Moss had never in his life experienced any sort of opposition that was severe enough to cause him to worry. That was to be expected, of course; dragons in general – and himself in particular – were nature’s success story. Any foe that had dared to bare their fangs at him had paid for the offense with their lives, typically with barely any effort on Moss’s part.
That was especially true for the so-called sapient mortals that had inhabited his old world. Although Moss had heard his parents, and even a few other dragons, talk about ponies or griffons or other creatures that had developed weapons and magic that could injure or even kill a dragon, he’d always scoffed at such tales, thinking them the work of those dragons that had forgotten their pride.
He had encountered mortals before, on the few times when he’d decided to raid some of their pathetic little communities in bouts of hunger, or amusement, or both. The results had not impressed him; most had done nothing other than scream and run or try to hide, no different than the beasts that he typically slaughtered in the forests or the lakes where he usually hunted.
A few had tried to fight back, of course, but the results had been so feeble he’d barely noticed them. Swords and arrows had bounced off his scales, with those few that had bit into him being little more irritating than an itch. Magic had similarly minor effect, as by that time he’d already grown into his natural ability to resist magic. It wasn’t an impervious mantle, he knew; supposedly it could be penetrated by sufficient effort and skill on the part of a powerful enough spellcaster, but Moss had never met one that could overcome his natural defenses with impunity.
But now, as he strained to use his breath weapon to its full effect, despite the terrible ache in his chest from where that gigantic spell-pony had punched him, Moss realized that he was fighting for his life. As his breath finally ran out, he took the opportunity to put some distance between himself and where the miasma he’d exhaled was already beginning to thin.
For an instant, he considered retreating; if he turned and ran as fast as he could, he might be escape into the forest. He felt confident that he could use the trees and undergrowth to his advantage, since he had a natural ability as part of his birthright as a green dragon, to move without restriction in even the heaviest of woodland terrain.
But he discarded that notion almost as soon as he thought of it. The idea of running from mortals, from creatures that existed only to serve as food or tools for him to utilize as he saw fit, was anathema to him. A majestic being such as himself – the great Vilzeralixus – could not, would not be defeated by the likes of one puny pony mage!
Even so, however, that didn’t mean that he was so foolish as to rush back into close combat. If his acid breath hadn’t done the trick, then that would only result in another beating. It was time to try a different strategy instead.
As the last of his caustic vapors dissipated, Moss raised his undamaged arm to trace a gesture in the air as he began to hiss the words of a spell…
“Warning: physical integrity heavily compromised.”
“I can see that,” noted Lex grimly as he eyed the damage that the dragon’s breath had wrought.
Unable to see the dragon at the moment due to the green vapors lingering in the air, swirling from around where his astral pony had furiously backpedaled to extricate itself from them, Lex had taken a moment to look over the damage that it had dealt them. He himself was unharmed, tucked away within the folds of astral matter that made up his construct, but that was the only good news that he could find.
Most of his astral pony’s left side, which had been the side closest to the dragon as a result of the failed attempt to dodge its breath weapon, was no longer there. A huge chunk of its abdomen was simply gone, as though scooped away. Its left foreleg was barely still attached, and there was severe melting along the left side of the neck and face, though its horn was only lightly blemished.
The spell that Lex had cast to create this astral pony allowed for a great deal of mutability in how it was constructed. From having the option to create a multiplicity of weaker constructs to a single strong one to being able to choose whether it was optimized to resist damage or deal it, the results could be tailored to a wide degree depending on what was required.
Lex, anticipating that having a dragon as his opponent would mean a harsh fight, had deliberately designed every aspect of this astral pony for offense. Extra astral matter had been layered onto its hooves to maximize the strength of its blows. Its center of gravity had been set lower so that it would be able to more easily rear up onto two legs and lash out. Almost every concession that he could make in favor of greater attack power had been utilized.
Normally this would have resulted in an astral pony that had no defense beyond the not-inconsiderable toughness of its prodigious bulk, but that had been a non-issue for Lex. By building the construct around himself, and so letting it share in his defensive spells, that gaping hole in its design had been more than adequately patched.
Or so he had thought.
Sonata had somehow realized that there was a gap in his knowledge, and tried to warn him that what he thought he knew didn’t match the reality of the situation. But the message had come too late, and now he was all but defenseless against one of the dragon’s strongest attacks. Worse, more than thirty seconds had passed since the fight had started, meaning that he had already expended half of his construct’s duration.
As the last of the caustic gas vanished, however, Lex looked at the dragon and realized that the bad news didn’t end there. The creature was gesturing and chanting in a way that Lex knew could only be spellcasting. Too numb from his sudden reversal of fortune to be shocked, Lex idly noted that he recognized that particular spell. It was one to grant a temporary increase in physical hardiness; although it couldn’t actually provide healing, it would allow the subject to endure greater physical punishment than they otherwise normally could.
For a moment, Lex almost ordered his astral pony to charge in and renew its assault, but bit his tongue. That would only result in it unleashing its acid breath again, with the same results. No, the only viable option left open to him was to try to finish the creature off from a distance.
“Blast him!” ordered Lex with a snarl, trying to shake off the cold shiver going down his spine. First had been that mysterious resistance the dragon had to his spells, then its breath being acid instead of fire, and now spellcasting. There were too many things happening that were outside of his predictions, too many deviations from how he’d planned this encounter out. If this kept up, Lex knew that the not-quite-thirty seconds that his astral pony had left would be how long he had left to live.
And if that happened then the slaughter wouldn’t end with him.
It would have taken a fraction of an instant to look over and see what had become of Sonata, but Lex knew he didn’t have an instant to spare. The dragon’s breath weapon hadn’t been aimed at where the other ponies had been captured, which was near where Sonata had been, and if there had been any threat to them then Lex knew that his construct would have immediately acted on his orders to protect them. That meant, it had to mean, that she was alright…that all of them were alright.
As he began to cast another spell, Lex silently tried to reassure himself that that was the case, despite everything else that he’d gotten wrong so far.
Heedless of its master’s consternation, the astral pony lowered its horn towards the dragon. A moment later, it discharged the single distance attack that it had been imbued with, firing a bolt of lightning at the creature faster than it could dodge. But again, the magic was snuffed out just before making contact, leaving the creature unharmed.
Despite the failure, Lex finished his own spell a moment later, focusing intently as he did so. Instantly, a layer of ice almost a foot thick formed over the creature’s middle, spreading with incredible speed until its entire body was held immobile in an icy prison. Lex’s eyes narrowed at the sight. That time his spell had worked, the same way his disintegration spell had destroyed its wing, whereas the other spells he had used on it had been negated…which meant that whatever ability to resist magic the creature had wasn’t an impenetrable defense.
His thoughts were interrupted as the ice around the dragon gave a loud crack, and then exploded a moment later as the creature burst free with a roar of anger and pain. It hadn’t done so unscathed, however; a large patch of scales on its belly had turned white, with several falling off, and its back legs still had ice covering them, impeding its movement.
The creature staggered forward, trying to close the gap between them as it gulped down a large lungful of air, and Lex realized that it was planning to breathe acid again. A desperate move. At this range we can avoid it for certain. But then the corners of the creature’s maw turned upward in a cruel smile.
For a moment Lex was confused, but then his eyes widened in a look of horrified realization. “NO!”
Even as the word left his lips, the dragon’s head was turning, its neck extending as its jaws opened. But not towards Lex. Instead, it took aim at the group of ponies that were held immobile in the ensorcelled grass, their screams reaching new heights as they realized what was about to happen.
Lex opened his mouth to give his astral pony new orders, but it was already moving, obeying the command he’d given it earlier to protect the trapped ponies. Even as the dragon breathed outward, spewing a new cloud of toxic gas, the construct threw itself forward, its movements far faster than any creature of its size had a right to be thanks to the speed-enhancing spell Lex had used on himself just before the battle had begun.
The astral pony was, ultimately, nothing more than an automaton. Its ability to adapt to tactics and carry out instructions was based entirely on the nature of the intelligence imbued within it by its creator, in this case the unicorn Lex Legis. Seeing the acid mist billow towards the ponies it had been charged with protecting, it reacted the same way that Lex would have reacted, and threw itself in front of them.
The corrosive fumes flowed over its body, billowing out even as it bubbled and began to liquefy. “Warning: physical integrity critically compromised. Corporeal dissolution imminent.” The voice was unchanged, even as the construct began to fall apart. Legs dissolved into nothing under it, sending its bulk crashing to the earth. Even then, it strove to fulfill its mission, spreading itself out as much as it could in order to act as a bulwark.
It’s not going to work, Lex realized with a fresh wave of despair. The deadly vapors had spread out upon their initial collision with the astral pony’s body, but the dragon was still breathing. Lex could already see the expanding cloud flowing over the astral pony’s diminishing form.
Even as it did, the construct’s head turned towards the ponies behind it. Within what remained of its body, Lex started as he realized that in its last moments, the astral pony had turned its gaze directly on Sonata, who had at some point made her way towards the trapped ponies and was even now struggling to fight her way towards him, eyes wide and screaming something that was lost amidst the cries of the others.
“Primary objective: destroy designated enemy. Status: failure,” noted the astral pony as the last of it dissolved under the relentless spray of acid mist. “Secondary objective: protect designated ponies. Status: failure.”
That word, “failure,” resounded in Lex’s mind as the mist reached out to engulf him. It had been what had defined his entire life up until now. He had failed to make friends as a colt. He had failed to stop Tirek’s rampage. He had failed to even reach Vanhoover, let alone help the ponies there. And now he was going to fail to protect these ponies that he’d wanted to save…to protect the girl that, for all that she’d hurt him, still meant more to him than anything.
Lex could already feel a tingling on his back legs where the mist had reached. In a moment, he knew, it would become a burning sensation. And then it would become agony.
It would be the same thing that happened to everypony else here. It would be the same thing that would happen to Sonata.
He had failed. And she and everypony else would pay for it with their lives.
NOOO!!!
Lex’s eyes blazed green and purple as he reached a hoof towards Sonata, concentrating with an intensity so powerful that it left no room for conscious thought. He had never considered trying to enhance the dark magic of his horn by drawing in energy from his body; the thought had simply never occurred to him. But he did it now, willing it to work, demanding that the magic respond to his will and save the ones he needed to save!
In front of his eyes, black crystals erupted from the ground.
The ability to crystallize darkness into solid shapes had been a trick of King Sombra’s that Lex had never fully mastered. No matter how much he’d tried, he’d only been able to create small objects with it, unlike his predecessor. But now it grew from the ground into a thick, massive wall, reaching over two dozen feet high and twice that in length, separating the ponies from the incoming vapors. As the gas reached the barrier he’d created, the black wall hissed and sizzled, but held fast, and Lex had just enough time to realize that he’d done it. He’d saved them.
He’d saved her.
Then the acid mist engulfed him whole.