Chapters It was a start of a new day in Ponyville, the sun was rising, the birds were singing and the ponies were trotting around the village as they began to start their morning activities. Inside Ponyville’s library was a small purple scaled dragon with green spike, who wore a pink apron, baking cookies. There he was, in his own world, dancing magnificently in the kitchen. He spun and leaped across the kitchen to turn off the stove. He skidded across and spun again as he carried a kettle of hot tea. He tiptoed towards the kitchen table and gracefully poured a cup of lemon tea. He spun and jumped towards the oven in time as the cookies were ready.
He put his mittens on and carefully placed the freshly baked cookies into a plate. With that, he leaped and spun as he threw the cookie tray - that amazingly glided back into the oven. As he jumped across the kitchen, he tripped on a garbage bin and fell face first, skidding across the kitchen floor. When he looked up, there were a lot of empty packets of high quality coffee littered around the kitchen. “I can’t believe Twilight would drink this much coffee since the last surprise test Princess Celestia gave her,” Spike muttered, picking up the packets and threw them away. He made one last spin and bowed as a finish. “Thank you,” he said as he bowed to the applause of his imaginary audience. He stood up and waved towards the empty wall, smiling. “I wanted to thank all my friend-“his speech was cut as he heard somepony was giggling behind him.
“What are you doing, Spike?” A purple unicorn replied. Her magenta striped mane bouncing as she giggled. He quickly turned around and smiled nervously.
“N-nothing,” Spike stammered, blushing.
“You’re so cute when you blush,” Twilight cooed.
“Stop it, Twilight!” Spike exclaimed, blushing.
“Okay, okay,” she giggled. Then, she noticed the delicious scent of the freshly baked cookies wafting throughout the whole house. “Mm-mm, these smell delicious,” she commented.
“It’s the power of my super awesome chocolate chip cookies,” he said proudly as he presented the plate of fresh cookies. Twilight levitated one and greedily eats it in one bite.
“This tastes great, Spike,” she complimented, smiling.
“Of course,” he replied with his mouth full of cookies.
“Where’s the coffee?” Twilight asked, looking around the kitchen.
“Uh..,” was the only thing Spike could elicit.
“Where’s the coffee, Spike?” she asked again, her voice slightly higher.
“We’re all out?” he squeaked, cringing.
“What?!” Twilight asked with disbelief in her face. “That can’t be true. It can’t be true,” she mumbled, her eyes twitching.
“But there’s tea,” Spike offered, trying to calm the purple pony..
“That’s no good,” she replied, grabbing him closer. She looked into his eyes as she was slowly having panic attack. “You remembered the time where I didn’t have my coffee, right?” she whispered. Spike shuddered when he remembered the incident and nodded.
“I’ve never seen one pony destroy an entire dance hall,” he mumbled under his breath.
“What was that?” Twilight asked, looking slightly disheveled.
“I thought I could find you some coffee?” he offered, smiling nervously.
“Good idea!” she exclaimed as she levitated him down. “I need you in a special quest,” she started, pacing back and forth. “I need you to find me the perfect coffee. Do whatever you must to achieve it and return to me as fast as you can. Can you do it?” she asked, giving the young dragon a stern look, her eyes twitching radically.
Spike gave a little salute. “Yes, ma’am!” He exclaimed with determination in his eyes. After Twilight returned his salute, he rushed to get his backpack and head out for the quest for perfect coffee.
An hour later, Spike was trudging along the streets of Ponyville with a disappointed look on his face. He had spent all of his energy to search for coffee in every store and street vendors he could find but all of it was for naught. He started to be concern on what might happen to Ponyville and all of Equestria if he fails his quest.
Whilst he was thinking a back up plan, he noticed that somepony was calling him. He heard a whisper and looked around to see who was getting his attention. Spike saw a hooded pony who was shrouded in a long black robe, beckoning him to come closer. He became curious and carefully approaches the mysterious pony.
“I heard you are in a quest for coffee,” a deep gruff voice stated. By the judge of his voice Spike thought it might be safe to assume the pony was a stallion.
“How did you know that?” Spike asked looking surprised.
“I’ve heard around the village that a small dragon was looking for some coffee,” explained the hooded stallion, coughing.
“Oh,” Spike replied, grinning sheepishly.
“I can give you some coffee, if you help me with something,” the stallion proposed, chuckling.
“What? I don’t believe you,” Spike said, looking the hooded pony with disbelieve. Even with the pony’s face was hidden; Spike could tell that he was grinning under the shadow of his hood. The stallion reached inside his robe and pulled out a bag of grounded coffee.
“What I have in my possession is the most delicious coffee in Equestria,” the pony stated. “A special grounded coffee that could make kingdoms fight over,” he added, chuckling darkly. Spike was unsure what to do. He was reluctant to accept whatever the pony’s request might be but the safety of Equestria, and the sake of his promise, were on the line. With a defeated sigh, Spike agreed to help on the his request.
“Excellent,” the pony chuckled, coughing. “I need you to recover... a treasure inside of a dragon’s cave in the Everfree forest,” he explained.
“What?” Spike exclaimed questioningly. “Why is it always in the Everfree forest, why can’t it be in some candy shop?”
“It doesn’t matter,” the pony answered nonchalantly. “Either you do it or not?” the pony proposed.
With another defeated sigh, Spike answered. “Sure, I’ll do it. But what is this ‘treasure’ are you looking for?” he asked, looking slightly annoyed.
“Ah, it is a flower you see, called the Flower of Yardigal. A flower that could heal any ailment known to existence,” he answered, sounding amused.
“How should I know if this flower even exists?” Spike asked again as he became more infuriate by the sheer amount of ridiculousness that came out from the pony's mouth.
“It glows like the golden sun under the darkness.” He chuckled.
“Fine,” Spike sighed. “Where can I find this again?” he asked, glumly.
“The cave you seek is in the heart of the forest. After you are done, I will wait for you at the pathway leading towards Ponyville,” the hooded pony explained, pointing the way.
“Yeah, yeah,” Spike groused as he quickly ran towards the pointed direction.
Spike gulped as he stood in front of a pathway heading into the heart of the Everfree forest. The trees stood tall and menacingly with its branches clawing the sky. Sounds of wild animals could be heard from the distance – filling his heart with fear and worry. Why am I doing this!? he screamed mentally. Then he heard a twig snapped nearby and jumped behind a tree, followed by a low growl. His eyes welled with tears, whimpering, as he tried to convince himself to continue.
He let out a shuddering breath and quickly ran into the heart of the forest with his eyes closed. Spike had an eerie feeling like he felt he was being watched or something was following him, hunting him in the distance. As if it was playing a sick joke, enjoying its prey to squirm into submission. He began running faster and faster with his eyes still closed, his heart beating quicker and his breath getting shorter.
Just as he was about to relax, he hit something and bounced back, falling onto the ground. He felt that whatever he hit, it was something hard, something big and for certain it has a rough surface. His mind began to reel in panic and he began fantasizing about the various monsters he might encounter. He gulped nervously, and slowly opened his eyes. Every second he took, felt like eternity, waiting for his inevitable doom. As he fully opened his eyes, a flash of lightning struck and he screamed – covering his face, in hope the being in front of him would leave.
Spike slowly looked again and saw it was just a big hollow tree. He let out a sigh of relief and gave a nervous chuckle. “It...it's just a tree,” he panted.
“What are you doing here?” a voice suddenly asked behind him. He jumped and quickly turned to look. He saw a familiar face, but he knew he was not with good company.
“Gilda,” he gasped.
“How did you know my name?” Gilda asked, stepping forward menacingly. Spike slowly backed away. “Answer me, pipsqueak!” she demanded as she pounced forward and looked at him face to beak.
“I-I knew you from Pinkie’s welcoming party,” he stuttered, starting to panic again.
“Ah,” she chuckled darkly. She stood tall and gave him a steely gaze, “You’re ‘her’ friend,” she said with bitterness in her mouth. “Now,” the scary griffon began, menacingly circling the harmless dragon. “Why are you here?” Gilda asked slowly and threateningly.
“I-I-I’m heading towards the dragon’s cave in the middle of the forest,” he stammered.
“What?” she gasped as she stared at him blankly. “Are you sure you’re not pulling a prank on me?” she asked again, glaring at the scared little dragon with angry eyes.
“N-no!” he assured her, stammering slightly. “I’m only here for the flower,” he explained as he started to sweat nervously under the pressure.
“Flower, huh?” she mumbled slowly, continuing to circle the dragon.
“Y-yeah,” he replied, nodding vigorously.
“I have my eyes on you pipsqueak,” she said through gritted teeth, swooping in front of him, peering judgingly.
“W-why?” he asked, worried for the fact there will be a scary and possibly a dangerous griffon walking with him along the way.
“This is my territory,” she said as she opened her arms wide. “And,” she continued, looking at him accusingly. “To make sure you are not lying,” she hissed.
“B-b-but, I don’t want to pull a prank on you, honest,”Spike stuttered, trying to assure Gilda.
“If I catch you doing something funny, I’ll rip your face off,” she growled.
“S-sure, no problem,” Spike nodded. With that, Gilda let out an eagle screech and flew away. The frightened little dragon let out a shuddering sigh of relief as the griffon was gone. He turned to look the rest of his journey, gulped down his fear and quickly walked to his destination.
The journey was long and scary, the winding pathway seems it was trying to lead Spike to a dead end, the occasional growl behind the trees and the sudden movement of the branches made him even more anxious as he went deeper into the forest. Later, Spike arrived in front of the cave and quickly hid behind a large rock in front of the cave that was carved into a rocky hill in the middle of the forest. The little purple dragon stayed hidden as he listened and waited to see if the cave was empty or not. Seconds felt like minutes to him as he waited for a sign, a single sign of life inside the potential trap. After a minute of waiting, Spike concluded that the cave was empty for the moment. Spike took a deep breath, and quickly ran into the cave as Gilda stealthily followed behind him, looking around for an unwanted arrival.
“That’s it,” Spike cheered as he ran towards a glowing gold flower in the middle of the cave. It was surrounded by mountains of gold and jewels, gleaming under the sunlight from a carved hole above. Gilda’s beak hung low in awe as she saw the large piles of gold and jewels being left behind unattended, ready to be taken. She chuckled darkly, walking towards a nearby pile.
Spike felt the tension that he carried from the beginning was starting to disappear as he walked closer to the flower. “Just pick the flower, and the coffee will be mine,” he whispered to himself. He slowly and carefully reached the flower until he felt something. Something that he wished never happened, something that he knew it was a sign of trouble. He felt the ground shook under his feet. He heard slow and heavy footsteps came from behind.
Gilda popped out from a pile of gold and saw something that wiped the smile off her face. She saw a fully grown dragon looking at her with its ember eyes. Its scale was red as fire and his spikes were dark as ash and sharp as a thousand griffon’s claws. Its wings stretched to the length of three chariots. She squawked and swooped next to Spike, who was evenly scared by the sight of the angry beast. She looked up and saw an escape route.
“Don’t think that you can escape me,” the dragon growled, his nose flaring with smoke.
“I-I wasn’t thinking of escaping at all,” she lied, laughing nervously. The red dragon changed his gaze on the little, scared purple dragon.
“Why are you here?” the giant dragon asked as he smiled, showing many sharp teeth.
“I-I-I just wanted to take the flower,” Spike stammered nervously as the dragon stepped closer.
“Why do you want the flower?” he asked again, taking a step closer.
“T-there’s,” Spike began, whispering.
“Speak up, boy!” the giant dragon roared, causing the cave to vibrate.
“There’s a stallion who requested the flower in exchange for coffee!” Spike answered as loud as he could with his eyes closed. Then, there was a pregnant pause in the air. He slowly opened his eyes and saw the puzzled faces of the dragon and Gilda.
“What?” the griffon yelled with disbelief in her eyes. The dragon cracked an eerie smile and let out a booming laugh.
“You must like your coffee, hatchling,” the dragon commented, smirking.
“You don’t understand, I must have the coffee because if I don’t Equestria might be in dan-“Spike's explanation was cut as the giant raised a claw.
“Do you know what purpose this flower serves?” the red dragon asked, leaning closer to the frightened intruders.
“Y-Yes,” Spike nodded.
“Well, then,” the grown dragon began as he started circling them. “If you want this flower, I might want something in return,” he demanded, grinning.
“What if I just take it and we forget this ever happened?” Spike asked, looking at him pleadingly.
“Then, I will burn both of you,” the dragon hissed, his nose flaring with fire.
“W-what do you want then?” Gilda blurted nervously.
The dragon looked at the scared griffon and smiled menacingly. “I want a necklace in return,” he answered. “But,” he continued, leaning closer. “It is a special necklace that could unlock a dragon’s full potential,” he explained.
“W-where can I find this necklace?” Spike asked as he gulped nervously.
“This necklace is in the possession of a tribe of buffaloes in the outskirts of Ponyville,” he answered with a wide grin on his face.
“Why won’t you go get it yourself?” Gilda spoke up, beginning to sweat nervously.
“A dragon like me would be most likely to be hunted if we enter Equestria without a special permission from your little princess,” the red dragon explained distastefully. “This is why I need you to bring it to me,” he concluded as he looked at Spike.
“Only then, you would give me the flower?” Spike asked nervously as they looked eye to eye.
“Only then.”
“Okay, I’ll do it,” Spike agreed with uncertainty in his eyes.
“Excellent,” the red dragon chuckled then quickly reached and hold the griffon tightly onto the ground with his claws. “But, I need something that is precious to you as compensation for intruding my cave. Like your friend here,” he explained, peering at Gilda.
“Hey pipsqueak, help!” the Gilda yelled as she frantically struggled to free herself. She looked and saw Spike stood silently, considering his options.
“What should I do? ” Spike thought to himself. “Think, Spike, think! ” he mentally screamed as he shook his head. “Aha!” he exclaimed triumphantly and quickly rummaged into his backpack as the giant dragon was obviously unamused by the whole situation. The large dragon's eyes sparkled when he saw the little dragon pulled up a beautiful sapphire gem from his backpack.
“This is given by my friend, Rarity,” Spike explained, offering the gem to the giant dragon. “Even though this doesn’t look much to you, but it means alot to me. Keep this as compensation until I bring back the necklace,” he said, looking uncertain at the thought.
“Very well,” the red dragon agreed, releasing the writhing griffon and took the gem into his claws. He sauntered into the back of the cave and gently put it on a high pedestal. “You will have this until you bring back the necklace,” he reminded the little one.
“I understand,” Spike nodded as he took a last glance at his prized possession. He took a deep breath and exited the cave, with Gilda in tow.
“Thanks, pipsqueak,” she said, landing next to Spike.
“Whatever,” he sighed, clearly disheartened.
“Look, I appreciate what you did for me,” Gilda started. “For that, I’ll join you in this quest... journey... whatever, you get the idea,” she said as she gave a dismissive shrug.
“But, why?” Spike asked, looking at her quizzically.
“I have nothing better to do anyway,” she answered, stretching her wings. “Oh,” she suddenly spoke up. “All this for coffee?” she asked, this time she was looking at him with pure disbelief in her eyes.
“You have no idea what I got myself into,” he answered glumly.
“Whatever,” she replied, rolling her eyes. She cracked her knuckles and looked at him. “Where we go next?”
“We’re heading to Appleloosa,” Spike answered as he marched ahead.
“We’re going to walk there?” Gilda asked again, following the little dragon.
“No, we’ll go by train,” he answered, chuckling to the thought of walking to Appleloosa.
“But I don’t have any money,” she admitted.
“I have some, and I hope it is enough,” he said as he pulled out a small bag of bits and showed it to Gilda.
“You better,” she replied, looking at the small bag. “Oh yeah, what’s your name anyway?” she asked, looking down to the waddling dragon.
“I’m Spike!” he answered cheerily for once.
“Well, Spike,” Gilda began, looking into the setting sun. “This is going to be a wild ride.”
The train dangerously bucked as it hit a bump on the track, causing Gilda and Spike flung out of their bunk beds. The little dragon slowly stood up and looked out the window – gingerly rubbing his head. Outside, he saw the dark terrains of the Wild West, the wide stretch of empty land with the occasional hills and cacti as the moon loomed behind the veil of clouds. He let out a sigh and sat on the bottom of the bunk bed.
“You never really explained to me,” Gilda spoke up as she casually flew onto her bed above Spike.
“Explained you what?” he asked, raising his head to look at her, looking confused.
“Why we have to walk around the Everfree forest rather than follow the pathway,” she replied dryly, looking down with an annoyed expression on her face.
“Oh,” he sighed. “There’s this stallion,” he began. “He told me to go to the front of the pathway if I managed to get the flower. But I didn’t. If we follow the pathway and he sees that I didn’t have the flower, he would probably think I failed or backed out. So, that’s why we need to avoid him for now,” the little dragon explained.
“Wait, wait, wait,” she spoke up as she tried to digest the information. “What stallion?” she asked, looking puzzled.
“There’s this stallion who covers himself with a dark cloak that asked me to do his silly request in the first place,” he answered exasperatedly as he crossed his arms.
“Calm down, pipsqueak before you burn the train down,” the she replied mockingly.
“Why are you even with me if you are going to make fun of me along the way?” Spike asked as he looked at her with a mixed of confused and gloomy expression. “Can you be nice at least once?”
“Hey, I’m helping you aren’t I?” she snapped.
“I sacrificed something that is meaningful to me to help you. If I didn’t give you the benefit of the doubt, I would probably leave you with the dragon by now!” he snapped back, nose flaring with smoke. His words hit Gilda like a brick wall. She snickered and flopped her body onto the bed. She rolled over and closed her eyes to sleep. Spike sighed and drooped his tiny body onto the bed and slowly drifting into sleep. Before he fully succumbed himself into slumber he heard a whisper from above.
“Sorry.”
Spike felt like his body was shaking and he heard somepony whispered. This time it was not Gilda. It was a stallion’s voice. “Wake up,” it whispered. “This is the end.”
“No, it can’t be,” Spike groggily replied as he tried to open his eyes. “There are still many things to be done,” he writhed as if he was grabbed by the darkness.
“It is time,” the voice whispered again.
“Time for what?” he murmured, writhing to escape the darkness.
“It’s time to wake up,” the voice replied dryly.
“Huh?” Spike said, opening his eyes. He saw the train conductor was standing beside him. “What time is it and where are we?” he asked, yawning.
“It’s morning and we’re in Appleloosa,” he answered as he gazed to the sleeping griffon above. “Miss it is-“before he could finish his sentence, Gilda quickly turned and roared at the pony’s face. His eyes went wide in shock and quickly galloped away.
“Let’s go, Gilda,” Spike said as he groggily stood up.
“Let me sleep for five more minutes,” she murmured as she rolled back.
“No, if we want to end this quickly, we must not waste too much time,” he explained, yawning.
“Fine,” she yawned as she slowly dropped onto her paws. “Where are we anyway?” she asked as she sleepily looked around.
Spike rolled his eyes. “We’re in Appleloosa,” he answered, exiting the coach they were in. As they exited the train, they were blinded by the sun’s bright glow as their eyes slowly adjusting to the light. Then the bustling sounds of ponies filled the air.
The town was buzzing with tourist and merchants as they merrily headed on their way to do their activities. The were horse drawn carriages, horse drawn horse drawn carriages and many other things that attract the attention of local and visiting ponies alike. Newly built wooden structures stood tall along every street and every corner of the town. Gilda and Spike walked along the road leading towards the center of the busy town with the look of wonderment on their face. While they were enjoying the scenery, a grumbling sound was heard followed by Spike's sheepish smile.
“Yeah, I’m hungry too,” she said, looking around for places that sells food.
“Look!” Spike yelled excitedly, pointing at an inn across them with a sign saying ‘Strawberry Cloud’s Inn.’
“You sure you have the bits to spend on that?” Gilda asked, looking unsure at the young dragon.
“Hey, don’t you worry about it,” he replied nonchalantly, marching into the inn. Without a second thought, she gave a casual shrug and followed Spike inside. Almost immediately, they were hit by the appetizing scent of freshly baked pies and the soothing aroma of hot tea, also the inn was somewhat crowded with ponies but there were still empty tables scattered throughout the eatery. Spike and the Gilda were standing in front of the door with their opened mouth, drooling.
“Hey, there,” A pony who wore a brown jacket and a brown cowboy’s hat greeted them. Spike tentatively looked at the pony, rubbing his chin in thought. The earth pony that greeted them had a light gold coat and an orange colored mane, also his flank had a very familiar apple cutie mark. Gilda quickly wiped her mouth, trying to hide her embarrassment.
“Hi,” Spike greeted back enthusiastically.
“’Sup.” Gilda nonchalantly flipped her tail.
“Wait an apple bucking minute,” the pony murmured as he took a good look at the dragon. “I remembered you, you are one of my cousin’s friends,” he exclaimed cheerily.
“Oh yeah!” Spike exclaimed as well as realization hit him. “You’re Braeburn!"
“The one and only,” he replied, crossing his legs, smiling. “Now,” he began as he exchanged looks between Spike and Gilda. “What can I do you for?” he asked happily.
“We would like a table for two please,” Spike answered, smiling.
“This way,” Braeburn replied as he escorted them both to an empty table in the middle of the eatery. “Now, what can I get for the two of you?” he asked, pulling a pencil and a notepad from his jacket.
“Wait you work here? I thought you work at the farm,” Spike asked as he looked at the pony quizzically.
“Whenever I got some free time, I like helping the folks who own this inn,” he explained, looking around the eatery. “So, what can I get you?” he asked again as he prepared to jolt down the orders.
“I would like some fried grass with some soda, oh don’t forget the ketchup,” Spike ordered.
“Of course,” Braeburn murmured as he jolted the order down. “How about you, miss?” he asked, looking at Gilda.
“Do you, by any chance, have some roasted meat at this place?” she asked as she leaned closer.
“Uh, we’re ponies miss and we don’t eat meat,” he answered; somewhat appalled to the idea of ponies eating meat. “But we do have some baked beans, some say it is the meat of the vegetable,” he suggested, smiling.
“Whatever,” Gilda responded, rolling her eyes, clearly disappointed. “Also, I want some apple cider with that,” she added.
“I’ll be back with your orders in just a minute,” Braeburn said as he trotted into the kitchen. A few minutes later, the requested foods were served and Spike and Gilda did not hesitant to dig in. They spent their time enjoying the food as they made a series of small talk to pass the time.
“That was good,” Gilda sighed in contentment, leaning back onto the chair, patting her stomach.
“It sure is,” Spike agreed, copying the griffon’s actions.
“So, how’s the food?” Braeburn suddenly popped, startling them. Both Spike and Gilda almost fell from their chairs.
“That scared the feathers out of me,” she gasped.
“Sorry,” Braeburn apologized, smiling sheepishly.
“The food was amazing,” Spike commented as he handed the bits. “But, we have to go,” he said as he jumped off the chair with Gilda in tow.
“Where’re you heading?” Braeburn asked as they walked away.
“We’re going to meet with the buffaloes,” Gilda answered with annoyance started to creep in her voice.
“Oh, can I come?” Braeburn asked, smiling. Gilda was looking at Spike with a steely gaze, trying to telepathically telling him to say ‘no’.
“Sure,” Spike answered, oblivious to Gilda’s glare which made the her to sigh in protest.
“Great, let me pack a few things. It is going to be a long journey,” Braeburn said as he galloped into the rooms upstairs.
“Great,” Gilda sneered, rolling her eyes.
“Come on, it’ll be fun,” Spike assured her with a smile.
“Sure it will,” she deadpanned. With that, they waited for the packing pony to finish.
It was already a few hours after they departed from Appleloosa and the group was accompanied by the clattering sounds of pots and metals that Braeburn – a new addition to the group, packed for the trip. Both Spike and Gilda explained why they were on their way to meet the buffaloes, walking under the searing heat of the merciless sun.
“Wait, wait, wait,” Braeburn said, trying to digest the story as he stopped to think. “You’re telling me that a mysterious hooded pony sent you for a quest that made a dragon to send you to another quest, and all of this was for coffee?” he asked, looking at the both of them incredulously.
“Uh-huh.” Spike nodded.
“That’s about sums it up,” Gilda added, shrugging. Braeburn dropped to his haunches and looked at the both of them in disbelief. His eyes were twitching like crazy and he started to mumble incoherently under his breath.
“Is he okay?” she asked, looking at the stunned pony with concern.
“I don’t think so,” Spike answered with as much concern as she was.
Suddenly, Braeburn hollered. “That’s so awesome!” The griffon and the little dragon looked at each other, confused. “You are given an adventure of a lifetime,” the excited pony continued. “Oh, please let me join you guys,” he pleaded as he jumped excitedly – causing the pans to create a cacophony of metals. “Please, please, please.”
“Sure,” Spike said, covering his ears.
“If only you would stop jumping around!” Gilda screamed. Then the pony stopped and covered his mouth with his hooves, trying to withhold his excitement. Gilda rolled her eyes and walked away. “Let’s keep on moving or the sun will roast us.” With that, the group continued their journey towards the buffalo’s encampment while Braeburn was doing his best to stifle his giggles.
Another hour later, it was already evening. They finally reached their destination - a small camp south from Appleloosa, as they were greeted by a herd of buffaloes that escorted them towards the middle of the encampment, leading them to meet with their chief.
While they were standing in front of a well decorated tent they were accompanied only by the sound of the crackling wood of the campfire. Then, a small female buffalo stepped forward. “Welcome, visitors,” she spoke up. Her face lit up when she looked at the dragon and pony. “Ah,” she gasped. “Greetings, Spike and Braeburn,” she greeted, giving them a small bow. “Who might you be?” she asked, looking at the griffon.
“I’m Gilda,” she replied coldly.
“Well, Gilda. It is nice to meet you,” the Strongheart smiled warmly.
“Hey, Little Strongheart,” Spike greeted back, waving his hands.
“Howdy,” Braeburn chuckled.
“It is nice to meet old and new faces,” a deep voice spoke from inside the tent. As Spike and his friends turned to look, they saw a big and well built buffalo exited from the tent. He was wearing a rather large feather headband which made Gilda slightly irritated. “I am Chief Thunderhoof,” the buffalo introduced himself. “State your business,” he boomed stepping in front the campfire.
“I’m here to retrieve the dragon’s necklace,” he stated proudly. Suddenly, a wave of whispers broke within the herd of buffaloes, even Little Strongheart eyes widened in shock.
“You mean the Necklace of Draconia?” he asked, looking terrified.
“Why, what’s wrong?” Spike asked with confusion filled his face. With that, Chief Thunderhoof began to explain. He explained that the necklace was a source of ultimate greed. Greed that could make any dragon – good or bad, into a monster that could create havoc and chaos. He told them a story that 1000 years ago, the necklace was originally owned by the King of Dragons, Druak, which used the necklace to reduce Equestria and the land near it into ash.
But soon King Druak was defeated by the Princesses of Equestria with the help of the Elements of Harmony. Sending the dreadful king into the void of darkness, and bestowed the responsibility of guarding the necklace to the tribe of buffaloes in their time.
“Why did the buffaloes was given the necklace in their protection?” Spike asked as he and his friends sat behind him, listening. Except for Gilda, she was soundly asleep before the story even began.
“Because we are constantly moving and changing the location of our camp, it would be harder for any evil doers or thieves to locate our specific location,” Little Strongheart explained.
“But I really need the necklace,” Spike pleaded.
“Why?” Chief Thunderhoof asked, looking confused and concerned to the fact that a little dragon was asking for a dangerous artifact.
“I-it doesn’t matter, all I can tell that it is essential for the safety of Equestria,” Spike pleaded.
“Don’t do it, Spike,” Braeburn interjected as he walked closer. “What might happen if you give the dragon the necklace,” he whispered.
“I know,” Spike whispered back exasperatedly. “If I don’t get the necklace, Equestria might be in trouble, if I do get it, Equestria will also be in trouble nonetheless.”
Little Strongheart heard the conversation and interjected them. “I know what you need,” she whispered. “There’s another artifact out in the west from here that is known as ‘The Mirror of Duplication’. If you could get it in your possession, you can duplicate the necklace,” she explained.
“Is that the same as getting the necklace itself?” Spike asked with a puzzled look on his face. Little Strongheart shook her head.
“It will only duplicate the item but neither the power nor function,” she answered. “If you duplicate the Necklace of Draconia, the copy would be good as an ordinary necklace,” she explained again, smiling knowingly.
“Are you sure?” Braeburn asked, looking concern.
“Positive,” she nodded.
“What are we waiting for, let’s go get it!” Spike cheered as he started to march.
“But do you even know where the artifact is?” Braeburn asked which made the little dragon to stop in his tracks.
“No,” Spike sighed, lowering his head.
“That’s why I’ll be joining you,” Little Strongheart spoke up. Spike and Braeburn looked at her with puzzled faces. “I’ll be your guide to help you to obtain the artifact,” she explained.
“Are you sure?” Spike asked, still looking at her in disbelief.
“Yes,” she answered simply, nodding.
“Why?” Braeburn asked, raising an eyebrow questioningly.
“I wish to join your little adventure,” Little Strongheart answered again as she stood tall.
“You know, this might be dangerous,” Spike warned.
“I have lived all my life in the wilderness. I am sure I can take care of myself,” she assured them.
“Well, what are we waiting for, let’s go!” Spike cheered again but stopped when Braeburn put up a hoof.
“As much as we want to go for an adventure right now, but I'm not sure walking in the dark would be a good idea,” Braeburn explained as he pointed to the setting sun.
“Oh,” Spike sighed in realization.
“Also, you friend there is definitely not going without her rest,” Strongheart said as she pointed at the snoring griffon, giggling.
“Well, we start the journey tomorrow,” Spike cheered.
“Yeah!” Both Strongheart and Braeburn cheered back, accompanied by Gilda’s heavy snores.
The land was barren except for the occasional hills and small patches of dead plants. The sound of footsteps of the strange group of friends, marched towards west as they headed for their destination in the quest of the ‘Mirror of Duplication’ and they slowly approaching what seems to be a canyon over the yonder. It was already a few hours since they departed from the buffalo’s camp, and the sun was already above their heads. Braeburn and Little Strongheart were at the back of the group – happily conversing with one another, meanwhile Spike and Gilda were at the front. The clattering sounds of pots and metals made the tired griffon cringed in exasperation.
“Why is she with us?” Gilda whispered bitterly as she took quick glances at Little Strongheart.
“Like I said for a million times, she’s here to guide us to the mirror,” Spike answered as he let out an exasperated sigh.
“I don’t trust her,” she grumbled to herself but Spike was able to hear her mumblings.
“Why don’t you like her?” he asked, looking puzzled at Gilda.
“It’s none of your business, kid,” she whispered glumly.
“Hey, we are a team, and we shouldn’t fight with each other,” he preached.
“Oh yeah, before you know it, you guys will be ditching me like all of the others,” Gilda snapped.
“Hey, what’s goin’ on here?” Braeburn interjected, galloping towards them with a worried expression.
“Nothing,” Gilda replied coldly.
“What do you mean that we will be ditching you?” Spike asked, ignoring for the fact that the she was not in the mood to continue the subject.
“Just forget about it,” Gilda groused as she took point. Braeburn, in the other hand, looked back at Strongheart with a confused look that was returned by a shrug. Meanwhile, Spike was walking behind the angry griffon with his arms folded and his brow furrowed – not satisfied by her answer.
Since then, the walk had become awkward as there was a thick cloud of silence hung over the group while they entered a small path between the canyons. They started walking in a single file line as the path kept getting narrower and the group became more and more uneasy. It was quiet, too quiet – not only the silence within the group, but also to the silence of the canyons. Suddenly, their heads darted upwards as they heard shuffling noises and footsteps from above. They felt an eerie feeling that they were being followed.
Moments later, the path was beginning to narrow to the point that it was hard enough for Gilda to walk through and Braeburn’s saddlebag kept getting snagged on the rocks that jutted from the walls of the canyons. The footsteps from above had stopped, but were replaced by soft whispers. The group first thought it was a couple of ponies whispering from above but as they walked deeper into the winding narrow pathway, the whispers started to increase in volume.
Spike’s thought was drowned by the cacophony of the ghostly whispers even when he plugged his ears with his claws. Suddenly, a wall of realization hit him. The whispers did not came from above, they were in his head.
“Guys, the whispers aren’t from above,” Spike shouted in realization.
“We know,” Braeburn shouted back as he cringed by the sheer volume of whispers.
“We gotta get out of here,” Gilda squawked as she started to walk faster.
“Hurry,” Strongheart agreed as she took longer steps.
“Gilda, could you fly up and see how far we are from the exit?” Spike yelled as he tried to drown away the whispers.
“I can’t,” the griffon frantically called out. “The path is too narrow, I can’t extend my wings.”
“Just keep going,” Braeburn yelled as the whispers were getting too loud. With that, the group dashed forward as their minds slowly being overpowered by the ethereal whispers.They started to run faster and faster as they were being chased by an invisible manticore while dodging the sharp rocks that jutted from the walls like spears. Spike felt like his mind was at the edge of breaking point as the whispers were starting to overpower his thoughts.
The edge of his vision started to darken as the whispers starting to change into mind numbing shrieks. He closed his eyes with his claws in hope that the nightmare would stop. Suddenly, he felt he was picked up by something. He glanced through his claws and saw he was being carried by Braeburn. The pony was huffing crazily because he was carrying the baby dragon and a saddlebag full of supplies while galloping for his life. Spike carefully grasped onto the Braeburn’s mane so that he would not fall off.
Fortunately, not long after, the group noticed there light shone through the pathway. They ran faster as they felt a sense of relief starting to wash over them. Without a second too long, they leaped out the canyon’s pathway and unceremoniously dropped onto the dirt ground. As whispers were slowly fading, the odd group was breathing heavily as they tried to catch their breath from extreme exhaustion while Spike trembled in pain from his mental strains.
“W-what was that?” Gilda huffed, sprawling on the dirt covered ground.
“T-t-that pathway was known as ‘The Path of the Lost Souls’,” Little Strongheart answered between breaths as she slowly stood up.
“Are you okay, Spike?” Braeburn panted, looking concern at the panting baby dragon.
“I’m fine,” Spike answered between gasps of air. Then, he slowly stood up and gingerly rubbed his head. His jaw dropped open as he looked towards their next destination. Spike was stunned as he casted his eyes upon the vast ocean of sand while he was standing at the very edge of the dirt ground.
“Yee-haw,” the Braeburn hollered cheerfully. “I never thought it was this big,” he whistled.
“Huh?” Spike looked at him, puzzled. Braeburn smiled and walked in front of the tired group. He stood on his hind legs and stretched his fore hooves as wide as he can.
“Welcome to San Palomino Desert,” he chuckled.
It was already night time as their worn and sandy faces were lit by the campfire. There were a couple of set up tents – a commodity by Braeburn, and a bubbling pot of vegetable stew was cooking above the fire. Several empty canteens of water littered around Braeburn as he chopped carrots, potatoes and other types of vegetable into the stew.
Little Strongheart was sitting near the fire as she meditated to connect herself with the land. She hummed, slowly rocked her body side to side. Gilda was sitting alone in the dark under the moonlit sky, gazing into the array of stars.
Spike, however was sleeping in one of the tents, his body jerked as he recounted the incident from the canyons. He was sweating profusely and was beginning to mumble something incoherent.
“Spike, please hurry,” a faint and familiar voice whispered inside his mind.
“T-Twilight?” he muttered, tossing and turning his body, trying to find solace.
“Hurry,” it whispered. Spike screamed and quickly sat up. He was breathing heavily as he tried to decipher what the voice was trying to tell him or what was the dream all about. He clasped his head as tears started to roll down his cheeks.
“Twilight,” he muttered, crying in the darkness.
“Hey,” a voice whispered. He looked and saw Gilda was standing in front of the tent.
“I heard you scream,” she spoke softly. “Everything’s cool?”
“Yeah,” Spike answered as his voice was getting raspy.
“What’s wrong, pipsqueak?” Gilda asked softly as she stepped closer, which surprised Spike.
“I-I had a nightmare, that’s all,” he croaked.
“I see,” she muttered, sitting next to him. Both of them sat in the camp as they looked into campfire. The fire danced in the night breeze, the occasional sound of Braeburn cutting vegetable into the stew and the soft hums of Strongheart’s meditation filled the tent. “You still want to know what I meant by ditching me behind like the others did?” she spoke up, casting her gaze onto the ground.
“If you don’t want to tell me, it’s okay.” Spike sniffed.
“It was years ago,” the Gilda started. “I was not always this much of a jerk when I was still a cub. Actually, I was the happiest griffon the world. I had many friends and each day was like a dream come true,” she said reminiscently as she pawed the sand.
Spike looked audaciously with his wet eyes at the reminiscing griffon. “My friends and I were planning to go to the mountains in our homeland and jumped to see how fast we could go. We talked about on how cool it was if we able to make a sonic boom if we manage to fly at the right speed.” She chuckled sadly.
“I saw my friends jumped from the mountaintop and none of them were brave enough to do a sonic boom,” she said, grasping a clawful of sand.
“Why?” Spike hoarsely asked.
“Because the mountain we were at wasn’t high enough and it was the only high place we could reach at that time without collapsing from lack of oxygen,” she explained, blowing away the sand. “Then,” she continued. “When it was my turn, my friends were challenging me if I could perform the sonic boom,” she said, looking deeply into the fire. “I was tempted, and without a second thought, I jumped. I was speeding towards the ground in a bone crunching speed and the ground was approaching faster than I expected. A few seconds in, I spread my wings in hope that I could pull up at the right moment,” she croaked.
“Did you make it?” Spike asked, looking at her tentatively.
“No,” Gilda answered bluntly.
“What happens next?”
“My friends just flew away,” she hissed. Spike carefully turned to look and was surprised as tears were flowing down her cheeks. “They knew I was hurt, they heard I was calling out for help, but they left me so I would just walk back home, injured and angry,” she growled, her tail whipping the air.
Spike felt sorry for Gilda as she internally sobbing. When Spike just about to say something, Gilda’s head darted to look at him, gazing at the him with her red eyes. “That’s why I taught myself to not show weakness, to not trust anypony,” she concluded, with her voice starting to hoarse. “What you hear here is a secret, you got that?” she hissed.
“Got it,” he nodded, starting to feel better. When Gilda just about to leave, Spike called to her. “Thank you... for sharing your story.”
“No problem.” A hint of smile cracked over her beak.
Moments later, the whole group was enjoying their dinner around the campfire. Spike was surprised by Braeburn’s ability to cook – albeit he worked in an eatery on his free time. They spent their time around the campfire telling scary stories, ancient tales from buffalo folklore and even performed a sing-a-long. Everypony had a fantastic time; even Gilda was silently enjoying some of the stories from a distance. When midnight came, everypony went into the set up tents where Spike was sharing tents with Braeburn and Gilda was sharing the tent with Little Strongheart. It was a peaceful night until... Gilda started to snore.
The next morning, everypony except for Gilda had worn out faces as they trudged along the windy desert. Then, when the griffon was hovering up in the sky, she saw the end of the desert and swooped down to meet with the others. “Hey, I see we are not far away from solid ground!” she exclaimed enthusiastically.
“Awesome,” Spike cheered.
“I think I’ve seen enough sand,” Braeburn chuckled.
“Let’s get going then,” Little Strongheart said as they marched on their way. A few moments later, they saw what appears to be a ruin over the desert, with something shining at the pinnacle of the old tower like ruin. “That’s the temple where the mirror is located,” Little Strongheart explained to the puzzled members of the group. “We better be careful from now,” she said warningly. All of them nodded except for Gilda, who flew casually ahead.
With that, they kept walking over the sandy hills of the desert, blasted by a series of strong winds but they took no heed. They were so close to reach solid land until Strongheart whispered. “Stop.” They all stopped on their tracks. The Little Strongheart’s head darted left and right as if she was searching for something. “Now,” she began, whispering. “Nopony say anything, don’t move, don’t talk and don’t scream, understand?” she whispered warningly.
Little Strongheart carefully looked over her shoulder and noticed the group had a decent enough space between each other. It was a perfect condition to execute her plan. “Gilda,” she whispered. “I need you to trust me.”
“Why should I?” she whispered back.
“Because if you want to live, you’ll listen to me,” Strongheart hissed.
“Fine,” Gilda sighed glumly.
“I need you to take off into the sky as fast and as far as you can. Don’t look back, and don’t even think to slow down,” Little Strongheart instructed, whispering. “Do you understand?”
“Fine,” Gilda whispered back.
“On my mark, ready....” Little Strongheart silently whispered. “Now!” she yelled. Without a millisecond late, Gilda rocketed into the sky as the ground where she stood erupted and a colossal snake with no eyes was right behind her – barely escaping the snake’s sharp fangs. The snake noticed it was not able to catch its prey and dived back into the sandy ground, causing the earth below to tremble.
“What was that?” Spike shrieked, dreaded by the sight of the monster and Braeburn was stunned until he was unable to move or say anything.
“Sand snakes,” the Little Strongheart hissed. She looked at Gilda’s direction and beckoned her to hover closer with series of nods. Spike saw that both Gilda and Strongheart we planning on something. He noticed Gilda protested to whatever they were planning but finally gave in, sighing exasperatedly. She slowly flew towards Braeburn’s saddlebag and took out a pot. She hovered above the group and whispered the plan.
“I’ll hit the pot to distract the snake,” she whispered, glaring at the Strongheart. “You guys run as fast as you can, got it?” she whispered as she looked at Spike. Without another word, all of them nodded in agreement.
“Now!” Gilda yelled as she hit the pot as loud as she could. The ground beneath her erupted and she quickly dodged the attack. At the same time, the group broke into a dash as they were running on a sandy death trap. As Gilda hit the pot to distract the colossal snake from getting the group, two more emerged in front of them.
“We’re on its nest, run!” Strongheart screamed as the group was starting to get tired. Spike was huffing as he slowly getting left behind by the group, his heart filling with horror and hopelessness as the sand around him bursts and the sand snakes were chasing beneath him. Spike felt the sands under his legs began to tremble and suddenly he was flung into the air as the snake let out a primal hiss. He was falling into the mouth of the beast, waiting for his end. Gilda swiftly caught him just in time and flapped her wings like she never before. Gilda expertly dodged the barrage of attacks until she crashed onto the solid ground, skidding into a halt.
The rest of the group managed to escape the sandbox of death as all of them gasped for air. Spike was bawling in Gilda’s arms, crying in fear. He was tearing as he thought his end was near. Then, he heard the Gilda whispered, “You okay, pipsqueak?”
