Chapter 34
Gallant Gryphon
“I just don’t see what you guys need me for. I mean, you already got the money. I can just go home and I promise you’ll never see me again.”
“You will after this is done and over with,” I growled, still staring straight ahead. The rogues were taking longer than we thought, so I laid down on the warm ground, using the chest as a pillow. The others had all taken a seat somewhere amongst the rocks.
“You’re not getting cold feathers, are you, Gilda?” Vex taunted.
“After all, you’re the one who got us into this mess. It’s only fair you see it through.”
“I-I’m not scared, if that’s what you’re implying,” she defiantly snorted.
“Well that’s good,” Soot quietly said. There was something about his calm disposition that was surprisingly terrifying. He slowly got up and started to advance on her, hatred gleaming in his eyes. The rest of the gang caught on, and followed suit. “Because the rest of us are terrified. And no one gets away with scaring a dragon just like that. Isn’t that right, guys?”
“No one,” Clump echoed.
“Whoa, whoa, not cool, guys,” Gilda uneasily gulped, backing away from his approach. She accidently bumped into me when she reached her limit, but instead of moving away, the gryphon pressed closer as though I was a protection from the mob of teens. “Acrylic, would you get your ‘family’ to back off now?” My only response was to flick her away with my wing, sending her stumbling back into the middle of the ring. Realizing she was on her own, pure terror took hold. I could feel it radiating off her. In fact, I could smell it. “B-But, Acrylic? Aren’t you supposed to be the Element of Forgiveness or something? Come on, this isn’t funny anymore. Call ‘em off!”
“You don’t deserve my forgiveness. You put my family in danger to satisfy your own greed. For that, I will never forgive you.” With my new dragon senses, I could hear her heart pounding. Her pupils were the size of pinpricks, and they darted around in search of a way out. The only way that wasn’t blocked was up. Her wings snapped open before I could react, and the next thing we knew, she was rocketing away. Fortunately for her, a large silhouette had appeared in the fog, eliminating pursuit as an option. I even went as far as to growl in irritation, but I tore my attention away from the gryphon to take care of business with the rogues.
Three huge dragons appeared out of the mist. The one that appeared to be the leader was rugged and war-torn, his faded, yellow scales deformed by the number of scars criss-crossing his massive frame. He was almost completely covered in spines, from elbow-clusters to an armored back and barbed tail. One eye was clouded and scarred, probably blinded. It was no wonder, due to the ugly scars streaking down it.
The green-scaled dragon to his left looked to be in better condition, but that wasn’t saying much. His wings were frayed and torn, and his hide had likewise seen many a day in battle. His tail ended in a rather nasty looking club. Though he looked fairly average for a dragon, there was something about him that made my blood run cold.
The third of their company was a young, athletic looking drake. Unlike the first two, this fellow was in prime condition- his metallic blue-purple armor appeared unscathed, and his silvery wing membranes were flawless. He was bulky under layers of shell-like armor, but I was under the impression that he was still incredibly swift and agile. He didn’t have many spikes, but he didn’t need them. His claws gleamed like knives as it was.
The yellow leader stepped up, and took in the scene through his one good eye. He snarled upon seeing me, but not in a threatening way. It was as if he was amused they’d arrived under my protection. I glared defiantly back, digging my claws into the dirt instead of his neck. So this was the monster that threatened my son.
“I thought I told you to come alone,” the lead rogue barked in a gravelly voice. It was clear he was addressing Garble, but I interrupted.
“I’m his mother,” I coldly snapped.
“I see,” he chuckled in a deathly tone. Then he turned back to his reinforcements, any and all amusement drained from his voice. “Check the area,” he ordered. “Make sure they didn’t bring any others.” The green one obediently dipped his head, but the metallic dragon had already taken off. I followed the dragons with my eyes as I watched them case the area, refusing to turn away from the leader. My breath caught in my throat as they passed over our friends’ hiding spot, even though I knew they would be safe under Luna’s cloaking spell.
“There’s no one here, Butch,” the green one reported.
“Good. At least the brats were kind enough to introduce their friend,” the yellow dragon, Butch, snickered. “All we’re missing now is a name.” I almost came right out and told him Acrylic, but I caught myself in time. What kind of dragon would name their child ‘Acrylic?’ That was a pony name, and would definitely raise suspicion. Thinking fast, I recalled the first time Spike and I had been at the craters, when Rainbow, Twilight and Rarity secretly followed Spike. Back then, Rainbow was the only one that knew I was a thestral, and in an attempt to help conceal my presence, insisted Spike had called for ‘Skillet’ instead of ‘Acrylic.’
“Skillet,” I answered through a clenched jaw. Garble stiffened, but played along and looked around to make sure everyone else all caught the change. Subtle signals from all of them told us that they’d gotten the message.
“How unusual,” Butch mused. “As Rupture here brought out, I am Butch,” he introduced, jerking his head in the direction of the green one to point out Rupture. “And this is Sheath.” The metallic dragon remained cold and unmoving at the mention of his name.
“Aww, did the wittle dragons go running to their mommy?” Rupture taunted. I flicked out my tail to keep Fizzle and Clump from doing something they’d regret.
“Speaking of which, you must be very disappointed in your son, Skillet, for falling into such a deep debt at this age. You really must teach him to better manage his finances.” The jeer raised chuckles out of his goons. Garble clenched his fists, and my claws likewise dug deep into the dirt.
“So why don’t we just settle the score so we never have to see each other again?” I suggested in a tone cold as ice.
“Splendid idea,” Butch agreed, greedily eyeing the chest under my claws. I kicked it toward him so I didn’t have to get anywhere near that scum. I heard the ten thousand bits worth of coins and gems clanking against the sides as the box tumbled for him. He looked me over one last time before opening the large crate. The metal latch clicked aside, and the lid creaked open. Butch critically looked over its contents with his one good eye for a good long while before his gaze flicked back to me.
“You got what you wanted,” I turned up my nose at him. “Now leave my boys alone.”
“I’d be happy to,” Butch sarcastically snarled. “But it appears we have a bit of a problem. This isn’t the amount we agreed upon.”
“What are you talking about? There’s ten thousand bits worth of treasure in there. I counted it myself,” I glowered. But when Butch swiveled the chest around for me to see, my heart stopped in my chest. I was sure that chest had been filled to the brim when we loaded it. Now it was a little more than half full. There was no denying that payment was missing. But what was I supposed to do now? I never considered the possibility of the money not being there.
“I-I put ten thousand bits in there,” I insisted, recoiling from the sight. “I did!”
“Sure you did,” Butch narrowed his eyes, and tossed the chest over his shoulder, spraying coins and gems all over the ground. The impact of the chest caused a geyser to flare up. This place wasn’t called the lava geysers for nothing- molten rock spewed from the fractured earth, incinerating the chest and most of its contents instantly.
“Wha?! What’d ya do that for, Butch? We still coulda kept what they got us,” Rupture indignantly burst.
“Shut up, you insolent fool,” Butch clobbered him with his tail, instantly putting the lower-ranked in his place.
I’d done a good job of hiding my fear up until now. I couldn’t help my heart from pounding anymore. Before, I had everything under control. But now the whole plan had crumbled.
“I’m sure your son told you the consequences of not holding up his end of the deal?” Butch went on. “Time to pay up, boys.” Garble cowered behind me. I finally snapped.
“Over my dead body.”
“What did you just say?” Butch almost laughed.
“OVER MY DEAD BODY!” I roared, rearing in my rage. When I came back down, the ground shattered beneath me, revealing the lava below. Butch backed up in surprise, as though he hadn’t been expecting such strength. That meant that it was probably my thestral power that caused the quake, not my newly acquired dragon mass. That was good news for me. I mimicked a fighting stance I’d seen other dragons use, and flicked out my tail to prepare the scythe. I made a promise to keep them safe, and I wouldn’t give up without a fight. Butch wasn’t laughing anymore.
“GET THEM!” I suddenly had three fully grown dragons charging at me.
“Boys, RUN!” I screamed as Sheath crashed into my side. I knew he was too strong for me, and it was all I could do reposition myself so the impact wouldn’t break my neck. Even underneath my attacker, I saw the group of teens scattering, which offered a little relief. Rupture lunged from the other side, and I struggled to dodge, but his purple partner held me down. I shut my eyes when should have felt his claws sink into my hide, but it never came. Instead, a colossal THUD rocked the earth, and my eyes snapped open to the sight of Rupture being pinned by another dragon, this one such a dark brown he would be invisible against a night sky. His eyes were black like coals, but blazed with anger. Row after row of red-brown spines ringed his back and shoulders like a shirt collar, and his tail was barbed with three more of the deadly spears.
I didn’t have time to question the mysterious figure’s identity; Sheath realized he would have to take care of me himself, and prepared a crushing blow. While I was trying to work out how to manipulate dragon fire and counter his attack, a glint of red caught my eye. It was Garble! He hadn’t been fleeing after all- his entire gang had merely circled around to gain the high ground. Now they were all targeting one of our attackers from the air.
“Garble, no!” My outburst distracted Sheath, who looked up to assess the oncoming danger. I used the interruption to my advantage, lashing out with the scythe. It sliced the underside of Sheath’s leg, and he howled in anguish. Garble took the opportunity to spray blazing orange fire into his eyes, not penetrating the fireproof scales but still blinding him. Between our attacks, I managed to break free and shove Sheath off of me. The dragon flailed about, clawing at his damaged eyes and swinging his tail in an effort to relocate his target. My heart stopped when it came into contact with my son, flinging him through the air.
“GARBLE!” He skidded along the rock face without a sound, making me wonder whether or not he was even conscious. Butch saw him too, and the look in his eyes told me he’d selected a new victim. I had to get to him first.
I dodged Sheath’s tail to make a break for Garble. He was slowly recovering, but wouldn’t have time to get away if Butch got there before me. I didn’t realize what speeds this body was capable of, and almost unbalanced myself. I used my wings as stabilizers to catch myself in time, and kept going. Once I adjusted to this new center of balance, I found this lithe body to be far superior to Butch’s bulk in terms of speed. But Butch had been closer, so it was still unclear as to who would reach him first.
Garble was finally rousing, and slowly sat up, clutching his head. He opened his eyes to the terrifying sight of Butch closing in, and tried scrambling away.
“GET DOWN!” I called, making one mad leap for Garble. It closed the distance alright- I would definitely get to him first. But I wouldn’t have time to get away from Butch. It was all I could do to tuck Garble beneath me to shield him from the monster.
I did feel Butch’s claws scrape my back, but he must have faltered, because he never got a good grip. Looking up, I found Rarity standing a safe distance away, but using a dazzling light display to throw off Butch’s aim. As I looked around, I realized that the rest of our friends were also joining in the fight- the cloaking spell must have worn off. Rainbow was busy whizzing around Rupture’s head, keeping him busy while Applejack and Pinkie danced around his legs to entangle him in AJ’s ropes. Twilight was pounding Sheath by herself with magical attacks, but the dragon turned out to be a formidable opponent. The teens took on a hit and run approach, planting attacks wherever they saw an opening. The only ponies I didn’t see were Fluttershy, Luna, and Torchwood. I rolled over, letting Garble up.
“Are you okay?”
“I think so,” he groaned, clutching his side. Something told me he wasn’t okay. A large form cast a shadow over us, and I whirled to face the attacker. It was the dark brown dragon I’d seen sparring Rupture earlier. I was sure he meant us no harm- he even looked concerned.
“Get Garble back to the ledge with Fluttershy,” the dragon ordered.
“Torch!” I recognized his voice. Luna must’ve worked her transformation magic on him too. Though she didn’t have time to transform the other ponies, they proved to be capable opponents as they were.
“Go!” he ordered, turning back to face off with the newly-recovered Butch. I gently plucked Garble from the ground and took off, hoping I could avoid another skirmish if I took an aerial route. I realized Rarity decided to catch a ride when I heard her squealing, and looked down to find her dangling from my ankle. Garble hoisted her onto my back with his good arm so I could concentrate on maneuvering. Though I had to spin to avoid a blast of fire, we arrived at the former hiding spot without incident. There I found Fluttershy and Luna guarding Spike and Blaze from the battle below.
“Garble!” Blaze broke away from Fluttershy’s comforting embrace to see his brother. I gently deposited the young red dragon on the ground in such a way he could use one of the boulders as a backboard. Blaze seemed to sense his brother was hurt, so hugged him very tenderly to mind the sensitive spot. Garble also carefully accepted his brother.
“What happened to the money?” Luna questioned me. I trembled with grief and rage.
“I don’t know,” I choked, tears of fear or anger streaming down my face. I couldn’t tell which at this point.
“It’s time to end this,” Luna decided through clenched teeth. She regally leapt into the air, hovering over the battlefield.
“ROGUE DRAGONS,” she boomed in her traditional royal Canterlot voice. The entire battlefield froze. “THIS POINTLESS BATTLE HAS GONE ON LONG ENOUGH. SURRENDER AND LEAVE IN PEACE BEFORE I BANISH YOU ALL TO THE WASTELANDS!” A fireball whizzed by her head in response. “Very well,” she growled, summoning her magic to open a portal.
“YOU GUYS, GET OUT OF THERE!” I called, trying to get our friends to evacuate so they wouldn’t be sucked in too. Rainbow, Pinkie and AJ kept Rupture busy while the dragons made a run for cover. With the rogue entangled in Applejack’s lassos, it wasn’t hard for the rest of them to get away. For somepony who raised the moon every night, lifting a fully-sized dragon must’ve been a cinch. She tossed Rupture through as though he were a no heavier than a rag doll.
Twilight was the only one battling Sheath, but he was smart, and kept our unicorn between Luna and himself so the Night Princess couldn’t get a clear shot at him. Every time Twilight tried to move away, Sheath would block her path with a stream of fire or a tail swipe. He probably could’ve kept it up indefinitely if it hadn’t been for Rarity’s intervention. She sent another ray of brilliant light their way. It didn’t affect Twilight, whose back was to us, but it sure obscured Sheath’s vision. Twilight zipped out of range, and Luna wasted no time in hurling him in after his companion.
When we looked around for the last of the rogues, we found Butch still grappling with my husband.
“TORCH!” I cried, starting take off and help.
“Wait,” Luna demanded. I had no choice but to obey when her levitation magic kept me in place. They were completely interlocked, pounding each other into the earth. The extreme pressure was causing serious damage to the crusty layer of rock that rested above the lava. Jets of the magma squirted upward around them, which made it even harder to see. Even if they broke apart, I wasn’t sure if Luna would be able to see through the spray well enough to catch him.
I was on the edge of my seat, or perhaps more appropriately, the edge of the cliff. My claws dug into the rocky surface, heart pounding in anticipation. I could no longer see anything through the wall of smoke, but the prolonged crashing told me they were still going at it. But the noise was growing quieter, as if they were getting farther and farther away. It got the point where I couldn’t hear anything, and I held my breath. After what seemed like an eternity, a cry of agony broke the silence, and I was sure it hadn’t come from Butch.
“Torch!” I cried again. This time, not even Luna’s magic could hold me back. I took off full force after them.
“Acrylic, don’t!” I heard Twilight call after me. But by that time, I’d already become enveloped in the haze. The lava below provided a little light, so I looked for movement.
“Torch?” I called again, coughing as the vapor entered my throat. The sounds of a struggle were again drawing near, and I had to swerve before Torchwood’s body collided with mine. Butch instantly lunged out of the smog for a follow-up attack, but I interrupted it by ramming him in the chest. The next thing I knew, the world was spinning as we tumbled to the ground. Even when we broke the part, the ground didn’t feel stable. It wasn’t until my claws slipped into the oozing molten rock that I realized it wasn’t just my mind playing tricks on me. The chunk of rock I rested on was unsteadily floating on a lava lake.
Of course, dragons were fireproof, so that didn’t deter Butch. He was coming back, angrier than ever. Rather than meeting him in another head-on attack, I figured it was wiser to lead him back to the others, where Luna could blast him through the portal. But Butch seemed to realize what I was doing, and veered away. I couldn’t let him get away. If I did, he’d just keep coming back after the boys. I wouldn’t have them living in terror. This ended now.
So I turned around and chased back after him. I had no idea where Torch was. In fact, I didn’t know where I was anymore. I didn’t recognize anything through the haze, and Butch kept getting me more and more turned around. He rounded another turn, and I finally lost track of him altogether. I glided quietly along a moment longer, hoping to pick up some trace of him- a scent, a noise, anything. I must’ve wished too hard, because he came to me. I was caught completely off guard, so it didn’t take much for Butch to overpower me.
I was sent sprawling along a far more stable rock face until I hit an immense stalagmite, the only thing that kept me from tumbling another five hundred feet. I felt one of Butch’s massive claws press down on my neck, and found myself struggling for air. Calling for help was out of the question.
“You’ve become quite the nuisance,” he wickedly snarled. I sputtered a cough in response. He raised his other claw to deal the death blow. I was sure those glittering daggers would be the last thing I saw, but a piercing battle cry tore the sky. A streak of white and brown zipped past Butch’s face, and he screeched in pain. Three fresh, jagged lines streaked over his muzzle, each welling up with scarlet blood where his very scales had been uprooted. The second assault was just as fast, this time ripping across his right shoulder. He jerked away from the stinging sensation, which relieved some of the weight from my throat. I pushed him off, but paused to gasp for air before I made another move. Whoever was striking Butch was doing a good job; even I never saw them coming.
It didn’t take long until Butch was fed up, and managed to make contact. My savior was swatted to the ground and crushed under his claws. The terrorized face of Gilda peeked out between his talons. I suddenly wasn’t sure how to react to her appearance.
The haze was cleared with a couple massive wing beats from Torchwood, announcing the entry of everyone else. Luna glared down at Butch, and reopened the portal.
“Wait!” I protested. “He has Gilda.”
“Let me go!” the gryphon demanded, unsuccessfully struggling against the dragon’s grip.
“If it’s all the same to you,” he sneered, displaying his hostage, “I’ll be going now.”
“Why, I oughta... Lemme at ‘im!” Rainbow tried charging, but Applejack bit down on her tail.
“You filthy, low-down coward,” Torchwood spat.
“It was a pleasure doing business with you,” Butch mockingly dipped his head before unfurling his wings. No one could do a thing when he took off with the gryphon.
“Luna, can you give me an invisibility spell?” I asked when I was sure he was out of earshot.
“Why?” she inquired.
“Please, just do it,” I pressed, getting ready to take off. “And get the portal ready.” She seemed to understand that there was no time to lose, and did as I asked.
“At your new mass, the invisibility will not last for long,” she warned, casting the spell.
“I won’t need it to.”
“Are you sure about this?” Torch somehow found my invisible arm, and held my claw in his.
“No,” I truthfully answered. Then I took off.
I wasn’t sure exactly how long the invisibility spell would last; it gave out relatively quickly on my friends, and Luna promised that I had even less time. I zoomed through the sky as fast as I could. I didn‘t really need to keep up with Butch. I kept him in sight, sure, but I was more concerned with gaining as much altitude as I could. The best thermals were up high. Riding one of them would close the distance in no time. As soon as I felt that warm stream of air, the beginnings of a grin tickled the corners of my mouth. I eased into the air current carefully so as to not lose it, but this was nothing I hadn’t done a hundred times before. Even though the wings were new, the maneuvers weren’t. It wasn’t long before I was effortlessly zooming through the clouds.
I waited until I was right on top of them to dive. I tried to make as little noise as possible, but it was impossible to prevent the familiar whistle as the wind rushed through my furled wings. Butch heard it too, and looked around for an attacker. This was where Luna’s invisibility spell came in handy. While he was busy looking for me, I angled myself to shoot right past his face, and dug my claws into his wrist. He yelped in surprise, and dropped Gilda, just as I’d hoped. Now I grabbed her, and clutched her to my chest. Her piercing scream hurt my ears.
“Pipe down, would you?” I scolded.
“Acrylic?” She tried swiveling to look for the source of the voice, and the bird in her let her get pretty close. I was a little freaked out by how far back she could turn her head, in fact. She had turned just in time for the invisibility spell to wear off.
“NOW, LUNA!” I called. The Moon Princess promptly teleported above us, and opened the portal directly in front of Butch.
“NO!” He flew right into our trap. It was over. It was finally over! I barely dared to believe it. I went so far as to laugh in relief. But the action caused me to look down, and I realized the ground was still coming up fast. Oh yeah. I was supposed to pull up.
I flipped onto my back to prepare for impact and tucked Gilda safely away; there was no way I’d have time to try and catch myself now. I groaned in irritation. This one would be a doozy. I shut my eyes and prepared to wake up in a crater.