Spike barged through the crowd of men in front of him, leaving Fluttershy behind in his daze.

"Spike, wait!" Fluttershy hollered as Spike approached the front row.

"Hey!" Spike shouted at Draven, who was in the middle of a speech.

At first, Draven didn't notice, as his eyes were fixed on the crowd now behind Spike. With much deliberation, Spike decided to get his attention forcefully. And so, with one deep breath, Spike bellowed at the top of his lungs.

"Hey!" Spike's booming voice echoed throughout the docks.

All who stood beside Spike paused and turned to face him. Draven ceased his rant, and the crew stood silently before Spike. Realizing his folly, Spike's courage buckled as he saw the intense expressions from the crew members huddled around him. One of the crew raised a long sword to Spike's throat, pressing it lightly against his scaled skin.

"How dare ya interrupt Captain Draven so abruptly!" The mare beside him stated in disgust as her curved sword inched closer to Spike's neck. "I should cut ya down myself!"

Spike slowly turned his head to face the mare holding him in place. She wore a brown jacket and loose fitting pants, and her long silver hair shrouded the one side of her red face, her visible amber eye burned with passion as she stared him down. And as she raised her sword and swung, another voice halted the blade as it barely touched his soft throat.

"Stop!" Draven shouted in protest.

Draven vaulted over his balcony, landing in front of Spike. He was about a head taller than him, which was around two heads taller than Fluttershy. He had a gleeful air around him, like a brilliant light, and he had a certain wit about him that intrigued Spike. His long, leather captain's coat was primarily purple, and he wore a quite extensive chapeau with a long red feather in its brim. As he looked down at the young dragon, he beamed, offering him a helping hand to get back on his feet.

"Do my eyes deceive me?" Draven brought Spike to his feet as he stared at him intently. "Is one of my own kin on my ship?" Draven observed Spike, circling around him in a curious fashion. "Not just any normal dragon, lads! A fearsome fire-dragon!" Draven turned to face his crew, then looked back to Spike with a wonder-filled expression on his face. "Tell me, lad, what's your name?" Draven inquired, his left brow raised in amusement.

"It's Spike, sir..." Spike peeped as he looked back to Fluttershy.

Draven paused, then burst into laughter along with his crew. Draven wiped away a tear of joy as he put a hand on Spike's shoulder. "Heh, heh! Pretty lousy name for a fire-dragon, don't ya think?" Draven teased in a jolly manner."Say, come to think of it... I'm certain I would've remembered another dragon joining my crew. What are ya doing on my ship?"

"Well, um." Spike was slightly embarrassed by the question and blushed.

"Bah! I'm teasing ya, lad! Hey, if yer a great fire-dragon like your appearance tells me, let's see it!" Draven's face shone with childlike excitement.

"See what?" Spike asked in confusion.

"Your flame, boy! Show us your magic!" Draven patted Spike hard on the back. "And don't be afraid to show-off, lad!

"Um, right..." Spike stood at the edge of the large wooden boat and braced himself, digging his claws firmly into the hard wooden deck. Spike looked back to see Fluttershy, just as nervous as he was. He had to make it convincing otherwise, he might've been tossed overboard like a sickly fish.

With a mighty breath, a giant column of green flame escaped the purple dragon's mouth, parting the surface of the river water as the blast shot just above the waves. A loud roar escaped the blast as it traveled many miles into the river ahead, disturbing the course of ships in the port.

"These flames... I've felt them before," Draven thought as he basked in the glow of the intense emerald-fire. "Could it be...?" Spike's aura felt so familiar to Draven.

Once the blast subsided, a wave of silent awe rained over the crew members. Then, the sound of joyous laughter and amazement swept across the deck of the ship. Draven approached Spike slowly and shook his hand.

"Well to put it lightly lad, I'm convinced. Welcome aboard." Draven's jolly face, however, shifted to a look of seriousness in an instant. "Alas, there isn't any time for celebration lad. I believe I have something dire to discuss with you in private... follow me to my quarters."

Fluttershy barreled through the crowd of raving pirates and took Spike's arm. "Spike, that was amazing! Since when could you make that much fire?!" Fluttershy inquired with the same sort of amazement as the rest of the crew.

"Since always I guess. I never really saw any use in it before, or I never really had the chance to do it." Spike explained as he scratched the back of his head, looking downwards bashfully.

"Who's this lass here?" Draven asked as he turned to face Fluttershy.

"Her name is Fluttershy, she's a friend of mine," Spike explained quickly.

"Alright then, she comes too," Draven stated as he walked through the door into the ship, gesturing to the two to follow with a nod.

Spike and Fluttershy followed Draven into the captain's quarters on the upper deck. The whole room was decorated with dozens of relics and stacks of treasure contained in various chests. There were rubies, diamonds, all sorts of artifacts as well. There were even a few scrolls collected on a bookshelf in the corner with odd scribblings of runic symbols. In the center of the room was a round table, and on it was a map. Draven drove his blade into the edge of the map as he circled the table, pointing to where the blade struck.

"Ah, here it is... here is where my crew and I plan on landing," Draven said with a gallant tone.

"And where is this exactly?" Fluttershy asked as she stared at the map, unfamiliar with the land drawn on it.

"Old tales refer to it as the Blacklands, an ancient land that most Equestrians hardly know of, and feared by all who know of it." Spike and Fluttershy were wearing quite the dumbfounded mugs. "And from what I can see, you haven't the slightest clue what it is. Let me explain." Draven sat on his chair near one larger chest, right next to the bookshelf containing the scrolls. "Sit down, my friends. I shall tell you the story of The Seven Sorcerers."

"Long ago, during the first ages of the kingdoms in Equestria... there was a great evil plaguing the land," Draven explained as he eyed the map intently.

"Isn't there always?" Spike chuckled to himself, followed by a light punch to the shoulder by Fluttershy. "Ouch!"

"Ahem. As I was saying, this evil was referred to as the harbinger of death, Leere. Leere was an alicorn who thought of himself as nothing less than a god, and all had feared him throughout the lands. This was until his sister's had discovered his plotting and lies, and slew him." Draven looked up at Spike and Fluttershy. "You may know these two sisters as the keepers of night and day."

"Celestia and Luna?" Fluttershy questioned.

"They had not gone by those names in that age, the names you know were given to them by mortals, same as Leere." Draven continued on, still sparking much intrigue in Spike and Fluttershy. "However, you cannot kill death itself. After his defeat, his most esteemed sorcerers retreated to the Blacklands with Leere's most prized possessions, awaiting their lord's return. Before the great war between him and his sister's, Leere had forced the greatest pegasi blacksmiths in the land to forge the Sorcerer's Stones."

"Hold on, I think I remember this tale. It was a poem my mother used to tell me about." Fluttershy added.

In the Blacklands old, lay a story untold, by mortals oh so fearful.

The ancient smiths made mighty stones, which to this day many doth not condone.

The first stone, Right, lay atop a mountain on a starry night.

The second stone, Power, lies in a place where mortals cower.

The third stone, Sight, gives the future to a mortal who cannot see the light.

The fourth stone, Spirit, resides in a place where none can hear it.

The fifth stone, Mind, is held in a place only the wise can find.

The sixth stone, Fear, is the heart of a stallion who gambled with Leere.

The seventh stone, Greed, rests in a cave where the dragon-hearted take heed.

Together they form the ultimate weapon.

The Sorcerer's Circle, ye who unleashes it shall wield Armageddon.

"So you see... I am not going to the Blacklands to plunder or pillage. I was sent by your own Princess, who fears Leere's inevitable return and wishes for my crew and I to find and destroy the stones before Leere reawakens. Alone, the stones are powerless, but even two together can flatten a city. Imagine what seven can do in the wrong hands." Draven arose from his chair and stretched.

"Wait wait, you were hired by Celestia?" Spike inquired in astonishment. "Celestia hired pirates to retrieve these stones?"

"I prefer the term 'privateers', thank you very much," Draven said, somewhat offended. "But yes, she hired 'pirates'."

"Why are you telling us this?" Fluttershy asked with much confusion.

"Because I believe you can help me. " Draven fastened his large captain-hat firmly on his head.

"There's something you're not telling us..." Spike accused as he stood up from his chair.

With a deep sigh, Draven put his hands on Spike's shoulders, looking deeply into his eyes.

"Aye, Spike. I have held out on you long enough, as I'm sure you can tell." Draven looked at Fluttershy for a brief moment and back to Spike. "Spike, I have seen those flames of yours before."

"What are you saying?" Spike was baffled by his words.

"Spike, I believe I may know your father." Draven's voice took a serious tone as his eyes locked with Spike's.

"My father?" Spike tried to process what he had heard. Never before had he considered his father. Since he was very young, he always insisted that he had passed long ago-- blocked him out of his mind like ancient history.

"Green flames are associated with fire dragons of royal blood, this is you." Draven could clearly see Spike had a hard time coming to terms with the truth.

"What about my mother? What happened to her?" Spike asked, dreading Draven's answer.

"Your mother died during an invasion by the changeling army."

An overwhelming sadness took hold of Spike's heart as he heard Draven's words and crushed it in his grasp. He felt his whole identity begin to crumble into a pile of rubble. "And... what of my father?" Spike held his head in his hand as he sat back down in his chair.

"Orius... he was a good friend of mine. When we were young he had found me-- a survivor of a great purge of my race. I am a thunder dragon you see. The last of my kind all but wiped out by the armies of King Sombra. That bastard slaughtered every single dragon in my kingdom after they refused to join his alliance." Draven clenched his fist as he choked back painful memories. "Sixteen years ago, your father retreated to Equestria after the changelings attacked. This is where he left you."

Spike, still comprehending Draven's story, sat in silence and listened.

"I had already had a ship and crew when this occurred, and when I heard news of the attack and your father's disappearance into the Blacklands, I had followed this rumor and set sail. My crew did not fare well, and we were pushed back by the changelings. I swore to myself to find your father one day when I was older, and now that you're here... the stars have truly aligned." Draven put his hand out to Spike. "So, will you join my crew, Spike? Will you help me on this quest to not only find your father but save this world as well?"

Spike looked across the table to Fluttershy, who was still trying to make sense of Draven's story. "What do you think? What about Twilight? All our friends?" Spike asked Fluttershy as she looked to him.

"I think this is too important Spike. This should be your decision." Fluttershy insisted.

Spike closed his eyes to think for a moment. Despite all Draven had told him, regardless of the tragedy, Spike recognized this as a new opportunity, a new path destiny had given him. He wanted adventure, and this was his only chance to get it. When his eyes opened, he grabbed Draven's hand tightly, confidently, and shook. A determined grin spread across his face as the fire within him was set ablaze once again. He had a feeling this would be a new beginning.

"Yes, yes I will..."

Author's Notes:

Cut down the ellipses by a bit, and also fixed some spacing issues from before. Enjoy!