//------------------------------// // Chapter 11 - A Heady Brew or Two // Story: Headless, not Heartless // by Thadius0 //------------------------------// Having a properly functioning community was a dream of mine. If only so I wouldn't have to look after it anymore. Snow Fluff and Deluge kept the weather more or less stable. Since we didn't have any pull with Cloudsdale, ponies first wrote up what they wanted out of a weather schedule on a massive list. Snow and the other pegasi did what they could to tame the weather and make sure that everyone got the weather they actually needed. Another change from our little community was that instead of one farm, everyone grew something. What with Venus adepts every few hundred feet willing to trade their services in Growth for a few bites to eat from the garden, it all worked out. Somehow. We even managed to get a store up, along with an inn slash tavern. Of course, we had an issue with the second one. Flowing Tap and Irish Charmer, both former bar owners, argued for a little bit about who was best suited for running the darn thing. Eventually I stepped in. Seriously? The both of you can't see the most obvious answer? They looked from each other to me and shook their heads. I would have facepalmed, but, no face. If I have to hold your hooves into seeing the answer that satisfies everyone, then what makes you any different from they that live under the sun princess? They looked to each other and gulped. It was Irish who made the first move then. "Perhaps we should run it together? We both have experience in being brewers." Flowing nodded at the suggestion. "Aye, seems like a good idea. Dunno why we didn't think of it sooner. Maybe we can even swap recipes." After that it was fairly quiet in the village, save for one monumental event. The Newvale Adventuring Troupe, as I called them, were ready. Talos the griffin had bonded with a Venus Djinn named Bark, who could increase the defense of many, and he himself had mastered the use of Ragnerok. Moonfire the changeling had bonded with Core, a Mars Djinn that cared not for defenses, and he had mastered all the basic attacks, along with Guard and Impact. Frostfall the pegasus had quickly mastered her basic training, along with the Reveal Psynergy, and bonded with Scourge, a Jupiter Djinn who could conjure poisonous winds. And finally, Flare the unicorn had bonded with Absolute, a Mercury Djinn who could freeze foes so deeply that they had trouble moving. I had taken her aside to make sure she knew all of the tricks of her trade, and she'd demonstrated surprising affinity for all of them. The four stood at the entrance to the town, I stood before them, and the community stood behind me. This is not exile, I started my speech with, for you will always be welcome to return here. Rather, this is a task I ask of you. A favor. You do not have to complete it any more than I have to breathe. A few chuckles then. Good, humor would be important. The task is simple to state, but may never be complete. I wish for you to travel these lands, finding Djinn, and spreading our message to all who will listen. The four shared a look, then looked back to me. It is simple enough as to say why I wish for both these things. If more Djinn are found and brought back here, then we will be able to do more to help this community grow, which it surely will when you spread word of us. They nodded a slow, shared nod. I will not say goodbye, because I know you will return. Instead, I will say fare you well, and return to us more learned and powerful. The adventuring group turned and ventured out into the world. I knew they would return to us one day. Probably. ----- It was a few days before we got any more excitement in the town. "Dragons!" But oh, what excitement. Jupiter, Mars Adepts, on me! To the town square! Everyone else, get in the town borders, pegasi, get DOWN! The small group I had called for gathered quickly as I kept scanning the skies, seeing the winged forms draw closer. We need to do this fast and right! Picture the town, the whole town! Hold that image in your mind! Jupiter Adepts, call up Ward, Mars Adepts, call up Guard! This was the only solution I could think of at the time that might even remotely protect the town. Once again, using things in ways they were not meant to be used. Still, it was our only option. A mixture of red and violet slowly sprung up around the town before merging into a lavender bubble. I watched as a few fireballs bounced off the shield before the dragons responsible flew off. Clearly, when faced with something they couldn't understand, something that could withstand their attacks, the dragons chose to bugger off rather than try to tear it down. Except for one. It was massive, it looked like it could easily tear down Canterlot Castle, and it sat on the mountain and plinked at the shield with one claw. Its scales were red, its underbelly was golden, its wings were crimson, and its eyes. Oh sweet gods, its eyes. Orange, slitted things that seemed full of malice and hatred. It was like all the world was burning beneath those eyes. "Hmm. What power is this, to resist the might of dragons?" I was shaken, hell, we all were by the sheer strength behind his voice. At least, at the time, I assumed it was a he. I swear I heard a few landsides go off. I rallied my courage and answered. Mine, which I have taught to they that can learn it. Alone, I could be stopped. Together, we stand united against the sun princess. At this, the dragon chuckled. I was pretty sure this wasn't any better than him being curious. "How interesting. And who are you to stand against the might of the sun?" I am he who walks the dark, I am the shadow, the elemental wraith, the bogeyman that scares ponies into behaving. I am he who fights the corrupt and brings justice back to they who were wronged. I am Dullahan, and I am not amused, drake. The dragon snorted, and great clouds of smoke erupted from its nostrils. "I have heard of you. And I too am not amused. You serve lesser beings and command strange powers, but know you this: I know of the jewels you hold. And they will be mine, or else my name is not Lady Skycleaver." Okay, so to recap: I've just stood up against a dragoness who is incredibly massive, incredibly powerful, and was only kept out by twenty or so ponies combining their strength to keep the town Warded and Guarded. I've insulted her and basically said 'come at me bro' and she's responded with 'bitch I will cut you and steal your shit.' Why do I think of that as a normal day?! ----- It had taken me a little while to track the dragon migration. Then again, that whole 'not needing to sleep' thing helped a bit. I could also swear I saw a few wild Djinn watching my trek, but frankly, I only had eyes on one thing. Namely, making sure no dragons ever came back to the community in search of any of its treasures. Especially mine. I found a trio of adolescent dragons at the base of the mountain a majority of them were using on this migration. It'd only taken me a few displays of my mastery over fire for them to listen. It'd taken slightly more displays of my mastery of lightning for them to tell me what I wanted to know. Fun fact: Dragons are naturally fireproof. Dragon wings are also fireproof. Dragon wings are not shock-proof. And it hurts when a couple thousand volts are jammed into their nerve endings there. Apparently, Lady Skycleaver was some big-wig amongst dragons. One of the elder ones, hated all other non-dragon life, and loved taking artifacts, especially jewels, and adding them to her hoard. Only someone who had a larger hoard than her or could defeat her in combat was worth her attentions. Consequentially, she had very few children, and those she did have were old and didn't get along with her at all. All fine and dandy with me. The less vengeful family members that would show up on my doorstep, the better. I managed to find the mountain the youths had directed me to and get to the top of it. I had no illusions about being undetected, and the first words spoken by the dragoness proved it. "So, you have come, headless one. Why did you seek me?" I 'looked' towards the dragoness sitting atop her hoard, and she stared at the flames dancing out of my neck-hole. You threatened me and mine for trinkets that you would never understand. And if you make a threat and get away with it, who knows how long it would be before younger and younger drakes come to raid the town in search of that which they may never possess? An example must be made, a line must be drawn. This far, no farther. You were the first, and you will be the last. I drew my blade and pointed it at her, and she laughed. "You have a line as well. You do not do physical harm to they that do not deserve it. And as for making an example of me, good luck. I have felt the sting of battle far too many times to count, and I remain, while my foes do not. Magic cannot penetrate my scales, and weapons will bounce off. To mortals, I am unslayable." I would have grinned. First, I'm not exactly mortal anymore. Second, true, magic bounces off, but my powers aren't quite magic. They're something a bit different. Ah, there, the flicker in her eyes. Genuine concern. And third, my rule is no harm to PONIES that do not deserve it. And I dunno if you've looked in the ocean lately, but you ain't a pony! The barb at her weight made her roar at me in anger, and that was when I struck. I used an ability I had never cause to use before. Lady Skycleaver, THOU ART CONDEMNED! A candle winked into existence over her head before vanishing, and she looked at it, then at me. "What did you just DO, you upstart?!" I shook myself a few times to clear the anger from my mind. Your life will end sometime soon. The Reaper himself will come for you. I have marked you as his prey, and he will come to take you away. You said I could not slay you, but that is what I've managed to do. She roared even louder and charged right at me. "If I go, YOU GO!" Then she stopped, her eyes glazing over. She fell to the ground with a mighty thud, causing silence for a few moments. And I'm not just talking about 'local area' silence, I'm talking about the sort of silence you can feel pressing down on you. All the ambient noises stopped, hell, I think even the wind stopped. Standing atop Skycleaver's body was the Grim Reaper. He nodded at me once, then looked down at the body. And in a voice I felt in my mind more than heard, he said, "This one has been stubborn for some time. Thank you." Before I could get a word in edgewise, he vanished, and I was alone with a massive dragoness corpse. A few dragons seemed to be coming over to check on things, and I decided to amscray. Not before I left a message in the rock wall with my Fulminous Strike, though. NEWVALE IS PROTECTED. THREATEN IT NOT, LEST YE SHARE HER FATE. And with that, I took my leave of the Great Dragon Migration. ----- When I arrived back in Newvale, there was a surprise waiting for me. Six individual surprises, all bundled together into one large surprise at the entrance of the town. The Bearers had come to visit. What had Solaire called them? Ah yes, the Mane Six. Of course, the first question that came out of my 'mouth' was What the bloody hells are you lot doing here?! Pinkie responded first. "We came to see where all the grumpy ponies had gone, silly!" At that, Rainbow Dash scoffed. "No, we came to see how these ponies are taming the Everfree's weather!" Applejack butted in then. "Actually, we came to see how they're managing the forest." Finally, Twilight spoke up. "In a way, they're all right. We came to see how this little community of yours was possible from every angle. From the mundane parts of living to the more sophisticated." I waved a hand at them. Well, for the more mundane bit, we depend on Psynergy at the moment. Once we've got this area good and tamed, we probably won't need it as much, but we'll still use it to make our life a lot easier. Twilight cocked her head at that. "Psynergy? Is that what you call your brand of magic?" I snorted then. Magic is only usable by unicorns. Psynergy is usable by any with the will and capacity, and its a simple enough test to see if you have it. Dash's eyes widened. "Whoah. So wait. Could I use it to make myself even faster than I am normally?" I slowly nodded. It's doable with psynergy, but as to if you can use it, I have no idea. I doubt it, though. It requires a lot of training, and a lot of patience. At this, Dash let out an indignant "Hay!" and the rest of them giggled briefly. As to the more complex bit, well, I can answer that with a sentence as well. We have gathered because we all have no love for the princess of the sun. The six's jaws dropped at the very idea. Fluttershy recovered first. "You all...all of you...don't like Princess Celestia?" I shook my upper body in the negative, and Twilight spoke up next. "How? How can any pony not like Princess Celestia?" She is blind. She raises her sun every day thinking only the best of her ponies, when every single one of those gathered here has been wronged. And she has done nothing to correct this, nothing to provide justice to they that have been wronged. I have already taken care of one case, and will continue to help do so. But just as we have no love of her, we also have no love of you, her most loyal weapons. Their jaws dropped again at the implications, and I filled in the silence. Oh yes, don't deny it. You all bear a portion of the most devastating weapon Equestria has, one that turns any major villain into a harmless kitten or locks it away to be dealt with at a future date. Which, quite frankly, disgusts me that you all require that one device to deal with all your problems. I would have come up with a fallback plan at least. Or several. As their jaws closed and their minds started working again, I pointed towards the forest, towards Ponyville. I suggest you all leave. Until you've learned not to praise your princesses in every other sentence, then you will find no hospitality here. And one by one, they did. It was the right thing to do, really. Nobody in town would have looked on them favorably, considering how close they were to the throne. But if it was the right thing to do, then why did I feel so bad doing it?