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// Prologue: The Dragon Accords 
// Story: Puppets of Darkness 
// by Lophane 
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The sun was setting on the distant horizon, having fulfilled its work of nourishing the creatures and plants that dwelled on the land that day. But there was one area where the suns warmth was not appreciated, one place in all the land where nothing grew. The land was pockmarked and scarred, rent apart by many a titanic struggle, and scoured under flames hotter than any furnace. This was the land inhabited by dragons; it was their homeland, the place where their young were brought to be raised, the place where adults came to fight and find a mate, and the place where the eldest came to teach, and to die.

The sky was filled with the cacophony of the dragons. Their resounding wing beats, the deep pounding heartbeat of the land, while their disorganized roaring became a melodious harmony to their ears.

As night closed in, the largest and the oldest of the great beasts began to make their way towards the one remaining landmark within the dragon homelands, the rest having long ago been pounded down, back into the earth from which they came by one fight or another. The great volcano loomed over the dragon plains, smoke pouring out from the top, and the obsidian spires of which it was made arcing up into the darkening sky; acting as a reminder to all dragons who gazed upon it of how they were created, and the great power that they all possessed.

As the behemoths drew nearer to the base of the peak, it became apparent that they were all headed towards a vast opening near where the earth met the black stone. The two leaders of the latest dragon flight, a massive red dragon and an old black wyrm headed the procession.

The red dragon was named Sha'oren; he was the largest dragon in living memory, the old wyrm beside him only coming up to his knee. His blood red scales were more than triple the size of the next largest dragon in the group, and harder than any metal that could be found; they gleamed with the inner fire that all flame drakes possessed within themselves, though few ever achieved the mastery of flame required for their very scales to emanate its essence. It was said, that of the many hundreds of challengers who came to fight him, none had ever beaten him. Although he was getting older, he continued accepting the whelps that came to try to win fame by defeating their unbeatable leader.

The black wyrm's name had been lost to the passage of time, and so he was simply known as Keagos. He slouched as he crawled along, acid dripping from his mouth and oozing from the pores that dotted his skeletal frame. Though he was quite insane, he was one of the most respected dragons in the world, who else could claim to have been the mentor of the draconequus who would later become branded as Discord. Nobody really knew how he was still alive, but a popular theory was that as a gift for training him, when Discord ascended into godhood, he granted the already ancient dragon a boon, immortality. The theory on his state of mind was split on whether it was the price of his immortality, or if his age had caused his mind to wither away to its current state.

As the two reached the cave's entrance, Sha'oren hesitated, the group of dragons behind him grinding to a halt. Keagos kept going, trailing slime and humming a disjointed tune, but stopped when his co-leader placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" asked Sha'oren "they have given us nothing but a few fire rubies, why should we summon the whole council for them?"

"The one who offers moss should at least be gi-" Keagos dissolved into a fit of coughs, shooing away any and all attempts to aid him, and then continued "As you were saying, they who trade in shiny beads should always be given the benefit of the trust."

Sha'oren shook his head in exasperation, wondering why he still even attempted to get a straight answer from the old wyrm. He should have learned long ago that nothing that made any sense would ever come out of Keagos's dripping maw.

About three weeks prior, Sha'oren was sent a message along with three chests of fire rubies by someone outside the desolate plains ruled by the draconic races. Ordinarily that would be more than enough to buy safe passage through the dragon lands, and even enough to get a meeting with Sha'oren, but the message had asked for more than that, it had requested that the whole council of elders come together at the heart of the mountain to hear outsider's request.

Sha'oren, wanted to send the chests back, with the contents heavily reduced of course, as a rebuttal to the outsider for asking for far more than they had any right to; and most of his kind were in agreement.

Some of the more volatile dragons wanted to go and find the perpetrator of the insult, they wanted to bring them back, torture them, humiliate them, and then to finally kill them as a reward for their insolence.

Sha'oren was forced to make a very public example of the ringleader of these imbeciles in order to stop them leaving to who knows where, bringing the anger of Celestia down upon the whole race once they terrorized the wrong town, or inevitably destroyed something they weren't supposed to.

That behavior was to be expected though, what no one expected was Keagos's reaction. Keagos's reaction to the message was something that had not been seen since before Discord's reign of chaos; One that nobody ever expected would ever be seen again.

When he heard the of the message and the offering, he calmly sat down, looked Sha'oren in the eye and said in a crisp clear voice "my dear Sha'oren, this meeting is of the utmost importance, the offering was merely a way to get my attention." He paused, letting the statement get past the shock in the red dragons mind before continuing "Events are about to begin unfolding, and not you nor anypony else can stop them, I would so very much like to have you on my side.

"Form the council, and have them at the heart of the mountain at the specified date, three weeks hence. Trust me; what she has to offer is worth more than a thousand barrels filled to the brim with fire rubies." He ended with a flourish, before falling into a fit of giggles.

After the old wyrm returned to his previous state of madness, albeit possibly a bit more manic than he had ever been before, the council was convened immediately, to go over what to make of the seemingly impossible occurrence. Some suggested it was a prophecy, but most were of the opinion that those were supposed to be cryptic, not a clear set of instructions.

Although he was insane he was still the eldest member of the dragon race, and his word, sensible or not, still needed to be heavily considered before being put aside or accepted by the council. So after much deliberation and discussion the meeting with the now mysterious outsider was arranged, if only to see what they wanted.

The procession of dragons began moving once again toward the massive volcano headed by Sha'oren and Keagos who had begun began to move again towards the cave that led down into the deep, dark, core of the earth known as the heart of the mountain.

Along the walls a few torches shed light on a tapestry of depictions that told the story of the draconic races from their creation to the most recent momentous occurrence, now Keagos's moment of lucidity.

At the start, the pictures showed the first great gods in their never-ending war, the world in chaos, torn apart and rebuilt hundreds of times in an ongoing cycle.

The next set of images showed the great gods of fire and steel coming together, and fighting side by side for eons. It was not prevalent at first but eventually, they managed to destroy or slaughter most of the other remaining gods.

After they had won the war that had been going on since the dawn of time, and all of the remaining gods were either subjugated or in hiding, they crowned themselves co-rulers of the world.

The god of fire's treachery came next, leading his trusting companion into a trap that was similar to the one they had used to get their first kill, enchanted swords of flame waiting to carve the unsuspecting god into minute pieces. After the deed was done the god of fire took what remained of his friend and threw the entirety of the once strong god into the mightiest volcano the god of fire had ever created, as tribute to their kinship.

The next depictions were odd, given that they told two stories at once, one overlapping the other in a way that gave a strange sense of double vision. The primary story told of the fire gods rule being torn apart by a rebellion of the lesser gods soon following the murder of the god of steel.

The overlapping story was set in the center of the volcano that the god of flame had made to house the remains of his ally. It illustrated some of the larger pieces of the late god of steel, fueled by anger and hatred for being betrayed, and locked away in molten rock that now had no master, the remains took the power contained in the lava and with it formed massive and powerful new bodies made of steel and fire.

Dragons had been born.

After the creation of the race, all of the next pictures depicted great events that dragons or their kin played a major part in or tragedies that befell them.

None but dragon kin and individuals who had proven their worth by performing great tasks for them had ever been allowed to walk the tunnels beneath the great volcano. This was a tradition kept from millennia ago, as this mountainous spire was the volcano that the first dragons were birthed in, after all of the energy contained in the flowing rivers of molten rock had been used in the production of the dragons, it became dormant everywhere but at its heart and thus, a fitting home for the newborn race.

The volcano may have been mostly inactive, but the intertwined power of the two gods still coursed through it, marked by the occasional miracle preformed at its feet, and the tunnel drawings that appeared alongside the events they showed, the tunnel elongating to fit all new additions.

The tunnel grew hotter and hotter the deeper they went, eventually becoming so hot that none but those born in fire could withstand it.

Sha'oren had wanted to send a reply of affirmation to the outsider along with his seal, a symbol that gave the wearer the temperature resistance of a dragon temporarily, due to the extreme heat at the heart of the mountain, and would allow them safe entry and passage through his lands. But while he was getting the note and seal ready to be sent, Keagos had informed him that the sender would not need it, and that blue-green mushrooms were shrinking larger than trees out the underside of the clouds.

The grand procession finally reached the heart, passing the latest picture, one of Keagos with interlocking cogs taking the place where his head was.

They entered high above the roiling lava that made up the floor of the massive cave, a single bridge spanning the distance between the entrance and the council meting area, a plateau that rose from the lave in the center of the cavern.

Some dragons made their way across the bridge of rock, scratched and flawed by the thousands of gargantuan claws that had chosen to walk its length, but never showing signs of breaking. Others chose to leap off the entrance ledge and plummet before spreading their wings and flying to the raised meeting place.

When all of the dragons had taken their seats, Sha'oren spoke, "We have been asked to arrange a meeting of the elders by an outsider who sent three chests full of fire rubies to discuss a deal," He looked around the circle, making sure none harbored any special resentment, "It is not traditional to go to such lengths for such a meager offering, but Keagos has vouched for this person and has spoken that the deal to be discussed is well worth our time"

"Yes, my deal is well worth your time" All but a few of the dragons started when the booming feminine voice rang out all around the heart.

Sha'oren was quick to reply "Reveal yourself! We do not take kindly to those who hide in the shadows!"

"Well that is a shame," the disembodied voice replied, "I live for the shadows."

"Live in the gallows? They must have lost something!" Keagos wheezed out in his raspy voice "My granddaughter knows what my pet claw is thinking… We are all doomed!"

The dragons of the council were getting restless, some were confused, some were angry, but all were getting annoyed. Sha'oren decided to try to get things under control before the unidentified figure was killed for irritating the council.

"We were told you had a deal for us."

"Indeed I do" the voice said, this time from a shadowy mare that had appeared directly in front of Sha'oren. She was mostly an indistinct blur with some blue mixed in with the black shadows that were writhing around her form, the only obvious things being her race, a pony, and that she was slightly larger than the average mare of her kind.

One of the larger greens decided to speak up, "Who are you! Why do you come to our home and demand we listen to your deal. You are a pony, a large one, but still a pony, you can be no older than one-tenth my age, whelpling! What could you poss-" he was cut off when a large band of magical energy wrapped around his jaw.

A few shocked seconds of silence ensued, and then all Tartarus broke loose. The green that had been silenced ran forward aiming to flatten the offending mare, while all of the other dragons were brought into an uproar. Sha'oren knew the consequences of harming one of sunbutt's precious subjects; yes the mare was in the dragon lands and had magically assaulted one of the most respected of dragon kind, but weather or not they had a good reason for doing what they did, he knew that he would feel the leash of the monarch tighten around his kind, furthering taxes and requesting more eggs.

He rushed out to intercept the green, confident in his ability to overpower the smaller dragon. After only a single bound however, Keagos roared out "BE STILL YOU FOOLS! This mare is more powerful than all of us combined, if she wanted to, we would all be a paste smearing along the wall." he glared at everyone with strange, uneven eyes, making sure everyone had stopped and was listening, before turning to the mare "you knew that would happen. Please refrain from antagonizing them, they are dragons after all, we aren't known for our restraint."

"Oh, but it's so fun watching them squirm and struggle! And they really should learn to respect their elders more." the mare replied calmly as if nothing had happened.

Even more confused than before, all the members of the council but the offending green, and Keagos looked to Sha'oren with questioning looks, looking to their leader to see what they should do.

Ever the leader, Sha'oren assessed the situation quickly; he had already determined that his old friend was gone, replaced by something else -he would have guessed discord, but he was trapped in stone with no power according to recent reports- and with a start, he realized who the shadowy figure must be. But the implications were both great and dire, so he decided that he should keep his theories to himself till he could prove them correct or she revealed herself.

"Well… this meeting has been eventful to say the least. If everyone would return to their places then this queen of the dark," Sha'oren noticed her narrowing eyes, "can get to telling us her deal."

"Eloquently put," she began, and then in a whisper they could all hear "for a dragon."

Originally Sha'oren had merely assumed that the mare was incredibly foolhardy, but now that he knew that she was not, he wondered what game she was playing, and what she hoped to gain by baiting the irritable dragons into attacking her.

"I believe you are the leader of the council this day and age, am I not correct? I've gotten so out of sync with the world I've forgotten who runs what" Her words furthering the suspicions of the dragon leader.

"Yes, I am, and when dealing with this matter I believe I will speak for the rest of the council." Sha'oren glared at any dragon that begun to challenge his decision, quickly silencing any opposition with the threat of a fight, further emphasizing his point with "and they will stay silent throughout the remainder of the proceedings."

"Wise, unnaturally wise for a red. I can see why you want him on our side, Keagos."

"Yes, he has been a jewel amidst the squalor of this place, when I saw the intelligence in his young eyes; I knew he would turn out spectacularly, so after placing a few growth spells on the runt, I managed to convince his parents to not throw him out." Keagos responded, rising from the ground where he lay near the mare.

As Sha'oren was the only one permitted to speak, the silence stretched on for several moments before Sha'oren asked, "What are you talking about? I was no runt, and everyone knows that dragons are immune to spells. Who are you, and what have you done with Keagos's mind?"

"Oh, deary me, I haven't explained yet have I. I am Keagos, the real Keagos, without all the mental problems. Being this near to my master once again has done wonders to my mindset, and for my youth. I can't remember the last time I've been able to think this clearly!"

Sha'oren was at a loss for words but the mare beside the old, but now not so ancient black wyrm was not, "You ridiculous old thing, you don't have all your sanity back, just enough to be able to follow the conversation and help make points that they will listen to."

"Of course my dear, I wouldn't have it any other, Sausage!" Keagos replied with a lopsided grin.

Turning back towards Sha'oren the shadowy mare said, "So shall we proceed to the negotiation of the terms of my deal then?"

Now that he was certain of her identity, Sha'oren was terrified of what she would offer. She had the power to give the draconic races their freedom, a goal they had been reaching for since the Dragon Accords had been signed more than a thousand years ago, but if she was willing to go behind her sisters back and do that, Sha'oren was not sure that the price would be too high to pay. If she wasn't hear to give them their freedom then she was here to restrain them even more.

Sha'oren did not know what would be the better curse, so he decided to wait to hear her deal. One way or another, this deal was going to bring the dragons' one step closer to ruin, Sha'oren just didn't know how.

"Yes, we will hear your deal… Princess Luna"

She grinned as the smoke fell away to reveal the form of one of the co-monarchs of all the land, and the queen of the night, "Well, well, well somepony recognizes me. I'm glad not all dragons are bumbling foals" the dragon elders who had shrunk away upon her revealing, bristled at her last comment.

"Very well, here is my deal: I shall absolve you and all your race of the Dragon Accords you were forced to sign so many years ago, in exchange for two small things, the first is that you must not act to rashly to quickly, you will have your pillaging sprees soon enough, I just don't want my sister finding out till it's already to late.

"The second is that I need you to use your new freedoms to go to a small town called Ponyville; I'll give you a map once the deal is signed, and ponynap one of the bearers of the elements of harmony. Any questions?"

Looking around the group of elders, Sha'oren was not surprised to see most of the other elders nodding in agreement. Taking only what she had said it sounded like a fair deal, in fact it sounded like an incredible deal, but Sha'oren knew better than to take anything the two sisters offered at face value.

"The deal sounds, acceptable, but I have a few questions to ask first."

"Go ahead" she said, settling down comfortably in the crook of Keagos's wing, with a spell warding away the heat of the ever-present magma far below, and the acid dripping from Keagos's aged body.

"If we were to go along with your deal what's to stop you from imprisoning us under even harsher conditions once you have gotten what you want?"

Keagos lifted his head to answerer for the queen, "Well, nothing, I suppose. You're just going to have to take her word or it; I will also vouch that our race will not be imprisoned again, at least, not under this cabbages reign. I've never really liked cabbage, it's always been to green for my…" he trailed off, looking into the distance.

"I guess you will just have to weigh your options." Luna interjected.

"Ok, next question, why? From all my reports you are in full recovery from your 'ordeal', and yet here you are, plotting away with ferocious dragons, trying to get them to kidnap one of the ponies who currently embody peace and prosperity, and then letting us go ravage the land.

"If I was a gambling drake, I would place my gems on you not having been reformed" Sha'oren finished not sure how the princess would react.

Luna had been listening quietly while Sha'oren went on, her straight face steadily curving up into a grin, "Why, my deception has been so complete that no speculation has reached the dragon lands! This is wonderful news. As to your question about my 'reformation', when looking for new bearers of the elements my sister made one big mist-" she was interrupted as a great plume of smoke-driven ash washed over the congregation.

The dragons settled in to wait, the main drawback to meetings in the heart being the periodic release of volcanic wastes through the chamber as it made its way to the top of the spire, were it was expunged into the atmosphere. Normally this process took around half an hour, and it repeated itself every four hours.

But no longer than thirty seconds into the plume, a strange feeling passed over all in the chamber, as a nearly solid layer of ash was hurtled upwards, disappearing into the chute above, leaving the heart chamber clear. Some half-asleep dragons, already settled into their sleeping positions, bolted up, startled by the sudden disappearance of the surrounding smog.

Luna was standing in the center of the plateau, her horn glowing, and a look of slight concentration on her face. After a few moments the glow faded from around her horn and the look passed, she continued, "as I was saying, my sister, in her foolish attempt to get the elements to come together naturally, robbed herself of the time she needed to properly train the bearers to wield them." She paused, making sure that Sha'oren was paying attention.

"Without the appropriate training all the elements did was remove my dark visage, and some of my illicit power. My sister foolishly thought that through newly made bonds, the new bearers had managed to do what she, with all of her centuries of experience, could not. Bah! If only it were that simple." Luna began pacing as she recounted her thoughts.

"I must thank them though, if not for their 'gift' my plans probably would have failed, as my sister, in a rare moment of true wisdom, placed some very subtle spells on the thrones, ones that would kill me if I had attempted to sit on either. In my eager rush for the crown, I probably would have sat, not expecting such devious behavior from my benevolent sister, promptly ending my own life. But when my body was reverted to its state before my change to Nightmare Moon, I was given all the time I needed to plot and to plan for my next rising.

"My plans are about to be set into motion, and your help would aid me in my struggle for nighttime eternal greatly, that is why I offered you this, I knew you would not refuse."

"Why do we need us to kidnap an element of harmony then, if they are no threat to you? And why do you believe that we would wish to help you in your quest for the never-ending night?" Sha'oren questioned

"Because, the bearers have learned a great deal since they first fought me, they might not be able to banish me yet, but I doubt that being a statue is pleasant." Keagos growled as she mentioned his old students' current state of being. "Your kind must to do it because I need to keep Celestia's attention away from my actions, there is too much of a chance of one of my own guard deciding to acquire a conscience at an inconvenient time and going directly to her once they find out the true extent of my plans.

"As to why you would help me, I've already offered you the thing your kind has wanted the most since they were forced into submission over a thousand years ago, and I think we all know that I could easily force your race into compliance with a whim, my offer is just me being civil."

"Now, now, young cabbage, you have much to learn about the fine art of diplomacy. Your offer was good, but did you really need to hammer your 'amazing prowess' into their skulls, how much damage do you think a small leafy plant can do?" while not intending to, Keagos's ridiculous words broke the tension that Luna had formed between herself and the council dragons during her last statement.

"You appear to have left us no choice in the matter then. With no further objections, I will accept this deal, on the behalf of all of those with draconic blood running through their veins. I only hope that my decision will not mean the end of our great race, as I fear." Sha'oren said, raising his massive head to look up at the ceiling while he spoke.

The other dragons, who had been whispering amongst themselves excitedly about the prospect of finally being freed of the oppressive binding, looked to their leader nervously at his last statement. They had seen nothing that could go wrong with the deal and they had no qualms with kidnapping some random pony. That did not mean however, that they failed to realize that if Sha'oren saw a flaw in the contract, there probably was one.

Keagos, frowning at Sha'oren's words and seeing the circles discontent, addressed them, "Why do you think that, my friend? This campaign shall be the focal point at which our kind shall return from our millennium of servitude, to rise again as one of the great powers of the world.

"Don't you want that? The fate of all sea toffee is in your hands!"

Sha'oren sighed "This does not sit well with me Keagos, I will make the deal, can't you just leave it at that?"

Luna, who had been watching the exchange with mild curiosity, chose then to speak up, "You have made your choice. Come forward and our intermingled blood shall wash away the signatures of your ancestors."

She drew three things from a small portal she made. First to come from the tear in space was a large bastard sword, enchantments sparking along its length, showing that it contained great power. A small dagger came next, relatively simple in design with a crescent moon serving as the hilt.

All of the dragons felt the magical chains that bound their souls, set so long ago that most had never experienced life without them, tighten in response to the small scroll Luna pulled from within the depths of her portal.

The scroll was simple in its design, one long piece of paper wrapped around a wooden handle, but the power it radiated, felt strongly by those attuned to it, was far from simple.

Sha'oren made his was forward, both attracted to and repulsed by the symbol of his kinds imprisonment, and struggled to keep up his dignity by not curling his tail between his legs like some of the other dragons. The only people seemingly not affected were Luna; she was not the one bound, and Keagos, who sat behind her, happily bouncing the club end of his tail between his claws.

Sha'oren stopped a few feet away from Luna before asking one more question, "After this is over do you think that will aid you in your fight for the throne?"

"I am so confident; I didn't even include it in the deal. Keagos has assured me that, while you would be reluctant to join my forces at first, once you saw that I was winning my fight, you would come over to our side. And that forcing you into an alliance would rob you of the intelligence and leadership that are the qualities that made you so desirable in the first place.

"Now, shall we begin with the nullification of the Dragon Accords?" she accentuated her question by bringing both the knife and the sword to bear.

"Lets" Sha'oren said, proffering the underside of his claw to Luna, who stood only tall enough to see over the top of his massive foot.

With her magical grasp Luna brought the sword down upon his pad, the enchantments on the sword allowing it to pass through his scales and thick hide below like butter. Sha'oren barely felt the cut as steaming drops of his scarlet blood welled up and were caught in Luna's magic.

His essence moved away from him, going to mix with another much smaller orb of blood that Luna had made while Sha'oren's blood was being harvested. When the two red orbs met, there was a small explosion of steam that obscured the two liquids for a moment; once it dissipated a single sphere of golden fluid hovered before them.

From its position underneath the reaction the scroll unrolled itself, extending to its full length in seconds, and giving full view of the three signatures, signed in blood at the bottom to all.

All of the dragons watched with apprehension as Luna raised the scroll by its handle through the golden sphere. The end of the scroll went in one side, and out of the other emerged a blank sheaf of paper, devoid of any meaning.

The orb of golden blood grew steadily darker as more and more of the scripture was fed through it, the words and their power being stripped from the document. The circle members observed in silence, feeling the magical chains surrounding their souls loosening as at last line of text, followed by the signatures of their forbearers, entered the sphere, and exited blank.

When the last bit of paper exited the blackened sphere, dragons everywhere felt a sudden intense pain, before a feeling of light-headedness and freedom washed over them, as the magic that had bound them for so long, tightened around their being one last time, before dissipating into the night.

The hush that went though the dragons in the heart chamber was palpable, nobody moved and many forgot to breath. Then, in euphoria, they roared as one, along with every creature with draconic blood running in their veins, some even tried to spread their wings and fly upwards, only to encounter the ceiling less than a hundred feet into the broiling air.

Of all the dragons that felt the newfound freedom, only a few of the oldest and wisest recognized its meaning, and they roared all the louder, knowing that this might be their only chance to celebrate before the price of freedom caught up with them.

Sha'oren knew it was his duty as the co-leader of the council, Keagos being the other, to finish the deal with Luna, but he was busy reveling in the lack of restraint, restraint that he had known was there, but had lived with for so long that he had never experienced what life was like without it. He knew he would probably come to regret the decision, but if asked to make the same one again, he would accept in an instant. Having finally tasted freedom, he knew he would never go back to the way things were willingly.

Luna leaned over to Keagos, who was lying on his back laughing hysterically and said, "They certainly enjoy their liberty, don't they. Should we tell anypony the other terms of the Dragon Accords that got nullified as well, the ones they didn't know about already?"

Struggling to come down from the high he was on, Keagos managed to say between fits of giggles, "We should," he snickered, "but I like surprises better. And besides, the telescope restrictions that were taken away shouldn't be noticed for another month at least."

Luna, puzzled, thought back to the long list of conditions they had just removed, "I don't remember any telesco-" she then remembered who she was speaking to and facehoofed, "Keagos, will you stop with the randomness! It's becoming an annoyance, I am not a cabbage"

"Gasp! You know who I am, and you're the one who wants your own special lunatic around, you could have used some of your borrowed power to render me completely sane if you'd wanted to." He paused before adding "And you're obviously a cabbage, they're the only things evil enough to want to kill or banish their direct relations, well maybe a brussel sprout, but that's beside the point."

Luna looked to Keagos, wondering if she would be like him once she was as old as he was. No, it was his own doing that had caused this, not the passage of time, Luna herself had recently been locked away from everyone else for a thousand years and it had hardly changed her outlook on life other than increase her rage at her sister. It had been incredibly difficult for Luna to pretend to be good again, to love her sister and all of her subjects, to go to meet with the one who had ruined, and perhaps saved, her plans on nightmare night.

"I do not have the power required to change somepony's essential nature… yet. You made yourself insane, you can remain insane, just don't bother me with your ramblings unless you have to."

Keagos grabbed her in a surprise hug and said, "I wouldn't spend moment more than necessary in your vile presence. Sha'oren is coming, let's get our little acts together for him"

Sha'oren, finally able to think clearly again, swooped down in front of the embracing duo, "am I interrupting anything?" he asked

"Nothing at all, we were just showing each other how glad we are to see one another again, isn't that right Ms. Cabbage" Keagos said as he put Luna down, giving her a playful pat on the head.

Smiling at Sha'oren, Luna said, "Yes, we haven't seen each other in so long, it's good to see he hasn't changed much. But you came back to finish of our arrangement I believe, not watch us exchange memories."

"You're right; you kept up your end of the deal now we will hold up ours. Show me this map of yours and I will arrange to send a regiment of small greens to go and get one of these elements of harmony. Is there a specific one you wanted or does it not matter?"

She moved the discarded scroll in front of her, and in a flash the blank paper was covered in a detailed map of equestria, "It doesn't matter to me which one you get, just make sure that they are not overly harmed, you can rough them up a bit to get them to comply, but if they are killed a new bearer can be found and all our time and effort will be wasted." She rolled up the map and handed it to the Sha'oren, who looked at it with distaste, but took it.

"If that happens I'm afraid I won't be able to keep you from my sister's wrath. In fact I'll probably have to aid her in her righteous elimination of the ones responsible for the murder. I hope you understand my situation."

"I do. When I give out the orders I will tell them to use only the force that is absolutely necessary. When they get back where do you want the pony to be held?"

Luna opened another portal and pulled out a large gem, "Just keep them in Keagos's cave till the next nightfall, when that happens, crush this," she raised the lustrous gem to him, "and I will send the captain of the night guard to come and retrieve the bearer."

With a glance at the gem Sha'oren saw that it was merely a glass replica of a real jewel, expertly made, but nothing that could pass under the scrutinous eyes of a dragon," Can you trust your captain? Also that is a glass replica, not a real gem."

"My captain is completely trustworthy, believe me. As to the gem, yes I know it's made of glass, but the enchantment will still work and I know that a dragon would have a hard time destroying a real gemstone, so I made a fake one instead."

Sha'oren took the chunk of glass and the map and placed them in the gem pouch existing within his mouth before continuing, "Just because I am a dragon does not mean that I am greedy, we may need it to grow, but does it look like I need to get any bigger?"

Luna inspected Sha'oren, taking time to fully realize his great size and wondered if Keagos's growth spell may have changed more in Sha'oren than he had originally intended.

"No, you're certainly big enough as it is, I was just making a generalization about dragons, nothing more. You certainly are a specialty, you will be so useful in the coming fight, I've never seen so many dragons follow orders before without fighting the leader about them."

"I never said I would help you, speaking of which I need to know all of your goals before I even consider joining you."

By this time about half of the elders had come down from either the air of their minds, and they clustered in listening for what was being said between the goddess of the night and their leader.

"You are a very peculiar dragon Sha'oren, never have I met one like you before, almost all of the dragons I would ask whether they would help me in my fight, would jump at even the slightest chance to destroy and pillage. I am not sure how much I like this change, you become something more, a force all your own on this battlefield equestria is to become, valuable to have on my side but unpredictable."

"All I want is what is best for my kind, if you are the right way to go, my race will be behind you. If your side looks as though it will lose, I will take my race and we will sit back and watch, neither helping nor hindering."

Sha'oren's gaze turned serious, "If you prove to be an enemy, I don't think you will, not after all of this, then I will have no choice but to join forces with your sister to try to stop you."

"This is why you will be such a great general of the dragon division of my army, you can think; really analyze things, unlike the rest of your kind." Sha'oren glared at a grizzled old blue drake who had opened his mouth to say something, and Luna continued on unabated "Rest assured I will not betray you; I have more of an obligation to your kind than you realize.

"My goals are the same as they have always been, to take the throne for myself, disposing of my sister. And rule in eternal night."

"What do you mean when you say 'dispose'? You must know that while I am not opposed to her death, she could be very valuable if you could banish her and siphon her power."

She looked away before returning her eyes to Sha'oren's and saying tartly, "How I dispose of her is none of your concern, this is a matter between her and I"

Sha'oren was not sure how much longer he could keep the council under control, they saw Luna as disrespectful, which they would normally destroy anyone else for in an instant, and they were all returning from the feeling of being invincible.

They knew she was a god, but their instincts told them to destroy the tiny blue speck that they had seen do nothing more than quiet one of their kin for a few seconds, and then done nothing to defend itself when rushed.

Keagos saw the situation to and decided to diffuse it his own special way, "Cabbage, some of my colleagues seem to doubt your power, use zap cannon!"

Everyone looked at him incredulously.

"What? Everyone knows that it's super effective versus rock types." he looked around the confused faces, thinking, with his addled brain, that he might find support.

Seeing none, Keagos turned around and walked away. Sha'oren thought he heard him say, "Hmm… I might have to rethink my next gym fight…" but he wasn't sure, and knew better than to ask.

Sha'oren may not have known what Keagos was talking about but he knew the value of the temporary confusion. He said, "Luna, we will have the bearer before your next full moon, expect our reply."

"Take as much time as is necessary Sha'oren, I've waited a thousand years, I can wait a few more to make sure it's done right"

"Yet it will still be done before your next full moon. You have given our kind a great gift today, one that none of us should forget," he looked around the room, "The least we can do is get your job done quickly."

Luna looked to him and nodded, "As you wish, if I am not needed hear anymore I will bid you and your council a splendid night"

Sha'oren bowed his head to Luna and responded, "I do not need to tell you how wondrous your night is, you already know, so you must make do with my good wishes and my hope that your campaign goes as you have it planned, though I hope you reconsider what I know you are planning for your sister"

Luna' smile fell from her face after his last phrase, and she turned and teleported away without another word.

The Council dragons that had been silent while Luna was here saw her disappearance as enough of a reason to talk again and to discuss amongst themselves what had happened.

Keagos returned from his stroll around the peninsula and said, "Aww… the cabbage left without saying goodbye, and I didn't even get to teach it razor leaf."

Ignoring Keagos's antics, Sha'oren addressed the council, "You all know what has transpired here today, no need to waste the whole council's time to talk about it more. Make sure none of the younglings try to get out to test their new freedom till the next full moon, do whatever it takes, just make sure it happens.

"Also keep everything that was said and done here today to yourselves, till the deal is complete." Sha'oren pointed to the green dragon who had first accosted Luna, "You! For what you did, you will be the one who has to give up the soldiers needed for the mission."

The green dragon said, "But Sha'oren, I didn't know who sh-"

Sha'oren interrupted with a sweeping blow from his leg. It wasn't much but the smaller green knew that pressing further would just get him beaten in front of the other council members, so he said, "Yes sir, I'll have ten of my best drakes report to you next morning!"

Sha'oren eyed him one last time then nodded and turned back to the circle as a whole, "that is all. I shall stay here to think more on the deal, the rest of you will leave."

It took a few seconds before all the dragons started to move towards the exit, Sha'oren watched them go, thinking that he was going to have to give another of them a lesson before the end of the next day when one of them broke one of the orders he had just given.

Soon Keagos was the only other dragon left; they both looked to each other, Keagos grinned and said, "You are have no reason to be worried my friend, she wont betray our kind. I have had my age as true ruler of the dragons, and I accepted my place of wise one when my time was over, and now it is your time to show the whole world what you can do.

"This campaign shall be your great mark in history, not the abolishment of the Dragon Accords. Under the Luna, our race shall rise to a new age of prosperity, not unlike when our kind first rose from the great magma pools below us. We shall rule the land alongside a god, and nothing shall put us back into submission."

Sha'oren shook his head, wondering how his old companion had changed so much over the course of a few hours. Not only was he working in an argument but he was also making good points, coupled with his rejuvenated body, he was a completely new dragon. Sha'oren should have been happy for his old friend, but he hardly knew what Keagos had become and that worried him, how can you co-rule a race with a complete stranger?

Keagos stared into Sha'oren's eyes and seemed to know what he was thinking, "I have not changed that much, my young friend, just gotten a new look on life. Is that really so bad?"

Sha'oren, once again mystified by Keagos, said, "I cannot help but feel that I don't really know you anymore, I'm sure that I'll get used to the new you in time but for now… I don't really know. And my instincts are telling me that when Luna wins, she will put us, along with every other race in the land, into not only submission, but complete servitude.

"I didn't get to be the co-ruler of the draconic races by ignoring my instincts; I just don't know how I can refuse Luna without being put into forceful slavery to her will. I could go to her sister but that would mean being put under her rule once again, and I would never go back to that of my own free will, not after so many of our race have only just now tasted freedom." Sha'oren said, holding his head to his claws, "I just need some time to think, alright."

Keagos looked like he was going to say more, but all he did was pat Sha'oren on the side and slither away along the obsidian bridge.

Sha'oren sat there through the night, thinking about Luna's deal. When the fourth plume of the night finished its eruption, Sha'oren got up, having made up his mind about the situation, he walked out to go and begin setting up the greens that were being sent to him.

What he failed to notice on his way out though was that the tunnel of memories was just a little longer, at the end nearest the heart chamber a new image sat upon the wall.

It was a picture showing two figures dancing around a group of miniature dragons, happily going about their business, obscured from the two puppeteers above them by shreds of burning paper.

The two figures solidified into Luna and Keagos who had huge smiles on their faces as they led the unsuspecting party towards the sun, and their doom.