Disclaimer! I do not own anything from MLP! However, the only thing I can lay claim to is the "King of the Dragons", Zermilion. He is a character I created for a Novella I am working on. Figured I would simply throw some spice and have him implemented into the MLP world! I hope you guys enjoy this story…. After my first Crossover with MLP, some weird ideas just kept popping up in my noggin, and I had to get them out X.x SO! Without further ado! My Little Hatchling!
Chapter One: Who am I?
Our story begins in a Library Treehouse within the small town of Ponyville, in the magical land of Equestria. But this is no normal home, however, since it is where the favored student of the Sun Princess, Celestia, stays. This is the home of Twilight Sparkle, and her baby dragon friend, "Spike".
Spike was like Twilight's own son, even though she says he is like her brother when talking to her friends, she couldn't really take him along on many adventures. He was just too small, and even the young alicorn mare could sense that it was bothering him. Despite the fact that he often said things like "I'll make sure your books are ready, when you get back!" Or even "Don't worry, Twilight, I have way too much stuff to do, anyways!" She often thought he may have been feeling left out… His only real adventure was one when the young Dragon joined the Great Dragon Migration. Which, actually, turned out to be a real bust for an adventure.
Twilight decided to ask the young Dragon what he wanted to do. "Hey, Spike! Mind coming down here real fast!" She called out, smiling from her desk within the library.
"Ok, Twilight! I'm coming!" A voice cried out, before small footsteps began to rush down from their upstairs bedroom. Before long, a young purple and green dragon walked into the library, smiling. "What's up? Need more scrolls or ink?" He asked, tilting his head.
"No… Not that." She said, still smiling, before looking back at him. "So, um, what are you planning to do today?"
The young Dragon tilted his head, somewhat confused because of the question he was just asked. "Uhh… Well, I was thinking about staying in and rearranging a few of the books, maybe reading one or two." He answered, actually thinking about the question now. "Though, finding some way of earning a couple of gems to eat doesn't sound much of a bad idea."
Twilight giggled about the last part, "Well… Would you like to come with me and hangout with the girls today? I mean, you do work rather hard, and you've earned a break." She said, still smiling at the young Dragon.
"Nah, I'm good, Twilight. Besides, aren't you guys planning on helping AJ around the Apple Farm?" Spike asked, giving a soft shrug. "I wouldn't be much help there, anyways."
Twilight frowned a bit, when he answered. "Rarity is going to be there; I know how you're always trying to impress her." She noted, hoping that it will catch the young dragon's attention, like always.
Spike looked down at the floor, crossing both arms behind his back and slowly rubbing the ground with his foot. "I'm good, Twilight… Besides, I'll probably make a fool of myself again, like the last time I tried to help at the Apple Farm."
Twilight remembered the day he was referring too. They were asked to help around the barn and in the apple field. Spike was trying to help paint some faded parts of the barn's walls, when he attempted a quick trick, in attempts to show off in front of Rarity with his painting skills. Despite his intentions, the attempt ended with him falling off the latter and slamming down into a bunch of filled water pales. Which ended up flying about, splashing on to him, and any other pony that were around.
"Come on, Spike… That was just an accident, a onetime thing. I'm sure nothing embarrassing will happen this time." Twilight said, trying to assure the young Dragon.
"Really, Twilight, I'm fine. Besides, like I said before, there are a lot of things for me to do." He said, giving the princess a smile. "You go on ahead."
Twilight just looked at him for a few seconds, before nodding. "Alright, Spike… Promise you won't do anything reckless, while I'm gone?" She said, smiling before giving him a teasing joke. "Like that little Animal Day Care idea you had?"
Spike blushed, remembering how badly that big idea ended. "Y-Yeah… Promise! This time, I'm just going to stay inside the house…" He responded, walking back up the stairs.
Twilight frowned a bit, when the young dragon turned around, and started to grab her stuff. "Alright, Spike… You be safe, alright?" She asked, walking towards the door.
Spike gave a light sigh, "Yes, mom." He said, jokingly, before going back into their room.
The fact Spike just called her mom, made Twilight smile quite a bit. If only that were true… But, at least I can play the role. She thought, exiting the library, shutting the door behind herself.
However, when Spike was alone, he didn't exactly feel like the way he was talking. Giving a light sigh, he walked over to his basket bed, and pulled out his diary from under the cushion. He quickly grabbed a quill, dabbed it into an ink well, and opened the diary up to start on the day's entry. Once again, Twilight tried to include me into some of the stuff she is doing today. He wrote, looking out the window for a second, seeing the purple mare walking towards the Apple Farm, before going back to writing. I appreciate what she is doing, and despite what I told the other Dragons about everyone being my family… I can't help but feel like an outsider here.
Spike thought about the day he actually stood up to the older Dragons, during the Great Dragon Migration and how he admitted, confidently, that Twilight and the others were his friends, and family. He looked around the room, taking in all the feelings around him, giving a slight smile about how warm it feels there. Twilight also acted like my mother again. I never really knew my real parents, and it feels great to actually have someone like that in my life. But, I just can't stop getting the urge to discover who I am, and where I come from. Though, just being around Twilight, her warmth, her sweet voice, and how she truly cares about me like I was her own… Sometimes, it helps me forget those urges.
A few drops of tears suddenly tap on to the dairy's paper, as Spike wiped away the next ones threatening to come out on to it. But the thoughts of not knowing, are often painful… Or what might happen, to everyone, if I lose control of myself. I still haven't forgotten what happened, when my greed actually overpowered my common sense. I nearly hurt everyone that time, even Rarity and Twilight. He wiped away some of the tears forming, before they could actually slide down. I actually had a nightmare, where I was a full grown Dragon, and I destroyed Ponyville, and had Twilight in my claws… Before… Before... Only flames were around my claws. Maybe I don't belong here, and leave. I only seem to get in the way, all the time. Spike stopped writing, wiping away the next set of tears, and put his diary away. After all, he had a lot of chores to do today.
-With Twilight-
Twilight walked through Ponyville, smiling at how happy everyone seemed to be today. She kept looking around for her friends, wondering where they were all at, until she spotted a pink, with a fluffy pink mane, mare hopping about. "Pinkie Pie!" She yelled out, rushing up to her hyper, go lucky, friend.
"Twilight! You ready to go help out Apple Jack!?" Pinkie asked, still hopping about, she seemed to always find everything to be some sort of party.
"You know it… Where are the others?" Twilight asked, looking around. She was sure that this was the time they all agreed to meet up at.
"Oh! I know that one! Rarity said she'll be along later, having to find the right outfit. Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash already went on ahead. As you already know, Apple Jack is getting everything ready!" Pinkie Pie answered, giving her classic smile.
"Well then, we should hurry up! Don't want to miss out on all the fun!" Twilight said, as the two mares rushed off towards Apple Farm. But, the young unicorn looked back towards her library. Maybe we can talk about doing something with Spike that he'll like…. She thought, turning her attention back to the road.
-Sweet Apple Acres-
When everyone arrived at the Apple Farm, they started to help around the farm with what they could. Some went to help with knocking the apples from the trees, while others helped repair the barn, along with some of the tools. With the extra help, the Apple Family were able to get the season's harvest rather quickly, which meant they could start with getting the apples ready to sell.
Once all the work was finished, the Mane Six met up just outside Apple Farm's fence. "Thanks, ya'll... You made things a lot easier for the four of us here at Apple Farm. Ain't no tellin' how long that woudda took Big Mac, Apple Bloom, and myself; alone." Apple Jack said, the others nodding to her.
"Hey, what are friends for, AJ? After all, it gave us all something to do!" Rainbow Dash said, the rest giggling with her.
Twilight smiled a bit, but then remembered about the young Dragon back home. "Hey, girls, mind if I talk about something serious for a moment?" She asked, everyone turning their attention to the violet unicorn.
"Yeah, what's up, Twi?" Apple Jack asked.
"Shoot, girl!" Rainbow Dash said, nodding.
"It's about Spike… I can't help the feeling that he's being left out of everything we've been doing. You know?" She admitted, looking around as the rest started to realize it too.
"You have a point, sweetie… Poor Spikey Wikey hasn't really been around these things since that whole Rampage incident… I do worry about the poor dear." Rarity admitted.
"Now that you mention it, Twi… I have noticed that Spike doesn't get out much that often, either. Is everythin' alright back at the Library?" Apple Jack asked, everyone giving a worried look.
"That's the thing, I really don't know." Twilight admitted, looking down with a frown. "He often said he's fine, and tells me he has a lot of chores to do around the library. Even though I know that he doesn't have much, because that is his daily excuse. When I call him out on it, he simply says that there are also books he wants to try reading."
"Hm… Maybe we should throw him a party! That'll probably help!" Pinkie Pie blurted out, bouncing up and down. Everyone smiled at the notion of throwing Spike a party, even Twilight nodded to the idea.
"You're right… We're often too busy to show our appreciation for Spike, and he does so much for us. Maybe we should all do something special for him!" Twilight said, the group all starting to smile at the idea of throwing their favorite baby dragon, their only one at that, a party.
-Ponyville Library-
As Spike was putting away some of the books, one caught his attention. The spine of the book said "Dragons, Fact and Fiction". This caused the young dragon, driven by his subconscious urge of discovery, to pull out the book and went to the reading desk that he used.
Once he was seated comfortably, he opened the book up and began to read. It was mostly a book on the life cycle, anatomy of certain dragons, how they are born, and some minor entries about the migration. But one entry caught his attention, it was in the history part. In a mountain range, just beyond Everfree Forest, was where large group of Dragons had created a small colony for themselves. Each dwelling in caves dug into the mountains themselves. The only thing preventing these Dragons from actually amassing and attacking nearby towns and cities is… The next entry actually caught Spike off guard. An ancient Wyrm simply called the 'King of Dragons'. It is said he was around one of the first Dragons in Equestria. Considered the oldest, wisest, and strongest of all Dragons… When he decrees something, no Dragon dare defies his order. Fearing his wrath. It was said that a terrible Dragon did, once, usurp his rule in an attempt to destroy the Pony Kingdoms. It was simply referred to as the Death Dragon for his skeletal body and dreaded magic it wielded.
Spike looked at an old drawing of the said Death Dragon, which was a large dragon, whose body was nothing but bones and had a greenish glow about him, before following the story more. At the time, Princess Celestia was just barely out of her filly days, and Princess Luna was far too young to do anything either. So, she swallowed her pride, and visited the mighty King, in attempts to plead for his help. With her sister, she showed the Dragon what this usurper was going to destroy, appealing to his instincts to protect life. When the mighty King stood up, he bellowed something that only the Princess heard, and a pact was made between the two royals. After which, he flew the young Princess, and her sister, back to their home, upon his back. Where he, and he alone, fought the Death Dragon in a vicious battle of titans for seven days and seven nights. Upon the eight day, the King unleashed a powerful spell that sent the Death Dragon into a mountain, on the far side of Equestria, sealing him for all eternity.
Spike continued to read about this strange King, and how he actually made a pact with Princess Celestia, that long as the Ponies left them be, his Dragons would not bother them. Though, a certain word made him someone disappointed, the word Myth. There was an explanation under it. No pony has ever seen this 'King of the Dragons', nor have they heard from him. Without proper information, to validate this entry, it is considered that he is merely a pony tale. Neither will Princess Celestia give any word on the subject of this King of Dragons.
Spike continued to read, finding the exact location of this Mountain Range, eyeing the drawn map within the book. Afterwards, went to get a map and quickly opened it up near the book. He scanned the area marked in the book, then eyed the map. That's when he found it, a mountain range just south west of the Everfree Forest… That the map simply called The Dragon Mountains.
Spike smiled, "Maybe… That is where my parents are!" He said, gleefully. "If I can go there, maybe I can learn a bit-…" He stopped, after hearing the door open behind him.
"I'm home, Spike!" Twilight said, smiling as she walked over to the young dragon. "What are you reading there?" She asked, trying to look, noticing a map next to the book.
"Oh! Uh… A book you had on Dragons." He answered, trying to figure out a good explanation on why he was reading it. "Figured, if I'm going to be some mighty dragon, I need to learn a bit about other ones too!"
Twilight smiled, hearing his dream always made her do so. "Oh? Ironically, that was the book I used, when I was allowed to raise you." She said, walking up to the desk, and eyeing the map as well. "What's the map for?"
"Oh, this? I was studying the layout of Equestria, before I pulled out the book." He lied, looking it over. "Figured, if you need any help with geography, I should try and verse myself just in case."
Twilight kept her smile up, she could tell when he was lying but figured she could make it seem like she believed him. "That's good to know!" She walked up, and hugged him with her forelegs, really tightly. "You are, and always will be, my number one assistant, Spike." She admitted, rubbing his back.
"Y-Yeah… Thanks, Twilight." Spike said, wrapping his smaller arms around her. His arms only reached to the sides of her back, but he didn't really care about that. He always enjoyed it when Twilight hugged him, she was always so warm and comforting to the small Dragon. He wanted it to last forever, but he knew it couldn't. "H-Hey, Twi?"
Twilight nodded, "Hm?" She cooed, still hugging the small dragon.
"I have a question." Spike said, as Twilight pulled a back a bit and smiled. "If I got bigger, too big to actually stay around… Would you send me away?"
The mare suddenly frowned at the question. "I would never send you away, Spike… Remember? We're family." She admitted, trying to smile and comfort him.
"But… What if I go on a rampage again? I mean, I can't really stop my nature, after all." He asked, looking down at the ground. The images of Ponyville completely wrecked still fresh in his mind. "I don't want to hurt anyone, especially you Twi."
She smiled, hugging him again, "That'll never happen, Spike…. You're not a bad Dragon, and everyone knows it." She said, smiling before kissing the top of his head.
Though, he couldn't feel the same way about it. But I don't even know if I could stop myself again…. He thought, before hugging Twilight back, not actually saying a word out loud.
