What does a Hero Truly Need? Vol. 1: A New Age of Heroes

by zelkova48

Chapter 19: The Dragon and the Knight

The view of the colosseum was just upon the horizon, the sun was slowly rising above it as Celestia willed it to move as both she and her sister were trotting towards Gladius prison. It was still very early in the morning, around dawn so the two sister's decided that it would best to go and retrieve Sven from the prison before everypony else get's up to prepare from the wedding. While Luna was much more brighter in mood during the walk, Celestia could feel her stomach being tied up in a knot the closer she got to the wretched prison. She had her reasons though.

Gladius prison or formerly known as Gladius colosseum used to be a place where the finest athletes in all of Equestria would come to compete and test their mettle among with others who will willing to do so with good sportsmanship. Built onto the other side of the mountain where Canterlot resided it was suppose to last for years to come. However, over time the ponies lost interest in the colosseum and craved for something more... entertaining. For close to a century the colosseum was abandoned to be nothing more than a relic of time before some nobles came up with the idea to transform the massive structure into a prison.

It sounded like a good idea at first, locking up some of Equestria's most deadliest criminals and enemies all in one place was one way to ensure the safety of everypony in Equestria. Then about a few centuries back one of the the wardens came up with the horrific idea for inmates punishment. Being a maximum security prison for highly dangerous criminals burned a lot of money from the nation's treasury, so to help cut cost, downsized inmate numbers and ensure proper justice the warden ordered some manticores to be caught and become executioners for the place.

It was a vile idea. Celestia did not like it one bit, even if it was suppose to a permanent solution keep her subjects safe it conflicted with her morals. Over time her suggestions to ban the death penalty fell on stone ears when public execution became a popular attraction for the rich and privileged to enjoy. If she were to try and overturn the death penalty now she would run the risk of losing the trust of her subjects, for the nobles would retaliate all too quickly at the lost of their favorite source of entertainment and attempt to besmirch the princesses good name by dragging it through the mud and branding her as a controlling tyrant.

It was wrong and unfair, she knew it but she couldn't do anything about it without losing the will of the people. Any attempts to get rid of the death penalty whether it be through underhanded tactics, formal petitions, or even protests by the public would get shot down immediately by the nobility. What's worse is that the nobles might even be able to turn public opinion against itself, then it would never end.

So Celestia did the only thing she could, she erased the colosseum from public knowledge. Only the prison is known, not the colosseum. Ponies knew about the prisoners housed there, they just didn't know about them being fed to some hungry manticores. It was better that way or at least that's what she kept telling herself each and every time she visited the blasted place. She just wanted to go in and get Sven and walk out. It should be simple considering that there shouldn't any scheduled executions this month, so she can at least walk in without holding her breath all the time.

As Luna and Celestia entered the prison they were given the usual bow and proper greeting from all the prison guards as well as some glares from some inmates. As the two ventured onward to find Sven, Luna senses caught something off about the prison.

"Um... sister? Do you smell something burning? And, is that cheering I hear?" Luna asked as Celestia went wide eyed and into a full gallop. One of her worst fears had been realized. They brought back the beast, but for what purpose? She cared not for the reason now as she dashed her way towards the colosseum. Her sister didn't know what was wrong but she followed her sister as well at full speed. When they finally reached the arena they were greeted with a jaw dropping sight.

Sven woke up feeling refreshed after a night of poker and some much needed sleep. He looked around his cell and could spot George still sleeping on his comfy pillow on the other edge of the cell. On the top bunk Sven could hear Jackal's light snoring before grunting and falling off the side of the bunk. With a loud thump! Jackal was on the ground. He was rubbing his head and muttering something inappropriate underneath his breath before he went to greet Sven.

"Morning, Sven" Jackal greeted "Today's the day, are you ready?" Sven just nodded accordingly before stepping out of his bed and putting his helmet and armor pieces back on. The two shared a small conversation before they were interrupted by a prison guard spitting at them. Jackal and Sven turned to the guard and scowled at him. The guard just smiled and laughed at the two before spitting at them again, this time the spit got Jackal on the cheek "Grrrrl... what the hell do you want?" he continued to snarl menacingly at the guard.

"Heh, just here to tell you that it's time" He laughed again, as he began to unlock the cell "I hear the boss has something special planned for you two today" the guard then approached the two before strapping a set of heavy chains to both of them "I hope you two enjoyed your stay at wonderful Gladius prison. Heh heh, cause today you two are getting evicted"

Sven quickly took his sword and shouldered it upon himself before the two were forcibly set off to their arranged retribution by a group of armed guards. Sven remained silent while Jackal snarled and barked all the way to the stage, eventually he conceded and calmed down when he could heard the sound of a cheering crowd as they past through a large metal gate. When they entered wherever it was that the guards had sent them to they were immediately blinded by the sunlight that they rarely see in their own cells.

The glare of the bright sun combined with roar of the crowds left the two prisoners too shocked to move until they finally regained their senses. When the two opened their eyes they could see that they were both in a large colosseum.

It was huge, massive structure that appeared to house a towns worth of ponies. From above the walls of the arena where Jackal and Sven were thrusted into, they could easily see the crowd before them. They were all ponies for as far as the eye could see, all dressed up in fancy clothing, drinking some wine and huffing on a couple of fancy cigars here and there. It didn't take a rocket scientist to put two and two together to realize that they were born of privileged lives, they were all haute nobility.

In almost an instant the cheering that they have been hearing quickly mutated into jeers and boos for the two prisoners. Sven paid no mind to the crowd but Jackal immediately went and obtained a battered buckler and a broken sword from the floor of the arena, from the remains of an unlucky inmate. Jackal turned to Sven, his eyes locked with a stern look.

"I'd get that sword of your's ready Sven" said Jackal "The fire has been lit, it's time to fan the flames" Sven wordlessly acknowledged his friend and brandished his sword at whatever was coming their way. Though the two were overwhelmed by the jeers of the crowd, the loud roar of something monstrous could be heard bellowing on the opposite side of the arena behind a large metal gate. Something big was behind there, and it was all too happy to have new play things.

Far above the arena, past the crowd and all the cheering was a large and prestigious box. It was the VIP booth and it had been completely rented out to a specific group of ponies that wanted to see Sven die in a very horrible manner along with his mutt of a cellmate.

The room was small yet it was large enough to house a group of ponies if they had intended to host a party there. Although today was different, it was something special. In place of the usual furnishing was a large crescent shaped table, one that appeared to be designed for the lounging and perhaps the arguing of multiple ponies. In the back of the room was a large shield with an elegant coat of arms.

The design of the coat was a large golden ring with three points like an equally divided circle. Each one of the points had a design on each of them. The top point had the image of a unicorn's horn, the point on the left had an image of an earth pony's hoof, and lastly the point on the right had the image of a pegasus's wing. Underneath the image was quote that was written in gold. The quote was:

Without a warning the large double doors to the VIP booth wildly swung open to reveal the recipients of the room. Walking together into the room while wearing some of the finest suits from the tailors of Canterlot were two very unpleasant unicorns. Prince Blue Blood and his equally pompous friend, High Horse. Together they trotted to their respective seats of the table and simply melted at the comfort of the seat.

"Ahh, I simply love Gladius Colosseum! Nothing like a little display of justice to help one's quest for a better world for our kind" gushed Blueblood "It was my ancestor who created this magnificent marvel of a place, you know?" he gloated as he poured himself a glass of wine from the stocked bar of the room. High Horse just rolled his eyes as he too poured himself a glass of wine as well.

"Yes, yes. You told me that about already, about sixty time in the last hour that we were here" High horse took a sip from his glass as he lounged backwards into the chair. He took a quick look around the room before raising an eyebrow "Where are the others? They were suppose to be here a while ago"

"I'm always here High Horse, you should know that" a loud and broad voice bellowed from behind the two aristocrats. From out of the shadows a large, hulking stallion stepped out in a full set of royal guard armor. He had a white coat like almost every other guard but what separated him from the rest was the nasty scar that he had on his left cheek. Other than that his cutie mark was an image of a ball and chain, it represented that he was the warden of Gladius prison.

"So nice of you to finally join us Chain Warden. What took you so long?" High Horse said. Chain just bellowed a laugh before taking his seat next to the other two.

"I had some issues trying to get that monster to cooperate with us. Once I mentioned that he'll finally get a chance to be back in the arena he was all too ready to help us" said Chain "It'll be quite the sight when I see that traitor torn to shreds for his crimes against Equestria" he muttered something beneath his breath "Assaulting the princesses like that, how despicable..."

"You know that wannabe assassin isn't as gross or as revolting like those disgusting bugs around Canterlot! Isn't that right dear brother?" a disembodied female voice spoke from out of the black.

"Yes, I agree dear sister. It's a good thing they won't be around for the wedding" a disembodied male voice spoke out "In fact, there won't be any left at all!" then the two voice laughed together in sync, their loud cackles filling up the room to the point of annoyance for everypony else.

"Come on out you wonderbolts. Just sit down and enjoy the show" Blueblood said. With lightning quick speed, two pegasi flew into the room leaving behind a red and silver blur in their wake. They both sat down in their respective seats with smug grin on both of their face "Speeding Bullet, Quicksilver, how nice of you to join us. What took you two so long?"

"Pfft, we had to make sure that the princesses got the letter. Once the wedding day comes those nasty bugs will be wiped off the face of Equestria for good" said Quicksilver, the gray pegasus mare with the silver braided mane and a cutie mark that was the image of the flowing wind.

"It took us months to try flush those things out of the badlands, now all it will take is one little letter and the fury of our princesses to eradicate them once and for all" Said Speeding Bullet, the red pegasus stallion with a brown mullet of a mane and a cutie mark of a multiple musket balls flying at high speeds.

"Yes, yes. It'll only be a matter of time" High Horse interrupted "Then the dogs, the griffons and every other threat to our fair land. Only a matter of time" High Horse muttered as he gulped down his drink. Just as he was about to finish the last drop his glass was immediately taken away from him. In it's place it was replaced with a jar full of dirt. High Horse's eyes went wide as the dirt was spilled all over his fancy suit and well groomed coat "Blech! Whose idea of a joke is this?"

"You know if you paid more attention you could tell that it was me who switched your glass" said an earth pony mare with a worn stetson, a green coat, a black mane and a cutie mark of a pocket watch who was sitting right next to High Horse "What's the matter there, High Horse? You're far too slow for me" the mare said with as she rested her cheek upon her hoof.

"Fast Hoof, of course it would be you" High Horse said as he used his magic to clean himself up.

"Who else would it be? Spitfire?" Fast Hoof laughed as tugged on her hat "Other than that, I'm here aren't I? You would be glad to know that the device and the alicorn amulet has been seized into our custody. The boys back at the lab are hard at work trying to uh... reverse engineer those things, or at least I think I said that right. By the way, why do we even need this freaky amulet anyway? We already have that device, what's the use for more firepower?"

"Just a little insurance, that's all. We don't want anypony else interfering with our plans..." said High Horse as he looked down at his dirty suit "Was the dirt really necessary?"

"Hey, somepony's gotta keep that stuck up attitude of yours in check" Fast Hoof chuckled. Everyone else just rolled their eyes and turned their attention to the oncoming battle. Fast Hoof scanned the arena and spot the princesses would be assassin. She could only make a scowl upon her face the moment she saw him "So is that traitor gonna get what's coming to him?"

"Oh he will, by the end of this fight these two cretins will be nothing more than a red stain on ground" Chain said as he kicked himself back and awaited for the show to start.

"Everypony just quiet down, the show's about to start" said Blue Blood as he got himself another glass of wine.

Sven and Jackal held onto their blades as tightly as possible, they patiently awaited for their enemies to come but it never arrived. They waited for a good ten minutes before the crowd went silent. All was quiet until the silence was broken by the sound of feedback coming out of some unicorn announcer's microphone. After a quick correction the announcer who was in the ring with Sven and Jackal approached them. With a tuxedo and a million dollar smile, the announcer addressed the two prisoners

"Everypony! I would like to introduce you all to the stars of today's performance! You all know them as the miscreants and thugs who attacked Princess Celestia! Please give a round of applause to Sven, the Rouge Knight and Jackal the diamond dog!" instead of receiving an applause they were only met with boos and jeers "So, do you two know why you're both here?" the announcer asked, his face plastered with an award winning smile.

"To die for our sins?" Sven replied, feeling mildly annoyed by the announcers grin and the fact that he pronounced his title wrong.

"To be food for the manticores?" Jackal replied who was also annoyed by the announcers smile.

"Oh no, where did you two get a wild idea like that?" the announcer taunted "No, you two are here to entertain us. To be the heroes in this play that we have set up just for you" the announcer then turned to the crowd "Isn't that right everypony! We all want to watch a show, don't we?" the moment he finished asking the crowd roared furiously with fire and passion. The announcer waved back at the crowd before facing the two again "Well, you heard them. Don't disappoint us brave heroes"

Right afterwards everything was blanketed by darkness as the exposed colosseum was covered with some sort of tarp, dimming everything to where it was hard to see anything that wasn't next to you. And then a spotlight shot up from out of nowhere and led itself to some strange tower in the edge of the monster's cage. The light made it's way up to the tower to reveal a unicorn mare dressed in a stereotypical princesses outfit. The princess brushed her mane a few times before finally speaking towards the audience.

"Oh how terrible it is to be trapped in this tower" the mare spoke, trying her best to sound all demure and innocent "I wish my knight in shining armor would come and whisk me away from the evil beast that has held me captive" a second spotlight appeared and it found its way to the cage that was right next to the tower. It began to open slowly. The chains of the gate rattled with a metallic clinking sound while the floor of the arena shook with a small tremor.

About halfway open a small glow could be seen deep within the cage with a thick black smog escaping it's confines. Little by little loud thud could be heard colliding with the ground that only got louder and louder until the view of their executioner edged their way into everyone's view.

First, the claws came out from the shadows. Then a pair of glowing red eyes revealed themselves to everyone. Finally, with a great roar the beast quickly slithered it's way into the colosseum. It rose above the tower and the crowds before bathing the sky with a glorious torrent of fire. Jackal dropped both of his weapons and became frozen in fear as he realized just what he and Sven were going up against.

The massive dragon towered over Sven and Jackal like bear preying on a mouse. It was covered with green iron like scales and had razor sharp claws that could shred a pony it bits. As the dragon surveyed his surroundings he stretched a bit after being cooped up in his cage for so long. He flexed his gigantic wings which covered everything in an unnatural shade, then he looked down at his opposition. His draconic eyes narrowed upon glancing a diamond dog and a peculiar looking stallion.

"Who is brave enough to challenge the dragon of Gladius colosseum" he bellowed as he craned his head close till he was about the equivalence of eye level with Sven and Jackal "Allow me to rephrase that, who is foolish enough to challenge the dragon of Gladius Colosseum" he let out a low wicked chuckle at his challengers.

"No one" Sven quickly replied which shocked everyone in the arena, even the ponies in the VIP booth spat out their drinks when Sven spoke "We are forced to fight against our will, we do not wish to fight you" Sven plunged his sword into the ground and looked up at the dragon "You can back away now and live another day, otherwise I would be forced to slay you"

Sven gave the dragon an ultimatum, but all that did was serve to cause the entire arena to erupt into laughter. Once the laughter stopped the dragon slammed down his claw next to Sven, he tried to intimidate him but it appeared that he failed as Sven remained steadfast and resolute. The dragon cracked a wicked grin.

"Foolish bravery is still bravery nonetheless" the dragon craned his neck down again "Now I will ask you two again, who dares challenge the dragon?' he asked as smoke bellowed from his jaw "Do not make me repeat myself weaklings"

"I am called Sven and my friend is named Jackal" Sven replied as he pulled his sword from out of the ground "I will give you one last chance dragon, back down from this fight... or else" Sven threatened, once again he was met only with the laughter of the ponies and the dragon himself. The moment everything fell quiet the dragon flexed his wings and let out a fiery roar.

"You think me weak pony? I am above all of you! By the end of the afternoon you shall be nothing more than a ghost haunting these prison walls. Do you hear me fool!" the massive dragon roared before Sven, hoping to elicit some form of fear. But Sven was not amused, in fact he disappointed. Disappointed in the fact that the dragon turned down his most generous offer. He just shook his head and stared down his foe with burning rage and fury.

"What is your name beast?" Sven asked which caused the dragon to grow silent. The dragon has never been asked for his name before, mostly before the inmates were too fearful to ask. The dragon respected Sven's courage but at the same time he was also very annoyed by it.

"I have no name" the dragon replied "I never needed one for I am a legend here, a name would be pointless now wouldn't it?" the moment Sven heard the dragon's reply he lowered his head before the beast.

"Dying without a name... how sad for you beast" Sven said as he faced the dragon again "I was going to give you an honorable death, but I am afraid that it will not be so" Sven raised his sword high with one hoof and brandished it towards his executioner "I will tell you now dragon. You will die so that the crowd may cheer" Sven recited one of Bradwarden's quotes "You will die here alone and away from your kin, do you hear me dragon? Do you want to leave them alone?"

"Ha! What use have I for family? They're only but a nuisance to a me, they will not miss me and I will not miss them" the dragon bellowed "Do I make myself clear pony?" the dragon then took his massive claws and raked them across the ground multiple times in a gratuitous display of power "Are you done talking now? I would very much like to splatter you all over this colosseum now"

"I am finished, and so are you you overgrown lizard" Sven retorted "You will regret turning down my offer, dragon" the crowd hissed and booed at Sven to the point where they were chucking rotten vegetables and fruits at him. Before the crowd got too rowdy the announcer approached Sven and Jackal one last time before he had to leave.

"So! Now that the introductions are done, do you two have any else to say before you this dragon has his way with you?" the announcer asked with that annoying grin of his again. Jackal finally broke out of his fear induced trance and turned to Sven.

"Well, I had a good run. It's been nice knowing you Sven, I'm glad we met before we die. You're a great friend" Jackal shakily said as tears began to well up at his eyes "I just wish I could see my kin once last time before I meet the great dog in the sky" Sven quickly went and grabbed his friend on the shoulder and gave him back his equipment. Jackal was confused but he complied and grasped his sword and shield again.

"Save your famous last words for when we're actually going to die Jackal" Sven said as he stared down his reptilian foe "We're going to make it out alive, and you're going to see your family again. This I swear!" Sven turned to face the dragon as the entire arena had been cleared of any bystanders. With the arena housing only three combatants, it was ready for the retribution that the warden had prepared for prisoners.

Sven awaited for the dragon to strike as Jackal snarled at him with renewed resolve for himself and his friend. The dragon let out one last laugh before all the spikes on his body unfurled themselves, showing the true form of the walking monstrosity. His body now covered with rows of iron hard scales and razor sharp claws, he let out another fiery roar before thrashing about uncontrollably before his victims.

The crowd roared with vigor and might as they began to witness the show in full swing. The dragon raked his claws across the ground so many time that the arena started to look like a fully plowed fields of wheat. The prisoners have been nimbly dodging and evading all the of the dragon's attacks for about five minutes now, narrowly escaping a very painful and messy death by the skins of their teeth. The dragon showed no sign of slowing down while Sven and Jackal began to tire out.

"I hope you have some sort of plan Sven, otherwise we're mincemeat!" Jackal shouted as he ducked a swing of the dragon's giant tail. Jackal saw an opening right between the feet of the dragon and attempted to strike it with his sword. Jackal struck the dragon with all of his might but his sword simply bounced off the dragon's scales like a pebble being thrown at a boulder "Sven! The scales are too strong, I cant hurt him!" he shouted as he immediately hopped out of the way of another tail swipe.

"Don't worry! I'll think of something!" Sven was starting to slow down as he continually parried all of the dragon's claw slashes. A normal pony would've gotten swept away by the sheer force of of the dragon's might but Sven held out the outcast blade and began blocking every hit that came at him. The strikes kept coming down fast and hard to the point where Sven could feel himself being pushed into the very earth. Another hit came and caught him completely off guard, knocking the great sword right out of his hooves and embedding it right onto the side of the arena wall "Uh oh"

"Ha! Not so strong without your sword now are you weakling?" The dragon taunted as the crowd continued to cheer the beast on. The dragon stopped for a moment and decided to bask in the glory of the fight "Do you hear that pony? My death isn't the one that will cause the crowds to cheer, it will be yours!" he tried slamming his claw straight down in an attempt to flatten Sven and Jackal, the two deftly jumped away from the attack and landed flat on their faces.

"Why do you two resist me? Don't you understand the futility of your situation?" the dragon asked as he tried swing at the two again "You're only delaying the inevitable! Just let me crush you now and I can promise you two a swift death!" he wildly whipped his tail all around the arena, almost tearing it apart hadn't it been magically reinforced. Sven and Jackal jumped out of the way once more only to be swatted out of the air by a strong gust of wind from the dragon's wings, sending them careening towards the wall. They both willed themselves to stand back up with whatever strength they had left within them.

"Why would we submit!?" Jackal shouted as he spat out a gob of blood "Then it wouldn't entertaining for the crowd now would it?" he finished as he strained to turn his head to face Sven "I really hope you have some sort of plan, I don't think I can keep up this whole not dying thing forever" he shook his head to shake the concussion that was threatening to him over "My bones are starting to feel like gravel"

"To be honest, Jackal" Sven wheezed "I've been holding back the whole time. If I unleash my true strength then this dragon would be set of armor and weapons by now. I can't do that, not in front of all these... ponies. They'll start to ask questions and we'll never be able to leave" he said as he clutched his sides, he was disheartened when he felt that something was out of place "Ugh, a couple of broken ribs. That's not good"

"Well you have to do something, You're an outworlder aren't you?" Jackal asked "Can't you do something to stop this thing?" he struggled to stand up straight. Sven examined the dragon that was still basking in the glory of the crowd's cheer, he could see that there was no real way of trying to stop him without making it look like they did something suspicious. The scales and spike that covered his body also made it impossible to attack it on the outside without expecting some kind of resistances. And then it hit Sven.

"Jackal, get over here..." Jackal complied and walked over to Sven where he began to whisper him his plan. Jackal's face was one of confusion, then it slowly contorted to that of understanding when he heard the plan. Just as they were discussing their plans the dragon turned and around and watched the two with an amused look.

"Oh, what's this? You two actually think you have a plan that can stop me?" both the crowd and the dragon laughed together "Give it up already, this is starting to get boring anyway. Let me crush you now, otherwise I'll just burn you to a crisp later" he threatened but Jackal and Sven turned to face the beast with a smug look on their face.

"Listen here and listen well dragon! I will give you one last opportunity to walk out of this fight with you life intact" Sven shouted "I will kill you dragon, don't think that I won't! Do not throw away this act of kindness from me!" unsurprisingly, the only response that Sven and Jackal received was just laughter again. The dragon just stared at his victims as he raised his claw high.

He then quickly slammed his claw down onto the two and the deed was done, they were both crushed beneath the weight of the strike. No one could've survived that. All fell silent before the crowd erupted once again into a loud and booming roar of a cheer and applause when the two threats to Equestria were publicly executed for all to see. The cheering continued for another minute before everyone noticed something shocking. The dragon's claw started to move.

The dragon's heart nearly stopped when he realized that something was forcing him back, something more powerful than he was. He tried to apply more force to flatten his prey once and for all but he couldn't budge his claw an inch. He almost broke into a cold sweat when the pony and the dog revealed themselves to everyone. They were very much alive and were very angry at their killer. Sven was holding back the dragon's claw by sheer strength alone, something that would be deemed physically impossible to do. He showed almost no sign of fatigue as he let loose a deafening war cry that somehow heartened Jackal's resolve .

"Big mistake, friend" Jackal sneered as he bolted off to a wild rush towards the other side of the colosseum and towards Sven's sword. With adrenaline and pure instinct fueling his movements he deftly dodge any and all counter attacks the dragon made all the trying to hold down Sven, Jackal's natural endurance as a diamond dog allowed him to reach the outcast blade within mere minutes before another tail swipe could take him down. With all the strength that he could muster he managed to pull out the embedded sword and threw it all the way towards Sven.

"What's the matter dragon? You're not scared are you!" Sven shouted as he countered with two powerful and bone crushing punches from Sven, the force of the attack caused the dragons claw jolt backwards as he recoiled from a pain that has never felt before. Angered and furious the dragon retaliated with by trying to stomp Sven into dust.

"Fools! I will grind you and your mutt of a friend beneath my heel!" the dragon brought forth his spiked foot down upon Sven, hoping to end it once and for all. Within mere moment of the colossal foot nearly reaching Sven his sword clattered upon the ground and landed right next to him. Without a moment to lose Sven quickly held his blade up high and ripped straight through the sole of the dragon's foot, leaving behind a large open wound that bled profusely. The dragon fell backwards as he held onto his foot to try and stop the bleeding.

"Gaaaah! You'll pay for that you little worm!" the dragon flailed his spiked tail around wildly around the ground, tearing away through dirt as if it were sand. He constantly thrashed his tail at Sven with great furor as he attempted to drive him into a corner before carving him up into little bits.

"That's right! Run! Run like the insignificant insect that you are!" Sven was almost driven to the walls of the arena, the dragon could almost taste the sweet satisfaction of tearing apart an annoying bug that had been causing him so much trouble for the last half hour. And then Jackal came into his view, as in right next to his eye. Apparently he was far too busy trying to murder Sven that he hadn't noticed or even felt that Jackal had been scaling his scaly body just to reach his face.

"Take this!" Jackal shouted before jamming his shattered blade straight into the dragon's unprotected eye, damaging and completely destroying his left eye. The dragon let out a pained roar as he fell forward and grasped his eye with one of his claws. Without warning another jolt of pain brought the dragon down to his knees, kicking and screaming before a shocked crowd.

He wailed in agony, breathing out fire in random direction as his mind filled with volatile pain. He tried to escape back into his cage but something was wrong, he couldn't move his other claw. When he regained some semblance of his senses he was horrified to discover that Sven had impaled his sword directly onto his right claw, breaking past his hardened scales and nailing him directly into the ground with no hope of escape from the pony and dog's terrible wrath. He pathetically whimpered before his vanquishers, waiting for the finishing blow. But it never came.

Sven removed his helmet, both him and Jackal stared down the dragon with a glare that could've liquefied the dragon. Sven and Jackal both said nothing as the crowd quelled to a deathly silence, everyone's jaw struck the floor at the impossibility that they had just witnessed. Two lone inmates, one stallion and one diamond dog had teamed up together to reduce a once great and formidable dragon to nothing more then a feeble shell of his former self. It was absolutely degrading and the crowd wouldn't dare believe what they saw.

"What are you waiting for, pony?" the dragon begrudgingly asked while he struggled to remove the sword that was impaled to his claw. The crowd maintained it's silence, they patiently awaited the stallions reply.

"You are not worthy to die by my blade, dragon" Sven said "You will stay here and wallow in your own defeat. Though I may spare your life beast, do not mistake this as mercy. Attack us again and you will regret it" he put his helmet back on then turned away and walked towards the entrance that he came through with Jackal. The two didn't turned back to take one last look at the dragon as they retired back to their cells.

"That took guts back there Sven, sparing his life like that. Are you sure it's a good idea just to leave him off the hook like that?" Jackal asked while he struggled to snap one of his broken phalanges back into place.

"I hope so Jackal, otherwise I will not be held responsible for my next action" Sven replied before letting out a wheexing coughing fit "Damn it, my ribs are still broken. Let's go see the prison's doctor, if this place has one that is...."

"You know after that fight the ponies will still try question you, right? No one's ever taken on a dragon like that before, and lived *cough!* *cough!* " Jackal wheezed.

"I did not think that part through, I just had to make sure we got out of here alive is all" Sven let out a little chuckled while his steps constantly shifted from normal walking and hobbling.

The dragon stayed and watch as the two slowly made their way back into the prison, the crowd couldn't take their eyes off of the prisoners that defeated the mighty dragon of Gladius prison. This only served to infuriate the dragon, instead of relief he felt nothing but anger and humiliation. He was outraged, his pride clouded his rational judgement and he delved into a blind fury. He wasn't about to let his vanquishers leave the prison, especially not alive. He welled up the fire that had been building up in his chest, he could feel the pressure build up around his throat as he narrowed his eyes down upon the two prisoners.

"If you think your kindness will save you worms, then you are sorely mistaken!" the dragon roared savagely before letting out a stream of fire that engulfed the entire colosseum. The temperature steadily rose from warm to hot to near inhospitable as the flames were strewn all around the colosseum, threatening to consume anything unlucky enough to be caught in it's fiery path. While the crowd was protected from the harsh flames thanks to the magically shielded arena, Sven and Jackal were at risk of being roasted alive.

"May your ashes serve as a grim reminder of what happens to the prisoners here when you anger the dragon of Gladius prison! AHAHAHAHAHA!" the dragon roared once more as he cackled madly at his foes. His revelry was instantly destroyed when he felt a sharp pain rush between his jaws, he felt like a mountain had been thrown at him. He stared in disbelief as he witnessed Sven heroically leapt past the blazing fire and straight at him with lightning crackling from his eyes. With a loud warcry, his left hoof glowed a bright white as he charged up his stormhammer.

"YOU FOOL!" Sven bellowed as his hoof collided with the dragon's nose. The point blank stormhammer amplified the power of his strike and shattered the dragon's nose along with almost every teeth in his head and cracking his entire skull. Without missing a beat Sven quickly grabbed the dragon's upper jaw and used the momentum of his leap to crane the neck of the dragon backwards. The dragon thrashed about, trying his hardest escape but to no avail. All he could do now was grovel and beg for the stallion's forgiveness.

"P-please, I'm sorry! Let me live!" the dragon's wheezily begged but all he could feel was his head sink back further and further. If this were to keep up his entire spinal column would be destroyed in the process, killing him in the slowest and most agonizing way possible "I beg... Guah! Of you... let me l-live.... please"

"You lost that opportunity the moment you tried to kill me and my friend, even after I had chosen to spare your life!" Sven shouted, he then shifted his weight to further the strain on the dragon's back "Not once, not twice but thrice have I given you the chance to back away! Instead you chose to squander your life over our deaths!" he forced the dragon's neck down further, closer to the breaking point "YOU DON"T DESERVE TO LIVE!" with one final pull Sven bend the dragon's neck all the way down to the ground and then:

"S-such... such p-power!" Blueblood exclaimed as he went to pick his jaw up from the floor "H-he just murdered the e-executioner. Nay, he was the executioner!" he continued to stare at the dragon's corpse and Sven and his dog of a friend with his brain doing it's best to fully comprehend the magnitude of the situation. Chain Warden, Quicksilver, Speeding Bullet and Fast Hoof were all locked in a frozen position of shock and awe. They didn't do or say anything until High Horse went and spoke up.

"Brilliant! Absolutely brilliant!" High Horse exclaimed as he vigorously stamped the ground, sounding more excited than everyone else did "I don't care if he was some assassin or not, we have to recruit him to The Descendants!" he said as he ecstatically chugged down his entire bottle of wine, leaving not one drop behind "Imagine the possibilities with that kind of power by our side!"

"Uh uh, there is no way we are letting this deranged psychopath into our order" Chain Warden protested "We put him here for a reason so he's staying here"

"Think outside of the box, Chain" said Quicksilver as she recovered from her shocked trance "He's a fellow pony, I'm sure he come around and join us when he realizes how great our cause is"

"Plus we will get much more recruits and initiates thanks to his popularity" Speeding Bullet said as he pointed the Sven "Give it a few seconds, then the crowd will go wild! With his new celebrity status our recruitment records will go through the roof!"

"I'm liking what I'm hearing here fellers. When do you think we could get a chance to go and talk to the big guy?" Fast Hoof said with a tug of her hat.

"Maybe we should do it after the wedding" Blueblood suggested "We'll get rid of the bugs first, then we'll go recruit him. Sound reasonable?" everyone nodded in a agreement before turning back to face the arena with a wide smile on each of their faces. They raised their hooves high and recited one of their quotes:

It was done, the force of the pull combined with the weight of the dragon's own body had completely destroyed his entire spinal column, severing the brain from the rest of the body leaving behind nothing more than a remnant of what he once was. The dragon slowly fell apart onto the ground, his broken body occasionally twitching while drool and blood spilled out from the crumbled remains of the dragon's maw. The limp and motionless body stained the ground of the arena painting it a dark crimson as the blood mixed with the dirt transforming it into a thick mud that stank of death.

The arena fell to another deathly silence, every pony in the arena were speechless. Then slight tapping sound could be heard, followed by another then another and another until the crowd erupted into full blown applause for the two prisoners. The loud stamping of the ponies rocked the arena, cheers and whistling could've been heard from miles away from the sheer energy that the ecstatic crowd was exuberating. The booming yells, the swooning mares over Sven's heroics caused the two inmate's ears to ring.

"I don't get what Bradwarden loves about these places, it's far too loud" Sven thought to himself as both he and Jackal limped towards the entrance. Burned, bruised and mostly broken in some places the two hoped to end the day with a nap in their own cell, is that too much to ask? Apparently it was too much to ask, two tall and regal looking princesses approached the two, stopping them right in their tracks. Jackal went wide eyed when he realized just who they were, Sven could only groan when he realized who they were as well