A Long Forgotten Hero
By
OmegaMajora99
“Hey Spike.” Twilight said, trying to get the attention of the young drake, who was ignoring her with the colorful pages of the latest issue of Batmane, as she sat at her work table, scribbling down her notes in the papers in front of her.
“Could you do me a favor?”
“Uh-huh...” he answered absentmindedly, still reading his comic book, which made Twilight quite annoyed. “Maybe later.”
The unicorn glared at her lazy assistant before getting up from her work desk, walking up to where he was reading and lightly hitting him with a rolled-up piece of parchment.
“Huh? What now?” he said, drawing his unwilling attention to Twilight.
She levitated the letter to Spike, who stared at it for a moment before grabbing it with both hands.
“I need you to deliver this message to Zecora in the Everfree Forest. It’s asking her for some amethyst. I need some in order to complete a special potion I’m brewing in my lab.”
“The Everfree Forest?” Spike asked inquiringly, looking at the letter. “But what if I get lost, or run into some trouble with timberwolves? Remember what happened last time?”
Twilight rolled her eyes knowing that he was obviously trying to make any excuse he could to try and weasel out of it.
“I doubt you’ll get lost. Just follow the trail that leads to her hut and you’ll be fine... And timberwolves, really? Spike, you’re fifteen. You’re almost as tall as me, and you're already able to control your fire breath better than I could imagine you could. Do you honestly think monsters will try to mess with a dragon like you?”
“Aw, come on, Twilight!” He whined, “I’m busy! Can’t you do it yourself?”
“‘Busy’?” She snorted, “Busy doing what? Lying around all day reading those stupid comics of yours? Do you even realize what comic books do to your brain? We have a vast collection of very interesting and informative literature and all you want to read are those idiotic piles of garbage? This is stupid, Spike! You hardly even bother lending a helping hoof anymore and instead you think you can do whatever you want and-!”
“Alright, alright!” yelled Spike, not wanting to hear any more of his friend’s ranting. “I’m going, jeez.”
With that, Spike grabbed his coat and travel pouch off the floor and stormed out of the library, slamming the door in annoyance. Twilight sighed in exasperation before plopping back down where she was sitting. She was truly getting tired of Spike’s pigheadedness.
Ever since he had hit puberty, he was growing more and more defiant. Helping her with chores became less and less often. Nowadays, Spike would go hang out with Button, Rumble, Snips, and Snails, usually not returning until very late in the evening. Despite Twilight’s worries, Celestia had assured her it was just a phase that her little brother was going through.
But to make matters worse, Spike would frequently leave his room a complete mess and expect Twilight to clean it up (he moved into the spare bedroom after he had gotten too big for his basket). All of this resulted in a big argument that occurred only two weeks ago. She had yelled at him to help her more like he used to and Spike told her that he was getting tired of being her slave. The fight ended with him telling her to “chill-out” and even going as far as threatening to run away again.
Twilight sighed once more and looked back at the library door where her dragon had just stormed out of. This was simply getting out of hoof for her. He just keeps getting worse and worse, she thought, Oh Spike, what am I going to do with you?
...
Spike put on his blue coat, making sure everything was in order, and casually walked down the cobblestone street that led through the market district and to the outskirts of town, to the entrance of the forest. It was cloudy that day, with the sun trying to peak through the thick clouds. The market was significantly crowded, even for a Saturday afternoon. Ponies were performing their everyday tasks, fillies and colts were playing tag, even the Wonderbolts were out, performing in the sky much to the delight of the citizens.
As Spike passed many of the produce stands, he heard a certain accented voice.
“Apples! Delicious and nutritious! Get ‘em while they’re fresh!”
The drake turned to his left to see his friend Applejack at her apple stand. She, and sometimes along with her sister Applebloom, would go into the marketplace from Sweet Apple Acres to sell their harvest from time to time. Spike shrugged, thinking that a little snack for the road wouldn’t hurt. He walked to the apple stand where he was greeted by the orange mare.
“Well howdy there, Spike! Whatcha up to?”
“Hey, AJ.” He greeted, and then apathetically added “I’m just delivering some stupid letter to Zecora for Twilight.”
“Hmm, ya don’t seem so optimistic about it.” Applejack said with a hint of concern in her voice.
“That obvious?” Spike replied, taking out his wallet from his pouch to pay.
“EE-yup” she said, mimicking her eccentric older brother. “It ain’t that far, and ah doubt any critter will try ta mess with a drago—“
“You sound just like Twilight” he interrupted, rolling his eyes. “Look, the short trip there isn’t what bothers me. It’s the fact that Twilight still treats me like her little assistant. It’s like she’s too lazy to do it herself! Oh, and how much? ” He pointed at a batch.
“One bit an apple. An’ Spike, ah now how ya feel, but maybe Twilight jus’ needs a little more help around the library. She’s been real busy. And besides, ya really haven’t been that useful lately. No offence.”
“None taken. Two, please.” He put his money on the table. The salespony handed him two Macintoshes, both of which he placed in his pouch.
“And oh yeah, she’s really busy.” He sarcastically remarked, “Busy studying all day and always relying on her ‘number one assistant’ to sweep the floors, dust the shelves, and make food. Heck, when I was younger, I was the one running the entire library more than half the time!”
Spike then put the back of his right hand on his forehead and said in mocking tone, “Oh Spike, will you please wipe my plot for me? I’d do it myself, but I’m reading boring stuff about magic!”
“Spike!” AJ exclaimed “That was mighty uncalled for.”
The drake laughed crudely at his own antics, earning a glare from the earth pony. He noticed this.
“Hey, I’m just kidding!” He said with his arms out, still slightly giggling and earning some glances from passing ponies. “But you’ve gotta admit that was a pretty good impression!”
Applejack sighed and looked at Spike with much concern. Twilight’s assistant usually wouldn’t mock her like that. “You’ve changed Spike, and it ain’t for tha better. Ah’m sure Twilight doesn’t mean to depend on ya all tha time. She just... takes her studies a bit seriously. ”
“You can say that again.” Spike scoffed, making sure he had everything in order. “I just wish she understood me better.”
Applejack placed a hoof on his shoulder. “She’s tryin’ too, Spike. She just worries about ya. Y’all have been fightin’ and bickerin’, and it’s just too much for her. “
“Well maybe she if let me have my own life instead of making me take care of the library all day, I wouldn’t be fighting with her.” he replied coldly, brushing off AJ’s hoof
“Ah know what yer goin’ through, I was a bit rebellious when ah was young. And Ah kinda agreed with ya that workin’ all the time gets dull sometimes! But mah point is that just because you want to be more independent and free, doesn’t mean ya still don’t have any responsibilities.”
“Yeah, whatever” Spike replied coldly. “I’ve gotta go. Thanks for the apples, AJ.”
And with that, the drake looked at the mare one more time before turning around and walking off down the road that led to the Everfree.
Applejack watched on dishearteningly as Spike disappeared into the crowd of ponies. She just couldn’t believe how stubborn and cynical Spike's gotten. She feared that if this kept up, he and Twilight would eventually end up hurting each other, physically and emotionally. But she also hoped they would someday learn to get along like they used to. AJ sighed as she resumed her weekly routine of selling apples.
...
It didn’t take long for Spike to reach the forest's entrance which, despite the fact that he had matured significantly over the past four and a half years of living in Ponyville, still gave him a strong sense fright deep inside of him. It was cursed woodland, filled with ghastly creatures that were prone to attack unsuspecting travelers. Fortunately they didn’t usually bother anyone, so long as you didn’t stumble upon their territory by accident. But even then, it was wise to be aware of the dangers that lurked throughout the woods.
Spike stood there staring at the entrance for about a minute before taking a deep breath and saying aloud, “Come on man, you can do this. Zecora’s hut is only half a mile away.”
The drake, building up as much courage as possible, finally walked into the forest, noting that the sounds of chirping birds were growing fainter and fainter, for not even birds would dare to nest in such a vile place. As he made his way down the dirt path, it seemed to get darker with each step he took. He looked up toward the sky and saw that the thick branches blocked most of the sunlight, making the road very dim.
Spike thought of grabbing a stick and lighting the end of it with his fire, but dismissed the idea, thinking that the light might attract some unwanted predators like a manticore or worse, a cockatrice. Spike gulped at the thought of such creatures. Twilight had told him of the beasts her and her friends encountered when they roamed too deep into the forest.
Strangely, even though he feared manticores, timberwolves, cockatrices, and any other animal that lived in the Everfree, he couldn’t help but be captivated by their nature. He was simply bedazzled by how fast manticores could ambush their prey, fascinated by how timberwolves were the spirits of dead beings that inhabited the pieces of dead wood that lay upon the forest floors, and astounded by how cockatrices used their vision to change their victims into stone.
Twilight had told him years ago the story of how she once fallen victim to a cockatrice on her way to Zecora’s place. In the dark, she had accidently wandered off the trail and accidently stumbled upon the chicken-like creature. According to her, she was trapped as a stone statue for hours before being discovered by Fluttershy who ‘convinced’ the cockatrice to free her from her stony prison.
Suddenly, Spike wished he hadn’t thought of Twilight. He was still a little peeved about the whole situation with her. He then felt a pang of guilt run through him, but quickly brushed it off.
No... No, it’s her fault! He thought stubbornly, If she would've tried to understand how I felt, maybe I wouldn’t have gotten on her case about it!
Then he remembered what Applejack said to him and began to consider what she said. Did Twilight really worry that much about him? She had shown him so much disregard when he wanted something that he figured that she really didn’t care. Were all those times she left him behind when her and her friends went on adventures really because she was trying to protect him? Was that the reason she didn’t like it when he would run off somewhere without her knowing? And if that was the case, why in all of Equestria did she want him to go into the Everfree forest alone, believing he could take care of himself?
Twilight’s logic made no sense at all to him. But with that said, there was still the problem not helping Twilight with her chores. Even though he hated to admit it to himself, Spike thought that maybe he was being a bit lazy with work.
Just because you want to be more independent and free, doesn’t mean ya don’t have any responsibilities. Applejack’s voice repeated in his mind. Spike felt ashamed as he remembered his first defiant acts toward his purple friend that led up to earlier that day when he slammed the door.
I guess I have been a little too harsh on Twi, he thought miserably before it dawned on him. Oh man, what have I done? I’ve been a total jerk to her and haven’t even realized it until now!
“Argh!” He yelled in frustration, hitting himself on the head for his stupidity. “I’m such an idiot!”
In his moment of aggravation it was when he finally noticed how dark it truly was. It was pitch black. ‘There was absolutely no way it could’ve gotten this dark already!’ In a state of panic, Spike ran further towards what he hoped was Zecora’s hut, but in the blackness he tripped over something, which caused him to tumble over.
“Oof!” he yelped in pain as he fell face first into the dirt. Coughing up a mouthful, Spike slowly lifted himself up off the ground and briefly turned to try and see what exactly made him trip.
“Probably nothing.” He muttered, already starting back on his way, but curiosity soon got the better of him and found himself backing to the mysterious object. He didn’t care if it seemed like a waste of time, he felt like he just had to find out what it was.
Seeing as there was too little light to look for it, the drake got down on all fours and crawled toward the thing, feeling around with his claws a bit before he came into contact with something round. He silently gasped as he felt around it with his fingers. It was some sort of metallic, rectangular object with two notches on narrow sides attached to a rounder length going down from it, like the pommel and grip of a weapon.
“Huh?” He asked aloud. “What the heck?”
It was sticking about five inches out of ground. Grasping it, Spike tried to tug at the thing but it wouldn’t budge. He tugged and pulled, yet it still wouldn’t move. Whatever it was, it was rooted deep in the soil. Spike began to think that it probably wasn’t even worth it and he should just give up, but something inside him was just begging for him to pull this object out. He started with grabbing the thing with both hands, pulling with both legs as he summoned all the strength he could muster, and heaved.
“C’mon, you stupid...” He grunted.
It took a good minute before the object was finally freed from the ground, uplifting many handfuls of dirt in the process.
“Ugh, gotcha!” Spike exclaimed in relief, proud with his success. Breathing heavily and squinting through the darkness, he examined the strange object. Running his fingers across the cold metallic surface, he found that it was some sort of handle, ending on large, strangely shaped guards.
“Ouch!” the drake shouted, drawing his hand away from it. He somehow managed to cut his index finger on the broken metal along the bottom. After sucking on his finger to ease the pain, he touched it again, more cautiously than before. It was smooth, like some sort of sharp edge, which was connected to the handle that extended about ten inches long before ending in broken, jagged points.
It suddenly hit him that this was no ordinary handle, but the hilt of a sword, or at least the remains of one. It seemed that a large portion of the blade was missing; either broken as a result of an epic battle long ago or from simple aging and rust.
But what's it doing here? Spike thought. Then, his jaw dropped and could only stare in complete and utter shock as the blade began to glow, illuminating the woods around him with a silver light...
