. The dragon hung on her words a bit as we walked away, faintly smiling.
Once we were a distance from the house we stopped to talk. “I am so glad you picked up on what I was doing,” the purple dragon sighed. “We don’t see a lot of dragons here, just myself really. I thought you were going to frighten somepony.”
I nodded in agreement. “Yeah, I didn’t think this all the way through,” I admitted. “Nice save there. I take it that your name is Spike?”
“Yeah,” he nodded. We shook claws in a friendly manner. “Nice to meet you, Krein. Now if you don’t mind me asking, what brings you to Equestria?”
“I’m looking for the pony Princesses, I have official business with them,” I answered. “Do you know where I should go?”
“Yeah, you have to go to Canterlot.” He pointed to a mountain far in the distance. I saw what looked like a city that was built on the side of the mountain. “I should probably take you there myself,” Spike offered. “Ponies aren't used to seeing dragons around, even I get some sideways glances. And I’ll know what to say should we run into the Guard.”
I bowed my head. “I would appreciate that. Thank you.”
“I just need to let somepony know where I’m gonna be.” Spike started walking through the town. I followed him only a few paces behind.
“Why do you have to let somepony know where you're going?” I asked. “You're a dragon.”
He chuckled a bit. “I forgot for a second that you're new to this. You'll learn all the manners and social norms of being a pony eventually. But for now, I can answer any questions you might have.”
I already had a question on my mind. “So what was that back there?”
He looked at me confused. “What was what?”
“When Rarity said goodbye. It's like you were waiting for more,” I elaborated.
“I don't know what you're talking about,” Spike protested, but his face turned a bit red.
“Bro, you totally have a thing for her! You like Rarity!” I laughed.
He shot me a red-faced glare “Keep your voice down!” he hissed, adding to my amusement.
I fought to bring my laughing down to snickering. “So how long have you had your eye on that piece of tail?”
He looked like he wanted to yell but quickly redirected that fire. “None of your business. I'm supposed to be filling you in on how things go here in Equestria.”
I took a breath to try and stop laughing. “Yes, okay. I'm sorry. So how does currency work?”
“Copper, silver, and gold Bits are the primary currency in Equestria. Banks will hold your money to keep it safe so you don't have to carry it everywhere.”
I glanced down at the bags over my shoulders. “What about gems? Do they have value?”
Spike nodded. “They do. You can either trade them for whatever you need on the spot if something is expensive, or you can trade them for bits at banks to make them last longer.”
“Laws. Any I should be aware of?” I asked.
“Don’t kill, don't steal, don't fight, don't start fires…” He paused to think.
“Basically don't be a jerk?” I summed up.
“Yes, exactly,” Spike confirmed, snapped his talons. “The Guard are really good at their jobs. And if you do stir up trouble, and the Guards can't subdue you, the Army and Navy will.”
“Sounds like the rules are easy enough to follow,” I nodded. “What about history or politics. Can you inform me on those?”
Spike shook his head. “Unfortunately, I can't help with that. Never been a good student. Even for living in a library.” We stopped outside a hollowed out tree with doors and windows built into the wood. It appeared to be a library.
“My friend Twilight Sparkle lives here,” Spike explained. “I’m just gonna tell her that Princess Celestia needs me in Canterlot, and then we’ll be on our way.”
“Take your time,” I said idly. Spike entered the treehouse while I waited outside.
Kii was starting to stir from sleep on my back. She yawned and then opened her eyes slowly. “Where are we?” she asked, puzzled.
“Getting directions,” I told her.
Spike came out of the library and nodded. “Okay, shall we go? The weather ponies are apparently scheduling a storm for Ponyville today. We should get on the move to Canterlot before the rain starts.”
“Sounds like a good idea. Lead the way,” I told him. Kii got off my back, and into my arms for the flight.
Spike spread his wings and lifted off the ground and I followed, disappearing into the growing cloud cover. The flight to Canterlot wasn’t long. I was mostly amazed that when we started getting closer, the city got a lot bigger, growing to a humongous size; it was larger than some dragon territories!
Dropping out of the cloud cover, Kii and I got our first good look at Canterlot. White, gold, and blue stone covered the city, making it gleam in the sunlight. I could see hundreds of ponies in the streets below me all wearing some kind of fancy garment and with their noses in the air.
We were coming up on the Castle, a huge building with great spires that stood higher than any other building in the city. The whole thing looked like a white gem enchanted with shining light. It dominated the city below it. Spike banked and dove toward the green grass in front of the castle making a landing. I followed, pulling up to land softly. Once on the ground, I put Kii down. She stared around open-mouthed, obviously amazed.
“This place is amazing,” I breathed.
“Yeah, it is,” Spike agreed.
“Um, big brother?” Kii said, tugging on my tail to try to get my attention.
“What is it?” Kii pointed to the other side of the grass. Guards were rushing over to us. “Did we do something wrong?”
Spike slapped his claw over his muzzle. “A bit, yeah. We probably should have used the gait.”
Great. First five minutes in this city and I’m a criminal.
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gate.
Interesting so far. I was going to say that Spike doesn't have wings, then I saw the Alternate Universe tag.
Added to my tracking shelf and up-voted.
Little faux pas there, Spike. Guess when you are used to dealing with royalty, you tend to forget that there are a few things that should be done properly.
Interesting to see your interpretation of the canon characters, although that's been pretty minimal so far.
how old is spike in this? because him having wings would probably happen when he reaches dragon puberty and that would be like age 60 or so.
8504844 This is Alternate Universe. In this he had wings since hatching, and in this he would be in his teens. like 16 or 17.
what lies are these????????????????????????
Where are these mythical guards who can actually do their jobs?
Bah. Your headcannon doesn't match mine, therefore you are in the wrong and I don't like you.
9066653 👍
Spike has wings, but Twilight is still living in the library... okay.
9432044
Is the "Alternate Universe" tag there for no reason?