Chapter 91: Dragon Quest
A whole week went by after Twilight's visit from her future self and week of paranoia and stress, Twilight doing nothing but sleeping and resting after working herself up over nothing. Today was supposed to be a normal day for most, but not for Spyro and his friends as today was the day for the Dragon Migration, which from what Twilight told Spyro only happens once in a generation, which was a long time from what twilight told him, so he was helping Applejack and Pinkie Pie with digging a trench for them to hide in, along with steps so they can get in and out whenever they wanted, while Twilight and Rainbow Dash went to get Fluttershy.
As they were finishing the trench, Spyro got out and noticed how dirty he was, looking back to see Applejack and Pinkie were also covered in dirt and the three of them laughed, spyro then went and got a rain cloud for them to use and kicked it, making it rain on them to wash the dirt off, shaking any excess water off to dry themselves off.
"Oh, this is so exciting!" Pinkie shouted. "I can't wait to see some migrating dragons! This is more exciting than the time I made threw that surprise party for Bon Bon and she ended up dropping a bag of bubblegum and I chewed it all up, blowing a bubble and flying into the air!"
"Ya'll said it Pinkie." Applejack said. "This is a once in a lifetime event for us pony folk. Hey Spyro, think ya'll might join them to see what they will be doing?"
"I don't know AJ." Spyro replied. "Never really thought about that as I have no reason to join the migration, unless I want a female dragon to join the herd."
"Let's not go that far Casanova." Applejack said.
They then heard hoof steps and saw Twilight and Rainbow Dash coming their direction, but Rainbow Dash looked like a wreck, scuffed up and beaten down as they came from Fluttershy's place, clutching her stomach as she walked.
"Geez Dash, what happened to you?" Spyro asked.
"Fluttershy did this, that's what." Rainbow Dash replied.
"You see, we tried to get her to come and watch the migration with us, but she refused to come along." Twilight said. "So Rainbow Dash tried to force her out of her cottage, but she kicked Rainbow Dash in the stomach and ran over her to escape."
"Oh you poor thing." Spyro said, walking over and wrapping his wings around her, which made her blush. "Are you badly injured?"
"Dude, not if front of the others." Rainbow Dash said, trying to hide her blush.
"Rainbow Dash, we're a herd, no need to be embarrassed." Spyro said, kissing her on the cheek.
"Still, I want to keep whatever dignity I have left." She replied, still blushing. "But I'm still steamed at Fluttershy. I watched her dumb butterfly migration a few months ago and she's too afraid to watch a dragon migration after standing up to a fully grown dragon almost a year ago."
"She's still nervous around dragons RD, just let it go." Spyro said, nibbling at her ear, which made her blush even harder, but didn't stop him.
The group then walked into the trench and got on whatever kind of camouflage that they had brought with them, which Pinkie brought some camouflage colored paint, how she managed to find or make it they didn't question it as it was Pinkie Pie they were talking about. Twilight then passed around several set of binoculars and all looking into the sky to see if they could find any dragons while waiting for Rarity and Spike to come and join them.
"I don't see any dragons." Twilight said, wearing an army camp jacket and helmet.
"Me neither." Applejack said, wearing a ghillie suit.
"Me neither, neither." Pinkie said, completely covered in camp paint and looking through the binoculars backwards.
"Shoot, did we miss them?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"I don't think so." Twilight answered. "We're a little early and for good reason. This way we can watch every single moment of the migration without drawing any unwanted attention to ourselves."
They then heard something that sounded like a party horn, looking to Pinkie as the likely culprit, but she looked at them, just as confused.
"What?" She asked. "That wasn't me."
"Then who was it?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"YOO-HOO!" Rarity called out, everyone turning to see her, but everyone but Pinkie hoof smacked themselves after seeing her. She had unrolled a red carpet all the way to the trench and was wearing a fancy purple dress with colorful camouflage and stuck out like a sore thumb as compared to them. "What do you think? Am I not the toast of the trench or what?"
"Oh, you'll be toast alright." Applejack answered. "When them dragons see ya parading around dressed like that."
"I admit, you do look nice." Spyro said, Twilight using her magic to make the confetti and red carpet disappear. "But I think the whole point of camouflage is not to be spotted. The dragons can see you miles away, even if you hid inside of a pile of gems, they'd find you."
"Hmph, boys have no sense of fashion." Rarity said, thought she gave him a sly smile and slightly opened her eyes as if planning something.
"Look, the dragons!" Pinkie said, pointing up. "They're here!"
Everyone ducked down in the trench to avoid being spotted and looked through their binoculars, seeing all the different kinds of dragons of various shapes and sizes from small sleek dragons to large bulky ones. Some of the dragons also had various wingspans where some had large wings, others had small wings and each of them had different kinds of spines going across their backs, some skinny, some overweight, the spectacle to see other dragons besides Spyro when he used his dragon form was a spectacle to behold. A minute later however, they saw a couple of dragons fighting one another as the first dragon bumped into the other, breath flames towards its foe and passing over the onlookers, who ducked in order to avoid being barbecued. Spyro poked his head out and looked around to make sure everything had calmed down and to their relief, the two dragons who were fighting one another had already gone, watching as the dragons flew to the east.
"That... was... AWESOME!" Spyro shouted, flying into the air.
"And quite fierce too." Rainbow Dash added.
"They were also quite formidable." Rarity said.
"More like super duper scary!" Pinkie said, still hiding in the trench.
"Yeah, us dragons are a force to be reckoned with." Spike said, bringing a cart while wearing a frilly apron with a large pink heart on it. "We can be pretty scary. I mean, Spyro's a good example of it when he uses his dragon form."
"Yeah Spike, you're real menacing with that apron on!" Rainbow Dash said, laughing and teasing the baby dragon.
"Hey, do you know how badly blueberries stain your scales?" Spike asked. "It's almost impossible to get out. See how you like it when it gets into your scales, er, feathers."
Rainbow Dash kept on laughing, having a ball with teasing Spike right as the other girls started to laugh.
"Come on Rainbow, give him a break." Spyro said. "He's live with a bunch of ponies all his life."
"Yes Rainbow Dash, don't pick on him like that." Rarity said. "Spike is unique, he isn't like the other brutish dragons."
"Or act like them." Twilight added.
"Why, Spikey-wikey is perfect the way he is." Rarity said, messing with his spines.
"I'm... not like other dragons?" Spike asked, looking very upset.
"Oh, not even close!" Pinkie said.
"But why would ya wanna be like them other big, mean old dragons Spike?" Applejack asked.
"Why you have something that those other dragons don't have." Rarity said. "You have the cutest, wittle, chubby cheeks!"
As she cooed at the baby dragon, it caused him to blush, but his blush was from embarrassment of his degrading pride rather than from his crush for the snow white fashionista.
"Cute!?" Spike asked. "Dragon's aren't supposed to be cute, right?"
"Oh sweetie, you're turning the most delightful shade of red." Rarity said. "It's so adorable." Spike looked at everyone in the group, but ended up yelling in frustration as he torn the apron off, storming away from the trenches as everyone poked their heads out to watch him. "Oh, isn't he adorable as he waddles away?"
"WADDLE!?" Spike shouted, yelling in anger as he ran away.
While the girls found the dragon cute and his reaction funny, Spyro couldn't help but feel sorry for the little guy as his pride was just shattered by the girls. Spyro knew that it was tough for the little dragon as he grew up around a lot of girls and there were very few colts around for him to be friends with besides Snips and Snails, who weren't the brightest tools in the shed and Pipsqueak was a nice kid and is friends with him. Despite his age, he was smart and wise enough to use common sense most of the time, but hanging around a group of mares all the time seemed to have caused his masculinity to be really low.
"Girls, maybe you could cut the poor kid some slack." Spyro suggested, the mares looking to him. "You all kind of shattered his pride when you started to tease him."
"Oh don't worry about him Spyro." Rainbow Dash said. "He's a tough little guy, he can take it."
"Yes, but you caused him some confusion as well." Spyro said, getting out of the trench and turning to him. "Sometimes light teasing can open the mind to some self doubt and possibly put ideas into the minds of those you're teasing. He's grown up around pony's and was raised by Twilight, never knowing about dragon culture and only being told that dragons are dangerous and greedy beings that should be avoided."
"Well... he has a point." Twilight said. "When I took my entrance exam, I hatched him from an egg and there weren't any books on dragons besides the fictional novels."
"But that's what makes him so lovable." Rarity said. "Unlike those other nasty brutes, Spike is nothing like the ones that passed by us." Spyro then raised an eyebrow at her, remembering the time on his birthday that his greed took over and caused him to get Dragon's Fever, making him very greedy for anything that has value to it and growing to gargantuan size. Spike was only able to return to normal when he saw Rarity wearing the FIre Ruby that Spike gave her. "...Though... after his episode of greed... he was much larger than most of those other dragons."
"The point is that he will want to understand who he truly is, where he comes from, why he was born with a race of ponies." Spyro said. "He'll eventually want to learn more about his kind and will want to understand more about what it means to be a dragon."
"Then I'll see if I can find anything to help him get some answers." Twilight said. "I hope he doesn't plan on doing anything stupid."
They all left the trench and went about their day, but Spyro decided to keep a very close eye on Spike as he knew he wanted to know more about his kind, even if he didn't like it. As for Twilight, she couldn't help but feel a sense of dread as she was the one who hatched Spike, with the help from Rainbow Dash's Sonic Rainboom, she was worried about how Spike was feeling, so she resorted to help him find any kind of information about dragons that could help him get some answers while also helping her to learn more about dragons as well as she too grew curious about them. However, the next morning, she was exhausted and Spike was growing frustrated, having gone through every kind of book in the library as they could get, but found nothing, causing the baby dragon to start to tear up right as Spyro walked in, seeing the mess of books on the ground and a very upset baby dragon.
"Hey you two." Spyro said. "I guess your search for answers didn't go the way you were hoping."
"Afraid so." Twilight replied. "There is no information about dragons, their culture, or anything of the sort. Everypony is too afraid to even try to talk to them."
"I wonder if dragon's cry." Spike said, on the verge of tears.
"Oh Spike, everyone cries." Spyro said, walking to him and lying on his stomach, wiping the baby dragon's tears away. "It's only natural to cry. Some believe it to be a sign of weakness, but when one cries, it shows them that you have a heart, emotions, and show you are human, well, in this case a dragon, but still, you can choose not to cry, but that will only hold in all the hurt. When you cry, you let out all the hurt and allow yourself to heal, letting out the pain and misery you hold. And when you tell your friends, they can do everything they can to help you."
Spike then wiped away the tears and got up, walking past Spyro as he went to the door.
"Thanks Spyro." Spike said. "And thank you Twilight, for trying to help. But if I'm going to find out who I am if it's the last thing I do!"
"Spike..." Twilight tried to say, but couldn't as he held his hand up.
"No Twilight, I must discover who I am on my own." Spike replied.
Spike then walked up the stairs to pack his things, leaving the two of them alone, Spyro knowing what the little guy was gong through and allowed him to do what he needed but Twilight looked panicked.
"Oh, why didn't we stop him!?" Twilight asked, completely panicked. "We can;t let him-"
"Twilight, when the heart is determined to understand the truth, the best thing to do is not interfere." Spyro answered. "If he wishes to discover who he is, then we must not stop him."
"HELLOOO!" Rarity said, she and Rainbow Dash walking through the door. "Rainbow Dash and I were wondering if you could join us for breakfast."
"I'm afraid that's a no from me." Spyro answered. "You see, Spike is wanting to join the migration to discover who he is."
"WHAT!?" Rarity and Rainbow Dash shouted at the same time.
"Dude, that's crazy talk, they'll chew him up and spit him out!" Rainbow Dash said. "I mean, I know he's a dragon, but those dragons mean business. they're big, tough, scary..."
"And he won't be alone." Spyro said, getting their attention. "I'm going to join him, this way I can keep an eye on him and make sure nothing bad happens to him."
"I appreciate it Spyro, but I don't need a babysitter." Spike said, walking down the stairs with a bag on a stick. "I can handle myself."
"I know you can Spike, but you're still a baby." Spyro replied. "You need someone watching you."
"Spyro, I can take care of myself." Spike said, tossing away the apron he accidentally picked up. "I just want to spend time with other dragons."
"That's why I'm going with you." Spyro said, walking up to him. "You don't have your wings and by the time you reach the destination, you'll be exhausted and out of food. I can change into a dragon and blend in." He walked over and put his hoof on his shoulder to show him he wanted to help. "I won't impede you in wanting to learn more about being a dragon, but at least let me go with you so that you can be safe."
"Spyro, I do appreciate the offer, but I want to do this on my own." Spike replied.
Spike then walked out of the room after getting all the provisions he needed, setting out in the direction of where they last saw the dragons migrate to and walking the whole way there, leaving his friends behind, watching him as he walked farther and farther away from the library and out of town.
"We got to go after him!" Rainbow Dash said. "He could get hurt! Not to mention there is still the threat of the Heartless and Nobodies."
"I think in this instance I must agree with Rainbow Dash." Rarity said. "There are also others who would cause harm to him."
"We must respect his wishes and let him discover everything on his own." Spyro replied, watching him walk away. "But... that doesn't mean we can't follow him. Plus, I'd like to observe the dragons in this world."
They then walked back into the library to discuss a plan to follow the little baby dragon in order to ensure his safety, but outside of the library, Midnight Sky was watching them, hiding among the rooftops of the town and heard everything they had said, slinking away as she got herself ready to put her plan into motion. Spike was journeying all across Equestria, keeping up with the dragon migration, traveling across the grassy plains and the forestry areas of Equestria to make his way to the dragon lands where the massive and dangerous beasts were heading to. He would stop every now and then to get something to eat while watching the migration, observing the dragons to understand how they act sometimes, wanting to know as much as possible before arriving at their destination.
He then trudged through snowy mountain peaks, through scorching dessert plains and even took a ride down a river using a raft to get to his destination, going through a forest region and into an open area until he saw his destination, the Dragon Lands, centered at the peaks of inactive volcanoes, running to them as he was excited to get to meet some more dragons. Meanwhile at the other side of the land, Midnight Sky had managed to arrive at the Dragon lands as well, way ahead of Spike as she looked out to all the dragons, smiling to herself.
"My, look at all of these wonderful dragons." Midnight said. "So many different choices, so much time in the world to make some new 'friends.' But I doubt they will let me into their little group of they see me like this." Her horn then started to glow a dark purple, engulfing herself into a cloud of dark purple smoke as she then changed into a dragon, dark purple in color with a dark blue underbelly and a pair of black horns, her eyes revealed to be red on the left and blue on the right, spreading her wings as she smiled. "Now I will be able to blend in and hopefully get a few dragons on my side to destroy Rosy.'
She then flew down to the other dragons, not use to flying at first, but got the hang of it as she landed on the rim of the volcano, looking out to see the many different kinds of dragons out there, looking around to see which ones would work for her plan to happen, finding a few younger dragons playing in the pools of lava and chowing down on some gems, sneering at them as she looked to the other dragons, but then heard something growl just to her right, looking over to see a massive male green dragon staring at her.
"What do you want?" She asked, clearly not impressed with him.
"Hey there baby, never seen you here before." The dragon asked, giving her a sharp and toothy grin. "What brings you to the migration?"
"None of your business pea brain." Midnight replied. "Now leave, or else I'll destroy you."
"Oh, nice and feisty!" He said, a low growl emanating from his throat as he checked every bit of her. "I like feisty! And your eyes, so unusual, so... mysterious. Oh, you are perfect for me." Annoyed with the dragon trying to hit on her, she lunged at him, biting him in the throat and surprising him before tossing him into the pit, making a splash before resurfacing, gasping for air. "And she's a fighter!? I think I'm in love!"
Surprised by his persistent, Midnight flew away to get some distance between him and her, the perverted while in the distance, there was a group of female dragons chatting it up, enjoying their time when they saw the perverted dragon chasing Midnight, who was releasing torrents of purple flames to try and slow him down while flying away.
"Seriously, again?" A blue dragoness asked, looking embarrassed. "I swear, that brother of mine thinks with the wrong head."
"I know right?" A pink dragoness replied. "He tried hitting on me last year, but ended up getting clobbered by my mate. But seriously Icy, you really need to find a mate."
"I agree with Aphara." A red dragoness said. "It's high time you found someone to spend your life with."
"Seriously, stop." Icy said. "I'm not interested in this year's selection. They're so... boring... and repulsive. I'm looking for something... exotic, more... unique."
"Then you'll be waiting until the end of time." Aphara said. "In the mean time, Ember and I are going to see if we can find someone we like. Come on."
The two dragonesses flew off the rim of the volcano to see if they could find someone they liked, leaving their friend behind to lie down and rest after the long journey, closing her eyes for a brief moment to enjoy some alone time. At the edge of the volcano, Spike had finally managed to climb up the side of the mountain, looking down and seeing all the dragons around before he looked into the crater and saw the group of teenage dragons, a brown and red one having a fight as the crowd cheered.
"Alright, teenage dragons!" Spike said. "That's more my style, I hope."
Spike then rushed down to see if he could join the teenage dragons in whatever they were doing, not noticing a funny looking dragon with gems on it and a familiar four-winged purple dragon watching him rush down the slope, though Spyro was smaller than when he usually was in order to blend in a bit more without drawing suspicions.
"Ugh, this is never going to work." Rainbow Dash said. "No way we'll pass for a real dragon!"
"Oh come now, this costume is my greatest creations." Rarity replied. "It'll work."
"Will you two keep it down!" Twilight said. "We'll never pass for a real dragon if they hear three voices coming out of one dragon!"
"I still think you three should have stayed back in Ponyville and let me handle this on my own." Spyro said, looking to the weird costumed dragon.
"No way, Spike is our friend too you know." Twilight replied, looking to see Spike approaching the teenage dragons. "Oh no, he'll get hurt."
"I'm on it." Spyro said.
He hopped off the ridge and slide down the slope, running as fast as he could towards the baby dragon before something bad happened. At the group of teenagers, the red teen dragon was fighting the brown dragon and had caught him in a head lock, trying to make him say uncle right as Spike walked up to them, clearing his throat to talk.
"Um, excuse me." Spike said. The dragons stopped their fight and looked down to see the baby dragon. "Um, hi, I'm Spike."
"Spike?" A skinny purple dragon asked. "You sure that's your name and not shrimp!?"
The other dragons started to laugh after mocking the baby dragon, finding it funny.
"N-No, my name is Spike." Spike replied. "At least, I think it is."
"Oh no, not again." Icy said to herself, watching the teens pick on the baby dragon. "Poor fella. Maybe I should-"
"No way, let them have their fun." Aphara said, flying down with Ember. "It's just a little bit of teasing, nothing more than that."
"More like bullying." Icy said, glaring at the teens. "Those guys need a lesson in manners."
"Hey, you look more like a pee-wee to me." The brown dragon said, everyone laughing again.
"Hey guys, come on, let him be." The red dragon said. "You might make him fly away..." He then grabbed Spike by the tail and yanked him into the air, holding him upside down. "If he had any to begin with!"
They then laughed again, mocking the baby dragon and causing him to be very upset as everyone laughed, but icy didn't find it very funny and was about to fly down and stick up for the baby dragon, but a purple blur flew by and slammed the red dragon in the gut, knocking the air out of him as he dropped Spike, time seemingly slowing down for everyone as the baby dragon fell, but the blur caught Spike and zipped a little bit away as the red dragon fell to the ground. They all looked out where the blur came from and saw Spyro, his back to then as he set Spike down and turned to face them, standing between the baby dragon and the group of dragons that had picked on him while the three female dragons watched in awe at how quick Spyro was.
"Holy cow!" Aphara said. "He's fast."
"Yeah, like, majorly fast!" Ember said. "Who is he?"
"I don't know, but he's kinda cute." Aphara said. "What do you think Icy? Icy?" The dragoness looked to her friend to see why she didn't answer her, but saw the stunned look on her face, looking at him as he stood in front of the baby dragon as a slight blush appeared on her face. "Oh, looks like someone likes what they see."
"Huh, what?" Icy asked. "I-I do not-"
"Oh, you're going to pay for that." The red dragon said, standing back up.
"You wanna start something bud, bring it then." Spyro replied. "I'll even let you get the first punch in."
Roaring out in anger, he charged the dragon and swung at him, hitting him in the head, but Spyro didn't even budge, smiling as the dragons hand got bigger from the punch, swelling up and looking like a massive red balloon after being filled with helium. The dragon yelled out in pain before Spyro uppercutted him into the air and leapt up, his tail encased in a shell of earth and green magical energy as a massive ball appeared at the tip of his tail, spinning around and hitting the teen with the ball, causing him to fall and slam into the ground, leaving a full body imprint in the earth as Spyro flew down, the rocks breaking apart as the red dragon got out, a large bump there like it was from an old looney toon cartoon, the rest of the group not even wanting to fight him as they knew he was better than their leader, what chance do they have.
"Can't believe what I'm seeing here." Spyro said, getting their attention. "I bring my little brother with me on his first migration to make some friends with other dragons, but the only dragons here he tries to make friends with decide to humiliate and bully him right away. Do you guys get a kick out of picking on others who are weaker and smaller than you? You must be the weakest and saddest little drakes I've ever seen in my life. Wanna go round two, you know where to find us."
Spyro picked Spike up and put him on his back, taking him to the other side of the crater where there were fewer dragons while the three female dragons watched him walk away, Aphara grinning like a school girl, Ember sizing him up, while Icy was left in stunned silence, her jaw open as she felt her heart flutter.
"I think we have ourselves a winner." Aphara said. "I mean, the red guy was nice enough, but him... he's a keeper! though he does loose points for protecting him brother."
"Aphara, leave him be." Ember exclaimed. "I actually like a guy who protects his younger, weaker sibling. What do you think Icy?" She looked to her friend and saw she was completely speechless. "Oh, looks like someone has a crush. Well, only one way to fix that."
Ember suddenly flew up and grabbed Icy, pulling her away from the ridge and from Aphara, who just shook her head as she went to find herself a potential mate. On the other side of the crater, Spyro allowed Spike to slide from his back using his wing, which the young dragon turned around and glared at him.
"I told you I don't;t need a babysitter!" Spike shouted. "And did Twilight send you to keep an eye on me?"
"No, I was the one who suggested that we follow you." Spyro answered.
"We?" Spike asked.
"Twilight, Rarity, and Rainbow Dash are here too." Spyro answered, annoying the drake. "But we aren't here to keep you from discovering who you are. We just want to make sure you're safe and sound while you do so. Besides, those other dragons were hanging you upside down, and no one does that to my little brother."
He then reached down and started to tickle him, making the baby dragon laugh to sheer him up, but then felt a disturbance, looking to his left and saw the two female dragons walking put o him.
"Oh, hey there." Spike said.
"Hello." Ember said. "We saw what you did back there, very impressive. It was about time someone put that jerk in his place."
"Well the one thing I can;t stand, it's a bully." Spyro replied. "The name's Spyro and this is Spike."
"Aw, aren't you a cute little guy." Ember said, cooing at Spike and making him cross his arms, blushing. "I'm Ember, and this is Icy."
"H-H-Hi." Icy said sheepishly.
"Oh, the shy kind huh?" Spyro asked. "I got a friend who's shy like you."
"Oh, she's not shy, just liked what she saw." Ember replied, making Icy blush and use her wing to hide it. "We've never seen you here in the migration before. Where are you two from?"
"We're from Ponyville." Spike replied, making Spyro face smack himself.
"Ponyville!?" The red dragon exclaimed, him and his friends laughing at them. "No wonder you two smell like a bunch of ponies!"
"You got a problem with that?" Spyro asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Oh, I bet you're a train dragon there pal!" The red dragon replied. "Trained by those wimpy, little ponies to be a good little boy! You probably got lucky and-"
He then then silence when Spyro suddenly appearing in front of his, wrapping his arms around him and suplexing him before grabbing him by the tail and whipping him around, slamming him on the ground before spinning around and tossing him away, smacking into the wall and sliding down, leaving another imprint of himself on the wall.
"You were saying?" Spyro asked.
"Ok, you're good." The red dragon said, getting up. "Names Garble and I respect a guy who's not afraid to fight. So tell me, why do you guys live in Ponyville?"
"Why not, it's a place where everyone can live in peace and harmony." Spyro replied. "I help to protect the town from those who'd do it harm, so they don't fear me."
"Huh, so you earned their respect?" The purple dragon asked. "Lame."
Spyro slammed his hind leg into the ground and a pillar of earth shot up, hitting the guy in the chin and knocking him out, surprising everyone.
"Wait, what was that?" Ember asked.
"You think I only know how to use fire?" Spyro asked, smiling to himself. "I'm not limited to just a single element there bud. I know how to use all of the elements!"
"Wow, sweet!" Garble said. "But if you're going to join us, you're going to need to prove to us you really are dragons and not ponies in a costume."
On the ridge, the ponies heard everything that was going on and flinched, knowing they might be in some serious trouble if they did something suspicious.
"Maybe I should have taken my time to make this costume instead of rushing to make it perfect." Rarity said.
"Alright then pall, what's first?" Spyro asked, ready to prove them wrong.
"Up first, belching!" Garble said.
"Ugh, this again?" Icy asked. "You guys always want to belch, even if it isn't to test someone."
"Hey, I'm just making sure popsicle breath!" Garble said. "You don't like it, head back home to mommy and cry about it."
"Hey, that wasn't called for!" Ember shouted.
"Oh, you want a belch, I'll show you a belch." Spyro said.
He walked up and dug deep down, feeling a powerful force of electrical energy and opened his maw, belching out bolts of electricity that caught everyone off guard as it shot straight for Garble and his gang, hitting them with volts of electricity strong enough to show their skeletons, dropping them after the electrifying experience, Spyro smiling to himself. Up on the ridge, the mares, except for Rainbow Dash, were appalled by the belch, Rarity blanching from hearing the disgusting belch.
"That was disgusting." Rarity said. "Spyro's a prince, he shouldn't have to do that."
"Oh come on Rarity, do be so dramatic." Rainbow Dash replied. "That was totally awesome! Did you see how him hit those bullies with he electric breath? That was so wicked. I wonder if different dragons have different breaths."
"It's possible, I mean we don't know much about dragons." Twilight replied. "Maybe we can ask Spyro, he might have some idea about dragons and their different breaths."
The tests continued with Spike as he walked up, looking nervous about belching and looked to Spyro, who nodded to him to give it his best, so he dug deep inside to try and belch, but when he did, it was weak and only happened when the princess sent a message to, everyone laughing as Garble picked it up and opened it, reading out loud who it was from before laughing again, crumpling it and tossing it into the fire and burning it, which angered twilight as it could have been something important.
They then moved onto tail wrestling, which Spyro easily trumped his opponent as his strength made it impossible for him to loose as he completely trashed his opponent, though he did need to be careful with his tail as the blade was still razor sharp and could easily cut through stone. Spike was up next and Spyro saw the disguised ponies challenging him, wrapping their tails around to start the match, but the girls flopped over, letting the baby dragon win as the crowd cheered for him, which Spyro face smacked himself, in complete and utter defiance that these dragons would be dumb enough to even thing that was a win. This boosted the baby dragon's confidence and he then tried to challenge another dragon who was about his size, but the dragon's tail was massive and spikes shout out of it, tossing the baby dragon into the wall with little to no effort.
"Ouch." Icy said, wincing. "That's gonna leave a mark."
They then moved onto the next event, which was called kind of the hoard, which was a bunch of gems and all kinds of treasures that they had pilled together, where one dragon stands on top of the hoard of treasure and throws off anyone who tries to take it. Spyro and Spike worked together to go up the mountain of treasure, Spyro fighting off some of the other dragons to make a clear path for Spike, who was slowly climbing up the side of the mountain of treasure. Spyro then flew up and wrestled with Garble, but as they were fighting, Spike managed to get up onto the pile and pushed the two of them off, causing both dragons to tumble. Spike managed to win, but his reign was short lived as he ended up slipping on a gem and falling down the hoard of treasure, failing that one as well.
The final one was lava cannonball, which all dragons got to the highest point they could above the lava pit and do a cannonball to see who could make the biggest one out there. Of course the female dragons didn't participate in this one, which Icy had a good excuse as she was an ice dragon and ice doesn't do well with fire, including dragons that have ice or water based abilities going into lava, so everyone else lined up to start dong their cannonballs into the lava pit. Garble went first and when he splashed, he made a large splash that spooked Spike and forced the girls to back away as they weren't exactly fire proof like some dragons are. Garbles friends then followed suit, all making individual splashes that were large, but the fat brown one made the biggest splash, everyone applauding him, even some of the female dragons, but they then watched Spyro jump off, doing a couple of flips before making a splash that matched his, impressing everyone. They then looked up to see Spike hesitating, looking scared, but he swallowed his fears and jumped, but instead of making a splash, he ended up belly flopping into the lava, causing everyone to cringe as he sunk below the surface, freaking Spyro out as he was about to go in after him, but Spike shot up, looking no worse than he did before and impressing everyone for the little guy remaining conscious despite the impact.
After the tests were done, they welcomed both Spyro and Spike into their group, accepting the baby dragon after all his failures. They then celebrated by feasting on the gems that were used for the King of the hoard game, which Spyro was actually hesitant to eat as he never actually ate any gems before, so he took his first bite into a green emerald, which surprisingly enough to him taste like sour apple hard candy, so he then dug into the gems to eat his fill, each gem having it's own flavor depending on it's color. After having one banger of a party, they all decided to have a Power Nap to replenish their strength, but as Spyro was napping, he could sense a disturbance in the Force, opening his eyes and looking up to see Icy standing over him, looking down at him as if she needed something from him.
"Spyro, do you have a minute?" Icy asked.
"Yeah, I got some time." Spyro replied, stretching as he followed the dragoness to the ridge, watching the sun starting to set.
"I know you're different." Icy said. "I've seen a lot of dragons, but none that can breathe lightning."
"Heh, am I that obvious?" Spyro asked.
"Your scent also gave it away." Icy replied. "You still smell like a pony even after taking a plunge in the lava pit."
Chuckling to himself, he turned to face Icy, looking into her red ruby eyes as he knew the gig was up.
"You're right, I'm not a normal dragon." Spyro replied. "I'm a hybrid who can change between dragon and pony at will."
"Wait, are you serious!?" Icy asked, completely shocked. To show he wasn't kidding, he started to glow and then changed back to his pony form, completely shocking her as he turned back into a dragon before he was discovered. "That's amazing!"
"What, you aren't appalled that I'm not a true dragon?" Spyro asked.
"You kidding?" Icy asked. "This is the greatest thing I've ever seen in my life! I don't care who or what you are, you're something special. But what makes you special I wonder?"
"Hey love birds!" Garble shouted, getting their attention. "I bet that party was way better than you'd get from some namby-pamby pony!"
"I wouldn't say that." Spyro replied. "That town throws some wild parties."
"Well, since you two are now part of the group, how about we take you on a real dragon raid." Garble said. "There's a phoenix nest close by and tonight, we're going to raid it!"
"Garble, seriously!?" Icy shouted. "I told you before, there aren't many phoenix's out there, we need to just leave them alone."
"This doesn't concern you pansy!" Garble shouted. "We're heading out tonight, be there or be square!"
They then walked away with Spike walking right behind them, shrugging his shoulders as he went with them and following them was Ashara, who seemed to agree with the groups thinking as she walked with them.
"We can't let this happen." Icy said. "We need to stop them."
"Agreed." Spyro said. "We'll meet up in the forest, keep them from doing something they'll regret. I got to get some friends of mine first."
The two of them then flew off to get whoever they wanted, agreeing to meet up in the forest to make sure the phoenix nest doesn't get raided, meanwhile, Midnight was running out of steam as she tried to get away from the love sick puppy of a dragon. Having had enough, she spun herself around and unleashed a torrent of dark magic into the air, releasing a massive amount of Wyverns that screech out and made the perverted dragon freeze, looking between them in horror as he tried to figure out what they were, flying away as they charged him, letting Midnight have a moment to breath when she saw Spyro, flying close enough to see what he was doing without being seen. As night crept closer, Spyro was waiting for the dragoness with Twilight, Rainbow Dash, and Rarity, who were still in their costume as they were meeting up with another dragon.
"Oh, I hope we won't be too late." Twilight said.
"Yeah, why would Spike agree to this raid?" Rarity asked. "Poor Spikey-wikey, being dragged into this."
"Don't worry, after tonight, he'll be wanting to come home." Spyro said, looking up and seeing Icy and Ember. "Looks like our friends have arrived."
Icy and Ember flew down and landed in front of them, running over as soon as they saw them in the bushes.
"We're here." Icy said. "Sorry that it took so long, Ember was having one of her power naps."
"Hey, after a party like that, who wouldn't have a nap?" Ember asked. She then noticed the strange looking dragon and the pair of eyes in the chest, growling as she knew they were ponies, but Spyro got in her way, which she looked angered as she glared at him. "What are you doing with a bunch of pansy ponies Spyro!?"
"They're my friends." Spyro replied, surprising them. "And members of my herd."
"Herd?" Icy asked. "You actually have a herd?"
"Long story, but right now we need to stop Garble and his gang before they take an innocent life." Spyro replied. "Garble and his flunky's flew by a couple of minutes ago, so we shouldn't be too far away. What we need to do is stop them and get Spike away from his new toxic friends."
"Agreed." Icy said. "Even if he's from Ponyville, he belongs with his real friends, not a group of jerks."
"Then let's go, the more time we waste here, the more time they have to smash those eggs." Ember said.
The ponies got out of their costume and ran with the dragons, all of them rushing towards the last known location of the phoenix nest when Spyro heard what sounded like panicked screeching, knowing it was probably the hatchlings as that meant they had fully hatched. They soon came across Spike, who looked exhausted as he collapsed to the ground, looking up to see Spyro and his friends.
"Spyro, I'm glad to see you." Spike said, getting up. "Garble had me lure the parents away to have a chance to get the eggs."
"Well he's a little late for that." Spyro said. "The eggs have already hatched."
"All but this one." Ember said, picking up the unmatched egg.
"Nice work Ember." Aphara said, walking up to them as Garble and his gang came up behind her. "And you caught some ponies too, well done guys. Not only will we get to smash an egg, but we get to destroy some ponies too. This raid wasn't a total loss after all."
"Oh, it's a loss alright." Spyro said, walking in front of Ember and his friends. "You aren't getting the egg or hurting these ponies."
"What are you doing Spyro!?" Garble asked. "These prancy ponies are nothing but weaklings."
"Oh, they're anything but weak." Spyro said, the three ponies summoning their Keyblades and surprising the dragons. "Nothing, and I mean nothing, will happen to this egg or to these ponies. you want to get to them, you're going to need to get through me."
The dragons all growled at them, readying themselves to charge when they notice Icy standing next to Spyro, growling at them as she took his side.
"Icy, what are you doing?" Aphara asked. "They're ponies and pony lovers! Why are you siding with them?"
"Because they don't go about hurting innocent creatures." Icy replied. "I stayed with you, hoping that I could help you to see the error of your ways, but to me, you're doing nothing but hurting what you see as weaker and inferior. Spyro is kind and has no hatred or anger in him. He's compassionate, kind, and everything that makes him unique. On this, I'm siding with him."
"As am I." Ember said, giving the egg to Spike and standing next to Icy. "Sorry Aphara, but smashing a phoenix egg is wrong. I agree with Icy, you and these dragons are out of line."
"Then you're both nothing more than a bunch of loosers." Aphara said.
The two sides then rushed towards one another, Spyro engaging Garble and taking him head on as Icy took on Aphara while everyone else fought whoever was closest to them, each of them showing off their strength and skills as they fought the young dragons. As Spyro was wrestling with Garble, he picked up Garble and knocked him into the air, leaping up and using his wind magic to create a vortex that sucked the poor dragon up, twisting and turning him around and around in the twister before it disappeared, Spyro flying up and used his tail to smack Garble towards the ground, knocking the wind out of him as he crashed to the ground, dust and dirt flying into the air as Rainbow Dash took down the purple dragon, using her speed to run around him and strike him with her Keyblade enough times to bring him down for the count. Twilight and Rarity worked together and leapt, teleported, and rolled out off he way of the dragons flames, appearing in between them before disappearing again as they let fire at their feet, causing them to hop around like rabbits as the flames remained lit on their feet until both mares smacked them upside the heads, knocking them out.
Icy and Aphara were swiping and slashing at each other, using their claws to try and cause some harm right as the albino dragon that was with the group flew by as Ember threw him, causing enough of a distraction to get Aphara's attention and for Icy to blow some ice in her eyes, blinding her and getting kicked in the chest, falling to the ground with the rest of the dragons. Taking the chance, everyone flew and ran away from the group of dragons as they started to get up, groaning and grumbling as they looked around, but found that they weren't anywhere around, infuriating Aphara and Garble.
"Those pony lovers are going to pay for this!" Garble said. "If I ever see them again, I'll really put the smack down on them."
"Wait, we aren't going after them!?" Aphara asked, shocked by the dragon's tone.
"We lost them and that Spyro guy is really strong." Garble replied. "But don't worry, if I see them again, they'll get it."
Garble and his flunky's then flew back to the volcano mountain, leaving behind a very annoyed and angry Aphara as she pounded his paws into the ground and screamed out in anger, releasing a large amount of pink fire into the sky as she screamed, only stopping when she was out of breath, taking in some deep breaths as she growled in anger. A moment later, Midnight glided down and reverted back to her pony form, walking up to the angry dragon from behind so as to at least talk to her without being attacked.
"You seem troubled my friend." Midnight said. "Did that purple dragon get the better of you?"
"Leave me alone!" Aphara shouted. "I am going to hunt down those purple dragon brothers and their pony loving friends and I'm going to destroy them!"
"Then, why don't I help you." Midnight said, getting the dragons attention and surprising her. "How about we discuss this somewhere more... private."
At the edge for the forest, the group of friends managed to escape from the group of bullies and from the dragonesses former friend, both of them looking like they were on the verge of tears as Spyro reverted back to his pony form and sat down, laughing to himself as they had successfully managed to get away.
"Well, looks like we just made some enemies." Spyro said, lying on the ground "But at least we made a couple new friends."
"Yes, and we got our Spikey-Wikey back!" Rarity said, hugging Spike.
"Yipe for you." Icy said, looking very upset.
"What's wrong Icy?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"We helped you to save your friend, but ended up making ourselves outcasts." Ember replied. "Because we helped a bunch of ponies, Garble is going to make our lives miserable. We won't be welcome back into the dragon lands anytime soon."
"Well, why don't;t you come back to Ponyville with us?" Twilight suggested, surprising the two dragons.
"Are you serious!?" Icy asked, looking terrified. "Will they even accept us?"
"True, it will take some getting used to, but they will accept you for who you are." Spyro said, getting up. "It's not about who you are that defines you, you yourself define who you are."
"Plus, it'll be great to have a couple other dragons to hang out with." Spike said, walking put o the with the egg. "I can only take so much from ponies, it'll be great to have some dragons around."
"Well, I guess it'll be ok." Icy said. "We can find a couple of caves and get to know more about ponies."
"And ponies can get to understand more about dragons too." Spyro said. "I'm sure Twilight will like that."
Everyone laughed at that, seeing as it was actually true and Twilight would pester them about wanting to know more about dragons and their culture and traditions. After everyone had a moment to rest a bit, Spyro changed into his dragon form and allowed the ponies and baby dragon onto his back, extending their wings and taking off into the sky, followed closely by the two dragonesses as they made their way to Ponyville, where they will help their new friends get settled in and comfortable in their new home away from the dragon lands.