//------------------------------// // Chapter 29 // Story: A New Dragon in the Crystal Empire // by Vedues //------------------------------// “I’m not pregnant,” Fluttershy said, backing away from Twilight, Rarity, and Silver Lining so quickly that she fell out of the nest with a cry of surprise. Rarity, who was bright red, climbed out of the nest and helped her up. “I know it’s hard to hear, Fluttershy, but,” she reached into the envelope from the hospital and pulled out a sonogram picture with an obvious shape on it, “the doctor can already tell that your foal will be a pegasus.” Fluttershy numbly took the picture. “I …” She shook her head. “No, I can’t be pregnant. Dragons … dragons can’t impregnate ponies.” “Which brings up a rather important point,” Silver Lining said tersely. “When were you going to tell me that you’re having an affair?” Twilight blushed. “None us would blame you. Cliff was really busy with his training the last time you were in heat. It’s completely understandable if you ran into a stallion and things just kind of,” she cleared her throat, “happened.” Fluttershy was too stunned by the implication to even respond. “Is it Prince Blueblood?” Silver Lining asked. “I thought his Hearth’s Warming present was a little suspicious.” “I would never cheat on Cliff!” Fluttershy felt her cheeks burn red, as much from anger as embarrassment. “How could you three even suggest that?” The others all shrank back from her outburst, even Silver Lining. “Fluttershy,” Twilight said gently, both her ears pressed back against her head, “I don’t believe you’d do something like that, but you said it yourself; ponies and dragons can’t cross-breed. I’ve done hundreds of experiments. I’ve even used samples from both you and Cliff, and nothing indicates that it’s even possible.” “Cliff is the only one I’ve ever been with.” Fluttershy stomped the floor with one hoof. “The hospital made a mistake.” Rarity paused, and then nodded. “I believe you, dear.” She wrapped her hooves around Fluttershy. “I feel horrible for even thinking for a moment that you were capable of such a thing.” Though she was still a little upset, Fluttershy returned the hug. “I want to believe you,” Silver Lining looked away. “I really do, Fluttershy, but that sonogram isn’t just evidence, it’s proof.” Twilight looked from her to Fluttershy, indecision playing across her face. “There’s a spell I can use to double-check.” “You don’t trust me?” Fluttershy whispered, feeling a little heartbroken. “No, it isn’t that.” Twilight gestured to the test results in her hoof. “Your hormones are going crazy, and that sonogram proves that something is happening in your uterus. Maybe it’s a tumor or something, but we need to know so that we can treat it.” Fluttershy paused then lowered her head. “Okay.” Twilight smiled gratefully. “Thank you, Fluttershy. This should only take a few seconds.” She placed her horn on Fluttershy’s forehead and lit it up with magic. Fluttershy’s body started to tingle. At first it was soft, almost like a tickle along her skin, then it got stronger, especially around her stomach. She squirmed a little at the uncomfortable sensation but didn’t say anything. Seconds passed, and the sensation got even stronger, bordering on real pain. “Twilight,” Fluttershy grimaced, opening her eyes, “what are you doing?” Her friend gave no sign of hearing her. She was frowning a little, and her horn was a lot brighter than it had been before. Eventually Twilight’s spell ended, and she sat down hard. “I don’t believe it,” she said quietly. “Believe what?” Rarity asked. Fluttershy rubbed her stomach. “What did you learn?” Twilight breathed deeply. “I have … impossible news for you, Fluttershy. You’re pregnant, but your foal is half dragon.” “What?” Fluttershy looked down at her stomach. Silver Lining looked at Twilight. “You’ve published two papers saying that such a thing is impossible.” “Yes, but …” Twilight covered her face with her hooves and groaned. “Ugh, you’re right. This shouldn’t be possible! Dragons and ponies are just too genetically dissimilar. We couldn’t even fertilize an egg in a controlled environment.” Fluttershy put a hoof back to her stomach. She had wanted a foal of her own for a long time, and now she could finally have one with the dragon she loved. Did anything else really matter? Her stunned expression fell away, replaced by an awestruck smile. “Is the baby healthy?” “I don’t know!” Twilight tossed her hooves into air. “I’ve read everything there is to read about cross-breeds, and I haven’t found a single confirmed case of a dragon and a pony producing offspring. I don’t even know what a healthy foal would look like at this stage of development.” Silver Lining stood up and walked to the door. “I’ll gather Everfree’s best experts on wyrm pregnancies and bring them to Ponyville Hospital. The rest of you, go straight there and gather their specialists in prenatal care. A room full of experts can do more than the four of us.” She paused, came back, and pulled Fluttershy into a firm hug. “Congratulations, Flutters. I’m sorry for doubting you.” Then she was out the door so quickly that Fluttershy didn’t even have time to respond. -_-_-_-_-_- Nearly an hour later, Fluttershy found herself staring out a window in Ponyville Hospital. The town outside was beautiful, coated in snow like a cottony blanket, but she kept her eyes locked on it for a very different reason. Rarity stood at her side, quietly supporting her friend’s body and spirit. Others filled the room as well, including Twilight, Silver Lining, a brown unicorn named Dr. Stable, and a wyrm, an adult wyrm with the same green coloration as one of the drakes that Fluttershy had helped kill. “Sorry to keep you all waiting so long,” Dr. Stable said. There was a creaking noise that probably meant he had taken his seat at the room’s table. “We’ve reexamined every part of Mrs. Fluttershy’s tests and scans, and we believe we have some answers for you all.” “As far as we can tell,” the wyrm dragoness said, “the hatchling is healthy.” Fluttershy breathed a sigh of relief. “It seems to be between ten and eleven weeks old,” the dragoness continued, “which corresponds to the last time Fluttershy was in heat. “We can see the beginnings of four legs, a tail, and wings. However, the tail is more similar to what I would expect from a wyrm at this stage in development.” “As with other cross-breed pregnancies,” Dr. Stable said, “Mrs. Fluttershy’s magic field has altered itself to better meet the needs of the foal. The increased thirst and restlessness she’s been experiencing are actually common signs of wyrm pregnancy, but Dr. Insight mistook them for symptoms of her trauma.” “Oh my Celestia,” Twilight groaned. The sound of hoof meeting forehead echoed through the room. “I saw Mom, uh, Scenic Trail, go through the same thing just under a year ago. How did I not catch on?” “Likely because you didn’t expect a pegasus to show the symptoms of draconic pregnancy,” Dr. Insight said flatly. “Even her morning sickness was mistaken for simple nausea. It didn’t help that the bouts struck in the evening.” “Do you know how she got pregnant?” Twilight asked. Fluttershy looked over at the table, but had to go back to the window moments later. She could almost see fresh blood pouring from the dragoness’s mouth as she fell helplessly to the ground below. “We have no idea,” Dr. Stable said with a sigh. “Even now, pony and dragon magic fields seem to be fighting within the foal for dominance. A battle like that should have destroyed the sperm and egg the moment fertilization took place.” “Just like in the lab,” Twilight said. “Which presents a problem,” Dr. Stable said. Rarity hugged Fluttershy a bit more tightly. “We have no way of knowing what traits the foal will inherit. Dragonesses normally lay their egg between thirteen and sixteen weeks after fertilization, and obviously, Mrs. Fluttershy doesn’t have the biology required to produce an egg. In other words, we could be as little as two weeks away from a very big problem.” Deep breaths. In through the nose, out through the mouth. Fluttershy had to believe that life wouldn’t give her this miracle only to steal it away. “Don’t tell us what the problem is,” Silver Lining said sharply. “Tell us how to fix it.” “We don’t know,” the dragoness said. “Dragons almost never cross-breed, and ponies have only ever produced offspring with other mammals. This is entirely new territory.” “I asked Celestia if she knew anything,” Twilight said. “She said Luna can use the foal’s imprint on the dreamscape to look for others of the same species. If there are other hybrids on the planet, she can find them.” “Let’s hope she discovers something,” Dr. Stable said. “In the meantime, we should look into a spell to replicate dragon egg production. I would much rather have it and not need it than the other way around.” “Meanwhile,” the dragoness said, “Dr. Stable and I will put together a list of dietary suggestions that might help the hatchling, or foal, or whatever we’re calling it. I’ll also write a list of things dragonesses experience during pregnancy, so you’ll know what to expect.” “Thank you for everything,” Fluttershy whispered, risking a glance at the green dragoness, “Mrs …” “Prosperity.” The dragoness smiled. “I promise I’ll do whatever it takes to make this pregnancy a success.” “Thank you.” Fluttershy had to look away before her back legs could give out. Rarity gave her a comforting squeeze. “Yes, we cannot thank you enough for your help.” “We’re glad to help,” Dr. Insight said. “Prosperity, wait up. I was thinking that cheeses and yogurt would be excellent dietary choices. They’re both high in protein …” The door opened and then shut. “It’s okay,” Twilight said, “you can look now.” Fluttershy turned away from the window and confirmed that they were the only four in the room. “What do we do now?” Her wings crossed down over her stomach. “Now,” Silver Lining said, getting up from her seat, “we stay with you through your first prenatal checkup, then we go home, and you write a letter to your husband.” “Yes, you’re right.” Fluttershy walked to the door as well. “He needs to know.” As soon as Fluttershy opened the door, an explosion of ribbons and confetti hit her in the face. Shouting in surprise, she flew backwards into Rarity, knocking them both onto the ground in a tangle of limbs. “Congratulations!” Pinkie jumped into the room, holding a pink cake and wearing a blue party hat. She paused and her mouth dropped open in shock. “Rarity, you’re pregnant?” “What?” The white unicorn untangled herself from Fluttershy and stood up. “Of course I am not pregnant! Why would you even say that?” A look of horror came over her and she clamped both forehooves over her stomach. “Oh my Celestia, I look pregnant!” “No no, that’s not it,” Pinkie said quickly, “but my Pinkie Sense told me that someone was just finding out that they’re pregnant. Prosperity is turning two hundred and seventeen in fifty-two days, so she isn’t fertile anymore; Fluttershy is married to Cliff, and everyone knows that dragons can’t get ponies pregnant; and Twilight still hasn’t, uh,” she put the cake down and bumped her forehooves together conspicuously, “so she can’t be pregnant. I guess that Silver Lining is …” She trailed off amid a withering glare from Silver Lining. “Sorry, I guess my Pinkie Sense must be on the fritz.” Fluttershy got up next to Rarity. “Actually, Pinkie, I’m the one that’s pregnant, and Cliff is the father.” Pinkie didn’t move for one entire second, then she was suddenly at Fluttershy’s side and wrapping her in a tight hug. “Bestdayever! Best day ever! Best! Day! Ever!” She all but forced the cake into her friend’s hooves. “I get to throw you my usual ‘Congratulations, You’re Having a Baby,’ party, and a special ‘Congratulations on Finally Getting Pregnant,’ party, and an extra special, ‘Congratulations on Being the Mother of the First Dragon-Pony Hybrid in Equestrian History,’ party!” She let go and bounced to the door. “Oh, you must be on your way to your first prenatal checkup. I’ll come along. Tell me everything! Except for how you got pregnant. I already know how that works.” Fluttershy blushed a little as she went after her friend, followed by the others. Pinkie kept talking energetically, not giving any of them a chance to respond. “Ooh, do you know what you’re going to call her yet? Or him? Is your baby a boy or a girl?” She slapped herself in the forehead. “Oh, silly Pinkie, they won’t be able to tell you that for at least another few weeks. I know, do you hope that she or he can breathe fire? How about flying …?” -_-_-_-_-_- Luna looked up at her sister, eyes wide in shock. “Thou expects me to spend the night scouring the dreamscape for a race that likely doesn’t exist when I could instead be searching for weaknesses of the Dragon Alliance?” Celestia nodded, ignoring the billowing wind and the flakes of snow landing on her coat. “Fluttershy has helped save Equestria on numerous occasions. She deserves this much and more.” “Very well.” Luna looked forward to the mountain they were approaching. “Then let us at least strike a decisive blow to these dragons.” She dropped the illusion that was keeping them both invisible. “Agreed.” Celestia opened herself to the sun’s power, drinking in as much of it as she could hold. Next to her, she saw Luna’s body change to shadows as she drew on the moon’s power. Celestia didn’t have to look down to know that her own body was now blindingly radiant. The rocks melting beneath her hooves were an obvious enough clue. “Dragons of the Alliance,” Luna called in the Royal Canterlot Voice. Snow and rocks were blasted away by the force of her voice. Even the air rippled in front of her. “We did not attack your citizens because you did not attack ours! Retract your threat, or my sister and I will be forced to lay waste to your home as you have threatened to lay waste to the Crystal Empire!” Silence greeted them for one minute, then two, then ten. Finally, two drakes emerged from the cave near the mountain’s summit. One flew with like a living embodiment of the earth, firm, unstoppable. The other was like watching the air itself given form, elusive, ever-changing. Yol Toor and Silver Tail, the most powerful drakes in the Alliance. They landed within ten feet of Celestia and Luna. Both were in their thinking forms, but both had all the marks of their battle forms. Bony plating covered Yol Toor’s scales, reflecting the orange light generated by his fiery wings, and his claws looked more like sickles. Silver Tail, on the other hoof, looked ethereal, almost see-though. Only his eyes, deep and penetrating, appeared solid. “No,” Silver Tail said firmly. “We don’t accept your demands, because there isn’t a single civilian in this mountain; they’re all somewhere safe, very far away from you. Every last dragon that is here is willing to fight and die if that’s what it will take to create a better future for our kind.” “Then accept an offer of peace,” Celestia said, keeping her eyes on Yol Toor, just as she knew Luna was keeping her eyes on Silver Tail. “We will give you mining rights in the outer caves around the Crystal Empire. You will have the gems you need to survive.” “No we won’t.” Silver Tail took a small step forward. “I don’t know if you’ve been down there recently, Princess Celestia, but we exhausted those gem deposits centuries ago. We need the land directly beneath the Empire, and something tells me you won’t give us that willingly.” “The crystal ponies can produce gems for you,” Luna said. “As many as you need.” Silver Tail scoffed. “Like we would be stupid enough to trust our continued survival to Equestria, the empire that wants us dead.” Yol Toor nodded ever so slightly, his eyes still locked on Celestia. “Equestria does not want you dead,” Celestia said. “We only want peace.” “Really?” Silver Tail arched an eyebrow. “Ninety-three percent approval to continue this war as of, oh yeah, yesterday. Lies and threats don’t impress us. Actions do, and right now, your actions tell me that you can here expecting a fight.” “That we did, Dragon Lord.” Luna lowered her shadowy horn at Silver Tail. “Hoping to avoid one, but expecting one nonetheless.” “Then take your best shot.” Silver Tail lowered his stance and spread his wings. Celestia let out a heartfelt sigh. “You force us to do this.” Her horn flared to life. High above the mountain, air and light bent and refracted as if by a magnifying glass several miles across. The sky went dark and the temperature plummeted as every drop of the sun’s light and heat was concentrated into one beam at least ten feet across. It cut into the mountain, evaporating rock instantly as it bored straight down. The Alliance’s anti-magic bubble did nothing against it, of course, because the only magic was the massive spell pulling all that energy together before setting it loose. Luna added her own spell to Celestia’s, and the beam turned pitch black, casting them all in darkness as profound as midnight. Light to darkness, heat to cold. The ice that had been blasted from the mountain’s rocks now returned. Even the air froze into sheets of white ice. Yol Toor flipped around, growing to his full size, and spat a huge beam of energy. It’s brilliant light cut into the ray of darkness, canceling it just before it reached the mountaintop. “You can’t stop it,” Celestia grunted, pulling in even more light and heat for her sister to convert. “Surrender now or watch your army die!” Yol Toor’s claws gouged into the rock beneath him, and his features were bunched in concentration. Yet still tiny bits of the dark ray pushed through his Void Fire, spreading more ice on the mountain beneath. Something crashed into Celestia, hurling her backwards as tendrils of destructive energy rushed down her throat. Celestia teleported away, leaving a bluish-silver form to coalesce where she had just been. She recognized it’s blue eyes. Silver Tail. Lances of compressed air shot from his wings by the hundreds, cutting into Celestia’s fiery chest and forelegs before her shield could fully form. Luna appeared next to Celestia, pushing them both away from the onslaught as the sky returned to normal. Some kind of energy blade came down from above, cutting through Celestia’s shield and slicing across Luna’s back. Celestia looked up and saw five wyverns flying a dizzying formation, moving so quickly and changing directions so suddenly that even attempting to hit one without blasting the whole area would be an exercise in futility. The air inside of Celestia’s shield suddenly froze, hissing angrily against her fiery body. Another teleport, and she stood with Luna behind Yol Toor. The darkness that made up her sister’s body had faded in places, showing bits of painfully red skin beneath, but she nodded to Celestia. Celestia nodded back, and the two sisters launched themselves at Yol Toor. The drake spun and brought up both forelegs defensively as his aura sprang into existence. Celestia’s blow made the aura ripple, but Luna’s hoof punched straight through it, crunching into the bony plating beneath. Overlapping beams of golden light hit the sisters, slamming them into the ground. The other void-fire drakes, Celestia realized through the crushing agony of the assault. They’ve joined the fray as well. Luna somehow grabbed onto Yol Toor and pulled him into the path of the Void Fire, letting it blast him instead. Celestia stabbed her horn into his chest and released everything she had, launching him high into the air, where he crashed into two white drakes. Gasping, Celestia fell to her knees. “We can’t stay here.” As if to punctuate her point, Silver Tail appeared in front of her, his gleaming teeth already closing around her neck. Then both sisters disappeared in a flash of blue light, reappearing in the foothills to the north of the Crystal Empire. Celestia fell to her stomach in the powdery snow. It didn’t even sizzle at her touch. “Luna,” she breathed, “are you … all right?” Luna groaned. “I have been better.” She stepped into Celestia’s field of view. Angry red splotches covered much of her body, especially her back. “So …” she didn’t as much bend down as fall. “Do you think Yol Toor could have been killed by our assault?” “Unlikely,” Celestia said. “Even if his wounds were mortal, wyrms would be able to heal him long before he succumbed to them.” “Tis a shame.” Luna rolled over onto her back, pressing up against Celestia as she did so. “I would like to try again, but perhaps we should first eliminate several of their other champions.” “I agree.” Celestia snuggled a bit closer to her sister, enjoying the peace and the companionship. Even the snow felt pleasantly cool against her wounds. “I apologize for not teleporting us directly into the Empire,” Luna said after a moment. “I thought it a bad idea to let our ponies see us in this state.” Celestia nodded. “That, and I’m aware that thy vanity knows no bounds.” Luna shoved Celestia playfully. “Ha ha.” Celestia shoved her back, drawing on more of the sun’s power to fuel a healing spell. They lapsed into silence again. Celestia didn’t know what Luna was thinking about, but she was simply enjoying the chance to rest. There would be millions of ponies waiting for them when they got back, expecting to see two perfect princesses. It was a lot easier to be a beaten-up older sister. “So …” Luna said eventually, “thou wished for me to search the dreamscape on behalf of Fluttershy?” “If you don’t mind.” Celestia cast her healing spell and stood up. Luna did likewise, her dark-blue coat regrowing almost instantly, and the two of them started walking toward the Crystal Empire. Their little break was over, and Equestria needed its princesses again.