Basically, another generic, and probably cliched, story about Fluttershy overcoming her Dracophobia, kind of. Plain and simple as that. Sue me. I dare ya, I triple-dog-dare ya mother f@#$%&! (An error has occurred, please try again whenever)
There comes a time when one must put aside their differences and help someone polar opposite of them in order to help protect lives from certain destruction, but when one greatly fears the one they must align with, can they steel their nerves and discover something deeper and more truthful about their ally's ways of life?
Fluttershy was just doing her daily duty around her home, feeding animals and whatnot, when she hears something strange and frightening from the Everfree Forest. What she discovers could either change her, or be the death of her.
If someone asked someone else, "Who is the most powerful being in all of Equestria?", they would say Princess Celestia and Luna, hooves down. If someone asked someone else, "What is the strongest creature in all of existence?", they would say Alicorns, and thus, still the Princesses. But if someone asked someone else, "What is the most dangerous thing in the world?", they would most likely say Dragons.
Dragons were by far the strongest and most powerful beings ever to walk and fly the world, second only to the Princesses. Almost all species had many things in common: Long tails, thick spines, clawed talons, scales, fanged teeth, and truly phenomenal senses. Though they also had their differences. Some have wings for flying, others were earthbound. Some could swim with majestic ease, others burrowed through ground.
Needless to say, like ponies, their were different species with different attributes, and they came in many different shapes and sizes. Fully grown Western Dragons could reach a length of forty-five feet, and stand from thirteen to seventeen feet high.
But there is one species of Dragon that is larger than the Western Dragon, and it is high in the skies where we meet him.
High up in the clouds, near the top of the mountain, a young lone Dragon flew around the peak. He was about twenty feet long with a wingspan of twenty-five feet. He was a medium grey with a deep blue stripe running down the back of his head, body, and tail. He had six black horns on his head. Two on his snout, one on top of each eye, and two big horns facing back. Black spikes ran down from the back of his head to his tail. He had a rather boney looking lower jaw. His bulbar conjunctivas were yellow, and his irises were neon green. His wings had four elongated fingers with gold-orange colored wing membranes, as well as a sort of three-fingered hand on the joint of both wings. And on the end of his tail, he had a golden colored mace, which felt light weighted to him, but is also heavy enough to seriously wound anything or anyone unfortunate enough to be on the receiving end of it. He only had two legs, though, and his feet were wide enough to carry a full grown pony, and nothing bigger.
His name was Hammerheart, and he is a rare species of Dragon known as Wyverns.
Wyverns were the largest Dragons to ever roam the world and skies. But Hammerheart was still in his late teenage years, so he still had many years to go before reaching full size.
He continued to glide near the mountaintop, only flapping his wings when losing altitude. He grinned as he basked in the unshielded sunlight above the cloud layer, unaffected by the sun's ultraviolet rays.
He let out a blissful sigh. "Fresh air, the great outdoors." He said with a deep, gravely, and thick Trottish accent. "Just another one of those days where no one can stand in me way."
When he felt the time was right, he arched forward, held his wings to his sides, and nosedived through the clouds and along the mountainside. Random branches sticking out from the mountain zoomed past him as he descended. He was getting closer to the tree line near the mountain foothill.
When he felt a surge run down his back, Hammerheart spread his wings wide and quickly straightened himself out. He flew atop the treetops, dodging anything that stuck out from the forest. And with one strong flap of his wings, he darted upwards again. When he was at an appropriate height, he stretched his wings as wide as he could while standing on a cloud, and the sun shined through his membranes and created a blinding flash similar to a solar flare. He managed to aim his little trick at a small town, and could hear the cries of those who just received a nasty surprise.
Hammerheart fell onto his back and started wheezing and laughing. He always loved pulling tricks and pranks on other creatures, especially ponies, but this was the greatest move he had ever pulled off. The town he just flashed was always the most hardest hit by his shenanigans.
"Oh, that's a knee slapper, that one!" He said, still laughing and wheezing. A breeze brushed against his face as something flew by. Hammerheart stopped laughing and raised an eye. He got back to his feet and scanned his perimeter. So far, he could not see, hear, or smell anything. But then he felt something scratch his macetail. He turned his gaze to see a harpoon fall spinning to the forest below. Now he knew what was going on.
He was being hunted.
Apparently the townsfolk have had enough of his pranks, and wanted to exterminate the trickster. He flapped and got airborne. Another harpoon flew past him, nearly striking him in the eye. These hunters were pretty precise, and determined. He flew away from the area, but more harpoons started flying towards him. He dodged and flipped and barrel rolled to avoid getting hit.
"These clipe drate gominal sharpshooters ain't gonna get me hide that easily!" Hammerheart grunted as he back flipped, and a harpoon went through the loop he made. Eventually the harpoons ceased, but Hammerheart did not believe they were done yet.
Suddenly, the harpoons started firing again, but surrounded in what appeared to be Unicorn magic. Hammerheart knew he was in danger, because now the harpoons were tracking him, seeking the heat in his body. He aileron rolled some more, harpoons deflecting off the wind he made as he spun. When he halted, Hammerheart thought they gave up as the hunters seemed to have ceased fire again.
But a piercing pain said otherwise.
Hammerheart looked down to see that a spear, not a harpoon, got shot into the bottom of his soft throat. Now that he was injured, much to his folly, Hammerheart tried to escape. His head started to hurt and his vision got blurry. He felt like a drunken bee trying to find its way to the hive. Soon his wings grew numb and uncontrollable, and he started falling. He burst through the treetops, smashing and crashing through branch after branch. Hammerheart was crashing through the forest so fast, the handle of the spear broke off after jamming onto a rock. He felt something get caught in a tight squeeze and yanked off. Hammerheart growled in pain. His wing membranes brushed very harshly against branches, stumps, and other sharp pointy objects of nature. He then burst from the tree line and fell into a river. Hammerheart struggled to keep his head above the surface as he was dragged down the river. As he held his drowsy head above the water, he saw that he was heading straight for a waterfall. Hammerheart tried to swim towards the shore. He flapped his wings, but he was not getting anywhere. He soon found himself plummeting down off the edge and into the large pond below.
Hammerheart splashed into the pond and flailed underwater, trying to get a grip on something. He was starting to feel very lethargic. That spear that pierced him must have been laced with a sedative of some sort. Fortunately, he managed to keep up his tenacity long enough to plant his foot on the rocky ground and walk his way to the shore. Before he would succumb to the effects of the sedative, he examined the damage done to him.
And he was a train wreck.
His underbelly was covered in cuts and scrapes, and the rest of his body was bruised from his tumble through the woods. His wing membranes were torn to bleeding shreds, barely a single piece of skin was left. He looked at his tail to discover that his mace was also gone, ripped clean off the end. The spear that brought him down was broken, but the spearhead was still lodged in his throat, and he could not get it out.
Hammerheart was furious. How could he have let such creatures bring him down? A mighty Dragon. A Wyvern. The anger fueled his rage, and he let out a deafening roar before dropping to the ground and passing out.
At a tree cottage, near the edge of the forest, Fluttershy was standing perfectly still, stiff and wide eyed stricken with fear. She had just heard a loud roar coming from the Everfree. Fluttershy was very easy to frighten, and this was no exception.
She felt something poke her leg. Her eyes returned to their normal size and her body relaxed. She looked down to see her white rabbit looking up at her with crossed arms and a raised eyebrow.
"Oh, sorry Angel." said Fluttershy. "I just got a little distracted by... uh... something."
She resumed what she was doing, feeding and caring for the animals that took up residence in her home. It is what she has been doing ever since she discovered her talent many years ago. When she had finished pouring seeds in a bird cage, she was officially done. She put away the seed bag and headed for the door, for she had other things to do with her close friends.
She opened the door, stepped halfway outside, and took in a deep breath of fresh air. No matter how many days go by, no matter how many times it happens, just enjoying life never gets old. She fully exited her house, shut the door behind her, and trotted to town.
Life in Ponyville was also humming with activity. Earth Ponies, Unicorns, and Pegasi were out and about, doing their daily routines and jobs. Foals played around with each other, or rarely by themselves. Fluttershy had entered town and looked around at all that was going on. She saw ponies working, shopping, playing. She even saw a group of four ponies dressed in winter gear, despite the summer heat. There was an Earth Pony pulling a catapult, a Pegasus pulling a ballista, a Unicorn pulling a second ballista, and another Earth Pony with a rack of spears on his back. If they had something like those in their possession, they must have been hunters. They passed her and headed towards the direction of the Everfree.
Fluttershy did not like hunters very much, considering they killed animals for prized items like fur and bones and other stuff, but she never had the nerve to tell them to just stop doing what was probably their special talent. So to speak.
As Fluttershy kept walking to where her friends were, the roar she heard not too long ago kept creeping into her thoughts. What was it, and why could she not help but feel curious as to go and search for the source? But she did not have time to think as Pinkie Pie suddenly zoomed in out of no where with a goofy grin on her face. Fluttershy jerked her head back, and her eyes widened from Pinkie's sudden appearance.
"Hi, Fluttershy! What have you been up to?" Pinkie asked.
"Oh, nothing much." Fluttershy answered. "Just tending to the critters again."
"Well it's a good thing you got here, and just in the nick of time, too!" said Pinkie as she jumped back. "Rainbow Dash kept saying we should just go without you, but I insisted that we wait for your arrival!" She opened the door to the library. Fluttershy walked inside, and Pinkie bounced past her. Inside were her other friends: Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, and Twilight Sparkle.
"Good afternoon, Fluttershy." said Twilight. "Glad you could make it."
"What's going on?" Fluttershy asked.
"I need ingredients for a special potion that I'm working on."
Fluttershy chuckled nervously. Twilight is always practicing with magic and other experiments and sometimes needed help with it. But to have all her friends over for help on this new potion she was brewing? That seemed legitimately dangerous. But Fluttershy did not want to be rude and just decline, even though she has left out on short notice before, mostly because fear got the better of her.
"Okay, I need the following ingredients:" Twilight said as she brought the list in front of her face, "Cocoa beans, spider silk, dry ice, petrified wood, and marble."
"Ooh! Cocoa beans! I'll get some from Sugarcube Corner A.S.A.P." said Pinkie.
"I've got a large spool of fine spider silk in my shop." said Rarity.
"There's plenty of ice up in the mountains." said Rainbow Dash.
"Dry ice, Rainbow." Twilight said to make sure Rainbow Dash does not just take the first block of ice she spots.
"There's a petrified apple tree at the farm. I'll get the wood." said Applejack.
"I guess I'll go get some marbles." said Fluttershy.
"No, Fluttershy, not marbles. Marble. The rock." said Twilight. "And as far as I know, the only marble deposit I know of is somewhere in the Everfree Forest."
Fluttershy felt something like static surge her whole body and give her goosebumps. Why did she have to go to the forest to find marble for the potion? She quivered a little and her legs felt weak.
Twilight gently placed a hoof on Fluttershy's back. "Don't worry, Fluttershy, I'll go with you."
Fluttershy relaxed a little, but was still uneasy about going into the Everfree. With Twilight there by her side, she felt protected.
Twilight looked to the gang. "So! Everypony's ready?" she asked.
"Yes!" they said in unison.
"Perfect! Now let's go!" said Twilight.
Pinkie pronked like a llama out the library to the bakery to fetch the cocoa beans. Rainbow Dash flew out and headed straight for the mountain tops. Applejack casually trotted out and then galloped back home to the farm. Rarity gracefully trotted on home to find her silk.
Fluttershy and Twilight were the last to leave, and the Pegasus was still nervous about going into the Everfree. Her knees felt weak and her lower legs shook.
"Twilight, I'm still not sure about going into the Everfree Forest." Fluttershy said, almost cracking. "It's just too dangerous in there. There's scary monsters, poisonous plants, and it's just an unnatural place."
Twilight sighed and placed a sympathetic hoof on her friend's upper back. "I told you, Fluttershy, I'll be with you and help you find what I need."
Somehow, Fluttershy's legs had finally stabilized, though she just could not get over her fear of the forest. Twilight was a wondrous friend, and a skilled spell caster, she could most likely fend off whatever they might encounter.
Fluttershy closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "Okay." she exhaled, "I'll try."
"Thanks." said Twilight, "I promise I won't let anything happen to you."
And they trotted off towards the forest in search of the marble rock.
Twilight and Fluttershy had just entered the Everfree Forest. The trees grew tall, they creaked and groaned as they were weakly bent by the winds, and almost completely blocked out the sun, save for small rays of light shining through the leaves. The grass was also tall, about legs' height of a Pony, unkempt like a wild hairstyle. Small animals scurried about the forest floor, foraging for vegetation and fruit or hunting for meat. But the bigger, more dangerous beasts are rumored to reside deeper within the jungle.
Fortunately, Twilight and Fluttershy were walking along a beaten path carved by previous expeditions into the forest, and they were not going off the path unless they had no other choice.
"Um, Twilight, how will we know when we find the marble?" Fluttershy asked as she looked around wide eyed.
"Well, it should feel very cold and smooth." said Twilight. "So smooth that we can't stand on it without slipping and falling."
"Oh, okay..." said Fluttershy. A loud snap of a branch made her flinch and stare at the general location she thought it came from. The sound of a hissing snake made her stare towards another direction. A flock of crows cawed and flew over her. Fluttershy's heart began to beat hard against her chest. She was on the verge of screaming in fear. But then she remembered that Twilight was still with her. She caught up with her friend and continued on.
Twilight scanned the ground for any signs of the mineral, but all she could find was just plain, ordinary rocks.
"Ugh, this is getting nowhere." She groaned, then turned to the partially trembling Pegasus. "Fluttershy, don't freak out or anything, but we're gonna have to go off the trail."
Something akin to a pane of glass shattered in Fluttershy's head. "W-what?" She said, her eye twitching like a squirrel's tail.
"I said we're gonna have to go off the trail." Twilight repeated.
The words made Fluttershy feel like she had the wind knocked out of her as she could not say another word, or barely even breathe. She knew this was going to happen, she just had no idea when it would happen. The world went silent and a dull ringing grew in her ears, but Twilight putting both hooves on Fluttershy's shoulders and shaking sense into her helped her snap back to reality.
She screamed out of pure terror.
Twilight had to fold her ears down tight and press her hooves on them just to keep herself from going deaf from the sudden scream. Soon, Fluttershy ran out of breath and started panting slowly like a dog. Tears leaked from her eyes.
"Fluttershy, please!" said Twilight, trying to be as assuring as she could. "You have to trust me on this."
"I just don't know." Fluttershy said with a quivering voice, her lips were waving like the ocean when they were closed.
Twilight thought about putting her hoof onto Fluttershy's back in sympathy again, but instead pulled Fluttershy in for an empathetic hug. "Look, I know you're scared, I am too, but I really need your help with this. Okay?" She kept her grip on her friend as she pulled away and looked at her.
Fluttershy sniffed, trying to not burst into tears, even though the feeling is very overwhelming. But when she looked at Twilight's face and saw how caring her look was, she took in a deep breath and managed to calm down.
"Okay, Twilight." She said, "I'll try."
"Thank you." said Twilight.
They broke apart and headed into the foliage. Twilight formed a makeshift machete out of her magic and chopped at the plants like a safari explorer, and Fluttershy followed behind. She continued to stare at the trees and other plants. Even though the Everfree was a dangerous place, its tropical greenery, foreign-looking flowers, and vine-laced trees are just breath-taking. Twilight ducked under a low branch, but Fluttershy was so preoccupied with sightseeing that when she turned her gaze forward, her head hit the branch with a hard conk. She blacked out and fell to the ground.
When she woke up a few seconds later, she could not have been in any worse situation than what she had just gotten into. Twilight was gone. She did not have anyone to guide and protect her. She was all alone.
Panic began to creep into her head and heart like a virus. But when she noticed the sliced plants before her, she knew she just had to follow them and she would find Twilight. She trotted quickly along the carved path, thinking this was simply easy, but the difficulty level raised when she came to a fork in the road. There were now two paths, and none of them were carved, simply natural. Fluttershy had to keep calm and think.
"Most ponies usually take the left path a lot." She thought. "So I'll go right!"
And the right path she took. But was it the correct path, she would have to find out.
She trotted along the path she chose for nearly a whole minute, until she found what appeared to be a wall of moss-covered rocks. At the end of the path, there was what looked like a cave. Fluttershy mentally slapped herself in the back of her head for picking the wrong path. She was so frustrated, she wanted to stomp the ground. She lifted her hoof and lightly planted it back down, making a little dust wave. It was not a heavy stomp, but at least she had gotten it out of her system.
She was just about to turn around and retrace her steps, but something about the cave was catching her curiosity. She knew it was risky, but felt it had to be done. She approached the rock wall and entered the cave. But upon entering, she found out it was merely a deep hole in the wall. When she reached the other end, she had found what she could consider a hidden habitat of some sort. Fluttershy could not help but gaze at the scenery before her. The rocks were covered with roots that sported beautiful flowers of many sorts. The trees were short and seemingly alive as their leaves danced in the gentle breeze. Birds flew about the luscious air. Small woodland critters moved around far off near the other end of the area. There was a large waterfall that poured into a large pond below, and fish were swimming around in the crystal clear water.
Fluttershy wanted to go in and say hello to the animals. She took a step forward, but felt something warm and wet when her hoof touched down. Fluttershy looked down to see she had stepped in something dark. She brought her hoof to her face to examine it. She then sniffed the odd liquid.
It smelled like iron.
Fluttershy's eyes grew wide as she realized she stepped in something's blood, but whose blood was it? Her question was answered when a large creature lunged from seemingly out of nowhere and tried to climb onto the rock wall.
Fluttershy jumped back and nearly had a heart attack from the creature's sudden appearance. It clawed at the rocks, but ended up falling backwards down to the ground below and landing with a loud thud. Fluttershy looked down to see it was a Dragon. Her eyes grew so wide, they were as big as dinner plates, probably even bigger.
If there is one thing Fluttershy suffered from the most, it was Dracophobia; Fear of Dragons. Little Dragons, like her friend Spike, she could handle. But larger Dragons, that was a different story. It was not as big as the one she gave a serious lecture to, but it was still pretty big, and fierce-looking with all those horns and spikes. It must have been the one that roared a while ago, she thought. Fluttershy's heart was beating as fast as a hummingbird's wings, she was so frightened. She never would have guessed that this huge pit would be the home of a vicious Dragon. She peeked past what little cover she had to see what the Dragon was doing. But when she looked again, she noticed something strange about the Dragon in the pit. It only had two legs, and its wings were where a pair of arms would usually be. But it did have what appeared to be hands on the joint of its wings.
"Why does it keep trying to climb out?" Fluttershy thought. "Why doesn't he just fly out of there?"
When the Dragon stretched both wings out and roared, she had gotten her answer. There were no membranes between the fingers. What was left of them were bleeding, which explains the drop of blood she stepped in. It jumped and clawed at the rocks again, but inevitably fell down to the ground, again. It stood up, shook itself off, and growled in anger. A large beetle slowly flew around the Dragon and flew away, but the Dragon shot out its tongue. It pierced the beetle like a spear and brought it into the Dragon's jaws. It crunched on the insect, but apparently did not taste very good as it spat out what was left of the chewed up bug.
Fluttershy could not help but feel bad for the Dragon. It was one thing to fear something as dangerous as it, but when you see it in pain and helpless like this, it was a strange motion to go through.
Fluttershy brought her unstained hoof to her mouth and tears of sadness began to leak from her eyes, but her other hoof slipped from beneath her. Her natural instincts kicked in, and her wings flapped to keep her from falling, but her little tumble had kicked off a few pebbles. The Dragon's super hearing picked up on the sound of rock against rock and looked up at the hole in the rocks. It spotted the Pegasus and gave a mean look to her: Lips curled, teeth bared, and furrowed eyes.
Fluttershy knew she had been spotted, and was still as a statue while still flapping her wings. The Dragon kept looking fiercely at her, but the ferocity on his face slowly turned into a look of confusion with a raised brow.
Fluttershy slowly flew back into the hole, landed on the rocky ground, and trotted back the way she came.
She left the hole in the rocks and trotted back towards the intersection of the path. As she made her way, she could see something moving past the foliage. Something lavender. Much to her relief, it was Twilight, who apparently also had the idea of going back.
Twilight could also see Fluttershy moving past the plants.
"Fluttershy, is that you?" She called.
"Yes." Fluttershy complied.
They regrouped as the crossroad of the path and they both hugged each other in absolute relief.
"I'm sorry I didn't stay close, Twilight." said Fluttershy.
"No, Fluttershy, I'm the one who should be apologizing." said Twilight. "I didn't even know you weren't following me until minutes after it was too late. I'm sorry for leaving you behind."
"Well, then, I guess we're both sorry for wronging the other." said Fluttershy, trying to settle an even agreement.
Twilight gave a sheepish grin and rubbed the back of her head. "Well, I still couldn't find the marble."
"Me, neither." said Fluttershy. "Though I did stumble upon a..." She stopped herself mid-sentence.
"A what? What did you find?" Twilight asked, curious.
"Um... a, uh..." Fluttershy's mind began to cycle through a list of random back-up words, until it finally stopped. "A nest of Phoenix eggs!" She said with a cutesie smile that could fool anyone who was easily affected by much an adorable charm.
Sure enough, it was enough to fool Twilight. "Wow! Amazing!" She said, "Can you show me?"
Fluttershy kept the cutesie smile, but her eyes formed a look of nervousness. Her mind pulled the lever and jumbled through a random thought processor until a good excuse dispensed.
"Oh, uh, sorry, but the eggs hatched, and the family flew away." Fluttershy said, still sounding very convincing.
And Twilight bought it like a book on sale. "Oh, well, that's a shame." She said. "Better luck for me next time, I guess."
They both giggled, but then their front hooves slipped from beneath them, and they bonked heads. They back away from each other before standing upright.
"What just happened?" Fluttershy asked, her eyes still slowly spinning from the collision.
"I don't know." said Twilight. She shook her head and regained her senses. She looked down and noticed they were just standing atop a white rock. Twilight gasped and used her magic upon the rock. It did feel rather cold when they hit the ground, and it was so smooth they both slipped on it.
Twilight grunted as she tried to pull the rock out of the ground. Soon, it fully surfaced, and it was big. Jackpot!
"Awesome!" said Twilight, "Now I just need to take a decent sized sample and we'll be done."
She form what looked like a large hammer and chisel out of her magic aura and began to chip away at the large hunk of marble. After about ten hefty taps, a hoof-sized piece came off. Twilight picked up the chunk and dropped the large marble rock back into the ground.
"So, does this mean we're finished?" Fluttershy asked. "We can leave and go back home?"
Twilight gave a proud look to her. "Yes, Fluttershy, yes we can."
Twilight trotted down the path she had previously made, and Fluttershy could barely contain her relief that she would no longer need to be in the jungle anymore. But as she followed Twilight back home, she could not help but think about the Dragon that was trapped in the pit. But what could she do to help it? It was a predator, and she was technically prey.
Hammerheart still struggled to get out of the pit he was in. He jumped and tenaciously clawed at the rocks, hoping to get a grip on something, but to no avail. He fell back down to the ground and landed with a bone-crunching slam.
He stood back up and shook himself off, trying to nullify the pain inflicted upon himself, but the only pain he could not simply shake off was failure. He brought his wing hand to his throat and tried to pull out the spearhead that was still lodged in him, but he could not feel it, let alone grasp it. It was deep. He had to get it out before the wound scarred over.
Rendered flightless and nearly unable to defend himself, Hammerheart was in a real pickle. The mace on his tail was ripped off during his tumble through the forest. He still had his talons, but a Wyvern's claws are not well designed for attack, they were mostly designed for grip. Hammerheart then remembered he could breathe fire, but when he tried, nothing but fowl-tasting, corrosive bile coughed up from his maw. It was clear that his only means of self-defense were biting and clawing.
Hammerheart was so furious, he wanted to curse, but he remembered he could not even speak as soon as he tried to. That spear had nailed him right in his voice box. Though he could still roar, he was rendered mute as a rock. Fortunately, the spearhead did not block his windpipe or his esophagus, so he could still breathe and eat, but the pickings that were around him were either hard to catch or distasteful. That beetle he had taken a bite out of was one such example.
Hammerheart then remembered that Pegasus that he spotted just minutes ago. He absolutely detested it. Then again, he pretty much abhorred every pony that lived and breathed, especially after what those hunters had done to him. So, what was with that Pegasus? Why did it not try to slay him in his somewhat weakened state. Then again, it looked unarmed, but there is the infamous saying "looks can be deceiving". Even then, why did she not just end him then and there?
"Over here, guys!" said a deep voice. "That overgrown lizard's probably this way!"
Hammerheart solemnly looked towards the direction the voice came from. It sounded like more ponies, and they sounded like they were searching for him. Hammerheart was about to dive into the pond, but quickly halted himself. He had to be smart. Those ponies are close, and they will probably see the ripples he would make in the water. He still had to hide in the water, though. It was the only place he could hide. He went towards the waterfall and jumped into the pond near the base of the fall. His ripples would meld with the waterfall's, thus erase any evidence of his diving. Underwater did not obscure his vision, and he could see clearly. He looked up at the edge of the pit and saw an Earth Pony dressed in winter gear approach the edge before stopping to scan the area.
The hunter looked upon the pit. The place seemed like the perfect location for a Dragon to hide, but he did not bring that to thought.
"Ruckus, did you find anything?" said a gruff Pegasus with an eye-patch over his left eye, also dressed in winter gear. With him were two other ponies. Another Earth Pony with a wooden back-left leg, and a Unicorn who was missing half an ear. Behind them were a catapult and two ballistas.
"No, Cyclone," said Ruckus, "it's just a desolate pit."
"I'll be the judge of that." said Cyclone before he flapped his grotty wings and flew into the pit. He landed near the pond and began to investigate the area, starting with the very dirt. He brought his head to the ground and started sniffing like a dog. He then licked the dirt up, swished it around in his mouth, and then spat into the pond.
"Dragon blood." Cyclone gruffly whispered. He looked up at the rocks and noticed they had claw marks all over them. He leered as he further examined the environment. He picked up on a scent. A rather strong and unpleasant scent. He examined a large bush and found a pile of dung sitting on top of the roots. He quickly flew back from the grotesque spot and landed near the pond edge.
"Boys, come on down!" Cyclone called.
The other ponies were levitated down by the half-eared Unicorn, who then used his magic to create a rocky stairway for him to descend into the pit. He brought the catapult and ballistas down with him.
"What did you find, boss?" the other Earth Pony asked.
"Everyone, we have ourselves a crime scene!" said Cyclone. "Marks from claws!" He pointed at the rock wall where the marks were. "Trails of Dragon blood!" He pointed to the reddened ground. "Pile of..." he pointed to the soiled bush and grunted, "Dragon poo." The Unicorn put a hoof to his mouth and his cheeks puffed up.
Cyclone cleared his throat. "Here's what I think happened:" As he explained, the others pictured his explanation in their heads. "Dragon falls into pit, then is attack by rabid little hedgehogs. Dragon tries to escape, but the rocks offer no grip for him. Hedgehogs back him into a corner. Dragon's so scared, he soils the bush before the hedgehogs close in, leaving the Dragon... dead!"
"Uh, sir, I don't think a swarm of hedgehogs can eat a whole Dragon in one day, let alone kill one." said the Unicorn.
"Alright, yeah, good point." said Cyclone before clearing his throat again and bringing forth another theory that came to mind. "Theory Two: Dragon falls into pit. Dragon then relieves itself at the bush, angering a nasty hive of carnivorous killer bees. The bees swarm and sting the Dragon. Dragon tries to escape, but no luck. Dragon bleeds to death from the stings and drops to the ground for the bees to feast upon, leaving the Dragon... dead!"
"Cyclone, is this why you were rejected from every branch of the Military during your younger years?" Ruckus asked.
"Don't you question my means of mystery solvin', boy!" Cyclone growled as he flew right up into Ruckus' face, making the Earth Pony hesitate to object. "The reason those twinkle-hoofed pansies rejected me from every branch of the Military was because I was too professional for their newbie tastes. If they were to see me in full action against an opposing force, such as the very Dragon we are huntin', they would sweep me right off the ground and carry me to the heavens, where I will look down upon the world and say-"
Cyclone's redundant speech was cut when he was suddenly yanked into the pond by an unseen force. The others flinched from the sudden event and became fully alert of the danger.
Ruckus looked to the other Earth Pony. "Rockhard, ready your slingshot and load that catapult!" Rockhard reached into his side pocket and pulled out an old-fashioned slingshot made from a two-pronged stick and bearskin, he then headed to the catapult and place big chunks of rocks into its launcher.
Ruckus then looked to the Unicorn. "Archer, prepare the ballistas, and douse the spearheads with poison instead of sedatives this time!" Archer brought the large ballista machine forward to his sides. He pulled a vial out of his vest pocket and poured its contents onto the spearheads.
They stood their ground, waiting for whatever was in the water to surface. Soon, the beast surfaced, and it held Cyclone in its jaws. The Dragon's eyes had turned from yellow and green to black and red. Cyclone shouted in pain from the fangs piercing his hide. Then the Dragon started to violently shake his head from side to side, shaking the Pegasus like a terrier shaking a rat. The other ponies could do nothing but watch in horror as their leader was practically being torn up by the Dragon.
Ruckus grunted. "ATTACK!" He shouted. Rockhard swung his slingshot and released the metal ball. Archer also had a small crossbow, which he used against the Dragon. Ruckus threw spears at the beast. The metal ball hit Hammerheart in the neck, the crossbow's bolts deflected off his scales, and the spear simply missed. Hammerheart shifted the Pegasus in his mouth to where he was upside-down. He then proceeded to bite him three times. Upon the third bite, Cyclone's back broke from the sheer strength of the Wyvern's jaws. Hammerheart then threw the broken and dead body to the side and made his way to the shore to confront the other hunters.
The other hunters continued to throw spears, metal balls, and shoot bolts at Hammerheart. The Wyvern roared with anger at the ponies for daring to attack him. He went to Rockhard and swiftly chomped on him with his maw. The Earth Pony screamed in agony from the fangs boring into his flesh. Hammerheart then placed his hand onto the pony's head and broke his neck as he pulled down on it. He tossed the corpse into the pond and was left with two pests to be rid of.
Ruckus quickly made for the catapult and cut the line. The launcher threw the rocks with enough force to land upon the Wyvern's head, but it did not affect him all that well. Hammerheart lunged onto the catapult and crushed it beneath his talons. Ruckus panicked and tried to flee, but Hammerheart seized him in his jaws, threw him into the air, caught him in his mouth, and threw him at the wall. The pony's blood painted the walls from the tossing, and on impact.
Archer was left. He quickly aimed the ballistas at Hammerheart and pulled the levers. The spears fired. One missed and broke against the wall, the other pierced the Wyvern's left hip. Hammerheart roared in pain, but was not done yet. Archer began to rapidly fire his crossbow bolts at a panicking pace, but they kept deflecting off of Hammerheart's tough hide. Hammerheart approached the first ballista, and tore it to splintered pieces with his jaws. He then jumped onto the other ballista, crushing it under his own weight. With the ballistas destroyed, Hammerheart's attention turned to Archer. He limped up to the retreating Unicorn, grabbed him by the neck with his talon, bit down on his horn, and broke it off. Archer became extremely spastic from the forceful loss of his horn. Then Hammerheart lifted his right foot and stomped the pony flat.
Hammerheart panted from the fight. What was this new sensation he was feeling? Whatever it was, it felt so bad, yet so good as well. He tried to take the spear out of his leg, but he could not reach it with his other talon. He could probably grab it with his mouth, but he would risk breaking it and making it more difficult to remove. He surveyed the land and looked at the corpses. He had just killed four ponies, and to put icing on the cake, they were his first pony kills. He did not know what else to think about, but he did know this;
Everyone was waiting at the Library for Twilight's and Fluttershy's return. Pinkie had a small bag of cocoa beans, Rarity held a spool of fine spider silk with her magic, Rainbow Dash had a large chunk of actual dry ice on her back, and Applejack had a small log of petrified wood on hers.
Rainbow Dash groaned from impatience. "What's taking them so long? This block of ice is starting to hurt my back and wings."
"Then just set it down, Rainbow." Applejack deadpanned.
Rainbow Dash just rolled her eyes and let the ice block slide off her right wing onto the floor.
"Hmm, I don't ever recall the last time I even used spider silk for any of my designs and outfits." Rarity said as she examined the spool of silk. "I'm almost having second thoughts about this. But I don't want to be rude. I just hope Twilight doesn't use too much of it."
"Whatever Twilight's making, if it uses cocoa beans, I hope its as chocolatey as chocolate cake!" Pinkie said, excited about the experiment.
The mares were clearly bored out of their minds, but the sound of a door opening perked them back to their focus. Twilight and Fluttershy had entered the library with a chunk of marble in hoof.
"Sorry we're late, girls, had a bit of a delay during our search." said Twilight.
"Well it's a darn good thang ya made it, Twi." said Applejack, who then looked at Rainbow Dash with a raised eyebrow. "Rainbow was gittin' a little on edge, agein."
"Whatever." said Rainbow Dash, "Daylight's burning. Let's do this."
"Alright." said Twilight, "Place the items on the large metal tray, please."
On the table in the center of the library was the experimentation zone, consisting of a plethora of glass tubes that swirled and curved like a roller coaster. A large tray waited for the items to be placed upon it. They all set the five items onto the tray and backed away.
"Okay, let's hope this works." Twilight closed her eyes, folded her ears down, and placed all focus upon the experiment. The items began to liquify and fuse into an unknown fluid that was sucked into the glass tubes. They rushed through them like blood in veins. They began to change and shift through multiple colors as they looped and swirled and spun in their network of glass. It was a rather mesmerizing sight to look at. So much, Fluttershy was developing a slight headache from just watching. Soon the liquid fused one final time before pouring into a flask.
It was done.
"Finished." Twilight said, clapping her hooves. She levitated the flask closer and inspected it, completely in the dark as to what this concoction does.
"So..." Rainbow Dash drawled, "what does it do?"
Twilight blinked and looked at the mares, who looked at her with curiosity on their minds.
"I'm not sure, yet." said Twilight. "I'll need a few days or so to figure out this potion's purpose."
Rainbow Dash facehoofed and groaned. She just wanted answers, but they were not coming.
"Don't fret, Rainbow." said Applejack, "Try ta be patient, fer once, and just let Twilight do her thang."
"Alright, fine." said Rainbow Dash.
"Alright, let us all be on our way, then." said Rarity. "You take care, Twilight."
"See ya around." said Rainbow Dash.
"Git 'er done, Twi." Applejack said as she tipped her hat.
"Bye bye, for now!" said Pinkie.
The four that said their farewells left the library, but Fluttershy was standing still. Twilight noticed this and approached the Pegasus.
"Fluttershy?" She tapped her shoulder. Fluttershy snapped out of it and looked at Twilight.
"What? What is it?" She asked.
"I was just checking to see if you were okay." said Twilight.
"Oh, I'm fine. I was just distracted by the experiment thing." Fluttershy said sheepishly.
"Well, you just head home and get some rest. It's been a long day." Twilight insisted.
"Oh, of course." Fluttershy giggled as she exited the library. "I'll see you tomorrow, maybe?"
"Maybe. Goodbye." Twilight waved her hoof.
"Bye." Fluttershy returned the gesture, and closed the door behind her, leaving Twilight with her studies.
It was late afternoon, about five o' clock to be exact. Fluttershy had just made it back to her home near the forest. She was still pondering, not about the potion, but the Dragon trapped in the pit. She felt there had to be something she could do. But judging from the look it gave her, it did not trust her. She would have to earn its trust somehow. Food could probably work. She will bring it something tasty to snack on. Course, it might take more than just a luscious morsel to win a Dragon's trust.
Something like a giant hammer mentally smashed her upside the head and her eyes grew wide with horrific remembrance. How could she had forgotten? She is afraid of Dragons. Dracophobia! How could she bring herself to confront such a beast if she runs or flies off scared for her life? No, she could do this. Like her friends always tell her, "be assertive". If she was going to help that Dragon, and win its trust, she will have to prepare herself for the confrontation.
She entered her house and was greeted by a horde of animals expecting to be fed.
"Okay, first feed animals, then search for the Dragon." She thought.
She got to work feeding and watering. Once again, her little white rabbit began to demand for a grande meal. Nothing Fluttershy could not handle.
Once everything around the house was taken care of, Fluttershy packed a saddlebag with fish, took a deep breath, and headed for the door. As she was about to exit, she felt something pull on her hind leg. She turned and looked down to see the rabbit pressing both paws around her leg with a raised eyebrow.
"Oh, don't worry Angel, I'll be back before dark." said Fluttershy. Angel released his grip, and Fluttershy closed the door. She definitely had to be back before dark, though. The Everfree is no place to be lollygagging during the night.
She trotted into the forest and had to find the carved path. Or if not, find another way. She could fly up and find the pit, but the saddlebag of fish really weighed her down. As she hurried along the beaten path, she walked through a creek. She looked down at her hooves and saw that they were red. She looked back at the creek and saw that there was a trail of blood going with the natural flow of the creek. Fluttershy became nervous from the bloody water, but when she remembered the Dragon's current state, she decided to follow the creek upwards in hopes of maybe finding an alternate route to the pit. Ten minutes later, sure enough, Fluttershy came to the moss covered rock wall of the pit. The creek flowed from a cave that was small enough for a full grown pony to fit through, and nothing bigger. She entered the cave, and it just so happened to be another hole in the wall.
When she entered the pit, nothing prepared her for what she saw next.
There was wreckage scattered all over the place. Weapons laid on the ground, and blood was on the walls and dirt. She did not know where it all came from, but she then remembered the hunters that were in town a long time ago. But the real question was, where is the Dragon? As she slowly walked further into dangerous territory, she kept having mental images of how the confrontation might go. Some were strange, others were bad. She heard a low growl coming from behind. Fluttershy slowly turned around to see the Dragon's head sticking out of the pond. She gasped and tried not to panic. The Dragon kept its right side facing her, but she noticed it was limping. When it turned its body directly towards her and growled, that was when she saw the spear stuck in his leg.
She brought her hoof to her mouth and nearly cried from both fear and sadness of seeing this beast in such a painful predicament. But she remembered she had a Dragon's trust to win.
"Uh, hello." Fluttershy said, timidly as ever. The Dragon kept giving her its mean look from before: lips curled, fangs bared, and furrowed its eyes. She reached into her left bag with her right hoof and pulled out a sockeye salmon. The Dragon stopped growling and ceased his mean look. It raised an eye at the pony's offering. It slowly approached and was going to eat, but then it started gagging harshly. Fluttershy flinched and took back the salmon. The Dragon continued to gag until he finally coughed up a bone. He spat it into the pond and returned his attention to Fluttershy.
"Oh, my..." Fluttershy was starting to get anxious. That bone the Dragon had just coughed up looked horrifyingly familiar. "Did that Dragon eat the hunters?" She thought. "No, he couldn't have." She slightly shook her head and tried to give the Dragon the fish again. The Dragon got closer, and closer, and closer. It was almost too close for comfort on Fluttershy's part. The Dragon sniffed the salmon. He reared his head back. Fluttershy thought he was going to shoot forward and try to take the fish right out of her hooves, but instead, the Dragon opened its mouth and shot out its tongue. The tongue impaled the fish, wrapped around it, and brought it back to the mouth. Fluttershy was startled by the sudden move, but did not run away. She had to hold her ground.
She then took off her saddlebag, opened both sacs, and presented the fish to the Dragon. "Here you go, big guy. Eat up." She said. The Dragon gave a leer that implied suspicion, and limped in to feast. Fluttershy brought her attention to the spear on its hind leg. Maybe if she pulled it out, she could gain a step in earning the Dragon's trust. With the Dragon preoccupied with eating, Fluttershy flew up and grabbed a hold of the spear. "Okay, I just... have to..." She pulled on it with what little might she had in her. Her action did not seem to catch the Dragon's attention, so at least she was in the clear, for now. She realized she needed something to push against while she was pulling. She then boldly pressed her back hooves on the Dragon's hip and continued to pull on the spear.
The Dragon was nearly finished eating, but with one final pull, the spear came out. The Dragon immediately pulled his head out of the bag and roared in pain. Fluttershy dropped the spear and fell to the ground. The Dragon turned and looked at the bloody spear, then at Fluttershy, who was getting up to get her saddlebag. The Dragon swiftly pinned her beneath his talons and stared fiercely into her eyes with pain-induced anger. Fluttershy was absolutely terrified, pinned under a foot and at the mercy of an enraged Dragon. The Dragon kept staring at her with pure anger. Fluttershy was on the verge of tears, about ready to scream for help, even though her cries would fall on deaf ears. The Dragon reared its head back and opened its mouth. Fluttershy thought this would be the end. But instead, the Dragon roared at her, saliva spraying on her face and in her hair. He then released his grip and swiftly limped off towards the other side of the pit. Fluttershy's heart throbbed with fear and she was just trying to catch her breath. She donned her saddlebag and tried to head back home.
She walked completely fine, but she still had a look of sheer terror on her face. It was nine o' clock in the afternoon when she made it back home, thankfully before dark. She opened the door, entered, closed the door, locked it, and then proceeded to collapse onto the floor.
Fluttershy woke up and yelped at ten o' clock in the morning. She looked all over and realized she was in her bedroom, when she could have sworn she had passed out in her living room. But apparently her animal friends had put her in bed while she was out cold. She got up out of bed and headed down stairs. The animals were waiting for her to serve them breakfast, and she immediately got to work.
As she fed her pets, Fluttershy reflected on what happened yesterday. She had came very close to earning that Dragon's trust, but apparently lost it quickly after pulling out that spear that was stuck in his leg. With it completely hating her, now how was she going to help it?
When she had filled the last food bowl with feed, she put away the bag and headed out the door. She decided to go see Twilight and see how she was doing with that potion she had brewed yesterday. As she entered town, Fluttershy still pondered on how to help the Dragon. It would now be twice as difficult as before. But she would have to think about it later, because she had arrived at the library.
Twilight heard a knock on the door, and she magically opened it. Fluttershy walked in.
"Good morning, Fluttershy." said Twilight.
"Good morning, Twilight." said Fluttershy. "How's your potion turning out?"
Twilight sighed. "I still haven't figured out what it does, yet." she said. "One way to find out would be drinking it, but it's too risky. For all I know, it could be lethal to the taste. Or worse..."
"H-how worse?" Fluttershy asked, nervous about the concoction.
Twilight was about to respond, but held her tongue when she could not think of a worse case scenario more horrific than "death by consumption".
"You know, that's something I'll have to think up later." Twilight said. "For now, I need to continue my studies."
"Oh, okay. I guess I'll just go now." said Fluttershy as she back out the door.
"Okay, see you later." Twilight said while keeping her gaze upon the potion.
Fluttershy closed the door and walked away from the library. With that done and over with, her thoughts returned to how to help the Dragon, but another friend who approached her forced her to put them aside for later again.
"Why hello, Fluttershy." said Rarity, "So good to see you this fine morning."
"Oh, hello Rarity." said Fluttershy.
"May I ask you for a small favor, darling?" Rarity asked.
"Well, what might that be?" said Fluttershy.
"Well, after I found that spool of spider silk, I've been needing to get more. But silk like that isn't something you can just buy from anywhere, it's incredibly rare. You have a talent for animals, so if you could be a dear and perhaps get some spiders to produce a years supply of silk for me, I would be deeply appreciative. Plus I'll reward you with whatever pleases you."
Fluttershy was a little unsure about the favor, but then a brilliant plan came to mind. From what she learned from Spike is that Dragons love treasuries of all sorts. From gold to jewels to anything of pricy value. If she could get some gems from Rarity and present them to the Dragon, that could really redeem her efforts in winning the beast's trust.
"Okay, Rarity, I'll help you in getting some silk." said Fluttershy.
"Wonderful!" Rarity said with glee, "Take your time, no rush." She turned and headed off.
Fluttershy partly knew and did not know what she had gotten herself into. She needed those gems, but she was going to have to trade in a years supply of silk from spiders in order to get it. But Rarity had faith in her and her ability to speak to the animals. She was in for a long day of searching and gathering.
For the last seven hours, Fluttershy went from home to home, tree to tree, and every nook and cranny of Ponyville looking for spiders to get silk from. Fortunately, insects and arachnids populated a large majority of the planet, and spiders were practically everywhere. Fluttershy was able to obtain what seemed like half a ton of spider silk within the time period. When she felt she had collected enough, she went to deliver the load and get her payment.
She was exhausted from her search, but her need to help the Dragon was what kept her going. She knocked on the door of the boutique where Rarity resided.
"Coming!" said a voice in a singing tone. The door magically opened, and Rarity was on the other side. "Oh, Fluttershy, you're here. And you have the silk I asked for, no doubt?"
"I sure do." said Fluttershy as she placed the box on the step. Rarity engulfed the box with her magic and opened it to find about fifty big spools of silk inside. She nearly jumped and flailed like a ten year old on caffeine overload, but instead made a small hop and twiddled her legs with delicate grace.
"Oh my goodness, thank you." said Rarity. "I can only imagine how difficult it was for you to get all of this. Of course, the only way to repay you is through the reward I promised, so what would you like?"
Fluttershy took in a deep breath through her nose and exhaled out her mouth. "Well, if it's alright with you, may I have one of each jewel you might possess?" If Fluttershy had fingers, they would be crossed in hopes that the answer is yes.
Rarity raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Um, what do you need some gems for, pray tell?" Rarity asked.
"Uh, for a gift I'm making for a far away friend." Fluttershy said, which was half true.
Both of Rarity's eyes grew wide with realization of the request. "Oh! Well aren't you an Element of Kindness, indeed." Rarity smiled. "Alright, I shall part with some gems so that you may gift your far away friend with something as pretty as a necklace or something."
Rarity headed to a closet, took out a jewelry box, removed about fifty nonidentical gemstones, including a pearl twice as small as a pony's head, and presented them to Fluttershy.
"Whatever you plan to make for your friend, I hope they love it." said Rarity.
"Thank you very much, Rarity." said Fluttershy. They hugged and Fluttershy headed back home. Now that she had a buffet of jewels for the Dragon, she would certainly win its trust for sure. But she also had to take care of one more thing before going out into the forest. She arrived at her house and entered, and was greeted by hungry animals.
Fluttershy trotted along the Everfree Forest path with her saddlebag donned. The left bag held the gems Rarity gave her not too long ago, and the right bag held the large pearl and a first aid kit to treat the Dragon's nasty leg wound. Fluttershy had found the creek that led to the pit. She followed it upstream, and found the hole in the wall. She went through and expected to find the Dragon trying to claw its way to freedom, but when she exited the hole, she found it lying motionless near the shore of the pond.
She approached it, wondering if it was asleep. If it was sleeping, the last thing she wanted to do was wake it. But the Dragon started to sniff, lifted its head up off the ground, and turned to see her standing there. He started to growl, but then began coughing up a storm, and it was pretty much a hurricane.
Fluttershy did not know what was wrong. She tried to approach it, but it just kept growling her away and then started coughing again. Soon the Dragon's coughing ceased, but its breathing was very raspy, like he had a serious cold or something.
"What's the matter?" Fluttershy asked, trying to see if the Dragon could speak like the last one she met. "Are you sick? Why are you like this?"
The Dragon hissed like a crocodile, but coughed up a wad of saliva from doing so. Fluttershy examined the spit and noticed something strange. It was as green as worn old copper. Then she knew what was wrong.
The Dragon was suffering from lethal poisoning.
Fluttershy had seen this sort of thing before when a bear with an arrow in his shoulder came to her house. She never found out what type of poison it was, but fortunately, a tablespoon of tree sap from a unique species of tree called Entiohk was powerful enough to neutralize the poison. Luckily, she had a jar full of Entiohk sap in her first aid kit. She set down her saddlebag, took out her kit, and took out the jar. It took a tablespoon to cure a bear, but for a Dragon, Fluttershy decided to give it half the jar.
She approached the sick Dragon, who bared his teeth and growled at her again.
"It's okay, I'm here to help you get better." Fluttershy said, trying to convince the Dragon she was no threat to him. The Dragon then gave a low roar that made Fluttershy flinch. "Please, let me help you." she implored. The Dragon was still not wanting her near him. He then opened his mouth and slammed his jaws inches from Fluttershy's face, making a bone-crunching sound that made her flinch again and yelp.
This Dragon was dying before her eyes, and it would not let her do anything to save it.
A thread snapped in Fluttershy's headed, and she grew angry. She stomped up to the Dragon, who started to growl sickly.
"Don't you growl at me, mister!" Fluttershy said, commandingly. The Dragon cocked his head up and raised an eye in surprise as she continued to speak. "Now, unless you wanna just lay here and die in front of me, you will take this medicine, because I'm NOT gonna stand here and let you drop dead on my watch! Comprendre?!"
The Dragon looked behind him, to his left, then to his right, and back at Fluttershy. He simply rolled his eyes, brought his head to her level, and opened his mouth. Fluttershy made a hard nod of her head in success, and poured half the jar of sap onto the Dragon's tongue. He grunted at the bitter taste, and swallowed it. Fluttershy then brought her saddlebag up to the Dragon and presented the gems to him. The Dragon raised both eyes to the gems, and then began to feast upon them.
"Good. Now I just need to apply some antibiotics to your wound and everything will be alright." Fluttershy trotted to the Dragon's left-hind leg with a spray canister of antibiotics and got to work cleaning the wound. The Dragon stopped eating to see what she was doing. Fluttershy wiped a washcloth soaked with rubbing alcohol on the wound. It still burned, but it was not anything he could not handle. The Dragon still questioned as to why she was helping him. He began feasting again. As soon as the Dragon had swallowed the last jewel, which was the pearl, Fluttershy had finished cleaning his injury.
She placed her equipment back into her kit and put it in her saddlebag. Before she could even begin leaving, Fluttershy felt the Dragon's warm breath on her neck and back. She turned to see the Dragon staring her in the face with broad eyes. She turned to face him and started backing against the wall, and he had her pinned.
"What? Do you want more food? More gems?" Fluttershy asked. The Dragon kept staring at her and gave a low grumble. But then wall eyed and started to sound like he was going to upchuck. Fluttershy braced for whatever was going to happen as she closed her eyes and held her breath. The Dragon started to gag, and a lump formed at the bottom of his neck, which started to come up to his mouth. The Dragon then forcefully coughed up a large gem onto Fluttershy's laps. It landed on her hard enough to knock the wind out of her. Fluttershy's eyes were forced open from the impact, and she saw what the Dragon had coughed up.
It was a rainbow opal.
Fluttershy could not believe her eyes. Rainbow opals were, hooves down, the most rarest and extremely difficult to find gemstone in all of Equestria. This one was the exact same size as the pearl the Dragon had eaten.
"Oh my goodness..." Fluttershy said, breath-taken, "Rarity would kill for an opal like this."
Fluttershy looked up to see the Dragon sitting upright with his tail wrapped around him on the ground. Was this opal a gift from him for helping him? She set the opal aside and slowly walked up to him. The Dragon sneered and growled, making her halt, and he stopped. He then brought his head down to her and was a foot away from touching her nose with his snout. He just stared at her, and Fluttershy stared back. She then closed the gap between then, closed her eyes, and pressed her nose against his snout. The Dragon closed his eyes as well. For ten seconds, they made contacted before the Dragon lifted his head straight back up.
Fluttershy was in a state of confusion, calmness, fear, and bliss. Never before had she even dared to try this with another Dragon from the wild. She kept looking at the Dragon before her. The Dragon then blew smoke out of his nostrils, got up, and limped away to recover.
For years, Fluttershy had always thought of Dragons as greedy, dangerous, thoughtless, heartless monsters that cared for nothing but their treasure hordes and sleep, but that was all negative. Were there positive sides of a wild Dragon? Could there be good in them? Could she be forming a dangerously forbidden yet compatibly possible friendship with this one?
Fluttershy put the opal into her saddlebag and headed home.
"Maybe Dragons aren't such scary beasts at all." She thought. "Maybe there's more to them than anypony truly knows."
It was now nine o' clock. Fluttershy had arrived home, removed her saddlebag, headed upstairs, and tried to go to sleep. But sleep would take quite a while for it to overtake her. In the meantime, she just laid in her bed and stared at the ceiling. She also thought about the Dragon, and the possible relationship she might be forming with him. The thoughts were wearing down on her stamina, and she sunk into slumber.
The next morning, Fluttershy was feeling very sluggish, but she forced herself out of bed and downstairs. The animals took notice of her state of tiredness. They surrounded her and gave her concerned looks. Fluttershy looked at them all and simply smiled.
"Oh, don't worry, I'm alright." She said as she tried to fetch a bag of food. She performed her duties, as usual, and when she was done, she donned her saddlebag and left her house. The bag still had the opal the Dragon had given her, though she had no real use for it. She also felt that since he did not truly take them, she should give it back to Rarity. She could already picture her reaction to receiving the opal, and it was hectic. After a minute or two, she had eventually arrived at the boutique, and gave the door a few knocks.
"Coming." said Rarity in a singing tone. She magically opened the door and saw Fluttershy standing before her. "Good morning, Fluttershy, how did the gift you made turn out?"
"Oh, uh, I had it sent yesterday evening." said Fluttershy. "Also, I found something that you might like." She set down her saddlebag and opened the sac that held the opal inside. Rarity was wide eyed and speechless upon seeing the multicolored gemstone. She levitated the jewel up out of the bag and just beheld its beauty.
"Where... where did you find this?" Rarity breathed in awe.
Fluttershy's mind tried to jumble through another random thought processor, but it was taking forever just to come up with a good excuse. But after ten seconds of awkward silence, something good popped in.
"It was in a box of old foalhood stuff I found." She said.
Rarity gasped. "If that's the case, why are you giving it to me?" She asked.
"Because you're my friend, of course." said Fluttershy. "And I felt that I should give this to you in return for giving me the things I needed for a dear friend."
Rarity was about to cry tears of joy, but her formal instincts held them back and she simply hugged Fluttershy for the gift. "Thank you very much, darling. I'll treasure it like a memento."
Fluttershy formed a look of confusion, considering she was not even dead for it to be called a memento, but she did not put too much worry into it. Rarity brought the gem into her store and closed the door, but Fluttershy could hear her flip head over tail about the opal.
She then headed to Twilight's to see how much progress she might have made. She approached the library and knocked on the door. The door opened magically and Fluttershy walked in.
"No, Fluttershy, nothing yet." Twilight deadpanned, even though she was trying to hide her frustration. "I've ran all kinds of tests on this potion, and none of the answers I need are being presented."
"Well, don't give up Twilight, you can do it. I know you can." Fluttershy said, swinging her hoof across herself to help reassure her.
Twilight simply smiled and giggled. "Thanks, Fluttershy. By the way, Rarity told me you had collected a lot of spider silk in exchange for some gemstones you were giving to a friend. Who's this friend, anyway?"
Fluttershy grew wide eyed and bit her lower lip. She swiftly looked left and right, as if searching for a way to escape. She released the breath she was holding and looked at Twilight again.
"He lives, uh, far from here. I've known him for quite a while, and he has a real bad habit of getting himself hurt a lot."
"Oh dear." Twilight said, putting a concerning hoof to her chest. "Is he hospitalized right now?"
"No, just... recovering. Not hospitalized." said Fluttershy.
"Well, I hope he likes the gift you made for him." said Twilight.
Fluttershy gave a nervously sheepish half smile and rubbed her front hoof on her leg. "Yeah, maybe." She said. "I'll see you some other time?"
"Yeah, of course." said Twilight, "Take care."
"You too." Fluttershy waved goodbye and left the library. She closed the door behind her and headed back home to gather some fresh fish for her trip into the Everfree. She was kind of looking forward to meeting the Dragon again.
In the pit deep in the forest, Hammerheart was at it again, trying to claw his way to freedom. His claws screeched against the rock wall that imprisoned him, offering him no grip whatsoever. He fell backwards and landed with another bone-crunching slam. Hammerheart got back up on his feet and shook himself off. Deciding to take a break from climbing, he walked to the pond and crept up on a small school of unsuspecting fish. He then shot his spear-like tongue into the water, impaled one of the big fish, wrapped his tongue around it, and pulled it into his jaws.
Hammerheart had almost fully recovered from his injuries, and much to his displeasure, the wound on the bottom of his neck had now scarred over the spearhead still stuck in his throat. His leg wound had begun to heal up, and he was no longer suffering from the illness from before.
Hammerheart then picked up on a familiar scent. He looked to his left to see the Pegasus that treated his wounds.
Fluttershy had entered the pit through the small hole in the wall, and she was happy to see the Dragon up and moving about without limping or coughing or gagging.
Hammerheart approached Fluttershy and brought his head down to her height. He did not give her any form of an unfriendly look, instead, he just weakly smiled at her.
"Hello, and good morning, big guy." said Fluttershy as she took off her saddlebag and set it on the ground. "What have you been up to?"
Hammerheart released a hot sigh and sat down with his head hung low. Fluttershy then noticed some of the bruises that were on him, and realized he was still trying to get out of the pit.
"Oh, you poor thing." Fluttershy said empathetically. Hammerheart, feeling like he was being babied, made a quiet growl.
"Do you want me to help you out of here?" Fluttershy asked. Hammerheart simply gave a gruff humph and resumed trying to climb out. Even though he officially trusted her, he still felt independent. He jumped and scratched at the wall, but still could not get a grip on anything. He fell and hit the dirt hard, again. Fluttershy went over to him, concerned for the Dragon. If he kept falling and hitting the ground like this, the injuries inflicted upon himself would get worse.
"Please, you have to stop doing that to yourself." said Fluttershy.
Hammerheart kept her back with his tail, insisting to try and escape by himself. He jumped and grabbed a hold of a root. He tried to pull up, but was too heavy for the root, which broke off from the rocks. He fell down again and a loud crunch upon impact with the ground could be heard. Fluttershy gasped and went to the Dragon's side.
"Are you okay? Did you break something?" She asked.
Hammerheart slowly rolled over onto his feet and stood up again, panting in exhaustion from relentless climbing. Fluttershy got in close and petted his snout.
"Don't worry. You wait here, I'll go get some help." Fluttershy turned around and galloped back to the hole, leaving Hammerheart to be slightly irritated about that "wait here" remark, since he was trapped in a pit.
Two minutes later, Fluttershy had made her way back to Ponyville to search for a friend who could help her in getting the Dragon out of the pit, and she knew just who to go to first.
She cut through Ponyville and headed for the only cloud home near town. She then flew up to the front door and gave it a few knocks. After a few seconds of waiting, Fluttershy figured she was not home. She flew back down to the ground and headed back to town.
Back in town, Fluttershy watched the skies for any signs of the rainbow maned Pegasus. She soon spotted a low floating cloud, and on that cloud, Rainbow Dash rested upon. Fluttershy flew up, but did not want to disturbed Rainbow's nap, so she just flapped in place and waited.
Minutes later, Rainbow Dash woke up and looked to see Fluttershy flying flapping next to her. She yawned and shook her head like a tired cat.
"Hey, Fluttershy, what's up?" She asked.
"Hi, Rainbow. Sorry if I woke you up or anything, but I just needed your help with something." said Fluttershy.
Rainbow chuckled. "You didn't wake me up. So what do you need help with?"
"Well, a really heavy animal friend of mine is trapped in a pit in the Everfree Forest and can't get out. Do you think you could help me help give him a boost out of there?" Fluttershy was very nervous as to how Rainbow Dash would react to having to help a downed Dragon out of a pit.
Rainbow hopped off her makeshift cloud bed and was airborne. "Is that all? That should be no sweat!" She said.
Fluttershy sighed a breath of relief, but was nervous about the upcoming introduction. She flew down to the ground and trotted towards the forest, with Rainbow Dash following behind. She was going to be in for a crazy surprise.
Three minutes later, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash had arrived at the pit, but the Dragon was nowhere to be found. Fluttershy looked around for any sign of him, and Rainbow just looked at the hole they just went through.
"Wait, why doesn't he just go through that hole back there?" She asked.
"Well, because he's too big to fit through." Fluttershy replied.
"Fair enough, I guess." Rainbow Dash looked around for the animal as well. "So, where the hay is he?"
"I'm not sure." said Fluttershy as they moved along near the edge of the pond. "I wonder if he did get out by himself."
Rainbow landed and stretched her upper back to where it crackled from the strain. "Well, if he did, I guess my work's finished before it even started." She turned towards the pond, and caught sight of the head of a Dragon surface and turn to them.
Rainbow reacted quickly. "Fluttershy!" She shouted as she lunged and pushed her to the ground.
The Dragon thought Fluttershy was in trouble, so he made for the shore and ran towards Rainbow, seized her with his talons, and pinned her to the rock wall. Fluttershy got up and had to quickly break them apart.
"No, don't, she's a friend!" said Fluttershy as she tried to pull the Dragon off of Rainbow Dash.
Hammerheart stared Rainbow in the face with aggressive intent, and Rainbow Dash just returned the look. They stared daggers into each others' eyes until Hammerheart released his grip on the Pegasus and backed down.
"Oh my gosh, Rainbow, I'm so sorry about this!" Fluttershy said as apologetic as a guilty child caught by mom and dad.
"It's okay, Fluttershy, it wasn't your fault." said Rainbow Dash. "But we'd better leave now while that giant newt's not paying attention..." Rainbow rapidly shook her head and her expression was of confusion. "Wait, how'd you make that thing stop without yelling at it?"
Fluttershy sat on her flanks and poked her hooves together. "Oh, um, well... you see..." She had to come clean with it now. "This is the friend that needed help."
Rainbow's pupils and irises shrunk as her eyes dilated. "Wait, you mean that..." She tried to ask while pointing a hoof at the Dragon.
"Yes, and he really needs our help. Please Rainbow?" Fluttershy said, hoping Rainbow Dash will not decline and just leave.
Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes and sighed. "Fine, I'll help, but I won't like it."
They approached Hammerheart, and the Dragon growled at Rainbow Dash. She stopped and scowled at him. Clearly, though he trusted Fluttershy, she was the only one he trusted. Anyone else would have to earn it like she did.
"It's okay." Fluttershy said, "She's only here to help you."
Hammerheart shook his head and headed for the wall. He jumped and started clawing at the rocks.
"Quick, now we can give him the boost he needs." Fluttershy said.
"Okay, here goes nothing!" said Rainbow Dash as she flew up with Fluttershy and pushed against the Dragon's backsides. What they did not take into account was his weight. When Hammerheart fell down, the two Pegasi went down with him, and landed with a thud.
Hammerheart rolled back onto his feet and shook himself off. Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash both got up and groaned from the fall. The Dragon leered at the two, the subliminal message clear that he still did not want any help.
"Hey, we're just trying to help you get out of this mess!" Rainbow Dash yelled.
Hammerheart facewinged himself and resumed what he was doing.
"Let's try it again." Fluttershy whispered into Rainbow's ear.
"Why should we?!" Rainbow whispered back. "He's too heavy, and he'll probably bite our heads off if we do try again!"
"But we still have to try, Rainbow. He really needs our help, even if he doesn't want it."
"Why does he need our help, anyway?! Why doesn't he just fly out?! He's got wings!"
"Rainbow, look." Fluttershy pointed to the Dragon. Rainbow Dash looked to see the Dragon stretch both wings out and reveal that they were useless.
"Oh..." Rainbow said, rubbing her head in shame for not figuring it out herself. She sighed. "Okay, Fluttershy, we'll try again. This time, more force on our part."
"Alright." said Fluttershy. As soon as Hammerheart jumped onto the rock wall, the two Pegasi flew up and pushed on his backsides again. Hammerheart felt them push on his rear, and was about to turn and smack them, but when he noticed that his efforts combined with theirs was actually getting him further towards the top, he decided to roll with it. He kept clawing at the wall while the Pegasi pushed him up until he finally got a grip on something and pulled himself up onto the edge.
Because they were pushing so hard, and the Dragon suddenly moved up, Fluttershy and Rainbow shot forward. Rainbow Dash flew further up before stopping, and Fluttershy landed on Hammerheart's back. All three were panting like overheated dogs in summer.
Rainbow Dash flew down to Fluttershy. "Hey... we did it!" She said, still worn out.
"Yeah..." Fluttershy said, "I guess we-"
Suddenly, Hammerheart began running along the riverside with Fluttershy on his back, screaming and hanging on for dear life. Rainbow Dash was surprised and followed after them.
Hammerheart kept running, with Fluttershy holding onto his wings, until he found the wrecked path he made when he fell from the sky. He made a sudden right turn and went into the forest, and Rainbow Dash still followed behind. Fluttershy kept holding on with whatever strength was left in her after the assistance.
"Uh, Mister Dragon, can you please stop and let me down?!" Fluttershy asked, but to no avail. Hammerheart kept running through the jungle until he finally came to a hard stop that nearly made Fluttershy flip over and fly into the bushes.
Hammerheart had found what he was looking for. It was his mace tail end, stuck between two rocks. He grabbed it with his talon and tried to pull it free, but it was lodged in good. With another hard pull, the body part came out. Hammerheart looked upon his once greatest weapon he was born with. Now it was nothing but a soon-to-be rotting piece of food for maggots to feast on.
"What is that thing?" Fluttershy asked as she walked up next to him. Hammerheart looked to her and sighed, then dropped the mace. Fluttershy could see how sad and angry he looked, but then had a bigger realization when she looked at the broken trees and plants around them.
"If that club use to be his, and this place is a mess, he must have gotten hurt around here." She thought.
Rainbow Dash had caught up with them and landed near Fluttershy. "Fluttershy! Are you okay?" She looked angrily to Hammerheart, "Did that Dragon hurt you?"
"No, Rainbow," said Fluttershy, "but he's very hurt."
Rainbow Dash gave a confused look to Fluttershy. "What are you talking about?"
Fluttershy was about to explain, but the sound of a growling dog silenced her. Hammerheart heard it and began looking at the direction he heard it come from while the Pegasi looked everywhere for the source. Hammerheart sniffed the air, and picked up a very repulsive scent. Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash caught the stench after him, and nearly gagged. Hammerheart then stared at a bush, and a pair of glowing green eyes pierced through the shadows of the shrubbery's leaves, followed by more pairs of eyes. Then the beasts came into view.
Timber Wolves.
Even though they were made completely out of sticks and twigs and other pieces of wood, they were still deadly, predatory pack hunters.
Hammerheart spotted them, and knew he was in trouble. He could not take on a whole pack while still in his weakened state. Unable to fly or breathe fire, and only able to bite and claw, he had to flee. He started nudging on Fluttershy, urging her to run away.
"What? What is it?" Fluttershy asked. The wolf pack leaped from the foliage and barked. Fluttershy screamed and quickly ran away. Rainbow Dash, though stubborn and enjoyed a good challenge, was smart enough to know not to pick a fight with a pack of timber wolves, and flew away. Hammerheart was already in full sprint when Fluttershy took off. And the wolves began their chase.
Hammerheart ran as fast as he could, and Rainbow Dash flew at an equal speed. Fluttershy was not running fast enough. Hammerheart noticed this, grabbed her by the tail, and dropped her back on his back. She held on for dear life again as they continued to be hunted by the wolves.
They soon approached a large boulder that they knew the timber wolves could not climb up. Hammerheart went up to the boulder, looked back at Fluttershy, and pointed his head at the rock. Fluttershy figured it meant climb up onto his head and onto the boulder, so she flew up onto his head, and he pressed his snout against the rock. Fluttershy trotted onto the boulder's top, where she reunited with Rainbow.
Hammerheart was about to follow suit, but something bit on the end of his tail. He looked to see one of the timber wolves had caught up and grabbed him. Then another wolf came up and bit on his tail, and another, and another. Other wolves ran up his back and bit down onto his wings and wing fingers, others bit on his legs. Hammerheart had about thirteen timber wolves biting into his hide. Even though their teeth were made of wood, as well, they were still sharp enough to even pierce Dragon skin. Hammerheart tried climbing up, but his hands slipped and he fell backwards to the ground, crushing some wolves under his back.
Fluttershy was about to jump down and help, but Rainbow held her back.
"Don't, it's too dangerous!" She said.
Tears started pouring from Fluttershy's eyes. "But he's in trouble!" She sadly argued.
Hammerheart rolled upright and shook himself off. He had just crushed half of the pack, and their were now six wolves left. One ran in to bite Hammerheart's throat, but the Wyvern reared back, and the wolf ran into his chest. Hammerheart then closed his wings onto the wolf and crush it in a tremendous bear hug. Two wolves ran to the sides, two other wolves ran around behind him, and the other stayed put. The two wolves behind went in, bit, and held his legs. Hammerheart grunted. The two wolves on the sides bit and held the tips of his torn wings. Hammerheart growled in pain.
The other wolf had its opening, and lunged at the Wyvern's neck. But Hammerheart moved his head to the side. The wolf missed and was caught in Hammerheart's jaws. Hammerheart started to violently shake the wolf from side to side until the beast fell apart from the sheer strength of the shaking. He then slammed his wings together, and shattered the two wolves that were holding his wing fingers. He reached his head down and grabbed one of the wolves biting into his leg, and broke it in half with one powerful chomp. He lifted the other leg, the wolf's body swung under his talon, and he stomped on the beast and shattered it like glass.
All the wolves were dead, and Hammerheart was partially bleeding from the wounds dealt to him.
"Are you alright?!" Fluttershy called. Hammerheart gave a friendly sounding roar in response as he approached the boulder.
Rainbow Dash looked at the splintered remains of the timber wolf pack. "Dang, you really showed those wolves who's the beast." She complimented. As she kept examining the remains, they began to float up slightly off the ground and come together, and she caught it. "Look out!" Rainbow yelled.
Hammerheart looked behind to see the wooden pieces of the wolves very swiftly fuse into a much larger wolf. Hammerheart tried to get up on the boulder, but the wolf's form was complete, and it bit on his tail. Hammerheart roared in pain and was yanked back by the behemoth. Fluttershy tried to go after him again, but Rainbow Dash still held her back to keep her from getting killed.
The giant timber wolf pulled Hammerheart by his tail away from the boulder. Hammerheart turned over onto his back and kicked the beast in the snout. The wolf yelped, released its grip, and Hammerheart tried to get to the rock. But the wolf was quick to recover, and lunged in his way. Hammerheart then turned to the right and scurried away. The wolf chased after him and lunged into the air. Hammerheart turned around and was pinned under the monster inches from a drop off. He used his wing to keep the wolf's jaws from biting his head off. The wolf stomped a paw onto Hammerheart's belly so hard, he actually coughed out the spearhead that was stuck in his throat into the wolf's left eye. The beast yelp in pain, and Hammerheart used his hind legs to flip the wolf over himself and over the edge, but the wolf quickly bit his tail and pulled him down with him.
They both tumbled down the cliff's edge. The wolf lost a small piece of itself every time it hit the rocks, and Hammerheart was trying to flap his useless wings, hoping the membranes would just grow back and grant him flight again. They both fell into the top of a large tree. As they tumbled down through the branches, the giant wolf kept trying to bite Hammerheart every time they got close. After seconds of tumbling, they landed back onto the forest floor, and they got up to face each other off. Hammerheart charged and rammed into the beast with his head, his horns over his eyes jabbed into the wooden monster. The wolf opened wide and bit down on Hammerheart's right wing. Hammerheart released a roar of pain so loud, it could be heard a mile away from anywhere.
Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash were searching for Hammerheart from the sky when they heard his roar of pain.
"That must be him!" said Fluttershy.
"Are you sure?" Rainbow asked.
"I'm positive!" Fluttershy tried to pick up the pace as she flew in the direction the roar came from, and Rainbow Dash followed suit.
The wolf began to shake his head from side to side, trying to rip the wing off, but Hammerheart was not going to let it take a bite out of him. He bared his claws on his hand, and poked out the wolf's good eye. The beast released its grip when it yelped in pain. Now that it was blind, Hammerheart had the advantage. But when he went in to strike, the wolf swung its paw and smacked him across the face. Hammerheart was as confused as he was hurt. How did it know he was coming. He noticed it taking big sniffs.
It could smell him coming.
Hammerheart did not know how to deal with an enemy that could see with its nose, so he just went full-throttle assault on the wolf. They collided and began to strike at each other. Pieces of wood came off the wolf, and blood spilled from the Wyvern.
From the skies, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash spotted the beasts duking it out. They descended and landed atop a thick branch. They wanted to help, but against a leviathan like that, they could do nothing but keep their distance.
Both Hammerheart and the wolf stood upright on their hind legs, holding each other by the shoulders while trying to kill each other. The wolf began to move forward and push Hammerheart back. Hammerheart's talons were pushing up dirt as they ground against the soil. He had had enough. He began to push against the wolf with all his might, and the beast was struggling to hold its ground. When it got its footing, they both were locked in a complete stare down of brawn.
Hammerheart felt his pride as a mighty Dragon be further squelched. This beast had the nonexistent nerve to challenge him, and he could not kill it faster than he wanted to. His anger grew. A heat boiled in his heart, and begin spreading through his body like a wildfire. Hammerheart reared his head back, took in a deep breath, and blasted pent up fire from his maw into the timber wolf's face.
The flames quickly consumed the wooden monster, and it could do nothing but howl in agony as it slowly turned to ash.
Hammerheart had smoke coming out of his mouth from the sudden breath of fire. His ability to breathe fire had finally returned to him after two days of being extinguished. To look upon the smoldering remains of the beast made him feel like a real Dragon again. He had reclaimed his rightful title as a true Wyvern.
Hammerheart heard cheering, and looked up to see the two Pegasi up on a branch. Rainbow Dash was pumping her hoof in a spiral pattern, and Fluttershy jumped up and down and flailed her front hooves like crazy.
Hammerheart then heard various other noises. He looked around to see all kinds of forest animals seemingly cheering for him. As if they were thanking him for saving their lives by destroying the beast.
It felt strangely awkward, at first, but Hammerheart also felt he accomplished something much greater than his self-esteem.
He almost felt like a hero.
Hammerheart could feel primal instincts reach a boiling point, and he let out a victory roar, followed by a geyser of fire. Fortunately, the trees around him were not short enough to be set ablaze.
Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash flew down to the Dragon. "That was totally wicked!" Rainbow said. "You were all like, 'ROAR'! And that thing was like, 'OW'! Then you just burned him to the ground! Not bad for a nasty Dragon." She gave a complimenting wink.
"Thank you so much for saving us." said Fluttershy. She then examined his body, and gasped at the amount of bloody bite marks and cuts and other injuries that covered him. "Oh my goodness, look how hurt you are." She said with a sad expression. "My first aid kit is back home. You're gonna have to come with me."
Rainbow flinched upon hearing that. "Fluttershy, you can't bring him with you back home. Ponies are gonna freak out if they see him!"
"They won't as long as he doesn't go into town." Fluttershy said. "He can stay at my house away from town, and that's all."
Rainbow Dash sighed. "Okay, but I still think it's not a good idea."
Fluttershy looked down. "Well, you're just gonna have to trust me."
Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash started to head home, with Hammerheart following behind.
Due to Hammerheart's need to find his missing tail end, and the fight with the giant timber wolf, bringing them deeper into the forest, it was about a two to three hour walk back to Ponyville. But Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash were not going into town with a Dragon of all things following them. They had managed to get to Fluttershy's cottage without catching anyone's attention.
Hammerheart was a complete train wreck, all over again. He was covered in cuts, scrapes, bruises, bites, and claw marks from his battle against the giant timber wolf. His right wing was bitten and damaged so badly, it dragged all the way. On positive notes, he was no longer trapped and could breathe fire again, but that was pretty much it. And he was still grounded.
"Okay, you wait in the backyard, I'll go get the medical kit." Fluttershy said before going into her house.
Hammerheart sat in the backyard with Rainbow Dash standing next to him. It was taking quite a while to find the first aid.
Rainbow Dash coughed and decided to try and start a conversation. "So..." She started, "my name's Rainbow Dash. Friends call me Rainbow. What's yours?"
Hammerheart still could not speak. His voice box was still damaged from the spear, so all that came out was reptilian grunts and groans.
Rainbow Dash raised an eye to him not talking, when she could have sworn that all Dragons could talk. "I'm guessing you speak a different language or something?" She said.
Hammerheart sighed through his nostril and just kept staring forward. Rainbow Dash simply started tapping her hoof on the dirt, until Fluttershy finally came back with the medical kit.
"Sorry that took so long." She said. "Somehow, it got misplaced, and I had to look everywhere for it." She opened the kit and got to work patching up Hammerheart. She sprayed antibiotics on his open wounds and apply healing lotion to his bruises. With almost half a mile of gauze strips, she covered his damaged wing, and they turned from white to blood red upon contact with his skin. When she finished, she put everything away in the kit.
"All better?" Fluttershy asked. Hammerheart slightly moved his wing, and then stretched his whole body so hard, every vertebra piece in his back made a crack as loud as a breaking stick. He was clearly feeling relief from all the tension pent up in him.
"Wow!" said Rainbow Dash, "You sound like you have some back issues."
Fluttershy brought a hoof to her chin. "Well, he did always land on his back every time he tried to climb out of that pit." She reflected. "You know what, you definitely need a back massage to lighten you up." She flew up and landed gently onto his back, and started to rapidly tip-hoof on his hide. It seemed to be working as Hammerheart started to slowly drift into slumber. Fluttershy just hoped he was not a snorer.
After about a minute of massaging, Fluttershy felt she was done. She hopped off and walked up to Rainbow Dash.
"I still can't believe you're actually doing this." said Rainbow. "I thought you were scared of Dragons."
"Oh, I still am," Fluttershy admitted, "but something about this one made me feel different. I mean, I was scared when I first met him, but then I just felt sorry for him. Then I felt I had to do something to help."
"Gotta say, Flutters, never knew you had it in ya." Rainbow Dash said, giving her a light nudge on the shoulder. Fluttershy rubbed the spot where Rainbow touched her and blushed a little. "Well, I'd better get going." said Rainbow.
"Rainbow Dash, wait!" Fluttershy called.
"What? What is it?" Rainbow asked.
"Don't tell the others about him yet, okay? I'll ask them myself when I get the chance."
"Okay, Fluttershy, I won't say a word." And Rainbow Dash took to the sky and flew to town.
Fluttershy heard a grumble coming from behind. She turned to see the Dragon lift his head up and look at her. He then looked to his stomach.
"You're hungry, aren't you?" said Fluttershy, "Well, I had a bag of fish for you, but where did I..." She facehoofed when she remembered she left it back at the pit. "I'll be back soon. Stay here and don't make any loud noises, please." She trotted back to the forest to retrieve her bag.
Hammerheart just laid on the ground. It was nice to finally be out of that dank hole in the ground and free to roam anywhere he wanted, but he would have to wait until his membranes regenerated, which could take for as long as a few days to a month or two. Nevertheless, he would just have to be patient, even though patience was not one of his strongest traits. After all that, he swore to himself to never pull jokes around like that ever again.
As Hammerheart rested, he could hear something small approaching him. He peeked through a barely noticeable opening in his eye to see a white rabbit boldly approach him. It stopped and stood a foot away from him, arms crossed with a frown on its face.
It then got closer and poked his snout. Then it hopped onto his snout and began thumping its foot on him. Hammerheart lifted his head up, and the rabbit fell off. He looked upon the rodent and gave a deadpanned expression to it. The rabbit got up and stared at him while shaking a fist. Hammerheart took in a deep breath, blew smoke out of both his nostrils, and sent the rabbit rolling into the trunk of the cottage. He settled his head back down and resumed his rest.
But he could hear the rabbit coming back. Hammerheart opened his eyes to see the rabbit come up and start punching and kicking his snout. When the rabbit turned his back to him for a split second, Hammerheart puffed a tiny ember onto the rabbit's tail. He did not notice until the smell of burning hair caught his attention. The rabbit saw his tail was on fire and quickly ran to the nearest source of water to put out the flame.
Hammerheart resumed his rest again, but again, the rabbit could be heard coming back. He opened his eyes to see him really throwing a temper-tantrum. Hammerheart had enough. In a quick move, he non-lethally caught the rabbit in his mouth, swished him around like mouthwash, and then spat him out.
The rabbit flew through the house's back window and landed on the living room floor. He got up and was covered in saliva. He stuck his tongue out in disgust as he shook off the spit. After that little episode, he decided to not try anything else. For all he knew, next time he could actually get eaten.
Having gotten rid of the pestering rodent, Hammerheart resumed his rest, but the smell of fish brought him up to see Fluttershy had finally returned, with her saddlebag on her back still full of the fish she meant to give to Hammerheart.
"I'm back." She said as she went up to Hammerheart and set the bag on the ground. "Here's your lunch. Eat up."
She opened the bag and backed up to give him room to eat. Hammerheart just began to take big bites of fish, chew them a little, and swallow them whole.
While he was eating, Fluttershy went into her home and was greeted by both hungry animals, and the smell of rotting meat. That was when she noticed first the hole in her window, then the puddle of saliva on her floor.
"My goodness. What happened here?" She asked herself. She felt something wet poke her leg, and she looked down to see Angel soaking wet and wearing what looked like a tiny towel.
"Angel? Why are you all wet?" Fluttershy asked. Angel pointed to the broken window and at Hammerheart, who let out a low belch from eating a lot.
"What did he do?" She asked. Angel then took off the towel, turned around, and showed her what was left of his burnt tail. Fluttershy gasped, then solemness came over her, and she went back outside.
Having eaten all the fish, and still needing a good rest, Hammerheart was still trying to fall to sleep. He heard hoofsteps approaching him, and he looked to see Fluttershy walking towards him, with a solemn look on her face, like a mother who was about to lecture her child.
"Mister Dragon," said Fluttershy, "I'm letting you stay here for the time being until you're fully healed, but do not pick on or bully my animal friends, understand?"
Hammerheart gave a raised eye of confusion to her, but just gave a reptilian groan in response.
"Good." Fluttershy turned and started walking away, but something came to her mind that came too little too late. "Oh, we never had a proper introduction. My name's Fluttershy. What's yours?"
Hammerheart tried to speak, but his voice box was still badly damaged. All he could do was grunt and groan.
Fluttershy raised an eyebrow to the Dragon's noise making. "Um, don't you have a name?" She asked.
Hammerheart nodded.
"Can't you talk like other Dragons?"
Hammerheart shook his head diagonally, trying to imply both a yes and a no, but Fluttershy did not catch it.
"Well, maybe you could tell me your name through a little game of charades?" Fluttershy suggested.
Hammerheart shrugged to the idea, and Fluttershy took it as a yes.
"Alright, then. You can start whenever you wish."
Hammerheart's first act was making a fist out of his talon and pretending to hit something on the ground.
"Uh... hit? No! Strike! Or, uh... slam?" Fluttershy kept saying incorrect words, and Hammerheart just rested his head on his good wing hand and sighed. "Um... h-hammer?"
Hammerheart pointed at her and nodded.
"Okay."
Hammerheart then put his talon fist to his chest and made a two paced thumping sound.
"Heart?" said Fluttershy, and Hammerheart nodded. "So, your name is Hammerheart?" He nodded again. "Well, belated nice to meet you, Hammerheart. Do make yourself at home for now." She turned and went back around her house and inside, where the animals were still waiting for a feeding, and she got to work.
It was now three o' clock in the afternoon, and Fluttershy was taking a walk through town, mostly for some fresh air. She also wanted to see if Twilight had made any progress on that potion yet. Why she always had to check, she did not know, but it gave her reasons just to visit Twilight on a semi-regular basis. She came up to the library door and knocked. The door magically opened and Fluttershy walked in to see Twilight still examining the potion.
"Hello, Twilight." said Fluttershy.
"Good afternoon, Fluttershy." Twilight said, turning her attention to her friend. "What brings you here?"
"Oh, I was just checking and seeing if you made any progress, yet." Fluttershy said.
Twilight sighed, facehoofed, and dragged it down her face. "No. Nothing yet, and I don't think there will be for quite some time." She levitated the potion into a container and sealed it shut. "I think I'm gonna wrap that up for later. So, how have you been, lately?"
Fluttershy rubbed her leg and looked down. "Uh, nothing much, just the usual stuff." She pondered a little, and then decided now was the time. "Actually, I wanted to ask you something."
"What might that be?" Twilight asked.
Fluttershy looked up with her mane covering an eye. "Um, I need you and the others to come to my house today. There's someone I feel I should introduce you all to."
Twilight raised an eyebrow, but just nodded. "Okay. I'll gather the others and meet you there." She said.
"Thanks." Fluttershy turned around and headed out the door, but stopped halfway out and turned back around. "Oh, and Twilight?"
"Yes?"
"Promise me you and the others won't freak out when you meet him, please?"
Twilight gave raised both eyebrows in confusion. "Uh, sure, I guess. Why do you ask?"
"Just because." was all Fluttershy said before leaving and shutting the door.
Two hours later, all of Fluttershy's friends had arrived. Rainbow Dash had her front legs crossed, for she already knew what was going to happen. Pinkie bounced in place, excited to meet this new friend of Fluttershy's. Rarity, always wanting to make a perfectly good first impression, was wearing a very beautiful sky blue outfit covered in a streamline pattern of pearls and amethysts to match her fur and mane. Applejack simply tapped her hoof on the dirt. And Twilight waited patiently along with them all.
Fluttershy came out of her house and approached her friends. "You're all here. Wonderful."
"So, where's this new friend of yours, Fluttershy?" Pinkie asked, still bouncing with excitement.
"Oh, he's in the backyard, resting." said Fluttershy.
"Well, then, we can't just interrupt his sleep." Rarity said.
Fluttershy waved a hoof. "No, don't worry. He won't mind if he wakes up and meets you all." She said.
"So, who is this new friend o' yers, Flutters?" Applejack asked.
"Yeah, what is he? A bird or mammal of some kind?" said Twilight.
"Nope, much different." said Rainbow Dash. Everyone looked to her.
"You know what it is, Rainbow?" said Twilight.
"Yup, now let's just go see him." Rainbow Dash said.
"Of course. This way." Fluttershy said as she walked off with the others following after. They walked around the house to the backyard, and spotted the new friend lying on the ground. When Twilight, Applejack, Rarity, and Pinkie got closer, they stopped dead in their tracks and gasped in realization that it was a Dragon.
Hammerheart heard the four gasps and woke up from his sleep. He lifted his head up and looked to see all five of Fluttershy's friends standing ten feet from him. He recognized Rainbow Dash, but not the other four.
Fluttershy went up to him. "Hammerheart, these are my other friends: Twilight, Applejack, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie."
Three of the mares mentioned were dumbfounded and speechless that a large Dragon was in Fluttershy's backyard, until Twilight spoke first.
"Um, hello." She said, "Hammerheart, was it? I'm Twilight Sparkle."
"N-name's Applejack."
"I am... Rarity."
Their tones were of shock.
"And I'm Pinkie Pie." Pinkie said as she seemingly hovered up to Hammerheart with an extended hoof, not hesitant at all. Hammerheart raised an eye to the perky Earth Pony, but then just grabbed her hoof with his wing hand and shook it gently.
Twilight, Applejack, and Rarity could not comprehend that a Dragon of all things laid before them, but Rainbow Dash landed and tried to get them to relax.
"Don't be scared." She said. "He's friendly, once you get to know him."
The three mares approached Hammerheart and just smiled.
"So, uh, where are you from?" Twilight asked, but all she got was reptilian grunts and groans from Hammerheart. "Okay..."
Rarity examined Hammerheart's figure, noticing the injuries on his body, tattered wings, and gauze on his right wing. "I must ask, what happened to you, you look like you've been through a windstorm."
Hammerheart tried to speak again, this time he made a distinct gravelly "Hack!" that surprised even him.
"Oh, are you trying to speak?" Fluttershy asked.
Hammerheart tried to make words, but they were still coming out as gravelly "hacks". Twilight noticed the scar on the bottom of his throat.
"What happened there?" She asked. Hammerheart tried explaining through gestures. He flapped his good wing to imply he was flying, then he rapidly jabbed his longest wing finger to imply the harpoons that attacked him, then he made a point out of his wing hand and poked the scar to imply the spear that got him.
Of course, none of them knew jack-squat as to what he was trying to say or do.
As Twilight examined the scar, and took note about the Dragon's impaired speech, a realization struck her.
"I think his voice box might be damaged." She said.
"What makes ya say that?" Applejack asked.
"Well, he's clearly trying to speak, but can't. If I can fix his voice box, then he should be able to talk again."
Hammerheart saw Twilight's horn begin to glow purple as she prepared a spell, and he backed away and growled defensively. Twilight stopped and gave a confused look to him.
"What's wrong? I'm trying to help you." She said. Hammerheart huffed and jolted his head, stating he does not want any help.
Fluttershy went up to Twilight's ear. "Don't say you want to help him." She whispered. "Say you want to heal him."
"Uh, okay." said Twilight. She slowly approached Hammerheart, who bared his teeth and growled again. "I'm trying to heal you, Hammerheart."
Hammerheart stopped growling, and went up to Twilight. He sniffed her scent, gave an oblique look to her, and just sighed. If this was a friend of Fluttershy's, then she could probably have the same stubbornness as her, for all he knew. He sighed and sat on his tail base.
Twilight closed her eyes and focused on the spell, again. The scar on Hammerheart's throat began to glow, and he felt his neck warm up and something moving under his skin. After fifteen seconds, Twilight's magic died down, and she was done.
"Alright, now try saying something." She said.
"What do you want me ta say?" Hammerheart asked before covering his mouth with his wing hand. The ponies gasped upon hearing him speak, and Hammerheart smiled. His deep, gravelly, and thick Trottish voice was back.
"What did you do?" Fluttershy asked.
"A little healing spell I learned about a month ago." Twilight said with a hint of pride. "In case anyone of us got seriously hurt and were too far from the hospital."
Hammerheart looked at the bottom of his throat. The scar was still there, but that did not matter. Just to finally speak again was sweet relief on multiple levels.
"You restored me voice. I thank ya." said Hammerheart.
Twilight giggled and blushed. "You're welcome."
"But I'm still not acceptin' any help from anyone! Don't think cause I allowed ya ta bring me voice back means you get special privileges."
"Oh, I did more than just heal your voice box." said Twilight. "Why don't you stretch your wings?"
Hammerheart cocked his head and raised an eye. He looked at his right wing and found out the gauze strips were gone, and his hide exposed, but it was no longer in bad condition. Another thing caught his eye. He stretched both wings out, like Twilight asked, and the membranes were fully regenerated.
Hammerheart laughed with jollity and then took to the sky with one powerful flap of his wings. The ponies closed their eye from the dust and their manes blew in the wind.
Hammerheart could fly again. He flew higher and higher, then allowed himself to glide in the air. He scanned the area, and could see nearly everything from up here. He felt like really getting in some aerial exercise after being grounded for two days.
He started spiraling, and the clouds that surrounded him were caught on his wings, making a small twister that hid him in the sky. He suddenly made a stop and flexed his wings wide open, dispersing the clouds away. Next, he took in a deep breath, and released an inferno while spinning in midair. The fire mixed with the surrounding clouds to become rainbow colored.
In town, ponies outside saw the rainbow clouds above and beheld the beautiful sight.
Even the six mares at the cottage could not help but gaze at the amazing aerial display of colors. Rainbow Dash's jaw dropped as she could not help but feel a little jealous of that trick. If only she could breathe fire like him.
Having gotten that out of his system, Hammerheart turned and headed back to the house. He landed back in the yard where the mares were, who were cheering.
"That was amazing!" said Twilight. "I didn't know you could make rainbows out of fire and clouds like that!"
"Yeehaw! Now that was a rodeo!" Applejack said as she threw her hat in the air and it landed perfectly back on her head.
"Truly a marvelous show you had put on." Rarity complimented.
"DO IT AGAIN! DO IT AGAIN!" Pinkie shouted while bouncing up and down even higher, really wanting an encore.
Hammerheart chuckled. "Thanks." He looked at Pinkie. "Maybe some other time." He looked at his tail, and the tip had grown back, but the club was still forever lost to him.
"Wait, what about me tail club?" He asked.
"Huh?" Twilight said, confused. Hammerheart brought his tail over his shoulder to show her. "Oh, sorry. So far I can only heal damages done to flesh and organs, but not bones, yet."
Hammerheart sighed in disappointment, then felt something poke at his leg, and he looked to see Fluttershy smiling at him.
"Thanks for trusting us and accepting our friendship." She said. Hammerheart raised an eye to the "friendship" part, but just grinned. "Oh, and do you think you could tell us what happened with you in the forest?" Fluttershy asked.
The others walked up and took a seat on the ground. Apparently they wanted to know how Hammerheart got trapped in that pit in the first place.
Hammerheart sighed. "Well... it started about two days ago..."
After a long explanation that lasted until twilight, the reason behind Hammerheart's predicament was truly clear to the mares. Though not everything was explained. Hammerheart preferred to keep, specifically, the part where he slew the hunters to himself.
"So hunters shot you out of the sky?" Rainbow Dash said.
Hammerheart nodded. "Aye, very much so."
"That's why you weren't comfortable when we first met." said Fluttershy. "That's why you didn't trust me, or anypony else."
"True, but you were a strange case." Hammerheart said, looking at her. "There's somethin' about ya that makes me wonder a lot."
"So, now that you've got your wings back, are you gonna head back home?" Twilight asked.
Hammerheart's smile turned into a look of sadness, and he turned his head towards the north. "I..." he sighed, "I don't have a home, really."
"Ya don't?" said Applejack, "Ya don't have a cave or mountain ta live on or anythin'?"
Hammerheart shook his head. "No. I've been on the run for years now." He said.
"On the run from what?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"Authorities." Hammerheart revealed.
"Authorities?" said Twilight, "You're in trouble with the law?"
"The Dragons' Law, aye." He said. "They believed me to have committed thievery and murder of a condemnable degree. Now they want me head on a stick, and me hide on a table."
"So, why did you come here to Equestria? To Ponyville?" Rainbow Dash asked, getting a little angry. "You're putting everypony here in danger!"
"Because no Dragons dare to attack or visit these parts of the world." said Hammerheart. "They know about the Princesses and these 'Elements of Harmony' that reside here, and they know their powers could easily drive them out or destroy them if they get too close for comfort."
"So, as long as you're here, they can't come after you?" said Twilight.
"Aye. Course, they'll never forget about me, and they won't stop huntin' 'til I lie dead at their feet." Hammerheart said.
Fluttershy stepped up. "I won't have that." She said. "You can stay here, with me, for as long as you want."
Twilight and the others looked to her, thinking she had lost her mind.
"Fluttershy, are you crazy?!" said Twilight. "He can't stay here!"
"Yes he can." Fluttershy said defensively, "As long as he doesn't go into town, he'll be fine."
The five mares looked to each other. Having Hammerheart living here while he was being hunted by other Dragons was dangerous. Worst of all, if the citizens saw him, panic would ensue amongst the town. But if what he said was true, that they will not come anywhere near town while they and the Princesses still lived, then maybe it could be possible. In they ended, they all decided to trust in Fluttershy's statement.
"Alright. If Fluttershy says it's okay, then it's okay." said Twilight.
"Right." said Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, and Pinkie in unison.
"Thank you, Twilight." Fluttershy said before hugging the Unicorn, who returned the favor.
The sun was beginning to set. Twilight and the others decided to call it a day.
"We'll be heading home, now." Twilight said. "You two take care, alright?"
"We will." said Fluttershy.
"Course." said Hammerheart.
"Later, Fluttershy." said Applejack.
"See ya." said Rainbow Dash.
"Have a good night." said Rarity.
"You two play nice." said Pinkie.
The five mares left Fluttershy's property, leaving her and Hammerheart alone. They both just stood in silence until Hammerheart spoke first.
"So, I guess I'll be sleepin' on the dirt tonight?" Hammerheart asked rhetorically.
"Sorry, but I'm afraid so." Fluttershy said. "You don't mind, do you?"
Hammerheart chuckled. "Course not. I've slept in worse conditions than this."
"Right..." Fluttershy rubbed the back of her head with a sheepish grin. "Well, you have a good night's sleep, alright?" She started heading back to the cottage. Hammerheart nodded, and Fluttershy went around her home and inside. She fed the animals late dinner, headed upstairs, and into bed.
It was midnight, and Hammerheart was still awake. He had gathered some stray pieces of wood, piled them up, and set them ablaze. He laid near his fire, hoping just staring at it will bore him to sleep. Hammerheart looked up to the top of the cottage. He could smell Fluttershy's scent coming from up there. He wondered if there was more to her and her friends than meets the eye.
Suddenly, a chilling breeze blew in his face, which turned into a gust that blew out his fire. Hammerheart stood up and took a battle stance. He could smell something else was nearby, something cold and dark. In fact, it felt a little too familiar.
"Hammerheart..." said an eerily deep echo.
Hammerheart could normally pin-point where something was if it made a normal sound, but the fact that it was an echo made things more challenging.
"Hammerheart..." the deep echo had narrowed down for Hammerheart to finally get a sense of direction. It was coming from the forest. Hammerheart looked towards the Everfree, and saw two shining yellow eyes standing nearly as tall as himself. The owner of the eyes stepped out from the forest, and into the moonlight.
It was a Dragon, but a very preposterous looking one. He had a dull black serpentine body, thirty feet long, with small vestigial wings on his back. He had a small head with a short, broad snout. His teeth stuck out from beneath his lips, and he had a row of horns on his head that looked like a rising sun from up front. A piece of obsidian, shaped like a diamond and the size of a kiwi fruit, adorned his forehead. His left talon looked like it had been torn off from the forearm down, and he had covered it with a big leaf tied by a vine while holding it with his other talon.
"I bring tidings most dire..." He said with a deep english accent.
Hammerheart's eye dilated as he recognized this Dragon. "Zaurus?" He whispered. "What happened to ya?"
Zaurus stepped closer until he was five feet from Hammerheart and stopped. "I have seen past the curtains of the future, and beheld nothing... but Armageddon." Zaurus dropped to his knees in pain, and Hammerheart kneeled down to his side. "Yet hope still shines." Zaurus continued, "You hold all our lives in your claws." Hammerheart raised his eyes. "And though your races' justice demands that you die for sins you have never committed, you are the only one who can save us all."
"Wait a bloody minute," Hammerheart said before he stood back up, "what do you mean that I'm everyone's only hope of savin' their lives?!" He got angry. "It's been four and a half years! You come crawlin' to me like a dread null and-"
Zaurus grabbed Hammerheart's left wing and pulled him closer. "Little time is left! You must believe me!"
Hammerheart did not know how to tackle the news. Zaurus grabbed the obsidian on his forehead, pulled it off, and gave it to him.
"Somewhere around here, there is a liquid with magical properties." Zaurus explained. "Put this obsidian, which has my memory engraved within, into the liquid, drink it, and see what I bore witness to." He slowly backed into the forest's darkness. "The salvation of the world rests on your shoulders..." He vanished, and the last word echoed many times before fading to silence.
Hammerheart was left alone, holding a piece of obsidian in his claws. "Salutations to you, too..." He said to no one anymore. If he was to see what Zaurus saw, he would need to find whatever this magic liquid was. But if the future was doomed for oblivion, he was not sure if he wanted to see it, but there was nothing to it. For now, he opened his jaws, stuck the obsidian into a pouch under his tongue, and tried to go to sleep.
Though it would probably be a restless night for him.
The next morning, Fluttershy woke up and stretched her legs until they popped. Though they were practically painless, she still winced at the feeling. She got out of bed and headed downstairs to do her usual morning routines of feeding, watering, and whatever else needed to be done around the house.
Meanwhile, outside, Hammerheart had also woken up. The sound of animals making a ruckus inside the house caught by his super hearing, plus that brief meeting with Zaurus, had left him with only five hours of sleep. Fortunately, being as he was a Wyvern, one day of little sleep would not bother him in any way. But there was still that obsidian Zaurus had given him last night that held his memories. If he was to see them, and learn more about this doomed future, he needed to find this magical liquid. Where ever it would be.
Fluttershy came around the house and went to see how Hammerheart was doing. When she saw that he was not looking tip-top, she grew a little concerned.
"Morning, Hammerheart." She said, "Did you sleep well last night?"
Hammerheart looked to her with a deadpanned expression. "Well, kinda... sorta.. I don't know." He said.
"Well, if you need more rest, feel free to just sleep in if you want." said Fluttershy. "I'm gonna go see Twilight and see how that potion of hers is coming along."
The last sentence caught Hammerheart's attention, and he perked his head up upon hearing it. "A potion, you say?"
"Well, uh, yes. Twilight's been studying it since she first made it. We don't know what it does, yet, but I'm sure she might have found out today."
Hammerheart thought about what this potion was. Then he remembered the magical liquid that Zaurus mentioned. "Do you think it could let someone see into the future?" He asked.
Fluttershy raised an eyebrow in confusion to his question. "I... don't know. Why do you ask?"
Hammerheart got up off the ground and stretched until his limbs snapped, crackled, and popped from five hours of stillness. "I really need to see if it can let someone see into the future." He said after relaxing his body.
"Oh, sorry, but I'm afraid you can't come into town, remember?" said Fluttershy.
Hammerheart's face and body froze upon remembering that. He then stomped the ground and snapped his toes in confounded euphemism. "Cripes! Is there a way you could get me some?" He asked.
Fluttershy simply shook her head. "I don't think Twilight will let anyone use it unless they get really special permission." She said. Hammerheart just sighed and hung his head low in disappointment. Fluttershy came in closer and placed a caring hoof under his jaw. "Don't worry. If it'll make you feel better, if Twilight finds out what the potions does, I'll come back and tell you everything. Is that okay?"
Hammerheart looked at her and just did not change his grumpy expression. "Sure, whatever." He deadpanned.
Fluttershy smiled, oblivious to his blunt sarcasm. "Alright. I'm heading out, now. Be good, and stay here." With that said, she turned tail and trotted to town, leaving Hammerheart by himself. Well, sort of by himself.
He looked around and noticed most of the animals were either curious or scared senseless of his presence. He almost did not feel like a truly welcomed guest. If these animals soiled themselves because of him, he could only imagine the fear he would invoke amongst the ponies in town.
Hammerheart sat on his tail base and went into deep thought. If he just went into town and to the place where the potion might be, the citizens would freak out, and most likely call in someone to get rid of him. And the last thing he needed was more spears impaled in his hide. He was not a very stealthy species of Dragon, so sneaking into town was out of the question. Hammerheart then remembered the clouds. He could bring clouds down very low and create a smoke screen that would obscure the ponies' sight. He could then fly over, sniff out Fluttershy and her friends, and be able to get what he needed without causing anymore trouble. He looked up into the sky, and it was a sunny day, no clouds in sight. Hammerheart slapped his wing on his face and growled in frustration.
This was probably going to take a while.
Meanwhile, Fluttershy had just arrived at the library. She knocked on the door, which magically opened, and she walked in to see Twilight, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, and Pinkie standing by the table. On the table, six small bottles filled with what must have been the potion stood.
"Oh, good morning, Fluttershy." said Twilight. "I was just about to send Rainbow to get you, but you're here, which is fantastic."
"Morning, Twilight." said Fluttershy, "How's it going?"
"Splendid!" Twilight said with a sunny smile, "After finally working up the guts to drink this potion, I now know what it does."
"Oh wow, really?" Fluttershy said, pleased to know that she had finally figured it out. "What does it do?" Fluttershy walked in closer with the others as they looked at Twilight, eager to be shocked by the reveal.
Twilight simply gave a smile of pride. "This potion actually lets whoever consumes it see into the past and/or future."
The five mares all gasped from their awaited shock and awe.
"Are you serious?" said Rainbow Dash. "That stuff actually lets you see into the future?!"
"And the past, yes." Twilight added. "And it lasts for as long as the consumer wills it to." She turned her attention to the small bottles on the table. "I have one for everypony."
They turned their gaze to the bottles, and then back to Twilight. "So, what did you see when you drank the potion, Twi?" Applejack asked.
"Well, for my past, I saw when we all first met each other." They all looked up as they remembered that fateful day. "And as for my future?" Twilight could not help but rub the back of her head and give a sheepish grin. "Well, it's hard to say, but it was something about being rewarded with princesshood."
They all became wide eyed with disbelief, but it was Rarity who dropped her jaw from the reveal.
"Unbelievable..." She whispered.
"Now that's one heck of a future, Twilight!" said Pinkie, who was the first to relax after a few seconds to except the news.
Twilight chuckled and then cleared her throat. "So, who else wants to see her future or past?" She said as she levitated up five bottles and presented them to the mares. They each took a bottle in hoof.
Fluttershy then thought of something. "Um, Twilight?"
"Yeah, Fluttershy?"
"Is it okay if I take the spare bottle home with me for Hammerheart?"
Twilight sighed. "I'm afraid not. I don't know how a Dragon would react to drinking this. It could maybe cause problems."
Fluttershy just sighed in defeat, and they all drank their potions.
Back at the cottage, Hammerheart had finally come up with a very stupidly crazy idea. He knew he was going to be thrown out of Equestria for what he planned to do, but if it meant seeing what Zaurus saw, he was left with little choice.
Hammerheart stood straight up in place to his full height, stretched his wings to their full length, closed his eyes, and took in a deep breath.
Angel came running up to him from below and started to violently shake a fist at him from yesterday.
Hammerheart could hear the nuisance, but could feel his whole body surge with the energy that gave him his stamina. When he felt everything rush to his heart, his eyes shot open, he crouched down, his back arched backwards, and he shot into the air. His takeoff sent Angel rolling back and smacking into the trunk of the house.
Hammerheart was sky high. He kept ascending until he was at an altitude high enough for him to not be spotted so easily by the ponies way down below. He sniffed for Fluttershy and her friends' scent. He was not high enough for their scent to evade his nostrils. In fact, when he closed his eyes, he could see the invisible trail that would lead him to them. When he picked up their odor, and found their scent trails, he closed his wings and dropped from the sky. He was falling so fast, his descension created a loud whistle.
The citizens could hear the faint sound of his whistling casually grow louder and louder. When they looked up, they could see something heading straight for the library.
After thirty seconds of falling, Hammerheart dived right into the treetop of the library.
The mares, who were talking about what they saw after drinking their potions, shrieked from the ceiling suddenly collapsing. But when the dust cleared, they saw that it was Hammerheart who smashed through the ceiling.
"Hammerheart?!" They shouted in unison.
Hammerheart shook his senses back into himself, and saw a small bottle sitting on the table. Figuring it was the potion, Hammerheart opened his mouth, and his tongue shot out and seized the bottle.
"Hey, wait, don't take that!" Twilight objected.
Hammerheart ignored her. With the potion in his grasp, he pulled the obsidian out of his mouth pouch and dropped it in the bottle. He then swallowed the whole thing with a forced gulp.
Rainbow Dash flew up to him and smacked him across the face. "Are you crazy?!" She yelled.
"What the hay was THAT for?!" Applejack joined in.
"You could've killed somepony! Or us!" Twilight scolded.
"Be happy that never happened." Hammerheart argued. He could feel something slowly spread from his stomach throughout his body.
Fluttershy flew up to him with a solemnly mad look in her eyes. "Hammerheart, I told you to stay at my house while I was gone." She said. "Why did you disobey?"
"Because there's somethin' I need to see that only I can stop!" Hammerheart yelled, making Fluttershy retreat from his raised voice. "If I don't find out before it's too late, we're all gonna..." The feeling had completely engulfed him, and he fell silent. His eyes started to glow white, and he became still as a statue.
The six mares stared in confusion upon seeing him like this.
"Uh, Twilight, did this happen to you or us when we drank that stuff?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"No." She replied, "This must be how Dragons react to the potion."
Fluttershy began to fear for Hammerheart's life. "We've gotta do something about this!" She said panicky.
But Twilight held her back. "There's nothing we can do but wait for him to come to." With that stated, they just stood and waited for Hammerheart to regain consciousness, however long that would take.
Hammerheart felt nothing. He felt as if he had no body. He tried to open his eyes, but could not even feel them. He kept focusing on regaining his senses until he finally opened his eyes, and was greeted with pitch darkness in his vision. His senses began to slowly come back to him. All feelings of nothing were replaced with the feeling of coldness. Hammerheart's bones started to get stiff from the temperatures, but he was not freezing. He could smell what smelled like the aromatic heat of fire. He could hear the low and normal beep in his ears from the silence. He could even taste chocolate for some strange reason.
Suddenly, two shining yellow anomalies pierced the darkness in front of him, and they drew closer to his being. As they came in, Hammerheart recognized them as Zaurus' eyes floating above the obsidian he had consumed. Then the sockets around the Dragon's eyes began to appear, but the rest was blacked out by shadows.
"Am I dreamin', or is this what the potion does?" Hammerheart asked himself.
"Hammerheart," Zaurus' voice said, "the kindle of peace is about to be set ablaze by the fires of war! If we are to keep this from happening, you must journey through my memories, and then see the Armageddon I have witnessed."
Hammerheart sighed. "Zaurus, old friend, what've ya gotten yerself into?" He said, "Whatever it is, I already don't like it." The obsidian started to glow white, and Hammerheart could see familiar past events occurring before him within the light. Zaurus' voice began to narrate.
"Friend Hammerheart, it has been four and a half years since you helped me save my race, the Knuckers, from the tyrannical clutches of the infernal Hydra, Legion."
"It was a brief, yet terrible war, but in the end, we overcame. Even though no battle is without consequence, their is no greater way for any Dragon to die, than to die fighting."
"But this is where the first chapter of a much more horrific story begins, even though we thought and believed it superstitious."
Within the swamps of a far away continent, fire engulfed large amounts of the area. The corpses of Knuckers laid on dirt and in water everywhere. In the center of the great swamp, a ginormous, countless headed Hydra sat in a large crater, surrounded by the skeletons and bodies of fallen Knuckers. It laughed sinisterly into the air, which had a haunting echo with every sound made.
"You Dragons are such foolish, pretentious creatures!" It bellowed. "Always thinking you can dominate without challenge or resistance! In the end, it will be your arrogance that will lead you and all others like you to extinction! If you had remained loyal to me, I would have help you cure yourself of your overweeningly blinding pride! Of course, it is never to late. Surrender now, and I, Legion, may show you some mercy against your sinful actions against me."
Elsewhere, Zaurus, Hammerheart, and a whole pack of Knuckers were gathered at a healing pond in a far south corner of the swampy map, and they were repulsed by the Hydra's horrendously infernal offer. The Knuckers were fighting to rid themselves of the chains and whips of Legion's tyranny, they were not about to give up and discard everything they dreamed to achieve.
"You may be a monster from the most voracious pits of Tartaurus, Legion," Zaurus shouted, "but that does not mean you are immortal! We know better than to accept your proposal of faux mercy! We are not fighting for pride, conquest, or anything else in hopes of personal gain! We fight for our freedom from one as heartless as you! Though you are many, so are we! We will fight to the death, until one of us falls! Marwolaeth I bob drwg!"
Zaurus and Hammerheart turned to the remaining Knuckers that still drew breath.
"My kin," said Zaurus, "we have suffered at the claws of tyranny. We have writhed at the whip of injustice. And we have dropped to our knees in defeat at the presence of indiscrimination. But now we say 'enough'! We will no longer stay our ground and watch as our friends and family are torn apart and devoured by the jaws of evil! We break free of the tyrant's grasp! We split the whip of injustice in two! And we stand against the one who self-proclaimed himself as ruler of us all! As a Shaman of our dying race, I must protect us all from dying at the feet of Legion, and I shall deliver the final strike myself, if I must! If we fall, then we will consider it a blessing, nevertheless, we must, we shall, win this day! Ar gyfer ein ras!"
The Knuckers roared in unison with selfless pride. Hammerheart looked upon everyone.
"You're quite the motivational speaker." He said. "I barely understood half the stuff that came outta yer mouth. But I promised I would help you, and I'm not gonna back out now!"
Zaurus looked to Hammerheart and smiled. "It fills my heart with great joy that an outsider and an outcast, such as you, would help us in our time of need."
Hammerheart gave a mixed look of thankfulness and annoyance, as he was not sure whether to take that as a compliment or an insult that doubled as a mean joke, but he knew Zaurus would never put him down.
"If it means the salvation of a Dragon race, than I will fight 'til the end." said Hammerheart. "To battle. Am y fraint o holl Dreigiau!"
Zaurus nodded. "Am y fraint o holl Dreigiau!"
Hammerheart flapped his wings, and was airborne. Knuckers, having vestigial wings, remained earthbound.
"Because we cannot strike anything that thrives in the air, you must keep all flying creatures from harming us, Hammerheart." said Zaurus.
"Way ahead of you on that one." said Hammerheart.
They began there move through the maze-like swamp. It was thick, foggy, and treacherous, but it was nothing to Knuckers, who relish in squelchy and humid habitats like swamps. They continued along the way, until they encountered horrific minions of Legion.
They were two-headed dogs with manes of snakes. Their drooled steamed against everything they touched upon dripping on the ground. They had black fur with red underbellies, and glowing red eyes to add onto the horror factor.
"Hellhounds!" said Zaurus, "Legion has summoned the very offspring of Cerberus!"
"Why ya flippin' out, lad?" said Hammerheart. "They're just dogs. Put 'em down!"
The Knuckers went in to attack. Zaurus kept his distance and spewed balls of venom at the beasts. Hammerheart breathed fire upon the hounds until they were killed off.
"Hmm, seems those mutts weren't flinchin' one bit from me flames." Hammerheart pointed out.
"Because hellhounds are born in the most volcanic pits of Tartaurus." said Zaurus. "Your gift of fire breath will not hurt them as much as it would appear."
With the hellhounds dead, they moved onward. When they moved another twenty feet or so, a loud screech echoed in the air. Horribly deformed winged monsters came towards them.
"Harpies!" said Zaurus, "Hammerheart, bring them low with your furious flames."
Hammerheart chuckled. "With pleasure." He flew forward and caught the harpies' attention. Hammerheart then unleashed his inner inferno at them. The blaze engulfed them, and they writhed and flailed in midair until they dropped to the ground below.
"Harpies are extremely vulnerable to fire." said Zaurus. "They will combust when you breathe on them."
With the monsters burnt to death, they kept moving on. The haunting echo of Legion's laughter surrounded them as they marched to battle.
"You miserable newts should have accepted my offer," said Legion, "instead you chose to continue defying my will. Now I shall slay you all, tear you to ribbons, and swallow your souls!"
The Dragons did not let Legion's threatening words despair them, and kept on moving. They came to a large, black, and ominous object that stood half sunken into the ground. It was guarded by hellhounds and harpies. They went in and attacked. Zaurus and the Knuckers fought the hellhounds, while Hammerheart torched the harpies. When the guards were slain, they brought their attention to the object.
"What in the name of all that is near and dear is that thing?!" said Hammerheart.
Legion laughed again. "Ah, it seems you have stumbled upon my children." He said.
Zaurus' face gave an expression of subtle horror. "Children?!"
"Yes! Even now, they feed off the souls of those pathetic Dragons who have fallen against my might, as well as the creatures you have killed! And in return for a delicious meal, they grant me the immortality that still gives me such a titillating feeling in my body."
"Well, then, I hope no one frowns upon us for killin' kiddies, then!" Hammerheart said before breathing upon the giant egg. Zaurus and the Knuckers also struck at the egg, until it cracked in two, and the yolk inside spilled out and headed for the center of the swamp.
Legion laughed again. "Killing my children matters little to me. Even if they die, they return to my essence, and I simply create more in their place."
Basically, the egg they destroyed would come back again. Meaning that, indeed, Legion would be immortal, no matter how many eggs they destroy, because another egg would take the place of the other.
"I will remain here and dispatch the egg when it returns, Shaman Zaurus." a Knucker said.
Hammerheart, Zaurus, and the remaining Knuckers kept going while the one that volunteered to stay behind remained. They came to a river, which separated them from the path on the other side.
"This river is vast and rapid." said Zaurus. "It is a good thing we Knuckers are excelled swimmers."
Zaurus and the Knuckers dived into the river and swam to the other shore. When they emerged and got back on dry land, their trek resumed. They soon found another black egg, also guarded by monsters. They quickly killed off the beasts with little trouble.
"I'll stay behind and destroy this grotesque creation on your call." another Knucker said.
Hammerheart spotted something strange not too far from their position. "Who or what in the bloody blazes are those things?" He said.
Zaurus looked in the direction Hammerheart was pointing and spotted a familiar sight. They were lizards, but they walked upright on their hind legs. They wore clothing made from whatever they could find in these swamps. They wielded axes made of wood and sharpened rocks, and bows crafted from sticks and thick strands of webbing from the large spiders that dwelled in these swamps.
"The Saurasks." said Zaurus, "If we recruit them for our aid, we could gain an upper hand against Legion."
They approached the Saurasks, who brandished their weapons upon seeing them coming.
"Who goes there?" a Saurask with a bow and arrow demanded.
"Saurasks, we come to you in need." said Zaurus. "Legion is threatening to throw the Dragons into extinction, and any others of our ilk."
"So you ask for our help against this 'Legion' creature?" a Saurask with a double-headed axe asked. Zaurus simply nodded. The Saurasks looked to each other, then back at them. "Very well, we shall join your cause."
Zaurus smiled. "Our thanks to you, Sons of Ymlusgiaid."
Now that they had Saurasks on their side, the battle was nearly half won. But Legion was quick to learn one's strategy through their actions.
"Hmm, what have we here? A presence I have not sensed up until now? You should have known better than to keep secrets from me. I think I will gather my own lizard minions after what you did." He laughed some more.
"Legion is making his next move by recruiting Saurasks, as well." Zaurus said. "We must find the others before he poisons their minds and brings them under his twisted will!"
Zaurus, Hammerheart, the Knuckers, and the Saurasks moved onwards again, but two more vile beasts from the dark forests of the world appeared to slow their advance.
"Chimeras. Abominable creatures that can breathe fire and use venom." said Zaurus. "Strike these monsters with extreme care, my friends!"
Hammerheart approached the mutant beasts and blew fire upon them. The Knuckers and Saurasks engaged as well, striking the beasts and trying to avoid getting bitten or burned. Within minutes, the chimeras were slain. The war party moved on, and soon found another black egg of Legion's.
"What are these things?" a Saurask said. "And what do they do?"
"These are Legion's dark eggs." Zaurus explained. "They contain his next of kin. They feed off the souls of whoever dies near them or Legion. In return, they gift their father with immortality. But even if we destroy them, another will eventually fill in the gap."
"I shall stay while you all continue." said another Knucker, volunteering to watch the egg.
They moved once more, and found another group of neutral Saurasks, who were fighting against a small pack of hellhounds. The Dragons approached and attacked the hellhounds from behind, and the Saurasks spotted them. When the hellhounds were slain, one of the Saurasks approached the war party.
"Who are you?" He asked.
"Fellow Saurask," said a Saurask among the Knuckers, "join us in ridding these lands of the one called Legion."
The neutral Saurasks looked to each other before nodding in agreement to the allegiance. There was now one more group to persuade, but Legion's haunting laughter did not invoke good news.
"My, my, my. These Saurasks, as they call themselves, are stubborn little things. But even they are susceptible to my influence."
"Blast it all!" said Zaurus, "We've lost a group to Legion. Be wary, my friends, for we may face against corrupted Saurasks along our way."
They once again found another egg, guarded by more monsters. They did away with the beasts, and another Knucker stayed behind to keep an eye on it.
"Keep going, friends, the hour of victory is not too far." He said.
They were getting close to Legion's crater, but on their way, they encountered the group of Saurasks Legion had taken under his control. Their skin color had changed from green to purple from the evil essence that consumed them.
"Our new Master has ordered us to exterminate the pests that are infesting his realm." One said with the same haunting echo as Legion's voice. "That includes you. Now, prepare to meet your ends."
"It may not be too late to save the fallen ones." said Zaurus. "If I can bind them and perform a Psychic Purge on their minds, they will be freed from Legion's lies."
Having the other stay back, Zaurus charged at the corrupted Saurask, threw his serpentine body around them, and constricted them in a binding grip. He then began to chant words in his native tongue. "Erbyn puro bydd y Duwiau Ddraig, yr wyf yn eich rhyddhau o is drwg yn!" His eyes shined brightly, and he spewed a white fluid all over the corrupted, which slid off their bodies and vaporized into thin air.
The corrupted Saurasks were back to their original green coloration again.
"Thank you for curing us, Knucker Shaman." one of the Saurasks said. "How can we repay you?"
"Please, friends, join us in overthrowing the one who corrupted you so, named Legion." Zaurus said.
The Saurasks bowed and brandished their weapons again. "It would be an honor."
With a full army, the Dragons and Saurasks headed downward, eventually finding another egg of Legion's. This one was guarded by the skeletons of dead Knuckers. Zaurus looked at them in horror.
"No, it cannot be..." He said.
Hammerheart flew over them and blasted his flames upon them, burning their bones to charcoal.
"We are very close, friends." a Knucker volunteering to stay behind said. "Go deliver the final blow to that tyrant!"
With the eggs being watched by their kin, the Knuckers, the Saurasks, Zaurus, and Hammerheart moved on, and had finally found Legion himself, basking in his own glory.
"You may have gotten this far, puny mortals, but know that it will have all been for naught!" He laughed. "Once I rid the Earth of the Dragons, I will move onto the next dominating species, and enslave them as well! Should they decide to try and overthrow my rule, they will meet the same fate as you! Now come, my pathetic subjects, the time is now that you feed me your bodies and souls!"
"The only thing we're feedin' you is the taste of defeat, ya fat, worm-headed, cocky, son-of-a-rascal!" Hammerheart chided.
"Such harsh words coming from such a fierce predator." Legion said in a mocking manner. "Now, show me what all you are capable of, hatchling."
Zaurus closed his eyes and focused on the five Knuckers that remained behind. "Brothers, strike while the time is ripening!" The five Knuckers heard Zaurus' voice, and they simultaneously struck the eggs until they shattered, and their dark yolks poured out back to their father. Zaurus felt the change clear as day. "Now, my friends and kin! Now is the time for us to be forever free from the clutches of tyranny! Onward, to glorious victory! ATTACK!"
The war party charged and unleashed their fury upon the vincible Hydra, who did not hesitate to strike back as well. The many heads swooped down like hawks, and caught a Knucker or a Saurask in their jaws. Some had managed to avoid being caught and still fought on.
Hammerheart lingered above and blasted fireball after fireball upon the horrid monstrosity. He had a promise to hold up to, and he was not going to break it.
Zaurus shot orbs of venom from a safe distance, but still grunted in frustration. "If we lose here, my race will be wiped off the face of the Earth!" He thought. "I refuse to let that happen!"
The thought of great loss was enough to push Zaurus over the edge. He lifted his head up into the air, and conjured a great ball of venom over himself.
Hammerheart spotted it from high up. "Everyone, get clear!" He shouted.
The Knuckers and Saurasks ceased their attack and turned to see what Zaurus was doing, and they retreated from the spot.
After a minute of building, Zaurus had finished forming his huge ball of venom. "Hammerheart, ignite!" He said as he threw the ball upwards.
Hammerheart dodged the incoming venom orb, and then set it ablaze with one breath. The flaming venom ball slowed its ascension, and then slowly dropped back down over Legion. The infernal Hydra roared and screeched with agony as it was poisoned and burned alive. When the giant ball touched ground, it dispersed in a nonlethal explosion.
The smog was thick, but not deadly. Zaurus coughed from the fumes. Hammerheart could not see anything from up high, so he flapped his wings with great force to try and clear the fog. When the fog did clear, everyone could see the cooked corpse of the titanic Hydra lay motionless in its place.
Everyone who survived cheered in their own fashion. The Knuckers gave a triumphant roar to the sky, and the Saurasks pumped their fists and pounded their axes on the ground.
Hammerheart landed next to Zaurus as they looked at one of the heads of the body. "So, is it over? We won?" Hammerheart asked rhetorically.
Zaurus nodded. "Yes, my friend and brother, we have won."
They turned and were going to head off, but the feeling of someone's breath made them freeze in place.
"No..." said Zaurus.
"It can't be!" Hammerheart whispered in disbelief.
They both turned around and saw the head's eyes slightly opened and staring at them with pure hatred.
"You... may have... defeated me here," Legion said with his dying breath, "But while you fought... and died against me, how do you know... that the chosen one... had not perished in the fight?"
Hammerheart and Zaurus looked to each other in confusion. "Chosen one?" they both said.
Legion chuckled. My Master tasked me... with slaying the one who would... jeopardize his plans of Armageddon, and I would say... that my original quest is accomplished. Soon, you will all... feel his wrath... and lie dead at his feet..." Legion then breathed his last breath, and evaporated into blackened dust.
"What does he mean 'chosen one'?" Zaurus asked.
Hammerheart grunted and waved a dismissive wing. "He's just speakin' nothin' but a bunch of jibber-jabber just to try an' scare us."
Zaurus sighed through his nostrils. "I hope you are right."
They turned and headed back to regroup with their comrades. Even though Legion's last words unnerved Zaurus, the beast had fallen, and the battle won.
"My friends and kin, at long last our salvation has been gifted to us." said Zaurus. "Legion has fallen, and our race is forever free from the injustice of tyranny! With our new found freedom, we must rebuild our desecrated home, and return it to its former beauty! Molwch yr Duwiau Ddraig!"
"Molwch yr Duwiau Ddraig!" they shouted in unison.
Zaurus then turned to Hammerheart. "Young Wyvern, you offered your help in our dire time of need. You could have just ignored us altogether, but instead, you showed us true selflessness through your valor. And for what you have done, we thank you very much." Zaurus bowed his head, and so did the other Knuckers.
Hammerheart chuckled. "I did what I had to for the sake of freedom for any and all Dragons of the world, but now, I must leave. I can't stay here forever. Y Duwiau Ddraig gwylio dros chi." He flapped his wings, got airborne, and flew off.
Zaurus simply stood and waved goodbye. "Y Duwiau Ddraig gwylio dros chi, hefyd." He said.
After reliving the terrible battle for freedom, Hammerheart found himself back in the cold darkness, staring at Zaurus' eyes above the obsidian. He shook his head from the disorientation of the vision, and was astonished by the experience.
"Did that really just happen?" He said, still feeling a little skeptical about it all, even though the proof was in the pudding.
Zaurus' voice spoke again. "After we had achieved our independence from Legion, I have taken his last words into thought. I traveled the world in search of answers as to who this 'chosen one' could be."
Hammerheart sighed. "I told you before, it was just a bunch of nonsense coming from a dyin' freak of nature. But sure, let's see what you've been doin' while I was gone."
The obsidian shined white again, and Zaurus' voice began to narrate all that was happening in the image that played in the light.
"For two years, after the war, I traveled across the seas in search for clues as to who this 'chosen one' Legion mentioned was."
"My search brought me to the forbidden caves of the southern mountains. Its dark passageways and labyrinth of rock walls made it what felt like a trialing race against time."
"Upon entering the caves, I could sense something of draconic descent, but it did not feel like a welcoming presence. It felt like something much more hellbent on a darker agenda."
Zaurus held a crafted lantern made of a small branch, and a glass ball he found abandoned in the wilderness. Inside the glass ball, extremely bright fireflies created a perfect light source for him to see in the dark caves he had entered. He held his torch to the walls of the cave and examined the ancient paintings upon them that told stories through visionary details.
"In the beginning, billions of years ago, the Dragon Gods forged the very world we all live upon with the very elements of nature: Fire, Ice, Lightning, Water, Earth, Wind, Light, and Darkness." Zaurus said as he shined the light upon a painting of the Earth surrounded by eight Dragons, each different colors. "Thousands of years later, they then birthed living beings onto the world through their essences of life." He found another painting, showing the eight Dragons creating a variety of creatures from their hearts and minds.
"Pyrkagias, the Dragon God of Fire, was the first to forge the mortal Dragons that could thrive in or outside of his volcanic domain." One painting depicted a red Dragon sitting on a throne, and smaller Dragons flew around and near their father.
"Pagos, Dragon Goddess of Ice and Snow, created the creatures that would call her arctic land 'home'." Another painting depicted a slightly smaller white Dragon standing upon an iceberg surrounded by animals that lived in the tundras today.
"Thalassia, the Water Dragon Goddess, ruled the oceans with the aquatic animals of her making." Another painting depicted showed a blue serpentine Dragon in the ocean depths, fiddling her claws among schools of fish.
"Keravnon, Dragon God of Lightning, gifted all creatures with the blessing of life." Another painting depicted another serpentine Dragon, but it was orange and shot bolts of lightning upon animals, bringing them to life.
"Geiosi, the Earth Dragon Goddess, grew the trees and grasses that flourish the world." Another painting depicted a green Dragon sitting in a field of grass within a ring of flowers.
"Anemou, the Dragon God of Wind and Air, formed the birds and other winged beasts from his clouded breath." Another painting depicted a grey Dragon swirled amongst clouds and birds.
"Elafry, the Dragon Goddess of Light, used her beautifully bright warmth to spread happiness among the inhabitants of the Earth during the day." Another painting depicted a yellow Dragon flying over varieties of animal, with an aura pouring onto them.
"And Skoura, the Dragon God of Darkness, gifted them all with comfort through slumber during the world's nights." Another painting depicted a purple Dragon flying over animals with Z's over their heads.
Zaurus continued to read through ancient history, coming upon a painting of the eight Dragon Gods standing in a row before a plethora of creatures alike. "Together, all living things lived under each others' wings in unity and harmony. But then something so surprisingly sudden shattered that peace long ago." He said as he came across a warp painting of what must have been the chaos from the past. "But who, or what, brought forth destruction among them all?"
The sound of pebbles moving caught Zaurus' attention, and he turned and looked for the source. His light illuminated the vast interior of the cave. The ceiling was well over fifty feet high. Large fissures were present all around that led to the deepest parts of the Earth. And Stalagmites obscured a clear view of anything within Zaurus' sight. He could sense something was nearby. He sniffed the stale air, and could smell them, too.
He could suddenly see his own shadow in front of him. His torch was not making it. He turned to see what looked like a flaming King Cobra reared up with its hood spread open. It struck at him, but he swerved out of its way, dropped his torch, and spat a ball of venom on its head. The cobra hissed from the venom that splattered its head. Zaurus then stretched his claws out and slashed the serpent's neck open. Lava poured from the wound onto the ground, and Zaurus quickly backed away to avoid getting caught in the molten blood.
He turned around, and two more flaming cobras burned before him. One lunged with jaws opened wide, but Zaurus flipped backwards, and the cobra ended up getting a mouthful of dirt and rocks. Zaurus then pierced his claws into its skull, and shredded the flesh off its forehead. Lava sprayed everywhere, but Zaurus managed to avoid contact with it. The last cobra slithered in and tried to catch Zaurus in a burning constriction, but Zaurus jumped up and grabbed it by the jaws. The cobra flailed and shook its head to get him off, but Zaurus dug his claws in and ignored the burning pain. The cobra then stuck out its fangs. Zaurus gave it a swift kick to the lower jaw, which broke the fangs out of its mouth. Zaurus grabbed them both, and jabbed them in its eyes.
The cobra hissed and nearly screeched in agony before going limp. Zaurus released his grip on the fangs and examined his talons. They were burnt, but not severely. He picked his torch back up and continued to search through the forsaken caves.
"What were those monsters doing here?" Zaurus thought. "They should only be found near volcanoes or places of extreme heat."
As he continued to search through the labyrinth, he eventually found what appeared to be a triangular dais encrypted with an ancient language long lost to time itself. Zaurus examined the dais closer, and placed a talon upon the words, which started to glow brightly, and morph into the very language of the Dragons' tongue.
"Yr un a helpodd gyntaf greu'r byd, yn ceisio ffrwydro dinistr ar yr holl bethau gwahanol. Maent yn syrthio o'r blaen, ond bydd yn codi eto." was written upon the dais.
"The one who first helped create the world, sought to erupt destruction upon all things different. They fell before, but will rise again." Zaurus translated. "So one of the Dragon Gods succumbed to corruption, and wished to bring war amongst all living things. But which one?"
The scripture died out, and the dais sunk into the ground beneath. A portion of rocks that formed the wall also sunk into the ground, revealing a new pathway deeper into the cave. Zaurus went through, and found himself standing on a path that practically floated over a dark abyss. One slip, and he would fall into oblivion to his death.
He swiftly crawled along the path, careful not to move too fast, while holding his torch in his prehensile tail. A slobbery screech pierced his ears. He looked over the edge to see large cave spiders crawling up to him. He peeked his gaze underneath the path and discovered it smothered with webbing. They felt prey moving above, and are coming up to feast.
A spider came up from the left, but Zaurus blasted it off the side and into the darkness below. He kept moving, staying in one spot for too long was dangerous. Another spider came up on the right and screeched, but Zaurus punched it off the edge. He moved with all the swiftness he could muster, taking extreme caution of the edges. He could see the other end of the path, and a really big spider blocked the way.
The spider spotted Zaurus, and lunged at him. Zaurus dug his front claws into the rock, flipped his tail over his body, and jabbed the end of the torch into its head. The spider screeched and flailed its legs crazily, unable to get free from the stick that pinned it to the ground. It soon ceased its flailing, and grew limp. Zaurus pushed it off the edge and quickly headed for the exit.
When he went through, a large rock erected from the ground and sealed the way off. Zaurus gave it a brief look before returning his attentions to the front. He was now in a different part of the cavern, but the ceiling was glowing almost as bright as his torch. He then realized that the ceiling was covered in glowworms, firefly larvae. He continued the search for answers of what happened all those years ago.
"I must be extremely more cautious than before." He said to himself. "If there are more voracious beasts residing in this cave, they will not hesitate to try and prey on me."
Zaurus walked stealthily through the broad passageway of the new cave, shining his torch in every direction in hopes of catching a glimpse of something that could give him hints or clues about the past. Zaurus then took a step that nearly caused him to fall through a hole in the ground. He quickly pulled himself out of the hole and looked in to see something coming to the surface. Zaurus jumped back before a big serpentine creature popped out an shrieked. Zaurus quickly fled from the large beast.
"I seemed to have accidentally stumbled upon an infant Gaian Wyrm's home." said Zaurus. "These are deadly Earth Dragons that can burrow through ground and appear anywhere, barely without warning. If a whole colony has made their homes in these caverns, I could be in deep trouble. I must move silently and swift."
Zaurus placed his torch in his tail's grip, got down on all fours, and quickly crawled with lightened weight. If he were to make another loud noise, more Wyrms would certainly appear and hinder his progress. The bigger problem was figuring out whether or not he would be out of the frying pan and into the water. Fortunately, Zaurus could sense their draconic presence and how strong the feeling was when he traveled through. He kept moving forward, careful not to make any disturbances that would rile up the Wyrms beneath the rocks. When he felt their presence grow weaker and weaker, and eventually feel nothing, he knew he was in the clear.
He moved on, and found another dais with the ancient language encrypted upon it. Zaurus touched the stone, and the language morphed into a more legible form of writing. "Mae yna un a fydd yn dysgu ffyrdd yr wyth elfen o natur dim ond un ymhlith y byw y gellir atal y datguddiad I ddod." it read.
"There is only one among the living who can stop the coming apocalypse. One who will learn the ways of the eight elements of nature." Zaurus translated. "So one out of the many beings upon the Earth will learn the mystic powers of the Dragon Gods against this fallen god. But who? And again I ask, who is this fallen god?"
The glowing scriptures dimmed out, and the dais sunk into the ground. Dust and pebbles fell from above. Zaurus looked up and shined his torch to see a hole had opened in the ceiling. He placed his torch in his tail's grip again, and with one decent jump, he grabbed the inner rim of the hole and pulled himself upwards. He brought the light in and could see how long and high the hole went. It was a fair distance up, but he started climbing nonetheless.
After a minute of climbing, Zaurus finally reached the top. He peek out the hole and found a humongous underground pocket. Rays of sunlight shined through holes hundreds of feet high. There were stray patches of low growing grass, but a lot more rocky terrain comprised the ground.
Zaurus pulled himself out of the hole and onto solid ground. "The last prophetic dais must be somewhere in this desolate underground valley." He said. Zaurus started looking solemnly in every direction. "The powerful draconic presence I sensed when I first entered is more potent in these parts. Whosever aura I'm sensing must be very close."
Zaurus placed his torch in his talon and continued his search, though his source of light is technically unneeded now. Stalagmites littered the area, and the occasional sound of crumbling rocks would catch Zaurus' attention, but he kept his mental focus upon finding the last part of the prophesy. Bats started squeaking high above as they fluttered in the partial darkness, and even the drip-dropping sounds of water echoed in the atmosphere all around. Zaurus began to sniff the stale air, in hopes of picking up a strange scent of some sort. The previous dais' did smell like discarded teeth from a herbivorous animal.
Zaurus' nostrils eventually did catch a scent, but it did not smell like plant-eating teeth. It smelled more like rotting flesh. Zaurus then felt an unwelcoming chill on his back. He turned around, and was nearly blasted in the face by a revolting ball of some sort of plasma. Standing before his eyes were the skeletons of Unicorns dressed in frayed black robes. Their eye sockets had a small red glow, and their horns glowed green as they conjured more orbs of plasma to hurl.
Zaurus acted quickly, and blasted one undead Unicorn with his venom, though it did no effect as the dead pony virtually got back up without moving a bone. Zaurus decided to break them the old fashioned way, and flexed his talons. He lunged and swiped one undead, shattering its ribcage with one strong hit. He then grabbed the other dead pony, and slammed its skull on the ground and crushed it to shards.
The living dead were dead once more, but who knows how many more might be lurking in this cave. Zaurus continued to sniff about the pathway, until his blunt nose finally caught the scent of discarded teeth. He ran towards the direction it was coming from, zig-zagging through the plethora of stalagmite, and eventually found the final dais. The inscriptions were still in the old language, but Zaurus laid a claw on it, and it changed into legible words for him to read. It read: "Pan fydd y Wyvern a'r cludwyr Harmonig uno a chael y pwerau y Duwiau eu hunain, dim ond wedyn byddant yn gallu atal y ddydd y farn I ddod."
"When the Wyvern and the Harmonic Bearers unite and gain the powers of the Gods themselves, only then shall they be able to stop the coming Armageddon." Zaurus translated. "So it is a Dragon who will stop this fallen god, a Wyvern, along with these so-called 'Harmonic Bearers'." He scratched his chin as he pondered. "Could the prophesy be referring to Hammerheart? No, it couldn't possibly be him. But who are these 'Harmonic Bearers'? Most of all, who is this fallen god? That is the only question that remains unanswered."
More sounds of grinding pebbles caught Zaurus' attention, and he turned around before the dais sunk into the ground. If those skeletons were coming back again, he would be ready for them. He sneaked around the tall stalagmites, searching for the enemy before they found him. He heard the sound of crackling bones coming from behind him, and he swiftly spun around and delivered a powerful punch to the skeleton's face, shattering its skull. Zaurus examined the corpse, and noticed it was wearing a deep red robe. He looked up and spotted more red robed Unicorn skeletons approach him. Their horns glowed bright red, and they blew fire out their mouths. Zaurus ducked and avoided the flames. He then scurried up to the nearest fire eating skeleton and upper slashed its ribs to pieces, then slammed its skull into the ground.
Another dead pyromancer conjured fire bolts out of thin air and flung them at Zaurus. Zaurus was able to dodge them all relatively well, thanks to his serpentine body. He then got on his arms, flipped himself over and forward, and slammed his tail onto the skeleton, smashing it to shards. Zaurus stood back up, and panted from the fight. Though it was sort of brief, he was getting too old for combat like this, but he still had it in him.
The ground started to shake. Zaurus looked towards the center of the cavern and spotted a spiral pillar rise up to the top. It must be his exit. He scurried godspeed to the pillar, and made it to the base. But before he could make another move, a dark and sinister chuckle echoed all around him. Zaurus looked in every direction to find the voice's owner.
"What brings you to these forsaken caves, my child?" It said with an impossibly deep masculine voice.
Zaurus turned to see shadows forming into something much bigger. They took on the shape of a full grown Dragon, with glowing purple eyes that stared into his soul.
"Don't you know it is unwise to wander into places like these by yourself?"
Zaurus stared back with anger, yet felt a subtle fear in his heart. "Who or what in the name of the Duwiau Ddraig are you?!" Zaurus nearly shouted.
The specter chuckled. "I am everything you see before you." He said. "The land you walk on, the air you breathe, the water you drink, and the life you live."
Zaurus leered and gritted his teeth under his lips. "You are the fallen god, are you not?"
The specter silently laughed. "Did I not just say I am everything you see before you?" He started to dissipate, but still kept in one piece. He flowed past and through Zaurus, making him stiff with an ungodly chill that surpassed sub-zero. The specter reform behind him and placed his dark talons on his shoulders, making Zaurus almost petrify from the stiffening cold touch. "You must come to me, my child, and join my cause in creating a new world from the ashes of the abominable ones that plague our home."
Zaurus broke away and turned to face the dark one. "The only abominable one I see is the revoltingly dark monster before my eyes!"
The specter sighed. "Pitiful. No matter. Even if one does not come to my side, many others have seen the path to ruin should this world remain. If you wish to tread that path, so be it, but I am afraid you will perish along with the accursed defilers." He flexed his dark talons. "In fact, I think I will show you mercy, and relieve you of the upcoming torment, through DEATH."
The Specter swung its large claws at Zaurus, but missed when Zaurus back rolled. Zaurus then threw his torch at the shadow Dragon. It shattered on impact, and the fireflies fluttered about and away, but the dark figure just laughed at the pitiful excuse for a strike.
"You would dare try to graze a God, such as myself, with something as frail as a stick? Indeed, you are blind to the truth of the matter."
Zaurus did not want to spend the rest of his life fighting the dark apparition of a Dragon God, so he began to grunt and snort. A lump formed in his stomach. He then heaved the lump up his throat, and spat out the corrosive bile onto the ground, which created a smoke screen upon impact. The dark figure swiped his claws through the smoke, but struck nothing but rocks.
Zaurus was quick enough to flee to the spiraling pillar without being spotted by the fallen god, who chuckled to himself, which rose to a hearty laugh.
"Know this, my child. There is nowhere you can run or hide. My omnipotent powers will conquer any and all who stand against me. Nothing will stop me, and my army of oblivion."
Zaurus shook his head and began to climb as quickly as he could. He just met the fallen god, but their identity remains anonymous. "Now that I know what will happen, and who the savior is, I must now search the secret, olden Temple of Drakon Selac." Zaurus thought as he neared the top of the pillar. "Answers referring to the 'Harmonic Bearers' and the fallen god's identification should be present there." He sighed. "If not, I fear this entire world will burn."
Zaurus exited the caves and was now upon the very top of the mountains. Finding the temple could take years to accomplish, but it was a desperate search that had to be done.
Hammerheart once again felt like he woke up with a serious case of morning sickness. He felt light headed and his vision was rainbow static, but it all cleared up after a few seconds.
"I feel like I'm gonna keel over and drop dead from all these walks down memory lane." He said. Hammerheart shook his head, and returned his attention to the floating obsidian that looked back at him with Zaurus' eyes.
Zaurus' voice spoke again. "For another two and a half years, I traveled the globe in search for the Temple of Drakon Selac. Only its vast, historical, and mystic landmarks could uncover the truths I needed to find the chosen one's, the Harmonic Bearers', and the fallen god's identity."
Hammerheart brought his wing hand to his chin. "The Temple of Drakon Selac?" He said. "That place was said to have been buried a millennia ago. How did you find it, Zaurus?"
The obsidian glowed white again, engulfing Hammerheart's vision, and Zaurus began to narrate all that transpired before him.
"When I finally found the sacred temple, I could not help but stare in astonishment at the ancient ruin, but my task to find answers had to come before any means of sightseeing."
"Upon entering the temple's inner oasis, I could already sense something malevolent taking root. Fortunately, it was not the dark one I encountered before, but they were still a threat to my investigation."
"If I was to close my case once and for all, I would have to clear out any and all defilers that desecrated these ruins, as well as search for the four Twin Monuments of Harmony. Though it would be easier said than done."
The temple itself on the outside was not much to look at. Its crumbling walls, broken pillars, and other busted exteriors pretty much made it look less than appealing. But of course it was not what was outside that mattered, it was what was inside that did, and inside was breath taking.
The ruined temple housed a vast and beautiful oasis that many tropical plants and animals inhabited. Every variety of tree from the southern tropics grew inside this temple. Beautifully fragrant flowers grew near the trunks of the trees, and near small creeks. There were even supposedly extinct plants, like annularias, cordaites, araucarioxylons, and archaeamphoras.
Birds of Paradise flew in the air, catching the mysterious and strange insects that also lived here. What was more, was that some of the insects were a tad larger than normal. The oxygen level of the oasis caused them go grow bigger. And the mammals and reptiles have yet to be seen, but they would most likely be a sight for sore eyes.
"What an undeserving honor, it is, to be inside the very temple of Drakon Selac, the hero of the Dragon-Pony War." Zaurus said. "Were it not for the friendship he formed with the Alicorn Sisters a millennia ago, we all would have burned the Earth to ashes. It was Drakon himself who founded this rainforest, and sought to protect it against anyone who would seek to harm this sacred land." Zaurus grew solemn. "If so, then why do I sense dark presences within this ancient home. If I am to find the answers I seek, I must find something that will give me a connection to the past and future, and exterminate whatever desecrates this oasis."
Zaurus ran into the forest. The large, wide trees made a full-front view nearly impossible, as they were slightly compact enough to obscure the horizon. Zaurus simply zig-zagged through the trees like water through soil. He eventually came to an opening. A lake with what appeared to be a sort of monument in its center. Atop the monument were two large Dragon statues: one held diamond orbs in its claws, the other held orbs of obsidian.
"A twin monument to the Dragon Gods, Elafry and Skoura." said Zaurus. "The fact that they are polar opposite elements bound in undying friendship symbolizes complete harmony between the two. Surely, it could give me insight of the prophesy."
He jumped into the lake, swam for the monument, and placed a talon on its base. A purifying surge of healing bliss relieved him of any pain or stress he felt from traveling around the world, nonstop.
"The monument is emitting emotional sensations." Zaurus thought. "I feel... fear... and despair... through salvation?"
A sudden sound wave pulsed through the water, alerting Zaurus of something. He looked into the distance, and piranhas swam towards him. Zaurus quickly turned tail and bolted for the shore. The piranhas were fast, but Knuckers were faster. Zaurus crawled onto shore and to safety. The piranhas schooled near the edge of the water before swimming back into deeper water.
Zaurus clenched his fists and cracked his tensed knuckles. "There are three more twin monuments that I must make contact with if I am to decipher the prophesy, and my questions."
He headed towards the western portion of the forest, in hopes of finding another monument in that general direction. If the monuments were most likely symmetrical of each other, then it was a chance he would take.
Nearly two minutes later, Zaurus picked up on a foul scent of burnt hair. When he came to another clearing in the west, he discovered horrendously scorched beasts slamming against the western monument. Zaurus swiftly scurried in and slashed one of them in the back. The beast roared in pain and turned to face its assailant. Zaurus then jabbed two fingers in its eyes. The monster gave a high pitched roar before dropping to the ground.
Zaurus then recognized the animal as a bear, but a badly burned one, except its lips were gone, and its teeth bared. Its claws were twice as long as a normal bears. Even so, it reeked with the unwelcoming presence he felt upon entering the temple, and he stomped on its head.
Another bear took a deep breath, and blew what looked like living shadows from its mouth, but they sounded and felt like fire. It began to slowly spread along the grass. Zaurus quickly held his breath, and sprayed water from his mouth, which he stored in his body, upon the dark flames, dousing them out.
The bear then charged at Zaurus, and rammed him to the ground. It was about to pound its front paws down upon him, but Zaurus spat venom right into its face. The bear violently shook it head and rubbed its paws on itself, trying to get the venom off of it, but Knucker poison does not come off so easily. Zaurus got back on his feet, rushed up, and slashed the bear's belly. The beast held its paws to its belly, and fell to the ground bleeding to death.
Zaurus wiped sweat off his forehead, but he was not done yet. The other bear came in and bit his left arm. Zaurus roared from the pain. The bear then started to cough shadow flames, with burned against his hide. Zaurus then bit the bear's neck, it released its grip on him, and he let go. The bear backed away and roared, angry from the inflicted pain. It charged again, but Zaurus spun and smacked it in the chest with his tail. The bear fell to the ground. It tried to get back up, but was feeling weaker with every passing second. What it did not know was that a Knucker's bite is like the bite of a venomous snake. The bear's struggling slowly decreased, until it finally went limp.
With the blasphemous beasts dead, Zaurus returned his focus to the monument. It consisted of a Dragon statue covered in vines and flowers from the neck down, and a Dragon statue with perches filled with bird nests. "This one praises Geiosi and Anemou." He said as he placed his talon upon the base, and the purifying surge of bliss replenished his body again.
"The second twin monument of harmony." Zaurus thought. "I feel... friendship... happiness... and anger.
Zaurus was getting tantalizingly close to solving the mystery. He ran back into the forest and headed for the eastern twin monument. The jungle was starting to sound like its inhabitants were getting riled up by something.
Then suddenly gorillas dropped from the trees above in Zaurus' way. They looked seemingly normal, except for they had no flesh on their heads. Their skulls were as bare as there hairless hands, which were covered in what appeared to be the same dark fire that the burnt bears breathed. They pounded on their chests and howled like the deranged apes they were, challenging Zaurus to a fight.
Zaurus immediately rushed up to one of the gorillas, coiled his body around it, and constricted it with all his strength until it exploded into putrid dust. Zaurus coughed from the revolting stench. Another gorilla suddenly came in and punched him right in the back of his neck. Zaurus nearly gagged from the blow, but did not allow himself to falter. He wrapped his tail around the assailant's neck, squeezed it tight, and then ripped its head off along with its spinal column. Both it and the body dispersed into dust upon the death, further vexing Zaurus' sense of smell. The last gorilla began to beat on his chest, and then pounded the ground, creating small waves of dark fire that grew bigger with every hit. If he were to keep it up, he could set the whole jungle ablaze. Zaurus would not allow it. He conjured a ball of venom, and hurled it at the beast. the venom orb blasted the gorilla a few feet into the trunk of a tree.
Zaurus slowly approached the dying animal, and then stabbed his claws into the center of its chest, grabbed its sternum, and held it in a painful hold.
"What are you?!" Zaurus demanded. "Why are you here desecrating this land?! And whom do you serve?!"
The gorilla simply roared in his face, spraying saliva on him. Zaurus wiped the spit of his face, tightened his grip on the beast's sternum, and ripped it out of its chest. No blood came out, like the others. Instead, the gorilla simply disintegrated to dust. Zaurus held his breath and tried to fan the disgusting ashes away from his face.
"These monsters clearly serve the fallen god." Zaurus said. "If these gorillas and those bears could manipulate the shadows like that, I have a feeling it might be Skoura who is the fallen one. But that is merely a hunch, and I must continue my search for the truth."
Zaurus put the pedal to the metal and sprinted through the trees at a cheetah's speed. He casually scanned his surrounds, in case more servants of the fallen god decided to get the drop on him. After an hour of running, he soon came to another monument, which was surrounded by three more twisted creatures of evil intent.
They were wild boars that walked upright, and had hands instead of hooves. They wielded axes, and even had a plethora of what looked like porcupine quills on their backs. Their tusks grew about a foot in length, and were sharpened to the point where they seemingly shined in the light. They had rolled up whips on their belts. They wore armor made from various bones of animals, and leather skin tunics under them.
Zaurus took a stance and was ready for another battle, though he was still hurting from the last one.
The boars charged. One came in and swung his axe down on Zaurus, but he caught the axe blade with his bare talon. The boar then tried to jab him with his tusks, but Zaurus grabbed one of the tusks and held him back. Another boar attacked from the left, and swung his axe horizontally. Zaurus quickly dragged his current assailant into the axe's swinging range. The axe lodged into the boar's back, and he squealed in pain. Zaurus pushed the boar away and kicked him in the gut. Both boars fell backwards onto each other.
The third boar came charging in, and tried to gore Zaurus with his tusks, but Zaurus grabbed both tusks and held. He then pulled the boar in towards him, and smashed his head into the boar's skull. A loud crunch and crack briefly echoed in the air, and the boar back away completely disorientated and weakened by the devastating blow. Zaurus then rushed in, grabbed it by the shoulders, and blasted venom in its face. The boar squealed from the rancid poison, and then dropped dead.
The boar who got his axe stuck managed to free his weapon from the now dead boar he chopped, and charged after Zaurus. It swung its axe down to chop him in half, but Zaurus caught the blade with a clap of his talons. Zaurus then twisted the axehead until it broke off the handle. The boar stepped back in surprise and stared in disbelief at his broken weapon. It looked back at Zaurus, who threw the axehead right into the boar's left shoulder. The boar dropped the handle and held his shoulder in pain. Zaurus rushed up to the beast, hooked him from the left, then the right, and delivered an upper cut that was strong enough to break one of the boar's tusks off.
The boar backed away, shook its head, and regained its composure. It then drew its whip and cracked it on the ground. Zaurus flexed his claws and growled. The boar twirled the whip in the air and threw it at him. Zaurus held up his left arm, and the whip wrapped around it. Both pulled on the rope, trying to drag each other to the ground, until Zaurus gave it a hard yank that pulled the boar towards him. He then shoved his claws into the boar's belly, and crushed its liver. The boar squealed in pure agony from the loss of a vital organ. Zaurus pulled his hand out and struck the boar's snout hard enough to cave in its skull. The boar flew back and fell to the ground, flipped over itself, and landed face-first.
Zaurus rubbed his arm from the sting of that whip. With the boars dead, he could resume what he was doing. He slowly approached the monument, which was surrounded by a small moat with an equally small bridge that allowed one to get a closer look at it. The two statues above were a Dragon made entirely of metal, and a serpentine Dragon with water falling from its hands into the moat.
"This gives praise to Keravnon and Thalassia, the Dragon Gods of Lightning and Water." Zaurus said as he went up to the statues and placed a talon on its base. The blissfully replenishing energy healed Zaurus' pain.
"The third twin monument of harmony." He thought. "I feel... excitement... and fear... hidden by subtlety."
Three down, one left. Zaurus took a sip from the fresh moat and then headed for the northern part of the oasis. The evil essence he sensed was dwindling. He had already slain three packs of voracious beasts. It seemed very few were left. He would have to hunt down the rest before finding the last monument.
Zaurus sprinted through the jungle at top speed. He could sense the defilers gathering at a single location, and he was heading there to put them down. He crawled under roots, leaped through twin-linked trees, and dodged past plants. After minutes of traversing the jungle, Zaurus finally found the last twin monument, which was surrounded by burnt bears, half-dead gorillas, and anthropomorphic boars. Zaurus roared and caught their attention.
Now he was in for the fight of his life.
The horde charged at the Knucker Shaman, with bare teeth, claws, and blades. Zaurus flexed his claws, and readied himself for the battle. He slashed the first monster that came close, a gorilla, and it turned to dust upon death. He spun and slashed through a line of boars that held their axes above their heads to attack, leaving their bodies wide open. A bear tackled him and pinned him to the ground, pushing him into the dirt. Zaurus spat venom into its face and it reared up and away, trying to wipe the poison off its face. Zaurus rolled forth and slashed the bear in half with one clean upper cut of his claws.
A quarter of them were slain, and more still lived. Zaurus lunged at a boar and drove his claws through its chest, piercing its lungs. The boar squealed and wheezed as it tried to breathe. Zaurus then spun in a three sixty degree spin and threw the boar against a gorilla, who just received a nasty poking from the dead boar's quills. It pulled the corpse off and charged at Zaurus, who gut punched it upon contact. The gorilla coughed up bile from the blow. Zaurus then grabbed its skull, and snapped it off its body. The gorilla turned to dust, and Zaurus charged through it towards the remaining beasts.
For over an hour, Zaurus slashed through bear after bear, ape after ape, and boar after boar, until the horde was diminished to nothing but one remaining boar with a brandished whip. It twirled the whip in the air, flicked its wrist, and cracked it on Zaurus' chest, opening a sizable cut. Zaurus then lunged at the boar, slammed an open talon upon its head, and smashed it to the ground. He clutched the boar's head tightly, lifted him up off the dirt, and then repeatedly pounded him into the ground with powerful force. After dozens of head slams, the boar's skull crunched under Zaurus' strength, and he dropped the dead monster.
The evil presence was now completely gone, and the final monument was clear. Zaurus approached it and stared at the two statues on top: a Dragon holding balls of ice encased in glass orbs so that they would not melt, and a Dragon with great flames in its claws.
"This praises Pagos and Pyrkagias, the Dragon Gods of ice and fire." said Zaurus. He got to the foot of the monument, and placed his left talon on its base. The replenishing energy flow that he received from the last three pulsed through him, but it was weaker than the others. It was enough to heal his cut on his chest.
"The fourth twin monument of harmony." He thought. "I feel... sadness... bravery... and death."
Suddenly, the statue of Pyrkagias' fire died out. A surge of wicked energy rushed down the statue, and started to infect Zaurus' left talon. Zaurus grabbed his forearm tightly in pain. He tried to use his own powers to prevent the foul energy from spreading through the rest of his body. The energy began to build up in his forearm, until it soon dispersed, and blew it to pieces. Zaurus roared in pain from the loss of his forearm, and further tightened his grip on his arm to suppress the bleeding.
"What happened?!" Zaurus grunted, "Why did the monument just destroy half my arm?!"
The flames that were in the Fire Dragon's statue's claws returned, but they were black as night. Zaurus saw the change on the statue, and tried to extinguish it with more water stored in his body. The flames disappeared upon contact, but reappeared just as fast.
"This must be..." Zaurus dropped to his knees in pain from his arm. The black flames grew bigger and bigger. But then, a blue light from above rained upon the dark blazes, and they diminished into nothingness. Zaurus watched in awe at the sight, and was further shocked to see a spirit descending from above before him. It landed in front of the monument.
"Greetings, brother. I speak to you from the heavens." It said.
Zaurus gasped upon hearing the spirit's voice. Even more so, he recognized the soul as the one who found this jungle. "Drakon Selac?" He whispered loudly. "But, you passed away a thousand years ago."
"Perhaps," said Drakon, "but my soul remains as this temple's guardian. However, my powers have been weakening as of late by another power more omnipotent than my own, and horrific monsters have come to desecrate this beautiful land."
Zaurus looked down in anger. "The fallen one, no doubt." He looked back up to Drakon. "Please, Great Guardian Selac, I seek your wisdom. A fallen Dragon god seeks to bring ruin upon the very world we love, and the only ones who can stop him are a Wyvern who is the chosen one, as well as these Harmonic Bearers. But I know not who they are."
Drakon took a deep breath. "Yes, I felt it the moment we met. You wish to know who they are, and I have your long awaited answers. I shall start with the fallen god."
Drakon placed a ghostly hand upon Zaurus' head. Zaurus closed his eyes and could see a vision in the blackness of his own.
"As you already know, eight Dragon Gods created the world, and all living things, millions of years ago through the power of the eight Elements of Nature: Fire, ice, water, energy, earth, wind, light, and darkness. Everything was ideally perfect. There were no conflicting troubles, no hatred, and no fighting. But as time flowed, one of the Duwiau Ddraig fell prey to the infectious sense of boredom, and decided to bring more excitement to the world. When he found out that his powers could destroy as well as create, he brought nothing but destruction to his abilities. His desire to destroy began to rot his mind, and blacken his heart. Soon, he felt nothing but the need to destroy. He forged twisted monsters and demons from his flames of creation, and unleashed them upon the world's lives. He would have succeeded, but unfortunately for him, the other seven Gods rose up, outnumbered, and outmatched him in a new art form they unwittingly created themselves: War. After defeating their once greatest brother, the seven Duwiau Ddraig banished his creatures to the fiery prison of Tartaurus, and felled the Dragon God of Fire, Pyrkagias."
The vision ceased, and Zaurus opened his eyes wide in shock. "Pyrkagias?! I could've sworn it would have been Skoura who was the fallen one! The natural element of Darkness is a very frightening one to wield."
"Darkness may be fear provoking," said Drakon, "but fire is the most dangerous and deadly natural element to be gifted with. Pyrkagias learned quickly and mastered the art of destruction with his flames of war, but if he were to use his flames today, he would be discovered in short time. So, in order to act subtly, he recolored his flames to that of Skoura's shadows. If the Dragons were to blame the Duwiau Ddraig, Skoura would be singled out amongst them all, and demanded to be forever thrown from power."
"But how is he still alive if the other seven Duwiau Ddraig slew him?" Zaurus asked.
"Even though he was killed, many of his followers survived and hid themselves, and continued to worship him in an effort to keep his legacy alive. Thus, by their acts of evil, Pyrkagias now lives again."
Zaurus sighed and shook his head in shame. He almost fell into Pyrkagias' hands by blaming Skoura as well, but no more. He looked back to Drakon. "And what of the Harmonic Bearers?"
Drakon placed his hand back onto Zaurus' head, and another vision was seen when he closed his eyes.
"That story begins a millennia ago, months after my passing." Drakon said. "The Alicorn Sisters, my friends, swore to continue my dreams of harmony between our species, but they also had their duties to attend to. The Solar Princess Celestia brought forth the day with her magic ability to control the sun, and the Princess of Night and Dreams Luna summoned the moon during the night. But as time went by, the Night Alicorn's heart became darkened by envy and bitterness, turning her into a malevolent monarch. Celestia was forced to stop her once beloved sister by using six ancient artifacts, called the Elements of Harmony. With them, she exiled the former Night Princess to the moon, and foiled her schemes. But, it was predicted that on the longest day of the thousandth year that she would return to Earth, and bring eternal darkness upon the world. However, six common pony mares rose up, formed a bond of friendship, found the Elements, and purged Luna of her corruption. The six mares were Pinkie Pie, the Element of Laughter, Fluttershy, the Element of Kindness, Rarity, the Element of Generosity, Rainbow Dash, the Element of Loyalty, Applejack, the Element of Honesty, and Twilight Sparkle, the Element of Magic."
Zaurus could hardly believe what he heard. "Six ponies are the Harmonic Bearers?" He said.
Drakon nodded. "Yes, and it is they who will align with the Chosen One, and stop the coming Armageddon."
Zaurus remembered one more important question. "And who is this Chosen One?"
Drakon chuckled. "You should already know. You have met him before, have you not?"
Zaurus grew wide eyed. "Hammerheart! He is the one who will stop the Armageddon?"
Drakon nodded. "Yes, and if he cannot stop it, should we all fail, this will be our fate."
Drakon then spread his arms wide, and a future vision played before Zaurus' eyes. Bearing witness to the Armageddon and watching everyone die from an inevitable losing war was just to much for him to take.
Zaurus squeezed his eyes shut, not wanting to see any more. "No! Stop! Please!" He implored, "I cannot withstand this terrible vision! Make it stop!"
Drakon sighed. "I am sorry, Zaurus, but if Hammerheart and the Bearers do not stop Pyrkagias in time, you will all cease to exist..."
Again, Hammerheart scrunched his face and covered it with his wing hand to try and soothe his headache. When he felt it was mild enough, he removed his hand and shook his head.
"This had better be done." He said. "If not, then this had better be the last one." As Hammerheart struggled with the pain that rocked his mind, realization mentally slapped him in the face. "Wait, Fluttershy and her friends are the Elemental Bearers?" He looked down as he tried to swallow the surprise of what he discovered.
He looked back up at the obsidian, and Zaurus' voice spoke to him again.
"Now, friend Hammerheart, it is time for you to see the coming apocalypse that Drakon saw through his vision of the future." Zaurus' voice said. "It will be hard to bear, but you must know the enemy you will fight. This is our fate, should you fail."
Hammerheart rubbed his aching head with two fingers. "I really don't want to see this doomed future." He said. "But if it involves me, and if I have to meet me true enemy, then I've got no choice."
The obsidian shined white, and the vision became presented in all its horrible details. This time, Drakon's voice narrated all that was happening.
"Pyrkagias, the fallen Dragon God of Fire, returns to finish what he started millions of years ago: Eradicate everything in the world, and replace it with his own 'perfect creations'."
"The Ponies will have already been devoured by destruction, and a large remaining pack of many Dragons will gather at the ruins of the Canterlot Castle. There, they will make their final stand against the monsters and demons of Pyrkagias, but will inevitably meet extinction."
"Hammerheart, though he and the Elements of Harmony were the only ones who could stop the fallen god, could not succeed in time, and were killed shortly after. Now, the remaining Dragons must fight to the end, and accept their unfortunate fate."
Fire burned everywhere on the once beautiful fields of Equestria. Trees were stripped bare of their leaves, and were burned beyond recovery. Houses and other buildings were demolished and dotted the landscape as charred heaps of rubble. Skeletons of many creatures laid seared and scattered while monsters ran rampant across the blazing plains, seeking out prey to slaughter and feast upon.
All of the Pony cities and towns were completely gone, along with the ponies themselves. Even the once grand city of Canterlot was destroyed. The castle, however, still stood, though suffered from some damages. Within the castle grounds, Zaurus and a large pack of a hundred common Western Dragons and a hundred Knuckers were still standing, and they were not going to die without fighting until the bitter end.
Zaurus, who had replaced his lost forearm with a mystic spike with a tip that can break into twelve pieces to create a makeshift hand, looked to the Dragons. "My brethren, our world has been lost to us: burned, ravaged, torn to shreds. We are all that is left. The ponies have already fallen to Pyrkagias' wrath, and here we stand waiting for him to come to us. I assure you all, we will not survive this battle. We will all die. But we Dragons do not just let our enemies slaughter us like cattle, we will die fighting. That is what we do when faced with oblivion. We shall stand against the fallen god's monstrous horde of beasts and fight to the end! Er anrhydedd Drakon Selac!"
All of the dragons roared in unison, and were ready to face their deaths. The Knuckers took their positions at the entrances to their makeshift fortress, and the Westerns, with their wings, would provide some air support.
Zaurus nodded, and looked to a large circle of soil, which started to rise up. Then, a large Gaian Wyrm bursted from the ground and opened its massive maw. From its mouth, blue serpentine Dragons, forty feet in length, emerged. They had long, whiskery feelers on their snouts, staglike horns on their heads, manes, four legs, each with five toes, larger scales than a Western Dragon, and feathery tail ends. When the Wyrm had finished deploying the newcomers, it burrowed back into the ground.
"Ah, the Eastern Lungs have come from the other side of the world to join and aid us." Zaurus said.
One Lung, who was red with a spherical egg in his front claws, approached Zaurus and gave a greeting bow to him. "Salutations, brother, we have come from the Eastern Empire to assist you in this dire time." He said.
"Many thanks, Huangdi." said Zaurus, "Though I must warn you, there is no chance of survival against the coming horde."
Huangdi looked to the egg he held. "It is saddening that my child will never see a beautiful world, and will die before his birth, but better he die here and now than be an eternal slave to Pyrkagias. A battle to the death, it is! As they say, there is no greater way for a Dragon to die, than to die fighting."
Zaurus smiled and nodded. "Then we all fight as one, and die together. Your Lung packs can provide entrenched support from those towers." He pointed to guard towers that had their roofs caved in.
Huangdi nodded, and looked to his large pack. "Brothers, hold those towers, and bring swift death to our enemies!"
The Lungs, though having no wings, flew up to the ruined towers by riding the invisible air currents, and took their positions. With a somewhat decent defense, they prepared for what was to come.
A loud screech echoed in the air, and Zaurus already spotted a swarm of menacing creatures skittering towards them. They were like scorpions, but did not have stingers on their tail ends. Instead, they had a four-jawed mouth that drooled green poison. The main head had lava dripping from its jaws, and its pincers were five interlocking claws with hooked spikes on the edges.
"The monsters come! Attack, brothers!" Zaurus shouted.
Zaurus blasted his venom at the monsters. Huangdi and the Lungs blasted wind spears at the scorpions, causing them to explode when hit. The Western Dragons blasted their fireballs with all their might, though their flames would not be very effective against creatures of the Fire Dragon God's creation. The Knuckers slashed their claws at the monsters when they got in close, and the scorpions slashed back at their attackers with their vicious pincers. Both were evenly matched in melee strength, but the Knuckers soon slew them all, losing only two of their own from the fight.
Suddenly, a deep and demonic voice echoed in all their minds, and it was none other than Pyrkagias himself.
"I shall give you all one last chance." He said to them all. "Abandon your futile attempts of resistance, and join me in creating a new and perfect world in my name."
Zaurus stomped his foot and growled. "We will not join you in desecrating this world's former beauty!" He shouted. "We would all rather die, and we shall continue to repulse your rule, infernal reprobate!"
Pyrkagias roared with insulted anger. "You dare to revile me?! And you even dare to resume your foolish act of repudiation?! I seek only to cleanse this world! If you will not join me, then you shall burn, like the rest of the defilers!"
Another screech echoed in the air. Then, anthropomorphic serpents wielding spears with searing hot blades came slithering in. The Lungs blasted them with their winds, the Western Dragons blasted their ineffective flames at the monsters, and the Knuckers clashed with them. The snakes began to conjure balls of flame, and hurl them at the Dragons above. The Westerns that got hit took severe damage from impact, but still fought on. The Knuckers were also dying from spears to their hearts, but soon the snakes were killed off.
"What were those revolting creatures?!" a Knucker warrior said.
Pyrkagias chuckled from the fear he claimed to sense from them. "That which you killed was a very unique creation from another universe. They are nagas, and they are more cunning than they may seem. Now be ready for more to come."
The Gaian Wyrm that had come out of the ground before returned, and slithering out of its maw came a hundred more strange Dragons. They were serpentine, forty-five feet long, and had a green coloration. Though their bodies were covered with small scales, they had feathery frills on their heads, feathered wings, and tail ends. They had absolutely no legs whatsoever.
One of them was of a more lightning yellow color, and wore a bone collar around his neck. "The Amphitheres of the southern tropics are here to aid in your fight." He said.
Zaurus approached and nodded. "It pleases me that you have made it here in one piece, Quezacoatl." He said.
Quezacoatl grinned. "We all know that our end of days are dawning upon us, but we shall stand as one, and die fighting."
Zaurus smiled, then pointed to the skies. "The Amphitheres should assist the Western Dragons with air support."
"Irie." said Quezacoatl, and he looked to his huge pack. "Take to the skies, brothers!"
The Amphitheres spread their feathered wings wide and got airborne. They flew with the Western Dragons and would aid them with providing the air support they were originally tasked with, and just in the nick of time, too. More monsters came barreling in on the Dragons' position.
They were the skeletons of Unicorns clad in blood red robes. They kept their distance and threw balls of fire at the Lungs that were inside the guard towers. The other Dragons hurried in and attacked the undead pyromancers, who began attacking them. The Western Dragons continued to use their ineffective fire breath, as did the Amphitheres. The Knuckers slashed their claws and even began to use their constricting attacks. The Lungs hurled their wind spears at the undead. When the dead Unicorns were destroyed, they all retreated to recover. Ten Western Dragons, eight Amphitheres, eleven Knuckers, and four Lungs had been killed, but the remaining pack was still large.
Pyrkagias' voice spoke through to their minds again. "As I was your creator, so shall I be your destruction!"
More beasts came charging at them. They were none other than the offspring of Cerberus; Hellhounds. They were barking like the rabid monsters they had become, and were foaming at the mouth. Their drool sizzled on contact with the ground, their saliva being highly corrosive. They came in to attack, and the Dragons retaliated. With combined might, the pack of Dragons managed to kill off the hounds, but not without casualties. Five Knuckers died against the hellhound pack, but there were still many left.
One of the Knuckers approached Zaurus. "Shaman, we must find a way to preserve our knowledge about this nightmare, warn others about it."
Huangdi heard that, and looked to his egg. He flew down and landed by Zaurus. "There might just be a way." He said. "Though it may take time."
"How do we warn the beings of other dimensions?" Zaurus asked.
Huangdi held his egg before him, and it began to shine. "My child will forever be the keeper of our knowledge of this crisis, and teach it to others in another dimension. It will cost him his soul, but sacrifices must be made. I would personally rather see him become a martyr than die like this. You must keep those demons from interfering."
Zaurus nodded. "We all shall become martyrs. Begin the procedure, we will hold back the horde for as long as we can."
Huangdi nodded back. He then turned and went to place his egg in a pond, which started to emit a faint light and strange anomalies.
Roars and screeches echoed in the air, signalling the arrival of more foul creatures. Scorpions, nagas, skeletons, and hellhounds came charging in. And even other monsters more horrific than the rest. They looked like a cross between a large lizard and a bear with long, jagged horns protruding from their heads. They wielded flaming swords that seemed to be dripping with blood. They were, no doubt, one of the many demons Pyrkagias created from his evilly powerful essence.
The Dragons attacked. Both forces clashed with brutal ferocity and strength. Both forces tore each other to pieces with teeth, claws, and blades. Both forces shed blood from each other. But in the end, the Dragons prevailed, this time.
Nine Knuckers, ten Westerns, nine Amphitheres, and three Lungs fell from the battle, but they still had many left.
The Gaian Wyrm returned and opened wide. From his maw came Dragons that were white in coloration. They looked a lot like Western Dragons, but were five feet shorter in length. They had thin spines rather than horns on their heads and backs. One of them was bigger than the others, and was tinged with blue stripes. The Wyrm burrowed back into the ground.
"The Frost Dragons of the North and South Poles have arrived to bring the killer cold of Pagos to the enemy." She said.
Zaurus greeted her with a bow. "Many thanks for your coming, Polyarnaya." He said. "I'm sorry for you and your races' suffering."
Polyarnaya sighed. "Our homes have been melted from the heat of the fallen Dragon God, and we are not very use to such warm temperatures, but we will fight on despite the odds."
Zaurus smiled. "Your gift of breathing frost can severely hurt the monsters we face, but you are also vulnerable to their attacks. Be careful."
Polyarnaya looked to her pack. "Make ready, my brothers and sisters!" The Frost Dragons flapped their wings and got airborne. They flew to the edge of the defensive walls and would aid the Lungs with their defense.
More beasts and demons came charging at the Dragons' stronghold. The Frost Dragons blasted their waves of ice at the monsters, and they cringed and hissed from the cold impact. The skeletons blasted the Frost Dragons and Lungs with their fiery spells. Some slipped past, and the other Dragons attacked. The battle lasted for minutes, until the infernal creatures were slain. Eight Knuckers, five Westerns, six Amphitheres, two Frosts, and four Lungs died in the battle.
Huangdi's egg was already starting to expand in size. The light it emitted was becoming brighter, as well as the anomalies that surrounded it. It then dispersed, and the particles swirled like a whirlwind up to the heavens.
Huangdi saw it, and sighed a breath of relief. "The knowledge has been preserved." He announced. "Hopefully, in another universe, someone will learn from our grievous mistakes."
Zaurus turned around and nodded. "Now we just have to keep fighting."
More monsters came charging in. The Dragons attacked, and the battle was fierce like the rest. Both sides slew one another, but the Dragons remained the temporary victors. Ten Knuckers, eight Westerns, nine Amphitheres, five Lungs, and six Frosts fell in battle.
Pyrkagias spoke through to their minds again. "Do not think because you have ice with you means you are stronger than me. You shall all be reaped by the flaming blades of my glory!"
The Gaian Wyrm returned again, and out of his mouth came the last surviving Dragons of the apocalypse: the Wyverns. With them was a Wyvern that was more than sixty feet in length, and had a double-bladed axehead on his tail end. He was the leader of the pack.
"Tarnohis and the Wyverns of the Northwestern New World have come to join the war!" He said. The other Wyverns flew out to the walls, and further fortified the defenses.
Tarnohis took in a deep breath. "My brothers and sisters, for many millennia, we have always been a mighty race of proud beasts that none dared to challenge, let alone confront. But now we face against the very one who created us all, made us who we are, and we will fight him to the end, and die with honor! Er anrhydedd Drakon Selac!"
The monstrous horde came again, and the united might of the Dragons of the World prepared for battle. They clashed with more fury than before. The Knuckers slashed with their claws and crushed them with constrictions. The Lungs blew their wind spears. The Frost Dragons blasted their chilling winds. The Westerns, the Amphitheres, and the Wyverns breathed their ineffective flames upon the monsters. The battle lasted for hours, but the horde had finally fallen. Fifteen Knuckers, twenty Westerns, ten Lungs, eleven Amphitheres, eighteen Frosts, and twenty Wyverns died in battle.
Zaurus was panting from exhaustion, but still had to hold his own. He looked off into the distance, and could see a whole army making ready for a full throttle assault on their position. And to make thing worse, a tornado of fire rose from the center, and the Fire Dragon God himself appeared.
Pyrkagias gave a roaring laugh at them all. "You poor, pathetic children. Why do you still persist on fight? You know there was only one who could stop me, but he already met his end by my claws."
Zaurus shook and hung his head low. "Hammerheart..." He whispered.
Pyrkagias laughed again. "Yes. He and the Harmonic Bearers laid cremated at my talons, all because he failed to obtain the power of my siblings, and keep his friendship with those obnoxious pests in one piece. Now, you shall all know the pain he felt upon his failure!"
Pyrkagias and his army of monsters and demons advanced towards the castle. When they came in close, the Dragons attacked. The Dragons were quickly falling to the might of the hellish horde. The Lungs that were garrisoned in the towers were flushed out by the flames. The Frost Dragons were completely overwhelmed by the heat of the battle. The Knuckers were slain and trampled beneath the overpowering horde. The Amphitheres were shot out of the sky. The Westerns were brought low, and killed on the spot. The Wyverns fought back with all their might, but also met their inevitable ends by the hands of Pyrkagias' army. The Gaian Wyrm fought back, as well, but spears to the face, throat, and chest soon caused it to rear up and fall on its back dead.
Soon, the only ones left were Zaurus, Huangdi, Quezacoatl, Polyarnaya, and Tarnohis. They stood back to back against the surrounding swarm of beasts, but they did not attack. Instead, Pyrkagias stepped forth and stood before them.
"You had your chance to concede, and you sullied it." said Pyrkagias. "Now you shall meet your 'honorable' ends by my claws."
The horde stood further back, giving their lord and master some space to fight. The five remaining Dragons had nowhere else to go, and nothing left to lose but their lives. They attacked.
Zaurus struck his mystic spike against the god's leg, barely even scratching it. Huangdi shot his windy spear at the stomach region. Quezacoatl blasted his flames. Tarnohis clawed at the god's chest. And Polyarnaya blew her frosty breath upon his back.
Pyrkagias chuckled at the Dragons' useless means of fighting back. He grabbed Huangdi out of the air, bent him until his spine snapped, and threw him at a wall.
"Forgive me, my son... I failed you as a protector, and a father..." were his last words.
Pyrkagias then smacked Quezacoatl to the ground on his back. He then pierced his chest with his tail, grabbed both wings, and tore them off. Quezacoatl roared in pain. Pyrkagias then slid him away with a flick of his tail.
"I'll see you... in the Nether..." were his last words.
Pyrkagias then took in a deep breath through his nostril, and puffed a huge wave of fire that engulfed Polyarnaya. The Frost Dragon flailed in the air as she went down. When she crashed, the flames were all but put out, and they slowly burnt away her body.
"Death's embrace is suppose to be cold... not hot..." She said as the fire completely incinerated her.
Pyrkagias then caught Tarnohis in his maw, shook him with ungodly violent force, crushed him, and spat him out on the ground.
"Curse you, Hammerheart... You have condemned us all..." He reviled with his dying breath.
Pyrkagias snatched Zaurus and held him far from his face. The Shaman struggled to break free, but to no avail.
Zaurus looked to the sky. "Duwiau Ddraig, where are you?! Why do you forsake us?!"
Pyrkagias chuckled. "Because they no longer draw breath."
Zaurus gasped in horror. "No, it cannot be..."
Pyrkagias chuckled more. "It is true, my child. After I dispatched of the Wyvern and his team of freedom fighters, I decided to personally visit my siblings after countless years of nonexistence. Of course, they too played a part in the desecration of this world, so they too had to be removed from power. Now the world is clean of any who seek to defile it, except for you. You are the last of a dying breed. Which leads me to ask myself, should I keep you as a pet?" That, of course, was a rhetorical question. He grabbed Zaurus with his other talon, and twisted his body around. A loud crack echoed in the air. Pyrkagias dropped Zaurus, and the Knucker Shaman fell to the ground, twisted and broken like a stubborn weed that would not come out of the ground.
Zaurus was hanging on by a thread. "Hammerheart..." He whispered, "I'm... sorry..." And the thread broke.
Pyrkagias had done it. The world was all his. All life that he deemed unworthy of living anymore had been wiped off the face of the Earth. He stretched himself and basked in the red sunlight.
"Now, only one thing left to do." He said. His body slowly started to set itself ablaze. He hunch forward and crossed his arms. Then, in one move, he bursted open, and unleashed a wave of fire that incinerated his army, and blanketed the world.
"The spark of life has forever died out." He said. "Now begins a new era of perfection."
Hammerheart was speechless at what he just saw. He could say it was evil, but in all reality, no words could described how much of a nightmare it was. He gently pressed his claw tips on his tear ducts.
"This is a burden. A curse." He said to himself. "And I'm the one who has to suffer it all."
Zaurus' voice spoke from the obsidian with his eyes. "Now you know who and what you are up against, Hammerheart. I know you despise it with all your heart, but you are the one to stop the fell god, Pyrkagias, from destroying everything we hold dear. You, along the Elements of Harmony, must seek the power of the Duwiau Ddraig if you are to stop Pyrkagias once and for all. But only if you can keep your friendship with them together." His last words echoed before everything around Hammerheart faded to black.
He, a mortal Dragon, is the only one who must slay a God.
Hammerheart's vision was bright white when he finally came to. The glare slowly faded away, and he found himself back in the library where he crash landed. He groaned from the trance, and looked up to see the six mares before him. They either looked concerned for him, or mad at him for breaking through the roof.
"Uh... What happened?" He asked.
Fluttershy flew up to him. "You were in a trance for about an hour." She said.
Hammerheart slightly flinched from the answer. An hour? It felt more like nearly a day. The visions were apparently that short, yet so vivid.
"Are you okay?" Fluttershy asked.
Hammerheart scratched his head and nodded. "Sorta, yeah."
Twilight stepped up and gave a stern look to him. "Well I hope you're feeling well enough to help fix the hole you made in my roof." She said. Hammerheart looked up to see just how badly he damaged the place, and he made quite the mess.
He sighed. "Yeah, whatever." But before any of them could make a move, everything that was damaged suddenly repaired itself back to normal. They look at the rebuilt ceiling in bewilderment.
"Wow, you work fast." Pinkie said with a sunny smile. "And I didn't even see you move a muscle."
"I didn't do that." Hammerheart replied.
Twilight raised a brow. "If it was fixed by itself, it must've been magic." She said. "But who could've fixed the roof as quick as that?"
Her question was answered when they heard a knock at the door. Twilight went to open it, gasped, and slowly backed up to allow the Princess herself to enter. The other mares gasped as well.
"Princess Celestia!" said Twilight.
Hammerheart was nearly stunned, but not as much as defensive. The Princess of the Sun is here. His muscles tensed, and he bared his teeth. He knew that his previous stunt would cause problems, but bringing the Princess to himself was not the first thing that came to mind.
"Salutations, Twilight." said Celestia. "What have you been doing this fine day, pray tell?"
Twilight chuckled nervously as she rubbed the back of her head. "Oh, you know... Science projects... hanging out with friends..."
Celestia slightly tilted her head and raised an eyebrow. "I see. And that Dragon over there is a new friend of yours?" She asked, looking directly at Hammerheart.
Twilight's whole body went stiff and her eyes widened. "Uh! Well... um..." She was at a loss for words with excuses now.
Celestia chuckled. "You've been widening your friendship boundaries with more than just other Ponies, haven't you?"
Twilight became puzzled that Celestia was not mad about Hammerheart's presence, or the damage he did to the library. "You're... not angry?"
Celestia smiled. "Of course not. Why would I be?"
Twilight simply chuckled again, still a little nervous. Celestia approached Hammerheart, who backed against the wall and continued to take on a defensive stance.
"There is no need to be frightened." said Celestia.
Hammerheart huffed. "Who said I was scared?" He said. "The fact that you're here doesn't sit well with me at all."
Twilight bit the tip of her hoof in pure worry. She knew very well how to behave when Celestia was around, but Hammerheart was not showing it.
"I simply came because I saw strange commotion happening in town," Celestia said. "May I have your name, please?"
Hammerheart's muscles started to ease their tension, but he still kept a slightly fierce look. "Name's Hammerheart, Princess."
"I see, and what kind of Dragon are you?"
Hammerheart scrunched an eye. "I'm a Wyvern. Don't you know one when ya see one?" Twilight bit her hoof tip harder.
Celestia took a deep breath. "I'm afraid not. We do not know about Dragons all that well."
Hammerheart raised a brow. "Then how does that explain your friendship with Drakon Selac?"
Celestia's eyes widened in surprise that time. "How do you know?" She asked.
"An ol' friend of mine met him at the temple he built, and he told him about an Armageddon in the future."
The six other mares gasped. "What did you see in the future?!" Twilight nearly yelled.
Hammerheart looked to her. "It's an apocalypse. We all meet our ends by the hands of oblivion. And to add insult to injury, me and you, the Elements of Harmony, are the only ones who can stop it."
The mares whispered amongst themselves, unsure about how to take what they just heard. Celestia approached them.
"Everypony, come with me to Canterlot." She said. She looked to the Wyvern. "You too, Hammerheart."
Two hours later, Celestia, the six, and Hammerheart were within the Canterlot Castle's historic hallway. The stained-glass windows telling many stories of old and new. It was the place Celestia brought them to to discuss more on the subject of the Armageddon.
"Hammerheart, now that we are here, please explain more about your vision of the future."
All eyes were on Hammerheart, who took a deep breath. "When I drank that potion, I saw what my friend, Zaurus saw. He went to the ancient temple of Drakon Selac to uncover truths about the doomed future we all face. There, he encountered dark monsters, and the spirit of Drakon himself. The temple's guardian told him about how the world was born, who the Elemental Bearers were, who the great enemy is, and the chosen one who'll stop him."
"Do continue." said Celestia.
"Apparently, I be this chosen one. And apparently I'm suppose to travel the bloody world in search of the powers of the Dragon Gods."
"Dragon Gods?" Twilight waved a hoof in skepticism. "That's ridiculous. There's no such thing as Dragon Gods."
"Yes, there is." said an echo. Everyone looked around, startled by the deep voice that spoke so suddenly. Hammerheart look towards the side of the hall.
He recognized the voice. "Zaurus."
Indeed, Zaurus dropped from the ceiling and landed a few feet from them. He had replaced his forearm with the same mystic spike Hammerheart saw from the vision. Everyone looked at him in shock.
But Hammerheart was angry. He charged at Zaurus, and struck him across the face with his wing fist, and again, and again, sending Zaurus spiraling at the wall. But before he could even make contact with the wall, Hammerheart bit his tail, and threw him across the hall to the other side. The Princess and the six mares quickly got out of the way as Zaurus landed on the floor and slid into the wall hard under a window.
As he stood back up, he looked to see Hammerheart charge at him again. He slammed into Zaurus, and they broke through the window and fell to the courtyard below. While they fell, Hammerheart proceeded to strike Zaurus multiple times before forcefully landing on him upon impact with the ground. He then grabbed Zaurus' arms with his talons, flew high up, descended with great speed, and threw him even faster. When Zaurus slammed to the ground, a mushroom cloud of dirt and dust formed where he made impact.
Hammerheart landed in the crater in front of Zaurus, grabbed the Shaman by the bottom of his long neck, and stared him in the face.
"You brought this upon me, ya ol' wretch!" He growled. "You cursed me with a many ton burden that breaks me back! What do ya want now!"
Zaurus remained silent. Hammerheart clenched his fist and prepared to strike again, but then Zaurus poked his spike harmlessly into his forehead.
"Believe."
Hammerheart's eyes rolled into the back of his head as his mind was flooded with more visions, but these visions were much more different than the others. He saw what looked like a desolate island in the middle of an ocean.
"Hammerheart, I have traveled to the past." The vision flashed, and now there was a vast jungle that looked nothing like the jungles of today. "Behold, Saurosmo; ancient realm of the Duwiau Ddraig. Here, many of prehistory's greatest creatures thrive, protected from extinction." Indeed, beasts thought long dead forever were roaming the planes and forests. From dinosaurs, to unusual mammals, and more. "Here, they are forever watched over by the Dragon Gods." One image showed what appeared to be a large, herbivorous mammal being chased through a wood by a Tyrannosaurus. "They live." The Tyrannosaurus closed in on the mammal and chomped on its neck, bringing it to the ground. "They die." The Tyrannosaurus kept biting its prey until it stopped moving. Then the image flashed again, this time showing a nest of eggs hatching into baby long necked dinosaurs. "They breed." Another image showed a slimy, baby mammal struggling to walk after just being born. "They live again." Then everything became sucked away into a void, and Hammerheart returned to reality.
"It is there where you must obtain the power of the Duwiau Ddraig." said Zaurus. "If you survive."
Hammerheart looked at Zaurus with a raised eye from the given knowledge.
Celestia, Twilight, and the others headed down to the courtyard to meet up with Hammerheart and Zaurus. They expected to find either the both of them fighting, or one standing over the mutilated body of the other. Instead, they found them both just standing and facing each other.
Fluttershy galloped over to them with the greatest concern for them both. "Hammerheart, are you okay?"
Hammerheart looked down at her with a melancholy look on his face. "We're fine."
Twilight galloped up to them both. "What were you thinking, Hammerheart?!" She scolded. "Do you have any idea how much trouble you could possibly be in?!"
Celestia walked up from behind and placed a hoof on Twilight's shoulder. "Twilight, please, be calm." She said gently. "There is always reason behind ones' actions. Hammerheart seemed to have been very angry about something. Am I right?"
Hammerheart sighed. "Aye, but it was misdirected anger that should've never been unleashed on my part." He looked at Zaurus and placed his wing hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry, old friend. I was so outraged by all of this, I just lashed out at you because of it."
Zaurus placed his talon on Hammerheart's wing and nodded. "I forgive you, friend Hammerheart." He said. "To be blind with rage is a common thing among our kind when faced with incontrovertible events."
Hammerheart looked at the spike that replaced Zaurus' left forearm. "Just like you, with yer unfortunate fate."
Zaurus brought the spike up, and the tip magically broke into twelve pieces that formed a makeshift three fingered hand. "When faced with fate, we may sometimes deny it and suffer the consequences, or accept it and still suffer consequences."
"So, where is this Saurosmo place that you found?" Hammerheart asked.
"I'm afraid that I cannot say." said Zaurus. "I remember the island and the realm, but the coordinates have changed."
Hammerheart's jaw dropped, baffled. "What do you mean by that?!"
"The island never stays in one place for long." Zaurus explained. "It is always on the move as it floats along with the ocean's currents."
"So, what, am I gonna have to try and find the bloody island meself?" said Hammerheart.
"Not quite, for there is a tribe of Bison who can give you something that will help you track the moving island."
"A tribe of Bison?" said Rainbow Dash. "You mean like a herd of buffaloes?" Zaurus nodded.
"That shouldn't be a problem." said Pinkie. "We've made friends with buffaloes before. These should be just as friendly."
Zaurus smiled. "The Bison tribe resides far to the south." He informed. "Hammerheart, if you and the Elements of Harmony are to succeed, you must find the island, and enter Saurosmo. Only there will you find and obtain the power of the Duwiau Ddraig, and stop Pyrkagias from bringing Armageddon."
Hammerheart looked down at the ground for a brief moment, then looked back up at Zaurus and nodded his head.
"You are on the path of great and terrible things, friend Hammerheart." said Zaurus. "May we meet again." His spike began to glow blindingly bright, and in a flash, Zaurus had vanished.
The six mares walked up to Hammerheart. "So, what now?" Applejack asked.
Hammerheart looked at them all. "We're goin' on a little trip down south."
Celestia stepped forth. "If what I heard is true, that you and the Elements of Harmony must save the world from utter destruction, then I wish you the best of luck, Hammerheart."
Hammerheart sighed. "No amount of luck can nullify the burden I carry, but I will do what needs to be done."
"WHOO HOO!!! Road trip!" Pinkie cheered."
"Can I at least pack some things before we leave?" Rarity asked.
Twilight sighed. "Let's all just go home and rest before we go anywhere. Today was a tiring day."
Hammerheart looked towards the now setting sun. "We had better be quick. For every second we waste, we're one second closer to certain doom."
It was seven in the morning, and Hammerheart had not slept a wink. He had just spent a whole night laying in Fluttershy's backyard back in Ponyville, restless, and anxious about having to fight one of the Dragon Gods. He has faced against many powerful foes, from over-sized timber wolves to even his own kind, but never had he imagined facing a being that could probably set him ablaze with one snap of his fingers. He would feel like an ant fighting against an angry grizzly. But he could not allow such pessimistic thoughts hold him back. If he was the one to stop Pyrkagias, then so be it. Even if he did die, he felt he had nothing left to lose. But if death's cold embrace did take hold of him, everyone would be wiped off the face of the Earth by Pyrkagias' wrath. He was stuck between a rock and a hard place with certain decisions, many of them were mentally taxing.
A rooster gave its morning call as the sun cracked over the horizon, but was cut short by a small blast of fire that knocked it off its stand. If Hammerheart was not fully awake before, he was now, no thanks to the rooster. He rose up off the ground and stretched. His bones popped and snapped loudly. After relieving his joints of their tension, Hammerheart simply dropped to the ground, practically exhausted. He literally was awake all night, and it was coming back to bite him in the tail. He wanted to try to sleep in, but it was useless, especially with the sound of other animals waking up and making their usual noises.
At eight o' clock, Fluttershy had awoken, ready to begin her usual morning routine. She got out of bed, headed down stairs, and fed and watered the animals before she went outside to check on Hammerheart. When she found him, she could tell he was not in tip-top shape. She approached the panting Wyvern.
"Morning, Hammerheart." She said. Hammerheart looked to her with with half-closed eyelids and boredom. "Is there something wrong?"
Hammerheart let out a smoky sigh. "I'm just tired, is all." He said, his voice more groggy than yesterday.
Fluttershy placed a sympathetic hoof on his shoulder. "Do you need more sleep?"
Hammerheart stood back up, and Fluttershy stepped away. "Nah, I'll be fine." He said with a chuckle. "I can go three weeks without sleep. One day is just child's play."
Fluttershy smiled. "Well, if you can hold your own, then that's good. We've got a long way to travel."
Hammerheart's grin dropped to a frown as he remembered they had to head down south to find a Bison tribe that would help him locate the floating island he had to find. Even though he was not well rested, Hammerheart just cracked his stiff neck and bolstered his stubbornness.
"Right, let's get this show on the road." He said.
Fluttershy nodded. "We'd better head to Twilight's place and get together with the others."
"Sounds like a plan." said Hammerheart. He rolled his shoulders to pop the stiffness out of them, and they headed to town.
It was now ten in the morning. Twilight was pacing in the main lobby of the library waiting for the others to arrive. A knock on the door snapped her from her pacing. She approached the door and opened it to see Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, and Pinkie standing before her.
"Morning girls." said Twilight, "Sorry to call you all here so early."
"Think nothin' of it, Twi." said Applejack.
"Yeah, I'd never want to miss out on an adventure like this." Rainbow Dash said, enthusiastic about the trip.
"I've packed as much as I felt was appropriate for the journey." Rarity said. Twilight looked behind to see a whole wagon stacked with suitcases and other items. She rolled her eyes and chuckled.
"I just can't wait to get going!" Pinkie said, bouncing with excitement.
Twilight stepped to the side. "Come on in." She said. The four mares walked inside. Twilight looked back outside, expecting to see the only other Pony and Wyvern who were not present, but saw no one else. "Hey, where's Fluttershy and Hammerheart?" Everyone just shrugged and shook their heads.
The sound of hooves clip-clopping on ground came to Twilight's ears, and she looked back out to see Fluttershy trotting up to the library, followed by a large bush that crawled on the ground.
"Fluttershy. There you are." said Twilight as Fluttershy got to the door.
"Oh, good morning, Twilight." said Fluttershy.
Twilight looked at the large bush that came up from behind. "Um, I'm guessing that's Hammerheart wearing a disguise to keep the townsfolk from freaking out." She assumed.
Hammerheart stuck his muzzle out of the bush. "Aye, and the blasted thing's itchin' me sides." He hissed.
Twilight sighed. "Come in, quick." Fluttershy trotted inside, and Hammerheart tried to squeeze through the tiny door frame. He soon managed to get himself through, though the bushy disguise got torn off and left outside.
Twilight sighed a breath of relief and clapped her front hooves together. "Alright, everypony's here." She said. "Now we just have to wait for the Princess to arrive."
Fluttershy raised her eyebrows. "What for?"
"Let's just say I made a little request." said Twilight. Her horn sparked as she remembered something else. "Oh, I almost forgot." She trotted to the glass container that held the Elements of Harmony, opened it, and levitated them off their display stands. "If the Elements of Harmony have a role in this prophesy, it would be smart to bring them with us." Twilight gave the other five their respective necklace. Hammerheart looked at the jeweled golden artifacts while he scratched his itching sides like a dog.
"So those are the Elements of Harmony I've heard so much about?" He asked. "They look like a bunch of shiny bits ta me."
"True, but don't underestimate them, Hammerheart." said Twilight. "They're more powerful than you could ever guess." Hammerheart rolled his eyes and sighed through his nostrils.
Rarity looked out a window to see Celestia on her chariot pulled by Royal Pegasi Guards. "Oh, here she comes." She announced. Twilight quickly headed to the door and opened it way before Celestia even touched down to the ground. When her chariot did land and stop in front of the library, Celestia stepped off, headed to the door, and entered.
"Good morning, Princess Celestia." Twilight greeted with all her formality.
Celestia nodded. "Good morning to you too, Twilight. All is prepared?"
"As ready as we can get." said Twilight.
Celestia smiled. "Wonderful. And I brought the weapon you requested."
Hammerheart, who was licking his itching wing membranes, stopped and looked up after hearing that. "Weapon?"
One of the Pegasi Guards walked in carrying a hammerhead on his back, and he was subtly struggling to hold it. When he brought it in to the proper stop, he settled it down on the floor upside-down and released a small breath of relief, and exited the library. Hammerheart scrutinized the hammerhead. It was rectangular shaped, made out of platinum, gold, silver, and even titanium. A tubular hole stuck out, and looked promising.
"So, what is this for?" Hammerheart asked.
"Twilight told me about how you used to have a clubbed tail, but after an incident with some hunters, lost it." Celestia explained. "So I had our blacksmiths forge for you a replacement that would best suit you for combat when needed." Hammerheart was liking what he was hearing. A new weapon to replace the tail club he lost. Celestia cleared her throat. "Please, stick your tail into the hole." Hammerheart curved his tail around and placed the tip into the hole as deep as he could get. When it was in fully, he grunted. "And let me take care of the rest." Celestia's horn began to glow, and a beam of magic shined at the hammerhead. Hammerheart grunted more from the uncomfortable sensation. He felt like his flesh and the hammerhead were fusing together. When Celestia finished, Hammerheart's feelings were correct. He could see where his skin and the titanium part of the hammer were linked as one.
"This is bloody brilliant!" Hammerheart grinned as he picked up the hammer and swung it like a metronome in front of his face. It was definitely heavy to Ponies, but to him it was as light as a feather.
"That hammer is now a permanent part of your body." said Celestia. "It has fused with your flesh and bones, but don't go around abusing it like a normal weapon, for it can still break off if given too much punishment. Use it to protect your friends, not bring harm to others, and you will find it a truly powerful and worthy weapon."
Hammerheart chuckled. "Very well, I'll play by the rules you've made."
All the citizens of Ponyville were gathered near the library to see off Hammerheart and the Elements of Harmony. Their plan was to take flight to the southern lands. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy could fly with Hammerheart, but the other four needed transport. Twilight and Rarity would ride on Hammerheart's back, and Applejack and Pinkie would be carried by his talons. Celestia came to Hammerheart's side. "I wish you all the best of luck." She said. "Twilight, I've casted a new spell upon the Elements which allows them to fuse with your body, and you can summon them whenever you wish."
Hammerheart blew smoke out his nose. "I don't need any luck with what I need ta do." He boasted.
Twilight rolled her eyes and looked back to Celestia. "Don't worry, Princess, we'll succeed. You can count on us."
Fluttershy looked at Spike. "You sure you can handle my animal friends?"
Spike put on his cockiness. "You bet I can." He said. "I hope they come back real soon." He thought. In all reality, he was not looking forward to babysitting a bunch of misfit animals, including Angel.
"Alright! Everypony ready?" said Rainbow Dash.
"Ready!" the mares called.
"Lassie, I was born ready." Hammerheart thought. He flapped his wing and got airborne. He grabbed Applejack and Pinkie, and with one powerful flap, ascended sky high. Twilight, Rarity, and Applejack panicked from the sudden force, but Pinkie hollered and laughed with excitement. Then Hammerheart made a complete halt that sent a wind rift booming across the sky.
Rainbow Dash was the first to quickly catch up. "Sheesh, I don't know what that was about, but nice takeoff." She complimented.
Applejack facehooved. "Rainbow, he done nearly broke our necks by doin' that!" She said.
"Be happy it never happened." Hammerheart deadpanned as he gave an irritated look to her.
Fluttershy had finally caught up with them. "Hammerheart, can you please not fly so fast?" She asked. "I'm not a fast flyer myself."
Twilight put her hoof to her chin. "Maybe you should ride with us, Fluttershy, or you might get left behind." She suggested.
Fluttershy got on Hammerheart's back along with Twilight and Rarity. "That sounds like a good idea."
Rarity gasped. "Oh dear, I forgot my belongings back in the library. Hammerheart, could you be a kind Dragon and head back so that I can get my stuff, please?"
Hammerheart let out a growling deep sigh. "Absolutely not." He said bluntly.
Rarity's eye dilated and her jaw dropped slightly. "What do you mean by that?" She asked.
Hammerheart turned his head and looked at her. "In case you never knew, I can only carry so much. I've got me claws full and me back packed, and there's no chance in the whole bloody world that I'm gonna drag a wagon fulla useless junk halfway down the planet."
Rarity forced her open mouth closed and just sighed in disappointment. "Fine, whatever, be like that."
"Good." Hammerheart said as he faced forward, "Now let's get our tails into gear and git goin'!" He flapped his wings with powerful force and was speeding through the sky with the girls screaming and Rainbow Dash following beside.
"This could be trouble." Rainbow Dash thought.
The journey was a long one, even by air. Though the view from above was breath-taking. One could see forever from the height they were at, and maybe even further. Rainbow Dash was getting bored. She yawned from the boredom that plagued her mind. She decided to try and get to know Hammerheart a little better.
"So, uh, Hammerheart." The Wyvern looked to her with a raised eyebrow. "What do you do for sport?"
Hammerheart's expression went from serious to confused from that question. "Sport?"
"Yeah. Like hoofball, or tennis. What do you do?"
Hammerheart pondered a bit about the question before an answer came to mind. "I guess bird burning could be one."
"Huh?" Everyone said.
"What do you mean 'bird burning'?" Fluttershy asked.
"Well, I search for a flock of birds on the ground." Hammerheart explained. "Whether it be a flock of pigeons or geese or somethin' like that. When I find one, I swoop down and scare them into the sky with me. I then spit shots of fire at them and see how many I can cook for me gut." He then snorted, gurgled up some liquid fire in his mouth, and spat a small fireball in a random direction. A large poof of smoke indicated that he hit something.
"Eww..." Five of the mares said.
Rainbow Dash could not help but laughed at what she saw. "I'm not sure if that really counts, but it sure is stupid."
Hammerheart rolled his eyes. He sort of expected as much from Ponies. Bird Burning was a real sport among Dragons. It was a way to test ones' hunting skills. If you could hit something as agile and swift as a bird, you could catch anything.
"I'm just gonna pretend I never heard or saw that." said Twilight.
"Me... too." said Rarity.
"I've seen lots a nasty thangs before, but that was top notch repulsive." said Applejack. Hammerheart sighed in annoyance to the complaints, but then caught something's scent. He made a stop and sniffed the air more. Rainbow Dash stopped as well.
"What is it?" said Fluttershy, "Do you smell something?"
Hammerheart looked down to the ground. "Aye, I caught a whiff o' somethin'." He arched forward and nosedived through the clouds towards the earth. The mares screamed in fear of crashing. Rainbow Dash soared after him, and grabbed his tail end in an attempt to stop him. The ground was getting closer, and Hammerheart was not slowing down. He was descending so fast, the mares had tears leaking from their eyes. The ground was merely feet away. But before they could even land, Hammerheart spread his wings, arched upwards, and straightened himself out. The sudden move made Rainbow Dash lose her grip on his hammer, and she was whipped sideways, crashing into the ground and sliding a considerable distance before slamming into a rock. Hammerheart flapped his wing to keep airborne. He released his grip on Applejack and Pinkie, who had calmed down from the frightening experience, and they galloped over to Rainbow Dash.
"Rainbow, are ya okay?" Applejack asked.
"Dashie, you sleeping?" Pinkie asked as she poked Rainbow Dash's head. The Pegasus jumped back on her hooves and shook the dirt off herself.
"Yeah, I'm fine." She said, sounding irritated. They looked back at Hammerheart. The Wyvern landed on the ground and lowered himself so that the others could disembark. Twilight, Rarity, and Fluttershy hopped off his back. With them off, Hammerheart stood to his full height and stretched himself out.
"Ah, that's more like it." He said. "Nothin' like a little exercise flight ta strengthen me bones. I swear, I'm in me youth, but I feel like an ol' coot tryin' ta feel young again."
Twilight stomped her hoof. "Hammerheart, I've had enough!" Hammerheart looked at her with a raised eyebrow in bewilderment. "Your little stunts you keep pulling nearly got us hurt or killed, TWICE!"
Hammerheart slapped his hand on his face and sighed. He dragged his hand down his face and gave an irritated look to her. "Be happy ye're still drawin' breath." He said.
"We're not happy because you're showing complete disregard towards our safety." Rarity said, stepping up next to Twilight.
Hammerheart dropped his jaw. "Disregard for..." He grunted, "If ye're this scared, why don't you just run back home wit yer tails between yer legs?"
"Because we all are needed to save the world, remember?" Twilight sassed angrily.
Hammerheart sighed. "Don't remind me."
"Everyone, please." said Fluttershy, "Now's not the time to be fighting with ourselves. We need to work together."
Hammerheart looked at Fluttershy, who looked at him. He could see the sad look in her eyes that said she did not want to see any of her friends arguing, including him. It reminded him of himself when he was but a little chick.
He sighed. "Right, then. Let's stop this bickerin' and git goin'."
"Not so fast, Hammerheart." Fluttershy said, flying up to his face.
Hammerheart sighed. "What now?"
"First, apologize to my friends."
Hammerheart was dumbfounded. He looked at the other five and back at Fluttershy. "You gotta be jokin'..."
"Unless you say you're sorry right now, this will get nowhere." Fluttershy said.
Hammerheart placed two claws on his tear ducts and sighed. He then looked to the five mares. "Okay, I'm sorry for doin' all that."
Twilight gave a proud smile and nodded. "Thank you, and apology accepted."
"I second that motion." said Rarity.
Rainbow Dash snorted out of spite, but came to the agreement. "Ditto."
Applejack nodded. "Me too."
Fluttershy then flew over and landed in front of her friends with a serious demeanor. "And you girls apologize to Hammerheart for being so insensitive towards him and his natural instincts." Everyone dropped their jaws, dumbfounded.
"Fluttershy, what are you talking about?" said Twilight. "What do you mean 'his natural instincts'?"
Fluttershy stood straight as a post as she explained her case. "Everything that lives and breathes has their own behavior. When their instincts take over, they practically have no choice but to act upon them." Twilight was about to counteract that statement, but then realized what she said made sense, and could not fight back. Fluttershy hovered a small bit off the ground and crossed her front legs. "Well?"
Twilight sighed in defeat. "Alright, I'm sorry." Fluttershy looked to the others, who began following suit with apologies.
"Good, so we're all sorry, now." said Fluttershy. "Let's go find the Bison Tribe. Hammerheart, since you can smell them, lead the way."
"Righto." Hammerheart walked towards the direction his nose led him, and the mares followed after.
They were in a barren wasteland, and the walk was like the tale of a survivor's experience in the wild. The sun's hot light bore down on their backs. Looking far into the distance, they could see the landscape getting wavy from the heat. Hammerheart was walking with his wings spread open while the six mares trotted in his shade.
"You sure we're going the right way?" said Rainbow Dash.
Hammerheart huffed. "Don't underestimate a Dragon's acute sense of smell, lassie."
"Maybe we should've brought sunscreen." said Fluttershy. "You're gonna get burnt if we're out here too long."
"I don't git burnt by sunlight." said Hammerheart. "We've got a tolerance fer heat."
Their walk led them to a gorge. As they approached the massive crevasse, Fluttershy stopped and scanned the area.
"Um, maybe we could go over it? It looks dangerous." She said.
Rainbow Dash grunted. "Stop worrying so much about worst-case-scenarios, Fluttershy."
"Aye." said Hammerheart, "If anythin' happens, I'll take care of it." Having confidence in her friends, Fluttershy took a deep breath, exhaled, and they all resumed their trek. The wind whistled as it blew through the gorge and holes in the rocks. Boulders formed arches over the party, providing brief shading from the burning light of the sun. Tumbleweeds rolled with the winds on the ground and off the rock edges. An eagle flew over and gave out its screech.
Twilight groaned from impatience. "Are we even getting close?"
"We're gettin' there, lassie." said Hammerheart. "Ye're just as testy as Rainbow, if not more."
Rarity looked around with concern. "You know, I think Fluttershy is correct to worry about this place." She said. "The chances of an avalanche are present around here."
"Well then, if we hold our tongues then we shouldn't fret about a bunch o' rocks smashin' us like bugs." said Hammerheart. Taking that as a precaution, everyone zipped their lips and continued onward. So far, nothing bad seemed to come, but they knew it was bound to happen, should either of them slip a decibel higher than none.
A light breeze whipped dust past Pinkie's nose. "Ah..." Hammerheart stopped and looked down at her with raised eyebrows The mares stopped and looked at her in horror. "Aah... AAH..." Pinkie brought her hoof to her nose to cover her sneeze, but it did not come. "Few! False alarm." She whispered. Everyone sighed a breath of relief, and they continued on.
"ACHOO!!!"
Pinkie's sneaky sneeze echoed all over the canyon, and everyone stopped dead stiff. They looked at the rock edges, holding their breaths, but nothing seemed to have provoked a rockfall of any kind. They all sighed another breath of relief. But then the sound of a horn bellowed in the atmosphere. Everyone looked to the tops again. Hammerheart, with his keen eyesight, spotted pebbles falling off the edge.
"Dah, bloody darn brilliant." He growled. "BOOK IT!"
A boulder rolled off the edge and landed near their position, alerting them of danger. They quickly sprinted forth and ran for their lives through the death-trap gorge. The boulders kept coming and threatening to crush them into pulp. As they sped through the avalanche, they could see the end of the gorge.
"Hey, we made it!" Rainbow shouted. "Let's go, go, go!" As they made haste towards safety, Fluttershy accidentally tripped over a divot and fell, uttering a faint cry of pain. Hammerheart's acute hearing picked up her cry. He turned around to see her on the ground, and looked up to see a boulder about to fall off the edge on top off her. He rushed in to save her.
"Hammerheart, what are you doing?!" Twilight called. Hammerheart zoomed up to the fallen Pegasus, but the boulder fell from the edge, and landed right onto Hammerheart's back with a spine-chilling crunch. The Wyvern growled in pain from the impact, and he was about to fall on top of Fluttershy, but his adrenaline kicked in from the conflicting force of himself and the boulder's weight. Backed by his natural strength, Hammerheart held the boulder on his back. Fluttershy looked up at the Wyvern, and gasped.
"Hammerheart!" She cried.
The Wyvern grunted. "Go! Git outta here!" He yelled. Without a second thought, Fluttershy got back on her hooves and galloped towards the exit. With Fluttershy safe, Hammerheart heaved the boulder off his back and made for the exit as well. He could feel his shoulder blades and other bones in his upper back crackling as he ran, but he did not care, and soon escaped the jaws of death. Hammerheart fell to his hands and knees, panting from the danger and groaning from the pain in his back. The mares approached him.
"Oh no. Hammerheart, are you alright?" Fluttershy said, worried for him.
Hammerheart looked up at her. "Don't worry yer pretty little 'ead, lass, I'll be fine after a little R and R." Fluttershy flew up and gave Hammerheart's injuries a closer look. The spot where the boulder hit him was beginning to change colors. A circle slowly appeared. The dark blue part turned purple, and the medium grey became a slightly faint reddish. The impact no doubt broke some blood vessels, causing minor internal bleeding that would recover over time.
Fluttershy landed back on the ground. "I'm sorry for everything, Hammerheart. It's my fault you got hurt." She said with deep shame.
Hammerheart gave a testy sigh. "Don't be tearin' yerself apart. You had nothin' ta do wit this." He looked back at the gorge with suspicion. "I don't think that rockfall was an accident."
Twilight raised a brow. "You're probably right. But who could've done it?" The ground began to vibrate, and everyone was at full alert again. They looked in the distance to see a sandstorm homing in on them. But as it got closer, they could hear the sound of hooves on dirt. Soon, the sandstorm enveloped them. After a few seconds of zero visibility, the dust cleared, and the gang was surrounded by Bison wearing paint on their faces and feathers adorned on their heads.
"Ponies are not welcome in our territory." One of the Bison said gruffly. "You must turn back and leave, or face judgement.
Another Bison looked at Hammerheart, and held the gruff one back with his front leg. "Wait, Tundra, look at the Dragon." The Bison scrutinized Hammerheart and the mares before nodding to each other. "You are the one, are you not?"
Hammerheart's face was a mix between confusion and irritation. "The one?"
"The Chosen One our Chieftain, and the Dragon named Zaurus, spoke of." Another Bison said.
Hammerheart gasped and stood upright, even though his back was killing him. "Uh, yes. I'm Hammerheart, and these are me travelin'..." Hammerheart came to a pause as his mind fumbled any possible correct words. He did not consider them to be friends entirely. "... companions."
"Huh?" The mares said.
"Welcome to the Land of the Thunderblood Tribe, Hammerheart and companions."
"Let us lead you to our village." One of the Bison insisted.
Hammerheart looked to the mares, then back at the Bison, and nodded. "Thanks fer yer timely assistance."
The Bison walked towards the direction their village was, and Hammerheart and the others followed suit.
Rainbow Dash leaned over to Pinkie. "Just as weird as the last time, if not weirder." She whispered into her ear.
Hammerheart and the gang were led to a large wall made out of wood with sharpened tips. Two Bison Guards stood in front of an interlocking gate also made of sharpened wood. The Bison that led them to the village approached the Guards.
"We brought with us the chosen one and his acquaintances." One of the Bison said. "Let us welcome them in."
The Guards nodded and stepped aside, and the gate began to slide open. Hammerheart and his cohorts walked in, and found tents and more Bison inside. There were bulls who were training for fights, cows who were making traditional attire of cloth and feathers, and calves running around playing with each other. As the mares gazed at the village in awe, Hammerheart's attention was had by one of the warriors.
"Our Leader, Chief Stone Horn, would like to meet you all."
Hammerheart gave a whistle-like screech that caught the mares' attention, and they regrouped and followed them to a tent much bigger than all the others. In front of the entrance sat a large, albino Bison with a feathered bonnet on his head.
"Chief Stone Horn, I presume?" said Hammerheart.
The Chief nodded slowly. "Yes, young Dragon." He said, his voice showing his elder age. "It is an honor to meet the one who will save us from the fallen Dragon God, and oblivion."
Hammerheart sat on his tail base, and the mares all settled around the bonfire burning before them. The Chief cleared his throat before beginning to tell the tales of his ancestors.
"For millennia, we Bison of the Thunderblood Tribe have always believed Dragons to be the creators of the world, and all things upon it. So long as they held the seeds of life, have we shown great respect towards them and their descending ilk, such as you, Hammerheart."
Hammerheart grinned and chuckled. "You all hear that? I'm like an idol to 'em all."
"Don't let this knowledge turn into vaunted pride, young Dragon." Stone Horn chided. "That pathway leads to ruination." He cleared his throat once more before continuing. "Even we were ignorant to the time of Pyrkagias' downfall from praiseworthy glory. To learn of his return and his plans for all of us is simply too horrific to bear."
"We will stop this... Perkogius guy." said Twilight. "We're the only ones, right?"
"Yes, but the bow relies on the arrow just as the arrow relies on the bow." said Stone Horn. "You all must work as one, or failure will be your demise." He looked to Hammerheart. "You must obtain the power of the Dragon Gods, which reside in an ancient realm called Saurosmo. The way to the realm of the Dragon Gods is on an island that drifts, called Ynys Gwaed Oer by your kind. Trying to find it by yourself would be impossible."
"So how do we find the island?" Hammerheart asked.
Stone Horn clapped his hooves, and a cow brought an aquamarine stone to him on a pillow. "This stone has been blessed with water from the floating island it was found on. Touch it, and it shall guide you in your journey."
Hammerheart stood up on and carefully grabbed the aquamarine, which began to shine a brilliant blue, gradually growing brighter by the second. Hammerheart cocked his head back, while everyone else except Stone Horn averted their eyes from the bright light. After several moments worth of blinding light, it finally dimmed down enough for everyone to unshield their eyes.
"It has connected with your heart, young Dragon." The bison chief announced. "Now, let it show you the way to salvation."
Hammerheart tossed the stone into the air and caught it with his hand. "Thanks fer the help, old bull."
Twilight gave a look of disbelief from Hammerheart's rudeness. "Sorry, mister Stone Horn, for his little smart-aleck moment there." She said, glaring daggers at the Wyvern.
Stone Horn chuckled and waved a hoof. "Hammerheart has got a lot to learn." He said. "We must all be patient."
"Well, now that we have a way to find the island, let's go look for it now!" said Rainbow Dash.
"Right away." Rarity added.
The gang got up off their flanks and headed for the exit. Hammerheart stopped and turned to look at the Chief. "Oh, and Stony?"
Stone Horn looked at Hammerheart. "Yes, young Dragon?"
Hammerheart pointed a wing finger to the Bison that led them to the village. "Tell yer boys not to greet us by throwin' rocks at us next time." With that said, Hammerheart headed for the exit.
Stone Horn raised an eyebrow in confusion before looking to the warriors. "My kin, is that true?" He asked.
The Bison looked as confused as the Chief did. "Uh, we never did such a thing. Honest." One said.
"But we did hear some kind of horn bellowing from afar." Another said.
Stone Horn brought a hoof to his chin. "If my warriors did not do it..." A realization came to him, and he slightly jerked up. "Then the enemy is not far behind. This could be disastrous!"
Hammerheart held the glowing aquamarine stone in his hand, which shined a light in the supposed direction of the island they were searching for. The mares followed behind.
"So, what kind of island is this Yinis Gwaid Ower place like?" Rainbow Dash asked.
Hammerheart shrugged, "Ya got me."
"And what does that name mean?" said Twilight. "It sounds so very foreign."
"Ynys Gwaed Oer means 'Island of Cold Blood' in the Dragons' tongue." said Hammerheart.
The mares cocked their heads back and gave disturbed looks. "Why do they call it that?" Fluttershy asked.
"I'm guessing it has ta do wit the fact that it's always moving about." said Hammerheart. "Plus, no one can ever find the bloody place without somethin' like this'ere stone. In other words, it's like a snake trying to find a frog covered in mud. You can't see its heat, ya don't know where it is."
What Hammerheart said slowly made sense to them all. Without the help of the stone, it would be like trying to find a lizard with infrared vision in the dark, you would not be able to see any body heat, thus it is practically invisible.
"So, we just keep walking until we find an ocean, then we search by air, right?" said Rainbow Dash.
"That just about sums it up, aye." said Hammerheart.
The trek continued for nearly a whole hour. A rather salty scent came to Hammerheart's nostrils. He kept sniffing to make sure his senses were not playing tricks on him. The others stopped when they saw him smell the air.
"Now what do ya smell, big guy?" Applejack asked.
Hammerheart took in a deep breath through his nose. "Sea water. We're gittin' close."
They started to pick up the pace and ran towards the direction the stone still pointed. Hammerheart looked off into the distance, and saw very large holes in the ground, peaking his suspicion. Barely shifting his gaze, he spotted another one, and another, and another. He came to a screeching halt, and the others stopped as well.
"Now what?" said Rarity.
Hammerheart scanned the perimeter. "We be in Gaian Wyrm territory."
Everyone raised an eyebrow in confusion. "What's a Gaian Wyrm?" Pinkie asked.
"It's a very big Earth Dragon that burrows through the ground." Hammerheart explained. "Look at all these holes and you'll know what I mean." The mares looked around, and gasped in fear of the huge holes that littered the terrain. "These Dragons are rarely social, even towards other Dragons like meself." Hammerheart continued. "They can sense vibrations through the soil, and if they feel somethin' prancin' about above 'em, they'll come up and try ta make a meal outta them."
"So in other words, we need to move as carefully as we can." said Twilight, trying to suppress her wrecked nerves.
"One other thing." The mares looked to Hammerheart, "Gaian Wyrms live and hunt in packs."
Fluttershy, who was already stricken with fear from the dangerous situation, felt something like a pane of glass shatter. "P-p-p-p-packs?" She stuttered.
Hammerheart nodded. "Packs. Big Packs. Lots. Oodles and oodles."
Now everyone was shaking in their skin, save for Hammerheart, who was acting as stern as he could. Suddenly, flashing images popped in his head. Hammerheart flinched from the sudden phenomena, quickly shaking his head and putting two fingers to his forehead.
"Hammerheart, w-what's wrong?" Fluttershy asked.
Hammerheart felt like he snapped out of a trance, and looked down at the concerned Pegasus. "Nothin'. Just stick close." Learning from what he saw in the visions of the past, Hammerheart knew that stealth and swiftness were important in this situation.
"Hammerheart, couldn't you just fly us over to the ocean?" said Twilight.
"I would if I could," said Hammerheart, "but me spine's still aching from that big hunk o' rock that nailed me back. Just be light on yer legs, and follow my lead."
Hammerheart walked as lightly and quickly as he could, gently placing his steps down carefully in somewhat fast succession. The others tried copying what he was doing, tip-hooving behind him. Every now and then, the mares would look at each and every hole around them, expecting something to come out and attack them, but nothing happened yet. The suspense was getting to some of them.
Hammerheart kept moving. The smell of salt water slowly got stronger as they went deeper through. More images began flashing through his head, and he stopped. He could have sworn he saw what looked like the body of a Wyvern lying dead at the feet of another, but it was too vague for him to make it out fully.
Hammerheart blinked and looked up to see they had gotten a few steps ahead. He sighed and moved on.
Suddenly, the ground started to feel like it was vibrating. Everyone stopped dead in their tracks. The muffled sound of a growl struck the mares' nerves. The vibrating grew into a tremor. Behind Hammerheart, the ground began to crack, and a hill formed. From the hill, a Gaian Wyrm burst out the ground and gave a screeching roar that pierced the mares' ears. They folded their ears down and covered them. Hammerheart's ears also hurt from the loud roar, though his stubborn pride kept him from reacting.
The Wyrm looked down at the gang. Its pitch black eyes focused on each and every one of them. Its maw was partially open, and saliva drooled out near Hammerheart's feet.
"Back away slowly." Hammerheart whispered.
The mares looked at him, then back at the Wyrm, slowly backing away from the beast. Hammerheart also backed away, and tried to do something that probably would not work.
"Now listen, lad, we don't want any trouble. We're just passin' through to find a-" The Wyrm swung one of its wide arms at Hammerheart, nearly landing a blow, but Hammerheart jumped back and it missed. Now the Wyvern was angry. "Fine! Ya wanna play 'bloody claws', then I'll play 'burn yer hide'!" Hammerheart took in a deep breath and unleashed a blast of fire that burned around the Wyrm's chest. The beast wailed in pain, and slammed itself on the ground to douse the flames, shaking the terrain. Then, more Gaian Wyrms surfaced and roared.
The mares screamed. Their cover had been blown.
"Time ta leg it!" Hammerheart shouted.
Everyone turned and headed towards the direction of the ocean. Hammerheart tossed the stone in his mouth and followed after. The smell of sea water came to the mares, and they knew now where to go. Hammerheart caught up to them as they ran from the Wyrms, who were crawling on their bellies after them. The ocean eventually came into view, but they had to get airborne to get anywhere else.
Hammerheart quickly snatched up Twilight, Rarity, and Fluttershy, and threw them on his back. Ignoring the pain in his spine, Hammerheart flapped his wings, grabbed Applejack and Pinkie, and flew over the ocean. When they were a fair distance from the shore, they looked back to see the Gaian Wyrms stop at the water's edge.
Twilight sighed a breath of relief and wiped some sweat from her forehead. "Good thing they're only Earth Dragons and not Water Dragons."
"Yes, very much so." said Rarity.
As the Unicorns talked to themselves, Fluttershy scooted up to Hammerheart's neck. She noticed the injury on his back was starting to twitch. "Hammerheart?" Hammerheart looked back at her. "Are you gonna be okay?"
Hammerheart chuckled. "I'll be fine. You seem to underestimate me tolerance for pain." He opened his mouth. The stone was held in his tongue and still shined him in the direction of the island. He followed the light.
It took nearly a full hour, but soon Ynys Gwaed Oer was found. It was a fairly large island that had a thick ring of jungle around an inactive volcano. If anyone was to make an estimated guess, the way to Saurosmo was in there.
Hammerheart descended down to the island. He got close to the ground, but flapped his wing to keep himself from crushing the two Ponies in his grasp. He released his grip on Applejack and Pinkie, then finally touched down. Twilight, Rarity, and Fluttershy hopped off. And Rainbow Dash landed with them.
"We're finally here!" said Pinkie, bouncing with joy.
Everyone looked at the jungle. They could see many different types of tropical birds and mammals moving about in the trees. It was pretty on the outside, but what was inside was going to be discovered shortly.
"This place looks beautiful." said Fluttershy.
Hammerheart grunted and dropped to his knees. Everyone turned and came to his side.
"Are you okay there, buddy?" Applejack asked.
Fluttershy flew up to check on his injury. The spot appeared to have grown in size, likely spreading the pain further. "I don't like the looks of this." She thought.
Hammerheart got to his feet. "I'm fine. I don't need ta be babied like this." He said. "You all worry about yer own hide."
They all started heading for the volcano, but a screeching roar made them stop. The sound was all too familiar. They looked out to the ocean, and could see serpentine shapes swimming towards the island, getting closer and closer. They collided into the island, causing it to shake and make Hammerheart and the others lose their balance. Then, a large Dragon bursted from the ground and roared. It was blue with a finned frill around its head, and webbed fingers. Its snout was pointed like a spear, and its eyes were pitch black. But then its blue coloration turned into a more tan and brown color. The frill shrunk away, as well as the webbing between its fingers. It was the Gaian Wyrm from earlier.
The mares were wide eyed and terrified. "Impossible! It's a Sea Dragon, too?!" Twilight said in disbelief.
"Head fer the volcano!" Hammerheart said.
The mares looked at Hammerheart with dropped jaws. "No! You'll be killed!" said Fluttershy.
Hammerheart turned around, breathed in, and blew a blast of flames that formed a wall of fire near them. The mares gasped from the intimidating flames that blocked them. They looked at Hammerheart.
"I SAID GO!!!" He roared.
The girls turned and headed for the volcano. Fluttershy stopped at the edge of the jungle and looked back at Hammerheart, who took a stance against the Gaian Wyrm pack. Rainbow Dash came up to her from behind.
"Come on, let's go!" She said, pulling Fluttershy away from the battle. Fluttershy turned and ran with the others. Tears leaked from her eyes as the new memory of Hammerheart forcing them to run away with deadly means replayed. It scared her, the way Dracophobia always had.
"Hammerheart..." She thought, "Please, don't die. You're the only one who can save us..."
Hammerheart took on a battle stance as he faced off against a pack of Wyrms. He was on all fours. He gritted his fangs. He swung his tail and slammed his hammer on the ground. The Wyrms stared him down, their black eyes began to slowly turn blood red. Hammerheart could feel the nerves in his limbs shaking, and he did not like it.
The biggest of the Wyrms rose up and struck first, but Hammerheart jumped back, and the Wyrm smashed into the ground. Hammerheart knew his only advantage was to fly over the pack, but his back was still in pain. Another Wyrm attacked by swiping its claws, and hit Hammerheart, sending him sliding. When he came to a stop, Hammerheart rolled back onto his feet and shook his head.
"Oh, now yer askin' for it!" He yelled. He flapped his wing and took into the sky. The pain in his back grew intense from the flight, but Hammerheart put death before dishonor. He flew up to a Wyrm and blasted fire right into its face. The Wyrm roared in pain before planting its head into the soil and putting out the flames that threatened to burn its face off.
Hammerheart then flew up to another Wyrm and gave it a good hit upside the head with his hammer tail, leaving the Wyrm disorientated, but with a shake of its head, it regained its senses and roared in anger, hurling itself at Hammerheart, trying to catch him and drag him to the ground, but the young Wyvern was too fast for the beast.
Hammerheart stop and examined the situation. There were about a dozen Gaian Wyrms, all dead set on making him their prey, and he needed to kill them off before the exhaustion from battle brought him to the ground.
One of the Wyrms took a bite out off the ground, held the dirt in its mouth, and spat a huge ball of mud at Hammerheart. The Wyvern dropped to avoid getting hit, but that gave another Wyrm a chance to bite on one of his legs.
Suddenly, time seemed to have slowed down, and more horrific images of a murder flashed in Hammerheart's mind. He gasped when he realized what the images were. They were memories from his past, but the present returned to him as he was slammed on the ground. Hammerheart was not about to become something's food before he could finish what he started. He turned his head and blasted another fireball into the Wyrm's face, making it release its grip on his right leg, rear up, and roar in pain.
Hammerheart's lower leg was nearly crushed by the powerful bite of the Wyrm, but his bones were able to withstand the bite force. Standing on one leg, Hammerheart flapped his wings and took to the skies again. One of the Wyrms tried to catch him in its jaws, but missed by a mere foot. Hammerheart spun around and shot a fireball right into his assailant's face. The Wyrm quick plunged it head into the ground and extinguished the flames.
The battle was getting nowhere, and Hammerheart was running out of time. "These blasted dirt munchers just don't know when to quit!" He shouted in frustration. "How in the bloody world do I end this fight?!"
"By bringing down their leader!" A familiar voice said in Hammerheart's mind. Hammerheart looked towards the sea. Though it was small, he could see something approaching the island. It jumped out of the water and high into the sky.
It was Zaurus.
The Gaian Wyrms turned their attentions to the Knucker. Zaurus swung his mystic spike across the throat of the larger Wyrm, and blood sprayed from its neck. The large Wyrm held its hand on its wound to try and suppress the bleeding, but to no avail The lesser Wyrms became discouraged by their leader's grievous wound, and they all scurried into the ocean, quickly changing into their water forms before swimming away. The bigger Wyrm followed after them, leaving a trail of blood in the water as it swam off.
Zaurus landed on the ground and struck a stoic pose that made his spike shine in the sun. Hammerheart descended towards the Knucker and landed in front of him.
"Zaurus? What are you doing here?" Hammerheart asked.
"I will explain later." Zaurus examined Hammerheart's body, and saw how injured he was. His leg was bleeding from the Wyrm's bite. His side had some gashes from the Wyrm's claws. And the spot on his back had grown in size from the strain of pushing himself. "You're very badly damaged from your battle. I shall tend to your wounds."
Hammerheart held his wing up wide, making a stopping gesture. "I don't need yer help, Shaman." He said. "I'll be fine."
Zaurus grabbed the wing and brought it down. "I was not asking, I'm doing. But we cannot do it here. The chances of another Gaian Wyrm pack attack happening are evened out here. We shall head to the volcano, I will heal you there."
Hammerheart did not want Zaurus to worry about him and waste time curing him, but knowing that Knucker, there was no sense in arguing with him. "Fine. Let's git goin'." He huffed. Zaurus nodded, then grabbed Hammerheart's right wing, placed it over his shoulder, and carried him towards the volcano.
"So, tell me, how did you make the whole pack run away with their tails between their legs with one strike?" Hammerheart asked.
"Gaian Wyrms are pack hunters, Hammerheart, thus they all act under an Alpha Leader." Zaurus explained. "Should that Leader be severely wounded or slain, the pack's morale will diminish, and they will flee. Without proper guidance from a Leader, they are directionless."
Hammerheart sighed. "Now I feel like a dumb drake for not knowin' that sooner than later."
"The saying goes, 'You must know your enemy to defeat them'." said Zaurus. "You know much about the great enemy you face, but not others. Learn their strengths and weaknesses before or in battle, and you can use it against them."
Hammerheart chuckled. "I'll see what I can do, next time."
As Zaurus carried Hammerheart to the volcano, the Wyvern was still baffled by what had happened. He and the others did not do anything that could have riled up the Gaian Wyrms back in the wasteland. Something else must have disturbed them from their slumber, but what?
The mares had managed to get to the inactive volcano, and even found a way inside. There they found what looked like an ancient portal with a frame made of bedrock and obsidian. They sat and waited for Hammerheart's return. That is, if he was going to return.
Twilight sat on her belly and was reading a book she had brought with her, Applejack and Pinkie were playing games on the walls, Rainbow Dash was laying on top of the portal frame resting from a long flight while Rarity paced back and forth, patiently waiting for Hammerheart, and Fluttershy looked up at the hole in the top.
"Do you think he won?" Fluttershy asked. "Do you think he survived the fight?"
Twilight put the book down and sighed. "I really don't know, Fluttershy." She said. "One against a dozen, those are really bad odds."
"Oh, come on, Fluttershy!" Rainbow Dash said, rolling off the portal frame and flapping her wings. "You and I both saw him beat the tar out of a pack of timber wolves! Plus he said he was on the run from other Dragons, so I'm pretty sure he's fought other Dragons before!"
Everyone gasped as they remembered Hammerheart's situation with himself and his own kind.
"That's right, he's being hunted by other Dragons!" said Twilight. "We're no longer in Equestria, so they'll most likely follow him here!"
"But wait!" Rarity interjected, "They can't find him here on this island because, if I remember correctly, this island's always on the move, is it not? So they would just be flying around and might never find this place."
"You're right!" said Pinkie.
"But wait!" said Applejack, "Doesn't the big guy have a real sharp nose? Meanin' the Dragons huntin' him down will sniff him out and eventually find him here?"
"You're right." said Pinkie.
"Is anyone down there?" A voice called. The mares looked up to see two familiar faces. Zaurus and Hammerheart standing near the edge of a drop-off. "I have Hammerheart with me."
"That's wonderful!" said Fluttershy, happy that Hammerheart is still alive.
Zaurus nudged on Hammerheart's chest with his shoulder. "Alright, my friend, we need to be careful on the way down."
"Right..." Hammerheart said. He was feeling very exhausted from his battle. They edged closer to the edge.
"Ready?" said Zaurus, "One, two, three." They both stepped off and slid down the steep wall, causing dirt to fall with them. They reached the bottom, and Zaurus let Hammerheart off his shoulder. The Wyvern dropped to his knees and fell down flat.
"Hammerheart!" The mares called. They rushed up to their fallen friend, concerned for him.
"Please, stand back." said Zaurus. The mares looked at him.
"What are you gonna do?" Fluttershy asked.
"Tend to his injuries." said Zaurus. "It'll take some time, so please be patient."
Rainbow Dash groaned while everyone else stepped back like Zaurus said. The Knucker Shaman lifted his spike up. The tip broke into twelve pieces, forming a hand, and placed it on Hammerheart's back. He breathed in his nose, and out his mouth. Then, a surge of energy began to flow into Hammerheart's body, making the Wyvern grunt and grow tense.
"You truly are a strange one, friend Hammerheart." Zaurus thought. "I have seen you take several beatings from foes just as strong, if not stronger, than those Wyrms. You have endured so much pain over the years you were declared a renegade by your race, yet you still thrived on in hopes of redeeming yourself. Yet, there is something else within you that troubles your very heart. What it is, I know not. But in order for you to save the world, you must not only defeat Pyrkagias, but another enemy you know better than anyone else;"
"Yourself."
The surge of healing energy slowly faded, and all of Hammerheart's wounds were miraculously cured. His leg no longer bore deep bite marks. The gashes on his side were sealed shut. And the spot on his back had disappeared as well.
Hammerheart stood back up on his feet and stretched himself out until his bones popped and cracked. He solemnly examined himself from shoulders to tail, and sighed through his nostrils.
He looked at Zaurus. "Thanks fer the patch up, mate." He said.
Zaurus chuckled. "Helping a friend is worth the time, but there is little time for courtesies."
Applejack stepped up. "Uh, how'd ya find us?" She asked.
"Yeah, did you sniff your way here?" asked Twilight.
"Actually, I used a stone given to me by the Thunderblood Tribe." Zaurus said as he presented a glowing Aquamarine for them to see.
Hammerheart dropped his jaw. "Wait, if you had a stone yerself, why didn't ya give yers to me, save us the trouble?"
"Because it wouldn't work with you." said Zaurus. "When someone touches a fresh stone, their spirit links with its power. If I gave it to you, it would be just a plain stone that would not shine you the way." Zaurus tossed the glowing Aquamarine to Rarity, who caught it with her magic. The stone's light died out, thus proving Zaurus' point. Rarity smiled greatly at the Aquamarine, but tried to contain her excitement.
"I see." said Hammerheart. He looked at the stone he held in his hand. "Then I guess there's no point in holdin' on ta this anymore." Hammerheart tightened his grip on the stone until it crumbled in his hand. Rarity dropped her jaw and gave a gasp of disbelief.
Hammerheart looked back at Zaurus. "So, this is it?"
Zaurus nodded. "The way to Saurosmo." He said. "You have made it this far, but there are creatures within that will not hesitate to make prey out of you."
"So what am I looking for?" said Hammerheart.
"The power of the Duwiau Ddraig rest within eight monstrous predators." Zaurus explained. "The power of Pagos can be found upon the highest mountain, where the cold is nearly unsurvivable. The power of Thalassia can be found in the great ocean that houses many mortal perils, while the power of Keravnon can be found among a vast plain, where thunder and lightning clash endlessly. The power of Geiosi can be found within the tropical jungles that are home to many harmless and dangerous inhabitants. The power of Anemou can be found drifting with the furious winds. The power of Elafry can be found in the harsh deserts, with scorching heat of unimaginable temperatures. The power of Skoura can be found within the darkest caves that bear creatures of nightmares." Zaurus closed his eyes and looked down. "And the power of Pyrkagias himself, you will have to find on your own, friend Hammerheart."
Hammerheart nodded. "Right, then." He looked to the mares. "Let's git goin'."
"Right!" They all said. They all headed for the portal and went into the swirling opening.
Hammerheart was about to follow them in, but stopped and turn to see Zaurus standing still.
"Aren't you comin', too?" Hammerheart asked.
Zaurus shook his head. "I'm afraid I cannot interfere with your quest." He said.
"WHAT?" Hammerheart yelled, "But you know where to find these beasts, plus if I git banged up again, I'll need you ta be stubborn and patch me up."
"Listen, there are just some things you must learn on your own without the help of those with the knowledge to answer your questions." said Zaurus. "I would only get in your way." Zaurus then leaped on top of the portal frame and sat down. Hammerheart backed up to see what he was doing. "I shall remain here and guard the portal to Saurosmo. If it were to be destroyed, you will all be forever trapped, and our world will burn at the touch of Pyrkagias."
Hammerheart did not like leaving Zaurus behind, but any argument he could think up would be countered by Zaurus. In the end, he had no choice but to agree. "Alright. See you when we git back."
Zaurus nodded. "Fare thee well."
Hammerheart stepped through the portal. Static electricity tingled against his skin as he entered. As he emerged on the other side of the portal, he found himself within the confines a cave.
"Hammerheart, there you are." said Fluttershy's voice. Hammerheart looked up to see the others.
"What, were ya waitin' for me?" He scoffed.
"What took you so long?" said Rainbow Dash.
"It's nothin', let's just go." Hammerheart said as he walked past them. They followed behind him. They all headed towards a light, which was the cave entrance. When they exited, they were greeted by a vast forest that seemed to stretch for miles.
"Woah!" Rainbow Dash breathed.
"Well I'll be a crazy bull hyped up on mushrooms." Applejack said in awe.
"Either I'm dreaming, or I drank too much soda pop again." Pinkie said, holding a bottle of root beer.
Long-necked dinosaurs suddenly stuck their heads out of the treetops, feasting on vegetation.
"Wow, I've never seen real dinosaurs before." said Fluttershy.
"Of course you haven't, Fluttershy." said Twilight. "They're supposed to be extinct, but here they are, living and breathing." She leered her eyes as she examine the dinosaurs from a distance. "I think those are brachiosaurs. One of the biggest herbivores ever to walk the earth."
"Save the smart talk for when it's important, lass." said Hammerheart. "We've got beasts ta hunt."
Twilight rubbed the back of her head. "Uh, right."
Having arrived, the party began their search. Eight predatory beasts held the powers of the Dragon Gods, and if Hammerheart was to obtain them, he would have to slay these creatures, no matter what.
The forest was alive with noise. Birds flew about the trees, singing and cawing without a care in the world. The wind blew and whistled as it drifted through the branches and leaves. On the ground, strange looking mammals scurried around foraging for food. One looked like a cross between a kangaroo and a giant rat with an elongated nose, almost like an elephant. Small horse-like creatures galloped in herds through the forest, running from potential danger. What they thought was danger was Hammerheart and the mares.
"Oh my, this forest looks bigger down here than up on the mountainside." said Fluttershy.
"I wonder what kind of animals we could find here?" Pinkie said as she bounced along with them.
"Whatever we run into, I hope they're neighborly." said Applejack. "The last thang we need is some giant lizard er somethin' makin' a meal outta us." The sound of a throat clearing made Applejack turn her attention to Hammerheart, who was looking at her with a raised brow. "What?" Applejack shrugged.
Hammerheart sighed and shook his head. "Nothin'." He said.
Rainbow Dash flew up next to Hammerheart's head, whose veins began to swell in annoyance. "Is something on your mind, Hammerheart?" Rainbow Dash asked.
Hammerheart turned and walked away from the Pegasus. "No, don't bug me wit dumb questions."
Rarity trotted up to Hammerheart's side. "Please, darling, we're your friends. You can tell us anything, and we won't judge you." She said.
"Ye're not me friends." Hammerheart said bluntly.
The mares stopped and bugged their eyes in confusion. "Huh?!"
Twilight trotted up next to Hammerheart. "What do you mean we're not friends?" She asked.
"I mean we never were friends." said Hammerheart.
Fluttershy flew up next to Hammerheart's head. "But you trust us, don't you?" She asked. "At least you trust me? Plus you accepted our friendship."
Hammerheart sighed. "I trust you all, but not enough to even consider you friends."
"Is that why you referred to us as 'companions' back at the Bison village?" said Applejack.
Hammerheart shook his head. "We can never be friends, you all and me."
Rainbow Dash flew in front of Hammerheart and faced him with her hooves on her hips. "And why not?" She asked.
Hammerheart stopped walking. "Because I be a renegade, remember?"
the mares slightly gasped when they remembered that.
"You're all with me because you're part of a puzzle I'm part of." said Hammerheart. "Once I git me claws on the power of the Dragon Gods, and we beat Pyrkagias fer good, you'll all go yer way, I'll go mine, and we'll never meet again. You all can live together as friends while I roam about dealin' with Wyverns who want me dead."
"But that doesn't mean we can't be friends." said Fluttershy. "It just means we have to protect you from your own."
"I can't stay wit you all forever." said Hammerheart. "There's more than just me clan who's out ta gut me like a wild boar. Even ponies are tryin' ta take a bite out me with their spears and rocks and other stuff."
"That only means we have to protect you at all costs." Fluttershy said solemnly.
Hammerheart was about to speak, but the sound of screaming caught everyone's attention. They turned their gaze towards the direction it came from. Then a fearsome roar echoed in the air.
Fluttershy was shaking. "W-wh-what was th-that?" She said.
"Sounds like trouble." said Hammerheart. "Let's check it out."
Hammerheart took off in the direction of the noises. Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, and Pinkie followed after. Fluttershy was still too frightened to move. Twilight used her magic to grab Fluttershy and shake her a little.
"Come on, Fluttershy, we gotta catch up!" said Twilight.
Fluttershy shook her head. "Uh, right!" She said, and she galloped after behind Twilight.
Hammerheart came to a clearing in the forest, but did not see anything that could have screamed or roared. He examined the area, slowly looking from left to right.
"What could've made that sound?" He asked himself.
His ears picked up on the sound of running feet. Hammerheart sniffed the air, and could smell something reptilian approaching. The others soon caught up with him, panting from the running.
"Did you... find anything?" said Twilight.
"No," said Hammerheart, "but somethin's comin'."
Then, four lizards that were running upright on their back legs came rushing into the clearing, looking back. They all wore leather tunics that went down to their thighs, but one had a capital B on his chest, another had a capitol C on theirs, another had a capitol S, and another had a capitol T. When they turned their gaze to their front, they immediately stopped and screamed at Hammerheart.
"It'z anudder meat eata!" One of them yelled.
Hammerheart cocked his head back. "Another meat eater?" He thought. The sound of heavy footsteps approaching came to his ears. From behind a tree, a forty foot long dinosaur appeared and roared, showing its bloody, razor sharp teeth.
It was a Tyrannosaurus.
"Oh shoot, it'z 'ere!" Another cried. "Leg it, guyz!" They ran past Hammerheart, and the Tyrannosaur's attention turned to Hammerheart. It scratched the ground with its feet and prepared to attack.
"Hammerheart, we gotta scram!" Rainbow Dash shouted.
"You all go, I'll hold him off!" said Hammerheart.
"Are you nuts?!" Twilight shouted, "That thing's way bigger than you! It'll KILL you!"
"Size doesn't mean everythin'!" Hammerheart shouted as he went in to attack.
Hammerheart and the Tyrannosaurus charged. Hammerheart tried to bite the T-Rex's head, but the Tyrannosaurus got in the first strike. It bit down on Hammerheart's neck and pinned him to the ground. It started shaking its head, trying to take a chunk out of the Wyvern, but Hammerheart made sure to keep himself in one piece. The Tyrannosaurus began to pull Hammerheart, making him stand up and walk with it. His hammer smashed against a boulder and shattered its top half to pieces.
"Dere'z no way he'z gonna live against dat fing!" One of the lizards said. "It'z a monshter versus a hatchling!"
"I HEARD THAT!" Hammerheart yelled. The lizard slapped a hand over his mouth.
Hammerheart placed his right hand on the Tyrannosaur's head and pushed on it, trying to get free. He then made a fist and punched it right in the side of its nose. The Tyrannosaurus reacted from the pain by weakening its grip on Hammerheart, who slipped out of its jaws. Hammerheart then gave a warning shot at the T-Rex, slamming his jaws shut close to it and swinging his fists. His attempts of intimidation did not work as the Tyrannosaurus tried to take another bite out of Hammerheart, but the Wyvern pressed his hand on the end of its nose and pushed it away. The Tyrannosaurus then stuck its head under the Wyvern's body and tried to topple him over, but Hammerheart managed to keep his balance and stay on both feet. The Tyrannosaur's side face him, and Hammerheart attacked. He charged, lunged at the T-Rex, latched his claws onto it, and bit on its neck.
The lizards grew wide eyed at the changing tide of battle. "He'z gotten 'old of him, now!" One said.
"He just might win dis!" Another said.
The mares watched in hopes that Hammerheart would beat this dinosaur. He had already sustained bite wounds to his neck. Hopefully, that would be the only casualty.
"Come on, Hammerheart! You can win this!" Rainbow Dash shouted.
"Teach that beast a lesson!" said Rarity.
Fluttershy sat behind a large rock with a hoof covering the other in concern. "Please, Hammerheart. you can do it, I know you can." She thought.
The Tyrannosaurus roared in anger as it tried to shake Hammerheart off. It reached back as far as it could and tried to bite him, but could not reach far enough. Hammerheart held onto the Tyrannosaurus with all his might. He released his bite on the T-Rex and bit down again with double the effort. The Tyrannosaurus roared in pain. Then suddenly, a blast of fire shot from the sky and burned the Tyrannosaur's back. Hammerheart looked up to see some kind of figure in the sky. The fire gave him an idea. He took in a deep breath through his nostril and unleashed his own flames on the Tyrannosaurus.
Hammerheart released his grip and jumped off the burning dinosaur. The Tyrannosaurus took a few steps back and shook its whole body. It was covered with third degree burns. It turned and walked away with its mortal injuries, and disappeared into the forest.
Hammerheart cracked his neck from another battle fought and won. The figure in the sky landed behind him and giggled. "You were always a reckless punk, ever since we first met." The figure said with an english feminine voice.
Hammerheart gasped as he recognized that voice. He turned to see a female Wyvern standing before him. She was exactly his size in length and height, though her wingspan was five feet shorter. She was orange with a yellow underbelly, spines, arrowhead on her tail end, and wing membranes. She had a pair of small crests sticking out of both sides of the top of her head. Her eye were like Hammerheart's except with sky blue irises.
"Ravelas? What are you doin' here?!" said Hammerheart.
"What? Is it a crime for a female Dragon to protect her future mate?" said Ravelas.
The mares gasped in disbelief. "Did... did she say future mate?" Twilight asked.
"I believe she did." said Rarity.
"Um, what exactly does that mean?" said Rainbow Dash.
"It means they're both getting married and having lots of baby Dragons!" Pinkie said, happy for the two Wyverns.
"I don't know what you're talkin' about!" Hammerheart said defensively.
"I followed your scent all the way to a floating island in the middle of the ocean." Ravelas explained. "When I searched the volcano, I found both a portal and some old Knucker Shaman fellow who said he was protecting the gateway to Saurosmo. I asked where you were, and he asked what relation do I have with you, and I told him that I'm your mate. After that, he agreed to let me go in. Then I followed a fresh scent all the way here and found you roughing yourself up with another beast."
"But why did you follow me here?" Hammerheart asked, wanting a legitimate answer.
Ravelas held her hands together and twisted her foot on the ground. "Well, Hammerheart, it's because..." Her cheeks grew red from nervousness, and Hammerheart put his hands on his hips. "It's.. because..." Her blushing grew.
Hammerheart raised a brow. "I'm waitin'."
Ravelas took in a deep breath. "You're gonna be a father."
Hammerheart's brows remained furrowed, but his eyes dilated and his whole body went stiff. The mares also dropped their jaws to the ground in surprise. Their eyes dilated and their pupils shrunk.
"Congratulations!" Pinkie shouted with joy, oblivious to the feeling that surrounded everyone else. "You're both gonna be parents! WHOO!"
"What?" Hammerheart said, his voice stripped of any emotions.
"It's true." said Ravelas, "I'm preggers, and they're your chicks."
"How do ya even know?" Hammerheart asked, really wanting to debunk her claim.
"I'll explain later." She said looking at the mares and lizards. "There's too many folks around here."
One of the lizards approached Hammerheart. "Oh, Great Savior."
"Hammerheart, ya bloke." Hammerheart deadpanned.
"We fank you fer savin' our tails from dat monsta. If you'd like, you, yer mate, and yer buddiez ova dere can come wit us ta our village an rest fer da night." He pointed to the sun, which was setting in the distance. "Our home turf'z no place ta dink around durin' da night."
The mares and Ravelas looked to Hammerheart, who lowered his head slightly and sighed. "Fine."
"Great! Follow us!" The lizards regrouped and led the way. The mares followed after them. Hammerheart walked behind them, with Ravelas by his side.
He really was not taking the news very well. "I'm gonna be a father?"
It was nighttime, and the moon was high in the sky at its fullest size. Hammerheart and the others were led to a village that stood over a lake within a swamp. The huts were made of trees and bamboo. Primitive lanterns contained brightly lit fireflies. Within the center of the village was a fire pit. The four lizards that led them to their home and the mares sat around the cozy flames.
"So, what are you guys?" Twilight asked.
"We be Saurasks, luv." One of them said. "We're Lizard Boyz an Girlz dat have lived fer a long time. Ever since da very dinosaurz walked around da Earf. Oh, I almost fergot. We needz ta intraduse arselvez." They all stood up.
"I'm Basha!"
"My name'z Crasha!"
"Dey call me Smasha!"
"And I'd be Thrasha!"
They all leaned on each others' shoulders. "An togedder, we're..." Basha, Crasha, and Smasha jumped high in the air while Thrasha stood tall and held his arms out, making a "T" shape out of himself. Smasha landed on Thrasha's head shaped like an "S", Crasha landed on Smasha's head shaped like a "C", and Basha landed on Crasha's head shaped like a "B". "Da Baz-Bo-Billeh-Bruddaz!" They all said with pride in unison.
The mares stared at the quadrio with dumbfound looks plastered on their faces, but Pinkie was the only one clapping and laughing and cheering.
"WHOO HOO!!! You guys are awesome!" She cheered.
"Fanks." said Basha, "But enuff about us, tell us yer namez."
Everyone blinked as she returned to reality and Twilight cleared her throat. "My name's Twilight, Twilight Sparkle."
"The name's Applejack."
"You can call me Rainbow Dash."
"My name is Rarity."
"I-I'm Fluttershy."
"And I'm Pinkie Pie!"
"Pleased ta meet ya." They all said.
"So what were you guys doing with that T-Rex?" Twilight asked.
The brothers gave sheepish smiles. "Well, we were tryin' ta take down one a da most vicious predatorz that ever walked da Earf." Basha explained. "Unfortunately, we were unprepared when we came across one dat waz munchin' on itz food, and it waz mad. So it left itz carcass and tried takin' a bite outta us."
"Sounds like one heck of a challenge." said Rainbow Dash.
Suddenly, the part of the floor that Thrasha was standing on gave in to the amount of weight it was supporting, and collapsed underneath him. Thrasha fell through, and got stuck up to his chest. The other brothers toppled off and landed with hard thuds.
"Ack! Thrasha, whot happened?!" said Smasha.
"The flippin' floorin' under my feet broke, again!" said Thrasha. "Dat'z da fourth time dis month!"
"We eitha need ta rebuild with tuffa wood, or try ar team playin' somewhere less weak." Crasha suggested.
As the Baz-Bo-Billeh-Bruddaz talked amongst themselves about the flooring, Fluttershy looked around and noticed that Hammerheart and Ravelas were not present. "Um, has anypony seen Hammerheart or his fiancee?" Fluttershy asked.
The mares looked at each other, then at Fluttershy and shrugged.
"He's probably hanging out with his girlfriend or something like that." said Rainbow Dash. "I just don't get him."
"What do you mean, Dashie?" said Pinkie.
"I mean, he says we're not his friends. Is he forgetting that me and Fluttershy helped him get out of that pit in the Everfree Forest? Or was that not enough for him?"
"Rainbow Dash, please." Twilight said, placing a hoof on Rainbow Dash's shoulder. "He probably doesn't want us to be with him when the Dragons' Law catches up to him."
"But he said those other Dragon are afraid of the Elements of Harmony!" Rainbow Dash nearly yelled. "We're like his personal bodyguards, which sounds really stupid, considering, but while he's with us those Dragons can't touch him."
"He said the reason Dragons won't attack our towns and cities was because they think we could use the Elements to destroy them." Twilight rephrased. "But the Elements of Harmony don't destroy things, they protect and show power through the magic of our friendship."
Rainbow Dash wanted to keep arguing, but Twilight's point stopped her dead. "Oh, yeah..." She said, hanging her head low.
"So, what're ya gittin' at, Twi?" said Applejack.
"I'm saying that Hammerheart might be right about a true friendship between us and him never working. He thinks he's safe with us, but if the Dragons hunting him find us and realize we can't stop them, then Hammerheart's history."
Rainbow Dash tapped her hoof tip on her head in thought until she remembered another thing of vital importance. "What about Princess Celestia and Luna?" She said. "Hammerheart also said they fear them. Surely they could save him."
"They probably could, but the Princesses would never kill for the sake of protecting someone." said Twilight. "Anything they could do would only be temporary set backs for the Dragons."
Everyone sighed in defeat. It would appear what Hammerheart said might be correct. A true friendship between him and them could probably never work.
Fluttershy got up and walked away, and Rarity saw her. "Fluttershy, where are you going?"
Fluttershy did not look at her. "To get some more air." She said, her voice emotionless. She flapped her wing and flew up to the top of a nearby bungalow and sat on the center of the roof. She looked up at the moon, tears in her eyes.
"Hammerheart, don't do this to yourself." She thought. "I don't care if you're an outcast. I don't care if you're always in danger. I don't even care that you're a Dragon. You're a good friend, and you risk your life to keep us safe. I've always thought Dragons were horrifying monsters, but you show that there's more to you than meets the eye."
Hammerheart and Ravelas sat on a tiny island in the lake under an old weeping willow. Hammerheart looked down with his eyes closed, and Ravelas touched his hand. Hammerheart opened his eyes and withdrew his hand.
"What's wrong?" said Ravelas.
Hammerheart wanted to give some kind of excuse, but nothing came. "It's nothin'."
As they sat together, Ravelas decided to try and lighten Hammerheart up. "Do you remember when we first met, six months ago?"
Hammerheart sighed deeply. "All too well."
Ravelas giggled. "I can't believe how fast you stole my heart."
Hammerheart pressed his hand against his face in realization. "Which explains why yer expectin'. I can't believe I fergot all about it."
Ravelas gave Hammerheart a peck to the cheek. "Now you see why I came looking for you? I want you to come back home, with me, so we can raise our chicks together as a family."
Hammerheart stood up and walked up to the edge of the island, facing away from Ravelas. "I can't go home wit ya." He said as serious as he could. "I have to complete a quest fer salvation, and there's a very high chance I won't live ta see the next day." Ravelas looked at him in sympathy. "Besides, I told you before, we can't be together. Until I can forever lose my clan's desire to kill me, I can never be with you."
Ravelas gasped and placed a hand on her chest. Tears began to form in her eyes. "Are you saying that... you don't love me?"
Hammerheart sighed. "I never said that. If the Dragons' Law drags me down, I don't want you ta fall with me, or anyone else. As long as I'm by meself, no harm will come to anyone."
Ravelas understood now. Hammerheart is just protecting her from himself, but it still saddened her that they could never be together. "So, you're forever a lone wolf, then?" She said, looking away.
"For now." said Hammerheart. "But..." Upon hearing "but", Ravelas looked back at him. "If I can find a way ta clear me name, and my clan ceases their hunt for me..." Ravelas could feel her aching heart beat with new found hope. "Then... maybe... we could be a family. That is, if I live to see that day."
Ravelas began to cry, but they were tears of joy, not sorrow. Hammerheart turned around to face her again. She got up off the ground and rushed up to Hammerheart to embrace him. Hammerheart stood still at first, but then wrapped his wings around her in the same hug. Ravelas began sobbing into Hammerheart's shoulder.
"Don't start leakin' tears on me now, Ravelas." He said. "Save 'em fer when it really matters the most."
Ravelas pulled back and sniffed, wiping her eyes. "No promises. Just get home in four months or less, alright?" She asked.
Hammerheart chuckled. "No promises." With that said, they came together again for a kiss goodbye. It was a strange moment to Hammerheart. Why was he saying stuff like what he just said? He just could not understand his own motives. But perhaps even he should not question his own decisions.
They broke from their kiss and pressed their foreheads together. "I guess I should leave now, and let you do what you must do." said Ravelas.
Hammerheart sighed. "That may be best." They fully broke from each others' embrace, and Ravelas stretched her wing and flew back the way she came.
As Hammerheart watched her fly away, he looked down and grew tense. He still was not sure if what he was doing was right, but he would have to face any consequences later. He laid on the ground, curled his tail around himself, and went to sleep.
It was morning, and the swamp was brimming with ugly noises, from croaking frogs to chirping crickets. A large salamander crawled on the ground, and gobbled up an earthworm. When it fully consumed its food, it twitched its head as it heard something. Suddenly, a tongue pierced through its body, wrapped around it, and pulled it into Hammerheart's maw. He swallowed it whole and licked his lips.
"Barely even a meal." Hammerheart grumbled.
"Hammerheart!" Fluttershy called. The Wyvern turned to see her flying to him. "Are you ready to go?"
Hammerheart sighed. "I was born ready." He said. They both headed back to the village, where the other five mares were waiting. When they arrived, they all stood up and smiled.
"Alright, where to first?" said Twilight. "We've got seven places to go to find the seven Dragon God powers, with the eighth being the hardest to find."
"We should try the ocean first!" said Pinkie. Everyone looked at her with raised brows.
"Why the ocean first?" Rainbow Dash asked.
Pinkie just shrugged. "Just a thought."
Though a random choice, everyone simply agreed on a course. "Alright, the ocean it is." said Hammerheart.
Twilight looked to the four brothers. "Can you tell us which direction the ocean might be?" She asked.
"Da ocean?" said Basha, "Well, if ya go to da west, you'll find it soon enough."
"But be careful over dere." Crasha warned.
"Terrifyin' beasts swim dem waterz." said Smasha.
"An dey gotz a real taste fer meat." said Thrasha.
Fluttershy was nearly stiff with anxiety, but Hammerheart tapped her on the shoulder with his hand, and she relaxed.
"Don't fret, lassie." said Hammerheart, "I'll take care of everythin'." Fluttershy managed to calm down. With Hammerheart and her friends with her, she would definitely feel protected. "Alright, pull up yer stockings and let's git goin'." said Hammerheart.
"Okay!" The mares said.
The brothers gave them all a thumbs up and waved goodbye. "Go git 'em!" said Basha.
"Happy trailz!" said Crasha.
"Don't git lost on yer way dere!" said Smasha.
"If ya see a large T-Rex on yer way, tell 'im we're comin' for 'im!" said Thrasha.
As the party waved goodbye back and walked away, Basha, Crasha, and Smasha looked at Thrasha with raised brows.
"What do ya mean by that?" said Smasha. But Thrasha just shrugged.
Hammerheart and the group traversed through the forest that surrounded the swamplands of the Saurasks. Heading westward should lead them to the ocean, and the first of eight Dragon God powers. The birds sung their songs as they flew above them, more prehistoric mammals scurried about the forest floor as they fled from Hammerheart, and the warm atmosphere was at a surprisingly and perfectly comfortable temperature.
"Hey Twilight, you have any idea as to what these things that are running around are?" Rainbow Dash asked.
Twilight examined the bouncing shrew-like animals that were moving about. "Hmm. I believe they're called leptictidium." She said.
Everyone cocked an eye to the librarian. "A leppa-what now?" said Hammerheart.
Twilight cleared her throat as she began to explain. "Leptictidium, also known as the 'graceful weasel', are an extinct genus of mammals that are completely bipedal, along with today's animals like kangaroos and primates."
Everyone was silent upon hearing her explanation. Rainbow Dash and Pinkie barely understood half the words that came out of Twilight's mouth. Hammerheart simply shrugged, and they all continued their trek.
"What, no questions?" said Twilight.
"I think we're all passin' that up." said Applejack.
Suddenly, Hammerheart stopped dead in his tracks, and the mares stopped as well. "What's wrong, Hammerheart?" Fluttershy asked.
Hammerheart sniffed the air, and picked up an uncomfortable smell. "I smell blood." He said solemnly.
The mares gasped, and Hammerheart took off into the direction he caught the scent. The girls followed after him. Hammerheart ran past tree after tree, before finally finding where the scent was coming from. He hid behind a large bush, and the others caught up with.
"What going on, Hammerheart?" Twilight asked.
"SHH!" He hissed before lowering his voice to a whisper, "Keep behind cover and can yer pie holes." The girls zipped their lips and duck behind the bush. Looking past the bush, they saw a rather nasty event unfold before them.
A pack of feathered dinosaurs were surrounding and attacking a larger dinosaur. They had a six inch long claw on their inner toes, and screeched to each other. They dinosaur they were attacking was bigger than them, but already wounded from claw marks and bites. It had a bill and made a grunt that sounded like a horn of a sort.
"Twilight, what are those things?" Rainbow Dash asked.
Twilight examined them. "I think it's a pack of Deinonychus, and they're trying to bring down what looks like a Hadrosaurus." She said.
Fluttershy gasped. "We've gotta help it!" She said as she tried to fly in to rescue the wounded Hadrosaurus, but Hammerheart grabbed her tail with his mouth and pulled her down.
"We can't do anything, now." said Twilight. "Plus, it's a bad idea. If they see us, they'll try to kill and eat us, too."
They could do nothing but wait until the Deinonychus pack finished their kill and left. Soon, the Hadrosaurus fell to the ground, dying from all the deep wounds inflicted, until it finally ceased moving. The pack moved in to feast on their fresh kill.
As Hammerheart watched them devour the dead Hadrosaurus, he could not help but feel hungry himself. He licked his lips, and drool dripped from his maw onto Rarity's head.
"BLECH!" She cried in disgust before looking up at the Wyvern responsible with a scowl. "Hammerheart, how rude!" She whispered.
Hammerheart shook his head and snapped out of his hunger trance. He looked down at Rarity. "What? What now?"
"Could you not drool on my mane, please?" said Rarity. "It took me hours to clean it this morning."
"With what?" said Applejack, "Ya ain't got no brush on ya."
"Why, the Saurask ladies back at the village gave me an oriental comb made of clean stone."
"Wait, why would something that doesn't have hair have a comb?" Rainbow Dash pointed out, but the sound of something hissing chilled their spines and prevented any answers. Hammerheart looked up, and the mares looked back to see the Deinonychus pack had overheard their little conversation, and were ready to hunt more prey.
Hammerheart caught a familiar scent of salt, and he looked towards the direction if was coming from. "Quick, follow me!" He called. He took off, and the others followed after him, with the Deinonychus pack in pursuit.
They fled through the forest with all the speed they could muster. Though Hammerheart could fly, near ground level and low branches did not offer enough space, which also prevented takeoff. They ran for their lives from the screeching and growling Dino-Pack.
"Hammerheart, where are we going?!" said Twilight.
Hammerheart grunted as he ran past the trees. "We're gettin' pretty close to the ocean! I can smell the salty waters!" Trusting in Hammerheart's sense of direction, the mares stayed close behind and picked up the pace.
But the Deinonychus were catching up, as they maneuvered through the forest with less trouble than their prey. They jumped over and slipped through any obstacles that obscured the way.
Soon, Hammerheart and the gang made it to a beach, and the shore. The ocean itself seemed endless. The water close to the shore was calm from the lack of strong winds, and the farther waters were practically still.
"The ocean! We made it!" said Twilight. Roaring from the forest told them they were not in the clear yet.
Hammerheart turned and faced the trees. "You lot, go! Hide!" The mares looked at him in disbelief. "I'll take care of these feather-brained roadrunners!"
"But Hammerheart, they'll have you outnumbered!" Fluttershy said, trying to save him from getting severely wounded again.
He looked at her with seemingly aggressive intent. "Go. Now." He growled. "Unless you want those things ta tear you a new one, ya'll do as I say, and hide."
Fluttershy backed away from Hammerheart, fearing the look in his eyes, and she and the others quickly hid behind a boulder in the sand.
Hammerheart stood his ground, waiting for his opponents to come to him. The pack leapt from the forest and roared at him. There were a dozen of them. Hammerheart was very outnumbered. He scrutinized the pack as he remembered Zaurus' advice.
"Find me enemy's weakness, and strike it." He thought. He looked at every single Deinonychus. They were stomping their feet and bobbing their bodies in an attempt to intimidate him. Hammerheart soon noticed one of the raptors barking at all the rest. It must be the pack leader. Hammerheart lunged at the barking Deinonychus, grabbed it with his jaws, and began to violently shake it from side to side while growling. The surrounding raptors leapt onto Hammerheart's back and began their attack, but had some difficulty trying to pierce his tough hide with their claws.
When the leader was weakened, Hammerheart placed it on the ground, but kept holding it. He then pinned it with his foot, tore a chunk of flesh from its body, and swallowed it whole. He was hungry, and he actually enjoyed the taste. He flapped his wings and got airborne, getting most of the other raptors off his back, and then landed near the water's edge.
"With their leader dead, they should be running away like wee little canaries." He thought. The Deinonychus sniffed their dead pack member's body, and then returned their focus to Hammerheart, cawing and barking with the need to kill.
Hammerheart cocked his head back in shock. "What?! But I killed their pack leader, didn't I? They don't have anyone else ta keep 'em together." He scrutinized them again. "They're must be something else that holds 'em together. Gaian Wyrms flee when their leader is killed, but these beasts' weakness has to be somethin' else. When I find it, I'll break their backs with it!"
The Dino-pack went in to attack, and Hammerheart greeted them with teeth and claws. He would try and set them ablaze with his fire breath, but they were swift. The Deinonychus leapt onto Hammerheart's body again, and began to bite and claw at his hide, leaving sizable cuts.
The mares watched in horror from afar as Hammerheart was being overwhelmed by the voracious dinosaurs. "Come on, Twilight!" Fluttershy begged. "There has to be something we can do."
"Why don't we just join in and give those overgrown turkeys a good buckin'?" Applejack suggested.
"Yeah! I wanna kick some dino tail, too!" Rainbow Dash said, kicking her front legs in front of herself.
"There's nothing we can do." said Twilight. "Those dinosaurs are extremely dangerous. If we get mixed up in that fight, we'll be killed in seconds."
Rarity raised an eyebrow in bafflement. "I cannot fathom as to why Hammerheart drooled on me like that..."
"Rarity, is now the time to be asking questions that don't matter right now?" said Rainbow Dash.
Hammerheart reached back with his head and caught a Deinonychus in his jaws, delivered a crushing bite, and threw it away. But there were still more raptors piling on him. Hammerheart spun in a circle as fast as he could, until he tripped on his own steps and fell to the ground, making the raptors fall off of him. He got back up on his feet, and the raptors stood up and began trying to intimidate him again by bobbing their bodies and cawing.
Hammerheart was getting angry. These beasts, like many others before, had the nerve to try and make prey out of him. The fact that they challenged him rather than be fearful got on his nerves. He felt his anger slowly turn into something much darker. He could feel his need to kill grow, and his hunger for their flesh intensify. He began to approach the pack and growl deeply. The Deinonychus still bobbed their bodies and cawed, but they stepped back with every step the Wyvern made. Hammerheart's bulbar conjunctivas began to turn from yellow to black.
Fluttershy noticed Hammerheart's unusual behavior. "Something's not right." She said.
The others looked to her. "What do you mean?" Pinkie asked.
"Hammerheart almost seems... different." said Fluttershy.
"Different how?" Twilight asked.
Fluttershy rapidly blinked and shook her head. "I'm not sure, but I've got a bad feeling."
Hammerheart readied himself to pounce and unleash himself upon the pack. The Deinonychus continued bobbing and cawing. Hammerheart's mouth curled into a sinister grin, but then something snapped in his mind, and he found himself calming down. His black eyes returned to their yellow color, and he no longer felt the need to viciously tear the raptors apart. "What... what was that?" He thought. "I just... felt the need to... slaughter everythin' that I saw." He then began coughing. Smoke came out every time he coughed. A cloud of smoke got in one of the Deinonychus's face, and it shook its head and grunted. Hammerheart caught that.
"So, these cock-a-doodle doohickeys gag at the taste of smoke, eh?" He thought. "Well then, time ta stop, drop, and roll yer way back ta yer mums' nests!" Hammerheart took in a deep breath, and exhaled a massive smokescreen that enveloped the Dino-pack. The Deinonychus cawed and growled and grunted from the smoke that threatened to choke them. They all then turned tail and fled into the forest to escape the Wyvern's breath. Hammerheart then flapped his wings and blew all of his smoke into the forest to make sure they were far gone.
The mares came out of hiding and rushed up to Hammerheart, who rolled and crackled his neck and shoulders from another battle fought and won.
"Are you alright?" Fluttershy asked.
Hammerheart sighed. "It's nothin'. I'll be fine once we're on the move."
Twilight noticed the wounds inflicted on his back and neck. "Those look really bad."
"Yeah, even worse than those timber wolf bites you had." said Rainbow Dash.
Hammerheart looked at the gashes on his back. They were rather deep. Why were those raptors able to cut his tough skin that easily? Now that he thought about it, why were those timber wolves also able to bite through his hide without trouble? Hammerheart gave a grumbling sigh.
"Here, I'll take care of those injuries." said Twilight. She closed her eyes and her horn started to glow. Her magical aura enveloped Hammerheart's body, and the cuts began to seal shut. Hammerheart raised an eye as he remembered Twilight could also heal injuries, just as well as Zaurus can. When Twilight stopped, Hammerheart's body was clean of any injuries.
"Thanks, I guess." He said.
Twilight smiled. "You're welcome." They all looked to the ocean. "So, what do we do?"
"I'm guessin' the power of Thalassia is swimmin' in those waters somewhere." said Hammerheart. "We can't search by air."
"So, what are you suggesting?" Fluttershy asked.
Hammerheart scratched his head. "As much as I don't like the idea meself, we're probably gonna have to git our feet wet."
"In other words, we're going swimming!" Pinkie cheered, bouncing with excitement.
Fluttershy's eyes widened worriedly. "But those four brothers said that there are so many monsters swimming in the ocean."
Hammerheart stepped closer to the water until they washed up to his feet. "It'll take more than a bunch of bubble-blowin' cat-baits ta keep me outta the water."
"So whadda we do?" said Applejack. "We can't swim, or breathe underwater."
Hammerheart rolled his eyes. "Ain't you the master of the obvious."
Twilight put her hoof to her chin. "I think I have an idea. Everypony, get on Hammerheart's back." Hammerheart cocked his head and looked at Twilight. "I can create an air barrier that will keep me and my friends from drowning, but I'm afraid it's only big enough for the six of us when we're huddled together. You're gonna have to hold your breath."
Hammerheart sighed through his nostrils. "I see. Right then, hop on lassies." He set his wing on the ground, and the others embarked onto his back. As Hammerheart stepped deeper into the water, Fluttershy tapped his back to get his attention, and he looked back at her.
"Hammerheart, you can swim, right?" She asked.
Hammerheart looked back towards the sea. "I can, though it's a wee bit difficult."
Before Hammerheart was fully submerged, Twilight began to cast the spell, and the barrier formed all around her and the other mares, sealing in their only oxygen, and keeping the water from drowning them. Hammerheart was soon underwater, and flapped his wings like he was flying, except with every flap he pushed himself through the water at a decent speed.
The search for the power of the Duwiau Ddraig had begun.
Upon submersion, Hammerheart and the gang met the first of many sea creatures that inhabited the ocean. They were like dolphins in how they swam about and played with each other. Sixteen feet long with brown and grey skin. The only thing about them that was different was their heads. They were rather oddly shaped compared to today's porpoises. They approached and swam around Hammerheart. The mares gazed in awe at the majestic and prehistoric animals.
"What are they?" Fluttershy asked.
"Dolphins, silly." said Pinkie.
Twilight giggled. "No, Pinkie, though these creatures are of the same family. I believe they're called Dorudon."
Rainbow Dash looked at Twilight. "Heh, you sure know a lot about these dinosaurs and whatnot, Twilight."
Twilight gave a smug look to the Pegasus. "Maybe you should spend more time in the library if you wanna know more about them."
Rainbow Dash resumed her sightseeing. "Maybe I'll think about it."
A Dorudon swam up to Hammerheart's wing and gave it a little nip. Hammerheart winced and folded his wing in. "Why does everythin' always need ta take a bite outta me hide?" He thought. Getting himself back on track, Hammerheart turned towards open water, flapped his wings, and swam like he was flying. His method of swimming was rather slow, but at least he was moving.
"So, what do you suppose the monster that holds the first of eight powers looks like?" Rarity asked.
"I don't know." said Applejack. "Frankly, I ain't sure if I wanna know."
"You have a point there, AJ." said Twilight. "Zaurus said that the powers of the Dragon Gods are being held by predatory animals that apparently would try to eat us. I hope we can find it and make it out alive."
As they swam through the water, Hammerheart felt his chest getting tighter from holding his breath for long enough. He swam to the surface and took in a fresh breath of air.
"Whatever this monster is, I'll give it a taste of me hammer and flames." He said
"But you can't breathe fire underwater, silly." said Pinkie. Hammerheart cocked an eye to the Earth Pony, who raised an eyebrow in confusion. "What? It's true." Hammerheart sighed, took in another breath, and dove under.
"If anythin', this beast had better be somethin' of a good fight." Hammerheart thought. "Even though we're tryin' ta save the world from burnin', a challenge is worth the spare time."
The water became less visible all around. Hammerheart could only see five feet in front of him. Even the mares in Twilight's air barrier could barely see a puny distance. The rays of sunlight piercing through the water like blades were visible from a medium distance, but more solid things like fish could not be spotted until they came in real close.
"How are we supposed to find a sea monster if we can't see anything coming from far away?" Rainbow Dash complained.
"I'm not sure, but we're gonna have to be careful around here." said Twilight.
Hammerheart bubbled out his nostrils. "If we're lucky, er unlucky, the beast might come to us."
Then, a groan echoed all around in the water. Hammerheart squeezed his eyes shut from the noise. His sensitive hearing, plus the water's amplifying properties, made the sound loud. The mares had heard the sound as well, and it was spooky to them all.
"Wh-what was that?" said Fluttershy.
"I'm not sure." said Rarity.
Despite the painful groaning that pierced his ears, Hammerheart continued swimming onward. The groaning would stop for a few seconds, and then return to hurt and haunt them. The visibility slowly became clearer, and Hammerheart spotted rocks far ahead that went to the surface. He could feel his chest tighten again from not breathing. Before he could begin swimming to the surface, the groan came again loudly. Louder than before. Then, something bit on Hammerheart's tail. Hammerheart let out a roar of pain that was muffled by the water, and the last of his air bubbled out of his maw. He flapped his wings frantically to reach the surface, but the assailant was holding him in place.
"Hammerheart, what's wrong?!" said Fluttershy. Hammerheart looked back to see what had gotten a hold of him, and his eyes popped wide with shock. The mares turned to see what he was looking at, and they gasped in terror.
It was a prehistoric whale, much bigger than a Dorudon, and much more dangerous from the looks of it. It was sixty-five feet in length with blue skin and black spots on its back. It shook its head from side to side with Hammerheart's tail in its grip. The water near the monster's head began to turn red as it drew blood from where it bit.
Twilight knew what this creature was. "I-i-it's a Basilosaurus!" She said. "A meat-eating whale!" She turned and looked to Hammerheart. "Is this one of the monsters we're looking for?!"
Hammerheart's oxygen gauge was virtually running on empty, but he kept struggling to break free and surface for air. "I ain't sure, lassie, but if it is, I'm gonna beat him so hard, he'll have a twitch!" Hammerheart's tenacity was at its max as he continued to flap his wings with all of his draining might. Then, an ominous sensation sparked his nerves, and he ceased. "Wait. What's this I'm feelin'? It feels almost draconic. Could it be the power of Thalassia comin' to me?"
Hammerheart then felt the whale's teeth slide off his tail with sudden force, and hear the mares scream in terror. He looked back to see that the Basilosaurus had been attacked from below by a giant, seventy foot long shark. The Basilosaurus groaned in agony as the shark began chewing on its flesh. Needing to take another breath, Hammerheart quickly flapped towards the surface. He bursted from the water, took in a deep breath of fresh air, and flew towards the small, rocky island before them. When he landed, Twilight cancelled her barrier, and they all disembarked onto the ground.
"Hammerheart, are you alright?" Fluttershy asked.
Hammerheart gave an annoyed sighed. "I'm fine." He looked at his tail. The spot where the Basilosaurus bit him was slightly torn after the giant shark pulled it off. "What in the Duwiau Ddraigs' name was that thing?" said Hammerheart as he looked at the ocean, which was reddening from where the shark was feasting on the Basilosaurus.
Twilight gave a nervous gulp. "That was... Megalodon." She said, "Biggest shark ever to swim the seas."
"I don't think I'll ever swim again after that." said Rainbow Dash.
"You an I both, sister." said Applejack.
Fluttershy approached Hammerheart while staring at the bloody water. "Hammerheart, we need to fly out of here, pronto."
"I'm goin' back in." said Hammerheart.
Fluttershy's eyes popped wide and she looked at the Wyvern. "What?"
Hammerheart could barely see the Megalodon swimming in a circle and eating the Basilosaurus. "That shark's emittin' a draconic essence, and it's most likely the power of Thalassia, so I'm goin' in and turnin' that bloody over-sized fish into mince meat." Hammerheart started walking to the water, but felt something pull on his tail. He looked back to see his tail glowing purple, and Twilight's horn glowing the same color.
"Okay, I know you can be reckless," She said calmly before raising her voice, "BUT SWIMMING WITH A MEGALODON IS STUPID, EVEN FOR YOU!"
Hammerheart waved a dismissive wing. "Don't lecture me now, lassie. This has ta be done." He neared the water's edge, but felt someone tug on his wing finger. He looked to see Fluttershy looking at him.
"Be careful." She said softly.
Hammerheart sighed through his nostrils. "Don't worry." And he jumped into the sea.
If visibility underwater was not unclear enough, the obscuring blood made things more difficult. Hammerheart struggled to keep his eyes open despite the blood getting in them. He found the whale carcass, which was already half devoured, but there was no sign of the Megalodon. It definitely was not completely gone, Hammerheart could still sense the draconic presence the monster was emitting. He could sense it swimming around somewhere deep. Then suddenly, a fierce current shot through the water and collided with Hammerheart, sending him tumbling. When he regained his balance, the Megalodon reappeared from out of the blue with jaws opened wide. Hammerheart arched forward and dived deeper to avoid getting caught. The Megalodon swam over and missed by mere feet.
Hammerheart turned to face the shark, which swam down deeper. "I need ta figure out how ta make this thing croak without gettin' caught, or drownin'." He thought. "What could its weakness be?"
The Megalodon returned and reattempted its previous attack. Hammerheart flapped his wings and tried to swim to the surface, but was not fast enough to avoid being rammed in the stomach by the shark's snout. The blow knocked the wind out of him. Hammerheart crawled onto the shark's back, and shot for the surface to refresh his held breath.
The mares heard Hammerheart's splashing and inhalation. "Hammerheart, what's going on?!" Fluttershy called.
"Everythin'!" Hammerheart shouted back before diving under again.
The Megalodon was out of sight again. Hammerheart slowly spun in a circle as he scanned his surroundings. The shark was still nearby. The water began to push Hammerheart like before, but Hammerheart swam against the unnatural current that threatened to throw him into the deep. The Megalodon came out of the blue from below and tried to swallow Hammerheart whole again. Hammerheart quickly regained his balance, and flipped forward and slammed his hammer into the shark's nose. The Megalodon stopped and shook its head from the nasty blow.
Believing to have an opening, Hammerheart swam in and bit on the shark's dorsal fin. He shook his head and tore off a bite of shark meat from the fin. With a quick swish of its tail, the Megalodon swam off towards the murk. Hammerheart had a pretty good taste of the beast's flesh, and it was a lot better than regular fish meat. He still does not know what the Megalodon's weakness is.
The Megalodon returned and faced off Hammerheart. It opened its massive jaws wide, and Hammerheart could see something shining deep inside of its body. Then he felt another current pushing him away. The force of water was coming from the shark's maw. Hammerheart was sent tumbling underwater, and flying out of the water. He flapped his wing and was airborne. The Megalodon sliced the surface with its wounded dorsal fin and swam around in big circles as it waited for its prey to return to the ocean. Hammerheart flew towards the rocks and landed to recuperate, and the mares came to his side.
"What happened?" Twilight asked.
"You didn't get hurt, did you?" Fluttershy asked.
Hammerheart raised a brow to her. "Do I look like I'm dyin', lass?"
"Quit smart mouthing and tell us. What's going on?" said Rainbow Dash.
Hammerheart panted from such a battle. "That giant trout keeps blowin' water at me and makin' me roll around like a naked porcupine. I already took a bite out of its hide, but it's not enough." He looked to Twilight. "You're the smart one. What's that thing's weakness?"
Twilight blinked, looked to the sea, then back at Hammerheart. "Well, it's a shark. They have super sensitive senses like you. Have you tried, like, hitting it in the nose or something?"
Hammerheart scratched his chin. Now that he thought about it, the Megalodon did not seem to like taking a hammerhead to its snout. If it had super sensitive senses, then it has its weaknesses.
"I should mention more." said Twilight, "Most sharks have to keep swimming or else they'll drown, but I'm not sure if that'll help."
Hammerheart stood back up. "I've heard more than enough." And dove back into the water.
The blood had finally dissipated, making for a less obscured view of the water. Hammerheart could still sense the Megalodon's draconic presence. He went into deep thought on how to defeat this monster.
"This beast seems to have an unending taste fer blood." He thought. "Now I think I've got an idea." The wound on his tail from the Basilosaurus had scabbed over, but it was his ticket to winning this battle. He bit on the scab and reopened the wound. His blood leaked into the water, and would no doubt draw the shark to him. There was a sudden change in the water, and Hammerheart felt it. The Megalodon had picked up on the scent of his blood, and was coming in to kill. The shark was coming from below with jaws opened wide. Hammerheart flipped forward and landed a direct hit on its snout just as it got in close. The Megalodon turned and swam away to recover from the devastating blow, but Hammerheart was not done yet. He grabbed hold of its back and held on as it swam. He crawled up to its head, and held on to the tip of its nose. He then brandished his hammer and slammed on one of its eyes. The Megalodon shook its head violently from the inflicted hit, but Hammerheart dug his claws deep in its hide. He then slammed his hammer into its other eye, and the shark's head shaking grew in force.
Hammerheart grinned. "Oh, I've got ya on the ropes now, ya fell, wet-washin' bass!" The Megalodon then threw its head down, and Hammerheart flipped over its nose in front of its mouth. The shark then tried to bite Hammerheart, making loud, bone-crunching chomps with every bite, but could not grab hold of him. Hammerheart thrusted himself up and tried to swim to the surface to catch a breath, but the Megalodon was hot on his tail. With its mouth opened wide, the Megalodon swallowed Hammerheart whole just as he breached the surface. The mares cried in terror as their friend was devoured by the shark.
"HAMMERHEART!!!" Fluttershy cried before dropping to her flanks and crying in her hooves. The Megalodon crashed back into the sea with the Wyvern in its stomach.
Darkness was all around. It was a void that reeked of vomit and meat. The nauseating smell greatly irritated Hammerheart's nose, and his eyes shot open as he awoke. He could barely see his own snout in front of himself.
"I need a light." He said. He opened his mouth and held a burning flame within it. The light of his fire illuminated the area he was in. It was a place with fleshy walls. He stood in a liquid that burned against his hide. That was when realization came to him. He was inside the Megalodon's stomach, yet he was still alive. Though he probably would not last much longer while inside the shark's stomach.
"Dang it! If I don't git outta here, I'll be melted into mush and passed out as dung!" He growled.
Something was not making sense. Hammerheart was in a stomach that should be filled with water, yet there is an air pocket within. How was it possible? A blue light began to shine, and Hammerheart looked up towards the direction it was coming from. It was the same light he saw before, and it was close by. Hammerheart flew up towards the light to investigate.
It was some kind of aura that dripped water. It was the power of the Water Dragon Goddess, no doubt. Hammerheart tried to seize it, but a barrier forced him down to the bottom. It was not going to be obtained easily.
The fumes of the stomach acid was suffocating. Even Hammerheart's lungs were hurt by the deadly gas. "This is bad!" He started coughing. The fire held in his mouth fell out and exploded from mixing with the gas. Hammerheart had an idea, and he would have to hurry before the fumes asphyxiated him.
He flew up to the aura to try and take it, but the barrier rejected him again, and threw him to the floor. Hammerheart's skin was beginning to slowly melt from exposure to the acidic environment of the stomach. He flapped his wing, and rammed into the barrier head first. It was like hitting his head on a rock. The barrier pushed him back down to the floor. Hammerheart was not going to give up yet.
"Bloody brilliant! That thing's as tough as claws!" Hammerheart growled. He looked to his hammer. "Me tail's all I got left. If it fails me, I'm as good as fodder fer this leviathan." He swung his tail and decided to try and shatter the barrier with his hammer. He flew up, flipped forward, and slammed his hammer into the barrier. Both forces surged with power as they struggled. Hammerheart pushed on the barrier with all the might he could muster. The barrier still held back the Wyvern's strength. "I'm not gonna give up and drop dead in this pit of meaty puke!" Hammerheart thought. His determination was increasing his power as his adrenaline kicked in. The barrier began to crack, and it soon shattered. The hammer also hit the aura, and it was absorbed into Hammerheart's body.
Hammerheart's body grew weak, and he fell back down to the floor. "Finally, I got what I needed." Water began to slowly fill the stomach, and the acid was rising higher. Apparently that aura was what made the air pocket. "Time ta bust outta here!"
Everyone sat on the rocky island and silently mourned for the loss of their friend. Some were in tears while others tried to hold theirs back.
"What do we do now?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"I don't know." said Twilight, "But with Hammerheart dead, the whole world is doomed."
"No! We can't give up!" Fluttershy cried. "Hammerheart can't be dead! He just can't!" Her lips quivered, and she dropped to her knees crying. Twilight and Rarity came to her side to comfort her, even though they, too, were in tears.
A spot in the ocean near the island began to bubble, and the mares looked towards it. The Megalodon's body broke the surface, but it was lying belly-up in the water.
"That's the Megalodon that ate him." said Twilight. "Why is it floating dead like that?"
The dead shark's belly began to glow, and exploded. The mares shielded their eyes from the explosion, and looked back to see both the remains of the shark scattered in the water, and Hammerheart in the sky, unconscious, and falling back into the sea.
Fluttershy jumped up and flew over the water. "That was Hammerheart! Was he still alive?"
"Fluttershy, what was that?!" Twilight called.
"That was Hammerheart!" Fluttershy replied, "He must still be alive!"
Meanwhile, underwater, Hammerheart sunk like a rock down deeper, unconscious and breathing.
"Wait. I still draw breath?" Hammerheart thought as he came to. He flailed until he was right side up and looked at himself. His skin had suffered from bad injuries while he was inside the Megalodon's stomach, but they were not severe. Then suddenly, the wounds began to miraculously heal by themselves. Hammerheart could barely believe his eyes. But his only question was why he was breathing underwater?
"You have done well to defeat me, young Wyvern." said a deep, echoing voice. Hammerheart swiftly spun around to see the Megalodon still in one piece and facing him, despite the fact that he had destroyed it from the inside-out. He swam back and took on a battle stance, though he had nothing to stand on.
"What the bloody frak is this?! I thought I blew ya up like a coal mine!" Hammerheart yelled, his voice not being warped by the water.
The Megalodon chuckled. "Fear not, Hammerheart. I am Shargresh, Keeper of the Power of Thalassia." the Megalodon said, though his mouth did not move as he spoke. "You have succeeded in obtaining the first of eight Duwiau Ddraig powers, but there are seven left. You have been gifted with the ability to manipulate water, as well as breathe it."
It made sense. Hammerheart recalled making contact with the aura, which was absorbed into his body. It had gifted him with Thalassia's control of water.
"So, are ya gonna try an' take it back from me?" Hammerheart grinned.
Shargresh chuckled. "No, the power has chosen you as its master. I was merely here to test your worth, and you prevailed. It was an honor to do battle with you. But be wary of the remaining seven beasts who also guard the powers of the Duwiau Ddraig, for each one will be more challenging than the last. They will push you to your limits, and take your life should you fail. I wish thee the best of luck."
With that, Hammerheart felt himself being pulled through and out of the water, and back onto dry land.
"Hammerheart!" The girls said in unison as they rushed up to him.
Hammerheart stood up and looked at his hands. He felt much different from before, much stronger, much more powerful. He could not wait to get his claws on the remaining powers that awaited him.
"Hammerheart, what happened?" Fluttershy asked.
Pinkie sniffed the Wyvern. "Phew! You smell worse than a bucket full of rotten apples. No offense." She smiled. Hammerheart lifted his talon, and lightly bonked Pinkie upside the head.
"Keep yer thoughts to yerself if it ain't worth blabberin' about." Hammerheart said sternly. They all heard splashing, and they looked up at the ocean to see the Megalodon swim away.
"Hold on. Didn't ya blow that thang ta smithereens?" Applejack asked.
Hammerheart chuckled. "Aye, but it looks like he's done with us." He lowered a wing. "We better git back to the mainland." The mares nodded. Twilight, Rarity, and Fluttershy embarked onto his back. When they were on tight, Hammerheart flapped his wings, got airborne, and grabbed Applejack and Pinkie. He flew towards the mainland with Rainbow Dash flying by his side.
They were miles away from the mainland after the fight with the Megalodon, but Hammerheart and the gang returned by air in a matter of minutes. The power of Thalassia was in Hammerheart's possession, but seven more powers still remained uncollected. Naturally, the monsters that protected each of these ancient powers would challenge Hammerheart to prove his worth, but he would take the challenge head on without a second thought.
Hammerheart released his grip on Applejack and Pinkie, touched down, and lowered his wing to let the others off. Twilight, Rarity, and Fluttershy disembarked his back and onto the sand.
"Alright, we did it!" Twilight said, cheerily. "We've obtained the first of eight powers, now only seven are left."
"Yeah, but where do ya reckon they'd be?" Applejack asked.
"I know one thing." Hammerheart said as he sat down to recuperate, "The powers give off a draconic essence that I can feel, so I'll know when I'm close."
"So, how do you sense that Dragony stuff?" Pinkie asked.
Hammerheart sighed. "It's a natural ability that Dragons are born with, though it usually doesn't come til around their teenage years. Basically, it's like somethin's scratchin' the back of yer neck." Hammerheart then literally felt something scratching the back of his neck, and he looked behind himself to see Pinkie sitting on his upper back scratching her hooftips on his neck. He leered at her.
"What?" She said, "I'm just joking around."
Hammerheart sighed and stood back up, making Pinkie jump off onto the ground. He twisted his shoulders, making them crackle from tension, and was ready to continue the search.
"So, where to next?" said Twilight. Hammerheart stroked his chin as he thought about their next course, then started slowly loping to the jungle, with the six mares following close behind.
"What're ya thinkin' of, big guy?" Applejack asked.
"Where ta go next." Hammerheart replied.
Applejack furrowed her brows from the vague answer. "I know that. I meant where do we all go to, now?"
"And I'm still thinkin'!" Hammerheart growled.
As they walked through the jungle, Fluttershy could not help but let her gaze wander about the scenery. The prehistoric forest they were in rivaled the Everfree in its sheer beauty, mystery, and danger. Carnivorous Dinosaurs were definitely more terrifying than almost every other beast that inhabited the forest back home, but aside from that, the trees and plants that were nowhere to be found on Earth were here, flourishing with their natural fragrance. Even the more harmless animals of ancient times wandered about the forest floor and warm air, traveling in groups, watching out for each other, caring for each other, helping one another out with any problem from injury to old age.
Fluttershy stopped in place and examined her surroundings more closely. Now that she was doing this, she kind of felt bad for misjudging even the Everfree, even though both that forest and the jungle she was in were inhabited by beasts of unspeakable danger, she was judging the book by its cover, without even bothering to read the first page. She never even bothered to think about their beauty in nature and design.
"Fluttershy, ya stuck back there, or what?!" Rainbow's voice called from a distance. Fluttershy snapped out of her light stupor and looked ahead to see her friends had gotten way ahead of her, and quickly galloped to catch up to them.
"What's going on, Fluttershy?" Twilight asked.
Fluttershy let out a blissful sigh. "Nothing much." Everyone raised their brows in confusion. Never before have any of them seen Fluttershy look so calm in the situation they were all in. Their was something up with her, what it was, they did not know.
Their trek led them deeper into unfamiliar territory. Then again, it was all unfamiliar. Everything looked so similar. They could not find any carved paths or land marks they could use as reference points to where they were. It was just the same thing no matter where they went, save for a set of large footprints here, or a few brightly colored plants there.
"Any idea where we are?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"Not the slightest clue." said Rarity, just before stopping to look about herself.
The mares were getting nervous. They knew very well what lived in these jungles, and they were less than friendly, so they all huddled near Hammerheart for protection. The Wyvern's veins under the skin of his head swelled as he was getting annoyed by the feeling of someone rubbing against his legs.
"Would you lot stop tryin' ta hug me legs like they're yer mums?!" He snapped.
The mares slightly stepped away to avoid physical contact, but were still mere inches away.
"Sorry, Hammerheart, we're just a little nervous, that's all." said Twilight.
Hammerheart gave a growling sigh, and picked up the pace with his walking. He was beginning to get ahead of his cohorts, but then stopped to sniff the air.
Fluttershy noticed him smelling the air. "What is it, Hammerheart?" she asked.
Hammerheart looked to his left, then drew his head back towards the ponies. "Step back, all o' ya." He snarled. The mares did as he said, and were more scared than before. If he told them to step back, they instantly knew trouble was close by.
The sound of something shuffling through the bushes caught Hammerheart's ears, as well as panting. A screeching roar made him look to his right, and he was tackled by a giant reptile covered in spikes from neck to tail. They bit into each other's hides, rolling over each other on the ground violently in a ball of scales, flailing limbs, and small gouts of blood. The mares screamed and began backing away from the fight, fearing for their lives as well as the life of their large, scaled friend. In his struggle, Hammerheart tore a small bush out of the ground, roots and all, as he fought the creature. They traded bites and slashes, leaving nasty gashes on each other, but the spiked reptile received the most damage. The attacker was aware that this was a losing fight, and began to flee, but Hammerheart bit down on its tail and pulled the wounded creature towards himself. He then pinned it to the ground, bit onto its side, and violently shook his head side to side, growling with pure ferocity.
Hammerheart released his grip on the dead reptile, and gagged from the rather foul taste it left in his mouth. The roof of his mouth and his tongue bled from biting the spiked reptile, but they were not severe.
"Hammerheart, are you alright?!" Twilight asked as she and four of the others approached him.
Hammerheart squeezed his tongue past his fangs as he cleaned it, and then looked at the others. "I'm fine. Stop gettin' all hyped up on me and me fightin'." He said. Twilight began to conjure the healing spell she had used on him before, and the terrible wounds on his body faded away. Hammerheart looked over them and noticed Fluttershy standing perfectly still, wide eyed with the look of sheer horror plastered on her face.
Fluttershy could not believe what she had just saw. For the second time in her life, she just bore witness to a Dragon brutally killing another creature. Her heart raced at a painful rate, causing her to get a little light headed and fall on her flanks. Dracophobia was coming back to bite her, again.
When Twilight finished healing Hammerheart's injuries, she and the others noticed him looking over them, and they looked back as well to see Fluttershy in her predicament. They all walked up to her. "Fluttershy, what's wrong?" said Twilight.
The ground began to shake, and they could hear heavy footsteps approach. "What's that?" said Applejack. A familiar growl came to their ears, and a Tyrannosaurus burst from the trees before them.
"Uh oh, not good!" said Rainbow Dash. Three more Tyrannosaurs burst from the trees, and surrounded Hammerheart and the mares. The girls were paralyzed with fear, but Hammerheart was ready to take them all on.
Then, suddenly, a nasally horn echoed in the air, and the Tyrannosaurs looked up at a tall tree. The Wyvern also looked towards the direction the sound came from, and his companions followed his gaze. On a branch stood a Saurask wearing a loincloth, a bone sword sheathed on his back, and blowing on a crudely made horn with his nostrils. He then dropped the horn, grabbed a vine, and swung towards the pack blabbering madly and swinging his sword in the air at nothing like a madman.
"YEABLBLBLBLBLBL-"
Much to the wily creature's misfortune, the vine snapped, and he fell screaming head first into the maw of one of the Tyrannosaurs which promptly swallowed him whole. With that distraction dealt with, the lumbering beasts turned their attention back to Hammerheart and the others.
"Well, so much for that chance of being saved." said Twilight.
The Tyrannosaurus that ate the Saurask began to choke, and the other Tyrannosaurs looked at him. Its jaws were forced open, and the Saurask shot out of its mouth onto the ground. He had a bundle of flowers wrapped in a large leave. He plucked the heads off and threw them at the dinosaurs. The heads exploded into clouds of noxious fumes that vexed the Tyrannosaurs, making them swing their tiny arms aimlessly at the air in vain attempts to reach their faces.
"Let'z go!" the Saurask shouted before pulling the stem off the last flower with his teeth and throwing the head on the ground, creating a smokescreen. When the fumes cleared, they were gone, leaving the Tyrannosaurs confused.
Within a marsh, a pack of Dire Wolves were sniffing the ground in search of prey. Their sense of smell was as sharp as any other canines', but all they could smell was the scent of mud and water. One of the wolves started sniffing a small tree, but the pack leader barked and called for a regrouping. The wolves gathered back up and ran off.
The Saurask rose out of the mud, and could see the coast was clear. The tree the wolf was sniffing was Hammerheart, who had covered himself with mud and leaves. The mares had huddled together and also covered themselves in mud and leaves, much to Rarity's displeasure. They all shook the mud off of their bodies.
Rainbow Dash and Applejack broke away and slowly approached the Saurask. "That was beyond epic!" said Rainbow. "You took on those dinosaurs like they were nothing!"
"I'll say." said Applejack, "He's more of a fighter than even us." The sword fell inches away from the two of them, and everyone looked at the owner.
The Saurask got on all fours and shook himself off like a dog fresh out of water. He then gave scrutinizing looks to them all. He approached Rainbow Dash and Applejack, crawling all over their backs and sifting through their manes. He then grabbed them both by the base of their tails and lifted them up off the ground upside-down.
"What are ya doin'?" Applejack asked, slightly annoyed.
Hammerheart, Twilight, and Fluttershy looked at each other with a raised brow in confusion. The Saurask dropped the mares and leapt onto Hammerheart's neck, making him cock his head in surprise.
"ROCK!" the Saurask barked.
"What?" said Hammerheart.
The Saurask climbed on top of Hammerheart's head and held onto his horns. "Da name'z Rock." He said with a smile. "Short for Rockinhauzer." He jumped off, landed next to Pinkie, and held her ear open. "Long for..." He then stuck his head into her ear, and his mouth popped out the other, "Rah." He pulled his head out and approached Twilight and Rarity, feeling the tips of their horns. "Hmm. Dull az a stone." He said, leaving them a little baffled and vexed about having their horns touched like that.
The Saurask hopped onto Hammerheart's shoulder. "What are you lot doin' 'round 'ere, anyway?"
"We're trying to save our world from destruction." Twilight said as Rock jumped off and walked up to his sword.
He looked back. "Well..." He smiled, "Lost cause." and dropped it for a brief second before grinning again. "Welcome ta my turf. Now, uh, git lost." He pulled his sword out of the ground and sheathed it again. "Tallyho." The mares dropped their jaws.
Rock looked back at Hammerheart. "Well, tuff guy, ya comin' er whut?" He said.
Hammerheart slightly cocked his head confused. "What?"
Rock crossed his arms. "Ye're tryin' ta save da werld, aren'tya? Den let'z git movin'."
Twilight was even more bewildered by what Rock was saying. "Uh, we're coming too, ya know."
Rock cocked an eye. "Huh?"
Hammerheart nodded. "Aye, they play a part in this, as well."
That was when it occurred to him. "Oh, dey're yer buddiez." said Rock, "I tot dey were yer snackz saved fer later."
Hammerheart sighed. "They're neither, just companions." The mares were disgruntled from that.
Rock gave a hearty laugh from the gut. "Well den, I guess dere'z no 'arm in a couple o' pupz taggin' along, az well."
Rainbow Dash flew up in his face. "Who're ya callin' pups?!" She said.
Rock grabbed her nose and gave it a wiggle. "Alright, don't git yer tail in a knot, I waz only kiddin'."
Hammerheart stepped up. "Can we just git goin'? Daylight's burnin'."
Twilight nodded. "We really do need to keep going."
Rock jumped onto Hammerheart's back and held onto one of his horns. "Den what're we waitin' for? Let'z go an' write a new legend."
And they set off with a new, and utterly deranged companion on board. Almost everyone was a little unsure about Rock's company.
Rainbow Dash and Pinkie were side to side whispering to each other. "This guy's a total nut job." said Rainbow.
"I think he's awesome!" Pinkie whispered back.
Hammerheart and the girls explained the whole story to Rock about what they were doing in Saurosmo and why.
"So, ye're lookin' fer dese goddy powas dat'll help ya kill off some crazy dragon dat'z tryin' ta burn da werld to a crisp?" said Rock.
Hammerheart nodded. "Aye, that be right."
"Pyrkagias is nothing but a warmongering jerk!" said Rainbow Dash.
"Maybe, but I doubt he's stupid." said Twilight. "He's probably plotting and scheming as we speak. That's why we have to find the remaining powers before he strikes."
"So, what power are we goin' for, now?" said Applejack. "My question hadn't been answered properly."
A gentle breeze blew through the party. Its coolness soothed the heat that surrounded them, helping them relax just a little bit. The breeze then began to grow into a standard wind that blew the mares' manes.
Hammerheart sniffed the wind, and it smelled rather strange. It did not smell like actual air, it smelled more stale, and rather ominous.
"What's wrong, Hammerheart?" Fluttershy asked. He could not say anything, for nothing was wrong.
"You smell it to, do ya?" said Rock. Hammerheart blinked and looked back at the estranged Saurask. "It be da scent of an 'ole flock fused into an 'ole monster."
Then, a flock of hawks flew overhead towards the direction they were walking.
"That's weird." said Twilight, "I've never seen hawks fly in a whole group like that. In fact, I don't think they ever fly in groups. They're solitary predators."
"It'z 'im." Everyone looked at Rock.
"It's who?" said Rarity.
"Arhokilion."
"Who?" said Pinkie.
"Da biggest, baddest bird dat'z eva flown da big blu skiez. He'z got da fury of a saber toof, an' da temper of an 'ornet. If he gitz 'iz clawz on ya, ye're az good as pulp fer hiz gullet."
Hammerheart stared at the hawks as they disappeared over the treetops. Then, a strange idea came to him.
"Let's follow 'em." He said.
"Huh?" the mares said.
Rock gave a hearty laugh. "Dat'z da spirit! Let'z go slap some birds outta da sky!"
Fluttershy, having been unnerved by what Rock said, became even more scared. "W-why do we have to f-follow them?"
Hammerheart blew smoke out his nostrils. "I ain't sure, but somethin' about those birds seems strange ta me. Let's go." He took off running, with Rock holding onto his horns and hollering with frenzied excitement. The mares bursted into a full gallop after him, hoping he knew what he was doing. If anything, this Arhokilion creature might be another Keeper of the Power of the Duwiau Ddraig.
