Dragon’s Odyssey

by GrumpyMonk97

Chapter 1: Waking Dreams

Author's Note:

Hey y’all. This is the first chapter of a story I got inspired to write after having finished watching through the series all the way recently. It’s sort of intended to be a bridge between G4 and G5. So, without further ado, enjoy the story!

Every night, it’s the same dream. Spike looks around, seeing Canterlot under siege, ponies running and screaming. He knows what he has to do; get to the castle and regroup with Twilight and the others. But he barely has the strength to stand, and his vision is blurry and unfocused. He stumbles towards the castle using what little strength he has until he trips on his own feet, falling face first into the dirt.

“Twilight. I’m… sorry.” He choked out weakly. As he slowly began to lose consciousness, he could faintly hear her calling out as a blinding flash of light erupts into the sky.

“Spike! Spike!”

“Spike.”

Spike heard a different but still familiar voice calling his name now. He awoke with a start and saw Smolder standing above him, having been the one who shook him awake.

“It’s dawn. We’re getting ready to head out.”

“Right.” He exhaled shakily as he rose to his feet, trying his best to keep the dream out of his mind. It was times like this that Princess Luna’s counsel would have been invaluable, but alas, he’d have to make due with what he had.

One day at a time I guess. Spike thought to himself as he threw on his cloak and followed Smolder out of the cave where they had made camp for the night. It was an overcast day as he stepped outside, a light breeze brushing against his face.

“Garble and Ember already went on ahead. Ember wanted to get a lay of the land before we got moving.” Smolder told him as they moved ahead towards their designated meeting spot.

“She find anything interesting?”

“Guess we’ll find out when we get there.”

A blanket of silence fell over the duo as they walked. Smolder decided to be the one who broke the ice.

“So, you get any sleep?”

“Not a lot, but I’ll manage.” Spike replied.

“It seemed like you were having a pretty rough dream. Was it about…that day?” Smolder asked with a hint of concern. She could tell that Spike hadn’t been the same since what happened. He looked surprised at first but he steadied himself and turned to answer.

“All of us lost something that day. Wasn’t just me.”

“Sure, we all lost friends.” She paused as she remembered her friends and classmates from the School of Friendship with a heavy heart. “But Twilight and her friends, they were practically family to you. I can’t imagine how that feels.”

Spike gave it some thought. He had been by Twilight’s side ever since she hatched him from his egg. He saw her as a big sister, and her family became his family. And over time, as she got to know the ponies who would become her best friends, they became a part of his family too.

“Yeah. They were practically family. Which is why we’ve gotta do everything we can to set this right. For Twilight, and everypony we lost that day.”

Smolder nodded in affirmation at his declaration. They eventually came upon a cliffside looking out onto the horizon. Spike saw Garble seated on the ground, lightly tapping on his set of bongo drums. He smiled slightly to himself at the memory of the day he found out Garble liked poetry. After that day, he had become much more kind, actually becoming one of Spike’s most trusted friends.

“Oh, hey Spike.” Garble said as Spike approached him.

“Hey Garble. Getting some good rhymes in?”

“Figured it’d help lift the mood, ya know?”

“Aww. You’re so thoughtful Gar Gar.” Smolder said as she playfully punched him in the shoulder. Spike turned and saw Ember looking out on the horizon, the Blood Stone Scepter planted into the ground next to her. After Canterlot fell, Ember had offered Spike shelter in the Dragon Lands. It took a long time to get the Dragon Lands back in order, after which Spike had convinced Ember that they needed to find out who was responsible for causing the pony kinds to turn on each other.

“How we looking Ember?” Spike asked.

Ember kept her focus on the horizon.

“At this pace, we should reach Abyssinia just before midday.” Ember replied as she yanked the Scepter out of its perch and rested it on her shoulder.

“You sure the Cats are gonna be any help?” Garble asked as they all gathered together and started to walk.

“Ever since King Meowmeow got deposed, the Abyssinians have been a lot more friendly. Silverstream always talked about visiting Abyssinia. Said it would be the most adorable field trip ever.” Smolder paused for a moment as she remembered her old friend. She had no idea if she’d made it out of Canterlot or not. Garble placed a comforting hand on his sister’s shoulder and gave her a reassuring nod.

“Well then, we’ve just gotta talk to whoever’s in charge over there now. Maybe they can give us a clue as to how this happened, and potentially help point us in the direction of any survivors.” Ember stated. Smolder looked at Ember confused.

“Why aren’t we flying there? It’d certainly make the trip shorter.”

“Ever since Tartarus got blown wide open, all kinds of crazy creatures have been roaming around. It may not be safe to fly in these parts.”

“Besides, you’ve always been a slow flyer Smolder.” Garble playfully teased his sister.

“Now just hold on a minute!” Smolder and Garble started to roughhouse as Ember tried to maintain peace between them.

Spike, meanwhile, just kept his gaze fixated ahead, only partially paying attention to the chatter from his companions as they continued their trek to Abyssinia. His thoughts drifted back to when he and Twilight first arrived in Ponyville. He remembered how much Twilight stressed about planning for the Summer Sun Celebration that year, meeting everypony involved with the various facets of the festival, and ultimately taking up residence in the Golden Oak Library. He chuckled to himself when he remembered the surprise party Pinkie had thrown for her in the library. She managed to get all the ponies in Ponyville involved. Later that night Twilight had stated, and he quotes, “all the ponies in this town are crazy!” He smiled to himself at the memory but soon the smile faded and was replaced with a look of solemn determination.

We’ll fix this Twilight. I promise.

As he hardened his resolve, the four travelers continued their journey, hoping to find some answers as to how the pony kinds turned on each other, and the identity of the mysterious saboteur behind it all.

Comments

[PhoenixFlambe]

Nice to see the comics acknowledged.