//------------------------------// // Chapter 10 // Story: Love Keeps Dragon On: The Return of Sapphire // by The Lord Thunder //------------------------------// A large crow perched on a rock, watching the two teenage dragons with its beady black eyes. The bird cocked its head to the left, then to the right and cawed, as if to question the young reptiles or perhaps warn them of potential danger. When it realized they weren't going to respond, the bird flew away. Spike and Sapphire were both kneeling down from their vantage point on a mesa overlooking Zog's fortress. Much of the courtyard was obscured by fog and the fort's tall stone walls, though every few seconds they could make out the dark form of something moving about the courtyard. From that distance it looked like nothing more than tiny black ants scurrying about in search of food. Normal sized dragons circled the fortress, keeping watch from the dusty air. “I can't see much,” Sapphire told Spike. “I think Twilight packed her binoculars in my pack before I left. She thought I could use them.” The purple dragon let his camping backpack drop from his shoulders and opened one of the back pockets. A few seconds later, he produced a pair of black binoculars. Waving them at Sapphire, he gave a play her a playful smirk. “See? Spike is always prepared. ALWAYS.” “Always prepared, huh? I'll have to remember that when we get back to Equestria.” Sapphire's voice came out in a purr as she wrapped an arm around Spike's neck. “What's that supposed to mean?” Sapphire smiled and batted her lashes. “You'll find out.” That suggestive quip seemed to go right over Spike's head, for turned his attention back to the fort below without a reply. He threw the binoculars' neck strap over his head and pressed the scopes to his eyes. Scanning the fortress, he saw dark dragons marching about the courtyard, some carrying weapons that gleamed in the sunlight. Other than that, nothing seemed unusual. For the Dragonlands, anyway. Everything here was unusual compared to Equestria. It was so barren and colorless. So much dust had been wedged between Spike's scales he could feel it scraping underneath them when he moved. Parts of his body, including his armpits and the backs of his knees, itched from having dust impacted so deep he couldn't scrape it out with his claw. “What do you see?” Sapphire asked. “Hmmm... there's a bunch of them down there. Smaller ones.” Spike panned to the left. Sure enough, he spotted a line of equines, all chained up to one another. “Oh, wait! Yup, there are definitely ponies down there. Looks like you called it right, Saph.” “Let me see.” With no more warning than that, Sapphire took the binoculars from him. She'd forgotten about the strap connected to them, which still happened to be around Spike's neck. “Ow!” Spike yelled, more out of surprise than actual pain as the sudden jerking motion pulled on the side of his neck, landing his face right into Sapphire's shoulder. Sapphire looked over at him, gritting her teeth in regret. “Sorry, Spike.” As Sapphire gently removed the strap, Spike rubbed the side of his neck. “That's ok, Sapphire. I just need a chiropractor now.” Ignoring Spike's sarcastic quip, Sapphire surveyed the fortress with his binoculars. After a frustrated sigh, she pulled them away from her face. Maybe she was crazy for coming up with this idea in the first place. Getting inside the fortress was going to be hard enough, let alone liberating the ponies without incident. Barging in through the front gate was out of the question. There were too many guards. The giant dragons circling the sky around the fort would make nearly any rescue attempt impossible. Frustrated, Sapphire bit her lip. “How are we going to get in there?” Spike rubbed his chin in contemplation. “I don't know. This is going to be tough any way we slice it.” Like a jigsaw puzzle, pieces slowly came together in Spike's mind as it brewed up a plan he could only call ingenious. Sapphire said the elderly ponies were left behind, making Spike wonder if old Bolts'n'Screws still ran the hardware store in Buckington. If so, the only catch to this plot would be that he and Sapphire would have to return to Equestria and come all the way back. However, he was sure it would be worth it if the plan worked. “Hey! What are you doing?” A new, deep voice started the two teenage dragons into wheeling around. An adult dragon with jet-black scales was now behind them. Not an average-sized dragon, but the same kind of Luna-sized dragon Spike now knew worked for Zog. This particular dragon didn't hold a weapon like his comrades below did, but his razor-sharp claws were extended, held at the ready. His mouth was parted to reveal dagger-like teeth. “Um, we were just... um...” Sapphire stammered. Her heart began to pound. She dared a quick glance behind her and realized there was no room to escape; they were trapped between the other dragon and the edge of the mesa. Spike noticed the black dragon's glowing red eyes were staring at Sapphire's hand, and only too late did the purple dragon realize the reason why; she was still holding the binoculars. Now he'd wished he'd mentioned his plan sooner and escaped while they had a chance. One minute sooner and they would have been in the clear! “Spying, huh?” the dragon growled, narrowing his eyes in a menacing glare. “Are you spies, perhaps?” The dragon lowered his sinister head closer to the two teenagers. “Do you want to know what we do to spies?” The supposed Shadow Dragon took a couple steps forward, prompting Sapphire to summon a large magic icicle that emerged from a cloud of icy fog. “Don't touch us!” Sapphire flung the icicle point first at the other dragon hard as she could. A dome shaped barrier of dark mist appeared in front of the dark dragon. This made the icy spear vanish before it even touched him. Sapphire growled in frustration and prepared herself to fly away. “Ah, someone's cranky. Maybe you two need a nap,” the adult dragon taunted. Before Spike and Sapphire could interpret the meaning of this threat, their enemy chanted a phrase of power. At the last syllable, Spike dropped to all fours. It was a struggle to keep from flopping to the ground, as if the spell had sucked all the energy from his body. Daring a glance to his left, he realized Sapphire was faring no better. A few seconds later, it was a struggle just to keep his eyes open. Then his world silenced.