Lend me your wings

"H-How come? ‘You can't find him anywhere'?" I asked her.

Twilight took a good, long, look around us.

Dashie was the only one sober enough to worriedly look at her friend.

Rarity was grumbling about a prince being a royal jerk while half asleep.

Pinkie shot past the crowd, upstairs, towards the bathroom, her forehooves covering her mouth.

And Fluttershy had now her hooves looped around Big Mac and was brushing her cheek on his chest while softly humming a lullaby.

Big Mac was a bit troubled by that but he still wasn't doing anything to stop her.

And Applejack was looking at them while groaning and mumbling things under her breath.

Twilight groaned and sighed.

"Damn, you seems like you're the only one able to..." She glanced again at her friends, trying to find the right word.

"Move..."

"Tell me what's wrong!"

"You remember of the first breakfast we had together? Spike went out after that, and he made it to Rarity's boutique, but nopony had seen him since then. I was getting worried so I used a localizing spell, and it seems he's in trouble."

"In trouble?!" This was serious, on earth; a child lost, alone, in the middle of the night could mean terrible things. I didn’t really know what the crime was like in Equestria, but after the cockatrice? I wasn’t taking any chances.

I motioned to Twilight to continue explaining.

"I'll give you the details later! We really need to get going."

"Okay, just gimmy a sec." I stood up and laid Dash on the ground.

She looked up angrily at me. Well. Where I think she thought I was, about a foot to my left.

"Do you really... THINK dat you can leave like that?! Spike's my friend, so I'm going too!" She attempted to rise while wobbling and mumbling.

"You're not even able to stand up!" Twilight groaned.

I looked Dashie in the eyes, trying to convince her, and said

"Don't worry, I'm with Twilight this time, everything will be fine. And if Spike is in trouble, we can't wait for you to sober up."

“I’m fine! I can even flyyy!” She stood on four hooves and tried to take off, but only her left wing flapped.

She lost her balance and stumbled on her side.

She tried to stand up but her back legs started to tremble and gave way.

She landed on her flank then rolled onto her back, blushing madly while looking at us.

“It’s okay Dashie, I’m sure Spike isn’t in any real trouble.” I kneeled and patted the top of her head.

She huffed and crossed her arms, still on her back.

Rarity lifted her head and yelled.

"Spikey Wikey is in trouble?! I'M COMING TOO!" She stood up.

"Onwards!" She proclaimed, getting a few right steps before stumbling on something.

Twilight rolled her eyes and we shared a giggle.

I looked one last time at the four other mares.

"What should we do about them? Is it okay to leave them like that?"

Big Mac was now curled on the ground with Fluttershy cuddling on his right flank.

AppleJack was looking up at the ceiling, trying her best now to avoid looking over at her brother and Fluttershy.

Pinkie had just come back from upstairs, she looked a little sick still but she hadn’t changed shades of pink yet, so she seemed alright.

And Rarity was now loudly snoring on the ground.

Good thing they don't have anything harder than cider...

"Yeah, don't worry about them, they just need some sleep, water, real food, and they'll be fine."

Well, Okay then.

I turned to the door and stepped forward but Dashie grabbed my shirt and pulled me back.

I looked at her and she threw her hooves in the air pointed beside my shoulders.

"KISS!" What?

"Gimme a kiss! DAMMNIT!" She groaned and was making a funny face.

A few ponies were still looking at us but, well... A man's got to do what a man's got to do.

Or something.

I kneeled down and softly kissed her.

It tasted like cider, but wasn't less pleasant than any others.

She hugged me and pulled herself up to my right ear.

"Come back soon..." She was totally incomprehensible.

My brain had to take a couple of seconds to get what she said.

I nodded quietly, giving her a last kiss on the forehead.

She had a goofy smile and was blushing.

I stood up and motioned to Twilight I was ready, she nodded and we made our way outside.

It was already dusk and Celestia’s sun was about to hid itself below the horizon.

We walked for several minutes in silence.

"Well, can you tell me more about what happened to Spike?"

She nodded, still moving forward.

"Well, the spell I cast permitted me to see what Spike was seeing. Like if I was looking through his eyes." Really?!

If I could use that to Jennifer Love-Hewitt while she bathes or something.

Oh, god.

She raised an eyebrow at my reaction and I just shook my thoughts off, nodding her to keep her explanation.

"He seemed in some sort of underground building with gems and mechanical devices everywhere. There was also this huge oven but that was the last thing I saw before a Diamond dog entered the room. The spell is pretty hard to maintain, and the surprise of the diamond dog just killed it."

"Diamond dogs? What’s that?" Damn, I hate lying but how would I explain something like 'Oh don’t worry, I saw the episode where Rarity gets taken by them and all on my PC.'

"Well, they're large canines that walk on two legs and are obsessed with gems. We’ve had problems with them before. Rarity got kidnapped by some because of her gem-finding magic. But when we came to save her, she had already taken control of the situation." She giggled while thinking at that.

"I tried to study them a bit more, but I had no books explaining why they're so hungry for gems or where they come from. The only book I have that even mentions them is one in the Daring Do series, and all it said was that they're from a country in the extreme North-East of the continent."

I looked at Twilight, a little skeptical.

"But I'm not really sure if that kind of source is reliable."

"Do you think Spike is in danger or something?" Any information can be valuable.

"I can't say... They're not downright evil, but they’ll do almost anything for gems..."

"Anyway, I heard rumors about a Diamond dog living in a cave near the Froggy Bottom Bog. I didn't pay much attention to it at the time, but the path my magic took me on while casting is very close to such a place. I can only assume they’re the same."

"Okay..." Froggy Bottom Bog... Guh.

A cockatrice was okay, but if we run into an hydra... I don't think I'd be able to take something of that size without any rocket launcher.

We walked in silence for another five minutes before arriving in the bog.

And it stinks.

It's a bog after all...

We followed the bank of the bog until arriving at the side of a high cliff.

We could hear metallic clangs and some sort of whistling coming from inside the little mountain.

"What's this?"

She shook her head.

"I don't know, but we'll find it soon enough." She pointed a cavity entering inside the cliff with her hoof.

"I'm sure it's where Spike is." Twilight continued forward and I followed her.

Two small flames were weakly illuminating the end of the cave.

We can't see shit from here.

"I don't remember this cave was so deep... " We kept moving and stopped, arriving at the two lights.

The lights were actually two torches, surrounding an imposing metal door.

The clanking and whistling noises were clearly coming from inside.

She took a deep breath.

"Okay, you're ready? Here we go!" I nodded and readied myself, lifting my guard up, just behind my chin.

She approached the door.

Is she going to break down or something?

She lifter her hoof slowly, still looking at me.

My feet slowly shifted under the adrenaline slowly building up in my body.

And she knocked, three times.

I facepalmed, hard.

"T-Twilight?! What are you doing?!"

"W-What? I knocked of course!" I grunted.

"I can't believe it! You just killed our surprise effect!" She looked disoriented.

"What? We're not going to fight if we don't have to!"

"Isn't he a bad guy?! Guh! Never mind."

She giggled.

"You two really are alike." She smiled at me.

"What? Who?"

"You and Dash of course. She would've used the exact same plan as you, and I would've had the exact same discussion with her. Beating first, talking last..." She rolled her eyes.

"I... Eh... Thank you?"

Another loud clanking sound made us jolt.

"They can't hear us with all that noise." She knocked again, harder this time.

Still nothing.

She groaned and used her magic to slam on the door with a rock she found nearby.

All the noises stopped and, after several seconds, the door opened.

There, behind the door was... Spike wearing an apron.

Wat.

Twilight gasped and jumped at the tiny dragon to hug him.

"Ow! Twilight! What are you doing here?!" Spike was taken aback by the hug, but returned the embrace all the same.

"Spike! Do you have any idea how worried I’ve been?! I thought you were in trouble! Or worse!"

Twilight was yelling at him, but it was obvious how glad she was to find him.

"Didn’t you read my letter Twi?” He seemed disoriented.

"Your letter?!"

"I asked that Mailmare... What was her name again... Derpy! To give you a letter. You never got it?!" Twilight shook her head and he faceclawed.

"Damn... Anyw-" A shout interrupted him.

"Spike?" A silhouette came out from a corner of the room.

It was a diamond dog.

Twilight quickly shifted position with Spike, hiding him behind her.

I followed, entering the room and the door closed.

What? Is that shit hydraulic?!

The dog raised an eyebrow.

He wasn't like the ones in the show.

He was a bit taller and strangely seemed a bit more... Intelligent.

He was wearing an apron too and he had goggles wrapping his forehead.

Twilight looked right at him.

"Leave Spike alone!" Her stance and her glowing horn meant business.

Spike gasped and came between them.

"Don't worry Twilight! He's a friend!"

"He just needed some help, and I offered."

Twilight looked at him while shaking her head.

"What?! Don't you know what they did to Rarity?! He can't be your 'friend'! He just wants you to find gems or enslave you!"

"Twilight! Trust me! Please!" His face was sincere and obstinate.

She wasn't really convinced but returned to a more casual stance, still glaring at the dog.

He crossed his arms, a bit annoyed by the situation.

"Okay... But you need to explain to me everything."

"What happened after you left Rarity's place?"

"Well, Rarity's birthday is next week, and I don't have anything to give her. Then, I thought a gem would be good. So I came out to the gem mines." He stood over by the dog.

"And there, I met Simon! He works here! The second he saw me, he rushed to greet me, he doesn’t see many ponies in the mine, so when I told him about Rarity's birthday, he was happy to help." Spike pointed to a collar on the shelf to his right.

It wasn't just a regular collar; it was made of multicolored gems inlaid in gold and silver, it was a beautiful piece, no doubt Rarity would be showering kisses all over Spike after something like this.

"And he said he would give me that, if I helped him in return! Look at that Twilight!" He took the collar and displayed it while moving around the room.

Each face of the gems seemed to change colors every time a new light came reflects on it.

"It's Ottapawan Alexandrite! It's unobtainable in Equestria! That collar comes from Simon's homeland."

Twilight was smiling at that, and she knew Spike had good intentions, but...

"Yes, it's beautiful, but what is this ‘HELP’ he asked in return?" She was glaring daggers at the dog again.

He grinned and started talking.

"You don't know anything about my people 'pony'. Would you kindly stop looking at me with such a condescending gaze?"

Twilight groaned and looked at Spike, he nodded and she obeyed half-smiling at him.

"Good. Diamond dogs don't hunt for gems to become rich. They hunt gems because they need them." Twilight's eyebrow slowly rised, genuinely interested by that.

So was I. I always wanted to know more about other cultures from Equestria.

And even if diamond dogs aren't... Well, griffons, they're still cool.

I guess.

"Gems aren't simple rocks. They have magic in them, and Diamond dogs use them to do magic things with them."

Twilight looked at him.

"What?! I've never heard of that!"

Spike nudged her and looked at her angrily.

"We do not have magic, like ponies do. So we have to use the magic in the gems to create magic things. And we have hands, unlike ponies, so we're more capable of building things with the gems." He was walking around the room. It seems like he was interested in me, and more importantly, my hands.

"And dragons are magical creatures. Everything in them is magic. Their scales, their claws even their fire is magic. So I had to ask him some help with an important order, coming from a pony living nearby."

"The Daring Do I read that mentioned Diamond dogs was right after all, it talked of your people as being technologically advanced." She started to look around, her eyes stopping on each instruments and tools scattering the room.

"Yes. Daring do. We know of her, but books are books. They're not always true about everything."

He lifted something from a shelf nearby.

It was some sort of backpack.

A metallic back pack.

He pressed a button and what appeared to be wings extended from each side.

"It's my latest prototype, it's made to allow non-flying being to take to the sky, using gems charged with dragons fire. It's only a prototype, but it will work soon."

I was... flabbergasted.

If there was a word for that, it would be... Steampunk.

"Gosh! That sounds awesome!" I spoke without thinking.

I mean, it's like a fucking jet pack, right?!

Who never wanted to fly with one?!

He grinned and approached me.

"What are you? You have hands like us and a horn like ponies..."

Oh fuck, I had almost forgotten about the damn thing.

"Are you from the Eden?"

What?

"I-I'm a human, I'm not from this world. It's a long story, but that horn appeared on my head this morning and we're trying to take it off... It's a long story." The way he was looking at me wasn't really... Pleasant.

He blinked, seeming surprised by my answer.

"Why? You have hands and a horn, why would you want to remove it? Can’t you use it?"

"Use it?" What the hay.

"Use magic! Can you use magic?!" He was glaring intensely at me.

"No! I-I can't do something like that."

Twilight approached and started thinking.

"Well... It's true that you don't have a cutie mark, but your soul is altered, and you have that horn to help you control it... It wouldn’t hurt to at least try using it." She was looking at me.

"Am I some sort of experiment to you?" She giggled.

"Well... Are you sure it's not a bad idea or something?" She was still looking at me with her sparkling eyes.

"O-Okay... But I really don't have a clue on where to begin..." She took a hammer on the table and dropped it in front of my feet.

"It's okay, we'll just let you try to levitate something. It's really simple, but you need a total concentration. Just try to relax and not think about anything." I was following her orders but the ‘not think about anything’ bit was pretty hard from my position.

"Then, concentrate on the hammer, and think about lifting it using your hands." Okay....

"Don't just think about it. You have to feel your hands wrapping it and lifting it." What the fuck are you saying...

I heard sounds of sparks coming from above and opened my eyes.

"THE FUCK!" There were sparks coming from the top of my horn.

As soon as I yelled, I felt something smack onto my foot.

"GAH!" I looked down and the hammer lay beside my right foot.

"What happened?!" Twilight was looking at me, surprised but grinning as can be.

"It worked! You can use magic!" She was smiling wildly at me.

"I can't believe it! I have to write to the princess about that!"

The dog seemed as impressed as her.

I feel a headache incoming...

I'm a human, I'm in Equestria, I have a fucking horn AND I can use magic.

Let's roll baby! What's next?!

Oh! The hydra of course!

COME GET SOME!

Knocks coming from the door resonated in the room.

The dog waved at Spike to check at the door and Spike nodded.

Spike opened the door and blinked.

"Oh! It's you Craft!" As soon as I heard that name, my blood went cold. Everything seemed to hit ultra-slow motion. I turned around to face the door.

There he was, Dash’s father, staring directly at me.

I loudly gulped.

Really funny.

I want my hydra.

Author's note: Sorry, I'm late :D

Things are getting interesting ?

I think I'll use that 'adventure' tag even more than I thought.

NEXT EPISODE: THE GREAT FIGHT BETWEEN CRAFT AND MAX!

Or not. I'll see about that :D

Anyway, Thanks again to FlyLikeAPegasi for editing it!

He's godlike ;D

/kiss all.

And thanks again to hlissner for his AWESOME map!

http://hlissner.deviantart.com/art/Equestria-and-beyond-rev-8-1-253465186

Reworked on 08/11

Author's note²: Hum...

There it is?

And no, Max isn't going to fight an hydra.

Or maybe later... That could be fun.

Bloody, but fun.

And about Steampunks diamond dog, I just thought, why would they want gems? I mean, they don't eat them.

They wouldn't sell them either, right? So, why not? Steampunk have so much potential when it comes to writing.

And I was playing skyrim and minecraft when I wrote it, so I guess it helped.