Close The Case

Chapters

Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four

Prologue

“So,” Spike asked nonchalantly as he stood in the doorway of the Library completely unharmed, save for a few minor scratches. “What’d I miss?”

The only answer he received was Twilight rushing forward and holding him close to her chest. He heard muffled gasps from above him and felt small droplets land squarely on the top of his head.

“Spike! I’m so happy you’re back!” Twilight gasped out in between her sniffles. “I was so worried about you!”

“Yeah…thanks, Twilight. I’m happy to be back too,” Spike mumbled from the mare’s chest fur. “Now could you please let go? You’re kind of making it hard to breathe.”

Twilight dropped him immediately.

“I’m sorry, Spike,” she said sheepishly, wiping her eyes with her front hooves, obstructing the tears that were running rapidly down her face. “I just got a little carried away.”

“Hey, that you, Spike?” Rainbow Dash’s voice suddenly called out from further in the Library.

A smile became very apparent on Spike’s face as he heard the voice. He quickly dropped his small pile of belongings where he stood and ran up to the blind pegasus, sweeping her up into a hug. It was surprisingly easy to lift her now.

“Hi, Dash. It’s me,” Spike said proudly.

Rainbow Dash laughed. “I can see – er, hear that.”

A laugh escaped. Spike covered his mouth with his claws urgently, hoping that she hadn’t taken offence from the absentminded comment. Fortunately, she didn’t seem to. Instead, she gave him a pat on the head.

“Glad you’re back, kid,” Rainbow Dash said happily.

Spike grinned as he heard footsteps coming from behind him. He turned around to see Twilight walking up. In her magical aura, he saw that she was gripping his things and holding them just above his reach. Lifting his claws up in the air, he grabbed them and tossed them up over his shoulder.

“I’m just gonna go unpack these,” Spike said quickly, already beginning to make his way upstairs.

“Alright!” Twilight’s voice called back up to him. “Just be quick! We want to hear all about it!”

Spike nodded to himself. Doing as Twilight asked, he quickly made it to the bedroom and began unwrapping the small cloth that held the things he had brought to accompany him on this journey. Originally, he had quite a lot of necessary essentials. Currently, there weren’t very many. Some of the originals were lost on the trip, but that wasn’t to say that he hadn’t picked up a few things while he was away. He was reminded of this as he put each item in its proper place. However, as he got to one particular item that was placed on the far left side of the cloth, he stopped and held it in his claws for a few moments, looking at it closely, much like he had done the day before he had reached the library. Something about it drew him in for a closer look, and he wasn’t planning on stopping this habit anytime soon. After all, it was something of a gift from a…friend.

Carefully, he put it under his pillow and walked back downstairs, bracing himself for the many questions that would surely need answering. As soon as he reached the couch where Rainbow Dash was currently seated, his predictions proved themselves correct.

“So, did you find the dragon?” Twilight asked immediately, taking a seat on the floor in front of her assistant.

“Yeah, I found him all right,” Spike answered, nodding his head in conformation.

Rainbow Dash smirked menacingly.

“And how was the jerk anyways?” she asked rhetorically, tapping her front hoof on the cushion of the couch rapidly.

Spike shrugged carefully.

“He was…well, it’s a long story,” Spike sighed. The dragon wasn’t exactly sure how to put the answer in a short form, and he wasn’t sure if the answer he was able to give would be good enough, especially for the victim of the attack.

“We’ve got plenty of time, Spike,” Twilight said plainly. Rainbow Dash nodded in agreement.

The dragon leaned back on the couch and folded his hands over his lap in thought. How to start…

“Well, it turns out that the whole thing was…kind of planned out,” Spike began cautiously, scratching the back of his head with a claw.

Rainbow Dash’s wings burst out from her sides, and Twilight gasped audibly.

“What!? So you’re saying this stupid dragon PLANNED to KILL ME!?” Rainbow Dash shrieked, flapping her wings violently and hovering a few feet in the air just above the couch.

Spike jumped back, surprised by Rainbow Dash’s outburst. Of course, it was perfectly acceptable to be hysterical when you found out that something was planning to kill you, and almost succeeded. The thing that shocked him the most was how quickly and how violently the pegasus reacted. She had never acted like this when the idea was first proposed.

“Calm down, Rainbow,” Twilight soothed, getting up and carefully guiding the pegasus back onto the couch. However, Rainbow Dash wasn’t so willing.

“Calm down? How do you expect me to calm down when he’s telling me that some stupid dragon was planning to KILL me, Twilight? And he almost did, Twilight! He almost did! I would be dead right now if it wasn’t for some freaky magic!” Rainbow Dash fumed, slapping Twilight’s hooves away from her and flying even higher up to the ceiling. “I swear to Celestia, I’ll find him and I’ll kill him myself!”

“You won’t need to do that,” Spike interrupted, putting his head down sadly.

“Wha - huh?” Rainbow Dash sputtered, whirling her head around in his direction.

“What do you mean by that, Spike?” Twilight asked, raising an eyebrow as she tried get Rainbow Dash back on the couch.

“I mean he’s…already dead,” Spike sighed, pulling his knees up to his face and putting his head against them. “I was barely able to talk to him before he…well, you know.”

This news made Rainbow Dash sink back to the couch. It came as a surprise to her, it seemed, but she still had a grim smile plastered on her face as she settled back down beside Spike.

“Good riddance,” she whispered under her breath. Unfortunately, it wasn’t quite enough for Spike not to hear her.

“Hey! That’s not very nice!” he said defensively, crossing his arms over his chest in anger.

“You’re defending him?” Rainbow Dash growled in disbelief. “He BLINDED me, Spike! How could you be taking his side?”

Spike’s temper settled down, and he unclenched his fists and uncrossed his arms.

“Can you just let me tell you what happened?” Spike asked pleadingly, looking into Rainbow Dash’s dull eyes. It felt weird to do that, even though the gesture should have been so familiar. It just felt weird to know that she couldn’t see him. The more he thought about it, the more he wondered just how Rainbow Dash got on during the day. No wonder she was so angry. “I promise that it might help you understand.”

“Key word, might,” Rainbow muttered impatiently. After a few tense moments for both Spike and Twilight, Rainbow Dash spoke once again. “Okay fine, but make it quick before I change my mind.”

Twilight rolled her eyes and sighed.

“Sorry about that, Spike,” she apologized, promptly ignoring the raspberry she got from Rainbow Dash. “Please, tell us about your journey. We would both love to hear it.”

“Great,” Spike smiled. He tapped his chin a few times in concentration, before his brain finally formed his starting point. “Well, once I walked out the door, I headed down to the train station so I could…”

“Blah, blah, blah,” Rainbow Dash interrupted. “Can you just get to the good part? You know, the part I actually WANT to hear?” Rainbow Dash inquired impatiently, twirling her hoof in the air just above her head, as if that would will him to get to the part she wanted to hear.

“If I skip everything, then it won’t make sense,” Spike told her. “You have to listen to all of it.”

Rainbow Dash snorted, but didn’t say anything in return.

Just as Spike was about to make another retort, Twilight suddenly climbed onto the couch next to Rainbow Dash and whispered something that Spike could not hear. But, the words seemed to work, and Rainbow Dash gradually relaxed into Twilight’s front hooves. Spike was just about to ask what that was all about, when Twilight signaled for him to continue, hopefully without any more distractions.

“Okay, so, as I was saying…” Nothing came out of Rainbow Dash’s mouth when he looked. “It really all started when I got on that train. I really wasn’t expecting much, but life proved me wrong.”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Spike thanked the cashier at the front desk as he took his ticket. Without a glance between them after that, he made his way to the platform and stood just behind the yellow line at the edge that Twilight always told him to never cross. After looking to see that no trains were on their way at the moment, he walked back and took a seat on one of the many benches laid out across the board walk of the train station.

At this time of night, he didn’t expect any pony to be around at this time. And, wouldn’t you know it, his expectations were met. No pony was around him, other than the ponies working here. However, that wasn’t a problem, since he would much rather have solitude than company in this situation.

As he sat quietly, he thought about how Twilight expected him to pull this off. More importantly, he wondered why Twilight was sending him on this wild goose chase in the first place. So a dragon blinded Rainbow Dash. Big deal. It was done and there was nothing they could do about it. Why go through all this trouble if the outcome of what he was doing wasn’t clear? What did she expect would come from all this? Did she want answers? Closure? Vengeance? To get him out of the way? He couldn’t tell (although he did hope the last one wasn’t true). But, he would do as she asked, and hopefully they could put this whole thing behind them and get on with their lives. It wasn’t like he had anything better to do anyway.

He reached into his bag and pulled out a small map that Twilight gave him just before he left. With a finger, he traced the route that he would have to take, moving the finger up along the train tracks and pathways until the route was committed to memory. It was fairly simple. Take the train until he reached Dodge City and go on foot or on whatever he could find until he reached the dragon lands. If worse came to worst and he couldn’t take the train for some reason, then he would use the route he took when he first went on the dragon migration. Speaking of that, did he even remember that route? After thinking about it for a few minutes, the answer was no. He had been mostly following the long trail of flying dragons in the sky and really wasn’t paying any attention to any landmarks. Not to mention he never had to go back on his own, thanks to Twilight, Rarity, and Rainbow Dash. Still, that wasn’t a problem.

For now at least.

Spike nodded encouragingly to himself and wasted no time with putting the map away and leaning back against the wall, looking off into the distance to see if he could spot the approaching train. He expected to see no lights coming his way, but there they were, two shining headlights coming rapidly closer to where he sat.

After a few more moments, the screech from the train whistle finally sounded off. He grumbled under his breath, collected his things, and waited for the train to come to a halt. As it did, he saw a pony, most likely the conductor, come out onto the platform.

“All aboard!” he shouted.

Spike took a deep breath and walked up to the pony. He handed the ticket to the conductor and walked into the train once instructed. The baby dragon glanced around for an empty spot, and once he saw one that he was satisfied with, he strode over and sat down, putting his chin on his elbow and glancing out the window at the outline of Ponyville in the distance.

Well, this was it, he thought as he took in an audible gulp. This was the last look he would have of his home before going on this crazy quest. For the first time, he truly soaked in all that Ponyville had to offer. From its buildings to its fields, to the ponies who made it what it was, he preserved it in his mind, and reminded himself to thank them more often.

Then, the train began moving, and very quickly too. Much more quickly than he remembered. In almost no time at all, Ponyville became a memory, no longer in his sight. And, for the first time, he realized how lonely he was at that moment when the small town had completely disappeared.

In almost no time at all as the train rushed on throughout the land, Spike realized that there was almost nothing to look at. The rolling scenery in front of him became rather boring after a while. Pretty, but boring. The illuminated buildings and grassy fields with sparkling rivers dancing in the moonlight were cool and all, it just got a bit redundant seeing them over and over again for Celestia knows how long. His eyelids were beginning to droop, and he just didn’t seem to have the energy to gaze at the dark landscape any longer. He leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes, hoping that sleep would come easily, and that the train ride to Dodge City wouldn’t take too long. The sooner he got this done, the better he would be.

Thankfully, a few minutes after he closed his eyes, his world drifted away and left him in a peaceful state of dreamless unconsciousness. Good thing too, he didn’t have his nap today.

Chapter One

Spike was awakened by the train hitting a small rock that was left unattended on the tracks. The little dragon coughed softly as the last remnants of his peaceful sleep were forced away by the harsh reality of the sun’s rays beating down on him. And the fact the train was travelling Celestia knows how fast didn’t help his sleepy situation and just woke him up even more, to his eternal displeasure.

With a yawn, his blurry vision became clearer and he could finally see the scenery just outside of the window. The rolling hills were the same as last night, but the dust and sand that was sprinkled around various parts of the landscape were new additions to the scene. He raised an eyebrow and fumbled to take the map out of his small pile of belongings. Sure enough, he found that they were approaching Dodge Junction, and from the looks of it, they had just left Appleloosa. The thought lifted a small weight off his chest. He didn’t miss his stop, and he was still on track. That was good, and he could relax.

After a few more minutes of sitting around and waiting, the train finally pulled into the station without a moment to spare. Spike eagerly grabbed his things and made his way to the front of the train. It was much easier to get off the train than to get on the train, and that made his life a whole lot more relaxing. When he stepped off the stairs and onto the dusty ground beneath him, he saw the train racing back down the tracks carelessly, heading back to Appleloosa, seeing as this stop was at the end of the line. But, Spike could care less.

Looking around, he saw, to his surprise, nothing of interest and nothing that caught his eye, begging for his attention. Then again, perhaps that was a good thing. He wasn’t exactly here for sightseeing, after all. Seeing no pony he knew around, he quickly flung his bag over his shoulder and got out the map once again. Even though he had memorized it, he argued that it was always better to carry it with him. Much better to be safe than sorry, Spike told himself easily.

Locating his position on the map was rather easy, as was figuring out where he needed to go next to get to the dragon lands. The hard part would be the journey itself. For a fleeting moment, he wondered how long this would take. When would he get back to Ponyville? When would he get back to his friends? He had no way of accurately knowing. But, nevertheless he hoped that with his being away to find answers, some normalcy for Rainbow Dash, Twilight, and the rest of their friends would be able to resurface.

Celestia knows they needed it.

Taking a deep breath, he lifted his knee, and was soon on his way. It seemed almost automatic the way he did it, but it got him to where he needed to go, and soon enough, Dodge Junction was behind him, much faster than he anticipated. It was a rather small town, so that was probably why the time seemed to fly by. And when the town was fully behind him and he entered a forested area (most likely the Hayseed Swamps, from what his map was telling him), he could already feel the danger peeling from the bark of the many trees that surrounded him in an organic cage. His senses heightened as the large canopy above him sent his world into darkness, and every noise seemed to ring in his ears as he grew more and more paranoid. Was he ever this jumpy before? Maybe in the Everfree Forest, but then again, he had some pony with him, even if he wasn’t aware of it at the time. Now, even though he knew that the statement coming up was kind of getting old, he was alone.

The first few minutes of his venture into the forest was fine enough. Nothing seemed to be crawling about, waiting for just the right moment to prance up and eat him. There were only a few harmless animals running around his feet, and the occasional branch that snapped from behind him, but he learned not to turn around. That was the number one way to get killed, or so the many horror movies he watched with his friends had told him. It was only when he reached a small clearing, where the sun was visible once again, that he heard a low growl coming from behind him.

Right behind him.

He froze in place, muscles stuck taut and unwilling to move. The dragon took deep, ragged breaths, barely daring to do anything else.

“It’s okay, Spike,” he said quietly to himself. “Nothing’s there…it’s probably just the wind. Yeah, that’s all it is…the-the wind…”
Another growl, this time much louder than the last rang out in his eardrums. If he didn’t know any better, he would say that the creature behind him, if there even was a creature, was mocking him, pushing his buttons, seeing just how far he could push Spike into a terrifying defeat. But, Spike was braver than that. No matter what, he would not give in to the current situation.

Even if he was absolutely mortified.

Gulping loudly, he finally willed his shaking legs to move, eager to get out of here and leave whatever it was that was following him behind him. Unfortunately, the creature had other plans. For every step Spike took, the creature’s breath matched his steps exactly, and the growls grew louder and louder each time he tried to escape. After a while, he was pretty sure that whatever was behind him could smell the fear radiating off him at a rapid pace. Then, with another growl, and another few steps, Spike had finally had enough.

“Hey!” he called out into the darkness. “Why don’t you stop hiding like the coward you are and come out! I’m not afraid of you!” At the time, he was sure that he meant what he said. He wasn’t afraid of whatever dragon-eating beast that was surely going to tear him limb from limb and save him the mercy of a quick and painless death. But, what were the chances of that happening?

Apparently those chances were quite large.

A large brown paw shot out of the bush right in front of him.

Spike’s last batch of courage snapped and he took off, running blindly through the trees, not caring what his destination was. His instincts took over, screaming at him to get away from whatever it was that was putting him in danger. So, there he went, screaming and running down the pathway of the forest in an almost comical fashion, thinking that the monster was right on his tail. He could almost feel its foul breath on his shoulder…or maybe that was just the wind.

What he didn’t know was the beast wasn’t chasing him. It wasn’t even interested in him, the thing that held its interest was its nap being interrupted by a loud screaming sound.

Harry the Bear blinked blearily as the strange cry knocked him out of his dream. He moved his head from side to side as he pulled his paw back in towards his body, hoping to keep it warm. Wasn’t that crying sound coming from that little dragon Fluttershy played around with sometimes? And why was he running? It was such a nice day. Ah well, Harry figured. His loss. Without a second thought he closed his eyes and drifted back into his earlier state of sleep, not caring about anything whatsoever.

Meanwhile, Spike was still in ‘Oh-Celestia-what’s-chasing-me-I-don’t-want-to-die’ mode. His feet tore at the ground, digging up dirt as he ran mercilessly through the forest, snapping twigs and whatever unlucky pieces of nature were unfortunate enough to be in his trampling path. He felt his heart pound against his ribcage as the adrenaline from before began to wear off, and common sense began to set back in. Why was he running from something that was probably more scared of him than he was of it? There was a good question, and one that he was not exactly determined to answer. Slowly, ever so slowly, he began to slow down, his frantic sprint coming to a close until he stopped entirely. He turned around very carefully, once again holding his breath in case something really WAS there. Luckily, there was no such thing.

He was safe.

He was also a pretty big scaredy dragon.

Ignoring the urge to slam his palm into his forehead, he observed his surroundings carefully, trying to figure out where in the wide world of Equestria he was. It was easy to tell where he had come from, if he looked at the torn branches and upturned dirt just behind him. The hard part was figuring out just how far he had run. Without a second thought, he took out the map from his bag and looked at it, trying to trace back his steps. It would only take a second, he told himself.

Seconds slowly trickled into minutes.

This was taking far longer than he thought it would.

By his calculations, he should still be in the forest, but he was currently in a swampy area. That couldn’t be right, he thought as he tried to trace his finger over his path again and again, not willing to believe that he was wrong and that the map was just faulty. Then he realized that he was just being stubborn. Sighing, he took another look at the map and made another plan. He would find the shoreline that was right beside the swamp and travel to his destination from there. The first thing he needed to do, however, was get out of this swamp.

There was something about this swamp, he thought to himself as he glanced around over his shoulder and in all directions, something he didn’t like. He couldn’t put his finger on it, but he had a strange feeling that something bad was going to happen, and if he stayed in one place any longer, then something bad would happen. With that thought in mind, he kept moving, his pace turning into a slow jog as he headed to the left, hoping that it would get him out of here.

He had no idea how long he had traveled, or for how long, but when he looked up at the gaps in the canopy he saw that the sky was getting darker and darker as time went on. Before long, the ground below him and his surroundings became almost invisible, shrouded in darkness. His mind began to grow panicked. What if he got lost? What if he was here in this swamp forever? What if he got eaten? What he got lost then eaten?

Then he would surely be here forever.

Before another thought that formed a worst case scenario popped into his head, he finally saw an opening in between two large trees. His eyes lit up in anticipation. There it was! Freedom from this horrid place! And just in time too. Now, he could barely see anything around him, much less predators that were silently stalking him in the night. It was good to finally see something other than trees and the murky darkness clouding around his feet.

Sprinting now, he finally crashed through the trees and was on the other side of the swamps and on the coastline separating the sea from the land. Taking a deep breath in through his nose, he practically smelt freedom, and some salt that was coming from the ocean that cleared his sinuses as he breathed in. He, come to think of it, had never been to the ocean before. The water was foreign to him, but at the same time it was more than inviting, the salty sea air encasing his nostrils and refusing to relinquish its grasp. Luna’s moon reflected down on the water, making the water sparkle in the moonlight above.

He looked back at the forest behind him, and wondered how long he had been in there, stumbling aimlessly about. However, that thought didn’t last very long. If there was one thing he didn’t want to think about right now, it was that swamp. The creepy feeling from before was slowly ebbing away, and the way he saw it, there was no reason for him to bring it back and psyche himself out about it again. Taking one last look at the dark swamp, he strolled down to the white sand that lined the ocean and decided to walk along that, just for a change in scenery, and what a change it was from the dark dreary swamp. He would love to sit about and watch the moon slowly roll through the sky, but he had a job to do, and he was determined to see it through.

Feeling better in the open space, he quickly turned down the shoreline and began walking. Spike wanted to get to the border that separated Equestria from the dragon lands soon, and judging from the map in his mind’s eye, that would only take him a couple more hours. The moon was still fairly low on the horizon, and he could still see delicate streaks of orange, pink, and yellow darting across the open sky. It was dark, and it would get darker. That thought kind of unnerved him, but he felt better now that he was in an open space, and not in that creepy swamp.

Looking ahead of him, all he saw was the sandy beach stretching as far as his eyes could see. He would have looked on the map to see how far it went exactly, but it only stretched to as far as Equestria was, and cut off somewhere along the beach, rendering it useless now. That meant he would have to find his way on his own. But, he could get by, he told himself as he kept walking, hoping that he would get where he needed to go soon. There was no telling what would come out of that forest at night. Still, who would pick on a dragon, right?

Perhaps he should have worded that phrase differently.

A lot of things would pick on a baby dragon.

Still, he was determined not to let his fear get the best of him and continued on.

It took a few hours, as he expected, but he finally saw a lone harbor with a shack in the distance just in front of a large forest filled with pine trees. The shack and harbor themselves looked small and rickety, but at least it was reassuring to know that there was still some civilization around him. Almost immediately, his tired legs began to go into overdrive, pushing his pace into a slow run until he began to near the harbor. When he did, and the intricate details of splintering wood and rusting nails began to become clearer to him, he came to a halt.

“Umm…hello?” he called out.

A low growl answered him, much like the one from before. But this time, he was determined to keep his cool, and not freak out like a little baby. So, he tried again as he walked up the rickety steps.

“Is there anybody here?” he asked into the darkness.

“Who’s there?” a scratchy voice called out.

He jumped when he saw a dark head pop out from the cabin. It was almost reptilian and had huge yellow eyes that had black pupils narrowed into thin slits. Other than that striking feature, he couldn’t make out anything else from the creature. Frankly, he wasn’t sure whether to be scared or curious. He would’ve liked to get to know this individual, but then he remembered that he still had things he needed to do.

“Uh, hi,” he said, closing the distance between him and the figure. Now that he was closer, he saw that it was a dragon. A very small, thin dragon. “I’m Spike, and I was just wondering if you have a map. You see, I’m just looking for…”

“Spike, eh?” the creature laughed, interrupting him. He, judging from the voice he possessed, walked out into the open and circled around Spike. “You’re certainly a little thing, aren’t ya?”

“Hey, I’m not little!” Spike protested, crossing his arms over his chest.

The dragon laughed.

“Sure you’re not,” he chuckled, patting the baby dragon’s head. He was bipedal, and had very thin arms with claws on the fingertips, not unlike other dragons, but still keeping a unique feature. “So, what brings you out this way, Spike?”

“I’m just looking for a dragon,” Spike answered cautiously, not willing to trust this eccentric stranger just yet.

“Well, there’s a lot of dragons, kid,” he said. “You’re gonna have to be a bit more specific.”

Spike grunted. He tried to remember the details Rainbow Dash had given him about the dragon that attacked her. Unfortunately, it seemed in the midst of him being terrified the majority of the day, he had forgotten some of it. Tapping his foot, he searched his mind for the details.

“If you ain’t gonna tell me, then I ain’t gonna help ya, and I’m assuming that’s what you need,” the dragon said, his lips curling into a deep frown. “I don’t got a lot of patience, ya know.”

“I could tell,” Spike replied. “I’m just trying to remember. Look, I’m finding the dragon for my friend; he attacked her and…”

“Wait…attacked ‘er, you say?” the strange dragon interrupted, reaching down to Spike’s meager eye level.

“Yeah, do you know anything about it?” Spike asked hopefully.

He snorted. “I’d be surprised if anyone hasn’t heard about it. It’s been the talk around these here dragon parts for months…I would ask why you haven’t heard about it, but seeing as how you came from them pony lands, and you’re asking about it, I’m assuming you’re new.”

Spike laughed nervously.

“Yeah, you could say that,” he chuckled wearily. “So, can you help me?”

“To an extent,” the dragon muttered. His tone piqued Spike’s interest.

“What do you mean?” he asked cautiously.

“If I tell ya everything…let’s just say I won’t be here to help you next time,” came the bitter reply. “The stuff about the attack is very hush-hush. Even though practically everyone knows about it, behind the scenes is still telling us to shut up and forget it. Why? I couldn’t tell you if I tried.” By the end of that, the dragon had a strange look in his eye Spike couldn’t understand.

“Huh…” Spike said slowly, his gaze not wavering. “Well, can you at least tell me how to find him?”

It seemed that the offer came as a surprise.

“Didn’t you just hear what I said?”

“Yeah, I heard it,” Spike answered, “But this is really important! It could mean life or death for my friend!”

“So, you’re friends with the pony that got the short end of the deal, eh?” the dragon assumed suddenly.

“Uh…yeah?”

“Well…” The dragon’s expression grew into one of thoughtfulness, and left much up to Spike’s imagination. He could only wonder what was behind the stoic poker face and what emotions were concealed from the outside world. “Alright…but if you see my head on a pole here mounted in the dirt next time you come around, don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

The sentence was simple, but sent chill running gown his spine all the same.

“Let’s see…the dragon who hurt your friend is probably west of here by now, seeing that they banished him for…whatever reason…this is harder than I would have thought. I suppose that all you need to do is ask around for the ‘exiled one’ and someone’ll give you an answer sooner or later,” the dragon answered cryptically.

“Wait, can’t you lead me to him?” Spike asked urgently. “You seem to know a lot.”

The dragon simply laughed.

“Sorry, kid,” he answered. “There’s only so much I know, and so much I’m allowed to do. Tell ya what though, I’ll point you in the right direction, and then leave you on your way. That sound good?”

The dragon’s offer was inviting. At least this way he would still have some guidance on his journey. Who know? It might benefit him in the long run.

“Sure, I’m in,” Spike replied.

“Great,” he answered. “But, I’m gonna leave you once you’re in the right direction. So, don’t think that this is a long-term deal. Got it? Good.” He turned away from Spike without waiting for a reply. Flicking his narrow tail, he switched something in the shack before stalking off into another forested area just behind them.

“Hey!” Spike called out, running to try and catch up with his strange new guide. “Where are you going?”

“You want to find that dragon, right?” he asked once Spike caught up to him.

Spike inhaled heavily, trying desperately to catch his breath. He would be the first to admit that he wasn’t in the best of shape, and all those gems Twilight gave him on weekends as a treat certainly wasn’t helping him in anyway. Spike made a mental note to tell Twilight to stop doing that, no matter how much he would miss it.

“Yeah…” he said after several deep breaths.

“Then we have to get moving,” his guide told him sternly, swerving his head in every which way. The dragon was antsy, that much was clear to Spike, but from what? “There’s no telling what’s watching us around these parts.”

This put Spike on edge. His body became hyper sensitive once again as they walked through the carboniferous trees, aware of almost everything that was going on around him. He swore that something was following him, and it was a very scary feeling. Looking up at his guide, he saw the biped had on a stoic but thoughtful expression. Once again, Spike wondered what the mysterious dragon was thinking.

“Uh…” Spike started, getting fed up with the silence that now surrounded them. “So…”

“So,” the dragon replied.

“How’s the weather around here?” Spike asked casually.

The dragon kept staring forward.

“Pretty mild,” he replied, his voice devoid of all emotions.

“Mild season, huh?” Spike laughed warily. He had to keep this conversation going. If not for this strange dragon, then for his own sanity.

The dragon, to his surprise, stopped and turned back to him, his yellow eyes amused, but annoyed.

“Look, kid, we’re not friends,” the dragon said bluntly. “And I can tell that you don’t want to talk to me. Frankly, I don’t really want to talk to you. You’re just lucky that I’m doing this, and that I’m in a good mood.” Without a second look, the dragon turned his head back so that he was facing forward once again. Then, he took off at a slow run. This took Spike by surprise, and didn’t help him keep up at all. As the time went on, he was more certain of his dislike for this guide than anything else.

“Hey! Stop running!” Spike demanded when he finally caught up.

“Can’t,” the dragon replied simply.

“Why?” Spike wanted to know.

“They’re watching.”

Spike’s eyes widened. The rest of the trip was silent, and hopefully that was enough for them to go unnoticed by whatever it was that the guide was talking about. That silence, however heavenly the strange dragon thought it was, was becoming a weight on Spike’s mind as they walked for what seemed like forever. Finally having enough, he opened his mouth to speak as they came to a large clearing. But, he was unable to even start his sentence when his guide stuck his fleshy tail into his mouth.

“Hush…don’t talk,” the dragon whispered. “Understand?”

Spike nodded as best he could with the tail in his mouth.

“Good.” Without hesitation, the dragon removed his tail from Spike’s mouth and knelt down to the little dragon’s eye-level, speaking in a hushed tone. “Do you see that mountain in the distance; just ahead of you?”

Spike looked. Almost immediately, the large gray blob in the distance caught his eye. And it perfectly lined up to where his tour guide was pointing.

“Yeah, I see it,” Spike replied.

“You need to get to that,” his guide told him. “Once you do, climb to the very top; there’s a cave up there. You’ll find what you’re looking for there. Now go. There’s no time to lose.” With that, Spike was pushed forward again and again.

“Wait, what about you?” Spike asked innocently. “Aren’t you coming with me?”

The dragon laughed bitterly.

“I almost wish I could.”

The silence welcomed itself back in between them. It wasn’t until there was a loud snapping sound coming from their right that Spike was encouraged to get going.

“You better go, kid,” the dragon told him.

Spike turned around to leave. But before he did, he looked over his shoulder and back at the dragon.

“Will I ever see you again?” he asked innocently.

“Maybe…don’t worry about me,” the dragon urged.

“What’s your name?” Spike prompted, trying to get a solid answer.

“That’s for another time,” the dragon sighed. “Just go. Be careful, Spike.”

“I will…thank you.”

“No problem.”

With that and a small nod, the baby dragon was off, running as fast as his stubby legs could carry him.

The dragon watched him go in defeat. He had missed his chance. Again. And there it went, running off into the distance and soon enough it turned into a bright green blob before it disappeared from sight completely. He was alone again.

Or so he thought.

He didn’t have any time to react before something rushed into him, knocking him to the ground and effectively pushing all the air from his lungs. As he lay there, moaning and kicking at the ground for air, he saw…something that was similar to a dragon waltz up from the gloom of the forest behind him, as well as several other things that were most likely accompanying him. Well, there they were. They had found him.

“You knew the deal,” the lead dragon growled, not wasting any time with giving him a distinct backhand to the cheek, snapping his head back.

“So what?” the dragon spat, his raspy voice still not completely back.

“You knew what the consequences would be if you told any outsiders about the…incident,” the intruder growled, taking his face in his claws and pushing the razor sharp tips into his cheeks. The dragons eyes widened as he felt trickles of blood drip down his face and land on the ground, forming a small puddle underneath him. “And now, you will face them for directly disobeying our orders.”

“You mean his orders,” the dragon spat out.

“Shut it, you wretch.”

He had no time to speak as his head was slammed against the forest floor again and again. The pain was almost unimaginable as he felt his skull cracking under the pressure, the hard bone softening at the blunt trauma it was forced to endure. When he looked down, he saw the small puddle grow even larger. Still, it wasn’t anything he wasn’t used to, so he just took it silently, trying to detach himself from the torture his head was currently being put through. The ground below him was hard, but his will was much harder. There was no way he was going to show weakness around these idiots. He would stay strong. And it seemed he would have to be, for these dragons seemed to take pleasure from his pain.

Eventually, the torture was over. The dragon’s vision was fuzzy as he tried to regain his bearings, to get up, to get away, but a strong claw held him down.

“You’ve out-lived your usefulness,” the lead dragon said emotionlessly. “Any last words?”

The dragon laughed before spitting out a glob of blood.

“Go to tartarus.”

A stream of blood spewed out from the newly detached head that rolled across the forest floor.

The leader looked at his kill proudly, licking the blood off his stained claws in long slow strokes.

“Are we going after that other one?” one of his men asked.

The leader stayed silent for a few moments, then he turned back to face his troupe.

“No,” he told his men. “He can have a head start. It’s more fun that way.”

Chapter Two

Spike heeded the advice of the nameless dragon that was still stuck in the forest, running as fast as he could into the distance, not daring to look back. The haunting words he had heard the dragon say were all he needed to know that something wasn’t right about all this, and that he had to figure out what. But as he was running, he realized that it was much too quiet, and that he should hear something. He got a feeling in the very pit of his stomach, but he quelled the concern as quickly as it had come up, and focused on this winding path ahead of him.

The slow burning he felt in his legs when he had begun had sparked into a fire that knew no mercy. He knew he had to keep moving, but he had to rest as well, if only for a while. But, that didn’t mean he had to stop. Almost reluctantly, he forced his aching legs to slow their sprint, and they obeyed. His pace was now a slow walk. It did two things. The first thing it did was give him a very uncomfortable feeling in his gut; the feeling that he was being watched from the shadows by anonymous eyes, and the second thing it did was give him a chance to look at the scenery.

The mountain the dragon had pointed out still dominated the landscape, but it was still very far away. For a few moments, he wondered just how long it would take him to get there, and what would be in his way along the journey. Surely there would be many obstacles, some would be much worse than others, and one might even... He shuddered at the thought. Gripping his things just a little bit tighter, he took the time to look around him. The landscape was mostly bland, a few trees and shrubberies scattered here and there, but that was really it, save for the rocky ground he was currently walking on. It was different than what he was used to, and so utterly bland. If he made it out of this mission alive, which he would, he reminded himself, he certainly wouldn’t come back for the scenery.

Now that he was back in the open space, he finally found himself growing more relaxed, although he still felt the strange feeling that something was watching him from the shadows. But, he decided that he wouldn’t focus on that. Instead, he would focus on the matter at hand, and the matter that was much more important than his own petty suspicions.

The guide had explained it well enough. He just needed to get to that mountain that was so far in front of him. Taking a deep breath, he walked at a much faster pace.

“It can’t be that far ahead,” Spike said to himself, desperate for something to break the silence. “Maybe it’s just the perspective, or something like that…that has to be it.”

Somehow he didn’t quite believe it.

Then, just as he was beginning to get comfortable…

“Hey, you hear something?”

As soon as he heard that Spike crashed through a nearby tree to try and conceal himself from whatever was approaching him. He made no movement and tried his best to look smaller in any way he could. Spike swore he stopped breathing for a few seconds. Hopefully that was enough to convince whatever it was that there was nothing of interest here, and that they could move on to bigger pastures, as the saying went. Finally, just as he was running out of air and his face was turning blue, he didn’t hear anything moving around him. At least, he thought he didn’t. Carefully, he took a slow excruciating breath in, and poked his head out of the low branch he was currently cowering in.

As far as he could tell, nothing was there. It was either the thing chasing him had moved on, or teleported somewhere else spontaneously. Personally, he didn’t care which option it chose, he was just glad it was gone. Even with the reassurance that he was no longer being watched, he still stayed behind that branch for the next…ten minutes? Maybe fifteen? There was no point in trying to count the minutes that went by, and that would probably make him more nervous than it was worth anyway. Hesitantly, he crawled out of his hiding spot, took another nervous look around, and continued on his way once he was convinced it was safe for him to do so. But, it didn’t stop him from being paranoid.

Just being out here made him so much more aware of himself, he remarked inwardly. Every time something seemed to move in the distance or he thought he heard something behind him, he would jump in surprise and pick up his pace, trying to hang onto the hope that nothing was following him even as he ventured out further into the wilderness. Once or twice he was sure that whatever it was had picked back up on his trail, not that it wasn’t hard to follow in the first place, and was silently stalking him. Almost immediately he pushed the thoughts back to wherever they came from, still not willing to let his fears take over.

Time had passed by quickly and he finally felt and heard his stomach cry desperately for his attention. He looked around nervously once again, wondering if it would be a good idea to stop for a lunch break. It took a little convincing, and a lot of looking around over his shoulder, but he finally found a secluded spot just out of sight. Eagerly, he sat down and took out the food that he had packed. He kept it in one of those containers Twilight had bought so that it didn’t spoil, and it turned out to be a good thing too.

As he ate he wondered how things were back home. Judging by the sun, it was around midday, maybe a bit later. What were Twilight and her friends doing? He wished that he was there, not stuck on this stupid trip. Spike still thought that it was a wild goose chase. Maybe if he had tried pushing for his way a little bit harder, then Twilight would not have made the decision to do this. But…it was also going to a good cause, he guessed. So, he would just have to put up with it, he thought as he ate the last bits of his meal and put the empty container back in his pack. He really wanted to gorge down the food, but he knew that he still had a long way to go, and limited things to eat. Now more than ever, he needed to be careful of his rations.

The sun felt hot on his stomach as he sat there in silence. It was rather tempting for him to just stay there, not in any danger. It was a relaxing feeling, to say the least, and he wanted it to stay like that. He knew that what he was thinking of was just something that he couldn’t do. Twilight needed him to do this and even if he didn’t know why, he would do it.

Reluctantly, he gathered his things and went out again. The sunlight that had settled itself on his scales felt nice and calmed his nerves. His pace was much more lethargic than it had been in the morning, and his erratic breathing style had stopped. The dragon had also grown a bit less aware, and less frightened of what might happen to be lurking in the shadows. Even so, he was still watching out as he walked down the path, just being quiet and small enough not to be noticed.

As the day wore on, minute by passing minute, Spike began to grow annoyed when he realized how little progress he had made. The grey blob in the distance didn’t seem to be getting any bigger. But when he looked back to where he had come from, he couldn’t even see the forest anymore, just a big dark green patch covering the horizon. How far was this stupid mountain anyway? Spike grumbled quietly to himself as he kicked a stray rock in his path.

“Did you hear that?” someone asked from…beside him?

He had to cover his mouth with a hand to avoid the shocked gasp that was fighting to move past his lips. Spike dashed to the side opposite to where the voice was coming from. As he crashed through the brush, he hoped he hadn’t made too much noise.

“Okay, I heard something that time,” another voice, different from the first, said suspiciously.

Spikes eye narrowed as he studied the voices inwardly. Was it just him…or did they sound familiar? He couldn’t pin exactly where he had heard them, it just felt like he had heard them somewhere before a long time ago.

“Why don’t you guys split up?” the first voice offered, taking on a sort of leadership role. “We’ll find him easier that way.”

“Right!” the other two exclaimed.

After that there was a few creaks and some branches snapping, but overall it was as silent as before, which made Spike even more nervous. What could those things want? They were definitely searching for him, there was no doubt about it, but what could they want with him? If anything, they probably wanted something to eat, and he was probably the only thing available. The thought sent chills down his spine. But, he couldn’t let fear take over. Instead, he would act calmly, and try to think things through.

Taking a deep breath, he hoisted his head around to look out at the pathway, just looking enough so that he wouldn’t be spotted. Luckily, it worked. Nothing jumped out at him and he could see nothing in sight, for the moment, at least. But, that was good enough for him. He carefully edged his way out of his hiding place and began running, hopefully to find another, better, hiding place from the three that were looking for him.

Spike didn’t know how long he had been running, but his legs were beginning to burn. Sooner or later he was going to tire out, and he needed all the strength he could get for outrunning the dragons, he presumed, that were chasing him. But, he knew that he couldn’t stay out in the open. Every minute or so, he thought he could hear calls in the distance, and every minute they sounded closer than the last. They would find him without a doubt. So, turning his head in every direction he could think of, he searched for a place to hide. But all that he saw was rocks and trees. His hope was starting to dwindle down into nothing, but then he saw it.

The cave was just lying on a grove of trees, shielded so that if someone didn’t have a good eye, then it would be completely invisible to them. Taking one last look around to make sure he couldn’t see whatever it was that was chasing him, he dashed into the cave once the coast was clear. As soon as he got inside, he could see that it wasn’t the biggest cave around. It could probably hold a teenage dragon comfortably, and he had no problem getting in, but the downfall of it was that it wasn’t a very large cave either, and he got to the end of it about twenty feet from the entrance. Still, it was a rather well-hidden cave, and he was glad for the safety. Then, as he relaxed, he heard the same voices from before, just outside.

“Did we lose it?” one asked as he listened.

“I dunno,” another voice replied. “I can’t hear anything around here anymore.”

“Eh, must have moved on,” the first voice said. “We should get going.”

“No, I know something’s still around here somewhere,” a new voice replied. The tone was a suspicious growl, and was just enough to make Spike back up a little bit further into the cave nervously.

“Come on, dude,” the first voice argued in annoyance, “We’ve been at it for, like, hours! Let’s just go home and get something to eat.”

“We’ll have something to eat if I can get this!” the other one replied, still not giving up, no matter how much Spike willed him to. “I know it’s around here somewhere!”

“You know what?” the other voice replied. “Fine. If you think it’s out here, then you can go look for it. We’ll be at the hangout if you bring it back.”

“Alright, I will,” the voice said.

That seemed to be it. All Spike heard was a few footsteps, some more cracks from broken branches, and then silence. Or, at least he thought it was silent after about five minutes of holding his breath and trying to be invisible. The world seemed to be frozen, but at least he was safe, or what was considered safe here.

Carefully, he gathered his courage and walked carefully to the entrance of the cave. When he got there, he poked his head out and looked in all directions, making sure that the coast was clear before he ventured out into the open any further. After looking to the left for the fifth time, he finally decided that it was safe for him to go out.

He should really have known better.

To his surprise, his head was grabbed by something from above him and yanked upward into the sky. He had no time to react to it or run away, and barely enough time to scream before he was face to face with what turned out to be a red dragon.

A very familiar looking red dragon.

“Huh…well, you’re not what I was expecting,” the dragon said as he examined Spike in his claws. “And…wait a second.” The dragon’s expression turned sour and Spike was suddenly plummeting to the ground The impact didn’t hurt him, but it rendered him breathless as he lay sprawled on the ground. Then, he was aware of the dragon landing right by his head.

“Uh…” Spike said, finally catching his breath and gazing nervously up to the face of the dragon. “Hi?”

“Hi there, Spike.” The words were laced with so much venom it was almost like the dragon above him had to spit them out one by one. And suddenly, Spike understood.

“You!?” he gasped out, covering his mouth with one hand while the other was used to help him scoot away from the offender.

“Yeah, me.”

It was indeed him. The red dragon that was the leader of that stupid gang Spike had encountered when he went on the Dragon Migration. He remembered the days vividly now, and he wished he hadn’t. Then, if he was here, then those other voices he had heard must have been those other two that he always hung out with.

“Uh…” Spike began, trying to calm down. “So, how’s it been for you? After, you know, I ruined your lunch.”

“Oh, shut it!” the dragon, Spike believed his name was Garble, retorted impatiently. “I’m still mad at you for that, and now that those stupid ponies aren’t here to protect you…” One claw was leaning menacingly down at his neck as the dragon trailed off. But, it didn’t come fast enough for Spike not to be able to move out of the way. He scrambled upward and faced down the dragon, still trying not to let his fear show.

“Hey, they’re not stupid!” Spike defended.

“Whatever,” Garble sighed. “I don’t care. And it’s not like you’re worth my time anyway.”

“Great, because I’ve got a mission to get back to,” Spike said, picking his things off the ground and walking towards the mountain once again.

“Wait, mission?” Garble asked, flying over in front of Spike and effectively stopping him in his tracks. “What kind of mission could a little squirt like you go on anyways?”

“One, I’m not little,” Spike said, clenching his fists as he tried to find a way through the elder dragon. But, whichever way he went was imitated by Garble. “And two, I’m on a very important mission to help my friend.”

“One of your pony friends?” Garble teased, putting his hands on his broad hips.

“Yeah, what’s it to you?” Spike growled. “And if you must know, one of your stupid dragon friends or whatever blinded her. To, you know, save yourself the trouble of asking…”

“Wait…” Garble’s expression softened into a suspicious glare. “You’re talking about…”

“So you know?” Spike gasped in surprise. “Huh, that guy wasn’t kidding when he said everyone knew. Now, if you could just get out of my way, I’ll be out of your mane- err, scales.” He started to fulfill his promise, when he was surprisingly picked up by Garble.

“Wait, what guy?” Garble asked, his angered expression fully disappeared and was instead replaced by a sort of curious glint in his eyes after looking around to make sure no other being was around to hear them.

“Oh, just some dragon down by that harbor behind the forest,” Spike answered, pointing in the direction he was talking about. When he looked, the dark green of the forest seemed so utterly far away. His determined expression vanished for a few moments, but Garble didn’t seem to notice.

“Well, you’re pretty brave, going after…him,” he said begrudgingly, putting the younger dragon down. “Not many dragons would do that, especially not some squirt who was raised by some namby-pamby ponies.”

“Hey, those are my friends you’re talking about!” Spike defended, his anger growing rapidly. “And I’m going on this whole stupid thing for them, so if you can just leave me alone then we’ll both be happy.” Not standing to stay around any longer, he turned on his heels and briskly walked forward. He was barely aware that he was still on the trail as his anger was hazing both his vision and his sense of direction. How dare this stupid dragon call them stupid? Maybe he was overreacting, but he didn’t care about that at the moment. He didn’t care that he was on some wild goose chase, he didn’t even care that Garble was following him.

Wait…

As Garble flew in front of him, Spike halted abruptly and glared at the elder dragon.

“What do you want now?” he spat. It was kind of funny when he thought about it. They had barely been talking for five minutes and yet the guy was just so…changeable.

Garble took a deep breath, rubbing the back of his head with his hand sheepishly, then he spoke in a very resigned, embarrassed manner.

“I’m sorry for calling those…ponies stupid,” he said reluctantly. “I just…”

“Just what?” Spike grumbled.

“Stop rushing me!” Garble growled, poking Spike in the chest roughly. “I just wanted to know if you need someone to come with you…” His voice trailed off into a barely audible whisper by the end of it, but to Spike it was loud and clear.

“Wait…you want to what?” Spike gasped, his head tilting in major confusion.

“Look, I’m not doing this for you, let’s get that point across right now,” Garble growled in annoyance. “I’m doing this for me. The jerk stole something from me that I won’t get back, and I want revenge.”

Spike blinked, barely daring to believe what he was hearing. Revenge? That seemed like a pretty stupid, yet all too plausible reason for this former enemy to want to come with him. It was true that he was doing something like that himself, but it wasn’t just purely for revenge. This guy on the other hand… In his mind, he rolled around the pros and cons of the decisions and various outcomes it would most certainly have. There was always the chance that he was just doing this to get back at Spike for ruining their ‘fun time’ in the dragon migration, and when he wasn’t looking, or had his back turned and his guard lowered, he would strike. And then there was the possibility that Garble was actually doing this for something he cared about. Spike couldn’t imagine what, but he sure sounded sincere. Besides, what did he have to lose? Not to mention that he would have some form of protection in this untamed wilderness.

“So,” Garble asked impatiently, his foot tapping rhythmically on the ground as he waited for Spike to answer him, “Can I go or not?”

Spike hesitated, still rolling out his options. But, eventually he squeaked out a feeble and resigned, “Yes.”

Chapter Three

“Spike, are you even listening?”

The accusing tone of the elder dragons voice snapped Spike back to reality quicker than he could have imagined. He shook his head and turned to face the dragon that was briskly walking beside him.

“Yeah!” Spike replied eagerly. A bit too eagerly, perhaps. “I totally was listening. Yep, that’s me, Spike the listener…heh. Uhh…even though I was listening, because I was, could you just repeat that part from when, you know, we started talking?”

Garble looked less than amused, and Spike’s facial expression dropped a few seconds later. He wasn’t listening, if that much hadn’t been obvious to anyone who was looking before. But what did he expect? It wasn’t his fault that there was nothing for them to talk about and that they didn’t have anything in common. Whatever Garble did, Spike either had no idea what he was talking about, or if it was something he had at least some idea of, he didn’t like it. Still, he tried to appear that he was listening, but even that façade was wearing thin.

“I’m sorry,” Spike sighed. “It’s just…”

“Just what?” Garble replied bitterly. “My story too boring for you?”

“Uh…no, no,” Spike answered quickly, not wanting to get on his new ally’s bad side. It was way too early in their adventure to even be thinking of that option. “Of course not.”

Garble snorted. “Well, it’s not like that you have anything better to say, what, with you being raised by those stupid ponies and all. I bet they do nothing but sit around and have tea parties all day,” he scoffed.

“Hey!” Spike protested. “That’s not what we do!”

“Yeah, and I’m sure you don’t wear an apron either,” Garble retorted, not even looking at his companion anymore.

Spike felt the blood rush to his cheeks the instant he heard the words come out of the other dragon’s mouth. “How did you…err, I do not! What gave you that idea?”

“You seemed like the type,” Garble laughed indignantly.

As Spike’s cheeks burned, they walked for a few more minutes of silence. Spike was still wary of silence, especially around here, but it had grown into a minimum of what it once was. Now that he had a dragon with him, he no longer felt the need to run and hide behind a bush the moment he heard some twig snapping in the distance. In fact, that idea felt rather silly to him now that he thought about it with a clear mind, and it was silly to know that he had thought hiding like a coward was perfectly acceptable just a few short hours ago, not to mention that his companion made that perfectly clear to him as well.

“How much farther is this stupid mountain anyways?” Spike asked, changing the subject effectively. “We’ve been walking for hours.”

“It’s still a long ways away, squirt,” Garble replied wearily, “In about three days we’ll make it to the base, and don’t get me started on how long it will take to walk up that monster…”

Spike groaned. Three days! It would take three days to walk to some stupid mountain!? What a rip off. He had to remind himself what he was doing out here in the first place to keep himself from just turning around and going home at that moment.

“Three days?” he groaned. Maybe he had just heard that wrong.

“Three days.”

He didn’t.

“But it’s so far away…” Spike groaned sadly. “We’ll be out here forever…”

“Do you ever stop whining?” Garble grumbled, crossing his arms over his chest. He looked away from Spike and instead focused his attention up ahead. In doing so, he involuntarily created an awkward silence between them, and Spike cringed inwardly. Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea after all. It probably wasn’t, but what could he do now that it was done?

The two stayed like that for who knew how long. To Spike, it was indefinite, but he dared not do anything about it. He was a follower here, not a leader. It was starting to wear him down, though, so why not try to do something about it? He had nothing to lose, after all.

“So, why are you coming out here, anyway?” he asked curiously.

Garble stayed silent for a few moments. Spike saw his expression change many times, but it finally settled on one of determination, and Spike thought he saw a flicker of uncertainty pass by as well, he didn’t pay much heed to it, however.

“I already told you,” Garble said. “I’m here to take something back.”

“What do you need to take back, though?” Spike ventured on.

“Nothing you need to know about. For now, at least.” The little dragon saw his companion’s expression harden to an infinite degree. He gulped and wondered whether or not he should continue. But, it turned out that he didn’t need to. “Enough about me; what are you here for, squirt?” Garble asked him.

“I’m here to help my…”

“Yeah, you told me that already,” Garble said with a small wave of his claw, “But why are you helping her anyways? What did he do to her?”

Spike wasn’t exactly sure if he should continue. What would Rainbow Dash say if somebody else knew about her ‘weakness’, as the pegasus would most likely put it. But then he remembered that he wasn’t really one to keep any secrets. He simply shrugged and replied with, “He blinded her.”

“Blinded?” Garble echoed curiously.

“Yeah,” Spike replied, kicking a loose stone on the trail they were travelling. “But, before that…he…hurt her real bad.”

“But…how did that happen?” Garble wondered eagerly. The sadden curiousness made Spike more than suspicious.

“Well…I don’t really know,” Spike answered truthfully. “I think he torched her, or something like that. It ended up killing her, actually.” The more he thought about, the more he realized that it affected him more than he thought it would. He had come so close to losing her…

“Wait, he ROASTED her?” Garble gasped, stopping dead in his tracks. “How the heck is she still alive, then? No body, not to mention a pony, can survive something like that!”

Spike sighed in annoyance. “I don’t exactly know what happened. My friend told me that she used some kind of magic to bring her back to life, but it had some bad consequences,” Spike told him.

“And I’m guessing that those consequences were her being blinded?” Garble finished before Spike had a chance to. They continued walking, and Spike had to admit that this was much better than their earlier conversation.

“Eeyup,” Spike nodded.

“So, how are you helping her by being out here?” Garble asked, scratching his head with the tip of his claw. “Shouldn’t you be, I dunno, with her if you have to help her?”

“That’s what I thought too,” Spike answered. “But, my friend sent me out here. She said that it was for answers or whatever, but maybe she just wants to get rid of me…” The idea sent arrows through his heart. Even though it hurt to think about, it was still a very real possibility. It was very slim, but still very real, and he had no idea of knowing either way. “I’m sure that’s not it, though. Twilight needs me!” He wasn’t sure who he was trying to convince by that point.

“That’s rough, buddy,” Garble said, patting Spike just a little bit too hard on the back. Spike could understand that he was trying to be at least sympathetic, but maybe he could afford to be a little less rough with his antics?

“Yeah…” Spike coughed. He took a deep breath and spoke again. “Hey, where are your…friends?”

“Oh, those guys?” Garble asked, then nodded in realization. “They’re probably back at our cave.”

“You guys live together?” Spike wondered out loud.

“Is there a problem with that?” Garble growled. For a moment, Spike thought that he was going to whirl around and manhandle him in some way, but the tone of voice he used was unsettling enough, and it looked like Garble had realized that.

“Uh…no, not at all!” Spike said quickly, still painfully aware that anything he did or said could set the elder dragon off in a heartbeat. It would be in his best interests to stay on his good side. “What made you think I thought there was?”

From Spike’s point of view, Garble still looked a tad suspicious, but perhaps it was just a trick of the light.

“Nothing,” he said, crossing his arms over his chest. The elder dragon looked up at the sky suddenly. Spike watched his head linger upwards for a few moments longer and wondered what his eyes saw up there, what he was looking for. The wings on Garble fluttered just the tiniest bit a few moments later. It reminded Spike of Rainbow Dash. She usually did that when she was nervous, or she was just getting ready for a race. His face crumpled as he thought about her. What were they doing? Was Rainbow Dash flying again? He hoped so, but it was still a pretty weird thought to be thinking about anyway. Spike shook his head and turned his attention back towards his companion.

“What are you looking at?” he asked Garble.

“None of your business.”

Well, it was worth a shot, he reminded himself as his chipper mood from earlier deflated into thin air. What could they talk about now?

“It’s getting dark,” Garble said suddenly.

Spike looked up at the sky. He had barely noticed the soft dark grey light beginning to inch its way across the sky, taking control of the traces of pinks and oranges that were being left behind by the sunset. Spike squinted his eyes at the sky and shrugged.

“Yeah…” he said softly. “Should we stop for the night?”

Garble took more than a few moments to voice his decision, and Spike had no idea what could possibly be on his mind. This dragon had an excellent poker face.

“Nah,” he said at last. “We can keep going.”

“B-but what about everything else around here?” Spike gulped, unconsciously moving closer to his companion in an effort to conceal himself. “Won’t they….eat us?”

“Ha!” Garble laughed, maybe a bit too loudly for Spike’s tastes. “You kidding? There’s no way a dragon will mess with us…or me, I should say, while we’re out here. And besides, all the other dragons will be asleep anyway.”

“Really?” Spike said, raising an eyebrow. “I thought dragons were…nocturnal, or whatever Twilight called it.”

“Some of us are,” Garble replied simply. “But they usually keep to their own caves now. You don’t want to be caught out so late with…them around here.”

“T-Them…?” Spike gasped, suddenly feeling a lot more conscious about where he was going. What exactly was Garble talking about? Who was he talking about? Maybe….it was just a thought, a weird one, but Spike couldn’t help it. That dragon back there who led him to this place, were they talking about the same thing? Spike wished it wasn’t true, and maybe it wasn’t, but it certainly could not have been a coincidence. “Do you mean…?”

“You know about them?” Garble asked. “Who told you? Wait…it couldn’t have been that guy you were talking about earlier, could it?”

“That’s him,” Spike answered smugly.

Garble looked uncertain for a few moments. He swung his head from the left to the right, then his head settled in a direction off to the left.

“Maybe we should stop,” Garble said to himself. Spike wasn’t sure if that was meant for him to hear. Before Spike knew it, he was stopped by a red claw and was being dragged in the strange direction. Garble was pushing him somewhere, he kept thinking to himself. Spike shrugged the claw off his shoulder and walked for himself when he saw the destination. It was a rather large cave, and not all that unlike the cave they first found each other in. Even better, it wasn’t that far from where they were now, and it was getting closer with each passing step. Just as the darkness began settling itself firmly against the horizon, they were just settling down on the blanket that Spike had generously laid out for them.

“Why’d you bring a blanket?” Garble asked.

“To sleep on,” Spike answered simply. He raised an eyebrow at Garble. “What else do you usually sleep on?”

“Rocks, usually,” Garble shrugged, leaning up against the wall and crossing his arms over his chest. “Ha, no wonder you’re so wimpy.”

“Hey!” Spike growled, shooting up and pointing a claw in his companion’s direction. “Will you stop calling me wimpy? I’m tough!”

“Whatever, kid,” Garble scoffed. “As far as I can tell, you haven’t done anything to prove otherwise, or why I should believe you. I’ll believe you’re tough when I see it.”

Spike narrowed his eyes. How he wanted to smack this stupid dragon right in the face. What did he do that was so wrong? It took all of his will-power not to walk out of that cave right there and then. Spike sighed and crossed his arms over his chest. As soon as this whole thing was over and done with, he would go so far away (far away being Ponyville, to be exact) that this dragon would never speak to him and he would never think of him again. Still, maybe it could work out, if only for a little while.

It was a good thing he had nothing to lose.

Chapter Four

“Spike…”

The small dragon twitched helplessly as the intruding finger poked him on his sensitive nose relentlessly and mercilessly. He grumbled and turned over onto his other side, eager to get back to his dream about Rarity’s luscious white backside that was just itching to…

“Spike…”

There it was again. Spike growled as he tried to will whatever was making it away with only his mind. No matter how impossible that idea was, he could care less about that and more about how much more sleep he could get. If only the stupid finger would go away and leave him in peace once again. With sloppy tired movements, he grasped the closet edge of his blanket that he could find and pulled it over him so that he could almost be mistaken for a caterpillar just getting ready to crawl out of its glittering cocoon. But, unlike said caterpillar, he was for from ready to get out of this comfortable shell.

“Spike! For dragon’s sake, get your butt up!”

Unfortunately for him, he soon found himself flung from the rocky terrain onto some more, only this time it wasn’t comfortable in the least, and the blanket he had so treasured in the night was nowhere to be found. His eyes flew open and his head spun around wildly, looking for the vile perpetrator who could have been so cruel to have taken his beloved bed-rag, but the only being other than himself that he found was Garble.

His wild look of surprise was replaced by a disappointed frown. Of all the things to wake up to, it had to be this teenage dirt bag holding his blanket, he thought in annoyance.

“Jeez, Spike, I’ve been trying to get you up for, like, an hour now,” Garble told him irritably, his claws on his broad waist and his snout marred by an obvious frown. “You sure are a heavy sleeper.”

“Sorry,” Spike apologized half-heartedly, rubbing his eyes over and over again. “I was just having a really good dream…”

"Well you can tell me about it later, squirt,” Garble replied. He took a gentle hold on Spike’s head and lifted him into a standing position, much to Spike’s surprise and displeasure. “Right now, we need to get going. If we want to make it to that mountain before…unpleasant things happen, then we need to hurry up and get going.” Already the dragon was pulling on him, trying to move both of them out of the cave when Spike wasn’t at all ready. Why was he in such a hurry? What unpleasant things was he going on about? What was going on around here? As much as he would like to get this whole thing over with as quickly as possible, he didn’t see the rush in everything like Garble did. He had to admit, however, that things were getting pretty shifty, but he just couldn’t figure out why.

“What things?” he asked impatiently, not willing to let Garble drag him around like a ragdoll just yet. “Garble, what in the wide world of Equestria are you talking about?”

Unexpectedly, the larger dragon let go of him and whirled around to face him. His eyes were like liquid flame that sent a shiver down Spike’s spine. Suddenly, Spike felt like there were more eyes, watching him from every possible angle there was. He felt exposed and vulnerable, like something was ready to pounce on him at any moment without an ounce of mercy. Spike was sure that this feeling was fear, but how could a look, one measly look, invoke all of these feelings from depths of his body that he didn’t even know existed?

“It’s better to not know that right now, Spike,” Garble told him, his tone of voice chilling. “Trust me, you’ll find out soon enough, but it would only distract you from what you’re doing.”

Somehow, he found that he would much rather be oblivious to everything that was happening in the dragon empire right now, lest he wanted to end up like…

He let out an audible gulp, nodded, and then followed Garble outside the cave without another word. The blanket had been quickly packed with all of his other stuff and was now hunched onto his back haphazardly. Although it didn’t feel at all comfortable, his companion had insisted that they get moving as soon as possible, to avoid…traffic, Garble had told him. Spike had been quick to agree. Before they knew it they were on their way once again.

It was quieter than Spike had expected, but that was just fine for him. The only thing was that everything just seemed to be too quiet, especially for dragon territory. Usually there was always some strange growling sound in the distance caused by some creature that he could never quite make out, but this…this was silence. Not even a bird seemed to be out and about. It unnerved him, and he was trying not to let it show.

“Hey, Spike? Are you okay?” Garble asked from beside him.

Unfortunately for him, Garble had indeed seen his unease, and was now calling him out on it. Spike sighed. That certainly wasn’t something that he wanted, but there was really nothing that he could do about it either. He figured that the best route for him now was to just roll along with it so it would be over with all the more quickly. If there was one thing he wasn’t all that eager to do, it was sharing his feelings with a teenage dragon that he had known for about three days.

“Why is it so quiet?” Spike asked.

Garble looked up at the sky, an unreadable expression on his face. “I don’t know. Dragons are usually up by now. Maybe we’re just…I don’t know, off the map?”

Spike wasn’t exactly amused by the answer. Garble seemed to pick this up quickly.

“Look, I don’t know,” Garble sighed in exasperation. “I’ve never heard it so quiet either, okay? It’s…kind of creepy. But, I’m guessing that it has something to do with…”

“Them, yeah, I got it,” Spike cut in. “But what’s with this whole conspiracy going on? If I can even call it that. And why aren’t you telling me anything, anyway? You know this whole thing would go a lot quicker if you just told me what was going on instead of keeping me in the dark like this. Maybe I could even help.” The words seemed to slip out on their own, not even registering in his mind before he said them. If Garble agreed to that, then what had he gotten himself into? All he wanted to do was go home, and now there was a possibility that might not happen for a while.

“You would really help us?” Garble looked surprised, shocked even, and Spike couldn’t seem to imagine why. Then, he cleared his throat and his stern gaze returned in an instant. “But, then again I’m not sure that a squirt like you can really do anything about what’s happening here. And don’t you want to get back to Pony-center, or whatever the heck it’s called?”

“Pony-VILLE,” Spike corrected, putting emphasis on the last syllable, hoping to get it through the dragon’s thick skull after so many Celestia-damned times. He hesitated after that. If he was being brutally honest with himself, he had no idea what he wanted to do. Whether he wanted to help these dragons, or get back to his friends, his family, his home. The choice was much too unclear for him at the moment, and he didn’t particularly want to get used to this feeling. With another quick look at the dragon he simply answered, “Maybe.”

“Maybe?” It seemed like that answer wasn’t exactly the best choice for the dragon unfortunately. With a resigned sigh, Garble gazed pleadingly at his young companion. “Look, squirt, we need all the help we can get, and if you’re willing to try…well…another pair of claws is always a good thing, I guess. Even if it comes from some softy like you.”

Spikes cheeks burned. Why was it that Spike felt so awkward right now, so hot and uncomfortable that he just wanted to run away from it all? Wasn’t he over his fear of this strange land now that Garble was here? Or maybe he just felt like he would be abandoning his friends if he did this, and surely he couldn’t do that, not when they were in such a time of need.

Right?

Could it be something else?

That was something he wanted to figure out at night in a cool, damp cave, where no prying eyes would be on him, choking him for every answer he could come up with.

“Can we just keep going?” he asked, frowning. “We still have a long way to go, and I want to go before anything else finds us first.” Without waiting to see if Garble had followed him, he had started walking along the trail that led to the large mountain that was still so far away in the distance. He began to feel displeased by how much disappointment he felt whenever he saw just how far he had to go. Quickly, he let the feeling go as he heard heavy footsteps walking up behind him.

“Okay, fine,” Garble replied, sighing heavily as he uttered his reply. “Just think about it, okay?”

Spike didn’t reply.

“Please?”

“Okay, okay, I said I would try, didn’t I? Let’s just stop talking and go!”

The morning was filled with nothing more than birds chirping, strange dragons roaring in the distance, and a very awkward silence between the two adolescent companions. Spike kept his head forward, not quite willing to turn his head slightly to the right to let Garble give him a strange look of uncertainty; the look that both of them usually had when they gave each other the time of day. Even that, however, was rare. Now, he just wasn’t willing. It didn’t seem to be much of a problem for Garble, who seemed kind of relieved to have the sudden silence between them. Spike just felt awkward, and he involuntarily envied Garble for his ability to tune out any unwanted arguments.

So, gripping his small pack of belongings, he looked around instead, being too obviously careful to not look anywhere in Garble’s direction, with the exception of just over his head. Unfortunately, this only made it all the more awkward as Garble always seemed to be looking in his direction, and Spike couldn’t seem to keep his embarrassment from showing.

More times than he should have, Spike thought about turning around and leaving Garble to fend for himself, for him to forget that this had ever happened and get on with his life back in Ponyville, but he knew that he wouldn’t allow himself to do that. Still, it seemed so tempting, like an itch that he just couldn’t scratch, so to speak, and oh how he wanted to scratch it. Spike mumbled something to himself that even he couldn’t seem to catch. Everything was just going wrong, and there was nothing to take his mind off it. No excitement, no nothing. There wasn’t even a bird flying about overhead. It was like the universe was trying to make the two adolescent dragons work together. Spike swore that…

Wait…

Garbles hand was pushing him back, and the larger body was moving in front of him. Spike felt his throat constrict in nervousness, and his eyes widened unmercifully. Maybe there was nothing to worry about, Spike thought to himself optimistically, trying so hard to stay calm. There was probably just something in the way, or another attempt to get spike to help out with something that he couldn’t possible hope to understand.

“I think something’s following us.”

Spike heard himself squeak something at a level only akin to Fluttershy. Was this why Garble was so quiet the whole time, and not just because he was humoring Spike?

“Are…are you sure?” Spike gulped, nervously, clutching his pack even tighter. He took a deep breath, scrambling to calm his frayed nerves, but with no noticeable luck.

“I’m pretty sure,” Garble replied, taking his hand off Spike at last. “But I don’t think it realizes we know it’s there now. If we just keep walking normally, I don’t think we’ll have a problem with it.”

“I have a problem with it!” Spike squeaked out, biting his scaly lip.

“Look, I don’t think that it’s the best thing in the world either, but we have to keep moving,” Garble urged, pushing him forward. “There’s no telling what that thing is, and I don’t really want to find out. If you want to, go ahead, but…”

“Okay, okay!” Spike sighed, rolling his eyes. He shakily moved his feet forward down the path once again, trying to act as if nothing had happened. But, he noticed that he was sticking very close to Garble’s side. For what, he wondered? A sense of security, perhaps? Companionship? It was more likely to be the first one, since there was no way he was going to act friendly now, not with the ever-looming danger that just happened to be behind them. “Let’s just get moving before…whatever it is that’s following us catches up.”

Garble didn’t put up much of a fight as he and Spike trekked onwards, this time at a considerably faster pace than just a few minutes ago. Although Spike should have been used to this kind of thing by now, considering what he had been doing these past few days, the little dragon couldn’t keep the growing anxiety from making a home in the center of his chest. Slowly, he glanced up at Garble. Surprisingly, it looked like the two were in the same boat. That was odd, Spike thought to himself. Usually it was Garble who was the calm steady one of the two, never bothering to show how he was really feeling to Spike. Not that Spike minded. In all actuality, he was glad that he wasn’t the only one on this trip who actually had feelings. Maybe dragons weren’t as fearless as he had once thought. With that thought in mind, he raised his head a little bit higher, feeling as though his pride (and perhaps his head) was higher than the trees flanking either side of them. Though, he knew that it was going to be a little while longer until he was actually that tall.

Other than the feeling of dread that he was so desperately trying to put behind him, it was a rather quiet day, with nothing much as a cricket chirping in the distance to bother them. How could it get any better than this? Perhaps he shouldn’t answer that. It wasn’t like he wanted to anyways. Besides, not talking wasn’t the best of things he could think of doing. He tried to keep himself busy, since it didn’t look like Garble wanted to have a conversation with him. Spike thought of Twilight, he thought of Rainbow Dash, he thought of home, he thought of why he was here in the first place. If that wasn’t enough, then he could always think of what was following him, and what would most likely happen if they stopped. And if that didn’t keep him motivated, then he wasn’t sure what would.

After a while of walking, his feet began to get tired, and he swore that his pack became about ten pounds heavier. He rolled narrowed eyes up towards Garble, hoping to see a look that gave away how tired the elder dragon was, but there was no such thing, as usual.

"Garble?” he began, making sure to keep his voice fairly quiet. “Can we take a break for a few minutes? I think we’re far enough ahead of it now.”

The elder dragon looked at Spike suspiciously, but said nothing otherwise. Somehow, though, Spike could sense that he wasn’t happy. Another surprise was that Spike was almost expecting that. He was used to Garble’s attitude by now, which was most likely a good thing.

Garble looked behind them quickly, then back to Spike. He grimaced. “Well…you could be right. I don’t think it would hurt us too much if we found a spot to sit for the night.” He looked up at the ever-pinking sky with scrutinizing eyes, judging every detail that there was. “But in the morning we have to move fast. If the thing hasn’t already slit out throats while we were sleeping.”

Spike gulped.

“Well, you never know,” he said sheepishly. “It could be friendly.”

“Around here? Nothing’s friendly,” Garble laughed. “You learn after a while that this is a dragon-eat-dragon world, and that it’s survival of the fittest around here.” He looked back behind them nervously. “And I have a feeling that thing behind us is much fitter than us.”

Spike found himself agreeing with him whole-heartedly.

The two slowly walked off the path, keeping an eye out for something that would provide them with a good shelter for the night, one that would also keep them well-hidden as well. Unless, of course, the thing had already found them and was just waiting for the right time to strike. Spike shuddered as he thought about it. Since when had this become a game of hide-and-go-seek, only much more deadly? Maybe it should be called hide-and-go-kill. The little dragon shook his head as he tried to get those thoughts out of his head. Now wasn’t the time to be questioning what horrible creature was stalking them, now was the time to concentrate on finding somewhere to sleep.

But everywhere he looked, it was either trees, bushes, or more trees. Maybe some rocks here and there, but nothing that could provide them with anything worth-while, unfortunately. Even worse for them, it was getting rather late, and that meant it was getting dark. Pretty soon it would be difficult to see his claw in front of his face, and then surely they would be…

“Over here!”

Garble’s husky excited whisper broke through his shield of woe as he felt a large hand grab him and pull him to the side. Spike barely had time to react and keep his tight hold of his things in his claws, but somehow he managed, and he let Garble drag him for Celestia knew how long until he was thrown onto a hard rocky surface. He grunted and saw Garble moving some vines over the entrance of the large cave that they were apparently now in, and realized that they were now locked away in some magnificent hiding spot that Garble had miraculously found.

“I think this is good,” Garble said to him as soon as he sat down beside his small companion. “From what I got, I don’t think that anything that could have been on our tail can find this; we covered our tracks pretty decently.”

“That’s good, now can I go to sleep? I’m tired,” he complained, already collapsing onto his side and curling his tail around himself.

Garble mumbled something that Spike couldn’t pick up if he tried, not that he wanted to anyways. Spike closed his eyes and let his body relax with particular ease. His mind followed, and soon, all he could feel was a dark black shadow coming over him, and taking him into the realm of sweet unconsciousness where dreamland awaited him so faithfully.

All around him was fire. Everything was burning. He could hear screams from all around him, animals flying past him into the thick brush of the forest. But from what, he asked himself? He kept spinning and swirling, looking for the source, but always coming up empty-handed. It was frustrating to say the least, but something kept pushing him to look. Always looking, always searching, always coming up with nothing.

Every one of his instincts told him that he needed to get away, that he needed to run as fast as his legs could carry him away from the flames that were about to lick his body with their fiery embrace. How could he do that, though, when he needed to find it? But what was it? What was it that he was looking for, he wondered. He searched and searched, racking his brain looking for detail, but he could not find the answer.

The flames were starting to close in all around him, and the screams began to get louder, and they became…blood-curdling. It was like the dead being awakened from eternal sleep, one that they wanted to stay in. His breathing grew rapid until he thought his little heart was going to shoot out from his chest. Spike’s claws curled around up his ear fins, trying to block out the horrible sound. It hurt, and he wasn’t able to get away from it. For one instant, he stopped his desperate searching to try and find an exit instead. There was none, only flames, only the orange wall of flames drawing ever closer.

And he swore that above all the flames and screams, he heard another voice, someone he swore he knew, screaming as well. Screaming words that he knew he should be able to understand, but couldn’t. He began to open his mouth to speak back, but doing so only worsened his condition, and he quickly covered it again. His vision was getting watery because of the smoke, but he couldn’t stop himself from thinking that he saw a flash of…rainbow?

A portion of the flames opened up and he saw a scene that he was unlikely to ever forget. It was Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy, that he was sure of. The two pegasi were standing in front of a huge red dragon that was opening its mouth. Even from where he was standing and from how blurry his vision was becoming, he could clearly see the fire that was shooting out of the dragon’s mouth.

“Fluttershy!” he heard Rainbow Dash scream. “MOVE!”

The other pegasus didn’t do anything. Spike wasn’t even sure that she heard. But even so, he found himself staring at Fluttershy so intensely that he began to believe that if he looked hard enough, maybe he could will her to move.

But that wasn’t what happened.

Rainbow Dash screamed again for Fluttershy to get out of the way before her wings flared open, and she was already moving before Spike could register it. As the fire came closer, Rainbow Dash pushed her friend out of the way just as the flames connected with her. Spike fell to the floor as he heard the scream that came from her mouth next. His legs collapsed as he saw the flames finally stop after a good minute, and the burnt body crumpled to the floor. Fluttershy rushed over, screaming Rainbow Dash’s name over and over again, shaking the pegasus blindly.

Spike was about to run over to help them, when his eyes connected with the dragons.

Time froze.

The piercing red orbs glared into his. And he didn’t even see the flames coming towards him until they touched his body.

Author's Note

Did you miss me? Of course you did.

OOO~ AUTHOR'S NOTES

Here it is, the next chapter. Now stop fucking bugging me. Just in time for the holiday season too. Wonderful. Then again, a whole shit load of problems happened, including me returning to pretty fucked up eating habits and a razor blade problem that I can't seem to stop. And in a few weeks I have to go to my local children's hospital. Fun times for your favorite tyrant.

Merry Christmas guys.