The Element of Light

The Encounter of a Dragon

“Is he alright? Is he awake? Please be ok Light! Please wake up for my sake!” All Light could see was a blur as familiar voices penetrated his mind. A bright flare burned in the corner of his eye. The sound of his own frantic quivering filled his ears, as his gaze flew across the room, focusing on nothing in particular. Looking up, he saw what appeared to be the night sky, filled with hundreds of stars. He felt his whole body shake uncontrollably. “What’s he doing? Something’s wrong! I don’t like where this is going! Light, stay strong!” The voices sounded muffled, it sounded as if he was surrounded by water, bubbling in his ear.

“He’s reacting to outside stimuli! Showing an awareness of his surroundings!” Suddenly, an unfamiliar face came into his view as he looked up into the sky, panting heavily, his heartbeat raising to insane levels. A purple mare stood above him, looking down at him with worry in her deep purple eyes.

“Beautiful...” he whispered under his breath.

“I think he’s waking up, Twilight!” his vision kept failing him, constantly fading to black.

“Dammit, he’s not ready yet! I have to get him to sleep!” A sudden purple glow overwhelmed his senses, he could hear a faint sparkle in his ear. A familiar Zebra came into view. “Light, don’t try to move, just lie still. Try to stay calm.” Was the last thing he heard before his world went to black, his senses turning silent.

Twilight sat at the side of her old wooden bed, looking down at the stallion that slept underneath her covers, his golden mane flowing over the pillow. She simply watched as his chest slowly rose and fell. “I’ve never seen anypony quite like you..” she whispered softly. Never before had she been faced with something that her books could not explain to her. She had no idea who this stallion was, but she would like to...

Light opened his eyes as slightly as possible, groaning in pain as the overwhelming chamber light punished them, his vision still as blurred as ever. Once the flash faded, he looked up at the same starry night sky. An unexpected sense of comfort washed over him as he started getting closer to the waking world, he appeared to be lying in a soft bed, purple woolen sheets covered him up to  his shoulders. He felt like he could stay in that exact spot for eternity. Light lifted his head from the pillow’s soft embrace, groaning softly as the tension spread down into his limbs.

A sudden surge of pain appeared in his head, quickly he put his hoof to the spot in an attempt to suppress it. He felt exhausted, his entire body felt numb. A wave of apathy came over him as his eyes duly wandered across the room. Bookshelves appeared to be carved into the wooden walls of the places, each one filled with countless volumes of quaint and curious forgotten lore. Nearly everything in the room appeared to be made out of wood, with the exception of a number of curious, brightly-colored gems that were scattered across the room. Looking up, he noticed that the ceiling had been painted in the color of the night sky, hundreds of stars were depicted upon its surface. A golden chandelier hung from the ceiling, burning with dim, purple lights.

“You’re awake!” his ears perked up at the sudden sound. As fatigue lost its grasp over his mind and his senses returned to normal, he noticed that he was not alone. At his bedside, stood a lavender unicorn, looking at him as he were some sort of foreign object. He asked the only thing that was on his mind at that very moment.

“Wh-Where am I..” he whispered as he sat upright in the wooden bed, his hooves pressed into the mattress below him as a means of support.

The mysterious mare shot him a confused look, tilting her head. “You mean.. you don’t remember?” she said, drawing closer to the exhausted unicorn. “How can you not remember something like that!?” she sounded quite distraught.

He groaned loudly as the pain in his head threatened to make a return. “Remember what? All I remember was.. being at the party, and this.. bright flash. And these.. weird dreams?” he was still recovering from his enduring slumber. “How long was I out, anyway?” he asked curiously, turning his head, forcing her to look straight into his bright azure eyes. The same, unexplainable feeling rushed through her once again, causing her to swiftly avert her eyes, staring down into floorboards of her room.

“You fainted. You radiated some sort of.. power, it was nothing like I’ve ever seen before!” she tried to explain the situation to him. “You went completely out, your heart even stopped for a while. It’s a wonder that you’re still alive!” she exclaimed. “You’ve been in a state of sleep for at least a week, Ze-”

“A what!?” he interrupted her, his eyes growing wide at the sudden realization. “Wait.. I remember something. The first time I woke up.. Mom!” he exclaimed, keeping Twilight’s presence in mind. “Where is she!?”

“Wow, hold your horses!” she exclaimed, giggling slightly at her own hilarious and witty pun. “She’s downstairs, she’ll be glad to see you’re doing okay.” she said as she gave him a sincere smile. Without warning, Light charged out of his lying position, leaving a torrent of sheets and pillows on in his wake. Light was so taken with his thoughts that he didn’t notice the floor under his feet giving in for stairs. “Woah!” he exclaimed as he flew through air. Suddenly, a purple aura appeared around him, freezing him in mid-air. Twilight couldn’t help but laugh as she gently put him back down on the ground. She joined his side and the two of them made their way down the spiraling staircase.

The two of them entered the library’s kitchen. It appeared to be rather small for a house this size. As in the rest of the house, the largest part of the room was made out of wood. He wondered how anypony could think that a wooden stove was a good idea, but shrugged it off as something insignificant. In the middle of the room stood a large, pristine dinner table. At the edge sat Zecora, shrouded in a warm blanket, looking down into the warm brew that sat in her hooves. Her bloodshot eyes appeared to be encircled with a deep shade of red, from her tears and a shameless lack of sleep. “Zecora?” Twilight said softly, the zebra duly shifting her eyes towards the two in response. The moment she saw Light, she charged towards him, leaving a trail of tears through the air. Once she reached him, she wrapped her forelegs around his neck, grasping him as tightly as possible as her face was buried deep into his shoulder. His eyes started to tear up, causing him to force them shut, a single tear running down his cheek. When Zecora finally lifted her head, her eyes were even redder than before thanks to the tears that were shed. She then quickly wiped the tears away, feeling a bit of embarrassment for breaking down like this in front of the town’s librarian. Twilight couldn’t help but smile at the sudden display of affection.

“Mom, it’s ok. I’m fine” he assured Zecora, gently nuzzling the side of her face in an attempt to comfort her. This seemed to work, as he could feel the weeping Zebra’s heavy shaking die down.  She then held onto him again and nuzzled him back. She closed her eyes as she was lost in bliss, knowing that her son was finally awake. This went on for a good few moments, before she let go of him. Once she regained herself, she cleared the tears from her face, though her eyes remained teared.

“Forgive me for being so weak, but it was so hard seeing you so meek” she said as she placed a weary smile on her face. The poor mare looked as if she had been crying for days. She took notice of Twilight standing at the door, wearing a comforting smile on her face as she thought back at the nights that Zecora had spent in the library, simply waiting for any sign of hope.

“I should give you two some time alone, you two can stay for the night.” she said in the kindest voice she could muster before leaving the room to get herself ready for bed, happy that the whole ordeal was over with. The exhausted unicorn dragged himself towards the couch, lowering himself to his stomach, taking his place next to Zecora with his head resting on the soft comfort of the pillows below him. His eyes shifted towards the cup that stood on the coffee table. He admired the swirling brown liquid that laid inside, staring at it with wanting eyes.

He focused his new-found power on the cup, lifting it into air as a shining white aura enveloped it. The marble chalice slowly made its way towards his waiting muzzle. As took a modest sip of its content, a wave of disgust came over him as he noticed that the coffee had become cold, making it difficult for him to enjoy the glorious liquids. Zecora shot him a look of pure amazement. “When did you learn how to do magic my boy, it almost looked like you were merely playing with a toy?!” she exclaimed in a surprised tone, In all the time that they had spent together, Zecora had never seen him perform magic.

“Well...” Light said awkwardly, rubbing the back of his head with his hoof. “Don’t tell anypony this ok?” he asked Zecora, who simply nodded in approval. “Like.. when I was out, I had this weird dream..” he looked over to Zecora, who appeared to be listening intently. “I found myself in complete darkness, and I couldn’t find the path. This.. voice told me how to find my way out with magic!” he exclaimed, knowing far too well how absurd he was sounding. “I’m not sure if anything of that makes sense or not..” he smiled meekly.

“I honestly do not know what this will spell, but I suppose only time will tell” she replied, looking for a way to ease the unicorn’s mind. “Not everything is always as it seems, do not be fooled by the realm of dreams.” she smiled to him.

Light looked down into the swirling black brew below him as a frown formed on his face, there were so many questions left unanswered. It was all so.. vague, so enchanting. But then again, weren’t dreams always like that? No, this was different, this was stronger, it felt so.. real to him. He decided that it would be best to just dismiss it, both for the sake of his, and Zecora’s sanity.

It took awhile before the reality of the situation came to him. "I can do magic.." he stared fearfully at his own hooves. "I can do magic!" he exclaimed, turning his gaze towards the sickly cup of cold coffee. "I'll combust ye!" he exclaimed, pointing his horn towards the chalice in an attempt to heat its content, but instead the stone shattered, causing the glorious, delicious liquids to pour over the floor, eliciting a deep frown form Light and a hearty chuckle from Zecora.

“Say mom, what’s the time? I’m feeling rather tired..” he said, feeling quite unbalanced due to this disruption of his sacred sleeping pattern.

“We may indeed go to bed, my body feels like it’s at its end” she replied with a weak smile, her gaze slightly dropping towards the floor as she felt the merciless grasp of fatigue invading her senses. They were about to exit the room, when suddenly a slight growl escaped from Light’s stomach. Light rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

He chuckled softly “I think I could do for a quick snack before bed” he said smilingly. He quickly grabbed the nearest meal he could find. He saw Zecora stumbling on her hooves, her drowsy head lowered towards the floor. She appeared to be having trouble keeping her eyes open. “Let’s go to bed.” he smiled softly, nuzzling the side of her head as a sign of gratitude for all the trouble that the poor zebra had gone through for the last few days.

Meanwhile, Twilight was lying in her bed, cloaked in her brown, satin sheets. She was doing the same thing that she would do every night when boredom took over: contemplate. She pondered about everything that had happened lately. This stallion just barged into her life and took control of it. Ever since that night at the party, she simply couldn’t keep her mind from wandering towards this mysterious stranger. Who was he? What caused him to black out for so long? And most importantly, why did she feel so flustered whenever he spoke to her. Something was hidden behind those deep, azure eyes, but she simply couldn’t figure out what. She turned her attention to the young dragon, sleeping in the tiny basket beside her. Spike’s frantic movement had caused his blanket to fall to the ground. She smiled as she used her magic to pull the sheets over his slumbering form. He immediately accepted the sudden warmth, latching onto the covers with his claws. She moved her muzzle to his forehead, placing a soft, motherly kiss upon it. She turned in her bed, pulling the sheets over her shoulders as she closed her eyes, allowing the allure of sleep to take over. She slowly drifted off into rest, hoping that the morning would at least give her some answers.

Light awoke the next morning with sunbeams shining on his sleeping face. He groaned for a second before lifting himself up from the makeshift bed that laid on the floor, stretching his body to ready himself for the day. He saw his mother lying soundly asleep in the comforts of the bed that he had laid in for an entire week.  He smiled at her peaceful face, wearing a slight smile with eyes closed. He silently sneaked towards the door, not wanting to awaken the slumbering zebra. He succeeded in leaving the room stealthy enough to not disturb Zecora. His nose suddenly caught a sweet scent, his ears perking up instantly. He made his way down the stairs sniffing his way towards the direction of the scent. He reached the kitchen, which was damp with steam, enveloped in a delicious smell.

He gasped loudly as he saw something truly unfamiliar. Something that appeared to be a... lizard, with pink scales and green spikes running down his spine stood behind the stove. The lizard in question was humming a cheerful tune as it looked to be busy preparing breakfast. It turned around, revealing a very drowsy looking unicorn. One look of the sudden invader was enough to cause both of them to dart into the air, eyes growing wide in fear.

“Woah! Who are you and what you doing in here?!” the beast growled at Light, who still hadn’t fully woken up. Pointing a spatula towards him as if it were a proper weapon. Our favorite unicorn was a bit startled by sudden threat, backing away with no idea of what to do in this situation. “Well!?” it asked him in a threatening tone, it’s eyes burning with rage. Without further warning, the beast launched itself towards Light. “Feel the wrath of Equestrian steel, fool!” it exclaimed as it smote Light with its cooking appliance.

He screamed in utter terror of the tiny pink reptile, jumping away from the threat. “Look!” he exclaimed in an attempt to calm his assailant. “I’ve been here for a whole week, asleep, but present nonetheless!” he uttered as fast as he could, clenching his eyes shut in fear.

All of the sudden, Light heard a muffled burst of laughter. He opened his eyes in confusion only to see the lizard in a fit of laughter. Light was confused by the creature’s sudden change of personality and looked down upon it with a questioning look. “That was so awesome! Haha” the lizard finally spoke after a few good minutes of laughing itself into submission. “You should have seen the look on your face!” it said as it was looking at Light with glee and pointing a finger at him, still laughing lightly.

Light couldn’t help but let out an honest laugh at the dragon’s words. He reached his hoof out towards him. “My name is Light by the way. Light Seeker” he introduced himself to the little troublemaker.

“My name’s Spike, nice to meet you, Light!” he reached out to the hoof Light was sticking out to him and shook it vigorously. “I was just making some breakfast, scrambled eggs and hay, you want some?” he asked Light after letting go of his hoof. Almost on cue, Light’s stomach cried out in hunger which embarrassed Light even further. “I’ll take that as a yes" Spike chuckled, motioning Light to the breakfast.

The rest of the morning was spent eating breakfast, Light was quite impressed by the young dragon’s cooking skills. Once they were finished, the two of them started with Spike’s daily chores, namely, the dishes. Light took it upon himself to do most of the work, seeing as his new companion has gone through the trouble of making him breakfast after all. Spike was rather surprised by the unicorn’s sudden compliance. He wasn’t used to getting so much help from anypony. Suddenly, a small fiery bird flew into the room and landed on the table.

“Hey there you are Peewee!” Spike exclaimed in joy as he reached for the table and held the little bird in his claws. He brought it up to his face and gently rubbed the top of its head with his talon, who in return rubbed Spike’s chin lovingly with its head.

Light couldn’t help but smile at the touching display. “That’s your pet?” he asked Spike, moving in closer to get a good look at the thing. The bird’s yellow and light-red feathers were sizzling slightly, as if they were ablaze, and Its eyes were colored in a gleaming gold. “What exactly is it?” he asked, never having seen such a creature before. Suddenly, it decided to fly out of the dragons hand, taking its place atop Light’s head.

“That’s Peewee, my pet phoenix” Spike said, pointing to Light’s head where the phoenix was now resting. Spike was slightly appalled by Peewee’s swift acceptance of the unicorn.  He had never told him, but Peewee would often burn a pony's mane or peck on their heads in a furious flurry of torment if they tried to touch him. Even Twilight had trouble with Peewee, she had always wanted to study a phoenix up close, but she dismissed her attempts after getting burned five times by the little fire maker.

He then kneeled carefully down to Spike’s level, allowing him to carefully take the now-sleeping phoenix with both his claws. He moved towards the windows, where a tiny bed and perch were located. He placed Peewee down gently into the bed and walked back to Light. The unicorn shot him an awkward glance. “Say Spike, what exactly are you? If you don’t mind me asking.”

Spike looked up at Light, and shot him a confusing stare. "How do you mean what am I!? I'm obviously a fierce, terrifying dragon!" Spike exclaimed, raising himself in an attempt to make his image intimidating. Light couldn't help but laugh at the foalish display.

"You're.. a dragon?" he chuckled, obviously not taking the young dragon seriously. "Aren't dragons supposed to be.. Scary.. And big?" he said looking down at his tiny, purple comrade. "You're actually kinda cute!" he said, laughing loudly all the while.

Spike's welcoming expression turned to one pure irritation. "I'm not cute! I am a fire-breathing, village-plundering, earth-shattering dragon!" he exclaimed in one breath, slamming his claw on the table for added effect.

"I'm sure you are." Light chuckled, receiving an irritated groan from Spike.

“So what you doing today? Cause for the last week you were here, you’ve done nothing but sleep. I wish i could do that!" he said, raising his claws above his head. "With all my work at the library, I don't get a day off, let alone a week!"

Light blinked dully for a few seconds before answering. “Well... to be honest, I don’t know what to do” he said, rubbing his hoof behind his head and looking away from Spike’s gaze. “I haven’t seen much of Ponyville, so I don’t exactly know what there to do here” he said to the dragon modestly, giving off a weak smile as he had missed out on so much during the last week. “What are you doing today, anyway?” he asked Spike, seeing if he could  spend more time with his new friend, perhaps.

It was Spike’s turn to be surprised. Nopony had ever bothered asking him what he was going to do on any day. “Well...” Spike started to speak after gulping a lump down his throat. “I have some free time... but I don’t have anypony to hang out with, today.” he said to Light “... or any day...” he whispered to himself not wanting Light to hear. Spike braced himself for the usual incoming rejection.

Light however was glad to hear this, seeing a chance to get to know his new friend better and to learn more of the peculiar town of Ponyville. "Spike?" he asked, the dragon's eyes shining with anticipation like rare gems. "Could you like.. show me around Ponyville today? I'm going to have to get to know this place eventually if I'm going to be staying here." He had never seen anypony smile as widely as Spike did at that very moment. "Just, let me write this note to my mom first."

Spike was lost in joy at that moment. He hardly had any time to enjoy with a friend, let alone himself. “Awesome!” Spike jumped with his eyes beaming in joy. He grabbed his trusty leather pouch in which he stored his bits and jumped onto the unexpecting Stallion's back, grasping his mane in his claws. "Hi-Ho, Light, Allons-Y!" he exclaimed, causing the stallion to stagger unto his back legs before charging out of the room with a laughing dragon on his back.

The two of them charged across the many paths of Ponyville. Light felt the sun's rays shine down on him. He was genuinely excited to learn more about the town of Ponyville and its residents, but the best thing about the whole thing was the premise of friendship.

Zecora finally awoke from her deep slumber to the chirping of birds in the morning air. She rubbed her eyes to rid herself of the sleep that remained. She then saw that Light’s bed was empty, yet the sheets and covers were stacked neatly on top of the bed  “Light?” she called out to him as she finally stood up from the comforts of the bed she was sleeping in. She saw a note on the door. A modest smile appeared on her muzzle as she read its words

Morning mom,

I’m just writing this to let you know that I’m going to be away for the day, just seeing Ponyville with my new friend, Spike. Don’t worry about me, we’ll be back later on today

Love you ,

Light.