//------------------------------//
// The Night Steed 
// Story: Trailblazer The Rescuer 
// by Trailblazer Rocker 
//------------------------------//

    "Trailblazer!" StarBright yelled as she ran outside. "You come back here this instant!"
All six of them were out of eyeshot when she got outside. She got back inside and sat down, worried. "What if we lose him THIS time...?"
Meanwhile, the six ponies ran out of the residential area. They followed Trailblazer around the houses and into the retail area of the city, and then ended up in downtown. There, they all saw Mayor Dunnam, the blue pegasus they met earlier, and a few other ponies. Dunnam was trying to calm them down, but the others were shivering.
"There you are!" said Dunnam upon seeing Trailblazer and his friends. "You're gonna wanna hear this..."
"What's the matter?" asked Rarity.
"Okay, settle down, you four," Dunnam instructed to the ponies that were with him before they arrived. "Please explain calmly to Trailblazer what's going on."
"Well, okay..." One of the gold unicorns said. "Trailblazer, we are a couple of Rising Warriors, like you, but something came up... Just a little bit ago, we five went to the Tethleon Cave to investigate about some stranger walking into it... But... But..." He found it hard to spit out the rest of the sentence. "Anyone else want to finish?"
"I-I'll try..." said the green earth pony. "When we got in, there was this HUGE green dragon inside."
The six pony's eyes widened.
"A... D-d-d-d-dragon??" stammered Fluttershy.
"Yeah," the green pony continued. "We tried stopping it, but we had to retreat. And what's worse..." He paused and swallowed. "We lost the mare that came to try to fight with us..."
"Oh, I don't like how I THINK she was lost..." said Twilight Sparkle.
"Well, I didn't look back..."
"I did..." the blue pegasus said. "I don't want to say it, but..." He paused and shuddered before finishing his sentence. "Brrrr... That dragon took Celestic and- and, ate her."
"Whoa, you can't be serious!" said Trailblazer, gritting his teeth.
"I'm not kidding!" the pegasus stuttered. "I saw it happen myself... He swallowed her whole."
"I knew it!" Twilight shut her eyes tightly and put a hoof over her mouth. "I think I'm going to be sick..."
"What do you want us to do about it?" asked Rainbow Dash.
"Well, finish what we couldn't do? Slay him or something?"
"What??" Twilight barked. "I'm feeling uneasy just thinking of it. Why would I go ahead and risk my life to actually let that happen?!"
"If you all don't..." thought the pegasus. "This whole city could get ruined by that dragon... And we all could end up as dragon food..."
"I don't know..."
"Could you at least try to rescue Celestic?"
"I want to, but..."
"Come on, Twilight!" said Rainbow Dash. "We've handled a dragon before, and you even got away from one on your own. Could you at least help us bring back this Celestic?"
"I want to, but, it seems too dangerous..."
"We could all be dragon chow if nopony stops it," the green one said.
Twilight was looking more uneasy with each sentence.
"I'll go and try to stop it," said Trailblazer. "I don't think we'll be able to move on knowing that that dragon is still threatening to us." But he looked uncertain.
"What are we waiting for, let's go," said Rainbow Dash.
Four of them left and headed for the cave. Twilight Sparkle and Fluttershy stayed at city hall, but then Twilight looked up.
"Hey, don't leave without us!" she yelled at them. She began to run towards them. Fluttershy saw this and followed her too.
The six ponies walked to a den and stopped outside of it's enterance.
"Umm, have you ever stood up to a dragon before?" Rarity asked Trailblazer.
"No..." he answered her with.
"Well, we actually have encountered a few, so we know how to deal with them..."
"I just know how they behave and what they do, but I've never fought one before..."
"Well, we should be okay, right?" wondered Rainbow Dash.
None of them spoke. They all looked to their sides, thinking.
"...Right?"
"Yeah, it's perfectly possible," Rarity spoke up.
"Okay... In we go..."
All six of them slowly walked inside, not wanting to disturb anything. All of them were still quite nervous, but Twilight Sparkle's anxiety was high.
"So, do you all want to talk about how we're going to handle this dragon?" Pinkie Pie asked.
"Oh, could we just get this over with?" Twilight wispered loudly. "This place is giving me the creeps..."
They continued to head deeper into the den. It was well lit, due to most of the rocky ceiling being absent. Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, and Trailblazer were walking forward, with Fluttershy and Twilight walking backwards behind them, watching their backs. Twilight Sparkle's fear grew with each step, wanting desperetly to leave.
"Hey, Twilight?" Trailblazer asked. He stopped and tapped her on the shoulder. Twilight shrieked, thinking that something got her.
"What's the matter with you??" Trailblazer raised his voice at her.
But before they could get an answer, large pounding footsteps were heard and grew louder with each step. All of them turned around to see a big lime green dragon approaching them. It let out an earsplitting roar, and then simply looked at them. Just then, they saw SteelHide calling at them from the broken ceiling.
"Ha! You're in for it now!" he yelled.
"Wait, it's you! SteelHide!" Pinkie Pie yelled back.
"Yeah, the boss wasn't too pleased with how we were going, so we decided to let our pet dragon finish you off. Go ahead and play with him! He doesn't bite... TOO hard!" He laughed at the six, who were stuck in the den with the green dragon. "Okay, Sclar! Dinner's served!" SteelHide ran away from the broken ceiling, leaving the scene.
"Ooh, that coward! That guy's gonna pay!" Rainbow Dash grit her teeth as she said that.
"Um, we have a bigger problem here..." Trailblazer kept eye contact on Sclar. The giant dragon roared and began to lunge at them.
"Oh, S---! Watch out!!" he hollered. He jumped out of the way to escape the dragon's open jaws, intended to make snacks out of them. The other five followed suit, keeping clear from his maw.
Rainbow Dash got an idea. "Hey, let's split up and scatter!"
"Are you out of your mind?!" Twilight yelled at her, hysterically.
"Nono, listen! He can't chase all of us at once! Distract him and then hide!"
"And get cornered?! That sounds like you're setting us up for failure!"
"A plan is better than no plan, Twilight!" Rarity yelled at her. "Let's move!"
All of them scattered, hiding behind one rock and another one as the dragon tried to claw it's way around. Rainbow Dash's plan was working. Sclar could only focus on one of the ponies as they ran from cover to cover, hiding their presence and where all of them were hiding.
Now, can this dragon breathe fire? thought Trailblazer. I know dragons tend to do that, but so far, he hasn't done anything like that...
Sclar became angry at the fact that he was being outsmarted. He blew a flaming burst of breath through the cave's path and stalagmites, flushing them out. The stalagmites protected them, but the heat was incredibly intense for all of them.
Oh, God, he can! Trailblazer thought, finishing it. He shut his eyes tight and shielded them with his front hooves until the fire breath subsided. They all ran again, trying to find more hiding spots for themselves. Rarity used her unicorn magic to lift some of the stalactites from the den ceiling and thrust the sharp ends against Sclar's body. He was slightly hurt by them, but he tried fighting back by clawing at the ground in an attempt to swipe or grab one of them. He didn't grab one of them, and Rainbow Dash began to distract him by flying around him. She zipped around his eyes and then his neck, giving the other five a chance at hiding again, and then retreated as well. Rarity and Trailblazer coincidentally ended up behind the same rock.
"I tried harming him, but it didn't look like my attack worked. How are we supposed to best this beast?!" she whispered.
"There has to be a way..." Trailblazer whispered back. He thought for a few seconds, and then got an idea. "Oh, now THIS is why I always carry this around!" He reached into his backpack and pulled out his butterfly knife; it was the same one used to kill Silver Soul's army.
"Trailblazer, that's suicide!" hissed Rarity. "You're going to get yourself devoured!"
"If he can't find me, then I'll be able to sneak to him and kill him," he said, speaking of his plan. "And judging by how he took those rock spears, that hide is pretty tough. He won't realize that I'm on him until it's too late."
"Enough of your nonsense! Better safe than sorry!"
Before he could respond to that, the dragon began to crush some of the stalagmites, forcing them to separate. Trailblazer ran off and got towards a stalagmite that was closer towards Sclar's position.
"Fluttershy! Help me out here!" Rainbow Dash yelled, getting airborne. But Fluttershy didn't risk getting anywhere near Sclar. Rainbow Dash took her flight to the ceiling, zig-zagging through the stalactites. Sclar tried to burn her with his fire breath, but failed. While he was trying to fry her, Trailblazer ran up to him and attached himself to his neck, hanging on upside-down by all four of his legs. Sclar didn't see him close in, and he couldn't feel him either.
It looks like his hunch was right, thought Rarity.
Just then, Pinkie Pie began to hop around on the ground, baiting the big wyvern to attack her. She still managed to bounce around cleanly without getting swiped or clawed, leaving him confused as to how she managed to dodge all of that. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy came out of hiding and kicked him in his eyes, each of them taking one of them at the same time. This actually hurt him, and he retaliated by opening his mouth and tried to bite them. Fluttershy quickly flew away, but Rainbow Dash flew around for a little bit. But then, Sclar caught her, leaving Rainbow Dash's head, shoulders, and front legs sticking out from his closed jaws.
"AAAHH, IT'S GOT ME!! HELP!!" she cried out desperately.
Sclar started to smile and began to force her whole body in his mouth. Rainbow Dash resisted, but couldn't escape. Trailblazer saw this and readied his knife. He stabbed his neck, breaking a vessel. The dragon let out a screeching roar of pain, allowing Rainbow Dash to escape from his maw. As she flew away, Trailblazer started to slice the neck even more by inching the knife towards the dragon's shoulders while it was still puncturing it. Sclar became enraged and shook himself, shaking Trailblazer off. Then he swiped him with his claws, sending him flying. Trailblazer landed on his left hind leg, and he felt a sharp pain from it as soon as he landed on it. He tumbled along the ground and crashed into a big rock, leaving him cornered and lying on his back. He noticed that Sclar began to bleed out quickly. But he was also enraged, and closed in on him. He got close to Trailblazer and opened his mouth, ready to chomp him. He was helpless; all Trailblazer could do was back himself against the rock while trying to fight the pain in his left leg, anticipating the jaws closing on him. But then, the dragon's entire body started to wobble, and Sclar felt faint. His mouth didn't reach Trailblazer, and the loss of blood was killing him. After several seconds of shaking, he fell down, closed his eyes, and didn't get back up.
"Is... Is he gone?" Twilight wondered, finally feeling calm.
"I... I don't believe it... It actually worked," Rarity said, astonished. "That dragon has been slain!"
Twilight let out a deep sigh of relief. "I has afraid of that thing..."
"What are you complaining about?!" Rainbow Dash barked. "Try almost getting swallowed and THEN talk to me about being afraid of it!"
"Hey, speaking of which, don't we have to save somepony from his big belly?" Pinkie Pie reminded them all.
"Oh, of course!" Rarity exclaimed. "But... How are we to do that?"
"Here, use this," Trailblazer got back up on his feet, but the sharp pain in his hind leg came to him again. "Owchowch, ow." He immediately lifted it in midair and kept it hanging. He limped over to Rarity and gave her his knife. "Use that."
"What happened to you?" asked Twilight.
"I think my left hind leg's sprained or something..." He hobbled around back to his backpack. "Yeah, he got me good."
"Here, let me help you." Twilight pulled out one of her first-aid kits using her unicorn power and walked to Trailblazer. "Now, lie down and stay still, I don't want to mess this up."
While she tended to Trailblazer's wounded leg, Rarity used her own unicorn powers to cut away at the dragon's striated underside.
"Is somepony there...?" a weak voice cried out.
"Hey, that must be Celestic!" Fluttershy spoke up. "Um, we're here to save you."
"Hey, I can see light!"
The four got the hint that she saw the light coming from the slits from the cut stomach wall. Rarity paused, then started to cut away faster. She cut along horizontally, and then vertically from both sides, creating a flap that fell down on the ground. A navy blue earth pony darted out from inside, covered in saliva.
"Oh, thank God you came and saved me! I thought that I was a goner..." she said.
"You're Celestic, right?" Pinkie Pie asked her.
"Yes, but who are you?"
"I'm Pinkie Pie! We all came to save you!"
"Where are the others?"
"They're right here around you, silly!"
Celestic looked around to see Rarity, Fluttershy, and Rainbow Dash around her.
"I am in your debt, you four."
"Well, actually, we only tried to help, but the colt with us is..." Pinkie looked around and didn't see them around. "Hey, where is he?"
"Does that feel better?" Celestic heard a feminine voice speak.
"It still hurts, but I can soldier on," a masculine voise answered.
Twilight Sparkle and Trailblazer walked out from behind their stalagmite, whereas Trailblazer limped back to them. He had a simple splint on his left hind leg, which was wrapped with some white bandage.
Celestic watched as the two walked towards them. "Hey, I think I recognize you!" she told Trailblazer.
"You do?" he asked.
"You're... Don't tell me, um... Trailblazer!"
"Hey, right!"
"So, are you the one responsible for getting rid of that dragon?"
"Well, I couldn't have done it if it weren't for those around me, with all the distracting and flanking they did."
"Oh, so we have a hero and heroines! I am in your debt."
"Hey, how about we get out of here?" Fluttershy mentioned.
"Yeah, let's get back to Tethleon," said Twilight.
The seven ponies walked back to Tethleon city hall. There, they saw the same group of Riding Warriors, Mayor Dunnam, and StarBright. They immediately noticed them and began to shout their hurrahs and praises.
"Oh my God, Celestic! You're okay!"
"Yeah, I'm back in one piece," she shuddered. "That was a really scary experience that I DON'T want to do again..."
"Well, all's well that ends, well, correct?" Dunnam mentioned.
"Yeah, sure thing, Dunnam," said the blue pegasus.
"Trailblazer! You're still okay!" StarBright happliy said as she ran towards him.
"Well, kind of."
"What?" She stopped in her tracks. There, she saw his wrapped hind leg. "What happened to your leg??"
"Ugh, that dragon got me there."
"That WHAT?!" StarBright turned to face the group of Rising Warriors. "How could you allow them to go face a terrifying beast like that?! That's stupid! Who put you in charge to risk their lives?!"
The initial group of Rising Warriors, Mayor Dunnam, and Celestic backed away at her harsh words. Trailblazer walked up to her. "StarBright..."
"You listen here! What possessed you to go up against that dragon in the first place?! You could've gotten killed!"
"Uh, StarBright?"
"Don't interrupt me! That was very stupid of you, to actually THINK about going there and taking it on!"
"StarBright."
"Stubborn, headstrong, and idiotic! I really can't believe why you went off and did this!"
"ENOUGH!!" Trailblazer shouted, stopping her rambling. StarBright backed away, with a sad expression, one foreleg in midair, and drooped ears.
"Show some respect! We just got rid of a big problem that could've easily became a bigger one and rescued a mare from that dragon! Isn't that something to be proud of?!"
StarBright didn't say anything to him. She looked even more upset after he said that, and hung her head. Trailblazer saw that he made her unhappy and felt guilty again.
"Look, I didn't mean to make you unhappy..."
"No, you're right, big brother." StarBright looked up. "I shouldn't have been so negative. You're all right, really." She walked back to him and hugged him. Trailblazer backed up a little bit after she did that.
"Oh, please! Everypony's watching!" he hissed.
"It's all right, Trailblazer," Celestic told him. "Go ahead, make up with your sister."
Trailblazer sighed and wrapped his right foreleg around her.
"There, is that better?"
"I'm sorry for yelling at you like that..." StarBright said.
"Me too..."
"Aw, that's better now..." the green one said.
"Here, let's get you all back home so you can rest," StarBright said.
They all followed them back to their place and spent the night there, Trailblazer in his bed and the other five in the basement. He surprisingly got a good sleep, but he couldn't tell why. He thought that the most likely cause was from the physical exhaustion earlier today, but he didn't mind. He took advantage and had a good rest.