Camaraderie is Sorcery

by FireOfTheNorth

Chapter 2:21 - Among His Own Kind

Author's Note:

Translations

Chapter 2:21 – Among His Own Kind

Ponies dove for cover as another dragon soared overhead, momentarily blotting out the sun. Twilight and Pinkamena were among the ponies on the road to Ponieville, but the sorceress never dove for cover. Mostly leafless trees wouldn’t provide any protection from a dragon if they decided to rain down fire on the ponies below. She had some spells that should protect her and her companions should the need arise, but she was hoping that it wouldn’t.

Dragons had been passing over for several hours now as Twilight Sparkle, Pinkamena, and Spike made their way back from their misadventure in Cant’r Laht. The sorceress had been so obsessed with preventing a nonexistent calamity that she’d been deaf to news that a group of dragons was traveling through Equestria. They’d started by traveling along the western coast of the Eastern Continent before crossing over north of the Grittish Isles and traveling through the Kingdom of Manehattan and the Principality of Stalliongrad. Now they were headed south through the Equestry Valley. Nopony quite knew why, but it was hoped that they would complete their circuit and return to Tyrannus, the sooner the better. Though they’d had no direct confrontation with ponies, plenty of livestock had gone missing, only charred bones left in their place.

Some ponies had taken to calling it a dragon migration, but dragons didn’t migrate like birds or butterflies. No, this was a dragon incursion, though one so far without blood. For what purpose are they here? Twilight couldn’t puzzle it out. Surely, as the most dominant dragonlord of Tyrannus, Ingrirtireth was somehow behind this, or at least knew of it. The question was what he was trying to accomplish. Was he attempting to test Celestia as he had with the incursion of a single dragon last year to Mount Caradrhorse? Or did he have some other plan? With so many dragons in Equestria at once, he could do considerable damage if Tyrannus opted for war, which it would if Ingrirtireth gave the word.

Spike looked up wistfully as another dragon flew overhead. This one didn’t block out the light like the last one, because it was considerably smaller. There were quite a few young dragons in the migration, more than three times as many as the adults so far, according to Twilight’s counts. Just how old these “young” dragons were was a mystery to Twilight, since dragons didn’t much care to share information on their life cycle with outsiders. In fact, the most comprehensive books that ponies had on dragon maturation were probably the notes Twilight herself had taken by observing Spike. Clearly these dragons flying overhead were older than her page, but by how much? A year? A decade? A century? Spike was still quite small for a dragon (though he took pride in that Twilight’s withers were now even with his eyes instead of his spines, as they had been when they’d first arrived in Ponieville), so how long would it be until he grew to the size of some of the adolescents flying overhead?

Spike fiddled with his doublet and felt along his back. All the dragons up there had at least two things he lacked: wings. Did he wish to be up there with them, soaring in the sky? Flight was something that Twilight had no inclination to learn, nor did she expect that she’d ever have the opportunity to, but she wasn’t a pegasus or a dragon. Thirteen years, and Spike had no wings. She was beginning to think that maybe he was of a breed of dragon that didn’t have wings. If so, that must have come from his mother, since his father definitely had wings, as Celestia could attest.

“Twilight, darling! Wherever have you been?” Rarity greeted the trio as they arrived in Ponieville.

“Personal business,” Twilight replied quickly as Pinkamena took a deep breath and prepared to spill everything.

“Welcome back,” Rarity said as Rainbow Dash trotted over, a practice sword tucked under her wing and her coat soaked with sweat from training, “I’m sure that all of Ponieville will sleep easier knowing the resident sorceress is here, what with all these ghastly dragons about.”

“Ghastly … dragons?” Spike said dishearteningly, the first thing he’d said in a while.

“Oh, of course I don’t mean you, Spike,” Rarity tried to comfort him, though her tone seemed to be having the opposite effect, “You’re nothing like those dragons.”

“I’m not?” Spike asked.

“Of course not,” Rainbow Dash said, “They’re fearsome, formidable creatures who live their lives taking orders from nopony. They’re all claws and teeth and fire. You know, real dragons.”

“But … I am a real dragon,” Spike protested sadly.

“That’s not what I meant, Spike. I was just teasing you,” Rainbow Dash said, her brow furrowing in concern.

Twilight had rarely seen Spike so distraught before. Usually he was the one who came through when she was in a bind, but now he was struggling with something. He looked both on the verge of tears and ready to tear down a building at the same time. Something was warring within him, but before the sorceress could speak up, a calm came over his face and his body. He shut his eyes and clenched his claws defiantly before opening his eyes back up again with a determined look to them.

“That settles it,” the young dragon said, “I need to know who I am and what it means to be a dragon. I need to join the migration.”

“What?!” Rarity and Rainbow Dash exclaimed at the same time.

Twilight Sparkle would be lying if she said she hadn’t expected something like this at some point. She’d hatched him and raised him, but inevitably Spike would have important questions about his fellow dragons that she couldn’t answer. She had hoped that day was still years off yet, but at least he wouldn’t be journeying all the way to Tyrannus. She hoped. If he could be among dragons, that would hopefully be enough for him for now. She wasn’t ready to let him go yet.

“That’s crazy,” Rainbow Dash said, “Those dragons really do mean business. They’re nasty and powerful and scary—”

“And I’m not,” Spike said, “That’s the problem. I don’t know who I am, or what I am.”

“Oh, Spike, we know who you are,” Rarity said as she tried to stroke his spines, “You’re Spike, and we like you just how you are, nothing like those other dragons.”

“See, even you think so,” Spike said as he brushed away Rarity’s hoof, “I’m nothing like a dragon. I can’t help thinking that I’m missing out on something.”

Spike turned to Twilight and looked up her nervously, the pony with whom he’d spent his entire life thus far. Her upbringing had made him what he was, more pony than dragon, but he felt no resentment toward her for that. She’d raised him and been like a mother, sibling, and friend all rolled into one.

“Twilight, please, I need to do this,” he pleaded with her, “I need to go on this quest to discover who I am.”

“Go, with my blessing,” Twilight said.

“R-really?” Spike asked disbelievingly.

“Of course,” Twilight Sparkle said, “I did the best I could, but there are some things—many things, really—about dragonhood that I just cannot answer for you. You will need to answer them for yourself, and if joining these dragons is what it takes to do so, then I want you to do it.”

“Thank you, Twilight!” Spike said enthusiastically as he embraced her, steamy tears evaporating off his cheeks.

“Are you serious?” Rainbow Dash asked as Spike began jogging away in the direction the dragons were flying, “He’ll be torn apart by those dragons!”

“Oh, I hope you know what you’re doing, darling,” Rarity whimpered, “I would hate to see Spike hurt by those ruffians.”

“Of course I know what I am doing,” Twilight said as she looked around for Pinkamena, who’d already headed off to do something else after she hadn’t been allowed to tell the tale of how Twilight had attempted to stop time, “The three of us are going to go after him.”

“Oh, thank Faust!” Rarity exclaimed as she wiped her brow.

“So, all that about him needing to go off on his own to find answers?” Rainbow asked with a smirk.

“It is true that he may feel the need to learn more about who he is, but there is no reason for him to truly do it alone,” Twilight said, “Of course, there is no reason for him to know that he is not alone either.”

“I like the sound of that,” Rainbow said, “So, what’s the plan?”

***

For days, Spike followed the dragons in the sky, falling ever farther behind since he was restricted to walking. Ponies on the road were puzzled to see the young dragon walking along on his own, asking directions, and only a few ran him off in what they saw as an act of revenge against the beasts flying overhead who ate their livestock. Eventually he caught up, when the dragons came to a halt to roost in Ghastly Gorge.

As Spike reached the edge of gorge, he surveyed the vast array of dragons. Scales of a hundred hues decorated the creatures that bathed in the sun or snapped at the quarray eels, some of them succeeding in catching one for a meal. Those dragons were all adults, many, many times the size of Spike, and very intimidating. A group of smaller figures caught his eyes halfway down the cliffside: teenaged dragons. Thinking that they would be much better companions than the adults, Spike headed down the cliff to meet them.

As Spike descended, another dragon arrived on foot. Some of the nearby dragons sniffed at the air but decided they were imagining things. So long as none of the dragons looked too closely at the new dragon, they wouldn’t notice that anything was amiss, but really the dragon was an illusion created by Twilight Sparkle to hide her, Rarity, and Rainbow Dash. It was difficult to keep up a glamour around three moving ponies, but so far, the sorceress was managing. Having found a good spot to observe Spike without being too obtrusive, the dragon-that-wasn’t-a-dragon sat down and folded its foreclaws over each other.

Spike wasn’t sure what he should say to these dragons now that he was approaching them. Should he just introduce himself? They were larger than him, so probably older too. Would they even want to be around him? He was second-guessing himself so much that he did what Twilight Sparkle often got in the habit of and failed to notice his surroundings. A stocky dragon with mud-colored scales was thrown down by one with red scales, and the victor turned to look at him.

“¿Zheh nar patang jhâk?^[1]” the red dragon demanded.

“Um, I’m Spike,” Spike introduced himself nervously, hoping at least some of these dragons spoke a language he understood.

“Rûr sén kudrâg Har Dîkan^[2],” the red dragon said derisively, and the others laughed.

“Spike, you say?” one of the other teenage dragons, a purple-scaled one whose brow-spines currently had the unfortunate habit of curling over his eyes as they grew, addressed Spike in Low Equestrian, “What kind of name is that?”

“Sounds like a name a pony would give,” an albino dragonet huffed.

“Well it’s—it’s really … Spaaku,” Spike stuttered.

The dragonling swallowed hard as the others sized him up, though most of them seemed to accept the dragon-name he’d been given after his hatching by Celestia, close enough to the one Twilight had given him, but also proper enough for a dragon.

“I don’t know,” the red dragon said as he rubbed his claw under his chin, “You sure you’re not just a pony in disguise? You wear clothes like them.”

“Oh, these,” Spike said as he looked down at his outfit and decided in that moment that he had to be like these other dragons, “Who needs ‘em.”

Using his claws, Spike tore every scrap of clothing off his body and threw them into the gorge. With little hesitation, he threw the backpack with his supplies over the edge as well. He’d find some way to pay Twilight back later, whenever later was.

“Huh, at least you look a little more like a dragon now,” the red dragonet sneered, “Maybe you can fly with us.”

“Good one, Gharbel,” the brown dragon who’d lost the fight with the red one (Garble?) laughed, “He hasn’t got any wings!”

“Yeah, thanks, Culumup,” Garble said sarcastically with a frown, “I hadn’t noticed.”

“How’d a hatchling like you end up in the Flight?” the purple dragonet asked Spike, “I don’t remember seeing you before.”

“Well, I’m not exactly from Tyrannus. I live here in Equestria,” Spike said.

“That explains it,” Garble said, “No wonder you’re more pony than dragon. We only want real dragons here.”

Spike had been about to tell them about how he’d come here to try to learn how to be a dragon but thought better of it. It seemed a tough crowd to him, one he’d have to be tough to impress.

“I am a real dragon,” Spike said defiantly.

“Well then, why don’t you prove it?” the purple dragonet said as he thrust a claw at Spike.

“Good idea, Füm,” Garble said, “Prove you’re one of us. If you fail, we toss you in the gorge. Deal?”

“Deal,” Spike said as he mimicked Garble’s actions of clutching his tail in a foreclaw.

***

“A real dragon can breathe fire,” Garble lectured as he looked at Spike with a wry grin, knowing full well that a dragonling of his age probably couldn’t breathe fire very well yet, “Fezel! Füm! Culumup! Show him how it’s done!”

The dragonets had assembled themselves into a line, with Spike at the end, looking quite puny next to the others. The albino dragonet released a long stream of blue flame. Fizzle, Spike thought. Fume went next, expelling green fire from between his jaws. Last came Clump, his orange-tinted flame expanding outward as he opened his jaws wide. Spike gulped nervously as they each easily did more than he was ever capable of.

“Let’s see what you’ve got, peewee,” Garble addressed Spike.

Spike prepared himself to breathe fire and let loose with everything he had. He didn’t have much experience with breathing fire, since Twilight wouldn’t let him try it out in their highly flammable home, but he did practice every opportunity he’d gotten. He reached down deep, then felt the involuntary need to breathe fire. The heat rose through him before erupting in fire from his mouth and not a small bit of smoke. From the flames materialized a scroll affixed with Celestia’s seal.

“What’s this? ‘My most faithful apprentice, I write to you with heartening news,’” Garble said as he picked up the letter and began reading it, “Tch! More pony stuff.”

Garble breathed some fire of his own and turned the letter from Celestia into nothing but ashes. Spike almost tried to reach out and retrieve it but stopped himself. I have to be hard for these dragons—these fellow dragons. It can’t be that important. Up from her vantage point on the cliff, Twilight Sparkle also longed to retrieve the letter.

“Twilight, we can’t go down there right now,” Rainbow Dash whispered to her, “It’s gone.”

“Yes, I know, I know,” Twilight said as she tried to calm herself, and a nearby dozing dragon’s ear flickered, “But, what if that letter was something important? I cannot believe that that dragon just threw it away.”

“Whatever it was, it’s not more important than keeping an eye on Spike,” Rarity whispered, and the dozing dragon’s eye slid open so she could observer the dragon that seemed to have multiple voices coming from it.

“You are right, of course, but I cannot stop thinking about it,” Twilight said.

While she prepared spells to save Spike should the need arise, the dragonets had moved on. Spike’s fiery mail delivery had failed to impress them, and any further attempts to show off his fire-breathing ability didn’t have much of an impact. The fact that he hadn’t done anything about Garble destroying the letter had helped some, though he didn’t know that.

Garble led the dragonets down the cliff face to a more ragged span. While they flew, Spike had to make his own way, climbing and at some points dangling out over the river. Some of them had started throwing rocks around by the time Spike caught up to them. Garble got them quickly assembled into a line like before. Even from the distance they were at, Twilight could clearly identify him as the self-proclaimed leader of the group.

“Listen up!” Garble yelled, his voice echoing up the gorge and disturbing some of the older dragons from their contented naps, “Dragons need to be strong, strong enough to break through anything, even stone!”

To demonstrate, Garble threw the rock he’d been tossing up and down in a claw into the air. As it came down, he struck it with his tail, and it cracked before breaking apart when it struck the ground. The other dragonets followed, smashing apart rocks with their tails or claws, or with a blow from the head in the case of Clump. At the end, only Spike remained, and Fume pushed a rock in front of him.

He stared hard at the stone. He knew there was no way he could break this rock with tail or claws even if he went all-out. Worse, he was sure the others knew it too, especially Garble, based on his smirk. Still, he had to try, and he sized up the rock. Some of the knowledge he’d learned from Twilight might actually be useful, if he could use it. He thought he’d identified a fault line in the rock that if he struck it right, he could crack it in two. There was only one way to find out if he could follow through on his observation. As the other dragons were beginning to chuckle, he struck out at the stone with his tail. It didn’t break apart, as he’d hoped, but he did manage to crack it, which was surely more than the others had expected.

“Huh, not bad,” Garble said as he picked up the stone.

“Not bad?” Spike asked hopefully.

“But not good either,” Garble said, dashing Spike’s hopes as he threw the stone over the cliff edge, “Can’t even break a stone. I’m starting to think that maybe you’re just a pony disguised as a dragon.”

“No, I’m not, I swear!” Spike said.

“Well, we’ll soon find out, won’t we?” Garble said, “Let’s see how good you are at brawling.”

“B-brawling?” Spike asked.

“Free-for-all!” one of the dragonets yelled as he tackled another.

The young dragons were quickly all going at each other, clawing and biting and tail-swatting. Garble tried to grab Spike, but he ducked under the older dragon’s legs and avoided a swing from his tail. As Garble turned, he was tackled by another and began clawing at him instead. Spike searched all around for something he could do to be part of this but also avoid getting hurt himself. As a gray dragon threw Fizzle to the ground, Spike snuck around behind him and knocked his legs out from under him. Spike took a shot from that dragon’s tail to the gut as he fell, but the other dragon didn’t pursue since another was thrown on top of him.

“Is Spike okay?” Rarity asked worriedly.

“I think so,” replied Twilight, “But I cannot tell for sure. We need to get closer.”

“We have to help him,” Rainbow Dash whispered.

Twilight Sparkle didn’t want to interfere in what Spike would surely consider his own business unless she had to, but there was a real danger that he could be seriously injured in this fight, so she begrudgingly agreed. The false dragon hurried down the cliff face as best it could while the fight still went on, Spike trying to stay low and out of other dragonets’ sight as much as possible while striking any blows he could. Once the trio of ponies was close enough to see well, Twilight gave his opponents a magical nudge whenever he seemed to be in danger.

From Spike’s perspective, he had been incredibly lucky in this fight. He wasn’t used to fighting in general, but when he did, he had used pony weapons and pony styles. He was quickly figuring out how to make use of his limbs and other pointy bits. If the dragons he was brawling with occasionally lost their footing or pitched forward for no discernable reason, well that was just their bad luck. He thought he was doing pretty good, having obtained only a few bumps and scratches from the fight.

Fume was thrown over his head by a pale green dragonet with a considerable tail. He spotted Spike before he could slip away back into the melee and swung his tail at him. Spike dodged left and right from the strikes, drawing closer to his opponent. He was nearly in position to tackle him, though he wasn’t sure what he’d do after tha,) when the other dragon spun himself around and Spike found himself clinging to the tail. His grip slid off as the other dragon came to a halt and flicked his tail up, and Spike went flying over the group of brawling dragonets. He fell over the edge of the cliff, but managed to catch ahold of the craggy stone and began to pull himself up.

“Spaaku, here,” Garble said as he reached down an offered a claw.

Spike took it, but as soon as he released his hold on the cliff face, Garble also released his grip. Spike fell, but not far, and he landed on a slightly lower outcropping. He wasn’t sure, but he thought he might have screamed in the split-second he’d dropped.

“Not so hot, are you?” Garble laughed, and the other dragonets joined in, the brawl finished now that the real target of it had fallen over the cliff.

Spike just stared up at the red dragonet, determined to convince him that he was a real dragon like them and to learn more about how to be a dragon. No matter the cost. No matter the cost.

***

“What’s the matter, peewee, you scared?” Garble asked.

“Of course not, why would I be scared?” Spike replied.

He had ample reason to be frightened, given the next trial that Garble had thought up. They had ascended to the top of Ghastly Gorge and headed downstream a bit until they found a place where there were few ledges between the cliff edge and the South Equestry River far below. Garble had proposed a leap off the edge into the water, which was fine for the dragonets with wings, since they could redirect their fall if they were going to splatter against a ledge, but Spike had no such fallback. It was also quite a descent even without needing to avoid hitting stone on the way down.

Garble was first to jump, and Spike watched as he streaked downward, almost wishing for him to splatter. Instead, he made it to the river, only slightly opening his wings to guide his fall. The others followed, most of them needing to use their wings at least somewhat, even if it was only to slow their fall. In the end, Spike was left alone at the top the gorge.

“Something wrong, peewee?” Garble’s voice carried faintly up the gorge to where Spike was standing, “You wanna run back to your pony home?”

Spike clenched his claws in determination. He hadn’t come here to be humiliated, but that was all this day had been so far. He couldn’t allow it to go on, but how could he stop it? If he pulled something off that impressed the other dragons, that would do the trick, but he wasn’t sure if he had it in him. He was still too young to do the same things as the others, but that wasn’t the reason at the forefront of his mind. I’ve spent too much time around ponies. I need to be a dragon! He could easily run away now that he was on his own, but that wasn’t something a dragon would do. Dragons faced their problems without fear! Backing up, Spike took a running leap off the cliff.

Down he fell, the walls of the gorge whipping by faster and faster. The river grew wider in his vision as he neared it, though he didn’t have a whole lot of time to take it in as it expanded. Into the icy water he plummeted, nearly striking the bottom before bobbing back up. When he surfaced, the dragonets were all looking at him.

“What? Was I … bad?” Spike asked, expecting the worst.

“No way!” Clump said, “That was a gutsy move!”

“Shut up, Clump,” Garble ordered, and the other dragon stood down reluctantly, “Yeah, that was pretty daring, jumping without wings. I didn’t think you were going to go through with it.”

“So?” Spike asked hopefully.

“I guess you’re a dragon. You’re alright,” Garble admitted, “You can hang around with us for the rest of the Flight if you want.”

“I do,” Spike said excitedly. Finally.

***

“Aren’t you stoked for this, Spaaku?” Clump asked later as they slinked between trees.

“Yeah, of course,” Spike said, hoping the older dragon couldn’t read the uneasiness in his voice.

Things had been going well for Spike after Garble decided that he could be part of the group. He still got picked on, but no more than any of the others. Well, at least not much more. He was beginning to think that it was just part of how dragons acted, and he attempted to mimic their behavior, with varying degrees of success. Communing with other dragons had been enjoyable for the most part, and he tried to put his thoughts of Cant’r Laht and Ponieville aside.

After a while, the gang of dragonets had decided to leave Ghastly Gorge for a little fun nearby. When he’d first left with them, Spike hadn’t realized just what kind of fun Garble had had in mind. One of the others had spotted a pair of phoenixes during the flight in, and the goal was to find their nest and swipe any eggs that might be there. Spike didn’t really want to steal phoenix eggs, but now that he was along, he had no choice.

“Hey, you two stones-for-brains,” Garble said in hushed tones as he crept out of the trees with Fume, “Füm and I found the nest.”

“What about the others?” Spike asked as they followed Garble’s lead.

“Forget about them,” Garble said disdainfully, “They didn’t find the eggs, we did, so we get to take them.”

Garble pulled to a stop behind a stone and pointed over it. Spike peeked over the top, standing on another rock to get the height needed. Up ahead were a few trees that had been turned to stone, probably by some mage experimenting with what they could do. Nestled in the granite branches of one was a nest of stone twigs, the perfect home for a creature whose body could burst into flame. Two phoenixes sat in the nest, the pair that had been seen earlier.

“Okay, Spaaku, you go lure them away from the nest,” Garble ordered.

“What? Why? We’re dragons, aren’t we? Why are we sneaking around?” Spike asked something that had been bugging him for a while.

“You ever fought something that’s immune to flames?” Garble asked, “If you’re so brave, why don’t you just do what I say and distract them?”

Spike had no choice and no excuses, so he waddled out from behind the stone and approached the nest.

“Hey! Uh, hey, you!” Spike yelled, and the phoenixes looked at him but didn’t show any inclination to leave the nest, “Hey, birdbrains! You going to do anything or just sit there?”

At the end, he picked up a rock and threw it at the nest. It missed both phoenixes, but still got them riled up. Squawking noisily, they dove from the nest toward Spike, flames appearing along the trailing edge of their feathers. The dragonling booked it, running off through the trees and weaving to keep them from catching him.

While he was successfully distracting the phoenixes, the dragonets hurried up to the nest, only to find it devoid of eggs. There were bits of shell, but the eggs they’d hoped to find here had all hatched. Five tiny phoenixes peered up at the trio.

“What do we do now?” Fume asked, at a loss.

“We take the hatchlings, of course!” Garble said, and he reached out for the nearest one with a claw.

Though they were small, the baby phoenixes were fast, and they scattered. The three dragonets tried to catch them, but ended up crashing into each other instead and falling into the empty nest. Stone twigs fell to the ground as the nest crumbled under them.

“Get them!” Garble ordered as the hatchlings began to flap away.

The nest fell apart completely as they took off, and it slipped from the branches of the petrified tree to strike the ground below. As it disintegrated, the unhatched egg that had been tucked carefully into it rolled out, but none of the dragonets saw it. They were too busy unsuccessfully trying to catch the hatchlings.

Meanwhile, Spike was still running from the adult phoenixes and was surprised when he turned back to see they were no longer following him. He hadn’t heard the screeches of the hatchlings, but they had, and were hurrying back to save them. Spike doubled back himself, keeping a lookout for the phoenixes and the other dragons. He saw no sign of them before he returned to the destroyed nest. Spotting the egg on the ground, he picked it up and examined it, running a claw along the smooth and slightly warm surface, bing careful not to crack it.

“What happened?” Spike asked as the other dragons reappeared, scorch marks on their hides in some places.

“Nothing happened,” Garble said as he shot looks at the others, daring them to disagree with him, before spotting the phoenix egg in Spike’s claws, “Hey, you found an egg? Huh, I guess at least something came out of this. Good job.”

“Thanks,” Spike said, though he didn’t feel especially proud.

“Well, what are you waiting for?” Clump asked, “Go on and smash it!”

“Smash it?” Spike asked in horror.

“Yeah, you earned it,” Fume said, “Smash it on the ground!”

Spike stared at the egg, considering what to do. He couldn’t smash it, he just couldn’t, but if he didn’t do it, wouldn’t one of the others? He had no wings, so he couldn’t escape them no matter how hard he ran. What do I do? What do I do? What do I do?

“Well, we’re waiting,” Garble said with a frown, “Smash it already, or do I have to do it?”

“No! I won’t smash it!” Spike yelled as he cradled the egg protectively, “It’s just a defenseless egg! Is that what being a dragon is about? Destroying things that can’t fight back.”

“Are you going soft? Or maybe you’ve been soft all along,” Garble said as he stepped toward Spike.

“It’s not soft to care about other creatures! It’s not soft to protect them!” Spike proclaimed, his confidence growing even though his fear was growing apace, “I’m going to protect this egg! I’m not going to let you hurt it!”

“I don’t know how it is with ponies,” Garble said as he stepped closer and blew smoke out of his nostrils, “But among dragons, the strongest rules, and that means that no one can tell me what I can or can’t do.”

“Well, if you want the egg, then you’re going to have to come and take it!” Spike yelled.

“If that’s what you want,” Garble chuckled, “You don’t stand a chance against me.”

“We do,” Twilight Sparkle proclaimed dramatically as she teleported herself, Rainbow Dash, and Rarity in front of Spike, so dramatically that Rainbow Dash shot her a look.

Twilight had several spells prepared and Rainbow Dash had her sword drawn, having assumed a combat stance. Rarity wasn’t sure exactly how she was going to help, but she was ready to protect Spike however she could. Spike was shocked to see them. He was relieved, but also a little upset that they’d followed him here. Being mad would have to wait until later, though.

“Oh, how terrifying,” Garble said mockingly, “You know these ponies?”

“I do. They’re my friends,” Spike said defiantly, “I came here because I wanted to learn how to be a dragon, but if I learned anything today, it’s that I’d far prefer the company of ponies to you, especially these ponies.”

“Whatever,” Garble said, rolling his eyes, “Get ‘em!”

The three dragonets charged the ponies and ran straight into a barrier Twilight had erected. They went flying backwards, lightning coursing over their scales. Undeterred, they struck against the barrier again and got back up a little more slowly the second time. Garble directed a stream of fire at the ponies and the others followed his lead, but Twilight spun the flames up with a stream of air magic and directed the flaming cyclone back at them, scattering the draconic teens. Garble growled as he picked himself up again.

“Forget it! You’re not worth it, peewee!” Garble yelled, “You’ll never be a real dragon!”

“If you’re supposed to be a real dragon, I think maybe I’m okay with that,” Spike said.

“Let’s get out of here,” Garble said, and the others followed him as he flew off into the night.

“What are you all doing here?” Spike asked after the dragonets were gone.

“Oh, Spike, we couldn’t just let you face these scary dragons on your own,” Rarity said.

“Are you cross with us?” Twilight asked.

“I don’t know. Maybe a little,” Spike said after considering, “Mostly I’m just glad you showed up when you did. I still want to know more about being a dragon, but I guess I shouldn’t forget all the good stuff about living with ponies either. I don’t think I’m ready to live with dragons. Can I come back home with you, Twilight?”

“Of course, Spike,” the sorceress said lovingly, “I understand that one day you may leave to be with your own kind, but I hope you will remember that you will always have a home with me.”

“Thanks,” Spike said, “You’re the only real family I’ve got, as far as I’m concerned.”

***

The dragons didn’t linger at Ghastly Gorge for long. Soon they were flying again, down through the Equestrian south and back across the Shimmering Sea to Tyrannus. They didn’t all travel together, though. Not long after Spike left, one dragon, an adult with pearly scales, flew straight to Tyrannus. It wasn’t a trip he’d hope to have to make, but it was his duty. Worse, his death was assured if word got out that he hadn’t done so, and it was certain to spread because of how much some of the younger dragons liked to hear their own voices. Maybe one day they’ll learn discretion. They’ll have to if they want to survive.

Over the forests, mountains, and fiery planes of Tyrannus, Biriktirame flew, dreading the meeting that lay ahead of him. Into the mountain-turned-fortress he flew, other members of the clan Tir watching him as he approached the throne room. He could turn back, could not hesitate, so he flew directly in and landed before the throne, giving a long bow that craned his slender neck to the ground.

“Rise, Biriktirame,” the voice of the greatest dragonlord boomed from overhead, “What news do you bring? Did my son join the Flight?”

“Yes, my dragonlord, just as you predicted,” Biriktirame replied. If dragons could sweat, he surely would have been, and not just from the heat of their surroundings.

“How was he?” Ingrirtireth asked.

“He … sought companionship with the dragonets on the Flight and proved himself to them,” Biriktirame said hesitantly, “However, in the end he left them to return to life among the ponies. He said that he preferred them.”

A growl so intense sounded in Ingrirtreth’s throat that it shook the throne room, causing a few of the less-well-secured parts of the dragonlord’s massive throne to slough off. Biriktirame crouched frozen in place, though he longed to flee. To do so would only ensure his death, though it may well be coming anyway. Ingrirtireth’s temper was legendary, and woe be to any dragon in his way when it erupted.

“I should have brought him back long ago,” Ingrirtireth said once the growl had faded away, “Now I can only wait for him to return to me of his own will.”

“My dragonlord, could you not exchange him for the Lady mi Amore Cadenza?” Biriktirame ventured, hoping to soothe his master, “I am sure Celestia would consider it a worthwhile trade.”

“That is impossible. I have already sent the Lady Cadence back with no demand for Spaaku’s return in exchange,” the dragonlord rumbled.

“What? Why would you do that?” Biriktirame spoke before considering his words.

“Events are in motion that you do not comprehend!” Ingrirtireth boomed as he descended the throne, a claw crushing one of the skulls melted into it, “Do not dare to question me!”

“Forgive me, my dragonlord, forgive me!” Biriktirame groveled as he realized the murderous intent in Ingrirtireth’s eyes, even though he knew it would be of no use.

“Pitiful! You must prove you could be a threat to me to beg for mercy!” Ingrirtireth growled, “You are no threat! You are no use!”

Biriktirame roared as Ingrirtireth’s jaws clamped down over his neck, the massive teeth slicing through scales, flesh, and bone. The smaller dragon’s body continued to spasm, but it was already over. As the dragonlord tore him apart, the involuntary screams of pain echoed through the fortress, and no dragon in the mountain dared to intervene.

Comments

[TasermonsPartner]

I was kinda wondering how you'd approach this chapter, since it's based off the first really Spike-centric episode in the series (of which, unfortunately, more episodes do a disservice to his character than uphold it). In some ways, your Twilight is much more mature in mannerisms than the episode (as she is in your story in general), and shows more patience, understanding, and restraint than her show counterpart. However, and as awkward as this sounds, it makes it seem slightly out of character for her to show this much concern for Spike, whose advice, feelings, and thoughts she ignores to nearly a fault throughout your series thus far. It's....somewhat conflicting?

Also, the show's episode was a metaphor for traditional gender roles (boys/dragons are supposed to behave this way according to traditional societal roles, but in actuality its fine if they want to embrace the traditional roles of girls/mares; be who you are, etc.) whereas it's much more muddled here, as it kinda needs to be to fit in with the setting of the story as a whole. At least Rainbow and the others don't make fun of him here like they did in the show's episode.

Umm...I also can't help but notice that the fate of the phoenix egg (Peewee) is left undecided? In the show, Spike hatches and raises the egg (thus showing a full circle where he raises a hatchling in much the same way Twilight raised him, though the show skips over nearly all of it), but here it doesn't say if they take the egg back to Ponieville, or are able to return it to its parents, or what?

The concept of Cadence being a ward of the dragons for so long raises some interesting possibilities though. It could actually bring more interaction and bonding between her and Spike in future chapters, since she could teach him about dragon culture without being intimidating or a bully like Garble and the others.

Over the forests, mountains, and fiery planes of Tartarus, Biriktirame flew,

Soon they were flying again, down through the Equestrian south and back across the Shimmering Sea to Tartarus.

Um, I thought Tartarus was the other dimensional prison where the Great Ones were held? And that the dragons just lived across the sea, but still in the same realm of existence as the ponies?

[FireOfTheNorth]

10725796

Over the forests, mountains, and fiery planes of Tartarus, Biriktirame flew,

Soon they were flying again, down through the Equestrian south and back across the Shimmering Sea to Tartarus.

Um, I thought Tartarus was the other dimensional prison where the Great Ones were held? And that the dragons just lived across the sea, but still in the same realm of existence as the ponies?

Oh yeah, good catch. Should be Tyrannus, the realm of the dragons, not Tartarus.