"Stupid, stupid, stupid!" Spike sat in a grassy clearing, surrounded by small, twisted trees. They were weak and shriveled, wasted in the rocky socky they grew in, just as wasted as the tears he now watered them with. He had found the largest and strongest of them, and was banging his head against it. "How could I have been such an idiot?”
He let his head fall against the rough bark one last time, and sat there, crying. He knew, or at least he should have known, that Rarity would have problems with him being a pony. He was alone among dragons, and always had been. He was used to it by now.
Then, why did this still hurt so much? He dug his hoof into his chest. Why did he hurt so much? Rarity hadn't rejected him; she just said she needed time. But, what if time proved this was something she couldn't get over?
If that happened, he would leave. He would let her go on with her life how she chose. What else could he do? He would leave, and resume his search for others like him. He was a pony, maybe he didn't have a place in this world of dragons.
He stepped away from the tree and looked up. The moon was still almost full, and the clearing was well lit by it. He stared at it until tears blurred his vision, then he closed his eyes. Why was he even waiting? He should just leave. He met Twilight, she was surrounded by dragons, friends and foster family, that would protect her and help her grow. His mission was over. There was no need for him here.
The crack of twigs and dry leaves sounded off in the darkness, drawing the pony’s attention. It was probably just some wild animal, but Spike felt his heartbeat quicken as he stared into the forest. Then, he came to a sobering realization. He really was an idiot. He left Rarity out there. Alone.
He was just about to cast his tracking spell when whatever was nearby started charging at him. He faced the approaching sound of trampling feet, or claws, and prepared to defend himself. After he was done here, he would find Rarity and make sure she was safe. No wild animal would keep him from that task.
He prepared a preemptive spell and waited for the creature to come into view. When it did, he froze, carefully charged magic dissipating alongside his concentration. Charging straight at him, was a determined bundle of white scales and purple crest. "Rarity?"
The dragoness tackled him. After a brief tumble, Rarity had Spike pinned beneath her, and she yelled in his face, “Spike, you being a pony isn’t something I have to get over. I don’t care!”
Those words, the very words Spike wanted to hear, brought no joy. They only made the pain worse. Stronger and much more experienced in combat, Spike flipped the dragoness over as easily as turning over a sheet of paper. Then, he stood over her, just as she stood over him seconds ago, letting his tears fall to the scales below.
“Then what am I?" He yelled at her, closing his eyes against the flow of tears.
"Spike..." Rarity reached up for him, wanting to to touch him. She tried to rest her claw on the troubled face looking down at her, as if she could just wipe away the pain like she could a tear.
He jerked his head away from the touch and lowered his voice to a whisper. "In your eyes, what am I?". His voice cracked. "If being a pony isn’t the problem, what is?” He brought a hoof to his chest, squeezing the spot she had been touching. “I don’t understand any of this. Not even my own feelings anymore. But, I know this, Rarity. I’ve never felt like this before. Not for anydragon. When you said that what I am is a problem, it hurt. It hurt like hell, but not like any pain I've ever felt. It was like something was trying to crush me from inside, something I couldn't fight against.” He put his hoof down on the grass. “Like a claw closing in on my heart… Your claw.” He moved off of Rarity, shaking his head as he stumbled away. He felt like he barely had the strength to move. “The things you say, and do, affect me more than they should.” He plopped down heavily. “Honestly, I’ve been trying to sort my feelings out too. Have been ever since I met you. And I keep coming back to the same conclusion, and every second I spend with you only supports it. I wanted to tell you... but now, I’m not too sure you would want to hear it.”
“The good and bad become better and worse around those we care about. The stakes are higher, the fear of loss, greater.” Rarity sat up slowly. “Spike, what you are is not the only issue I am concerned with. What I am is also causing me difficulty. It has nothing to do with ponies and dragons, and I barely understand it myself, but please, give me a chance to explain.”
“I will, you know I will.” He looked over at her. “I love you. Even if you don’t feel the same, I want you to know that I love you.”
The dragoness looked down and closed her eyes. “I wish you hadn't said that. I do feel the same, but hear me out before you say anything further.”
“Why?” Spike walked over to her. “If you feel the same, why did we just go through all that?” He sat in front of her and lifted her chin gently. “If you really feel the same, look me in the eyes and say it. I don’t understand what’s going on, but I’ll trust you. Just let me hear you say it.”
She looked into his eyes, purple meeting green, both lined with the red of tears. “I can't, Spike, I don't know for sure. I think I do, but it scares me. It scares me because this was decided for us.”
“Decided?" Spike shook his head. "How could this be decided?"
Rarity rested her claws on his chest. "Spike, you say you love me. What does that mean to you? What does love look like through your eyes?"
The pony brought his hoof to meet the claws, holding them to his fur. "I don't know. I'm still finding out. But, I know that what I feel is for you alone."
"Then..." She stared at his hoof, silently preparing her words. "Would you take me as your mate?"
Spike's eyes went wide. Those had to be the last words he ever expected to hear in this situation. "What, like, now?"
Rarity's face went bright red. "No!" She shook her head quickly and tried to back away, but Spike still had hold of her claws. "Not now! hypothetically! Hypothetically, would you take me as your mate? One day far, far, far in the future?"
"Oh." Spike scratched at his mane, shyly looking away from her. He should have realized that she didn't mean it like that. "I... I guess." Now that he calm enough to think about it, he was starting to see problems. The way she posed her question had sent his mind down a path of preparation and practicality, and now, he had questions. Dragons mate for life, but is a pony's life the same as a dragon's? Would one of them have to go through the loss of the other? And, was it even possible for a dragon and a pony to…
He was broken from that train of thought by a series of small pokes as Rarity tightened her claws against him. "Spike, please, answer me seriously."
He took a deep breath. "Yes. If you would have me, I would take you as a mate without hesitation."
The dragoness pulled her claws away. "What if it meant giving up your magic?"
Spike stopped and stared at her. How could he even begin to answer that? Magic was everything, it was everywhere. "How could I give up my magic?"
Rarity nodded sadly. That was the answer she had expected. "Your magic is more important to you than I am."
"No." Spike shook his head slowly. "That's not what I said." The pony moved closer to the dragoness. "I just don't understand. Why would I have to give up magic? And how would I do it? Is it even possible?"
The dragoness looked up, her eyes wide in shock. "Then, you..."
He wrapped her in a tight embrace and nodded. "If that is what you would ask of me, I would do it."
Rarity buried her face in the fur of his chest. As she tried to calm her pounding heart, she listened to the steady, rhytmic beat of his. How could he be so calm, so resolute, while saying something like that? "I- I wouldn't." She shook her head against him. "How could I? How can any dragon?" She looked up slowly. "I don't understand how you can say that."
Spike met her eyes and ran a hoof along her crest. He understood now. He knew why she was so scared of this. "This isn't about me, is it? It's about you."
She broke eye contact and nodded. "When an earthmate gives herself up to another, she must give her powers up as well."
Spike closed his eyes. He couldn't ask that of her. "I won't ask anything of you. Let me stay by your side, and that will be enough."
He felt a weight on his snout, and opened his eyes. Rarity pulled his face down and slowly rubbed her claw through the fur there. "I would, but it's not that simple, Spike." She then reached up and tied the magical limiter around his horn. "There is only ever one Earthmate at a time, and the history of the Earthmates is passed down from those that gave up their powers to be with the ones they love. The name is much more literal than it seems. We are the chosen of the Earth, and our destiny is to wait for the one who hold's the Earth's blessing."
Spike stayed silent, and didn't resist when Rarity took his hoof and lifted it to her chest. She ran her claw over it, gently exploring every nick, scratch, and scar hidden under fur. "Spike, show me your magic."
He touched his other hoof to the limiter. "I can't, Rarity. This-"
The dragoness shook her head. "No, not that." She pressed her claw to his chest, over his heart. "I want to see your true magic. That which comes from here." She brought her claw back to his hoof. "And here."
Spike took a deep breath and focused on the hoof she held. He tried to envision his magic, as if he were going to... Cast a spell... From his hoof? He sighed heavily. "Rarity, I don't think I can do this."
She let his hoof drop to the ground. "Don't think." She brought her claws to his face, and gently tugged down. As she touched their foreheads together, she whispered, "Just close your eyes and feel."
They closed their eyes together, and Spike did his best to follow her instructions. He didn't think about his magic, or try to force it. He just sat there and tried to focus on what he felt. Her head touching his, claws slowly falling away from him, a quiet breeze running through his mane.
He could hear the wind pick up, and slowly became aware of other noises around him. Crickets in the grass, nocturnal birds and bats rustling through the trees; his own breath, and the breath of the dragoness in front of him.
With each breath, he could smell her. He could smell himself too. They both reeked of the blood and sweat of the last two days. But they were surrounded by other smells as well. The scents of woodland plants, grass, and dirt intertwined with their own.
Slowly, Spike became aware of something among the various sounds, smells, and sensations. A gentle warmth, formless, coalescent, surrounding him. It brushed against him as it grew more and more defined.
After a few moments, the warmth had solidified into a gentle, sweeping curve that danced around him. It lit upon him and slowly invaded his very being. He didn't fight it though. Now that it was within him, he could sense it clearly, as if he were looking at it. It was a purple ribbon, smooth and flowing, with a shimmering surface that hid the jagged portions of its edge. This ethereal ribbon was magic, Rarity's magic.
It slowly withdrew, drawing something out. Energy, bright and condensed. It was shifted and bent, angular and green. This was the magic from last night, the unidentified spell at the campfire. Spike could feel it, wanting to expand, to explore. It wanted to shoot off in every direction, but Rarity's magic kept it bound. Was this his magic? The 'true magic' she had spoken of?
Rarity's magic relaxed slightly, and a single beam of his magic shot off on an angular path around them. It was caught by a piece of ribbon that branched off from the main one. The two magic offshoots intertwined, combining into a twisting white line of energy that continued to swirl around them.
The dragoness continued to release his magic in such a way that one or two lines could escape, just to be caught a second later. After a few rounds of this, Spike's magic began to actively seek hers out.
She let go. Spike's magic burst into a thousand dancing lines, filling the clearing with harsh light. Rarity split her own magic into an equal number of ribbons, and spread them out among the lines. One by one, each instance of magic met its opposite. They combined, becoming something different, something greater, brighter than they had been before.
After every thread of magic had merged, the new lines continued to swirl, forming a framework around them. They wove and braided themselves into complicated patterns as pony and dragon sat unmoving beneath them. Braided magic criss-crossed and locked into place, fading away once each piece stopped moving.
When the last bit of magic faded, they opened their eyes. The clearing was completely transformed. Around the grass and hobbled trees stood a forest of woven stone, a wide, domed temple, grown from solid rock. And in its center, beneath an opening that let moonlight shine through, Spike and Rarity stared at each other.
The magical limiter had disintegrated, leaving nothing but sparkling dust. Rarity reached up and brushed the powdered crystal out of Spike's mane. She gave him a small bittersweet smile. "The earthmates have been waiting for you, Terris.”
Is Spike part alacorn?
Wat.
Huh. Well, that happened. I guess Spike has some earth pony genes in there somewhere. I look forward to seeing what this means in greater detail.
Wow that was different. I can't wait for the next chapter.
Maybe its because the updates have been months apart but I am completely confused.
Hmm, so that happened, very curious indeed.
it was good but now i need a small explination to how spike is this terris it sounds like he has a special earth magic apart from his unicorn magic.
Well that was a thing.
It seems that Rarity is willing to give up her Magic for Spike. Did she? Your description make me think that there Magic is stronger then before. It looks like the Magic has bonded there sols together for life. If sum thing happen where to happen to Spike that brakes that bond Rarity wood have to give her powers up or has she already when she bonded to Spike?
Dragonfox
Nice chapter - it's good to see them finally communicating properly with each other. I'm really starting to feel sorry for Rarity, though.
First she gets a disfiguring scar, then her tail gets lopped off, and now she's losing her magic?
It's cool to see spike being all badass and I'm trying not to jump to conclusions or anything, but as he gets stronger she gets weaker, and it's starting to feel a little bit unbalanced between the two of them. Maybe I'm just reading too much into it.
Don't get me wrong, I still enjoy the story, and like the characterization - I just hope Rarity somehow catches a break.
I’m a little unclear on what happened, other than there is clearly some sort of prophecy at work here.
I think part of the issue is that it’s easy for us to forget that this is not Equestria; however similar the characters may seem, the rules here are different.
When's the next chapter coming...I'm gonna die if you don't post more chapters. Please!
I got lost half way through the story and am trying to get back on the starting track
4058294 Every Saturday from here on out.
4057078 The next two chapters should help explain what happened.
4054857 She hasn't lost her magic yet.
4054329 See previous two lines.
4054317 Yes, it certainly was.
4053508 That will be the subject of several upcoming chapters, as the mystery of this prophecy slowly unfurls.
Sorry to the rest of you who left comments, this is all I have time to respond to at the moment.
4053179 You are not alone in that sentiment... I am quite perplexed myself.
I'm puzzled here. But I guess I'll just have to find out later.
~ Super-Brony12
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I agree, Im quite perplexed. I like this story but im getting increasingly lost with the new chapters.. I guess keep reading on is all we can do.
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I've been seeing a lot of comments about people being confused. I intentionally wrote certain events so that you figure things out over time, alongside the character. But it seems I could have done a better job at it. Let me know if there is something specific that I can clear up for you. Also, chapter 30(being posted the week after next) will contain a summary of the story so far.
Thank you for sticking with me.
4077658 I think the problem is too many critical new plot elements are just erupting onto the scene, when they are so BIG they should have come up before.
It'd be like getting 3/4 of the way through "Fellowship of the Ring" before Gandalf turns to the Companions as they're going through Moria (for some reason they cannot fathom) and declares, "Oh by the way, Frodo's carrying the One Ring with Sauron's evil spirit inside it."
Central plot elements cause problems when they pop up too far into a story. Invariably, the question arises as to why nothing was said about them previously, especially when some of the characters knew some or all of the details, and knowing about those things would have helped everyone.
If you don't want to reveal everything, then at the very least include some foreshadowing or some subtle hints that something important is lurking in the offing.
4077861 I've been foreshadowing the the earth thing with spike's magic for a few chapters, and a few other things have been foreshadowed since ch. 1 but not revealed. I can understand what you mean though. It seems like the story is pretty far along, but it's only a few days into a story meant to span about two years.
4079548 I think the issue is, you've been treating it very much like a slice-of-life up until now, and suddenly there's a Big Thing taking over.
Generally, one wants to avoid a slice-of-life appearance when something major is in the offing.
There were a number of little 'daily tales' in this which could have been shortened or altered to better fit the central theme.
4077658
Oh, its a great story and I'm sticking with it until the end, no worries.
Part of the issue is my own fault, I got lost because of the chapter release pacing. I tend to read 4-5 stories at once and under a quicker pacing I don't forget events and get stuff mixed up. You were running a considerably slower pace (which is fine!) and I forgot some things, so reading the newer chapters and forgetting past details, quotes, etc, I just got lost.
Unlike other commenters, I do not feel lost. Certainly, I have questions, but they're the sort that I'm sure will be answered farther along. I personally like it when everything isn't explained upfront. It's a puzzle I can play with, and with each new chapter comes a few more pieces.
That said, this chapter certainly gave me a hefty piece. I'm not sure where to fit it in, yet; though I have an increasingly stronger feeling that the Draconica-Equestria separation is ending. This is definitely giving off end-of-an-age, cycling-back-of-ancient-events vibes.
And I feel a deep sense of loss for the magic limiter. It seems like just the sort of unusual artifact that could be incredibly useful in any number of situations. I suppose it served its purpose as a Key Item, but I would have liked to keep it.
BHWHAAAAAAAT?!
The amazement! I must read moar!
WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAT? So confused! What just happened?! Was things building to this? I don't understand! I don't understand! Why! Why must Rarity, the fairest of all give up her magic?! Who is Terris? What is Terris? Is it related to Tetris?
I don't have answers! Must read more!
Ok, I'll be honest, the last scene was quite irritating to read...
I know you were trying to paint a picture for us of how spike's magic interacted with rarity's, but did it really have to be 371 words long?
Not trying to be an ass, just wondering if every single detail was nessesary.
A lot of wrighters have the problem of not enough words to describe a scene, but I believe here was the opposite. A fine line has to be walked. If there isn't enough description, we can't immers our selves in the story, but if there are too much detail, we can't paint a proper picture either because our minds are trying to juggle all of them at the same time, and we are going to have to end up rereading the scenes.