Spike and his friends set off to learn about a dragon of legend and maybe, Spike's heritage.
Though Spike has learned who he is with help of the Great Dragon Migration, he is still left with the question of what he is. Accepting that his personality is different from that of his own kind, but now seeing that there are more physical differences that can not be ignored.
Just as before, Twilight's vast knowledge is unable to help. But, when the purple dragon learns of an old dragon of legend who shares similar differences, he is determined to learn more, With the help of his friends, Spike sets off to follow this dragon's ancient wake, his hopes high to find some scrap of insight into his existence.
But with so many uncertainties, will Spike find the answers he seeks, or will the disappointment of failure crush his resolve forever?
The skies above Equestria shined with the auras of the lands rulers. Caught between the light of day and the darkness of night, the land of ponykind was silent and still as the last vestiges of Luna's moonlit skies were cast away by Celestia's coming dawn.
As it was for the other pony civilizations, the humble town of Ponyville lay still as its residents remained in their beds to hold onto their last few minutes of rest. However, in a home of bark and leaves, the covers of one bed stirred as the sleeping form of a baby dragon awoke.
Spike, assistant to the one and only Ponyville librarian, slowly crawled out of his woven bed. The purple scaled dragon remained as silent as possible with each groggy movement, attempts to not disturb the still resting Twilight Sparkle who lay just a few feet away from his basket.
Soft cracks filled the room as Spike stretched his stiff joints, a muffled yawn escaping his closed mouth. It didn't take long for his drowsiness to finally leave him, allowing the dragon to make his bed and complete his first task of the day. A momentary smile crossed his face as he caught Twilight still in bed, a book opened over her face as she had tried reading in bed, failing at it once again.
It was an odd change for the young assistant, he could remember how not long ago the tables were turned and it was Twilight waking to a steadily rising sun, the sleeping form of a stubborn dragon soon within her sights. Perhaps he was simply growing out of it, though he had his doubts about that. Truthfully, a plagued mind was what kept his laziness at bay.
With small footsteps, Spike moved across the room toward the far wall. There, in its rightful place, a mirror stood tall. The small scratches on the wooden floor below it going unnoticed, Spike stepped before the imposing piece of furniture. It didn't take long for a second dragon to appear within the room, looking back at him with the same emerald green eyes.
Just as he did every morning, Spike examined himself in the mirror, his indifferent expression going unchanged. Soon, the young dragon began searching over himself for anything out of the ordinary. Though he searched all over his scaled body, his primary focus was on his back, the small claws of his toes lightly digging into the wood under him as he leaned forward on them to twist and turn his body for better views.
There was nothing, no change, no significant alteration of his body that wasn't there the day before. A heavy sigh escaped him as the mirrored dragon looked at him with sadness. The heavy weight of disappointment changed little, even as he heard the rustle of bedsheets behind him.
“Spike...” Twilight murmured, sitting up in her bed looking down at her assistant with drowsy eyes.
“Morning, Twilight,” the dragon replied with another sigh, not bothering to look at his caretaker, instead greeting her reflective self.
“Is something wrong?” the lavender unicorn asked, rubbing her eyes before sliding off her bed. “I know you've been looking at yourself for several days now. And you become so gloomy afterward.”
“Well... I...” Spike began, looking down at the floor uneasily. Though as he thought on it, he realized there was no reason to keep his inner troubles secret from his dear friend. “I've just been wondering what I'm supposed to be, what kind of a creature I am...” His gaze turned back to his reflection, his hand running across the smooth surface as mirror Spike did the same.
“You're a dragon, Spike,” Twilight said comfortingly, showing a soft smile as she moved toward him, “just not like all of the others. I thought you realized that during the Great Dragon Migration.” It had been nearly a month since that fateful day, Spike running off to find himself. The unicorn mare was certain her little assistant was satisfied with what he found out, now it seemed such problems were resurfacing.
“I-I know,” Spike replied, shaking his head in distraught sadness. “I act differently because I was raised by ponies and not dragons but... that doesn't explain how else I'm different.”
“Else?”
“Look at me,” the dragon said, turning to her, the watery outline of tears forming on his eyelids. “Look at what I'm missing! What kind of a dragon doesn't have wings?!”
Twilight was taken aback by the outburst. To be honest, Spike's lack of wings was never something that made itself a concern on her part. Though she knew he didn't have the necessary appendages for flight, ever since he was hatched as a matter of fact, it wasn't something that she saw as a problem. As far as she knew, Spike was a typical baby dragon, excluding a few personality traits.
But she couldn't deny that a problematic idea had crossed her every now and then. To simply assume that the bone and flesh would miraculously appear one day seemed farfetched, even for one magically gifted as herself. It would be smiler to expecting that a pegasus grew wings through their foalhood, a laughable concept seeing as they were born with them.
Twilight was at a loss. Once again, she was beyond helping her little assistant. Just as when Spike wanted to know more of his kind, all the years of sticking her nose in books for their juicy information failed her, having no idea about dragons other than her experiences with the purple one before her now.
“Spike,” the concerned mare said uncertainly, “I know you're upset by this but you need to realize something. Neither of us know about dragons, certainly not how they grow or how their wings might appear. It might simply be an issue of age and m-”
“But I know it's not!” Spike blurted out, his inner turmoil making itself clear.
Perhaps once, Spike's wingless body was ignored by him, being looked at as something he would have to wait to grow into. But as he saw others of his own kind, following their path during the migration, he came to realize just how different he was from them.
Even as he conversed with his own kin, their attitudes and amusements differing so greatly from his own, it was the physical differences he became aware of. Every dragon, regardless of age or size, had wings. Spike even caught sight a young baby dragon, no more than a year away from it's hatching day, wearing a small set of wings as it tried staying off of the ground for a few moments as it's mother watched.
Though the young dragon was able to accept how different his upbringing made him from the rest of his kind, but what cut deep into his being was the physical side of his separation. Now, no matter how many times he tried to look at the mirror, he knew nothing would ever change it. He felt just as lost as before.
“I'm sorry Spike,” Twilight finally said, pausing for some time as the little dragon's temper fizzled. “But even if there is an abnormality with you compared to others, there's nothing we could do for insight. Even if I had shelves upon shelves of books on dragons, I'm certain that a wingless one would be too rare to have any real information on.”
“So other dragons couldn't help me...” Spike said dejectedly, “and neither can books.” Growing up around a scholar like Twilight, the young dragon had learned to look at books as bountiful fonts of knowledge. Now, all he could see were piles of trash stuck together to put useless words inside.
“Please, Spike,” Twilight begged, lowering her head to nuzzle the dragon comfortingly, “if there was any way I could help I would. But you know there's little we can actually do.” After another long pause, Spike wiped away the remainder of his tears and nodded his head silently. “Come on, how about we go make some breakfast? I'm certain getting something to eat will make you feel better.”
It took some time for Twilight to actually make their breakfast. Constantly being reminded why Spike was the one who usually cooked anything, the lavender mare again realized how terrible she was at it. Pancakes were her breakfast of choice, knowing that the stacks of syrupy goodness was just the thing that could put a smile on a downtrodden dragon's face.
As they sat down to enjoy the freshly made confection however, Twilight's high hopes for an immediate flood of joy from her assistant crash landed horribly.
To call what lay before them both pancakes would be a lie by any right. Seemingly random spots on each seemed burned beyond recognition, a traditional circular shape was impossible to spot from the blob-like forms that the batter decided to form into, even the batter itself didn't seem to be cooked all the way through in some areas as the pancakes sagged in such spots. The added butter and syrup seemed to only make things worse as the light brown and yellow mixed it all into a viscous goop.
“Mmm, looks good,” Twilight said, her voice carrying a facade that made her want to slap herself. As though to make a lair out of herself, her fork developed a magenta aura around it as the utensil was lifted into the air. Taking several attempts to find a solid enough piece that wasn't burned, Twilight levitated the now filled fork into her mouth.
Her eyes widening immediately, Twilight felt as though her taste buds had suddenly revolted against her, the small bit of pancake easily being the worst thing she had ever tasted. It was all she could do to not make it show, even as she subtly put the fork down and lifted her glass of milk.
Spike sat still, hardly giving any attention to Twilight's obvious distaste with her own cooking. Fork in hand, he simply dug the utensil about into the gooey mess, picking at it with little interest in anything else. Even Twilight's comical chugging of her milk, quickly draining the glass to wash down the tiny morsel of pancake she had ingested, did nothing to lift his spirits.
“Oh, Spike,” Twilight moaned, hardly able to take how little she could actually help her dear assistant. “I really am trying, but there are just some things you can't-” The young scholar was then interrupted by a loud crash just outside their front door, followed quickly by a groan that seemed to fade away slowly. “Uh... I'll go see what that is.” Her quick departure from the table leaving her unaware of Spike excusing himself as well, taking his plate toward the trash and dumping the condemnable breakfast within.
Outside, Twilight looked high and low for what had just occurred. To her surprise, she noticed that a bush growing beside her library appeared to have been trampled, or at least crushed by something. Another key difference from the usual appearance of the front door was the small pile of white envelops that were laying on the welcome mat.
It didn't take long for the unicorn to deduce what had occurred, having seen the signs before. As though she had seen the future, Twilight looked up into the sky to the west and caught sight of a pegasus with a grey coat disappearing within the layer of clouds above the town.
Twilight smiled and shook her head dismissively at the clumsy mailmare, having grown used to the usually minor destruction that was caused in her wake. Still however, the mare couldn't help but frown at the letters scattered in front of her now, immediately spotting wrong addresses on most of them. With a sigh, she levitated the pile of mail and trotted back into her home.
“Let's see,” Twilight muttered to herself as she looked through the different names. As she suspected, the majority of the letters belonged to other ponies. But her gaze soon turned to one of curiosity as something other then a letter was found amongst the mail.
A small crate, roughly the size of one of her books, was addressed to her specifically. Setting it down on the table within the main room of the library, Twilight's magic was focused on the nails that kept the crate shut. The metallic objects glowed for a moment before removing themselves from the wood they were hammered into, allowing the unicorn to lift the lid off of her package.
Waiting snugly within the now opened crate, a rectangular object was neatly wrapped. Twilight noticed the precaution the wrapping had, used to protect whatever it was that was sent to her. With cautious movements, she levitated the object out of the crate and set it down on the table, slowly removing the wrappings to see what they hid.
As if just now noticing what its shape would mean, Twilight gazed upon an old tome that was now in front of her. It was a simple enough book, small compared to the many others she had seen over the years, yet something told her that it was extremely old. A simply divine mixture of age and care left her wondering just how old the tome might have been. Not even a title was present on its cover, showing just a simple depiction of what looked like a reptilian wing stretched across it.
But Twilight's eyes widened as she fully realized exactly what she had received.
“Spike, Spike!” the unicorn called, levitating the tome as she dashed through the library.
It didn't take her long to locate her assistant, the baby dragon was upstairs, giving small bits of food to the phoenix hatchling Peewee. But the baby phoenix was quick to fly upward as Spike felt the weight of a pony crashing into him, knocking him to the ground as Twilight loomed over him.
“T-Twilight? What's going on?” The unicorn's large smile was quickly beginning to scare him.
“Look, Spike,” Twilight said, excitement brimming in her voice as she lowered the tome down for him to see. “Remember after the Great Dragon Migration we sent a request to Princess Celestia? You know, asking her if there were any books on dragons within the Canterlot archives. Well, this must be her response!” An elated squeal escaped the mare as she sat down and began looking through the first few pages of the old tome. “I should have known she wouldn't have failed. Well, at first I thought her lack of a response meant she didn't find anything. But silly me, I completely forgot about her big trip to the Griffon Empire so of course she would be far too busy to search through a few books. She must have sent this just before she left!”
“Twilight,” Spike said, snapping the mare out of her tangent, “so that book has stuff about dragons in it?”
“Well...” Twilight hesitated, looking over an explanation on the subject matter of the tome for a moment, “it seems to be more about legends rather than actual facts.”
“Legends?” Spike parroted, tilting his head to the side as he tried to remember what the difference was.
“You know, old pony tales that are more just stories and not real things. Really, this tome seems to be written specifically about several dragons of legend, but I doubt any of them ever existed or that the facts about them are at least exaggerated.”
“I don't care,” Spike said determinedly, “if it's about dragons, then I want to see it.” Twilight couldn't help but smile, seeing the dragon's attitude shift for the better so quickly at the proposition of learning a little bit about his kind.
“Okay then,” the lavender mare said with a nod, levitating two cushions for them to rest on. Taking their seats and making themselves comfortable, Spike leaned against Twilight's side as he looked at the aged pages opened before him.
“So it's just about specific dragons then?” Spike asked, looking up expectantly at his companion.
“Yes,” Twilight answered, turning to the beginning of the book where a row of names were written neatly, a page number beside each one. “Let's see, there are a number of names here, now what one sounds more interesting... There's Draco, Palewing, Spiral, Doomaught Razormaw... ugh he sounds unpleasant... Serilex the Flightless, Falc-”
“Wait!” Spike shouted frantically, jumping up and nearly ramming his upper head-spine into Twilight's jaw. “Quick! What was that last dragon's name?!”
Regaining her composure after her near injury, Twilight found her place on the list of names again and re-read the last name. It seemed odd to her as it seemed to come with a title. “Serilex the Fli....” She stopped suddenly, her eyes wide as she stared at those three words.
“Flightless....” Spike breathed, looking just as stunned as Twilight. “C-could that mean he didn't have wings?”
Without giving an answer, the unicorn looked for the page number that this particular dragon was mentioned on. It took only a moment for her to find the specific place, but hearts sank the moment they looked upon it, seeing nothing but a simple paragraph waiting for them.
“'Serilex the flightless,'” Twilight read, “'an ancient dragon who has appeared in multiple tales on the oldest of dragons. Perhaps unique among his kind, his title is one given for his wingless form. Very little is truly known about this dragon, save for his name, title and age. Only a few scholars have ever attempted research of this elder beast, bearing little fruit for the effort, except for one. Refer to The Dragonium, chapter ten, page three fourteen.'”
A long silence fell over them, both Twilight and Spike didn't move or speak for sometime. Peewee soon flew down to land on the dragon's head. After several pecks of his beak, the young assistant stirred and looked back down on the tiny passage that was just read.
“Is... is that it?” he asked, trying to hide his disappointment with hopeful optimism. Twilight's gaze focused back on the same paragraph, her brow furrowing as her eyes formed into a furious glare.
“How can that be it?!” she snapped, turning the next page to make sure there wasn't any missing information. “How could a book give so little information on something so important? I mean, a wingless dragon! That has to be a big thing, right? But to give us nothing but a reference to another book... Why that's just... that's just a tease!”
“So...” Spike muttered in confusion, “does that mean we need to find this... 'Dragonium'?”
“I really don't see how that's possible,” Twilight answered sadly. “This tome seems to be very old, so the one it's referencing must be just as ancient. That will make it that much more difficult to find.”
Spike held his head down in dismay. Just when he thought he might find a quick answer to his plight, everything seemed to become lost once again. But, as the gears in his mind began to turn, his eyes focused on the book still in Twilight's magical grasp. It was then, an obvious conclusion made itself known.
“We can go to Canterlot,” the young dragon said with a rising excitement. When Twilight simply looked at the dragon quizzically, the assistant huffed in agitation before explaining himself. “This book came from the archives right? Well, they must have other books on dragons and what better place for such an important book other than the castle, under the care of the Equestrian royalty.”
“But, Spike,” Twilight said, a frown appearing on her muzzle, “I told you before that Princess Celestia is off on her trip to the Griffon Empire, it will take several days for her to return” Spike was undeterred by her words however, his determination knowing no bounds now.
“What about Princess Luna?” Spike said, immediately finding a solution. “She's supposed to be running the castle while Celestia's away. We can go to her and ask to find this book.”
“Spike,” the unicorn muttered uneasily, not liking the idea of disturbing a probably overburdened princess of the night. “I really don't think-” She paused, seeing Spike's cheeks turn red with frustration as he crossed his arms stubbornly.
'Didn't you say that if there was any way to help find out about myself, that you would do it?”
Twilight's own words now came back to bite her. Despite how she felt about going on a wild chase to research a dragon that probably never existed anyway, the words she had said to Spike about helping were indeed genuine. Now, the determined little dragon was putting her to the test.
“Alright then,” Twilight relented, smiling down on her assistant, “let's go.”
The rhythmic tapping of Spike's foot against the library floor was the only sound to be heard as the young dragon awaited Twilight's return.
“How long does it take to take a pile of mail to the post office?” Spike asked himself, turning to the nearest window in hopes of seeing a glimpse of a lavender coat approaching. The dragon's peaking excitement was quickly turning to impatience.
With his senses sharpened to their limit, the front door of the library barely made a squeak as Twilight came through before Spike was aware she was near. Her voice called out to him as she stepped through the threshold. “Spike I'm-” But the mare didn't get to finish, instead feeling her hooves drag across the ground while a baby dragon pulled on her tail in the direction of the train station.
“Ok ok ok, let's go,” Spike hurriedly said, his eyes locked onto the large locomotive. Twilight stifled a giggle at the dragon's behavior, not having it in her to remind him that the train wasn't due to leave for another thirty minutes.
After purchasing their tickets, finding their seats, and waiting the grueling few minutes of the train making its final preparations, Spike and Twilight were off to Canterlot. The early morning trip brought only a few other ponies, leaving their ride with little disturbance.
As the wheels chugged onward, following the tracks they were set on, Spike gazed out of the window to see the far off sight of pristine white walls and a towering castle. All he could do was stare at the wondrous city, his anticipation high for what information might be hidden within.
Twilight kept her nose in the old tome she had brought with her in her saddlebag, preoccupying herself with her definition of 'light reading'. Despite her wavering confidence into how reliable the information within might be, the tome did offer insight into how dragons were looked at by ponies long ago. Many of the dragons mentioned were written as though she were reading a ghost story.
Though a deafening silence was within the car, baring only the expected sounds a rushing hunk of metal against a metal track would create, Spike found comfort in it. As he looked upon Canterlot with expecting eyes, the memory of the dragon's last visit to the city came to him. Shortly after, the train charged through the first tunnel on its way to the station, throwing them into darkness and making it all the easier for the assistant to reminisce.
Spike merrily walked down the street leading toward his destination. A smile etched on his face as he took one last chomp on the sprinkled treat he had gotten. The young dragon made it a point to stop by Pony Joe's doughnut shop whenever he visited the capital. Though he had grown to love the pastries that Pinkie Pie and the Cakes could make, there was no beating the delectable treats he had grown up with during his time living in Canterlot.
With his self-given treat gone, Spike's mind was freed to look up at where he was headed, the pearly white walls of the castle looming over him. Even though he was entering the house of royalty, the young dragon didn't lose a single step in his stride while passing by the guards who manned their posts diligently.
The echoing of every footfall and the smoothness of the floor beneath him was all Spike could take in while he passed through the massive hallways the castle held. Only the occasional passing guard or castle worker broke the solitude created from his trek, always receiving a warm greeting from whoever he came across. Not a soul stopped the purple dragon as he marched through the castle, Spike knew the way well, having taken the path many times before.
Soon enough, he reached the imposing doors he had set off to find, a pair of guards standing like statues beside it. Only as the dragon approached did their stoic demeanor shift into a warmhearted welcome. Spike merely nodded his acknowledgment to them as he passed them by, opening the ornamental door and shutting it behind him.
The room was just as beautiful as it usually was, draperies hung onto the ceiling and cascaded down, the finest looking decorations clung to the walls and several large windows looked outside to catch the light of the sun as it was in the perfect position for the current time of day. But these minor details were only noted by Spike for a short time, his focus being drawn to the center where a tall, white coated mare sat in her regal beauty, a small table laying in front of her.
Princess Celestia was as patient as ever, her calming mood never changing in the slightest as she smiled softly at the dragon before her.
“Hey, Princess,” Spike said with a beaming smile, formal greetings were never his strong suit.
“Good evening, Spike,” Celestia returned, unaffected by the dragon's choice of words. “I hope there were no problems during your trip from Ponyville.”
“Oh, there weren't any problems... Sorry about being a little late though, I guess I was a bit sidetracked.”
A light laugh left the princess as she stared at the purple dragon. “The sprinkles of your wandering tell all.” Spike then noticed the doughnut topping still clinging to his lip. With an embarrassed smile, the dragon was able to lick them away quickly. Celestia simply nodded her approval of the dragon's quick cleanup and gestured toward the small seat that was across from her own.
Not needing another request, Spike sat down before the princess, his eyes immediately being drawn to the mouth watering spread of gems that lay in front of him. Remembering his manners quickly however stopped him from simply snatching up the first sapphire he spotted to devour. Instead, he sat idle as the decorated teapot that was in the center of their table developed a golden glow and lifted into the air to pour into the two cups that were set for them.
“So,” Celestia said as she poured the tea, “how have things been in Ponyville lately?”
“A little quiet,” Spike replied, nodding a thanks as a filled teacup floated into his grasp. Without needing any other encouragement, the dragon brought the cup to his lips and took in the drink. His tongue and throat burned as the scalding liquid poured down his gullet. “Mmm, this is really good, even hotter than last time too.”
“I'm glad you enjoy it,” Celestia said happily, “it's an old recipe that uses emberpetal seeds to heat it.” To Spike's surprise, he watched as the princess lifted her own cup to take a sip, steam still trailing up from the burning liquid. Since he was a dragon, such a fiery warmth was easy for him. A pony however would surely suffer painful burns from attempting to drink it, but the princess seemed unaffected. Then again, Spike knew how magically powerful she was, learning a long time ago it was a simple enough explanation for most things.
Though his first visit was looked at as odd, Spike was quick to grow accustomed to his meetings with the princess. It was almost like a vacation, leaving for Canterlot on his own with the simple explanation of 'royal business' for the princess. Twilight always seemed to accept it and was none the wiser that the little dragon simply shared tea with her mentor.
As it was for all of his previous visits, there were no interruptions as Spike sat down with Celestia and talked about the weeks that passed since his last visit. The warm tea flowing down their throats making the experience all the more enjoyable as he recounted the tales that occurred almost daily in the humble town. Though Princess Celestia already knew much of the escapades that occurred, the constant reports making sure of that, there was a fresh perspective and detailed touch that Spike added.
Hours passed by with little interrupting them besides the occasional serving pony who brought in a fresh pot of tea. Spike was always surprised with the amount of time that was spent with them simply chatting and enjoying the company of the other, unable to see how a busy ruler would be able to make such time. But make it she did.
“Oh goodness,” the solar princess giggled, trying to stop herself from laughing too hard, Spike having just finished telling her of Twilight's paranoia after a visit from her future self. “That certainly does explain the attire.”
“Yeah, she tossed the suit out after that,” Spike muttered, attempting to not remember the stomach ache he suffered shortly after, “said she never wanted to see it again.”
Having told of nearly everything worth mentioning, Spike looked out the window to see the bright orange coloring of the sky, the sun dropping down over the horizon.
“You know,” Celestia said, matching the dragon's gaze on her fiery sun, “the Great Dragon Migration is coming soon. It's a wondrous event that occurs only once every few decades.”
“Oh I know,” Spike said, his excitement being picked up by a topic he had been enamored with since he learned of it. “Twilight's been planning for it for like a month, she's got the perfect spot figured out to watch it too.”
“I hope it's a safe one,” Celestia responded, eying Spike intently, “those dragons can be very temperamental during such a long trip.”
“Oh yeah,” Spike nodded with enthusiasm. “We dragons are a force to be reckoned with alright.” The sun princess had to stifle a laugh as the small assistant struck his toughest looking pose, looking no more threatening than a young foal.
“It's a good thing you're such good friends with ponies then,” the princess humored, her warm smile never faltering.
Despite the greatness Spike showed however, the purple dragon nearly jumped out of his scales as a powerful blast of thunder exploded just outside the window. The once vast skies were gone, replaced with a blanket of grey clouds that spanned the entirety of the sky. The light tapping of raindrops repeated ceaselessly as the windows were struck with the falling moisture. Again and again, more thundering booms sounded off while yellow flashes accompanied them.
“Oh dear,” Celestia murmured, looking out the window herself to see the storm, “I must have forgotten about the last minute storm the pegasi planned for the area.” Spike continued to stare out to the heavy downpour, seeing his return home becoming a little moist. “Of course, you'll be free to stay here for the night as it runs its course.”
“Stay here?” Spike repeated, a tone of uncertainty in his voice. The young dragon could remember the last time his 'royal business' was prolonged due to a storm. He had returned home the following morning to find out that Rarity, the unicorn of his dreams, had actually stayed the night within his tree home, having a slumber party with Twilight and Applejack. Spike held a chip on his shoulder for days, steaming over such a missed opportunity.
“I can't allow you to venture off in such weather,” Celestia concluded, finalizing her decision with a nod, “you would undoubtedly catch a cold.”
“Okay, I guess you're right,” the dragon said begrudgingly, knowing he stood absolutely zero chance in arguing with the princess.
“Spike, Spike,” Twilight urged, jostling the daydreaming dragon with her hoof.
“Huh... wha?” Spike mumbled, blinking several times before his vision refocused.
“We're here,” the unicorn stated, nodding toward the station where the train was now stopped at.
“Oh,” breathed Spike, hardly able to realize that his simple walk down memory lane would make the long trip go by so quickly. Without another word, the dragon hopped onto the mare's back before they took off out of the train and into the Canterlot streets.
The usual hustle and bustle of Equestria's rich, famous and generally superiority complexed filled the air. Noses pointed upward while short, elegant strides were taken by the ponies dressed in the most formal of attire. To say the scholar and dragon stood out would be an understatement, but the pair had made many ties through their years of citizenship and felt right at home with the familiar sights.
There was no time for sightseeing however, a task was set and both companions were eager to see it through. Twilight's own curiosity was swimming with questions about the ancient dragon they were intent on researching, her studious side showing itself as the thought of learning about such a little known subject was sounding better and better.
The guards attending the castle gates never faltered their stationary positions, even as the lavender unicorn trotted through with the eager dragon on her back. There were however a few curious glances by the castle attendants as they passed by, all wondering what business the faithful student had whilst her mentor was away.
“Do so quickly then,” a voice echoed through the halls of the castle, holding a tone of restrained command. “I would much rather have the possibility taken away so it doesn't happen again.”
It took no time for the two to locate the source of the voice. Walking down the very same hallway they were in, the dark blues of Luna's coat and mane easily stood out against the light colors of the castle décor. Two rather officially dressed stallions stood at her side, following their princess as she gave her orders.
“Ah, Twilight Sparkle,” the nightly princess greeted upon noticing the mare approach, “and young dragon Spike as well. What a pleasant surprise.”
“Greetings, Princess Luna,” Twilight replied. Spike nearly toppled off of the unicorn's back as she bowed down in respect to the princess' presence.
“No need for that,” Luna said, suppressing a light chuckle, “such formalities are an exception for one such as you, Twilight. Pray tell, what brings you to the castle? Surely you know of my sister's departure.”
Twilight nodded her answer to the princess as she developed a more casual stance. “Of course, by the way though, how have things been with running the castle?” Luna developed an uneasy smile as she heard the question, small beads of sweat forming on her brow as a glance was cast between the two ponies next to her.
“Well...” she hesitated, “things have been fine... Only two fires have started since Celestia's leaving, they were put out with excellent speed and precision however. And Celestia may need a new bed in her chambers for... a reason. But other than that, most daily duties have been accomplished without incident.”
“That's good to hear,” Twilight said with her own expression of unease. “Well, Spike and I have actually come to visit the archives. We've learned of a book that might offer us some insight into something, and we are certain that if it's anywhere, it will be here.”
“Ah,” Luna replied with a nod, “well, you don't need to ask me for permission. The archives are always open to you. Now, if you'll excuse me, I still have many tasks to complete before the moon must rise.”
Twilight nodded and stepped aside as the princess continued down the hallway, beginning to speak to one of the stallions as she distanced herself. The librarian and dragon could faintly make out the princess discussing something along the lines of flammable milk, unable to discern the real meaning of the words.
Nothing else stood in their way as Twilight and Spike walked into the castle grounds to find the standalone structure that rose up to nearly the same height as the castle itself. The archives were an immense structure, built to house the many scrolls, books and tomes of pony history and spells. Inside, the pair immediately felt themselves dwarfed by the sheer size of their search, it dawned on them that they had no idea where to start looking for the Dragonium.
“Maybe we can ask a guard?” Spike suggested, his uncertainty dimming quickly by his overpowering resolve.
It didn't take long to find a paroling guard, his armor a brilliant gold to show his daytime shift.
“Oh, hello, Miss Sparkle,” the guard greeted to the mare as she approached him. “What brings you to the archives? Trying to,” he stifled a chuckle, “'stop time' again?”
“No,” Twilight muttered, glaring down at the floor. The lavender mare had forgotten that her nighttime escapades on the grounds that fateful Wednesday night had become a joke amongst the entire guard. “We were actually wondering if you knew what wing would have the books about dragons in it.”
“Dragons, huh?” the guard muttered, scratching his chin in thought. “I remember Princess Celestia coming by only a few days ago and taking a dragon book before... I think it was the Bestiary wing.”
“B-bestiary?” Spike breathed. The young dragon knew what the wing was for, keeping all information that had to do with real or mythical creatures that inhabited Equestria. Anything from the fiercest manticore to the cuddliest squirrel would be within.
“Sorry kid,” the guard added, noticing the dragon's saddened expression, “it's not as though dragons are a civilized lot.”
“Well, thank you,” Twilight said before setting off for the Bestiary wing. With Twilight's knowledge of the layout the archives had, it didn't take long for the duo to find the right wing. An iron gate served as the door. Despite the seemingly impenetrable security, the gate was not locked and allowed them to easily enter.
“Wow,” Spike said, seeing the large room before the gate.
Shelves upon shelves of books lined the walls and floors. A second floor was raised up high to hold the immense quantity of books that the wide subject had. Several areas had racks that held onto aged scrolls. Besides the immense quantity of literature, the room held little else in terms of decoration, save for a few statues of mythical creatures that provided visual representation.
“We should split up,” Twilight said, her eyes traveling across the large room. “We'll have a better chance at finding the section on dragons if we both look.” Spike nodded and slid off her back before climbing the stairs that led to the upper floor.
With her assistant doing his own search, Twilight took slow steps as she passed by the different sections that made up each shelf. One thing that always annoyed her about the archives was the lack of real organization. Most sections were simply placed whenever they were added to the archives long ago, no way to find anything easily without having prior knowledge of the location.
“Hm,” Twilight huffed, reading the section names as they fell under her gaze. “Sea Serpents... no, Phoenixes... no, Merponies... no, Hairless Apes... Celestia forbid.”
Hours passed by slowly while Twilight walked through the maze-like pathway of shelves. Having covered nearly the entire first floor and hearing nothing of Spike, the unicorn was beginning to feel that the guard's advice was wrong.
“Twilight!” Spike's voice called. “Come here!” Not needing any other acknowledgment, Twilight's horn glowed brightly and she was enveloped in a sudden flash. Teleporting to the second floor, the unicorn rushed off through more shelves toward the source of Spike's call. Soon enough, she caught sight of the purple scaled assistant beckoning her over.
“Did you find something?” she asked upon reaching him. With an elated smile, Spike pointed up to a shelf of books, the sign clinging just above it reading 'Dragons'. “Doesn't look like much.” Twilight frowned at the small selection. Only a single row of books were there and leaving much to be desired at first glance. Pushing their appearance out of the way, Twilight enveloped them all in her magical glow and lowered them down to see their titles. Her frown only increased as the books flew passed her gaze, none of them were the one they were looking for.
As the unicorn's frustration slowly built up, Spike looked about the room somewhat aimlessly. It was through his wandering that something caught his eye. Curious, the little dragon walked away and turned the nearby corner. Spike looked up at what he saw, his eyes widening as he was struck with amazement.
“I think I found something,” Spike said, his voice returning to Twilight as she placed each book back in its rightful place. The unicorn turned to find her assistant had wandered off and again followed the sound of his voice, turning the same corner he did.
“Ah!” Twilight yelped, jumping back as she came face to face with a roaring dragon. After several moments of heavy breathing and sweat induced fear, Twilight eyed the dragon before her and glared. “Why would anypony put this here?”
The dragon in question merely kept it's fierce gaze on her, unresponsive as it's stone form could only stand idle. Though much smaller than a normal dragon for space reasons, the statue was incredibly detailed, it's large jaws opened wide to reveal the many sharp teeth waiting to be used.
Spike stood underneath the statue, looking up at it as he was consumed in the shadow it cast. Just at the base of the statue, the baby dragon noticed something standing upright. Approaching it, he realized it was a case, having a wooden frame and stand with a glass top. Inside, a tome waited patiently for a reader, protected within the visual prison.
“Look at this,” Spike said, his wonder emanating from his voice. Twilight huffed in agitation but still walked over to her assistant and the case he was peering into. Upon seeing the old tome, she was shocked by how strange it looked.
The cover wasn't made of a typical material used in making books, it looked more like a hardened cloth of some kind, even small tattered ends ran around the edges as though it had been torn. Even the pages didn't seem to be the right type of paper, looking thicker and holding a visual texture to it. Another peculiar sight on the cover was in the center, a thin metallic plate was fixed into it, depicting the silhouette of a dragon's head. Twilight also noticed the sheer size of the tome, looking much bigger than the universal size that most books used in writing, as though a normal sized book was hit with an enlarging spell. 'Dragonium' was the title, written in a silver stylized font.
“So this is it,” Twilight muttered, examining the book. It certainly was a sight, the studious unicorn had never seen anything like it.
“How are we supposed to use it?” Spike wondered aloud, not seeing any way to open the case. Twilight gave her assistant a flat look before enveloping the tome with her magic, turning the cover over to the first page. “Oh, yeah... magic.”
It didn't take long for their eyes to become glued to the pages. Unlike what they had seen, it held an extensive and insightful knowledge about dragonkind. Charts showing their maturity growth, illustrated works on dragon nests, a detailed map showing the Great Dragon Migration and the stops they took along the way, there was even a well explained portion on caring for dragon hatchlings.
But Twilight's rational mind quickly overpowered the scholar inside her, ignoring the unholy tantrum she was inwardly throwing at herself. There was a reason they found that book, and she was determined to get their answers
“Ok,” Twilight breathed, finally feeling herself calm down to find what they were looking for. “Page three fourteen...” she eyed each page number intently until she found it. “'Serilex the Flightless.'” Twilight paused for a moment as she cleared her throat. “'A dragon of old who has appeared in several historical writings. Though a definitive time of existence has never been specified, Serilex has been considered one of the earliest known forms of the dragon species in all of recorded pony history. Like the few other ancients that are known, little is truly known about what this dragon was like. Theories claim that the ancients were no different than the dragons of today, hoarders of jewels and brutish creatures of fang and flame.'” Twilight stopped for a moment as Spike audibly gulped. “'However, Serilex holds a unique attribute, or deformity in this case, in comparison to it's brethren. As it's title suggests, the dragon is described as wingless. With that, this dragon has become an object of interest for many scholars throughout time, all seeking to find the fact from fiction.'” Twilight sourly noted the irony in the statement. “'Though only rumors, it is said that the famed Dragon Knight Typhoon searched for the history of this ancient creature. Whether or not he had accomplished his quest remains to be seen, his own history being left to the dust long ago.'”
Twilight closed the old tome and stood idle for some time, processing the information that was given.
“Even this book didn't have anything,” Spike moaned, turning away from the case in his growing disappointment.
“Well,” Twilight interjected, “it does have something.”
“What?”
“A clue.” The unicorn sat down on her haunches as she her mind raced with thoughts. “Dragon Knight Typhoon... what an odd name... Perhaps a title? Dragon Knight...” Twilight began tapping her chin in thought, remembering an old scroll she had read once. “Knight was a title that the old pegasi tribe used long ago, before they became a single kingdom with the others... So this Typhoon must have been a pegasus scholar of some kind.” That realization explained why she had never heard of him. Twilight knew nearly everything there was about unicorn history, even most of earth pony history was locked away in the reaches of her mind, but the history of pegasi was always obscure to non-pegasus ponies. “The Cloudsdale archives would most likely have information on this 'Dragon Knight', it might even give insight into Serilex and if he found anything about him.”
“Then it's off to Cloudsdale!” Spike shouted excitedly, already jumping onto Twilight's back to take off. The young scholar merely sighed as she levitated the dragon off of her and set him down so she could talk with him.
“It's too late to go there today,” the unicorn said, pointing out the window to show the sun was near setting in the distance. Spike was shocked to see that their search had taken nearly the entire day away. “Besides, we will need Rainbow Dash's help if we want to get into the Cloudsdale archives and I'm sure she's off napping or hurting herself.”
“Do we have to?” the dragon complained, his juvenile side showing clearly.
“Yes, Spike,” Twilight said firmly, gesturing toward the exit before trotting toward it herself. With a stubborn huff, the dragon reluctantly followed his caretaker out of the archives.
Only once did he stop, halting his exit to turn back to the dragon statue. Spike could clearly see the ferocity sculpted into the dragon's features, poised in a stance ready to attack, it forced a sigh from his depths as he wondered just how different one dragon can be from another.
Twilight and Spike made it back to Ponyville in no time. One perk of being so welcomed in the castle was the kindness the guards showed them. It was no hassle at all for the royal chariot pegasi to give the two a ride home, cutting the time that would be spent taking the train significantly.
It allowed the librarian to finish the chores that were put off for their trip. Putting missing books away, dusting the right shelves, cleaning the kitchens, anything to make the library as perfect as possible. Spike wasn't particularly happy about it, but he was quick to accept it and helped in the usual ways he did. With their chores finished and nothing else to do, Twilight called it a day and turned in for the night.
Silent darkness seeped into the library, only broken by the occasional shuffle of bedsheets as Twilight shifted unconsciously in her sleep, locating the most comfortable sleeping position for herself. Spike however, simply laid back in his bed and stared into the bleak ceiling. The little dragon was far too excited to go to sleep, his mind was filled to bursting with questions and self-created answers.
“I bet he was super strong and tough,” Spike thought, his imagination running wild. “He fought bad guys and monsters all the time, saving helpless ponies and earning their praise and respect. The coolest dragon ever. And he lived in a giant castle-cave, filled with tasty gems he could eat whenever he wanted, with nopony to say he would spoil his dinner. And he had a beautiful marefriend too, with a snow white coat... and a wonderfully purple mane...”
A/N: Ya know, when writing this chapter, I was struck with the idea of a little spin-off of this. Luna watching over the castle. Seems like a nice idea. It would kinda be like when Wheatley took over Aperture in portal 2, with everything going very wrong very quickly... and the repetition of the phrase, 'I can fix this.' Maybe it would even end the same way...
“So let me get this straight,” the rainbow maned, cyan pegasus muttered. “You two looked in some dusty old book and found out about a long gone dragon who supposedly didn't have wings. Now you think that a long gone pegasus might have investigated it. So you need me to help you get to the archives in Cloudsdale so you can if it has anything on this pegasus?”
Twilight and Spike looked up at their friend Rainbow Dash, the pegasus hovering above them as she repeated what was just explained to her. The daunting skepticism in her voice was evident.
“That's about right,” the unicorn nodded, realizing herself just how strange their story was. Rainbow Dash simply looked between the librarian and dragon as they waited for her answer, a denying no appearing to be dancing silently on her lips.
“Okay,” she replied, landing in front of them both.
“Really?”
“Of course, I can't leave my friends hanging when they need the help of the greatest flier around. Besides, I know how much you want to know about dragons, Spike.”
“Oh thank you, thank you, thank you,” Spike yelped excitedly, jumping up and wrapping his arms around the pegasus' neck. “You're the best!”
A prideful smirk grew on Rainbow Dash's lips as she took in the brief admiration. “Okay, easy now, you can save the praise for after we get to Cloudsdale.” As Spike released his grip on his friend, the pegasus took off into the air, flying several feet as she gazed down on them. “You guys coming or what?”
“Now hold on, Rainbow,” Twilight called up, sighing slightly. “We need to get the balloon.” The pegasus released an annoyed groan as she hovered over her friends.
Finding a nearby cloud, Rainbow Dash lounged on the fluffy platform as her two grounded friends walked off to procure their means of air travel. Several minutes passed and she quickly found herself suffering from an unbearable boredom.
“Come on you guys,” she called, thinking they would somehow hear her quick impatience. “I'm waiting.” As soon as the words left her mouth, a shudder was felt by the pegasus as a cold chill ran up her spine. “Ugh, why did that make me feel so... unclean?”
Shortly after, a large cloud fell over her and her cloud seat. Turning around, she saw the large hot air balloon that had been used so often in their adventures. Twilight and Spike stood within the basket, eying the mare with a prepared gaze..
“Ok,” Rainbow Dash said, jumping off of her cloud, “let's head to Cloudsdale!” The quick flying pegasus then flew into the basket and pushed with all of her strength. With her great speed, Rainbow easily sped the balloon through the air at a much faster pace it could have normally gone.
Cloudsdale was off in the distance, the impressively large cloud city of pegasi hanging high in sky. The long distance between the three friends and the city was cleared quickly, the magnificent sight growing larger and larger by the second. In no time at all, the balloon was being pushed up through the blanket of clouds that served as the foundation, stopping as it came to the surface.
“We're here,” Rainbow said proudly, silently giving herself a pat on the back for the quick trip.
While Twilight searched through the saddlebags she had brought with her, the young dragon next to her gaped at the sights he saw. Spike had never been to Cloudsdale before, only ever seeing it from a distance. It looked as though a normal city had been turned into a marshmallow utopia, white fluffy goodness surrounding him from all sides.
One thing he noticed was how the clouds seemed different from the typical ones used in weather, almost appearing whiter and more pure. Spike felt as though he could just reach out and grab one.
“Hold on, Spike!” Twilight yelped, catching the dragon's tail in her mouth and pulling him back into the safety of the balloon. The mesmerized assistant had nearly jumped from the basket, only being caught by his caretaker at the last minute.
“Oh, sorry, Twilight,” Spike muttered, shaking his head free from the pull the amazing city had on him.
“It's ok,” replied the scholar, “you just need to wait a moment so I can find the cloud walking spell.” With a nod, Spike stood still while Twilight continued searching through her bag. “Ah, here it is.” She pulled free a scroll from her bag and unfurled it, after several moments she nodded and placed it back in its original spot. “Hold still, Spike.”
The unicorn's horn began to glow brightly, pulsing with the magical aura of an impending spell. Spike felt a strange tingling sensation on his feet, feeling as though many tiny insects where crawling underneath his scales. Within the next moment however, the sensation vanished along with the glow of Twilight's horn.
“Huh,” the dragon murmured, examining himself thoroughly, “I think you're losing your touch, Twilight, I don't feel any different.” With a smirk, Twilight's horn glowed once again and Spike found himself floating in the air, being lifted over the basket and suddenly dropped to fall through the sky. “Ah!” The dragon held his eyes shut as he the white cloud rushed forward into his vision. Several seconds passed before he realized he was no longer falling, instead feeling a soft surface pressing against his underbelly.
Opening his eyes, the dragon felt a rush of excitement as he found himself lying on a cloud. Standing up, he stumbled over his own feet for a moment like a foal learning to walk. Quickly figuring out how to stand properly, Spike took in the new experience slowly. Taking several steps, he could feel his feet sinking slightly with each press. It felt uneven as well, not flat at all like he expected it would be for a pegasus. All in all, it felt as though he were walking across a floor filled with the softest of pillows.
“Enjoying yourself?” Twilight asked playfully, hoping out of the balloon basket herself as she watched the dragon dig his clawed toes into the cloudy surface.
“He's taking to it like a real pegasus,” Rainbow Dash said, snickering at the dragon's expressions. “Okay then. Never been to the archives before, sounds like a total bore-fest to me, but I think it'll be near the pegasi council building.”
Twilight nodded to her flying friend. Looking around the area, Twilight's brow furrowed as she had trouble discerning one cloud structure from another. “Care to lead the way?”
“This way,” Dash pointed, flying eastward while Twilight and Spike followed. Though they both were now able to walk on clouds, the layout of Cloudsdale presented a problem. With sections of the city standalone, it proved difficult to find places they could cross without falling to certain doom.
Luckily for them, the path they had to take only had small gaps between unconnected clouds. Only every once in a while did they need to clear the gap with a hop, skimp, or jump. However, Spike's vertically challenged body prevented him from making some of the more distanced ones. Rainbow Dash was quick to provide help for the dragon though, swooping down to lift him over to the next cloud.
Along the way to the council building, Rainbow Dash played tour guide for the newcomer dragon. The cyan pegasus pointed out the many structures that were unique to the city, adding much enthusiasm as her pride began showing. While she even offered to give a quick tour of the sprawling weather factory, Spike declined it with an aloof demeanor. Weather was never something the little dragon cared that much about. It also didn't help that the young assistant had heard strange stories about the building, all of which sent shivers through his scales whenever he thought about them.
In no time at all the trio found themselves before the Cloudsdale council building. It was a rather enourmous structure. Tall pillars spanned the entirety of the walls making up the exterior, holding up the roof to help create a sheltering ledge before actually entering the building. A large set of steps led up to the front doors, making any trek up it on hoof an exercise in its own right, thankfully pegasi could fly.
“I think it's over here,” Rainbow Dash said, pointing a hoof toward another, much smaller structure that was a ways away. A good sized structure, it had an ornamental design that seemed out of place with the rest of the pegasus architecture. Two rows of columns stood decoratively just before the entrance, creating a walkway between them that led to the front door.
“Halt,” a stallion standing guard commanded. “What is your business here?” The guard's eyes narrowed upon seeing the two ponies and single dragon approaching. Curiosity took away from his stiff demeanor, not accustomed to seeing non-pegasus in such a segregated city. The focus of his gaze quickly shifted however as he eyed the multicolored pegasus. “Rainbow Dash, is that you?”
The mare let out an annoyed huff as she crossed her forelegs, thinking how anyone wouldn't be able to recognize a cyan pegasus with such a colorful mane.
“Yeah, it's me, Flakefall,” Rainbow answered the alabaster coated stallion.
Twilight noted the significant differences that a local Cloudsdale guard had in terms of uniform when compared to that of the royal guard in Canterlot. The face of the helm was longer and more slanted near the eyes and mouth, with a longer plume at the top colored in brick red. The chest piece only covered the front half of the body while the other half was draped in a thick cloth skirt, being segmented into several rectangular stripes with triangular ends. Traditional horseshoes were gone as well, replaced with metal bracers on the forelegs with strapped sandals on the back.
“So they moved you to watching the archives?” Rainbow Dash asked, looking about the bleak nothingness that surrounded them. “Seems pretty... exciting.”
Flakefall simply shrugged. “It's not like it's any worse than the few other posts they have. Only good positions are for when the princesses come by, and those snobby Canterlot guards always get the jobs.” A rather forced cough escaped Twilight as she nearly glared at the stallion. “Anyway... what are you doing here? Don't think I've ever seen you come anywhere near this part of Cloudsdale.”
The pegasus stood beside twilight while she nodded toward her friends. “Twilight and Spike want to go in the archives to learn about some pegasus.” Flakefall eyed the unicorn and dragon quizzically for a moment.
“Did the council allow it?”
“Um...” Rainbow paused, “no.” The guard shifted uneasily, looking around nervously as if expecting to see someone.
“You want me to just let unauthorized guests into the archives? Do you know what the council would do to me if they found out?” At that, Rainbow Dash zoomed forward sharply, stopping as she met the guard face to face while the rest of her stayed afloat higher up.
“Hey,” she sneered, “remember when I made that dual arc rainbow for your nephew's birthday party? Yeah, he loved it. And do you even realize how much paperwork I had to do after that for misused resources? I had a jaw cramp for days! You owe me.”
The disgruntled guard held a look of strict conflict within himself, his eyes shifting between the unicorn looking at him expectantly, and the pegasus glaring at him venomously.
“Alright fine,” he sighed, “but we're even.” He opened the door to allow the trio through.
The Cloudsdale archives was a single large room, built three stories high. Nearly every inch of every wall was covered with shelves upon shelves of books and scrolls, all written works on pegasi history, weather charts, and flying techniques. Clearly things were meant for fliers as no other way to reach the higher shelves existed.
“So,” Flakefall said as they walked between the towering shelves that were rowed in the center of the floor, “what pegasus are you researching? Nearly every noteworthy pegasus has their own section.”
“So where's my section?” Rainbow Dash chided, looking about the room with a clear sense of disinterest.
The guard smirked. “You'll get it when you finally join the Wonderbolts.”
Rainbow grumbled to herself while directing another glare to the stallion. “Whatever. I can't remember the guy's name anyway. What was it again, Twilight?” Hearing her name, the unicorn diverted her captured focus from the books to her friend.
“Dragon Knight Typhoon was his name,” she answered. The reply had a clear effect on the guard, his eyes widening while a beaming smile crossed him.
“Typhoon? Goodness, Rainbow, how do you not know him? He's one of the most famous pegasus of the old history. We learned all about him back in flight camp history class... then again,” the guard shot an amused smirk toward the mare, “you did always sleep during the lectures.”
“Hmph,” Rainbow Dash huffed, rolling her eyes as she shook her head. “I didn't always sleep in that class. Besides, who goes to flight camp to hear about boring old history?”
“Okay fine,” Flakefall agreed, “you only slept half the time. The other half you spat cloud wads at the professor with that gryphon friend of yours, but I digress. If you had payed any attention, you'd know that Typhoon was as good a researcher as he was a flier. He earned his title well with his research on dragons, it was actually because of him that we know how to clear out the thick smoke dragons make.”
“Wow,” Twilight chirped, always elated to hear about a famous scholar, “he sounds quite interesting.”
“Oh yeah,” the guard nodded with an excited smile. “There's even a tale that says he once defeated three dragons single-hoofedly when they tried to attack Cloudsdale.”
“Pfft, I could do that,” the technicolor pegasus exclaimed, quickly becoming tired of hearing about the feats of some other pony. But all eyes were soon riveted on her, each glance filled with skepticism. “I just... never had the chance... is all.”
“Let's hope you don't,” Flakefall responded, continuing onward until they stopped at a corner of the room. “What we have on Typhoon, his history, his own personal notes, is all right here.”
Scanning the area thoroughly, Twilight noticed a shelf with old books about the pegasus. Some were biographies on the pegasus' life, others seemed to be compilations on his work. At the end of the shelf, laying beside it, was statue, perfectly to scale of a pegasus stallion.
“Impressive, isn't he,” the guard said, looking at the statue with swelling pride. It was clear that it was of the so called Dragon Knight Typhoon, both because of the section of books that were clearly placed beside it and of what the stallion was donned in.
It was a suit of armor, but it was unlike anything they were used to seeing The helm itself was the most noticeable thing in the peculiar outfit. It covered the stallion's head entirely, save for the lower jaw where it was able to move freely. The ears were covered and around them the metal was shaped into a form of web-like appendages. The face was elongated and bulbous near the tip of the mouth. Small spikes were formed into the edges near the mouth as well, almost like fangs.
The longer they looked at it, the more Spike and the two ponies realized it was shaped like a dragon's head, fitting perfectly over the pegasus' own. The rest of the armor was made in a similar fashion, the chest piece looking as though it were scaled while the horseshoes held several small claws formed into the edges. Even small spines trailed down the neck and back until it they reached the tail.
“He looks really weird,” Rainbow Dash muttered, breaking the silence that was cast between them while they stared at the statue. An exacerbated huff escaped Flakefall as his narrowing gaze darted toward the mare.
“It was a unique, custom made suit of armor that was given to him by the current commander of the pegasi during that time!”
“He still looks weird,” the cyan pegasus retorted, her arguing skills at her best. With another huff the guard turned away from them while he waited for them to finish. Spike turned away as well, his eyes catching the shelf they were previously looking at, staring at a section that was different then the rest.
It was sealed shut by a plate of glass, allowing for those to only see what was inside. Several stands were there that held more books resting on them. They weren't typical books one would see however, being much smaller with very thin covers. An unmistakable sign of age was worn into the tattered booklets.
“What's in there?” Spike asked, pressing his face against the glass in a futile attempt to see things better.
“Well,” their guard guide said, nudging the dragon away with his hoof, “it's Typhoon's actual notes. Very old, centuries actually. Since he preformed all of his studies in the field, he always carried small notebooks to write down his findings.”
“Can we examine them?” Twilight asked, thinking that the information they wanted would be within one of those notebooks.
Flakefall quickly began to shift uneasily in place. “Uh... I don't really know... Only a few specially trained pegasi are ever allowed to handle such documents...”
“You can trust me,” Twilight said reassuringly. “I'll take the utmost care.” Her word did little to ease the tension the guard was feeling.
“Well...” he strained, “I guess... unicorn magic would be much safer to handle something so delicate than a pegasus... And you are the princess' student after all... Fine, I suppose it wouldn't hurt. Just give me a moment.”
Taking off, Flakefall flew across the room and disappeared.. Rainbow Dash continued looking around the room aimlessly in her unamused expression. Spike's gaze was wide with excitement as he swayed back and forth on his feet, unable to sit still. Twilight simply waited patiently, eying each small notebook with curiosity.
Moments later, the stallion returned, a key held in his mouth. Without a word, he stood at the side of the shelf and inserted it into a small hole. Turning it with his hooves, there was faint clicking sound and the glass wall swung aside.
“Just be careful with them, ok?” the guard begged, still showing signs of his concern.
Twilight nodded. “You have my word.” As she eyed the notebooks, she realized how much time would be spent simply examining them all for the first shred of evidence on their subject. Quickly thinking of a solution, Twilight stood before the shelf and kept her eyes locked.
The others silently watched as Twilight's horn became alight with magic, her gaze never leaving the notebooks. Within seconds, they too were glowing, a soft hum of flowing magic emanating around them and the unicorn.
“Serilex.” She stated the name firmly, coming off as a command to the inanimate objects. Not a moment was able to pass before the glow left the notebooks, each one looking as though they were never touched, all except for one. It was the final notebook in the selection, continuing to hold onto its magical aura. Twilight immediately levitated it toward her, looking through the pages with tentative motions. The librarian couldn't shake a feeling of joy from the spell she had used, unable to remember how she ever did research without it.
The writing was faded and the pages were yellowed. Twilight felt as though the past was within her magical grasp.
Typhoon's writings seemed like a jumbled, messy mixture of journal entries and actual notes. Some pages were covered with simple words written down with no clear order, quick jotted notes on observations no doubt. Others had dates followed by fully articulated writings of the pegasus' plans and an account of his current thoughts.
Searching through each page carefully however, Twilight's expression slowly shifted to one of confusion as no mention to the ancient dragon was present. Soon, she found herself at the end of the notebook, only a few pages remaining, all blank.
“I don't get it,” the unicorn murmured, the expectant gazes of the others on her. “My spell found the name Serilex in this book. But... there's nothing. No mention to him. Not even anything on a dragon ancient.”
Rainbow Dash and Flakefall could only shrug, realizing they couldn't offer any real help to the problem the scholar was facing. Spike however stepped toward the notebook, reaching to take it from it's magical hold.
“What does it say?” the dragon asked, pointless as he didn't bother waiting for an answer or offer before grabbing for the writings.
But everyone in the room suddenly jumped back several feet as the notebook spontaneously burst into flames.
The notebook fell to the floor, casting a glow as an inky black flame danced across the papery surface. Rianbow Dash had nearly smashed into the ceiling with the speed she had taken off in. Spike clung to Twilight's side like a frightened feline, causing the unicorn to wince as the pointed tips of his claws dug into her. Flakefall could only sit and stare at the sight in horror, his pupils dilated while his jaw unhinged, the rest of his body subtly twitching.
Just as quickly as it started, the fire died. Twilight's eyes widened in shock as she saw the notebook lying in front of them, untouched by the flames that had engulfed it. “H-how is that... possible...”
Approaching it with hesitant steps, the unicorn peered down at the notebook, every muscle in her body clenching with each passing moment in preparation for it to set fire again. But nothing happened.
Levitating the notebook once again, Twilight brought it up to her, keeping it a good distance away from her face just in case. She turned every page, making sure nothing was damaged in the fire. Coming to the last page she had read before the ordeal, the scholar gasped as she realized the writing didn't end there.
The last few pages she had noticed before, empty of any form of writing or mark, were now covered in more faded entries.
Her breathing having stopped, Twilight's eyes dashed across every sentence now before her, consuming each word in the insatiable appetite that was her curiosity. In the beginning, there was a simple note. Perhaps lazily written down as a reference, perhaps a marker to section off what else was written, Twilight didn't know. But she did know that it was exactly what they were looking for. Serilex the Flightless.
Spike could see the name as well, standing just underneath the mare's chin as he followed along with her, his expression matching her own perfectly.
The entries were mostly a day to day account on Typhoon's research into the enigma that was Serilex. Twilight realized that her own steps were not unlike his own, the pegasus having exhausted the resources the records of his own people had before asking the other tribes for assistance. He went on the record his journeys to the different settlements that dotted the young Equestria at the time, learning that the ancient dragon was only mentioned through spoken stories rather than written record.
The final page caught Twilight's attention specifically. As she read it, she realized it had what they needed and began reading it aloud.
9x17x823
Making last preparations now. Have my supplies ready and my affairs in order for the trip. Perhaps it's the weight of my helm crushing the last of my sanity, but my hopes are high for this. I know what I seek lies ahead, that the answers on this elusive beast are there, I can feel it in my feathers.
I've visited near every settlement that has sprouted up since our people came here from the snowy wastes. Thankfully, animosity is a rare occurrence between the tribes, the unicorns and earthers have been most accommodating with my questions.
Sadly, those magic users were of no help. Seems as though the only thing dragon related they care for is stealing their gem hoards. Don't understand it myself, maybe they just like shiny objects. The earth ponies have at least shown their culture to me without hesitation. Almost a little too eager. Though they do just seem overly talkative to anything with a pair of ears to listen, whether voluntarily or not.
Much of what they told me is rather interesting though, many of their old fables speak of dragons highly. Tales of the dragon ancients, specifically on Serilex himself, tell of the northern lands and what is hidden within the outlaying mountains. A dragon temple.
It's taken months of research, sifting through the old tales that I've heard from the earth ponies, as well as surveying the lands between here and our old ancestral home. Now I'm certain I have found this supposed temple. Could it be that dragons were once civilized? Could this Serilex be more than just a wingless dragon? Perhaps they were worshiped by our most ancient of ancestors? Even now, my heart races with anticipation to find the truth, my wings twitch with eagerness to take off.
With the end of this entry, I end my time in Cloudsdale for now. I hope to return home, carrying the tales of what I have learned for all to hear. But I know faith isn't what will guide me to what I seek.
The entry ended there. Twilight turned to the back of the page to find an illustration waiting for her. It was a map, crudely drawn yes, but it clearly showed where Typhoon was planning to go.
Cloudsdale was marked at the bottom, with a dark line stretching between it toward a several jagged lines that the unicorn could only assume were meant for mountains. The line ended with a circle and the word 'temple'.
“A dragon... temple?” Spike muttered, looking down at his hands in an aimless gaze.
“Such a thing is unheard of,” Flakefall said, rubbing his chin in thought while processing the old words of a passed age. “And what of the notebook? What was that flame, what did it do?”
Looking back to them, Twilight shook her head with uncertainty. “I don't know... It must have been hidden by some kind of magic. But I know such a thing would be impossible for a pegasus, and it's not a spell that I recognize. As for why it was done or what triggered it, I can't even guess.”
“Well we did learn something,” Rainbow Dash said, dismissing the mysterious event quickly. “This temple place sounds pretty neat. I bet it'll be just like Daring Do's Quest for the Silver Monkey, book fourteen. That had this one awesome temple in it.” The pegasus' eyes widened as the thought of following in the footsteps of her favorite fictional character occurred to her. “We should go there!”
“Oh yeah!” Spike shouted in agreement, jumping onto the mare's back and striking a heroic pose with her. “I bet there will be traps, treasure, answers about dragons that nopony has ever seen!”
“Now hold on, hold on,” Twilight urged, watching her friends' excitement reach critical levels. Looking over the simple map again, the unicorn submerged herself in her thoughts. “This map points toward a mountain range north of Cloudsdale. The closest one is Scale Peak and that's right on Equestria's northern border. That's a really long ways away.” Spike could hear the uncertainty laced within the mare's voice.
“Twilight...” he whimpered, his pupils enlarging as they shimmered with water, staring directly at the unicorn. Twilight had to look away from the gut wrenching sight, unable to handle it when the young dragon got those eyes.
“Spike, I never said we weren't going,” she said, her tone strained as she found herself drawn to the dragon's gaze. “But the right preparations need to be set up, we can't just go off to a possibly dangerous place without the right supplies. It will take some work for such an expedition with only two.”
“Don't forget about me,” the rainbow maned pegasus declared. “There's no way I'm letting you guys have all the fun. Besides, when following the trail of an old pegasus, who better to have with you than another pegasus?” She flew high into the air and flexed her forelegs. “With the best flier in Equestria by your side, how can you go wrong?!”
Twilight smirked at her friend's tenacity, always eager to participate in any adventure. “Alright then, we will need to go back to Ponyville and make prepare ourselves for the trip.” The lavender mare turned to the guard still with them. “And thank you, Flakefall, for allowing us to look into this.”
“It was my pleasure,” the stallion said with a bow. "I certainly hope you find something in your journey. Who knows, maybe you'll make an addition to these old archives.”
Before returning the notebook back to its rightful place, a wise idea struck the scholar. Opening her saddlebags, Twilight found a blank scroll. Unfurling it and placing it against the open notebook, a sudden magical flash occurred and the unicorn looked at her work with satisfaction. An exact copy of the crude map having been transferred onto the scroll.
Placing the notebook back in its place, the glass shielding was shut and locked. Flakefall took several moments checking to make sure not a thing was out of place before escorting the three guests out of the archives.
The two mares and single dragon said their goodbyes to the guard before returning to the balloon and placing Ponyville in their sights.
Thanks to a certain speedy pegasus, it didn't take long for the word to spread on Twilight and Spike's plan. Hardly a half hour since their return from Cloudsdale, the library received five guests.
Twilight stood before Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash. Spike watched the scene with PeeWee resting on his arm. The friends all listened with patient expressions as they were told what they had learned and what they hoped to find out.
“Aw,” the white unicorn, Rarity, moaned with sadness, “I never knew my little Spikey-Wikey was feeling so depressed about something as simple as wings. Trust me dear, they are simply overrated.”
“There's a lot more going on than just wings,” Twilight said. “There's so little that we truly know about dragons. This temple might be able to unlock many secrets about what they were like centuries ago. As a scholar, I can't sit idle and let such opportunity go unheeded.”
Despite the unicorn's determined words, the farm pony, Applejack, simply shook her head. “Now hang on one second. This Typhoon feller had all this planned out a long time ago right? Well, if there isn't anything about this place now, doesn't that mean somethin' must of happened to him?”
Twilight paused, the thought hadn't even occurred to her. The journal was the last known piece of his notes that the archives had. Meaning there was no followup to it afterward, or at least it simply wasn't in Cloudsdale.
“It's a possibility,” the unicorn muttered. “We will just have to be careful now, won't we?”
Not accepting such a weak answer, the cowpony stepped forward, her face as serious as it could be. “Well, ah can't let my friends go off on their own without any sort of assistance. So ahm goin' with ya.”
Twilight looked at her friend with shock. “Applejack, you know you don't have-”
“Ahve made up my mind, Twi, ya can't stop me.” The unicorn knew better than to argue with Applejack once she was dedicated to something.
“Ooo ooo, I wana go I wana go!” Pinkie Pie shouted, jumping up and down excitedly. “I bet I could find all kinds of cool stuff on dragons too. Maybe on what their parties were like!” Twilight tried saying something but was stopped as Rarity stepped forward.
“I'm going as well,” the designer added. “I remember what happened on our last dragon themed adventure, and I just couldn't forgive myself if I stayed behind and something bad were to happen.”
Spike stared at the ponies with an expression of pure joy, his mouth turned into a large smile. “You guys really want to help us?” The four decided mares nodded, all determined to be there for their friends. But one friend remained silent. Fluttershy felt all eyes on her as an answer became expected of her.
The timid mare whined meekly as she backed away.“I-I'm sorry but... I can't go and find d-dragons I... just...” The shaking mare hid behind her mane as she shrunk down into a flattened position on the ground.
The others all frowned as they realized they wouldn't have their animal expert friend to join them. Spike however approached the pegasus, PeeWee sitting on his palm as he extended it toward her.
“Actually, Fluttershy,” the dragon replied, making the mare look up at him. “I was wondering if you wouldn't mind looking after PeeWee while we were gone. Since you're so good with animals and stuff.”
Fluttershy's eyes widened as she gasped, the entire world seemed to disappear around her as the adorable phoenix hatchling in front of her became the only thing her animal crazed mind took in. Without warning, she flew into the air, scooping the small bird up in her hooves and holding him close to her in an affectionate hug.
“Oh yes yes yes,” she cooed happily. “I would love to look after him. After Philomena, I did so much research on phoenixes, just in case. Oh now I can try them out. Thank you, thank you thank you, Spike!” The overly excited mare grabbed the dragon into a hug as well, nearly crushing his spine in her unbridled happiness.
“Y-yeah, no problem,” he choked, only being saved when Twilight levitated the dragon out of the pegasus' deadly hold.
The five ponies and single dragon spent much of the next day preparing for their trip. Gathering needed supplies and saying farewell to the ones they were leaving behind.
Excitement was brewing between the six friends as they boarded the large balloon and set off. Rainbow Dash proved herself for travel once again, allowing one of Applejack's trusty ropes to be tied to her midsection, the pegasus pulled the balloon forward and made their speed all the greater.
Their saddlebags filled to bursting, their resolve unbreakable and a destination in sight, it wasn't long before the excitement began to spill out between the ponies. Each one of them brought on their own ideas as to what the ancient dragon Serilex would have been like, what being a wingless dragon brought to the fray.
Many ideas, some reasonable and others outrageous, brought on good times for the ponies and made the close-quarters of the basket more bearable for the long trip.
One traveler remained silent however. Spike, not saying a word, simply looked out from the high perch of the balloon to gaze out to the vast lands before him. Equestria spanned onward, further than his eyes could see. The little dragon's mind was abuzz with smiler concepts that his pony friends brought on, wondering just what differed between Serilex and others of his kind. It made him think of what his own differences meant, if they had similarities or were simply dragons who were cursed to live their lives as spectators of their kin, only able to look up and wonder what could have been.
Twilight noticed how quiet her assistant was, a stark contrast to how unbearably excited he was before. The knowledgeable mare didn't bother him though, coming to terms with the fact that there were just some things she couldn't help him with. All she could do was hope, hope that Spike's thirst for knowledge would be sated, hope that whatever they found wouldn't do more harm to him than good.
The late start on their journey brought on a quick stop from it. They landed and made camp in a small field. Luna's starry night sky served as their blanket as they slept with nature. Simple sheets of padded cloth making up their beds, Spike set fire to a pile of wood to bring a bright warmth to the chilling winds that blew from the darkness.
Rising early, the traveling group quickly demolished their small camp and, after a short breakfast, returned to their high flying adventure.
Equestria's northern border seemed to sit just out of their visual reach.
It wasn't as though the journey was without its sights however.
The far reaching lands that they called home stretched on and on without end. Fields, forests and lakes blanketed the ground while an ocean of sky and cloud hung above them like a ceiling to an outdoor home.
There was the occasional flock of birds as well. The avian creatures noticed the ponies and flew by, flapping side by side with the balloon to see what the strange hoofed beings were doing. Their curiosity was disturbed quickly however, as a cyan pegasus took off quickly, leaving the birds in her dust and hearing a snicker fade away along with the rest of the wingless fliers.
“It certainly is something, isn't it?” Twilight said with glee as her eyes took in magnificent surroundings. It was rare for the unicorn to leave her sanctuary of literature, only the occasional trip back to Canterlot could break her away from the humbling tree of books and research.
“Eh,” Applejack huffed mildly. “If you've seen one piece of land, you've seen 'em all.” Having spent most of her time outdoors working, the natural beauty of the world lost its charm with the farmpony long ago.
“Oh, Applejack,” replied Rarity, “of course somepony who spends all her time in the muck wouldn't appreciate the finer details that the untouched lands can offer. Though... I will admit everything does look a tad... dirty. At least from up here, there is no chance of us becoming filthy.”
“We could have a dirt party!” Pinkie Pie shouted, seemingly out of nowhere. The others merely stared at their pink friend in silence, unsure as to how they could respond. “Think about it. Streamers from tree to tree, every rock with a party hat, mud pies made out of actual mud! We would celebrate all the wonderful things that dirt gives us!”
Rarity looked out aimlessly for a moment as she thought on what exactly was given. “Stains on our clothing?”
Applejack grunted in indignation. “Course, Miss Prissy-Saddles wouldn't know about crops and harvestin'.”
Rarity huffed snidely at the comment, all ready preparing a retort concerning Applejack's lack of dressmaking knowledge and several observations about her choice of head wear. The fashionista was halted however as the cyan pegasus at the front of the balloon called out to them.
“Will you two stop bickering?” Rainbow shouted, turning her gaze toward them with her eyes set in an annoyed glare. “Look out there!” Pointing a hoof forward, the others all looked out toward the landscape before them. They all gasped with delight as the jagged sides of slopping mountains appeared.
“That's Scale Peak,” Twilight chimed in, her eyes scanning the massive structure of rock that seemed to cut into the sky with its sharp ridges.
A gargantuan pile rocky slopes and never ending height. Different shades of grey marred the otherwise bright colors of land it was apart of. The summit itself couldn't even be seen, consumed by a twisted cluster of clouds that spanned across the sky.
“Wow,” Spike whispered, his eyes vainly attempting to take in the entirety of the mountain in a single glance. All he could think about was the reason they were there. That somewhere within the natural landmark was another step toward finding the answers he sought after.
Twilight's eyes began to scan the area. Facts on geography and architecture ran through her mind while they drew closer and closer to the mountain. “Rainbow,” she said, “look for a safe spot closer to the top to land.” The pegasus nodded in understanding and speed faster toward their mark.
It took nearly an hour to find a suitable clearing, much of the area being covered with jagged rocks and precarious edges. But the ponies soon found themselves enjoying the hard land beneath their hooves, the long flight having nearly wiped the sensation from their minds.
Not long after regaining their land-legs, the five ponies hoisted their saddlebags onto their backs and set off. Even Spike made sure to carry his own chosen supplies, donning a single bag with two straps to fit his arms through, an old gift from Rarity made from a foal's school bags.
“Now what?” Applejack asked, looking around her to see nothing but the same jagged rocks over and over again. “Do we have any idea on what we're lookin' for?”
“Well,” Twilight paused, thinking further into her plan, “the temple is most likely hidden. But there must be some way to track its location. A marker or some other sign to create a trail to where it is. We simply have to find a clue to point us in the right direction.”
Rarity huffed crossly. “So we are to simple trudge through this entire mountain until we just stumble across what may or may not help us find this temple.” The white coated mare rolled her eyes skeptically. “We certainly do have an air tight plan, don't we?”
“Oh come on, Rarity,” said Rainbow Dash, sighing slightly at her attitude. “Where's your sense of adventure?”
“Right next to my common sense. This is no way to conduct such an expedition.”
It was Rainbow's time to huff now, doing so as she crossed her forelegs and hovered in front of the unicorn. “Well, you don't have much of a choice now do you.”
Rarity met the pegasus' stern gaze with her own, matching it perfectly. She then forced a heavy breath through her nostrils before turning away from her and looking around for any path that wasn't nonsensical.
“Look girls,” Twilight said, attempting to be the voice of reason, “we won't get anywhere if we just stay here and argue. I'm certain we will find a better course of action soon, but for now lets just go and cover as much ground as we can before then.”
Rarity looked to the fellow unicorn, an apologetic gaze in here eyes. “Oh, I'm sorry, Twilight dear. I know I should have a better attitude about this. Especially since we are here for Spike.”
“It's alright, Rarity,” Twilight responded, smiling over the quickly improved mood. A determined look crossed her face as she looked between all of her friends. “Now, come on girls, we have a lot of mountain to cover and a temple to find.”
With an unbeatable vigor, the six friends charged forward, taking the first path they came across and searching high and low as they walked it.
As they trekked through the mountain pass, they came across many obstacles. Most came from the terrain, the uneven paths and incomplete trails forced the ponies to step awkwardly through the jagged sides. Luckily for them, the mountain itself was very stable, giving them little reason to worry about an avalanche or the rock collapsing from underneath them.
Rainbow Dash kept her eyes in the sky, flying above them to look for anything out of the ordinary. All she could find however was a sea of grey rock and little else. Even the discerning gazes of Twilight and Rarity failed to find anything that could indicate their charge.
“And that one looks like a giant, misshapen snowball,” Pinkie Pie chirped, her neck bent upward as she gazed into the sky. “Ooo and that one's a puddle of melted marshmallow. That one's definitely a glob white cotton candy. Oh, does the one over there look like a sheep's body to you guys too?”
“Pinkie Pie,” Rainbow Dash growled, having returned to flying by her friends' sides after giving up on finding anything on her own.
“Yeeeeessssss, Dashie?” the energetic mare cooed, leaning in toward the pegasus, their noses nearly touching.
“Stop that,” Rainbow stated, flying back several paces to reestablish her personal space.
Pinkie Pie craned her head in mild confusion. “Stop what? I'm only cloud gazing. Don't you do it all the time too, you are a weathermare after all.”
A shaking sigh forced itself free the winged pony's mouth as she looked up to the puffs of white she worked with on a daily basis. “All clouds look the same Pinkie, you can't really think that you can tell one from the other.”
“Of course I can,” the party planner said, smiling innocently at the pegasus. “Like that one up there,” she pointed a hoof toward a small puff of cloud that floated carelessly by, “you can't say that isn't a giant pile of tiny cloud babies all mushed up into one bigger one!”
“I...” Rainbow Dash paused, looking between the her pink friend and the cloud she was eying. Her brain was nearly fried by the earth pony's imaginative views. Looking toward Twilight for some glimmer of support, she only saw the lavender librarian look back at them with one of her rare 'I don't know how to help' looks. Sighing once more, the pegasus mentally decided to leave the topic alone and resigned herself to flying in silence, keeping several feet away from the chatty pony.
“That one's totally an albino smoke cloud,” Pinkie Pie continued, unknown to the fact her friends were trying desperately to ignore her. “And that big one waaaay over there. That's Cloudmagus, deposed lord of Cloudopolis, who will one day rise up against the evil Cloudoku who dethroned him!” Looking up at her latest cloud target, Pinkie tilted her head to the side as she examined it thoroughly. “Wow, that one looks like two wings outstretched over four hoof prints.”
Rainbow Dash's ears perked up. “Wait, what?” The pegasus darted toward the pink mare, nearly knocking her over as she stopped just a hair away from her. Her eyes stared intently at her friend, unblinking as she became sporadic. “Pinkie Pie, what did you say?”
“Uh...” Pinkie started, becoming slightly unnerved by the sudden shift in her friend's attitude. “That cloud,” she pointed her hoof back up to the last fluffy puff of white she had spotted, “it has wings and hoof prints on it.”
The pegasus' head jerked in direction she was pointing, her eyes immediately locking onto the unassuming cloud that was there. Without a word, she rushed through the air toward it, leaving her friends to stare upward in confusion. Though they didn't know what was going on, they could see the cyan mare's eyes enlarging to their full width as she looked over the cloud.
“Guys,” she gasped, grabbing the cloud and dragging it down toward them, “you've gotta see this!”
With the cloud mere inches away from them, the friends stared at the cloud and were shocked to see a large pattern stamped into it. Two wings stretched out across the center, the shape and size of the feathers indicated it to be the wings of a pegasus. Above and below the feathered limbs were circular marks of a hoof print.
“Well, what is it?” Applejack asked, tilting her head at different angles in hopes it would shed light on the importance of the marking.
“It's a Pegasi Mark,” Rainbow Dash said, grinning from ear to ear.
Rarity looked to her flying friend quizzically, not gaining much information from the answer. “And that would be?”
Rainbow's elated expression shifted momentarily as she heaved a sigh. “It's an old method of tracking that pegasi used centuries ago. They were used to show flying teams important locations when on scouting missions and to specify what clouds to use for weatherponies. I remember them from when our instructors back at flight camp would time us on finding the right cloud out of a whole mess of them.. Of course, I always trounced everypony else.” Showing a proud smirk, Rainbow Dash finished her explanation and gauged the reactions from her friends.
Twilight looked back at the marking as well as the area surrounding them, quickly figuring out what it meant. “So a pegasus must have been through here once and made the mark for future reference... It couldn't have been Typhoon though, could it?”
“Do clouds even last that long?” Spike asked, stretching out his hand to poke the cloud, expecting something strange to happen at his touch.
“Some can,” Rainbow replied, inspecting the cloud herself. “These kinds of clouds are made for the more desolate areas of Equestria. They don't fade away like other clouds, but you can't use them for rain.”
Hearing this, Twilight quickly turned around and reached into her saddlebags. It took only a moment for her to locate a specific scroll and examine it. Several more moments passed as her friends waited in silence to see what the librarian was up to.
“Okay,” Twilight stated, furling the scroll and placing it back into her bag, “Rainbow, come here.” Curiosity taking control, the cyan pegasus floated over toward the unicorn. The action was quickly regretted however as the purple horn on her head began to glow and Rainbow Dash felt a feather yanked from her wing.
“Ouch!” she yelped, her wings locking in place and causing her to fall onto the rocky trail. “Hey, what the hay was that for?!”
“I need it for this spell,” Twilight answered, not bothering to apologize for the previous action. The feather floated in a magical grasp as Twilight's eyes stayed trained on it. Her horn shifted in color several times. Sweat beaded on her brow as the aura of magic grew. Then, in a sudden bright flash, the feather disappeared.
“What was that?” asked Applejack, rubbing her stinging eyes.
The cowpony didn't need to receive an answer. As her eyes readjusted, they immediately became riveted to the pegasus in front of her, just as her friends did the same.
“What?” Rainbow muttered, quickly becoming nervous as the stares persisted on her. “Do I have something in my mane?”
“Not your mane...”
Hesitantly, Rainbow Dash looked down at herself and gasped at what she saw. Her body was glowing. Her entire coat held a bright cyan glow to it, offering little in terms of actual light, but still plainly noticeable and an oddity by any right.
“Whoa,” she breathed, slowly waving her foreleg through the air. The glow followed it, only trailing behind by a second, like a ghostly mist. “Cool.”
As the shock of the sudden change in their friend died down, the eyes of the four ponies and single dragon shifted toward the unicorn in question.
“Wow,” Pinkie Pie cheered, “that would totally be cool for a nighttime party. Just think if every guest was in the dark and could only see a cool glowy shadow of themselves!” She then began to jump around Twilight happily. “So, Twilight, howdja do it, huh huh huh?”
“Well,” the scholar began, “it's a tracking spell. If Typhoon really was near here, then we can use it to follow the path he took.” Looking around for a moment, the unicorn smiled and pointed a hoof toward the sky. Following it, the others were surprised to see a similar glow in the sky above them, a fiery red in color and streaking by in a trail. “Though the spell requires something personal from the one you need to track, I was able to alter it to work on all pegasi by reducing it to just this area.”
“So we can just follow where this pegasus went and find where the temple is...” Applejack muttered, piecing together Twilight's plan.
“Exactly,” she said, nodding excitedly as they now had their plan set. “Now, let's go find that temple!”
Her friends all cheered in agreement and charged forward, setting their eyes to the red trail cutting through the air in hopes it would lead them to their target.
It was clear that they were following the path of a pegasus. Besides hovering above the air, the trail never appeared to follow a straight line for very long, always zig-zaging about with no rhyme or reason to it. It changed altitudes many times as well, forcing the five land-walkers to wait for Rainbow Dash to find where the trail came closer to land.
Spike could hardly contain himself. The beating of his heart drowned out any other noise, forcing an aching pain in his chest and just bringing his excitement over the edge. They were getting close. He wasn't sure how he knew, but he could feel it. With every step they took, with every moment of constant galloping, they were getting closer and closer.
The simple trails quickly ended however. All that was left for them to walk on was the steep sides of the mountain itself. Sadly, the glowing trail they had been following cut straight down toward the bottom.
Tentative steps were taken as they made their way down, making sure not to misstep and tumble down the jagged slide they were atop of. The group of friends found themselves breathing heavily as they came closer and closer to the bottom. But it worsened as they saw where the glowing path continued.
The red trail darted straight downward, going into a crevice that seemed to be wedged between two towering peaks of rocks. It seemed to begin a new path that would surely lead into a clearing they could rest at.
With the sweet idea of a stopping point crossing them, they willed themselves to continue.
But their high spirits came to a crashing halt as the loud shudder of cracking stone pierced the air around them.
Turning toward the noise, they all gasped as a several large chunks of rock broke away from the mountain side and tumbled toward them, Rarity being right in their path.
“Rarity, watch out!” Rainbow Dash yelled, quickly flying toward her and pushing her out of the way.
The action brought more harm than good however as the white unicorn lost her balance and stumbled down the steep slope. Her hooves were unable to find a place to stop herself as Rarity tumbled down the mountainside toward her friends.
“Oh no,” Applejack gasped, jumping forward, “ah've got ya.” The farmer mare threw herself into Rarity's path, firmly pressing her hooves down into the ground to halt her fall. But it was no use, Rarity merely crashed into her and sent them both downward in a mess of flailing legs and tails.
The others could do little to stop it themselves, each being caught in tumble as Rarity and Applejack ran them down. Twilight, Spike and Pinkie Pie joined them in the terrifying spectacle, their bodies sliding down the slope and into the deep crevice with nothing to stop them.
Rainbow Dash flapped her wings with all her might, attempting to stop her friends' descent. But their speed was too great for her to reach them in time, and the pegasus watched as her friends disappeared into the dark hole of the crevice
Their screams echoed into the cave the crevice forced them into. As the ponies were in free fall, their frantic attempts to save themselves were only outweighed by the heart pounding fear that they weren't going to make it.
Twilight herself could barely concentrate, her mind too busy registering the hard ground that was rushing toward them at alarming speed. Her horn began to glow as she tried thinking of a spell, any spell that could save them.
Their immanent impact then came, then the screaming ceased.
A/N: I would like to apologize for the rather long wait since the last chapter. Let's just say... I've had a near lethal dosage of writer's block and Darksiders 2.
Rainbow Dash flapped her wings with all her might, speeding toward the dark crevice her friends had fallen into.
“Please be ok, please be ok,” she begged, diving into the hole and seeing the different forms of her friends lying on the cavernous floor. “Oh no.” Hovering over Applejack, the pegasus lifted the earth pony's body and began to shake her. “Applejack, Applejack, please tell me you're alright!”
After several moments of perpetual shaking, Rainbow Dash's pounding heart skipped a beat as a light groan emanated from her friend.
“Ugh... Rainbow...?” the cowpony whispered, her head lolling to the side.
Rainbow Dash gasped in elated surprise. “Oh my gosh, Applejack!” It took only moments orange coated mare to gain a fierce scowl and glare at her flying friend.
“Consarnit, Rainbow, ah'm fine. Now quit shakin' me!”
Realizing she was indeed near throttling her friend, the pegasus retracted her forelegs, allowing the earth pony to land on her hooves and stand upright. “Heh-heh, sorry.”
Two more pained groans echoed within the large cavern, Rainbow Dash and Applejack both darted toward the sources, helping up Rarity and Twilight.
“Wow,” the pegasus breathed, preforming a once over on the alabaster mare and seeing nothing wrong with her. “You guys are fine, how did that happen?” Her question was quickly answered as she noticed the horn on Twilight's head was glowing. Her gaze then followed that of Applejack's as the farm pony stared at the spot where they had all landed.
Sitting there, right where the friends had crashed, was a large mattress. A white, springy rectangle of cushioned protection. As the spell ran its course, the conjured bed vanished from existence.
“Good job on the quick thinkin' there, Twi,” said Applejack, clearly impressed. “You sure did save our tails back there.”
“Ugh...” the scholar groaned, rubbing her aching head. “It was nothing, I'm just glad we're all okay.” Taking a quick look at their surroundings, Twilight was immediately clued in on one important detail. “Wait, where are Spike and Pinkie?” An answer was quick to come as a bubbling giggle echoed above them.
“I'm here!” chimed a joyous voice. The four ponies looked up and were immediately taken aback as they saw Pinkie Pie slowly floating down toward them, a bouquet of balloons tied to her tail.
“Pinkie...” Rarity questioned, tilting her head from side to side to make sense of the sight. “How did you...?”
Pinkie Pie's beaming smile showed itself as she landed, the balloons on her tail popping soon after. “Well of course, I never go on big cross-Equestria adventures without my balloonachute!” She giggled once more as she pulled the strings and tattered balloon remains from her tail. “That would just be silly.”
Twilight began to look around the cavern with worry. Though Pinkie Pie answered one part of her question, it didn't place a location on her scaled assistant. “Spike,” she called, her worrying voice echoing through the large cave. There was no answer. “Spike,” she called again, her tone slowly turning to panic as she trotted about, keeping her gaze locked onto the ground for any signs of the the little dragon.
“There he is,” Rarity shouted, pointing her hoof off into the distance. Twilight looked into the very direction and saw him.
Spike was a long distance away from them all. The young assistant simply stood idle, his attention clearly on something else as he gaze off toward the furthest side of the cavern, beyond the sights of the other ponies.
Quickly rushing to his side, Twilight's surge of relief nearly caused her to trample the dragon as she nuzzled against him. “Oh, Spike,” she whispered, “you had me so worried.” Despite her actions however, Spike didn't respond to her, only standing idle as his mouth hung open.
As Twilight followed the dragon's strange gaze, the other four ponies noticed the lavender librarian's demeanor quickly shift, mimicking Spike's exactly as her own thousand yard stare immobilized her.
Their friends rushed to the sides of the unicorn and dragon, but they all too became transfixed at the sight that was laid before them. All the could do was gape as they looked at the furthest corner of the cave, seeing a massive gate of stone carved into the cavernous wall.
“Is that...” Rainbow Dash trailed off, unable to ask the unneeded question. To make it more obvious, a glowing red trail could be seen snaking toward the entrance, disappearing inside the doorway shrouded in darkness.
As the crippling suspension of shock wore off, Spike took a single step toward the entryway then bolted forward at an amazing speed.
“Spike, wait up,” Twilight called, chasing after the dragon. Shaking off their own shock, the others trailed just behind the speeding dragon as he ran to the gargantuan doorway and disappeared beyond the threshold and into the unknown darkness beyond it.
The six friends' eyes rolled about in their skulls as they tried looking at everything they possibly could at once, taking in the interior of the temple and all its glory.
It was an impressive structure that none of them could have imagined.
The entrance had led them all into a massive hallway, their hoofsteps echoing with every thud on the cold stone. Large pillars stood tall from floor to ceiling, while beautifully fashioned braziers clung to them, holding still burning flames that offered dim lighting for them to follow.
Such sheer enormity to the room was what took them by surprise though. The distance between the two side walls spanned several dozen feet, making it difficult to see both of them at once. For the ceiling, the same could not be said, even with the minimal lighting they received. As the five friends looked up, they were almost certain they were gazing into a starless night sky.
But the magnificence of the place was marred by one fact, how ruined it already was.
Large piles of rubble littered the floor. Several pillars were nothing more than heaps of stone where they once stood. Many braziers were cratered on the floor, their light having gone out long ago.
As they crossed the long stretch of room, Twilight's eyes were fixed onto the walls themselves. The pillars and braziers weren't the only means of décor. To her surprise, the unicorn noticed odd patterns in the stone surface.
With a simple illumination spell, the unicorn lit up a portion of it to see there were old carvings made into the stone. Many of them appeared to be murals, holding etchings that lacked in true detail but were meant in large quantity.
A saddened sigh escaped the scholar however, noticing how ruined the carvings were. Hardly any of the original pieces were legible. Many cracks broke apart the stone pictures, others simple crumbled away over the years while most of them appeared to have been scratched away by something.
“Just look at this place,” Applejack breathed, still taken by how insignificant it made them look. “This place certainly ain't made for no pony.”
“Maybe it really was meant for dragons,” Twilight murmured, her eyes focused on a single picture on the latest nearly destroyed mural. It was of a dragon, it's mouth wide and a torrent of flames spewing from the creature's maw. Ferocious was all she could conjure as an acceptable description. What bothered her was that she was unable to tell if it had wings or not, that portion of its picture being obscured.
“I doubt it,” Rainbow Dash replied, flying up and down in a smooth transition. “If a dragon could make this, then I doubt they'd live in dank old caves like a bunch of animals.”
“You don't know that!” Spike snapped suddenly, his cheeks reddening as his brow furrowed at the pegasus. “Dragons could have stayed here!”
“Sorry, Spike,” apologized the multicolor maned mare, rubbing the back of her neck uneasily. “Maybe dragons did come here. If we look around some more, I bet we can find out.”
Accepting the apology, Spike softened his glare and continued to look about the large chamber they were in. A feeling of belonging crept into his senses as he gazed about the ruined walls and still pillars. He wasn't sure why, but something about the place made him feel right at home, like he was meant to be there. The dragon soon found himself simply looking with a mixture of curiosity and confusion at Pinkie Pie.
The pony of all things sweet and energetic had remained surprisingly silent as soon as they entered the temple. Now, the baker seemed stare off into space, her eyes unmoving. Even stranger, her entire body began to shake, starting off as a mild quiver and soon escalating into a vibrating mass of muscle spasms.
As if reading the minds of her confused friends, Pinkie Pie's body shot off toward the nearest pillar and clung to it like a spider.
“Oh my gosh everypony!” she cried out in excitement, her eyes darting about the room at her new vantage point in all possible directions. “Just look at this place!” Diving from her perch, Pinkie Pie landed on her hooves softly with a grace that would make any cat envious. “This is the perfect place for a party!”
A collective breath of flattened expectations blew from Spike and the four ponies, realizing Pinkie Pie was simply being Pinkie Pie.
“Just think about how many ponies we could get in here!” Pinkie Pie continued, unaware of her friend's dwindled interest in her imaginative views. “Decorations everywhere! No pillar un-ballooned, no wall un-streamered, and no inch of floor un-confettied! The music would have the best echo ever. And mmm,” Pinkie Pie licked her lips, “just think of all that food.” Hopping onto her back legs, the party planner began dancing as she followed her friends, moving to the music that was playing in her head. The imaginary pinkie-party was the greatest thing since sliced pinkie-bread.
Every one of them marveled at the sights they were seeing, seeing such a strange sight that promised so much more further in. But it also withheld things.
The six friends were too enamored to hear the faint sound of claws scratching across the stone floor. They were too entranced to feel the cold chill on their backs, brought on by the pair of eyes that watched them intently from within the shadows that the light could not touch. They were too captivated to sense that they weren't alone.
Eventually, the extensive hallway that seemed to go on forever finally altered its linear path. Two new tunnels opened up at the sides, creating a crossroads that presented them with a choice.
They each took a glance toward the possible routes, left, right or straight onward. Uncertainty settled in, none sure of what path would be the best. Each way looked the same from the other, showing no real reason to choose one over the other.
Rarity stepped forward to the right path, her eyes attempting to see beyond the darkness that extended before her. As her vision became strained, the unicorn felt an odd feeling course through her body, sending a shiver into her very being.
Even her friends noticed, light gasps of surprise and confusion escaping them as they took a step back. Rarity became aware of what they were seeing instantly, catching the bright light that was cast by her horn.
“Why... this sensation,” she muttered, crossing her eyes as she looked up at her own forehead, “it's so familiar... Something I've felt before but... what was it...?” She didn't have long to think on it however as she felt a powerful pull yank her forward by the horn.
Rarity screamed in fright, her legs flailed about but failed to gain any grip against the ground, her hooves dragged across the stone floor uselessly.
“I'll save you, Rarity!” Spike shouted heroically. With catlike reflexes, the baby dragon jumped from Twilight's back and landed atop Rarity's own, wrapping his arms around her and doing his best to stop the coming madness.
Sadly, the small dragon's limited size provided little in resistance to the undeterred horn, he failed to even serve as ballast to weigh the mare of his dreams down. Spike could only keep a tight grip around his love as the speed at which she was pulled increased.
Applejack's own speed was just behind Spike's, already taking one of her trusty ropes from her saddlebag. Twirling it high into the air, she flung the tied rope forward to lasso Rarity's midsection just before she was pulled out of the mare's reach. “Gotcha,” she shouted triumphantly in a muffled tone.
But her own actions where fruitless as well. The moment the slack in the rope was gone, Applejack's firmly planted hooves in the floor were uprooted from their spot, and the cowpony found herself being pulled along, just as helpless as Rarity.
Rainbow Dash shot forward, her wings propelling her quickly to allow her to wrap her hooves around Applejack's body. Flapping in reverse, the pegasus put all of her wing power to fight against the magical pull.
Twilight followed suit, doing her best to keep a hold onto Rainbow Dash. Even her magic was used to pull back on their target, encompassing them all in a magenta glow.
It was all for naught. Rarity's horn proved admirable in its relentless determination. Even with their combined efforts, they were all pulled forward along with Rarity, their struggled grunts and cries echoing through the chamber as they were sent into the darkness.
“Wait for me you guys,” Pinkie Pie chirped happily, bouncing forward after her friends, a smile plastered onto her face as she took part in this new game of 'chase' that was taking place.
Rarity, Spike, Applejack, Rainbow Dash and Twilight saw their surroundings blur. They flew through several different rooms, becoming lit up as Rarity's glowing horn rushed by. Their speed increased by the second, moving faster and faster, their goal unknown to them. Eventually, Rarity's frantic cries ceased, turning to a deadpanned gaze at the passing scenery.
Finally, after several jarring moments of quick turns through more hallways, they came to a stop. It was anything but graceful. Their bodies were all tossed into the air as Rarity suddenly halted in place, stopping on a dime with amazing stiffness.
A sigh of relief escaped them all, happy to have the forced trip come to an end.
But a new sound echoed into the room they were tossed into. It wasn't a cry of fear, a scream of pain, not even a yell of shock. It was a gasp of awe inspiring surprise, brimming with both heart stopping excitement and uncontrollable joy.
The gasp came from Rarity, having been the first to recuperate from their ordeal. Her eyes were wide, her jaw slacked. All the white unicorn could do was gaze upon what was in front of her, a chamber filled with gemstones.
Spike stood beside her, body trembling with bursting excitment. His eyes shined brightly as he gazed upon the second most beautiful sight he had ever seen.
Just a single pile of gems put the hoard of any dragon to shame. Gems of all shapes and sizes were accounted for. Spike could see hundreds of every kind of gem one could think of. There were fire-rubies, ocean-sapphires, moon-pearls, some Spike couldn't even pronounce.
Torches circled the wall above the trove. The light cast by their flickering flames shined down on the gems. It caused the the walls and ceiling of the chamber to be painted in colored lights, matching the same shades that made up the gems before them.
The muscles in Spike's mouth gave out, causing it to simply hang freely open. A waterfall of saliva flowed from his gaping maw, pooling at his feet as his mind had shut everything out except for the glittering masterpiece.
Unable to simple stare any longer, Rarity and Spike both released squeals of delight as they dove into the nearest pile they could find, scattering gems in all directions with their splash.
Spike was the first to resurface. His clawed hands reached out and dug into the pile he was in, grabbing handfuls of gems and throwing them into his mouth. The crunching of chewed gems soon accompanied Rarity's continued squeals. The young dragon's enthusiasm was showing as he shoveled the glittering stones into his mouth, his cheeks puffing out to their fullest extent before he began chewing them down in a mess of spit and gem fragments.
Having a different taste for the gems, Rarity simply buried herself in the massive pile of jewels. The seamstress swam through them like one would a river. She even began making snow pegasi out of them, fanning her legs back and forth in her bliss.
“Goodness,” said Twilight, “I've never seen so many gems in one place.”
“What do ya think they're for?” Applejack asked, averting her gaze from the near blinding shine the gems gave off.
Twilight paused as she thought on the question. “Perhaps this place was home to a dragon a long time ago, this could be their hoard. Maybe it even belonged to Serilex...” Twilight frowned, blind assumptions in the face of lacking knowledge bothered her. “We need to gather more data before we come to conclusions though.”
“Oh, I know!” Pinkie Pie's cheerful voice chimed. Her fluffy pink mane and pinker head popped out of the nearest pile of gems. It sent gems flying, as well as throwing Spike and Rarity in a tumble of startled yelps. “Looky looky up there.” Pinkie Pie pointed a hoof upward. Following it, the others saw a familiar red trail coming through into the chamber before looping back out.
“That's right,” Twilight breathed. She wanted to slap herself for forgetting about the tracking spell. “If we follow the same way Typhoon took, then we're certain to find something useful to point us the right way.”
“What?!” Rarity exclaimed, rushing forward to meet Twilight face to face. “B-but the gems... We can't just abandon these beauties here.” She then ran back to the pile, embracing it like a mother would their foal. “They need me! I can hear them calling out to me! 'Please, Rarity, don't go. Stay with us, make us into fabulous gowns.'”
Twilight held a flat look as she eyed her friend, Applejack and Rainbow Dash responding in their own way with a hoof covering their face. “Rarity,” the scholar replied, “as far as we know, these gems have been here for hundreds of years. I really don't think they're going anywhere.”
“Bu-but...” Rarity whimpered, looking between the magnificent cluster of sparkling jewels and her friends. After what seemed like an eternity of painful indecision, Rarity lowered her head down in sadness. “Okay... But,” her head rose up quickly staring at Twilight determinedly, “we must return here. I will never be able to go on knowing we left these darlings here to rot in the dark, dank and dust.”
Twilight nodded slowly, trying to keep a straight face. “Yes yes, fine, Rarity. We will see about the gems when this is all over.”
Satisfied, Rarity took a hesitant step away from her jewels and joined her friends. Spike needed his own persuasion, but was easily pulled away from his buffet with the enticement of answers to his questions. It didn't stop the baby dragon from filling his bag to bursting though.
With Typhoon's old trail in their sights, the ponies and dragon followed the glowing marker through the temple. They remained silent, the clop of their hooves echoing against the stone floor being the only sound they made. However, it was quickly accompanied by the crunch of hardened gemstones as Spike continued to devour the small pile of gems he cradled in his arms.
There was one major detail that become noticeable as the ponies took thorough inspections through the tour they had. Though the temple itself was impressive, besides the structure itself, there wasn't really anything they could use to discern its true purpose.
Every hall and chamber they entered was empty. All they ever found was rubble and shattered fragments of what could be anything. Many of the branching paths were completely inaccessible, blocked by collapsed walls and ceilings.
It bothered Twilight. Though she knew that the temple must have hundreds of years old, much of its ruined state didn't strike her as being brought on by age. To her, it felt as though something had happened. Her suspicions where only increased as she noticed large grooves worn into the stone walls and floors, always in sets of four or five, perfectly lined up with one another.
Following the old pegasus' trail did little to help in their investigation as well. The trail looped up and down in erratic movements, clearly showing where the flier had been and where he inspected. Rainbow Dash proved useful as she followed it perfectly, seeing what their ancient guide had seen long ago.
Their pursuit became even more daunting as the trail seemed to reach a dead end. The hallway they had been following for quite some time ended with another pile of broken rock. Typhoon's own trail met the blockade without stop, then the trail ended.
Rainbow Dash groaned audibly. She was becoming impatient, having thought they would have found something by now. “So, what now?”
“Maybe we missed somethin'?” Applejack offered, grimacing as their guide had run its course.
“There are a lot of places we haven't looked at yet,” Spike said. His tone was one of worry, the little dragon could notice their resolve waver ever so slightly.
As her friends discussed their next course of action, Twilight remained silent. With her eyes glued to the dead end that now ended their centuries old game of follow the leader, the unicorn's mind began to work. Some details about what she could see became clear.
Though it appeared the trail ended, Twilight wasn't so sure. To her, it seemed as though it simply went onward, going further on a path that was previously open many years ago.
“Stand back everypony,” Twilight ordered, gaining curious looks from her friends. Their movements were stalled by their own wondering minds, but after Twilight turned to them with a serious look in her eyes, they complied.
Taking several paces back herself, Twilight stared down the blockade of stone. After several deep breaths, the silence in the room was broken by a magical ring. The darkness hiding away in the corners of the hall was disrupted while the unicorn's horn sparked with power.
Moments passed as the spell grew in strength, the sparking energy and musicale chime increasing throughout. Then, the spell was fired. Every piece of rock and stone gained its own magenta glow. Within the next moment, the rough sound of stone rubbing against stone sounded off as the rocks began to rise. Then, they began hovering away from their previous spot, floating back into the hallway. With a new path opened, the rocks neatly piled themselves at the sides, allowing the ponies to easily maneuver through.
“Good job, Twilight!” Spike praised, clapping his hands like an audience at a show.
“That is a most fortunate spell,” Rarity added, noticing how neatly the rocks made themselves.
Modestly shaking away a slight blush, Twilight led the way through their new path, seeing the red trail continuing onward as well.
But only several steps were taken before they stopped once again. Everyone took in a breath of shock as they finally found signs that they weren't the only visitors.
It was a camp, or at least, the remains of one. It had been buried, completely covered by the tumbled rocks that were previously there. Tattered fragments of an old bedroll littered a small area. What could only be assumed was a bag had been split in half, whatever contents inside apparently being destroyed beyond recognition. There was even a small circle of stones placed neatly nearby, they could only assume a fire pit had been used.
But Twilight's attention was quickly drawn to one item in particular. It was a small journal. The cover and size was near identical to the ones she saw back in the Cloudsdale archives, the ones that Typhoon used.
Levitating it closer to her gaze, she noticed how newer it looked in comparison to the others. That reason was seen easily enough as well as she looked in it. Most of the pages were blank, save for the first few. They were crisp and clean, along with the cover that had only a few scratches dug into it from the stones it was covered in.
“I think this was his,” Twilight murmured, mind preoccupied as she glanced over the few entries that were written inside. Even Spike's weight sitting atop her head to lean down to see the journal for himself went unnoticed by her.
Much like the other journals, Typhoon's entries were mostly just simple recordings of his thoughts and experiences. The first pages were of observations on the mountain area, noting recognizable areas to pinpoint his location at all times. It eventually spoke of his excitement for having found the temple itself, hidden away inside a crevice. Then simple notes on the temple itself.
Twilight only had to turn the page a few times to find the last entry, an actual journal log. The librarian mare turned to her friends, clearing her throat as she prepared to read it aloud.
15x17x823
Such a strange place. Since coming here, I've only found more piling questions rather than answers How annoying.
I must have searched this temple at least a dozen times, yet nothing points me in a proper direction.
So many oddities this place holds. Though a ruined structure, it appears empty, almost as though it were abandoned. The damage is something as well. Whoever constructed this place built it to last, carved from the very mountain itself, I'm almost certain this entire temple is just one piece. Yet despite that, the damage persists. Natural elements could not harm this place, so it must have been by act of force. But what?
Pony feathers. I'm no archeologist. Perhaps I can procure assistance from Canterlot. Barter the gems I've found as payment, might shed light on this place. Will have to wait until I find my answers on Serilex however.
Still though, resting in my camp, I'm unable to find peace within these stone walls. The warming fire I have taken from a hanging light only brings about more unease as I ponder its own source. It isn't a normal flame. They still burn as brightly as the day they were lit, and that's not all, but they appear to be smokeless. Of course, with the poor ventilation of this place, a typical fire would surely suffocate any creature foolish enough to stay for more than a few moments. But I must question how this has come about.
Magic? Perhaps the creators of this temple held a great power. Certainly not the work of dragons.
Despite the obvious lack of information however, I can't say my visit has been fruitless.
I've managed to find something, an old tome lost within the darkness. It appears burnt, a few pages singed and blackened. But the old book is still a sight to behold. No written work I have ever seen can compare to it. Over twice the size of a normal tome, using materials I've never encountered.
The writing inside is even more unusual. Only a few words I can make out. Yet I might have found something I can use. A mention of a wingless dragon, talking of an actual location somewhere.
I'm certain I can decipher more detail from this, but not now. First I wish to head north to the Tempest Hold. There I can rest and figure this out in peace. Ah, to return to the ancestral lands will be a comforting visit. Haven't been there since I was a lad, nearly froze my tail off too. Good times.
Though I've been excited to be here, this temple is beginning to unnerve me. Unable to shake this strange feeling, like the darkness that lurks around me is shifting in my very presence.
Finishing, Twilight and here friends remained silent. Their thoughts were taken to what they had heard. Returning her gaze to the camp, the lavender mare could only assume what had happened to it. After a quick search, no signs of the mentioned tome could be seen. It was plausible that the old pegasus had managed to save it before the crushing incident.
Out of all the ponies, Rainbow Dash appeared the most distant. Her eyes were lost in the nothingness around her, while her body lazily hovered in place. “Tempest... Hold...?” she whispered questioningly.
“Have you heard of it?” Spike asked. Looking at the mare with expectation, hoping she would offer aide once more to get them out of their dead end.
“Sorta,” she answered, pausing for a moment to think again. “I know that holds were once bases used by the pegasi a long time ago. They were used to distribute weather to the areas where they were built, as well as a guard outpost against incoming threats. But after more towns started popping up everywhere, they simply made their own weather teams and the holds were left behind.” She frowned noticeably. “Took a trip to one back in flight camp. Was pretty messed up, pretty boring too.”
“So we just need to find this hold now then,” Spike said, already setting their course.
Twilight thought on it before nodding in agreement. “I suppose so. We have nothing else to go on. Hopefully Typhoon left some clue that we can follow further. But... where would we find this hold in the first place?”
Looking back to the camp, Twilight searched about the remains of the tattered bag. Near everything was ruined, time helping in its destructive power. But, the unicorn noticed the faded yellowing of old parchment, rolled up in the furthest corner of the bag.
With a quick levitate, the scroll hovered in front of her. The paper did in fact look old, she half expected it to crumble in her simple spell as she unfurled it to examine what was inside.
Twilight's breath shortened in shock as she gazed at a map. It was crude, holding only a few marks on it that seemed dated to any modern map, but one mark in particular caught her eye. A small picture of a building was colored in black with the word 'Tempest' written on top of it. The marking was placed in the lands north of Equestria, just a ways away from the border between them both.
“This is it,” Twilight breathed, her scholarly instincts taking over as she realized she held history in her magical grasp. With cautious movements, the librarian carefully furled the map and gingerly placed it into her saddlebag, the journal following soon after.
“So we're done here?” Applejack inquired, making sure they were all on the same page.
Catching the waiting glances of her friends. Twilight faced them with a smile and nodded.
Everyone greedily took in the fresh air as they flew northward in their balloon ride.
Thanks to Rainbow Dash, they were able to escape the cavern they had trapped themselves in and safely make it back to the balloon without a hitch.
Now, Equestria's border was in their sight as they continued to follow the directions given to them by a pony who long since turned to dust.
Twilight continued to look at the ancient map in her possession, taking great care to not damage it as she guided the pegasus that pulled them forward. Rarity appeared sullen, gazing off longingly at the place they had came, a beckoning pile of jewels on her mind. Applejack laid still continued to enjoy the scenery around her, having just realized how much she missed the open sky being over her. Spike happily nibbled on another gem, gluttonously filling his stomach with his stash. Pinkie Pie was, for the most part, being Pinkie Pie, bouncing about joyously in her spot while humming a soft tune to a song that would undoubtedly be heard when the right time presented itself.
But the peace did not last. Their blissful demeanors all turned to stiff expressions of a shuddering terror as they heard it.
A terrible, screeching roar tearing through the sky like a knife. They looked out to see the black silhouette of a fearsome creature flying high into the sky, it's large, featherless wings and long, serpent tail showing clearly before it darted downward and flew straight toward them. A fiery gaze burning in it's slitted pupils.
Everyone was frozen in place as they stared up into the sky, seeing the large dragon bearing down on them. It's powerful wings easily cleared the distance between it and the balloon that now trapped the ponies in the sky, looking insignificant compared to the scaled beast.
The dragon was rather small compared to the giants of the fully matured, it was still nearly the size of a house however. It's scales held a crimson color while two large horns protruded from it's skull. Much smaller spikes raced down it's back, ending just at the tip of the tail.
As it came upon the balloon, the red dragon stopped. Twilight and her friends could feel a gust of air as the creature hovered in place.
Then, their hearts sank within their chests as they heard another roar. Not from the dragon so near them, but off in the distance. The red dragon turned it's head and looked out, as did the ones it was facing. Not moments later, a second dragon appeared next to the first.
The new dragon was slightly bigger. It's body shined with an azure hue while small webbed spines grew from the top of it's head and flowed down it's back.
Just as the first did, the blue dragon stayed still in the air beside the red one. They said nothing to each other, not even showing if they could. The two dragons simply stared down at the balloon and the passengers standing in its basket.
Each pony felt their bodies clench with unease as the eyes of the dragons locked onto each of them. Spike was the one to feel it the worst, his entire form shuddering as he felt the lingering gazes on him, both dragons looking down on him intently.
Their eyes narrowed as they looked the small dragon up and down, causing him to shift back and forth in place. After what seemed like an eternity, the menacing drakes turned to one another, holding what seemed like an expression of understanding between them.
Then, the dragons pulled their heads back, a rumbling growl emanated from their throats. And with a powerful thrust forward, a massive torrent of flames erupted from their roaring maws.
Gasping in shock, Rainbow Dash darted forward, pulling the balloon away from the path of the fiery attack.
Another pair of roars echoed across the skies as the ponies sped onward. Rainbow Dash pushed and pushed forward with all of her might, using her capable flying skills to pull them away from the beasts.
But it did little in the wake of the coming dragons. The sky itself seemed to shake with the wing beats of the creatures. Twilight and the others looked behind them in fear, seeing the dragons approach them with increasing speed.
The chase took them over a large forest, the basket of their ride brushed against the tops of trees. Loud sounds of leaves rustling filled the air along with the rushing winds and ferocious growls.
“Faster, Rainbow Dash, faster!” Rarity shouted, panicking as their pursuing dragons were gaining speed.
“I'm going as fast as I can!” the pegasus shouted back, doing her best to ignore the weight she was pulling and push her limits more and more.
“We gotta stop 'em ourselves,” Applejack said determinedly.
Grabbing a rope from her bag, orange mare twirled the lasso high into the air. With a powerful swing, the rope was sent off to her right, wrapping a long branch at the top of a tall tree they were just flying past. After just a momentary pull, Applejack released her hold on the rope and forced the bending branch to snap back, the action caused the blue dragon to be smacked forcefully across the face.
After growl of startled pain, the dragon fell behind it's red companion, nearly crashing as it recovered from the attack.
Catching on to the idea, the others took to their own actions in attempts to save themselves.
Twilight leaned against the back of the basket. Her horn glowed with magic as she concentrated on a defensive spell. Small bolts of magical energy shot forward, aiming for the dragons chasing them. The unicorn wasn't well versed in spells of offensive purposes, but she put her best effort into her attack to try and blast the dragons out of the sky.
Rarity reached into her own saddlebags and took the only thing she had. Pulling out a large feathered hat she was saving for later in their trip, the alabaster unicorn tossed it overboard toward the dragons, followed by several other articles of clothing she had packed. The attempt accomplished little however, as the dragons neared the coming obstacle, their claws swiped out and tore the clothing to shreds. Rarity gasped, heated over the mistreatment of her garments.
Spike held onto the contents of his own bag. With nothing else for him to do, the little dragon could only stare at the gems he had taken from the temple with hesitation. To think of wasting such delicious items hurt him so. His contemplating was halted however as a light glow encompassed the gem in his hand.
“Spike,” Rarity said sternly, “now's not the time for that.” She then tossed the gem toward the dragons, prompting Spike to follow suit and throw them with all of his strength. The dragons merely opened their jaws wide, catching the gems into their gaping maws, swallowing each one without even needing to chew.
As they did all they could to push back the pursuing dragons, everyone paused as they caught sight of colorful paper flying back toward the menaces. They looked to the side to see Pinkie Pie quickly tossing out hooffulls of confetti and streamers. Her attempts at stopping the dragons appeared for naught however, most of the decorations simply missed the dragons. There was some confetti that seemed to hit them however, but it simply clung to their scales and only managed to make them look more festive.
“Ah don't think that's helpin',” Applejack stressed, eying her pink friend with skepticism, overwriting the heart pounding fear that showed on her face.
“Oh, don't worry a second little Appleyjackley,” Pinkie Pie reassured. She forced Applejack's hat down with a pat on the head, covering her eyes. A confident smile seemed to be sculpted onto her face. “Your pal Pinkie Pie has got this allllll handled.” As Applejack readjusted her hat, she caught the eyes of Pinkie Pie as her usual blissful smile turned devious. The pink mare lowered her head down and whispered, “I haven't even used my secret weapon.”
Without waiting for anything else, Pinkie Pie reached into her bags and pulled out her 'secret weapon'. The others looked at the party planner wither wonder as she held her weapon in her mouth, a bushel of rubber balloons.
Everyone groaned at the revelation, going back to their own means of defense as it seemed the dragons were gaining speed.
Pinkie Pie quickly began to wrap her lips around her new choice of weaponry and blew. After each balloon inflated, Pinkie was quick to lean her head out of the basket and release her pursed lips. Without anything holding it back, the air in the balloon flew from its rubber prison and shot the balloon forward. The colorful decoration headed straight for the coming dragons, but it did little as it simply blew past, fading from sight quickly at the speeds the two parties were going.
But Pinkie Pie was not deterred in the action. Again and again, the hyperactive pony filled more balloons with air, tossing them aside just as quickly. Several balloons actually hit their targets, getting stuck in the spines and scales of the dragons, accompanying the other attempts the pony had made.
Then, a bright pink balloon found a mark, striking the red dragon in the eye. After an earthshaking roar of annoyance and rage, the dragon's hand shot upward to rub the agitated area. With it's disrupted concentration and half-blinded state however, the dragon's wing crashed into the side of an oncoming tree with a mighty snap.
All the dragon could utter was another furious roar as it spiraled out of control, turning into a ball of flailing wings, limbs and scales as it came down hard into the forest beneath it. The loud snapping of wood sounded as trees were flattened underneath the red weight.
“Woohoo,” Pinkie Pie cheered, “take that Mr. Scalybut!” Her friends held a different reaction, only able to stare at their friend with dumbstruck expressions.
With only one dragon in pursuit, the blue drake's eyes narrowed in a fierce glare. Rearing it's head back, the dragon shot a great ball of fire toward it's target.
“Rainbow, turn right!” Twilight shouted. Rainbow Dash looked back to see the blazing inferno on their tail. She did as she was instructed and veered to the side. But they all gasped upon realization that they were not the dragon's target.
Instead, as the ball of fire passed them, it struck the tree tops just ahead of their path. In a powerful explosion of fire, the trees burst into flame. A wall of fire crackled in an impassible demeanor, threatening to swallow up anything foolish enough to think it could go through.
“Ah,” Rainbow Dash yelped as she forced herself upward, nearly throwing her passengers from the basket with the sudden incline.
Their elevated direction did them more harm than good however. It decreased there speed significantly, and the dragon just behind them knew it.
Seeing the ponies slowing, the blue dragon raced forward. Everyone looked on in shock as the large dragon was upon them, meeting face to face with them in a triumphant sneer. It raised it's clawed hand up and brought it down on them.
They had to jump back just to dodge the deadly swipe. But the claws had found something to sink into. The upper half of the backside of the basket was gone, as well as a large tear being cut into the balloon itself.
The hot air quickly poured out of the wound. With the new forceful push, it caused the basket to be sent across the skies in a sporadic mess of movements. Rainbow Dash herself couldn't even keep up with it, being sent around and about along with them as the ropes that leashed her also trapped her.
Even the earsplitting cries of the the six friends drowned out the dragon's beastly roar. After losing most of the lifting air, the balloon plummeted down. Branches snapped as it tore through the treeline, twigs and leaves were tossed in every direction.
As the crashing ponies began to lose momentum, the airless sack that was once called a balloon snagged in an oncoming branch. The sudden stop lurched the basket forward and threw everyone forward.
They all landed onto the hard, unforgiving floor of the forest. But there was no time to lick wounds and stop pounding heats. The overbearing sound of wing beats remained them all of their predicament. So they ran.
The ponies galloped through the forest as fast as they could. Spike locked his arms around Twilight's neck and buried his face into her comforting mane. The others all looked behind them and toward the skies, fearing they would once again see the imposing visage of a scaled monster on them once again.
After a continuous run straight forward, the ponies found themselves entering a large clearing in the forest. They came to a stop at the very edge of it, looking out to the wide, open area.
With a cautious start, the ponies began to move into the clearing. As nothing happened, they broke into another fast gallop. The furthest edge of the clearing was in their sight, certainty that they could escape the creatures pursuing them hung in the air.
But they were all forced to stop as a sudden blast of fire exploded just before them.
Rearing back, everyone looked up to see the blue dragon flying above them before landing in the clearing. The dragon began to advance toward them, but it stopped as another screeching roar sounded. Then, the red dragon came to a landing, impacting the ground with such force that a small crater expanded around it. It's eyes held the fiercest look any dragon could form, the intimidating fear it created was only diluted slightly by the pulsing red eye that made it up.
Twilight and the others slowly backed away from the dragons that were stepping toward them. With their original route now in flames, they quickly chose a new path and now inched themselves toward it. But none of them, not even the warmhearted Pinkie Pie, could dare muster up the optimism to assume they were making it out of this.
They had nothing, no means of escape, no means of defense. Twilight's own vast knowledge of spells dwindled into nothingness as her building panic tore the young student down. All they could do was cower, and hope that whatever was coming would come soon, and end just as quickly.
As the dragon's moved within easy striking distance of their targets, their lips curled into sadistic smiles, their razor sharp fangs gleaming in the sunlight.
Then, as both dragons leaned backward onto their back legs, preparing to overtake their prey in a single bound, their expressions shifted as a familiar, but new sound echoed through the sky.
Everyone, the ponies, as well as the dragons looked to the sky, The sun seemed to disappear over the ponies as a shadow befell them. Then, the earth itself shook as though an earthquake had hit as a third dragon landed between the six friends and the two dragons.
The frightened friends only cringed back at the entrance, now seeing their bleak chances become absolute. The new dragon was easily larger than the two previous ones. The size wasn't all that was noticeable about the dragon either. It was it's scales, holding a magnificent color of bronze, it looked as though the metal itself was cast into it's hide.
They also noticed the odd effect the newcomer had on the red and blue dragons. Their previous ferocity had shifted to looks of surprise and shock. They eyed the bronze dragon as though they didn't know how to react to it's presence at all.
But soon, their vicious demeanor returned, shooting fiery glares toward the dragon. The blue one took it a step further, shifting it's gaze back toward the ponies. It's eyes fell back onto the purple scaled dragon with them. With quick movements, the blue dragon sidestepped the new arrival and rushed forward.
The ponies gasped in shock, not at the blue dragon, no, having not even made it's target. Instead, the blue beast found itself sprawled in a heap of crushed trees, having been sent flying as the bronze dragon charged into it with a powerful headbutt.
The red dragon countered with it's own forceful rush forward, a crackling flame built from between it's lips as it's sights were set on the defenseless hoofed creatures. But with amazing speed, the bronze dragon was already upon it's red opponent. Leaning on it's hind legs, the larger dragon reached up and grabbed onto the red one's horns. Only a short struggle was had before the red dragon was wrestled to the ground, it's forming blast of fire being sent into the ground beneath them, scorching away the grass and leaving a blackened scar.
Having recovered, the blue drake took advantage of the bronze one's preoccupation, planning to run past it and attack. Again it was stopped however, making it only a few feet before a tail adorned in bronze scales struck out and threw it back to the forest floor.
Applejack stared wide eyed at the events transpiring before her, an absurd idea crossed her as the dragons fought. “Is it just me,” she wondered aloud, “or is that there dragon helpin' us?”
As though hearing the earth pony's quiet thought amongst her friends, the bronze dragon's head shot toward them. They flinched noticeably at the stare that was felt from it and took several more steps back. The dragon's lips quivered for a moment before it opened it's maw, a sudden burst of flames shooting forward, aiming for the six friends.
With startled cries, the ponies all dived out of the way, narrowly dodging the attack by inches. They could feel the heat of the blast on their flanks as they came to a stop. But again, the dragon readied another stream of flames, rearing it's head back to put it's full force into it.
The ponies all ran for it, clearing space between them and the path of the oncoming blaze.
Their steps were frantic and poorly balanced. The scrambled actions of the five ponies caused the single rider upon Twilight's back to lose his grip. Spike's hold on his caretaker was lost as he tumbled away and collapsed onto the ground.
By the time the others noticed his absence, it was too late. The five ponies looked back to see Spike helpless on the ground, frozen on the spot in terror as he looked up at the large dragon's coming flame.
Like a wave of burning water, the fiery attack washed over the baby dragon. The purple of his scales was lost in the overpowering shades of orange and red.
“Spike!” Twilight cried out, seeing her assistant swallowed in the path of flame.
The librarian fell to the ground, unable to stand as tears streamed from her eyes. Even the ferocious battle of dragons just a few feet away was lost to her, the crippling grief pounding into her senses.
The others simple stood there in stunned silence, unable to react to the sudden loss.
Soon, the full extent of the blaze began to die down, leaving nothing but small fires still burning in the area. It was almost too much to watch as the now five ponies prepared to see what was left of their scaled friend.
Inevitable gasps escaped into the air as the fire died down, the eyes of everypony locked onto the spot where Spike was. What they saw was something none of them could emotionally prepare themselves for. Tears began to build in their eyes, lips quivered in an involuntary spasm, all brought on by the small purple dragon lying on the ground in the smoldered earth.
Spike's small body was curled into a ball. His eyes were shut tight in his final act of immediate preparation.
After several moments, the dragon's emerald eyes revealed themselves. Sitting up, Spike timidly looked over himself, shocked to see that nothing was wrong with himself. The shock was soon erased by an embarrassed stroke of stupidity as the little assistant rubbed the back of his head.
“Oh yeah,” the dragon murmured aloud, “I'm fireproof, aren't I?” His embarrassment was quickly shifted to a startled state as he realized the small flame clinging to his back. With a sudden yelp, the dragon stripped away the bag that he wore and tossed the flaming piece of fabric aside. Soon, the remainder of it was eaten away by the flame, leaving only a smoldering pile of gems behind.
Then, the frozen ponies were all shaken into movement as the booming sound of more trees being crushed rang out, followed by another series of furious roars.
“We need to go!” Rainbow Dash shouted, seeing their only chance at escape slipping away with each passing moment they stayed idle.
Without anymore hesitation, the others followed Rainbow's lead and ran off. Only Spike seemed to be still unaware of what was going on. But he was yanked from his disorientation as Twilight bit down on one of his back spines and carried him off into the forest, holding him like a mother cat would their kitten.
None of them were sure how long they were running. All they were certain of was that rising sounds of the fighting dragons began to fade with every moment they spent galloping.
They were exhausted, barely able to keep themselves standing much less run such lengths. But the pounding fear could still be felt within them all, propelling them forward without further hesitation.
Soon enough, they could no longer hear the sounds of the scaled beasts. The forest felt still, almost calm, as though the attack had never taken place. Luck itself seemed to shine down on them as warmly as the dimming sun itself as they made their way through a large cluster of trees.
Elated breaths of joy fell from the lips of them all as they encountered a cave sitting amongst the trees. The entrance was small, but the ponies were just the right size to make it through, bringing comfort that no cave dwelling beasts would be large enough to make it their own home.
Hiding themselves as deep within the cave as they could, everyone collapsed onto the rocky flooring as their legs finally gave out.
They all remained silent. The only sound in the cave came from their own heavy breathing.
The silence stayed for some time, but eventually, it was broken by a startled yelp. It came from Spike, shocked as he was suddenly crushed in the tight hold of five mares as they all held the dragon in relieved group hug.
“Oh, Spike,” Twilight whispered, having the tightest grip on the assistant, “I thought I had lost you.”
“We all did,” Rarity added. Spike could feel wet tears transfer onto his cheek as the alabaster unicorn's eyes began to water. “To think, my little Spikey Wikey, to be taken from us so... so...” She didn't finish, instead holding the dragon even tighter as her tears of joy continued.
“Ugh,” Spike managed to let out, feeling every ounce of air being squeezed out of him. After several moments of squirming, the infant dragon managed to break free of the hold placed on him. “Guys, guys,” he said reassuringly, “I'm alright. No dragon's going to mess with this uh... dragon.” Seeing their worry for him though, Spike's slight annoyance to their overbearing joy dissipated and turned to a happy smile. “But thank you for the concern.”
After one last hug from each of them, the six friends settled down and began to think of what they would do.
Traveling now was out of the question. No doubt their previous attackers were still in search. So they decided to make camp within the cave for the night.
With Luna's moon nearly taking over the sky, a fire was made to bring light to the dark cave. Only a few paces were taken outside of the cave to gather the wood needed, and Spike's flaming breath proved useful for lighting it.
It wasn't long before the six friends rested around a warming blaze. The rest allowed them to ponder over what had transpired before. The heart racing chase and their brush with death were both still fresh within their minds.
Rainbow Dash was the first to speak on the subject. “So... why did those dragons up and attack us like that?” There was no immediate answer. None of them could begin to come up with solutions.
“Maybe,” Twilight offered, “it was a territorial matter? Some creatures can become violent when outsiders come into their chosen territory. Maybe the dragons put claim on the land and we were just looked at as intruders.”
“Maybe they were just monsters lookin' for a meal,” Applejack huffed heatedly. To her, attacking innocent creatures without provocation was unacceptable.
“Hey,” said Spike in defense of his scaled kin, “dragons don't eat ponies.” As soon as the words left him, his certainty wavered. He then turned to Twilight. “Right?”
The scholar's eyes fell to the floor, unsure as to how she would answer the question. “Well... I'm not really sure.” As she saw Spike's expression droop down into depression, the unicorn was quick to add to her statement. “But, you've shown that dragons don't have to at least, so maybe none of them do.”
“Well I'm just glad that big ol' shiny dragon came by,” Pinkie Pie said cheerfully. “He was all like kerpow! And those two meanie dragons were all 'ahh' crash! If he hadn't wanted to eat us too, we would be donediddly done for, yessiree.”
Twilight nodded, if a bit awkwardly. “We were fortunate for that dragon. But something about it just doesn't sit right with me.”
“Maybe we're putting too much thought into this,” Rarity said, offering her own insight. “The important thing is we are all safe and sound, which is more than I can say for my poor outfits... But, it was a worthy sacrifice to help in our safety.”
“You're right, Rarity,” Twilight agreed. “Now we should just try and get a good night sleep. Tomorrow we can figure out what to do next. Those dragons should be long gone by then.”
So they all decided to sleep for the night.
But a peaceful rest did not come easily for the five ponies. They tossed and turned on their hard beds of stone, their dreams plagued by nightmares of flame, scale and claw.
The same could not be said for Spike however as he held a blissful expression of peace on his face. The young dragon did not dream of recent events. No, his own dream was one of a very distant memory. One of the earliest days his subconscious to recollect, at a time when his status as a baby dragon still showed in his outward appearance as well as his maturity.
As the memory played itself out in Spike's head, a smile slowly crept onto his lips, remembering fondly on the day he learned one of his first great lessons.
“Come now little one, are you not hungry?” asked the melodic voice of Princess Celestia.
She gingerly lowered the bottle once more, the sparkling blue liquid inside sloshing back and forth in the golden glow it was held in.
The princess' serene expression slowly began to shift to concern as the bottle began to stay idle. Then, a warm smile soon replaced it as two stubby purple arms raised up to grasp at the bottle being dangled before it. Even a giggle escaped the sun goddess as the enthusiastic dragon infant quickly took the bottle into his mouth and began sucking down the meal.
“Princess,” a soft voice called. Celestia's attention was drawn to it quickly, turning her head toward the young filly that sat a small table away from her. The lavender coated unicorn looked up at the ruler, her head tilted slightly to the side in an inquisitive glance.
“Yes, Twilight?” Celestia asked, prepared to assist her student in any area she may have difficulty in.
A tiny hoof extended outward and pointed toward the bottle, already half emptied by the hungry dragon. “What's that?”
Celestia turned back to the feeding dragon and understood her student's meaning. “That's sapphire milk,” she replied, “it's made from melting the gemstone into a smooth liquid.” Though the answer was a simple one, the actual process was something else entirely. Even for the bringer of sun, creating a magical heat to match that of a mother dragon in order to liquify the glittering rock was quite difficult. But of course, it was a labor she happily preformed. “It's what a baby dragon needs in order to grow big and strong.”
“How do you know that, Princess?” Twilight immediately asked. Even at her age, the young scholar was very perceptive. After becoming Celestia's student, the first time seeing the baby dragon was followed by her curious mind asking multitudes of questions on the creature. But she was saddened to hear her mentor explain that little was actually known of the scaled fliers. Now, the unicorn couldn't help but notice a slight contradiction.
Even Celestia, master of controlling her outward appearance, was unable to fully hide her surprise to the realization she had let something slip. “Because,” she was quick to say, regaining her usual regal demeanor, “I am your teacher, I know everything.”
Twilight huffed softly, looking back down at the book of moderately-advanced spells that was open in front of her. “That's what mom always says.” She knew better than to pester the princess now though, being forced to accept the answer and move on.
With her student aimlessly staring into her book, Celestia was able to nonchalantly fold the cover of a large tome shut, hiding away the vast information stored within and keeping her playful facade going.
Her stealthy action caused her sights to fall back on the scaled child next to her, seeing the transparent plastic of the bottle all the way through. She watched for a moment as the baby dragon continued to suck, making sure every last drop of the glistening liquid was consumed.
“So you were hungry after all,” Celestia commented playfully. She then took bottle from the dragon, causing him to frown indignantly, to which she answered by levitating him from his small bed.
Just as he usually did, the infant dragon acted out his unhappiness to the levitation, squirming about as much as he was able. It did little however, as the princess patiently waited for him to learn the inevitability himself.
Soon enough, the dragon halted in his attempts at freedom, still holding an annoyed look about him. But it didn't bother Celestia, who simply brought the infant closer to her. While lifting her foreleg, the princess lightly tapped the edge of her hoof against the dragon's back. After several pats, she gained a loud belch from the little dragon. But the princess gasped as she was also greeted with something else.
A long stream of green flame, nearly three times of the size of the dragon creating it. The fire shot forward along with the noisy burp. It burned with such an intensity, even for the few seconds it existed, small droplets of sweat formed on the princess' face.
“My goodness,” Celestia breathed, almost having a portion of her flowing mane singed from the unexpected burst. “You certainly are full of surprises, aren't you?” The baby dragon nodded his head happily, proud of himself even if the action was involuntary.
The princess placed the small dragon back into his bed, watching as he relaxed in the comforting cushions that surrounded him. As the moments passed, a simple smile crossed the ruler as an idea came to her.
“Perhaps,” she began, talking mostly to herself as the dragon's attention was locked onto her, “with such fire, you could be ready for...” Trailing off, the princess made a quick glance back toward the old tome she had put away. Her smile grew even larger as her horn lit up in a golden hue.
A small scroll then floated before her. Nothing of importance, just a simple schedule of the duties for the day, which held little as she made sure to have plenty of time whenever she watched over her student.
Celestia then lowered the scroll down toward the dragon, who had become captivated by the glowing parchment.
“Would you like me to show you something?” Celestia asked, her sweet tone holding a hint of excitement as the young dragon wrapped his claws around the scroll.
He nodded his head up and down enthusiastically.
Giggling softly, the princess lowered herself onto the ground, lying on the floor to bring herself closer to the dragon's level and meet him eye to eye. “Alright then. Now, you must concentrate on the scroll.”
The dragon did so, or at least he seemed to. His emerald green eyes looked down at the scroll intently. The childlike bliss he held was gone as he did as the princess requested.
“You must look deep inside yourself,” Celestia continued, speaking with both wisdom and clarity. “Find that fire already burning within you, let yourself build the power more and more, then use it. Use it as a direction, not an act of destruction, but as a form of guidance. Use that guidance to deliver the scroll forward, if only a short distance.”
The small dragon took in what he was being told, his eyes never leaving the scroll in his clawed hands. Even as a baby, he knew how to make fire, it excited him. The bright, colorful flame was a joy to create. He even found a little joy in the reaction of those nearby when he made it, as a few unlucky guards and castle attendants could attest to.
Now, as he concentrated on the scroll, on the burning depths within him, he inhaled deeply then blew.
Celestia's small smile grew and grew, her eyes never leaving the dragon as his determined gaze rivaled that of her guards. Her excitement peaked as the dragon inhaled, preparing to breath a flame and preform what she was waiting for. Then, her smile deflated.
The small flame produced simply burned, turning the scroll into a candle. Blowing out the weak flame herself, Celestia examined the black scorch mark left behind, seeing the thin trail of smoke rise from it.
“Wishful thinking, I suppose,” Celestia murmured. Of course, she couldn't say she actually thought it would have worked, the dragon was far too young. And yet, there was a strange feeling of disappointment from it.
Celestia's thoughts were halted when a small voice called out to her. “Oh, Princess.” It was Twilight, attempting to gain the attention of her mentor. The princess turned to her.
Seeing that she obtained what she was after, the filly scholar continued. “I found this neat spell here.” She pressed her hoof against the page she was turned to in her book of spells, indicating the spot even though her teacher was too far to actually see it. “But I'm not really sure how to do it.”
“One moment, Twilight,” Celestia replied, stepping toward her student. The princess was unaware of the saddened gaze showing on the baby dragon's face as she turned away.
It only lasted mere moments, the dragon's joy at preforming Celestia's task correctly. But he could see it in her face clearly, he had failed. Even if he wasn't exactly sure what she was asking him to do.
He now looked at the scroll, having been left behind as the princess tended to her student. The dragon could only think on what he had been told previously and the pony who had said them. His eyes closed tightly, his concentration steeled. Then, without hesitation, the young dragon inhaled.
“It's this one, Princess,” Twilight said, tapping her hoof against the spell she was mentioning.
Celestia examined it for a moment and nodded her understanding. “Ah yes, it is a bit more difficult to what you usually do, isn't it? Well, you simply need to focus on the-” The princess was unable to finish, she was cut off by her own sudden gasp as a large plume of smoke trailed in front of her gaze.
Within moments, the trail accumulated in a single spot and with a sparkling 'poof' the smoke transformed into a scroll, a black scorch mark visible on its tip.
As Twilight's gaze became glued to the scroll as it dropped down onto the floor between them, Celestia turned toward to the small dragon. He was happy, joyfully clapping his hands together while his face became stretched by the largest smile he could create.
Celestia's shock was evident, gone was her mask of regal solemnity, she could only gape at the small dragon and what he had done.
As it finally sunk in, Celestia retrieved the scroll and brought it back to the dragon. “Can you do that again?” she asked, the eagerness in her voice palpable. The baby dragon examined the scroll, clutching it in his claws. Then, with only a momentary pause, he inhaled deeply then blew.
Only a small flicker of a flame came from his lips, but it was enough. The scroll was instantaneously consumed in a green flame. As the last of it burned, the smoke created began to move as if carried by a sentient wind. It danced through the air freely, moving only a few inches before it reached the princess. Finding its target, the smoke once again formed into a single spot before changing back into the scroll that had been burned away.
Again Celestia was speechless, only able to show her surprise as she looked between the scroll and the jovial dragon. But her excitement soon replaced it. With the energy and vigor of a young filly, Celestia placed the scroll back into the infant's grasp and then leaped into the air.
Landing several feet across the room, Celestia beamed toward the dragon. “Once more,” she requested, not noticing the peculiar looks her student was giving her.
With the same routine as the first two times, the dragon preformed his ability without delay. The smoke trailed across the room, directing its path toward the ruler. But, the traveling smoke only made it halfway. It then stopped, reforming into the scroll and falling onto the ground.
Celestia suppressed a bubbling giggle at the sight. “Oh well,” she said with a blissful sigh, approaching the small dragon as he looked up at her. “I can't expect anymore of you. After all, you've already exceeded what I had thought possible, and I'm proud of you.”
“What kind of spell was that?” Twilight asked, her own mind racing with excitement over the spell she had never seen before. “Can I learn it?”
“It's a delivery spell,” Celestia answered, half-turning toward her student. “And no, Twilight, I'm afraid only he can use it.” The young unicorn looked dejected at the answer, hanging her head down with her excitement dashed. Seeing her student's reaction, the princess added,“even Iwould have trouble re-creating it.” Twilight's disappointment lessened at that, not feeling as bad if it was something so difficult.
The princess' eyes then turned back to the dragon, his heartwarming smile still spread across his lips. “But you,” she said, leaning her head down close to the young dragon to whisper, “you will learn it quickly, I am certain. It will give you a connection with me nopony else could ever have.” She smiled softly as a delighted giggle escaped the infant. “A special little dragon like you, I am certain will do great things for this world. The world is a big place though, one could easily get lost. But, as long as you remember that spell,” she lowered her head further, nuzzling against the dragon affectionately, “no matter where you are, I will always be there with you.”
The dragon wrapped his small arms around the princess' face, hugging her the best he could to return the gentle sentiment.
Lifting her head, Celestia gazed down on the dragon, she was then struck by another thought. “Twilight,” she said, turning slightly to address her student, “it may come as a surprise, but our scaly friend here is still without a name.” The filly's full attention was focused on her mentor, her mind working out what she was getting at. “I had thought to give him one myself... But, I think you should have the honor.”
An elated gasp came from the unicorn. “Really, Princess?” she asked, double checking to make sure she heard right.
“Yes, my student,” nodded Celestia. “After all, it was you who helped bring him here.”
Twilight's large smile continued for several moments before it slowly drained down. Her demeanor shifted into a stance of deep thinking as she pondered the perfect name for the purple creature. As the indecisive unicorn thought silently, said dragon's own interest to his surroundings began to wane. With nothing else exciting happening, his natural need to occupy himself brought him to lifting his tail up and absentmindedly suck on the tip.
“Oh,” Twilight breathed, her gaze focusing on the aimless dragon, “I know what to call him.” The filly scholar stood face to face with the dragon, his eyes met hers as a smile spread across her lips. “Your name will be-”
“Spike,” Twilight urged, lightly nudging the small dragon's side as he slept. “Spike, wake up. We need to get going.”
“Huh... wha...?” Spike murmured in his drowsy state. He opened his eyes to see a lavender mare standing over him, her hoof still pressed against his side.
“Come on, Spike,” she said, putting more force into her push. “It's morning and we have to go.”
“Oh... ok,” Spike yawned, standing up to stop the bothersome pestering of his caretaker.
The others were already at the threshold of the cave, waiting patiently as Twilight and Spike joined them. Twilight placed the dragon atop her back to carry him, his slow pace conflicting greatly with her plan to move quickly out of the cave.
As his drowsiness began to ebb away, Spike's mind drifted to the odd dream he had that night.
He couldn't say it was a first for him, he had remembered that strange day before. Though the little dragon wondered why he still held onto the memory after so long. It always made him feel good inside to think of it, the day when he first learned his delivering ability. Maybe that was why, he wasn't fully sure.
What also brought questions to his mind was the context his mind had brought it up in. Why a cave of all places was beyond him. Especially after nearly surviving an attack by his own kind. It was puzzling to him. But, with no real way to deduce such things, the questions were pushed aside.
However, there was one question that persisted, and Spike knew it at least could be answered.
“Hey, Twilight,” Spike said, hardly noticing the cautious steps his friends took as they trotted out of the cave. The warmth of the fresh morning sun lapped against their faces, while orange rays of light beamed down through the openings in the forest canopy.
“What is it, Spike?” Twilight asked. Her tone lacked her full attention as much of her focus was used to watch the skies and listen for the telltale sound of wing beats and thundering roars.
Spike hesitated slightly with his question, awkwardly playing with his claws. “Um... well, where did my name come from?”
The question caused the librarian to stop on the spot, standing still for a few seconds as her mind registered the question. The others kept going, their own split focus causing the sudden slack of one of their own to go unnoticed.
“Your name?” Twilight murmured.
She inwardly pondered where the question might have come from. Unable to draw a conclusion however, the unicorn's mind drifted to that fateful day when a baby dragon was given his name.
“Well,” she began, “I was the one who named you. It was actually kind of hard since I didn't know what a proper name for a dragon would be. But,” she paused as she giggled fondly on the memory, “I remember I named you that because you used to always suck on the spike at the tip of your tail.”
Small, tentative steps were taken as the six friends made their way through the forest.
Not a soul said a word, not a sound was made. The forest was silent, broken only by the occasional fluttering bird or snap of a twig under a hoof.
They listened intently, waiting for another roar to shatter through the serenity around them. Their necks continuously craned upward, preparing for the warm light of the morning sun to darken from an overbearing shadow. To say that the ponies felt tense would be an understatement in its grandest definition.
But they continued like this for some time, Twilight leading the way. The unicorn's sharp mind was fully concentrated on the task before them, analyzing the area for recognizable clues. It didn't take long for her to be certain they were on the right path.
As the minutes passed by, their quiet anxieties that weighed them down heavily were eased ever so slightly as they came into a clearing in the forest. They all recognized it straight away, the trees that were crushed into splinters, the black scars in the earth, the clear signs of struggling beasts. But it was what was at the far end of the clearing that allowed sighs of relief to be made. Stuck within the tight grip of the trees, a basket lazily swung in the gentle breeze, attached to the tattered remains of a balloon.
Ordinarily, such a mess would render the once helpful balloon forever useless. But luckily, the team of adventurers had a professional seamstress at hoof. With her talents, Twilight's ocean sized knowledge of spells, and a little hot air from Spike, the balloon was repaired and ready to fly in no time at all.
They wasted no time in boarding and taking flight. However, their speeds were slowed by the ever present fear of restarting the heart pounding events of the previous day. So they flew at a slow pace, even Rainbow Dash had no qualms about it, not wanting to try and outrace a duo of dragons again anytime soon.
But as the large span of the forest finally ended, and they could see the comforting sights of open fields, their burdening fears were put at an end as there was not a sign of any ferocious dragons to be seen.
“Well, we're headed in the right direction,” Twilight murmured, looking over a map she had brought, having marked it with the location Typhoon's own map had shown.
It had taken them nearly twenty minutes to be set back on the right course. Surprisingly, the forest they had been in was much bigger than they had thought. Their high-speed pursuit across it covered a lot of ground as well. Now, they were nearing Equestria's northern border, as well as the hold they were searching for.
“Do you think we'll find anything good?” Spike asked, gazing out to watch the scenery pass by. “It seems like everywhere we go is just leading us on to another random place.”
“We're sure to find somethin', sugarcube,” Applejack said reassuringly. “Why, ah bet we find all sorts of cool stuff on dragons when this is all over with.”
Spike's hope filled eyes turned to the earth pony, his smile stretching across his face. “Do you think so?” he asked innocently.
“Of course, Spike,” she answered, smiling as she saw the burning fire of hope inside the little dragon burn even brighter, “it's all a matter of faith.”
Spike looked back out to the wonderful land he called home, his bursting happiness slowly turned to a blissful smile. “I think faith is something I have plenty of.”
They stayed silent after that. None of them made a sound as they took in the beauty of nature that surrounded them. Though not one could simply say that was the only reason, with the attack of those dragons still fresh within their minds, a small tinge of fear was still evident in their senses.
But they all accepted that it was an event passed and they were now safe. All that was left for them was to continue on their journey in hopes that the answers they sought were near.
One thing they weren't expecting however, was just how near they were getting.
It started out slow, small changes to the terrain that lightly weighed down the peace that was felt among the six friends.
The colorful fields of flowers and grasses became nothing but ugly, lifeless stone patches. The beautiful sky that hung above them became twisted by clouds that held the darkest colors of grey they had ever seen. Even the warmth of the sun was snuffed out, leaving them with nothing but a chilling dull light to be cast over them.
Twilight's eyes widened as she looked onward to the worsening conditions before them. Large mountains stretched upward, covering the horizon and what it held. Looking into the abyss they were headed toward, the young scholar felt as though the comforting happiness of Equestria was something of a fanciful dream, only to be replaced by a cold emptiness.
“This is it,” the lavender unicorn breathed. “The land of the three tribes, their old home. Where our ancestors began.”
“But...” Rarity began, mimicking Twilight's own expression of utter shock, “how can that be? Doesn't the old tale speak of the founders defeating the spirits causing such a cold blight?”
“Maybe...” Twilight thought aloud, “maybe it only saved Equestria from turning into what they allowed their own land to become. Maybe it was too late to save their old homes, so they lost it all.”
They looked forward with uncertainty as Rainbow Dash flew through the mountain passes. Their sights began to notice the worsening conditions of the land around them as they traveled deeper into their ancestral homeland.
Large blankets of snow covered the frozen land that had once been the soil. Bare trees, looking as if they were turned to stone, held branches that bent underneath the weight of the piling white flakes. Even the sky endlessly rained down the cold snow on top of them, despite having been summer in Equestria, it seemed to be a never ending winter here.
Looking up into the sky, they could see a terrifying mess of clouds. Almost black in their color as their directionless job forced them to cover the already white land in more snow. They were nothing like the clouds of Equestria, looking so thick, they were certain that not even a pegasus would be able to change their course now.
Then the winds came. Rainbow Dash was nearly thrown out of the sky as a powerful gale struck her from out of nowhere. Everyone else within the basket had to hold on as tightly as they could, fearing that they could be picked up and blown away at any time.
The winds seemed to come from all directions at once, blinding them as the falling snow became an impenetrable veil that blocked out their clear vision. It made the temperatures even worse as well. The biting cold around them felt as though they were in a world sized freezer. It cut into their very bones, freezing them from the inside out.
“Rainbow, are you okay?” Twilight shouted, yelling over the loud howling of the winds that surrounded them.
“Yeah... yeah! I'm doing fine!” Rainbow Dash shouted back. The pegasus squinted through the haze of snow and tried seeing through it to traverse safely. Even as the frost accumulated on her wings, as her lungs burned from the bitter chill of the air, she didn't stop pushing herself further to their goal.
While Rainbow Dash's determination sped her forward, the others did their best to fare against the harsh elements. Sitting idle in the basket made the freezing temperatures even worse. Their bodies shivered uncontrollably while the rhythmic sounds of their teeth chattering was only a quiet whisper compared to cutting winds.
But the eyes of the four ponies lit up as they witnessed a green flame flare to life in front of them, disappearing just as quickly. It was Spike, cupping his clawed hands together as he blew small bursts of flame into them.
In an instant, Spike found himself beset by his friends. His world was encased in a shadowy plane of colored coats as the the four mares huddled around the dragon for warmth. Sharing their own body heat, as well as feeling the radiant flare of heat from Spike's self made flame.
Though it was extremely claustrophobic, the dragon couldn't complain. Not as he felt the softest, most beautiful coat against him, just as white as the snow but holding even more elegance. Rarity's soft embrace warmed him more than his own fire breath ever could.
Their long lasting group hug lasted for sometime. The overbearing winds never died down, the downpour of snow never let up, and neither did their cyan guide.
“Rainbow, you need to stop,” shouted Twilight, “you'll freeze to death if you don't!” The others joined in as well, all speaking the same wise words to the stubborn pegasus.
“No way,” Rainbow Dash shouted, “we're getting close, I know it!” The concerned cries of her friends were purposely left to blow into the wind. Even as the pegasus flew blind, her eyes stinging from the caking snow, unable to keep them open.
To keep going, it was all that was on her mind. Everything else was pushed away from her thoughts as she concentrated on a singular goal. Faster and faster she flew, going against the weather that had made an enemy of her
She was Rainbow Dash, pegasus of Ponyville and fastest flier in Equestria. She was the one who controlled weather, not the other way around. Now, she wasn't planning on letting a little out of control snow stop her.
But a solid wall did.
“Oof,” Rainbow Dash groaned, her body smashing into the hard surface that had come seemingly out of nowhere. The rainbow maned mare toppled over from the surface and landed in the snow with a muffled thump.
The same occurred for them all. With Rainbow Dash's speeds, her sudden stop nearly snapped the basket from the balloon itself. With a jerking halt, the five riders again felt their bodies being thrown through the air. But unlike last time, they didn't crash into a hardened forest floor, but instead were swallowed up by a thick layer of snow.
Heads immediately began popping up from the blanket of white powder, feeling the bone chilling ice crystals clinging to their bodies and making their previous warmth a faded memory.
“I-Is e-ev-veryone alr-right?” Twilight asked, unable to keep herself shaking from horn to tail.
“Ah'm jus-s-st f-f-fine,” Applejack stuttered, checking her head to make sure her favorite hat wasn't missing.
“Jus-st magnific-cent, darling,” Rarity responded, nearly blending in with the snow. Had it not been for the dark coloring of her mane, she might have been lost.
“I'm fine, I'm fine,” chimed Pinkie Pie, happily jumping up and down in the snow.. Even in such horrid temperatures, the hyperactive mare still seemed to have energy to burn.
“Yeah, me too,” Spike said last, sitting in a puddle of slush as he continued to blow heat into his hands.
Twilight looked around the area. Through the snow storm, the unicorn could make out much of the land stretched out far below her. More mountains sprang up in the distance, while an open landscape of white stood beside that. It was hard to tell just what the terrain actually looked like as a single color of white made it impossible.
“Ohhh, my head,” Rainbow Dash moaned, still lying where she had landed.
The others looked to see their balloon still afloat in the air. It swayed forcefully back and forth in the still violent winds that it was caught in. But it stayed where it was, anchored by its pegasus motor who simply stayed half buried in the snow.
“Are you ok-k-ay, Rainb-bow?” asked Applejack, pushing the flier out of the snow.
With Twilight's help, they were able to sit her up. Rainbow Dash lazily swayed back and forth in a dazed state, looking as though she had been woken up from a sleep that just didn't last long enough.
“Ugh, who... who put that rock there?” Rainbow Dash asked, shaking her head as she began to come to her full senses. She looked up to see a large slab of stone protruding out of the snow like a headstone.
It was perfectly smooth on its front and back sides. As the others examined the stone closely, they could see that there was something carved on it. What looked like a pony's head, holding a peaceful expression of serenity, and two wings flaring out at the sides. Twilight recognized it straight away as the old crest of the pegasi tribe. The symbol took up much of the stone, while just at the bottom of it were the letters T H.
The five ponies each shared glances to the other, holding questions upon their faces that none could answer. Looking deep into the area next to the stone slab, their eyes widened as a structure could be seen within the snowy haze.
Still uncertain that what they were seeing was real, they each took slow steps toward it. The closer they came, the clearer the structure became to them. It was a massive building, holding a resemblance to the architecture of Cloudsdale. But rather than clouds, the structure was all stone.
“Th-this was made by pegasi?” Rarity questioned. “I nev-v-ver knew they d-dabbled in s-stone.”
“I guess th-the wind is t-t-to blame,” Twilight remarked, feeling the chilling gale pushing against her more. “A c-cloud structure wouldn't last very long agains-st weather like this.”
“Let's go inside and say hi to everypony,” Pinkie Pie said, hoping toward the structure.
“Pinkie,” Twilight said, containing her physical need to sigh, “I highly doubt that anyp-pony has been here for many years.”
“You never know,” Pinkie Pie retorted, undeterred as she continued moving toward the hold.
The others simply allowed their pink friend to remain in her blissful state as they followed her. Immediately remembering their ride, Twilight released Rainbow Dash from the grasp of the rope and tied it to a jagged rock nearby, triple checking her knot-work to make sure everything was secure.
Approaching the entrance of the hold, the six friends noticed a large, half-circle doorway. They were shocked to see that the doors themselves weren't there, or mostly anyway. A fragment of one remained attached to its side of the doorway. Large splinters of wood littered the ground around it, too large to be buried by the snow. The other half of the large door seemed as though it was ripped from its place entirely. After a quick glance about the area, they were certain that it was no longer nearby.
With careful steps, they made their way into the structure, the nipping cold snow following right behind.
The inside was a dark and dreary place. Cold stone made up the floors, walls and ceilings. Not a light survived after the long abandonment the structure had endured. Upon their first steps into the old place, the ponies felt a shiver travel down their spines. Not from the cold, but from something else. Just standing there brought on a dreadful sense of unease.
With the problem of freezing in the dark, Twilight looked about the chamber for a solution. She found just that as she took notice to a chair lying on the floor nearby. Levitating it into the air, the unicorn brought the wooden furniture down hard onto the ground.
The old chair broke easily, creating a small pile of chair pieces in front of them. Picking up a leg from the previously whole chair, the unicorn lifted it toward her assistant. “Please burn this, Spike,” she requested. With a momentary pause to inhale, the little dragon blew a powerful flame into the stick, igniting it and turning it into a makeshift torch.
Without a word, Twilight brought the torch toward Rarity who, after discovering the scholar's intention, took it within her own magical grasp. The process was repeated once more, giving Twilight her own torch to light the way. Between both unicorns, their torches provided ample light to guide them through the darkness as well as heat the air around them to keep them from turning to ice.
Like most old ruins, the hold was in ruins. It was clear the moment they stepped inside that the old structure had seen better days. Large cracks cut into the walls. The floor was a mess with rubble and dirt. There were holes cut into the ceiling, allowing snow to fall inside and pile underneath the primitive skylight.
Still the unease persisted, as they traversed the hold. Every instinct in their bodies told them that something was wrong, or at least something used to be wrong. A horrible event had transpired within the old pegasi hold, but what exactly remained a mystery.
There were some clues though. Dirt and rock weren't all that made itself clear in the rooms. In some, the gray stone walls were blackened, as though a terrible fire had been cast onto it. Coincidentally, the marks seemed to be in the same rooms where the ceilings looked to have been torn away. There were also the grooves worn into the stone. Straight lines that worked their way deep into the walls and floors, always in fours. The six adventurers each shared glances to one another as their minds began to work out what might have happened.
Despite the terrible feelings the place gave, Twilight, and even Rainbow Dash, found a fascination from their surroundings.
Beakers, burners and test tubes filled many rooms, several still filled with a colorful fluid that aged as well as milk. Scrolls of many sizes were stacked in rooms filled with shelves, clinging onto blankets of dust as testament to their prolonged solitude.
One room seemed strange compared to the others, which all seemed to hold a trait of research to it. It was a large chamber that had what appeared to be a track made into the floor. Rainbow Dash became excited immediately, especially as she took notice different machines that she said were ancient methods pegasi used to strengthen their wings. To the others however, they looked more like hideous torture devices.
The strangest thing that was noticed however was how little the hold seemed to be about making weather. Having been to the weather factory in Cloudsdale, they knew what the machines were like that were used in making snow, rain and everything in between. But nothing of the sort was within the hold itself.
Answers were close however as the six friends found themselves entering an office of some kind. It had what was usually seen in one, a desk, writing utensils, paperwork rolled up into scrolls. Sensing a seat of authority in the room, the six friends decided to investigate it thoroughly.
At first glance, there didn't seem to be anything of importance. An old fireplace that was filthy with ashes, several broken quills that were carelessly tossed onto the floor. Pinkie Pie did find several bottles filled with a foul smelling liquid as well, the labels on them were unreadable but they had an odd sense of shame and self-loathing about them. Thankfully, Twilight was quick in stopping the curious mare from drinking the liquid, having no doubt that such an action was a bad idea.
But an exited gasp came from Spike as he opened a drawer in the desk and found a large book inside. Setting it on the desk, Twilight carefully examined the old piece of literature. Its size was the most noticeable thing, having near three times the amount of pages as a normal book. But looking inside, the scholar came to realize that it wasn't a book at all, but a journal. Though, journal was technically the wrong term for it, as she began to realize. It was a logbook of the pegasus captain who oversaw the hold.
Turning through the pages, Twilight found that it was mostly filled with incessant complaints on how cold the weather was. Other than that, there were many entries that briefly explained the progress of the different projects that were going on within the walls.
It was a research facility. Rather than creating weather like the other holds, Tempest Hold was used primarily in ending the endless storm that ravaged the lands that the three tribes once called home.
Going through to the very end of the log, Twilight stopped as her eyes caught a name that she recognized. Quickly scanning the entry, Twilight cleared her throat and began reading it aloud.
20x17x823
It's cold today.
Colder than it was yesterday. Though warmer than it was two-hundred and fifty six days ago, at least.
Coldstep brings good news on his research. Thinks he may have had a breakthrough in his ice serum, should heighten our natural cold resistance. Hope it works, I've lost too many good men to that blizzard.
That so called “Dragon Knight” Typhoon has been here for several days as well. Burns me up to have to give him a room, but he apparently has the right friends as I've been given orders from the commander herself to allow him to stay as a guest.
Should consider himself lucky we had a spare room, would have had him sleep outside if there wasn't. Poor Swift, I told him to exercise every morning, but he didn't listen. Then he goes and gets lost in the storm. Will have to send a request for a replacement, can't be shorthoofed out in here in the middle of Faust-knows-where.
Regarding Typhoon however, can't say I'm happy with him being here. It's causing a stir within the others, they think of him as some sort of celebrity. It isn't right, pegasus who's more interested in those scaled monsters than the weather, not natural. And that armor, don't get me started.
Says he's here for research on some dragon, can't remember his name, Skittles I think, not sure. Something about it all doesn't sit right with me though. Keeps leaving the hold to go off finding some old ruins in the snow. Spends nearly all day out there, somehow survives the cold, then comes back without a word. Something isn't right, I can feel it in my feathers.
Then again, it may just be an old pegasus feeling the cold air in his mane. At least I still have those crates of drink that came in from the last supplies cache. Made by those earthers apparently, not sure how they do it though. Tastes a bit off but it does keep me warm with every sip, though I wake up with a pounding headache each morning as well.
There were only two entries after that. Only brief mentions of Typhoon were in them, but nothing important.
Twilight looked to her friends after reading it, they all held blank expressions as what was read to them registered.
“So he was here,” Spike said, his small frame beginning to show the excitement that was brewing within.
“But that book,” Rarity murmured. “Why does it end so... suddenly?” The question was met with silence. None of them could answer truthfully, but they all felt that they already knew what the cause was.
“Come on,” Twilight said, holding her torch up high, “there's still more to explore. I'm sure we can find some clue to what Typhoon was doing.” With quite nods, the others followed the lavender unicorn.
More rooms came and went as the six friends trotted across the quiet halls of the hold. Life seemed to be brought back to the long dead ruins as shadows danced from the flickering lights of their torches. Every tap of their hooves on the stone floor echoed endlessly, making it even more clear to them just how empty the old hold was.
They soon came to a large chamber which Twilight was familiar with. It reminded her of when her brother had once given her a tour of the guard barracks. The room they had arrived to resembled the breakfast hall where the royal guards would eat.
The similarities were slight, but still noticeable. A few elongated tables were on the floor with chairs lined up on both sides. It was a much smaller scale compared to the one in the castle, showing how many pegasi that the hold must have had working there. A large fireplace stood at the far end of the room, once used to keep the pegasi warm, now only serving as a reminder to what the ruins were once like.
But it was clear that the room had seen better days. Much like the previous chambers they had seen, it was a mess. Most of the tables and chairs were smashed and scattered about the room. Large blotches of black stained the walls and floors in irregular patterns. The ceiling itself was almost entirely missing, looking as though something massive had crashed through it.
Despite the destruction however, all eyes became fixed on a single spot. Against the far off wall, there was a massive scar of black, much larger than any of the others they had seen. From their distance to it, they could faintly make an object lying in the center of it.
With slow, hesitant steps, they approached the very spot. As they came closer and closer, they found that it wasn't a single object, but what looked like a small pile of fragmented metal, blackened by the same flames that had burned the floor.
Spike slid off of his caretaker's back as they neared the pile. While the others stayed on the edge of the burned floor, the dragon pressed on toward the center. As he stood over the pile, his entire body froze as a gasp escaped him.
With trembling hands, Spike reached down and picked up a piece of the black metal. More small gasps could be heard behind him as they too caught sight of what he held, seeing what it was, as well as what it was made into.
The helm of a suit of armor, shaped perfectly to resemble that of a dragon's head, just the right size to fit a stallion.
Horror filled glances were all the five ponies could show, each staring at the piece of armor without pause. Twilight and Rainbow Dash both saw the perfect resemblance to that of the statue they had seen days ago, while the others remember the description given to them before they began their quest.
Spike's entire body ached, feeling a horrible sense of dread pouring into his small form as he held onto the helm. The realization of what had happened crashed into him like a wave against the land from an unforgiving sea. Everything was still for some time as the six friends stood silently.
Their idleness was broken quickly however as a startled yelp escaped the young dragon, brought to terror as the helm crumbled in his hands. For hundreds of years, the armor was stuck in time, untouched from the place it was left. Now, at the touch of the dragon, the years finally caught up with the once dependable piece of armor.
“My goodness,” Rarity whispered, still stunned as she was unable to remove her eyes from the spot.
“He died here,” Twilight murmured, her own sights rooted in place.
“They all did,” Applejack added quietly, removing her hat in a gesture of respect.
“And nopony knew,” Pinkie Pie whimpered, feeling tears beginning to build
Rainbow Dash's expression was the first to change, her eyes forming into a fierce glare. “And it was all because of dragons!” The others looked at her in surprise, all but Spike who kept his gaze to the ground.
“Rainbow!” Twilight scolded. “Don't say that. We have no idea what could have done this.”
“Oh, come off it, Twilight,” the pegasus retorted. “It's obvious what happened here. Just like how those dragons attacked us the other day. It's what they do, it's in their nature.”
Twilight was appealed to hear her friend saying such things, especially in the company they had. She looked down toward Spike, who didn't react at all to Rainbow Dash's words. All he did was keep his head down, not even facing the ponies.
Her gaze was redirected to her friends as Rarity spoke up, a begrudged expression on her face. “As much as I hate to, I must agree with Rainbow Dash.” All of her friends looked at the seamstress in shock, even Rainbow Dash herself, having not expected the similar mindset.
“What?!” Twilight blurted out, hardly believing what she was hearing. “How can you say that? What about Spike? He's a dragon and he isn't some monster!”
A heavy frown creased on Rarity's lips as she was stared down by the scholar. Her gaze turned glassy for a moment as her eyes drifted down toward the floor in a moment shame. “But, Twilight, ponies are afraid of dragons for a reason. What have we seen of them that doesn't coincide with what we have always been taught about them as dangerous? That red brute who nearly drowned Ponyville in smoke, I shudder to thank of what would have happened if Fluttershy had not been there. And don't you remember that green scaled one who attacked you and Spike in the forest? Or those young ruffians who tried teaching Spike such bad habits, like harming defenseless hatchlings. And I know I don't need to bring up that trio that attacked us hardly a day ago.” With a small sigh, she gazed toward her purple scaled companion, having not moved from his spot. “Yes, our little Spikey Wikey is different. He's kind, gentle, generous, and a wonderful friend. But how can that vouch for every dragon when we know how different he is from them? Even his upbringing is unique. Who is to say he would be the same kindhearted dragon if he were raised by one of his own?”
Even in her irate state, the evidence was too logically sound for the young scholar to argue against. It struck her even harder as the small voice in the back of her mind silently whispered how she knew the truth of the matter all along, that dragons were indeed horrible creatures. Even with Spike as evidence to the contrary, what could one pony-raised dragon do against an entire species?
Twilight met Rarity's eyes for a moment, her anger having dissipated and now replaced with terrible sadness. “But... Rarity,” she tried saying, vainly attempting to go against the alabaster unicorn, but knowing she could not. The others remained silent, already knowing the outcome of any dispute on the matter.
But their downtrodden expressions all perked up as small footsteps echoed onto the stone floor, and a voice spoke up against the silence.
“She's right.”
It was Spike, looking at the five ponies with a firm stare of acceptance.
“She's right,” he repeated. “As we've seen, dragons are terrible creatures that do bad things to good ponies.”
Utter shock was displayed on Twilight's face. Though having come to the conclusion herself some time ago, to hear Spike say it was baffling. “No Spike... don't say that.”
“But it's true,” the little dragon pressed, his resolve on the subject unmoving. “I know that more than anypony.” His steeled expression slowly shifted as his eyes drifted back to the cold floor, his lips quivered as the welling sadness within him rattled through his body. “But... does that have to mean all dragons are so horrible?” With one swing of his arm, Spike gestured toward the entire room. “We are here because of an ancient dragon named Serilex. We know he was different, if only physically. But what if he was different in other ways? Can my similarities with him be more than scale deep? Even if it was just one dragon. To be able to know that they don't all have to be the way that we see them now, that will be good enough for me. And I'll know... I'm not so alone.”
Twilight looked to her dragon assistant with sympathy, knowing that she would never truly understand the crisis he was going through. But she knew it was her duty to make sure he was aided in his time of need. Without a word, the lavender mare approached him. With one smooth extension of her forehoof, she brought Spike close to her in a tender embrace.
“We will find the answers, Spike,” she said determinedly, “I promise.”
Becoming filled with an overwhelming happiness, Spike buried his face into his caretaker's coat, feeling as though her were the luckiest dragon in the world to have such friendship.
Having been silent for far too long, Applejack stepped forward, giving the two her most confident smile. “Ah know we will find out what this Serilex was. We've come so far already, it'd be downright foolish to just give up.”
“Oh yes yes yes,” Pinkie Pie cheered, hopping beside Applejack with her usual enthusiasm. “I'm sure as sugar sprinkles gonna keep going. We've had so many cool adventures already, just think of all the wonderful stories I can tell everypony when we're finished.”
Without a moments waste, Rarity quickly began brimming with confidence. “I agree wholeheartedly. This Typhoon character had great faith in this dragon, so should we all.”
Even Rainbow Dash, with just a momentary hesitation, smiled with her natural determination to any challenge. “Of course I'm gonna help,” she declared. “Can't let everypony else go off to finish this adventure without me. And who knows, maybe we can find out that not all dragons are bad. I wouldn't mind being made wrong for once.”
Spike grinned from ear to ear as he saw his friends declare their perseverance. To realize how far they would go to make his hopes come true.
As the moments ticked by, Twilight relinquished her hold on the dragon and allowed him to climb onto her back. With Spike in position, the librarian turned to her friends and nodded toward an exit that had yet to explore.
“Come on,” Twilight said, addressing the ponies. “The captain said Typhoon had a room here, maybe we can find a clue on where to go next.” The others nodded and followed the scholar as she trotted from the dining hall, leaving behind the resting place of their ancient guide.
It took some time walking through the featureless halls and chambers of the crumbling hold. But with most of the structure having been explored already, their continued trek soon brought them to what they were searching for, the barracks.
The barracks of the hold were something else that held a slice of resemblance to the lavender unicorn. It was set up as a large hallway, with rows of rooms on both sides. Each room was a small, four cornered space that had a bed that nearly took up half of the floor and a simple desk. In some rooms, scraps of parchment or small scale alchemy sets made the desk their resting place. It seemed evident that the denizens of the hold used the space as a place for quiet, late night work in solitude.
Just at the doorway of each room, a small metal plate was fixed into the stone. On each plate, there was a name, showing which room belonged to who. Several of the plates were either broken off and lying on the floor or the metal was so tarnished that the name was barely recognizable. There was one name however that caught their eyes as they passed. 'Swift' a name that immediately struck a cord within their minds, having just heard of it not long ago.
Deducing that this was their target, the five ponies crowded to get inside. With the limited size of the room, it was somewhat difficult when they attempted entering the room at once. After several awkwardly pressed hooves, yelps from a tail being stepped on a time or two, and a near incident with a horn nearly gouging out an eye, the six friends were able to fit themselves into the room.
Using her wings, Rainbow Dash simply hovered above the crowd, finding the open air near the ceiling to be quite roomy. Applejack and Rarity stood together side by side, barely given enough room to move without bumping into the other or brushing their manes into their faces. Pinkie Pie was quick in nabbing the bed, happily testing how bouncy it was as she jumped up and down on the old sheets. Twilight had the most space, given to her so she could locate whatever it was they needed to find. Spike himself opted to give the unicorn her room to discover, jumping from her back and onto the bed beside Pinkie, taking part in the merriment.
Just a momentary glance was needed for Twilight to notice the bag that sat against the desk. Searching through it, the unicorn found a small amount of supplies, several pieces of parchment, as well as a small book. Her magical grasp quickly snatched the book from the bag, already knowing that it matched that of the others they had seen before.
A collective intake of air was had by the everyone, all bracing themselves to hear what the long passed pegasus had to say. Even Pinkie Pie stood still, having stopped her bouncing ways in an instant as to not miss a thing.
Ignoring the silence of expectation, Twilight slowly turned the old pages of the journal. To her understanding, the first few pages were the continuous sentences of an irate pegasus, having many less than decent words to say about having lost much of his supplies in a cave-in.
It then went on to record his time within the hold, expressing his mixed feelings for the workforce, addressing how he felt the captain held disdain for him. Then, it shifted drastically to what Typhoon's writings usually had. With quickly jotted notes on whatever it was he was trying to figure out within the hold. Even the well-read scholar couldn't make heads or tails of what he was writing, appearing to her as unintelligible gibberish.
The others watched their lavender friend as she searched through the old piece of writing. Their curious minds raced eagerly to hear what their next step would be, following the word they had been shadowing for some time.
But their stiff expressions of curiosity and wonderment slowly began to dwindle to looks of confusion and worry. They continued to look on as Twilight's violet eyes scanned through page after page of the journal, her expression only ever shifting slightly.
But then, as the turning of the pages stopped, the unicorn's gaze turned to a stare while her pupils slowly dragged across the page. There was a subtle quiver in her lips while it even appeared that her eyes were shaking within her skull.
“Twilight,” Rarity asked hesitantly, “is everything all right?”
As if snapping out of a trance, Twilight blinked and quickly shook her head. For a moment, she looked about the room she was in, looking as though she had forgotten where she was. Her gaze quickly returned to her friends who each looked at her worriedly.
“It's... nothing,” she said, her tone only holding a fraction of the reassurance she meant it to have. “I did find something though.” With their eyes once again brimming with anticipation, the five friends stared at the unicorn mare as she cleared her throat and began to read.
23x17x823
This cold is dreadful, seems to have gotten worse since I've last been here all those years ago. I'm certain I would have already found the place if I could only stay out longer than the storm allows me.
But, I've found it now, I'm certain of it!
Though I've only been able to decipher a small portion of what this tome has hidden from me, it has at least shown me where I can find the information I seek. Mentioning an old tower as well as Serilex himself, I know it will hold some answers.
Finding it has been a challenge however. Fighting off this ever-persistent storm has made my progress minimal. The tome never gave a specific location, but I've been able to figure out a general area where it should be. For the past few days I've dwindled down the area with my constant trips, none have been successful, but now I know the exact place the tower should be.
I will take my last trip there in the coming morning and pray I find something to bring clarity to the many questions that plague me.
“That's the last page,” Twilight said, finishing the entry, “but there is one thing.” She turned back to the page before the last. There, she showed her audience the depiction that the piece of parchment held.
Their hopes were realized as the ponies and dragon saw a scrawled sketch of a map taking up the entirety of the small paper. It was a rough outline of the area, depicting the Tempest Hold clearly in its rightful place. Only one other mark was made onto the otherwise blank map, a piece of land that was circled a distance away from the hold. Inside of the circle, much of the area was blackened, showing where the old pegasus had journeyed in his task to find his target. Only a small patch of white within was untouched, marking where he was certain that the supposed tower existed.
Twilight's gaze then returned to the old bag beside her. Searching through it once again, the unicorn withdrew a small object from within. It was circular, flat on the bottom and top but rounded at the sides. There was also a noticeable groove running across the side.
A moment of quite examination passed as Twilight looked the object over. Only after a few seconds did it take the scholar to see that it could be opened. Using her magical grasp to do so, the top half of the object easily lifted up to reveal a thin piece of glass on top of a rotating needle, underneath the needle there was four letters carved at the top, bottom, left and right.
“Oh,” Rainbow Dash breathed, recognizing the exploratory device straight away and being the first one to speak, “that's a compass. Daring Do uses those all the time in her adventures.” It was simple in design and looked just as old as it actually was, but it was still functioning.
“Makes sense,” Twilight murmured, slowly turning the compass and watching as the needle moved as well, making sure to point in its proper direction, “something like this would be invaluable against that blinding snow. We could probably use it to help us find this tower.”
Spike beamed at the lavender mare, his eyes sparkling with bursting excitement as he saw their next course of action. “Okay then,” he said happily, “let's get going.” He jumped down from the bed, and after a few extra jumps from the backs of the two mares blocking the exit, Spike left the room and headed down the hall they had entered, his voice echoing by as he ran off. “I bet this next stop will be our last!”
The ponies simply smiled to themselves as they squeezed their way out of the room one by one. In no hurry, the four pony friends simply trotted their way after the eager dragon. But there was one who stayed behind.
With her friends gone, Twilight's controlled expression broke down into distress and sorrow. There was a sickening pounding in her chest where her heart used to be, the pumping organ having sank down into her stomach..
All she could think of was how she had just lied to her friends, to think of what she had read on the final page of Typhoon's journal that she had kept hidden from them, to think of the inevitable conclusion to their adventure. And then, all she could think of was Spike.
His excitement, his joy, his expectations. He put it all on one foolish journey, his hopes high to discover some portion of fantasy in his dreams of a wingless dragon.
Twilight quickly began second guessing herself. To think if lying just now, delaying that impending realization, was what she should have done. But the scholar quickly shook her head, throwing away such thoughts. Of course it was right, she couldn't allow Spike's journey end so unceremoniously. He would have to find out on his own, even if it would crush him immeasurably.
Rainbow Dash flew through the rampant snow storm as quickly as her cyan wings would allow. Her eyes tried vainly to see more than a foot ahead of her as only white snow and a whiter haze was forced in front of her. All she had was the direction she was ordered to follow, discerned by a millennium old compass, an equally old map and the word of a young scholar.
This was a constant that went on for some time. It saddened the others to know that they could do little to aid their friend in their high flying travels.
With nothing else to do, the other mares and baby dragon kept their spirits warm through idle chatter. They talked of days long since past, their ideas for the future, as well as their hope that a conclusion to their adventure was fast approaching.
Too enthralled by their own playful tales and discussions, the four friends did not notice that one was absent from their inner circle of communications.
Twilight leaned against the side of the balloon basket, looking out into the thick veil of mist and snow that blocked any perceptive gazes. Occasionally her gaze drifted down toward the compass in her magical hold, making absolutely sure that Rainbow wasn't veering off course, as she sometimes did.
But the menial task as navigator did little to quell the piling anxieties that silently attacked her mind. Her own inner turmoil rampaging through her psyche on what they were approaching. Though she didn't know exactly what was coming in any physical sense, the end result was already played through her mind more times then she could count.
It was all she could do to not break down and allow her rising concerns to be known to those around her. She had made the decision to keep what she knew a secret, letting their journey take its course to the dreadfully bitter end.
But the facade of everything being picture perfect was wearing her down terribly. The tail at her backside and ears atop her head sagged down with her nonexistent enthusiasm, flowing lifelessly in the powerful winds like a flag in a stormy gale. A frown creased onto her lips and remained as her sculpted expression. Even her breathing had lost its natural rhythmic flow, coming out as irregular as a track star galloping through a mile race.
The others began to notice the differences in their intelligent friend. There was nothing that they could do however. With the unknown lost to them, their concerned questions only elicited a meaningless “everything's fine” from the unicorn. And they accepted it, having no reason to doubt her, not knowing of the truth that was withheld.
With the sky hidden away from the impenetrable layer of clouds, time lost all meaning as the rise and fall of the two great bodies that overlooked them was unable to be determined. It made the trip feel longer to some, and shorter to others. But it also made their distance traveled a mystery to them, having no idea how far or how close they were to their goal.
Their blind flight lasting so long, it soon became a shocking change as the adventurers began to notice that their sights were improving. Slowly but surely, the misty haze that impeded their view began to break. Though the powerful winds and everlasting snowfall still impeded their vision, it was wonderful change for them to finally see past their own noses.
Then, Rainbow Dash let out a gasp. The others all looked out over the edge to see what their pegasus friend had seen. There, looming over them with its enormity, was a mountain larger than any they had ever seen, putting any others to shame.
Twilight quickly scanned Typhoon's map, cross-referencing it with the most modern map she had available for the frozen wasteland. “I think the tower is supposed to be here,” Twilight shouted for all to here. The young unicorn hid away her anxieties deep within herself, forcing herself to be the composed leader that her friends needed.
Rainbow Dash headed for the rocky, snow capped slopes of the mountain, her eyes scanning every inch she could see for any sign of a structure. It soon became apparent however that coming across any form of building in such a wide area would be near impossible without some form of assistance.
“Maybe you can try that one spell you did before, Twilight,” Applejack suggested, remembering how they had located the hidden temple.
A look of dejection crossed the unicorn's face as she looked to her friends, meeting their gazes as they wondered what was wrong. “I... I don't think I can,” she said, turning away from them as she did. “The cold... it's too much, I can't concentrate on a spell.”
It was true. Even under normal circumstances, the location spell required a great deal of magic and effort from the unicorn preforming it. The overwhelming cold that constantly thrashed at her made it difficult for her to concentrate on any spell at all. And there was also the matter of the inner turmoil the mare was feeling, making it a chore just to keep her levitation spells steady.
Her friends held similar looks of sympathy among them. None of them could understand what it was like for her, none except for Rarity. Even then, the fashionista wasn't completely aware of the full scope of unicorn magic.
“It's all right, Twilight,” Pinkie Pie said cheerfully. “We can do this the old fashion way.” Jumping up high, the fluffy maned mare of pink landed atop of the edge of the basket, balancing effortlessly as she stood on her hind legs and pointed off toward the mountain. “Full speed ahead, Captain Dashie!”
Rainbow Dash smirked enthusiastically as her wings began to flap harder. “You got it.,” she replied, heading for the side of the titan of rock and snow.
Just feet away from the mountain's jagged cliffs and treacherous slopes, everyone kept their eyes peeled in search of anything out of the ordinary. But as Rainbow Dash continued her path around the mountainside, everything held the same bleak nothingness to it. There was no visible sign of any sort of tower, and the sheer size of the area they needed to cover was daunting.
Even Spike's own burning resolve felt a painful wavering flicker.
The young dragon looked out toward the mountain, imagining himself simply sweeping his claws across the stony surface and brush the mountain away until only their target remained. But as he gazed upon nature's greatest immovable form, he was struck with the most foreign sensation he had ever experienced.
It was the strangest feeling, Spike couldn't explain it, and yet it felt so right to him. Looking down the rocky mass, he felt a pull or natural inclination to investigate a specific spot near the base of the mountain. The young assistant didn't know exactly what it was, instinct, dragon's intuition, or just a fool's gamble. Despite all the uncertainties to what he was experiencing, he had a physical need to search that place.
“We should look down there,” Spike said, pointing a claw down to the exact spot he had locked onto.
Looks of skepticism passed between the ponies as they matched the dragon's sights to where he was pointing. Though they had their reasonable doubts, there was no ignoring the unrealistic certainty their scaled friend's voice. And it quickly became an agreed notion between them as they realized something, they had to start somewhere.
“Okay, Rainbow,” Twilight said, “take us down there.” With a firm nod, the cyan pegasus turned and sharply plunged in a downward angle, aiming for the base of the mountain and where Spike was so eager to get to.
In no time at all, they found themselves scanning the bottom of the mountainside. All they could see was large blankets of white and the occasional grey stone where gravity prevented the snow from covering it.
They searched and searched the area, but they could find nothing. No structure of any kind, no marker to point the way, no cave to hide away in. Spike's excited gaze began to droop down, his innate certainty looking like an idiotic impulse.
“Ooo, looky looky!” Pinkie Pie shouted, extending her hoof out toward a far side of the mountain. Following Pinkie's directions, the others looked at the spot to only see a large dark patch of mountain that the snow neglected to fall onto.
The others frowned at the mare's overexcited reaction. “Pinkie,” Rarity said, “that's just another wall.”
But Pinkie Pie wasn't convinced as she gave her friends astonished looks. “How do you guys not see that?” she asked firmly, extending another hoof to doubly show them.
Feeling that they wouldn't see the end of it if they didn't hear their friend out, they each cast their gazes into the dark corner. Time ticked by slowly as their fixed stares went unchanged. Then, as if by some trick of their minds, the darkness itself seemed to deepen the longer they looked into it.
Rubbing their eyes to make sure they weren't seeing things, they again looked to see that the wall wasn't a flat surface. Instead, it was an opening, a large opening that was barely recognizable among the similarly dark rock.
“Already on it,” Rainbow Dash shouted, cutting of Twilight as she opened her mouth to direct her. The pegasus' curved toward the opening and flew straight into it.
Immediately, a relieving sensation washed over them all. The harsh elements of the outside world were nonexistent within the cave. Though the air was chilly, it was immensely more acceptable without the pounding wind forever against their spines. Even the snow couldn't reach them, the rough rocky walls and roofing keeping them safe from the continuous assault of white flakes.
As they flew through the cavernous depths, the six adventurers were struck into speechlessness as they saw a towering structure looming over them.
It was a tower of stone, hiding away in a massive alcove on the far end of the cave. Even from their distance to it, they could clearly see the details made into it. The spire stretched far into the air, just as large in size as the Canterlot Castle. There seemed to be no top, instead the tower just ended as it connected to the ceiling. Large archways circled around the sides of the tower as well, looking as though they were windows though they had no glass. It's architecture was similar to that of the temple they had visited before. The structure itself even appeared as if it had been carved from the very mountain itself.
“Wow,” Rainbow Dash breathed in awe, involuntarily flying closer to the magnificent structure.
A hearty chuckled escaped Applejack. “Lucky guessin' there, Spike,” the farmpony said, rubbing the top of the dragon's head playfully. The assistant couldn't even believe it himself as he gazed upon the tower, paralyzed by its very presence.
Unbridled excitement propelled them forward as it took only moments for them to feel the hard surface of rock underneath their hooves. No time was wasted in untieing Rainbow Dash and securing the balloon in a safe position.
As everyone was eager to head inside and see what was waiting for them, they paused as Twilight looked up at the imposing building. “Well... here we go,” she murmured, her tone laced with false joy. But the others didn't notice it, too lost in their own wonder. Neither did they notice as the lavender librarian gulped forcibly, swallowing the lump in her throat. Though her friends were happily imagining what they might find inside the ancient place, she was dreading it.
But, she knew what had to be done had to be done. So, with one hoof forward, Twilight led the way through the doorless opening at the base of the tower.
A cruel sense of deja vu struck them quickly as they encountered the bare emptiness of the opening chamber. It all just seemed abandoned. Considerably large, the size only made the fact that nothing was in it all the more blatantly obvious.
“Not this again,” Rainbow Dash groaned as she floated about. “This place is just as empty as the temple.”
“Don't fret none,” Applejack said reassuringly. “Ah'm sure we will find somethin' to help keep us goin'. If that Typhoon was here, he might have left another clue for us to follow.”
Pinkie Pie nodded rapidly, wholeheartedly agreeing with her fellow earth pony. “Oh yeah! Maybe it'll be a giant sign that says 'Answers you need are here. Enjoy!' And it'll be in bright, colorful letters and spray confetti everywhere when anypony walks in.” A squeaky stream of giggles bubbled from her mouth. “I bet that's it.” There was a long, awkward pause as everyone was left to stare at the cotton candy maned pony. “What? That's what I would do.”
They continued to search through the chamber. But nothing of interest could be found. What they did find however was a large stairwell that led to the next floor of the tower.
Much like what they expected from a tower, the next chamber was equal in size compared to the width. The difference within it were the walls that criss-crossed through the chamber, separating the large room into many smaller ones. But once again, nothing could be found. Nothing of interest, not a shred of a clue, no sign of what might have happened.
It continued on like this for some time, the six friends taking their time as they scaled the tower, making sure they didn't miss a thing. All that they were greeted with was more emptiness. But not everything was seen by them. None of them noticed as their hooves echoed across the empty tower, the long scratches running across the stone floor. They also couldn't see the similarity to newly placed scratches made by their scaled companion, left as his clawed toes scrapped across the ground.
Concerned looks crossed the ponies from time to time, thoughts of their journey coming to a screeching halt swimming in their minds for moments at a time. At least the temple had signs of their ancient pegasus guide, but there was nothing within this tower.
Spike on the other hand, held no such worries in his mind. All he could feel was the bursting excitement that threatened to make him squeal in merriment. After having been through so much, he felt certain that a conclusion to their adventure was just around the corner. His heart pounded rapidly against his chest as his eager gaze darted across every room, his excitement flaring for a moment as his eyes played tricks on him and he would swear he had seen something out of the ordinary. As his bristling anticipation was becoming too much for the little dragon to bear, they came across the most unique room the tower had to offer.
After seeing the uniform design room after room, the six friends immediately became aware of the differences in the chamber.
Like the first chamber they had entered, it was just one large large room. It was just as empty as the previous ones, holding nothing but a large space. But there were several differences the room had to the others.
As their hooves brushed against the floor, they noticed how much smoother it was than before. Examining it, they realized that the stone floor that matched everything else around them was different. They were tiles, made up of a stone unlike that of the rest of the tower. And where everything else looked like one big piece, the tiles looked as though they were added in for some unknown reason.
Looking out toward the walls, the six adventurers saw that the walls were made up of large pillars. Perfectly sculpted and holding up the floors above it. Between each pillar was a glassless archway, they could look out to the caverns they had entered before, even seeing their balloon down below.
But those meager differences were nothing, quickly lost to the group of friends as their sights were snared by what the chamber truly had. At the far end of the room, a magnificent piece of art waited to be seen in the dismal place it was left.
Their eyes widened to their full size as their mouths hung open to gape at the large mural before them. Its beautiful colors and flawless condition made it a masterpiece, it looked as though it was just made the other day. But it wasn't the beauty of the mural that brought on their reactions, it was what it depicted, dragons.
Large, scaled creatures were shown in their own equal spaces. The dragons looked different when compared to ordinary ones, either through oddities in their colors or how monstrous their bodies looked with their abnormal spines and claws. Besides the dragons, the very sides of the mural had strange looking symbols etched across the edge of it all, having no discernible purpose to them.
A dark purple scaled dragon was shown in a cavern covered in sparkling gems, it's maw was opened wide as it prepared to eat a frantic sheep. One dragon lacked any sort of spines or horns, covered in white scales in a frozen wasteland, nearly blending in with the snow in the background. There was only one dragon who seemed to be given more space, and it seemed to be for it's massive size alone. No real visual depiction was shown for it. Just jagged, black scales, a razor sharp maw of fangs and eyes of the deepest crimson that seemed to stare down at the six adventurers.
As they continued to look at the dragons shown in the mural, their traveling eyes soon stopped in their tracks as they saw the very bottom. Another dragon was shown, it's eyes narrowed into a fierce glare while it's maw stretched wide to allow a violent torrent of flames to spew forth and down on top of a small village before it.
The expressions of the ponies and dragon all turned to horror as they looked at the small houses being swallowed by the flame. The scene of destruction and brutality was only worsened as they looked at the dragon more. All their eyes could look at was the dragon's back, looking for something that just wasn't there. The dragon was wingless.
“No...” Spike whispered, wanting to take his eyes from the sight but unable to do so. The others felt the same, having their gazes bolted onto the sight, breathless from their emptied lungs as their hearts sank deep from their places.
The only one who reacted less than the others was Twilight, the ancient dragon never left her gaze as she stepped closer to the piece of art. “So this is the Mural of Ancients,” she murmured.
Within a fraction of a second, five pairs of eyes were glued to the scholar, mixed expressions of shock and confusion added to the stares. Twilight gulped once again, the action not being lost on her friends as they watched her intently. Beads of sweat formed on the unicorn's brow as she felt her breathing turn rapid and the beating in her chest fluttering erratically.
“Twilight...” Spike said, eying his caretaker with a gaze filled only with a crushing sadness.
Knowing she had no choice, the lavender mare opened her saddlebag and brought out one of Typhoon's old journals. “In his last journal,” she said, gazing upon the booklet with fear and dread, “the entry we read about this tower wasn't his last... He wrote another... it was after his trip here.”
Without waiting for him to respond, Twilight levitated the journal toward Spike. Snatching it from the magical grasp, the young dragon began searching through the journal feverishly. He flipped passed the many notes the pegasus had made, he flipped passed the crude map that had led them to where they were now, he stopped on the final page he had seen. Pausing on the entry that Twilight had read to them in the hold, Spike's shaking hand slowly turned it, revealing one final entry that had been kept hidden from him.
25x17x823
How foolish I must seem.
To think, I had actually held hopes that dragons could be anything besides the primitive beasts we see today. I was right about one thing though, the tower did hold the answers I wanted.
The tower was a dark place. It reminded me much of the temple I had visited before. I'm sure that they were made by the same beings, whoever they might be. Other ponies or maybe a race we have never seen? I'm not sure. Not much was there, not much to find. I've collected a few tattered notes and old booklets, though I doubt they have any real value to them. It was that mural that told me everything.
A large mural right in the center of that tower. Though it looks like a simple piece of art at first glance, I noticed the old writing that runs at the sides of the mural. It was the same writing that's in the tome I had found at the temple, the same tome that led me to the tower in the first place. Though it was difficult to decipher it to read, I was shocked at what I found.
Called the Mural of Ancients, it shows the old dragon ancients as they were seen by whatever created these structures in the first place. They were all there, even Serilex. Apparently, this civilization fought against the dragons, trying to protect themselves as the beasts saw fit to destroy everything they had.
Serilex himself was the same as all the others to these people, saying his powerful flame made up for his lack of flight, which he used to burn away their homes and turn their lives to ash.
I'm not sure what happened to this civilization, probably eradicated by the dragons, but I really don't care. Dragons are my field, not lost cultures, I'll most likely send the information to Canterlot, see if those magic users care to look into this now that I'm done here.
Now that it's all over, I'll leave the hold and return to Cloudsdale. Will need to give my full report to the commander, I'm certain she will be as disappointed as I. Her hopes for this were just as high as my own.
My head is still reeling from coming to such an unsavory end, I could swear I can hear the powerful wing beats of one those scaled beasts right outside these stone walls.
Spike's shaking voice began to crack as he finished reading. The journal trembled in his grasp, just as his hands did. The black lettering of the entry became blurred as warm tears lined the dragon's eyes. But all he could feel was the hollow pit in his chest, where his joy and happiness once resided.
A pin could have dropped and the noise created would have sounded off like a crackle of thunder.
Everything was silent and still within the tower as Spike's frozen gaze stayed on the journal he had been given, telling him his hopes and dreams for their adventure were nothing but a foolish waste.
Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Applejack and Pinkie Pie could only hold their expressions of shock to what they had heard, lacking even the faintest idea to what they could do. Twilight held her head down, looking away from the scene before her, unable to bring herself to look at the crushed dragon.
Everypony then flinched suddenly, the all consuming silence around them being shattered by the echoing thud of Typhoon's final journal striking the ground.
“So... that's it,” Spike choked, his voice barely above a whisper. “Serilex was nothing but a brute, a monster, no better than any other dragon.”
“I-I'm so sorry, Spike,” Twilight murmured, almost coming off as a whimper. Even though she knew it was coming, it was impossible to prepare for the heart wrenching moment. And once again, like so many more occurrences, the unicorn found herself at a loss, unable to help someone she cared for.
The young scholar felt a cold chill trace her spine as Spike's tearful eyes locked onto her. “Don't be,” he muttered. “There's nothing to be sorry about. It's not your fault, it's theirs.” The dragon's eyes then fell back to the large mural. “If only Typhoon had made it to Cloudsdale, we wouldn't have needed to waste so much time learning what we already knew.”
Twilight shook her head. “It wasn't a waste, Spike,” she said, disagreeing with him. “You set yourself a goal and saw it through. When we started this, you wanted to know how far physical differences went for dragons. Even if Typhoon's journal had said that Serilex was the same as the other dragons, you would have wanted to see for yourself.” With a slow, steady step, she approached the hurting dragon, lowering her head to nuzzle against him comfortingly. “Though he wasn't the kind of dragon you hoped for, you can at least know that it isn't your own lack of wings that makes you different, it's you.”
Hoping to have gotten through to him, Twilight met the dragon's gaze with a small smile. But it quickly deflated as Spike turned away from her, sighing in his dejection. “I just want to go home,” he said, turning toward the doorway that led out of the chamber.
Releasing her own saddened sighing breath, Twilight looked between her friends and assistant. “It's been a long day,” she said, absentmindedly looking out the windows into the empty caverns, half expecting to see a night sky. “Let's make camp here, we can go home after we've all had a rest.”
The other ponies all nodded in agreement, feeling a weight of weakness atop their backs.
Their simple camp was set up quickly. They took the chamber two floors down from the mural room, wanting to put the incident behind them and not wanting the two dimensional dragon ancients watching them in their sleep.
Several hours passed before the sweet relief of sleep took the exhausted ponies. It wasn't easy, as each of them tossed and turned on the hard stone floor, their minds swirling with all that had happened. But eventually, their eyes closed and their chests began to steadily rise and fall in a rhythmic motion.
However, the same could not be said for the single dragon. Spike stayed lying on his side as, one by one, his friends each fell into their rest. He couldn't sleep, even if he wanted to. There was too much on his mind, too much emotion rippling through him.
After he was certain that the others were asleep, Spike rose from his makeshift bed and slowly walked toward the rising stairs. It took longer to scale the expansive steps, his small form making certain of that, but he ignored the time spent with each increase in height and kept his gaze forward.
Reaching the floor he was searching for, the dragon crossed the chamber. He didn't stop, didn't halt in his step or slow in his speed. It wasn't until he stood before the looming sight of the Mural of the Ancients did he halt on the spot. As he looked at the detestable piece of art, his emerald eyes locked onto the only point of interest to him, the only wingless dragon of the lot.
“Why you too?” he asked the painted dragon. The hollow pit inside the assistant's chest grew as he glared at the ancient dragon who remained silent. “All I wanted was to see how far dragons could be different, to see if I truly had to be a unique... freak out of a species. But it's only your bare back that's different, isn't it?” Spike wiped away the few droplets of tears that lined his eyes. His entire body began to tremble with the building emotion inside of him. He wanted to cry, but he was far too angry to do so.
“Dragons aren'twild animals,” Spike continued, still venting out his boiling hatred toward a dragon who was long gone. “We talk, we can learn, we make our own games for fun. I learned so much about what dragons can do at the migration. But... but how are dragons really so different?! All I've ever seen is how selfish and ruthless they are! How they'll hurt anyone they want to just because they can! On my birthday, I even learned how it's natural for us to want to take anything we want and hurt anypony who tries to stop us!” Spike's clawed hands clenched into fists as his burning gaze stayed on the flightless dragon. “I at least wanted to think that there was more to dragons than selfish, ferocious beasts! What makes dragons any better than manticores, or timberwolves, or even hydras?! What makes meany better?!” Again, the ancient dragon was silent, never moving from his fiery attack on the small village. It was then that Spike could no longer take it. “Answer me, Serilex!”
Feeling his burning anger boil upward, Spike's maw opened wide as he breathed a large ball of fire. The intense flame sailed through the air with amazing speed and struck at the mural that was causing him such strife. He watched as the fire burned for only a moment, dieing out quickly with nothing left to feed it.
For several moments, the young dragon simply stood there. Smoke trailed from his nostrils as his breathing turned haggard, his rage not yet fully dissipated. As his thick, heavy breaths began to slow, his hardened gaze slowly softened. Then, he felt his anger disappearing entirely, being replaced with the same despair he felt when he held Typhoon's journal in his hands.
The chamber was once again enveloped in silence. Spike could only stand there and stare sadly at the ground, feeling his eyes beginning to water once again. Thoughts on regrets began to enter his mind as he wished he had never left Ponyville in the first place.
But the silence surrounding the dragon was broken as a loud noise reverberated through the chamber, made even worse as its echo doubled its pounding intensity.
Spike clamped his hands over his ears as he was overwhelmed by the terrible, grating sound of stone grinding against stone. His head pounded as the most horrible noise he had ever heard continued. Looking for the source, the pained dragon's eyes were stopped on the mural.
His eyes widened as he saw the bright, burning light running up the center of the wall. It only stopped as it reached the top and bottom of the massive mural. The sound then became louder, but the awestruck dragon never noticed as he could only stare off at the sight. Then, he saw the surface of the mural begin to shake. Only after moments of the shuddering rumble, the line of light running in the center faded. As it did, the light left behind a thin crevice of space between both halves of the mural. Spike slowly backed away from the scene as it looked like the mural was moving toward him. To his astonishment, he realized it was.
Both halves of the mural began to slide across the tiled floor at the center. Like a towering gate to an ancient castle, the mural became a gargantuan door. Then, the earsplitting noises stopped and Spike stared into the opened passageway that was revealed.
Still reeling from what had just occurred, Spike took only small, hesitant steps toward the newly discovered tunnel. Entering it, he looked around at the surroundings. Obvious at the first glance, he could clearly see that it was unlike the tower he was at previously. It was much more like the cave that the tower was situated in. The walls were rough and naturally jagged, making the path forward less than straight for any larger creature maneuvering through.
A sudden noise coming from the depths within the tunnel forced Spike to stop. He listened in closely as the sound occurred once more, much more closer than before. Sounding like the footstep of a larger creature. The dragon's heart began to race as the unmistakable noise of claws scrapping across stone accompanied it.
As the young assistant stood there, rooted in place by his ever growing fear, his breathing stopped as he saw a figure emerging from the darkness. Gasping for air, he could only look up in frightened silence as the creator of the sound approached him, a familiar looking, bronze scaled dragon.
Paralyzed, Spike was helpless as the much larger dragon gazed down on him. It's lips curled and parted into a grin, it's flesh rending teeth clearly showing.
Twilight and her friends were quickly alerted to what was going on above them. At first, the startled ponies feared that an earthquake was shaking their den to pieces. But, as the grinding of stone sounded, their imaginations went wild with what could be happening.
Their fears of the unknown only worsened as they realized that their scaled companion was nowhere to be seen. Panic began to rise between them as the most obvious location came to them. Leaving behind their humble camp, the five ponies raced up the stairs, following the all consuming noise of an ancient doorway being opened.
All they could do was question what was happening as they scaled the massive stairway that led them from one chamber to the next. None of them had a clue, nor did they know what part Spike had in it, if any.
As they continued to run up the spiraling stairs, the quaking rumble grew louder. Attempts to drown it out by flattening their ears against their heads did little to muffle the noise. It forced them to struggle through it all as they rushed toward the source of it.
It quickly hit them as a bittersweet relief as the noise stopped, the tower once again falling to the still hand of silence. But it didn't slow the progress of the ponies in any way. They galloped onward, higher and higher, passing through the first chamber above them and having only one more separating them from the room of the mural.
But as their progress was halted as they made it halfway up the second flight of stairs. Everypony there stopped on the spot as a new sound echoed down toward them from a distance. The five mares all held gasped breaths as a familiar voice let out a frightened cry.
“Spike!” Twilight cried out, immediately charging forward, throwing caution to the wind. The scholar's heart was racing just as quickly as her legs. Her friends followed just behind, right on her tail as they ascended the stairs and entered the empty chamber where so much had occurred.
There was only a moments worth of hesitation as the five ponies gazed up at the now open doorway of the mural. But their confused questions on what happened were quickly pushed to the back of their minds as they each rushed forward toward the tunnel.
The constant echoing of hooves striking against the rocky floor was all that could be heard as the ponies kept their charging gallop forward. Thoughts on the strange tunnel they were in, or what even was going on, were ignored as they only had one task on their minds.. Finding Spike was their only concern now, even as the closer they came to the tunnels end and they could see the outline of a towering creature in the darkness.
Only as they neared the dragon did they stop, seeing his scaled face within the darkness of the gloomy cavern. It looked down at them, it's eyes slowly shifting between each of them, one by one.
“Where's our friend?!” Twilight demanded, her fears of the ferocious creature being easily outweighed by her concern for her assistant's well being.
The dragon eyed the unicorn intently, it's gaze never faltering from her as it gauged her aggressive stance. Then, a deep rumbling sound could be heard coming from the dragon. To the ponies, it sounded like a stunted growl of sorts, sounding off repeatedly in a rhythmic fashion. They each shared expressions of surprise as they realized that the dragon was chuckling.
“Your little friend is nearby, unharmed of course,” the dragon replied, in a rough voice of masculinity. The bronze scaled dragon then shifted his weight to the side, opening a continuing path through the tunnel. The path looked to turn to the right, and the ponies could see a shallow light reaching through the overbearing darkness.
Twilight led the way past the dragon, taking several short steps as she kept her eyes on the idle dragon, before they returned to a galloping pace to reach the source of the light, and hopefully, their young dragon friend.
Soon enough, they could see the end of the tunnel. From their distance to it, they were unable to make out what was on the other side. A bright light flowing from the end blinded their eyes, too used to the darkness of caverns and ruins. But there was one figure they could see at the very edge of the tunnel, the frame of a small baby dragon. Elated breaths of joy escaped the five ponies as they rushed forward to greet their scaled friend.
“Oh, Spike,” Twilight called, reaching the dragon's side with the biggest smile she could muster, “I'm so happy you're alright.”
But Spike didn't answer, he didn't move, there was no reaction at all as his five pony friends approached him. The dragon's emerald eyes were as wide as dinner plates, locked firmly in place by a thousand yard stare. His mouth hung open just as wide, combining with his eyes to make an expression of utter shock.
As their eyes became used to the light that was beyond them, the five ponies followed the dragon's gaze toward where the tunnel had led them. As they looked out into what was before them, five pairs of eyes widened as five mouths gaped at what they saw. Within moments, the mares perfectly matched the expression Spike already held.
The tunnel ended at the entrance to a massive chamber, easily twice the size of the room they had just left. To them, the only way they could describe what they saw was as though they had just stepped into an ancient library for giants.
But the fixed sights of the six friends barely noticed the inanimate objects that the chamber had to offer. What they noticed was what else filled the room, dragons. Scaled giants of all shapes, sizes and colors. Some flew through the air with ease, removing large tomes from their shelves, or placing new ones. A few silently sat motionless on the masterfully woven rugs that coated the floor, their eyes closed as though they were in a deep sleep. Others simply walked out of the chamber, leaving through one of the few archways that looked to lead toward even more mysterious locations.
The greatest detail about the dragons that they noticed however, was how some differed from the others. Their attentive gazes were fixated on the tell-tale fact that several of the dragons were wingless.
Spike and his five pony friends were unable to do anything else but gawk at the sight before them.
The chamber that the old tunnel had led them was one of the last sights they could have ever expected to see. It was like the library in Canterlot, though much more to scale for the dragons residing within than for a pony.
Towering bookcases were set across the walls and floors of the chamber. Every inch of every wall was either covered in a bookcase or a hanging tapestry, stitched with designs akin to that of the scaled creatures. Of course, books were what outnumbered everything else in terms of objects. Several of the aged tomes looked to be even larger than a pony, though having no trouble fitting into the grasp of the ones using them.
Balconies ran across the walls as well, molding the chamber to have several floors around the edges with an open center. Spiraling pillars held up the balconies and were sculpted with many designs of dragons carved into the surface.
Too enamored by what lay before them, the six adventurers were unaware as a large presence loomed over them from behind. It was only until a deep, rough voice they had heard only moments ago spoke did they feel their bodies tense as their minds were pulled away from the captivating shock.
“Welcome,” the bronze dragon greeted, his tone considerably calm.
The group of friends turned to face the dragon, his sandy brown eyes looking down on them with an air of expectation. To Spike, it appeared that those very eyes landed on him more often than not. It was that thought that caused him to speak first.
“Where... where are we?” the little dragon asked.
The much larger reptile regarded the infant for a moment, creating a pause that made the moment far more awkward than was necessary. “Sanctuary,” he finally replied. The answer elicited puzzled expressions from the six newcomers, adding to an ever growing pile of maddening confusion. Seeing that many questions were preparing to spew forth like a river with a broken dam, the dragon decided to speak again. “You will all need to come with me, there is much to be discussed.”
“Now hold on a second,” Rainbow Dash said, her previous reaction of paralyzing shock now being gone, replaced by a sharp glare as she darted toward the dragon. The pegasus brought herself face to face with the creature, hovering in place as she met him at eye level. “Why should we do anything with you? You attacked us!”
Fearing that their friend had just made a horrible mistake, the other ponies frantically tried voicing their apologetic deterrence toward the dragon who could clearly do them harm if he chose to. Rainbow Dash hadn't even realized that the dragon was only a slight lean forward from being able to swallow the pegasus whole by an effortless inhale. But all they managed were stuttered noises that had barely formed any audible sound for anyone to hear save for Spike who was still looking down at the dragons in the chamber of literature.
The pleas of forgiveness from the ponies were halted however as they saw the strangest reaction from the dragon. The corner of his mouth curled in a smirk as he eyed the bold pegasus. Even a warm chuckle escaped him, causing small amounts of smoke to seep from his nostrils and bringing Rainbow Dash into a momentary coughing fit.
“Tell me something,” the dragon then responded, meeting the rainbow maned mare's gaze. “How did you manage to evade three ferocious dragons in that forest?”
“Well,” Rainbow murmured, remembering the heart pounding chase they were in, “I didn't really think we were going to. Those dragons pretty much had us until... you...” She trailed off as her face seemed to turn to stone. The others held matching expressions as they each caught on to the implication.
“So you were helpin' us,” Applejack stated.
The bronze scaled dragon gave a single nod of affirmation. “Though I do regret the need of flame, but I needed to coax you away,” he looked at the earth pony for a moment, “and I couldn't have you suspecting any specific intentions.”
“But why help us?” Rarity asked, finding her voice in the wake of explanation.
Again the dragon allowed a long silence to build between them. Not answering the question, he simply stepped over the six friends and began walking further into the chamber before them. “No more questions,” he said, his tone making it clear that it was not to be debated. “Please, follow me and you can have your answers.”
Having no choice in the matter, the curious and confused mares followed the path led by the dragon, albeit with moments of hesitation. Spike however, still rooted in place by his fascination to what he could see, was lifted into the air by Twilight and placed onto her back.
They saw more of the chamber as they made their way through it. Most breathtaking was the architecture that they saw. Every detail was beautiful, down to the large tiles making up the floor. It was a craftsmanship that rivaled that of Canterlot Castle, looking as though it was all made for the finest of nobility.
But it couldn't be said that the trek was not without its tense moments. The ponies were met with long stares by the dragons as they passed. It would be an understatement to think that the equine creatures weren't out of place. The nervous expressions plastered onto their coated faces didn't help either. Though it couldn't have been helped. Not a soul in Equestria would be able to stay in a room full of dragons and say there wasn't a hint of intimidation brought on by the creatures.
There was a whole new light being shed on them however. Never before had they seen dragons in such a way, it only added more questions that wanted to be spat out in as incoherent a fashion that was possible.
Though, without those answers now, the ponies were grateful that the dragons were keeping their distance for the time being.
“Hiya dragons!” the jovial tone of Pinkie Pie shouted, her voice carrying through the room as if there were a hundred ponies shouting in unison. “I'm Pinkie Pie! What are your names?! Do any of you dragons want a friend?! I have lots and lots of friends back home! All different kinds of friends too! Donkey friends, cow friends, pet friends, a lot of pony friends, a gryphon who I think is a friend, best friends, new friends, old friends, and lots and lots of other friends too! But I only have one dragon friend! Do any of you need a friend?! We could have a party to celebrate!”
“Pinkie!” Rarity snapped in a sharp whisper, shooting a mortified gaze toward the party planner. “Please, could you be so kind as to not antagonize them?” The others held similar expressions as many of the dragons now stared at the strange creatures, watching them walk by until they entered a large hallway that exited them from the chamber.
Even the halls reminded the ponies of the castle. Though it lacked the typical wall-high windows that were there, a rich assortment of tapestries and other items clung to the walls to great effect. Paintings of dragons and landscapes adorned the walls, as well as statues of the scaled beasts and other creatures that Twilight couldn't identify.
Besides the décor, the hallways held magnificent metal braziers that hung from the ceilings, burning with a ruby red flame that didn't give an inch of space for darkness to descend. There were also doors that were fixed into the walls, shut from wandering eyes, being far too big for the ponies to try and open on their own.
The ponies followed their bronze guide as they silently trotted down the hallway. There were many branching paths, each leading down a new way of travel that would undoubtedly take them to another mysterious room for them to explore. But they followed a very specific path, made by the dragon who was taking them to Celestia knows where.
Just as the prolonged silence of unanswered questions was becoming too much for the inquisitive group to bear, they found themselves before a set of doors just as large as any of the others. They were colored in several shades of blue and held silhouettes of the different celestial bodies that existed in the space beyond their world, the scholar of the group was immediately able to mark every one by name in her head upon seeing them.
Remaining silent, the bronze dragon placed his clawed hand against the door and pushed it open, creating a loud, creaking echo of aged wood. Looking inside the six friends once again became stunned at what they saw.
Another large chamber, perfectly circular in its shape, with many more bookcases placed into the walls. Scrolls the size of trees also laid on the shelves, while a few hung open on the wall, written in a language that wasn't their own.
Besides the books, massive stone slabs stood as tables with the strangest assortments of objects that the ponies had ever seen. Apparatuses of unknown purpose, relics of ancient times long since passed and artifacts that pulsated with a magical radiance.
The most amazing sight in the chamber, at least in Twilight's eyes, was the ceiling. The entirety of it was a painted map of the stars. Her sights filled with wondrous awe, the young scholar was astonished by how perfect of a replication of the real night sky it was, as though Luna herself had painted it. It showed every twinkling star in its exact position compared to that of its fellows, she was even able to pinpoint the constellations.
At the center of the astral painting, there were cylindrical pipes of metal that ran down through a hole. The pipes led down in diagonal angles, met with large glass lenses placed between them or within. At the very end of the seemingly chaotic assortment, there was an enlarged eyepiece, similar to that of a telescope. Twilight took notice to the assortment, comparing it to that of an observatory she had visited once.
But like the rest of the sights they had seen, nothing caught the eyes of the six friends more than the living aspect. In the far center of the room, they could see another dragon sitting with it's back turned to them. The dragon's attention was placed on a colossal tome sat on a pedestal before it, nearly the size of the dragon itself. Though they couldn't see the full pages that the tome was turned to, the sheer size of it allowed them glimpses of strange symbols and old drawings of unassuming importance.
A long pause developed as the bronze scaled guide sat idle for several moments. The resident of the chamber continued gazing down at the tome, taking no notice to the visitors. “My lord,” the dragon said, bowing his head slightly as he addressed him, “I bring guests.”
At those words, the busy dragon's head lifted. “Guests?” he murmured, ending with a mild chuckle. “I trust they are of the expected kind.” As the dragon turned to face them, the six friends saw more of his appearance.
The dragon was noticeably large, being slightly greater in size compared to that of a typical fully grown dragon. Teal scales raced across his body, almost shimmering in the light. Two pairs of horns were adorned on his head, the smaller pair coming just behind the larger, more noticeable set, twisting around like vines on a pole. Running down his back, large spines curved sharply as they reached his tail, appearing as though they were carved from sapphires. There was also a triangular, dark blue spike protruding from the dragon's chin, with several others that ranged in smaller sizes forming across his jawline, resembling what could pass as facial hair for a dragon. The tip of his tail was a coned spike, looking as sharp as a spear.
Despite every detail of his appearance however, there was one thing that garnered the most attention. It was his back, as bare and wingless as Spike's, as well as several of the other dragons encountered within the strange place.
The teal dragon held a look of indifference as his gaze fell onto the group. Twilight and the others noticed two scars running across the right side of his face. Like jagged cracks through the scales, they ran down to his lip where a small piece was missing, allowing a glimpse of the white fangs underneath to be seen.
Spike's gaze was riveted to the dragon, as unmoving as the matching gaze now placed on him. The teal dragon's eyes had locked firmly onto the baby dragon, the five ponies also at his feet not even within his regard. The stare down lasted for several moments, each second ticking by in an uneasily slow pace.
“Do our guests have names?” the dragon then asked, breaking his visual hold on the infant dragon to examine the group as a whole.
“Uh...” Twilight stumbled, uneasily shifting in place as her wordless sound brought the dragon's intimidating gaze fully onto her. “I-I'm Twilight Sparkle.” A breath of relief left her involuntarily as the dragon's eyes left her. The others then took their turns, deeming it necessary to answer the question hastily.
“Rainbow Dash.”
“Ah'm Applejack.”
“Rarity, or um... Miss Rarity if you wish to stay formal.”
“Hello, Mr. Dragon! I'm Pinkie Pie!”
Another moment of silence came and went as the dragon eyed them each one by one. His sights fell to Spike once again, and with raise of his hand, he pointed a sharpened claw toward the infant. “And what are you called?”
“I'm... I'm Spike,” the young assistant replied, speaking with as much reclusive timidness to make him the perfect candidate as Fluttershy's impersonator.
The large dragon then broke his attention from the group and looked toward the bronze one, who was sitting patiently by the door throughout the introduction. “Moruzund, tell me, what of those drakes you had intercepted?”
The bronze scaled dragon stood at attention, like a royal guard of Canterlot addressing the princesses. “I haven't seen them since the encounter in the forest. They were most likely scouts... and I'm almost certain that they fly under Palewing.”
The teal dragon looked aimlessly for a moment, trapped in a clear state of deep thought. “Very well,” he finally responded. “I ask that you patrol the wastes, I would feel better knowing that nothing is afoot while I tend to our guests.” His tone was calm, making his request sincere, leaving no room for any thought that he was giving an order.
All the same, Moruzund bowed his head respectfully. “Without delay, Lord Serilex.” Then with a flap of his wings, he flew from the room and out of sight, leaving the six friends to stare bewildered at the dragon they were now alone with.
“S-Serilex?” Twilight gasped, now realizing that the dragon before them bore a striking resemblance to the one from the Mural of Ancients.
“Yes,” Serilex replied, making the scholar's wide eyes grow even more.
“B-b-b-but how is that possible?” the unicorn stammered. “That would make you hundreds of thousands of years old. I know dragons live for a long time, but they don't live that long!”
The aged dragon looked amused as he nodded. “Yes, it is true that our kind hold lengthy, but still limited lives. But that is not said for the ancients, being creatures of immortality.”
Rendered speechless, the ponies were only able to stare up at the dragon ancient. But the youngest in the room, the second dragon, held a crippling need within his eyes.
“Serilex, please,” he begged, “tell me, what are you? What am I? What is all of this?” The dragon ancient looked down on Spike with a softened gaze, a small frown bending the edges of his lips as he saw how distraught the young dragon was becoming.
Serilex opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out. Instead, his eyes narrowed and a bright light of flame crackled from his throat. The six friends shrieked in fear as, without hesitation, a dark green flame spewed down upon them.
But there was nothing, not the expected burning heat, not the unbearable pain, not even the abrupt ending darkness. Spike and the five ponies slowly opened their eyes to see, not a blazing inferno, but a lush green oasis opened where they stood.
It was beautiful, flowers of all existing colors sprouted in moments, a pond held small fish that swam about carelessly, even the chirping of birds could be heard playing their melodic songs. They took to the scene like one would take to water in a dessert, having only seen a snowy wasteland for so long.
Then, as quickly as it had appeared, the landscape vanished in a puff of smoke. Astonished stares were then drawn to the dragon responsible, his demeanor showing a patient idleness as he awaited for the visual answer to sink in. Twilight, a scholar through and through, felt her heart skip as she realized what they had seen.
“That... was magic.”
Serilex nodded his head in response, seeing the reactions of the ponies as it dawned on all of them. His gaze then fell to Spike. “You see, young one. As you have seen, you are unlike many of your own kind. But your differences aren't based solely on a physical side.” The dragon ancient smiled as he leaned his head lower to the assistant. “Spike, you are a dragon of magic.”
“Of magic?” Spike mimicked, having no clue what that meant for him. But the ancient dragon gained an amused expression at the young one's naivety.
“I will explain,” Serilex replied, standing on his hands and feet and moving toward the exit. “But please, follow me. There is something I want you to see, we can talk along the way.”
Their full, undivided attention being super-glued to the dragon's every word, Twilight and her friends trotted beside the large dragon. There was a relief had by them as the much greater size of Serilex was rendered a non-issue as he lessened his strides across the halls by which they trekked.
“Eons ago,” Serilex began, “the ancients and I roamed these vast lands when they were still young. For some unknown reason, I was created differently than that of my brethren. Slowly, as the years passed, and the life began to blossom, I found myself becoming sensitive to the flow of magical energies that made up the world. Then, I became aware that although my fellow ancients held an advantage to me with the gift of flight, I was given a different gift.” Serilex stopped for a moment and reared his head back, his lips crackling with a building flame. Then, in a powerful burst, a stream of translucent flame flowed onto the floor and began to circle around them.
Becoming frightened as the circling flames consumed them, the six friends watched as the flames blocked out all other sights from their vision. A sudden, lurching sensation was felt among them. Within that instant, the flames that surrounded them were gone and they were startled to find that they were no longer in the same hallway they were before.
“I had the gift of a much more powerful flame,” Serilex concluded.
“By golly,” Applejack murmured, swaying side to side as her body was slowly recovering from the sensation of being teleported. The others had similar reactions, excluding Twilight who knew how to use such a spell herself.
Serilex waited for the ponies to recuperate before he continued leading the way, as well as his tale. “Many years passed by as I developed my abilities. During that time, new races of creatures showed themselves and began cultivating the world to serve their own needs. By then, the race of dragons had grown considerably, with the ancients as their leaders. I myself had gone into seclusion, watching over the magic of the world that my brethren couldn't comprehend. But then... it all changed when I realized I was not the only one of my kind who had such... influence.”
They stopped once again, Serilex held his head down as his eyes turned glassy for a moment. “It was the start of dark times,” he sighed. “Wingless dragons began to be born alongside their kin. Even I do not know what brings it, but very rarely, an egg can hatch into one of our kind. They have taken to calling themselves the Flightless, formed by the title I held so long ago. But it only served to divide the dragons even more.”
“Divide them? How?” Spike asked, being the only one willing to speak as the ponies were too enthralled by the tale.
“It was the will of Doomaught... or, Razormaw as he tends to call himself these past few centuries. He's the most powerful of us all, in both strength and brutality. He saw the encroaching spread of other races, as well as the small force of the Flightless, who he deemed to be all lesser creatures. Bloodshed was had between the dragons who flew under him, and those that he wanted control over.” Serilex eyed the ponies as they stood at his side. “I am almost certain he would have succeeded in enslaving the world, and ending the ancients who didn't follow him, if it had not been for your kind.”
“Ponies fought against the dragons?” Twilight murmured, hardly believing the idea, no history book she had ever seen ever mentioned wars between the two.
“As did every race at one point in history,” Serilex nodded. “It was long ago though, when your kind was first learning of its own existence. But I was intrigued by what you were. Creatures of three equal separations, of ones who could shape the earth, ones who could shape the skies, and ones who held an innate control over magic that I had never seen before.”
Serilex's long claw reached down and tapped the tip of Twilight's horn, the unicorn felt a sudden burst of magic spark from the touch before quickly fading away. “Your kind are able to weave your magic into a powerful focus, simply through that horn. We magical dragons summon such power from our oan inner being, willing spells into existence with the aide of our flame to create them. It takes much more control and experience for us to preform them, but it takes little physical effort once it's mastered.”
Spike gasped in shock as he realized something. “So that's how I can deliver scrolls with my flame?”
For a moment, the ancient dragon's expression lapsed in a look of surprise, quickly fading as a small smile crept onto his lips. “You know of that spell? My my, magic at such an age you are. Most of our kind don't start learning spells for some time. You are much more talented than I had anticipated.” A proud smile grew across Spike's face at the compliment, while Serilex turned toward the doorway of a chamber at the far end of the hall. “This way now, we are almost there.”
They continued across the hall, staying silent as their destination grew closer. It was another circular chamber, with flawless walls and a tiled floor. The entire room was empty except for what hung across the walls themselves.
Portraits, there had to be over a dozen of them. Each given their own space on the walls of the chamber and continued as such around the entirety of it. They all depicted a dragon, resembling those that were seen on the Mural of Ancients. But unlike the mural, the dragons held no visage of malevolence or viciousness. They were given proud looks of dignity, each displayed in a beautiful background to show that dragon's particular personality.
One was even of Serilex, showing the teal dragon in a mystical trance, a dark blue flame burning in his outstretched claws. Colorful auras of magic swirled around him, looking to be in his complete control.
They stopped in front of one painting that showed a purple scaled dragon lying on a bed of gemstones. The dragon's interest was focused on a small insect that flew near him, an insect that glowed with a yellow light.
“Spiral,” Serilex commented, looking at the portrait with a fond smile. “A noble dragon, had a strange affinity for dragonflies and hated sheep with a passion. He was one of the first to stand alongside me when speaking out against the other ancients, they were planning on forcing your ancestors back to their northern homelands after they traveled to what is now Equestria.”
“Now wait a gosh-darn minute,” Applejack said, stamping a hoof down. “You were gonna attack us pony folk?”
“Well, you had invaded our lands after ruining your own with this ceaseless snow,” Serilex argued, his tone level as he mastered is own reasoning. “Some were afraid the same would happen there. But we managed to sway their choice, seeing as your kind found peace amongst themselves to stop the blight of snow. You also mined deep into the caves to reach the gems within, making it easier for dragons to obtain the jewels that they covet.”
“Well thanks for that... ah guess,” the pony farmer muttered, remembering that she was bringing up issues that have long since passed.
Leaving the portrait, they stepped toward another. Unlike the others, it held very little in detail. All that was on the picture was a pitch black canvas, broken only by two fiery red eyes that burned with a fury that none could describe. Within the blackness, an outline of a roaring dragon could be seen, as vicious as the most nightmarish monster.
“Doomaught,” Serilex said, speaking the name as though it were a curse. “He is known by many as the Devourer. His contempt for those he considers inferior is only matched by his appetite toward them... and other dragons.”
A weary sigh escaped the dragon ancient as he looked at each of the portraits. “Many ancients have either fallen to him or follow under his shadow. Only now is his influence only known by few because of the shift in the world's power. Once, dragons ruled it all, having nothing that would dare challenge us. But magic... it is something he fears.”
“He's afraid of it?” Twilight asked. It was a difficult concept to take in, seeing the mighty scaled creatures fearful of something.
“It's something that is beyond his control. To be able to wield the very essence that builds our world, it is a feat that he knows can outmatch his brutal power. It's why he views myself and the other Flightless as threats, and it is why I made it my duty to protect them from Doomaught and any dragon who dares to fly under him.”
The ponies were drawn to look about the room, seeing the walls of protection built deep within a mountain. “Like this place?”
“Yes,” Serilex nodded. “When I first began to realize that other dragons would be born with my abilities, I built a temple in what is now Equestria. It was to be a safe haven for the Flightless to learn to control and perfect the gift that they were given.”
Spike grimaced as he recalled their visit to the temple, seeing the place in ruins. “We visited there before,” the young assistant muttered.
“When it was found by Doomaught, he had it destroyed. Many lives were lost and we were scattered. Eventually, after Doomaught was stopped in his destructive path, I came here. The land was as lush as your own, not yet barren by the accursed snow. I created this sanctuary much like I did the temple, and the dragons found their way here.”
“What about the normal dragons?” Spike asked, regarding Moruzund and the others they had seen, looking just the same as any other dragon they had seen in Equestria.
The ancient dragon smirked as he faced the group, a twinkle of joy in his eyes. “I do not turn away from those seeking guidance. Even though they cannot learn magic, they still wished to learn what it truly means to be a dragon, much to my surprise. So I allow them to stay, to create a culture for themselves as they do not wish to rely on old instincts to carve their existence.”
“But some still do,” Rainbow Dash murmured snidely. It gained a narrowed glare from Twilight, a quick warning to watch what she said in the ancient's presence.
To the unicorns surprise though, there wasn't an ounce of offense on the dragon's face, he actually seemed to be agreeing with her. “It is their choice to do so. Despite what your kind may think on dragons, most simply wish to not be bothered. Few create the destruction and bloodshed that Doomaught and his ilk wish for our kind to partake in, and those who do do so out of defense if they feel threatened or provoked. It's my hope that one day such thoughts will be pushed from the minds of the races that inhabit this world.”
The five ponies each held their own expressions of shame, having felt such thoughts themselves more often than they now wished to admit. Seeing this new place, this haven for dragons, it changed things so drastically.
“If I may,” Rarity said, speaking in her most polite tone. “Having only just now seen that dragons are capable of so much, our assumptions could be considered understandable.”
An understanding nod was given by the dragon, allowing the alabaster unicorn to hold her opinion. “Speaking of such things,” he remarked, eying the group once again, “I must ask, how did you come across us?”
Not speaking, Twilight opened her saddlebag and quickly found one of the old journals that still rested within. Grabbing it in a magenta glow, the unicorn held it up toward the ancient dragon. “We followed these journals.”
Serilex leaned forward slightly, his eyes narrowing as he squinted at the small book, barely a speck compared to his size. After a moment of his vision noticing the old notebook, the dragon gestured for her to put it away. “Ah, Typhoon, I remember him. Quite a tenacious creature, very intelligent. He had an excellent sense of character, though a questionable sense of attire. Certainly a credit to your people”
The group merely looked at the dragon with more shock, becoming the most expressed reaction that they had used all day. “Typhoon was here?” Twilight asked.
“He was the first outsider to ever find the sanctuary, about thirteen-hundred years ago if I am correct,” Serilex answered with a slight nod. “Held reactions very similar to your own. He shared with us much about your kind.”
“But... but... wait, I don't understand,” Twilight began blathering. Nearly tearing her bag in two, Twilight reached into the pouch and pulled out Typhoon's last journal, opening it to the last page and facing it toward the dragon. “Typhoon says that he never found anything other than that mural outside this sanctuary.”
“Of course,” the dragon replied casually, “he was quite understanding when I told him our kind must remain a secret. So he lied to cover up what he had found, stating that there was nothing here and I was as ruthless as their darkest stories entailed . I assumed his ruse had succeeded, seeing as others never returned. What became of him anyway? He spoke of having such dreams to make history with his people.”
The faces of the ponies developed frowns as they remembered the hold. “He never made it,” Twilight answered, explaining to him what they had seen at the hold.
Serilex took the news strangely. A look of sadness crossed him, it only lasted a moment though, quickly fading and being replaced by his typical demeanor of indifference.
“That is... unfortunate,” the dragon murmured, his voice holding little in terms of grief or real regret. “But, I suppose if his work had managed to bring one of our own to find us here, then he would be happy to know that. I can't really say I knew what to expect when I felt the old seal I had placed on his first journal being broken. Knowing that whatever had broken it would be led to the temple, I sent Moruzund to await your arrival. Thankfully, he was there when those dragons attacked you.”
“Well,” Twilight added, knowing there was a little more to the beginning of their journey. “It wasn't finding Typhoon's journal that first brought us here. We wouldn't even have known about you or Typhoon if it wasn't for a book our ruler, Princess Celestia had sent to us. It mentioned your name and took us to this old tome, the Dragonium, that was what told us to look for Typhoon's work in the first place.”
Twilight and the others immediately jumped in place. Serilex's face seemed to twitch as he looked down at them. Then, to their sudden surprise, the ancient dragon began to laugh. It was a deep, booming noise that sounded like strikes of thunder.
“That is a name I haven't heard for a long time,” Serilex mused. “That does confirm my suspicions of you six. Though, I had never thought she would be so clever in her of sending you here. Then again, she would have to of been if she found this sanctuary with such ease before.”
Twilight gaped at the dragon, unsure if what she was hearing of her mentor was right. “Princess Celestia was here?!”
“Nearly two centuries ago,” Serilex replied. “Your princess had followed the legend much like you did. Searching for what became of the wingless ancient, and finding much more than she expected. But her arrival was much more a blessing than she had intended, and I owe her a great deal for what she has done for us.”
Confused stares were directed toward the dragon as they each looked up at him expectantly. Serilex took notice to them and took several steps back, making a sizable gap between them.
“I believe it is time that you see this for yourselves,” Serilex said. “Hopefully it will bring understanding to what must be explained afterward.”
Taking a seat on the floor, the ancient dragon closed his eyes in concentration. His chest rose and fell with the several deep breaths he took. Plumes of smoke puffed from his nostrils as a soft crackle of flame echoed across the silent chamber.
The six friends watched in awe as a silvery flame burned from within the dragon's mouth, stretching out from underneath his lips as the power within built. After mere moments of channeling the magic, Serilex opened his jaws wide, allowing the flame to flow out from his maw and down onto the floor.
The silvery flames crackled and burned in the air, as though it had a life of its own. Within moments, the flames shifted and slowly formed into a circular shape. From the center of the newly formed shape, the surface of the flames became flat while the edges still danced with life.
Staring at the marvelous sight, the six friends could see images forming within the surface of the flame. It played like a film, but appeared as if they were as the events took place, events beginning with two creatures standing side by side one another, a dragon ancient and a pony princess.
Princess Celestia slowly walked through the chambers of the sanctuary, the dragon ancient Serilex beside her. Though the ruler tried to keep her composure, holding her mask of a regal calm, her attempts were proven difficult to hold in the wake of such realizations.
All around them, the dragons, both wingless and not, watched from afar. They gave a wide berth to strange newcomer who stood with their master.
A sense of power and radiance hung in the air as the princess passed. Just being in the presence of the ruler made the dragons uneasy, both from the sight of the rarity of a visit from such a creature, as well as what was felt among them as they watched silently. They felt compelled to show the princess a reverence due a god, caused just by being near it. It was unnerving to them, having only held such natural reactions toward Serilex himself.
But Celestia wasn't bothered by the distance the dragons kept, being too lost within the sights that were around her, and the tales that were spun by the powerful dragon at her side.
“There is so much to take in,” the princess murmured, feeling overwhelmed by the flood of new information and shattered veils that once made up what she believed. “I never would have anticipated this from dragons, all happening right under my nose as well.”
“You have your own people to worry for,” Serilex replied. “The affairs of dragons are not your concern, be grateful your woes are so much more simple.”
Celestia simply shook her head at the dragon's words. “And yet worry I must. Though I have ruled for many centuries, it is daunting to realize I still know so little of the world beyond the day to day rituals of my subjects.”
A smirk crossed the dragon ancient for a moment. “Consider it a testament of your ability to have found us, Princess. And I'll consider it a display of your understanding to keep what you've found from your people.”
“But why?” Celestia asked, her shrewd gaze locked onto the dragon. “You wish for your kind to know peace, yet you keep yourselves hidden away. Allowing us to assume the worst of dragons with little else to see except for what your enemies allow. If the world were to know of you-”
“They would display the same fear and panic that your ancestors before have shown.” The princess was stopped by Serilex's tone, showing his stance on the subject was as hardened as steel. “Can you truly believe that our history will be erased overnight? It will take time for the fears brought on by Doomaught's influence to fade. I have seen how your kind react to that which is different.”
“The three tribes,” the princess remarked, remembering Equestria's history well. “But it was resolved.”
“In the face of the near eradication of your race,” Serilex commented. “You hold their ability to understand in too high of a regard. It reminds me of a young dragon I met many years ago. Against my judgment, he felt that it was time for dragons to be seen in a new light. So he flew out to the lands of the griffons to bring peace, I believe his skull still hangs within their palace.”
Trying to ignore the rather horrific statement, Celestia's thoughts returned to the magical dragons around her. Their trip through the sanctuary continued down another hall. It was different than the others, holding little in added visual esthetics other than the designs already carved into the stone walls.
As they slowly walked the hallway, Serilex looked toward the princess. “If I may be so bold, though you've ruled a land held in a state of peace for so many years, I know you've witnessed those who didn't wish for it. Those who hold evil in their intentions and seek to disrupt that which you hold dear. Coming from all of the races across the world, from minotaurs and griffons,” the dragon's eyes focused on the princess, “to even a few of your own.”
Celestia paused after hearing that, remembering a night that occurred several hundred years ago, one that lasted longer than any other.
“The point is,” Serilex continued, “we all have our less desirable members. Doomaught and his kind are ours. But I know that one day, dragons will find a place for themselves in this world. Though I do not go so far as to think of dragons sharing villages with your ponies, or anything of the sort.”
The hallway they were traversing soon ended. Celestia found herself staring off into a vast chamber, much like that bearing the faces of the ancients. But no paintings of elder dragons were held within, instead only one thing stood in the chamber, situated in the very center.
There was a small pedestal, almost like a shrine as it depicted several dragons carved into the base, both wingless and not. The stone dragons held up a large stone dish, concave in shape, like a bowl. Within the dish was a large egg, larger than that of any kind of bird. But it was obvious to anyone who saw it what creature it belonged to. Teal flames encircled the dragon egg within the dish, causing shadows to dance across its surface.
Two dragons stood guard within the chamber. Upon seeing their lord and the newcomer approach, their posture immediately stiffened. Celestia was met with the stares of both dragons freezing onto her, watching every move she made closely.
But the intent gazes weren't what the princess noticed. Upon approaching the egg, the magical alicorn felt her hooves halt in place involuntarily as the air was nearly sucked away from her lungs. Almost collapsing onto the ground, she felt a powerful force strike against her, like a wave of invisible water, with about as much force as a speeding carriage.
Regaining her composure quickly, Celestia found herself under the gaze of Serilex, eying her reactions. “You can feel it too, can't you?” he asked, looking back to the egg. “Not many can.”
“What is it?” she asked, feeling foolish for asking as she could see the answer clearly, despite the obvious that there was more to it.
“A dragon egg,” Serilex replied, making the princess feel even more foolish. “But one of a very special kind.” Stepping closer to the egg, the dragon ancient leaned his head down toward the flame surrounding it. With only a small breath, a simple stream of teal flame trailed from his mouth and added to what was already there, making the blaze burn even brighter for several moments before calming. “A flightless dragon of grand power.”
The sun ruler frowned as her gaze lingered on the unhatched dragon offspring. “It feels as though magic seeps from it's very being.”
“Yes,” Serilex nodded, “it is a herald, to the powerful dragon it will one day become. Born of two wingless dragons and gifted with untold power, it's abilities will be of our greatest, given the proper tutelage of course.. Such a dragon is a rare occurrence, even by the chances of typical flightless dragons. Our history has only ever seen the birth of three such dragons. One of which was a deciding factor in stopping Doomaught's attempt to raze the world. Which is why he views such a dragon as a grave threat to him. Which is also why I make sure to keep it here, safe and protected.”
“Where did it come from?” Celestia asked, unable to remove her gaze from the egg.
“Another sanctuary I developed far to the north,” the ancient replied. “It's mother came here to ensure the child's safety.” A heavy sigh escaped the dragon. “She has long since passed, taken by those who fly under Doomaught. But she managed to bring the egg here, where I make it my duty to protect it.”
Leaving the chamber, Serilex and Celestia walked back to the main library, where the princess had entered the old sanctuary before.
“I hope you've come to understand my kind,” the ancient said, seeing a coming conclusion to the royal visit.
Celestia nodded, taking one last gaze around the impressive place of knowledge. “I do, I've learned a great deal here. And I'll keep my word, your secret will not be betrayed by me.”
“Thank you,” Serilex replied with a bow. “I still hold a deep respect for your kind, you help to show why that is. And it is good to at least know that the southern lands I once called home are in capable-”
The ancient was cut off as a powerful quake shook the sanctuary. Startled gasps escaped many of the dragons as they looked upward toward the ceiling. Large cracks broke through the stone surface, fragments broke free and crashed to the floor, books fell from the shelves and piled atop each other.
As more quakes continued to rattle the peaceful place, an all consuming sound of stone being shattered echoed from the entrance tunnel. They looked toward it, just in time, to hear a chorus of roars sound off and come closer by the second.
There was no time to react quick enough as dragons burst through the tunnel, falling over one another as they tore into the library. Chaos ensued as they flew through the air, knocking over bookcases as they charged at the first dragon they saw.
Flames erupted out immediately, both from that of the attacking dragons, as well as spells made from the flightless. Serilex himself blew a fiery blue inferno toward the tunnel entrance. The gaping hole of an entryway was then coated into a thick wall of ice, blocking the path momentarily.
The dragon ancient then turned to another wingless dragon, an his eyes narrowed in a fierce intensity “They must be attacking the outside mountains as well,” he shouted above the sounds of the conflict. “Protect the sanctuary and the egg chamber! I'll move outside and defend it myself!” The dragon nodded his head and rushed off down the halls.
Serilex turned to meet the determined gaze of Celestia. “I'm going with you.”
“This isn't your fight,” he stated firmly, “go now, protect yourself and worry for your own kind.” But the princess flew up to face the dragon, meeting his gaze in a lock of iron strength.
“I'm going,” she said, not a hint of a request in her tone, it was an order.
Serilex's expression looked surprised toward the ruler's conviction, but he nodded his head, relenting to her will. “Very well, stay close and prepare yourself.”
Landing beside the dragon, Celestia watched as a translucent flame crackled within Serilex's throat. Breathing out the blaze, the flames swirled around them both, completely enveloping everything in their sight. Then, the princess felt a powerful lurch surge through her as it felt as though she were floating without the use of her wings.
Then, the sensations stopped and the swirling flames encompassing them slowly dwindled. As the last of the flames died, Celestia could see that they were no longer in the sanctuary. Cold snow blew into her face, a blanket of white powder was crushed underneath her hoof and as far as her eyes could see, there was only a wasteland of ice.
Though feeling somewhat unbalanced due to the trip, the princess's reaction to the spell was quickly put out of her mind as the terrible sound of crumbling rock sounded, added by the crashing of large boulders into the snowy ground. But the sound was dwarfed in comparison to the only other noticeable one, a series of furious roars, each cutting through the sky like razors.
Looking out through the thick veil of mist and ice flakes, the ancient and princess could see a massive shade of black. Serilex's gaze turned skyward as the crackling of flame formed within his maw, with a blast of fire, a ball of white flames flew high into the sky and disappeared within the thick layer of clouds.
To Celestia's astonishment, she watched as the near impenetrable storm clouds began to break apart, parting over the area surrounding them and revealing a beautiful sunny sky.
The removal of the wintery shroud also allowed them to look toward the mountain that housed the dragon sanctuary, to look upon what was attacking them form the outside. An expression of shock was worn on the ancients face while Celestia's own was struck with a momentary lapse of horror as they saw a giant among dragons hovering over the mountainside, it's claws tearing through the very rock that formed the natural landmark. A horrible, monstrous thing, it was as though every fear, every terrifying tale ever told about dragons and their viscous ways were given a single visage. Though Celestia had never seen the monster before, she knew straightaway who it was.
The dragon was a massive creature, easily beating Serilex in size. Every scale across his body was like a knife pierced through his hide, looking sharp as any blade and as black as the deepest void. Several smokey grey horns were sprouted from the back of his skull, looking as strong as steel and rough as stone. The wings on his back had many spikes jutting out of it, the webbing holding a dark crimson red. Large spines tore from his back in a set of three, running down his back where they ended at his tail, with a long, serrated blade of a spike formed on the tip.
What was most frightening of the creature's appearance however was his mouth. A row of jagged fangs were displayed with the maw of flames. Sickening splatters of red could be seen permanently stained on the boney surface. Each fang was larger than a stallion, looking fully capable of piercing the strongest of metals, or the hardest of dragon scale, with great ease. Even the lips covering the fangs looked just as rigid and sharp, adding the ferocious look the dragon kept.
“Doomaught!” Serilex shouted, his surprise to the reunion being twisted into a furious glare.
The menacing dragon halted in his assault on the mountain. Turning toward them, the ancient landed on the ground, quaking the land under his weight. As he looked at them, Princess Celestia found herself entangled within his gaze. Scarlet eyes that burned with a never ending blaze of hatred and malice, like two fires were lit within the dragon's skull that now looked out at the world with an equally burning rage.
“Ah, there you are, pet,” Doomaught said, every syllable of his voice forced out in a beastly growl. His burning gaze landed onto the princess by Serilex's side. “And your betrayer as well, how appropriate. Without it for my dragons to follow, I would have never been led to your nest of vermin. Now, I'm here to crush you pests once and for all!”
At those words, Celestia felt her patience snap. “How can you refer to your own kind in such a way?!” she shouted, unable to hold her regal stature any longer in the presence of such a creature.
But her outburst was met with little of an answer. Doomaught's eyes narrowed into a glare of daggers as he bent his head upward and released a powerful torrent of flames into the air, all spewing forth by an ear-wrenching roar that threatened to shatter the very heavens.
“How dare you address me, insect!” the ancient snarled as the flames died. “You gaze upon a god now, and true master of this world you're allowed to inhabit! Begone from my sight, our matters are not the concern of a lowly, insignificant mortal.”
Celestia's serene gaze narrowed on the dragon, her wings flared to life as she stamped her hoof firmly on the ground. “Dragons are inhabitants of Equestria as well, if they are threatened, then it is my duty to protect them just as I would any of my subjects.”
“She holds great power,” Serilex warned toward his fellow ancient, “you would do best not to underestimate her.”
“And yet I see trash nonetheless,” Doomaught growled, before facing the ancient in front of him. “I have allowed your kind to taint my world for far too long, pet, no more! This day, I will see to it that every last wingless freak and traitor to the dragon kind be slaughtered!” A black, sharpened claw was pointed toward the magical dragon. “As for you, I will gnaw the very meat from your bones!” Then the ancient suddenly leaped forward, pouncing on the dragon and princess with his claws outstretched and ready to cleave into flesh. “This is your end!”
But the dragon missed his mark. Celestia took to the air while Serilex jumped to the side, both avoiding the dragon as he smashed into the spot where they once stood.
His landing caught him off guard as Serilex charged forward, ramming headfirst into the titanic dragon. They both tumbled back and crashed against the side of a mountain. With a swing of his tail, Doomaught threw the magical dragon aside, allowing himself to stand.
Celestia took the chance, firing a spell toward the mountain that they stood under, large chunks of rock cracked and broke free from the surface. An avalanche started and tumbled down toward the dragon. It did little to impede the ferocious dragon's wrath. Seeing the rocks coming, Doomaught swept his claws against the mountain, throwing the boulders across the landscape in simple swipes of his arms.
A dark purple flame erupted from Serilex's maw, it met the ground around him. The flames burned on the surface for only a moment before the fire seeped into the earth itself.
Within moments, large blots of dark purple began to appear on the ground around Doomaught. Barely a moment to react, the stains of color erupted upwards in a pillar of magical energy. Even the size of the dragon was made useless as he was thrown off the ground, only to land atop another pillar as it burst forth from the ground.
Growling in furious anger, the black dragon gave a single flap of his powerful wings, lifting him up into the air and away from the area of the spell. Serilex burned within the dragon's gaze as he swooped downward at the ancient. His arm was outstretched and readying his claws to slash out.
With a powerful downward swing, the claws sliced into the thick surface it ran across. But it wasn't the scaled hide of a dragon. Instead, a thick slab of rock had risen from the ground, held up in a magical aura, separating the two dragons.
Doomaught snarled as he slashed at the wingless dragon again. But the slab rose up, repositioning on just the right spot to block the attack. Again and again, heated growls crackled from the throat of the black dragon as he clawed at the stone shield. Though considerable damage was done to the slab, large pieces of rock being racked away and a continuous spread of grooves where the claws dug into, the stone resisted the blows.
Yelling out in a livid roar, Doomaught's maw opened wide and the dragon ancient bit down onto the slab. His mighty jaws locked in place, the razor fangs easily cut into the stone. Then, with only a clench of the muscle, the mouth of the dragon fully shut, crumbling the slab into miniscule rocks.
With Serilex's protection gone, the menacing dragon wasted no time in swinging his claws toward his target. As the tips of the claws were preparing to reach the vulnerable magical dragon, Doomaught felt a crippling pain shoot through the limb as a bolt of magic struck it.
Roaring in agony, the black dragon clutched at his arm as his fiery gaze locked onto the princess, her horn still lit as she prepared herself for further attack.
Seeing Celestia, a pathetic speck of a creature in the ancient's eyes, injure him in any way, brought his already boiling rage to immeasurable heights. Barely regarding his previous opponent, Doomaught turned toward the princess, a blood lust in his eyes.
Not forgetting the annoyance Serilex still presented however, Doomaught swung out his arm, ignoring the pain in the already injured limb. The attack struck the smaller dragon hard and threw him to the ground with ease, allowing the malicious ancient to turn his attention toward the princess.
Charging toward her, the black dragon let out an onslaught of swipes from his massive claws. Such a small target she was compared to the dragon, Celestia easily weaved herself through the air, her agile form dodging the swings.
His frustration growing, Doomaught halted in his attacks to instead use his flame. A powerful inferno formed within his jaws, crackling with as much intensity as a volcanic explosion. As the flames poured from his maw, rather than targeting the princess, the dragon aimed for the snow around her. Just as the heated flames met the cold snow, a massive cloud of steam erupted around them.
Celestia was blinded by the shroud of white, barely able to see beyond her own nose. Worried to fly sightlessly, the princess landed to slowly find her way through the veils. But, she was stopped as she witnessed a gargantuan shadow turn the white nothingness around her black.
Doomaught's angered face tore through the shroud he had placed, his lips already holding a powerful flame that was ready to be used. Only a moment to react, Celestia created a magical barrier around herself, shielding her just in time as she was consumed in a shower of fire.
Even with her barrier, Celestia could feel the heat from the flames, it was taxing her physically as the powerful inferno brought the barrier to its last legs. Thankfully, the shield didn't break as the flames stopped, but as the glowing red and orange disappeared around her, she was forced to look upon a dragon ancient towering above her.
A roar left Doomaught as he brought his clawed hand down on the princess. The weakened shield couldn't hold up against the raw power of the dragon's attack. It shattered, protecting the princess from the attack itself, but throwing her to the ground as her body was weakened. Seeing the vulnerability of his target, the ancient snarled triumphantly as he raised his claws up once again, ready to tear down the creature who dared to challenge him.
As Celestia's fearful gaze caught the claws bearing down above her, she closed her eyes, sending her visual world into darkness as she thought of her kingdom, her people, all that she was leaving behind in the coming end.
But that end never came. A powerful crash was heard, and the princess opened her eyes to witness Serilex charging into the preoccupied dragon. The front of the wingless dragon's body was coated in a thick assortment of rocks pulled from the ground itself, a makeshift armor used as a battering ram as he and Doomaught smashed into the side of the mountain.
Unable to conquer the unmatchable physical strength of Doomaught, Serliex was quickly overpowered. The vicious dragon seized his fellow ancient by the neck, slamming him against the mountainside and raising his other set of claws to make the final blow.
“Do you think you can hear them?” the black dragon asked as Serilex struggled against the tight grip on his throat. “The cries of your misbegotten kind as they are felled by my dragons? I want their dieing breaths to be the last thing you hear!” As the ancient dragon's claws were brought down on his target, he was surprised as a powerful burst of blue flame erupted from Serilex's mouth.
The flames struck Doomaught square the face, causing his swing to miss slightly. Instead, the claws tore through what remained of the rocky armor Serilex had made, reaching down to his face and cutting him across the right side.
The teal scaled dragon clutched at his wound as Doomaught fell back. Where the flames had burned him, a thick layer of ice had formed. Trying to scrape it away with his claws, the dragon's hand became trapped as it too was swallowed by the ice. The ice then began to expand, growing over his head and keeping his jaw frozen shut. His struggling grunts followed as he thrashed about, the ice growing more and more, threatening to encase him completely.
Not about to be beaten so easily, the monstrous dragon swung his free hand upward. The strength put into the swing shattered the ice covering him, allowing him to breath freely and summon his fire. But the victory of freedom was short lived as he felt a familiar pain shoot through his back, a powerful strike of magic hitting him with an amazing force.
Doomaught's scarlet eyes searched frantically about the battleground before landing on the princess, flying just out of his reach. His lips quivered from the consuming fury that twisted inside of him, seeing the foreign creature still defying him. A thick, forked tongue lashed out of his mouth, becoming eager to experience the taste of a pony princess.
The injured Serilex completely leaving his focus, the black dragon spread his wings out wide before he took off. With amazing speed, the ancient flew toward the princess, quickly breaking away the gap that was set between them both. But Celestia held no tinge of fear to the rampaging beast that now had her in it's sights, rather, the princess kept her determined gaze as she flew higher up into the air.
Higher and higher she flew, the dragon right on her tail, but she ignored it. All that had her attention was the magic that was building within her, and her focus on the bright orb in the sky that she commanded.
The air began to thin as Celestia flew higher than where the clouds could reach. Her pursuer kept going as well, determined to do nothing else until he was picking royal bones from his teeth. It didn't even cross his mind as the princess suddenly stopped her ascension. As she stood within the blazing light of the sun, Celestia fanned her wings out wide and in one powerful display of magic, a blinding light flashed across the sky.
Roars of pain shuddered through the skies as Doomaught clutched at his eyes, the small orbs burning with an intensity that rivaled the flames of the dragons. The black dragon's altitude began to drop as he thrashed about in the sky, in too great a pain to focus on keeping his height.
Seeing her spell working successfully, Celestia then darted downward. Her pristine white wings flapped as hard as they were able, a magical aura built around her body as her diving speeds grew ever faster, bringing her closer to the injured dragon that hovered in her path.
Feeling the sound barrier twisting around her, the princess pushed herself further, goings speeds she hadn't preformed in many years. Nearing the still injured ancient, the princess felt a strong resistance being forced against her, but as she kept going, she felt that resistance give way.
A powerful boom sounded off, rippling through the sky like a wave. The speeds gained shot the princess further at an incredible rate, adding to her attack as she charged into Doomaught. With her high speed strike, augmented by a strong barrier of magic placed in front of her, the black dragon was hit with a powerful force, striking him out of the sky.
Crashing to the ground, Doomaught's body struck the surface like an explosion, cratering the area and flattening the land as he slid to a halt.
Celestia was not done there, flying back to ground level, her horn sparked with a bright golden aura. A trail of gold light snaked down onto the ground around the weakened ancient. The spell created formed with that of the snow that surround him, causing it to shimmer in a magical glow.
As the spell took effect, the snow that surrounded the dark dragon sprang to life. Thick tendrils were formed and ensnared him, wrapping around his body and limbs with a hardened grip. Doomaught fought the magic back, even in his injured state, tearing through the snowy bindings that attempted to bind him.
Looking as though he was about to break free, Serilex approached the raging dragon, limping slightly from injuries sustained. A dark grey flame formed and was breathed down around the snow that was still attempting to capture the dragon. The white tendrils of snow then turned grey, hardening into a substance stronger than any metal, keeping the ancient locked firmly in place.
Above them, the spell keeping the skies clear finally dissipated. The patch of missing cloud was refilled and the land around them was again placed into an endless winter. Snow quickly began to fall on the three creatures, looking almost comforting in light of victory.
Princess Celestia and Serilex both looked down on the captured Doomaught, still struggling against his bindings like a trapped animal The magical dragon's face was hardened into a fierce scowl as he leaned his head down to meet the gaze of his fellow.
“You deserve so much for all that you have done,” the ancient said in a sharp tone. “This is no longer our world, Doomaught. Our time has passed long ago,” he regarded the princess at his side for a moment, “now it is theirs. All we can do now is lead our kind through this changing world, but the path you wish to take will only lead them into oblivion.”
Celestia looked away, not wishing to witness the sight as Serilex's maw crackled with another powerful flame. A bright yellow in color, it was cast upon the vulnerable ancient, who released one final roar of defiance before he was consumed in the magical blaze.
The fire only lasted for a few moments, the burning heat and crackling sound ending quickly. Celestia hesitantly turned her gaze to what was now left, and her eyes grew with a display of shock as she saw a still living Doomaught, lying on the ground with his bindings gone.
A thick, tense silence passed by as nothing was said or done. Then, the black dragon began to shift in his place on the ground, looking as though he could barely move.
“What... what did you do to me?!” the dark ancient growled weakly.
Serilex regained his natural indifferent demeanor as he looked down on the ancient. “You won't be able to use your limbs for some time,” he answered simply. “But your wings still work. I implore that you leave here now, fly back to the old lands and never return.”
Doomaught looked up at Serliex, holding such a burning hatred in his eyes, if it were any more severe, the ancient would burst into flames on the spot. Instead, the black dragon's maw opened wide as a torrent of flames flowed outward. The breath of fire struck the snow beside them. Like before, the area around them was consumed in a thick veil of steam.
As it began to clear, the princess and ancient saw that their foe was no longer before them. Though they could not see his black silhouette within the dark skies of the frozen land, they could hear the faint flapping of wings fading off in the distance.
With the malicious dragon gone, Celestia looked up toward the one who had fought by her side. “I... I had thought you would have...”
“Ended him?” Serilex finished for the princess, who developed a difficulty in bringing up the recent event.
Releasing a sigh, the magical dragon held up his clawed hand. Breathing a bright green flame into it, he lifted his palm up and pressed it against his wounded face. Sharp hisses escaped him as the fire burned into the exposed flesh and healed the wounds. After the spell was finished, he looked out into the snow covered lands.
“Truthfully, part of me wanted to,” he murmured. Absentmindedly, his clawed hand reached up and scratched his neck tenderly. “But that's only due to personal anguish caused by him. No, it would only prove that Doomaught's ways hold weight. Such bloodshed... it's not in my nature.”
The princess couldn't help but smile at the dragon, even as a cyclone of translucent flame encircled them both, taking them from the snowy landscape to a sanctuary of stone.
With the end of the teleportation spell, Celestia and Serilex were forced to look upon a chamber in near ruins. The stone walls and ceiling were cracked and beginning to crumble, bookcases and books were on the ground in broken heaps, and flames crackled ceaselessly where they were placed.
The worst of it was seeing the dragons who lied on the floor, unmoving as their wounds told far more than those who saw them wanted to know. The lifeless dragons wore wounds of either claw and fang or of spells.
Serilex immediately turned to a large flightless dragon, wearing dark orange scales and nursing several deep cuts in his shoulder. “What happened?”
The dragon was startled by the voice of the ancient but quickly regained his wits. “There were many of them,” he answered. “We held them off the best we could, but it was chaos. We lost only a few, but many more are injured. Then, the dragons that were left flew away almost out of nowhere. I'm certain we have you to thank for that, Lord Serilex.” The orange dragon's eyes caught the cuts across the ancient's face. “My lord, you are wounded!”
“It's nothing,” the magical dragon said dismissively. “Tell me now, what of the-” Serilex was interrupted as he heard his name being called frantically.
He looked toward the source to see a dragon flying toward them, showing an apparent difficult to fly straight as it looked like the webbing of his wing was torn badly. Nearly crashing as he landed before the ancient, the dragon looked at him in a panic.
“My lord, I-I swear we defended the best we could. B-but there were just so many dragons. And the quakes, we could do nothing to stop the walls from coming down on top of us. Lord Serilex, the chamber... i-it collapsed, and the egg...”
Not needing to hear another word, the ancient turned away from the dragon and rushed down the hallway, passing by other dragons as they repaired what was damaged or tended to their wounds.
Nothing else phased the ancient as he forced his way through, the tunnel, tossing aside any rubble that dared to block his way.
It wasn't until he came to what was left of chamber that housed the dragon egg did he stop.
“No...” he breathed as looked down at the dragon egg. Celestia could only hold a look of horror as she stood by the ancient's side.
Only one guard of the two had survived the attack. Now, he looked down sullenly at the dragon egg. Large cracks raced across the top of the eggs surface. Neither Serilex or the princess could feel the powerful pulse of magic emanating from the egg.
“Get the healers!” Serilex bellowed toward the guard. “We can't lose the egg!”
The sanctuary quickly fell into a silent pause as all thoughts were turned to the welfare of the egg.
Two dragonesses, holding great talent toward spells in restoration and healing, sat across from one another in the undamaged chamber of ancients, the cracked egg siting between them. Both held their heads low to the ground, breathing a powerful stream of green flames that swirled around the egg.
Serilex stood watch within the chamber, accompanied by Princess Celestia. The other dragons of the sanctuary crowded near the entrance, watching with bated breath for news of what would become of the dragon offspring.
Nearly two full days passed by as the dragonesses continued their attempts to revive the egg. Little rest was had among the dragons. Serilex never left his spot as he kept a silent vigil over the egg. Not even Celestia moved. Only twice a day did she ever leave the chamber, at the coming of dawn and dusk, preforming the duties she had no choice in. But she quickly returned, her worry and concern felt toward the creature as palpable as physically possible.
But, inevitably, the healing blaze stopped.
The healers told the ancient dragon that there was nothing more they could do. That the unhatched dragon was lost.
Serilex hung his head down, as did the other dragons, feeling the pain of losing one of their own. But his quiet sorrow was broken as he watched his royal guest approach the egg that was beyond help.
Celestia stood over the dragon egg, her eyes unable to break free from the hold it had on her. A crippling pain was felt deep within her chest as she looked upon a dragon who was denied a chance at life.
The dragoon ancient watched the princess as he saw her eyes shimmering, the look of total sadness and despair she held was worse than any of the dragons there. It brought a moment of surprise to him as he saw the cascade of tears flowing from her eyes, the princess was crying.
Celestia's lips quivered as a small stream of tears fell down her face and dripped on the egg her head hung over. The silent, almost inaudible sobs that came from the princess of day was all that could be heard. Dread was all that the princess could feel as the terrible pain of the dragon's loss gripped her heart with an unbearable squeeze.
To her, it was just as much her fault as it was anyone else, she had failed to protect the egg. It brought on the heart wrenching memories of that one long, terrible night, the night when the princess had failed to protect somepony who was very dear to her, losing them to the darkness. Now there was a death of an innocent child, unhatched from it's egg to see the world it's ancestors had tried to shape for it.
A stark look of surprise was held on Serilex's face as he witnessed the scene. Never before had he ever seen such a display of emotion, such a thing was unheard of among dragons, even the magical ones.
She was just a visitor, a creature who had no ties to dragons or reason to care for them, or even aid them in any way. Yet, she had risked her own life fending off the greatest threat they knew. Now, the ancient watched on as the princess wept over the loss of the dragon child, as if it was her own.
But, a gasp of astonishment soon escaped him, as it did every dragon in the chamber. Their eyes became frozen on the egg as they saw a light shining against the surface of its shell.
A brilliant, golden light shined out from the cracks in the egg. Serilex became breathless as an incredible magical force could be felt by him, unprecedented to anything he had ever encountered in his many years. Even Celestia stared down at the scene with wide eyes, seeing the beautiful light grow more and more before it quickly began to fade. Just as the light disappeared, so to did the cracks on the eggs surface. When the last of the light was gone, the cracks in the egg had disappeared, looking as perfect as it had before.
Serilex could only gape at the sight, unable to move. His jaw quivered as he attempted to speak, to say something, but not a word could be uttered.
Slowly, one of the dragonesses approached the egg. Lowering her head down toward it, she closed her eyes as she held a deep expression of concentration. The dragoness' eyes then flared open, she looked toward the ancient dragon, holding a look of utter shock.
The faces of the dragons became distorted, breaking apart in a mass of swirling colors.
Spike and his pony friends watched as the images were gone from the silver flame. The still burning fire then faded from existence, disappearing in a cloud of smoke that eventually dispersed. All six of the adventuring friends were frozen in a state of shock at what they saw. Never before had they seen their princess in such a state, preforming actions and showing emotions that they thought were impossible for the ruler.
“Still to this day,” Serilex said, “I have been unable to understand the magic I had encountered all those years ago. Nothing I have ever learned or seen could ever match it. But...” a soft smile crossed his face, “I have learned long ago, that the most powerful of magic is that which you can never understand. Perhaps... that was a display of such power.”
“And what... happened to the egg?” Spike asked, barely able to find his voice.
“It survived,” Serilex answered. “That day, I had learned that there was far greater things that the child needed to learn that I could not offer. So, only needing a moment's worth of consideration, I placed the egg in the care of your princess, who accepted without hesitation.” The five ponies matched Spike's gaze as they stared at the ancient while he explained.
“You... you what..?” Spike murmured, his emerald eyes spread wide as his mind raced.
“I knew it would be in good... hooves,” Serilex continued, “and that the child would be able to see the world it was born into with eyes of compassion and care. To grow under the magic of a race I have deemed immeasurably powerful in their own right. Celestia and I also both knew that one day, when the dragon was ready, they would be led here to the place of it's people.” A light chuckle escaped the ancient as he eyed the purple dragon with a whimsical joy. “And it seems, after all these years, that dragon has finally returned to us.”
“How is that possible?” Twilight asked the ancient, shocked to hear of her assistant's past. “You said that was two centuries ago.”
“Yes indeed,” Rarity said, holding the young Spike in question close. “Our little Spikey Wikey is still just a baby dragon, not but a few years of age.”
Serilex nodded his head slowly, before explaining. “Dragon eggs take some time to hatch. Years in fact, if the proper conditions aren't met. But the egg that is now the dragon you know was very special. Many years will pass before the egg is finally ready to hatch, while the magical energies of the world flow through him. It was the same for those few who were before him as well.”
“So... this is where I came from,” Spike thought aloud, astonished by the revelation.
“That is right,” Serilex said, “you were among us for for some time before I entrusted you to Celestia. Seeing you now, shows me the care she has given you, making me know I wasn't wrong in my decision.” A warm smile crept onto the ancient's face as he eyed the purple dragon. “We had named you Talyan that day. It's of the oldest words in the most ancient of our tongues meaning, the revered one, a title that's the closest we dragons have to express those who are loved greatly by others. Of course, I knew your princess would name you something different, more appropriate for being amongst her kind. I must say, I think it's a wonderful name, Spike.”
“Talyan... huh...” Spike murmured, thinking on the name. Truthfully, he preferred Spike a lot more.
Seeing the small dragon about to explode with the overabundance of new information he was being fed, Serilex stood from his seat on the chamber floor and regarded the group. “Now, I am sure none of you wish to hear the stories of an old dragon any longer. Go, feel free to explore the sanctuary to your heart's content. I'm certain you will find something of interest to each of you.”
The ponies all nodded, moving from their spots to trot out of the chamber. Riding atop Twilight's back, Spike turned to look at the magical ancient as he moved his gaze toward the old paintings that clung to the walls.
It didn't take long for the five ponies to find something to preoccupy themselves with.
Rainbow Dash was quick in locating a flying dragon, his attention focused on returning a stack of books to the highest shelves in the library.“Hey,” she said, gaining the dragon's gaze, “what kind of flying techniques do dragons have?”
The dragon said nothing at first, eying the outsider for several moments. “Flying... techniques?” the dragon responded, tilting his head at the strange creature's question.
The pegasus frowned for a moment, not sure if the dragon was dense or just misunderstanding her. “Like any cool moves when you're flying through the air being dragons and all.”
The dragon looked at her with a blank stare. “What do you mean by 'cool'? We dragons prefer to fly in warm temperatures, but you get used to the cold out here.” Rainbow Dash deadpanned as she brought her forehoof to her face.
Rarity, being without wings, patrolled the expanding library on hoof, her discerning gaze looking at every detail for a clue to what she sought.
“Rarity,” Applejack, being at the unicorn's side, said, “what are ya doin'?”
“Silence please, Applejack,” the fashionista responded. “I'm trying to concentrate.”
The farm pony examined the part of the library they were in, seeing nothing different than the rest of it. “Concentrate for what?”
“I'm trying to pick up on the gem hoard here,” Rarity replied, keeping her voice down so wandering ears would not hear. “Do you remember that fabulous assortment of gems within the temple? Then just imagine what kind of gems they must have here.” A fanciful moan escaped her as her mind worked out the image in her head. “Oh, I feel weak in the legs just thinking about it.” Applejack simply rolled her eyes as she continued to follow her friend, having nothing better to do, much to her displeasure.
Another of the pony visitors was busy shadowing a certain wingless dragon as he was busy looking for a certain illusion spell.
The dragon's gaze was locked onto the book he currently had, scanning it for any mention of what he was seeking. But, his gaze left the pages as he thought he heard something. Looking out at his surroundings, he saw nothing, not another soul nearby. To him, it sounded as though he had heard giggling, seemingly coming from nowhere, and everywhere.
Dismissing it, the dragon closed his book and put it away, moving his grasp toward another book that looked much more promising. Pulling the book from the shelf, the poor dragon was ill prepared for what would happen next.
“Surprise!” shouted a certain pink pony, appearing from the empty space where the old tome used to rest.
“Ah!” the dragon yelped, a mass of confetti and streamers being thrown at him. A burst of flame spewed from the startled dragon involuntarily, nearly turning the entire bookcase into a bonfire.
His heart pounding, the dragon looked frantically about for the pink pony, only to find that she had mysteriously vanished along with every bit of decorative paper she had brought. But again, the dragon nearly jumped from his scales as he heard the high-pitched voice of the creature shouting once more, sounding a short distance away in another section of the library. The voice was quickly followed by the startled shriek of another unsuspecting dragon.
“Which one which one,” Twilight muttered to herself. Being the scholar that she was, the unicorn was bursting with excitement as she trotted by the vast collection of tomes that the dragons had. The young scholar suddenly halted on the spot as she saw an impressively large tome with a gold and silver spine.
“Oh, yes yes yes, you'll do wonderfully,” she said happily, the old tome practically calling out to her. Even though the tome could easily turn her into a pancake, she wasted no time for caution as she used her magic to pry it from the shelf.
A massive grin stretched from ear to ear on her face as she gazed down at the book. Her mind raced with all the wondrous spells that the magical dragons had managed to create, and her excitement filled to bursting with the idea of adapting them for unicorn use.
Her breathing stopped as she slowly opened the book, preparing herself to take in the fascinating knowledge that dragons possessed. Then, as she looked upon the very first page, her grin deflated as her excitement came to a distasteful, crashing halt.
The tome did in fact teach her something, that writing of dragons was much different than that of her own kind, making reading the tome all but impossible for her. Twilight huffed angrily as she sat down in front of the tome, unenthusiastically flipping through the pages, trying to see if it had any spells that used illustrations instead.
While the ponies enjoyed themselves, Spike found himself slowly walking through the towering bookcases. Much was on his mind, what he had learned about himself, what he had learned about dragons in general, as well as what he learned on the things he should have already known.
Stopping at the center of the bookcase he was currently at, Spike looked at the tome before him with a curious inclination. The tome itself was several feet above the ground, making the idea of retrieving it daunting. But the young dragon wasn't easily deterred by the simple limitation of size.
With the use of his claws, the young assistant pressed his hands against the tomes and slowly climbed partway up. Pulling himself up at the middle of the tome, Spike's grip tightened around the very top of the spine. Placing his feet firmly against the bottom of it, he kicked off with all of his might. Though being as little as he was, there wasn't much might for him to give. Not giving up however, he began swinging back and forth, pushing off of the tome every time he came toward it.
After several tugs on the top, the tome began to slide downward. With one more hard kick, the tome was fully dislodged from the shelf and hit the ground with a loud thud. Spike fell down onto his rear and smiled at his accomplishment, as well as feel a hint of joy for not causing the heavy book to fall on him.
Leaning over the tome, the assistant began to turn its thick pages, the texture of them reminded him of a certain tome he had seen before, deep within the Canterlot Archives.
What surprised the dragon most of all, was what was written inside. He didn't know exactly what it was, but the writing that the dragons used was far different from that of ponykind. Even still, what became a shock to him was the fact that he could actually read it. Nothing about it he could truly explain, but as he looked upon the strange writing, he slowly began to understand the words that were in front of him, like an innate ability to read the literature of his kind. It allowed him to see what he had pulled from the shelf, it was a book of spells.
Many different spells were written inside, many of which Spike couldn't even comprehend. The difficulty of them ranged from the work of a master to that of a novice without any real organization to them.
“Hm,” the infant dragon murmured as he picked a spell at random, “'Claw Key,' opens any lock.” It seemed easy enough and sounded interesting to him, especially as he thought on all of the mischief he could get into with such an ability.
Scanning through the spell, Spike stood up developed a hardened gaze of determination. The purple dragon stood still for several moments, feeling the fire that burned inside of himself. Taking several deep breaths, he could feel that fire intensifying with the rise and fall of his breathing. Then, with his mind focused on the spell he wanted to create, he took a deep intake of air and breathed into his outstretched hand.
A small, dark grey sliver of fire trailed from his mouth and wrapped around his claws. Spike's lips were spread wide in his elated smile, his heart racing at the spell. That was until the fire immediately went out, disappearing without so much as a crackle.
The dragon huffed stubbornly at the display. Not allowing himself to be bested by his own flame, he tried once again. Accomplishing in setting his own hand on fire for only a few moments before it suddenly went out. After several more attempts, he was met with an equal number of failures as he was unable to keep the flame going.
His annoyance and impatience toward his own failures quickly turned him away from the spell. Delving deeper into what the tome held, the pages were turned and the names of the spells were skimmed through, passing under the gaze of the dragon.
The pages stopped turning once again as one particular spell caught his eye, as it was a spell he had seen before. 'Memory Mirror,' a spell that didn't require a great deal of experience compared to the others.
Examining the page for a few moments, Spike again stood up tall and took several deep breaths. Feeling the warmth inside of himself growing, the little dragon concentrated to the fullest of his ability before he took a deep intake of air, then released.
A small ball of silver flame blew out from his tiny maw. It slowly hovered through the air before stopping in front of its creator. The ball then expanded and formed a into a circular shape, similar to that of Serilex's own. It was much smaller than that of the ancient dragon, the blaze supporting it twitched and flickered violently, like the dwindling flame of a candle caught in a windstorm.
Images began to form within the smooth center of the surface. They were somewhat distorted, brought on by the inexperienced creature who brought them into fruition, but Spike could see the event transpiring clearly enough.
It was himself, younger only by a few months, dragging his feet across a tiled floor. The purple dragon held a look of begrudged acceptance, unhappy about being forced to stay within Canterlot Castle for the night. The reason was made clear as the tapping of heavy raindrops could be heard against the windows of the bedchamber.
A yawn stretched the dragon's mouth wide, leaving him even more drowsy than before. Though he was reluctant to sleep in the castle, risking the possibility of missing out on Twilight having another sleepover with Rarity, his young body made it impossible for him to go any further, he was about to collapse.
Luckily, a baby dragon sized basket laid on the floor before him, complete with a soft pillow and cozy blanket. Even in his tired state, Spike could recognize his old bed. The same one he slept in in his years living in Canterlot. With a satisfied smile, the baby dragon climbed into the bed, pulled the blanket over himself and sank into the comforting embrace.
Spike's mind slowly began to drift away, dancing atop the line between the waking world and dreamland. Too far gone, it didn't register to the dragon as the large, double doors making up the entrance of the bedchamber opened to a golden glow.
Princess Celestia walked into her chambers, her gaze set to look out the windows as she passed them, gazing into the storm as it did what it was created to do. The princess stopped as she came to the small basket, a warm smile appearing on her lips as she eyed the half-conscious Spike. Her gaze continued on him as her horn began to glow. The golden hue formed around it was matched by another as the magical aura grabbed onto the small blanket of the basket bed and wrapped itself around the dragon tighter, tucking him in. Then, the princess leaned her head down and kissed the dragon's scaled cheek.
“Sweet dreams, my little dragon,” Celestia whispered soothingly, watching as the young assistant shifted slightly in his sleep, his expression frozen in a blissful peace.
The images within the silvery flames then faded and disappeared entirely. It was followed by the flames dieing out, unable to keep the spell for a single moment longer. But Spike didn't need to see anymore.
Staring down at the floor, the young dragon pondered what he had seen. Too lost in thought, he jumped on the spot in a startled fright as he heard a voice just behind him.
“Still full of surprise, young one.” It was Serilex, looking down at the young dragon as he laid down on the floor beside him. “You know, she truly does care for you.”
Spike stayed silent, his mind running a mile a minute. It felt odd to say it to himself, but he couldn't ever think of a time where he thought of what the princess meant to him, even as he was raised under the kind gaze of the ruler. Twilight was always like an older sibling to him, now he wondered how Celestia meant something more to him as well.
“Yeah...” Spike murmured, “I guess she does.”
The dragon ancient frowned as he examined the young assistant, looking bothered by something that couldn't be placed. “Is something wrong, Spike?” he asked. “Are you not happy with what you have found here?”
“Of course,” Spike said quickly, “I've seen and learned so much, far more than what I actually expected, but...” The little dragon sighed as he looked up to meet the ancient's eyes. “I always wondered what made me different from other dragons, their aggressive and brutish actions. I figured it was because I grew up around ponies, but now it seems like I'm only different because I was born wingless. I guess I just thought... that there was more to a dragon's actions than just how they were born.”
Serilex paused for a moment, thinking on what to say to the downtrodden dragon. “Spike, do you know the story of why these lands are locked in an everlasting storm?”
The assistant nodded. “Yeah, spirits came and froze it because the three pony tribes never got along.”
“Well, yes, that's what the story says,” Serilex said, “but there is more to it than what is known by most.” There was a quick silence as the ancient's expression turned saddened for a moment. “The so called spirits were actually brought here by a powerful spell, created by enemies of the ponies who wanted to see them destroyed.”
Spike was surprised by the response. “But... who would do something like that?”
“A group of flightless,” the ancient replied, a sigh escaping with the reply as he shook his head shamefully. “They came here to learn of what they were, just as all the others before them. But eventually, after training themselves and honing their abilities, they left. I realized their intentions too late, they created the spell and nearly destroyed the pony race.”
“Why would they do that,” Spike asked, appalled by the idea of it.
“They saw their power as a way to control the other races, ideals similar to that of Doomaught. Though I was able to stop them, and thankfully, the ponies ended the spell before it spread further, these lands were lost to the snow.”
Spike was shocked by the explanation, having no idea that the story of Equestria's founding was more than what most knew. “So, I guess, even wingless dragons can be evil.”
“Yes,” the ancient nodded. “There is not a race in existence that is predictable in what is born good and evil. You yourself could have turned out just as dark and twisted as Doomaught, but you didn't.” The magical ancient lifted a claw and pointed toward the purple dragon. “You are what makes you the kindhearted dragon that you are, never forget that.”
“Hm,” Spike murmured as he thought on what the ancient had said. As the moments passed, he looked up at the old dragon with a smile, his doubts and fears having been put to rest.
Matching the smile, Serilex brought his tail toward the baby dragon, who hesitantly climbed on top of it. “Let's go,” the ancient said, “I can show you more of your ancestry.” Lifting his tail toward his back, Spike slid from the tail and onto the scaled back, grabbing a hold of one of the large spines to keep his balance atop the ancient.
Spike beamed happily at the great height he was lifted to while the old dragon walked through the maze of bookcases. Though his own small size prevented him from sitting down comfortably like he could when riding a pony, it was an amazing experience nonetheless, as long as he remembered to keep his grip on the spine.
Though the sights of his new height was wonderful to see, the young dragon found himself staring at something odd about the ancient's appearance. There was a spot on his neck where the scales seemed out of place. For the most part the were noticeably crooked, holding a faded color compared to the rest of his body, as well as appearing as if they were worn down terribly. The oddity in the spot was increased as Spike noticed small cuts on the soft underside of the front of his neck, where the scales didn't cover.
“What happened there?” Spike asked, without thinking as to what the question might mean to the ancient.
Serilex noticed that the young dragon was mentioning his neck and stopped suddenly. An awkward pause occurred quickly as he just stood there in silence. After a few moments passed by in a dreadfully slow manner, the ancient continued his walk, but doing so at a much slower pace.
“Scars of old times,” Serilex replied, his tone filled with his indifferent demeanor, but almost sounding like it was forced.
“Scars? From what?” Spike pressed, his curiosity outweighing his manners.
“It's where a collar was once placed,” the ancient answered. Turning his head, he caught the dragon riding his back looking at him with a face filled with shock and confusion, forcing him to elaborate. “Long ago, when we ancients controlled the world alone, it was Doomaught who ruled over us, with the other ancients either fearing his power or sharing in his savagery. With my... obvious differences to them, Doomaught thought it fitting to claim ownership of me. So he had me captured and chained in his domain. I was just a pet to him, not even worthy as a servant like he treated the others.”
“My gosh,” Spike whispered, horrified.
“Yes,” Serillex murmured, his tone turning dark as he began to feel old wounds. “It was actually during my enslavement when I learned of my abilities. When I honed my talents into actual use, I managed to free myself.” A small chuckle escaped the dragon. “Ah, I remember the look on his face as I displayed what I was capable of. The other ancients saw it as well, realizing that Doomaught wasn't as strong as they first thought, many left his side that day and it started the division of the dragonkind. He felt fear for the first time that day as well, the same fear that brings him to hate wingless dragons more so than any other creature.”
“Wow, I... I'm sorry,” the little dragon responded, unsure of what else he could really say.
A soft breath of amusement came from the ancient. “No harm is ever done from a little curiosity. Yours actually makes me see how much you take after your-” Serilex was stopped as he saw a familiar, bronze scaled dragon flying frantically toward them.
Moruzund flew in an erratic pattern, nearly crashing into the towering bookcases as he came into the library. Reaching the ground before the ancient, the dragon's claws cracked the stone around him with the speed he landed with. Moruzund said nothing however, only able to stand on his fours legs for a few moments before he collapsed onto the floor, his bronze scales turning red from the deep cuts that were across his body.
The worrying commotion flooding through the sanctuary was both immediate and quite. In mere minutes, every dragon in the underground keep was within the library, all congregating near where the bronze dragon, Moruzund, had crash landed. Even the pony outsiders were among the first to stand with the ancient who held his own expression of shock toward the injured dragon.
“Lord... Lord Serilex,” the bronze scaled dragon called, his heavy breathing impeding his speaking ability. His legs trembled as he tried picking himself up off of the stone floor, but halfway through the strength in the limbs gave out, forcing him back down.
“What is it, Moruzund? What happened?” the ancient asked, not wasting a moment in moving by the dragon's side.
Moruzund looked up at his master, his eyes holding a look of panic as he tried gathering what strength hadn't bled out of him already to speak. “I-I was flying the wastes... as you asked. Then.... then, out of nowhere, I'm attacked!” The dragons around them looked toward one another, holding what could only pass as worry for the scaled creatures, many of them remembering the day of the Devourer's attack.
“Hold on,” Serilex murmured, as the wounded dragon had more and more difficulty speaking. Breathing into his claws, a green flame encircled the ancient's palms. Pressing the clawed hands against Moruzund's body, the flames crackled for a moment before fading against the scaled hide.
Moments passed while the chamber delved into a thick silence. Then, the bronze dragon began moving his legs back and forth, and after just another passing second, he stood up. Though he was on all four limbs again, his knees were bent down terrible, the weakened muscle still strained under his weight.
“Th-thank you... my lord,” Moruzund said graciously.
Serilex nodded firmly as he waited patiently for the dragon to catch his breath. “Now tell me, what happened out there?”
“I... I was attacked,” the bronze dragon continued, “I was sightless in that storm, I couldn't see where they were coming from. It was so quick... it felt as though I had a dozen drakes on me all at once, but... I saw him.”
“Who?”
“Palewing.” Hushed whispers carried through the assembled dragons, the name being familiar with many of them. “It was only... for a second,” the bronze dragon continued, “but I know I saw him hiding in that blinding blizzard. All I could do was try and fly away... to lose him in the storm. After I figured I had lost him, I was able to fly back here.”
Hearing this, Serilex looked down at the floor in deep thought. “So those scouts were his,” he murmured, his mind working quickly. After several moments passed with the ancient's silence, he lifted up his head and pointed to a group of dragons. “Go to all of the entryways, stay there and guard them in case any intruders come through!” He turned his gaze toward the rest of the dragons staring at him expectantly. “The rest of you get down to the tunnels below, hide there and wait! Don't come out until I'm returned.”
“No, Serilex,” Moruzund protested, trying to force himself to standing upright, “you can't... go out there alone.”
“Go with the others and tend to your wounds,” the ancient said, showing the dragon a look that wasn't to be argued with. “I can't risk your lives in pointless battle, not if it can be avoided.”
The dragons looked to one another worriedly in a moment of hesitation, but as they saw the ancient's unwavering stance, they did as they were told and began walking out of the chamber and into the connecting tunnels. Two dragons approached the injured Moruzund and aided him with following the others, joining the crowd and disappearing among the dragons.
Serilex looked down toward Twilight and her friends, still holding their positions. “You go with them as well,” he said to them. “This upset is not a coincidence, of this I have no doubt.”
“And what are you going to do?” the lavender unicorn asked.
“To face this threat,” Serilex replied, “and prevent any more innocent blood from being spilled.” Without another word, the ancient's maw was illuminated by a translucent flame. As it was breathed around him, the crackling flame encircled the dragon, and within moments, he was gone.
The five ponies turned toward the tunnel the dragons had taken, making their way toward them and to safety. Only Twilight stopped, looking back to keep her assistant close.
“Spike, let's go,” she said, expecting to find the baby dragon at her side. The scholar gasped in surprise as she realized he wasn't. “Spike?” Twilight frantically looked about the chamber, seeing no sign of the purple dragon. “Spike?!”
Serilex attempted to peer through the abyss of snow just outside of the sanctuary. Just as always, the veil created by ceaseless snowstorms was impenetrable by any form of sight. It was as cold as it ever was, even the ancient dragon could feel the chill burrow into his old bones.
Looking up into the sky, white flames ignited within his mouth. Firing the spell upward, it took little time for the clouds to part and create a small clearing where the snow would not fall. The ancient dragon stood there in silence for some time, his eyes focusing on the snowy veil that was beyond the clearing he had made.
“Show yourself,” the teal dragon shouted, his commanding voice carrying through the white wasteland, “I know you're out there, Palewing.”
Serilex had to wait only a moment before he saw a figure emerge from the raging storm, a dragon flying toward him and landing several feet away.
“Why, Serilex, it's been far too long,” the dragon said, his tone one of familiarity. “A millennium or two if I'm correct.” The scales adorning the dragon's body were a flawless white, being matched in color by his soft underbelly, making it difficult to see where one ended and the other began. Most noticeable about the ancient dragon were his wings. Besides the abnormally wide wingspan he had, the webbing of the wings were transparent, so much so that it could be argued that there weren't any at all.
But Serilex's narrowing gaze wasn't focused on how the dragon looked. “You're a fool to have come here alone, Palewing. Doomaught couldn't destroy this sanctuary, you won't stand a chance.”
Palewing scoffed at his fellow ancient, frowning for a moment before developing an expressionless demeanor. “You assume so much, my task is to simply act as an emissary and collector.”
“Then why are you here?” Serilex demanded, making the abrasive tone he held as clear as possible.
The white ancient frowned once again before answering. “Quick to the point I see. Well then, I'm here for the child.”
“What child?” the magical dragon asked, his feigned ignorance as bad as it was intended to be.
The white dragon's lips curled back, showing his sharp fangs. “You know the one,” he snarled. “The one born from the egg that escaped Master Razormaw's grasp all those years ago. The one you had taken away to the southern lands. My drakes have already spotted it, as well as it's traveling companions, close by. And I know they visited that pathetic base of their ancestors I destroyed all those years ago, I can smell their stench all around it. The child's here, you can't hide that. So I give you two options, either surrender it to me now, or face Master Razormaw's wrath.”
Serilex shook his head toward his fellow ancient, his gaze filled with pity. “These are truly sad times when an ancient bows to another in servitude.”
Surprising to the wingless dragon, Palewing's reaction was one of amusement, as if he had just told a joke. “Funny,” he said, “I believe the last time I heard that was from Spiral, right before I ended his miserable life.”
“What?!” the teal dragon gasped in his disbelief. “No, that's not true, he would never fall to the likes of you!”
“Really?” Palewing asked coyly. “You would have to have been there I suppose. It was much easier than I had thought, just had to throw him into the lava pits. Wouldn't you know it, he didn't survive.” A deep, unnerving chuckle escaped the dragon. “What kind of a dragon can't survive a little magma? Truly a pathetic creature, much like your own kind.”
“Enough!” Serilex snapped, baring his sharp fangs as his face twisted into a primal fury.
Palewing merely chuckled once again. “Did I strike a nerve underneath those pretty scales? Then again, you two were rather close.” Lifting a claw, the white ancient began scratching his chin in thought. “What's the word mortals use for it these days? 'Friends' or some other nonsense.” With a flap of his wings, the ancient hovered in the air before the magical dragon. “Such sentiments are pathetic for dragons to hold. And since you're so eager to die, I'll have to tell the Master how there's one less ancient for him to bother with.”
With a great display of agility and aerial grace, Palewing spun himself in the air. The long wings on his back swept up the small flakes of ice at his feet and sent them into the air around him. A flurry of snow swirled around them all, blinding Serilex for a moment. When the snowflakes fell once again, returned to the blanket of white on the ground, the magical dragon looked out to where Palewing once was to see that he was no longer there.
A low growl formed in the back of the dragon's throat, showing his great annoyance to his fellow ancient, obviously hiding within the storm around them. Keeping his gaze sharp, the teal dragon slowly trudged through the snow. Every sound, no matter how insignificant, was focused on, the crunching of snow beneath his feet, the whistle of the chilling winds as they blew around him, even his own angered breathing.
But it was his agitation that impeded his ability. With his calm demeanor struck away by the provoking words of his fellow dragon, the ancient was unknowingly following the plan laid out for him.
As Serilex walked through the frozen wastes, his senses were focused on finding the white dragon as he hid within the sea of blending white. Much like with Moruzund, the dragon would wait and strike from out of nowhere, leaving his opponent confused and unaware. It was by this that the magical ancient made his movements, readying himself for an attack at any side. Despite all of this however, the teal scaled ancient was unaware as he walked through the snow that a large mound next to him had a pair of piercing eyes.
Serilex had no time to react as a clawed hand shot upward from the snow and seized him by the neck. Fully rising from the ground, having camouflaged his body perfectly in the matching white snow, Palewing eyed the ancient with a large smile. “Gotcha.”
Yanking the teal dragon forward, Palewing forced Serilex to the ground. The moment his underbelly brushed against the chilling snow, large, curved pieces of metal sprang up from within the mounds of white flakes. Only a moment passed as the metal bars curved upward and connected to one another, wrapping around the magic dragon and holding tightly around his body.
There were four arched bindings that were wrapped around the ancient. Two were pressed against his body, directly over his legs and preventing him from running, while the other two locked his tail and neck in place, completely immobilizing him.
An intense fire crackled within Serilex's maw, ready to attack the white ancient with a powerful spell. Before he could even release it, another metal ring was clamped around his muzzle, keeping it shut.
Palewing examined the captured wingless dragon quietly for some time. Then, his lips quivered as he reared his head back and cackled in his amusement outward. While his captor was busy congratulating himself, Serilex struggled against his bindings, realizing that the old bars felt very familiar.
“Surprised, huh?” Palewing said, unable to hold back a grin as he watched the teal dragon fight back vainly. “It's the same trap that we used to capture you the first time, all those many years ago. Of course this is new,” he tapped the ring wrapped around the dragon's mouth, “but we can't have you using that mystical fire of yours. You wouldn't believe how difficult it was bringing this here all the way from the old lands. But Master Razormaw wanted you alive, to make sure you got what you deserve.” The white scaled dragon leaned down toward Serilex, looking at him directly in the eyes. “Do you remember those old days, Serilex? Locked away in the darkness for so long? Kept barely alive only so you could offer what little amusement the Master saw in you?”
Serilex's eyes widened at that, remembering those horrible years as a prisoner.
“Oh, but don't worry about reliving any of that,” Palewing reassured. “Master Razormaw has already decided you won't be his pet any longer. No, you'll be his dinner for the night instead. He's awfully curious if a wingless ancient tastes any different than a normal flightless freak, and I'm more than happy to help provide him the chance to find out.”
“Leave him alone!” cried out a voice that the white dragon didn't recognize. Serilex's eyes widened in a panicked shock as Palewing's darted toward the source, seeing a small, purple scaled dragon appearing from behind one of Serilex's spines, having been hiding there the entire time.
A smirk twisted itself on the corner of the large dragon's mouth as he eyed Spike with a great mirth. “Well isn't this something. I expect for you to be hiding away with those other freaks, yet here you are, presented to me like a gift. Now, not only will I give the Master his meal, he'll get an appetizer to go with it.”
Spike soon regretted his outburst as the large dragon was upon him. Palewing leaped toward the small dragon, his claws out and ready to catch him. The scaled assistant yelped in his fright before diving off of the ancient's back and into the snow, the thick layers of icey flakes cushioning his fall. Though it allowed him to escape the dragon's initial attack, the sense of escape only lasted a moment as the dragon jumped at him again.
With a mighty crash, Palewing landed just next to the dragon. The loud thud of his landing knocked the assistant off of his feet. Spike trembled in fear as the large dragon loomed over him, slowly approaching him like a predator readying to make the final strike to it's prey. With nothing else to think of, the little dragon scooped up a large pile of snow, formed it into a ball and threw it at the ancient.
Not expecting the strange means of defense, Palewing was caught by surprise as the snowball struck him in the eye. A roar of annoyance and agitated pain erupted from him. “Why you filthy little pest!” he growled, swiping his razor sharp claws at the baby dragon. They missed Spike by mere inches, instead cutting into the ground underneath him and throwing the small dragon back to crash into the still bound Serilex who continued to fight against his bindings. Spike was left with nowhere to go, with a trapped dragon behind him and an angry, vicious one in front of him, the young assistant could only stare at the approaching dragon, paralyzed with fear.
“You pathetic little whelp!” Palewing snarled, crashing down onto the ground with every step he took. “Such a fearful little speck of a creature, at least a true dragon infant would attempt to defend itself until the very end! But look at you, you and your entire race are nothing but worthless reptiles with fancy fire tricks! You don't even deserve to hold the glorious name of dragon!” Palewing was now before the small dragon, barely a few feet separating them as the ancient held a gaze of death in his eyes. “That is why all of your kind, every last one of you, will be wiped clean form the world! You're not dragons, you never were!”
Spike blinked. As he looked up at the ancient who was mere moments from ending him, Spike could only stare blankly at him, feeling every ounce of fear within him disappear.
“No... you're wrong,” Spike said, his emerald eyes locking in place with that of the ancient's. He stood up, raising his chin high in defiance to the imposing dragon. “I once thought that dragons were only creatures to be feared and respected by all others because of how powerful they were. I thought that dragons were only to be known for their wings, flames and gems. I thought that I was less of one because I didn't have wings, and because I was nice like the ponies who I live with.” Spike shook his head. “But that's not what makes a dragon. Dragons aren't a single creature repeated to behave like all the others, like wild animals. We aren't meant to behave like that at all. Serilex showed me how dragons are capable of wondrous things if they were only given the chance, unlike you and your kind! All you want is death and destruction, while all others either want to learn or be left alone! I can't believe I once thought of dragons the same way you do... But now... all I want is for my kind to someday be seen the way I've learned to see them now, even when there are those like you who will only see us as monsters.” Spike held up his claws, eying them intently as he looked deep inside himself for the power he needed. “And that, makes me more of a dragon than you!”
Feeling the fire burning deep inside of himself, Spike breathed into his outstretched hand. A dark grey sliver of flame flowed from his small mouth and wrapped around his claws. As the dark flame crackled in his grasp, Spike turned to Serilex, and with one swipe of his claws, struck the metal arch that trapped him.
The bindings on the ancient were engulfed in the same grey fire, crackling with a powerful magical force. Then, the flame slowly faded away as the metal bindings forced themselves open, freeing the dragon ancient.
“No!” Palewing snarled in a blind fury, his eyes almost burning with hatred as they focused on the small dragon. “You miserable wretch!” The white scaled dragon ancient swung his claws down on the infant dragon.
Spike held up his hands and braced himself to be crushed, but to his surprise, nothing happened. He opened his eyes to see the claws stopped mid-swing, held in the grip of Serilex as he rose out of the trap he was freed from, the wingless ancient's face contorted into a rage that threatened to engulf the attacker in a storm. With his free hand, he grabbed onto the metallic muzzle that was wrapped around his mouth and broke it off.
“You won't lay a claw on him!” Serilex growled, his eyes burning with a deadly fury. Palewing had little time to pry his hand free before he felt the grip on his wrist tighten. The young dragon assistant below flinched as he heard the loud sound of bone snapping. It was quickly drowned out by an ear-wrenching roar of pain that boomed through the sky like thunder.
Palewing swiped at the wingless ancient with his other hand, missing the target entirely but causing Serilex to release his hold. The white dragon saw his chance and took off into the air, his large wings speeding him away from the area, knowing his wingless counterpart couldn't pursue him.
As the ancient ran, Serilex simply stood there and watched as he flew further and further away. The teal ancient's eyes narrowed as he looked down toward Spike. “How about I give you a demonstration of the more powerful spells?”
Without waiting for an answer, Serilex reared his head back. Bright yellow flames crackled between his lips as the fiery spell was contained for its needed length. Then, with a single breath, the flames were spewed forward in a powerful stream of fire. The yellow flames shot through the air at amazing speeds, faster than anything the assistant had ever seen.
Reaching high up into the sky, the blaze disappeared into the thick layer of clouds ahead of them, leaving no sign that they ever existed. But then, Spike's eyes widened in amazement as the clouds began to move. They swirled in the sky like a whirlpool as bright flashes of yellow crackled through them. Just as it began to intensify, a giant bolt of lightening shot down from the center of the cloud mass. It trailed downward until the strike disappeared behind the mountains. For a moment, everything became still, then an intense light flashed across the sky like an explosion. Adding to it, the two dragons could hear a mighty roar shudder through the air before dieing down into silence.
“Come, Spike,” Serilex said, lowering his tail for the baby dragon to climb onto and reach his back. With Spike safely on his back, the ancient walked forward into the wintery wasteland.
They didn't need to travel far before they came across a deep impression in the snow. Just a few feet away from it, Palewing was limping away. His injured wrist was still evident, the white dragon having to hold the arm up as he tried moving, unable to put weight on it. It wasn't the only limb that sustained damage, one of his back legs being twisted at an unnatural angle. Even his wings were now useless, one of them dangling limply at his side, a blackened scorch mark around the base of it.
Palewing turned around to see Serilex before him, the ancient gulped noticeably as he tried to back away from the magical dragon, seeing the building rage frozen onto his face. “Now... now, Serilex, just... just calm down for a moment,” the white scaled dragon pleaded. But teal ancient said nothing, only coming closer and closer toward the injured dragon who continued in his attempts of escape, putting even more effort in concealing his fear. “Come on now, I-I know you, Serilex. You're not going to cut down one of your own kin, right? That's just not you.”
The teal dragon stopped, eying Palewing decisively. “You're right,” he said, his anger giving way to his normal demeanor. “It's not in me to end a life unless deemed absolutely necessary. And for you, Palewing, since you're injured, I'll even return you home. But, I wonder, what will your 'Master' do upon realizing you've denied him his meal?”
Palewing's eyes widened as his face began to quiver. “What?! No, no no, please, Serilex!” But the ancient was given no longer to beg, he was soon consumed in a translucent fire. The blaze encircled him until there was nothing left. All that escaped was one last roar before the flames died out and Palewing was nowhere to be seen.
For some time, Serilex and Spike simply stood there. The ancient's calm stance was only broken by his thick breathing as the cold winds pounded against them violently. Then, the teal dragon took one, long deep breath and released it with a low burning flame. Upon ending the breath, Spike could feel the tensed muscles across the ancient dragon's body relax and soften, reflecting his outward appearance of peace perfectly.
“Thank you, Spike,” Serilex said, his tone the epitome of sincerity, “you've made me very proud.”
As the dragons within the sanctuary became relieved to know that they would not suffer another attack at the hands of an ancient, they also became aware of a young dragon who not only stood up to the powerful dragon ancient, but also saved their master. Now the dragons stood in the library, their eyes focused between Serilex and the six visitors that had made such an impact.
The magical ancient looked down to the five ponies and single dragon, smiling as he was once again reminded of the influence the hooved creatures had on the world around them. Twilight and her friends held similar happy expressions, the scholar also beaming with pride toward her assistant. Spike himself had the most jovial expression of them all, feeling a hundred feet tall as the attention of the rooms denizens were riveted to him.
“So,” Serilex said, addressing the infant dragon, “you've come all this way, searching for answers on a flightless ancient. Having no other glimmer of hope other than that miniscule similarity in our physical forms. Yet, you've found so much more. I trust you're not leaving here disappointed?”
“No,” Spike said, shaking his head as his smile stretched as far as his young muscles would allow, “of course not.”
“Excellent,” the ancient nodded. Reaching behind himself, the dragon ancient retrieved a large tome. Leaning closer down toward the purple scaled dragon, the ancient handed the tome to him. Examining it, Spike could feel the odd texture of the cover on it, realizing how familiar it felt. “When Celestia left our sanctuary long ago, she was also leaving with not only your egg, but a gift as well. Just as I gave to her, I now give you this tome. While hers was of facts she would use in your care, the tome here is of the dragon history. The tales of the flightless, the flying, as well as the ancients themselves.”
The old tome was nearly three times the size of a normal book, making it difficult for the little dragon to open it. But as he did, his eyes widened with excitement as he turned the pages. Twilight peered over her assistant's shoulder, her own scholarly curiosity poking in the back of her mind. The unicorn's wandering gaze quickly deadpanned as she realized the tome was written in the same way all the other tomes in in the library were, making it unreadable for her.
“Wow,” Spike said in amazement, “thank you.”
Serilex gave a simple nod, his joyful smile showing for the assistant's reaction. “Though I would invite you to stay here within the sanctuary,” his gaze shifted toward the ponies, “I know you've made a wonderful life for yourself among the ponykind. You've only lived on this world for just a few years, yet you've already proven yourself to be a grand dragon. I am certain that when the day comes that the name of dragon is no longer looked at with scorn and fear, it will be your name that is on the lips of dragon and pony alike. Whether it be Spike or Talyan, they will know of what you've done and how it is not our kind that is evil, but our enemies.”
Spike looked up from the tome and placed his gaze onto the teal dragon. He gestured the ancient to come forward who, after only a moment of thought, leaned his head further down, bringing himself face to face with the assistant.
Then, to Serilex's surprise, Spike wrapped his arms around the tip of the dragon's nose as far as he could and embraced him in the best form of a hug that could be preformed “Goodbye, Serilex,” Spike said, holding the hug for a few moments longer before breaking it.
Serilex chuckled lightly. “You're always welcome here, Spike, never forget that.” His eyes were then set to ponies who stood before him. “That goes for all of you as well. So long as you keep our secret safe, the doors of this sanctuary will always be open to you.” The five ponies nodded their heads in understanding.
“Your secret's safe with me,” Twilight said.
“You have my word as well,” Rarity added.
“My lips are sealed,” Rainbow Dash declared, running a hoof over her mouth.
“Y'all can trust me,” Applejack remarked, “and that's the honest truth.”
“Ooo ooo, I Pinkie Promise, that's how much I'll keep your secret!” Pinkie Pie shouted, preforming her Pinkie Promise ritual. “Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye.”
The dragon ancient's right brow raised for a moment as he regarded the pink mare strangely. Staring at the odd creature for a moment, the magical dragon turned back to the group as a whole and smiled. “That's wonderful to hear. Now,” Serilex beckoned a drake with magenta scales, who approached the ancient without pause, “I understand the journey here must have been quite taxing on you all. Lexawn here will be more than happy to help bring you home safely, taking you as far as the old temple.”
The drake in question nodded his head firmly. “Without fail, my lord,” he said, spreading his wings and flying into the exiting tunnel to await the ponies.
“Thank you for your hospitality, Serilex,” Twilight said graciously, bowing her head in respect to the ancient.
“No, thank you,” the old dragon said, lowering his head in his own sign of respect, something group of friends were not used to seeing. “You have aided Spike in finding his home, his kind. For that, I am eternally grateful. Farewell to all of you, may you never again look up to the sky in fear.”
The six friends all said their goodbyes, Spike's voice rising above them all. As everything was said and done, they slowly made their way back to the tunnel that would lead them back to the cavernous tower. Watching from afar, Serilex sat in silence as the newest visitors in many years made their departure.
Moruzund approached the ancient and sat beside him to watch the six adventurers leave, wincing as his tattered body was patched up but still excruciatingly sore. “Quite a talented lad, wouldn't you say?” the bronze dragon murmured. “Then again, it doesn't surprise me at all, given where he comes from.”
“Such a kind heart and pure spirit as well,” Serilex added. “He is very much like his mother.”
“Well,” Moruzuned said, holding a cheeky grin as his sights shifted toward the ancient beside him, “his mother isn't the only dragon he reminds me of.”
Serilex let out an amused huff as a smirk crossed his face, the six visitors never leaving his gaze until they began disappearing within the darkness of the tunnel. Only one of them hesitated, the young dragon Spike, having turned back to wave goodbye one last time before rejoining his pony friends.
The cold air blowing around the six friends was of no bother as they flew through the chilling winds and snowfall. Rainbow Dash in particular was happy to be a passenger within the balloon basket, even if it meant being upstaged by a dragon. The scaled creature's mighty wings sliced through the air with ease and carried the balloon tied to him with great speed.
Seeing their adventure over, the five ponies began conversing amongst themselves over what they had encountered. Even though they had each been there, their excited tones never faltered as they recounted the time spent within the sanctuary.
Even as the home of dragons became distant, many of them still couldn't believe what they had all seen. It was certainly an awe inspiring event that non of them wouldn't have passed up for anything else, despite having been sworn to secrecy. Many perspectives had been changed for the better, shedding light on how the world around them works.
The young assistant Spike was the only one who remained silent. Much weighed down on his mind as they sailed through the frozen wastes. Not only did he learn about dragons, but much more about himself that he never expected.
Spike sat down in the corner of the basket, the old tome Serilex had given him at his lap. Slowly, he turned the pages, barely skimming the paragraphs presented to him as his thoughts were too cluttered to read. Though he had seen so much on dragons, one thought kept itself as the main focus on his mind. A thought that wasn't about any dragon at all, but a pony. A very special pony, not only special to the land of Equestria, as he always knew, but special to himself as well, as he just now came to realize.
It was this thought that made him aware that, although the sanctuary was far at their backs, there was still one more thing the assistant needed to do before their adventure would be concluded by him.
Within the beautiful halls of Canterlot Castle, a princess makes her return to her royal duties.
Princess Celestia slowly walked through those very halls, her regal stance drifting down with every step she took. The royal mare's mane held several hairs out of place, becoming noticeable against the usual mass of flowing color. The princess' eyes were glazed with a half-lidded gaze, presented with her nearly dragging her hooves across the tiled floors. Every now and then, a weary sigh escaped her as she found herself alone, not a single passing servant or guard in sight.
Though many warm greetings were had by the castle staff and royal guards, to Celestia, they were merely noises that were drowned out by her own mind. Even as Luna accompanied her for a short time, talking a mile a minute in her attempts to convince her older sibling that everything was a-okay during her absence, barely a word of the lunar princess' one-sided conversation had made it to the recipient.
All that was only Celestia's mind was retiring to her chambers where she could find a few hours of relaxation before bed, thus ending her time away from Equestria. Though she couldn't say her trip to the griffin empire was bad in any terrible way, they had treated her as an honored guest as they always did.
There were a few things she never liked however. A big detail being in her distaste in traveling, never being one to like creating a long distance between herself and her subjects. There was also the Emperor himself, though not as iron clawed as rumors would have one think, the old griffin was one to talk too much on his own personal accomplishments during his rule, almost as though he were trying to make a point to the princess. And she almost dreaded thinking about the banquet hall, a place to eat that had the most horrific decor of mounted animal trophies, one in particular being the skull of a dragon that seemed to stare at her with a knowing look.
A relived sigh escaped Celestia as she opened the door to her chambers. Her body wanted too much to simply lie down and rest in her study, that she didn't even bother to ponder why her bed was smashed into million pieces, something she would have to ask Luna about at another time. Instead, the princess simply strolled to the cushioned floor set right in front of a blazing fireplace.
Celestia allowed herself to slip down onto the floor as the warmth of the fire slowly washed over her, relaxing her tensed nerves to satisfaction.
Too consumed in the single sound of the flames crackling within the fireplace, the princess was startled slightly as she heard a faint, magical 'poof' sound off next to her. The royal mare looked to find a scroll falling to the floor before her.
Unable to contain it, the princess smiled in amusement, realizing she should have expected for her student to send a letter the moment she was able. Celestia was tempted to simply leave the scroll unread until the morning, after she is finished raising the sun, but after a second thought, she decided against it. After all, she remember the little gift she had sent down to her faithful student, anticipating what may have come from it.
Levitating the scroll, the princess unfurled it and began to read. It took only moments for her to finish the simple letter, becoming surprised by both the length and the subject. Her mouth could only hang open slightly at her surprise.
Then suddenly, a cheerful smile crossed her lips. The words in the letter began to blur as her eyes filled with tears, the princess' heart swelling with an indescribable joy. With a gingerly care and delicate speed, she placed the letter on the mantel of her fireplace, unable to take her watering eyes from it. Though the letter was so simple, it spoke such volumes to her.
