Animal Friends

by Elkia Deerling

Chapter seven: dragons? Danger? Adventure?

Spike had silently hoped that he’d never have to return to this part of Equestria. Yet here he walked, next to Rainbow Dash, on the tortured, ashen soil of the Dragon Lands.

It was one of the oldest regions in all of Equestria, created by the same violent natural force that shaped the Yaket range in the North. But where the Yaket range was a frozen, harsh mountain range, the Dragon Lands were a heat-blasted volcanic area.

Everywhere they looked, there was some kind of natural force at work. Everywhere there were mountains with jagged peaks, looking almost like the claws of the dragons inhabiting the lands. Occasionally, a volcano breathed out a gout of smoke and sometimes even lava, streaming down cracks and wounds in the earth. The few lakes that weren’t dried out bubbled and steamed, warmed by an unseen heat source deep within the earth.

Even though the terrain was uneven and mountainous, there was still one volcano that was always visible: the Gauntlet of Fire. It was the biggest volcano in all the land, and held a ceremonial meaning to the dragons; a meaning Spike knew all too well.

The little dragon had trouble keeping up with Rainbow Dash. She hovered above the ground, comfortably drifting on the rising hot air. But Spike trotted over the ash-strewn path—if you could call it that. Paths were rare in the Dragon Lands, as most dragons preferred to fly. Only a few dragons lacked wings, and they were looked upon as inferior creatures, not worth a comfortable path to walk on.

Suddenly, as they walked beside a steaming hot source, a geyser erupted and made a white-hot rain fall down the skies. Rainbow Dash swooped around it, but Spike let the boiling water fall upon his scales. He was a dragon, and despite the fear he felt for these lands, they were his natural habitat. This land was made for dragons, and dragons were made for this land.

“Are you sure this is the right way?” Rainbow Dash said, as the geyser calmed down again. “It all looks the same to me.”

Spike paused for a second to shake himself dry, then looked up at the pegasus. “Yes. The Castle of the Dragon-Lords should be this way.”

“Then why am I not seeing anything?” Dash said.

“Because it’s a hidden fortress, carved out of the mountain range. It’s not supposed to be found easily, you know?”

“Oh.”

Despite the Dragons Lands practically screaming the words ‘hazard,’ and ‘adventure,’ Rainbow Dash was still upset. So far their journey had been a boring one. They had traveled to Baltimare by train, and had then taken a boat towards the Dragon Lands. A trader had taken them aboard, heading towards the Dragon Lands to get some precious gems and valuable metal in exchange for his goods. Even though he was obviously experienced with the journey, he had still looked quite wary and vigilant, as if anything could happen anytime. That had sparked Rainbow Dash’s enthusiasm, but so far, they hadn’t even encountered one dragon, as the port had been deserted, much to the shipper’s concern.

“Are there even dragons here?” Rainbow Dash said, her voice dripping with mockery. “They should have left the word ‘dragon’ out of the name.”

Spike frowned. “Yes, there are dragons here, Rainbow Dash. I just don’t know where they’ve all gone. Maybe there’s some dragon-festival going on or something. I know how much they like sports.”

But Rainbow Dash could hear the uncertainty in Spike’s voice. The truth was: even he didn’t know exactly where the Castle of the Dragon-Lords was. He had only been there once, shortly after the trials of the Gauntlet of Fire and princess Ember’s coronation as the new Dragon-Lord—or Dragon-Lady. But the little dragon figured that Rainbow Dash would be able to spot the structure through the sky.

“Why don’t you do another swoop, Rainbow Dash?” Spike said.

Rainbow Dash sighed, flapped her wings, and circled higher on the thermal updrafts. She let the comfortable warmth of the air wave her mane and tail. Rainbow always liked to rest and relax at higher altitudes, where the thinner air calmed her mind. Once she was satisfied, the pegasus whirled around and gazed at the land before her.

Copper rocks, occasionally smeared with black clouds of ash, stretched before her like an abstract painting. The razor-sharp peaks of the mountains gleamed a scarlet orange as the sun illuminated them, trying its best to penetrate the blanket of dusty clouds and fine ash waving through the air. Far away, Rainbow saw another glow of light; probably another restless volcano. Rocks, fire, but no castle to be seen—and, to Rainbow’s disappointment, no dragons.

Dash was very eager to see dragons. Of course she had seen some of them, during the migration and during Spike’s quest to find his dragon roots, but every dragon was different. Especially the adult dragons were big, dangerous, armed with shimmering teeth and razor-sharp claws. They were awesome.

Rainbow Dash squinted her eyes and scanned the horizon one more time, concentrating to find some movement in the restless sky, other than the clouds of ash billowing from the earth like big black mushrooms. At one point, her eyes blinked as she saw a short flash towards the horizon, above ground level, but then it was gone again. No dragons inhabited the searing skies.

“And?”

“Nothing,” Rainbow Dash grumbled, and they marched on in silence.

As they covered a few more miles, the ground suddenly became restless. It wasn’t the violent shaking of an earthquake, but there was definitely something going on beneath their legs. They heard a rumbling sound, as if the earth itself sighed heavily, burdened by the many volcanoes and pits that rested upon its shoulders. Dust and loose rocks shifted on the ground, and Spike had to sit down to prevent himself from falling down. Then, the rumbling became louder, and Spike gazed ahead at the source of it. About half a mile ahead, the face of a gigantic cliff crumbled down beneath its own weight in a deadly, rocky avalanche. The force of the falling rocks made the earth tremble, and a cloud of mangled dust, at least as big as the occasional volcanic eruption, billowed up into the sky.

“Well, that just happened,” Rainbow said, but deep in her heart, she felt respect for the savage country she now traveled in. Savage, and always ready to throw an adventure her way, she hoped.

Spike scrambled up from his awkward position on the ground. “I guess the land doesn’t like us that much.”

“Too bad,” Rainbow said. “We’ll just fly over it or something.”

The path led through a wide canyon, faced by an enormous cliff on either side. But now, with the face of one of the cliffs lying in ruin before them, higher than Twilight’s highest castle tower, they had to find another way past. Luckily, Rainbow Dash happened to be a pegasus, so they soon overcame the obstacle.

While Spike flew on Rainbow’s back, he stared, mouth agape, at the scene before his eyes. The canyon went on as far as his eyes could see. It looked as if the entire land realized that it wanted to grow higher, reaching for the sky and creating a giant plateau. Even though the dragons hated groundlings, the path still led right through the plateau, dividing it into two enormous pieces. Now that Spike thought about it, it could also be just a dried-up river, and not an intentional path, which would take a century to carve through the plateau. Suddenly, Spike became struck with an odd feeling. The revulsion he had felt earlier had to share its spot in Spike’s heart with a feeling of… amazement. Spike was a dragon, after all, and as much as he felt at home in Ponyville, he couldn’t help but feel a sense of homecoming here too.

They landed on the other side of the avalanche, but Spike didn’t jump off Rainbow’s back. “Hey, what’s wrong?” Rainbow Dash said after waiting half a minute. “I’m not gonna carry you all the way, you know?”

Spike’s eyes were still wide, and he didn’t move.

“Hey, Spike!” Rainbow Dash waved a hoof in front of the dragon’s slit eyes, but they didn’t follow it. Rainbow breathed in deep. “YO! SPIKE!”

With a jolt, Spike returned to the here and now. He tumbled backwards over Dash’s flank and into the dust.

Quickly the dragon scrambled up. “I’m ok, I’m ok. I’m just… eh… admiring the scenery.”

Rainbow Dash knew what he was talking about, even though she had seen landscapes from an aerial view many times before, she too realized that these lands were quite unique. Perhaps the land itself was the only thing really adventurous about their quest.

Dash stepped over and extended her tail to the dragon. Spike grabbed it, and with an easy flick of the rainbow tail, he was back on his feet again. “Thanks.”

“We gotta move,” Rainbow said. “I guess we’ve got a lot of ground to cover.”

Spike couldn’t help but agree, and with the picture of the beautiful landscape still in his head, he hurried after Rainbow Dash.

For a long time, the path kept cutting through the canyon, looking almost like a giant hallway, open to the sky. As they walked through it, Spike walking with echoing footsteps and Rainbow Dash hovering above the ground, Rainbow Dash began to feel… strange. Being flanked by the immense canyon faces on either side, to Rainbow Dash it looked like the path became narrower and narrower, and that the walls were closing in. Of course Rainbow Dash preferred open ground and windswept, grassy fields, and she never really felt good being indoors for too long—a trait which many pegasi shared. But now, uneasiness snuck up from her back to her head, and Rainbow Dash turned her head to glance behind her shoulder.

Spike saw her looking. “Hey, are you ok, Rainbow Dash? Is there another avalanche behind us?”

“No…” Rainbow Dash said, her voice no longer grumpy or strong, but unsure. “I don’t know…”

But then she recomposed herself, and shook her head. “I’m alright. Let’s go.”

Spike shrugged, and they marched on.

But that cold, creeping feeling of uneasiness didn’t leave Dash with a shake of her head. It stayed with her, clinging to her hide and nesting itself in Rainbow’s head, plucking her nerves like guitar strings. She tried to find some distraction by focusing on the terrain, but the copper walls of the canyon just stretched out forever before her eyes, and her eyes lost a bit of their shine.

Then she looked down at Spike. His step was slow but steady. Slow, perhaps, of the mixed feelings he had about these lands. Rainbow Dash wondered whether Spike felt what she felt.

But Spike didn’t. In fact, the purple dragon was finally sure about the direction they went. He remembered this enormous canyon from the last visit. During the coronation of princess Ember, thousands of dragons had lined the path they were walking now, eager to catch a glimpse of their controversial female Dragon-Lord. The path was indeed an ancient river, which had made its way through the soft rock of the plateau. It had been a whooshing, terribly wild river, which had sprouted from the meltwater from the land’s biggest volcano: the Gauntlet of Fire, back when it was still a mountain covered with snow. During those ancient times, not many dragons inhabited the region, and most of them had already forgotten what it was like so long ago. Princess Ember had told the whole story to Spike, as he had been at her side on the high throne, carried by four of the strongest dragons towards the Castle of the Dragon-Lords, where she received a beautiful crown on her head, in addition to the Bloodstone Scepter.

So in the past, the river had meandered as it reached the plateau, cutting out a whole natural labyrinth of hollows, canyons, and caves. And right in the middle of this maze of copper rocks was the capital city of the dragons: Ember Falls.

So Spike bore a confident smile on his face, hoping secretly to stay alone until he would be standing in front of princess Ember’s throne. “We’re going the right way,” Spike said. “Maybe a few more miles, and then we’ll be in Ember Falls.”

But Rainbow Dash wasn’t listening, or if she was, she wasn’t giving the impression. Her head was once more turned in the opposite direction, eyes squinted.

In the minutes that followed, Rainbow Dash glanced behind her back four more times. Then she couldn’t stand it anymore, and decided that she needed some real distraction. A random question would do. “Why is it called Ember Falls?”

Spike looked at his flying companion. Apparently, she had been listening. “The capital city of the dragons is called after the reigning Dragon-Lord, and, as I told you before, princess Ember now rules the dragon tribes, so the city has her name.”

“Yeah,” Rainbow Dash said, although she wasn’t really listening. She’d partly managed to chase the strange, haunting feeling away, but not entirely. She looked behind herself once more, saw nothing, and decided to try something else. She began thinking about potential adventures here in this foreign and hostile land. The lust for danger and excitement quickly grabbed hold of Dash’s mind, as she started fantasizing about legendary treasures, aerial fights, hidden temples, enormous winged monsters, and scary caves. Her wishful thinking produced a smile on her dry lips, albeit a tiny one.

“Why are you smiling?” Spike said.

“Oh, just thinking about something awesome,” Rainbow answered. After one more plunge in her fantasies, she said, “I wonder what it’s like to fight a dragon. Maybe we’ll encounter one of those brutes and get a hold of its sweet treasure. What do you think?”

Spike frowned. “Well, first of all, we’re not all greedy, hoarding brutes, Rainbow Dash. And secondly, I don’t think—and don’t hope—that we’ll actually have to fight.”

Rainbow sighed. “Too bad. I would have loved to get back on Garble for teasing you. That bully deserves a meeting with my hooves!”

But Spike hesitated. “Maybe… but I would still like to solve this quest with words, rather than with bucks. I think that will be a lot easier too.”

“Well, what is your plan then, Mister Pacifist?”

“Don’t worry, Rainbow Dash, I’ve got it all figured out. As soon as we reach the city, we’ll proceed to the Castle of the Dragon-Lords, talk to princess Ember, make the dragons forge the parts, and then return to Ponyville. Simple as pie.”

Rainbow Dash made a face as if she was about to throw up. “Ugh, talking? Those creatures aren’t made to talk. They’re made to fight and pillage and plunder. That’s how I read about them in ‘Daring Do and the Dragons’ Domain.’”

“Then your book is wrong,” Spike said, crossing his claws. “Dragons can be very polite and… and beautiful. I’m sure much has changed since princess Ember is on the throne. Maybe she’ll have taught all of them to accept ponies.”

“Or to eat with a knife and fork,” Rainbow snickered.

“Like your table manners are fit for a five-star restaurant,” Spike countered.

To that, Rainbow Dash had nothing to say, and looked once more behind herself.

They continued their way, with the ever-present canyon walls accompanying them on the left and the right. The soil started to become a bit more sturdy, as the dust and sand made way for hardened clay. Spike wondered if they were getting closer to Ember Falls. But Rainbow Dash, although she would never admit it, longed for the city even more; or a wider space anyway. The walls started to close in on them—or so it looked like to Dash—and the echoes became duller and duller. Perhaps the giant walls weren’t really closing in on them, but the passage was definitely getting narrower. After another quick peek behind herself, Rainbow Dash, her eyes ever to the sky, saw that the normally straight and unbroken edges of the cliffs were at some places chipped. It looked like a giant dragon had come to nibble at the rocks on either side of the cliffs. When Rainbow looked down again, she saw many rocks and rubble piled up against the walls. With a shrug, she concluded that it would probably have been avalanches. Better to be quiet for a while, she thought. Looking back, she saw once again nothing.

Another mile slipped away beneath their hooves and toes, and the canyon walls grew more battered by the yard. At some points, there were brave little shrubs which had taken a hold on the rocks and had rooted themselves in the rocky soil. Both travelers wondered about the toughness of the plants. The occasional splashes of green were a welcome distraction from the oppressing, red rocks and enormous cliffs, leaning over them as if to observe these two strange inhabitants—or actually one strange inhabitant. But for Rainbow Dash, it wasn’t enough; she still felt like a cornered prey. After another peek, her silent prayers were finally heard. When she turned her head forward again, she saw an intersection.

It was hard to discern the crossroads from the monotonous, copper canyon walls, but thanks to the changing shadows, cast by the ever-present sun, they identified the obstacle.

“Don’t worry, Rainbow Dash,” Spike said. “It’s just a sideway passage, but I know where to go. We just have to go straight ahead.”

But Rainbow Dash wasn’t listening. Her keen senses, always needed and developed during her flights, were tingling. She swished her tail a couple of times, but the feeling didn’t go away.

Suddenly, when they were almost standing in the middle of the crossroads, Rainbow Dash stuck out a front hoof. “Stop.”

Spike looked up. “What’s wrong?”

Rainbow Dash landed on the ground. “I don’t know, Spike. Something feels… off.”

Now Spike looked behind as well, but saw nothing. “Are you sure it isn’t just your imagination?”

Rainbow Dash primed her ears, turning them in all directions. She couldn’t hear anything. Or maybe there was something. The distant sound of a falling rock? With eyes trained to match eagles’ during a flight, Rainbow Dash scanned the horizon. The top of the cliffs. Left. Right. Behind.

Nothing.

“Shall we go on, Rainbow Dash?” Spike said, tugging at her mane. “I think we’re really close now.”

But Rainbow’s eyes didn’t stop checking. Her investigation ended with Spike.

“I’m gonna do one more aerial swoop, Spike.”

“Dammit!”

Rainbow’s eyebrow shot up. “What did you say?”

But Spike hadn’t said a thing, and certainly not that hissed curse. Up ahead, from the left and the right, there was movement. In a cloud of soot, a band of dragons emerged from seemingly nowhere, as if they materialized from the canyon walls. To the left and the right, some more jumped from behind the fallen rubble.

There was a click, and then Rainbow Dash retracted a wing with a cry. A single blue feather dwindled to the ground.

Dash’s head snapped around, and then she saw a dragon she knew painfully well.

“Garble!”

There he was, the red, teenage-dragon, standing a couple of yards behind. His piercing yellow eyes spit venom, and he brandished a crossbow in his claws.

“Hold it right there pony, or my next shot will be—“

But Garble wasn’t able to finish his sentence. Rainbow Dash shot through the air in a trail of rainbow colors. Before Garble could finish talking, realize what was going on, or reload his crossbow, the pegasus hit him square in the chest with her head. Both creatures tumbled to the ground.

Garble’s crossbow flew far away. Dash and Garble rolled and wrestled in the red dust. Despite feeling as if the collision had robbed him of the ability to breathe, Garble shouted an order. “Get that purple runt!”

With a shock Rainbow realized he was talking about Spike. That realization cost her her position on top of the dragon, and the roles were reversed.

“Spike! RUN!”

But Spike had nowhere to run. From all sides, massive dragons closed in on him, crossbows ready, swords waving, claws gleaming in the sunlight. He could do nothing but take steps back, right towards his only chance at safety; Rainbow Dash.

But Rainbow Dash had her hooves full with Garble. She bucked, punched, bit, and whipped her tail, but the resistance was strong. Every hit Garble countered twice as hard. He was simply too strong for her, despite all of Dash’s intensive training. She had never been trained in ground combat anyway.

With a sudden jump, Rainbow Dash stood upright, turned around, and bucked as hard as she could. She felt her hooves hit something hard, and the kinetic energy backfired on her. She tried again, but this time, her hooves lingered in the air.

Garble took hold of Rainbow’s back legs, lifted her off the ground, and twirled around. After two full circles, he let go, and Rainbow Dash sailed through the air, right against the cave wall.

A crash resounded in Dash’s ear, which might have been produced by the bash against the rock or the bash against her bones. Dash slid down, tried to stand up, fell through her knees. She couldn’t stand. She had to resort to ground techniques again.

With a flap of her wings, she launched herself towards Garble, intending to do the same move she did—only this time, she didn’t have the element of surprise.

Garble caught her head, but the force was bigger than he’d expected. Apparently, Dash still had some grit in her. Garble tried to use his tail to stay upright, but his knees buckled, and he fell to the ground once more, but making sure that he was on top this time.

Dash wrapped her tail around Garble’s legs, and, together with a shove, managed to roll him over. When she looked up, she only needed a second to see what trouble Spike was in.

With a savage head-butt, she stunned Garble for a split-second, and rolled away.

“That’s it. We’re outta here, Spike!”

Rainbow Dash jumped to her hooves, flapped her wings, and swooped over in the direction of Spike. Before the dragon had time to see her coming, Rainbow Dash grabbed him in her front hooves, then tossed him on her back. He landed the wrong way, and grabbed hold of Dash’s tail, holding on for dear life.

The ground disappeared beneath Spike’s nose, and he could have seen it, had he opened his eyes. The dragons on the ground became smaller and smaller. Rainbow Dash didn’t look back. She knew that dragons were great flyers as well, but they were also big and clumsy. Pegasi were way more aerodynamic. She had no doubt she could outfly the dragons.

But the dragons weren’t planning a pursuit.

Another order was barked, unintelligible against the wild winds flowing past the flying creatures’ ears.

A clinking sound stabbed through the skies, and Rainbow Dash felt something hit her.

A chain came wriggling through the air like a snake, and wrapped itself around Rainbow’s barrel and her wings.

With a cry of pain, Rainbow felt the cold metal against her hide. It became harder and harder to breathe, as the chain continued to twirl around her. Spike pulled at the other end of the metal snake, but it was no use.

Rainbow Dash’s whole body jerked backwards, as the dragon on the ground gave a violent tug against the chain. With a loud smack that cracked the clay itself, Rainbow Dash smashed down upon the path. She felt a shockwave of pain race through her whole body. Her consciousness struggled to stay with her. In a hollow echo, she heard the roaring laughter of two dozen dragons all around her.

Spike rolled off Dash’s back, flopping head-over-tail through the dirt. Finally, he stopped, landing right at the feet of his old enemy, Garble.

Garble gave out a loud snicker, and grabbed Spike by the tail between his thumb and index finger. He looked at him as if he’d found a piece of dirty trash littering the path.

“Look who we have here,” Garble said, his voice pounding against Spike’s ears. “If it isn’t Spike, the dragon rookie, and his puny little pony friends. You know, when Shinedown here signaled that there were unusual intruders in my kingdom, I expected to see anything but you.” He looked down at the blue pegasus, still lying in the dust with rolling eyes. “And least of all a pony.”

One dragon, silver as the cold moonlight, with light-blue wings as thin as a piece of silk, shuffled on his feet. He made a shallow bow.

But Spike wasn’t about to give away his dignity that easily. Despite feeling the fear claw at his nerves, he began to swing. He grabbed Garble’s scaled arm with his claws, keeping himself level, and met the red dragon’s gaze. “What do you mean with your kingdom?”

Garble let out another snicker. “Hehehe! You picked a bad time to come here, little runt. Time’s changed. The Dragons Lands finally have a REAL leader, a STRONG leader. A leader one-hundred percent pure dragon, living by the dragon code.”

Many heavy voices produced a gurgling cheer. Some dragons belched a gout of flame in the air.

“But… but what about princess—“

“But… but what about princess Ember,” Garble finished for Spike, imitating his high-pitched voice mingled with a mocking smile. “Well, princess Ember has been removed; her throne has been returned to its rightful owner: ME!”

Garble let go of Spike, who tumbled to the ground. As quickly as he could, Spike scrambled back up, coughing a few ashy clouds. “B-b-but princess Ember would never allow you randomly ambushing us.”

“Haven’t you been listening, boulder-for-brains?” Garble knocked Spike twice on the head with a sharp claw. “Ember’s gone. Forever. Her father has been banished, and the Bloodstone Scepter is MINE.”

The moment Garble spoke those words, the red stone, set in an crystal bound scepter, sprang into view. Garble had put it on his back, but now brandished it in his empty fist. It shimmered and shone like a fire, as if the stone itself wanted to amplify and clarify the dragon’s words.

Spike held up a claw to protect his eyes from the sudden glow. “But-but—“

“No more buts!” Garble roared, swinging the Bloodstone Scepter back between his wings. “It’s about time you give ME some answers. What are you doing here in the Dragon Lands? And why were you stupid enough to bring a pony along?”

At the word ‘pony,’ Garble looked at Rainbow Dash. She had scrambled up. But, covered in bruises and scrapes, and with a nasty red score wrapping around her barrel, she frowned at the dragon, doing her best to give him her nastiest, most hostile glare. “I’m a pegasus!”

Garble walked closer to Dash, until his shadow covered the pegasus entirely. “It doesn’t matter what you are! You’re still weak and puny, and an intruder in my kingdom. Now explain yourself!” Then Garble twirled around, as if he were doing a dance, and whipped Dash across the head with his red tail.

Dash felt another gout of pain, and her knees buckled, but she didn’t fall. With a nasty gurgle, she tossed a droplet of spittle right before the dragon’s feet. Dash couldn’t see whether it was red, or whether it became red as it mingled with the copper dust.

In Garble’s head, a bomb exploded. He turned around, whipping Dash across the head once more, and made his way towards a couple of rocks, his footsteps leaving deep marks in the path. “Why… does… everything… have… to be… so HARD!” And with every word, Garble pounded against an enormous rock. With the last word, the thing cracked and split in two, littering the path with a small avalanche.

Then Garble looked down, as the rage streamed away with the crumbles of the tortured rock. Thoughts flowed inside his head, thoughts fueled by rage and frustration. He imagined the punishment he wanted to give these two intruders, but the lingering cloud of rage prevented any concrete plans.

Then, a particularly big dragon, half muscle and half fat, walked over towards Garble. “Eh… dragon-lord Garble, may I suggest returning to Garble Gorge with the intruders?”

With a jerk of his head, Garble came to his senses. His eyes narrowed, and a grim smile revealed a line of jagged, yellowed teeth. “Yes, let’s do that. Let’s put them on trial. Or maybe we should torture them to find out some more.” Garble closed his eyes in delight. “Oh yes! That would be great. Good idea, Boulder Bash.” He gave the brute a slap on his massive shoulders, and despite his stature, the big dragon let out a cough. “And you know, my dear Boulder Bash, because you suggested that wonderful idea, you may carry that crumpled little pony over there while we return. That seems like a fair reward, doesn’t it?”

Boulder Bash was about to say ‘no,’ as common sense would dictate. But he knew his lord long enough to know that both the question tag and the ‘may’ were entirely rhetorical. The anger, suppressed into a thin-glassed bottle, streamed from Garble’s words. “Certainly, sir,” Boulder Bash said, and moved towards the blue pegasus after a quick salute.

“Then it’s settled,” Garble called. “We’re going back home boys! Grab your stuff and move your asses. We’re getting out of these badlands!”

The dragons stirred. Some walked away to grab a pack or some weapons they had tossed to the ground. Others were already up in the sky, hovering above the ground in a somewhat orderly formation, waiting for the command of their lord.

“No! We’re not flying,” Garble shouted towards the few dragons which were up in the sky already.

“Why not?” said the silver dragon Garble had called Shinedown.

Garble turned around as if a mosquito had stung him; a very strong mosquito able to penetrate his lava-hardened dragon scales. He moved closer to the thin dragon as if he were taking a leisurely walk in the park. When he stood toe-to-toe with Shinedown, he grabbed his thin neck and jerked, until his eyes were at the same level as Garble’s. “First of all, it’s ‘why not, DRAGON-LORD GARBLE!’”

Shinedown let out a gurgle. A few blue cinders escaped his mouth.

“Secondly, you don’t question my orders!”

Shinedown’s eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.

“And thirdly—“Garble let go of his victim, who flopped to the ground—“because I want to walk. I want to walk and think about their trial and their punishment. And I can’t think clearly with my head in the clouds. Understood?”

The heap of silver dragon on the ground muttered something that sounded like a ‘yes.’

“Very good.” Garble crossed his claws. “Then, as a reward for clearing my head, you get to carry that pony-loving purple traitor over there. Sounds good?”

Shinedown nodded his head; what else could he do?

“Very well.” Garble turned around and scanned the dragon regiment. But soon he became tired, and shouted the name of the dragon he wanted to present himself right before him as quickly as it could. “Chain Link! Get over here!”

A rustle, carried by deep voices, went through the group of dragons. A minute later, they stepped aside, almost reverently, to make way for Chain Link. He was as black as a dark cave, covered in a mesh made of the tiniest iron rings. He bore no weapons, but over his shoulders, around his neck, and out of his pack, stuck maybe two dozen shiny chains—or perhaps it was one long chain. A hood was cast over his head, revealing nothing but a single, pale-white eye. Apparently, Garble respected this peculiar dragon as much as the rest, as he didn’t ask the creature to remove his hood or to bow. Slowly the creature shuffled closer until Garble could look underneath the hood. There he stood, motionless.

“Chain Link, I need two chains, two locks, and no keys.”

Chain Link let out a hiss, which melted together with the clinking sound of his mail and the chains on his back. With seemingly no effort at all, he reached behind his back and pulled out the items Garble had asked for. He handed them to the red dragon in a thin, black claw, as cold and merciless as the chains he wore. “Take good care of them.”

Garble produced something that could be counted as a smile, and said, “Naturally.”

Then Chain Link turned around and disappeared into the crowd of dragons.

A minute later, Spike and Rainbow Dash were hanging in a very uncomfortable position; Rainbow Dash on Boulder Bash’s back, and Spike on Shinedown’s. Then, with a last roared order of Garble the Dragon-Lord, they started moving.

* *

They marched in somewhat orderly rows. The longer dragons, able to make much bigger strides, walked in front, while the stubbier, sturdier dragons trotted behind. That way, it almost looked as if there was a pecking order, although Rainbow Dash and Spike couldn’t be sure. Luckily, Boulder Bash and Shinedown walked next to each other, so Rainbow Dash and Spike could exchange glances and make an attempt at sign language using their eyes and mouthing the words. Perhaps Shinedown and Boulder Bash were friends, but Rainbow Dash and Spike, dangling upside-down like two sacks of potatoes, didn’t care nor think about that.

Rainbow Dash felt the blood rising up to her head, but it actually felt good. A few moments later, she felt some activity return to her brains. She felt something heavy around her waist, and saw that it was a fine, silvery chain wrapped around her wings. Trying to wriggle them, without expecting to free them, Rainbow Dash shuffled a bit, but to her astonishment, she couldn’t even feel her wings on her back. Determined not to lose hope, she looked left and right.

Between the legs and wings of the other dragons, the canyon walls still flanked them on either side. Rainbow Dash felt the rough, muddy scales of her driver scraping against her hide with every step the dragon took, and the stench of sweat accompanied him and her.

But Spike wasn’t really any better off. He too dangled upside-down, his arms pressed against his chest underneath a shiny metal chain.

Rainbow Dash tried to make eye-contact with Spike, but a big, orange dragon stepped beside Boulder Bash and blocked her view. With her senses and savvy slowly returning in a wave of consciousness, Rainbow Dash frowned and looked around at her enemies.

The dragon-army filled the canyon with the rumbling sound of heavy, stomping feet and growling voices. The high notes of this symphony were formed by the clatter of steel weapons and the constant clinking of armor. There were dragons of every shape and size, but they all shared the same glare, a glare turned into an ever-present scowl—perhaps against the biting ash in the winds—but adorned with a certain kind of satisfaction. It looked as if they were genuinely happy to have caught the intruders and served their Dragon-Lord. A cruel kind of contentment.

They were all wearing the same armor, Rainbow Dash could see that. Although the shapes and sizes sometimes differed to match the dragon’s stature, the colors were all the same: red and yellow. Dash saw a variety of weapons: crossbows, swords, maces, clubs, daggers, spears, halberds, and probably many more tools of killing. It looked as if no two dragons had the same weapon. The only things they shared were their scowls and the red-and-yellow from their armor. Dash realized that they were the same colors as Garble’s scales and skin—what else could it be?

After a few more miles, the dragons visibly started to get bored. A few looked around, making sure that their lord wasn’t in sight, and pulled out a scrap of meat or a flask to nourish their needs, and eat the time away. A few miles further, they began to talk in deep, gurgling voices—and so did Dash’s and Spike’s carriers.

“Yo! Bash!”

Shinedown gave the orange dragon beside him a shove, and then he walked beside Boulder Bash.

“What is it?” the fat dragon growled.

Shinedown looked at the ground for a split second. “You… eh… You weren’t half-bad with that rock-avalanche you made back there. You know, after I signaled you, I saw you doing it and… well…”

“If you wanna say something, just say it, damn you!”

Both Shinedown and Spike winced at the sudden roar. “Alright, alright. I was just wondering whether or not you could teach me how to do that. You know, making rock-avalanches. That way, I’m an even more effective signaler, when I can use both something loud and something shiny.”

To that, Boulder Bash let out a gurgle, which ended in a mocking laugh. “You?! No way, whelp. Start doing some push-ups first, and then we’ll talk.”

Shinedown snorted. A small blue flame escaped through his nostrils. He didn’t say anything, but continued to walk beside the brutal Boulder Bash. Despite the rudeness of the dragon, he still wanted some distraction from the long miles, and he couldn’t think of any other dragon whom he could talk to. Stuttering, he started another sentence.

“S-s-so what do you think? How soon until Garble gets to Meteor?”

Boulder Bash turned his big, round head before he looked at Shinedown again. “Shut up! You know Garble doesn’t like it when you speak about his… private business.” He tried his best speak in a hushed tone, but to Rainbow Dash on his back, it still felt like shouting.

“I know, I know. Just curious,” Shinedown said.

“Curious? My ass. I guess you just wanna make a bet!”

That word was like gold to the silver dragon’s ears. His eyes sparkled. “W-w-would you like that? To make a bet?”

Bash scoffed. “With you?! Ain’t gonna happen. I know how broke you are, and I bet you still owe all of these dragons here a fair share of silver.”

Shinedown made a little jump, and smacked his claws on Boulder Bash’s maw; they barely covered half of it. “Hush! Would you like to get me killed or something?”

“Maybe,” Bash said, swatting away Shinedown’s claws as if they were pesky flies.

“Well, do you want to start a fight? I’m sure Garbl—eh, Dragon-Lord Garble wouldn’t approve of that.”

Boulder Bash grunted, and Shinedown produced a sly smile, as if he had won this battle of words. “Still I’m curious how far he’s gotten already,” he said. “I mean, just imagine what we could do with something—or someone—like Meteor.”

“Yeah, perhaps he will pay your debts, or perhaps you’ll have a new gambling buddy.”

“Will you just shut up!”

“Maybe.”

Shinedown sighed. “I just hope some action will happen. You know, when we get to him, we can start conquering again, just like the old times. And in the meantime, I’ll collect a great big hoard from all the folks we’ve vanquished. Perhaps I’ll even be able to fight my way to the upper ranks. Maybe, by the end of the Meteor Conquest, I’ll be a general—or an admiral!”

“Yeah, sure,” Boulder Bash said. “I just hope those ‘vanquished folks’ are tasty, I’m bloody hungry.”

Shinedown produced a sound which would be something between a snicker and a scoff, but secretly, he hoped the same.

And all the while, Rainbow Dash and Spike listened, and they looked at each other, both with raised eyebrows.

“What are they talking about?” Spike hissed to Dash.

Then Shinedown pulled hard at Spike’s tail, flinging him over his shoulder and into his outstretched claws. “We’re talking about WAR! And you shouldn’t be talking at all! You’ll see what happens soon enough, as the rest of the world burns in a hungry flame of pure arcane dragon-fire!”

There was a cold, harsh gleam in Shinedown’s eyes, and they chilled Spike’s heart. He couldn’t find the courage to speak, but he didn’t have to. With a flick of his wrist, Shinedown slung Spike back over his shoulder.

“Why do you always have to talk as if you’re a nerdy-ass fantasy figure,” Boulder Bash said.

“Well, because we are dragons, so we are fantasy figures,” Shinedown retorted. Once again, that grin of satisfaction curled on his lips, and his tiny but many teeth shone in the red light.

Bash averted his gaze. “Well, I’m not,” he mumbled. “You shouldn’t play so many of those stupid card games, Shinedown. They make you weak and speak weirdly.”

“Ha! You just don’t know how to take a loss, my dear Boulder Bash!”

Boulder Bash grunted once more. This was the third time Shinedown had outwitted him. Time to change subject. “I hope Garble gives them what they deserve,” he said, shrugging his shoulders and forcing Rainbow Dash into a little swing.

“Oh, don’t worry about that. You know how creative Dragon-Lord Garble can be. Do you remember old Sawtooth, the thief?”

“Hehe, yeah.” Boulder bash said with a chuckle, the cruelty dripping through the sound. “There wasn’t much left after the Dragon-Lord was done with him.”

Shinedown clapped his claws together. “And what about Searing?”

“I couldn’t stop laughing at him.” The massive shoulders of Boulder Bash rocked up and down with another burst of laughter. Rainbow Dash felt like her tail was about to tear off. “I loved the look on his face, you know, at the end, when he realized that his fire-proofness was waning. He certainly proved worthy of his name.”

“Yeah, he melted right to the ground. Who would have thought dragon-fire could become that hot? Even I couldn’t.”

Now, a tiny smile broke through Boulder Bash’s infinite scowl, fueled by cruel memories. “Hey, Shinedown, do you remember Hot Spot?”

“Oh, definitely. Chain Link was amazing with him. I’ve never ever in my life seen a dragon do such a thing. The way he moved those chains, it was like they were alive! I’m sure Hot Spot was amazed as well when he saw who his executioner was—although not happily amazed like us.”

Boulder Bash grinned, both at the memory, but also at the tinkling of the chains and the soft trembling of the rainbow tail he clutched in his big, fat claw.

Then, Shinedown suddenly felt silent, and he looked over his shoulder twice before speaking again. “Or, Garble might just do the same thing he did with Ember.”

With the mention of that name, Spike felt a mental cannon go off. Instantly, his senses were primed to record every word the dragons would say. But at the same time, he felt fear bubble up inside of him. Not fear for himself and what they might do to him, but fear for the fate of princess Ember.

“Nah. Or maybe… I dunno. Would he really be that cruel? Boulder Bash said.

“You saw the way he looked at that purple runt on my back? That was pure hatred flowing out of his eyes like a bright, hot lava-fall. I’m sure he’s going to do it.”

B-b-but what has he done with Ember? Spike thought, and almost spoke his thoughts aloud.

Boulder Bash rolled his eyes at once another one of Shinedown’s dramatic choices of words. But then he fell silent as well. His voice now became genuinely soft. “Think she’s still alive?”

Shinedown shrugged. “Probably not. She’s been off the grid for a while. You saw it yourself, she just disappeared. Poof! Garble called the end of the game, and he only does that when the contestant is dead. He didn’t sense her presence anymore after the eruption I guess. That’s why he called it a day.”

Both Rainbow Dash and Spike stirred. Spike felt like crying. Princess Ember, whom he had helped and who had helped him. Together they had entered the Gauntlet of Fire to retrieve the Bloodstone Scepter. He had given the thing to Ember and made her Dragon-Lady that way, even teaching her the value of friendship during their ordeal. And now she was dead? What the hay happened in this Celestia-forsaken land?!

“Well, if Garble’s going to do that, I won’t stop him,” Shinedown said. “I’m sure we’ll be in for a show, whatever his choice will be.”

And with that, the conversation between the dragons had ended, as they both agreed on the last sentence. They shifted their loads into a more comfortable position—comfortable for them—and marched on, just like the rest of the dragon-army.

As they progressed, Rainbow Dash and Spike looked at each other’s desperate faces. They knew by the looks in their eyes that they thought the same things. What had happened with Ember? If what the dragons said was true, she would be the second friend they’d lost in the past days. Then, despite their own bad situation, their thoughts went back to Fluttershy. What dangerous things she must be going through, and how scared she must be.

Rainbow Dash frowned. They had to get out of here—fast. But, with Garble at reign, how in Equestria were they going to get the dragons to make the metal parts for the machine? Rainbow Dash did her best to shove the questions aside and return to the here and now. She only let thoughts of escaping fill her head, and a thousand plans started swirling through it… and then shattered. In this position, there was nothing either she or Spike could do. Nevertheless, her senses were primed, and thanks to that, she noticed a few things.

The otherwise red canyon walls were gradually changing colors. At first they were copper like the metal itself, but now they became more and more dark, until they were completely clad in grey and black colors, almost like iron and ash. But not only the environment and the view transformed—so did the atmosphere. It became hotter. With every footstep the dragon-army took, the air seemed to become more hostile on Dash’s throat. It was as if she stepped inside a sauna at the Ponyville spa, except that this heat wasn’t revitalizing or comfortable. This heat was oppressing, and somehow felt hostile. Sweat began beading off Dash’s forehead and onto the greying soil.

The clay path had become really hard now, and covered with blankets of fine black ash. Every step the dragons took made the sound of a breaking vase, as the hardened clay surrendered to their heavy feet. Rainbow Dash coughed with every small cloud of swirling ash, stirred up by the dragon’s march, and lingering like a mist over the path. Rainbow Dash had been through a lot of tough times and tougher training-programs, especially since she had been enlisted as a Wonderbolt, but for the first time in many years, the pegasus wasn’t sure how long she could stand this horrible march.

Luckily for Dash, she didn’t need to suffer much longer. Just as she thought that the heat would ignite her tail, the canyon walls retreated on either side, making way for their destination: Ember Falls, or, as Garble had renamed it: Garble Gorge.

The second name was actually more appropriate for the capital city, as it was deep, very deep. The road dived down and down again into a volcanic crater, long ago collapsed, hardened, and extinguished. But that didn’t stop the dragons from making it a nice and hot place, just the way they liked it. From the edges of the craters, red and orange tongues of lava streamed down into the city like white-hot waterfalls. Using a web-like network of aqueducts, the streams were channeled until they converged in the middle of the volcanic crater, feeding it like a giant, white-hot lake, and making it look as if the thing was still alive and seething.

The whole city was covered by a giant black cloud, cladding it into a permanent state of dusk. Not entirely night, as the brave red sun proved to be able to penetrate the thick blanket at some spots, casting blood-red beams of light over the buildings of the city.

Spike saw it too. He looked up (or actually down) and saw the iron-bound gate above them. But to him, it looked quite differently from the first time he saw it. The first time, it had been adorned with beautiful crystals, set in a shining arc of silver. Now, the silver was blackened and worn, and a set of dark onyx stones and blood-red rubies took the place of the multi-colored façade of gemstones. At the top, there was the letter ‘G,’ adorned with the same kinds of stones.

“Ah! Finally home!” said Boulder Bash. “I can’t wait to get back to my spouse. She’d better have cooked something delicious and tasty!”

Shinedown gave him a glance. “Why are you always thinking about food?”

Bash shrugged. “Why not?”

And with that, the conversation ended, as Shinedown silently agreed.

They marched underneath the gate and down the heavily-sloping path into the crater. To Rainbow Dash, the heat became unbearable, and she had to close her eyes because she had the feeling they would dry out in mere seconds. Spike, on the other hand, took the opportunity to look around. Partly to see what more had changed in the city, and partly to try to remember the way back. His second mission, however, soon failed; the route the army took through the streets was simply too complicated.

The outer ring of the city consisted of the living quarters and houses of the dragon population. Many stone houses, all crudely square in stature, flanked them on the left and the right. They were carved out of the sides of the volcano themselves, as dragons generally didn’t like building things. Destroying things was more their style, and many had found it fun to smash away the stones to create their own houses. But despite that, some houses were made of bricks; usually the houses of wealthier dragons who could afford a stonemason.

It wasn’t every day that a large army of dragons marched through these streets, even though it became more and more common to see cohorts head out into the wilderness for combat training. Nevertheless, many doors creaked open to reveal the curious inhabitants. Dragons of all shapes and sizes, not clad in armor, but still big and strong. Mothers, fathers, children; some dragons even decided to stand on the roofs of their houses to look at the awe-inspiring parade. Spike looked at their faces. Some were cheering and happy, but others bore heavier expressions: concern or worry—some even shook their heads and retreated back inside. Apparently not every dragon is fond of their new leader, Spike thought.

They passed streets and squares, markets and shops, ever descending in a spiral, closer and closer to the core of the city: the lava pool. Rainbow Dash couldn’t stand the heat anymore, and fainted. Boulder Bash felt the pony going limp, and almost let her slip through his sausage-like fingers, but he managed to squeeze them tighter just in time.

Marching quite close to the quay of the giant lava-filled lake, Spike saw the many stonemasons, smiths, metalworkers, and jewelers at work in their shops. Despite their new leader, the central hub of dragon trade and craftsmanship was still metal and stonework, the workshops positioned as closely to their most important tool as they could be: heat. The lava-pool was the secret of the dragon’s forged ware quality; a secret they were quite proud of themselves. Even though there were so many different shops, which were supposed to make all kinds of different tools, statues, and pieces of jewelry, Spike couldn’t help but notice how many blades were being sharpened, how many sets of armor were being pieced together, and how many bows were being strung. The reign of Garble had clearly produced an impulse to a very lucrative sector in the metalworking business.

After another mile, they began to climb again. Spike knew they would almost be at their destination: the Castle of the Dragon-Lords. And soon enough, the enormous steel towers and spires came into view. Long ago built out of the first ore by the first dragon, it loomed over the city, not entirely at the top of the volcano crater and not entirely at the bottom. No houses stood anywhere near the castle, as if the intimidating looks of it had scared the lesser buildings away.

They stopped at the gate, which opened with an ominous rattle, and then stepped inside, swallowed whole by the shadows cast by the enormous metal walls.

Garble barked an order; the cohort was being dismissed. With grunts and sighs, the dragons walked to the left and the right, probably to the storage rooms to get rid of their equipment. Only Shinedown and Boulder Bash continued walking behind their lord with their captives on their backs.

The courtyard was small, and they soon entered the castle itself. Spike’s eyes had to get used to the dark at first, so he couldn’t see exactly what it looked like. But his memories told him that there were supposed to be bright-orange carpets, cobblestone walls, and many beautiful pieces of glasswork: statues and windows alike. There should also have been golden chandeliers, but apparently they were taken away. Maybe this part of the castle wasn’t used very often.

Suddenly, Garble’s voice stabbed through the darkness.

“I’m still not sure what to do with you two, my little friends,” he said, his voice eerily calm and friendly, as if he were a hotel desk-clerk. “Perhaps I’ll figure it out tonight; perhaps I’ll figure it out tomorrow at the trial, or perhaps I’ll let your punishment depend on what you can tell me about your presence here. Perhaps I’ll let someone else decide that stuff for me. Think about it. In the meantime, enjoy your stay.”

With a spit, Garble ignited a torch, and they began circling down a set of stairs. It was probably a tower, as the walls were narrow and claustrophobic to the mind.

As they continued descending into the bowels of the castle, burrowed deep inside the extinguished volcano, the air became cooler and more comfortable with every step, and Rainbow Dash felt herself slip back into the present world. She couldn’t see anything, and the only sounds were the scraping of claws upon stone and the nasty breath of the dragons.

A door opened.

“Alright, there we are,” Garble said, and placed his torch in a holder on the wall

Dash and Spike heard a rusty creak, and then they were thrown inside the cage, waiting and ready for them. The dragons didn’t even take the effort to unwind their chains, so they couldn’t break their fall and rolled over each other on the floor.

“Very good, men,” Garble said to the two dragons, and gave each a pat on the back, too hard to be friendly, and too soft to smack them to the ground. “I hereby forgive your stupid question, Shinedown, and I hereby acknowledge your good council, Boulder Bash. DISMISSED!”

And as Garble’s cry echoed through the dungeons out the door, so did Shinedown and Boulder Bash. But Garble stayed behind a little longer. He turned around on his heels, almost giddy, then spit out a flame which he held in his claw. Stepping closer to the bars, he held the flame high, so it illuminated his face in a bright-red glow. He looked first at Spike, and then at Rainbow Dash, who scrambled up from the ground.

“I hope you find here everything you need,” Garble said. “No windows, I’m afraid, but there is a bale of hay you can sit on… or which you can eat.” Garble let out a snicker. “I have thought of everything here. Now you be good until tomorrow, alright? Tomorrow, you’ll be in for some action and adventure!”

With another gurgling laugh, he turned around and headed through the door, leaving Spike and Rainbow Dash alone in the darkness.

Despite Dash’s head being groggy from the heat and the extended blood-pressure, she still had a thought swirling in her mind. Ironically, she realized that Garble really had thought of everything. He had given her exactly what she wanted: action, adventure, and even a fight.