Twilight didn't expect things to go downhill this much. She expected there to be a bunch of obstacles but nothing too major. Of course, there is still the problem of recovering the crown from Sunset Shimmer herself. But that is a different story altogether. Yet there is still much more that can go wrong. How much worse can it get?
“Twilight, are you alright?” Starflight asked softly.
He sounded really worried. Maybe Twilight was overreacting. She took a deep breath and answered him as calmly as possible. “Y-yes! I’m fine!”
Really smooth there Twilight Sparkle he definitely bought it.
He looked as she expected him to look. It was a mix of confusion and worry on his face. He didn’t believe a single word out of that response.
Twilight sighed as she lost the chance to direct his attention to something other than her troubles. “It's just- I never thought it would go as bad as it did now. We're separated from everyone else and now we are being taken by a bunch of dragons we don’t know!”
Starflight can sympathize with her since he never really knew any other dragons in his life other than the dragons he was stuck with since birth. But despite that, he wanted to believe that his tribe was doing something for them. Something good.
“Well we are of the same tribe Twilight, maybe we should give them a chance.” He sounded rather convincing and ultimately he was right. They did rescue us because we were from the same tribe. But that didn't sound right to her, it is like saying they were rescued because unicorns only save unicorns.
“Sorry, you're right. I'm just not used to ‘other dragons’ yet, it has only been me in the beginning. I don’t trust anyone even if we are of the same tribe.” She countered with strong words, maybe too strong. The look on Starflight’s face was in-between apologetic and surprised.
Starflight struggled to get the words out of his snout as her counterargument was out of nowhere, for him at least. “I– Yeah sorry, I didn’t think about that. I just thought that this I the first time I get to meet dragons from my tribe, I want to get to know them. I hope that they aren't as bad as they appeared, despite the killings they committed to those IceWings.”
Twilight didn’t want to think about that anymore, that was too gruesome for any dragon to see. Especially Twilight who has never seen all the pain, suffering, and death war causes. All I the battles she had fought didn’t lead to any death of any sort, she and her friends often solved the problem before it escalated to anything more violent. But then again, her friends weren’t with her.
Twilight slowly drifted off to sleep, Starflight didn’t have any further comments as he was too tired from flying all day.
Her sleep was soon disturbed by a deep rough voice that shouted out into the group. “Move your scales, we need to get to the rainforest by sundown,” shouted Morrowseer. If you asked her, it was too soon.
Starflight and Twilight got up to get ready for what they had been doing since they were ‘rescued’, more flying. While the other dragons scouted the area making sure that they weren't followed, Morrowseer approached the two. “You there, what's your name?” He asked rather rudely, or maybe he was just tired.
“I’m Twilight Sparkle.” She answered honestly. Twilight could only look at the dragon towering over her. He looked as if he was about to attack at any moment. He breathed as he took in her answer and quickly replied. “Hmm, I don't remember you.” before he turned to address the other dragons he called out “Come on, we don't have all day. We should leave before we get caught by a SkyWing patrol.”
Twilight quickly followed him as it would be best to avoid any more violence, and honestly, she couldn't take any more of it. They are better off not finding any dragons to kill on the way to their destination wherever that may be. Starflight closely followed after Twilight and soon took off with the rest of the group which looks to be south.
After a few more hours of silence and flying, they soon reached the rainforest. She slowly took in the scenery that is before her. It was beautiful and felt so calming. There were animals and fruits of all kinds. She smiled as she thought of her friends.
Fluttershy would love this. Her smile soon dissipated as she realized that if she failed the mission, she could never return home. With her friends, her family, and her BBBFF.
Screeeeee
She snapped out of her thoughts as a loud screech echoed through the forest. None of the other dragons acknowledged the sound so she didn't bring it up.
The rest of the flight through the dense forest was the same. Just silence and flying. The group landed near a small clearing near some trees. Twilight nearly crashed into Starflight as she bumped into him as she landed. At least not as bad as when she learned to fly. However, flying with dragon wings is different from flying with feathered wings.
“Oh sorry, I’m not that good at landing yet. I don’t get much practice as I don’t fly a lot.” It was only a half-lie as she didn’t fully understand the mechanics of dragon flying.
“Well, I guess we have something else in common.” He smiled at her. She felt warm as he reached out his talon and pulled her up. She felt like he was the only dragon she truly trusted in this world. He had been so kind and he shared my interests.
“Will you two hurry up!” a dragon called for them.
Twilight looked back at Starflight and quickly thanked him before following the dragon upfront. She looked back and smiled then hastily ran towards the rest.
Suddenly, the atmosphere felt odd and a bit weird. She approached the group and started at what seemed to be a tree with a hole in it. It doesn’t seem to have an end, the only conclusion she can think of is that it is an endless hole.
Twilight was broken from her thoughts when Morrowseer began to speak “Eversight, Nightseeker, clear the perimeter. Make sure no one else is here. Everyone else goes through.” He commanded.
As the pair received their commands they took off to complete their mission. As Twilight walked toward the opening, Morrowseer called out to her. “You two, stick with me. We have unfinished business.”
Twilight had a shiver up her spine, she didn't know what that meant for her. What is about Starflight? What kind of business did he have? She expelled those thoughts from her mind.
Morrowseer turned to walk into the dark abyss that lies ahead. Twilight looked behind her and saw Starflight’s fearful but determined expression. She locked her head towards the seemingly endless darkness. For a moment she could feel an energy flow around her as she was enveloped in darkness. The energy was familiar to her all too well. It felt like magic, equestrian magic.
The darkness dispersed as quickly as it came.
The scenery before them felt grim, it reminded Twilight of the dragon lands back home. It was a volcanic environment, maybe they had similar lifestyles to the dragons in Equestria.
“It's the secret home of the NightWings.” Starflight started. He seemed amazed and maybe a bit underwhelmed. Twilight wanted to ask Starflight about what he knew about the said secret home, but she was interrupted as Morrowseer told them that they had to meet the queen before they do anything else.
As they were making their way to the queen’s chamber, Twilight had a better look at the environment. Barely any animals, smog, or polluted water. This kind of volcanic environment didn’t have any properties to sustain a tribe, much less a group of dragons. She noticed that there were barely any other dragons in the first place. She knew it didn’t take a smart dragon to notice. The tribe is suffering and dying.
A short flight later and they arrived at the queen's chamber, more specifically a meeting room of sorts. There were a few other dragons in the room, she suspected them to be trusted members of the tribe. And a younger female dragon above everyone else.
“Morrowseer, how goes our plans to…” she stopped as soon as she noticed the two new dragons before her.
“Princess Greatness, this is one of the ‘dragonets of destiny. Her, I'm not so sure yet.” Morrowseer replied. He whispered to Starflight and me. “Introduce yourselves.”
Twilight was unsure of what to do, she looked at Starflight for a moment to see him bow down and addressed the princess whilst introducing himself.
Don’t be scared Twilight, it's just like talking to princess Celestia.
“My name is Twilight, your highness. Pleased to make your acquaintance.” She bowed.
After the introduction, she leaned towards a room and heard a few whispers. ‘Get rid of them so we can get on with the plans for this stupid war.’
I don’t think I was supposed to hear that. Maybe she was just thinking out loud?
The princess spoke once again, “The queen says that those two should be placed outside the room.”
The guards quickly escorted the duo towards the door. “I’ll make this quick. Wait for me outside.” Morrowseer said to Starflight.
The doors were quickly shut after the guards forcibly placed them outside the room. The two were left with the company they provided each other. The room stayed silent for a while until Starflight spoke up. “So… uh, who is Celestia to you?”
Her wings flinched slightly and curled up her tail. Twilight glanced at him for his unsuspecting question. She wanted to answer him, but she was unsure of how to word it. She wanted it to be truthful but also in line with the story she had been telling him. Twilight only gave him silence as she thought of what to say. Before she could answer, Starflight spoke up in an apology. “I just thought of making small talk. Sorry if it’s a sensitive subject.”
Twilight upon hearing his apology quickly replied. “Oh– no! That's not it! I was just thinking to myself, that's all.”
Starflight nodded, satisfied with the response. “So, about the question?” he asked curiously. Twilight noticed that he wants to know more about her. Maybe she spent too long in this world that she is starting to forget what it means to be the princess of friendship. She was so focused on the mission and feeling bad for herself that she had completely missed the fact that he genuinely wants to be friends with her. Maybe we already are friends, she just hasn't realized it.
Starlight flicked his tail at her, snapping her out of her thoughts. “Oh right, sorry. Thinking again.” Twilight felt a little embarrassed as she continued. “Celestia to me… is kind of like a second mother.”
Starflight stayed silent as Twilight thought of words to say. “She taught me many things, guiding me and becoming someone I can lean on. Eventually, she became someone I can trust with my life.” Tears started to form in Twilight’s eyes as she talked about her mentor and mother figure.
You don’t need mind-reading to tell that the emotions she felt were real. The thought of losing all that is scary. Starflight scooted closed to comfort her and wrapped his wings around her. “It's okay, we will find a way to get back to them. It will take time, but never give up on the dragons you love.”
As the pair shared an emotional moment, the door slowly opened and revealed a Night Wing who looked like he had the best day of his life. “Am I in the right room?” he called out.
“Um, who are you?” Starflight asked.
“The name’s Deathbringer, never got to spend much time back here ever since I was stationed on the mainland.” He talked so confidently and casually. His tone reminded her of how Rainbow Dash usually acts.
Twilight was curious if there was an actual plan that went into that squabble they heard. “Got any news of what they plan on doing?” she asked not to sound suspicious.
Deathbringer didn't hesitate to answer her and spoke up immediately “Oh it’s nothing too much, they just plan on killing the MudWing forces to remove some of Burn’s reinforcements. Then the SeaWings will actually make a move instead of wasting precious soldiers on death missions.”
Deathbringer didn’t look at all disturbed about what he just said. Twilight on the other talon was horrified, and Starflight shared the sentiment. She understood that the continent was in a war and deaths are never avoidable. But how can someone enjoy the killing as much as not feeling any sort of resentment towards the act itself? Twilight looked away and stayed silent for the time being.
“Uh hellooo? You okay in there?” Deathbringer asked sounding insensitive. Deathbringer decided that he was better off not knowing the answer. Not that he cared anyway. “Alrighty then I'll be off preparing for the skirmish! Finally, something to do!” he stormed off.
“I really hope that this war ends. It isn't good to enjoy killing as much as the next dragon.” Twilight said quietly. She wanted all the violence to end, no one should have to find suffering just around the corner.
Before Twilight could complete her train of thought, Morrowseer walked out the door along with a bunch of other old dragons who seem to want to get out of there as soon as possible. “Come, we have something to discuss.” he motioned to follow him and the two obliged.
Starflight wanted to ask him a question but he seemed hesitant about the matter. Twilight quietly encouraged him with a small nudge to his side with her wing. He breathed in before he spoke, “Morrowseer, do you know who my parents are? I assumed you knew since you are the one who brought me to the Talons.”
“Hmph, I only delivered you. But I could look into it. Before we continue, we should get something to eat.” Morrowseer wanted to get it over with, there was still more to do.
They stopped by a small clearing when Morrowseer disappeared to fetch them some food. When he returned he had a small mammal in his jaw and dropped it in front of them to eat. Twilight was nervous, she never thought about eating meat. Ever since they arrived, it had always been fruits and berries.
Before Twilight could complain and make an excuse, Starflight commented on the rancid food he was brought. “I think this thing is diseased, it isn't healthy for me to ingest this. It may be for you since I assume that your body has developed the correct antibodies for it..” he complained in a ‘scientific’ voice.
“Huh, I may have an idea of who your parents are now. The only dragon who claimed your egg to be his. And besides, you talk like him.” He said before he started to munch down into the prey he caught.
Twilight was still grossed out by the fact of eating meat that she completely missed Starflight’s scientific observations.
When the only thing that remained were the bones of the unfortunate animal, Morrowseer quickly picked himself back up and prepared to fly. “We are going to the archives to see if I can find out who you are.” He still sounded rather suspicious of Twilight. She can't blame him for making sure, but it would make her situation much more complicated if her story doesn’t fit well together.
They flew along the volcanic ruin and into some sort of fortress which by the looks of it has multiple structural hazards. When they landed near the entrance she could feel the heat of the magma around her. The history that surrounded this structure intrigued Starflight. Twilight could only follow behind and see what awaits her.
They treaded through the halls of the building with Morrowseer spearheading the group. Soon they reached a door labeled ‘Lab’. Even though Twilight was frightened, it interested her as to what this world’s science may tell her and what sort of discoveries they had.
Bang bang bang!
“Mastermind! Open this door!” Morrowseer shouted.
The door flew open and revealed a NightWing. Who knows who this could be other than his name. I mean who names someone ‘Mastermind’ and not be at least slightly suspicious.
Twilight stayed at the back and let the scene play out before her. The two argued for a few minutes and decided to leave Starflight with him before turning to Twilight. “Come on, let's go to the archives,” he said.
“What about Starflight? What's he going to do with him?” She sounded very concerned. Maybe she should be more concerned for herself.
Morrowseer’s ears flicked in annoyance and gave out a quick response. “Whatever a father does with his son, that what. If you care about him that much, we can go back after we're done. So please stop talking to we can get this over with.”
After a few turns around the many halls of the large building, they reached the archives. It was a compilation of many, many scrolls of who knows how much knowledge. Twilight was amazed, she wished she could read them all and learn more about this world.
“Twilight… huh?” Morrowseer said as he looked through a bunch of scrolls. “It seems that my hunch was right, you aren't recorded in our scrolls. So tell me, who really are you and where did you come from,” he asked. He looked impatient for a response and so she told him what she had told to everyone else she met.
“From what I am hearing, you were hatched on an unknown island away from the mainland? So how exactly did you get to the mainland?” he was still skeptical of her story. Some things just didn’t add up.
“Um– I was brought to the mainland to look for my parents with a SkyWing that was beached on the island I was on.” Twilight thought of that on the spot. She had to make sure if he believed her or not. She had to take a little peek into his thoughts.
Most likely that she was tricked into following a SkyWing only to be placed into the arena to fight for that bastard queen’s amusement.
Phew. Sounds like he bought it.
“Alright then, I'll just leave you with Mastermind then later on I will take you both to the dragonet caves. I assume you know the way back to the lab?” Morrowseer said as if he was in a hurry.
Twilight nodded and the large dragon headed for the exit. Truthfully, Twilight wasn’t sure where the lab was. She was too busy being nervous about what Morrowseer was going to do with her. Twilight randomly walked through the halls of the building hoping to find her way back.
I guess going around an unknown building by taking random turns was a bad idea after all. After a while of being lost, she found herself in an area that looked as if it was breaking down. There seemed to be some sort of opening in the wall, but she was oddly compelled to traverse deeper into the crevice. Maybe a torch was a better idea.
She quietly traversed the darkness, moving only through instinct. The darkness soon became silent as if it was waiting for something to happen. Twilight thought that she was better off trying to get back to Starflight, rather than exploring dangerous areas alone. As if the world heard her, a faint blue glow caught her eye. She walked toward it and immediately snatched it. Twilight held the stone in her claws, it radiated Equestrian magic. Whatever it was, maybe it could help her in some way. She hid the magical stone under her wings hoping that they don’t have any more flying scheduled today.
Twilight decided that she should go back as soon as possible, as to not raise suspicion about herself. She ran back to where she thought she went through. Twilight eventually made it back to familiar hallways. They really need to put more signs around this place.
When she reached the door to the lab, she found Starflight outside. He looked emotionally overwhelmed and generally upset. Twilight walked up to him and sat beside him. “I'm guessing it didn't end up well on your end?” Starflight stayed silent, he didn't want to be bothered. Twilight wanted to help him somehow, but she didn't know what to do.
“Sorry Twilight, my father is being very unreasonable.” Starflight cut himself and started a new sentence. “Remember when I said I wanted to believe that our tribe is doing something good for our sake?”
Twilight could only nod in response, to as not to disturb him. Starflight continued, “Well, I found out that my father has been researching raining venom.”
RainWing venom? Like her friend back in the arena! His father is researching such dangerous and deadly substances. It may be horrifying, but from a scientific standpoint, the purpose of the venom could be used multi purposely.
“I knew that it was dangerous, but he was experimenting with live dragons. He tested on RainWings without regard to their health and safety. If I wasn’t there to help her, she might have died.”
Twilight couldn't believe it, this was a violation of science. No matter what kind of experiment you do, ethics is a major part of science. Especially if you have live test subjects. He must have been devastated that his dad was in the center of it all. “Starflight, I'm so sorry to hear that.”
“It's not your fault Twilight, I just hope he has his reasons.” He stayed silent as Twilight continued to comfort him.
The night was approaching as Morrowseer returned to take them to their sleeping quarters within the fortress. There wasn't much room and the entire chamber was shared with the other dragonets. She has yet to tell Starflight about the weird gem she had found while randomly exploring the fortress. She wanted to get out of here, but what can two dragons do?
“Starflight we have to get out of here and warn the MudWings. If we don’t, there will be more unnecessary deaths.” Twilight whispered, to not wake the other dragons who had already fallen to the comfort of sleep.
Starflight nodded in agreement before whispering his response, “What do we do? We can’t exactly walk out of here without getting noticed. That gateway is guarded at all times, we don’t have a chance of sneaking through even at night.”
That was a good point. They both knew the urgency of escaping as soon as possible, but they had no options. So with that in mind, Twilight showed Starflight the weird gem hoping that he might know its significance. She can feel the magic within it, but magical artifacts always had specific functions. If they had even a little bit of information about it, they could use it to somehow give them more options. She took the gem out from under her wings. As she did, it glowed dimly and passed it to Starflight. From his expression, he looked shocked and joyed. Maybe we do have hope.
“Twilight, do you know what this is?!” He tried to stay quiet but his excitement overwhelmed him.
“Not really. I found it somewhere in the fortress, I was lost and eventually found a room that held that.” Twilight was still confused, but it sounded like Starflight knew what it was.
“This is a Dreamvisitor. It is an animus touched object. Maybe one of the oldest.” Starflight commented.
“What is an animus?” Could it be that equestrian magic had existed here for a long time? Even before Celestia and I arrived here?
“An animus is basically a magical dragon that has the ability to enchant objects to do whatever the dragon wishes.”
Twilight suspected that creatures that have a massive amount of equestrian magic in this world, used it as a power source for a function that is attached to an object. One of the simplest forms of magic, but can be very dangerous if used incorrectly.
Twilight guessed by the name ‘dreamvisitor’ that it let the user visit the dreams of other dragons. Kind of like Luna’s powers.
“So we can use that to visit the dreams of our friends and potentially warn them of the NightWing attack on the MudWings.” Twilight finally had some kind of hope, she didn’t fail her mentor… yet. The mission can still go wrong, but she knew it isn’t time to doubt herself. She had a theory, but she wanted to make sure first, “How exactly does it work?”
Starflight answered as quickly as she asked. “Well. I assume you hold it and picture the dragon you want to visit in your mind. Then when you fall asleep, it will bring you to their dreams. Obviously, It won't work if the dragon is awake either.”
Maybe she can utilize the dreamvisitor to work differently. Her magic was still limited to the mindreading capabilities of her NightWing body. But her theory is that with the dreamvistor combined with her telepathy, she can directly contact a dragon she visualizes in her mind. Regardless of them being awake. One downside it may have is it would only be a one-way communication.
She took the stone and attempted to contact Celestia in any way. She hoped she was doing good, or at least better than her.
‘Hello? Celestia? Can you hear me? This doesn’t allow me to hear your thoughts. But I need you to warn the MudWings, they are in danger of an attack from the NightWings. I hope that you get my message, the lives of many dragons depend on it.’
As Twilight fell out of her trance-like state, Starflight poked at her to make sure she was alive. “Uh, Twilight? What did you do?” He asked.
“I contacted Celestia by using telepathy empowered by the dreamvisitor.” She replied. That long-distance communication was not meant to be used that way. She felt drained and very sleepy.
Before she headed to sleep, Starflight flicked his tail at Twilight. “Mind if I use it to contact my friends?” He asked. Twilight was too tired to say anything else so she nodded and passed the dreamvisitor over to Starflight.
Before Twilight could collapse and fall asleep Starflight whispered, “Don’t worry, we will get out of here and find a way back to them.” He assured her the best he can. Twilight smiled back and let the comfort of sleep overtake her.