//------------------------------// // Chapter 7 // Story: Draconic Guardians of Equestria // by Defias //------------------------------// Exhausted as he was, Vakarious didn't intend on resting. It was night, and he never rested during the night, due to him essentially being nocturnal. After some convincing that he didn't require rest for the night, as well as some final apologizes for the events of that day, the six ponies finally went home. When the ponies had left, Vakarious went to doing what he always enjoyed doing: Staring up towards the night sky. As usual, Vakarious allowed himself to drift into his thoughts. However, instead of thoughts of wonder and curiosity about other worlds, he thought of his world. He thought of those he considered family, and he thought of the events that had transpired. He continued thinking about the demon responsible for his presence on this world, and how he hated him. Composed as he was, he still wasn't over the fact that he was ripped away from his world due to the Dark Lord. As he continued these thoughts, another thought came to mind: The final battle between him and the Dark Lord. I heard stories from the Pantheon of how powerful their fallen brother was, and his terrible evil and destructive ways. Yet, during that fight, he barely did anything, at all. Sure, I attacked him with surprise, and tried not to give him a chance to counter attack, yet, he had multiple opportunities to attack. It wasn't until after I actually started affected him, that he finally struck out at me, and when he did, he only landed two relatively light strikes. Yet, it was those two strikes that instantly injured me greatly...He had the power, that whole time, to kill me, yet he didn't... Vakarious contiued with his thoughts, doing nothing but pondering that entire battle. He eventually decided that it was a stroke of luck that he 'won', and continued to stare up into the night sky. ~~~ As morning came, Twilight Sparkle found herself awake after hearing an all too familiar sound: Her number 1 assistant belching, with a scroll following after. While she was always excited to receive a letter from the Princess, she was slightly surprised as to how early she had gotten one. "Twilight, letter from the Princess!" Spike said. "I know, you aren't the most subtle when you get a letter from the Princess, you know," Twilight said, grinning. "Subtle?" Spike asked. "Quiet." "Ah. Well, go on and read it!" Spike said anxiously. "Calm down spike, I'm getting to it," Twilight replied, giggling at her dragon friend. My most faithful Student As you may be aware, the Grand Galloping Gala is only two weeks away. Today however, I have received news that King Darius Swiftwing of the Griffin Kingdom, as well as his son Prince Darius II along with many of their guests, will be attending the Grand Galloping Gala this year. While Equestria has always maintained a steady relationship with the Griffon Kingdom, they have never sent more than a few ambassadors to Canterlot for even important meetings, let alone such an event as the Grand Galloping Gala in almost a thousand years. As my faithful student, I fully believe that you understand the importance of the attendance of the king of the griffons, as well as his son. Also, I have sent you another invitation to the Grand Galloping Gala for you to give to our newest arrival, Vakarious. While he doesn't have to attend, it would be highly appreciated if he did, even more so if he could attend the Gala in his bi-pedal form that he is able to use. He may use the bipedal form he knows, however, only if the populace has accepted his use of said form, though it is his choice in the end. I hope Vakarious' stay in Ponyville has been a pleasant one, and I look forward to seeing you and your friends at the Gala this year. Sincerely, Princess Celestia. Twilight Sparkle was caught by surprise after what she had read. The Griffin Kingdom was a very large and powerful one. The fact that their leader, as well as his son was attending the Grand Galloping Gala this year signified something very important in both Equestrian and Griffin history: A much closer unity between the two nations, if not the unification of the two nations. A truly monumental event indeed. "Spike, I'll be in my room doing some personal research today. Please, as usual, let me know if anypony comes over," Twilight said to her assistant, who simply nodded in return. ~~~ Vakarious headed into the town as soon as the sun rose. Being on the different world he was, there were no threats of a M.A.D war, an alien invasion of demons, or even raging elemental lords to calm. And whatever problems with the country, or world for that matter existed, they were all solved by the two Princess rulers. In other words, Vakarious had a lot of time on his hands (or claws) with nothing to do. Suppose I could just visit everyone today, get to know them better and whatnot. Considering my stay on this world is going to be a lot longer than I had anticipated, it'd probably be the best course of action. Guess I'll visit Twilight first and ask her for some directions. Didn't exactly get a tour of this town yet. Vakarious thought to himself, before heading for the library. On the way towards the library, Vakarious happened to see Fluttershy when he remembered something. Crap, I borrowed that book from the library, which is probably still at Fluttershy's house. Ugh, these names... "Hey Fluttershy," Vakarous said, interrupting his own thoughts. Fluttershy looked around for a bit, until she saw the one calling her name. "Oh, hello Vakarious. How are you this morning?" Fluttershy asked. "Eh, all things considered, I'm doing alright I suppose," Vakarious replied. "Well, that's good. Are you doing anything today?" "Yeah, I was actually heading to the library to ask Twilight something, until I remembered I borrowed a book from her, which is probably at your house still," Vakarious said. "Oh, I actually um, returned that book yesterday while you were in Canterlot...I'm sorry if you weren't done with it..." Fluttershy said, hanging her head down. "Nah, it's fine. I was actually gonna ask if I could come by later and get it so I could return it, so thanks for that," he said. "Okay. Well, I'm going to head back home now. Poor Angel Bunny hasn't eaten yet," she said before trotting off to her cottage. Vakarious had only stayed at Fluttershy's cottage for a couple of days, but that was long enough for him not to like her pet rabbit. Should just let him starve and get his own food. Vakarious shook the thought and continued towards the library. Vakarious had arrived at the library shortly after his encounter with Fluttershy, knocking on the door. You know, considering it's a library, I feel like I don't really need to knock at all. Whatever, doesn't really matter I suppose. Vakarious thought to himself before Spike answered the door. "Hey Vakarious, what's up?" Spike asked after opening the door. "Not much, just need to ask Twilight something," Vakarious answered. Gonna be honest with myself, I'm beginning to see why Alestra calls me 'Vaka' now. Much easier to say... Vakarious thought to himself while entering the library. "Twilight! Vakarious needs to ask you something," Spike called out. A few moments later, Twilight responded. "Just a bit, I'm coming down," Twilight called back. Vakarious walked into the main room before Twilight had finally come down. "Hello Vakarious, what brings you here today?" Twilight asked. "You know, as much as it annoys me when she says it, I think I'm gonna go ahead and let you just call me 'Vaka' if it's easier for you," Vakarious said sighing, "anyway, since I really have nothing to do today at all, I was wondering if you could tell me where the rest of your friends could be found. You know, so I can make better amends and what not." "Oh sure, no problem, I have a map around here somewhere. If I wasn't busy today, I'd show you around myself," Twilight said, as she began searching around her desk for the mentioned map, as well as the envelope she had recieved that morning. It took her some time to find, but she finally found what she was looking for. "Don't worry about it. I always preferred figuring things out on my own anyway,' Vakarious replied. Twilight didn't seem to be paying any attention though, focused on finding the map Vakarious still wanted. "Ah ha! Found it. Here you go, Vaka, it's probably a bit outdated, but it should have everypony's location that you want to see. Oh, and the Princess sent this to me this morning too. Don't worry, it wasn't sealed," Twilight said, holding a folded map along with a golden piece of paper with her magic. Vakarious rolled his eyes at his nickname being called while taking the map as well as the gold piece of paper. He was truly annoyed at the nickname his sister had given him, yet he was so used to it as well. "Thanks for the map, but what did your Princess send?," he asked, not reading the big letters which would have answered his question. "It's an invitation to the Grand Galloping Gala", Twilight said. "It grants admission for one pony and a guest of their choosing." "Ah, I see. And when is this um, 'gala'?" Vakarious asked. He didn't need, or really want to know what this 'Grand Galloping Gala' was, as it was easy for him to assume exactly what it was: A royal Ball held by the Princesses. "It's in two weeks. This years Grand Galloping Gala is especially important because delegates and royalty from the Griffin Kingdom will be attending, something which hasn't happened in almost 1,000 years," Twilight answered. "In other words, you want me to go, in Pegasus form?" "Of course. And who knows, by then, you may even be able to use that 'human' form of yours," she added. "I see. So it's a safe assumption that formal attire is required then?" he asked. "Well, it's not really required, more so just expected. You won't have to worry about that, though. Rarity is already working on all of our dresses, so I'm sure she wouldn't mind getting something together for you as well," Twilight said. "Hmm, alright then. Considering I probably won't be doing anything then, I guess it wouldn't hurt going to this 'gala'," Vakarious said. He wasn't really excited, in fact, quite the opposite. On Earth, he used to be required to attend many social gatherings, including the one he loathed the most: The President's Ball. There were only a handful of Presidents whose company I actually enjoyed. Other than that, the only people I was forced to be around were pretentious snobs that contributed absolutely nothing to the world. Which, from the sounds of it, this gala is no different at all. "Great! Can't wait you see you there, I think you'll like it," Twilight said before trotting back up to her room upstairs. "We can talk more about it if you'd like later today when I'm not as busy." "Sure. I'll be heading out then. Thanks for the map and the invitation," Vakarious said as he left the library. ~~~ As he walked, a sudden realization hit Vakarious. I have wings. Why am I not using my wings? Whatever, I'm here now it looks like. Vakarious went up to the white building and knocked on the door. After a bit, he heard the sounds of hoof steps trotting quickly towards the door. "I got it Rarity!" a squeaky voice said. As Vakarious waited, a white little filly opened the door. Other than the mane color and mane style, she was essentially a mini version of Rarity. "Who are you?" the filly asked, while staring at him, "and what happened to your wings and tail?" "My name is Vakarious, I'm new in town. If you want, you can just call me 'Vaka'. As for my wings and tail, well, lets just say I was born different. What about you?," he said, hoping the answer would satisfy the filly. "I'm Sweetie Belle! Oh, and Rarity is my sister," the filly exclaimed, "come inside, my sister will be down shortly." "Alright," Vakarious simply replied before heading inside the home, which was more of a workshop than anything. Upon entering the boutique, Vakarious noticed an abundance of pink. A lot of pink. Definitely obvious to who this place belongs to. Vakarious thought to himself. "Rarity, someponys here to see you, come down already!" Sweetie Belle called out. "Just a moment, I'm almost finished then I'll be down," Rarity called back. "Sounds like she's doing something important," Vakarious commented. "Oh, it's probably just some dress. She's just in her 'zone'," Sweetie Belle replied. "Her 'zone'?" Vakarious asked. "You don't want to know." "Fair enough." After some time, Rarity had finally made it down stairs, with Sweetie Belle running up to her room. Her normally refined mane and coat were frizzy and quite messy, Vakarious had noted, trying to prevent a smirk from forming. "Busy day?" he asked. Rarity simply sighed before replying. "You don't know the half of it. Now, what can I do for you darling?" she asked. "Well, I was just in the area, and figured I'd stop by and see what's up," Vakarious replied sarcastically. Rarity was, like he guessed, not in the mood. "Really funny," Rarity snarked back. "In all seriousness, I just came from Twilight's, and she gave me an invitation to some party thing in Canterlot, and said I should come by here for an appropriate outfit," he said, earning a look of frustration from the white Unicorn. Vakarious had to admit, it was kinda fun annoying her so much with very little effort on his part. "It's the Grand Galloping Gala dear. It's only the biggest event in all of Canterlot, even larger than the Canterlot Garden party. It's held by Princess Celestia and Princess Luna themselves, as well has catering to the most important ponies in all of Canterlot, if not all of Equestria," Rarity informed. She didn't like that Vakarious held such little regard for the huge event. "Ah, that's right. Twilight told me that, it just must have slipped my mind. But again, in all seriousness, she really seems to want me to go for whatever reason. And, after asking who the best pony to see to attain the formal attire required for such an event, she suggested I see you," Vakarious said. "Although, I already assumed you'd be the one to see, since you seem talented in such a department, if your expertly maintained mane and coat is anything to go by," he added, attempting to flatter the white Unicorn after frustrating her. "Oh why thank you most sincerely," Rarity replied, seemingly affected by his flattery. "And I would love to work on a Gala outfit for you Vakarious. I just have one question, if you wouldn't mind." "What's that?" he replied. "Now, I will need to take your measurements for your outfit, and as I understand it, you can take the form of anything you wish. Now, while it may seem obvious, I must ask anyway. What form do you wish to have sized up for the Gala?" Rarity asked. Vakarious had to think for a moment, taking into consideration what Twilight had told him. After some time, he decided. "I'd prefer an outfit for a Pegasus at the moment I suppose. Though, if it turns out that my humanoid form is accepted in society by the time the Gala comes around, I would prefer an outfit for that instead. So, I guess I'll wait a bit before I come up with an answer, if that's alright," Vakarious replied. He figured he would need to stop hiding at least his human form eventually, so he didn't want an outfit made for a form he didn't like using. "Very well then. As it took me about a week to finish all six of the girls dresses, I would ask that you come to a decision at least three days before the Gala comes around," Rarity informed. "Alrighty then. And how much will it cost, whatever currency you guys, er, ponies rather, use?" Vakarious asked. He had not considered what he would do for funds, though after a quick thought, he figured he would just create some gold or gems. Whatever held the most value. "Oh, don't worry about it at all darling. As you are considered a friend of my friends, I consider you a friend as well. As such, I refuse to make my friends pay for their outfits for such an important event," Rarity stated. Judging from her attitude, Vakarious figured it pointless to argue with her. "Alright. Well, I'll be off then. I've got a couple more visits to make, as well as probably preparing something for Pinkie's party she said she was going to have today," Vakarious said. "Okay dear, do take care," Rarity replied. Vakarious simply nodded before heading out of her boutique. ~~~ Vakarious had made it to Applejack's farm, known as Sweet Apple Acres. Though when he arrived, Applejack's little sister, Apple Bloom, had informed him that she was extra busy that day with something she called 'apple bucking'. After asking Apple Bloom to let her sister know that he had shown up. After he had flown for a bit, he decided he'd drop his invitation off at his home, until a realization struck him: He doesn't have a home. This wasn't much of a concern to him, though. While he could just make his own home somewhere he chose, he decided it'd be easier to just rent Ponyville's equivalent of an apartment. Well, time to conjure up some rare metals to sell. Vakarious chuckled to himself: This was a similar thing he had done on Earth. He conjured up the most rare metals and resources that the human's had put extreme value in, and spread it all throughout the world, effectively devaluing everything dramatically. Two hundred and fifty thousand US dollars worth of diamonds, for example, were worth only about twenty dollars. Many businesses and corporations were in an uproar, due to the ease of access to what used to be rare metals and resources. Eventually, those business went bankrupt, and their complaints ceased to matter to the rest of the world. It was something that never ceased to amuse him. how much value humans, and apparently ponies, put into such irrelevant, inanimate objects, was both pity and hilarious to him. He wouldn't cause that sort of chaos on this world though: This world, while containing its own flaws, did not really have such need for such chaos. After finding a relatively secluded area in a field, he began a simple creation spell of some gold and sapphire. As he did this, he was surprised and, embarrassingly startled by a raspy voice he knew all too well. "Hey Vakarious, what's up?" the rainbow maned Pegasus asked. "Nothing really. Decided I needed to rent a room, so I'm creating some gold and sapphire to sell so I can do that," he replied casually. Rainbow Dash just stared at him, letting what he said to her set it. "Creating gold and sapphire? You're kidding, right?" she asked. "Nope. It's quite simple really. Well, for me at least," Vakarious replied, boasting a little bit. "That's...kinda cool. I mean, do you realize what you could do with that kind of ability, if it's true?" Rainbow asked in a jokingly menacing voice. "Yes, I've done it before. It was pretty hilarious, actually. I'm not gonna do it here, though. This world just doesn't deserve such a cruel fate," he said with a grin. After he had a couple pounds of each element, he split a little bit with Rainbow Dash before asking her a question. "You by any chance wouldn't know where I could turn this in, and where I'd go about getting some room or something?" he asked. "Yeah, follow me and I'll take you to this currency exchange place that deals with this sort of stuff. You might be able to check the town hall for available places that are pretty cheap, though they're pretty ugly," Rainbow replied. "Thanks," he said. "Oh, and for future reference, if you want, you can just call me 'Vaka', as much as I loathe it," Vakarious added. "Cool deal Vaka," Rainbow replied, putting a lot of emphasize on his nickname, to his annoyance. She just chucked at his 'misery', though. After a bit of flying, the duo had finally reached the Ponyville Currency Exchange Office, or P.C.E.O. They had gotten some odd looks, the employee responsible for accepting metals and stones apparently skeptical that they had real gold and sapphire, especially in the quantity they had it in, but after some testing, they were compensated in bits. In total, Vakarious had apparently made 4,000 bits worth of gold and sapphire, for only a couple of minutes of effort. After Rainbow and Vakarious left the office, she took him to the town hall to browse for some available rooms or even small houses for sale. Vakarious was surprised at how cheap everything was, relatively of course. The most expensive home for sale, which was essentially a luxury home, had a down payment of 2,000 bits with a two year contract of 1,500 bits a month. He settled with a small home near the library though, costing him only 900 bits total. "You know that's cheating right Vaka?" Rainbow joked. "I don't consider it cheating if it's within my ability. And hey, at least I'm not really abusing the power. I didn't think what I made would be worth so much, and everything costing so little," Vakarious replied. "Hehe, I know. Besides, you shared, so it's definitely cool." "Yeah, I figured you'd have that outlook after I did that," he joked. "Well, whatcha gonna do now?" "Dunno. I was considering going into the forest to 'stretch my wings', if you catch my drift, after I checked out this house I got," Vakarious replied. "Cool cool. Mind if I tag along? I've got all day," Rainbow asked. Vakarious was surprised, but didn't mind. He figured that, despite her just being a Pegasus, it'd be a similar flying session he and Alestra would do. "Sure, just keep in mind though: Being the huge dragon I am, you'll probably have trouble keeping up with me in my true form," Vakarious jokingly warned. He knew Rainbow was fast enough to keep up with him, if not faster still. "You kidding? Unless you can do a sonic rainboom, you're still not faster than me," Rainbow bragged. "You do realize I'm not going to take that seriously until I actually see it, right?" he said, more so than asked. "Of course I realize that. Assuming you're going to the Grand Galloping Gala, you realize you'll be seeing me perform a sonic rainboom there right?" she asked, bragging still. Vakarious had to admit, Rainbow never ceased to amaze him: From her loyalty to her friends, to her passion and complete confidence on her abilities. She definitely had the heart of a dragon. "Cool. Till then, I still don't believe you," he said. "Whatever, lets go. I wanna see you actually fly, so hurry up," Rainbow said. The duo had finally landed at the home Vakarious had purchased. It fit him perfectly, he felt. It wasn't too flashy, fancy or even that large, but it wasn't beat down or falling apart either. He liked it. After he checked the inside of it for a bit, he finally decided officially that it would suffice, then departed. Vakarious and Rainbow Dash then headed towards the Everfree Forest. He had to admit, he felt a lot better having someone, or 'somepony' go with him that didn't seem to mind his large draconic form. Meanwhile, in a different plane of existence... ~~~ Beyond the realm of reality, exists a plane of existence that is chaos and disorder incarnate. Within this realm, there are no such things as 'laws of physics', or any semblance of normal reality at all. This realm has been called many names by many different worlds, civilizations, and numerous beings, from being known as Hell itself, to the Void. However, the most common name this alternate dimension is most known as is simply the Twisting Nether. The Twisting Nether houses nothing but beings and creatures of chaos, created and shaped by the chaos of the realm that surrounds them, or rather, they live in. The most notorious inhabitants of the Twisting Nether, however, are the demons of the Burning Legion. While there are demons who are not within the Legion ranks, and only exist for themselves, the demons of the Burning Legion undoubtedly, make up the majority of the demons within the Twisting Nether. However, even within the realm of chaos, there is one being that invokes fear within the beings of Chaos. That being is none other than the Dark Lord, Sargeras the Destroyer: Leader of the Burning Legion. One would think, that after returning from a world after being defeated, Sargeras would be infuriated beyond belief. Quite the opposite was the case, though. Sargeras merely watched the world that had escaped the might of his army for so long: Azeroth. "Master, the Ley Line portal was successfully activated upon your departure, as was planned," one of Sargeras' Nathrezim minions said to the Dark Lord. "Good. Perhaps I may just yet allow Kil'jaeden to exist, despite his earlier failures," Sargeras said, talking to himself more than the Nathrezim. "How long until the portal to Azeroth stabilizes?" "Only but a few more moments, master," the Nathrezim responded. Sargeras was pleased with the turn of events. Granted, though, he had not expected the dragon he fought with to actually hurt him to the extent that he did, let alone hurt him at all. The world, Earth, had put up a resistance he could have never expected from such an Arcane lacking world. "Master...a thousand pardons..." the Nathrezim minion said, his voice trembling. "Speak," the Dark Lord responded, his gaze upon Azeroth never leaving. "I'm afraid...Kil'jaeden's scheme may not have succeeded, as you thought..." the Nathrezim minion informed, fearing his master would at any point destroy him. "Define 'may not have succeeded'," Sargeras said, still watching Azeroth. "For one...The dragon you fought with, may not have been destroyed, as you earlier suspected...And the Ley Line may not have been connected to Azeroth, master..." the Nathrezim minion said. "I care not about the fate of the little lizard, its existence is irrelevant. Where, however, is the Ley Line located?" Sargeras asked, his fury clear through his 'calm' voice. "It is an unknown world, master. Untouched by the Old Gods, and even the Titans themselves," the Nathrezim minion answered. Sargeras' demeanor however, changed from fury and anger towards his failed second in command, to curiosity and interest now. "Show me this world," the Dark Lord merely stated. "Yes, master," the Nathrezim minion responded, immediately bringing forth another world to his master's vision. "The power of this world...I can feel it. It holds within it even more Arcane energy than Azeroth itself...Go now, and summon Kil'jaeden. I have an important task for him," Sargeras said, looking upon the new world before him now. "But master...Kil'jaeden is still severely weakened from his 'death', and requires more time to recouperate," the Nathrezim minion responded. "I do not care of Kil'jaeden's current state! So long as he exists, he is mine to command. If he is weakened due to his own failure, then so be it. Let it serve as his punishment. Now, go and summon Kil'jaeden!" Sargeras shouted. "Yes, master." the Nathrezim minion said. After a few moments of summoning, Sargeras' minion had finally summoned Kil'jaeden, who was indeed weakened still. "Who dares distrub me? I was to recieve no interruptions!" Kil'jaeden shouted at the demon that had summoned him. "Silence! You will respect your superior!" Sargeras said to the startled Eredar. "My apologies, Lord Sargeras. How can I be of service?" Kil'jaeden asked. "You have failed me more than once in the destruction of Azeroth, and you have failed me on Earth. Consider this your last chance to prove your worth to me. You will go to this world, and just as you've done in the past, you will corrupt, recruit, or destroy any who would dare oppose my Legion. However, your main objective is simple. As I can feel the high amount of passive Arcane energy of this world, you will find a way to stabilize a portal," Sargeras said to the Deceiver. "At once, Lord Sargeras. I just have but a few questions. What form of life inhabits this world, in what way will I land upon this world, and what of Azeroth?" Kil'jaeden asked. "I do not know what inhabits this world, nor is it relevant to my interests. You will land upon the world via the portal that was opened due to your discovery of the Ley Line on Earth," Sargeras responded. "But Lord Sargeras, the portal is still unstable. It could collapse upon my attempt to enter it, which would destroy me!" Kil'jaeden said, voicing his concern. "Then so be it. You have failed me enough as it is," Sargeras said, to the annoyance of the Deceiver. "As for Azeroth, it will wait. Worry not, Kil'jaeden. You will have your vengeance on your treacherous brother," Sargeras added. Kil'jaeden nodded and proceeded to the portal that lay before him, and, in an instant, Kil'jaeden the Deceiver no longer remained within the Twisting Nether. Kil'jaeden found himself upon the newly discovered Arcane saturated world, ripe for the taking.