//------------------------------// // Three // Story: Only Just A Dream // by Desert Nocturne //------------------------------// Princess Luna paced the darkened nursery, trying to make sense of her troubled thoughts. Her gaze shifted over the darkened alcoves as she recalled the events of the day. Her sister, Celestia, had asked her to cover the morning court session earlier today. Always eager to please her sister, and gain rapport with her subjects, she had agreed instantly. She had only been in public a handful of times since the defeat of Nightmare Moon; the more exposure she had the better. It had gone quite well once the first few ponies discovered that they would not face the pain of death if they so much as glanced in her direction. Although the ponies seemed more intimidated by the royal Canterlot voice than I recall. After the court had broken for lunch, her sister had thanked her with such obvious gratitude that Luna had flushed. Apparently, even Princess Celestia of Equestria, needed the occasional morning to sleep in, an opportunity that had not presented itself often during Luna's long banishment. Luna's brow furrowed as she thought of her past misdeeds. The nursery, where the royal pony sisters traditionally allowed dragons to leave unwanted eggs, was normally a place of peace for her. The magically preserved dragon eggs seemed to always be willing to hear her troubles, and had over time become like good friends to her. The room was also kept dark and warm, owing to the spells used to preserve the eggs, and on occasion she had been known to forgo her bed entirely and sleep in the nursery. Still, even the comfort of this place was not allaying her unease. It was not her banishment that was bothering her. No, she had had a strange premonition that something big and perhaps dangerous would come to pass in Equestria, a feeling that was growing stronger by the minute. If something dangerous happens I am sure the Royal Guard can handle it. Or if not, then my personal guards certainly will. She smiled in spite of herself. Her personal guards were stationed outside the door of the nursery. She had been training them herself and had magically enchanted their armor to change their appearance to better complement her (with their approval of course). It was a bit vain perhaps, but she loved the look of them and the intimidation factor did not hurt either. Still she wondered what it could possibly be that was heading her way. She had not had much time to discuss the matter with Celestia. When she had mentioned her premonition earlier in passing, Celestia had said that she had not felt anything out of the ordinary. However, Luna had ever been more sensitive to this type of magic; her premonitions were rarely wrong. She had managed to get her sister to promise to discuss the matter further after the afternoon court. In retrospect, she realized she probably should have pressed the matter. She stopped her pacing abruptly. Something had changed for the worse. Some force was beginning to manifest itself; she could feel it gathering nearby. Suddenly, it seemed like a good idea to vacate the premises and summon Celestia to help deal with whatever was going on. Luna did not get that chance. She whirled as a loud explosion shattered the peaceful atmosphere of the nursery. A form was hurled from a point near the far end of the room, skidding impressively some fifteen feet on the tiled floor before coming to a rest near the stunned Princess. Luna's eyes, ever so sharp in the darkness, widened as she beheld what appeared to be a freakish, ape-like creature lying on the floor. It yelled out a name, “Rarity!” causing the princess to lose what little composure she had left. She screamed piercingly, using her magic to simultaneously turn on the overhead lights and restrain the beast in front of her. Her guards, alerted by the creature's yell, and spurred on by their Princess's scream, burst into the nursery quickly surrounding the intruder. It had curled into a fetal position, tears streaming down its face, as it uttered the name again, “Rarity...” That was the last they heard from the creature as it appeared to withdraw within itself, shutting out the rest of the world. Princess Luna was breathing hard but had regained her composure. “Guards! Take the creature the dungeon at once! Keep it under watch until we return with Princess Celestia!” The guards had uncoiled a rope as she spoke and were proceeding to hog-tie the creature in preparation for transport. She allowed herself a grim smile as she saw the fruits of their training come forth. They may be pegasi without the aid of magic, but they would have no trouble carrying out her orders. She left them to their task and started heading toward the main hall at a fast canter to summon her sister. **** Edwin looked down at himself, taking a long moment to observe his new body. He was still dumbfounded. How is this possible? He hastily reviewed his memories. I am Edwin Montero. I am a human being; an inhabitant of the planet Earth. I am not a dragon damn it! How am I ever going to get back into my body? How am I ever going to get home!? And why does it look like time isn't moving? Is this a dream? He had been so discombobulated that he had momentarily forgotten the precarious situation he was in. He looked at the timber wolf in front of him again. Its maw was curled back in a snarl and it was stretched in a graceful leap with its claws extended toward him. He looked closer and widened his eyes as he noticed that it was not completely stationary. It appeared to be moving closer ever so slowly. What the hell is going on here? “OOF!” Time had returned suddenly and the wolf had completed its leap landing squarely on Edwin. He cursed himself furiously for not moving out the way while he had the chance. Curiosity killed the dragon, he thought darkly. Spike's body had thick scales that absorbed the worst of damage the sharp claws inflicted, but no amount of scales could cushion against the monstrous weight of the beast. He had been thrown onto his back when the wolf landed and he had felt several ribs crack. He gave a scream of agony as excruciating pain rushed through him, unintentionally releasing a burst of green flame directly into the face of the attacking wolf. It rolled off him, making high pitched whining sounds as it tried to extinguish the fire. He turned and saw another wolf moving against him. This time, however, he managed to dodge the initial blow, moving jerkily but quickly as jolts of pain racked his body. Abandoning all pretense of civility, he launched himself against it, throwing his weight into a kick aimed at one of the beasts leg joints. A satisfyingly loud crack echoed through the clearing as the joint gave, eliciting another of the high pitched cries from this wolf. Despite the piercing pains in his chest, Edwin did not hold back his attack, knowing that his and Rarity's lives hung in the balance. He pressed his advantage, raking his claws against the side of another of the momentarily distracted wolves. Lines of sap appeared where his claws had torn the tough wood of the wolf's hide. The circle around them had begun to waver. We may just live to see another day! All I need to do is- He had allowed himself to be distracted. The wolf he had clawed returned the favor with a mighty paw to his face. Blood flew as a several teeth were liberated from his gums. The force of impact turned him completely around and his attention was brought again to the wolf that had initially attacked him. The injured alpha wolf howled in a way that made him both cringe and start with realization. He was in the body of a fire-breathing dragon; he was pitted against a pack of predators made of wood! He scrambled away from the wolf behind him towards Rarity. Rarity, for her part, had not taken Spike's well meant advice to run and was instead putting on an impressive display of agility as she aimed several well-placed kicks at the wolves. She was not unscathed, however, and Edwin observed several lacerations that marred her otherwise pristine coat. Unlike Edwin, she did not have the advantage of scale armor to protect against the sharp claws and teeth of the wolves. As he watched, a wolf leaped onto her, latching its jaws around the upper part of her back. He advanced on the pair, roaring in both anger and agony as his broken ribs again made themselves known. If they're smart enough to lay an ambush then they should be able to recognize the danger they are in. He braced himself against the pain and took as deep of a breath as he could, releasing it in a gout of flame ten feet high. The wolves snapped their attention to him, fear in their eyes. The wolf that had attacked Rarity dropped off of her and looked at him in terror. That's right you bastards! He felt a new emotion, blood lust, make itself known; he forced himself to reign it in as much as he could. He growled, deep in his throat, exposing what fangs he had left to the wolves, the look in his eyes promising death. That did it. The pack broke, running (or limping) pell-mell back into the deeper part of the forest, yipping all the way. He stared after them, the snarl still on his face, until he saw the last wolf disappear. He turned slowly and nearly stepped on the alpha, which was still writhing in agony in the dirt of the path. Its face was burned beyond recognition and it appeared that a portion had been broken off by the unfortunate wolf as it tried to put out the flames. Viscous, amber sap ran down the wolf's ruined face as Edwin watched. He felt sick waves of revulsion and pity course through him. No creature should have to endure this. He steeled himself for what he knew he had to do. Ignoring the pain from his ribs, he again took a deep breath and released another torrent of flames, reducing the creature's head to ashes. The battle was over.