Prologue

Destiny is often confused with either fate or the path in life that we all must take at some point in our lives. Often, too often, our path is laid out before us, just waiting for you to travel along its thorny, rugged, dirt caked dust trail.

Love is a feeling that always intervenes or intertwines with our path through life. Guiding us all through that path should be our hearts, rather than our minds. For it is in the heart that the truly grand things of this world happen, such as a lonely son given the chance at being the most powerful being in the world.

Love, like Destiny, can be short, simple, uninteresting, or just disappointing. Yet, there is still something unique to both of these. Destiny, just like love, can always change, for it is never set in pure stone that can never be chipped away. Adventure, as destiny is often called, can be seen as a path straight through the heart of the forest, or it can be seen as a boulder of stone, and each day you slowly chip away at it, piece by piece...

---

A constant throbbing pounded against his head, making him wonder if it was instead a jock, thinking that his head was a basketball and was dribbling it down the court. High pitched whining from some ambulance, fire engine, or police car cut through the massive pounding, if only for a moment, as whatever it was drove by the school. All around him, through what little he could see past his bloodied vision, various ponies gathered, either laughing at him or kicking him in some vital spot on his torso as they walked by.

Agonizing pain assailed his mind, coming from the multiple fractures on his left leg, the deep cuts of varying sizes on his right forearm, and from the deep cut that spanned across the roof of his head, just under where his mane touched his scaled body. A mixture of dragon-pony blood seeped out from the various lacerations, coating his normally amethyst purple scales a deep shade of crimson. No pony seemed to care enough about him to stop and lend him a hand, no pony even dared to look at him, unless a vicious smile was across their lips.

Gritting his teeth tightly, he reached for the long sleeve of his untouched arm, quickly ripping it off at the base before tying it around the lacerations on his right forearm, wincing slightly at the pain that came from the pressure against the open wounds. Gathering up the blood that was in his mouth from the cuts on the inside of his cheeks as well as the lacerations on his lips, he spit a huge glob of both saliva and blood onto the concrete before him.

Taking in a deep breath, and using his free hand to steady himself, he pulled himself up into a sitting position, where he snapped his leg back into place with a loud cracking sound. When he chanced a glance down at his leg he could not help but hold his breath for a moment. Though there were minor, blood was spewing forth from the laceration that spanned the length of his leg. Groaning slightly, he raised himself up to both of his feet, gritting his teeth harder as pain registered within his mind from the injured leg when pressure was applied.

Knowing quite well that he was due for class in less than a few minutes, since his close friend/sister Twilight Sparkle always wanted to chat with him for a few minutes before the class started, he made ready to take off. Balancing on his good leg while putting only a little pressure on his broken leg, he grit his teeth harder as he made his way towards the school building, leaving a heavy trail of crimson red blood behind him with every step.

Without even thinking, he clung to the wall of the hall as more blood escaped his lips, falling off in long dripping strings, looking almost like a slow falling crimson paste. Glancing back, he had to stifle a laugh as a few of the ponies passing him looked both disgusted, yet happy to see him in such a broken state. Many of the mares simply looked away from him as though he were a hydra. Ignoring the lingering glares of pure hatred that were directed at him, he turned to make his way towards his first class of the day.

The class was relatively easy to find, as it was the only class that was at the end of the large hallway labeled 'PDH' for 'Pony/Dragon History'. PDH 13 was the room number, and was taught by a Mr. Disharmony, who ever that was.

Entering the room, he found that it was unearthly quiet, with the lights dimmed to the point that he thought they were nonexistent. Twenty-five old metallic desks were spread out before the large oak one in the front where the teacher sat. They were arrayed in rows of five by columns of five, each one looked to be set a perfect space apart. While on either side of the room were maps of Equestria, of various cities, and even a lone map of the Dragon Capitol of Ulênmore. Awestruck, he made a mental note to ask the teacher where he had gotten such a rare map this far into the Pony Kingdom.

Blood continued to drip from various locations on his body, creating a rather large puddle that he keenly became aware of in a matter of seconds. Looking towards the back of the class, he spotted a few desks that were more secluded from the view of the rest of the class.

Quickly, he made his way over to the desk that he had spotted and sat down in the chair, letting a sigh of relief wash over him as the weight was taken off of his injured leg. Reaching into the bag that he had brought in, he found a thin strip of cloth that he knew too well was used for biting down on when he was in great pain. Pulling over a chair from the desk beside him, he began placing sticks that he had found earlier that day on either side of his broken leg. Biting down hard on the cloth, he ripped off his remaining sleeve and used it to tie the sticks to his leg, creating a make-shift tourniquet while making a vast amount of pain surge into his mind as the bones shifted back into their proper places.

He snarled loudly, though it was muffled by the cloth, as the pain surged through his very body after assailing his mind. After a few short seconds, he was able to slide the cloth out of his mouth as his breathing came in sharp gasps. Leaning over his leg slightly, he allowed himself to spit more blood onto the floor beneath him, creating an even larger puddle. Leaning back into the chair, he could not help but relax almost too much. However, he remembered that he still needed to seal his wounds, but yet he had nothing with which to do it.

Quick to assail his nose after a few seconds of utter silence was the strong scent of lavender, with which was the tingling scent of freshly opened books fused with crushed pine needles. Letting a slight smile cross his face, he whispered silently to himself, "Morning Twilight."

Lavender fur flashed before what he could see through his eyes as her voice was almost to the point of shrieking at him as she asked, "Spike, what in the name of Celestia happened to you?!"

Freshly picked delicious red apples covered with early morning dew, interlaced with the heavenly aroma of freshly cut cedar fused with dried mud wormed its way into his nose soon after, making him look over towards the door once more. An orange blur was all that he saw move before there was another presence next to him, trying to use her fingers to tie both of his sleeves tighter together. "What in tarnation happen'd to ya Spike?"

His voice caught in the bottom of his throat before he could even hope to utter a single audible syllable. Freshly ground vanilla, laced with the slight tint of jasmine woven with the scent of crushed cherries assailed his nose with a biting force, letting him easily recognize who entered the room, if the sound of her high heels clicking against the concrete floor wasn't enough.

A silvery-white blur flashed through the crimson that covered his eyes as he tried to hide his face from the three mares that were standing around him, the lavender one using her left-over napkins from breakfast to wipe away the blood on his forearm while the orange mare made busy using a rag that the silvery-white mare had to try and clean the floor. The silvery-white mare however grabbed a few tissues from her bag and proceeded to clean some of the blood away from his eyes, allowing him to see clearly now.

Looking down towards the floor, the drake could not help but watch tears fall from his eyes to his pants, creating small dark pools in various places where the blood had not. His mind began to drift towards all of the pain in his life, how for all of these years the ponies had hated him and his kind because of the Dragon-Pony War that was started, fought, and ended before he was born. Ponies acted as if he was the one to declare it, as if he was the one who had killed many of their family members, as if he was the true enemy of all ponies. Always he seemed to ask himself the very same question, the very question that he always knew the answer to, but could never fulfill because of a promise that he had made years ago on a fateful day when he had saved his best friend from falling into the dark abyss of the Sleva river. Would the world be a better place should I simply die from it, if I were to just vanish and never come back?

Choking back his sobs, he refused to look at the silvery-white mare that was kneeling before him, words heavy on her own heart. Said mare knew all too well what Spike was upset about, she had known about his torment for all of the years that she had known the drake, and all too often she would blame the ponies that were bullies instead of him. Spike was the most caring, loving, helpful, and loyal drake that she had ever met. Given she knew only a few, due to her dealings in Canterlot, but he was the only drake that she truly knew well, and he was nothing like how the other ponies talked about. Not a day went by that she ever felt regret about befriending the drake, and if given the chance, she would do it again in a heartbeat.

Many did not know just how fragile the drake was. Given he did have very tough external scales that could protect him from anything, when he was full grown, but that did not mean that he could not be easily wounded on the inside. It is true that many dragons have been fueled by greed for many years, and it is these types of drakes that give all dragons a bad name, but Spike was different. He was not entirely dragon, thus he still had what made him a true dragon, he still had a heart. To him, every word that was ever spoken out against him was like a knife to the heart, and that was something that she hated to see day after endless day.

Feeling a lone tear slide down her cheek, the mare brushed away his tears with her thumb before she just stared at him, trying to not break down completely like he was. Seeing him in such a state; his left leg wrapped around in a tourniquet, his right forearm with the other sleeve of his shirt wrapped around it, blood staining it, yet nopony aside from the three mares seemed to care one bit. Leaning over slightly, she pleadingly whispered, "Spike, what happened to you?"

Tasting the warm, metallic liquid that was his blood from the lacerations on his lips, he tried to lick the wounds clean as he chanced a brief glance at the mare before him. Bile from some unknown source coated his teeth, yet tasting the blood made him want to vomit for the first time in his life. Not only was it his own, but he felt as though it was silvery-white mare's own blood. Unable to stop himself, he turned away from the three mares just as a mixture of what little breakfast he had along with the blood that was inside of his mouth spewed all over the floor, leaving a large smelling puddle that would make any sane pony flee from the room.

The three mares did nothing of the sort. In fact, the orange mare simply pulled out a bandanna from her back pocket and tied it around her mouth and nose so that she could breath even with the smell, the other two mares quickly followed her lead, and soon they were steadily coming closer to the drake.

Tears, though light, fell from her eyes as she looked at her best friend in such a ruined state, wishing to Celestia that those who tortured the drake would finally leave him alone, if not then she would try to help him. The silvery-white mare knew that her sister's girlfriend could possibly lend a hand, seeing as how she had been in the same boat, but she would rather not get the young fillies involved in this matter. She was unable to form any words with the ramble that her mind had taken. Each time that she began to think about something other than the drake, she was forced to look at him in a new light each time, and each time struck her heart more and more.

It was true that she had fallen in love with the drake many years ago, but just like now, she was unable to say anything to him about her feelings. Fear of losing his friendship always hung first in her mind, and she would rather die that be away from him. Her heart longed for him, but it also knew that no matter what, if his heart longed for her, that he would give her a sign that he felt that way about her. "I am so sorry Spike."

Spike could not help but let a few more tears fall from his eyes. The mare's voice was soothing, caring, loving, and above all else, looking out for him. Yet, he could sense that it was broken, that somewhere deep down, she was hurting. This was one of the many of the things that he loved about her.

For a long while now, he had felt his heart begin to ache for her, yurn for her, wish for her. To say that he had a crush on her was an understatement, he was beyond a crush, he was fully, deeply in love with her. He wanted to be with her, to call her his girlfriend with all of his heart, but he knew that it was a fallacy. There was no way a mare, as beautiful, as popular, or as stunningly gifted with a keen set of eyes as she had, would ever consider him as a possible boyfriend. He was only her best friend, and as much as he wanted more, he was content to at least have her friendship.

Despite the fact that she was caring and looking out for him, which he knew nopony else would do, he did not want to burden her with his problems. "Ya, I'm fine Rarity. Just a little cut, nothing major." He coughed lightly, feeling more blood coat the inside of his mouth as he licked clean his facial wounds. "Nothing a little time won't fix."

Gritting her teeth with anger, the mare turned towards the other mares, debating on whether or not to run through the school and pick fights with every mare and stallion that walked, even the teachers.

In the midst of her debate within herself, she managed to hear the loud pounding of something metallic striking the sides of the wall along with the heavy thud of bare, furred feet. Running into the classroom through the open door was a stallion with emerald green fur, black stripes scattered throughout, a dark blue with black striped mohawk mane, and the most sparkling golden yellow eyes. "Spike! Spike!"

Sprinting over to the drake, they saw that the stallion was carrying with him a long, metal pipe, with which they knew not what his intent was. All knew that he was Spike's younger brother, but none knew what it was that he was doing with the pipe. "Listen Spike, Athornän desĉhkna islen toiyaran svhèn. Do it."

Spike chanced another glance at the mare, this time letting it linger sense she was no longer looking at him for the moment. Silvery-white fur adorned her body, visible on her arms, neck, and face as she glared forward. She wore a snow white t-shirt with a diamond stitched into the bottom corner of it. Adorning her lower body was a pair of loose fitting black silk pants that seemed to actually cling to the curves of her hips rather than being actually loose.

Spike could not help but let a light sigh escape his lips as he nodded his head in agreement to what his brother had said. "Bêltor nächk." Silence encompassed the room as all eyes turned towards the two brothers. They watched as Spike spit more blood from his mouth into the floor, following it was the heat from the air around them. Fire swirled around in a circle before the drake, much to the amazement of the three mares, as they had never seen him do it before. The stallion however seemed to know exactly what to do.

Placing one end of the pipe into the ball of fire, he allowed it a few seconds until it was burning white, which turned to a bright cherry red when he pulled it away. Looking to his older brother, he said, "Bite down on your cloth." He did not need to be told twice, for as soon as he was biting down on it, he brother with one swift motion, untied the sleeve around his forearm and placed the cherry red side of the pipe against the wound. "May the fire of thy own spirit cleanse thy wound. Dad will heal you Spike, but you know I need to stop the bleeding." His response was a simple groan, with which he said all that needed to be said. "I love you too Spike."

Rarity, not looking towards Spike, leaned closer to Applejack and whispered, "Do you know who keeps doing that to Spike?"

Two sets of eyes turned to look at the mare, neither of them wanting to speak. "Well, shucks Rare. Ah don't reckon ah do. But ah do know that if it was anyone, it was Thunderlane and his group."

"Applejack, who is this Thunderlane? I would very much like to 'speak' with him." All eyes around her went wide as they heard what she had said, knowing quite well what she intended to do. Spike sat up in his seat and stared hard at the mare, both gaining her attention as well as spitting out the cloth, more blood along with it. Hearing her talking about fighting her battles made him want to tie her to a bed and tell her to stay there in safety. Even the thought of her in the same state as himself, or worse, made him snarl with anger.

"Rarity." Said mare gazed upon Spike with a certain fondness that only his brother seemed to pick up on, worry in the forefront of her mind as she beheld what the group had done to him. A few deep gashes, gushing blood, were upon his lips. A scar, from both years prior and recent, ran down from the top of his right eye straight down, ending where the nose bone met with his skull. Fresh blood was running down from the cut that spanned across his forehead, while in is right arm he opened and closed his fist, testing the wound, seeing as it had been cauterized.

"Rarity, Thunderlane is the biggest jerk in Equestria. Tries to rule the school with an iron fist, scares the teachers for sure. Hell, most ponies already think that you and he are a thing. So he has claimed anyway." He paused as he took a breath to swallow the blood that had gathered in his mouth. "Thunderlane never runs alone, he always has his four other goons with him, Lightening Dust, Snow Flight, Noteworthy, and Grape Crush. It was Thunderlane and Grape Crush that gave me this scar all those years ago!" A lone talon pointed towards the scar that was on his face.

Anger was evident in his voice, as he did not like to divulge such things in public, but he knew that he had to stop her before she did something really irrational. "Rarity, don't even think about 'talking' to him. If anything, just let me do the 'talking', the thought of seeing my best friend, my first real friend in all of Equestria hurt in any way is unfathomable. Please Rarity, please don't do anything, I don't want to see you get hurt."

Looking deep into the drake's eyes, the mare could see him practically pleading by this point. Feeling her anger slightly ebb away, she let care and love wash over what remained of her anger. Sighing, she said, "Alright, as you wish Spikey-Wikey. Please, don't hesitate to talk to me if you need to. You are my best friend, and I hate to see you so upset." She flashed him a comforting smile before she looked back towards the front of the class, seeing the teacher walk in. Altogether the mares took their seats around the drake as he too looked towards the front.

In walked an abnormal creature of sorts, the body of a snake, with both an eagles and lions arm, two different wings, and a single fang. Glancing around, he spotted the small group in the back, both brothers still trying to realign the bones in Spike's broken leg properly. Smirking, he glanced at the blood on the floor before he made a quick call out in the hall for a janitor, who happened to be down the hall a way. Looking back to those gathered, he said, "Welcome class, to Pony/Dragon History III. I am your teacher, Discord Disharmony, or Mr. Disharmony. Today we are all going to learn something about each other while we wait for the rest of the class to join us. Why don't we start with you in the back, the dragon boy..."

---

Leaves fell from the tall standing oak tree that rose high in the middle of the garden just outside of the cafeteria. Benches were scattered along a cobblestone pathway that led from the cafeteria to various other parts of the garden where tables were set up for the ponies to eat at. Spike, being a dragon, was never able to eat inside with what little friends that he did have sense he often ate meat, which his friends understood and were okay with, but the school was not.

Despite the slightly bitter cold that would normally make a pony shiver, the drake simply smiled as the cool, refreshing breeze made the leaves rustle against one another. Being the dragon that he was, his blood was so warm, as it had to be to sustain not only the fire inside of him, but the biter cold of the arctic weathers high up in the mountains, that he was perfectly content to sit outside. Basking in his mother's sun brought back many memories of when he was younger, when he and his brother still lived with their mother, and all was right in the world.

"Momma, why am I so different than you and Ryder?"

"What ever do you mean sweetheart?"

"Why do I have scales while you both have fur?"

"Ah that. Well, it is simple really. You are part dragon and part pony, a new breed that has never even been heard of before in Equestria. Just like your brother is. As you can see, I am an Alicorn, a Princess of all ponies. Your father was a dragon, Prince of all dragons. Which makes you and your brother the two new cutest Princes' that I have ever seen my little Spikey." The young drake giggled as his mother used her hands to tickle his bare stomach, both laughing as they turned to look out over the sandy beach where they were.

"Momma, do you think father misses us where he us, up in the stars I mean?"

A heavy sigh escaped her lips, "I am sure that he does, just as we miss him very much." Grinning to her son with love, the mare put a hand over her aching heart, feeling it beat with so much life as it never had before. "Your father was a great dragon, never let anypony or dragon ever tell you otherwise. Your father and I were very happy together when he was here, and he desperately wanted to see you both Spikey."

Spike looked towards his mother with worry as he caught a few tears falling from her eyes, landing on the towel below them. "Please don't cry momma, father wouldn't want you to." Spike sighed as he turned away from his mother, trying to hold back his own tears as he said, "Momma, I have something to tell you." He waited as he heard her shift closer to him, placing a hand upon his back. "I have seen father. He has visited me in my dreams."

A great weight seemed to be lifted off of both of their shoulders as they both released a sigh in unison. "That's alright Spikey, he has visited me too. Your father was always one to intervene with pony magic, especially when it was to see me." Both smiled warmly as they looked towards the setting sun over the ocean, painting a perfect array of orange, gold, and purple against the distant horizon. Celestia could not help but chance a glance back to the emerald colt that was lying behind her, letting her other free hand rest on his back, smiling when he scooted closer to her back. "So have I Spikey..."

Spike was broken from his memories when he felt somepony poking his shoulder rather roughly. Turning to his side, he saw that it was none other than Ryder Guâlhoran, his brother. A smile was graced upon his lips as he nudged the drake slightly, taking a seat beside of him underneath the grand oak tree. "How's the leg, or are you thinking about Rarity again?"

Blushing heavily, he cast his eyes to the grass between his legs before he said, "The leg's doing fine for now, still can't walk really well with it. I was actually considering going to talk to father in a little bit." Sighing, he continued, "Rarity is still up there, just not really prominent at the moment."

Another span of silence caught between them. "I couldn't help thinking about mother and when we were last actually happy together, just me, you, and her at Shimmering Shores. When we were actually happy together. That was the last time we actually spoke to her heart to heart about anything at all, over ten years ago. I miss her so much, but I understand that she has a job to do." His voice faded as he continued to stare at the grass, lost in some distant memory.

Turning to Ryder, he returned his brother's warming smile, "So little brother, how are things going with you and Rainbow Dash? Did you have any luck this time?"

Ryder let his smile fade as he pushed the drake away slightly, "Not really Spike. I mean, I should be happy that we have been together for the past three months, but I am still too scared to say anything to her about how much I care about her. I love her Spike, but I do not think that I will have the nerve to even utter those words under my breath when I am around her."

"I know what you mean little bro. Trying to tell Rarity how I feel is really hard. I mean, I love our friendship just the way that it is. Sure I want more, but I also do not want to lose her in my life."

Just as Ryder was about to speak, the sound of her voice was heard flowing along the back of the wind. "Spike, I was uh, hoping that maybe we could talk." Turning around, he could see the mare standing behind of the tree, looking at him with love, care, and devotion to her best friend. "Please Spike, just for a minute, talk to me about your issues, your pain. You know I hate seeing you like this, so does Applejack and Twilight."

Spike stretched out the leathery wings that he had kept folded on his back as he said, "I'm fine, really. Just fell down the steps at school here, nothing to worry about, honest. There is no troubles at all, I swear."

Rarity, not believing a word that he spoke, decided that there was only one way to get him to tell the truth. "Would you swear on your father's grave?"

The drake gulped loudly, clearly being heard all around as Ryder looked towards him instead of trying to find his girlfriend in the mass of ponies that ate in the garden, clearly intent on listening to his next words. "I-I-I uh, well you see, I uh." Letting out a sigh, he hung his head as he looked back around to face the sky, seeing his mother's glittering sun high above what little clouds there were. "I can't, I just can't Rarity. You would not understand it." Tears fell from his eyes before he rose to his feet, starting to hobble away as he shouted, "I need to be alone right now!"

With that, both Ryder and Rarity were left to watch as the drake took off away from them, his tears cascading down his face like a waterfall. Rarity felt her own eyes want to start to water up as she thought about the drake, I would understand if only you would talk to me. As your best friend that is our mutual agreement. We are there for each other...

---

Spike kept his knee close to his body as he hid behind the building, out of sight of the small group of two that had tried to get him to talk. Taking a deep breath, he calmed his mind as he let his legs fall, crossing them as best he could with the tourniquet on and spread his wings, slowing his breathing. Letting the heat from his mother's radiant sun be his guiding light, he closed his eyes as he began to search for his father in the deep connection that he had left in the drake's mind with magic.

"Father, can you hear me? I really need you help."

A shadowy figure loomed up behind him, quickly taking the shape of a dark amethyst dragon with a flowing white robe, a sun over the center. "I can always hear the call of my sons, and I am always willing to help you. Please, lay your troubles at my feet."

Spike could not stop a small smile from crossing his lips, revealing his fangs. "Thank you father. As you can already tell, the bullying has not ceased. It has only grown worse in the last year. Mostly it is because they know that I defend Rarity, and as long as I am alive, they will never get to her. But I don't want you to tell mom any of this please. I need to be the one to do this in my own time." Spike sighed as he looked into his father's eyes, seeing a burning amount of love overruling his hatred at the ponies for hurting his son. "I just, wish I had the strength to speak to Rarity about this. You know how I feel about my best friend, but I need your guidance father. Please, help me."

His father could see that the dragon was pleading, something that he rarely had seen him do. "Spike." His voice was sooth, caring, even remorseful of what he had to say. "The answer to all of your problems lies within your heart. I can't always tell you which path to take. That is part of the journey of life that we all must take. All I can say is that you must search your heart for what you want. Listen to it, for it will never lead you astray. I truly wish there was more that I could do, but this is the best I can given the current situation.

"It brings a smile to my face to see that you care about your best friend so much that you are willing to endure the suffering that you do. That means that what you feel for her is pure and true, and when she realizes this, happiness will be your reward. I know you son, and you would die for this mare, just as I did and would do all over again for your mother.

"Now, my son, how is your training coming along? Has your mother been working with you?"

"Not lately, but I have been practicing in my spare time with Ryder or Twilight's older brother Shining Armor. Mom promised me that she would be there for all of my games, no matter whether we win, loose, or forfeit."

"Good. That is one of the things that I love about your mother, she always puts others before herself. Well, our time grows to an end, you must get back to school and finish it if you want to take the thrown with your brother when you graduate."

"Yes father. I love you."

Nothing more was said as Spike put his arms around his father, pulling him into a tight hug before he released him, stepping back. The darker amethyst drake watched as his son faded from the blackness that was around him, watching where he had been before looking behind him to see a swirling vortex that soon cleared to show a smiling Celestia. "I love you too son..."