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Chapter 15

Chapter 15

"Never again…" moaned Applejack, as she slid off of her chocobo's back, and fairly collapsed onto the grass. "Ah'll never ride one o' these birds again."

"You know we'll need to take them back in order to get back to Trotta, right?" Twilight asked, dismounting her own chocobo with far more grace.

"Don't remind me," the monk growled. "Ah'd like a couple minutes as a breather, thank ya kindly."

"That was fun!" Scootaloo enthused. "Well, the flying part, not so much catching them. That wasn't so fun. Who'd have figured things like these could run so fast?"

"All chocobos are naturally built for speed," Zecora stated, patting her own mount on the head before dismounting. "To escape potential enemies, such a skill they need."

"Still, I was unaware that there were any black chocobos left in the world," Starswirl mused. "Let alone wild ones that retained their power of flight."

"Good thing that rancher knew where to point us!" chirped Sweetie Belle, as she and Scootaloo hopped off the back of the chocobo they'd shared.

Twilight and her friends had gone to the town of Trotta, just south of the castle, in order to stock up on supplies for the journey ahead. They'd gone to the chocobo ranch that Bonbon had mentioned, where they learned that a forest of black chocobos lay about a day's journey to the north. While in town, Twilight had purchased a bow and a set of arrows, in preparation for the Diamond Dogs' cavern.

Getting to the chocobo's forest had been an exercise in keeping on their guard. The monsters around Trotta were nastier than those in other areas the group had explored. Individually, they weren't much to worry about, but the monsters tended to come in packs. The one-day journey had nearly turned into two days, thanks to all the monster attacks.

Then there had been the forest itself. There were standard chocobos there, as well as black chocobos. Catching them had been an adventure, by all accounts. The black chocobos were fast, often running circles around the ponies. Twilight had eventually caught five of them (one for each of the adults, and one for both fillies), resorting to using her magic to trip the large birds up. Once caught, the black chocobos had proven to be reliable, and had flown to the forest covering the island with little fuss.

Twilight approached a cavern entrance at the edge of the forest. "This must be the Diamond Dogs' cave," she mused. She began pulling her armor off, and put it into her saddlebags piece by piece. Despite the added items, the saddlebags showed no sign of additional bulk or weight. The last thing to be put in was her sword. She was now clad only in her leather jerkin. "Here's hoping the monsters in here aren't that dangerous, because I won't be able to weather hits well while we're here."

"Don't worry, Twilight," Applejack replied, getting back to her hooves. "Ah'll take care of all the heavy liftin'. Ya can just sit back an' use that fancy bow ya bought in town, right?"

Twilight coughed. "Well, I admit archery isn't my strong suit. Rarity was the master bowmare, not me. Still, I know enough to get by for the time being." She pulled out the bow and arrows, nocking one. "Let's go. The sooner we get through here, the sooner we can make the trade for Rarity's safety."

"I have to wonder, will Nightmare Moon even live up to her end of the bargain?" Starswirl asked. "I get the distinct impression she's just using you, Twilight."

"I've considered that possibility, and I know it's likely," the paladin replied. "But, I have to take the chance, for Rarity's sake. I don't want to risk losing her."

The elderly unicorn nodded. "Still, be on your guard when we go to meet her. I'd hate to see everything you've done this far amount to nothing due to being careless."

"Oh, don't worry, I know what she's like," Twilight assured him. "Trust me, I have every intention of being careful around her."

The group made their way into the cavern, and almost immediately hit a snag. Scootaloo's front left leg hit the ground, and refused to come back up. "Hey! What gives?!"

Twilight was by the filly's side in an instant, using her magic to pry the stuck limb off the ground. She then slid a silver band of metal off the young pegasus's leg. "This is what gives. Why didn't you say anything about this earlier?" She leveled a slightly annoyed look at the orange pegasus.

"I didn't know silver was magnetic!" Scootaloo protested. Then she looked down. "Besides, that's a memento from my mom. I always keep it on me."

Twilight's annoyed expression evaporated, and she leaned down to give Scootaloo a nuzzle. "Well, I promise, your mother's memento will be safe with me." Scootaloo looked distinctly uncomfortable at the show of affection, but didn't protest further.

The group proceeded through the cavern, defending themselves when attacked. The monsters in the cavern were a bit of a step up from the usual fare around Trotta. Fortunately, the group was more than capable of dealing with them by this point. Starswirl, though, needed to quaff an Ether every now and again to replenish his mana. His excuse was, "I'm not as young as I used to be. I can't cast all of these amazing spells willy-nilly."

On the way down, Twilight examined the rocks. "Well, the rocks here aren't made of lodestone. So there's some comfort in that."

"Whaddya mean?" asked Applejack.

"Lodestone is an inherently magnetic type of rock. I thought that maybe the cave was made of or lined with it to give it the magnetic properties it has, but that's not the case," Twilight explained.

"You are saying that this magnetic field is a product of the dogs with which we must deal?" Zecora clarified with a frown.

"Precisely," the unicorn mare nodded. "Which means that, once we beat them, we can stop the magnetic field and get out of here with a minimum of fuss."

"Sounds good ta me, sugarcube," Applejack smiled. "Less fuss, less muss."

*****

The group stared at the spectacle before them. Applejack summed up their feelings. "Yer kiddin', right?"

The reason for their stupefaction was the elaborate crystalline structure before them. At its heart was the Earth Crystal they'd come for. And milling about the stucture were Diamond Dogs.

Diamond Dogs looked like some sort of crossbreed between household dogs and some form of ape. They could walk on four legs or two, and their forelegs were longer and more dextrous than their hind legs. They were typically dull, earthen colors, which made sense given their nature. While not exactly stupid, they weren't the sharpest swords in the armory, when compared to other sapient races.

Currently, a few of the Diamond Dogs were maintaining the crystalline structure, while three in particular appeared to have supervisory roles. These three wore distinctive vests, rather than the simple armor the other dogs favored.

"So, Twi, care ta explain what's goin' on?" Applejack asked, keeping her voice low.

"It's a crystal matrix," Twilight replied. "Crystal matrices are uncommon, but they're a means of magic that any species can use, if they have the know-how. If I had to guess, I'd say this matrix is responsible for the magnetic field around the cave. And they're using the Earth Crystal to power it."

"So, either we swipe the Crystal, or smash the matrix, and the magnetic field will be gone?" Scootaloo clarified.

"That's what it looks like." The paladin frowned. "Still… this matrix seems a little elaborate for something like a magnetic field."

"We can worry about that later!" Sweetie Belle said. Unfortunately, she said it a bit too loudly.

The three supervisory Diamond Dogs whirled at the filly's voice. "Ponies?! Here?!" a large bluish-grey brute with a grey vest gasped.

"Well, there goes the element of surprise," mumbled Twilight, as she and the others stepped forward. "Yes, we're ponies. We're here to take the Earth Crystal back."

The center supervisor, a gray dog with a red vest and bright green eyes, snorted. "Oh, yeah, ponies are going to take the crystal we stole from them back. Not!" He dashed over to an elevated crystal platform. "Fido, Spot, get into position!"

"Yes, yes, Rover, I'm going!" the third supervisor, a smaller dog with a yellowish coat said. He and the larger supervisor got onto their own crystal platforms.

Starswirl, having the keen sense of magic that he did, was the first to detect something amiss. "Watch out!" he called to the others, but the warning came too late.

The platforms began to glow, as did the three supervisors. The smaller one launched a huge stream of fire at the ponies, while the largest flung giant shards of ice. Everypony screamed in agony at the differing temperatures, but there was no reprieve. Rover, the green-eyed dog, sent a large burst of lightning at the would-be crystal retrievers, flinging them all into the wall. The three Diamond Dogs laughed at the hapless ponies.

"What… the hay… was that?" Applejack gasped out.

Starswirl groaned. "That matrix does more than just keep up the magnetic field. It lets those Diamond Dogs use black magic!"

"We can't win like this…" moaned Twilight.

*****

In Castle Trotta, Lyra, Bonbon, and the doctor listened to what had happened using the Whisperweed. Lyra frowned. "That's not good," she murmured. "They need help."

"But how can we help them?" Bonbon fretted. "If those wretched canines can use the Earth Crystal in such a way…"

"I have an idea," Lyra said, setting the Whisperweed slightly to the side. "Miss Bonbon, could you pass me my harp?"

"No magic," instructed the doctor, as Bonbon complied. "I'm sorry, Your Highness, but in your condition, using magic of any kind is ill-advised."

"Who said anything about using magic?" Lyra replied, taking the harp in her hooves. She held it between her left fore-pastern and barrel, and reached over with her right forehoof…

And began to play a tune.

*****

In the cavern, a melody drifted out of Twilight's saddlebags, causing everypony (and every dog) to blink. "The hay?" wondered the unicorn mare, as she opened the bag to pull out what was making the noise. It was the plant Lyra had given her. "The Whisperweed…"

When the last note played, something unexpected happened. There was a sharp sound, as cracks ran along the crystal matrix. The Diamond Dogs yelped in surprise and fear. "Quick!" Rover exclaimed. "Fix those cracks before - "

There was an audible thrumming noise in the air for a second, before it faded. "Now!" Lyra's voice came from the Whisperweed. "I've weakened the matrix! Use your full strength, and take those Diamond Dogs down!"

Twilight forced herself to her hooves, and pulled out the silver bracelet she had taken from Scootaloo earlier. There was no resistance at all. She grinned. "Thank you, Lyra." Pulling her armor out, she levitated herself and her armor, and floated it all into place before securing it with her magic. The final touch was her sword, which she secured to her back. While this went on, Zecora passed a few of her home-made potions around, restoring everypony's strength. When Twilight was finished, she received a potion as well. "Alright, let's try this again, everypony!" They moved forward again.

Rover spotted them. "Argh, can't they just quit? Fido, Spot, take them down!"

The three launched their magic again… but this time, the spells did virtually nothing. Rover gulped. "This is gonna suck, isn't it?"

"Just a little," Twilight smirked. She swung her sword, and smashed the crystal platform that was holding Rover up. He yelped and fell to the floor. Applejack did the same with the larger dog's platform, shattering it with a well-placed buck. Zecora produced a large wooden hammer, and did likewise for the smaller dog's platform.

The three supervisors whimpered, especially as Twilight came up to them. Finally, Rover broke. "Alright, alright, we're sorry! We no mean to take crystal! We were told to!"

This gave Twilight pause. "Told to? By whom?"

Before they could answer, a gout of flame issued from a tunnel at the back of the room. "You Diamond Dorks. You couldn't even take care of a few ponies."

Out stepped a dragon. He was a teenager, by the looks of him, with red scales on most of his body. His underbelly was a pale golden color, and his wings were a light amber. His spikes were a brilliant orange, and his eyes matched his underbelly. Said eyes were currently glaring at the three Diamond Dogs that lay before the ponies.

"B-boss!" Rover squeaked out, a noise befitting a mouse more than a dog.

"You know, I thought even you morons could use this crystal matrix without screwing up," the dragon grumbled. "Guess I was wrong about that."

"No, boss, it was working!" the smaller dog protested. "But then this music played, and the matrix cracked, and – "

"I couldn't care less about your excuses!" snapped the dragon. "And I can see that the matrix is damaged, you useless mutt!" The dogs opened their mouths, but he cut them off. "You know what? Forget it. I'm sick of looking at you all. Get back in your kennels before I decide to make roast dog for supper!"

All the Diamond Dogs bolted for the back of the room, using the entrance the dragon himself had come out of. He muttered indistinctly, then focused on the ponies.

"I guess if you wanna do something right, you gotta do it yourself." He stepped forward. "Still, I'm surprised a bunch of namby-pamby ponies made it this far with the magnetic field intact."

"You'd be surprised what we're capable of," Twilight retorted, keeping her blade drawn. "Are you in league with Nightmare Moon?"

The dragon snickered, then broke out laughing. "Me?" he gasped out. "Work for some pony?" He laughed again. "No, I ain't working for her. I work for no one but me."

"Then why'd ya order those dogs ta steal the Earth Crystal?" asked Applejack, shifting her stance to be ready for a fight.

"Why?" He seemed surprised by the question. "Ain't it obvious? The Earth Crystal will be the first piece, and crown jewel, of my hoard."

"So you are driven by nothing but simple greed," Zecora said with a look of distaste. "In our case, for the Crystal, we have great need."

"Ask me if I care," the teenager replied. "Actually, don't, I can tell you already: I don't care. You ain't getting the Crystal from me." He walked over to the dais holding the Earth Crystal, and picked it up.

Twilight sighed. "Listen, we don't want to fight if we don't have to. Can't we talk this over?"

"What good would that do?" The dragon snorted. "I'm getting to the age where I need to start making my hoard, or else other dragons are gonna think I'm weak. And that's not gonna happen. So, here's the deal: you ponies get outta my cave, or I'll be having roast pony tonight."

"Big words, but I bet you're all talk," taunted Scootaloo. "I'm not afraid of some teenaged dragon."

Starswirl stepped forward. "You are sorely outmatched, wyrmling. I suggest you give us the Crystal, and then no one has to get hurt."

The dragon arched an eye-ridge. "You ponies are really serious about getting this back, huh?" He looked at the Earth Crystal, as though appraising it. Then he tossed it into the air, straight above him… and opened his mouth wide.

Sweetie Belle's eyes widened. "He's not seriously – "

SNAP!

The dragon's jaws closed around the Crystal as it came back down, and he swallowed. Licking his lips, he grinned. "You want it? Come and take it." He then groaned, as his body began to grow.

The ponies all stepped back, eyes wide, as the teenage dragon grew. His muscles, already well-developed, bulged and thickened. He developed a large set of horns, facing backwards, and his wings grew rapidly. Soon, he had the body of a dragon ten times his age. His eyes lacked pupils, seeming to be nothing more than golden orbs of power. He towered over the ponies, and let out a deafening roar.

Scootaloo gulped. "Um, what did he just do?"

Twilight looked nervous. "I think he's using the magic of the Earth Crystal to artificially advance his age."

"So, how do we get the Crystal back?" Sweetie Belle asked, shaking.

Twilight looked at the others. "Well, if anypony has any ideas, I'm all ears!"

Zecora was fiddling around with her saddlebags. "Three minutes I require, to pull our flanks out of this fire."

"So, we need ta buy ya three minutes?" Applejack set her stance again. "Ah think we can wrangle that."

The others nodded, and prepared themselves. Facing down a full-grown dragon was a prospect that would daunt the average pony. But, then again, the ponies gathered here were far from average. Even Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo, young as they were, stood defiant against the menace before them.

Starswirl started the charge, leading off with a Thundaga spell. The huge electrical storm raked across the dragon before them, but when it cleared, there was barely any damage on the red beast. "He's using the Earth Crystal not only to bolster his age, but his endurance!" he called out.

Applejack and Twilight double-teamed the dragon, the monk's hooves and the paladin's blade lashing out. Both attacks rebounded off the steel-like scales. They then nimbly dodged the dragon's fire. "Consarnit, can't anythin' slow this sucker down?"

A few small star chunks fell from the sky, hitting the dragon across his body. Aside from making him roar in frustration, though, the spell didn't do much. Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo frowned. "Well, that was a dud," the pegasus grumbled.

"Maybe a Pyro would work better?" the white mage suggested.

Scootaloo looked at her with a deadpan look. "You want us to use a fire-based spell on something that breathes fire."

"Oh, right," Sweetie said with a sheepish look.

Starswirl decided a change of tactics was in order, and flung a Blizzaga spell at the dragon. This seemed to hurt him more than anything else so far, but also enraged him further. He breathed a massive gout of flame at the elderly unicorn, and he was only saved by Twilight pulling him out of the way with her magic.

Applejack, glancing at the dragon's mouth, suddenly got an idea. "Time ta take this dragon fer a ride!" she chuckled, as she pulled out her rope. She dodged a swipe from its claws, and jumped onto its back. Forming the rope into a loop at one end, she threw it around his jaws, just as they closed from snapping at Twilight. She pulled the lasso taut, clamping his mouth shut.

An interesting note about dragons: while their jaws have incredible strength when closing, they are considerably weaker when opening. They are like crocodilians in that respect. So it was that the dragon found himself unable to open his mouth to release his deadly fire breath. One golden eye rolled up to glare at Applejack.

"How do ya like them apples?" chuckled the monk. Her mirth was short-lived, as the dragon simply reached up with a claw and sliced the lasso apart, freeing his mouth. "Oh, ponyfeathers," Applejack muttered, just as the dragon flung his head up and back, hurling her into the air. She would have landed in his jaws, had Starswirl, Sweetie, and Twilight not combined their magic and pulled her to safety.

The dragon roared again, starting forward, when something hit him on the snout. Blinking, he looked for the source. There was Zecora, with something in her forehoof, as she wound up for another toss. The dragon's eyes widened as he saw what she held. It was a huge flawless topaz, nearly as big as her head, that seemed to shimmer from within. It looked… delicious. When Zecora let fly, the dragon simply opened his mouth, and let the jewel sail right in.

Everypony blinked at this. Then Twilight turned to Zecora. "Um, what was the point of that? You know dragons eat gems, right?"

"I am aware, but have a care," Zecora replied. "You all should back away, lest you have a ruined day."

There was another round of blinks, before the dragon roared again. Mid-roar, however, he stopped, making an odd choking sound. One of his hands came up to his mouth, and he made the sound again, his eyes wide.

Starswirl's eyes widened. "We may wish to heed her words. I, for one, don't want to be in the way."

The others, seeing the dragon's increasingly sickly-looking movements, all retreated, and just in time. With a disgusting sound, the dragon vomited, spewing a few gallons of stomach acid onto the floor. Amidst the acid was the Earth Crystal, still in one piece. Twilight acted quickly, levitating it over, and cleaning it off with a quick spell.

"Thank goodness," she sighed in relief. "But, what exactly did you do to him, Zecora?"

"To retrieve the Crystal, I chose a fast track," the zebra replied, pulling out an empty flask. "A hollow jewel filled with syrup of ipecac."

The other adult ponies all cringed. "Well, it was disgusting, but it worked," Applejack admitted. She looked back at the dragon. "Looks like he's lost that age boost."

Her words were true. No longer able to access the power of the Earth Crystal, the dragon had reverted back to his true age. He was still unsteady, probably from the syrup of ipecac still in his system.

"Well, let's get out of here," Scootaloo said. "We've got what we came for, right?"

The others nodded, and began to leave. Before they could, a shout stopped them. "Hold it… right there!" Turning, they saw the dragon had staggered to his feet. "I'm… not gonna… give you my crown jewel!"

Twilight narrowed her eyes, as her armor shifted, becoming darker. "We've already won. Don't overexert yourself. Stay here and recover in peace."

"I… don't take orders… from a namby-pamby pony!" He leapt forward at Twilight, intent on ripping her apart.

He never saw the dark blade flash from its sheath. Nor did he see anything else, ever again.

Twilight sighed as she looked down at the headless dragon. "Why must things be this way?" She sheathed the Deathbringer after cleaning it. Her armor shifted back to her paladin attire. "You had a long and healthy life ahead of you. You didn't need to do this."

"Greed does crazy things ta people, Twilight," Applejack said somberly. "Ya can't blame yerself for what he did."

The others nodded, and they left the chamber. As they did, the Diamond Dogs emerged from their hiding spots. Rover stepped up to the headless dragon's corpse. "They killed him… The ponies killed Garble," he said in disbelief.

"What we do, Rover?" asked the larger supervisor.

Rover looked at where the ponies had left. "We owe ponies… a debt. And Diamond Dogs repay their debts."

The others nodded, and they set about preparing for their reparations.

*****

It was a couple of days later, and the group had arrived back at Trotta. They headed straight into the castle, heading to the chamber where the High Priestesses convened. As they entered, the eight mares looked up. "Well, look who came back," Vinyl said with a smirk, raising her tinted glasses up. "Any luck?"

Twilight smiled, and opened her saddlebag to pull out the Earth Crystal. "I'd say so, wouldn't you?"

The other Priestesses fell silent. Then Cadence began to applaud lightly. The other seven followed her lead, clapping in approval. "Well done," Cadence said, as she stood up. "You've taken a rather large load off of my mind. And, as promised, you may borrow the Earth Crystal for a time."

"Thank you, ma'am," Twilight said with a nod. She turned back to her friends. "Alright. Let's head back to the airship and wait to be contacted."

"That… isn't necessary."

All eyes in the room turned towards the slender white unicorn with the pink mane. "Fleur?" Octavia blinked. "What do you mean?"

Fleur sighed, and her horn glowed. A part of the wall shimmered, and Rainbow Dash was revealed to be standing there, leaning on her spear with a lazy grin on her face.

"Rainbow!" Twilight yelped, as her friends shot glares at the prismatic pegasus.

"Jumpy, aren't we?" the dragoon replied. "Relax. Again, not here to fight."

"An agent of Nightmare Moon, I assume?" Cadence asked archly. She glanced between Fleur and the pegasus. "What's the meaning of this, Fleur?"

Fleur looked contrite. "I'm sorry… I didn't have a choice. She came here yesterday, and forced me to cooperate."

"Thanks for smuggling me into your meetings," Rainbow said flippantly. "And don't worry; your husband's safe, now."

All of the priestesses glared at the interloper. Spitfire in particular snorted. "And what makes you think you'll be leaving alive? Spying on us is a very serious offense, girl."

Rainbow chuckled. "You can try to kill me… but I doubt you'll succeed. I'm the leader of Colton's dragoons, and the highest-ranked member of the Colton military besides Nightmare Moon herself. Think you've got what it takes to restrain me?"

Spitfire looked ready to challenge the dragoon's bravado, but Twilight raised a hoof. "Rainbow, do you know where Rarity is being held?"

"Of course," the pegasus replied.

"Then lead the way."

Rainbow smirked, and left the room, Twilight and her friends close behind. The priestesses looked after them, before the orange-maned yellow pony looked at Cadence. "Is it a good idea to just let them go?"

Cadence sighed. "Perhaps, perhaps not. At any rate, the Earth Crystal has been retrieved. If Twilight and her friends ever need our assistance in the future, I for one will be happy to lend aid." The other priestesses all nodded in agreement.

Author's Note:

Okay. Nearly a year has past since I updated this. I'm sorry, my muse was being obstinate. But, here it is.

The next chapter shouldn't take nearly as long to finish.

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