//------------------------------// // Ch 18: Burning hate // Story: Dragon Quarry // by Mimkage //------------------------------// Blast after blast escaped Sard’s mouth, causing the entire quarry to tremble under his tremendous power. Trying desperately to dodge, Twilight, Cadence, Celestia and Luna flew out through the hole Sard blasted through the earth only to find themselves followed by another fire blast. Twilight, using her own power, encased all four of them in a magical bubble. It only served to protect them from the initial heat as the impact itself flung them into a building and shattered the bubble, sending them flying to the ground. Twilight hit the ground hard, landing on one of her wings. Twilight groaned, shaking her head and dazed as she heard Shining’s voice call her name. “Twily run! Twily!” Looking up all she could see was the towering figure of Sard charging straight at her. Quickly, nearly instinctively, she teleported out of the way and fell into a pile of snow where she passed out. The other Princesses were instantly thrown into action, blasting at Sard with magical beams to keep him at bay to no avail. They wished not to harm him, causing hesitation in their offence. He seemed not to feel their blasts, his thick scaly, body acting like armor but they did fuel his rage more. He swung his tail around, roaring wildly as his legs slammed against the earth and smoke flowing from his mouth and nose like a volcano ready to explode. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Crush thrashed about, trying hard to escape her shackles as she watched her leader act like a vicious beast, destroying everything in his path without remorse or thought. Deep in her heart she felt a pit of despair as, she knew, as long as Sard rampaged this way they were all in very real danger. “Cruse these vile shackles!” She yelled, shaking her head to try and get the muzzle off at least. Suddenly, she heard the sound of crystal falling to the ground. Looking she found Punchin standing next to her, shackle-free and with a ring of keys around her fingers. “You learn a trick or two sneaking around castles. Here, don’t move.” said Punchin, moving to release Crush at last. Her shackles off her mouth free the orange dragon stood tall; facing towards the fight ensuing. “Punchin,Go get Splinter and take him out of this place. Get the dragons to a safe place quickly.” She said, a low rumble coming from her. Punchin simply scoffed, looking up at her. “What? Why should I listen to you? Whatcha plannin?” Punchin asked, watching as Crush looked back at her. “I mustn’t allow it to end this way. Sard, Jade…. Spike… I will not stand by and remain silent any longer when they are in need. I know you have no reason to obey me Punchin but I am asking you, not as an friend, but as a fellow dragon. Please, keep the others safe.” Crush had an intense look, it made something rouse in the young slender dragon before her. Punchin said nothing, simply nodded in reply. Crush smiled at her, running off towards the war brewing outside. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- “Twilight! Twilight!” Shining frantically galloped around, digging in the snow with Sunburst just beside him. From the corner of his eye he saw some snow shift, instantly attracting his attention. He ran over to the area, using his magic to blow away the snow to find Twilight laying there, letting off a soft, pained groan. “Twilight!” He picked her up in his arms, brushing the remaining snow off her. This seemed to rouse her, her eyes opening slowly to find herself in her brother’s hold. “Shining? Wh-what happened?” She asked, her voice still a bit weak. Sunburst approached the two, flipping through one of his books. “I don’t know, that dragon’s nuts.” Said Shining, allowing his sister to finally sit up on her own, seeing her wince in pain from her injured wing. Suddenly, her eyes flew open, remembering what had happened. “W-what about the other princesses?! Cadence, Luna, Celestia, are they okay?” Her question was answered nearly instantly as she heard another loud, earth shaking roar. Her head looked up to the sky, watching as the other Princesses did their best to subdue Sard to no avail. She instantly tried to fly up to help only to let out a pained cry from moving her injured wing. Shining held onto her, keeping her from moving. “Twiliy stop, you’re hurt!” He said, seeing his sister look up at the fighting in desperation. “Princess, don’t move, I think I can help you.” Said Sunburst, enveloping Twilight’s wing in a light, weak magic. She was confused at first until she saw it turn green and seep into her wing gently., healing it. This seemed to tire Sunburst quite a bit, the spell being very strenuous for him. “Thank you Sunburst.” She said, waiting for the magic to take effect. However it seemed she was no longer needed. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sard, thoroughly frustrated, stood up on his back legs, preparing the mother of all fireballs. However, before he had the chance to launch it Cadence blasted his face with a powerful, magical beam, blinding him for a few seconds. This provided ample opportunity for Celestia and Luna to wrap the giant dragon in magical chains. “Ready Luna?” Asked Celestia, spinning around his legs. “Yes my sister!” Replied Luna, dealing with his arms. The two fly up, pulling on the chains as hard as they could. Falling, like a giant tower, Sard slammed into the ground hard, the ground shaking even from just his large size. Instantly, Celestia shot a magical beam around his muzzle, closing is shut so he could no longer attack, causing the fireball he had building in his mouth to be sealed inside. Violently, he thrashed about trying to escape to no avail. “We got him!” Cried Cadence, reinforcing the magical chains with her own magic to ensure he could not break free. His tail slammed against the ground, loud roars escaped through the gaps in his mouth, he was clearly furious. “Dragon, we demand you cease your rampage! We mean you no harm!” Yelled Luna, amplifying her voice so he may hear but it seemed to not affect him as he just thrashed around more. The princesses were forced to land just to keep his restrains tight around him; it proved difficult to contain him. “We are simply looking for a friend of ours!” Added Celestia, also amplifying her voice but it seemed her voice specifically enraged him even more. Sard was beyond reason now, his rage and fear consuming him completely. It seemed being restrained just worked to fuel his fear further as more and more smoke flowed from his mouth. The rumbling from within his chest rumbled more and more, his pupils vanishing from his eyes as his mouth began to tremble. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Spike watched all this unfold, trying his best to approach them as quickly as he could. The trip was made difficult by the fallen rubble of collapsed buildings caused by Sard’s thrashing. It was clearly tiring, pulling himself over the rubble and flopping down on the ground. “Ugh, what I wouldn’t give to be Punchin’s size.” He complained, letting off a deep sigh. Scanning the area he spotted something that instantly attracted his attention. There, on the other side of the trench caused by Sard he spotted Twilight, Sunburst and Shining all sitting, seemly tending to Twilight’s wing. “H-hey! Twilight! Twilight!” He cried, trying to attract their attention only to have his voice drowned out by Sard’s thrashing. So, he went for plan b and continued to jump over rubble to reach them. However, he was better staying put as Sard began to reach a savage point. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The fireball growing still in his mouth, Sard could hold it no longer. Biting down on it, it caused a powerful, heatwave to burst from it. While it wasn’t enough to outright throw the princesses it was enough to stun them, the heat washing over them. That moment was enough for Sard’s mouth to fly open and, unable to contain it, instantly unleashed the powerful blast at max power. The heat of it was so intense it was enough to melt the rock around it, turning it into hot lava. It consumed everything in it’s path in it’s fiery might, leaving nothing behind. It was almost like a tiny star with all the power, sparing nothing. Worst off all Spike stood right in it’s path, the massive blast approaching him like a raging, flaming bull. He simply stood stunned as he felt the heat wash over him. He couldn’t move nor escape, he had no time to, so he just stared in both awe and terror. “Spike!” The last thing he could remember was a familiar voice yell out his name and something large appearing in front of him, the silhouette even being unclear as everything around him just seemed to go black in an instant.