Brave the Sandstorm
In hushed whispers, the elders gather around the firepit. They tell of the Wraithworm, the deathless dragon whose fell grip holds the three pony tribes in bondage. No magic can mar its scales, no weapon wound its flesh… save one.
Hellpiercer.
Twilight slid the black lance out of its onyx sheath, metal screaming as it rubbed against mineral. Torchlight fell across its jagged body, illuminating the malicious point and the runes engraved in half-forgotten languages.
It was destined for a dragon, and Twilight’s duty—her most important duty on this day—was to ensure its destiny was fulfilled.
She had waited long for this, searched high and low throughout the bazaars of Equestria for the legendary weapon. If the tales were true, it could slice through scales like a spear through water.
Twilight herself did not put much faith in the fables, but time was running short, and the day was fast approaching.
Carefully, she resheathed it, wrapping it and layering it over with protective enchantments. Her magic caught the lance in its lilac grip and lifted it onto her back, nestled between her powerful wings. A curt shake of her head dismissed the guard who offered to carry it for her. This was something she had to do herself.
It was time to leave.
Twilight sliced through the Badlands winds, feathers fighting the currents of desiccating air. As the princess’s magic rammed a path through another sandstorm, she cursed the abominable weather. Her mission was urgent.
Gritting her teeth, she flared her horn and forged ahead.
Her hooves left skid marks as she landed in the cavern’s mouth, her wings depositing a trail of dust behind her as she prepared to travel deeper into the cave.
This was it; her goal, and if all went well, the final destination of Hellpiercer. The tales claimed it could stab straight through to a dragon’s guts. She hoped it could reach his heart.
Defensive runes blazed around her, but a few spells quickly silenced them. They would keep out any ordinary pony, but Twilight was not ordinary.
Hornlight lit the way as she trotted further in. The cave seemed different since the last time she had come for the beast, damper almost. The ground felt spongy, her hooves springing back slightly as she stepped on the red earth. Perhaps it was wet clay?
Twilight stopped. Those stalagmites were a bit whiter than she would have expected, too. And that smell…
Uh-oh.
Her wings beat furiously as the walls closed around her. It wasn’t a cave mouth, but it certainly was a mouth.
Orchid bursts of spellcraft teleported the princess out of the rapidly-shutting maw moments before its lips slammed together. Wheeling around in the air, Twilight turned to face the dragon, now rearing his behemoth body and spreading his wings to fill the cavern.
“Spike, what did I tell you about sleeping with your mouth open! Someone could walk in and get hurt!” She crossed her forelegs, her face knitting into a mother’s frown.
“Well, yeah, if that someone could get past the nine layers of warding runes I carved around this place. Runes that I doubt anyone but an alicorn could pass.” He rubbed sand and diamond dust from his eyes. “You could have knocked, you know.”
“I could have, but I wanted to surprise my best friend on his very special day.” Her anger forgotten, Twilight’s eyes lit up.
Spike raised a three-hundred-pound eyebrow. “Hmm?”
Twilight sighed. A dragon’s… eccentric sleep cycle could make for difficulty in remembering what day it was, especially since he couldn’t exactly get a calendar big enough for him.
“Spike… do you know what day it is?” Her forehooves rubbed together in anticipation. He continued his blank stare.
“It’s your birthday! And I got you a present!” she said, half-singing the last word. She rolled her eyes at Spike’s hesitation. “No, Spike, it’s not a book.”
Her magic surrounded the perfectly wrapped package on her back, the ribbon tied by an expert with centuries of experience giving gifts to her number one assistant.
Twilight levitated the present in front of her, took a quick look at Spike’s six-foot claws, and asked “Um, do you want me to unwrap it for you?”
The ground shook as Spike nodded his head. A smile broke out on Twilight’s face. This was her favorite day of the year.
Her horn shimmered as magic knives snipped geometrically perfect cuts into the purple-and-green paper and unveiled her gift. “I think you’re really going to like this one, Spike.”
The dragon’s eyes widened as the as the glittery paper fell to the ground.
“No way! That’s the Hellpiercer from Warquest II: Return of the Wraithworm! When I sent a letter to the comics shop, they said the replicas were sold out!”
“It’s not a replica, Spike.” Magic arced as papers soared from her saddlebags. “I’ve got the certificate of authenticity right here. The cast even threw in a signed poster!”
Spike’s voice jumped an octave in glee, his words making the crystals in the cavern resonate. “It’s the real prop from the movie! How did you…?”
“Spike, being a princess does come with a few perks.” She dropped to the floor to rest her wings, sitting down on her haunches. For now, she was content to watch the dopey grin spread across Spike’s face, exposing row after row of glistening teeth—teeth that did look rather like stalagmites. Twilight made a mental note to schedule a visit from the dentist; getting Spike flossing had always been tricky.
The lance wasn’t much larger than a toothpick to him, but he loved it all the same. Unfortunately, the list of dragon-sized movie memorabilia was rather short—nonexistent, actually—so Twilight had to make do with what she could get.
His tongue, the only part of himself dextrous enough to hold the lance, carefully lifted it up to his eyes, their emerald gaze devouring every detail of the handcrafted prop.
“Ya nuh, ih ya…” Spike tried and failed to talk with his tongue lolling out his mouth. Twilight caught the lance in her magic, gently lifted it up so he could communicate normally, and gestured for him to continue.
“You know, if you look closely, you can see the damage where Schwarzeneighger scraped it on the Doom Castle wall. And there’s a nick where the stunt double scratched it. And…”
Twilight let Spike dive into a detailed discussion of the lore and legends behind Hellpiercer. Honestly, she had never been a huge fan of the movies—the depiction of pre-Classical Equestrian history was completely inaccurate, for one—but Spike was. And that was all that mattered.
“So the good dragons forged Hellpiercer with their fire breath, and Hoedown the Barbarian delivered the killing blow to the Wraithworm!” Her favorite dragon looked up from the lance for a moment. “Didya hear they’re making another sequel with Matthew McConaughay?”
“I already bought our tickets, Spike.” Getting a dragon-sized movie theater was another perk of being a princess.
He was many times too large, but if he could, Twilight knew Spike would have drawn her into a warm, scaly hug. “You’re the best, Twi.”
She flew closer and nuzzled him, her snout barely perceptible against his armored skin. “Yes. Yes, I am.”
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Kudos.
The feels! The feels!
Great story. I always love future dice where Spike is a dragon-sized dragon. Would love to k i.e. More about his life now that he's to big to fit inside Ponyville.
7243129 I'm working on a sequel to How to Hug, and I have a few more ideas for stories in this world. Frankly, it's just delightful thinking of big dragons and fluffy princesses.
Awwww. So sweet. Nothing like hunting for the perfect gift and knowing you nailed it.
It initially felt like an entirely different story judging by how you started.
Any fic with a future Spike that doesn't wallow in angst and sadness gets a like from me. That this is brilliantly sweet as well makes me punch that like button with all the more force. Well done.
I kinda wanna know what happened to those two tourists in the first one.
An excellent addition to a proper (If somewhat geeky) hoard! Nice to see Twilight making the Princess gig work for her as well...
7251882 If you mean the tourists in How to Hug a Five-Hundred-Foot Tall Dragon, that story is actually set after Hellpiercer. The chronology goes
1. Hellpiercer
2. How to Hug a Five-Hundred-Foot Tall Dragon
3. How Spike Kinda Sorta Maybe Married a Changeling
To answer your question, the tourists had a lovely vacation and took a selfie with Spike. In fact, their romantic trip around the desert was so delightful, it revitalized their flagging marriage and saved them from divorce! Yippee!
Also available in audio form to those who may be interested:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=doQ3Kf-lrfQ
7271203 Hey, this dramatic reading got onto Equestria Daily! Thanks, Zephyscribe!
7274321 I saw that :3 Very cool!
D'aaaaw... short and sweet! Not much else to say honestly, no random comedy.
Pretty casual conversation there.
"Oh, Twilight, sorry I nearly swallowed you whole just there. How've you been?"
Well that was fun. :D I'm surprised it's not tagged comedy, I certainly laughed!
7321367 Yeah, I couldn't figure out how to tag it, given that it starts off all dramatic for a bit. Thanks for the review!
I can't even.
I read the sequel first, but regardless of order, this was adorable. Bravo.
Hahaha, this is wonderful. I dunno why I waited this long to read it.
7379159 Glad you liked it! Now go tell all your friends and force them to read it too, so the subliminal messaging I've hidden in the story can talk hold and I can brainwash everyone!
Or, um. Just read the sequel. Yeah, that's fine, too.
7379413 Already queued up, Master.
As fun as it was, there is a bit of a problem with it. Namely, the genres. You did a fantastic job setting up the bate and switch but because it was labeled "Slice of Life" I already knew that she wouldn't really be fighting a dragon. The story spoiled itself. Now granted, I still didn't know the context of how it what you were describing in the opening until the end, I thought at first they were playing Monsters and Mazes so you did a good job there, but I did know something like that was coming. Other than that I couldn't find anything else I didn't really like about it.
This comment brought to you by the Commince Comments group.
Hi there! I want to say that this was an awesome story!
At first I didn't know what was going on. I liked that because what's the fun if you know what's going to happen? Then as I kept reading and slowly figured it out. I really liked how this story was. My favorite part had to be the end :3
7467188
Eeyup.
A (fictional?) ancestor of the Apple Family who preferred bucking monsters to bucking trees? And who possibly invented square dancing?
Okay, that is just adorable. :)
Honestly, I was kinda disappointed when it was revealed that the weapon was just a prop rather than an actual ancient artifact. But aside from that, this is a great story and the feels, man.
This... I like this.
carry on.
Love it so much
Such a sweet story. Love the "Star Wars" reference.