It was seven in the morning, and Hammerheart had not slept a wink. He had just spent a whole night laying in Fluttershy's backyard back in Ponyville, restless, and anxious about having to fight one of the Dragon Gods. He has faced against many powerful foes, from over-sized timber wolves to even his own kind, but never had he imagined facing a being that could probably set him ablaze with one snap of his fingers. He would feel like an ant fighting against an angry grizzly. But he could not allow such pessimistic thoughts hold him back. If he was the one to stop Pyrkagias, then so be it. Even if he did die, he felt he had nothing left to lose. But if death's cold embrace did take hold of him, everyone would be wiped off the face of the Earth by Pyrkagias' wrath. He was stuck between a rock and a hard place with certain decisions, many of them were mentally taxing.
A rooster gave its morning call as the sun cracked over the horizon, but was cut short by a small blast of fire that knocked it off its stand. If Hammerheart was not fully awake before, he was now, no thanks to the rooster. He rose up off the ground and stretched. His bones popped and snapped loudly. After relieving his joints of their tension, Hammerheart simply dropped to the ground, practically exhausted. He literally was awake all night, and it was coming back to bite him in the tail. He wanted to try to sleep in, but it was useless, especially with the sound of other animals waking up and making their usual noises.
At eight o' clock, Fluttershy had awoken, ready to begin her usual morning routine. She got out of bed, headed down stairs, and fed and watered the animals before she went outside to check on Hammerheart. When she found him, she could tell he was not in tip-top shape. She approached the panting Wyvern.
"Morning, Hammerheart." She said. Hammerheart looked to her with with half-closed eyelids and boredom. "Is there something wrong?"
Hammerheart let out a smoky sigh. "I'm just tired, is all." He said, his voice more groggy than yesterday.
Fluttershy placed a sympathetic hoof on his shoulder. "Do you need more sleep?"
Hammerheart stood back up, and Fluttershy stepped away. "Nah, I'll be fine." He said with a chuckle. "I can go three weeks without sleep. One day is just child's play."
Fluttershy smiled. "Well, if you can hold your own, then that's good. We've got a long way to travel."
Hammerheart's grin dropped to a frown as he remembered they had to head down south to find a Bison tribe that would help him locate the floating island he had to find. Even though he was not well rested, Hammerheart just cracked his stiff neck and bolstered his stubbornness.
"Right, let's get this show on the road." He said.
Fluttershy nodded. "We'd better head to Twilight's place and get together with the others."
"Sounds like a plan." said Hammerheart. He rolled his shoulders to pop the stiffness out of them, and they headed to town.
It was now ten in the morning. Twilight was pacing in the main lobby of the library waiting for the others to arrive. A knock on the door snapped her from her pacing. She approached the door and opened it to see Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, and Pinkie standing before her.
"Morning girls." said Twilight, "Sorry to call you all here so early."
"Think nothin' of it, Twi." said Applejack.
"Yeah, I'd never want to miss out on an adventure like this." Rainbow Dash said, enthusiastic about the trip.
"I've packed as much as I felt was appropriate for the journey." Rarity said. Twilight looked behind to see a whole wagon stacked with suitcases and other items. She rolled her eyes and chuckled.
"I just can't wait to get going!" Pinkie said, bouncing with excitement.
Twilight stepped to the side. "Come on in." She said. The four mares walked inside. Twilight looked back outside, expecting to see the only other Pony and Wyvern who were not present, but saw no one else. "Hey, where's Fluttershy and Hammerheart?" Everyone just shrugged and shook their heads.
The sound of hooves clip-clopping on ground came to Twilight's ears, and she looked back out to see Fluttershy trotting up to the library, followed by a large bush that crawled on the ground.
"Fluttershy. There you are." said Twilight as Fluttershy got to the door.
"Oh, good morning, Twilight." said Fluttershy.
Twilight looked at the large bush that came up from behind. "Um, I'm guessing that's Hammerheart wearing a disguise to keep the townsfolk from freaking out." She assumed.
Hammerheart stuck his muzzle out of the bush. "Aye, and the blasted thing's itchin' me sides." He hissed.
Twilight sighed. "Come in, quick." Fluttershy trotted inside, and Hammerheart tried to squeeze through the tiny door frame. He soon managed to get himself through, though the bushy disguise got torn off and left outside.
Twilight sighed a breath of relief and clapped her front hooves together. "Alright, everypony's here." She said. "Now we just have to wait for the Princess to arrive."
Fluttershy raised her eyebrows. "What for?"
"Let's just say I made a little request." said Twilight. Her horn sparked as she remembered something else. "Oh, I almost forgot." She trotted to the glass container that held the Elements of Harmony, opened it, and levitated them off their display stands. "If the Elements of Harmony have a role in this prophesy, it would be smart to bring them with us." Twilight gave the other five their respective necklace. Hammerheart looked at the jeweled golden artifacts while he scratched his itching sides like a dog.
"So those are the Elements of Harmony I've heard so much about?" He asked. "They look like a bunch of shiny bits ta me."
"True, but don't underestimate them, Hammerheart." said Twilight. "They're more powerful than you could ever guess." Hammerheart rolled his eyes and sighed through his nostrils.
Rarity looked out a window to see Celestia on her chariot pulled by Royal Pegasi Guards. "Oh, here she comes." She announced. Twilight quickly headed to the door and opened it way before Celestia even touched down to the ground. When her chariot did land and stop in front of the library, Celestia stepped off, headed to the door, and entered.
"Good morning, Princess Celestia." Twilight greeted with all her formality.
Celestia nodded. "Good morning to you too, Twilight. All is prepared?"
"As ready as we can get." said Twilight.
Celestia smiled. "Wonderful. And I brought the weapon you requested."
Hammerheart, who was licking his itching wing membranes, stopped and looked up after hearing that. "Weapon?"
One of the Pegasi Guards walked in carrying a hammerhead on his back, and he was subtly struggling to hold it. When he brought it in to the proper stop, he settled it down on the floor upside-down and released a small breath of relief, and exited the library. Hammerheart scrutinized the hammerhead. It was rectangular shaped, made out of platinum, gold, silver, and even titanium. A tubular hole stuck out, and looked promising.
"So, what is this for?" Hammerheart asked.
"Twilight told me about how you used to have a clubbed tail, but after an incident with some hunters, lost it." Celestia explained. "So I had our blacksmiths forge for you a replacement that would best suit you for combat when needed." Hammerheart was liking what he was hearing. A new weapon to replace the tail club he lost. Celestia cleared her throat. "Please, stick your tail into the hole." Hammerheart curved his tail around and placed the tip into the hole as deep as he could get. When it was in fully, he grunted. "And let me take care of the rest." Celestia's horn began to glow, and a beam of magic shined at the hammerhead. Hammerheart grunted more from the uncomfortable sensation. He felt like his flesh and the hammerhead were fusing together. When Celestia finished, Hammerheart's feelings were correct. He could see where his skin and the titanium part of the hammer were linked as one.
"This is bloody brilliant!" Hammerheart grinned as he picked up the hammer and swung it like a metronome in front of his face. It was definitely heavy to Ponies, but to him it was as light as a feather.
"That hammer is now a permanent part of your body." said Celestia. "It has fused with your flesh and bones, but don't go around abusing it like a normal weapon, for it can still break off if given too much punishment. Use it to protect your friends, not bring harm to others, and you will find it a truly powerful and worthy weapon."
Hammerheart chuckled. "Very well, I'll play by the rules you've made."
All the citizens of Ponyville were gathered near the library to see off Hammerheart and the Elements of Harmony. Their plan was to take flight to the southern lands. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy could fly with Hammerheart, but the other four needed transport. Twilight and Rarity would ride on Hammerheart's back, and Applejack and Pinkie would be carried by his talons. Celestia came to Hammerheart's side. "I wish you all the best of luck." She said. "Twilight, I've casted a new spell upon the Elements which allows them to fuse with your body, and you can summon them whenever you wish."
Hammerheart blew smoke out his nose. "I don't need any luck with what I need ta do." He boasted.
Twilight rolled her eyes and looked back to Celestia. "Don't worry, Princess, we'll succeed. You can count on us."
Fluttershy looked at Spike. "You sure you can handle my animal friends?"
Spike put on his cockiness. "You bet I can." He said. "I hope they come back real soon." He thought. In all reality, he was not looking forward to babysitting a bunch of misfit animals, including Angel.
"Alright! Everypony ready?" said Rainbow Dash.
"Ready!" the mares called.
"Lassie, I was born ready." Hammerheart thought. He flapped his wing and got airborne. He grabbed Applejack and Pinkie, and with one powerful flap, ascended sky high. Twilight, Rarity, and Applejack panicked from the sudden force, but Pinkie hollered and laughed with excitement. Then Hammerheart made a complete halt that sent a wind rift booming across the sky.
Rainbow Dash was the first to quickly catch up. "Sheesh, I don't know what that was about, but nice takeoff." She complimented.
Applejack facehooved. "Rainbow, he done nearly broke our necks by doin' that!" She said.
"Be happy it never happened." Hammerheart deadpanned as he gave an irritated look to her.
Fluttershy had finally caught up with them. "Hammerheart, can you please not fly so fast?" She asked. "I'm not a fast flyer myself."
Twilight put her hoof to her chin. "Maybe you should ride with us, Fluttershy, or you might get left behind." She suggested.
Fluttershy got on Hammerheart's back along with Twilight and Rarity. "That sounds like a good idea."
Rarity gasped. "Oh dear, I forgot my belongings back in the library. Hammerheart, could you be a kind Dragon and head back so that I can get my stuff, please?"
Hammerheart let out a growling deep sigh. "Absolutely not." He said bluntly.
Rarity's eye dilated and her jaw dropped slightly. "What do you mean by that?" She asked.
Hammerheart turned his head and looked at her. "In case you never knew, I can only carry so much. I've got me claws full and me back packed, and there's no chance in the whole bloody world that I'm gonna drag a wagon fulla useless junk halfway down the planet."
Rarity forced her open mouth closed and just sighed in disappointment. "Fine, whatever, be like that."
"Good." Hammerheart said as he faced forward, "Now let's get our tails into gear and git goin'!" He flapped his wings with powerful force and was speeding through the sky with the girls screaming and Rainbow Dash following beside.
"This could be trouble." Rainbow Dash thought.
The journey was a long one, even by air. Though the view from above was breath-taking. One could see forever from the height they were at, and maybe even further. Rainbow Dash was getting bored. She yawned from the boredom that plagued her mind. She decided to try and get to know Hammerheart a little better.
"So, uh, Hammerheart." The Wyvern looked to her with a raised eyebrow. "What do you do for sport?"
Hammerheart's expression went from serious to confused from that question. "Sport?"
"Yeah. Like hoofball, or tennis. What do you do?"
Hammerheart pondered a bit about the question before an answer came to mind. "I guess bird burning could be one."
"Huh?" Everyone said.
"What do you mean 'bird burning'?" Fluttershy asked.
"Well, I search for a flock of birds on the ground." Hammerheart explained. "Whether it be a flock of pigeons or geese or somethin' like that. When I find one, I swoop down and scare them into the sky with me. I then spit shots of fire at them and see how many I can cook for me gut." He then snorted, gurgled up some liquid fire in his mouth, and spat a small fireball in a random direction. A large poof of smoke indicated that he hit something.
"Eww..." Five of the mares said.
Rainbow Dash could not help but laughed at what she saw. "I'm not sure if that really counts, but it sure is stupid."
Hammerheart rolled his eyes. He sort of expected as much from Ponies. Bird Burning was a real sport among Dragons. It was a way to test ones' hunting skills. If you could hit something as agile and swift as a bird, you could catch anything.
"I'm just gonna pretend I never heard or saw that." said Twilight.
"Me... too." said Rarity.
"I've seen lots a nasty thangs before, but that was top notch repulsive." said Applejack. Hammerheart sighed in annoyance to the complaints, but then caught something's scent. He made a stop and sniffed the air more. Rainbow Dash stopped as well.
"What is it?" said Fluttershy, "Do you smell something?"
Hammerheart looked down to the ground. "Aye, I caught a whiff o' somethin'." He arched forward and nosedived through the clouds towards the earth. The mares screamed in fear of crashing. Rainbow Dash soared after him, and grabbed his tail end in an attempt to stop him. The ground was getting closer, and Hammerheart was not slowing down. He was descending so fast, the mares had tears leaking from their eyes. The ground was merely feet away. But before they could even land, Hammerheart spread his wings, arched upwards, and straightened himself out. The sudden move made Rainbow Dash lose her grip on his hammer, and she was whipped sideways, crashing into the ground and sliding a considerable distance before slamming into a rock. Hammerheart flapped his wing to keep airborne. He released his grip on Applejack and Pinkie, who had calmed down from the frightening experience, and they galloped over to Rainbow Dash.
"Rainbow, are ya okay?" Applejack asked.
"Dashie, you sleeping?" Pinkie asked as she poked Rainbow Dash's head. The Pegasus jumped back on her hooves and shook the dirt off herself.
"Yeah, I'm fine." She said, sounding irritated. They looked back at Hammerheart. The Wyvern landed on the ground and lowered himself so that the others could disembark. Twilight, Rarity, and Fluttershy hopped off his back. With them off, Hammerheart stood to his full height and stretched himself out.
"Ah, that's more like it." He said. "Nothin' like a little exercise flight ta strengthen me bones. I swear, I'm in me youth, but I feel like an ol' coot tryin' ta feel young again."
Twilight stomped her hoof. "Hammerheart, I've had enough!" Hammerheart looked at her with a raised eyebrow in bewilderment. "Your little stunts you keep pulling nearly got us hurt or killed, TWICE!"
Hammerheart slapped his hand on his face and sighed. He dragged his hand down his face and gave an irritated look to her. "Be happy ye're still drawin' breath." He said.
"We're not happy because you're showing complete disregard towards our safety." Rarity said, stepping up next to Twilight.
Hammerheart dropped his jaw. "Disregard for..." He grunted, "If ye're this scared, why don't you just run back home wit yer tails between yer legs?"
"Because we all are needed to save the world, remember?" Twilight sassed angrily.
Hammerheart sighed. "Don't remind me."
"Everyone, please." said Fluttershy, "Now's not the time to be fighting with ourselves. We need to work together."
Hammerheart looked at Fluttershy, who looked at him. He could see the sad look in her eyes that said she did not want to see any of her friends arguing, including him. It reminded him of himself when he was but a little chick.
He sighed. "Right, then. Let's stop this bickerin' and git goin'."
"Not so fast, Hammerheart." Fluttershy said, flying up to his face.
Hammerheart sighed. "What now?"
"First, apologize to my friends."
Hammerheart was dumbfounded. He looked at the other five and back at Fluttershy. "You gotta be jokin'..."
"Unless you say you're sorry right now, this will get nowhere." Fluttershy said.
Hammerheart placed two claws on his tear ducts and sighed. He then looked to the five mares. "Okay, I'm sorry for doin' all that."
Twilight gave a proud smile and nodded. "Thank you, and apology accepted."
"I second that motion." said Rarity.
Rainbow Dash snorted out of spite, but came to the agreement. "Ditto."
Applejack nodded. "Me too."
Fluttershy then flew over and landed in front of her friends with a serious demeanor. "And you girls apologize to Hammerheart for being so insensitive towards him and his natural instincts." Everyone dropped their jaws, dumbfounded.
"Fluttershy, what are you talking about?" said Twilight. "What do you mean 'his natural instincts'?"
Fluttershy stood straight as a post as she explained her case. "Everything that lives and breathes has their own behavior. When their instincts take over, they practically have no choice but to act upon them." Twilight was about to counteract that statement, but then realized what she said made sense, and could not fight back. Fluttershy hovered a small bit off the ground and crossed her front legs. "Well?"
Twilight sighed in defeat. "Alright, I'm sorry." Fluttershy looked to the others, who began following suit with apologies.
"Good, so we're all sorry, now." said Fluttershy. "Let's go find the Bison Tribe. Hammerheart, since you can smell them, lead the way."
"Righto." Hammerheart walked towards the direction his nose led him, and the mares followed after.
They were in a barren wasteland, and the walk was like the tale of a survivor's experience in the wild. The sun's hot light bore down on their backs. Looking far into the distance, they could see the landscape getting wavy from the heat. Hammerheart was walking with his wings spread open while the six mares trotted in his shade.
"You sure we're going the right way?" said Rainbow Dash.
Hammerheart huffed. "Don't underestimate a Dragon's acute sense of smell, lassie."
"Maybe we should've brought sunscreen." said Fluttershy. "You're gonna get burnt if we're out here too long."
"I don't git burnt by sunlight." said Hammerheart. "We've got a tolerance fer heat."
Their walk led them to a gorge. As they approached the massive crevasse, Fluttershy stopped and scanned the area.
"Um, maybe we could go over it? It looks dangerous." She said.
Rainbow Dash grunted. "Stop worrying so much about worst-case-scenarios, Fluttershy."
"Aye." said Hammerheart, "If anythin' happens, I'll take care of it." Having confidence in her friends, Fluttershy took a deep breath, exhaled, and they all resumed their trek. The wind whistled as it blew through the gorge and holes in the rocks. Boulders formed arches over the party, providing brief shading from the burning light of the sun. Tumbleweeds rolled with the winds on the ground and off the rock edges. An eagle flew over and gave out its screech.
Twilight groaned from impatience. "Are we even getting close?"
"We're gettin' there, lassie." said Hammerheart. "Ye're just as testy as Rainbow, if not more."
Rarity looked around with concern. "You know, I think Fluttershy is correct to worry about this place." She said. "The chances of an avalanche are present around here."
"Well then, if we hold our tongues then we shouldn't fret about a bunch o' rocks smashin' us like bugs." said Hammerheart. Taking that as a precaution, everyone zipped their lips and continued onward. So far, nothing bad seemed to come, but they knew it was bound to happen, should either of them slip a decibel higher than none.
A light breeze whipped dust past Pinkie's nose. "Ah..." Hammerheart stopped and looked down at her with raised eyebrows The mares stopped and looked at her in horror. "Aah... AAH..." Pinkie brought her hoof to her nose to cover her sneeze, but it did not come. "Few! False alarm." She whispered. Everyone sighed a breath of relief, and they continued on.
"ACHOO!!!"
Pinkie's sneaky sneeze echoed all over the canyon, and everyone stopped dead stiff. They looked at the rock edges, holding their breaths, but nothing seemed to have provoked a rockfall of any kind. They all sighed another breath of relief. But then the sound of a horn bellowed in the atmosphere. Everyone looked to the tops again. Hammerheart, with his keen eyesight, spotted pebbles falling off the edge.
"Dah, bloody darn brilliant." He growled. "BOOK IT!"
A boulder rolled off the edge and landed near their position, alerting them of danger. They quickly sprinted forth and ran for their lives through the death-trap gorge. The boulders kept coming and threatening to crush them into pulp. As they sped through the avalanche, they could see the end of the gorge.
"Hey, we made it!" Rainbow shouted. "Let's go, go, go!" As they made haste towards safety, Fluttershy accidentally tripped over a divot and fell, uttering a faint cry of pain. Hammerheart's acute hearing picked up her cry. He turned around to see her on the ground, and looked up to see a boulder about to fall off the edge on top off her. He rushed in to save her.
"Hammerheart, what are you doing?!" Twilight called. Hammerheart zoomed up to the fallen Pegasus, but the boulder fell from the edge, and landed right onto Hammerheart's back with a spine-chilling crunch. The Wyvern growled in pain from the impact, and he was about to fall on top of Fluttershy, but his adrenaline kicked in from the conflicting force of himself and the boulder's weight. Backed by his natural strength, Hammerheart held the boulder on his back. Fluttershy looked up at the Wyvern, and gasped.
"Hammerheart!" She cried.
The Wyvern grunted. "Go! Git outta here!" He yelled. Without a second thought, Fluttershy got back on her hooves and galloped towards the exit. With Fluttershy safe, Hammerheart heaved the boulder off his back and made for the exit as well. He could feel his shoulder blades and other bones in his upper back crackling as he ran, but he did not care, and soon escaped the jaws of death. Hammerheart fell to his hands and knees, panting from the danger and groaning from the pain in his back. The mares approached him.
"Oh no. Hammerheart, are you alright?" Fluttershy said, worried for him.
Hammerheart looked up at her. "Don't worry yer pretty little 'ead, lass, I'll be fine after a little R and R." Fluttershy flew up and gave Hammerheart's injuries a closer look. The spot where the boulder hit him was beginning to change colors. A circle slowly appeared. The dark blue part turned purple, and the medium grey became a slightly faint reddish. The impact no doubt broke some blood vessels, causing minor internal bleeding that would recover over time.
Fluttershy landed back on the ground. "I'm sorry for everything, Hammerheart. It's my fault you got hurt." She said with deep shame.
Hammerheart gave a testy sigh. "Don't be tearin' yerself apart. You had nothin' ta do wit this." He looked back at the gorge with suspicion. "I don't think that rockfall was an accident."
Twilight raised a brow. "You're probably right. But who could've done it?" The ground began to vibrate, and everyone was at full alert again. They looked in the distance to see a sandstorm homing in on them. But as it got closer, they could hear the sound of hooves on dirt. Soon, the sandstorm enveloped them. After a few seconds of zero visibility, the dust cleared, and the gang was surrounded by Bison wearing paint on their faces and feathers adorned on their heads.
"Ponies are not welcome in our territory." One of the Bison said gruffly. "You must turn back and leave, or face judgement.
Another Bison looked at Hammerheart, and held the gruff one back with his front leg. "Wait, Tundra, look at the Dragon." The Bison scrutinized Hammerheart and the mares before nodding to each other. "You are the one, are you not?"
Hammerheart's face was a mix between confusion and irritation. "The one?"
"The Chosen One our Chieftain, and the Dragon named Zaurus, spoke of." Another Bison said.
Hammerheart gasped and stood upright, even though his back was killing him. "Uh, yes. I'm Hammerheart, and these are me travelin'..." Hammerheart came to a pause as his mind fumbled any possible correct words. He did not consider them to be friends entirely. "... companions."
"Huh?" The mares said.
"Welcome to the Land of the Thunderblood Tribe, Hammerheart and companions."
"Let us lead you to our village." One of the Bison insisted.
Hammerheart looked to the mares, then back at the Bison, and nodded. "Thanks fer yer timely assistance."
The Bison walked towards the direction their village was, and Hammerheart and the others followed suit.
Rainbow Dash leaned over to Pinkie. "Just as weird as the last time, if not weirder." She whispered into her ear.
"I like 'em!" said Pinkie.