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Remember When...

by Draconian Soul

Chapter 1: ...I Heard Your Name?

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“Spike, are you sure you want to stay here?” Twilight asked. “We’re going to get something to eat after my meeting with the princesses. I’ve heard that the restaurant has some new diamond-encrusted sandwiches!”

Spike continued unpacking his bags, placing his things in his dresser. “Nah, I don’t think food is worth sitting around in a boring meeting room. I think I’ll just stay put and wait for you to get done.”

Twilight raised an eyebrow. “You sure? There’s not much to do here, you know.”

Spike shrugged. “Well, if I get bored I’ll just go out for a walk or something.” Spike jumped onto his bed and laid down on the silky sheets, then gave a yawn. “I’m kind of tired out by this whole Tirek thing anyway. I could use a breather.”

Twilight snorted. “You could use a breather? I’m the one who had to fight him!”

Spike rolled his eyes. “Yeah, well you’re also a princess. I’m just the dragon assistant who happens to be famous.”

Twilight glared at Spike, who was giving her a smug grin. “Well, do whatever you want, Spike. Just be here this afternoon. I might need you to help me with documenting all this stuff later.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Spike said, waving a claw dismissively. “I’ll be here to help you with your busy work.”

Twilight smiled, walking towards the open door. “Well, I’ll be out for a while. Don’t get into too much trouble. Oh, and Spike?”

Spike turned towards her, arms behind his head.

“Thanks for coming along. With everypony else so busy getting Ponyville back into shape, I’m really glad you were able to come with me. I actually thought you would prefer to stay back home instead.”

“What, and see you come back all stressed and insane?” Spike leaned over the edge of the bed and gave her a devious smile. “You’d be a total wreck without me around.”

Twilight Sparkle rolled her eyes at him. “If you say so, Spike. If you say so.” She walked out of the room, turning around one last time to part ways with her number one assistant. “Have fun!”

“Yeah, you too!” Spike waved as Twilight backed away, leaving his sight. With Twilight gone, there was nothing but silence. Painful, boring, aching silence. He was already starting to regret staying behind.

Man, there’s got to be something to do other than going to that meeting, Spike thought, turning on his side. He glanced out the window hoping to find some inspiration.

The city of Canterlot was quite lively, despite the previous day’s turn of events. Ponies were already out and about, roaming the town as if nothing had happened. Even from the top of the castle, Spike could see the merchants and the food stands.

Food. Spike heard his stomach grumble at the thought. Only several hours in Canterlot and he was already wishing he’d grabbed something to eat before leaving Ponyville. He patted his stomach and chuckled.

“Well, I guess skipping that meeting wasn’t such a bad idea afterall,” Spike said, lifting himself off the bed. “No point in sitting here and and being bored all afternoon. Might as well get something to eat.”

With a long stretch, he strutted out of his room, whistling as he walked out into the hallway. As always, the center of Equestrian government was a flurry of activity. Servants were occupied with cleaning every inch of the building, while busy-looking nobles or other officials were moving about, many with assistants in tow carrying stacks of papers and summarizing schedules for the day. All were being watched the royal guards stationed at regular intervals along the walls.

He traveled down the stairway, and into the main hall on the bottom floor. The ponies were quite chatty, and there were enough of them that they managed to drown out almost every other sound in the building.

Almost every sound. Spike’s stomach was still unhappy with him, and continued to growl and remind him to hurry up.

“Yeah, yeah, I hear you, pal,” Spike said. “I’ll get you filled with something soon. Just pipe down for a bit, will ya?” Spike hummed, rubbing his claws against his head. I’m sure they have some kind of vendor with carrotdogs around here. Maybe even an orange pop. Oh, I thought I saw somepony walking around with some funnel cakes on my way here. Maybe they’ve still got some.

With a goal in mind, he proceeded through the main hall and out through the castle doors. On his way, he spotted two guards walking in, bursting with laughter. Spike assumed that they were off-duty, or at least he hoped they were. Although undisciplined guards would explain quite a bit about their track record.

“Really? Right in the face?” the grey guard asked, waiting for the snickering white pegasus to calm down.

“Yeah! And it was a huge blast of energy too! Like, I’ve never seen a mare get so angry before in my life! The guy was sore for nearly a month.”

The other guard whistled. “Man, that’s rough. Can’t really say I feel bad for the guy though. The unfaithful feel the biting sting of Tartarus in the end. And it sounds like he got shanked by it.”

Spike couldn’t help but snicker at their conversation, even if he didn’t know exactly what they were going on about.

“Speaking of, you hear about how Princess Twilight beat that Tirek monster? Now, that’s a mare I don’t want to piss off!”

Spike’s fins twitched. The familiar information piqued his interest, and he leaned against the wall, listening in on them without them noticing.

“Oh trust me, I wouldn’t even think about it. I can’t imagine what kind of pain she would put me through if I got on her bad side.”

Spike snorted. Probably less pain than she gives me when I tell her she’s overreacting over a book.

“Yeah, well at least she took care of that Tirek guy for us. Sad he didn’t turn out like his brother.”

The white guard looked at the grey one in confusion. “Brother?”

“Wow, you really didn’t pay attention in history, did you?” the grey guard said. “You don’t remember the guy that told Celestia about Tirek’s plan? He was the reason we were able to stop him in the first place and throw him in Tartarus for so long. See, he wasn’t evil like his brother. He actually made nice with us ponies, and from what I’ve heard, he was actually a swell guy.”

“Oh, so what was this swell guy’s name then, Mr. I-Know-Everything?”

The stallion pressed his front hoof against his chin, a frown on his face. “Actually, I can’t remember that part.”

The other guard snorted. “Ha! So much for paying attention in class, you hypocrite!”

“Shut up! At least I remember the guy. It’s just the name that I can’t remember. Now let me think.” The guard tapped his helmet, hoping it would jog his memory. “Um… maybe it was Scolex? No. Um, Skillop? Stalone? Crap, I can’t remember it. How about...Scolpice?”

“No, no, no, those can’t be right.” Spike stepped forward, gaining the attention of the two guards. “I mean, come on! Even if they were some giant, hairy monster, who would name their kid Stalone? They’d be laughed out of every town.”

The guards looked at each other, and then back at Spike. “Yeah, well, what do you think the name is then, since you obviously know what you’re talking about?” the grey guard asked skeptically.

Spike tapped his foot on the ground, taking several seconds to think. “Well, I can’t say I’ve studied the books myself, but a brother of Tirek would have been named something a little more dignified. Something memorable, like… Scorpan.”

The grey guard laughed. “Ha, wrong! Even I know that it wasn… wait.” His laughter soon stopped as he pondered the name until clarity hit him. “Sweet Celestia, that’s actually right. Yeah, it was Scorpan, the one that helped stop Tirek from stealing our magic! Alright, props to you little dude, you actually do know your stuff.”

Normally he’d have felt a little smug about proving them wrong, but he really just felt confused. “I… I didn’t read about him,” Spike said, scratching the back of his head. “I just kinda took a shot in the dark and that’s what came up.”

“Well, that was one heck of a ‘shot in the dark’, kid,” the grey guard said. “But coming from a guy who lives with a bookworm, that doesn’t really surprise me that much.”

Spike rubbed the back of his head. “Yeah, I guess.”

“Well, no point in standing around here. We need to report back before the Captain thinks we’re skipping out or something. Still, appreciate the help, little man! Anyway, like I was saying—”

The two stallions trotted off, continuing their earlier conversation and laughing even louder than before. They must have been new recruits. No way would they have been that noisy otherwise.

Though that wasn’t Spike’s concern at the moment. He was more puzzled by the knowledge that he had despite having never studied it before.

Scorpan.

“How do I know that name?” he asked aloud. “I’ve never heard it before. I’d never even heard of Tirek until yesterday! So how?”

Spike’s stomach growled once again. “Ah, it’s probably the hunger getting to me! Besides, those guards looked like complete jokes anyways. They probably just said I was right to look like they knew what they were talking about. For all I know, his name actually was Stalone!” Spike chuckled at the idea. “I’ll be able to think better on a full stomach.”

Spike rushed out the door and out onto the streets of Canterlot. Just like he’d seen from the castle, the roads were quite lively, filled with ponies of all races and colors trotting around. It was amazing how even after the chaos and terror caused by Tirek’s return, they were able to pick themselves back up and resume their lives as if nothing had happened. He could still feel a subtle tension in the air, but the ponies remained cheerful and optimistic, determined to live life to the fullest no matter what it threw at them. It was admirable really, and a good thing for Spike. Happy ponies made better food.

As he was walking, Spike’s stomach gurgled again, even louder than before.

“You’re starting to become an annoyance, stomach,” Spike said. “But it won’t be much longer before I feed you.” He patted his stomach, causing it to respond negatively. “Geeze, settle down. I was just teasing you. Man, you’re almost as bad as Twilight.”

While hunting for something to eat, he caught his mind wandering back to the conversation with the guards again. Weird. I can’t get that name out of my head, Spike thought. I mean, it can’t be that important if it’s just now coming up, right?

Spike shook his head. No matter how he rationalized it, he couldn’t stop thinking about that name.

“Maybe if I say it over and over, it’ll go away. I’ll be so used to saying it so much, that it won’t even be that big a deal anymore.” Spike took a deep breath and exhaled. “Okay, here goes. Scorpan. Scorpan. Scorpan…”


“Scorpan? So, that’s your name?”

The draconic, hairy beast nodded. “Yes, that is correct. ‘Tis not a difficult name to remember, is it?”

The dragon relaxed his stance, no longer feeling threatened by the creature before him. “No, I suppose not.”

Scorpan took a few moments to study his surroundings. The abode of the lanky dragon was quite small, but decorated with gems embedded in the walls. There wasn’t much else to the home, just the basics for a reasonable standard of comfort. But what stood out most to Scorpan was the small figure of a dragon, carved from solid gold with rubies for eyes.

“Why do you live in such a small home?” Scorpan asked. “I had always been told that dragons lived in large caves with their hoards.”

The dragon snorted. “Yes, and I’m sure that every member of… whatever you call your race is exactly like you, right?”

Scorpan glared in response, causing the dragon to give him a smug grin.

“Thought so. In any case, it’s because I prefer a small, isolated place to do my work.”

“Like that figure on the shelf?” Scorpan pointed at the golden statue.

The dragon chuckled. “Yeah, you could say that.”

“Ah.” Scorpan studied the dragon more carefully. It was his first time seeing one up close, since they were usually solitary creatures and highly territorial to boot.

This dragon was baring its teeth at him, showing off his white, sharp fangs. His green spines were pointy and slick, and his scales a deep purple. His claws were sharp and polished, glistening under the rays of sunlight that seeped through the windows. Even his tail was something to behold. The pointed end was shaped almost like a spear. It made Scorpan wonder if he could actually impale somepony with it.

“Ahem!”

Scorpan jolted, looking back up at the dragon.

“You’re really sizing me up, aren’t you? Are you doing this out of general curiosity for my species, or are you planning to attack me again?”

Those last words were like venom. Scorpan’s expression melted into one of regret. “My apologies. I was only doing it bec—”

“I honestly don’t care why you decided to invade my personal space and attack me,” the dragon said. “I tend not to dwell on such things. Besides, you seem like you regret it at least.”

He paused, and studied Scorpan closely for a moment. “I think you’re lost,” he said. “Not literally, but in the sense that you don’t know your place in the world. At least that’s what I’m getting from you, and I’m not usually wrong.”

Scorpan didn’t reply, much to the dragon’s apparent amusement.

“From interrogator to completely mute. What, you didn’t expect a dragon to be able to string sentences together? How far from society do you live?”

Scorpan pointed toward the window. “On the far northern side, past the snowy mountains. We don’t have too many different species other than ourselves there.”

“I can tell.” The dragon sat down at his table, looking at Scorpan. “I’ve never seen your kind before. I’m assuming you came here for a reason, and probably aren’t planning on going back until you’ve gotten what you need. Am I wrong?”

Scorpan shook his head. “You’re quite right.”

The dragon nodded. “I figured. So what is it you’re here for?”

Scorpan suddenly scowled, baring his teeth at the dragon. “My reasons are my own, and you would do well to respect that,” he growled.

The dragon stared at him for a few moments, tilting his head. Eventually, he nodded in understanding. “Alright, it’s your business,” he agreed. “Just so long as you don’t try to murder anyone else, I can accept that.” He waited until Scorpan acknowledged him before continuing. “Another shot in the dark, but you don’t happen to have a place to stay, do you?”

Scorpan shook his head once again, causing the dragon to sigh. “Very well, then.” The dragon got up and walked towards the door. It creaked open, letting even more sunlight in. “Follow me.”

Scorpan looked at him in confusion. “Where are we going?”

“You probably don’t know this area particularly well, and I’m not going to have some giant creature running around causing trouble. So I’m providing you with a home to live in for the time being.”

“Really? Even after I tried to—”

“Like I said, I don’t dwell on needless things like that. I’m sure you’re smart enough to not try it again.” The dragon chuckled and walked outside.

Scorpan followed behind, realizing that he had one more question to ask.“What is your name?”

The dragon looked back at him and arched an eyebrow. “My name?”

Scorpan nodded.

“Well, I suppose since you offered yours, I might as well return the favor. I’m known as—”


“—Ember.”

“Um, ember?”

Startled, Spike jumped and let out a small yelp. In front of him was a confused unicorn stallion wearing an apron, manning a carrotdog stand.

“Oh, sorry sir,” Spike said with a nervous laugh. “I was just wondering if you could, um… smoke the carrotdogs over embers. Yeah! It gives it a nice, smokey flavor. Might earn you some more customers.”

The pony looked at him for a moment, and then smiled. “That’s not a bad idea, sir! I might just give it a try.”

“Yeah, I’m great for bouncing ideas off of,” Spike said, with another awkward laugh. With a cough, he lifted himself to the edge of the stand. “Anyway, I’ll take two. Oh, and put extra radish on one.”

“You got it!” The vendor reached down into his cart and pulled out two sticks of carrots. It only took him a minute to make them, and once he was done he wrapped them up and levitated them down to Spike. “Enjoy your dogs, sir.”

“Oh, I will,” Spike said, giving the pony a wave before walking over to a nearby bench and sitting down on it. Not wasting any time, he bit right into the crunchy morsel, scarfing down the first in under a minute. Bits of carrots and mustard were plastered on his face, and he looked down to devour his second carrotdog.

Though something was stopping him from doing so. The thoughts racing through his mind. The memories he had. And all through that one trigger word.

“Scorpan.” It wouldn’t leave him. That word. Why can’t I stop thinking about it? It’s just a name. A name belonging to that tall, brown, hairy… thing. Spike scratched his head. How do I even remember that?

He groaned. He was at a loss. Not knowing this Scorpan person yet having memories of him was driving him crazy. It made no sense, and yet the evidence was there. Spike pondered on it a bit, stroking his mustard-soaked cheeks.

Maybe if I look this Scorpan guy up, I’ll be able to figure something out, he thought. Probably just me being restless, and wanting to know about this guy more. Yeah, a little research wouldn’t hurt.

Spike looked down at the carrotdog that was left. His stomach hissed at Spike, telling him what to do.

But first, I think I’ll finish my little snack.

Next Chapter: ...We First Met? Estimated time remaining: 21 Minutes
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