//------------------------------// // Battle with a Dragon // Story: The Legend of Zelda: Wielders of Harmony // by My Little Epona //------------------------------// The two dragons yelled at the top of their lungs, sprinting away. They disappeared much faster than Link would have thought possible. “It’s that cursed lava dragon again!” Darunia yelled. Volvagia paused in his flight, hissing angrily at him. Without warning, he dove down, sweeping his tail towards Darunia and catching him across the chest. The sturdy Goron was thrown backwards, crashing into a tall spire of rock, which crumbled over him. “Darunia!” Saria cried, rushing over to him. After a second of hesitation, Octavia followed her. Volvagia made a sharp, high-pitched growling noise that sounded awfully like a laugh, then turned and doveback into the fresh pool of lava he’d just created. The impact of him hitting the lava put pressure on the shattered landscape, and cracks spread farther over the ground, glowing ominously. “Be really careful, guys!” Link said, slinking back from the place where the boss had just disappeared. “He could come up anywhere!” “Link, how do we defeat this guy?” Epona asked, frowning suspiciously as she looked around. “Um...just smash his head with a hammer!” Link said. “That stuns him, then you can hit him with a sword!” “Okay, does anypony have a hammer?” Lyra yelled. “I didn’t think to bring one!” Vinyl admitted. With a new tremor throughout the ground, Volvagia broke through the crust once again. Except this time, only his head emerged, and he whipped around the long, fiery strands of mane that attached to his head. After that, he froze, watching the ponies smugly, as if daring them to try and come near. Epona accepted the challenge, running over, and slammed her front hooves down on him as hard as she could. Volvagia keeled backwards, stunned, and Link took this opportunity to leap forwards with a slash from Biggoron’s Sword. It sheered cleanly through part of Volvagia’s mane of fire, and the glowing, feathery strands dropped to the ground, melting into a pile of red-hot mush. “Yes!” Vinyl whooped. “Who needs a hammer when Epona’s around?” Volvagia hissed at them. Obviously, Link cutting his mane didn’t hurt. The dragon reared back, spitting a mouthful of fire at the group. Lyra leapt in front of the group, creating a shield with her magic. The fire hurtled into the barrier, then recoiled and slipped around the edges of the golden bubble. Volvagia gave up, slinking back into the lava and disappearing. “Here.” Link said, turning to Lyra. “I’ve got something for you.”He reached into his inventory and pulled out the Megaton hammer, tossing it to her. It slammed into the ground near her hooves, causing a mini earthquake. “Ack!” Lyra yelped, jumping. “Don’t do that!” “Sorry.” Link said. “But anyway, I can’t carry this in my mouth….so it’s all yours. For now. Just watch out for that hair flip thing he does when he comes up.” After a moment of hesitation, Lyra levitated the hammer upwards. It bobbed unsteadily through the air, and her eyes lit up alarmingly. “Hey, Link!” Bon Bon said. “Can I borrow that grappling hook thingy you have?” “The grappling what?” Link asked, raising an eyebrow. “The thing we used for the turtle!” Bon Bon explained. “Can you give it to me?” “Oh. The hookshot?” Link tossed it to her. “Sure.” “Great.” A menacing grin lit up on Bon Bon’s face. Volvagia broke through the ground again, and the group scattered to dodge the lava that splattered from the impact. Lyra threw the hammer at him with all her might. It hurtled through the air, smacking him upside the head before crashing to the ground. “Well.” Link commented, running for the dragon. “That’s something I never thought of.” Volvagia recovered from the stun before Link could reach him, shaking his head and slipping back into the lava with a splash. Link flinched, leaping backwards and away from the burning droplets. Lyra ran over to the crater she had made, picking up the Megaton hammer again. One of the already-made holes in the ground began bubbling, heralding another attack. “Watch out!” Epona warned, pointing to that one. “Yep, he’s coming up again!” Link said. Volvagia appeared again, but this time he leapt from the hole, soaring up into the air. He circled around, twisting his body into a spiral, glaring menacingly down at the ponies below. Link braced himself, expecting some sort of fire blast from above—but then he saw Volvagia recoil in mid-air, letting out a roar of pain. “Gotcha!” Bon Bon shouted, and that was when Link noticed the long, thin chain stretching from Volvagia to Bon Bon. She’d launched the hookshot at him, and the sharp metal tip had buried itself in his side. The dragon seemed to change his mind about being in the air, diving instead for a crack in the ground below. “Bon Bon, detach it now!” Link shouted. Bon Bon hurriedly jabbed the button, and the hookshot’s chain spiraled back into it’s grip as Volvagia disappeared again. “Great!” Link praised. Bon Bon nodded, grinning. “Watch out!” Epona called, instantly jerking Link’s attention to her. “He’s coming!” She pointed a hoof to where one of the cracks in the ground was, indeed, bubbling again. “I can get him!” Lyra said, running directly for the hole. “Wait!” Link cried. “Don’t—” His warning was too late. As Volvagia came up, hisburning mane hit Lyra straight across the face. Lyra let out a scream of pain, collapsing back, trails of smoke coming off her charred green fur. “Lyra!” Bon Bon cried. She leapt to her friend’s rescue, followed by Epona. Epona distracted Volvagia by stunning him yet again, and Bon Bon threw Lyra onto her back, galloping to safety. Link decided to take a leaf from Lyra’s book, throwing his sword like a boomerang. It soared in an arc through the air, slicing a gash across Volvagia’s face. The dragon recoiled, hissing in pain, blood pouring from his face.He slid back into the lava, casting a malevolent eye on Link. Saria and Octavia had taken over Lyra, carrying her back to where they were still tending to Darunia—it was far enough out of harm’s reach. Vinyl trotted over to where Link’s sword had clattered to the dusty ground, picking it up. “Wow, sweet!” She whistled. “I gonna need that back, Vinyl!” Link said. “Aaawww…...but everypony else gets a cool weapon!” Vinyl protested. “Can’t I use this?” “But you have your boombox!” Link pointed out. “Why don’t you use that?” “I didn’t bring it!” Vinyl said. “What???” Link yelled. Volvagia broke through a new section of ground, and they scattered to avoid him. Bon Bon, using her mouth, picked up the hammer Lyra had discarded and tried tossing it at the dragon. It staggered drunkenly through the air, then crashed to the ground several feet from Volvagia. He gave a growling, sharp laugh, and spat a fireball at them. Vinyl shielded them with a bubble of vibrant, translucent blue. “How could you not bring your boombox?” Link asked once Volvagia has disappeared again. “It was literally your only weapon!” “I didn’t know we’d be fighting a dragon!” Vinyl argued. “This is the freaking land of dragons!!!!” Link shouted. Volvagia, once again, shattered the ground next to them, far sooner than they were expecting. Drops of lava splattered down around them, and Vinyl dropped Link’s sword to protect them with another magical shield. Link picked up the discarded sword, and when Vinyl dropped the barrier, Epona rushed forwards to slam her hooves down on Volvagia again. Link followed up behind her, fitting in another good slash. Up close, he could see the effect his earlier attack had left on Volvagia. The exposed skin within the wound was charred completely black, and the blood was baked onto his face. Volvagia’s eyes glittered with a combination of agony and rage. Then he vanished beneath the lava. “Look.” Link said, trying to block the malicious expression on the dragon’s face from his mind. “Vinyl, you can have the smaller sword. But I need this big sword. Deal?” “Fine.” Vinyl agreed. “Deal.” While Link handed her the Kokiri Sword, Bon Bon ran to pick up the Megaton hammer again—somehow managing to hold both it and the hookshot. Without a warning, Volvagia burst out of one of the pre-made holes in the ground. Instead of pausing there, he leapt into the air, once again spiraling around them. A deep, unearthly roar ripped itself from his throat, and fiery rock began to rain down from the sky. “I got this, guys!” Vinyl said, creating another shield with her magic. One of the falling stones shattered her shield of energy like a dome of fragile glass, causing the others to scatter. “New plan!” Link called. “No shields! Just avoid being crushed!” “Smart plan!” Epona agreed. Vinyl dealt with their new situation by blowing up any rocks that came near her with her magical lasers. Bon Bon found and outcropping of rock to crouch beneath. And Link did the same thing he’d done during the original boss battle—watched the ground for shadows and moved out beneath them. After a while, he noticed that Epona was doing the exact same thing. Huh. He thought. I wonder how she knew to do that? When the rain of burning hail stopped, Volvagia twisted around and dove for the ground again. This time, he didn’t aim for one of the holes—he aimed for Saria and Octavia, who were hanging on the sidelines of the battle, far enough so that they hoped they’d be out of danger. Volvagia’s gaze flickered to Link for a second, and what seemed to be a dull pallor of triumph burned in his eyes. He reared back, fire building up at the corners of his mouth. “No!” Link shouted, tossing his sword aside and galloping desperately for the defenseless mares. He leapt in front of them, yanking his shield out of his inventory in the lick of time. The blast of fire he was expecting hit him like a cannonball, super heating the metal of his shield and searing his limbs. He gritted his teeth, ignoring the blistering pain racking his body. Volvagia hissed in disappointment, reeling away once he saw his plan to attack the weak was thwarted. He wheeled around, but then let out an earth-shattering roar of pain. A good shot from Bon Bon had lodged itself in his scales, right underneath his arm. Bright orange blood dripped from the wound, splattering as it hit the ground below. He dove straight for the lava, threatening to either break the hookshot or drag Bon Bon in with him. She detached it quickly, a triumphant smirk on her face. “No one hurts Lyra!” She shouted. Link breathed heavily, ignoring the pain from that simple act. He put out a section of his tunic that was on fire, ignoring the smoke curling off his clothes and red-hot surface of his shield. “Link!” Saria cried. “Are you okay?” “Just fine.” Link said, trying for a grin, but it ended up more like a grimace. The searing pain was overloading his nerves, being replaced with nothing but a blank tingling. “Watch out!” Epona called, bringing his attention back to the battle behind him. “He’s coming back again!” Link turned around, stumbling over to Epona. His pain-numbed limbs refused to work properly, and he almost fell—thankfully, Epona caught him, steadying him. “Woah.” She said. “I’m okay.” Link said instantly, without waiting for the question. Epona raised an eyebrow, a skeptical expression on her face. Volvagia came up again, whipping his head around. Bon Bon leapt forwards, bringing the Megaton hammer down, and Vinyl slashed at him with the Kokiri sword. Link had to admire the smoothness with which they’d picked everything up—especially Bon Bon. Volvagia shook off his daze, ducking back under the lava. “HOW IS HE NOT DEAD YET???” Vinyl yelled. “ALL YOU HAD TO DO WITH THE FIRST ONE WAS KICK HIM A COUPLE TIMES!!!!” “Just watch out for bubbling holes!” Epona warned. “Now, Link. Are you sure you’re okay?” “I...guess I’ve been better.” Link admitted. “But I’ll be fine.” “You know, I think I know why you almost fell over.” Epona commented. “Ponies aren’t exactly meant to stand on their hind legs.” “Wha?” Link said, confused, looking down. That’s when he realized, indeed, that he was standing on his hind legs. In fact...now that he thought about it….he’d spent this entire fight on his hind legs, wielding his sword with his hooves. No wonder it’d felt so much more natural. “Guys….it’s bubbling again!” Vinyl shouted, pointing a hoof at one of the jagged cracks in the ground. Link shook off his stupor, running to pick up his sword again. Volvagia emerged, emitting a savage hiss. Epona waited for him to perform his first attack and then pause, then leapt forwards with another blow. Ignoring the shooting pain in his limbs, Link followed up with a spin attack—one that was slightly less lopsided than the first one he’d attempted. The sword sheered cleanly through Volvagia’s thick scales, and Link landed what he hoped was a killing blow. As the attack ended, he braced himself to end the momentum of the spin. He still ended up staggering a little—if it was hard getting used to being a pony, it was even harder to be a pony on his hind legs. He teetered, almost falling into the lava. Epona quickly grabbed him, pulling him back. Volvagia let out an agonized screech of pain, staggering backwards and into the air. Blood poured down from his neck and face, sizzling as it hit the rock below. His arms waved feebly in the air, reaching for nothing in particular—and he alighted on top of a rock, talons scrabbling in the slippery blood. He let out a final, enraged roar, then exploded into black ashes. What had once been a formidable enemy floated gently in the breeze, settling down in a thick bed on the ground. “Finally.” Vinyl groaned.