Tale of the Nether Drake

-Chapter 3-

Diamonds

(~An hour before sunset, Ponyville Library.)

        “Well, that was a pleasant surprise,” Twilight remarked with a smile as Spike and her entered into the library.  “I'm glad we were able to throw those two a good party before they left on their adventure. Did you have fun, Spike?”

        “Sort of...” Spike said as he walked towards the kitchen.        He didn't get much to eat at the party. It's not that he wasn't hungry, but he felt too awkward to do much while he was there. He just couldn't put a claw on it, but he kept getting a strange feeling about the two, especially Tazer. He kept staring at him for the majority of the party, and Spike couldn't help but feel that there was something they knew about him. What it was, he had no idea, nor did it make any sense that they would know anything after only just meeting them. There was something more, and Spike kept his head low in deep thought as he tried to imagine what.        “Are you still feeling uneasy about that other dragon?” Twilight cocked an eyebrow as she stopped and looked at Spike, snapping him out of his moderate trance.        “Wha-uh, well, kind of, yeah....” Spike stopped and crossed his arms. “The griffon one is okay, I think, but that Tazer guy... I dunno. I'm telling ya, he just keeps giving me these looks, like he knows something...”        “Knows what?” Twilight walked over to her desk and opened one of her books but didn't begin reading, keeping her attention and her eyes on Spike. “What exactly do you mean? Like they know something you're hiding or...?”        “No, it's not like that,” Spike sighed, a bit aggravated.        “I think I know what it is...”        “You do?” Spike perked up.        “Yes... think about it, "Twilight cantered towards him slowly as she began to elaborate. “He said he's been gone from his home, wherever it is, for a long time. He's been out training with this other griffon and some other “master” of theirs, and explored probably all over Equestria. Odds are, he probably hasn't seen many other dragons; especially baby ones. He might just be having a bit of a realization shock or something, which is quite understandable.”        “But why would he keep staring at me like he does?” Spike huffed. “It creeps me out.”        “Well, I've seen you stare at plenty of things that either intrigued or surprised you, so why would his case be any different?”        Spike thought for a few moments, mulling over Twilight's claims. After recalling multiple past instances, Spike realized she was right.        “Yeah, I guess you're right,” Spike sighed as he slumped slightly. “I guess I might just be overreacting a bit or something.”        The door knocked just then, drawing gazes from both Twilight and Spike. Twilight went to answer it, but Pinkie Pie burst in before she could do so.        “Hey Twilight, come quick!” Pinkie exclaimed as she hopped around the room.  “We need you at Sugarcube Corner!”        “What for, Pinkie? What's with the sudden excitement?”        “You know the two from earlier? They came back after they talked to their master and he said that they could use some help on the next part of their quest and stuff so they decided to come ask us so they came back to the party and it was only me and Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy there so we all agreed it would be fun and Rainbow Dash went to go get Applejack and Fluttershy to get Rarity and me to get you so we can all get together and go on a super new adventure which sounds totally fun!” Pinkie Pie seemed to have lungs that could store more air than physically possible.        “Uhh... so, what you're saying is Shuske and Tazer want us to join them on their quest?”        “That's right!” Pinkie Pie cheered as her hopping finally ceased. “Oh, and they said Spike should come too!”        “Me?” Spike asked as he turned around. “Why do they want me to come?”        “I dunno, I think the griffon one thinks you're cool.”        “What about the dragon one?” Spike asked.        “I bet he thinks you're cool, too!”        “Right...” a strange feeling began to overcome Spike as a cold shiver ran up his spine. He suddenly felt the desire to just... go away. He got a bad vibe from the two from the start, and now all of a sudden they want him to join them on some quest? Things were getting a little too spontaneous, and Spike couldn't help but feel something was up.        “So c'mon! they're all waiting for us at Sugarcube Corner!” Pinkie kept smiling brightly with her excitement as high as ever. Twilight, on the other hand, was understandably skeptical.        “Wait a second,” Twilight interjected. “Why would they just meet us today, and then ask us to join them on some sort of adventure? I don't really see the reasoning in it unless they were intentionally looking for someponies to have accompany them.”        “I dunno, but they brought a really big book that they said has to do with their quest, and they specifically mentioned that they would want you to read and analyze it. It looks old and rare and probably has to do with some ancient artifacts or maps or something!”        “An ancient book you say!?” And Twilight's cautious demeanor went out the window. “Wow, that does sound like it would be interesting! Hold on, let me get my saddlebags.” Twilight rushed over to her desk and began methodically opening drawers and lifting out various small objects with her telekinesis, every now and then filing an item into the colorful canvas bags.        “Alright,” Twilight said after a few moments, and a lavender-colored aura appeared around the saddlebags, which floated over to rest comfortably on Twilight’s back.  “I’m ready to go!  How about you, Spike?        “Um... do I have to?” Spike asked hesitantly.        “Oh don't worry, Spike!” Pinkie Pie cheered as she appeared beside the baby dragon and put a hoof around his neck. “It'll be fun; just the six of us!” Pinkie then remembered that Spike added onto her friends and made seven. “Oh, I mean seven!” Then she also remembered the two in focus in the first place. “Um, I mean nine, yeah nine.” Then she added the possibility of their master joining as well. “Uh... ten?” She smiled sheepishly.        “C'mon, Spike, this could be fun!” Twilight assured him as she motioned towards the door. “And who knows, maybe Tazer could turn out to be a new best friend for you.”        “Oh, fine...” Spike sighed in resignation. “I guess I'll go along, but who's gonna watch the library while we're away?”        “Oh that's no problem. I'll just leave a note for Owlowiscious telling him the situation. He's been looking for some sort of bigger tasks to take on recently anyways, so this one should be just the thing!”        “Then it's settled!” Pinkie bounced as she grabbed Spike and then zipped over and grabbed onto Twilight as well, holding them both in her front hooves as she stood up straight. “Off to Sugarcube Corner we go!”        In a multi-color blur, the three were sped out the door and down the street towards the pastry shop. They sped through the streets of Ponyville, barely dodging multiple food stands and an uncountable number of bystanders who gave little more than a passing glance and a small smile at just another one of the hyperactive pony’s antics, and in under a minute all three burst out through the door and skidded to a halt in the main room of the shop. In the room were Shuske and Tazer, with Shuske holding the book in question in his left arm while Tazer simply stood behind them. Rainbow Dash and Applejack came in soon after, followed by Rarity and Fluttershy. They all gathered around Shuske and Tazer, awaiting further elaboration over the quest and the mysterious book.        “So, is this the tome in question?” Twilight asked as she walked up to Shuske, eying the book with great interest.        “Yup! This is it,” he replied as he held out the book and set it out in front of them.        Pinkie Pie wasn't lying when she said the book was big, it was about as wide as an average pony was long and thicker than a mattress. Shuske struggled slightly when he carried it out; the book must have weighed at least forty pounds. The group looked at the book in astonishment, with Twilight already getting up to examine it. Again, just as Pinkie said, the book was very old with its hard cover torn and crumpled almost all over. When she used her magic to open the book, she felt something peculiar about it.        “Well this is interesting...” Twilight said as her magic lifted up the hard cover to the first page.        “What is it Twi'?” Applejack asked as her and the others continued to watch.        “This is a big book, but it's not exactly big content wise...” Twilight proceeded to flip one of the light tan pages, revealing it to be almost a whole tenth the thickness of the book. “These pages are really thick... and this isn't normal paper.” She felt a hoof across one of the pages for a few moments, examining it carefully. “This is a type of paper called Coalparch, it's a type of parchment most often used by dragons. And the ink is a mixture of water and volcanic sediments, which is also a popular type of ink for dragons.”        “So then, I think it's safe to assume that a dragon made this book, right?” Rainbow Dash asked as she hovered overhead.        “That’s a pretty safe guess,” Twilight replied as she inspected the pages a bit further before turning back to the book's cover, displaying a puzzled look as she looked at it more closely. “It doesn't have any words or a title, only this strange symbol...”        The symbol on the front consisted of multiple lines, both swirly and straight, and some circles and dots. In the center was a triangle with the tip pointed up, with two dots on either side running parallel with the triangle. On the tip ran two squiggly lines that reached out upwards in a diagonal direction, with both of them swirling at the ends. Below the triangle was a zigzag that ran parallel to the triangle's base, and in the very center of the main triangle was another, smaller triangle that fit upside down and had all 3 of its corners in contact with the center of the larger triangle's edges.        “...I don't think I've ever seen this anywhere before,” Twilight finally announced after taking a minute to carefully look over it. “Where did you two get this book? And what exactly is it anyways?”        “Our master gave it to us,” Shuske replied. “He told us he got it from an old library back in the Griffon Kingdom that doesn't exist anymore.”        “As for the book itself,” Tazer began to add in. “It's a journal that gives semi-detailed notes and descriptions about the diamonds.”        “Diamonds?” Rarity perked up at the mention.        “Not just any ordinary diamonds,” Shuske said as he opened the book himself to the third page, showing a colored illustration of six geometrically similar diamonds. “These are the mystical Diamonds of Balance.”        The group “ooh'd” and “aah'd” as they looked upon one of the book's pages, which had a remarkable illustration of six diamonds of different colors, each bearing a different symbol on their tops. While they could see some of the notes and wording on the page was either hasty or sloppy, whatever filled these pages seemed to take a lot of time to portray these diamonds, as if they were some sort of great importance.        “Diamonds of Balance?” The group asked in unison.        “That's right...” Tazer said, pointing at each and every one. “From what we've gathered from the book, these six diamonds control the flow of balance through our world, keeping it intact. Along with that, they each bear a special element force...”        Tazer pointed his claw to the red diamond on the page.        “This is the diamond of heat. Don't confuse this with a fire diamond, cuz it says right here in the notes that it isn't fire.” Indeed, a line was drawn towards the diamond with a small cluster of wording on the other end saying radiates heat, not a source of pure fire energy.Tazer then pointed his claw to the blue diamond.        “This is the diamond of Cold. Again, not ice or water, just lower temperatures. Also, this one is an exact opposite of the heat diamond, so we think those two interact with each other to balance the flows of heat energy throughout the world.”        Next, Tazer pointed to the purple diamond.        “This is the diamond of death here.”        Then, on to a green diamond.        “This one, if you guessed it, is the diamond of life. We hypothesize these two to control the flow of life and death through the world. Again, you can see the pattern here.”        Tazer moved his claw to a brilliant white diamond.        “This here's the diamond of light. So, that would make this black one over here, the diamond of darkness,” Tazer explained as his claw moved over to the last diamond with a dark aura.        “So all these diamonds work together, but contrast each other at the same time?” Twilight thought aloud as she looked over the diamonds again. “It would make sense that they would counteract each other, hence their name and everything. But... what exactly are they? And why or how do they exist?”        “We're not sure, really,” Shuske sighed as he looked over some of the notes. “We thought the book might have those answers, but for some reason whoever wrote it decided to put everything down in different languages. All we know comes from the stuff they put down in Equestrian.”        “Let me take a look,” Twilight said as she approached the book, flipping over a few pages with her magic.        Just as Shuske claimed, there were plenty of notes in Equestrian, but there were also some passages written with symbols and words she just didn't know. There were plenty of diagrams and illustrates that had been tagged with notes, but they couldn't tell what they were due to the different languages.        There was a cave with molten rock coming out of the walls and streaming around to form a large river of lava. Another showed the inside of a cave, ice covering the walls with multiple cavern openings spread out in all directions. It showed an underground dungeon shrouded in darkness, as well as a similar one doused in light. A desert with a large collection of rocks around an area, and a thick forest with an abnormally large tree. There were so many things written down about each of these areas, but none of them were in Equestrian. Twilight scratched her head in frustration as she tried to think of what they could be.        “Well, you're right about that... but I think I can help you.”        “You can?” Shuske asked.        “Yes. Though I can't read these languages, I do know where a few of them come from. There's some old Dragontine in here, as well as a bit of Griffonish. Looks like the same hoof writing, so whoever took these notes must have been quite a linguist.”        “Yeah, we sorta figured that ourselves,” Tazer said.        “Well, I don't have any books that can translate this sort of stuff; these languages are very old... however, I'm sure their places of origin should have at least a few living speakers. Maybe if we traveled around a bit we could find them.”        “Wait a second...” Shuske stepped forward, bringing a map out from a small backpack he had concealed under his left wing.. “Look at this... this is a map we were given to us by our master recently, and we believe that it shows the locations of each diamond.”        The map in question wasn't large or well illustrated, but it named a lot of places. It showed many cities ranging from Canterlot to Trottingham, and even Stalliongrad in the Equestrian Kingdom. But as soon as the land spread to a different territory, an old language from that area was used to label everything. Unfortunately, due to its lack of detail they couldn't make out the identity of each tagged area just by looking at it.        “The only problem is that we can't tell where all these places are, and there's no compass directions shown here. We're not even sure if everything's the right distance or direction from other places! It's kind of frustrating... we would need to find a translator for each language to find out more, it seems.”        “Hmm...” Twilight examined the map and its notes closely, and quickly came up with a hypothesis. “I can see here and here that these two languages are Griffonish and Dragontine just by looking at them. So that means that those should be the Griffon Kingdoms and the Dragon Domain, if I'm right. Also, look here,” Twilight pointed to a symbol in the area surrounded by Dragontine. “See this symbol? It's the same as the one for the heat diamond, here,” Twilight flipped back to the page with the diamonds, pointing directly to the diamond of heat.        At the top was the same symbol, a collection of four lines pointing up and outwards with a zigzag running horizontally directly below the four lines.        “It looks like the map shows where each of the diamonds are by these symbols on them, meaning that we should be able to pinpoint where each diamond is once we learn the names of all these different areas.”        “Neat,” Shuske smiled. “Sounds like we finally got a lead!”        “Hold up a second,” Rainbow Dash spoke up, putting herself between Twilight and the duo. “So why are you looking for these 'all powerful' diamonds anyways? Wouldn't it be best if we left them alone?”        “I agree,” Fluttershy added. “I mean, if they fall into the wrong hands, somepony could get hurt...”        “That's why our master told us to find them,” Tazer said in a slightly annoyed tone. “If this book exists, then there may be more notes of these diamonds out there, savvy? And what if some treasure hunter goes out and finds them, and then misuses them? I'm pretty sure some freakin re-re is gonna do some stupid crap with 'em, and before you know it all Tartarus’ broken loose. So our goal is to find these diamonds, hide them again, and leave no trace. Simple.”        “So that's it?” Applejack cocked an eyebrow. “We're just gonna go on a wild goose hunt to find some gems so we can hide 'em again? That sounds kinda silly...”        “Well...” Shuske scratched the back of his head. “I'll admit, yeah, it kinda is, but it's important that we do this. Master said it's the final training quest until we're done, and we could really use some help. Besides, if you came along, we could travel all over, throughout and beyond Equestria!”        “Ooh! Ooh! Road trip!” Pinkie began bouncing eagerly. “That sounds like fun! Can we go girls? Can we can we can we!?”        “Now hold on ya'll,” Applejack said in a stern tone. “We gotta think about this. I mean, Tazer, Shuske, ya both seem like good fellas, but it ain't exactly normal fer some strangers to suddenly roll on in'ta town askin others to go on some big quest with'em. Ya know what I'm sayin?”        “Yeah, we should really think about this, guys!” Spike spoke up, wanting his piece into the conversation.        “I know it sounds weird...” Tazer started, actually sounding sincere. “But this is a big deal. If we've discovered notes like this, then what else might have been unearthed already?  Someone... or something, else may be on its way right now to find those diamonds.  With the kind of power these things have, we simply can’t take the chance that they could fall into the wrong claws.  We gotta go out and find ‘em before it’s too late.”        There was a silence in the group just then. The six friends and Spike looked at one another, each exchanging glances of confusion and unrest. Spike looked at Twilight and the rest of her friends, and he knew that, even though he didn't want for them to be, they were actually considering this request. It wasn't until after a long minute that the silence was broken.        “I think we should help them on their quest,” Rarity chimed in.  “After all, it would only be a generous thing to help two kind strangers in such a noble task.”  For once, Spike stared into her expression with something very different than normal.        “Yeah, I think we should too,” Rainbow Dash agreed, pumping her hoof out once with a confident smirk on her face. “After all, you two did really help us out with the crusaders and their kart racing thing, so I guess we kinda owe ya there.”        “Well...” Applejack sighed. “I guess it would be pretty neighborly of us, huh? And it was a good thing they helped with the little'uns.”        “Road trip! Road trip! Road trip!” Pinkie chanted happily with synchronized bounces.        “I guess we could help,” Fluttershy added softly. “But only if it means ensuring others’ safety.”        “I guess it would be a really good educational experience...” Twilight mused. “Alright, if my friends are all up for it, then I'll come, too.”        “Alright then, it's settled!” Shuske smiled as he looked around through the group. “How about we all head out tomorrow morning?”        “Sounds like a good idea,” Twilight nodded. “We should all get anything we need packed and replacements put up for any of our work for about a week's length. Does everypony think they can manage that?”        “Not a problem dear,” Rarity said proudly. “My latest orders were all completed just last night, so I had actually planned on a few days of off-time around this week anyhow.”        “T'ain't many apple trees left to buck, so I'm sure Big Mac can take care'o the rest.”        “I take my own breaks from my weather job all the time, so I don't think it's much of a biggy if I go away for a little bit, so long as everypony knows I'm saving the world and stuff. Ya know, the usual.”        “I hope Angel can take care of himself while I'm away... but, I think everything should be alright... I hope.”        “Mr. and Mrs. Cake haven't had much business lately, so I think it would be okie dokie lokie for me to go on an adventure for a while! Count me in, wooh!”        “And I'll guard the library!”        There was an awkward pause as everyone seemed to stop and look directly at Spike just then, as if he was out of cue or something. Spike, quickly picking up on this, looked around at all the staring eyes.        “What?”        “Don't you wanna come with us, Spike?” Pinkie asked in a slightly saddened tone.        “Well hey, someone's gotta guard the Library, right?”        “Don't worry Spike, Owlowiscious can take care of the library for while. I'm sure things will be fine, he is very dependable after all.”        “Yeah but, I mean-”        “You don't gotta come if you don't feel like it,” Tazer interrupted as he shot Spike a mischievous look. “So you don’t wanna come, that's fine, we'll just pack up and roll on I guess. After all, I'm sure some ponies only want the more strong-willed and overall dedicated individuals to join them on this long adventure...” Spike looked at Tazer as he shifted his eyes towards Rarity. Spike was quick to pick on to Tazer's implications, while everyone else in the room seemed out of the loop on what was going on exactly.        “H-hey! I'm strong willed, I'm dedicated!” He claimed as he looked at Rarity, then back at Tazer. “I... I'll come!”Gotcha.        “Are you sure, Spike?” Twilight asked. “Just a second ago you seemed pretty intent on staying.”Twilight was right. Spike felt little desire to go on this 'quest' with the duo before him; however, he figured from Tazer's looks that he might be going for Rarity. This would not fly with him. Rarity was his, and he had to do what he could to keep him away from her. There would be no way Spike would let Tazer get his claws on her.        “I changed my mind, really.” He said, still hesitant in his voice but knowing very well his priorities. “I mean, it should be a lot of fun... right?”        “Yeah, fun!” Shuske exclaimed. “A lot of fun, like a, a, hmm...”        “Like a party!” Pinkie finished for him.        “Yeah, like a party!” Shuske cheered.        “Alright, so it's settled then, I guess,” Twilight finally concluded. “We'll all meet up at the library in the morning after we get all of our things taken care of. I'll get the balloon filled up with Spike's help, and by the time you all arrive we should be just about ready to go. Everypony got it?”        “Got it!” The group replied in unison.        “I'll take this with us for the night I guess,” Shuske said as he grabbed the book, but Twilight intervened with her hoof on the pages before he could close it.        “Hold on,” Twilight said, a hint of desperation behind her mask of professional librarian. “If it's okay, I would like to use my time today to study this book some more, along with the map. Maybe there's some more things that I can discover about it. Do you mind?”        “I don't think--”        “Sure!” Shuske agreed, interrupting Tazer. “Maybe there will be some really helpful information on there that you can find out for us.”        Twilight’s bright smile could have made the sun jealous.  “Thanks, and don't worry, I'm sure I can find out some more secrets hidden in this book!”        Shortly after the decision was made, the seven friends and the two new ones parted ways, leaving Sugarcube Corner to prepare for the following morning. All of them were not only ready, but eager to start on this new quest. Their minds were filled with the possibilities ahead of them, and they all slept well that night with dreams of great expectations. All except for Spike, who still could not agree with what was coming the following morning. He thought about further voicing his objections, but Twilight seemed incredibly dedicated to the cause already. Sure of his inevitable defeat, Spike ultimately decided to try to get some rest of his own, to prepare himself as much as he could for tomorrow and the days to come.        A quest was about to start, a new journey opening for them all. But what no one realized was that the fate of not only their world, but also a world unknown to them was about to hang in jeopardy. And only one could save the two worlds, but will this individual realize who they are before it’s too late?