Love Keeps Dragon On: The Return of Sapphire

Chapters

Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Final Chapter
Chapter 1
Chapter 9

Chapter 2

Spike had always known this day would come. For the last few years, it filled him with an odd sense of dread. Yet, at the same time, he couldn’t wait for it. This was the day he packed up to leave Twilight’s library and see the world for himself.

Ten years ago, he met a young female dragon named Sapphire and fell in love with her. Unfortunately, circumstances forced her to leave Equestria with her parents, who deemed the country of ponies to be unfit for adult dragons. Spike left Ponyville and tried to catch up with Sapphire, to make their relationship work. It wasn’t until he was a day’s worth of traveling from Ponyville before he realized he wasn’t ready to leave his hometown and his friends behind, especially Twilight. That was the last time he tried to venture off on his own.

But now, ten years later and a teenage dragon, he was ready. With a leather bag over his shoulder, he and Twilight Sparkle stood in the middle of the ground floor of the library. The time had come.

“Do you got everything packed, Spike?” Twilight Sparkle asked.

“I think so!” The teenage dragon let his bag drop to the floor and knelt down so he could sort through it. “Gems, a quill, spare quills, thirty feet of parchment, more gems. Plenty of daffodil sandwiches.” Spike gasped and smiled as he uncovered a roll of tattered blue wool and rubbed it against his cheek. ”My old blanket!”

Twilight giggled. “Spike, you’ve had that blanket since you were a baby. Don’t you think you should buy a new one? It’s had more holes than we’ve had adventures!”

Spike’s eyes darted from the implication and the mild embarrassment of it. He pulled the old patched-up blanket from his cheek and set it down. “Uh, you’re right, Twilight. I’m… too old for this stupid thing.” Spike waited for Twilight to turn around and snuck the blanket back in his pack. “I could never give you up, old friend.”

“Do you have the two hundred bits I gave you?” Twilight asked as Spike rose back to his feet.

“Well.” Spike lowered his head, cupped his paws behind his back and twisted his foot. “Umm… yes and no.”

Twilight raised a forehoof and gave Spike a quizzical look. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Well… it’s 185 bits now. I bought a cake from Pinkie Keen’s yesterday.”

Twilight furrowed her eyebrows. “TWO cakes? Do you really think you need all that sugar?”

“What do you mean ‘two’?” Spike tilted his head in confusion. Such a lecture from Twilight was common, but he’d only bought one cake.

“Oh, nothing. Just… drop by Pinkie Keen’s again and talk to Pinkie Pie before you leave. She told me she’s got something for you.”

Knowing Pinkie Pie and gathering evidence from Twilight’s previous statement, it was probably a going-away cake. If Spike was really lucky, Pinkie would have topped it with all sorts of delicious gems and extra frosting; just the way he liked it.

“I was going to drop by there and say goodbye to Pinkie anyway.” Spike reached down to grab his bag and slung it over his shoulder. He stood face-to-face with Twilight. Ten years ago, he was barely tall enough to reach her chest. Now he was nearly as tall as two Twilights. His wings had also grown in, but he was still not a strong flier, even though he’d been taking lessons from Rainbow Dash.

The urge to cry swelled in Spike’s stomach, but he embraced his surrogate mother before his eyes had a chance to leak. “Goobye, Twilight. Thanks for everything you did for me. I’m gonna miss you so much.”

Tears ran down Twilight’s cheek as she wrapped her forehooves around the dragon. For a few seconds, she forced the tears back down. “Goodbye, Spike. I’m going to miss you. For Celestia’s sake, you’d better write to me tonight!”

Though his fingertips tingled with anxiety and he could barely stop himself from shaking, Spike pulled himself away from Twilight, giving her an assuring smile.

“I will, Twilight. I guess… this is goodbye.”

“For now. You’ll stop back and visit, right?”

“Of course I will!”

Twilight followed Spike out the door into the warm afternoon sun to see the dragon off. He afforded one last look back at Twilight, who waved him off as he started his round of goodbyes. “Bye, Spike! Take care of yourself!”

“You, too!”

The first ponies on Spike’s list were Applejack and her family. Seven years ago, A.J. met a stallion named Bartlett Pear, who lost his late father’s pear farm in a storm and came to Ponyville looking for work. He’d started out as a hired hoof for Sweet Apple Acres, but wound up falling in love with Applejack after a few months of labor. Two years later, they got married. As a result, they decided to plant pear trees alongside the apple trees and nearly doubled the farm’s income.

The old green pony spending the afternoon in her rocking chair on the porch of the farmhouse was a common sight of Sweet Apple-Pear Acres. Sometimes Spike forgot she actually lived there, and wasn’t just a porch decoration.

“Good afternoon, Granny Smith!” Spike shouted. The old pony didn’t respond; she was either asleep or didn’t hear him. Spike didn’t make another effort for her attention. It was enough of a miracle that the ancient mare was even still alive; it would be another miracle if he could yell loud enough for her to hear him without her ear horn.

Two young foals, one filly and one colt kicked up dust as they ran towards the dragon. Both wore sad looks on their little faces.

“Uncle Spike!” they shouted in unison.

“Uncle Spike, ma’ says you’re goin’ away!” said the filly.

“What she said!” The colt pointed at his sister

Spike smiled at the children, Honeycrisp and Anjou Pear. They were Applejack’s and Bartlett’s twin foals.

“It’s not true… is it, uncle Spike?” Honeycrisp asked, growing misty-eyed. Like her namesake, her braided mane was a light shade of yellowish-gold and her coat a slightly darker shade of gold.

“Yer not REALLY goin’ away!” Anjou said. His plain, straight mane was more of a yellowish green and his coat pale green. The spitting image of his father.

“Ummm… yeah, I am,” Spike said as he knelt down before the two little earth ponies.

“That’s not fair! Who’s gonna play with me?” Anjou shouted as he stamped his forehoof, giving Spike a glare.

“Hey, I’ll be back! You can play with your sister until then.”

Anjou turned his glare to his sister. “Yeah, right! She can’t even catch!”

“Ah can so, Anjou!”

“Not as good as Spike!”

“Ok, you two, knock it off,” Spike said as he stood up. From a patch of apple trees in the distance, a familiar mare wearing a wide-brimmed hat over her blond hair galloped up to them. A green stallion was with her, and a red stallion beside him.

“Hey, AJ!” Spike shouted. “Big Macintosh! Bartlett!”

The earth pony trio slowed their pace once they were closer and stopped in front of the purple dragon. Smiling, Applejack looked him over. It didn’t seem so long ago he was no bigger than Honeycrisp and Anjou. “My my, Spike, ya sure as sugar have grown up faster than I reckoned. Guess I knew this day would come eventually.”

Honeycrisp looked up at her mother. “Ma, Spike ain’t really goin’, is he?”

“For the twentieth time, yes he is.” Applejack’s heart sank when she saw the sad look in her foals’ eyes. The mare lowered herself to their level and hugged both of them. “Now, don’t ya’ll give me that look. I don’t want Spike to go neither, but he’s a big dragon now. Why don’t the two of ya go run along so’s we can talk?”

The two foals turned to their father. “Paw, do we have to?” Anjou asked.

“Listen to your mother, Anjou.”

For a few seconds, the children looked at their parents in disbelief. They gave Spike one last hug around the ankles and ran off.

“Sorry, Spike. I just don’t know what I’m gonna do with those young’ins. And here I used to think lookin' after Applebloom was a chore!”

“It’s ok, Applejack. It’s nice to have somepony who looks up to you.”

Applejack scraped her hoof across the dirt. “Well, I’m not much for goodbyes, seein’ as they’re so sad and stuff. But ya’ll take good care of yourself, y’hear? And don’t even THINK about skippin’ out on Sweet Apple-Pear Acres when ya come back. There’ll be a nice warm apple pie waitin’ for ya when ya do.”

“And some big ol’ pear turnovers,” Bartlett added.

“Ee-yup!” said Big Macintosh.

“Wouldn’t miss it for the world,” Spike replied. Just the thought of the Apple family’s sweet apple pie made him hungry. Bartlett’s pear turnovers were hard to turn down, too.

An awkward silence fell over on the farm before Applejack moved closer to Spike. “Aw, shoot, ya’ll are practically family, Spike! Whatcha bein’ so shy for? Give ol’ AJ a hug!”

Again, Spike neared tears as he and Applejack embraced one another. After that, he gave Big Mac and Bartlett a quick hug, then stepped back far enough to look at all of them at once. “Well, I’m gonna go. Gotta stop by Pinkie Keen’s before I leave. You know how Pinkie Pie gets when you make her wait.”

The Apple Family all waved Spike good-bye as he ran back for Ponyville. He sure was going to miss all their sweet, delicious desserts

The next pony on Spike’s list was Pinkie Pie, who now owned her own sweets shop called “Pinkie Keen’s.” Like Twilight, Pinkie hadn’t yet found a special somepony to settle down with, not that the phrase “settle down” existed in her vocabulary.

Pinkie Keen’s wasn’t as extravagant as Sugar Cube Corner. Unlike the giant ginger bread house, Pinkie Keen’s was an unassuming little cupcake house painted pink with wooden cupcakes and candy canes decorating the store sign.

Tears flowed like waterfalls from Pinkie’s eyes as she wailed out loud from behind her work counter. “I can’t believe Spikey’s leaving us! It’s so sad!”

“Don’t cry, Pinkie. I’ll be back!”

Pinkie’s tears stopped as suddenly as they appeared. “Oh! I have a cake for you!” The pink pony ducked behind the counter for only a second before popping up to set a delicious looking square cake on the countertop.

Spike took a moment to marvel at his cake. Glittering gems in every color of the rainbow outlined the top of. His face had been frosted on it, along with the words, “Goodbye, Spike! We will miss you!” The names of his six best friends had also been written on it, each in different hoofwriting and a different color of frosting. Twilight Sparkle in purple, Pinkie Pie in pink, Rainbow Dash in powder blue, Fluttershy in yellow, Applejack in orange and Rarity in navy blue.

“Wow! Did everypony sign this themselves?”

“Yesiree, Bob! I made it just the way you like it, with gems and extra frosting!”

A smile Spike couldn’t fight spread across his face. Even Rainbow Dash had signed her own name on the cake. He’d never expected her to do something so… feminine. He truly had the best friends a dragon could ask for.

“Thanks, Pinkie. It’s almost too good to eat. It means so much to me.”

Again, with no warning, tears ran like waterfalls from Pinkie’s eyes. “Waaa-ha-ha-ha-haaaa! I’m gonna miss you, Spikey-Wikey!” She leaped over her counter in one bound and wrapped Spike in one of her spine-crushing hugs.

“I’m gonna miss you, too, Pinkie, but I can’t breathe right now.”

“Sorry ‘bout that!” As suddenly as her tears started again, they stopped again. “Don’t you worry about me, I’ll be fine! I’ll give you lots and lots of cupcakes and ice cream and candy when you get back! You go have fun traveling and camping and sight-seeing, you can tell your auntie Pinkie Pie all about it when you get back!”

“Will do, Pinkie,” Spike said as he picked up his cake and the wooden plate it stood on. “Well, I’m heading off to Canterlot now. I’m gonna say goodbye to Celestia, Luna and Rarity before I leave.”

“Okey-dokey-lokey, Spike! Have fun!” the pink pony shouted with a good-bye wave,

“Bye, Pinkie!”

Spike stashed his cake in a separate compartment of his pack. It was then that he realized the cake had been enchanted with a spell to keep it from getting smashed, probably Rarity's doing.

Canterlot Castle overlooked Ponyville from the far mountains. Though the castle was huge, it looked like a toy from that distance. Rarity lived there now with a gentlecolt she’d met from Trottingham. It hurt for a while knowing his long time crush had found somepony other than him, but Sapphire had made Spike realize something. He’d rather find another dragon to hook up with instead of a pony. Spike would still be a young adult dragon by the time Rarity was as old as Granny Smith. He also longed for a creature that would be closer to his size. With nothing else to do, Spike walked off towards Canterlot, though he’d barely made it to the edge of Ponyville before a loud voice halted his advance.

“Hey, Spike!”

The dragon looked skyward and smiled. Rainbow Dash was descending towards him from Cloudsdale.

“Dash!” Spike yelled back. Once Dash landed, the two gave each other a quick one-arm hug and a high five. “Did you come to see me off?”

Rainbow gave Spike a friendly wink. “Well, yeah! You didn’t think I’d let you leave without saying goodbye to your old pal Rainbow Dash, did ya?”

“Wouldn’t have it any other way.”

Rainbow Dash turned her head away, fidgeting with her forehoof. “This is usually beneath my level of awesomeness, but… I’m gonna miss you, old buddy. You know what you should do, you should go track down that girl dragon you met all those years ago.”

“I don’t know, it’s been a long time. We hardly even write anymore. She’s probably found a special dragon of her own by now.”

“You never know until you try. What could it hurt?”

My heart, for one thing. I’ll never forget how much it hurt when she left. “Hey, why are you pestering me about love? I don’t exactly see you flying around with any big, strong stallions.”

Rainbow scoffed and waved the notion away. “Please. I’m way too busy being the awesome leader of the awesome Rainbowlts for mushy things like love.” Dash’s typical awesome face turned to a normal look to let him know what came next wasn’t a part of her typical bravado routine. “Spike, you two had something good going on. She wasn’t like other dragons. You’re not like other dragons.”

“That was ten years ago. She’s probably changed by now. If we were meant to be together, we would have hung out longer than one week.”

“Ok, you win. This is your big day, I’m not gonna argue with you. We’ll hang some when you get back, but until then, see ya!” Dash looked around nervously, her magenta eyes darting as if she felt pressured to do something that would embarrass her. She decided to fly off before she had a chance to do it, but only got a few inches off the ground before Spike’s voice stopped her.

“Wait a second, Rainbow!”

Dash dropped back to her hooves. “What’s up?”

“I know you’re not going to let me leave without giving me a hug. A REAL hug, not just a one-arm buddy hug.”

Rainbow glanced around to see if anypony was watching. Assuring herself she was in the clear, she embraced Spike with both front legs. “Aw, what the heck? I wanted to anyway!”

“Thanks, Dash,” Spike said. “Stay awesome!”

“You know it!” Rainbow Dash said after letting Spike go. With one last high five, she bolted back into the air.

With a deep breath of courage, Spike turned back towards Canterlot. All that was left was to say goodbye to Fluttershy on his way there, say goodbye to Rarity and the princesses, and he was off on his own. Despite his objections to Rainbow’s advice about Sapphire, the blue dragoness from long ago stuck in his mind. They rarely wrote to each other anymore, but he supposed ten straight years of nothing but writing does get a bit dull when you can’t see each other. His heart fluttered at the idea of seeing her again. Maybe after he finished his business in Canterlot, he could send her a letter, find out where she was at and drop in on her.

If it wound up working no better than last time, at least he’d have the peace of mind from seeing her one more time.

Chapter 3

The fiery orange glow of the sunset cast itself over the far reaches of Equestria near the Dragonlands, where Sapphire engaged in her usual sunset flight to stretch her wings one last time before turning in for the night. Few things felt more relaxing than the cool evening wind against her face as she sailed over the forest a few acres from her cathedral.

A small pony village called Buckington stood just at the edge of the forest. It was Sunset Breeze’s hometown, but none of the ponies seemed to mind whenever Sapphire flew over the village. This time as she did, however, something was definitely wrong. A familiar, foreboding prickle worked its way up the dragon’s spine as she neared the settlement.

Uh-oh. This isn’t good. My dragon sense is tingling all over. Better make sure everything’s ok.

As Sapphire descended closer to the village, a sight among the group of houses made her freeze in midair. She couldn't keep from muttering out loud. “What the?”

In the village square below were several dragons and a single-file line of ponies all connected to each other by chains and iron collars around their necks.

Sapphire dove to the ground and crouched against the side of a house on the edge of town farthest from the other dragons. As she peered around the corner with her serpentine neck to investigate, the realization of the situation kept her from advancing. There were roughly a dozen dragons a little larger than her at around six feet tall each, lined up in two parallel rows in the village square. They certainly were not as large as full-grown dragons, but the fullness of their features and the fine points of their snouts lead her to believe they were adults. Younger dragons had rounded snouts. Another odd fact she noticed was these dragons all had pitch black scales. There wasn’t a red, blue or green dragon among them. Were they a part of some sort of faction?

This little plan had gone much better in her head. There were so many other dragons and only one of her; if she tried to help she’d be spotted and captured in an instant. Nonetheless, she watched the scene unfold to see if she could learn anything else about these mysterious dragons.

“Let’s go, keep moving!” one of the dragons shouted as he prodded a reluctant mare in the flank with the butt of his spear.

“You're making a big mistake. Princess Celestia will never let you get away with this,” a stallion replied.

“Once we get you into the Dragonlands, you’ll be out of her jurisdiction. She can’t help you!” another dragon barked. “Now move it!”

Those jerks! Sapphire thought to herself as she watched the chain of ponies march in between the two rows of dragons. What are they doing, and why are they taking ponies to the Dragonlands? They better not hurt those ponies!

Among the chain gang of ponies was a pegasi couple connected to each other. One of them looked just like Sunset Breeze if she were older. The stallion behind her also held a slight resemblance to Sapphire’s filly friend. Those were the only pegasi Sapphire could see. Did that mean?

They must be Sunset’s parents! Oh, what should I do? What should I do?! Closing her eyes, Sapphire drew her head back behind the wall of the house. She took in a deep breath to compose herself and let it slowly escape through her nostrils. Stop panicking, for one thing. Now, think, Sapphire. What can you do? It’s not like I can just charge right in there. I do have my ice powers, but one attack on any of those dragons, even from my hiding spot, will send the others looking for whoever did it, and that will spoil any hope I have of getting out of here without them seeing me. Following them would also be too risky. Hmmm…

Once again, Sapphire peered around the corner of the house, only to realize it was too late to keep thinking. The last pony in the chain gang was already out of view, and Sapphire barely caught a glimpse of the last dark dragon holding up the rear of the line as he marched out of the village. Those poor ponies. They must be terrified.

Now that the dragons were gone, Sapphire felt more comfortable looking the village over. Heavy silence had befallen Buckington as if it were a dark cloud of despair. The only ponies left watching the scene were young foals, crying and clutching the legs of elderly ponies who Sapphire guessed were their grandparents. Some of the old ponies had to restrain the children from chasing after their parents into certain danger.

So, only the very young and the old were left behind. That figures… those cowards. I wish Spike was here, he’d know what to do.

For a moment, Sapphire considered going into the village to ask the remaining ponies if they knew where the dragons were taking the others or if they knew what the dragons were planning to do to with them, but walking right into a village that just got raided by a group of dragons hardly seemed like a smart idea when you WERE a dragon. Realizing there was nothing more to do; Sapphire picked herself up and began the flight back to her attic.

As she soared over Equestria’s lonely, quiet countryside, Sapphire puzzled for something she could do to help. She was only one dragon, after all, and had very few friends… except for Spike. Even though she hadn’t seen him for ten years, finding him and his friends was the best plan Sapphire could come up with. They could tell Princess Celestia what she’d just seen. Surely somepony as powerful as Celestia could help.

“Miss Sapphire!”

A young, panicked voice snapped the dragon from her thoughts. She shifted her focus on the forest below where she’d met Sunset Breeze that morning.

“MISS SAPPHIRE, WHERE ARE YOU?!”

Sapphire dove underneath the branches to look for the shouting filly hidden underneath them. “Is that you, Sunset? I’m right here!”

The sound of little hoofsteps came from behind the dragon, who twisted around to find Sunset Breeze galloping up to her. With no warning, the young pony slammed into Sapphire with all her weight and wrapped her forelegs around the dragon’s knees.

“Miss Sapphire, it was terrible!” Sunset’s voice was shaky and sobbing.

“Shhh…” Sapphire rubbed the filly’s back with her palm to calm her down. “It’s ok, Sunset. What happened?”

“It’s not okay! A bunch of mean dragons came, and they tied everypony up and they-they took my mom and dad!”

Sapphire felt her heart sink at those words. So the pegasi she saw WERE Sunset’s parents. Not knowing what else to do, the dragon crouched down and wrapped the filly in a hug, which the young pony quickly returned with one of her own. “I’m so sorry, Sunset.”

Sunset Breeze cried and sobbed into Sapphire’s chest, shivering all the while. Being a dragon, Sapphire could smell and almost taste the filly’s fear and regret. “Hey, c’mon, don’t do that. I’m sure they’re fine, and I know Princess Celestia wouldn’t let anything bad happen to them.”

Sunset looked up at Sapphire with her big, blue, tearful eyes. “You think so?” the filly asked with a big sniff.

“You can bet on it.”

“Well, what am I supposed to do until then?" Sunset Breeze glanced over her shoulder. "I’m too scared to go back to Buckington. What if those dragons come back?”

“Listen, you can come stay with me.”

With another sniff, Sunset wiped the tears from her face. “Can I?”

“As long as it takes for your mommy and daddy to come back. Don’t worry, I won’t let anything happen to you.”

Sunset hugged Sapphire again. “Thanks, miss Sapphire. I-I’m still a little scared, though. Where do you live?”

“Well, I can show you. And you’re welcome.”

As Sunset felt herself lifted from the ground by Sapphire, the filly couldn’t help but smile. Sometimes her mother would let her fly on her back, but this was the first time Sapphire took her flying. Instead of riding on the dragon’s back, she found herself simply being carried off by Sapphire’s strong front legs. Being held in Sapphire’s grip like that made Sunset feel safer.

Soon, a large cathedral came into view, though instead of landing and taking her through the front door, Sapphire flew in through the shattered attic window. It was dark and dusty up there, but Sunset felt a sense of security knowing she had someone strong like Sapphire there beside her.

The attic wasn’t much more than a large storage space, with only a few cardboard boxes scattered about the room, certainly no toys to play with. Sapphire smiled as she watched the little filly scamper about the attic, exploring every inch of its triangular shape and peering into each of the boxes on the floor. How cute. After a while, the dragon ignored Sunset, dropped to her belly and curled herself up to think.

“Hey, miss Sapphire!”

Before she even had a chance to consider what to do, Sapphire heard Sunset’s voice and watched the filly run up to her carrying a square piece of paper.

“What’s this picture of?”

Sunset showed the picture to Sapphire. It was the same picture Spike had sent her all those years ago when she was still a baby dragon. There she was, hugging Spike tightly and smiling.

“Oh, that was me and a… good friend of mine, a long time ago.”

“What happened to your friend?”

“I’m not sure. I haven’t seen him since then.”

“Do you want to see him again?”

Sapphire shut her eyes tight to block the pain of the memories of leaving him. “Yes, I would.”

“I’m sorry, miss Sapphire,” Sunset replied after seeing the pained look on her friend’s face. “I didn’t mean to make you remember sad stuff.”

“It’s ok, Sunset. Maybe we should just get some sleep. We’ll figure out what to do about your mom and dad tomorrow, ok?”

“Promise?”

“I promise.”

The sunset had darkened further, lighting the attic with only a few subtle beams of dull orange light coming from the shattered window. Sapphire yawned and rested her neck against the floor. Soon after, Sunset crawled under the dragon’s right front leg for security and comfort. With a smile, Sapphire shut her eyes.

Chapter 4

Fluttershy’s quiet little meadow hadn’t changed much in the last ten years. She still lived in her tree cottage, but a second, larger brick building had been built next to her tree several years ago. This was “A Helping Hoof for Animal Friends.” The ponies usually just called it “A Helping Hoof.” It was the pride and joy of Fluttershy’s life, her very own shelter for sick, abused and homeless animals. Over one hundred cats, dogs and birds had been given to new homes all over Equestria from A Helping Hoof, but Fluttershy always felt the same level of happiness and pride every time an animal got adopted.

“Good afternoon, and welcome to A Helping Hoof for Animal Friends,” Fluttershy said at the ringing of the bell above the door, which signaled that somepony had entered the shelter. Only, not somePONY, someDRAGON. The shy look on the pegasus’ face turned to a smile at the sight of her customer. “Oh, hi, Spike.”

“Hi, Fluttershy,” the purple dragon answered with a wave. “How’s business?”

“Oh, just wonderful. A family from Baltimare came in about an hour ago and adopted a litter of cute little kittens. It feels so wonderful knowing they have a nice new home.”

“That’s great news!” Spike said. His elated smile turned to a frown as he fidgeted upon remembering the real purpose of his visit, his train of thought trailing at the sounds of dogs barking in the back of the shelter. “Listen, Fluttershy, I didn’t really come here to talk about animals.”

“Oh… my. Yes. Twilight told me.” Fluttershy also gave off a frown as she stepped around the front counter to meet Spike face-to-face. “You’re leaving today, aren’t you?”

“Yeah, I am. Just for a while, though. I’ll be back!”

“You’ll be careful, won’t you?” She asked. Her kind blue eyes begged him to do so.

“Of course I will!”

Fluttershy averted her eyes and scraped her hoof across the floor. “Well, maybe you’d like to adopt a friend to keep you company while you’re gone?”

“Thanks but no thanks,” Spike said with a laugh. “I’m gonna be busy enough just taking care of myself. Not sure I could handle a pet, too.”

Tears welled up in Fluttershy’s eyes and streaked down her face as she looked back up at the dragon. He was hardly that little dragonling she’d met all those years ago. After a breath of courage, she raised up on her hind legs to wrap Spike in a hug.

“Oh, I’m gonna miss you, Spike”

“I’ll miss you, too, Fluttershy,” Spike answered as he patted the pegasus on the back. “Well,” he continued once Fluttershy let him go. “I gotta head over to Canterlot before I leave. I need to say goodbye to Rarity, Celestia and Luna.”

“Goodbye, Spike!” Fluttershy called after the dragon as he walked out the front door. “Take care of yourself, and come back soon!

Rarity’s place was next on Spike’s list. She’d opened up a second Carousel Boutique in Canterlot and was now an expecting mother. Spike remembered the good times they had together as he flew off towards the huge mountain city. Their escapade with the Diamond Dogs, how they beat King Sombra, or that fateful day he gave her a fire ruby that he had originally planned to eat. Spike even missed the way she used to use him as a reptilian pincushion. That was the past, though, before she met Dudley Diamonds, a wealthy gentlecolt from Trottingham.

Well, formerly wealthy. Spike knew that Dudley’s family was LOADED, but the Earth Stallion was removed from the family’s inheritance will by his own choice. Upset with the fact that he’d fallen in love with an ordinary Ponyville mare instead of the rich Trottingham mare they'd chosen for him, his parents gave him a choice: Rarity, or the money. The stallion chose love over wealth and the two were married at Canterlot Castle a year later. Dudley’s parents did not attend the ceremony.

Finally, Spike reached the sprawling capital city of Equestria and hurriedly jogged through the town, dodging the crowds of upper-class ponies as he made his way towards Canterlot’s Carousel Boutique. It looked very similar to the one in Ponyville, only a little larger. Spike knocked on the door to be greeted by a sky-blue stallion. A thin black mustache trimmed his upper lip, and his black hair had been slicked back with shiny gel.

“Oh, Spike! Hello there, dear boy! What brings you to these parts?”

“Well, I just wanted to check on Rarity and say goodbye to her before I leave.”

The mustached pony put a hoof to his chin in thought. “By Jove, today’s the day, is it?”

“Yup! I’m going off on an adventure of self-discovery… or something like that.”

“Well, in that case, be prepared to tell me all about it when you return, I would love to hear of your future exploits! But until then, what say I quit this rudeness and let you inside. Rarity is in her room.”

The gentlecolt took point and led Spike through the main lobby of the store, filled with Rarity's latest fashion designs. Dudley kept moving and opened the door in the back that led to Rarity's bedroom, where the white unicorn lie peacefully in bed with the gentle smile of an expecting mother. A bulge in the pink blankets indicated the developing foal.

“Hey, Rarity," Spike said with a wave. "How are you feeling?”

Smiling, Rarity rubbed the lump on her stomach as she eyed her soon-to-be child with a look of pride. “I’ve been feeling a little rough lately, but I suppose that means she’s about ready. I can hardly wait. Can you imagine it, Spike? Me, a mother!”

“Knowing you, she’ll turn out just fine,” Spike replied.

“Oh, do forgive me, Spike. I know your visit isn’t about me, it’s about you… leaving.”

“Yeah, I just wanted to come say goodbye.” Spike said as he stepped closer to the bed so Rarity could embrace him with her front legs.

“Oh, Spikey-Wikey. Do take care of yourself, and come back soon.”

“I’m more worried about you, actually,” Spike replied, still caught in Rarity’s hug.

“Oh, always the gentleman!” Rarity released Spike, rested her back against the bed and smiled up at the dragon. “But don’t worry about me too much, I’ve got Dudley here for me. You just go and have fun. I’m sure there’s some lovely young dragoness out there who would melt for a sweet, giving thing like yourself.”

Those words brought a strange nervousness to Spike’s gut. There was only one dragoness he’d met who was anything like that… Sapphire.

“Well,” Spike answered, fidgeting with his foot, “maybe there is. Maybe there isn’t.”

“Come now, darling, you never know until you try, right?”

“I guess you’re right.” Spike sighed and smiled one last time at Rarity. “Well, I gotta go see the princesses before I leave. Bye, Rarity!”

“Bye, Spikey-Wikey!”

Spike turned to Dudley. “Take good care of her, ok? When I come back, I’m gonna be that kid’s favorite dragon!”

“I shall gladly oblige, Spike.” Dudley gave a polite bow and showed Spike to the door. “Take care, old chap!”

“You, too, good chum!” Spike yelled back as he ran off towards the humongous castle looming over the entire city.

Spike moved past the guards, still as statues. Perhaps a newcomer to Canterlot Castle would take the time to marvel at the castle’s many treasures, but Spike had seen the priceless paintings on the walls and the occasional suit of ancient pony armor in the hall dozens of times, so he regarded them as nothing special as he made his way to the throne room, where a tall white alicorn with a flowing blue and pink mane, and a shorter alicorn the shade of midnight blue, awaited him.

“Spike, my beloved subject!” Celestia said, smiling. She waited until Spike got down on a knee in respect, then wrapped a foreleg around him when he stood back up. “Look how you’ve grown. I’m very proud of you. Why, I remember when you were just a tiny egg.” The alicorn released Spike and smiled down on him. “But now the time has come for you to show me what Twilight Sparkle and the magic of friendship have taught you. You are free to go wherever you please. Perhaps you’ll explore the Dragonlands and get to know your kind better.”

“I was actually planning on doing that, yeah,” Spike answered as Luna stepped closer to him.

“I have always been fond of you, Spike. I would like you to have this.” Luna closed her eyes and concentrated, and a midnight blue stone with a yellow crescent jewel encased in its center materialized in front of her. She guided it into Spike’s palm.

“Wow! I’ve never seen a gem like this before. It looks delicious!” Drooling, Spike touched his snout to the stone and sniffed. “It smells delicious, too!”

As Spike opened his maw wide to take a bite, Luna removed it from his palm with her magic. “No, Spike. This is not intended to be consumed. It is a moonstone, and the only one of its kind. I hope that it will prompt you to remember my sister and I when gazed upon.”

A gift from Princess Luna. Spike could hardly believe it. Luna was so beautiful and graceful. When the moonstone landed back in Spike’s palm, he held it close to him with more purpose than a few seconds ago. Spike looked Luna in the eyes, but quickly looked away. For some reason, pretty eyes made him nervous, and he’d always found Luna’s to be the most beautiful eyes of anypony he’d known. “Thank you, princess. I’ll take good care of it.”

“I would love to hear about your travels and what you learn along the way, Spike,” Celestia said with a trusting smile. “You know you can write to me anytime you feel like it.”

“Of course I know that.”

Though she was well over 1,000 years old, the alicorn still looked as youthful and graceful as ever. Her soft voice, gentle demeanor and great wisdom always had a way of soothing Spike’s nerves. It felt more comfortable to leave knowing the ancient princess was only a letter away if he ever needed advice, no matter how far away he went.

“Well, I’m gonna go now. Thanks Celestia, Luna!” After giving each princess a quick hug, Spike beat his wings and flew out the open window, where Celestia and Luna waved him off.

“Forgive me, sister, but what we are doing hardly seems ethical,” said Luna after Spike was out of earshot. She was still waving after the dragon’s flying form.

“I know,” Celestia answered as she walked back to the throne, “but unless we want to risk a full-scale war with dragons, he is our only hope, and I needn’t tell you how disastrous a war against dragons would be for Equestria. My subjects are so dear to me, and a war would put thousands of them at risk. We must also factor in war expenses and weigh the risks of our towns being destroyed.”

“We could have at least told him why we convinced Twilight Sparkle to let him leave.” Luna took a seat next to her sister.

“We’re not forcing him into anything, that’s why I did not tell him I want him to investigate what is going on in the Dragonlands. He must make a decision on his own, and I have faith he will make the right choice. Moreover, I hardly doubt he will go it alone.”

“What do you mean, sister?”

“I could sense it, both in his eyes and in his soul, there is another dragon close to his heart. A dragon who wishes to be friends with ponykind. Spike is the only Equestrian who can enter the Dragonlands without rousing suspicion.”

“So, your plot is to use Spike as a mole to find out what the dragons are up to, without him even knowing it?” Luna answered with a knowing smile. “You are so clever, sister.”

Celestia shook off the notion with a negative shake of her head. “Don’t think I’m not feeling guilty about this. It’s just, if we wish to avoid a war, those two may be our only hope.”

Luna closed her eyes and sighed. Once Celestia made a decision, it was almost impossible to sway her. “Let us hope they succeed.”

Chapter 5

Sapphire spent the morning catching animals for her breakfast, though she hardly had the appetite for more than a couple small birds or rodents. Her mind was still wrapped around the events she’d seen yesterday and what she could do to help, especially for little Sunset. The filly had gone a separate way to pick some more berries on the promise she wouldn’t go too far from Sapphire.

The dragon’s jaws snapped down on her third bird of the morning, which she downed with a satisfied gulp. As good as it felt to get some food in her stomach; the dragon was still troubled with constant mental images of dragons orchestrating a full invasion of Equestria. It seemed unlikely that the dragons would be satisfied picking on one tiny pony village, but Sapphire hoped her images were merely the result of worry and not a premonition.

“HEEELP!!! SOMEPONY HELP ME!!!”

A shrill voice pierced the silence of the forest to snap Sapphire out of her thoughts. The fins on her head perked up. That sounded like Sunset!

She darted back through the trees until she came upon the spot where she and Sunset had split up. Crouched behind a pair of short trees, Sapphire pulled the branches back to see Sunset Breeze, her eyes wide with fear. Three dark dragons had her cornered against the bark of a humongous oak.

“She bit me!” one of the dragons shouted, reeling away from the filly and shaking his forepaw.

Sapphire watched Sunset rise in the hands of another dragon, who quickly yelped and dropped the young pony, holding his leg. “Owww! My shin!”

“Feisty little brat,” said the third dragon. “That’s good, means she’ll serve us well.”

Sapphire inched her way under the branches, careful not to alert the other dragons to her presence. She especially didn’t want Sunset to spot her; the filly would undoubtedly call out the name of her dragon friend upon seeing her and thus foil her attempt at a discreet rescue. Once clear of the branches, Sapphire sighed in relief. The black dragons still had their backs turned. Sapphire drew in a long breath of air to prepare her ice breath, but had no time to release it before a child’s voice rang through the woods.

“MISS SAPPHIRE! HELP ME!”

Hearing this, the three black dragons snapped around and oriented on their blue intruder. For a couple seconds, Sapphire cursed Sunset’s outburst, but the terror in the filly’s voice assured the ice dragon she was doing the right thing.

“Huh? Where’d she come from? Get her!” one of the three dark dragons shouted.

A blast of harsh cold spewed from Sapphire’s mouth, encasing the dark dragon on point in a thick blanket of frost. Icicles dangled from his chin and arms. This distraction opened a large window of time that allowed a previously unseen fourth dragon to dive through the branches, scoop Sunset in his arms and vanish above the trees once again. The other dragons turned their attention away from Sapphire and followed the foalnapper through the branches.

Sapphire wasn’t about to let them get away with it. Not this time. After a deep breath to collect her resolve, she beat her wings and burst through the top of the trees after the quartet of foalnappers. Taking point was a purple dragon who held Sunset Breeze firmly in his forelimbs. The two remaining dark dragons flanked each other behind him. They seemed to give little concern for their frozen comrade, which struck Sapphire as typical dragon behavior.

Why is the lead dragon purple when the rest of them were black? Sapphire thought to herself, still in hot pursuit. And why does he look familiar?

Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, Sapphire convinced herself it didn’t matter who these dragons were; she wouldn’t let them hurt Sunset. Concentrating, she formed a thick ball of ice in her right hand until the frozen orb was ten inches in diameter. Sapphire ascended to position herself for a clear shot at one of the dark dragons. Several yards above the foalnappers, Sapphire took aim and hurled her projectile at the dark dragon on the left. The ball of ice bounced off the top of the dragon’s skull and sent him spiraling to the ground. That’s one down.

The dragon on point looked over his shoulder to find that one of his comrades had fallen, and dove back through the leaves. The remaining dark dragon dove after him, followed by Sapphire holding the rear. Branches scratched at Sapphire’s face and pulled her hair as she glided through the trees, but the ice dragon kept after Sunset’s foalnappers, weaving her way around branches and dodging tree trunks. Sapphire judged the lead dragon was having just as much trouble as she was, as he spread his wings and shot upwards above the trees. She followed the dark dragon after him.

Free from the worry of dodging trunks and branches, Sapphire found another opportunity to cast a spell. She closed her eyes and concentrated, summoning a bluish frosty mist into her paws, A thick barrier of ice surrounded the remaining dark dragon, trapping him inside of it. The icy orb and its prisoner plummeted to the ground below.

Sapphire groaned to herself. There was only one dragon left, the purple one holding Sunset. How was she going to bring him down without hurting the filly, too? Knocking him out of the air at that height would put Sunset in greater danger. Even though she was a pegasus, she was just an eight year old filly and likely couldn’t survive a fall from that height.

The forest below had begun to fade out into an open, grassy field with only a few shrubs and bushes speckling the prairie. All the better for her, Sapphire thought. That wide open space would leave very few places for Sunset’s foalnapper to hide compared to a thick forest.

Luck seemed to be on Sapphire’s side, for the purple dragon dove to the field below and landed on his feet. Sapphire watched from high above as his form squeezed itself into a shrub in the middle of the prairie. The ice dragon dove until she touched the ground and approached the purple dragon’s hiding spot.

“I know you’re in that bush!” Sapphire shouted. Frosty air swirled around her claw as she prepared another ice spell. “Let that little girl go, now!”

“What’s going on?” The purple dragon whispered to the little filly he’d rescued, panting from all the fast flying. “Do you know each other or something?”

“Yeah, that’s my friend Sapphire!”

“I’m not messing around here!” Sapphire yelled again as a result of the silence that answered her. “I’ll… I’ll hurt you if I have to!”

“Did you say ‘Sapphire?” The purple dragon’s eyes widened as he ran his paw across the top of his head. “H-how do my spines look?”

Sunset giggled at her benefactor’s odd behavior and jumped out of the bush to greet Sapphire with a smile.

Sapphire had still been charging an ice spell, but let her arms down at the sight of the filly. The frosty mist surrounding her claws vanished. “Sunset! You’re ok!”

“Well, sure! He’s actually not a bad dragon, and his name is Spike!”

Sapphire felt her blood freeze at the mention of that name. “Spike?”

Heart pounding and mouth agape in disbelief, Sapphire walked towards the bush Sunset had been hiding in. “Spike, is it really you?”

The purple dragon who had snatched Sunset earlier crawled out from his hiding place, approached the icy blue dragon and stood face-to-face with her. For what seemed like minutes, the dragons locked eyes, fixated on each other. Ten years had passed since the last time they’d met. So much had changed about each of them. They were both much taller and had grown their wings in, but Sapphire couldn’t mistake the smile that spread across Spike’s face. She’d NEVER forget that smile.

As Spike looked the blue dragon over, there was no doubt this was the Sapphire from all those years ago. Those big blue catlike eyes were as familiar as they were ten years ago.

“Spike!”

“Sapphire!”

In an instant, the dragons wrapped their arms around each other and held each other close, hearts thumping.

“Sapphire, I missed you so much.”

“Oh, Spike, I missed you, too.

At least a minute passed as the two dragons held each other and remained silent to allow the happiness of the moment to sink in. The last time they’d met ended with both of them crying tears of sorrow. Now, tears of happiness wet their faces.

Chapter 6

“So this is where you live, huh?” Spike twisted around to pan Sapphire’s attic, not that there was much to see. Only a few boxes scattered along the wall and a broken stained glass window. The smell of dust and old musty wood filled the triangle-shaped room. Sapphire was clearly much less material than Rarity. That unicorn would probably rather die than stay more than a week in Sapphire’s attic.

“So…” he turned to face Sapphire. “You’ve been living in Equestria for the last six years? Why didn’t you tell me?” His voice broke with a strong tone of sadness.

Sapphire sighed and dropped to her haunches. “I… I don’t know,” she answered, shaking her head. “I guess it just got too hard. Those four years we just spent writing when my parents took me back home, I kept wishing I was there with you so I could talk to you face-to-face instead of on just a piece of paper. I wanted to see you, but I couldn’t.”

Spike cocked his head questioningly at her. “After your parents’ accident, you could have come found Twilight and me. Why didn’t you?”

Sapphire shrugged, not entirely sure if she knew the answer herself. “I was scared.”

“What was there to be scared of?” Spike took a seat beside Sapphire and placed his hand on her shoulder to reassure her.

Sapphire curled her legs in close, cradling her knees. “I was worried that after those four years you would have found someone. I didn’t want to face the truth if you had. I wasn’t sure how I’d handle it.”

“Nah, not me,” Spike answered as he dismissed the idea with a negative shake of his head. “I told you all about what’s happened to my friends with the letters I wrote. Rarity’s married, Applejack’s married, Dash isn’t interested in a relationship right now. Applebloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo all have dates. I’ve been single these last ten years.”

“Well, I think I can fix that.” Sapphire smiled and planted a kiss on Spike’s cheek before her mouth sagged in a frown. “Listen, Spike. I know it’s been ten years and I kept hoping I’d meet you again, but I’d also wished we’d reunited under happier circumstances.”

“Oh no,” Spike answered with a tone of dread. “Don’t tell me. You’ve met another dragon, haven’t you? And he’s not as nice as I am, but you still love him and that’s why it’s sad. Am I right?”

“No, there’s no one else. It’s just…” Sapphire glanced over her shoulder to watch Sunset curiously toying with a praying mantis that had taken shelter in the attic. Sunset giggled in amusement as the insect rocked its body from side to side to mimic a leaf waving in the wind.

“Heheheh, this bug’s dancing!” Sunset yelled to her dragon companions. She’d never seen such a whimsical insect.

“You mean those dark dragons,” Spike answered. Sapphire’s sudden attention to the filly had given away the answer.

“Right.” Sapphire turned her attention back to Spike. “I know you saw what just happened with Sunset, but that’s nothing compared to what I saw last night. They invaded Buckington and hauled everypony off as slaves except for the very young and old. There are fillies in that village right now who had their parents taken away from them, including Sunset Breeze. They must be so terrified.”

Puzzling over this new information, Spike ran his hand across the green fins on his head. “Dragons… invading Equestria?”

“I need your help, Spike. I have to help that little filly and get her parents back.”

Scratching his chin, Spike shut his eyes for a moment to think. Celestia should certainly be made aware of the situation, but Spike could sense Sapphire’s desire to do this herself. “So, you’re saying we should march right into the Dragonlands, find out where they took those ponies and stage a rescue operation?”

“Basically.”

“Just the two of us? Two teenage dragons against Celestia knows how many adults, in a place that’s sure to be heavily fortified and crawling with guards?”

“That’s the best I can come up with.” Sapphire shrugged.

“Sapphire, that sounds like a really, really bad idea.” A smile slowly spread across Spike’s face. “And I think that’s what I like about it.”

Sapphire returned Spike’s grin with one of her own. “So you’ll go with me?”

“Of course! I can’t let you do this alone.”

“Ooh, me too! Me too!” Sunset bounced up to the pair of dragons. She’d apparently grown bored of the mantis she’d been playing with. “I’m coming, too!”

Sapphire shook her head at the filly. “I’m sorry, Sunset, but I want you to stay here. Remember, you promised me you wouldn’t go to the Dragonlands.”

“I don’t care!” A stomp of childish disapproval tickled the old plank floor with vibrations. “They’re my mom and dad and I’m gonna help ‘em! Besides, I don’t want to go back to Buckington. What if those mean dragons come back?”

“I don’t want you to go back there, either,” Sapphire replied. “You can stay here in my attic until we get back.”

“Stay here? All by myself?” Sunset pivoted her head to observe the attic, trying to imagine it as if she were there alone. Just the thought of it frightened the little pegasus.

“Yes.”

“I don’t wanna stay here all by myself. I’m too scared to be all alone.”

“I’m sorry, Sunset, but this is probably going to be very dangerous,” Sapphire answered.

“But you’re both going. I’d rather be with you two than here all alone. If we work together, I know we can do it!”

“You think that, do you?” Sapphire asked with a giggle.

Sunset did a playful little hop. “Yeah! We’ve been friends for a long time, and I can tell you two like each other!”

For a moment, the two dragons turned to each other until a twinge of embarrassment hit. Both looked away, blushing and smiling. Sunset grinned at this.

“See? You DO like each other. Know how I can tell? It’s ‘cause you always smile when you look at each other.”

One more time, the two dragons looked to each other and smiled. It was a bit awkward having been apart for ten years. Even though Sapphire longed to kiss Spike just once, she knew there were more important matters at hand, as well as a young filly still in the room. The romance could wait until they rescued the ponies of Buckington.

“I’m sorry, Sunset. It’s just too dangerous.” Sapphire kneeled down in front of the young pegasus to look her in her big blue eyes. “I’d never be able to forgive myself if anything happened to you.”

“I’m going to have to agree with Sapphire, kiddo,” Spike added. “I’ve been to the Dragonlands. Scary stuff.”

Sunset stomped a forehoof again. She growled in frustration as she trotted to the nose of the attic and sat with her back facing the two dragons. “Fine! I’ll just stay here ‘till you get back, all by myself! I’ll be soooooo bored! With nopony to read me stories or tuck me at night or fix me lunch or…”

“I’ll get packed,” Sapphire said to Spike. She talked louder than normal to interrupt Sunset’s exasperated tantrum. If this was anything close to what being a mother was like, she’d have her work cut out for her one day.

The ice dragon dug through one of her boxes and pulled out the old backpack she’d used long ago during her travels with her parents. Sapphire loaded it with her blanket, a pillow, and a couple of her favorite books. It certainly wasn’t as much as what Spike had in his large camping backpack, but she’d gathered everything she needed.

“Should we go now?” Sapphire asked after walked back to Spike, who had been patiently waiting by the window.

Spike rose to his hind feet. “No sense in waiting. There’s no telling what those dark dragons are planning to do with the ponies they captured.”

“Should we walk or fly?”

“Eh, let’s walk. The Dragonlands are only about an hour’s walk from here, that way we can talk along the way. I want a little time to catch up on things.”

“I was hoping you’d say that,” Sapphire answered with a smile. She wheeled around to face the other end of the attic, where Sunset had curled herself up into a furry little ball. Sapphire wasn’t sure if this was from fright, aggravation or if the filly was just trying to get some sleep. The ice dragon walked over to her and kneeled down to put her paw on Sunset’s shoulder. “Look, Sunset, I know you want to go with us, but you have to believe me when I say staying here is for your own good. I promise I’ll come back and I’ll bring you something special when I do.”

“Whatever,” Sunset mumbled.

Sensing this conversation wouldn’t fare any better, Sapphire stood up, scratching her head. If only there was something she could do to make Sunset feel better. She supposed the look on Sunset’s face when she saw her parents again would be reward enough.

“Ready, Spike?” Sapphire turned to face the purple dragon.

“As I’ll ever be.”

After glancing one last time at Sunset, Sapphire beat her wings and flew out the broken window. Spike followed close behind.

Sunset lifted her head. The dragons were both gone. She galloped to the shattered window and reared on her hind hooves to peer to the ground below. Spike and Sapphire had descended to the grass, walking towards the horizon. The filly sat on her haunches, taking advantage of the sudden silence to think of what she should do next. It wasn’t long before an idea came to mind, forcing the filly to flash a sly smile.

I’ll teach them to leave me behind like this!

Chapter 7

A half-ruined stone fortress loomed over several chain gangs of ponies as they labored about the courtyard of this stronghold, which belonged to the dragons who had kidnapped them the night before. This fort was a demonic-looking structure with black, jagged spires jutting from the top and gargoyle-like statues sitting on the corners of the battlements, watching over the courtyard and the ponies imprisoned within the eighty foot stone walls surrounding it.

Autumn Gale stiffened her body, struggling to keep the chain gang moving under the weight of the box strapped to her back. The wooden crate was as tall as she was, and nearly as long. It had been filled full of rocks, chips of stone and other raw materials she and the other ponies in her chain gang had been forced to gather since sunrise. Weariness from the lack of sleep had already bore into her muscles, but now the heat of the afternoon sun bore down on her with a fury that made her forced labor torturous enough in itself.

The pegasus wiped the sweat from her forehead and sighed, squinting her tired eyes to shield them from the unforgiving sunlight. The dark dragons surrounding the chain gang of ponies wouldn’t allow any of them to slow down. Autumn continued following the ponies in front of her towards the half-ruined fortress where these dragons made their base. That would explain the need for rocks and stone to rebuild the stronghold. It had been less than twenty-four hours since the dragons enslaved her and her fellow villagers, yet Autumn already hated them, mostly for the fact they took her from her young daughter, Sunset Breeze.

“Come on, move it!” a dragon holding a spear barked to the sleepy-eyed ponies. “This fortress isn’t going to rebuild itself!”

A unicorn stallion in front of Autumn Gale panted from exhaustion as he looked to the dragon. “We haven’t slept since you took us from our village last night. We’re all exhausted. At least allow us some rest.”

“Rest? Ha! It’s only been a day. We dragons can go weeks without sleep, and if you know what’s good for you, you’ll learn to do the same.”

“It’s not a matter of ‘learning’. Our bodies aren’t made for going that long.”

“Yeah, whatever, keep moving, and if I hear another complaint out of you, you’ll WISH you were back here carrying boxes!”

“Oh, Cypherus, do try to be a bit more civil.” A dragon clearly different from the rest walked up to the guard, forepaws cupped behind his back. This dragon was a bit taller and buffer than the others. The gold W-shaped belt around his waist distinguished him as what Autumn guessed was some sort of higher authority. An eye patch covered his right eye. His left eye was a blood shade of red that seemed to glow with malice. “These ponies are our honored guests, after all.”

The smaller dragon gave a salute and instantly moved out of the way for his apparent commander to address his “guests.”

“Well, hello there, my little ponies! How are you enjoying your stay at my humble abode?”

“You’re in charge here?” Autumn heard one mare ask. “Just who in Celestia’s name are you?”

“General Zog, at your service.” The self-proclaimed general wrapped one arm across his chest, bowing with what Autumn could sense was an act of mocking politeness.

“You won’t get away with this,” the unicorn ahead of her shouted. “Once Celestia finds out what you’ve done, you’re all finished.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure about that, my dear guest. Your beloved princess has no dominion here.”

She’d struggled to remain quiet to avoid any conflict, but the insult on Princess Celestia left Autumn Gale unable to hold her tongue any longer. “Funny to hear YOU talk about dominions! YOU invaded US!”

“Aw, isn’t that cute? Look at the little pegasus!” Zog grabbed her wing and tugged on it in a sardonic fashion. “Look at these little wings. Hardly worthy of being called wings, if you ask me.” Zog’s wings spread wide as he released the pegasus bearing three Fall leaves on her flank. As a filly, she’d won a Running of the Leaves competition and earned the multi-colored leaves as her cutie mark.

A pointy-tooth grin appeared on Zog’s face as he beat his wings violently. This kicked up enough dust for Autumn to turn her head and shut her eyes to block out the debris. The wind died as Zog folded his wings against his back once more. A lock of Autumn’s mane dropped in front of her left eye, which she quickly brushed back in place.

“You see? THESE are REAL wings. Yours are nothing but little feather dusters. Know your place before you make such haughty statements.”

“What are you going to do with us, anyway?” Autumn lowered her voice to a dangerous tone. Curling her lip, she blew her brown and red mane out of her eye. “Use us as your slaves and then dispose of us once we’re no longer any use to you? Yeah, real brave. For how strong you dragons are supposed to be, here you are picking on ponies. That’s real tough.”

“I think you’ll find that we didn’t bring you here to harm you, but to give you a sort of educational opportunity.” Zog cupped his paws behind his back as he paced down the line of ponies. His calm demeanor and air of false sincerity sent a chill of apprehension up Autumn’s spine.

“You see, this world works by a certain pecking order. At the top of that order is us. We are the most powerful and feared breed of dragons: the shadow dragons. Beneath us lie all the ordinary peasant dragons. Then comes the upper tier of other intelligent creatures: minotaurs, griffons, what have you. I’m afraid the lower tier contains creatures such as mules, cattle and of course, you ponies. Therefore you exist to serve those higher than you. Namely, us. This is how the world works.”

Glaring, Autumn bit her tongue to fight down a retort. Obviously this Zog was some sort of lunatic. Autumn could sense it in his phony civility. His followers weren’t any better, either. What struck her as odd was the dragons guarding the courtyard were all much smaller than normal dragons, about six feet tall. However, the dark dragons circling the fortress like a flock of buzzards were the enormous, normal-sized sort.

A shadow engulfed Autumn, snapping her attention back to reality. Zog had stopped his pacing in front of her, claws still cupped behind his back. She didn’t know what was behind that eye patch; but the ruby glare of his remaining eye was bad enough by itself.

“What’s the matter, little pegasus? Have you run out of rude remarks about my hospitality? If that is the case, then you may return to your duties. Otherwise we can continue our current course towards its natural conclusion, but if you enjoy being among the living I suggest you don’t let it get that far. Do we have an understanding?”

All the ponies in that chain gang remained silent from a mix of fear, anger and disbelief.

“As I thought. Cypherus, continue to keep watch on these ponies. Just remember, they’re not to be harmed. After all, ponies who can’t work aren’t of much use to us, are they?”

Cypherus gave a salute. “Sir!” After Zog walked off to address another chain gang at the other side of the courtyard, the smaller shadow dragon turned back to Autumn and the rest of the ponies connected to her chain. “You heard him, get back to work.”

They have no idea who they're messing with. I can’t wait to see the looks on their faces when Celestia comes here and shows them what it’s like to be invaded Autumn thought to herself. As she kept the chain going, she turned her sights to the humongous dragons overhead. An escape would be tough, if not impossible. She knew the only hope for the ponies of Buckington would be if Celestia had learned of the shadow dragons’ plot and staged a rescue.

Please, Celestia, help us…

Chapter 8

Soft green grass caressed the teenage dragons' feet as they walked on towards the Dragonlands. Halfway there from where they started, they could see the peaks of the dragon mountains reaching up like fingers tickling the sky. Thick white clouds seemed to form rings over the mountaintops. It had been ten years since Spike had been to the Dragonlands. Memories of that dark place struck a nervous chord, though he didn't want to admit that to the girl holding his hand.

"Spike," Sapphire said as she pulled Spike in closer, "You got really quiet all of a sudden. Are you okay?"

Spike looked to the towering mountains for a few more seconds, and then rested his sight on Sapphire. "Yeah, I'm fine."

Sapphire watched as Spike looked towards the Dragonlands; his eyes gleaming with fear as he did. "Are you scared?"

"Who, me? Sacred? Yeah right!" Spike released Sapphire's hand and positioned himself in a karate fighting stance, eyes narrowed and focused as if he were anticipating a fight. "I'm a one-dragon kung-fu strike team!"

Shouting with each mock blow, Spike threw a left jab, a right jab and another left. He raised one foot in the air and pivoted on the other for a roundhouse kick, only for his foot to slip before he could spin all the way around and actually throw the kick. The grass did little to cushion the impact of his back hitting the ground. Sapphire laughed at this clumsy display.

"Oh, I can see THAT." The ice dragon bent over to help Spike back to his feet. "You haven't changed, Spike. You're still that same goofball I met all those years ago."

Trembling in Sapphire grasp, Spike swallowed a lump in his throat. Those glittering blue eyes, that beautiful smile. Somehow they'd grown even more stunning since the last time he'd gazed into her face ten years ago. "And you're still the prettiest dragon I've ever met."

Both dragons chuckled and averted their eyes from each other for a few moments. Spike felt himself being pulled forward by Sapphire's strength before she wrapped her arms around him, embracing him in a tight hug, her face inches from his.

"Come here, you," the ice dragon purred.

Before Spike had a chance to think anything of it, he felt something soft and warm press against his snout. The kiss sent a tingle up his spine. He closed his eyes to savor the moment. Their lips parted with a smack. Sapphire was already blushing when she let Spike go, her eyes turned sheepishly to the ground. The shock of the moment seemed to numb Spike to anything else except what had just happened.

"I'm sorry," Sapphire finally said to break the awkward silence. "We don't really have time for that. We have a job to do, don't we?"

Spike's elation droned out as he set his sights back towards those ominous, jagged mountain tops. "You're right. We should keep moving."

"Hey." Sapphire watched Spike turn his back to her, remove his backpack and begin fishing through it. "Maybe... once we're done with what we need to do in the Dragonlands... I'll kiss you all you like."

A smile he couldn't fight appeared on Spike's face as he looked up at Sapphire from his kneeling position, still sifting through his pack. Just one kiss was good enough, so his heart began to thump from imagining the dragoness smooching him many times. "Really? I'll hold you to that."

Sapphire stepped closer. "What are you looking for?"

"I can't take it anymore," Spike answered, his attention fixated on his search. Finally, he produced a writing quill and a scroll of parchment. "I have to let Celestia know what's going on here."

For about a minute, Sapphire watched Spike scribble a note on the piece of parchment, his eyes nervously darting. Once he was finished, he stood up, rolled the parchment and sent it on its way.

“Feel better now?” Sapphire asked as magic sparks streaked off towards Canterlot.

“Not entirely,” Spike mumbled. “But I still think we should keep moving.”

“If it helps, I’m scared, too,” Sapphire said as Spike bent over to pick up his backpack, visibly struggling with the weight of his bundles.

“Oof! How’d this thing get so heavy?”

“Probably because you’re worrying yourself sick,” Sapphire answered. After Spike got the straps over his shoulders, Sapphire took his hand again to help comfort him. “Just try to relax. I won’t let anything happen to you.”

Meanwhile, back in Canterlot...

Celestia looked out her window into her beloved sunlit city, ever alert for any signs of the dragon invasion that she'd expected for the last week. Her alicorn's sense of foreboding had never failed her before, and she was positive it was right about this as well.

"Sister, will you calm down? It is rare to see you so unnerved. You are beginning to frighten me," the midnight-blue alicorn in the middle of the room said to her sister.

"Forgive me, Luna." Celestia removed herself from the window and joined the night princess. "I hope I am only worrying for no reason and the dragons don't actually pose a threat... but something tells me I would be mistaken to let matters settle themselves."

"If anything does happen, we will be ready. You and I, we can accomplish anything if we work together. No foe can stand up to the might of the sisters of dusk and dawn."

"Perhaps you're right." Celestia sighed, trying her best to get her mind to settle on Luna's notion.

The sun princess' eyes widened as a letter appeared in front of her from a shower of magic sparks. Using her magic, she unrolled the scroll and read it silently to her self.

Luna stood quiet, watching her eyes dart faster and faster as they scanned the letter. When she could no longer stand the tension of the silence, Luna spoke. "What does it say?"

Celestia rolled up the scroll moments later, her eyes narrowed in unblinking determination. "Buckington was invaded last night."

"Invaded..." Luna whispered her dread of that word.

"Shining Armor!" Celestia shouted. One of the guards, undistinguishable under his suit of silver armor, galloped up to Celestia and gave a salute.

"What is it, you majesty?"

"Gather as many guards as you can find. I want every city and village on the border to the Dragonlands under close watch, and I want them working in pairs."

"The Dragonlands, madam?"

"Yes. Buckington was invaded and had all their capable ponies hauled off by dragons. I want reports from each settlement to come in at every two hours and no longer. If they're plotting a full-scale invasion, we'll be ready."

"Are you sure you want to fight..." Shining stopped to gulp down his nervousness. "DRAGONS?" Those enormous winged reptiles, with their breath of fire and unrivaled strength send a chill of trepidation down the captain of the guard’s spine. He’d rather fight an army of changelings again than tangle with even a single dragon, let alone a whole regime.

"If they are going to invade, then we have no choice."

Shining Armor straightened himself and gave a salute "Ma'am!" With that, he vanished down the hall, the sound of his hoofsteps following him.

Celestia's eyes were still narrowed and unblinking. She turned to Luna and looked her in her dark blue eyes as she gave a verbal vow to her sister. “I WILL protect my country."

Chapter 10

A large crow perched on a rock, watching the two teenage dragons with its beady black eyes. The bird cocked its head to the left, then to the right and cawed, as if to question the young reptiles or perhaps warn them of potential danger. When it realized they weren't going to respond, the bird flew away.

Spike and Sapphire were both kneeling down from their vantage point on a mesa overlooking Zog's fortress. Much of the courtyard was obscured by fog and the fort's tall stone walls, though every few seconds they could make out the dark form of something moving about the courtyard. From that distance it looked like nothing more than tiny black ants scurrying about in search of food. Normal sized dragons circled the fortress, keeping watch from the dusty air.

“I can't see much,” Sapphire told Spike.

“I think Twilight packed her binoculars in my pack before I left. She thought I could use them.” The purple dragon let his camping backpack drop from his shoulders and opened one of the back pockets. A few seconds later, he produced a pair of black binoculars. Waving them at Sapphire, he gave a play her a playful smirk. “See? Spike is always prepared. ALWAYS.”

“Always prepared, huh? I'll have to remember that when we get back to Equestria.” Sapphire's voice came out in a purr as she wrapped an arm around Spike's neck.

“What's that supposed to mean?”

Sapphire smiled and batted her lashes. “You'll find out.”

That suggestive quip seemed to go right over Spike's head, for turned his attention back to the fort below without a reply. He threw the binoculars' neck strap over his head and pressed the scopes to his eyes. Scanning the fortress, he saw dark dragons marching about the courtyard, some carrying weapons that gleamed in the sunlight.

Other than that, nothing seemed unusual. For the Dragonlands, anyway. Everything here was unusual compared to Equestria. It was so barren and colorless. So much dust had been wedged between Spike's scales he could feel it scraping underneath them when he moved. Parts of his body, including his armpits and the backs of his knees, itched from having dust impacted so deep he couldn't scrape it out with his claw.

“What do you see?” Sapphire asked.

“Hmmm... there's a bunch of them down there. Smaller ones.” Spike panned to the left. Sure enough, he spotted a line of equines, all chained up to one another. “Oh, wait! Yup, there are definitely ponies down there. Looks like you called it right, Saph.”

“Let me see.” With no more warning than that, Sapphire took the binoculars from him. She'd forgotten about the strap connected to them, which still happened to be around Spike's neck.

“Ow!” Spike yelled, more out of surprise than actual pain as the sudden jerking motion pulled on the side of his neck, landing his face right into Sapphire's shoulder.

Sapphire looked over at him, gritting her teeth in regret. “Sorry, Spike.”

As Sapphire gently removed the strap, Spike rubbed the side of his neck. “That's ok, Sapphire. I just need a chiropractor now.”

Ignoring Spike's sarcastic quip, Sapphire surveyed the fortress with his binoculars. After a frustrated sigh, she pulled them away from her face. Maybe she was crazy for coming up with this idea in the first place. Getting inside the fortress was going to be hard enough, let alone liberating the ponies without incident. Barging in through the front gate was out of the question. There were too many guards. The giant dragons circling the sky around the fort would make nearly any rescue attempt impossible.

Frustrated, Sapphire bit her lip. “How are we going to get in there?”

Spike rubbed his chin in contemplation. “I don't know. This is going to be tough any way we slice it.”

Like a jigsaw puzzle, pieces slowly came together in Spike's mind as it brewed up a plan he could only call ingenious. Sapphire said the elderly ponies were left behind, making Spike wonder if old Bolts'n'Screws still ran the hardware store in Buckington. If so, the only catch to this plot would be that he and Sapphire would have to return to Equestria and come all the way back. However, he was sure it would be worth it if the plan worked.

“Hey! What are you doing?” A new, deep voice started the two teenage dragons into wheeling around. An adult dragon with jet-black scales was now behind them. Not an average-sized dragon, but the same kind of Luna-sized dragon Spike now knew worked for Zog. This particular dragon didn't hold a weapon like his comrades below did, but his razor-sharp claws were extended, held at the ready. His mouth was parted to reveal dagger-like teeth.

“Um, we were just... um...” Sapphire stammered. Her heart began to pound. She dared a quick glance behind her and realized there was no room to escape; they were trapped between the other dragon and the edge of the mesa.

Spike noticed the black dragon's glowing red eyes were staring at Sapphire's hand, and only too late did the purple dragon realize the reason why; she was still holding the binoculars. Now he'd wished he'd mentioned his plan sooner and escaped while they had a chance. One minute sooner and they would have been in the clear!

“Spying, huh?” the dragon growled, narrowing his eyes in a menacing glare. “Are you spies, perhaps?” The dragon lowered his sinister head closer to the two teenagers. “Do you want to know what we do to spies?”

The supposed Shadow Dragon took a couple steps forward, prompting Sapphire to summon a large magic icicle that emerged from a cloud of icy fog. “Don't touch us!”

Sapphire flung the icicle point first at the other dragon hard as she could. A dome shaped barrier of dark mist appeared in front of the dark dragon. This made the icy spear vanish before it even touched him. Sapphire growled in frustration and prepared herself to fly away.

“Ah, someone's cranky. Maybe you two need a nap,” the adult dragon taunted.

Before Spike and Sapphire could interpret the meaning of this threat, their enemy chanted a phrase of power. At the last syllable, Spike dropped to all fours. It was a struggle to keep from flopping to the ground, as if the spell had sucked all the energy from his body. Daring a glance to his left, he realized Sapphire was faring no better. A few seconds later, it was a struggle just to keep his eyes open. Then his world silenced.

Chapter 11

Heavy metal parts scraping against each other followed by a loud slam pulled Spike from his magic-induced slumber. Though his ears had picked up the noise, his vision was still too blurry to get a clear feel for his surroundings. Most of what surrounded him came in shades of gray except for an icy blue figure sitting beside him, which he quickly identified as Sapphire. There was another dark figure partially obscured by set of opaque vertical rows, as if hidden behind a set of blinds.

“Ah, awake are we?” a deep voice growled. “Good. Zog's gonna have fun with you two.”

Spike knuckled his eyes to eliminate the blurriness. The blinds he thought he'd seen were actually the bars of a large portcullis keeping him and Sapphire contained in a small square cell made of gray stone. Spike recognized the dark figure behind the door to their prison as the dragon who'd cast the sleep spell on them. Seeing his prisoners roused, he showed his dagger-like teeth a malicious smile.

“Nap time's over, kiddos.”

As Sapphire rose from her sitting position and rubbed the sleepiness from her eyes, Spike kept careful watch on their captor.

“What's the big idea? We haven't done anything!” Sapphire yelled.

“On the contrary. Laying on a cliff overlooking this fortress with a pair of binoculars is pretty suspicious. I'd hate to be you two in a few moments. You're gonna wish you were still asleep.”

“Is that right?” Spike lowered his voice to a challenging tone.

Growling, the dark dragon stepped closer, those red eyes locked on to the young purple dragon. “We'll see how cocky you are when Zog's through with you.”

Spike folded his arms across his chest in defiance. “I'm not scared of Zog.”

“I truly wonder if you'll still be saying that once you meet him. In fact, I think I'll go fetch him now.”

Saying nothing else, the guard turned towards the door, long arrow-tipped tail waving behind him as he exited. The shutting door sealed out the beams of sunlight that had once flooded in. Now it was darker in that cell than ever.

Sapphire sighed through her nose. “What do we do now?”

“I don't know.” Spike answered with a negative shake of his head.

“I wonder,” Sapphire ran her palm down one of the bars keeping them contained in the cell. “I wonder if I could freeze these bars and shatter them.”

Her eyes squeezed shut as she summoned the magic energy necessary to freeze the five-inch think iron bars keeping them imprisoned. After a few seconds, her lips parted to show teeth gritting in effort. She let go with a confused look pasted on her face.

“That's weird. This has never happened before.” Sapphire shut her eyes again, grunting as she applied the sheer force of her will into the bars.

The usual frigid air and blue glow that surrounded Sapphire's hands when she used her magic was still absent, however. Spike ran his hands across the bar in Sapphire's left hand to test it.

“They're not cold at all.”

Labored panting escaped Sapphire's muzzle as she opened her eyes once more. “It's no use, they're magic resistant.”

Perhaps it was the dreary, depressive atmosphere or the dread of what would soon follow that made Spike shiver at a chill that surged through his body as Sapphire turned from the gate. She moped to the center of their cell and sat down on the cold stone floor.

“I'm so sorry, Spike.” Sapphire's voice cracked as if she were fighting tears. “This is all my fault. I never should have talked you into this.”

“Hey,” Spike said. He approached, watching Sapphire tuck her knees in close, wrap her arms around them and rest her head against them. Spike took a seat next to the curled up dragoness and put his arm around her shoulders. “You can't blame yourself for this. I would have come with you whether or not you asked.”

A sniff sounded before Sapphire looked at him, blue eyes wide and glittering with tears. She wiped her face.“You would?”

Spike stroked Sapphire's hair, allowing the long, soft strands to sift between his fingers. He'd hoped the gesture would help calm her down. “Well, yeah. I mean, I just let you walk away all those years ago. I wouldn't just let you go like that again.”

Despite her inner anxiety, Sapphire smiled and leaned her head on Spike's shoulder. “You really are the sweetest dragon I've ever met. I just don't know how much longer I'm going to get to enjoy it. We'll probably be dead within an hour.”

“If we are, I just want say that if I have to have someone lying next to me, I'm glad it's you.”

Though Sapphire's presence was both warming and comforting, Spike still felt that chill of uncertainty work its way through his body. Sitting on the floor of that prison, embracing one another could be the last tender moment the two would ever share. He couldn't stand the thought of Sapphire being tortured if it ever came to that. Whether or not the guard was bluffing, he didn't dare guess.

His heart had been torn in two; part if it wished he was safe back in Ponyville, with Twilight and all his friends, but the other half was glad he could be there to comfort Sapphire in what might be their last moments.

The situation seemed hopeless. There were too many other dragons to make an escape, the bars to their cell were magic-resistant and far too thick and sturdy to destroy. In the off chance they could break free; they wouldn't get far if the whole fortress was searching for them.

Grunting sounded from beyond the portcullis keeping them in. Spike stood and turned to see what it was. The prison was still, empty however, except for his pack, which had been brought in and was now resting against the wall.

Spike tilted his head curiously at the backpack sitting against the wall of the room. Strange as it was, he was sure he saw it shaking. He kept watch for a few more seconds as the zipper to the main compartment undid itself and a small head with a long blue mane peaked out.

“You jerks! You really were gonna just leave me back there!”

“Sunset?” Spike asked, watching the filly climb out of her makeshift shelter. “How long have you been in there?”

“Since that first time you guys stopped.”

“Wait,” Sapphire interjected. “That was clear back in Equestria! You've been in there for the last three hours?”

“Well, I kinda fell asleep.”

"I can't believe they didn't check that backpack," Sapphire said. "Guess they were overconfident."

Spike scratched the back of his head in utter perplexity. “'Kinda?' How do you fall asleep inside a moving backpack?”

Sunset's shoulders rose in a shrug. “I dunno, I just did! That blanket in there is really soft and comfy. Come on, you guys! This is no time to be playing 'Cops and Crooks!'”

Sapphire's eyes darted with panic. “Sunset, this is serious! You have to get out of here. The guard could be coming back any second!”

Sunset looked up. There was a stack of crates sitting against the stone wall that was just high enough for her to climb on. About ten feet up was a large wooden shelf bolted into the wall, with another crate sitting on it.

One hop landed her top half on the first crate. The filly's hind legs writhed for a moment as she struggled to get herself atop the crate until she finally pulled herself all the way up.

A second hop to the second crate. Then a third. With youthful, catlike agility, Sunset made her way up the pile of boxes until she could reach the shelf. She squeezed behind the crate and the wall to hide.

Just in time, as sunlight once again filled the prison. Their dark-scaled captor had returned, still wearing a sadistic grin. Sunset peeked her head from behind the crate to watch.

Funny. This dragon wasn't nearly as big as Sapphire warned her they were. Only six feet tall at the most. Certainly not bigger than a tree or a house.

“You two are very lucky. Zog's busy at the moment. I wouldn't worry, though. Don't think you two are going to be leaving. Heheheheh.”

A golden object on the dragon's belt caught Sunset's attention. A metal ring with many thin, jagged items dangling from it gleamed in the sunlight. He had the keys to their cell!

Sunset pulled her head back behind her hiding spot and ran her hoof through her mane. There had to be something she could do. She poked her head out again. The dark dragon was standing just under the shelf. It gave the filly an idea.

The crate was at least three times larger than Sunset, but that didn't stop her from pushing with all her might, eyes squeezed shut with effort. Despite this, her struggles were to no avail; the box hadn't budged.

Dumb crate! Why do they gotta make these things so heavy?

Sunset's chest expanded with a deep breath before she jumped up to prop herself between the wall with her hind hooves and the crate with her fronts. Slowly, the filly's body stretched and the crate inched across the shelf.

The dark dragon had just enough time to look up before the crate crashed down on his head and splintered into a thousand pieces. Broken wood decorated the floor. Many slabs of rock and stone that were stored in the crate scattered about the room.

Hey, that's why it was so heavy. It was full of rocks!

“Nice going, Sunset!” Sapphire cheered as she watched the young pony hop down the series of crates and remove the keyring from the downed dragon's waist. “Now get us out of here!”

“Not so fast,” the filly answered, her voice dripping with shadiness. “I want an apology.”

“We don't have time for this!” Spike yelled.

“Say it!” Sunset teased, twirling the keyring around her front hoof.

Groaning, Sapphire wilted. “Ok, I'm sorry.”

“For...?

Sapphire did a facepalm. “For leaving you behind.”

Finally, Sunset smiled. “Apology accepted.”

Chapter 12

Sunset Breeze eyed the keyhole on the wall that operated the portcullis. It was a good ten feet high, much too high for her to reach. If only she could fly! Mentally cursing her aerial ineptitude, she panned the circular room for something she could use to reach the lock. Maybe one of those crates on the floor. Sunset trotted over to one of them and pushed against it with the top of her head. It didn't budge. She pressed her forehooves against the box and shoved with all her strength, but the crate still refused to move.

“What are you doing?” Sapphire's voice came in a whisper, so not to rouse the guard.

“I can't reach the keyhole!” Sunset explained.

“You can see it?” Spike asked.

Sunset looked up at it. “Yeah, but it's way up there.”

Sapphire rubbed the portcullis with her claws. There were no horizontal bars on it, just several thick vertical bars. Her eyes lit up at the formation of an idea. “Sunset, come here. I'll lift you up so you can reach the lock.”

Sunset did as she was told. The ice dragon's arms were just thin enough to fit between the bars and grab Sunset by the armpits. “Ready?”

“Ready!” At that word, Sunset felt herself lifted off the ground and up towards the keyhole. She giggled in childish delight. “Elevator going up!”

“Can you reach it yet?” Sapphire asked, still beating her wings.

“Almost,” Sunset replied as the keyhole grew closer. “Just a little higher.”

Sapphire lifted Sunset Breeze a few inches higher. Now it was almost in reach. “Push me to the side!” the filly ordered.

Groaning, Sapphire pushed Sunset slightly closer to the keyhole. The little filly stretched her neck for it, but still found it just out of reach. “A little more!”

“Sunset,” Sapphire's voice was strained as she stretched her arms out as far to the side as she could, which wasn't far with those bars in the way. “I hope you realize what an uncomfortable position I'm in!”

“Almost there!” Sunset squirmed a little so that her hind legs were barely in Sapphire's grasp, and reached for the keyhole. Finally, she stuck the key into the hole with her teeth, then twisted.

The gate mechanism sprung to life, emitting the rhythmical sound of gears turning and the sound of metal scraping against stone. Sunset looked over her shoulder just in time to see the portcullis rising and herself being dropped to the ground. She screamed and landed back first on the rock floor with a grunt as Spike and Sapphire ran out of their prison.

“Oh, Sunset, I'm so sorry!” Sapphire knelt by the fallen filly as she gathered her bearings. “If I hadn't dropped you, that gate would have crushed my arm! Are you okay?”

Sunset rolled over to her hooves, knocked silly but otherwise unharmed. “I think so.” She turned around, staggered a bit and looked at the guard to be sure he was still out. He was still sprawled out on the ground, eyes shut.

“Now what?” Sapphire asked. “We need to escape before the guard wakes up, but how are we going to get out of here without being spotted?”

“How else?” Spike asked. “Underground.”

“And how are we supposed to do that?”

“I happen to be quite the digger. I'll get us out of here in no time.”

“Through solid rock?” Sapphire asked.

Spike put his finger to his lip in though. “Ok, that does present a challenge.” A few seconds later his eyes lit up and he snapped his fingers. “As Rarity would say, 'ideeeeaaaaaa!'”

Sapphire didn't say anything in response, but the look on her face indicated he had her attention.

“We'll apply a physics lesson I learned from Twilight a long time ago. I just hope it works. You freeze the ground with your ice and I'll blast it with my fire breath. The sudden heating should weaken it. Hopefully there's some dirt under all this rock.”

Sapphire nodded in understanding, took a deep breath and a blast of icy air spewed from her maw, covering the rocky ground with rime. Spike responded in kind, breathing fire instead of ice, which, as he'd hoped, cracked the rock and revealed a patch of dirt underneath.

“Bingo!” Spike pointed at the exposed dirt. “Ok, here I go. You two follow once I've dug a clear tunnel.”

Dropping to all fours, Spike scraped furiously at the ground, sending dirt flying as he tunneled through with such apparent ease that Sunset thought not even a Diamond Dog could outdig him. A few moments later, Sapphire hopped into the newly made hole, all but disappearing until her claw stuck up above the floor and waved, which Sunset chose to interpret as a signal to follow. Both of them crawled through the cool, damp earthen tunnel Spike had made until at last sunlight shone through the other end.

Sunset Breeze stuck her head above the hole to assure herself all was safe, and saw that they were now on the outside wall of the fortress. Satisfied, she pulled herself up out of Spike's tunnel.

“That was close,” she breathed.

“We're not out of the woods yet,” Sapphire said. She held her arms to the air now that Sunset was clear of the hole.

“What are you doing?” Spike asked. “Let's get out of here while we still can!”

“I'm gonna seal off this tunnel with my ice. It should buy us a few moments, at least.”

A frosty air surrounded the group as the tunnel filled with solid ice, then the chill vanished as suddenly as it came.

“Let's go,” Spike said. He beat his wings and took off as fast as his wings could carry him.

After affording one last look above at the sentry dragons, Sapphire flew after Spike with Sunset breeze in tow. No one looked back until they had distanced themselves from the fort by at least five miles, hidden underneath the leaves of a small forest.

As Spike planted his feet to the ground, Sapphire landed and set Sunset down so they could catch their breath. The two dragons had been flying as hard and fast as they could.

“Think we're in the clear?” Spike doubled over panting.

Almost as if in answer, a screech so tremendous it seemed to split the sky hurt Sunset's ears enough for her to cringe. Or perhaps it was the dread. A v-shaped formation of flying dragons now soared above the trees, no doubt looking for the escapees. The branches and leaves danced with the wrath of the wind that giant dragons' wings produced.

“Somehow,” Sapphire scooped Sunset back up, “I don't think so!”

Sapphire flew off in the opposite direction of the adults, but kept as low as she could. Spike followed close behind them. Above, the larger dragons turned around to make another pass over the forest, this time breathing dark clouds as they did. Sapphire gasped and turned sharply to her right to avoid the shadowy substance.

“What was that?” Spike asked.

“I don't know!” Sapphire yelled, “and I'm not stopping to look!”

From her position, however, Sunset could see what it was. It was like clouds of death that rolled across the forest, choking the life out of everything they touched. The leaves had all turned brown and wilted, the branches dangled loosely, and the grass turned to an ugly, rotten shade of brown.

“I'm scared!” she cried, “don't let it touch you!”

“Yeah, I figured that!” Sapphire bit back. She swerved around trees in an erratic pattern, hoping to lose the shadow dragons and avoid the black mist.

Tears were now flowing down Sunset's face and the dragons flew overhead, again coating the forest with their dark breath. More trees and grass rotted as Sapphire banked so tight that Sunset's head snapped to the side, causing her to cry out.

“There!” Spike yelled. He pointed to the wall of a cliff that hugged the edge of the forest. There was a small cave there, big enough for them to fit into, but not the larger dragons.

Sapphire flew faster than she'd ever flown in her life, desperate to lose the giant dragons and the clouds of death they breathed.

Certain she was living her last few seconds, a frightened Sunset clenched Sapphire tightly, not daring to look until she felt the cool air of the cave around her. Even then, her fear persisted. The cavern walls were too tight for Sapphire to fly through, so she had to set Sunset down.

“Come on, Sunset!” Sapphire shouted as she ran deeper into the long, rocky tunnel.

For once, fortune smiled upon them. A steep downgrade led deeper into the cave, one that offered them significant shelter from the dragons' breath weapons. Sapphire picked Sunset up and hopped down what was at least a ten foot drop. Spike jumped down beside them.

It was almost pitch-black for Sunset down there, but she figured Spike and Sapphire could see well enough in the dark. She cradled Sapphire closely as furious pounding came from the mouth of the cave, shaking the floor with the shadow dragons' rage. After a while, the shaking stopped and a cloud of black appeared and hung overhead.

Spike, Sapphire and Sunset all dropped to their bellies, closed their eyes and held their breaths as they prepared for the worst.

But it never came. Like steam, the dark clouds evaporated, at which point Sapphire heard one of the dragons claim, “that should take care of them.”

They waited. Waited for what Sunset thought was an eternity, just to be sure the shadow dragons had actually left. Slowly, quietly, Spike, Sapphire, and Sunset, in Sapphire's arms, flew above the downgrade and walked back down the tunnel, into daylight.

None of them could believe the scene that was now laid out for them. Minutes ago, it was a beautiful green forest teeming with life. Now, it was a dull, rotten wasteland of gray and brown. The trees were all lifeless and dead and the brittle grass crumbled under their feet.

“Un...believable,” was all Spike could make of what was now a dead forest, killed off in a matter of seconds.

“This is the scariest thing I've ever seen,” Sunset added, her voice trembling with fear.

“Shadow breath,” Sapphire said after a moment's silence. “The breath weapon of a shadow dragon. It robs the life of anything it touches. My parents told me stories about it, but I had no idea... we were very, very lucky.”

More tears rolled down Sunset's cheeks. Lucky wasn't a strong enough word. Her heart sank as she took a moment to think that her parents were still in that fortress, with all those scary, powerful dragons.

Chapter 13

It was as if Fate herself hung over the forest, laying claim to all that she saw, leaving only two young dragons and one little filly to bear witness to the Shadow Dragons' wrath. Moments earlier it was beautiful, full of greenery and singing birds. Now a dull, dead wasteland spread out before them as the brittle grass crunched under Spike's feet.

He took a few seconds to let the grisly scene sink in and pat himself down. “I gotta check myself. Am I still alive?”

“We were lucky, that's for sure,” Sapphire said, looking around at the lifeless woods.

Sunset Breeze trembled. Her glossy but focused eyes were telling: for such a young thing, she was doing her best to be brave and keep the tears at bay. “What are we gonna do now?”

The craggy tip of the Shadow Dragons' fortress jutted up in the distance, above the dead forest which would serve as a grim reminder of the consequences of crossing Zog and his empire.

“Well, we can't go back there, that's for sure,” Spike said. “I think we'll be safest back in Equestria.”

“I think so, too,” Sapphire said.

Sunset's lower lip stuck out noticeably further from her upper lip as she took these words in. “But what about my parents?”

Sapphire sighed. “I know, I made a promise and it's Dragon Code to keep that promise. I just don't know how we're gonna do it.”

“Let's think about it back in Buckington, before any more Shadow Dragons show up and find out we're not as dead as they think we are,” Spike said.

Letting her head droop, Sunset dropped to her haunches. Tears started to run down her cheeks and Spike went down on one knee so he could look her in the face. "Hey, buck up, kid. We'll get them back. Everypony. I promise."

Sunset sniffed and threw her forelegs around Spike's neck. He patted her on the back and returned the hug, noticing Sapphire smile at this.

"For now, we've really got to get out of here," Sapphire added. She, too, kneeled down in front of Sunset and gently caressed her face. "So we need you to dig deep down and be brave, okay?"

Sunset sniffed and wiped the tears away. "Okay," she said, smiling.

"Alright, up you go." Sapphire stooped low so Sunset could mount her back. “Ready?” Sapphire asked once Sunset wrapped her forelegs around the dragon’s neck.

"Ready!"

"Hold on tight!"

Both dragons beat their wings, took to the air and soared over the desolate, craggy Dragonlands, heading back for Equestria. Neither one dared to look behind until they passed over Buckington, where they knew they were back in Celestia's jurisdiction. They kept going until they reached the old church where Sapphire made her home, the broken stained-glass window glittering in the dying sunlight acted as a sort of beacon.

When she touched down in the dark attic, Sapphire allowed Sunset to dismount her back just as Spike entered. Only then did he feel his heart start beating again.

"Home sweet home," Sapphire said.

"You can say that again," Spike replied. Now that he had time to do so, he doubled over to catch his breath, paws placed on his knees for support. His legs and digits were still trembling from the danger he’d just been exposed to. "I can't believe we made it out of that one."

"If it weren't for Sunset, we might not have made it!" Sapphire gave Sunset Breeze a gentle praising noogie.

Sunset Breeze giggled. Spike thought she was taking all of this very well for such a young thing. Then again, it could have been shock or simply the ignorance of youth.

Yawning, Spike stood on his toes and stretched his arms high above his head with a gaping yawn. “Well, I think I’ve had enough excitement for one day. Let’s get some sleep. We’ll figure out what to do in the morning.”

“I could use some shut-eye myself,” Sapphire said, rubbing her eyes. “Tomorrow we’ll see if we can find a way to get your parents back, okay, Sunset?” No answer.

"Sunset?"

Spike and Sapphire looked over their shoulders at the nose of the attic. Sunset was curled into ball, already asleep. Spike unzipped his backpack and removed his tattered old blue blanket. Quietly, he walked over to the filly and placed the blanket over her. She didn't move.

"Good night, Sunset," Spike whispered. Then he walked to the center of the room where Sapphire stood.

While Spike was tending to Sunset, Sapphire had already taken the liberty to remove two blankets, one for her and one for Spike, from one of her storage boxes. They both lay down on the floor, side by side, and threw the blankets over their bodies. For a few moments, they gazed into each other’s eyes, smiling. Spike felt himself tingle even more. Those blue eyes were as beautiful as they were ten years ago.

“Good night, Spike,” Sapphire said.

“Good night, Sapphire.”

***

A gentle nudge at his shoulder woke Spike from a deep sleep. Clamping his eyes shut tight, he flung his blanket over his head and pinned it there.

"Spike, wake up!" Sapphire's voice said.

Moaning, Spike curled himself into a tight ball under the warmth and security of his blanket. "Five more minutes."

"Sunset's gone!"

It took a few seconds for those words to sink in Spike's sleepy brain, but when they did he threw his blanket aside and sat up to find Sapphire kneeling beside him. A moment's glance around the attic proved that Sunset’s blanket was flat against the floor, empty. She had indeed disappeared; only Spike and Sapphire were present.

"Oh great," Spike groaned as he rubbed his eyes. "Where could she have gone?"

"She always liked to pick berries in the forest near here. Maybe we should check there."

Spike stood up and flapped his wings to stretch them, also stretching his arms as he did. "Well, we'd better go look for her."

Sapphire nodded in agreement before the two dragons flew out the broken stained glass window and descended to the floor of the forest below. Spike looked around, but there wasn't much more than a rabbit snacking on the leaves of a low bush and a few insects buzzing about the cool morning air.

"Sunset!" Sapphire yelled. "Where are you?"

"Sunset!" Spike echoed Sapphire.

No sound except for the leaves rattling and birds singing as the dragons walked deeper into the forest. With all the trees obstructing his view, Spike knew he'd need to rely on more than just sight to find Sunset. He'd need to listen closely for little hoofbeats or for Sunset Breeze answering their calls. If she even was in the forest, that is.

"Sunset!" Sapphire shouted again.

Only the sounds of the forest fell on Spike's ears. Nothing that remotely sounded like hoofbeats and the only voice was Sapphire's when she called out, "Spike, look," and pointed to the ground.

Filly-sized hoofprints trailed along the dirt, which drew a path through the woods and led Spike and Sapphire straight into Buckington, where the filly tracks stopped. Spike sighed and scratched the back of his head. If she was there in Buckington, she could be in any one of the buildings or houses arranged in a crescent shaped pattern.

"Sapphire, you know Sunset better than I do. If you were a runaway filly, where would you be?"

Sapphire rubbed her chin as she twisted her head left and right, scanning Buckington. "Hmmmm. Probably at a friend or relative's."

"Spike! Miss Sapphire!"

They turned to find Sunset Breeze standing on the porch of a building with a wood sign nailed above the front door. It read "Lucky Charm's emporium of relics, trinkets and magical items." From the porch, Sunset waved for the two dragons to enter. They did and shut the door behind them.

"Sunset, you can't just run off like that!" Sapphire scolded. "You had me scared to death!"

"I'm sorry, but I just had an idea and I ran over here to find Lucky. I was gonna come back."

"Lucky?" Sapphire asked.

"He owns this store and he says he can help us get everypony back!"

"Indeed I can," said a voice softened with age, yet still bearing a hint of youthful enthusiasm. A bony, wobbly unicorn stallion wearing a decorative velvet cape stepped up to the counter, carrying a shallow bowl with his magic. His face was thin and shriveled from many years of living.

"How?" Spike asked.

"Do you know what these items are?" Lucky asked as he let the bowl drop to the counter.

Spike simply scratched his chin in thought. Inside the bowl was a rainbow of roundish fruits the size of apples.

Sapphire gasped at the sight of them. "Those are Chameleon Fruit!"

Lucky nodded. "Native to the mountains of the Dragonlands. Smart girl."

"What are they?" Spike asked. "Just looks like plain old fruit to me."

"These are magic fruits that can change the color of a dragon’s scales," Sapphire explained.

Not even Twilight had told Spike about Chameleon Fruit.

"Yes,” said Lucky, “they change a dragon's scales to the color of the fruit eaten. And it just so happens I have a couple of black Chameleon Fruit in here."

"Sunset, you're a genius!" Spike shouted, suddenly feeling glad she’d ran off to Lucky’s shop. The little filly giggled at the compliment.

"These just might work!" Sapphire added as she reached for a piece of the fruit.

A sparkle surrounded the bowl as it lifted back into the air and into the safety of Lucky's forehooves. "Oh, they're not free, of course. I'll need 300 bits a fruit."

Spike's maw hung open and his eyes widened as he threw up his arms. "That's outrageous!"

"So is the danger of collecting such fruits. Dragons don't exactly like it when ponies come to the Dragonlands and help themselves to some of their native fruit. I paid the picker 150 bits for every piece, so I'm making you a pretty generous offer. I'd normally sell them for 500 bits a fruit."

That number thickened Spike's wall of disbelief. "Sheesh," he answered, folding his arms across his chest. "And they call us dragons greedy."

"Everything has a price, my reptilian friend," Lucky explained as he placed the bowl of Chameleon Fruit back behind the counter.

Now Spike pointed a claw at him. "How's this for payment: we're saving your village and we can't do it without those fruits!"

"Which is precisely why I'm giving you a discount on them."

"I don't have that kind of money!"

"Is there any other way you'd let us have them?" Sapphire butted in to stop the argument.

Spike kept quiet, realizing she had a point. If money wasn’t an option, maybe something else could pry the fruit from Lucky’s hooves.

Lucky scratched his chin for a few seconds, and then his eyes seemed to light up. “Since you'll be in the dragons' abode, you'll have access to their Dragon Spice, which as you know is a rare and guarded commodity. If you swear by the Dragon Code to bring me a pound bag of that spice, we have a deal.”

Both Spike and Sapphire looked down at Sunset Breeze, who didn't say anything, but stared up at them with wide pleading eyes. Eyes Spike couldn't find it in his heart to say “no” to. He turned back to Lucky. “By my Dragon Code, I promise to bring you back a bag of Dragon Spice.”

“Me too,” said Sapphire.

A few tense seconds passed as Lucky gazed into their eyes, probably to see if they were lying, Spike thought. Twilight often used that tactic on him, and more often than not, it worked. The bowl appeared from under the counter once again and now Lucky was smiling. He placed two pitch-black fruits on the counter.

“One black Chameleon Fruit for each of you. Bon Appetite!”

Spike trembled with anxiety. Now they at least had a chance, for all it was worth.

Chapter 14

A surge of sweet flavor danced on Spike's tongue as his teeth sliced through the flesh of the Chameleon Fruit. It wasn't crunchy like an apple, but soft with the juicy texture of a peach. His eyes flew open. It was almost as tasty as gems! Juice ran down his chin and he licked it off with gusto.

"Wow! That's delicious!" he exclaimed before taking another bite, exposing the fruit's core from one side.

Sapphire bit off a piece of hers and shared a similar reaction. Her blue eyes went wide in delight as she chewed. "That is good!" She wiped a claw across the sweet juice on her lip and licked it off.

Turning the Chameleon Fruit around in his paw, Spike finished the last of his with a big chomp. Only the core remained, which he set down on Lucky Charm's checkout counter. As he smacked his lips to savor what flavor remained, he looked himself over from tail to the tip of his claws to see if the changes had taken effect. Alas, his scales were the same shade of purple they'd always been.

"How long does it take to work?" Spike wondered out loud as Sapphire finished the last of her fruit. She placed her core next to Spike's and Lucky scooped them up, depositing them safely behind the counter.

As if in answer, Spike felt a mild tingling at the tips of his hind feet. It worked its way to his heels and started to climb up his shins. Looking down, Spike watched the tingling areas lose their color as the darkness worked its way up his body, as if an army of black ants was covering his entire body from feet to head.

Spike turned, watching Sapphire experience a similar transformation. If she was as bewildered as he was, her eyes didn't show it. Now they could both easily pass for Shadow Dragons.

“Hey, it worked!” Spike looked himself over, extending his forelegs in front of him and twisting his wrists.

Sapphire twisted her neck to get good look at her backside to be sure it also turned black. “Sunset, what would we do without you?”

"Remember," Lucky said, "the effects will only last for a few hours, so you must act quickly."

"We'd better get going, then," Spike said, turning for the door as he sidestepped an ancient suit or armor on a display rack. Sapphire nodded in agreement and followed.

"I'm going, too!" Sunset Breeze shouted.

Sapphire turned around and shook her head. "Not this time, Sunset. I want you to stay here with Lucky."

"Hey, I'm a store clerk and magical item aficionado, not a fillysitter! There's a reason ponies my age don't have foals." The aged lines on Lucky’s face creased with disapproval as Sunset hung her neck and pouted.

"Maybe we should bring her along," Spike said. A torch seemed to light up in his head as he rubbed his chin.

"You have an idea?" Sapphire asked.

"We'll pretend like we've just captured her and are going to put her to work at Zog's fortress. It'll help cover our disguise."

Beaten, Sapphire sighed and shook her head. "I suppose. She'll just follow us even if we tell her to stay here."

"She wants to rescue her parents, I understand where she's coming from. I would have done the same thing for Twilight when I was Sunset's age."

Sapphire scratched the back of her neck with regret in her eyes. “I would have done it for my parents, too.”

“Yay!” Sunset trumpeted and gave a little hop.

“How are we going to pull this off, though?” Sapphire asked. She put a claw over her mouth in thought. “It’s not like we can just knock on the front gate and ask them to let us in, even with our disguises.”

There had to be something in Lucky’s shop they could tie Sunset up with, Spike thought as he sorted through a box that stood on a plain wooden table. It was full of dusty trinkets, most of which even somepony as knowledgeable as Twilight Sparkle probably wouldn’t know what to do with. A colorless amulet. An old coin faded with age. One spell book Spike guessed could have been as old as Princess Celestia, its pages yellow and rigid and crusty between thick, worn covers. Good thing Twilight’s not here to see this. She’d have a fit to see a book in this condition. Growling, Spike pushed the box aside. Nothing useful in there.

Spike tilted his head. A braided noose had been snugly hidden between that box and the one next to it, now exposed. He gave it a tug, revealing more of the rope as it snaked its way from between more boxes stacked on the back of the table. At the end of the rope was a strange wooden mask-like object that resembled some of the heirlooms Zecora kept in her hut.

“Ah, good eye there, my boy,” Lucky said from behind the counter. “That there’s an enchanted relic of zebra origin. It’s said to ward off evil spirits. I’ll let you have it for two hundred bits.”

Spike grunted in frustration as he struggled to untie the knot that had been looped around one of the mask’s eye sockets. “I don’t want the mask-thing, I just want this rope!”

As if he couldn’t believe what his guest was saying, Lucky drew his head back, smile vanishing. “That’s just a dirty old rope, nothing special. I forgot I even had that in here.” The smile reappeared as he cupped his hooves together. “It’s yours for ten bits.”

“Sheesh,” Spike grumbled as he finally got the rope loose. He dug around the pouch full of bits Twilight gave him the day he left Ponyville and placed ten coins on the counter. “Capitalism is alive and well in Buckington.”

Lucky scooped up the coins and Spike dropped to a knee, wordlessly slipping the noose over Sunset’s head and around her neck.

“Hey!” the filly shouted and struggled when Spike tightened the loop. “What’s the big idea? I can hardly breathe!”

“I’m sorry, Sunset, but we have to make this look as convincing as possible.”

Sunset looked up at Sapphire with pleading eyes. Clearly, the young pony wasn’t enjoying having to play the part of prisoner.

“I hate to say it, but he’s right,” Sapphire said. “It has to look real or it won’t work.”

Stiff-lipped, Sunset took a deep breath of courage, eyes focusing.

“I think we’re ready,” Spike said.

“Ready as I’ll ever be,” Sapphire agreed. She pivoted towards the store owner, still behind the pay counter. “Thanks, Lucky!”

“Yeah, thanks,” Spike said. “Those Chameleon Fruits of yours just might give us the chance we need, and I’ll get that Dragon Spice for you.”

“Much obliged!” the old pony yelled after the dragons as they left the store. “Always happy to serve young folks!”

Once outside, Spike cocked his head in perplexity. At the edge of the village, two pony soldiers clad in silver armor and both carrying spears stood still as statues. That is, until Spike approached and one of them drew forward, his weapon lowered and ready to use in a heartbeat if need be. He took one look at the filly tied to a rope and made his judgment as he looked back up and Spike and Sapphire, the spear tip inches from Spike's neck. The other guard had had Sapphire in a similar position.

"Hold it right there, dragon! Your pony-napping days are numbered! By the authority granted me by Princess Celestia, I'm placing you under arrest." Spike felt the cold steel of the spearhead touch his neck. "One move and you two are shiskebab, you understand me?"

"It's me!" Spike shouted, holding his arms to the air. When the fierce glare in the soldier’s eyes didn’t change, Spike continued. "Take it easy, it's me! Spike!"

The soldier lowered his weapon, his face shifting to a look of curiosity. "Spike? What happened to you? With those dark scales, I thought you were a Shadow Dragon."

"That's the whole point," Spike answered. "We're in disguise so we can sneak into their fortress and free everypony. What are you doing this far from Canterlot?"

"Celestia ordered troops to all the villages bordering the Dragonlands. She's been on edge ever since she got the letter you sent her."

"With dragons involved, I don't blame her," Sapphire said.

"Who's this?" the soldier asked, motioning to Sapphire with his head.

"She's an old friend,” Spike explained, smiling. “Don't worry, she can be trusted."

"Are you a Shadow Dragon, too?" the soldier asked.

"No, I'm an ice dragon," Sapphire replied, shaking her head.

The soldier looked down at Sunset Breeze. "Then why do you have this filly tied up? Surely you can't be thinking about bringing her along. It's far too dangerous for such a little pony!"

"Those mean dragons took my mom and dad and I'm gonna help get them back!" Sunset shouted.

“We’re pretending we’ve captured her,” Spike explained. “I’m hoping it’ll convince them to let us into their fortress as one of their own.”

"Well, if Spike says you're trustworthy, then that's good enough for me,” the soldier said to Sapphire. “Good luck to you. The sooner you get everypony back, the sooner we can go home!"

“Yeah, we better hightail it,” Spike said. “Lucky said the effects of the Chameleon Fruit won’t last long. We’ll fly to Zog’s fortress.”

Sapphire kneeled down in front of Sunset, extending her forelegs to her. “I’ll carry you, Sunset.”

Sunset breeze climbed on Sapphire’s lap. She wrapped her forelegs around the little filly and gave Spike a look of determination. He gave one back and both dragons nodded. It was now or never.

Equestria’s lush greenery faded into the dull, desolate Dragonlands as Spike and Sapphire flew in a hurried pace towards Zog’s fortress. There was no time to look at the scenery, not that there was much to see and it wouldn’t have broken Spike’s heart if he never had to come back to this country again.

When Zog’s fortress appeared in the distance, Spike and Sapphire lowered their altitude below the ridge of a mountain overlooking the stronghold, using it as cover so they wouldn’t be seen. Both dipped several feet from the ground and rounded the mountain until the fort came back into view.

Spike folded his wings and dropped to his feet. Sapphire and Sunset landed beside him, at which point he took hold of the rope still tied tightly around the filly’s neck.

“This is it,” Spike said. His heart was already pounding as he took a deep breath to ease his nerves “Ready?”

“Ready,” Sapphire replied.

“Let’s do it!” Sunset said.

Spike bit his lip. There were only two likely outcomes to this plan; one good and one disastrous. After steeling his nerves, he led Sapphire and Sunset towards Zog’s fortress.

The first obstacle soon came into view: a sentry posted at the front gate. Spike could see the metal of his poleaxe gleaming in the sunlight, for a moment wondering if the blade of that weapon would be the last thing he’d ever see.

The guard raised his free arm. "Halt! State your business!"

"We caught this little pony snooping around here," Spike replied, shifting his tone to one deeper than his normal speaking voice. He gave a tug on the rope, which caused Sunset to stumble forward a bit, proving this point. "I say we put her to work with the rest of 'em."

The guard kneeled down in front of Sunset to observe her more closely. "Awful small, isn't she? Doesn't look like she could handle very much. Hardly worth keeping if you ask me."

"We'll work her to the bone," Sapphire replied, mirroring Spike's deep tone of voice. "Teach her a lesson."

"Wait a second, I haven't seen you two before." The guard stood up and held his poleax at the ready. "Who are you?!"

"We're new recruits," Spike said. Despite his anxiety, he placed his heels together and slammed a fist into his chest with military poise. "Hail Emperor Zog!"

"Long live Zog!" Sapphire shouted. "Long live the Shadow Dragon Empire!"

The guard narrowed his gaze, inspecting Spike and Sapphire closer. "A couple of young dragons were taken prisoner here yesterday but they escaped. A male and a female."

"What did they look like?" A nervous pang twisted inside Spike's gut even as he asked that. If he blew their cover...

"A purple dragon and a light blue, probably an ice dragon. Escaped into the forest southwest of here. Our sentries gave chase and annihilated the place."

"You're not joking!" Sapphire said. "I saw it myself. I don't think so much as a flea could have survived that."

"Right," Spike answered. "Whoever the escapees were, they're surely done for now."

"I suppose that's true," the guard replied. His gaze remained solid, but his arms relaxed a fraction. "Still..."

"Do we LOOK like a purple and ice dragon?" Spike asked, sensing the guard still held onto a bit of doubt.

"No, you look like Shadow Dragons. Like us. I just didn't think Zog would stoop to using child dragons." Shaking his head in what Spike chose to interpret as disbelief; the sentry lowered his weapon. "Well, might as well put that little one to work with the others." With his free hand, he pushed on the large wooden gate. It creaked in protest as it opened, revealing the fortress courtyard.

Again, Spike tugged on the chain he held Sunset by. "Get in there, pony. Now!"

"Move it!" Sapphire shouted, kicking dust at the filly's rear end in a threatening display.

"Stupid dragons!" Sunset yelled, shooting a glare at each of the three reptiles. "You're all a buncha meanies!"

"Don't make me angry or you'll regret it!" Sapphire shouted.

With Spike leading Sunset in, the disguised dragons strode into the courtyard, trying to appear like belonged there. Still, they couldn't help but pause when they saw the chained line of ponies along the wall, with one dragon watching them closely. Spike counted fifteen ponies in total. Many of the captives were drooped and lethargic, as if they hadn’t eaten or slept since they got there, tempting Spike to want to free them Daring-Do style. He shook the impulse out of his head, their mission came first.

Sunset let out a gasp and Spike followed her shocked gaze to two pegasus ponies, both wearing looks that showed worry and surprise upon seeing their daughter in this Celestia-forsaken place.

"It's them!" Sunset hissed, just above a whisper.

“I know,” Sapphire whispered back. “Be patient.”

“But they’re chained up, and-“

“Shhh.” Spike put a claw over his mouth. “Just keep playing prisoner. If we screw this up, we’re burnt toast.”

“What’s the plan?” Sapphire asked, looking around at all the other dragons in the courtyard. Spike could see her shaking. He didn’t blame her. This was their chance, and they likely wouldn’t get another one.

Sunset nodded and looked back to her parents. She mouthed a message to them, after which they visibly relaxed. Spike did as well, but not much; he kept an eye on the other shadow dragons, especially the one in charge of the ponies.

“Ok,” he said suddenly, “I’m gonna see if I can’t get Mr. Slave-Driver over there to surrender his post to me. Once he’s out of the way, we’ll take it from there.”

Sapphire nodded in confirmation and looked to the evil building that loomed over them. “Gotcha. I’m going to head inside the fortress and see if I can’t find a bag of that Dragon Spice Lucky wanted. I’ll meet back up with you once I get the goods.”

“Alright,” Spike whispered. Looking into Sapphire’s eyes, he felt a moment’s desire to kiss her, just in case it would be their last time. He’d never seen Sapphire’s eyes so wide or so blue and he knew then she was as scared as he was. “Good luck.”

Sapphire returned his smile. “You, too.”

No more words were exchanged as both nodded in understanding; they both knew any more chat or idling would draw suspicion among the sentries. Spike watched as Sapphire headed off to handle her part. He trusted her instincts and knew she'd get the job done as he led Sunset to the dragon guarding the ponies. The shadow dragon fixed his gaze on the newcomers as they approached.

Spike stood erect and confident when he stopped in front of the guard, matching his stare. “You’re relieved. Got another prisoner, too."

"Already?" The dragon looked at the position of the sun to check the time. "Hmmm. If you say so. I could use a break. I can tell you're new, so listen up. Don't let those ponies get one inch on you. Keep 'em under your claw, got it? Zog wants them to understand the order of things." With that, the dragon took the keys that dangled from his belt and placed them in Spike’s waiting palm.

Spike gave a salute and clicked his heels together. "Sir!"

After the guard disappeared inside the fortress, Spike’s chest heaved and compressed as he sighed in relief. So far their plan was working, but he was tingling all over from the potential danger. Here he was like a bee in the middle of a hornet’s nest, wondering just how long he could stay there before the workers saw through his disguise and started stinging. He’d only hoped Sapphire was faring as well as he was.

“Sunset!” the female pegasus said, the chains connected to her shackle chinkling as she nuzzled her daughter. “What in Equestria are you doing here?”

"We’re here to save you,” Spike explained for Sunset as she hugged her father. “Keep your voices down and act natural.”

Some of the ponies who overheard shot disbelieving glares at Spike, and he could feel their justified resentment. Why would a dragon, a Shadow Dragon no less, want to help them? They probably thought it was some sort of trick.

“Don’t worry,” Spike answered with a reassuring smile, kneeling down to eye level with the ponies. “I’m a friend of Princess Celestia’s, and Twilight Sparkle’s my mentor.”

Those names seemed to ease the ponies a bit.

"There's a mine a couple miles from here where they're forcing us to forage for raw materials,” the unicorn mare chained behind Sunset’s mother said. “We can make our escape there."

"Alright. Let's get you out of here. Just play along." Spike stood up. He looked to the front entrance of the fortress, wondering how Sapphire was faring. He didn’t have to wonder long, as a dark-scaled dragon slightly smaller than the rest emerged and was heading his way, a simple sack resting on her shoulder. If that wasn’t proof enough it was Sapphire, Spike could pick out those blue eyes anywhere. As Sapphire approached, Spike dragged Sunset Breeze to the rear of the line and removed the rope, afterwards locking a metal shackle around her neck.

“There’s another dragon coming,” Spike said with a smile. “She’s a friend of mine, you can trust her.”

“She’s really nice,” Sunset whispered.

As part of their act, Sapphire saluted Spike upon reaching him and the chain-gang of ponies. “What’s the situation?” she asked.

“We’re headed for the mines,” Spike said. “We’ll escape from there.” He took a deep breath of courage. Up until now, it had been the easy part. The actual escape was sure to be much riskier. “Everypony ready?”

“I was ready to leave this place the second I got here,” Sunset’s father said.

Spike turned to face the front gate. "Let's go, ponies. Move!" he snapped as viciously as possible.

The ponies played their part well, Spike thought, sulking and scowling as the earth pony at the front of the line turned from the wall and towards the gate, the rest keeping up behind him.

"Get your flanks in gear," Sapphire said in a venomous tone. She positioned herself on the other side of the ponies so she and Spike flanked the chain gang. "Don't try anything funny."

The sentry at the gate tilted his head in confusion as Spike, Sapphire and the ponies approached. Spike felt his heart sink. On the other side from him, he watched Sapphire’s throat constrict nervously.

"Where are you taking these ponies?" the guard asked.

"To the mines. Zog's orders," Spike answered as sternly and with as much military professionalism as his anxious frame could muster.

The guard’s eyes narrowed questioningly. "I wasn't notified."

"You dare question your emperor?" Spike asked. It wasn’t the best answer, but he was desperate for an excuse. "I wouldn't. Have you ever seen Zog mad? It’s not pretty."

Sapphire let out a rueful chuckle. "Yeah, bad things happen when Zog gets angry."

"I can't argue with that. Make sure you work those ponies hard. Don't let any of them slack off, not even the little one."

It was such a relief to Spike to watch that gate open, he nearly broke his routine by taking a deep breath of relief. “Understood, sir!” With a salute, he and Sapphire marched the ponies out of the courtyard. How good it felt to be out from between those walls!

Everything was going to plan. The only thing left was to make their escape through the mines. Then Spike’s mind started to race. What would the repercussions be even if they succeeded? It would only be a matter of time before Zog and his dragons learned the truth, and then what? Would they launch a full-scale attack on Equestria?

No, the dragons wouldn’t be that dumb, not against Celestia and her seemingly infinite power as an alicorn.

At least, Spike HOPED they weren’t that dumb.

Chapter 15

Zog stood on the balcony overlooking the courtyard of his fortress, unable to suppress a smile as he watched his dragons work. Between them and the ponies, he'd soon uncover whatever it was the ancient shadow dragons had hidden eons ago. The legends never explicitly stated what was supposed to be buried here, but they promised it was something of incredible value. Perhaps a cache of gems large enough to satisfy the stingiest of kings. It could be some sort of ancient superweapon or an artifact of incredible power. Whatever it was, Zog wanted it, and the shadow dragons under his rule and his pony slaves were going to find it for him.

Except, as he took a closer look at the courtyard, he noticed there wasn't one equine to be found.

"Cyrus!" Zog yelled.

Within seconds, a shadow dragon ran onto the balcony and gave his lord a salute. "At your service, sir."

Zog turned his glance from his subordinate and back to the courtyard. "Something's not right here. Where are the ponies?"

"They were taken to the mines, sir."

Zog glanced over his shoulder at Cyrus, his single red eye squinted in confusion. “What? Under whose orders?"

"Yours, sir," Cyrus replied dubiously

"I didn't give the order to..." The look in Zog's eye flashed from confusion to anger as he looked down at the courtyard once more. "Son of an alicorn. They're escaping!"

"Sir?" Cyrus asked, still as a statue from fear of his emperor's wrath.

"Fool!” Zog snapped around, eye burning with fury. “Don't just stand there. Stop them, NOW!"

Cyrus saluted again. "Yes, sir!" He took to the air with all due haste and descended to the courtyard to form a search party.

***

The ponies of Buckington led Spike and Sapphire, still under the disguise of shadow dragons, to a large mouth in the face of the mountain overlooking Zog’s fortress. Inward lied a cavern carved from the bowels of the mountain, with mine cart tracks disappearing into the darkness of a tunnel. Five carts were hooked together, all of them empty.

“Zog’s been forcing us to work here,” Sunset’s mother said with obvious disgust as Spike went to work unlocking their shackles. “We get maybe three hours of sleep a day and we're lucky if we’re fed at all.”

A lifetime of living with ponies made the very idea of such a thing difficult for Spike to fit in his head. “That’s just wrong,” he growled. Beside him, Sapphire snorted out an angry burst of ice breath from her nostrils.

“We’ll save the details for when we get back to Equestria,” Sunset’s mom turned around to face Spike and extended a hoof to him by way of greeting. “I’m Autumn Gale, Sunset Breeze’s mother.”

“Spike,” he replied, shaking Autumn’s hoof.

“And I’m Sapphire, Spike’s girlfriend.”

Autumn pulled her hoof from Spike’s claw and accepted Sapphire’s. “Nice to meet you both. Thanks so much for looking after my little filly.”

“Pleasure’s all mine,” Sapphire said.

“And I’m Dustin Wind,” said the pegasus stallion with a sandy-colored coat and dark brown mane, “Sunset’s father. I have to say, I didn’t expect dragons of all creatures to take care of my daughter, seeing as dragons were the ones who foalnapped us in the first place.”

“See, we’re not really shadow dragons,” Sapphire explained. “We’re in disguise. It was the only way we could get past Zog’s guards.”

“You know who Zog is?” a mare with a pink coat and a cutie mark depicting a pair of strawberries asked as Spike removed the last shackle from the chain of ponies.

“Yeah, we’ll explain later,” Spike said. He shifted his attention to a stack of crates that had been piled against the wall of the cave. Each of them had a painting of a pony’s skull and a pair of crossbones, along with the word “DANGER!” printed under the skull. Hopefully they could use whatever was in them to cover their escape.

“What’s in these boxes?” Spike asked.

“Dynamite,” Autumn said. Spike’s eyes lit up at the word.

“We’ve been using it to mine this tunnel,” Dustin explained.

“Perfect.” Spike walked over to one of the boxes and lifted it. The crate probably weighed about 80 lbs, and there were five crates piled up. 400 lbs of dynamite would be enough to destroy the entire mine and make sure Zog never forced a pony to work there again. “Sapphire, help me load these up into the rear cart.”

Nodding, Sapphire walked over to the pile of crates and grabbed one, seeming to know what Spike had in mind. After they both placed their crates into the cart, Spike and Sapphire returned to the remaining crates.

“We don’t think we’re mining here just for materials for Zog’s fortress,” Autumn said as the two dragons worked. “It seems like Zog’s looking for something. That’s why he’s making us mine this tunnel, he thinks it might be buried somewhere in this mountain.”

“What do you think it is?” Sapphire asked as she gently set her crate on top of one of the others and added the sack of Dragonspice to the rear cart’s contents.

“No idea,” Dustin replied. “We just overheard his guards talking about it.”

Distant roaring made Spike freeze in place for a few seconds as a chill that had nothing to do with being near an ice dragon run down his spine and tingled his toes. Once he mustered the nerve, he moved to the mouth of the cave and looked to the sky to confirm his suspicions. A v-shaped formation of shadow dragons was approaching fast, rage evident in their shrieks. Spike swallowed the lump in his throat and ran back inside the mine.

"I don't want to be an alarmist, but we're gonna have company in about thirty seconds! We’ll have to continue this conversation later."

Sapphire stepped up to the mouth of the cave as the ponies, murmuring amongst themselves at this news, grouped themselves in five to a car, with Sunset and her parents taking the front. Spike heaved the last box of dynamite into the rear cart, but Sapphire was still standing there with her palms outstretched to the entrance of the mine.

Spike waved a foreleg, summoning her. "Come on, Sapphire! Let's go!"

There was no answer as Sapphire held her pose, sealing off the entrance with a gradually growing sheet of ice. Spike shivered from the sudden cold. Grotesque spines grew and protruded from the block of frozen mass, creating what she and Spike hoped would be an effective deterrent to the attackers.

"That should hold them off," she said, running for the train of mine carts. "For a few moments, anyway."

"It'll have to do." Spike grunted as he and Sapphire pushed on the rear cart, sending the train moving across the tracks.

"This is gonna be fun!" Sunset shouted from the front.

Sapphire's barrier tremored, prompting Spike and Sapphire to push harder on the cart. When enough momentum had been built, they ran ahead to the second to last cart and hopped in.

The walls of the cave, lit by flickering magic torches, rushed past as the mine cart hit a dropoff and picked up speed. Sunset Breeze squealed in fillyish delight. Dank air filled Spike's nostrils and caressed his face while some of the ponies screamed in excitement or fear. Above the rhythmic clack-clack of wheels against the tracks, Spike heard a distinctive cry of animal fury and dared to glance backwards at the shadows of winged forms in the torchlight. The ground behind them was littered with shattered ice.

"Here they come!" Spike yelled. Pony voices rose in fright.

Working quickly, Spike dug under the lid of one of the crates with a claw and forced the box open. At least a dozen sticks of dynamite were stacked inside, sitting harmlessly; waiting for their destructive power to be unleashed. Spike plucked one from the top of the pile and blew a small green flame from his nostrils on it. The fuse sparked and hissed, signaling that the explosive was live. Spike drew his arm back and let the dynamite fly down the corridor.

Even with the rapidly growing distance between where they were and where the dynamite had landed, the explosion was deafening. Spike's ears rang painfully as flames reddened the tunnel, wrapping Spike with a sudden burst of warmth as if he'd just stood in front of an oven while the door opened. Bits of blasted rock hailed down the corridor, stinging Spike's scales as they pelted him. What rang above this commotion were dragonish cries of pain and rage.

"Did that do it?" Sapphire wondered out loud, gazing beyond the last cart.

Thick smoke obscured much of the tunnel behind them, but Spike could hear the sound of flapping wings growing closer. Winged reptilian forms burst from the wall of smoke, roaring in anger and closing in fast.

“What do we do?” a pony asked.

"Get down, now!" Sapphire yelled.

Spike and the ponies did as instructed, seeking shelter by crouching down inside their mine carts as the dragons passed over them. Everything turned cold and dark in an instant and for a fleeting moment Spike wondered if he was dead. Then he realized Sapphire had closed off the tops of the carts with ice, creating a seal that prevented the dragons' shadow breath from reaching any of them. But Spike knew it would be only precious seconds before the dragons tried to smash the carts to pieces with their physical strength when they realized their breath weapons were useless.

There was the sound of splintering wood as a claw broke through the side of the mine cart, reaching out to grab him. Spike instinctively snapped his head back to avoid the savage nails.

A sudden shriek of pain rang above them and the dark veil gave way to light once again. The ice sealing off Spike’s cart tore off like the lid to a can being peeled open. Looking behind, Spike saw where the pained cry came from. Sapphire had impaled the dragon through the armpit with an icicle she summoned from the top of their sheet of ice. The dragon kept tumbling and vanished in the darkness.

More winged shadows were closing in on them fast. Spike lit another stick of dynamite and threw it down the corridor. This time he and Sapphire ducked to avoid being pelted by the exploded rock. A tremendous blast rang Spike’s ears as he felt his body warmed by the explosion.

Vibrations began tickling his feet. The ground was shaking! An earthquake? A powdery substance fell down on Spike, prompting him to look up and see what it was. Dirt and bits of rock were falling from the ceiling of the cave as the mountain itself seemed to moan in pain. This was no earthquake, the tunnel was collapsing!

“Look out!” a pony cried, pointing to a stalactite ahead that was wiggling like a loose tooth with the mountain’s rage. Spike grimaced. If that thing fell on them…

He and Sapphire wrapped their arms around each other tight for comfort. If it DID fall, at least he wouldn’t see the certain doom coming.

The ceiling above crumbled ominously, spitting out chunks of rock on the tracks that made unstable terrain for their wheels. Spike prayed to Celestia that they didn't derail. If that happened, it would be game over for all of them.

Spike winced as a boulder-sized hunk of rock dropped from the ceiling, missing them by inches, but not missing the dragon who was trailing close behind. The rock had slammed into the top of his skull and smashed his face in the ground where he lay in a scaly heap. The boulder was almost big enough to block the entire circumference of the tunnel, which gave Spike a sense of relief. Maybe it would slow the other dragons down a bit.

Before the carts moved far enough to lose sight of the boulder, Spike saw cracks web their way around the chunk of rock only seconds before exploding from the force of the dragons' fury.

"Well that didn't last long!" Spike yelled.

A sudden sheet of white obstructed his view of the tunnel and the pursuing dragons. He didn't need to inquire as he glanced at Sapphire, who had her forelegs extended towards the rear of their train. Her magic was creating a thick wall of ice that followed them for several yards, effectively sealing off the shadow dragons' route. As if that wasn't enough, razor-sharp icicles grew in all angles from the walls of the tunnel when Sapphire was finished with her ice-wall, making it look like the cave had just grown icy teeth all around its perimeter.

"Nice going, Saph!" Spike said. He cupped his claws over his mouth. "Come and get us now!"

"I see daylight!" a pony in the front cart yelled.

Gotcha Spike thought to himself. Now it's time for the real fireworks to begin. He began fidgeting with the hitch between his cart and the rear one full of dynamite.

"Spike, what are you doing?" Sapphire asked.

"Detaching the rear cart."

"Why?" Sapphire looked at Spike with concern. From the worry in her eyes, Spike could tell she knew the answer.

"Don't worry about 'why', just keep going. I'll catch up!"

“What are you doing back there?” a stallion asked.

"I'm gonna put an end to this little chase." Spike looked over his shoulder, smiling at the ponies. "And buddy, it's gonna be blast."

"Spike!" Sapphire yelled as he stood up, pushing against the rear cart with all his might to slow it.

"Just go! Don't worry about me!"

Spike leapt over the edge and tumbled over from the momentum, the train of carts still moving for the exit. He stood up, shook the pain off and grabbed the mine cart full of dynamite. "Alright, I got a little present for you jerks."

He pushed with all his might, slowly picking up speed and momentum. Once he was satisfied the cart was moving fast enough for him to safely escape, he took a deep breath and belched a cloud of green flame on the wooden cart, igniting it along with its deadly contents. He smiled, then flew down the opposite end of the tunnel.

***

For a moment Sapphire watched Spike run down the corridor in what seemed to be utter suicide. He was going to destroy the entire mine with all that dynamite!

“End of the line!” Autumn Gale shouted, bringing Sapphire’s attention to the front of their train. “Everypony brace yourself!”

Sapphire turned around and saw that the tracks indeed ended at a hole in the side of the mountain where sunlight lit the tunnel. At the speed they were going, they'd sail right over the valley and land on the bluff on the other side, if they were lucky. She could have made a bridge out of ice to link the two cliffs, but ice offered metal wheels very little traction and they’d risk slipping off the edge.

Seconds later, they were airborne as the side of the mountain spat them out like a piece of bad fruit. Ponies screamed as they awaited the impact of landing on the bluff or for the long descent down the canyon, whichever came first.

Their ride came to a sudden, violent halt as the mine carts slammed into the bluff and overturned, spilling their equine contents like dice. Sapphire tumbled several feet across the dusty, flat bluff.

“Everypony okay?” Autumn Gale asked as Sapphire picked herself up and dusted herself off. All the ponies voiced confirmation that, while a little scraped up, they suffered no serious injuries.

“That was fun!” Sunset Breeze trumpeted. “Let’s do it again!”

Autumn put a hoof over her daughter’s muzzle to hush her. Sapphire guessed Autumn could see fear in her eyes and could tell they both knew the possibility that the dragoness might lose a dear friend was very, very real.

“I’m fine,” Sapphire said. “But Spike…”

Silence had never been so loud to Sapphire as she stared at the exit of the mines, waiting for Spike to emerge. Each passing second seemed longer and longer still as she stared hopefully at the mountain. Come on, Spike, you can't do this to me. We just found each other again. You can't do this...

The rumbling of a distant explosion snapped Sapphire out of her thoughts. Another one followed soon after, and another. Explosion after explosion filled the air like thunder and the mountain began to crumble inward as if the ground was swallowing it whole. Spike must have lit all that dynamite at once, she realized. Enough to destroy half the mountain, and although this move buried the shadow dragons under countless tons of rock, might have kept Zog from finding whatever it was he was looking for and bought her and the ponies enough time to escape back to Equestria, she knew Spike was still in there, too.

"SPIIIIIIIIIIIIKE!" Sapphire screamed once she'd gathered the nerve to do so. She dropped to her knees, quietly hoping, begging for Spike to emerge.

A few seconds passed before Sapphire felt a small hoof rub her back. "I'm sorry, miss Sapphire," Sunset Breeze's voice said.

Before Sapphire could form a proper response, her eyes lit up at a purple form that shot out of the hole seconds before it collapsed. He was flying towards them fast, but flailing as if he'd pushed his wings too hard and lost all voluntary control of his flight muscles.

When he hit the ground, he tumbled several feet, coming to rest on his back. Sapphire kneeled down beside him and inspected his body for injury. A few minor burns spotted his chest and forelegs but other than that he seemed to be alright.

"Spike! Say something!" she pleaded, resting his head on her knees. "Please tell me you're alright!"

First Spike opened his eyes, then he exhaled a small puff of smoke he’d inhaled while fleeing from the mine. He then smiled up at Sapphire, who smiled back in relief. "With his head on your lap, who wouldn't be?"

Sapphire didn't know whether to slap Spike or hug him from the remark, but she wrapped her forelegs around his neck anyway with a quivering sigh of respite. Her eyes tingled with fresh warm tears. "Don't you ever scare me like that again!"

The smile vanished. “I’m sorry, Sapphire.” Spike returned her embrace, prompting Dustin Wind to step closer to them and nab their attention with a stomp of his forehoof.

“Can we save the love scene for later?” Dustin asked.

Spike let go of Sapphire and stood up. “He’s right. We're not out of the woods yet. It probably won’t be long before Zog realizes his dragons failed and he sends reinforcements. Let’s get you guys back to Equestria.”

“Yay!” Sunset cheered with a playful hop. “We’re going home!”

***

An exhilarating feeling overcame Spike as their group moved on for Equestria. He was tingling from head to toe, but on the inside he felt warm and happy, and he knew why. This was sure to have been a suicide mission, but he and Sapphire had worked together to overcome the odds. It was then he realized the two of them had something most other dragons didn’t: a powerful connection.

Dragons were, at their core, greedy and self-serving creatures. Safety in numbers was more important to them than true friendship. Fear and intimidation meant more than close companionship. They mated and gave birth to new broods for the survival of their race, but few of them ever felt genuine love and stayed with a mate for life. This connection had given Sapphire and him an edge over Zog’s dragons, and he knew he owed it to his pony upbringing. Which reminded him, he couldn’t wait to get back to Ponyville and share the story of his latest adventure with Twilight and all his friends.

Silently he pulled Luna’s moonstone from his pouch and smiled as he gazed into it.

Chapter 16

Lucky Charm stepped out onto the wooden porch of his shop, carrying a broom with his unicorn magic. Humming to himself, he began sweeping off the dust that had blown on it back to the ground. Normally he wouldn't bother with such a mundane chore, but with most of Buckington’s ponies gone, business was slow and he had to find new ways to keep busy.

Something hot tickled the top of his hoof, distracting him from his work and he looked down to see what it was. A couple of little red ants with flaming eyes were crawling their way across his shank. Fire ants! One of them was bad enough, but a whole nest of the insects was hard to get rid of and they could burn a house down if they built their colony too close.

"Get out of here!" Lucky shouted, sweeping the insects away. "Go on! Git!"

The ants squeaked in protest and activated their infamous defense mechanism: setting their bodies ablaze. Flames crawled their way up the bristles on Lucky's broom, forcing him to toss it onto the dirt road lest it catch his porch on fire, while the ants scurried for safety. In seconds, there was nothing left of the broom but a charred stick. Lucky muttered a curse to himself, then his priorities changed as he looked past the edge of town.

Something heading down the road into Buckington that made the fire ants seem insignificant prompted Lucky to clean off his glasses just to be sure he wasn't seeing things. When he put the glasses back on, the sight remained there.

So this was it. Either old age had finally made him senile and delusional or he was seeing the darndest thing he'd ever seen in his many years of living. "I don't believe it! Everypony, come outside, quick!"

"What's going on out here, Lucky?" Lucky Charm's neighbor, a bald, equally aged earth stallion said as he came out of his house to check on the commotion.

"They actually did it!" Lucky shouted, pointing a hoof at the arriving dragons and ponies.

""Who' did 'what', ya crazy old coot?" Lucky's neighbor asked.

"Look! Just down the south road there, can't you see them you blind old geezer?"

"Eh?" The elderly pony squinted his bespectacled eyes, looking harder.

Spike and Sapphire, returned to their normal colors, were coming into town from the road that led to the Dragonlands, along with everypony who had been captured. Autumn Gale, Dustin Wind and even little Sunset Breeze were all there.

"Well I'll be a gryphon's uncle!” said Lucky’s neighbor. “They're back, everypony's back!"

"I knew they were brave, but I didn't actually expect them to succeed!"

By now, most of Buckington's remaining ponies had stepped out of their homes to see what all the shouting was about. Many of the children shouted in joy and ran to meet their returning parents head-on as the adults neared the village. Tears were shed and hugs exchanged among a clamor of joyous voices.

***

“Hey!” Spike shouted, waving at Lucky as he approached Lucky Charm's Emporium of Relics, Trinkets and Magical Items. “We did it!”

Lucky offered Spike his hoof and he gladly shook it. “You sure did, didn’t you?” the old pony asked.

“We even got you that Dragonspice like you wanted,” Sapphire said. She took the bag from her shoulder where it had been resting and set it down at Lucky’s hooves.

“Well, don’t that beat all?” An glittering aura of magic surrounded the bag as Lucky lifted it into the air. “I wasn’t sure you could actually do it, but I guess if anything can thwart a bunch of dragons, it’s more dragons.”

“Couldn’t have done it without that chameleon fruit,” Spike said, giving Lucky a stiff pat on the back, the impact of which caused the unicorn to drop his bag. “You really came through for us, pal!”

"Hey! Easy!" Lucky yelled. He winced and took a step back. "You trying to pop my hip out of joint?"

Spike backed off to give Lucky some space. "Oh, sorry."

“You oughta be,” Lucky grumbled, taking a few seconds to rub his back in pain. "Is that how you treat an old stallion? First you darn near give me a heart attack and then you go beating on my back like a drum!” Lucky shook his head in discontent. “Kids these days. No respect."

"Grandpa!" one of the recently freed ponies, a young adult unicorn stallion, trotted up to Lucky and gently draped a hoof over his neck.

"See?” Lucky wrapped a foreleg around his grandson. “Now that's more like it. Gotta be gentle with us old folks."

Off to the side, Lucky's neighbor laughed. "Didn't know you was such a softy, ya wrinkled old warhorse. I think you-oof!"

It was Lucky's turn to laugh as a young mare ran up to his neighbor and gave him a giant hug. Her cheeks were wet with fresh tears coming from her tightly shut eyes.

“Grandpa, I missed you so much. I thought I might never see you again.”

"I missed you too, grandbaby, but my spine ain't what it used to be."

A middle-aged Earth pony mare wearing a bowtie around her neck walked up to Spike and Sapphire. From her stately appearance and the prideful way she walked, Spike guessed she was a pony of some importance.

"I'm Paula Tishian, the mayor of Buckington.” She extended a hoof first to Spike, who accepted it, and then to Sapphire, who also shook the mayor’s hoof. “On behalf of all the ponies of Buckington, I thank you for saving our quiet little village. From this day forward, Buckington will forever remember the tale of the two brave dragons who risked their lives to save our ponies from the clutches of their own kind. In fact, by the power invested in me as mayor, I hereby decree one week from day, and every year on that day hereafter, Buckington shall hold a festival in appreciation for our heroes!"

Ponies whistled, cheered and stamped their hooves in approval. Spike couldn't stop the smile from spreading across his face as pride swelled within him. He was a hero, and it made him feel strong. Powerful. For so long he'd been the helpless little dragonling who, in the face of danger, either screwed up or got in the way. But now he'd helped save an entire pony village and was about to have a festival thrown in his honor!

"Three cheers for Spike and Sapphire!" Autumn Gale shouted.

"Hip, hip, hooray!" came a chorus of pony voices.

"Three cheers for Sunset Breeze!" Sapphire shouted above the noise. She picked the little pegasus up and held her high. "We couldn't have done it without her!"

"Hip hip hooray!"

From the corner of his eye, Spike could see Autumn Gale smiling up her daughter with pride while Sunset giggled in delight from the attention.

"I can't thank you enough for what you've done for us," Autumn said to Spike and Sapphire. "I guess not all dragons are bad."

"I'm glad there was something I could do to help," Sapphire said, setting Sunset down.

"Me too!" said Spike. "How could I ever look Princess Celestia in the face again if I didn't?"

"What are you going to do now?" Autumn asked.

"I gotta get back to Ponyville," Spike replied. "I can't wait to tell all my friends about our adventure!"

All at once, ponies moaned and lowered their heads and their ears drooped, eyes filled with disappointment.

"Well, I'm sorry you couldn't stay longer, but just know that you'll always be welcome here in Buckington," Dustin Wind said.

"Indeed!" Paula Tishian added. "You wouldn't want to miss your own festival, would you?"

Spike chuckled. "Don't worry, I'm not going to pass that up!"

Autumn Gale gasped. Her eyes widened with worry. “Oh, jeez! I need to get to Ponyville, too! Rainbow Dash is really gonna let me have it for missing practice!” With that, she beat her wings and shot off through the air towards Ponyville.

***

Colors streaked through Ponyville’s skies as a team of pegasi flew in perfect arches, one underneath the other with pinpoint timing. The result was a rainbow left behind by the blurring speed of the ponies. Rainbow Dash was sitting on a nearby cloud and blew the whistle that hung around her neck.

“Alright, good job, everypony! That was an awesome rainbow! Let's wrap it up for today.”

The team of pegasi wiped the sweat from their foreheads and took off for home or wherever else they were going. Rainbow smiled with pride, then the expression on her face turned from satisfaction to a mix of frustration and disappointment as she watched Autumn Gale flying towards her.

"Well, look who finally decided to show up!" Rainbow stood on her hind legs, crossing her forelegs across her chest. The look in her face made her displeasure well-known.

Autumn Gale landed on the cloud, panting. "I'm sorry, Rainbow Dash."

"Autumn, it's not like you to miss Rainbolts practice without telling anypony. You'd better have a good excuse."

"I was foalnapped by dragons," Autumn replied, deadpan.

Rainbow's eyes grew wide. A few seconds of disbelief held her tongue and then she dropped back down to all fours. "Wow, that's a good excuse. How'd you get yourself out of that one?"

"I wouldn't have if it weren't for your friend Spike."

Rainbow Dash smiled. "Spike?"

"There we were," Autumn said, using her hooves to help tell the tale, "all the ponies of Buckington, shackled up and hauled off by dragons, forced to work in their fortress as slaves. Just when all hope seemed lost, Spike and his friend Sapphire come to our rescue, disguised as the enemy. My daughter even helped them. After leading us to the mines and enduring a harrowing cart ride, we managed to escape the clutches of the evil Shadow Dragons."

A strange sense of warmth seemed to hug Rainbow Dash's heart as she listened to the story. Spike had actually met up with Sapphire again! Rainbow didn't say it out loud for the sake of her reputation, but she hoped this time they could have a happier ending.

"Oh yeah!" Rainbow did a hoof-pump. "I knew Spike was awesome! And I'd say your daughter has future Rainbolt potential if she was brave enough to contend with dragons."

“You know it!” Autumn stretched her foreleg out to Rainbow as an invitation to hoof-bump.

“I’ll get the full story from Spike later. Rainbow said. Their hooves met with a thump. “It’s good to have you back, Autumn.”

Something about Autumn’s posture urged Rainbow to take a closer look at her. Autumn’s legs were shaky, as if it was taking all her energy just to stand. She hadn’t stopped panting and her voice was coming with shallow breaths. Dark rings circled listless eyes that looked to be a struggle keeping open, blinking one at a time, then half-blinking, to being shut for several seconds and back to half-blinking. From the look of it, Rainbow thought Autumn might have just fought her way through the gates of Tartarus.

“Hey, you don’t look so good,” Rainbow said. “You okay?”

Autumn rubbed her eyes. “I haven’t slept in a couple days and I haven’t eaten since yesterday morning. Even then, it was just a slice of bread and a couple leaves of spinach.”

Regret and sympathy surged through Rainbow, although she did her best not to show it. If her team found out how soft-hearted she was underneath her tough exterior, they might lose a certain amount of respect for her. Nonetheless, she waved a hoof, beckoning for Autumn to follow. “Come on, let’s go get some grub. My treat.”

They very though of food made Autumn’s stomach rumble. “Thanks. I’m hungry as horse!”

***

A rubber ball sailed through the air as Anjou Pear and Honeycrisp bounced it back and forth off their heads, giggling all the while. A swift bop off Anjou's send the toy flying in Honeycrisp's direction. As the filly ran off to intercept it, Anjou glanced off to the side, completely distracted from their game until the ball smacked him right in the side of the face.

"What's the matter, Anjou?" Sunset asked, galloping back up to him.

"He's back!" Anjou pointed at Spike and Sapphire, who were approaching Sweet Apple Acres. "Uncle Spike!"

"Uncle Spike's back!" said Honeycrisp, running after her brother.

Sapphire couldn't fight a chuckle as the two foals galloped up to them, kicking up clouds of dust from the dirt road. "'Uncle?'"

Smiling, Spike dropped to a knee and wrapped a foreleg around both of the foals. "Told you I'd be back, huh?"

A distant wooden thumping made Spike look up at the fields of apple trees, where Applejack was bucking one tree clean of its last apples. She took a moment to wipe the sweat from her forehead, then looked at Spike and smiled.

"Welcome back, Spike!" she said as she trotted over to where her children and the dragons were.

"Hey, AJ!" Spike and Applejack exchanged a hug.

Applejack’s smiled turned to a look of curiosity as she let go of Spike. "Hey, Spike, who's-" She cut her question short, taking a closer gaze at the female dragon beside him. The mental torch could be seen flickering in AJ’s green eyes. "Well, don't this beat all. Ain't ya the dragon Spike brought to Ponyville that one time?"

"Yup! That's me!" Sapphire said with a smile. “I remember you. I had apple pie for the first time in my life with you and your family.”

"My, my,” Applejack replied as she looked Sapphire over from claws to head. All those years ago, the dragoness barely reached her neck. Now she was a head taller than AJ. “Ya sure have grown. You were just a little dragon the last time I saw ya. Guess ten years can change a lot of things."

"I'll say," Sapphire replied, eyeing Anjou and Honeycrisp. "You have kids now."

"Sure do!" Applejack's voice was filled with pride. "Don't be shy, kids, say hello."

"Who are you?" Anjou pear asked. He shyly scraped a hoof across the dirt road.

“Anjou!” Applejack snapped in a motherly, yet firm tone, “is that anyway to greet someone? I’m sorry ‘bout that, Sapphire. Anjou here’s a bit girl-shy.”

Sapphire dropped to a knee so she was at eye level with the foals. "My name's Sapphire, I'm a friend of Spike's. You know, I met your mother once a long time ago, before you two were even born."

"I'm Anjou!" said Anjou. Fresh rosy circles hugged his cheeks.

"And I'm Honeycrisp!" said the filly.

"So, Spike, whatcha gonna do now that you found yer gal pal again?" Applejack asked.

"Well, I think, maybe," he paused, fidgeting. "Maybe, if it's alright with her, I mean, I might stay with her for a while."

"Oh Spike," Sapphire said, embracing him, "of course you can stay with me."

Spike’s nerves tingled. His heart pounded. A sense of warmth, calming yet alarming at the same time, washed over him as he held Sapphire close. This was their chance, a decade in the making chance, for a happy ending.

The foals’ ears drooped, sadness and disappointment shining in their big eyes.

“Ya mean yer gonna leave again?” Anjou asked with a sniff.

Applejack titled her head questioningly as she rubbed her son’s back comfortingly. “How come, Spike? There some reason she can’t stay here in Ponyville?”

“I wouldn’t mind!” Sapphire replied, blushing with a big grin. The foals smiled hopefully up at Spike, their eyes begging him to stay.

Spike let his head down and sighed. It wasn’t that he didn’t want Sapphire to stay with him and Twilight. He knew Twilight Sparkle wouldn’t object, and he wanted Sapphire to come live with him more than anything, but his thoughts were fixated on Buckington, on Sunset Breeze, her parents, Lucky Charm; everypony. As a growing dragon, he’d developed a sixth sense and it was telling him even though they freed everypony, Buckington wasn’t safe yet. If Zog decided to retaliate, the village was vulnerable. Just as Lucky Charm mentioned, the only thing that could hope to stand against a dragon was another dragon. Or an alicorn. Or Fluttershy, but Spike doubted even she could reason with Zog’s forces.

One part of Spike’s heart wanted to stay here in Ponyville and take a breather with Sapphire after their dangerous adventure, but the other part was still in Buckington, pulling his heart in opposite directions like a tug-of-war rope. He sighed and rested on the decision that he couldn’t abandon Buckington as long as his sixth sense was gnawing at him.

“It’s a long story,” Spike said.

Smiling, Applejack started for the farmhouse, waving for Spike and Sapphire to follow. “Shucks, I got time. Come on inside and we’ll talk about it over a hot apple pie!”

Apple pie. Spike could smell it already. Few things made him feel better when he was down than fresh-baked goodies from Sweet Apple Acres. Sapphire was rubbing her stomach and licking her lips as well. Dragons were predatory by nature, so she hadn’t had apple pie since the day she came to Ponyville ten years ago. Applejack’s kids and the two dragons gladly followed her inside the house.

Final Chapter

Sapphire's nostrils took in the sweet, tantalizing scent of apple pie as soon as she stepped into the Apple Family's house. That alone was enough to make her mouth water in anticipation. She hadn't had apple pie since she visited Ponyville ten years ago.

A withered old mare with a green coat and a much younger mare with a red mane held in place by a big ribbon were already sitting at the table when Applejack led Spike and Sapphire into the kitchen. The elderly mare didn't notice; her head was drooped, here eyes were shut and she was snoring. The younger pony jumped out of her seat when she saw Sapphire enter. She backed away with wide eyes that were glued to the strange dragon walking into her kitchen. Once Spike appeared beside Sapphire, the young mare's eyes darted between the two dragons. She then smiled as the realization of the situation seeped in.

“Hey, Spike! Who's this?”

Spike held up a claw in greeting, then indicated the dragoness by his side.“Hi, Applebloom! This is Sapphire.”

“Howdy, Sapphire!” Applebloom extended her hoof to Sapphire. “Sorry fer freakin' out like that. We don't see too many dragons in Ponyville. But if yer a friend of Spike's, you're welcome here!”

“Hello, Applebloom.” Sapphire shook the pony's hoof. “It's okay. Sorry for startling you.”

“She's my little sister,” Applejack explained. Then she pointed at the sleeping old mare. “That there's Granny Smith.”

A well-built stallion with a red coat walked past Spike, Sapphire and Applejack and took a seat next to Applebloom.

“And that's Big Macintosh, my big brother.”

“Eeyup,” Big Macintosh replied with a nod. He took a seat next to Applebloom without another word.

“He doesn't talk much,” Spike whispered to Sapphire.

Sapphire opened her mouth to form a greeting for Big Macintosh, but the words never came. She'd been interrupted by two small objects that charged into the kitchen and ran past her feet, nearly knocking her down in the process. It was Anjou Pear and Honeycrisp, both of whom flanked Appleboom's chair.

“Auntie Applebloom, will you play with us?” Honeycrisp nudged pleadingly at her aunt.

“Sorry, kids,” Applejack answered before Applebloom could form a response, “the big ponies need to talk.”

“But we want some pie!” Anjou protested.

“Oh, for!” Applejack rolled her eyes and gave Granny Smith a nudge. The old pony slowly opened her eyes while smacking her lips. “Up and at 'em, Granny. Pie's done.”

Grumbling something unintelligible about “yunguns”, Granny Smith struggled out of her seat and wobbled over to the oven. She pulled the door open and removed the tray using an oven mitt, revealing a steaming hot apple pie resting on the baking sheet. Granny set the pie down on the counter next to an open window and retreated back to her seat. “Get it while it's hot!”

Anjou Pear and Honeycrisp were already waiting by the counter when Applejack trotted up to it carrying a knife. As Applejack cut into the pie, Sapphire's stomach rumbled. Dragons were carnivores by nature and rarely got to taste anything as sweet and flavorful as apple pie.

She and Spike sat down next to each other at the table, patiently awaiting the dessert. Plates had already been laid out for them. Before Applejack served the ponies and dragons sitting at the table, though, she put one piece of pie on each of two small platters that had been sitting on the counter and gave one to each of the foals.

“Go eat your pie in your rooms," she said, scooting the children off with her hoof. "We gotta talk about big pony stuff.”

***

A surge of warm, gooey, sweet flavor danced in Sapphire's mouth when she took a bite of her pie. It had been so long since she'd eaten apple pie and it was even better than she remembered. The perfect blend of sugar and spices, the flaky crust and of course, Sweet Apple Acre's sweet, famous fruit.

"And that's what happened," Spike said. He'd just finished telling the story of his and Sapphire's adventure to the Apple Family and took a bite of his pie.

"My, my," Applejack replied, smiling. "I'm mighty proud of ya, Spike. Guess you're not such a little dragon anymore."

"But what does that have to do with you stayin' in Buckington?" Applebloom asked. She'd grown into a strong, lovely young mare, just like her sister.

"I've got a bad feeling that Zog and his dragons might come back for revenge. If that happens, Buckington doesn't stand a chance without us."

Sapphire scratched her chin in thought. "Even with us, they might not stand a chance. Let's face it, we got lucky last time. I stuck to my dragoncode, kept my promise and rescued Sunset's parents. I'd rather not push my luck any further."

"What are we supposed to do, then?” Spike asked. “Just let those dragons do whatever they want?"

"I..." Sapphire stopped short of an answer when she realized she didn't have one. She sighed and let her head hand as she poked despondently at her slice of pie. "I don't know."

"My suggestion is let Celestia handle it if that happens," Applejack said. She then shifted her voice to that familiar tone of a scolding mother. "You should have asked for her help from the start."

"Yeah!" Applebloom interjected. "Don't go riskin' your life for something Celestia can handle herself! Spike, you mean too much to this family."

"And to Ponyville," said Applejack.

"And me," Sapphire added. She clasped Spike's claw in hers, gazing over at him. Spike met her eyes. "I agree with them. Let Celestia take it from here."

Spike sighed through his nose as he thought the matter over. If the Shadow Dragons came back, he'd never forgive himself if he didn't do anything to stop them. "But what if-"

The plates danced and rattled as Applejack slammed her hoof down on the table, very much irritated. "I don't wanna hear anymore 'buts'! Spike, if anything happens, promise me you won't do anything stupid like throw your life away on some suicide mission. I'm proud of ya for what ya did, but don't go tryin' to fight an entire army of dragons by your dang self! You might be bigger than me now, but I'm still older than you. I know you wanna help, but what if something happens to you? Can you imagine what that would do to Twilight and Sapphire? You want to be around when Rarity has her foal, don't ya?"

For a moment Spike imagined Twilight sitting at his grave with a bouquet of flowers in her mouth. Her face was twisted in emotional agony and soaked with uncontrollable tears. Rarity was there, too, along with the filly he never had a chance to meet. Then he looked over at Sapphire, her eyes pulling him back to reality; begging him not to do anything rash. Spike sighed, knowing that Applejack wasn't just right, but that an argument with her was futile. "Okay, I promise I won't do anything stupid."

The look Applejack shot Spike was one of skepticism. As the Element of Honesty, a promise was sacred to her, and her gaze was merely to test if the dragon was lying. Applejack must have sensed he was telling the truth, for her hard gaze transformed into a smile.

“Good boy. Now eat up before it gets cold. There's plenty more where that came from!”

Spike smiled back, pushed his fears into a dark corner of his mind and stabbed a large chunk of pie with his fork. “With pleasure!”

***

It had been a long time since Sapphire's stomach had felt this full and this satisfied. Four large slices of pie and a big glass of apple juice beat birds and rodents any day. She'd had her doubts the first time she visited Ponyville ten years ago, but now she felt she could get used to living here if it meant getting to eat like that more often.

“Oh, that was delicious!” Sapphire rubbed her fully belly smacked her lips to savor what little flavor remained.

“I didn't know you could put it away like that,” Spike quipped. “You ate more than Big Macintosh!”

An contented moan sounded from Sapphire. “The pony who invented pie was a genius. To think I'd been missing out on stuff like this my whole life.”

"Well, well, look who it is!" came a voice from the sky.

Sapphire looked skyward and found a familiar rainbow-maned pony flying above them. The dragoness smiled at fond memories. "Rainbow Dash!"

"You remember me, huh?" Rainbow asked as she landed in front of the two dragons.

"Of course!"

"I'm glad Spike caught up with you. It's good to see you again. I haven't forgotten that pepper prank you two pulled on me!" Rainbow gave Sapphire a stiff but friendly pat on the shoulder.

Sapphire laughed at the memory of Rainbow zipping through the sky with a thick plume of smoke trailing behind her. “That was Spike's idea.”

“I only did it because you spied on us!” Spike pointed a claw at Rainbow. “And then you ratted me out to Twilight.”

“Oh, right,” Rainbow rolled her eyes, “let's not forget that your sneaking off without telling anypony made Twilight feel like you were avoiding her for some reason.”

“That was-”

“You made her cry,” Rainbow interrupted.

That statement succeeded in piercing through Spike's reprisal. “What?”

“While you were running off to go see Sapphire, Twilight thought she'd done something to make you not like her and it made her cry. That's why I told her where you'd been running off to.”

“Gosh, I,” Spike hung his head and twisted his foot in shame. “I hadn't thought of that.”

“Obviously,” Rainbow bit back.

Sapphire squeezed Spike's hand tighter to get his attention. They met eyes. “Spike, you never told Twilight you were coming to see me?”

“Eh, that was ten years ago anyway,” Rainbow said with a shrug. She gave Spike a pat on the back, having sensed his shame. “It's in the past, right?”

Spike lifted his head. His eyes hardened, for he knew he had to make this right with Twilight. “Yeah, you're right. I'll catch you later, Rainbow. I gotta get home.”

“Hey!” Rainbow yelled after them. “Aren't you going to tell me about how you saved Buckington from dragons?!” She growled in annoyance and stomped her hoof when they disappeared down the road without giving an answer. “Seriously, what sort of action did I miss out on?!”

***

“I'm home!” Spike yelled as he stepped inside Golden Oaks Library.

Twilight appeared from her room at the top of the stairs and trotted her way down. “Spike! You're back! How was-” she gasped and her body went rigid with shock when she saw the blue dragoness standing next to Spike, holding his hand. Twilight paused for a moment and took a closer look. “You're not Sapphire, are you?”

Sapphire giggled and waved. “Hi, Twilight.”

“Ha! I KNEW it!” Twilight pointed a hoof at them. “I knew you two would meet up again someday! I just didn't expect it to take so long.”

“We just got really lucky. Right, Spike?”

Even as Sapphire gazed at him, Spike ignored the question and walked up to Twilight. He wrapped his forelegs around her neck and hugged her harder than she'd ever remembered. “I love you so much,” he whispered, a hint of sorrow lacing his voice.

Twilight's eyes darted between Spike and Sapphire in silent wonder if Spike had lost his vision and he meant to hug Sapphire but grabbed her by mistake. Yet, he never let go, and she rubbed his back. “I love you, too, Spike, but what's this all of a sudden? You were only gone a few days.”

Spike grabbed her even tighter. “Rainbow told me that while I ran off to see Sapphire all those years ago, I'd done something to make you think I didn't like you. I made you cry because I was being selfish, and I never want to do that to you again.”

A powerful mix of emotions swirled within Sapphire as she watched the scene unfold and Twilight shut her eyes, finally allowing the emotion of the moment to seep in. It wasn't just the fact that it made Sapphire remember why she fell for him all those years ago. The bond Spike shared with Twilight was not unlike the one between a son and mother. That a dragon and pony could share such a bond brought Sapphire a sense of awe. Then there was the sadness as the scene made her recall her own parents' gentle love. What she wouldn't give to be able to feel her mother's protective embrace again or to hear her father's wisdom.

Twilight giggled and pushed Spike back. “Spike, that was ten years ago. I'd forgotten all about that.”

“You know I could never hate you.” Spike wiped a tear from his cheek with a claw.

“Of course I know that! Now snap out of it, I think you two have got a story to tell me.”

***

Luna watched Princess Celestia pace untiringly in front of her throne, a mix of anger, confusion and apprehension on her face. “Sister, why are you still so tense? Spike and Sapphire have completed their mission.”

Celestia's mind raced--raced with possible plans of action, with images of the devastation of war: burning villages, utter destruction, and the grim, lifeless aftermath of battle. Yet, if she avoided war, it would save a lot lives, time and money, but ran the risk of Equestria gaining a reputation as a weak and indecisive nation unable to defend itself. What nation would ally with a defenseless country?

“No.” Celestia shook her head and finally stopped pacing. “They haven't. They've won but a small victory. The Shadow Dragons have not been destroyed.. They're merely hiding in the darkness, waiting for the right time to strike back. I sense that the liberation of Buckington will not go without repercussion. We must stand alert and be ready for a counterattack at any moment.” Celestia looked to the ceiling and scratched her chin. “Yet I wonder, what am I to do? Do we make ready for war, or do we let this act slide? Both decisions would make a lot of ponies angry. I simply cannot place my subjects in harm's way, but I can't please everypony at once. What is the right choice?”

The question gnawed at Luna's past guilt. Even though Celestia was her sister, Luna failed to understand why Celestia would ask her for advice. Luna was no better a ruler than Celestia. No, Luna had convinced herself she was worse. She hardly deserved to be princess of the night. What right did Luna have to give her advice? Alas, Celestia needed help and Luna felt compelled to give her thought on the matter. “Perhaps we should play a waiting game, see what the dragons' next move will be. Then we could react accordingly.”

Sighing, Celestia walked to window and gazed at the horizon. At the grand city of Canterlot and her beautiful green country. As princess, it was her duty to protect this land, but at what price? “Perhaps you're right.”

Luna joined Celestia at the window. Having sensed her sister's tension, Luna nuzzled her gently. “It is late. Get some rest. I shall guard the night.”

Celestia stared upon her her younger sister for a while, her eyes still darting with uncertainty. Finally, she smiled and nuzzled Luna back. “I haven't slept in days. Thank you. I love you so, my sister.” After a big yawn, Celestia gave Luna one last reassuring smile and walked away.

I love you, too, sister, Luna said to herself as she watched Celestia retreat to her room. But could I ever truly deserve to stand as your equal?

***

A gorgeous ruby sunset flooded its way into Sapphire's attic through the broken stained-glass window, which glittered in the dying light. The two dragons sat on the floor next to it, hand-in-hand with their tails entwined like the stripes on a barber's pole.

“I love the sunset,” Sapphire softly said. “It's so beautiful.”

“Not half as pretty as you!”

A kiss on the cheek from Sapphire made Spike's face burn. “You're so sweet,” she said with a giggle. “And brave.”

“Hey, that whole rescue Buckington ordeal was your idea.”

“But you didn't have to come.”

“Sure I did,” Spike answered, finding himself gripped in a spell of dizziness as he gazed into Sapphire's blue eyes. “I hadn't seen you in ten years. I wasn't going to let you get rid of me that easy!”

Sapphire shifted her weight towards him and suddenly he found himself flat on his back, looking up at Sapphire's beautiful face. His heart raced. Hot needles seemed to prick at the inside of his cheeks.

“I don't think you have to worry about that,” she purred.

A soft claw touched his cheek. Spike grabbed Sapphire's wrist and held her palm closer, embracing it. Savoring it.

“I love you, Spike,” Sapphire whispered. Her face had changed to a shade of purple from the blushing.

“I love you, too, Sapphire.”

Smiling coyly, Sapphire brought her head closer to Spike's until their faces met and their maws touched. A wave of ecstasy surged through him as he held her close, their chests mashing together. For Spike, this moment, this feeling could last forever and he wouldn't care. He didn't want to be anywhere else, with anyone else, or feel anything else. This was euphoria, and it was worth all the pain and heartbreak ten years ago. Reality came seeping in, first as a blur and gradually clearing in time to see Sapphire pulling her head back. Sapphire smiled down at him, caressing his face. Before he knew what was happening, Sapphire warm, soft lips were kissing him again.

If the surge of emotion hadn't assured him he was very much alive, Spike would have guessed he was in heaven.

***

Zog's throne room was dark in the last fading light of dusk, but the fear three dragons felt as they stood before their general seemed infinitely darker. Dragon jaws quivered in apprehension before Zog even spoke; his glare alone was enough to grip them in fear.

“You have failed me. And I do have little patience for failure.” Zog's nose lifted as he let out a snarl and with it a puff of smoke that danced in the air. “I can't believe you couldn't stop a couple of teenagers and a bunch of lowly equines.”

The dragon in the middle looked left and right at his two comrades, both of whom had been to overcome with fear to form an appropriate response, if there was one appropriate enough to squelch their lord's rage. For a moment he bit his tongue, then decided to speak for his group. “My general, there were unforeseen circumstances.”

“You were beaten by ponies!” Zog slammed his tail to the ground with the full weight of his wrath, such force that it left a deep impression in the stone and tickled his subordinates' feet with vibrations. “Bested by infants! The other dragon races will laugh when they hear of this outrage!”

“General-”

“SILENCE!” Zog roared, causing the three other dragons to cringe at his wrath. His red eyes flared, then he lowered his tone. “I don't yet know what I intend to do, but rest assured you will pay for this humiliation. Now get out of my sight before I lose my composure.” He waved a claw at the doorway to the room, a reasonable exit for three terrified Shadow Dragons who nearly tripped over each other in their flight.

Zog sat back down on his throne, propping an elbow on one arm of the chair so he could rest the side of his head in his palm. He scratched at the other arm of the throne in thought with his free hand. What if the other dragon clans heard of this defeat? What if they rebelled? The Shadow Dragons may even lose their reputation as the most powerful clan in the history of Dragonkind. Smoke escaped from Zog's nostrils as he snorted at the formation of an idea. A sinister, toothy grin appeared on his face. A minor setback such as this only delayed the inevitable.

No, this was far from over. They'd strike back, teach those ponies who was truly in charge. He'd make an example out of them as a reminder of what should happen to any other who dare oppose them. And once he found the secret the Shadow Dragons of old buried here, he'd make Celestia herself bow before him.

And once he was finished with Equestria, he could focus on the rest of the world. The griffons, the minotaurs. Not even the Breezies would be safe. All would bow before the might of the Shadow Dragons. Still smiling that twisted grin, Zog shifted to a more comfortable position and began to turn the gears of his next plot.

***

What revenge will General Zog have in mind for the ponies of Buckington? Will any force in Equestria be able to stop the Shadow Dragons, or will the country be caught in their dark grasp? What is it Zog is searching for? Will Spike and Sapphire have finally have their happy ending? And what of Rarity and her soon-to-be foal? These answers and more will be answered in the third and final entry of the Sapphire trilogy!

Chapter 1

The golden light of morning shone through the shattered stained glass window of a quiet cathedral’s attic, rousing the creature who made her home there from her sleep. She stretched her front legs, yawned and beat her wings to stretch them as well, then looked to the sunrise out her window, which had been broken in such a way it looked like a mouthful of long, jagged glass teeth. The reds, blues and purples of that window glittered in the morning sunlight, a beautiful spectacle that was one of the many reasons she’d chosen to hide away in the attic of that church ever since the… accident… six years ago.

The creature tuned her ears to the murmur of voices below, another reason she enjoyed living in the attic of the cathedral. Once a week, the ponies would gather there to worship the higher beings. When she heard those voices and the gentle hymns they sang, she didn’t feel so alone.

Dragons never provided worship to anyone or anything but themselves. They didn’t care about beauty, unless it was a nest of sparkling gems. Dragons never gave her the sense of faith and hope that the equines did, which was one of the reasons she avoided going to the Dragonlands bordering Equestria. No, compared to ponies, dragons were a nasty sort.

The only problem was, the creature residing in that dusty old attic was a dragon herself. A dragon who, long ago, before her parents’ tragic accident, spent time in Equestria. The ponies welcomed her into one of their towns as if she was one of them, threw her an amazing party and offered her their friendship. Dragons never made friends unless they wanted something from another dragon, be it material things like a slab of gold or a flawless gem, or the peace of mind safety in numbers gave them.

The dragon looked out the window with her icy blue eyes and took in the scent of morning dew, but kept her ears on the sounds of worship below. She loved to watch the sunrise. This was her favorite part of the day. It was so beautiful. The attic offered a perfect view of the east horizon. In the sunrise it looked like the skyline had been set ablaze. The reptile let a sigh out through her nostrils as she watched. Someone… from long ago had once told her that Princess Celestia controlled the sun. No dragon she’d ever met could accomplish such a feat, so why were they so arrogant? A pony with that kind of power could make dragons bow before her. Not that it mattered; they all lived outside Celestia’s jurisdiction.

She remembered that individual. Even now, ten years later, the thought of him made her happy. There was one dragon other than her parents that ever made her happy. Spike. The dragon who lived among ponies and adopted their ideals of honesty and friendship. He was the only dragon who ever shared anything with her, the only dragon who ever told her he loved her.

Her body had changed since then. Would he recognize her if they ever met again? Her body had grown four times as tall since then, her legs longer and her wings wider. She was still just a child before her parents died; now she was in her teens. How she managed to survive on her own for that long at such a young age still amazed her. Maybe it was the thought of seeing Spike again that kept her alive, or maybe it was the ponies. Their kindness fascinated her. Why couldn’t dragons be more like them? Maybe she was a pony in her previous life.

With a sigh, the blue dragon beat her wings and flew out the huge shattered window in search of breakfast. This was usually a combination of mice, insects and a bunch of tree leaves. Sometimes she’d be lucky enough to snag a small bird out of midflight. On such a pleasant, cool morning, the pickings were bound to be good. The cathedral grew smaller as she approached the forest a couple acres away.

“Hey, miss Sapphire!”

The dragoness smiled as a child’s voice from below struck a familiar chord. She did a backwards loop in midair and descended under the trees to her feet. A pegasus filly with yellow fur and a sky-blue mane smiled innocently up at Sapphire. A rope draped across her back connected two wicker baskets to either side of the filly’s body. Round berries in every color of the rainbow lined the bottoms of both baskets.

“Good morning, Sunset Breeze!” Sapphire said in her most cheerful tone. “Out picking berries for your mom again?”

“Yeah.” Sunset gazed at the ground instead of her friend, scratching her hoof into the dirt. “It’s about all I can do, since I can’t fly and help with the clouds.”

Sensing Sunset’s shame, Sapphire knelt down to bring herself to eye level with the filly and placed her claw on her shoulder. The little pegasus brought her head back up so Sapphire could look her in her innocent blue eyes. “Hey, you’ll be a great flier someday, I know it! You just can’t give up hope.”

“You really think so, miss Sapphire?”

“Sure!”

Sunset Breeze smiled at her reptilian friend. “Do you think you could teach me a few tricks someday? Like that backflip you just did, that was cool!”

“You bet I could, Sunset! You know, you might even be as good as the leader of the Rainbowlts someday.”

The filly’s smile widened. “Really? You think I could be as good as THE Rainbow Dash?!”

Sapphire brought Sunset closer in a small hug. “Kiddo, you can do anything you set your mind on.”

“Thanks, miss Sapphire!” Sunset hugged the dragon tight as if she were a big scaly teddy bear. “I’m so glad I know a nice dragon like you. Mommy says the dragons across the border are all really mean.”

“They can be, yes, and we’re very close to the border of the Dragonlands. It’s very dangerous there." Sapphire pushed Sunset back so she could look the filly in the eyes. "I want you to promise me you won’t ever go there, no matter how curious you get, okay?”

Sunset cocked her head, her long blue mane dancing with the movement. “But miss Sapphire, you made me promise last week!”

“And I want you to promise me this week, too. I’m not a fully grown dragon yet; I might not be able to help you if anything bad happens.”

Those innocent blue eyes narrowed with a hint of annoyance and Sunset pulled herself away. “Mommy can, she’s in the Rainbowlts. She’s very tough! She’s not scared of anything!”

Sapphire lowered her voice to let the little filly know she was serious. “Sunset, have you ever seen a full grown dragon?”

The pegasus shook her head no.

“Ok, listen to me. They’re very, very big.”

“Bigger than you?”

“Much bigger.”

“Bigger than a tree?”

“Yes.”

Sunset’s eyes darted for a few moments as her young mind searched for the largest object she could think of. “Bigger than… a house?”

“Yes.”

“So how come you’re not mean like them?”

A chuckle escaped Sapphire’s maw. The innocence of young ponies endeared her. “Because I didn’t grow up around other dragons. I grew up in Equestria.”

“Why not? Don’t you have a mommy and daddy?”

“I did.” Sapphire gritted her teeth against the pain of the memory. “But they’re gone now. Never coming back.”

Once more, the young filly embraced her dragon friend. “I’m sorry, miss Sapphire. I didn’t mean to make you remember. I don’t know what I’d do without my mommy and daddy.”

Sapphire flashed a smile to let the filly know the mention of her parents was taken with good grace. “It’s ok. If you love your mommy, you should get back to picking berries for her.” The dragon stood up and patted Sunset on her head. “I gotta go catch me some breakfast. You keep that chin up, okay, kiddo?”

Sunset’s big blue eyes looked up at her friend with a smile. “Ok, miss Sapphire, I will!”

With a smile of her own, Sapphire turned the other way and took one step in her search for breakfast before Sunset’s voice stopped her again.

“Miss Sapphire!”

Sometimes Sapphire wondered why she bothered with fillies, but she turned around with a smile nonetheless. “Yes?”

“Can you do that ice trick?”

“I don’t know. I’m kinda hungry.”

“Come on, do the trick again!” Sunset stamped her hoof in protest.

After a sigh, Sapphire held out her paw, knowing that Sunset wouldn’t be satisfied until she saw her ice dragon powers for the hundredth time. Cold air swirled above the dragon’s paw, gradually transforming into frost until a ball of ice that sparkled in the morning sunlight formed into her paw. The dragon knelt down and handed it to the filly.

“Brrrr! It’s cold! Real ice! Until I met you, I thought only unicorns could do magic. Thanks, Sapphire!” The young filly gave Sapphire one last hug before running off in search of more berries.

Once Sunset Breeze was out of sight, Sapphire hung her head and sighed. She regretted mentioning Rainbow Dash. She’d met Rainbow all those years ago, before she became the most famous flier in Equestria and founded the Rainbowlts, the team of fliers who worked with the Wonderbolts. She was a good friend of Spike’s.

Of course, she could always go back to Ponyville and find Spike again, but fear and embarrassment held her back. When she left Ponyville with her parents, she thought she’d said her goodbyes with him. Would he even remember her, ten years later?

Sapphire, you big coward. You’re bringing this on yourself. Why are you hiding away like this? Why not just go back and see him again? Maybe because I haven’t figured out where I really belong yet. I don’t really fit in with either the ponies or the dragons. The ponies are scared of me and I don’t get along with other dragons.

Tears welled up in the dragon’s eyes. What should she do…?

Chapter 9

Spike could feel Sapphire shaking and almost sense her anxiety as he took her paw in his. It was understandable she'd be emotional. Although she was from the mountains beyond the Crystal Kingdom, she'd visited the Dragonlands once when she and her parents joined the Great Migration. She told Spike the stories about how the other dragons would tease her and beat her up and even steal from her. Her life after returning to the mountains hadn't fared much better. Sparsely populated, cold and lonely. Nothing like Equestria. Things only got worse when her parents died in a massive avalanche. That was when she returned to Equestria and found the old church where she now made her home.

Rocky spires of varying height surrounded Spike and Sapphire with shades of brown and gray. This dreary, barren landscape was a harsh change from the lush greenery of Equestria. Instead of the pleasant smell of grass and flowers, the pungent stench of sulfur from surrounding volcanoes hung in the air. Every once in a while, the harsh cry of a dragon's roar would pierce the silence.

“I'd say we're here,” Spike said.

"Yeah, we are. The Dragonlands. I'd hoped I'd never have to come back here again." Sapphire's shoulders rose as she drew a long breath through her mouth and let it escape out her nose. "Let's hurry up and get this over with.” The ice dragon turned to look Spike in the eye. “How are we supposed to find a small group of ponies? This country is huge.”

“Easy. We just have to find the nearest settlement and gather some intel.”

“So you're saying we should just go around asking every dragon we come across if they've seen a group of ponies being brought through?”

“Exactly.”

Sapphire smiled, patting her old friend on the shoulder. “I like your thinking, Spike.”

Little was said as the duo continued their journey, looking for a town of dragons within the series of cliffs and mountains. Spike was too nervous to say much. Everything looked the same in the Dragonlands; there were no landmarks, nothing that stood out as unusual. It was the same dreary, depressing landscape all around. He also knew their mission would be a dangerous one. How were two teenage dragons supposed to free an entire village of ponies from the clutches of many adult dragons?

An enormous shadow loomed over the teenage dragons, prompting Spike to look up and shiver at the sight of a full-grown dragon flying overhead. The monstrous size of the creature was terrifying enough, but Spike also knew they'd soon be facing an entire legion of these beasts. Did they even have a chance?

“Hey, Spike, look over there.” Sapphire's voice pulled Spike away from his thoughts. She was pointing at a tall cliff several miles to their right. “There's a dragon town! Let's ask around there.”

From a distance, the caves in the face of the cliffs that made this dragon town looked like holes in a block of cheese. Even from that distance, Spike could plainly see the sheer size of the reptiles as they went in and out of the caves not unlike hornets busily working about their nest. Slopes and wide ledges connected the caves from the bottom of the cliff all the way to the top of the mountain hundreds of feet high.

One yellow dragon emerged from his lair at the foot of the mountain just as the teenage couple arrived at the town. Spike pointed a claw at him to attract his attention. “Excuse me, have you seen-?”

“Outta my way, kid,” the older dragon barked. Without another word he beat his powerful wings and burst into the air. Spike and Sapphire both covered their eyes with their arms to shield them from the dust the sudden wind kicked up.

“Well that was rude,” Sapphire said dryly once the dust settled and the yellow dragon was out of sight.

“I think,” Spike paused to cough up a bit of dirt he'd accidentally swallowed, “this might take a while.”

“Doesn't mean I'm going to give up.”

Spike followed beside Sapphire as she made her way up the slope that connected the ground to the second level of caverns. A red dragon nearly knocked them off the cliff as he emerged from a cave and streaked over head. One green dragon almost trampled them under his gargantuan forelegs as he walked about the wide ledge that connected the caverns to one another, then just about knocked them aside with his long, snaking tail.

“Jeez!” Spike yelled as he ducked under the arrow-tipped limb. “If the dragons who aren't actually trying to kill us are almost killing us, what will it be like when we're facing the dragons who WILL be trying to kill us?!”

“I...” Sapphire paused to swallow a nervous knot in her throat Spike's implication created. “Don't really want to think about that. Here, maybe we'll be safer inside the caves.”

In contrast to what Spike had originally thought, these weren't just individual caves, but a series of branching tunnels and living quarters; an entire network of linking caves. It reminded Spike of an ant colony. These caves were dark and damp, but not as cold as Spike had expected caves to be, perhaps due to this being a volcanic region. Dragons did have an affinity for heat, after all.

"I haven't seen you kids around here before.” A deep, gravelly voice seemed to shake the walls and floor of the tunnel Spike and Sapphire now found themselves in. A male blue dragon towered over them on all fours.

"We're just passing through," Spike answered. A pang of fear shot up his spine from the sheer size of the blue dragon.

"So you're traveling?"

"You might say that," Sapphire added.

The blue dragon lowered his head so he could speak one-on-two with the teenagers. "Let me give you a piece of advice: don't act too suspicious. Word is Zog's locking up any dragon he thinks might be so much as a remote threat. If you look like you're snooping around he might think you're planning something.” The dragon suddenly straightened his body and twisted his neck as if he were looking for something. After a few seconds of this, he leaned back in to continue his conversation with the younger dragons. “By Draco, I shouldn't even be telling you this. One of his lackeys could be listening in on us right now for all we know."

“Oh, ok, thanks for the advice,” Sapphire answered. “You wouldn't happen to have seen a group of ponies being lead through this area, have you?”

Blue shook his head. “I'm afraid I have not. Don't have much interest in ponies, anyway. They don't even taste good.”

“Thanks for your time, we gotta get going, bye!” Spike's voice came out fast, panicky as he dragged Sapphire back outside onto the ledge of the mountain.

“What was that all about?” she asked him.

“Um, given our current mission I really don't want to think about... ponies getting eaten by dragons.”

Sapphire shivered at the sudden notion. What would she tell Sunset if her mother had been eaten by those... no! This wasn't the time to think about that sort of thing. “Well, he did say ponies DIDN'T taste good, so I'm sure they haven't eaten them.”

“Yeah, you're right.” Spike turned his sights skyward again, observing the rest of the caves they could explore. There had to be ONE dragon here who saw the ponies being led through.

Beating his wings, Spike leaped into the air, followed by Sapphire as he made his way up to the third tier walkway. After landing, he remembered what the blue dragon mentioned: don't act suspicious. Bearing that in mind, Spike whistled as he meandered about, looking for another dragon to question.

"Be careful, kid. Don't let the wrong dragon hear you whistling. It's against Zog's rules."

Spike twisted around to find that another yellow dragon with brown speckles on his scalese.

“What kind of jerk would want to outlaw whistling?” Sapphire asked, cocking her head in perplexity.

Zog. The blue dragon had mentioned the same name. Clearly whoever he was, he was up to no good, which Spike realized may or may not have included enslaving a village of ponies. "Ok, who is this Zog character?"

"Have you been living under a rock for the last year, boy?” The yellow dragon narrowed his red, slitted eyes. “He staged a coup with a gang of dark dragons and practically took over the Dragonlands by himself. The dragons who've defied him have all either wound up dead or as his slaves."

Sapphire's eyes brightened at this new bit of information as she turned to her boyfriend. "Spike, I'll bet he's the one who kidnapped all those ponies!"

“You're probably right.” Spike averted his gaze from Sapphire and turned back to the adult yellow. “Do you know where we can find Zog?”

"Do yourselves a favor.” The yellow dragon shook his wedge-shaped head to dismiss Spike's idea. “If you have any concern for your young lives, you'd do well to avoid him. He's incredibly dangerous even by the highest standards of the dragon race."

“We'll be careful.”

“It won't do you any good. All you'll do is anger him. Word is, him and his followers are Shadow Dragons.”

A fierce shot of dread worked its way from the tip of Sapphire's horns all the way down to her toes, which tingled uncomfortably from the sensation. “Sh-shadow?”

The yellow drake watched Sapphire's pupils shrink at the mention of that particular clan of dragons. “So, you've heard of them. Remarkable that one as young as you has.”

“Yeah. My parents used to tell me stories, but I thought they didn't exist anymore.”

“It seems they've returned, and since you've heard of them you understand the gravity of the situation, and why you can't win?”

Spike had picked up on the vibe of Sapphire's fear. He took in a slow, nervous breath himself to calm his nerves. “Sapphire, what's going on?”

“Eons ago, Shadow Dragons ruled this country,” the large yellow dragon explained. “All other dragons lived under their oppressive rule. Any dragon who opposed them was killed without hesitation.”

Spike tilted his head in a questioning fashion. “How could ONE dragon take over the Dragonlands by himself?”

“Just that; they say he's a Shadow Dragon. They were said to be the most powerful breed of dragon to ever exist. No rivals were even close to their strength. Except maybe an alicorn.”

“Ok,” Sapphire took in a deep breath of courage to compose herself. Her parents had warned her about Shadow Dragons. They'd always told her if she ever came across one not to even THINK about fighting it. Not even in self-defense. “I'll ask once more. Where can we find Zog?”

The yellow dragon shrugged. “Fine. You want to risk your lives over a bunch of ponies, it's no scales off my back. Don't say I didn't warn you.” A huge yellow paw pointed to the north, far past the current mountain range. Shrouded in the fog of the valley far below, almost a dragon's entire eyesight away, was a fortress that looked small from that distance. “You see that fort? That's where he makes his base. Good luck getting in there, though. I will pray to Draco that you succeed. Not because I care about your pony friends, but because Zog has been a blight on all of us for too long. It's about time someone stuck it to him.”

Sapphire gazed hard for a while at the fortress almost out of sight, contemplating the risks of the situation. Of course, they couldn't be any ordinary dragons, they had to be SHADOW dragons. The ice dragon had been ill-prepared to face that reality when she left Equestria.

“What are you thinking right now, Saph?” Spike asked. He wrapped his arm around hers and entwined their tails together. Behind them, the adult yellow took to the air and went about his business.

“Um... I...” Sapphire stammered. She did her best to shake away her fear and swallow her dread. “I'm still going. I made a promise, and I have to keep it. You know, Dragoncode and all.”

“I was afraid you'd say that.” Spike scratched the back of his head in contemplation. Part of him wanted to just run back to Equestria as fast as he could and get Celestia and Luna to deal with the situation. Another part of him wanted to do what ever he could to help Sapphire, even if it meant risking his life. “I guess that means I gotta come with, huh?”

Finally, a smile spread across Sapphire's face. With no warning, she wrapped Spike in a hug, half out of affection and half to calm her tingling nerves. “Thanks, Spike. You're the best.”