What You Don't Know...

by CloserThanYouThink

...CAN Hurt You

Author's Note:

Hello everybody!

Let me start off by saying that, while this is my first MLP story, I am not at all new to fanfiction and writing in general, so don't run for the hills just yet.

This story, while fully capable of standing on its own, is more about me introducing myself to you. What you see here are the kinds of themes any future works of mine will have. The abilities dragons have, their lore and culture, a Spike who's a little bit salty about how he tends to be treated(and may be an unreliable source of information because of it), Luna: Warrior Princess, etc. You can also expect my stories to be on the dark side of the spectrum, but I usually try to sprinkle in more humor and lightheartedness than you'll see here, just to keep things from being too depressing. I'm of the opinion that if you're writing stories specifically to make people cry or ruin their day, you should probably keep it in your diary.

All that said, this story was written with little regard for canon. I'm not even totally sure where this would fit in the timeline. After Twilight becomes an alicorn, but before the library is destroyed; that's about all I got. Like I said, this is more to just get my ideas out there and let you know what to expect out of me if/when I post something else.

I had fun writing it, so here's hoping you have fun reading it. Oh, and if the formatting got screwed up, please let me know. I've had formatting issues with just about every fanfiction site I've ever been on.

-Golden Oak Library, Ponyville-

“And here’s one more for the W’s.” Spike muttered to himself as he placed a book titled “Whinnyapolis: The City Built on Pride” onto its proper shelf. Hopping down from his ladder, the tiny dragon moved to pick up another book from his cart, but paused when he saw that it was empty. “Huh…Guess I’m done.” he said with a shrug.

Wheeling the cart back to its designated spot, lest he incur Twilight’s borderline-OCD wrath, Spike immediately looked around for something else to do. Not even two minutes of downtime and he was already feeling it again. The pervasive sense of restlessness and paranoia that had plagued him to varying degrees for the last week, and was now worse than ever. He had found that the only “cure” for it was to keep himself busy, but today even that had been a tall order, since there was now a physical element to his affliction: A bone-deep sensation that Spike could only describe as something between burning and itching. It didn’t hurt, but it was just uncomfortable and persistent enough to drive him up the wall.

Normally he would’ve gone straight to his best friend/guardian/employer/big sister with his problem. But whatever was going on in his head had made that far easier said than done. Every time he tried to speak to Twilight about it, something akin to a primal instinct screamed at him not to do it. No one could know. Not Twilight, not their friends, not even Celestia. No. One. Without fail, every attempt to talk, or even write about it had ended with him either moving on to an entirely different subject or clamming up and finding an excuse to be somewhere else.

Once he had even become inexplicably hostile when Twilight, showing how much she had grown by actually being able to read his mood, pressed the issue. With no conscious reasoning on his part, his body had turned on her with a feral snarl, teeth bared and claws at the ready.

That was three days ago, and neither of them had found the guts to bring it up since. Instead they both turned to their usual coping mechanisms for personal crises.

Twilight ran from the problem. She threw herself into her studies, latched onto any excuse to go out with her friends, and invented more “important” problems to solve when she ran out of other options. Anything to avoid confronting something that might change the status quo. She still had a long way to go before becoming a real Princess.

And Spike retreated into himself, finding he really had nowhere else to turn when Twilight wasn’t an option. Over the last several days the young drake had been prone to bouts of deep introspection, and didn’t much like what he had discovered. It caused questions to pop into his mind; some that he didn’t know how to answer, and many that he didn’t want to answer.

Did he really have any friends? The obvious answer was a resounding “yes”, but was it really so clear-cut? The more he thought about it, the quieter that “yes” became, until it sounded more like one of Fluttershy’s strangled whimpers than any kind of confirmation.

If he had such good friends, why did it seem like they never made time for him? When was the last time anypony had sought him out for any other reason than because they wanted something? When was the last time anypony gave him the time of day if he wasn’t offering his services? When was the last time he was included in anything as more than an afterthought?

In fact, just yesterday the Elements of Harmony had themselves a nice picnic, putting aside their individual responsibilities for the sake of their friends. Then what was supposed to have been just a lunchtime thing turned into an entire day of fun and relaxation. All without him. And the saddest part about it was that it likely wouldn’t have made much of a difference if he had been there, for it was when Spike was with the Elements that he truly understood the phrase “All alone in a room full of ponies”.

Unless he inserted himself into conversations, he was excluded. Unless he humiliated himself, he was ignored. Unless he was borderline rude in making himself known, he was marginalized.

With friends like his…

“There has to be something I haven’t done yet!” Spike practically screamed to himself, eyes wide with panic as they darted around the library.

But salvation was nowhere to be found. The floor sparkled like polished metal, not a single book was out of place and not so much as a speck of dust remained. On the first floor, at least…

-Royal Palace, Canterlot-

As the door to her personal quarters closed behind her Princess Celestia let out a long-suffering sigh and stretched out her long, sleek, statuesque body. Various pops and cracks sounded from stiff joints and vertebrae, each one accompanied by a stifled groan.

‘Maybe I should schedule a spa day…’ the alicorn thought. While a good stretch did wonders for her joints, her muscles were as tense and knotted as ever, to the point where merely flapping her wings would send twin jolts of pain right up her spine.

Yes, one of these days she needed to take some time to pamper herself. She deserved it; she’d earned it dozens of times over per day. The problem was finding the time to do it. Her days were so swamped that even little breaks like the one she had now were rare and precious commodities. And gone were the days when she could turn to her dear sister for a reprieve.

Though the night was her domain, once upon a time Luna could often be found wandering the halls of the palace during the day, still full of energy since the night court was generally uneventful. After all, her older sister had had a thousand years to put systems and ponies in place to keep things running smoothly after she went to bed.

Unfortunately for said big sister, this led Luna to create the Moonlight Patrol: A regiment of elite Night Guards led by the Princess herself, who would protect Equestria’s citizens from whatever threats crawled out of the darkness.

Luna loved it, coming home just before dawn every morning feeling accomplished and waking Celestia up before retiring to her own bedchambers. And while Celestia was happy for her beloved sibling finally finding fulfillment in her life, Luna not being available put quite a bit of strain on her. One would think it would be no different from millennium the Sun Goddess had spent ruling the entire nation on her own, but times were changing. Pony society was advancing, as were other races, and every other day seemed to bring something new.

And speaking of new…

“You are either incredibly brave or incredibly stupid to sneak into MY room like this.” Celestia said, her voice soft, yet carrying all the power of a thunderclap as her horn crackled dangerously with the beginnings of a combat spell.

“It’s a fine line, but one I like to think I still walk with grace.” came a reply in smooth baritone.

Celestia’s heart skipped a beat; that voice sounded so very familiar. Dare she hope?

The air in front of the door to her balcony shimmered and warped as the intruder dropped his invisibility spell and revealed himself. A powerful four-legged form, taller and bulkier than Celestia’s own impressive physique, covered in scales in a shade of purple so deep it could easily be mistaken for black. Sharp, emerald-colored spines set in three rows down his back, starting at a large blade-like crest atop his head and getting progressively smaller until they terminated into little more than tiny barbs at the end of his long, serpentine tail. Two leathery wings folded against his sides, each one likely as long as his entire body when outstretched. Two twisting horns protruded from the back of the creature’s head, lending to an already sinister appearance that was even further reinforced by his beastly yellow eyes with their snake-like vertical pupils.

A dragon: A creature that normally lurked within mountain ranges and deep forests.

A dragon that knew magic: A creature that normally lurked within nightmares.

With a squeal akin to a filly getting the best birthday present ever, Celestia launched herself at the higher reptile.

And the dragon welcomed her with open arms, effortlessly absorbing the force of a collision that would’ve turned a lesser being into paste.

“AL!!!” the alicorn cried, flinging her forelegs around the dragon’s neck, her natural magical aura protecting her from the array of sharp edges along his back.

“It’s good to see you, too, Tia.” the dragon, Al, gently wrapped both his arms and wings around the mare.

Neither of them knew or cared just how long their embrace lasted, but when Celestia finally released her grip and pulled back, Al was surprised to see her cheeks stained with tears.

“Three-hundred and seventy-eight years…” Celestia choked out, fresh tears spilling from her eyes. “You…You just left me and…” she couldn’t continue as the floodgates opened for nearly four centuries of pent up emotions.

Al cocked his large head to the side slightly. “But you…I…”

Celestia attempted to wipe her eyes, but it was no use. “I remembered what you said, why ‘we’ could never work. I had a home, a throne and a whole nation that relied on me; while you were nomad by choice. I remember you told me that you were the type to fly off without a second thought the moment you so much as heard of something new and interesting. I guess I should have seen it coming, but…”

“Tia…”

“But I never thought you would just…leave like that!” Celestia’s entire form trembled as she sobbed. “You didn’t even say goodbye; you just disappeared! I tried to send ponies after you, I tried to track you with magic, but nothing worked. At most I would hear the occasional rumor about a dragon matching your description from traveling merchants, but by the time they got to me you were already long gone. More than once I even exhausted myself teleporting all around Equestria trying to follow whatever vestige of a trail you left behind…But nothing ever came of it.”

“Tia, I…”

“My best friend, my ONLY friend, and you just…abandoned me…”

“I’m sorry, Celestia.” Al held her head in his hands, forcing her to look into his eyes. “A thousand times over, I’m sorry. I didn’t think, I didn’t consider your feelings, and that is inexcusable, but…” the dragon momentarily broke eye contact as he searched for the right words. “I forgot. I was ancient by the time I met you, and after a thousand lifetimes of dealing with other immortals, I forgot that you were new to our world. Even now, with your seventeen-hundred and thirty-eighth birthday right around the corner, the second-youngest immortal I know is still twice your age.”

“What-“

“We take each other for granted, Celestia.” Al explained with a smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “We are as constant and unchanging as the planet itself, and for most of us time has little meaning anymore. We don’t bother saying goodbye or giving our reasons for departing, because we know we will see each other again. It’s never a matter of ‘if’, only ‘when’. But you’re different, Tia, and I never suspected that I had impacted your life so much in our brief time together.”

“…It may be different for you, but I wouldn’t call two-hundred years ‘brief’.” Celestia murmured, her eyes beginning to well up again. “Did I mean so little to you?”

“No!” Al all but snarled. “Don’t ever think that, Tia! Regardless of our differences, regardless of my behavior, don’t ever doubt the love I had and still have for you.” he then brought their lips together in a kiss that spoke of both passion and restraint. The kiss of a former lover who wanted nothing more than to rekindle the fire, but knew that it would only burn out again.

Celestia attempted to follow him when he finally pulled back, but caught herself before she did something embarrassing. “Your words say one thing, but your actions…”

“Are something I will look back on with shame for the rest of my days.” Al said, his own eyes beginning to sting with an unfamiliar sensation. “But if you are under the impression that I’ve spent all these years forgetting about you, that couldn’t be further from the truth. I’m sorry my transient ways made it so difficult for you to find or hear word of me, but your stability made it easy to keep track of you, my dear. No matter where I went, I would always hear of how you were thriving. Whether it was in tones of jealousy or awe, I would hear of the beacon of unity and progress Equestria was becoming under your rule.”

The alicorn looked down, her right forehoof scraping the floor nervously. “…While that time may be known as one of my finest moments as a Princess, I can’t help but feel…dirty when I am praised for it, because I know the truth. It wasn’t the result of my love for my subjects and my desire to see my kingdom flourish; it was my coping mechanism. I was alone, Al. So completely and utterly alone…I poured myself into my role to keep from going mad. It was the only connection to anything that I had left. My sister was gone, you were gone, and I found that the life I cherished so much was little more than a hollow shell. I felt pathetic. The Princess who preaches the virtues of unity, friendship and family, had no friends or family of her own. All that remained, the only thing that still meant something, was my kingdom. And so I latched onto it as if my very existence depended on it, because I truly felt that it did.”

As Al looked upon the Princess and her limp mane, drooping wings and sagging posture, internal barriers that had withstood countless tragedies, betrayals and heartaches with barely a dent crumbled like old parchment. Guilt and shame the likes of which he had never felt before came crashing down on him with all the force of an eastern tsunami. But even they couldn’t compare to the all-consuming fury directed entirely at himself.

How dare he? How dare he do this to one who deserved only love and kindness? Such a majestic creature, the very embodiment of benevolence and selflessness, and now she lay broken before him. Broken because of him.

Alduin had never liked his name. Bestowed upon him by his parents to ensure that he would be destined for greatness, it was the name of a Godly entity dragons worshiped as THE driving force of change throughout all universes and realities. But as its many names, including titles such as “The Great Adversary” and “World Eater”, suggested, it was not a force of good.

A being that existed in the space in between realities, Alduin would search through all the different worlds until it found one that might be ready to take its next step, but needed a catalyst to do so. Then, taking the form of a massive dragon with scales as black as its heart, Alduin would wreak havoc upon the land, devastating its people and civilizations one by one until they developed the means to stop it, whatever they may be. Those worlds that defeated the malevolent God were deemed worthy and would thrive in Alduin’s wake, regardless of whatever destruction it had wrought. And those that couldn’t would be consumed by the dragon’s fire, reduced to their base elements and left to start over again. Either way, Alduin would then move onto the next world that needed a little something to get the wheels turning.

The name was given not in the spirit of destruction and strife, but in the hopes that whoever had it would leave their mark on the world and be a force of change. Al never saw it that way and shunned the name as much as he could without completely denouncing it. But now, seeing what he had done, he knew he deserved the name and had done it justice. Because in a world that had been terrorized by the likes of Discord, Tirek and others, surely he was more of a monster than any of them. For he had done, without even trying, what none of them could ever accomplish.

“The sins I have committed are too much for me to atone for…But I will try.” Al said firmly before taking a step back and bowing as low as he could. “I, Alduin, pledge myself to thee. Ask what thou will of me, do as thou will to me, for my will is yours. My body is yours. My soul is yours. My power is yours. I, Alduin, pledge mys-“

“NO!!!” Celestia roared, shaking the entire palace. She had been caught off-guard before, having never seen or even heard of a creature as proud and powerful as Al willingly submitting to another. But as the dragon began to speak, so too did powerful magic begin to swirl and condense around them both. It was old magic, far before her time and perhaps even before Al’s, but his words were more than enough for her to recognize what he was attempting to do.

“Celestia-“

“No.” the Princess interrupted again, not as loud but just as firm. “I won’t allow it. As long as you are in MY kingdom, in MY palace, I will NOT ALLOW IT!” she gave a surprisingly dragon-like growl as she put a hoof under Al’s jaw and wrenched his head up to look him in the eyes. “I will not see you bound to me by magical chains, do you hear me?! I will not see you enslave yourself!”

“I could think of worse masters to have.” Al smiled as the white-furred mare laughed despite herself.

“And I could think of worse servants. But if you are to be by my side, it will be by your own choice, always.”

“But this IS my choice.”

“For now, but what about the future? I don’t know what magics you just summoned, but they were ancient even by your standards, and potent even by mine. You were going to bind yourself to me forever with a spell that I doubt either of us would be able to break. And I don’t need to remind you that ‘forever’ actually means something to beings like us. So maybe you feel this way now, but what about a thousand years from now? Or five-thousand? Or ten? What happens when your ‘sins’ have been absolved and your ‘debts’ cleared, yet you’ve still got an eternity of servitude ahead of you?”

“…” Al had no answer for that.

“I don’t want you here out of some sense of obligation. I want you to wake up every day and make the decision to be here with me, whether as a friend or…” Celestia trailed off with a light blush.

“Or something more?” Al ventured with the beginnings of a grin.

“Or something more.” the Princess nodded and planted a chaste kiss on his scaly, though surprisingly soft lips, pulling back before he could reciprocate. “And if you do feel the need to indulge your wanderlust…just remember that a little courtesy goes a long way.”

“I will, but I think I’ll be sticking around for a while yet. I have more than a few stories to tell, and if even a fraction of what I’ve heard about your kingdom is true, I suspect you may have just as many.”

“Oh, do I ever.” Celestia giggled. “But first…” they both turned to look at her chamber door as the sounds of dozens of galloping hooves and clattering armor reached their ears.

Al scratched his cheek nervously. “So, should I hide, or…?”

-Golden Oak-

“What’s wrong with me?” Spike croaked from his secluded corner all the way at the rear of the library’s basement. He didn’t know why he was down here, just like all the other times he’d felt compelled to wander around down in the dark over the last several days. All he knew was that it was safe down here. Safer than upstairs. Safer than outside.

Why? If he knew that, maybe he’d feel better.

“It…It has to be a dragon thing, right?” he muttered, his right hand raking its claws over his left shoulder in a futile attempt to get at the accursed itch under his scales. “It’s not magic. No, not magic…I know what that feels like.” all his years as Twilight’s guinea pig, as well as his various encounters with magical baddies let him easily recognized when something was trying to manipulate him.

“Zecora…Maybe she can help? She always seems to know more about dragons that anypony else…” but going to Zecora would mean having to go outside, and he couldn’t do that. He had tried, but as soon as his hand touched the door he’d felt as if Nightmare Moon was on the other side.

So he couldn’t go outside, but what about Celestia?

Spike looked down at the scroll in his limp left hand and slowly, shakily brought it up to his face. The penmanship was terrible, as he’d had to fight with his own body to scribble every letter, but he was sure the Princess would get the gist of it if he could just…

He took a breath and blew out. There was no fire, or even smoke; just a weak rush of air, barely enough to move the paper. His left arm fell and he moaned in frustration.

Frustration. If there was ever a single word to describe his entire life, it would be “frustration”. Frustration as his size. Frustration at his status, or lack thereof. Frustration at his treatment by so-called “friends”. Frustration at his “mother” for leaving him in the care of a pony as casually neglectful as Twilight Sparkle. Frustration at his very existence as a dragon in a land of ponies.

And who could he go to with these frustrations? His friends? On the off-chance they even cared to begin with, how could they possibly help him?

The only way they could make him grow larger was to give him things to horde, and that was the last thing anyone wanted, himself included.

Celestia didn’t have time for his piddly problems, and the other Elements had no business trying to show Twilight the error of her ways when half of them were worse than her.

And if there was one thing not a single one of them knew anything about, it was being a stranger in a strange land. Even Fluttershy, with all her social anxieties, at least had the benefit of being a pony. Not to mention having friends who gave a damn…

“I have to stop thinking like this.” Spike shook his head, as if that would help clear it. “They ARE my friends. They DO care about me. I know they do…”

Yes, his oh, so caring friends. Friends whom he hadn’t seen hide nor hair of all day. Friends he knew he wouldn’t see at all today, since Twilight was away in Canterlot, being trained in proper etiquette and who knew what else.

Friends who couldn’t even be bothered to tell him that they were having his quasi-sister’s birthday party in an entirely different city…

“I still never got an explanation for that.” Spike grumbled. “Just a bunch of excuses and a couple of half-assed apologies.” he’d never really gotten over that particular snubbing, but what could he do? It was HER birthday, so what would he look like if he made a big deal about it?

Just one of many situations Spike found himself in where, even though he was the one who’d been wronged, saying as much would only make him look bad. So, aside from the occasional sarcastic quip, he shut his mouth and let it go.

“Maybe that’s my problem. Maybe I don’t speak up enough.” Spike said, feeling his eyelids start to droop but fighting to stay awake. “They aren’t mind-readers, except Twilight that one time, so how could they know how I feel if I don’t say anything?”

Or maybe his problem was that he was quick to give them an out by blaming himself for their shortcomings…

“I think I need a nap.” Spike yawned, idly noting that his jaw felt strangely stiff all of a sudden. In fact, his entire body wasn’t faring much better. “Yeah, that’s it. I’ll get some sleep and wake up with a clear head and more energy!”

However, as soon as he resolved to take a nap, he didn’t need to anymore. The fuzziness in his brain was gone, his limbs didn’t feel like lead weights and he no longer felt the desire to never leave the basement.

“Huh. Well, I guess I-?!?!” and then his back exploded.

There was no other word to describe it; it felt like a bomb had gone off under his skin just above his tail. The pain made his legs buckle and his vision swim, and was such a shock to his system that he couldn’t even breathe, let alone scream. But that was only the beginning.

The white-hot lance of agony shot up his back, into his skull and radiated throughout his body. His blood felt like Chimera venom in his veins and the popping, cracking and ripping noises that filled his ears made him think his body was tearing itself apart. And as he managed to open his eyes and look at his right hand, he saw that was exactly the case.

Right in front of him he witnessed his hand twitch and contort of its own accord. He felt the bones breaking, fragmenting, and somehow reform much larger than before. He felt the tendons stretched to the absolute limit, some of them even snapping from the strain. And then the bones in his forearm quadrupled in size in mere seconds, ripping every fiber of muscle from them and stretching his hide so much that he could see the pale purple skin in between his scales. It also caused a jolt of pain that nearly made him swallow his tongue, and caused him to miss the muscles in his arm stretching and bulging, slithering their way back up to their proper attachment points.

He didn’t need to see it to know that the same was starting to happen to his left arm, as well as his everything else. He could even feel his organs sliding, shifting and swelling inside him. Unfortunately his ribcage hadn’t quite caught onto what was happening and wasn’t expanding to cope with the enlarging organs. Spike soon found it impossible to breathe as his lungs no longer had room to expand, and actually felt his heart being squeezed between them.

He was going to die. He was going to die right here, right now, alone and unloved in a basement. There was nothing he could do. Nothing anyone could do. His vision was fading, and contrary to all the clichés, there was no warm, welcoming light; only cold, unyielding darkness.

-Royal Palace-

“I…don’t think I’ve ever seen anything quite like that before.” Celestia said as she stared up at a now bipedal Al with equal parts awe and horror.

She had already known that dragons had some rudimentary shapeshifting abilities, as almost all of the ones she’d encountered could change their size at will. But that was always a very uniform event, with every body part growing at the same time and rate. Even Spike’s “greed growth” had been much the same. What she had just witness from Al was something altogether different and far more disturbing.

Al had told her that dragons were unparalleled masters of body manipulation, and to demonstrate had morphed himself into a naturally two-legged form. Celestia had expected some kind of spell, and perhaps it was; but it sure as hell wasn’t one she’d ever want to learn.

It started with the sound of shattering bone and only got worse from there. Al’s entire body trembled and squirmed, even though he himself never moved. His entire torso and neck shortened as his spine compressed. His hips widened and his shoulder blades visibly shifted under his scales. His hind legs lengthened and bulged with new muscle, as did his tail, becoming much thicker and heavier for balance. His chest flattened and widened into a form similar to the upper half of a centaur, and Celestia very nearly turned away at the sight of the dragon’s muscles writhing like a nest of snakes under his skin as they settled into new shapes and positions. Every jerk and twitch was accompanied by sounds of breaking bones and tearing muscles, but through it all Al himself never made a peep.

And now, with his transformation complete, Al stood before her as a nine-foot tall behemoth.

“Most haven’t.” the dragon replied. “As you can imagine, the process leaves us extremely vulnerable. But fortunately, we aren’t limited to full-scale transformations. You see, dragons possess magic just like ponies. However, unlike unicorns, pegasi and alicorns like yourself, we are all but unable to channel it externally. But manipulating it internally allows us control over our forms unmatched by any other creature. Where you can use your magic to, say, shape a block of clay, we can use ours to shape our own bodies.”

“Does…Does it hurt?” Celestia asked, already dreading the answer.

“Like you can’t imagine.” Al answered without hesitation. “In all my years I have found nothing that compares to it. It’s been so long and I do it so often that my brain has effectively been conditioned to ignore all nerve impulses when it happens, but it’s still unpleasant. I always find it funny when I hear younglings from so many races complain about puberty and how terrible it is.” the dragon snorted, releasing a small cloud of black smoke from his nostrils. “They have no idea how easy they have it.”

“Wait, THAT is what dragon children go through?!” Celestia gasped.

“Oh yes, and unfortunately these days most don’t survive it. The pain is too much and they go into shock almost as soon as it starts.” Al sighed. “Dragon culture has gone downhill over the centuries, and that includes parenting. So many dragons had to go through it alone, so now they think that’s how it should be and that’s what they do to their own young. If you survive, you’re worthy; if you don’t, oh well.”

“But that’s…”

“Barbaric? It is, and unfortunately it has shaped how ‘modern’ dragons behave, and thus has shaped how our race is seen by others. In my day a dragon’s pride was based around their accomplishments. Now, surviving puberty is the only badge of honor one needs to see themselves as superior to all others.”

“…How do any of them survive if it’s as bad as you say?”

“Instincts, mostly. Before it happens your mind and body go haywire with all sorts of strange, contradictory feelings and urges. You want to be alone, but you resent those who aren’t by your side. You want to ask for help, but you don’t want anyone to see you. You want to gorge yourself, but you also want to horde your food. You have all this pent up energy, but all you want to do is lie down and sleep. That’s how most of the survivors do it; they find or make a cave, seal it off and sleep through the whole thing. But with no one to tell them how to interpret those instincts, so many young ones end up going about it all wrong.” Al shook his head sadly. “They’ll try to ignore it and go about their lives, and get caught completely unprepared. Or they won’t eat enough before sleeping and wake up in their caves too weak to even dig themselves out.”

Celestia shuddered, forcing herself not to think about young dragons starving to death trapped in their own caves.

“Have you ever helped any of them?”

“Any that I came across. Whether it was guiding them through the preparation, or caring for them until their strength returned after the fact; I did what I could. Some even appreciated it.” Al finished with a grunt.

Hearing the plight faced by draconic children, Celestia’s thoughts inevitably turned to her own little hatchling.

‘Ooh, little Spike would be delighted to have someone “show him the ropes”!’ the Princess smiled. But with her thoughts turned to Spike, she remembered what Twilight had told her earlier today.

The borderline antisocial behavior.

The sudden affinity for skulking around in the dark.

The refusal to admit that anything was wrong.

The “nest” he had made in the library’s basement, walled off with piles of miscellaneous stuff…

“Tia?” Al inquired, not at all liking the expression gradually forming on the alicorn’s face.

“Al…At what age do dragons typically go through puberty?”

“Depends on the species, but most reach that stage in between sixteen and twenty; not too far off from ponies and other mammals. Why?”

“…”

“…So, I take it the rumors I’ve heard about your ‘Elements of Harmony’ being seen with a baby dragon are more than just rumors?”

“…” Celestia nodded mutely, her body starting to twitch with nervous energy.

“When did you hatch him?” Al asked with a deep sigh.

“Seventeen years ago…”

-Golden Oak-

The two immortals arrived in a blinding flash of light, accompanied by a “bang” that could easily be mistaken for a cannon shot. Far more fanfare than Celestia’s normal, more controlled teleportations. But this wasn’t normal and control was just about the last thing on her mind.

“Spike?! Spike, where are you?!” seeing no sign of the baby dragon, the Princess moved towards the stairs to the second floor. However, she didn’t account for the polished floor and would have fallen on her haunches if not for Al’s huge hand stabilizing her.

“If your suspicions are correct, he’s most likely in the basement.” Al said, looking around the library and noting that it was most certainly not designed with someone of his stature in mind.

Celestia ignored the stomach-churning sounds of Al returning to his four-legged form and took to the air, rocketing towards the basement door at speeds that would make a Wonderbolt proud. But a familiar and revolting stench caught her nose before she could even open the door and froze her in her tracks.

Blood.

“SPIKE!!!” too distraught to even bother with magic, the Goddess’ body smashed through the two inches of solid wood like it was wet paper and hurtled down the stairs, her hooves not touching a single one.

Spotting the wall of junk Twilight had told her about, Celestia raced to and through it, uncaring of whatever she destroyed. Her horn lit up with a subconscious glow to light her way and…

Her world stopped at the sight of a purple lump lying in a pool of glistening red.

The otherworldly shriek that tore from her throat would become a thing of legend in Ponyville. Saturated in magic, the sound washed over the ponies in the streets like a tidal wave, knocking many off their hooves and causing others to fall to the ground weeping for reasons they couldn’t understand. It would haunt the nightmares of all who heard it, and eventually become the subject of dozens of different stories passed down through generations.

Everypony would have their own opinions as to the origins, but the only ones who would get close to the truth were those who likened it to the howl of a mother who’d lost a child.

“Calm yourself, Tia.” Al said, walking around her catatonic form to inspect the fallen hatchling. “He’s earned his badge.”

That snapped Celestia out of it. “He’s alive?!” she shot over to Spike’s side, the blood beneath her hooves not registering with her at all. “He’s alive!” she cried, finally hearing his ragged breaths.

“And fully formed as well.” Al remarked as he gently tugged on Spikes arm, moving it back and forth to test the range of motion. He nodded to himself, then did the same with one of the not-so-little dragon’s two new wings.

“’Fully formed’?”

“You saw that the transformation is a multi-step process. Well, when you don’t have control over it sometimes a couple steps don’t go all the way through and things get…stuck, for lack of a better term. He’d be able to fix it once he woke up, but it looks like he’ll be spared that extra agony.” Al looked down as he noticed several small, pebble-like objects spread throughout the puddle of blood. “Ah, looks like all his teeth came out just fine as well.”

“’Teeth’?” Celestia croaked, doing her best not to think about the small, hard object under her right forehoof as she slowly lifted it.

“Mm-hm. This is how dragons lose their baby teeth.” Al said distractedly as he felt all over Spike’s hide for any lumps of misplaced muscle or bone. “As the skull elongates, the sockets become too large for the old teeth and they’ll either fall out on their own, or be pushed out by the new ones…” he trailed off when he finally caught the look the alicorn was giving him. “Sorry.”

“So he’ll be alright?”

“He’ll be sore as all hell when he wakes up, but that’s about it…”

“What?” Celestia asked, not liking the dragon’s furrowed brow.

“If he is what I think he is, then it’s not his well-being you need to worry about.” Al said somewhat grimly.

Celestia blinked. “Isn’t he the same species as you?” one look at the color of Spikes egg alone had been enough to convince her to save it seventeen years ago. Sure the purple and green were much lighter than Al’s own, but that could easily have been attributed to age.

“I can see why you’d think that, but no. Our species are related, but his branch of the family tree is a much nastier one. In your tongue their name would translate to ‘Kinslayer’, though a unicorn biologist from a few eras ago coined the term ‘Dracophagus’.”

“…Dragon-eater?”

“She saw it with her own eyes, and so have I. If I’m right, your Spike hails from a clan that was literally born and bred to hunt, fight and kill other dragons. But they weren’t exactly picky; they were the type to kill for sport and you didn’t have to be a dragon to be a target. As long as you could either give them a good run or put up a decent fight, they didn’t care what you were.” Al failed to fully suppress the shudder that ran up his spine. “With genes like that, even the nice ones have a killer instinct like no other.”

“Not my Spike.” Celestia said with finality.

“Not before, but there’s no telling how he’ll be now. For a dragon, instinct is a powerful thing, Tia. All it takes is one slip. One crisis, one moment of panic and suddenly ‘kill everything’ sounds like a very good idea. If he doesn’t learn how to control that, among other things, he’s a massacre waiting to happen.”

If the look in his eyes didn’t make it clear enough, his tone surely did; as was always the case, Al was speaking from experience.

“…Will you teach him?”

“Tia-“

“Will. You. Teach. Him?”

“I can, but-“

“Then do it.”

“Tia, it isn’t that simple.”

“Why not?”

“It could take years, Tia! Even if he’s a quick learner!”

“Three-hundred and seventy-eight years, Al; what’s a few more?”

“…And what about his friends?”

“They’ll understand, so long as I can assure them he WILL return. I can assure them of that, right?”

“He will be back, as will I; you have my word.”

“Then let me see you off.” and with that, Celestia’s horn shined gold and all three vanished with barely a sound.

With their departure, the library fell deathly silent and every light seemed to grow pale and dim, as if the very spirit of the building had fled and the life was draining out of it.

And then…

“Spike, I’m home! Why’d you close the library so early? Are you alright? Spike?” the soft clops of dainty hooves trailed over towards the basement, stopping at the threshold as their owner gasped at the splintered door. “S-Spike?”

Comments

[Dr Freaky]

This story is amazingly done and I can't wait to read more! The chapters are the perfect length to sit down relax and read while the Skyrim reference was hilarious!

[Darth Griffin]

The first chapter is really well paced and incredibly interesting. I can’t wait to see what happens in later chapters. I have to ask is Alduin just a reference to Skyrim or will the lore of Elder Scrolls be important to the story?

[CloserThanYouThink]

8458666
Glad you liked it.

Alduin was just a reference to Skyrim, nothing more. For what I have planned for the future of this story, and whatever stories I make that are connected to it, trying to work in actual Elder Scrolls lore would be a gigantic and pointless pain in the ass. The legend of Alduin is just there to highlight a bit of dragon culture and provide some answers as to why they are how they are.

[Bennet001]

Penny! This was astounding! The pacing, the scene change, this is gonna be a great read. I kinda called this was gonna be a growth chapter but the way it was handled! I knew it was coming, I knew what it meant and I was still unprepared. How will twilight react to what she finds in the basement? How will Spike's thought affect him now? Will there be a time skip for when he comes back or will we deal with the mane six as they learn of what has happened to him.

[JackRipper]

I'm a sucker for a good dark story, though I didn't find myself as invested in it as I'd ought to be.

Work on your prose and keep improving, and you'll do well here.

[Swashbucklist]

Golden Oak Library, Ponyville

Sweet Celestia...you got it right. Everyone else calls it "Golden Oaks Library." The very first line has me invested.

Al scratched his cheek nervously. “So, should I hide, or…?”

-Golden Oak-

Yes! Keep that trend going!

“Seventeen years ago…”

-Golden Oaks-

Goddammit.

Oh, the story's great, too. I just hope the mane six aren't about to fade completely out of the scene in coming chapters.