• Published 21st May 2019
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The Unique Properties of Dark Magic - Shadestyle



Stranded in Equestria's far past in the body of a unicorn without any magical knowledge, the self proclaimed "Weiss Noir" fights for survival in the Frozen North by indulging in sorcery most foul.

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(Present Chapter 44) Sharing Stories


Spike sat cross-legged on a table, staring at the three dragons (real dragons!) in front of him.

"Spike, huh? So, what's it like with the Equestrians?" Padparadscha asked, fiddling with a cluster of little crystals and wires. A magic computer that Dr. Real provided to give the little pink dragon something to do.

"Oh, uhh, well, it's really nice. I don't know how it is here, but ponies are all usually really nice to me, especially in Ponyville! Canterlot is... Well it was a lot bigger, but Ponyville is the kinda place where you can get to know everypony there," he answers, feeling a bit self-conscious at his answer.

Spike also noticed the little pink dragon's choice of words. "Equestrians", rather than "Ponies". It made sense, they grew up with ponies too, even if it was probably an entirely different experience.

"I've heard that Equestrians put hay and sugar in everything. Is this true?" the second dragon, Sapphire, asked in an almost monotone.

Spike thought about it, and considered that Sapphire might have had a point. "Well, not everything..."

'Right? They don't put sugar in...' he thought to himself.

Bread? No, wait, most bread in Equestria was made with some hayflour filler and sugar.

Haybacon? It didn't have sugar in it, but the name was obvious enough as to what it did have...

Spike had a small little revelation that, outside of gems, he hadn't really eaten much of anything that didn't have one or the other as far as he could remember. Equestrians, without any real source of monster meat and an abundance of grasses and sugars, had made the duo a key staple in their cooking.

"Well, I can't think of anything off the top of my head, but I'm sure it isn't in everything..?" Spike said, trailing off questioningly near the end.

He shook his head. "What do you guys eat then? Just gems?" Gosh, that would certainly be something. Even Spike mostly got gems as a treat, rather than something he ate constantly. He imagined he would be even pudgier than he already is if that were all he ate.

Ruby's eyes flashed, and with a sudden motion flexed violently before running out of the building at incredible speeds.

Spike swallowed. Ruby in particular was incredible, if incredibly odd. The bright red dragon was taller than anypony he had ever met, and practically looked like a bodybuilder compared to the thin Sapphire and the pudgy Padparadscha.

"Uhh," Spike said intelligently after the dragon in question escaped in a blur of movement.

"Our brother is energetic," Sapphire answered plainly.

Padparadscha rolled his eyes. "Give it a second."

After an awkwardly silent minute, Ruby dashed back in, carrying a stack of foil pouches, dumping them on the table behind Spike, who shimmied around to look at what the red dragon brought back.

"Get ready!" Ruby posed dramatically.

"For Longma Delicacies!" he finished with a second, equally dramatic pose.

The trio grabbed some of the pouches, and Spike, with an internal shrug, picked up one of the ones that had his name scribbled on it, as he did, his eyes widened. This stuff was hot!

Spike learned a long time ago how to tell if something was too hot for ordinary ponies to touch, after an accident where Twilight got burned when he handed her a pan he had been using to cook before it cooled off. As a dragon, even an open flame wasn't really anything worth noting, but this certainly was, it was one of the hottest things he ever touched!

Pulling the foil open carefully, he noticed that it was full of glowing little sticks. "What the heck is this stuff?" Spike asked, pulling out one of the red-hot snacks and trying to figure out what exactly it was. It smelled a bit like metal?

Sapphire, sticking a round disk into a clear liquid that caked over it before popping it in his mouth, decided to answer.

"Earth Pony Magic deals heavily with not only the growing, but the manufacturing of food, even from normally inedible materials. The Shadow Realm moved from a primarily crystal and gem based diet to a metal based one after the Crystal Ponies became Longma instead. Some crystal-based foods are still popular, but it is what it is," Sapphire explained, chewing through the fried disk.

Spike listened with awe, realizing that it looked and smelled like a red-hot piece of metal because it was one!

He nibbled at it, and found it to be extremely tasty. It reminded him of sourdough, in a way. It was funky and under the sour-metallic flavor and the really hot temperature, it had a thick unctuousness that reminded him of fried hay. It wasn't at all like the time he accidentally bit through a spoon when he was a baby. That tasted awful, and not at all like food. Earth pony magic really was something else...

"Well?!" Ruby demanded excitedly, watching Spike's expression for signs of his reaction.

He swallowed with a smile "It's weird, I've never had anything like this, but it's good!" Spike answered honestly.

Paddy popped little gems in his mouth from his own pouch like popcorn. "You probably could guess, but don't give any of this stuff to ordinary ponies until it's cooled down. We can handle the heat, but more than a few Pegasi and Unicorns had to go to the doctor for trying to eat fresh Longma cooking."

Spike nodded. "Yeah, I can tell," he said, still surprised at how hot the food was. He hated to admit it, but there was definitely an appeal to the warm feeling that came after emptying his pouch of red-hot fries that his usual food couldn't really match.

For a little bit, the dragons just ate, enjoying the fast-food quietly, eventually, however, Dr. Real peeks in, glasses hanging off his coat pocket as he peers in to see how his boys are doing.

"Everything going alright in here?" he asked.

Spike had seen Dr. Real when they entered the unfinished lab, but he was busy directing a small crew at the time, and simply waved Twilight and the others to the room where the dragon trio were hanging out.

Twilight found herself distracted by the sight of all the magical computers being installed, which led to Spike meeting them alone. He didn't mind, and Eclipse and Priss seemed to pick up on him liking the idea of meeting them by himself, as they stuck with the unicorn.

Dr. Real's stomach growled, and he nervously affirmed that he hadn't eaten yet, as busy as he was with re-establishing science in this era.

As Ruby took a pitcher's stance and flung a pouch of food at the doctor, who fumbled to catch it, while Paddy affirmed that everything was fine, Spike shook his head with amusement. It seems his new friends have a "Twilight" of their own to put up with...

"What's so funny?" Sapphire asked, casually watching the shenanigans between Ruby and Dr. Real with a cool expression.

Spike blushes. "Oh, well, I just thought you three would be... different. But I guess we've got a lot in common!" He wasn't sure what it would be like to meet other dragons, but this wasn't at all what he expected.

The three dragons went quiet, looking at Spike, who noticed the attention and flushed deeper, wiping what he would insist is just some dust from his eyes.

"S-sorry, it's just, this is really nice. Thank you for letting me meet you guys. It's really cool to meet some real dragons," the little dragon said.

The three seemed to wince a bit at this, something Spike noticed with confusion.

"So, about that... Can you keep a secret?" Padparadscha began.


Spike sat quietly as they explained their origins, and when they finished, his jaw was hanging open.

"Wow... You're really clones?"

Padparadscha shrugs. "We didn't exactly come out of an egg, no. So if you're wanting to learn about what dragons are usually like... You're not going to get that, hanging out with us. We're Shadow Realm, born and raised."

Spike shakes his head with a determined expression. "No way, I don't care about that at all. You're all really cool! Twilight hatched my egg, so it's not like I'm one to talk." He didn't want to admit it, considering how rude the thought was, but it was almost comforting to know that they weren't normal dragons.

As nice as they were, he felt intimidated, not knowing exactly how he should act. He wanted to come across as 'normal' to them, without knowing how. Now normal was moot, which took some of the tension out of the little drake.

"I mean, it's kinda neat, actually, like something out of a comic book!" he admitted.

The three look confused.

"Comic book?" Ruby asks.

"I think Lord Uncle talked about those once." Sapphire responds, an unsure bent to his tone.

"Is that like an anime?" Padparadscha asks Spike.

This time, it's Spike's turn to look confused.

Slowly however, all four of their expressions turn inscrutable, as they eye one another with intent at the realization that they didn't know about their favorite media.

'Looks like they're in desperate need of some real culture' they somehow all think at the same time.

It's at this point that Twilight peeks her head in. At some point a lab coat and a pair of goggles made its way onto her body, and judging from the dusting of crystal dust, she had been helping Dr. Real somehow.

"Everything going alright in here?" she asks.

"Twilight, I need to go get some of my comic books!" Spike exclaimed, hopping up on the table.

Her brow furrows. "Why not use that spell you learned?"

Spike realizes what she's talking about with some embarrassment. "Oh, right. Sorry Twilight!"

She just smiles and shakes her head, before leaving them to their business.

The little dragon focuses hard on what he wants and summons up some other narrower feelings, before, with a snap of his claws, a small bolt of lightning shoots in from a nearby window, landing on the table with a loud crack before manifesting into a stack of comics.

The other three dragons look impressed at this.

"Where did you learn that technique?" Sapphire asks, intrigued at the sight of another dragon knowing the secret to Dragon Lightning.

Spike is jolted out of him picking through the books for a good one by the question. "Oh, uhh, Weiss Noir taught me, it's a long story. Why, is it a big deal?"

Ruby points straight up. "Lord Uncle is very secretive with his magic! If he taught you, then that means you're trustworthy!" he shouts, dropping the aloft arm to point directly at the purple-green dragonling, a broad smile on his face as he makes the dramatic movement.

Sapphire follows up on that, holding up a crackling claw of his own. "To my knowledge, Spike, we are the only other dragons alive he taught that technique to. Unless he has grown less secretive since we last met?"

Spike shakes his head. "Oh no, he's totally squirrelly about that stuff still, if that's what you're wondering. He got really mad when the princess stole one of his books, or something, I think?"

It makes him think, though. These dragons are like his nephews, judging from their nickname for him. When Spike was learning the spells, the sage made it all seem silly and intentionally over-dramatic to make things more fun, but hearing it from these three... It was an odd feeling, being trusted with something like that.

"Well, anyway, here, this is one of my favorite comics, it's called the Power Ponies!"

As Sapphire and Ruby approach the book, Padparadscha summons a crystal with a snap of his own claws.

"Well, while we take care of our required reading... You've got some education of your own to take care of."

Spike blinks as Padparadscha walks over to one of the terminals, plugging the crystal in and causing it to project a large holographic screen above it.

It doesn't take long for the room to grow quiet, aside from the sounds of cheesy dialogue and other assorted sound effects as Spike is enthralled by the sight of animated ninjas, while Padparadscha, Ruby and Sapphire are all crowded around the bold and stylish artwork of comic book superheroes.

It was perhaps in that moment of silent media consumption that, like all times when a group of people hang out in a room quietly enjoying stories they've been introduced to, that another great nerdy friendship was born.

A few episodes and a few books later, a letter is penned and sent off by a unicorn peeking quietly into the room a second time.

Dear Princess Celestia

I'm pleased to say that, while I've learned a great deal by speaking to Eclipse Flash, and will record my thoughts on our discussion in a future letter, it appears that Spike is the one to have truly benefited from this meeting. I wasn't at all aware that there were dragons living in the Shadow Realm, so it was quite a surprise to both of us when we were informed about one such group in particular.

After meeting the dragons Padparadscha, Ruby, and Sapphire, Spike appears to be happier than I've ever seen him before. It has done him well to meet with peers he can relate to who share his interests. I have no problems whatsoever with interacting with this newly returned realm, and am excited beyond words to learn more from our new neighbors, if this is the quality of friendships that can be found therein.

Your faithful student, Twilight Sparkle.

Author's Note:

Smol Dragon Happy.

I wanted to cover Spike meeting with the Dragon Trio before moving on to the other fun part, and it ended up concluding a chapter all on its own. Sorry for leaving you all on a cliffhanger for the Tourist scene, but I'll be doing another Present Chapter right after this one to cover that part before moving on to Past again.

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