Age of the Alicorn

Chapter 1: A Shy Heart Flutters – Part 1

The sun shone down brightly upon a sandy beach of a distant land.

Moaning with a delicate voice, the pink and yellow Pegasus Fluttershy stirred and then awoke.

“Girls?” she muttered quietly.

From what she could tell, it was high noon as the sun’s radiant beams of light reflected off of the crashing waves along the coastline that was merely a hop, skip, and a step away. Beyond the sandy shores were dunes covered in plant growth, and rocky outcroppings occasionally littering the sight of nature’s beauty. Besides a few stray clouds, the sky was a shade of blue unlike anything the young mare had ever seen before.

But, although the area was inviting, she could not see a single sign of her friends.

“Girls!” Fluttershy cried aloud desperately. When nopony answered, she reflexively pulled her legs together and cringed nearer to the ground. The slightest noise would cause her to jump in fright. “Angel…” she finally said, hoping that at least her bunny friend would be near.

As the seconds passed, not even a little bug welcomed her by skittering by, causing Fluttershy to whimper and cry.

“Hello out there!” The voice of a strange stallion called from the distance.

These words sent a shiver of fright through her. Taking a peep back and forth in the vain hope of finding cover, Fluttershy launched herself into the air before diving towards the sand and dug deep into the soil. Then, she hid her face, hoping that whoever it was that they wouldn’t hurt her, or that somepony would save her.

Although she couldn’t see anypony, Fluttershy heard as the pitter-patter of a pony’s hooves drew closer. Against her own personal judgment, she lifted her eyes, catching sight of a stallion in a suit of shiny white armor passing by a large rock at a distant point along the same beach, his helmet topped with a bright red feather plume instead of the crests of the EUP. Of course, she couldn’t help but notice the stern expression, and a few scars, on his face.

This triggered another round of shakes as Fluttershy stuck her muzzle back into the ground and hoped that the big, scary-looking soldier-pony wouldn’t want to hurt her.

She anxiously listened as the sounds of the tapping of hooves, and the shifting of sand, slowly drew closer and then halted abruptly.

“Young lady, what are you doing?” The slightly gruff voice asked of her. “It’s not safe to be out here all by yourself.”

“Um… I,” Fluttershy began to say as she shuddered, “I…”

“Captain!” A new, younger stallion’s voice sounded from afar, somehow calming Fluttershy and giving her the confidence to look out from her hole.

“Yes, milord,” the apparent Captain answered fervently.

Now that she was able to better examine the first new face, she realized a few things: First, he stood only a little taller than she did, with dark blue hair on his mane and tail, he was a plain brown Pegasus, and something in his cobalt eyes felt soft, almost grandfatherly to her. Also, the insignia on his chest-plate didn’t look like anything from Equestria, since it was a winged anchor with a crown on top. Last, but not least, his cutie mark was a shield with the outline of a family of ponies on it.

She didn’t know why, but after seeing all of this, Fluttershy couldn’t help but not be afraid anymore. It just seemed as though the big soldier-pony’s very presence was more welcoming than scary.

“Is there a problem?” The other voice asked, causing something more to draw Fluttershy out of the hole entirely.

For some unknown reason, there was a bubbly feeling that just rose up in her tummy when the second pony’s words entered into her ears.

“No, sir,” the Captain replied to the question. “I merely found a young mare.”

“Oh?” voiced the second stranger. “Is she lost?”

“I am unsure, milord,” the Captain replied, before facing Fluttershy again. “Excuse me, missy. Are you alright?”

Although the older Stallion did directly ask her a question, Fluttershy didn’t answer since she was completely focused on seeing where the second pony was.

“Miss?” the Captain continued in vain. “Missy?”

“What’s the matter, Captain?” the other stranger asked with a teasing tone, “Is this some kind of joke gone wrong? Are you yanking my anchor?”

“Sire, I can assure you, this is no joke!” The Captain declared in a fashion that almost seemed defensive.

“Alright,” the voice sounded as though its owner were nearing, until Fluttershy finally caught glance of a figure moving past the same rock as the one the Captain had gone by. “Why don’t I talk to this-”

Fluttershy’s eyes finally got to see who she had been waiting for to catch a glimpse of. A gasp of sheer surprised amazement almost slipped from her lips at the sight, if not for her natural quiet nature.

Before her, a tall figure on four hooves moved into plain view, his mane and tail of gold and deep-sea blue shimmering in the sunlight, his body of teal blue matching the ocean’s waters, and his eyes shining of royal blue. For a good long moment, she didn’t even register the fact that he must be somepony important since he was suited in a finely-woven ensemble of a navy blue suit, adorned with golden embroidery, seashell buttons, and shoulder pads. Plus, his hooves were dressed in metal boots that were attached to jointed armored leggings that ran halfway up his front legs.

No, what truly caught her attention was the long spiral horn upon the top of his head, complimented by the golden crown – with its flowing patterns reminiscent of the ocean and its central jewel, a diamond, embedded in a white oyster shell half that bloomed with fiery red stretching outward – hugging his brow, and the pair of wings that were rested on his sides.

She suddenly realized what her mind was trying to tell her: he was an Alicorn!

And yet, that wasn’t why she was so moved when she saw him, because something, deep down in her, fluttered when she looked into his eyes deep as the ocean and as warm as the sun.

From this stallion’s point of view, he stepped out and rested his sight upon a pony the likes of whom he had never seen before.

Before him, there was a mare who was breathtaking. Her daisy pink mane was flowing in the wind, brushing across her creamy yellow body, her wavy tail set to the side to reveal a beautiful picture of three blue and pink butterflies fluttering up her thigh, and her blue eyes shone with such tenderheartedness.

“-young mare…” he finally said.

Then, Fluttershy and the stallion began moving closer to one another.

Suddenly noticing how many miles away the two young ponies actually were, the Captain stood to the side and remained quiet, choosing to merely observe.

Although moving forward, Fluttershy was really tiphooving over.

The Alicorn was slowly edging his way forth, not dipping his sight away for even a second.

Finally, the two stopped within a wing’s reach of one another.

“Hi,” the stallion voiced with a soft tone.

“Hello,” Fluttershy replied, aiming her eyes at the sand at her hooves while a portion of her mane swung in front of her left cheek, which she blew aside without changing her stance.

“I’m Prince Gentle Waters,” he said with a bowing of the head and the crossing of his front right leg over his chest.

“I’m Fluttershy,” she stated with a passing glance in his general direction while he was returning his head back to where it had been.

“Fluttershy,” the Prince repeated, his voice at a whisper as the word rolled off of his tongue, “what a lovely name.”

An uncontrolled blush slipped onto Fluttershy’s cheeks as she heard that compliment and began looking all around randomly, mostly staring at the air and ground surrounding Gentle Waters.

“Milord,” the Captain finally spoke, catching the attention of the Prince and allowing Fluttershy to turn her head away, “It may be best to continue this elsewhere.”

“Yes, I suppose so,” the Prince agreed before turning back to the pony who captured his attention. “Fluttershy?”

“Um, yes,” she returned while using her front right hoof to push aside a line of sand that she was looking at.

“It’s best if nopony stays on this beach alone,” Gentle Waters said, offering a hoof, “Would you join me in returning to the city?”

She blinked once, bringing her lashes to wipe the sides of her face, and that feeling inside of her stirred even greater than before. “Okay,” she answered, and placed her own hoof onto his.

So, the Captain led on, with the two young ponies side by side behind him, as they moved on beyond the beach, and onto a road of stone in the midst of an open field of grass.

As the minutes phased by, Fluttershy couldn’t stop thinking about the fact that whenever she looked at the Prince – the tall, handsome Prince – her heart soared higher than the clouds. She didn’t understand why, but she was happy. In fact, she was happier than she’d ever been before, even when around her closest friends or animal buddies.

While these thoughts passed through her mind, Fluttershy chose to look at him again.

As his mane flowed in the wind, she followed it to a detail that she hadn’t notice before. On his flank, there was a cutie mark that she found herself adoring – it was a dolphin with a crown.

“Um, excuse me,” she muttered aloud.

“Yes, Fluttershy?” Prince Gentle Waters replied with a smile.

Taking a moment to beam in the opposite direction, the pink-haired mare gathered the courage for what she wanted to say. “Well… I was just wondering…”

Instead of saying anything, the Prince stepped one hoof at a time, watching and listening intently for Fluttershy’s next words.

“I don’t want to be imposing by asking something personal,” she said.

“You’re not being rude, Fluttershy,” the Prince replied kindly. “In fact, whatever is on your mind, just ask. I will do my best to answer nicely.”

With a renewal of her confidence, thanks to Gentle Waters’s gentle words, Fluttershy asked, “If you don’t mind me asking, what does your cutie mark stand for?”

An expression of curious thought popped onto the Prince’s face as he continued walking.

For a moment, Fluttershy feared that she had somehow said the wrong thing, dipping her head down in worried shame.

“Oh, you mean my mark,” he replied by pointing at his flank with his horn and smiling at the filly. “I’ve never heard it called that before.”

Fluttershy lifted her head and peered back to the Prince with a faint smile.

“Well, since you asked,” he restarted. “This mark on my flank represents my desire to defend and care for all of my subjects, including, and especially, the creatures of this land.”

A twinkle of pure elation lit up in Fluttershy’s eyes as she realized the implications of Gentle Waters’s words, and that the two of them possibly had something in common.

“You know what,” he continued, “since we still have a good long walk, and if you don’t mind me saying so, I could tell you the story behind my, ahem, ‘cutie mark’.”

Fluttershy was, once again, filled with delight. “Oh, um, that sounds great,” she cooed.

Sending another grin in the direction of the sweet mare, the Prince sucked in a breath of fresh air as he placed another hoof forward along the stone road. “Where do I begin?” he asked of himself as he peered into the skies above.

“Well, although I was born into the royal family of this grand nation, I was not the usual foal. After all, the only two types of ponies in this kingdom are Pegasi and Earth Ponies.”

Yet again, a light inside the young mare’s head blinked as she caught another hint that she was not in Equestria. Still, she paid barely any attention to that scruple as she was enraptured in Gentle Waters’s life story.

“My father was a Pegasus, and my mother was an Earth Pony. But I was the first of any child in the recorded history of our family to have not only a pair of wings, and not just regular wings but a kind that had not been seen before, and a horn. For months, the doctors didn’t even know what I was exactly.”

“Then, finally, a scholar found a book on ancient pony legends, and helped determine that I was an Alicorn.”

More and more, Fluttershy was beginning to understand that there was a definite difference between wherever this land was and her home of Equestria. After all, who had never heard of an Alicorn, like Princess Celestia? And yet, she had never heard of an Alicorn who was a Prince.

“We even learned about another race of ponies known as Unicorns from that same tome,” Gentle Waters added. “Even still, things weren’t easy for me as a young colt, especially since I was so… unique.”

Fluttershy raised an eyebrow out of concern.

“Don’t worry,” he reassured her, “It wasn’t as though everypony despised me. What I meant is that I didn’t have any friends my age when I was little.”

Fluttershy’s eyes widened with sympathy for the Prince. “You poor dear…” she thought for him.

“Back in those days, it was mostly the castle staff members and my family who were the closest things I had to friends,” the Prince elaborated further. “My father and mother were so protective of me that they wouldn’t let me attend normal school. Instead, I had my own personal mentors, and I was hardly ever allowed to leave the confines of the castle, such as only being allowed to go outside on the condition that I spent my time in the castle courtyard, and only during the daytime.”

“Not only that, but there was always a guard to ensure that I was never alone,” he said with a tinge of sarcasm in his tone before aiming his sight to the soldier-pony in front, “Isn’t that right, Captain?”

“Always to protect and serve, sire,” the older stallion answered dutifully, his head facing forward and occasionally inching from side-to-side as he kept his vigilant search for danger.

With a light chuckle under his breath, Gentle Waters smiled mischievously.

For some reason, Fluttershy inexplicably began chuckling herself, but she did her best to hide it.

“Anyhow,” the blue-maned royal voiced, “one day, I finally decided that I would sneak off and meet some others my age.”

Fluttershy noticed with a glance that the Prince had suddenly taken on a frown as he paused, making her heart ache for him.

“Once I had… distracted my escort,” Gentle Waters said with another smile, “I dashed out of the castle, and into the skies.” His grin grew as he watched a flock of seagulls flying overhead.

Fluttershy’s heart went into flight as she watched the Prince intently.

“It was my first experience to truly spread my wings and fly away.” He emphasized this by stretching out his feathered limbs. “I touched the milky white clouds of the sunny expanse with my very own hooves and glided above the land, witnessing the kingdom my family was responsible for.”

“I savored every second, soaring and soaking in every detail of the land, from the ponies who went about their lives to all of the beautiful creatures that coexisted with them. Then, I saw what I had been looking for from the start: colts and fillies playing and prancing in the streets of the city below me. Without a second thought, I dived downward and landed near them, and I waved in their direction, hoping to make quick friends.”

At first, Fluttershy was even more delighted to see the Prince waving a hoof in the air happily along with his words…

He sighed, lowering his hoof to the ground and folding his wings to his back. “I hadn’t expected anything less than a warm welcome and a fun time.”

…And then she couldn’t help but ache even more for him as she batted her eyelashes to silently urge him to continue.

“But, as I trotted over to them, they stopped and began whispering amongst themselves, giving me strange looks.” The Prince paused yet again. “For some reason, a single pony moved out and began taunting me, poking a hoof at my horn and saying that I was weird, even going so far as to say that it was a fake.”

Gentle Waters’s tale somehow reminded Fluttershy of her days in junior flight camp back in Cloudsdale, and the teasing that was made by other little ponies because of her failure to fly well. Thanks to this, she found herself caring more and more about the Alicorn Prince in a way that she had never felt about anypony before.

“Soon enough, the other ponies were laughing at me and calling me names.” A tear slipped from the Prince’s bright blue eyes, before he blinked it away and smiled at the sun as its rays stretched across the fields of tall grass that were around the road. “As they surrounded me, I backed myself into a corner, and sobbed as I knelt down and tried to use my wings to cover my face.”

Although he did hold a neutral expression on his features, the Prince suddenly shifted his features into a deep smile as he directed his glance at Fluttershy again. “But if it wasn’t for them, I wouldn’t have discovered something absolutely amazing.”

Instead of voicing her new confusion, Fluttershy chose to smile in return.

“While I laid there in the dirt, listening to the hurtful things that those foals called me as they chanted aloud, my horn began to glow brighter than it had ever before,” he said as he sent a pulse of blue light through the point above his crown. “I didn’t notice until I heard the other kids stop making fun of me, and then I watched as the magic from my horn covered my body and I zapped away. Next thing I knew, I was on a beach.”

“Oh,” Fluttershy uttered, knowing what he was saying, “you, um, teleported.”

“That’s right,” Gentle Waters replied. “You know a little about magic?”

“My friend, um, does it all of the time,” she answered before turning her head to avoid making eye contact with him.

“Really?” the Prince asked in rhetorical surprise while looking to the Captain.

The soldier-pony motioned a knowing nod in return.

“Huh, and I thought I was the only pony in the entire world who could use that type of magic,” the Prince stated. “Excuse me, Fluttershy.”

“Yes?” she responded with a quick glance in his direction.

“Would it be too much for me to ask you if I could hear more about you later?” he requested.

“Okay,” she approved with her signature light tone, and then twisted her head to bring a long wave of her mane down over her renewed blush.

“Great,” Gentle Waters voiced happily. “May I continue with my story?”

“Please,” she replied.

“Where was I again?” he queried. “Oh, yes. I had arrived on the beach, and looked out onto the foaming currents of water that whipped across the ocean. Never before had I seen such a beautiful sight… at least, not until today.”

Once more, Fluttershy felt a feeling in her heart bubble and flutter like butterflies and an unexpected giggle nearly slipped from her lips.

“Still,” he continued, “I hadn’t so soon forgotten how the other ponies treated me, and I bawled in a pit of self-pity.”

“Of course, it wasn’t as though I disliked them for it. After all, they had never seen anypony like me before,” he reasoned. “But that didn’t take away the hurt in my heart.”

She didn’t know why exactly, but Fluttershy just wanted to lean against the tall Prince so that she could comfort him, at least a little bit, with her presence.

“As I wallowed there in the sand,” the Prince added as they took another step down the stone-laden road, “I didn’t even notice the sounds of something stirring in the waters behind me. Something big.”

Startled by the possibilities of the Prince’s words, Fluttershy stared at him, hoping for nothing scary.

“Although caught up in my own worries, a gust of wind brushed over me, carrying the overbearing scent of rot.”

Suddenly, the Prince halted, and Fluttershy and the Captain came to a stop, but only the pink-maned mare paid her full attention to Gentle Waters.

“With a gulp, I turned around,” his eyes grew, as if he was looking at a ghost, “and I saw a beast of monstrous proportions looming over me…. A sea serpent.”

From his words, Fluttershy could discern that this creature was scary. And yet, she had never heard of one as it sounded different than the river serpent that Rarity had helped when she and the others went to find the Elements of Harmony for the first time.

“Its head was twice as large as me, and saliva dripped from its open maw as it stared into my very soul.” He stood motionless, almost as if he was paralyzed by his past.

Fluttershy was speechless as her muzzle hung open in silent fright. She couldn’t bear to think of the horrible scene that was playing out according to the Prince’s memories.

“I stooped down in fear, and cried out ‘help!’” The Prince said, before looking to see Fluttershy even more scared than he was. He beamed a smile at her.

She strangely felt comforted by the gesture and let go of her fears.

“Just as all hope seemed to be lost,” the Alicorn said with a hushed tone, “a giant silver shape burst forth from the water and collided with the serpent, forcing it back into the ocean!”

Fluttershy was gingerly grinning on the outside, even though she had nearly jumped into the air at the Prince’s excited exclamation.

“For a few minutes, I watched as the two shadowy figures swam underneath the surface of the currents, clashing and battling against one another,” Gentle Waters reminisced. “The shockwaves they sent out every time they…” he thought of a word to use as he realized how strong of a picture he was portraying “…met shook the very foundations of land that I stood upon.”

“At last, calm settled after the storm, and I saw one of the creatures flee into the deep blue of the sea.” He stopped for a moment, and peered at Fluttershy. “Then, I witnessed, with anxious anticipation, the victor rise out of the waves.”

Fluttershy didn’t know whether or not she would gasp at the answer.

“Out of the waters came a silver silhouette,” he stated happily, “and before my eyes there was a gargantuan of such eye-capturing grandeur, with its sleek skin and powerful fins.”

That revelation not only brought relief to the lady-pony, it outright pleased her to think of the critter and what it could have been.

“It had pulled its long body up onto the beach and rested its tube-shaped muzzle on the sand,” the Prince pictured aloud, “allowing its discerning eyes to look down upon me. From atop its rounded head, air spouted out and was sucked in.”

A visual image began to form in Fluttershy’s head, and she was beginning to wonder if he was talking about-

“I chose to thank my rescuer, and as I finished, it responded with a series of boisterous chirps, whistles, and clicks.” A twinkling entered the Prince’s blue eyes as he spoke of this event. “And I understood him!”

“He introduced himself as the Lord of the Dolphins, and even told me that he could tell that I was a Prince.”

Fluttershy could hardly contain her elation at the thought of a dolphin – and the Lord of them to boot – and the fact that Prince Gentle Waters could also communicate with animals like her.

“I wanted to ask him so many questions, but he left soon after that, telling me to return the same time each day as he dove back into the ocean,” he said with a tap of a hoof. “So I chose to walk back home instead of either flying or, what I considered then, magically popping.”

“I trotted down a path, thinking on all of the things I could ask of the Dolphin Lord, oblivious of what the-,” the Prince’s smile faded as he looked at Fluttershy with a new pain in his eyes “-future held for me.”

There was a long pause as Gentle Waters drooped his head, causing Fluttershy to look to him with confusion that rapidly changed to concern as she could sincerely see he was experiencing heart-wrenching pain.

“Fluttershy,” he said her name as he lifted his head back up.

“Yes,” she replied without hesitancy.

“What I have to say is… a painful and gruesome thing for anypony to tell, let alone witness,” the Prince uttered delicately. “Are you sure that you want to hear about it?”

“If you want me to, I do,” she answered with equal care.

“Alright,” he breathed before steadily inhaling and exhaling. “I was passing back through town when a guard galloped up to me. In a controlled fashion, he urged me to follow him back to the castle.”

“At first, I assured him that I was fine and there was nothing to worry about, but he stated that it was an emergency. Although I didn't know what he meant, I was shocked to hear such a panicky undertone to his words and rushed after him.”

A single tear swelled in the corner of Gentle Waters’s left eye as he pictured that day. “As I drew close to the front gate, I saw dozens of royal guards gathered in lines and keeping a watch on the skies, the road, and everywhere else, weapons at the ready.”

“They quickly rushed me inside, with four circling around me and two Pegasi guards hovering over me. I questioned them for answers as to why I was being so heavily protected, but they only kept moving me deeper into the confines of the castle, allowing me to see dozens more of the guards checking every available space of the stone building.”

“And then,” the Prince’s words began to crack up and several small drops of water trickled down his cheeks, “they tried to escort me past a room, in which two figures under sheets caught my attention.”

Something in Fluttershy’s heart nearly choked as she recognized what Gentle Waters was telling her.

“With no effort, I teleported myself out from the midst of the guards and in-between the pair.” A flood proceeded to pour down the Prince’s face as he recollected that traumatizing moment. “Somepony took my parents away from me, Fluttershy.”

The young mare also began to tear up as she placed her front two hooves over her mouth while seated on her rump as she looked to him. “Who would do such a thing?”

“I don’t know, to be honest,” the Prince answered. “I wouldn’t know until later that it was somepony strange who had slipped past the guards, as the only pony to have noticed him was the… late Captain of the guard.”

“It was the current Captain who managed to drag me to my room, where I spent the entire night mourning.”

Not once in her entire life had Fluttershy ever heard such a tragedy, and it was even worse to see one of the most gentle-natured stallions she had the pleasure of meeting to suffer through it.

“The next morning, I had to convince the new Captain,” he said with a sniffle as he directed a glance at the soldier-pony in front, who was still surveying the area without making a peep, “to allow me to go down to the beach again, with added protection.”

Fluttershy settled herself and wiped away her tears as she thought about the Dolphin Lord and what he could have wanted for the Prince.

“After a tense first meeting, the guards accepted the fact that the Lord of the Dolphins would do me no harm,” the Prince continued, “and I finally got the chance to talk with my rescuer.”

“So, I properly introduced myself, and he gave his name to me.” Gentle Waters paused, once more, and gazed at Fluttershy. “Lunar Tides.”

“So majestic,” the pony-girl mentally noted.

“He wanted to teach me everything he knew about magic… on one condition,” the Prince revealed, “He made me vow to make a safe new home for his children so, when he finally closed his eyes in the ‘last great slumber’, he would not fear for them.”

Fluttershy’s aquamarine irises shimmered as she imagined what it could be like to care for and play with dolphins.

“That was when a spark was struck in my heart, and I knew what I was meant to be. That is the story of my cutie mark,” Gentle Waters boldly stated.

“Yay,” she cheered and clapped her hooves softly.

“Yes, yay, indeed,” the Prince agreed with a grin.

When Fluttershy noticed that he was staring into her eyes, she whipped around and her bright pink blush returned.

A silence settled upon the group for a short while…

“Ahem.”

…before being interrupted by the Captain.

“Oh, yes,” Prince Gentle Waters caught himself, “we should keep going.”

The trio of ponies stepped one hoof at a time, the sound of tapping resounding from the stone path that they walked upon.

“So, um…” Fluttershy voiced “…what happened to Lunar Tides?”

For a split-second, Gentle Waters contemplated whether he should tell her. But, he easily chose that the truth was better than keeping her guessing.

“His burial site was on the shoreline that I and the Captain were visiting before we met you,” he graciously replied.

“Oh…” she responded with a hint of disappointment.

“Don’t fret,” the Prince offered reassurance warmly, “his sons and daughters now live in the royal preservation’s ponymade saltwater lake.”

Those words flipped her frown upside down as she began dreaming about all of the new friends she could make. Of course, that didn’t take her mind away from Prince Gentle Waters in any way.

“Fluttershy,” the Prince said a few steps later, “I can’t wait to introduce you to all of my friends, both the ponies and the wildlife.”

Although the Alicorn Prince’s offer was welcoming, and she most definitely wanted to get acquainted with as many of the possible critters that he could show her, his words struck a curious thought.

“Excuse me,” she politely requested his attention.

“Yes, Fluttershy?” he returned.

She blushed momentarily as he paid his full focus to her. “Earlier… you said that you didn’t make any friends.”

“Yes, well,” the Prince restarted, “after the loss of the king and the queen, I chose to take a more direct approach to making ties with the people of my nation.”

“With the knowledge that Lord Lunar Tides gave me, I aided my subjects with new ideas and even helped with tasks. I also learned more from my experiences amongst the hard-working ponies, and made many more friendships than I could have dreamed of as a young colt.”

Fluttershy’s admiration of Gentle Waters was blossoming, and, although they had only just met, she felt more open with him.

As they crossed the grass-blanketed plains, a tall hill, stretching out for what appeared to be miles on either side, came into view and jutted into the sky.

“Scary…” Fluttershy muttered inwardly.

“Pardon me, milord,” the Captain stated as he turned face about.

“Yes, Captain,” the Prince answered naturally.

“It’s only a short flight to the city from here,” the dutiful soldier-pony pointed out.

“An excellent suggestion,” the Prince confirmed, and then he spread his wings out fully before raising a hoof in Fluttershy’s direction. “Would you like to join me?”

She, in turn, beamed a bright smile at Gentle Waters. Taking a moment, she glanced past the Captain to see a path winding up the side of the hill. Making her choice, Fluttershy accepted the Prince’s hoof with her own.

Soon enough, the sounds of wings flapping in the wind began rising as each of the ponies ascended.

Prince Gentle Waters did his best to patiently move in-sync with Fluttershy as she delicately rose higher.

Meanwhile, the Captain was already at a greater altitude, once again evaluating the area like a hawk.

“Are you alright?” the Prince asked of Fluttershy.

With a confident grin, she nodded in his general direction.

So they soared forth, high above the grasslands as the fields of green were swayed and danced like the waves of the ocean.

Beyond the mound that had blocked anypony’s view of the land, Fluttershy witnessed the likes of which she had never seen before.

Up in the clouds, there were hundreds, maybe even thousands, of structures made of the white puffs of accumulated vapor, reminding Fluttershy of her birth city of Cloudsdale. The key difference was that there were not just Pegasi bolting around the sky platforms, but there were Earth Ponies walking along roads, buildings, and bridges of an amalgamation of stone, wood, and cloud, all of which was floating as easily as the air.

Why, there were even trees planted in pots of dirt along the cloud bridges, giving birds the perfect places to rest their wings!

Sloping down from the skies above, several of the bridges looped about and spiraled to one of three enormous towers that were set across a cityscape of radiance.

All along the ground, buildings of every type, from simple single-story houses that lined suburban outcroppings to spires of immaculate designs, were weaved amongst an intricate network of roads and waterways.

Wrapped across the distant coastline that bordered the bustling beehive of a city was a grand harbor, hosting ships that sailed with great white sheets of material moving with the wind as flags of many colors flew from wooden masts.

Rolling grasslands running over vast pastures of rainbows of flowers accentuated the land as the city gave way to nature.

“Welcome, Fluttershy,” Prince Gentle Waters stated as he gestured a hoof to the pink-haired mare and then to the spectacle before their very eyes, “to the city of Sky’lem, capital of the kingdom of Hartoneigha.”

Fluttershy wasn’t overly fond of it herself, but her eyes glittered with glee at the Alicorn.

Then, once the Captain signaled the Prince, they descended into Sky’lem, and landed in a spacious clearing settled in-between some cozy cots on the city’s edge.

“Hail, milord,” an Earth Pony stallion in armor similar to the Captain’s, minus the feather plume, stated as he approached the Prince.

“Hail, soldier,” Gentle Waters replied in kind, using a feathered limb to salute the diligent individual before turning about to face the Captain. “You know the drill.”

“Yes, milord.”

As the Captain led the other pony beyond a series of shacks, the Prince noticed that Fluttershy had drawn back from their landing spot and was seated on the ground near a field of pink posies. From what he could tell, she appeared to be in deep thought.

In fact, she was very deep in thought.

Fluttershy was happy, but she couldn’t help but worry for her friends. They could have been taken to the four corners of Equestria, or worse. On the other hoof, she didn’t even know where in the wide world she was. Not once in her life had there ever been mention of a kingdom of Hartoneigha, until now. But, most of all, she couldn’t understand why whenever she thought of – wonderful, sweet – Prince Gentle Waters that she just couldn’t help but-

“Excuse me, Fluttershy,” his soft voice broke her chain of thought.

“Yes,” she answered curtly, quickly rotating around on her four hooves only to see him stopping next to her.

“I may be asking too much of you, but…” he paused, as if the Prince were questioning the soundness of his idea.

“Yeeessss?” she dragged out the word as she, not knowingly, hoped for a special request.

“Would you please accept my invitation to join me at my castle as my guest of honor?” The Prince asked, exchanging a look of anxious hope with her.

Even if Fluttershy could hear that familiar small voice telling her that it might be dangerous and her nerves began to shudder, she ignored them. “Oh, that sounds wonderful.”

With a smile, the Prince sent a magical pulse through his horn as he lifted a dozen or so pink posies and a rainbow of other assorted blooms into the air, circling around them both. “Please accept this as a gift from me to you,” he said before using the flowers to form a swirling, colorful strand in the weaves of her mane.

She blushed brightly as she beamed at him.

The Alicorn Prince then directed the young Pegasus mare back towards the city.

Meanwhile, in a cavern carved inside a single spire, rested in a mountain range to the north-northeast, a tiny purple scaled and green spine-backed sleepy figure stirred awake and stretched out his four limbs, yawning loudly as he cracked his eyelids.

As he rubbed his face with a balled-up paw, Spike realized a few things: First, he couldn’t hear his pony friends anymore. Second, he definitely wasn’t in the Castle of Harmony anymore. And third, he wasn’t seated (or laying) in his throne, but, rather, on a warm, earthy piece of ground of some sort.

“Huh?” he grunted as he sat up to evaluate his situation.

Scanning around, he deduced that he was on top of some form of stone that was sitting inside a shallow pool of lava.

“Where am I?” he loudly asked the air.

“Ah,” a loud voice uttered, causing Spike to nervously peek at his surroundings, “the nestling is awake.”

With those words, a series of ground-shaking (what the small dragon could only assume to be) footsteps reverberated from the direction of one of the chamber’s side openings, which was mostly darkness pierced by glints of bright light.

Fearing a possible encounter similar to the time he had intruded into an adult dragon’s den and had munched on the greedy giant’s horde of gems, Spike sprung off of his perch and tried to run away. He quickly found himself stuck when he left the spot as he was barely a few steps from a drop-off that was well over a hundred yards from the bottom floor, dashing his hopes of escape. With no other choice, he dropped right where he stood and covered his face with his stubby arms.

He listened closely to the sounds of the approaching behemoth, fear of his coming future swelling up within his rapidly beating heart.

And then, everything became silent.

Spike was about to look up, hoping that he had escaped a horrible fate, when a gust of breath, scented with something akin to roasted walnuts, blasted over him.

“What is the matter, little one?” a strong voice filled with kindness came forth from the figure as he gazed upon the cringing youth.

“I…” Spike muttered, and then chose to take a peek through the spaces between his claws. His eyes shot open as his breath was stolen away.

In front of the dwarfed baby dragon, sitting on the ground below and his head rising up and over the elevated place where Spike was previously snoozing, was an adult dragon.

Yet not just any normal giant, fire-breathing member of his kind. From the top of his head to the lowest visible point on his body, across his smooth, rounded features, the scales on his hide shined like thousands of diamonds.

“Well, I’m glad I haven’t absolutely scared the scales right off of you,” he stated lightly, concern evident in his tone. “After all, it certainly wouldn’t be the most neighborly thing to frighten one’s guest.”

“Um, yeah…” Spike voiced his relieved confusion as he picked himself off of the dirt, dusting away the remaining excess.

“Oh, please excuse my blatant rudeness. I haven’t properly introduced myself,” the large being said before lifting a four digit appendage to his chest, “I am White Fang.”

He couldn’t tell why, but something about the older lizard’s presence calmed the little guy, and whenever Spike looked into the grand creature’s emerald irises, he felt at home.

So, going out on a limb, he chose to trust the openly welcoming wyrm. “My name’s Spike,” he returned with a kiddish grin.

“It is my pleasure to meet you, nestling Spike,” the towering figure greeted, “I hope you had fine rest.”

“About that…” Spike said, not forgetting the fact that he wasn’t in Ponyville.

“Oh, yes, how thoughtless of me,” White Fang reprimanded himself. “I was taking a morning glide over the mountains when I caught sight of you sleeping in a tree. So, instead of leaving a defenseless infant such as yourself in that precarious situation, I brought you here.” Finished with his words, he gave a toothy smile to the short youth.

“That’s… it?” Spike questioned, a sudden worry slipping into his expression.

“I’m sorry,” the elder dragon apologized, “That is all there is to say.”

“But I was just with my friends in the castle,” Spike frantically spouted, “and they were chatting and I… fell asleep.”

White Fang merely stared at the distraught dragon-child as he stood silent for a moment. “Well, if you are unsure of what happened after that, I might be able to help you.”

“Really?” Spike deadpanned.

“I’m positive,” the fully-grown drake assured him, “You just have to tell me where you are from.”

With a renewed confidence, Spike said, “Ponyville.”

White Fang’s face was suddenly struck with clout as he drew back a short distance. “Ponyville…” he pondered as he tapped his jaw with a single claw “…Ponyville. Hmm.”

The thought that he may be lost to his friends forever began to worm its way into Spike’s mind as he watched the generous giant struggle with the word.

“May I ask what nation this Pony-ville belongs to?” White Fang requested after running through his memories.

“Equestria,” Spike answered, wondering how anyone had never heard of his hometown.

“Ah, Equestria.” A bemused chuckle slipped from his lips and lasted for a few seconds. “Please excuse my amusement. I am just so glad to hear that another dragon is accepted by and is friends with pony-folk.”

“Oh, I’m not just friends. I live with a pony princess named Twilight Sparkle,” Spike answered proudly.

“Well, that’s dandy and all,” White Fang replied gladly, followed by a neutral tone, “but I’m sorry to inform you that you are a long way from home.”

That burst the bubble of good tidings that began swelling inside the young guy’s cranium, and the light green flaps on the sides of his head drooped as a grim disposition came upon him. “How far away am I?”

“By my estimation, a three days’ flight across the waters to the northwest,” the wise wyrm answered with slight trepidation.

“Oh,” Spike huffed out, “and I suppose you wouldn’t consider taking me there, huh?”

“I would,” White Fang said, lifting the small fellow’s spirit and bringing his head back up to eye-level, “but I have made a vow to the Ponies of this land to defend them until my final breath. So, I am afraid to tell you, I cannot aid you in that regard.”

Dropping his head down to where his eyesight was aimed at his feet, Spike nudged a pebble with his stumpy right foot while a drop dripped from the corner of his right eye.

“Come, come, little Spike,” White Fang attempted to comfort the saddened lesser dragon, “Do not fret. You may stay here in my home, if you wish.”

“Since I’m stuck here,” Spike half-heartedly breathed as he sat down and placed his rounded head into the palms of his claws.

“Come now, my lad,” the crystalline-skinned creature rumbled lowly, “Surely you are hungry.”

An involuntary growl from the lower depths of the down-in-the-dumps dragon-child announced his stomach’s agreement.

“I have prepared a supper that will most assuredly resolve that,” White Fang added with a shine of his marble-colored rows of jagged teeth, before winding his gargantuan form around and facing his spiny back to the young buck, “Climb on and I’ll give you a lift to the dining chamber.”

With a shrug, the pup of a scaly one dragged himself up and over to the ledge. “I guess it won’t help anything to worry on an empty belly, but,” he grumbled, glancing around and noticed the lack of means to arrive at his destination, “how am I going to get from here to there.”

To answer his statement, the tip of the great behemoth’s mighty muscular tail arose to right in front of the edge.

“Grab ahold and keep a tight grip,” White Fang directed the minor, “I’ll do the rest of the work for you.”

Obeying the order, Spike crawled onboard and latched on with his claws.

Then, the limb elevated above and descended down to between two of the larger shimmering viridian spines, along the midpoint of the lengthy upper stretch of hide that was reminiscent of a quarry covered in diamonds, allowing the purple and green chap to rest his posterior in the nook.

“Now,” White Fang iterated from his face-forward position, “may I interest you in a tour of my fine abode?”

“I guess that would be nice,” Spike said in the midst of his moping.

The bulking mass that was White Fang lurched forward, causing the tiny passenger to have to readjust due to not being ready for such an experience.

“As you will see,” presumed the gracious host, “there are many chambers in the caverns I dwell in.”

Within seconds, the dark room in which Spike had been inside gave way to a vast hallway, branching into multiple openings.

“Of course, I won’t be able to show you everything at this time,” White Fang commented, “or else I risk the cuisine I have cooked to cool to a chilly mess. And we wouldn’t want that now.”

Even if Spike could hear those words, they went in through one ear flap and out the other when he began to catch glimpses of what was inside some of the chambers – mounds of gems and other valuables. He couldn’t help the drool that started dripping from the borders of his mouth as his lips parted in awe.

Then, a scent of crispy goodness assaulted his senses, drawing his attention to the space ahead.

“Here we are,” White Fang declared cheerily.

As Spike watched on, trying his best to view past the mountainous body that he was atop, the entryway was succeeded by a bright expanse, in which he could make out a single spot on an elevated ledge that was where a finely-crafted wooden table and chair sat. Hanging from the ceiling of the clean, well-kept cavern was an enormous light-emanating stone, shining down on a polished granite floor.

“May I interest you in a seat from which you can wait upon your meal?” asked the adult as he bent his head around to face the lesser and gestured an open palm to the furniture.

“Who am I to say no?” Spike accepted with a greater lightheartedness than he had before.

So, White Fang’s extended paw rose up to the small guy, and steadily delivered him across the air to his place of awaited fine dining.

“If you would, please, get comfortable, and I shall supply you with a morsel that will most certainly please you,” White Fang advised while he walked off into a side-room opposite of his little guest.

Spike was just about to settle his rump into the cushion of the chair when he caught sight of an unbelievable piece of succulent beauty – a prism of pure palettes of a rainbow blooming from the center. It was lying there, only a short walk from him, tempting his taste buds. Before he knew it, the gorgeous gem was already hefted above his gaping maw, and he could almost feel the edge of its glittery surface touching his tongue.

But then, with the dazzling diamond inches from being crushed and chewed into hundreds of slivers of pre-digested dragon feed, a flash of memories soared before his eyes: from his first experience of accidentally eating a portion of that adult dragon’s (the first he had ever met) horde of gems, to the time he chose to go on the Great Dragon Migration and met those brutish teenage dragons.

He suddenly realized exactly what he was doing – stealing! He was being just as greedy as most other dragons, and he was being as inconsiderate as those teens.

“No,” Spike said, dropping the crystal back down to the ground, “it’s White Fang’s, so he can decide what to do with it.” He then sat himself in his chair, arms crossed, and a straight face conveying his self-control.

“Well done, my boy!”

The miniature, wingless, dragon nearly flew into the emptiness above his head out of alarm as his fully-grown counterpart emerged, headfirst, from the chamber he was previously occupying, with a simply big, ornate dish full of steaming vegetables floating behind him.

“You passed my test!” White Fang exclaimed with a pleased tone, coming to a halt in the middle of the dining space and sitting down while staring at the unnerved youngster.

“What?” Spike responded after catching his self and regaining his composure. “This was a test?”

“Yes,” he answered frankly.

“And how are you doing that?!” rattled off the bug-eyed boy as he aimed a claw at the levitating bowl, which was imbued with an aura of nearly clear, sparkling light.

“Oh, I’m a Dragon of Light,” the grand creature replied coolly as the platter lowered down to the granite floor at his feet.

“Huh?” Spike shot back, his face expressing just how lost he was as he raised an eyebrow.

A light round of chortles sounded through White Fang’s closed lips as a much more appropriately proportioned dish zoomed towards the dumbfounded dragon.

“Why don’t you relax and get acquainted with your meal, and then I will explain, hmm?”

“Okay,” murmured the curious kid.

Choosing to remain quiet, Spike watched the approaching ball-bottomed bowl, shimmering with that same field of energy, and then he saw what was inside as it lowered down to his eye-level – a bold blue fruit, similar to a melon mixed with a blueberry, with multiple sharp edges that looked like the cuts of a fine diamond.

For some reason, when he saw it, the churning fires of his hunger, deep down in the furnace that was his stomach, were reignited.

“That, little Spike, is a diamondberry,” noted the gentle giant, “A rare morsel that any true dragon would enjoy.”

Spike licked his chops with his long forked tongue as he reached out to grab the berry.

“Now, now, Spike,” the crystalline drake interrupted, “I should say a few words before we proceed.” Then, he bowed his head and closed his peepers.

Not knowing what to do, the short fellow tilted his cranium down a smidgen as his green irises blinked back and forth.

“Thank you, beloved Master,” White Fang started, “for this great bounty that you have supplied to sustain our mortal shells. May we draw closer unto you as we are given new opportunities daily.” With that finished, he lifted his jaw-line up with a smile shined at the seated figure.

Spike, meanwhile, was increasingly at a loss. “Umm, not to offend you, White Fang sir, but what was that?”

“Oh, just part of what makes me a Dragon of Light,” he answered, “But enough of that. You have a diamondberry to eat, and I have a long story to tell.”

“Sounds good to me,” Spike stated before reaching under his seat and bringing out a red and white checkered napkin, which he promptly tied around his neck, draping it over his exposed front. In rapid succession, he brought out a metal fork and knife, grasped in either of his palms.

“Just remember to savor every bite,” White Fang advised, “or you’ll spoil the experience.”

The hungry youth was just about to sink his teeth into the side of the fruit, but quickly returned to his position with his utensils in-claw and chose to shave a trim of the, surprisingly, thick berry in a fashion that would have done Rarity proud.

“Where to begin?” the noble drake questioned himself as he tapped a claw on his chin. “Ah, yes. In the beginning…”

Spike was more than ready to hear the elder wyrm’s tale as he stared intently at him… and then, his tongue made contact with the sliver of diamondberry and his taste buds were lit up with a symphony of delight. Never before in his entire life had such a delicious, well, anything graced his lips. It was sweeter than the honey from Ponyville, even with the addition of pollen from Sweet Apple Acres, and its texture was just like a well-aged crystal.

“No, that’s best saved for later. Let me start over,” White Fang requested rhetorically, “Once, long ago, there was no difference between a regular dragon and a Dragon of Light, for there were only Dragons of Light.”

“In that day and age, dragons were pure, untainted creatures who roamed the world, living in harmony with the rest of Creation, and even befriending their neighbors, like Ponies.”

Although intrigued by the history lesson on his own people’s past, Spike’s near complete attention was locked onto his food and not outright consuming the whole fruit in one fell swoop.

“And then,” White Fang continued, but his smile soured into a bittersweet frown, “there came the divide…”

Those low-toned words drew the tiny dragon out from his ravenous hunger as he wondered what “divide” could possibly imply.

“We dragons were honorable protectors who did not greed ourselves on excess of any kind, especially... jewels,” he breathed out heavily, as if he was exhaling poison. “A dark tempter, of mysterious origins, soon began to introduce many things that had been unheard of by dragon-kind.”

“When most of our number had become enraptured with… that monster’s ideas,” White Fang hissed, “he, if that’s even the appropriate term, made a deal with them.”

Spike was shoveling several slices of the berry into his open mouth when he paused and looked to the storyteller with increasing suspicion and curiosity.

“Enticing their envious souls,” calm, collected fury was pouring from the wyrm’s heart as he illustrated, “that fiend promised the secrets to their wildest dreams…”

In Spike’s opinion, as he thought it over, it did sound too good to be true, and, yet, he still couldn’t see the catch.

“…in exchange for one thing…”

“The suspense is killing me,” the chubby-cheeked dragon-child told himself as he was dining.

With a huff, White Fang released his anger, and looked down at the adolescent. “That they vow to never again aid their pony friends, or allow anyone else to help them.”

Spike nearly choked as he absorbed this new twist. “What?!” he blared once he had gulped a chunk that he had been chewing.

“Indeed,” agreed the aged drake.

“Don’t tell me they accepted!” Spike shouted, jumping straight up onto his chair.

“Sadly,” White Fang voiced, looking to the ceiling above, “the majority of those who listened to the tempter’s proposition did.”

A blank stare slapped itself onto the youth’s face as he let his arms hang like a couple of fish on a hook.

“There were those who stood against such an offer, but they were swiftly… silenced,” the crystal-skinned figure softly murmured as a single tear steadily trailed down the contours of his face.

Again unsure of what White Fang was saying, Spike remained silent as he lowered his form back into his seat.

“Then, without warning, a conflict overtook the land of the ponies.”

“No,” mouthed the petite, scaly kid.

“And when we who were still loyal to the pony-folk chose to act in their defense,” stated the ever-extraordinary elder being in a wounded tone, “those who had fallen into the tempter’s wiles turned on us with vicious aggression.”

“They outnumbered us ten to one, but we would not be deterred from our goal of fulfilling our promise. It was truly a horrible day.”

“So,” Spike etched on, “what happened?”

A low sigh escaped White Fang’s lips as he closed shut his eyelids. “In the end, we who were the Dragons of Light were defeated, and had to retreat in the face of annihilation.”

“We regrouped many leagues away before splitting into smaller groups, concluding what few remember as the War of the Divide.”

Just as Spike finished the last mouthful of the diamondberry, the messy minor gasped in shock, before realizing something. “Wait. Did you say ‘we’?”

“Yes,” White Fang answered plainly.

“How long ago was this, um…” he thought and failed to avoid the foreign term “…war?”

“I’m glad you asked, young one,” the adult dragon uttered. “It was more than one thousand and fifty years ago.”

“Whoa,” Spike dragged out with wide-eyed awe and a fruit crumb-circled craw.

“I see you enjoyed your cuisine,” White Fang pointed to the platter with an extended claw.

“Oh, yeah, that was better than a sapphire,” the pleased, plump-bellied lad replied in quick succession to the shift in topic. “In fact, it could have been tastier than any gem I’ve ever had. Would it be too much to ask where you got it?”

“Just one of the privileges of being a Dragon of Light,” the kindly creature responded before blowing a breath of luminescent white air over his barely warm vegetables, causing a boulder-sized bite of the reheated greens to float skyward, and he intercepted it with his open jaws, munching and grinding the sustenance with closed lips.

“But, what does it mean to be a ‘Dragon of Light’?” Spike questioned like a little school-colt.

Swallowing the source of nutrients with a great gulp, White Fang grinned at the curious youngling. “An excellent question, nestling, for which I will give an answer.” Clearing his throat with a cough, he started, “To be a Dragon of Light is not necessarily a rank or a position, or even an inheritance passed down through a bloodline. It is a belief that shines on the inside to the outside, showing the world that a dragon stands strong, not in his or her own strength, but in the belief that holds him, or her, true.”

Once again, Spike’s green eyes were bulging, with a mysterious excitement bubbling inside the depths of his soul.

“May I be frank with you, Spike?” asked the ancient figure.

“Umm, sure,” approved the tiny recipient.

His smile only seemed to grow with that response. “Ever since I first saw you, I could sense a spark from inside of you – the potential to be a Dragon of Light.”

“Really?” Spike yearned to hear more.

“Yes,” White Fang assured him, “and you proved that by passing my test.”

Then, the gargantuan, shimmering-skinned wyrm released a gust of his glowing exhaust, and it winded and twisted past the table at which Spike was sitting to the colorful crystal that remained where it had been dropped. Within a blink of an eye, the cloud had extracted the prism from its resting place and brought it to White Fang’s side.

“I have one last request for you,” the generous drake said.

“Please, tell me,” Spike graciously urged.

“Do you want to become a Dragon of Light?” White Fang iterated, almost in a ceremonial fashion.

“Yes!” declared the overly-hyped little guy as he hopped back onto his feet, atop the cushion of his seat, and pumped a fist above his head.

“Now don’t be too hasty,” the voice of reason spoke forth from the wise, old dragon. “This isn’t a decision to take lightly. It takes full devotion and self-sacrifice as you walk a long journey in life.”

“I can do it!” Spike reassured him as he held his head high.

“Very well then, my little friend,” White Fang gave in, “from this day forth, I shall teach you on what it means to be a Dragon of Light, and I would like you to have this as a memento.” In response, the magically-imbued crystal that was floating next to the towering being descended into the palms of the awaiting bright-eyed boy.

Although completely willing to stay and learn, as Spike gazed into the intricate patterns of the rainbow-hearted diamond, he realized that he may never see his pony friends again. As he thought about them, he knew he had them to thank for many of his lessons on how to be a good dragon and friend. But most of all, he would miss the six closest mares who had been his family – Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, and Twilight Sparkle, who had been there for him from the very beginning. Oh, how he longed to say one last fare-

His thoughts were interrupted by a low hum that steadily grew as the crystal in his claws began exuding a beam of light that preceded the very streaks of color that bloomed from its core and wrapped around the form of the mystified minor.

“Huh?” Spike gasped as the diamond disappeared and was replaced by a field of blinding light that quickly overwhelmed him. “What’s happening-”

White Fang, meanwhile, stared on in surprised wonder as he witnessed the egg-shaped ball of magical energies lift his young protégé into the atmosphere above his head. Then, the oval began rotating on its ends like a spinning top, rapidly increasing in speed, until a brilliant flash signaled its end.

Trying hard to stare through the haze that had blinded his vision, the elder dragon managed to distinguish the silhouette of his prospective student floating like a feather to his original spot.

Yet, he had to blink through the fuzziness to see exactly what had become of Spike.

“Uh,” grunted the dazed adolescent as he sat up after landing back-first on the ground. “What happened?”

“My boy,” White Fang stated before breathing into his right paw and forming a circular mirror, which he held over the recovering youth, “I believe it may be best for you to see rather than to hear from an old dragon like me.”

Looking into the reflection, Spike saw an unfamiliar image staring back at him.

The eyes were the same jade green spectacles he was born with, but just about everything else was different: The first thing to cross his mind was that he was at least twice as tall as he had been only a minute ago. Then, the streamlined and slimmed figure that was now his body, in comparison to his former pudginess, almost made him feel like flexing. But the single most eye-catching detail was his skin – although it retained that sheen of purple that was so characteristically natural to his scales, there were outcroppings of red, blue, and green crystalline hide blended in with it.

“Whoa,” Spike sounded his low-level excitement, also testing to see if his voice had changed.

Satisfied to hear no noticeable deepening in his vocal range, he sprung to his feet, only to catch himself as he felt something unfurl behind him.

Peeking back at the mirror, Spike could only say one thing: “Whoa!”

Stretching wide, from each side of his back, was a reptilian wing, much like a bat’s, with the interior a faded purple and the exterior resembling the rest of his scales.

As his eyes drifted to beneath his chest, he saw his tail, which he was now able to actually manipulate into touching the top of the highest spine that stuck out from his cranium.

“This is just… I’m just… there are no words,” sporadically portrayed the elated youngster.

Smiling the whole time, while Spike was examining and adapting to his new self, White Fang stood by, until a single resounding noise trumpeted, shattering the moment of excited glee.

Listening to the blaring of the horn, as it sounded from afar and echoed through the confines of his cave, he knew what he was supposed to do.

“Spike,” the now straight-faced adult said, standing up on all fours.

“Yes,” he answered, paying his full, undivided attention to White Fang once he released a wing from the grasp of one his paws.

“I must go,” the great wyrm deadpanned as he turned to leave the chamber.

“Wait, where?” asked the curious dragon-child.

“To defend my pony friends,” White Fang stated with deep conviction.

“Can I come with you?” continued the prodding youngling as he moved to the edge of his steep vantage point.

Stopping in his tracks, the elder drake murmured it over under his breath. “Mmmm,” he rumbled lowly, “I don’t know. It will be dangerous.”

“I can hoofle it!” Spike pressed with a wide grin and his wings spread long.

“Alright then, jump on,” White Fang instructed.

Before he knew it, the short figure had, rather clumsily, flapped his way to the middle of White Fang’s back.

“Hold on tight, because it’s a long way down,” advised the ancient individual.

Almost instantaneously, the walking landmass-worth of living creature burst forth through the open hallway before clambering beyond a vertical passage that ended in a hole oriented on the angled slopes of a tall mountaintop.

With a single action, White Fang unfurled his own wings like dual sails and then propelled himself above the snow-capped earth, gliding along parallel to the rocky ridgeline that eventually gave way to a dense forest of greenery.

From there, he soared into the skies, setting course for the coastline.