Chapter 2

An Expedition Ends and an Adventure Begins

A great hot air balloon floated through the clouds up the east side of the mountain upon which Canterlot Castle was built. Twilight Sparkle had an old brown map outstretched in front of her while the others gathered around. "According to this map the entrance to the cave should be right around here" she said pointing to a place on the map with her hoof. Rainbow Dash peered through the clouds with her hoof shielding her eyes. She squinted at the mountain face. Suddenly she spied a black hole with a small flat landing at the entrance.
"There it is!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed. Spike and the others ran to the edge of the basket to see. Twilight Sparkle tossed Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash each a rope.

"Alright: you, Fluttershy, and I will guide this balloon in for a landing." She said tying the rope around her waist. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy followed suit. The trio were soon out of the basket and pulling the balloon toward the cliff.
"Oh my!" Fluttershy exclaimed as a gust of wind blew her up and almost over the balloon.

"Woah!" Rainbow Dash cried out as she corrected her path from an unexpected wind blast. "Watch out Twilight - these aren't normal wind gust!"
"You can say that again!" Twilight Sparkle called out in a shaking voice as the wind attacked her at all angles blowing her back, forward, right, left, and upside-down before she was able to right herself. The balloon swayed dangerously in the turbulence.

"Whee!" exclaimed Pinkie Pie as the ponies and baby dragon rolled back and forth in the basket of the wind buffetted balloon.

"Hold on everypony!" Applejack grabbed the ripcord between her teeth as the balloon pitched and jumped. "Woah!" she cried out as she was thrown from the ledge of the ballloon, swinging out into midair, her hooves splayed out in all directions.

"Applejack!" Rarity screamed raising her terrified head and hooves above the rim of the basket. A sudden pitch by the balloon sent her hurtling into the opposite side of the basket with Spike and Pinkie crashing on top of her. Applejack's eyes narrowed and she tightened her grip on the rope yanking it taut.

"Yeehaw!" She cried as she swung back into the basket. She found her footing on the basket floor and taking a powerful stance she pulled the rope to control the balloon. With the balloon finally under control the ponies and Spike were able to look over the edge of the basket at their guides who, at that moment were struggling mightily against the relentless gusts.

"Maybe we should turn back" Fluttershy suggested hopefully.

"No," Twilight Sparkle responded with gritted teeth, clearly battling the wind to stay on course. "This is for Spike." With that Fluttershy peered back towards the basket and looked into the hopeful eyes of the baby dragon.

"For Spike" she repeated as she gritted her own teeth and redoubled her efforts, passing up the other two to lead the pack. The three fliers pushed forward through the battering wind gusts to the cave entrance. Then, just as suddenly as it started the wind stopped.

"What was that?!" Rainbow Dash asked when she was finally able to open her eyes fully again.

"I don't know," Twilight Sparkle replied. "But it is probably why only Equestria's most skilled fliers could reach the cave." The three came in for a landing at the mouth of the cave and pulled in the balloon allowing the other ponies and Spike to jump out.

"Again again!" Pinkie Pie shouted joyously as she bounced out of the balloon. Rarity slithered out behind her, her mane puffy and her eyes ringed with dark circles.

"uuugh" she moaned. Spike hopped out after her and rushed to the cave entrance. "Wait Spike!" Twilight Sparkle caught his tail in her mouth. His feet kept moving for a moment until he realized he was not going anywhere.

"What now?" he moaned as she released his tail.

"You can't just go running in there, it might not be safe." Spike had to concede that she had a point. "Let's all go in together, slowly." They had only entered a few steps into the cave when Spike tripped over something.

"Woaoah!" he cried out before falling head first into a soft pile of straw! The others came over to him.

"Well lookie here" Applejack exclaimed indicating to a spot on the cave wall just above the straw. The others turned their attention from Spike, who was brushing himself off, to the wall. Spike looked up to see the faces of his friends gaping at a spot above him.

"What is it guys?" he asked, turning around, then suddenly- "Woah" In large letters hewn into the stone above the straw the word S-P-I-K-E could be observed. Spike looked at the letters and then back around him at the straw, then back at the letters, then the straw again. His eyes grew large and he suddenly plopped down, overwhelmed, in the middle of the straw. "So this... this is where they found me." he said meekly. "This was my home," he picked up the straw with a new energy. "This-" he said rustling through the straw, "was my nest!" He jumped out of the long abandoned nest. "I wonder if anyone is home! Mom? Dad?" He called out as he ran from one end of the cavern to the other. The ponies looked at each other with a sad knowingness but they didn't say anything. They knew Spike knew what they did too, but there is a difference between knowing something and accepting it. As painful as it was to watch they had to let him come to that realization on his own. He had to try. It was the only way he could ever accept the truth. Finally he stopped calling and slowly trudged back to the nest. "There's no one here," he mumbled, crestfallen. "No one has lived here for years." He plopped down in the center of the nest looking dejected. In a heartbeat he was back on his feet. "Ow!" he cried rubbing his bottom.

"What is it, Spike?" Twilight Sparkle looked on the dragon with concern and alarm.

"Something poked me!" Spike answered looking back down at the nest. From the straw something glinted and Spike saw the pointed tip of something golden poking out from the center of the nest. "What is that?!" he exclaimed. He set upon the object, digging through the straw excitedly. A second later he dangled from his claws a badly beaten, worn heart-shaped candyapple red locket for the ponies to see.

"What is that?" Twilight Sparkle asked. As the glinting object slowly spun in the air.

"It looks like an old locket." Rarity answered. Her horn glowed as she summoned the locked from Spike's claws for closer examination. "It looks to be in very bad shape. I wonder how it got all the way up here?" She said turning the locket this way and that. She appeared to concentrate hard for a moment "Ugh, I can't seem to get it open."

"Here, let me try!" Spike jumped up, grabbing the locket out of midair before any of the other ponies had a chance to react. He pulled and pulled and grunted and pulled but he could not get the clasp to budge. Finally, exhausted, he held out the locket in his open hand to Twilight Sparkle. "You try." He panted.

"Okay," she consented, lifting the locket from his claws. She concentrated, she twisted and turned, she threw a strong spell at it, then another, but to no avail. Finally, a bit winded she sent it back to Spike. "I can't get it open." Spike looked defeated again. It seemed every time he had a glimmer of hope that he would find out who he was it was immediately squelched. "Don't worry Spike," she said consolingly "I'm sure Princess Celestia will have the answer."

"That's right, Darling," Rarity chimed in, floating the locket up from Spike's claws and gently placing it around his neck. "All we have to do is get it back to the Palace."

"Buck up, Buttercup. We'll get that locket opened afore you can say terrible timberwolves took twenty-two tiny trees."

"Terriblu timbewulves twook tennytwo eblflees" Pinkie attempted. Spike appeared to perk up a bit and the group made their way out of the cave.

"Alright! Let's get this show on the road!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed picking up one of the moorings. Suddenly Spike looked sick. He belched out green flames and caught a scroll as it flew from his mouth.

"It's from Princess Celestia!" Exclaimed Twilight Sparkle as she unrolled the scroll. "The Palace was attacked and Princess Luna's been poisoned."