//------------------------------//
// Where Dragons Nest 
// Story: Megasus 
// by Spirit Guide 
//------------------------------//

"There they go again, with their stupid, wild contests."

"We did that too when we were young, you know."

"Did we? I certainly don't remember that."

"That's because you never participated, Braith. You always thought the contests were stupid and you still think that now."

Braith sighed. They were right. He had always found testing one's strength against others dirty, distasteful and, above all, uncouth. A dragon should be proud and majestic, not a low-down, arrogant lizard like the teenaged dragons below. Sometimes, the large red dragon found that he missed the beautiful, calm countryside of Equestria where he had once lived, but had discovered that his smoke-snoring was disturbing a nearby settlement and would have ruined most of the serene land. He wished he didn't snore so hard, as the other dragons kept telling him, but it was just the way he was.

Arvin sidled up beside him. "Just be grateful you're not down there yourself, Braith," said the green dragon. He too had lived near Ponyville, in a cave deep inside the Everfree Forest, but had temporarily moved to the badlands for some quality time with his own kind. He hoped the boulder with which he had blocked his door would keep out any nosing creatures, such as those nasty Timberwolves which never left him any sleep. Arvin often considered himself lucky that they were made of lumber, otherwise keeping the wooden canines away would have been quite a task.

The third member of their conversation, whose scales were a pleasant blue, stepped in between Braith and Arvin. "You guys need to chill," declared Gorm. "You don't see my daughter Violet playing rough." He gestured to the cliff several caves away. A young purple dragoness perched in the edge, her feet dangling in the air.

Braith sighed, this time with longing. "You were lucky enough to find a dragon who would settle down with you, Gorm," he said, staring at his friend's daughter. "Not all of us were that fortunate."

"Don't worry, Braith," replied Gorm, wrapping a wing around the red dragon. "I'm sure you'll find the right dragon for you one day. Today or tomorrow, who knows, but I guarantee it will happen someday."

"Yeah, unlike poor Delrith," added Arvin smugly.

Braith turned angrily towards the green dragon. "Don't talk about Delrith that way, Arvin. He is the oldest and most respected dragon in all of Equestria and beyond."

"Hey hey, I didn't mean it that way," Arvin said apologetically. "I just meant that old Delrith has been single since, like, forever."

"He's right," Gorm nodded, "but that doesn't justify insulting Delrith, even the slightest."

Braith turned his head towards a large cave on the other side of the crater. "Look. Here comes the old master himself."

Gorm and Arvin turned to look as well. The crater began to shake as large footsteps emitted from within the cave, and a huge adult dragon emerged it. It was at least 15 feet longer than Gorm, who was the biggest of the trio, and his scales were a dark crimson, almost black color, with spikes the color of cooling lava. Delrith sat down on the edge of his cliff and looked down on the younger competitive dragons below.

"He's so calm," Gorm murmured.

"You mean slow," Arvin joked. "I'll bet he hasn't moved from his cave for years."

Braith was getting sick and tired of the green dragon's bad-mouthing. "That's it, Arvin, you've got one more chance. If you make fun of Delrith once more, I'm going to throw you down the cliff and see what those dragons decide to do."

Arvin grinned nervously. He didn't want to end up as a piece of equipment in a game of Dragon Tug-of-War. It could get messy. "Right. Sorry Braith."

"Delrith really is the biggest, most impressive creature around," noted Grom. "There isn't another being in the world as big as him."

Is that true? Braith wondered to himself. Could Delrith be the only creature, dragon or otherwise, of his size? If that's the case than yes, Arvin's right and he might be alone forever. This was a depressing thought, but as Braith watched, he saw Violet fly over to them and hug her father. She was only about a quarter of Grom's size, yet she was his daughter. Maybe it doesn't matter he said to himself. No, it definitely doesn't matter. Delrith could easily start a relationship with a smaller dragon, regardless of the size differences between them. His time will come too. The red dragon's train of thought was interrupted by a loud crash from the bottom of the crater. The teenaged dragons had begun pushing each other into the huge piles of gems scattered around the crater.

Violet shuddered as another hoard tumbled to the ground with the jangling sound of a shop full of china. "Do they have no self-control?" she muttered furiously. "Gems are food, not dirt and rocks."

"Peace, Violet," Gorm whispered to her. "They will learn in time."

While the adult dragons communed with each other, the teenaged dragons were partying like crazy. Their leader, Garble, had just stolen a massive fire ruby from Delrith's own hoard, and the other dragons were wild with excitement.

"You're the best, Garble!" shouted Spear, a tall thin dragon with purple scales.

"Aw, it was nothing," Garble announced. "The old lizard was sleeping like a pony. There was no way he would've woken up."

"What'll you do if he comes after you?" asked Clump, a chunky brown dragon with horns like drills.

"I'm not worried. Delrith couldn't catch me if I hung the ruby in front of him and set his tail on fire." They all laughed at Garble's mocking, but were totally unaware of Violet sneaking up behind them. The minute Garble let go of the fire ruby for another reenactment of his swiping it, Violet grabbed the enormous gem and flew off with it towards Delrith's cave.

By the time the other dragons noticed, Violet was already halfway there. "Hey, get back here girly!" Garble shouted at the dragoness, flying after her.

Undeterred, Violet continued her recovery mission for the old dragon and didn't stop until she reached his cave. Landing beside the enormous dragon, she bowed respectfully before speaking. "Here's your fire ruby, sir," she said politely.

Delrith regarded the dragoness with interest. He scratched a claw over the surface of the large red gem she had returned to him. Not a mark appeared on the mineral's shiny facet. "Thank you, young Violet. You have saved me a lot of trouble." He looked past her slim purple figure and added "And now I'm going to save you some. Get behind me."

Violet did as she was told and just in time, for at that same moment, Garble crashed onto the cliff, fire streaming from both nostrils. "Give me back my ruby, you little snitch!" he shouted at the dragoness hiding behind the great wyrm.

Violet blushed and backed further behind Delrith's large body, hoping to be spared the adolescent dragon's violence. Garble was about to jump after her, but was blocked by Delrith's arm. "Move, you old goat!" Garble roared in his face.

All around the crater, dragons of every age, teenager, hatchling and adult alike, gasped at the red dragon's words. He had rudely and openly insulted the oldest dragon in the Badlands, right to his face. The dragons waited, some frightened, others excited, for Delrith's reaction.

Some were disappointed. Delrith opened his response with a speech. "You want me to move from my cave to attack a dragoness who returned my gemstone after it was stolen by you? Dear me, you seem to have gotten the facts mixed up something awful." This drew plenty of snickers and chuckles from the dragons assembled in and around the crater.

Garble flushed. He hadn't expected the treatment he was getting. "Get out of my way now!" he screamed, blowing a blast of fire in the old dragon's face.

This time, some dragon shrieked in alarm. Breathing fire on another dragon meant dual-to-the-death and Garble had just picked a fight with the biggest dragon around, and he clearly wasn't regretting his decision. Yet once more, Delrith reacted calmly. "You really should get your priorities checked. And that temper of yours, too."

This time, the massed dragons were laughing full-heartedly, some rolling on the ground clutching their sides as tears of merriment streamed down their cheeks. Arvin slapped his knee and let loose with a loud "HA HA HA!" while Gorm stood by, wringing his tail nervously.

Braith patted his friend on the shoulder. "Don't worry Gorm," he said soothingly. "Delrith won't let anything happen to Violet. After all, she returned his fire ruby to him."

"I know, I know," Gorm said, "but I do wish he wouldn't drag it out so long."

"Are you kidding me?!" Arvin roared from the ground where he lay. "This is the most hilarious thing that's ever happened here!"

Braith watched the two dragon, one big-headed and one wise beyond year, and began to wonder. Why was Delrith dragging out Garble's punishment in such an embarrassing way? Why didn't he simply lash out and silence the troublemaker as he deserved? Maybe, he thought, he's trying to teach Garble a lesson. Delrith has the respect and trust of every dragon in the Badlands and , in the event that he needed it, he could call on them all for help. The ways of the old dragon were beginning to make sense to Braith.

Garble face was now a darker red than it was originally. How dare this old coot mess with the King of the Hoard! He ought to put him in his place. Garble raised his claws to strike Delrith, but was knocked away and over the cliff by a streak of purple. As he fell, he saw Violet standing on the edge of the cliff, her claws on her hips, frowning at the falling dragon and shooting daggers at him with her beautiful sparkling eyes.

Hydra dung, he cursed as he tried to rev his wings up, but to no avail, I should have seen that coming. Garble crashed into a tall heap of gemstones, causing the tower of multicolored minerals to tumble to the ground, burying him beneath them. The dragons were cheering like crazy, some breathing fire into the air, others applauding loudly. They had never seen a dragoness pull of that kind of trick before.

Violet turned around to find Delrith smiling at her. "Thank you, Violet," he said again. "You have proven yourself to be quite skillful as well as quick. You will certainly make your family proud. Never forget: I will always be ready to help you should you ever need it."

The purple dragoness was so moved by the great wyrm's words, she threw her arms around his thick neck and hugged him tightly. "Thank you, Delrith," she whispered into this ear. All around the crater, dragons were expressing themselves in every possible way. At the bottom of the volcanic hole, Spear, Clump and the other teens were trying to dig Garble out from under the pile of gemstone. Gorm was bursting with joy. "Would you look at that? My little Violet has gained the friendship of the greatest dragon in Equestria."

"You must be so proud of her, Gorm," Braith said, looking back on his encounter with a certain yellow pony.

"You know what," Arvin said quietly, "this is actually kinda nice, everyone getting along like this and all."

Braith nodded at his excitable friend's comforting words. "Being here with friends, having a good laugh together, resting in the sun. All these things make a dragon's life worth living. I do hope this period never ends."

Unfortunately,  it simply wasn't to be.

A loud, thundering sound from afar caught the attention of nearly every dragon at the crater. Arvin squinted into the smoky atmosphere of the Badlands, trying to find whatever was making the noise. "I can't see anything through this pea-soup!" he announced to the dragons.

"Whatever it is," Gorm noted, "it sounds big."

Braith concentrated on his hearing, sending as much blood as he could to his head. It sounded like a pair of wings flapping. A really, really big pair of wings. Getting closer, closer, until finally-

"GET DOWN!" he shouted, grabbing his two friends by the collarbone and hoisting them into the air, just as an enormous grey limb, the size of his own body, crashed down onto the cliff they were sitting on. It was followed by another appendage of the same size and color. All the dragons were astonished by the size of the forelegs perched on the edge of the crater, and even more concerned about the creature they belonged to.

All of a sudden, a loud resounding roar echoed from the clouds obscuring the rest of the huge creature,. The sound of wings flaring reverberated through the area and the clouds began to vanish, revealing part of the grey creature's body. One of the legs started forwards, but Delrith leapt from his cave, claws outstretched and flame leaking from his mouth, his wings flapping so fast you would never have believed how old he actually was. The dark-scaled wyrm smashed into the grey beast and the two of them tumbled down the outside of the crater. Braith, Arvin and Gorm crept over to the edge of the crater and looked down, but all they could see were thrashing limbs in the thick clouds that clung to the surface of the Badlands.

Violet flew over and landed beside her father, watching desperately for a sign of her new friend. "Where's Delrith? Is he okay? What was that thing?"

"That's something we all want to know," Arvin whispered, "but until the old wyrm reappears-"

With another roar, Delrith soared out of the earthbound clouds. He wasn't bleeding, but his body was pockmarked with numerous bruises and some of his bigger scales were dented. The old dragon looked exhausted.

"What happened down there?" Braith asked him.

Delrith didn't answer. Instead, he walked over to the inner rim of the crater and stomped on the cliff edge, getting all the dragons' attention. "We must evacuate the crater immediately!" he called out to the assembled dragons.

"Why should we listen to you?" Garble shouted disrespectfully. The other teenaged dragons had pulled their leader out from under the gems that Violet had dumped him on and he was irritated. "You old dingbat, you. Probably saw some shadow and his ancient brain can't take it."

Garble's mates chuckled at his statement, while the other dragons looked on in horror. Still, Delrith kept his cool and announced, "Grab whatever you want, we must leave now!" An earth-shaking roar brought the dragons to their senses and each one went off to their caves to collect their hoards and belongings. Gorm and Violet went off to grab a few personal items while Braith and Arvin, both free of luggage of any sort, took to the air along with a few other already-prepared dragons. Delrith flew down to his cave, snatched up his fire ruby with his tail, and joined the ever-growing thunder of dragons hovering above the crater, awaiting his command.

"What are they all running for?" Garble asked the other young dragons. "There's nothing to be afraid of. We're dragons and nothing can fight us and hope to win!"

The cheering of his friends was drowned out by the side of the crater exploding in a cloud of dust. Inside the dusty haze, the teenaged reptiles could see a huge form struggling to make its way through the crater wall, but they stood their ground.

"Don't worry!" Garble shouted encouragingly to his friends. "Whatever's there, we can take it!"

Most of his bravado was lost when the giant grey foreleg emerged from the cloud and slammed down behind Garble, cutting him off from his friends. Baring his claws, he hacked at the large furry limb, only to find its hide too thick for his still-developing nails. He turned to face the gargantuan creature, snarling for all he was worth, but lost whatever courage he had when he saw what was behind him: a cloud of dark-blue hair, two giant eyes glinting in the lava glow and, most frighting of all, rows  and rows of white squares framed in a grey crescent.

Garble's scream echoed down the giant, seemingly never-ending cavern that enveloped him, cut off by two enormous Labium superius oris.


*


"That thing just ate Garble!" Clump spluttered.

"Fly for your lives!" hollered Spear, taking to the air.

The teenaged dragons flapped for all they were worth in an attempt to escape the same fate Garble had just suffered. The vision still fresh in their minds, they joined the dragon thunder still hovering above the crater.

Braith was speechless. The gargantuan creature below them was huge and, as shockingly impossible as it sounded, even bigger than Delrith. It had a long cobalt-blue mane and a grey coat. On its back was a pair of feathered wings, each one with a wingspan comparable to that of Gorm's body. It looked up at the multicolored dragons flying above it, opened its mouth and roared ferociously at them. The shock wave that emitted from its mouth was so powerful it seemed to bounce of the atmosphere and echo in the dragons' ears. Every dragon knew what the creature was, but only one of them managed to say it.

"It's a pony!" Arvin shouted, recalling his own encounter with a unicorn pony and her dragon friend.

"That's not possible," exclaimed Gorm. "No pony grows to a height of fifty feet!"

"Could it be, Delrith?" Violet asked the wyrm hovering beside her. "Could this creature be a pony?"

Delrith watched the colossal beast rage around their abandoned crater. Its wings had taken serious damage, both from him and from when it crashed through the crater wall. As of now, it couldn't fly, but eventually it would heal, and then the dragon would be in big trouble.

"We must fly away from here," Delrith declared. Several dragons gasped, but it was Arvin who acted sensibly, asking "Where will we go?"

"To the Macintosh Hills," the great wyrm replied. "They boast a great many gem deposits and not many other creatures go there. It will serve as a temporary haven until that creature leaves or disappears."

"What about Garble?" Spear demanded, his obscured eyes beginning to leak.

Braith half-expected Delrith to strangle the teenaged dragon, but he merely shook his head and said, "I honestly wish we could help him. He is our kin and I care for him no matter what, but he is beyond our help now." Glancing down at the grey colossal, he added sadly "Way beyond."

Gorm clapped his claws together. "You heard Delrith," he called to the other dragons. "We're moving out!"

With Delrith at their head, the thunder of dragons flew away from their home in the Badlands, Spear and the other teen dragons weeping as they thought of their lost leader. Violet soared alongside Delrith, her young wings working overtime to keep up with the bigger dragon. "What will we do?" she asked. "We can't exactly leave that thing unchecked."

"You're right," Delrith replied. He called for the three adult dragons and they too flew over to their guide, eager to hear his orders. "Gorm, take Violet and fly to Canterlot. We usually don't interfere with the ponies' affairs, but this might become a worldwide disaster and we can't have that on our conscience. It could ruin our reputation as respectable treasure guards."

"Right away Delrith." Gorm and Violet veered off to the north, on a direct course for the pony capital of Equestria.

"Braith," Delrith continued. "You will go to Ponyville and alert your friend." Delrith was the only one to whom Braith had entrusted the story of his withdrawing from Ponyville and the slightly shameful affair where he was told off by a seemingly shy pegasus pony. She was a kind creature, loved by animals of every kind, yet Braith had never attempted to meet her again. And here was Delrith asking him to seek her out and tell her of the horrible things that had happened in the Badlands. He had even classified her as a 'friend', something Braith would never have decided himself.

"I'll go as fast as I can," the red dragon promised.

Delrith nodded. "With any luck, there are ponies in that small town who, with this knowledge, might be able to hold out against this titanic equine. I do hope that your friend is one of them. Now go!"

As the Macintosh Hills came into view, Braith separated from the thunder and flew off in the direction on Ponyville, wondering about the things that Delrith had said to him about the ponies and, particularly, about the shy pegasus.

I hope so too, Delrith. I hope so too.