//------------------------------// // Chapter 3: A New Sky // Story: Before the Age of Harmony // by Ex-Nihilos //------------------------------// Chapter 3 Applebloom and Sweetie Belle stopped their hopping when they heard a loud scream behind them. Turning around they spotted Scootaloo in a full gallop along bubbles and mud heading in their direction. “Scootaloo! What happened?” Sweetie Belle cried out, briefly she and Applebloom looked at each other as worry started to dawn on them. “Ruuuuun!” the pony cried as she sped to her friends and shoved them off their bubble into the mud. “Hey!” Applebloom exclaimed, “what’s the big ide-“ Her voice was cut off by the loud roar of what sounded like a herd of monsters. From across the swamp, still clawing out of the mud was a creature none of the girls had seen before. It was massive, taller than the barn back in Sweet Apple Acres and it had five ferocious heads glaring intently on the ponies. At the one of its foreclaws was stuck in the mud still but it was quickly getting free. “Ruuuuuuun!” they three of them shouted as they scampered through the mud and hoped onto any of the bubbles they could get to. The monster was free by now and with its massive legs was closing the distance fast upon the Cutie Mark Crusaders. The three fillies made a B line for the direction of the path. Nearly to the treeline they felt sure they would get back on the path before the monster could catch up. They were forced to skid in the mud to a complete stop as one of the creature’s massive head and trunk like neck blocked their way. It almost seemed to smile as it suddenly struck out at them. The three young ones though were quick and when the Hydra’s head snapped shut it clamped down into bog water and mud instead of little ponies. Spitting out the foul tasting mud it looked around for his prey. The four other heads cried out in their strange reptilian roar when they caught sight of the muddy ponies going for the opposite part of the swamp. Already they were dashing through the trees and the monster quickly gave chase. The three fillies unknowingly went deeper into the forest and were still in the venomous Hydra’s territory. Dodging tree limbs and thick foliage the three of them ran blindly in the direction of safety as the Hydra behind them sent trees crashing down and disturbed the animals that frantically ran from the marauding lizard’s path. Applebloom followed close behind Scootaloo while Sweetie Belle was slightly behind, none of them knew where they were or where they were going but they were forced to fly caution to the wind to escape the Hydra pursuing them. The monster easily kept up with the three ponies but its five heads found their targets small and easily missed. One chomped down near a tree that the three passed by and quickly recoiled from the bite. Spitting out splinters it shook its maw in pain as one of the other heads snickered at its misfortune. The chase was quickly leading the three little ponies to the bottom of a cliff where a small clear colored river ran parallel to, they were running out of space to run from the gnawing mouths behind them. “Over there!” Applebloom suddenly cried out when she spotted some rocks that stood out of the river. Changing course Scootaloo was the first to jump and with the help of her wings easily crossed. Applebloom and Sweetie Belle found the crossing much harder. The rocks were slippery and sleek from the river and awkwardly arranged in the shallow part of the river. Halfway through the river Applebloom lost her balance and with a cry she fell into the river. Her tail was grabbed though by Sweetie Belle, “I ghot youh,” she said through gritted teeth. Closing her eyes her horn weakly glowed, with her strength and the help of magic she pulled Applebloom out of the swirling river onto the safety of a rock. “Thanks Sweetie Belle, I thought I wasa goner!” Applebloom exclaimed, glad to be on dry land. “Girls, come on!” Scootaloo cried from the other side of the river. Sweetie Belle and Applebloom momentarily turned to see the Hydra was at the river’s edge. One of the heads readied itself to strike down upon them. Jumping out of the way the head crashed into the river but already another head was attacking. Hopping from one rock to another they managed to get across the river and landed safely on the other side of the river just as the maw snapped shut just short of the river edge. The three breathed a collective sigh of relief now sure the Hydra couldn’t reach them. Their hopes were instantly shattered when the Hydra placed one of its great claws into the water where they had crossed. The river was shallow enough and only the creature’s underbelly was submerged as it began to cross the river. Slowed by the current it still was now able to reach at the ponies. With now a collective cry the three turned but saw the cliff blocked anyway forward. “This way!” Sweetie Belle shouted turning left and running along the narrow strip of grassy land that lay between the river and cliff. The other two followed close behind. Again they were just out of reach of the great Hydra that had now waded to the other side of the river and was beginning to chase them again. The strip of land was just barely wide enough for its size and it was forced to awkwardly run as its side every so often clipped a jutting rock from the side of the cliff or one of its claws slipping into the river. Still the heads kept up with three ponies, jaws snapping at their heels as they ran for dear life. It almost seemed like the end until one of the Hydra’s more clumsy head’s smashed its face against a large boulder. The boulder came lose and fell on its back where the heads joined together into its one body. The other head’s chase was abruptly cut short of nearly reaching the ponies as their body fell from the impact. Shrugging the boulder of its back into the river the large rock sent a wave of water in all directions. The four other heads turned to glare at the clumsy one but quickly turned to close the distance with the fleeing ponies. “It’s still gaining on us!” Scootaloo cried out, all three had their heads turned towards the monster following them. They didn’t watch where they were going. Scootaloo hit the object first, then both of the other ponies. The three in their collision fell upon each other onto the soft grass. Shaking their heads they looked up to see what was blocking their path. From what seemed like a massive wall of white, like a glacier, was blocking their way. It easily took up the space of land. Just like before at Froggy Bottom Bog it was the object’s look and texture that showed it was no rock. Rows of white scales that held a rainbow sheen in the sunlight made up the bright snow colored behemoth’s skin. What they had collided into was in fact its tail that narrowed down into a fanned out tip that was slightly submerged into the river. Along the creature’s back was three rows of grey bony bristles with the largest row in the center. They weren’t sharp nor were they large but they were obvious with its darker colored hue compared to the sheer white of its body. One of its pair of folded wings upon its back, leathery and white as well, covered the side of land towards the river to further block their way. “Uh oh,” they said as they made the realization that they had just bumped into a dragon. Even now its head rose from where it had been laying. It opened it eyes, reptilian and with a strange steel colored iris, to see what had bumped into its tail. Its neck turned fully as its upper body stood up slightly. The head stopped right before the three terrified ponies. Its shadow covered them as they cowered before the monster. The dragon almost seemed like it was frowning. It began to open its maw as if to speak or to eat the ponies but it never got the chance. From behind the ponies the Hydra gave a shrill cry as it quickly approached. The dragon looked up to look at the quickly approaching Hydra, its head rising above the ponies so they were bathed in sunlight again. The ponies were about to try and run around the dragon but stopped when they saw no room could be made and the water looked too deep and the current too strong for little ponies such as themselves. Any chance of escape disappeared though as the beast’s tail rose over them and quickly protectively encircled them. They looked up at the dragon expecting to be eaten but its attention was too focused on the threat of the Hydra. The monster stopped its chase quickly once it saw the white dragon lying there. Its eyes narrowed at the three little ponies that cowered in the center of the dragon’s looped tail. Looking back into the eyes of the dragon the Hydra breathed in deep. All five heads roared a shrill, piercing sound that caused the ponies to cover their ears. The sound of the Hydra’s challenge was deafening but the dragon did not blink, rather it still looked very tired from its slumber. The shrill sound died away as the heads began to snap at the air as it challenged the equally sized dragon. The dragon responded by breathing in deep, its chest expanding at the large intake of air. It roared, a deep and primal roar that dwarfed the Hydra’s shrill little cry. The sound of the dragon’s voice shook the ground and disturbed the trees on the other side of the rippling river. The three children plugged their ears even harder from the explosion of sound. It ended finally and the Hydra almost seemed to have shrunk from the sheer volume of the dragon’s resolve. All around them the sounds of the forest seemed to have stopped, as if holding its breathe to see what would come next. Only the sound of the babbling river could be heard along with the breathing of the dragon. Slowly the Hydra backed away from the dragon and the three ponies. Its heads were bowed in silent dread as it managed to turn, albeit awkwardly, around back towards the river’s crossing. All the while the dragon laid there watching his foe flee. It snorted in annoyance of the monster, a cloud of icy breathe escaping its nostrils. The three ponies breathed a sigh of relief when they saw the Hydra back off but all three still huddled together, looking up at the dragon not knowing what to expect. It was a while before the dragon responded to their presence. It was only the distant sound of loud splashing from the Hydra’s crossing that caused it the look back down at the ponies. Raising its tail over them again it freed the ponies from its grasp. Its head lowered again to look at the three of them. “The forest is a little dangerous, for three little ponies,” he said in a deep voice. His accent though was strangely clear, devoid of the deep bass sound that average dragons made when they chose to speak. He blinked at them, expecting an answer but only received frightened looks. The dragon frowned sadly and sighed sending a cascade of cool air down upon the fillies. “Return home,” he said as he began to turn his large body. The action caused him to unfurl his wings and spread them upward to stretch them. Lowering his head over the river his managed to get the majority of way across the river. Then lowering his wing he gestured for them to climb over. The three hesitated, exchanging looks. It was Applebloom first to step forward. Nervously she touched the dragon’s wing before apprehensively walking upon the strong leather. Slowly the other two ponies followed onto the dragon’s back and crossed its neck. The three together stood on his head as the dragon waded halfway into the river to deposit them safely on the other side. With the help of his wings the dragon rose out of the water to sit up on the opposite side of the river. “Follow the river, ponies,” he said as he gestured the direction to go, “you will find the path easily should you follow it long enough.” Slowly it lay back down onto the soft grass, folding its wings down. Resting his head again upon the grass he closed his eyes and breathed a sigh of frosty air. Meanwhile the three ponies were exchanging glances again, this time out of confusion more than fear. They wasted little time though and began to trop down the way shown to them. “Oh.” They all stopped at the dragon’s voice, colliding with one another. They looked to where the dragon still lay with his eyes closed, “another thing. You might not have gotten your cutie marks, but at least you’ve found a story to tell.” He chuckled before seemingly falling back to sleep. “Huh?” the three ponies jointly said. Sweetie Belle whispered to her friends, “How did he know about our cutie marks?” At that thought though the three had to take a moment to look at their flanks, disappointingly though they found them still blank. Not wishing to waste any more time the three trotted off. Just as the strange white dragon had said they easily found the path by following the river. All the while the dragon slept, in his slumber he watched through his dreams as the three ponies left the Everfree forest back to Ponyville and back to safety. --- “What in tarnation do you think that was?” Applejack asked to the five other stumped ponies. A moment earlier they had been enjoying a picnic together while watching Tank ride Winona’s back. Suddenly their evening had been interrupted by a loud roar coming from the Everfree forest. Their pets froze in place as the six ponies shuddered from the menacing sound. When it died down they could still hear the echoes of the sound. Fluttershy looked petrified from her hiding spot in the tree and strangely enough Rainbow Dash had joined her. “Th-th-that wasn’t a dragon was it?” the normally boisterous pony asked from her hiding spot next to Fluttershy up in the try. “I… don’t know.” Twilight said as she looked in the direction the sound had come from. It definitely sounded like a dragon but it was hard to tell with the countless creatures that lived in the Everfree forest. She was sure though that whatever it was it had to be big. “You aren’t scared are you Rainbow?” Pinkie asked with her trademark giggle. “N-no, I was just startled is all,” Rainbow said as she flew out of the tree, “I’m not scared of any dumb old dragon.” No matter how big they are or how much fire they breathe she thought worriedly. She shook such thinking away. “Well in any case that just ruins the mood, having something roaring and scaring everypony,” Rarity said. Twilight did have to agree with her friend that she didn’t feel like having a picnic anymore. Looking to the others she said, “maybe we should go make sure it was nothing?” “R-r-right now?” Fluttershy asked worriedly from her hiding spot in the tree, “Oh I don’t know Twilight, it’ll be dark soon and it gets so dark in there.” “Fluttershy’s right sugarcube, I’m sure it’s nothin’ anyway- all sorts of crazy stuff goes on in there all the time.” Applejack commented as she helped Pinkie Pie gather up the picnic blanket and other things. “Yeah I guess you’re right,” Twilight said with a mixture of relief and disappointment. Together the ponies gathered their things and their pets who had finally recovered from the roar that had shocked them. They prepared to walk down the hill when from the distance they could hear shouting. “Huh? Do y’all hear that?” Applejack asked but didn’t need a response. “Applejack!” Applebloom shouted, “Rarity!” Sweetie Belle shouted at the same time. The three fillies galloped up the hill to the six ponies. Applebloom nearly collided with Applejack in a hug that seemed more like a tackle. “Woah, careful there! Applebloom where have y’all been?!” Applejack said after regaining her balance. The three fillies all talked at once with Scootaloo acting out evens and at times shaking Rainbow Dash to simulate the experience but the six ponies merely looked at them in confusion as their words were jumbled up. “Girls! Hold on and come down,” Twilight finally said, “now calmly tell us what happened.” Taking a deep breathe the three little fillies related their adventure in its entirety up to this point. --- “Wait, wait, wait. So you three are telling us that you met, or actually were saved by a white dragon?” Rainbow Dash asked once the story was done. Applejack’s main concern though was not about the dragon. Looking very upset she fixed a look on Applebloom, “Well I can’t believe you three went and almost got yourselves hurt out there in the forest.” Her look softened though when she saw how Applebloom seemed to shrink under her sister’s glare, sighing Applejack adjusted her tone, “well at least you three are alright. I never thought I’d say it but that goodness that dragon was there to help you.” “Still a dragon? Why I never thought they’d help anypony out… well except for Spike of course,” Rarity said, eliciting a series of nods from Fluttershy. Twilight though was lost in thought, after the three fillies had told there story she couldn’t help but think back to the book she found the day before. The idea of a white dragon only caused her to fixate on the story but still it made no sense. It couldn’t possibly the same dragon as in the story, it just didn’t seem possible. She shook herself back to reality, the story could wait until Celestia returned her letter and the tome, “Well, dragon or not, the important thing is that all three of you are safe but I hope you’ve learned that the forest isn’t safe enough for you to go exploring in all by yourselves.” The three fillies didn’t answer but they all nodded. “Well lets head home Applebloom, you’ve had a long day,” Applejack said. “You too Sweetie Belle, you’re going to need a bath mucking about in Celestia knows what!” Rarity cried. “Yeah I’ll walk you home kiddo,” Rainbow Dash said to Scootaloo. Everyone said their goodbyes but Twilight still couldn’t stop thinking about the story in her head. In quiet contemplation she walked back to her library. She briefly ate and related her day and the fillies’ story to spike but beyond that she wanted to go straight to sleep. She didn’t feel like doing anything else but think careful over the tome and Applebloom’s story. Perhaps there is some truth to it all, but this white dragon couldn’t really exist. Just as she fell into slumber a strange feeling came over her and that night a strange dream, like a vision, came to her. --- A few white clouds dotted the deep blue sky as the golden sun rose to greet a new day on an unspoiled land. Mountains stood vigil and gleamed hues of purple as the sun’s morning light touch them. The air was abuzz with early birds chirping their songs as other animals awoke from their night’s slumber to start the day anew. High in the air two dragons rode the winds. One shined like a golden light, the other seemed more like a cloud that graced the sky. On silent wings the golden dragon darted downwards to the ground, followed close behind by the cloudlike dragon. Wings widened to slow the dragon’s descent and gently he landed upon the ground, kicking up a small cloud of dirt. His brother did the same, landing in the small clearing that the eldest had chosen. The pair took a moment to look above to watch as their people began to appear over the horizon. Dots of dragons carrying what hoard they could slowly approached the mountains of this new land. “A new start for our people brother,” the White Dragon said with a smile, “I should figure they have you to thank.” The Golden Dragon smirked, “No, they have only themselves to thank. It was after all only by their resolve that we are here now.” He sighed contently and smiled to his brother, “A new world without tyrants or worries. No more fighting, no more strife. Still I had hoped and wished more of our people could come.” “You did all you could brother. We could not topple the Great Tyrant from his throne but you showed our people that there was another path, a path of peace and protection.” The White Dragon said with a slight sadness to his voice. “You mean we, brother!” The Golden Dragon exclaimed, “I could not have done this alone and it is only together that we can lead our people and keep them safe. It is a new day brother and our people depend on our resolve.” “Well then there really is no room for failure is there?” The Golden dragon chuckled, “perhaps not but we have only to wait and see. Now let us go and explore this new land of ours.” --- The next morning Twilight Sparkle woke up with a headache and the wildest of bedheads.