Draconic Guardians of Equestria

by Defias


Chapter 4

As the sun began to rise, so to did the life that thrived in the day. And so the day would begin as any other normal day, with those creatures of the day beginning their usual morning routines. However, one such creature had her routine interrupted, if only for a brief moment.
"Oh, good morning Vakarious. When did you wake up?" Fluttershy asked, remnants of sleep still obvious in her voice.
"I haven't slept yet, and I probably won't for another day," replied the alien dragon. Fluttershy was a bit concerned at this, as well as a bit annoyed. Her friend, Twilight, did very similar things like this when she was in her 'zone'. But, just like she always handled the situation with her friend, she would handle this situation the same way.

"Oh, well, okay. If need anything, let me know," she said to him.
"Will do," was all he replied. Surely there must be more here than just 'His heart was as black as night, and his rule as cruel as ever.' I understand this was about a thousand years ago, but even American history speculators at least 'tried' to put some effort into their educated guesses. Ugh, guess I'm reading what's known about him from his recent reemergence. The fact that this bit of history disconcerned Vakarious greatly. Either the self esteemed Princess had no clue what was going on, or she was hiding a lot more than she let on.

'The Crystal Empire's return to the North: Please note, the details of how the Crystal Empire came to be as it is today, as well as details of the Crystal Heart, will be found in the book 'History of the Crystal Empire'. All information in this section is purely revolving around the tyrant king, King Sombra, detailing what exactly is known about his power, personality, or lack thereof, and mental ability.'

As Vakarious turned the page, he saw what seemed to be a picture of the King himself, following detailed descriptions of the entire encounter in the north.

'After being turned to shadow a thousand years ago, King Sombra's was in a very weakened state upon his return with the Crystal Empire. However, even in this weakened state of being just shadow, King Sombra was still very powerful, requiring the Princess of Love, Princess Cadence, to keep up a barrier of love around the Empire continuously, even then barely keeping the king at bay.'
Well, isn't that interesting?
'As reported from the Captain of the Royal Guard and now crown prince of the Crystal Empire, unicorn magic, even as powerful as his own, was proven ineffective against the king's shadowy form. And once making contact with the shadow itself, Shining Armor's horn and magical ability were completely disabled the rest of the encounter...


~~~


'...And while King Sombra was seemingly disintegrated by the wave of love pulsating from the Crystal Heart, it is my full belief that he was not completely destroyed, and may once again, return some day.'
And so concludes my personal research, as well as speculation, on the tyrant king, King Sombra.
Vakarious was deep in thought after what he had just read.
From what little was described of his abilities, such as a trap door which leads to one's greatest fears, it really would seem as though he had some sort of power from the Old Gods. Hell, showing people their greatest fears was one of the ways I had to show the idiot leaders of humanity the coming of the Burning Legion. Hmm... As Vakarious kept pondering over these new findings, a knock was heard from the other room.

"Oh, hello Twilight, how are you this morning?" Fluttershy asked her friend.
"I'm doing great this morning. What about you? Were you able to see to your animals last night?" the lavender Unicorn asked.
"Oh, no. It was late, and I was tired. It's okay though. So, do you want me to tell Vakarious you're here?" the shy Pegasus asked, trying to change the subject, as she didn't want Twilight to feel bad about skipping a night of tending her animals.
"Oh, yes, if you would please."
"Okay, I'll be back down in a bit."

And so Fluttershy went up to her guest's room, however, she was surprised to find her guest waiting by the stairs, in his Pegasus form. Fluttershy was confused as to how he could have known they were here...

"It's a gift. Not to mention I could hear those guards from a mile away," Vakarious answered her unasked question.
"I'd like to thank you again, Fluttershy, for your hospitality, your trust in me, and for saving my life. I am in your debt," Vakarious said, leaving before she could reply. Fluttershy just simply stood there, still surprised, before saying goodbye to Vakarious and wishing him good luck.

"So, are we ready then Miss Twilight Sparkle?"
"Yes, the Royal Guard is ready to depart when you are. Keep in mind, the flight to Canterlot is quite far away, and will take around 45 minutes to an hour. Oh, and you can just call me Twilight, if you'd like," Twilight informed.
"Very well, let us delay no more, Miss Twilight," Vakarious responded, hiding a smirk.


~~~


The flight to Canterlot was quite uneventful, and it was indeed very slow. Vakarious couldn't complain though. He took in the surroundings, confirming one last time what he knew: He wasn't on Earth anymore. Twilight Sparkle tried to make some small talk, but Vakarious was never one for such a sad excuse of 'conversing'. Either he talked a lot with his brothers and sisters, or he didn't say anything at all, unless it was important.

As they neared Canterlot, Vakarious could make out the city. It was a castle that seemingly hung off the side of a mountain, with a few waterfalls going through it. The castle keep itself was located near the back of the city, with it's only conventinal means of entry being over a draw bridge.
You know, I thought humans were idiotic for building their cities in the most harshest terrains. Japan for example, HUGE earthquake active zone, surrounded by miles of ocean. Yet, here sits before me, a castle city hanging off the side of a mountain. But, for all I know, the city may actually be very stable. Something to check I suppose when we land.
However, as the city grew larger, he saw, for a brief moment, the scenes of the first city being besieged by the Burning Legion replayed in his mind. The moment only lasted a second, but to him, he relived that attack...


~~~

"...Incoming enemy contacts!" shouted several human pilots. Vakarious, Twilight Alestra, and Praetorian both sat in anticipation of the coming battles. They only had 6 years to prepare for this moment. The three dragons watched as green balls of fire rained down from the sky, plowing through buildings and infantry alike. Human weapons were surprisingly effective, though. Many of the Human's anti air defenses were taking out a large majority of the green balls of fire. However, they still came, never ending, never relenting.

The city they watched begin to burn was once known as Los Angeles. Vakarious had grown fond of the city over the past years, eventually starting to even love it. He had always enjoyed the different life styles, the weather, and the skyline this city offered, always surprised such a creation made by humans could impress him so. And now, here he watch, helplessly, the city he had grown to love, be reduced to nothing but rubble and ash.

"Worry not, brother. The sacrifices made here today, will be honored in the future. We must not give in to despair, lest we want the Legion to win," Vakarious' sister, Twilight Alestra reassured him. Despite her immaturity almost all the time, she was still wise nonetheless, and also knew when moments called for serious attention.
"I know, sister. Despair isn't what washes over me, though. As with all battles, I am merely detaching myself from my emotions," Vakarious replied to his sister.
"Doing that does nothing but hurt you, brother. Without emotion, you are just a mindless killing machine, no better than the demons that lay your city to rest. Besides, you don't want to become a boring dragon like Praetorian over there" Alestra said jokingly, the gruff dragon in question merely grunting in response.
"It is what I must do. Emotion in the heat of battle is just another weakness that only causes rage, or hesitation. Better I feel nothing and destroy the enemy, than destroy the enemy feeling everything," Vakarious responded.


~~~


"Well, we're here! Let me be the first to welcome you to Canterlot Vakarious!" Twilight happily exclaimed. After Vakarious snapped out of his mere second of a vision, he had allowed himself some time to rest.
"It's big, and shiny. It could do with less gold, though," Vakarious stated. Truth be told, he really wasn't one for fancy art work or expensive decor. Twilight merely rolled her eyes, but she stifled a giggle, as she felt soon, Vakarious was going to be impressed after meeting the Princess, to say the least. After all, everypony always felt much better after meeting Princess Celestia, and even Princess Luna.

As Vakarious, escorted by what seemed to be a standard pair of Royal Guards, entered the castle keep, he noticed an assortment of stained glass windows in a very bright hall they had entered. The stained glass in question seemed to depict the entire history of Equestria since Princess Celestia and Princess Luna had come into power. Or at the very least, depicted their victories over certain battles he knew about. Definitely not one for modesty, are you Princess? As they neared two very large ornate doors, Twilight stopped Vakarious for a moment.

"The Princess has requested that she see you alone, if you wouldn't mind."
"Okay." And with that, Vakarious walked, escorted still of course, through the two very large doors...


~~~


...As Vakarious continued to be escorted, he could finally make out a throne with a particularly large white Unicorn on it...with wings. A winged Unicorn hmm? Intriguing. Vakarious mused to himself. He could feel immense power emanating from her. Perhaps it wasn't a joke that she raised the sun herself. With the power he felt around her, though, he could feel another thing. Compassion. For who and what she apparently was, she was very, very compassionate and understanding. Vakarious was quite sure, however, that his cold, brutal demeanor would be unacceptable still. As Vakarious and his escorts finally arrived to the young Princess, they began to bow, something Vakarious did not do. After noticing the glares from everyone in the room, minus the Princess herself, he decided to be the first one to speak.

"With all due respect your Highness, there is no being in existence that I have ever bowed to, and I intend on keeping it that way. I hope this will not be an issue?" Vakarious stated, more than asked.
"Of course it will not be an issue, Vakarious. I have never required my subjects to bow before me," the Princess said with a regal, motherly voice. "Now if you excuse us, I'd like to converse with our new guest privately."
"Yes your Highness," the guards shouted, shortly before leaving the room.
"So, now that we have some privacy, I assume you have a lot of questions, Obisidian's Rebirth?" the Princess asked, same motherly voice. God damn it Spike.

"Well, I only had one, but as of now, I do have two questions. The first being, how do you know the true meaning of my name?" He asked plainly.
"Dragons populate this world in far greater abundance than you'd think, Vakarious. Over time, I've learned much of their language. There are many translation books that exist as well, though, they're very far from complete."
"Right. As for my other question..." Vakarious stated. He honestly did not care for the dragons of this world. They were nothing more than mindless golems, no better than the demons he destroyed.

"Of course. I am assuming you're wondering how, and why, you're here, and if you can ever go back to your world?" The princess asked, keeping her tone never changing.
"Actually, no. I already know how and why I'm here. I also know that I CAN get back to my world. My question to you is this. Do you possess the power required to open the Ley Line that is connected from this world to my own, and can you sustain it long enough for me to make my return?"

Princess Celestia was taken back his question. Not because of his main focus of returning to his world, but the fact that he spoke of everything exactly how it was, as if he was experienced in some way with similar events.

"I am afraid, Vakarious, that I do not possess the kind of power required for what you seek..." the Princess answered, almost sounding saddened. Well, saw that coming. Expect the worst, and you won't be disappointed.
"Very well. Do you then, know the location of the Ley Line in question at least? While it's not exactly my, 'specialty', with enough time and preparation, I may be able to use what Arcane Energy I do possess to reopen the rift. However, I will need to do so at the 'core' of the Ley Line so to speak, which, if this world works like any other Arcane filled world, would be very deep underground."
"I am afraid I do not know the exact location of what you seek as well, Vakarious. However, I believe my student, Twilight Sparkle, may be able to help you find it. Her special talent is magic, after all. However, I must ask. How are you so, knowledgeable about such physics?"
"As you already know what I am, I suppose it would only help to tell you who I am. Or rather show you, considering how long using words will take," Vakarious said to the Princess, as the walls around them suddenly started dropping...


~~~


...Princess Celestia found herself standing in a grassy knoll, somewhere she had never been before. And standing before her hovered a massive dark purple dragon, whose scales glistened in the sunlight, and flew silently, despite the massive wings.

"This is the moment before my world was seeded with my kind. What you will bare witness is a sight no one else besides me, and only a single other dragon, have witnessed." The dragon that, Celestia could only assume to be Vakarious stated.

Just then, where she was standing, another, slightly smaller dragon, yet sharing a similar color scheme as Vakarious, appeared, passing through her as if she weren't there.

The scene then seemed to skip forward, Celestia remaining where she was. However, where once a grassy knoll was, there was nothing but a charred, lifeless ground beneath her, which seemed to seep an unnatural black mist. She then saw a very large creature in the distant. As she looked closer to make out its features, she saw not any sort of animal or creature, but an abomination of life. As she continued watching this, abomination, she noticed in the distance a dragon, the very same one that appeared before her earlier, heading towards the hideous creature, bursting into a very large blinding light as soon as he touched it. After she watched the creature fall, and just dissolve into nothingness, the light she saw began to spread, cleansing all of the evil in the ground. After this light had passed her, the grassy knoll was back to its original state from when she first appeared.

As the scene skipped ahead once again, Celestia found herself surrounded by structures that reminded her greatly of Cloudsdale, and Pegasi structures in general. However, upon further examination, she could make out two figures, resembling the form Vakarious took. While she heard no sound, it was obvious to her that they were saying something to each other, though she hadn't the slightest clue as to what. She was caught by surprise, however, when the smaller creature of the two rushed to attack the larger one, attempting to stab him with a pole arm of sorts. However, the larger one was quicker, and up swept the smaller one, immediately impaling him.

Once more, the scene skipped ahead, Celestia finding herself standing on a hill, next to many strange machines surrounding her, as well as more of the strange creatures, along with hundreds of dragons. They were all fighting beings seemingly made of green fire, both sides falling to the complete slaughter. And then, as she noticed the dragons and their allies falling back, she noticed a very large being land from the sky. The being was nothing natural, being made completely of fire, and wielding a massive shattered blade.

Before she could react, however, the images left her mind, and she found herself back in her throne room, with the dark purple Pegasus as well...


~~~


"What you witnessed were key events in my Brood's history. From the war with the Old God C'thulhu, to the war with the Burning Legion. All of those, my Brood has fought. That is who I am Princess, that is what I, and my Brood do. We fight those that would see our world destroyed. We will die before we let them succeed," Vakarious said, emotionless still. Vakarious assumed that Princess Celestia was in shock and horrified, and possibly even afraid of him. What she did next, however, would surprise him, to say the least.

"Dragonlord Vakarious, you are the most honorable, noble being I have ever had the honor, no, the privilege of being able to know. You are a protector of life, of the innocent. You, and the dragons that serve under you, have faced horrors beyond any of our imagining, pervailed against such horrors, and even defeated them. I am truly humbled," Princess Celestia said, bringing her wing about, as if to comfort Vakarious.

"But she is right. Your sister, that is. You must not simply turn away from your emotions, lest you become exactly what it is that you fight. But then, this isn't lost knowledge to you, is it?" Celestia stated, more so than asked. Vakarious could barely admit it to himself, which in itself was a feat, but, the Princess was right. Ever since he had arrived, he had been in the same emotional state, or lack thereof, since his battle with the Dark Lord.

Another thing that bothered him greatly, mainly due to the way his pride worked, was that while Vakarious may have been physically older than the Princess, she was by far more knowledgeable and wise than he was. Sure, he wagered that he knew more about the elements, arcane arts, and dark arts than the Princess, but she was more knowledgeable than he was in leadership. His dragons may have considered him a great Dragonlord, but even he knew his predecessor was many more times the leader than he. And that's who the Princess reminded him of: His father.

"What would you have me do then, Princess Celestia?" it was a dumb question, but he always was one for asking dumb questions.
"You have already surrounded yourself with an amazing bunch of ponies who, despite knowing you for only a day, do care about you. Open up to them as you opened up to me, at any pace you'd like. Confiding in friends will help you more than you know," Princess Celestia said, almost as if she'd had this conversations many times before. Of course it's something so pointless and childish. She mistakes me showing her the fate of my world for 'opening' up to her. Still, I can feel Praetorian's claw, ready to backhand me from across the world at just the thought of disrespecting someone who is so much like my father. And I suppose it'll give me something to do while I wait for the Ley Line to 'charge up', so to speak. Vakarious mused to himself for a bit, before finally coming up with an answer.

"Very well. I will allow my emotions to take hold, although, I don't believe I will seek friendship as you suggest, due to the fact that I don't intend on staying on this world for very long, and having 'friends' would just be wasted time. Not to mention I do not believe the rest of society would take me being a very large dragon as lightly as you have."And now is the part where she tells me I'm wrong and that they will understand and all that crap.

"It's your choice, Dragonlord Vakarious. Though I think you'd be surprised at how, accepting the friends you've made already can be," Princess Celestia said, almost hinting at something, though Vakarious had no clue as to what.

"If you'd please, I'd prefer it if you did not use my title. Given the fact that I'm not quite ready to reveal myself, such words would be, counter productive to that so to speak. Just as well, I never liked being so formal anyway. With all of that said, I appreciate the rather quick audience you granted. If there is nothing else, I will be on my way. I feel I have a lot of work ahead of me," he replied. Vakarious felt like he was being a bit disrespectful, considering the fact that he was the one who requested the audience with the Princess in the first place, but he was right. He had a lot of work ahead of him if he wanted to get back to his world.

"Very well then, and rest assured, your secret is safe with me and my sister, Princess Luna. I wish you good fortune and success in your endeavors, Vakarious. Be well," and with that, Vakarious began to make his way out of the throne room, when a thought entered his mind. How did she know about my sister Alestra, when I didn't make mention of her or show her at all...? He decided, however, that he wouldn't press the issue at the moment. He had preparations to see to.

"I thank you again Princess Celestia, both for your audience, and your words. I bid you good day."

~~~


"So how did it go? Did you find out everything you wanted to know?" a particularly enthusiastic Twilight Sparkle asked.
"It went as I expected it would, but nothing I didn't already know was learned. Your Princess is quite, intriguing nonetheless, however. I would like to meet her again before I take my leave from this world," Vakarious informed. He made sure to leave out the little discussion about him being a dragon. After all, neglecting to mention something wasn't quite the same as lying, if Twilight Sparkle asked if he was the leader of a group of powerful dragons, he would answer honestly.

"Well, I'm glad you liked her. I think. So, what now? Do you want to tour Canterlot for a bit? There's an amazing donut shop I know of quite close by," Twilight asked. She didn't really visit Canterlot that often anymore, usually only doing so when the state of Equestria was dire.
"No, sweets aren't really mind thing. Besides, I need to head back to your town. I have much to do, and I fear little time to do it in."