//------------------------------// // The Leader of the Dragons // Story: Equestria's chain of conflicts // by Dranz_89 //------------------------------// "Well, sir Guardian Sword" Rarity approached the pegasus stallion, blinking her eyes and fixing her mane with her hoof, "now that we are going to team up. We could start by meeting each other and starting a friendly relationship, don't you agree?" "Sorry, miss Rarity. I'm not interested" Guardian Sword replied, "the success of this mission does not rest on me making friends. I hope you can understand this." Upon hearing those familiar words, Twilight stared at the stallion for a brief moment, then, shaking her head, she feigned uninterest at the stallion. "Yes, of course. We should keep a professional link. I totally agree with you, sir Guardian Sword" Rarity once again blinked her eyes trying to get Guardian Sword's attention, who was too busy looking at Twilight ignoring him. "Look at that snooty!" Spike pointed at Guardian sword very jealously, complaining about him with Pinkie Pie, "can you believe him? He's just showing-off to impress Rarity. What a dork!" The darkness of night covered the Badlands, lit only by the fire of the dragons, and the spells of unicorns. The battlefield was raging with fierce battles, the younger dragons were outnumbered by the ponies. Magic beams, light balls and fire were being shot at every direction, and the sky was filled with a storm of fighting pegasi and wyverns. The Sky Wanderer was being piloted skillfully by Applebloom across the battlefield as shining armor was in command and ready to join the battlefield. "Applebloom, remember the plan. The center peak is probably where the princess is, try to get as close as you can. We'll lure the battle out so you can get in and rescue the princess." "Roger, general" Applebloom put one of her front hooves on her forehead, saluting Twilight's brother. Turning his sight to Twilight, Shining Armor shared his feelings with his sister. "My sister, we haven't been on the same page lately" he said, "I admit I have doubted your friendship, but your friends are here, even in war they stand by your side. You have learned a lot about friendship but this is going to be another lesson to you, and a hard one. This time you... I just want to say that this isn't like your past adventures, this is a war, and you will see things that everypony will regret, be careful my sister... I love you." "Brother, stop. You sound like this is the last time we see each other" "It might be. In war, you never know" the general put on his helmet and before teleporting to the battlefield he said, "soldiers, please keep everypony safe. You're in charge Rainbow Dash." "Roger, general" the two soldiers saluted the general. The Sky Wanderer boosted towards the center peak until a wave of wyverns attacked the vehicle. Applebloom tried to maneuver through them, but the dragons' fire damaged the ship. The hull and mast were on fire and the inferior helix was falling apart. "Hey Bloom, what happens if we lost that huge fan thing below the ship?" Scootaloo nervously asked Applebloom. "What? Oh no! Hold on everypony! We're going down!" As the ship was falling, the wyverns chased behind it, "if they keep attacking, we're going to blow!" shouted Applebloom, very desperate. "Let's keep them away!" Rainbow Dash, Guardian Sword and Scootaloo flew to fight the wyverns, as Twilight shot magic beams, but they couldn't stop them all. "I'll jump!" Spike suddenly suggested. "Are you insane? It's too dangerous" Rarity interrupted. "My fire is strong enough to bring them down! I know I can do it!" "But it's a long fall. You may get hurt! It's out of the question, Spikey Wikey." "I'm not that little dragon anymore. I have grown stronger. And if I have learned something from Twilight, is that I can use my strength to protect my friends!" "But... but... Twilight, please, say something!" "Good luck, buddy" Twilight nodded at Spike and before he jumped. She closed her eyes. "What?! Are you serious?!" Spike, then, ran to the back of the ship, and made a long jump facing the wyverns, using all his breath, he threw the largest firewall he could, and burnt the closer wyverns. "Spike.... No! SPIKE!" Rarity broke into tears as Spike, along with the wyverns, fell into the middle of the dragon's lines. Applebloom took advantage of the moment to land on higher grounds near the crag where the princess was being held captive. Upon landing, Rarity jumped out and headed backwards, "Spike! We have to save him!" "Hold on!" Rainbow Dash stopped her, "I'm sorry Rarity, but we can't take out an army by ourselves." "I can't believe you! You are supposed to protect us! And now, you want to abandon him?" "I know! I was slow, and I'm sorry... But it was his own decision, and I bet he will be fine. The little guy is brave enough to risk his life for all of us, we would have toasted if it wasn't for him. Do you want that to be in vain?" "But he was... I can't... I can't believe he's gone" Rarity used Rainbow's shoulder to vent her pain, the rest of the group stood silent for a moment, resenting that their friend was now at the mercy of the dragons. "Yeah... we should keep moving, alright?" Rainbow Dash blushed and gently pushed Rarity away. "Y-Yes, you're right... ahem, let us go" Rarity cleaned her eyes just before the group began to march inside the crag. The dragon's hideout was lit by torches, and surprisingly not a single jewel to be found, the air was completely mixed with the smell of sulfure and the temperature high enough to make anypony sweat. As they kept moving forward, the ground felt even more hot and dry until they reached a part of the cave that looked like a great hall. "This whole place was obviously built by those dragons" stated Moondancer. "Yes, the geological shape seems broken on purpose" added Twilight. "And some of the rocks on the walls were moved from their original position, and some others don't even belong to this cave, they were probably brought here to act as pillars and keep the place safe from slides. But who knows? Maybe it's just for decoration" added Pinkie Pie, very cheerfully while the others wondered how did she have that much knowledge about geology. "What?" asked Pinkie, "Twilight is always bragging about her know-it-all attitude, but I can't do it?" Twilight mid closed her eyes and said "Pinkie, I'm going to love and tolerate the..." "Shhh, I can hear something" Applejack raised her ears. "What is it?" Sweetie Belle also raised her ears, "it's the Princess' voice!" she gasped. The group trotted following the princess' voice to the bottom of the hall, and there she was in front of the ponies, she was being guarded by the purple, green dragon who locked her inside the crystal. "It is very impressive that you came here, ponies" the dragon stepped forward, ready to confront the ponies. "My name is Skyclaw. If you want to save your princess, you will have to deal with us first." "Us? You're by yourself, big guy" Scootaloo confidently taunted the dragon, trying to sound like Rainbow Dash. "In fact, young pegasus, I am the second in command" the dragon looked down at Scootaloo, "we dragons are all rage and brute strength. We do not have the ability to think in the brilliant strategy we used to capture your princess." "What does that mean? Who is your boss?" Rainbow Dash asked, waiting patiently the moment to attack Skyclaw. "I am" a sweet, gentle voice responded from behind the dragon. As Skyclaw moved aside, the shadowy figure turned out to be a pony, a pale yellow pegasus stepped closer, her pink tail was so long it could touch the ground, and her pink mane covered one of her light blue eyes and her face expressed concern, yet no surprise upon seeing the group that came to rescue the princess. "FLUTTERSHY?!" the shocking gasp echoed through the hideout, as Princess Celestia was lowered her gaze, as if she knew all from the very begining. "W-What do you mean, Fluttershy? What is this all about?" Twilight questioned the yellow pegasus, even though she was afraid to hear the answer. "It is as you see. I joined the dragons' side. And their attacks to Equestria were all my ideas" Fluttershy hid her face with her mane. "What?!" Rainbow Dash's eyes stared furiously at Fluttershy's, "are you saying that YOU planned the attack to Equestria?!" "And what about Sweet Apple Acres?" questioned Applejack, "was that your idea too?" "Yes" Fluttershy admitted, closing her eyes, she wasn't proud nor regretted, "the farms, the big cities, even the capture of the princesses. All the attacks were planned to stop the ponies from fighting back, I didn't want to hurt anypony. But somehow Princess Luna escaped. And still, deep inside of me, I knew you'd come here eventually." "But darling. Why?" asked Rarity, "you were always scared of the dragons. How could you possibly join them?" "I met Skyclaw during my trip" Fluttershy began to tell her story, "I was collecting food in a forest, when suddenly, it started raining, so I took shelter in a cave. And he was there. At first, I was scared, of course, but then I took a second look, and I saw a nest full of sad starving baby dragons. Some of them were even younger than Spike, I couldn't just ignore it. I gave them a few jewels I found, and so, Skyclaw thanked me and we became friends, he told me why there were less dragons, and why they were in that condition." "Oh, what was it?" Pinkie Pie curiously questioned while she ate a popcorn box. "Maybe Princess Celestia can explain that to her subjects" Skyclaw stated, and all the stares were set on the princess. Princess Celestia sighed, then then she talked, "you know the story about the hearth's warming eve we tell every year, I presume. Well, the three races of ponies, didn't join because they became friends. They had to do it to conquer the new land, the land that was inhabited by dragons." "The dragons? But what about Windigos?" Moondancer gasped, "I studied and learned the whole story. Was it all a lie?" "It was a little modified. The ponies banished the dragons from their own home, dealt out the land and each race built they're own country, Pegasopolis, Unicornia and Earth. The Windigos appeared after the ponies failed to live in harmony as neighbor countries." "But" Twilight turned her sight to Fluttershy asking for an explanation, "why war? Why didn't you negotiate?" "We did negotiate, Twilight. But Princess Celestia didn't agree. Now it's too late" Fluttershy moved between the ponies and the princess, blocking their way. "The dragons are the owners of the land, and they shall have it back. Skyclaw, please take the princess, I mean, if that's ok with you" Skyclaw nodded and using his magic he escaped with the princess, to another crag. "Girls, go after him, and save the princess" Rainbow Dash ordered the rest of the team as she began to remove her Royal Elite armor and took a battle position "alright, Fluttershy. No armor, no handicap. Let's do this with honor!" "You are not serious, right?" Rarity shot a glance at the two pegasi, "are you really going to fight?" "Go, now! Your presence might bother me!" Rainbow Dash shouted at the group of ponies, that then, hesitantly left to give chase to Skyclaw and save the princess. Just after they were left alone, before the battle, Fluttershy began a short conversation with the rainbow pegasus, as they both walked in circles in front of each other, waiting for the moment to strike, and getting their wings ready for a battle that will surely take place on the air. "Don't you remember, Rainbow Dash? When you joined the buffalos in Appleloosa?" "This isn't like that!" "Yes, it is. You turned against the ponies because you knew they stole the land from the buffalos. That time, all ended well. But this time, the negotiations didn't work, the princess didn't trust the dragons, she didn't even wanted to share the land. She said the dragons are dangerous for the ponies, and they should find someplace else to live." "What do you expect from all this, Fluttershy? Do you think Princess Celestia will let it pass when this is all over?" "I only wish to stand by the creatures who can't stand by themselves, I always felt a special link with them, I am unable to leave them alone when they need me. I heal them if they're hurt, I feed them if they're hungry, and of course, I'll give them shelter if they're homeless. It is only in my nature, it is something I need to do, even if I have to turn against my own race, because all creatures have the right to have a good life, and we ponies are no one to take that right from any creature, not even from the dragons." "I see you're determined to it. Let's see if you can stand by yourself, once I'm done with you!" Rainbow Dash launched herself and connected a punch in Fluttershy's face who was knocked backwards. Without warning, Rainbow Dash charged at Fluttershy a second time and knocking her back again. Rainbow Dash attacked a third time, but Fluttershy swiftly dodged by flying. Rainbow Dash hit the ground with her hind hooves and impulsed herself upwards to attack, but Fluttershy to the left, dodging Rainbow's attack and countered with a tackle that Rainbow Dash blocked with her front hooves. "Are you serious?" Rainbow Dash said with a cocky attitude, "you don't expect to beat me like this, right?" Rainbow Dash performed a spinning attack and hit Fluttershy who inmediately regained balance and charged at high speed, knocking Rainbow Dash against a wall. As the battle continued, attacks at high speeds took the battle out of the cave and over the peak of the crag. Rainbow Dash gained altitude, preparing her Sonic Rainboom, but when she was about to descend, Fluttershy surprised her and performed a quick attack that hit Rainbow Dash's chest, she fell down and crashed on the peak. "Damn, somepony learned new moves, huh?" Rainbow Dash used all of her strength to stand up while panting, as Fluttershy landed in front of her. "Dragon's techniques. I'm sorry, Rainbow Dash, but I don't think you can win this one." Fluttershy's eyes showed no mercy at a hurt Rainbow Dash, it was as if she was a different pony from the Fluttershy that Rainbow Dash used to know in Cloudsdale. There was no trace of the once shy and kind pegasus, Rainbow Dash stared at Fluttershy's eyes once more and took a deep breath. "Good. You wanna do this the hard way? We can do this the hard way!" Rainbow Dash began to fly once again and put a serious face, while Fluttershy followed, both preparing for the second round. Meanwhile, the rest of the team chased Skyclaw to a higher crag. The dragon landed on the peak and looked at them with defying eyes, challenging them to go and try to rescue the princess, Applejack's competitive pride made her run first inside the cave leading to the top, with the rest of the team behind her, but their enthusiasm didn't last long. A few steps inside the cave, rocks began to fall down on the ponies. "Take cover!" Guardian Sword pushed Pinkie Pie and jumped towards Twilight to save her and himself from the sliding rocks, while Moondancer and the crusaders jumped back from the boulders, and Applejack and Rarity jumped to opposite sides to avoid a bulder from crushing them. The giant pile of boulders were stuck between the ponies, separating them into different parts of the cave. "Is everypony ok?" Twilight asked out loud, with a tone of desperation. "I'm still in one piece" Applejack shook off the dust from her hat and her body. "That was close" Moondancer stood up, and watched Scootaloo shake her head, then turned to her friends, she was relieved that no pony was hurt. "Oh no! Please, no! Of all the worst things that could happen, this is the WORST! POSSIBLE! THING!" "Rarity, are you still on four hooves?" Applejack doubtly questioned, Rarity's drama. "My mane is a disaster! And my coat is all dusty and dirty!" "Don't worry, miss Rarity. At least you're still breathing, right?" Guardian Sword cheered up Rarity, whose eyes shined inmediately and forgot about her looks upon hearing his voice. "Of course! You're right, Sir Guardian Sword! It needs more than a couple of stones to stop this unicorn. Oh, look! There's a way out!" Rarity tried to impress the stallion by sounding brave and confident, while walking towards the only path she had left. "Wait, Rarity! We should keep going together!" Applejack tried to stop her, but her efforts were useless. "Says the pony who just ran after that dragon, without even stopping to think that might be a trap" taunted Applebloom. "Don't tempt me, Applebloom!" responded Applejack, "at least I didn't build a huge piece of junk to chase a dragon!" "Please, let's all calm down, ok?" said Sweetie Belle, very concerned, "we got a bigger problem." "You're right, Sweetie Belle! We'll have to find another way from the outside!" Applebloom leaded her friends to the exit. "Applebloom! Come back here! I'm not done with you!" "Sorry, sis. But we have to save the princess." "Don't worry, Applejack. I'll get them" Moondancer ran after the Cutie Mark Crusaders. "One day, I'll teach that stubborn girl to listen to me. Anyway, looks like we're stuck." "Wait! Twilight might help us teleport out of here!" Pinkie Pie suggested with her recognizable cheerful personality. "I can't" Twilight answered with a very disappointed tone, "I must see where I'm teleporting to or know exactly where that place is, or else, I might get stuck between the rocks." "Well, miss Twilight, there's a way out up there, I'll take you flying" Guardian Sword grouched and prepared his wings to fly, willing to carry Twilight. "Oh... that won't be necessary" Twilight blushed and performed a spell to grow her own magical wings, then she and Guardian Sword flew to a hollow that was left on the roof of the cave. "Ok, Pinkie. I'll be going too. Good luck, pal" Applejack began to climb the pile of rocks to find a way out. "Okey dokey lokey!" Pinkie Pie started digging a hole, and like a mole, she went inside it. Meanwhile, the main battle where ponies were pushing back the dragons kept going as it had no end, General Shining Armor had everything under control, until a huge black and white dragon appeared. His right side was white and shined with a beautiful light of hope, but his left side was black and emanated darkness of distress. As the dragon began to beat ponies down, Shining Armor charged to defend his allies. Applejack found herself on a side of the crag, where a big red dragon was waiting for her. Is this coincidence? Or fate? The dragon that burned Sweet Apple Acres was standing before her, confronting her with fierce eyes, roaring and throwing fire aimlessly upwards to intimidate the pony, he was ready to fight Applejack and finish their business once and for all. On the opposite side of the crag, the place was cold and almost freezing, as if it was the middle of the winter, Rarity found a blue dragon, he was sit with his eyes closed and breathing deeply, like meditating, waiting patiently for his opponent to appear. Then suddenly he oppened his eyes, without staring at Rarity, he spread his wings, taking his battle position. Near the entrance, where the damaged Sky Wanderer was, Moondancer and the younger ponies met the brown dragon. The ground quaked with each step the dragon made as he came closer, Moondancer stood in front of him and protecting the younger ponies, the dragon just looked down and smiled, confident that he had an easy victory. The back side of the crag was a narrow piece of ground, where Pinkie Pie dug out to surface. The strong wind blew almost as if it was alive, and it's direction was constantly changing. Slowly, the green feathered snake descended before the pony. He had no wings, he seemed to be riding on the wind, controlling it at his will. And on top of the crag, Skyclaw and Princess Celestia saw how Twilight and Guardian Sword were bravely approaching. "Look, princess. Your heroes are coming. All of this is almost over."