Chapter 11
Chapter 11
"You look a little ill," Moxie noted. "Head wound bothering you?"
"Y-yeah," Rarity said, putting a hoof to her temple. "I suppose."
She laid back down on the dusty cave floor, turning her face away from the dragon. Spikey Wikey…what does any of this mean? Can I…? Do you…? Could we…? The questions swirled through her mind as her heart pounded in her chest. To be with Spike…for life… Or to watch somepony else get that privilege. Or some dragon. Oh goodness, what if he decides he doesn't want to be with me because I'm not a dragon?
Rarity shut her eyes tightly. Now that she knew she and Spike could, technically speaking, be together, every other insecurity she'd ever felt about the situation came to light. And the very fact that she had all those insecurities…well, Rarity wasn't an idiot. As much as she'd like to deny it, she was painfully aware of her reaction to the thought of losing Spike. She'd always known Spike had a thing for her, and there was no denying any longer that she clearly felt something in return for him. It was, after all, what had launched her into this entire mess in the first place.
But were those feelings strong enough to last forever? For life? Would that be fair to Spike if she thought she wanted to be with him, and decided later she didn't? Would he, as a dragon, ever be able to go on and be with someone else?
There were too many questions, and they all piled on top of Rarity's shocked psyche, which itself was still attempting to deal with admitting that her feelings for Spike went far beyond friendship, and even far beyond a silly flirtatious crush. This was serious. And she needed answers.
I'll never forgive myself if I hurt him.
"Moxie…how did you know you'd found your life-mate?" Rarity asked, not turning around.
"How did I know?" Moxie repeated the question back.
Once again, the dragon sounded surprised to be asked such a thing, just as she'd been with many of the Rarity's questions that night. Rarity pushed a bit of dirt off her front leg, wondering what the Rarity of just a few days ago would've thought about how much filth she was currently covered in.
"Well, it was sort of an instantaneous feeling," Moxie said. "I saw him, and it was like everything around us came to a stop. The same thing happened to him. That's how it is for every dragon."
"I don't think that's how it is for every pony," Rarity pouted. She scrubbed at her leg with her hoof, working on a particularly stubborn clump of dirt. "I wish it were, though. That'd make things so much easier."
"Is there a pony you would like to make your life-mate?" Moxie asked. "You could tell me. I mean, it's not like you have anywhere else to go right now."
Rarity let out a sarcastic laugh.
"And I owe you. You listened to my problems. Why don't you tell me about yours?" Moxie asked. Rarity could hear her scales creak, as if she was leaning over. Sure enough, when Rarity tilted her head back to look at the dragon, she had her neck craned down low, near Rarity's level.
Rarity sighed. As long as she didn't mention towards whom she had affections, she couldn't see how it could hurt. "Well, alright," Rarity said. "We do have some time to pass, anyhow." And maybe I can keep working on widening the cell bars while we're at this.
She gently began to apply magic to the boulder at the back of the cave again, keeping her head turned away from Moxie so the dragon wouldn't see her horn glow.
"There is someone I think I'm interested in," Rarity said. Her voice was soft, as if saying it any louder would make it more real. "The trouble is, until recently I wasn't sure if it'd be possible for us to be together. But now that I know it is possible, I know I need to make up my mind once and for all regarding my feelings for him. I know he feels something for me. He's basically told me so before."
An image of Spike spilling his secret as they fell through the air came unbidden to the front of Rarity's mind, and she had to pause her magic for a moment to regain control of her emotions.
"But ponies don't fall for their life-mates right away?" Moxie asked, for clarification.
"No, we generally do not," Rarity replied, wiping at her eyes and continuing to face away from the dragon into the dark of the cave. She couldn't quite seem to get her magic to start back up. Stupid emotions. "And that's the trouble."
"But now you think you do want him."
"Perhaps…" Rarity said, evasively. "But I don't want to hurt him if I'm mistaken, and there are still a few things that could get in our way."
"Like what? Besides you being locked up here." Moxie laughed a little.
Rarity wasn't sure she found in the humor in that, especially given that she couldn't concentrate enough to get that rock through the bars at the moment, but pressed on anyway. "Well…we're different. He's…" she trailed off, trying to pinpoint differences that didn't reveal Spike's identity. "For one thing, he was raised in Canterlot, and I was raised in Ponyville."
"And that's a bad thing?" Moxie tried to understand.
"No, actually," Rarity said, her brow creasing. "That's not a bad thing at all. In fact, that could be—no." She shook her head, cutting herself off before getting carried away with a fantasy about moving to Canterlot. "Anyhow, there's more…" He's a dragon. He breathes fire and might be more interested in someone with scales. He eats gemstones. "He…" How do I explain any of that? "…He likes different food than I do."
As soon as the words left her mouth, she knew how petty they sounded. Moxie didn't even bother replying.
"Not that that's a big deal, either," Rarity sighed. And actually, who better to supply Spike with endless food than a unicorn with the special ability to find gemstones? She shook her head for a second time. There were still problems. Problems unrelated to his dragon-hood. "He's…he's got an immature streak!" she landed on, decisively.
There. There was no way of getting around that difference.
But Moxie just snorted. "Don't they all. Glad to hear that's not just male dragons with that problem."
Rarity became more flustered by the moment. "Well, there's that, and he…he…" What, Rarity? He doesn't like dresses? Come on, now you're just grasping at straws. Rarity poked at a rock on the ground. "It's hard to explain if you don't know him."
"So tell me about him," Moxie suggested.
"Well…alright," Rarity began carefully. She took a moment to gather her thoughts. Spike's identity had to be kept a secret. With any luck, she'd be out of here before these dragons ever realized he existed, and she could keep him safe. That is, if she could ever get the cell bars pried apart far enough. "He's supportive. Caring. Generous." Rarity absentmindedly traced designs in the dirt, her heart aching. "He likes to play the hero, and says the most adorable little sarcastic quips when he thinks nopony is listening." She smiled a little. "And he'd do anything for me."
Moxie looked at her for a while. "I don't know. I'm not seeing any problem."
Rarity's smile fell. "Yeah. Well…we're different."
"And that means you can't care for him as much as he cares for you?" Moxie asked. "Because it sounds like he's a great find. Even if ponies don't fall as fast as dragons, maybe you should give it a try. You don't want to lose him."
"But what if I end up changing my mind later? What if I don't want to be with him forever?" Rarity asked, biting at her lower lip at all the nervous possibilities.
"Then you don't stay with him forever," Moxie said. "You're the one that said ponies don't mate for life. He could go find someone else then."
Rarity laid her head down on the ground sideways, wishing she could just melt away into the floor. "I don't think that would work in this situation."
Moxie scratched one arm awkwardly. "You sound confused, and it's making me confused. You did get hit on the head pretty hard. Maybe you need some rest."
"Yes…yes, rest is a good idea…"
Rarity closed her eyes. She'd never escape half exhausted and she'd never sort out her feelings in such a state, either. If only she had somepony to talk to that could understand the full situation. If only she was with her friends. Honestly, at the moment she'd risk the teasing and humiliation she was sure they'd dish out upon learning about her conundrum. But instead, she was trapped in a cave, far away from anypony she knew, with only her guard to comfort her.
A crushing loneliness took root in Rarity's heart, followed almost immediately by a wave of guilt. You don't even know what your friends are facing right now. They could be dealing with even worse than you. Several horrible thoughts entered Rarity's exhausted brain, mostly to do with gargoyles. The darkness of the cave didn't do much to calm her imagination.
The only comfort that allowed Rarity to slip into sleep at all was knowing that Stef'an would protect Sweetie Belle, wherever they may be.
Twilight's eyes were on the horizon, but in the dark, Spike couldn't tell what she was watching.
"So where exactly are these sea serpent meetin' isles Princess Luna said we should go to?" Applejack asked, holding onto her hat. They were traveling rather quickly across the ocean, and wind whipped at them from all directions.
"The Princess enchanted the raft," Twilight said. "It should take us straight to them."
Spike lay on his back, staring up at the stars, as a fine ocean mist sprayed over him. A few stars shot across the sky and he sighed. "Been a lot of those tonight," he noted. "Maybe it's a good sign?"
"A lot of what?" Twilight asked.
"Shooting stars," Spike replied.
Twilight's head jerked upwards, her eyes narrowing at the sky. "There shouldn't be."
"What's so weird about a few extra shootin' stars?" Applejack asked.
Spike rolled onto his side, yawning. "Nothing. Twilight's just upset that she doesn't have the sky as memorized as she thought she did."
"No, you don't understand," Twilight said. "Shooting stars are actually bits and pieces from asteroids and comets, and only occur in such great numbers when our planet passes through the debris field of such an object in space."
"And yer point is…?" Applejack asked.
"We aren't traveling through any field like that right now!" Twilight said. "Or…we shouldn't be. Spike! Get my scrolls out!"
Spike climbed to his feet, wobbly a bit on the moving raft. He went over to Twilight's bag, and unpacked the scrolls she'd brought from the library. "You really want to work on your scroll translations right now, Twilight?" Spike asked, dismayed.
Twilight didn't answer him. Instead, she just levitated the scrolls out of his claws, opening them up in front of her, and comparing some of the star charts to the sky above.
"Twah'?" Applejack tentatively stepped towards her.
"Don't bother," Spike said. "There's no use talking to her when she gets like this. I vote we get some sleep while Twilight figures out whatever it is she's trying to figure out."
"Yer sure?" Applejack looked at Spike.
"Positive. Look," Spike said, waving a hand next to Twilight's face. "Twilight! Twilight!" He turned back to Applejack, as Twilight continued to read her scrolls. "See? Nothing. Now, I don't know how long it's going to take to get to the sea serpents, but I have a bad feeling that I'm not going to be welcomed there with a fluffy feather bed, so I'm going to get as much sleep as I can before then."
"Well, alright, then," Applejack said, settling down on the raft. "Might not be a bad idea."
Spike lay down on the gold plating, watching the shooting stars continue to go by. Slowly, his eyes closed and he drifted off into a restless slumber.
In her cell, many miles away, Rarity slept, fitfully tossing and turning, unaware of the beautiful cosmic light show just outside. She hugged her legs in close to her body, shivering in the cold cave.
Her homesick mind allowed her only to dream about the friends she missed so dearly.
"Idiot! Idiot, idiot, idiot!"
Spike bolted upright on the raft. It was still pitch black outside. "Twilight?! What's wrong?!"
"I translated these scrolls incorrectly, that's what's wrong! Asteroid, not comet, Spike! Asteroid!"
"And the difference is…?" Spike asked.
"The difference is that asteroids are much, much rockier than comets! Comets are mostly ice and dust and if they break up, it's just tiny bits that often melt. Asteroids leave behind massive chunks of rock and metal!"
Applejack sat up, rubbing her eyes. "Wha's all this about?" she asked, sleepily.
"All this time, I've been mistranslating one key word, and now there's an unpredicted massive meteor shower! What I thought was a comet collision that would've created a light meteor shower several centuries from now, actually was an asteroid collision. With completely different compositions and initial orbiting paths, the asteroids left behind a huge debris field that has migrated into our planet's path now. With my new calculations, there's enough material to bombard us for many nights in a row!"
"Are any of these asteroid bits goin' to hurt somepony?" Applejack asked, climbing to her feet, putting her hat on, and looking up at the skies.
"I don't know!" Twilight said. "Two asteroids collided, who knows the size pieces they've left behind? And what they could be used for? Oh, I've messed up big time. Big time, big time! What will Princess Celestia say?"
"Hold on, wasn't it Princess Celestia who told you to follow these comet things in the first place? Doesn't that mean she got it just as wrong as you did?" Spike asked.
"No, she was having me track a whole variety of celestial bodies from a report written by astronomers centuries ago. Figuring out what they were about was my assignment, Spike!" Twilight began to get that frazzled look that Spike knew all too well. "She wasn't doing the translations, I was! And I messed up!"
Spike put a hand on her back. The poor mare's chest was heaving in and out. "Twilight, it's not a big deal. So we get an unexpected series of shooting stars for a few nights. If you want, we can write a letter to Princess Celestia right now and tell her what you've learned. How does that sound?"
Twilight's breathing slowed ever so slightly. "That…that could work."
"There, y'see, Sugarcube?" Applejack said. "Nothin' to worry about."
"Oh, I hope not," Twilight replied.
We have plenty of other things to worry about, Spike said internally, feeling more than a little frustrated that Twilight was panicking about her scroll assignment, and not about the fact that gargoyles were destroying Equestria, that Rarity was currently kidnapped, and that he'd have to embrace his marauding, constantly unsatisfied monster-self to fix any of it.
"Dear Princess Celestia," Twilight began, as Spike wrote. "Please share this information with Princess Luna, as soon as possible. The meteor showers affecting our skies are a result of an asteroid collision centuries ago, and now the rock, likely high in iron content, is raining down on the planet. This may be what the gargoyles are after."
Spike's claw jerked to a halt, mid-sentence. He had not thought of that possibility. And now he felt like a complete heel for assuming Twilight's panic was from thinking she'd simply botched an assignment.
"Whoa there," Applejack said. "You mean to say the gargoyles could use these space rocks?"
"Not just use them," Twilight said. "I'd speculate it may be why they're on the rampage at all right now. It's just too perfectly timed."
"So…are we allowed to panic yet?" Spike asked, scratching his back with the feathered quill.
"Just finish the letter!" Twilight ordered.
Spike did as he was told. After sending the message, he looked towards the horizon. A few rays of sunlight began appearing in the East. Could've really used a bit more night there, Celestia. But I guess I'll just have to face all this without much sleep. Seriously, the gargoyles are after space rocks? And I need to grow big and fight them? Is the whole universe conspiring against me?
Twilight began to talk again, but was cut off as two huge bursts of spraying water showered their magically-propelled raft, drenching all three of them.
Yep. Definitely being conspired against.
"What the—?" Applejack started.
Two absolutely gigantic sea serpents reared up on either side of their raft. Spike's jaw dropped clear open. These creatures made the one back on the beach look like a puppy.
Water continued to rain down on them, dripping off the serpents' bodies.
"What are two ponies and a dragon doing in Sea Serpentia?" one of the two sneered, running a hand through his blond hair.
"Just what I was wondering," the second one said. His blue scales glistened in the morning sun.
"And how did they ever get a sea serpent raft?" the first asked.
They began to circle, and Applejack, Twilight, and Spike huddled together tightly.
"We're…we're sorry to intrude," Twilight began, scrunched by Spike's side. "We're representing Equestria, and have come on behalf of Princess Celestia and Princess Luna to inquire after our missing companion, Rarity."
"Rarity?" the blond sea serpent repeated back.
"Rarity," Spike piped up. "She's a unicorn, about this tall." He separated himself from the two ponies and held his hand up to their height. "White coat, lavender mane, the most beautiful eyes you've ever seen—"
"You of all creatures should know where she is," the blue sea serpent said, leaning down and shoving one finger at Spike's chest. "Your kind stole her!"
"Hey now," Applejack said, stepping defensively in front of Spike. "Spike here didn't have anythin' to do with that. He's here to help rescue Rarity!"
"We really need to speak to your rulers," Twilight said. "We have important information to share about the war."
Spike opened his mouth, and then shut it when Twilight gave him a warning look. Apparently he wasn't allowed to mention yet what his role in all this was.
"A likely story," the blond sea serpent sniffed, tipping his chin up and away from their raft.
"But we're friends of Stef'an's!" Twilight said next.
"The Duke? Doubtful," the blond one said.
Twilight scowled, stamping a hoof impatiently. She looked just about as frustrated as Spike felt.
"It's true!" Applejack said. "We do know him!"
"They do know his name at least…" the blue one said. "And that of the Generous One."
The first sea serpent tapped his chin. "You have a good point there. Alright, you've talked me into it! To Queen Ili'ana with them!" He clapped his hands together, and the next thing Spike knew, their raft was being dragged through the ocean at super-speeds.
"Th-th-th-th-that w-w-w-w-w-w-was e-e-e-easy!" Applejack noted, as they rapidly bounced over wave after wave. The three had gone back to clinging to each other for dear life.
"I-I-I-I m-m-may ha-ha-have ha-ha-ha-ad s-s-s-s-s-s-ome-th-th-thing to do w-w-w-with th-th-that!" Twilight looked up at her glowing horn.
"T-T-TWILIGHT!" Spike exclaimed.
"I kno-know I-I-I-I pro-pro-prom-is-s-s-ed n-n-n-ever to d-d-d-do the m-m-mind c-c-control spell-ll, Sp-Sp-Spike, b-b-b-b-but th-this w-w-w-was an emergen-en-en-ency!"
"C-c-c-c-can y-y-you u-u-use your p-p-power t-t-t-to ma-ma-make th-th-th-th-them slow DOWN?" Spike asked.
Turns out the question was moot, because they came to a sudden, and splashy, halt at that exact moment. Spike was nearly thrown from the raft, caught only by Twilight's magic.
Spike crossed his arms, sitting on the finally-still raft in a giant puddle of water. Yep. He did not like how this day was starting.
"Whoa," Applejack gasped. Spike allowed his eyes to drift up, and he gasped then as well. In front of them were several enormous craggy spires of rock, all arranged in a circle. And around the rocks, dozens of enormous sea serpents swam. Spike shrunk back a bit. He had no idea sea serpents got this big.
"These must be the meeting isles," Twilight observed. "Fascinating!"
The two sea serpents that had brought them there shook their heads quickly. "Y-yes," one of them said. "But how did we get here again? And why did we bring you?"
"Uh, no time to explain," Applejack said, her face blanching as she evaded the question. "May we please speak to this here Queen Ili'ana you talked about?"
"Well, uh…" the blond one fiddled with his hair some more.
"Did someone say my name?"
Spike spun around to see a red and white sea serpent with impressively long locks of hair gliding through the water towards their raft.
"Your Majesty!" the blue sea serpent exclaimed.
"Ah, more ponies. I shouldn't be surprised. I suppose you're here about your kidnapped ambassador?" the queen asked.
Twilight bowed low, and Spike and Applejack followed suit. "Your Majesty," Twilight began, impressively keeping her balance even as a big wave flowed through, bumping their raft up and knocking Spike to his tail. "Allow me to introduce us. My name is Twilight Sparkle. This is my friend Applejack, and—"
"—a dragon," the queen finished for Twilight. She swam once around them, narrowing her eyes down at Spike, who gulped as he stood back up. "Well, I think I see what's going on here. I wish I could say I was more shocked, but you ponies rarely have regard for things that are meant to be beyond your control. Bring out the prisoner!" she ordered, spinning towards the two sea serpents that had brought them to the isles.
Twilight put a protective hoof over Spike's shoulders. "Excuse me, your Majesty, but just to be clear—what do you think is going on here?"
"Please excuse my bluntness, and any rudeness from my guards," Queen Ili'ana said, tossing her hair. "It's just that there is much going on at the moment here, and the time for usual pleasantries is long past. It's obvious to me that the dragons have made their demands to your nation, and you've brought one of the eggs that they wish to obtain in exchange for your missing citizen. Except that you've already hatched that egg. And somehow ended up at our isles mistakenly, instead of by the dragon's shore."
"Okay, that's scarily close to accurate." Twilight raised an impressed eyebrow.
"You don't encounter many ponies associating with baby dragons," Queen Ili'ana replied, winking.
"True, ah suppose. Though you didn't quite get everythin' right, there," Applejack said, wringing out her mane. "We haven't actually heard from the dragons themselves. Sweetie Belle told us what was goin' on, thanks to Stef'an savin' her life and all."
"My nephew saved the young unicorn?" Queen Ili'ana smiled. "Glad to hear he's okay, then."
"Well…'okay' might be an overstatement—" Applejack said, throwing her mane back over her shoulder with a wet thwap.
"Oh, can we please fix their manes?" one of two sea serpent captors interrupted, twiddling his thumbs impatiently. "They're all so damp and unkempt."
"I thought I asked you to go get the prisoner?" Queen Ili'ana said.
"Oh! Yes! Right! Straight away, your Majesty!"
Both serpents swam off towards the biggest off all the rocky outcrops.
Prisoner… "You mean you have Rarity here? I thought the dragons had her!" Spike asked, his heart leaping into his throat, as he put two and two together.
"Oh goodness, it talks!" Queen Ili'ana said, putting a hand to her cheek. "And so young, too!"
Both Twilight and Applejack narrowed their eyes at that.
"I do more than just talk," Spike harrumphed. Inwardly, though, he felt pleased at his friends' reactions. "Now where's Rarity?"
"Rarity? The Generous One, yes," the queen said. "Well, we certainly don't have her. I'm talking about a different prisoner."
Spike crossed his arms. No Rarity. Impatience began to get the best of him. If he was going to trade himself for the love of his life, he'd really rather just get on with it. But it seemed that he'd have to wait a little while longer.
Queen Ili'ana guided their raft over to one of the flatter rocks, allowing Spike, Twilight, and Applejack to finally climb onto solid ground. Spike had to admit, it was a relief to be back on rock again. He definitely wasn't born for sea travel.
"So who is your prisoner?" Twilight asked, interrupting Spike's enjoyment of feeling the rocky grit between his toes.
"Him," Queen Ili'ana gestured behind her at more of the rocky isles, and Spike stretched to see what she was talking about.
Her two serpent guards returned, dragging a chained yellow dragon through the water. Several onlookers pointed, whispering. The dragon snorted smoke out its nostrils, and looked like it wanted to tear every single sea serpent apart with its claws if it could only get free of the chains. Spike shrunk back a little.
And you're going to turn into that soon, he reminded himself, swallowing hard.
"He looks angrier than a frog in a cornfield." Applejack whistled.
"Sure does," Twilight said.
"He's one of the dragons that lead the attack on our meeting," Queen Ili'ana said. "The same attack that resulted in your friend's kidnapping."
Spike's eyes steeled over. The creature was tossed unceremoniously onto the rock beside them. It lay flat, thrashing in its chains. Something in Spike's core clicked over, and he balled up his fists, marching straight up to the yellow dragon's face.
"Where. Is. Rarity?" Spike demanded, leaning in to look the dragon in its golden eye.
"Whoa there, Spike," Applejack said, as she and Twilight darted up to his side. Then both ponies immediately ducked, as the yellow dragon snorted fire out through its nostrils. The fire washed over Spike, and he held his ground. The yellow dragon remained on its side, glaring at Spike. Ash fell around them.
"Where is she?!" he demanded again, stomping one foot. Twilight bit her lower lip, watching nervously from the side.
"Spike…" she started, taking a tentative step towards him.
"He ain't gonna be able to answer you with his mouth all chained like that," Applejack said, stopping Twilight from getting any closer by holding her back with one hoof. "Is there any way we can let this here dragon talk to us?" she asked the sea serpent queen.
"If we unchain his mouth, he'll fry us all!" one of the queen's guards replied.
"Aren't you sea serpents?" Spike asked, raising an eyebrow. "Can't you just squirt some water at him or something?"
"Oh. Right," the guard sheepishly replied. He and the blue sea serpent began undoing the chains around the dragon's mouth.
Queen Ili'ana rubbed her temple. "I promise we aren't all this dense," she said. "We did manage to capture at least this one dragon during the fight, after all."
"Barely," the dragon growled, once its mouth was freed. "Seriously, it's no wonder you water snakes needed us to reach a truce. You'll never be able to take on the gargoyles alone, or you might mess up your precious hair."
"That's enough out of you, Nef," Queen Ili'ana snapped back. "Keep civil, or the chains go back on."
"Because that's so civil," the dragon snorted.
"Oookay," Twilight interrupted. "Now that we're talking, we have a few topics to get through."
"First, you tell us what you did with Rarity!" Spike insisted.
The dragon, still lying on its side, glared once again at Spike. "No. First you tell me who this jabbery little baby is," Nef replied.
"You mean you haven't figured it out?" Queen Ili'ana said, tossing her hair. She smiled smugly. "He's part of our debt."
Nef's golden eyes flew open, looking at Spike in an entirely new way. "There had been rumors…but Rojo said—"
"That it wasn't possible for ponies to hatch a dragon, I know," Queen Ili'ana cut in. "But here he is."
Nef continued to stare at Spike.
"These ponies brought him to trade for their unicorn friend," Queen Ili'ana said. Twilight winced at that, and Spike looked her way to make sure she knew that he knew that wasn't the wording Twilight would've chosen.
"One fifth of your debt then, eh?" Nef said. "Very well. And how do you suppose you get him to the rest of the dragons? Just going to swim up with him and hope to not get blasted out of the water?"
"I was thinking, as a token of our good will, we might send him back with you," Queen Ili'ana replied, tucking a strand of hair casually behind her head.
"You…wait, what?" Nef asked.
Spike blinked.
"We aren't the barbarians your kind tends to be," the queen continued. "We were only holding you as leverage to get the pony ambassador back, but your fellow dragons clearly didn't care enough about you to make that trade. And we have no interest in holding a prisoner just for the sake of having one, so you're free to go with the hatchling."
The sea serpent guards looked a bit startled, but began to unchain the rest of Nef's body once their queen gave them a nod. Nef himself had a calculating look in his eyes, but didn't say anything out loud.
"Now, wait a moment," Twilight said, stepping forward. Spike noticed that she'd stepped closer to him, and wondered if she'd done so on purpose. "There's still a lot to discuss here. For example, we've learned some terrible news regarding the gargoyles. They're attacking Equestria now, and may be gaining power through the absorption of meteorites."
"Really?" Queen Ili'ana looked genuinely surprised.
"Somehow, we have to stop them from havin' access to these space rocks," Applejack said. "Otherwise, who knows what kind of power they might end up with."
Queen Ili'ana crossed her arms thoughtfully. "Indeed. This is serious news."
"Yeah, thanks for the tip," Nef said, shaking off the rest of his chains. The next thing Spike knew, two sets of claws clutched at him, and he was hoisted up into the air faster than a book snatched off a library shelf.
"Hey, wait!" Spike said, struggling to reach back to the ground which was rapidly getting farther from his feet. Nef's claws bit into his scaly sides.
"But we're out of here," Nef said, grinning with his full mouth of teeth.
"No!" Twilight exclaimed. "Spike!"
"Spike!" Applejack gasped.
Nef extended his wings and flapped up once, then twice, then three times. Each flap took Spike farther and farther from the startled sea serpents, and from his friends.
"Nef, get back here! We're not done yet!" Queen Ili'ana shouted.
"I'd say we are, actually," Nef sneered, flapping ever faster.
"Wait!" Spike yelled again. "Please, wait! I didn't get to say goodbye!"
"SPIKE!" Twilight galloped after him across the small rocky isle.
"Time to embrace your destiny, Squirt," the dragon said.
Tears sprang to Spike's eyes. Applejack and Twilight became specks on the isle. Then the isle itself became a speck. And soon enough, all Spike could see was endless ocean.
Twilight…
Rarity rested her magic for another moment. The strain of applying such a precise amount of push on the boulder for hours on end had taken its toll. She flopped over in her cell, in what was definitely a most un-lady-like way. "Urgh," she groaned. If only she could borrow Twilight Sparkle's power for half a moment. Then she could just magic herself right out of this cave, instead of having to rely on such tedious telekinetic methods.
The morning had been exceedingly dull. Moxie's shift had ended, and her new guard didn't want to chat at all. Breakfast had been a pile of torn cliff grass that the new guard had clearly just yanked from outside the cave walls. It was most upsetting.
But suddenly, there was commotion. Shouts echoed off the black cliffs. Rarity thought she spied a yellow dragon flying in, and nearly a dozen other dragons flying out to greet it. Even her lackluster guard looked intrigued.
Something was happening. But what?
Spike was dropped onto the craggy stone, and immediately encircled by dragons of many different colors. A large, turquoise one stepped forward.
"You're sure he's one of the eggs?" the dragon asked Nef, who had just landed behind Spike. They perched along a massive cliffside of black, porous rock. The mid-day sun baked down on them, and Spike knew that ponies would be sweating like crazy if they were there.
But they weren't. His friends were a long way away now. And he wasn't entirely sure he'd ever see them again…at least not as his recognizable self.
"I am," Spike said, fighting back his emotions and climbing to his feet. "I was hatched by Twilight Sparkle from an egg that Princess Luna had traded for centuries ago."
"Talkative for his size, ain't he?" Nef said. "See?"
The bigger dragon leaned down to look Spike in the eye. "But how do we know?" he asked again.
"Because…uh…because…" Good question. Spike thought for a moment, wiggling his toes, then held up a finger in triumph. "Because I've turned huge before! Went on a serious rampage back in Ponyville. Scary stuff." He put his hands on his hips. "So…if that's why you want me, then you've got me! So now, uh…let Rarity go!" Spike was a little proud of his speech, but the huge dragon in front of him just looked quizzical.
"Rarity?"
"The pony we've got," Nef said. "Rojo, I think he's for real. Why else would the ponies have him?"
The other dragons all murmured their thoughts to one another, and Spike gulped. This was just like the time he'd tried to convince the dragons at the migration that he was a real dragon, except about a hundred times scarier. Mostly because these dragons were about a hundred times bigger, give or take a power of ten.
"Okay, kid," the dragon called Rojo said, jabbing a finger at him hard enough to make Spike fall backwards onto the craggy rock. A breeze floated past them, and a cloud moved in front of the sun. "Prove it. Grow."
"G-grow?" Spike asked. He climbed to his feet a second time, feeling like a lost mouse amongst manticores.
"Yeah. Grow," Rojo leaned down again to stare Spike in the face. His eyes narrowed, and smoke escaped through his teeth.
"Ah…I…" Spike stammered, backing up a few steps. "It doesn't just work like that…you kind of have to…I kind of have to…"
The dragon circle closed in on him, and Spike began breathing so hard he could feel his lungs push against his scales.
"First, let Rarity go!" Spike demanded, finding his last ounce of courage. "You made a deal!"
"Deals only good if you're the real deal," Rojo said. "Now grow!"
"I…" Spike felt tears coming to his eyes. Now was not the time to act like a baby. He clenched his fists. "I can't!" Spike stomped forward towards Rojo. "Not just out of the blue, anyway," he said. "I have to get greedy first. I have to want things. That's what happened last time. The more I took, the bigger I got."
Rojo sat back upright, tapping a finger to his chin.
"Ridiculous," Nef said.
"Not entirely," Rojo responded. "It makes a certain amount of sense. Why are we so big, anyway?"
Nef scratched his yellow scales. "Uh…because…"
"Because we have to defend our hoards," Rojo explained. "So if we want to supersize the little purple guy, we need to get him a hoard."
"Well, he can't have mine," Nef sniffed.
Spike breathed out. Yes. A hoard made sense. "And you'll free Rarity," he said, while he was on a roll. "Because I'm not growing if she's not free. And if there's so much as a scratch on her, you'll have me to answer to!"
Rojo looked down at Spike through slotted eyes. "Really?"
"Yes, really," Spike said. He crossed his arms and drummed his right fingers across his scales. "You let her go, or I don't cooperate."
Rojo cocked his head to one side. "This seems awfully important to you."
"Because Rarity's awfully important to me," Spike said. "She means everything to me…she's…"
But then, Rojo was laughing.
"What…what's so funny?" Spike asked.
"Oh, this is just too much," Rojo said, slapping Nef on the shoulder. The yellow dragon stumbled forward a little, clearly not getting the joke. "You…you…"
"Rarity's nothing to laugh about!" Spike felt more incensed by the moment. "She's the most beautiful, most generous pony you'll ever meet! She's talented, kind, gorgeous—"
"And you really like her, don't you?" Rojo asked.
"Well, yes!" Spike said. No way was he going to let a bunch of dragons talk him out of his feelings towards his pony friends. He'd learned that lesson well enough before. "I…she's...!"
"Are you in love with this pony?" Rojo's taunting tone turned eerily intense, and his grin went from one of mirth to one that looked like a predator about to make a kill. Spike really didn't know how to respond. What was Rojo trying to get at?
Nef, however, gasped audibly. "No. Oh, gag me. Are you serious?"
Spike's face went bright red.
"I think he is," Rojo said, standing back upright again. "Well, I know what goes into this dragon's hoard first."
"Hey again," a voice said, as a decent sized thud announced the presence of a dragon landing at the cave's doorstep.
Rarity looked up. "Moxie!" she exclaimed, genuinely happy to see her previous guard's face. "Oh, I'm so glad to see you. You have no idea how boring the new guy is."
Moxie laughed a little, but her tone was less than bright. Rarity's new guard, meanwhile, just yawned. Both dragons stood in the cave entrance, and Moxie looked like she had something behind her back. Rarity bit her bottom lip, wondering what had gotten into the red dragon. She seemed more distant than usual.
"So, uh…" Moxie started. "Really sorry about this. But you're being transferred to a new cell. Not sure why, but I've been asked to put this on you." Then she pulled out a simply disgusting looking harness and chains. Rust flaked off it from where Moxie's claws held it.
"Wh-what?" Rarity gasped. "But why?" Is it because they found out what I was doing with the boulder? Did they learn of my escape plan?
"I really don't know," Moxie said, using a huge set of keys to open up the cell door. It creaked open, and several cliff birds flew away at the noise. "Sorry," she apologized again.
Rarity debated running. But there were two dragons between her and the cave entrance, and a straight drop down to the sea below even if she got out. Her hesitation cost her, because before she knew it, Rarity had the harness tightly clanked on. She fell to the floor under the weight, and her collapse was no dramatic act.
"Good grief, with a harness like this, how could they ever except anypony to carry or pull anything?" Rarity asked.
"Come along now," Moxie said, tugging a bit at the chains. "There's unfortunately been a change in plans."
Rarity stepped forward with great effort, following Moxie out of the cave until they reached the edge. At that point, Moxie picked Rarity up and began to fly. The harness crunched up against Rarity's coat, and she just knew it would leave a stain.
"A change in plans?" Rarity asked, calling over the wind.
"Yes," Moxie replied. "I guess you're going to be staying with us for a while longer."
They neared a new cave. This one was far bigger than hers, and instead of being divided into multiple cells, it just had one set of bars, squarely placed over the entrance.
As they neared it, a different dragon opened it for them, and Moxie landed, letting go of Rarity inside. She did appreciate that Moxie let her go gently, and didn't just drop her like other dragons had done before. Though with the harness on, she still felt like she'd been slammed to the floor.
Her legs wobbled under her in her new prison. The harness would do a better job at keeping her contained than any cell, that was for sure. Speaking of…maybe there will be an easier way to escape from this place. Rarity scanned the cave, her horn tingling even before her eyes spied the piles and piles of…gemstones.
"Oh my stars," Rarity gasped. She had to close her mouth to keep from drooling. Why would they jail me with all these priceless jewels? Not that I'm complaining, mind you.
"Rarity?" a voice then asked, echoing through the cave. Rarity's heart froze inside her.
"Spike?" Rarity stared up at the top of one of the larger gem piles. There indeed sat Spike, his arms around his knees in the most miserable fashion she could imagine. "No!"
"Rarity, I'm so sorry," Spike said, squeezing his knees even tighter to his chest.
"Spike, how are you—but how did you—but…no! Why?! You weren't supposed to be here!" Rarity stammered. What's going on? Why is this happening? "Do you have any idea what they want to do to you?"
Spike nodded glumly from atop the gem pile. "I do. And that's why I came. They said they'd let you go if I came."
"Oh, Spike…" Rarity pulled herself towards him across the cave floor, trying to heave the weight of the harness. Tears spilled from her eyes, and she collapsed under the rusting contraption, too physically and emotionally exhausted to continue. "I'm so sorry, Spike. I was going to escape…to come find you…to stop you from coming…to save you…"
Spike looked at her. "And I was going to save you."
The tears came even faster now, and Rarity put two hooves to her mouth. "Spikey-Wikey!"
A huge sniffle came from the cave entrance. There, Moxie sat, wiping at her own eyes. "I think I finally understand our talk last night, Rarity."
The dragon slouched her giant shoulders, then turned and shut the barred cell door.
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Well. The Sea Serpents really aren't smart. At all. Are they?
Every time this updates I smile broadly.
Also, looks like it's decision time, Rarity!
~Skeeter The Lurker
Awwww..... wonder if Moxie will help with a jail break?
Well... Twilight's got to be flipping out right now.
Moxie amuses me. Oh well, maybe Spike can pick the lock with his claw.
2800618 You know what they say, fashion, it melts the brain.
REUNION!!!!!
And a bit of separation... but still!
2800701 why not just eat it?
2800838
Best Marshmallow Rarity would beg to differ.
Also, that bit with Moxie at the very end gave me a case of the feels.
2800838
Which is why the fashion pony is one of the smartest ponies.
A sweet reunion but not in the good terms.
2800618
They make up for it with fabulousness, though!
2801448
Through Rarity is equally as fabulous and very smart.
Loved it. And I really like Moxie for some reason? She seems like a good dragon. Just doing as she is told. And aww...Spike and Rarity are together, at least.
Oh, that opening part....Rarity just admit it come on already
I wonder if the dragons would still consider Spike useful to their cause if they find out he didn't gain wings when he grew massive before. What good is he going to be with low mobility? Even a gigantic unstoppable tank isn't very useful in a war if it's so big that there's no way to get it to the battle in a reasonable amount of time. In Spike's case, he might get so big that even other dragons wouldn't be able to carry him. Then again, we don't know why he didn't get wings, so maybe he just wasn't big for long enough for them to sprout the first time. It's always been my belief that he would get them eventually. There's also the question of how much time can pass before he can no longer revert back to his normal size. Maybe those two questions are directly linked, and he's stuck big when his wings appear.
It's also interesting that Rojo decided Rarity would make a good addition for Spike's hoard, when it was actually his feelings for Rarity that made him abandon his greed the first time.
For the moment, though, I just hope they get a chance to finally talk to each other for a while without a bunch of dragons hovering over them, and that Moxie doesn't say too much before Rarity's ready. Very curious to see what's gonna happen.
OMG... dat ending...
... the feels... too much to express with words...
YOU'RE A FREAKING GENIUS! my gosh...
BTW, now i'm kind of... better after reading that end of the chapter... it really made me laugh Rarity's conversation with Moxie... and yeah, she's nice!
now, time to go back to my extremely shocked state...
Spike go unchain her you dopey head!
Love this chapter. This story is getting exponentially better.
Sheeet... This is getting awesome!
Dragons are nature's jerkoffs.
I'm gonna send the Dragonborn in there if they don't start shapin' up!
Defend our hoards...
Oh dear...
I think I can see where this is going.
Wow. Putting Rarity in a cell in a cave full of gemstones, and giving Spike a hoard to grow on that includes Rarity? These dragons don't stand a chance.
The gargoyles, on the other hand, are rapidly getting more interesting...
Oh, this is one mexican novel...
This story needs about 5 more hippos.
You are doing great!
Hopefully when Spike grows again, he'll have wings.
See.? When the contents are interesting enough, you can read a whole bunch and not realize.
Mother of Celestia...THIS IS AWESOME!
I cannot wait for chapter 12 even though chapter 11 came out yesterday! I guess I'll just re-read this awesome sauce until the new one comes out!
Those dragons are cold-hearted, and all they want is Spike to fight the gargoyles for them, and if he gets killed, they could care less. Oh, this is going to get intense with Spike and Rarity alone in the cell.
I freaking LOVE this fic. Every time it updates I just want to leap out a window in sheer excitement.
This fic had a so-so start, but now that things are really kicking into gear I'm really enjoying it. Looking forward to the next chapter
Mind control magic? Remind me never to befriend Twilight Sparkle in any way ever, she's insane. Really, didn't sit well with me. Also, Spike needs to control his titan powers in order to save dragonkind.
2820718
Jeje.. nevermind the wings and tiara, what she needs is a magic supresor and a straight jacket!
I am this close to putting Sea Serpents in the 'too dumb to live' category.
I find myself wondering why Rarity has yet to ponder on the long life of dragons and the not-long life of ponies and how that relates to her romantic situation. Guess she'll just have much more incentive to go for alicornication. Regardless, the opening part of this chapter is exactly kind of scene is hope to see in stories like this. My faith in this tale has been strengthened significantly.
Twilight has a spell for direct mind control? Since when? Did I miss this from an episode or something?
I love how Queen Ili'ana is as frustrated with the stupidity of some of her followers as I am.
This little reunion isn't having the emotional impact I was hoping for in me, but that's okay; these kinds of scenes aren't easy to pull off. I'm interested to see how 'the talk' goes, though.
Period, not comma. Pouted isn't a dialogue tag.
Ahem.
>now that I know
How has Moxie not begun to put two and two together yet?
Back to Rarity, she's really, really struggling with her emotions and her resolve. It's great to see her put through such a challenge like this. I can feel the turmoil in her head. It's delicious from a reader's PoV.
I'm seeing "asked" a hell of a lot more than I wanna be. There are ways to phrase dialogue so as to not need it, you know. That, and the question mark kinda covers it anyway.
Well, it's about damn time, Twilight!
?!?!So... many... "asked"s...
This Asteroid stuff is really doing a number on Twilight. Still, I wonder what the meteor showers have to do with Spike and the gargoyles.
Superfluous comma.
Your*
Period instead of comma
>implying books ever get snatched off library shelves
What? I kid, I kid. Calm down.
No hyphen
Period instead of comma.
Deal's*
In terms of technical issues, I'm finding fewer and fewer things to dig at. I'm liking the story progression more and more. I have to hand it to the kid—Spike is definitely coming of age. The conflict has been building to this point, and it will soon spill over...
So, cue the awkward talk about this "life-partner" situation between two different species. Well. That shall be interesting.
Five chapters left. I feel we're due for some gargoyle / meteorite action soon (very clever plot point where they're concerned, btw). What of Pinkie and Rainbow? Fluttershy and Stef'an?
4692912 Maybe it's just a modified version of the want it need it spell, and she used it to make the Sea Serpents want to take her to the queen. Or maybe the want it need it spell was the modification.
So many good thing to talk about here and I think Rarity is a really good one. I love watching her step throughb her emotions like a business mare, carefully planning and thinking through all of Spike's possible faults and nicking them off one by one. At the same time, we ar still seeing her intellengence and savyness bursting through. I also love the slow realization that she is truely in love with spike and that there is nothing that cna stop her from prusing a relationship with him.
The Spike scenes I like, because they are showing some great growth in his haracter. While still having some hilness in his actions, we are seeing that he is learning how to be a hero and how to take responsiblity. He just needs to work on his emotions and brains once in a while. Because he basically just told the drgons, "Please keep Rarity." But then again, the reason why I love this fic over so many other Spike fics i that this one doesn't try and take away that part of his character and make him into " Super-cool-why-do-we-even-need-those-icky-girls-man-dragon-of-awesome!" type of guy. He is very emotional an a little scatterbrained an that i what we like about him.
The scene at the end was also very well done, and very emotional a we see that these two really do want to help and cae for one another.
Typo! "lead" should be "led"