Twilight Sparkle, having awoken from a Nightmare, gasped as the sun first flickered in her eyes. It was bad timing on Celestia's part as she'd had a nightmare about being attacked by a dragon. The fire from its mouth was just about to reach her when the sun woke her up.
Slightly annoyed at the whole fiasco having been nothing more than a Nightmare, she groaned as if to express that annoyance audibly. The realisation of her Royal duties for the day struck her and she groaned again, more so than before.
"Twilight, some of us are still trying to sleep in here! Take your morning Cockatrice impression outside." the young dragon in her chamber groaned throwing his own little covers over his head.
"Sorry, Spike. Just a bad morning; I really don't want to have to deal with Royal duties today." the lavender unicorn whined, placing hoof to head in frustration. It was her continued talking that prevented Spike from returning to sleep. With a groan of his own, he sat up in his little bed/cot.
"Well I have to say, it was kind of thoughtless of Princess Celestia to not even ask you if you wanted to be a Princess in the first place." he said. Twilight looked at her wings through the mirror across from her bed.
"I suppose so, but I would have accepted either way. Unless, of course, I knew what it was going to be like this, in which case... Sisters before Sissies." she mused, making Spike laugh. It was an inside joke that was shared between them, the girls and the other Princesses. The 'sissies' were the nobles while the 'sisters' were unsurprisingly, the friends Twilight had been forced to leave behind.
The new Princess sighed with a look of melancholy plastered to her features. "What's really wrong, Twilight? You going through some sort of premature mid-life crisis or something?" Spike asked as he got out of his bed to sit beside Twilight on her own. Twilight sighed once more.
"I just wish something interesting would happen like before. Something not life-threatening, but interesting all the same. Like Trixie playing up again, that always promises to be a barrel of laughs at her expense. I'd even settle for Discord or Chrysalis acting up again at this point. If I were Celestia, I wouldn't send my student out to do all this, I'd be soaking up the entertainment like a sponge... Oh, maybe you're right, Spike; maybe it is a premature mid-life crisis. I just want something maningful and exciting to happen." she replied, looking out through her window at the rising sun.
((At the same time))
The rain continued to add pressure on the leafy roof Zonoya had constructed the previous evening. It had done well to hold as long as it did, but Malefor had awoken just as the sun rose to see that the water collected within the leaves was beginning to bend the branches supporting it. It wouldn't be long before the whole thing collapsed.
What woke him wasn't the mild moaning of the wind, nor was it the pattering of the rain beyond. At some point during the night, Zonoya had cuddled up to him to try and keep warm. Her shivering suggested that the endeavour was more or less in vain. He could feel her shaking like the leaves above, desperate to keep warm. It was almost a curse that Dragons had to be the only reptilian race with warm blood.
Craning his neck ever so slightly, he saw that the fire Zonoya had made had long since burned out. He wondered if he would suffer from using his Earth element. Realistically speaking; it was little more than using his lungs. No movement was required. The increased rate of Zonoya's shaking made the decision for him. Like it or not, he owed this dragoness a lot. The least he could do was make her more comfortable while she aided him.
With a slight exhale of his breath, the earth rose around the two dragons, forming a dome to protect them from both the rain and the cold of the wind. When that was finished, he began to heat up the area within by breathing small amounts of flame with each exhalation. Pretty soon, Zonoya stopped shaking and became satisfied with snuggling even further into Malefor's personal space. Even the dark master had to admit: it felt nice to have another dragon around. He wouldn't have had that were he successful in destroying the world.
With little else to do until Zonoya awoke, Malefor began contemplating what it was he wanted to do with his life. He recalled being pulled into the dark crystal by his fellow Purple Dragons, but then he awoke on the ground of a strange land. It was clear to him what had happened; either he'd succeeded in destroying the world and it had been created anew in this form, rendering the battle with Spyro and Cynder (outcome included) null and void. Or, Spyro saw fit to give him another chance at life, one which he would be a fool to pass up. The latter outcome seemed more likely, and Malefor was far from a fool.
The sickening thought occurred that Malefor actually had Spyro and Cynder to thank for this second chance. Granted, he'd begun this new life unable to move for fear of agony, but that was most likely an unforseen outcome on Spyro's part, and the situation wouldn't last forever...right?
Very well, I'll give your way of thinking a chance, Spyro... I suppose it's the least I can do considering what you've done for me. he thought, sighing with resignation. Malefor knew then and there, that he would miss the power the darkness offered him. But perhaps it could be used for different purposes?
Malefor felt the dragoness stir beside him. Thinking like a youthful dragon, he wondered how she would react after seeing where shed slept. A smile crept on Malefor's face before he rested his head to feign slumber.
Zonoya awoke with a yawn. With sleepy eyes, she failed to notice the dome around her at first and believed it to still be dark. She tried to look around but found her vision impaired. She had to rely on sound until her eyes adjusted. The first thing she heard was the calm breathing of Malefor... just beside her. A blush formed instantly on her cheeks and for the first time today, she was thankful it was still dark. She then fought off the urge to scream , not wanting to wake her charge.
Despite her embarrassment at the situation, she didn't move. She was actually rather comfortable. The air was even rather warm. She then heard the rain. Strangely enough, it had been muffled by something. Zonoya then realised that it was actually too dark, even for the early of morn. Luna's moon should have been out in full bloom, setting even. She rarely awoke before sunrise, but even she knew how things were supposed to work. She couldn't quite hear the trees, just the rain falling onto them.
Zonoya decided not to panic. Very few creatures would mess with a dragon, let alone two, even a wounded one. Calming herself down, she began to think of the journey ahead. Three-hundred miles to Equestria; that would take ages. Still, it was time Zonoya had, and she'd already decided she liked this Dragon. Malefor seemed like the lonely broody type, and if she had to be perfectly honest with herself, she found that kind of Dragon very attractive.
Of course, Malefor didn't seem like the average kind of dragon either. Most male dragons were bipedal, for height was, at least to them, a display of superiority. Dragonesses such as Zonoya retained a quadrupedal form so as to better show off their curves. Of course, this was a matter of choice to either gender, not to mention personality traits. Those two variables factored in to the overall outcome of a Dragon's appearance.
In Zonoya's case, her appearance determined that through her colour scheme, she was often random but inventive, and also the type to enjoy a challenge she knew was in her league. Her figure suggested that despite those personality traits, she was not absent of femininity. She could love, just like any other dragoness. She was slender, flexible and (some might argue) drop-dead gorgeous. Her horns were displayed in a fashion that suggested she didn't much care for good or evil. She'd do her own thing. She had about four horns, to elongated ones at the top and another two smaller ones just behind her jawline. Each pointed out in opposite directions to take in the appearance of an 'X'.
Zonoya was without a doubt, a unique dragoness in colour, figure and personality. Yet somehow Malefor rivalled her in terms of unique design. His bony chest plate had the strangest configuration; with two seemingly redundant plates pointing out in a vector like a pair of horns right over his breast. Zonoya had never seen a dragon with three Primary horns before. With two on either side of his skull and a third right in the very top. Combine those with the secondary horns layered behind them, he almost looked like he'd been born with a crown on his head.
The kingly dragon stirred, feigning his sudden and unexpected awakening. A small amount of light managed to brighten up the area as Malefor's eyes emitted a golden glow. It was through that glow that Zonoya realised what had made her vision so dark. The dome of earth spanned roughly the squared length and width of five dragons. It left them with a large amount of room to stretch around in. What amazed Zonoya even further was the fact the dome had grown around the trees.
"What is this?" she asked, sounding rather shocked by the display.
"What does it look like?" Malefor replied with a smile plastered on his face. Zonoya was speechless afterward. Malefor's tone suggested to her that this was normal to him. That in turn suggested that he'd created it. How he did so was another matter.
"How did you do this?!" she demanded.
"The power of the purple dragon is limitless when it comes to the elements. This is but a taste of the power I possess." he said, taking a deep breath as if to relax himself.
"I've never heard of a purple dragon doing this before. Dragons only breathe fire." Zonoya commented, examining the dome around them.
"Is that so? Perhaps it's just a Skylander thing." Malefor responded.
When the rain died down, Malefor used an Earth Bullet to shatter the dome, leaving the cool air to chill them both. After a slight shivering frenzy, Zonoya picked up her act as well as the vine tied to Malefor's support and began the trek.
"So... You mean to tell me that... Skylanders can actually breathe... different elements?" Zonoya asked between tugs.
"Maybe." Malefor replied. Truthfully, he wasn't sure. This was undoubtedly a different world to the one he knew, but the term Skylander may very well mean dragons and various other creatures from his origins.
"Like what?" she asked, trying to pick up the conversation.
"Well you've got your classic fire, then there's Earth, Ice, Electricity. There are others, but they aren't Primary Elements. Those are Poison, Wind, Darkness and Fear." he replied, refraining from mentioning Convexity. Power over time might be a little too much for her to believe.
"And there are dragons who can use these abilities?" she asked.
"Yes. Generally, the dragons would possess the colours of their elements. For example, Fire Dragons would hold a red and orangey colour, Earth dragons green and brown, and so forth." he replied.
"And what about this whole thing with the Purple Dragons?" Malefor considered very carefully how to answer that question.
"Purple dragons have the ability to wield and master all of the elements. In certain cases, they can even give other dragons the ability to learn multiples of the secondary Elements as well as augment them." he said, yawning slightly.
"So you're saying you could teach anyone those elements?" she asked. Malefor began to wonder if Zonoya had a certain ambition that Cynder's elements would help with.
"It comes at a cost." he replied.
"And that cost is?"
"Corruption." There was a moment's silence save for the scraping of the dirt beneath the support as Zonoya pulled it along.
"What kind of corruption?" she asked after a minute.
"The secondary elements are dark elements, meant for dark purposes. Unless you planned on taking over the world or something, I wouldn't recommend it. Of course, you could overcome the corruption, but it would take someone special to do that."
"So you're saying I would become trapped in my own power and it would take someone close to me to pull me out?" she was quick to grasp the situation.
"Yes. Which is why I wouldn't recommend learning how to use those elements just yet."
"Sounds like you just don't want me bending to your will." she was very astute. "What's the matter, don't like the idea of a strange dragoness bowing to your wishes and calling you master?" she teased.
"Didn't work out so well last time." Malefor muttered.
"What?"
"Nothing!" he quickly corrected.