//------------------------------//
// Chapter 4 
// Story: Last of the Dragonlords: A Good Mare Goes To War Part 1: The Passing of Harmony 
// by Fluttershy20 
//------------------------------//

“So, let me see if I completely understand this,” Spike said once Fluttershy stopped talking, his eyes wide as his mind tried to process what Fluttershy had been telling them for the last half an hour. “You are the last of an order of warriors called Dragonlords that can walk through fire, have dragon-like vision, have dragon-like hearing, can speak an ancient and forgotten dragon language, live longer than normal ponies and can fight just about anything and everything!”

Fluttershy looked in his direction and nodded curtly. Upon seeing Spike’s look of utter disbelief, she said, “I know it sounds a bit hard to believe–”

“A bit?” Luna cut her off. “My dear Fluttershy, that is one of the most unbelievable things I’ve heard in a long, long time. Which is something compared to what I have heard these past few days.”

“Fluttershy Firewing speaks the truth,” Vidarr said, twisting his head to look at them. “Her blood is that of mine and my great grandfather’s, Luna Nocturnus Solaris.”

Luna’s eyes gazed at Vidarr’s own for a moment, as though trying to find an inkling of deceit in the ancient dragon’s eyes. She found none. With a sigh, Luna turned back to face the pegasus, smiling thinly at her. “Even if it is the truth, it is still very hard to believe. You, dear Fluttershy, who tried to run away from me that Nightmare Night more than two years ago, have changed into a warrior in such a short space of time.”

Fluttershy gave Luna a small, sad smile. “That pony died, Princess. Killed by dragon fire,” Fluttershy said grimly. She gestured a hoof at her body. “This is what came out of those flames.”

Luna said nothing, just nodded at her then turned back to comforting Cadence. Fluttershy looked over to Spike, who had turned his back on them all, and was gazing at the Everfree Forest below them. “Spike, are you all right?”

Spike didn’t even turn his head around. “Two years. It has taken you two years to finally tell me about what happened in Horsca,” he said, making Fluttershy grimace at the anger in his tone. “Why did it take you so long?”

Fluttershy’s ears flattened. “I… I’m sorry, Spike. I really am. I just thought–”

“That I wouldn’t be able to take it?” Spike snapped, making Fluttershy flinch back. “That cute, little Spikey Wikey wouldn’t understand that sort of thing because he’s just a baby dragon?” He slowly sighed and raised a claw apologetically. “I’m sorry, Fluttershy, I shouldn’t be angry with just you. Not even Twilight confided in me about what happened in Horsca. She said you would be the one to tell me when you were ready. Guess you never were ready, were you?”

Fluttershy smiled half-heartedly, then stood beside him and wrapped Spike under a foreleg. “I am sorry, Spike, I really am, but it was hard to talk about it sometimes. I saw so much that I hope to never see again, and did things that made me hate myself for some time.”

For the first time since telling her story, he looked up at her. “But how could you hate yourself? You’re too sweet and kind to be a fighter, or a killer.”

Fluttershy chuckled lightly. “Oh, Spike. I admit there are times where I can get quite violent, but those are my really bad days.” ‘Like now, really. This could be easily considered as the worst day of all.’

“Well, we all have those,” Spike said. “But you? Fighting, killing, and putting your life on the line? That doesn’t seem like something you would do.”

“Wouldn’t you do the same if your friends’ lives were on the line, Spike? Wouldn’t you risk everything in the hope you could see Twilight smile and laugh once more?”

Spike’s ears fell flat and his face darkened as he swiftly looked away. “Don’t ever mention her name in front of me again. It’s one I particularly want to forget.”

Fluttershy’s ears fell once again. ‘He still doesn’t see that something has happened to her to make her act how she did. He’s too angry and upset to see it,’ Fluttershy thought. She could not blame him for that. “All the same, wouldn’t you risk everything for your friends, your family, the one you love?”

Spike didn’t answer. He just looked at Fluttershy for a long moment, then looked away and gazed out towards the plains below once more. Fluttershy’s heart sunk. ‘I hope one day he has it in his heart to forgive her. I hope he has it in him to forgive them all.’ Fluttershy got up on all fours, spread her wings out to help her balance, and then walked slowly and cautiously across Vidarr’s back till she felt secure. She watched as the Everfree Forest disappeared behind them and gave way to lush, green grasslands, and isolated cottages, shacks and farms.

“Pray tell, dear Fluttershy,” Luna said as she looked around the environment. “Where exactly are we going?” 

“I’m not entirely sure yet, Princess,” Fluttershy replied. “But now that we’re heading this way, we could try and lose ourselves in the desert. That way the ponies they send to find us may not have such an easy job in tracking us down.”

Luna nodded in agreement. “It is a sound plan you have. But please, call me Luna from here on in. I’m no longer a Princess, and neither is poor Cadence.” She looked down at the solemn mare beside her, lying prone with her head resting on her hooves and her eyes sullen. 

Fluttershy pitied the Crystal Princess, and wished there was something she could do to help. ‘How can I help her, though? I’ve got my own problems at the moment.’ Yet her problems and Cadence’s were now connected, she quickly realised, as were Luna’s and Spike’s. ‘But how, though? What brought this about? How can they all turn against us so quickly?’ She did not know any answers, but was on the back of someone who might know some. ‘I should ask Vidarr what he knows, and how to convince the others to help me.’

She moved away from Luna and Cadence, then walked along Vidarr’s neck, jumped up onto the top of his forehead, and slid down onto his nose. Once she regained her balance, and safe in the knowledge that she wouldn’t fall off, she turned to look the dragon in the eye. “Har du noen ideer om hva som foregår, Vidarr (Do you have any ideas on what’s going on, Vidarr)?” Fluttershy asked the great dragon in Dragonian.

“Jeg vet ikke hva som får dine venner og Celestia Solaris til å oppføre seg slik, Fluttershy Ildvinge. Men vær du sikker, jeg vil hjelpe deg i ditt mål for å få dem tilbake som du husker dem (I know not what is causing your friends and Celestia Solaris to act this way, Fluttershy Firewing. But be assured, I will help you in your quest to get them back to you as you know them),” he replied.

Fluttershy smiled at him. “Jeg viste jeg kunne stole på deg (I knew I can count on you).” She looked at the ground to see that the grasslands of Equestria were slowly disappearing, and the dry, golden sand of the desert began to take over. “Men hva med de andre (But what about the others)?” she asked, gesturing with a hoof up at Vidarr’s back towards those she was running away with. “Jeg vet at jeg ønsker å hjelpe dem mot de som vil dem vondt, men jeg føler at de ikke ønsker det. Hvordan kan jeg bevies det motsatte (I know I want to help those that have done us wrong, but I feel like they don’t want to. How could I convince them otherwise)?”

“Du kan ikke, Fluttershy Ildvinge (You don’t, Fluttershy Firewing),” Vidarr answered. “Smertene av foræderi er en skade som ikke kan heles så let. Selv om du har rett og at noe har skjedd for at de handler på den veien, så vil skaden altid stå. Du vil ikke dømme dem for hardt, vil du (The pain of treachery is a wound that cannot be so easily healed. Even if you are right and something has happened to them to act this way, the wound will always remain. You will not judge them too harshly on that, will you)?”

Fluttershy shook her head. “Jeg skal ikke dømme i det hele tatt. Demmes grunn til å ikke hjelpe meg i det hele tatt er helt forståelig. Men, det ville vært bedre hvis jeg hadde demmes hjelp i dette. Jeg frykter bare at noe har hendt mot dem til at de handler den veien, og jeg vil ikke hvile før jeg har funnet ut hva som gjør det, og så stoppe det (I’m not going to judge on that at all. Their reasons to not help me would be entirely justifiable. However, it would be better if I did have their help in this. I just fear that something has happened to them all to act that way, and I won’t rest until I find out what it is, then stop it).” 

Vidarr smiled, his eyes speaking of his admiration for her. “Slik hengivenhet til dine venner, Fluttershy Ildvinge. Selv etter alt som har skjedd, du forsetter å være lojal til dem, til demmes virkelige dem. Du er en stor Drageherre (Such devotion to your friends, Fluttershy Firewing. Even after everything that has happened, you remain loyal to them, to the real them. You truly are a great Dragonlord).” His smile wavered. “Men det er ikke nå du må finne grunnen til demmes sidestykke. Hva som telles nå er å deg og dine venner til sikkerhet. Når de er trygge, så skal vi begynne å grave etter sannheten (But it is not now that you must find the cause of their ailment. What matters now is getting you and your friends with us to safety. Once they are safe, then we can begin to uncover the truth).”

Fluttershy nodded. “Du har rett Vidarr. Demmes sikkerhet kommer først fremfor alt annet (You’re right, Vidarr. Their safety should come first before anything else).” She bowed her head to the dragon, and then jumped back up onto his back, joining the others in the long and sullen silence that had befallen them. 

Fluttershy didn’t always mind the silence; it was a moment for the pegasus to get her thoughts together, and think of another topic to talk about. But here, it was becoming unbearable. Spike had his back to everyone; Luna was sitting next to Cadence, stroking her head gently, her eyes stating her sorrow. While Cadence lay in a broken state, unmoving except for a few eye blinks every now and then.

Unable to take it anymore, Fluttershy trotted to Vidarr’s lower back, then sat on her haunches and looked towards Ponyville and the north of Equestria. After a moment of thought, she decided to look at her blades to see if they were in good condition after their two years of storage. She lifted her right leg up, and let Drage Bane shoot out of its scabbard.  

While Firewing’s blade was two feet in length, Drage Bane’s was three feet, and had teeth along both edges like that of a shark’s, and a sharp point like an arrowhead at the end. It was made out of a type of steel that had been long forgotten to ponykind, but known to be the finest and strongest steel in Terra – forged in dragon fire, and sharpened to the point nothing could take its bite. In short, Fluttershy couldn’t have wished for a finer blade. 

But even so, there were times she wished she didn’t have it. The only reason she liked the sword was that it belonged to her father, and was one of the few things she had to remember him by. As she examined the blade, she wondered what her father would have done if he had rescued them rather than Vidarr. Would he have gone through swords swirling and killed them all? Alternatively, would he have waited until the right moment, then struck without resorting to violence? She hoped it was the latter rather than the former. 

“I hope you know when to use that sword,” Luna said suddenly from behind her. Fluttershy spun her head around, startled by the sudden presence of Luna’s voice directly behind her. “Forgive me for startling you, Fluttershy.”

Fluttershy smiled, and then gestured with a hoof for Luna to sit beside her, which the winged unicorn complied. “It’s all right… Luna.” She thought she was going to have a hard time with just calling Luna by her name alone. “And yes, unfortunately I do know how to use it. Dragonlords know how to fight from the moment they are reborn, thanks to the memories and abilities given to us by Vidarr the First at our creation.”

Luna nodded, clearly fascinated by her ancestry. “I’m glad that you know how to use it, but that’s not what I asked. What I want to know is: do you know when to use it?”

That question hit Fluttershy hard. When to use it? “Well…” she answered, “I-I know I should use it when you or Spike or Cadence or myself are in danger, and-”

“I didn’t mean it like that,” Luna cut her off. “What I meant was, are you willing to use it to take life?”

Fluttershy’s bright yellow coat went a bit paler than usual. “You mean… to k-k-kill?” Luna nodded. Fluttershy shook her head furiously in response. “I could never kill anything, Luna. I may be a warrior born to kill, but I don’t think I can bring myself to do that. All my life I have been brought up to embrace and cherish life, not to take it away.” She decided to leave out the fact that she had killed already, but saw that as an accident rather than an intentional killing.

Luna nodded, although Fluttershy could feel a sense of disappointment coming from her. “That’s what I thought,” Luna muttered, supposedly to herself, but Fluttershy heard it as if she had spoken it aloud.

She was about to ask what she meant by that, when Vidarr suddenly called out, “Fluttershy Firewing!” 

Fluttershy cantered from his back, down to his head and back onto his long muzzle. “What is it?” she asked as she spun around to look into his eyes once again.

Vidarr didn’t say anything, he simply gestured with his eyes to look to her right. Fluttershy followed his eyes to find herself gazing upon Appleloosa below them. The town had surely grown from what she remembered. The main street had extended to go behind the train station, and carried on for about a quarter of a mile. Small alleyways griddled the town, packed together with new buildings and homes. While around the outskirts, apple trees dotted the barren world, putting a bit of life into an otherwise dead land.

Fluttershy wished she could go and hunker down there for a while, but knew it would be stupid to do so. Anypony that would be sent after them would head to any town in the desert looking for them; so being in any town would be impossible. Fluttershy would have made her way back to the others, had it not been for some things on the ground that caught her eye.

Large haystacks, built up to act like watchtowers of some sort, stood on either side of the road coming into town. Other barricades of different sorts were lined along the road coming into Appleloosa, slowing any approach coming from the south, north and west of the town. And the railway line going to Ponyville was gone, the pieces of track used to create even more barricades. 

Fluttershy could not believe what she was seeing. ‘How is this happening?’ she thought. ‘I thought we put a stop to this when we first came here!’

“You’ve seen the barricades as well?” Vidarr asked.

Fluttershy nodded. “It’s almost like… they’re preparing for war.” Her mind began putting together the pieces: first her friends suddenly decided they hate her, Celestia arrests her sister and niece and herself and Spike for treason, and now this sudden act of hostility in an otherwise peaceful town. None of it seemed right, and she knew she had to get to the bottom of this.

Although one half of her said to keep going and get to safety, another part, her curious side, said she had to know what was going on. After a moment of mental struggle, her curious side won. She began looking around for a suitable landing spot, and quickly saw one just on the other side of a small hill east of the town, perfect to obscure their landing. “Take us down there… um, please?” she ordered, pointing with a hoof.

Vidarr’s eyes spoke of his hesitance, but he complied nonetheless. He tucked his wings a bit, and dipped his head as he began to descend towards the spot Fluttershy pointed out. 

The sudden descent did not pass the attention of the others, especially Luna. “We’re landing?” Luna exclaimed. She glared at Fluttershy from the top of Vidarr’s head. “Are you insane? They will catch and take us back to Canterlot in chains if we land!” A soft whimper came from Cadence at the mention of chains, and Spike groaned a little, hugging himself tighter.

“Please, it won’t be for long, I promise,” Fluttershy assured them, holding her forehooves up as if she were halting them. “I just want to see why they are preparing for war, and then go.” Vidarr landed with a soft thud, and lowered his head to the ground, allowing Fluttershy to jump off his head and onto the ground. 

She looked back at her companions, who looked down at her as if she was mad, or in concern. “If you want, stay here with Vidarr. I won’t be long.” With that, she broke into a gallop and made her way over the hill and towards Appleloosa, hoping she had made the right decision.

After a minute or so, she found herself not far from the entrance of the growing town. She made her way onto the road, slowing into a trot as she did so, then stopped and stood facing the length of the road, right down to the train station. The street was completely deserted; no sight nor sound of a pony seemed to appear. She didn’t like it at all. Nevertheless, she wanted to know what was going on. Trembling with nervousness, she began to walk slowly forward, gently picking up the pace the closer she got. 

She was soon walking steadily between the towered haystacks, and looked everywhere for anypony that could be hiding. Her Dragonlord instincts began to kick in; her ears were at their highest, trying to pick out any mutters or talk between ponies. Her eyes wandered to every spot where somepony could spring an ambush, while her guts were telling her to forget this place and turn back to Vidarr and her friends.

She decided, for just this once, to ignore her guts. ‘It wouldn’t be the first time they were wrong,’ she mused. Slowly, she began to walk into the town, her heartbeat getting faster and faster with every step as she moved further into Appleloosa. For some reason, she felt like she was walking into the mouth of a large dragon, and it was any moment when the mouth would suddenly close and she would be swallowed whole by it.

She stopped just outside the town bar, and had a good look and listen around. If there were any ponies here, they were very quiet; too quiet for Fluttershy to take any longer. She needed to know what was going on, because a gut feeling was telling her this was connected to Celestia and her friends’ strange and hostile behaviour over the last week. It could be mere coincidence, but too many things have happened in her lifetime to make her believe that there is no such thing as coincidence.

“Hello!” she called out, hoping to gain an answer. “I’m not here to hurt you, if that’s what you are worried about! I just want to talk… if you want to, that is!” No response was returned, and that made Fluttershy all the more nervous than usual. “Please, I just want to know what’s going on, get some food and drink, and I’ll be on my way!”

Again, her announcement was met with silence. ‘Everypony must have fled,’ she concluded. She spun around and made her way towards the bar, intending to get some food and drinks for her friends. ‘No, they’re not my friends – except Spike, of course. And Vidarr. I barely know Cadence and Luna.’ Yet something told her she would have ample time to get to know them better to consider them as friends.

She didn’t move ten steps forward when ten ponies walked out of the bar, all of them clutching crudely crafted spears and pitchforks. Fluttershy froze when she saw the weapons, and began to step back from them in fright. The ten ponies stood in a line, with their weapons lowered and pointing threateningly at her. A twitch from Fluttershy’s right ear made her look right to see more ponies emerging from some of the other buildings, cutting off her escape route. Most of them armed with weapons of various sorts, while the rest were armed with scowls.

Fluttershy’s left ear twitched, and she saw more ponies coming out of the buildings, and cutting off the paths into the alleyways. Fluttershy saw she was now surrounded on all sides. The Dragonlord could feel her heart hammering against her chest, threatening to break out of its place and burst through her ribcage. She looked up to see a large group of pegasi were now hovering above her, cutting off every route of escape – save one.

With a heavy heart, she opened up her wings, revealing the wing blades hidden in them, and then raised her right leg and let Drage Bane shoot out of its bracelet. The ponies closing around her backed away in sudden fright at this well armed and possibly experienced mare. “Please,” she pleaded one more time, hoping they would listen to reason, “I don’t want to hurt anypony, but I will if you attack me. I just want to know about those barricades, and why they have been set up.”

At that, the ponies stepped closer. “She’s a spy!” one shouted, rearing up and pointing an accusing hoof at her. “A spy sent by Princess Celestia to find out about us!” This was met with a roar of approval from the crowd, making Fluttershy cringe.

“Kill her! Kill her and send her body back as a warning to those who dare cross the new republic!” another pony shouted, making Fluttershy’s heart beat a little faster.

“But I don’t understand? Why this sudden hatred to Princess Celestia? What’s this republic you’re talking about?” she asked. The crowd weren’t listening; they were set on making Fluttershy an example. They advanced slowly towards her, their weapons lowered and threatening. Fluttershy didn’t know what to do, fight them and possibly kill a few of them to get out, or prostrate herself on the ground, hug herself tight and pray her end would be quick.

“Stop!” a commanding, yet familiar voice called, denying her any action she didn’t want to take. As one, the ponies backed away from Fluttershy, whose heart slowed down as she sighed in relief. She turned around to face whoever saved her, and gasped.

“Sheriff Silverstar?” she asked, recognising him a little from her first trip here. The brown stallion had changed little since her last visit. His moustache had been trimmed to a more stylish look, and his mane had been shortened. But the thing that she noticed most was how much older he looked. 

The stallion bowed his head at her in respect. “What brings ya here, little missy?” he asked, his tone not stating his displeasure or pleasure of her visit.

Fluttershy glanced around her to see how far everypony was from her, hoping that if she turned around one of them wouldn’t suddenly strike her with a spear from behind. Noticing her unease, Silverstar inclined his head at the ponies, and as one, all the ponies backed off to give Fluttershy some space.

Fluttershy now felt like she could breath easier, now that she had some space. She looked back at Silverstar, who was staring back at her with a curious, almost wary, look. She gave the stallion a little curtsy. “Thank you, Sheriff Silverstar,” she said. Keeping her eyes on the sheriff, she advanced towards him. Some of the ponies closest to her sprang forward to stop her making a move, but were stopped by a raised hoof from the sheriff. “Please, all I ask is some food and water for me and my friends, and I’ll be on my way.” Her eyes widened when she suddenly remembered she didn’t have any money to pay them. ‘Oh dear,’ she thought.

The stallion looked at her for a second, then nodded and gestured with his head to the bar. “Follow me,” he ordered. “There’s some stuff in ’ere we can spare for ya and your friends.”

Fluttershy looked surprised. “Really? I can just have it, for free?”

Silverstar looked back. “Ya look like ya need it, lil’ missy. Now come on, in here so we can talk in private.”

Fluttershy quickly complied and cantered after him, quickly noticing the ponies outside starting to surround the building from a distance incase she tried to do something irrational. ‘As if I ever would do anything irrational,’ she thought. A few thoughts and memories from the past came back to her, giving her statement of herself some pause. ‘Oh. Maybe I have done some irrational things in my lifetime.’

Inside, the saloon had a typical western look. An array of wooden tables scattered across the floor, a large bar with stacks of drinks behind made up one end of the wall; a flight of stairs to bedrooms for the night as well as other places Fluttershy didn’t want to think about, and a room just behind the stairs leading to a poker table. Fluttershy kept her eyes wide open, her ears at their highest and her wings stretched out to show she was not a mare to be trifled with. 

Sheriff Silverstar walked around the bar and into the kitchen behind. “Would ya like some water as a drink, or somethin’ a bit stronger?” he called from inside.

Fluttershy sat her rump on one of the chairs. “Um, just water, I think, thank you,” she called in response. “Some red wine would be better, if only I could drink it properly,” she muttered to herself. 

As she waited, she gave her mane and tail a cleanup, cleaning out any dust and sand she had caught from her gallop into the town. After that, she rested her head on the table and let out a heavy sigh while rubbing a temple with a hoof. She felt tired and miserable. This morning she had woken up a free mare. Now, before the day was even done, she was branded a traitor and forced to go on the run. ‘This week is turning out to be the worst week of my life,’ she thought. ‘Much worse than the week I learnt I was a Dragonlord, lost my father and nearly lost my friends.’ 

Her brooding was cut short when Silverstar returned with a large bag full of food and drink. ‘That should last us weeks,’ she thought. Fluttershy smiled gratefully as she reached out and took it. “Oh, thank you, sir,” she said as she peeked inside.

“Ya quite welcome, lil miss,” Silverstar said. “And never worry ’bout paying us back; we like to help others out here.”

Fluttershy smiled at him as she felt something lift off her chest. She set the bag beside her chair, and straightened herself up once more. “Now, um, you don’t have to unless you want to, but could I ask you a question or two?” Fluttershy asked, looking down at her hooves and quickly glancing up now and then.

Silverstar looked at her warily, as if he was suspecting to fall into some trap Fluttershy did not have. After a moment, he pulled up another chair and sat down opposite the pegasus. “Okay,” he sighed. “What do ya want to know?”

“Well, um, how are things with the buffalo?” she asked.

Silverstar tilted his head, his expression portraying his confusion. “Everything’s fine with them, as far as I’m aware. Why do ya ask?”

“Well, after seeing those barricades out there, I figured something must have happened between you and them to have them set up. I can’t imagine another reason, really.”

Silverstar reared his head back from her, his eyes stating his surprise. “Ya really don’t know what’s goin’ on, do ya?”

“Forgive me if I sound rude, but am I supposed to?” Fluttershy enquired with a shrug. “It’s been a long week, and too much bad stuff has happened for me to notice. Besides, I don’t read the newspaper.” 

Silverstar turned around to get something, then came back with a newspaper. “Then ya need to read this. This is news coming from across Equestria,” he said, turning to the right page. He found it and then turned it around for Fluttershy to see.

Fluttershy leaned forward and read it quickly. The further she read the articles, the more she felt her blood starting to run even colder. She felt her mouth open, and her eyes widen even more in horror of what was happening. 

Trottingham and Hoofington had just become their own state. Las Pegasus, Baltimare, Manehatten, Vanhoover, Cloudsdale, and Fillydelphia were rioting violently. Strutford and Detrots – two cities Fluttershy distinctively remembered – were locked down in a curfew. And the smaller towns and villages all over the country had gone totally silent, as though they didn’t exist anymore.

“There are some that say Las Pegasus has formed its own state, and Trottingham and Hoofington are just rioting violently,” Silverstar explained. “Everything is so confusing and muddled up that it’s hard to really understand what is going on. All I can see is that a storm’s sweepin’ through Equestria, to put it in a polite manner.”

Fluttershy found herself unable to read anymore. She leaned back on her chair and wiped her face with a hoof, feeling how cold she was. ‘I must look pale,’ she thought. “And what about Appleloosa and Dodge Junction?” she enquired. 

Silverstar gestured with his hooves at the building around him. “Right now, you’re in the Southern Republic, the newly created nation for all the desert towns and cities that were once part of Equestria, and ruled by Braeburn and a few others in Dodge Junction. I was asked to be a ruler but I turned it down; somepony has to be the Sheriff here.”

Fluttershy’s mouth opened even wider, staring at him in disbelief. “B-b-but w-why?” she stammered. “Why break apart from Equestria?”

“Think about it, missy. What has Celestia and Luna done for us? Hmm?” Fluttershy wasn’t entirely sure what the two Princesses had done for them, except maybe allowing them to settle here, so she shut her mouth and kept silent. “We built this entire town from the ground up without any finance, or any assistance for that matter, from them. 

“They never even came to us when we ‘ad that disagreement with the buffalo. So we all came together – me and Braeburn, a few from Dodge Junction, and others supporting the other towns out ‘ere – and we all decided to form a separate state and break off from the rest of Equestria,” he explained. He tapped the newspaper. “It seems like most of Equestria have opened their eyes as well to this. I have a feeling that when the sun rises again, Equestria will be no more.”

Fluttershy couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “So, what about those barricades? Are they there to sto…” Her voice faded into silence at the look she was getting from Silverstar. It was a wary, almost suspicious look, as if Fluttershy was asking too many questions – too many important questions. She realised quickly she should have been more careful in what she said. 

‘I think it’s time to leave,’ she decided. She quickly scolded herself for not following her guts for this one time and kept on going with Vidarr and the others. “Well, uh, thank you, Sheriff, for, um, letting me know about what’s going on around Equestria, and, uh, for the food and drink.” She pushed her chair back and jumped off, then wrapped the strap of the food and drink bag around her shoulders. “It will come in handy for me and my friends as we run into the desert for our very lives,” she said quickly while walking backwards towards the exit, her eyes never leaving Silverstar’s. “Um, thanks again!”

Silverstar cocked his head at her, his suspicious look never receding. Suddenly he cried, “Colts!” At once, two ponies burst through the door with their spears lowered and pointing at Fluttershy, forcing her to stop. “Ya asked too many questions, little missy,” Silverstar said. “Too many for comfort. Yes, those barricades are to stop any retaliation from Equestrian forces should they try and take back the town, which we think they will attempt.”

Fluttershy glanced back and gulped as she saw how close the spears were to her hide. “S-so, um, what does that mean for me?” she asked, looking back at Silverstar.

The stallion took his hat off and pressed it against his chest. “I’m sorry, miss, but I can’t let ya walk away from here. Even if ya ain’t a spy, if ya get caught and interrogated for being here ya could tell them all our arrangements and such. I can’t let that happen.” He gestured to her wings. “Take those blades of yours off, as well as any other weapon ya carry, and no harm will come to ya. Ya have my word as the Sheriff of this town.”

Fluttershy considered for a second to put down her weapons and surrender, but knew if she did then there was a chance that when Equestrian forces do – will come, Fluttershy thought – then she would get caught up in the attack, and possibly be captured once more. It was something she did not intend to happen to her; besides, she needed to get back to her friends. ‘I hope you can all forgive me for this,’ she thought. “I’m afraid I can’t do that, Sheriff, so I’m sorry.”

Before anypony knew what was happening, she went low, spun around, let Drage Bane whisk out from its scabbard, and cut off the spear ends of the ponies’ weapons. 

The stallion on the right quickly recovered and tried to take her down with a single kick of a leg in the head. Fluttershy swerved away from the hoof, and then countered by taking the leg in her hooves and pulling it hard, dislocating it. “Sorry,” she whispered as the stallion screamed out in pain. She threw the stallion to the side, not noticing he was knocked out cold by stumbling into a table head first. The other stallion lunged at her a hoof ready to hit her, and teeth ready to bite.

Fluttershy swerved away from the hoof, and was meant to use her other hoof to deflect the stallion’s head, only to hit him harder than she intended to. He went down without a sound. “Oh my, I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to hit you that hard!” she squeaked frighteningly as she looked down at the colt she had punched. She looked up at Silverstar, who looked sullen at the scene in front of him, and then spun around and ran outside, intent on getting out of the town.

She halted when she saw the vast number of ponies looking at her with angry eyes. As one, the ponies rushed forward in an attempt to capture her again. Fluttershy narrowed her eyes as she figured out a way to get passed them, and then spread her wings once again as she willed herself to charge forward. Just before she and the ponies clashed together, she thrust her wings down in a heavy beat, spraying clouds of dust and sand into the ponies’ faces, blinding them and driving them away from her outstretched wings. She did it repeatedly until a cloud of sand obscured her from the ponies, and allowed her to pass through without hurting anypony.

Eventually, she found her way out of the crowd of ponies, and left them in the dust. A pegasus saw her about to leave the town, and dived down in an attempt to stop her. At the right moment, Fluttershy veered out of the way, making the pegasus land face first into the ground. “Sorry!” she called. At the sound of her voice, the other ponies of the town charged out of the dust cloud Fluttershy created, and thundered towards her. 

Fluttershy squeaked, “Eep!” in fright, and ran just a little bit faster out of the town and towards the ridge where Vidarr and her friends resided. Her heart raced like a drum, and her eyes were wide with fear as she tried to ignore the ideas of what might happen to her if they captured her.

“VIDARR!” she called as loud as she could as she raced over the crest to where she knew they were. The dragon’s head shot up at the hearing of his name, and sighed in relief as he saw Fluttershy race towards him.

“I thought for a moment I would have to rescue you, Dragonlord,” he said as she raced up to him.

“You still could if you want! Look!” She pointed to the crest of the hill where about a hundred angry looking ponies were striding over. They instantly halted when they saw the large yellow dragon she was with, and began to back away in fear.

“Allow me to deal with this,” he whispered into Fluttershy’s ear. He turned himself around and set himself so that Fluttershy was behind him, then spread his wings and bared his teeth, growling like a wolf. Some ponies began to flee back to the town in terror, while some bravely, or foolishly, stood their ground. 

One pony lowered her spear and walked up to the dragon, thrusting it threateningly. Amused, Vidarr took a step closer and, with two fingers of his claw, snapped the spear in half like a twig. The pony looked at what was left of her spear, then back at Vidarr, and then grinned sheepishly as she tried to escape his gaze.

Grinning, Vidarr leaned his head forward and suddenly whispered, “Boo.” At once, everypony began to run away back to the town in terror, screaming their lungs out. Vidarr couldn’t help but laugh as he watched them go, and neither could Fluttershy.

“Forgive me for not sharing your amusement, but I don’t see the funny side of what just occurred,” Luna said, watching with a mildly perplexed look.

“I don’t see the funny side either,” Spike concurred, sharing the same look with Luna.

“It’s just that ‘boo’ made them all run away,” Fluttershy explained as she jumped onto Vidarr’s back. She chuckled once more as she fell onto her haunches, shaking her head at herself. “So legendary.”

“Quite. But I’m sure Vidarr would not have had to go ‘boo’ if you stayed on his back and we kept on going!” Luna yelled, prodding Fluttershy on the chest hard. “What were you thinking?” Luna continued, making Fluttershy’s ears fall flat as she took it. “You could have been captured; you could have had us all captured! Do you hones-”

“All right!” Fluttershy snapped, cutting her off. “I get it, I made a mistake, don’t we all do that from time to time?” She sighed as her shoulders slumped and exhaustion began to make itself known to her. “I’m sorry, Luna. And I’m sorry to you two as well,” she said, turning to face Cadence and Spike with apologetic eyes. “It was wrong of me to go in. I realised that by the time I was nearly done.” She suddenly looked back at Luna as she just remembered why she went in there in the first place. “But what I learnt should make up for it.” 

“You mean you found something out, Fluttershy Firewing?” Vidarr said, turning his large head to eye her curiously.

Fluttershy turned her head to look at Vidarr and then nodded. “I’ll tell you about it as we move,” she said.

Taking that as a cue to move, Vidarr spread his wings out and shot into the air, going straight up for a moment then levelling out as they went south, leaving Appleloosa behind them. With danger out of the way for a moment, Fluttershy began to tell them what Silverstar told her. The ponies and dragons’ eyes widened in horror as Fluttershy told them in brief about the growing unrest and chaos affecting all of Equestria. 

“This can not be happening,” Cadence said quietly, surprising everyone since she hadn’t spoken yet. The mare slunk down even further, her eyes welling up with tears of sorrow. “Please tell me this isn’t happening…”

Luna walked up to her and hugged the other winged unicorn comfortingly. “Are you certain of this, Fluttershy?” she demanded.

“I’m not entirely sure, Luna, since most of what I was told came from a newspaper,” Fluttershy answered. “But if the desert towns have separated themselves as well, then surely others would have followed.” 

Luna shook her head, sighing. “Celestia, you fool,” she muttered to herself. “You shouldn’t have imprisoned us for false accusations. Now you have a whole nation up in arms about it.”

Fluttershy raised her eyebrows in shock. ‘She really thinks they’re doing it because she and Cadence were imprisoned.’ She wanted to tell them that she was right and something had not just happened to Celestia and her friends, but now all of Equestria as well to act the way they are. But she could see she would lose that argument, since all of them felt exactly as Luna felt. ‘I’ll have to wait for some more evidence,’ she decided. ‘Only then they would really believe me.’

The group fell silent as Vidarr flew them all across the desert.





The sun was starting to disappear under the horizon when the three ponies and two dragons decided to stop for the night. They landed on what looked like a huge square rock with a roughly flat surface on top that, conveniently, had a naturally created ramp that they could use to get down. 

Once Vidarr landed, Spike was the first to jump off. “Finally!” he exclaimed, stretching his legs and arms. “Sitting on a dragon’s back for half a day is not comfortable.” He began going for a little stroll around the rock face.

Fluttershy was next to jump off Vidarr’s back, followed close behind by Luna and Cadence. The three ponies flexed their wings for a moment to quell the aching feeling they all had in them. “That took forever,” Cadence said dryly, stretching her legs out. “It does feel nice to walk again.”

“It certainly does, and it feels nice to be here,” Luna said, looking around.

Fluttershy could only nod to agree. The view from the rock was outstanding. South of the rock they stood on, the Macintosh Hills displayed a deep, fiery red in the low sunlight; while around them were miles of flat desert, displaying a bright, almost golden colour as the sun disappeared. “Right,” she said quietly, “should we set up a campfire and settle down for the night?”

Luna and Cadence nodded. “Quite right, Fluttershy,” Luna agreed, “but I suggest we come up with a plan for the morning. As nice as it is here, I wouldn’t want to stay longer than a night.”

Although she wished they could stay here, Fluttershy knew Luna was right. They couldn’t stay in one place for long, or else they would be caught. ‘Perhaps we’ll keep running for the rest of our lives,’ she thought sadly. That was something she would not do – not this time.

“Stay here,” Vidarr commanded as he spread his wings. “I shall return with some firewood and food.” Before a pony or dragon could protest, Vidarr shot up into the air and quickly became a blob in the blue sky. 

“At least we won’t run out of firewood quickly,” Spike said as they watched him go. “Come on,” he gestured with an arm wave, “I found a spot we can use to shelter for the night.”

“You should all get comfortable,” Fluttershy said. “I’ll wait here for Vidarr when he returns.” The two ponies nodded, and then followed Spike to the centre of the rock, which had large rocks positioned like sentries around a small area, which kept the high, gale wind out of their faces and kept them warm to some degree.

Fluttershy watched them go, and then began pacing in a circle as her mind tried to understand and make sense of what was going on around her. “I wish I had a brain like Twilight’s,” she said to herself, for she could think of nothing that she had read or heard from Twilight that could solve all this. She stopped and sighed sadly as she thought of Twilight. “Hmm,” she chuckled. “I bet she wouldn’t make as much sense of it as I am. In fact, she would probably make it even more confusing.” So she began pacing again, hoping she would come up with an answer.

A few minutes later, long after Vidarr had returned with a large group of firewood and some food, she was still pacing. Bits of her mane started to stick out, her eyes were glued into a hardened glare, and her brain was beginning to hurt from so much thinking. ‘Now I know why Twilight gets so stressed easily,’ she mused.

“Fluttershy?” She spun around at the mention of her name. Spike flinched back and grimaced when he saw her eyes. “Are you gonna have something to eat? Vidarr found some rich hay and gems while he was out.”

Fluttershy’s glare softened, then she looked away and shook her head. “I’m not hungry,” she stated moodily.

“Ah, come on, Fluttershy. You have to try and eat,” Spike said persistently. “Please? For me?”

Fluttershy looked back at him, and her gaze softened as she saw the pleading, caring look in Spike’s eyes. “Okay,” she sighed. She turned around and walked to the campfire where Luna and Cadence were lying.

“Say, where did you get all these gems, Vidarr?” Spike asked as he took a handful of gems and stuffed them in his mouth. 

‘He must have been hungry,’ Fluttershy thought as she walked up to the campfire. She sat on her haunches next to Spike, looking at the pile of hay in front of her.

“I found them outside an abandoned diamond mine in some woods not far from here, Spike Draconis,” the great dragon replied. “Next to a rocky hill.”

Spike swallowed the gems in his mouth, and then looked at Vidarr oddly. “That’s not my last name. In fact, I don’t have a last name.”

“Oh yes, you do,” Vidarr insisted. Spike tilted his head further, prompting Vidarr to explain. “The surname Draconis is given to those who have no known parents, or parents that are not recognised as mates.”

“So technically,” Luna concluded, “Spike’s last name states that he is a b-”

“Well the hay you brought us looks lovely!” Fluttershy shouted abruptly, cutting off Luna from finishing her sentence. “Thank you for bringing it all here, Vidarr.” The dragon looked at her and smiled.

Spike nodded in agreement, but still looked confused. He leaned over and whispered into Fluttershy’s ear, “What was Luna about to say? What does my last name mean, exactly?”

Fluttershy leaned her head back from him and shook it in response. “Doesn’t matter,” she whispered. She turned her attention to Luna and Cadence, who were sitting close together, nibbling slowly on the hay given to them. “How’re you two doing?” she asked as she lowered herself down on her stomach.

“Could be better,” Cadence replied, trying to smile but Fluttershy could see it waning. “But I don’t think I will get any worse.”

Fluttershy smiled at that, for Cadence’s sake more than anything else. “And you, Luna? How are you holding?”

“I will be fine, Fluttershy. Don’t worry about me,” Luna assured her. “Just worry about yourself and for young Spike.” She paused to shift her back end about til she felt comfortable once more. “Now, we need to start thinking about where we will head from here tomorrow morning.”

“Let’s just keep heading south,” Spike said. “We might as well since we’re this far already.”

“That would be the easiest option to take. However, I fear that we may not find any peace further south. If anything, we will be in greater risk than we are now.” Luna looked south with heavy eyes.

“What do you mean, Luna?” Fluttershy enquired with a tilt of her head. The others looked at the Night Princess for an explanation.

Luna faced her with a serious expression. “Beyond the desert lie thousands of miles of uncharted forests, ruins, and other things. All we know about the south is that the changelings hives, dragons and other dangerous beasts that roam its lands call it home. Creatures that would not hesitate to kill us in an instant.”

Fluttershy went pale at the mention of changelings, and then paled further when dragons were mentioned. “Um… I agree with Luna on this,” she said, raising a hoof for no particular reason. “Maybe it was not the best idea to go south.”

“Maybe, but we just can’t stop now,” Cadence protested. “We have to continue, for better or worse.”

Luna sighed exasperatingly; frustrated that none of them could come to a unanimous decision. “Spike, what do you think we should do?” she asked, turning to look at the baby dragon.

Spike shot his head up from the gem he was eating, to gaze into each of their expecting faces. “Uh, I don’t know, to be honest. I thought here would be just fine.”

Luna looked like she was about to groan aloud, but was able to control herself. Fluttershy smiled at him, and draped a wing across him in a hug. “It’s okay, Spike. I know it’s nice here, but we can’t stay. We’ll be open targets otherwise.”

“I know,” Spike said with a sigh. “But one could wish, eh?”

Fluttershy nodded, smiling thinly. “Yeah, one can.” She looked at each of the ponies, studying them to see if they had a suggestion, but could see none. Then she remembered. There were five members in their party, so where was the fifth? “Where’s Vidarr?” she asked, looking around for him.

The three she was with looked around for any sign of him, yet found none. “Wow, he can move quietly for a big fella,” Spike remarked as he looked around. 

“Vidarr!” Luna called out.

“Over here!” Vidarr called in response. Fluttershy craned her neck up to look over a rock, and saw the silhouette of a dragon sitting at the edge of the butte, looking towards Canterlot and the rest of Equestria. 

Fluttershy took her wing off Spike, and got back up. “I’m going to talk to him. He might know what to do next.” With that, she trotted around one of the rocks to join the large dragon.

“It is a beautiful sunset, is it not?” Vidarr asked when she was next to him. Fluttershy sat on her haunches and looked at where he was staring. Even when she wanted to look away and back up at Vidarr to answer, a part of her protested the action, for the sunset was too gorgeous to look away from. 

Thanks to the desert, and the cloudless sky – at least, that’s what Fluttershy thought caused it to look the way it was – the sun was a dark, blood red as it descended from the sky, with rays of sunlight shooting up into the encroaching night as if the sun was trying to cling onto something to stop its descent.

Fluttershy was finally able to draw her gaze from the sun to look up at Vidarr. “Yes, it is beautiful. Beautiful beyond words.”

A grunt of agreement came from the dragon. “It is beautiful, and yet sad.”

Fluttershy looked at him confusedly. “How is it sad?” 

“It is sad because this sunset marks the end of an age: the Age of Harmony. When the sun rises again, Equestria will never look like it once did.”

Fluttershy looked at him sadly, while fearing he might have given up hope already. “Yet it will still rise,” Fluttershy said, looking back at it. “And as long as it continues to rise there is still hope.”

“Hope?” Vidarr queried, looking down at her. “Hope for what?”

“Hope to undo what has been done,” Fluttershy answered.

Vidarr lowered his head so his eyes were gazing directly into her own. Fluttershy found herself leaning back from his draconic gaze; he might be a friend, but he was still a big, scary dragon. After a moment, he smiled at her. “You really think you can fix everything that has gone wrong, don’t you?”

“Well… no-not by myself, of course, I’m not that good,” Fluttershy replied, rubbing her forehooves together. “Why? Don’t you?”

Vidarr looked back towards the sunset, his face emotionless and difficult to explain. “If I’m honest, no. To fix Celestia Solaris and your friends is one thing, but to fix an entire nation seems like an impossible task.”

“I don’t believe that anything is impossible, Vidarr. Not anymore,” Fluttershy countered. “I did begin the reformation process of Discord, after all. A task even my friends thought impossible. And yet I did it.”

“Yes. You did do that. You did indeed. Despite everything you had learnt about him from Horsca, you looked past that, and changed him for the better,” he said. He glanced down at her and smiled at her proudly. “You have come far as a Dragonlord of Terra, Fluttershy Firewing. I have listened and watched with sheer pride as you have grown to become the mare sitting beside me today. I am certain your mother and father would be very proud of what I see before me.”

Fluttershy smiled bashfully and looked away, two pink blushes staining her cheeks at the high praise. “But you still have much to learn, and more room to grow if you want to become the greatest Dragonlord that has ever lived,” Vidarr added.

“Oh, I know that, Vidarr. I have a long life ahead of me to go through all that. Provided I survive the coming weeks,” Fluttershy responded. “If I survive the hammer fall that splits Equestria apart.”

Vidarr looked at her with a raised eyebrow. “You think this is what I predicted?”

“What else could it be?” Fluttershy replied. She gestured with a wide wave of her hoof to all of Equestria. “Look at what’s happening, Vidarr; everypony hates each other. Whole areas of the country are splitting apart, creating their own kingdoms or other forms of government. My element has been ripped from me. And even though my friends speak hate to me, today I saw in their eyes that their true selves were screaming at me to help them. They need me, Vidarr. More than ever.”

Vidarr’s throat seemed to groan as he turned his head to look back at the sun. “You could be right, Fluttershy Firewing.” The two fell into a companionable silence as they watched the sun start to disappear under the horizon, and the moon began to rise into the night sky, which was littered with bright dots as the stars made themselves known. 

Fluttershy quickly looked back to see if Luna had anything to do with this, but couldn’t see her horn glowing like she imagined it would. ‘Maybe that way of magic is different. Maybe she does it by the mind rather than with her horn,’ Fluttershy thought.

“So tell me, Fluttershy Firewing, why did you come to see me at this moment?” Vidarr asked. “Because I know it was not idle chatter that you wished with me, was it?”

Fluttershy took a deep breath, and then nodded. “Me and the others, namely, me and Luna, think that we’re going the wrong way. We were wondering if you had any ideas on where we should go.”

Instead of coming up with an answer, Vidarr merely chuckled. “So you finally figured out amongst yourselves that we were going the wrong way?”

“Well, we came to the conclusion that going… Hold on, what do you mean, ‘you finally figured it out’?” 

Vidarr’s eyes looked at everything but Fluttershy, almost as if he looked guilty at something. It didn’t take long for Fluttershy to work out why he was guilty. “You knew?” she asked, trying to control her temper. “You knew we were going the wrong way all this time and never spoke up, not even turning around and fly us in the right one?”

After a moment, Vidarr bowed his head in shame. “I am sorry, Fluttershy Firewing. I am so used to following Dragonlord orders that maybe I had forgotten what it means to think for myself.”

“Don’t you dare give me that excuse! You had almost fifteen years to think for yourself!” Fluttershy yelled, unable to control her anger anymore. Realising she was yelling, she took a deep breath to clam herself, which worked slightly. “So if you know which way we should go, then could you please tell me… please?”

After a moment of hesitance, Vidarr lifted up a claw, and with a single finger, pointed north. “North is where you should go, Fluttershy Firewing. To the one place where you will definitely be safe: Horsca.”

The realisation that dawned across her face and mind hit her harder than a slap to the face. Horsca; the land of the horses, and the kingdom of Queen Freya Palomino, a personal friend of hers, and who had pronounced Fluttershy as a Thane of Horsca two years ago. It was the perfect place to go for sanctuary. 

And here she was, going in the completely wrong direction. 

“Oh, for crying out loud!” she screeched into the sky. She buried her face in her hooves to muffle the frustrated scream that she released. After a moment to scream, she lifted her face out of her hooves, and looked at Vidarr vehemently. “And you were going to tell me this, now?”

Vidarr, despite being a large dragon hundreds of years old and one of the deadliest creatures on Terra, shrank back from Fluttershy’s terrifying gaze. “Well, sort of. I had hoped that you would figure it out halfway into the desert. I was going to say something at about Appleloosa, but then I saw the barricades, then heard what you said, and my mind went so deep into thought that heading north escaped my mind for the moment.” 

Fluttershy pulled her lips back into a growling snarl. “You better have a pretty good reason to do this to us, Vidarr,” Fluttershy whispered as she tried to calm down. She could feel Drage Bane twitching in its bracelet, begging to be let out. And if she was completely honest to herself, she wanted a reason to have it come out. 

Vidarr nodded, though Fluttershy could see that whatever he was about to say would be said with a heavy heart. “I am afraid I do, young Dragonlord, and it pains my heart to have to put you in such a position.”

“What position?” Fluttershy demanded angrily. As soon as the words tumbled out of her mouth, she knew half of the answer. “This is a test, isn’t it? You want to test me on something. What is it?”

Vidarr, after a moment of silence, nodded in answer. “Fluttershy Firewing, you are the daughter of Firewing Moneris, the last Primarch of the Dragonlord order. When a Primarch dies, the title he had passes down to the Dragonlord he chooses, or the only one that can accept the title. Since you are the only Dragonlord known to Terra at present, the title of Primarch, therefore, passes down to you.”

In an instant Fluttershy forgot that she was angry. She felt her hind legs give way, and she collapsed onto her rump. “B-but,” she sputtered, “h-how does that work, since the Dragonlord order is gone, with just me left?”

“A Primarch isn’t only the leader of the Dragonlord order, Fluttershy Firewing. To many countries, the word ‘Primarch’ means guide, others it means shepherd, and to those like the Griffon Kingdoms, it means great warrior. Those meanings are derived from the Dragonlord order, and the deeds they have done for those countries. You will not only be asked to lead Dragonlords, but to guide and lead entire nations.”

Fluttershy’s eyes widened in horror and her body tensed up once more. ‘Me? Primarch? A leader of ponies?’ Furthermore, being a leader meant being the centre of attention. She shuddered in fear at the thought that maybe one day, a group of ponies would look at her, waiting for some order or guidance that she didn’t think she could give, simply because she didn’t do well in large crowds.

“I-I don’t think I could do that, Vidarr,” Fluttershy objected. “I don’t think I could ever lead ponies. I just don’t think I have what it takes to lead. I prefer just following or giving advice from time to time. Not true leadership.”

“But do you want to always be the sheep that follows the shepherd, Fluttershy Firewing?” Vidarr asked.

It was a good question, Fluttershy realised. Was she content to just follow, and not be followed? Many of her animal friends considered herself a leader, strictly speaking. They listened to her, asked her for guidance, and followed her without question. If they did all that, while she led them, surely she can lead a couple of ponies, could she?

After another long moment to think about it, Fluttershy shook her head. “No. No, I don’t want to be a follower all my life.”

“That’s what I thought. No one ever wants to be just a follower,” Vidarr agreed. “You’re right, though. You don’t have what it takes to lead. At least, not yet.” He lowered himself so that his belly touched the ground. “Would it surprise you to learn that once Celestia Solaris and Luna Nocturnus Solaris were once simple unicorns who would rather frolic in meadows than lead a nation?”

Fluttershy looked back to where the Princess of the Night was sitting in shock. “Yes,” Fluttershy simply answered as she turned back around. “Yes it would.”

“Well that is the truth. When they came into this world, they cared little about the trouble Equestria had under Discord’s rule, and lived peacefully north of the Crystal Empire until they met Starswirl the Bearded. The great Dragonlord taught them of their destiny, and helped them to achieve it by helping them discover the Elements of Harmony. With Starswirl’s teaching and advice, as well as the advice of others, they became the rulers they were meant to be.

“Anypony can be a leader, Fluttershy Firewing. Some, just a rare few, are born with the sense of command, but most earn it through experiences, both good and bad. That is how you will become a good leader, by learning from your mistakes, and improving yourself in mind, and body. You were not born with a sense of command, but you will certainly gain it in the dark days to come. For that sense to be gained, however, you must be tested with a task. The task I have for you will require a great deal of strength, intelligence, and no small amount of courage. Do you think you can handle all that?”

Fluttershy wanted to say that she couldn’t. She wanted to say that she wanted to leave Luna and Cadence with the decisions, while she ran and cowered under a rock somewhere. She never felt more scared now then she did in her twenty two years of living; even the fear in Heimdallr’s prison was nothing compared to the dread she was feeling at present. This were her own friends, her own people she was up against, not some evil dragon who wanted to burn everything. 

Just as she thought that, she truly felt like a traitor. Her friends were in trouble, Equestria was ripping itself asunder and the Princesses of Equestria were torn apart. To run and hide now would be to go back on her oath and vow she swore into the sky two years ago, when she was just realising what she was. She had to do this, if not for herself then for everypony in Equestria, especially her friends.

Fluttershy puffed out her chest, boosting herself meagrely with self-confidence, and gave Vidarr a firm and determined nod. “I will do my best, Vidarr.”

The dragon smiled. “That’s all I can ask for.” He paused for a moment to brush some of his mane out of his face. “The task I have for you is to guide these ponies and dragon north to Horsca, without unnecessary casualties or fatalities. I want you to think wisely on any action you take, any decision you make, and get them all to safety. If you can do that, then you will have what it takes to be a good leader.”

Fluttershy’s eyes looked up at her forehead as she remembered what she had to do. “So, how do I know if I passed?”

“By getting them all to safety, Fluttershy Firewing,” Vidarr answered.

“And what if I make a mistake that doesn’t result in one of us getting killed?”

“It doesn’t matter, for leaders always make mistakes; you are only mortal, after all. So long as you can make up for those mistakes and get them all to Horsca safely then everything will be fine.”

“What if I’m forced to kill one of my friends while trying to escape?” Fluttershy asked frantically, on the verge of panicking. “What if I die and they all make it? What if–”

“Fluttershy Firewing!” Vidarr roared, cutting off the little pegasus. Fluttershy squeaked and shrank back from Vidarr’s shouting, looking through her mane with terrified eyes. Vidarr sighed. “I know you’re scared, Dragonlord. I would be lying if I said I wasn’t scared. But try not to think deeply about what you have just asked. Just keep you head cool and controlled, and you will all come out of it okay.” 

Fluttershy suddenly realised how Vidarr was speaking. “Hang on, what do you mean? You make it sound like you’re not coming with us?”

Vidarr looked away, his eyes heavy with regret. “That is because I must leave you, Fluttershy Firewing. You will have to get to Horsca without me.”

Fluttershy felt her heart plummet like a stone thrown into water. “What?” she rasped, tears filling her eyes.

“I am afraid that I must return to the growing Dragon Kingdom, and convince the other dragons to aid and support Equestria, and anywhere else where strife is apparent,” Vidarr answered. “The Dragon King will know what is happening, and hopefully I can convince him to help us.”

Fluttershy looked confused. “The Dragon… Kingdom?”

“Oh, yeah, I forgot to mention,” Vidarr recalled, cursing under his breath for forgetting such information. “After you defeated Heimdallr two years ago, the spell that was placed on the dragons was broken, and the dragons can now see more clearly than they have in thousands of years. The ancient kingdom they once owned will soon be reborn and proud once more.”

Fluttershy gave Vidarr half a smile, even though she felt it strain. “That’s nice, I guess,” she said, looking at the ground. She shot her eyes back up to Vidarr. “But I want you here, with me.”

Vidarr shook his head mournfully. “I am sorry, but my kingdom and my people needs m–”

“I need you more!” Fluttershy spat, her eyes leaking tears. “I can’t do this alone, not without you. I need you by my side if I want to stand a chance of doing…” Her words faded away like a sudden wind when she felt a single finger from Vidarr’s claw on her shoulder.

“I know for a fact that you do not need me by your side on this,” Vidarr said, a warm, comforting smile on his face. “You have two Princesses by your side, ponies who have risen from the bottom to the top. And even without their guidance I know that you will succeed in this task. I believe in you, Fluttershy Firewing. You have more to give to this world in you than anypony knows – including yourself. Have faith in yourself, Dragonlord, and have faith in those around you. Without their support, and the strength you carry between you, none of you will get to Horsca.” 

He took his finger off Fluttershy’s shoulder, and looked back to the moon, which was now fully over the horizon, and rising into the sky. He sighed. “I must leave while the night is young; the south lands are full of dangerous creatures for us dragons.” He put a finger back on Fluttershy’s shoulder. “Måtte Vidarr’s vinger beskytte deg og dine venner til den kommende stormen, og jeg ønsker dere alle lykke i verden (May Vidarr’s wings shield you and your friends from the gathering storm, and I wish you all the luck in the world),” he said. 

Fluttershy, through teary eyes, gave Vidarr’s finger a little nuzzle. “Takk, Vidarr, for å frakte oss hit og reddet oss. Og måtte Vidarr’s vinger beskytte deg mot onskapen i denne verden. Jeg håper du finner det du leter etter og hva vi trenger (Thank you, Vidarr, for bringing us here and rescuing us. And may Vidarr’s wings shield you from the evils of this world. I hope you find what you’re looking for, and what we need).” 

Vidarr smiled with thanks, took his finger off from Fluttershy’s shoulder, then spun around and shot into the air. “We will meet in Horsca when I have finished business in the south! Farewell for now!” he called as he swiftly flew away. 

Fluttershy’s mane tried to fly with him, blocking out her vision for a moment as she tried to pull it back. Once she was able to see again, Vidarr was just a faint black dot in the night sky. 

“Unbelievable,” she said to herself exasperatingly, sniffing back her tears and clearing her cheeks. “Brings us all this way here, then tells me we’re going the wrong way, and then leaves us to go on our own.” She sighed as she turned back around, her head low and her ears flat. “I hope he was right about having faith in me; I barely have enough for myself at the moment.” She sighed once more. “Right, I better tell the others what we talked about.” 

Clearing her throat, she broke into a trot to tell the others about what happened. “I wonder how well they’ll all take it?” she asked herself.





“THOU MUST SURELY BE JESTING?” Luna yelled, using the Royal Canterlot Voice once Fluttershy stopped talking.

The pegasus could have sworn she had been shifted back a few inches from Luna’s yelling. After altering her mane and tail straight, and rubbing down some of the hairs on her coat, she nodded meekly. “Um, sorry, Luna, but I’m not making this up. Before he left, Vidarr and I agreed that we should head north: to Horsca.” She never told them how Vidarr asked her to lead them there, for she thought it would be rude if she told them that she was the leader now and they would have to do as she said. ‘I’ll do it discreetly, so that they don’t even notice I’m doing it,’ she had thought as she spoke.

Luna leaned back and groaned while rubbing her forehead with a hoof, while Spike put his claws in his face and groaned loudly as well. Cadence was the only one to sit in silence, with a look that said she was contemplating Fluttershy’s idea. Fluttershy smiled gratefully at her.

“How exactly are we going to get to Horsca? Huh?” Spike asked. “We are miles away from there, and everything in between us and the horses wants to either kill us or turn us into stone.” He bowed his head. “We’re doomed. I might as well dig my own grave here and now.”

“Now hold on for a second, no one needs to dig their own graves,” Fluttershy said. “Look, Horsca, as I have said, is a far safer place than south and beyond, and Freya will certainly help us. I know that because she is my friend.”

“And what if the Horscans are troubled by the same strife as Equestria is going through?” Luna pointed out. “They are still recovering from years of war with themselves. Any wounds towards each other will not be fully healed. This would be the right time to strike at their enemies.”

Fluttershy shook her head doubtfully. “They won’t be.” She was about to say that Freya was too good a ruler to let the country fall apart that quickly, but she quickly bit her bottom lip when she realised she would insult Luna, Cadence and Celestia. All three were great rulers as well, yet the country was falling apart faster than a group of apples bucked down from a tree. “I promise you. They won’t be.” Nevertheless, thanks to what Luna said, a seed of doubt had been planted in her mind; one she knew would grow and fester. 

“But all the same, how are we going to get there now that Vidarr has left us?” Spike asked again. 

“I’m not sure, Spike,” Luna replied. “But I think heading north is a bad idea.” Fluttershy’s ears flattened and she pouted.

“How is it?” Everypony turned to face Cadence in surprise once she spoke. “I mean, you said yourself, Luna, that heading south was a bad idea. Now north is not exactly a great idea as well, especially now that we are here. However, like Fluttershy said it is safer than south and whatever lies that way. And besides, if we are careful, we may just be able to slip through and get to Horsca without raising any alarms.” Cadence looked to Fluttershy and smiled admirably. “I don’t know Fluttershy as much as I should, but from the time I have had with her I trust her completely on this, and if she says we can get there, then I believe her.”

Fluttershy smiled gratefully at Cadence and lightly blushed at the praise. After a moment of silence and heavy thought, Luna sighed and nodded. “If you two think it’s best we head north, then we shall head north.”

Spike shrugged from where he sat. “I may not like it as well; too much walking on my part. But, if you all think north is the best way, then I can’t stop you. Count me in as well.”

The four companions nodded in agreement, with Fluttershy grinning from ear to ear. “Thank you. All of you.” She moved closer to the fire and sat on her rump. “Now, let’s try and find the safest route we can take to get to Horsca,” she suggested. “Who has a map?”

Cadence and Spike looked at her oddly. “Um, Fluttershy? If you’d recall, we just broke out of Canterlot’s prison with barely our freedoms,” Spike reminded her. “The only one who should have got a map was you when we went back to your place.”

Fluttershy’s ears fell flat as she saw her dragon friend was right. “Oops. Sorry.”

“Not to worry, dear Fluttershy. As it happens, I know a spell that allows me to form a map out of magic,” Luna said. “I learnt it so I can discover how much of Equestria has changed in the past thousand years.”

Fluttershy grinned at Luna. “Could we have a look at it, then? If you don’t mind, of course.”

Luna giggled while shaking her head. “Of course I don’t mind.” With that, she closed her eyes, and powered up her horn.

A dark blue aura clouded around Luna’s horn, and from its tip a large bubble slowly emerged, with a large map of Equestria stretched across it. The bubble hovered in the air for a second, before coming down and landing flat in front of the three ponies and one dragon. “Right, so from what I can make out, we are here.” She pointed to a single mountain far south of Appleloosa. “And we need to get to Horsca, which is here.” She pointed to the country of Horsca, which was a large area on the map just right of the Crystal Empire, and cordoned off from the rest of Equestria by a wall of large mountains and wide rivers. “Now we just need to decide how to get there.”

“Well,” Spike suggested, “you two could simply teleport us to the north. You are powerful enough to do it, after all.”

“We could teleport you all to the north,” Luna agreed. “But using teleportation magic, especially in our kind, leaves a sort of magic residue that hangs in the air for a while, like smoke from a steam train. It can be traced easily by other winged unicorns, so my sister will know exactly where we are going, and would be able to catch us before we could recover from such a long trip.” 

“She won’t have to,” Fluttershy interjected. “My friends would probably have worked out at the same time I would try to head north later on. They would then try and catch us before we even make it to Horsca. At least, that’s what I would do if I had Twilight’s mind.”

“So what does that leave us?” Cadence said. “Walking to Horsca? From here?”

“What else would you suggest, dear niece?” Luna snapped. “To take the train from Appleloosa to Canterlot, and from there to Horsca?” Cadence meekly shook her head, while Fluttershy shot a glare in Luna’s direction for acting so harsh to her. 

Luna sighed, and rubbed her head with a hoof. “Forgive me, Cadence, that was unfair on you,” she said, raising another hoof in an apologetic gesture. “But yes, we’ll have to walk. I would suggest flying since most of us are flyers, but I know I’m not a fast flyer, and neither are you, Cadence, and you too, Fluttershy. Walking will be safer. It will not be without its risks, I can promise you that. But those risks are far fewer than any other option open to us.”

“So the question is: how do we get there? East or west?” Spike said, breaking the moment of silence that existed between them. 

The three ponies looked up at him with confused eyes. “What do you mean, Spike?” Fluttershy asked.

“Right,” Spike explained, pointing at the map, “so Canterlot is right smack bang in the middle of Equestria, right?” The three ponies nodded. “Right, so we have to avoid the centre of Equestria as much as possible. So, if we could give Canterlot a wide berth by heading east or west from here, we could cling to the edges of Equestria and – hopefully, mind you – make our way to Horsca in relative safety.”

The three ponies looked at each other as though they all had an epiphany. Fluttershy looked back at him, and smiled. “You have a great mind, Spike,” she remarked.

Spike blushed in embarrassment. “Ah, it’s nothing, really. That sort of thing happens when you have too many geography lessons with Twilight. But anyway, which way do we go from here: east or west?” The group fell silent once more as they looked at the map, figuring which way they could go.

“How about west?” Fluttershy suggested. Everyone looked at her for an explanation. “Well, if I was Celestia, I would send anyone sent to get us east, to Manehatten, Fillydelphia, or Baltimare, in the hope we might get a ship and head to the Griffon Kingdoms, or try that way to get to Horsca. If we take west, through Ponyville, and then through the Unicorn Range, then we could follow the road to Strutford and Detrots, and from there head on into Horsca.” As she spoke, she placed a hoof on the bubble and created a yellow trail mark which ran through Ponyville, then through the Unicorn Range and straight up into Horsca. “There won’t be anypony to stop us if we go through Ponyville since they would all be on one side of Equestria looking out for us while we slip on by the other side. What do you all think?” 

Spike was nodding his head in approval, while Luna and Cadence looked at each other warily. “Clearly, you don’t know my sister as well as I do, Fluttershy,” Luna said. “She has been around longer than anypony on Terra, and knows a great deal on tactics and such. Even if she has whoever she will send after us heading east, she will have guards deployed around Ponyville in the likelihood, no matter how small, that we return for some reason.”

“And besides,” Cadence added, inspecting the map once more, “the road that leads to Ponyville from here goes through the Everfree Forest, and I don’t think any of us intend to go in there.”

Fluttershy looked at her, then back at the map quickly. Her eyes widened when she saw that their route, if they took that path, would indeed lead into the Everfree Forest. “Um, I-I think it’s better that we take a safer path,” she said shakily, shivering at the thought of such a journey.

“I thought as much,” Luna said, smiling wryly. “I do agree with you on going west, though. However, I would suggest an alternative route.”

“Then why don’t we go around Ponyville,” Cadence suggested. She put her hoof down on the map, and ran it through the desert, past Ghastly Gorge, then went up beside the Everfree Forest and past a group of mountains and woodland east of Las Pegasus, all the while leaving a pink trail behind her hoof. “If we go that way, then head up through Whitetail Woods, then after that we could follow Fluttershy’s plan.”

Spike leaned over from his seating position and looked at what Cadence was planning. After a moment of studying it, he nodded in approval. “That would probably work,” he said.

“I agree as well,” Fluttershy said, nodding her head.

Luna nodded. “Then it’s settled.” With a quick burst of magic from her horn the map dissipated, becoming nothing more than small bodies of liquid. “Tomorrow we set out from here and head west, and once we’re clear of the desert and in the dense woodland areas head north.” Everyone nodded their heads in agreement to the plan. 

Cadence let out a yawn. “Well I’m going to sleep. The day’s events have been… tiring for me.” Without a further word she set herself down onto her stomach and fell asleep almost instantly.

Fluttershy looked at her sadly, wishing there was a way she could help the poor mare from the nightmares that would inevitably come. “Can you help her, Luna?” she asked pleadingly.

Luna smiled comfortingly at the pegasus. “Have no fear for Cadence, dear Fluttershy, for I will guard her this night, as I do all nights,” she explained, looking at her niece sweetly. She looked up at Fluttershy. “What about you? Will you be all right?”

Fluttershy nodded. “I think I’ll be fine, thank you.” She let herself fall onto her side and closed her eyes. “Goodnight, Luna.”

“Goodnight, Fluttershy,” Luna wished her. With that, Luna got up and walked away, disappearing into the darkness like a shadow. 

Fluttershy peeped an eye open to watch her go. She was about to call out to ask if she was going to sleep, but then thought against it. ‘She’s the Princess of the night, silly,’ she thought. ‘I imagine she doesn’t need as much sleep as we do.’ She looked from where Luna disappeared to where Spike was, and saw him shifting to the opposite side of the campfire, away from her. Fluttershy felt her heart sink. “Um, Spike?” she whispered, hoping she didn’t sound like she was pleading. “Would you be all right by yourself? I mean, you could sleep by me, if you want.”

Spike looked at her with questioning dragon eyes, then shook his head and settled down. “I think I’ll be all right, Fluttershy. Thanks anyway.” 

“Oh… o-okay, Spike,” she said, her tone not bothering to hide her disappointment. “Remember, if you need anything, I’m just here.”

Spike rolled about until he felt comfortable. “I will. Thanks again.” He settled his head down and closed his eyes. “I’m glad you’re with me out here, Fluttershy,” he said drowsily, before falling into sleep.

Fluttershy’s ears remained flat, crestfallen she didn’t have something to hold and comfort. ‘Oh, why can’t I be selfish for once?’ She started to shiver as the fire began to die out, and the cold desert night began to make itself known. 

At home, in the winter, she would rely on her fluffy bed for warmth and a hug, and if that didn’t work, then her animal friends or her teddy bear. Yet out here, she had none of those comforts. ‘I should have taken my teddy bear.’ So she had to hold the only thing she can – herself. She wrapped her forelegs around herself tight, hoping that would help put her into a comfortable sleep.

Unfortunately, it didn’t. Every time she closed her eyes she could see her friends coming towards her equipped with the Elements of Harmony, with Celestia just behind them with cold eyes as she was turned to stone. She felt herself begin to shiver as the image began to play repeatedly in her head. She lifted her head up and smacked herself lightly with a hoof, hoping that would rid it. The only thing it did was make her feel like an idiot.

She spread herself out once more and hugged herself even tighter, trying to think of a way to rid herself of this nightmare. Suddenly her mind drifted back to two years ago, when her father sang her a lullaby to ease her into sleep after her first encounter with Heimdallr. She hoped it would work, or else it would be a long night.

Hugging herself once more, she cleared her throat and began to sing softly: 

“Darkness, darkness, be my pillow. 
Take my head, and let me sleep. 
“In the coolness, of your shadow.
In the silence, of your deep.

“Darkness, darkness, hide my yearning.
For the things, I cannot be.
“Keep my mind, from constant turning. 
Toward the things, I cannot see.” 

It didn’t take Fluttershy long to fall into an unpleasant sleep afterwards. Her last thoughts before her consciousness shut down for the night was, ‘I will find you all again. Even if it takes me the rest of your lives, I will save you.’