Spike and Twilight travel with The Doctor to discover the origin of Spike's race.
The Doctor brings Spike and his guardian Twilight Sparkle into the past, long before the reign of Discord, to discover the origins of Spike's species. They discover a desperate people, ravaged by war and facing destruction from outside foes and an enemy within.
The ground is barren, a blackened, charred surface devoid of any plant life, beyond the ministrations of even the most able Earth Pony. A chemical fog smothers the air, blanketing the landscape, filling the vision of the few living things left with a green haze and obscuring the sky. Day and night are words without meaning in this broken world. Craters dotted the landscape, some still housing smoldering infernos. Any land that remains flat is covered with discarded weapons and spent ammunition, some very advanced, others primative. In the distance, the booming and chattering of the tools of war can be heard if you strain your ears. Despite the crushing bleakness of the land, this scorched earth will soon be home to an explosion of life.
This broken land is the birthplace of the Dragon Race.
A dull humming fills the air as a blue Police Stable materializes. After a few moments of solid existence, three figures step out, two ponies and a dragon. "Here we are! 6,729 years-ish before the reign of Discord, and a time period shortly before the first dragon sighting!" Exclaims The Doctor, leading the way onto the mysterious new time and place. He then pauses and frowns. "Is a bit bleaker then I'd though it would be."
"Can you believe it Spike?" Twilight Sparkle exited the time machine next. "We've traveled thousands of years, across time and space! Imagine the first hand research we could accomplish!"
"I don't know Twilight. The more I find out about dragons, the less happy I am." Some time after the attempted takeover of Equestria by The Master, The Doctor had learned the story of Spike's migration, and had offered the young man a chance to see his species during their early history, to perhaps learn some sort of nobel truth about dragons that had been lost over time.
The very nature of dragons had always been troubling to The Doctor. They, as both a species and a culture, should not exist. He had traveled the stars and seen thousands of civilizations on millions of worlds, and on some level, every species that had achieved sentience was in some way geared for social co-existence. Many cultures and societies could of course be militant and xenophobic towards outsiders, but some level of harmony between fellow what-have-yous is neccesary to even survive and propagate as a species.
But dragons don't. They have no problem killing children of their own race, something most creatures have instincts against doing except in the most dire of circumstances, the more resources a dragon has obtained, the things that make one gender desirable for the other, the less likely they are to allow in a mate, and despite being fully sentient have never attempted to build a civilization, though this could be because their biology is seemingly incompatible with sentience.
The Doctor's musing were cut short by a sharp whistling followed by an uncomfortably close explosion. "RUN!" The three took off across the broken landscape, explosions blossoming around them.
"TWILIGHT!" Spike yelled as he was knocked from his feet by the shockwave of a blast.
Twilight instinctively charged through the explosions to save her first friend, pushing her magic power to the limit to shield herself from the blasts. Once Spike was safely inside her defensive bubbble, she noticed The Doctor beckoning them over to a shallow cave that could shield them from further bombardment.
After another dash, the three remained inside the cave, watching the withering barrage tear apart the landscape. Once the shooting has ended, Spike let out a huff. "So much for a warm welcome."
"We should probably see if this cave leads anywhere, as it certainly dosen't seem wise to risk getting blown up... again..." Twilight had lit her horn and begun trotting while talking, only to trail off when she noticed The Doctor had become unusually pale and seemed to be standing stiff, struggling not to budge an inch. "Doctor, is something wrong?"
"Twilight, Spike, what I'm going to say next may frighten you, but if we are to survive, we must all remain level headed." The Doctor explained with a cautious, measured tone.
"Well that certainly defused the tension of the moment." The Doctor thought to himself. "It will create an explosion in similar size and strength to the one's outside if I step off of it." His next words were laced with regret. "Spike, I'm afriad you must disarm it."
"What? You don't mean that, do you Doctor?" Twilight asked, incredulous that her friend would ask the small child to perform such a dangerous task. "Spike, you move farther down into the cave, I'll handle this..." Her horn began to glow with magic as she advanced towards The Doctor.
"TWILIGHT NO!" The Doctor yelled, giving the unicorn great pause. "This is old technology, the kind used by Griffons and Minotaurs to compensate for their lack of magic. It will react violently if you cast a spell on it!"
"But this kind of technology isn't supposed to exist for another 4,000 years!" Twilight knew what needed to be done, but was still wracked with guilt. "Alright Spike, please be careful!"
The young dragon approached The Doctor and bent down to get a good look at the land mine. "What do you see Spike? Any buttons, a primer or arming mechanism?"
"No, but it looks like this panel can come off. I need you to shift your back right leg to get a better look though."
Very carefully, The Doctor moved the leg at an agonizingly cautious rate, with both Twilight and Spike expecting the device to blow any second. Finally, the nerve wracking ordeal had ended.
The panel Spike was enthralled with had seemingly no way of removing it, only small, circular, machine cut hole in the center. While running his hand over it, Spike noticed his claw might be able to slide into the hole. Upon doing so, the top panel popped off rather easily, revealing a complicated mess of a pressure plate, a chemical container, several gears and switches and a bundle of wires.
"What do I do, what do I do!" Mumbled Spike frantically, unsure of what to touch without killing his friends. He became noticeably more relaxed upon sighting the big yellow button clearly labeled "disarm."
"Well, that was certainly an experience. Good show Spike." The Doctor spoke warmly. "And Twilight, I believe you've learned a valuable lesson."
"What!?" Twilight gasped. Not as a question of what the question was mind you, but in disbelief that this event held educational value.
"Why that magic can't solve everything, of course!" The Doctor stated as he carried Spike on his back further into the cave. "Don't fall behind now!"
As the three traveled deeper into the cave, it become obvious that it was an artificial excavation. At the end of the path was a sealed security door, as well as several crates of equipment. The groups became engrossed with examining the contents of the boxes (high grade explosives) that they didn't notice a fourth individual joining them until he made his presence known with a metal clicking.
The door had opened, and had a dragon with an assault rifle behind it.
The creature in front of them seemed to be a dragon, but something was off about him. He was a little bit shorter then the dragons Spike had met on the Migration, but was proportioned differently. His face had more maturity to it, his purple and green scales seemed to have dulled with age, and he did not have wings. This specimen was also wearing clothes, a full body dark green uniform that had been stitched up repeatedly, with both fabric and seemingly animal skin.
"Alright ponies, put your hands in the...hooves... Just don't move!" The drake commanded while gesturing with his rifle, which seemed as equally patchwork as his uniform. "Come to meddle in the affairs of the Gosrand now have you? Good luck making this place any worse." He spoke with mistrust and contempt. Then he noticed Spike, and his eyes got very hard.
"Kidnapping a hatchling, is there no low you savages won't sink to?"
"I am not kidnapped!" Yelled Spike. "Twilight and The Doctor are my friends, and if you're going to hurt them, you'll have to hurt me to!" The drake was intensely confused by the young dragons defense of the ponies. How could anyone befriend such beasts?
"You see my good chap, we found young Spike here alone and lost on the battlefield, and sought to do the decent thing and bring him here." The Doctor very convincingly lied. "Wherever here is."
The self-identified Gosrand's attitude had shifted from aggressive to confused. "All three of you will need to be questioned. Get walking, single file, and don't try to infect me with any of your magic!" As they walked through the security door, the soldier stopped Spike. "You may ride on my shoulder, little one."
"Doctor, why do you think this dragon hates ponies so much?" Twilight asked in a hushed whisper.
"I don't think the being we have encountered is a dragon, and least not as we know them." The Doctor replied. "And that person isn't hateful Twilight, he's scared and simply trying not to show it. And rightfully so. This is not a proud period in pony history. Before the emergence of the Princesses, ponies were a very savage and intolerant species, and their conflicts were made worse by the inherent magic of all three races, something no other species on this planet can claim in such abundance. The other species fear the three pony tribes, who at this moment are engaged in a brutal race war far to the North of here, for they have always been capable of doing with magic what only in your time can be done with Minataur or Griffon technology. In this era, Minataurs have just recently mastered the aqueduct, while ponies can already direct weather and warp nature." The Doctor then contemplated his surroundings. "But this place..."
The soldier had been directing them down sleek metal hallways, past soldiers and civilians wearing machine spun clothing, and even at one point past a computer bank. Yet something was off, everything they saw had the same patchwork appearance as the uniform and weapon of the soldier escorting them. Many outfits, espically the civilian ones, had been patched together with animal hide and even plant material like tree bark. The weaponry of the soldiers also varied widely, from gas powered guns to spears and swords and even a laser pistol was seen at one point.
More immediate however, was the fact that they all had the same color pattern as Spike.
Finally the three were put in a waiting room. After a few minutes, the soldier returned and gestured towards the ponies. "General Aglon will interrogate you personally, while the hatchling will be held in the nursery until we can determine his mental state."
"I'm not leaving Twilight." Spike said defiantly.
"Spike, we need to co-operate with the Gosrands, by the way, how do you spell that?" The Doctor asked. The soldier simply glared at him. "I am certain they do not intend to harm you. Twilight and I will rejoin you as soon as we can."
Spike's resolve wavered, and he looked to Twilight, who simply nodded at him. "Fine." he said with a tone of defeat. "Alright guys, take me away." He added before allowing two new soldiers to lead him to this "nursery."
"Alright then, let's go meet the general, shall we?" The Doctor and Twilight were lead to a war room, with a surprisingly young looking Gosrand sitting in a command chair in front of a desk adorned with war maps.
"Why have you come to this place?" Asked General Aglon.
"Well, that is a rather long and complicated story I'd be happy to regale you with. But first, introductions. I am The Doctor, and this is my lover, Twilight Sparkle."
Spike was dreading what awaited him. Who knew what horrible things these dragons did to their young? He'd probably be tortured or hit, or dunked in lava or...
Offered a cookie?
Spike had been so wrapped up in his thoughts, he failed to notice he had arrived, and was now being offered a cookie by a female his own age. Spike looked around, and was a little confused to see a totally normal nursery. There were toys and games and a bunch of hatchlings the same age and colors as Spike running about and enjoying themselves. He looked again at the cookie, sniffed it, then gingerly consumed it.
His cautious behavior seemed to amuse his new friend, who offered to play blocks with him.
"...And so with our love declared forbidden by the elders of our two tribes, we walked south together to try and find a place to love each other free of persecution." The Doctor was just concluding an expertly spun and completely false tale of star crossed romance shunned by tribal racism. "We found Spike lost and alone about two days ago, and have been searching for his home since. He's quite attached to the lovely Twilight."
The purple Unicron in question was absolutely mortified with humiliation, but due to his unfamiliarity with equine social ques, General Aglon had been convinced by the tragic and passionate tale. "Well, Spike is going to have to be separated from you. You can keep watch of him until his birth parents are found, however. I imagine they'll want to thank you, so I am granting you permission to remain inside our city. However, if you wish to stay longer then three days, you will be assigned a menial labor job to contribute to the war."
"Ah, splendid! Now, who exactly are we fighting against?"
Aglon gave a sigh before rising from his chair and facing a map of what Twilight and the Doctor assumed was his people's land. Only two cities were labeled as such, with everything else being natural landmarks or destroyed locations. "A long time ago, my people emerged from beneath the Earth, our grand underground cities having finally grown crowded after a millennia long golden age of peace and scientific progress. Many primitive civilizations existed, but only one had a society equivelent to our own: The Great and Bountiful Buffalo Empire."
Twilight had to suppress a gasp. Even though she did not share many of her fellow Equestrian's opinions that Buffalo were naturally stupid and dirty beings, it was still difficult to imagine that a plains-dwelling people with no modern technology could have had an empire on par with what she had seen of the ancient dragons.
"No one who fired the first shot, but we've been at war for thousands of years. The war was not a spontaneous thing, so the border cities and bases, which were gripped by a stalemate, survived longer then the capitals and inner territories, destroyed by air strikes, nuclear weapons and chemical bombing. The city you stand in is the last bastion of Gosrand civilization in the world, and only six miles away is the last Buffalo city." General Aglon closed his eyes wistfully. "This war may very well end in under a year. But is anyone going to be left to enjoy the peace?"
The exposition was abruptly interrupted by a rather harsh looking Gosrand entering the room. "General, your pony prisoners have been requisitioned for a demonstration in Scientific Chamber 29."
"On who's authority!?" Demanded Aglon in outrage.
"Councilor Tirek's."
Despite having scales instead of skin, one could still see the color drain from Aglon's face, who rushed besides the ponies as more armed soldiers shoved them along. "Whatever you do, no magic. The last thing Tirek needs is an excuse to kill and dissect you. I will make sure you get through this. I give you my word as a soldier."
"Does your word happen to be fire retardant?" The Doctor asked as they were shoved into what resembled a surgical theater. Several important looking military officers, politicians and scientists were seated to the side. Several more scientists stood together in the center of the room, an imposing door behind them.
"Tirek, this is an outrage! These ponies have saved the life of a hatchling, and I will not have you repay them with death!" The General raged while steadily advancing towards the scientists, who parted ways to reveal a rather disturbing sight.
It was an heavily disfigured Gosrand, sitting in a powered wheel chair. His scales had been burnt with a splattering rainbow of colors by chemical weaponry, with a particularly notable red patch across his face, which had no nose and no natural eyes, only scabb covered, pus leaking sockets. Tirek is only able to see by virtue of a large electronic eyeball installed into his forehead. "Then they should be pleased that they have this opportunity to contribute to our cause further. And I would like to remind you general, that I have obeyed the law to the letter on this matter. As ponies, your prisoners do not fall under the Able Body Conservation act, and as Parliament's Science and Technology Secretary, my orders supersed yours."
"Tirek, I must also express some doubts." Another scientist interjected. "I do not feel we have ironed out all the difficulties experinced by the Diamond Dog project..."
"The Diamond Dogs were a prototype! An unintelligent slave race created from the inferior bodies of Buffalo prisoners!" Tirek yelled back. "This new weapon is the natural pinnacle of the mutations we Gosrand's have been experiencing, and the key to conquering our enemies! Prepare the test subjects!"
Twilight and The Doctor had crudely and quickly made saddlebags dropped onto them. "Gems. Curious." Was The Doctor's only response to rifiling through his bag.
The large door before them began to creak open, and out from the shadows emerged a fully grown dragon.