"K'Vann, if it were anyone else but you, I'd call them mad," Celestia said. The two were standing in a private room in the Canterlot Castle that was often used whenever Celestia needed to discuss matters that were off the record, so to speak. K'Vann had just finish telling his princess of all that had happened in the cave two days prior. "The creature you encountered, this 'Sentinel', are you certain it's destroyed?" she asked.
"There was no body," he answered, "but given the nature of the thing that doesn't surprise me."
Celestia paced the room in thought. Her radiant light-wings flowed calmly, belying the anxiousness she was feeling. "So, we know that 'They Who Are In' is actually Lock Tight misinterpreting the word 'auryn', but that still begs the question, who or what is auryn? And," she continued, halting in her pacing to look back at K'Vann, "what else did he misinterpret?"
"Antagonist of evee and epic soul where the other terms he used," K'Vann said. "When the device spoke to me, it mentioned the antagonist evee but it dropped the 'of' part. It also didn't say anything about an epic soul." He thought for a moment, "Lock Tight said Luna was antagonist eaye and now we know Trixie is antagonist evee."
"You said it displayed the word auryn like an acronym, yet it pronounced it 'are in'. What if it did the same for eaye and evee?" Celestia asked. "That would make it E. I. and... E. V.?"
"The last bit of evee is slightly longer sounding, maybe E. V. E. or E. V. I.? Regardless, we still have the same problem of what exactly they mean."
"Perhaps it will all make sense when we unlock the secrets of this object you found," Celestia said, indicating the small transparent cube with the amorphous glob of silver liquid in its center. "If the recording you heard is to be believed, this is a storage device of some sort."
"I'll put in a call to S.M.I.L.E. now then," K'Vann said as he pulled out his glass. "We'll have our top scientists working 24/7 to crack this thing-"
Celestia held up a hand to halt him, "that wont be necessary."
"You're Highness?"
"Both the recording and this object appeared when you spoke aloud the name of my student, Dusk Shine, correct?" K'Vann nodded. "After the Nightmare Incident, Dusk confided in me of a strange phenomenon he witnessed while using the Elements of Harmony. A single word appeared to him in a vision, 'auryn', and from what you and he have told me of the recent events in Ponyville, I fear my dear student my be at the center of this mystery."
K'Vann frowned, "I hope you're not about to suggest what I think you're about to suggest," he said.
Celestia smiled that infamous knowing smile, "I want you to take the cube to Dusk. Let me finish..." she said quickly, interrupting K'Vann before he could protest. "Letting a team of experts examine it is the obvious course of action, but my intuition is telling me that Dusk Shine is the key to this whole affair. If there is one thing I've learned after more than one and a half millennia of rule, it's that you should trust your instincts."
K'Vann wanted to protest but he couldn't, especially since his own gut feeling was telling him that the object was meant for Dusk. It was his name that was the password after all. "May I make a request then?" he asked.
"Of course."
"I'd like to stay in Ponyville as long as the cube is there. I want to see this case through to the end."
"Granted," Celestia said. "Truthfully, I was hoping you'd be willing to relocate as there is another task I wish you o perform..."
***
"Not too fast now, Angel bunny. You don't wanna get a tummy ache," Fluttershy said to the small white rabbit. She watched her beloved companion while sitting on her legs in a bright yellow one piece dress with a pink ribbon adorned yellow sunhat. She loved all her little animal friends but Angel was her favorite. He was greedily eating the food she had set out for him but stopped when she spoke. It wasn't her voice that halted him however, as he noticed something odd from behind his caretaker.
"You really should eat more than that, don't you think?" Fluttershy said, but Angel didn't resume eating. Instead he bounced up and down, trying to point to something behind her. Communicating with Angel was a difficult task. He couldn't speak, not even to Fluttershy, so he was forced to pantomime everything.
This, of course often led to misunderstandings, "It's not play time yet. I know you want to run, but... just three more bites," Fluttershy asked. Angel shook his head and pointed violently behind her.
"Two more bites? One more bite? Pretty please?"
Angel decided to change his tactics, he let out a fake cough and pointed behind her once more. Unfortunately, Fluttershy remained adorably oblivious. "Oh, goodness. Are you okay?" she asked.
Angel smacked his face and coughed again. "Are you coughing because there's a carrot stuck in your throat?" Another cough, "Because you need some water?" Finally, Angel jumped up, hopped past Fluttershy and gave one last loud cough while pointing to the thing he was trying to direct her attention to.
Fluttershy looked up, "is it because of that giant cloud of scary black smoke?" Angel gestured his furry white paws in relief. "I'll take that as a yes," Fluttershy said. Indeed there was a very large cloud of black smoke billowing down from the Baltimare Mountain. The ominous cloud was moving at a rapid pace, carried by the winds and creeping closer and closer to Ponyville.
"Oh my..." she shuddered, "I-I have to let everyone know. We could be in danger!" With that said, she spread her butter yellow wings and flew towards the town.
***
"346, 347, 348..." Rainbow Dash counted each time the small beanbag ball bounced off her feat. Her sky blue tee and tan cargo shorts hung loosely off her limbs, waving with each motion. In the days that followed the ursa attack she had somewhat come out of her state of depression over Gilda's disappearance. She hadn't stopped worrying about it, not by a long shot, but she was slowly starting to return to normal. Physical activities helped her to take her mind off it, hence her current actions.
With her in the Ponyville Park was Pinkie Pie in her favorite pink skirt and matching shirt, watching her with the excited giddiness of a child. "Woo-hew, go Rainbow Dash!" The terran girl was so enthralled with Rainbow's efforts that she didn't notice Fluttershy softly land behind her.
"Oh Pinkie, Rainbow, thank goodness I found you," she said meekly. "Something terrible is happening! There's a horrible cloud of smoke. It's headed this way and-"
"Flutters, please! I'm trying to concentrate. 364, 365, I'm going for the world record in hacky sack, 369, 370..."
"Oh this is sooooo exciting! We need to celebrate!" Pinkie cheered.
"But Pinkie, this is no time for a celebration. There's this cloud-" Fluttershy tried again to no avail.
"We're going to need balloons! And cupcakes!" Pinkie continued. "Let's see, how many will we need? One, two, three..." she counted aloud on her hand while thinking of all the potential invitees.
"388, 389..."
"4, 5, 6..."
"Three nine... six, or wait..." Rainbow stammered as she lost count. The ball dropped to the ground. "Damn it, Pinkie! You made me lose count," she said in frustration. Rainbow bent down to pick up the ball, "now I got to start all over." She picked up the ball and stretched her arms to loosen them.
"Girls please!" Fluttershy pleaded, "this is an emergency. I-I need everyone to-"
"Everyone listen up!" came a new voice, the park goers all turned their attention to the speaker. It was Dusk Shine, in his signature lavender windbreaker worn over a white undershirt. "There's a large cloud of black smoke heading our way, if we don't act fast it will engulf our little town in a noxious fog."
There was a murmur of fear among the gathered crowd. "That's what I've been trying to-" Fluttershy started but was cut off once again.
"But don't worry everyone," Dusk continued, "I've just received a letter from the Princess. Among other things, she has informed me that it is not coming from a fire."
"Oh, thank goodness," Fluttershy sighed with relief.
"It's coming from a wild dragon."
"O-oh my..." Fluttershy squeaked.
***
After gathering Applejack and Rarity, the seven friends sat in the common room of the Ponyville Library. In the same room but sitting off on her own was Trixie Lulamoon. With the destruction of her way-gate and barely enough bits to buy food, she had been forced to accept Dusk's invitation to sleep on his couch. Of course she had denied it at first, saying she didn't need his charity. When she looked around town, however, she found that any available lodging was ether too expensive or the landlord in charge refused her because of her arrogant attitude. It was the middle of the night on the day after the ursa attack when she finally knocked on Dusk's door, claiming that he was the reason she was in this situation and he should allow her to sleep on his couch until she could find a proper place to stay.
Apart from that, she hadn't spoken to ether him or any of the others since. She quietly sat in a chair, reading a book on enchanting while listing to the conversation happening in the rooms center.
Dusk opened a book to a page with a picture of a large green dragon, "so, what we're dealing with is an adult, male wyrm. Probably 200 to 600 years old," he said.
"Worm? I thought you said it was a dragon," Pinkie said.
"Not worm, wyrm, with a 'y'. It's a type of dragon," Dusk corrected. "Specifically, a wyrm is the kind that walks on all fours and has wings."
"What in the name of Harmony is a full grown wild dragon doing in Equestria?" asked AJ.
"Sleeping," he answered casually. The girls all looked at him with deadpan stares. "I'm serious, it's the snoring that's causing the smoke."
"Ok, so what are we to do about it?" Rarity asked.
"Well duh," Rainbow said, "we kick his butt of course." Unseen by the others, Trixie rolled her eyes.
"If it comes to that, but first we're going to try and reason with it," Dusk said. "The six of us will head up to his cave and if we can't convince him to leave, we'll have to, uh, evict him."
"Wait, six of us?" AJ asked, "is Spike not going?"
"Are you kidding?" Spike answered, "I'm not going up there, that's a freaking dragon!"
"But... you're a dragon too, Spike," Rainbow pointed out.
"Exactly! I know what we're capable of..."
"It wouldn't matter anyway," Dusk added, "Spike is an Equestrian dragon. Wild dragons consider them no better than any other race." Dusk looked around at each of the girls, "so, everyone ready?" There were several sounds of affirmation.
"Well um... actually-" Fluttershy said meekly but it went unheard.
"Great, then lets get moving. It's an hour's train ride to Mt. Baltimare." He turned to Trixie, "Trixie, I'd like you to come with us," at the shocked expressions of his friends he added, "your magic is pretty good, we could use your help."
Trixie merely scoffed, "Trixie has no interest in climbing mountains and fighting dragons."
Dusk thought for a moment, "how about this, you come help us and I'll pay for your train ticket back to hoofington."
Her eyes widened, the price of a ticket was the one thing keeping her stranded in what she considered to be hill billy hell. She hated the idea of having to follow the one she considered responsible for her current situation but if his offer was genuine, then she was willing to suck it up. It could literally be her ticket home.
"Very well," she said as she closed the book she'd been reading. "I suppose it would be irresponsible of me to allow you all to go on such a dangerous mission without my amazing skills. But I fully expect you to honor this agreement, Dusk Shine!"
Dusk rolled his eyes as he and the magician joined the group heading for the train station. Spike pulled out a piece of paper and wrote a quick message, Mac, Dusk and the girls are gone for the rest of the day, come on over. I managed to get my claws on a 1st edition O&O rule book, lets break out the dice and try it out. He sent the message on it's way and began clearing the table.
***
The train pulled up to the station at the base of Baltimare Mountain. Further to the East, the city of Baltimare for which the mountain was named was mostly obscured by the black smoke coming down from the peaks. As the group exited the train, they were greeted with the sight of a large crowd of people attempting to board the departing train.
The noise was deafening and several tired looking L-Sec officers struggled to maintain some semblance of order. "Everyone's trying to get out of Baltimare and we're the only ones trying to get in," Trixie noted.
"Alright, girls," Dusk said as he pulled out a map, "I've mapped out the fastest route, but we've all got to keep a good pace if we expect to make it up the mountain by nightfall."
"A-all the way... to the t-t-top?" Fluttershy asked as she stared at the imposing heights of the mountain. Balimare mountain wasn't the highest peak in Equestria but one would be hard pressed to imagine something taller when standing at it's base.
"Yep, the dragon is in a cave at the very top," Dusk said as he folded up the map.
"Seems a might cold up there," AJ pointed out.
"That'd be the altitude," Rainbow responded. "Higher up you go, the colder it gets, harder to breath too."
"We won't be going that high, fortunately, but we still might want to bundle up," Dusk said.
"Um, excuse me, Dusk? I know you're busy, but..." Fluttershy tried to get his attention, but between her soft voice and his focused attention span, she couldn't get a word in.
"Trixie, do you know any utility spells that might be useful?"
"...If I could just have a second..."
"That's Great and Powerful Trixie to you, Dork Shine! And of course I do!"
"...So, um, I was thinking that, um, maybe..."
"Oh really? Alright, which ones?"
"...if it's alright with you that is..."
"Ha! Well there's... um... Trixie doesn't have to list them off to you! When they are needed, Trixie will use them."
"...that I should just stay here at the train station?"
"Uh-huh."
"Really? Oh Good, I'll stay here and-" the excitement in Fluttershy's voice finally caught Dusk's attention.
"Wait! Fluttershy, you have to come," he said, turning to face the timid young seraphim. "Your... unique gift makes you our best chance at a peaceful resolution." Dusk had almost said 'dryadic heritage' but remembered not everyone in their little circle was aware of that. "If anyone can speak to the dragon and convince him to leave it's you."
Fluttershy hated being confrontational, especially if it meant letting down her friends but she just couldn't bare the thought of facing a full grown dragon. "Oh, I don't think you really need me, I mean dragons are intelligent, anyone can talk to them."
"Yes but not everyone has your, um... gentle disposition," Dusk countered. "Come on, once we get going you'll be fine."
"But... but I... oh my," she lamented.
***
Everyone was gathered at the trail that lead up the mountain. The air was clear of smoke here, much to Fluttershy's chagrin as it allowed her a perfect view of the mountain's massive height.
"Oh... it's so... high!" she stuttered.
"It is a mountain after all," Trixie said mockingly.
Dusk was about to reprimand her when they were suddenly startled by a deafening rumble. The mountain itself seemed to shake as tiny pebbles rolled off it's rocky edges. Birds were frightened from their trees and flew off in droves, cackling angrily.
"Whoa, what was that?" Rainbow asked.
"I think the dragon may have yawned," Dusk said.
A yawn?! thought Fluttershy, if that was just a yawn, how scary is it going to be when he roars?
"I'm gonna fly up there a check it out," Rainbow declared but was halted by AJ.
"Hold on, now. I think we should all go together. Safety in numbers and all that."
"Fine..." Rainbow said with crossed arms.
The group began their climb, the trail wasn't too steep but it was winding and rocky. While they walked Dusk turned to Trixie, "so, you know anything about dragons?"
Trixie scoffed before she answered, "big, dumb, greedy and breaths fire. What more is there to know?"
"How will it react to seeing us? What can we do to convince it to leave?" Dusk offered his examples with annoyance.
"Pift, please. The dragon will take one look at Trixie's amazing power and run screaming."
"Geese, is this what I sound like?" Rainbow whispered to AJ who elected not to answer.
"How in the name of Harmony can you be so arrogant?" Dusk asked angrily.
"Ha! That's rich, coming from a djinn."
That caught Dusk off guard, "w-what in the world does my genus have to do with-"
Another loud rumble interrupted Dusk as the mountain side shook. The sound reverberated through the crags causing lose rocks to fall over the cliff's edge. The group braced themselves against the cliff wall until the trimmers halted.
"Sounds like we're getting close," Rainbow said.
Getting close... getting close, her voice echoed off the cliff walls, much to Pinkie's delight.
"Teehee, Echo!" she yelled. Echo... echo.
"Shucks, watch this," AJ said. "Yodelayheehoo!" yodelayheehoo... yodelayheehoo. As AJ's voice bounced off the cliff walls, larger rocks began to tumble down from above. The sound of each bounce was enhanced by the acoustics of the crag.
"Girls I think we should be quiet," Dusk cautioned. "This may be an avalanche zone."
"A-avalanche?" Fluttershy asked meekly.
"We need to move carefully," he said. The group slowly and without comment made their way further along the path. Each step echoed and in the eerie silence, every little sound could be heard. They passed the half way point without incident, then a tiny rock that was just barely hanging on was nudged out of place and landed on Fluttershy's head.
"AVALAN-" she started but was quickly cut off by the others as they all simultaneously placed a hand on her mouth. Avalan... avalan, her cry traveled through the crag and seven very nervous mountain climbers held their collective breaths listing for any sign of rocks falling. After a very long 10 seconds, they all sighed in relief.
That did it.
It started with a small rock landing on a ledge that was already at it's breaking point. The added weight caused it to break off, dropping it's massive load on the cliff side below. The larger rocks knocked lose ever larger ones and within seconds, a full blown avalanche was bearing down on Dusk and his friends.
"RUN!" Dusk yelled. The group made a mad dash for the end of the crag. Small rocks pelted them on the head as the terrifying rumble of the larger rocks drew ever closer. Rainbow weaved and dodged in the air, narrowly avoiding a large bolder that shot past her. To her horror she noticed it was heading right for Dusk.
"Dusk! Watch out!" she cried. He looked up just in time to see the multi ton projectile heading straight for him. Thankfully AJ noticed it as well and was able to tackle him out of the way just in time. A second, smaller rock fell towards Trixie who was able to deflect it with a spell from her wand. Rarity and Pinkie were likewise occupied helping a catatonic Fluttershy run towards the path's end.
The rumbling slowly faded as the girls and Dusk stopped at the edge of the crag to catch their breath. The path behind them was cut off by a large pile of rocks. "I guess we're going to have to take the long way back," AJ said. "Everybody okay?"
There was a round of confirmations from everyone save for Rarity who was distressed at the state of her scarf. "Uh! This is why a girl always packs extra accessories," she said while pulling out a new one from her pack. "Oh, please tell me I brought the hat that goes with this."
Dusk was about to turn his attention back to the path ahead when suddenly he felt a searing lance of pain on the back of his head. The last thing he heard was his friends crying out his name before his vision faded to black.
***
Everything was black, Dusk could feel a throbbing pain in the back of his head but little else. He could hear distant voices but they were all jumbled and faded, almost like he was hearing from underwater.
"...usk, wake up!"
"...onumental discovery..."
He recognized the voices. The first came from one of his friends, the other, it sounded like a man and it was very familiar but he had no idea where from.
"...Dusk! Come on!"
"...don't fully understand how it works..."
The mystery voice was getting louder and for some reason, it made Dusk angry.
"...oh no, oh my. This is all my fault..."
"...hat happened to you, Miles? When did you..."
They were getting clearer now. Dusk could hear the panic in Fluttershy's voice and what sounded like pleading in the unknown speaker's words.
"...'ll be alright, Fluttershy, this isn't your fault."
"...elieve yourself a god?!"
Suddenly, Dusk felt himself pulled from wherever he was as a bright light filled his vision.
"DUSK!"
***
Dusk woke with what was probably the worst headache. He opened his eyes and was greeted with the sight of his five friends looking at him with concern except for Fluttershy who was in tears. When he sat up, they all let out a collective sigh of relief. "Ugh, what happened?" he asked.
"A rock came down and smacked you in the head like, wham!" Pinkie answered, slamming a fist into her hand to demonstrate.
"Knocked you out cold, gave us a bit of a scare," AJ added. "Good thing Trixie was able to fix you up with a healing spell."
"Wait, Trixie did?" Dusk asked. He looked around and found the magician examining her wand.
"You're surprised?" she said while sparing a glance. "Trixie isn't so cold as to let someone die just because she does not like them. The Benevolent and Generous Trixie is kind to all, even her foes."
"Well, thanks I guess," Dusk said while rubbing the back of his head. He could feel where the wound had been and it was still a bit sore so it wasn't a complete healing, but he was out of danger for the moment. The sound of quiet sniffling drew his attention back to his friends where he spotted Fluttershy holding herself with tears running down her face.
"Hey Fluttershy, whats wrong?" he asked.
"N-nothing *sniff* I'll be alright, you just gave me a scare is all," she said with a forced smile but Dusk somehow doubted that was all that was bothering her. He wanted to probe deeper but a call from Trixie distracted him.
"Hey, if you losers are done sharing your feewings," she yelled mockingly from around the bend in the path, "Trixie believes she has found the dragon's lair." As the group rounded the corner, they found themselves at the mouth of a large cave dug into the cliff side. The black smoke was pouring out of the opening and floating down to the world below. A loud, almost guttural snoring could be heard coming from within.
"Good HEAVENS! What is that ghastly odor?" Rarity cried as a breeze blew past the cave in their direction.
"Sulfur, from the dragon," Dusk said while holding his nose. "I heard that some dragons eat it to make their dragonfire stronger, that might be what's causing him to snore black smoke." Dusk used his free hand to make a few casting gestures and the group was covered by a wave of lavender magic. The smell vanished, in fact, the air was now as fresh as any of them could remember it ever being.
"Febreze's Fresh Air Shroud," Trixie commented, "simple but effective I suppose."
Dusk ignored her and turned to Rainbow, "alright, we need to clear up this smoke. You think you can handle that Rainbow?"
"On it!" she said and shot into the sky. Air began to swirl around her hands as she blew large portions of the black clouds away.
"Okay, Rarity and Pinkie, you two will create a diversion to distract the dragon should things get out of hand," he continued.
Rarity nodded. Pinkie, who was now wearing a camouflaged colored army helmet and holding a toy popgun against her shoulder, stood attention and saluted. Dusk fought back his urge to question it.
"Applejack and Trixie, you two be ready in case he decides to attack. Hopefully it wont come to that."
AJ cracked her knuckles while Trixie merely humphed and crossed her arms.
"Fluttershy, you're with me. Alright, lets do this," he said and entered the cave. As he trekked deeper, his mana gem began to glow, allowing him to see. In the back of the cave, he could make out the shadow of a large creature that could only be the dragon.
"So, what is the best way to wake up a sleeping dragon without upsetting him?" he asked. No answer. "Fluttershy?" he asked again, this time looking behind him. Outside the cave, he saw the shaking seraphim nervously holding her hands up to her chest. "Oh, come on!"
Returning to the outside, he walked up to Fluttershy who hadn't moved an inch. "Fluttershy, whats wrong?" he asked.
"I... I... I can't go in the cave," she said meekly.
Rainbow sighed, "oh great. She's scared of caves now, too."
"I'm not scared of caves," she said with a shake of her head. "I'm scared of... of..."
"Scare of what, sugar cube?" AJ placed a hand on her shoulder.
"...of ...of," the dragon let out another loud yawn, shaking the cliff side and causing all present to cover their ears. When it passed, Fluttershy was squatting down with her hands over her eyes. "I'm scared of dragons!" she said quickly.
"Oh come on!" Rainbow exclaimed, "We've seen you walk right up to a horrible manticore like it was nothing."
"Manticores aren't dragons," Fluttershy responded.
"What about Spike? The day we met you were gushing all over him and he's a dragon," Dusk pointed out.
"Yes, because he's not a huge, gigantic, terrifying, enormous, teeth-gnashing, sharp-scale having, horn-wearing, smoke-snoring, could eat a person in one bite, totally all grown-up dragon!"
Dusk massaged his temples, inhale, count to four, exhale, he mentally chanted to himself. "Fluttershy, first, dragons don't eat people, eating a sapient creature is cannibalism even to them. Second, if you're so afraid of dragons, why didn't you say something before we came all the way up here?"
"I-I tried, but no one listened to me."
"Alright, look," Dusk said, "Fluttershy, you stay out here, I'll go talk to him myself. Dragons can be reasonable... at times." His friends all exchanged glances but didn't answer. Regardless, Dusk stilled himself and returned to the cave.
After a short trip he emerged into a large cavern. Inside was a fairly large horde of bits as well as articles of jewelry scattered here and there. However, Dusk's attention was drawn to the center of the cave where a massive red wyrm was sleeping soundly. The great beast was easily the size of a one story house with gleaming red scales that reflected the light emanating from Dusk's gem. Long dorsal fins rose and fell as the dragon breathed and the noxious smoke poured out of his nostrils at a steady pace.
Well, here goes nothing, Dusk thought. "Excuse me, Mr... Dragon?" Dusk called out. The creature didn't move so he tried again. This time, shining his light on the dragon's eye. "Excuse me, Mr. Dragon, I need to have a word with you, please."
The wyrm stirred, opening his eyes and focusing them on the little intruder that was disturbing his rest.
"Oh, good, you're awake. Allow me to introduce myself. I am Dusk Shine, Representative of Equest-" As Dusk spoke, the dragon opened its mouth to let out a great yawn. Dusk was momentarily stunned by its shear size, he could easily stand on the dragon's tongue with his arms raised and still not be able to reach the roof of the mouth. His front teeth were long and sharp while his rear ones were flat and jagged in order to grind up gems and other rocks that they ate. Dusk also noted, to his relief, that the palatal valve, a flap at the back of a dragon's throat, was closed meaning he wasn't about to breath fire.
"...Equestria," Dusk continued, "I've come here to respectfully request that you find another spot to take your nap. It's just that you seem to be doing an awful lot of snoring, and every time you do you send out a terrible cloud of smoke. Equestria simply can't survive a hundred years in a dark haze. You understand, don't you?"
The dragon continued looking at Dusk with an idle curiosity, then, he raised up onto his hind legs and stretched out his limbs. Dusk let out a sigh of relief, "So, you'll find another place to sleep?"
With an earth shaking thud, the dragon let his body drop back to the ground, returning once more to his dreams.
"I'll take that as a no," Dusk said with a disappointed sigh.
As Dusk exited the cave, his defeated disposition as well as the lack of a 20 foot tall monster told his friends that the negotiations had failed.
"So much for asking nicely," Rainbow said.
"Well, now what do we do, oh glorious leader?" Trixie said mockingly.
Before he could answer, Rarity stepped up. "Obviously, this situation just calls for a little 'womanly charm'," she said. "Allow me, girls."
Rarity approached the sleeping dragon. As she did, she couldn't help but be taken in by piles upon piles of gold and jewels. She nearly forgot her mission as she ran over to a particularly large diamond. Oh my heavens! Just imagine what I could make with such a perfectly flawless- she was broken from her thought process by a loud throat clearing noise. Turning around, she saw the owner of said gem eyeing her with a look that said "don't even think about it."
Rarity composed herself, but kept the diamond in the corner of her eye. "I'm so sorry to interrupt your sleep," she started, "but I couldn't possibly head back home without mentioning what handsome scales you have." At this, the dragon raised to its full height to look down at the small and unexpectedly polite mortal.
"And," she continued, "those scales have to be hidden away in some silly cave for a hundred years? What a shame." The dragon ran a hand over his dorsal spines, it was rare to receive complements, especially from mortals who usually just wanted to chase him off or rob him blind, sometimes both.
While the dragon was basking in the praise, Rarity inched ever closer to the diamond, boldly picking it up to admire while she spoke. "Personally, I think you should skip the snoozing and be out there, showing them off," she said. "And of course, I would be more than happy to keep an eye on your treasures while you're gone."
The dragon snapped out of his revelry and looked down at the djinn woman who was currently fondling his most prized diamond. With a crash, he slammed his claw down on the cavern floor to get her attention. Rarity looked at the suddenly much larger than before dragon with a guilty grin. He glared angrily at her and held out his claw.
Rarity, seeing that she had been caught, obeyed the dragon's unspoken command to return the diamond. "I... ahem... I was just, getting it for you," she said sheepishly while placing the diamond in his claw. Once the diamond was safely back in his possession, he let out a bellowing roar causing Rarity to scream as she ran from the cave.
Outside, her friends looked on in concern as she burst from the cave opening and came to a panting halt once she was beside them. "Rarity, are you alright?" Dusk asked.
"I'm fine, dear," she said, "but I was this close to getting that diamond!"
"You mean... getting the dragon to leave right?"
"Hm? Oh right, right, that too."
"Alright losers," came the unmistakable arrogance of Trixie, "stand back and be amazed as Trixie, Dragon Whisperer, saves the day!" Without waiting for the opinions of the others, Trixie marched herself into the cave. The dragon, now fully awake and annoyed rolled his eyes as yet another mortal brazenly entered his lair.
Outside, Dusk paced back and forth while the others sat and waited. A loud roar was heard from the cave accompanied by a soft glow. They looked on with worry until Trixie emerged shortly after, a scowl on her black soot covered face and a small flame on the tip of her hat. Without a word, she marched over to the group and sat with her arms crossed. "'Go to Ponyville', they said, 'it's an easy gig', they said," she mumbled to herself. Meanwhile, Pinkie casually blew out the flame on her hat.
"Alright that's it!" Rainbow declared. "We tried talking, flattery, and... whatever the hell Trixie did, now it's time to get physical." She cracked her knuckles and flexed her wings as she spoke. "I'm going in!" Before any of them could protest, Rainbow darted into the cave. Perhaps if she had been a little slower, she would have had time to take in the dragon's colossal size and deadly weapons. As it was, she didn't stop to consider the situation until after she punched him square in the face.
The dragon liked to think of himself as a somewhat decent fellow. Like most wild dragons he considered his race to be the most majestic in Equestria but he generally didn't look down on mortals. He'd been patient, hoping they would take the hint, he even gave the goofy looking one with the hat a slight scare with his dragonfire. Getting punched in the face, however, was a step too far.
The dragon rose to his full height, spreading his massive wings and bearing his teeth. Rainbow looked up and up and up as the great wyrm filled the cave with its massive form. As it fixed it's furious eyes on her, a single thought ran through her head, whelp, I dun goofed.
Outside, the others jumped with a start as they heard a loud, angry roar followed by their friend flying out of the cave with an uncharacteristically frightened look. "Ok, so..." she said as she landed, "good news is, I got him to leave the cave." The ground shook with each step as the dragon emerged from his lair. He pointed his head to the sky and let lose a massive jet of dragonfire. not particularly caring that his race's traditional challenge call was most likely lost on the tiny mortals.
If the group was scared, Fluttershy was completely petrified. Her worst fears were playing out right in front of her. She watched helplessly as they tried to defend themselves. Dusk tried to conjure a shield but the dragon back handed him into a rock wall before he could. Applejack tossed a rock in the air and roundhouse kicked it into the dragon's side but it bounced right off the thick scales. All in all, it didn't look good for the group of would be dragon wranglers.
Fluttershy closed her eyes, unable to move. She tried to push her fear away, to think of something. It was then that Rainbow crashed onto the ground in front of her. She groaned in pain as she struggled to stand. "Oh no! Rainbow Dash!" Fluttershy yelled as she reached down to grab her friends hand. "Are you okay?"
"Ugh, I'll be fine, he just knocked me down is all," she answered.
Fluttershy looked at her bruised and scratched friend, then back at the dragon that was currently closing in on Dusk and the others who were huddled together. All of a sudden, she felt a familiar feeling, just like she felt when fighting the revenants back at the Castle of the Two Sisters. It was an anger that swelled from deep inside her. She knew what was coming and it scared her almost as much as the dragon itself. Breathing heavily, she thought back to what her mother had once told her.
Many years ago, Fluttershy was sitting on a chair outside the Principle's office of Cloudsdale Elementary School, her eyes red from endless tears. The door opened and out walked a tall, beautiful woman with brown skin and long flowing hair the color of summer leaves. She looked down at Fluttershy with a sad expression.
"M-mama..." Fluttershy sniffled, "I-I'm so sorry... I just couldn't control myself! *sniff* I saw that kid picking on Zephyr Breeze and I just... I don't know what happened. I saw red and the next thing I knew I was on top of him and he was crying and my hands were covered in b-blo..." she couldn't finish the last word, the thought of what she'd done made her sick. "P-please don't let them banish me mama, I'll never do it again!"
"Fluttershy," her mother spoke in a soft whisper. She knelt down and embraced her daughter who returned it with both her arms and her tiny yellow wings. "It's going to be ok, my little sapling. Your principle said if you and that boy apologize to one another, she'll let you off with a warning."
Fluttershy felt a great deal of relief at that, but something still bothered her. "Mama... am I a bad person?" she asked as they walked home from the schoolhouse.
"Of course not, sweetie. Why on earth would you think that?"
"When I... hurt that other kid, I couldn't stop myself. I was just so mad. W-why would I do something like that if I wasn't a bad person?"
"Sapling," she started, "do you remember when I told you that mama was different?"
"Because you're a druid?"
"Dryad, sweetheart, not druid. A druid is someone who worships nature. But more importantly, because I am a dryad, that means you are part dryad as well." She looked down at her daughter who was watching her with curiosity. "You know how you got the same hair, wings and skin color as your papa? Well, you got some things that I have as well, but the things you got from me are inside you. Your love of animals for example. And you definitely got your smarts from me and not your father," she grinned cheekily causing Fluttershy to giggle. "You got something else from me as well," she continued, "something all dryads have but few people know about."
"What's that, mama?"
"Fury," she said with a serious tone. "Dryads are meant to be the guardians of the forest but we are kind and gentle beings who deplore violence, so, we developed a trait that allowed us to call upon the wrath of nature herself. You see, Fluttershy, when a dryad sees something or someone they care deeply about being threatened, we feel an anger. It's an anger that takes over our minds and makes us do things that would normally be unthinkable." She looked over at her daughter who had a growing fear on her face. "That's what you felt today, sapling, when you saw your little brother being bullied, your dryadic fury was triggered."
"W-what if I do it again?!" Fluttershy cried. "Oh no, every time I get mad I'll hurt someone! I-"
"Sapling!" her mother interrupted her and knelled down to look her in the eye. "That wont happen, I promise. I can teach you how to control your fury so that you don't ever go too far, also, you'll only feel fury when you're really, really angry. And you're too sweet to ever get that mad very often." She smiled and booped Fluttershy on the nose.
Fluttershy smiled affectionately at her mother and they continued their walk home. "So, how do I control it then?" she asked.
"The most important thing to remember is, when you feel it coming on, think about what you want to do. You don't want to hurt the one you're angry at, you just want to make them back down. There's one technique that's been passed down in our family from mother to daughter, it's called The Stare...
Fluttershy closed her eyes and tried to focus. "I don't want to hurt him," she said to herself, "I want to stand up to him and tell him he's wrong." The anger continued to build but she continued to whisper what she wanted to do. Slowly, her fear melted away and the anger, although still present, began to feel more like determination. Finally, as it reached it's peak, she knew what she had to do.
The dragon closed in on the group of huddled friends with every intention of sending them home with chard clothing and third degree burns when a shout from his left drew his attention. "Listen here, mister!" The dragon turned to see a tiny seraphim who was now flying eye level with him. He growled menacingly to frighten her off but it failed.
"Fluttershy, don't! He'll get you too!" Dusk yelled but was silenced when she held up a sturdy and confident hand.
Fluttershy gazed into the wyrm's eyes, "Just because you're big doesn't mean you get to be a bully! You may have huge teeth, and sharp scales, and snore smoke, and breathe fire. But you do not, I repeat, you do Not! Hurt! My! Friends! You got that?"
The dragon looked into the tiny seraphim's eyes. He couldn't understand why, but he felt a powerful aura radiating off her, a pressure of authority that he had only felt from two other beings in his entire 400 year life. The first was his loving but stern mother, and the second was in the presence of the great dragon lord, Torch. His mind told him it was a logical absurdity, this mortal was barely larger than his pinkie claw. A puff from his dragonfire and she would be nothing more than ash, yet, he felt like a child under her gaze.
"But that rainbow one kicked me..." he spoke for the first time.
Fluttershy spared a glance at Rainbow Dash who was currently leaning against a bolder for support. Rainbow shrugged with a guilty smile. The yellow winged seraphim returned her gaze to the dragon, "and I am very sorry about that," she continued. "But you're bigger than she is, and you should know better. You should also know better than to take a nap where your snoring can become a health hazard to other creatures."
The dragon wanted to feel indignant but instead he felt something he'd never actually felt before, shame. "But I-"
"Don't you 'but I' me, mister!" Fluttershy interrupted. "Now what do you have to say for yourself?" Her glare intensified, "I said, what do you have to say for yourself?"
"I-I'm..." and then the dragon spoke two words. Two words that were rarely, if ever spoken by any dragon, "I'm sorry."
Fluttershy smiled a warm and loving smile as she patted the dragon's snout. "There, there. You're not a bad dragon, you just made a bad decision. Now go pack your things. You just need to find a new place to sleep. That's all." Her gentle tone and bright smile filled him with a warmth that he'd not felt in years. With a nod, he turned back towards his cave, took a deep breath and let out a massive jet of green dragonfire. Then he spread his wings and took flight.
Fluttershy landed in front of her slack jawed friends who stood in silence for a few moments, unable to believe what they'd just witnessed. Dusk was the first to break the silence, "Fluttershy, you did it!" He and the rest of the group surrounded her with cheers and words of congratulations with the exception of Trixie who was staring at the dragon's receding form while scratching her head and Rarity who had gone to check the cave.
"Oh drat," she said with a pout, "the treasure's all gone."
"He must have used his dragonfire to send it away," Dusk noted as he joined her by the cave.
"I'm just glad it's over'n done with so we can head back ho-" AJ was interrupted by a strange sound that drew the attention of all towards the mouth of the cave. While the others looked with curiosity, Trixie felt a cold fear shoot down her spine. Her heart started pounding and her breathing became heavy, she'd heard that sound before.
Pinkie noticed Trixie and was about to ask if she was ok when the sound of footsteps echoed from the cavern. Dusk stared in confusion, it wasn't possible for there to be someone in that cave, it was filled with dragonfire literally less than two minutes ago. He looked back and saw Trixie was now shaking, a fearful expression on her face.
Dusk decided to investigate the cave, he was followed by the others with Trixie trailing in the back, still looking incredibly nervous for some reason. As they entered the main chamber where the dragon's horde had been, they found it completely empty save for one thing, a creature the likes of which Dusk had never seen. Humanoid in shape but with a grey, and shifting body that looked like a software glitch personified.
"What in Harmony's name-" Dusk started but he was cut off by a shriek of terror from Trixie. Her scream drew the thing's attention as it turned towards the group and they saw, to their shock and confusion, that it had no face.
Before anyone could do anything else, Trixie let loose a volley of magical blasts from her wand. She grunted with each swing, launching bolts as fast as her wand could draw energy. The creature dodged each bolt by blinking from one position to another as fast as the eye could see. "Stay away!" she yelled in a panicked voice.
"AJ, Rainbow, hold her!" Dusk yelled as he conjured a protective barrier around the group.
AJ and Rainbow each grabbed one of Trixie's arms, stopping her frantic casting but not her struggling. "Let me go!" she cried, "that thing's after me!"
Dusk, with his hands outstretched to hold the shield, chanced a look back at Trixie, then looked back at the monstrous thing. It stood mere inches from him now, separated only by the thin pink bubble of magic. He stared at it's hauntingly faceless visage, "What are you?" he whispered.
The creature said nothing, instead it backed up a few feet and in a flash of light, it vanished. Dusk waited a few moments before dropping the barrier. He looked around cautiously but the thing was nowhere to be seen. Behind him, he heard Trixie hyperventilating, she slumped to the ground, holding her wand close as if it was her last lifeline.
"Shhh, it's alright. The bad thing is gone now," Fluttershy said gently as she and Pinkie slowly managed to calm her. Trixie said nothing as they walked her out of the cave, leaving Dusk, Rainbow, AJ and Rarity.
Rainbow walked up to Dusk's side, "So..." she started, "obvious question but, what the actual hell was that?"
"I have no idea," he answered looking around the cave. In the back, where the thing had first been standing, he spotted a small, odd looking object. He illuminated his mana gem for extra light as he walked over to it. The object looked like a quartz about a foot long with a point on each end. Its smooth surface was so perfectly black that it actually stood out from the shadows.
Dusk reached out and touched it with his magic. There appeared to be no ill effects so slowly, he extended a hand to its surface. It was cold to the touch and smooth like glass. He picked it up to examine it further, upon closer inspection, tiny writing was embedded into the surface but the characters were unrecognizable.
"Rarity, have you ever seen a gem like this?" he asked.
Rarity walked up to take a closer look at the object in question. "Oh my, I'm afraid not, darling. Though it does have a sort of menacing beauty to it." Whatever it was, it seemed to be related to the thing that had appeared so Dusk decided to keep it for later. Perhaps Celestia would know.
When Dusk and the others exited the cave, he saw that Trixie was leaning against one of the rocks with a distant look in her eyes. "Trixie, are you alright?" he asked.
"Trixie is fine..." she said dismissively.
"You sure? Because I know what it's like to have panic attacks."
"I said I'm fine! Trixie does not need help from anyone. Especially from you, djinn!" she spat.
"Hey, what's your problem?" Rainbow yelled.
"Yea, Dusk's only trying to be nice," Pinkie added.
"Trixie doesn't have to explain herself to you, you'd never understand it." She turned towards the path that led downward. "The dragon is dealt with, Trixie no longer has any reason to be here."
"Why that ungrateful-" AJ started but Dusk grabbed her shoulder.
"Let's let it go," he said. "I don't know what she has against djinn but that... thing clearly had an effect on her. Lets give her some space."
***
The ride home was a relaxing one, even though Trixie kept to herself, the others couldn't help but feel relived by their success. The sun was setting as they pulled into the station. While the girls all went to their homes, Trixie followed Dusk back to the library. "Are you sure you don't want to spend the night and leave in the morning? It's been a long day."
"Trixie is sure," she replied. "I don't want to spend any more time here than I have to."
Dusk sighed but he expected as such. He opened the door to see Spike sitting in the common room and he wasn't alone. "K-Kevin? What are you doing here?"
Kevin looked up to greet the pair, "ah, Dusk, and you must be Trixie," he said as he walked towards her.
"I am the Great and Powerful Trixie. Who are you supposed to be and why should I care?" she asked irritated.
"I am Special Agent Kevin of S.M.I.L.E. and as for why you should care..." in one quick motion, he bound her right hand to his left with a pair of hand cuffs. "Trixie Lulamoon, by order of Princess Celestia, you are under arrest."