It was a sunny Thursday afternoon in ponyville; the town's newest princess was off in her new castle, sitting quietly by her desk engulfed in a new book while Spike tended to his chores. Applejack slowly walked into her barn; her brow soaked and her legs shaking. Applejack's sister (as well as her other friends) was searching the town for possible ways to get her cutie mark. A stressed Rarity stood in her boutique, slaving over a worn-out sewing machine. A snoring Rainbow Dash spread eagle-style across a make-shift bed of clouds floated across the sky. The shyest of the main six heaved a bag of feed to each bird in her cottage with the help of a certain creature of chaos. And as for Pinkie pie, well...She was...Pinkie Pieing. It was the perfect image of peace and tranquility for the ponies. Unfortunately things were not so peaceful in the human world, the Sahara desert to be exact.
The sand broiled and the air was filled with disorienting rays of heat from the burning sun above; each breath taken singes the lungs. The discarded carcasses of many animals lay scattered across the land decaying over years and years. Completely secluded from any human eyes, two large reptilian creatures (Ryujin and Shinigami) waged bloody war with one another. But these dragons were different from the average beasts found in Equestria's world. They were about the size of teenage dragons but were actually around twenty-two or twenty-five (in pony years). Ryujin -the smaller of the two- was a strong aquamarine color with deafening spikes and intricate yellow eyes that shined as bright as cats' eyes during the night. Shinigami -the larger of the two- had eyes that seemed to host a large red fire of which no one has ever seen. His scales were a magnificent silver that could blind a man given he stared long enough. Both creatures had incomprehensibly amazing wings on their backs that illuminated their entire body, and both were covered in the other's blood. In the distance the remains of an African village smoke high into the sky for satellites and nearby cities to see.
Again and again the two lunged themselves at one another. After a few rounds the two stopped.
Ryujin stood facing his brother with his teeth and claws showing his intent, "Why did you do it?!"
Shinigami smiled casually, "They had it coming."
"First our parents, and now innocent humans."
Shinigami's smile faded, "Arrogant brother, our parents got exactly what they deserved. I, their first born, was pushed out onto the streets while you received help and countless Tudors to master your magic."
"I tried to find you; tried to bring you back."
"You betrayed me! You took everything from me! And now i'm gonna do the same to you and kill every last weakling on this and any other world I find, since you're so fond of those who are beneath us."
Ryujin gave his brother a deep snarl then zoomed forward with the help of his wings, leaving a ring of dusk and sand flying in the air behind him. A moment later he delivered a powerful blow right in Shinigami's stomach. After spiting up a handful of blood and staggering -but staying up- Shinigami jumped on his brother and began clawing away countless scales and tissue layers. Ryujin screamed in pain and tried desperately to pull his brother's arms away from his face. After a few seconds of struggling, Ryujin's arms fell limp and dropped to the red covered sand. When he thought the job was done and his brother was nothing but a bloody body, Shinigami stood up and cringed at the site of his sibling. suddenly the blooded body on the ground opened its eyes and took a deep breath. Then (with a quick maneuver) Ryujin got up and behind his unsuspecting enemy. Shinigami looked back too late and found himself caught in a choke-hold. He rapidly looked around and began to sweat nervously until he glanced upward. He cracked another smile and stretched his wings. A few flaps and soon both brothers were off the ground and caught in a high-speed grip; the sand beneath swirled high into the air after them. Once they were at a respectable altitude, Shinigami locked eyes with his now former family and grinned.
"Sorry Ryujin, but you lose."
Back in Ponyville, Rainbow Dash slowly blinked and rubbed her eyes. There was a slight breeze that tickled the free feathers of her wings. She smiled and took a deep breath of the cool afternoon air. She looked up; the sun had reached the far western part of the sky. The golden rays of light illuminated her blue coat and rainbow mane. Ponyville had just enough day time left for Dash to get in some last minute practice. She stood up, stretched her legs and wings, and stepped off her cloud. She traveled the skies of Ponyville with the warm sun on her back and sought out her friends to find out what they were up to. She found Pinkie Pie in market and went down to say hi, and to see whether she would help her train.
Dash landed calmly in front of Pinkie and smiled, "Hey Pinkie, what's up? wanna hang out?"
Pinkie could barely stand still, "Are you kidding?! I can't play right now, it's national cupcake day. Aaaaannnnd you know what that means right?"
"Uh....no."
Pinkie rolled her eyes and sighed, "Duuuuuhhhhh; it means I gotta make cupcakes for every-pony I know! And I know a lot of ponies. There's you, Bon bon, Lyra, Octavia, Applejack, Twilight, Rarity, Fluttershy, Mr. and Mrs. Cake, Scootal-"
"Alright I get it, you have a lot of work to do."
Pinkie nodded, "You bet I do. See ya later Dash."
Pinkie took off in the direction of Sugar-cube corner, leaving a rather confused Rainbow Dash standing in the market.
"That has got to be the strangest mare I have ever met," Dash said shaking her head.
High above the Sahara, Ryujin and Shinigami were still linked. Shinigami charged his arm and elbowed his brother in the kidney; Ryujin gave out a loud groan and lost his grip. Shinigami glanced back and saw his brother cradling his side; he quickly turned and grabbed Ryujin, pinning his arms and wings down. He shifted his position in the air so that he had Ryujin facing the Earth and began to descend at a faster and faster rate. The stinging dust-filled air was forcing its way past them, limiting both dragons' vision. Ryujin struggled to reach the spare knife he always carried under his wing. His claw making its way around the leather-based hilt of the blade. finally in hand, he used the knife to edge his arm away from Shinigami's grip. Closer and closer the two get to the ground but finally Ryujin managed to slip one of his arms out and stab his brother. Ryujin felt as the blade dug into his brother's scales and past his skin, he did not stop until the hilt of the knife touched Shinigami's chest. Shinigami screeched in pain and let go of Ryujin, who (like his brother) looked back to see his enemy holding his wound. Ryujin turned, put his knife back under his wing, and punched Shinigami; sending him flying with a trail of blood leading the way. Ryujin stretched out his wings and soon his speed slowed. He landed safely on the beautiful sands of the desert. The warm sun was engulfing his hole body, sending a feeling of peace even in the mitts of fighting. Shinigami on the other hand had not been so lucky. After being punched he quickly descended in a violent spiral; his spinning slowed as his wings flew open but he was unable to regain control in time. He crashed to the ground, skidding across the rough grains of sand; every impact resulted in a loud grunt. When he finally came to a halt, Shinigami let out another groan and felt a large shortage of breath.
Ryujin walked over to where his brother was lying, "Stop this nonsense brother. The people of Earth Don't have anything to do with this."
Shinigami slowly looked up at his brother, "Why didn't you kill me? You had the perfect opportunity but instead you just punched me."
Ryujin sighed, "I don't want to kill you. We wouldn't have to fight if you would just stop attacking innocents and go home to our world."
Shinigami chuckled, "Your weak."
"I'm just tired of all the killing in our lives, all the death. So I will do what ever it takes to protect as many as I can."
Shinigami rose to one knee and cradled his chest, "Why do you care so much about these....things! They are nothing compared to our kind. We could kill every one of them in a matter of days."
"Which is why we must protect them."
Shinigami stood up with no resistance from Ryujin, "No! I will make you watch as I kill every last human, then I'll go to the next world riddled with pathetic weaklings and do the same there. And when I am finished with all of them, then I will kill you as well."
"Please Shinigami, stop now. I don't want to fight anymore."
"That's because you're just as weak as the humans in this world."
Shinigami leapt towards his brother. He swung his claws, wings, tail, and anything else he could find to put an end to Ryujin. He slashed off scales and ripped off spikes. Ryujin did the best he could but it wasn't enough. Shinigami moved too fast and Ryujin soon enough found a claw coming right towards his left eye. Time slowed as Ryujin dodged just enough to save his vision, but his brother still managed to cut deep into his face, freeing layers of flesh once again. Ryujin was flung back; he let out a terrible scream as blood entered his throat. His breathing quickly changed from steady and focused to rapid and painful. Ryujin sank to his knees trying to clear his throat; Shinigami slowly approached. Ryujin looked up at his brother; when Shinigami was in range he spat blood in his face and rapidly scurried back a few feet. He had been lucky not to lose any teeth, but he could not ignore the blinding pain from the wounds on his face. Ryujin held his hands up to his face; red rays of magic shot from them and began to dissolve his wounds. But before he could completely heal, Shinigami wiped the blood from his eyes and located his brother. As Shinigami began to advance towards him, Ryujin stood up and raised his arms; his hands glowed with magic again and soon a great burst of energy shot from them and echoed to his brother. Shinigami (with a quick jolt of power) broke the sound barrier and dodged the ball of magic and then turned to his brother, smiling.
"Resorting to your cheap tricks now are you?"
"These 'tricks' will help me stop you from rampaging all over Earth, since you give me no choice."
Shinigami snarled, "We'll see."
Elsewhere in Fluttershy's cottage, the wide variety of blue birds, green birds, and robins that stayed there hummed the most gentle song they knew. Fluttershy had just finished feeding all of the animals she cared for and was sitting down for a picnic with Discord and Angel bunny. Angel's face lit up as he looked upon the wide range of vegetables and bowls of sweet flowers. As Discord was about to take another drink of Manehatton brew, he twitched violently as a sharp ZAP ran throughout his entire body. He looked around to find the source of the strange twitch but found nothing.
"Fluttershy, did you feel that?"
Fluttershy looked at Discord then rapidly looked around the room, "Oh my! Is there a draft? We better get you a blanket before you catch a cold."
Discord shook his head, "No, not like that....actually it's probably nothing."
Discord looked down and stared into his tea, thinking. There was a loud knock at the door.
Fluttershy turned to the door, "Oh...um, excuse me a moment."
She answered the door to find none other than Rainbow Dash standing on the other end.
Dash's face lit up, "Hey Fluttershy; You doing anything right now? 'Cause I got some sick new moves I wanna try out. But i'll need an extra hoof."
"Well actually I-," Fluttershy looked back to Discord and Angel.
Dash jumps to a low hover, "Great! These new moves are sure to blow every-pony's horseshoes off," she demonstrates a few spins and twirls, not really listening to Fluttershy.
Fluttershy raised her voice as to be heard.
"Sorry Rainbow," she lowered her voice back to its original volume, "But i'm um...kinda busy right now."
Dash lands in disappointment, "Are ya sure?"
"Oh yes, but you're welcomed to join us," she gestured inside, "I just made some delicious cucumber sandwiches."
Dash took a quick glance inside Fluttershy's home and saw Discord and Angel Bunny sitting around a small table. She saw as Discord enchanted the porcelain tableware to dance around the room, interrupting Angel as he was about to take another bite of salad. Angel looked up to Discord and waved his fist in frustration. Discord sat calmly whistling and ignoring Angel. Dash (nursing a fake smile) turned back to face Fluttershy.
"uh...no thanks, i'll just drop in some other time. See ya."
She took off in a flash to search for another friend that would help her. Fluttershy closed the door once again to return to her picnic.
Dash started to become irritable, "O for two, huh. Well, there's got to be some-pony around here who's free," she flew towards Twilight's castle.
Back in the desert, Ryujin was attacking his brother left and right. Fierce bolts of lighting and concentrated waves of wind and sand flew from his hands but none of his efforts did any true damage. Shinigami slid, jumped, and dispersed almost all that was thrown at him. Ryujin ground his teeth as Shinigami evaded his every move. After the last energy burst left his hand, Ryujin focused on the sand underneath Shinigami. Once again his hands glowed and soon there arose snakes from the sand itself; these snakes immediately solidified and grew larger by the second. Shinigami had neglected to look down and just as he dodged the last of Ryujin's spells and was about to charge, the snakes jumped up. He looked down as they wrapped themselves around his body and proceeded to constrict. Shinigami groaned as he struggled to get an arm or wing free, but he alone could not break the snake's grip by force. He then got an idea and looked at Ryujin with a smile on his face, despite the snakes' force.
"Dragons may be fire-proof Ryujin, but snakes aren't."
Shinigami took a deep breath and soon the scales on and around his throat glowed with the light of the fire that was about to free him. Ryujin felt his sweat drip off his face as he watched. Shinigami looked down at the snakes and released a burst of flame that annihilated the creatures; nothing but ash was left behind. He let out a long breath (now that he could breathe properly).
Shinigami laughed before speaking, "You're gonna have to try harder than that."
Ryujin growled, "Believe me brother, i'm not done yet."
Ryujin and Shinigami locked gazes once again and charged forward; claws and teeth at the ready to ensure as much damage as possible would occur to the other. Time slowed once again as the two kicked up the desert sand with every step. Shinigami's eyes narrowed, his brow wrinkled, and he refused to slow his sprint for any reason. Ryujin's face on the other hand did not share the same hatred; he was running as fast as his brother, he had his claws ready to strike just as his brother did, but on Ryujin's face there was no wrinkled brow or narrowed gaze. He was angry but not hateful. Instead Ryujin remembered the times before his own brother resented him.
The great forests of their native land where leaves blew in the breeze, the hours spent hunting for birds' eggs and boars for dinner with their father, the tall cliffs they used to learn to fly. Ryujin could remember the first girl he and Shinigami fought over, and the first time Shinigami ran away from home. Ryujin had found him sleeping on a bench in an abandoned train station half the world away; he remembered the extremely long fly back home and how furious their parents were. He also remembered leaving home to pursue his talents. And he remembered Shinigami leaving home as well, furious with their family. When Ryujin returned, he found their parents on the floor, not breathing. In his mind he came back to the present; Ryujin now saw what was in front of him, and it was not his brother. In that moment Ryujin realized that his Shinigami had died long ago. He had to face facts and stop this monster to protect Earth and the memory of the Shinigami he knew and grew up with.
The two closed the gap between them in a few seconds. Just before they collided, Ryujin disappeared in a cloud of red magical smog. Before Shinigami knew what was happening Ryujin reappeared behind him and tore away at the scales on his back. The silver that had fallen from Shinigami's body now added new-found luster to the sands below.
Shinigami let out a screech that could have frightened the toughest of men, then turned to face Ryujin.
"YOU ASSHOLE," he bellowed as he swung his arm around to tare at Ryujin.
Ryujin quickly ducked down to gain the advantage, but what he didn't see coming was the large silver tail speeding closer and closer to his head. His reaction was too slow and the tail smashed into his face, sending him flying several meters. When he landed, he moaned and tried his best to get back up. He struggled to stand as he felt his energy start to fade; his legs trembling under the weight of his body. Finally on his feet, Ryujin saw Shinigami high in the air and advancing toward him at super-sonic speeds; blood was flying from his stab wound. Ryujin widened his gaze and looked around but there was nothing in sight but a bunch of sand. He did the only thing he could think to do at the moment. He opened a portal to the closest world there was.
As all this was going on, Fluttershy and Discord were still having their lovely picnic, although Discord started to feel more and more uneasy. Suddenly he received the same feeling he had earlier, but this time it was much more intense. The zap forced such a twitch that he almost dropped his tea.
Discord shook his head, "That can not possibly be right."
Fluttershy looked up from her plate, "What was that?"
"Really, it's nothing," he looked down at his tea and lowered his voice, "I hope."
Way across Equestria in the great city of Manehatton, there was a sudden magical disturbance. The space in the middle of the street became distorted. Every-pony around stopped to experience what was happening. More and more gathered around in amazement. They were soon baffled by the huge portal that emerged from the distorted space. Through this gateway, suddenly poured tuns and tuns of sand and dust. The ponies were riddled with sand-filled lungs and could not stop coughing for several minutes. The amazement in their eyes was quickly replaced by worry and fear. They slowly back away.
On the other end of this portal Shinigami was still hurtling towards his adversary. Surprised by the appearance of this portal, Shinigami frantically flapped his wings but could not stop himself in time and fell straight into it. Seeing as though he had escaped certain death Ryujin let out a sigh of relief; he even took a moment to rest before flying into the portal himself to end this dangerous fight.
Soon the frightened ponies witnessed the two dragons fly out of the gateway and slide against the cobblestone roads. They both felt the rough road against their wounds; it was several seconds before either of them tried to get up. As the two of them struggled to their feet they looked around at the new world they now stood in. Shinigami looked at Ryujin and growled.
"Where have you sent me?!"
Ryujin chuckled, "Well I had to do something."
"Fine, it doesn't matter anyway. If I can't kill the people of Earth, i'll just have to settle for these...," Shinigami looked around, "...Ponies."
The ponies -hearing this- lowered their ears in horror and started galloping in every which way they could to get away. Shinigami charged after one and captured him by his horn. The pony squealed and struggled to get free. As his brother was about to end the innocent unicorn's life with a quick slice, Ryujin let his morals take over. He took off, breaking the sound barrier with very little effort. He landed a swift blow on Shinigami's chest (the same place he had stabbed him), forcing him to release his hostage. The power behind Ryujin's punch sent Shinigami into a nearby building. On impact the corner of the building cracked with pressure.
Ryujin caught the pony before he could hit the ground; he slowly let him down.
Ryujin looked at the pony calmingly, "You gonna be alright?"
The terrified pony looked at Ryujin, "I think so...thanks."
There was a slight noise behind them. The unicorn gasped in fear before turning and galloping away as fast as he could. Ryujin looked back to where he last saw Shinigami land. But to his surprise, Shinigami was gone. Ryujin quickly began to panic and vigorously looked around. Suddenly he heard a large 'Whoosh' above him. Ryujin looked up just in time to see Shinigami crash down on him with unbearable force. A large CRACK echoed from Ryujin's ribs. The ground beneath the two brothers cracked and split as Ryujin was slammed. Shinigami smiled and slowly stood up and saw his brother defeated. He was about to laugh when he suddenly received another wave of pain from his chest. He held his stab wound with one hand and covered his torn back with the other. He clenched in pain for a few seconds until it became manageable. After this, he lowered his arms and ignored the pain, then examined the world more closely.
Shinigami took a deep breath and grinned, "Now, where should I start?"
He flapped his wings and took off in search of his first victims. Ryujin still laid on the road; blood leaking from his many wounds. He slowly regained consciousness and painfully rose to his feet once again. He cradled his ribs and tried to see which way Shinigami had flown, but he was gone. Suddenly the many ponies that had taken cover, emerged from the houses and buildings they hid behind. One brave Pegasus flew out into the street.
"He flew west, in the direction of Ponyville," the pony said hesitantly.
Ryujin looked westward and then turned back to face the pony, "Thanks."
Ryujin quickly raised a hand to the ribs that were broken and sent more magical sparks to heal them. After each rib cracked back together, Ryujin let out a soft squeal. Once his ribs were fixed he took a deep breath, stood up, and took off after Shinigami as fast as he could (once again breaking the sound barrier). The ponies in Manehatton watched -mouths open- as he flew away.
The ponies of Ponyville were completely oblivious to what was happening. Rainbow Dash was just arriving at Twilight's castle. She looked at the great structure and smiled with pride and wonder in her eyes. She stepped inside and gave witness to the crystal-like structure as well as her very own throne of loyalty.
"Oh yeah! A cool throne for the coolest pony!" she said with great enthusiasm.
Twilight lifted her head from her book when she heard Dash's voice and came out to meet her in the hall.
Twilight was delighted to have her friend visit, "Hi Rainbow, what can I do ya for?"
Before she could answer, Dash and Twilight heard what sounded like a big gust of wind come into Ponyville. They turned and immediately started to hear the screams of dozens of ponies. They both flew outside to see what all the panic was about. What they found shocked them to the greatest extent.
Every-pony around was galloping away in fear, as a silver dragon figure touched down in the middle of the street. Pinkie pie took off to seek shelter in Sugar-cube corner and Rarity locked herself in her boutique (making very sure to close the drapes). Shinigami flew around the peaceful town and captured every pony he could get his hands on; He rounded up Derpy, Lyra, Ms. Cheerilee, and many more. In the past, Twilight would refrain from jumping to conclusions about strangers, but in this case she had no doubt that this dragon was evil. Both Twilight and Dash were left speechless at the sight of Shinigami; their jaws were dropped. When the two came to their senses they quickly flew back inside the castle.
Dash flew away from the door with widened eyes; breathing rapidly, "What the hay is that thing and what is it doing in Equestria?!"
Twilight looked out the windows at Shinigami, "It looks like a dragon but I've never seen one like that before."
Spike ran out from around the corner and zoomed to twilight's side. he cowered behind her; his legs shaking vigorously. The monster outside was still going on a rampage.
Spike screamed, "Twilight! There's a big scary dragon monster outside! You gotta use your friendship-castle-beam-thing to drive it away."
Dash flew to Twilight and nonchalantly hid behind her with Spike, "Yeah, Spike's right Twilight. You have to do something. I mean...normally I could take a monster like that any day, but better safe than sorry right."
Twilight looked at her friends and nervously gulped. She had never used the castle for something like this before.
"Alright...i'll give it a shot."
Twilight took a deep breath and quickly galloped to the center of the great hall, and (with a spark of magic) activated her castle's friendship ray. Shinigami was outside and still rounding up the ponies; he put them all in one area to be dealt with all at once. After he landed, he raised his claw to strike the terrified ponies in front of him when suddenly his ear twitched. He looked back to see what the strange noise was and gave witness to the giant castle that lay before him. The huge crystals, the fascinating flags and banners, and the towering front door all left him in awe. A closer examination showed that something on the roof of this castle was powering up. Shinigami's open-mouthed gaze closed; he growled and jumped from the street and up toward the machine. The captured ponies watched as Shinigami flew away. once he was gone, the ponies looked at one another in mutual understanding. Then they all simultaneously galloped away and hid in the nearest building, except Derpy who still sat there with her head turned in confusion.
Back at Fluttershy's cottage, the group was finishing their picnic when a strange sound roared from town. Discord's ears fluttered and his head shot up. He quickly dropped his tea and stood up. Fluttershy and Angel bunny looked up at Discord; Fluttershy was about to speak when Discord shot out the door.
"Oh my!" Fluttershy said as Discord ran from the table.
She and angel quickly stood up and followed Discord outside to see for herself what was happening. After she gave witness to the travesty in town, Fluttershy let out a squeal and charged back into the safety of her home. When she looked out the window she noticed that she left Angel outside and quickly flew out to bring him in with her. Discord was still outside watching the dragon fly up to Twilight's castle.
"Oh dear, that can't be good."
Shinigami touched down on the roof of the castle and looked upon the great machine that glowed with magic; he examined the machine and reached a hand out to touch it. The device quickly sent a rough shock of power and zapped his hand away. He growled and grabbed hold of the machine . Twilight, Dash, and Spike were still inside; the ceiling rumbled and a loud zap followed by a growl echoed down to the ponies. The three of them looked up and lowered their ears; a loud CRACK came from above and dust fell to their heads. On the roof Shinigami raised the machine his above his head; as he was just about to throw, a sharp pain came from his chest. Shinigami cringed and his legs withered; he quickly threw the machine off the edge of the roof and down to the streets. After this, he dropped to his knees and held the throbbing hole in his chest. He sat there for several minutes until the pain subsided.
Shinigami starred off into the horizon and growled, "Damn you Ryujin."
Inside the castle, the ponies (and Spike) gazed up at the ceiling which was producing more worrying sounds. once the noise stopped, Twilight and Dash looked at one another then back up towards the roof. Spike looked around and spoke up.
"Is...is it gone?" his voice echoed through the room.
Twilight quickly flew to Spike and covered his mouth with her hoof. Every pony looked around in silence with nervous sweat dripping down their brows. Shinigami stood up and looked to the street; his captives had gone. He stretched his wings and prepared to take off when, again, his ear twitched. He slowly looked to his feet and smiled with a low growl. Then he jumped up to gain power for the drop. Dash's ears flicked and she took another look up. She jumped to a hover as she recognized the sound of wings flapping.
She began to float backward, "Uh...Twilight."
A moment later Shinigami crashed through the ceiling and landed on one of six thrones in the hall. The debris from the roof fell down all around them; some of the larger pieces hit Twilight and Spike on the head, knocking them out cold. Dash flew back to avoid the falling rocks; she managed to escape the architectural avalanche with only a few scratches. Shinigami slowly stood up and brushed himself off, then looked on to where Twilight and Spike lay.
Dash also looked at her unconscious friends and clenched in anger, "Alright that does it!"
Shinigami turned to her; a smug grin across his face, "And what are you planning on doing, little pony?"
Dash spread her wings, "I'll show you a little pony!"
She took off in a ray of furious Rainbow colors. Once she got close enough, Dash turned and bucked Shinigami in the face as hard as she could. Shinigami looked at her -unaffected- and let out a loud laugh.
"You're gonna have to use something much stronger if you're gonna get through dragon scales."
Outside Fluttershy's cottage, Discord stood and saw Shinigami crash into twilight's castle. He quickly looked around for several second before sighing in annoyance.
"I guess I'LL have to do something about this."
With one quick snap of his finger, Discord vanished. Shinigami raised his hand to strike down Dash when -right before him- their was a quick poof of strange magic. Once the smoke had faded, Discord found himself between Shinigami and Dash.
He looked at Shinigami curiously, "Hmmm... You're not the dragon I remember. Where's the other one?"
Dash looked at Discord with an alarmed expression, "Other one?! You mean there's more than one! And you've met him before?!"
Shinigami looked at Discord, "And who are you, little insect?"
Discord looked Shinigami up and down, "Who are you calling 'little,' we're practically the same height."
Shinigami wrinkled his brow and snarled at Discord.
"Fine I don't care anyway. I'm going to kill you no matter who you are."
Shinigami raised his arm again to strike, but just as he was about to slash he was interrupted a second time. Ryujin crashed through the side of the castle and tackled his brother. Shinigami lay on the ground; the wind completely knocked out of him. Ryujin stood up and looked at the ponies; he let out a short sigh of relief. He then picked his brother up by his spikes and heaved him high above his head; Shinigami felt helpless in this moment. Then (with one great back-swing) Ryujin threw his brother through the other side of the castle and onto the streets. Dash and Discord faced Ryujin with their jaws dropped; they looked at the state of him, his body was beaten and bruised. All over he had patches of missing scales and bleeding cuts.
Ryujin looked back at them, "You two okay?"
Dash was speechless; in her mind all she could think was...."So...awesome." Of course she was unaware of this dragon's intentions.
She flew up to the suspicious dragon, "Who are you?"
Ryujin was about to answer when he noticed Discord.
He turned his head, "Discord?"
Discord's face lit up, "I knew the magic from earlier today was yours. But I haven't seen you in years."
Dash looked at Discord angrily, "Wait, so you knew these dragons were in Equestria earlier today!"
"Well I-"
Dash floated closer and closer to Discord, "And you didn't bother to tell any-pony!"
Discord shrugged his shoulders, "Oopsy,"
Dash was about to thrash Discord when she suddenly remembered about Twilight and Spike. She turned and faced Ryujin.
"Discord said you have magic. Can you help my friends?"
Ryujin looked at an unconscious Twilight and Spike. The site of another dragon among these ponies surprised him. He walked over to them and removed the ruble that surround their bodies. He knelt down next to them and focused; his hands started to glow once more and soon the ruby light covered twilight and Spike. Before every-pony's eyes, the cuts and bruises on their bodies healed and they slowly regained consciousness. Twilight blinked and moaned in aching pain; Spike soon followed in the same fashion. The two of them looked up and stared into their healer's eyes for a few seconds. Then they let out a huge scream that echoed in Ryujin's ears. Ryujin stood up and shook his head; he rubbed his ears in irritation.
"No Twilight, Spike, he helped us," Dash explained.
Twilight quickly turned to Dash, "He what?"
"This dragon saved us from the other one, and he healed you,"
Ryujin turned back to the group, "My name is Ryujin."
Dash looked at him with her head slightly turned, "Ryu-what?"
Ryujin shook his head one last time and stared at the ponies,"It doesn't matter right now. We have more pressing matters at hand."
He quickly looked towards the hole in the wall he had created. Shinigami was no where to be seen; Ryujin widened his gaze and frantically flew out of the castle to located his brother. He found Shinigami standing in the middle of the street and looked even angrier than before. The two brothers growled at one another then charged forward with great speed. As they met, Shinigami caught his brother's hand and pulled him close for a knee right in the gut. The force of the blow caused Ryujin to spit up another small puddle of blood. He stumbled back a few feet but recovered quickly and flew forward. He delivered an uppercut to Shinigami's jaw; his head flew back and he let out a scream. After he regained himself Shinigami ran forward, throwing punch after punch and Ryujin did the same. The both of them were executing several beautiful combos; it was a big cloud of dodges, hits, and counter-hits. Dash flew to the hole in the wall and watched with great interest; she imitated some of the dragons' moves against a imaginary foe in the air.
Twilight lit up with an idea, She turned to Spike.
"Spike, if you're not too hurt I need you to write a letter to Princess Celestia right away."
Discord turned to Twilight and shook his head, "Twilight, must you make everything so complicated."
Twilight turned to Discord, "And what is that supposed to mean?"
Discord suddenly snapped his fingers and disappeared in another POOF of magical smoke. After a few seconds he reappeared; this time he was accompanied by Princesses Celestia, Luna, and Cadence. The three of the princesses immediately turned to face the streets and saw why they were summoned. Spike and Twilight quickly took notice of the princesses and bowed to greet them (Dash was too busy watching the fight to notice they had arrived).
"Rainbow!" Twilight yelled.
Dash turned and saw all of the princesses is the room with her. She innocently lowered her ears and bowed before walking up to them. The group looked at one another in mass confusion.
"Where did they come from and why are they here?" Twilight asked eagerly.
Dash intervened, "Who cares about all that. The greenish looking one saved our lives, so I say we lend him a hoof."
Before any-pony could object, Dash flew out to where the fight was raging on. The two dragon brothers were now locked, with their arms latching onto the other's shoulders. Dash came close and bucked Shinigami right in the face but again Shinigami seemed to not be bothered by her hit. He growled at her; his face full of anger and annoyance. Again and again she kicked and kicked him, hoping one of her hits would do some damage.
Ryujin screamed at Dash, "What are you doing! You're gonna get yourself killed!"
"Don't worry about me, i'll be fine."
As all of this chaos was going on, Applejack was returning to town from her chores at the farm, where she had not heard the commotion of the fight. She carried two bags full of apples on her back. She just reached the market district when she saw Dash fighting with two dragons, she dropped her jaw and her apples.
"What the hay is going on here?"
She galloped forward to the aid of her friend. When Dash saw Applejack running toward them, she smiled.
"Applejack, hit the silver one!" Dash called.
"If you say so."
Applejack obeyed and started bucking Shinigami left and right. All these distractions were making Shinigami extremely annoyed. He suddenly shoved Ryujin away and swung his tail around, knocking Dash and Applejack away. He then went over to them and picked them both up by their manes. The spikes at the end of his wings were ready at their throats. Ryujin was about to charge, but stopped.
Dash struggled and tried to fly from Shinigami's grip, "Get off of me!"
Applejack tried kicking Shinigami, but to no effect, "What the hay do ya think you're doing, let us down ya creep!"
"Shut up!" Shinigami yelled, then turned to Ryujin.
"Wait, stop!" Ryujin pleaded.
Shinigami laughed, "You see Ryujin, you're just as weak as these ponies. Now watch as they die slowly and painfully"
Dash and Applejack lowered their ears in fear and desperately struggled to get free. Ryujin looked around and began breathing very rapidly. All was lost when suddenly, several bursts of magical rays shot out from Twilight's broken castle. Ryujin looked over to see all four princesses fiercely hitting Shinigami with everything they had. As Ryujin was about to take advantage of the situation, two ponies (one pink and one white) charged passed him to help free Dash and Applejack.
"Sorry for the delay Twilight," Rarity said as she and Pinkie arrived at the scene.
Pinkie looked to Twilight, "Yeah, I mean, when we saw that big scary dragon we all screamed as loud as we could. Then we ran around in big circles. It looked some thing like this."
Pinkie was about to demonstrate when Twilight suddenly reminded her of the situation.
"Pinkie, could you leave the performance for later, we kinda have more important things at hoof."
Pinkie innocently nodded and then galloped forward with Rarity. The two of them joined their friends in battling Shinigami. Ryujin just stood there; this time he had his jaw dropped. Every-pony was helping him suppress his brother, yet he had never met them. Even Discord was shooting a few magical shots at Shinigami. Between four princesses, one Pegasus, two earth ponies , and one unicorn, Shinigami found himself overwhelmed. He had no choice but to drop Applejack and Dash. Once the two were back on their hooves, they started fighting again.
After a few minutes of fighting off the ponies, Shinigami felt his energy start to fade; his moves slowed and his breathing became heavier. He suddenly growled, jumped up, and flew away from them, but Dash was right behind him. When she got close enough, she delivered yet another blow to Shinigami's head; this time he was sent falling back to the ground. Ryujin was there to catch him before he hit the road. He looked at his brother in his arms, beaten by sheer exhaustion from fighting what he called "weaklings." For one moment, Ryujin thought that this would teach his brother a lesson and perhaps change him.
Shinigami tried one last time to strike at his brother, but Ryujin easily blocked the pathetic swing. This act showed that there was no hope for changing his brothers mind, he was gone. Ryujin looked at Shinigami and threw him to the ground. The princesses -and every other pony that fought- walked over to Shinigami; they all stood over him. Shinigami saw his brother, with all the ponies standing at his back, then let out a low growl.
"Fine, have your ponies for now," he said as he struggled to stand up.
Ryujin yelled, "Give up!"
Shinigami looked around, then suddenly spotted the Ever-free Forest. He quickly took off and disappeared behind the plants.
"I don't think so," Dash said as she prepared to race after him.
Ryujin grabbed her shoulder, "Let him go. He's too weak to do any harm right now anyway."
Rainbow dash looked at him sternly, but decided to agree.
With Shinigami temporarily gone, every-pony in town emerged from their hiding places. They had all witnessed the spectacle that had just occurred. With the whole town gathered around, they looked to Ryujin for an explanation.
Twilight walked up to Ryujin, "So...what was that all about."
Dash joined her there, "Yeah, why were you two destroying our town?!"
Before Ryujin could answer, he felt all of the fatigue that he had been ignoring come back to him. he fell to the ground in pain and exhaustion. The ponies looked at him curiously.
"Well we better get him to the hospital," Dash said, attempting to raise Ryujin by the shoulders.
Twilight stopped her, "Wait rainbow, we don't even know who he is or what he's doing here."
Dash looked to twilight with a bit of surprise in her face, "He saved my life, and healed you and Spike."
Twilight looked at Ryujin hesitantly, then turned back to every-pony.
"What do you think Princess?"
Celestia looked to twilight confidently, "I agree with Rainbow Dash, this particular dragon seemed to want to help after all."
Luna stepped forward, "I agree as well Twilight."
Every-pony around grabbed Ryujin and carried him to the hospital. Once in the room, the doctors were stumped.
"How are we supposed to operate on a creature we know nothing about?" one of them asked.
Then, before every-pony's eyes, the wounds on Ryujin's body began to heal themselves.
"That's impossible! Dragons don't have magic," Twilight said.
Discord walked to the bed, "Ryujin is not like the dragons of our world,"
Celestia looked to Discord alarmingly, "Discord, you know him."
"Oh yes, we met many years ago; he was still quite young back then."
Every-pony looked to Discord in shock. Just as Twilight was about to ask another question, Ryujin opened his eyes ever so slowly. He looked around the room at all the ponies that surrounded him.
"Where am I?"
"Your in the hospital, sugar-cube," Applejack answered.
Rarity looked to the dragon, "We never did thank you for saving our lives."
"I could say the same," he added
"Yeah, but who was that other dragon and why did he try to kill us," Dash asked.
Ryujin let out a sigh and began to speak.
"His name is Shinigami."
"Shini-what?" asked Dash.
"Shinigami," Ryujin corrected, raising his voice, "and he is...was my brother."
Every-pony looked at Ryujin and let out a small gasp.
Ryujin continued, "And my name is Ryujin. We are both dragons of another world."
Dash turned her head, "Okay...but why were you fighting your own brother to the death?"
"Well I suppose I will have to start at the beginning to answer that."
Pinkie Pie looked extremely excited, "Ooooo, magical dragon life story time."
Ryujin let out a small chuckle at Pinkie's comment, then began he life's tale.