CHAPTER 6
[Ponyville Park]
Several weeks had passed since the incident with Trixie. After she had recovered, she left Ponyville under the cover of darkness, and no-one noticed she was gone until the next morning. "Good riddance," Zappo had muttered afterward.
Today, Team Valkyrie were hanging around the park with Pinkie Pie, watching Rainbow Dash try to beat the record for bouncing a ball about without letting it touch the ground.
"... three twenty eight, three twenty nine, three thirty, three thirty one..." she was counting out loud.
"You know what would suck," Zappo spoke up, with a bottle of apple juice in his paw, "would be if a ninja had Tourette's syndrome. They'd try to sneak into someone's base, and then randomly shout 'TITS!'. By the time everyone rushes in to capture him, he's already buggered off, and it'd be like a ghost became a little vocal".
Several ponies in the park gave him strange looks.
"Zappo, I don't think that's how it works," CJ frowned, "Not to mention it's offensive to people with Tourette's. Besides, if he had that in the first place, they wouldn't even let him become a ninja, because he'd be a liability".
"...three thirty six, three thirty seven, three thirty eight..." Rainbow Dash continued.
"You know... that could actually work," Archie murmured, scratching his chin, "He could work in tandem with another ninja, and while he distracts the guards, his partner can sneak in and take out the target".
"...three forty two, three forty three..." Rainbow Dash bounced the ball a little too high, and almost ran into Fluttershy trying to recover it, startling the latter.
"Don't be such a scaredy-pony!" Rainbow Dash kept her focus on the ball, "It's just me! Future Equestria ball-bouncing record holder! Three forty six, three forty seven..."
"This calls for a celebration!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed, always eager for a party.
"Oh no, Pinkie Pie, this is no time for celebration," Fluttershy said worriedly, "This is a time for panic, for-"
"Ooh!" Pinkie Pie said excitedly, ignoring her, "I'm going to need balloons! One for every pony in Ponyville!"
"There-there's smoke," Fluttershy stammered urgently, "And-and where there's smoke, there's fire. And-"
"Let's see..." Fluttershy's timid voice fell on deaf ears as Pinkie Pie started counting the ponies in the park, "That's one, two, three, four..."
"Three hundred fifty four," Rainbow was still going.
"Five, six..." the two counts started to overlap each other.
"Three hundred fifty five... no wait..." Rainbow briefly looked confused, losing count, then sighed in agitation, "Pinkie Pie! Now I have to start over..."
"We're all going to have to start over in a new village," Fluttershy said softly, "Cause ours is gonna be-"
Rainbow Dash flew off into the sky, with Pinkie Pie running along behind her.
"Oh please, this is an emergency!" Fluttershy said urgently, "I-I need everypony to-"
"Listen up!" a new voice shouted, attracting everyone's attention. Everyone looked about to see Twilight Sparkle, with Spike on her back. "Smoke is spreading all over Equestria!"
The ponies were startled by this, looking to the sky, "What?! On no, that's awful!"
"That's what I was trying to say!" Fluttershy said exasperatedly.
"But don't worry," Twilight reassured them, "I've just received a letter from Princess Celestia informing me that it isn't coming from a fire".
Fluttershy sighed in relief, "Oh thank goodness".
"It's coming from a dragon," Twilight finished.
Fluttershy went white, "A...d- d-d-dragon?!"
Archie frowned at several ponies staring at him, "Hey, don't look at me! There's more than one dragon in Equestria, you know!"
[Ponyville Library]
Everyone had gathered around the foyer as Twilight flipped through several books at a rapid pace.
"What in the name of all things cinnamon-swirled is a full-grown dragon doing here in Equestria?!" Applejack exclaimed.
"Sleeping," Twilight answered simply.
"Huh?" the ponies looked confused.
"According to Princess Celestia, he's taking a nap," Twilight elaborated, "His snoring is what's causing all the smoke".
"He really should see a doctor," Pinkie Pie said concernedly, "That doesn't sound healthy at all!"
"Well, at least he isn't snoring fire," Rarity remarked, "What are we supposed to do about it?"
"I suppose we just wake him up and tell him to piss off," Zappo shrugged.
"We need to encourage him to take his nap elsewhere," Twilight frowned, "Would be the better way of putting it. Princess Celestia has given us our mission, and we must not fail. If we do, Equestria will be covered in smoke for the next one hundred years".
Fluttershy gasped in alarm.
"Hmph. Talk about getting your beauty sleep," Rarity raised an eyebrow.
"After one hundred years, he better wake up as a bloody supermodel," Zappo frowned, "Seriously, how can anyone sleep for that long?"
"Even I only need eight hours of sleep to recover," Archie remarked.
"Okay team!" Rainbow Dash stood firm, "The fate of Equestria is in our hooves! Do we have what it takes?"
Everyone bar Fluttershy gave a confident nod.
"And if worse comes to worst, we'll take this guy out and make him move!" Zappo thumbed his chest confidently.
"Alright then, everypony. I need you to gather supplies quickly. We've got a long journey ahead of us. Let's meet back here in less than an hour".
[One epic preparation montage later...]
Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Applejack and Rainbow Dash stood in line with their heads held high as Twilight addressed them.
"Alright gang, listen up! I'm mapping out the fastest route, but we've all got to keep a good pace if we expect to reach the mountain by nightfall".
"M-m-mountain?" Fluttershy trembled.
"The dragon is in that cave at the very top," Twilight pointed out.
"Looks pretty cold up there," Applejack shivered.
"You bet it is! The higher you go, the chillier it gets!" added Rainbow Dash.
"Good thing I brought my scarf," Rarity produced a long wool scarf and wrapped it around her neck.
"Ooh, pretty!" Pinkie Pie admired the handiwork.
"Heh, oh yeah! That'll keep you nice and cosy!" Rainbow Dash chuckled sarcastically.
Twilight pulled a map from her saddlebag and telekinetically held it in front of her.
Fluttershy gulped, "Um, excuse me, Twilight? I know you're busy, but..."
"Uh huh," Twilight nodded, off in her own world, "Well, we could go this way..."
"But if I could have just a second..." Fluttershy stammered.
"Uh huh, we should avoid that," Twilight didn't notice the soft-spoken Pegasus.
"So, um, I was thinking that, um, maybe I should just stay here in Ponyville".
"Uh huh," Twilight nodded absentmindedly.
"Oh, good!" Fluttershy turned to walk away, "I'll stay here and..."
Twilight suddenly realised Fluttershy was talking to her and turned about, "Wait! You have to come! Your way with wild animals will surely come in handy".
"I don't think I-" Fluttershy shook her head.
"Oh, and don't worry about your little friends in the meadow. Spike's got it covered," Twilight assured her.
"You can count on me!" Spike said cheerfully.
Angel kicked his head and all the animals scattered. "Ooh! Hey! Hey! Wait!" he ran off after them.
"I don't really think he's up to the task. Maybe..." she suddenly noticed Twilight walking away from her.
Rainbow Dash approached Twilight, "Are you sure you want Fluttershy to come along? I mean, that pony's afraid of her own shadow. She's just going to slow us down".
"Oh, she's just a little nervous," Twilight defended, "Once we get going, I'm sure she'll be fine".
Fluttershy suddenly noticed she had a shadow and jumped into a bush with a squeal of fright.
"Big vote of confidence, there," Zappo remarked dryly.
"All right gang, move out!" Twilight led the way.
Before Fluttershy could object, she was carried off her feet towards the mountainous task ahead, with Team Valkyrie in tow.
[Mountain Base]
Everyone stared up at the mountain in front of them. A loud rumbling sound echoed from the direction of the peak.
"What was that?" asked Rainbow Dash.
"That is what it sounds like when a dragon snores," Twilight replied.
"It-it's so... high!" Fluttershy whimpered.
"Well, it is a mountain," Rainbow raised an eyebrow, "I'm going to fly up there and check it out!"
Before she could leave however, Applejack grabbed her by the tail, preventing her from going anywhere. "Hold on now. I think we should all go up together. Safety in numbers an' all".
"Oh, all right," Rainbow huffed.
"I'll take the lead," Zappo offered, "CJ, you take up the rear, and Archie, you provide overwatch. If anything dares get in our way, they're going through us first".
Leading the procession, they slowly made their way up the side of a cliff.
Rarity tried to make conversation, "I hear the only thing that sparkles more than a dragon's scales are the jewels they use to build their nests. Ooh, if I play my cards right, I might be able to convince him to part with a few!"
"Welcome to my cave, Rarity!" Pinkie Pie put on a gruff accent, "Care for a diamond? Roar!"
The others chuckled at the impersonation.
"People, this is no laughing matter! Fluttershy, you're the expert on wild creatures. What do you think the dragon will be like?"
Silence answered her question. She looked about in confusion, "Fluttershy?"
Everyone looked at CJ, who was dragging the trembling Pegasus along in his vines, "I think she's scared of heights. She's frozen up like a statue".
"Well, this is going to take a while if she isn't co-operating," Zappo shook his head, "Archie, carry her".
"No problem," Archie collected her up in his arms and took flight.
"Let's move on people! We have a tight schedule here," Zappo beckoned.
[Mountain Ravine]
After navigating across a deep gap in the cliff face, the group arrived in a ravine. Fluttershy was confident enough to move again, so Archie placed her down.
"Keep it down," Twilight whispered, "According to my map, we're entering an avalanche zone. The smallest peep could cause a huge rock slide..."
"An... ava-ava..." Fluttershy stammered.
"Shhh!" Twilight hissed.
As the group cautiously moved forward, Rainbow Dash brushed past a tree, knocking off several leaves. One such leaf happened to land on Fluttershy. Startled, she squealed.
Faster than she could blink, Applejack shoved her hoof over her mouth to shut her up, but it was still too late. Fluttershy's voice echoed up and down the valley.
A distant rumbling sound shook the valley, and rocks started tumbling down the cliff above them.
"Way to go, miss jumpy!" Zappo growled, "Frightened by a bloody leaf of all things!"
"Look out!" the ponies darted about erratically to avoid the incoming torrent of rocks. Rainbow Dash zipped in and out of falling rocks with a series of spectacular aerial stunts, making it look easy. Archie quickly flew towards the other side of the ravine, avoiding the rockslide entirely, while CJ simply split the rocks in half with Leaf Blade, nullifying their impact. Fluttershy however, remained frozen in terror.
"Ugh," Zappo shook his head, "I've gotta do everything around here..."
Launching off in a Quick Attack, he purposefully charged straight towards Fluttershy, who reflexively cringed at the last second. Swooping her up in his paws, the four foot tall mouse with an equally-sized Pegasus in hand bolted about, jumping to avoid house-sized boulders with such agility that to Fluttershy, it was all a stomach-churning, blurry roller-coaster ride.
After several panic-stricken minutes, the rock slide subsided, leaving a cloud of dust lingering in the air.
"Everypony okay?" Applejack spoke up.
"Everyone is accounted for," CJ nodded.
Rarity shook a layer of dust off her coat, "Ugh..."
Pinkie Pie jumped about gleefully, "Whoo-hoo! Let's do it again!"
"This is why a girl always packs extra accessories," Rarity muttered, pulling out her scarf again, "Oh please tell me I brought the tiara that goes with this..."
"Uh, I think we have bigger problems than making sure our hair bows match our horseshoes..." Rainbow Dash muttered, referring to the large pile of debris in their way.
Zappo placed Fluttershy down with a glare, "Next time you do something like that, I'm not hauling your dumb arse out of it".
Fluttershy's response was a half-choked gargle as she stumbled about, almost ready to throw up from dizziness. After a few seconds, she found her footing and squeaked a soft "sorry".
"Aw, no big whoop, sugar cube," Applejack assured her.
"Yeah," Twilight sighed, "We'll just have to climb over..."
For Rainbow Dash and Archie, it was simply a matter of flying over, which didn't require much effort. However, for those on foot, it was tough going. On the way down the other side, Fluttershy lost her footing and startling sliding down the slide of rocks, collecting up Rarity on the way. Fortunately, CJ quickly lashed out with Vine Whip to grab Fluttershy around the waist, hauling her to stop, while Zappo jabbed the broad end of his tail into the ground, using it as an anchor, catching Rarity before she snowballed into Applejack.
"Watch your step," CJ advised, "That could've ended in disaster".
Rainbow Dash sighed in agitation, "Still think it was a good idea to bring Fluttershy?"
"This is why I hate escort runs," Zappo grumbled, "We have to be responsible for the client's safety, as well as our own".
"What's wrong with extra responsibility?" asked Twilight.
"It's just much easier if the only thing we have to worry about is ourselves," Zappo replied, "And less stressful. There's less liability that the mission will go wrong, because we only have ourselves to blame. But if someone else fucks up, then it ruins the entire thing".
"Can you please stop swearing?" Twilight frowned in annoyance, "It makes you look second-class and tacky".
Zappo blinked in confusion, "... Second class? I'm not second-class! I object to being classified as such!"
"And I object to your consistent use of profanity," Twilight countered, "It's uncultured and rude! Please broaden your vocabulary and find some other way to express your frustrations".
"I did that, but the last time I found another way, I nearly killed a guy," Zappo muttered.
"What did you do?" Twilight asked, "On second thoughts, don't answer that..."
"I decked him for being an asshole," Zappo shrugged casually.
"I thought as much," Rarity murmured, "Such an uncivilised place, you must come from..."
"No, Zappo just has no sense of tact," CJ shook his head, "His actions and opinions don't represent everything that is Pokémon kind. To judge the rest of us based on him would be a highly unfair generalisation indeed".
Twilight suddenly stopped, bringing the entire column to a halt. "We're here".
[Dragon's Cave]
Standing in the mouth to a large cave, with thick smoke pouring out at the top, the group stared straight into the darkness.
Twilight spoke up, "Rainbow Dash and Archie, use your wings to clear the smoke".
Rainbow and Archie both nodded.
"Rarity and Pinkie Pie, you'll create a diversion to distract the dragon if things gets hairy in there," said Twilight.
Pinkie Pie started throwing around a squeaky rubber chicken, much to everyone's amusement.
"Applejack, CJ and Zappo, you three are our last line of defence if he decides to attack, but it shouldn't come to that, because Fluttershy will do what she needs to do to wake him up, and between the two of us, we should be able to understand why he needs to go. Is everypony ready?"
"You can count on us," Zappo gave a confident nod.
"Alright, we're going in!" Twilight stepped inside, "So what is the best way to wake up a sleeping dragon without upsetting him?"
Silence answered her question. She turned about, "Fluttershy?"
The Pegasus had dug herself into the ground, unwilling to move any closer.
"Oh come on! We have to do this!" Twilight ran around to push Fluttershy from behind, "Every second longer that dragon sleeps is another acre of Equestria covered in smoke!"
Zappo grunted, "Archie, give us a hand here, please".
Archie landed inches from Fluttershy's face and simply hauled her into the air. She squealed, "I-I-I can't go in the cave!"
"What? Why?" Archie tilted his head and placed her down, "We've come this far, haven't we? And I'm not about to give up on a mission because someone is backing out at the last possible second".
"So she's scared of caves now?" Rainbow Dash muttered.
"I'm not scared of caves," Fluttershy defended, "I'm scared of..."
"What's that, sugar cube?" Applejack tilted her head.
"I'm scared of..." she trailed off, unable to finish her sentence.
"What?" asked Zappo loudly.
"I'm scared of dragons!" Fluttershy spluttered.
There was a brief moment of silence, followed by a loud rumbling noise from inside the cave.
"Well, I guess that's fair enough," Archie shrugged, "Sometimes I even scare myself..."
"But Fluttershy, you have a wonderful talent for dealing with all kinds of animals!" Twilight protested.
"Yes, but they're not dragons," Fluttershy replied.
"Oh come on! We've seen you walk up to the horrible Manticore like it was nothing!" Rainbow argued.
"The what, now?" Zappo asked.
"He wasn't a dragon," Fluttershy countered.
"Spike is a dragon, but you're not scared of him," Pinkie Pie pointed out.
"Because he's not a huge, gigantic, terrifying, enormous, teeth-gnashing, sharp-scale having, horn-wearing, smoke-snoring, could eat a pony in one bite, totally all grown-up dragon!" Fluttershy answered at length.
"What about me?" Archie asked, slightly miffed, "I haven't seen you complain once about me".
"You're different," Fluttershy replied, "I used to be scared of you when you first arrived. Even now, I'm a little nervous to even look you in the eye, but you're a very civil and polite dragon, traits that Equestrian dragons don't have".
"Erm, the correct word is 'Charizard'," Archie clarified, "I'm not a true dragon. I think I'm repeating myself here..."
"But then, if you're so scared of dragons, why didn't you say something before we come up all the way up here?" asked Twilight.
"I... I was afraid to," Fluttershy looked away.
"Well, in her defence," Archie pointed out, "There were several blatantly obvious signs in her behaviour that she clearly didn't want to be here. For example, even all the way back at the briefing in the library, she was quite shifty and uncomfortable about something. Before we left, she asked to stay behind back in Ponyville. As we went along, the endeavour was making her more skittish and jumpy with each step, and as such, she was easily startled by the leaf that fell on her back, triggering the rock slide".
"Fluttershy's always a nervous wreck though," Rainbow frowned, "To us that was just normal behaviour for her".
"I didn't picture you to be so observant, Archie," Twilight murmured, "Even I didn't pick up on any of that, and I've known her for longer than you".
"Just offering a third-party perspective," Archie shrugged.
"Well, what can your third-party perspective tell us about how we go about waking up this dragon?" asked Rarity.
"To be honest, I've never met an Equestrian dragon before. In my experience, Pokémon dragons don't listen to you unless you bash their heads in first. Once you beat them down, they're fine".
The ponies gave him horrified stares.
"What? It shows them that you're badder than them, and they'll respect you for that," Archie frowned, "It's a bit of a weird society we live in, and it takes a bit of getting used to. Don't think too much into it".
"In other news," Zappo interjected loudly, "We have a dragon to awaken here!"
"Don't worry," Applejack reassured Fluttershy, "We're all scared of that dragon".
Zappo coughed loudly, and Rainbow Dash puffed up in pride, "I'm not!"
"Almost all of us are scared of that dragon," Applejack continued, "But we have a job to do. So get in there with Twilight and show her what you're made of!"
"I-I-I just... can't," Fluttershy sagged, and stated pacing away.
"Oh, Fluttershy..." Twilight just shook her head.
[Inside Dragon's Cave]
"I'm going in," Twilight swallowed, "He probably just doesn't know what he's doing... right?"
"Phew," Zappo whistled, "That thing's bigger than I anticipated..."
"Now can you see why we're nervous?" Twilight turned to him.
"Kinda, yeah," Zappo sized up the enormous titan before him.
The dragon in question was, for lack of a better word, huge. It easily dwarfed everyone present, and must've been at least one hundred metres long. The large red scales covering its hide were almost the size of Zappo's head, and each one probably weighed more than him too. There were two columns of smoke rising from its nostrils, which clustered at the roof and drifted outside. It was resting on a massive nest of what CJ estimated to be billions of dollars worth of gold coins, diamonds and jewellery.
After a few seconds though, he shrugged nonchalantly, "Meh, We've got this".
Twilight looked at him like he was insane, "I'm sorry, what?!"
"Hey CJ, Rayquaza was about the same size as this guy, wasn't he?" Zappo turned about.
"They're certainly very similar in overall size, now that I think about it..." CJ murmured.
"Yep, we've got this," Zappo cracked his paws, "You go ahead and wake him up. If anything goes wrong, just get the hell out of here. You don't have to worry about a thing".
"Who's Rayquaza?" asked Twilight.
"The 'king' of the dragons," Zappo replied flippantly, "a story for another time".
Team Valkyrie all gathered around Twilight, ready to intervene at a moment's notice. "Now, go wake this poor bastard up," Zappo nodded.
Twilight gulped and hesitantly approached the dragon, "Mr Dragon? Excuse me, Mr Dragon?"
"You have to be more assertive than that," Archie scoffed, "No-one responds to hesitance or weakness. Especially not dragons".
"You're not helping!" Twilight hissed. The dragon slowly stirred and turned over, finally opening his eyes.
"Oh good, you're awake!" Twilight shuffled nervously, "Please allow me to introduce myself. I'm Twilight-"
The dragon yawned loudly in her face. On close inspection, its massive jaws could probably fit the entire gang inside, with the exception of Archie. Even then, in comparison, he was only the size of the dragon's head.
Twilight coughed and spluttered, "... Sparkle, and my friends and I are residents here in Equestria. Ponyville to be exact. We've come here to ask that you find another spot to take your nap. It's just that you seem to be doing an awful lot of snoring, and every time you do you send out a terrible cloud of smoke". The dragon snorted in her face, causing her to cough again. Undaunted, she continued, "Equestria simply can't survive a hundred years in a dark haze. You understand, don't you?"
The dragon stood up lazily, revealing its entire true size. Its head nearly touched the roof of the cave.
"So, you'll find another place to sleep?" Twilight asked hopefully.
The dragon slumped back down, trying to fall back asleep, breathing a cloud of choking smoke into her face.
Desperate for fresh air, she rushed out of the cave in a coughing fit.
"So much for persuading him," Rainbow Dash spluttered.
"Now what?" asked Applejack.
Rarity stepped forward, "Obviously, this situation just calls for a little 'pony charm'. Allow me".
She brazenly walked right up to the dragon, who watched her closely. "I'm sorry to interrupt, but I couldn't possibly head back home without mentioning what handsome scales you have. And those scales have to be hidden away in some silly cave for a hundred years?"
The dragon smiled coyly at the attention, and even tried to slick back the spines on its head. While she was talking, she slipped several pieces of rather expensive jewellery on.
"Personally, I think you should skip the snoozing and be out there, showing them off, hmm? Obviously, I would be more than happy to keep an eye on your jewels while you're gone..."
The dragon suddenly snarled at her last statement, quite miffed that someone would dare place a claim on its beloved treasure horde.
Rarity squeaked, dropped everything and bolted. "And I was this close to getting that diamond..."
"You mean, getting rid of that dragon?" Twilight raised an eyebrow.
"Oh, yeah... sure," Rarity glanced aside.
A loud honk drew their attention to Pinkie Pie, who had adorned herself in a cardboard box, flippers, balloons, and other party-themed gimmicks.
"What in tarnation...?!" Applejack murmured.
"Darling, you simply look ridiculous!" Rarity scoffed.
"Exactly!" Pinkie Pie smiled, "Sharing a laugh is a sure-fire way to get someone on your side!"
She gleefully strolled right up to the dragon, "Hi!"
The dragon frowned and popped every single one of her balloons in a single swipe.
"Apparently he doesn't like laughing," Pinkie Pie walked back out, "Or sharing".
'Alright, that's it!" Rainbow Dash yelled in agitation, "We tried persuasion, we tried charm, we tried... whatever Pinkie does... now it's time to stop wasting time! I'm going in!"
She charged in before anyone could stop her. "Rainbow, no!" Twilight exclaimed.
"Get... OUT!" Rainbow rammed her feet into the dragon's nose in a powerful kick.
The dragon sneezed, but otherwise looked completely indifferent. It growled lowly, and then roared in her face, sending her flying across and out the cave.
The ponies scattered as the dragon hauled itself out of the cave, roaring angrily, and blowing a large puff of smoke in their direction. The gale threw them against a boulder, incapacitating them all and shattering the rock, revealing a trembling Fluttershy behind it. She squeaked in alarm when she saw the dragon, and what it had done to her friends. And then she saw Team Valkyrie, all poised to strike.
"That's our cue!" Zappo smiled gleefully, "Archie, Dragon Claw!"
"On it," Archie grinned and launched forward.
The dragon initially looked puzzled, then roared at Team Valkyrie, shifting its smoke attack towards them.
Archie simply charged right through the gale as his claws took a bright blue energetic glow, "Eat THIS!"
As Archie passed by, he made a broad slash at the dragon's chest, leaving three large blazes of blue energy where he struck.
The dragon screamed in agony, completely surprised at the power of the attack. Of course, it knew nothing about Types, so it was quite shocked by the Dragon Claw's effectiveness.
"What Type do you suppose he is?," CJ asked Zappo.
"He looks like either a Dragon/Flying, or a Fire/Flying," Zappo answered, "Either way, you're not going to be of much effectiveness. You make sure the ponies are safe, and Archie and I will take this beast out".
CJ nodded, and went to work dragging each unconscious pony to a safe location.
Zappo meanwhile attacked the dragon with Thunderbolt, "Over here!"
The dragon grunted in pain as the electric blast struck its mark, and it lashed out with its claws. Archie made another pass and slashed at the dragon's forearm, negating its attack. The dragon clutched its arm in agony, roaring furiously.
Zappo dashed towards and around the dragon with Quick Attack, scrambling up its back. "Boo!" he launched a Thunderbolt at point blank range. The dragon swiped about angrily, almost throwing a fit.
Archie swooped in front of the dragon and slashed again with a third Dragon Claw, striking the dragon's face. The dragon roared furiously, now completely blinded by rage and pain. The entire mountain shook with such force that several rock slides were triggered down below.
[Canterlot Palace]
Princess Celestia blinked in surprise at the loud roar echoing from the mountain.
"Goodness, what are those ponies doing up there? I hope they're alright..." she murmured in concern.
[Dragon's Cave Entrance]
The dragon hunched over, clutching its chest and breathing heavily with a fierce look in its eyes.
Twilight slowly stirred from her immobile state, and her eyes snapped wide open.
"What are those idiots doing?!" she whispered in horror.
The dragon stared Archie in the eye with pure venom and malice. Archie stared back with a determined look, "Now you're ready to play seriously". He straightened out, extending his arms, "Come at me, bro!"
That it did, as the dragon launched an enormous blast of fire that ploughed into Archie, completely destroying the surrounding area.
"Archie!" Twilight exclaimed.
The attack kicked up a vicious dust storm that obscured everyone's view.
"ARCHIE!" Twilight panicked, "Y-Y-You probably killed him! He'll be burned to a cinder!"
The dragon flashed a wicked grin, as the dust slowly cleared up, and then its expression suddenly turned to one of pure shock and surprise.
Archie stood completely still, entirely unfazed, and with a nasty grin on his face, "Heh. That felt nice, actually". He turned about and pointed at his back, "There's a spot right in between my wings I just can't reach, you see, and it's been irritating me for a while. Would you mind doing that again? I think it will hit the spot..."
The dragon just stared, thunderstruck by how this... thing actually enjoyed its all-consuming blast of fiery doom. That was just not normal. It slowly started to back away, unsure of what to make of this.
"Well, if you're not going to do that, then can you please do us a different favour?" Archie turned about, "Your snoring is causing problems for the locals, so could you please move to a different location?"
The dragon rapidly nodded and rushed back inside its cave. If more things like him were living around here, it certainly didn't want to cause any problems.
In a flash, the dragon was back out, carrying as much treasure as it could stuff in its arms and took flight, disappearing in amongst the clouds.
By now, all of the ponies were back on their feet, staring in awe at the feat that Team Valkyrie had just accomplished.
"You actually made a dragon back down?!" Rainbow Dash gawked incredulously, "Duuude, I'm way out of your league!"
"Rarity, I think he might have accidently left a few gems in his rush to get out," Zappo pointed, "They're up for grabs if you want them".
Rarity's eyes sparkled like the diamonds in front of her, "... I can't believe it... This is still at least twenty percent of his entire stockpile... and it's all mine!"
"The gems," Zappo emphasized, "I'm placing dibs on the gold coins".
"Yes, of course!" Rarity gleefully accepted the terms, grabbing up all the diamonds, gemstones and jewellery she could find, which was still far more than she could handle in one trip.
"I have to hand it to you," Twilight still found this to be surreal, "I'd never think I'd be more grateful for having you three around than I am now. Archie, how did you stand up to that fire blast like it was nothing? Anyone else would've been outright killed!"
"I'm a Fire-Type," Archie grinned, "To me, molten lava is a nice warm bath. That guy wouldn't even roast a marshmallow where I come from".
The trip home was spent in almost complete silence, as the ponies tried to fathom the unfathomable.
Fluttershy quietly followed along behind, dejected as to how useless she had been.
Applejack turned around and slowed down, "Hey, don't you worry none about anything! At any rate, now we have more reason to be scared of Team Valkyrie than anything else, right? Right?"
Fluttershy smiled softly, "I guess so..."
"Good thing they're on our side, eh?" Applejack nudged her side, "Come on! I'm sure Pinkie Pie will have another one of her fancy parties set up almost as soon as we get home".
Fluttershy nodded with a soft smile.
...
Dear Princess Celestia,
Today's events have been very eye-opening for me. Team Valkyrie was able to stand up a full-grown dragon and win, a feat even I have trouble believing, but they did it without so much as a scratch to show for it. I have learnt that Archie's skin is effectively fire-proof, and my friends and I are witnesses to the fact that it held up to the dragon's fire blast attack.
Fluttershy has been feeling a little down as of recently, possibly because the trip was somewhat of a nightmare for her. Several times, she inadvertently hindered the journey, such as having trouble with heights and accidentally causing a rock slide. I personally feel responsible for this, as I was unaware of how stressful this entire trip was for her.
In future, I will have to be more mindful about things like that.
Your faithful student,
Twilight Sparkle
END CHAPTER 6