Sapphire the ice dragon smiled.
So, this was what it felt like to be a hero. Mayor Paula Tishian had made good on her promise to throw a festival in honor of the two dragons who'd risked their lives to save the ponies of Buckington from the clutches of the Shadow Dragons. Pride swelled in Sapphire's chest as she watched the scene. All this was in Spike's and her honor.
The weather was perfect for Buckington's first annual Dragon Day, a sunny and warm afternoon. The village square had been turned into a fairground of sorts, vendors and game stands circled around ponies laughing and celebrating. Some of them carried odd-looking pastries that the ponies called "funnel cake", though Sapphire couldn't figure out why; it didn't look much like cake and it certainly wasn't funnel-shaped. Some fillies and colts trotted about wearing dragon masks that one of the vendors was selling. Others carried dragon balloons attached to strings. For the children there was a train ride modeled to look like a dragon circling the fairgrounds. The front car was the head; every once in a while it blew smoke from its nostrils with a loud whistle.
Spike stood beside Sapphire, his claw clutched in hers as they enjoyed the wide-eyed admiration of a group of foals sitting in front of them.
"Dragons are cool!" yelled one colt.
"I wanna be a dragon when I grow up," said another.
"Can you really breathe fire?" a filly asked.
"My friend Sunset Breeze told me the blue one has ice powers," said another filly.
A chorus of "oohs" and "ahs" sounded as the children stood up and moved closer, all them begging the two dragons of honor to show off their abilities.
Spike and Sapphire looked at each other for a moment, then they wordlessly nodded as if knowing what the other was thinking. They turned their attention back to the children.
Sapphire held her palms apart and facing each other. Ice swirled in the space between her palms until it formed a ball of frost. She tossed the icy globe into the air and Spike blasted it with a breath of green flame. The ice turned to water that drizzled to the ground, leaving a rainbow shining in the short-lived mist.
All of the fillies and colts applauded, some stamping their hooves on the ground, others giving a standing ovation for the awesome display.
“That was so cool!” a colt yelled.
A voice rang across the village, shouting “all aboard!” At this, the children in front of Spike and Sapphire screamed in excitement, running for their turn to ride the dragon-shaped train that had been set up for the festival.
Sapphire's attention shifted at another voice that rang through the fairgrounds. “Come on up, don't be shy! All you gotta do is pop a balloon and win a prize! Three darts for two bits. Everypony's a winner, step on up!”
Smiling, Sapphire tugged on Spike's arm and pointed at the game booth. “That looks like fun! Let's give it a try!”
Before Spike could answer, he found himself pulled forward by Sapphire's momentum until she stopped in front of the game stand. Taped to the back wall of the wooden booth were rows of balloons in more colors than Rainbow Dash's mane. The premise was simple: throw a dart, pop a balloon and receive whatever grade of prize was marked on a piece of paper taped to the balloon. If you were incredibly lucky you'd pop the one balloon that contained the voucher for any prize of your choice.
Looks easy enough Spike thought as he and Sapphire scanned the various prizes hanging about the booth. Then again, that's how these carnival games get you. The prizes were mostly stuffed animals, the lowest grade among them no bigger than a pingpong ball, all the way up to the grand prizes: plushies the size of a filly. One of the medium prizes was a plush heart in a soft shade of purple, with another heart stitched in the middle of it between the words “I” and “you.”
“You look like a winner!” the stallion running the game said, pointing at Spike. “Want to try for a prize for the lovely young lady next to you? All it's gonna cost you is two measly bits!”
“Okay,” Spike said, pointing at his target, “I'm gonna go for that 'I love you' heart.”
Sapphire giggled at that and hugged his arm. “Go for it.”
Spike reached into the pouch tied to his waist and put two bits on the counter. The vendor exchanged the coins for three darts. Spike took one between his claws, closed an eye to aim and let the dart fly. It stuck with a thud in the cork board between two balloons.
“Oh, come on,” Spike yelled. “I aimed straight at it!”
“Let me try,” Sapphire said, picking up one of the darts. “Maybe I'll win the heart for you.”
A forked tongue hung lopsided from Sapphire's lips as she took careful aim and threw. Her dart stuck just above Spike's, but missed the balloon.
“This is rigged!” Spike yelled, beginning to think he'd wasted his money.
“Me next!” came a little voice from the dragons' feet. They looked down to see that Sunset Breeze, a young filly and a friend of Sapphire's, had joined them.
Smiling, Sapphire looked at Spike. He nodded his approval.
“Okay!” Sapphire said. She picked up a dart and gave it to Sunset. “Give it your best shot!”
Sunset took the dart in her teeth, flicked her head and sent it flying. It struck the balloon right in the center with a loud “pop!”
“Great throw, Sunset!” Sapphire cheered.
The vendor removed the piece of paper taped to the knot of the balloon and read it. The smile that formed on his face signaled good news. “Well, looks like this is your lucky day! You just popped the grand prize balloon! Pick whatever prize you want, kiddo!”
“Nice going, Sunset!” Spike yelled. The plush heart beckoned for his attention. “Ok, I want that hea-”
A shrug from the game vendor cut Spike off in mid sentence. Spike followed the vendor's eyes, watching Sunset trot off carrying a teddy bear as big as she was, eyes closed and smiling.
"Hey, that was my money!" Spike yelled after her. "My prize!"
Sapphire giggled and gave Spike a kiss on the cheek. That brought his smile back. "Well, you tried. And look how happy Sunset is."
As Spike watched Sunset Breeze proudly showing off her prize to her parents, Dustin Wind and Autumn Gale, he felt a pleasant warmth in the pit of his stomach and couldn't fight the smile. After all, it was through their effort that her parents were back home. "She should be happy. She worked so hard to help us get her parents back."
"So," Sapphire said, "what should we do next?"
Spike turned around and scanned the area for something appropriate. A cotton candy booth stood in the center of the fairground. Of course, Sapphire hadn't had the opportunity to try a lot of Equestrian food, but loved the few things she'd had the chance to sample. Spike now had his mind set on treating her to another example of pony culinary ingenuity.
"Hey, Sapphire, you gotta see this." Spike tugged gently on her wrist.
"Okay, whatcha got?"
Spike led her to the cotton candy booth, where a mare was hoofing out paper cones filled with a puffy pink and blue substance. The mare inside the booth had a cutie mark depicting the same fluffy treat she was handing out.
"Hey, Spike, what is that stuff she's selling?" Sapphire watched the colt walk off and lick the puffy stuff. He looked very much like he was enjoying it. Sapphire' face suddenly brightened. "Is this what you wanted to show me?"
"Yeah! It's called cotton candy, and it's delicious. Want one?"
"Mm-hm!" Sapphire licked her lips. After eating pie at Spike's recommendation, she wasn't about to pass up anything else Spike said was good.
"Two cotton candy cones, please." Spike reached into the pouch tied around his waist and produced five bits, placing them on the counter. The mare smiled, scooped up the coins and gave Spike and Sapphire both a stick of the treat, which billowed several inches above their cones.
Sapphire gave the confection a big lick. Her eyes seemed to light up as this new sensation flooded her mouth. It had only felt fluffy for a second before it transformed into a sweet goo that flowed like a river through her taste buds. Sapphire wrapped a foreleg around Spike's neck and pulled his head close to hers.
"What is this magic?" she whispered.
"Um, it's just fluffed sugar."
"I've never had anything like it in my life! It's incredible!" Sapphire took another big bite and spun on her heels. "The super sweet flavor, the fluffy texture, the way it melts in your mouth! It's like two foods in one! To think I've been missing out on things like this my whole life!"
A couple more big licks removed the rest of the candy that stuck out above the cone. Once that was gone, Sapphire dug the remaining cotton candy from the inside of the cone with her claw and plopped it into her mouth. She licked her lips with a satisfied smile. “Now THAT was good!”
As Spike finished the rest of his treat, he noticed Sapphire's smile vanish as suddenly as it had appeared. Sapphire threw her empty cone into a waste basket, wrapped her arms around her torso and shivered, as if she were cold. But she was an ice dragon, and it was a warm day. It would take an extreme amount of cold to bother her. Something was wrong. Without a word as to why, Sapphire walked past the houses at the edge of the village, stopping a few yards out into the countryside where she sat down on a boulder.
Something was really wrong.
Spike threw his cone away and followed behind. He took a seat next to Sapphire and put his arm around her shoulder. She still had her arms wrapped around her torso. "Hey. You okay?"
"I-I don't know what happened.” Sapphire shook her head, gaze turned to the ground. “I just got this really bad feeling all of a sudden."
Was it the cotton candy? Maybe a dragon's system wasn't meant to tolerate it. No, that couldn't be it. Spike'd been eating the stuff all his life, all the way back when Twilight was still a filly and an unpleasant trip to the dentist aside, it'd never bothered him. "Do you think it's something you ate?"
"No, it's hard to describe. It' like a sixth sense kind of thing. I feel like something terrible is about to happen."
Spike kissed her cheek and pulled Sapphire closer, hugging her tighter to comfort her. "Hey, come on. It's been a week already. If they were going to retaliate they would have done it by now."
"I hope you're right."
Sapphire put an arm around Spike and rested her head on his shoulder. They sat there for a while, both savoring the moment until a tremendous shadow darkened Spike's vision and pulled him back to reality.
"What was that?" Spike asked. His eyes followed the direction the shadow went, but whatever it was had already moved out of his sight.
Whether Sapphire was too distracted to give an answer or she just didn't hear him, Spike couldn't tell. What was certain was that her face was frozen with fear.
Spike followed Sapphire's gaze and realized what the shadow had belonged to. Five huge, pitch-black reptilian forms with batlike wings were descending right for Buckington!
Zog's Shadow Dragons.
"That can't be good." Spike gnashed his teeth in dread at whatever they intended to do.
A sigh exploded from Sapphire's snout as she scrambled to her feet and ran toward Buckington.
"Sapphire, no!" Spike ran after her. "It's too dangerous!"
The two dragons stopped at the edge of the village, stiff with fear as they watched the scene unfold.
One of the Shadow Dragons swooped low and crashed into one of the houses, which shattered under the force of its momentum. The structure hadn't slowed its speed in the slightest.
Another one drew its tail back and took aim at Lucky Charm's relic shop. Ponies screamed in terror and galloped out of the way as the walls of the building exploded outward, showering the equines with bits of broken wood. Most of Lucky's relics
A Shadow Dragon dropped from the sky and landed on the balloon game booth, completely smashing it under its massive weight just as the vendor dove to safety. The dragon turned to the booth beside it and reduced it to flying splinters with a swipe of its paw, sending the mare working the stand scurrying for cover.
The dragon train ride screeched to a halt when another Shadow Dragon landed in its path, glaring at the passengers with eyes like burning coals. The fillies and colts screamed and jumped from the ride as the dragon drew its claw back. A single swipe derailed the parts of the train that hadn't burst into splinters.
Ponies scattered in every direction, trying to get as far as possible from the Shadow Dragons; shrieking in panic as they dove for cover from flying debris. Spike ached to do something, but the hopelessness of the situation held him fast.
Not that Spike believed anything Sapphire or he could do would even begin to slow the Shadow Dragons down. The buildings were no more to the dragons than houses made of blocks would be to a foal; destroyed and scattered as easily as if they were toys. Thick clouds of dust, kicked up from the ground by the assault, blotted out the once bright afternoon sun.
Amongst the chaos, Spike watched a spear fly through the air, thrown by a pony clad in golden royal armor; one of the two guards Celestia had stationed in Buckington to keep watch for dragon attacks. The weapon struck the dragon on its side with pinpoint accuracy, but bounced harmlessly off of its scales. The great reptile resumed its rampage as if it not even aware it had been attacked. The guard growled in frustration. He might as well had flung the spear against solid rock!
Despite this, his partner took a breath of courage and galloped into throwing range. He summoned magic energy into his horn and hurled his spear with every ounce of his might. He'd found his target, but fared no better than his partner.
When there was at last nothing left in Buckington for the Shadow Dragons to destroy, they once again assumed their v-formation and disappeared across the horizon back to the Dragonlands.
The dust had begun to settle when all the ponies who had scattered for their lives congregated in the village square. It had been a place filled with laughter and celebration. Now a hushed pall hung over Buckington, nopony able to form words for what they saw. Not one building in the village had been spared. Splintered wood, mangled steel, ruined belongings and shattered glass littered the streets.
As he surveyed the carnage, Spike noticed that not a single pony had been harmed, although the foals and many of the mares wept in fear and despair. The village itself lie in ruin, leaving the several dozen residents now without a place to call home. But they were alive.
"I don't get it," Spike said. "They just wasted this village, but they didn't hurt any of the ponies."
"They weren't trying to," Sapphire said. "They were sending a message. Think about it. If the ponies were their targets, they would have just coated this place with their shadow breath and been done with it."
"Then why this?" Spike asked, spreading his arms wide to indicate the destruction.
"The Shadow Dragons are probably hoping these ponies will spread the message they've just sent: don't cross us, or you'll get the same."
"What are we gonna do now?" Sunset Breeze's voice asked. The little filly clutched her new teddy bear tightly for comfort.
A murmur of pony voices, all quiet and solemn, rose from that statement.
"Our homes,” Dustin Wind muttered as he observed the destruction, “all gone in a instant."
"What about my store?" Lucky Charm asked. He pointed an old, wobbly hoof to the ruins of his shop. "My business, my livelihood! There was thousands of years worth of history in there!"
"It's all those two dragons' fault!" one elderly mare shouted, pointing an accusing hoof at Spike and Sapphire. "If they hadn't intervened, this wouldn't have happened!"
Autumn Gale noticed the hurt expressions on the dragons' faces and pushed the old mare's hoof down, brown eyes glaring crossly at her. "If they hadn't, we'd still be slaves in their fortress!"
The old mare prodded Autumn Gale in the chest. "Dragons all together are no good, and you know it, Autumn! It's because of those overgrown lizards that we're in this mess in the first place."
"Because of EVIL dragons!” Autumn swatted the old mare's hoof back down. She moved over to take a stand by the dragon couple. “Not dragons like Spike and Sapphire. They risked their lives for us!" Autumn looked down at Sunset Breeze, whose eyes were now glossy with tears. "And they looked after my little girl while we were locked up."
"My town." Paula Tishian's voice was warped with a quiver, for this ruin had once been the village she governed. "The pride and joy of my life. What are we going to do now?"
“I am truly sorry, you honor.” one of the guards said. “There was nothing I could I have done to stop them.”
“Nor I,” said the other soldier. He gave his head a rueful shake. “I threw my spear with everything I had. What did Celestia expect us to do against monsters like those?
Spike clenched his claws, taking a few moments to swallow the anger flaring inside him. He wanted to confront Zog right now, to crush his throat. "Listen, everypony. Head for Canterlot. I'll let Princess Celestia know you're coming. I know she won't turn you away."
"You're not coming with us?" Autumn Gale asked.
"No. I've got business to take care of."
"What are you going to do?" Dustin Wind asked.
Spike fell silent, his gaze becoming lost in the direction of the Dragonlands.
"Spike?" Sunset asked. The little filly nudged him on the knee, looking up at him with concerned blue eyes.
"Don't worry about it. Just get to Canterlot. You'll be safe there."
“What's he gonna do, Miss Sapphire?” Sunset asked.
“I don't know.” Sapphire shook her head solemnly. She'd never seen Spike quite like this.
Spike produced a scroll and a feather quill from the pouch tied to his waist. His wrist furiously scribbled a note on the parchment. Then he breathed a jet of green flame on the scroll, which transformed into a cluster of magic sparks that zipped off towards Canterlot.
The warm afternoon sun did nothing to stave the chill that hung over the ruins of Buckington as many of the ponies took one last look at their former home.
Paula Tishian stood before Spike and Sapphire, an apology in her eyes. “Please don't think this means I've lost my trust in you, or in the existence of good dragons.”
“I know,” Spike said quietly.
“When we get to Canterlot, I would like you to stop and visit. I still consider you the heroes of Buckington.”
“Don't worry,” Spike answered. “I won't forget about you. All of you.”
Autumn Gale walked up to Spike next and with no warning embraced him in a hug. Dustin Wind did the same to Sapphire. “Take care of yourself,” Autumn said.
Spike patted the auburn-haired pegasus on the back. “You, too.”
The two ponies swapped places and Spike now found himself in the grip of Dustin Wind while Autumn hugged Sapphire. “I won't forget what you've done for us. Stay safe.”
Lastly, Sunset Breeze, tears still in her eyes, dropped her teddy bear long enough to give each of the dragons a hug around the ankles.
With nothing left for them in this ruin, the herd of ponies gathered what belongings they could salvage and walked solemnly off for Canterlot. Once they'd all left, Spike turned and headed for the boarder between Equestria and the Dragonlands. Zog was going to pay for this.
"Spike!" Sapphire yelled after him. "Where are you going?"
Spike turned to face her. "I've had enough of this. I'm gonna put an end to it."
"Spike, calm down."
"I might be a dragon, but Equestria's always been my home, and I'm going to defend it."
"You promised Applejack you weren't going to fight them."
"If I remember right, my exact words were 'I promise I won't do anything stupid.'” Spike turned away again and felt Sapphire's grip around his arm. “Right now this doesn't seem like such a dumb idea."
"Spike, you're too angry. You're not-"
Spike yanked his arm free and kept moving. Sapphire grabbed him by the wrist, and he stopped.
"Look at me."
"What?" Spike snapped back around, his eyes flaring with rage.
"You're not thinking straight." She kept hold of his wrist and placed her other hand on his cheek. "Now, I've lost my parents. I don't have any family left. You're all I've got. I can't lose you, too." Sapphire cupped his cheeks with both her palms, caressing his face with her digits and gazing deep into his eyes for added effect. "Not you."
Those blue eyes had a way of making any situation seem better. Spike smiled in spite of himself and the anger in his eyes faded. His shoulders rose as he took a deep breath to compose himself, then they slumped with a beaten sigh. "Then what am I supposed to do? Zog's already taken over the Dragonlands, what's to stop him from conquering the rest of the world?"
"This was a direct attack. If Celestia didn't send her soldiers out last time, she will now. Let them handle it. That's what they're paid for."
"But the whole reason I stayed here was so I could help out in case of an attack."
"You have helped. By letting Celestia know what happened. After all we've been through, I think we both need time to clear our heads." Sapphire smiled at Spike. "And I know just were we can do that."
***
Princess Celestia sat on her throne, eyes closed in content as she sipped a mug of steaming mint tea. Things had been peaceful in the week since Spike and Sapphire had freed the ponies of Buckington from the Shadow Dragons. There'd been no reports from the detachments she'd sent to the borders, no sightings of dragons. She'd had her doubts when she opted to avoid going to war against the dragons, but now she was starting to feel she made the right choice.
A familiar green flame wafted into the room, transforming itself into a rolled up scroll of parchment. Celestia smiled. It was probably a letter from Twilight Sparkle or one of her friends.
"What is it?" Luna asked as Celestia's eyes scanned the letter, sipping her tea as she read.
Though she nearly choked on her tea, Celestia kept her face in its usual calm demeanor. A flame flickered in her eyes.
"What troubles you?" Luna asked, having picked up on her sister's subtle change of expression.
"Shadow dragons have destroyed Buckington." Celestia looked to Luna, reading her face and the question she dreaded to ask. "Nopony harmed, thankfully."
At that, Luna's face eased a bit. "Thank goodness."
Celestia turned her attention back to the letter. "The note says the ponies on their way here. Have our maids get the guest rooms cleaned and prepared; we're going to have refugees on our hooves."
"Yes, my sister."
"As soon as you're done with that, I want you to go to Griffonstone and request their aid. Then go to Minotaurappolis and see if the minotaurs will ally with us as well. We're going to need all the help we can get. Go now, We've no time to lose."
Luna nodded. "Of course". Luna stood on her rear legs and wrapped her fronts around Celestia's neck, hugging her tightly. "Stay safe, my sister."
Celestia returned her sister's embrace and rubbed her back with great affection, as if it were the last time she'd ever get to do so. "You as well."
After releasing Celestia, Luna took one last good look at her and galloped out of the throne room.
Celestia looked to the soldier standing guard on her left. "Spearhead."
Fittingly, the guard held a spear firmly in his hooves. "My princess?"
"Find general Warhorse and tell him Her Majesty requests his presence immediately."
Spearhead lowered his weapon and bowed. "By your orders, princess." The soldier trotted out of the throne room, wasting no time or words than necessary.
"What is going on, your majesty?" asked Claymore, the soldier to her right, who carried a large broadsword as his weapon of duty.
"Those Shadow Dragons have left me with no recourse. As of this moment, Equestria is at war."