[[SAVE LOCATION]]

SU: Puppet! Hold him!

The Drakeling (Kezno) grabs The Drakeling (Spike) by the left upper arm with his right hand!

Spike: Kezno, what are you doing?!
//His eyes are still a thousand yards away. I can't get through to him.
SU: Hah-hah, are you scared, little drakeling? Come here, I will make it all better...

Saccr-Ulkip speaks a word of power, forming symbols in the air! A book rises in the air out of the wastebasket!
Saccr-Ulkip throws the book at The Drakeling (Spike)!
The spinning book strikes The Drakeling (Spike) in the lower body, bruising the muscle!

Spike: That was a perfectly good atlas!

The Drakeling (Spike) breaks the grip of The Drakeling (Kezno)'s right hand on The Drakeling (Spike)'s left upper arm!
The Drakeling (Kezno) punches The Drakeling (Spike) in the upper body with his left hand, bruising the muscle!

Spike: Kezno! Stop! I'm on your side!

Saccr-Ulkip charges at The Drakeling (Spike)!
Saccr-Ulkip kicks The Drakeling (Spike) in the right upper leg with her left front hoof, bruising the muscle and tearing the scale!
Saccr-Ulkip collides with The Drakeling (Spike)! Saccr-Ulkip bounces backwards!

The Drakeling (Spike) punches Saccr-Ulkip in the left front hoof with his left hand, bruising the muscle and bruising the bone!

The Drakeling (Kezno) grabs The Drakeling (Spike) by the right upper arm with his right hand!
The Drakeling (Spike) struggles in vain against the grip of The Drakeling (Kezno)'s right hand on The Drakeling (Spike)'s right upper arm!

Saccr-Ulkip speaks a word of power, forming symbols in the air! A marble statue of ponies rises into the air!

Spike: Kezno! Move!
//No response.
Spike: Now!

The Drakeling (Spike) grabs The Drakeling (Kezno) by the upper body with his left foot!
The Drakeling (Spike) throws The Drakeling (Kezno) by the upper body with his left foot!
The Drakeling (Kezno) releases the grip of The Drakeling (Kezno)'s right hand on The Drakeling (Spike)'s right upper arm.

Saccr-Ulkip throws the marble statue of ponies at The Drakeling (Spike)! The Drakeling (Spike) leaps away from the spinning marble statue of ponies!
The spinning marble statue of ponies strikes the wall, crumbling into pieces! The severed parts fly off in arcs!

SU: And here I thought you two were so close.

Saccr-Ulkip grabs The Drakeling (Spike) by the upper body from behind with her right rear hoof!
Saccr-Ulkip throws The Drakeling (Spike) by the upper body with her right rear hoof!

The Drakeling (Spike) slams into The Drakeling (Kezno)!

SU: It'd be a shame if you didn't stay that way.
Spike: Kezno, you should listen to your dragon instinct! I know he's kind of a jerk, but it usually helps!
//WELL FUCK YOU TOO SPIKE.

The Drakeling (Kezno) grabs The Drakeling (Spike) by the left upper arm with his right hand!
The Drakeling (Kezno) grabs The Drakeling (Spike) by the right hand with his left hand!
The Drakeling (Spike) grabs The Drakeling (Kezno) by the left hand with his right hand!

Spike: You want to be slaves to this crazy manipulative bint?! Is that why you're fighting?!
SU: He wants what I want for him, because he is weak. And the weak singularly want to be freed from the terror of choice, the heavy burden of responsibility. It is what all pathetic ponies or dragons want. I know this well, for I have offered it to many.
Spike: I choose to think you're a monster!
SU: You think you are strong. I will show you how weak a dragon can be.

The Drakeling (Kezno) charges at The Drakeling (Spike)!
The Drakeling (Kezno) takes The Drakeling (Spike) down by the left upper arm with his right hand!
The Drakeling (Kezno) grabs The Drakeling (Spike) by the upper body with his left lower leg!
The Drakeling (Spike) is pinned!

Spike: Gah! Kezno, wait! What is this power?
SU: He is filled with the power of a dragon who finally knows what he wants. Soon, this power will fill you, too. Isn't it fitting that we should fill each other with our most valuable assets?
Spike: This isn't what you want! This is exactly what happened to you! An affront to dignity and our people everywhere!

Saccr-Ulkip grabs The Drakeling (Spike) by the left upper leg with her right rear leg! Saccr-Ulkip grabs The Drakeling (Spike) by the right upper leg with her left rear leg!

The Drakeling (Spike) breathes fire! The Drakeling (Kezno) is caught in the dragonfire! The Drakeling (Kezno)'s scales are unharmed!
//I can't get an angle; he's in the way!

Spike: Kezno! Celel! She tried to kill Celel and enslave you, to take you away from her! Look at what you're doing! What would Celel see?!
SU: Are you ready, 'Hero'? I think you should scream. I think I would like it if you screamed. Only I can hear you.

//His eyes... for the first time, I think he's looking at me.

The Drakeling (Kezno) releases the grip of The Drakeling (Kezno)'s left hand on The Drakeling (Spike)'s right hand.
The Drakeling (Kezno) punches Saccr-Ulkip in the head with his left hand, bruising the muscle, tearing the skin and shattering the fuzzy snout!

SU: Bluh!

Saccr-Ulkip releases the grip of Saccr-Ulkip's right rear leg on The Drakeling (Spike)'s left upper leg. Saccr-Ulkip releases the grip of Saccr-Ulkip's left rear leg on The Drakeling (Spike)'s right upper leg.

The Drakeling (Kezno) releases the grip of The Drakeling (Kezno)'s left lower leg on The Drakeling (Spike)'s upper body. The Drakeling (Kezno) releases the grip of The Drakeling (Kezno)'s right hand on The Drakeling (Spike)'s left upper arm.

Saccr-Ulkip speaks a word of power, forming symbols in the air! Saccr-Ulkip disappears!
Saccr-Ulkip appears at the other end of the room!

SU: What?! How?!

The Drakeling (Spike) stands up.

KT: Dragons are united by their common hatred.
SU: Of me?
KT: Of the dragon instinct.
Spike: Truth.

The Drakeling (Kezno) leaps to the side! The Drakeling (Kezno) grabs the +iron bow+ from the *statue of a snake demon* with his right hand! The Drakeling (Kezno) grabs the +iron arrows [33]+ from the *statue of a snake demon* with his left hand!

Spike: That won't work if she starts casting spells.
KT: Can you keep her from it, but still give me a shot?
Spike: On it!

Saccr-Ulkip speaks a word of power, forming symbols in the air! The desk rises into the air, books spilling off!

The Drakeling (Spike) charges at Saccr-Ulkip!
The Drakeling (Spike) punches Saccr-Ulkip in the right front leg with his left hand, bruising the muscle and bruising the bone!
The Drakeling (Spike) collides with Saccr-Ulkip!
Saccr-Ulkip is knocked over and tumbles backwards!

Saccr-Ulkip loses her spell! The desk falls to the ground, cracking in half!
Saccr-Ulkip stands up.

The Drakeling (Spike) kicks Saccr-Ulkip in the lower body from the side with his left foot, bruising the muscle and bruising the guts!

Saccr-Ulkip kicks The Drakeling (Spike) in the lower body with her right rear leg, bruising the muscle and bruising the pancreas!
Saccr-Ulkip bites at The Drakeling (Spike) in the right hand, but The Drakeling (Spike) dodges away!

The Drakeling (Kezno) lets loose an arrow from the +iron bow+! The flying +iron arrow+ strikes Saccr-Ulkip in the right rear leg, chipping the bone!
A tendon has been torn!

The Drakeling (Spike) kicks at Saccr-Ulkip in the upper body with his right foot, but the attack misses!
Saccr-Ulkip counterattacks!
Saccr-Ulkip points at The Drakeling (Spike) and starts to cast a spell! Saccr-Ulkip casts Confuse!
The beam strikes The Drakeling (Spike) in the right lower arm!

//RANDOM ENEMY USED CONFUSION! SPIKE IS CONFUSED, SCARED OF HIS SEXUAL IDENTITY! SPIKE PISSED HIMSELF IN THE CONFUSION!
//WOULD IT BE POSSIBLE ONCE FOR YOU TO TAKE ON A SPELLCASTING ENEMA -- I MEAN ENEMY, MUST BE VERBAL CONTAMINATION FROM ALL THE SHIT RUNNING THROUGH YOUR MIND -- AND NOT REQUIRE ME TO BAIL YOUR ASS OUT FROM YOUR OWN MISTAKES? IT SHOULD BE FAIRLY OBVIOUS TO YOU THAT SINCE THE FUCKING BEGINNING YOU HAVEN'T BEEN ON SOME MAGNANIMOUS HEROIC JOURNEY AS MUCH AS PASSIVELY ADMITTING YOU'D LIKE NOTHING MORE THAN A CHAIN AROUND YOUR NECK AND A PRETTY PERFECT PONY TO CROTCH-EXPLODE YOU DAILY LIKE LIVESTOCK; BUT NO, YOU AREN'T BRAVE ENOUGH TO ADMIT THAT TO YOURSELF AND YOU AREN'T BRAVE ENOUGH TO BE A HERO, EITHER. THAT'S WHY YOU DROPPED OUT AS SOON AS YOU NOTICED SOMEONE ELSE IN THE ROOM HAPPENED TO BE HALFWAY DECENT AT SOMETHING, AND DON'T GIVE ME ANY FUCKING SHIT FROM YOUR STUPID UGLY MOUTH ABOUT YOUR 'BROKEN FOOT'; YOU COULD HAVE DODGED THAT SPELL EASILY BUT NO, EVER SINCE TWO SECONDS AFTER SEEING THAT THIS BITCH WAS A) A PONY AND B) FEMALE YOU'VE WANTED TO GARGLE HER ESTROUS WATER LIKE A GOOD BOYTOY. HERE'S A SUGGESTION FOR THE GREAT COWARD OF OUR GENERATION: ENJOY YOUR BROKEN FUCKING ARM JUST LIKE YOUR BROKEN FUCKING HEAD AND DRAG YOUR PATHETIC TAIL BACK HOME UNTIL YOU DECIDE TO BE A REAL HERO. ENJOY LEARNING TO DO THINGS WITH YOUR LEFT HAND, TOO. NOT THAT, YOU CUNTBRAIN, IF YOU HAD LEARNED THAT IN THE FIRST PLACE WE WOULDN'T BE ON THIS SHITSTREAM OF AN ADVENTURE--

The spinning wooden desk strikes The Drakeling (Spike) in the right lower arm, bruising the muscle and shattering the bone!

Spike: Gaah!
KT: _Watch out_!

The Drakeling (Kezno) lets loose an arrow from the +iron bow+! The flying +iron arrow+ strikes Saccr-Ulkip in the lower body, tearing the muscle and tearing apart the intestines!
The +iron arrow+ has lodged firmly in the wound!

The Drakeling (Spike) kicks Saccr-Ulkip in the left front leg with his right foot, bruising the muscle, shattering the bone, jamming the bone through the left front knee's muscle and shattering the left front knee's bone!
Saccr-Ulkip gives into pain! Saccr-Ulkip collapses!

//Waaugh, my arm! Why does it hurt now?!
The Drakeling (Spike) collapses! The Drakeling (Spike) gives into pain!

Saccr-Ulkip points at The Drakeling (Spike) and starts to cast a spell!

Spike: Don't. You're going to die anyway; save your energy.
SU: I will take you with m--hrrrk!

The Drakeling (Kezno) grabs Saccr-Ulkip by the throat with his left hand! The Drakeling (Kezno) grabs Saccr-Ulkip by the throat with his right hand!
The Drakeling (Kezno) places a chokehold on Saccr-Ulkip's throat!

KT: Shut up, you lying, thieving, disgusting, murderous con mare!

The Drakeling (Kezno) strangles Saccr-Ulkip's throat!
Saccr-Ulkip loses her spell!
The Drakeling (Kezno) strangles Saccr-Ulkip's throat!

SU: I--ggnnnkk--
KT: Just! Die!

The Drakeling (Kezno) strangles Saccr-Ulkip's throat!
The Drakeling (Kezno) strangles Saccr-Ulkip's throat!

Spike: Can't this be done later?
KT: Later, later, after what?! She survives and hunts down another drakeling to do this to?!

The Drakeling (Kezno) strangles Saccr-Ulkip's throat!
The Drakeling (Kezno) strangles Saccr-Ulkip's throat!

Spike: Kezno, there's more important things right now!
KT: She's a rabid beast and needs to be put down!

The Drakeling (Kezno) strangles Saccr-Ulkip's throat!
The Drakeling (Kezno) strangles Saccr-Ulkip's throat!

Spike: You shouldn't be that quick to deal out death in defense.
KT: Some people have to die for the good of the world.
//He presses in deeper.

The Drakeling (Kezno) strangles Saccr-Ulkip's throat!
The Drakeling (Kezno) strangles Saccr-Ulkip's throat!

Spike: Kezno.
KT: Stop trying to stop me, Spike! This needs to happen!
Spike: I think she's already dead.

The Drakeling (Kezno) strangles Saccr-Ulkip's throat!
Saccr-Ulkip has suffocated.
The Drakeling (Kezno) strangles Saccr-Ulkip's throat!

KT: ...Yeah.

Saccr-Ulkip was defeated!
Spike earned 1500 experience points!
Spike is now level 12!

[[SAVE LOCATION]]

//Kezno takes his hands off of Saccr-Ulkip's throat. I grunt weakly.
Spike: Uh, Kezno? Broken arm over here.
KT: Okay, right.
//Kezno steps over and crouches down, gingerly leaning back and forth to look at my broken arm. He pokes a few places gently and I yell at him each time.
KT: Humm, a simple fracture, but... it's a good thing you're on your stomach.
Spike: Really? Why's that?
//Kezno looks around a bit, takes one of the books off the floor and lays it in front of me.
KT: Because I'm going to need more supplies than this to set it correctly.
Spike: Wait, you can't just leave me here.
KT: Why not? Got a hot date?
//Hey! Why was that sarcastic?!
Spike: ...How long will it take?
KT: A few minutes, nothing more.
//I suppose I can spare that for proper medical treatment.
Spike: If you hear a loud scream, it's because the body has turned into a flock of bats or something.
KT: Hah! I'll be sure to remember that.
//Kezno leaves. I open the book in front of me; it's not one I recognize. Really, it's more of a booklet... 'The Staying Power of A Focused Mind'? Probably trash.
//...Saccr-Ulkip's body is lying about two feet from me. It's kind of creeping me out. I try to scoot away from it, but warnings of pain in my arm shoot down that idea.
\\Why would it be creepy? It's not like you're sitting next to a rotted corpse. She's freshly dead, you can still see the blood pooling.
//It doesn't sound any better when you put it like that!
\\Uh, hello Mr. Dragon, predator animal? This is what you'd do in your normal habitat, remember? The only thing you should be feeling right now is hungry.
//Three minutes ago that was a person who spoke and did things. Now, it's a hunk of meat that doesn't. Transitioning so quickly like that... it makes my stomach churn.
\\Three minutes ago that was a pony who tried to enslave you. Now, it's a pony that isn't. Sickness is something that happens to everybody the first few times, you'll get over it.
//...I'm not sure I want to.
\\Yeah, that'll help combat; just start throwing up everywhere.
//I don't know if I want to get used to killing people left and right. How I am right now, killing Saccr-Ulkip might have been the only way. But that's because I'm not strong enough, not a powerful enough Hero to win battles without giving it everything I've got. If only I were stronger, I could...
\\Do what? You couldn't have changed anything here if she was going to fight to the death, no matter how strong you are. Some people have to die for the good of the world.
//As soon as you start thinking like that, any killing becomes permissible. A Hero--
//SHUT UP BOTH OF YOU JUST SHUT THE FUCK UP
Spike: And I thought my arm was annoying...
//Twilight sighs.
T: Nobody has respect for books anymore.
//She picks up the atlas, folds it shut, and puts it on her back.
T: It's not the most useful atlas, no, but using it as a weapon at the expense of your other offensive options out of spite?
Spike: Twilight! Celestia, am I glad to see you.
T: You too. But she's not the only offender, that doctor thought 'hey, a book! That's a good time waster!' The anti-intellectual strain running through the contemporary populace really bothers me, you know. Don't people read books for fun anymore?
Spike: I'm not sure they ever did.
//Twilight Sparkle sighs again and sits down, fishing the books out of the wastebasket.
T: So, what's the damage? Broken arm?
Spike: Yep. Frankly, for a whole cult of ponies, a broken arm isn't too bad...
//She rolls her eyes as she takes The Real Princess Hazel out of the trash.
T: You'll be facing people who can have this cave crushed with a spell or a stomp or an order. (Or, in one particular case, kinda hoping for it.) Your standards need to be higher.
Spike: Hey, one step at a time. If I save the world at the beginning of my adventure, what do I do for the rest?
T: So, where'd your companion go?
Spike: 'Get supplies', he said. Have you heard of this book before? 'The Staying Power of A Focused Mind'?
T: Nope. Your friend must really not be an adventurer, everyone knows you loot the place before treating to non-life-threatening injuries.
Spike: It must be some little thing like 'healthy concern of a medical professional' getting to his head.
T: I mean, look at this!
//Twilight tugs a bronze chainmail vest-skirt off of an armless statue with her teeth, and piles it at my feet.
T: This could be a 'bronze chainmail of cure wounds', or whatever, and you'd have wasted all this time and effort. It's not, but it could be!
Spike: What is it then?
T: A normal chainmail vest-skirt.
Spike: How would I know, assuming I wasn't graced with your presence, that it's not a 'cursed bronze chainmail vest-skirt of constricting'?
T: Easy, get someone else to put it on. Like a sidekick.
Spike: _That's_ a Heroic solution.
T: No one likes sidekicks anyway; they always take away from the appeal of the Hero.
Spike: Hey, I don't disagree.
T: ...Read your darn book.

//The Staying Power of A Focused Mind is filled with incomprehensible flowcharts, complex body diagrams, directions written in what sounds like Middle Equestrian, and references to some other text not included with the... 'The Healing Power of Calm Meditation'? Damnit!
Spike: 'The Rock-Hard Body of an Implacable Mare, addit. kenned by Terrae Corpus, drawws strength fromme T wwide Earth itselfe...' I don't think I'm reading words anymore.
T: Terrae Corpus? I know that one; toss the book and pay attention.
Spike: I don't think I'll be able to do much with a broken arm.
T: It's not a fighter's strike, it's a meditative effect. Now, follow after me: imagine you are taking up the entire planet on your shoulders...

[Terrae Corpus] was mastered!
Spike: I feel like my scales themselves are harder!
T: This was the main technique of the jester Tim, a few hundred years into Princess Celestia's reign. He crumbled the entire capital city to the ground with it, prompting the construction of Canterlot.
Spike: Good to know... the City on the Hill has such rich history...
//Twilight fades into thin air as Kezno rounds the corner, supplies in hand.
KT: Uh, the bandanas are kind of bloody because I had to use them to get the sinews out, but there was really no other cloth to find.
Spike: I'm sure it'll be fine.
KT: We can always hope so.
//Kezno spends a few minutes using wood slats chiseled from the stakes to immobilize my arm, sinews to tighten the slats, and three green bloody bandanas to make a sling around my neck.
//I stand up and cough, probably from getting some of the blood in my mouth, poking at the chainmail with a foot.
Spike: You mind helping me try this on?
KT: How'd you get that over here? Did you crawl?
Spike: ...Yeah, sure.
//The bronze vest-skirt fits perfectly with Kezno's help.
KT: Wow, that's longer than I expected. It's not just a vest, it's a... skirtvest?
Spike: The splits in the front and back are kind of unfortunate.
KT: The back, I can understand for your tail, but the front...
Spike: ...Kind of unfortunate.
KT: So, you're all patched up. Ready to get out of here?
Spike: Uh, yeah, I've been meaning to ask you a quick question.
//Kezno licks his lips and says:
KT: Okay, what is it?
Spike: You're a doctor, right? Do you know anything about amnesia?
//He wipes his bloody hands on Saccr-Ulkip's fur and makes a thinking sound.
KT: ...Not all that much, honestly. Sorry.
Spike: Nah, it's fine. Nevermind. Let's go.
KT: Was it a friend of yours?
Spike: No. Me.
KT: ...Sorry. In the Aquinatics, you get used to just treating broken bones and flesh wounds. Anyone else is left on the battlefield to die.
//...Wow. A place like this exists in Equestria?
Spike: That's horrible.
KT: Besides, everyone's brain is abnormal up there. Else they'd find a way to leave!
//He starts up a great, sad laughter, and walks out of the room.
Spike: ...Doctors sure are weird folk.
T: Okay, Hero.
//I stagger after him, holding my broken arm still.

//We exit the caves, talking and bantering about whatever, laughing all the way into the encroaching darkness of the plains, clouds on the horizon blocking the setting sun. Our laughter stops by the time we reach Mr. Mortani's corpse.
KT: ...Didn't make it, huh.
Spike: Did you know him?
KT: Not too well, but he didn't deserve this.
Spike: The ponies with him are up the road. Did you know them?
KT: I should have known them better; they gave their lives to defend us.
//Kezno hangs his head, staring at his fists.
Spike: Don't be too sad. Think about it like this: the cult doesn't have the power to hurt anyone ever again.
KT: Yeah...
//He interweaves his fingers, still staring.
Spike: You said Mr. Mortani was a trader, right? If you don't mind me asking, what was he trading?
KT: I have no idea; he was rather secretive about it. Isn't that the wagon behind him?
//We walk over to the overturned wagon a few feet behind Mr. Mortani and Kezno unravels one of the small sacks.
//Diamonds, gemstones, rubies and sapphires of all persuasions.
Spike: H...holy crap...
KT: I never knew...
Spike: Are these...
KT: Those are red grossulars. Go ahead, have one; he won't miss it.
//I pop the red grossular in my mouth and bite down
//HO MY FUCK, WHAT IS THIS? IF THIS IS THE RESULT OF YOUR MORONIC ESCAPADES THEN SHIT, _TOTALLY_ _FUCKING_ _FORGIVEN_, MAN. IT'S LIKE I'M DRINKING STRAIGHT FROM CELESTIA'S --
//Okay, that guy can stop talking now.
KT: Whoa! I didn't mean it like that, are you okay?
//Why am I on the ground?
//I stand up.
Spike: Yeah, fine, it wasn't what I was expecting.
KT: Crap, I guess not! I meant, you know, take it and probably sell it off to someone later, but if it makes you that happy do whatever suits you!
//Kezno takes the biggest bag of gemstones and hands it to me, then takes the second biggest and ties it around his waist.
Spike: Isn't this stealing?
KT: Nope; vultures keepers. I need a source of income in case I can't find any work where I'm going and you -- you're a Hero, enjoy the spoils of victory. May it be full of grossulars.
Spike: Uh, okay, I suppose.
//I stow the bag next to the books, fitting it in neatly on top of Dragon Movements in the Era of Abandonment.
KT: Well, Spike, this is the time I take my leave of you.
//He holds out his hand. I give him a hug.
KT: Uh, okay.
Spike: What I told Celel was -- condensed version -- 'go to Forlegsandria, find a dragon named Jebed because she might help you find work, which might be as a dragon medic for the city guard'. I guess the same applies to you, and I told her I'd send you the same way.
KT: Thank you. Thank you, so much.
Spike: You don't ever need to repay me for this, as long as I can ask one thing of you: when Celel has her clutch, raise them to love and laugh and explore the world around them, and to be friends with whoever they can. Tell them not to miss out on some of the world's most interesting and amazing people simply because they're pony or dragon.
KT: What about snake demons?
//I laugh.
Spike: Can probably tell them to avoid those. Kelpies too, while you're at it.
KT: Of course, I will do that for you. But before I leave, I have a few things I'd like to say as well.
//Oh?
KT: First off: never stop believing in yourself, and don't always listen to what your dragon instinct tells you. He can be wrong, and I think he is; you got into the Hero business for the right reasons and you're much stronger, inside or out, than I could ever be. You're a good kid, and you're going to help a lot of people. Ignore his crap about 'gargling estrous water' or whatever, that sounds like it's out of The Real Princess Hazel anyway.
Spike: Excuse me?
KT: Uh, the spell. When she hit you with the confuse spell, you started shouting out. It was pretty obviously the dragon instinct.
T: (Awk-ward...)
Spike: Celestia's wings, please don't judge me because of that ass...
KT: Don't worry, I have him too, I understand. Secondly...
//Kezno takes a slip of paper from the wagon and writes something on it with charcoal, folds it in half, and hands it to me.
KT: I want you to read that, when I'm far away. It's nothing bad, just something I thought you should know.
Spike: O...kay?
KT: And thirdly -- you said I never need to pay you back, but if you're ever in the Forlegsandria area in the future, Celel and I would love to see you. I'll let Jebed know if we go anywhere. And if you ever need help on something -- anything, no matter what it is -- I'm there. That's a promise.
Spike: I appreciate it, Kezno; it's good to know I have friends like you.
KT: It's good to know there are people like you in this world, Spike. I'll never forget what you've done for me today. Goodbye to you, Spike, a real true Hero! May the weather be kind in your travels!
Spike: May the cultists be kind in yours!
//Kezno laughs as he is running off. I watch him for a little while, then something clicks. I yell:
Spike: Why are you still carrying the bow?!
//He yells back:
KT: This world isn't safe for a drakeling! You know that! Good luck!
//He fades into the distance, nothing more than a speck.

[[SAVE LOCATION]]

//I turn around and keep walking on the road. A lot of time has been lost, but a Heroic deed has been Done, and Justice delivered. I wonder if the bag has any more red grossulars...
//Twilight pops into existence next to me in a burst of scentless air, carrying two drinks by a handle in her mouth.
T: Sho? Wossit shay, wossit shay, wossit shay?
//She starts levitating the drinks alongside her, spitting out the handle.
Spike: Isn't that littering?
T: Biodegradable. What's the paper say?
//I unfold it and try to read the smudged charcoal. Twilight provides some light with her horn.
Spike: ...'You don't have to worry about the cultists getting revenge'. Good to know, but what's that mean?
T: It means he killed them all.
Spike: What?!
//I turn around, looking at the horizon. Kezno Telekom can't be seen at all.
T: When he left the room with the bow and arrow, and was gone for about half an hour. You really bought the line about the bandanas?
Spike: Why would he not tell me?
T: Because you're a Hero, and your entire job is to face hardship and difficulty and people who want to kill you, so having a crazed ex-cultist hunting you down because you kept your strict moral code is acceptable to you. Kezno is a doctor, with a wife and soon to be kids. He's not going to risk their lives or his over a moral code he may not even abide by, and he doesn't need for you to make him feel guilty over it.
Spike: Still... it doesn't feel right to me.
T: It shouldn't. People are willing to kill and maim others blindly in order to protect themselves and their kin. You're a Hero because you're different.
Spike: If two groups think their kin's lives are in danger from the other, when does the violence stop?
T: When a certain dragon comes in and punches someone's lower body into mush. You killed ponies today as well.
Spike: ...Yeah. But I killed ponies in combat, where it's hard to control how much damage you do if you still want to win the fight. Killing someone after the fight's over, when they're laying there, and defenseless, is...
T: You don't have to like it, but you should understand why people do it.
//Twilight floats a drink in front of her and sucks from the straw.
Spike: What's that?
T: ...Hay smoothie.
Spike: Where'd you get a hay smoothie?
//Her eyes look at whatever happens to be the opposite direction from me.
T: Canterlot.
Spike: Canterlot?!
T: Evil cult bosses aren't the only ponies with teleport spells.
//My mind reels.
Spike: You teleport to Canterlot for a hay smoothie... and I'm _walking_, to the Aquinatics...
T: Your quest, your problems. But if it makes you feel any better, I got you this.
//The second drink floats out in front of me, a vial of golden liquid. I grab it with my left hand.
Spike: What is it?
T: This is the reason you loot. Not looting until you've been restored to some semblance of health, understandable, but not looting at all? Unforgivable, for any adventurer! You should be thankful I looked over the baubles and trinkets for you; it was in there.
Spike: So... what is it?
T: Potion of heal wounds.
Spike: Do I like, rub it in, or...?
T: No, just drink it.
//I hesitate, then drink the potion. It tastes like wood. The various cuts, sealed by dragonfire or open, and every bruise on my body all fade away into health. My arm and foot feel funny...
//I take my right arm out of the sling and move my hand. It feels just like normal, and the ache is gone from my foot.
Spike: This is amazing!
T: It's not bad.
//I shed both dressings and leave them on the side of the road.
T: Only a couple a years ago you would see adventurers carrying it by the gallons. (One person, if I remember right, made an IV for it.) But the alchemists who knew the recipe, and the adventurer demand for it, aren't around anymore.
Spike: What happened to them?
T: Princess Celestia disappeared.

//On the road, passing over another few rivers and finally getting our bearings when I trade a traveling merchant (fence) for a brown hooded cloak and a more recent map. He scrambles off quickly, hiding the gem (quartz; tastes like grass) in one of the many folds of his baggy robes. I pull my cloak tighter around my shoulders; it's whipping about madly up here.
Spike: I wonder if I can tie the cloak to my legs or something...
T: This is the Hill of the Wind Giant. There's not actually a Wind Giant, people just call it that because it was named before geographic wind patterns were mapped out.
Spike: Good to know the omnidirectional wind isn't magical.
T: It's a common ambush point for those entering the Valley of Death because scents can't be followed and noises are drowned out. Be on your guard.
//Twilight's image wisps away, torn to dust by the wind.
Spike: Good to know.
//I continue walking on, wind swirling in every direction, eyes open for danger. Munching on an amethyst (wheat, but not bad), I hear something on a lazy wind coming from the east.
Female Voice: Hoho, it looks like today we are in luck. That Avatar must be smiling upon us. Your eyes are keen, Domariv, and you have done well.
Deep Male Voice: Thank you, milady.
FV: It looks bipedal, and not terribly large. Are you able to estimate its body mass, Domariv?
DMV: Wiry, milady, with no traces of baby fat on the face. If Domariv were to estimate its racial attributes and age, Domariv would wager drakeling, milady.
//I pull the hood a little tighter around my head. Though the voices are coming from the east wind, that's no reason they must be from the east...
FV: Drakeling? Hoho, Domariv, you have done well indeed...
//Pretending I don't hear, I take a gemstone from the bag and nibble at it. Hey, not bad!
DMV: Milady, it has appeared the subject has pulled a stone from his bag.
FV: Stone? Nonsense, Domariv, I know a gem when I see one. You have done very well, Domariv; you are well on your way towards gaining your freedom. Today will be a profitable day indeed...
//The voices fade away into the wind, and for a minute I trudge along, spotting nothing. Remembering the gem in my hand, I pop it in my mouth
//CELESTIA'S FUCKWINGS BOY LOOK WHAT YOU'RE EATING BEFORE YOU PUT IT IN YOUR MOUTH; YOU NEED TO _PREPARE_ FOR THE DROOLING DEMENTIA CAUSED BY RED GROSSULARS INSTEAD OF PRESENT IN YOUR DAILY MENTAL STATE!

The Drakeling falls to the ground!
The flying -copper trident- strikes the brown cloak, tearing through the cloth!
The flying -copper trident- strikes the earth! The -copper trident- has lodged firmly in the earth!
//The trident flashes, discharging into the ground! The holes it tore through the cloak are set aflame!
Spike: Yaah!
//I tear the cloak away, ripping three gashes in the cloth. The wind puts the flame out quickly.

The Drakeling stands up.

//Following the chain attached to the trident into the air, I spot a large musclebound pegasus, holding in his hooves a small earth pony with a contraption on her back!

[[SAVE LOCATION]]

FV: It appears I have missed.
DMV: Good luck is impermanent, milady.
Spike: What the hell are you doing, are you crazy?!

//The earth pony reels in the trident with her contraption.

FV: I am the famous Forever Valiant, dragon hunter extraordinaire.
Spike: I've never heard of you, and you kind of look like a loon.
FV: Prey should be quiet.
Spike: It's never stopped any pony I met.
FV: Silence! Domariv, set us down.

//Forever Valiant is thrown a few yards behind me, and Domariv slams into the road just a few feet ahead.
//Celestia, is that a big pony.

FV: I don't want to waste time or energy, so you should surrender. Everything will be easier that way.
Spike: Strange, I was going to offer you the same deal. I mean, you know why 'dragon hunter' is a meaningful title at all? Because it's the opposite of the way things normally are.
FV: Domariv, crush him. I will teach him better than to speak that way to me.

The Pegasus charges at The Drakeling!
The Pegasus attacks The Drakeling, but The Drakeling dodges away!
The Drakeling counterstrikes!
The Drakeling strikes The Pegasus in the upper body with his Dashing Rogue Punch, bruising the muscle!
The Pegasus rushes by The Drakeling!
//This pegasus is solid, but there's no spellcaster, so as long as I can work on him for a while it should be straightforward...

The Drakeling kicks The Pegasus in the right rear leg from behind with his left leg, bruising the muscle and bruising the skin!
//Darn, the wind is making it hard to get a good strike in. It might not be as easy as I thought.

The Pegasus kicks The Drakeling in the lower body with his left rear leg, bruising the muscle through the bronze vestskirt!

The Mare charges her -copper trident-, readying for another throw!

The Pegasus bites The Drakeling in the left lower leg, but the attack is deflected by The Drakeling's steel shinguard!
The Drakeling punches The Pegasus in the head with his left hand, bruising the muscle!

The Drakeling strikes at The Pegasus with his Dashing Rogue Punch but The Pegasus dodges away!

The Mare throws her -copper trident- at The Drakeling! The Drakeling leaps away from the flying -copper trident-! The flying -copper trident- strikes the earth! The -copper trident- has lodged firmly in the earth!
//SNAP!
The -copper trident- discharges into the earth!
//Wearing metal armor might not have been the best idea.

The Pegasus kicks The Drakeling in the left lower arm with his right rear hoof, bruising the muscle and bruising the bone!
The Drakeling punches The Pegasus in the lower body with his right hand, bruising the muscle and bruising the guts!

The contraption reels in the -copper trident-! The Mare charges her -copper trident-, readying for another throw!

The Pegasus grabs The Drakeling by the right lower leg with his left front leg!
The Pegasus takes down The Drakeling by the right lower leg!
//Being thrown down takes the wind out of me. The armor certainly didn't make falling less painful...

FV: Keep him there, Domariv.
DMV: Yes, milady.

//Crap! Metal armor, electric trident, ground next to my head! Bad news for an unfried brain.
The Drakeling struggles in vain against the grip of The Pegasus's left front leg on The Drakeling's right lower leg!
The Drakeling tries to stand up, but The Pegasus is in the way!
//Maybe that technique I just learned? 'Take up the earth on your shoulders'? Will that even do anything?

The Drakeling breathes in and focuses, casting Terrae Corpus! The Drakeling's scales become as hard as rock!

The Mare throws her -copper trident- at The Drakeling! The -copper trident- strikes The Drakeling in the right upper arm, but the attack glances away!
//SNAP!
The -copper trident- discharges into The Drakeling's scale! The Drakeling's scale discharges into the earth!
//Hey, I didn't feel a thing!

FV: He should be subdued now. You have done well, Domariv, and with today's profitable venture you are well on your way towards buying back your freedom from me.
DMV: Should Domariv fetch the restraints, milady? This one is strong and will sell well on the market.
FV: ...No, he is a healthy young specimen. I will keep him for my own. Prepare him for mounting.
DMV: Yes, milady.

The Drakeling grabs The Pegasus by the left front leg with his left hand! The Drakeling grabs The Pegasus by the left front leg with his right hand!

DMV: Stop resisting.

The Pegasus kicks The Drakeling in the left upper arm with his right front leg, shattering the scale!
//Woah, this Terrae Corpus stuff is powerful; that would have broken my arm!

The Drakeling throws The Pegasus by the left front leg!
The Pegasus's right front leg skids along the ground, bruising the muscle and tearing the skin!
The Pegasus's head skids along the ground, bruising the muscle and tearing the skin!
An artery has been opened by the blow!
The Pegasus's lower body skids along the ground, bruising the muscle and bruising the left kidney!
The Pegasus's left wing skids along the ground, bruising the muscle and bruising the bone!
The Pegasus slams into the ground!

Spike: He says stop resisting, but I'm the one playing police. Go figure.
FV: Don't make me hit you again!
Spike: See, I'd point out how much your dialogue sounds like a rapist, but there's a funny thing about that...

The Drakeling grabs the -copper trident- by the middle prong with his left hand!
The Drakeling grabs the -copper trident- by the handle with his right hand!

The contraption reels in the -copper trident-!
//I'm pulled to my feet and stumble forward, then stick in the ground, stopping the trident.
The contraption charges the -copper trident-! The -copper trident- discharges into The Drakeling's scale! The Drakeling's scale discharges into the earth!

FV: Why are you not dead yet?!
Spike: Healthy eating habits and exercise?
T: (Says the dragon who ate twenty gemstones in one day.)
Spike: (Hey, I had to try one of each.)
T: (And destroy several lifetimes of wealth in the process.)
FV: This charge should fry you!
Spike: That's what I'm talking about; fried food is unhealthy.
FV: Shut up! Give me the trident back!

//I flip the trident backwards to tie the chain around the middle prong.

Spike: Sure.
//The trident flies back at Forever Valiant, but halfway the contraption stops pulling and the trident clatters to the ground.
FV: You honestly thought that would work?
Spike: You know, I really did.
FV: Hohohoho, lapses of intelligence like that are the reason ponies are the dominant species in Equestria, and not dragons.
Spike: It must be that, and not the fact that ponies want to mount every single thing with a pulse they stumble across.
FV: Ah... dragons are so dim; they never see it coming.
Spike: Oh, and here I say 'See what coming?' like a stooge, setting me up for a clever--

The Pegasus charges at The Drakeling!
The Pegasus headbutts The Drakeling in the upper body from behind, denting the scale through the bronze vestskirt!
The Pegasus collides with The Drakeling! The Drakeling is knocked over and tumbles forwards!
The Pegasus rushes by The Drakeling!

//New downside to being hard as rock: slamming into the ground facefirst, while a good way to avoid damage, makes you pick the shattered cobblestone out of your teeth.

The Drakeling stands up.

Spike: Okay, _rude_, I was talking. Setting me up for a clever quip where at the end of my impending defeat you say, 'that'.
FV: What... what power is this, Domariv?
DMV: Domariv does not know, milady.
Spike: (All my enemies keep asking me to get rock hard and when I finally do they're disappointed.)
DMV: But Domariv does know no power in this natural world can be his defeat.

The Pegasus kicks The Drakeling in the head with his right front hoof, but the attack is deflected by The Drakeling's steel helmet!

Spike: Ooo, I've got one: 'tell that to the wind'!

The Drakeling grabs The Pegasus by the left wing with his right hand! The Drakeling throws The Pegasus in the air by the left wing!
The wind grabs The Pegasus by the left wing! The wind throws The Pegasus by the left wing!

The Pegasus slams into The Mare!
The Pegasus's upper body takes the full force of the impact, bruising the muscle!
The Mare's head takes the full force of the impact, bruising the muscle and tearing apart the upper spine's nervous tissue!
The Mare falls over!
The Pegasus slams into the ground!

Spike: (Come on, that was pretty slick.)
T: (Hero, not comedian. How'd you do that?)
Spike: (Uh, luck, I guess.)
T: (Yes, I have noticed more of it recently.)
FV: My... my neck! My neck is broken!
Spike: Couldn't have the decency to tear your larynx as well?
T: (Hey, you've been reading that pony anatomy book I gave you!)
Spike: (What were my other choices? Cat sex?)
FV: You, you fool! Look at what you've done to me! I'll have you killed!
Spike: There are five thousand drakelings in the Greater Aquinatic Region, and my only distinguishing characteristic is that I'm purple. Best of luck with that.
FV: ...You're right. I have been defeated. Please, if you would spare me, at least give me this: what is the name of the dragon who has finally defeated me?
Spike: Oh, my name's Twilight Sparkle. Nice to meet you!
T: (Spike!)
Spike: (Shh! She might hear!)
FV: Hohohoho, do you think me a fool?! What dragon would name their child that?! Answer me truthfully!
T: (You _jerk_!)
Spike: I swear, I'm telling the truth!
//Domariv approaches. He looks at me, blood pouring down his face from the gash in his head, and glances briefly at where Twilight's voice is coming from.
DMV: Hello, my new master. I am Domariv.
Spike: What?
FV: What?
T: (Huh?)
DMV: Hero, Domariv is bound to this mare by a life debt. It is his duty to do anything she wills until Domariv has served her to her satisfaction or saved her life.
Spike: Yeah, she did seem the slaver type.
DMV: On behalf of Forever Valiant's life and his own, Domariv surrenders and asks you for mercy. Such a gift, of both her life and his, could only place Domariv fully in life debt to you.
//Domariv bows his head.
FV: What?! You can't be in life debt twice! You owe me!
Spike: So... by asking me for mercy for the both of you--
DMV: --I would be saving her life.
Spike: And be freed from her?
FV: No!
DMV: Yes.
Spike: Sure; why the hell not?
DMV: Forever Valiant, by saving your life, I declare my life debt to you paid in full.
FV: I knew, I knew, I knew never to trust someone like you; they always trick and trap people in the stories and I knew...
Spike: Uh... is she being racist?
DMV: Unimportant. As of now, I am in life debt to you, Hero. What do you will?
Spike: Hmm...
T: (Choose wisely, Spike. This is someone's life you're thinking about.)
Spike: Got any gems on you?
DMV: None.
//I shrug.
Spike: I dunno, I guess you're free, then.
DMV: You would have me do nothing? Not even -
//He gestures to Forever Valiant
DMV: - bring her sequentially in front of every worldly possession she ever owned, every tool of power she ever wielded and every ear whose attention she ever held and see them all lost to her?
Spike: ...
DMV: Because I can do that.
FV: No! Please, Celestia, no!
Spike: Yeah, sounds good, just donate it all to charity or something. That way she can't use it to hurt anyone in the future.
DMV: Your will be done.
//Forever Valiant screams. The wind streaks at their visages, drawing out long tails of color before they both fade away.
Spike: ...What kind of magic was that?
T: None of this world.

The Dragon Hunters were defeated!
Spike gained 2000 experience points!
Spike is now level 13!

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