//------------------------------// // Bar Fights Suck // Story: The Dragon Outlaw // by Smoku //------------------------------// LOCATION: THE WINKING SKEEVER BAR Holy shit, was all that Rainbow Dash could think. Was this the same little baby dragon that strode into Ponyville with Twilight all those years ago? The same one that Rarity had wrapped around her hoof? The same one that used to spend his days pining over a love never meant to be and organizing books in a library? The same dragon that had just thrown a fully-grown Griffin at a concrete wall and nearly killed him? She could tell from the moment that Griffin walked in that he was looking for trouble. From the stiff way he carried himself, to the venom that filled his voice when he greeted Spike. When the Griffin first opened his mouth, Spike insisted that he sit with the three of us and have a drink. He even ordered for him. “You know why I’m here,” the Griffin hissed through gritted teeth when his drink arrived. “Of course I do,” Spike tsked, “but that doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy some good ol’ fashioned Vodka. After all, there’s enough senseless violence in the world, might as well get shit-faced before we create more, eh?” The dragon lifted his glass up, like how I had seen Rarity do at those fancy Canterlot dinners. “To murderers and mercenaries!” “And tits!” Added one of the random patrons at the bar. “Now that’s a sentiment I can toast!” Bellowed Spike, lifting his glass up. “Damn straight! To killers and tits!” Screamed the Griffin lifting his glass up with the rest of the (mostly male) drinkers in the bar. When the over-grown bird’s arm went up, Spike acted. He took the Griffin’s arm and twisted around his opponent’s back, before breaking his own glass over the Griffin’s head. The monstrous Griffin fell over his stool, jumping back on his feet after wards. AJ and I jumped up before he tossed the booth we were sitting at towards the roof, breaking the glasses on the table. “What a waste of good drink,” Spike mused, putting a claw to his chin. The Griffin’s crimson red eyes tore into Spike’s own. “Broken glasses are the least of your worries, you little shit. I had hoped you would go quietly, but I guess not.” “You thought you could kill me and I would simply be civil about it?!” Spike shouted. “Think again.” The Griffin jumped forward and reached his fist at the Dragon. Spike grabbed him by his fist and arm pit, prior to throwing him at one of the walls of the bar. You could see the crack where Spike had thrown the Griffin. When the monster got up, he flew at Spike, throwing him at a similar wall, yielding similar results. When he went in for his next attack, Spike was ready. When he saw the incoming claw, Spike was able to grab it with his left claw, while scratching the killer’s neck with his right claw. The bird stepped back, trying to hold his now bleeding neck with his left claw. “Y-you little ba-” he stopped cough up blood from his own collapsed lung from his encounter with the bar’s wall. Spike walked up to the Griffin and slammed him on the ground. He stepped on the wounded creature neck with his boot. “Tell me who you work for now. Believe me, getting dirt inside a wound like that hurts like a bitch. Let it slip, and I can end it quickly.” He put even more force on his foot to accent his words. When he stepped off the Griffin he choked out his answer. “T-the B-black Horn O-order…” Spike put his foot back on his opponent’s neck, twisting it, until he heard a “pop”. ~~~~Ω~~~~ LOCATION: CANTERLOT, ROYAL CASTLE, PRINCESS CELESTIA’S PRIVATE QUARTERS Princess Celestia had seen many challenged rise against her in her time. Discord, Sombra, her sister, Tirek…                  But never had she seen a threat quite as powerful or influential as this…         Even her council did not truly understand the full threat posed by this cult. She knew this was a lesson that a friend of her’s would learn very soon, no matter how little she wished for him to. ~~~~Ω~~~~ LOCATION: THE WINKING SKEEVER, ROOM 213,         Well, that was quite the eventful drinking session.         “You should have seen it, guys. This Griffin dude was all “die!” and Spike was all “Not today, Punk!” Rainbow was currently explaining the fight I just had to rest of the ponies in the room.         “Are you okay, Spike? That fight sounds pretty painful. Are you sure you don’t need anything?” Twilight keep pestering me, ever faithful and worried.         I rolled my eyes in annoyance. “I’m fine, Twi. I’ve had way worse injuries. I’ll be fine.”         “Oh, Spikey-Wikey, I’m so sorry you had to go through that,” Rarity sobbed.         “Um, Ah think we have a bigger problem. Spike, do yah know about that order that Griffin was talking about?” AJ asked, tilting her head to the left. Good ol’ AJ, the forever-vigilant voice of reason.         “Yeah, unfortunately I do. The Red-Horn Order. They’re a supremacist group of unicorns that has been growing in number lately. I thought that their only charter out here had been killed off last year in a raid. Guess I was wrong,” I explained.         “That sounds pretty bad,” Rainbow Dash offered.         “It is. Things just got a lot more complicated,” I told her, grabbing my clothes and satchel. “I think it’s time we got some answers.” ~~~~Ω~~~~ LOCATION: DUNGEON, SADDLE ARABIA, FURTHER SPECIFICATIONS UNKNOWN “Well, this is quite unfortunate.” Discord had absolutely no idea he let it get to this. Here he was, chained up by his feet and claws in the middle of some filthy dungeon in the middle of Saddle Arabia. It’s worth it, it’s to protect Fluttershy, he reminded himself. Not that it helped much. He opened his eyes, blinded by the new light source. He looked up to see a light bulb that had flashe on. When he looked back down to the door of his prison, he saw a pony. But not just any pony, he saw a Saddle-Arabian. The pony was quite large, and skinny. He had a traditional quilt thrown over his body, with a strap over his mouth. His dark blue mane was tied up into a ponytail. The pony’s dark blue coat seemed to darken in the depressing room. The pony walked up to Discord’s chained-up frame. “Hello Ser Discord.” “Why am I here?” The Draconequus asked. “Well, wouldn't you like to know.” He tsked, “Don’t you worry Ser, all will be revealed in time. After all, in the coming storm, we all have a part to play. Me, you, the princess, even the dragon.” Discord had been in situations like this before, on both sides of the chains. “Well, what can you tell me?” The pony leaned in, and took the beast’s face in his hoofs, “what can I tell you? Well there is one thing I can tell you. There is a storm brewing, where the weak shall perish and the strong shall rise from the ashes of the old world to build a new one. A perfect world, it will be. Yes…”