Dusk Dawns

by AlphatheGriffin17

Dragon Quest

"So, let me get this straight," Twilight said, her voice laden with anger, "you conducted an investigation into tracking down dangerous individuals, the ones who were responsible for your transformation no less and you not only didn't tell me, but you willingly kept it from me?"

Dusk had been expecting this kind of reaction when he entered the library that day, even before Twilight had approached him with fire in her eyes. Whether it was because she somehow worked it out or she was told he didn't know, but he knew she wouldn't be happy. In fact, that would be a significant understatement.

Even so, he still flinched and retreated a little when she actually unleashed this upon him.

"I know," he muttered, "and I'm sorry, but you know I had no choice. Luna said it would be better not to involve you girls."

"I understand that, but you still could have said something to me at least!" she argued. "I thought we were done keeping secrets from each other, Dusk."

That stung a little. "I couldn't risk it, Twilight, I really couldn't. We didn't know if he was observing us in some way. If I'd come to you, he might have started to suspect something. I had to keep this quiet, for your sake."

She hesitated, thinking of a way to argue against that. "You could have just explained that. I would have kept out of the way."

"Forgive me for saying so, but I don't think you would have," Dusk said delicately. "You're an inquisitive kind of pony, Twilight. I know what you're like when you're determined to find out all you can about something you don't know, so…" He didn't really need to finish that sentence.

She was quiet for even longer now, opening her mouth occasionally but just as quickly closing it again. In the end, she conceded with a frustrated sigh.

"I can see why you did what you had to, Dusk," she murmured. "I just… I don't like it. I really don't."

"I know, I don't either," he insisted. "Believe me, I hated keeping this from you and I wanted to tell you, but I just couldn't. I wanted you and others safe and I wanted to find who was responsible."

"What if they'd tried again?" A note of fear crept in. "What if they'd tried something else and you'd been hurt? Or worse? You almost were too and I wouldn't have known."

"But I wasn't though." He kept his voice soft. "I made it back and I'm fine. We did it and now it doesn't have to be a secret anymore. I don't quite believe it, but I can take care of myself."

"It doesn't stop me worrying though…"

He took a few steps closer. "Twilight, I promise you that, if I can avoid it, I will never keep you out of something like this again."

Her gaze met his, that anger now fading. "You mean that?"

"I always do." He was inches from her now, never once allowing his eyes to falter from hers. "We both know I'm next to useless without you anyway."

"Not always…" She managed a smile now and hugged him gently. "Maybe you're not as much of an idiot anymore."

"Still enough to be your idiot though?"

"Of course." She kissed him and her smile warmed. "Even if you kept me out of it, I'm proud of you for what you've done."

"Thank you," he said, but frowned a little. "They still got away though."

"But now they know who they're looking for," she pointed out. "They've been exposed and Shining's conducting investigations with the Royal Guard on all of Edge's and Tube's known places of residence and working. They'll find them."

"I hope they do." He remembered Tube's cold, sadistic tones. "Ponies like that shouldn't be allowed to roam free."

"Unfortunately, ponies like that do exist." She frowned again. "I'm still a little surprised Test Tube was behind it all. I know his methods were questionable and his theories frowned upon, but I didn't know he'd be capable of what he's done."

"Sometimes, acts like this come from those we don't think would ever commit them," mused Dusk. "I know about that…"

"Dusk, don't compare yourself to him, don't even begin to," she said firmly. "Tube has always been crossing the line between right and wrong, tried to find ways to forgo it to get what he needs and has been long suspected sadistic tendencies."

It was amazing how much she could always make him feel better. "Anything else apart from that?"

"Of course." She smiled flirtatiously. "He's nowhere near as handsome and he doesn't have me as his marefriend, correcting you when you have stupid thoughts."

"I suppose that's just his loss then," he chuckled. "Which is a great one, at that."

"My thoughts exactly," she nodded. "The point is whatever he wanted to do is finished and he couldn't have possibly succeeded."

"We don't really know about that though," said Dusk. "There was nothing left of his machine apart from molten slag when we looked."

"Even so, he was trying to pull something out of Tartarus," she returned. "He probably didn't even manage it, he was just trying to scare you or deceive you."

"And if he wasn't?" he asked. "Who do you think he might have pulled out?"

Dusk had been thinking about this question long and hard himself before he'd come in today. If it was Discord who'd recruited Tube as he claimed, he must have wanted him to try and bring back one of his old allies. He didn't know if there were anymore, but the story he knew pointed to one very likely candidate.

He didn't even want to think about that and he could see Twilight would much rather not answer this question. She pursed her lips and looked away? Had she come to the same possible conclusion that he had? If she had, she didn't say anything, nor did she get the chance to from who emerged through the door, dressed in an apron and wheeling a tea tray with cookies and cake.

"Come on, you guys!" urged Spike. "By the time you two stop goggling, the dragons will have circled back in time for the next migration!"

"So, either way, we still won't miss it?" joked Twilight.

"You know what I mean," sighed Spike. "Now, come on! Let's go!"

"Yes, Mama Spike," chuckled Dusk. "Did you remember to make us packed lunches?"

"Shut up! This is my favourite apron and it makes cleaning easier from crumbs."

"It's pink with frills and a love heart."

"I'm not ashamed with showing my feminine side."

"Believe me, you don't need to tell me that." He looked to Twilight as they made moves to leave. "Are we still going to try and talk Fluttershy into coming?"

"Of course," she answered brightly. "We don't want her to miss out on this by not giving her a chance to come along."

"I still don't think she'll go for it."

"We can at least ask her though. I know you feel safe because I'm here to protect you, maybe we can assure her of that."

"Shouldn't that be the other way around?" He paused a moment. "Yes, that sounded a lot more intelligent in my head before I said it."

They laughed good-naturedly, the grim topic of their previous conversation forgotten. In a way, Dusk was thankful for that. Even though his quarries had gotten away, he felt rather relieved they were no longer his concern and that Luna was doing all she could to capture them. It was easier for him to think they'd failed in their task rather than dread if they had succeeded.

Even so, that image of the figure in the flames of the castle was burned into his mind. Like the story he was featured in.

He instead focused on an event of great intrigue that would be occurring: the dragon migration, only seen once a generation. He'd read about it one time, one of the few things that ponies did know about dragons and was looking forward to seeing it. It would be a welcome distraction and safe, as long as the dragons didn't think they needed to stop for a snack on the way.

Since he was right about Fluttershy not wanting to come along, with her leaping out of the window after trampling on Rainbow just to get away, they decided not to try and make her come along. Apart from some evident disappointment that was quickly covered up from Ray, nopony else objected to her choice. They arrived at the trench that Applejack and Pinkie Pie had dug and applied their camouflage, Dusk providing additional cover by enshrouding them in shadow.

"Lil' nippy, ain't it?" shivered Applejack in a whisper. "Ah mean, ah'd rather be cold than deep fried, but still."

"Shadows aren't really known for their warmth," remarked Dusk.

"You're not gonna run out of energy doing that, are you?" asked Ray. "I have confidence in you and all, but… you're still kinda new at this."

"Thanks for that," deadpanned Dusk. "Don't worry about it. Just so long as Twilight keeps my energy topped up, I can keep us hidden."

"Indeed and we're also a little early, and I'm glad we are," she noted. "This way, we can watch every moment of the migration without bringing any unwanted attention to ourselves!"

The quiet was pierced by a loud call from behind, followed by confetti and a red carpet being rolled out. "Yoo-hoo! Well? What do you think? Am I the toast of the trench or what?"

"You'll be toast alright, when the dragons see you parading around in that getup," countered Applejack.

"You look very nice, Rarity, but could you maybe look nice down here in the trench with us?" suggested Twilight, vanishing her decorations and confetti.

"Nice is an understatement. I look fabulous!" she professed. "Who says camouflage has to be drab?"

"The same guy who didn't wanna get burned by dragons."

She snorted dismissively. "I expected something like that from you, Ray. You just don't have an eye for fashion."

"Yeah, just one for survival. How useless is that?"

"Ahoy, maties! Dragons ho!" called Pinkie, ending their argument.

Dusk turned his binoculars skyward, the passing dragon shadows mingling with the swirling ones he concealed them with. They were a magnificent sight to behold. He remembered that dragon in the Everfree Forest and how much it had towered over him. To know that there was a whole thunder of dragons exactly like that one, if not bigger, passing right over his head made his spine tingle and be ever grateful for their concealment.

The girls and Ray were all equally in awe, remarking upon the wondrous sight and making sure they didn't miss a second of it. Dusk could feel the beat of their wings from down here, could see the sun shining off their magnificent scales, creating an effect more terrifying and spectacular than any Rainbow. One of them even performed a loop the loop directly above them, but luckily didn't see them.

Only Rainbow had something negative to say about it and was singed by a burst of dragon fire for her trouble.

"What do ya think of that 'move', Rainbow Dash? Still think they're lame?" asked Applejack with a smirk.

"Uh, not so much. The word 'fierce' comes to mind," she said in a hushed voice.

"And 'formidable'," chimed in Rarity.

"And 'super-duper scary'!" cowered Pinkie.

"Yeah. Us dragons are definitely a force to be reckoned with." Seeing Spike in his apron handing out baked goods around didn't really reinforce this statement.

Rainbow was clearly of the same mind, laughing out loud at the sight. "Yeah, right, Spike. That's one of the scariest aprons I've ever seen!"

"I'd be terrified to wear it!" sniggered Ray.

"What's wrong with wearing an apron? You won't be laughing when you spill blueberries all over your scales. Feathers," he corrected quickly. "That's one tough stain!"

"One tough stain against one lame dragon," she countered.

While he didn't mind a good laugh, Dusk was about to speak up when he saw Spike's cheeks flush with embarrsement. Rarity, however, beat him to it.

"You leave him alone, Rainbow Dash! Spike's style is unique. He doesn't have to look like other dragons."

"Or act like them," added Twilight.

"I completely agree with that assessment," said Dusk.

"My little Spikey-wikey is perfect the way he is," she said like that settled the matter, flicking one of his spines.

Spike however, seemed to take that a different way. "I don't act like other dragons?"

"Oh, not even close!" answered Pinkie.

"You are still a baby, but compared to other dragons, you certainly don't match the way they do," said Dusk.

"What about that time you told me about when he went nuts?" whispered Ray.

"Excluding that one little bout of greed," corrected Dusk.

"But why would you want to, Spike?" asked Applejack.

"Yes." Rarity smiled at him fondly. "You've got something those dreadfully fierce dragons can only dream of."

"What's that?" he asked hopefully.

"The cutest widdle chubby cheeks!" she cooed, rubbing them.

"Cute?! Dragons aren't supposed to be cute! Right?" he added to Rarity.

Her smile only broadened. "Oh, sweetie, you are turning the most delightful shade of red, it is most becoming."

They all gathered around for a closer look, though Dusk was about to advise against it when Spike reacted to it. He growled in frustration and stormed off out of the trench. Well, as much as a being his size and shape could manage.

"Oh, isn't he adorable when he waddles off in anger?" noted Rarity.

"Waddle?! Rrrrrggggh!"

Dusk glanced around. "You think we should go after him?"

"It's just one of Spike's hissy fits, Dusk," assured Twilight. "We'll leave him for now, he'll be fine later."

"And if not, I shall speak with him myself," promised Rarity. "I hate to see my little Spikey-wikey upset."

"Great, now come on, we're missing the dragons!" reminded Rainbow urgently.

"Nice to see you show such concern for your friends, Rainbow," noted Ray with a smirk.

"I didn't hear you saying anything," she countered.

"I was going to," he insisted. "You just… didn't give me a chance to, that's all."

Dusk allowed himself a smile and returned his attention to the dragons. Twilight was right. Spike had acted in similar ways before from teasing or for some other and usually stormed off in the same way he just had. He'd silently fume to himself, but would be fine as long as they left him during that time and usually forgot about it afterwards with some good-natured humour.

Everything would be fine, he thought confidently, seeing a dragon claw into the side of another and thankful their Spike was nothing like them. Even if he wasn't.

---

Dusk left his home a little earlier than usual the next morning, mainly out of his concern for Spike but also for the fact that he had woken up a little earlier than usual too. Admittedly though, that also stemmed from his concern for Spike.

Contrary to what he thought, the baby dragon hadn't gotten better by the time they arrived back from the library after the migration had ended. He barely spoke a word to either of them when prompted and spent a lot of time lost in thought. Both of these things were rare for Spike, as he loved to talk and he almost never stopped to think about anything.

He'd tried talking to him, but Spike always became distracted and walked off without saying much else. When he'd left for home at the end of the day, Twilight gave him the promise that she would talk to him if necessary to find out what was wrong. Dusk had his suspicions, but he trusted her to deal with it. Now it was time to see if anything had become of it.

He caught sight of Rarity and Rainbow coming around the corner, who smiled as he approached.

"Just when I was wondering when we might run into you," greeted Rarity. "We're going to see if Twilight and Spike will join us for a bit of breakfast."

"That sounds like an excellent idea," he said brightly.

"Yep, breakfast with me, best way to start the day," remarked Rainbow, opening the door.

The instant Dusk walked in, he could tell something had been happening. It looked like every book in the library had been pulled off their shelves and placed in messy piles all around the room. From the bags under her eyes and her unkempt mane, Dusk could tell she and Spike had been spending all night researching something.

When asked if she wanted to join them for breakfast, she immediately brightened and sorted out her mane.

"That sounds great. I'm famished."

"Count me out," Spike said, hopping out of a book pile. "I've gotta get an early start!"

"An early start?" asked Rarity.

"Yes! I'm going on a quest of self-discovery! I need to learn what it means to be a dragon! And the only way I'm gonna do that is to join the dragon migration!"

"What?!" Dusk yelled, along with all three of the girls.

Rainbow tried to talk to him while he packed up a bundle. "Spike, that's nonsense talk! I know that you're a dragon, but those dragons mean business! They're big, and tough, and scary..."

"And I'm small, and meek... and I like to wear aprons." He tossed aside the aforementioned clothing at this. "See? This is exactly why I need to spend time with them."

"All I'm saying is that you could get hurt," she added with concern.

"That's a strong possibility, Spike," put in Dusk. "Even if you are one of them, you don't know how the dragons might react to one they've never seen before and they're already quite aggressive towards ones they already know."

"Darling, this time I really do have to agree with Rainbow Dash and Dusk makes a good point," said Rarity. "I don't want those big, ugly, nasty dragons to hurt one little scale on your cutsey-wutsey head!"

"I'm sorry, but I've made up my mind." He started to make his way to the door.

Rarity became distressed. "Oh, uh, quick, do something! Stop him before it's too late!"

Rainbow darted forward, grabbing his bundle in her mouth and trying to hold him back while he tugged at it. Dusk was about to move to assist, encase him behind a colour wall or block him with shadows, but he felt a hoof being placed gently on his shoulder.

The look he saw on Twilight's face was one he certainly didn't expect to see. There was some worry, concern, but one other thing that overrode them all: acceptance. She didn't say anything to him, but she teleported between Rainbow and Spike.

"Hold it!" With a flash of her horn, she teleported them apart from each other.

With a rather pained look on her face, she levitated Spike's bundle to him.

"Really?" he asked in disbelief.

"Don't tell me you think he should go?" demanded Rainbow from the floor.

"Yes, Spike," she answered in an understanding voice. "I couldn't answer your questions. My books couldn't either. I understand why you want to look elsewhere. I truly believe you need to go on this quest. And we have no right to stop you," she added to Dusk and the others.

"I suppose not," conceded Rarity.

The more he thought about her words, the more Dusk knew that she was right. "I'm no stranger to existential crises. While I suppose my own is somewhat different, you need to find the answer to yours as I did with mine."

Rainbow nodded in agreement. "I still say you're nutty, but hey, I've done lots of nutty things."

"We know," they all chorused.

"Well then, I guess this is goodbye, Spike." She hugged him gently. "We can't wait to hear about it when you return."

"Don't do anything I wouldn't do, little brother," wished Dusk, hoof bumping him. "I'm just sorry I can't come with you."

"Yeah, we hope your trip-"

"Quest," Twilight corrected Rainbow.

"- your quest answers some of your pesky "Who am I?" questions."

"Thanks, everypony. I know it will." With that, Spike strode out into the world while they waved him from the door.

"Goodbye, Spikey-wikey!" called Rarity.

"Go get 'em, big guy!" encouraged Rainbow.

"We have faith in you!" called Twilight.

"But me more so!" put in Dusk.

"We're following him, right?" Rainbow asked through her grin.

"Of course," answered Twilight, still waving him off.

Of course, Dusk echoed in his head, waiting with them until Spike had gone around a corner. The instant he was out of sight, they rushed for the Carousel Boutique, Twilight explaining what she had in mind on the way over.

"Dragons and ponies don't exactly have the best of relations and we're most likely going to be following Spike into the heart of their territory in the Burning Badlands," she explained.

"So what?" asked Rainbow cockily. "With the four of us, we can take on anything that gets in our way."

"That's quite an amount of confidence, considering what happened the last time we tried to up against a fully grown dragon." That comment from Rarity was enough to shut Rainbow up. "Twilight's right, following Spike into dragon territory without some kind of plan would be suicide."

"We'd need some sort of disguise then," suggested Dusk. "Just so that the dragons won't take any notice of us."

"Exactly what I was thinking," agreed Twilight. "Rarity, can you get to work making a dragon costume large enough to fit all four of us inside?"

She threw back her mane confidently. "Twilight, you make it sound as if it's going to be challenging."

"Make that the three of you," corrected Dusk. "I can make my own disguise. Twilight, I'd just need you to supply magical energy so I can keep it up."

"I can do that," she said. "I know you managed that for a pony, but do you think you can do it for a dragon?"

Rainbow looked puzzled. "Do what?"

Dusk only smiled and put his magic and energy into creating a detailed colour puppet of a four-legged purple dragon, with matching eyes, red-leathery wings and yellow horns, spinal ridges and underbelly, just larger than he was. He then stepped inside it, using his magic to maintain control of its limbs as he moved his own in time with it.

"I had this idea when Luna started teaching me how to create more detailed colour puppets," he explained. "As Twilight said, I've used it before and it worked when I did. Just like putting on a suit."

Rainbow whistled with admiration. "Okay, that's pretty cool. Can't you make ones for all of us?"

"I need all my concentration and energy to control this one, otherwise parts of my real body might show through my disguise." He demonstrated this effect, lifting the dragon's leg while his hoof remained on the ground." It'd be too difficult to manage that with three other ponies."

"Well, you're pretty convincing already," agreed Twilight. "Just deepen your voice a little and you should be fine. I'll keep your energy up by transferring some of my magic into your half of our necklace if you need it."

"Excellent!" trilled Rarity. "Now then, I have a costume to create. We need to make sure we catch up with Spike."

Rarity proceeded to make the costume with more speed and determination that Dusk had ever seen her attempt with other clothes. The end result wasn't exactly the most convincing dragon Dusk had ever seen, but it was all they had. After struggling to help the girls into their costume and saying he'd put his on when they got there, they began to follow the migrating dragons in the sky, knowing they'd soon catch up with Spike.

Dusk had known in a way Twilight would want to do something like this. Even though she had agreed to Spike going on this quest, Dusk had a sneaking suspicion that she might not let him go as easily as she had. She'd they had no right to stop him, but that didn't mean they weren't going to keep an eye on him. At least, in secret, just to make sure that he wouldn't get hurt.

They trekked on for many miles, passing over mountains and rivers, through woods and forests, all the while making sure they kept the column of dragons in their sight. They only stopped to rest for brief periods, moving quickly enough so they could keep up but not so they would use up unnecessary energy. After almost a full day of travelling, they caught sight of Spike just as he was entering the Burning Badlands.

The lands themselves were actually a series of volcanoes, over which they could see the silhouettes of dragons soaring over them. It would make sense that the dragons would be somewhere hot. Even the sky above was a burnt orange, with nothing growing past its borders. They hadn't destroyed the surrounding forest though. Even dragons seemed to respect the importance of nature.

They followed Spike up the nearest peak, Dusk helping the girls up if they had trouble in their costume. He slipped into his own 'costume' about halfway up, just in case energy dragons spotted him. Time to see if it would work.

Rainbow was still having doubts about it by the time they reached the top. "I'm telling you, we'll never pass for a real dragon!"

"Oh, pish-posh!" dismissed Rarity. "This costume is fabulous: one of my finer creations."

Twilight hushed them sharply. "It will never pass if they hear three voices coming out of one dragon."

"You'd be surprised," A voice behind them spoke up."There are plenty of dragons who lure in prey by imitating speech, or are just weird. Having three or four or even ten different voices coming from dragons isn't as odd as you might think."

They all turned to look at the speaker, crouched behind a rock nearby.

The voice belonged to a Pegasus stallion. If it hadn't been for the brown mane and the wings, Dusk could have sworn it was Applejack's brother, Big Macintosh. He was certainly as big as the farmer. He had rough, blackened patches in his red coat as well as some nasty looking cuts. A single phoenix feather was emblazoned on his flank.

Dusk's eyes widened in surprise. The last thing he expected to see out here was another pony.

"Who the heck are you?" hissed Rainbow. "What are you doing here?"

"I could ask you all the same thing," he returned. "I'm meant to be here, but this really isn't the place for tourists."

"If you must know, we're here to help our friend," said Twilight, gesturing down to Spike.

He raised an eyebrow in his direction, leaning forward. "I thought I didn't recognise the purple kid. He's brave."

Twilight leaned forward as well. Dusk could only imagine her face was like his, or Rarity's, full of worry. Spike had made his way to a group of dragons, who appeared to be laughing at him, though they couldn't hear what was being said.

"They're challenging him," the voice of their impromptu guide came up.

"Oh no, Spike!" Twilight's voice was full of worry. "Let's go, guys!"

Dusk saw the costume tip them over the ridge as Twilight steered them closer to the group of dragons. He followed in their wake, walking with care so as not to give them away. The stallion made no moves to follow. Dusk would have asked more about him, but they didn't have the time for this.

"Mind out for Garble," he added to him before he left, pointing to a red-scaled teenager. "He's a devious one. You should pass for one of them though, you and your friends. Just don't do anything stupid."

"Duly noted," said Dusk, keeping the comment to himself that it was strange that he was warning him against foolishness.

Approaching with caution down the slope, Dusk joined the girls to hear what was being said.

"Well if you weren't just hatched," Garble was saying, "how come we haven't seen you around before?"

"Oh, well, y'see, I live in Ponyville and-"

"Ponyville?" he snorted. "That explains it! I knew there was something vaguely pony-ish about you! If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were part pony!"

Spike backed away from him nervously. "Who, me? I'm not part pony! I'm all dragon, see?" He roared feebly.

"Or maybe you're a pony in a dragon costume," mocked Garble, eliciting laughter from his gang.

Fortunately, the dragons didn't even notice that two of what he'd just said were in their midst. Apparently, dragons weren't the brightest. Dusk wished he could help Spike, but he didn't want to give himself away by drawing unnecessary attention. They'd help where they could, that was Twilight had told them.

That didn't make this any easier though.

"I am a real dragon!" insisted Spike.

"Oh yeah?" sneered Garble. "Prove it."

"Well... how?" he asked nervously.

"By acting like one! Who's up for a little belching contest?"

The others all enthusiastically agreed, proceeding to belch tongues of flame. No doubt the object was to see who could belch either the furthest or the greatest. A belt of fire from the belly of a particularly fat dragon would be a hard one to beat. Dusk managed protect himself subtly, but could still feel the heat of the flames through his disguise.

"You think you can beat that, Peewee?" challenged Garble.

Spike stepped nervously forward and Dusk leaned in a little closer. He sucked in all of his breath, puffed up his cheeks and belched out a small sputter of green flame… along with a rolled-up piece of parchment.

Before Dusk could make a grab for it, Garble picked it up and unfolded it.

"From the desk of Princess Celestia. Dear Spike, please te-" He stopped and laughed. "Ha! Get this, guys! Spike's pen-pals with a namby-pamby pony princess!"

Spike cringed from the mocking laughter, as did Dusk when Garble crumpled up the letter and threw it into a lava pool. He knew somepony who wasn't going to like that.

"How can he just throw that away?! That letter could be something important!" whispered Twilight angrily.

"Priorities, Twilight," murmured Dusk. "We need to try and help Spike first. Worry about that letter later."

"I know, I know! There's no reason to disrespect Princess Celestia that way!" she muttered darkly.

Meanwhile, the dragons were challenging Spike once more. "Maybe tail wrestling is more your speed."

As Dusk suspected, tail wrestling was precisely as the name entailed. The two opponents grappled tails and the winner was whoever pinned the other first. Dusk knew that this wasn't going to end well if Spike went up against one of these brutes.

Rarity realised this too. "We can't let little Spikey-wikey wrestle one of them! He'll get clobbered!"

"Let's go!" Twilight affected her deeper voice. "I challenge Spike to a tail wrestle!"

Fortunately, from what Dusk could hear of their conversation, there happened to be another dragon that looked almost exactly like Rarity's costume. The others assumed they were that dragon's cousin and didn't question any further. After making an effort to make it look convincing, the girls submitted defeat to Spike, flopping to the ground.

The other dragons all cheered as Spike was declared the winner.

"Nice going, little Spike! Maybe you are a dragon after all!" remarked Garble.

Spike's face brightened. "Yeah! Maybe I am!"

"Rainbow Dash, I can't believe your silly plan actually worked." Dusk heard the sound of impact from inside the costume following Rarity's comment. "Ow."

Unfortunately, Spike got a little too cocky and ended up going against a dragon with a much bigger tail than him. Acting partially on instinct, Dusk hurried forward, bounded off a wall and jumped ot catch Spike before he crashed into it.

"Hey, whaddya think you're doing?" demanded Garble to Dusk. "You going soft?"

"Not at all," responded Dusk, trying to keep his voice even and threatening. "I um… I just think that Spike needs his strength for um… for what you have planned."

"Hm, yeah, he's right," murmured Garble. "You are gonna need it for this next event."

This turned out to be something called king of the hoard. Garble stood atop a large pile of gems and precious stones, the objective being to make it to the top and throw him off to claim victory. Garble proved to be quite a veteran at this sport, tossing aside almost every challenger who made it up. This looked like another bleak prospect for Spike.

This would be another moment they had to act. The girls pushed off one dragon who was climbing up behind Spike before he could take him by surprise. Dusk did his part too, slapping off a potential rival with his tail and making it to the top. He kicked Garble off, just so that he was out of the way and rounded on Spike.

"You think you have a chance?" he said in his best sneer. "Let's see what you got!"

Spike shivered nervously, but determination set in his eyes. He charged forward, striking Dusk with a kind of tackle. Were he actually fighting him, Dusk would have been barely moved, but he acted like it was a major blow and began to topple.

"Nice work, little bro." The words slipped out before he knew it and he was fortunate that he fell down the horde before Spike could register them.

Now, he was the only one left standing.

"King of the ho- whoa!" He lost his footing and slid back down, marking another failure.

Up next was an event that Dusk knew they wouldn't be of any help in. Lava cannonball, apparently these dragon games were quite easy to figure out, involved jumping into a pool of lava. Whoever made the biggest splash was the 'ultimate dragon.'

Dusk's magic certainly wouldn't be able to protect him from that, nor would Rarity's costume protect the girls, so they backed out before any of the dragons noticed their absence. Spike would be on his own for this one. The others all made very impressive splashes, leaving Dusk with the crushing thought that Spike would never be able to match them.

The baby dragon seemed to have the same thoughts, backing hurriedly away from the edge and cowering at the back.

"What's wrong, Spike? You afraid the lava will hurt your soft pony hide?" taunted Garble.

Spurred on either by his taunting or willingness to prove himself, Spike approached the cliff edge. He closed his eyes, took in a deep breath, jumped… and hit the lava with an audible smack.

"Ugh... Was I... that bad?" he asked when he resurfaced.

"No, dude... that was awesome! No pony could live through a belly flop like that!" Garble chuckled as he lifted him up by a spine. "You're one tough little dragon."

Dusk exchanged a smile with Twilight, who he could just make out in the costume's head. Spike had finally managed to prove himself to the dragons and find out more about where he came from. They gave him an initiation ceremony and celebrated with a party. This turned out to just be gorging greedily down on gems, belching and fighting with each other.

They just stood back and watched it happen, awaiting the moment when Spike would start to make the journey home. However, while listening to the exchange between him and Garble, they learned that wasn't going to happen.

"Man, was that a great party," sighed Spike contentedly.

"Great? Huh, maybe by Ponyville standards," dismissed Garble. "Stick with us, Spike. We still got plenty to teach you about being a dragon."

"I'm not going anywhere. The way I feel right now, I could hang out with you guys forever."

"Forever?!" They all hid behind a rock to convene. "Spikey-wikey is going to stay with these awful dragons? Forever?" Dusk could hear the tears in Rarity's voice.

"Oh no, this is terrible!" Twilight despaired.

"I should've stopped him back at the library when I had the chance!" Rainbow realised.

"No, Rainbow Dash, this is all my fault! I encouraged him to go!" she inssited.

"We all did, Twilight," murmured Dusk. "We can't worry about blame right now though. There might still be chance to get Spike back."

"You think so?" asked Rarity desperately. "I don't want to lose him…"

"I don't either. Deep down, he knows where he's truly from and he's not going to forget that," he said with as much conviction as he could. "He's nothing like these dragons. He's better than that."

"Dusk is right," agreed Rainbow. "He might be a dragon, but he's a pony to the core. There's still a chance for him to remember that when he realises what jerks these dragons are."

"I hope you're both right…" Twilight's voice raised a little. "Look, something's going on."

Some of Garble's gang and Spike were getting to their feet and stretching.

"Y'know, Spike," said Garble, punching his arm, "I think you just might be ready for a real dragon raid." The others all cheered raucously. "There's a nest full of phoenix eggs nearby, and we're gonna swipe 'em!"

"Aren't you totally psyched to go on this raid?" asked another, slapping him on the back.

"Oh yeah, I'm excited. I mean, I'm psyched," he replied nervously.

He certainly didn't sound like he was psyched about this raid. If anything, he had appeared shocked at the idea. He even tried to back out by saying he couldn't fly with them before being picked up by another and carried off anyway.

"Oh no, they took Spike! We've gotta go after them!" Determined to do this, Rainbow tried to fly after them, much to the protest of the others who were dragged along.

"Rainbow Dash, stop! We can't fly!" reminded Twilight.

"And you're ruining my fabulous costume!" added Rarity firmly.

She stopped just before they fell into a lava pool. "I'm sorry, but we gotta help Spike!"

"Well, we're just gonna have to hoof it!" said Twilight, watching while the dragons carried off Spike.

"I'll run on ahead and see what I can do," decided Dusk, jumping over the ridge. "You girls catch up later."

"Go for it, Dusk!" called Rainbow, while he galloped off.

Night had fallen now in the forest by the time he entered it, scanning the trees for Spike, his colour disguise providing some additional light. He felt rather light headed, both from the running and from keeping up his disguise. After taking some time to take some more from what he had stored in the necklace, he picked up the pace and kept up the search for Spike.

He followed the smaller colour puppet, though maintaining this and his own disguise was really taxing him. He kept at it though, shaking his head to keep it clear. He had to find Spike and stop him before he made a huge mistake. Whatever the dragons intended to do with those eggs couldn't be good and he didn't want Spike to be a part of it.

He arrived just in time to see Spike running away from a pair of enraged phoenixes. He dived, pushing him out of the way and into a bush. They poked their heads out to see the phoenixes turn tail and fly off the other way, burning brighter than the sun.

"Whew, that was close." He beamed up at Dusk. "Thanks for your… wait, you're the one from before. The one who helped me."

Dusk made his puppet smile. "Indeed, I am."

"But why have you been helping me?" he asked. "You called me 'bro'… why did you?"

"Well, you're my fellow dragon, aren't you?" He allowed the smile to broaden. "That's what brothers do, don't they? They look out for each other."

"Yeah…" He stared at him for a long while before nodding. "Well, thanks again. Huh, what have we got here?"

Dusk looked at the wreck of the phoenix nest and saw a yellow and orange shape in the debris of all the twigs. Even though he had never seen one, he knew what it was before Spike picked it up and was about to reach for it when the other three returned, looking very frustrated.

"What happened?" asked Spike.

"They got away!" Garble noticed what he was holding. "Hey! You stole an egg?" Spike remained in unsure silence. "I guess the raid wasn't a total waste after all. Nice going, Spike."

His face brightened, until the next words by another.

"Well, what are you waiting for, Spike? Smash it!"

"Smash the egg?" he asked fearfully.

"Yeah!"

"Yeah, throw it on the ground as hard as you can!"

"Yeah! Smash it! Smash it! Smash it! Smash it! Smash it!"

Spike's face hardened and he raised the egg up high. Dusk felt himself stiffen with fear that he might actually give in to peer pressure and do it. He started to move forward, indecisive as to whether or not he should interfere.

Until he turned and looked at Dusk. Though he was looking into his puppet's eyes, past them and straight at his real ones. He didn't know what he saw in them or if he even did see them, but something flared up in his green ones. And it wasn't what he saw burning in the eyes of his fellows.

"No!" He held it close, some tears trickling away. "It's just a defenceless egg, like I was! And I'm not gonna let you hurt it!"

"What did you say?" snarled Garble.

"I said no."

"No one says no to me," he growled, stepping menacingly towards him.

Now, Dusk knew it was time to act. He stepped in-between the two dragons, Garble looking briefly bewildered, then astounded when he let the disguise fall away.

"I'm sorry, my good sir, but I'm afraid I must cut short whatever you have planned." He glared right at him. "Nopony hurts my little brother."

"Oh yeah? You and what army?" challenged Garble.

"This one!" He turned to see the girls, out of their costume with their hooves raised. "Nopony's gonna lay a claw on him!"

"That's right!" agreed Twilight.

"Fighting's not really my thing, I'm more into fashion, but I'll rip you to pieces if you touch one scale on his cute little head!"

Even Dusk was chilled a little by Rarity's words. However, judging by their loud guffawing, the dragons didn't.

"Ooh, scary, hehe! Spike, are these namby-pamby ponies your friends?" asked Garble mockingly.

"Yes, they are," he said without hesitation. "And they're better friends than you could ever be. Now, if you don't back off, you'll see what us ponies do when confronted by a huge group of jerky dragons."

"Well said. Spike, was it?"

They all looked at the sound of the voice. The same stallion from before jumped down from a tree, landing beside Dusk. Up close, he realised how truly large he was. He turned his attention to the leader of the group.

"I know that as an observer I should stay in the shadows and observe." He glared darkly at Garble. "Phoenixes however are a bit of a sore point for me. As I am sure you'll remember, Garble."

The red dragon's eyes filled with anger, "You were lucky last time."

"Is that what you told yourself?" He shrugged as if discussing the weather. "Well, I am a fair pony, willing to give another chance. If you want to fight, I'll gladly accept." He turned them and added. "This shouldn't take too long."

"Who are you anyway?" demanded Twilight. "What are you doing here?"

"Name's Phoenix Wing and, like I said, I observe. Occasionally, I act and this is one of those times."

"Phoenix Wing…" Twilight's eyes suddenly lit up. "Of course!"

"Hey! Don't get cocky!" Gargle shouted.

Phoenix merely rubbed his hoof against his chest. "I suppose we'll use the time-honoured draconian tradition of one-on-one battle till one party backs off?" The look on the observer's face told everypony he'd planned this.

"I HATE YOU SO MUCH!" the red dragon launched himself towards the stallion, who spread his wings and dodged by making a near-vertical take-off.

Dusk glanced at Rainbow, who was completely enraptured with the red Pegasus, a gleam of rarely seen admiration in her eyes. He couldn't blame her, he had never imagined seeing a fight like this. The Pegasus was flying like nothing Dusk had ever seen. Compared to Rainbow Dash's or even the Wonderbolt's usual speedy style, Phoenix's was far more agile. Dodging the bouts of flame the dragon sent his way. Always staying near the blind spot. They kept circling each other. Then it was over.

With a move that brought Phoenix high above Gargle, he dropped from the sky, hitting the dragon on the way down and both hit the ground with the impact of a rock. The dragon was caught between the Pegasus and the ground.

Phoenix stood on Gargle's throat, "I win. Leave." The voice was cold and emotionless.

As soon as Phoenix removed his hoof, the two other dragons picked Gargle up, glaring with anger and some fear and made their way back to the mountain. Silence reigned for a few moments as they watched the dragons go.

"Well, that takes care of that." The voice of Phoenix was surprisingly chipper and he turned to them. "So... care to explain why three ponies in a fake Diamond Scale costume, one dressed in a magic light show and a young dragon are here in such a dangerous area?"

"We told you before, we were looking out for Spike," Twilight said.

"Really? Because that wasn't obvious from that SUICIDAL ACTION!" Phoenix suddenly shouted, before calming down. "I understand that Spike is obviously important to you but ponies walking on dragon grounds gets most of them killed. Trust me."

From the way he said that, Dusk could tell that he had some experience in that area. Suddenly, his size and his burns became a lot more obvious as to why he had them.

Phoenix sighed. "Now let's get to camp. The longer we stay, the more likely it is those dragons might come back.

The group followed as he lead them away from the dragon's territory, deeper into the forest. Spike was holding the egg as Twilight moved him on his back, Rarity giving him a small nuzzle. A weak smile appearing on the dragon's face.

Rainbow hovered besides Phoenix asking all sorts of questions about his flying style. The stallion was laughing as he explained, both of them happy enough to talk to each other. Dusk couldn't help but suppress a small smirk as he watched.

Dusk looked at Twilight, feeling he needed some kind of answer. "Who is he? What's he doing here?"

"Phoenix Wing. I remember coming across his name while Spike and I were researching. He's one of the very few in his field who actually try to study dragons." She looked at him with some admiration. "He's completely cut himself off from most of the world to focus on researching and studying them."

Something awakened in Dusk's memory. "Wait a minute! He was the one who wrote about the dragon's greed. I thought I recognized his name. You said it was familiar."

"I did, that's because most of the books he has written are Canterlot exclusive, due to the nature and importance of what's in them," she explained. "I'd almost forgotten about them and I'd have had them sent over if it wasn't so late."

Dusk followed her gaze to him. "I suppose we're lucky he showed up when he did. That's obviously not the first time he's had to fight a dragon."

"Yeah…" Twilight seemed to notice her eyes lingered on him a little too long and she blushed. "Sorry, it's just… well…"

"I know, I understand," he said, suppressing his jealousy. "I'm not exactly much to look at."

"Well, I'm looking at you right now, aren't I?" She nuzzled his cheek and glanced at Rainbow. "Besides, I think I know who's diverting more attention to him."

The voice of Phoenix interrupted their conversation.

"Here we are, welcome to Berk. The main camp for the dragon watchers. Founded over a decade ago by Hiccup, May his bones rest forever in the Green Death," he added sombrely.

The camp was small, set up in a clearing in the forest, concealed by a number of bushes and trees. Some observing equipment was set up near the edge of the camp, angled towards the volcanoes in the distance. It contained everything a place like this might need, including tents, some artificial, some natural made, mud huts and central meeting area.

There was nopony else at the camp. Either they were all away on separate observation assignments or they were… well, Dusk could see a few stones marking a row just a little further away from the tents. He didn't need to ask what they were for.

He lead them to a spot behind on of the tents. "Well, I am sure you ponies must be tired after all you've been through. Feel free to rest up, get something to eat and drink, but I think it's best that you get going by morning. This isn't the friendliest of places."

"Hey, wait." Spike held up the egg before Phoenix went inside one of the tents. "What about this? Shouldn't we try and find the parents?"

Phoenix looked at Spike. A knowing look appeared in his eye and he nodded.

"You can keep it, if you want."

Spike's eyes widened "Really?"

"Once a Phoenix nest is abandoned, it stays abandoned. Maybe if I can find the parents, they may take it back. I'll write you a letter if I find them."

"Right." He held the egg closer, Rarity allowing him a leg to lean on. "Thanks, Phoenix."

Phoenix nodded and approached Spike.

"Take care of him. Becoming a parent of a phoenix isn't easy," he advised. "I'll try and send you a couple of books for Phoenix care too." He rubbed Spike's head and gave him some reassuring pats before returning to his tent.

"Phew, that was a close one." Spike smiled around at them. "Thanks, you guys."

"Of course," Twilight smiled gently. "What are friends for?

"You're more than friends." His eyes brimmed with tears again while he smiled. "You're my family."

Enjoying the moment, Dusk joined the hug with the others, just glad to have his friend and fellow librarian back.

Spike looked up at Dusk. "You know, I thought it was you. I mean, when you were disguised. I didn't know how, but I knew."

"Well, no disguise is perfect," he shrugged. "Did you find what you were looking for?"

"Yeah. It was right where I left." He hugged Dusk and bumped his hoof. "Thanks for being there for me, bro."

Dusk just smiled. "That's what bros are for."

Comments

[alexphoenixwing]

Just who is that stallion, I wonder?
fimfiction-static.net/images/avatars/19885_256.jpg?1366569159

.

[RadBunny]

"Here we are, welcome to Berk. The main camp for the dragon watchers. Founded over a decade ago by Hiccup, May his bones rest forever in the Green Death," he added sombrely
....
..... For Phoenix care and how to train your dragon."
....

[img] http://iseewhatyoudidthere.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/ISeeWhatYouDidThereBlackWithTextSS.png [/img]

Reference! References everywhere!

[laser68]

lol, those references, also i wanted dusk to fight something :(

[AlphatheGriffin17]

2811942 You wanted Dusk to fight something? U mad bro?
2811874 His idea, not mine! *points to comment below yours*

[laser68]

2812004 don't get me wrong i loved the chapter, i just like it when dusk uses his magic, and he uses it the most when fighting. though the dragon costume was cool

[SaxPon3]

OMG! I loved those "How To Train Your Dragon" references!

[Phys]

Phoenix and dashie sitting in a tree, k-I-s-s-i-n-g.

[Phys]

2811776

[Phase Nexus]

I had to see a 'How toTrain You Dragon' reference coming with this chapter...

[Phase Nexus]

Also for some reason I see you doing something more with your subtle Transformers references...

[boulder_west]

Hiccup... Nice reference there my friend.

[Music-and-magic]

HTTYD FTW! (Best movie evar!)

Ahem, now that I got that out, is Phoenix another friend's OC?

Edit: I figured it out from the comments ;)

[Mind Clash]

Awww. A 'How to train your dragon' reference. I loved that bit.

[Carnation83]

Way too many HTTYD references, but Phoenix Wing is cool.

[Stellar_]

God, HTTYD is such a good movie :)