Quest For Harmony

Quest For Harmony

PROLOGUE

The brilliance of the rising sun shone down upon the realm of Equestria, thanks to the sky clear of clouds. But despite the beautiful day, many ponies were hiding in their houses, not daring to come out should they fall victim to those that would be passing overhead. Today was the legendary day of the great Dragon Migration, when all the dragons in Equestria would journey to an unknown meeting place once every generation; their path would take them directly over Ponyville, and anypony with any concern for their lives didn't want to be outdoors when they arrived.

However, some ponies just found this one in a lifetime chance to be too tempting to pass up.

One such pony was a unicorn who already had some experience with dragons, who was currently at her pegasus friend's house, trying to convince her to join them for this great advent.

Her fur was lavender-purple in color, while her long mane was a deep plum in color with a pink stripe running horizontally through it, her hair-like mane growing over her forehead in a trimmed look and running down her neck in the same manner, her long tail the same colors and kept in the same style. Her eyes were a purplish-indigo in color, and her cutie mark, the natural marking all ponies have on their flanks, resembled a large red star surrounded by multiple white sparkles.

Her name was Twilight Sparkle, Princess Celestia's personal student, and wielder of the Element of Magic, most powerful of the Elements of Harmony.

"Come on, Fluttershy. It'll be fun."

"There's nothing fun about dragons! Scary? Yes! Fun? No!" Fluttershy whimpered as Rainbow Dash, a fellow pegasus, was dragging her by the tail toward the door. She lost her grip and the vanilla pudding-coloured pegasus made a bolt for it, but didn't get far before the cyan pegasus caught her and push her toward the doors.

Fluttershy was a pegasus pony. Her fur was a gentle-looking creamy yellow in color, like that of vanilla pudding, and her hair was a bright, baby-pink in color. Her mane was even longer than Twilight's, growing down her head and covering part of her face in long, curved locks, her long tail grown and styled in the same manner. Her eyes were an innocent teal-blue in color, and cutie mark was the picture of three pink butterflies.

Rainbow Dash was another pegasus pony, but as different to Fluttershy was day was to night. Her fur was a sharp, bright cyan-blue in color, and her mane was literally a rainbow: it was colored in six stripes of red, orange, yellow, green, blue and purple. Her mane was styled like a spiky, tomboyish mess of hair, the colors of red, orange, and yellow hung just above her eyes and the colors of green, blue, and purple running down her neck. Her long tail, also spiky and messy, looked like a singular rainbow growing from her rear, ending in sharp spikes. Her eyes were a sharp magenta in color, and her cutie mark was a symbol of a grey thundercloud with a rainbow-colored thunderbolt blazing from it.

"But Fluttershy, the great Dragon Migration happens only once in a generation." Twilight tried to reason. "Do you really want to pass up a chance like that?"

"Now that you put it that way, yes!" Fluttershy squeaked; now she was holding onto the sides of the doorway with all four of her legs, with Rainbow Dash trying to push her through with all her strength, but having little luck.

With a flash of her magic, Twilight teleported outside the house in front of the yellow pegasus. "Aw, Fluttershy, we just don't want you to miss out." She assured her friend sweetly.

"Miss out on what?" Fluttershy asked, still fighting the battle for safety against her fellow pegasus. "Dragons? Big, scaly, fire-breathing dragons?"

"Well... yeah!"

"Thanks, but... no thanks!"

Rainbow Dash, fed up with trying to push Fluttershy through the door, stopped and tried to 'reason' with her. "Look, Fluttershy, I watched that boring butterfly migration with you..." She said as she held up a picture depicting Fluttershy watching butterflies with binoculars while Rainbow Dash remained highly bored and irritated. "...So now it's your turn to watch the dragon migration with me! You owe me!"

"I. Said. NO!" Fluttershy screamed out and tackled Rainbow towards the ground roughly, even planting her back hooves on her torso harshly; Twilight gasped in surprise before Fluttershy began running towards the window in her home, releasing a high-pitched growl. When she reached it, she lifted up her hooves, looking as if she was actually going to burst open the window...but instead, she lowered herself and gently opened the windows, whimpering as she jumped out.

When Twilight ran toward the window in shock, she saw her running away. She then looked back to see Rainbow Dash lying on the ground in a daze.

"Okay, I guess I'll let you off the hook this time." The cyan-colored pegasus stated.

Twilight couldn't help but smirk as she looked down at her pegasus friend; this kind of craziness was something she was just recently introduced too...but now that she experienced the power and magic of true friendship, she had realized just how foolish she was trying to avoid it.

It happened during the Summer Sun Celebration, a holiday that celebrated Princess Celestia raising the sun to begin a new year. At the time Twilight Sparkle was Celestia's personal student, living in Canterlot; back then, Twilight didn't believe friendship held any use, the intelligent unicorn seeing it as merely a distraction from knowledge. This year would mark the thousandth's year of Celestia's reign, but through her studies, Twilight came across a disturbing prophecy that this year the stars would align with the moon to aid the escape of Nightmare Moon, a dark and evil mare - and Celestia's younger sister - who was banished to the moon a thousand years ago. Knowing this could mean eternal night and doom for Equestria, Twilight informed her teacher of this crisis...only to be told to that she needed to stop reading those old books and get out into the world.

Twilight was then sent to Ponyville with her assistant Spike to oversee the preparations for the Sun Summer Celebration...and to make some friends, much to her great disappointment. She had planned to get the overseeing preparations over with quickly and get back to the town's library that she was staying at to do more research of the Elements of Harmony, the magical relics that would stop Nightmare Moon. But, unfortunate for her studies, she was constantly delayed by the 'crazy ponies' of PonyVille that were so eager to be friendly toward someone new; these included the country-gal Applejack, the tom-boyish Rainbow Dash, the lady-like Rarity, the timid-sweet Fluttershy, and the hyper-active Pinkie Pie.

That night, when Celestia was suppose to raise the sun to celebrate the Summer Sun Celebration, the prochecy came true: the stars aligned perfectly with the moon and Nightmare Moon arrived in Ponyville. She quickly took the power and throne of Equestria, banishing Celestia to the sun and bringing forth Eternal Night, vanishing soon after. Twilight rushed to her library, and there she told Applejack, Fluttershy, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, and Rainbow Dash about the six Elements of Harmony, the first five hidden in the Ancient Palace of the Royal Pony Sisters, and the six a complete mystery. So the six mares journey deep into the heart of the dreaded Everfree Forest to find the Palace, encountering many dangers and challenges Nightmare Moon set up along the way, but each were conquered by each of the different ponies' positive nature and talents, the six arriving to the palace at last.

Once there, they found the first five elements, but before they could discover the sixth, Nightmare Moon arrived and swept the elements and Twilight to her personal throne in the palace. Twilight confronted Nightmare Moon in a mock-charge, teleporting herself with her magic to where the Elements lay and firing a 'spark' of magic at the five with the hopes that it would reveal the hidden sixth element as legends say. But it failed, and Nightmare Moon shattered the elements with her hooves, declaring that Twilight would never see Princess Celestia or her sun ever again.

The night...would last...forever!

But just as it seemed that evil had won, Twilight heard the others calling for her, telling her that they would be there. It was then, deep within Twilight's heart...that the true spark of magic was ignited: the magic of Friendship. She then revealed she had learned the truth to Nightmare Moon and the other mares: the elements of Harmony were not physical objects...they were incarnated in the spirits of herself and the five ponies with her!

Applejack, who reassured Twilight when she was in doubt, represents the spirit of Honesty.

Fluttershy, who tamed the ferocious Manticore with her compassion, represents the spirit of Kindness.

Pinkie Pie, who banished fear by giggling in the face of danger, represents the spirit of Laughter.

Rarity, who calmed a sorrowful sea serpent with a meaningful gift, represents the spirit of Generosity.

Rainbow Dash, who would not abandon her friends for her own personal desires, represents the spirit of Loyalty.

It was then Twilight felt the true spark...within her own heart the moment she heard the others calling for her. She realized just how wonderful it was to have them, how great it was to care for them, to be with them...when she realized they were her friends! And when that spark ignited within her, the final element was born: the most powerful of all Elements of Harmony, and the spirit she represented...the Element of Magic!

The six elements combined, the six friends joined together and defeated Nightmare Moon with the Elements of Harmony, destroying the evil monster and releasing Princess Celestia from her celestial prison...as well as purifying Princess Luna from her darkness. Celestia then revealed to a confused Twilight that she was aware of Nightmare Moon's return; she knew Twilight had the magic in her heart to defeat her, but couldn't release it without accepting true friendship into her heart...then it was time for another to do the same. Princess Luna, now freed from the darkness of jealousy and hatred, reunited with her older sister in a tearful reunion, and celebration filled the land.

Despite the rejoicing, Twilight was downcast; now the adventure was over, she was able to return to her studies in Canterlot...but now she had finally learned how wonderful it was to have friends, and didn't want to leave them. Celestia however, merely smiled and asked Spike to take a letter; she decreed that the unicorn Twilight Sparkle would take on a new mission for Equestria: She would continue to study the magic of friendship, and would write to Celestia her findings from her new home in Ponyville. Thrilled, Twilight thanked the princess greatly, and has been living happily in Ponyville with her friends ever since.

A full year has passed since then, and Twilight and her friends have gone through some crazy adventures together. Not much had changed since that day, other than Celestia decreeing, after a rather bizzare incident with Twilight not finding anything about friendship, that all of the Elemental Bearers would write to her when they discovered a lesson in friendship. They had quite a few crazy adventures of all kinds since that day Twilight came, from designed dresses for the Grand Galloping Gala to defeating an all powerful beast named Discord from destroying Equestria through pure chaos.

Little did Twilight know that her biggest adventure was about to begin, one that would change her and possibly all of Equestria for all time.

Dragon Watching Trench:

Right now she and her friends were currently hiding out in a rectangular trench that Pinkie Pie and Applejack, two more of Twilight's friends, had dung out while she and Rainbow Dash were busy with Fluttershy, all of the present ponies now dressed in army-styled camouflage and scanning the skies with binoculars.

"I don't see any dragons." Twilight commented in a hushed tone after observing the sky for a moment.

"Me neither." Applejack added, looking with her binoculars as well in the same tone.

"Me neither neither." Pinkie included, looking up with her binoculars as well...but in the opposite side. "Shoot!"

Applejack was an Earth Pony. Her fur was a sharp orange in color, and her mane was a sandy-blonde, growing in a messy style in the front, while growing back down her neck where it was tied off in a long ponytail at the end, her long tail styled and tied off in the same manner. Adorning her head resting a traditional brown, slightly-battered, stetson cowboy hat. Her eyes were a lime green in color, and her cutie mark was the picture of three red apples.

Pinkie Pie was an Earth Pony as well. Her fur, however, was a really bright pink in color, and her wild, curly, darker-pink mane could only be described as a combination of cotton candy and a coiffure's worst nightmare, her tail styled in the same manner. Her eyes were a very bright baby-blue in color and her cutie mark was a picture of three blue party balloons.

"You don't think we missed them, do you?" Rainbow Dash asked, causing Pinkie to look at her through the wrong side of the binoculars.

"No, I don't think so." Twilight stated, speaking in a soft whisper should the dragons arrive any moment now. "We're just a little early, and I'm glad we are. This way we can watch every moment of the migration without bringing any unwanted attention to ourselves!"

As if fate decided to mess with the unicorn's claim, the last of Twilight's friends arrived. "Yoo-hoo!" Rarity's voice announce from a distance in an overly exaggerated and dramatic tone. "Well?" She asked as she rolled over the end of the red carpet she was walking on, which then led to a bursting of confetti around the other girls. "What do you think? Am I the toast of the trench or what?"

Rarity was a unicorn as well. Her fur was pure white in color, like that of diamonds, and her rich, combed, and luster-styled mane and tail were a deep, rich purple in color. Her lady-like eyes were a deep sapphire blue in color, and her cutie mark was a picture of three blue jewels. She was currently dressed up in what supposed to be a camouflage dress, but it's bright purple style and golden laces didn't just cut the bill for 'blending in'.

"Ya'll be toast alright..." Applejack stated flatly in a hushed tone. "...when the dragons see ya parading around in that getup."

"You look very nice, Rarity." Twilight commented, trying to keep a straight face and a calm voice as she used her magic to form a bubble around the confetti and red carpet, causing them to disappear as Rarity joined them in the trench. "But could you maybe look nice down here in the trench with us?"

"Nice is an understatement. I look fabulous! Who says camouflage has to be drab?" Rarity said in a posh, sophisticated tone, apparently ignoring the looks her friends were sending her.

"Ahoy, maties! Dragons ho!" Pinkie Pie announced, causing them to look back and up towards the sky.

Dragons, thousands of them, filled the skies above as they flew past the ponies in the trench. They came in all sorts of sizes and different colors as well, being mostly red, blue, yellow, or green, though there also was the occasional grey, brown, and black. They all flew through the skies about two hundred feet above the girls' heads, all heading in one direction toward the mountains beyond Canterlot in one large straight line. It was an impressive, but at the same time, intimidating sight.

"Oooh... Ahhhh!" The girls all awed, using their binoculars to watch the mighty reptilians fly overhead.

One teenage dragon, a green one with golden, thorn-like horns and a long leaf-shaped tail, noticed the trench below; he then swooped down and performed a summersault in front of the trench before flying back up to the flock, as if showing off for the girls.

"Wow, amazing!" Twilight commented, she and her friends lowering their binoculars.

Rainbow Dash, however, wasn't very impressed and blew her tongue. "Pretty lame move. Is that all they've got?" She asked sulkishly.

One blue fish-like dragon bumped onto a fiery red-and-gold one, whether on accident or purpose; the red one did not like that one bit and fired out a huge wave of fire from his mouth, aiming for the dragon but hitting the trench instead. The girls all quickly ducked to avoid the flames...minus Rainbow Dash, who received the full force of the dragon's fiery breath.

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

Rainbow Dash, on the other hoof, contained an almost shocked expression on her face, which was a bit charred, along with her mane. "Uh, not so much. The word 'fierce' comes to mind." She admitted.

"And 'formidable'." Rarity added with some admiration in her tone.

"And 'super-duper scary'!" Pinkie included, lying on the ground in fear, but was immediately cheered up when Spike came along and brought a cupcake to her hooves.

Spike was Twilight's baby dragon assistant, whom she had hatched from an egg just before becoming Celestia's prized student; he was only half the height of a pony, and a soft lavender in color with no wings, a pale-green underbelly, and sharp-green stegosaurus-like plates on his head, back, and tail, the largest plates being the one's on his head. His over-all appearance was still chubby and babyish, despite being matured to a preteen mental age.

"Yeah. Us dragons are definitely a force to be reckoned with." He said with pride took out a cookie from the bowl of sweets he made and handed it over to Applejack. His sense of pride, however, was shattered when Rainbow Dash collapsed onto the ground on her back, laughing her head off at the sight of him.

"Yeah, right, Spike." She managed to squeak out. "That's one of the scariest aprons I've ever seen!" She said 'scariest' with obvious sarcasm before bursting into laughter again, with Applejack and Pinkie Pie joining her.

"What's wrong with wearing an apron?" Spike asked, looking at his pink apron with furry trims that presented a hot pink heart in the middle. "You won't be laughing when you spill blueberries all over your scales. Urh...Feathers. That's one tough stain!"

Rainbow Dash paused to breathe, a tear running down her face. "One tough stain against one lame dragon." She continued to laugh, much to Spike's annoyance.

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

"Or act like them." Twilight offered.

"My little Spikey Wikey is perfect the way he is." Rarity complimented, fondly flicking his top scale with her hoof.

This comment seemed to worry Spike. "I don't...act like other dragons?" He asked.

"Oh, not even close!" Pinkie answered cheerfully.

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

"Yes. You've got something those dreadfully fierce dragons can only dream of." Rarity stated.

"What's that?" Spike asked in a hopeful manner. The answer, however, was something he didn't have in mind:

"The cutest widdle chubby cheeks!" Rarity fawned in a babyish voice while pressing her hooves on his face and squishing them. "Ooooo!"

"Cute? Dragons aren't supposed to be cute!" Spike stammered while blushing very heavily. "R-Right?"

But that just made it worse for the poor baby dragon. "Oh, sweetie, you are turning the most delightful shade of red, it is most becoming." Rarity said with a hint of a fond giggle.

Spike then he notice every one of the girls staring at him in acceptance, but that just made it worse; dragons are supposed to be scary, tough, strong! Not cute and chubby! "Rrrgh!" He growled in frustration, jumping out from the trench and storming off.

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

"Waddle? Rrrrrggggh!" He released before leaving the area angrily.

"Wow..." Twilight muttered, watching her number one assistant storming off. "And I thought he loved getting attention..."

"I don't see what's to get so upset about." Rarity responded. "He's so adorable! What's the harm in that?"

Twilight, however, just frowned in thought, wondering what could be bothering her number one assistant.

Twilight's House/Ponyville Library, midnight:

The rest of the day was spent watching the dragons on their migration, and then Twilight and her friends ended it by going out for pizza. After enjoying a long, exciting day ending with a delicious meal with your friends will leave any creature, human, pony, dragon, or otherwise feeling very satisfied and eager for sleep...but tonight, Twilight wasn't going to find it.

Spike hadn't enjoyed the day so much as Twilight and her pony friends; what they had said about him not being a dragon had left him greatly disturbed. It was true though; when dragons eggs are found and hatched by ponies, which is not uncommon, they use a spell to erase the strong, primal instincts of a dragon and replace them with the gentle instincts of a pony. Spike didn't even know how to act like a dragon even if he wanted too.

"What am I?" He asked himself as he laid in his basket-bed next to Twilight's bed, staring at the ceiling in thought. "Where am I from? Who am I suppose to be?"

Twilight, who had been trying to drown out the dragon's questions with one of her pillows, groaned in aggravation. "I don't know!" She nearly shouted for what seemed like the hundredth's time. "For the last time, Spike, you were given to me as an egg." Her voice softened in pity as she spoke. "I don't know who found you or where they found you."

"Seriously? That's all you know?" Spike asked, turning away from her in disappointment.

"I'm sorry, Spike." Twilight said as honestly as she could.

"That doesn't tell me anything about who I am!" Spike stated as he sat up and climbed out of bed; he made his way to the bedroom mirror, looking as his reflection in sadness. "I need answers! I feel like I'm...I'm looking at a complete stranger."

He then broke down and curled up on the floor, stricken with grief. Twilight's heart tightened in her own sadness and pity; she knew that she didn't know what he was feeling, but she knew that she needed to help. "Oh, Spike..." She said softly, getting out of bed and coming up to him. "Why don't we do some late-night research? See what we can find out." She offered.

Spike looked up, a small glimmer of hope passing over his face. "Really? You'd do that?" He asked hopefully.

"Of course." Twilight said as she used her magic to turn on the light and levitate the first book of Mythical Creatures in front of her. "I'm sure we can find something." She then opened the book with her magic and begun to read.

Nine Hour's Later, Morning:

"Nothing..." A now exhausted Twilight muttered, her hair a mess as she sat amongst enormous piles of books, still going through them one by one with no success whatsoever. "...Nothing in this one either..."

"Nothing at all about dragons?!" Spike asked, throwing his own book to the side in frustration. "This is getting ridiculous!"

"I know." Twilight stated as continued going through the books. "It's hard to believe but ponies know next to nothing about dragons. Apparently they're too rare and too scary to try to talk too or study." She then closed the book and put it way; she turned to see Spike looking as if he was about to cry.

"I-I-I wonder if D-Dragons cry..." Spike sobbed, already bursting into tears.

"Aw, Spike..." Twilight began, using her magic to levitate a handkerchief to the baby dragon. But Spikes choked down his sorrow, wiping his tears away as he pushed the handkerchief away from himself.

"It's okay, Twilight." He announced with determination. "I'm gonna who I am if it's the last thing I do!"

Suddenly the front door opened with a loud crash, revealing Rarity and Rainbow Dash on the side, both ponies giving their greetings. Their sudden greetings startled Spike, causing him to jump in suprise and fall into the large pile of books near Twilight.

"Good Morning!" Rarity spoke in a lively tone.

"Ya wanna join us for breakfast?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"That sounds great. I'm famished." Twilight answered.

"Count me out. I've gotta get an early start!" Spike replied, jumping out from the pile of books.

The three mares looked confused. "An early start?" Rarity inquired, her eyes revealing that she was growing concerned.

Spike turned to face them, standing in front of the door. "Yes! I'm going on a quest of self-discovery! I need to learn what it means to be a dragon!" He announced proudly. "And the only way I'm gonna do that is to join the dragon migration!"

The girls were not expecting that. "What?" They all exclaimed in alarm.

"Spike, that's nonsense talk!" Rainbow Dash tried to talk some sense into Spike, who was gathering supplies from the fridge. "I know that you're a dragon, but those dragons mean business!" When she said that, he turned around with a serious face, but ironically he had a picnic blanket, a sandwich, and that same apron he wore yesterday in his claw. "They're big, and tough, and scary..."

"And I'm small, and meek... and I like to wear aprons." He finished, presenting the apron in front of her. "See?" He threw the apron away from him. "This is exactly why I need to spend time with them."

"All I'm saying is that you could get hurt!" Rainbow told him.

"Darling, this time I really do have to agree with Rainbow Dash." Rarity stated as brought herself into the conversation as well. "I don't want those big, ugly, nasty dragons to hurt one little scale on your cutsey-wutsey head!" She rubbed her hoof gently on his head. Nonetheless, this made him even more irritated and he slapped it away with the old-fashioned 'run-away stick-sack' he finished making.

"I'm sorry, but I've made up my mind." Spike stated, walking toward the door.

"Oh, uh, quick, do something!" Rarity directed desperately to Rainbow Dash. "Stop him before it's too late!"

Rainbow Dash quickly flew over to the sack he was carrying and grabbed it with her teeth pulling it away and preventing Spike to move any further. "Ngh! Hey! Give it back!" He shouted, engaging the cyan-colored pegasus in a tug of war.

Twilight watched the two tug of war for a while, when she decided Spike was right. With a flash of purple light, she teleported in between the struggling two. "Hold it!" She shouted, using her magic to teleport both of them at the same time. Spike reappeared at the mouth of the doorway, while Rainbow Dash reappeared back inside the library near the center desk, the dragon hatchling and pegasus exclaiming in pain as they landed on their backs. Twilight, looking uncertain but knowing it was the right thing to do, she used her magic to levitate Spike's sack and, after staring at it for a brief second, handed in back to him.

"Really?" Spike asked, surprised.

"Don't tell me you think he should go!" Rainbow exclaimed.

"Yes, Spike." Twilight spoke compassionately. "I couldn't answer your questions. My books couldn't either. I understand why you want to look elsewhere. I truly believe you need to go on this quest. And we have no right to stop you." She directed the last sentence towards Rarity and Rainbow Dash.

"I suppose not." Rarity finally agreed, rubbing her head with her hoof.

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

"We know." Twilight and Rarity stated flatly in unison. Rainbow groaned under her breath.

"Well then, I guess this is goodbye, Spike." Twilight said softly, hugging him before sending him off. "We can't wait to hear about it when you return."

"Yeah, we hope your trip-" Rainbow Dash began.

"Quest." Twilight corrected.

"-your quest answers some of your pesky 'who am I' questions."

"Thanks, everypony. I know it will." Spike stated before turning away and walking off, ready to find what he was looking for.

"Goodbye, Spikey Wikey!" Rarity waved as he continued walking.

"Go get 'em, big guy!" Rainbow Dash included, waving as well.

"We have faith in you!" Twilight finished, also waving.

There was a moment's silence, all of them still grinning and waving.

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

"Of course." Twilight answered in the same manner.