Episode 4- Search For the Dragonstone: Enter Sparks the Dragon
Episode 4-Search For the Dragonstone: Enter Sparks the Dragon
It was a nice, peaceful day that weekend, as Harmony stopped by the Castle of Friendship to do a bit of studying in the library (something that Twilight had told her would be essential in her training). She'd been sitting in a chair comfortably reading Good Magic Vols 1-3, having finished the first one, she was now on How to Cast Mini Spells for Good and Enchanting Tricks for Avoiding Catastrophes, when all of a sudden, one of her friends, a red-violet Unicorn named Sparks, burst into the library. She looked a little anxious and excited.
"Harmony, I need you to stop whatever boring thing you're doing so you can help me." said Sparks.
"Boring?" said Harmony, placing a bookmark in her spot so she wouldn't lose her place.
But Sparks didn't appear to be paying attention to the offense in Harmony's tone as she said, "Great. I need you to teleport me to the Dragon lands real quick."
Harmony held up both her hooves as she flew up from her seat. "Hold on, back up. What is this all about?" she asked.
Sparks rolled her eyes and groaned, but she began to explain to Harmony why she needed her help. "Alright, it's like this, have you ever heard of the dragonstone?"
"No." said Harmony shaking her head.
"Well, it's a super rare gem, like one of the rarest in the world! They can only be found in the Dragon lands and are said to give dragons strength if digested." said Sparks. She became more and more excited as she continued talking about it. "I'm a bit of what you might call a 'rock and gem enthusiast', collecting stones of all kinds, some of them I even turn into jewelry. But that's not the point, the point is, that after doing some research, I found out that right around now is when a dragonstone has completed its aging and formation, meaning it's the perfect time to go out and find one."
"But, why do you need my help?" asked Harmony.
"Duh, you have magic now don't you? I mean, I can't just walk all the way into the Dragon lands, so it'd be easier to just teleport there. I had tried asking Flurry and Morning, but they both said no." said Sparks.
"And with good reason." replied Harmony. "The Dragon lands are dangerous. Even if relations between ponies and dragons has improved a little over the years, it still isn't a safe place to be."
"That's why I've got a plan." Sparks pulled out a piece of parchment that looked like it had been torn out of a book. "I got this spell from one of Twilight's old books, it'll help me get into the Dragon lands without attracting too much attention, and it'll help me get the dragonstone even faster."
Harmony took the spell and scanned over it. "I don't know, it says here that only Unicorns or mages skilled in the magical arts should try to perform this spell."
Sparks waved a hoof. "I'm sure it's just a minor detail." she said.
"Why do you want the dragonstone?" asked Harmony, handing the spell back to Sparks. "Is it really that important?"
Sparks took the spell and sighed. "Like I said, I'm a bit of a gem and rock enthusiast. Do you know how cool it would be if I actually managed to bring back a dragonstone? Not only would it be the prize of my collection, but think of all the possibilities for what I could do with it! To be able to find it and bring it back, it's a once in a lifetime thing!" She then put on a straight and serious face and asked Harmony, "So will you help me?"
Harmony frowned, knowing full well it wasn't a good idea to send her friend into a perilous situation in the Dragon lands. "I don't know." she said.
"Please?" asked Sparks pleadingly. "It'll just be a quick trip, in and out, I'll be back before you know it."
"There's all sorts of dangers in the Dragon land." Harmony warned.
"Danger's my middle name." said Sparks confidently. "Besides, you saw the way I took down all those changelings when we were rescuing Flurry, I can take care of myself!"
"Well--"
"How about this?" interrupted Sparks. "You give me until say, sunset today, and you can come and bring me back yourself."
Harmony tapped her chin as she thought it over. She glanced at Sparks, who was expectantly waiting for her answer. Harmony sighed in defeat. "Fine, but I have another condition as well." she said.
"What's that?" asked Sparks.
"Do you have anything on you, a necklace or maybe a hair clip?" Sparks handed her a small bracelet she had. "It'll have to do." Harmony opened back up the book she'd been reading and looked over one of the pages. After reading it, she placed a spell on the bracelet before handing it back to Sparks. "There, I put a small charm on it, that way if you're ever in any danger, you can simply call my name and the bracelet will bring you straight back here."
"Thanks, but I don't think I'll be needing it." said Sparks, slipping the bracelet on.
"Consider it a safety measure then." said Harmony. "Just in case."
"Got it, now, send me to the Dragon lands, Harmony." Sparks was ready and fired up to go.
Harmony was still getting the hang of teleportation and using other spells, but she felt pretty confident about this one. She shot a white aura at Sparks and in a flash, she disappeared. "Be safe." said Harmony, hoping that everything would be fine, and that she was making the right decision.
In the Dragon lands...
Sparks had been transported to just outside the Dragon lands, just as she'd hoped for. She grinned as she looked out over the rocky and barren realm of the dragons. Now was the time to use her spell and get to work finding the dragonstone. But first, she needed a dragon. Sparks carefully snuck around, using large boulders as cover, until she spotted a sleeping dragon. She grinned to herself and began to cast the spell. In a whirl of glittering magic, Sparks began to transform, her hooves became claws, her flaming orange mane became spines, and her hide became scaly, by the time the spell was complete, Sparks had managed to turn herself into a dragon.
"This is so cool!" exclaimed Sparks excitedly, as she flexed her right claw. It felt so strange, but she figured she'd soon get used to it. "Now, if I remember this right, dragonstones are said to form up in the caves of the highest peak in the Dragon lands. Her eyes, which now had slit pupils, searched around until she spotted the tallest peak, way off in the distance. "Perfect." she grinned.
Sparks began to walk toward the direction of the peak, occasionally stumbling as she tried to get used to her new body quickly. As she did, she looked around, noticing how empty the Dragon lands seemed to be.
"You know, for a land of dragons there sure seems to be a distinct lack of dragons." Sparks said to herself. "Not that I'm complaining, but, where could they've gone?"
She glanced up at the sky, wondering if any were flying around, and saw only one teenaged dragon flying high above her. The dragon had whitish gold scales, a red underbelly and spines, and two black horns on its head. "Wow!" Sparks breathed. Seeing the dragon soaring through the air high above looked awesome, but then she noticed, something didn't look right. The dragon seemed to be staggering in its flight, then, without any warning, it suddenly crash landed onto the ground. Sparks gasped and rushed over to it to see if it was okay.
"Hey! Are you alright?" she asked it, giving the dragon a little nudge on the shoulder. The dragon recoiled a little at Sparks' touch. As the dragon got up, she looked at Sparks with narrowed her blue slit eyes at her.
"I'm fine." said the dragon, who appeared to be a female judging by her gruff yet feminine voice. "Not that it's any of your business." The dragon tried to open one of her wings, only to wince and let out a cry of pain.
"What's wrong?" asked Sparks in concern.
"Nothing's wrong." the dragon snapped. Though it was clear that something was wrong, as it appeared that the dragon's wing was obviously sprained.
Sparks frowned. "Well excuse me for being concerned, after all, you did just crash down after plummeting from out of the sky." she said.
The dragon huffed, blowing light trails of smoke from her nostrils as she did so. "Whatever, if you're done being concerned, I have someplace I've gotta be." said the dragon, getting up onto her legs. She then stalked off, her arms folded over her chest in a moody sort of fashion.
"Yeash! Somepony's a little moody." Sparks muttered under her breath. She then continued heading toward the distant peak, but after walking a few feet, she noticed that the dragon was also heading in the same direction. The dragon looked over her shoulder and noticed this.
She stopped and turned to Sparks. "Quit following me!" shouted the dragon.
"I'm not following you." said Sparks defensively. "We just happen to be going in the same direction. You're heading to that peak over there, right?" She pointed a claw to the top of the peak.
The dragon looked mildly surprised but nodded begrudgingly. "Yeah, so what?"
"Well, that's where I'm going." said Sparks. "I'm looking for the dragonstone, and I hear that it forms all the way up there."
"Wait, you're looking for the dragonstone?" questioned the dragon.
"Uh, yes?" said Sparks, nodding slowly.
"You can't!" cried the dragon.
Sparks frowned. It was bad enough when her friends told her that she couldn't go looking for the dragonstone, but now she had to hear it from a dragon she didn't even know? "Why not?" she asked the dragon.
"Because I'm looking for it." said the dragon.
Sparks blinked in surprise. "You're looking for it too?" she asked.
The dragon nodded.
"What for?"
The dragon said nothing at first, but then replied, "None of your business. The point is, since I'm looking for it, you don't need to go around poking your snout where it belongs. So go and find some other mountain peak to trek up and don't bother me."
Sparks just stood there, her frown deepening and her brow furrowed angrily. If there were two things she hated, it was being told she couldn't do something even though she knew and felt she could, and getting talked down to like she was a filly or a pest. There was no way she was going to let the dragon get away with what she was saying, and so she shot back,"I don't think so!" She raced ahead of the dragon and stopped in front of the dragon, her new claws tightened into fists at her sides. "If you're going up there, then I'm coming too!"
The dragon arched a scaly eyebrow at Sparks. "And why should I let you?" she asked.
"Look, we both want the same thing, right? So why don't we both go up to find the dragonstone, and whoever finds it first gets to keep it." Sparks grinned and added, "That is, if you think you can handle a little competition."
She could tell that the dragon was hooked on the idea. At first, she had wanted to just go and grab the stone without causing any trouble for the local dragons, but with Sparks, she just couldn't resist making things more challenging and more adventurous for herself.
"Alright." the dragon replied finally. "You're on." Both Sparks and the dragon shook claws, sealing the agreement. "But just so we're clear, I'm only going along with this until we get to the top, then that stone is mine."
"Or mine." Sparks fired back. "We'll have to see who gets it first." The two retracted their claws and began to walk side by side. "My name's Sparks by the way, what's yours?"
"You can call me Burn." said the dragon. "And don't you forget it."
At the base of the mountain...
The two dragons had walked the rest of the way in disgruntled silence till they arrived at the mountain's base, at which point, it was a little after noon. Sparks glanced down at the little bracelet she still had from Harmony. All she had to do was find the stone, get it, and be back before somepony (like her parents or Flurry) found out and threw a fit. She imagined that Harmony would also be a little upset over being talked into letting her go into the Dragon lands, but she was confident that she'd get over it (eventually).
"Hey, are you climbing or what?!" called Burn. She'd already begun climbing up part of the base while Sparks was lost in thought.
"I am, I just wanted to give you a head start." replied Sparks.
Burn rolled her eyes. "Sure." she said sarcastically.
Are all dragons like this? Sparks couldn't help but wonder as she started climbing. It's a good thing Spike isn't as gruff or moody as this one, otherwise I don't think Twilight or anypony else would be able to put up with him.
Sparks and Burn climbed up, steadily grabbing onto craggy surfaces and crevices to pull themselves higher. During which, Sparks couldn't help but try to stir up a little small talk between her and Burn. After all, it's not everyday somepony meets a dragon other than Spike.
"I not to pry or anything," she began. "But where are all the other dragons?"
Burn gave her a look. "You don't know?" she questioned back.
Sparks laughed nervously. "I'm what you might call, "an out of towner"."
Burn rolled her eyes. "They're all out doing the same thing we're doing, out looking for the dragonstone. But unlike those morons, it seems you and I are the only two who actually know where to look." she replied.
Sparks tilted her head. "Wait, all the dragons are looking for the dragonstone?"
"That's what I said."
"But why? I mean, I know it's said to strengthen dragons and everything, but what could they all want with it?"
"If you don't know, than it's none of your concern, especially since you're an out of towner." Burn said with a nit of a smirk.
Sparks sighed. She could see that it was no use trying to push the any further, but it still seemed a little weird. On the same day she decided to go out looking for the dragonstone, it turns out that all the other dragons were doing the same. Then again, the only reason she chose today was because it was right around the time where the dragonstone would be perfectly aged and perfectly formed. Maybe the rest of the dragons knew about this too and that's why they all went searching today.
But what could they want with it? she couldn't help but ask herself.
At some point during the climb, Sparks and Burn came to a little ledge where they both agreed to stop and rest for a while.
"Do you think we're getting close?" asked Sparks.
Burn shook her head as she looked upward toward the rest of the mountain. "Nu-uh, we barely even made it halfway up."
Sparks let out a groan. "Dang it! If only I had a pair of wings or something, then this trek would be a breeze." She glanced at Burn's sprained wing and then added. "Sorry."
Burn shrugged. "Eh, it's nothing." She winced again as she accidentally moved her wing.
"Does it still hurt?" asked Sparks.
"Hardly." replied Burn, wincing again.
Even though she'd been rude to her, Sparks didn't like seeing Burn being bothered by her own sprained wing, and wanted to try and help.
"Here, let me see if I can--" But as Sparks reached out a claw to try and help, it was quickly swatted away by Burn's own claw.
"Don't touch me, and stop doing that thing!" said Burn.
Sparks tilted her head. "What thing?" she asked.
"You know, that thing where you act all concerned about me."
"I'm not acting, I really am concerned."
Burn scoffed. "Yeah, I'm sure you are."
"I'm serious."
Burn looked into Sparks' face and could see that she was serious. Which made her ask, "Why? Why would you be concerned about me? You barely even know me."
"I don't." said Sparks with a shrug. "Maybe because it looks like your wing's bothering you, and I want to try to help you."
"Help me?"
Sparks nodded.
"Pfft! Give me a break, helping is for those weak little ponies. The Dragon Lord says they're okay, but I don't really buy it. You wouldn't catch me being nice or helping out a pony." said Burn. She then remembered who she was talking to and turned her back on Sparks. "Well, I don't know about you, but I'm done resting, time to get back to climbing."
"Hey, wait up." said Sparks, also resuming her climb.
* * *
Later...
Sparks and Burn had continued their climb for what felt like hours (which it might've been), occasionally slowing down or gaining speed depending on how tired they became or what little bursts of energy came to them, but all the while, the two managed to keep pace with each other. But even with her new dragon body, which could endure the heavy work out all this climbing was giving her, Sparks felt like they should stop and rest again, so as not to completely exhaust their muscles. She looked over at Burn, though she was trying to hide it, Sparks could see that she was also getting tired, with light perspiration covering her scales.
"You wanna stop and rest?" Sparks asked Burn.
Burn scoffed. "I don't need to rest, I can keep going all the way to the top."
Sparks didn't buy what she said one bit. "Come on, we both know that if you keep this up, you'll eventually pass out or something before we even get there." she said in an attempt to coax Burn into resting. She didn't know why, but Sparks didn't want to see the dragon get hurt even more than she already was with that sprained wing. Was it because she felt pity toward her? Maybe.
But once again, Burn just scoffed at Sparks. "I won't pass out, I'm fine! I don't need rest, or anybody else, so just--" Burn cut herself off. Her claw had grabbed onto a piece of rock to pull herself off, but the rock had broken off of the mountain, causing Burn to fall back from shock and lack of balance.
"Burn!" cried Sparks. She reached out and grabbed Burn's claw just in the nick of time.
Burn was now dangling from the mountainside, with Sparks holding tightly onto her to keep her from falling to her doom. Burn looked down at the ground below and how far away it seemed. Being a winged dragon, she wasn't usually afraid of heights, but at that moment, she felt a teeny tiny bit worried, and tightened her grip on Sparks' claw.
"Don't worry, I've got you!" Sparks reassured, doing her best to pull Burn up while also holding onto the side of the mountain.
Burn looked up from the ground to Sparks' face, watching in confusion as she lifted Burn up and placed her onto her back. "I can climb myself." said Burn, wondering why this dragon was being so nice and helping her.
Sparks rolled her eyes in an almost playful way. "Yeah, I'm sure you can. Now hold on until I find a place for us to rest." she said.
Burn wanted to argue, but then again, her limbs suddenly felt tired, and she begrudgingly gave in. Sparks used as much of her dragon strength to reach a good resting spot she'd spotted just up ahead of them, which was close by to the halfway point of the mountain. As she was being carried on Sparks' back, Burn felt confusion and curiosity toward this strange dragon.
She could've let me fall. Burn thought to herself. But she didn't. Why? Why did she help me?
The truth was, that despite all her rudeness toward Sparks, Burn was a little glad that she wasn't searching for the dragonstone alone, and was a little bit grateful for the dragon's help. Of course, she'd deny this to both herself and anyone else who would've found out. She was a dragon for goodness sake! Dragons were strong, independent, and didn't need the help (or friendship) of others. And yet there was this dragon, Sparks, who was different from the others. It was so strange for her. She tried to wrap her head around what this dragon could possibly hope to gain from helping her, if anything, it would hinder her chances of getting the dragonstone for herself. So why?
Burn didn't have time to think of it any further, as the two of them finally reached the resting spot. Both collapsed onto the ledge, lying on their backs and breathing in as much air as they could to refill their tired lungs.
"Not much farther now." said Sparks confidently. "Pretty soon, we'll be up to the peak in no time!"
Burn said nothing, only staring at Sparks, and starting to feel a pang in her chest. It was a pang of a strange feeling, a feeling she couldn't place a name for, and that she'd felt only a few other times around one other person. To feel it now around this dragon, made Burn even more confused than before.
She's just doing it to get to the dragonstone. she reasoned. We both want it after all. Well, I she can act as nice as she wants, but I'm not letting it get in the way of me completing my mission.
Sparks looked over at Burn. noticing how quiet the dragon had been and asked, "Are you okay?"
Burn flinched at the question and just looked away, not meeting her gaze. "Fine." she mumbled.
Sparks wondered what could be wrong now. Just as she was about to drop the subject and leave Burn be to rest, Burn spoke up and said, "Do you...mind if I ask you something?"
Sparks was momentarily surprised. "Sure, what do you want to ask?" she replied.
"...Why are you being so nice?"
Sparks sat herself up and just shrugged. "That's just how I roll I guess."
Burn stared at her for a bit and then said, "You're a weird dragon, you know that?"
Sparks laughed a little and replied. "Yeah, I'm pretty weird I guess."
"And that doesn't bother you?" Burn questioned.
"Why should it?" Sparks questioned back. "I'm just being me after all, and what's wrong with that?"
Burn sat up, looking down at her claws in her lap. She didn't know what to make of Sparks, or the strange feeling that steadily began to grow, it almost felt...nice.
"So, now that you've asked me a bunch of questions, I think it's only fair that I ask you one now." said Sparks with a smirk.
"Is it about the dragonstone again?"
"Maybe."
Burn sighed. "If I tell you already, will you stop pestering me about it?"
Sparks nodded.
"I'm looking for it, because I was told to. It's kind of a mission I guess."
"A mission?"
"The Dragon Lord's son, Prince Blaze, is sick with an illness that's left him very weak. He's still only a baby, so the Dragon Lord is very worried about him, she asked all the dragons, including me, to find a dragonstone and bring it back to help cure him."
Sparks blinked in surprise. That was why all the dragons were looking for the stone? She'd heard about the Dragon Lord from Spike a couple of times, but didn't know that she had a son. She wondered if Burn was just lying to her and trying to trick her. But after looking into Burn's face for a couple of minutes, she could see a glimpse of genuine worry in her expression that she tried to hide.
"Do you care about Prince Blaze?" Sparks asked.
Burn's head shot up and she said, "What?! Of course not! Don't be ridiculous! He's just a baby dragon I know and sometimes see and who sometimes tries to play with me even when I don't want to." Burn's fierce denial confirmed Sparks' suspicions. She cared about Blaze, which was why she seemed so determined and had even tried to fly despite her sprained wing.
Sparks gave Burn a playful smile. "You're sure Blaze isn't your friend?" she pressed teasingly.
Burn shook her head. "Dragons don't have friends." she said.
"That's too bad." replied Sparks. "Cause right now, I wouldn't mind considering you a friend. Even if you do have a bit of an attitude."
Burn felt her face grow warm in embarrassment. She got up onto her feet and went toward the side of the mountain. "We're wasting time." she said hurriedly. "Let's get back to climbing before it gets dark."
"Right behind you." said Sparks, getting up and dusting herself off. As she did so, her eyes drifted down to her own wrist, to look at the bracelet from Harmony, only to find out it was gone. Where did it go?! Sparks glanced over the ledge. It must've slipped off and now rested somewhere down there. Sparks mentally groaned. There was nothing much she could do about it now. She'd have to keep going, and she'd have to wait until sunset before she could get back home. Harmony and Flurry aren't going to be too happy about this if they find out.
Back in the Castle of Friendship...
Harmony was still sitting in the castle library reading, of course, she'd taken a break from the previous books she was reading and was instead flipping through one of the books she'd brought from home. Just as she was getting to the good part of her book, Flurry Heart burst into the library in a panic.
"Where's Sparks?!" she cried. "I heard she was coming here to talk to you, have you seen her?"
Harmony blinked and slowly closed the book she was reading, as she nervously replied, "Um...yes?"
"When?!" demanded Flurry Heart.
"A few hours ago."
Flurry's eyes widened. "You didn't listen to her and let her go to the Dragon lands, did you?"
Harmony anxiously rubbed the back of her head. "Um, about that..."
Flurry Heart let out an exasperated groan and rubbed her hoof against her temple. "Why did you let her go?! Didn't you warn her how dangerous it was?!"
"Of course I did." said Harmony. "But she was really persistent, so I gave her a bracelet with a spell on it so that if she needs my help she'll be able to call me."
"But what if she loses it or worse?!" Flurry was completely frazzled. "We have to go after her." she said.
"Alright, but I don't really know where she is, she could be in the Dragon lands." warned Harmony as she got ready to teleport the two of them there.
"I don't care." said Flurry. "I'm willing to search the whole territory so long as we get Sparks back before anything bad happens to her."
And in a flash of light, the two were gone.
In the Dragon lands, on the mountainside...
At long last, after all that climbing, Burn and Sparks had finally made it to the top of the peak, and were now standing at the mouth of the cave.
"We made it." said Sparks triumphantly.
Burn gave a slight smile, also glad to have finally made it. But that smile quickly disappeared as she said, "Guess this is where we part ways."
"Huh?" said Sparks, looking at her in confusion.
"Remember? We both agreed to go up the mountain together, but at the top, whoever gets the stone first gets to keep it."
"Oh, right." Sparks had almost completely forgotten about that. She then thought about what Burn had said about Prince Blaze. A baby dragon who needed the stone to cure his sickness, whereas she had planed to add it to her collection. She felt a twinge of guilt and looked toward Burn, who was just about to enter the cave. "Actually." she said, stopping Burn before she go any further. "I changed my mind. I want to help you find the stone, for Prince Blaze."
Burn's eyes widened in surprise. "You...what?"
"You heard me." replied Sparks.
"But, you sounded like you really wanted to find it earlier, so why change your mind?"
"Because of two things." answered Sparks. "One, there's someone who needs it much more than I do, and two, friends help friends, and I want to help you help your friend."
Burn's face once again went red. "We're not friends." she mumbled.
Sparks smirked. "Say what you will, but I can tell that Blaze is your friend, considering what you're doing for him."
Burn's face softened ever so slightly for a moment, then it hardened as she narrowed her eyes at Sparks. "How do I know this isn't some trick? That you're just leading me on so you can get the stone for yourself when my guard is down."
"You don't know." said Sparks. "Looks like you're gonna have to trust me."
Burn didn't argue any further. "Alright then, let's go." she said. And the two ventured inside the cave.
* * *
Sparks had ventured into all sorts of caves before, having searched them for new stones to add to her collection, so she knew what sort of things to look out for as she and Burn explored the cave, looking for the dragonstone. She carefully moved in and around the stalagmites, while at the same time, gazing warily up at the stalactites on the cave ceiling. They looked as though they could fall on top of them if there was too much vibrations to shake them loose.
It has to be somewhere. thought Sparks. If I were a dragonstone, were would I form?
As she wondered this, Sparks began to feel strange. She looked down at her body, and noticed how it blurred a little, almost as if it were a mirage. Oh no. The spell Sparks had cast hadn't been strong enough, and now it was starting to wear off.
"Find anything yet?" asked Burn, interrupting Sparks' thoughts.
"No." said Sparks, shaking her head. "Not yet."
"It's gotta be somewhere around here."
Sparks watched Burn walk off to the other side of the cave, while she continued to anxiously search. The spell was wearing off, and soon she'd be her normal Unicorn self. She had to find the stone before then, otherwise, there'd be no telling how Burn would react to discovering the truth. As Sparks began to silently panic, her attention was soon drawn by something coming from high up in a corner of the cave ceiling. She saw a faint glimmer of red and gold, and went toward it. She looked up and saw it, the dragonstone.
"Found it." she declared, pointing a claw at the stone. It was rough and somewhat misshapen, and looked like a fusion between a ruby and amber.
Burn went to her side, grinning as she looked up at the dragonstone. "Great, but how are we supposed to get up there to get it?"
Sparks tapped her chin and said, "I have an idea. But I'll need to use your shoulders."
After positioning Burn underneath the dragonstone, Sparks got on top of Burn's shoulders, and reached up to grab it. "Got it." she said as she got a good grip. But she could feel her claw starting to shift, soon it'd be a hoof again, so she had to work fast. She pulled and twisted the dragonstone, attempting to uproot it from its spot, but it seemed to be stubborn, as it didn't seem to budge very much. But little by little, the dragonstone became loose, soon enough, Sparks had managed to pull it free, and held it up in triumph. "Yes!"
"Now we can give the stone to Prince Blaze." said Burn.
As Sparks climbed off of Burn's shoulder's, she could feel the spell rapidly dissipating. "We should probably go now." she said hurriedly. "If he's as sick as you say, we can't waste anymore time."
Burn nodded. "Good point, let's go."
They headed for the mouth of the cave, but before either of them could get through it, Sparks fell to the cave floor. Her back feet were starting to become hooves.
"What is it?" asked Burn, stopping and noticing that Sparks wasn't following her. She went toward her, feeling a little compelled to help her, but Sparks cried out, "Stay back!"
Then, right before Burn's eyes, the spell melted away, and Sparks reverted back to her Unicorn form, cutie mark and all. Burn's eyes widened in shock.
"You're a...Pony..." Burn uttered. Her eyes the narrowed as she glared at Sparks. "YOU'RE A PONY!?" Her voice echoed through the cave.
Sparks brushed the edgy bangs of her flaming orange mane out of her eyes, as she looked up at Burn. "Burn, I can explain--"
Burn cut her off. "Explain?! Explain what?! How this was all some kind of trick?! How you pretended to be a dragon and were using me to help you find the dragonstone?! I'll bet you weren't even going to give it Blaze, were you?! You were just going to keep it for yourself!!"
Her yelling caused the stalagmites to shudder. Sparks could see that they were close to falling if they were disturbed any further. She slowly got to her hooves and tried to explain herself to calm Burn down.
"No, Burn, it isn't like that. I did lie about being a dragon, but--"
"I don't want to hear it!" shouted Burn angrily. "I should've known better than to trust you! Heck, I should've known that you were even a real dragon! The way you acted, the way you talked, now I see you're nothing but a lame, weak pony who lied and used me!"
"Burn..."
"And to think, for a minute I almost bought what you were saying earlier, about considering me as a friend!"
"Burn."
"But you know something? I don't need friends! I don't need anybody!! You know why?! Because unlike you, I'm not--"
"Burn!" cried Sparks, finally able to interrupt Burn's rambling.
"What?!" Burn yelled back.
Then, a bit of rock from the ceiling fell, plopping off of her snout and onto the floor. She looked up, her eyes widening as the stalagmites trembled and were coming loose from the ceiling. Both looked at each other and knew what they had to do. They had to run. Burn and Sparks dodged out of the way of the falling stalagmites, hurrying to make it out of the cave as quickly as possible. Some of the stalagmites had already fallen in front of the entrance, any more, and soon it'd be sealed up.
"No!!" shouted Burn.
She tightened her grip on the dragonstone in her claw, as she leaped to make it out before the debris could block her off. However, Sparks, who was a little ways behind her, saw that some of the debris was about to hit Burn and possibly crush her. Acting quickly, Sparks used her magic to pull Burn back just as the debris fell, saving her, but also leaving the two of them trapped together in the cave. Burn stared at the sealed off entrance with disbelief. She got up and went to it, trying to claw and move the debris away so she could get out. But no matter how much strength or effort she put into it, the rocks wouldn't budge even an inch.
Burn let out a frustrated groan and turned to Sparks. "This is all your fault!" she screamed, pointing an accusing claw at her. "If you hadn't come here or followed me here, none of this would've happened! And now we're trapped!" Burn then turned her head away, her eyes a little wet. "And Blaze won't get better." she added, her voice edged with sadness as well as frustration.
Sparks felt looked down at the ground as she slowly moved next to Burn. "Burn, I'm sorry." she said softly. She reached out and rested a hoof on Burn's arm.
Burn flinched at the touch, but didn't back away. She felt too tired and frustrated to do that. "I'm sorry I lied to you about being a dragon, I thought that, if I came to the Dragon lands as a dragon, then none of the others would pay much attention to me while I searched for the stone."
Hot steam and smoke blew out of Burn's nostrils as she exhaled, choosing to hear Sparks out, seeing as there wasn't much of anything for her to do. "I may have lied about who I was." Sparks went on. "But when I said that I considered you a kind of friend, I meant every word." She retracted her hoof from Burn and faced the closed entrance with determination. "And as a friend, it's up to me to help you out." Sparks charged toward the rocks, and tried to use her hind legs to move the debris out of the way, but it didn't do much good.
Burn stood there and watched, a whirl of emotions running through her all at once. Anger, frustration, confusion, sadness, and then that other feeling, the one that up until now she wasn't sure what to call. But now, she felt she knew what it was called. She walked over to the rocks, and assisted Sparks in trying to move the debris away. Sparks looked surprised at first to see Burn helping, but then she smiled and the two worked together to try and escape. After much effort, they managed to clear away some of the rocks, but there were still many of them that tightly blocked off the entrance.
"Dang it!" cursed Sparks, stomping her hoof on the ground. "At this rate, it'll take us forever before we can dig ourselves out."
Burn punched a fist at the rocks, wishing that she was just a bit stronger, then maybe she'd be able to move the rocks. "We don't have forever. Blaze needs that stone now. If we don't get it to him, he'll...he'll..." Burn couldn't finish saying it.
"Hey." said Sparks comfortingly. "We'll get out of here, somehow."
:But how?" asked Burn. "I mean, it's not like the rocks are just gonna blast themselves out of the way so we can get out."
Just as she said this, the rocks blasted away, leaving a cloud of smoke where they had once been. Burn and Sparks coughed on the smoke and looked at where the rocks had been with wide eyes, the entrance was open again.
"Wait, how did that happen?" said Burn.
"Sparks!" The two soon got their answer, as Harmony and Flurry came rushing into the cave. Flurry Tackled Sparks in hug. "You're alright!" she then pulled away and gave Sparks a stern look. "Don't ever scare me like that again! And next time, to go to dangerous lands when I tell you not to."
Sparks grinned. "It's good to see you too, Flurry." she said.
Burn looked at the two new ponies in confusion. "Friends of yours?" she asked.
"Yep, this is Flurry and Harmony." said Sparks, introducing them to Burn. "What are you doing here?"
"We came looking for you." said Harmony. "Flurry got worried about you and wanted to come and haul you back before you got hurt. When we got here, she used a tracking spell to try and find you through the bracelet I gave you, which we found at the bottom of the mountain, by the way."
"I thought it might've fallen down there." said Sparks.
"We noticed there was a cave up here, so we flew to see if you were in it." said Flurry. "And lucky for us, you were."
Burn cleared her throat. "I'm sure this is nice and all, but there's a prince who needs to get this stone, like right now." she said impatiently.
"Don't worry, I can help with that." said Flurry. She used her Alicorn magic to levitate Sparks and Burn. Together with Harmony, they all flew out of the cave, now heading off to deliver the dragonstone.
"Any word yet?" asked Dragon Lord Ember. She'd been pacing nervously as she waited for news of one of the dragons finding the dragonstone.
A stout dragon shook his head. "No your Lordship, there hasn't been so much as peep from any of the dragons you sent out."
Ember worriedly turned her eyes to a nearby stone cradle, where her infant son was resting. Prince Blaze was an icy blue dragon, with navy blue spines and a pale underbelly, in truth, he was quite adorable. But the sickness he had made him shiver uncontrollably, as his scales began to feel unnaturally cold. He was suffering, and there was nothing that his poor mother could do. All seemed hopeless. Until that is, when she heard a cry ring from the sky.
"Dragon Lord Ember!" Ember looked up to see who was calling her, and saw one of the dragons she sent, Burn, along with some ponies, flying toward her. "We've got the dragonstone!" shouted Burn, holding it up in her claw.
Ember grinned, hope filing her chest. Her son would be saved! The foursome touched down onto the ground. Burn rushed toward the Dragon Lord and gave her the stone. Ember took it and went to Prince Blaze. Gently lifting him up and opening his mouth, Ember crushed the stone and let the broken pieces fall into Blaze's jaws. After he swallowed them, he began to get better. He stopped shivering, and he opened his eyes to look at his mom. He gurgled and reached out to her. Ember held her son tightly and smiled.
She turned to look at Burn and the girls and said gratefully. "Thank you so much." she said. "Especially you, Burnadette."
Sparks couldn't help but snicker. "Burnadette?" she questioned.
Burn frowned, folding her arms over her chest. "It's...my full name. But as far as you or anyone else is concerned, it's Burn."
"Sorry." said Sparks, still grinning. "Its just, not exactly the sort of name I picture a dragon having."
"Like you're one to talk, Sparkle Shine." said Flurry pointedly.
"Hey!" cried Sparks defensively.
The girls laughed together and Burn also joined in with them. Seeing that Burn was there, he reached out toward her and babbled, "Bur! Bur!"
Ember held him up. "I think he wants you to hold him."
Burn's face went red, but she took him in her arms, and smiled a little as Blaze hugged her.
The girls cooed at how adorable it was. Ember then turned to the ponies. "So, what brings you three here to the Dragon lands?" she asked.
"They were the ones who helped me." explained Burn.
Sparks smiled at her. "We only helped a little." she said modestly.
"Well, you all have my gratitude. If you hadn't found the stone, I don't know what I would've done." said Ember.
"Ah, it's nothing." said Sparks. "So long as the little guy's all right, that's all that matters."
Harmony and Flurry nodded in agreement, though they both felt that they should hear the whole story of what happened from Sparks once they got back home.
* * *
Harmony and Flurry were preparing to teleport themselves and Sparks back home, but first of course, Sparks wanted to say her goodbyes.
"It was nice meeting you." she said to Burn. "I hope we get to see each other again."
"I hope so too." said Burn in embarrassment. "Maybe I can visit too?"
"Sure! Come by the Crystal Empire and look me up." Sparks gave her a wink. "See you around, Burn." She turned and went to her friends.
"Um, Sparks?" said Burn. Sparks looked at her from over her shoulder. "I was, wrong. I guess, dragons can have friends, and I'm glad you're mine."
Sparks smiled. "Same here."
The girls waved goodbye to Burn and Ember, as they teleported back home. And even though Sparks didn't get what she was looking for, she got something even better.
Stats
Page generated in 0.03 seconds
Total duration
958 users online
14,994 hits today, 1,996,409 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.®
oh what a glorious chapter!! you are a skilled writer and a very fine story teller! again i all can say is thank you so much for this fine story!!
do the mane six are going to any children of there own one day
7267295
I'll see about it. Maybe.