//------------------------------// // Ch10 - Dragonshy - Part 1 // Story: Ponyville's Tiny Librarian // by CommanderX5 //------------------------------// Ponyville’s Tiny Librarian - Chapter 10 Dragonshy - part 1 Celestia flapped her wings steadily as she made her way to her tower, the two pegasi guards at her sides peppered with bruises. With a flap of her wings, the princess slowed her descent and landed on her balcony before walking inside. She was mildly surprised to find her sister already awaiting her. “Thou hast finally arrived,” Luna said as she examined the injuries sustained by the guard, a touch of righteous anger in her eyes. “We would be lying if we said we were worried about thy safety, but what took thee so long?” Celestia raised an eyebrow. “Luna, I thought that your bedchamber was finally finished. As much as I enjoy your company, I end up meeting you in my room almost every day.” Luna looked up curiously at her sister. “Thou art concerned about thy privacy?” “More likely, I would prefer to visit you in your bedchamber for a change. I heard that you’ve overseen the remodeling yourself, sister.” Luna snorted. “We have no time for small talk. We are here to discuss a big problem our kingdom suffers. Thy wounds are a mark of it.” Celestia looked over her legs and wings before turning back to her sister and shrugging. “Just a few bruises.” She turned a closer eye to Luna and the wounds barely visible over the Night Princess’s dark fur. “It seems that your own encounter with the dragons hasn’t ended up any better.” “This is what we want to talk about, dear sister. For the past few weeks, dragons have been using Equestrian territory as their playground, and any attempted negotiations with them have fallen short, typically ending in violence.” Celestia sighed as she climbed up onto her bed, levitating several reports from the nearby table to read. Luna sat next to the bed, patiently waiting for her sister to finish. “It is worse than I thought. Nopony lost their lives as of yet, but there are many wounded and even burned, and the cities themselves have received minor damage due to the dragons’ rampage,” Celestia said, her brow furrowing. Luna nodded. “For the past three weeks, we have had to fly and teleport from town to town to deal with those dragons. So hast thee, thy guards, and even thy skilled and prideful Wonderbolts,” she said with a small grin. It was nice to fight alongside pegasi who knew how to dodge dragonfire, unlike those of the Royal Guard. She had to admit that Twilight knew how to pick her friends. She made a mental note to visit the Wonderbolts for an inspection once the crisis was dealt with and continued, “How long have dragons threatened Equestria during our absence?” “They weren’t a threat. They have been visiting Equestria more often over the past century outside of their migration route, but they’ve never caused any casualties or displayed hostilities. Convincing them to leave was—” Her eyes widened considerably as she reached the last line of the report. “It seems we have a very big problem.” “Do tell.” Celestia took a deep breath and levitated the reports back onto the table. “The best dragon ambassadors from my school for gifted unicorns failed in their negotiations and ended up severely wounded. It seems that the dragons have broken all agreements they’ve had with Equestria. This explains everything.” Luna frowned. “How long has it been since thou visited the dragon lands on a diplomatic visit, sister?” Celestia smiled awkwardly. “Around… six hundred years ago.” “Six hundred years?” Luna shouted, taking step back, her pupils shrank as she was looking at Celestia in disbelief. “Tis a miracle they haven’t burned our kingdom to ashes by now!” She gave her sister a disappointed glare. The sun princess left her bed and stepped out onto the balcony to take a breath of fresh air, her sister following close by. After a moment to gather her thoughts, she spoke. “I offered the dragons the opportunity to send their dignitaries to represent them during my meetings with foreign ambassadors. I held such meetings once every three months or during an emergency. I thought it would keep our races at peace.” Luna frowned. “Foolish. Dragons can be honorable creatures with their code, but they are also proud and violent, respecting only strength. They do not listen to words, they listen to action.” Celestia lowered her head with a sigh. “I know… I just thought that I could cha—” A wisp of dragonfire flared up beside her, flaring up into a scroll with an obnoxiously loud ringing noise. Both alicorns flinched and pressed their hooves against their ears as even the unicorn guards at the bedchamber’s entrance barged in. The siren stopped abruptly after a few seconds, and Luna looked at Celestia with unamusement. “We understand that thou hast enhanced Spike’s fire breath with an audible alarm to wake us up in case of emergency, but didst thou have to make it that loud?” Celestia grumbled as she levitated the scroll open. “It was a reasonable request by Twilight at the time, in case of any dangers that befall Ponyville at night. There wasn’t a lot of room to refuse, but I’ll see into tweaking it,” she said, before reading through the letter. Luna looked closely at Celestia’s countenance, noting the furrowing of her sister’s brow as she read on. “Is something wrong? Is Ponyville in danger?” Celestia looked back at Luna, rolling up the scroll in the process. “It seems that another dragon is causing trouble in Equestria. This one’s decided to take a nap on a mountain next to Ponyville.” She heaved an exhausted sigh and levitated the scroll into the chest where she stored all of her student’s letters as well as any other personal items of great importance to her. “The smoke from a dragon’s snoring covering up the sun above Ponyville is just part of the problem, however. It won’t take long before he wakes up and raids Ponyville in search of gems and treasures.” “Then we shall deal with the problem immediately, right?” Celestia looked deep in thought for a moment before she broke out in a blush and buried her face in her hooves. Luna raised an eyebrow and said, “Let us guess, thou wishest to send thy student to deal with the dragon, something we could deal with easily in an hour or less? Her friends will no doubt assist, putting themselves in great danger.” Celestia let out a groan, pressing herself deeper into her forelegs. Luna’s frown deepened, and she said, “Thou wishest to manipulate thy student. Hast thou no concern about her and her friends’ safety?” Celestia took a deep breath and looked into Luna’s eyes, straightening her posture. “I do not want to do this. I do not want my student to risk her life. However, according to our experience with the Elements, they are only as strong as the bond between their bearers.” “So thou wishest to send thy student and her friends on a trial? Is it worth the risk?” Celestia gave her sister a pained smile. “If there can be any hope that Twilight can become an alicorn like you and me, she must face these kinds of trials. Not trials of self-improvement like she imposes on herself every day, but trials that will make her bond with her friends stronger.” The smaller alicorn looked at Celestia sternly, but finally let out a resigned breath. “As much as it pains us to say it, thou art correct. In order for thy student and her friends to reach greatness, they have to struggle for it.” She grimaced. “Not that we agree with thee about setting trials and withholding information from the Element Bearers. Why play games and gamble with their lives? Why not tell the truth and give them a choice?” “I fear that if I told them the truth, it would affect the outcome,” Celestia said, gazing out over her balcony towards Ponyville. “Their friendship must be honest and their decisions made to help their own. Dangling an extrinsic reward for something that should be taken for intrinsic reasons would only weaken the basis of their relationship.” “Thou cannot be certain of that.” “Perhaps not, but if hiding the truth will ensure that their friendships and decisions are honest? I can’t tell them and jeopardize that chance,” Celestia said, before smirking at her sister. “Well, if you were looking for reasons to punish me, you have them right here.” Luna frowned. “I certainly shall, sister!” she spat out venomously. “By putting them through such a trial, thou art taking the gamble that the Element Bearers will survive an encounter with a grown dragon and successfully convince it to leave. Unlike us, they have never faced a dragon before.” She closed her eyes and placed a hoof on her own chest. “Hast thou even thought about safety measures? Backup plans? We will not allow this gamble to stand itself upon two flimsy horseshoes! We shall accompany thy student and ensure her safety.” “Luna, I expect your presence would be much better suited for a diplomatic mission to the dragon lands with me. If we can convince the Dragon Lord to respect Equestria, all agreements between our two races can be restored. While we deal with this one dragon near Ponyville, another three may come to our kingdom and cause havoc.” “Surely thou canst do it on thy own while we assist in Ponyville, unless thou art so cowardly that we need to hold thy hoof during the negotiations. Thou art strong enough to defend thyself against dragons, should they attack.” Luna said. Celestia thought for moment. “And if solving this issue will require both of us? A failure in negotiations could cause a war. If anything, they might construe your absence as one of cowardice.” Suddenly, her eyes widened in realization. “How about Cadence? She won’t let anything bad happen to my dear student and her friends.” Luna hummed in thought. “That is an alternative we can accept. We shall inform our niece immediately.” She trotted towards the exit of the bedchamber, but just as she placed a hoof across the surface of the door, she spun around, glaring sharply at the white alicorn. “Thou almost tricked us, sister!” “What do you mean?” Celestia asked, an eyebrow raised. “Didst thou forget that dragons used to raid the Crystal Empire? Cadence has been terrified of dragons before she even became an alicorn and empress, and now, thou wishest to send her to protect thy student from a dragon when she herself is afraid to face them?” Celestia winced. “Luna, it is a great opportunity for Cadence to finally face and defeat her biggest fears. I know that she cares a great deal about my student. She will defeat any fears she has in order to protect Twilight and her friends.” Luna stomp rang out through the bedchamber. “You seem very inclined to your own suffering if you wish to ask me so directly for it,” she said darkly, before she shuddered, her wings ruffling up as if a chill had passed through her. “Forgive us, but we need some time to ourselves. We… have something to contemplate.” With a flap of her wings, the night princess took to the air, leaving her sister to stare after her in shock. After a short flight over the city during which she ignored the curious glances of more than a few passing pegasi and Royal Guards, Luna grabbed a cloud and flew upward, making sure that no pegasus would bother her. The air became colder as she rose until the tips of her feathers began to acquire a sheen of frost. While the cold temperature would have quickly turned the white cloud in Luna’s hooves into pure ice, the princess’s pegasus magic kept it warm enough to fluff. It was still nowhere near as cold as she remembered the moon to be, but it was enough for the cold conversation she was about to make, similar to the thousands of similar talks she had when they were sealed on the moon. With the cloud in position, Luna planted her left forehoof on the fluffy surface and shifted her weight slowly on top of it. Now standing on a single hoof, she closed her eyes and withdrew into herself. ”Nightmare, we have to talk.” Luna stood on a floating stone, surrounded by darkness and an endless sea of stars. The ethereal plane was the hallway into ponies’ dreams, a place of mystery flush with powerful magic, where one’s mind could manifest in a physical form. After several seconds of silence, a voice answered from behind her. “You called?” Luna turned around to face her darker counterpart, who looked much like she had in Equestria, easily dwarfing the Night Princess. They stared at each other in silence for a moment, and on an unheard signal, both alicorns took a seat. Luna opened her mouth first. “Thou art crossing the line. We have been tolerating thine input in our relationship with our sister, but our patience is wearing thin.” Nightmare Moon blinked in confusion and brought a foreleg to her chest. “Excuse me?” “Do not play innocent with us, Nightmare!” Luna shouted as she pointed at her accusingly. “Ever since we agreed to help our sister change from her manipulative ways, thou hast been more than eager to point out even the smallest reason to punish her!” She let out an annoyed huff as she lowered her hoof. “We tolerated it at first, knowing that our sister hath deceived us and her student on a few occasions, but thine accusations have became more and more farfetched as time passes.” The latter alicorn stomped against the stone. “I disagree. That wretch of a sister deserves a hammer of justice to—” “A hammer of justice, or a blade of vengeance? Thou hast demanded that after we beat up the dragons to gain their respect, we offer our sister to them as a sacrifice. Inside a giant gem-filled cake.” Nightmare Moon chuckled darkly. “She is an alicorn. She could survive for a very long time inside a dragon’s belly. You just need to ask her to wait an hour or so before teleporting outside and she should be no worse for wear.” Luna groaned, bringing a hoof to her face. “Thou art missing the point. Our sister is agreeing with our demands and going out of her way to earn our forgiveness. We should at least restrain our method of vengeance.” “Why should we? Did you forget our time in that cold, lonely prison? Century after century, with nary a pony to talk to, no distractions, nothing but cold and emptiness,” Nightmare hissed. “We did not forget about those events, but their influence has been greatly dulled thanks to the Elements of Harmony. Do not act as if they have not.” The dark alicorn nodded. “Indeed, they have. They brought peace to our mind, but even you have to admit that somewhere in our subconsciousness, we still remember it. Our body shivers in the cold where once it didn’t. The mind may forget, but the body remembers, and this is a dagger that is not so easily removed.” “Even so, ‘tis not reason for petty revenge, and some of our own faults helped lead us to our imprisonment,” Luna said, looking down at her hooves. “We have the blood of many on our hooves. We are not innocent in all of this.” Nightmare snorted and looked to the side, her ears pressed backwards. “She still deserves to be punished. Celestia said that she will put Twilight and her friends through these absurd trials, while withholding the truth from them. Who is she to dictate the destiny of others?” Luna nodded. “She did, but while we disagree with her, we won’t deny that her fears are valid. Our punishments were meant to heal her from her deceptive habits and help her open up to honesty. If she made up her mind to hide the truth from the Element Bearers for their own good, our punishment will accomplish nothing.” She smiled slightly, much to Nightmare’s confusion. “Besides. Surely thou also wishest for our little savior to spread her wings and take a position among us for centuries to come?” “We do,” Nightmare Moon answered reluctantly. “But what of Cadence? With her fear of dragons, she is incapable of protecting the Element Bearers. Instead of talking, we should—” “We should accompany our sister to the dragon lands and assist her during the negotiations. Once preparations for travel are done, we shall depart. From what our niece has told us, she hath been taking care of Twilight as a foalsitter for many years, and she faced many trials and adventures while living under the disguise of a common pony. She may seem weak and fragile, but there is a brave warrior underneath her defenseless demeanor.” Nightmare Moon crossed her forelegs and growled, and Luna approached her with a knowing smile. “What are we seeking to accomplish here? To reconnect with our sister and help her understand us better? Or are we using this so called 'rehabilitation' as an excuse to see her suffer?” She placed a forehoof on the larger alicorn’s shoulder. “What would Twilight say if she found out that we were torturing our sister for our own pleasure?” Nightmare Moon snorted, and Luna added, “She trusts that we will not hurt her mentor out of spite. Dost thou enjoy watching our sister’s pain so much that thou wouldst betray this trust?” The dark alicorn glared at her in silence. The time seemed to drag on as both alicorns kept staring at each other. Finally, Nightmare Moon lowered her head and sighed in defeat. “Alright. I will give her—how would our subjects call it—some slack.” “Dost thou swear?” Nightmare Moon pressed a forehoof against her chest. “On our life and our moon, I swear.” Luna slowly opened her eyes, feeling a burning in her foreleg and cold in her bones. With a flap of her wings, she shook off the frost and dove towards Equestria, the cloud she had been standing on wisping off like powder. Without Nightmare Moon intruding on her thoughts, the night princess could finally focus on rebuilding her relationship with her sister, and what better way than to kick some dragonscale. A smile slowly grew across her face. “Calm down, Twilight, why are you so riled up?” Spike raised an eyebrow from his sitting spot on the first step of the stairs, his head resting on his hands from boredom. “Why am I so riled up?” Twilight asked in disbelief, stopping her restless pacing on the library table. She jumped at him, latching onto his muzzle and knocking him over with force of the impact. “Why am I so riled up? Ponyville is in danger because of a dragon and it has been fifteen minutes since I sent a letter to the princess and she still hasn’t replied.” Twilight took a deep breath before jumping down and pacing in circles around Spike. “What if something happened? What if the princesses have been attacked by the dragons, or if they are on some important diplomatic visit and cannot respond to my messages? What are we going to do?” “There’s always the option to just beat it up. Worked on the Ursa Minor,” Steel Blade said, his eyes following the tiny mare as he leaned over the second floor banister. Twilight looked up at her guard’s face. “And then go all the way back to Canterlot just to be shrunk again? Get half of the Canterlot nobility panicking again? I would prefer not to unless we have no other choice." “Well, maybe Princess Celestia is on her way to deal the dragon as we speak,” Overwatch added, lounging in a chair. “We might not even have to do anything—” Spike burped, and a scroll materialized in midair. Twilight immediately caught it with a levitation spell. It opened with a sharp crack of paper, and she began reading it aloud. "My Dearest Little Faithful Student, Twilight Sparkle. Allow me to send my deepest condolences for the danger that Ponyville has ended up in, especially after the Ursa Minor attack a month and a half ago. Unfortunately, my sister and I will not be available to deal with the dragon problem in Ponyville. Dragons have been appearing all over Equestria and the peace between our two races has been broken. In order to avoid all-out war, my sister and I are going to the dragon lands to negotiate a peaceful resolution. Your brother, Shining Armor, and his guards are also scattered defending Equestria’s borders from encroaching dragons. Your former foalsitter Cadence, however, has agreed to heed your call for help and will await your arrival under the mountain. As much as I do not want to send you into danger, I must ask you and any capable volunteers you can find to please assist Cadence in undertaking this mission. Your Forever Grateful Mentor, Princess Celestia." Twilight read the scroll three times over before she levitated it to the table and looked at Overwatch. “We need to gather everypony at Town Hall. To Mayor Mare!” The guard mare let out a laugh as she extricated herself from her seat. “Oh goodie, looks like I’m being volunteered again!”