When Darkness Falls (Reboot)

(This Chapter was Made by blm95tehe and Calcos)

Once more, the Elder walked over to the pedestal that supported the magical water. This time, he shouted out a single word. “Vocant.” I ran over to where he was standing, and peered into the bowl. An image of a grey stone room appeared, with a single torch inside to bring light into the room. Barrels were stacked high against the wall. There was a Unicorn guard taking post right in front of our view.

He turned in our direction, and spoke. “Hello, may I ask who’s calling?”

“This is Night Rage,” the Elder replied. “I need to speak to Celestia at once.“ His voice was heavy and tired.

The yellow Unicorn looked stunned. “Sir Night Rage, we, umm.” He tumbled with his words. “Yes, sir, right away.” He said quickly.

Wow, even the Royal Guard has respect for the Elder, I thought to myself.

The enchanted water’s image became blurred as colors mixed, until everything started to settle once more. This time, the scene was of a warm, oval room, lined almost entirely with bookshelves, while a round oak table with clear staining on it sat in the center. A single rose slept in a clear flower pot on top of the desk, while red blank banners hung in the empty spaces that weren’t taken up by bookshelves.

Three figures were visible in the distance, looking over a balcony, and talking. Princess Celestia, herself, was one of them! Alongside her was a small, young purple dragon with a light green underbelly, and a darker green set of eyes and spikes. He stood next to a young mare; she was a violet colored Unicorn. Her mane had a dark violet color to it, with a single pink line striking through its center.

It was already dark in Canterlot, while it was still mid-afternoon where we were. The village of Saltus must’ve been a long distance away for there to be that much of a difference in timezones. The Elder cleared his throat, catching Celestia’s attention.

She told the mare and the dragon to wait, that it should be too long. She had a look of urgency on her face, as she might for important political events. While the Elder used water to communicate, Celestia used a simple mirror. The only thing that made it stand out was the royal symbol, stamped at its base. Celestia’s face went from stern to soft, a smile visible on her face.

“Night! It’s so great to see you; I haven’t seen you in a while.” Celestia cheerfully said. “How are things with you?” She had delight in her face, having seen her old friend again.
I couldn’t help but smile; her voice was so angelic and beautiful, I had to pinch myself to make sure that I wasn’t dreaming. Of course, my wonder was replaced by apprehensiveness. I was looking at one of my two creators, after all. These two creators gave me a fate that I never asked for. Reminding myself of this fact, my smile was quickly wiped from my face.

The Elder was shocked by her calmness. “How can you be so calm at a time like this? I’ve recently received word that Discord is back!” He shouted. “Shouldn’t we gather our forces? This is of dire importance!”

With a smug look, Celestia giggled slightly. “Yes, I have been informed, but that happened nine months ago. There is nothing to worry about anymore.” The Elder and I wore a confused look. Noticing this, Celestia continued. “What’s wrong, Night Rage?”

We stood in silence for a short while, until I broke it. “That can’t be. That’s impossible.” My voice was shell shocked, but I went on. “I was there, in Aspen. I saw him destroy my town, my life, and my family!” I started to cry. “I WAS THERE, DAMMIT!”

The old dragon placed a hand on my back, trying to comfort me, but I shrugged him off. “It’s fine, Grand Elder.” I said, shaking my head. “I’ll be okay.”

The Elder stood there with an understanding look on his face. “Please, call me Night,” he said. “You were only made possible due to my magic, and that makes you like a son to me. Now, I know that I’m not your true father, but I swear to watch over you and Cloud, and to make sure both of you reach your goals in life. If you wish, you can call me your legal guardian. Does that sound fine to you?”

I did my best to make no show of emotion, but judging by the way Night Rage stepped backward slightly, I knew that I had a look of extreme loathing on my face. The fact that this strange dragon wanted to take me in as his son so easily disturbed me. Yes, he had been waiting for centuries for me to be born, and yes, he was technically my father, but the fact that he had such a hard time understanding my feelings disturbed me. Was his sense of empathy so clouded that he couldn’t see how much I was hurting?

In response to his question, I simply trotted over the bed on the other side of the room, jumped on top of it, and laid there, not making a sound. I would need time before I could ever make such a decision. In my mind, I still had a father, and his name wasn’t Night Rage: It was Elden, Aspen’s premier instrument manufacturer.

Night Rage looked back at me for a short while, then sighed, and turned back to the bowl of water. “I guess that mean Discord has been defeated,” he said. “Well, you can fill me in on that later. I was wondering, though: Do you still have that ‘special student’ you would always brag about? Her name was Twilight Sparkle, I believe.”

Twilight overheard and turned in Night Rage’s direction, gasping and beaming with joy. She always loved to hear Celestia praise her, especially to figures of importance. Night Rage continued, with a more serious look on his face: “Well, the Tu’eri has finally, after all these years, shown himself. He’s that Pegasus over there, the one you saw a bit earlier.” He pointed in my direction. “His name is Asher, and he has an Earth pony friend with him named Cloud Walker. My son found them deep in the Everfree Forest. They were trying to get to Ponyville.”

Wide eyed, Celestia interrupted. “What! Are you sure? I assumed Star Swirl would return the day he was born! Do you know if he’s part Winged Dragon or part Alpha Dragon?” Her questions came in a flurry of words.

“Calm down, Princess!” The Elder said. “We both know that Star Swirl never said that he would return, so why would you think something like that? To answer your other questions, yes, I’m sure that he’s the Tu’eri, and he is Alpha. I checked with another spell I was able to cast on my ring."

Celestia sighed with relief. “Well, that’s a good thing, but how are we going to teach him magic? Surely he has no knowledge about how to use magic.”

“He does have a small clue. I was able to get him to cast a levitation spell out of self defense. That’s why I asked you about Twilight. Would it be possible for her to be his teacher? I’ll tell him that he can transform into his dragon form, but Twilight is going to have to teach it to him. I’m going to be busy here for a while with some political problems. I’ll send the instructions on how to perform the spell in a letter. Is that fine with you?”

It took her a moment to decide what to do, but she finally agreed. “Well, I’m busy myself these days, and Twilight is one of the best spell casters in the world, so yes, that would be best. I think it would be good for Twilight to start teaching, anyway.”

Overhearing this, Twilight let out a long gasp, wearing a gigantic smile on her face. Celestia continued. “Is there anything else you would like to talk about?”

“I have two things I would like to talk about, in fact.” The Elder replied. “First off, you mentioned that Discord had attacked Equestria nine months ago, and was defeated. However, in our perspective, he had only attacked Aspen a few days ago. There seems to be a time disparity between our two regions, and I think I know why.”

At the mention of the time difference, I perked my ear up, giving my full attention. “Discord wanted to conquer both of our kingdoms, but not at the same time. If he had attempted that, he would have been easily overwhelmed. I believe he slowed down time here in the Everfree, so he wouldn’t have to fear us getting involved in his engagements. This would explain the differences in daylight between our locations. The spell is only starting to wear off now, and it won’t fully diminish for some time.”

Celestia waved her hoof. “There’s no need to worry about that. I can cancel the spell in the morning. It would’ve been nice to know about this earlier, though.”

Night Rage sighed, and continued. “Also, I believe Asher must have been the reason why he destroyed Aspen, but to be honest, I don’t think it was Discord’s true intention at the start. I don’t think he had any knowledge that Asher was the Tu’eri. After all, Asher didn’t choose to be born the way he was. It was entirely random chance. I’m certain he figured it out after the initial attack, hence the reason he sent the griffon to kill him. By the sound of things, he and Cloud Walker were the only survivors.”

The Elder’s voice grew stern, with a hint of anger. “Secondly, I think we should have a talk about him, too.” He pointed toward the purple dragon, who became astonished after becoming the center of attention.

The Sun Princess looked back towards the dragon. “You don’t mean Spike, do you?”

“Who else would I be talking about?” The Elder replied with force. “It’s time we tell him about his parents, and what he is. He has a right to know. This should have been done years ago.”

Celestia didn’t say a word in reply. She simply tilted her head over and called for both Twilight and Spike to finally come over. Spike’s eyes were noticeably heavy. It was late in Canterlot, and far past when he would normally sleep. The spell Discord cast over the Everfree must have not worn completely off yet , because it still was daytime here.

Celestia put on a poker face, hiding the awkwardness that she showed just a moment ago. Spike knew something was up, because only Twilight was smiling. Trying not to look concerned, he rubbed his eyes. “So, what do you need me for?” Spike said.

He tried to sound more chipper than he really was, but then he noticed the pony lying on the bed and the other dragon in the mirror. His heart skipped a beat, and all his suspicions were gone. His eyes widened, and there was a sparkle in his right eye.

“So Princess, who are your friends?” He was trying to act calm, but on the inside, he was about to explode with joy. For the first time, he saw a dragon that wasn’t trying to either kill him, or be a jerk to him!

Celestia acted like she was walking on eggshells; building up suspense, she took a breath of air. “Spike, this is Night Rage,” she said. “He’s a old friend of mine. Both he and I think it’s time to have a talk.”

His words were soft, fearing what the matter was about. All of his happiness from seeing a friendly dragon was slowly draining. “A talk about what?”

Celestia spoke with a perfect deadpan. “Its…it’s about your parents.”

Shocked, the world started to fall down around him. He knew exactly what was coming. As he went numb, his mind was filled with questions. Anger was the first feeling to return, but it soon was overtaken by depression. Overwhelmed, he started to sob.

Twilight embraced him, sobbing slightly herself. It was such a powerful moment, that even the Elder shed a tear. Twilight whispered into his ear. “Don’t worry, I’m right here. Whatever comes out of this, remember that I’m still your sister, and I love you very, very much.” Spike nodded, squeezing her tight.

Twilight quickly became angry, and for the first time, her anger was directed at her mentor, Celestia. She had a few questions to ask her, and they couldn’t wait any longer. She exploded.

“IF YOU KNEW SPIKE’S PARENTS, THEN WHY DIDN’T YOU SAY SOMETHING!? THIS SHOULD’VE BEEN CLEARED UP YEARS AGO! WHY DID YOU ONLY WAIT UNTIL NOW?!” She kept screaming, having lost all inhibitions. She had never been angrier in her life, and of all the ponies in the world, Celestia was the most unlikely to have received the brunt of it. It was such a shocking even, even the Elder jumped in surprise; in fact, he thought he was going to see another pony head off to the moon. Even he wasn’t brave enough to yell at one of the most powerful creatures in the world.

Twilight calmed down, and continued. “For years, we’ve wanted to know what truly happened to Spike’s parents. We spent so much time looking for his origins, and the fact that you never spoke up about them kills me inside! Sure, Spike may have been too young, but I haven’t been a filly for a long time, now! Why did you hide this from me for so long?”

When Twilight was finished, Celestia did something nopony saw coming: She started to cry.

“Twilight, I never meant to hurt anypony,” she said between sobs. “I just did what I thought was right. I just didn’t think he was ready, or that he was old enough. I’m sorry for waiting so long.”

Everything was silent for a few moments, until Spike lifted his head. He stepped toward Celestia, and wiped a tear off of her face. “Don’t cry, Celestia,” he said softly. “I’m not mad. Why would I be? Next to Twilight, you’re the only family I have, and I love you both very much. Remember all the fun games of hide and seek we would play in the castle while Twilight did her homework? And all the bedtime stories you would tell Twilight and I? You taught me right from wrong, and how to read and write. You would even sewed up my teddy bear when I would rip it.
“I wouldn’t trade that for the world. I know you had a good reason why you chose to not tell me until now, and I don’t care.” He reached over and gave her an embrace. “You and Twilight are the closest things I’ll ever have to a mother and sister. I’ll never stop loving you both.”

Touched by his extremely mature words, Celestia nuzzled his face. “And I shall never stop loving you.“ Afterward, Twilight approached the two, and joined in their hug. All three were in a group hug when the Elder cleared his throat again, causing them to break their embrace and look toward him.

“Sorry to butt in, but would Spike like to know more about his parents?” he asked. “Because I still have that memory you gave me, and I’m sure I can play it through the mirror.”

“Well, I don’t mind,” Twilight said. “However, it’s not up to Celestia or I. It’s up to Spike.”

Spike thought about it for a long while, but he finally nodded in agreement. He always wanted to know who he truly was, and finally, he had his chance. The Elder gave a slight gesture and stepped outside of view. When he returned, he had a small jar with a green fog trapped inside. He cast a spell, and the mist flowed out of the jar, covering his image. After a flash of bright colors In the mirror, two figures showed up. They were dragons, male and female.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

8 Years ago…

It was night, and heavy rain was pouring down. No thunder had been present, the only sound being thousands of raindrops meeting their fate with the hard ground below. The two figures walked slowly in the rain, a tired look apparent on their faces. They were covered in black cloaks that hung low to the ground, making them look half dead. The female dragon was a mainly purple color. While her spikes and underbelly were a grayish white, her eyes were a sapphire blue. She held a single purple egg with green spots that she squeezed tightly, half covered by her clothing protecting it from the cold rain.

The male dragon was green, much like Spike’s underbelly, but his spikes were jet black, his eyes and underbelly a light grass green. He was carrying a plain box that had a label attached on top. The label read “To: Princess Celestia. Item number 1184. Luna’s crown” It, like the egg, was protected from the rain. They hid in the shadows of Canterlot, in the hopes that they would stay unfound by any of the townsfolk. This was one delivery that no one should know about, other than Night Rage, Celestia, and themselves.

It was around midnight when they arrived at the castle. Two guards, a Unicorn and a Pegasus, were standing watch when the two very tired dragons walked up to the gate.

The Unicorn spoke first. “Stop! Who goes there? This is a restricted area; you must have a invitation from the royal family.” The two guards crossed their spears together to prevent them from entering.

The male dragon pulled out a note from inside his cloak with magic, moving toward the guards. The Pegasus snatched it out of the air, and began to read it. His eyes danced cross the lines of the paper until he was finished.

“I see…” The Pegasus said. “You two may enter. The Throne Room will be to your left once you walk up the steps. Have a nice night.” The pony said, with a more relaxed tone.

The Unicorn’s aura hugged the massive Iron Gate that kept them outside as it slowly opened for the two dragons. Inside was a small narrow courtyard that held a few bushes, but other than that, it was a very simple room. Near the back of the path within was a set of marble stairs that lead into the castle itself. Once inside they did what they were told and took a left. Celestia was waiting for them, standing by the entrance to the throne room.

She greeted them with a smile. “I take it that Night Rage sent you two for the delivery?“ She then shook both of their claws with her hoof. “Let’s take this to my private study, where we can talk alone.”

“Thank you, fair princess,” The male dragon said. “But I don’t think we have introduced ourselves properly. I’m Thorn, and this is my wife, Lilly.”

Lilly smiled. “It’s great to meet you. I hope I didn’t mind but we had to bring our egg with us tonight It’s about to hatch, and we wanted to be with it when it did.”

“I can allow that.” Celestia replied with a comforting smile. “Now, I know that Rage told you two to head straight back to the Everfree Forest as soon as you were done here, but judging by the weather, I don’t he would mind if you spent the night here in the castle,” Celestia chimed “It’s the least I can do, since you two came all this way. In fact, I’ll take you guys to your room for the night right now! I won’t take no for an answer.”

Both dragons looked at each other for a moment trying to decide what they should do. A thunderbolt cracked through the air outside, which lit up the throne room through the massive stained glass windows that surrounded the room. With that, they chose to take Celestia’s offer.

As they walked along the massive hallways and up a set of stairs, there was a row of rooms that were used to house guests during parties and other group gatherings. Celestia opened the first door on the right, which held a single queen sized bed with purple sheets and golden pillows. There was a simple window with old-fashioned wood framing. In fact, the entire room looked old. There weren’t even any lamps inside. Only a few unlit candles were found on a night stand nearby, which they didn’t even bother lighting.

Celestia began to speak. “Now that we’re in a private place, let’s talk about lu…” She stopped suddenly, a curious look on her face. Curious themselves, the dragons turned in the direction Celestia was looking.

There was a black Pegasus watching through the window, the rain bashing his wet, fiery mane that laid flat to one side of his face. He had a shiny silver box with a small red button in his right hoof. Giggling loudly, he started to fly away off into the night,and pressed the button.

Sending the world into slow motion, there was a flash of blinding light. Lilly was closest to the window, and Celestia had only a few Moments to react. Instead of saving herself, she protected the egg with a magical force field.

BOOM!

As Celestia recovered from the explosion, rain started to splash in her face from the giant hole in the wall where they were standing moments ago. Color started to drain back into her eyes, a slight ringing in her ears. The room was nothing but rubble, the rain soaking everything it came in contact with. Looking around quickly, she found the egg, resting safely and unmarked. She had been able to save the egg...

...but she had still failed in saving two other lives.

Thorn had been crushed by a boulder. He laid there, unmoving, his eyes blankly staring off into space. Lilly didn’t even seem to notice. Her body was covered with glass, while every bone in her was broken. It was a medical miracle that she was even still alive. She did nothing but reach out with a claw, attempting to hold her egg for one last time.

She was so damaged, but she just kept going, trying to reach her child. She looked back to see Celestia, shaken but fine. Eventually, Lilly relented, dropping her arm to the ground.

Spitting up blood, she still found a way to talk. “Please…Celestia, take my child,” she croaked, sobbing the whole way through. “I’m not going to make it. Please…it’s my only child. It can’t die, not tonight. Not while it hasn’t had a chance at life.”

Celestia looked on in amazement at her unflinching resolve. Still reeling from the explosion, she immediately gave her a simple nod in agreement to her request. She may not have known these two dragons for very long, but in this harrowing moment, her motherly instincts took over.

Lilly smiled, showing thanks for her kindness. With her dying breaths, she made one final request. “Can… I hold my child one more time?” Without a word from Celestia, the egg was placed into her claw. Drawing staggered breaths, Lilly looked at her unborn child, and began to sing:

“Hush, Hush time to sleep,
Time to lay your sleepy head,
Hush, Hush, time to dream,
Time to say good night,
Hush, Hush Sleep in peace
Your daddy loves you,
Your mommy… loves you,
You’re a gift from above…
And … nothing… would… change… that.”

Her last words were simple. “My baby...your life is going to be a little different than most dragons, and I wish I could be there, but I can’t. Be good, ok? Don’t become greedy...you’re an Alpha Dragon, and we have a tendency to become overwhelmed by our own magic and become monsters because of this. Be fair...and show generosity. Mommy loves…you…so much.”

Her breath became more shallow, while blood ran down the corners of her mouth. As she held the egg with her broken arms, her vision began more funneled, and everything went dark. Her breath became long and drawn out, until nothing came out.

She was gone.

All that was left was Celestia and the egg. She could hear her guards rushing up the stairway, screaming orders out to others making their way up. As they entered what was left of the door frame, they saw Celestia. She was covered in cuts, holding a dragon egg in her hooves, trying to keep it warm, and crying.

That night, the bodies were cremated and sent back to the Elder, where they would be buried. A note was taped onto the package which held the ashes that would be transported by magic.

Dear Night Rage,

I know I contacted you earlier about the events from last night, but I want to tell you that I take full responsibility for their death, and I’m sorry for their loss. Fortunately, my guards have been able to capture the pony that caused the explosion. A background check has shown that he was a schizophrenia patient from a mental hospital not too far from the castle that had escaped the night before. He was able to get a hold of some explosives from a shipping lane by a local river in the next town over. We still have no idea why he chose to attack me, but my guards plan to find out.

-Your Loving Friend

Celestia.

One week later…

Celestia’s wounds had healed up nicely, and she was reading the newspaper when a servant came walking into her bedroom. She took a bite out of her morning blueberry muffin, and gave a gesture for him to talk. His long blond hair covered his eyes.

“My lady,” he said. “Do you remember that egg?”

Celestia’s eyes shot up from the paper. Beforehand, he didn’t have her full attention, but after the word, “egg”, she was all ears. “What about the egg?” Her voice was razor sharp.

Her eyes burned through the servant. He replied quickly. “Well, um, last night, one of the caretakers thought the egg was part of the test for the magic academy, and, well, they took it in to be used for the entrance exams.” The blond hair pony was ready for punishment he would be given, but to his amazement, she ran out of the bed, spilling her milk, and almost knocking the colt to the ground.

She ran towards the school at full speed. Fearing the worst, she took a shortcut through the garden. Passing by shocked ponies, she could help but to think about what might happen. What if I’m too late? What if one of the fillies or foals hurt it? I’ve got to hurry!

CRASH!

She looked up from her sprint to see a giant, mutated Alpha Dragon with purple scales and green spikes poking through the roof of the academy.

Oh Goddess! What’s going on?

She found the steps, moving faster than before, almost running into the entranceway. Thunderous sounds of pure energy could be heard from the farthest room at the end of the main hallway of the school. Going at full speed, she ran for the room. Books flew past her, while locker room doors slammed open and shut. When she reached the door, it flew open.

Inside was a small filly shooting spells so powerful that Star Swirl the Bearded would have been proud. Seeing that none of the spells were permanent, Celestia took a sigh of relief. With a small smile, she walked over to the small filly, and calmed her down. After everything was brought back to normal, she asked to talk to the filly and her parents back in her private study to discuss her enrollment as Celestia’s personal student.

One week later…

Twilight’s parents had agreed to adopt the baby dragon at Celestia’s request. She had stated that he was in better hands with them, and while they were hesitant at first, Celestia had agreed to help them financially, and they immediately accepted. Shining Armour, however, was less than pleased. It was bad enough he had to share a room with a little filly, and now there was a dragon sleeping right next to him, and he wasn’t a sound sleeper. However, over a week, he had grown attached to him as well.

It had been a week-and-a-half since the baby was taken into the family. Ttwilight had just walked into the house from school when her mom called her into the kitchen. As she entered, her mom was cleaning some dishes while the dragon played with a spoon in his high chair.

“I made you a jelly sandwich you, Twilight!” Her mother cheerfully exclaimed. “It’s right there on the table, waiting for you.” As she sat there, enjoying her meal, the phone started ringing. Her mom picked it up and started talking.

“Hello?... I see… ok. Thank you. Good bye!” She hung up the phone, and gave a look towards Twilight. “Honey, that was the courthouse. They need to know what the baby’s name is going to be by tomorrow. If you don’t pick by bedtime, your father will.”

“Not daddy!” Twilight cried out. “He wants to name him after Grandpa.”

“And what’s wrong with that?” her mother said with a frustrated tone.
“But Garfunkel is a stupid name!”

“I hope you don’t tell Grandpa that. So, what do you have in mind, honey?”

“Well, I have one in mind,” she said, defensively. “But you’ll laugh, I know it.”

“Oh, it’s got to be better than whatever your father has in mind.” Her mother chimed.

Twilight’s voice was a whisper. “Well, I like how soft and cute his spikes are, so...I kinda want to name him Spike.”

“Spike?” Her mother questioned. “Are you sure?”

“Yeah, why not?” Twilight answered. “Celestia said I could name him, and that’s the name I choose.”

Her mom chuckled. “Then it’s settled. We’ll head over to the courthouse after we pick up some food in the morning.”

Twilight cheered as she danced around the kitchen. It was settled! The dragon’s name was Spike Sparkle.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The mirror’s image slowly faded back to the Elder. Everyone was silent. I had awakened during the vision, and joined the Elder in the display while the memory had played, and was shocked by what I saw. Celestia hung her head in shame as Twilight held Spike’s claw. He was the first to break the silence.

“I thought this would answer all my questions, but it only left me with more,” Spike affirmed. “What’s an Alpha Dragon? What happened to the crazy pony in the story, and why wasn’t I or Twilight told about this till now?” Spike was confused. He didn’t know if he should be angry or saddened by the situation. He was so overwhelmed by what he saw; he broke down, and started to bawl.
Both Twilight and Celestia tried to calm him down, but nothing worked. After several minutes of trying, they were about to place a sleeping spell on him so he could get some rest. However, I approached the bowl. This poor dragon needed some reassurance.

“Hello? Spike?” All eyes were on me. “I’m Asher, the Tu’eri. Look, I’m may have only just met you, but I know what you’re going through, because I’m going through it, too. Remember how they found Aspen destroyed by Discord several months ago? Well, it’s felt like only a few days for me, due to a curse he placed. My best friend and I were the only survivors.”

I paused, choosing my words carefully. “I lost my friends, my family, even my home. You have to stay strong, because no one else can do it for you. Now, I guess I’m going to be staying with you guys over there soon, so we can help each other out when I get there. Does that sound good to you?”

Spike looked up to look at me, and I smiled at him through the mirror. With sleepy eyes, Spike sniffled, and was able to get out a few words. “I would like that. Thank you very much.”

“You’re welcome, little buddy. It’s the least I can do,” I chimed.

I got no response out of Spike, because he had fallen asleep. His snoring was almost as loud as his crying had been. Twilight took him out of the room towards where they would be staying the night. Soon they were gone, leaving only Celestia, Night Rage, and myself.

The Elder changed the subject back to Spike’s wellbeing. “So, Celestia, what kind of education does Spike get back out home?”

“Oh.” She had to think about it. “I believe he is homeschooled. Why do you ask?”

Night Rage explained. “Up to this point, I would have been fine with that, but since Twilight going to be spending much of her time teaching Asher magic, I believe he should be enrolled into his local school system as soon as possible. There’s not going to be enough time for her to teach both of them, and Asher needs to be given the best help possible. Without proper teaching, all that raw power locked inside him could explode, just like what happened to Twilight. Think about what kind of harm he could dish out.”

Beforehand, I didn’t like the idea of more schooling, but I understood why it had to be done. I had powers that I needed to learn to control, and who would be better to teach me, than the Element of Magic herself?

Neither I nor the Elder could tell what Celestia was thinking. “I’ll talk to Twilight about it in the morning,” She replied. “Both she and Spike need their rest. Asher, It’s a good thing you were heading to Ponyville, because that where they live.” Celestia’s voice became more relaxed at the end of that statement.

“Thank you,” Night Rage said. “Also, let them know that I’ll be sending my youngest son, Shadow, along with Cloud Walker and Asher. I think that it would be good for the young boy. They’ve already become friends, and I don’t want Shadow to miss out on this opportunity. It would be good for the both of them.

“Spike also could use a friend who he can relate to more, someone of his own kind. I can arrange for Shadow to attend school in Ponyville, and he can teach him what being an Alpha Dragon is all about. Is this fine with you?”

Both Celestia and I were shocked. “Why, I don’t mind,” Celestia said. “But I think Asher is the pony you should be asking.”

“Me?” I replied. “No, I’m fine with it, but are you sure you want your son coming with Cloud and I? Trouble always finds us, you know.”

The Elder chuckled. “I’m ok with it. Like I said before, Shadow could use this opportunity.”

Celestia interrupted. “It’s decided, then. I need to get to sleep, but I hope to see you later, Asher.” With that, Celestia’s image faded from the bowl.

Night Rage turned toward me, and spoke. “I wish you could stay a little longer, but you’re going to have to leave in the morning. Will that be fine with you?”

“That works for me,” I replied. “But I really need to get some medical help for my wing, and I’m still missing part of my ear. Shouldn’t I get checked out before I go?”

Night Rage sighed. “Again, I wish you could, but none of the doctors here know how to treat ponies. You can get treated when you arrive in Ponyville. I’m sorry about that.”

I tilted my head. “Don’t worry about it. I’ll be fine.”

The Elder stood there for a few moments before saying, “I also wanted to apologize for my ‘legal guardian’ comment before.”

I winced, but kept looking him in the eye. I needed to set something straight with him. “Look, I know that you want what’s best for me, and that you look at me as your son, rather than a guest,” I began. “But you need to understand where I’m coming from. In a matter of a few days, my entire life was destroyed before my eyes, and I’ve learned that almost everything I knew was wrong. In my mind, my parents aren’t a dragon named Night Rage, and a living goddess named Celestia. My parents’ names are Elden and Sun Rays, and they always will be. Nothing can change that.”

I sighed, then continued. “I know it’s not entirely your fault that I am what I am, but it’s going to take me some time to adjust to my new life. When I’m ready, I’ll let you know.”

The Elder put a claw on my shoulder, and smiled “Thank you for understanding, Asher. I was selfish to not consider your feelings.” He cleared his throat. “We should go over to Night Swirl’s house. That’s where you, Cloud, and Shadow will be spending the night.” With that, the Elder cast a new teleportation spell, and they were off.

After a moment of swirling light, they were standing in what looked like a living room with Cloud, Night Swirl, and a small dragon. The little dragon looked similar to Spike, but instead of having purple spikes, his were black. His underbelly and spikes were the same green as Spike’s were.

The house was simple; they were standing in a small white living room, which housed a radio, bookshelf and couch. There were three bedrooms in the house, while the kitchen and the dining room were put together, and a single bathroom off to the side.

I looked at the small dragon and asked him, “I take it that you’re Shadow, right?”

“Sure am!” He exclaimed. “I’ve heard a lot about you! It’s so cool to finally meet ponies! You’ve got to tell me what it’s like. Where are you from? Oh, you have wings! That’s so cool!” Shadow was much like Cloud in that he couldn’t stop talking.

“Shadow, please calm down a bit,” Night Swirl interjected. Shadow took a deep breath, and relaxed. “Asher, this is Shadow, my little brother. He’ll be coming with us to Ponyville.”
I reached out to shake his claw. He took it reluctantly, but then grasped my hoof, and eagerly soaked in the feeling of it. Somehow, I knew he would be a great travel companion. After all, with all of his questions, Cloud and I at least wouldn’t be bored.

The Grand Elder recapped the day’s events to Cloud and Night, who were both saddened and shocked by the story of my origins and Spike’s parents. Cloud took it surprisingly well, but was still concerned about me. It took quite a bit of reassurance that I wasn’t going to turn into a hideous monster.

After the tale was told, we all sat down to eat a wonderful dinner. Cloud was given a nice, vegetarian meal, and he ate it extremely quickly, not even bothering to savor the taste. However, I was flabbergasted when Night Rage put what looked like deer meat, along with a salad, in front of me. Cloud looked just as surprised.

“Night Rage,” I said. “You do realize that I’m not a dragon. I don’t eat meat. In fact, Cloud and I are not that comfortable with you eating it in front of us as well.”

Night Rage looked at me with a serious look. “Asher, I’m going to have to level with you, here. I’ve awakened the dragon part of you, which means that you’re going to need meat in your diet, now. It won’t be pleasant, but you must do it.”

I stared at him for a while, trying to get the message “I don’t eat meat” through his head, but he was adamant. I turned back toward my dinner, and examined the meat. To be honest, instead of looking horrid, it started to look appetizing. I started to noticeably salivate, drool dripping down my cheeks. Slowly, I took a tiny bite.

Taking what felt like hours, I sloshed the deer meat around my mouth, taking in the texture and taste. My mind said “disgusting”, but my mouth said “delicious”. Swallowing, I looked back at my meal in disgust, but took another, slightly larger, bite.

This one, I decided, was less gross than the last, and quickly chewed and swallowed. I finished the rest of my meal over time, using the salad as an anchor for my stomach. Cloud looked at me with his jaw wide open, not believing what he just saw. This was probably the first time a pony had eaten meat, and enjoyed it.

I simply stood from the table, and said, “I’m never going to get used to that.” After walking three steps, I felt a disturbance in my stomach. I rushed out of the house, and immediately barfed on the grass outside. My conflicting emotions had gotten the better of me, and I rejected the meat.

The other four members of the household rushed outside, and took me in, laying me on the couch in the living room. Shadow and Night Swirl rushed to the kitchen to find an ice pouch, while Cloud and Night Rage stood over me. Soon, the ice pouch was placed on my head. It’s cool feeling on me was extremely welcome.

“I know it’s terrible, but that’s what you’re going to have to do, now.” Night Rage said. “You’ll get used to it in time.”

I stirred a little bit, uncomfortable with what I was going to ask. “Night Rage? Could...could I have some more?”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The following morning was spent preparing for the trip to Ponyville. Thankfully, the second meal of deer meat I devoured stayed in my stomach throughout the night. As much as I hated to admit it, Night Rage was completely right: I was indeed part dragon, and would have to eat meat every once in a while to keep up my strength. I only hoped and prayed that it wouldn’t have to be often.

After saying our goodbyes to the Grand Elder, we left that afternoon. We choose to sleep during the day, due to the fact that there were tons of Timber Wolves preying about during the night. Shadow had all kinds of questions for Cloud and I. He asked what it was like to walk on four hooves, what flying was like, why ponies couldn’t eat meat, etc. It was a nice change of pace to be able to answer the questions, rather than ask them.

After an uneventful week of traveling, we could finally see Ponyville, just a few short miles away.