Spike's trip to Apocrypha

Chapters

Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
chapter 4

Chapter 1

Spike the Dragon sat on the rooftop balcony of the Golden Oaks Library. The night air nipped at his scales, and yet, he chose not to go inside. He had far too much on his mind. As he looked into the sky, the stars called out to him. Twilight’s borderline obsession with constellations provided him with the knowledge to read the sky.

The stars speak in a language impossible for mortals to understand. For their language is quiet and slow, yet at the same time it is constant and sparse. They speak of possibilities yet to come, or perhaps those that have already come, and have been forgotten.

Among the bravest of society, those who have dared to look beyond the night sky, the stars have filled them with a horrible terror. To stare into a truly infinite universe; one cannot imagine a worse truth. For whom is to say that the universe does not stare back?

Spike was snatched from his stupor as he heard a very loud woo, presumably from Pinkie Pie. With his wits then about him, he realized the air was indeed quite chilly, and not at all suited for a cold-blooded reptile like himself. The warmth of the fire drew him in as an addict to familiarity.

The door slowly cast light into his darkened bedroom. There upon his bed sat the infernal tome, an issue of Power Ponies, but not just any old issue. It was the issue where the Masked Matter-Horn and Radiance teamed up to fight off the scouting party of an alien invasion. The only problem was, the story resonated with Spike, maybe just a little too much.

The moment his eyes fell upon the lanky form of said alien, thousands of images flashed through his head of his friends fighting off the alien menace. As, honestly, that would not even rank in the top three weirdest things to have happened to them.

The newest conundrum, of which the world seemed to have an endless supply, was whether or not he should continue reading the book, join the party, or go to bed. Joining the party was out of the question as Twilight had barred his entry due to the presence of alcohol.

In a bout of unease, he grabbed the comic and hastily flung it out of his sight. It landed, sloppily, at the foot of Twilight’s bed, the pages folding over on themselves. His head hit the pillow, and he was out like a light, or at least that’s what he would have wanted to happen, however, his obsessive nature forbade sleep until the comic was properly stashed away.

With an effortful grunt, he flipped the blanket off, and reached for the comic. From his vantage point, he was able to see under Twilight’s bed. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted a large, black book.

“Well now, you don’t belong there,” he reached for the book and brought it fully into his vision. While it wasn’t un-characteristic of Twilight to leave books scattered around the place, this just didn’t quite fit the standard. The book itself was also strange. Its binding was decrepit, and yet it was stable. Though it seemed the book would fall apart at the very notion of reading it, within Spike’s claws, he felt no give.

He glanced at the spine of the book, and though it was indeed decrepit, he was able to make out two words: Waking Dreams.

Spike sat upon Twilight’s admittedly comfy bed, holding the apparently ancient book in his hands. His fingers drummed its spine in concentration. His previous conundrum had evolved into a full blown predicament.

His body begged for sleep, yet his mind begged for answers. His curiosity eventually won out, and his claw slowly lifted the cover of the page. He found before him, a book. Honestly, what else did he expect?

His eyes creeped along the lines, “The eyes, once bleached by falling stars of utmost revelation, will forever see the faint insight drawn by the overwhelming question, as only the True Enquiry shapes the edge of thought.”

He didn’t even have time to question the absurdity of what he just read before the pages went completely black with ink.

“What the hay,” he dropped the book atop Twilight’s comforter, where it lay flat on its spine. From his angle, Spike was able to see a very long vine-like appendage lift from the book and creep towards him. His reservations left him along with his fatigue, and he expelled a plume of fire at the appendage.

The flames seemed to pass right through it, and slam into the book itself. The book however, sustained no damage, unlike Twilight’s comforter which now sported a burn in the shape of said book. Spike was helpless as the appendage wrapped around his neck, and pulled him into the book. His vision went dark.

When he awoke, the surroundings assaulted his senses. A foul, thick odor permeated his nose. A low, droning wailing seemed at the same time to be infinitely far away, and yet directly in his ear. Most distressing of all was the sight laid before him. Gone was Twilight’s bed, replaced by a horizon of green and white. He stood upon an island of cobblestone in a sea of black.

To his side, he saw the very same book that just abducted him. In an effort to put as much distance as possible between him and the book, he clawed himself away from the book and toward the black sea.

He inched closer to the liquid, and peered over the edge, where only his reflection stared back. Shakily, he dropped his index claw into the liquid, only to snatch it back. The liquid seeped into his scales, burning his flesh, yet not actually harming the skin. It was as though the liquid harmed him, rather than his body.

“What is this place,” he asked aloud.

Apocrypha

“What the hay was that,” he covered his eyes with his hands. The voice had no point of origin, he felt as though it was everywhere and nowhere at the same time.

Fear not young Spike, no harm will come to you here.

“How do you know my name?”

I know all there is to know. Such as a name is trivial for one such as I. Please, young Spike, open your eyes.

Against his body’s best wishes, he slowly removed his claws from his face. The entity before him was indescribable. No Shape, no texture, nothing that could even indicate it was alive. There was one discernible feature however, the eye. In the center of the entity sat the great eye of a goat.

“Who, or what are you? Where am I?”

I am Hermeaus Mora, daedric prince of knowledge, and this…is my plane of Oblivion, Apocrypha. Welcome.

“Why did you bring me here?”

Interesting, what leads you to believe I am the one to bring you here? Why would you not assume that you came…to me?

“You said this is your plane, and that book,” he pointed at Waking Dreams on the floor, “brought me here,”.

Did you not choose to read the book?

“Well, I did open the book, but I didn’t want to come here.”

Such wants are…irrelevant. You held the book in your own…hands, and against all of your knowledge, you opened it. Your curiosity led you here, but it did not bring you.

“How do I go home?”

If you tire of this plane…read your book again. You shall return to your own realm, for a time. The lure of Apocrypha will draw you back.

He picked up the book, and pressed his claws between the pages.

Before you go, if you were to impart a donation of knowledge into my realm…I would greatly appreciate that.

Spike wanted nothing more than to rip the book’s pages open and return to his home. Yet, he did not.

“Donation? Didn’t you say you knew everything?“

The…tactile…existence of facts allows them to be easily categorized. What I seek is far more ephemeral.

“What do you want?”

Reason. It is one thing to know the stars align…it is quite another to learn why.

What I seek from you…Spike…is just that. Why are you not called by your true name?

“My what now,” he shook his head, “Spike is my true name, I’ve had it my entire life.”

Interesting… Tell me Spike, what does the name Durinaar mean to you?

“Should I recognize it? ‘Cause I don’t.”

Fascinating, a Dovah that does not even know his own tongue. Young Spike, you have given me a great boon of knowledge this day, and as a reward, I shall grant you the knowledge of your true name.

“Whoa now, let’s just hold on a second. Firstly, Spike is still my name. Secondly, what good is knowing a name if I don’t know the language it’s written in?”

Fret not, for it was always my intention to grant you my knowledge of the Dovah tongue along with your name.

“And if I refuse?”

Your curiosity will go unsated, and you will inevitably find your way back to me. Back to this exact scenario.

“You…won’t force me to learn it? That’s how Twilight always does.”

Knowledge is not a book that needs to be jammed onto a shelf. Knowledge is the flow of the words on the pages. You can not force knowledge upon one who does not already wish to learn.

“Ok, well… Then I accept your reward.”

Very good

Rushing wind filled Spike’s eardrums as his mind was imparted knowledge of Dovah tongue. He sealed his eyes as thousands of years of language ingrained itself.

You understand it now. Don’t you Durinaar?

“Yes,” he opened his eyes, now completely void of curiosity, “I do.”

“Dur-in-aar. Cursed. Master. Servant. I am Durinaar.”

Author's Note

First fic y'all, tell me what you think.

Bear in mind, I have no editors or proofreaders. There will be mistakes, I'm sorry.

Chapter 2

Spike woke in Twilight's bed, upright. The book still sat within his claws, now closed. His head throbbed, pain gripped his skull like a vice. As he lowered the book, into his sight came the large burn mark left by his struggles with the book. The entire experience with the prince faded from his mind, and the sight of a very disappointed Twilight took its place. He began to pace back and forth atop Twilight's bed.

"Oh no... Twilight's gonna kill me! She'll force me to move out, and...and...", tears started welling up in his eyes. The combination of tears, post-Apocrypha headaches, and elevated position eventually led to Spike misplacing a step, and tumbling down off her bed. Spike landed head-first on the oak floor.

The collision rattled his senses, it was as though his body had been restarted. Thankfully, his fearful stupor did not carry over to his new position. Righting himself, slowly, his gaze once again drifted to the burn. His eyes surveyed the pattern on the comforter...blank. The comforter was a blank, uniform color. Spike's eyes lit up. If he could just exchange out this one for another similar one, surely a tipsy Twilight wouldn't be any the wiser. He began un-doing the magically fitted bed, grumbling all the while at the convenience of unicorn magic.

It had worked, he was safe, for now. Spike ran a claw across his brow in a gesture of finality. The bed was made, albeit a bit messily, and the book was hid safely beneath his basket. Not a moment too soon either, as a large yawn exited the little drake's mouth. He dropped down to all fours, and slinked into his basket, allowing the blanket to cascade over him. It was paradise.

He closed his eyes, and...nothing. He had been so tired just a few minutes ago, and yet here he was, not asleep. He relinquished himself to his pillow, and simply allowed his mind to wander. Naturally, his thoughts drifted back to Apocrypha. Was that all just a dream? It certainly didn't feel like one, then again neither did any of his other dreams. He was much too terrified, however, at the prospect of it not being a dream, that he dare not open the book again. Eventually, the drake's nigh-infinite supply of energy finally ran dry, and he slipped into a gentle sleep.

Standing back upon the cursed cobble, his gaze focused on an infinitely far away concept. The wailing had returned. His gaze cast upon an impossibly tall tower, styled similarly to Canterlot Castle. A very humid wind past over him, carrying with it the stench of moldy paper. Immediately before him, a large, intricate petal of iron sat above the black liquid. The drake took a step over the sea of black, then another, and another. This pace increased until he was fully committed to walking the length of the petal. Looking ahead, he spotted the entrance at the bottom of the tower.

Unbeknownst to the small drake, he had wandered close to the edge of the petal. He was made ware of his surroundings by the splashing of a long, black, vine slinking out of the black. His instincts took over, and he launched himself back, away from the edge. The vine, seemingly acting on instinct, slammed the ground where he was, before slinking back into the depths. In the distance, he could see another stone platform. With great intensity, he ran for the platform, inadvertently admitting to the vines his location. In front of him, to the right of the path, a vine rose and prepared to attack. In the split second he had, Spike's mind was flooded with the language imposed on him by the prince.

The fear left his body, and a deep breath he took, "FUS!".

He was once again awoken, this time however, was due to the force imparted onto Twilight's bed, specifically by his skull. Despite the darkness, his dragon eyes granted him sight. That of which, was not what he expected. The side of the wall across his basket which he usually faced was in shambles. Alongside that, Twilight's bed was now greatly perverted, exposing the untrodden wood beneath.

His head, already throbbing, now addled, allowed for a brief respite in the form of a quickly dissipating numbness. He weakly stumbled to his feet, all the while keeping his claw on his head. As his senses returned to him, the situation began to fully sink in. Forget a small burn on the blanket, he had just destroyed half of their room! There was no way Twilight and the others hadn't heard this. There was no more hiding it. He fell to his rear, and a salty liquid began to form in his eyes.

However, as he waited, and waited, nothing ever happened. Nopony came to the door, there was no spontaneous teleportation from Twilight. There was simply, nothing. Eventually, he worked up the courage to open the door. Nothing, not even the sounds of a party. He glanced back at the destroyed room. Guilt welled up within him, if only he had never opened that accursed book. He had to leave, if not to avoid their wrath, then to avoid damaging his home any further. He gently walked down the stairs, pausing at the last step.

There, in all their glory, were the Elements of harmony, absolutely plastered like drywall. Rainbowdash was splayed out on her back in the middle of the floor. Rarity had procured the counter as a makeshift fainting couch. Applejack was sat back in a chair with her hat over her face. Fluttershy was cuddled up with Owlowiscious. Most fittingly perhaps, was Twilight, muzzle-deep in a book, completely out cold.

On any other day, Spike would have rejoiced in the hilarity of the situation. The current climate, however, was just too unstable. He daintily planted one foot onto the ground floor, expecting some kind of retaliation. None ever came. The stroll to the font door seemed to extend with each step. Finally, he reached the entrance, his hand reached out to grasp the handle. As he did, a thought came to his mind, where was Pinkie Pie? In his attendance taking earlier, he hadn't noticed the pink pony. His heart caught in his throat, an he turned to find her. Oddly, however, no matter how much he looked, he never saw her. That is, until he looked up, and saw her, hanging from a bundle of balloons, asleep.

The tension within his body left through a thunderous exhale, and what replaced it was an intense embarrassment. He flung the door open and stepped outside into the chilly night air. The first flakes of snow had just begun to fall, and the ground was collecting wet patches. His eyes took in the landscape of Ponyville, many houses still had their Nightmare Night decorations up. Despite the festival of the eyes, none of it felt a safe refuge. His friends were all in his house, and he wasn't quite sure the residents of Ponyville had forgiven him for the Dragon Greed event, not enough to take him into their home unannounced. No, odd situations require odd solutions. His head turned to the end of town, and there he saw, the entrance to the Everfree Forrest.

Author's Note

Let me know what y'all think!

Chapter 3

The silence of the Everfree Forest was battered by the pitter patter of small dragon feet, and the panting of a very tired whelp. He ran, and ran, and despite the quiet peace of the forest, the sounds of wrath echoed ever louder in his head, the wrath of his friends. The further he ran, the less he was able to do so. Cold air stabbed at his outer scales like claws, sapping his heat, and his strength.

He continued his charge until a fallen branch snared his foot, bringing him down. The dirt was freezing cold. The sights that surrounded him were that of fallen trees and trampled brush. The clearing appeared to be the aftermath of a manticore mating season. A deep shiver ran up his spine, though, he wasn't quite sure if the weather was the cause. Whatever the case, warmth had become his priority. There sat a pre-splintered pile of wood, perfect firewood. His body had stiffened significantly, forcing him to crawl towards the kindling. With a deep inhale, Spike put forth effort into a blast of fire that should've ignited the kindling and provided him warmth. Should've.

Despite his great effort, the fire that he wished to put forth materialized as a thick, black smoke. Once again, with a deep inhale, smoke. It was significantly thinner this time. Once more did he try, and once more did smoke come out, barely a mist at this point.

"Why isn't it working?"

A salty liquid began to seep down his face once again. In an effort to conserve what little body heat he had left, he swept the dirt around him, creating a shallow crater. He crawled into the pit and surrounded himself with the nearby kindling.

A flurry was his mind, the events of the past hour swirled like a whirlpool. He saw himself surrounded by his friends, their faces contorted into grimaces. He was then surrounded by the putrid odor of Apocrypha, and with the smell, came the visage of the prince. The disgustingly gangly experience of conversing with it gave rise to a deep hatred within Spike.

No matter the thought, however, it all kept slithering back to the moment in the bedroom. Within his dream, he had spoken a word, and yet it had real life consequences. It was almost as if...

"I said the word out loud in my sleep!"

The whirlwind had calmed for the moment. Spike threw the excess insulation off him, and stood despite his body's fault. The word, what he wanted, echoed in his mind. He gathered a nice amount of wood, and calmed himself as much as the cold would allow. With a deep inhale, he spoke the word...

YOL

Even before the word had finished, he felt the warmth, the faad, spread throughout his body. When the feeling met his mouth, a gout of orange fire erupted, striking the kindling and igniting a fire. There he stood, in front of a fire, one he created nonetheless, and yet he couldn't believe it. All he had done was speak, and...well, fire.

The seconds turned to minutes, and the fire began to slowly wither. The returning cold snapped him back to his senses, and he did search for firewood.

After he had gathered what he saw as an adequate supply, Spike resettled into the pit. With the newfound heat of the fire, and the effects of running through the forest beginning to catch up with him, it did not take long before the small dragon fell into slumber.

Twilight Sparkle's eyes fluttered open with a terrible slowness. She lifted her muzzle, and came with it, the book she was sleeping on. Her purple aura surrounded the book and separated it from her face. With the lifting of her head came the unmistakable feeling of nausea. The nausea was accompanied by a splitting headache that threatened to steal her consciousness. Despite the fire, the temperature could at best be described as sub-optimal. At that moment, she could think of nothing more than her warm bed, and fluffy comforter.

Each step towards her room felt like scaling a vertical surface. The path was long and arduous, yet in the end, Twilight found her treasure, her beloved bed. Her magical aura lifted the blanket from the mattress, and in she slipped. Her head found her pillow, and never before had such a harmonious relationship been created. There she slept, for innumerable hours.

It was only the pecking of Owlowiscious' beak that allowed her the gift of awaking. The feeling of tiredness was subservient to the feeling of cotton in her mouth, or at least that's how she perceived it. She rose, and allowed her hooves freedom to stretch. Only after the magnificence of the stretch did the aftereffects of the party find her. A dull throbbing permeated her mind.

"What do you want Owlowiscious?"

Hoo

Twilight's mental faculties all but ground to a halt as she tried to decode the cryptic hints of her most faithful bird.

"Alright already, I'll get you some breakfast. Where's Spike anyway? It was his turn to make breakfast for us."

Hoo

"You're an amazing conversationalist, you know that?"

She tossed away her comforter, and planted her hooves on the floor of her...very, very messy room. Her eyes darted across the floor, and spied a substantial mess had manifested. The epicenter of which was on Spike's side. only then was it apparent Spike's basket was missing. Her headache seemed to dull significantly, and her body temperature rose.

Her hooves clattered against the floor as she searched for her assistant. Up and down the stairs she ran, all the while searching. "Spike! Where are you, Spike?"

She halted at the beckoning of Owlowiscious in her room. When she entered, the sight of Owlowiscious perched upon a large, black book greeted her. The owl's claws wrapped around the cover of the book, and he flapped his wings, peeling the bindings apart, exposing the elderly pages within. As though history was a song, it too was repeated. A long, slender vine snaked out of the book, and wrapped itself around Twilight's midsection. Before she could even protest, the book had claimed her.

Her vision returned, and was assaulted with the sight of Apocrypha. Deep within the foundations of her sentience, she was privy to a kind of fear unknown to most past foal hood. Her body, the hooves, front and back, would've been content to become a fixed point in the universe, never moving again, no matter the consequence. Her brain asserted its power over her limbs, and forced them forward. Down the cobbled path, in the same style of Spike, did she travel.

Who dares to enter my realm unannounced?

The voice came from everywhere, and nowhere. It was desperately far away, it was against her eardrums.

"Who is that? Where am I? Where is Spike?", her questions came not of genuine curiosity, but of a primal confusion.

You...are an acquaintance of Durinarr...

"What are you talking about? I just want Spike back, and I'll leave."

Please...calm yourself Twilight...Sparkle...

"How do you know my name?"

So alike...the two of you are...he asked of me the same

"He? You mean Spike? Please, I'll do anything, just please give him back to me!", her voice wavered significantly.

Anything...are you certain of your...conviction?

"Yes.", her answer was without doubt.

I may request something of you in the future...but for now...I shall tell you all you must know...

chapter 4

Spike's slumber was interrupted by the roar of a creature significantly larger than he. The baby dragon cowered beneath his insulative blanket of dirt. A large hoof slammed into the dirt near him, followed by a paw. Something large slammed into the ground only feet away from him. He was certain it would've crushed him. A loud hissing followed the slam. Something was swung through the air, and swept his cover away, exposing the battle between a chimera and a large rockodile.

He wasted no time running for cover, but was stopped when the snake head of the chimera blocked his path. It opened its mouth, and revealed its fangs. Venom poured from its mouth like a waterfall. With only a second to react, Spike shouted.

YOL

The snake head was ignited, and reared in pain. He used the opportunity to run to a nearby brush. From his spot, he could watch the battle take place. The chimera's teeth pierced the rock of the rockodile, and sunk into the supple flesh beneath. In retaliation, the rockodile's gargantuan jaws clamped down on the chimera's foreleg, and it began to flop over on its side, then back upright, over and over again. Before the chimera could even process what had begun to happen, the creature's foreleg had been avulsed. As the chimera's mouth opened to scream in pain, the rockodile leveraged its stony tail as an atlatl, flinging the beast into a thick fallen tree. It collapsed on the forest floor, dead.

The rockodile settled for a moment, then sniffed the air, and turned its head to Spike.

"Uh...hi there?"

The beast's legs forced into the dirt, and it started to hiss.

"No! No, I don't want to fight." He took half a step back.

The beast coiled its tail like the spring on a mouse trap.

Despite his pleas, it appeared this animal wanted to fight.

"So that's everything, any questions?" asked Twilight.

"Just one darling. What in Celestia's name are we standing around for? Little Spikey is out there all alone in this dreadful weather."

"I know Rarity, but we can't just go in without a plan, we'd just make everything worse."

"Twi? you spoke to this 'Mora felle-uh, thing, right? Did he seem trustworthy to you?"

"Honestly, no. Not at all, but it's the only lead we have on finding Spike. "

"Well then what're we waiting for? Let's go find him before something else does!", Rainbow Dash punctuated her sentence by slamming her hooves together.

"For once Rainbow Dash, we agree on something. I can simply wait no longer, come along everypony.", Rarity's horn lit up as she opened the door and walked out, followed by Rainbow dash.

Twilight's shoulders slumped. Applejack laid a hoof on her back, "don'tcha worry Sugarcube, we'll get Spike back, no matter what."

Spike ducked as the gargantuan tail flew over his head. Wind from the attack licked his scales. He let go a plume of fire at the hide of the beast, but the flames were dissipated by the beast's skin. The beast settled about two ponies away from him, and glared. Spike took a deep breath, and shouted.

YOL

A large fireball erupted from the drake, and prominently dissipated against the skin of the beast. Despite this, the shout did in fact seem to damage the beast's hide slightly. In retaliation, its jaws parted, and the beast lunged.

FUS

The beast was stopped dead in its tracks. The instant it was, Spike was back in Apocrypha, he remembered the language taught to him, how it felt for the knowledge to sear into his mind. He considered for time, the way in which the language was structured, then remembered that he had been taught not just a few words, but an entire language. In all the chaos, is was rather easy to forget the details.

He opened his eyes, and the forest once again surrounded him. The beast, still stunned from the shout, sat right in front of him. How could he possibly convey to a creature that can't speak his request for peace? By shouting in his face of course. He took in a large breath, and let fly a longer shout.

KAAN, DREM

He fell to his knees out of breath, one consequence of shouting. His eyes fell on the beast, who seemed to be picking bits of chimera out of his teeth, completely uninterested in the battle he was engulfed in mere seconds ago.

It was only now, that his heart had slowed, he was able to fully comprehend the situation he was in. Until this point, his mind had felt cluttered, as though everything was blurred. No doubt a side effect of an otherworldly entity pressing a foreign language into his mind. Nevertheless, this was neither the time or the place for such revelations. Now was the moment at which he found himself at a crossroad. Would he fall back into the loving embrace of his old life, and attempt to cope with the knowledge he was burdened with? Or, would he walk further into grasp of nature, and claim his birthright, as the king of any ecosystem? After all, is it not the place of a dragon to rule?

"Spike! Where are you?", off in the distance, a voice, female, most likely Twilight. They had come to find him. How could they possibly know where he is? It's only been half a day at most. Doesn't matter now, they're here, that's what matters. Once again, it appeared that the universe did not intend to give him a choice. Therefore, he must take it.

The drake slithered his way across the forest floor toward the voice. Where one is, the others can't be far behind. He stopped when he heard the clopping of hooves against dirt. eventually, they come into his line of sight, just beyond a thick hedge.

"Spike! Please come home with us! I'm not mad about the room, I know you're confused!"

The room? What was she... OH, the room! He had completely forgotten. It was the reason he was out here in the first place, and he'd...forgotten? The foolishness of his actions cracked him like a whip.

"What in Celestia's name am I doing out here?"

He stood, and began walking toward his friends, not even trying to conceal his presence anymore. He rose his claw to speak, and whatever noise came out of his mouth was drowned by a deafening roar. His claw dropped, and his legs pumped. He burst through the thick hedge, just to come face to face with a very large manticore.

"Spikey!"

"Girls, stay behind me!"

The manticore lunged forward, dipping right and circling around the drake. Spike pivoted and drew a breath.

FUS RO

The manticore was flung into a tree, toppling it.

"You want my friends, you go through me."

"Did Spike just....?", Applejack trailed off.

"Uh huh...", responded Fluttershy.

The beast rose, and stood against Spike. Its eyes betrayed the kind of anger only an animal can have, a primal one. The instincts written in the blood of his ancestors tugged at his back, yet he stood.

Those eyes, those terrible eyes. Spike wanted desperately to force the beast's eyes shut, to seal their lids, even one good scratch across the face, anything just to get the eyes off him. He readjusted his footing, the ground was soft, softer than it should be. His brain allowed his nose to report, confirming a pungent odor of ammonia. He had apparently been standing in a puddle of urine. The deepest corner of Spike's mind lit up, and he formed a plan.

"Everypony! Close your eyes!", the girls did as instructed.

Spike leaned hard to his left, and jammed a claw deep into the dirt.

WULD

His claw became the axis of a circle, of which he covered half the perimeter. The action forced a dense slurry of mud at the manticore. The slurry struck the beast in the face, blinding it.

"Everypony, run!", by the time the sentence had left his mouth, it was less a collection of words, and more an energetic yelp of instruction. The beast thrashed wildly, a claw splintered a large tree not three lengths away. Bark and pulp rained over the drake. When he opened his eyes, the tree blocked his path. The beast had turned away, desperately trying to remove the sting of urine from his eyes. This gave Spike pause.

What kind of a dragon runs away? Is he not one of the kings, a child of the race born to dominate all others? Is what Hermaeus called him...truly his fate? Will he forever be a slave to a master? And who will this master be? Twilight? Celestia? Perhaps a more intangible concept, his instincts, his fear? If he is truly cursed to be a slave to his own fear, why should he not allow the manticore to take him?

Because that's not what a dragon does. To hell with his name, no one he considers family gave it to him. All that matters is what he does here and now. And right now, all he wants is his friends to be safe.

He felt the pride of his ancestors well up within him. This is what dragons have been doing for centuries, protecting their hordes.

MUL QAH DIIV

Spike felt his body begin to change, his baby body lay at the epicenter of a hurricane of orange and blue hues. The storm dissipated and the hues took form, granting him the form of a true dragon. A skeleton cage of orange surrounded his body, and gradually faded into hues of blue leading to his extremities.

With his new body, the breath he could take had been increased, and the power of his shouts multiplied.

YOL TOOR SHUL

A great tornado of fire leapt from the canopy of the forest. Spike used his new neck like a string on a top; he flung the twister towards the manticore. The beast hadn't even cleared its eyes before it was ash.

He began to chuckle, which evolved into a full blown cackle. Is the action of freeing yourself from your chains not the ultimate form of domination? No longer does Dur-in-aar exist, nor does Spike. Now, Stin-Bo-Hind raises his head above the canopy, and unfurls his wings. A beautiful swirl of colors cascade on all he flies over. Like a glass window, his translucent body bathes the ground in stories.

He flew over his friends, and for a moment, he halted, hovering in the sky. He knew, deep within his heart, a fire had been lit that could never be put out, and the girls would never understand. It was no fault of theirs, they are still slaves to their instincts, as all ponies are. Yet, at the same time, against their instincts, they rushed into what was almost certainly their doom just to find him. Perhaps...ponies and dragons are not so different after all.

The spectacle of a translucent dragon hovering above six ponies drew a rather sizeable crowd. It was only a matter of time before Celestia showed up. How could he show how grateful he was for all the years they took care of him? His answer came in the form of a gully washer. Rain assaulted the un prepared ponies and the crowd dispersed, save for the six ponies he cared for most. Spike looked to the sky.

LOK VAH KOOR

The rain stopped, and the clouds broke, revealing the curtain of stars in the sky.

Fah Hi Zu'u love Fin Zok

Author's Note

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Kogaan Fah reading