There was no time to wait. No time to form a resistance. Fluttershy flapped her wings and flew out of the hole the magic eruption had spewed from, and got a grasp of her actual location. She was closer to town then to the palace now. She held the scepter in her hands and focused, drawing it's magic to her throat.
"Dragons of the Dragonlands! I, your princess, have learned the truth!" she cried, turning towards the town. Dragons, although shivering, gathered below her. "My father is a usurper. I aim to remove him from his stolen perch. Let me lead you. Fight for me, and I will put an end to this everlasting cold." she said with regality, holding the scepter high in the air. Fluttershy did not wait for agreement or disagreement from the dragons. She turned her body towards the palace.
"Father!" her voice amplification spell grew louder. "I know the truth. You killed her. My mother. The late Queen Orienthh. Come out from where you hide and face me." there was a ferocity in her tone that she had never felt before. Perhaps it was fueled by her rage and broken heart.
Silence.
Then, a rumbling from the palace. Her father's own army ran from the palace, charging straight at her and the dragons that stayed with her. Some flew at her side, some were on the ground ready with weapons of their own.
"You really have it," one dragon said, eyeing the scepter in her hands. She only nodded at him.
"Be prepared to fight. The tyrant that sits upon the throne is a usurper. Let your rage fuel you, as I have!" she bolstered to her small army that had gathered. While she had a moment, she swirled the scepter in her hands, focusing, directing magic at the dragons below and around her. She envisioned each with peerless, magical armor, and so it was. She gave herself armor as well, then issued her only command.
"Charge!" she yelled, flying scepter first into the battle. With cheers and yells, the dragons listened to her order. All around her was war sounds.
She engaged with a guard from the palace she recognized. She dodged adamantly out of reach of his blade, rearing around to hit him hard with the scepter. He was knocked off balance, and she reared her head to take a bite at a hole in his armor, her teeth piecing scales. The taste of blood filled her mouth. Fluttershy let her rage carry her. She flapped, hard, carrying the guard into the sky with her. She used all her might to toss him into the sky and blast him away with fire, not watching for where the enemy landed. Her father was a fool for training her in combat. She knew all the guard's tricks.
Fluttershy was beginning to cut into enemy lines, but looked back when her dragons weren't with her. She flew up into the sky, waving the scepter around with one hand, mustering it's might. Most of her army was stuck amongst one small squadron in of her father's. Clouds swirled in the sky above. The snow grew harsher, colder. Then came the lightning. In ear shattering bursts, it struck the dragons who would dare harm those who fought for her.
"Move into enemy lines!" she commanded. Her gaze and stature were intense as she waved them further into battle. "I need to reach my father. Dragons, distract his armies!"
Without hesitating, her army drudged on, the sounds of war growing ever louder in her ears. The whinnies from the sky grew louder. Her eyes darted about the battlefield. Her father was hiding. He was afraid. He knew what having the scepter meant. She was the rightful heir. And he would be succeeded. It meant his death, handed to him on a silver platter. Fluttershy had a thought. A dangerous thought.
"Father!" she shouted, her eyes glowing a pure white. "Come and get the scepter." She was baiting him. She would not hand it over without a fight. She hovered in the air and watched for him. Her ear twitched and she dodged out of the way of a swing from a sword. The very same sword that killed her mother, the very same sword that he had threatened her with earlier.
Mattias stumbled in the air. Fluttershy pointed the scepter at him. "You have made fools out of your subjects for long enough," she said. "Dragons! Hear me, and hear me well!" she began, dodging out of the way of another attack.
As he stumbled again, Fluttershy took her opportunity. She dove upon him and struck with the blunt end of the scepter.
"My father killed the late Queen Orienthh!"
He swung back in retaliation, striking her cheek. Blood poured down her cheek. She flapped hard and backed away, her face twisted into a rage fueled grimace.
"He faked documents stating he would take over as king!"
Fluttershy focused the magic in the scepter. Dark clouds swirled around her and her father. It was a risk, placing them in a storm cloud. But she had the upper hand. Her armor wasn't made of metal. Her glowing white eyes became drowned out in the clouds. The harrowing whinnies were loudest in the sky.
Fluttershy knew exactly where her father was. She readied another attack. Those on the ground could see their shadows as the lightning flashed. Another brutal swipe of the sword got Fluttershy on the neck. Another hard smack to his skull from her scepter. A crack of lightning Fluttershy just barely dodged, her father, not so much. This was her chance.
He plummeted to the ground, and Fluttershy dove after him. His body hit the ground with an earth shattering thud so large, a crater formed around him. Fluttershy landed quickly, placing one of her legs on his throat. Teeth gritted, she took his sword from his claws. His death would be served by his own blade. His eyes grew wide as she raised the blade above her head with both hands.
"These! " she cried, thrusting the sword into her father's chest with the strength of one thousand dragons.
"Dragons!" she stabbed him again.
"Aren't!" Again.
"Your!" Again!
"Subjects!" Again!!!
"Anymore!!" Again. She bellowed out a sob, realizing what she had done. Her rage faded into grief. Blood was splattered across her chest, face, and hands. Blood stained the snow around her. She fell to her knees at her dead father's side. Even if he was a tyrant, he was still her father.
Silence fell over the battlefield. The fighting had ceased. All that could be heard were Fluttershy's cries, and the clanging armor of dragons who bowed before her. In a wave, they fell to one knee.
Fluttershy swallowed her grief and stood. She dropped the sword to the ground and flew into the sky, all eyes upon her. She drew in a deep breath. She held the scepter in both hands, focusing on the magic within. She felt it course through her body to her very soul. It was so powerful that she didn't even have to flap her wings, it held her in place.
I beam of bloodstone magic shot into the air, parting the clouds overhead, spreading into a circle of fire that pierced the very hearts of the windigos. In shrieks they dissipated, as did the snow and clouds.
For the first time in a millenia, the sun shone brightly. For the first time in a millenia, dragonkind was warm. For the first time in a millenia, lava flowed. Silence was all around, pregnant and waiting to be broken. Fluttershy landed in the center of the dragons that watched her. She did not speak.
But they? They cheered. All around Fluttershy were cheers. Even the guards who fought for her father cheered. She had nothing to say to them. She simply stood, picked up her father's blade, and trudged her way back to the palace in silence.
Guilt encapsulated her mind as she sat at her throne.