//------------------------------// // Stormclouds Gathering... // Story: Through the Fire and Flames // by DagaYemar //------------------------------// A tiny tendril of smoke crawled across the lip of the cave’s mouth, staining the rocks a slightly darker shade of black before fading into the sky. Celestia barely gave the stream a thought other than to note that this was the right cave after all. She had not really believed that finding another dragon would turn out as hard as it had, but it seemed they truly did give Equestria a wide berth. She glared at the partially obscured ceiling as she stepped through. It was far too small to suit her purposes, barely twice again as tall as she was. The creature that lived in here couldn’t possibly be… Her train of thought ground to a halt as the tunnel turned a sharp corner and suddenly opened up into a huge cavern. Half of Canterlot could have fit inside, towers and all. Stalactites dripped down out of a swirling fog of black smoke that rolled like an angry sky, each one etched with pale violet gems that somehow glowed enough to see by. More than two dozen small tunnels like the one she had just descended led out at intervals around the cavern, letting the excess smoke out slowly. The entire far end of the cavern led down into a still tarn of water, no doubt leading into an underwater series of tunnels and providing the true entrance. Nearly every patch of floor was strewn with glittering treasure, and nearly all of that worked gold and silver. Crowns, jewelry, bits, intricately worked chests overflowing with more wealth, thrones, rings, and more. In all that splendor, it was almost easy to overlook the lack of anything not forged by pony hooves. Celestia missed nothing, though she only noted the lack as an interesting fact. All her attention was focused on the creature resting in the exact center of the horde. Shortly upon returning to her rightful kingdom, she had met another red dragon. It had dared try attacking her, and now its cave has hers and it a greasy smear. The differences between that pitiful creature and this one couldn’t have been greater. The dragon lifted itself from it’s recline casually, rearing up to almost three times the size of the other. Age was apparent in how it moved and the size of its claws and frill, but the years hadn’t affected its deadly grace. Its golden eyes locked upon hers, but with a look of calm rather than rage. And something else… Celestia opened her mouth, but the dragon’s deep baritone rolled over her first. “I see you, Celestia. The rumors of your return are true, it appears.” Celestia paused, pleased despite the interruption. Only one other mortal had greeted her with her true name since she’d regained her freedom. Promising… “Thou knowest thy true Queen. That will save time.” The dragon chuckled, loosing another black cloud to drift lazily to the ceiling. “I serve no creature, and especially no alicorn. I allowed you to enter safely out of respect, not fear of your power. I am far too old for such things like death to scare me into servitude.” Anger flooded through the alicorn’s mind, but she caught it before it could rage out of control. She would never cease her surprise that these mortals didn’t immediately fall to their rightful place when it was so obvious who she was. But this one spoke not out of fear or pride, just simple sloth. It had lived far too long under her weakling of a sister’s rule to hold the proper respect anymore. And something in his tone had snapped together a memory she had almost long forgotten. Oh no, this one is far too useful to kill. Better than I could have hoped… “Thou speakest of age? Thy pitiful span is but a drop in the ocean to mine. And thou art not the only being with a long memory, Solrathicharnon.” The dragon’s eyes widened in surprise, the first real emotion to have played across his face thus far, before narrowing again. “Have a care, Sunborn. I grew out of that name centuries ago.” “A shame. Thy name carried more honor than thee hast believed.” Celestia stalked closer as she spoke, striding confidently onto the edge of the horde. Precious metals glowed red hot and ran where her hooves fell, but while he winced at every coin destroyed the dragon made no move to stop her. “I remember the day whence thou earned that name. From my prison, mine eyes made out thy face clearly when, with tear-stained eyes, thou vowed…” “ENOUGH!!!!” the dragon roared, rearing back upon his feet in an attempt to intimidate her with his height. “Did you come here just to torment me with memories of the past? Speak your purpose or be gone from my cave!” “Revenge.” Celestia didn’t shout the word, but a simple flare of magic caused the word to echo around the cavern. The dragon’s eyes widened once more and acquired a sharp gleam. He settled warily back onto his haunches, clearly interested. “Revenge, and against all thy enemies,” Celestia continued, her own blank eyes matching the dragon’s own. Not Solrathicharnon. Solrath is honorific enough for this creature. “And all thou hast to do is this…” … My little pony, My little pony Ahh ahh ahh ahh My little pony Friendship never meant that much to me My little pony But you’re all here and now I can see Stormy weather; Lots to share A musical bond; With love and care Teaching laughter; it’s an easy feat, And magic makes it all complete! You have my little ponies How’d I ever make so many true friends? … The silence rang, sharp in everypony’s ears as the last few notes faded into the air. They each seemed to be holding their breaths, as if by merely wanting it enough the music would start up again. Lyra stood up and took a bow, and applause burst forth all at once from every corner of the packed hall. Despite being designed for this very purpose, the floor trembled from the force of their pounding hooves. Lyra shifted her lyre and bowed even deeper. Near the front, Ditzy Doo practically hopped in place from how hard she was stomping. “Encore! Encore!” “That was the encore, Ditzy.” Raindrops said, placing a restraining hoof on her back in case she accidentally bounced into one of their neighbors. Her other hoof, however, was stamping just as hard as everypony else. “I don’t think they’ll let her have more than one.” Cheerilee looked around at the crowd as the applause finally started to die down. “It’s usually only one, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they were considering more with this response.” “Even I wouldn’t want to follow that act.” Trixie said. “That was just… amazing!” “I thought you were here for her first big concert.” Raindrops asked, looking askance at the blue unicorn. Trixie pulled her hat partially down over her eyes. “Yes… well, I wasn’t in a good position to pay much attention to the music at the time.” Raindrops looked a little apologetic at that, for a moment at least. On stage, Lyra was making her exit as the unfortunate pony in question, a dapper looking stallion with a grayish-brown coat and white mane, was striding up to a grand piano set up at the other end of the stage. He made his bow as the crowd murmured to each other, a couple even getting up and milling about. Lyra may not have been the only performer on the ticket for tonight’s show, but she was one of the two reasons this show was as crowded as this. Word of mouth had spread quickly after her first performance, and plenty of music connoisseurs wanted to hear this pony who could “out-play an angel”. Trixie smiled and stepped out into the aisle. “Come on, let’s go congratulate Lyra!” “Don’t you want to listen to the rest of the concert?” Carrot Top asked, glancing back to the stage. The stallion had sat down at the piano but wasn’t playing yet, apparently letting the quiet stretch out until he was ready. Trixie shook her head and started quietly walking to the end of the aisle. “After what I just heard, I don’t think any performance could impress me half as much.” The other looked at each other for a moment, but caught up to their friend just as she made it to the door leading backstage. The porter let them in quickly; Lyra had thought ahead and told the crew to let them back if they wanted. The backstage was a hectic mess, disconcerting after the respectful order of the audience outside, but they managed to avoid crashing into anypony rushing about. The dressing rooms were located close behind the stage, and they could hear the soft sounds of the pianist as they passed. “… were just great!” Somepony was saying as they found the right room. Trixie didn’t even pause as she pushed the door open and hopped up onto her hind legs. “All praise the Majestic and Lovely Lyra Heartstrings for her most excellent performance!” “You sure know how to ruin a mood.” Lyra muttered, looking up from nuzzling her marefriend Bon Bon. She couldn’t suppress her grin as her friends piled into the room. “And I thought I told you never to call me that again.” “And I told you not to knock the power an amazing title can add to a performance!” Trixie returned, but she backed off to let the others have their turn. “Oh Lyra, you were wonderful!” Cheerilee exclaimed, giving her a tight hug. Ditzy replaced her as soon as Cheerilee let go, offering her own congratulations. Bon Bon looked a little miffed about losing her alone time with Lyra, but the warmth in everypony’s praise kept her from being annoyed for very long. “I didn’t expect all of you to show up.” Lyra laughed when she got the chance. She leaned back in that uncomfortable-looking way of sitting she had and slipped an arm back over Bon Bon’s shoulder. “You couldn’t have kept us away.” Ditsy said. In truth, it had taken some effort to find free time in all of their busy schedules to come all the way into Canterlot for the show, but it was well worth it. “Did you write those songs yourself?” Lyra blushed. “Only the encore. The first piece is an old classic I adapted to be played on the lyre. It’s originally performed on the violin. But the second one was the same composition I played in my first recital here. Don’t you remember it, Trixie?” “It would be hard to forget…” Trixie muttered, shifting uncomfortably. Raindrops stared at the far wall as if it had suddenly become incredibly interesting. “Anyway, can you believe the audience out there?” Cheerilee said, easily diverting the awkward silence before it could ruin the mood. “All those ponies here just to listen to you! Isn’t it just incredible to imagine.” “Not just me…” Lyra said, trying and failing to make to sound modest. “Don’t sell your talent short.” The second reason for the huge turnout said as she entered the increasingly crowded dressing room. Princess Luna held out her hoof as they bumped into each other trying to bow in the cramped space. “No need for that. I just wish to congratulate you on a marvelous performance.” “Thank you, your majesty.” Lyra stammered. “But the concert isn’t over. Don’t you want to listen to the other performers?” “Oh, I’m still out there in my private box.” Luna explained. She met her student’s eye and winked. The others might not remember how the princess had split into three different ponies during the Longest Night celebration, but Trixie had a lot more personal experience with her mentor’s favorite trick. “Your technique is truly flawless.” Luna continued. “I haven’t heard talent like yours in a long time. It’s truly a shame I missed your original performance.” “You didn’t actually miss anything.” Trixie quickly cut in. “The music she played that time was actually…” A unicorn in shining silver armor poked his head through the door. “Your majesty!” “Is everypony in the theater going to barge in here?” Bon Bon grumbled, but soft enough not to draw offense. “What is it, Emerald Thunder?” Luna asked, turning to give him her full attention. “A courier just arrived with an urgent message for you. There’s a problem.”