The last nine hundred years haven't been kind to Spike.
Unable to live in pony society at his current size, Spike sets off on a journey to find the spell that can revert his rampant growth. But he's not the only one searching for the cure.
From a lost library buried deep under the frozen north, to the seedy depths of a starlit metropolis, to the desolate surface of the moon, Spike will go to any length to reclaim what time and biology have taken from him--if the journey doesn't kill him, first.
A story about coming to terms with yourself. Also an entry for the May Pairings Contest.
Chapters (7)
Ooo, this looks interesting. I'll have to read it!
This definitely has me intrigued.
Two mistakes to clean up once the contest is over.
First, "Omnipotence" is All Powerful. - "Omniscience" is All Knowing.
Second, there's a typo where you refer to Spike as "she".
On to the next chapter!
This was an interesting read.
I don't really buy the romance tag, as this Spike would have done what he did for any of his friends.
However, the story as a whole was an interesting look at the place of dragons - and Spike - in the world.
Good story and good luck.
Great imagery and prose throughout. I'm especially big on how unique your approach to fleshing out the world came out; chapter 2 was very well-done in that regard, as it captured the concept beautifully. The characterization of the pair was pretty stock solid overall, but it did feel a bit rushed here at the end: a little bit more time (yes, I see the irony) for talk, and that ending would feel a lot stronger.
11256751 Thanks for the corrections
glad you liked it!
Oh, jeeze. This is really dark, in a way I hadn't considered before. Excellent idea, fabulous execution.
I just feel terrible for Smolder. What she's going through is horrifying and pitiful at the same time.
Now this has been a pageturner. The time pressure and feeling of dread/panic, plus the mixture of body horror and Hedgehog's Dilemma presented by Banshee, framed by unique worldbuilding, is something I've never experienced before. Thank you for writing this. It was a delight.
Very compelling.
what the fuck happened to Smolder?
idk what to feel now
i both do and don't like this
I wonder just who Celestia was protecting from who with the shield against the void?
If dragons can keep growing and on dieing turn to rock, and get too large to fly on Equestria without causing severe wind damage, then it would be better for them to leave the world and make their way in the outside void, becoming large enough to form worlds and even stars or even more, slowly spreading life and space into an ever increasing volume? Flying and cavourting in the skies of old red supergiant stars?
I wonder who gifted her the solar fire resistant chainmail, and if it was normal material like tungsten or just magically reinforced, like by Celestia?
I wonder how many pit fights, back street doctors, dark apothecaries, amongst other methods, she went through before getting so desperate, and who would help, and could survive the procedure themselves. Unless they didnt?
Music to listen to.
We Have All The Time In The World.
If this dragon kept endangering the very important personal quest I was on and acting like a total enemy of what I was desperately trying to accomplish i would of killed her the second time I seen her.
I really enjoyed this. I’m very interested in the implied fates of the Alicorns, too.
I'm a bit confused about Spike's size here. Earlier he had to suck in his belly to fit in a hole 40 yards wide, but here he's crawling through subway tunnels?
11257869 Just a continuity error
glad you caught it. In the first draft, Spike was fifteen stories tall. At that size, he was even more of an inconvenience to me than he was to himself, so I scaled him down.
I am conflicted on how I feel of this ending.
That fight was hella confusing
And the book/inscription was super coincidental
Love the lore and the perspective
Why would a super heated wounded dragon be able to find spike deep in a metropolis metro?
And what’s up with this map
I still don’t see the relevance of the other dragon
And it’s not a map anymore it’s twilights FanFiction?
What’s helping this other dragon
Why is she so antagonistic
Didn’t care for smolder in this, but I liked how he came to terms with his existence.
I thought it was going to end with twilight coming back.
And lol you mentioned four of the five alicorns.
I get what you’re going for at the end, but does that mean they decided to rest super far away from each other and just grow til they met again at ponyville?
11257869
They’re fucking big subway tunnels, duh.
11258211
What the hay Spike, I left Smarty Pants with you and and and Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!
That's what you get gallivanting across the galaxy
42
It's the journey - We all end the same way
this is gorgeous
LET'S FUCKING GOOOOOOO
Excellent look at the draconic condition and the costs that life among the shorter-lived species demands. Time keeps on slipping, and generations of those lovable mayflies pass in a blink. There comes a point where trying to cling to them becomes unhealthy. Both dragons here passed that point centuries ago. At least they found acceptance together. I'm sure Twilight would be proud.
I'm also sure she has quite an earful for Celestia when she gets back from her research trip.
Thank you for this.
my review:
good stuff
i like the world you've built around the story, how pony society is still so very pony, how celestia is vibing in the astral, how dragons are
i like how contemplative this feels, vs. being all angsty about death and memories past, you set it apart from other Old!Spike fics in that way
i love the title
11257869
Starlight made really wide subways?
Great read!
This was well-written, far better than your run-of-the-mill fanfiction in terms of storytelling and skill with the English language. Which means that I finally have the privilege to remark on the content of a story.
That said, the plot was a bit of a MacGuffin fest, and the "A story about coming to terms with yourself" part in the description completely gives away the ending. As for the moral of the story, I didn't like it. At all. As a transhumanist, I do not approve of simply accepting that which can be improved/fixed/changed by advancement.
I am one-hundred percent with Starlight on this one. Screw condescending, affluent idiots telling others from their lofty perches to accept crappy fates. Which means, in the context of this story, screw Celestia and that big dragon in the cave. Defeatists, the both of them.