Chapter 32 (Dragon Quest)
The good news was that I was able to fully recover from my sickness. I already missed one episode, and I was lucky that I couldn’t think of anything to change or prevent. But there was one episode that I knew I was going to be involved in.
Dragon Quest.
In the show, Spike has an identity crisis and travels to the Dragon Lands to get some answers. Unfortunately, he finds nothing and ends up joining a dragon gang who would smash phoenix eggs for fun. It was later that I learned that Garble was really a sensitive dragon, and that he does stuff like that to prove he can be tough. But if I were a simple hot-headed teenage dragon, I wouldn’t go that far to prove my strength.
“Come on, Spike!” Twilight called out. “We gotta get ready for the great dragon migration!”
“I’m coming! I’m coming!” I replied.
I hurried down the stairs and followed Twilight outside. Rainbow Dash soon approached us.
“Rainbow Dash, what’s going on?” Twilight asked.
“What do you think? Little Miss Crybaby isn’t coming,” Rainbow replied. She must’ve been referring to Fluttershy.
Twilight sighed. “I didn’t think so. Let’s get her out.”
“Wait!” I ran in front of the two girls and stopped them. “Just let her stay home. Fluttershy hates seeing giant dragons. If she doesn’t want to see the migration, then don’t force her to.”
“But this is a once-in-a-lifetime experience, Spike. We don’t want Fluttershy to miss out.”
“Neither do I, but you know what Fluttershy’s like. Even though she talked that giant dragon down a while back, she wouldn’t go near him if he was Princess Celestia’s best friend.”
“I watched that boring butterfly migration with her, Spike!” Rainbow Dash rebutted. “Now it's her turn to watch the dragon migration with me! She owes me!”
“Forget it!” I yelled. “She can owe you some other time! But not for this!”
“Look, Spike, Fluttershy is our friend,” Twilight said. “Yes, she is scared of dragons, but she isn’t going to be anywhere near them. She’s just gonna be in the trench just like the rest of us.”
“I don’t care. I’m not letting you girls force her into this. She can be safe at home just as much, maybe even more. Respect her decision. Isn’t that what friends do?”
Rainbow snorted. “Fine. But she owes me an even bigger favor after this. Same with you.”
“That’s fine. I can watch the Wonderbolts perform a few tricks.”
Later that day, I prepared snacks while the girls dug a trench outside of Ponyville. That’s when I noticed that pink frilly apron Spike used to wear.
“Heh, it’s been a while since I’ve worn this,” I said to myself. “I remember when Twilight first gave this to me back in Canterlot. She said I looked rather cute in it, and...wait...”
There it goes again. How am I remembering stuff about Spike before I came to Equestria?
After putting all the cookies on the platter, I sat down to think.
Now that I think about it, what did happen to the old Spike? Where is he? The only thing I can go by is that I can remember something in Spike’s past. Does that mean…?
I needed to run an experiment. I headed downstairs to the basement. I sat on a pillow, took a deep breath and closed my eyes.
Try to remember...try to remember…
Images appeared in my head, they were very cloudy. I tried to think really hard. A few seconds later, I saw something pink. I concentrated. It was a filly. An alicorn filly. She had a purple mane. Another filly showed up. She was a lavender unicorn. They both hugged. Unintelligible voices were heard, but they sounded happy. Was this when Cadance, Twilight’s babysitter, turned into an alicorn? The rest became foggy.
Perhaps I should try a recent memory…
I took another deep breath and concentrated. I saw a rectangular shape. There was something written on it. Slowly, but surely, the words became comprehensible.
“You’re invited to Moondancer’s party!” the shape said. It was an invitation.
“Twilight! We got invited to Moondancer’s party!” I heard myself say. “We should go!”
I saw the same lavender pony from the previous memory, only she was older and much clearer to see. This was definitely Twilight.
“A party?” Twilight asked. “You’re kidding, right? You know we don’t do that sort of thing.”
“Come on, Twilight. You’ve been reading your books day and night. You should take a break.”
“Take a break? Take a break?! Why don’t I just take a break from breathing while I’m at it, huh?!”
“Twilight, relax. It would be nice for you to hang out with a few friends once in a while.”
“I don’t need friends, Spike. What good are they anyway?”
Then everything was a blur again. I opened my eyes.
I found you, old Spike. You’re still here.
Even though I was in Spike’s body, his past memories were not erased. I could remember some of his past. It was no wonder I could recall some of the books Twilight read without her getting suspicious. Granted, there were still some of Spike’s memories that I didn’t remember yet, but the fact was still the same. I was regaining the old Spike's past. At least I didn’t have to worry about Twilight getting suspicious. However, I still had to make sure I didn’t reveal the future too much.
So what happened before I possessed you?
I closed my eyes and tried to remember. I saw a brown blur. It was being placed in a red box. I saw myself writing something.
“To Moondancer
From Spike”
I then heard a yawning noise.
“Boy,” I heard Old Spike say. “Wrapping gifts can really take it out of ya. I guess I should go for a quick nap.”
My body approached a small bed. After he lied down, the memory went dark. After a few moments, it was back. I heard a grunting noise.
“Hello?” My past self asked. Quickly he covered his mouth and looked at his hands, belly, and feet.
Quickly, my past self hurried to a mirror and looked at himself. That’s when I stopped the memory.
So past Spike fell asleep as well. It can’t be a coincidence that we both decided to take a nap.
I opened my eyes. I knew what happened to the old Spike, but I still didn’t know how he and I joined together. I knew it was magic, but what kind of magic was it? And who caused this?
I was interrupted by a loud knock on the door. Twilight entered.
“Spike?” She called out before seeing me. “Oh, there you are. What are you doing?”
“Just...meditating,” I replied as I got up.
“Meditating? Why?”
“I just felt like doing it today. It helps calm you down. I think you should try it sometime.”
"Maybe some other time. Right now, the migration is starting, and we both need to be there. Come on."
I quickly gathered the food as Twilight put on a camouflage outfit. We then hurried to the trench. Pinkie, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash were already there.
“‘Bout time ya two showed up,” Applejack said. “We thought you were gonna be a no-show just like Fluttershy.”
“It’s still pretty early,” Twilight replied. “Which is a good thing. We can watch every moment of the migration without bringing any unwanted attention to ourselves.”
Just as Twilight said that, Rarity rolled out a red carpet and trotted down the trench like it’s a fashion show. After Twilight scolded Rarity, Pinkie quickly noticed a figure in the sky.
“Ahoy maties! Dragons ho!” Pinkie quietly shouted.
We quickly grabbed our binoculars and watched as the dragons flew by. I noticed a blue dragon bigger than the rest wearing armor. This was probably Dragon Lord Torch. I could barely make out a light blue dot next to him, which was probably his daughter, Ember. I also tried to find other smaller dragons, but with all the big adult ones in the way, it was hard to spot any.
“Say, what happened to that apron you always wore, Spike?” Twilight asked.
“I decided not to wear it today,” I replied as I handed everypony a cookie. “Is that a problem?”
“You always wore that everytime you cooked something, but nowadays you just leave it on the chair collecting dust. Aren’t you worried about getting a stain on yourself?”
“I can take a bath.”
“Come on, Twilight. Spike’s a dragon,” Rainbow said. “He doesn’t need an apron.”
“Same goes for you ponies and clothes,” I said. “And yet Rarity somehow stays in business.”
“Now, now, darling,” Rarity said. “Whatever you wear or not wear is up to you. You can wear that apron whenever you like.” She then rubbed my head. “You don’t have to look like other dragons.”
“Or act like them,” Twilight added.
I looked up at the sky and saw the dragons flying by.
“Twilight, do you know where I came from?” I asked.
“Oh, not really,” Twilight replied. “Celestia gave me you as an egg.”
“And where did Celestia get the egg?”
“I...don’t know. I can try to ask her after this.”
Later that day, after the migration, I sent a letter to Celestia.
“While we’re waiting for the Princess to reply,” Twilight said, “why don’t we do some research until then? I’m sure we’ll find something about dragons.”
“Good idea, Twilight,” I said.
Sadly, like in the show, there was almost nothing about dragons in the library. Most of what we could find were either too vague, fictional, or both.
“For crying out loud,” I groaned. “There has to be something.”
“Spike, I’m sorry,” Twilight said. “But I can’t seem to find anything here. Ponies know next to nothing about dragons. Apparently, they're too scary to try to talk to or study!”
“You ponies are such cowards.”
“I’d be offended if that weren’t true. Let’s just get some rest. Maybe we can visit the Canterlot Library to find something.”
We both went to bed, but I couldn’t sleep. I knew what the dragons were like in Equestria, but I had another thought.
Why was I brought into this world? Who caused this, and how? Is my only purpose helping others and preventing catastrophes? What’s happening back in my old world since I’ve been gone? Oh, great, now I’m starting to have a crisis just like the old Spike.
I sighed and went to sleep. The next morning, I got up earlier than usual. Even Twilight was still asleep. Suddenly, my stomach squeezed, and I burped out a scroll.
“It’s from Princess Celestia!” I announced.
“Huh?” Twilight slowly sat up. “Wha?”
“She must’ve replied to my letter.” I quickly opened it and read it.
“Dear Spike,
I had a feeling you would write to me after witnessing the dragon migration. So, let me tell you how you came to be:
Your egg was given to me by an old friend of mine a long time ago. He said that he found you abandoned in the old dragonlands. He asked around, but none of the dragons recognized the egg. So, he brought the egg to me, hoping that somepony would take good care of you when you hatch. That’s why I used your egg as an entrance exam for my school. It wasn’t until Twilight showed up that I found somepony worthy. After Twilight got her cutie mark, I allowed her family to adopt you, and they happily accepted. I hope this answers some of your questions.
Signed,
Princess Celestia.”
“Woah,” Twilight said. “I know dragons are mean, but to go so far as to abandon their child before they’re even born? Something must’ve happened to them. At least you were found by someone.”
That made me feel somewhat better, but Princess Celestia didn’t tell us what dragons were like. That’s when I had an idea on how to get knowledge about dragons.
Rarity and Rainbow Dash came in and greeted us.
“You want to join us for breakfast?” Rainbow asked.
“That sounds great!” Twilight replied. “I’m famished.”
“I’m not interested,” I said. “I’ve got to get an early start.”
“An early start?” Rarity asked.
“Yes. Ponyville has almost no information about dragons. That’s why I’ve decided to go on a journey to the Dragon Lands!”
“WHAT?!” Rarity, Rainbow, and Twilight shouted in unison.
“I need to know what the dragons are like,” I said as I prepared my bindle. “I’m hoping someone there could tell me what it’s like growing up and living as a dragon. Maybe I could even learn what happened to my biological parents.”
“Spike! That’s nonsense talk!” Rainbow exclaimed. “I know that you're a dragon, but those dragons mean business! They're big, and tough, and scary. The less ponies know about them, the better.”
“Wow, even the bravest of all ponies is scared of an overgrown lizard,” I snarked. “It’s a wonder how you all went to that mountain last year.”
“All I’m saying is that you could get hurt.”
“This time, I really do have to agree with Rainbow Dash, darling,” Rarity said. “I don't want those big, ugly, nasty dragons to hurt one little scale on your cutesy-wutesy head!”
“Not all dragons are like that, you know.” I said as I packed a tea set and some food.
“What makes you so sure?” Rainbow asked me.
“Have you seen me burn down Ponyville? Even if I could, I wouldn’t want to.”
After I tied the knot on the end of the stick, I made my way out the door.
“Look, I have to do this,” I said. “It would be great to know about dragon civilization, and even if I find the smallest information, I can share it with you all when I get back.”
Twilight bit her lower lip and then sighed. “I couldn't answer your questions. My books couldn't either. I understand why you want to look elsewhere. I truly believe you need to go on this quest. And we have no right to stop you.”
“Thank you, Twilight.” We both shared a hug.
After I bid the girls goodbye, I headed off on my journey. I took one last look at Ponyville.
Someday, dragons and ponies will coexist peacefully. I just gotta wait until the “Gauntlet of Fire” episode.
The journey was extremely long. I felt like I’ve traveled around the entire planet twice. I made sure to take a few breaks so my feet wouldn’t get hurt, but it only worked so much. Eventually, all my on-foot travelling has paid off when I found the place where the dragons resided.
Finally! I’m here!
I checked to see if anypony had been following me. I didn’t see anyone, but I knew that, like in the show, Twilight, Rainbow Dash, and Rarity would poorly disguise themselves as a dragon and somehow spy on me.
I climbed up the valley. When I got to the top, I looked around the mountainous landscape. The adult dragons did nothing to keep me from feeling uneasy. I looked down and saw a bunch of teenage dragons wrestling. A fat brown one was fighting against a toned red one while all the others cheered them on. I think the brown one was named “Clump”, but I knew the red one was named “Garble.”
Normally, this would be the part where Spike slides down and greets the teenage dragons, but I knew better. Garble and Spike would become bitter rivals to each other in the end after that dreaded “egg hunt,” and continue that path until the events of “Sweet and Smoky.” The reason Garble bullied Spike in the first place was to keep himself from humiliation. While I didn’t mind that reason, it was still a hard pill to swallow for me when he got reformed.
But this time, swallowing the pill will be much easier, because I knew a glass of water that would help me. I couldn’t believe I was going to meet her so soon.
Avoiding eye contact with the teenage group, I walked along the edge of the canyon. I tried my best not to annoy any of the adult dragons. The last thing I needed was to be attacked by someone ten times my size.
Surprisingly, there were a lot of other kinds of dragons besides the giant adults and the brutish teens. Some were just welps much smaller than me playing around, and others were adults that only reached Celestia’s height.
Now, where could she be?
Sure enough, an orange dragon with purple scales caught my eye. Her name was Smolder. She already had her wings, and she was only slightly taller than me. To be honest, she looked a bit shorter than in the show. Then again, I never saw her until Season 8, so I wasn’t sure how much she’d grown.
Smolder was casually tossing stones while resting on top of a boulder. I took a deep breath and approached her.
“Hi there,” I greeted her. The orange dragon looked at me before returning to her stone-throwing game. “Nice to meet you on this migration. I’m Spike. What’s your name?”
“What’s it to ya?” The dragon replied, not making any eye contact with me.
“That’s quite an unusual name,” I joked. “It’s nice to meet you, Watzit.”
The dragon snorted. It sounded more like she was trying not to laugh than she was annoyed.
“Smolder,” she said. “My name is Smolder.”
“Well, it’s nice to meet you, Smolder. I hope you’re enjoying this migration.”
Smolder then looked away. “Look, kid. I’m not here to make friends. So why don’t you go back to your mommy or daddy and leave me alone?”
“I wish I could, but I don’t know where they are...or who they are.” I placed my bindle down.
That got Smolder’s attention. “Excuse me?”
“I’ve...never met my parents. I was an orphan when I was hatched, and since the migration started I’ve been wanting to meet them.” I fiddled with the knot.
“Oh, I’m...sorry to hear that.” I could tell Smolder was trying to stay tough, but the empathetic look in her eyes betrayed her.
“I didn’t mind getting raised by my guardian, but I felt empty with them. I was hoping that if I could join this migration, I could see my parents one last time. Maybe even figure out why I was abandoned.”
“Oh, Spike...I’m sorry.” Smolder got up from the boulder. “I wish I could help you, but to be honest, I don’t think any dragon here can. I don’t think I’ve seen anyone here that looks remotely similar to you, and Dragon Lord Torch can’t send a search party out if he doesn’t have enough details. I’m sorry. You might have to find them on your own.”
“Aww...” I sighed. “Thanks, anyway.” I picked up my bindle and walked away.
She should notice it in 3...2...1...
“Wait! Spike!” Smolder called out.
“Yes?” I turned around. I saw Smolder picking up something.
“You dropped your…” She looked at what I “dropped” and widened her eyes. “...teacup?”
“Oh!” I quickly snatched the cup from her hands. “Th-Thank you. I-I mean it’s not my teacup. It’s my guardian’s, well one of hers. B-But but she’s not like a tea party fanatic. Sh-She just likes teacups. That’s all.” I nervously laughed.
“Hey, I won’t judge. Good luck out there.” Smolder walked away.
“Do you like tea parties, Smolder?” I asked.
Smolder stopped dead in her tracks. There was nothing but silence for a long time. She then turned her head.
“Wh...Why would you ask a silly question like that?” She asked.
“Of course, silly me. What kind of dragon doesn’t like tea parties?” I joked.
“NO! I...” Smolder nervously looked around and whispered in my ear. “Look, I don’t know how you figured it out, but if any of those tough guys besides my brother knows that I...”
“Wait, you guys don’t have tea parties here? What kind of a barbaric place is this?!”
“Barbaric? Listen, I...” Smolder sighed. “Yes, I like tea parties. Are you happy now?”
“Hey, I won’t judge. I bet your brother doesn’t mind it either.”
“No, he doesn’t. You know, you kinda remind me of him.”
If I didn’t know Garble was a big softie, I would’ve taken that as an insult.
“Really? Is the little guy with you on this migration?”
“Yeah, he’s with some of his friends, but I wouldn’t recommend calling him ‘little’.”
“Ah, I see. Sensitive, is he?”
“Well that and...you’ll know when you meet him.” Smolder looked over the boulder. “He should come back anytime soon.”
Smolder and I sat on the rock together.
“It seems every dragon I've seen has wings,” I said. “I wish I had a pair.”
“Don’t worry. I’m sure you’ll molt someday.”
“Molt?” I secretly knew what it meant, but it was best to learn about it anyway.
“You don’t know what a molt is? Your guardian never told you?”
“She always says, ‘I’ll tell you when you’re older.’ She never tells me anything about growing up.”
“Well there are actually two ways for a dragon to grow. The first is the molt. It’s...when your body goes through some unusual changes.”
I feel like I'm having that awkward teen moment with my dad again.
Smolder continued, “It’s kind of a big deal here. You get stone scales, uncontrollable fire breath, volume shifts, a nasty body odor, but it pays out in the end when you get your wings. That’s assuming you don’t get eaten.”
“How would I get eaten if I smell bad?” I asked.
“The stench may repeal dragons, but it’s like a magnet for big predators. Tatzelwurms, hydras, rocs...”
“Rocks?” I looked round the valley. “I can’t imagine how you guys are scared of them when you practically live in caves.”
“Not rocks like boulders and stones. I mean R-O-C-S. They’re ginormous birds that will attack anydragon that’s molting.”
“Yikes. Maybe I should go back home. My guardian will protect me.”
“I don’t think so. Here, a molter's loved ones kick them out at the first stone scale. We call ‘the molt effect.’ It happened to my brother and me, but we were allowed to come back after we got our wings.”
“B-But my guardian would be different, right? I mean, the maddest she ever got was when I burned one of her favorite books, and even then the only thing she did to me was scold me.”
“Books?”
“Wow, you guys are barbaric.” I cleared my throat. “So what’s the second way to grow?”
“That’s the barbaric way. It’s called ‘Greed-induced bigness.’ The name should probably give it away. Sometimes when a dragon is young, they’ll start to hoard a lot of stuff. The more they hoard, the bigger they get. They’ll continue to grow until they’ve become a giant greedy monster, attacking anyone who gets between them and their hoard.”
“Oh my, has that ever happened to you?”
“Nah, I get greedy thoughts every now and then, but I’ve been able to control them. The only time a greedy rampage happened in my family was when my dad went through a hoarding phase. But it was long before my brother and I were born, so we never witnessed it.”
I hope I don’t get to witness mine. I’m still surprised that the migration happened before Spike’s birthday.
“Hey, look, it’s my brother.” Smolder pointed at the red teenage dragon approaching us. It was hard to tell from where I was, but the dragon looked like he just regretted doing something.
“Oh, hey, good to see you, sis,” the red dragon replied. The two did their handshake similar to the one I saw in “Sweet and Smoky.” The red dragon then noticed me. “Who’s this, Smolder? Your new boyfriend?”
I resisted the urge to kick him where it would hurt the most. I needed to stay on Garble’s good side. Well...more like the side where he isn’t smashing eggs for fun.
“N-No!” Smolder denied. “Garble, this is Spike. Spike, this is Garble, my brother.”
“Uh...nice to meet you,” I said.
“Yeah, whatever,” Garble replied.
“Would you drop that jerky attitude already, Gar-Gar?” Smolder asked. That got Garble’s attention.
“Don’t call me that in public!” Garble hissed.
“Hey, I’m not gonna judge,” I said. “One of my guardian’s friends sometimes calls me ‘Spikey-Wikey’.”
“Guardian?” Garble asked.
“Spike was abandoned as an egg,” said Smolder, “and he came here looking for his family.”
“Seriously? I know a few dragons kick their offspring out early, but that? He hasn’t even molted yet. That’s seriously messed up.”
“Well, at least I was still hatched. I can thank my guardian for that,” I said.
“Is your guardian even with you?” Smolder asked.
“No, she wasn’t interested in this migration.”
“I haven’t seen any dragon like you around,” Garble said as he leaned against the rocky wall. “Where are you from?”
I shouldn’t say I’m from Ponyville. I know Garble would tease me, and Smolder might probably do the same at this point. But how can I describe it without it being pony related?
“Well, I live in a place pretty far from here,” I said. “The residents there are much nicer than here. There’s a lot of activities to do there as well. There’s racing, tea parties, poetry...”
“Wait, what was that?!” Garble spoke up.
“Tea parties. They’re common where I—”
“No! The next one.”
“Poetry. You guys have it here as well?”
“I...uh...well...”
“Gar-Gar’s a poet, but he can only perform for me,” said Smolder. “If the others found out, they might make fun of him.”
“Smolder!”
“Don’t be upset,” I said. “It’s good that you’re a poet.”
“Okay, okay, fine. But I'm not a flowery, namby-pamby poet! I'm a beat poet. Dig?”
“I totally feel ya, man.” I flashed the peace sign. “Shame the others here aren’t as acceptable as the ones back at home. You’d fit right in where I live.”
“What do you mean?”
“Unlike the dragons here (no offense), my friends are willing to accept each other's talents. It doesn’t matter if you’re into tea parties or beat poetry, nobody will make fun of you for that. We’re more about accepting others than rejecting them. We’re all different, and that’s what makes us who we are.”
“Huh, it kinda sounds like a good place to be,” Smolder said. “Wouldn’t you agree, Gar-Gar?”
“I don’t know...” Garble rubbed his nose. “If you ask me, it sounds less like a place for dragons and more like a place for those sissy ponies.”
“HEY!!” I shoot up from my seat. Garble and Smolder quickly looked at me.
Oops! Gotta think of something.
With quick-thinking, I grabbed my leg. “Ah! My leg! Ow! Augh!”
“Are you alright?!” Smolder ran to me. “What happened?”
“It’s my leg! I think I’ve got a cramp!”
“Must’ve been all that walking you’ve done to get here,” Garble said. “You must’ve had one heck of a journey, and you don’t have your wings.”
“Don’t worry, Spike,” said Smolder. “There’s a lava pit not too far from here. You can relax there.”
Garble, Smolder, and I arrived at one of the lava pits. I could already feel the heat it’s giving off. Garble and Smolder already eased themselves into the glowing red magma. I, on the other hand, was getting a bit skeptical.
I know dragons are immune to lava, but the fact it can burn almost anything still worries me.
“Come on, Spike,” Garble called out. “The lava’s fine. Don’t you have lava pits where you live?”
“Not really,” I said. “I know I’m fireproof. It’s just that I never bathed in lava before.”
“Don't worry,” Smolder said. "I'm sure you'll love it."
"Okay, if you say so."
I placed my bindle in a safe place. I then dipped my feet into the lava. It was hot, but not scorchingly hot that it would burn off my skin. I slowly but surely lowered myself. Honestly, the lava felt surprisingly good. It was like sitting in a hot tub, but with the water replaced with a thicker liquid, like syrup. I let out a relieving sigh.
I’m so glad I turned into a dragon. I wonder if this is why Spike took a seven-hour bath back in the show.
I looked around to see if I could find Twilight and her friends. I noticed a blocky head peeking out from one of the rocks. That might’ve been them, but I wasn’t so sure.
“Hey, Gar-Gar, are you feeling okay?” Smolder asked.
Garble was staring into the lava like he just dropped a rare gem.
“I-It’s nothing, sis,” Garble replied quickly.
“Doesn’t sound like nothing,” I said. “Did you do something with your friends?”
“I said it’s nothing!” Garble looked away. “Just leave me alone!”
“Did you plan something bad? Like stealing eggs?”
Garble bit his lower lip.
“WHAT?!” Smolder shot up from her hot seat. “Garble, you said you would stop doing this!”
Garble put his hands up. “I did! I did! I joked about it with my friends, but they took me seriously! I didn’t know they would actually want to hunt for phoenix eggs!”
“You’ve got the wrong kind of friends, you know that?” I asked. “Why can’t you just call it off?”
“I can’t flake out on them. This is gonna happen tonight just outside the valley. Unlike the dragons where you live, Spike, turning down an activity at the last minute is like stealing from Dragon Lord Torch.”
I looked around and asked, “What if your activity got botched?”
“What?”
“I think I have an idea.” I got out of the lava pit. “I’ll be right back.”
I hurried to where I saw the “blocky dragon” peeking. I instantly heard panicking noises and shushing.
“Uh, excuse me?” I said to the “dragon.”
The head cleared its throat and said, “Y-Yes? You wanted to speak to me, young whelp?”
“My friend, the red teenage dragon named ‘Garble’, needs help with something. You see, his friends are gonna capture some phoenix eggs and he’s reluctantly gonna join them. Would it be possible for you to try and stop his friends before the phoenixes lose their young?”
I heard somepony whisper in the “dragon’s” torso, followed by the head shushing.
“I don’t know why you would ask me of all po—dragons! But I guess I can try to help you.”
“Great. Just meet up near the neighboring forest by nightfall, and hopefully we can prevent any casualties. Thanks, Twilight.” I walked away.
“You’re welcome,” the “dragon’s” head replied. “Wait a minute...”
As I returned to the lava pit, I could hear Smolder and Garble whispering.
“I’m telling ya, there’s something off about him,” Garble whispered. “Nodragon can be that cheerful and open, and I never heard of a place like what he described that has dragons.”
“Neither do I,” Smolder quietly replied, “but we should still...oh, hold that thought! He’s coming back!”
“Good news,” I said. “Some of my guardian’s friends just happen to be here, too. They’re willing to help Garble out with his egg problem.”
“They’d better,” Smolder said. “I don’t want a repeat of what happened with the cockatrices.”
“Hey, I wasn’t the one who smashed their eggs!” Garble said. “The others did, and they had their temporary stone nap coming.”
Nightfall approached. Smolder, Garble, and I peeked over a hill to see the phoenix nests nearby.
“Alright, I’ll head on down to meet up with my buddies,” Garble said. “You two can keep watch.”
“Will do,” I replied as Garble slid down the hill.
“What if your friends don’t show up?” Smolder whispered. “I’ve encountered Garble’s friends before, but you might not stand a chance against them.”
“Hey, I tore the collar off a diamond dog once,” I replied. “I can handle a bunch of teenage dragons.”
Garble leaned next to a tree. A few minutes later, a fat brown dragon and a skinny blond dragon arrived. The fat one was the same dragon Garble wrestled earlier, Clump. I didn’t know what the skinny one’s name was, though.
“You two are late,” Garble snarked. “Where are the others?”
“No idea,” Clump replied. “Probably chickened out at the last minute.”
Garble snorted. “Typical. They have no idea what they’re missing.”
The group hid behind a bunch of trees as a group of phoenixes flew by.
“What’s the plan, Garble?” the purple dragon asked quietly.
“Spear, you will lure the adult phoenixes away from the nest, while Clump and I will snatch the eggs,” Garble whispered.
“Wait, why do I have to do the rookie stuff?”
“Fine then. Clump and I will snatch the eggs from the nest, and you will lure the adult phoenixes away.”
“That’s better...hey!”
Garble gave the signal, and Spear carefully approached the nest. He was almost there when a voice shouted across the forest.
“Stop right there!”
Spear nearly jumped after hearing that, and the phoenixes flapped their wings in fright. Everyone turned to the source of the shouting. It came from the “blocky dragon.”
“It’s them!” I said with glee.
“Them?” Smolder asked. “I only see one.”
“I forbid you to lay a hoof on that nest!” The dragon bellowed.
“Beat it, man!” Clump retorted. “This is our heist. We...wait, ‘hoof’?”
The “dragon” removed its costume, revealing Twilight, Rainbow Dash, and Rarity. Everydragon’s jaw dropped.
“Ponies?!” Smolder shouted.
“My friends!” I declared.
“Your friends are ponies? That would explain so much.”
Spear launched a fire bolt straight at the pony group, but Twilight managed to put up a magic shield surrounding her and her friends.
“You think you can stop us?” Clump shouted. “You’re just a bunch of namby-pamby ponies.”
“We’ll show you what a ‘namby-pamby pony’ can do!” Rainbow declared.
Right after Twilight turned off the shield, Rainbow charged straight into Clump and delivered a powerful punch right in his nose. He tumbled backwards and hit a tree, knocking him out.
Rarity quickly approached Spear and bucked him right in the stomach. Spear wheezed as he clutched his belly and tried not to throw up.
Meanwhile, Twilight blasted magic right at Garble, but he blocked it with his arms. I couldn’t tell if Twilight was using real blasts or just faking it.
“We need to fall back!” Spear coughed. “Let’s just forget the eggs!”
“Go! I’ll take care of them!” Garble shouted. “I’m not leaving empty-handed!”
Spear placed Clump over his shoulders and flew away. Once the two dragons were out of sight, Garble quickly threw his hands up and surrendered. Twilight quickly pushed him down.
“Now’s our cue,” I said to Smolder. “Come on!”
“You’re gonna regret stealing eggs from that family,” Twilight growled as she stood on top of Garble. Her horn glowed like she was about to launch the sun at him.
“Twilight, stop!” I shouted. “He’s not like the other two! Spare him!”
Smolder and I quickly slid down the hill and hurried to the group.
“Spike!” Twilight hopped off and quickly hugged me.
“Why didn’t you say your guardian was a pony?” Garble got up and brushed himself off.
“You never asked,” I replied. “Also, I wanted to keep it a secret.”
“Why would you do that?” Smolder asked.
“The same reason you two wanted to keep tea partying and beat poetry to yourself.”
The dragon siblings clenched their teeth like I just dissed the Dragon Lord’s mother in front of him.
“I didn’t know dragons were into that sort of thing,” Twilight said enthusiastically. “Do you have a club here or something?”
“Uh...no,” Smolder replied. “Dragons here don’t have...clubs. In fact, most of them don’t like stuff like that. They’d always tease you or leave you out if you don’t act tough.”
“That’s awful!”
“Welcome to the Dragon Lands!” Garble sarcastically announced.
“It’s a good thing that doesn’t happen in Ponyville,” Rarity said. “Most of the time, anyway. Perhaps you two should come visit.”
“Maybe some other time,” Smolder replied. “We just moved here, and we gotta settle down first.”
“That’s fine,” Twilight said. “If you do want to visit, just keep heading north until you see a small village with a windmill. If you come to a city on the mountains, you’ve gone too far.”
Twilight and her friends decided to head home, and I went along with them. We said goodbye to Smolder and Garble and hoped we could see them again one day.
“Did you ever find out about your parents?” Twilight asked me as we walked down the path.
“Nah,” I replied as I rode on Twilight’s back. “But I did learn about dragons, though.”
On our way back to Ponyville, I told Twilight and the others how dragons grew in two different ways, greed and molting. Twilight was fascinated by my findings. She pulled out a scroll and quill and wrote down everything I said, and I mean everything.
Overall, I was glad to be able to befriend Garble and already meet Smolder before the School of Friendship was constructed. Sadly, the start of one friendship prevented the start of another. I didn’t meet Peewee, Spike’s pet phoenix, because I didn’t get the egg. Then again, Peewee had little to no involvement in the show, and Spike and Rarity would later arrive at the nests regardless. So, it didn’t seem like a total loss, though raising a phoenix would’ve been pretty cool.
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A very nice chapter. Well done, mate.
👍
Love it
I like how you introduced Smolder in this and so early too.
Nice chapter, needs abit of proof reading but overall good
God, I love this fic, it's so wholesome and thoughtful.
Hmm. I like this version of Dragon Quest. Makes sense that brony Spike meets Garble and Smolder and ease the transition with their character development from season 8 and 9 rather than meet Ember first. Otherwise, it defeats the purpose of the Gauntlet of Fire episode. Well done!
And it looks like brony Spike somewhat found the real Spike. Question is, who's involved in this switcheroo between David and Spike? Will David completely becomes Spike the more that he's in the dragon's body due to remembering bits of Spike's past before Ponyville? And will it be resolved before Discord's imminent reformation?
I love this series so much.
Nicely done! Now when/if Spike "greeds up", Twilight'll know what's up, and hopefully finds a way to counter it.
Overall nice chapter, too. Much thanks.
hmm if he still needs a phoenix you could always have the parents be informed what happened. Then maybe one of them would become a wildish familiar who'd come when called in gratitude. In the end its probably better a baby phoenix is raised by phoenix's.
I went back to the first chapter and the memory was out of order with it.
THIS has to change events.
Although it is uncertain if it is for the better or the worse. Ember becoming the new Dragon Lord was by the slimmest of margins. These changes could adversely affect that.
Of course then there is this:
i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/original/001/117/635/bbd.jpg
Rarity, Dragon Lord.
You know I kinda hope he decides to become dragonlord spike. I have always wanted a story where spike stays the dragon lord and goes about fixing the dragon lands.
10463996
I don't know about that. If he did that and became Dragon Lord, chances are he probably wouldn't have met Thorax in the Crystal Empire. Just sayin'.
.. ok whos 'this' friend Celestia speaks of?
10464031
I still would want to see it done not even if its from this fic. Also with the whole knowing the future thing I dont think it would be a problem especially with discord out and about at that time helping spike since discord already knows.
Awesome chapter featuring my 2nd fave dragon making an early appearance & good way to actually befriending her & Garble during the phoenix eggs hunt, well played!
Also glad we now know what happened to the real Spike, still gotta wonder who did this & what Discord's thoughts on it will be once he gets reformed!
Very nice. I like how you had him subvert it like that, well done.
I had an idea about this the other day. Maybe at the wedding, you could have spike do the fake hoof reading again, but this time on fake cadence, have him go on about how her children will one day become big and powerful, able to lead an entire nation with the power of love, and how it will flourish. Making it sound like all of chrysalis' plans will work out, and then he goes on about trying to look for something much closer to the present in her hoof or horn or something.
That's when he tells her that her short term future doesn't look too good for her. I'm sure you can find an awesome way to do it. I look forward to the next chapter!
Maybe one day David in Spike’s body will meet and befriend Peewee under different circumstances. Other than that, I do like that Garble and Smolder found a friend in David-as-Spike. Add Ember into the group and you’ll have a Dragon Quartet.
10464094
Money is on Scorpan.
10464318
you mean dragon waifu?
...Has anyone ever fallen victim to a permanent "stone nap"? I'd feel it's quite possible, if the cockatrice is pissed off enough.
Liked that twist with meeting smolder early. Xd
I wonder how long it would take Luna to realize that spike ain’t who he claims to be in his dreams?
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I think Spike's better off with this unchaged for most part. Sunset is better off being redeemed in the human world. Though he could try subvert or change the events of Anon a miss by telling the human girls "Promise me girls, don't jump to conclusions. Friends listen to each other. Not everyone believes in Sunset changing her ways, some of them may hold a grudge enough to frame her for something she didn't do. I mean ask yourself "Is sunset this obvious?" if you ever find something happened with clues leading to Sunset"
The next episode is gonna be Secret of my Excess???
Continue plz
All I think of is callin it GIB and then this
https://youtu.be/tirHlsiZVyk
It'd be good if Spike finds and be friends with the young six before season 8 starts, it'll do good when the movie comes. Like finding and friending hippogriffs, so when Twilight goes in, Novo wouldn't be that hostile
You actually fixed Dragon Quest well done. I really wished this how Dragon Quest really went
Scorpan?
Okay, this is beginning to interest me
You are a sneaky, forecastable fellow, and I salute you for befriending them this early. This series is awesome.
10539280
I agree wholeheartedly
10551148
10539280
Agreed. That was a well done way of fixing it.
10463915
lol. I can't stop laughing at Ember as a Pegasus and Rarity as a Dragocorn (if you look Rarity still has her horn).
Celestia what now?
10818237
Fixed
Ah I laughed hard at this
Heck yeah pony fight!!!!
Great chapter, a lot learned, a Chick never become a adopted orphan
One of Spikes best actions. He saved a familie from tragedy and made new acquaintances.
Oh the dreaded talk truly the bane of every teenagers existence thank Celestia I already knew how that stuff worked so I never had that conversation
I wonder if Peewee is Philadelphias future mate?
Dave-Spike... clever boy