Chapter Seventeen

An Oasis of Thought and Action

It was early the next morning that Spike led his wives down through the most-empty streets, a few guard serving as protection as they made their way to where the caravans gathered. the sultan had barely bid them goodbye, and he had only nodded in his daughter's direction when they left. Still, it felt rather nice to leave the palace: many awkward memories floating in the air around that place. Within minutes of asking various passerby, Spike had found the earth pony Al Adin and his brother, a younger-looking earth pony with an odd set of scars on his snout.

“Lion,” Al Abbas had said simply when he noticed Spike's questioning glance. “I got him back, though.” As if to demonstrate, he held out his necklace with a smile: a set of lion claws.

“How long do you expect the journey to take?” Spike asked, worried about how his wives would fare. Asalah had told him earlier that she was used to such heat, but he was not so sure about the others. Add to the fact that Trixie was two weeks short of being two months pregnant, and with her condition she’d have to take it easier than the rest of them.

“Seven week’s weeks, give or take,” the pony said. “We’ll be going along a more-used and supplied path, so essentials like water and food will not be much of a problem. As such, we’ll be a bit closer to the Meditermanean Sea than others. That way, if we get into trouble, we will not be in the absolute middle of nowhere.”

“Trouble? What kind of trouble?” Spike asked, feeling suddenly uneasy. he swore, if there was some marauding sultan out there now...

“Oh, simple bandits, most likely,” Al Abbas said as though it were nothing more than flies. “Too dry and inhospitable for lions or hyenas out here, so the biggest predator you might face will be a scorpion.” He paused for a moment. “The bigger they are, the less dangerous they are: the stinger will still hurt, but it will be far from lethal.” Oh, sure: that was reassuring to a creature who's hide was nigh but impenetrable. His wives would be the ones in need of more protection. Speaking of which...

“What about spiders?” Spike asked, knowing for sure that Asalah would want to know this particular piece of information.

“Very few, and they come out at night,” the pony said, bidding his older brother goodbye. “As such, we tend to sleep off the bare ground, on blankets and such. A warm body attracts all sorts of night creatures, more so than anything else.”

“Then I’d better sleep away from others: I give off heat like a furnace,” Spike replied, at least partially thankful Twilight’s spell was still in effect for another six days. That, and the way they were acting around him, gave him the distinct impression that by the time they wanted to have sex with him, the spell would have worn off long before.

“It gets cold at night in the desert: I can’t blame them for looking for warmth,” Al Abbas said. “Well, it is time to go. Are your wives all packed?”

Spike turned around to see the last of their goods loaded up onto some camels. His wives were already atop their own camels, each fully wrapped up in white turbans and cloaks to remain cool in the heat. Trixie had her little shady umbrella out again, since she needed it more than the others.

“Yes they are,” Spike said, accepting the reigns to his own camel. “We’ll travel in the middle?”

“Of course: it is safer that way,” the pony said, climbing up onto his own camel. “Come: it is time to go.” Pulling a horn from his satchel, the earth pony let loose a long, low note: several responded in kind. The rest of the caravan lurched forward, all of the supplies loaded up and ready to go. As one seething mass, like a massive exodus of birds from a tree, the caravan set out.

There were at least a hundred ponies of all kinds in the caravan: zebras, unicorns and earth ponies being the most common, with a few mules and a pegasus or two. The last ones were likely used to spot sandstorms: they could fly up high enough to see if one was headed their way. All of the ponies either rode or led camels, most of whom were laden with goods and supplies.

The heat of the day soon made the city of Agrabah disappear behind them in a haze, the air feeling like I was going to combust at any moment. To Spike, he felt no different: he had bathed in lava, so this was nothing. Asalah seemed to be faring well, but the other three were having trouble. Trixie was the least troubled of the three, with her umbrella shading her from the direct sunlight, but anypony could tell it would take time for her to get used to this. Meia and Maria were bent over, almost as if about fall asleep.

Spike hurried his camel to Al Abbas. “Sir, if it would not be too much trouble, do you have two more small umbrellas for Meia and Maria? They are not used to these conditions and I fear for their well-being.”

“Of course, of course,” the earth pony said, pointing him in the direction of a laden camel.

Spike plodded his way over and leaned down, snagging two desert umbrellas from a satchel. Stopping his camel, he let more of the caravan pass him by until he was beside his two wives.

“Here, you should take this: it will help,” he said to Maria. She didn’t even look at him, or even acknowledge he was even there. She was still angry about his drunken shenanigans, apparently. “Fine, be that way: here,” he said in an annoyed tone, leaning over and propping it up for her so that she was in shade. Getting no response other than a huff, he trotted off to Meia. Behind him, Maria looked up from her bent-over posture and sat up straighter, adjusting the umbrella ever-so-slightly.

“This will help, Meia: here,” he said, leaning out to handed the umbrella to his second wife. She sat up but did not take it from him, merely staring at him. Before he could say something he’d likely regret, he leaned over further and set up the umbrella over her head. She at least gave him a nod of thanks, though the silent treatment he was receiving from both was getting on his nerves already.

Trotting forward, he pulled up alongside Trixie to check on her. “Are you holding up all right?” he asked.

“Better than I would without an umbrella,” the unicorn said, looking up from her reigns. “Thank you, Spike.”

“You are entirely welcome, my dear,” he replied. “At least I got one thank-you, so things must be getting at least a bit better” he added in thought as he pulled away and up to Asalah’s side. He didn’t say a thing to her: he had done all he could for the foreseeable future and was content to look her way every now and then.

Asalah was wrapped up in her own little world, thinking over everything that had happened so far. She had to admit that Spike treated her far differently than any other stallion she had met, her father included. He had listened to her, had helped her open up to him.

It was a mistake, likely all an act. He had three other wives: surely he couldn’t begin to feel the same way for her so soon? It was a front: it must be. Only a fool or a die-hard romantic out of a fable would fall for a wife in an arranged marriage so quickly. She could see it now: she had opened up to him too soon, too early. He now knew her weakness: the memory of her mother and spiders, especially the spiders. She hadn’t said anything specifically, but then again it wouldn’t take a genius to figure out she held a deep-seated fear of the eight-legged creatures.

She would have to strengthen her shell once more, the wall around her in need of refurbishing. She had let it fall too quick to his invading charm and soft words. She was Asalah, and her defenses would not be so easily breached again.

She mulled over these thoughts, her resolve steeling once more as the caravan traveled. Yes, she would not acknowledge him unless he first acknowledged her. It was the way of her culture: she was subservient, but that did not mean she had to put up with his demeanor as she had her father’s. This Spike was... soft, it seemed: he commanded no respect from his other wives. She had seen that clearly enough in the way they were acting around him. A strong husband would have them under his hoof, or in Spike’s case claws, eager and willing to do anything and everything he asked. Why was he so different from any other stallion, or male for that matter, than she had ever met before?

She would need to try and make him see the error of his ways. She knew that only the strong survived in a world like this, and as such, until he proved otherwise, it was time for her to start on his ‘conditioning’. First things first: she needed to show him she was stronger than she appeared back when she had broken down in his arms.

Spike, meanwhile, was busy mulling over all the things he had sent back to Ponyville, and by extension, Canterlot. He had received a letter earlier that morning stating that the stone foundations to the additional living quarters for Spike and his future family were already being laid into the mountainside, branching off of the main castle in Canterlot. The letter had not been from Celestia, Luna or even Twilight: it had been a simple letter as written by a royal pony scribe. Everypony must have been busy off doing something else, it would seem.

“Sometimes I wonder why I even left Equestria in the first place,” he thought, letting a puff of smoke curl out from his mouth. It filtered through his partially-concealing turban, so the cloth soon smelled of it. “I mean, all of this just to gather knowledge for the citizens I will soon rule over?”

He rattled off the things he had sent so far. “Tons of items and historical pieces from Equineland, though Pip will have to be the one to explain much of it. Those numerous things from Portucolt, tons of historical and periodical things from Spreign, goods from southern Prance and all those little things from Germareny and Austria should about do it. After all that stuff from Roam, including the copied letters between some of those old emperors, that leaves all that I recently sent back from the marketplaces.”

And to think of how many more countries he had to travel through to get back home. Sudan, Ethiopia, Maredagascar, Saddle Arabia, the Ottomare Empire, Trannsylmania... the list just seemed to go and on forever. Would he ever get home? Just how many wives would he return with, if he even returned at all?

He continued on, only stopping his camel when Al Abbas blew his horn. They had arrived at the first “rest-stop”, and just in time, too. The sun was beginning to set and the camels, and everypony else by extension, were tired and thirsty. The stark contrast of the lushly foliaged oasis lake to the harsh rocky desert around it was like something out of a dream. Luckily, said lake was in a large depression, with pillars of stone lining much of the area around them. It was almost like some piece of forgotten history protected by the small canyon they found themselves in.

Spike got off of his camel and went to help the earth pony with the main tent. All of the pieces were unloaded from the camels carrying them, and as such it was not long before a large and expansive tent was raised. It had no floor, of course: it was nothing more than a large burlap-style tarp held up by poles and fastened to the ground with ropes and stakes.

As the skies began to darken from lack of sunlight, the temperature began to slowly but surely drop. Maria had no problem with this. In fact, she had few problems at all. The trip had not been hard so far, the camels made for interesting conversation and were incredibly polite, and she hadn’t sweated all that much.

What she did have a problem with, though, was her husband, or more specifically, his noticeable lack of class. She had thought when she had married him he would be the prince he was supposed to be: he had certainly acted like it before and after the marriage, let alone their wedding night. But now... now it was like he had never been raised as a noble! He was acting like some compassionate commoner who had no respect for his heritage? What had brought about this sudden transformation, the Spreignish unicorn had no idea.

Spike was a dragon, a species known for their propensity to hoard. At first she had been thrilled that he was willing to change so drastically back in Prance to save them, but now, in light of this new marriage, and to a zebra no less, she began to see things in a different light. He collected items along the journey and sent them back to his homeland, as it would be infeasible to lug all that stuff around. Sure, he said he was sending it back for the betterment of his subjects, but... what if he wasn’t? What if this was just some impulse to collect and hoard items? He had four wives, one of whom was pregnant: surely he would stop at nothing until he had more. Dragons were a fine example of good breeding and had an even greater reputation of breeding anything they could. Spike was likely no different, sticking his massive rod in whatever willing female he could find.

The truth was it hurt Maria to think of her husband like this, to act this way around him. She was not vicious at heart, and to display such coldness for a dragon that she would gladly give everything away for made her feel... stuck-up. No, scratch that: it made her feel pompous, arrogant, and more than a bit selfish. He had given freely to her, had showered her with honest praise and affections for the entire time they had known each other. He had risked life and limb to save her, and yet he remained such a puzzle that it hurt her head trying to figure it all out. But her reasoning was still sound, even if it flew in the face of her emotions. As such, when she went to bed, a few tears were rolling down her face. The frustration within her at her inability to both comprehend and forgive her husband was taking its toll.

As the night continued to encroach on the desert, Trixie lay back on propped-up pillows, her mind swirling with thoughts and emotions. First and foremost, she had been wondering about names for the foal. It seemed that was almost all her mind could focus on these days. Where to send the foal to school when he or she reached that certain age, what they would do in life, what they would look like... She had always wondered what the offspring of a dragon and a pony, unicorn included, would look like. Would he have a horn and be able to do magic? Would she have wings and breathe fire? All of these floated in her head, but they were put aside for a growing thought.

What was up with Spike? She had forgiven him more easily than the others, even if she refused to talk to him for a while. He was likely so absorbed in this new marriage that it would take time for him to come down from his “lofty accomplishment high” that he seemed to be on. She had known him from before, and he still had most of the traits that she remembered: kind, considerate, almost too generous, and undoubtedly friendly. The only problem was...

That zebra! Trixie did not hate her: she had come to realize that much as truth. She did hate the situation the poor mare had been placed in, and from what she had heard the servants talking about, she was only eighteen. She was more than old enough to have foals, but she was still so young to have so much expected of her. It uncomfortably reminded Trixie of Equestria’s own past, back before it was first founded. Ponies of higher classes and nobility would shelter and keep their daughters hidden from the public eye until they became of breeding age. Then, often against their will, they would be literally sold off to the highest bidder or to the pony who would bring greater wealth or prestige to the family name. Trixie’s own great-great-great-however long ago it was-grandmother had been sold off like this, and it brought a sick feeling to her slightly swollen belly.

But still, a zebra? Spike had three unicorn brides and one foal on the way, and yet it seemed life, fate or whatever you want to call it intended on him having an even larger potential family. This zebra, whom nopony had seen much of beside her eyes and hands, made Trixie feel rather plain. She had that exotic flair to her that would make most stallions in Equestria slobber over themselves like a bunch of fools, but she was reserved, shy: almost borderline cold. Why, Trixie did not know: what she did know was that Spike was far too attractive for the zebra to ignore for much longer. When she did get him in bed, and the unicorn knew she would, the biggest fear Trixie had would be that Spike would treat her differently from the others. He only had so much love to share, and in Trixie’s mind, he would dispense more to what he saw as the more beautiful wives. Trixe, as she fell asleep, felt that she would be forgotten, pushed to the side: she did not want that kind of life for her and her foal. To have fallen in love with her and then to fall out of love with her would be the greatest wound Spike could ever inflict on her.

Spike had finished long ago with the tent and made his way to the edge of the camp, carrying only a small blanket so the sand would not get between his scales and his spines. He lay down, too tired to even try and talk with his wives. Well, that and entirely frustrated: exhaustion could be brought on by many means, and that was definitely one of them. They refused to talk to him now, all of them: to somedragon who had lived with the constant contact of ponies throughout his entire life, this sudden paradigm shift in attitude made him feel cold. Twilight’s reaction was not only definitely not what he had been expecting, but it was borderline criminal.

As such, he had to send a letter. Pulling a single scroll of parchment form his pocket, he smoothed it out and began to write, the magic in his fire-heated claw working better than any ink.

“Dear Princess Celestia,” he began, grimacing as the words came to his mind.

“As you may or may not have heard from Twilight, I have found myself in quite a pickle, as Pinkie Pie would say. Trixie, the unicorn I met on the way to Manehattan, is pregnant with my foal/hatchling, and as such we are married in Roam. Upon arriving in Agrabah a week later, we were generously treated by the sultan, who lavished us all most generously. Upon consuming the strong wine, I woke up the next morning to find myself betrothed to his daughter, Asalah. The others have not taken it so well and as of right now, I believe my marriages to them could be facing some moderate to severe strain.” Yeah, at the way things were progressing, that was an understatement.

He continued. “Furthermore, I must thank your pupil Twilight for her kind reaction to this bit of news when I informed her of it. Not only did the returned letter explode in my face like a massive firework, but it coated me in what she called an “erection-nullifying” spell, or something similar. As such, I cannot fulfill my duty to have heirs, Trixie being the exception as she is already pregnant. I shall see where it goes from here, though as it is, I am beginning to wonder why I ever left home, if all I seem to encounter is misfortune. Still, I must think of this as a blessing: maybe now I can further connect with my wives in a way that doesn’t have me reducing them to screams of pleasure every time we make love.” There: that should give the princess something to think about at night. Why he included it, he hadn't the faintest idea.

“Sincerely, Spike Dragul.” He paused for a moment, thinking hard as if anything needed to be added.

“P.S. I am afraid no more items, whether they be goods, maps or information, will be sent from me for the immediate future. Twilight helped me realize this, so if you chose to inform her of this letter, it would be best if the rest of the Elements of Harmony were around to hear it.”

He looked over the letter again, making sure there were no grammatical or punctuation mistakes present. Satisfied with this sarcasm-laced letter, he breathed a small amount of flame and watched it disappear into the slight desert breeze. He would likely not get an answer as rapidly as he had with Twilight: he would be asleep, anyway.

It was with that he actually fell asleep, his lips were curved into a small, sad frown.

Meia watched him fall asleep from her own propped-up pillows, her mind boiling with conflict. She had no idea what he had written down, but her own mind was too busy focusing on her next move. “A zebra,” the cold, calculating side of her mind said. “Unexpected, but not by much. He seems to pick up females wherever he goes. This could prove dangerous to us in the long run: he has two unicorns that could detect our true form if we are not careful.”

“But we will be careful,” the other side of the changeling queen’s mind retorted. “We have always been careful, and right now there are strains in his relationships. We can use these to our advantage, perhaps: our time of the year is fast approaching once more. It will not be long before we are carrying his child.”

The thought of a child growing within her caused Chrysalis to stop thinking about plans for Canterlot’s new ruler. Instead it filled her with a strange sensation, a feeling she had not known for the longest time.

Hope: pure and simple. She wanted a foal, needed one, and she had never realized just how badly until she was sitting down in the middle of a desert thinking about it. Out of all four of Spike’s brides, it was perhaps her that closed her eyes with the closest thing to a smile on her lips.

Meanwhile, back in Canterlot...

Princess Celestia sat by her empty fireplace, going over the news of the realm as the sun lazily made its way towards the horizon. It was only a while after noon or so, but she felt that the day was a beautiful thing indeed. Signing a few contracts needed for Spike’s new home, she turned over a new piece of parchment when she felt a familiar tingle in her horn.

“Oh, speak of the dragon,” she said to herself with a slight giggle, watching as the smoke condensed and burst into a scroll. Watching it gently float into her lap, she readjusted her position in her chair and opened the scroll.

“Dear Princess Celestia,” she began. “Oh, how formal of him,” she thought: it was always nice to be addressed as a princess by such a good and dear friend. It made her happy to know that he wrote it as a term of affection and not as a dutiful title.

“As you may or may not have heard from Twilight, I have found myself in quite a pickle, as Pinkie Pie would say. Trixie, the unicorn I met on the way to Manehattan, is pregnant with my foal/hatchling, and as such we are married in Roam.” Oh, she smiled at this: he was going to be a father! Truly, there had not been any new royal blood in the family for quite some time, and the princess was besides herself with glee at the prospect of playing with a little foal. She continued to herself, ignoring the small feeling that this letter was not entirely made up of good news.

“Upon arriving in Agrabah a week later, we were generously treated by the sultan, who lavished us all most generously. Upon consuming the strong wine, I woke up the next morning to find myself betrothed to his daughter, Asalah.” Wait, he was married again? That certainly surprised the princess, who started to wonder just how much of a charmer Spike was becoming. Four brides in less than two months: that was an awful lot to deal with for one so young and still relatively inexperienced.

She continued, her smile shrinking as she read the words “marriage”, “strain”, “nullifying”, and “cannot fulfill duty”. Her eyes had shrunken back into her sockets as she continue, not believing Twilight was capable of such a thing.

Then she read the last part: no more souvenirs or gifts being sent their way. In a strangely calm manner, she folded the letter and tucked it into a pocket, rising to her hooves as she did so. The temperature increased noticeably as she approached her magically-opened window. With a sigh, the princess spread her wings and flew out, slowly at first until her speed increased to that greater of Rainbow Dashes’ finest sonic rainboom. She had become a beacon of light shooting through the sky, blazing in intensity as she approached her destination. She would have to remain mostly aloof: she would wait to tell the mares about why her anger was justified. For now, they needed to sort out what she was about to say for themselves: both for the good of their friendships and for the good of their relationship with Spike.

Her pupil had told her that she and the rest of the Elements of Harmony were having a tea party at around that time up in the library. With a crack like thunder she landed outside, causing the whole tree building to shake.

Hearing a few screams and many startled voices, the princess managed to maintain a serene, if rather upset-looking expression when Twilight answered the door.

“Princess!” the purple unicorn said, her eyes blinking in surprise as she saw her sovereign standing before her. “What... what brings you here at this time of day?”

“There is something I need to discuss with you: it is very urgent,” the princess said, a tone entering her voice she rarely used.

Twilight felt afraid at that moment: the princess was never this serious. She hadn’t even been this serious when the changelings invaded and she did battle with Chrysalis. “Why, o-of course: c-come in,” she said, opening the door. The princess nodded as she entered, noticing the Mane Six all sitting around a disheveled-looking table. There were tea cups scattered about, Fluttershy was hanging from the uppermost lamp in fright from the noise outside accompanying Celestia's arrival, and Rarity was busy using her magic to clean up some spilled tea.

“Ladies, I would like to- no, must have a word with you all,” she said, seating herself at the head of the small table. Twilight closed the door behind her and returned to the table, unsure of what to say or do.

“I recently received a most informative letter from Spike a few minutes ago,” she said, quietly pouring herself some of the remaining tea in an undamaged tea cup.

“You did?” Twilight asked, surprise and a bit of anger showing on her face. “Did he say anything in particular?”

The princess quietly sipped some of her tea. “Well, he informed me of his new journey into fatherhood, something I was never informed of,” she said, looking as all six mares squirmed uncomfortably.

“Sorry about tha’ princess, but we nevah thought you’d want ter find out about the... situation Spike put himself in to get to tha’ point,” Applejack said, removing her hat in embarrassment.

“I understand your reasoning, even though how Spike became a father means little in the big picture,” the princess said, sipping some more of her tea. “I suppose you all know about his fourth bride?”

“The zebra Asalah?” Fluttershy asked, slowly flying down from the lamp after she had calmed down enough. The others shot her odd glances. “What? I-I told Zecora about it, and s-she seemed so happy to h-hear another zebra w-would be coming t-to Equestria. That’s why I-I remember.”

“Yes, Asalah: the sultan’s daughter,” Celestia said softly. “Spike has informed me of several developments that coincide with this new marriage.”

“And those would be?” Rainbow Dash asked, choosing to hover in place instead of sitting on the floor. She always liked to be on the move, that mare.

“Well, the fractures already forming between him and his wives,” Celestia said. “Among other things.” She looked at Twilight when she said this, causing the mare to shift uncomfortably.

Pinkie opened her mouth wide to say something, but Rarity stuffed a cupcake in her cavernous maw. “Pinkie, dear, remember to use your inside voice,” she said, watching as the pink earth pony simple swallowed the cupcake whole.

“Okey dokey lokey, Rarity,” Pinkie said, turning to the princess. “So, is Spike not good enough for them or something? He’s too nice to be a big meanie, so... what’s wrong?” She actually sounded serious for once, something was rare enough to actually cause Celestia to blink in surprise.

Celestia looked over all of them before looking back at Twilight. “Well, it seems to me jealousy is at play here,” she said. “Three wives might sound like a lot to some, but to a dragon, it is actually several short for the norm. Of course, the norm being different for every dragon, but I digress. They view each other as competition, most likely, with Meia and Maria being the ones he has been through the most with. Trixie will obviously be close to the top, as she will be giving birth to his first foal. Asalah is a newcomer, and they view her as such. It is entirely possible they blame Spike for his predicament of having four wives, instead of realizing other factors at play.” She was silent for a while before speaking again.

“Twilight, would you care to explain to the others what Spike will now do since you sent him your last letter?” The unicorn looked confused, but became noticeably pale.

“W-what d-d you mean, princess?” she asked.

“That spell you cast over him?” Celestia said, all traces of formality gone as her words took on a rather thunderous tone. Fluttershy squeaked and threw herself under the table, as did Pinkie Pie.

“T-the spell?” Twilight repeated. “Oh, t-that s-s-spell,” she said, paling even further. “I sorta, kinda, maybe, just cast the littlest... erection-impairing spell on him.”

That last part came out as a rush, but every pony gathered could hear it just fine. “Twilight, why on Earth would you do that?” Rarity asked, her voice sounding angered beyond normal comprehension. “That is downright despicable!”

“That is not all,” Celestia said. “Now that Spike cannot fulfill his royal duties of having heirs-,” her eyes zoomed in on Twilight’s almost white face: “- of any kind, he will not be sending anything our way for an indefinite period of time.”
All five other ponies looked at Twilight with ill intent.

“Yes, it is true, and I heard there was so much more in store for you all,” Celestia lied, knowing it was time for her to leave. “The animals of the Serengeti plains, the newly-discovered apples of Maredagascar, the silks and party styles of Istanbull, the tombs of the southern Neigyptian Pharaohs...” she stood up to leave, each word further enraging the ponies behind her.

“Oh, and I almost forgot: the massive libraries of Baghdad.”

Twilight turned to the retreating princesses’ form so fast her head might have spun off if she hadn’t stopped. “The what?!”

“The libraries of Baghdad,” the princess repeated. “I heard they were the most extensive in the world, greater than anything that has existed. Oh, all of those spells, the knowledge...what a shame.” With that, she closed the door behind her and flew off.

Twilight turned to her friends. “Now girls, I-I know what this looks like-,” she began, but Dash cut her off.

“GET HER!”

Author's Notes:

Just a nice filler chapter, so as to not make things seemed too rushed all the time. Oh Twilight: for a pony who is so smart, you sure know how to make dumb decisions. Personal accomplishment: my longest chapter yet!

Also, reviews make me write faster. XD