Chapter 4 - An Alicorn and A Dragon
Adam walked in front of Spike, leading him through the forest. Spike, at times, noticed some bright eyes looking at them from the trees and bushes, but no creature dared to attack them, or, more precisely, they didn't dare attack Adam. Obviously, the Everfree Forest's inhabitants knew, by instinct or experience, that a full grown alicorn has very powerful defensive magic, and therefore stayed out of Adam's way.
"We've arrived."
Spike stopped walking, realizing there was no house on sight, not even a forest one, like Zecora's tree. It was just a large cavern.
"Uh... you live here?" Spike asked him.
"The whole forest is my home. I just brought you here since this is a relatively safe spot where you won't feel watched by Everfree's predators. I know you dragons feel more comfortable in this kind of space. And you should get this sapphire back into your bag; carrying such a valuable item is a temptation for criminals, even for those who don't know about its economical worth."
Spike nodded and dropped the sapphire inside the bag; even if, in the middle of the forest, it wasn't likely to find a jewel thief, many animals were attracted by bright, shiny objects, and even an alicorn would have problems dealing with a hydra or a manticore. Adam then entered the cave, and, once he and Spike had walked a bit, he used his horn to illuminate their way, finally stopping at a more or less comfortable spot.
"Now, Spike, wanna tell me why you feel so much anger and sadness towards yourself? Most dragons don't feel this insecure, or, at least, not in public."
"Well, the middle of the forest isn't precisely a public place." Spike groaned but then sighed and took a seat in a nearby rock. "And about your question... you'd feel insecure too if you were the most useless creature in all of Equestria."
"You don't seem to be that useless. You express yourself quite well... okay, not about yourself, but you know what I mean. Most dragons your age aren't this well educated."
"Most dragons hadn't been raised by ponies. You probably know already that Princess Celestia raised a little dragon, along with her best pupil." Spike guessed that, being an alicorn, he would know enough about Princess Celestia's personal life.
"I usually stay away from Canterlot, but yes, I heard something about that. Being raised by Princess Celestia herself and one of her pupils is quite a privilege."
"That makes me feel even worse!" Spike growled before looking down in sadness. "Not... being raised by them, of course... Princess Celestia was always very kind and patient with me... and Twilight, her pupil... she's like my big sister; I love them both, a lot. But... I feel awful because, even with their mentoring, I'm still useless. I don't even have the excuse of being badly raised, because I got a great family, very good friends, and despite all that, I am nothing but an overgrown lizard!"
"Well, at least now you admit being bigger than something."
"Glad you can have some fun at my expenses." Spike groaned. "Guess that's the only thing I'm good for; being the laughing stock. And I'm not even the group's funny one; next to Pinkie Pie, I'm as boring as a snails' wrestling match."
"Okay, while I... imagine that hypothetical match..." Adam actually got an amused smile, "why don't you tell me why you REALLY feel this bad about yourself? I can sense someone used a healing energy on you recently, so maybe this low self-esteem is related to losing a one-sided fight?"
"No; a mouse versus a minotaur is a one-sided fight. What happened to me was a birthday party; and I was the piñata, just with jewels instead of candy." Spike sighed and told Adam about the Mobians, making special emphasis on Sally, and his encounter with the Diamond Dogs.
"The only reason I'm not cheap dog food right now is because my friends saved me... as they ALWAYS have to do whenever we're in danger. I hate that! I hate being weak, and useless, and stupid..."
Adam raised a hoof to silence Spike.
"Spike, you were attacked by a whole pack of Diamond Dogs, and you resisted their attack until your friends arrived to save you. That was an impressive feat; most ponies wouldn't have lasted half the time you did, and I'm talking about adult, strong ponies. You used your brains and physical abilities in creative ways, and you should be proud of yourself for giving such a good fight against overwhelming numbers and superior forces."
"Maybe... but... still, the point is... I can't expect anyone to love me if I can't be strong enough to defend my beloved." Spike sighed and took out the sapphire, caressing its surface while still talking. "I used to be in love with this... awesome unicorn... her name is Rarity... I think I might still have some feelings for her... and it would be impossible for any sane, straight male of any species to not be attracted by her... but... she's way beyond my league; she's an Element of Harmony, for Celestia's sake! I'm lucky I'm worthy enough of being her friend."
Spike paused and got a deep breath, getting a slight smile.
"And... well, it seems I just don't learn. The lady I'm having feelings for these days... the female I'm falling in love with, if I'm not in love already... "
"Princess Sally." Adam deduced with easy; Spike simply nodded and continued talking.
"Yes. Again, I've fallen for someone who's just too much for me. I wanted to give her this sapphire; a beautiful (and delicious) rare gem for a wonderful, beautiful princess... and don't take me wrong; I'd still love her even if she wasn't a princess, I mean, I fell for Rarity at first sight, when she still wasn't an Element; those 'extras' only make them even greater." Spike looked down, almost in tears. "Sally and Rarity deserve the best; they deserve royalty; they deserve heroes; they deserve greatness. They deserve... everything I'm not."
"Spike, take this from someone who had lived for a very long time; royalty doesn't always equal greatness. You probably think like this because most, if not all, the royals you have met are nice, brave and strong, like Princess Celestia, and of course, this Sally girl; but I have met royals that are nothing but big, stupid jerks."
"Yes, I know; Rarity is dating one of them... but I think he's doing better these days. Otherwise, Rarity is just too smart and dignified to date anyone who doesn't deserve it." Spike pointed out.
"Good for her. And also, you mention heroism and greatness; there are many types of heroes, and greatness comes in many ways. However... as you say, Princess Sally is some sort of powerful, warrior princess; someone who doesn't expect a knight to defend her if she can do it herself. Therefore, you think the only way you can be with her is if you're her equal in abilities and courage."
"Her equal... yes... that would be perfect. She wouldn't see me as a simple lizard, or, in the best case, another of her friends. She would probably see me as dating material." Spike exclaimed but then looked down again. "And then, the rainbows will include gray, black and white in their colors, and Fluttershy will become a horseshoes sales-mare, and Big Macintosh will reduce his size until he's smaller than my toes, and Zecora will lose her stripes..."
"You have a thing for sarcasm, don't you?"
"You too, am I right?" Spike arched an eyebrow at Adam... and the large alicorn started laughing loudly.
"I hadn't laughed this hard in ages. Are you sure Princess Sally wouldn't fall for someone with a sense of humor?"
"I heard she dated this Sonic guy for some time; and it didn't work, so... no, she might enjoy a sense of humor but not dating a clown." Spike shrugged.
"Okay then... you might not realize it yourself, Spike, but you already have many good qualities. And if the only thing, you think, is stopping you from achieving your own greatness, is your lack of physical power, I can offer you options."
"Working out, eating my vegetables, and sleeping at least 8 hours a night?" Spike groaned.
"That works too. Or, if you want to accelerate the process..."
Adam then used his magic to form an image; it looked like a gauntlet at first, but then it morphed into a sword, a club and some sort of rod.
"You can't decide on what weapon to show me?" Spike asked.
"This is one weapon in many shapes, Spike; similar to that mace you told me this Daemon guy possesses." Adam explained. "However, in order to work, this weapon requires a very special power source. You notice those six holes in the hilt?"
Spike nodded and looked closer at the image, now very interested in Adam's explanation.
"Besides the Elements of Harmony, there are other jewels with great power in Equestria. And just like the Elements only have their power when they're used by their living avatars, and only can be used at full power when combining all of them, these stones only have power when they're held by someone worthy, and only have full power when combined in the same weapon."
"What do you call these things? The Elements of Empowerment?"
"Nice alliteration work, Spike, but the correct name is Infinity Stones. In theory, these stones can give you infinite powers, but, as you might imagine, there's a catch. Such power is just too much for anyone, even if having magical powers or impressive physical might of his/her own; so, you can only use a fraction of that power; and that's also why Celestia didn't use the Stones, or made your friends use it, against Discord, or even to cure Princess Luna when she was Nightmare Moon. In comparison, the Elements of Harmony are easier to handle, especially because, as their name indicates, their power is related with complete harmony, and in fact it's useless if such harmony is corrupted, so there's little to none risk of the ones using the elements getting corrupted by their power."
"I see... but then, what if I get corrupted by the Infinity Stones' power? I want to be strong, but I don't wanna become a monster; been there, done that, didn't like it at all."
"And that's precisely why you are an adequate wielder for such power, Spike. I'm an alicorn; I already have great magical power, and if getting access to the Stones, even if I could resist any negative influence for a while, in a long term, even 'I' can get corrupted by such power; why do you think Princess Celestia and Luna divided Equestria's dominion, one of them ruling over day and the other ruling over night? Because any princess having the whole power permanently would get corrupted eventually; you saw how anger and negative feelings corrupted Princess Luna, and how she needed one thousand years to get purified of them; and the reason Princess Celestia wasn't corrupted by having full power over Equestria for over a millennium was because of her fear of getting affected like Luna did."
Spike nodded in understanding.
"You, Spike, on the other hand... you don't consider yourself powerful. You know how it feels to be weak, and how it feels when someone powerful takes advantage of you. As long as you remember this, and how you want to use your powers to better yourself in order to help others, and with love being your main motivation... the Infinity Stones' power won't corrupt you. Remember, Spike; the strong ones become bullies when they forget how it feels to be weak."
"I see..." Spike then became a lot more serious. "I promise that, if I'm worthy enough of this power, I won't abuse it. And this time I'm not being sarcastic."
Adam nodded at Spike, and then used his magic again, this time to materialize a large piece of paper.
"This is a reference sheet I made of the Infinity Stones. There's basic information about them, and also where you can find them; I'll tell you that it won't be easy, as it happens with everything important. The weapon, the Infinity Staff, is hidden as well, and I know where."
"You're telling me where to look for it too?"
"Yes." Adam paused. "Move the rock you were sitting on."
Spike wide opened his eyes. He then ran to the rock and tried moving it; the rock was too heavy, and, when realizing he couldn't move it, the dragon started digging around the rock until finding a large box. He pulled it out of the hole, and took out the weapon, that was surprisingly light.
"Whoa. I thought it would be heavier." Spike grinned in delight before pausing and frowning. "Wait a minute... if you knew the weapon was here, why did you make that image instead of taking it out?"
"Spike, I live in the middle of a forest where nopony usually comes. Even I enjoy an entertaining chat once in awhile; and the magic makes for good storytelling." Adam grinned.
"Great. A wise hermit who longs for a social life." Spike rolled his eyes.
"Are you sure you don't wanna become a comedian?" Adam smirked.
"Are you sure you're not a comedian yourself?" Spike frowned before getting a thoughtful expression. "Mmm... if the stones thing doesn't work, we can take this act in Las Pegasus."
"Let's make it our Plan B, okay?" Adam replied, definitely entertained by this dragon.
Back in Ponyville, Twilight and Sally were already pacing back and forth at the unicorn's house, with Nicole and Tails trying to comfort them, but it was obvious the foxes were getting just as nervous.
"Spike had been out for more than 2 hours now." Twilight groaned. "I know he needed some alone time, but..."
"Yeah, I'm worried too." Sally sighed. "Maybe we should ask Rainbow or Sonic to make a quick search... or track him ourselves, I mean, Lupe and the other wolves are good at that."
"Let's give him a few more minutes. Maybe he's already coming back." Tails pointed out.
At that moment, a small burst of flames appeared from thin air, and it left a piece of paper before extinguishing.
"That's one of Spike's notes!" Twilight dashed to read it.
"And Spike says this ability isn't useful." Nicole added before she and the others waited for Twilight to read the note.
"Dear Twilight, Sally, and anyone else reading this. I'm sorry if I made you worry about me; you don't need to, since I'm okay. However, I'll still be away for some time, and I can't tell how much." Twilight sighed while reading. "Today I realized I need to improve myself in order to be more useful to the group. I know you'd probably tell me something among the lines of 'You're not useless', but even if that's right, this incident with the Diamond Dogs proved I need to be stronger. I'd never forgive myself if any of you get hurt before I couldn't protect myself."
Everyone got a sad expression, with Sally and Twilight almost at the verge of tears; it was so obvious that Owlicious actually grabbed a paper tissue with his beak and gave it to Twilight, the unicorn thanking him before cleaning up his eyes. The owl was about to do the same with Sally but the princess stretched her arm to grab another tissue herself. Twilight then continued reading.
"I found a trainer, coach, or whatever you wanna call a large, mysterious alicorn that can help me be less of a punching bag. He's gonna help me become a better dragon, and when I say 'better', I mean stronger without needing to go all Giant Monster like before. This is gonna take a while, so, please, take good care of Pee Wee; I have a little list of instructions on how to attend him right under my bed's pillow; I did it in case I ever was too sick to take care of him myself, or, like now, if I had to leave for some days. Again, I'm very sorry for making you worry, but I promise I'll return as a much better, completely improved guy. Thanks again. Love you, Spike. P.S. Twilight, don't forget the note for the milk-mare; we are running out of butter."
"Thanks for the mood swing, Spike." Tails facepalmed yet smiled a bit. "At least we know he's okay... or at least, that he's somewhere with enough civilization to get writing material."
The females sighed and nodded; Tails had a fair point, and it seemed Spike was alright, at least physically. Still, they were worried about where he was, and the identity of this 'coach'. Twilight made a mental note about asking Princess Celestia about how to send a message back to Spike, a magical ability the princess had and the unicorn lacked, much to Twilight's sadness at the moment, as she was regretting not learning this trick before... but then again, with Spike around, she had never needed to do that herself.
Back with Adam and Spike, the alicorn was making Spike do some push-ups and basic working out exercises while observing him in deep thought.
"So... how is this helping me get the stones?" Spike asked Adam when the alicorn allowed him to take a break.
"Once you get at least one of them, the stones' power, even if not at its full power without having them all, will help you overcome the dangers or challenges you'll face to gather them. Until then, you only count with your own abilities, so we need to improve and enhance them." Adam explained, still looking thoughtful. "And this might be a problem."
"I know. I'm not good enough..." Spike was silenced by Adam.
"First of all, stop putting yourself down. You need to build up your self-confidence in order to achieve your goal. I'm sure you have seen the Elements of Harmony's avatars needing to believe in themselves in order to make their magic to work." Adam waited until Spike nodded, and then continued talking. "And second, you're not the problem, but me. Or more precisely, my ability to train you."
"How come?"
"I've lived for a very long time now, Spike, and I've trained many colts and mares in both magic and physical combat. However, all my other pupils were ponies, so my training techniques are suited for their abilities, not for a dragon's; you aren't a unicorn, so I can't teach you magical attacks; you're not an earth pony, so I can't teach you most of the physical attacks I know..."
"And I'm not a pegasus... in fact, I'm not even a flying dragon... so you can't teach me aerial techniques either." Spike sighed.
"In deed. And this actually helps me understand why you feel like the 'weak one' when compared with your companions. However, from my experience with dragons, both as opponents and as allies, and by watching you, I can tell you have many good qualities that are useful in battle." Adam walked in front of Spike and gently yet firmly touched the dragon's muzzle with his hoof.
"For starters, the obvious; you have Fire Breath. Even if not as powerful as an adult's dragon, you still can produce flames, something ponies, and most creatures in general, can't, and you already know how to use it in a practical way, by sending messages magically. That's something not even other dragons can do unless training for it. We can work to make your fire even more powerful."
Spike nodded, liking the idea; he knew his fire could be useful, but rarely used it in a fight, and it wasn't so powerful compared with the very other dragons he had met, so most of the time he didn't consider it a worthy ability in battle.
"Also, your teeth. You know that diamonds are the hardest non-magical mineral material in existence? And your kind eats them as easily as I'd chew an apple. To do this, not only you have very powerful teeth, but also incredibly strong jaw muscles that help you bite and chew the gems." Adam then touched Spike's sides. "Your body is covered in scales, all of them much harder than any pony's skin; even if you felt pain when those dogs attacked you, you still survived a beating, without bleeding, that would've severely injured even a muscular, adult earth pony." Adam then pointed at Spike's hands. "And you have hands, Spike; not just something that enables you to do delicate, precision tasks that ponies can't do unless using magic (in the case of unicorns) or having extreme dexterity, but also 'clawed' hands that help you dig even through solid rock with little effort. And, of course, your tail." Adam patted the dragon's tail. "Covered in scales and very muscular; you can use it as an extra limb during a fight."
Spìke was now feeling a bit prouder of his species; of course he knew a dragon could be very dangerous in a fight, but until now he thought he'd need to be much bigger to actually be a physical threat.
"And with the Infinity Staff, even before getting the stones, you'll possess an indestructible weapon, that can be used as a battle staff." Adam finished, using his alicorn magic to levitate the Infinity Staff and move it around, mimicking facing several enemies around him; Spike was impressed at how fast he was doing it. If actually hitting someone with the staff, Adam would have knocked out even an enemy as big as himself.
"Now that we both know what we have for starters, it's time to really train you." Adam gave the staff back to Spike, the little dragon nodding and getting a decided look.
And then, randomly, Pinkie Pie's voice was heard.
"Cue the training montage!" The voice was heard again. "Good, I have my Disney's soundtracks CD... heh, I couldn't find the Rocky one, but this works just as well."
The song 'Be a Man' is heard while Adam starts training Spike.
Adam showed Spike how to throw the Infinity Staff and make it bounce on multiple targets before catching it back. Spike threw it at a rock, and it ricocheted several times... making Spike to run away when it ricocheted back at him, too fast for the dragon to catch. Adam rolled his eyes.
Next, Adam showed him how the Infinity Staff could make him resistant to fire and elements in general even without the Infinity Stones powering it. Adam held the staff while asking Spike to shoot fire at him; Spike did, and Adam didn't even feel the heat. Then, Adam gave Spike the staff, and used a spell to summon an icy blizzard... that froze Spike while leaving the staff unfrozen.
After that, Adam and Spike started training some fighting moves. Spike moved the staff at high speed, doing several defensive and attack moves, even moving it like a pair of nunchucks... and then yelping and rubbing his sides in pain as he had hit himself with the staff while doing the moves.
The scene now showed Spike doing 'The Crane' while standing on top of a large rock. The dragon threw the kick and then landed on his right foot, without problems... until a butterfly landed on his nose and this was enough to make him lose balance and fall from the rock.
The scene now has Adam showing Spike how the Infinity Staff can separate itself, forming a staff and grappling hook combo. Spike nods and starts working with it, spinning the 'hook' to try grappling a nearby tree... and in the process, Spike gets tied up.
Now, Adam makes Spike throw several flame balls at assorted targets; first, a rock; then, a bush; then, a tree; then, another rock... and Spike misses it, and hits a beehive. Cue Spike getting attacked by the swarm.
Spike now starts doing shadow boxing with... his shadow, that gets projected on the cave's wall. Spike actually does a good job this time, facing his shadow as he would do with a real opponent; he ends the routine with a sound punch to the wall... that makes a stalactite to fall on top of him. Oddly enough, his shadow conserves independent action, and shakes its head.
The scene now shows Spike doing the battle moves with the staff, this time much better, even catching it back when it ricochets. Then, he uses the 'grappling hook' mode, and actually uses it to travel at high speed through the forest, swinging from one tree to the other.
Adam, again, uses a blizzard attack on Spike; this time, the dragon is both focused to use the staff and more physically prepared, so he stands the cold with relative ease. Only his tail gets frozen, and Spike melts the ice with a good sized flame.
Spike does some shooting practice again. Adam throws several rocks and branches at him, at high speed, using his magical telekinesis. Spike destroys all the targets with quick, small yet powerful fireballs, and the few targets he misses with his flame, breaks them in pieces with his staff.
Spike does the shadow boxing again; this time, he doesn't use just punching moves but also kicks and tail attacks. He finishes by 'headbutting' the shadow, meaning he's hitting the cave's wall with his head; Spike is mostly unfazed by this, and when the stalactite falls on top of him, Spike moves aside at the last second and hits it away with his tail. Spike grins, his shadow claps, and they both shake hands... before Spike wide opens his eyes when realizing he's shaking his own shadow's hand. At that moment, the shadow goes back to moving normally; Spike does some quick moves to confirm it, and sighs in relief... not noticing the shadow is chuckling when he turns his back on it.
The scene now shows Spike running through the forest, dodging flaming rocks that seem to appear out of nowhere. A rock wall appears right in front of him, and Spike jumps over it by using the staff as a jumping pole; another wall, higher than the first one, appears almost immediately, and Spike breaks through it with a combination of his dragon claws and a quick hit with the staff; then, several wooden spikes pop out of the ground, and Spike burns them all to ashes with his flaming breath. Spike then starts running up-hill, now dodging and jumping over rolling stones that dash at him from the top; the scene then shows Adam as the one who had been using his magic to set up the obstacles Spike is facing. When Spike gets in front of him, Adam uses his magic again to summon a huge fireball that Spike simple hits aside with his staff, and then literally runs between Adam's legs and gets past him, still running up. Adam grins when Spike finally gets to the top of the hill, and starts jumping in joy, holding his staff with both hands and over his head; of course, being Spike, he falls off the other side of the hill while jumping, but then the staff's grappling hook saves him, Spike actually grappling Adam's horn and using it to climb up in a single bound.
The music stops at this moment.
"Go on with the story, Mister Adam." Pinkie's voice is heard again.
"Thanks, Pinkie." Adam rolls his eyes before breaking the fourth wall and looking at the reader. "Please, don't ask. Trust me. You'll be saving us many headaches."
The alicorn looks back at Spike and continues with the story.
"Well done Spike, now you're ready to get the Infinity Stones." Adam then nods at Spike and motions him to climb on his back. "I'll fly you close to the first location. The next is up to you."
"Got it." Spike sat on Adam's back. "Heh... sorry about falling at the end. My mistake."
"You corrected it immediately. Also, it's kinda good you make mistakes once in a while, because it will keep you from getting overconfident." Adam smiled at his pupil, and then started flying, knowing Spike was ready, and hoping Spike really knew he was ready.