//------------------------------// // Chapter 5 // Story: Last of the Dragonlords: A Good Mare Goes To War Part 1: The Passing of Harmony // by Fluttershy20 //------------------------------// “Fluttershy?” a faint whisper flowed through Fluttershy’s ears. When the pegasus responded with only a grumble, she received a hard push on the shoulder. “Fluttershy?” her name was whispered again, this time more abruptly, as if the speaker was losing patience. Fluttershy opened her eyes, and groaned when she saw the faint sunlight shining directly into her eyes. “Come on, Fluttershy, we have to get going,” the voice said again, this time more recognisable as Cadence’s. Fluttershy lifted her head up and looked up at Cadence, who was standing over her and prodding her gently on the shoulder, with a tired look in her eyes. “Do we have to go now?” she complained. “I’m sorry, but yes, we have to,” Cadence replied sternly, like a mother would with an unruly child. Her gaze softened a bit and she backed away from the smaller mare. “Rough night?” Fluttershy sat up, and then nodded while rubbing her eyes. “Yes. A horrible night.” Cadence tilted her head, and looked at her sympathetically. “Do you want to talk about it?” she asked as she sat down next to the smaller pegasus. Fluttershy didn’t want to recall the events that had ran through her mind the previous evening, but knew that she should do, for her sake more than anyone else’s. “I dreamt I was back in Canterlot,” Fluttershy started, looking at her hooves. “So many chains were wrapped tightly around my legs and my wings, and I had a collar around my neck, choking me. I could feel it getting tighter with every passing minute.” As she spoke, she rubbed her neck as though it had been there. “I looked up, and saw all my former friends looking back at me, staring at me with such intense hate.” She paused to shiver in fright as the image became frozen in her mind. She felt Cadence drape a wing over her back, comforting her greatly. “Thank you, Cadence,” Fluttershy said. She sighed, and quickly continued. “Then the Elements of Harmony were fired at me. I remember seeing a ray of colours coming towards me, and then I looked down and saw my legs going grey as I was turned to stone. All I could do is scream in terror as I was soon fully encased in stone, and then all I saw was darkness. I couldn’t even scream anymore. I couldn’t see, yet I could hear them all cheering, and Celestia calling Spike to stand beside my still form. It was horrible.” She began shaking as the nightmare was now infused in her mind. She suddenly felt something like a leaf go gently up and down her back. She looked up to see Cadence running her outstretched wing over it, smiling comfortingly at her. “It’s okay now, Fluttershy. We’re free from them all.” Fluttershy nodded. “For now at least.” She shook the thought away, and felt her mind was once again blank, much to her relief. She looked back up at the former Princess. “What about you? Did you have a good night’s sleep?” Cadence cocked her head from side to side. “A bit. I first dreamt of being back in the Crystal Empire, with Shining in front of me, looking furious and in a rage I had never seen before. He started yelling in a language I couldn’t understand, but I flinched and cried at every word. Before it got any worse, my mind went blank, and I had a dreamless night from then on.” She looked over to Luna, who was checking through the bag Fluttershy acquired yesterday to see how much food and drink they had. Fluttershy followed Cadence’s gaze to Luna, and felt confused as to why. “You do know that Luna can go into our dreams, right?” Cadence enquired, glancing at Fluttershy with a raised eyebrow. Fluttershy’s eyes widened in horror, and she felt a blush form on her cheeks. “She can! Oh! Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear, oh dear! I- I… If she asks, I have no idea who that pony wa–” She was cut off by Cadence’s laugh. “Don’t worry about that, Fluttershy, Luna only goes into those with nightmares to make sure all ponies are sleeping well at night. She stays well clear of normal dreams, so have no fear of her walking into your fantasies.” Fluttershy’s shoulders slouched in relief. “Phew,” she breathed. In fact, that does explain why her nightmare in Canterlot finished so suddenly, and she found herself back in the bunny field that she usually dreamt about. ‘Thank you, Luna,’ she thought, smiling at her. She looked back at Cadence with a small smile. “I’m glad you had a better night than I did.” “Yeah, well, last night I wished that when I woke up the next day I would be back in the Crystal Empire, and in Shining’s embrace…” Her voice faded away into the day, as did her small smile. Fluttershy flexed out a wing, and draped it gently over Cadence, looking at her with great sympathy. “I wish I knew what to say or do to help you, Cadence. I really do.” Cadence smiled sweetly at her. “You’re so sweet, Fluttershy.” Her smile dissipated and she looked to the ground. “But there’s nothing you can do to help me, except be by my side.” Fluttershy nodded. “And I will be, always.” A silence lingered between them for a moment as the two collected their thoughts. “Cadence?” The Crystal Princess looked up. “What would happen if, say, I was right, and Shining and the others were controlled by some evil force? Would you still go back with him?” Cadence sighed. “Even if you’re right, Fluttershy, I couldn’t. I can’t just go back with him and pretend that none of this actually happened. Some of the things he said to me…” She shuddered briefly. “He said some things about me that he hated, and I know were true. I know I can be what he said to me sometimes, but I cannot change who I am, no matter how hard I try. “I had hoped he would understand all that, and accept me for who I am, but I was wrong. It seems I’ve been wrong about a lot of things lately,” she added darkly. “I would be living a lie if I did go back with him, one that I couldn’t follow.” She got back on her hooves and walked away from the pegasus, who watched her go with wide, devastated eyes and flat ears. “Cadence, wait!” Fluttershy called, raising a hoof to stop her. “There’s no future between me and him, Fluttershy,” she added, her voice breaking with emotion. She looked back at Fluttershy, her eyes tearful. “I know you care about everyone you know, but just accept that for my sake. You should get up and get ready to get going. It’ll be best if we start off soon.” She continued trotting up to Luna and Spike, who were stretching their legs and getting ready for the day to come. Fluttershy, however, couldn’t accept that. Cadence was right that they should never forget about the troubles of their past, but Fluttershy thought she was wrong that they should let it control their lives. She knew that, deep down, Cadence loved Shining still, and would gladly be with him again; she just needed a gentle push in the right direction. ‘If I’m right, and Shining and everypony else is affected by something, then the evidence will be the push I need.’ However, where she was going to find the strength to make that push, she had no idea. She just hoped Vidarr would find out wherever he was going. “Are you up yet, Fluttershy?” Luna called. Fluttershy raised a hoof in assurance. “I’m up. I’m coming.” She got up onto all fours, gave each of her legs a quick stretch, and then began walking up to the others. As she walked, her mind went back to the other thing Cadence said. ‘Have I been living a lie?’ For the past two years she had been living like her time in Horsca had never occurred. She had tended to her animal friends, spent time with her pony friends, and that was that. She never went out and did what Dragonlords did: fight and kill until killed, mostly because she felt like she didn’t need to, or want to. Was it really wrong to not follow what she was, and didn’t want to be? “You look like you have a lot on your mind,” Spike remarked, making her break out of her train of thought. She stopped and blinked when she realised she was standing right in front of them. Fluttershy looked at him and nodded. “Yeah, I do.” Spike smiled bravely at her. “We’ll be fine. We’ve got two of the most powerful ponies with us, and the greatest warrior on Terra. I’m sure we’ll get to Horsca in no time.” “I hope so too,” Fluttershy said as she kicked out a foreleg. “I just hope that we can get there peacefully.” “We all do,” Luna said, looking out at what was before them. “But don’t keep your hopes up that we will. Be prepared to spill blood when necessary, Dragonlord.” Fluttershy just nodded in response, mostly because she was too miserable and tired to argue. She looked from Luna to the desert they had to cross, and couldn’t help but feel afraid. The desert carried on until it disappeared over the horizon. It was a dry, featureless plain of bright orange rock, with nothing between the ponies and dragon, and the blazing sun overhead. Fluttershy gulped, not noticing that her body was lightly trembling in fear. ‘What’s there to be scared about, you scaredy pony?’ her mind asked. ‘You fought and took down two dragons for goodness sake! Surely you can get through this… I think.’ Although she knew her mind was telling the truth, she didn’t find it assuring. The first dragon she had defeated in battle was dead to begin with, and was controlled by the second dragon, who made it a bit easier for her to defeat him by shrinking in size and duplicating himself a hundred times over. Those two were naturally born creatures, whilst their opponent this time was the sun itself, blazing down on them as if Celestia had turned it up just to burn them out of the desert. Yet despite the heat, and the barrenness of the land ahead of them, they had no choice but to go across. Fluttershy looked up at Luna and asked, “How long will it take us to get out of the desert?” Luna looked at the sky in thought. “At a quick trot, then maybe we could make it out before nightfall at best,” she answered after a moment. “If not, then two days at the least.” “That’s good. So long as we’re not out there for more than three days then we should be all right,” Cadence said. “We just have to be careful with the water and food we have.” “I’ll look after all that,” Luna offered. She picked up the bag with her magic and strapped it around the bottom of her neck and rested the actual bag on her back. “There, now I suggest we get going while the sun is still low.” Fluttershy, Spike, and Cadence nodded in agreement. The four companions each took a deep breath to calm their nerves, and then fell in line as they made their way to the ramp leading down to the desert. “Hold up,” Fluttershy said after a few steps. A few groans were made in response. “What is it now, Fluttershy?” Luna queried, looking back with an agitated stare. “Well, I was just wondering… if you all want to, of course, if we could fly some of the way?” Fluttershy suggested. “I just want to stretch my wings for a while.” She emphasised this by stretching her wings out and flapping them quickly. The two winged unicorns looked at each other for a moment in consideration of Fluttershy’s suggestion. “I wouldn’t mind a bit of a flight as well,” Cadence agreed after a moment of thought. Fluttershy breathed a quiet sigh of relief. ‘The sooner we’re out of the desert, the better,’ she thought. “I agree, too,” Luna concurred, unfurling her wings from her sides. “It would be nice to have a fly after a long time sitting on Vidarr’s back.” “But what about me?” Spike asked with a raised finger. Before anypony could answer, Cadence got hold of him with her magic, and dumped him onto her back. “Thanks, Princess.” “You’re welcome. And please, Spike, just call me Cadence,” she replied, smiling at him. “It’s the least I can do after what you did for the Crystal Empire.” Fluttershy looked away and giggled behind her mouth when Spike blushed. “Ah, it was nothing, Cadence,” Spike said, waving it away. “All I did was jump off a tower and give you the Crystal Heart.” “It was still more than what most did, Spike,” Fluttershy intervened. She looked back towards their destination, and spread her wings out, her wing blades gleaming in the rising sun. “Are we all ready?” The two former Princesses nodded. Without another word, Fluttershy broke into a gallop as she moved towards the edge. As the edge came up, Fluttershy prepared herself to jump. ‘You’ve done this before, Fluttershy,’ her thoughts encouraged her. ‘Just like Pinkie once said. A hop, skip and a jump. So move that little rump and jump!’ Her eyes widened when she thought of Pinkie, and that random song she had sung while going up that mountain to encourage the dragon to leave. Her heart sunk a little at the thought, and it made her wish that Pinkie was here now, to sing them all a song of encouragement for what they are about to go through. ‘I can’t rely on Pinkie’s randomness now,’ she thought. ‘I’ll have to encourage myself.’ “Fluttershy, jump!” Luna cried out from behind her. Fluttershy zoned back into concentration just as the edge was coming up. Thinking fast, she slowed down a bit, then hopped, skipped, then jumped into the air, with her wings spread out wide and her blades whistling as the wind tickled them. Before she could drop, she flapped her wings steadily, and felt herself begin to fly upwards. She stopped herself to hover for a moment just to get her bearings in order, and looked around to see Luna and Cadence hovering over the spots they were originally standing, looking at her oddly. “What was with the hop?” Luna asked with an amused expression. “And the skip and the jump?” Cadence added. Fluttershy blushed pink in embarrassment as she tried to cover her face with her mane. “Just something an old friend told me once,” she explained. Luna and Cadence chuckled. “Well there’s no point floating here,” Luna said. She gestured with her head to what was in front of them. “Come, let us be away while the day is young.” Fluttershy nodded, then turned around from them and began to fly west, with Luna and Cadence close behind. A few hours later, Fluttershy was beginning to wish for more water. Her mouth felt dry, and her whole body stunk of sweat; she could feel it trickling down her neck, back and rump. She had tried to keep her wings stretched out to shield her back from the sun, but it only made her feel more exhausted keeping them upright, so now they flopped at her sides and dragged themselves across the ground. ‘Maybe flying wasn’t such a good idea after all,’ she mused. They had flown for a long time, with the large rock they had slept on now lost from view altogether. Unfortunately for them, it was the only landmark around. In every direction, as far as Fluttershy’s eyes could see, the landscape’s only feature was a flat, barren desert, bright golden like the sun, and cracked up like the broken shell of an egg. It was after a few hours of flying that Fluttershy’s left wing began to play up, which forced them all to land and walk the rest of the way. Now, the sun was at its highest in the sky, and they were still nowhere near anywhere. “Luna?” Fluttershy called to the nightly winged unicorn up front. Luna looked back. “Yes, Fluttershy?” “I was wondering if we had any water to spare? If so, can I have a little bit please?” She quickly added, “Don’t worry if we don’t have enough.” Luna chuckled. “We have plenty, Fluttershy. Plenty to last us for days.” She opened up the zip with her magic, and brought out a large canteen of water for Fluttershy to have. “Here,” she said, levitating it over to the small pegasus. “Drink the lot. Do not worry, Dragonlord, for we have plenty to spare.” Fluttershy took it with a hoof. “Thank you, Luna,” she said, before gushing down the entire canteen in a few gulps. Once gone, she took it away and exhaled a lot of air. “That feels better,” she muttered to herself. She threw the now useless canteen away, and looked at each of her companions. None of them seem to be faring any better, it seemed to her. Luna was up front, her head held high, yet the Dragonlord could make out tiny drips of sweat going down the pony’s body. Cadence, who was far behind her, seemed to be doing worse. She looked like her head was slowly being pulled to the ground, her body was soaked with sweat far worse than any of them, and a few of her feathers were out of place. Spike seemed to be the only one not minding the heat, for he was still on Cadence’s back, laid out flat on his back with his head resting in his claws, seemingly asleep. ‘No wonder poor Cadence is exhausted,’ Fluttershy thought. She looked down and saw a small stone on the ground; one not big enough to hurt anyone, yet would still wake up Spike. She stopped walking, and waited for Cadence to come up alongside. When she did, she picked the pebble up with a hoof, aimed with her tongue sticking out, and then threw it with what energy she could spare. The rock tapped Spike on the head, bringing him upright in an instant as he looked around for whoever disturbed his naptime. “Fluttershy!” he shouted when he realised it was her. “What did you do that for?” Fluttershy glared at him in response, then simply gestured for him to get off Cadence’s back. Spike looked at Cadence for a moment as he considered what Fluttershy asked him, then back at her and nodded. Fluttershy smiled at him in thanks, and trotted on. “Say, Cadence?” Spike asked from her back. “Mind if I get down and walk for a while? My legs could do with a stretch.” Cadence looked back at him with a small smile, her eyes sparkling with a small amount of relief. “Sure you can,” she replied. She lowered herself onto her knees, and let Spike jump off at a run. “Thanks, Cadence,” he said, before running up to Fluttershy. “Did I hurt you when I threw the stone?” Fluttershy asked worriedly once Spike was beside her. “I didn’t mean to if I did.” Spike shook his head. “No you didn’t. All the same, it might have been easier if you had just asked.” “I wasn’t thinking straight,” Fluttershy responded. “Sorry.” Spike waved the apology away with a claw. “Don’t be, and I wouldn’t be surprised if you weren’t thinking straight. We all have a lot on our minds.” Fluttershy smiled at him, glad she was forgiven. She suddenly noticed something in his eyes she rarely saw in him. A bout of curiosity and interest. “What about you, Spike?” she queried. “What do you have on your mind that involves me?” Spike gave her a look of disbelief. “How did you know I wanted to ask you something?” “You just looked like you wanted to ask me something, that’s all,” Fluttershy replied with a shrug. “So anyway, what is it you wanted to ask?” Spike nodded. “I was wondering, if you could or are willing, to tell me more about the Dragonlords?” Fluttershy’s small smile faded a little. “Like what?” “You know, how they came about, what they did, that sort of thing. When you were telling us about them yesterday, and how you defeated Heimadale or whatever his name was, I was intrigued, to put it one-way. I just wanted to know more about them, because they sounded awesome.” Fluttershy wanted to say that there was nothing awesome about an order of killers, but went against it. Spike was still a baby dragon and, like most children who didn’t know any better, was still naïve about such things. “Oh… okay, I think.” She cleared her throat then began to tell the history of the Dragonlords, loud enough so that everypony else could hear as well incase if they were interested. “Okay, so um… Where to begin? Uh… Oh yes! At the start, I suppose. The Dragonlords were a knightly order of warriors formed nearly five thousand years ago to protect everyone that lived, and anyone that couldn’t protect themselves. They were made up from the strongest earth ponies, the fastest pegasi and the most powerful unicorn magi. “They were formed in the aftermath of the Great War, when a great dragon king called Yngvi, ordered his dragons to attack every nation that was caught in the conflict, and restore the peace. Unfortunately, despite the strength and power of the dragons, they failed, and Yngvi’s son, Meili, was killed in the resulting battles. “Afterwards, Yngvi was banished from the Dragon Kingdom by the other dragons for violating the code of peace the dragons had formed to protect the races of Terra. Yngvi, devastated with his loss and dismayed at the hatred these creatures had for each other, claimed that they should no longer exist, and vowed to wipe everything out. After a hundred years, he used the sun’s energy to give himself a new identity and form. With this magic, he became Heimdallr, the self-proclaimed Illuminator of the World, and he set about to purge the earth with fire. “He began by annihilating the kingdom of Ferghana, the country from where the story of the creation of Hearts and Hooves day came about. After demonstrating his powers there he moved on and wiped out at least four races, and had brought several other races close to extinction.” Cadence, Luna and Spike looked at her in horror. “That sounds horrible,” Cadence said. “It was,” Fluttershy agreed with a nod. “Heimdallr forced me to see the destruction of Ferghana. I couldn’t do anything to help anypony; all I could do was watch as Heimdallr demolished the place and burned everything that lived there.” She shuddered quickly in remembrance, and then continued. “After a while, Vidarr the First, the greatest of the dragons, ordered his elite dragon warriors to attack Heimdallr and bring him down. They all failed. “Once he had defeated the dragon warriors, Heimdallr turned on the Dragon Kingdom itself. Using a spell he had learnt from Discord, or another one of his race, he manipulated the minds of every dragon that lived, turning them towards greed, and selfishness. The resulting spell destroyed the Dragon Kingdom, as every dragon tried to tear each other apart for its riches. “Yet somehow, Vidarr managed to hold onto his mind. In a last desperate act, he summoned the strongest earth ponies, the fastest pegasi and the most powerful unicorns to the ruins of their kingdom. There, using ancient and forgotten magic, and splitting his body and soul into little pieces, he gave it to the two thousand ponies brought before him. “Vidarr was killed in the process, but he gave himself up knowing that the ponies he had chosen would be able to defeat Heimdallr where many others failed. With improved hearing and eyesight, the acquirement of a whole new language, a stronger skeleton and body and an increase in their natural lifespan, they tracked Heimdallr over Horsca and defeated him in a great battle.” Fluttershy paused as her ears fell flat and her head dipped. “But they didn’t kill him. Instead, they locked him up in a prison beneath a huge lake; with water so cold you would freeze to death in seconds. They simply left him down there and went on to other things.” “So, why didn’t they finish what they started?” Luna asked. “Surely anypony could see that leaving that monster alive was a great mistake.” “It was a great mistake, Luna,” Fluttershy agreed, “and the Dragonlords paid for it with their existence. Most of the Dragonlords were blindingly arrogant, unable to see that keeping Heimdallr alive was too dangerous a risk. Some saw through it but were always silenced before it could be acted upon. While the Dragonlords bickered amongst themselves, or fought against far lesser threats, Heimdallr began a war of destruction against the Dragonlords, and hammered them until recently, when it was only me, and my father left.” Spike gasped. “Your father?” Fluttershy looked at him and nodded. “But, Twilight told me you were raised at an orphanage.” “I was, Spike. My father left me there when I was one month old.” Spike looked disgusted. “Why would somepony do that? That’s just wrong.” “I agree with Spike on this one,” Luna agreed. Cadence nodded as well. “It seems a mighty despicable thing to do to one’s own daughter. Unless, it was without proper reason. Why did your father leave you at the orphanage?” “Because my father loved me and my mother too much,” Fluttershy answered. “He knew I had Dragonlord blood in me, and knew that my mother wouldn’t have approved of this. Neither did he. He didn’t want me to lead the life he had, one of adventure, death and destruction, so he gave me up to see me safe.” She paused to chuckle at something. “It’s a shame I couldn’t escape that fate.” Her three companions nodded in understanding. “So, how did you become a Dragonlord?” Cadence enquired. Fluttershy shuddered once more at the memory. “Do you all remember the sudden dragon attack Ponyville suffered two years ago?” They all nodded sadly. “I remember it clearly,” Luna said grimly. “I was with my sister for lunch when we were delivered the news. I still remember my sister’s face turning into one of horror as she read the letter detailing what had transpired in the town. I remember her dropping everything and running out the door with tears in her eyes. She didn’t even stop to tell me what’s wrong.” Her eyes widened when she realised what Fluttershy was getting at. “So you… and when you said yesterday you were killed by dragon flames… that was that day?” Fluttershy nodded. “Yes, Luna. The dragon killed me, and after a while I rose from the ashes, completely re-healed, and sent the dragon packing. It was then where my true purpose was shown to me.” “So,” Spike quickly changed the subject, “what happened to your father? How comes I haven’t seem him around yet?” The others glared at Spike for saying such a thing, for it was obvious to them what did happen to her father. Fluttershy brought her head low, and her mane drooped over her eyes. “Because he died two years ago, Spike. I watched him get picked up by the teeth of a dragon, then hurled through the air and back onto the ground. By the time I dealt with the dragon, he was already dead. I never said goodbye to him. I never even got the chance to say how much I loved him.” She looked past her mane when she felt a claw touching her shoulder, to see Spike looking back at her with sad eyes. “I’m so sorry, Fluttershy.” Fluttershy smiled at him bravely, and gave him a quick nuzzle. “It’s okay, Spike. I know he’s all right now.” She looked up at the sky and smiled, wondering if her father and mother were watching her right now from the heavens. Spike tilted his head in confusion. “So, uh,” Spike moved on, “Are you sure there are no other Dragonlords?” Fluttershy shrugged. “There aren’t any at the moment. I’ve been keeping my ears close to the ground for two years to hear of any news of weird happenings like what happened to me elsewhere in Equestria, but so far there have been none. But maybe one day there will be another.” She paused to sigh sadly. “Just not from me.” “Ah, isn’t that a bit harsh on yourself?” Cadence said gently. “I know from Twilight how shy you are, but I’m sure you will find yourself a stallion someday to give you children.” “That’s just it, Cadence,” Fluttershy said, shaking her head. “I can’t have children.” Everyone’s jaw dropped. “You mean you’re… barren?” Spike whispered. Fluttershy nodded, and then smiled bravely while cautiously draping a wing over Spike. “It’s okay, Spike. It was years ago I learnt I would never have children, and I don’t see the point being miserable about it anymore.” Luna turned her head back around, her expression in a state of puzzlement. “Hold on. You said that when you were killed by the dragon you were completely re-healed, right?” Fluttershy nodded in response. “Well then surely your ability to bring life was re-healed when you were reborn as a Dragonlord. Right?” “Actually, Luna, Twilight thought of that about a year ago,” Fluttershy replied with a small grimace. “She said that maybe my reproductive organs might have been healed when I became a Dragonlord, so me and her went to the hospital to get them checked out.” Her ears flattened. “And we learnt that I still can’t have foals. I came out of that hospital with only wounded pride.” She looked away from them all for a moment as she quietly sniffed up her tears. Her hopes of one day having children to call her own were dashed with just a few words. She remembered as they headed back into town Twilight trying to comfort her, which worked to some degree. They parted ways after a cup of tea and a small exchange of words. A sudden, horrible thought made its way into her mind. What if that day was one of Twilight’s nasty ways to get at her? What if, when she left, Twilight laughed about it, then ran off to tell the others? ‘NO!’ Fluttershy yelled in thought. She knew Twilight too well to think she was capable of such cruelty. That was above the unicorn. However, the sudden image of Twilight smirking evilly as she left the library now stained her mind, putting her thoughts and beliefs of her friends into doubt. What if her friends were always like that when she wasn’t around? What if they truly did hate her? ‘No, no, no, no, NO!’ she shouted once more. They were her friends. They were all part of the Elements of Harmony – at least, she once was. But even that was taken from her, ripped from her very soul. Yet, she would live by what it stood for, as she has always done; the Element chose her for a reason, after all. She was taken out of thought when she suddenly saw something to the left of her in the desert. Something that shouldn’t have been there. “Luna! Cadence! Spike!” she called to the others, who had walked a bit further while she had lagged behind. Her three companions stopped, then quickly turned back to her. “What is it?” Cadence asked once they were up close to her. Fluttershy just pointed to the thing. “Do any of you know what that is?” Her fellow travellers looked to where she was pointing, and gasped. Thanks to being in the desert for seemingly a long time, the old buildings and walls could easily have been mistaken for natural rocks. One building was a massive bulk of wood and stone at the base, while a piece of it spiralled into the sky like a spear stuck in the ground. One of the other buildings, one that looked to have been a rectangular shaped object, was a heap of rubble, while around it was the remnants of what appeared to have been an outer wall. “A part of the Dotted Wall,” Luna stated, a look of joy on her face. “Um, excuse me, but what is it?” Fluttershy asked, looking at her expectantly. “One of the hundreds of forts and castles that were built as a wall across the border of southern Equestria to keep the changelings out of our lands,” Luna explained. “When me and my sister came to power, we were the only ones who could defend our country from enemies. The greatest of these were the changelings, who attacked our country with ruthless efficiency, sacking towns, killing those who opposed them, and draining the love out of those that had surrendered. “Me and my sister drove them back several times while the guard regained strength, but we were just two against thousands. We couldn’t be everywhere at once. Therefore, we literally banged our heads together to come up with a plan to try to keep them out forever. “At first we came up with a large wall that stretched across the south, but quickly came to realise what little good that would do when your enemies can simply fly over. So we had these forts and castles built like a wall, with large beacons at the top of the towers that would warn Equestria of any threat from the south. Annoyingly, the changelings didn’t come after they were built, so they were garrisoned for a period of time, then abandoned. Shame really. I was looking forward to bashing more changeling skulls together.” Fluttershy and Spike looked at each other, sickened by Luna’s thirst for such brutality. “Well,” Cadence said, smirking, “if somepony would have been there at my wedding a bit earlier, then maybe she might have had the chance to do just that.” “Hey, in my defence, I was busy with another very important affair,” Luna countered. “One so extremely important the entire night sky would crumble apart without it.” “Like what?” Fluttershy and Spike asked together. “Like taking a doze every once in a while!” Luna answered, rather proudly by the tone of her voice. “My sister should do it more often. Probably might have helped to slow her descent into insanity.” She turned away from the others to look back at the ruined castle. “Did she really sleep through the whole changeling invasion?” Fluttershy whispered into Cadence’s ear. “Oh yes,” Cadence whispered a reply, nodding. “My aunt could sleep through a volcanic eruption if she wanted to.” She was about to say more, but Luna turning around to face them brought them her attention. “Okay, if I remember me and my sister’s designs, these castles were connected by an old path that was weaved together by magic. If it still exists, we can use the path to make our way out of the desert before we start going in circles.” “Well that would be hard since we’ve been walking in a straight line all this time,” Spike muttered to Fluttershy. The pegasus snorted in a vain attempt to suppress a giggle. “You two can laugh,” Cadence whispered to them, trying hard not to chuckle also, “but Luna doesn’t have a very good sense of direction; if we kept following her lead and not whatever she has planned, we would probably end up back in Canterlot.” With that, the three began to snicker while trying to be discreet about it, and failing miserably. Luna scrunched up her nose at the three. “If I recall, it was only once that I got myself and my sister lost in the wilderness. As you can see, we came out okay. Now please be silent while I try to concentrate.” She then turned around and allowed her horn to start glowing its dark blue colour. Fluttershy felt herself leaning forward in anticipation for what could happen, as did Spike. After a minute or so, the colour surrounding her horn faded, and the world went silent once more. Luna opened her eyes and stepped back, waiting alongside the others for what she just summoned. At first, much to Fluttershy’s disappointment, nothing happened. Then suddenly, a small bright silvery orb appeared with a gentle humming sound. It shot out of the ground and flew into the air like a firework, before descending gently back to the ground like a balloon and floated above the ground like a jellyfish, pulsating a silver light every now and then. Fluttershy felt her mouth open in surprise, and utter delight. “Is that a wisp?” she asked, her eyes widening. Luna looked her way, and nodded with a wry smile. In a yellow flash, Fluttershy was next to the creature of magic and examining it to the point her muzzle was touching it. “It’s so cute!” she exclaimed, weaving her way around it with a look of sheer delight. Cadence, Spike and Luna could only roll their eyes at the scene. If Fluttershy noticed, she didn’t care or show it. Her entire focus was on the little adorable ball of glowing light in front of her. The wisp slowly moved towards her, and gave her something akin to a comforting nuzzle on her cheek. Fluttershy’s cheeks went bright pink, but she held a warming smile as she returned its affections. The nuzzle from the wisp felt like it was a way of the creature saying that everything would be fine, and Fluttershy believed it. ‘If Twilight were here, she would be just as delighted as I am,’ she thought. Her mind quickly imagined Twilight dancing around the wisp with a delighted grin on her face, while the others – minus herself, for she would be dancing alongside her – looked on perplexedly. Her ears fell flat as she thought about Twilight, and the others. ‘I would do anything to have things be the way they once were,’ she thought sadly. Another thought told her she was doing something now to make things right again. The whole journey she was about to undertake was just the start of what would be her toughest test as a Dragonlord, and she knew if she failed, she could never save her friends, or Celestia, or all of Equestria, from whatever held them. ‘I will not fail,’ she thought. The wisp gave off another pulse of light, brighter than the last, as if it was saying, I know you won’t. A sudden sound like popping made her squeak in fright and jump up and away from the wisp. She turned around, only for her eyes to widen in delight even more to the point she thought they might fall out. One by one, wisps began to appear from out of the ground, forming a curved but aligned path that began to grow longer and longer into the distance and heading west. Luna chuckled at the look on Fluttershy’s face, which was one of sheer disbelief. “Me and my sister summoned these wisps at the creation of these castles,” Luna explained. “Wisps are creatures that are always willing to help a traveller lost and alone in the most isolated places.” She looked around to address them all. “Should any of you ever get lost, and find yourself alone, think hard and offer a silent prayer, and the wisps will come to help you.” The two ponies and one dragon nodded. “We’ll remember that, aunt. Thank you,” Cadence said, smiling. Luna nodded, then gestured with her head towards the wisp path. “Come on, then. Let us make haste while my sister’s sun shines above us.” She turned around, and broke into a trot to follow the wisps while they stayed put. Cadence and Spike followed quickly after her. Fluttershy let out a sigh as she broke into a trot to catch up to them. She stopped and looked back when she heard a long hum from behind her. She watched with sad eyes as the first wisp sank back onto the ground, and then evaporated like a puddle of water, till there was nothing left to say it was there. “Such a beautiful creature,” she whispered to herself. She turned away and broke into a canter to catch up to the others, her fears and troubles now plaguing her mind even greater than before. The rest of the day’s journey, to the point when the sun was at the edge of the horizon, was mostly done in silence, save for the sound of the humming from the wisps as they appeared and disappeared as they trotted swiftly past. Fluttershy felt a pang of sadness flow through her every time she heard a wisp fade out of existence behind her. It seemed to her that the wisps were a metaphor to life itself; bright and beautiful at the start, yet it eventually fades away and returns to the ground from whence it came. Although that was the way of life, it was a sad thing to think about, and Fluttershy hated thinking about the sad aspects of life. “Something on your mind, Fluttershy?” The young Dragonlord shot her head up to see Luna was now walking next to her, looking at her with concern. “Um, yes, quite a bit actually,” Fluttershy answered with a few tiny nods. “Care to share?” Luna asked, tilting her head upwards a little. Fluttershy looked back at where the path once was. “I was just thinking about all those wisps, and what could have happened to them.” Luna looked back with her at the former path they took. “Ah yes. Well have no fear for them, Fluttershy Firewing, for wisps cannot die. They simply return to the ground and await their next summons,” she answered. Fluttershy felt relieved to know that they never actually died, but she still couldn’t understand where they came from. “Luna? Don’t worry about answering if you don’t know, of course, but I was just wondering: where do wisps come from?” Luna smiled at Fluttershy’s rather inquisitive nature. “Wisps are creatures of magic,” she replied. “So naturally, wisps are born in the place where magic itself is stored.” Fluttershy tilted her head in confusion. “Then, where is magic stored?” she asked. Luna’s smile grew wider, forming into a thin grin. “Magic exists between the three realms, my dear Fluttershy: Tartarus, Terra and Paradise. It is there where magic stays, and at certain points across Terra where it seeps into our world like lava. “There are a few stories relating to the immaterium, as it is known. At the creation of the world, and the three realms, magic connected the pieces of rock that floated in space like putting a jigsaw together, only this time the hold was stronger than the hold of glue. However, even the strongest glue can break and crack. When the dragons emerged as the first race, they found tears across Terra where magic seeped out and spread across the earth. The longer they remained near it, the more they became exposed to it. Eventually, they were gifted with the abilities of breathing fire, and creating other magic spells. They became the first magi of Terra. “Another story involves the creation of unicorns. About two thousand years after the creation of the three realms, a large group of earth ponies were wandering across the world, seeking a new home and a better life for themselves. Eventually, they came across a large tear that rested on the face of a mountain; only they thought that it was an entrance of a cave. So, they proceeded in, all of them without fear. For their bravery, they were rewarded. They emerged on the other side alive, but not unchanged. For one, their minds were now fused with the immaterium, allowing them to use the magic that flowed there through the horns that now protruded from their heads. “Of course, nopony knows if that one is true or not, but it is a great tale that you wish was real. Don’t you think?” Fluttershy looked at her perplexedly, unsure of how to take the conversation further; the pegasus felt like she was the worst pony to have a long, casual talk with. Therefore, she let out a, “hmm,” in agreement, and then looked away from Luna and began to gaze at the scenery. The desert had begun to take life all around them, with cacti scattered about the landscape, and tall white husks of what had been trees appeared occasionally. As well as natural objects, the path of wisps took them past more castles, some in better condition than others. The first castle they saw after the one they had discovered was just a pile of rubble, the second had its walls missing, the third had its walls but no towers, and the forth was relatively intact, but despite Spike’s wishes to rest there, they cantered on, eager to get out of the desert by day’s end. A hundred more castles passed them by since then, and just when they thought they were nearing the end of the desert, they would walk over another dune, and find many more miles of desert ahead of them. “What else is on your mind?” Luna said suddenly, tilting her head a little. Fluttershy spread out her right wing quick, gave it a shake, with her wing blades making a whistling sound as she did so, and then folded it back to her side again. “Sorry, just had an itch,” she explained, grinning sheepishly. “But I was thinking about how my friends, Celestia, and nearly everypony just turned against us and each other like they have.” In fact, that was what had been in her mind for most of the day’s journey, thinking over what could have caused the sudden change in her friends’ demeanour. Luna let out a sigh, as though she was tired of this. “You really think that my sister and your friends have been altered to turn against us?” “I don’t think, Luna. I believe,” Fluttershy replied. Before her mind could tell her to stop before she went too far, she asked, “Why don’t you believe me? I thought you would know your sister better than to think she could sink as low as she did.” Luna glared at her, making Fluttershy shrink back fearfully. “Do not tell me how I should know my own sister!” she hissed. Fluttershy used her mane as a shield across her face. “Sorry,” she squeaked. “I… I didn’t mean to cause offence. Please don’t be mad at me.” Luna’s gaze softened quickly, as though she regretted what she just said. She looked away from her, sighing. “I can’t be mad at you, Fluttershy, because you’re right,” she said, her voice breaking. “I don’t believe you because I barely know Celestia anymore.” “What do you mean?” Fluttershy enquired, tilting her head in confusion. “When she came round for tea sometimes, she spoke very fondly of you. It sounded like you were both close.” “Oh, we were close, Dragonlord,” Luna replied. “Once, we never left each other’s side. However, that closeness has faded away over the past four years.” She let out a sigh, and continued to speak. “When me and her were little, we sang together, played together, and when we got older and took over Equestria we ruled together. We did everything together: founded new cities, created new jobs, created the Everfree Forest; all of Equestria was forged by us. Now look at it. Celestia has managed to forge all of this.” She gestured with a sweep of her hoof at all of Equestria. “She did this, and more, all on her own in my absence. When I came back, I expected Equestria to change, but never like what I saw in my time to travel the country. “As I travelled the land to see what had changed, I saw that she had made Equestria into her own image, one of order and harmony, while my part had faded into nothingness. I thought we could be more sisterly again once I had returned, leave out the politics for one day and concentrate on being family again, but even that has been taken away from me. We once played and sang together, now her time is made up creating new laws and listening to other ponies’ problems, but never my own. Her and me rarely speak now, and when we do, it’s always about politics, the way the country is ruled, and so on and so forth. It is never about ourselves or anything else dear to us, like it used to be. If it wasn’t for her cutie mark, I would think a different pony was ruling the country.” She looked back at Fluttershy, her eyes glistening with tears. “I wish I could believe you, Fluttershy. I really do. But I just can’t. I’m sorry.” She closed her eyes in a bid to fight back tears. Fluttershy felt her heart snap at the pain Luna was in, and knew in an instant what she had to do. She jumped up and wrapped her forelegs around the neck of the night Princess, stopping the two ponies as Fluttershy hugged her. Luna opened her eyes, shocked by the sudden gesture. “It’s okay, Luna,” Fluttershy said softly, pulling her head back to look at her. “I don’t blame you for not believing me, for I’m finding it difficult to believe myself sometimes. Ever since we fled Canterlot my mind has been plaguing me with the ideas that my friends have never really been my friends. Yet I refuse to give in to those thoughts, mostly because I’ve known my friends for so long that I know they could never be like what they were in Canterlot.” Fluttershy forfeited her hold of Luna, and hovered back from her, her wing blades whistling as they swung up and down. “If I knew how to change your mind, I would come out and say it. But I don’t. So all I am going to ask of you is to stand beside me, and help me uncover the truth. Would you do that for me, please?” Luna looked deep into her eyes, making Fluttershy think she was looking into her fractured soul. Eventually, the emotionless look she was getting from the Princess faded away, as her lips curled into a smile. “You have a kind heart, Fluttershy. I can see why you once bore the Element of Kindness.” Fluttershy blushed bashfully, and looked away, her mane flowing across her face. “Thanks,” she squeaked from behind her mane. She opened her mouth to speak again, but Spike’s excited calling pulled their attention. “Luna! Fluttershy! Come and have a look at this!” he called. The two ponies looked forward to see that Cadence and Spike had moved to the top of a small sand dune that stretched itself out like a wall. ‘Wow,’ Fluttershy thought as her eyes moved across the length of the dune. ‘It’s incredible what you don’t see until you are right up close to it.’ “Let’s go see what this is about, shall we?” Luna asked. Fluttershy nodded, and together the two galloped up the slope to the top of the dune, not stopping until they were standing beside Cadence and Spike and the line of wisps. Upon reaching the top, they instantly saw what had gotten Spike so excited, and their eyes widened in delight, and relief. Ahead of them stretched roughly another mile of desert, with a ragged line of wisps stretching to the horizon. After that, the land was covered in a natural green. Across the horizon they could see a wall of forest, with trees taller than most Equestrian houses, and to the right, roughly five to seven miles away, was a large hill surrounded by woodland. And at its summit, standing high and proud, was what appeared to be a relatively intact tower of a castle, the rest of it obscured by a dense woodland. “That looks like a suitable place we can spend the night,” Cadence said, pointing at the tower. Luna’s eyes squinted as she made out the castle’s tower. “I concur,” she said a moment later, her eyes returning to their normal size. She looked towards the sun, which was now starting its descent under the horizon. “It is getting late, and I don’t think we could travel much further and find a more suitable place to camp for the night.” Fluttershy and Spike nodded at each other in agreement. Fluttershy suddenly picked up a faint sound of whistling through her ears, almost like a strong wind. She looked behind her, and her eyes widened in horror. “And not a moment too soon,” she said, poking Luna on the side. “Look!” she shouted, pointing from the direction where they came. The two ponies and one dragon looked behind them, and gasped in horror. Behind them, a long distance away, was a huge wall of sand and wind, swirling about as though a twister was being formed. “A sandstorm,” Luna stated. She brought a foreleg up to her forehead to block out the sun, and squinted her eyes to see it clearer. “And a big one at that.” “You think?” Spike muttered sarcastically. “How far away do you think it is?” Cadence asked, fidgeting nervously as she gazed at the wall of dust and sand. “I would say a few hours away,” Luna reckoned assuredly. “We should be able to get to the castle in time if we’re fast enough.” “I don’t think so,” Fluttershy objected, shaking her head. She lifted a hoof up, licked the base of her hoof, and brought it up into the air. The wind was strong, and getting stronger with every inch the sandstorm was closing the distance between them. “If I’m right, that sandstorm will be on us in less than half an hour,” Fluttershy calculated. She hoped her guess was wrong, but she was incredibly fascinated about sandstorms in school to be vastly incorrect. “So what do you propose?” Luna queried fearfully. “Basically… run,” Fluttershy answered as she began to back away. The others didn’t need a second telling. Cadence tossed Spike onto her back, and then the three began to gallop as fast as they could go towards the ruined castle, with each of them looking back every now and then to see the top of the sandstorm beginning to appear over the dune wall. After a mile of running, the dead, golden lands of the desert began to disappear, and around them brownish grass began to emerge from the ground. Fluttershy could feel her breath beginning to grow hoarser as they ran. Her legs, especially her hind legs, began to ache and groan in protest at the excessive use they were going through. The pain she felt running from her legs made her want nothing more than to fall down and rest. Yet her mind told her to keep going, knowing if she did, she would be engulfed by the sandstorm, and wouldn’t come out again. In front and behind her, Luna and Cadence were running with ever tiring stamina. She could hear her friends’ breaths begin to sob as they tried to regain their breaths and keep up the pace. She could see that both of them were an inch away from giving up and falling down, but after looking behind to see the sandstorm was beginning to come closer, they gained an extra boost that kept them going. “Don’t stop!” Fluttershy goaded them hoarsely. Eventually, the land was beginning to turn greener and brighter as they finally left the desert and were back in the grasslands. Fluttershy felt herself begin to slow down, but looked up again to see the tall tower of the castle coming ever closer to them, beckoning them to keep going. So that is what Fluttershy did; she continued to run. She looked behind once more to see how they were doing, and her eyes widened when she saw the sandstorm, although having lost momentum since they left the desert, was still coming at them at a dangerous rate, as though some other force drove it forward. She quickly saw that they would be caught in it at the speed they were going, and felt her heart sink. She looked towards the castle to see it was too far to reach in time, and felt her heart sink even further. ‘Guess this is it,’ she thought sadly. ‘And this time there will be no one to fly us–’ Her eyes widened as that thought came into her head, and how incredibly stupid she felt at forgetting the one thing she was born with – again. “Our wings!” she cried to Luna and Cadence. “Fly the rest of the way! We can use the wind of the sandstorm to push us away faster!” Luna and Cadence heard her instantly, and spread their wings and took to the air. Fluttershy followed suit quickly afterwards, with her wing blades singing in the wind. As soon as her legs left the ground, she felt herself being pushed forward by the strength of the wind. Normally she would panic or try to regain control of her wings, but this time she used the wind as a guide, and trusted it. She stretched her forelegs in front her, stretched her hind legs out to give her a more streamlined appearance, and with her wings working with the wind behind her, pushed forward at a speed that soon put her, and her friends, out of harm’s way. After a while of flying, and trying to keep control, the three winged ponies finally arrived above the ruined castle, and quickly inspected it. The castle had what remained of an outer wall that was shaped like a large square around the main keep. The main keep had a main hall that was shaped like a cuboid, while another part of the keep was to its right and shaped like a cube, with a near-destroyed single tower at the top left corner of the building. Although there was more, the three ponies and one dragon were more concerned about shelter from the sandstorm coming at their tails, so they were relieved to see the main hall’s roof was still largely intact, giving them ample shelter from the storm. “With haste, friends!” Luna shouted as she nose-dived through a large hole in the roof. Cadence whispered to Spike, “Hold on tight, and don’t let go,” before diving head first into the hole after Luna. Fluttershy looked behind her to see the sandstorm coming up close now, then followed her companions at a more relaxed rate, feeling glad that they were now safe from everything. As soon as she came through the hole, and out of its way, Luna charged up her horn, and sent a beam of dark blue light at the whole, creating a black shield to protect them from the storm. “There,” Luna said breathlessly. “We should be safe… now.” With that said, she closed her eyes, and fell to the ground with a loud thud. Fluttershy’s eyebrows shot to the top of her head as she looked at Luna’s unconscious form. “Oh, you poor thing,” she whispered, tilting her head in sympathy. She wished she had a blanket to give her for a moment, but quickly realised she didn’t bring anything this time, not even her medallion containing the picture of her parents. Only her weapons. A loud thud behind her made her jump out of her skin, before realising it was only Cadence falling into unconsciousness as well, and Spike too, making Fluttershy smile softly at the way his small form was pressed against Cadence’s for comfort. She looked up when she heard the wind beginning to howl, and realised the storm was now outside and blowing fiercely about them. ‘It should pass soon,’ she thought. ‘I’ll give it an hour before it dissipates completely.’ However, until it did pass there was nothing to do, except for what her companions were doing right now. ‘I could do with some shut eye myself.’ She lowered her hind legs until she was sitting on her haunches, and then lowered the rest of her body down until her head was resting on her forelegs. She shifted about for a bit until she felt comfortable, and when she was, she closed her eyes and fell asleep with the wind and the sandstorm moaning and whistling into her ears.