Love Keeps Dragon On: The Return of Sapphire

by The Lord Thunder

Chapter 16

Lucky Charm stepped out onto the wooden porch of his shop, carrying a broom with his unicorn magic. Humming to himself, he began sweeping off the dust that had blown on it back to the ground. Normally he wouldn't bother with such a mundane chore, but with most of Buckington’s ponies gone, business was slow and he had to find new ways to keep busy.

Something hot tickled the top of his hoof, distracting him from his work and he looked down to see what it was. A couple of little red ants with flaming eyes were crawling their way across his shank. Fire ants! One of them was bad enough, but a whole nest of the insects was hard to get rid of and they could burn a house down if they built their colony too close.

"Get out of here!" Lucky shouted, sweeping the insects away. "Go on! Git!"

The ants squeaked in protest and activated their infamous defense mechanism: setting their bodies ablaze. Flames crawled their way up the bristles on Lucky's broom, forcing him to toss it onto the dirt road lest it catch his porch on fire, while the ants scurried for safety. In seconds, there was nothing left of the broom but a charred stick. Lucky muttered a curse to himself, then his priorities changed as he looked past the edge of town.

Something heading down the road into Buckington that made the fire ants seem insignificant prompted Lucky to clean off his glasses just to be sure he wasn't seeing things. When he put the glasses back on, the sight remained there.

So this was it. Either old age had finally made him senile and delusional or he was seeing the darndest thing he'd ever seen in his many years of living. "I don't believe it! Everypony, come outside, quick!"

"What's going on out here, Lucky?" Lucky Charm's neighbor, a bald, equally aged earth stallion said as he came out of his house to check on the commotion.

"They actually did it!" Lucky shouted, pointing a hoof at the arriving dragons and ponies.

""Who' did 'what', ya crazy old coot?" Lucky's neighbor asked.

"Look! Just down the south road there, can't you see them you blind old geezer?"

"Eh?" The elderly pony squinted his bespectacled eyes, looking harder.

Spike and Sapphire, returned to their normal colors, were coming into town from the road that led to the Dragonlands, along with everypony who had been captured. Autumn Gale, Dustin Wind and even little Sunset Breeze were all there.

"Well I'll be a gryphon's uncle!” said Lucky’s neighbor. “They're back, everypony's back!"

"I knew they were brave, but I didn't actually expect them to succeed!"

By now, most of Buckington's remaining ponies had stepped out of their homes to see what all the shouting was about. Many of the children shouted in joy and ran to meet their returning parents head-on as the adults neared the village. Tears were shed and hugs exchanged among a clamor of joyous voices.

***

“Hey!” Spike shouted, waving at Lucky as he approached Lucky Charm's Emporium of Relics, Trinkets and Magical Items. “We did it!”

Lucky offered Spike his hoof and he gladly shook it. “You sure did, didn’t you?” the old pony asked.

“We even got you that Dragonspice like you wanted,” Sapphire said. She took the bag from her shoulder where it had been resting and set it down at Lucky’s hooves.

“Well, don’t that beat all?” An glittering aura of magic surrounded the bag as Lucky lifted it into the air. “I wasn’t sure you could actually do it, but I guess if anything can thwart a bunch of dragons, it’s more dragons.”

“Couldn’t have done it without that chameleon fruit,” Spike said, giving Lucky a stiff pat on the back, the impact of which caused the unicorn to drop his bag. “You really came through for us, pal!”

"Hey! Easy!" Lucky yelled. He winced and took a step back. "You trying to pop my hip out of joint?"

Spike backed off to give Lucky some space. "Oh, sorry."

“You oughta be,” Lucky grumbled, taking a few seconds to rub his back in pain. "Is that how you treat an old stallion? First you darn near give me a heart attack and then you go beating on my back like a drum!” Lucky shook his head in discontent. “Kids these days. No respect."

"Grandpa!" one of the recently freed ponies, a young adult unicorn stallion, trotted up to Lucky and gently draped a hoof over his neck.

"See?” Lucky wrapped a foreleg around his grandson. “Now that's more like it. Gotta be gentle with us old folks."

Off to the side, Lucky's neighbor laughed. "Didn't know you was such a softy, ya wrinkled old warhorse. I think you-oof!"

It was Lucky's turn to laugh as a young mare ran up to his neighbor and gave him a giant hug. Her cheeks were wet with fresh tears coming from her tightly shut eyes.

“Grandpa, I missed you so much. I thought I might never see you again.”

"I missed you too, grandbaby, but my spine ain't what it used to be."

A middle-aged Earth pony mare wearing a bowtie around her neck walked up to Spike and Sapphire. From her stately appearance and the prideful way she walked, Spike guessed she was a pony of some importance.

"I'm Paula Tishian, the mayor of Buckington.” She extended a hoof first to Spike, who accepted it, and then to Sapphire, who also shook the mayor’s hoof. “On behalf of all the ponies of Buckington, I thank you for saving our quiet little village. From this day forward, Buckington will forever remember the tale of the two brave dragons who risked their lives to save our ponies from the clutches of their own kind. In fact, by the power invested in me as mayor, I hereby decree one week from day, and every year on that day hereafter, Buckington shall hold a festival in appreciation for our heroes!"

Ponies whistled, cheered and stamped their hooves in approval. Spike couldn't stop the smile from spreading across his face as pride swelled within him. He was a hero, and it made him feel strong. Powerful. For so long he'd been the helpless little dragonling who, in the face of danger, either screwed up or got in the way. But now he'd helped save an entire pony village and was about to have a festival thrown in his honor!

"Three cheers for Spike and Sapphire!" Autumn Gale shouted.

"Hip, hip, hooray!" came a chorus of pony voices.

"Three cheers for Sunset Breeze!" Sapphire shouted above the noise. She picked the little pegasus up and held her high. "We couldn't have done it without her!"

"Hip hip hooray!"

From the corner of his eye, Spike could see Autumn Gale smiling up her daughter with pride while Sunset giggled in delight from the attention.

"I can't thank you enough for what you've done for us," Autumn said to Spike and Sapphire. "I guess not all dragons are bad."

"I'm glad there was something I could do to help," Sapphire said, setting Sunset down.

"Me too!" said Spike. "How could I ever look Princess Celestia in the face again if I didn't?"

"What are you going to do now?" Autumn asked.

"I gotta get back to Ponyville," Spike replied. "I can't wait to tell all my friends about our adventure!"

All at once, ponies moaned and lowered their heads and their ears drooped, eyes filled with disappointment.

"Well, I'm sorry you couldn't stay longer, but just know that you'll always be welcome here in Buckington," Dustin Wind said.

"Indeed!" Paula Tishian added. "You wouldn't want to miss your own festival, would you?"

Spike chuckled. "Don't worry, I'm not going to pass that up!"

Autumn Gale gasped. Her eyes widened with worry. “Oh, jeez! I need to get to Ponyville, too! Rainbow Dash is really gonna let me have it for missing practice!” With that, she beat her wings and shot off through the air towards Ponyville.

***

Colors streaked through Ponyville’s skies as a team of pegasi flew in perfect arches, one underneath the other with pinpoint timing. The result was a rainbow left behind by the blurring speed of the ponies. Rainbow Dash was sitting on a nearby cloud and blew the whistle that hung around her neck.

“Alright, good job, everypony! That was an awesome rainbow! Let's wrap it up for today.”

The team of pegasi wiped the sweat from their foreheads and took off for home or wherever else they were going. Rainbow smiled with pride, then the expression on her face turned from satisfaction to a mix of frustration and disappointment as she watched Autumn Gale flying towards her.

"Well, look who finally decided to show up!" Rainbow stood on her hind legs, crossing her forelegs across her chest. The look in her face made her displeasure well-known.

Autumn Gale landed on the cloud, panting. "I'm sorry, Rainbow Dash."

"Autumn, it's not like you to miss Rainbolts practice without telling anypony. You'd better have a good excuse."

"I was foalnapped by dragons," Autumn replied, deadpan.

Rainbow's eyes grew wide. A few seconds of disbelief held her tongue and then she dropped back down to all fours. "Wow, that's a good excuse. How'd you get yourself out of that one?"

"I wouldn't have if it weren't for your friend Spike."

Rainbow Dash smiled. "Spike?"

"There we were," Autumn said, using her hooves to help tell the tale, "all the ponies of Buckington, shackled up and hauled off by dragons, forced to work in their fortress as slaves. Just when all hope seemed lost, Spike and his friend Sapphire come to our rescue, disguised as the enemy. My daughter even helped them. After leading us to the mines and enduring a harrowing cart ride, we managed to escape the clutches of the evil Shadow Dragons."

A strange sense of warmth seemed to hug Rainbow Dash's heart as she listened to the story. Spike had actually met up with Sapphire again! Rainbow didn't say it out loud for the sake of her reputation, but she hoped this time they could have a happier ending.

"Oh yeah!" Rainbow did a hoof-pump. "I knew Spike was awesome! And I'd say your daughter has future Rainbolt potential if she was brave enough to contend with dragons."

“You know it!” Autumn stretched her foreleg out to Rainbow as an invitation to hoof-bump.

“I’ll get the full story from Spike later. Rainbow said. Their hooves met with a thump. “It’s good to have you back, Autumn.”

Something about Autumn’s posture urged Rainbow to take a closer look at her. Autumn’s legs were shaky, as if it was taking all her energy just to stand. She hadn’t stopped panting and her voice was coming with shallow breaths. Dark rings circled listless eyes that looked to be a struggle keeping open, blinking one at a time, then half-blinking, to being shut for several seconds and back to half-blinking. From the look of it, Rainbow thought Autumn might have just fought her way through the gates of Tartarus.

“Hey, you don’t look so good,” Rainbow said. “You okay?”

Autumn rubbed her eyes. “I haven’t slept in a couple days and I haven’t eaten since yesterday morning. Even then, it was just a slice of bread and a couple leaves of spinach.”

Regret and sympathy surged through Rainbow, although she did her best not to show it. If her team found out how soft-hearted she was underneath her tough exterior, they might lose a certain amount of respect for her. Nonetheless, she waved a hoof, beckoning for Autumn to follow. “Come on, let’s go get some grub. My treat.”

They very though of food made Autumn’s stomach rumble. “Thanks. I’m hungry as horse!”

***

A rubber ball sailed through the air as Anjou Pear and Honeycrisp bounced it back and forth off their heads, giggling all the while. A swift bop off Anjou's send the toy flying in Honeycrisp's direction. As the filly ran off to intercept it, Anjou glanced off to the side, completely distracted from their game until the ball smacked him right in the side of the face.

"What's the matter, Anjou?" Sunset asked, galloping back up to him.

"He's back!" Anjou pointed at Spike and Sapphire, who were approaching Sweet Apple Acres. "Uncle Spike!"

"Uncle Spike's back!" said Honeycrisp, running after her brother.

Sapphire couldn't fight a chuckle as the two foals galloped up to them, kicking up clouds of dust from the dirt road. "'Uncle?'"

Smiling, Spike dropped to a knee and wrapped a foreleg around both of the foals. "Told you I'd be back, huh?"

A distant wooden thumping made Spike look up at the fields of apple trees, where Applejack was bucking one tree clean of its last apples. She took a moment to wipe the sweat from her forehead, then looked at Spike and smiled.

"Welcome back, Spike!" she said as she trotted over to where her children and the dragons were.

"Hey, AJ!" Spike and Applejack exchanged a hug.

Applejack’s smiled turned to a look of curiosity as she let go of Spike. "Hey, Spike, who's-" She cut her question short, taking a closer gaze at the female dragon beside him. The mental torch could be seen flickering in AJ’s green eyes. "Well, don't this beat all. Ain't ya the dragon Spike brought to Ponyville that one time?"

"Yup! That's me!" Sapphire said with a smile. “I remember you. I had apple pie for the first time in my life with you and your family.”

"My, my,” Applejack replied as she looked Sapphire over from claws to head. All those years ago, the dragoness barely reached her neck. Now she was a head taller than AJ. “Ya sure have grown. You were just a little dragon the last time I saw ya. Guess ten years can change a lot of things."

"I'll say," Sapphire replied, eyeing Anjou and Honeycrisp. "You have kids now."

"Sure do!" Applejack's voice was filled with pride. "Don't be shy, kids, say hello."

"Who are you?" Anjou pear asked. He shyly scraped a hoof across the dirt road.

“Anjou!” Applejack snapped in a motherly, yet firm tone, “is that anyway to greet someone? I’m sorry ‘bout that, Sapphire. Anjou here’s a bit girl-shy.”

Sapphire dropped to a knee so she was at eye level with the foals. "My name's Sapphire, I'm a friend of Spike's. You know, I met your mother once a long time ago, before you two were even born."

"I'm Anjou!" said Anjou. Fresh rosy circles hugged his cheeks.

"And I'm Honeycrisp!" said the filly.

"So, Spike, whatcha gonna do now that you found yer gal pal again?" Applejack asked.

"Well, I think, maybe," he paused, fidgeting. "Maybe, if it's alright with her, I mean, I might stay with her for a while."

"Oh Spike," Sapphire said, embracing him, "of course you can stay with me."

Spike’s nerves tingled. His heart pounded. A sense of warmth, calming yet alarming at the same time, washed over him as he held Sapphire close. This was their chance, a decade in the making chance, for a happy ending.

The foals’ ears drooped, sadness and disappointment shining in their big eyes.

“Ya mean yer gonna leave again?” Anjou asked with a sniff.

Applejack titled her head questioningly as she rubbed her son’s back comfortingly. “How come, Spike? There some reason she can’t stay here in Ponyville?”

“I wouldn’t mind!” Sapphire replied, blushing with a big grin. The foals smiled hopefully up at Spike, their eyes begging him to stay.

Spike let his head down and sighed. It wasn’t that he didn’t want Sapphire to stay with him and Twilight. He knew Twilight Sparkle wouldn’t object, and he wanted Sapphire to come live with him more than anything, but his thoughts were fixated on Buckington, on Sunset Breeze, her parents, Lucky Charm; everypony. As a growing dragon, he’d developed a sixth sense and it was telling him even though they freed everypony, Buckington wasn’t safe yet. If Zog decided to retaliate, the village was vulnerable. Just as Lucky Charm mentioned, the only thing that could hope to stand against a dragon was another dragon. Or an alicorn. Or Fluttershy, but Spike doubted even she could reason with Zog’s forces.

One part of Spike’s heart wanted to stay here in Ponyville and take a breather with Sapphire after their dangerous adventure, but the other part was still in Buckington, pulling his heart in opposite directions like a tug-of-war rope. He sighed and rested on the decision that he couldn’t abandon Buckington as long as his sixth sense was gnawing at him.

“It’s a long story,” Spike said.

Smiling, Applejack started for the farmhouse, waving for Spike and Sapphire to follow. “Shucks, I got time. Come on inside and we’ll talk about it over a hot apple pie!”

Apple pie. Spike could smell it already. Few things made him feel better when he was down than fresh-baked goodies from Sweet Apple Acres. Sapphire was rubbing her stomach and licking her lips as well. Dragons were predatory by nature, so she hadn’t had apple pie since the day she came to Ponyville ten years ago. Applejack’s kids and the two dragons gladly followed her inside the house.

Comments

[Szalhi]

+1

[HolyCross9]

YAY! Keep it up, ma'mm!

[Richforce]

Great chapter.

[TheSecondDon]

Brilliant... just a brilliant story. On a scale of one to ten...image.lang-8.com/w0_h0/d17e3655c3a548908eddea8ccaa12ce6cb5b1b39.jpg
I'm sorry I had too.