Twilight and Pearl’s eyes widened in awe as they entered a large chamber carved from marble. Up top was a huge crystal that lit the room with the same brilliance of the sun. In the center, there was a pony-sized marble table fitted with two crystal chairs.
Lothaenorixius grunted as he ducked down to keep from hitting his head. “You will stay here until summoned. Food and drink will be brought to you. I must inform my mate of this… development.” With that, he pushed through a double door. As the doors opened intense searing heat flooded the room for a moment before it closed, the room instantly cooling itself.
“Ahhh! What are we going to do now? I can’t believe I was so stupid to leave the scroll behind,” Pearl moaned and dropped her head. Her hoof brushed along the hemming of Kohaku’s cloak. She didn’t know what prompted her to pick up and bring it along. But found it comforting to have it here, like he was here with her. Adding his strength to her own.
“Pearl. We’ll think of something. Maybe luck will win out and we won’t need it,” Twilight sat down as two small dragons brought in a tray of fruits neither of them had ever seen before. And a mug of some foaming liquid. The small dragons just looked at the pair with disgust and left the room without so much as saying a word.
“Rude much?” Pearl grimaced as she sniffed the drink.
“Remember Pearl. Ponies aren't a welcome sight here. I’m sure you and I are the first Pony’s to visit these halls in who knows how long,” Twilight sipped the drink she was given. The sparkling liquid wasn’t unpleasant but had a very tangy aftertaste.
“I guess,” Pearl continued to fiddle with the cloak. Her hooves brushed along the broach. A large tree with three apples on it.
“Still thinking about Kohaku?”
“Yes,” Pearl groaned and leaned back, her hooves on either side of the broach. “I’m grateful he sent me some protection. And I’m furious for the emotional trauma he subjected me to, even if it was unintentional.”
Twilight nodded but remained silent, she knew her student had to get this out.
“I’m still going to give him a beating the next time I see him, I just don’t know if I want to hug him first!” Half screaming aloud she kicked her back hooves back and forth “Dammit Kohaku!!!”
“Pearl?” a muffled voice sounded through the room.
Twilight and Pearl blinked as they looked around.
“Please tell me you heard that?” Pearl muttered.
“Hello? Hello is this thing on?” The voice continued now with a light tapping sound as both Pearl and Twilight looked around the room.
“That’s Kohaku’s voice.” Twilight got up and looked around the room. Apart from the table, chairs, and the two of them, nothing else or no creature else was in the room. “What it’s doing here is beyond me."
“Kohaku?” Pearl looked about, her hooves half grinding against the broach.
“Pearl? Oh there… wait... Pearl..” Kohaku’s voice stammered about. “Pearl. Put down the broach already!”
Pearl half jumped at how loud Kohaku’s voice was, so much so she dropped the broach on the table. As she did a light shimmered upward until it resembled a mirror. On the other side was Kohaku.
“Finally. Well, I’m glad to see you found the broach. And even more glad it actually works,” Kohaku chuckled as he leaned back into a purple pillow on the edge of a sofa. “I was glad to discover you made it through the Blight okay.”
Twilight moved around and sat next to Pearl and looked at the mirror. “Kohaku, where are you?”
“Hmm? Oh hey Twilight sama, I’m glad to see you're okay too. I was worried for a moment.”
“You and I have a LOT to talk about my student. But for now, I ask again. Where are you?”
“At the moment, laying on one of Rarity’s sofa’s.”
“Is she there at the moment?” Twilight put her hoof on Pearl’s shoulders.
“No, she’s gone to bed already. I wouldn’t be here myself but I have found myself in a rather, peculiar, and rather pleasant, situation.” Pearl and Twilight watched as the image in the mirror shifted to see a sleeping Sweetie Belle laying on top of Kohaku. Once Kohaku’s face came back he just looked at Twilight and smirked.
Twilight just facehoofed and groaned. “Please tell me you didn’t do what I think you did.”
“What did he do?” Pearl asked as she looked between Kohaku and Twilight.
“OH believe me no. Rarity would kill me if I did that. We just finished binge-watching the Twilight Saga.” Kohaku’s eyes focused on Pearl and narrowed slightly. “Thanks again for introducing the CMC's to this little gem.”
Pearl just giggled and snickered. "Serves you right for all the headaches you gave me."
“Ah yes, the love of all little girls, and the bane of all boys.” Twilight pushed the matter aside as she turned back to Kohaku. “Let's move this along. Since we’re talking, could you inform everyone that we’re okay? I know we’ve been gone for almost a month now…”
“Actually Twilight, it’s been two months now. And I and Sweetie Belle are going to tell everyone. Once she’s recovered.”
“Thank you. Also. Pearl, there’s something you wanted to say.”
“Um yes... Kohaku, I left the scroll back at Castle Black.” Pearl watched Kohaku’s as he laid there, his eyes revealing nothing of what was behind them. “You went out of your way to have your mom get this for us. And now it was all for nothing. Our teacher might be killed and it’s all my fault for being so careless and I…”
“Pearl. Stop being so dramatic,” Kohaku sighed as he stroked Sweetie Bell’s mane which came into view as she pushed upward against his chest. “Since you have the broach, I’m assuming you have the cloak as well?”
Pearl blinked and frantically looked around as Twilight picked it up from the ground.
“This one?” Twilight asked as she handed it to Pearl.
“Yup that’s it. Now, examine the left side just an inch past the border design. You should find a hidden pocket.”
Pearl looked at her friend questioningly but ran her hoof down the left side just as he instructed. Within a second her hoof snagged on the edge of a pocket she didn’t notice before. “Okay, it has pockets. What good does that do us?”
“Reach inside, pull out what you find,” Kohaku chuckled and half rolled his eyes.
Pearl blinked as she didn’t think anything could be in there as the cloak was all one piece and nothing was bulging. With a quick shrug, she decided to trust in her friend and reached in, her front leg going almost shoulder deep till she touched something. Gripping it the young Pegasus pulled her hoof out and gasped, dropping the scroll on the table in surprise. “What... how... When?”
“I knew you might forget it, so I had my doppelganger take it from your bags that night and keep it on his person. He was going to give it to you prior to you meeting the escort but… things didn’t go as planned. I am glad you grabbed that cloak.”
“Me too. Thanks,” Pearl smiled at her friend, taking back her decision to beat him down, and instead only limiting it to a few well-placed punches.
“No problem. You can do what you want with the cloak, but you might want to keep the broach. I’ll give the other one to Starlight at the school tomorrow. You two can keep in contact during this time.” His eyes moving toward Twilight.
“Thank you, Kohaku. I’m impressed with how much you’ve grown. A golem and now this pendant. I can’t wait to see what you’ll do next. Thank you. Now get some rest. I’m sure you need it.” Twilight smiled. She was pleased that he took his studies with her far more seriously than he does at Cheerilee’s school. Picking up the broach the magical screen vanished.
“I think I’ll carry it this time Pearl,” Twilight said as she grabbed the scroll and put it in her saddlebag before turning back with a furious scowl. "That said. What were you thinking?!"
Pearl didn't have to ask what her teacher meant. "What else was I supposed to do?! He was going to kill you, and it was all I could think of. I doubt the scroll would've done any good even if I knew about it being where it was."
Twilight rubbed her snout irritably. "That's not the point, Pearl! You shouldn't have put yourself at risk like that."
Pearl growled. "Why? Lothaenoirixius was there for only me. He probably would've even let you leave and go back to the Ghost Gate. But no! You just had to be stubborn about it. After everything that happened, I'd hoped you would go back."
Twilight stepped back, her ears falling at Pearl's anger. But her heart dropped like a stone when she saw the tears in the young Pegasus' eyes.
Pearl sniffed, her anger evaporating in an instant as she fell to the floor. "I can't lose you. Not like everyone else. Not again." She looked at Twilight. "Do you know what that's like? Knowing that you might not live to see the next sunset? That you might never see your friends alive again at school? That your best friend was gun downed because of something her parents did? That was my life. Every. Single. Day. For as long as I could remember. Do you know how many funerals I went to?" Her tears came faster and faster now. "I won't lose anyone else I love. Not again."
She looked toward the double doors where Lothaenorixius had gone. "And if those overgrown lizards don't like it? To hell with them!"
Twilight winced. She knew how much Pearl hated talking about her past before moving to Ponyville. That she had ever gotten as much as she had was a miracle in of itself, according to Pearl's parents. She pulled the young Pegasus into a hug, one that Pearl was more than happy to return. "No, Pearl. I don't know what that's like. We come from two different worlds. I can't change what happened to you." She paused as she thought of something. "Is that why you rail on Book Knight?"
Pearl nodded. "He's living in a delusional fantasy if he thinks crime will vanish for good after he dies. He's attacking the problem, not the source. Celestia and Luna are too if they think he can make a permanent impact the way he's going." She snorted, as she remembered the talk in the hallway what felt like a lifetime ago now. "Maybe Kirouac will have better luck convincing him of it than I did though."
Twilight giggled. She had heard of the conversation the three of them had in the hallways outside the Map Room. "We can only hope." She sighed. "And you're right. I should have gone back to Castle Black. I wanted to. But something stopped me. Even after everything we went through, I wasn't going to let you do this alone."
Pearl sighed, as they pulled apart. "Well. I'd be lying if I said wasn't glad you're here. Wherever here is."
Twilight tapped her chin as she looked around. "I honestly have no idea of where we are. This isn't Equus. That I know. But we could be anywhere."
Pearl groaned as she returned to her seat. "Great." She finally tried the drink she had been given. "What is this stuff anyway? It's so tangy."
Twilight shook her head, as she took another gulp of her own. "I don't know. I've never tried anything like it before. It is quite pleasant, however. I wouldn't mind taking back home with us if possible."
Pearl chuckled. "One thing at a time. We still need to get through all of this and in one piece. Hay. I'm as shocked as you that worked. But it won't a second time. That'd be asking for too much."
Twilight sighed. She had been afraid of that. And if she was being honest with herself, she was more afraid than she had ever been in her life. Not even when facing down Nightmare Moon, Discord, Queen Chrysalis, or King Sombra, had she been this terrified. They had, at least, some goal or point to what they did. Twisted and evil as it may have been.
Now? She was about to face someone who could easily end her life, for the sole reason that she could and didn't care about the consequences.
Before they could say more, however, the far door opened once more. Pearl finished her drink as quickly as she could as Lothaenorixius returned. "She will see you now," he said, not hiding the smirk underneath it. He looked at Twilight with malicious glee. "And you in particular."
Twilight gulped. She looked at Pearl. "Ready?"
Pearl put on a brave face. "As I'll ever be," she said, as the two of them followed the Blue through the door and into the cavern beyond.
Immediately, the pair felt themselves sweating profusely, the heat was so intense. Having been to the Dragon Lands, Twilight thought she knew heat. She was wrong. This made her time during the Gauntlet of Fire seem like a nice summer day by comparison.
Around them was stacked treasure that beggared belief. Artwork, coins, gems, statues, and every conceivable thing of value Pearl or Twilight could think of spread out before them. The combined treasure of a thousand worlds.
As they passed, Pearl tried to keep her jaw from dropping even more. She could buy out the entirety of Equus's solar system, and not even make a minuscule dent in the hoard around her. Twilight, meanwhile, tried to imagine all the books she could buy with all of this. But gave up after a few moments, as it was too much for even her to try and visualize.
Occasionally, they passed side caverns. What they held, neither could see, for arcane glyphs of great potency floated above them, so much so that even Twilight couldn't see past them.
Finally, though, the pair were led to the true Inner Sanctum and the mistress of all that they beheld, and all other thoughts were pushed from their minds. Twilight had thought that Torch was huge for a dragon. Then she had met Lothaenorixius, and thought that there was no way anything could be bigger than him.
Tiamat put the lie to that idea. Her size beggared belief. Even the roof far above seemed utterly pointless, for it seemed that if the queen stood to her full height, she would literally raise the roof. Large wings sat folded at her side, and a long tail with a scorpion's stinger at the end swished lazily back and forth behind her. Her red scales stood out in the light that seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere all at once.
Pearl felt her breath hitch as Tiamat's five heads finally seemed to notice them, as they lowered themselves down to their level. As they did so, one thing was plain as day to the young Pegasus. She was beautiful. Not only with the impossible beauty that a true goddess possessed, but a beauty all of her own that had nothing to do with her divinity.
Twilight felt the same way. All of her life, she had thought that Princess Celestia was the most beautiful being in existence. Even after her ascension, that feeling had not left her. Now that feeling had been thrown away as she beheld someone who put that beauty down a notch.
"Meep," Pearl squeaked as Tiamat's heads finally came to their level and held them both in their gazes. She had never felt so small in her entire life.
For a moment, no one said anything, and then finally the Dragon Queen seemed to smile. "It has been far too long since I have had visitors. And never one so young," the Black head said.
Pearl puffed out her chest, proud to have that distinction. She made a note to rub it in a few pony's faces when they got back to Equestria. "Awesome."
Twilight rolled her eyes but quickly found herself under scrutiny, as the White head looked her dead in the eyes. "Now, pony. Give me one good reason why I shouldn't kill you now and make an example of you for the rest of your misbegotten race why you shouldn't stick your noses into things that are none of your concern?" She hissed.
Twilight wilted under the look she was getting. Her throat dried up, and all that came from her mouth was a whimper.
Pearl, though, stood in front of her teacher and scowled up at the queen. "Because she's under my protection."
The Green and Blue heads chuckled. "I admire your spirit, little one. But that is not good enough. I have killed others who have said the same thing. Why should this be any different?" The Blue head asked, before pausing, as she sniffed Pearl closer before her eyes widened. All of her heads looked at Pearl in shock. "You reek of Kitsune. How? I know this smell. The Forest Clan is dead."
Pearl smiled. "Not quite all of them." She gestured at Twilight. "Show her the scroll, Twilight. It's the only chance you've got."
Twilight nodded, digging around for the scroll in question, before hoofing it over to Tiamat, who caught it in her own magic. The two watched as she read it, her annoyance quickly turning to shock and surprise. "How did you get this?" The Red head asked.
Pearl just smirked. "Starsong the Seer sends her regards."
Tiamat reeled back, and even Twilight was shocked by her reaction. "That fox always knew how to get under my scales," the White head grumbled. "Then Kohaku did survive."
Twilight was confused. "What do you mean? Do you know him?"
Tiamat nodded, a distant look to her eyes. "He was an annoying puffball on his father's head the last time I remember seeing him," the Black head replied. "I remember the magic that was cast that froze something outside of time. It was him, then."
Pearl giggle snorted. "He's still an annoying furball today. I have the heart attacks to prove it."
Twilight giggled, and even Tiamat snorted before she turned her attention back to the unicorn. "Starsong was one of the few that I ever respected. She would not invoke Shenlong's decree without reason. I respect it. Not only for the fact that Starsong and Shenlong can both back up that threat. But because I will not be the monster I am in other worlds," the Green head replied a hint of sadness in her reply.
Pearl's ears fell, as she remembered Nightmare Night and the fight at the end. What she had been told and accused of. "That was you that night. You were there right beside me when I faced down that dragon. You protected me, showed me how to fight back against that shadow fox."
Tiamat nodded. "Yes. That was me. I breathed life into your costume. But only at the end did I fully stick myself in there alongside you. But it was still your mind in each of your heads. I only added what you yourself could not know," the White head replied.
Pearl fell to the ground in surprise. That explained everything then. Why she knew as much as she had, why it felt like she was growing into a new skin, and why she had been able to handle her mind being split into five, but still being herself at the same time. "But why? Why me? What makes me so special that you care so much?"
All of Tiamat's heads smiled gently as they came close to the young Pegasus. "Because I have taken quite the interest in you, Pearl Rose," they said together.
Pearl blinked, stumped. Of all the answers she had expected to get out of this, that hadn't been one of them. "What makes me so special? I haven't done anything that important. Let alone to get your attention."
Tiamat's smile grew. "To the contrary. You have done something that very few ever have. You showed interest in me for reasons other than out of fear or a lust for power. None in your world has ever done that before," the Red head replied.
Twilight couldn't help herself as she blurted out. "You're in other worlds?"
The Green head gave her a look. "Many more. In one, by the waters of Babylon, I am the primordial Goddess of the Sea. Married to Abzu. The symbol of the chaos of primordial creation. In another, I am the Nemesis of the Gods, at war with my brother Bahamut. In another, I am a demon lord of the Age of Demons, And many more worlds besides. I am nowhere near as nice as I am here in most of them."
Twilight and Pearl shared a look. This was all new to them, though they knew of the multiverse. "You have a brother?" Pearl asked, unable to help herself.
The Blue head nodded. "In many worlds. Though yours is not one of them. Shenlong is the closest I have to that here, though neither of us acts like it. You faced him down that night. Though that was but an echo."
Pearl thought back to Nightmare Night. It made sense now why the dragon had spoken to her as he had. And if Tiamat wasn't as nice as she was being, then it would also explain why he had promised what he had. That raised another thing though. "What is Shenlong's decree? Starsong wouldn't tell me, and I doubt Kohaku knows."
Tiamat paused a moment, and for a time both Pearl and Twilight thought she wouldn't respond to the question. "Do you truly wish to know that story, child?" The White head finally asked.
Pearl nodded. "It can't be that bad. Can it?"
Twilight facehooved and groaned. "Pearl. You never say that."
Tiamat chuckled. "Indeed. But since you insist, I will tell you. That decree is one of the reasons your world still exists. My children killed the Lunar Clan of kitsune. I gave no orders for it. I only found out later that a rogue eastern dragon with a strong hatred of kitsunes had convinced them to do the deed. Akihiko started wiping out clutches of eggs in retaliation and very nearly went after my latest clutch."
Pearl's ears fell, and Twilight put a hoof to her mouth. "The Dragon Wars," she whispered.
The Black head nodded. "Had Akihiko succeeded, I would have wiped out his entire race in retribution, and not cared how much was destroyed in the process. That would have brought Shenlong into the fight to try and stop me. Your world would have been destroyed in the process. Shenlong managed to talk him out of this before that line was crossed. He acknowledged the fault his children had played in the war, even if it was just one."
Pearl's head fell. No wonder Kohaku hated dragons so much. "So what happened?"
"Shenlong erased all knowledge on how a kitsune can be killed. To make sure this never happened again, the three of us agreed that as long as one kitsune lived in the west, no harm would come to him. On pain of death," the Blue head said. "More than a few skulls needed to be cracked before my children got the message."
Pearl smiled a little, and even Twilight had to fight back a grin. "I can believe that." She paused as she thought of something. "Is that why the Gauntlet of Fire is a thing?"
The White head nodded. "That rogue convinced my children to follow him with promises of all the treasure kitsunes had. That was all it took. The Dragon Lord is there to make sure that never happens again."
Twilight tapped her chin. She could see why that was in place. Especially if it applied to all races. But something soon came to mind. "What if a Dragon Lord wants to declare war on Equestria? Or anywhere else? I know one dragon threatened to do just that if he became Dragon Lord."
The Black head growled. "You speak of that brainless simpleton, Garble?" Twilight nodded. "He would not have had the chance." She nodded at Lothaenorixius nearby. "My consorts are not just there for me. I can smell Celestia and Luna's spores on you. I'm sure they've told you a few things."
Pearl tapped her chin. "That to fight or inhibit one is an automatic death sentence for any dragon, no matter who they are. Even the Dragon Lord isn't immune to this. Whatever all that means."
The Blue chuckled. "Then there is some hope yet if those two can remember that much. We are there to make sure no dragon who thinks like that rises that far. Or if they do, make it very clear what their fate will be if they ever act on those thoughts. Being the simple-minded dolt that he is, the one you call Garble would have learned the hard way why no one who has ever crossed one of us has ever lived to speak of it."
Twilight let out a breath she hadn't known she had been holding. It was a massive weight off of her shoulders. She wasn't sure if she would be telling Smolder any of this. He was her brother after all.
The Green head came closer to look at Pearl. "All of that said. Why do you love dragons so much? Why do you care so much for a species that does not care much at all for your own? I do not see much good coming from ponykind. Simple-minded fools at best. Delusional maniacs at worst, who have caused most of the world's hurts. Who nearly froze the world in eternal winter because they only cared for themselves."
Twilight frowned. "Hey! We've learned our lesson. Heath's Warming Eve taught us the value of friendship and working together."
"Did it?" The White head sneered at her. "How much of history did Celestia erase to keep the peace? Her own sister was demonized. Very little if any at all contact with other races." She shook her head. "No, Princess Twilight. Your society rests on a thin veneer of civility. One push is all it takes to plunge it into chaos. You are on the right track with what you have done. But you have a very long way to go before what you strive for becomes a reality."
Twilight wilted under the look she was getting. As much as she wanted to argue with her, Tiamat was right. History had been rewritten far too much to know what was real, and what was made up. Equestria was still isolationist, though the School of Friendship was changing that. Zecora was a perfect example of that isolation.
Pearl's ears wilted. "Your right. My whole life up to a year ago showed me that the utopia you hear ponies spu about is nothing but a lie. Celestia stopped caring about the little ponies a long time ago. So did Luna, whatever they say otherwise. They just realized that recently, but the damage is done."
Twilight's ears wilted as well, as she pulled Pearl into a hug. "I started getting into dragons when I was younger because I saw in them the strength and power to fight back. Even if they didn't care about Equestria, I saw something in them to be admired."
There was a pause. "You saw something that you wanted to be?" The Red head asked.
Pearl shook her head. "No. Maybe at first. But I never wanted to be a dragon for real. Then I started looking at them differently. I saw how beautiful and majestic they are. I started to want to know everything there was to know about them. I think it was after the last Dragon Migration." She walked up and placed a hoof on the Black head's snout. "And I wanted to learn more about you. Easier said than done, but I didn't care. Call it worship or something else. I was going to be the world's leading Dragon Scholar if it killed me."
Twilight smiled. It was always good to hear somepony who had a clear goal in mind for their life. Even Lothaenorixius smiled a little.
For a moment, Tiamat didn't say anything. Finally, though, all her heads broke into large smiles. "Then I was right. You have a spark and a fire that I have not seen before in anypony, Pearl Rose," the Blue head said. "I saw it on Nightmare Night and I see it now."
Pearl sighed. "Yeah? Look what I almost did. I almost killed my best friend and the others. All because I couldn't keep my cool. Even if that damn crystal had something to do with it, I should've been better than that."
Tiamat nodded. "Then you must learn to control it. There is more to that crystal than any of you know. The one you call Book Knight was close in his assumptions. But that is not all," the Green head said. "But that can wait for now. You will be shown to your rooms. We have much to go over."
Twilight frowned. "With all due respect, your majesty. We can't stay here forever. We must eventually return to Equestria. Too much time has passed since we left already."
Tiamat chuckled. "Time has no meaning here. You can stay for as long as you like, and I will return you to your homes as if no more than the two months it has been had passed," the White head replied. "Do not lie and say you don't have as many questions as Pearl does, now do you?"
Twilight couldn't help but smile sheepishly. It was true, and she would be lying if she said otherwise as her tail wagged slightly at the thought, while Pearl's wings buzzed with excitement at the very idea of staying for a while.