Way of the Dragon
Chapter 1
Equestria, a land where earth ponies, pegasi and unicorns and live in peace and harmony. But Equestria is not the only country in these lands.
To the east lies the Griffon Kingdom. Half eagle and half lion, the Griffons are a proud and fierce nation. In the south-east are where the dragons make their home. Large reptilian creatures, dragons are passive in nature but will not hesitate to attack those that threaten them. Lastly, to the south, lies the Badlands. The Badlands contain four different races all of which have their own nations. The Zebras in the east, the Saddle Arabians in the west, the Minotaur’s in the north and the Humans in the south.
Very little is known about the badlands, and even less is known about the humans. All of Equestria believes that humans are just an old foals tale, and even outside of Equestria, their existence is a complete mystery. Even in the badlands where they originated from, they are just considered myth. Searching for any evidence of their existence would be a lost cause. The south of the badlands is a desolate place. No buildings, no relics, no animals and no humans. Just a vast and endless desert with heavy sandstorms constantly raging. Even at a time when humans were prosperous they had always lived in secrecy, so the day that humans disappeared, there neighbouring countries were none the wiser.
Humans have been gone for centuries, those that once knew of them, are now long passed away; But the destiny of one man, shall bring forth a new era and will solidify mankind’s existence, until the end of time.
***
It was close to midnight in Dodge Junction and the last train to Ponyville was about to depart. The conductor announced that the train was going to leave in a few minutes and many ponies rushed through its doors eager to return home after a long day.
The human had been walking for days with nothing but water to keep him going. He was getting close to his destination. He looked up to see steam blowing out from the top of the train and he heard the whistle being blown signaling its departure.
“If I don’t get on that train I will be forced to stay in Dodge Junction for the night. I need to pick up the pace.”
He began running as fast as he could hoping to jump onto it's rear platform before it picked up too much speed. He was catching up, but just as he was getting close to it; the train began to leave from the station. The human groaned. He needed to run faster if he was going to make it. Using the last of his energy he broke into a full sprint. As he slowly closed in, he ran up to the back of the train and reached out trying to catch it's railings.
“You can make it. Come on, just a little bit more and then you can rest.”
He grabbed the railings just in time and pulled himself up. He collapsed onto the platform as the train slowly picked up speed and continued on its journey towards Ponyville.
He sat there for a few minutes, trying to catch his breath after using the remainder of his strength trying to climb aboard. He slowly picked himself up and peeked through the window at the back. Luckily there were no ponies on the last passenger car.
“Luck is smiling upon me today; I won’t have to sleep outside.”
He tried opening the door to get inside. It was locked
.
“Of course. It would be locked.”
The Human sat back down onto the platform. With no more energy, there was absolutely no way for him to get inside, nor did he want to overexert himself trying to break the door. He sat back down and rested the back of his head against the door as he folded his arms trying to gather warmth from his body.
The gentle rocking served as a soothing agent for the weary traveler, calming his mind and body from its easing motions. His eyes began to close on their own, slowly falling into a deep sleep, the human dreamt of his family, his friends and of his own fate…
One month later
“Aw, come on Twilight do we really have to look for some silly books? What are they even for anyway?”
Twilight sighed. “There not just some silly books Spike, they are in-depth look into the myths and Histories of the Badlands. Now come on, it’ll go faster if the both of us are looking.”
Spike groaned. They had been looking for hours and they still hadn’t found anything yet. Princess Celestia had sent Twilight a letter instructing her to look for some old books in the ancient castle of the royal pony sisters in the Everfree forest. The Princess had told Twilight that these books were very rare. She said that the books should still be in the library somewhere in the castle.
Spike hopped off the chair he was sitting on and began looking through the castles library. There were very little books left in the library, in fact there were almost none at all except for maybe the one or two odd ones on the shelves. Spike thoroughly looked through all the shelves while Twilight did the same as well.
Twilight frowned, “there definitely not in the library Spike, but there’s still one place we haven’t looked in yet, the Princess’ old chambers.”
Spike climbed up onto to Twilights back as they made their way towards the main entrance of the castle. To their left was the way towards where Twilight first used the elements and fought back Nightmare Moon and to their right was the staircase leading towards the royal pony sisters chambers. Twilight began walking up the stairs towards the royal chambers. Moss had grown on the old walls of the castle and pieces of the stone steps began to crumble as Twilight continued her ascent up the stairwell. Parts of the castle walls were missing and Twilight and Spike could see the tall trees of the Everfree outside of the castle, which only increased the already ominous feeling that the castle gave off.
They eventually reached the top of the towers to see two stone doors. The doors both had decorated handles, one with crescent moons and the other with a blazing sun. Twilight began to approach Princess Celestia’s previous chambers and used her magic to open the door. The door opened with a loud creak. Twilight and Spike were surprised by what they saw behind the large stone.
“Wow, uhhh, I was expecting something a little more… broken?” said Spike as he jumped off Twilights back.
Instead of seeing the princesses old living quarters in shambles it was actually in pristine condition. The large bed in the center of the room was undamaged and extremely neat with a small nightstand beside the bed. The large carpet strewn across the floor was high class material imported from Saddle Arabia, its intricate designs drew attention to it like a moth to a flame. There was a fireplace on the wall in front of the bed with soot clinging to the walls of the chimney.
On the right side of the room laid an enormous bookshelf that took up most of the living space in the quarters and to the left, hung up against the wall, was a portrait of Princess Celestia and Princess Luna standing back to back on a cloud high up in the sky. Almost as if they were watching over the ponies of Equestria.
Twilight looked around the room with a puzzled expression on her face, “Strange I was expecting this room to be in the same state as the rest of the castle…”
“Maybe someone was taking care of the building after the princesses had left.” suggested Spike
.
“That’s highly unlikely Spike, nopony would go through the Everfree just to look after a room.”
“But Twilight, what if it was order from the princess, what if she had ponies look after it while she was gone?”
Twilight began inspecting the room whilst looking for the books, “If she wanted somepony to look after this place then the room wouldn’t be this dusty now would it?”
“Huh… Good point Twilight, I never thought of that.” Spike began pacing the room trying to find anything that might remotely resemble a book. Looking under every nook and cranny for the ancient documents; all that Spike was able to find was dust, dust and more dust which was causing Spike to sneeze constantly and breathe out fire. The constant streams of fire almost set most of the furniture ablaze.
Twilight wasn’t having much of an easier time either. After thoroughly looking through every space she thought the books might have been Twilight soon grew increasingly frustrated. Being unable to find the books made Twilight nervous. What if I can’t find the books? What if she’s disappointed in me? What if I fail! Come on Twilight keep it together, Think, if I were the Princess where would I hide my books…. Wait, that’s it!
“Spike!” Screamed Twilight. “Try looking for any hidden compartments. If the Princess thought they were here then she must have kept them somewhere safe.”
“I don’t think I can take much more of this Twilight *sniff* I’m dying over here. O no! I think I feel another one coming, ahhh, ahhh, ah nevermind. False alarm, *sniff.*
Twilight chuckled “Sorry Spike, I know your sensitive to the dust but I know where close to finding this thing, just keep searching for a little bit longer and I’m sure we’ll find it.”
Spike nodded while trying to hold back another sneeze, they were starting to hurt his head. Spike walked towards the nightstand and opened the drawer. Learning his lesson from the first time he opened it Spike put his head to the side while to avoid the incoming plume of dust that would inevitably fly out of the compartment.
After dodging the torrent of tiny particles that flew out of the table Spike stuck his hand inside the empty drawer and began searching for anything that would give way and open any hidden compartments. After a few seconds of exploring the insides of the drawer Spike came across a small bump on the underside of the drawer. Spike lightly pressed his hand against it pushing in the bump which caused an almost inaudible clicking noise which in turn opened another section of the drawer revealing the treasured possessions that Twilight and Spike were looking for.
Spike was ecstatic; he turned to Twilight with a large grin drawn onto his face. “Hey Twilight, I think I found what we’re looking for.” Spike pulled out two books from the compartment within the nightstand and showed them to Twilight.
Twilights purple aura enveloped the two books as she drew them closer towards her with her magic. “Great work Spike! Now let’s see here... Journey Through the Badlands: Book 1 of 4, Zebrica. Journey Through the Badlands: Book 2 of 4, Minotaur Kingdom.”
Twilight opened her saddle bag and gently placed the books within. She looked back at Spike with a smile on her face, “Alright so if the first two books were in there then the others must be close by and I think I know exactly where they might be.” Twilight looked up at the empty bookshelf. “I bet there’s another hidden compartment somewhere up on that bookshelf, help me take a look Spike.”
Spike ran up to the bookshelf and began running his hands along the sides checking for anything that might stand out, while Twilight did the same thing along the front of the bookshelf. It was then that Twilight suddenly felt a breeze coming from the bookshelf.
“Spike, can you help me pull this bookshelf out, I think there’s something behind it.”
Spike made his way to the front of the bookshelf and began pulling on it while Twilight did the same with her magic. They slowly started to pull the shelf out and in no time they had moved it off the wall it was resting upon.
Spike took a look behind to the shelf to see if anything was there. Spike saw a small hole on the back of the bookshelf. He reached his hand inside digging for anything and, like before, he found 2 more books.
“Hey Twilight I think I found the books.” Spike took one book out and handed it over to Twilight, but as he tried to pull out the other book, it became wedged in between the hole and Spike began pulling harder and harder.
Twilight was too busy inspecting the book that Spike had just handed to her to notice that he was struggling trying to pull the other book out. “Hmm, Journey Through the Badlands: Book 3 of 4, Saddle Arabia. I can’t wait to learn about the Saddle Arabian culture, I mean I already know a lot, but what if there’s something in here that I don’t know about. How exciting!”
While Twilight was continuously gushing over Saddle Arabian culture Spike was becoming infuriated by the fact he couldn’t pull the book out. He hoisted one of his legs onto the bookshelf and began using his body weight to pull on the book. Spike propped up his other leg onto the bookshelf and began pulling even harder
.
Eventually Twilight stopped raving on about Saddle Arabia to notice that Spike was basically mounting the bookshelf in an attempt to pull out the last book. “Um, Spike, what are you doing?”
“Gimme a second Twilight, *huff* I almost got this thing out of here.”
Twilight frowned and began walking over towards Spike. “Here Spike, let me.”
Spike shook his head. “Don’t worry Twilight, I got this.”
Finally the bookshelf started make way and the sides of the small hole began to crack. Spike gave one finale tug which created an even larger hole in the bookshelf allowing Spike to pull the book out. But because of the amount of force Spike was using he was flung back into the wall behind him which in fact had a large crack on it that Spike had seemingly failed to notice. Spike flew through the wall and out the other side, tumbling down into the Everfree forest with only tree branches breaking the fall.
Spikes screams could be heard from inside the castle as he continued his descent towards the Everfree. Twilight was horrified, her assistant had just flown through the tower walls and down into the forest. she quickly ran down the towers stone steps and ran out the castles large stone doors in hopes to find Spike and take him back to the hospital before anything worse were to happen to him.
Just hold on Spike I’ll get to you soon...
***
Spike awoke with a groan. He laid face down on the ground with dirt and blood covering his visage. His vision blurred, Spike tried getting back up onto his feet but then instantly fell back onto his face again. Spike rolled over onto his back and slowly began to sit up. Lifting his right arm up, he wiped away the grime that was covering his face. Spike started to look around in the hopes that he could find out where he was, but even the slightest movement of his head caused a splitting headache.
The fall had left Spike in a confused and battered state. Unable to comprehend what had just happened Spike decided to look for any surface he can rest upon while he could try and recollect what had happened. Spike tried crawling towards the nearest tree but was cut short when he tried to use his left arm to move about. A sharp pain rang throughout his entire left side as he attempted to use his limb. Screaming in pain, Spike fell to his side clutching his arm. After the pain had subsided he dragged himself towards his destination and propped himself against the tree.
His head fell to his side as he saw the book that he tried so very hard to pull out from the bookshelf. "O ya, that’s right, that’s why I fell. Huh, I really should have gotten Twilight's help. Speaking of Twilight I wonder where she is right now. O well, I’ll just wait here, maybe I can get some rest…”
As Spike closed his he started to hear a distant howling noise. Then he began to hear growling, from more than one source, and they were getting closer and closer. Spike eyes instantly snapped open to an extremely terrifying sight. Numerous ghastly green eyes began appearing within the shadows of the forest. Spike grew more and more panicked with every second that went by, and for every one of those seconds the dark figures grew closer and closer.
Four timberwolves slowly began to encircle around Spike. Their wooden bodies shaking with every step they took. Spike could smell their rancid breath even from afar, and as they grew closer the stench only intensified and made Spike sick to his stomach. Saliva dripped from their mouths as they grew closer to their prey.
Spikes was stuck in a corner and had nowhere to run. His breathing intensified, his pupils dilated and he was able to think clearly again. The pain in his arm still meant he couldn’t use it and his chest burned. Spikes lips began to quiver and he screamed Twilights name out in fear, hoping that she was nearby and that she could hear his plea for help. He reached for anything he could find to throw at the wolf and ended up throwing the book he had put so much effort into grabbing. In response the timber wolf he threw it at caught it in mid-air and ripped it to shreds in a matter a seconds.
The largest timberwolf of the pack, the alpha, started to make his way to towards Spike and licked its lips, ready to chomp down on a fresh meal. It opened its mouth and the stench from before rushed through Spike nostrils forcing him to hold his breath before he could puke. Remains of the wolf’s previous prey could still be seen hanging from its razor sharp teeth. As the wolf was about to close its jaws onto Spikes head a purple blast of magic shot the timberwolf flying away and a second later Twilight appeared in a flash of light in front of Spike.
Twilight turned to Spike with a serious look on her face. “Don’t worry Spike, I’ll get you to safety in no time.”
Spike struggled to get back onto his feet. “Twilight… I don’t think… that I can move very well *cough.*”
The alpha wolf that Twilight had shot down before had gotten back onto its paws and got into a low stance and was getting ready to pounce onto its prey. Twilight’s horn lit up in a purple light as she faced the alpha wolf and began charging up another spell ready to hold her ground in order to save her companion…
***
The human was sitting down in front of a small fire while holding a long stick; with a small fish on the end of it.
Once again, another day of only fish to eat...
He had found this place by chance. When lost in the vast wilderness of the forest the human would have died if a certain zebra didn’t find him. She offered to give him shelter for the day, and the next day she would send him on his way. After thanking her for her hospitality, he pleaded with her not to reveal his existence to the ponies. She had told him of an abandoned castle farther into the woods where he could make shelter.
When the human first arrived to the castle he had stayed there for less than a few hours, fearing that some of the ponies from the town nearby might venture into the forest, and spot nearby the castle.
His personal supply of water had been running low, so he began looking for a source of water that might be nearby. Luck had been smiling upon the human that day, because not only did he find a water source, he had also found food and shelter. Filling up his canteen from the river nearby him; he spotted countless fish swimming in the river and also a small cave on the other side of the stream.
He had been living in the cave ever since he arrived in the forest, and had been eating nothing but fish ever since. He slowly rotated his stick above the fire trying to get every corner of his meal nice and roasted. His mind wandered as he began thinking of his people and what had become of them; what had become of him...
As he brooded on the past and thought of future, he had completely forgotten about the fish he was cooking. Only when the smell of smoke filled his nostrils did he realize that his meal currently on fire and that it was burning to a crisp.
He sighed as he snuffed out the flames on the meal, throwing his fish away. I’m losing my focus. That’s the second time today.
As he was beginning to put on another fish to fry, howls of the timber wolves could be heard in the distance. Thinking that it was just wolves hunting for prey he resumed preparing his dinner. A few minutes later he heard screams. The human got up onto his feet and walked out to the caves entrance, he stood completely still trying to concentrate on the noises coming from the forest.
One of the townsfolk could be in trouble…. No I mustn’t get myself involved in the matters of ponies, I can’t be found out, and it would probably cause a… undesired conflict.
As the human started walk back inside, he heard another scream. Pinpointing the area of the scream he came to the conclusion that the voices were coming from the castle.
The human grit his teeth contemplating on what he should do.
No, I can’t just stand idle, I should go and help…. I have to go and help.
He ran back into his cave and put out the fire. After quickly wearing his desert coat, he ran out into the forest and towards the castle…
***
Twilight was busy holding off the timberwolves so that Spike could regain some of his strength. Spike was leaning against the tree, trying to regain his composure.
Another timberwolf tried jumping on Twilight, as she blasted it away with her magic. She had initially destroyed the alpha wolf who had first tried to attack her and Spike, disintegrating it in one large magical blast; but the power she used to destroy the alpha left her in weakened state, forcing her to use smaller, more concentrated, blasts of magic.
Time was running out, knowing that the fall had probably given Spike a concussion, Twilight only had a limited amount of time until Spike’s condition worsened. Although Twilight could easily destroy the other three wolves, she knew that she wouldn’t have enough strength to get back to town fast enough. The only other option was to pick up Spike and run as fast as she could back to Ponyville.
Twilight kept her eyes on the timberwolves as she drew closer to Spike and got down low to his level. “Alright Spike, I need you to get on my back, were going to make a run for it.”
Spike nodded and slowly climbed onto Twilight’s back, but just as Spike was getting onto her back, a timberwolf had lunged at them just out of their field of vision. Twilight turned her head just as the timberwolf was about chomp down onto Spike. Unable to retaliate quickly enough, Spike would have been crushed, if not for the large biped that smashed the it's face into the ground before it could even close its jaws.
Spike and Twilight watched in awe as the human kicked the creature into a nearby tree with such force that it shattered into splinters upon impact. Catching the attention of the other two timberwolves, they both charged at him in unison. The man clenched his fists and let out a shrill battle cry, meeting the wooden beasts charge head on.
As one of the timberwolves jumped up high and the other went low, the human came to a sudden stop, blocking the attack with his arm. As soon as the wolf’s teeth met flesh, he grabbed its entire body and smashed it into the other wolf below, who was currently trying to claw at his legs. The impact forced the wolf to let go of the man’s arm, allowing him to pick up the wolf and throw it at another nearby tree. The human did a running jump at the wolf and smashed his knee into its abdomen, crushing its body.
As he turned around to face the other wolf it had already begun preparing it's next attack. Jumping in the air, the timberwolf tried to catch the human off guard and went for his neck, but the man was much faster and had already anticipated the attack. Getting low to the ground, he clenched his fist and slammed it into the timberwolf’s underbelly, causing its body to fall limply to the ground. The human lifted his leg and brought it down onto the wolf’s head, shattering it into pieces.
To Spike, the human shone a bright yellow color, almost gold; but then somehow changed into a cool blue, then back to yellow, then into a deep red. He kept constantly changing back and forth between these three colors, in between his fluid movements, much like a kaleidoscope. To Twilight though, all she saw was a large biped destroying timberwolves with his speed and brute strength.
The human stood still for a while, his fists shaking as he spoke something in a foreign language. After a while he unclenched his fists and let his arms fall to his sides, as one of the bled profusely. He slowly turned around and gave Twilight and Spike a blank stare.
Twilight was stunned. She had just witnessed a large bipedal creature, roughly the same height as the Princess, obliterate three timberwolves in mere minutes. Figuring that the biped wasn’t going to be speaking anytime soon Twilight decided to start, but was having trouble finding the right words to say.
Eventually, she mustered up enough courage to speak. “What-who are you…”
The human looked at Twilight and replied in an unknown accent. “My name is Nazir, and I am a human from the badlands.”
Chapter end