//------------------------------// // Chapter 4: Waiting // Story: World of Chaos // by ugugg93 //------------------------------// Pinkie Pie stared off to where that meanie dragon flew off to, still dumbstruck at what had just happened. This was only the second fully grown dragon that she had met, and this was by far worse than just popping a few balloons that she had with her. The previous dragon was more sad, lonely, and probably just tired after she thought about it. All it was doing was hibernating, and was grumpy when it woke up. It was obvious with the scars and the physique that Sarlaka was a dragon that knew how to fight, and wasn't going to be pushed over by a harsh scolding by Fluttershy. “Ugh... what happened...” The party pony had her trance broken by the rousing Twilight behind them. She was still shaking the cobwebs out of her head, and was attempting to get up. She stumbled, only to be caught by Rarity, who helped her up. Once Twilight was on her feet, Rarity stayed by her side to allow the exhausted unicorn to brace herself. Rarity softly spoke a reply, trying to keep her voice as even as possible, hiding the fear within her, “Twilight.. Fluttershy and Rai-Rainbow Dash were... taken...” Twilight woke up instantly, “Taken!? Where? Who!?” “They were taken to Lord Sarlaka's lair,” the captain guard pony replied with a emotionless face, “He apparently has an interest with you six.” “And why, my dear sir,” Rarity replied with more than a hint of hate in those last three words, “would that be?” “Don't know, but if he took those two and invited you to his lair, then it is something important you don't want to turn down.” Pinkie squinted her eyes in anger “Oh? How important?” The guard chuckled, “Important enough to not make you all dinner... well... the four of you at least.” The four gasped, “He wouldn't!” The guard smiled again, “He has before; why would two criminals be any different? Anyways, I would suggest you get moving. It'll take at least a day before you get there, and from what I hear, dragons aren't known for their patience.” The rest of the guards chuckled, and started to walk away. Applejack yelled back at them, “Now wait a gosh darn second! What do ya mean... hey! Ah'm talkin' to yall!” she continued to yell as they ignored her, walking back into the town, though Pinkie noticed that the lieutenant of the guard took a couple of glances back at them. “Forget it Applejack, they don't care,” Twilight finally getting her voice back, though as soon as she did, she lowered it, “Nobody here cares...” With a sigh, nobody argued the point, with three of the four ponies just staring at the ground, hopelessly unsure of what to do. Pinkie was looking at the others, not sure what to do. She was mad, upset, frustrated, and tired. Still though, she was Pinkie Pie, and it was her job to make sure to giggle away the ghosties, even if those ghosties weren't ghosties... right? She closed her eyes, looking deep for that very special spark within. She got a smile on her face as she finally found it, “Hey now silly fillies!” she yelled with a smile on her face. “That big meanie dragon probably is sad and lonely because nobody threw him a party when he came here! That's what he needs! A party!” she threw her hooves up in the air, confetti flying out of seemingly nowhere. “Pinkie, can' ya jus' realize now ain't the right time for a party?” Applejack sighed in a defeated tone. Pinkie gasped, “Not a time for a party!?” She seemed to teleport right up next to her earth pony companion with her speed, and put her eye right up against Applejack's, “Who are you, and what did you do what my friend?” After a few seconds, she smiled, and placed Applejack's stetson on to her head. “Wait... wha? Pinkie! Where'd ya get mah hat!?” “Oh silly filly! It was under 'H',” she sang, and stepped back, “Besides frown-faces, no matter what we do, whether its throw him a party, beat him up, throw him a party, convince him to stop smoking up the place, tell us the time, or throw him a party, we're going to have to BE there to do it! So why not start now?” Pinkie gasped again, “Oh! Have I ever told you fillies the tale of the Bakery Wars? Well I'm going to tell you ponies it right now! It all started just after the Big Bake, and in the ensuing chaos...” she rambled, and started bouncing towards the direction of the mountain where the dragon had flown. As Pinkie hopped away rambling, she noticed that her friends were still completely lost, but more importantly, distracted from their worries: just as she had hoped. Her heart swelled even more as she saw them exchange a grin with each other, and started to trot along to catch up. Sure, she wasn't strong like Applejack, smart like Twilight, or graceful like Rarity, she always knew exactly what to do to bring out a smile. And that was what they needed. __________________________________________________________________________________ Fluttershy was scared. Beyond scared. Fluttershy was more terrified than she had ever been in her life. It wouldn't be so bad if Fluttershy could see what was going on, maybe, but with the way Sarlaka was gripping the two, she was forced to have her head buried in Rainbow's mane. This terror was the reason why she still clutched onto Rainbow Dash. She slowly stroked the cyan pegasus' mane, fully realizing that her counterpart was still not awake. Though through it all, Fluttershy thought to herself that while Rainbow wasn't awake, they would both need to comfort. While Fluttershy felt bad for using Rainbow, she thought that she wouldn't mind when it came down to it. Sarlaka cruised through the air for what felt like an eternity for the yellow mare, who could only wonder where they were going. All she knew was what she heard him say while she was still near the rest of her friends, which was that they were heading towards some mountain nearby. Of course, considering they were surrounded by mountains, it didn't narrow it by much. Still, as long as her friends knew where they were, Fluttershy knew they would be ok in the end... she hoped. Suddenly, she heard a low rumble of his voice, “Hold on to your hooves.” Before she could ask why, she felt the sudden sensation of her stomach lurching as they hit near free-fall. The sound of the three tearing through the air overpowered all other sounds, including a certain yellow pegasus' terrified screaming. This lasted only a few moments, but to her, it felt like forever. She eventually stopped screaming when she realized that they weren't falling anymore, and had landed. If Sarlaka could see her face, he would notice that even with the current situation she and Rainbow were in, she was lightly blushing in embarrassment. Still unable to see the world around her, Fluttershy felt the warmth of the sun leave as they went inside what she assumed to be a cave. Fluttershy shivered at the damp cold, the memories of the last time she saw a dragon's cave coming to mind as she imagined what the place looked like. Suddenly, she felt the two of them being lifted higher, and then they were flung into a cage of some kind. A quick look showed that it was shaped like a birdcage, barely ten feet wide, and was hanging from the ceiling. Fluttershy picked herself up into a sitting position, and looked at her captor, who was returning the gaze with an uninterested frown. He huffed, “Welcome to my home. Hopefully you two won't be alone for too long.” He did not give the girls another look before he sauntered off, the light rumbling of his thundering steps echoing throughout the cavern. Fluttershy stood, only to nearly fall from the pain coming from her back left leg. Looking at the leg, she knew it was injured from the violent toss, but it didn't look major. Adjusting her weight, she limped over to where Rainbow's body laid. She laid back on the ground next to the cyan mare, and saw that she was still unconscious. She shifted her body, so that she laid herself under Rainbow's head, using her own belly as a pillow for her friend. Shifting slightly once more to get comfortable, Fluttershy slowly and carefully resumed petting the prismatic mane of the pegasus again. Taking a look at her surroundings, she realized that this was by far the nicest cave she had ever seen. In fact, calling it a cave would be an insult. This chamber itself was at least four times as large as the throne room of Canterlot Castle, and just as extravagant. Vast natural columns rose out of the ground, the chamber being carved around these massive pillars. They, the walls, the floor, and the ceiling all seemed to have been worked on extensively, making each have a very smooth finish to them, with all but the floor having a texture similar to natural glass. The floors themselves were more simply finished, with a giant floor rug covering the majority of the expanse. Curiously, the rug had a design of some battle between two groups of ponies, because a conflict between ponies was unheard of, to Fluttershy's knowledge, since Princess Luna was corrupted and turned into Nightmare Moon. The light from the room came from three massive chandeliers, each with dozens of torch-sized candles. Lining the walls, there were seven doorways spread out, with only one having a natural light coming through, barely getting past the tunnel mouth. On the opposite side of the chamber, there were two doors sealed shut with massive iron doors. She couldn't tell where the other four doors went, but that wasn't what she focused on now though. One of the things she was focused on was Sarlaka's hoard. It was massive! It was at least twice the size of the dragon that was coating Equestria with soot almost a year ago. Very little of it was actual currency such as gold coins or bits. Instead most of it was various different kinds of gems, gold bars, and other rare or particularly shiny metals that would be worth much more than mere bits. The edges of the hoard seemed to rise into large hills, while the center of it had a slight divot to it. Fluttershy smiled, knowing that if Twilight was here, she'd try to calculate the worth of this hoard. All Fluttershy knew is that it was more wealth than she had ever seen in once place before. 'Oh, if Rarity could see this,' Fluttershy thought, 'she would probably try to swindle Sarlaka out of... actually... umm... its probably best she isn't here right now.' The second thing that drew Fluttershy's attention was the decorations that adorn the walls. Much like a typical pony would, there were many paintings displayed, giving a sense of home that was devoid from the other dragon's cave. Most of the paintings were of various scenery of nature, but there were two pieces that drew her attention the most. The first was a picture of a town similar to Ponyville, but details were off. Houses were shaped differently, roofs were different styles, and the layout was slightly different. It was obviously a different town, but the similarities were surprising. The second painting was of three young ponies, one of each race, that were staring off into the distance. It was hard to make out details though, for the age of the painting was quite apparent: details were worn, colors were nearly gone, and some of the primary lines that made up the ponies themselves were starting to fade. It was starting to look more like a drawing than a painting. Taking all of this in took some time, but even after going over it again and again, Fluttershy could come up with no new conclusions on how these details pieced together, or if it was possible to find a pattern. The only thing she could do now was wait, and take care of the mare that now laid on her. Now thinking about Rainbow, she realized that she had stopped stroking the pony she was cuddled next to as she looked around. Rainbow was now violently twitching in her 'sleep' in an apparent nightmare. Fluttershy had to fight the onrush of tears at the sight of her friend. Cuts and scrapes adorned her body, and a patch of fur here and there that was torn out. Rainbow's wings were relatively intact, and her primary feathers seemed to all be in the right places, but there were a few feathers that were missing. The worst part was her face. It was battered and bruised, with just as many cuts on it as Rainbow's body. Parts of the mare's face were swollen, and Fluttershy wasn't sure if there was anything broken, but was also afraid to check for now. Instead, the yellow pegasus simply resumed stroking the rainbow mane. “Shhh...” Fluttershy softly said in a calm, if wavering, voice to her companion, as if Rainbow was able to hear her, “Its ok, Rainbow. Nopony is going to hurt you now. I have you. You are safe with me. Shhh...” Rainbow Dash slowly, as if in response to the comforting touch, stopped her convulsions, and seemed to drift off into more pleasant dreams. Fluttershy let a few tears fall, but she let out a small smile now that Rainbow seemed to have calmed down. Feeling the exhaustion of the day finally catch up with her, she gently lying her head on Rainbow, and joined the cyan mare in sleep. __________________________________________________________________________________ “...and that's when Derpy realized that being Queen of the Muffin Empire did not grant her magical powers over the Cupcake Alliance.” “Ah see... but wait, wha' happened ta the Cheesecake Republic? Weren't they supposed to help Queen Derpy?” “Oh no no no no. Remember? The Cheese Blight of the Open Refrigerator spoiled them.” “Yes, dear Applejack. Do you not remember? That's why the... wait... is it dark already?” The four of them looked up, and noticed the full moon above them. Twilight replied, “Huh... I guess it is. Thank Celestia the heat's gone.” She looked up the mountain that they had started climbing what she guessed what was an hour ago. Time was starting to get hard to figure out, with the sun and moon not following the normal slow path across the sky. Twilight turned to the other three, “Well... what do you three want to do? We've been traveling all day, and could probably use the sleep. Want to stop here?” She looked around, looking at all of their faces. Seeing the frowns on all of them, she could tell their answers just by looking, “Yeah... me either,” she grinned as she turned back to the path, and the four continued on. “Say Twilight, I have a question,” Rarity trotted up to the lavender mare, “When we get there, what ARE we going to do anyways? I know Applejack can handle herself in a fight and you have your magic, but Pinkie here isn't very good at anything other than avoiding getting hit... err... no offense Pinkie.” “Oh none taken! I'd rather make parties not war!” “And that's quite noble of you dear... I think? As for me, I have some magic, but not nearly enough to fight a nearly adult dragon!” “Oh don't worry Rarity, we aren't going to fight him.” “We aren't?” “Nope! We're going to talk, just like he wanted to.” “Uhh... Sugarcube. Ah love the idea of not fightin' 'nd all, but he's a dragon! Ya know, big teeth, razor sharp claws...” “Ooh ooh! And don't forget the fire!” Pinkie bounced ahead, making herself noticed. Applejack gave Pinkie a subtle glare, “...don' remind me. Point is, ah don' see how a big ol' dragon like that is gonna listen to a buncha lil' ponies like us.” “Well... the last time Rainbow tried to use violence with a dragon, remember what happened?” Twilight responded, referencing the once encounter with the red dragon. “Ah remember. Ah also remember talkin' to it didn' do nutin' either.” Twilight sighed, “I'm sure it was only because he was trying to hibernate. I'm also sure that because this one is seems to be wide awake, things will go much more smoothly.” “Well... alright Twi. Ah know ya the expert in dragon stuff. Well, much more than this country mare is at least.” “Right, and no offense again Pinkie, but I don't think you know much about dragons either, right?” “Nopie dopie lopie! I only know alligators, parasprites, and cupcakes!” “Then its settled. We'll talk to him, and ask him what's so important, and while I don't see it as an issue because Rainbow isn't with us,” Twilight paused a second to sigh, “but no kicking him either. Ok? I don't think a Fluttershy stare is going to help us this time.” They nodded in response. The four continued up the mountain for a while later. The air around them started cooling both because of the night and because of the altitude. Twilight looked behind her, and saw the landscape of the rolling hills with the forest in the distance. She sighed, wishing that she were home. Wishing she could see Spike and the Princesses again. Wishing she could hunt down Discord, and with the Elements of Harmony, tear that... thing... limb from limb. Rarity broke the silence before Twilight could think more about it. “Say Twilight. I know its true, but how did you know so easily that I knew nothing about dragons? Dear Spiky Wiky does hang out with me a great deal. How did you know I didn't know a little thing or two about dragons?” “Simple, because you said this was a young adult dragon.” “Well I didn't mean that literally dear. I know he is most likely an adult, but I know that dragons are nearly ageless.” Twilight beamed at the opportunity to display her knowledge, “Right. You see Rarity, while they all look similar, there are various different kinds of dragons, and as such, some kinds don't grow nearly as large as some, even if they are ancient beings from before Celestia and Luna reigned...” “...like this one?” “Correct. While some species are much more powerful than others, some are much better at speed and agility. From what you three described to me, this one seemed to pull off those turns without any hint of stumbling, the forces it must have pulled to come out of that dive enormous: signs that it has been practicing for a very long time. Furthermore, the amount of scar tissue you told me it had tells me that the rate of regeneration is not that of a growing dragon, so it must be getting up there in age.” Rarity looked slightly stunned, “You mean to tell me that you figured out it was that old from those two points alone!?” Twilight made a sheepish grin. “He he he... umm... yes?” The other three girls just looked at her. Pinkie Pie spoke up after a moment of silence, “Wow Twilight. Even I think that's weird and creepy.” She then bounced and sang along the trail, making it the second time she left Applejack, Twilight, and Rarity behind. The three giggled at the strange response, and continued on their way. “Uhh... so Pinkie Pie,” Applejack said, getting the pink pony's attention, “So how did Queen Derpy get the Cupcake Rebellion under control?” Pinkie Pie's grin grew huge on her face, “Oh! I forgot! Anyways, so once Queen Derpy Hooves figured out that her magic muffin powers didn't work, she was forced to make a deal with the Confederacy of Condiments...”