//------------------------------//
// Chapter 15: Dragon Decieved 
// Story: Penned IN 
// by Qwix 
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	They stood at the corner, hidden but speechless. Before them lie a chamber that dwarfed the previous one, occupied by a massive dragon. It had midnight blue scales with streaks of pale orange and white running lengthwise along it, wings that exuded authority even while folded, and it was peering at the ceiling. One side of the cave was completely eroded out, creating a house-sized window to the outside. Pennaprose noticed with surprise that Fluttershy was hovering near the ceiling, just out of reach of the dragon. Neither were advancing, but neither were they retreating.
"…Look! Underneath the dragon's leg!" whispered Bon Bon. "It's Derpy!"
There was indeed a grey pegasus mare pinned underneath the dragon's leg. They ducked back into the hall before anypony noticed.
"Now what?" hissed Pennaprose. "Two more missing ponies, right before us… guess luck wasn't going to favor us the whole time."
"Dash has handled dragons before," said Bon Bon. "I say we wait for her and her team. She'll know what to do."
Pennaprose kicked the wall in frustration. "Waiting, again? It's a goddamn DRAGON in there! With the claws and the fangs and the–"
"–zip it, Pennaprose," commanded Bon Bon, peering back around the corner. The hall lit up briefly as the sounds of dragonfire echoed. "It missed on purpose. …It doesn't seem to be serious about it. Doesn't look hungry either… I think we can wait a few minutes, Dash is more than fast enough on her own. Go back to the entrance to wait for her, I'll keep an eye on the situation."
"What?! Wasn't that the purpose of the rope?! Why should I have to go back?!" protested Pennaprose.
She glared at him. "Because, Pennaprose, as much as I hate to admit it, you're of more value to… certain ponies than I am. That, and if the dragon gets serious, I can run in there and draw the fire with some chance of surviving it. You'd just get fried."
He grimaced at the thought amidst a scowl. Peering around the corner, Fluttershy was swooping timidly, trying to get closer to Derpy. The dragon snapped at her in a lazy fashion, shooing Fluttershy back towards the top of the ceiling. It didn't pursue.
"…Fine," he said as he stormed off, following the rope. "But don't kill yourself."
"I'd say the same thing," smirked Bon Bon.
The sounds of occasional roaring dimmed as he galloped away. As the shallow puddles splattered about his path, he silently damned her point; he would have jumped in there and gotten himself killed in no time. It did not stop him from wishing that he wasn't so weak.
His brooding did not last long. In the midst of his thoughts, his gaze was focused firmly on the ground; he did not see the cloud pillar until he ran through it, inhaling some of it as he phased through. Blinded and coughing, his hoof managed to find a particular deep puddle to trip in.
"D-damn... shitty nature shit, why the hell..."
He got up, sputtering and half choking on the contents of the puddle. As his eyes cleared, he saw that his laptop bag had fallen into a different puddle. He swore loudly and picked it up, trying to shake it dry.
A piece of paper fell out of it. He snatched it out the air, realizing that it was Lyra's note. He dropped the bag on dry land, trying desperately to preserve the note. 
As he did, something caught his eye. Parts of the note seemed to be glowing in the dim light of the ponds. He stopped shaking it dry, lowering over the puddle's surface to try and read it. Before his eyes some of the letters and even entire words seem to fade while the other seemed to glow a faint yellow.



I know I must have upset you at you at some point. And I apologize. I made you this cupcake intending for it to be my apology, but now I realize now that it's not enough. My actions were silly at best; I really should have seen it earlier.
I liked you very much at first because you were once human, Pennaprose. Not a day goes by that I believe that living as a human... is my very dream.  I want to know what its like; to have hands to hold things, to have two feet to run the fields like you must have. And when I heard you knew what its like, I wanted to know everything about you. And you have been far kinder and patient with me then I knew you should have, and from the bottom of my heart, I forever thank you for that.
As today passed, I came to realize that there's more to humans than just a pair of hands and feet. There's something about you that I can't explain; even if you look more like a pony, you have an aura of life surrounding yourself. Are all humans like you? I know Twilight is trying her most to find a way for you to return to the human world; being Twilight, I know she'll succeed. She always does in the end.
But I was thinking... if a human can come here, do you think a pony can do the same? A pony like me...? I don't want to forget you when you leave; I very much want you take me with you, if it's possible...?
I've never told anyone this... Not even Bon Bon. My Cutie Mark is a lyre; everypony thinks I should be a musician of sorts. Even Vinyl and Octavia keep trying to get me into the music scene. But that's not what I am. I wax lyrical; by the strings of my heart I write poems underground. For I feel ashamed of my talents being made public; at least by passing as a musician I can write more song lyrics to my heart's content. And I feel if somepony like you will one day leave this world for one I want to be in, then I feel like it is safe to tell you my wearisome secret, to relieve my soul of this burdensome secret. A haiku for you to enjoy.



As he watched, the needless letters faded completely. The remaining letters seem to spell something; he read them carefully.


no lo n g e r w i ll I l i e. I l o ve y o u, Pennaprose. I want to have hands to hold you. I want to know everything about you And be in m y heart forever. I realize th a t I can't explain m y self. I know I m w r o n g. But if you can forg i ve me ... th en c o m e f i n d m e m y l o ve; i w i l l w ai t.


He stared at the bit of paper as even the glow surrounding the last letters faded. There was nothing but the nearly inaudible din of the dragon masked by the dripping water from his mane. His mind seem to freeze as he looked on in shock, entranced by this simple piece of paper. Eventually, it clicked back into gear.
She still waits for me. And only me… but only if I can forgive her… he thought.
He stowed away the paper in his bag, which had dried in his meditations. He stared blankly at a nearby pillar.
Weak… I am so damningly weak…! Until now I've let others help me in doing something that I should have started from the start! All because I hadn't the strength to show that I was capable of it!
Lyra… I have already forgiven you. When I find you—I will find you!—then I will be the first to apologize. For my behavior, and for my weakness…
He ran off, leaving his bag behind on the rope. As he ran, he laughed quietly to himself. She loves me, he thought, the idea lightening his hooves and binding thunder in his gaze. And not just because of what I used to be. She loved my weak self.
Wherever you are, Lyra, stay strong. The next time you see me, I will be strong enough in kind to return the feelings. Then you won't have to be alone; we can be strong, together.
The puddles stirred.







Bon Bon came into view. "Pennaprose? Where's Dash? Hey–!"
He ignored her, charging straight into the dragon's chamber. Almost immediately, Fluttershy spotted him and tried to wave him away without the dragon noticing. It did not work; the dragon turned to glare at the new intruder.
Pennaprose looked up, locking its gaze. Something about it seemed familiar…
It roared and put a claw near his face. It shot fire over his head and swiped its tail near him, but did not advance further than that. As he stared into the dragon's eyes unwaveringly, a suspicion rose in his mind.
"You… know where Lyra is… don't you?" said Pennaprose, voice low but somehow carrying over the din of the dragon. At this, it ceased its feints and drew its head down to his. He could swear that its eyes held a knowing glow.
Without warning, the dragon got up and rolled Derpy over to them. Fluttershy descended, landing behind Pennaprose. Bon Bon finally came out of the hallway, trying her best to make as little noise as possible while she tried to lead Derpy out of the chamber.
The dragon sat upright, casting a curious glare at the group. Pennaprose met it, entranced. Then, without warning, a massive burst of wind and flash of light, blinding them all. He heard Fluttershy and Bon Bon scream over the wind, but it was not alone in the din.
Another voice, a feminine one that was laced with the essence of winter, cut into his mind like an impossibly sharp sword. It's words rang clear, despite the din.


You are a tad too late, Pennaprose Lochflow. She is not here.


He opened his eyes as soon as the light started to dim; though the dragon had disappeared, at the edge of the panoramic window stood a female pegasus, or at least it seemed at first glance; her mane was white with an orange fill, starkly contrasting her midnight blue coat. She had a crooked, black horn and her wings were partially tattered and reflective. He caught her gaze briefly; the same knowing glow filled her eyes as the dragon had.
She said nothing as she launched out the window into the sky with incredible force, cracking the earth beneath her. He could do nothing but stare in her wake.
Behind him, the others were beginning to recover from the flash. Derpy seemed unaffected, staring at the window where the unknown pegasus left...
"Is everypony all right?" asked Bon Bon, "Nothing broken?"
"Oh, I'm fine," said Fluttershy. "The dragon wasn't interested in harming us at all. It wouldn't let us leave, though."
Pennaprose looked at her. She did not appear hurt. Neither did Derpy, who was bobbing her head side-to-side without a care in the world.
He let out a sigh of relief, not realizing that he was holding it in the entire time. He coughed a little.
"And you!" admonished Bon Bon. "That was downright suicidal! What the hell possessed you to turn back and pull that stunt?!"
"Things," he said flatly. "Drop it. Nopony is hurt; that's the main thing. We didn't even need to wait for Dash."
"Somepony call?"
Rainbow Dash was at the chamber entrance, a crowd of ponies behind her. Cloudchaser, Flitter, Cloudkicker, Thunderlane, Blossomforth… with a minor among of shock, he also recognized Raindrops. He briefly wondered when the second library arrived or if Twilight had recovered from her bout of paralysis yet.
"Fluttershy! I'm glad to see you're okay!" said Rainbow Dash. "I call this lead of success! Five out of seven on one lead, not bad, Pennaprose! And um…"
She was blushing. "…That. Was. So. Awesome…! How you fucking stared down a dragon! A freaking DRAGON! Then it poofed into nothing, like you scared it into not existing! And I thought I was tough… We need to hang out more, I had you completely wrong!" She laughed and turned to the crowd of pegasai. "Okay, that's enough for now. We need to get back to Ponyville and reorganize the effort. Fluttershy, Derpy, can you two fly?"
"Yes! I can fly just fine," said Fluttershy.
"Uh huh! I'm good to go!" said Derpy.
"Then it's just you two that can't fly." said Dash, pointing to Bon Bon and Pennaprose. "All right. You guys know the drill. Cloudchaser, Flitter, Raindrops, Blossomforth, you're on taxi duty. I'll fly ahead back to Ponyville–again," she said with a trace of irony, "–and let the mayor know what happened here. She can contact the rest of the groups that are on hoof."
She burst into the sky and hovered in front of the window. "See you all back at Ponyville!" she said, zooming to the outside.
There was a general chatter of excitement as the pegasai formed up to carry the two non-fliers. Raindrops took his left.
"Hey there! The order got to the library safe, in case you were wondering," said Raindrops before he could say anything. "Twilight was waiting at the door, though she was a little wobbly and seemed reluctant to move around much."
He out a small sigh of relief, feeling that this morning was an incredibly long time past. As they flew out of the window, he saw that the sun was already beginning to set. A wave of drowsiness washed over him. In the arms of the sky, he decided that he could afford to sleep for now. He hoped she could wait a fortnight more, as he conceded as he drifted off to sleep that he had no direction to look yet.







He felt the wind in his face, rousing him from his nap. The Golden Oaks Library was zooming towards him.
They alighted on the doorstep, dropping him off. They flew away; Pennaprose caught a drift of Raindrops complaining about how long today was. He secretly agreed with her, but said nothing as he stumbled in the door.
"Aha! There you are, Penni! I heard from the mayor that it was you who found the lead! And Dash said something about a dragon?"
He looked up wearily. Twilight's head was poking over a portion of today's delivery, a giddy look on her face. She seemed ecstatic in the presence of so many new books.
"…Yeah, there was a dragon. Though it wasn't a complete success. We only found five out of the seven missing ponies. Colgate and–" he reported, throat threatening to shut tight, "–Lyra are still missing."
A shadow of a frown passed her face, dampening her otherwise cheerful demeanor. "Oh, well good job anyway! I'm sure they'll be found eventually, you've done enough for today. …Want to help sort through these books? They're going in the basement for now, and Spike can only carry so many."
"…Sure. How are you feeling, though?" Pennaprose asked. "Has the paralysis worn off completely?"
"For the most part," she said. "Being upside down for 10 hours straight messed up my sense of balance, so I accidentally broke a mirror just trying to get down here. Cleaned it up, though."
She picked through the stacks, grabbing half a dozen books with her magic and handing it over to him. "Set these down at the end of the line downstairs."
He took them by magic without comment. He passed Spike by the door, who didn't seem to notice he was back. Either way, he trudged downstairs, books in tow.
He had never been down here before. The walls were made of stone and covered in dirt, the bookshelves largely empty, but everything else seemed clean like the rest of the house. In the center was half of the second library that came. As he approached it, he saw that they were stacked neatly by subject.
He set his books down, eyes wandering around the room in interest. He idly wondered if this place ever got cleaned.
As he was inspecting the room, a flash of light followed by the sounds of collapsing books interrupted his thoughts. He turned instinctively, teeth clenched; there was an absolute splay of books on the ground, but buried with it all was a tied-up bag that was squirming.
He spaced out, unsure of what just happened. Spike came down the stairs, a dozen books in hand. He set them down and wandered out from behind the stack, staring at the bag.
"…Um… What the heck is that? Pennaprose?"
His mind jumped back into gear. He thought of going upstairs to tell Twilight first, but decided that today was not a day to hesitate. He untied the bad; out came a bound, gagged, blinded, and ear-plugged blue mare.
Spike's jaw dropped. "…Colgate?!"