Knowledge of the Ancients

Spike flew over the forests of Equestria; the canopies of the trees creating a sea of green. He looked around underneath himself, taking in the sights that were all new to him. His eyes roamed over a small clearing by a stream and taking the chance he landed. He stuck his head into the water and drank it quickly, letting the cooling sensation of the water go down his throat. He sat down and pulled out the map given to him by Celestia and traced his talon across the parchment; being careful not to rip it. He traced the line across the map and put it away, quickly with a huff.

He lifted his head and looked up at the sky. The sun had not yet set but was making its way across the sky. He took off into the air, once more feeling the breeze against his face. He passed over the remaining forested areas with relative ease and flew into, what was considered, the badlands of Equestria. The ground had turned to a sandy brown and very few plants were growing out of the sandy soil.

The sun had set and Spike was exhausted. He landed onto the coarse ground softly and spewed green fire onto the ground around him, heating up the dirt and rocks that would be his bed that night. He lay down and coiled himself into a tight circle, wrapping his tail around himself; almost touching his nose with it. He closed his eyes and fell asleep quickly.

Spike's eyes fluttered open. He lifted his head from out of his arms and looked around in the darkness. He heard a rustling sound coming from a small bush of dead branches and twigs. He focused his hearing and stared at the bush for a while. The branches opened up and a small lizard shot out, startling Spike. He jumped to his feet and watched the lizard come over to where he was laying just second ago. The lizard plopped down onto the ground and curled up as well, enjoying the warmth.

"Just wanted a place to sleep, huh?" Spike smiled and laid back on the ground, coiling himself once more and falling into a deep slumber.

2

A few hours had passed and Spike yawned, revealing the sharp teeth within his great maw. He rolled over onto his back and stretched his limbs like he would back at Twilight's. Rolling over once again, he outstretched his wings and heard some of the joints pop and crack, eliciting a happy moan from the Drake. He took off his bag and reached inside, pulling out an emerald for his breakfast. He chomped on it quietly as he looked at his surroundings more closely, now that the sun had risen.

All he could see was sand and brown. Wind blew, kicking up dust and other particles from the ground. Spike stopped for second and looked farther off into the distance. Squinting his eyes he could see a large wall of brown racing across the landscape. His eyes widened by the time he realized what that wall was. The wind hit him hard and he started to tumble over himself across the ground. He dug his claws into the ground as he tumbled, managing to stop and flip himself over.

"It's way too early for this!" he yelled to himself, kicking off the ground with a mighty flap of his large wings. He soared through the air, trying to stay ahead of the sand storm. The large wall of sand was gaining quickly and Spike pushed harder with his wings as he felt the sand particles start to make small impacts. His muscles began to ache but he pushed through his pain and continued to pump his wings, propelling him forward.

His vision was beginning to become blurred by the sand as it overtook his position. He focused on the path in-front of him as brown blocked any vision he had left in any other direction. Soon the sand had blocked his vision all-together and he felt a large impact in his back. His wings flung backwards and he arched his back. Letting out a roar of pain he was swallowed by the storm.

Spike struggled against the mighty gale of sand. He shut his eyes, protecting them from any damage that would be dealt by the small particles. He turned and flipped over as he plummeted towards the ground. He opened his eyes quickly and shut them just as fast as the sand penetrated his eye sockets. Spike's side impacted the ground, sending waves of pain through his body. He roared and shut his mouth after swallowing some of the sand. He tumbled and impacted the ground again and again until he hit something solid and was held against the object. The sand continued to come and hit his scaled hide full force and without mercy.

The sand storm had dissipated and Spike felt something heavy on his body. He grunted as he forced himself up. Sand fell from around his body and he looked out over the landscape. Nothing remained. The trees were gone and the whole of the landscape appeared to be sand. He stumbled out over the mound of sand that had accumulated over his body and against whatever had stopped him. He tripped and fell, barrel rolling down the medium sized mound and stopping at its bottom.

He looked up as a shadow was cast over him. Feeling too tired to do anything, he lay his head back down as he was lifted by an unseen force.

3

Spike's head ached and throbbed uncontrollably. He tried to reach his head with a claw and rub the soreness out of it, only his claw would not move. He tried again but with the same result. He opened his eyes and was met with only darkness.

"Ugh, am I dead?" he asked into the void.

"Oh no, you're not dead. At least, not yet," another voice said from the darkness.

"Who's there?" The darkness turned to light in an instant, forcing Spike to close his eyes from the sudden onslaught of light onto his eyes. He slowly opened, watching his vision come back into focus as his eyes adjusted to the lighting of the room. He looked himself over and found that his arms, legs, and tail had been sealed to the wall by a green goo-like substance. "Where am I?"

"You're in my hive, dragon." Spike looked to the source of the voice and saw a tall, insectoid creature with a crooked horn and transparent wings with holes throughout its slender body. The creature stepped forward and began to fly, making them buzz like a hummingbird's wings and getting relatively close to his face. "It's very rare that I find a dragon in these parts, but I can tell by your size that you're still just a youngling aren't you?" it cooed.

By the creature's voice he could tell it was a female but he couldn't place a name to her face, even though he recognized her figure. His brain was straining as it tried to remember what this creature was and trying to get itself back from the adrenaline high. As he thought the name of the creature he was looking at cam back to him.

"You're a Changeling!" he cried with realization.

The changeling chuckled lightly. "Yes I am. But I am so much more than that," she said, backing away from him. "I am Chrysalis, Queen of the Changelings!" she announced loudly.

Spike's eyes widened at her declaration and remembered what had happened a few years back. "You're the one that tried to take over Canterlot!"

Chrysalis wore an amused face. "Yes I am. It would appear that my reputation precedes me."

Spike scoffed. "Yeah, everypony knows who you are."

"Everypony?" she questioned. "A dragon that uses the same terminology as the ponies of Equestria." She smiled. "How unusual." She hovered over to him once again and stopped just inches from his nose. "Very unusual," she said softly. She leaned in closer with her head, placing her lips just centimeters from Spike's own. She pulled back quickly and placed a hoof on the tip of his nose. "Tell me young drake, why are you all the way out here and so far from home?"

"That's my own business. Now let me out!" he demanded, pulling against his restraints.

"Aren't you the demanding one?" Chrysalis placed a hoof on her chin and closed an eye in a mock thinking session. "No," she said quickly. "I want to savor the moment that I have a dragon inside my hive and I will make you into a trophy." She flew down and landed onto the squishy ground underneath her. She turned her back to him and called over her shoulder as she walked out. "In the meantime, please, make yourself at home," she laughed, closing the door behind her.

"This place home? Yeah right," he scoffed under his breath. Spike looked at his restraints again and studied his restraints. He breathed a small stream of fire onto the goo that sealed his right claw. The goo bubbled and slipped away from the larger mass it was previously connected to. "Perfect," he muttered. He let loose a larger stream of fire onto the small mound of goo and felt the flame's heat travel to his claw. He winced and let the goo slip off his claw. He flexed his fingers, letting the heat leave it. He would normally be fine, given the scales on his claws but the heat trapped by the goo from the fire made it abnormally hot. He braced himself and flamed the goo off of the rest of his trapped limbs.

He fell from the wall and slowed himself down a little with the help of his wings, but before they could be fully outstretched he fell onto the gooey floor below. He rubbed his head and heard ringing in his ears. He shook it off and made a beeline for the door on the other side of the room. He let fly another plume of fire, which had the same results as on his restraints. Pleased that the gooey substance was highly susceptible to fire he jumped through the door, over the mound of goop. He ran through the corridor that was outside the opening, until he was sent flying into a wall by a blast of green magic. He groaned and got back to his feet fairly quickly, snapping his neck to the origin of the blast.

You're quite the resourceful one aren't you?" a Changeling cooed. Chrysalis emerged from the darkness quickly and stared at the dragon with a cold gaze. "Be a good pet and go back to your room, hm?" she quipped.

Spike steeled his nerves and blasted a gout of green flame in Chrysalis' direction. Chrysalis raised a barrier and watched the flame simply go around her shield, leaving her completely unharmed. The flame stopped and she looked at Spike with a critical and un-amused eye.

"Fine." She charged her horn again and encased Spike in a green aura and threw him into the wall again. Spike grunted at the impact and was thrown into the wall again before slumping to the ground. Chrysalis stepped closer to him and raised his chin with her hoof, forcing him to look at her. "I'll ask again because I'm feeling unusually generous today. Surrender."

Spike's mind raced. He knew he was at the mercy of a magic user, and the Changeling Queen no less. He swung a claw at her and she pulled away to dodge it. She still wore an un-amused face and looked back down at the dragon. Chrysalis smiled wickedly and charged her horn again. Spike closed his eyes, waiting for the impending attack.

Spike felt a warm sensation in his belly and his anger begin to rise. He was going to die and never find the information he undertook this quest to find. He opened his eyes again and he clenched his teeth. He could hear something speaking in his mind, which only helped to increase his anger and the hot feeling in his stomach. Chrysalis still had her horn charged but she saw the change in his demeanor and began to chuckle.

"Look at the angry dragon hatchling. Meeting his demise with a temper-tantrum," she mused.

Spike felt the rage grow to new heights and he roared louder than he ever had before. "YOL!"

A large plume of green fire rushed from his maw, encompassing Chrysalis in a cocoon of green fire. She cried out as the chitin on her body burned and her mane caught aflame. She fell to the ground and began rolling on the goo covered ground, trying to put out the flames.

Spike shot up to his feet and began running away; having had no time to figure out what had happened to Chrysalis. He flew through the corridors as quickly as his feet would carry him. He encountered few Changelings as he ran and any he encountered he quickly hit out his way with his claws.

He turned down another corridor and he could hear a large amount of buzzing coming from that general direction, so he followed it and ran into a large open space filled to the brim with Changeling Drones. His heart sank. He had run from the Queen herself, had somehow defeated her and was now staring into the main hive of the changelings.

The swarms of Changelings had flown down and blocked his path. He turned around and took a step toward the other door, only to find Chrysalis standing in it, with a scorched mane, tail, and smoke coming from her chitinous hide. She had a look of pure rage on her face and her mouth showed her sharp teeth in an anger filled frown.

"Changelings! KILL HIM!" she roared.

Spike turned around and took to the air inside the chamber. He looked up and flew towards the ceiling of the large chamber. The smaller Changelings followed him and they began to shoot blasts of magic at him. He dodged them and continued to fly upwards to the ceiling. He let loose another small torrent of fire into the ceiling and watched the goo fall from its former home and onto the pursuing Changelings. He had no time to revel in his small victory as more Changelings took their fallen comrades place.

He used his fire breath on the ceiling again, causing more of the goo to fall. He turned to face his oncoming attackers and watched as the goo fell onto them as well but the victory was, once again, short lived. Changeling Drones flew towards him and a few had managed to reach him. The Changelings grabbed onto his body, slowing him down. More Changelings raced up and grabbed onto him as well. Spike's wings could not handle the large amount of weight and he was sent falling through the air.

Spike kicked and flailed, trying to throw the Changelings off of his body. He bucked his legs and punched his arms out and beat his wings against the Changelings. The Drones absorbed unceasing torrent of blows and eventually began to fall off or let go and retreat from the struggling dragon. Spike's wings beat furiously against gravity and he could feel himself slowing down with every beat of his wings.

He was nearing the ground and managed to flip himself belly down and begin to glide through the air quickly. The army of Changelings were still perusing him and he pulled back up and went for the ceiling again. He gathered flame into his mouth and shaped it into a ball. He was nearing the ceiling of the chamber and he released the now large ball of flame which impacted the weakened ceiling in an explosion of green flame. Spike covered his eyes and looked away from the flash of light.

He looked back to the ceiling to find a large hole had been made and the sunlight was coming through. "Gotcha!" He soared back up to the ceiling as quickly as his tired wings could carry him. He was near the hole when he heard an angry roar come from below him and looked over his shoulder. Chrysalis was soaring up toward him at terrifying speeds, her seared mane and tail flopping behind her.

Spike's face contorted into one of worry and he pushed his wings into overdrive as he blasted through the hole and hovered for but a moment. He looked around himself and saw a mountain range in the distance. He began to fly in the direction of the mountains when Chrysalis caught up with him.

She flew through the hole in the ceiling and flew right into Spike's rib cage, eliciting a cry. She blasted him in the stomach with her magic at pint-blank range and watched him recoil.

"You will pay for this!" she screamed, charging at him again.

Spike saw her coming and put up a guard just in time for Chrysalis' rear hooves to impact his forearms. He lowered his arms and belted out another plume of fire. Chrysalis dodged it and latched herself to his long neck. She bit down on it, causing Spike to yell in pain. He cocked an elbow and sent it backwards into Chrysalis' body. She let go of his neck and hovered, clutching her side. Spike punched her in the face. She went spiraling down a few feet before catching herself again. She looked up at him, the rage still in her eyes.

Spike flew toward the mountains again and pushed himself even farther than his body could naturally withstand in an adrenaline fueled furry of wing beats. Chrysalis gave pursuit once more but found herself falling behind him slowly. She kept her eyes on him as he pulled away from her and noticed the mountains to which he was headed. She smiled and stopped, floating in midair as her army came closer to her.

"NO!" she called to the army behind her. The many Changeling Drones stopped and hovered in the air at their queens’ order. "There is no need to pursue the dragon any longer. He is dead anyway. I will let the Ferals take care of him." She turned back toward the hive and flew back to her home, the Drones close behind.