Prologue: The "First" Entry

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In an island that exists outside of space and time, there is a sizable and imposing temple that is simply known as the "Archives" amid a desolate, craggy field littered with precipitous rocks. Many strange beasts have made their home on this island, lurking amidst the scattered, large and protruding stones. But even among the most ancient and powerful monsters residing there, none dare to cross the sole inhabitant of the Archives itself: the archivist known only as the "Librarian".

The Librarian, who serves as the guardian and keeper of the island, is currently an aged, dragon with pristine grayish-light blue scales wearing a simple navy blue cloak that did not cover his worn and weathered wings. A basket-like pouch was strapped to each of his rear legs, both filled to the brim with rolls of parchment and quills.

Currently, he was carefully making his way around mountains of literature on and about everything imaginable and unimaginable (a single glimpse would have even the most accomplished literary scholar salivating) towards a simple desk with a single book resting upon it.

It was a modest purple color with a similarly basic green spine and lettering. By no means awe-inspiring or breathtaking, yet it still managed to stand out with a quiet aura of grandeur.

Gently, the dragon sat itself on the cushion in front of the desk and blew a minuscule flame at a nearby candle. As if by magic - and undoubtedly it was - other candles placed in various locations lit up and slowly rose into the air until their light illuminated the entire room.

Seemingly unaware of the precarious lighting, the Librarian opened the book to a bookmarked page and began to read...

...

Entry Number... something? Sigh, I guess restarting at "Entry One" would be sufficient for now.

It's not like I'm particularly forgetful or negligent or anything. To be fair, it's been a while since I've written anything in my journal. In fact, I've all but forgotten I even had a journal until Twilight started pestering me about writing down everything that's happened in the past four (or has it already been five? I kinda lost track) years since my last entry, even though at most I'll only have a year's worth.

Figures, the first break we have in a long - and I mean long - time and the first thing she wants to do is homework. I don't even know why I need to bother with this since Twilight's obviously going to write about everything herself.

... Fine, I'll do it. It isn't like I can do much else for now, since my "nurse" has pretty much confined me to bedrest. Geez, she's so strict-

OW!

Did I mention she has a pretty mean left hook too?

Anyway, I guess a brief introduction and recap are in order. "Book etiquette", or something like that.

The name's Spike. I'm the purple dragon (not just in color), which apparently means that I'm supposed to have some monumentally grandoise destiny to combat evil forces and save the world.

Or something like that. Though if you ask me, it's all just really troublesome.

I was hatched during an entrance exam by my best friend Twilight Sparkle, who was a unicorn with some unbelievable magic, even as a young filly. I'm not kidding; her raw magic power is within astronomical levels. She just had a problem with harnessing and regulating it in the past; though I guess I really shouldn't complain about it too much since that's the reason why I'm still able to live with ponies without much trouble.

After I hatched, Twilight's mentor and the formerly sole ruler of Equestria, Princess Celestia adopted me. It caused quite a commotion with the snobs over in Canterlot, but what can I say; mother can be really persuasive. Besides, she wouldn't be herself if she just left a then-helpless baby to fend for himself, even if said baby was a dragon.

My hatchling years were pretty interesting. There were a number of times where it was fortunate I was a dragon. Then again, if I weren't a dragon, it probably wouldn't have happened.

Mother was absolutely livid every time an incident happened. And trust me, an angy Celestia is not a good thing.

I refuse say anything more than that.

Truth be told, I'm still a bit scared of her reaction. Those ponies may not have been banished to the moon (sorry 'bout that Aunt Luna), but they definitely wished they were. Or at least punted into the sun. The scariest part is that everything was within legality.

Ahem...

Once I thought I was old enough, I decided I wanted to become Twilight's assistant. She was one of the only ponies who was sincerely nice to me - if you don't count how she occasionally looked at me like some sort of experiment - and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't more than a little fond of her. Besides, even to a me who was barely a few years old, she looked like she needed all the help she could get.

With a lot of convincing from the both of us, I started as Twilight's assistant before the latter half of her schooling. While she was in the academy, I would stay behind to take care of the chores. When she was home, I would help her in any way while she studied. During breaks, she would tutor me so I wouldn't fall behind, and I ended up way ahead of anypony my age. Mother would often check up on us. When she couldn't, Twi's babysitter Princess Cadence, Celestia's niece and my favorite cousin, would stop by, usually with Twilight's brother, Shining Armor, in tow.

It was a pretty good life, peaceful if not boring at times. The rest of the time was filled by all sorts of trouble the two of us would get into. Believe me when I say that that mare is a magnet for stuff like that.

Then everything changed when that Summer Sun Celebration arrived...

Twi had been doing some research about the legend of the "Mare in the Moon". When she tried to warn mother about something she had found, she was instead sent to check on the preparations for the celebration which was being held in Ponyville that year. Being the great assistant that I am, of course I accompanied her.

There, we met the mares that would soon become, along with Twilight, the wielders Elements of Harmony, often known as the Mane Six.

You probably already know this next part: the return of Nightmare Moon; Twilight and her new friends venturing into the Everfree Forest, finding and losing the Elements of Harmony; realizing that they were the ponyfications of the Elements; using that power to defeat Nightmare Moon and restoring her back to Princess Luna.

Everypony knows about that, courtesy of a certain cyan pegasus.

Anyways, after that Twi decided to stay in Ponyville to continue her studies on the magic of friendship. And I, her faithful number one assistant, naturally stayed with her. Ponyville is a pretty great place after all. Though some of the buildings tend to make me a bit hungry.

We, or rather Twilight and her friends, had many (mis)adventures after that. Most of the time I was somewhere else, sometimes ignored outright, but it's alright as long as Twi's happy. She probably is the most important pony in my life after all...

Wait, scratch that. She is the most important pony in my entire life.

And that's what made this next part all the more painful.

A couple of years after we first arrived in Ponyville, Twi was given the spellbook of the famous Starswirl the Bearded and discovered an unfinished spell she was sure she could complete. I had complete faith that she would. And she did.

Unfortunately, it didn't work out the way she expected - her friends, via the Elements of Harmony, switched cutie marks and it ended up causing chaos all around town. Not Discord-class chaos either; that would've at least been a little funny.

No, this was more of the "nopony-knows-who-they-are-anymore-and-everything's-going-wrong" variant.

Twi found a way to fix everything by convincing her friends to go back to doing what they were meant to do, thus returning their cutie marks to their rightful pony and completing the unfinished spell through the magic of friendship. After that, she was whisked away to a mystical, ethereal plane where Celestia was waiting. They walked through a hall of memories - Twi's memories - before Celestia congratulated her and magically transformed Twilight Sparkle into Alicorn Princess Twilight Sparkle.

Now for those who don't understand the magnitude of that, keep in mind that the only way to become royalty prior to this was to be born into it - not counting my situation since it doesn't really apply - or marry into the family; and there's also the matter of nothing even remotely close to this having happened in the past.

Princess Twilight's coronation was something that was celebrated all across Equestria for weeks, with Pinkie Pie throwing a party every day, though she would've done so anyway. Everypony everywhere was happy.

Everypony.

For me, that was sort of a bittersweet time.

Maybe it was due to me being around Twi my entire life or it was because I lived in a library and I had a lot of free time or both, but I hadn't stopped thinking from the moment Twilight returned to Ponyville as an alicorn. I realized a lot of things the others hadn't while they were still flying high from all of the excitement.

Now that she was a princess, things wouldn't be the same. For one, she would have royal duties to attend to. She also needed to learn more about how to be a princess. Then there's the mountain of other obligations mother and Aunt Luna have and haven't told me about. So she would have to move back to Canterlot for a while. Possibly permanently.

Mother was benignant enough to give Twi time before delivering the inevitable news. The day we were scheduled to leave, I elected to tell Twi my decision:

I... wasn't coming with her.

Twi, all of our friends, the entire town who had gathered to see her off, even mother who was there to personally pick us up; everypony was stunned into absolute silence.

It's not that I couldn't understand their surprise, it's just...

The reason why Twi was changed into an alicorn was because she had come a long way from who she was when we were still in Canterlot. Mother even went so far as to tell her that her journey was done! In other words, Twilight has developed and matured enough to earn the right to become a princess, something that was completely unheard of before (but, since it's Twilight Sparkle we're talking about, I can't say that I found it that surprising).

Me? I was certainly different compared to when we first arrived in Ponyville, but I felt that it wasn't enough progress. And I don't think I would be satisfied if I continued to cling to Twi the entire time. As much I wanted to - I almost accidentally triggered a greed growth - stay by her side, I knew I couldn't.

To me, it was the same as when I decided that I wanted to be her assistant. Only, this time, it was time for me to go off on my own.

Twi... she cried. I could've and should've chosen a better time to tell her, but it took too long to resolve myself to do it. We shouted and argued at each other before she realized, or rather accepted, that I wasn't going to change my mind. After that she tried denying it, but it didn't take long for her to break down.

I will admit that I nearly lost my determination right then and there. My best friend in the entire world, sobbing on the ground...

I swore that I would never forgive anypony who dared make my best friend in the entire world cry.

You see, no matter how smart Twilight gets, she's still an emotionally fragile mare.

Going back to our days in Canterlot...

Back when she was still in the academy, she was often teased and bullied because she was younger than the others or because she was supposedly mother's "favorite" or even because she was smarter than most of them. My prescence certainly didn't help, often making it worse.

She knew better than to show it to those jerks, but she was hurt. After we got home, she would lock herself in her room to "study", but she couldn't completely stop all of her tears. When the bullies had shown up the next day with their tails all-but burnt off and newly-dyed coats, she had gotten angry at me, but I didn't regret it.

There was this one time when one of her classmates, a colt she (along with pretty much every filly in Canterlot) fancied, asked her out. She was ecstatic, and though it did pain me a bit, I pretended to be happy for her. Then I found out that the colt was planning to stand her up and embarass her.

Let's just say that I had learned a thing or two from mother and the sap fled town the next day.

There was no way I'd ever let Twilight know about it, so I ended up taking her on the date instead, and it turned into two best friends hanging out.

I admit that I felt terrible for lying to her then, but I never hated myself more than I did at that moment when I was watching her cry because of me.

Mother stepped in just as I was about to fold. She managed to convince Twilight to let me go through with this, even though she so obviously wanted to have her son back in Canterlot with her. Twi was still crying, but at least she was finally getting it under control.

Instead of saying something, she just embraced me as tightly as she possibly could. I hugged her back. I really didn't want to do this, and I was hurting too much inside to speak. I couldn't even begin to imagine how Twilight was feeling. But we've been together long enough that we didn't need words to express what we wanted to say.

You'd better grow up fast and then come back to me, you understand?

I promise Twi. I'll send letters as often as I can.

Thanks Spike. Sniff, I just wish that we didn't have to say farewell so soon...

Dummy... this isn't "farewell", it's just a "see you later".

Yeah.... you're right.

Heh, see you later Twilight Sparkle, princess of the library.....

See you later Spike, the best assistant in the world, and my best friend.....

We were hugging for a while, but when mother gently interrupted us and said that it was time to go, it didn't feel long enough. Even long after the carriage and everypony had left, I continued to stare off into the direction it had gone. I probably would've been there all night had the others not taken me back home.

It's funny, I never realized how big the library really was until I was its only inhabitant.

Sigh......

Excuse me for a moment...

...

Continuing, in the year that followed our separation, I started to grow again. Not nearly as fast as when I went through my whole "hoarding" phase. Much, much slower than that. And I didn't even grow as much. That didn't mean that I wasn't worried until mother and Twi assured me that it was just natural.

At first, it wasn't too bad. Twilight visited at least twice a week. I regularly sent letters even if she was in Ponyville. She and the others, with me along for the ride a little more often, still continued to get into all sorts of trouble.

Then her visits had become less and less frequent. Aunt Luna had informed me one evening that Twilight was starting to become a bit overwhelmed. In addition to her princess duties, she was continuing with her studies and conducting research and experiments, often going overboard and neglecting to rest. She stubbornly refused to listen to anypony regarding this.

When I saw her during one of my visits to Canterlot, I cringed at how exhausted she looked. However, I knew that even mother would not be able to stop her when she got like this. The only pony - or dragon, in this case - who knew how to deal with her like this was me.

I was ready to drop everything to run to Canterlot until Luna reminded me that I couldn't do that every time Twi went out of control. So we worked out a bit of a compromise: I would handle Twi when my mother couldn't and there was no other choice, but she could not know about it. Plus, I would also need to report to the castle weekly for tutoring from Aunt Luna. I agreed.

It was a little hard when I didn't get enough sleep on some days, but I could handle it. Besides, the next time we were in Canterlot, Twi seemed to be doing much better.

Like I said, as long as she's happy, I can deal with anything.

Still... I couldn't help but feel increasingly restless...

I did not discover the reason behind this anxiety until a couple of years later. To be more exact, it had already been almost four years after Princess Twilight's coronation. I had been researching the history of my kind when I discovered something that could possibly help me find out who I was supposed to be.

Had I known that that would set the gears of destiny in motion and cause the subsequent events to occur...

Ah well. Too late for that "what if" and "if only" junk. I did what I did, so I need to see this through until the very end.

So listen up. This is my story.

This is The Legend of Spike.

Chapter 1 - In Which Spike Really Hates A Certain Scroll

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Normally, Spike loved all kinds of books. Living with a certain Twilight Sparkle for most of your life will do that to a dragon. If your house also just so happens to be a library, then all the more reason to.

Fiction and nonfiction. Genres of all kinds. Fantasy, adventure, sci-fi; even the occassional romance novel if he was bored. Reference books were good sources of new information, especially since he was already way ahead of anypony his age in academics.

However, if there was any kind of literature that Spike absolutely loathed and/or detested, then it would have to be the kind that results in Apple Bloom and he being chased through an unexplored part the Everfree Forest by a pack of possessed Timberwolves.

Yeah... he really hated those kinds of books. Or scrolls. Or anything that resulted in what he just said.

He already lost track of how long they were running, but he was pretty sure that he couldn't set his own lungs on fire. He also wasn't entirely certain if his legs were still attatched to his body.

Don't be mistaken; he was by no means out of shape. Anydragon who can't keep up with teenage Cutie Mark Crusaders (and that doesn't include the new recruits) won't last very long. Conversely, he was no athlete either, as a certain cyan pegasus enjoys pointing out.

Thank Celestia for dragon endurance.

On the other claw, his partner was one of the most physically fit ponies in this part of Equestria, short of her siblings. And even then, they didn't have years of crusading to further condition them. But Apple Bloom couldn't keep this pace up indefinitely. As it was, the Timberwolves were already gradually catching up.

These Timberwolves were unusual, and not just because they didn't seem to tire. For one, their bodies were kind of gnarled and overgrown, like the wood had been twisted and decided to start sprouting twigs and leaves again. And somehow, despite all that, they were also fireproof, or at least fire-resistant, since his firebreath had no effect at all! Oh, and did he mention that they were spewing out malevolent purple smoke? Or that their eyes were eerily glowing the same color?

In retrospect, the last two probably should've given it away.

"AB, wheeze there's a pant break in the wheeze trees pant ahead!" Spike gasped. Hopefully that means that we're almost out of the forest. Then these nuisances should leave us alone.

Apple Bloom just nodded, far too winded to even think about replying. She did, however, deliver a swift kick to a Timberwolf that had gotten way too close for comfort. Spike took note that it staggered briefly before resuming chase, but it actually looked a bit worn out compared to the others.

Interesting...

No time to dwell on that, though. They were almost clear of the trees. Spike and Apple Bloom burned the last reserves of their energy for a last burst of speed. The two of them emerged from the forest... and found themselves in a small clearing before a wooden barricade.

If either Spike or Apple Bloom had any breath left, they would've started swearing enough to shock Twilight and Applejack back in Canterlot and Sweet Apple Acres respectively, before the two of them would come galloping and bust clean through the pack of Timberwolves with a wagon-load of soap in tow.

The sound of growling reminded them that they weren't alone. Spike and Apple Bloom turned around to see the Timberwolves skulking into the clearing. They backed up into the blockade as the wooden wolves advanced.

This really wasn't a good time for a flashback, but Spike can't believe that this was all this started because of that stupid scroll...

...

[Two Days Earlier]

As the light of the sunset washed over Ponyville, bathing the town in a brilliant orange hue, everypony was beginning to pack up and go home to relax after another day of work and spontaneous musical numbers. Nopony paid any attention to the piles of burnt timber or the shallow trench caused by a young dragon dragging himself across town.

Spike, scorched and bandaged, groaned as he hauled himself back to the Golden Oaks Library. What was the reason this time? Earlier, a certain trio of Cutie Mark Crusaders had decided to try being firefighters.

It's a really good thing dragons are fireproof.

Some ponies offered looks of sympathy and gratitude, some with pity and understanding. Several made attempts to help, but the young dragon assured them that he was fine. He is used to this after all.

Ever since they became teenagers and still hadn't gotten their Cutie Marks yet, their crusades have gotten exceedingly more painful. For him. They were fifteen now, but it wasn't just the three of them anymore.

True to her word, Babs Seed, Apple Bloom's favorite cousin, had started her own Crusaders back in Manehatten. Word got out about the two branches, more and more ponies started supporting it, a bunch of other branches formed, and eventually the Cutie Mark Crusaders became an Equestria-wide organization. Before long, tons of colts and fillies, early achievers and late bloomers alike, rushed to sign up.

The starting three - Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo - had their hooves full with helping out the new recruits from their Ponyville chapter, keeping in touch with the other branches, and having their own adventures, but they've managed somehow. As far as Spike knew, there were only a few graduates who had received their marks so far, but it seems like everypony was having a lot of fun.

It's also fortunate that the newbies aren't as eager to try out some of the crazier crusades Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo take part in. Spike could barely handle keeping the three of them safe.

At least AB is nice enough to patch me up every time I get hurt, Spike thought as he dragged himself inside. And the apple pies she makes for me afterwards are almost worth the pain, especially since she's gotten much better at baking. Though I guess she's had plenty of opportunities to practice considering how often she needs to treat my injuries.

Spike sweatdropped before pulling himself to stand on all fours.

A short time after he had separated from Twilight, Spike had apparently gone through some sort of growth spurt. Nothing like his last one or the one before that; it was supposedly natural this time. A bit unexpected, though.

Twilight theorized that the sudden influx of a massive amount of her magic at his hatching may have possibly somehow affected and/or altered his biological structure in various ways. Not to mention that his environment could have further influenced this change.

Obviously, one was his rate of growth. Even without the whole "greed" factor, he still should've experienced an extremely slow rate of natural growth spread out over his extensively long lifespan. Any other forms of rapid development would require the dragon to give into his greed, though Spike had done no such thing. If anything, it's closer to a pony during puberty - well, only in terms of voice changing/cracking (which had mostly stopped by now) and physical growth and minus some of that more awkward junk.

Besides, the growth spurt had ended right when Spike was a few centimeters short of the average stallion (much to his irritation) when he was quardrupedal. His arms had grown more than his legs, and he eventually resorted to walking around like a quadruped. He could still go around on two legs and was considerably more dexterous than most ponies, but for the most part it was easier to get around on all fours. His spines had gotten longer and sharper as well.

Something that also differed from the previous times was the new addition: a pair of medium-sized, pale-emerald colored wings. Though he couldn't do much with them aside from some gliding at the moment.

But the one thing that he enjoyed from this development was that he had started to outgrow his hatchling features - which he had long since gotten tired of - and was beginning to look more like his age.

Granted, in dragon years seventeen was still within the infantile range, but he was raised by ponies, who develop significantly faster. In addition, he is the adopted son of Princess Celestia and served as the assistant/occasional caretaker of Twilight Sparkle for most of his life; so even by pony standards he was mature despite his age.

A brief shower to get rid of the grime and scorch marks, and Spike felt much better. He went up to thei-his room and collapsed onto the bed, sighing contently.

...

Four years. In a few days, it will have been exactly four years since that day.

He's stronger, faster, and smarter than ever. He can't be called a "baby dragon" anymore. The experience of four years of his own adventures and having his own exploits have taught him very well.

And... still not enough.

There were still too many questions left unanswered for his liking.

How did his egg come into the possession of Princess Celestia? When did it happen? Where did he come from? Why were most dragons rapacious, greedy jerks? What made them that way? And most importantly, who was he, Spike, really?

Spike had decided that if was ever going to be able to keep his promise, the fastest way would be to find out his history and learn from it.

Unfortunately, his search for answers has yielded more questions than answers.

The selection on dragons in the tree library was mostly biased and/or heavily exaggerated; and the few that weren't only told him things he already knew. The closest thing there was to a dragon expert around was Zecora, who would often enlighten him with tales and tomes from her homeland.

While that did help him find out more about his kind, much of what he had learned only served to further increase his frustration. It was mostly through the folklore and ancient history that he learnt of a lost civilization of dragons that existed before Equestria was formed.

Their way of life was rather similar, though less ponified and more dragonlike obviously. They also interacted with all sorts of species, but a quite a few of them were rather hostile. Most of them, friendly or not, were now more or less extinct, or at the very least few in numbers. Those that weren't, like the moles, lived in faraway countries in some part of the world.

It revealed to him that dragons weren't always the way they were now. Somewhere along the timeline, there was an event that caused them to regress back to their two most basic of instincts: survival and hoarding.

Something was telling Spike that finding out what caused that would help him discover more about himself, though he had no idea why. But even in Canterlot's Royal Library, there was very little to nothing about that particular time period.

Spike grumbled under his breath.

If he hadn't found that, then he'd very likely be at a loss right now.

A glance outside the window confirmed that the sun was still in the process of setting, and since neither his mother nor aunt had messaged him, he had some free time. He sprung to his claws and stretched.

He walked to Twilight's old desk and pulled out an old-fashioned scroll from one of the bottom drawers. It was wasn't exactly in bad condition, but he was still very cautious with unfurling it. Once it was securely set up on the desk, Spike extracted a pair of reading glasses from another drawer and sat down to read.

The previous week, he had discovered a hidden panel in the wood of the tree and accidentally tumbled into a slide that led to some sort of secret study deep underground. His landing wasn't the best (he actually slingshot out of the slide and into a shelf, kicking up dust and knocking down several priceless volumes from their perches), but he too excited about exploring a new area.

Spike briefly paused from his reading to wonder if Twilight had known about that room. Then again, it was downright impossible that she would ever neglect the welfare of books. If she did know about it, the two of them likely would have spent an entire week cleaning up and restoring some of the more run-down tomes.

It was pretty dark down there, so he chanced a very minuscule flame. With that little light, he managed to examine wall lined with racks holding multiple scrolls. He barely managed to make out a dragon symbol/insignia on one and decided to grab it, resolving to come back with something brighter and less likely to cause a fire. There were probably other stuff down there he could've gotten instead, but it wasn't like he could tell the difference anyway in that darkness.

Climbing back up was a a pain (he hadn't found any other way out aside from where he entered; and it was not easy scaling a Celestia-knows-how-long slide in the dark, even with claws), but before he could sit down and study his find, one of the new Crusaders, a red unicorn colt named Ruby Shards, had come to get him at the to help out with some crusading that a certain trio were partaking in.

Thanks to that, Spike now knows that he's only mostly resistant to blacksmith tools.

The next day, or rather night, Princess Luna had summoned him to the castle for his weekly tutoring session. And because he was already tired from helping out around Ponyville (why so many ponies needed assistance on the same day, he had no idea), he had fallen asleep the moment he got home.

And the day after that, he had to fill in for Cherilee for some of the classes again. Then the next day, he went on a herb-picking hike with Fluttershy before "secretly" delivering Rainbow Dash a new romance novel. The day after, he helped Rarity and Ruby (who had taken interest in designing and making clothes) at the Boutique. And there was the crazy limbo-dancing, leaf-blowing, and something-else-unrelated party Pinkie had thrown. Then the day after that...

You get the point.

Applejack had been nice enough to let Apple Bloom help out around the library for the week, though Spike suspected it was mainly to keep her out of trouble. Either way, it was nice having somepony to come home to after a long day.

Wait, that came out wrong...

Anyway, today was the first chance he's gotten to examine the scroll. Everything was taken care of and nothing/nopony/nodragon was on fire. Apple Bloom had already gone home for the day. He was not going to let this chance go to waste.

"It seems like this scroll was written by one of the former proprietors of Golden Oaks, possibly even the original owner," Spike muttered. "Research notes on the ancient dragon civilization. Should've figured she was a scholar too. Explains why a library comes with living quarters and a kitchen.

"Apparently this is merely one of a series of notes, but this particular piece seems to be focused on something called the 'Dragon Temple'. A lot of stuff's been written down though. Might as well start at the introduction.

"Let's see... blah blah blah dragons and junk, something about ancient spells and treasure; blah blah... hmm? Forbidden secrets for ultimate power? Nope, that's not it. 'One Hundred and One Tasty Gem Recipes'? Tempting, but no. Maybe later.

"Trampoline science, actual notes on the Dragon Temple, more distractive topics for idiots who don't read the entire introduction... wait a minute!"

It occurs to me that I am using a rather outdated form of record keeping, though I must admit that no other medium quite has the same scholarly feel that I am trying to capture with these scrolls. On the other hoof, I suppose it would be easier to use a journal or some other bound book for this purpose, but...

... skipping ahead a bit...

Ah! Not again! I cannot fathom why I wasted that much ink justifying my usage of scrolls to a scroll! Again! Focus Stargazer, focus! Deep breaths now... Concentrate on your research!

Whoever this "Stargazer" was, she(?) sounded an awful like somepony he knew...

Getting back on track, this time my research focuses on the structure known as the Dragon Temple. It would be the dragons' equivalent of our Canterlot Castle. However, whereas we have a monarch-figure like Princess Celestia, the dragons do not seem to believe in consenting to being subjugated. Instead, the Temple was home to some of the most powerful dragons at the time. They were the masters of their respective elements (see scroll Dragon Elements). They served as the peacekeepers and the protectors of the land: the Guardians...

In addition to being the base of the Dragon Guardians, the Temple seems to function as a school for certain dragons as well as being a sanctuary to those who needed one. It is also said that the Temple housed one of, if not the greatest libraries in existence, whose vast storehouse of knowledge is still unmatched by any other book repository to recorded in our history.

Sadly, during the event known as the Great Regression, much of the ancient dragon civilization, including records on the location of the Dragon Temple, were lost. The dragons vacated the land, traveling to various corners of the world and taking with them the remaining knowledge of their former civilization. After that, the ponies, griffons, and several other species settled into the lands.

During my quest for knowledge, I had discovered that not all remnants of ancient dragon society might not be erased from Equestria. There are still many dragons residing in various parts of the country, and the Great Dragon Migration passes through every year. Could it be possible that the dragons are closer than we thought?

One of the items of interest here in Ponyville (where I have come to at the request of my Princess) is the enigmatic Everfree Forest.

The Everfree Forest has many mysteries revolving around it as well as dwelling within, and it has yet to be fully understood - if it ever will be, that is. Many attempts to chart out the area have been made, but the deep forest is elusive as expected.
I myself have attempted this feat, but all I am able to report is that powerful magic is at work. Every time I arrive at a particular location, something prevents me from continuing and I can never remember why. It is very potent indeed, for it had taken some time for me to realize that I was under the effects of a spell in the first place.

Within this portion of my notes, I have included a map that I have created to the best of my ability. With it, somepony should at least be able to find the center of the spell, taking into account that they are not affected by it as I was.

"'... Although, I cannot help but wonder if that; rather than somepony, should it be somedragon? - Stargazer, Librarian and Keeper of the Golden Oaks Library.'" Spike finished reading languidly.

He would've been more excited, but he was just too tired.

He yawned and glimpsed out the window, before doing a double-take. The sun had already begun to rise from the horizon. Just how long had he been reading?

Judging from the melted candle stub he must've subconsciously lit, all night.

A single sheet of paper was fell from the scroll, but Spike took no notice of it. Before he could even think about uncovering mysteries of the past, something else took precedence. Something of far more importance that must be done as swiftly as possible.

Namely, snack time. But first, a quick nap.

After that, he'll go into town and rustle up some supplies for a journey into the deeper parts of the Everfree. Then he'll spend the rest of the day preparing before getting a proper night's sleep so he could set out early the next day.

...

[Present Time]

He had no idea that Apple Bloom would follow him, or that the Timberwolves would ambush them which would lead to an excruciatingly long chase through the Everfree. He also had no way of knowing that these Timberwolves would be stronger than usual and resistant to fire.

Oh, how he envied the him of the past. So carefree and eager at the prospect of an adventure.

"This isn't exactly what I had in mind..." mumbled Spike. He and Apple Bloom were surrounded now, and the barricade had prevented any further retreat.

"If it makes ya feel any better, this ain't what I imagined either," Apple Bloom replied. At least the two of them had somewhat managed to catch their breath, as the wooden menaces had decided to take their time cornering them.

Great, maybe they could politely ask the Timberwolves to leave the two of them alone over the sound of themselves being torn apart.

"Sorry I dragged you into this mess AB."

"It's fine Spike. I'm the one that decided to tag along without askin'."

"..."

"Hey, Apple Bloom? There's... there's something I wanted to tell you for a while now. And I don't think I can put it off any longer."

"Y-yeah? What is it?"

"It's been weighing on me for a while now, and I didn't think it would've been this heavy. What I'm trying to say is that...

"You're standing on my tail."

"Huh?"

"Yeah, one of your hooves stepped on it while we were backing up and it's kind of uncomfortable."

"O-oh. Sorry." Apple Bloom nearly facehooved. Who uses that kind of delivery to tell somepony to move their hoof? Though she did shift a bit to let Spike retract his tail.

"Hey, what's that?"

"Huh?" This time Apple Bloom really did facehoof. They were practically muzzle-to-muzzle with mortal peril and he chooses now of all times to develop a short attention span?

Spike was staring off into the forest, and apparently the Timberwolves noticed it too. Apple Bloom decided to take a look for herself.

There was something orange speeding towards their direction. At first she thought that it was her sister, then she remembered that Applejack thinks that she's with Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo at Zecora's; not gallivanting through the Everfree with Spike.

Whatever it was, it was getting brighter. And... warmer?

Spike apparently recognized it, because he grinned and yelled, "AB! Close your eyes!" before shutting his own. Apple Bloom was slightly confused, but closed her eyes anyway.

There was a whoosh and a feeling of intense heat in front of her, followed by a cry of pain from one of the Timberwolves.
She heard Spike laugh beside her and tenatively opened her eyes. The Timberwolves had backed up a few meters and were now wary of... something. In front of her, there was a fireball hovering above a pile of ashes and burnt wood. The fireball dispersed to reveal a small orange bird with red-tipped feathers on his crown, tail, and wings. Tiny luminescent flames danced in the air around him.

"Is that... Peewee?!"

Chapter 2 - In Which It Is Taught To Never Take A Librarian Lightly

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"Peewee?!"

Apple Bloom gaped at the young phoenix. She remembered him from the time when he was Spike's pet. Despite Spike being the one to seperate him from his family in the first place (though he did eventually return Peewee to his parents), the chick became incredibly attached to the dragon and vice versa. They may not have spent that much time together, but their parting no less difficult. She also knew that Spike had been more affected by it than he had let on.

But now, Spike was laughing; though whether it was out of relief about being rescued or elation from seeing his friend again after a long time, she wasn't sure.

The phoenix had changed very little from when Apple Bloom had last seen him. From what she knew - which was basically whatever Spike had told her - phoenixes were virtually immortal, so they physically aged at the same rate as dragons (present company excluded) and stopped only when they were fully grown.

Even after a couple of years, Peewee wasn't that different, but he was clearly starting to grow into the majestic firebird he will eventually become. As a fledgeling, he had finally developed properly-sized wings and tailfeathers for his age, as well as become more proportionate in his head-to-body ratio.

"Thanks for the save Peewee!" whooped Spike. "That was an impressive fireball! I see you've learned a few new moves since we last saw each other, huh?"

Peewee chirped happily before flying over and perching on Spike's head. He even gave Apple Bloom a quick wave, though she could've sworn that he was looking a bit smug ('Can birds even look smug?') from the praise he was getting.

The Timberwolves growled, reminding her of the danger at hoof. She had been so distracted by the reunion between the former master and pet that she had almost forgotten about them.

Apparently they did not take well to being ignored.

Several of them made to lunge, but Peewee intercepted them before they could get far.

"Go Peewee! Use a wide flaming charge to stop them in their tracks!" yelled Spike.

The phoenix swiftly flew to the side and cloaked his entire body with searing flames before sweeping past the entire front line of wolves. They howled in pain as their bodies were ignited and ran back into the forest. Then, even faster than he had attacked, Peewee returned to his perch on Spike's head.

Seeing one of their own being incinerated and several others badly burned despite supposedly being fireproof seemed to have scare off quite a few of them. Seeing that their former prey was more than ready to fight back caused even more to run away. After all that, there were only three left, but they were bigger and badder compared to the ones that fled.

The one standing at the rear stood out in particular. It was larger and more warped compared to the others, in addition to having some shrubbery growing from the back of its head down to its tail. Not to mention, its fangs and claws looked wickedly sharp...

When it growled, Apple Bloom jumped a bit to the side, though it paid her no heed. It seemed to be directing all of its focus to Spike. The other two Timberwolves took a step forward, but another growl halted their advance. A single glare from the presumed leader caused them to scurry back.

"It seems that the big one had designated me as its prey," Spike duly noted, though he did not seem particularly worried. "Which means that the others are probably going to go after you AB."

"Let 'em! I'll teach these varmints that gangin' up on somepony fifty-to-two ain't the same as a fair fight!" Apple Bloom looked raring to go now that they could finally fight back.

"Then I guess I'll take the hedge dog over there. Peewee, watch Apple Bloom's back, okay? And be careful AB."
Peewee chirped in agreement. Apple Bloom nodded.

"On three then. THREE!"

Spike jumped far to the right and ran into the woods as Peewee took to the air while Apple Bloom stood her ground. The Timberwolves divided and chased after their respective targets.

Without "Hedge Dog" around, the other Timberwolves almost seemed relieved, though they were no less viscious as they prowled towards the young mare. She did not waver in the slightest. In fact, she actually smirked.

Peewee ignited his wings and created a small fiery cyclone from his wingbeats. It flew towards the two Timberwolves and separated them with a wall of fire. He flew to one side to face one of them. The remaining one immediately leapt away from the flames and turned to face the Apple Bloom.

She almost felt sorry for the Timberwolf that was now stuck with her.

Almost.

The urge to throttle them after being chased for a couple hours through a stinking forest overwhelmed any sort of pity she might've felt.

...

Spike weaved between the trees as he ran. Since they had gotten a longer respite thanks to Peewee arriving, he was feeling somewhat recharged. Barely enough for what he had in mind. Before that though, he had managed to think about a few of his observations and come up with a few theories.

Time to test them out.

He glanced back. Hedge Dog wasn't as far away than he had hoped, but it was still acceptable.

When another tree appeared in his path, rather than run around, Spike jumped and kicked off the bark to reverse direction. Before he had even landed, he belched a torrent of emerald fire at the wolf.

It did not falter in the slightest as it ran through the flames and emerged completely unscathed, only to discover that its mark had disappeared. Cautiously creeping forward - instinctively wary of its surrounding enviroment - it was completely unaware of the presence above it.

Spike was watching from within the low canopy. One thing he noticed after a while was that ponies, along with several other species, seldom look up while searching for something. He wasn't entirely sure why, but odds are, unless their attention was already directed in that direction, they will forget to look above themselves. It was a useful piece of information which he had made use of on several occassions.

He had his reasons why he took so long in building up that much fire despite knowing full well that it would be ineffective against the creature. It's actual purposes were to:

(1) create a diversion that would allow him to escape from sight even if only for a few short seconds and, (2) confirm certain suspicions of his.

Just as he had thought, it had to do with that strange mist they were emitting. Right before it had run through the flames, the mist actually shielded its body from the fire before dispersing less than a second after the threat was gone.

Looks like his theory was correct. And whatever that stuff was, it was definitely unnatural.

That mist seemed to be able to recognize the extreme temperatures and react accordingly at a blinding speed. His fire wasn't enough to pierce through the shield (might have to do with his firebreath's magical properties), but Peewee's flames were strong enough to burn it away entirely. Still, they did seem to possess an enhanced resistance to fire even without the mist, so that might warrant some further investigation later.

But for now, the second test.

As soon as Hedge Dog was directly underneath his position, Spike dived head first and skull bashed its back before leaping off. It let out a howl of pain and immediately distanced itself, confirming his second theory.

Despite being fire-resistant, the twisted Timberwolves were susceptible to melee and direct attacks, proven after Apple Bloom had caused one to stagger after kicking it and just now.

Unfortunately, Spike wasn't as good as her when it came to hoof-to-hoof/claw-to-claw combat and his fire wasn't as potent as Peewee's, so neither was really an option for him. And if his soon-to-be raging headache was any indication, this thing's wooden hide was also close to par with his scales. In other words, he couldn't count on outlasting it like he would normally have done.

Not that he planned to in the first place.

One does not simply live surrounded by knowledge without learning a few tricks. Even without an the advantage of using his flames directly, there were still a few things he could exploit.

Like his location, for example.

"Did you know that a particular species of tree indigenous to the Everfree Forest is famous for its highly volatile sap?" Spike remarked. Hedge Dog appeared baffled at the seemingly random fact. "Though that's only the case when it's in a concentrated and liquid form. Once it hardens, it loses a lot of its volatility, but it still retains a fair amount of kick.

"The tree takes several years to naturally concentrate enough sap for a single milliliter, and there's only ever a small quantity that can be stored within the tree at any given time. But even with that amount, it would still be enough to cause an explosion that could decimate a small town. Fortunately, the sap instantaneously hardens if it is exposed to even the tiniest trace of oxygen once outside of the tree.

"The name of this tree is the arbore fluctum, or 'Blast Tree'. The pony who discovered it would've chosen a fancier name, but they didn't have enough time to and escape from the blast zone. Still, it's rather fitting, don't you think?"

At this, Spike smirked in a way that unsettled Hedge Dog.

"Were you also aware that your pack just so happened to chase us through a small grove of these trees? I'm glad I expended that extra energy to claw at them as we ran past, as well as taking a trail that would lead us back there. You should already know where I'm going with this."

The Timberwolf snarled in defiance, though there was a hint of fear present in its features.

"Never underestimate a librarian."

Immediately after saying that, Spike shot a narrow jet of fire at a particular spot on a tree near Hedge Dog. It hastily recoiled in terror, but looked in confusion as the emerald fire died out before it even reached the bark. There was some sort of movement from the purple dragon in its perephial vision, and that's when the wooden wolf felt its automatic flame-defense barrier activate before realizing its mistake too late.

...

BOOM!

Apple Bloom looked up from the beating she was delivering at the sudden explosion. It had originated from the direction they had run from, and now there was a lot of smoke coming from there. She had no way of knowing for sure, but she knew it was Spike.

And he called her destructive.

That idiot better be alright, she growled before delivering a devastating buck to the Timberwolf that had thought to try and attack her while she wasn't paying attention.

It flew back a few meters before giving a pitiful howl and collapsing into a pile of sticks that melted into purple mist. A similar sound from the other side of the fire wall confirmed that Peewee had taken care of the other one. When the mist cleared, Apple Bloom stared at what was left in confusion.

"What in the hay?"

...

The former grove was now gone, with a small crater taking its place. Several of the surrounding trees, despite somehow remaining rooted, had been blown back. Just outside the blast area, a soot-covered Spike hobbled forward.

He had miscalculated how much kickback the explosion would generate and he had been painfully slammed backwards against a tree at a very high speed. Thankfully he avoided breaking anything, but he was heavily bruised and more than a little sore.

He was only half-surprised to find out that Hedge Dog was still in one piece and lying in a heap at the center of the crater. The moment Spike neared, it had struggled to rise, only to fall a second later. By the time Spike had arrived, its eyes had dimmed and the light had vanished. Its body started sinking into the ground and in seconds it had vanished completely.

A single blade of grass sprouted from where it once was. Then, another two sprouted next to it. And then more. Then even more sprouted until the whole blast area was once again covered with a carpet of green, which seemed much lusher and healthier than the surrounding area. Buds and stems with buds shot up from the ground, eagerly awaiting for the time when they would bloom and the world would marvel in their beauty.

Finally, much to Spike's amazement, a cluster of red gems gushed from the center of the future-flowery basin.

Spike was rather wary of them at first, but the way they glimmered in the light was extremely tempting. Eventually, his stomach won out and he decided to try one. He hasn't yet heard of a gem that was harmful to dragons, and he was already in a ridiculous amount of pain anyway. It's not like a single rock would make much of a difference at this point.

The gem was compact and snack-sized, but Spike was somewhat disappointed when it literally crumbled between his teeth and dissolved without leaving behind a trace, let alone a taste.

It wasn't terrible, but all and all highly unsatisfying. Although, for some reason, his injuries weren't hurting as much as before. So he tried another one. Again, bland and tasteless, but he felt better. Not by much, but he could feel a tiny difference. Spike ate the rest of the gems and, as he had expected, he was almost fine.

Still covered in soot and kind of sore, but he was sort of used to that already for obvious reasons.

Spike made a mental note to find a few more of those things for a rainy day. Or in other words - knowing how hectic his normal day-to-day life was - tomorrow.

Speaking of which, he should probably be getting back to Apple Bloom to check if everything's alright.

Not that he'd ever doubt her capabilities (he was more worried about the Timberwolf), but she's his friend - possibly his best friend ever since Twilight left.

He would never have expected that he'd grow that close to Apple Bloom of all ponies, but he wouldn't have it any other way. At least he was never bored around her. And she was really nice...

Spike stopped abruptly. He had a little time. It wasn't like the Dragon Temple was going anywhere. Besides, he needed something to distract him from whatever it was he was thinking.

...

"Spike!"

When Spike made his way back to the clearing, it took longer than he remembered. Then again, he wasn't running for his life this time. Plus, he made a little detour.

Even so, he could honestly say that he wasn't expecting a flying tackle for a greeting the instant he set claw in the clearing. He never even saw her coming, and the force she had slammed into him with had knocked him down and aggravated his remaining injuries. From the corner of his eye, he could see Peewee perched in a nearby tree and watching curiously, but he made no move to help him out.

"What took you so long?! It's been close to an hour since we heard that boom and I-err, we were worried that you were really hurt! And...!"

Spike could do nothing but listen to the young mare on top of him vent. He awkwardly pat her back, unsure of what he should be doing. No matter what kinds of books he read, nothing could ever prepare him for dealing with mares.

Ever.

Unless you counted the romance novels, but weren't most of those kind of overly dramatized or something? And pretty much inapplicable to his situation?

Apple Bloom was his friend, maybe a bit more than that, but he hasn't been interested in anypony ever since he got over his crush on Rarity after she made it clear that his affections were not mutual. He might be a little obsessed with Twilight, but that's only because she's his oldest and closest friend, even if she didn't always act like it.

"Erm, I'm sorry?"

"Sorry? I've been driving myself sick with worry for an hour over you and all you can say is that you're sorry?"

"I'm really sorry?"

"Spike!"

"I'm really, really sorry?"

"... Okay."

"Can you get off me now? This is a little bit more uncomfortable than when you were stepping on my tail."

"Eh?"

Apple Bloom took one look at their (highly cliché) position before... snuggling closer?

"I don't wanna. This is your punishment for making me worry like that. And you're comfier than I thought."

"... You've actually thought about this? Should I be flattered or something?"

"Not about this exactly, but I've always wondered how your scales felt."

"Do me a favor and just ask next time. I'll answer anything you want."

"Really?"

"Sure, why not?" As long as you don't pester me to do your homework for you again.

"I'll hold you to that."

"Can I please get up now? My wings are falling asleep."

"That depends. Have you been punished enough?"

"Yeah, yeah. It's been absolutely horrendous having the Spectacular and Wonderful Apple Bloom using me as a bed for the past five minutes. I do not even know how I am still sane after this long of having your warm and lean body being pressed up against mine. Oh please, have mercy on this dragon who is unworthy to even gaze upon your marvelous visage," Spike retorted dryly.

"You didn't have to put it like that, but fine." Apple Bloom puffed out her cheeks into a pout. If it was anypony else, she's be too embarrassed to respond. Since it was Spike and she had gotten too used to his constant sarcasm, she had no problem whatsoever.

That didn't stop a hint of color from making its way to her face.

She got to her hooves and offered one to Spike, who took it gratefully. Peewee flew to his former owner and took a perch on his head. Spike reached one claw out to pet him and he chirped contently.

"What took you so long anyway?" Apple Bloom asked.

"It wasn't because I was hurt like you thought," technically I was, but she doesn't need to know that, "I just went back for our packs," Spike explained. He pointed to his backpack and her saddlebags, which had been flung off when she tackled him. "We ditched them so the weight wouldn't slow us down, and I had a bit of a hard time finding them. But there's something in mine that I really couldn't lose."

He dug around in his and pulled out a rolled up sheet of paper. Good, it wasn't damaged.

"Is that a map?"

"Yeah, it's supposed to lead... I almost forgot, you still owe me an explanation as to why you followed me." Spike turned towards her at a speed that made her cringe. She had banked on him forgetting, but clearly that didn't work.

"Would you believe that I followed you just 'cause I was curious?"

"And how would you explain the supplies you packed?"

"You looked through my stuff?"

"Don't try to, ugh. Never mind. We're already too far to go back. Might as well tag along if you want," Spike shrugged.

"Besides, I know you can handle yourself."

"You better believe I can!"

Spike chuckled. "Alright then. Peewee, can you help me out with something?"

Peewee chirped while flapping his wings. Spike took that as a yes. "I want you to fire at that wall when I do, okay?" The little bird nodded. "Ready?"

"But Spike, Peewee already tried that earlier and it didn't work."

"Trust me on this AB. If Stargazer's notes were right, then this time it should."

What notes? And who the buck is Stargazer? Oh, I hope this isn't like that magical, cutie mark mystery thing Twilight caused and cured before becomin' a princess. Not like Apple Bloom could do much else aside from wait and see at this point.

Spike deeply inhaled and gathered his inner flame, imagining a roaring inferno building up deep within his gut, before expelling a great stream of... air? He tried again, with the same result.

Don't tell me I already used up my fire already! Spike thought before groaning.

"What's wrong, Spike?" asked Apple Bloom.

Spike sighed. "Not a lot of ponies know this, but there's a limited amount of fire dragons can spew at one time. Should they ever reach that limit, it could take a couple of hours before they can produce so much as a spark. It's irritating."

"What if you ate some gems?"

"That helps a bit, but-"

"Here!" Apple Bloom threw four green gems at him, three of which he caught in his claws. The last one he caught between his teeth and promptly crunched.

"Thanks, but... huh?" Spike's eyes widened when he felt a familiar sensation. "Where did you say these gems come from?"

"Those Timberwolves we beat dropped them. Are they bad or somethin'?"

Spike shook his head and quickly chomped into the remaining three gems. He still felt sore, but he was feeling hot. "Just the opposite, actually! Thanks AB! Now stand back." He took a deep breath.

This time, Spike managed to let loose a jet of green fire towards the wooden wall. Peewee used that spinning fire thing with his wings to add a gust of orange flames to the stream, fusing both fires into one big blast that completely torched the wall. Both fire-users halted their flames to prevent setting the entire forest ablaze.

Behind the blockade was the entrance to some sort of cave, which Spike took immediate interest in. The forest and sky behind it slowly faded - dissolving, actually - to reveal a small, flat-topped mountain. Four massive stone pillars jut out from the top, each one facing a different direction.

Like a compass, Spike idly noted.

Apple Bloom and Peewee shouted/warbled something incomprehensible out of shock. Spike felt his spines tingle with both anxiety and excitement.

"What the...?" was all Apple Bloom could manage to get out.

"Magic. Strangely not as old as I thought, but still really strong and really old magic. Definitely not of pony origin." Spike murmured just loudly enough for her to hear. "Suspicious and extremely convenient location... possible trap? Highly likely. Unnatural formations... hmm..."

"Spike? Hello? Equestria to Spike?"

"According to the position of the sun, the points correspond to the four cardinal directions. Far too unlikely to be a coincedence at this point. Wait, four...? Could it be related to that?"

"'Spike, this is Twilight Sparkle. I need to tell you that Pinkie Pie has somehow created a rift between dimensions and now a hoarde of Rainbow Dashes have raided Sugarcube Corner and made it rain assorted pastries of doom every time Rarity steps outside.'"

"This is so troublesome..."

"SPIKE!"

"... huh? You say something AB?"

"Mind explainin' what's on your mind? And why do you keep mutterin' that stuff?"

"Sorry 'bout that, just thinking out loud," Spike scratched the back of his head sheepishly. He showed her the map, along with some notes written in the familiar scrawl that was his clawwriting. "I was in a bit of a rush when I wrote this, so I apologize if some parts are illegible. I checked and the area matches up with the info I gathered. The coughformercough blast tree grove, the barricade, this clearing... it's all listed on the map. Coupled with the fact that only mine and Peewee's combined fire was the only way we could proceed, that can only mean that we are almost there."

"Where is there?"

Spike motioned towards the mountain. "The ruins of what could have been the Dragon Temple."

As he said that, both dragon and pony felt a shiver run down their backs. Even Peewee was fluttering nervously, but he still stayed with them.

"I'm getting a bad feelin' 'bout this place."

"Same here," he gulped. "But 'nothing ventured, nothing gained', right?"

Side-by-side, dragon and pony with phoenix in tow plunged into the darkness.

Chapter 3 - In Which Patience Is Tested And Rocks Attack

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Spike likes to consider himself to be a patient dragon.

Not only does he work in an, albeit seldom-busy, library (though he's been considering hiring a part-timer to watch the place since he's usually out for one reason or another), he deals with the CMC on a near-daily basis, substitutes for Cherilee regularly, keeps track of Pinkie Pie if need be, and runs a pseudo-foalsitting service.

He isn't entirely sure how that last one happened, but he does have a lot of experience from taking care of Twilight everyday for the eight years he was her assistant.

"Are we there yet?"

The dragon cringed. The infamous question that tested the limits of the patience of all ponies and dragons everywhere. Gritting his teeth, he grunted out a "no".

The moment he and Apple Bloom set claw/hoof into the cave, the walls began to quiver and instinctively the two of them dove into a forward roll, pausing only long enough to grab Peewee. Immediately after they were clear of what they assumed would be a cave in, the entrance literally vanished.

No rocks fell, no signs that something sealed it, and no evidence that it moved. It was just gone. And without it, darkness enveloped them.

They chanced having Peewee flare up with the gentlest flame he could manage so they could at least see each other - after asking the young phoenix if he would, of course. It wasn't much, but enough for them to sort take a look around.

Some sort of squarish chamber, with a few narrow tunnels here and there. When they decided to take a look, Peewee's light wouldn't reach further than two meters in either direction. That and the fact that Peewee started warbling nervously every time they got near one was enough to deter their urge to go and explore.

Interestingly, there was a staircase of sorts in one of the corners that they might've missed had they not decided to search around the chamber some more. It lead down, but like with the passageways only the steps in front of them were illuminated. Peewee appeared to be fine with it though, so Spike decided to go with Apple Bloom following only after he made sure that the steps weren't rigged in any way.

Like with what happened before, the stairs vanished, leaving the three of them in another chamber similar to the previous one save for the fact that it only had one passage that lead out of it. Peewee was fine with this one as well, so they followed it.

That was an hour ago.

They haven't stopped walking (flying in the fledgling phoenix's case) since.

The path was almost perfectly straight most of the time except for the few turns they had to make. And since the tunnel had just been wide enough for one of them to stretch his/her claw/hoof out fully on one side, Spike elected to go first just in case he needed to use his firebreath ("Not that it's been useful lately." "Can't argue with that.") with Apple Bloom trudging along behind him and Peewee hovering between one and two meters above the two.

It wasn't as if Spike couldn't understand his friend's restlessness; both of them were already far used to having something happen. The fact that one of the things that their town - possibly their entire country, but he hasn't looked into it - is famous for its sponateous musical numbers (amazing how fast he and Twilight adjusted despite neither of them doing anything remotely close before they came there) can testify to that. Plus, he's pretty sure that neither of them are fans of small and dark places.

A dragon that hates caves is probably as unusual as, well, as a dragon that hates hoarding.

Great... he's an freak among both dragons and ponies.

Spike felt his spines shiver the same time he heard Peewee squawk in surprise.

"Blackout now!" Spike yelled as he turned and tackled Apple Bloom to the ground. She let out a sound that possibly resembled a squeak, but he wasn't really paying attention. Peewee had extinguished his fire, so they were surrounded by darkness again, but Spike kept his gaze directed firmly behind him.

"S-Spike?!" Apple Bloom exclaimed. She sounded extremely confused and... a bit flustered? "I know that Scoots said those things when she found out that I have my own room at the library, but I really don't think that this is the place for...!"

She definitely let out a squeak when Spike pressed himself even more against her, but she immediately quieted down when she heard something above them zoom past with a whoosh.

Spike gulped. He was about to tell AB to calm down (why was she ranting? And what in Equestria did Scootaloo say this time?), when he felt his spines shiver again and he barely had enough time to press himself down even more just as a projectile flew by and narrowly scrape the tip of his head spines before noisily colliding against the far wall.

If they were still standing, that would've gone straight through their heads.

Spike felt a brief pang of fear for his avian friend until he felt something feathered nuzzle against his claw.

All three of them held their breath as the sound of something big and heavy lumbered closer. Spike made a motion with the claw that he knew Peewee was near and hoped that he understood. The almost systematic plodding drew even closer and Spike tensed. He felt Apple Bloom tense under him as well, but he wasn't sure why. Did she understand his plan too or something?

As soon as the steps were less than two meters away from their current position, Peewee swiftly flew up and cloaked himself in an intensely luminescent flame that could've been mistaken for a miniature sun. Spike launched himself at the large shape, found what he assumed was the head, and chomped.

There was an extremely loud CRUNCH as the powerful jaws that could rend even the hardest of gemstones cleanly crushed it with ease.

Peewee dimmed down to the previous amount of light as before while Spike spat out what was in his mouth. It landed at the same time its body toppled backwards with a boom.

Dragons could see in the dark to an extent for extremely obvious reasons, though Spike never practiced that skill much so his night-vision was a bit lacking. Even so, it was enough to roughly identify their attacker. And now that there was finally some light, he could get a better look:

Entirely composed of stones, roughly bipedal in structure, various joint utilizing the number of stones for an increased range of movement, a stack of rocks on each side to function as arms with a fist-sized boulder and a heap of pebbles for digits at the end.

A golem.

Spike had only read about these and never seen one before, but he knew that it there was some serious magic involved. Animation required a steady flow of magic in order to retain its status. The more complicated something it, the more difficult it would be to animate.

Judging from the shape, this was a very crude and very simple model of golem. If he had to describe it, he would say that it just barely qualifies as a golem instead of a moving pile of rocks. Even so, for it to still be functioning after Celestia knows how long...

Spike forcibly put aside any and all urges to study it. For now. Twi's rubbed off on me in more ways than I thought...

"Hey A... B?" He turned around to apologize for his roughness, but his jaw dropped when he saw the state his friend was in.

Apple Bloom was still lying on the ground, panting for some reason, and extremely red in the face when she looked at him. Spike got the feeling that Applejack would throttle him if she saw the two of them like this.

Shaking the wayward thought from his head, he offered a claw to the young mare and she hesitantly took it. An awkward silence settled.

Say something you idiot! Two thoughts were thought simultaneously, one directed at the dragon that thought it in the first place and the other at the idiot calling himself an idiot.

Spike scratched the back of his head, cursing the fact that his wits choose the worst times to abandon him, when he noticed something. All emotion immediately disappeared from his face.

Apple Bloom looked curiously as Spike took a step towards her. That curiosity turned into confusion as he took another, then slight concern as he continued forward still until there was very little to no space between the two. Her eyes widened as he slowly and deliberately reached out a claw towards her. She closed her eyes when she felt something rustle her mane.
There it took a few moments before the rustling stopped, and when Apple Bloom tentatively opened her eyes, she was met with an awkward and apologetic smile from a certain purple dragon.

"Your bow was crooked." was all he said. She nodded, understanding his intention.

"So, Spike... the thing that attacked us... how did you know how to...?"

"Golems are remarkably resilient, even Clunkers like this one. If me and Peewee combined our flames again, it probably wouldn't have done much," Spike admitted. "Though since I don't sense the presence of a spellcaster or any residual magical energy, I assumed that it must have some sort of generator to supply the animation spell with mana. Still, for it to not have run out even after all this time, either there was an immense supply of mana stored - but that's unlikely since the destruction I caused would've caused severe magical backlash - so that means-"

"Spike!" Apple Bloom sighed tiredly. Sadly, she was far too used to dealing with that. "Focus please."

"... I was monologuing again, wasn't I?" Apple Bloom nodded. Spike groaned. "Sorry. Unneccesarily long explanation aside, separate the power source from the spell and it'll stop. Thankfully, years of working alongside one of the foremost magicians in Equestria has made me rather sensitive to the presence of mana."

"You mentioned that before, but what exactly is this 'mana' stuff?"

"Another exceedingly long explanation aside, just think of it as magical energies. That's pretty much it in a nutshell." Actually, it's much more than just that, but I don't want to go off into another lecture in the middle of an underground tunnel, under the middle of the Everfree, with Clunker Golems wandering around. Besides, we've wasted enough time as it is.

Spike cleared his throat. "Your curiosity if refreshing and all AB, but I think that we really should get going."

Apple Bloom nodded in agreement. "So if we run into any more of these, what did you call 'em, 'Clunkers'?"

"Just leave this to me and focus on not getting hit. I don't think your hooves can go through solid rock and I don't want you to get hurt."

Normally she'd be insulted if somepony said that too her, especially since she can and will kick anypony's butt short of her sister and maybe Rainbow Dash in a brawl. But again, this was Spike. He meant only for the best.

That, and he did have a point. Last time she tried something like that, she ended up spraining both of her rear hooves and was banned from helping out around the farm and crusading until she recovered.

It was so boring, but at least a certain somedragon kept her company everyday he could until she got better.

Peewee brought Apple Bloom out of her reminiscing by chirping and drawing both of their attentions to the wreckage of the golem. Spike walked towards it cautiously, wary that it might still be active, but he was quickly overcome with excitement when he noticed something shiny amidst the pile he had spat out.

Spike shifted through the small rocks and pulled out a silver cube. It was small, easily fit into the palm of his claw, and had a number of markings on each side. Upon further inspection, the markings were revealed to be symbols. A raging flame, a streak of electricity, a frozen snowflake, and what he assumed was a rock. On the top and bottom were the same stylized dragon emblem he had seen on the scroll.

But above all that, Spike could feel loads of mana emanating from the little object.

He put the cube in his bag. One of the many things he's learned over the years is that you never know when you might need something, regardless of whether or sot it was something he spat out.

"Let's go AB. Something tells me we've got a lot of walking to do."

He received a loud groan in response.

...

They reached the end somewhere around the fifth floor. One large chamber with natural lighting from an indiscernible source, no paths, no doors, and the staircase disappeared again. Just a bunch of small pillars against one corner.

In other words, they were trapped.

"On the bright side, there's some sort of ventilation system so I don't think we need to worry about suffocating."

"Great, instead we'll die of thirst."

"Nah, that's only if we don't kill each other first."

"Yeah, you're right. I can't stand you after all."

"Nor I you, my not-so-fair mare."

"Why thank you, you horribly uncivil dragon."

"..."

"... I liked mine better."

"Yours was easy! You try to comin' up with something that also rhymes with 'dragon'!"

"Touché, Apple Bloom."

"..."

"Are we really so bored that we have to resort to insultin' each other?"

"Eeyup."

"Who are you supposed to be, my brother?"

"Eenope... OW! What was that for?!"

"You're being annoyin'."

"This is boring."

"What was your first clue? We were kiddin' around on how we were gonna die earlier! Then we were insulting each other even though we make fun of the ponies that do that."

Spike got up from the wall he was leaning on. Apple Bloom, who was reclining on him, fell to the floor with an indignant shout. Peewee fluttered from his perch on top of his head to fly around.

"I'm going to take another look around," Spike wisely chose not to mention that he'd rather do anything than be her punching bag again. He'd had enough of that when she and Applejack were teaching him how to fight (even if he's one of the few - if not only - nice dragons, learning a little self-defense definitely did hurt).

Apple Bloom cleared her throat and held out a hoof. Spike rolled his eyes and pulled her up.

One more look around the walls. They might've missed something the past nine times.

Aaaaaaaand........

Nothing. Just some indentations in the floor. And the same pillars in the corners, whose numbers coincidentally match up with the number of pillars.

Absolutely nothing.

...

"WE ARE COMPLETE AND UTTER IDIOTS!" Spike yelled. If was a pony, he'd be pulling his mane out right now. How could he not see something so obvious?!

"Spike? What's wrong?" Both Apple Bloom and Peewee were looking at him oddly. Of course, with his sudden outburst it was to be expected.

"I'm an idiot."

"Sigh, Spike... I hate to be the one to tell you this, but I think everypony in Ponyville already knows that."

"No, I mean I'm an idiot for not realizing the solution to our problem is something a foal could've figured out." Spike smacked his claw against his forehead before moving to the corner.

"Should I be insulted?"

"Nah, everypony knows that Sweetie Belle is the smart one among your group."

"... Now I know that I'm insulted!"

"Don't hate me, blame the poll."

"Poll? Explain. Now."

Spike sighed exasperatedly before turning to face her. "A poll was made last year featuring the colts and young stallions in Ponyville on who they thought was the best mare and why. As the librarian, I was supposed to keep track of the results. Considering that the mare to stallion ratio is insanely unbalanced, it was much easier than I thought. And before you ask, you, Sweetie, and Scoots were pretty high in the rankings. That Diamond Tiara was really upset when she found out that you three were several places higher than her."

Apple Bloom mentally cheered and laughed. "So what did they say about us?"

"Without some of the more inappropriate comments, Apple Bloom, you were said to be the pretty hard-worker with a ton of rustic charm and several interesting ideas. Sweetie Belle is a, and I quote, 'brilliant beauty' with a wonderful singing voice. And with a stunning lack of terms, Scootaloo is, for lack of a better word, hot and really athletic." I won't mention that tons of ponies were comparing them to their sisters... and whatever Rainbow Dash is to Scoots. They're more than that, after all.

Apple Bloom tilted her head in confusion. Sweetie's singin' again? I haven't heard her sing in a while and Scoots hasn't mentioned anythin'. If neither of us knew, how the buck did somepony else find out?

"I have to say though, the results were somewhat surprising. I never thought that there would be such a difference between first and second place."

"Who's in first place?"

"I don't know who this 'Who' pony is, but Fluttershy had a massive landslide victory. Even ponies from out of Ponyville came to vote for her as the, quote 'most adorable pony in all of existence then, now, and in the future who can make your heart melt in a single glance' unquote." To this day I wonder how they found out about the poll and why so many of them were close to Ponyville at the time...

"Ah..." Apple Bloom nodded as if that explained everything.

"Anyways, AB; I'm sorta taken aback that you would care about this type of thing so much," Spike admitted with a surprised expression. Then he smiled warmly. "You are confident in who you are, even if others ridicule you for it. And I'm aware that much of it is due to the fact that you're used to such treatment, but even so you still set an example for the new Crusaders. It's one of the things that I like and admire about you."

Apple Bloom could not suppress the blood and heat rushing to her face. It was worse because Spike had that accursed smile when he was saying it, so he meant every word of it.

Even if she spent a lot of time around him in the past four years, she still wasn't completely immune to those sappy and heartfelt lines that causes mares to fall for him, even if he had no idea about it.

It was bad enough even before he hit his growth spurt and landed on the 'hotties' list... ugh. It's irritatin' to think that about my friend! Those rumors really do not help at all! And his so-called fan club is so stubborn! And troublesome!

While Apple Bloom was growling - why, he had no idea - Spike busied himself with moving the pillars to their places. Despite only being his size, they were infuriatingly heavy and difficult to grip. Spike ended up resorting to pushing the things with his head while his claws were used to supply the necessary traction required to counteract Neighton's third law.

Spike mentally groaned. Even to himself, he still sounded nerdy in his head.

Still, it's better to be intelligent than savage, Spike reminded himself. If it hadn't been for so many ponies teaching me things, I probably wouldn't be better than those reptilian jerks I met during that one Dragon Migration.

With a sigh, he finished moving the last pillar in place before stepping back to admire his work while rubbing his sore neck. Six pillars placed in pairs with narrower space in between with regards to the distance to the wall.

Amusingly, Apple Bloom was silently ranting to a very confused-looking Peewee. He debated whether or not to ask what riled her up when the cave began to shake again. Unlike the previous and barely perceptible tremors, this was a full-on quake that threatened having the chamber collapse into itself.

Spike's first instinct was to get over to his friends and protect them, which resulted in him tackling Apple Bloom to the ground again while snatching Peewee mid-flight and covering both of them as best as he could. He winced as he felt a few well-sized stones made contact with his scaly hide, but it wasn't something he couldn't handle. Besides, he wasn't paying attention at all anyways.

Apple Bloom didn't say or do anything. For once, Spike didn't have some sort of snarky comment at the ready. Peewee was simply mesmerized.

Each of the pillars had spiderweb cracks running from top to bottom, with a luminous blue gleam spilling out from within. More and more cracks fractured, more light shone forth, and the shaking intensified until, finally, the pillars exploded.

Shaking his head, Spike leapt to the front and shielded the two from the rubble, cringing as the pebbles pelted his wings. He did notice, however, that Apple Bloom's and Peewee's eyes were glowing the same blue as the pillars before it faded and they shook their heads to shake off the rest of... whatever that was.

When the rocks and trembling stopped, the trio chanced a look... and subsequently proceeded to drop their jaws/beak in shock.

In place of each pillar, six magnificently carved statues of dragons stood on top with their own respective pedestals. They were roughly the same size as the pillars, but had incredible detail in each one of them.

Of the foremost four, one had fins and spikes reminiscent of flames, the second just seemed to shout energy (Spike got the feeling that whoever that dragon was and Pinkie Pie would get along splendidly), the third exuded a noble and sort-of cold aura, and the fourth and last one was solidly built, but was also incredibly serene and calm. Spike, Apple Bloom, and Peewee felt safe just by looking at them, almost as they would guard them from harm.

The two in the back, which also happened to be side by side, consisted of a teenage dragon and dragoness. Aside from the former having some sort of purplish tint and had a wave-like fin pattern and the latter having facial spikes on the sides of her (admittedly) pretty face and a tail-blade, the two didn't particularly stand out to Apple Bloom and Peewee.

However, Spike felt something akin to kinship just by looking at those two. Not quite like the familial sensation he got when he was with his mother, aunt, or cousins. This was more of like... an unseen, inexplicable bond that he felt to two dragons he didn't know even if they existed or not.

Spike jumped. Was it just his imagination, or did the dragon statue smile at him, as if he were saying 'good luck'?

"Spike! The ground!"

True to Apple Bloom's words, a glowing circle materialized in front of the statues, with a small and gentle cyclone emanating upwards from it.

The sheer mana from the magic, not including the spell itself, was enough to overload Spike's senses. It was strong, the type where centuries and even millennia could not hope to phase it. Whoever or whatever this was originating from...

"Are you alright?!" Spike began trembling, and Apple Bloom and Peewee immediately rushed to his side. The phoenix fledgling chirped worriedly for his friend. Spike only continued to shake more and more before suddenly stopping.

"ALL RIGHT!"

His sudden outburst startled the young mare next to him and caused Peewee to fall off, only to ascend back to eye level after frantically flapping his wings.

Spike was beaming, his eyes shone much like the gems he was fond of eating, and everything from his expression to his posture simply cried out utter excitement. His quivering from before had been more out of anticipation than anything.

Apple Bloom smiled. With how serious he was nowadays, it was easy to forget that Spike enjoyed adventures and fun almost as much as she did. Whether it be his, hers, or their friends' exploits, it might have been the only times when she can see him revert back to his old, more fun-loving and carefree self before he burdened himself with tons of responsibility.

If anything could bring back Spike to how he was when she first met him, it would be this. The thrill that comes from the anticipation of knowing that they've almost reached their goal after so many trials and the satisfaction from figuring out the solutions to vexing problems... She had to suppress a shiver herself.

She was about to go examine that curious funnel of wind as her adventurer's instict told her to when Spike barred her path with his wing. Gone was the gleeful expression from before, replaced by a stone cold glare. His pupils had dilated considerably, a sign that there was danger present and his instincts were in overdrive.

Having known him long enough to learn that his senses are far sharper than anypony's and are generally to be trusted, Apple Bloom immediately fell into a defensive stance and stood back to back with him. Peewee followed their example and looked ready to ignite his wings and scorch the first thing that comes at them.

There was silence for a few moments, and that's when Spike heard it: a low droning rumble that sounded like what he imagined the noise a moving mountain would make.

Suddenly the ceiling broke and the trio had to scramble to avoid being crushed. They were separated into a triangular formation, with Spike near the lower-right corner and Apple Bloom directly across from him on the right side while Peewee was fluttering by the statues.

Both dragon and phoenix registered that the magic circle and gust had vanished, which meant that there was still something that needed to be done.

All three watched as stones and bits of metal and various other similarly hard objects fell from the newly-made hole in the chamber's ceiling. They seemingly arranged and stacked themselves, and Spike immediately knew what was going to happen long before that thing finished assembling itself.

Of what was outlined in his book, there are various classes of golems. For example, the Clunker they encountered before fits the description of being a 'hastily cobbled together pile of material'. Each class had their own focus and functions which would separate them from other the types. Among these classes, there are also a list of golem classes that nopony has been able to research; mostly because they don't survive the initial encounter. Even so, there's enough data on these models to make sure that they're labeled under the RAID (Run Away If Discovered) category.

Bears a striking resemblence to a Clunker? Check.

Bits and pieces of other material mixed in to form armor and weapons? Check and check.

Monstrously huge? Check.

This is probably gonna hurt? Ugh. Check.

It was just their luck to run into a RAID-class golem, and a Synthesizer of all things! They can absorb other objects in order to repair damage to their body and well as enhance their strength by incorporating whatever material was used into their basic structure. While this may enable them to grow to ridiculous proportions, they are not capable of absorbing intangible things like flames and air or living creatures.

That's all the information on Synthesizers in the book he read, and Spike resolved that when they get home, he's going to have to fill it in a bit more.

In the meantime, he's got a little researching to do.

Spike rolled his front limbs before twisting his head to the side, resulting in a pop sound. He shrugged once for good measure before dropping down into a fighting stance. Without taking his eyes off of the massive golem, he managed to see Apple Bloom and Peewee doing something similar.

He grinned. It wasn't as if he enjoyed getting into these scrapes, even less so if his friends are dragged into the mess, but a dragon's gotta do what a dragon's gotta do and he was taught to do things with a smile. Although, the most he could manage in these situations was a condescending smirk; which for some reason fits in with the situation rather well if he could say so himself.

"Time to begin the analysis."

Then he charged.

Author's Notes:

Greetings Fimfiction! Sorry about having this chapter take even longer than usual. I disliked the original draft I wrote so I decided to start over entirely. And I was distracted because of various things that came up. Once again, my apologies, and I'll try to make sure that the next update will not nearly be as long.

On a side-note, I might have gone a bit overboard this chapter with the Spike and Apple Bloom interaction, but it's going to be some of the last for a while because I'm going to focus a bit more on the progression of the story itself for a while. Besides, Twilight hasn't appeared yet aside from the Prologue - which technically happens later - and being mentioned a couple of times.

Next chapter's already in progress and I'm fairly excited to write it, so expect it soon. A week at the most, probably.

... Eh, might as well since I've been on an anime streak recently:

How will our heroes fare against this new challenge? What will happen if they reach the Dragon Temple and what secrets does it hold? Find out what happens and more in the next 'Chronicle of Spike: Rise of a Hero'!

(Disclaimer: I don't own the manga/anime this is from any more than I do MLP:FiM or The Legend of Spyro. So basically, zero ownership.)

Chapter 4 - In Which Spike Has A Really Bad Idea

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Beginning examination now, Spike thought to himself, taking in every single detail as he and his friends dodged gargantuan blows. Synthesizer is roughly ten meters in height, give or take; large enough to cause immense damage in a single blow when also taking into account its mass. Defensive measures, mostly comprised of iron ore with traces of hard minerals, include a helmet and basic covering for the torso, upper arms, and most of the lower body. Momentum alone supplies a significant amount of force due to the total weight of the objects in its composition. However...

Spike jumped over a low sweeping kick, lashing out with his claws in response and gouging out a chunk of the Synthesizer's leg.

In exchange for that terrifying amount of power, a equal or perhaps greater amount of its agility and mobility has been sacrificed. Normally that means that we can just simply take it down piece by piece until the core is doscovered, but this battlefield holds no advantages for us. Rather, it's the opposite.

It was true. The chamber they were in wasn't particularly spacious to begin with, and now a large rampaging golem has taken up a fair amount of room while at the same time destroying the remaining space by causing parts of the walls of ceiling to crumble. If they didn't manage to beat it fast enough, it's more likely that they'll be crushed by falling debris if they hadn't already fallen to that thing's humongous fists and feet.

Even worse, as it's now a battle against the clock, the odds are further away from our favor due to this accursed thing's troublesome ability.

Apple Bloom narrowly dodged a straight punch thrown her way, though it wasn't intended for her in the first place.

The hand broke off a large portion of the wall and retrieved it. Then the golem opened up what appeared to be some sort of compartment in the middle of its chest area by moving a rock to the side and revealing a glowing furnace. The chunk of wall was thrown in and the rock shifted back into place. Not even a second later, an ooze filled up the wound before hardening, taking the color and most likely other properties of the cave wall.

Like it was never injured in the first place, the RAID-class golem resumed its ferocious assault.

Whose idea was it to build these things anyway? Rgh!

Spike was nearly crushed by a boulder twice his size flung his way. He barely managed to avoid it by diving into a roll to slip past underneath, only to be met with a well-placed kick that sent him sailing into the wall behind him with enough force to make a dent and a dragon-shaped impression. He would have been finished by the follow-up (and very likely finishing) blow the golem was about to deliver had it not been for Peewee lighting up again directly in front of it and screwing up whatever optical system it had enough to miss by a large margin.

Meanwhile, the dragon jumped back down and spat out a wad of spittle and blood before leaping back into the fray.

Can't afford to get distracted again. Don't think I can take another blow like that... ugh!

Spike ducked as another boulder was sent his way, though it was more out of pain than reflex. As sturdy as he was, that last one hurt beyond anything he could imagine. It was a wonder he hadn't passed out from the sheer amount of pain he was feeling right now.

He growled. No... I can't afford to take it easy just yet. Must... focus! Concentrate! I can't let-GRAAAAAAAAH!

It was only for a very brief second, not even an entire second in fact, but a colossal amount of bloodlust and malevolence washed over the combatants on both sides, forcing them to freeze from the pressure alone. And just like that, it was gone. Yet the battlers remained paralyzed.

Spike gasped as is entire body trembled even more fiercely than before. His body refused to listen to him. That feeling... he had no idea where it came from but it was enough to cause his entire body to go rigid in sheer terror.

Calm down! Your body may not be able to move, but your mind still works! Suck it up and think of a solution before that thing decides that it doesn't want to be a statue anymore!

Spike took a shuddering breath and composed himself. He shut his eyes to block out the outside world. Slowly, all external and physical phenomena - his friends, his surroundings, his pain, the golem, everything - faded and was replaced by a pure black void.

Now... think.

The void around him suddenly sprung to life as panels depicting different scenes lit up. Everything that was not related to his current situation was put aside. Specific tiles lit up and congregated in front of him. The remaining displays shut down one by one until all that was left were the ones that had gathered together in front.

Memories, information, theories, and thoughts. Now he just needed to sort through them to find some sort of answer.

The brief description of a Synthesizer golem given in the book. Useless.

Its screen became dark.

Recollections of the battle. Filter out all non-golem related memories.

More screens faded.

Errant and stray thoughts. Compile possible theories, then throw away the junk.

One new panel lit up and projected a few things being played in a loop. Several around it dimmed considerably.

This process of compiling data and eliminating the irrelevant junk continued until only a few tiles remained. Each one had a different scene, some that happened already and some that were merely just speculation on what would happen. However, all of them had one blindingly obvious thing in common...

Spike's eyes slowly and deliberately opened. No longer where they filled with fear and panic - having been replaced with a cool disposition that calmly surveyed the situation.

Though it might've felt like hours had gone by, it had been but a single instant.

But it was in that instant he had found his solution.

Shattering the standstill brought about by the earlier incident, Spike charged once more. This action spurred the others back into action: Apple Bloom had jumped over a punch sent her way and landed squarely on the arm while Peewee had melted part of the other arm's armor and welded it to the wall.

"AB! Peewee! Clear out of the way and standby!" Spike barked. The two followed his instruction without hesitation, leaping/flying a fair distance away from the golem. As it tried to wrench its arm free, Spike appeared near the shoulder and shattered the connecting rock with a powerful three-part melee combo from his claws followed by a tail smash resulting from shifting his center of gravity and spinning forward and bringing down his tail with as much strength as he could muster.

The Synthesizer clutched its destroyed joint in pain, giving Spike just enough time to land safely and jump back. But no attack came. Instead, the golem was busily gathering material with its remaining arm, the door to its internal furnace already opened.

As he thought, its priority was to heal itself whenever damage was done above all else. This is what makes it so difficult to defeat, but it will also be its own undoing.

"NOW!" Spike roared.

Just as the golem reached for another piece, Peewee had flown up once more and emitted the brightest and hottest flare he could directly into the giant pile of rock's face. It recoiled back enough for topple onto its back when Apple Bloom had jumped up onto its head after using various parts of its body as stepping stones.

The young mare leapt off the golem and tucked into a roll just as it finally made contact with the ground. She turned around just in time to see flames flicker out of the hole in its chest - and watch as a purple and green blur dived inside right after!

"SPIKE!"

...

He had never felt heat this intense before. His dragon scales prevented him from being burned, but they did nothing to stop the severe temperatures from affecting him. There was also the stunning lack of oxygen to be concerned about.

Spike was already beginning to feel light-headed. Knowing that fire consumes oxygen to burn, he took a deep breath right before he went in. However, the heat was really making it far more difficult than he thought. Still, his eyes didn't lose focus for a single second as he searched for it.

The key to victory.

As soon as he saw even the faintest hint of it, he ran. It was the risk he had to take to win, regardless of the danger to himself. There was no way he would endanger his friends any further. There was... no... way... he would...

It's really hot...

His head swam and his vision blurred.

...

Apple Bloom and Peewee could only watch with bated breath as they waited. It had been a full close to five minutes. Peewee had tried to fly in after, but he couldn't get past the flames. If it was normal fire, the phoenix would have no trouble. But this was a magic fire. It would consume him if he tried to force his way in.

Due to his high magical tolerance, Spike could last a while before it starts breaking down his body. However, at that point, he'd most likely be dead or very, very close.

Neither of the two were aware of this fact, but worried for their friend nevertheless.

They jumped when the golem started to shudder.

They nearly had a heart attack when it just fell apart.

Rather than waste time being surprised, they two of them sprung into action and started searching through the rubble to find the still missing dragon. Peewee moved whatever pebbles his diminutive size allowed while Apple Bloom was freely hurling rocks that were bigger than she was.

But still no Spike.

Fearing the worst, they weren't sure whether to be hopeful or prepare for another fight when a pile of stones near what used to be the golem's head shifted. After a very groan echoed a second after, they all-but flew to the pile (literally in Peewee's case, but pretty darn close on Apple Bloom's part).

True enough, as soon as they cleared the rocks, the form of an extremely battered and burned purple dragon was revealed. One of his claws was stretched in front of him, but it was still buried. When Apple Bloom uncovered it, she discovered the reason why Spike had jumped into the golem in the first place.

In his claw, he clutched a red gemstone. A glowing red gemstone.

It was a carmine color (if she correctly remembered the "Shades and Hues" seminar Rarity and Ruby had presented in tandem when Scootaloo had made the mistake of asking, "What's the difference?"). Every second that went by, the jewel pulsated a faint crimson light that seemed to draw the stones towards it.

The golem equivalent of a heart: its core, where the spell propelling it lay.

If the light was stronger, it probably would've succeeded in its attempts to rebuild the golem. But it was weak, almost pitifully so. Most likely due to the cracks that ran through it from the death-like grip Spike had on it.

Apple Bloom gulped; she hoped that that wasn't literally the case.

No, this idiot's too stubborn to just die like that, she decided. He just wouldn't. And as soon as he wakes up, I'll give him a big ol' one...

Unconsciously, Spike shivered.

...

Even in his dreams, Spike dreamt of fire:

The first time he breathed fire, an ember which nearly caused a Canterlot-wide blaze if not for some fortunate rainstorm. Teaching those bullies a lesson and stopping them from tormenting Twilight any further. Sending countless letters and friendship reports to Princess Celestia from her faithful student. Explaining to Celestia why he had sent her a flaming loop of death as a Mother's Day present (it was either that, or leave it for the CMC) while Princess Luna was laughing in the background.

He was having a strange hallucination about having cold tea on the sun with Twilight while she's in her 'way-beyond-angry-that-her-mane-bursts-into flame-so-better-start-running' state when he felt tasted something that was definitely not almost frozen barley tea.

No, it was worse.

His throat felt like it burst into flames and his body was struggling hard not to disintegrate. Spike gasped and struggled for breath while more fire danced around him. The scenery from before had been replaced by an boundless burning plain. It quickly enveloped him, and his usual defenses were incinerated.

It wasn't his body that was being burned; it was his very soul.

He could only writhe in agony as the sensation continued. In the one part of his mind that wasn't completely overcome with pain, he wondered how much longer this infernal torture would last.

Suddenly, he felt cold. For an instant he worried that the flames had intensified to the point where his senses could no longer distinguish the heat, until he realized that he was no longer in pain. Well, he still felt like his body had been slow roasted over an inferno while being slathered in acid (what an odd time for his appetite to act up), but was otherwise fine. He also realized that he was lying on his back and his eyes were closed.

Tentatively, he opened them to see a mix of orange and red feathers in front of him, which led to him sneezing. The ball of feathers chirped happily started to what he assumed was dancing, because the movement forced him to shut his eyes again before they got irritated.

"Nice to see you too Peewee," he sniffed, holding in another sneeze. He'd learned a while back how not to spew flames every time he did (he had lost count of how many things he accidentally sent to his mother when he was sick), but that didn't mean that he had perfect control.

Spike sat up, forcing the phoenix to take to the air again. Curiously, the dragon took a look around and saw no sign of his other friend.

"Where did AB go?" he asked. All he got in return was a series of chirps which could've meant anything. Only after he rose to his feet again did he find out what Peewee was trying to say.

He felt a strong impact against his front right shoulder, causing him to cry out in pain and spin around to face his "attacker". There's no way he could ever forget that feeling.

"Did I ever tell you that you have a really mean left hook?"

Apple Bloom nodded, an absolutely livid expression present on her face. Spike could tell that she was restraining herself from causing more damage due to the way her entire body was shaking violently, with an emphasis on violently.

He only sighed and prepared himself for the inevitable explosion. "So what happened this time?"

"After you oh-so-cleverly jumped into a pit of fire and brimstone," Spike winced from the scathing tone she adopted, "and ripped out that gem, it collapsed and buried you in the rubble. When me an' Peewee dug you out, you looked like you were ready to keel over any moment!"

Suddenly Spike understood the burning sensation from before. "By any chance, did you happen to force-feed me the jewel I was holding?"

"Yeah, we thought it might help."

Spike mentally groaned. Who knew what kind of effect that magic would have on him after it finished digesting? His body's already been altered enough!

He sighed and shook his head. "Never mind." He then made his way to the rocks.

"What are we waitin' for then? That magic thingy's back and I'm ready to move on!"

"Give me a minute," Spike replied as he moved some stones around. Apple Bloom realized what he was doing.

He was making a grave for the golem.

In a way, she understood his reasons. Even if it was trying to crush them, they did invade its home in the first place and were the ones to take it down. Plus, consuming its core - which was essentially its heart - is what brought Spike back from the brink, so she was both thankful and sorry. She may have forced him to eat it, but Spike probably felt really bad for doing something like that right now.

She silently paid her respects. Peewee followed suit, though whether or not he understood was unknown to her.

Spike finished up by setting a jagged piece of its armor right into the middle of the pile he made right next to a smaller heap (for the other golem from before, she figured). He too murmured his thanks and apologies before going silent. After a moment, he turned to his friends.

"... Let's find this Dragon Temple."

...

Spike wasn't surprised to find that the statues from before were perfectly unharmed. In fact, it seemed like something had prevented stray rocks from entering the space. And like before, the magical cyclone was waiting.

When he stepped into it, Spike could've sworn that he saw the purple dragon statue smile approvingly at him. Before he could dwell on that, he felt himself being lifted into the air and spun around so fast that everything was one huge blur.

By the time he stopped and was placed on solid ground again (though it certainly didn't feel solid), he staggered for a bit and waited for the dizziness and nausea to subside. Before it could, he felt something land on his back and cause his legs to give out. Seconds after, there was another thing that landed, but this was several times lighter.

"You guys feeling sick too?" He heard somepony grunt and a bird chirp affirmatively. "Then let's take five."

After their little break, and after Apple Bloom and Peewee finally got off of Spike, they decided to get their bearings.

The cavern they were in was huge, possibly even bigger that Canterlot Castle. Luminescent moss provided natural lighting all around. They were on some sort of stone pathway, with an empty gate behind them and humongous golden railings to the sides. Directly in front of the path was another gate to faded golden structure. This gate had a pair of solid doors that prevented entry. Its walls had intricate, but weathered designs hewn into it and large spheres set into a few places. The dome above it was cracked in several places as well as having more than its fair share of holes. Around it, overgrown plants and enormous fungi took residence.

It didn't look anything like how Spike imagined it. He was disappointed by how, how utterly run-down it was - he wasn't sure what he was expecting, really. Maybe something more... magnificent?

No, Spike chided himself. Weren't you taught to look beneath the surface? Heck, don't you pretty much live by that? Concentrate...

"And open up... your senses," he muttered. Apple Bloom and Peewee were preoccupied with taking a look around that they didn't notice the sudden spike in concentration in their friend.

Dragons are, by nature, magical creatures. Spike hasn't had the chance to explore his own natural magic, nor did he ever learn how to. However, with his oldest friend being the bearer of the Element of Magic and one of the foremost leading experts in the field; well, he picked up a thing or two.

Over the years, he ended up developing a heightened awareness towards anything and everything related to magic. More specifically, he could sense and read the disruptions of the mana in the air to decipher the cause of the disturbance.

Ever since they first arrived in this place, he's felt a faint tug at his consciousness - a inherent response from his detection system. The deeper they went, the stronger they pull. Now that he was actively trying to sense it from near the source... he nearly passed out.

That's one massive response, Spike thought. He shook his head. If he tried to do that again, he definitely would faint.

He looked at the structure in a new light. It was ancient, but that didn't mean that it had become inferior in any way. Except maybe for the building integrity.

BURP!

Before he could truly appreciate his surroundings, Spike belched a stream of fire and, like he was so used to, a scroll materialized in the emerald blaze. However, unlike the previous times, he felt the contract activate again immediately after and he hiccuped out another two scrolls.

He could only stare at them in confusion. Odd, Twi and mother never send me more than one at any given time.

"Hey Spike! The air in this gate thingy started flashin' and swirlin' around! It's looks very pretty! Come and take a look!"

Spike ignored his friend's hollering and decided to see what had his friends and family in the capital so anxious. With every line that he read, he only grew paler and paler. By the time he finished all three, he could've been mistaken for another dragon entirely.

He shook with unadulterated anger present on his features. The way he held the letters, it was a wonder they hadn't been torn to shreds yet. He snarled, though he wasn't sure what he was more angry at: the letters, or himself.

It might have been the only time that Apple Bloom will admit to being afraid of her friend. No, not of. For him. Whatever it was he read, he looked absolutely terrified.

Almost hesitantly, she asked the obligatory but still sincerely concerned, "Spike, what's wrong?"

There was no way she ever could've been prepared for his answer, nor the hurt in his tone. He sounded almost... broken.

"Three days ago, Canterlot was attacked by these three unknown, massive dragons. They departed abruptly after causing a large amount of damage to the city. No fatalities, but unfortunately there were still a number of casualties among both the civilians and guards. They also received reports of a small army making its way towards them, being led by one of those unknowns. Princesses Celestia and Luna are doing their utmost best to ensure the safety of their citizens."

"And?" Apple Bloom got the feeling that he was leaving something out.

"They feared that Ponyville might be a potential target due to the bearers of and the Elements of Harmony present. As a precaution, after the initial attack they sent somepony to the town in case evacuation was necessary. However, the transport was attacked midway by another, smaller unknown. The escort was found heavily injured and barely alive. But..."

Spike shuddered at this next part, rage and grief apparent on his features, "Twilight Sparkle has been missing for three days."

Chapter 5 - In Which Express Delivery Is Highly Appreciated

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Spike ran.

Or, at least he tried to.

Apple Bloom was on him faster than Pinkie Pie on a cupcake. She quickly subdued his right foreleg while his left was uselessly trapped underneath him. His legs and tail were likewise restrained. And when he tried to raise his head, there was a sharp pain in his neck resulting from pressure being applied.

A custom maneuver made specifically to immobilize a roughly pony-sized dragon which also takes into account their species' prehensile tails and sharp fins/spikes.

Take a guess as to who was the test dummy.

"Calm down Spike!"

The dragon snarled in response and desperately tried to break her hold over him, but she's had a lot of practice with it and she knew him well enough to predict the tricks he would try, especially since he wasn't exactly thinking clearly. Apple Bloom was more worried that he would hurt himself in his attempts rather than actually succeeding.

As such, she was completely unprepared for what happened next.

Spike closed his eyes and altered his breathing pattern. She assumed that meant that he was trying to calm down with some sort of breathing exercise, like she's seen Twilight and Fluttershy do in the past. She failed to notice the subtle tensing up of his entire body.

Clear mind. Serene heart. Harmonize. Resonate and...

"... give me strength!" he mumbled inadvertently.

"Hmm? Whoa!"

Spike's eyes shot open pushed down with the limb under him. His bones groaned in protest - he wasn't fully healed yet - and his scrawny frame trembled with effort. However, Apple Bloom felt herself slowly but surely rising.

To say that she was shocked was an understatement.

If she were to ask around Ponyville what Spike was best known for, she'd get three very common answers: he's smart, always helpful, and notoriously weak.

Hay, he lost to Sweetie Belle of all ponies in a contest of strength. And she had a hoof tied behind her back!

Apple Bloom was so lost in her thoughts that she wasn't aware that Spike had finally risen back to his feet. His spines were pressed up uncomfortably against her underside and that was enough for her to snap out of it and realize that she was draped on his back.

"Eh?"

Spike unsteadily made his way to the portal, panting from exhaustion. Every step he took, he came closer to collapsing. Whatever it was that he did earlier had apparently whittled down the last of his stamina.

Fatigue doesn't fade away just like that. Everything that's happened recently: being chased by Timberwolves and accidentally blowing himself up, wandering around underground mazes for hours, fighting a Synthesizer golem and nearly getting crushed, asphyxiating, and horribly burnt in the process, and ingesting a potentially dangerous gem that made him feel like he was still burning; the stress from everything accumulated to the point where he was ready to fall asleep standing up.

That last push took everything he had left, and he couldn't maintain his façade anymore. Apple Bloom was always quick to bounce back, but he most definitely wasn't.

He was beyond exhausted, and it showed.

But he didn't care. He didn't care that his left foreleg threatened to give out at any moment and was in far more pain than it should be. He didn't care that his body was screaming for rest. He didn't care that his insides felt like they were being welded together. He didn't care that he might never be able to come back to this place.

Right now there was only one thing on his mind:

Twilight is in trouble, and he did not do anything.

The thought frustrated him enough to continue even though he would've oridinarily collapsed at this point. He was abusing his body, but he didn't care.

"HAH!" With one last shout, he stumbled into the portal; before his leg finally gave out which caused Apple Bloom to pitch forward while he fell ungracefully to the ground.

Dimly he was aware that they were somehow outside again and that it was nighttime...

Wait... NIGHTTIME?!

With no little effort, Spike rolled onto his back and looked up at the sky. An all encompassing void illuminated by tiny pinpricks of light surrounding a single celestial entity that was known as the moon.

Just looking at it calmed the boiling of his blood.

It's been a while since I lost control like that. I guess that shows that I've still got a ways to go, huh? With a weary sigh, Spike lay on the grass. He continued to stare at the night sky. Something is... off.

He was always fond of stars. Especially the pictures they painted when splayed out on the black canvas that is the heavens above. Whenever he suffered from insomnia, he would go outside and draw images by connecting the dots of light.

It was one of the reasons he got along with Princess Luna really well. She liked him enough to show him sneak peeks of the next week's star alignments after his tutoring sessions.

I could have sworn that this pattern was meant for tomorrow. And that specific arrangement was from the beginning of the week. That one star is out of formation and a bit brighter than it should be... I see.

Let's see, if I start from there and connect those two... that group forms that shape... and this and that... huh? No, wait, that's meaningless. Maybe if I rearrange it a little...

...

Ponyfeathers, horseapples, and all that jazz!

"AB?"

Apple Bloom groaned. "Yeah, Spike?"

"I apologize for earlier. How long were we down there?"

"I dunno. I thought it was only for a couple o' hours, but seein' the outside I think we spent the whole day."

"You said you thought that it was only a couple of hours. How good is your sense of time?"

"Hmph. I'll have you know that I haven't needed to check a clock since I was twelve!"

"You were right the first time."

"What?"

Spike tilted his head back as far as he could given his current position. "I said you were right the first time. According to my calculations, less than five hours have passed for us since we descended. But apparently, time in there and time out here doesn't flow at the same rate."

"In plain Equestrian please. Remember, I ain't the 'smart one'."

"Don't sell yourself short. You're a lot smarter than some ponies give you credit for."

"What were you saying earlier?"

"What was five hours for us was at least two days in regular time. Given what I read, it's highly likely that it's been more."

"...You sound pretty calm right now."

"Looking at stars relaxes me. What about you? You don't sound all that surprised though."

"I am. I just-"

Whatever Apple Bloom was about to say died in her throat as an enormous winged beast flew overhead. It appeared to be pursuing a fleeing figure that unmistakably belonged to a pegasus. The speed at which they flew was fast enough to make Rainbow Dash envious, so they disappeared as quickly as they had arrived.

Spike was concerned about the pony being chased, but something else was bugging him.

"If the stars aren't completely messed up, then they came from the direction Ponyville is in."

"Spike..."

"I know." I can only hope that this body of mine bears with my selfishness for a while longer.

Ignoring the pain that spread throughout his entire body, Spike rose. His home, his friends...

...Twilight!

He couldn't afford to rest until all of them were safe and smiling at the end of the day. He adopted a rueful smirk.

A bit too cliché for my liking. I ain't a hero, but I'll do what I can to protect my precious bonds.

Apple Bloom was brushing the dirt from her coat and mane. Peewee chirped up - unhappy for being left out for so long - and perched on Spike's head.

"How are you feeling AB?"

"Tired. I'm more than ready to hit the hay than anythin'."

"Same here. So, you ready?"

"Yup."

...

The two panted as they leapt over another fallen tree. Going back through the way they came wouldn't work; it would've taken far too long and they weren't entirely sure if they could remember the path exactly. So they decided to take a more direct shortcut.

Normally they were quite adept at traversing even the roughest of paths as long as there was something. But it seems like even the residents of the Everfree seldom traveled this way. The ground was terribly uneven and littered with roots, fallen trees, large rocks and various types of plantlife.

Really deadly plantlife.

Too weary to even react, Spike side-stepped a lunge from a bulb that suddenly grew teeth and a long neck-like stem. His claws effortlessly sheared through the vine and the thing let out one last dying screech as its head was separated from the rest of it. Like with the others, it just sunk into the ground and a red gem popped up, which was promptly crunched.

Spike felt a soothing sensation flow over his entire body, which eased some of his pain, but he didn't stop to savor it for long. He increased his pace to catch up with Apple Bloom and Peewee.

They had been attacked by enough of these things that Spike had eaten enough gems to almost completely restore his health and mana. However, they had done nothing for his exhaustion.

Still, it was rather fortunate that only he was hurt; he got the feeling that these things wouldn't help his friends at all.
When he managed to catch up, Apple Bloom gave him a quick glance before looking back forward.

"We're almost there."

"Yeah. I don't know what to expect, but be prepared." He didn't need to say what for. She could probably guess.

Trying to distract herself, Apple Bloom tried to change the subject. "Hey Spike, don't you think that the Everfree has been kinda quiet recently?"

Spike was silent for a few meters. "True. If you don't count the weird Timberwolves, Hedge Dog, and these killer plants that seem strangely familiar; shouldn't there be something else trying to kill us? Not that I'm complaining. Why are you even wondering about that?"

"Spike I really think that we need to - TAKE COVER!"

What a well-timed interruption, Spike chuckled lightly. He dove behind a tree just at some high-speed rocks struck the bark. He winced as he felt the tree vibrate. Talk about terminal velocity...

"How am I still able to make bad puns in these situations?" he muttered to himself. He glanced at Apple Bloom, who was hiding behind a conveniently placed boulder and shielding Peewee.

"I am really tired of rocks," she grumbled. Almost as if by cue, a crudely-made wooden spear struck against the stone, splintering upon impact. "That is not better!"

Spike sighed. He didn't need to focus to sense the magic in the air. The spell being used was the basic psychokinesis spell that practically all unicorns knew, just supplied with double the amount of mana to increase the intensity and strength. It lacked finesse, but it was practical.

Who needed control if you're just going to launch it in a straight line?

It was also a trick that only beginners relied on to compensate for their lack of knowledge and/or experience. Learning a stronger spell is still far more efficient. The original spell formula was simple and not made to withstand handling that much mana, or else it would backfire spectacularly in the bad way. Even the revised formula could only handle double the normal amount.

He should know, he's one of the ones that rewrote it.

There were at the close to the invisible boundary line that separated Ponyville from the Everfree. If he was right...

"AB, you already guessed what's happening right?"

"Uh-huh."

"The usual then?"

"Actually, why don't we try something new?"

Both of them eyed the orange bird currently in Apple Bloom's grasp. He tilted his head in confusion and more than a little concern at the evil grins the two were now sporting.

...

"STOP!" The 'leader' of the group that had attacked called for a cease-fire. The unicorns hiding in hastily dug trenches halted their barrage and the pegasi and earth ponies supplying ammunition scattered and hid. A pair of amethyst eyes, their owner still covered by the shadows, peeked out from behind an overturned wheelbarrow.

A white unicorn slid into the shallow burrow behind the wheelbarrow.

"Do you think we drove them off again?" she asked. The other pony shrugged, but it was hard to see in the dark.

"These things have been attacking us for the past four days, and they're getting more and more stubborn. Everypony already skipped town, and I don't think we should risk sending somepony into the Everfree to check. Can't one of your unicorns fire some kind of light ball spell thingy or something?"

The unicorn glared. "Most of these unicorns have very little to no magic training! It was hard enough for them to learn the modified telekinesis spell in a couple of days!"

"What about you then? Haven't you been getting magic lessons from somepony?"

The unicorn was about to retort when a sudden rustling in the trees drew their attention. A small figure, which they assumed was a bird, shot up into the air. The two of them sighed in relief.

It flew by overhead, but it was too dark for either of them to identify what kind of bird it was unless they got a closer look. As much as one of them wanted to fly up there and see, both of them turned their attention back to the treeline.

This turned out to be a wise decision.

The bird squawked in "panic" as it appeared to have spontaneously combusted into a large fireball that illuminated the area. Embers rained upon the alarmed ponies, causing them to yelp and dance around trying to avoid the cinders.

"My coat!" cried a red unicorn colt, running around trying to put out the smoking patches on his back. Fortunately the strange, white spiky hat he wore protected his mane from igniting.

"Not the time, you priss!" hissed the blue pegasus filly chasing after him. She had a sort of wild appearance, and was a stark contrast to her friend. "Stay still will ya! I'm trying to help you!"

"You're just going to beat me up while to putting out the fire!"

"Yep!"

"At least try to deny it!"

Those that weren't distracted by the descending flames had their attention occupied by the bickering couple.

And that's what they were waiting for.

Two figures rushed out from the forest and completely blindsided their forces. The two behind the wheelbarrow were the only ones to notice them, but by then it was too late.

The unicorn's horn lit up with the tell-tale glow of magic, revealing her jade green pupils and lavender/pink mane. Before she could do anything more, one of the other two took her down and clamped a claw over her mouth. Whatever spell she was trying to cast fizzled out.

Her friend, an orange pegasus with an unruly purple mane and tail, attempted to help her friend but didn't get any further than a single step before the last enemy tackled her from the side. They rolled for a short bit, but it ended up with the pegasus pinned to the ground.

Their "attackers" smiled at their captives, who stopped struggling after they recognized who they were fighting. The bird from before landed, completely unharmed, and perched on one of them.

"Yo, CMC," said the dragon. "Sapph! Stop trying to kill Ruby!"

"It ain't nice to welcome back your friends by tryin' to kill 'em," said the earth pony.

"Nice to see you again, Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo," the two of them chimed together.

Jaws dropped.

...

"You want to explain why you were trying to stone us earlier?" Spike asked after he and Apple Bloom released their friends. Scootaloo fake-glared at them while Sweetie Belle was avoid all eye-contact.

"You wanna explain where the two of you have been?" she countered. She motioned for everypony to go back to their positions.

"Exploring in uncharted part of the Everfree, fighting for our lives while searching for the ruins of an ancient dragon temple that could possibly hold long-forgotten secrets in a place that happens to have its own time zone," Spike replied matter-of-factly.

Scootaloo blinked.

"Oh. We just thought that you two eloped or something." There was a collective sigh from some of the ponies behind them. Scootaloo received a slug on her foreleg from Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle had on a very light blush.

"Nope." Spike was completely unaffected by the teasing. Apple Bloom facehooved as she received some looks of pity and sympathy mixed with some of relief and envy.

How many times do I have to tell them...!

"Anyways," Apple Bloom tried to get the conversation back on track and away from her and Spike. "This might sound kinda strange, but do you mind tellin' us when was the last time you saw me or him?"

"We saw you around town around five days ago I think, then you and Spike just vanished," Sweetie Belle answered with a confused tone. She seemed to figure out something. "Wait, 'time zone'? Were you two-" Peewee chirped indignantly. "Sorry Peewee. Were you three trapped in a place where time flowed differently?" Looks of shock were present on both her and Scootaloo's expressions.

"Exactly," Spike nodded. "Does the uncertainty stem from that?" He pointed up.

Apple Bloom was about to ask what he was talking about, because the sky looked the same as before, until she saw her friends fidgeting uncomfortably. "Sweetie? Scoots? Somethin' wrong?"

They looked at each other before moving a fair distance away from the others, motioning for them to follow.

"We'll tell you what you missed out on, but keep it down alright?" Scootaloo told them in a low voice.

"You're right Spike," Sweetie Belle started. "The day after you two disappeared, the sky started acting funny. It's like the sun was up one minute then the moon came out then next. Rarity and the others went to Canterlot to check with the Princesses."

"When they got back, they asked if Twilight was still here, but we told her that we haven't seen her," Scootaloo continued. "That when they told us about an attack on Canterlot by-"

"You can skip that part, Scoots," Apple Bloom interjected. Spike was sulking again.

"Ok... so they sent out this search-"

"And that part too!" Spike looked like he was ready to huddle in a corner somewhere.

"Ah," Sweetie Belle sort-of understood. "After that, things sort of went back to normal, if you don't count how depressed everypony was."

"But then a bunch of things attacked Ponyville. Neither of us got a good look at them, but we do know that they were being lead by a group of... dragons..." Scootaloo struggled not to spit that word out. "Everypony evacuated the town, but the Crusaders were away while this happened. When we came back, it was already really late and Ponyville was empty, but there were enough signs for us to guess what happened."

"Was anypony...?"

"No," Sweetie Belle reassured her friend. Apple Bloom heaved a massive sigh of relief.

"Why were you guys away?"

"Well..."

"Sweetie here was worried when she didn't see you guys around, so we broke into the library and took a look around."

"Scoots!"

"All we found was some of Spike's notes about some kind of temple and a... what was it called again?"

Sweetie Belle sighed. The damage had already been done, so might as well. "A revised basic telekinesis spell formula."

"Right, that and a couple of maps about the Everfree. Then we searched your room Apple Bloom. Both of them too; the one in Sweet Apple Acres and the one in the library. By the way, I'm still not done teasing you about that."

The mare in question groaned. She honestly wasn't surprised, but that didn't mean she was happy about it. Scootaloo evilly smiled.

Sweetie Belle cleared her throat to get their attention. "We found a list of supplies you made and some spare stuff you forgot to pack, so we assumed that you and Spike went into the Everfree together. Since you two haven't come back yet or told anypony that you'd be gone for a long period of time, we got worried and wanted to go and search for you. The problem is that the others caught wind of our plans and, well...

"It turned into one huge field trip. They were even more determined once they found out about you two. We already know how dangerous the Everfree can be, so we needed to make sure they could protect themselves if it comes down to it. Most of the earth ponies and pegasi knew a thing or two about brawling - though I will not ask why - but it was the unicorns that needed the most work. Spike's revised spell took a few days to learn, but it really helped those with limited magical knowledge.

"When we ventured into the forest, we followed the map we made, but we ended up getting lost more than a couple of times. Oddly, our trek was almost peaceful; the only thing that happened was Sapph laughing when Ruby got his hat snagged on a branch and lost badly when he tried to free himself.

"At the end all we found was this weird flat mountain that looked really out-of-place. With nothing else, we were forced to turn back. When we finally returned..." Sweetie Belle trailed off.

It didn't look like she wanted to say the next part. Scootaloo was unusually tight-lipped at the moment.

"...There's bad news isn't there?" Spike mumbled dejectedly. The three of them jumped; he'd been so quiet that they'd almost forgotten about him. "Something that would upset us. Something that you two yourselves are still distressed about."

They winced for two reasons: his tone just sounded so lifeless... and he was right. Neither of the two knew how to approach this topic since they were still trying accept it themselves. Though it seems like Spike had no problem stating it, even if he was only guessing.

"Fluttershy, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, and Applejack have been kidnapped too, right?"

Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo stared with their mouths agape, completely shocked by the purple dragon's bluntness, but meekly nodded. They fearfully turned to see their other friend's reaction.

Apple Bloom grimaced, but didn't do anything more. She turned to Spike. "Just like in the Princesses' letter."

Spike nodded, shaking off his earlier depression and adopting a more serious expression. "Then that thing earlier... it's possible I suppose."

"Who was it though?"

"AB, how many ponies do we know that can fly like that?"

"Don't you just hate it when these two talk like that," Scootaloo whispered to Sweetie Belle. "When they know something that we don't."

"We can still hear you, you know."

"How can you hear so well without ears?"

"..."

"Sweetie Belle, do you mind continuing where you two left off earlier?" asked Spike, brushing aside Scootaloo's shout of "Hey! Don't just ignore me!"

"Sure," Sweetie Belle replied. "Nopony was here, but it didn't stay that way for long. Some strange-looking Timberwolves came out of the woods and tried to attack us." Spike and Apple Bloom cringed. "Thankfully, there were only a few of them and we were able to drive them off. Then after that, these big mushroom spiders and some odd plants that reminded me of frogs tried to swarm the town."

"It took a little work, but we managed to beat them back too!" Scootaloo exclaimed loudly, tired of nopony listening to her.

"Why didn't you just leave?" Spike asked. "What if you two or the others got hurt or worse?"

Surprisingly, it was Sweetie Belle that answered. "Spike, Ponyville's our home. It isn't some place we can just abandon; at least not without a fight." She looked resolute.

Scootaloo nodded adamantly. "Couldn't have said it better myself. Sides, we already told everypony they could go if they wanted, but nopony wanted to."

Spike knew better than to argue when they got like that. "So just guys set up a perimeter around the town?"

"We got some ponies acting as scouts around the edges of town near the Everfree. Our members split up into teams that cover a certain area. Me and Sweetie move around and go where we might be needed.

"Earlier we found out that these things were sensitive to light, so we hoped that if we lasted until morning then they'll leave us alone. The problem is, the sun should've risen hours ago and its still the middle of the night."

"So that means that there's definitely trouble in Canterlot; apparently enough to stop the Princesses from doing their duties."

"Yes."

"Normally we go ourselves, but..."

He knew where she was going with this. "You can't just leave the town undefended, nor can you leave the junior Cutie Mark Crusaders by themselves, so I need to go."

Sweetie Belle looked at him with pleading eyes. Scootaloo tried to do the same, but she couldn't hope to match the master.

Spike groaned and turned away.

"I'm already going, so stop with the eyes already." He turned to Apple Bloom, who had grown unnaturally quiet, and Peewee who was discontent with being left out for so long again. "Thanks for your help earlier AB. You too Peewee. It would have been difficult without you guys."

"Spike?"

"Sweetie, Scoots; retreat the front line back enough to create some room for traps to save some energy. Get a few pegasi to drop stuff on enemy forces to deal damage and cause destruction as well as give your attacks another dimension."

Without waiting for a response, Spike turned and ran into Ponyville faster than anypony would've expected from him.

Scootaloo turned to the ponies that had been eavesdropping. "You heard the dragon! I don't know how long you were listening, but set up! You two! I'm talking about you, Tunn and Nel! Start digging! I want pitfalls ready five minutes ago! No, I don't know what that means!"

As Scootaloo tried to find the Burrow brothers, Sweetie Belle sighed and decided that she should make sure that her friend doesn't run them into the ground.

Before she left, she whispered, "If you aren't going to go after him, then I gladly will."

She was fully intent on keeping her word too.

...

Spike made it to Golden Oaks in record time.

Good, I can't afford to waste any more time.

He ripped the door open. One of the perks of living in a friendly town is that you never need to lock your doors, especially if your house is a library that few ponies visit on a busy day.

Despite being gone for four to five days, the library was pretty much how he left it - aside from a few book piles he guessed was the result of Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo "taking a look around". The dragon narrowed his eyes and made a note to clean it up when he got back.

"It's almost Reshelving Day anyways," he sighed. He shook his head. "No, focus."

Spike tore up the stairs and made his way to his room. He flipped over the mattress and withdrew a small bag of coins. Each one was large enough to fit in the palm of his claw and appeared to be made of pure silver. Carved into the center was a crescent-shaped hole.

These weren't ordinary coins; these were tokens for the Lunar Express.

One of Twilight Sparkle's side-projects was coming up with a way to make teleportation available to all ponies, not just unicorns. She figured that this was would help bring down one of the barriers between the races.

The way it would work is that the teleportation spell would be cast, but not activated. While in limbo, the spell could theoretically be transferred to another pony even if the original caster is absent. Anypony could activate the spell by finishing the command and inputting the destination. Verbal statements would suffice. Twilight had even thought up of a way to compress magic into a small physical shape, a token, for convenience.

Sadly, the only flaw was that the user ended up anywhere except for their original destination. Without additional calculations, the actual route can and actually did deviate greatly from the original course.

When Spike tried to use one to get to Sugarcube Corner from the library, he somehow ended up in Fluttershy's bathtub.

It would've been bad enough if she hadn't been in the middle of bathing.

She passed out.

Dreading the awkward situation, after making sure Fluttershy wasn't going to drown Spike used another token... and wound up in the middle of a meeting of the snobbiest ponies from Canterlot.

Did he mention that they also hated him? And had big, burly bodyguards that would do whatever they said?

Spike started the hugest food fight in Canterlot history (rivaling the one that he and Princess Luna created after some obnoxious reporters were relentlessly hounding her about the whole 'Nightmare Moon' debacle) before using one more token to teleport himself away.

After teleporting into more mares that were bathing (why so many of them chose the same time to bathe was beyond him; he was more curious as to why he was appearing in so many bathrooms and lakes), the absolute worst was when he was teleported into a certain "Great and Powerful" unicorn's bath time.

Needless to say, Trixie had not been happy when Spike had materialized overhead and dropped onto her. And to make matters worse, he was out of tokens.

Fortunately she had shown him some mercy when she found out that this was a result of one of Twilight's failed experiments and showed him the way back. Surprisingly, she was a lot nicer than he had thought.

Still, when he had finally returned to Ponyville a bit over a week later, he was still sporting a hoofmark on his cheek that required magic to get rid of.

Twilight put the project on hiatus, and ended up forgetting it after a while (much to the relief of Spike and mares everywhere).

When Spike started his tutoring/princess sitting, he needed a better way to travel between Ponyville and Canterlot aside from taking the train. He and Princess Luna dug up Twilight's old idea and tried fix it.

Their solution?

If the direct route was problematic, then why not try a detour?

Teleporting involved breaking down one's molecular structure in one place and being reassembled into another instantaneously. Simple in theory, but it takes quite a bit of computing to actually end up where they wanted because they would be moving through higher dimensions before reappearing in their original one.

Spellcasters instinctively make these calculations based on feeling, so they are not completely aware of it themselves. For somepony else to use it, it would take quite a mind...

In order to ease this burden, Spike and Luna planned a halfway point and changed it from "teleportation" to a form of high-speed "transportation".

The "Lunar Express", as Spike had dubbed it, is fairly simple. First, there are two parts to it: the Transport Token, which holds the movement spell, and Markers, which emit a certain, unique frequency that can be homed in on.

In order to use the Lunar Express, three conditions must first be met:

- a Marker is placed at the destination;

- the user has a Transport Token on hoof/claw; and

- moonlight is shining on both the starting point and the destination.

Their molecular structure is still broken down, but rather than going directly to the goal, they first ride the moonbeams to the moon before being redirected to a specific Marker area.

It wasn't exactly something that could be used by the general public, as it required magic unique to Princess Luna in order to be created. Plus, while the tokens were easy enough to make - if not time-consuming - Markers were another thing entirely. Not to mention that if too many ponies use it at one time, then there's a good chance that they'll be stuck on the moon. But it was convenient for Spike at least.

Truth be told, the accuracy could still use a bit of work depending on what phase of the moon it is (Spike learned the hard way to never use it during a new moon; Trixie was not happy finding out she had an unexpected roommate and a new skylight), but at least now its mostly within the general area.

Tonight was a half-moon, first quarter if he remembered it correctly. Then again, with the sky out of order, Spike wondered if it would still work.

I need to take that chance. Walking would take too long and running all the way there is out of the question entirely. Mother of Celestia, it's times like this that I really regret not being able to fly.

Spike took a deep breath.

As per instructions, he was standing just outside the library. The bag of tokens had been mostly stowed away into his bag for safe-keeping, with one token in his claw ready to use. He held it up and shouted, "I request immediate passage to Canterlot Castle!"

For a second he was afraid that it wouldn't work, but he sighed in relief as the token started to vibrate. It levitated upwards and broke apart into three silver rings that expanded until they were wide enough to encircle Spike. As they descended, Spike could also feel the spell taking effect as his body started vanishing.

While the magic was enveloping him, Spike's eyes widened as he felt somepony interrupt the sequence by jumping into the spell area. The mana levels fluctuated wildly.

"NO-" Before Spike could get anything more out, he and whoever else was with him were broken down into molecules and sent shooting off to the moon.

Chapter 6 - In Which Spike Gets Fired And Fired At

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SPLASH!

The lake. They had been appeared over a lake.

After the addition of an unexpected passenger destabilized the spell, they were violently thrown off course. And of all places they could've been teleported to, it had been to a lake.

Spike hastily swam to the surface and reluctantly looked around. He sighed in relief.

Luckily, it doesn't seem like I teleported in on a mare bathing again. And, even more fortunately, Trixie isn't around this time either. We may be sort-of friends now, but she still packs a mean slap.

More than once, Spike had suspected that incident to be one of Princess Luna's pranks. She did seem amused when he told her about his less-than-stellar encounter with the traveling magician, especially when he mentioned that he needed to call Twilight to fix him up because the hoofmark was starting to look permanent.

The margin for error for the Lunar Expresss is considerably smaller than the original, even with possible unforeseen circumstances, since the moon was being used as a medium. If that were the case, then how the buck did I end up near Vanhoover?!

This time though, it seems like he was blown aside to the lake just outside the citadel's walls.

Eh, could have been worse. With my luck, I was expecting being thrown down the waterfall, again.

Spike sighed. "I wonder who's the idiot that disturbed the magic sequence and where he or she are now, if they aren't stuck on the moon or something."

He heard chirping above him and, lo and behold, Peewee was fluttering around impatiently. He let out another chirp that Spike bet meant, "You probably shouldn't have said that."

He heard somepony else surface beside him, just outside his range of vision. He felt a chill up his spine that didn't come from the cold water.

What would be a fitting thing to say here? Such misfo-OUCH!

"Hello, Apple Bloom," Spike winced. "So glad of you to join me."

The said mare glared, which she dropped a second later in favor of a tired expression. "Did you really think that I would let you go off into a situation that gives even the Princesses trouble? Alone and exhausted to boot? We're friends Spike. How many times do I need to remind you that it's alright for you to lean on us from time to time?"

Spike said nothing. He just started swimming to shore where Peewee was already waiting. Apple Bloom sighed and followed him.

No matter what she said, he would take on the entire world on his back if he could. While that could be seen as sort-of admirable, he took it to an unhealthy level. If somepony asked him for help, he'd do it however reluctant he might be. Even if they didn't ask, he'd still do it anyways. To make matters worse, he refused all forms of assistance unless it was forced onto him.

She's already lost count of how many times he's collapsed of sleep deprivation alone, not counting the times from malnutrition, exhaustion, and personal injury.

"One of these days that idiot is gonna kill himself," she muttered. "That'll be the day when I ain't around."

When she got to the shore, Spike was staring at the gate. From out here, the three of them could hear the sounds of chaos in the capital city and see the smoke from the probable carnage. The drawbridge was destroyed, but there was enough debris to serve as stepping stones.

"AB, there's still time to use the Lunar Express to return to Ponyville you know," Spike reminded her. In response, Apple Bloom ran to the remains of the bridge and hopped across. Peewee didn't even need to be told; he just flew through the gate.

Spike sighed.

With friends like these, I'll end up getting gray scales way before I turn ten thousand...

He frowned before running after them. There was a huge if in that sentence, and the last thing he needs right now is a distraction.

...

Canterlot had seen better days.

That was the thought that ran through Spike's mind when he saw what had become of his old hometown.

Not a single building was unharmed. If it wasn't close to ruins, then it was either on its way or set ablaze with a strange fire. The citizens were being chased through the streets by Twisted Timbers, though it seems like a some of them had barricaded themselves inside Pony Joe's (which, Spike noted with relief, had suffered considerably less damage). Guards were being thrown left and right by a regiment of Clunkers lead by a less shabby looking golem carrying around a staff and wearing a tribal headdress made of rock.

Spike had to resist the urge to run where somepony needed help, which seemed to be everywhere at the moment. The three of them needed to get to the castle as soon as possible and get the Princesses. They have a better skill set for dealing with this kind of situation.

That didn't mean that he couldn't do anything on their way there.

"Peewee! Flame charge the pack to the right before circling back! AB, duck and buck left!" Spike yelled, rolling into the nearest Clunker and using his claws to rip out a chunk of its shoulder, revealing a shiny blue sphere. "Guards! These guys instinctively protect their energy cores! Take it out and they're finished! Look for the one place they avoid taking damage at all costs!"

He rammed into another Timberwolf and sent it skidding a fair distance.

Spike panted. Even if they took the most direct route to the castle, it's still a very long trip considering how many times they had to stop to fight. His firebreath refused to work for some reason (though it would've been useless anyway, he thought bitterly), so he was forced to resort to pure melee combat - an area he did not particularly excel in. He knew his way around a brawl, but that was his limit.

Apple Bloom grunted as she bashed two Twisted Timbers' heads together. Just like him, she was really feeling the effects from earlier. She has her limits too. Peewee's flames actually flickered and died for a second before the young bird reignited himself.

This is getting us nowhere... Spike ground his fangs in frustration. Time to switch it up then!

It was a straight path to the castle, but littered with enemies and clutter. Spike took a deep breath and lowered his head.

"AB! Peewee!" His friends stopped in their fights. He lowered his head far enough that they could see his smirk. "Keep up if you can."

With that, he charged.

It was at a speed that went far beyond reckless, considering what he was currently running towards. He felt magically reinforced wood, stones, blasts of magic, and the even familiar armor that the guards wore relentlessly batter his body. Shrapnel attempted to pierce his scales. His claws dug deeply into the ground for traction, leaving a trail of deep gashes.

A single second.

That's how long he managed to clear a path through the anarchy. It was for that one second after he went past that the way was clear. After it the area returned to its state of pandemonium. But it was a road regardless.

Apple Bloom did not waste the opportunity he granted.

She matched him step for step, traveling down the trail he was blazing - a rather fitting phrase with the trail of fire Peewee was leaving behind as he streaked by. Nothing would stop her. Nothing could.

By the time they reached the castle walls, Spike was covered in bruises and bleeding in multiple areas. His scales did well in mostly protecting him from the impacts, but they did little to nothing about the force. One of his eyes was forced closed by a heavy flow of blood trailing down from the top of his head. Shards and splinters were wedged in with his scales. He wheezed for breath, only to hack up more blood.

All in all, it was a wonder that he was still standing.

He didn't have the luxury of time to rest and wonder why this is the one area that seemed to be isolated from the turmoil because his magic detection system drove him to dive just as a ray of light struck the spot he was just at.

That wasn't a regular magic blast, Spike noted. High-level stuff too. Judging from the marks it left and the distortions in the mana, it's definitely heat related. Evaporation through molecular acceleration, maybe? Regardless, it's not something I'd want to find out firsthand.

"Hey! What was that for you jerks?!" Apple Bloom shouted at the walls. "We're tryin' to help over here! If you're gonna shoot at us, at least don't hide like yellow-bellied varmints and face us like real ponies! Or are you part chicken on your mother's side?!"

Buck my life...

Spike clamped a claw over his companion's muzzle before she busted the really insulting stuff. He'd heard her curse before; what she was yelling now was foalsplay compared to what she could really do. She struggled against him, but he kept his grip firm; he'd rather not get vaporized at the moment, or at all actually.

He had pulled her back just in time to witness several beams of magic hit the ground in front of them. This just made Apple Bloom even more enraged as she struggled even harder to break free from Spike's grasp. He clenched his fangs.

No gems this time to dull the pain either.

Spike bit back a scream of pain. He needed to drag Apple Bloom away from there as soon as possible. For his sake as much as hers.

...

Apple Bloom continued to grumble the entire way as Spike lead her somewhere. Peewee was flying nearby, concerned about the slight trail of blood the dragon was dripping, but he hadn't said anything about it himself so Peewee wasn't that worried. The fledgling phoenix thought that Spike was probably so focused on devising some sort of ingenious plan to get past the deadly rays that he couldn't afford to pay attention to the pain.

In truth, Spike was gnashing his teeth together and doing his utmost best to stop himself from whimpering.

The trio continued until they reached the mountain the citadel was build on the side of and entered a moderately-sized niche that was all-but invisible unless you already knew that it was there. A couple of small outcroppings completely hid them from view from both the castle and the city.

"Y'know Spike, if you were some other pony, then this would be the part where I beat you senseless," commented Apple Bloom.

Spike ignored the thinly-veiled warning and cleared his throat. With a clear and imposing voice she wasn't aware he was capable of, he stated, "Thou shall heed our command. Open is the path to the keep, so sayeth the Drake Prince. Relinquish thy gate!"

He said it in a low volume, almost a whisper, yet it held an amazing amount of authority. Just as Spike finished, the outline of a door appeared appeared in front of him and the stone within its boundaries silently sunk into the ground, revealing a tall passageway.

Apple Bloom groaned. "Another underground passageway?"

"Not quite. It's a secret underground passageway that's also our ticket in."

"How do you know about it then if it's 'secret'?"

"Rudimentary, my dear Apple Bloom; its a rule that every castle, mansion, or other lavish estate needs to have secret passages littered all around the premises."

"Why is that anyways?"

"Dunno. I guess they got bored or something."

"Alright I guess. Before we go though," Apple Bloom snickered, "'so sayeth the Drake Prince'?"

"It was either that or 'Luna PWNS Celestia, foals!', but somepony wasn't entirely too keen on that for the password," Spike shrugged. "Besides, it changes depending on who's asking for entry." The spell also has a detector, so it's absolutely necessary for the subject to say it his/herself of their own volition otherwise the defense system'll activate... who am I explaining this to inside my head?

Unlike before, this one was wide enough for the two of them to walk side-by-side rather comfortably - well, as comfortably as they can get when both of them were tired beyond measure and one was beaten to a pulp not that long ago. Also, this time there was some kind of natural lighting, so Peewee didn't need to light the way.

They continued at a downward slope until they reached a simple spiral staicase that wrapped around the walls and went all the way to until the ceiling. Spike climbed onto the first step and made sure to skip the second. Curiously, Apple Bloom placed a hoof on it and recoiled when a sharp metal blade shot up from the floor.

"Wait there AB!" Apple Bloom looked up and was surprised to find Spike already near the top. "I'll disable the traps first!" There was a clunk! and the blade retracted.

Cautiously, she put her hoof on the step again and was relieved when nothing happened. With much trepidation, Apple Bloom crawled up the stairs at an agonizingly slow rate.

Spike would've laughed at how comical the brash and bold Apple Bloom looked right now, but he wasn't suicidal. He did, however, need to do something about his wounds.

"Hey Peewee, c'mere for a second..."

By the time the mare had managed to reach the top, Spike was a bit more blackened than she remembered him being and smoking slightly in a few places, but he had stopped bleeding at least.

He placed his claws onto the wall and twisted. Something was unlocked. A trapdoor on the roof slid aside, revealing the night sky. Spike climbed out first, keeping close to the ground. He motioned for his friends to do the same.

"This is... the castle gardens?" Apple Bloom whispered. Spike nodded. They were currently in one of the corners of the main garden, hidden in one of shadowed corners. A small row of shrubs was the only thing that separated them from the main path.

Peewee hopped up onto Spike's back, causing the dragon to wince slightly. No, he could still do this. It's not like he hasn't done this hundreds of times before.

"Seems like most of the guards are concentrated near the main door, but there are bound to be some patrolling other areas, so follow me exactly. And I mean exactly. Stay quiet and wait for my signal."

Without waiting for a response, Spike slid towards the bushes and crept along them. Despite his purple scales (which were more black and red by this point), he blended in almost seamlessly with the shadows. He was so silent that if she wasn't watching him herself, Apple Bloom would've never guessed that he was there.

You're always full of surprises aren't you? Apple Bloom chuckled, and promptly received an intense but silent shushing.

...

Spike was operating on pure instinct. He couldn't explain it, but there were things that were simply just hardwired into his brain. Mostly out of habit.

He already lost count of how many times he had snuck into the castle, but he can confidently proclaim that nopony could move around Canterlot unnoticed better than he could.

Feel the wind; move with it. Shadows aren't always reliable. Moving objects are easier to notice than immobile ones. Heights can make effective hiding places. There is always a blind spot, so look out for those while watching your own.

And last but not least, hallway closets are golden sanctuaries.

That last one is kind of hard to remember when you've crammed a teenage dragon, teenage mare, and fledgling phoenix into one that's full of hats and barely large enough for one pony.

"Spike, that better have been your tail!" hissed Apple Bloom.

"It is." Spike deadpanned. "What else would it be?"

"... You really are an idiot."

"Yep."

Apple Bloom suppressed the urge to scream in frustration. Peewee poked his head out from a nest composed of baseball caps. That red one with the white half-circle on the back shelf looked rather nice nice...

Spike concentrated intently with his head pressed against the door (he didn't need to, but present circumstances forced him to adopt an uncomfortable position as opposed to an awkward one). The armor the guards in the palace wore were all enchanted for better durability and easier to maintain. Thanks to that, Spike could accurately detect them if he focuses and tunes out the background magic.

I don't know if I'm relieved or irritated that mother and Aunt Luna still haven't hired more competent guards. My options are far more limited since Apple Bloom and Peewee are with me, and we're rushing this time too...

Huh... I wonder if I should start pranking them again...

Spike's thoughts were interrupted by the sounds of a large commotion.

"What the-?" He concentrated and was slightly surprised to sense all of the guards rushing towards the main entrance.

BAM! CRASH!

An impact shook the entire castle, followed by something big breaking. Before either of them could say anything, a scream echoed throughout the palace.

A very familiar scream.

The closet door flew from its hinges and loudly crashed into the opposite wall as Spike and Apple Bloom dashed out, forgoing any and all attempts at stealth. They sprinted to the entrance hall, passing a few guards but not caring.

When they got there, an enormous breach was made in the front wall. Debris and armored ponies were strewn about everywhere. Several of them were smoking and groaning in pain, but at least they were alive. What was more worrisome were the quiet ones. The ones not on the ground, who probably just arrived same as Spike and Apple Bloom, immediately rushed to the aid of the fallen. Traces of fierce flames were scattered about, with a few embers still burning.

The path of destruction lead to the throne room. The doors were missing, but the doorway was covered by a strange darkness which prevented anypony from seeing inside. Two pillars of violet fire rose from the sides.

"As if that doesn't just shout boss battle," Spike muttered under his breath.

"Real subtle," sighed Apple Bloom at the same time.

This drew the attention of every guard in the room who wasn't preoccupied. Spike shoved Apple Bloom to the side before leaping the other way just as half a dozen rays of magic blasted the spot they were just standing. The young dragon barely managed to get his guard up just as a pegasus knocked him to the ground and started relentlessly raining blows upon him.

With a grunt, Spike caught the guard by his armor using his tail and promptly threw him off. The dragon rose to his feet and sidestepped another magic blast. He then blocked a punch and headbutted the guard behind the hoof. The helmet did not help in the slightest, as Spike could see it and the poor pony's eyes vibrating from the impact.

Immediately afterwards, Spike remembered his own injuries and fell to the ground, clutching his head in pain.

One of the guards tried to take advantage of that, but he was quickly tackled by a red and yellow blur. Before he could recover, two hooves smashed into his helmet and caused crumple to the ground in an unglorified heap.

"The next one of you that tries to hurt my friend over here ain't gonna walk away with a simple headache this time," Apple Bloom warned/threatened.

Some of the guards growled. One of them, a tan unicorn with a brown mane that had blackened ends, stepped forward and pointed an accusing hoof at Spike. "That monster over there is the cause of this! Him and his wretched kind are a blight to this world! How could you call him your friend?! Or are you just his bit-"

The surly guard was silenced by a punch from a pony wearing the signature armor of Princess Luna's royal guard.

He was an entirely black pegasus, though his coat was slightly lighter. His Cutie Mark was a white stylized outline of a bird riding air currents. Compared to the other guards, even in their current state, he was appeared almost mangy; as if he had just walked in off the streets and put on the armor. In addition, while he was probably around ten years older than the two of them, he was still way below the average age for a royal guard member (not counting that Flash guy they saw back in the town trying to help fend off the invasion).

Spike groaned as he tried to get up, only for the pegasus to support him so he wouldn't fall again. "Thanks Jett. If you didn't stop that fool, Apple Bloom might've killed him."

"No problem," the pony, Jett, shrugged nonchalantly. "I might not care much about him, but he's still a coworker."

"He owes you bits doesn't he?"

"Terrible poker face, but very easy to trick into a game," Jett smirked. He motioned towards the darkened door. "You might want to get going. Some of us already tried going through, but we just ended up back here. Figure you might have a better shot considering what came through here and put up that barrier in the first place."

"But-"

"Stop there," interrupted Jett. "Believe me, I would love nothing more than to go in there myself, but I know when I need to step aside." Even as he said this, he had a bitter expression on his face. He shook his head and slapped Spike on the back. "We'll take care of the mess here, including these guys. It's great to see you again bud. After this, I'll treat you to Pony Joe's so we can catch up. In the meantime, try not to die."

With one last chuckle, Jett went to join a group of similarly dressed guards mixed with gold armored ponies. They saluted. The rest glared daggers at them, but busied themselves with treating the wounds of the injured.

Spike ignored the dirty looks sent his way and focused on getting to the entrance of the throne room. Even when he was right in front of it, he still could not see or hear anything. Experimentally, he stetched one claw into the shade and was mildly surprised when it vanished. He could still feel it and move it, he just couldn't see it.

Maybe it was due to being partly in contact with the screen, but Spike could faintly sense three very impressive magical signatures inside. Two of them were familiar to him, but the unknown one seemed to be just as strong as them. Perhaps even stronger. It was also wrapped in some kind of strange force that gave off some seriously bad vibes.

Dimly, he noted himself telling Apple Bloom to stay back as he felt his spines bristle in anticipation.

Not from fear. Not from pain. Not from anxiety.

Pure, unfiltered excitement.

It wasn't from the idea of facing off against a strong opponent - he'd rather avoid getting stomped into the ground, thank you very much. No, it was from the thrill of discovering something that was previously unknown to him.

Spike retracted his claw. Why does it feel like I'm forgetting something?

"I'm disappointed you forgot that I ain't the type to step aside even when I should."

Oh, right. That.

He grunted as somepony none too gently shoved him into the darkness.

...

When Spike and Apple Bloom emerged on the other side, their first thought was: It's hot.

The throne room was a shadow of its former grandeur. Raging fires that showed no sign of ceasing burned in multiple places around the room. Many of the stained glass mosaics were shattered beyond recognition. A road of flame took the place of the long carpet.

At the far end of the hall was humongous fire-breathing lizard that was trying to swat two figures that flew around it and blasted it with magic. One was of the purest white and possessed a flowing mane that appeared to be made from a spectrum of light. The other was a pale midnight blue with a light-blue colored mane and tail, which sometimes flickered into a flowing pattern reminiscent of the starry night sky.

"Princess Celestia! Princess Luna!"

It seems like neither of them heard the two's astonished shouts. Not that they could blame them.

Their opponent was an colossal dragon. It was just a bit short of the size of the Synthesizer golem, but it was by no means less imposing. Its main scales were a red-orange while its underbelly was yellow. Two rows of flame-like fins ran down the length of its back to its tail, which the end of seemed to be alight. Its wings were folded, but that did nothing to hide their size or weathered state. A pair of twisted orange horns sprouted from both sides of its head while a third, swordlike horn was located just above its nose. Its body was very muscular and covered with charred patches, but it didn't seem to be too bothered by them. Large spikes jutted out from its shoulders.

However, what stood out most was its eyes. They were glowing with a harsh violet light that was all-too familiar to Spike and Apple Bloom.

When Celestia blasted him with magic, it just shrugged the attack off and roared with enough force to send the Princesses reeling through the air.

The were sent back to the entrance, barely managing to correct their flight paths moments before a collision. It was then that they noticed the new arrivals.

"Spike!" Celestia cried out. Luna just gave him a look to which he nodded. That seemed to explain everything for her, so she turned back to the present danger, though it seemed to be content with waiting smugly at the other end.

"Why are you... two here?" Celestia asked rather hesitantly, taking note of Apple Bloom's presence. Normally she would have been overjoyed when her adopted son paid a visit, especially if she was worried about not having heard from him in days - to the point of almost accidentally causing an eclipse - but it was hardly a good time right now with the current situation.

However, that was the least of Celestia's worries.

And to think that he even brought home a mare! Celestia's mind instantly flooded with all sorts of possibilities of the trouble a somewhat magically altered teenage dragon could get into with a perfectly healthy teenage mare, especially if it was enough for him to stop all contact for close to a week. Oh dear mother of... me? I really must consult with Luna about that. Now, where was I? Ah, yes...

Anything but that! I may be several millenia old, but I'm not ready to be a grandmother! And he is far from mature enough to start a family of his own! Or worse, what if he leaves and forgets about his mother? Too preoccupied with his new wife and foal to pay dear old Grandma Celestia a visit? Augh! Bad thoughts, bad thoughts, bad thoughts!

Ignoring his mother's mental meltdown (something the teacher and the student seemed to share), Spike grunted, "Simplified version? Stars; emergency call; letters; dragons; Twilight; kidnapped. Explain later. Fight now!"

With a battle cry that made him sound way more confident that he was, Spike charged towards the red dragon before any of the mares could react.

The red dragon grinned and roared again, though this time it almost sounded like it was... laughing?

In a deep voice, which officially classified him as male, he shouted, "This time it's a dragonling they sent to fight? You are brave, but quick to throw away your own life!"

He smashed the ground with his claw, sending a rising wave of rock towards the approaching dragon. Spike didn't even blink as he rode the wave to its crest and jumped, catapulting himself close to the ceiling. At this height, Spike noticed that the dragon seemed to be guarding some kind of transparent box behind the throne. He caught a glimpse of something pink within, but he didn't have enough time to ponder this as he used his wings to angle a dive towards his foe.

Just like with the golem, Spike spun and slammed his tail against the other dragon's head, earning a resounding crack in return. The added force of his momentum greatly increased the effectiveness of the move, though it also caused him to sprain his tail from the recoil.

This actually caused the red dragon to stagger briefly, and by the time he recovered, Spike had retreated a fair distance away. The red dragon rolled his jaw once before letting out another roaring laugh.

"That wasn't half bad!" he proclaimed after he finished laughing. "What is your name dragonling?"

"Give me your name and I'll give you mine!" Spike shouted back. "The public needs to know whose overgrown tail I'm going to whup!"

The red dragon's previous good mood vanished. "You've got guts dragonling, but you need to KNOW YOUR PLACE!"

He roared again, only this time a torrential stream of orange fire erupted from his maw. In no time, Spike was completely engulfed by the flames and disappeared from sight. The red dragon halted the torrent, but the fire continued to blaze.

"Feh, I've gone and done it again," the red dragon grumbled. "Pity, I could've toyed with him a bit longer. However, you should take pride in landing a hit against me. I shall tell tales of the dragonling that-"

"Shut up."

Two blurs, one black and one white, collided against the red dragon's throat. His eyes widened and started hacking violently.

Celestia was - for lack of a better word - furious. She looked ready bring down the sun and smash and/or melt something into oblivion. Repeatedly.

Luna was in a similar state, though hers was more of cold fury that chilled you to your core. Forget being sent to the moon; try being sent to a moon in another galaxy entirely.

The sisters of sun and moon flew back as the red dragon swiped at their location. He overextended, disrupting his balance, and the sisters rammed against his remaining foreleg to shatter his balance entirely. He toppled face-first to the ground before he knew what hit him.

"Now!"

From behind the pyre, another pony rushed around and leapt onto the red dragon's head. She bucked him right between his eyes with enough force to dent the scales covering it. He went cross-eyed from the blow and didn't notice the pony had already jumped off and was already out of claw's reach.

Dazed and confused as he was, he did not fail to notice the figure that emerged from the midst of his pillar of flame and run towards him.

Dazed and confused as he was, he could not do anything about the figure that emerged from the midst of his pillar of flame and was running towards him.

A figure of purple and green... and orange?

Blistering pain erupting from his snout near the base of his horn was enough to jar him back to his senses and he howled in pain as he reared up on his hind legs.

He recognized this feeling. It was fire. But not just any fire either.

It was his fire.

Even dragon scales did not stand a chance against it, and the sensation along his snout told him of either a single large gash or multiple small gashes that pierced through his scales and raked the flesh underneath. The wound did not bleed however, as it seemed to have been cauterized the instant after it was made.

That impudent dragonling! Was he somehow enchanted or completely fireproof? Did he have a magical barrier protecting him as well? How had he managed to turn his fire against him?

His questions ceased the moment he glared down at Spike.

Spike was staring defiantly at his much larger opponent, no worse for wear other than the fact that his tail was slightly bent at an odd angle and his scales were now closer to black than their original purple. The two alicorns and that one earth pony continued to send concerned glances in his direction.

The reason behind their concern was most likely the orange blaze that enveloped his forelegs, further darkening his scales.

The red dragon growled, but there was a hint of respect in it.

"Dragonling, I do not care about how you managed to escape my initial attack. You are aware that my flame is far different from that of other dragons, yes? That it will continue to burn until not even the bones of your claws are left?"

Spike grimaced, but his gaze did not falter.

The red dragon's eyes glowed even brighter. In a voice that was not his own, he spoke, "You are most interesting, very different from most other dragons your age. You show much promise; not much, but enough to break even with the effort it would be required to train you. Join with us, submit your mind to the control and break free from the restraints that have stifled your true potential!"

"Dude, that's creepy," replied Spike. "More importantly, what kind of imbecile lamebrain would sign up with you after all you guys have done to his friends, family, and their homes? You are the ones behind the attacks here and on Ponyville, right? And even..." Spike adopted a bitter expression before he resumed his glaring. "Of course, I refuse."

"Very well. You have chosen your fate, and thus can only blame so when your entire being is reduced to ashes!" The light faded from his eyes as the red dragon roared once again.

"Prepare to be incinerated you cretinous whelps! I am the wielder of the Scathing Flame That Melts All! Nothing can withstand my firebreath! The area becomes torrid from my presence alone!"

"That's from all the hot air you spew out!" Apple Bloom shouted.

"Impudent little-!"

"Why do all bad guys need to uselessly monologue about how powerful they are?" Spike sighed as he shrugged his shoulders, careful not to let the fire on his claws touch him. "It's not like it make a difference if we know all the unnecessary titles and things you're proud about that doesn't divulge any information on any weaknesses and/or flaws of your abilities, skills, and/or plans. And since you wouldn't willingly tell us that in the first place unless you were a completely dimwitted dolt, then why don't you just shut up and get on with the boss battle?"

The red dragon roared. "If you wish to seek an earlier grave, then so be it! Destruction through an all-consuming fire! I am INFERNAL MAGISTER! You who have invoked my wrath shall taste your ashes!"

Author's Notes:

Hello Fimfiction! Sorry again about the long update time. What can I say? School's been hectic recently. Fortunately, with the break this weekend I can get the next chapter done much sooner.

This is actually the first chapter I wrote for this story. It took a while to rewrite and edit, correcting any errors I found and revising certain scenes. This chapter also means that the introduction is coming to an end. Gamewise, this is the point where Spyro has to clear out the intruders from the Temple and Ignitus unleashes his Fire Fury. After this, Spike's going to need to travel to remote locations to find the other Guardians and finally receive elemental training.

Also, Season Four is out...

Don't forget to leave your thoughts in the form of a review. Your opinions go a long way towards story quality. Thanks for reading!

Chapter 7 - In Which The Introduction Is Finally Over

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Spike's policy is: "Never go into battle without a plan."

Thus, he had a plan.

It was a stupid plan, but it was a plan nevertheless.

Okay, it was more of a semi-thought through idea he came up with while desperate. And by "semi-thought through", he meant "not at all". And it wasn't so much an "idea" as it was a "yet-to-be-proven hypothesis-though-since-there's-no-time-might-as-well-call-it-an-idea-because-I've-got-nothing-better".

"In retrospect, maybe 'fighting fire with fire' might not have been the the brightest thing to do," Spike muttered as he dodged another rock wave. His eyes were trained on his opponent from the start of the battle, analyzing every detail with the utmost concentration.

Observation number one, their opponent was either really stupid or just plain gullible.

"What the buck is that?!" Spike shouted, pointing to something behind the red dragon. Magister swiveled his head to look, and received a double blitz courtesy of the Princesses that caused his head to bash painfully against the wall.

Observation number two, his attacks were predictable and easy to avoid.

Infernal Magister recovered quickly, ignoring pain in favor of anger. He breathed several bursts of fire into the air, but failed to burn anything. Turning his focus to the young dragon, he inhaled and prepared another salvo. Spike merely pointed up and predictably, Magister looked up. Seeing nothing, he lowered his head only to find that the other dragon had vanished. Instead, there was a trail of small fires that lead to-

He roared as searing pain erupted from his left side, a pain he had associated with enflamed claws raking his scales. His tail smashed against the ground, but the purple pest had already escaped.

Observation number three - and this one frustrated Spike to no end - Infernal Magister certainly lived up to the first half of his name from the way he was taking their best attacks and coming out unscathed.

Princess Celestia fired an ultra concentrated blast of magic that struck Magister clean on his back, but he just shrugged it off and attempted to swat down Luna, who was forced to abandon her own attack in order to barrel roll safely out of harm's way.

Spike did not want to set part of himself on fire, but he really didn't have much of a choice.

Immature claws and fangs were could not do anything against a fully matured dragon's scales. Striking moves would cause immense recoil, as his sprained tail and Apple Bloom's pained gait clearly demonstrated. Their greatest asset, the Princesses' magic, was next to useless.

Not really that moralizing, huh?

Mana was practically radiating from the flames Magister was spewing, which meant that (1) it really wasn't efficient and (2) it must be extremely powerful.

Considering that Magister had no reservations about slinging fire everywhere, Spike doubted that they could simply just wait for him to burn himself out. His mana level is enough to rival - or possibly surpass - that of both Celestia and Luna, after all. By Spike's estimates, if one were to convert that into this kind of fire, it would be enough to burn half of Equestria.

Without option number one, that left number two.

Even Magister was careful to not let the flames get near him, as his area was the only part of the room not burning. That meant that not even he was immune to his own fire. Spike bet everything on that hypothesis when he ignited his claws, and it paid off.

Still, even with the numerous steaming wounds that were now littered all over Infernal Magister, he seemed more mad than hurt.

He's becoming more destructive, Spike noted dryly. I pity mother's interior decorator. And her architect too, the way things are going.

The throne room was not even a room any more. Burning spires of rock protruded from several places. Not a single patch of ground that was in front of Infernal Magister was even. The small fires from before evolved into a roaring wall of fire that surrounded the battleground. All of the windows were shattered or broken in some way; and while they could see the outside, something was preventing them from leaving.

And the only things that haven't been burnt yet are the area behind Infernal Magister, Infernal Magister himself, Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, and Apple Bloom. Everything else was either completely charred or in the process of getting there.

Spike winced as he remembered his current situation. My forelimbs feel like they're on fire... Wow, that's a horrible pun. I would faceclaw, but my claws are on fire right now.

Somewhere, somepony groaned.

Tough crowd.

Spike ducked under another stream of fire and rush forward to deliver a rising slash at Magister's exposed stomach, leaving a large gash that was burnt closed immediately after it was cut, but still enough to cause Magister to cry out in pain.

"Critical hit!"

"Spike, fall back now!"

The young dragon felt a familiar feeling encompass him as he was magically yanked into the air. He heard Apple Bloom exclaim as she was most likely lifted up in the same manner, but before either of them could ask, they were pulled further into the air. There was a loud roar and a torrent of flames flooded the ground, creating a raging inferno below.

Spike shivered.

Not a single scrap of land was visible. Had they were still down there, it would've been over in that instant.

The air around Infernal Magister had changed. Before, while he was still angry, there was still a sense that he was toying around with them. Now, though...

There was a look in his eyes that clearly meant "no mercy".

The violet light had become harsh, almost painful to look at. For a second, Spike felt an entirely different presence fill the room. Something wicked and malicious. Something... evil.

"We need to defeat him soon," Celestia's voice brought Spike out of his thoughts. Judging from her expression, he wasn't the only one that felt it. A golden aura flared around her horn, matching the one that currently enveloped him.

"Verily. Thou art exhausted and canst hide such a fact from us, for we are in the same condition," Luna replied coolly, but the fact that she had somewhat reverted to her old speaking patterns spoke volumes. For her to do so meant that she was extremely stressed, and with their current opponent it's to be expected.

Spike withdrew into himself as the sisters attempted to come up with a plan of attack.

In a breath, he had detached himself from the physical world and retreated into the crevices of his mind.

A void.

Completely empty.

Filled with nothingness...

And a strange violet light?

What the?

His eyes were closed, so how could he still see anything?

Unless... This isn't seeing; it's sensing! That means... magic?

"Open up your senses," Spike mumbled, catching the attention of the three mares. Celestia and Luna looked at him curiously, while Apple Bloom just sighed.

"He's gonna do something stupid again," she told the alicorns. "Just you wait."

Spike's awareness soon spread out over the immediate vicinity. He could feel the entities that were Celestia and Luna, as well as the spell they were using to levitate him and Apple Bloom. He could feel the flames beneath him, angry and a little confused. He could feel a strange cube-shaped object that seemed to pulse at irregular intervals with wild and erratic mana.

Oddly, that mana felt rather familiar. And almost comforting, in a sense.

He homed in on the towering mass that was Infernal Magister. Amazingly, despite his earlier outburst, his mana has barely diminished at all.

Wait... no, rather than having an absurd amount to begin with, it's almost like something was constantly supplying him with mana. Why hadn't I noticed that before?

Something felt very odd here, but he couldn't get an exact read. And he knew the reason why.

I'm going to have to do something really idiotic aren't I?

"I knew it!"

"Huh?" Apple Bloom's exclamation brought Spike back to his normal senses. She was pointing an accusing hoof at him while the two Princesses looked on worriedly. Even Magister was watching them curiously, though his previous anger was still apparent.

Spike briefly wondered if his friend somehow gained the power to read minds, since her timing with his conclusion was far too coincidental. The fact that he was simply obvious never occurred to him.

"You have that expression on again!"

"Because I have an idea?"

"A dumb and dangerous one!"

"... I really can't deny the 'dangerous' part and even I need to admit that it's stupid on so many levels, but was adding those really necessary?"

Apple Bloom chose to answer despite the obvious rhetorical question. "Yeah. It was."

Spike ignored her and turned to his mother. "About my idea... I need you to drop me. Right now."

"... I'm sorry Spike, but do you mind repeating that? I do not think I heard you right."

"Release the psychokinesis spell."

Celestia's eye twitched. "... Excuse me?"

He sighed. This isn't going to get me anywhere soon. Plan B it is then.

"So when did you want to meet my marefriend? Our wedding's coming up soon and she's really nice and all, but she's a bit too shy to introduce herself to you. That's why I told her that I'd bring you back myself. Besides, I was worried about her making the trip here, you know, with the foal due in a few months."

Silence.

Apple Bloom and Celestia stared at him with their eyes wide and mouths gaping open, too stunned to speak. Luna was snickering into her hoof, but neither of the two noticed. Spike, on the other hoof, already had his eyes closed and mentally counted down.

In five, four, three...

"WHAT?!"

Huh, bold-faced, italicized, and underlined. I can't see it, but I can definitely hear it.

The entire room shook violently from the outburst, which made Infernal Magister's roars seem like gentle purring. Said dragon was nearly blown back himself. Any remaining glass was shattered and for a moment it seemed like the ceiling would collapse on them.

Spike felt the magic keeping him up fizzle out.

He's learned many, many things from being around Twilight for so long. Consequential rudimentary spell cancellation just so happened to be one of them.

The concept is amazingly simple. In order to disrupt a continuous spell, all that's needed is something to create a break in the caster's concentration. However, it's much more difficult to perform in practice. Some ponies have trained themselves to maintain active movement during spell casting or disciplined their bodies to withstand whatever might be thrown their way. And nopony in their right mind would dare to challenge a unicorn, let alone an alicorn, to a mind game.

Although, a certain somedragon did specialize in mental attacks.

Dense as he was, he wasn't entirely naive about those types of things (he did live in a library with tons of reference books; some even possessed rather detailed illustrations). And even he wasn't idiotic enough to not notice that his mother can be more than a tad overprotective of him. While he did feel slightly guilty for taking advantage of that, he was only half-lying anyway.

No time to linger on that thought as Spike fell. He only had a few seconds before he would be plunged into the fires below, but he wasn't worried. And it wasn't like he could afford to waste any time.

"Open up your senses..."

It's right there...! Well, that is disappointingly obvious, but that just makes it easier for me.

He was less than a second away from being fatally burned, when an opaque, pale blue platform materialized beneath his claws. There was a faint prickling in the back of his mind, but he just brushed it off as due to his near encounter with being incinerated.

"Thank you, Aunt Luna."

"Thou art most welcome."

Princess Luna had apparently placed a (comically) shocked Apple Bloom on a twitching and equally bewildered Celestia - who, fortunately, still maintained her flight. After making sure that neither of them would fall any time soon, Luna had created a disk from her magic for Spike to stand on.

"We assume that thy has found a way to finish this?"

"Aye."

"Then thou hast our full support."

"Gramercy," replied Spike. "If thou would be so kind as to direct us-err, I mean... Would you mind maneuvering this scaffold and get me close?"

"We dost not mind. Whither to?"

"His weak point: his front horn."

"Are thou certain?"

"Yeah. It's as plain as the horn on his snout."

"..."

Somewhere, somepony was playing a trombone.

"Note to self: don't quit day jobs."

"We must concur with thee."

"Fine. Let's go!"

The glow around Luna's horn pulsed once before Spike zoomed forward. Infernal Magister opened his mouth to reveal a steadily growing, pulsating orange orb. In response, Spike sank his claws into the platform and braced himself.

Fully charged, Magister unleashed an incandescent beam of what could've passed as concentrated magma directly at Spike.

His stomach lurched as he felt himself spiral around the ray of molten material. He was not touching it, but he was close enough to feel the radiated heat. It was so hot that his enflamed claws felt cool in comparison. Had he any sort of fur at all, there was no doubt that it would've been singed off.

Luna skillfully navigated him past the laser-like attack and had managed to close enough distance so that Spike was within range. Unfortunately, it just wasn't his range.

He gulped. "Is it just me, or has Magister, as well as the entire room, suddenly gotten bigger?"

There was no answer, not that he expected one in the first place. But he did not remember the initial distance to be that far, or the ceiling that high, or that Magister towering that much over him (especially now that he was sort-of flying).

Spike? Dost thy hear us?

"Princess Luna? How are you speaking into my head?"

It does not matter right now. We needed to inform thee that we do not have enough power to maintain this spell for much longer. The long battle before thy arrival has greatly sapped both sister's and our strength.

"Truth be told, I'm already reaching my limit too. My claws are going to burn up completely in a minute or two and the pain combined with my previous injuries is unbearable."

There is still a little more to go. Focus all of thine remaining might on this next, and last, attack. We will ensure that thou will reach.

"I know you will. You have my complete trust in you."

Many thanks for thine words, Spike. We will do our best to not disappoint. Now, prepare thyself!

Spike took a deep breath. He reached deep within him, calling on his inner fire. Just because he couldn't use it doesn't mean that it was gone. The connection was muddled and something was preventing him from summoning the flames themselves, but it wasn't the blaze that he needed.

Burn.

He channeled its nature throughout his body, feeling warm waves wash over him. Even though it had not been that long, it felt like he had reconnected with an old friend.

Burn...

His temperature spiked. He was dimly aware of himself moving and something big rushing past, but he paid it no heed.

Burn...!

Fire burns. Fire consumes all. Fire does not discriminate. Fire reduces everything to ashes. Fire leaves nothing in its wake.

Burn!

Yet, despite its destructive nature, fire is also life. It is the warmth that courses through our bodies. It is the force that drives us to go beyond our limit. It exists in many forms, coexisting with us and keeping the world alive.

BURN!

Spike poured every ounce of mana into... something. He couldn't tell what it was, only that it felt pleasantly warm and at the same time searing hot. His body screamed at him to stop, to cease this immediately, but his instinct propelled him to continue.

BURN!

He didn't think. He only felt.

And he felt fire.

Spike's eyes opened.

He was right in front of Infernal Magister, but something was different: Magister seemed almost... afraid?

The platform started vanishing.

Time seemed to slow.

Spike jumped forward with all his might. He brought his claws in front of him in an X-shape (curiously, the fires were now a deep emerald rather than the standard orange).

"This ends now!"

He slashed with both claws, shearing through the horn and landing atop the ridge just above Magister's eyes.

"No hard feelings."

The horn snapped off. Violet flames engulfed the severed spike in midair, reducing it to ashes before it could so much as reach the ground.

Infernal Magister gave one last, fading roar before toppling forward. It took Spike all he had to hang on as the dragon fell into the sea of flames. Fortunately for the both of them, the fires finally faded, leaving behind a charred and scorched mess of what once was a formerly majestic throne room.

Spike jumped off the unconscious dragon with shaky legs. The sound of wingbeats alerted him to the arrival of Luna and Celestia, the latter looking extremely dismayed while carrying a still frozen Apple Bloom on her back.

He quickly turned to them with urgency, startling the sisters.

"Is there a doctor in the castle?"

Celestia nodded slowly.

"Good. I definitely need one right now."

It was at that point that Spike blacked out.

Author's Notes:

Hello Fimfiction...

Sorry about this being short, but I got sick and somehow caught a case of some serious Writer's Block with it. I already had most of this written anyways, so I adjusted it so that what I originally planned for the rest of this chapter goes into the next. But that might take a bit to write, and I apologize in advance if it takes a couple of weeks.

Here's a basic overview of what to expect in the next chapter.

Next time on the Chronicle of Spike: Rise of a Hero...

Spike finally receives answers? Then why is he still so confused? He learns more about dragon fire and the consequences of ingesting strange gems, as well the the annoyance known as "destiny". But how does he fit into all this? Why is Apple Bloom mad at him this time? Find out next time and more in the next chapter: "In Which A Lot of Explanations Explain Absolutely Nothing"!

Chapter 8 - In Which Explanations Explain Absolutely Nothing

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Let's see...

Can't see or hear anything? Check.

Unable to scratch irritating itch on my nose? Check.

Can think just clearly enough to make a checklist even though I'm still unconscious? Check.

Inevitable desire for large quantities of food? No-wait... I definitely need some food right now. Check.

At least that means that I'm waking up soon. But why is it that every time I'm unconscious, that's the first thing that I think about right before waking up? I'm not even...

Well, I guess I could use a bite to eat now that I think about it. A nice-sized chunk of alexandrite would be pretty nice. It's a pain to get it to be just the right flavor, but when you do...

Spike opened his eyes when he felt something wet against the side of his head.

And I slobbered all over my pillow. Great. At least I didn't try to eat the bed this time.

He groaned. That was not a memory he enjoyed remembering. Even worse, he had overslept and kept Rainbow Dash (who was at the library to "secretly" borrow a new novel) waiting for too long. She barged into his room, took one look at his awkward position, and fell to the ground laughing.

It was a long month before she stopped teasing him about it, and even now he can't go to Quills and Sofas without her asking him how his lunch was.

Come to think of it, where am I now? The last thing I remember... oh. That is not good.

Spike hesitantly raised his claws, automatically relieved when he found out that he could still move them. Both of his forelimbs were completely covered by firmly-wrapped bandages, so he couldn't see the extent of the damage caused by his desperate gamble.

Good news is, now he's only feeling intense pain coursing through his abused limbs rather than unbearable pain.

That's a good thing, right?

Deciding to take his mind off his injuries, Spike scanned his surroundings.

He was currently lying down on a bed surrounded on three sides by white curtains. Behind him was a blank wall. Sounds of soft breathing filled the air, disturbed only by an occasional whimper or moan.

Even without all that, the sterile smell gives it away. The infirmary wing eh? Could have been worse.

"Yo! Spike bro! Heard you were stuck here again! You still alive, buddy?"

... Spoke too soon.

The curtain surrounding him was quickly torn open, revealing a jet black pegasus guard sans the armor. His scruffy mane was even messier (apparently it was possible) now that there was no helmet to cover it, but it could not hide the smirk present on his face.

"I’m too stubborn to kick the bucket that easily Jett," Spike rasped, who was mildly surprised at the roughness of his voice. "You of all ponies should know that."

Jett simply laughed and captured Spike in a friendly headlock, much to the latter's discomfort.

"Hey, it's like I always say: 'There's no better way to make friends than by trying to kill each other!'"

"Isn't that why I'm your only friend, even after three years?"

"Not my fault none of these ponies can deal with my awesomeness."

"... I get the feeling that you might get along well with these two ponies I know. No doubt you'll be at each others' throats after a few seconds."

"Sweet!" Jett continued to laugh while giving Spike a noogie. Said dragon could only make a resigned expression.

"Ahem."

The two froze as a certain earth pony approached the bed.

Spike gulped. This isn't going to end well...

Jett, upon seeing his friend's obvious reaction, grinned evilly. He released the petrified dragon and casually made his way to the exit.

"Later little bro! I don't envy your situation in the slightest!"

Traitor!

Spike stared awkwardly at Apple Bloom, who returned it without emotion. An uneasy silence settled, and the dragon racked his brain for a way to escape.

Is it too late to look for a conveniently placed window? Cripes! What the hay did I do?! Wait a minute, did I even do anything this time?

"You drool when you're unconscious."

… What?

Out of all the things Spike expected to hear, that was not one of them.

He was even more surprised when Apple Bloom galloped out of the room.

Spike tried to go after her, but he had to bite back a scream of pain the moment his claws touched the ground. He made a brief mental note to avoid doing that again before hopping on his rear legs and taking off.

It was a little awkward at first since he had gotten so used to quadrupedal movement, but he was still capable of getting around. Besides, he really didn't have much of a choice with the condition his front claws were in.

As he ran, a million thoughts rushed through Spike's mind. At the forefront, however, was:
What's wrong with Apple Bloom?

Despite his obvious denseness (which, contrary to popular opinion, he is somewhat aware of), there was no fooling him when it came to these types of things. She was over at the library so often to the point of spending every other night there, in her own room. Hay, most days, there was a good chance that if one of them was spotted, the other would be nearby. Of course, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo were with them too, but that fact was conveniently ignored by everypony.

Come to think of it, do I have any other friends of my own aside from those three, Twilight, and Jett?

If he wasn't in such a hurry, Spike might have lamented about his lack of a social life.

Apple Bloom was the type of pony that would choose not to mope around and directly confront whatever or whoever made her upset in the first place. Blatantly running away just wasn't her. And he saw the expression she was making.

Now there's absolutely no way I can just leave her alone.

Spike snatched a glass of water, along with a few pastries, from a passing cart.

There was only one place she could be headed.

...

Normally, you'd assume that an earth pony would escape to someplace close to the ground or plentiful in nature when distressed. The keyword in that sentence being "normally".

Ponies from Ponyville tended to be anything but "normal".

Few ponies were aware of this, but the part of the castle deemed "Luna's Tower", where the Princess of the Night raises and lowers the moon, is usually open. Then again, few enough ponies would willingly go near it in the first place - and that's when it's empty. Even so, the tower technically was open to all so long as it wasn't in use. It's a great place if you need to be alone.

"And the view isn't half-bad either, right?"

Apple Bloom nearly fell over the railing in surprise, but quickly regained her composure. Spike was hunched over near the entrance to the balcony, panting heavily.

"Ran all the way up the stairs?"

"Uh-huh." Spike wheezed. "I might need a minute. Losing consciousness is not the same as resting."

Apple Bloom rolled her eyes, turning around. The view from here was excellent, but the view looked pretty bad.

Canterlot had certainly taken quite a beating. Most buildings were either demolished or very close. It seemed like chunks of the mountain had somehow made their way into the town. Large piles of rocks and sticks littered the streets, undoubtedly caused by the joint Twisted Timber/Clunker Golem raid. The land was wrecked, but not beyond repair. Fortunately, many ponies were already up and about and busy with cleaning up the mess.

Hearing Spike approach, Apple Bloom spoke up.

"You've been out for only half the day. After Magister was taken care of, one of the first things the Princesses did, after I hauled your scaly butt to the infirmary, was to fix the sky. Accordin' to the them, there weren't any fatalities, though there are tons of injured ponies. About half of the city guard's are gonna be outta commission, and most of the ones in the castle too. But it really could have been worse."

"That's good."

"Yeah..."

Silence settled. Spike took a deep breath, mentally preparing himself. He really wasn't good with these kinds of things.

"AB? You want to tell me what's on your mind?"

Apple Bloom sighed. "I ain't too sure myself. I know I ain't exactly mad, but you could say that I'm feeling mighty frustrated."

"Because...?"

"...yesterday." Apple Bloom muttered.

"A bit louder please."

"I said that I'm annoyed with how completely useless I was yesterday!"

"What are you... oh..." Spike's eyes widened with realization. That might not have been the wisest thing to do.

"See!" Apple Bloom pointed her hoof at him. "Even you think that I'm just a worthless tag along!"

"Eh, 'worthless' might be taking it too far, but I really can't deny that you haven't been exactly helpful recently."

"Exactly! All I did was mess up that Express thingy and got us thrown into the lake-"

"Believe me, I've had worse landings."

"- nearly gotten us killed -"

"Not the first time. Kinda weird how I'm used to that."

"- then I probably just got in your way while sneakin' around the castle -"

"It didn't really matter in the end though," Spike shrugged. Apple Bloom shot him a glare that clearly told him to stop interrupting. He shut up.

"Worst of all, I didn't do anything in that fight against Magister! All I did was buck him once between the eyes, and all that was good for was for nearly shatterin' my ankles! Even Magister himself completely ignored me!"

"You make that sound like a bad thing."

Apple Bloom sighed. "It's not that simple Spike. You wouldn't understand."

At this, Spike's expression visibly dropped. "Actually... I do."

"What do you mean?"

Spike looked around until he was convinced that they were alone.

"AB, what I'm about to tell you... you need to promise me that you won't tell anypony else, all right?"

"Okay...? Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye." After going through the required motions, Apple Bloom waited for Spike to continue.

"First of all, you of all ponies should know what it's like to be living in shadow of somepony you care for." She winced. "Exactly. Underneath that envy and irritation from being compared to them or feeling inferior, there's also the intense frustration from knowing that there's nothing you can really do for them. I was Twi's assistant for eight whole years and all I was ever good for was the housework that anypony could've done.

"She was always smarter than I was, so when she was studying all I could do was get out of her way and clean up after. In fact, she homeschooled me time right up to the point where she became a princess and had to leave. Whenever she had problems, I listened, but there was very little I could do that wouldn't just cause more trouble. It wasn't that bad back when we were in Canterlot though, but I still felt like that I was taking way more from her than I could give back.

"Moving to Ponyville was both a great and depressing experience. Great, because of all the awesome things I was exposed to and all the new ponies that were leagues better company than those stiffs back at Canterlot. Depressing, because I've never felt so worthless in my entire life.

"While I am still admittedly resentful for how Twi began to ignore me and start piling on the chores, I grit my fangs and beared with it because I didn't want to become any more of a burden than I already was." Spike gave a long and weary sigh. "Besides, the past is the past anyways. No point in wasting time nor energy with being angry for stuff like that. And it doesn't even come close to what I hated the most.”

"The number one thing that I resented the most was how useless I was during Twilight's adventures. During the whole Nightmare Moon crisis, I couldn't do anything other than cower in fear. That incident with Discord before he was sort-of reformed, I was as helpful as ice cream during winter. My birthday was a disaster for everypony. Canterlot Wedding fiasco... I should have believed her instead of doubting her the way I did. Never have I ever regretted anything so much.”

"Sure, there was that time with the Crystal Heart, but I wasn't under any illusion. I was aware that I was nothing more than just the occasional comic relief. A fool." Spike took a shaky breath. He hated this next part.

"'All I am and ever would be is a parasite. Disappear, fade from existence. Nopony would care. In fact, it'll make everypony's lives better.’

“That's what I thought on most days, before and after moving to Ponyville. Sometimes I even believed it. After all, I'm very easily ignored anyways. Me just up and vanishing wouldn't make much of a difference. I lost count of the number of times where I was sorely tempted to follow through on that.”

"What stopped me?" Spike ruefully smiled. "Selfishness, I suppose. Didn't want to, because why should I? Like I just said, no point in mulling over these types of things.”

"After a while, I realized that I was insane. I expected something different to happen from doing the same thing over and over again. I was tired of putting up an act where everything was as great for me as it was for her. So even though it hurt, I chose to change; to leave her side so that I can get a different result. That's why I separated from Twilight. My decision might have seemed sudden to you guys, but it was something that I had been dwelling on for a long time; way before Twilight was promoted to princess. Her coronation just so happened to give me the last push I needed.”

"I refused to weigh her down any longer. She now had wings, and I wasn't going to be the one who would cause them to burn up," Spike finished. His melancholy mood had brought a noticable chill to the air, despite the sun shining brightly above them.

Apple Bloom was stunned, to say the least. She always suspected Spike had been troubled by something, but she never would have guessed that it haunted him for that long and to that extent. He never was the same, and now she knew why.

Spike sheepishly scratched the back of his head, breaking the somber atmosphere. "Sorry about that AB. I originally meant to tell you that there are times where you'll need to rely on others since you can't do anything yourself - a lesson I'm all-too familiar with. And during those times, the way you can help isn't what you would expect; you just need to learn to look. I didn't mean to start monologuing about my problems."

"No," Apple Bloom quickly shook her head. "It's good that you're lettin' the bad thoughts out. Big sis always tells me that lettin' that fester will only cause trouble. And you know that you can tell me anythin', right?"

The dragon chuckled. "Since when did this turn to you cheering me up? Wasn't it supposed to be the other way around?"

Apple Bloom smiled. "Hey, the Princesses are waitin' for you. I was supposed to bring you to them when you woke up, but I guess we sorta got sidetracked, huh?"

"Don't worry about that. Moth-err, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna are pretty understanding. I'm sure they won't mind, but we should probably be going regardless."

"Fine," Apple Bloom half-trotted, half-limped to the door before stopping. "Hey, Spike?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks for bein' honest. After a while, a mare just gets tired of the pity other ponies pass off as comfort."

"Let's just say that you aren't the only one sick of it. Before we go though-"

"And afore you ask, my ankles ain't too messed up. The Princesses' magic fixed most of it, and the rest will heal in time."

"Good, but I still feel kinda bad about getting you dragged into this mess." The two began the long climb down.

"Then make it up to me by explainin' some things on the way. Like who that 'Jett' pony is and why you two tried to kill each other."

"Funny story about that, actually. His full name is Jetstream, but he prefers Jett. Long story short, he used to be a thief and I caught him sneaking around the castle around three years back while I was, well, sneaking around the castle. We ended up fighting, but had to call a sort of truce before we were caught. He really didn't seem like that bad of a pony, so I pulled some strings and helped him land a job here. And now we're pals. That's pretty much it right there."

How would he have...? "Okay then... what about those guards that seemed to hate you?"

"That's simple: they do hate me and it’s mostly because I'm a dragon, but I'm used to the prejudice. I grew up around here, after all. Canterlot ponies aren’t exactly the most tolerant of other species. And the one that insulted you was one of Twi's old bullies who had gotten too arrogant after Shining Armor left for training. He probably still holds a grudge after I burned off most of his fur. I still don't get why he's mad; it did grow back after a couple of years."

Apple Bloom made a mental note to inquire more about that prejudice issue at a later date. There was only so much painful reminiscing she could take in one afternoon. Trying to act casual, she asked her next question.

"What about that 'marefriend' thing then? Is it really true?"

"Oh, that," Spike chuckled awkwardly. "It's only half-true. The wedding and the pregnancy thing were completely made up. Besides, it's a fake 'relationship' anyways brought about by obsessive fancolts. But she really is one of the kindest ponies I know."

"Are you sure about that?"

"I would imagine, since it is Fluttershy we're talking about."

"Now you gotta tell me how that happened, in detail!"

"Well, you remember that poll I mentioned before? It goes like this..."

...

"... the restraining orders were rendered ineffective once they brought their secret weapon: lawyers. Angel valiantly repelled the obsessed fans with his deadly carrot sword, but even he had to retreat when they busted out the vegetable peelers and started boiling water. If it hadn't for Pinkie Pie's timely arrival with distractingly tasty baked goods, it is very well possible that we would've lost the war right then and there.

"Unfortunately, while we had forced them to retreat for the night, by that time moral was at an all time low, we were vastly outnumbered from the start, and it was as if their numbers were inexhaustible. Even worse, the defeated would not stay defeated. From a glance, I could tell that my comrades were thinking the same thing I was: tomorrow's battle would be the one to decide everything..."

Spike had a distant look in his eyes, while Apple Bloom rolled hers. It wasn't that she didn't believe him, but the way he was telling it really made her irritated that she missed the whole thing. They were unaware of the crowd of ponies that had gathered and was following them, listening eagerly to Spike's tale.

"I tell you AB; I've seen things nopony and nodragon should ever see. If they did that to pictures, I do not want to know what they would do to the real thing." The young dragon shuddered before continuing. "It is truly fortunate that the lady had already retreated to the inner sanctums of our stronghold so that she would be spared from witnessing such vulgarity."

"Mind repeatin' that last part without all the fancy jibber-jabber?"

"It was a good thing that Fluttershy had locked herself in her room so she didn't have to see their public acts of grossness."

"... suddenly I ain't so mad 'bout bein' left out."

"Can't blame you. Angel and I are metally scarred for life. Brothers bound by trauma, that we are. It took all that we had to suppress the memories and images as the sun rose on the final confrontation... ah, we're almost there." Spike noted as the lobby came into sight. "No time to tell the full conclusion. Guess I'll have to skip to the end then."

There was a collective groan from behind them, to which the two responded by whipping around to see a multitude of ponies "casually" going about their jobs in a very crowded hallway.
Spike and Apple Bloom looked at each other and shrugged before resuming their conversation as they walked.

"The night before, we sent one of Fluttershy's bird friends with a request for aid. In the midst of the battle, she returned with a message from Rarity that told of a plan of deception. An all-or-nothing gamble, since it could either bring us victory or crushing defeat. It was quickly passed to Fluttershy, and upon seeing our desperation, she agreed after hearing that our reinforcements might not arrive in time. So, since I was the only viable option at the time, she announced to the enemy forces that we were in a 'relationship' and that she had no intentions to end it anytime soon.

"Our enemies were instantly disheartened and trudged back to whence they came with a forlorn air about them. The animals and I cheered, relieved that we had managed to hold out. Some of our foes were stubborn though, and we were had to maintain the facade for fear of what would happen if they found out. If Discord hadn't returned from his vacation and dropped by for a visit before giving us a sort-of reprieve after a lot of begging from me and one stern look fron Fluttershy, I have no doubt that the two of us might've been forced to plan a fake wedding cermony by now." Spike finally finished.

"So let me get this straight: you were helpin' Fluttershy carry her groceries home under the promise of freshly-baked cookies, when a direct assault by fancolts made you and Angel Bunny team up with a buncha Fluttershy's animal friends to fight them off several times over the course of two days until Rarity told you to fake-date each other?"

"More-or-less, but Rarity's plan was to make up a fake coltfriend for Fluttershy. She panicked and said that it was me instead."

"All this happened to you just 'cause you wanted some cookies?"

"Fluttershy's cookies are the best."

"Ain't gonna deny that. Just don't tell Pinkie Pie."

"Agreed."

The two shared a laugh while the crowd dispersed, most likely to actually do their jobs. Spike stopped once he noticed the hastily-made replacement door (which was actually just a curtain somepony hung above the doorframe).

"Why are we back at the throne room? Wasn't this place trashed?"

"You'll see when we go in."

Spike wanted to ask more, but it really wouldn't be fair since he does the same thing. Very often too, in fact. Half-resigned, half-curious, he carefully gripped the curtain and slid it to the side.

He found himself snout to barrel with a very familiar cannon. The deluxe jumbo version, too.

More out of trained reflex than instinct, Spike and Apple Bloom dove for cover just as what can only be described as a ball of pure party essence blasted out of the cannon and exploded in the middle of the lobby with a huge BANG! coupled with a blinding flash and what sounded like a hundred party horns going off at once.

Once the commotion died down, they uncovered their eyes and were only mildly surprised.

Confetti and balloons rained down from the rafters, though their origin is unknown. Streamers and various other decorations hung from the walls. A DJ booth had been set up in one of the corners, complete with the largest set of amps that either of them had ever seen. Strobe lights were blasting everywhere. Anypony caught in the blast now found themselves confused with party hats and either highly luminescent glow sticks or overly huge noisemakers that seemingly materialized out of thin air. A huge sign that read "YAY!!! Congratulations On Beating The Nasty Big Bad Boss Dragon Apple Bloom And Spike Who Is A Much Nicer Dragon Than The One Just Beaten And Now You're About To Go Off On A Really Really Really Long Quest That's Probably Really Really Really Hard But You've Got Friends To Support You So Never Mind That Depressing Stuff And Let's Party!!" was draped over the front wall, covering the massive hole that nopony seems to have fixed yet.

"That's a really, really, really big banner," Apple Bloom and Spike said in unison. They exchanged glances. This could only mean one thing...

"Rock, paper, scissors, shoot!"

"Darn it!" The purple dragon growled before sighing.

No matter how many times either of one experienced this, neither of them would ever truly get used to it.

The instant Spike stood in front of the doorway (this time at a distance), the cannon went off again. Only, instead of a party-in-a-ball, a pink blur came speeding out.

Spike braced for impact and dug his claws into the ground. He grunted as he felt the blur ram into his gut, though it didn't hurt as much as it should've. That didn't stop him from skidding back a few feet. Gritting his teeth, he wrapped his bandaged arms/forelimbs around the pink projectile and centered himself to regain his balance before coming to a halt.

If the Pinkie Pie Catch were an official sport, Spike and Apple Bloom would be the reigning champions due to their experience alone.

"Heya Spikey!" Pinkie Pie shouted, wrapping her hooves around the exhausted dragon and pulling him into one of her familiar bone-crushing hugs. Even with his scales, Spike had to gasp for breath before she eventually loosened her iron hold. "It's been a long, long, long time since I saw either you and Apple Bloom. Is there something you wanna tell your old pal Pinkie about? Is there? Is there?"

The pink party pony was pressing the side of her face hard against Spike's cheek, making the young dragon gulp. It wasn't so much that Pinkie herself was uncomfortable to hold - as she was rather soft and always smelled like sweets - but he is technically the equivalent of a pony in the latter stages of puberty, and having a sweet-smelling and admittedly pretty mare (who was also only a couple of years older than him) in his personal space really doesn't help in the slightest. Granted, he was slightly comforted by the fact that it was just Pinkie Pie being friendly, but he couldn't help but notice that she had been hugging him way more often lately...

Banishing such thoughts from his mind, Spike was about to respond with a denial - as was Apple Bloom from the looks of it - when Pinkie suddenly pulled back. Unseen to both mares, the dragon breathed a silent sigh of relief.

"Just kidding! The Princesses already filled me in on everything!" Pinkie Pie grinned, before pouting. "But Spike... you need to remember that you have friends! Gasp! Or, do you not think that we're friends?!"

"We're definitely friends Pinkie Pie," Spike chuckled. "I haven't met a single soul that you couldn't befriend. Even if I was a sour old goat like Cranky, you'd still find a way." Spike paused. "You actually did find a way, so I guess that speaks for itself."

"Great!" The mare unlatched herself from the dragon and started bouncing around. "I wanna stay here and talk more, but the ponies of the town are in dire need of a party to cheer them up! And there ain't no party like a Pinkie Pie party because a Pinkie Pie party is so very hearty!"

"I thought it was- never mind."

"Bye Spikey! Remember to keep your promises, okie dokie?" Pinkie Pie yelled before hopping on top of her cannon. "Hi-Yo Super Incredible Lasting Very Extraordinary Really Pinkie Pie Party Cannon, away!"

The wheels on the side began spinning fast enough to produce smoke from the friction, and the barrel reared up and neighed before speeding away. The ponies near the banner scrambled to lift it up just as the lone Pinkie and her trusty steed rushed past.

A certain dragon and teenage mare watched casually from afar.

"Nice weather today, right?"

"Uh-huh."

"That was new."

"Indeed. I was expecting her to jump in and vanish again."

"She might've needed it or somethin'."

"Oh yeah. An instant party in a single blast. I can see how convenient that must be for her."

"You forgot to mention: for today's partiers on the go.”

Other ponies looked at the two who looked so nonchalant about the strange sight as if they were mental. They weren't, and had simply abandoned any attempt to logically comprehend the actions of a certain party pony.

If they hadn't, they really would have gone mental by now.

But even Pinkie Pie's bewildering antics did not make Spike completely immune to odd sights, such as the one in the throne room.

A table was somehow set up in the middle of the wrecked chamber. Sitting around it in order from left to right and forming the most bizarre tea party was a violently trembling Fluttershy, who was spilling half her tea due to her shaking, followed by an indifferent Princess Luna toiling away at what was definitely a hoofheld gaming system. After her was a very tense, subtly twitching Princess Celestia who was sporting the most forced smile in history as she robotically poured tea from a fancy teapot with her magic. And at the far right was an old orange dragon, drinking tea from the largest teacup Spike and Apple Bloom had ever seen while apparently engrossed in a book that was several times too small for his size.

With all that presented in front of him, a confused purple dragon could only wonder one thing:

How much tea is in that pot? There's no way it can hold that much from the physical dimensions alone...

Make that two things.

The dragon's scales were edged with gray, but only just. His wing membranes were frayed, though most likely still capable of flight. He had a wave-like crest atop his head, along with a series of reddish-orange spines running down the length of his back. Frills were prominently displayed along the base of his jaw, giving the slight pretense of a beard. Curiously, there was a large diagonal scar on his chest just between his forelegs; recent by the looks of it. Also, he looked strikingly familiar, but Spike just could not quite place his claw where he had seen him before..

Spike shut his eyes and briefly concentrated on his mana. The capacity fell just short of one of the alicorn sisters, but the power level was roughly the same as the capacity. However, what stood out to Spike was the reading he got from his mana. It felt... scholarly, in a way, yet warm at the same time; and that gave him a good feeling about this dragon.

Before Spike could gleam anymore info from his scan, Apple Bloom nudged him as their presence was noticed.

"Ah, Spike! So glad you could join us!" Celestia called out, hints of sincerity starting to appear in her expression. The rest of the table had varying reactions. Luna paused her game long enough to send a smile at the two before immediately returning to her furious button mashing and frantic screen swiping with her magic-controlled stylus. The dragon set aside his book and gave both of them an apologetic look, though what exactly he was apologizing for is unknown. Fluttershy was noticeably relieved by their arrival and even started to settle down very slightly.

"Good afternoon, m-Princess Celestia. Au-Princess Luna. Pri-err, Fluttershy. Strange dragon I don't know." Spike nodded to each in turn.

"Howdy!" Apple Bloom waved.

"U-um, I-I'll g-g-go an-and ge-g-get s-s-some m-more t-t-t-tea," Fluttershy quietly stammered.

Odd, it's been a while since she went full-on Stuttershy. The only reason why she might revert back to that is if she's extremely nervous or afraid. Mother seems to be fine, if not acting rather odd, and Aunt Luna isn't breaking out in “ye olde speaking” again, so what could it be? It might just be the fully grown dragon in the room, but he seems alright I guess.

If Spike had eyebrows, they'd undoubtedly be furrowed from concentrating right now.

Other than that, the only other thing I can think of off the top of my head is that she's intimidated by the Celestial Sisters' presence. But... that doesn't really make that much sense. She's already met mother and Aunt Luna several times, and neither of them are particular on the formalities nowadays. Why would...?

Fluttershy made a move for the teapot, only to be restrained by a golden aura binding her to her chair. She let out a terrified squeak as Celestia slowly and deliberately faced her with her obviously strained expression.

"Why my dear Fluttershy, you needn't worry about that at all!" Celestia replied with false enthusiasm. "There is still plenty of tea left, and we have much to discuss after all."

Spike and Fluttershy shared a look. That was never a good sign.

Celestia continued. "A certain bird took it upon himself to enlighten me with the identity of my soon to be daughter-in-law carrying my grandfoal shortly before you two arrived. I believe my assistance was wanted in the naming? I am more than happy to oblige of course, but..."

She shot Spike a look that made him gulp.

"I need to have an overdue conversation with my son first."

Upset mother, who is also the princess of the country and renowned for her magical prowess, who's livid at what she presumes to be two irresponsible youths that apparently went behind her back and, ignoring common sense, engaged in acts of copulation?

... yup, that would probably do it. Though Fluttershy and I know that no such thing was done, she thinks it was done, which means in her mind we really did do it even if we didn't, but she doesn't know that we didn't do the thing that she thought we did, so to her it's the same as if we actually did do that which she thinks she knows we did but actually didn't!

Hold on, what in Equestria did I just think?

On the bright side, most of that rage isn't directed at Fluttershy. Downside, I am in some deep fecal matter right now.

By this point, Celestia dropped her facade and fixed Spike with a stern expression that made him freeze up in fear.

Apple Bloom and the orange dragon were hopelessly confused; both due to lacking information in the matter, although the former was starting to piece it together already on her own.

Fluttershy had gone crimson from the Princess's assumptions and was hiding behind her mane while trying to sink into her chair.

Meanwhile, Spike was rapidly connecting the dots in his head. Who- wait, a 'certain bird'? JETT!!!

Luna's eye twitched slightly as her mind was flooded with the amount of curses Spike was mentally swearing. She had yet to remove the telepathic link she had established between them, though the young dragon was too occupied to notice that he had an unintentional audience.

Oh my... I was not aware that Spike had developed such an extensive and colorful vocabulary. I suppose it comes from living in a library. Very impressive, but just how many languages does he know? I doubt sister would be happy if her son was fluent only with ahem, "certain" words.

The Mare of the Moon briefly wondered if her sister would mind if she fell over laughing from some particularly creative word usage, but she doubted she would even notice from the way she was staring down the "couple".

She shrugged. Laughing at her nephew's misfortune could wait. There were more pressing matters at hoof anyways.

Eat L*ght Arrows, Yuga-Gan*n! Once I defeat you, H*rule and L*rule will finally be free from your evil painting skills!

...

Once Celestia was convinced that Fluttershy was not pregnant and told of the circumstances leading up to their "relationship" - albeit in a faster, less entertaining way - the pegasus was finally allowed to politely excuse herself from the table to help out at the Infirmary.

And not a second too soon, Spike observed wryly, if the way she bolted out the door at a speed that would make Rainbow Dash jealous is anything to go by. Though, I will admit that I am mildly worried about the idiots that are undoubtedly going to injure themselves on purpose just to see her...

… hmm, I wonder if she would mind taking care of a particularly troublesome pegasus guard if he has a little "accident"?

"Spike, please refrain from plotting ways to viciously injure your friend in a way that cannot be traced back to you until after this meeting."

"Yes, Aunt Luna."

Luna put down her game as she pushed up a pair of glasses that she had pulled out of nowhere, causing light to reflect off of the lenses in a way that shielded her eyes from view.

"I will even help you."

A quick glance revealed that Spike was now wearing glasses as well, and they too were creating quite a glare.

"Excellent."

The slightly evil chuckling and the visible mischievous aura coming from both of them caused the other occupants of the table to nervously look on at the pair.

"Should I be worried about that?"

"Dear Apple Bloom, when it comes to those two, even I cannot be entirely sure."

"Excuse me," the orange dragon politely interrupted. He craned his neck so that he did not have to speak too loudly. "I sense something... strange about that dragonling's mana signature. I first noticed it when he arrived, and now that I have had some time to analyze it, I am more that certain that he is a walking anomaly. If it would not be too brash of me to ask, had he somehow been exposed to an intense surge of magic or ingested something that he should not have; like say, any unusual gems?"

"Yes/Yep," both mares replied in unison.

"Which one?"

"Magic," was Princess Celestia's reply.

"Both," was Apple Bloom's. At the Princess's inquiring look, she added, "Some weird gems helped him before, so we thought that this one would heal his injuries from when he jumped into a golem furnace."

Ignoring Celestia's stricken look, the orange dragon nodded thoughtfully. "By any chance, would that golem happen to be a Synthesizer type, and the 'gem' that he consumed was its core?"

Apple Bloom confirmed that to be the case.

"I must commend your feat of defeating a RAID-class golem without prior experience," the old dragon's features became serious, "however, I need to inform you that this is a most dire matter indeed."

"... huh?"

"The dormant magic’s in the core are now running amok within his system and are most likely highly unstable. Without its container acting as a medium, it seems to have been completely absorbed directly into the young dragon. As it is still at an early stage, it does not seem like Spike is in danger at the moment, but suffice to say that may possibly change at a later date."

Celestia chose that moment to speak up. With her expression hidden behind her mane, she quietly yet clearly asked, "What will happen to Spike?"

"I cannot say for sure, but..." the orange dragon trailed off.

There was a long intake of breath from Celestia before she continued in a soft tone. "For the sake of our longstanding friendship, I shall ask again: What. Is. Going. To. Happen. To! My! Son!"

With each word, her tone changed from calm to outraged; and while she wasn't speaking that much louder than normally, her words were volumes louder.

The orange dragon gulped as the full wrath of the Solar Princess was directed at him. As honestly as he could, he replied, "I do not know what to expect per se, due to the fact that this is the first time in the recorded history that I am aware of that such an event has occurred. Worst case scenario, his body will be unable to handle the storm brewing within him and break down on a molecular level in a probable explosion that could send out a pulse of wild mana that would disable magic for your entire country and possibly even the neighboring countries for an indefinite amount of time."

"And that is the worst-case scenario?" The dragon nodded. "Then what is the best-case scenario?"

"Anything except for what I just said. Dragons are resistant to almost all forms of magic, but not immune. And many golems are relics from past civilizations. Their magic cores are still considered mysteries, so knowing how ingesting a core will affect a dragon is unknown, literally anything could happen."

Celestia exhaled resignedly. "... I see. I apologize for my earlier outburst."

"It is no problem at all. I... understand," he had a faraway look in his eyes, "the instinct of a parent to protect their children." He shook his head. "But would you mind telling me the story of how that happened?"

"That is a discussion for another time, but for all intents and purposes, I am his mother."

"Ehhhh?!"

Celestia turned to a gaping Apple Bloom, who had apparently gotten over her initial shock. She tilted her head in confusion. "You mean that he hasn't told you?"

Apple Bloom nervously pushed her front hooves together. "Well, no. Whenever somepony got on the topic of parents, Spike never really wanted to talk that much. Truth be told, most of us just thought that Twilight was his mom."

"Twilight Sparkle may have been the one to hatch Spike, but you must remember that she was only four at the time. Raising a foal - or dragon hatchling, in this case - is far more different from keeping a pet, and I cannot fathom anypony doing so at such an early age. Their relationship is more that of siblings, though the lines are becoming more and more blurred as time passes..."

"Um, 'cuse me? Princess Celestia? You still there?"

"Oh! Pardon me; I was just thinking out loud. Anyhow, I believe I was saying that I am honestly surprised that he has not told anypony. I still remember when he was still a little hatchling, he would waddle around the castle and talk anypony's ears off about how his mommy was the Princess and that one day he would grow up to be a great princess just like her."

Apple Bloom snickered. "Really?"

"Absolutely! I even have some pictures of him trying on my crown and parading around in a dress made from his bedsheets, among others. Would you like to see some?"

It took all she had to keep from laughing outright, so Apple Bloom just nodded. Celestia's horn flared golden as a purple photo album with a green spine materialized in front of them.

"NOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Before either mare could blink, a purple and green streak whizzed by and snatched the book clean out of the magical aura.

Celestia sighed. "I guess that will have to wait until some other time." Her horn flashed once more as a dark blue album decorated with little stars appeared in front of them. "Would you like to see Lun-"

"NOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

A larger, dark blue blur sped by and wrenched the book from Celestia's magical grasp.

Spike cleared his throat. Apple Bloom jumped. When had he gotten there?

"Princess, would you PLEASE kindly refrain from providing my friend here with blackmail material? I am more than certain that she will be highly amused at my absolute mortification at past memories I would rather not reminisce about with company present."

Celestia frowned. "Spike, I know I have already asked this before, but would it really be so difficult for you to not be so formal with me?"

"It would not be proper."

"But you're not like that with Luna!"

"Do not drag me into this." Said Princess of the Night subtly adjusted her seat.

"... is that smoke?"

"No it is not," Spike replied quickly. "And do forgive me Princess, but I have only been acquainted with Aunt Luna for only some years. I had not grown up with pricks constantly reminding me to always mind my manners around the princess."

"Hmph." Celestia pouted as she crossed her hooves and turned away.

Apple Bloom was aghast, but at the same time incredibly amused. To think, even the widely acclaimed and admired Princess Celestia would behave like this...

In spite of herself, she giggled, reminding a certain princess that there were others present. Trying to save face, she quickly adopted her usual, more regal posture, but Luna's barely contained chuckles in the background did not help.

The orange dragon decided that this might be a good time to intervene.

"I believe that introductions are in order?" He purposely trailed off, giving Celestia a potential lifeline to move things along.

She took it gratefully. "Of course. How rude of me to delay this for so long."

"It is no problem," the old dragon's eyes twinkled impishly. "You had to deal with family matters after all. I find no fault in you for not being able to remember anything else in that situation."

Luna's suppressed laughter turned into full-out guffawing as her sister visibly tensed.

"Spike," Celestia said through gritted teeth. "This is Mishal. He happens to be an old friend of mine."

"That name certainly brings back memories," he mused. "It has literally been ages since I have been called that."

"Oh, since before the conflict with..."

"That is correct. I apologize for not telling you this sooner, but I have thrown away that name. I happen to go by 'Sheridan' now."

"'The seeker', right?" Spike asked with narrowed eyes.

Sheridan nodded. "One of its meanings. Also the one I most prefer."

"So then what is it you seek, Infernal Magister?" Spike said calmly.

Silence.

Then, Sheridan laughed. And laughed. And laughed some more.

Unlike Magister's, this was... warm. Proud, but not arrogant. And it seemed like most of that pride was directed at Spike, almost like how a teacher expresses joy when they find out that their student has learned something particularly difficult.

"What do you know? An intelligent one!" Sheridan continued to laugh. "That is mighty rare in these types of situations!"

He received three confused glances and one expressionless stare in return.

Wiping away a tear, he explained, "I simply was not expecting him to be bright. His kind are generally known for being, well, not."

Apple Bloom blinked. "You mean dragons?" Sheridan shook his head. "Then who are you talkin' about? And why are you here now?"

"I was talking about heroes. As for my reason for being here..."

Sheridan smiled in a way that clearly showed off his fangs.

"I was sent here to kill all of you."

The Chronicle of Spike: Rise of a Hero

by QuillVolt

Prologue: The "First" Entry

Chapter 1 - In Which Spike Really Hates A Certain Scroll

Chapter 2 - In Which It Is Taught To Never Take A Librarian Lightly

Chapter 3 - In Which Patience Is Tested And Rocks Attack

Chapter 4 - In Which Spike Has A Really Bad Idea

Chapter 5 - In Which Express Delivery Is Highly Appreciated

Chapter 6 - In Which Spike Gets Fired And Fired At

Chapter 7 - In Which The Introduction Is Finally Over

Chapter 8 - In Which Explanations Explain Absolutely Nothing