Once, We Were Slaves

by stupidhand14

Chapter 2: Execution

---

The memory faded, as if stolen away. In it’s place was… darkness. Spike couldn’t see anything, but he felt unshackled. He could think again, he wasn’t living through the memories. He was in a void, a place he didn’t know. After a few seconds, he began to regain sensation.

First to return was the feeling of a plush bed. Taste came next, a staleness in his mouth. After taste came the feeling of paper in his claw, and then sight. His eyes were closed, and he doubted he had enough strength to open them just yet. Last to return was sound, and with it the crying of a mare nearby.

“Spike? Please, wake up Spike!” Twilight stood next to Somb--- Spike, who found himself in his bed at the castle. He looked around the room, but didn’t notice anypony else there.

“W-what happened?” he asked, though was quickly brought into the hooves of his… mother.

“You wouldn’t wake up, while reading you just sat down and wouldn’t respond.” She continued her vice grip on Spike, holding him tight against her. “I was so worried.”

“Twilight, I’m fine, really.” Spike managed to get her to stop hugging him. “Something weird happened while I was reading that scroll.” Twilight looked attentively at him, hoping to get more information, which he obliged. “It’s like I… got sucked into a pony’s mind. Like I was living through them.”

“What pony did you live as?” Twilight asked cautiously. Spike was forced to pause, thinking about whether or not he should tell her. After short consideration, he made up his mind.

“Sombra.” Twilight shivered at the name. She looked at him again, worry clear as crystals in her eyes. “It’s like I was… living his life, from the outside. I saw what he was doing, and I was just a passive observer.”

The two sat there thinking for a long time. Spike thought about the past, while Twilight looked to the future. This was an opportunity and a curse. Spike had knowledge nopony else could learn, knowledge that may have been destroyed in all other forms. But Spike may not want want to relive the life of a tyrant. Seeing those horrible acts and atrocities, he was still a baby dragon.

“Twilight, I---”

“Spike, You---”

The two looked at each other for a few seconds before an tension breaking laugh filled the room. After, Spike motioned for Twilight so speak.

“You don’t have to continue,” Twilight told him. “If you don’t want to, I won’t force you or ask it of you again. I know you might be horrified by those memories, but you don’t have to relive them. You can stop now, and I won’t blame you.”

“Twilight, I want to continue.”

“What?”

“This is the history of dragons, my history!” Spike looked into Twilight’s eyes. Conviction shining clear in one eye, determination in the other. “I can’t walk away from this. It is something I have to see through.” Twilight watched Spike for several seconds. She saw how his confidence was not simply bravado.

“Alright,” she said simply. Spike lifted up the scroll, ready to let himself be dragged back into the world of the past.

Spike opened the scroll again, looking further down its contents. He trusted his instincts, looked deeply at one set of runes near the middle. Again, pain erupted from his eyes and skull. Soon, his senses were once again lost. In a world of darkness, where he could see nothing, he felt the memories coming to him. He let his mind enter the past.

---

“How do you propose to initiate your plan?” the dragon asked Sombra.

The two were at it's not so humble home. In reality, it was well lit cave with no small amount of green moss hanging around. Even without direct light, the gold cast a yellow tint around the room. Sombra was tempted to simply kill the dragon and take the gold, but he had bigger plans. He would need help, and this dragon seemed useful.

“All I would need is some dragon blood,” Sombra informed. “I would need a few drops from each major dragon bloodline.”

“Why do you need blood?” The dragon slithered its way over to a pile of treasure, resting on the large coins that it had pilfered over the years.

“The blood is for artificing.” Sombra looked around for a chair, but found none. “I brought a special gem, which I will grow into a powerful object full of magic.” The dragon looked Sombra in the eyes, squinting slightly.

“You still aren’t telling me what the blood is for.” The two were now in a contest of stares, though Sombra had no wish to compete.

“From my research, I need to water the sprouting gem with the blood of the bloodlines I wish to control.”

“I have never heard of such a magical item.” The creature roused itself from the pile of treasure, instead choosing to circle Sombra. “Why haven’t I heard of this? If it is that powerful, why aren’t ponies a hive mind?”

“It requires a certain essence in the blood.” Sombra stared at his confederate, watching as it walked around him. “Dragon blood has a certain magic to it, magic that pony blood and most other bloods lack.”

“How did you figure this out, ‘King of the Frozen North’?” the dragon asked. The last words were exaggerated. Sombra clenched his jaw, trying not to show any real anger.

“I experimented on the blood of a snow drake that attacked my kingdom.” Of course, he would never admit to torturing the drake for its blood. To most of the world, he had simply killed the beast, protecting his lands.

“So, you wish for me to aid you in obtaining dragon blood?” The dragon smiled, though it didn’t reach its eyes. “You mentioned I would get to rule over the dragons. How does that work?”

“Whoever holds the stone will be in charge of the dragons, so you will lead them under my supervision.” The two locked gazes again.

“What if I simply want to control them, and have an alliance with you?”

“I would be happy to give you that autonomy, but that will have to wait until after the Equestrians have been slain.”

“So you make this oath, to give me the gem to grant me control after we fight in your war?” Sombra knew what was happening here. A dragon’s oath was not to be taken lightly. They would kill an oath breaker in the worst ways possible, and every dragon would work to this end. If he didn’t keep his bargain, every dragon in the world would be after him. At least they would, if he wasn’t in control.

“Yes, I make that oath to you.” Sombra knelt before the dragon, though it wounded his pride. “Should you still live and want it, I will give you the Bloodstone after the war with Equestria. I swear this by the graves of my mother and father.” The last part was meaningless. Sombra never had any parents, the earliest memories he had were of that accursed orphanage.

“Very well, come, Sombra. I will take you to the head dragons… but you will be missing one ingredient.”

“What is that?”

“Dragon blood is not as potent as you assume, and is different from drake blood. Aged dragon blood does not carry the same potency. You’d need to distill it into a refined blood, but that would lose some of its properties.”

“I see.” Sombra paused to consider this new information. “What would this ingredient you suggest do?”

“It would enable the blood you’d obtain to be used to full magical potential, without any need to distill or ruin the blood.”

“What would this ingredient be, and where would I get it?” Sombra demanded. He needed to know what was so magical that it could increase the potency of a dragon’s blood.

“Do not worry about that, I will obtain the ingredients while you meet with the elder dragons to discuss obtaining blood.”

“As long as you get the ingredients, I have no objections.” The two waited a moment longer, seeing if the other had anything else to say. After concluding that neither of them had any more to say, they began to make their way to the main dragon hub.

Sombra flew on the back of his partner to the dragon’s main meeting area. There were caves cut into the walls of nearby cliffs, large enough for even elder dragons. There were many dragons flying around, each one appearing apprehensive at seeing a visitor coming in unannounced. Sombra reveled in their fear as he approached.

Sombra was let down on the main plateau, where most of the dragons were currently meeting. Sombra and his ally had already made a plan on how to get blood. They would only have one chance to get every major bloodline.

After a minute, five dragons flew up to the plateau. Each one was the size of a small castle, marking them as being over half a millennia old. They landed as one, and Sombra began to study them. The leader was clearly the gold dragon in the middle. The rest of the other dragons had ranks, but Sombra couldn’t make them out. The green dragon was probably the mate to the leader, while red, blue, and purple were likely in charge of their respective bloodlines.

“Why have you brought this outsider, this pony, into our most secret area?” the golden dragon asked, glaring at Sombra’s patron.

“He sought something I believed we are free to give him, something to further the advancement of all races.”

“What care have we for the conditions of other races?” the red dragon asked, spitting a bit of fire to their left. “We only care about one race: the dragons. We aren’t here to make allies.” Oh how wrong they were.

“It would be best if he explained it.” the black dragon moved to the side, motioning Sombra forward. After he began to speak, it turned and flew away, leaving Sombra to fend for himself.

“Greetings, my name is Sombra.” He shifted his gaze to meet each one of the dragons in the eyes, which was no small feat. “I wish to conduct research on the blood of dragons. I have recently discovered certain residue in the blood of some ponies, while others don’t have it at all. I wish to conduct the same experiment with dragons, to see if it is simply a problem for ponies, or a problem for all races.”

“Dragon’s blood? That is what you came here for?” the green dragon asked. “Why would you spend months of your life coming here for that?”

“I wish to finish my research in a timely manner.” Sombra saw the gears working behind the gold dragon’s eyes. They were all still suspicious, but he could tell a few were intrigued already. That is, until the red dragon spoke up.

“Why should we give it to this pony?” It turned to the others. “We know that ponies are tricky creatures, willing to employ different magics for their goals.”

“There is the possibility of blood magic,” noted the purple dragon. “It is entirely possible that the blood could be used in some form of blood ritual.”

“Then there is only one way to truly know for certain.” The golden dragon put its head down to Sombra’s level, looking at him eye to eye. “You must allow me to enter your mind, where I can see your intention.”

“I will allow this if it would ease your minds,” Sombra said with a smile. Double frostbitten pig in Tartarus! Now he would have to use valuable shadow energies in tricking them.

The dragon opened its mind and sensed its way over to Sombra’s. Sombra, with a mind that was protected by a wall of spells, opened a hole and hid the walls of protection. It took a great deal of concentration, but he was able to hide his own protections from the dragon’s mind.

The creature invaded his mind and began to tear through its labyrinth. Sombra scrambled to keep ahead of it, laying down false memories everywhere he could. Rather than seeing years of the King of the Frozen North, the invader saw years of studying and lab work. Rather than seeing hundreds of ponies slain by dark crystals, it saw hundreds of experiments and papers written.

The dragon’s mindspikes continued throughout Sombra’s mind, digging deeper to the past and recent memories. Here, it found memories of Sombra finishing his research on pony blood samples, showing some correlation. Finally, the trip to the badlands were shown in full, showing Sombra coming by humble means with only vials and flasks.

If the dragon had tried looking through the facade, it would have seen the truth, but it was inexperienced with a shadow user of Sombra’s caliber. Sombra, a true master of the mind, knew all the secrets of his own. He was able to hide everything from the searching mind of the dragon in a seamless ruse.

After what felt like hours, the dragon’s mind retreated, exiting Sombra’s mind. It was then that Sombra returned to his body, away from his mind. He could feel the sweat in his body, and the draining of his shadow. Already, he could feel a majority of his shadow’s energy was depleted. Sighing to himself,it would take him a few weeks to replenish that energy.

“I have tested this pony before us, and find his intentions pure,” the leader announced. “I see no immediate reason for refusing to help him to the best of our abilities.” The fellow councillors nodded their assent. “Now, Sombra, what would you require from us?”

“I would just need a small vial from each of you, and a few from the younger dragons.” Sombra held up a few flasks that would be easily filled by the current dragons.

“Leave us,” the golden dragon commanded. “We must discuss.”

Sombra gave a nod and teleported to a nearby plateau to wait. Sombra didn’t talk to any of the dragons, nor did he appear to be looking for anything. He did, however, notice his partner sneaking into and leaving a few caves. After an hour passed, Sombra began to grow bored. He may have been patient in the Crystal Empire, but the heat of the sun burned all that away.

Another hour passed before he was recalled to the council of dragons. The group was still sitting in the same formation, far more stoic now.

“We have decided to grant your request,” the leader said. Sombra saw the red and purple dragons frown. “We do, however, want the full results of your investigation.”

“Of course,” Sombra responded with a smile. “I will be more than happy to show you the results in person, perhaps with some application even.”

Behind Sombra, a new dragon landed. It was also golden, but far younger than the leader. It still had large wings, but was nowhere near as big.

“Please, give my son the flasks for the smaller dragons.” Sombra did as he was commanded, as well as giving each of the major dragons a flask.

“For the pursuit of knowledge,” the blue dragon said happily, putting in their required blood. The rest followed suit, red blood filling the once clear flasks, as well as overflowing slightly.

Before long, the young dragon had returned with filled flasks as well. Sombra put these in his saddlebags before bidding farewell. Getting a ride from his partner, the two began the return back to the cave for part 2 of the plan.

“How did you do that, Sombra?” the black dragon asked as it beat its wings.

“Do what?” Sombra was still not comfortable with flight. It forced him to rely too much on another creature, even if it was his temporary ally.

“Tricking…” wind suddenly cut in, drowning out the name, “...convinced them to give you blood?”

“Mindspikes are very crude tools, especially for a dragon.” Sombra shifted his weight, trying to get closer to the creature’s ear. “I was able to construct a facade of false memories, and your leader didn’t dig into my mind to discover the real memories. He saw fabrications, nothing more, and believed them true.”

“I… was unaware any creature could do such an act,” the dragon admitted. “What more do you know of mind magic?” The dragon landed in front of the opening to its home.

“Allow me to show you,” Sombra said confidently, walking back into the cave. Finding the darkest corner of the cave, he dug a hole and began the ritual.

Sombra started out by bringing out the crystal shard he had taken from the heart, placing in front of him, in a small hole, along with some seed crystals that he had created. Focusing his magic, he created three main spells to bind the crystal. The first was a harmonic energy disruptor. As long as it was in place, it wouldn’t hurt him. The next was a purification spell, making sure it was a 100% pure, undamaged crystal before the process started. The last was a corruption spell, to change it from its sky blue to a dark red.

With the color change came the reversal of its purpose. The crystal heart was an artifact which used the energy and happiness of everypony to strengthen it, making it more powerful. This power was, in turn, cast externally to protect the Crystal empire. This new weapon, the Bloodstone, would be the opposite. It used external energy, the wielder, and forced a compulsion onto the creatures from the same bloodlines as were in the stone. It would attack them through the mind, using the same principle that others used to protect themselves.

Smiling at the way he had twisted the artifact meant to spread harmony, Sombra buried the shards before him. If even a single ray of light was able to touch the Bloodstone in its infancy, the spells would fail. If any of the energies of harmony and goodness spread to it, all the work would be reversed. Burying it was the only way to make certain the ritual would not be disturbed.

Besides environment, the Bloodstone also needed to be given the blood of the creatures it would bind. Without the blood of the dragons acting as a reagent, the Bloodstone would render itself inert, ceasing to grow, and render all the effort for nothing. Sombra turned to his partner.

“Where was that ingredient you said you would pick up for the blood?” he asked.

“I have them right here.” The black dragon brought out ten oval shaped eggs. They were gold, red, green, blue, and purple, while the rest were an assortment of mixed colors. Each one didn’t appear to be ready to hatch, though they were all the same size.

“What are those?”

“Dragon eggs, from each of the five major bloodlines,” the beast said with a bloodcurdling smile.

“How is that supposed to help the blood retain its power?” Sombra picked up one of the eggs with his magic and levitated it over to him. Before his eyes, a black fire washed over the egg, coming from his partner. The fire appeared to act as a catalyst and the egg began to break open. One crack appeared, then another. Before long, a baby dragon burst free from the egg and the fire stopped.

“You must mix this blood with that of an adult dragon’s,” the black beast informed Sombra. “Any dragon’s blood will do. This baby’s blood is full of magical essence, but lacks any substance. Mixing it with the substances obtained from the other dragons will strengthen your spell.” Sombra couldn’t help but smile at the atrocities he was about to commit.

“Interesting,” was his only comment as he began the next part.

Sombra kept the baby levitated and summoned a small crystal blade from the earth, black as the mane of its summoner.

“A slight tip,” his partner interrupted. “Dragons have a more pronounced artery in their arms when born. These usually become inaccessible as a dragon matures, and muscles cover and protect them, along with heavier scales.”

“Thank you,” Sombra said with a smile.

Without hesitation, he slashed the baby’s arm. It began to cry out as pain flooded its fledgling nervous system. It had only lived a few minutes before it was on the brink of death. Dripping the blood into a small goblet, Sombra mixed in a vial of blood from the other dragons.

After the wound had stopped bleeding, Sombra moved on to the next arm, draining more blood from the baby dragon. He only went through this process for one goblet of strengthened blood, but the dragon still died. It appeared that there was less blood in its body than he had expected. More's the pity.

“Already dead?” the black dragon asked, grabbing the dead newborn in its claws. “Oh well.” Without a care, it tossed the corpse into the corner of the cave, away from them both. Maybe some fungus would get it, though neither Sombra nor his partner truly cared.

Though the spells he cast on it were powerful, the Bloodstone could only absorb so much at any given time. The larger it was, the more powerful. The next day, he poured more blood. Like a plant with water, the Bloodstone drank it up and grew. He continued this process for a week before receiving any visible results. At the end of the week, a small black rod was sticking out of the dirt and he was out of the first goblet of blood. Now, his spell could survive the light and harmonic energies of the world.

He repeated the process with the next baby dragon, using his partner’s corrupted fire to bring these dragons into the world, he drained its blood, but was careful to leave this one alive. With a bit more care, he was able to keep two baby dragons alive, though he had drained of a majority of their blood. He was even forced to use magic to keep his blood cattle alive a bit longer so they could replenish enough of their blood supply for his use.

From there, the results became much more noticeable. By week two, it had already grown to its full height, with the main gem emerging in the center. At that time, four of the 10 baby dragons were dead. By the end of week three, it was done. A staff had been grown, capped with the Bloodstone. To one side of the cave were three skeletons and seven corpses of baby dragons. Sombra was admiring his hoofiwork when his partner approached.

“Is it finally done?” it asked as it looked at the newly forged weapon. “That staff is small. I won’t be able to truly grip it in a few years.”

“You aren’t supposed to.” Sombra turned to his ally. “Come, let’s test it.”

The two made the flight back to the main canyon once more. This time, the creatures were not nearly as suspicious as before. They recognized him and, though still tense, they believed he was here to repay his debts. How foolish of them.

The council of dragons once again met with Sombra on the plateau he had been on a month earlier.

“So, Sombra, did you discover anything of interest?” the golden dragon asked. “I hope your research was swift and provided something.”

“Yes, it did.” Sombra pulled out the Bloodstone staff. Holding it in front of him, he activated his own version of the Canterlot Voice. “Bow before me!”

The assembly of dragons looked at Sombra in confusion before they began to shine. With the shining came an unbearable need to do what Sombra had commanded. Those that attempted to resist were struck with pain, no longer able to think clearly. Each of the five dragons before Sombra resisted, despite the pain.

“Wh… What have you… done to us?” the leader asked in clear pain and shock. His eyes were wide with pain and incredulity.

“I had hoped you wouldn’t resist.” Sombra approached the leader, staff in hoof. “You could have made a fine ally. Now, don’t move!” The golden dragon felt the pain increase, preventing him from moving or reacting.

Sombra walked up to the dragon before using crystals to elevate himself up to its chest. With the ease of a warrior, Sombra plunged the Bloodstone into its chest. Blood soaked into the Bloodstone as it sucked its prey dry. However, it wasn’t in deep enough. Using his magic, he forced the staff in deeper, making it dig into the heart. Into the center it stabbed, taking every drop of blood with it. Not a drop of blood fell from the wound, the stone all consuming. It would not be stopped until it drank its fill.

After several minutes, the stone was done drinking from the creature before it. The once proud leader of the dragon race was nothing more than an empty husk. It had deflated, with only muscles and organs to keep it filled. It was completely drained of blood. The oldest creature on Equus was dead, for no other reason than to feed a rock.

“Now then…” Sombra turned back to all the dragons gathered at the canyon. He raised his voice back into the pseudo-Canterlot Voice. “This is an order from your master. You will stay within the badlands until I say you can leave. When I call, you will come. When I give you an order, you will follow it. None of you will lay a claw on me, and you will all be obedient.”

Out of the corner of his eye, Sombra saw his partner approach, a smile plain on its face.

“Don’t forget to tell them to obey me,” it reminded.

“For your first order, seize this dragon.” Sombra pointed to his old ally, who was quickly swarmed by dragons far bigger than it. It was swiftly pinned to the ground, struggling against 6 other dragons, one for each appendage.

“What are you doing?!” it shouted. “We had a deal!”

“The deal was to put you in charge after the war if you still lived.” Sombra walked up to the liability. “Unfortunately, you are free of my control. That makes you dangerous, and I never promised not to kill you.”

“Oath Break---”

Sombra plunged the Bloodstone into its heart. Already, the stone was thirsty once more. New bloodlines would always make it thirsty. Before long, that body too was nothing more than a husk for what was once life.

Even as the dragons were falling under the sway of King Sombra, even as their free will was stripped away, they made a choice. From that day on, the name of the betrayer would be erased from all memories. As a punishment for its crimes, that dragon’s name was forgotten, never to be uttered. It would simply be known by their act of treachery. All records of its existence were destroyed. It was as if it had never existed to nearly all dragons, save those allowed to know.

---

Spike felt like he was in that space between past and present again. He was still in the dark, but he couldn’t see, hear, feel, or smell anything. After several seconds, they once again returned to him. Looking around, he saw Twilight was still by his bed, waiting with some water and a book. She seemed to be nervously fidgeting, unable to get into the book.

Twilight noticed Spike fidget slightly and quickly moved to his bedside. Looking at him, she got extremely worried. His eyes were still far away, with tears on the cusp of them. His claws were clenched and his jaw was locked. He trembled slightly, though he was warm to the touch. His breathing was heavy. Twilight had only seen this one other time: the first time her brother had returned after seeing combat.

“Spike?” Twilight finally asked, putting a hoof on him. “Spike, are you okay?”

“Twilight?” Spike’s eyes flashed open. He looked around for her and, upon seeing her, latched onto her neck. At that point, he finally broke down into tears.

“Tw-tw-twilight! There was…. I was…. So many… I saw how…” He could speak no longer. Putting his voice into crying. Crying for what he saw, the nameless babies, the dragons that were murdered by Sombra. He cried for a long time, giving his voice and eyes to the dragons that perished for a monster’s ambition. It wasn’t until night had come that he had run out of tears to give.

The entire time, Twilight was there for him. She kept him in her motherly embrace, holding him tight. She cried with him, cried for his pain. She didn’t know his anguish was not for what he saw, but for the innocents that were killed, the extinction of a culture. Still, she gave her tears as an offering to the dead as well, not knowing who they were for. By the time night had arrived, Twilight had been out of tears for a while.

“Hey, I’m back!” came the voice of the castle’s newest resident. “Good news, I got some new spices to try with the food tonight.” She walked in obliviousness through the castle’s halls. “Hey, where are you, Twilight? Spike?” A pause came. “Anypony at all?”

A teal glow gripped the doors to Spike’s room and opened them. Outside stood Starlight Glimmer, her saddlebag still on. She came upon the scene of Twilight and Spike holding each other, tears still fresh on their faces.

“What happened?” Starlight asked in shock more than anything else. Her former enemy and now teacher was crying, as was her closest friend. Whatever could drive Spike and Twilight to tears must have been severe. However, instead of getting an answer, Twilight and Spike looked at each other, conveying in looks what to say.

“We’ll tell you over dinner, or maybe after,” Twilight said softly. “Could you go get that ready?”

“O-of course, Twilight.” With a final glance back, Starlight went off to go make dinner. She would save the herbs and spices for another night. No need to experiment when something was clearly going on.

Starlight walked out, leaving Twilight and Spike in the room. They did not break their embrace for several minutes longer. After they broke their hug, Twilight went to freshen up, leaving Spike temporarily alone with his thoughts. He was still shaking, his mind still stuck in the past. It took him a minute to force himself to go to the bathroom and clean up. Using a wet cloth, he wiped away any evidence of tears or pain. He looked in the mirror and saw the same dragon he had earlier that morning. Yet, how much had he changed?

Stepping out into the hallway, he waited for Twilight. After she arrived, the two went to the dining room. There, Starlight was waiting for them. She sat in her normal chair, across from Spike, with a bowl of salad between them. Twilight and Spike took their seats and, without a word, the three began to eat in silence.

The silence that permeated through the room was stifling. Nopony talked, said a word, or looked up from their food. Not even Twilight tried to start conversation, instead stewing in her own thoughts. For Starlight, the silence was awkward. For Twilight and Spike, it was what they needed in the moment.

After dinner was done, Starlight stacked the plates a small distance away and turned expectedly to her two friends. Neither spoke, Twilight for lack of knowledge, and Spike from not wanting to tell.

“So, what happened?” Starlight finally asked, shifting her hooves awkwardly.

“Spike received a letter early today…” Twilight told the parts she was aware of, which wasn’t much. After explaining her part, she turned to Spike to finish up.

“I was shown vision from the past. Sombra… he…” Spike couldn’t finish the sentence. “He turned the dragons into his slaves, he created the Bloodstone.”

“Spike, that doesn’t make any sense,” Twilight interjected. “Sombra didn’t enslave the dragons. They weren’t even active during the war against Equestria. No history books or sources tell of dragons obeying King Sombra.”

“I know what I saw, Twilight,” Spike insisted. “You didn’t see what I did… what he did. The creation of the Bloodstone, the way he conquered the badlands… you didn’t see it Twilight, I did!”

“I believe you Spike, I’m just saying it doesn’t make a lot of sense.” Twilight would have said more, had Spike’s features not changed suddenly. “Spike, what’s wrong?”

Spike felt magical fire from his stomach again. Another scroll was coming. No, two scrolls were coming from two different senders. With a burp, he spit them both out. Two scrolls were caught, one in a purple glow, the other in a teal.

One seemed to be another scroll from Ember. The other bore the seal of Celestia. Twilight opened the letter and scanned its contents. With a small intake of breath, she rerolled the scroll and got up.

“I have to go to Canterlot right away,” she told the pony and dragon in front of her. “Spike, you stay here with Starlight. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

“A-alright,” Spike said feebly and waved goodbye. Twilight was already out the door, running to the balcony to take flight. Spike turned to Starlight, who was holding the scroll.

“What are these scribbles?” she asked, a hint of annoyance in her voice. “Why aren’t they just using Equestrian? It’s so much easier.”

“I don’t know, but I think it’s for me, Starlight.” Spike reached across the table and took the scroll from his friend. Looking over it, he read the contents.

Spike, I know what you saw must have been hard. It is one of the most heinous acts ever committed against dragons by another dragon. I only showed you it so you would know. I’m sorry for it being necessary to endure as you have, but it is a rite of passage for any dragon before they mature. Further on in this scroll is the rest of the memories of that time. It is the final memories that you need to bear witness to. If you pass, you are a full fledged dragon, with the knowledge of the past to arm you. Good luck.

“What does it say?” Starlight asked, curiosity clearly getting the better of her. Spike just looked at her with a single raised eyebrow. “Something personal?”

“I’m going to bed Starlight. If Twilight comes home early, tell her I’m dreaming about the past.”

“Okay…?” Starlight watched as Spike left the room, probably heading to his bed. “What does that even mean, ‘dreaming of the past’?”

Spike got into bed and opened the scroll again. He searched for the beginning runes, his eyes quickly locking upon them. With an intake of breath, he allowed the runes to overtake him. He had to know the truth, all of it.

Spike felt his senses disappearing once more. This time, it was faster. He couldn’t even register anything changing as he lost his sight, hearing, and touch. In only a few seconds, he was back in the void, where memories were brought to him. Seeing the memories come into view, he allowed himself to get sucked back to the past.

Author's Note:

I just discovered, I am a very, very dark person... oh well.

Remember, Criticism is always welcome.

Comments

[StarzGecko]

One Crystal to rule them all, one Crystal to find them,
One Crystal to bring them all and in the darkness bind them.

[stupidhand14]

7162583 dang it. I could have made a reference.

[StarzGecko]

7162655 You should have!

Anyways the story is really awesome

[Atomic Clock]

Wow. That was an awesome take on the history of dragons. I feel like I am watching a scene from starship troopers. It's asking if I want to know more, and I am frantically pressing yes.

[Ice Star]

Before long, the young dragon had returned with filled flasks as well. Sombra put these in his saddlebags before bidding farewell. Getting a ride from his partner, the two began the return back to the cave for part 2 of the plan.

Remember not to write out 'part 2' like that. Also, how did Sombra get his own version of the RCV? Couldn't he just shout?

This is a really nice story so far. You write clearly and are good at describing actions and body languages. Your dialogue is also smooth and suits your story. I really like your idea. It's new and fresh! If you added your story to more groups over time it would really help out with getting it some love.

(Also, changing the other tag to a dragon tag would probably be best.)