//------------------------------// // Ch10 - Dragonshy - Part 2 // Story: Ponyville's Tiny Librarian // by CommanderX5 //------------------------------// Ponyville’s Tiny Librarian - Chapter 10 Dragonshy - part 2 Celestia looked between her sister, who was puffing herself up proudly, and the giant gem-filled cake before her. It took a moment for Celestia to find her voice. “S-sister, I am both impressed and utterly terrified at your creativity.” Luna smiled broadly. “Why thank you, dear sister. Just as we are with matters of state, we are proud of our ability to resolve multiple questions with one answer. Thus, we are able to both satisfy the Dragon Lord and give thee thy just desserts for sending Cadence into another dragon’s maw.” She motioned gracefully at the nearby cooks, who seemed caught between a similar sense of pride and confusion, and continued, “Though all praise should go to your royal chefs. We merely gave them the idea and a few suggestions on the decorations, and they brought it to life in a spectacular fashion.” One of the cooks bowed to them. “Not all the praise should go to us. Princess Luna assisted us greatly by transporting such massive amounts of ingredients to us, greatly speeding up the process of baking a cake on such scale.” “Time is a precious resource we are low on,” Luna responded. “Think nothing of our assistance and look to celebrate your teamwork that lead to such an accomplishment instead. Thank you very much, our little ponies. You are hereby dismissed for now.” The group of bakers and chefs bowed one final time and left the chariot platform, leaving the princesses alone with a cake at least four times Celestia’s height. Celestia still looked quite beside herself in shock and asked, “How did you manage to bake a cake of this size? The Royal Kitchen doesn’t possess an oven nearly large enough.” Luna pointed at her horn. “With magic of course. We created an isolation field around the cake and used our magic to bake it to the chefs’ instructions. We are pleased that gems are still so plentiful as to allow us to freely breathe life into our creation, and we are certain the dragons will be just as pleased.” She turned to look at Celestia and flashed her a predatory grin. “Though I am still missing the most important ingredient. Would you like to guess what it is?” Celestia grimaced at the mountain of pastry before her, her gut coiling up into knots. With a gulp, she asked, “Is this where my ‘just desserts’ comes in?” Luna stood on her rear hooves, placing a foreleg around her sister’s shoulders and gesturing grandly at her creation, a cake she imagined was extravagant enough to kill for. “Quite insightful, sister! The final puzzle piece, the secret ingredient that will truly elevate this work of art into immortality, art none other than thyself!” Celestia froze. “M-me? You’re going to put me inside that?” Was this how your birthday cake looked to you, my faithful student? Celestia thought as gaped up at the pastry. The two alicorns stood there silently for a long second before Luna finally burst out laughing. “Gotcha.” Celestia blinked few times before turning to look into her sister’s smiling face. “What do you mean?” Luna chuckled before answering, “We were merely joking. We would never put you in a cake for a giant dragon to eat you, not that it would put your life in any danger. At worst, it would only be humiliating and unpleasant. Plus, the Dragonlord would be most displeased if he found that much mane hair in his peace offering.” “So… your punishment for me?” Luna shook her head. “We thought deeply and found wrong in our ways. The goal of the punishments were to heal thee from thy ways of deception, and it would be a waste to use them otherwise.” “Are you… sure?” Celestia asked in confusion. “But of course. We were too harsh on thee, all the while keeping our forgiveness out of reach, for which we are truly sorry.” The Sun Princess smiled hopefully. “Does this mean that I have earned your forgiveness, Luna?” Luna raised her forehoof, shaking her head. “We are sorry, but we are not ready to forgive thee just yet.” Celestia seemed to deflate at the news, and Luna added, “However, we do appreciate thine efforts. We shall bake thee a magnificent cake once the crisis is over.” “A… cake?” Celestia responded, looking a touch squeemish. “But of course. We know of thy love for all cakes and sweets. Tis the least we can do to show our appreciation for all that thou dost for us.” Celestia turned to the side. “There’s… no need to trouble yourself…” “Tis no trouble at all. Once we are done, thou shall feast like a princess.” “N-no need… I am not hungry.” Luna placed a hoof on her sister’s shoulder, causing the larger alicorn to flinch. “Thou will most certainly gain an appetite after our travel to the dragon lands.” “But… what if I will gain a lot of weight?” Luna chuckled. “Tis nothing some exercise would not fix. We must admit that thou hast kept thyself in shape thanks to thy student’s influence, but thou hast nothing to worry about.” “Luna, please...” The night princess frowned, her cheerful smile replaced with a suspicious stare. “We get the impression thou does not want to eat our divine pastries. Art thou implying we are a terrible cook?” Celestia shook her head. “That is not what I meant. I just...” She hung there for a second, unsure of what to say, before she let out a deep sigh and said, “I don’t like cakes anymore.” Luna’s eyes opened in shock before she charged her horn and tackled her sister to the ground, pinning the larger alicorn to the floor. “Who art thou and what hast thou done with our sister?” Celestia smiled sheepishly at her sister. “It’s me, Luna. I just… don’t like cakes anymore. F-for a personal reason.” Luna raised an eyebrow, but got off, helping Celestia stand. “We art most curious. What life-changing experience could have caused thee, who couldst devour cakes even faster than the pink party mare we faced in an eating competition, to have such a change of palate?” Celestia bit her lip, but she crumbled quickly under the searching glare of the smaller alicorn and murmured, “I… ate her.” “Ate… her?” Luna asked as she rubbed at her forehead. “My student.” “You did what!?” Luna gasped. “When? How?” “She hid in her birthday cake.” Celestia blushed a deep red, hiding her face behind a wing. “Thou hast devoured thy student on her own birthday?! Truly, you have strange tastes in birthday presents!” She facehoofed. “How didst thou not notice something the size of a large rat in thy cake slice?!" “I was… caught up in a moment.” “Caught up in a moment?” Luna rolled her eyes. “She must’ve tasted delicious.” Celestia lowered her head and added another wing to hide her radiating red face. “Art there any more bizarre or embarrassing situations with thy student thou hast found thyself in?” Celestia said nothing, only shrinking further behind her wings. Luna sighed. “Of course.” “I really changed, Dash! There’s nothing that annoying pink pony can do to make me angry now,” Gilda said as she walked towards Town Hall with Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie. “Oh yeah? Then prove it!” Gilda smirked. “Hit me with your best shot!” “Quiet, quiet everypony!” Mayor Mare shouted, trying to calm the panicking crowd, which was much more easily said than done. Everypony had noticed the cloud of smoke above Ponyville, and the very idea that a dragon could attack at any moment stuck fast in many minds. Twilight, who was sitting on a podium in front of the mayor, was slowly losing patience with Mayor Mare’s failed attempts. After another half a minute, the little unicorn lit her horn and enhanced her voice with as much magic as she could gather. “SIT. DOWN.” Everypony plopped down where they were and stared in an uneasy silence at the tiny mare in front of Town Hall. Twilight looked at everypony and smiled. “Thank you.” Mayor Mare cleared her throat. “I assume everypony is aware of the danger Ponyville is in,” she said, her eyes sweeping over the crowd. “Twilight Sparkle, the student of our beloved princess, has been kind enough to inform me that our ruler and her sister are going to the dragon lands to negotiate a peace treaty. Unfortunately, this means they will be unable to assist us.” Murmurs began spreading through the crowd, and Mayor Mare quickly continued, “But do not fret, everypony. Princess Celestia has sent a trusted pony by the name of Mi Amore Cadenza to convince the dragon to leave, and she has asked for volunteers to assist her.” The murmurs became louder as Mayor Mare looked upon the tiny unicorn in front of her and nodded, permitting her to speak. Twilight nodded back before turning towards the crowd. “My guards and I are also ready to assist to ensure the safety of Ponyville. It will be dangerous, but I hope that a few more brave ponies to accompany us.” The crowd let out a cheer. “With you on the job, this dragon problem’s as good as solved!” said one pony from the front row. “You’ll beat it up just like you did with Ursa Ma—Minor, right?” Everypony looked at Twilight expectantly as she gave them an awkward smile. “Well…” She looked around in panic. “I would prefer to return to my normal size only as a… last resort?” Immediately, the crowd devolved into panic again, and Twilight was thrown from the podium by the suddenness of their combined voices. “And pickle-barrel, isn’t that the funniest thing to say? Say it with me! Pickle-barrel-kumquat, Chimi-cherry-changaaaa!” Gilda let out a skyward cry in frustration and agony. “SHUUUUUUUUUUUUT UUUUUUUP!!!!!!!!” The panicking ponies went silent as they turned towards the griffon, who turned a shade of red. She chanced a glance at Dash, who was looking back at her with a knowing smirk. Twilight climbed back onto the podium. “Thank you, Gilda!” The confused griffin blinked a few times before clearing her throat into her claw. “N-no problem.” With the crowd pacified, Twilight enhanced her voice and spoke again, “So, any brave volunteers who will join me and Cadence in dealing with the dragon problem?” Rainbow Dash seemingly materialized in front of the podium with an eager grin on her face. “I’m totally in!” she blurted out, before flying straight up, making a quick loop-de-loop, and landing behind Twilight. Gilda smirked. “Dealing with a dragon? If Dash is in, I’m in. Sounds pretty radical,” she remarked before flapping up onto the stage and taking a seat next to Rainbow Dash. “Oooh! That sounds like fun! Me too, me too!” Pinkie shouted cheerfully as she bounced up to join the group. Twilight smiled at her three friends briefly before once again turning to the crowd and asking, “Any more volunteers?” “I’ll go!” The crowd split in two, revealing a shy, yellow pegasus who curled up on herself at the sudden attention. “I mean… if it’s alright with you...” Fluttershy added. The entire crowd gasped, though not as much as Rainbow Dash, who rubbed at her eyes before taking another disbelieving look. “Sure, Fluttershy. Please, come onto the stage,” Twilight said as the trembling pegasus walked hesitantly forward, pointedly ignoring the stares of disbelief by hiding her face behind her own wings. Rainbow Dash smashed her head against the wooden surface, making a hole in it with a sharp crack before glancing once again at Fluttershy. She groaned and rubbed her forehead with a hoof. “Okay, this is officially not a dream.” Mayor Mare took a quick glance at the hole and glared daggers at the blue pegasus. “Whoa, she wants to face the dragon? Didn’t see that coming,” Gilda commented. “Neither did the half of Ponyville,” Dash said, motioning to the crowd and their open mouths. It was slow, but Fluttershy finally took a seat to the other side of Dash, and Twilight spoke again, “Anypony else?” There was a moment of silence as ponies looked at each other in trepidation. “Nopony else? Really?” The little mare looked around, searching for any familiar faces in the crowd. “What about you, Mr. Cake? Pinkie Pie is coming. Are you going to let her go on this mission without your supervision?” Mr. Cake rubbed the back of his neck before replying hesitantly, “Well… I’m just a baker, I wouldn’t be much of a dragon slayer… unless the dragon would leave in exchange for some cupcakes and a few sweets.” “Oh, don’t worry about it, Mr. Cake! I have it covered with my arsenal of sweets. I’m sure the big, napping dragon will love them!” Pinkie responded with a cheerful bounce. Mrs. Cake continued calmly, “We are really sorry for not being of much help, Miss Twilight, especially after everything you’ve done for us.” She lowered her head in apology. “However, compared to Pinkie Pie, we wouldn’t be much of use. She has always been very… special.” “Thank you! I love being special,” Pinkie added cheerfully while Twilight continued to scan the crowd. “Applejack, Rarity? What about you?” she asked, jumping forward and landing in front of her friends’ hooves. Both mares avoided looking into Twilight’s face. The farm mare spoke apologetically, “Ah’m mighty sorry, sugarcube, but Ah promised Rares to help her search for gems.” Rarity nodded. “I’m terribly sorry as well, darling, but I also promised to help Applejack on the farm. Besides, we do not have the proper qualifications for such mission. We would just get in the way.” Twilight tilted her head to the side. “What do you mean?” The fashionista fixed her mane absentmindedly as she spoke. “Let's be honest, shall we? We have seen what you and Cadence are capable of. Pinkie has her… sweets and Rainbow Dash is fast enough to circle around the dragon all day.” She looked at Gilda and added, “Gilda can… probably keep up.” The griffon frowned. “But in short, there is not much we can do to assist compared to them,” Rarity finished lamely. The farm mare stomped the ground with a huff. “Ah hate to admit it, but Rarity’s right. Against a dragon, wings help more than strength. Besides, ya and yer friend from Canterlot can kick the dragon’s hide and send back t’ where it came from.” Twilight nodded before looking up at Spike, who was sitting comfortably on Rarity’s back. “What about you, Spike?” The dragon let out an exaggerated hum, bringing his claw up to his chin in contemplation. “Hmm… Well, I can either come with you, climb a mountain, and try to punch out a fully grown dragon, or I can spend the day in the company of Rarity,” he said, stroking at his chin. Twilight’s eyebrows raised in surprise. “And what happened to ‘protecting me’. Are you really okay with letting me go on such a dangerous adventure without you around?” she asked curiously. Spike waved his hand at Twilight. “There’s not much I can do to protect you, at least until I grow up a bit. I’m sure Cadence can do far better job than me, and you can always turn yourself big again, so no prob.” Twilight sighed as she returned to her search for volunteers, unaware of the forlorn sigh of her baby dragon as she jumped back up onto the stage. She turned back to the crowd, taking in a deep breath to call for volunteers one last time as a humongous red stallion emerged from the crowd and raised a forehoof. Twilight looked up at him, swallowing her former announcement. “Big Mac, do you want to help?” “Eeyup.” “Now hold up there, big brother.” Applejack trotted in front of her brother, her muzzle nearly making contact with his. “Not that Ah question yer strength an’ all, but yer not exactly the fastest fella around.” Big Mac’s brow ever so slightly creased into a frown. “What Applejack mean was,” Rarity interrupted. “Even a big strong stallion like you may not be able to break the scales of a dragon, and you might have a hard time avoiding its fire breath and claws.” Big Mac shook his head, weaving around his sister and walking resolutely up onto the stage. “Mah friend needs mah help. Don’t matter if Ah can only help a lil’.” “If ya say so. Just be careful out there, brother,” Applejack said with a nod. Twilight glanced between her two friends and asked, “Did I miss anything when I was in Canterlot? When did you two become so interested in each other’s activities?” “Oh, well…” Applejack rubbed the back of her neck. “How should Ah say this…” “Allow me,” Rarity said, taking a step forward. “After you left, I tried to learn more about the ponies I live with in Ponyville, especially Applejack and her family. I offered to help her trim stray branches from the trees around town before the planned storm.” “And hoo nelly, what a storm it was! We had t’ scurry away from the thunderin’ to your empty library, sugarcube. Spendin’ the night under yer roof together taught us, well, just how little we knew ‘bout each other,” Applejack added. Rarity smiled proudly. “If I want to be a noble mare, a good friend, and live up to Element of Generosity, I need to learn to get my hooves dirty for a friend.” “And Ah need to learn what's so dandy about fashion and stuff that Rares is so interested in.” Twilight looked deep into Rarity’s eyes before turning to the farm mare and smiling. “In this case, I wish you both the best of luck.” “So do we, just promise ya will grow if that dragon tries to gulp ya down. Ah would hate m’self if anything bad happened to ya while Ah was not there to help ya.” Twilight sighed before shooting Applejack a sad smile. “I will consider it, AJ, though I would prefer it if we won't have to resort to that.” Cheerful again, she added, “Besides, my foalsitter Cadence will be with us, and she’s far more powerful than I am.” Applejack and Rarity gasped. “She is?” Twilight nodded. “Of course! She is an alicorn with a millennium's worth of experience. She just doesn't usually resort to her powerful magic unless it’s absolutely necessary. I’m sure we’ll be fine!” Her two friends exchanged discomforted glances as Twilight galloped towards the stage and jumped onto Big Macintosh's back, flying through the air in a fashion more befitting a pegasus than a unicorn. Upon landing, she climbed onto the stallion’s head and pointed towards the mountain in the distance, her face bright and cheerful. “Onward, dragon slayers!” “She is doing this on purpose!” Nightmare Moon raged, her wings twitching and her teeth grit. “Calm thyself. Thou sworest to give our sister a break and restrain thy desire for vengeance,” Luna responded sternly. “I am trying, but she is making it very difficult,” Nightmare Moon said as she grabbed a stone fragment between her hooves and tossed it with all her might into the aether. “Just look at what she has done in our absence to little Twilight. The damnable mare ate her during her own birthday party, stomped on her during a simple game of tag, sat on her, and let her nearly drown in a bathtub merely two weeks after shrinking her.” She massaged her forehead. “Do I even need to mention teaching Twilight a teleportation spell without supervision was a recipe for disaster? She teleported herself out of her tower into thin air high above the streets of Canterlot and fell straight down with nothing but her own durability to save her.” Luna shook her head and spoke calmly, “We understand thy frustration, but our sister did not mean for such events to occur. The bathtub incident, the game of tag, even the cake, they were all accidents.” “And the teleportation spell?” “Our sister tried to distract her protege from constantly hurting herself throughout her harsh training regime by giving her a book about theory of teleportation spell. Tis quite understandable that she did not predict such a young unicorn, with her power restrained by the shrinking spell, could even understand the spell, let alone cast it.” Nightmare Moon growled. “You can still demand that she’ll become part of the cake. Surely she deserves to be eaten by a dragon after she ate her student?” “Thou swore upon thy life and moon! Do not think to find excuses.” Nightmare Moon dropped onto the stone with a huff, her hooves rubbing at her forehead. “I know, but it is driving me insane.” Luna sighed. “That she would confess so easily fits with her desire for repentance, but we shall give it fairly, no matter how hard it seems.” Luna opened her eyes, ending her meditation and feeling once again the wind gliding over her feathers as she flew forth. She was mid-flight to the heart of the dragon lands, where the mightiest of dragons has his lair. Beside her was Celestia, who was levitating the cake they had prepared and who had taken the length of the journey to say a touch more than Luna had hoped to hear. A small escort of royal guards flew behind them, some which Luna chosen personally. “So let us clarify. One of thy greatest fears is of losing thy student?” Luna asked, fixing her sister with a serious stare. “And another is that thou wilt be the one who endeth thy student’s life?” “You have no idea what I experienced when I took care of Twilight.” Celestia said heavily, “When I stepped on my student during our game of tag, I was terrified that I flattened her into the floor. For years, I had to push my student’s limits, hurting her in the progress to help her improve, and then during her birthday, I swallowed her. I want nothing but to protect her, and yet I myself have been the cause of much of her pain.” Luna stayed silent as Celestia took a deep breath and continued, “The very idea that I may hurt or kill the pony I care so much about, the fear has never left me, sister. The distance between me and my student makes me miss Twilight greatly. It makes me worry for her safety, but it also assures me that I won’t hurt her.” Luna snorted. “And after thou consumest thy student, the lovely delicacies that thou hast loved to eat so much for millennia now make thee sick?” Celestia felt her stomach turn at the very mention of the cake. She didn’t dare to look back at gift she was levitating. “Yes.” “And thou wouldst admit thy desire and willingness to let us proceed with our punishments were in part to relieve thy guilt.” Celestia blushed, and she was thankful that her mane had blocked off some of Luna’s view of her face. “I cannot deny that it was one of the reasons, but I assure you that regaining your forgiveness was always my first priority.” Did you hear her? Why is she doing this to us? Nightmare Moon thought. Luna responded with a simple ‘hush’. The princesses entered the dragon’s territory in silence, and it was a while before Luna finally spoke again, “Considering that thou hast sent Cadence to assist in dealing with the dragon to face her biggest fears, perhaps thou shouldst face thy fear as well.” Celestia blinked and stared blankly at her sister before breaking out in a shiver. “Surely sister, you do not mean…?” Luna grinned. “We will make the cake, and thou are going to eat it!” Celestia’s  face puckered up into a pout, and she let out a groan. Her stomach offered a similar protest with its own lengthy growl. Luna’s satisfied smile, however, quickly faded as her sharp eye caught several adult dragons flying towards Equestria. “We shall discuss this later, sister. We have dragons to take care of.” The sun princess turned to follow Luna’s gaze, and she narrowed her eyes. “Dragons are individuals. They dislike working alongside each other. Only the Dragon Lord could organize such a raid,” she said grimly. “We cannot let them reach Equestria. The casualties would be massive.” “Than we shall fight,” Luna declared as she lit her horn, but her sister flew in front of her before she could change direction. “Help us or stand aside.” Celestia shook her head as she spread her wings, bring the flight to a stop. “We have no time for this. We need to convince their lord to end this war before more dragons can raid our kingdom.” Luna frowned. “And what about those who are already on their way?” “Leave them to me,” Celestia responded, catching her sister off guard. “I have faith in you, Luna. I know you can convince the dragons to end this war. Leave this bunch to me.” Luna opened her mouth to protest, but nodded instead. “Good luck, dear sister.” “Good luck, Luna,” Celestia said as she and a contingent of Royal Guards flew towards the hostile army, leaving Luna and a few bat-winged ponies to their own quest.