Shisno Chronicles: Friendship is Magic

by nightelf37

Chapter 7: Dragonshy

Chapter 7: Dragonshy
In Chronicle's dreams…

He was once again inside his dark expanse, thinking of things as always. In addition to his dreams of spars, small talk, or reminiscence, he also sometimes talks with Timerity about their Element of Harmony keeper companions.

Just then, another pony began to appear in front of him. As it began to materialize, he saw it wasn't Timerity.

This time, it was a mare-faced stallion like him, only this time his coat was white, his eyes were blue, his mane was mildly frazzled and colored in navy blue and purple, his tail had the same color and was short like Chronicle's, he had black hooves, and he shared the same orange-circle-with-open-book cutie mark. However, instead of a horn on his head, he had wings on his sides, making him a pegasus.

"We meet again at long last, big brother.", he said, his voice a tone deeper than Chronicle's in spite of being younger than him by a year.

"Wait…Crais?"

"I'm glad you remember even as in my current form. And my alias is Blue Diary."

"I see. I'm going by Chronicle." There was a moment of terse silence. "So, how's your Twilight Sparkle there in the Equestria you're in?"

"Last I've seen her, she's a fugitive after the Ursa Minor incident."

This caught Chronicle off guard. "What?! What about her friends?!"

"She doesn't have any.", Blue calmly replied. This left Chronicle speechless as he dropped his jaw. "And before you ask, she's not the Element of Magic either."

Chronicle gave himself a few seconds to compose himself. "…Okay."

"And none of her friends that you assumed she has are the other Elements either."

"Well, that's reassuring.", said Chronicle sarcastically. "Wait. How do you know who I was assuming?"

"Our sister Tabitha, who goes by Timerity, told me about your friends."

"I see. Hold on. Ursa Minor incident? So if the arrival of the Twilight Sparkle was the cause, then is Trixie…"

"Yes." Blue nodded. "The Element of Magic is Trixie Lulamoon."

"Lulamoon, huh?" Chronicle put a hoof to his chin.

"Would you like to know who the other elements are?"

"Enlighten me."

"Very well. The Element of Laughter is Cheerilee…"

"The schoolteacher?"

"I see our Equestrias share the same ponies. The Element of Generosity is Carrot Top…"

"Guess she's not named Golden Harvest there."

"…the Element of Honesty is Raindrops, the Element of Kindness is Ditzy Doo, and the Element of Loyalty is Lyra Heartstrings."

"Lyra Heartstrings? Just which Equestria are you assigned to?"

"I'm assigned to 'Luna Equestria'."

"Let me guess, in there it's Celestia rather than Luna who turns evil?"

"Yes. But it's not by darkness or jealousy, rather by greed and insanity." Blue gave a sigh. "You're lucky where you are, Chronicle. I envy you for that. While Nightmare Moon has already been defeated and redeemed where you're at, Corona the Tyrant Sun on the other hand still runs rampant where I'm at, though weakened."

Chronicle deduced that Corona was the alias of the insane Celestia. "That's rather…"

"Dark?", Blue finished. "Well, 'Luna Equestria' is like that compared to 'Equestria Prime' in more ways than one. Already, during our adventure to find the Elements, we had encountered sirens with the express intent to eat us."

"Oww."

"You should be proud you had already got a friend in there." Chronicle recalled the river serpent Steven Magnet at that statement. "Where I'm at is vastly more different than Timerity's is to yours."

"Right. Another thing, are you or were you ever Trixie's bodyguard?"

"I was, but I'm now considering work at the weather management, even though Rainbow Dash can be a pain in the ass. Here, she's even lazier than yours. Still, I got Raindrops and Cloud Kicker to help me out. I also spend time doing odd jobs and I still keep in touch with the Elements."

"But where do you stay?"

"Ditzy Doo's kind enough to give me a place to crash in for nights and siestas. Her daughter Dinky's a nice filly and is lucky to have a loving mother."

"Siestas, huh?" Siestas were basically nap times at noon. "Most likely because of Corona?"

"Uh-huh. And I take karate lessons alongside Raindrops. I keep away from Lyra's house though; she can get real loud with BonBon at nights. Like I said, 'Luna Equestria' is vastly more different than 'Equestria Prime'. And I think we could discuss more of my world another time."

"Yeah. Well, it was nice talking with you, Blue Diary."

"Likewise, Chronicle."

Later that day…

Chronicle was at the address Graphite gave him back during the day that fracas with the tickets happened. As usual, the house had a thatch-roof. He was at the front door, talking with the earth pony in front of him. Thankfully, he managed to get Mjölna instead of her twin sister Tasty Snack.

A day after the episode with the tickets, he had come over to Mjölna for her blacksmithing services and requested her to create a shield out of the river serpent's scale. Today, she was finished and he was here to receive the shield.

"Here you go, Chronicle.", said Mjölna as she offered the finished product. "That'll be 480 bits."

"Wow. That's a bit much." Chronicle 'took' the shield and had a good look at it. It was shaped like the shield in Mystic Shield's cutie mark, but was more plain-looking. As expected, its color was similar to that of the scale it was made from. He 'stored' this shield in "hammerspace", and 'procured' a pouch of bits from there.

"Well, making armor ain't cheap."

"True. I don't currently that amount with me right now. Maybe I can pay in—"

"Portions? As in you pay a smaller amount now, then pay likewise for the next few days or so?", guessed Mjölna.

"Yeah. That."

"Sure thing. I'll tell Graphite since I might be too busy and because you might end up paying Tasty Snack instead. She takes advantage of every mistake that comes her way."

"So I'll be paying you through Graphite?"

"Basically, yes."

"Okay. I'll just pay the first portion now." Chronicle 'passed' his pouch to Mjölna. "Well, I gotta go soon. See ya, Mjölna."

"Bye, Chronicle."

A few minutes after…

Chronicle managed to make it to the park, where he greeted the ponies who passed by and enjoyed the fine weather.

"Hello, Derpy Hooves, Parasol. Hello, Bon Bon, Carrot Top. Hello, Lemon Hearts, Sea Swirl, Wind Whistler. Hello, Tornado Bolt, Apple Bumpkin. Hello, Medley, Dizzy Twister, Cloud Kicker. Hello, Apple Cobbler, Lyra. Hello, Twinkle, Minuette. Hello, Shoeshine, Cherry Berry. Hello, Daisy, Goldengrape. Hello, little fillies. Hello, Berry Punch. Hello, Amethyst Star, Pink Lady. …Okay, what a strange name." He then looked up, ready to greet any overhead pegasi, and saw something he wasn't about to give a nice "hello" to; a plume of thick black smoke issuing from a distant mountain peak. And it seemed to be en route to Ponyville. "Oh dear."

Just before he could speak up, he noticed another voice. "Help! Help! Please? Help?", it said. He knew that voice anywhere, although he did have to strain to listen to it. "There’s…there’s a horrible cloud of smoke! It’s headed this way and—"

He looked down and saw that it was Fluttershy—and that nopony else seemed to have heard her. She really needs to work on her volume… He then called out, "Fluttershy."

The meek pegasus turned to face him and cried out "Oh, Chronicle! I'm so glad you heard me."

"Your voice allures me every time, though I had to strain to understand you, actually. You really should raise your voice a bit more."

"I'll try." Just then, a ball headed their way—too fast for Chronicle to 'catch'—and they both ducked. Before it can hit the ground, Rainbow Dash flashed in and started bouncing it up off her forehead and rump.

"Don’t be such a scaredy pony.", she told the two as Pinkie Pie arrives to watch.. "It’s just me, future Equestria ball-bouncing record holder." She then continued to count. "Two hundred forty-six, two hundred forty-seven…"

"This calls for a celebration!", said Pinkie as she zipped away.

"Girls.", Chronicle spoke up. "This is no time for celebration. This is a time for—" He was rudely cut off by Pinkie, who popped up in front of him, facing away from the two who know of the smoke, which was already making its way to the park.

"Ooh! I’m gonna need balloons!" She then hopped away. "One for everypony in Ponyville!"

Fluttershy and Chronicle followed her, the former saying, "There’s…there’s smoke, and…and where there’s smoke, there’s fire, and—"

They were cut off by Pinkie suddenly stopping—and Chronicle got a face full of her behind, and Fluttershy got a face full of his. Both were briefly knocked silly, but the former recovered quickly as Pinkie began to count off the ponies in the park.

"Let’s see. That’s one…" She pointed at a hovering Medley, who turned and noticed. "Two." She then pointed at Daisy, who turned and noticed as well. "Three." Cloud Kicker, who also turned and looked. "Four." Cherry Berry, who didn't notice, but Heartstrings and Shoeshine turned to look at Pinkie as they sat on a bench. "Five." Heartstrings, who was sitting like a human being would.

What?, Chronicle mentally gasped at this non-ponylike behavior.

"Six." Shoeshine, who sat next to Lyra and was laid out across the bench in a proper equine manner.

She turned to look at Rainbow, who was still bouncing her ball. "…two hundred fifty-four, two hundred fifty-five…no, wait…" She was interrupted by Pinkie as she rushed in to count her as well, causing the ball to miss Rainbow’s head and land under her wing.

"…seven…" Pinkie earned an exasperated sigh from Rainbow.

"Pinkie Pie, now I have to start over!"

"We're all gonna have to start over.", snarked Chronicle as Rainbow left. "In a new village, ’cause ours is gonna be—"

"Hey, Rainbow Dash, wait up!", Pinkie interrupted.

"Dammit, why isn't anypony listening to me…", he growled.

"Oh, please, this is an emergency.", pleaded Fluttershy. "I need everypony to—"

"LISTEN UP!", another voice came. Everypony turned to a bridge over the stream running through the park and saw Twilight Sparkle, with Spike on her back.

"Twilight!", Chronicle called.

"Smoke is spreading over all of Equestria!" There was a shocked reaction from the crowd.

"That's what Fluttershy and I've been trying to tell—" he began to say as they came over, but he was cut off again.

"But don’t worry. I’ve just received a letter from Princess Celestia informing me that it is not coming from a fire."

"Oh, thank goodness." Fluttershy sighed in relief.

"It’s coming from a dragon!"

The mild-mannered pegasus sucked in a gasp that would inflate a small blimp as her eyes popped. "A….d-d-d-dragon?"

"Uh-oh.", groaned Chronicle.

Later…

Twilight, Chronicle, Fluttershy, and the rest of the keepers of the Elements of Harmony were gathered inside the Books and Branches Library. Outside, the sky has darkened under the spreading smoke.

"What in the name of all things cinnamon-swirled is a full-grown dragon doin’ here in Equestria?", Applejack asked Twilight, who was studying a book from a stack, with rolled-up documents resting nearby.

The purple unicorn closed the book with her magic and set it aside. "Sleeping.", she answered.

"Huh?" Nopony could believe their ears as Twilight 'packed' a book into her saddlebags standing on the floor.

"According to Princess Celestia, he’s taking a nap. His snoring is what’s causing all this smoke."

"He should really see a doctor.", commented Pinkie. "That doesn’t sound healthy at all."

"Well, at least he’s not snoring fire.", said Rarity. "What are we meant to do about it?"

"I’ll tell you what we’re meant to do.", Rainbow said as she hovered a few feet up. "Give him the boot! Take that!" She kicked the center table’s horse-head bust, which was balanced by Chronicle before it can topple. "And that!" She rushed at it, but he levitated it upward and as he set it back on the pedestal, the cyan pegasus was sprawled upside down against a wall.

"We need to encourage him to take a nap somewhere else.", Twilight said as Rainbow got up. "Princess Celestia has given us this mission, and we must not fail." The speedster stood to attention and saluted. "If we do, Equestria will be covered in smoke for the next one hundred years."

Fluttershy recoiled in horror with a gasp.

"That is not good at all.", said Chronicle.

Rarity gave a humph and turned to Pinkie. "Talk about getting your beauty sleep."

"All right, everypony." Twilight's saddlebags closed. "I need you to gather supplies quickly." The bags then rose off the floor and settled on her back. "We’ve got a long journey ahead of us." The others gathered around her. "Let’s meet back here in less than an hour."

Rainbow looped in the air, throwing hooves around Pinkie’s and Rarity’s necks. "Okay, girls, you heard her! The fate of Equestria is in our hooves! Do we have what it takes?"

Applejack, Pinkie, and Rarity reared up and voice their own affirmative responses. As they hustled out the door, Rainbow joins them—but Fluttershy hung back. "Um, actually…"

"Twilight, I'll go have a talk with Mystic Shield.", Chronicle said as he made his way out the door as well. "Maybe we could ask him and his students to join us."

"That's a good idea.", said the bookworm as she continued to work. "His skills can prove useful."

Later, in Mystic Shield's dojo…

"And remember that you should gauge how much focus you need between defense and offense."

Mystic Shield was teaching his (so far) four students the two most basic spells he thinks any unicorn should ever know; the barrier spell (either dome-shape or screen-shape), and the magic shot spell.

Tricky Books and Chrono Cards seem to be doing well in both, but Bullseye seemed to be more focused on offense and Greatstone on defense.

"It may sound difficult to perform at least two spells at once, but there is a simple secret to double-casting. Now, all you need to do is—" He was interrupted when Chronicle burst into the dojo. "Chronicle, you're late.", he said sternly. "How can you possibly teach alongside me if you don't remember the schedule?"

"Sorry, Mys—I mean, Master Shield, but we got a crisis on our hooves."

"Is it about that smoke coming from the mountain?"

"Yes. And I was hoping if you could spare a student or two to accompany us. We're headed to the mountain to convince the dragon there to leave."

"Dragon? Sounds dangerous, dude.", said Bullseye.

"I'm not too certain.", said Chrono.

"I'd rather not.", apologized Tricky.

"I cannot say as to whether or not I should go.", said Greatstone.

"Sorry, but I'm afraid I cannot spare any of these four to join you in this…quest.", Mystic said with disappointment.

"…I see.", Chronicle replied. "Well, it was worth a try." He then turned to leave and was about to walk out when Mystic suddenly walked up right next to him.

"Hold on, there. You did not ask me if I could come with you."

Chronicle seemed to be surprised. "You're coming?"

"Why not? I could use an adventure."

"But what about—"

"Hey, this dragon's being a threat to Equestria, right? If there's something I could do and I didn't do it and you fail, I'll regret it for the rest of my life."

"I was talking about the students. What if they want to go?"

"You heard Tricky. He's not going."

"Neither am I.", piped in Chrono.

"Nor I.", added Greatstone.

"I changed my mind, I'm not going.", said Bullseye.

"Guess you have it, then.", said Mystic. "Since my classes are currently suspended, you are free to call me Mystic."

"Welcome to the party, Mystic Shield. Get yourself ready, prepare supplies, and meet us in the library in less than an hour."

"Got it." He then walked back inside his dojo, bypassing his students. "Class dismissed."

[screen mode]

{Wipe to Rainbow’s cloud house. She flies to one of the rainbow ponds at its edge, from which a waterfall trickles toward the ground, and daubs a stripe of the material under each narrowed eye. Throwing a defiant growl and fierce grin toward the camera, she is framed in a pink letterbox shot, with her shadow superimposing itself several times behind her. Freeze frame.}

{Quick pan to a fullscreen shot of Sweet Apple Acres. The four local members of the Apple family—Applejack, Apple Bloom, Big Macintosh, Granny Smith—are gathered around a pair of open saddlebags on the ground. As the camera zooms in, Bloom drops in a bottle of apple juice, Granny pulls one bag closed with her teeth, and Macintosh loads them onto Applejack’s back with some effort. Once the blonde pony straightens up under the weight, she rears up and leaps sideways with a yell. Letterbox freeze frame, as before, but the letterbox is blue.}

{Quick pan to Chronicle's training range behind the library, where Chronicle is at the right side of the screen, and the training dummy is at the left. But instead of engaging the dummy, Chronicle is surveying a row of items leaning at the wall of the library. Among the items are—as the camera pans from right to left— a piece of broken fence, a broken equinequin leg, a shattered bottle, a frying pan, a trashcan lid, a medium-sized cloud, an old heavy tome, a hammer, a shovel, a paddle, a xiphos (a shortsword of nineteen inches), and a sock full of bits. The blue stallion puts a hoof to his chin.}

Chronicle: Hmm…What to bring…

{He suddenly lights up as he then 'selects' the pan and paddle. He considers the xiphos, but decides against it with a shake of his head. After he then 'stores' them in hammerspace, he faces the camera, and rears up with a devious grin. Letterbox freeze frame, as before, but the letterbox is blackish-gray. Quick pan to a fullscreen shot of Sugarcube Corner, from which Pinkie emerges wearing her own saddlebags, a pair of sunglasses, and a big goofy grin. One bag pops open, scattering un-inflated balloons everywhere; she giggles for a second, then catches herself.}

Pinkie: Oh, I mean… (striking tough rear-legged pose) …grrrr!

{Letterbox freeze frame, as before, but the letterbox is green. Quick pan to the Carousel Boutique, then zoom in quickly and cut to Rarity inside. She has put on a camouflage Army helmet, with a few leaves and branches attached to improve the disguise, and carries her saddlebags in her teeth. After catching her reflection in a mirror, she drops the bags and zips back to it, disgusted.}

Rarity: Ewwww!

{Off she goes, returning a moment later with new headwear: a broad-brimmed hat, still done in camo colors but with a long pink plume instead of the branches.}

Rarity: Much better. Onward!

{Letterbox freeze frame, as before, but the letterbox is yellow. Quick pan to Fluttershy’s cottage, zooming in on the front door whose top half is open. She nudges the bottom half open and steps out, wearing a football helmet, a baseball catcher’s chest protector, an inner tube around her midsection, and “floaties” on all four legs. The top half swings shut, scaring a little whimper out of her. Letterbox freeze frame, as before, but the letterbox is red.}

{Quick pan to a fullscreen shot of Mystic's dojo, then zoom in quickly and cut to the purple stallion inside as he looks with contempt at something to the right. Camera then zips to his saddlebags, which have not yet been filled. Cut back to Mystic, who then turns to the left. Camera zips to a first-aid kit, which is then coated with Mystic's magical aura as it is then levitated into the saddlebags. He then magically closes the clasps, walks to the bags, levitates them onto his back, then gives a simple smile. Letterbox freeze frame, as before, but the letterbox is white.}

{Cut to a letterbox screen full of black smoke, with images of the seven freeze-frames dropping in from right to left to tile in the view.}

Applejack: Let’s go! (All but Fluttershy and Mystic zip away, the latter walking off.)
Fluttershy: Um…let’s not?

{She crouches down and goes into a whimpering shiver as the seven strips slide away up and down.}

[end screen mode]

After the hour…

Twilight Sparkle was now walking down the line to review the 'troops'. Chronicle and Mystic Shield were lined up as well as the former took the time to survey his friends. Everypony but him and the pegasi had saddlebags; Chronicle didn't need them given his "hammerspace". Rainbow Dash seemed to have what looked like war stripes (colored in her namesake, no less) under her eyes. Pinkie wore a pair of red sunglasses. Rarity wore a broad-brimmed hat colored in camo colors and with a long pink plume. Mystic Shield only had his usual ascot. As for Fluttershy, she wore a football helmet, a baseball catcher’s chest protector, an inner tube around her midsection, and “floaties” on all four legs.

"All right, girls and boys, listen up.", Twilight said as she walked.

Good, she did not overlook Mystic Shield and me., Chronicle mused as he stood in attention once more. I could still be very well mistaken for a girl sometimes.

"I’m mapping out the fastest route, but we’ve all got to keep a good pace if we expect to make it up the mountain by nightfall."

Fluttershy fell out of line and gasped with a shudder, "Mountain?"

Twilight pointed to the peak. "The dragon is in that cave at the very top."

"Looks pretty cold up there.", noted Applejack.

"You bet it is!", agreed Rainbow. "The higher you go, the chillier it gets.

"Good thing I brought my scarf.", Rarity said as she brought one up from her saddlebag. It was striped in two shades of pink.

"Ooh, pretty!", Pinkie said as Rarity settled it around her neck.

Rainbow laughed with sarcasm. "Oh, yeah. That’ll keep you nice and cozy."

While Mystic seemed to survey the party in silence, Chronicle noticed Fluttershy looking visibly unsettled. A glance up at the dizzying, fume-choked summit prompted one hard swallow from her. Only he took notice as his charge levitated a map from her bag and studied it.

As Fluttershy decided to make her way towards Twilight, Chronicle followed as the pegasus said, "Um…excuse me, Twilight? I know you’re busy, but—"

Twilight was not paying attention. "Uh-huh. Well, we could go this way."

"—but if I could just have a second—"

"Uh-huh. No, we want to avoid that."

"So, um, I was thinking that, um, maybe I should just stay here in Ponyville."

"Uh-huh."

Fluttershy seemed to brighten up. "Oh! Good. I’ll stay here and—"

Chronicle cut in. "Twilight, I have an apology to make."

"Uh-huh."

"I spilt coffee on your favorite book."

"Uh-huh." Only two seconds after that did what he said sink in. "WHAT?!" She turned to her bodyguard with a surprised look.

"Just kidding." Chronicle gave a smile. "Spike can vouch for that." There were a stifle of giggles from Pinkie and Rainbow while Applejack just rolled her eyes. As for Rarity, she was conversing with Mystic for some reason.

"Okay." She then noticed Fluttershy leaving. "Where is she going?"

"She asked that she stay in Ponyville and you gave her consent."

"I did?!"

"Yes. You should really pay attention to what others are trying to say so you don't say something you're gonna regret later." Immediately, his charge made her way to the pegasus before she could leave. Chronicle regretted what he said after that; he was hoping to have her gone by then and they'd proceed without her.

"Wait!" Fluttershy stopped. "You have to come. Your way with wild animals will surely come in handy."

"I don’t think I—", Fluttershy said before being cut off again.

"Oh, and don’t worry about your little friends in the meadow.", Twilight assured her. "Spike’s got it covered while you’re gone."

"You can count on me.", said the baby dragon as he was accompanied with a few of them, two on his arms, even.

"I believe I should ask for some of my students to assist him.", Mystic put in as he broke off from his conversation with Rarity. A second after he said that, Angel popped up on Spike's head and gave it a good thumping with one leg, scaring all the other critters away.

Spike ran after them, yelling, "Hey! Hey! Wait!"

"Let me talk to them.", Chronicle told him as he created a magic clone next to himself, who then trotted over to Mystic. "Just tell him where they are and he'll inform them."

As Mystic told Chronicle's copy just that, Twilight rolled up the map and stowed it.

"I don’t really think he’s up to the task.", Fluttershy said as Twilight walked off. "Maybe…but…but…" She stopped with a tiny little whimper; Rainbow seemed to notice and took Twilight aside.

"Are you sure you want Fluttershy to come along?", the cyan pegasus asked as Chronicle's copy ran off. "I mean, that pony’s afraid of her own shadow. She’s just gonna slow us down."

"I'll have to agree with Rainbow here.", Chronicle voiced his opinion.

"Oh, she’s just a little nervous.", Twilight waved them off. "Once we get going, I’m sure she’ll be fine."

A yelp from the scaredy pony drew their attention. Rainbow’s words were exactly on point as Fluttershy dived into a bush to get away from her shadow and peeked out.

"You were saying?", Chronicle snarked.

As for the rest, they were ready to go. Rarity had put her scarf away, and Pinkie was blowing up a balloon.

"All right, girls and boys!", Twilight called. The balloon slipped out of Pinkie’s mouth and veered around as it deflated, finally landing on her head. "Move out!" And that was what she, Applejack, Pinkie, and Rarity did—straight toward Fluttershy, catching her in their small-scale stampede. As she was carried screaming toward the mountain, Rainbow and the stallions quickly followed.

"Do your adventures start out like this?", Mystic asked Chronicle.

"This is just our second. The first one was the one involving Nightmare Moon."

"I see." There was a short pause. "Say, why didn't we take Spike with us?"

"Someone had to take care of Fluttershy's animals while she's gone with us."

"They could've left it to me or my students had you asked. And if we're asking the dragon to go on its way, wouldn't Spike make for a good go-between?"

"I think there are four reasons. One, he's younger than us. Two, Twilight's rather protective of him. Three, we don't know if getting him to talk to the dragon would make things easier or worse. And four, Twilight told me that Spike is pony-raised, whatever that means. That may probably affect dragon-to-dragon negotiations."

"Oh."

Eyecatch (video-type) - From the right, the stampede of Twilight Sparkle, Applejack, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie run to the left, Fluttershy in tow. Just as they disappear to the left side of the screen, Rainbow Dash flies after them, followed by Chronicle and Mystic Shield, both running.

The show's logo is seen on the center, larger than usual.

Two-thirds of an hour later…

The party reached the bottom of the mountain. Along the way, Chronicle found some of their 'equipment' to be impractical. He stored the following in hammerspace; Rarity's hat (after arguing that it might get lost in the wind, though Applejack wasn't willing to let go of her stetson) Pinkie's sunglasses, and most of Fluttershy's gear, leaving the chest protector (she even surrendered the helmet, which he didn't want her to ditch, yet couldn't convince her otherwise).

As they reached the mountain's grassy foot slopes, the entire place trembled as they heard a low, guttural noise. Smoke also boiled out as Rainbow hovered overhead and Fluttershy dove behind Applejack with a panicked gasp.

Chronicle imagined, Sounds like the world’s largest Evinrude outboard motor, scaled up by a factor of several thousand, and in desperate need of a tune-up.

"Whoa! What was that?", Rainbow gasped.

"That is what it sounds like when a dragon snores.", Twilight explained.

Fluttershy peeked up. "It’s…it’s so…high."

Rainbow leaned in. "Well, it is a mountain!" She then turned to face upward. "I’m gonna fly up there and check it out." She tried to do so on the end of this line, but Applejack’s (apparently) favorite grab-the-tail-in-the-teeth move stopped her.

"Hold on now.", the farmpony said as she then let go. "I think we should all go up together."

"I concur.", agreed Mystic. "Safety in numbers and all."

Rainbow sulked at this. "Oh, all right."

After a minute…

Rainbow was glumly winging her way up a slope as the others muscled ahead on leg-power. Applejack was in the lead, followed by Pinkie Pie, Rarity, and Twilight Sparkle (who was studying her map before rolling it up), with the two stallions bringing up the rear. However, one of them was missing…

"I hear the only thing that sparkles more than a dragon’s scales are the jewels they use to build their nests.", Rarity said. "Ooh! If I play my cards right, I might be able to convince him to part with a few!"

She and Pinkie stopped as the latter said with a scratchy voice. "Welcome to my cave, Rarity! Care for a diamond?"

The pink joker’s jape irked Rarity for a moment until she growled, prompting a round of laughter from all but Twilight and Chronicle.

"Girls!" They all fell silent, even Mystic, who decided to clam up knowing he did not have to be called as well by name to get the message. "This is no laughing matter!" She then continued on past the rest. "Fluttershy, you’re the expert on wild creatures. What do you think the dragon will be like?" Getting no response, she stopped to look around, as do the other five land-bound travelers. "Fluttershy?"

Rainbow looked down and so did Chronicle. "Hey!" They saw Fluttershy peeking out behind a bush at the mountain's foot. "What are you waiting for? An invitation?"

"Ooh!", Pinkie said as she ducked away. "I think I have one in my bag!" She instantly came up with one in her teeth, releasing a burst of confetti, streamers, balloons, and noise that scared the daylights out of the pegasus and did little for Rarity’s mood, not to mention get an eye-roll from Chronicle and a raised eyebrow from Mystic.

"It…it’s so…so…steep.", Fluttershy said.

"Well, it is a cliff!", Rainbow pointed out. "You could just…oh, I don’t know…fly up here?"

"Come on, Fluttershy, you can do it!", Pinkie said as she waved a hoof. "Flap those wings!"

"Oh…okay." With her eyes squeezed shut, she started flapping and was soon at eye level with the rest of the group. She then committed a variation on the classic fear-of-heights mistake by looking up instead of down, just in time for another of the dragon’s rumbling snores. Both wings then snapped tight against her body out of sheer terror, and all four hooves flailed against nothing before she began to drop back into the bushes like a yellow brick.

As if on instinct, Chronicle's horn glowed in an attempt to 'catch' her and Mystic did the same. Alone, neither would've been able to lift her, but together they succeeded. Rainbow groaned in disgust, covering her eyes. Whilst hovering in the two stallions' magical auras, Fluttershy strained hopelessly to unfurl her wings, while Twilight and Applejack watched from up the hill.

Twilight groaned as well. "We don’t have time for this!"

Just then, the two stallions 'grip' on Fluttershy began to falter. "Man, holding a pony is much harder than I thought.", complained Chronicle.

"Likewise.", agreed Mystic as they gently 'dropped' her on the bushes.

Meanwhile, Applejack pulled out the map with her teeth. "What are you doing?", Twilight asked her.

"Isn't it obvious?", Chronicle asked as he and Mystic rubbed their heads.

"I’ll need this if I’m gonna take her around the mountain another way.", Applejack replied.

There was a loud groan from Rainbow. "Around the mountain?" Applejack bolted downhill and slid down the slope. "That’s gonna take them forever!"

Just after the earth pony reached the pegasus, another snore from the leviathan shook the mountain and caused the latter to go over on her back in a stiff-legged, wide-eyed faint. A goat’s bleat was heard as she toppled. Applejack addressed the others, "Don’t worry, Twi. We’ll be there lickety-split."

The unicorn’s concern deepened as she turned her gaze to the foul black stream advancing steadily over the hills.

"Allow me to accompany you, Applejack.", offered Mystic as he slid down after the earth pony.

"That's mighty kind of you, Mystic Shield."

"You're welcome."

A few minutes later…

Leaving Fluttershy in the capable hooves of Applejack and Mystic, the remainder of the party stopped at a plateau where they would wait for them. However, a great deal of time had passed and they still weren't there yet. To pass the time, aside from tic-tac-toe, which Rarity and Pinkie played, Chronicle also provided a few board games for himself and Rainbow to play and a deck of cards (as well as instruction manual of card games) for Twilight.

While his charge played a game of Klondike, then Scorpion, then Calculation, then Freecell, then Canfield, then Golf, and every other patience game known to pony, the two blue ponies played what he assumed was a pegasus-and-cloud version of Battleship. This kind of game wasn't his forte and Rainbow had at least five wins for every three of Chronicle's. They had then played Nine Mare's Morris, in which Chronicle got more wins than Rainbow.

Chronicle had wanted to refrain from physical activities like sparring as he and Twilight didn't want anypony's stamina to be wasted. Just then, as he moved a piece, his thoughts were cut off by Pinkie (whose nose was dirtied from drawing on the ground) cheering for herself.

"Woo-hoo!", she said. "I win again!"

Rarity gave a disgusted sigh. "That’s thirty-five games in a row." She then gave a smile "Best of seventy-one?"

"You know, you two could've played a board game or borrowed a deck.", a magical clone of Chronicle said as he kept a lookout. "I would've been more than willing to lend a few."

"What compelled you to bring these?", Rainbow asked the real Chronicle as she moved one of her pieces into another hole on the board. "Not that I'm not thankful, but board games and card games aren't exactly supplies."

"Well, I learned it from one past charge of mine. He told me that boredom can be just as dangerous a foe as anything. While it at first conflicted with my diligence as a bodyguard, he taught me the magical clone spell so I could be in two places at once." He then paused for a second. "That and Pinkie Pie inspired the idea. Why she herself didn't bring the games is something I still don't understand."

"I hear someone.", the clone said as he turned to see Applejack and Mystic coming up around a bend, both panting. The earth pony had tied Fluttershy’s tail into a loop and slung it around her forehead to drag the still-frozen pegasus up the trail. At least that was the plan until Mystic also assisted in the carry by creating a panel of energy below her, which would normally serve as a shield.

"We…made…it.", Mystic said as he and Applejack collapsed.

Rainbow hovered upside down for some reason and told Twilight, "Told you it was gonna take them forever."

"It's only been twenty minutes.", said Chronicle's clone.

Five minutes after…

The party had packed up and were on their way once more. Pinkie was well ahead of Fluttershy, who still either cannot or would not move under her own power and was being pushed by Applejack and pulled by Chronicle, the latter having borrowed the former's lasso and dismissed his copy. Farther ahead of these four, Rarity and Mystic were slightly behind Twilight, while Rainbow soared over them all.

The three unicorns in the lead and Pinkie checked the map, which Twilight 'rolled up' and 'put away' after a moment. The party then stopped short, finding themselves at the edge of a dropoff. Rainbow landed, galloped up, and easily leaped the gap with a little help from her wings. Twilight was next, then Rarity, then Mystic, then Applejack, then Pinkie, but Fluttershy could only swallow hard and stare across at the others. Chronicle had stayed behind as well, trying to convince the pegasus to cross.

"Your turn, Fluttershy.", called Twilight.

"But…it’s so…" She turned her head away. "…wide."

"Really?", Chronicle snarked. "I've leaped wider gaps."

Twilight was getting impatient. "Come on, Fluttershy! We should be much farther along by now."

Applejack tried to encourage her. "You could just leap on over."

Fluttershy peeked past the edge. "I…" A fresh snore and billow of smoke cut her off. She yanked her head back and curled into a shivering little ball. "I don’t know."

Both Twilight and Applejack shook their heads disappointingly, but Pinkie was her usual cheerful self.

"There’s nothing to be afraid of!", she said as she jumped to the edge. "It’s just a hop, skip, and a jump!" And with one nimble bound, she is back on Fluttershy’s side.

And also, Chronicle could hear music. The prominent instrument was a soft-shoe piano and the tune was in C major.

Now Playing: Hop Skip and Jump song

"See?"

It’s not very far, just move your little rump♪
You can make it if you try with a hop, skip, and a jump♪

Pinkie added a shake of her hindquarters to make the point before leaping across.

Suddenly, the music paused. "We don’t have time for this!", Twilight told her.

"We don't?", asked Mystic.

The music then resumed, steadily increasing tempo as Pinkie jumped back and forth.

A hop, skip, and a jump, just move your little rump♪
A hop, skip, and a jump, a hop, skip, and a jump♪
A hop, skip, and a jump, a hop, skip, and a jump♪
A hop, skip and a jump♪

Fluttershy’s eyes flicked back and forth to follow the performance, which ended with Pinkie back on the far side, and she finally smiled and stood up as the music stopped.

End Song

"Okay…here I go.", she said as she did the motions slowly. "A hop…"

"That’s it.", said Applejack.

"You got it.", said Twilight.

"Almost there.", said Rarity.

"I got your back.", assured Chronicle.

"Skip…" Fluttershy skipped over the edge, eyes closed.

"Just don’t look down!", Twilight then said.

"You shouldn't have said that.", gasped Mystic with a look of horror as Fluttershy opened her eyes and made exactly that mistake.

Her vision blurred out of sheer panic as she began to take the 'big dive'. There was barely time for her to get out one tiny moan before she suddenly stopped dead.

"Why didn't anypony just tell her the gap was too narrow to not be able to jump?", asked Chronicle.

Indeed, Fluttershy had one pair of splayed hooves on each edge of the gap—which was in fact barely more than one pony wide. While Twilight managed the best smile she can at the weak humor of the situation, Rainbow clapped a hoof to her face with a groan and flew over to push Fluttershy across. As Chronicle then flash-stepped across, Pinkie, Mystic, and Rarity assisted with a little pulling action, which ended with a thud and both pegasi lying in a heap before everypony else save for the blue stallion.

"I guess I forgot to jump.", Fluttershy finally said.

Chronicle could only smack himself in the face with a hoof. "Should've carried her across or made a bridge."

As the party continued up the trail, the two stallions can't help but notice that Twilight seemed to have made an error in her path-making.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?", Mystic said as he looked around. There seemed to be plenty of hiding places.

"I think so."

"Now that we're here, I remember being in this mountain before. This part of the trail's a perfect spot for bandits to ambush us."

"B-b-b-bandits?!", stuttered Fluttershy.

"But what would bandits be doing on a mountain with a sleeping dragon anyway?", Applejack wondered.

"Hideout?", guessed Mystic.

"I told you they knew we were here.", a voice came, making the party stop as none of them had spoken thoe words.

"Shush.", another voice was heard. "They're just suspicious is all. They haven't confirmed our presence yet."

"Shut up, both of you.", a third voice said.

"With your less-than-whispers I'm sure they know we're here now." A fourth voice.

"That's right, bozos!", Rainbow called out as she entered a fighting stance. "Now come out where we can see you!"

As if on cue, four figures jumped from behind a boulder, but they slammed into a panel barrier Mystic conjured. Everypony got a good look at these four would-be attackers as they slid off the barrier. They were two pegasi and two earth ponies, all wearing black garments covering their bodies and concealing their identities. Well, their mane, coats, eyes, and gender (male) were visible to varying degrees, but with their flanks covered (hence their cutie marks not visible), it would be difficult to identify them.

The first earth pony bandit was a dark green stallion with goldenrod hair and blue eyes and the second one was a white mare with cream-colored hair and brown eyes. The first pegasus bandit was a forest green colt with brown hair and eyes and the second one was a crimson mare with black hair, green-yellow eyes, and a larger build than the rest.

All right., Chronicle mentally whooped. He checked his companions and saw that Rainbow and Applejack were preparing to fight as well. Mystic Shield had a bored look as Fluttershy hid behind him. Twilight and Rarity didn't seem to know what to do, though they seemed to be ready to defend themselves. As for Pinkie, she just stood there passively.

"We don't have anything worth taking, you know.", Mystic spoke up as he dismissed the barrier. The two action-oriented non unicorns got into position beside Mystic and Chronicle stepped in with them. The other four got behind them.

"Wha—why are you saying this?!", asked the red pegasus.

"To dissuade you perhaps. Really, a group of four attacking a party of eight is not very wise. Especially as we are not merchants and more than half of us are capable of defending ourselves." As if to demonstrate, all the unicorns save for Rarity flared up their horns with magic. "We're here to send that dragon off. Now step aside."

There was silence for a few moments, then the bandits made their decision; they charged, quickly taking out knives from their garments and holding the handles with their teeth. Rainbow and Applejack charged as well, colliding with a bandit matching their race. The young pegasus bandit made his way to Mystic, but met with a barrier conjured by him. The female earth pony bandit made her way to Chronicle, who—instead of conjuring a barrier—'took out' his new shield and 'conked' her on the head with it.

The bandit wasn't about to go down easily however as she rolled to evade the next blow, then tackled him by the side. Chronicle shook off the attack, then 'whacked' her again on the head with the shield, this time 'swinging' it around like a bludgeon and giving her little time to recover. Suddenly, the male earth pony bandit was sent colliding to his side, making Chronicle drop his shield and sending him over the edge. However, he quickly teleported back to safety, emerging right next to a cowering Fluttershy.

Meanwhile, Mystic was trying to 'shoot' down the dodgy young pegasus bandit while keeping his barrier up. Just then, Rainbow Dash was sent flying into the barrier with such force that the barrier cracked. The older pegasus bandit soon followed, slamming into Rainbow and smashing the barrier completely as they slammed to Mystic's side.

They rolled right into the mountainside, Chronicle could see the two earth pony bandits get tied up by a lasso from Applejack. However, to the farmpony's surprise, they were still moving effectively. With the mare on top of him, the stallion began to run straight for her, and delivered a solid buck, which Applejack dodged. Just as he was about to turn and try again, a magic shot—a stray from Mystic—hit his partner tied to his back, almost making them stumble. However, the mare bandit was quickly on her feet so that her partner was now the one upside down.

Just as that was happening, Mystic managed to get off of the two pegasus mares off of him as they continued their clash, slamming into and circling one another right above him. As for the young pegasus bandit, he was about to jump for a wide-open Rarity when he was pounced from behind and crashed to the ground. He looked up to see Pinkie Pie on top of him.

"What's a colt like you with such mean company?", she asked him.

"You think we like doing this?", replied the colt as he then flipped himself off of the pink earth pony, surprisingly getting her off of his back, then made his way to Rarity again, only for his face to meet a pair of her white hooves. This buck knocked him unconscious.

"Poor child.", the white unicorn sighed. "Forced to live this kind of life."

Chronicle, after getting Fluttershy to Twilight's side so she would not be endangered by the bandits, made his way to the tied up earth pony pair as they continued to attack Applejack, who was holding her own rather well. He delivered one well-placed shot at the mare on top as the farmpony delivered a buck on the stallion below. This coordinated attack made them fall down to their sides, disabling them from getting up.

"Now that was a strange duo.", the blue unicorn commented.

As for the older pegasus bandit, after seeing her teammates routed, as she dodged a charge from Rainbow, she decided to bail out and was flying away from the mountain. Just before the cyan pegasus could pursue her—

"Rainbow!", Twilight called out. The cyan pegasus stopped to see the remaining three bandits rounded up and the rest of the party safe and sound.

"But she's getting away!"

"Our mission is to send off the dragon in this mountain, not chase down bandits."

"But what about these?", Applejack then asked as she finished tying up the young pegasus bandit with the other two.

"We'll take care of them later.", Chronicle said. "We'll leave them here for now, then come back for them after we complete our mission."

"We're gonna leave these three all alone?", Pinkie asked. "With nothing to eat?"

"I said we'd be coming back later, didn't I? As for leaving somepony behind to watch over them, I think that even if they manage to escape, I'm sure what we just did to them will dissuade any attempts to try and rob us again."

"Chronicle's right.", agreed Mystic.

"Not really a good decision, and during any other day we would probably take them in, but our mission is for Equestria's sake." Chronicle then turned to Twilight. "However, the decision falls to you. What do you suggest?"

Twilight put a hoof to her chin as she wondered what to do. Of course, they had wasted too much time from the attack, so she had to make a choice quickly…

In the end, the bandits were left behind, but Pinkie decided to leave a cake for them. Why she carried one in her saddlebags was anypony's guess.

Later…

The party were now at yet another section of the trail leading up the craggy mountain.

"Let’s keep it down.", Twilight said softly. "According to my map, we’re entering an avalanche zone. The smallest peep could cause a huge rockslide."

This was very unsettling news for the others, who stopped in their tracks—or above them, in Rainbow’s case.

"An…an ava…ava…", Fluttershy began.

"Shhh!", Mystic told her.

They moved ahead, taking care to put their hooves down as lightly as possible. Rainbow brushed through some leafy branches as she flew along, causing a couple of leaves to drop loose and zigzag slowly toward the ground. One of them made the barest contact with Fluttershy’s rump, but it was more than enough to set her off.

"AVALAN—"

Applejack silenced her with a hoof over her mouth, and all glanced nervously around as the echo of her cry died away. When it had nearly faded out, everypony sighed in relief—and then the terrain began to shake and rumble. A few pebbles clattered down from above, replaced by larger rock fragments in very short order.

"AVALANCHE!!", all the mares shouted.

"Horse apples!", cursed the stallions.

Pandemonium ensued, with Twilight sprinting out from beneath a falling boulder, Rarity doing a serpentine through other slabs, and Applejack leaping across their tops only to hit a freshly landed one face first. In midair, Rainbow used a few of her tricks to stay ahead of the collapse.

As Pinkie flailed about, miraculously evading every rock, Mystic was casting barriers to stop the rocks while Chronicle was charging up shuriken-shaped shots. Unlike his usual ones, he charged these so that they would be larger than usual. He then launched them to slice any oncoming boulders into smaller pieces.

"Oh, no! Help!", he heard his charge call as she looked behind herself.

He saw a tumbling rock headed for Twilight's direction, but he was too far to be of any assistance. Luckily, Applejack wasn't as she dived to plow her out of the way. Everything afterward was covered in a huge cloud of dust and nearly everypony was coughing the last of it out of their lungs.

Mystic was spared from this as he had created a barrier around his head. As it was, when it comes to shields, a regular one allows nothing to go through it, including air. For Mystic, he can be select which solids, gases, liquids, and energies (including magic) go through his barriers. For this particular instance, he keeps out only the dust particles and lets through fresh air (as well as the rest of his body not in the barrier).

Once it cleared, it could be seen that the avalanche had left a broad mass of rock and earth across the trail, almost completely blocking it.

"Oh, my!", gasped Applejack as the coughing stopped. "Everypony okay?"

"Thanks to you, I am.", Twilight answered.

"You should teach me how to do that sometime.", Chronicle remarked to Mystic.

"Sure."

From a pile of some collapsed dirt, Fluttershy poked her head out. Chronicle then turned to see that Pinkie was bouncing happily in place next to a very filthy and discomfited Rarity. "Ugh.", the fashionista complained as she shook herself clean, transferring the dirt to Pinkie.

"Woo-hoo!", Pinkie cheered. "Let’s do it again!"

Rarity gave a disgusted sigh. "This is why a girl always packs extra accessories." She whipped her scarf out of her saddlebags and put it on. She then eyed her gear with concern. "Oh, please tell me I brought the tiara that goes with this."

Rainbow hovered before her and said, "Uh, think we got bigger problems than making sure our hair bows match our horseshoes!"

"Rainbow Dash is right.", agreed Mystic as they saw that the landslide on the trail that was created from the avalanche has left only a narrow path open along the edge.

Fluttershy let off an almost inaudible sigh as Pinkie cleaned herself up again. "Sorry."

Applejack forced a smile. "Aw, no big whoop, sugar cube."

"Yeah!", Twilight agreed. "We’ll just have to…" Reality then set in as her face fell and she sighed resignedly. "…climb over."

And that's what everypony did most unwillingly. Twilight was the first to make it over to the other side, her bodyguard next, who was only slightly tired. Rainbow was next, who merely had to fly.

Way behind, Fluttershy was struggling to keep herself upright on the loose earth. One misstep sent her sliding down into an exhausted Mystic, who was on the verge of slipping anyway. They then slammed into Rarity, who in turn knocked over Applejack. A cloud of dust was formed once they crashed as a pile at the bottom. Rainbow grabbed one of Rarity’s hooves and started to pull her free.

"My apologies.", Rarity said.

"Not your fault.", Rainbow bitterly replied, her eyes aimed at Fluttershy. The hapless pegasus got out a choked little whimper as the ace flyer passed, giving her a very hairy eyeball.

"I'm to blame as well.", said Mystic. "I was on the verge of slipping too. Fluttershy just bumped into me immediately after."

A few minutes after…

After crossing a stone arch, the party was now just short of a ledge on which the mouth of a cave could be seen. Twilight had the map open and floating in front of her, but rolled it up and stowed it after a moment.

"Still think it was a good idea to bring Fluttershy along?", Rainbow asked.

"Yeah.", agreed Chronicle. "I still say it would've been a better idea if she just stayed at Ponyville. She's been nothing but the load for the majority of this quest."

"We’re about to find out.", Twilight answered them as everypony stopped; they had reached the mouth of the cave, where smoke was pouring out. "We’re here."

Eyecatch (picture-type) - To the left is the cave where the dragon sleeps. On the right is the party of eight. From right to left are a backing-away Fluttershy, Rarity with her scarf with a mid-air-from-a-hop Pinkie Pie above her, Applejack, Mystic Shield and Chronicle standing side by side, and Twilight Sparkle with an eager-to-charge Rainbow Dash above her.

The show's logo is seen on the top, larger than usual.

Now that everypony was at their destination, Twilight began to formulate a plan in her head, then voiced it out after a minute, keeping quiet as she paced so as not to wake up the dragon. "Rainbow Dash, you’ll use your wings to clear the smoke."

"Mmm-hmm." Rainbow complied as she went into a crouch and took off straight up into the haze.

"Rarity and Pinkie Pie, you’ll create a diversion to distract the dragon if things get a little hairy in there."

Pinkie zipped away, leaving Rarity to gape after her as she came up with a rubber chicken and swung it back and forth in her teeth, holding it by the head like a fox raiding a hen-house. The spectacle left the two unicorn mares at a total loss for words.

"Applejack, you’re ready with the apples in case he decides to attack."

The farmpony had two apples in her mouth as she said that. Applejack flipped them backwards overhead, then delivered two one-legged bucks that propelled them straight toward a nearby tree. They splattered against the trunk on impact as she threw a fierce smile.

"When worse comes to worst, Mystic Shield and Chronicle are to create barriers to protect all of us as we retreat and try to formulate a new plan." Both stallions nodded in agreement. "But it shouldn’t come to that, because Fluttershy will do what she needs to do to wake him up. And between the two of us, we should be able to get him to understand why he needs to go. Is everypony ready?"

Six out of seven indicated that they were, the last being scared out of her wits and crouched almost low enough to be a throw rug. Chronicle noticed this and was about to voice this out when he was cut off. "Okay, then. We’re going in!"

She slowly entered the cave, her bodyguard quickly following.

"Uhh…Twilight?", he said. "I think there's a problem with with your plan."

However, she wasn't listening as she then said, "So, what is the best way to wake up a sleeping dragon without upsetting him?" She stopped and looked around. "Fluttershy?"

"Told you there's a problem."

As it was, the were the only ones in the cave at the moment as they then started back out. Twilight was obviously fed up with this. "Oh, come on!"

Fluttershy had gone beyond a terrified crouch to literally burying her head in the sand—or dirt, as the case may be. Chronicle smacked himself in the face with his hoof. Like an ostrich. But do they even exist here? If they are, are they sapient like us? He was shaken off his thoughts as his charge began to grab Fluttershy's wing with her teeth and pulled her out.

"Come on! We have to do this!" She proceeded to head-butt the reluctant pegasus from behind. "Now!"

Chronicle went behind his charge to try and pull her away. "There's a big flaw in your plan, Twilight!" That was when Rainbow got into the act, bumping him from behind to drive him and Twilight into Fluttershy again, who continued to hold her position as her front hooves were dug in.

"Every…second longer that dragon…" Rarity joined in the push. "…sleeps is another…" Then Applejack. "…acre of Equestria that is covered in…smoke!"

Pinkie, the only one—aside from Mystic—missing from this tableau, did her pony-cannonball act and slammed into Applejack’s back. Mystic did a "facehoof" at this spectacle as the other five mares got off of the recalcitrant pegasus, allowing the stallion sandwiched between them all to recover.

"I…I…I can’t go in the cave.", Fluttershy finally replied, making her friends keel over with disgusted groans.

"Oh, great. She’s scared of caves now, too.", Rainbow complained.

"I’m not scared of caves. I’m scared of—" There was a soft mumble in place of the last word.

"What’s that, sugarcube?", asked Applejack.

"I’m scared of—" Another mumble.

"What?", Twilight asked.

"I think I know.", Chronicle groaned.

Fluttershy cried out hastily in full volume. I’m scared of dragons!"

"I suspected this…"

The one in question sounded off again, letting off a fresh belch of smoke that filled the screen. Chronicle could hear Fluttershy’s cry as everypony, even Mystic, had a brief coughing fit. Fluttershy had also taken cover behind Applejack.

"But, Fluttershy, you have a wonderful talent dealing with all kinds of animals.", pleaded Twilight.

"Yes, because they’re not dragons.", Fluttershy answered.

"Not all animals are the same, you know.", Chronicle supported.

"Oh, come on! We’ve seen you walk right up to a horrible manticore like it was nothing."

"Yes, because he wasn’t a dragon."

"Specific fears like that are all too real.", put in Mystic. "They're called phobias and I'll admit I have such things."

"Spike is a dragon.", Pinkie pointed out. "You’re not scared of him."

"…Seriously?", Chronicle snarked. "Spike's just a baby!"

"Yes, he’s not a huge, gigantic, terrifying, enormous, teeth-gnashing, sharp-scale-having, horn-wearing, smoke-snoring, could-eat-a-pony-in-one-bite, totally all-grown-up dragon."

There came another rumble and blast of smoke and Fluttershy had folded herself so flat that she could win any limbo contest known to man or pony and was shuddering mightily in front of Twilight, who asked, "But—if you’re so afraid of dragons, why didn’t you say something before we came all the way up here?"

"I was afraid to." Rainbow groaned, putting a hoof to her face as Applejack nudged Fluttershy up.

"All of us are scared of that dragon."

"I’m not!"

"Neither am I.", added Chronicle, then muttered, "But it's my life I'm scared for…"

"Almost all of us are scared of that dragon. But we’ve got a job to do. So get in there with Twilight and show her what you’re made of."

Fluttershy looked at the others, the girls looking expectantly and the boys looking worried. "I…I… I just…can’t.", she finally answered as she then turned away and started down the trail.

"Oh, Fluttershy…", said Twilight.

"She can't do this.", Chronicle said as he then created a magical clone to accompany their departing friend. "Do you really expect her to get over her phobia as simple as that, Twilight? And about your problem in the plan, it hinged entirely on her, and she was obviously unwilling even before we started, and you just passed it off as quick-to-get-over nervousness. What kind of planning was that, Twilight?!"

His charge could give no answer to that but, "I guess I still need to learn more about friendship, huh?"

Chronicle nodded at that. "Well, you got a backup plan? Because if you don't, Equestria is screwed."

"Screwed?"

"It's my way of saying 'in imminent danger'."

Later…

Once again, Twilight Sparkle ventured into the cave, alone this time, passing by something very large, scaly, and red, curled around a stalactite along the way. Presumably, it was part of the dragon's gigantic body.

"I’m going in!", she said with resolution. "He probably just doesn’t realize what he’s doing…right?"

Just at the edge, the remainder of the party poked their heads around the edge to voice encouragement, then ducked away again as Twilight began to negotiate.

"Quick question, Mystic Shield.", Pinkie said. "What's a phobia?"

"A phobia is an irrational or obsessive fear or anxiety, usually of or about something particular. The difference between a phobia and a legitimate fear is that phobias are irrational and you can't get over it easily."

"Oh." Meanwhile, they heard Twilight talking to the dragon.

"We all possess one, whether we know it or not. Mine is canines."

"You're afraid of canines, Mystic?", Applejack asked.

"Yup. Be they regular dog or Diamond Dog, grown up or puppy, I can't stand their barks."

"Then I guess you shouldn't go to Sweet Apple Acres, then."

"Why's that?"

"Well, my family owns a dog and she helps out in the farm."

"I see."

"I'm pretty sure I don't have any of those 'phobias' you're taking about.", Rainbow said proudly.

"Really?", Chronicle snarked. "I remember you being scared of those creepy faces in those trees during our first trip to the Everfree Forest."

The cyan pegasus had no answer to that as they all decided to peek in again, with Pinkie waving enthusiastically. The dragon seemed to have narrowed his eyes in anger. As the rest of the party began to leave their hiding spot and gather near the cave mouth. As the rest looked on and wondered if Twilight was gonna succeed, Chronicle noticed his magical clone and Fluttershy return.

"Hmm?", he said as he turned to greet them. "Why're you back, Fluttershy?"

"I… I…"

"She realized that there were those bandits back in the trail.", his magical clone answered for her. "And she couldn't fly down as her wings were still locked up. Not to mention the landslide from last avalanche."

"I see."

Just then, there came a cloud of smoke from inside the cave. Twilight promptly emerged from it coughing. Another blow then washed over them, but Mystic was prepared with a barrier to keep out the smoke until it dispersed.

"Thanks, Mystic Shield.", Pinkie said as the purple stallion dismissed the barrier.

"Pleasure."

"So much for persuading him.", groaned Rainbow.

"Now what?", asked Applejack.

That was when Rarity trotted up and cleared her throat. "Obviously this situation just calls for a little pony charm. Allow me, girls."

And in she went. As she did, Twilight turned to Mystic. "Say, Mystic Shield. That barrier spell of yours is interesting." She paused as some of the others "You kept out the smoke while still letting fresh air come in. How do you do that?"

Mystic gave a curt smile. "Well, I can teach you, but my lessons don't come for free. There's a reason why I set up a dojo after all."

"Well, she can still try learning it by seeing you do it, then practice and work it out on her own.", Chronicle said.

"True, but can she really?" Mystic then made a stern face as he pointed a hoof at his co-teacher. "And might I remind you to not reveal my secrets to anyone who is not a student of my dojo."

"Don't worry. I'll uphold our oath."

"You know, my lesson plan is still a little small." Mystic then turned to Twilight. "I could use some more spells to teach and your bodyguard has told me that magic is your special talent."

"I'd be happy to.", the unicorn mare cheered as she got upright for a second to clap her hooves.

Just then, there came a growl, followed by a scream. And they saw Rarity run out, collide into Chronicle's magical clone, dissipating it, and taking cover in a rock outside.

"Let's talk about this later when we get back.", Mystic told Twilight after a few seconds.

"Okay."

After a while, Rarity propped her forelegs on the rock and lay her head on it, looking very displeased at her failure. "I was this close to getting that diamond.", she complained.

"You mean 'getting rid of that dragon'?", corrected Mystic.

"Oh, yeah, sure."

"Allow me.", Chronicle said as he then stepped into the cave.

"What do you plan on doing?", asked Twilight.

"What I do best."

He did not speak another word as he stepped further in, passing by a few traces of gold coins and jewelry. Apparently, Rarity had been trying to take some treasure. Perhaps it was a good idea to leave Spike behind after all.

He then stopped to face the dragon up close and personal. From his distance, he could see that it was a massive humdinger. It had red scales, pink head spines and ridges over its yellow-orange eyes, bat-wing ears, a pale yellow underbelly, and a gigantic beak-like snout. It looked rather ticked off—most likely from Rarity's attempt—as it stared down to him with a hostile look.

"It's an honor to meet you.", he told the dragon, then almost regretted it. Of all the introductions he could make, he wondered if this one was the most appropriate. The dragon just growled in response as it kept its pile of treasure close to itself. "I know you're no dumb beast and I'm sure we can settle this like civilized creatures." There was a moment of silence as the dragon just looked down at the stallion. "The name's Chronicle. Do you mind if you give yours?"

The dragon paused for a moment before uttering one word in a deep, reverberating voice. "Basil."

"Well then, Basil. There are certain…individuals who reside in the area around where you are currently sleeping in. And unfortunately, they don't approve of the smoke you're letting out while you're doing that." Basil said nothing at this. "My unicorn friend—not the white one who was obviously after your precious hoard—was requesting you to look for another place to sleep, that is all."

Basil groaned as he turned over in his bed of bits, jewels, and gold items.

"However, since you obviously can't be kindly persuaded, I'm forced to resort to a less diplomatic alternative." Chronicle paused a moment for a bit of effect. "I'm gonna have to challenge you for this cave."

Basil's spines bristled upon hearing this as the blue unicorn 'prepared' his "magic horn blade". The red dragon growled as he prepared to send off this miniscule threat.

A few minutes later…

Chronicle left the cave, miraculously not-singed and teetering dizzily as he walked with completely straight legs. He managed to reach his charge before falling to the ground in front of her, his eyes spinning.

"Chronicle!", she cried out. "Are you okay?"

"And remember, kids.", he said in a delirious state. "A fire-breathing weasel is better pet than a leech. Good night, Mr. President." I guess that fight against Nightmare Moon really got into my head. And for some reason, my crushing defeat against Gilda didn't snap me out of it. He then passed out.

"…Okay, I think he's out.", Mystic finally said as he approached Chronicle. "Luckily, I packed something to get him back on his feet in case that barrier plan is needed." Just as he reached into his saddlebag, a party favor sounded off, but it didn't startle him.

"What in tarnation?", Applejack swore.

As it turns out, Pinkie was now wearing an outfit consisting of the following: a bunch of balloons tied to her tail, swim fins on all four hooves, a gift box enclosing her entire body and upper legs and tied with a polka-dotted ribbon, more balloons tucked in behind an inner tube on her head, the red sunglasses Chronicle had put away, and the noisemaker. Applejack and Rarity stared in total disbelief and were soon joined by Rainbow.

"Darling, you look ridiculous!", Rarity said as Mystic 'took out' a vial of blue liquid, 'popped open' the cork, and let its fumes enter Chronicle's nostrils.

"Exactly!", Pinkie replied as she waddled into the cave the same way Chronicle did, but more smoothly. "Sharing a laugh is a sure-fire way to get someone on your side." Once she was inside with the dragon, she let out a "Hi!"

A swift pummeling was heard from within, accompanied by the sound of deflating balloons. This sound, as well as the remedying fumes from Mystic's vial got Chronicle back to his feet as he saw Pinkie emerges a moment later—her getup trashed and with only one surviving balloon on her tail.

"Apparently he doesn’t like laughing—or sharing.", she said.

"All right, that’s it!", Rainbow cried out. "We’ve tried persuasion, charm, challenging, whatever it is Pinkie Pie does…" There came a sad little blow on the party favor "…it’s time to stop wasting time! I’m going in!" Just before she could flash into the cave, Chronicle jumped after her and grabbed her by the tail with his mouth. However, he wasn't strong at this as Applejack was as he began to get dragged along the ground.

"Rainbow! No!", Twilight cried out as Pinkie ditched the remains of her costume.

"I stood no chance.", her charge warned. "What makes you think you'll fare better?"

He received no answer as he lost his grip and the headstrong charger reached the dragon in a heartbeat and stared it down.

"Get…OUT!!", the pegasus demanded as she did a powerful mid-air buck at Basil's beaked snout. His first reaction was to sneeze, and his second was to get good and angry. Rainbow was unnerved at this. "Heh…sorry." Basil's third reaction was to let go with a roar that threw her all the way out of the cave, where she knocked into the four mares like bowling pins, scattering their saddlebags. The stallions however had seen her coming, predicted her trajectory, and dodged accordingly.

Immediately after, as their friends got themselves vertical, Chronicle immediately took the lead. "Everypony to us!" In spite of their panic, they did as he said as he and Mystic then conjured a dome barrier just as Basil emerged from the cave, who let out an infuriated bellow, sending smoke spewing over the party. The barrier managed to hold. Basil then proceeded to slam a fist into it, which resulted in a crack.

"We should get moving.", Mystic advised the mares, who were all clutching at each other, frozen in place.

Before they could do that, a swing of Basil's tail smashed through the barrier and into the seven ponies, sending them all into a rock outcropping—where Fluttershy was currently hiding. While Chronicle was dueling Basil for the cave, after hearing yet another rumble, Fluttershy had backed off to a large rock further away from the cave mouth. As her seven companions lay dazed against the rock, it cracked and fell apart, exposing the cowardly pegasus.

She then looked up over the rubble, her jaw falling open once she saw the state everypony else was. As Chronicle partially recovered and looked up to her somewhat dizzily, Fluttershy's attention shifted between the colossal dragon and the jumble of ponies. Her blue-green eyes wavered indecisively and closed, only to open again as her brows drew down in steely determination.

"How dare you?", she finally said, in a tone nopony ever attributed to her having, as Basil stared back at her. "How dare you?!?"

She then proceeded to fly up to his level, landing on the snout and trotting up to stare it eye to eye as she continued. "Listen here, mister! Just because you’re big doesn’t mean you get to be a bully!" As he and the others recovered from Basil's blow, Chronicle could see that her words have cowed the beast dramatically. "You may have huge teeth and sharp scales and snore smoke and breathe fire, but you do not, I repeat, you do NOT HURT MY FRIENDS! You got that?"

There was a long pause, after which Basil cowered away from Fluttershy with a little whimper.

"Well?"

There was another long pause…before Basil spoke back, "But that rainbow one kicked me." Rainbow nodded and smiled hugely, and Mystic glared at her in response.

Now Fluttershy returned to her usual sweet tone of voice, but still with a bit of steel in it. "And I am very sorry about that." Rainbow aimed a puzzled look at the others, then made a sheepish grin at Mystic when she saw him glaring at her. "But you’re bigger than she is, and you should know better. You should also know better than to take a nap where your snoring can become a health hazard to other creatures."

"But I—"

Fluttershy sternly cut him off as she straightened up and put her front hooves to her flanks in an akimbo position. "Don’t you 'but I' me, mister. Now what do you have to say for yourself?" There was a moment of silence. "I said, what do you have to say for yourself?"

Basil fought to keep his composure and lost, bursting into tears. Below, as the rest recovered and stood upright, Rarity was worrying about the rain's effect on her mane, while Pinkie donned an umbrella hat and was grinning her head off.

As for Chronicle, he still lay where he was, looking in awe at Fluttershy's talk-down with the dragon, his eyes starry and his grin wide. He felt…in awe. Like something bearing him down was lifted from his back. Like he was being lifted slowly into the sky. Like…well, he didn't know exactly what love (probably the "puppy" sort) was supposed to feel like, but if anything it would probably be like this.

"There, there. No need to cry.", Fluttershy comforted Basil and his tears stopped. "You’re not a bad dragon." She then descending to where the rest of the party stood as they gathered around her. "You just made a bad decision. Now go pack your things. You just need to find a new place to sleep. That’s all."

There were cheers and congratulations from the other mares and Mystic.

"You did it!", Twilight cheered as Basil went into his cave. "I knew you could do it!" A breath of fire was heard, then they saw him take his leave of the peak, flapping his great wings.

Once he was out of sight, Mystic said, "What an interesting adventure."

The mares then went to their scattered saddlebags and got themselves packed for their return trip. Although Rarity did take a peek inside the cave, only to see Basil's hoard mysteriously gone, much to her disappointment.

"All right.", Twilight said. "Let's go home." The others nodded as they prepared to do so. Then they noticed that Chronicle still lay where he was, still in his 'trance'. As they approached him, they saw his eyes were on one particular pony. Twilight then went up to him and waved her hoof at his face. This was enough to make him snap out of his trance.

"Wh-wha?", he asked as he shook his head vigorously, then quickly snapped to reality as he quickly got onto his feet. "Oh right. Let's get back to Ponyvillle and report our success."

And that's what they did. Along the way, they saw that the bandits they encountered earlier were gone. And the cake left behind was consumed, leaving only a few crumbs and frosting. There were general sighs from everypony as they continued down the trail. Luckily for Chronicle, nopony questioned why he was looking starry-eyed at Fluttershy while she talked the dragon down. At least not yet.

Two hours before sunset…

Miraculously, it was still daytime by the time the party returned to Ponyville and several pegasi were already hard at work dissipating the sheet of black vapor to leave behind a normal sky. The party was also praised for their efforts and Mystic Shield soon parted ways with Chronicle and the keepers of the Elements of Harmony. Everypony else also went their separate ways to tend to their homes. After all, who knows what effects the smoke had made on them other than a dark sky?

As Twilight and her bodyguard entered the library, they could hear Spike yell, "I said come back here!"

"Looks like Spike's been having problems.", Chronicle told his charge. "Were you really certain he could've watched over Fluttershy's animals?"

He wasn't given an answer as they made it to the second floor, where they saw Spike walking across the bedroom loft, holding Angel at arm's length by the hind leg as the bunny tried to deck him.

"How does Fluttershy put up with you furry little things?!", he complained to himself.

"Spike?", Twilight called, catching his attention. "Take a letter."

He was only too pleased to do so, dropping Angel and pulling out a quill and scroll. "With pleasure!"

“Dear Princess Celestia…”, she dictated. “I am happy to report that the dragon has departed our fair country, and that it was my good friend Fluttershy who convinced him to go. This adventure has taught me to never lose faith in your friends. They can be an amazing source of strength, and can help you overcome even your greatest fears. Always your faithful student, Twilight Sparkle.”

Once the letter was done, they heard Applejack call from outside. They could also hear a ball bouncing.

"Twilight! Chronicle!", she called. "You gotta come see this!" The two unicorns made their way to a window with the hanging lantern, opening it and stepping to the railing. Rainbow was at it again, bounding the ball with her head, just like in the park before the dragon's smoke became a problem. "She’s just five away from a new pony record!"

Surrounding her were the rest of her friends, though he couldn't see Pinkie.

"Three hundred forty-seven, three hundred forty-eight…" Just then, a grating roar threw her off. The ball ricocheted away and she and her mane stood bolt upright. "DRAGON!!", Rainbow yelled as she went down, eyes wide open and all four hooves pointing stiffly upward. As before, the sound of a bleating goat was heard, though Chronicle could see no goats in the area as he and his friends had a good laugh as she got up.

Rainbow was still shaken as she said, "Why are you laughing? That awful dragon is back!"

"No, he's not.", Chronicle said as he saw the culprit. "It's just Pinkie Pie."

Sure enough, she came over, voicing the "roar". "Pinkie Pie, you scared me!" Her eyes then popped upon realizing what she just said. "I mean…uh…you…broke my concentration."

"Oh sure.", Chronicle's reply was filled with sarcasm as Pinkie trotted off.

"It’s okay, Rainbow Dash.", Fluttershy assured as she flew down to Rainbow from above. "Not everypony can be as brave as me."

Down came a leaf from the nearest branch, which Rainbow blew aside so that it touched down on Fluttershy’s rump…prompting her to keel over as before. There was another round of laughter, with Twilight and Chronicle shaking their heads before the former smiled and joined in.

I'm gonna have to work on that., Chronicle thought as he smiled as well.