*Chapter 8: Testing by Hydra
Chapter 8: Testing by Hydra
“Pessimism never won any battle.”
Dwight Eisenhower
Adventure Log: Day Three
When I said I hoped today would be more interesting, I was in no way hoping it would be like this. It started the same as yesterday: wake up, eat, study, teach, and then off into the sky. It was about noon when we first saw a gap in the mountains where Fort Bastion stood guard. Soon thereafter we saw this cloud of dust rising up from the south. Drake decided we should go investigate…
* * * * * * * * * * * *
“Hey Spike, do you see that cloud of dust rising from south?” Drake asked, his voice rising with curiosity.
“Yeah, what could be causing it? The only things on the map out this way is the road to Fort Bastion and some little towns along it,” Spike replied, wondering what could be big enough to stir up that much dust.
Drake banked left and aligned to the rising dust, “Well then, let’s find out.”
After thirty minutes on their new heading they found something that was indeed worrisome and intriguing. On the ground a five-headed hydra, even bigger than the one from Froggy Bottom Bog, was chasing two unicorns in a strange contraption that was racing along the road in a desperate attempt to escape.
In the air, the two dragons thought that there was something familiar about the unicorns and their machine, but couldn’t put a finger on it. Instead of trying to solve the mystery from the sky, Drake dove towards the ground, landing in the woods lining the road.
“Stay here and keep your eye on what happens, Spike,” Drake said as he landed and let Spike off onto the ground. “I am going to take that hydra out before it can eat those unicorns; you are not big or strong enough to do anything but get in the way and get hurt.”
“No way! You don’t have any clue what you are doing, “Spike retorted, a little scared at what Drake was suggesting. Spike honestly didn’t think Drake could beat a hydra that big, if he couldn’t breathe fire. After all, he was just some alien turned into a dragon. Of course Spike didn’t know about his fight with Red and his goons and based his expectations on his own perception of how a dragon should fight. “Why can’t you just grab the unicorns then we make a break for--”
“Because,” Drake said as he stretched, preparing to take flight, “I wouldn’t get to fight a hydra if we did that.” With Spike left speechless, Drake took off, recalling everything he could about hydras.
‘OK rule one: Don’t cut off the heads; we all know how that worked out for Hercules. Two: Multiple heads; just ‘cause I dodge one doesn’t mean I dodged them all. Three: Two legs are unstable; I might be able to tip it over. Four: Scales, and I am willing to bet they are like a dragon’s, so they are going to be a tough nut to crack.’ By this time Drake was well above the hydra. “Well Tiny, what say we have a dance and find out just how strong I am now,” he muttered before sending himself into a spiraling dive, wings tucked, legs in, arms forward and claws out with an angry roar, issuing forth a challenge that could be heard for miles around.
Now, when you hear a dragon roar right above you it is customary to look and see if you are about to be toasted, eaten, kidnapped, or suffer any number of different horrors. Stop and look up the unicorns and hydra did. They saw a blue and black streak coming down from sky at incredible speed. Gravity, don’t mess with it. A short baited breath or two later Drake crashed into the hydra, striking one of its necks and slamming it into the ground, kicking up a huge cloud of dust.
Spike watched the scene from the tree line, shocked by what Drake had pulled off. In front of the dust the strange machine stopped, the unicorns onboard too shocked to keep powering it. The other four heads of the hydra turned their attention to the cloud of dust, darting in to snap at the comparatively small dragon that dared attack it. No one was quite as shocked as the one who had caused this scene.
‘Well cover me in chocolate and call me a strawberry,’ Drake thought within the dust cloud, standing on top the head he’d struck. ‘That was fricken sweet. I was afraid it wouldn’t work for a second there.’ Suddenly one of the other heads appeared from out the haze, snapping its giant jaws at him. Drake jumped back while taking a swipe at the offending head, only to have to dodge out of the way as another appeared on his right.
The next thing those on the outside of the struggle saw was Drake flying back out of the dust while a hydra head was withdrawing from the cloud, blood seeping from its nose, and another shooting out after the dragon. As the dust settled it became clear that the head Drake had slammed into the ground was never getting up; the blood leaking from underneath it continued to pool unabated. Drake thought this to be a good thing, at least right up until two other heads bit the limp appendage near its base and began tearing chunks of flesh away.
Before anyone could fully process what was happening the hydra had removed the deceased head and was in the process of growing two new ones to replace it. Drake took off, hoping to repeat his previous stunt before the new head could grow in, or at the very least get out of the hydra’s range. Even as he took off, the two heads not occupied decapitating the dead head saw him and attacked. While neither landed a solid bite they did manage to send Drake crashing back to the ground when one of the heads slammed into him after he dodged its snapping jaws.
From his vantage point, Spike saw Drake crash, and, while he was getting up, the new pair of heads finished growing. He also noticed that the twin unicorns, who he knew he had seen somewhere, were still frozen in place, seemingly overwhelmed by the battle raging around them. Instead of letting them stay there and get caught in the battle, Spike called out, “Hey! Get over here or you’re going to get crushed!”
Not ones to question anything at this point, they powered up there vehicle with a green glow and moved towards the sound of the voice. Once they reached him they were surprised to see yet another dragon, although much smaller and less threatening than the other one.
“Brother is that what I think it is?”
“Why yes brother, but since the other one seems to be helping us out, perhaps it would be best if we joined him here on the sidelines until the fight is over.” With that the brothers fell silent and turned their attention to the fight, where Drake was having trouble.
‘I can’t keep this up,’ Drake thought as he danced away from the hydra’s snakelike strikes. ‘Sooner or later one of these heads is going to get me. Plus if I--whoa!--incapacitate one then the others will just rip it off.’ Drake continued jumping back while taking every chance he got to slash any one of the hydra’s now seven faces, occasionally trying to fly up until he was forced back to the ground.
‘Then again, that may be in my favor…yeah let’s try that.’ Armed with a plan, Drake charged the hydra, getting up close to where the necks attached to the body. He jumped onto its back and used his serrated tail to try and slit a pair of the necks by jerking it hard side to side. Fortunately for him, he jumped in between the two new necks, whose scales were still soft, having just formed. As the two necks began to bleed out, the rest of the hydra’s heads attempted to remove the injured appendages and regrow new ones to stop the bleeding, odd as it may sound. With the hydra’s remaining heads’ attention focused on that task, it paid no attention to the dragon on its back.
Rather than wait for the hydra to finish its business, Drake began to tear into the hydra’s flesh, digging into its back using his claws, jaws, and at one point attempting to spear it with his tail, trying get through the outer layers of scales and muscle. The hydra quickly noticed Drake’s actions, and changed its focus to the pest causing it pain. Fortunately for Drake, he had broken through to the body cavity, and rather than let the Hydra consume him, he dived in just as the hydra snapped down on where he stood.
For those on the sidelines it was seemed it was all over, the hydra having gotten the better of him. “He saved our lives brother,” said the unicorn with the mustache.
“That he did. Come, we need to leave, lest his sacrifice be in vain…hmm, what about the other one?”
The mustachioed brother shrugged. “Ask him if he wants to come with us, but we must be going.”
“Wait!” Spike called out, his eyes still locked on the hydra, praying Drake would somehow survive. “Look at the hydra.” The brothers turned and peaked through the tree line to see the hydra was not looking for them as expected, but was rather stumbling about, two necks with chunks missing dragging on the ground, and blood leaking from them and a hole on its back. Without warning the surviving heads let out a wail of pain, shaking the spectators to their very core. It began stumbling about on the road before falling over on its side. As they continued watching, they noticed something moving underneath the hydra’s skin, along its belly. Suddenly, a bloody blue claw burst out, followed by another. Together they tore open a hole, through which Drake’s head emerged.
‘Air air air, oh sweet mother of mercy so sweet is the taste of air,’ Drake thought as he took a deep breath. Turning to the tree line he called out, “Come on out ya’ll, it’s safe.” Opening up the belly so he could step out Drake patted the hydra. “Don’t worry about this guy, he’s done and out.” Spike came out first, running up to see for himself, still in a state of mild disbelief over what he had just seen. Next came the machine with the unicorns on it, slowly edging its way out of the trees, its riders reluctant to meet Drake, but not willing to risk his wrath.
“My name is Drake, and this little guy is Spike,” Drake said, introducing himself and Spike to the ponies he had saved, before asking, “Who are you and what are you doing in this remote corner of Equestria?”
“Excellent question my fine fellow,” said the clean shaven one. “One that we feel best answered in song,” The brother inhaled and began to sing
“He’s Flim.”
“He’s Flam”
“We’re the world famous Flim Flam Brothers--”
Before the song to could go on any longer, Drake interrupted for the sake of his sanity. “Stop. Stop. No singing necessary, just tell me your names.”
Shaking, the brothers looked at one another before speaking in turn.
“I’m Flam,” said the unicorn with the mustache.
“And I’m Flim,” said the one who was cleanly shaven. “And the reason we are out here is rather long and something we would rather not get into here and now; perhaps at a later time.”
“Wait! I know who you are,” Spike said, their identities finally dawning on him. “You’re those smooth-talking ponies who tried to take over the Apple farm this past cider season.” Spike glared accusatorily at Flim and Flam. At first the brothers were shocked that he had identified them, for that incident of all reasons, but then they became curious.
“How do you know about that, if you don’t mind my asking?” questioned Flam.
“I was there,” Spike replied, puffing out his chest as he continued, “I’m Twilight Sparkle’s number one assistant, currently on a journey of self-discovery, but I was there for the whole competition you participated in. Drake, these guys are bad news.”
“That they may be,” Drake said, looking down at Spike, still covered in blood. “None the less, I have some questions for these questionable cider producers that I will have answered…won’t I?” Drake asked, eyeing the brothers hard, as if daring them to defy him.
“Y-yes,” Flim and Flam said shakily, their focus returning to Drake: a rather large, bloody dragon standing upright, resting on the corpse of a hydra with entrails spilling out of a hole big enough for the twelve foot dragon to step out of. “Yes, of course! Any questions you have for us we have answers for you.”
“Good. There is a lake near here, off to the northwest that should be visible from the road.” Drake said, motioning for Spike to pull out the map.
“This one?” Spike asked, pointing to a small blue dot on the map.
“Yep, that should be it. Ya’ll see which lake he’s pointing to?”
“Yes, my good sir we do, we see exactly where it is you want us to be,” Flim and Flam said, their voices cracking slightly.
“Good, then I want you to meet me there in about two hours; that should be enough time for you to get there, right?”
“Yes but of course! With the Super Speedy Cider Squeeze 6000 that will be no problem.”
“Good, go ahead and get going. I need to talk to Spike without others around.”
* * * * * * * * * * * *
After Flim and Flam set off, Drake turned to me and told me that I had to get there under my own power, because if I couldn’t, he would meet me at the border in three days. I didn’t know if he was bluffing or not, and I wasn’t eager to find out. As he took off, I started running. Do you know how long it took to get there? Four hours. Four hours of non-stop running. Sure, it wasn’t a sprint the whole way but still, that has to be longest I have ever gone without stopping. The funny thing is sure, I got tired after the first thirty to forty minutes or so, but then it just disappeared, and I was able to maintain my pace the whole way--even picking it up from time to time. I wonder if it was because of that ‘Need’ aspect of being a dragon or the workout high I have heard Applejack and Rainbow talk about.
Anyway, it took me four hours, but Flim and Flam got there in just one, and Drake was there long before them. When I got here, his exact words were “What took you? I’ve had time to bathe, hunt, and take a nap while waiting on you.” And he had. When he got here he’d jumped in the lake and scrubbed all the blood off himself using sand and some rough stones. Then when Flim and Flam arrived, he told them to park their contraption and find food. The brothers found some strawberries, onions, and sweet grass. Drake, however, killed a deer, not a big one, but still bigger than the boar he ate yesterday. While Flim and Flam had looks of horror on their faces, he told them to relax before taking a nap.
Once I got here he tore a leg off the deer and gave it to me, saying that since I made it I didn’t have to hunt tonight. It felt wrong to eat it on front of Flim and Flam, but I was so hungry that I scarfed it down anyway. As we were all eating our dinners, Drake began asking Flim and Flam all kinds of question. What did their Cutie Marks stand for, how did they get them, what were they doing out here, and what happened after they got run out of Ponyville.
The brothers told an interesting tale, breaking in to song at points; sometimes Drake allowed it, while others he shut it down. Regardless, their story condensed down to Flam, the mustachioed one with the apple missing a slice for a Cutie Mark, as the big picture pony, and always had been, while Flim, with the single apple slice, always being better at the fine details.
Growing up they were always pulling different scams and rackets, even inventing things from time to time. They got their cutie marks during a school science fair, where they won first prize for a homemade unicorn powered oven that cooked individual apple pies. After that they kept inventing different, apple themed, products until they heard about how Ponyville would always run out of cider. Enter the Super Speedy Cider Squeeze 6000, which they hoped to use to become rich and famous for their inventions. Unfortunately for them, they sacrificed their quality control, and despite winning the competition, got run out of town.
Oddly enough, they returned that evening and spoke to the Apple family. They cut a deal: Flim and Flam would manufacture cider for Sweet Apple Acres, but they could only sell it outside of Ponyville, with a quarter of the profit going back to the Apple family. Additionally, they could only buy apples to produce the cider from the Apple family itself. With the deal in hoof they took the cider they had made, tossed out to bad stuff, and kept the barrels that had been made while the quality control was active. They had been traveling to sell the cider, and decided they should try the ‘untapped market’ that was the Northwestern Frontier, and finish with Fort Bastion.
After the life story of the Flim-Flam brothers, Drake surprised everyone when he invited them to stay with us. Seriously, I didn’t see that one coming. He said they could give their answer in the morning, but that we were going to be exploring a vast untouched world with who knows what for the taking, and were in great need of creative ponies with a flair for the diplomatic. When he said that, I swear I saw Flim’s and Flam’s eyes turn into bit symbols, so I guess they are going to be tagging along with us.
I asked Drake later, when Flim and Flam couldn’t hear, why he was bringing them along. His answer, “They are bright, inventive and smooth talking; just the kind of people I want with me when going into an unexplored place. As an added bonus, they can carry all our luggage.” I guess he was serious with what he told them.
When I asked how they were supposed to keep up with us and find us each night with us in the air and them on the ground, he told me that he would sleep on it and have an answer in the morning.
That’s pretty much everything that happened today: action packed and full of the unexpected. Our group has grown, and based on when I looked at the map last, we should be exiting Equestria sometime the day after tomorrow, unless something else happens to get us off track. Hopefully we can get through tomorrow without having to see Drake climb out of the inside of some monster.
-Spike
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I like this story but please try to not make Drake into some kind of gary Stu when he increases in power and experience as a dragon.
Oh and before i forget it Season 3 premiere was GAKtacular even if Sombra was a bit flat as a villan.
LOVE IT KEEP IT UP
You keep writing "and" instead of "an", which should be easy to fix :)
Should be Hopefully.
character seems a bit OP at times...
This makes for a semi uninteresting story, sorry...
fortunately the plot line is good so i'll read it through. but if you havent already, make something happen where he loses or gets incapacitated or SOMETHING!
give drake stronger enemies so he cant just plow through them without injury
I really like Drakes personality. People keep complaining about how he seems op, I do agree he seems op but people seem to forget when he wished for immortality he also wished for power.
3654784 And the fact that he has to still learn a lot of things to do with being a dragon. in fact, he IS a dragon, they're supposed to be really strong. that's why D&D has them generally as major bosses when it comes to adventures. even the least effective of dragons would count as a mid-level party member in D&D.
Loving the story so far, but I sense a future problem. If Spike is going to be gone for several years, as the story currently implies, then what's going to happen when King Sombra returns?
More spelling. You might want to come back and edit your story. Some editing would make it more emersive, I believe. Without being pulled out by little errors in grammar and spelling, it'll be easier to get 'in the zone' when reading it!
yeah because i think they are drunk and this here is a renactment
First time I saw a human choose the Flim Flam Brothers as travelling companions. This is going to be interesting!
6668480 Jesus Crist
i'm sorry...
8241142
wut?