//------------------------------// // Chapter 32 - Let's see how annoying I can get // Story: Shackles and Friendship // by Zaibatsu //------------------------------// Shackles and Friendship Chapter 32 - Let’s see how annoying I can get Edited by Hollyhock Pre-read by Hollyhock “W-wait! Rodney!!” shouted Sweetie Bell as she watched him glide away. “Where is he going?” “I...I think he’s trying to buy us more time,” answered Twilight, still staring at the human in the distance. It didn’t take long before he reached the end of the street, turned, and disappeared behind some buildings, only the vague glow of blue light from his magic gave her some estimate of his progress. Though that too quickly diminished. “You mean he’s going to...” Sweetie Belle gazed for into the distance at the dragon. “Sh-shouldn’t we sto-” she stopped mid speech, realizing it was too late to do anything now. “Will he be alright? He can do it right?” the desperation in her voice was clear. ‘Will he?’ thought Twilight. This was the second time Twilight seriously considered removing the band, the first since the incident involving Rarity’s boutique. If what Princess Celestia said was true regarding his infinite potential, than he should be able to subdue the dragon with ease. Unfortunately that was no longer an option, even if she decided to remove the band it could only be done in close proximity. “It’s alright Sweetie Belle, I’m sure he’ll be fine,” Twilight assured the filly before turning around and galloping down a different street, away from the dragon. The sudden movement surprised the filly causing her to yelp as she wrapped her hooves around Twilight’s neck lest she be thrown off. “Sorry about that,” the mare apologized, “but we need to hurry. I need to get something from the-ah!” One of Twilight’s forehooves suddenly gave in mid stride from exhaustion nearly causing her to slip and tumble. The aftereffects of being drained was an unusual sensation, the loss of magic was so abrupt that her mind had yet to register her body’s sudden exhaustion. Luckily Twilight was able to regain her balance in time to skid across the ground. “Are you ok Twilight?” asked the worried filly. “Just tired,” Twilight let out a groan as she pushed herself back up. Just as she was about to gallop on, there came another thundering roar from the dragon making her ears fold and close over her head. Twilight managed to gaze back at the dragon just as it struck the dome for the uptenth time creating more cracks on its surface and making the sky look like a fractured glass mural. This time the dome dimmed to a point where it briefly vanished along with two of the three remaining lights keeping the dome alive. A lone golden light was all that kept the dome from collapsing, though it was extremely thin and weak and from the way the dome kept dimming in and out of existence showed how truly fragile it was. With a triumphant roar the dragon lifted both of its claws in a grip and slammed them simultaneously upon the dome. Like glass, it shattered into countless shards of varying sizes falling several feet before evaporating away to nonexistence. Twilight gazed at the dragon with renewed fear. “Oh no.” “Ah shit!” I stared at what remained of the dome as it fell and evaporated into thin air, I had hoped to distract the dragon before the dome broke but there was simply not enough time. Not that it would matter, in order to reach the dragon I had to go through the damn thing anyways and that meant draining the magic. One way or another, that dome was going down. The best scenario would be for me to engage the dragon just before it started rampaging through town. I might have been able to do so had I taken the most direct route but that meant charging at it in plain sight which would likely kill me. Thus I took an alternate path about two blocks away that would let me sneak past and come around from behind. At least the ponies had the sense to keep as far away from the dragon as possible, so far I haven’t seen a single soul in this part of town. Unfortunately it looks like the town would suffer some damage, considering what I’m up against I suppose that’s inevitable. The ground shook accompanied by the sounds of destruction as the first building fell while a great column of dust and debris fly high above the rooftops. I could feel small bits of wood and dirt fall on me like heavy rain, the destruction caused the ponies somewhere deeper in town to scream in panic louder than ever. I silently cursed at their stupidity, screaming aloud like that would only attract the dragon’s attention. With that thought I quickly got back on track and quicken my pace as another building turned to ruin. Soon as I reached the last street I grabbed hold of a nearby lamp post to act as an anchor allowing me to make a tight turn. The light suddenly turned off as I felt a small trickle of magic travel up my arm. I knew that the actual light came from a small gem that acted as a light bulb but it never occurred to me that the lamp post itself had a magical link to it, I has always thought I had to jump and touch the gem in order to drain it. With a chuckle I extended my hand to the side touching every single one of the lamp posts, extinguishing them and darkening the street as I passed by to replenish what magic I had used. However, the light spells they used for street lamps consume little magic so each posts only had a small supply of it. Still, they came in plenty enough to make some difference though I had to be careful not to accidently get my chains snagged along the way. Soon enough I spotted the dragon through the buildings. From the angle I figured that I’d come out from right behind if I took the next intersection. I cut off the maglev spell and skidded to a halt just a few meters away from the next street before jumping to a nearby alley. I leaned my back against the wall with my eyes closed taking in slow steady breaths to calm myself. Much as I tried to it was almost impossible to remain calm while hearing the dragon’s loud thumping steps shaking the ground that constantly reminded me of its size. My hands and legs wouldn’t stop shaking, making the chains rattle while my heart kept beating hard as if it wanted to burst out of my chest. ‘Last chance to talk me out of it.’ I waited for a few seconds yet the familiar voice never replied. ‘Seriously? Shit is about to happen and you’re giving me the silent treatment now!?’ Nothing. For once my mind was silent as if it was my own again. Strangely that somehow unnerved me. ‘Guess I’m on my own then.’ As if the things wasn’t bad enough, my body was also giving me problems. “Dammit I need to pee.” I continued with my steady breathing while trying to recollect and prepare myself for what could be my last moments. ‘Magnet. Maglev. Levitation. Propulsion. Shield.’ ‘Magnet. Maglev. Levitation. Propulsion. Shield.’ ‘Magnet. Maglev. Levitation. Propulsion. Shield.’ I kept repeating these spells in my mind like a religious mantra recalling every memory I’d had with them so far. I brought them all to the forefront of my mind, even all the crazy untested and purely hypothetical ideas that I’d ever thought of. Propulsion and Maglev was obvious, I’ll likely rely on that one to get around and keep me alive. I can’t quite think of a use for the Levitation and Magnet spell yet, though I’m sure they’ll still be useful for something. It was a pathetically small list and I should’ve invested more time in actual spellweaving than simply brainstorming wild ideas, but it was all I had and I’d managed to get by so far. Then again the odds had never been so stacked against me, all the things that I had been through were child’s play compared to what’s coming. I let out a sigh. “Really should’ve kept that sapphire around.” It had design flaws and was far from perfect but it would have served as a immense supply of magic, something that could easily save my life. The dragon roared just as the ground gave a violent shake and a large shadow covered the alley I was in. Looking up I caught a glimpse of an entire building - still mostly intact - flying over the rooftops deeper into town. It actually took several seconds before I heard it crash somewhere far away. ‘It just chucked a whole building halfway across town...’ I slid down against the wall to a crouch as my whole body trembled in fear. I hugged my legs trying to comfort myself but it did little to ease the shivers. “Heh....hehahahahahahaha!” Tears came out as I laughed at the insanity of the situation. “Oh god! What the hell am I doing!?” ‘Alright, just calm down. I don’t actually have to fight the damn thing. Just distract it and buy as much time as I can. So.....’ I pushed myself up to stand and slowly made my way back out to the street. The edge of my lips slightly curled upwards to a small smile. “Let’s see how annoying I can get.” =========[Sometime ago...]========= “Twilight!” Spike ran up to the purple mare as soon as she entered the library with a small white filly on her back. “And....Sweetie Belle?” “She’s back!?” A light brown earth mare came cantering in from the kitchen carrying what looked like a box of various fruits with liquid containers. Seeing Twilight’s exhausted state she quickly sprinted towards her dropping the box and spilling the contents across the floor. Twilight moved further into the library before her limbs gave in to exhaustion, collapsing to the wooden floor in a tired heap drenched in sweat looking completely spent with her tongue slightly poking out of her mouth. Sweetie Belle quickly slid off the mare’s back as Spike made a dash towards the kitchen while Shine Bright carefully inspected Twilight for any injuries. “Are you hurt ma’am? Your assistant mentioned a dragon?! The royal guards have ordered a complete evacuation!” “Uhm....who are you?” asked Sweetie Belle. “It’s ok Sweetie Belle....this is Shine Bright....she’s from the castle,” spoke Twilight as she fought for breath. “Shine, could you...” Twilight pointed towards the filly with a glance. “Eh, hi there Sweetie Belle.” Shine Bright moved to stand beside her. “Why don’t we get cleaned up a bit hm?” Sweetie Belle turned to Twilight with an unsure look which she replied with a smile and a nod. With some hesitation Sweetie Belle followed the mare away from Twilight just as Spike returned carrying a pitcher of water. “Here you go Twilight.” He carefully tipped the rim to her open mouth letting her drink the cool water. “So what happened? I saw the dragon break the-” Spike fell silent and pulled back the pitcher as Twilight started coughing. “No time to-kha! Explain Spike. I need you to get something from the basement. It’s in the middle cabinet, on the third drawer and all the way in the back.” “But maybe I can talk to him. You know, dragon to dragon.” “I don’t think that’ll work. And I don’t want you risking your life” “But-” “Spike please, there’s no time.” With an pleading look from Twilight, Spike placed the pitcher on the floor and scampered away disappearing around the corner. As Twilight laid her head down to rest she heard the sound of hoofsteps approach her. Too tired to move, Twilight simply waited motionless until Shine Bright appeared in her field of vision. Noticing that Shine was alone, Twilight looked confusedly at her. “She fell asleep on the floor before I could even find the brush,” Shine explained. “I settled her in your bed. She must have been exhausted what with everything that’s happened.” Shine Bright gazed around the main library room searching for something. “Where’s your assistant?” Right on cue they heard the baby dragon’s irritated voice as he scramble up the stairs. “Arrgh! Stop it! Peewee!” Spike appeared out of the corner carrying a large box of dark oak in his claws while a bright red baby phoenix kept hopping around his legs like a puppy waiting for a treat. “Dude a little help here?” he asked looking up to the second level. Shine heard a hoot just before a grayish owl glided down from above to land next to Spike. With another hoot Owlowiscious stretched out his right wing and wrapped it around the phoenix like a blanket bringing him close. Like an older sibling he then started hooting as if lecturing the phoenix on his behaviour. “Thanks Owlowiscious,” thanked Spike. He quickly walked around the two birds and settled the box down in front of Twilight. “So what’s inside that’s so important? I found Peewee in the drawer pecking at it. Not sure how he managed to get in.” True to his words the box was covered in scratches and minor pecking marks. Without answering Twilight closed her eyes and concentrated as she cast the matching key spell. Spike and Shine watched with interest as the box started glowing a dull purple hue, a series of metallic clinking noise could be heard as locks began disengaging one by one. As the last lock released the lid popped open slightly allowing Twilight to flip the lid open with the tip of her muzzle. Inside was a white hardbound book beautifully embroidered with gold lines around the edges. Next to it lay another wooden box though this one had what looked like metal running through grooves over the surface creating a very intricate design. For Spike who lived his entire life assisting a scholarly pony like Twilight, he immediately recognized the design as a magical rune. But as to its purpose he did not know. “Spike could you please...,” spoke Twilight in a tired tone as she gazed at the smaller box. The dragon reached out and pulled open the lid with his claws. The entire library was suddenly bathed in bright blue light radiating out of a moderately sized sapphire. “Who~aa...,” was all Spike could say as he squinted at the sapphire. It didn’t take long before he started salivating like a dog as he licked his lips. “It’s beautiful,” spoke Shine in a low amazed voice. She was just as captivated as the purple dragon, save for the drooling. “I didn’t know gems can shine like that.” “More importantly,” Spike lapped his lips audibly, “can I have a bite?” “Spike, no! Rodney needs it!” Shine Bright’s ears twitch at the name. “Rodney? You mean the human?” “What’s he got to do with all this?” Spike asked. “The royal guards were trying to buy as much time until reinforcements arrive from Canterlot. But they couldn’t, not for long.” Twilight closed her eyes and let out a sigh. “Rodney’s trying to do the same.” “What!?” Shine’s eyes shot wide open as a sense of alarm came over her. “He can fight a full grown dragon!? Cool!!” Spike exclaimed. “No he can’t!!” Twilight shouted. “Look there’s no time left! Rodney’s about to fight the dragon all by himself and he’s going to need all the help he can get!” Twilight clenched her teeth together as she tried to get back on her hooves. “I ugh, need to get this to him.” “But you’re completely exhausted!” Spike argued. “You can barely move!” “How....how bad does he need it?” asked Shine in a nervous tone. “It could mean the difference between life or death,” answered Twilight in a resigning tone. “He has a lot of magic, more than most unicorns even, but it’s still nothing compared to a dragon.” Being aware of the human’s unique ability Twilight kept hoping that somehow Rodney would be able to surprise her again, surprise and awe her as he did in the past. But as much as she wished, Twilight was also an intellect. With all that she knew of the human and what he could do, she could calculated the most probable outcome. Even with the best circumstances he would be lucky to make it out alive. ‘Unless he could somehow siphon the dragon’s entire reserve of magic in one fell swoop.....,’ she thought. ‘ Bui even if he could do it, he won’t. Not with that band on him.’ “I’ll do it.” “What?” Twilight turned to stare at Shine unsure if she heard right. “I’ll take the gem.” There was a moment of silence as Twilight regarded the earth pony. “But why would you....” “I-I don’t...I mean, I was sent here to watch over the human by Princess Celestia herself.” Shine started to fidget with her forehooves nervously. “If he get’s hurt or, the Sun forbid, uhm...dies. Then that’s it right? She might think that I failed....or something.” It was evidently clear to Twilight that Shine was making up her reasons as she goes. Nevertheless Twilight could tell she was serious. What’s more confusing was how she felt about it. Of course she felt relieved that someone would do it instead of her; worry that Bright would hurt herself in the process; and even egotistic about letting somepony help you. But what stood out amongst them all, was that she also felt suspicious of the mare. ‘Why would she do something so dangerous for him? Is it really because of the Princess? Granted I’d do anything for Princess Celestia as well but....’ Twilight quickly discarded these thoughts, believing her mind was simply muddled with exhaustion. “Are you sure?” Spike asked. Shine gave him a nod. “But how will you even find him?” They heard the distant yet powerful roar of the dragon drawing their attention to the window. Several seconds later they saw an entire building crash into the neighbouring houses with a thundering clamour. “Right, the dragon,” Spike continued, “Stupid question.” “Alright, here goes nothing.” With my heart still racing I slowly poked my head out from the corner of the intersection, just enough to get a full view of the dragon. “Holy shit,” I whispered. From the glimpses I caught along the way I can approximate its size but seeing it with a clear view is something else entirely. Now I wanted nothing more than to just turn around and run. Taller than my apartment building back home, the dragon was a pillar of scale and muscle. Its green scales were sticking out in a slant making its entire body one giant shredder, I could easily imagine myself getting torn up and minced if I rub against it in the wrong way. As if that weren’t enough it also had these fin like spikes running across its back. Whether or not they were as sharp as they look didn’t matter, I have every intention to avoid it and never find out. What caught my attention the most however, was its tail. Far thicker than me, it could easily crush a car or even a bus. The way it moved was like watching a giant serpent dance and curl about with the dragon’s movement. A serpent with gigantic green spikes protruding from it’s head, each roughly as thick as my thigh and every one of them were long enough to impale me through. Vertically. While I was busy staring at the behemoth from the corner, it plowed through two entire buildings with a single swing of its claw. I was curious as to why it didn’t simply fly back up and rain fire on the town like it tried before, there nothing protecting the town now. Maybe it simply wanted to enjoy the moment or torment the ponies longer. Whatever the reason I was grateful it decided to stay on the ground, otherwise there was nothing that I or anyone else could to stop it. “Ok, just stick to the plan,” I spoke through gritted teeth. “Just hit and run. Hit and run.” I looked down at my feet making sure the maglev spell was still there before holding my left hand out. With both my ‘Sense’ and ‘Sight’ activated I allowed a sizable amount of magic to flow out of my hand in a shape of a sphere. It grew quickly and within seconds I had a ball of fire the size of a dodge ball burning azure in my hand. It was roughly the same size as the one I used to snuff out the fire in Twilight’s kitchen. I was rather hesitant to use so much magic on the first go, I didn’t even know whether or not it’ll have any effect on the dragon. But at least it was guaranteed to get its attention, it might be resistant to fire but not the explosion. The moment I stepped out into the ruined street I quickly twisted my body to face the dragon and with a grunt I threw the fireball right at its back. Luckily accuracy meant jack due the size of my adversary, so long as I aim at its general direction I had a good chance of scoring a hit. All the noise and sensation of the world suddenly became muffled and distant, with great trepidation I watched my fireball fly towards the dragon’s back. Just like the incident back in the castle where I accidently threw a fireball into Luna’s bedroom, gravity seem to have little influence on magic allowing the flaming projectile to fly in a relatively straight arc. It flew past the dragon’s tail and I saw it hit squarely just above where the right wing protruded from the body. I heard the booming explosion a second earlier before the force hit me like a wall of heat. I folden both arms over my face to protect myself against rock, wood, and various debris that pelted at me like hail. For about a second I saw the street in front of me completely engulfed in varying shades of blue fire illuminating the area for the briefest moment before it finally ebbed and disappeared. “God. DAMN!” I knew that my raw magic would result in an explosion but never did I imagine it could be so.....destructive. I felt a small sliver of hope, that maybe there was a chance, a real possibility that I could do this. Actually fight and win against dragon. But as soon as the fire disappeared and the dust settled down, hope turned to dread. The dragon’s back was completely unblemished, its scales still retain their luster with absolutely no trace of any damage whatsoever. An explosion that could easily destroy an small concrete house did absolutely nothing against it. Then I saw it, I wished to god that I hadn’t but it was impossible not to. Larger than my head I stared into its slitted yellow eyes that seem to glow with ferocity. I was frozen in place under its gaze, I was paralyzed in absolute numbing fear that stole all cognitive thought from me. I felt my body jerk as my feet fell to the ground when the maglev spell disappeared along with my focus. Even as the dragon turned around with its tail lashing out to the side destroying more homes, I remain rooted in place with fear gripping my insides. It just looked at me for a moment, examining me for what felt like an eternity. The only sensation that I felt at that moment was the cold night air against my skin, the ground beneath my feet, and the sudden warmth that seem to spread from my crotch. 'What the hell are you waiting around for!? RUN!!!' It was like being brought back from the dead, I felt the beat of my heart again while the whole world seem to rush back overloading my senses. My brain went on overdrive firing up all my nerves as I exploded into a series of motion. I turned around and took a step which never returned to the ground as I reactivated my maglev spell. Without thinking I collected made another yet smaller fireball in my right hand, roughly the size of a baseball, and threw it in a backhanded motion behind me. By the time I heard the explosion I had launched myself to a decent speed with a push from my propulsion spell. 'What makes you think a smaller one would do any better? Stop wasting magic!' The dragon’s roar stung my ears like a needle, forcing me to cover them with my hands while I kept picking up speed as I hover across the ruined street. I was so focused on getting away that it took me some time to realize that something was missing. Hesitantly I turned my head to look behind me to see the dragon had not given chase, it even turned its back at me and was already busy tearing through another building. “The hell?” I terminated the maglev and skidded across the street to a halt. “Why isn’t it chasing!?” ‘I guess you haven’t provoked it enough. After all you barely did anything to it.’ “And where the hell have you been!?” I shouted angrily. ‘Hey I’ve got a right to be pissed at you! What the fuck were you thinking!? We could’ve just left and lived BUT NO~O! You gotta be the hero!’ “Shut up! I-” ‘So now here we are against something that will surely kill us! And we can’t even die with dignity now that you’ve gone and wet yourself!!’ I looked down and sure enough the area around my crotch was soaking wet. “Damn I really did-ah whatever! That’s not important! I still need to figure out how get that dragon away from the town.” ‘Try shouting at it.’ “What? How would that accomplish anything!?” I started pacing back and forth as I racked my brain for ideas. One of the stone tiles I stepped on suddenly gave way taking my feet with it. Before I could pull it back out I felt it dip into something thick and wet, once I pulled it out a sudden foul yet familiar smell assaulted my nose. “Ah shit!!” ‘Shit is right.’ My entire shoe was completely covered in what could only be manure based on the smell since it’s used as fertilizer back home. Except this one smelled far worse and considering this was a town for ponies, I probably stepped on a sewer pipe that got ruptured by the dragon. Then an idea popped into my head. “I hope no one sees this.” I extended a hand towards the crevice. ‘Why?’ “Cause then they’ll never stop calling me monkey.” I emptied my lungs and took a deep breath before I started levitating chunks of manure and what could only me horse urine out from the crack. I gathered it to a lump a good distance away from me which unfortunately wasn’t enough to keep the smell away. I heard another clamour from the distance as the dragon threw another house deeper to town, I can only hope that anyone in the vicinity of the landing got away in time. ‘You might want to pick up the pace. We don’t know how long it’ll remain on the ground.’ “Didn’t you say you wanted nothing to do with this?” I asked as pulled my shirt to cover my nose. The ball of pony waste had grew to the size of a large beach ball and was growing faster as I levitated more manure quicker than before. ‘I never said that.’ I could hear him let out a sigh in my mind though I’m not sure how that worked. ‘Look it’s done. You’re committed to this so I might as well do what I can to make sure the both of us make it.’ “......Thanks.” I laughed a little. “Oh god I’m actually thanking a voice in my head. Well I guess that makes it official, my sanity is fucked up.” ‘Alright I think that’s enough of that crap.’ “What are you embarrassed of gratitude?” ‘What? No! Hell that doesn’t even make any sense! I’m talking about actual crap. I think we’ve got enough.’ I looked at the giant floating sphere of manure which had now grown to the size of a small car and thanks to the spell it also looked like it was lit on fire. “Right.” I actually felt a strange form of pride when I look at it. “C’mon let’s do this quick, I’m wasting magic just keeping it afloat.” I could ‘feel’ my magic dwindle every second the longer I levitate something so heavy. My feet burned once again and a second later I felt them leave the ground as the maglev spell came to full effect. Not daring to waste anymore magic I kicked off without the help of a propulsion spell while my giant collection of wet manure followed behind. At least now I don’t have to smell the damn thing. It was slow but I kept picking up speed along the way to reach the dragon in half a minute. Rethinking my strategy I realized it would be impossible to actually keep the levitation alive until it hits the dragon, in order to do that I would have to be right within the range of its tail. So with some quick thinking moved to the side while the manure continued to travel in the center. Fortunately it seem the dragon had disregarded me entirely and was busy rampaging through town to notice what’s coming till it’s too late. Especially since my feet weren’t touching the ground. The only audible sound I was making were my heavy breathing and the jingling of my chains. I doubt the dragon could hear both over the destruction it was wreaking on the town. Soon as I got close enough I dispelled my maglev and came to a halt while maintaining the levitation spell on the manure. Without disrupting its momentum I lifted the manure as it passed by making it soar upwards towards the dragon’s back. I tried as much as I could to keep the levitation spell together but unlike my fireball or active spells it needs to be kept in control by the caster, and that control become far harder to hold over longer distances. Once it got out of my mental reach the spell broke apart and with nothing holding it together the manure started to spread out. Seconds before it hit I stuck my thumb and index finger into my mouth and blew out the loudest whistle I could make. The dragon turned around just as all the manure started raining down on it, covering nearly half of its face while most landed on its back and wing. “ARGH!! That’s disgusting!!” it bellowed. It thrashed about unfurling its wings spraying the manure all over the place. “You wretched little-” KABOOM! By the time the fireball hit its face I was already running away with my malev back on. I had hoped the explosion would mask or disrupt the dragon long enough to give me a head start. “RAAAAGH!!” I actually felt its roar hit my back before the ground started to rumble violently. Rubble and various objects all vibrated about with the dragon’s pace, this time I was certain it was chasing me. Especially since it sounded like I was running away from an avalanche, one that was quickly gaining on me. Glancing back I saw the dragon had fallen to all fours tearing through the stone street wrecking havoc with each stride. What I didn’t expect was to see its three inch razor sharp teeth bearing so close to me. I could almost see my reflection on them. “It was a mistake letting you live! I should have dealt with you sooner!” it shouted. As loud as it was I barely registered what it said, I was simply far too engrossed in getting away. Despite how fast I was going it was impossible for me to outrun the dragon, its long stride simply outpaced my speed. A direct fight seemed inevitable. Making the first move I swerved to the side of the street just before I passed an intersection. The lamp post at the very end had been severely bent but luckily its foundation was still buried in the ground. I stretched out my left hand to grab the post and with it acting as an anchor I was able to make a sharp turn. “Ghaa!” I shouted painfully through gritted teeth. Unfortunately with my current speed holding unto the post was extremely painful, had I been traveling any faster I might’ve dislocated my shoulder. From the corner of my eye I saw the dragon’s maw bite down just where I was a second ago with a loud snap. Realizing that I had just dodged the jaws of death, the pain in my arm and shoulder seem to disappear entirely. ‘So what’s the plan?’ “Staying alive sounds pretty good for now!” Fortunately the dragon had slipped trying to make the same turn, despite being on all four it was still far less agile than I am. I made a mental note of that. ‘We can’t keep this up for long. Eventually we’ll run out of magic and when that happens-’ “I’m dead! Yeah I figured.” Though the manure had worked it was also heavy and took a lot of magic to carry. By my estimate I had burned through half of my entire supply of magic. “I’ll have to find a way to fill up!” Of course my first thought was to drain the dragon itself. ‘Don’t be stupid that’ll get us killed! You damn well we can only-’ “Drain something when I’m near it, I know!” So far my ‘Sense’ and ‘Sight’ could only detect magic in a five meter radius of me, meaning I can’t drain something that I can’t ‘feel’ or ‘see’. Getting that close is- ‘Complete suicide! Besides I seriously doubt we can drain it completely. From what we’ve seen that thing has got some serious magic going on.’ “Guess I’ve just gotta scrounge up whatever I can-” “You will not escape!” Looking back I saw the dragon was plowing through the buildings as it resumed the chase, I could see brown splotches still covering some parts of his body. “I’ll take your life for this insult!” “Shit!” I shouted without thinking which provoked the dragon even further. “You dare!!” With renewed ferocity it charged at me wrecking the street with each step and knocking down walls of buildings as it passed by. It was catching up fast again and looking ahead at the next intersection in the distant I realized there was no way I could make it in time. ‘Alley to the right!’ “I see it!” An idea came to mind and I quickly prepared a small fireball in my hand and I threw it at the ground just before reaching the alley. The explosion wasn’t anything impressive but it did kicked up a stone and dust into the air to act as a smoke screen. Not wanting to risk it see me I ended the maglev spell killing the fire in my feet, making it harder for it to spot me past all the cloud of dust. I slid across the stone pavement and dove out of the street, into the alley landing on trash and various discarded items. My body followed the motion and without thinking I tucked my head in allowing me to roll over before coming back on my feet. I was genuinely surprised by that, even if it was entirely out of reflex. Too bad I wasn’t able to appreciate the moment. The walls around me shook violently as the dragon pass by knocking off random objects from the windowsills above. I held my breath and remained frozen in place fearing any movement would jingle my chains and betray my position. Eventually I heard the dragon’s trampling come to a stop somewhere down the street. “Come out Kindling!” it roared. “Kindling?” I mouthed silently. “You cannot hide from me!” I felt the ground shake and I could hear the dragon’s pounding steps getting closer and closer. Suddenly I saw the side of its face appear out the corner with it’s large reptilian yellow eye looking right at me. “I can smell you Kindling,” it growled menacingly. At that moment nothing in this world or mine had terrified me more than the dragon’s low calm voice. I frantically got back on my feet and turned around ready to run for the other end of the alley, only to see my mistake. Out of all the alleyways, this one lead to a dead end. “Where will you run now?” mocked the dragon. Looking back I saw it smile at me victoriously revealing giant fangs and rows of serrated teeth similar to that of sharks. My first instinct was to try and climb over the brick wall but that would take far too long, it was as tall as the buildings around me which were several times my height. Even if I could climb over it would simply take too long and the dragon would have plenty of time to kill me in any number of ways by then. Then I thought about just destroying the wall entirely with a fireball but I don’t know how much of an explosion it would take. If I recklessly use too much magic the walls would funnel the explosion towards me, I would be stunned and in the mercy of the dragon. Use too little and the wall would still stand, by then the dragon will realize my intent and lunge for me before I could do anything else. As for the next idea..... ‘You thinking what I’m thinking?’ ‘Obviously. Go for it.’ With that I made a small fireball in my hand. “Trully?” asked the dragon surprised. “You know just as well there’s nothing you can do at this point.” Another fireball of the same size appeared on my other hand. “I admire your will to survive, but there’s nothing-” KABOOM! Both fireballs hit the ground simultaneously between me and the dragon creating a smokescreen of dust and dirt that spread through the entire alley. “Where will you hide Kindling? You are trapped.” Of course I know that.... “What makes you think I’m trying to hide?” ….which is why I’m going for the offensive. Though the dust cloud enshrouded me from the dragon, it also made it difficult for me to actually see anything as well. Except for a large yellowish tint in front of me. “What nonsense are you-” before the dragon could get another word out I quickly created another fireball and hurled it as fast as I could. Right at the dragon’s eye. “WRAAAAAAAAGH!!!” The dragon pulled its head away from the alley roaring in pain. Out of the dust cloud I ran like a bat outta hell just in time to see the dragon staggering back with its claws covering one side of its face. The moment I got back to the street I made a sharp left turn and immediately got back on maglev before launching myself with a small boost of propulsion. I could hear the dragon crash against the buildings on the other side of the street flattening them and shaking the ground. “You’re not completely covered in scales!!” I shouted back. I was surprised to hear myself taunt the dragon like that, until recently I’ve been completely petrified by fear to even talk to the creature. Perhaps I was slowly adapting to the situation or the shock was starting to wear off. Whatever the reason didn’t really matter right now, I discarded the thought and focused back on fleeing for my life. “ENOUGH!!” Glancing back I saw the dragon had not only picked itself back up but was also pointing its open maw right at me. Realizing what’s coming I pushed myself even faster and was confident that I would reach the intersection before the coming inferno. Seconds later I could hear the fire spewing out of its maw behind me. I knew I should just focus on reaching the intersection but after several seconds of hearing the fire raging behind me I couldn’t help but look back. Instead of seeing a wall of fire coming at me like an avalanche I saw a great multitude of bright yellowish fireballs hot at my heels. Literally. “Oh shit!!” With a series of propulsion spells propelling me faster than ever and within seconds I was able to reach the intersection. Unfortunately my speed made grabbing the lamp post like before impossible lest I want to dislocate all the bones in my arm. I was forced to use more magic on more propulsion spells as I slide to the left in an arc while pivoting my body against the turn to stay upright. In a way it made my feet appear to explode in bluish flames with every stride. As impressive as it was I knew my efforts were in vain. Like missiles those fireballs turned the corner and was homing at me. Worse yet, they were able to make a tighter turn and was closer than ever, only about five or six meters away. ‘They’re gaining on us!’ Out of desperation I threw my own fireball over my shoulder and hoped for a miracle. Whether it hit the ground or any of the chasing fireballs I wasn’t sure, but what I did see was an explosion that sent bits of fractured stone tiles flying to the air. What happened after, I couldn’t be sure. I suspect the dragon’s fireballs were designed to explode on impact whether or not what they hit was the intended target. The only thing I was certain off was hearing what sounded like a hail of mortars landing behind me and being hit in the back by the force of the explosions. I was violently thrown forward several feet before hitting the ground like a ragdoll. I remembered hitting my head, landing on my right side, then my left, and seeing the town upside down several times before everything finally stopped spinning. There was a loud constant ringing in my ears the seem to snuff out every other sound while my mind was teetering on the brink of consciousness. God knows how long I laid on my back on the ground completely dazed and out of it. Eventually my sense came back to me and I was nearly sent to shock by the sudden waves of pain that seem to radiate from every part of my body. I could barely hear myself groan over the constant ringing as I try to flip myself over which only seem to intensify the pain, it’s like my body was screaming at me to just lay still. But I pushed through the pain, still very much aware of the danger that was coming. I spat the blood in my mouth getting rid of the iron taste before finally pushing myself up to my feet. It was difficult to keep myself from falling back down against the whirling sensation while my body felt sluggish like there was a lag in my nervous system. But eventually the ringing in my ears started to go away and things slowly started to kick back into gear. Only to lose my balance and fall when the ground gave a sudden violent shake that created large cracks on the buildings nearby, . I felt a sudden gust of wind hit me before a massive dust cloud fell on me along with a hail of stone that pelted me from above. As the dust started to settle I saw a large crater which used to be part of the street with a massive shadow standing in the middle looming over me. Before I could get back up I felt something hit me in the chest knocking the air out of my lungs. I screamed in pain as a gigantic mass of green scales and muscle pressed me against the earth before wrapping around my body pinning both arms to my side. It was when I felt my body rise to the air did I realize the dire situation I was in. “I have you now Kindling!” bellowed the dragon as he held me in its grip. I looked up to see the dragon snarling at me with one eye closed and oozing with blood. “I almost lost an eye thank to you!” I felt my ribs pressing against my organs as the dragon started tightening its grip making me shout loudly in pain. “KINDLING!!” I shouted atop my lungs. This was the only idea that I could come up with to postpone what could have been my death. I felt the pressure come to a halt. “Why-ugh, why did you call me Kindling!?” I shouted again. Relief came when the dragon’s grip start to loosen allowing me to breath more freely. There was a silence as it regarded me for a moment and in that time I came to realize what I was going up against. To say a dragon is magical was an understatement in the greatest extent. Unlike ponies or even Celestia, they had this ‘fire’ burning inside their center mass like a second heart where their magic seem to be contained. But not for dragons it seems, their magic was spread completely throughout their body. With my ‘Sight’ I could even see magic inside the many veins in the dragon’s claw, magic seemed to be carried along in its blood like oxygen. The amount of magic flowing was staggering and this was just in the claw the held me, who knows how much more it had as a whole. If I could somehow 'see' the dragon entirely, I'd imagine it would appear as a walking manifestation of fire. "A mere name I have chosen to call you," growled the dragon. "You talk as if you know me!" I continued. "But I'm pretty sure this is the first time we've met!" "Oh but we have met," he answered. "I am Falnor and I reside in the Everfree, and I witnessed your arrival." There was a pause as I try to comprehend what he meant. "My arrival? You mean how I got here!?" Despite being in his mercy I felt a sudden surge of rage. "Were you the one that brought me here!?!" I shouted angrily. Falnor snarled at me as his grip tightened making me scream again. "Even if I was capable of such a feat, I would NEVER bring an abomination such as you into this world!!" It became difficult to breath now that my lungs couldn't expand properly making my breath short and ragged. "I saw it! Out of darkness you came and the world howled in pain!!" I could feel the bones in my body bending against the pressure threatening to break while the chains on my arms was pressed painfully against my sides. "I considered ending your life there, you were weak and I made the mistake thinking the animals of the Everfree will be your end. But like a kindling you started an inferno that even I cannot touch! You would have consumed this world had the Sisters not intervened!" It was slowly getting harder and harder for me to discern what he was saying, my mind mind was fogging up while my body started to go numb. "But clearly they are unaware of the danger they harbor. Unaware of the corruption you spread over this world or they would have ended your life that night. I have swore to never intervene in their business. But then again, I also gave my word never to harm any of their precious ponies. So what difference does it make now?" My vision was starting to fail along with my consciousness, but just before everything went dark I heard someone scream in the distance. "HANG IN THERE MONKEY!!!" With what little consciousness I had, I tilted my head back towards the voice just in time to see what looked like a giant bronze plate hurtling down at Falnor’s head. I heard a loud CLANG as it collided right in the back of the head sending sparks and broken scales flying about in random directions. I was too near to unconscious to realize what was happening, but I would guess Falnor must’ve jerked and thrown me out of reflex because the next thing I knew I was flying through the air. All I can remember for certain was freefalling for several seconds before finally hitting the ground. Despite my harsh fall I felt relief now that my organs weren’t being turn to mush and I could finally get a full breath into my lungs. Unfortunately as the numbness in my body went away it brought back waves of fresh new pain which made it extremely difficult for me to move. I was laying on my side in an awkward position and I couldn’t muster up the will to move against the pain. At least I could still see the dragon. With my head lying sideways I could saw him stumbling trying to stay keep his balance only to fall flat on its belly, crushing buildings unfortunate enough to be in the way. A gust of wind carrying dust from the impact hit me, forcing me to close my eyes and cough. The next moment I heard something heavy and metallic drop to the ground next to me and with my ‘Sense’ I could tell it was pony, or at least something living and not a dragon. I felt something push my shoulder so that I could lay on my back and gaze up at whoever it was. “You dead?” asked a familiar voice. I answered with a moan. “You’re tougher than you look Rodney.” The moment I opened my eyes my mind went completely blank as I try to comprehend who, or perhaps, what I was looking at. There gazing down at me was an ironclad pegasus, most of his body was covered in plates of metal fitted to his form. I could see what looked like chain vest under them which extended all the way down before disappearing around his hooves which was completely encased in armor. He wore a helmet similar to those used by the royal guards which had a slot in the back for his mane. The only thing that wasn’t protected were his oranged colored wing and light blue mane. All in all, the whole getup made the pony look like a horse straight out of medieval times. But what really stood out was this massive bronze colored plate strapped on to one side covering nearly every bit of his body; which was now heavily scratched and dented with bits of green scales embedded into it. I could only wonder how fast the pony was falling when he smashed against the dragon’s head. Everything about him was very familiar yet his appearance made it difficult to recognize. Until I saw a small mark etched into a piece of his armor in the middle of his chest; a foaming mug with wings. “Bronze!?” I asked in disbelief. “That you?” “Of course it’s me you idiot. Who else is crazy enough to pull a stunt like that?” He extended an armored hoof which I grabbed to help pull me up to my feet. “The hell are you doing here? I thought-” I suddenly smelled alcohol. “Are you drunk!?” “Naturally,” he answered as if it was something obvious. “And to your first question; I was helping with the evacuation when I saw this beauty hoofing at the opposite direction.” He gestured with his muzzle to point. I pushed myself up to one arm before gazing at the direction he was pointing to see an earth pony about a block away galloping towards us, most likely a mare from the way Bronze described her. She wore a single strapped saddle bag which bounced on her side while her blonde colored mane flowed in the air against the wind. As she got closer I began to feel another familiar feeling from the pony, certain that I had met her somewhere before. “Tried convincing her to group up with the rest but she just went all crazy and hysterical about finding you,” Bronze added. “Imagine my surprise when she said you were bucking it off with the dragon.” With a pained grunt I got back on my feet while clutching my side just as the mare skid to a stop in front of us. "Are you ok?! Oh my goodness you're bleeding!" Without warning the mare lifted up my shirt with a hoof to look at my midsection. "Oh dear Celestia....," she mumbled. Ignoring the fact she was trying to undress me, I looked down and saw nearly every part of was bruised showing signs of internal damage. Most were deep red but there plenty of blue and black splotches mainly around my sides where my chains was being pressed against my ribcage. "Rodney you need a doctor!" she shouted. I grabbed her hoof and pushed it away letting my shirt cover me again. "I appreciate your concern er-ma'am, but-" "Ma'am?" For a split second her noticed her expression turn hurtful. "You don't remember me?" "Hate to interrupt your little reunion," Bronze interrupted, "but we got bigger problems right now!" Following his gaze I saw the prone dragon had started to stir as he let out a low growl. "What about the reinforcements?!" I asked hopefully. "Are they here yet?!" " 'Fraid not. But somethings going on in Canterlot, the entire castle lit up a while ago," he answered. “So far about half of the town have already evacuated, they’re boarding children and mares with child on the train but as for the rest-” “Then I’m staying.” “You can’t be serious!?” shouted the mare in disbelief. In truth I had a hard time believing my own words. But I did say it and what’s more I actually think I might have the balls to follow through with it. “The best chance everyone has of surviving is to keep him here!” I argued as I pointed at the dragon. “If he chases-” “Most won’t make it,” finished Bronze. “There’s no way anypony can outgallop a dragon. And with that fire of his us pegasi won’t get far either.” “I’ll stay here and keep him distracted,” I continued as Falnor slowly pushed himself up. “Hold on.” I felt a tinge of irritation at the thought of arguing further when I could be get in position or plan before Falnor could completely recover. “There’s no time to-” I started just as she pulled the knot on the saddlebag with her mouth and flipped it open. She tucked her muzzle in and pulled out a box in between her teeth before gesturing for me to take it. I’ve been through too much to care about hygiene at this point and grabbed the box out of her mouth without any hesitation. It was made out of wood with something metallic running through grooves on the surface forming a design the likes I’ve never seen before. But what was weird was the sensation of holding the box, or to be more accurate, the lack thereof. I could see the box in my hand but I couldn’t feel it, not the grooves of the wood or even the weight. It was like holding onto thin air. I nearly dropped the box when I opened it as bright blue light suddenly bathed the entire area. Aside from sudden bright light I was also startled by what I ‘felt’. It was like opening a furnace or a barbecue pit where all the pent up heat suddenly gushed out at my face. “How...” “Twilight said you’d need it,” she explained. I took the gem out and relished in the ‘heat’ it gave off, it reminded me how scary powerful Twilight is. “Yeah ok it’s pretty,” Bronze cut in again, “but how is that suppose to help us?” “A lot,” I answered as my mind raced with new possibilities. One particular crazy idea stood out. “Bronze can you keep him off me?” “Say what?” “Can you!?” The ground shook as Falnor pushed himself up to his hind legs. “Eh. Why not,” he replied with a nonchalant shrug. “Make sure you keep him on the street! I need him to stay where he is!” “No promises!” Bronze flexed his wings outwards before launching off the ground with a single powerful flap sending dust and pebbles in every direction. How he could fly while carrying so much weight is beyond me but at the moment I couldn’t give a damn. “Command-line: Sentinel()!” The moment I shouted the key words the light of the gem dimmed considerably as fire wrapped around it. It jumped out of my hand and hovered in the air about two feet away from me. With a single thought I also siphoned a large amount of magic from the gem replenishing my magic supply to the limit. Strangely the pain from my body also seem to fade away, I could still feel it, but it was much more bearable than before. I couldn't be sure whether or not it had something to do with magic or it was simply the adrenaline flowing through my veins. “Go hide somewhere before things get dangerous,” I ordered the mare. She looked at me with wide eyes and only took a single hesitant step back. “NOW!!” With that she turned and bolted off back from where she came. When she did it was the first time I got a look at her mark; an ivory white plate with gold linings around the edge and a twinkle near the tip. ‘Isn’t that....’ Although I couldn’t quite remember her name, my right cheek suddenly itched as the memory surfaced. ‘What’s she doing in Ponyville?’ I quickly dismissed the thought and got back on task soon as I heard Bronze’s voice booming aloud. “Well look who finally decided to wake up!” he taunted in the most snide and insulting tone possible. I watched him fly about circling the dragon spouting more insults. “What’s the matter big guy? Was that little bump on the head a bit too much Bronze for ya?” Falnor clawed at the pegasus but he was still too groggy from the initial blow to the head to properly aim allowing Bronze to easily dodge. “Ha! And you call yourself a dragon? I’ve seen iguanas bigger than you!!” Convince that Bronze has the dragon’s attention I quickly got on maglev and made my way towards the nearest lamp post. I came only as close as I needed to cast a spell whilst injecting as much magic as the metal can hold, something I could never had done or as quickly without Twilight’s training. I made my way to the other side of the street and did the same to the opposite lamp post before moving towards the next pair. The entire frame went alight in blue fire like old dried up old trees being burned down. I moved in a zigzag pattern from one lamp to another and getting further away from the dragon after each pair. Most of these lamp post are heavily damaged and bent from Falnor’s rampage but luckily none of them were ripped out of their foundation. With each post I ‘burned’ the entire street slowly started to transform into something eerily supernatural. The sapphire’s glow had noticeably started to diminish as I constantly siphoned more magic out of it. But I could still feel the wealth of magic inside, even after the eighth lamp post I had barely even come close to using half of it all. If I hadn’t personally been part of its creation, I wouldn’t never have believed that all this magic came from a single pony. Worried for Bronze, I looked back I caught a glimpse of him flying in between buildings where the dragon could not physically reach only to reappear somewhere off the side. From what I could see it looked like he was using the environment into his advantage to compensate for his heavy armor. So far it looks like he’s successful in distracting and keeping Falnor on the ground by being just barely in range. “Oh no...,” I mumbled before slowing to a stop. I saw the yellowish glow radiating from the dragon’s belly. Bronze was currently flying high behind the dragon and I doubt he’d realize what was coming. “HE”S GOING TO BREATHE!!” I screamed as loud as I could. But it was too late. Soon as I yelled Falnor opened his maw unleashing a torrential of flames at the pegasus. I expected him to either try flying out of range or hiding behind a building for cover. Instead he bellowed out a war cry and dove shield first right at the inferno disappearing into the flames. I waited for the longest second of my life before he finally resurfaced from the flames just before his shield collided squarely on the dragon’s snout. Like being punched I saw the head jerked back billowing fire for a short moment before it cut off as Falnor started to choke. “That all you got!?” Bronze shouted with smoke rising off his body and shield glowing red hot. “I’ve FARTED things hotter than you!!!” “Un...” ‘...fucking...’ “...believable.” I just stared wide eyed and slack jawed at the crazy, drunk pegasus. ‘Looks like he actually knows what he’s doing.’ “Right.” I kept an eye on him for another second before getting back on the task at hand. ‘How much further?’ Except for a few pairs that were too close to the dragon, every lamp post on the street behind me was burning blue. “I don’t know, far as we can?” I answered while dashing towards the next post. ‘Is this even gonna work?’ “God I hope so! I don’t know how long I can keep going.” Between all the gliding, running, throwing fireballs, and pretty much just everything that’s happened; being exhausted was a great understatement. Eventually I arrived at the same location where I first encountered Falnor. The street and buildings were completely destroyed leaving behind massive piles of rubble. Remnants of what could have been a bookstore lay ruin in the middle of the street, its wall blocking any further progress. “This is it then.” Soon as the last lamp post lit up I turned around and viewed my work. Like something out of a cult movie the entire street was bathed in various shades of blue light, constantly shifting and changing as the fires engulfing every every lamp post danced about wildly. Blue fire engulfed a slab of rock, roughly the size of a beach ball, as it started to float from the ground and hovered in the air in front of me. I watched the dragon in the distance, about two blocks away still busy with Bronze. ‘Should we warn him?’ “Can’t that’ll tip the dragon off. I just have to make sure not to hit him.” With that I carefully align the lab of rock to float roughly in the middle of the street, a few meters away from the nearest pair of lamp post. “Moment of truth.” I strained my eyes and watched as Bronze kept diving in and out of buildings evading Falnor’s wrath. I saw my chance when he suddenly veered off behind giving me a clear shot. ‘NOW!!’ In a single thought I cast a magnet spell over the levitation. An opposite polarity to the magnet spells I casted on all the posts. Nothing happened. I couldn’t breathe. One second. Two second. Three second. And still nothing. The slab of stone just hovered in front of me unmoving. Perhaps it really was too crazy an idea; trying to create a large scale maglev by use of multiple magnet spells. The theory was simple enough, the spell on each lamp post would pull and push anything with an opposite polarity. ‘Who am I kidding!? A railgun out of street lamps!?’ I felt a deep pit in my gut thinking that I might have risked Bronze’s life for nothing. ‘Try pushing it.’ What’s to lose? The fire on the slab intensified as I added a propulsion spell. With a small burst of flames the stone flew away in a straight line. Only to suddenly veer off to the right and swerve back a split second later. It continued to weave left and right but never beyond the street accelerating exponentially as it moved from one pair of post to the next. Within seconds all I could see was the trail of blue light that spiralled about out of control. “HA!” I shouted ecstatically. “Holy shit it worked!!” I could hear it collide and break apart as it hit Falnor squarely on his right shoulder just before he tried to take another swipe at Bronze. Even from this distance I could see the dragon flinch and grasp his shoulder. It was proof enough that despite how small the stone was when compared to him, the speed and velocity in which it travelled made up the difference. Turning his gaze Falnor finally noticed the bluish glow nearby, I could see his large slitted eyes follow the street and the burning posts until they finally fell on me. There was about a second as he took in the view before I heard a low growling sound from him. Even from this distance I could see the glint of his fangs as he sneered and laughed at the spectacle. “Shit, he knows!” With the way the burning lamp posts were lined up, even a child would have been able to deduce that I could only shoot in one direction. All he had to do was get out of the street to escape. ‘Then start shooting!!’ To have more control, I shot my arms out to the side as a multitude of rubble and furniture was suddenly engulfed in blue flames before floating up to the air. I started casting the magnet and propulsion spell on the largest object - a piece of stone wall roughly half my height and just as wide - and launched it as quick as possible without screwing up. Just as it started to pick up speed I finished prepping the next ammo - a long broken piece of timber - and launched before moving to the next, and the one after, and so on. I kept siphoning what magic I had used up from the sapphire still floating near me which was slowly starting to dim every time I threw something. I saw them wiz and spiral in wild arcs seemingly out of control yet remaining within the street as they fly. Before Falnor could even take a step the first of many projectiles started hitting and exploding on impact. At the time I could only guess that the remaining magic on those objects must have been released as they break, causing the explosions. I wasn’t entirely sure if everything I threw scored a hit, all I could do at the moment was just focus on the task and kept launching one shot after another. It didn’t matter if the things I picked up were broken sofas or a small kitchen knife. My mind had fallen into the moment completely focused on the mad rush as I kept launching everything I could see in abandoned. The ruined buildings around me offered plenty of ammunition and I launched everything piece of debris that I could. Even the toilet seat. Falnor let out a series of pained roars as he brought his head down close to his body so that he could protect it with his thick arms. I saw a few smaller projectiles flying past the dragon’s body only to puncture through his leathery wings inciting more cries of pain. Those cries were my only indication of progress, for every second I kept him here it means more time for the reinforcements to arrive or at least give everyone as much time to evacuate as possible. ‘Why am I doing this? This is not my world. They’re not even human. I shouldn’t be doing this!’ These thoughts and questions started echoing in the back of my mind. ‘I’m a programmer for Christ’s sake! This isn’t me!’ And every single time I remembered back to those eyes. Sweetie Belle’s eyes. I can’t explain it perfectly, they way she just looked up at me as she hugged my leg, it was a look I didn’t want to disappoint or fail. The idea that anything or anyone would harm something so innocent and fragile as that cheerful, energetic and clumsily destructive white filly made me realize something. Where bravery fights fear. Rage kills it completely. “AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!!” I didn’t realize that I was screaming till I finally gasped for breath, and even then I continued to scream even louder. I didn’t realize that I was starting to launch multiple projectiles at once from two, to three, to four till they started colliding midflight. Despite all the explosions and dust covering the dragon, I could see the glow of his yellow eyes as he too was staring at me. Time seem to stop as we glared at each other, and for the first time I felt no fear under his gaze. Instead I felt a great urge to just rush at him and do everything in my power to cause him harm. In reply Falnor bellowed against the onslaught, a roar that dwarfed all others that I could actually feel it hitting my chest. I fell to my knees covering my ears trying my best to block out the sound which kept on going for a while before it finally started to die down. When I looked up I saw a both wings spread out wide as Falnor readied himself to take flight. ‘His gonna fly!!’ “No shit!” I jumped back up and quickly continued the barrage but it was too late. His roar had bought him enough reprieve from the onslaught to safely escape. With each flap Falnor slowly rose to the air as dust clouds started building up around him, even from where I stood I could feel the air blowing past. Most of the projectiles flew harmlessly under while a few lucky ones struck the dragon, but it wasn’t enough to bring him down. But just before he could rise above the buildings I caught a glimpse of yellow flash in the sky as Bronze dove from high above in a similar fashion as before. Even from this distance I could hear the sickening CRACK as Bronze collided with the dragon’s right wing shattering bone before bouncing off to the side. With a deep yet high pitched yelp the dragon fell to the ground right back to the street becoming a target once again. I stared at the pegasus as he shook his head in a dizzy manner before he turned and looked at me from afar. “Wait are you waiting for!?” he shouted. “Wail on him!!” With that reminder I turned my attention back to the dragon continued on the assault. As the first wave struck Falnor’s prone body I began to wonder what I hoped to achieve with this plan. Sure I was buying time for the townsfolk to get away, but then what? There’s no way I can keep this up till everyone safely reaches Canterlot. The most I could do was leave the dragon bruised and battered but despite the damage it won’t keep him down. ‘What I need is-’ ‘An end game idea.’ I started brainstorming even as I continue the bombardment which seem to be making it really difficult for the dragon to rise from his prone position. ‘We don’t have enough magic for a brand new plan. Gonna have to use what we got right now.’ ‘Shoot something sharp maybe? Like an arrow?’ ‘That’ll only work if I can control how it flies or aim properly.’ ‘Then just throw something heavy! You’ve been hitting with light jabs, it’s time for the right hook!’ I looked around but the only thing I could see were broken things. ‘There’s nothing here big enough for that!’ ‘You sure? What’s the heaviest thing we’ve ever lifted?’ “Oh for crying-can’t you just tell me!?” ‘What’s on the top right of your vision right now?’ The floating sapphire, still burning blue. “How is that....” My voice drifted off as a memory resurfaced in my mind, a very painful one. ‘Bingo.’ It’s possible, with the remaining magic in the sapphire it was possible. I looked around the side of the streets for the largest intact building I could find. Most were half destroyed by the dragon but one still stood tall and firm to my right. It was a three story building and was entirely untouched, it even had a banner that draped across the front entrance. GRAND RE-OPENING! It took a moment for me to recognize the store, but with all the sweets laid out behind the window and the three-candy-wrapped sign hanging out front; it was undoubtedly Bonbon’s candy store. The very same one where the Crusaders wrecked some time ago. “She’s gonna kill me.” ‘Beggars can’t be choosers. Do it!’ I fired what remaining rubble I had picked up before turning to pay my full attention at the building. Hopefully that broken wing would make it difficult for the dragon to pick himself up, giving me enough time for one last crazy idea. I stared at the shop for a moment trying to wrap my mind on how I should go about accomplishing such a task. By all reason it should be possible, despite all the magic I’ve siphoned from the sapphire it still had more magic than Rarity’s fire ruby. Still that incident was a spur of the moment, to consciously attempt something like that.... “Here goes nothing.” Looking at the shop, I picture it’s size in my mind, wrapping around it like a gelatinous liquid as I started channeling magic into the levitation spell. Imagine trying to wrap a present with your mind while being blindfolded and you only have a rough idea what the present is. As if that wasn’t hard enough the amount of magic required was staggering, even before the spell managed to wrap around the building I had already used about half of my entire reserve. For the first time I had to both mentally juggle between casting a spell and siphoning magic at the same time, like trying to memorize several different phone numbers simultaneously. By some miracle I managed to stay focused on the task as blue fire continue to spread around the building like wild vines. “What in Celestia’s-shiny-flank are you doing!?” shouted Bronze in the distance. “Give! Me! Time!” I yelled trying my best not to lose concentration. He mumbled what sounded like curses followed by a warcry before I started to hear loud metallic clanging in the distance accompanied by the dragon’s roaring. I was greatly tempted to take a peek at the scene but chose against it fearing it would break interrupt the spell. I could only imagine the grim outcome should I lose focus causing the spell to break especially with all the magic I’ve invested, it would likely be my last mistake. Eventually the flames did spread as the spell finally wrapped itself over the building. I could hear a loud deep rumble from the shop as I began to lift the structure from its foundation along a racket from inside as furniture and various items fell from their place. Windows shattered as their frames bend while roof tiles rained down from above as I supercharged the spell with even more magic. The building jerked several times as pipes and foundations were forcefully ripped apart setting the shop free. With every second that passed by the sapphire continued to dim at a considerable rate, not wasting anymore time I pulled the structure out to the street. I was so focused on controlling the spell that I nearly forgot to move out of the way as it slowly glided towards me. I had both hands stretched out in front of me using bodily movement to help guide and control the spell. Roof tiles, broken glass, furniture and hundreds of candies fell out the windows as I began tilting the shop on its side. I feared the plan might not work if I threw something so tall, at the least it would mean pointing the sharp end of the building at the dragon. The structure hovered about a meter of the ground as I positioned it in the center of the street with the roof aimed forward before I was ready to move on. Once in position I immediately replaced the levitation spell with an extremely overcharged maglev spell which allowed it to hover on its own. With my mind less strained I began casting the propulsion spell, one powerful enough to give it the required velocity to get it going. Though I knew I had to focus on the task the ruckus in the distance pulled my attention. I didn’t know how he did it but Bronze somehow managed to keep Falnor from properly getting back up and on the street all this time. However, it was clear that he was far less agile as before which probably meant he was running out of stamina. Meaning I don’t have much time left. There was no knowing how much magic I’d need to push something as large as the shop, but with the risk of Bronze getting hit or worse, I have to gamble with what I have now. ‘Launch it!!’ “Hang on!” I stuck my thumb and index finger to my mouth and blew the loudest whistle I could muster hoping to inform Bronze and get him away from the dragon. The high pitched tone easily traveled across the distance attracting Bronze’s attention as he turned to look at my direction. Despite the distance I could make out how his eyes widened at the sight. Unfortunately that momentary distraction cost him dearly, I saw the massive green tail coming yet before I could even yell out a warning it struck Bronze clean on the side. I saw him fly from the impact colliding into one of the houses to the left side in an explosion of dust and stone. “BRONZE!!” It was too fast to tell if he was struck by the spikes on the tail but even if he lucked out the sheer impact alone could easily kill him. I could only hope his armor kept him alive. ‘We can’t do anything for him! Fire the damn thing!’ In essence, the propulsion spell works by replicating gunpowder and simply propelling something using directed force. So I shouldn’t be surprised when I saw a funnel of blue flames explode outwards like a rocket from the building’s end. The sheer blast of wind from the explosion was strong enough to blow me off my feet throwing me hard on my back. I was left somewhat stunned and dizzy for about a second before I managed to roll over and pull my head back up. Dread grip my guts when I saw the building sluggishly gliding over the ground despite the amount of force from the spell. I pounded my fist at the ground, angered that I fail to take into account something as obvious as the weight of the building. There was simply not enough magnetic force on the lamp posts to move something with such weight. It was definitely working though, the structure was picking up speed over time but at a snails pace. It will not reach any significant velocity to do much damage to the dragon, if it even reaches him in time before he get’s out of the way. “Shit this isn’t gonna work!” There was no time to restrategize or come up with an alternative, at such a critical moment the simplest solution is often the best. My body screamed for me to just relent and rest as I got up which I ignored as much as I could before getting back on maglev to catch up with the flying candy shop. I’m not sure what Bronze did to Falnor, but despite seeing what’s coming the dragon had a lot of trouble getting up on his claws. Even getting on all four seem to be causing him a lot of pain, likely more broken bones from the way a few fingers seem to be bent. As soon as I got close enough to the building I immediately cast a less powerful version of the propulsion spell in a similar fashion as before. It created a smaller and shorter burst of blue flames which accelerated the building a bit. I quickly veered to the side of the street away from the direction of the blast before casting casting another one followed by another. With every burst the building kept picking up speed which increased further on as the magnetic force on the lamp post added their share of the effort. Eventually I had to push myself faster to keep up as I closed in on the target. But despite my efforts and how fast I was closing in I knew it was impossible to achieve the same speed as all the smaller projectiles I fired before. ‘We’re getting too close! Time to bail!’ By now the dragon had managed to get back on all four and was trying his best to get out of the way, even attempting to plow through the buildings nearby. But he was too slow, his size was a weapon but now it acted against him. “A bit more!!” I quickly collected as much magic as I could, fuelling to one last burst of speed before finally terminating the maglev and skidding to a halt. I watched with bated breath as the building travelled on at about forty-five miles per hour, nothing close to what I wanted but I hoped that size and mass alone would make up for the lack of speed. ‘Don’t forget the last bit.’ ‘Ah right, the explo-’ “OH SHIT!!” How stupid could I get? I saw how those smaller projectiles exploded on impact when the spell broke releasing all the remaining magic. I could only imagine the scale of destruction when all the magic holding that three story building afloat is released as raw magic. My raw magic. With a roar I saw Falnor rise up to stand on his hind legs ready to brace against the inevitable collision completely oblivious to what’s coming. Much as I wanted to witness the outcome I knew I was risking my life needlessly by staying out in the open, with the threat of death urging me one I quickly made my way and dove right into the nearest alley with the sapphire following behind. I landed on my belly and remained on the prone position wrapping my hands over my head and waited. There was a brief moment where everything in the world fell silent until... [AN: No it didn’t go nuclear. Picture is slightly exaggerated.] For what felt like minutes I heard nothing but the sound of the explosion drowning out everything in the world. I felt the ground gave a sudden shake as gale like winds blew through the alley carrying dust, trash and debris until it blinded me like a thick mist. I felt something small and heavy rain down all over me for some time which came to a sudden stop when the noise finally started to ebb away. I waited until the noise died out completely before slowly lifting my head. A heavy layer of dust still lingered in the air making it difficult to breath properly. All around me were shattered pieces of glass and roof tiles, considering how thick and heavy they were it was a miracle that I wasn’t hurt at all. I slowly pushed myself up while being careful to avoid sharp glass when I heard something shatter just above my head. More broken roof tiles rained down for a moment before everything went silent again. Looking up I saw the sapphire hovering above my head right where I heard the tile break. ‘Not a miracle then.’ The gem must’ve protected me during the explosion. I suddenly realized how dark and eerily quiet everything was. There was absolutely nothing to be heard other than my own heavy breathing and the jingle of my chains. All the lights and even the lamp posts burning with my magic was extinguished, I’d probably be blind in the dark without the sapphire illuminating the area. I grabbed a part of my shirt and covered my mouth to help filter out the dust in the air before turning around and slowly making my way to the end of the alley. Although I could make out things in close proximity it was difficult to see further through the dark, and almost impossible to see anything beyond a few meters. The glow from the sapphire, though dim, offered suitable light to for me to navigate. But it was too risky, if Falnor was still around he’d see me clear though the dark. “Command-line: Terminate(),” I whispered to the gem. The fire disappeared and I grabbed it out of the air just before it started to fall. Unlike before where the sapphire shined bright as a light bulb, it now glowed dimly with a blue fire burning inside just like Rarity’s fire ruby though much larger. Thankfully the magic inside was of mine so I don’t have to worry about accidentally draining it unless I wanted to. I tucked it inside my jacket before making my way roughly to where I last saw the dragon. ‘Do you really have to?’ ‘I have to know if it worked.’ Common sense demanded that I keep my distance and wait, but then again nothing so far made any sense either. I nearly jumped out of fright when I ‘felt’ something in front of me. It was all over the ground and I could ‘feel’ the heat of magic radiating from it while it glowed in my ‘Sight’. It was hard to tell from the darkness but if I had to guess it was some sort of liquid, and there was only one kind of liquid I know that contained magic. ‘Is that...’ ‘Blood. His blood. All of it.’ The closer I got the more I discover how much blood there was, from the way it spread out it must’ve covered the entire width of the street. ‘He’s definitely hurt, that’s for sure.’ ‘But we don’t know if he’s down or if he’s just pissed off.’ The idea of him not only surviving a blast like that but still able to fight was frightening. I carefully inched closer to the pool of blood before taking a single careful step on it. I expected to feel a surge of magic crawl up my leg but after a few seconds of nothing happening I concluded that my shoes were acting as a barrier. I was tempted to drain the magic from the blood for my own use and inject the excess magic to the sapphire in case there was too much of it. I had crouched and was just about to touch the blood with my hand when I heard shifting stone somewhere to my left. I froze in position not daring to move and waited, eyes strained for any movement in the dark. “Uuuugh....” It took a few seconds for me to realize what I was hearing, it was barely above a whisper but I still recognize the voice. “Bronze?” I called out in a controlled volume. Much as I would have liked shout the name there was simply too much of the situation I didn’t know. The dragon could be unconscious and my voice could accidentally wake him up. “Uhh, monkey?” ‘Yup, definitely him.’ “Bronze you ok? Where are you?” “I...uhh I don’t know.” I quickly made my way through the blood, splashing it about as I go while trying to follow his voice. “Keep talking but not too loud, I’ll come and find you.” “Wha-what happened? I can’t remember much. Feels like somepony bucked my skull.” he asked in a weak and strained voice. I could tell he was hurting. “Yeah sorry about that, kinda my fault,” I answered just as I come across a half destroyed building. It was likely the same one that Bronze was thrown to earlier, probably helped protect him from the explosion. I climbed into the building through a large opening on the wall and carefully walked deeper inside. With half of the building gone it allowed the moon to shine down offering me some light, plus my eyes have adjusted to the dark so it was easy navigating through all the rubble and broken furniture. “The dragon? What happened to...” “Don’t know, haven’t seen him yet.” Eventually my ‘Sight’ located Bronze in in front of me, his ‘fire’ was extremely small yet it burned strong. Hopefully that meant he didn’t suffer any life threatening injuries. “How ugh, in blazes do you lose sight of something that big?” I spotted Bronze’s large shield laying on the side of a small pile of rubble. Seeing as the ‘fire’ was right under it all, it was safe to assume Bronze was completely buried inside. “I didn’t lose sight of him, it’s too dark to see anything,” I answered as I began removing rubble with my hands. Eventually I found one of his hind legs and worked around it until I uncovered his head and most of his body. Slowly he turned his head around to look up at me. “Oh, I thought my eyes were closed.” He was lying sideways and there were fallen feathers around, even in the darkness I could tell one of his wings was bent awkwardly where it’s not supposed to. Aside from the broken wing however it didn’t look like he suffered much, he really did lucked out not being impaled by all those spikes. Rubble started falling to the side as Bronze pushed himself up to all fours, I quickly used my hands to keep him from falling over. “Should you be moving?” I asked worriedly. “Nothing a good drink won’t solve,” he answered. “You’re gonna have to carry my shield.” I turned to look at the large dented piece of metal. “Do I have to? We can pick it up later.” “We ain’t leaving it, that shield saved your flank as it did mi-” his voice cut off when I suddenly clasp my hand over his mouth. “I heard something,” I mouthed silently. Both of us stood frozen in place in silence, I could see Bronze’s ear swerving around trying to catch the slightest sound. Then I heard it again, from somewhere outside I heard the sound of loose stone and rubble shuffling and moving. Silently I turned around to look out the collapse wall to see an enormous mound of rubble out in the street, it could easily be labelled as a small hill. Slowly it rose and grew into a dark shadow, rising up and up until it blocked out the moonlight. Rubble started falling off revealing hundreds of green scales before a large wing flexed out throwing rock and debris to every direction. Both Bronze and I could only watch in absolute silence and horror as Falnor rose from the ashes. While most of his back remain as it was, almost every scale on his front and especially around the belly was either gone or pitch black. A mass of burnt muscle and skin was all the remain with blood bleeding profusely like a fountain coloring the street deep red. Suddenly the dragon took in a long deep breath which stretched his wounded chest outward causing blood to squirt out. I saw him grit his fangs together in pain before noticing a glow emanating from his belly and for a moment I thought he knew where we were and was about to burn us alive. Before I could make a move however, Falnor simply let out a long sigh as something that looked like red mist poured out of his mouth. It continued to pour out like heavy smoke, drifting down and covering his body before it all suddenly moved with purpose. It swirled and concentrated around his chest seeming to cause discomfort as he let out a series of low painful grunts. The red mist was too thick to see past but occasionally it would thin out in certain areas just enough for me to catch a glimpse. I couldn’t be sure but I swear the mass of pink muscles started to turn into a darker color with each passing second like something was wrapping over the wound. ‘Oh my god. It’s-’ ‘-healing him.’ Without warning the red mist suddenly started coiling away like a snake to other parts of the dragon’s body. The massive open wound on his front had been replaced with a dark red layer of thick scab like skin, what would have taken weeks or months had been accomplished in a matter of seconds. Even the heavy flow of blood had ceased with only a few trickle here and there, a minor scratch when compared to the size of his body. Then the mist started to wrap itself around the dragon’s broken wing which suddenly have a loud CRACK as the bones were forcefully realign causing Falnor to roar out in pain. I saw with my own eyes as the holes in his leather wings started to closing in leaving only a few insignificantly small ones to heal naturally. In roughly a minute Falnor undid what Bronze and I risked our lives to accomplish. I watched in horror as Falnor started moving his body, flexing his claws and wings as he examined the results of what could only be the work of magic. Something tugged my back pulling my attention momentarily away from the dragon as I turned around. Bronze looked at me in the eye and silently mouthed the words, “We need to hide!” His good wing was pointing towards a room about four meters away completely dark and secluded. I gave him a nod before carefully grasping my chains in each hand hoping I could keep it from making any noise and betraying out position. Bronze had it tough, much as he tried it was impossible to move without making some noise while wearing his armor. With our eyes focused on the dragon Bronze and I ever so slowly crept inch by inch all the while hoping desperately we would remain unnoticed. Despite the occasional soft clinking from Bronze’s armor the dragon appear to remain oblivious, it actually looked like we’ll make it. But just as we were about to reach the room..... “Like I said before.” We both froze in place and watched as Falnor slowly turned his head to us. His large yellow eyes looked directly at mine as he bared his fangs with a low growl. He positioned his large green claw around the building, almost hugging it and eliminating any chance for use to escape. With the wall behind and Falnor covering the large opening with his massive body, it was clear that we were completely trapped. “I can smell you.” I shot a glance to the right then the left, trying desperately to figure out a way out of this situation. I thought about blowing a hole in the wall and escaping that way but I couldn’t risk it. From what I’d seen Falnor could be deceptively quick despite his size, especially his long neck. Like a serpent he could easily bite me clean in half the moment I attempted anything. I stared at Bronze hoping for some kind of signal to a plan but he merely shook his head at me. If his wing weren’t broken there might be a chance that at least one of us can make it but.... “I suppose you’ve earn some praise for you efforts,” Falnor continued. “Only a fellow dragon has ever harmed me to such an extent.” The sapphire was still in my pocket, it still had magic left that I could use but no matter how much I tried I couldn’t come up with anything. I thought about using up all the magic I had left in one massive fireball but something like that exploding so close would mean suicide. There was simply no way that I could see myself surviving this predicament. Before I could think up any other ideas everything started to brighten slightly as Falnor’s belly started to glow again. “But this is as far as you go Kindling.” There was a sudden brightness that illuminated everything around us as Falnor unleashed the inferno. I saw the fire roaring towards us and all I could do was watch with my hands held out in a pitiful attempt to protect myself. As the temperature around me sky rocket I could feel the air itself blistering my skin with intense heat as the edges of my hair started to singed. And then it was gone. The intense heat disappeared just as everything around me turned dark. I thought for a moment that the fire must’ve seared off the nerves on my skin along with my eyes, but I could still feel myself blinking and feel my clothes on my body. Then I realized that I could still hear the roaring sound of the fire burning all around and the crackling of burning wood. “The heck is this!?” I heard Bronze ask confused. I turn around and sure enough he was there next to me. “I don’t-” before I could finish the bellowing noise of the fire ebbed away. Soon the darkness thinned away and evaporated revealing nothing but destruction all around. Everything was covered in black soot, what was one furniture and household items were now grey ash that linger in the air. Metal beams within the walls were still glowing red hot while the stone floor now acted as frying pan, I could already smell of burning plastic from my shoes and the air still . Everything was black like charcoal while almost every furniture and object not made of stone or steel had burned to ash. “WHO DARES BRING HARM TO OUR SUBJECTS!! WE WILL HAVE THY NAME DRAKE!!” All of us, including the dragon, turned towards the voice. There, across the street standing on a roof was Luna. At least I think that’s her, though it’s been a long time since I last saw her, never have I seen her like this. Her eyes were glowing pure ivory white while her mane flowed upwards as if she was falling and her wings stretched out to the side. [AN: Not exactly what I want but good enough.] What took my attention most was her horn, it was shining in bright cobalt blue, bright enough to illuminated the entire street outside. It was packing so much magic that I could ‘Sense’ it from all the way here in waves, almost like having steam blown at me. ‘Wait, is she the reinforcements?’ ‘It’s about fucking time!!’ The air thicken as Luna and Falnor stared each other down, both unwilling to flinch or relent under the gaze of the other. “You will not take her!!” roared Falnor as he unleashing a torrent of flames. She disappeared behind a veil of fire, it didn’t look like she had created anything to protect herself. “WRETCHED!!” A solid beam of white light, at least three meters in diameter suddenly struck the dragon on his back. Green scales and blood gushed out as Falnor roared in pain and falling down to all four. I looked towards the voice to see Luna hovering in the sky completely unharmed and looking absolutely pissed. “How the hell did she get there?” I mumbled in awe. As the words left my lips Luna’ bright eyes turned on me. “LEAVE THIS PLACE!!” she commanded with an air of absolute superiority. “I think we better listen!” Bronze was commented which I wholeheartedly agree. With the brief exchange I could tell the scale of the battle would be massive. We could easily get caught in the crossfire if we’re not careful. The plan was simple; get back to the street and get as far away as possible, as fast as possible. I tried my best to support Bronze as we make our way towards the farthest opening in the wall, away from the battle engagement when the pegasus suddenly halted to a stop. “Wait wait! My shield!” he shouted while pointing at the metal plate with a hoof. “Seriously!?” I asked in disbelief. I reached out with my mind and cast a levitation spell on the shield engulfing it in blue fire as it began to rise and hover. “Alright let’s get the hell out of here!” Soon as the words left my lips I saw the dragon had picked himself up and was glaring up at Luna. With a roar he leapt upwards at her with a mighty beat of his wings. “Now’s our chance! C’mon!” While the battle took to the skies Bronze and I used this chance to run and jump out of the building back out into the street. Splashing through a pool of dragon blood and simply ran deeper into town, all the while hearing the occasional roars and sounds of magic in the sky above. I looked around the trying to find any sign of royal guards anywhere, but after awhile I concluded that Luna had come alone. She may be one of the ruling heads in Equestria, but unlike Celestia I’ve never personally ‘Sensed’ how powerful she was. Though it’s almost guaranteed that she’s more powerful than me, I’m not sure it’s wise leaving her to fend for herself. “You really think it’s ok leaving her alone?” I asked worried. “What if she-” Without warning Bronze suddenly leaped at me, throwing me to the side before landing face down with Bronze pressing down on me. Before I could question his sudden hostility the ground shook violently Falnor crashed into the ground only a few meters in front of us. Dust and rubble flew everywhere while I stared at the sight, if we had continued running for a few more seconds it we would have been crushed. “Does that answer your question?” Bronze answered. Gashes and cuts covered nearly every part of Falnor’s body, most were around his back and bleeding heavily. The most severe wound was on probably his left wing, all the leathery webbing was almost completely shredded off leaving only a few tattered bits to hanging. Probably the reason he fell back to earth. “ARROGANT FOOL!! THOU’ST BELIEVE TO BEST US IN COMBAT?!” Looking up I saw Luna descend from the sky with her horn still radiating like a beacon. Her mane and tail was writhing about like black fire mirroring her rage. “DESIST AT ONCE!!” Despite how one sided the battle was Falnor merely growled at her as he slowly pushed himself back up. Out of nowhere I suddenly felt a pressure pushing me to the ground, at first I thought Bronze was pressing down on me but he too lay on his belly next to me as surprised as I was. Though it was still bearable the ground in front of us suddenly fell a few feet as Falnor was struck back to the ground by an invisible force. I could almost see the air in front of me stir like I was seeing through an unfocused lense, rocks were being crushed to bits while lamp posts were flatten to the ground. From the looks of it Falnor was suffering against a much greater force, while I could just barely push myself up, he remained still despite how much he seem to struggle. All around I heard the constant sound of stone being grinded to dust, metal support from a nearby building creaked as they collapse to the ground. “The...hell is...going on!?” even talking was taking a lot of effort. “Don’t...ask...me!” shouted Bronze as he too struggled to get up. With my head to the side my eyes gazed upwards to see Luna now standing on the roof of a building as the light of her horn intensified. The brighter it grew the more heavy my body felt and within a few seconds I was forced to rest my head against the ground with my body completely flat. From what I could gather, the only possible explanation was that she’s somehow manipulating the gravity around us. It’s the only one that made sensed considering how everything is being crushed and not just Falnor. Likely Bronze and I got too close to the actual focus point of the spell and merely suffering a diminished effect. Diminished or not, the pressure was starting to become unbearable and difficult to breath. “Luna!” I shouted, hoping to get her attention. Likely she wasn’t aware we were in the vicinity and thought we had ran off. “Lu-ugh! We’re right here!” Either she couldn’t hear us or was too preoccupied with the dragon to notice my voice. I then realize a slight glow in the corner of my eye. Pulling my head slightly back a bit I saw the sapphire lying on the ground several feet away from me. With a large crack in the middle. I started to panic as I imagined the implications. What will happen to the magic inside? Will it be released? The magic in the stuff I threw at the dragon exploded when they broke didn’t it? “LUNA!!” I shouted atop my lungs. “LUNA STOP!!” But she didn’t relent, not even after the sound of Falnor’s shattered bones echoed around or when his chest stopped rising. Another crack appeared on the side which started growing bit by bit like a root. The magic inside was a shadow of what it had in the beginning, yet it was still so much more than I can handle. At least twice as much. “What’s going on over there?” Bronze asked, he must’ve noticed the sudden panic in my voice. ‘Dammit he’s here too!’ After all that the I’ve done, all I’ve survived battling the dragon; I was gonna die from my own creation. Worse the blast would kill Bronze as well, we’re still just acquaintances but he was willing to risk his life for me. Multiple times even. My mind raced as I try to plan out something to get us both out of this, or at the least, him. I could just siphon parts of it and use it before siphoning more, thereby depleting it completely. But before I could the gem finally cracked under the pressure, splitting right down the middle in half. I didn’t hesitate. I reached out and touched the magic with my mind siphoning it all in me. For just a split second I could see something like a translucent white cotton ooze out of the gem before it surge right at my face. I could feel the magic well up inside me and for the briefest moment I held more magic than I’ve ever had before. And like a promise, the pain came. I couldn’t breathe, couldn’t even scream as hot white pain surged through my mind like it was being poked with a red hot iron bar. The pain was constant and absolute, blocking out all my other senses. I couldn’t hear, feel, smell or see anything, the world had been replaced by pure unrelenting agony. Time became nonexistent, it could have been a mere second or a minute since the pain started. But as frightening as it was, it was nothing compared to what I....felt? Heard? It was hard to describe but something broke in my mind. Because after that, it all disappeared. What scared me most was the absolute nothingness, not merely darkness of sight but in the mind as well. Voices, I remember hearing voices but it was so far away, the world was so far away. I could still create some form of thought but it was quickly slipping away becoming harder and harder to think and eventually.... It swallowed me completely.