I was so caught up in the mystery of what the dragon was doing all the way out here that I failed to notice we were actually headed right for it... and the avidaeos below.
When I finally did notice, it was far too late for me to say anything about it—not that I didn't anyway.
"Shining, what are you doing?!" I cried in alarm as my brother swerved to avoid an oncoming boulder, "you're not thinking of driving into all of that, are you?"
"Normally I wouldn't, no," Shining replied, not taking his eyes off the road, "but the Chief Commander's already headed that way."
"What?!" I asked incredulously before shaking my head, "okay, so she's going to go save the dragon, that's great and all, but why does that mean we have to go?"
"Because that cliff the dragon is climbing is part of a large canyon we need to pass through to get to Ponyville," Shining replied, "the avidaeos are in the way, so we don't really have a choice but to follow the Chief Commander's lead."
"Can't we just go around?" Vinyl asked, though she sounded a lot less panicked than I did, "there's gotta be another road."
"There's another road," Harshwhinny replied, "but we'd have to backtrack quite a bit to get to it. It'll eat up a lot of time that we don't have."
Vinyl grimaced before looking out the window and towards the avidaeos. From the looks of it, they hadn't spotted us yet—either that, or they were too focused on their potential meal to care.
It wasn't really like I wanted to leave the dragon there to get eaten by the beasts, but the problem was that I didn't want to get eaten by the vicious beasts.
In truth though, I just wasn't prepared. We had gotten close enough that I could count at ten or so of the bear-like monsters.
I turned my attention back to the dragon, who had slipped somewhat and was desperately trying to regain lost ground. I started and whipped around when I suddenly felt a hand on my shoulder.
It turned out to be Vinyl's, the white mare giving me a reassuring smile before looking out the window at the dragon.
"Those things out there? They're called Mal Ma," she began, nodding towards the avidaeos, "they might look like giant mutant bears, but they act more like wolves than Lobairos do in that they actually hunt in packs."
"And how is that supposed to help the dragon, or us for that matter?" I asked, turning back to the scene outside, "I appreciate the insight, but it doesn't help our situation in the slightest."
"Maybe not," Vinyl replied with a shrug, "but I figured a little insight would help you relax a bit. You seem like the type who'd appreciate that sort of thing."
I looked back at Vinyl with a raised eyebrow.
The truth was, she wasn't entirely wrong. I was still worried for ourselves and the dragon, but at the same time, I had actually been curious about what those things were.
It was then that I was reminded of something my brother told me a long time ago. It had been the first time he had returned home after he joined the DHDF.
I wondered how he could do it—how he could go out there and fight the things that he did without getting scared or running away.
He told me it was because he had something to fight for. Of course I knew what he meant, even as small as I was... and me being who I was, and am... I wasn't particularly impressed with that answer.
When I told him as much, he just laughed and told me something that did resonate with me. He told me that a big part of why he was able to handle facing down an avidaeus was because he studied them and their weaknesses beforehand.
When you're up against an avidaeus and fighting for your life and the ones you love, knowledge really is power...
Strangely enough, Vinyl's words, along with the memory of what Shining told me did make me feel a bit better. The more you know about your enemy, the less you have to fear... if you can find a way to deal with it, that is.
I could see Luna's truck and the other trucks speeding ahead, and I let out a startled yelp as Shining poured on more speed to keep up.
As we bore down on them, both the dragon and the Mal Ma surrounding it finally took notice... and the Mal Ma weren't too happy to see us, to say the least.
We were close enough that I could see that the dragon was a young male. He looked to be little more than an infant in dragon years, but a preteen by pony standards.
What in Celestia's name is a dragon as young as him doing out here alone?! And a Daeus Hunter? At his age?!
I had a hard time wrapping my head around what I was seeing, and it was made all the stranger by the drake's reaction.
His first reaction was shock, but rather than the relief I expected to see upon his potential rescue, he looked... affronted? Indignant? Insulted?
It certainly wasn't relieved or grateful, that much was clear.
Whatever was going through his mind, he grimaced and turned away, redoubling his efforts to make it up the cliff.
Before I could do more than stare in bewilderment, our truck lurched wildly to the side as Shining made a hard turn and stopped.
"Shining, what—"
"You and Vinyl stay inside," Shining interjected as he unbuckled himself and once more slid smoothly out of his chair, past the backseat, and into the compartment holding his sapphire colored long blade, "Miss Harshwhinny, can you—"
"I'll watch these two," Harshwhinny said, cutting him off as she grabbed a small handle on the dashboard, "just make sure those things don't get near the truck."
"Wouldn't dream of it," Shining replied, grabbing the blade and giving it a once over, "the Chief Commander's probably gonna be doing all the work, but all the same, I'm not gonna risk one of them slipping by and hurting any of you."
Harshwhinny nodded before pulling the handle out, giving it a half twist, and slamming it back down. A loud mechanical whir followed by a hiss signaled the back of the truck swinging open.
"Shining, I... just..." I grit my teeth in frustrated worry and shook my head before frowning at my brother, "just... please be careful, okay?"
As much as I really wanted to, I couldn't just tell him to not go. This was his job, what he was trained to do.
In a matter of a few hours, it was going to be my job, and at some point, I was going to be the one out there telling somepony not to worry while I did what needed to be done.
The thought was... oddly humbling.
I was proud of my brother for what he did, really I was... but at the same time, I had always kind of thought myself above the life of a Daeus Hunter—like my contributions in the fields of Hive Cell research were more important in the long run.
To an extent, I still believed that, but as I watched my brother smile at me and hop out of the truck, it truly started to sink in that what Daeus Hunters were doing, was just as important in its own way.
The work of scientists and engineers like myself would undoubtedly secure a future for all races of Equus, but it was the blood, sweat, and tears of Daeus Hunters like my brother that would insure that we survived long enough to see that future come to fruition.
And soon I was going to be thrown into both roles.
I was astonished to find that the gravity of just how important my responsibility really was didn't crush me under its weight, but rather made me feel... lighter somehow.
A distant cry and a loud curse from Vinyl Scratch snapped me out of my epiphany and I turned back to my window, only to give a startled cry of my own.
Apparently the dragon had given up trying to make it to the top and leapt off with what I think was supposed to be a battle cry, if his raised short blade was anything to go by.
The panic on his face told a completely different story however, and I had to resist a sudden urge to run out after the insane drake.
I watched in abject horror as the dragon leapt into a pack of deadly avidaeos with nothing but a broken Daeus Arm, the tattered cloak on his back, and a death wish.
Then I watched in utter shock as he completely split one down the middle upon landing. Apparently the other Mal Ma were just as stunned because none of them moved for a brief moment.
The dragon however, had no such issues, and burst into action before the one he'd slain had even fallen. I saw him turn and slice into another one directly behind him as he let out another cry—this one sounding genuinely terrifying.
It was as he charged into another one and attempted to separate its ursine head from its neck that the avidaeos finally reacted.
With deafening cries of fury, the Mal Ma rushed in to tear the dragon apart. For a few terrifying seconds, I competely lost sight of the baby dragon under a pile of avidaeos... but thankfully, mercifully, Luna entered the fray.
With a battle cry of her own, the dark mare shot forth like a bullet, practically flying across the ground with her charge spear held aloft.
In a blur of motion, four of the Mal Ma were ripped away from the pile and sent flying... their bodies splitting apart as they fell and rolled to a stop.
The Chief Commander herself had somehow wound up on the opposite side of the pile near the Mal Ma she had just slain. With her spear outstretched, she turned and readjusted her stance, ready to attack again.
It turned out another charge wasn't necessary, as Luna's violent intervention had caused the remaining three Mal Ma to scatter, only to run into the other Daeus Hunters that had arrived.
As the other Hunters cut down the last of the Mal Ma, Luna hurried over to the fallen drake. She leaned over him for a few moments before turning and barking out what I assumed were orders for a medic.
My assumptions were proven correct when I saw two ponies in white hooded coats bearing a stretcher quickly make their way over to where Luna and the wounded dragon were.
My mind was spinning as I watched the medics lift the dragon onto the stretcher. I hadn't expected to see something like this until I had gotten out of training, yet here I was, witness to not one, but two horrible attacks before I had even made it anywhere near Ponyville.
I was so caught up in my thoughts that I didn't even register the fact that Shining had returned to the truck, alive and unharmed.
Before I knew it, the dragon had been whisked away to one of the other trucks to be treated, Luna had returned to her own truck, and we were once again on the road.
I half listened as Vinyl gushed about how ballsy the dragon was to do what he did, nevermind the fact that it was the single most idiotic thing I had ever seen anypony do.
No, instead my thoughts once again turned inward as I replayed the scene over again in my head. Would I have to make life or death decisions like that when I was out there?
That was a stupid question and I knew it.
Of course I'd inevitably be put in a deadly situation like that, and I'd have to make a choice to run or fight. The only saving grace of my situation compared to the dragon's was that I'd most likely have a team to back me up if things went south.
But what if I didn't?
These thoughts and more circled around and around in my head for the remainder of the trip. Thankfully we didn't run into anymore avidaeus attacks the rest of the way to Ponyville.
We eventually made it out of the rocky canyon and into the rocky hills that made up the area surrounding the town.
A few dozen kilometers later and I could just make out the large steel grey wall that made up the outside of the heavily fortified village in the distance.
As the wall drew closer, I found myself thinking about the dragon and whether or not he had made it.
The area where the attack happened had been far from Canterlot, and judging by the fact that none of the trucks had turned back, I could only assume that they had planned to have the dragon treated in Ponyville.
I frowned as we reached the massive metal gated entrance into the town. I decided then that I would make some time to come visit the drake while he was recovering, if for no other reason than that nopony else would... probably.
What he did was incredibly stupid... but I wasn't going to put aside the fact that he had indeed been 'ballsy' enough to actually go through with it.
It was... inspiring.
Not only that, but just the fact that he was there still intrigued me and I wanted to know more about him. Where he came from and why he was there. How he had ended up being chased by the Mal Ma and what had happened to his Daeus Arm.
I only hoped he lived long enough for me to ask him directly.