//------------------------------// // Chapter 3: The Guardian of Destiny // Story: Lone Wolf of Equestria: Back to the Pack // by JNKing //------------------------------// You know the biggest problem with getting early victories? They get you cocky; they make you think you’re invincible, and it sets you up for a hard reality check. In this case, I saved three dogs who were more like weasels. See, it was pretty clear that those dragons were setting them up for some severe mobster mentality; give us your stuff, and we won’t give you broken bones. I bust them out, and they immediately start fawning over me. Back then, I should have realized that they were acting more in fear than actual loyalty – maybe they were hoping I’d teach them how to use Cold Fire, maybe they were just hoping I wouldn’t fry them as well. Either way, it felt like they were willing to give me whatever I wanted. So, when I asked, “What do you know of ways to get to another dimension?” I expected them to just hand over whatever they had. Instead, however, the cat dog – Rover - gave a sad shrug. “We don’t have magic,” he mumbled. “Dragons have magic,” the small one – Spot, I believe his name was – noted. “Big Dragon, in large cave. Mountains of Gold. Said to have mystical treasures as well.” “Mystical?” I asked. “All rumor,” Rover noted, “But some artifacts magic. Use Cold Fire on them, and anything can happen.” That was enough to pique my curiosity. And with the victory over the young dragons swelling my head, I figured I could take anything that was thrown at me. # Logan chuckled softly. “I was wrong,” he muttered. “I was… unbelievably wrong.” The mares glanced at each other worried. “Well, it couldn’t have been that bad,” Rainbow Dash noted. “I mean, you’re still here.” Logan looked up at her, his gray eyes having a strange shattered light to them that hadn’t been there before. Twilight had made a magic fire that was keeping them warm, and it danced in the light of his eyes. “Maybe I shouldn’t be,” he noted. # The journey to the mountain was a treacherous one. I’ll give the dogs this; they knew how to go across mountain terrain better than I. But I kept up as best I could, and clung to the few mountain paths that the place was kind enough to provide. That was where I got my first clue as to how dumb this plan was; as we got closer to the top of the mountain, I felt an odd… aura. It was almost like Celestia or Luna’s aura. And yet there was something else about it. Not malicious, but at the same time, not something to be trifled with. “Do you feel that?” I almost asked, before noticing the dogs shivering with fear. “B-Better idea in head,” Spot whimpered. “Great Dragon lives at the top,” Rover explained, pointing up. “Sometimes, we get lucky, and he toss gems down for us to find. But no Dog goes up to face him.” He looked down. “None that come back." I glared up at the mountain, where I could just faintly see a whiff of black smoke escaping somewhere from the top. “If you guys don’t want to go any further,” I said, “I won’t force you any further.” I climbed up ahead of them. “I’ll see for myself.” “Be careful,” Spot said frantically. “No Dog who goes up there comes back.” “I’m not just any dog,” I replied back. I turned back fully to them. “Just as you guys aren’t door mats for some punk reptiles to walk over.” I indicated upward. “If some giant lizard comes through claiming he’s a dragon,” I glanced up, “But he doesn’t have this aura – you give him teeth. Not gems. Not jewels.” I bared my fangs. “Teeth.” The three nodded, Rover for once looking happy. Then, as the three turned back, I continued up the mountain. # Rarity snickered, drawing Logan’s attention. “Odds are, darling,” she noted, “The next time some dragons ran through, those poor dogs probably literally gave them their teeth.” “I don’t know,” Logan said, “I did show them that dragons can be beaten. Besides, do you know how hard it is to remove teeth?” “Trust us, Logan,” Applejack said, “Those dogs ain’t smart.” Logan crossed his arms. “Do you want me to continue the story, or do you want to risk driving me away by insulting the species I got mistaken for during my entire trip?” he asked coldly. That shut them up. # After enough climbing to leave my claws throbbing, I managed to make it to the edge. The aura was stronger now; practically vibrating against my own, silently ordering me to turn back. The best it got was me falling asleep next to the entrance to the cave. Whatever was in there was gonna be tough, and I wanted all my strength. Before you wonder why I slept next to an obviously strong and powerful aura, I do want to remind you that this aura wasn’t malicious. It didn’t have the feeling of ‘you fall asleep, and I’ll eat your guts.’ It was more ‘approach me at your peril. I won’t stop you, but I highly advise you go back.’ Thus, I woke up soon enough, unhurt. My claws were re-strengthened and my mind set to a purpose this aura was insistent I ignore. Yet I ignored the ominous feeling in my gut, and strode into the cave. Now, most people associate going into caves as being shrouded by darkness. Instead, I found myself shrouded by light. When Spot had described ‘mountains of gold,’ he wasn’t kidding. There were stacks upon stacks of gems, jewels and coins from every kind of civilization. They all formed together into a metallic rainbow, bathing me in light. But my mind wasn’t on simple treasure; I could sense other treasures buried in this precious mountain filling; treasures that called to the inner magic in me. There had to be something that could help me get back home. There had to be. But, of course, the instant I stepped into that room, my paws scattering the first few coins into the cave, a massive rumble spread through the cave. And the biggest dragon I had ever seen appeared before me. Like I mentioned before, I had dragons in my world. I saw those juvenile dragons just down the mountain. But this beast made those punks and even the dragons in my own world look like nothing more than stuffed toys. He was huge; I couldn’t even make out more than his head. His scales were dark green like a sea wracked by a great storm. His eyes were a piercing blue, like the ice of a glacier. I swore the temperature dropped to fifty degrees when he looked at me. Yet there was no malice in his eyes. Just… curiosity. I’m guessing his aura made it hard for people to come up and offer alliances or trades. For a small time, we just stared at each other; wolf and dragon. When it became pretty obvious he wasn’t going to break the ice, I spoke. “The Diamond Dogs from below,” I said, “They said you have magic treasure. Treasure that could return me to my home.” The dragon regarded me with those cold eyes for a moment. Then, his lips parted. “Yes,” he rumbled, his voice filling the entire cave, even though he had barely whispered. ‘What have I gotten myself into?’ a nervous voice whispered at the back of my head, but I forced it down. “Then…” I forced my voice to remain steady. “I need it. I’m going to use it to return home.” I started to walk by him, ready to dig into the treasure, but his voice stopped me. No grand monologue or roar of rage. Just… a chuckle. A chuckle that made the coins rattle and jingle musically. An amused laugh that felt less like a single being was laughing at me, and more like every treasure in the room had grown a mouth, and was laughing at my boldness. My heart tangoed in my chest, but I tried to spin back on the dragon with a glare. However, I found those cold eyes closer to me than before. “No,” he whispered in that booming voice again. I forced my trembling legs to remain steady, and tried to glare him down. “Why not?” I demanded, my voice somehow managing to sound braver than I felt. The dragon regarded me again. When it was clear I wasn’t backing down, he softly sighed. And when he spoke, his booming voice once again filled the room. “For countless eons, I have guarded these treasures of magic and might. All have been denied; from the mightiest of dragons, to the tiniest of warriors.” A claw appeared; a great hand the size of a dinosaur’s foot, with claws the size of broadswords. It brushed over the gems and jewels, revealing other artifacts; a staff with a tip that looked like it was made out of howling faces; a pool with water that shined like a mirror; a book with a cover that looked made out of human flesh. “You see, Lone Wolf of Equestria,” the dragon rumbled, giving me another chill, “Destiny and prophecy have laid out who can use these artifacts. And those chosen are the only ones who will be allowed access to these treasures.” A shadow of a grin played across his massive face. “And you, my young pup… are not one of those chosen.” I bared my teeth. Anger began to replace my fear. There was a way home in here; I could feel it. And yet this discount snake was going to try and stop me?!" “I don’t give a damn about destiny!” I snarled. “I will find a way home, and I will find it with whatever you’ve got!” The dragon huffed, steam hissing from his nostrils. Merely standing near the steam caused me to pant – it was so hot. Yet that grin didn’t stray from his face. Like I was some strange little child that was proclaiming itself a great warrior. “That isn’t going to happen,” he rumbled again. My eyes narrowed. “Wanna bet?” I snapped. # “Logan, you didn’t…” Twilight said in a hushed tone. Logan’s tail wagged. “You bet your tail I did,” he said. “And I’ve regretted it every day since.” # My first lunge went for his eyes. I still remembered my father’s advice on dragons. No matter the size, they all need their eyes. Catchy, right? Well, it didn’t work here. The dragon shut his eyes and twisted. From both his size and his slow manner of speaking, I expected to be able to dart around while he was winding up punches or fire. Imagine my surprise when his head lashed like a whip, bashing me in the chest before I could even think about dodging. The air exploded from my lungs, my ribs screamed in agony, and I was nearly hurled right out of the cave. The metallic rainbow was replaced with the cloud covered sun, but I managed to catch the edge. Despite my chest throbbing like someone had bashed a battering ram into my gut, I scrambled right back up and raced back inside. Adrenaline kept the blow from hurting too much, and determination demanded I not show my fear. The minute I raced back inside, though, explosions like fireworks sounded around me, and the mountains of gems and jewels scattered to the winds, their sharpest points hurtling down towards me like the deadliest rain you’d ever seen. I managed to dodge, duck, dip, dive and dodge through the hail, and spotted his head nestled between two more piles of gold. Above him, something with his green color swatted at another pile of gold, sending the coins spinning down at me like shurikens. I lunged right past them and got my teeth around his snout. It was like trying to bite a titanium battleship! I was surprised my teeth didn’t break the second I bashed them against him. His eyes went cross-eyed to look at me, and I tried to take advantage, stabbing one of my blades towards his eye. However, he flicked his nose up, and without a way to hold my grip, I went back into the air. This time, instead of falling towards the cave entrance, I gasped as I flipped in the air, and saw my momentum carrying me towards a sword that gleamed like pure ebony, catching the light of a million treasures and glowing like fire. I didn’t know what magical properties were in that thing, but I knew it’d be bad news to fall on it. I concentrated, and Myst’s Rage responded; white tendrils of light shot out and stabbed into the ground. I felt them push into me like a human using a stick to leap across a chasm, and I managed to flip through the air, landing next to the sword instead of on it. But, when I went to grab for it, I saw the light in the dragon’s eyes change. His head shot out further, his jaw unhinged, and I saw white light, almost like a light at the end of the tunnel of death. I jumped away from the sword seconds before it a ball of what looked less like fire and more like pure light barreled between me and the sword. In my awe, I failed to realize he snuck up behind me. It took a heat beyond anything I had felt before to realize my mistake, and even then, Myst’s Rage was almost not enough. The lightning twisted into the fireball as it hurled me to my side, barely redirecting the flames. A second later, and it would have overwhelmed me. Thankfully, the fire dissipated before that happened. With my fur feeling like it was being burnt off at the root, I shrieked as the dragon prepared to fire again. One of my lightning strikes hit him in the chin snapping his jaw shut. But before I could take much pride in my small victory, two massive wings, bigger than any wings I had ever seen (yes, even yours, Rainbow Dash) unfurled from behind those two gold stacks, and clashed together. The wind from their single flap hit me like a truck, and I went skidding across the ground, howling in agonized anger as this dragon batted me around like a cat with a toy. Barely in time, I saw the entrance to the cave coming back up. He was trying to throw me back out again! Thinking fast, I sunk my blades and claws into the stone entrance. They shrieked and dragged across the stone surface, but I managed to regain my paws, and braced myself against his beating wings. If only I could have looked up; I might have seen the smug expression on his face sooner. His wings gave one final beat, but as I braced myself for more, none came. Instead, his claw shot out, and nearly sheared my arm from my shoulder. It was only because I had looked up, and even then, the blade like finger dug right into my side. # As the ponies’ jaws gaped open in horror, Logan lifted the side of his jacket and parted his fur. Just along his chest, just between his arm and chest, was a long thin scar. It ran from the top of his shoulder all the way down to his hip. “I think, if he wanted to,” Logan muttered, “He could have ripped my entire arm off.” He shuddered as he put his armor back the way it was. “As it is, if I didn’t have magic here, I probably would have lost the arm anyway.” Rarity fainted. # I had never been stabbed before. At first, I didn’t feel anything. I stared at that claw rammed through my shoulder… and felt nothing. But soon enough, there came the dull throb; the throb of my blood leaking out, staining his claw. His second claw flicked like a child flicking snot off, and my body was torn from his claw, smashing against the wall. I slid to the ground, an additional throb wracking my body as my blood splattered against the wall. I clutched at the wound, my arms shivering, as the dragon glared down at me with those cold eyes. “I warned you,” he rumbled, “It ain’t gonna happen. Leave, before you really get hurt.” But even as he spoke, I felt a new pain along my wound. Instead of the throb of my blood escaping, there was a sizzling sound as if I just pressed a flaming branch to my shoulder. I looked down, staring in shock as the lightning of Myst’s Rage seared from my claws and into the wound, cauterizing and sealing it. As the stab wound was reduced to a burned scar, I clenched my claws into a fist, and forced myself up. “Never!” I snarled, “I will get back to my pack!” Then I lunged at him with the best howling battle cry I could manage. I immediately stumbled over my damaged arm. Though, it turned out for the better, since my stumble allowed me to dodge out of the way of his fireballs. Stumbling over my bad arm, I kept to the perimeter, running alongside the treasure as a trail of white fire followed after me. A brief glance behind me showed all those priceless jewels fading into ash. I guess I really owed Myst for that lightning, if that’s what happened to solid metal. I remembered how he flipped his lid when I got near the sword, and I made my way back towards the artifacts. As his white fire threatened the mirror water, he suddenly shut it off. I took advantage, bouncing off the artifact and lunging for his eyes again… only for his claw to catch me again. This time, instead of stabbing me, his claws just carved down my side, sending me to the ground, while blood leaked from four nasty cuts along my ribs. I spun back to my paws and slashed at his claws, briefly getting into a semi-sword fight with them. I managed to notice his second claw coming up behind me, I rolled out of the way, and as the two claws slammed at where I had been mere moments ago, I rode the shockwave towards his face. His eyes briefly widened; I had managed to surprise him with that trick. And now, I thought gleefully, as I saw my own snarling reflection in the pupil of his eye. He’s gonna need a new eye. Then I felt something lithe and scaly curl around my hind legs, tying them together like a rope. Or a snake. Or… my heart dropped into my gut – a dragon’s tail. I don’t remember much of the fight after that; my entire world became a blurry haze of pain. I remember smashing into walls, stones and gems cascading down around me. I remember him batting at me with his massive claws, opening a mix-match of bleeding cuts like he was using my body as a tic-tac-toe chart. I faintly remember him even picking me up in his mouth, getting tossed into his teeth by his massive tongue before he spat me out with the force of a bullet. It took me several minutes to realize when he had finally left me alone. I had tried to fight, slashing and biting at whatever came near me, but more than once, I just found myself biting down on gems or rocks or my own tongue. My flailing limbs were reduced to pathetic spasms. My jaws clicked a few times, broken teeth snapping pointlessly at air. And as I slowly came to the conclusion that he had finally stopped his ruthless beating, my eyes managed to make out the dragon, staring down at me with… PITY?! Anger burned in my ragged, pummeled heart. This thing beat me down, and now all he’s got for me is pity?! Celestia flashed before my weary eyes, and I found myself trying to pull myself up to swipe at his ugly mug. To swipe at Celestia’s mug. To swipe at the ugly mug of the world itself! But I couldn’t. That dragon had broken more than just bones. Even as I felt my bones creaking and cracking trying to hold me up, I could feel something else that was badly ruptured; something that forced its way up my throat. I coughed, the mere act sending shockwaves of pain like I had never experienced, and I could only gaze, fascinated, as blood trickled from my mouth, pooling below me. Yet, despite everything – despite the pain being like nothing I had ever experienced, despite my body – my soul – pleading for me to curl up and die – I forced myself to face up. To do anything aside from just lay there and die. But determination and willpower can only go so far when the soul is carried by a broken body. My limbs were giving their all just to keep my supported. I couldn’t even pant; my mouth was too full of blood. Heat burned my head and skin, while cold chilled my organs with the slowing beat of my heart. If I wasn’t already dead, I was pretty damned close. So, I looked up into those cold eyes, and I hocked a glob of blood and spit at him. “That… all-ya… got,” I slurred, my words oozing from my mouth with my blood. The dragon’s eyes narrowed. Now that I wasn’t being tossed around, I could see his throat glowed. Just like my world’s dragons when they were ready to spit fire. “Fool,” the dragon growled, the glow racing up his throat as he prepared to unhinge his jaw. “You will never…” He stopped, pausing. An unearthly sound rang through the cave. Rather than making the treasure inside jitter and jingle, it caused them to somehow freeze. Even my blood seemed to halt mid-drip. My ears flared backward at the intrusive sound. That alone sent another throb of Hell through my body, but the sound almost felt like a drill boring into my brain. Through the haze, I made out the mirror pool. Its surface had gained a pearly white quality, and it pulsated as that uncanny noise filled the cave. The dragon stared at it for the longest time, and when he turned back to me, the anger in his eyes was gone. “Ah,” he whispered. “I understand now.” He lifted his head, and… I’m pretty sure he had hit me hard enough to flip my brain, because I could’ve swore he made some sort of howl. It was high-pitched, a hard contrast to the low bass he had before. And as it echoed out of the cavern, I noticed a glow at the entrance. My jaw already felt shattered, so I wouldn’t have been surprised if it dropped off my face. And it likely would have, because a flaming bird strolled into the cave. # “P-Phoenix,” Twilight stammered. The others were holding each other close, several of them staring at Logan as if he had turned into a ghost. “That… w-what you described was a phoenix.” Logan just hummed in response. # Whatever it was, it strolled right into that cavern without fear. And the dragon grabbed me by the scruff of my neck. I didn't have anything left in me to resist. I couldn't even growl in protest. He draped me over the phoenix’s back, and the thing craned its neck over me. I felt small drops of water splash onto me. Later, I found out that phoenix tears have healing powers, so I guess the thing was crying on me. Small comfort, but I didn’t really notice it over the boom of the dragon’s voice. “Your journey does not end here, Logan Wolfe,” the dragon said somberly. Before my heart could flutter in shock that he knew my name, the mirror pool shined brighter. And in it… I think I saw myself. Older. Hardened. And staring down an army of dark figures. That vision was the last thing I saw in that treasure room. And as I lost my senses to exhaustion, blood loss and probably a million other injuries, I heard one last thing from the dragon. “Your journey has just begun.”