Chapter Fifty-four
Eastern Field
Fluttershy
She slept peacefully, dreamlessly, through the cold night and into the earliest wisps of dawn. A light mist snaked through the air above the ground, a foot away from her horizontal form. It was at least an hour before the time Twilight had agreed to wake and rouse the others, and Fluttershy had fully intended to sleep right up until the last minute. The party had made a fair trek already, and were only halfway to their destination so far.
A gentle shaking brought her from sleep an hour before dawn. For a moment, Fluttershy forgot where she was, and looked around confusedly in her dazed, tired state. In the next moment, she remembered that she and the rest of the group were camped out beside a low rocky overhang in the Eastern field, the space between their town and Manehattan. The tall, jagged mountain that was the team’s objective loomed on the horizon, a black silhouette just barely visible against the dark sky, but unmistakable even from a distance.
Her eyes were heavy with sleep, and seeing the sun hadn’t risen just yet, she pulled her blankets back over her head and tried to get back to sleep, but whatever had shaken her awake before persisted. Suddenly alert, she jumped up quickly, scrambling to grab her bow.
“Woah, calm down.” Spike whispered, holding up his hands apologetically. His long, deep violet hair was still tied up in the same single braid as yesterday, and was messy and unkempt. She could tell he hadn’t slept well. “Sorry. Didn’t mean to startle you.”
Spike often appeared at first glance to be a dangerous and unpredictable person, due mostly to the tattoo-like violet birthmark snaking from the back of his neck to around the left side of his face, coming to a rest above his eye. The ever present twin knives at his belt and almost bandit-looking vest and bandana didn’t help his case either. The more time Fluttershy had spent with him, though (and she had spent a fair amount of time with him already), the more she realized it was all a show, and he was a kind hearted person who sought to avoid violence whenever possible. Much like herself, Fluttershy noted.
She was calmed almost immediately, but remained curious all the same. “What is it?” She asked, also in a whisper.
Spike balanced on the tips of his toes, his legs folded in front of him, and spoke in a hushed but serious tone. “I need to ask a pretty big favor of you, Fluttershy. See... This dragon we’re fighting... I think there’s more to this whole situation than we know right now. Princess Luna gave a short description of what it’s supposed to look like in her letter. It didn’t say much, so no-one else would have given it a second look. But I think she put that in for me to find. I think this dragon might be the one I’ve been scouring the earth for since I landed in Equestria: I think Luna may have tracked down Fenrir for me, and wants me to get to him first.”
Fluttershy’s eyes widened slightly, and she gave a small gasp. This was great news. If the dragon they were after was Spike’s old friend, then they could avoid a fight for sure. In addition, if she remembered correctly, Fenrir was supposed to be a great fighter, and- while Fluttershy wasn’t looking forward to serious combat at all- having another Goldoan on their side could only be good news for Moonlight.
“There’s a problem though.” Spike went on. “Luna said that this dragon went on a rampage and did some serious damage to Manehattan, all apparently without provocation, and wouldn’t hear any peace talks or negotiations. I recall her using the term ‘berserker rage’, which is completely insane if we’re talking about Fenrir. He might be a great fighter, and I have no doubt that he was capable of wrecking Manehattan like that, but he’s slower to anger than anyone I know, save maybe you. So why would he just destroy half a city like that, and not be able to be talked to his senses?
“Basically, I can’t be completely sure it’s him.” Spike concluded, sounding as though he had gone over the problem dozens of times in his head. “But if it is, something happened to him- something bad- and it’s clouding his judgement. I can’t imagine what could do that to him, but if it turns out it’s him in there, I know I can get through to him. Even if it isn’t, my request of you would be the same.”
Spike paused, as though debating whether to tell Fluttershy what he needed to say. “When we get up there, I’d like you to sing to the dragon. With the heron’s song, we can calm it out of it’s rage, and I can talk to it. If it turns out to be Fenrir, then I’ll get some answers out of him, and hopefully we can get him some help. If it’s not him, then we can just convince it to get lost. Either way, I think this will be the easiest way. Do you think you can do that for me?”
Fluttershy didn’t answer at first. She, like most others in the group, only had her encounter with the river dragon in the EverFree forest to go on, and she had been scared stiff. She felt more confident in her own abilities now, and was reassured by the fact that Spike would be with them this time, but this dragon would be much tougher in turn. She had no real idea what to expect, but knew to be afraid.
“It would mean a lot to me.” Spike commented quietly. “I think there’s a good chance my friend is in trouble up there, and I want to do everything I can to help him out of... whatever he’s gotten into.”
Fluttershy shook away her doubt. Someone was in need, and was helpless against the forces hurting them. If she had a chance to help them, she was going to do everything she could. That was the view she took when it came to the animals in the forest she so often cared for, and- more recently- her friends.
She nodded, though somewhat apprehensively. “Okay. I’ll do what I can.”
_____________
The party of seven made their way steadily forward, reaching the base of the mountain just before noon. The near-black rock rose steeply skyward, the craggy tips seeming to claw at the clouds. Shorter mounds of rock flanked the tall pillar of stone, forming a semi-circle of unattractive, squat rock, with the mountain on one end and the grassy plains on the other.
Atop this mountain was where the team needed to be. If their report was correct, some fearsome beast of a dragon had sheltered itself in a cavern at its peak, and was capable of leveling half of a city as big as Manehattan in a matter of an hour.
“I’m scouting ahead.” Rainbow Dash announced, already in the air. He didn’t wait for discussion or someone to try and stop him, and shot up the base of the mountain quickly.
Rarity ran a hand through her hair, sighing. “Well, we’re not doing any good down here either.”
The others murmured in agreement. Twilight consulted a small map for a moment, then pointed to a clump of brush slightly to the right of the front of the mountain. “There should be a footpath of some sort around there.” She explained confidently. Pinky nodded and bound over to the scrubby plants, then began to scale the rocks hand-and-foot. She leapt to another slightly off to the side, then called back: “It’s pretty faint, but it’s here.”
Twilight used a weak fire spell that made short work of the brushes, revealing the beginnings of a tiny, long-since abandoned dirt trail. It disappeared around a corner quickly, and Fluttershy guessed it probably wound around much of the time and switched back frequently. Spike led the way up the path, followed closely by Twilight. Pinky continued to climb over and around the path, perfectly balanced and coordinated despite the harsh, steep rock. Rarity picked her way carefully along the path, and Fluttershy followed just as warily. Applejack held up the rear, but moved confidently like Pinky.
Fluttershy’s thoughts raced every which way as the group ascended. She felt marginally reassured by the bow slung over her shoulders, and the quiver of short arrows at her hip, but doubted how much damage could be done by such a small weapon. If it came to combat, Applejack’s battle axe or Twilight’s magic would be a much better weapon. Rarity’s light magic and rapier could potentially slip under its scales and do some damage, and she had no doubt Dash and Pinky would find a way to hurt it.
That was, of course, if it came to combat. Fluttershy knew that Spike wanted to avoid it as much as she did, and likely as much as everyone else. She would do her best to do as he asked and sing to calm the dragon’s mind. From there, the show was all his. She dreaded to think of what would happen if their plan of negotiation failed.
Despite the constant switchbacks and winding pathways of the trail, the going was still steep. For the first half of the trip up, tight walls followed both sides of the trail, but the sight of the sky above helped somewhat against the claustrophobia. Soon, though, the outer wall fell away into a steep cliff, and Fluttershy suddenly found herself missing the lack of maneuverability.
The path became harder and harder to make out, and quickly the group began to wonder if they had taken a wrong turn. Spike shook his head, insisting that there had been no turns since they began, and the path had just become a clearer section of rock, just the same as everything else on this mountain. Fluttershy felt as though the bleary grey surroundings were getting to everyone, bringing their spirits down.
As though on cue, Rainbow Dash chose the exact moment this thought crossed her mind to drop in from above. His hair had become a little dusty, but it was still a welcome splash of color. His pants were a bit dirty too, but his leather jacket was immaculate. “He’s up there all right.” Dash reported. “We came up at a good time, seems like he just settled in for a nap. I sure hope we don’t have to fight him, though. He’s pretty big.”
“How close are we to getting there?” Twilight inquired, somewhat impatiently.
“Oh, not far. Path kinda disappears for a bit around here, but it picks up again around the corner. We’re not twenty minutes from the peak. Follow me, I’ll lead the way.” He strode over to what looked like the ledge of a cliff, then turned around a near invisible corner. Pulling a hand back into sight, he motioned for the rest of the group to follow suite, and one by one the team disappeared around the narrow cleft.
Approaching cautiously, Fluttershy saw that a tiny cave ran through the length of the mountain, which wasn’t terribly far at this height, and joined another ledge on the other side. She could see a more obvious path on the other end, and she slipped into the crevasse. Behind her, Applejack grunted slightly at the tight space, her more broad shoulders making the trek through all the more difficult. The cavern wasn’t very tall either, and the tip of Fluttershy’s bow scraped against the ceiling a few times. Fortunately, cracks in the rock above and on the outer wall let in ample light, and the group had no difficulty seeing their way through.
All the remaining six came out the other side as dusty as Rainbow Dash had been. They paused for a few moments to brush themselves off, then set off again. The sun was beginning to hang low in the sky, and they needed every minute of daylight they had left. Rounding a few more corners, following the trail as it finished spiraling upwards around the mountain, the group found themselves at the peak.
The majority of the peak was unusually flat and level in comparison with the rest of the mountain, and Fluttershy estimated it to be about a quarter-mile across. At the far side of the peak, the mountain continued upwards for a ways, though the remainder was unscalable in its steepness. At the base of this outcropping was the mouth of a large cave, completely darkened. No-one could guess at how far back the cave ran, but it must have been at least as large as the plateau they now stood on.
“You’re sure he’s in there?” Spike asked warily.
“Positive.” Dash confirmed vehemently. “Not easy to mistake something so... distinct. I only popped into the cave for a minute or two, but I’m sure that our dragon is in there.”
“Right.” Spike said under his breath. “I’m going in. As safe as we are while he sleeps, we can’t gain any ground that way either. I’m going to wake him up and bait him outside, where we’ll all have the advantage of being able to see. Get your weapons ready, but don’t attack unless I give the O.K. Fluttershy, you ready to try and calm him? I guarantee he won’t be happy to be awoken either way.”
She nodded quickly, her heart pounding from anticipation. The others in the party looked curious as to what the two were planning, but none inquired about it. They were all too anxious themselves. Spike nodded to the group, then set off determinedly into the darkness. Each passing second afterwards felt like minutes, each moment in which nothing happened, torturous. Each teammate kept their gazes locked on the cavern mouth, waiting for Spike to return.
A mighty roar broke the awful silence, seeming to shake the foundations of the mountain itself. Weapons were gripped tighter than ever, and sounds of something barging around the cavern echoed viciously off the walls and into the air around them. Fluttershy moved in closer to her friends, as did the rest of them.
Finally, Spike ran full speed out of the cavern, eyes wild, knives drawn. He barked one order at them, the one they all knew they would hear but hated hearing: “He’s on the way! Get your weapons ready, we’re going to have to fight!”