//------------------------------//
// Episode 6: Seeking Kindness Part 2 
// Story: The Equestrian Wind Mage: Season 2 
// by LordSiravant 
//------------------------------//

Episode 6: Seeking Kindness Part 2 – Diamond Dog Mines

Outside the Diamond Dog Mines…

Vaati looked over at the old quarry where the Diamond Dogs made their home. Not much had changed; most of the old holes were still filled in, though one remained open. What had changed, though, was that the place was not being patrolled by the native ape-hounds. It was being patrolled by a bipedal lizard of some kind. It was basically a reptilian version of a Diamond Dog, with the head of a gecko, lime-green scales, shiny red iron shoulder pads, a helmet that looked like the skull of some other reptile, and an axe blade tied to the end of its tail. It used its spear as a walking stick as it paced around the quarry, its eyes darting about as it occasionally flicked its tongue, tasting the air for any sign of trespassers. Vaati silently thanked the Goddesses that they were downwind of the creature, preventing it from catching their scent.

"What is that thing?" Rainbow whispered as they observed from their hiding spots.

"That, my dear Rainbow Dash, is a Lizalfos," Vaati answered grimly. "And where there are Lizalfos, there's bound to be Dinolfos too. And with that helmet he's wearing, I'd imagine they've got some Helmasaurs waiting for us down there too. Probably some Dodongos as well to finish up the roster."

"Dodongos?" Applejack questioned. "Helmasaurs? What in tarnation're they?"

"Flightless dragons," Vaati answered. "Big enough to swallow a pony whole. Helmasaurs are much faster than Dodongos, but both are slow at turning. Helmasaurs can only breathe short bursts of fire, fireballs basically, but they protect themselves by having hard, thick plates in their skulls that cover and protect their faces. They often attack by ramming enemies with those hard skulls of theirs, much like goats. Dodongos have a really powerful fire breath, and they have a tendency to explode upon dying."

"They what?!" Twilight hissed.

"They lose control over the chemicals in their bodies that produce dragon-fire, and they mix together and cause the body to explode."

"Why don't other dragons explode when they die, if that's the case?" Rarity asked.

"Dodongos have a lot more of that stuff than regular dragons do, in order to compensate for their flightlessness. The exploding may also be a spiteful attempt at taking the attacker with them."

"What are their weaknesses, my friend?" Zecora asked. "Is there a way to bring them a quick end?"

"Lizalfos and Dinolfos aren't that strong, really," Vaati replied. "Get past their defenses and just deal a sufficient wound. Dodongos and Helmasaurs, however, have tough hides except around their tails."

"And their sluggishness should make it easy for us to get at their tails, right?" Twilight asked.

Vaati shrugged. "Unless there are others watching its back."

Vaati started to stand before hunkering down again. "Oh…one more thing. The Lizalfos people are related to dragons, so some of them can inherit the dragons' fire-breathing capabilities or be born with wings."

"Oh, that's simply divine," Rarity sarcastically responded. "So we're tussling with quite possibly hundreds of dragon-like beasts down there. I guess we should at least be thankful that they aren't Equestrian dragons."

"Indeed," Vaati said. "Hyrulean dragons tend to be smaller than their Equestrian counterparts, which will definitely work out for us. Now, we better take care of that sentry. If he's allowed to raise the alarm, we'll have to fight an entire army just to get inside, and I'd rather not deal with that until we have the Diamond Dogs backing us up. Fluttershy's the only one out of us with a long-range weapon."

Everyone glanced at Fluttershy, who paled at what this meant for her. "I-I…I can't…!" she whimpered.

"Sweetie, you're the only one who can," Rarity consoled her. "This is what we have to do, for the safety of Equestria and everypony you care about."

Fluttershy looked into her friend's eyes for several agonizing moments before she finally nodded, tears streaming down her face as she placed a bolt on her crossbow and leveled it towards the unsuspecting Lizalfos sentry. Her hoof trembled over the trigger as she fought with her conscience over whether she should take the shot.

"You can do this, Fluttershy," Rarity whispered. "Take the shot. Aim for his heart. Make it quick."

Fluttershy whimpered as she lined up the sight with the pacing sentry's chest where she assumed its heart to be. "I'm so sorry," she whispered as she finally pulled the trigger.

THWIP!

Everyone watched as the bolt struck true, sending the sentry to the ground, where it perished in a puff of black smoke. "Good shot," Vaati commended. "Now let's get down there before any of his buddies decide to check on him."

Rarity took a moment to console a sobbing Fluttershy, rubbing her back and stroking her hair. "There there, dear, it's alright. It's alright."

Vaati stood up. "Let's get going. We'll need to find the dungeons. I'd imagine that Ganon and the Lizalfos would have loved the irony of trapping the Diamond Dogs in their own dungeons to await Volvagia's belly."

"What about the Darknuts you left with them?" Rainbow asked. "Remember? That's how you kept them under control."

"Of course I remember," Vaati snapped. "I'm not sure if any survived. If they did, they'll probably be imprisoned alongside the Diamond Dogs. Again, Ganon loves irony."

"So, what'll happen once we let them out of the dungeons?" Twilight asked.

"We ask them to fight alongside us, of course," Vaati stated. "We can't possibly get through an entire army of dragonkin on our own, especially with space so cramped in those tunnels. We'll need our own army to reach Volvagia, and I'm certain the Diamond Dogs will be more than happy to oblige."

"Vaati…you're talking about an actual battle here," Twilight stammered. "A-an actual battle between two opposing forces!"

"And your point is?" Vaati countered. "You've been in battle before, Twilight. Remember the wedding incident?"

"That doesn't count," Twilight murmured.

"Why?"

Twilight looked him in the eye. "Because that was more of a massacre than a battle."

"We're at war, Twilight," Vaati admitted plainly. "Whether you like it or not, that's what happens in a war. Battles are fought; people die."

Twilight walked past him. "Let's just go."

Vaati watched her for a moment before following. I don't like this. We've been fighting and arguing a lot more than we used to ever since Ganon came here. Why? Why did this have to happen?

Vaati knew he would probably be asking himself that question a lot over the course of their journey.

XXXXXX

Once everyone slid down the hole into the Diamond Dog Mines, they quickly looked around to make sure no one else was in the chamber with them. Unfortunately, there were.

Almost immediately they were set upon by a marauding band of Lizalfos that had happened to be passing by at the time. "Look alive!" Vaati called out as the first Lizalfos charged him, spear aimed at his chest.

Vaati deflected with his blade and pushed back with a wind spell, smashing the monster against the wall with a sickening crack. Its spine broken, it vanished into black smoke as the others approached. One let out a high-pitched shriek as it swung its sword at Rarity. However, it soon found its sword torn from its grip by a magical force. It only had time to look at its empty hand before Rarity beheaded it with its own sword. Instead of blood, the beast also disintegrated into black smoke. Suddenly, an iguana-headed Dinolfos opened its mouth and unleashed a wave of flame from its maw. Vaati saw it coming and swept the flame aside with his wind magic as Rainbow plunged her spear into the Dinolfos's chest, cutting its breath deathly short.

"W-why do they do that?" Twilight managed to ask as the Dinolfos disintegrated.

"Do what?" Vaati asked as he sheathed his sword.

"Turn to dust like that," she elaborated. "Why don't they leave bodies?"

Vaati's sharp eyes darted around the cavern they had entered before he answered. "Remember when I mentioned how the monster races had been cursed in ages past?"

"Umm…You said something about that, but it's been a while…"

"When the Goddesses made Hyrule, each of them had races that they favored, for a variety of reasons. Nayru, being the Goddess of Wisdom, preferred the Hylians, as they were seekers of knowledge and clever thinkers. Farore, being attuned with Nature as well as Courage, often favored races that were closer to nature than the Hylians, such as the Gorons, Zoras, and Kokiri. Din valued strength and cunning, befitting her nature as the Goddess of Power, and as such, she was considered the patron deity of all the beastly races, as well as the Gerudo people, who sometimes referred to her as the Goddess of the Sands. King Demise, in his arrogance, fancied Din as his wife, and during the time when he warred with Hyrule for possession of the Triforce, he had the audacity to approach the Darknuts' temple to Din as his forces defiled their capital city and demand her hand in marriage in exchange for halting the destruction."

Vaati paused in his description for a moment to ensure that no other sorties were coming their way. "Well…what happened?" Rainbow asked, barely containing her curiosity.

Vaati looked over at her. "To his surprise, Din actually appeared before the Demon King…and laughed in his face. If I recall the history books correctly, she laid a verbal smackdown on Demise so hard that he was left speechless in his rage. Unfortunately, Demise then retaliated by defiling her temple, and in doing so, wove a curse upon all those who worshipped her above the other two. The monsters were dragged en masse into a void between worlds some refer to as the Realm of Twilight, where they were sent into stasis, to await the call of Demise and his kin so that they may defile the very Goddess they had once so fervently worshipped. However, Demise was defeated and sealed away before he had a chance to put his curse to use. But others began practicing it after him, as you can obviously tell. No one ever expected two demonic forces to use the same spell with intent to use against each other, though. Perhaps that is the greatest irony of all."

Rainbow scoffed. "Wow, that Demise guy sounds like a real flankhole. I like how that goddess of yours showed him what's up. What he did afterwards was a real jerk move, though. Gotta feel sorry for these guys."

"Demise was eventually killed, wasn't he?" Twilight asked. "So why is his spell over the monsters still active?"

"Demise's physical body was destroyed," Vaati explained. "But his essence lives on in Ganondorf through the curse he placed on the bloodlines of Onigami and Hylia's mortal reincarnations. It's how Ganon's avoided death for so long; he's hard to kill, and if the Hero does succeed at killing him, Demise's essence simply ensures that he is eventually reborn anew. The Golden Trio Cycle was Demise's last 'screw you' towards the side of light, and a way to ensure that he'll continue to exist to trouble Hyrule."

"Wait a moment," Rarity said. "Even if we do manage to defeat him…what if it only means we have temporarily defeated him as well?"

"Oh no…Rarity has a point," Twilight bemoaned. "Even if we do defeat Ganon, will it only be temporary? Will he come back again long after we've all grown old and died, and our descendants have to deal with him? I…I don't think I could live with that on my conscience."

Vaati sighed. "I don't know. I really don't know. I don't want to think about it too hard. All of us have faced mortal peril before. While I admit that Ganon is far beyond any foe any of us have encountered in the past, letting that get to us is not going to help anyone in the long run. We need to focus on reclaiming the Elements of Harmony first, then we can worry about whether or not any of it's even worth it in the end."

Twilight forced a smile. "You're right. As long as we all work together…there's nothing we can't overcome! All of Equestria and beyond is depending on us! We'll get through this!"

She held out her hoof. Rainbow placed her hoof over Twilight's with a grin, Pinkie shortly following suit with an even bigger grin. Rarity soon did so as well, then Applejack, and then Fluttershy, tentatively. Finally Zecora placed her hoof on top, and then they all looked at Vaati expectantly. The sorcerer rolled his eyes melodramatically as he placed his hand over Zecora's hoof.

"Together!" Twilight called out.

"As friends!" the rest of the Mane Six responded enthusiastically as they all broke contact.

"That was cheesy," Vaati remarked. "Now let's get down to business before more of those oversized lizards find us."

"I think I remember where their dungeons are," Rarity said, taking the lead. "They tried to imprison me at one point, but I only made things worse for those poor souls in response."

All of them shared a smug grin amongst themselves at Rarity's reminder of her escapade here well over a year ago. "Lead the way, then," Vaati commanded. "But don't get too far ahead."

"Don't forget, Vaati," Rarity said with a dainty huff. "I may be a lady, but I can certainly take care of my…"

A deadly chorus of hisses cut her off.

"Oh dear…" Rarity muttered, her eyes as wide as saucers, as another group of Lizalfos emerged from the tunnel she had just been about to enter, glaring daggers at her.

Before the Lizalfos could assault her, an ominous shape rose up behind Rarity, casting its shadow over the lizardmen. Noticing the shadow, Rarity turned to see that Vaati had assumed his demon form and was glaring threateningly at the Lizalfos. With his large frame, horns, and wings, Vaati didn't have a lot of room to maneuver. But it was the shock factor he was going for; his appearance alone had momentarily paralyzed the monsters with fear, giving the others the perfect opportunity to dispatch them. Rarity slashed one Lizalfos's throat as Rainbow ran another through with her spear. Twilight blasted another against the wall with a powerful burst of magic. Vaati quickly finished it off with an Eye Sentry before returning to his human form.

"Handle yourself, huh?" Vaati sneered.

Rarity chuckled nervously and made sure to stay closer to them as she led them through the Diamond Dog tunnels. Luckily, no more Lizalfos patrols harassed them as Rarity led them on. Since they hadn't been here long, it was likely that the Lizalfos were taking their time mapping out the place so that the patrols wouldn't keep getting lost, which likely meant one thing.

"We haven't run into a lot of them so far," Vaati said out loud. "They might be using the main chamber as their base. That's probably where we'll find the rest of them."

"Why would they all be down there?" Twilight asked.

"Let's face it, Twilight," Vaati replied. "They likely know we're here now. They'll be fortifying their position in a place where they can put their advantage in numbers to greater use rather than be forced into a bottleneck through these tunnels. I imagine the prisons will be heavily guarded, though."

"I think we can manage the dungeon guards, at least," Rainbow said. "And after that, we can let the Diamond Dogs handle these chumps while we take out that dragon!"

After about ten more minutes of meandering through the vast network of tunnels, Vaati was about to open his mouth and question Rarity as to whether she actually knew where they were going or not when the unicorn in question raised a hoof. "We're almost there," she whispered. "I can hear a lot of activity down there."

Everyone stilled and pricked their ears to listen. They could hear the echoes of Lizalfos voices and hissing intermingled with the snarling and gruff voices of the Diamond Dogs, who were likely trying to provoke their jailors. They all crept up to the passageway that opened up into the dungeons, after which Vaati peeked over at the scene that awaited them.

The dungeons were filled to the brim with angry Diamond Dogs, barking, snarling, and hurling insults at the Lizalfos guards that were watching them. There were at least twenty Lizalfos in there, along with another lumbering, quadrupedal lizard with a thick skull that lay dozing in a corner. A Dinolfos appeared to be in charge of the guard detail, as it turned towards one of its flunkies from where it was sitting at a table and hissed, "Make 'em shut up over there! Can't 'ear meself think with all their yappin'! Go fish, Private."

The Lizalfos he was playing the aforementioned card game with grumbled as he looked at his cards. "If you wasn't my commandin' officer, I'd say you was cheatin' me."

Meanwhile, the guard that had been given orders waltzed up to one of the cells and rapped the hilt of its sword against the bars. "Quiet down in there, all 'o you! I've got half a mind to stick one of yeh like a bloody pig, so hush up 'fore one'a yeh finds yerself on tonight's menu!"

Vaati recognized one Diamond Dog in particular who pounded his fist against the bars one more time in anger before he shouted, "Simmer down, Dogs! We aren't helping ourselves any!"

"That sounded like Rover," Rarity whispered. "Thank goodness he's alright. What about his betas?"

"Since when did you care about your own kidnappers?" Vaati whispered back incredulously.

"Just answer the damned question, Vaati," Rarity chided, not wanting to be pulled into a morality debate of her own.

Vaati blinked at the harshness of Rarity's tone but let it slide as he looked over at the dungeons again. "Yeah, they're both there…hm, I think I see my Darknuts in there towards the back. Looks like most of them managed to survive."

"So what's our plan of attack?" Applejack asked.

"Simple; attack," Vaati replied.

Before anypony had time to process Vaati's response, Vaati waltzed into the dungeons and casually blasted several of the Lizalfos into the wall hard enough to knock them out. The sorcerer's entrance made the Dinolfos and Lizalfos drop their cards in surprise right before Vaati sliced the Dinolfos's head clean off. Still in shock, the Lizalfos looked down at his commander's abandoned cards.

"I was right! 'e was cheatin' me!"

He too was promptly smashed against the wall for his trouble.

Once the guards had been taken care of, Vaati strode up to the unconscious Lizalfos that possessed the keys and tugged it off its belt. As Vaati stood upright, he heard someone banging on the bars. "Lord Vaati! Look out!"

Vaati barely had time to register the Darknut that had cried out to him before he suddenly felt all the air knocked out of him as something slammed into him like a freight train.

"VAATI!"

Suddenly, the monster that had body-slammed the sorcerer was enveloped in a magical aura and sent hurtling into the wall, allowing Vaati to fall on his back in a heap. "Vaati, are you okay?" Twilight cried as she and the other ponies rushed in.

Vaati lifted up his head long enough to say, "No, Ezlo, I said two teaspoons of sugar in my waffles."

And then he was out like a light.

Meanwhile, the beast that had attacked him had managed to right itself and pawed at the ground in preparation to charge again. "Twilight, what is that thing?!" Rainbow demanded.

"That must be a Helmasaur!" Twilight responded as she tended to Vaati. "Keep it busy while I help Vaati!"

Rainbow saluted as she swooped down and poked at the Helmasaur's eye with the butt of her lance. "Hey, chump! Up here! Look at me!"

The Helmasaur snarled and spat a fireball at Rainbow, who nimbly dodged the attack. "Is that all you got?!" she goaded.

The Helmasaur didn't get a chance to show her, as Pinkie Pie snuck up behind it and sent her axe crashing into its back, severing the spine. The Helmasaur let out a dying shriek as it collapsed, unmoving. Pinkie grunted as she dislodged her weapon from the corpse. Twilight lifted Vaati's head up as she poured a small dose of Red Potion down his throat, allowing him to come to with a groan. "Ugh…can't believe I didn't see that damned thing coming," he grunted as he slowly stood.

"YOU!" Rover finally cried, recognizing his people's saviors and pointing furiously at them. "What are you doing here?!"

"Saving you," Rarity replied shortly as she levitated the keys off of the guard. "The least you could do is say thank you."

Rover shut his mouth as Rarity's point registered with him. The Diamond Dogs and Darknuts stepped back as Rarity unlocked each of their cells. Rover begrudgingly muttered a word of thanks as he and his packmates exited their prisons. "You!" Vaati commanded one of the Darknuts that had been imprisoned alongside their charges. "Where have the Lizalfos put all your weapons and armor?"

"They're keeping all of them in one of the nearby chambers," Fido, the larger of Rover's two main cronies, answered for him.

"And the dragon," Vaati pressed, choosing to ignore the interruption. "Where is it?"

Rover's eyes closed as he shivered. "W-we don't know. But those giant lizards…they have frequently been threatening us. They say we will be fed to it, and that they will eat our pups themselves."

"Not if we can help it," Rarity spoke up. "Don't worry, dear. That dragon won't be making a meal out of any of you."

"Is the red-haired demon still with them?" Spot asked, shuddering.

Vaati shook his head. "No, Ganon's long gone. I take it he's the reason all of you ended up in your own dungeons?"

Rover nodded bitterly. "We…we were helpless before him. We could not hurt him, but he could hurt us. We were little puppies compared to him. The lizards did not come until after we were imprisoned."

Vaati smirked. "Then now's the time for you to gain your revenge. We need your help in getting past all the Lizalfos and dragonkin blocking off Volvagia's lair, wherever it is."

"You're going to fight the dragon?!" Fido exclaimed disbelievingly.

"You're damned right we are," Vaati replied. "He's guarding something important of ours and we need it back if we're going to stand a chance at defeating Ganon. You all just worry about the Lizalfos; we'll handle Volvagia."

"You know where the main chamber is?" Rover asked.

"I can use my gem-finding spell to lead us there," Rarity informed them.

Rover grunted as he was reminded of the kidnapping incident. "We will go and reclaim our weapons," one of the Darknuts intoned. "We will meet you at the main chamber, milord."

"Get going, then, all of you!" Vaati demanded. "Prepare for battle!"

XXXXXX

Diamond Dog Mines, 1F, Main Chamber…

Soon afterwards, Vaati and the others arrived at the main chamber and took in the sight that awaited them.

At least three hundred Lizalfos, along with a few Dodongos and Helmasaurs, were gathered in preparation for their arrival. It appeared that the invaders had been expecting Vaati to free the captive Diamond Dogs and lead them into battle, for the Lizalfos army had fortified their positions, erecting wooden barricades around their camp, as well as planting sharpened stakes to delay their advance. Archers stood at the ready behind the barricades, while the swordsmen and spearmen assembled just ahead of them in a four man thick line. Standing on a boulder so that he could survey the battlefield was an unusual Lizalfos who stood out from the rest in that he had wings like a dragon. In his hands were a well-crafted straight-edged sword and a round shield, and a steel helmet that tapered to two points over his head. A necklace of bones and teeth hung around his neck. The way he was standing above his brethren, along with his uniqueness, immediately profiled him as the leader of the Lizalfos warband.

As he surveyed the force arrayed against them, Vaati glanced at Twilight and said, "I'll take the leader. I want you girls to focus on finding any new tunnels that may lead to Volvagia's lair. It will be emitting a heat source and will probably be somewhere in their camp. Once you find it, alert me so that we can press on while the mutts keep these lizards distracted."

Suddenly the Aerolfos leader cleared his throat and issued his challenge. "I am Sul-Kat-Na, Son of Dragons, and ruler of all Lizalfos clans! You stand accused of treason against our lord and master! Surrender yourselves and Lord Ganondorf may see fit to spare you!"

"Treason?!" Vaati laughed. "Ganon is no lord of mine, or of Equestria! Step aside so that we may deal with the dragon, or none of you shall live to see the next sunrise!"

"You shall not pass!" Sul-Kat-Na declared. "This is where you shall die, sorcerer!"

Vaati's smirk widened. "I think you've got that backwards, Aerolfos." As soon as he said that, the sounds of baying hounds echoed throughout the chamber. "I believe this is where all of you shall die!"

Suddenly, Rover, Fido, and Spot, all wearing armor, emerged from one of the other tunnels that opened up into the main chamber. "Diamond Dogs! Attack!" Rover commanded, wielding a mace of impressive size.

At their Alpha's beckoning, hundreds of armored Diamond Dogs, as well as Vaati's surviving Darknuts, poured into the main chamber. This moment of distraction was all that Vaati needed. The Wind Mage cast his hands up and unleashed a powerful burst of wind energy that toppled most of the Lizalfos and their fortifications. Sul-Kat-Na was the first to regain his footing. "Attack! Attaaaack!" he cried, attempting to rally his disoriented soldiers.

"Let's go, girls!" Vaati ordered, summoning his rapier and joining the charge.

"Alright, let's do this!" Rainbow declared as she and the other girls joined as well.

By the time most of the Lizalfos had recovered their bearings, the horde of Diamond Dogs was upon them, and the two opposing armies clashed to the sounds of ringing steel, colliding bodies, the screeches and hisses of Lizalfos, and the howling and baying of Diamond Dogs.

Rainbow dodged a Dinolfos's fire breath before running it through with her lance. She was almost bowled over by a falling Diamond Dog before its killer, a Lizalfos swordsman, turned its attention towards her. It let out a shrill cry as it swung its weapon at her. Rainbow quickly parried before taking to the air and delivering a swift kick to the monster's face hard enough to knock it out.

Rarity cut down a Dinolfos just in time to see a Helmasaur charging right at her. Yelping in surprise, Rarity leapt aside, dodging the attack. The Helmasaur skidded to a halt right before Rarity plunged her sword into its back. Suddenly a Lizalfos came at her, sword raised. Seeing this, Rarity dodged the swing and kicked it in the knee with enough force to break its leg. The Lizalfos shrieked in agony as it fell to the ground before Rarity cut its cries short with a swift beheading.

Zecora mostly dodged her attackers, as she did not have a weapon to fight with other than her potions, which would do more harm than good due to the presence of numerous allies who could also be affected by them. Fluttershy was close by her, whimpering in terror and trying to keep her eyes away from the intense battle around her. "Be quick and hurry, Fluttershy!" Zecora yelled. "To find the dragon's lair, this battle we must pass by!"

Pinkie wielded her axe with amazing dexterity, parrying and dodging with surprising skill, and each blow she landed was fatal. While she did not enjoy having to fight and kill, she knew it was necessary in order to save Equestria. Her Pinkie Sense instantly alerted her to danger as a Dodongo attempted to roast her with its fire breath. Pinkie nimbly dodged the wave of flames and slew the beast with a mighty blow into its back. She then quickly leapt away as the Dodongo's body exploded.

Applejack ran up to a Lizalfos and bucked it hard in the chest, caving in its armor as it was knocked several meters back. Another Lizalfos came at her, brandishing a spear. Applejack knocked it aside with a hoof and stomped on the shaft, breaking it. The Lizalfos had a split-second to regard its destroyed weapon with open-mouthed shock before it too found itself experiencing the business end of Applejack's hind legs.

Rover proved himself to be much more capable in combat than kidnapping, swinging his mace with incredible dexterity. No Lizalfos was a match for his strength, and with his two Betas backing him up, he was unstoppable. A Helmasaur charged at him, but the Diamond Dog leader saw it coming and smashed his mace over its head with enough strength to cave in even its hardened skull, dropping it. With each swing of his mace, a Lizalfos fell. Many a foe quailed before his fierceness.

Twilight put up a magical barrier around herself as she pushed her way through the embattled hordes of Diamond Dogs, Lizalfos, and the occasional Darknut and Helmasaur. Weapons and fire bounced harmlessly off her shield as she made her way towards the Lizalfos camp to search for the entrance to Volvagia's lair. Eventually she broke past the battle and entered the camp, which was void of activity. "Alright," she said to herself, dropping her shield as she began to search. "Find a hole with a heat source. Heat source, heat source…"

Her attention was suddenly drawn to a new tunnel that went further beneath the earth, a faint orange glow flickering from within. "Found it!" Twilight cried.

She turned around just in time to see Sul-Kat-Na bearing down on her, his sword pointed right at her throat. She only had time to gasp in terror.

"TWILIGHT!"

Sul-Kat-Na was abruptly blown aside by a powerful gust of wind as Vaati arrived on the scene. "Get behind me!" he shouted. "I'll deal with this miscreant!"

The Aerolfos rose to his feet and flapped his wings once in hesitation, less willing to face the infamous Sorcerer of Winds in combat now that he was alone. But Sul-Kat-Na visibly steeled himself for a fight he knew he was likely to lose, for Din's honor was sacred to all monsters; he would never run from a fight. The Lizalfos leader leveled his blade at Vaati.

"You do realize you don't stand a chance against me, right?" Vaati arrogantly proclaimed.

"That may be," Sul-Kat-Na spoke. "But on Din's honor and my own, I'll never back down."

Vaati twirled his sword in his hand. "A respectable belief. Too bad it won't save you."

Sul-Kat-Na let out a shrill cry as he charged. Vaati smoothly deflected the incoming blow and retaliated with impressive speed. To the sorcerer's surprise, Sul-Kat-Na managed to parry every blow with either his sword or shield before going on the offensive. Vaati took a few steps back as he parried the series of strikes before lashing back with a series of thrusts and slashes. Again, Sul-Kat-Na blocked them all, but this time he took to the air. He flew a circle around the battlefield before coming at Vaati again with sword raised high. Vaati quickly parried, but found himself stumbling back a bit from the strength of the blow. Sul-Kat-Na retreated back into the skies in order to repeat his attack. "Oh, you're not going to try that a second time," Vaati intoned.

As the Aerolfos dove at him again, Vaati raised his hand, forcing the air out of Sul-Kat-Na's wings. With a cry of shock, Sul-Kat-Na fell hard against the ground, the wind knocked out of him in more ways than one. Vaati strode up to the fallen Aerolfos. "Have you forgotten that I am the master of the wind and sky?" he taunted smugly. "Or did that pigheaded honor pledge of yours conveniently remove that from…"

A wave of fire cut the Sorcerer of Winds' boast short. He was barely able to erect a shield in time, but parts of his clothes had already caught fire. Vaati dispelled the shield and patted out the flames, giving Sul-Kat-Na time to recover. Once the flames were extinguished, Vaati leveled a wicked glare at the Aerolfos. "Oh, it's on now."

"Why do you think I am called Son of Dragons in the common tongue?" Sul-Kat-Na boasted.

Vaati didn't grace his enemy with a reply, instead choosing to unleash a hail of fireballs from his palms. Sul-Kat-Na's eyes widened as he attempted to dodge, but Vaati's reflexes were faster. Sul-Kat-Na yelped as he was hit with multiple fireballs and fell back to earth. Sul-Kat-Na weakly shook his head and saw his sword lying within arm's reach. Just as he grasped its handle, though, Vaati's foot stamped down upon his arm, pinning it in place. "I think not," Vaati spoke, his voice dangerously low. "This fight is over."

Sul-Kat-Na stared death in the face with conviction. "Aye…it is," he admitted, bowing his head in respect and waiting for the end.

Vaati raised his sword to finish off his foe.

"Vaati…wait," Twilight suddenly said.

Vaati sighed, somehow knowing what was coming. "Let me guess. You want me to spare his life, don't you?"

"I know, I know, you get this a lot," Twilight conceded. "But…I don't know, it doesn't seem right. He's not evil, just serving an evil master."

"It would be wise to kill me, pony," Sul-Kat-Na spoke from where he lay. "Any loyalty I hold towards Ganon is magically enforced. I could not disobey him if I wanted to."

"Then we're going to break whatever spell he holds over you," Twilight answered with conviction.

Vaati's eyes widened in surprise. "Are you serious, Twilight? That spell can't be broken! It will last forever so long as Demise's essence is tied to the mortal plane through Ganon's existence! And since Demise's curse prevents Ganon from being killed permanently, I don't see how such a spell can be broken!"

"Any spell can be broken, Vaati!" Twilight answered. "I know it! I know the Elements can do it!"

Vaati rolled his eyes before glaring down at Sul-Kat-Na. "You should consider yourself very fortunate that Equestrians are stupidly forgiving. I'll agree to spare you if you order your soldiers to lay down your arms."

Sul-Kat-Na thought about this. To be fair, Ganondorf had not explicitly mentioned that he could not surrender if he lost the battle, likely because such a thing had not occurred to the King of Darkness. "…Very well. For sparing my life, I shall grant you this honor," he acquiesced before looking towards the battlefield, where it was clear that his forces were losing. "Lay down your arms, my brethren!"

At that, the fighting ceased as the Lizalfos looked at their leader in shock. "Lay down your arms!" Sul-Kat-Na repeated. "This battle is lost!"

Several moments of silence went by before the remaining Lizalfos complied, dropping their weapons and surrendering to the victorious Diamond Dogs and Darknuts. "I have serious doubts about this, Twilight," Vaati said as he lifted his foot, allowing Sul-Kat-Na to stand. "You had better be right."

"What'll be done with them in the meantime?" Twilight asked.

"They'll be put in the dungeons!" Rover answered as he came up to them. "Let's see how they like being crammed in there!"

"Please don't mistreat them," Twilight begged. "It's not their fault they're bound to serve whoever summons them."

Rover rolled his eyes as Zecora and the rest of the Mane Six caught up to them. "Fine," he grumbled. "Dogs! Round up the prisoners and put them in the dungeons!" Rover then rounded on Vaati. "I'm coming with you. We Diamond Dogs have a score to settle with the red-haired beast."

"His name is Ganon," Vaati informed. "And we have other places to go after we kill the dragon. So unless you're ready to go on a long journey with people and ponies you don't like and face even greater dangers, I advise against it."

"I will go," Rover repeated firmly. "I want to smash that great big nose of his into his skull!"

"If he wants to come, that's his choice, Vaati," Rarity spoke up. "The more, the merrier, I say."

Vaati sighed again. "If you insist." He then glanced at Rover. "For what it's worth, I have enough wealth to last me a lifetime, honestly. After this is over, I'm releasing your pack from my service."

Rover blinked in surprise. "We're…free?"

"I'll be ordering my Darknuts to relocate back to Ponyville as well. They're needed more there."

Rover grinned and cried, "You hear that, Dogs?! We're back in business!"

The Diamond Dogs all howled in elation at the news, relieved that they could go back to their way of life, mining jewels solely for themselves. "Twilight, have you found Volvagia's lair?" Vaati asked over the din.

"Mhm!" Twilight nodded. "Over here!"

She led them over to the hole she had found earlier. Vaati looked in and spoke up, "You all ready for this?"

Everyone silently nodded.

"Good," Vaati said. "I don't know how it is with Equestrian dragons, but the dragons of Hyrule are resistant to magic. Volvagia's weakness is his head, if I recall. Rover, that's where you can come in, since you're the only one out of all of us with a half-decent bludgeoning instrument."

Rover grinned darkly as he patted his mace in his paw. "What are we waiting for?!" he snarled.

With Vaati in the lead, the group of ponies, zebra, and Diamond Dog descended into the tunnel, leaving the rest of the Diamond Dogs behind to deal with the prisoners. The deeper they went in, the warmer it became.

"Sheesh!" Rainbow commented, wiping the sweat off her brow. "Why's it getting so hot in here?"

"Volvagia is known as the Fire Drake of Death Mountain for a reason," Vaati replied. "It is believed he was born from the very heart of the earth, crafted from molten rock by Din herself. Thus, he prefers to be in a heated environment. What we're feeling now is just his body heat. If we let him lair here for long enough, he would dig his way so deep beneath the earth that he would create a volcano right on Ponyville's doorstep to house himself in."

"There's p-plenty of volcanoes far a-away from h-here," Fluttershy whimpered, expecting the dragon in question to come charging in at any moment. "And w-with other dragons, too! W-why can't he j-just go there?"

"Because Ganon ordered him to stay here and guard your Element, remember?" Vaati reminded her.

Fluttershy lowered her eyes as she took this information in, a multitude of thoughts and ideas whirling in her mind at the implications. He has to stay because Ganon's making him. He can't leave because he has to guard my Element. But if he doesn't have my Element anymore, could we convince him to go away and live with the other dragons? Oh, but don't we have to…k-k-kill him to get my Element back? Oh…I don't want it to come to that. I hate anyone getting hurt for things they can't help. What can I do…?

She was abruptly pulled from her thoughts by a thunderous growl just as Vaati's entourage entered a larger chamber which served as Volvagia's lair. Everyone halted and looked at the foe they were about to face as it slithered out from behind a boulder, floating lazily in the air. The Fire Drake of Death Mountain was a nearly sixty foot long lindwyrm with scales like coagulated lava. Its mane was a raging flame. Its pupil-less green eyes bore into its soon-to-be victims. Volvagia let out a piercing roar at the invaders, sending a rush of sweltering hot air in their direction.

"Time to show this oversized lizard who's boss!" Vaati cried.

Volvagia struck first, unleashing a torrent of white-hot flames. Vaati swept the flames aside with his wind magic, but just as he was about to follow up with a Razor Wind, Volvagia seized a boulder and chucked it at the group. All of them cried out as they dove aside, separating them. The boulder fell over the tunnel entrance, blocking off their escape route.

"Agh! We're trapped in here!" Rarity cried out.

"Damn! We'd better kill this thing quick, or we'll all die of heatstroke in here!" Vaati snarled, getting back to his feet.

Volvagia snarled as it regarded them with hungry eyes. Fluttershy gasped in horror as its gaze centered on her, as she happened to be the closest one to it. Volvagia then slithered down towards the ground and shrieked right into her face, as if protesting the indignancy of the invasion of its lair.

Vaati and the rest of the Mane Six's eyes widened. "Fluttershy!" they all cried.

"Get back, you fool!" Vaati bellowed.

Volvagia glanced up at the rest of them, and Fluttershy knew what she had to do. It was now or never.

"HEY!"

Everyone promptly went dead silent as Fluttershy caught Volvagia's attention again. But when the dragon glared into her eyes, it was not expecting the steely gaze that the timid pony was returning. It was a look that somehow pinned the subterranean lava dragon in place, preventing it from looking away. The deeper it gazed into those icy blue irises, the deeper they penetrated into Volvagia's soul, and its flame died in its throat.

Vaati and the Mane Six finally realized what was going on as they observed. She was giving Volvagia the Stare.

And it was working.

"You should be ashamed of yourself!" Fluttershy admonished. "Coming into these innocent creatures' home and taking it over! How can you be so selfish?!"

Volvagia was too transfixed by her Stare to reply in any way, but her words began to stir something deep inside the volcanic lindwyrm's heart.

Shame.

"And then you threaten to eat these poor Diamond Dogs too, especially when there's all these jewels around that are so much healthier to eat! What would your mother think?!"

"No! Don't give away our jewels!" Rover desperately yelped.

"Shut up!" Rainbow hissed.

At Fluttershy's words, the orders Ganon had implemented in Volvagia's mind seemed to drift further and further away from consciousness, especially at the mention of its mother, the sweet-natured Gleerok, who most certainly would not have approved of Volvagia's behavior. Volvagia unwittingly let out a small whimper, and its meaning was clear to Fluttershy; Volvagia missed its mother. The fire drake then let out a series of whimpers, rumbles, and grunts that told Fluttershy a heart-wrenching tale.

Volvagia lived with its mother, Gleerok, the gentle, white-scaled sister of the more violent three-headed dragon, Gleeok, deep inside the heart of Death Mountain, at that time known as Mount Crenel. One day, while Volvagia was still a young hatchling not even old enough to fend for itself, a dark presence invaded Gleerok's nest. Feeling threatened, Gleerok tried to usher her chick to safety, but when she had turned to face the dark force, it changed her into a raging monster that did not recognize her own child. Scared and confused, Volvagia fled. And that was the last time it ever saw its mother, for when it finally returned several days later, Gleerok was dead, killed by the Hero of Legend, who had seen it as just another beast to kill. The Gorons had praised him for killing its mother and promptly made her lair their home; Volvagia would never forgive them for that. As it finished its tale in its guttural language, it let out a low, mournful whine that subtly tugged at everyone's heartstrings like a violin bow.

Fluttershy's expression softened considerably, her heart breaking for this poor creature that had lost so much while so young, left with nothing but anger, hatred, confusion, and hurt to keep it going. She would have petted the dragon's snout were it not for the heat its body was constantly radiating. "Oh, no, no, don't cry. Please don't cry. I didn't mean to make you feel bad about your mom. If you could just let me have my Element back and give these poor creatures back their home, I can tell you where you can find other dragons, and maybe you won't feel so lonely anymore."

Volvagia gave her a questioning rumble, as if asking her if there were actually other dragons out there.

Understanding this, Fluttershy smiled and nodded. "Of course! There are lots of dragons in our world! They won't be hard to find at all!"

"…I don't believe what I'm seeing," Vaati murmured, slack-jawed at the scene before him. "She actually just tamed the Bane of the freaking Gorons."

Volvagia rumbled a reply that Fluttershy interpreted as a question regarding jewels. Certainly there weren't enough of them in this world to fully live off of, were there? "Why, there's plenty of caves out there just like this, bursting at the seams with all kinds of delicious gems!" Fluttershy exclaimed. "Just make sure when you do find one that nopony else is already living there, okay?"

Volvagia nodded its head, looking into her eyes, eyes that reminded the burning lindwyrm of its beloved mother, who had often looked upon it with equal compassion. Fluttershy held Volvagia's gaze as she felt her Element of Kindness materialize around her neck. With her Element returned, Fluttershy beamed and hugged Volvagia's snout. The Element of Kindness's power, augmented by the warmness of her heart, protected her from Volvagia's intense body heat. "And if the other dragons are mean to you, there's another mountain close by with lots of jewels you can live in, and I'll come and visit you so you won't be lonely. How's that sound?" Fluttershy asked, smiling warmly.

Volvagia purred its approval, smoke issuing from its nostrils.

XXXXXX

Outside the Diamond Dog Mines, 15 minutes later…

Vaati, the Mane Six, Zecora, and all the Diamond Dogs watched as Volvagia soared away towards the nesting grounds of the Dragon Kingdom, slithering gracefully through the air. As the dragon slowly vanished over the horizon, Vaati sighed. "Well, that's that, then, I suppose. Onward to the Changeling Hive, then?"

Rover looked at his two Betas. "You two! Keep these mutts working while I'm gone!"

Spot and Fido saluted. "We'll have lots and lots of gems dug up by the time you get back!" Spot said.

"Yeah! Lots of gems!" Fido echoed eagerly.

Rover grinned at his cohorts. He wouldn't admit it out loud, but he was certainly going to miss them.

"We should stop by Appleloosa first, on our way there," Twilight spoke up. "It sits right on the edge of the desert where the Badlands are located. Even if everypony's evacuated already, we can still rest there, restock our supplies, and take some time to come up with a plan to deal with the Gohma."

"Agreed," Vaati consented. "Now let's head out. The sooner we recover the next Element, the better." The sorcerer glanced down at Fluttershy, who was still watching Volvagia's retreating figure with a compassionate smile. "You ponies really do manage to amaze the Dark World out of me sometimes, you know that?"

"Oh, there's nothing to be surprised about," Fluttershy replied. "Miss Volvagia's really sweet once you get to know her."

Vaati was about to reply with an off-handed comment when Fluttershy's words fully registered with him.

"…VOLVAGIA'S A GIRL?!"

XXXXXX

Palace of Winds, Scootaloo's bedroom…

Scootaloo sighed dejectedly as she shrugged off her bookbag and flung herself onto her bed. The Palace was uncomfortably quiet, since the monsters were down on the surface readying Ponyville for attack, and her dad was off saving Equestria. Scootaloo wiped a tear from her eye at that thought.

"I miss you, Daddy…"

She was just so tired from all of this, and once Applebloom insisted she have some time just to herself and some new filly named Ruby, Scootaloo had just decided to go home and rest.

And rest she did, heedless of the dark power that stirred as she slipped into the quiet embrace of sleep.

XXXXXX

Your father cannot escape me…

Scootaloo moaned as she twisted uncomfortably in her sleep.

Your father is bound to me by the strings of fate… the unknown voice that was not quite there spoke again.

Scootaloo shivered, her breath hitching in her throat as she tossed and turned.

My time is coming…

Vaati will pay for attempting to escape his destiny…Your world will suffer for housing him…

Equestria…

will…

BURN.

Scootaloo awoke to the sounds of her own screaming.