Hunting High and Low(Stand My Ground)
“Twilight Sparkle, that seems like an odd name for a dragon.” Spike ignored the blasting wind in his face and adjusted the bags strapped to his sides. They were a variation on a courier’s flight bags, designed specifically to fit him. They made carrying his gear a lot more efficient, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t think of a name for them. “Not that Spike is any better of a name for a pony.” He let out a sigh. He needed to check the map again. “HEY! GRUMBLE!” Spike had to shout to be heard over the wind. “LAND ON THAT CLOUD OVER THERE!”
Grumble looked back at the pony riding on his back. “You got it, boss!”
Spike shook his head. He was never going to get used to that. He and grumble were on the same squad before he started serving under Ice Heart. Now, Spike outranked him. He outranked all his old friends, all his old enemies too. “At least he doesn’t call me sir.” Spike took one last look at the ground before grumble landed on the cloud. Once they came to a stop, Spike took a map out of his bag. He studied it for a moment, and then put it away.
“How’s it lookin’, boss?” Grumble was looking over the edge of the cloud, intensely focused on the forest below.
Spike knew what he was thinking about. Grumble was one of the dragons who had gone through basic training with him. The quadropedal dragon’s body was relatively flat and well-camoflauged. He could also move quietly through underbrush, making him a natural hunter. “We’re pretty close. Dragonspire should be just past this forest. Get me there, then you can spend the rest of your leave doing whatever you want.” Spike looked over at the landscape beneath them. An expansive forest spread out in all directions beneath them. The cloud was low enough that he could make out some of the larger plants growing among the trees. They were surprisingly tropical in appearance, especially those patches of blue. He tried to recall what he read about this area. “This is the everfree forest. If you go hunting, expect manticores, hydras, and timberwolves.”
“Blegh!” Grumble twisted his face into a grimace. “Can’t stand timberwolves.” He expressed his disgust by sticking his tongue out as far as it would go, which wasn’t really all that far. Spike found out the hard way that grumble had a short, sticky tongue; more like a lizard’s than the much more common forked tongue. Grumble spit him out as soon as he realized he wasn’t food, but to this day, Spike can’t spend any length of time around livestock without getting a little panicky. “Manticore’s pretty good though. Don’t know about Hydra though, you ever try it?”
“No.” Spike tapped twice on grumbles back, signaling for him to resume his flight. “Aside from fish, I can’t digest meat aswell as dragons can. Looks like you’ll just have to find out on your own.” Spike would have left it at that, but he remembered something Ice Heart said once. “I hear they’re really slimy.” Spike heard Grumble swallow loudly. “I don’t think he’ll mention hunting again.”
They reached Dragonspire a short time later. Grumble set down in an open spot near the center of town. “Here we are, boss!” He threw a claw in the air to indicate the bustling little town around them. “A town full of dragons called Dragonspire. Sort of silly if you ask me, but you gotta call it something.”
Spike hopped off grumble’s back and looked around. It was unlike any dragon settlement he had ever seen. For one thing, instead of the usual rocky landscape, there was green everywhere. The place should have been called Greenspire. Actually, there wasn’t even a spire, or a mountain, so it shouldn’t be called anything-spire. There was a mountain of in the distance, but it was too far away to count. It didn’t even look inhabited. “Looks like prime real estate though,” Spike thought, “I have some gold saved up, I wonder if it’s for sale?”
He was broken out of his thoughts by Grumble clearing his throat. “Well, you’re here. If that’s all, I’m gonna go ahead and take off.”
“All right, enjoy your leave.” Spike started to walk away, but turned around just as Grumble spread his wings to take off. “Wait. How much leave do you have saved up?” They joined up at the same time, so he’s only two weeks from getting out. Why did he wait to take leave now?
Grumble sighed and folded his wings. “I’ve got two weeks.”
Spike was surprised by the sudden change in Grumble’s tone. He sounded upset. Who gets upset over two weeks leave? Especially if you don’t have to come back? “Then you’re free and clear? I wish I’d thought of that.”
“Yeah, I wanted to give myself some time to think.” Grumble absent-mindedly picked at a loose scale on the back of his claw. “I’m trying to decide whether or not I should stay in.”
“In the military?” Spike couldn’t believe his ears. Out of all the dragons he went through basic with, Grumble was the last one he expected to go career.
“Why not?” The loose scale came off under the attention of Grumble’s claws. He held it up for a moment, looking at it in silence before tossing it. “You made Centurion. I figure, if I go air cavalry, I oughtta have a chance at Tetrarch. Might take a few years though.”
Spike’s eyebrows scrunched together in confusion. “What about your plans? I though you wanted to open a restaurant?” Why would he give that up for an off-chance at a mid-level officer’s ranking?
“You know how much respect a cook gets in the capitol.” Grumble looked around, avoiding Spike’s gaze.
“Then go somewhere besides the capitol.” Spike noticed Grumble’s shifting eyes. There was more to this than he was letting on. “You’re worried about your colors, aren’t you?”
Grumble’s wince answered the question for him. “I just stick out too much in an underground city like that. And I figure, if I had a decent rank, I might get a little more respect out of somedragons.”
Spike shook his head. This was all about appearances? “A Purple Wing isn’t enough to command respect?”
“Pfft!” Grumble tossed his head to the side. “Not when you look like a female.”
“Maybe it’s just me, but I don’t see it.” Spike cleared his throat. “What about Commander Rotwick? She is a female. If somedragon doesn’t respect you or your achievements, that’s their problem, not yours.” Spike didn’t quite get the whole dragon preoccupation with what others think, he would much rather be left alone. Still, he was pretty proud of his little pep talk, and was hoping it would cheer his friend up a little. “Why don’t you look around, find something new? Why not start here? It seems like kind of a boring town compared to Dragartha or Cloudspire, but maybe the dragons will be interesting enough to make up for that.”
“I doubt it.” Grumble rolled his eyes before scanning the town. His gaze focused on the nearest dragon, a wingless, hornless female. She was a bright pink color and about the same size and shape as grumble. “I’ll prove it,” he glanced at Spike with a confident smirk, “five small treasures says she starts talking about mining or farming.”
Spike shrugged and followed as Grumble walked over to her. “Sure, I know exactly which ones I want too.”
Grumble turned his head to look at the pony following him. ”Do you even have a hoard?” He shook his head and looked back at the dragon he was approaching. “Eh, I guess you gotta pay for stuff somehow.” He tapped the pink dragon on the shoulder. “Excuse me, miss?”
Spike barely had time to duck a barrage of flame as the pink dragon turned around and leapt into the air, breathing fire and drawing in a large gasp. She then dashed off, leaving a cloud of dust in her wake. “Whoa!” Spike watched the pink blur recede into the distance. “How did she breathe fire while she was breathing in?” He looked over at grumble and started laughing. The dragon didn’t duck in time, leaving his face a blackened mess.
“Well, that was interesting all right.” Grumble shook his head to clear away the ash clinging to his scales. Oddly enough, there were little specks of glitter mixed in with it. “Looks like I owe you five pieces of treasure. I’m guessing you want the golden bookmark?”
“You got it.” Spike smiled proudly. “And the three alchemical rune stamps, and that thing with the pony on it. I don’t know much about my species, and that thing could be a clue to my culture.”
“Huh.” Grumble used his claws to wipe the last of the ash from his face. “You should have let me know, I would have traded it to you. I don’t even know what it is.”
Spike cocked his head to the side. “Trade?”
“Uh, yeah?” Grumble gave his head a little shake. “You’ve been living among dragons for how long? Your entire life? You’ve never heard of trading?”
“Well, I’ve heard of it.” Spike scratched at his mane as he inspected the side of a nearby building with much more interest than it warranted. “I just thought it was rude to suggest, and something that wasn’t generally done.”
Grumble looked skyward as he shook his head. “Does all your knowledge of dragon culture come from centuries old books?”
Spike’s eyes drifted off to the side as he thought about it. “Not all of it,” he said hesitantly, “at least, I don’t think so.” He practically lived in Celestia’s library for most of his life; most of his knowledge of anything came from centuries old books.
Grumble drug his claws over his face. “You really need to get out more.”
“Hey,” Spike smiled and punched grumble in the leg, “what do you think I’ve been doing these last two years?”
Grumble frowned and rubbed at the spot where Spike punched him, more than a little surprised that it actually hurt. True, it only hurt a little, but it was still surprising. “I don’t think military training counts. I’m talking about having fun, going treasure hunting, finding a pretty female- Well, that one’s probably a little hard for you, but you get my point, Right?”
Spike blinked. “I don’t think so.”
Grumble stared at him for a moment. “Ok, I’m helping you complete your mission.” Grumble lowered his head, fixing a narrowed gaze directly at Spike. “After that I am going to force some fun down that tiny, vegetarian throat of yours.”
“Hey!” Spike put a hoof to his chest in a mocking defense to his friend’s threat. “I eat fish.”
Grumble nodded his head slowly. “Sure ya do.” He rolled his eyes and turned to walk away. “Whoa!” He suddenly lurched forward and fell hard to the side, kicking up a cloud of dust. Spike took a quick step forward, straining to see what happened. He heard heavy footsteps as Grumble clambered to his feet. “What were you thinking?! I could have flattened you!”
The dust settled, revealing a dragon staring up at a scowling Grumble. She was a little, bipedal hatchling. She was smaller than Spike, small enough to ride on his back even, but she didn’t seem scared of the much larger Grumble. If anything, she seemed happy. There was a smile plastered on her face and she was bouncing up and down a little with what seemed to be excitement or one too many sugary drinks. She was also purple, really purple; wide purple eyes, purple scales, purple horns, and spines in shades of purple. It was more purple in one place than Spike had ever seen, except in the mirror of course. The only hint of any other color was a little pink fin-ring in the shape of a star. She stood there, looking up at Grumble with her head tilting back and forth, like she expected something from him.
Grumble looked down at her, eyes wide with confusion as he pursed his lips. It was a long moment before he finally spoke. “Yes?”
“I have a hoard!” The little dragon’s voice was youthful and cheery, a perfect match for her appearance. She practically danced away after her exclamation, humming a song to herself as she went.
Spike and Grumble stared in confusion as she waltzed away. Grumble took a deep breath. “What just happened?”
Spike shook his head without moving his gaze from the purple speck receding into the distance. “I have no idea. But it looks like we need to follow her.” He started walking in the direction that the little dragon had taken.
“Huh?” Grumble’s brow knotted in confusion. By the time he started following Spike, the pony had a decent head start, leaving the dragon to speed up in order to catch him. “Why are we following a hatchling? This makes no sense.”
“We’re not following her.” As Grumble trailed along behind, he saw Spike’s head dipped to the side. “Well, not exactly. She just happens to be heading in the same direction we’re going.”
Grumble pulled alongside Spike. “And where are we going?”
“To the local tree of knowledge,” Spike kept his gaze on the path ahead of them, “the librar-“ He suddenly stopped in his tracks, one eye narrowing as he tilted his head. “What?! It’s really a tree?”
Grumble followed Spike’s gaze to the library. It was still a decent walking distance away, but it was clearly visible in the distance, a large tree with a door and windows built into the trunk. There was a big sign stuck in the ground beside the tree. On the sign, there was a picture of a single, open book. There was also a balcony hanging among the branches. He shrugged. “It’s no weirder than anything else we’ve come across in this town.”
Spike turned to Grumble, ready to protest, but the words died on his tongue before he could speak. He looked down and sighed. “Yeah, I guess you’re right.” Spike looked at the tree-slash-building again. “It seems a little small though, especially for a public library. I don’t think it would fit many-“ Spike’s word trailed off as something about his surroundings changed. He wasn’t quite aware of what happened at first, but something was different from a moment ago. He sniffed the air. At first, nothing seemed out of place, but after a few seconds, he realized that he could smell smoke. Smoke was common in most dragon cities, but there hadn’t been any here since they landed, not even when that pink dragon was breathing fire. Spike broke into a run, desperately hoping it wasn’t the library that was on fire. “I guess that’s what you get when you let a dragon live in a tree.”
Grumble sped up as well, taking flight as soon as he had enough momentum. He wasn’t sure what was going on, but he knew that Spike had good instincts. If something was wrong he would be the first to know. Spike’s instincts were proven right as a loud crash sounded from ahead. Grumble sped up, leaving his commanding officer behind. He couldn’t see anything that would have caused the sound, whatever it was must be on the other side of the library. He swooped wide around the building, giving himself a chance to see what was going on without drawing attention to himself.
He saw four dragons. One of them was the purple hatchling from a moment ago. A slightly larger white dragon stood nearby, facing the other two while the purple one tried to put out a patch of fire on the tree’s trunk. The smaller of the other two dragons was twice the size of the white one, the larger was at least twice the size of Grumble. The larger dragon took a step towards the library. In response, the white dragon used a burst of magical energy to hurl a rock at him. The rock bounced right off his red scales. Grumble may have been on leave, but he was still in the military. That meant it was his job to protect the innocent from bandits and marauders. Besides, he recognized those red scales. It was about time Fire Flash got what was coming to him.
He started an attack run, flying low to the ground. His targets were too focused on their own prey to notice his approach. He had one chance to strike before they would start to fight back, and he had to make it count. He didn’t stand a chance against Fire Flash, so he targeted the smaller one. He increased his speed as much as he could. The noise of the extra wing flaps alerted the smaller dragon to Grumble’s presence, but he didn’t have a chance to do anything but turn around before Grumble’s mouth closed around him. Fire Flash wasn’t even aware that the other dragon was just carried away, he just kept advancing on the two dragons attempting to defend the library. Grumble looped around the large tree with the squirming dragon sticking halfway out of his mouth. He flew to where Spike was still running, to inform him of the situation and receive orders.
Spike watched as Grumble approached him and made a series of claw signals. One enemy. Flying type. Fire. Spike nodded his understanding and shouted, “I’m pulling rank on this, take shield duty!” Spike stopped running. If there was an enemy, he didn’t want to run around a corner into them. Luckily, he had another means of approach, but it would take a little preparation.
Grumble flew back towards the library, once more taking a wide arc to mask his approach. He had shield duty, that meant it was his job to protect the town and its inhabitants as his superiors fought. Once he was behind Fire Flash, he dove straight for the library, working up a good spit as he flew. The white dragon saw Grumble’s approach. Her expression of surprise alerted Fire Flash to the threat behind him. He spun around and launched a fireball before he could even see the approaching Grumble.
Grumble was in no danger of getting hit by the incendiary attack. It had gone wide. However, he banked towards it and maneuvered himself so it would pass above him. As soon as it was close, he inverted and kicked his hind legs at the fireball, launching it high into the air to dissipate harmlessly among the clouds. The impact altered Grumbles flight path, he was now headed for the ground. He had anticipated that though. He twisted right before hitting the ground, throwing his front claws forward. He hit the ground running, using his wings to increase his groundspeed. He held a course straight at Fire Flash, who was raising a claw to swipe at him. As the claw came down, he leapt to the side, but continued running past him.
Once he was close enough to the library, he spit the smaller dragon at the flaming tree trunk. Grumble’s sticky saliva glued the small dragon to the spot, extinguishing the flames as well as immobilizing the dragon. He spun to face Fire Flash, positioning himself between the aggressor and his intended victims. “The name’s Grumble,” he spoke to the two dragons behind him, rather than the one he was facing, “combat and recon flight specialist, stay behind me.”
“A specialist?” Fire Flash’s voice was as irritating and arrogant as Grumble remembered, unfortunately, he had a good deal of strength to back it up. “I guess a nodragon like you never sets their sights very far, eh fourwings?” Fire Flash’s snout twisted into a wicked sneer as he broke into a laugh. “Oh, I forgot, you lost two of them. Too bad, isn’t it?” He opened and closed one claw against the ground, leaving long marks scratched into the grass and dirt below him. “How about it, Specialist, think you have what it takes to stand up to a Pentarch in the air cavalry?”
“No.” Grumble spoke in a low growl, every muscle was tense as he waited for an attack that could come at any moment. “I’m not stupid enough to imagine that I can take you on right now, but my commanding officer is on the way.”
Fire Flash lowered his head and bared his teeth. “Is that supposed to scare me?”
“It should.” Grumble allowed himself to smile. “He’s beaten you before.”
“A foolish bluff, Grumble. Nodragon has ever beaten me!” Fire Flash threw his head back and let out a roar that rattled the windows of nearby buildings. He brought his head down and, in the same movement, let loose a fireball several times more powerful than the one Grumble deflected earlier.
Grumble was about to grab the two dragons behind him and take off, but stopped when a green flash appeared in the fireball’s path. His smile turned into a smirk as the Fireball hit the sudden light. “Well, Fire Flash, you’re right about that last part.”
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Missed Grumble's name on this one, but damn. You are gonna leave me on one bad ass cliffhanger when I finish what's here.
Interesting....and slightly odd but I shall forge ahead into the rest of the story
Sorry, was a bit rude with my last comment. The first sentence of this chapter made me facepalm at myself.
Forgot to capitalize
Yes, Pinkie lives there. It must be a very boring town.
Honestly, if Dragonspire's anything like its counterpart, boring ceases to exist at the border.
This story is awesome. I especially enjoy the descriptions. And now I want emoticons of pony spike and the main six reversed. Oh, the things that will never come to pass...
Anyways, I would love to read through the rest of what is up right now, but I need to do homework.
"click" "dial tone sound"
ALL DRAGONS IS ARE TROLLS!
wow, this is acutally a great story. I'm loving every bit of it.
1831210
At a certain point, specialization becomes unavoidable. Now, it is a good idea to go the route the Canadian Forces and the USMC have with everyone capable of serving out on the pointed end as a grunt but when you have things like MOCs that involve a year or more of training after you have finished with BMQ/SQ or a species with wildly divergent body types you are going to end up with specialists simply because you can't have everyone able to do every major job.
1831210 The only experience I have with commanding an army is in Civs V, and in that case I just prefer the overwhelming force tactic.
For a moment my mind went... somewhere bad.
6212570 Mine too "fun"
"Grumble spit him out as soon as he realized he wasn’t food, but to this day, Spike can’t spend any length of time around livestock without getting a little panicky" Yep I would be a bit "panicky" myself!
vignette3.wikia.nocookie.net/mlp/images/e/ec/Rainbow_Dash_excited_S02E15.png/revision/latest?cb=20120927033404
So.. Is Twilight and all her friends dragons in this story?