//------------------------------// // Chapter 9: Conscription // Story: World of Chaos // by ugugg93 //------------------------------// Fluttershy wasn't able to see what Sarlaka was currently holding, but the object was clearly very important. Twilight's trembling, followed by her falling onto her flank and stuttering response made that plain as day. Judging from the dragon's facial features, the way he displayed his concerned yet serious face, plus the low and deliberate way he spoke to Twilight only solidified her assumption even more. Looking at her friends next to her, she could see the mixed emotions on their faces. Applejack looked anxious at the situation that was unfolding before them. Rainbow was flying slightly higher now, trying to get a peek inside the box that Sarlaka held. Pinkie Pie was just standing there with a smile, but the way she was slightly vibrating made it obvious that she was highly anticipating seeing the object inside. As for Rarity... well... she never was one to read easily, but Fluttershy assumed she was just as anxious as the rest of them. Of course, as normal, Fluttershy was scared. “How... how did you...” Twilight stammered, staying put on her flank. “That's not important. I need you to take it,” was all that Sarlaka responded with. Twilight finally got up, and took a few steps towards the box. Twilight's horn started to glow, and Fluttershy assumed her magic latched onto something inside the large box. Smiling, Sarlaka put the box down, revealing that inside was a mannequin of a... light purple unicorn? Looking back towards Twilight, Fluttershy's eyes grew wide as she saw what Twilight was now levitating. The Element of Magic. Looking back up at the dragon, she saw that he was smiling at the unicorn now, seemingly not noticing the other ponies. Her friends each had a different expression on their faces, though all said the same message of shock. “Well, I suppose you at least know what this is. Now I need you to prove who you claim to be by using it.” Twilight sat back down, “But.. the other five! I can't use this one without the rest of the elements!” “Oh no, Magic, I do not want you to actually shoot me or anything. I merely want you to start powering it up. While you are right in that all six artifacts are required to activate their magic, a single bearer can at least power up the magic inside.” Sarlaka waved his hand in the air in an uncaring fashion, “Just have the thing glow or something, considering its probably the best you will be able to do.” Fluttershy saw Twilight slowly nod as she placed the tiara on her head. Though viewing from behind, Fluttershy could feel Twilight closing her eyes, and pumping all the magic she could muster into her element. Fluttershy 'eeped' as some of the hairs on her mane started to stand on end when the air became charged with the power that the unicorn was drawing. An unnatural wind started to pick up, and Rainbow was forced to land or crash into a wall. The wind and static charge continued to pick up, until Fluttershy was forced to huddle close to the ground and hold her wings tightly against her body to prevent herself from getting blown away. The tiara adorning Twilight's head began to glow as she was lifted slightly off the ground. Sarlaka quickly swiped the tiara off of Twilight's head, causing her to fall back to earth, landing on her flank. Twilight rubbed her rear, “Hey!” Laughing, Sarlaka placed the artifact back onto the mannequin that he got it from, and closed the box, “Oh please Magic, you already proved to me that you are indeed honored with the status of the Element of Magic. Now, that we have that little issue out of the way, we have to discuss how we are going to take down Discord...” “Oh yeah!” Rainbow jumped up, doing a few flips as her wings caught air, “Give us those elements and lets go kick some Discord butt!” Sarlaka's smile evaporated instantly, “Yeah... about that...” “Aw, wha' now?” Applejack frowned. “Well... how do I put it... ok. Well see, I've been doing the whole 'hiding in plain sight' sort of thing with Discord for the last thousand years, and before that I truly was hiding from him, and so... well... I hid the rest of the elements.” “Well dear, that's not that much of an issue! Why don't you gather them for us,” Rarity waved her hoof in the air dismissively, “Don't worry, we'll wait here.” Sarlaka's eyes narrowed, “You're kidding, right Generosity?” “Most certainly not, darling.” The dragon let out an amused chuckle, “Not going to happen. You six are going to help me get them.” It was Rarity's eyes that narrowed now, “Excuse me?” “Rarity, he's right. We can't just let him gather them all up.” Twilight turned towards her five friends, “We don't have the kind of time to just let him get them all. Every day we are here, the more likely Discord finds out we are here. We have to go get them too. Besides, with friendship on our side, what could possibly go wrong?” “Uh, Twi. Ah don' mean ta be rude, but remember tha last time ya said that, we were attacked by an entire army of ponies?” Applejack raised her eyebrow. Twilight held her hoof up, mouth open as if to respond to the retort. Her face turned to one of confidence to one of deep thought as she thought of a response, but eventually put her hoof down and shut her mouth. Her eyes followed her hoof as they looked down, “Well.... I was hoping that our luck would get better...” Fluttershy decided she had to support Twilight, as much as she was afraid to. She knew Twilight and Sarlaka were right: they DID have to find the elements as fast as ponily possible. Working up the courage, she spoke as loud as she could. “I... umm... think we should help...” Fluttershy squeaked. She saw the heads of everyone in the room look at her, and any bravery and confidence she built up was instantly extinguished under the unified stare. She closed her eyes in her feeble attempt to hide, “I mean... if you don't mind...” She felt them all staring at her, judging here, scorning her. 'How dare she!' they must think. 'This is a real problem, not some silly issue like feeding animals! This is real life!' Fluttershy started to tremble as her eyes remaining closed. As the minutes passed on the clock, she felt their anger bleeding into the air. A soft fluttering of wings was heard to her right, and she felt the soft coat of a pony rub up against her side, “Well, I agree with Fluttershy! And besides, I can't let Mr. Scaley get all the fun!” Fluttershy smiled under the warmth of her friend's side, subconsciously leaning slightly into it. She thanked Rainbow mentally, and opened her eyes to see the rest of the ponies were looking at the two of them, their faces surprisingly friendly, devoid of the angry stares that she expected. Looking at the two pegasi, then towards her friends, Rarity relented, “Alright. I know when I am outvoted. Very well then. What is the plan Lord Sarlaka.” Sarlaka looked at the six, taking a few seconds to think, “Very well. I will let you six find three of them, and I myself will acquire the other two. If I remember correctly, Well.. I think that is what I had intended to do in case I found you six.” Applejack narrowed her eyes, “Wha' do ya mean ya think?” “You forgot what your plan was?” Twilight groaned, putting a hoof to her forehead again. Sarlaka threw his foreclaws in the air, “I hid these things before I could even fly, alright! You can't entirely blame me for forgetting the details of my plan. Its not like I could risk writing it all down now could I?” Taking a second to take a few breaths, he continued in a calmer tone, “Now, Generosity, you and Magic will seek out your element. Fortunately, yours is close by, and in the best place: half a week trek into the wilderness. For you, Lau-” “The middle of nowhere!?” Rarity's eyes grew wide, “How is THAT the best place for it to be?!” Sarlaka closed his eyes in frustration, rubbing the arch of his snout with a claw, “Because considering there are only one hundred unicorns that are still in existence, you two would stand out in a crowd, especially considering your colorful appearances.” “One hundred left? Wow... that's... wow...” Fluttershy heard Rainbow whisper. “Anyways. Laughter, you and Honesty will find your element. The good news is that while it is located outside of my domain, I am on good terms with the local lord, Lord Xavier. The element is hidden next to his capital. If you need to, just tell a guard that I sent you, and he'll help you out.” he squinted again, “Just don't tell him that you are looking for an Element of Harmony.” “An' how do ya expect me to lie?” Applejack said. “I don't know, let Laughter do the talking or something. That's for you to figure out. Finally,” Sarlaka turned towards Fluttershy and Rainbow, “Kindness, you will take Loyalty with you to find yours.” “Right!” Rainbow stepped forward, causing Fluttershy to stumble slightly from the loss of her anchor. Catching herself, she looked up at Rainbow, who was fluttering her wings excitedly, “Just tell me where it is, and we'll have that thing back her in ten seconds flat!” “Sadly, you won't like what I have to say,” Sarlaka's monotonous voice rumbled, “Yours is located two domains away, in the domain of Lord Ferinus, who not only am I not on friendly terms with, but who's policies have driven me to nearly kill him on several occasions.” “Oh my! What could he possibly do that would warrant such a... harsh treatment?” Rarity spoke, picking her words carefully. There was a pause before he responded, “He thinks pegasi are a blight that needs to be... corrected, and if anyone in his domain finds one of you, he will make sure that you are either killed, or... robbed of your gift of flight.” Fluttershy's eyes grew wide, “You... you mean...” Sarlaka nodded. Fluttershy felt the fear in her heart take over again, she fell to her knees, closed her eyes, and hid behind her mane in fright of the situation placed before her. The thought of having her wings... taken... made her pull them tightly against her body, as if she pulled them close enough, she would be able to pull them into her body, hiding them from the world. She heard Rainbow voice yell, “Hey now wait a second! If this place is so hostile towards pegasi, why in the name of Celestia would you send us two, the PEGASI, there!?” “I wouldn't if there was another option, but it would take an earth pony well over two months to get there. If we want to obtain the elements before Discord realizes you six are here, it has to be you two.” He frowned, “Besides, over the years, I set up certain mechanisms so that only the bearer of the respective element can obtain it. Because of that, Kindness must go, no matter who goes with her. I suspect that you would refuse to let Kindness go on her own, now would you?” Fluttershy heard only the breathing of Sarlaka for several seconds, but then felt a wing brush against her side, “Not a chance,” she heard Rainbow Dash softly say, as if it wasn't to anypony at all. “Nu uh! No way! There's gotta be 'nother way.” Applejack's voice protested. Fluttershy could hear the nervousness in the earth pony's voice overpowering the anger. “Sadly there is not. However, there are ways to minimize their risk. Stay away from settlements is a good start. You two are smart mares. You'll figure it out.” Sarlaka's voice spoke, optimism absent from it. Fluttershy regained enough confidence to open her eyes, and saw that his face was neutral of any emotion. She was glad that Rainbow was next to her. Her oldest friend had always been her protector, but it had always been against minor things like bullies from flight school. This was something entirely different. This was a... a... life or death situation. Something that could result in them losing their wings, or worse. Fluttershy looked up from her laying down position to see that Rainbow was still standing next to her, a cyan wing dropping across the yellow mare's back in a protective way. Fluttershy worked up whatever courage she could find within her to pick herself back up, and stand next to Rainbow, who kept her wing over her body. “Thank you Rainbow,” Fluttershy whispered with a smile, “for everything.” Rainbow looked at her fellow pegasus, and returned the smile, pulling her wing back to her side, but remaining with Fluttershy. “That's great, but what about the other two elements?” Twilight trotted over to Applejack, sitting next to the earth pony. She pointed at the orange pony, “You know... the Elements of Honesty and Loyalty?” The dragon merely returned a smirk, “Please, leave that to me. I can't let you six have all the fun now can I? Now, with that settled, follow me. I think you will appreciate what I am about to show you.” Sarlaka turned towards the door that was next to the dining hall, lowered himself back onto all fours, and started to walk. Fluttershy looked at the other five, who merely shrugged at each other, and followed after him. During their walk Rainbow trotted ahead. Fluttershy sighed as her protector left her side, missing her external source of confidence already. Eventually they all went through the door after Sarlaka. Upon entering, they saw a room that was much less finished than the rest of the complex, and with good reason. This room obviously served as the stores of the cave, with various foods, tools, and other equipment sitting on a dozen hundred hoof long shelves that stretched all the way to the dragon sized ceiling, and all the way to the far wall. To their left, they saw another door, which probably led to the dining room. Applejack was the first to start walking the aisles of the stores. “Apples, oats, shovels, rope, saddlebags, extra horseshoes, a banjo... yall got everythin' here!” Sarlaka casually smiled, “Not quite, but I have nearly everything a group of...say... six very adventurous ponies might need to go on a long journey into the unknown world. Take anything you think you'll need from here or elsewhere, though I do have two requests.” Sarlaka's face grew serious, “One, do not take anything from my hoard. Trust me, you don't want to see a dragon get territorial over that sort of thing. Second, whatever you do, do not go into those two rooms behind the iron doors. Its better if you don't see what's behind there.” Fluttershy slowly nodded, turned, and joined the girls in taking stock in what was available to all of them in the room. Applejack wasn't exaggerating when she said that everything was here! She busied herself at just looking, unlike the pink pony in front of her, who acted like there was a saddlebag packing contest, and she was determined to win first place. She tried to get around Pinkie at first, but her efforts were soon understood to be useless. Instead, she took flight, and peered at what the top shelves had to offer. Looking through the various items on the top shelf, she saw that Rainbow was doing the same with the next shelf over. Rainbow had her back to Fluttershy, and was muttering something to herself, though she couldn't make it out. The cyan pegasus didn't notice the pink maned mare looking at her from behind, being too preoccupied with the stores on the shelves. Fluttershy sighed as she looked at her oldest friend, envying the confidence she had brimming from her even now, longing for the bravery that she had, admiring that perfect flank that had the best cur-. She blushed heavily, 'Fluttershy! Don't have those thoughts! She's your friend; a sister to you! Besides, even if she was like that, she wouldn't want to be with a flighty filly like you. Get over it.' Fluttershy shook her head, her mane flopping around from the vigorous motion, and sighed. Resigning herself to those facts, she turned, and continued to mentally take inventory of all the gear that was housed in this room. Too busy distracting herself, neither she, nor her friends, noticed a certain purple dragon had left the room, being followed by a purple unicorn. Twilight approached where Sarlaka had gone, trotting through the main hall, and towards the entrance to the cave complex. Crossing the space, she reached the bend in the tunnel leading outside, seeing the light shining from the sun. Looking back, she hoped that she was able to sneak out without her friends noticing. Considering what she needed to talk about, it was something she wanted to do alone. She looked forward again, and continued down the passageway, until she reached the mouth of the cave, and took in her surroundings. The storm from the previous day had died down completely, and with the sun above, she noticed that the land was depressingly brown throughout the valley. The opposite mountains, where Twilight suspected Canterlot used to lie, were just as barren, with only the white of snow on the mountaintops breaking up the brown hues. To her left, the brown continued on several miles, until the distant greens of a forest, sitting where the Everfree Forest used to stand in her time, barely breaching the horizon. To her right she could made out Conflound sitting on the valley floor, with the same green forest wrapping around the mountain peak. “The sight is something, is it?” Twilight looked over, seeing their dragon host calmly laying down, his legs tucked under him as he laid on the snow covered ground. For just a frighteningly powerful and deadly creature, he looked... peaceful. “Yes. It sure is,” Twilight responded, trotting up to where Sarlaka lay, and laying down near him. Twilight nearly jumped back up from the cold of the snow, but after fixing her position so that her legs were under her, it was tolerable enough. “But not in the way we want it... isn't it?” Twilight snorted a half-hearted chuckle, “Not too long ago, this entire land was green with endless fields of grasses, and over there,” Twilight pointed, “was the most beautiful hilltop full of flowers. Of course I didn't have time to appreciate it then, but now that its gone,” Twilight sighed, “I miss it already.” “Even though its been gone for centuries, it still feels like yesterday.” the dragon softly spoke, lowering his head to rest on his foreclaws. “To me, it kinda was.” There was a long pause. Finally, Twilight stood, and slowly walked up to the dragon's face, and laid back down next to his giant head. “So... how did you really get those scars?” Sarlaka shifted his head slightly, moving his eyes to face the unicorn, “I know Kindness doesn't know, but do you know of the properties of a dragon eye?” “No... I can't say I do. I only have studied magic extensively. Alchemy isn't nearly my forte.” Sarlaka looked straight forward once again, “There are legends that with a dragon eye, if you were to mix it with various different common herbs, could make a pony immortal.” Twilight's eyes widened at the revelation, “What... I mean... how!? That defies all magic I've ever known before!” “Its because it isn't true, my little unicorn friend. The idea of one becoming immortal is ludicrous, and obviously an old mare's tale. Even Discord can't escape death. Not really.” Sarlaka closed his eyes, “Still... it doesn't stop some desperate foals from trying. Most of them are unruly psychopaths that I have no problem putting down. Some... some do it when they are at death's door, and beg me to help them. Those...” Sarlaka paused for a second, “...are the most tragic lives I have been forced to end.” Twilight timidly raised her hoof forward, and ever so slowly, reached out to the dragon's face, until she touched his scales. Sarlaka instinctively recoiled slightly from the contact, opening his eyes to look at her, but then relaxed to let her softly caress his face. Slowly, she started to trace the paths of some of the more prominent scars. This close, though, it was obvious that there were dozens more, less noticeable ones, that ran along his face, and down his neck. “All of these are from those ponies?” She asked in a whispered voice as she continued her strokes. Sarlaka seemed to relax under her hoof's motions, “Of course not, Magic. Only a few are. The vast majority are either from battles between the other dragons, or through fights with Discord.” Twilight withdrew her hoof, “You fought Discord? And lived?” “Of course! How else would I get to where I am today if I couldn't handle myself in an argument with my opponent? Hmm? Besides, he has a few marks himself to sport from me as well, though I like to think mine are cooler.” Sarlaka smiled, and closed his eyes. Twilight simply rolled her eyes, and returned her hoof to his cheek. There was a long, yet calming silence before the mare spoke again, “Sarlaka... something's been bothering me,” to which he opened his eyes slightly. “The last thing I know happened to the Elements of Harmony was that they were... left behind somehow when we came here. How did you get them?” Sarlaka closed his eyes again, a stern face showing, “I got them from the dragon, Spike.” Instead of recoiling her hoof as Twilight assumed he would suspect, she continued her caressing with earnest. “You know, you know a lot about me, enough to know that I study WAY too much about subjects that are important to me. One of those subjects was dragons. It was mostly for practical purposes, because I needed to know how to raise Spike properly. Dragon's are very different from ponies in their diets, sleeping patterns, and tempers. In reading various books, I learned a few things.” He opened his eyes, and turned towards her, her hoof falling out of reach of his face. She noticed him looking at her out of the corner of her eye, but for dramatic effect, she decided to keep looking over the horizon, “Something very interesting I discovered in my reading about dragons is their coloration. You see, their colors come from the locations that they are native to, and act as a kind of natural camouflage. Red dragons near volcanoes, green in forests, blue near oceans... you get what I'm saying. However, the color purple doesn't fit any natural location in the world. In fact, its not supposed to be a color a dragon should have. Instead, its a genetic mutation, one that is so rare, I suspect that a purple dragon only appears once every millennium. Even then, the dragon would most likely die very quickly because of its inability to camouflage itself into the terrain that it is native to. The only way I suspect a purple dragon would survive for long would to be taken care of by a peaceful race... probably ponies.” Twilight had a smile on her face at this point, “But you already knew this,” she turned towards the dragon, “didn't you, Spike?”