A rushing wind filled the chamber as the great beast’s lungs expanded. It reversed sending heated and arid air back in the ponies faces.
“I am Smaug. I am desolation. I am king of this place.” With every word the dragon raised itself higher until it towered over them, the great canopy of its stretched wings blotted out any view of the chamber’s ceiling. “Who dares approach my throne?”
Luna took a single step forward. She had to crane her neck uncomfortably to look at Smaug’s face and his sheer presence was enough to give her some pause. “I am Princess Luna of Equestria.”
“Do not try and hide your name before me Dreamslayer!” the earth shook and dust fell from the ceiling at Smaug’s outburst. “You were supposed to be gone, the dark undying sister was supposed to have learned what it meant to live and die by the sword. Why are you here?”
“I have come to retrieve an artifact Equestria has need of. If you would part with it you would be reimbursed handsomely and counted as a friend of ponies for centuries to come.”
“You insult me! I will not barter away my hoard and I would never count myself a friend to anything, especially not your filthy mortal spawn! Begone and let me return to my slumber or bathe in my fire.”
“If you will not respect my offer then you will respect my claim,” Luna said as she squared her shoulders. “This is a pony fortress and everything here is mine by right. I am Luna, daughter of High King Monoceros, the only king I recognize under this mountain, and you will return my property.”
Smaugs deep chuckle pulsed through the cavern, as much a physical force as a sound. It resonated in the ponies’ chests, forcing their hearts to beat in time with his amusement.
“I thought it was your sister who commanded the fires of dawn. As a token of my…amusement at such brazen words you may keep the pittance you woke me with and the lives of your cohorts. I shall not offer such generous terms twice.”
“Please, I would beg of you—“
“The Dreamslayer would beg, now that is a sight worthy of a dragon’s reward,” Smaug said with a smirk.
Luna’s eyes widened with surprise.
“You are unused to this. Begging is done from one’s knees Dreamslayer.”
Luna’s hoof ground into the rock beneath her. She turned her head to regard the ponies behind her. Most cowered back towards the tunnels leading out. Their wide white eyes pointed up towards the impossibly huge dragon. Her guards stood before them, Morning Star nervously shifted his weight while his eyes darted around, watching Smaug’s limbs for any movement. Moon Shadow favored her injured leg beside him. Her lips curled back in anger revealing her fangs, and her slitted eyes met Luna’s a level glare that screamed for death.
Luna closed her eyes slowly. How often had she condemned ponies in her mind for refusing to bend their stubborn pride? The solution was obvious, swallow her pride and bend her knees. Let the dragon have his amusement in exchange for a peaceful resolution.
Her body rebelled, her heart hammered in her chest. Her hooves ground the stone beneath them, looking for grip for the charge that was to come. She could feel her clenched teeth seeking to elongate into fangs and her closed eyes trying to shape themselves into slitted pupils as a more aggressive form sought to overtake her.
She took deep, gasping breaths as she fought once again for control over her body. Slowly she forced her chest lower. One by one her front legs folded to their knees.
“I beg you…”
“…You kneel but you are not humbled,” Smaug said bringing his face lower. “You can do better than this Dreamslayer.”
Luna stifled a frustrated sigh.
“I beg you--” She started again in a threatening growl.
“Ah, ah, ahh. That does not sound like a demure princess making a request to a dragon.”
“I beg you,” Luna tried again, “please let me take the journal.”
Smaug hummed, bringing a claw up to scratch his chin. “It is a start, perhaps you should try some flattery.”
Luna said nothing for a moment as she clenched her teeth to fight back her anger.
“Please,” She finally said, “O great dragon, I call upon your boundless generosity and ask that you allow me only a small trinket of your great hoard.”
“You come before my throne,” Smaug said.
“Yes.”
“Where I am king.”
“Yes.”
“Where I am the greatest king to have ever reigned.”
“Yes,” Luna growled through clenched teeth.
A deep thrumming filled the chamber. It slowly built on itself until Smaug’s chuckle weighed down on the ponies like a physical force.
“Has the Dawnfire truly broken you so?” Smaug asked smugly as he brought his huge head down to hover over the ponies. “I am amused but I am not fulfilled. Let us see what may be offered by your companions.”
Smaug brought his snout over Big Mac and sniffed. “This one is earth, toil, and sweat,” he said as Mac flinched away from his scalding breath.
Between Morning Star and Moon Shadow he said, “These are blood and steel. Favorites of yours Dreamslayer?”
“This one,” He said over Cross, “I do not recognize this scent, it is like magic but diluted. Bah.” His head moved until it was hovering over Lyra and Bon Bon. “Ahh, Music, and plenty. Excellent,” He said turning back to Luna. “Their flesh will break my fast and you will have what it is you seek.”
A wave of magic slammed into Smaug’s neck, sending his head back until it crashed against the wall.
As dust rained down Luna’s voice rose up like a terrible banshee’s call. “You will not touch my friends wyrm.”
Her magic gripped Smaug by the throat again and dragged his head across the cavern until it slammed into the opposite wall. Rocks rained down causing the ponies to scatter. A second slam caused the entrance tunnel to cave in before Smaug’s claw came up and ripped Luna’s magical grip away.
“ENOUGH!!” he thundered, causing even more debris to rain down from the ceiling. “Your insult to my generosity will cost you your life!”
Luna’s blue magic sprang up in an instant creating a ramp that Smaug’s fire glanced off of and into the air. Morning Star stepped up beside her to lend his strength to the shield only to get roughly pushed back.
“He is mine alone!” Luna shouted out.
Morning Star hesitated for a split second. One look at the magma boiling outside of Luna’s shield was enough for him to realize this fight was beyond him.
Big Mac grunted in pain as yet another rock bounced off of his back. He stood stubbornly over Bon Bon as rocks rained down. He could feel the earth shifting around them. Their exit had closed but the stone’s seemed to whisper to him to be patient.
Lyra and Cross held each other tightly. A shield of their combined magic flickered weakly above them as more rocks slammed down around them.
Moon Shadow shouted once again, but she couldn’t be heard over the roaring dragon or the falling rocks. She could see a small dent in the farmer’s back that was telling of at least one broken rib but he still stood over the smaller pony who was too scared to move.
It would have been noble if it weren’t so stupid. She tried shouting at them once again to get to the walls where less rocks fell but she seemed to accomplish nothing.
She saw Morning silhouetted against Smaug’s fire and Luna’s shield running back to them. He held his head up high, trying to dodge rocks as he made his way to the farmer.
“Get them to the wall!” she shouted to him.
His head turned towards her and for a moment Moon thought she had finally been heard. Then he charged towards her, his horn glowing to form an unneeded shield above her. She tried to wave him off but he would not be deterred. Even a rock crashing down on his hindquarters only caused him to miss a step.
“You bucking moron!” Moon screamed at him. “I’m safe, go get them.” She said pointing at Mac and Bon Bon.
Morning turned his head to the two just as a loud crack split the cavern. To his right an entire wall seemed to collapse in on itself. Dust billowed out in a great wave but powerful updrafts from the dragonfire caught the black cloud and pulled it away revealing another craggy entrance.
After nearly a full minute of spewing fire Luna saw Smaug pause to take a breath. She turned to glimpse behind her, praying that her friends had survived whatever collapse had occurred while she deflected the dragonfire.
Six ponies gaped at a pile of rubble where the entrance once stood. It peaked at the second level of the old castle and provided a crude staircase to a passageway that had been revealed.
“Fly you fools!” she cried out as she charged towards Smaug.
Cross and Lyra were the first to react. With speed born of panic they scrambled up the pile of rubble. Mac and Bon Bon followed close behind with Mac favoring one of his forelegs.
Morning Star stepped in place for a moment. His head pivoted between the escape and the fight before an armored hoof connected with the back of it.
“She ordered us to get out, we’d just be in the way,” Moon Shadow shouted.
“Fine,” Morning Star growled in return.
He started towards the exit only to get stopped by a sharp tug at his tail. A rock as big as his head slammed down in front of him.
“Hug the wall unless you really want that helmet to cup the other way.”
Morning gave a slight nod and began to make his way towards the exit. Moon Shadow followed behind him using a wing to help support herself on the wall.
Once they reached the mound of rubble leading up to the exit Morning Star began climbing with Moon Shadow following behind. About halfway up he turned around to see Moon Shadow struggling to clamber over the first large rock. He berated himself for leaving her behind as he made his way down to her.
He offered her a hoof only to get it slapped away.
“Go on I’ll catch up.”
“I’m not leaving you!” he said back as he moved to support her.
“I don’t need your help!” she shouted as she pushed him away. Overbalanced from the push she fell back down the pile of rubble and lost whatever progress she had made.
Morning Star leapt down to her side and checked fretfully on her wounded leg. “Are you alright?”
“I’m fine,” she growled. “Get out of here, I’ll catch up.”
“No,” Morning said. “I’m not letting you get yourself killed.”
The cave lit up slightly with the dark golden aura of his magic as it wrapped itself around Moon Shadow.
“You put me down you arrogant bonehead!” Moon Shadow protested as she floated gently towards the exit.
Morning Star’s face was a stony mask as he made his way up the pile of rubble.
“You listen to me you pinheaded, stickbrained idiot!” Moon Shadow’s ranting echoed harshly off of the walls of the exit tunnel as she glared daggers at the unicorn still holding her.
Morning Star caught sight of Big Mac looking back at them. He couldn’t tell if the tension in his face came from overhearing Moon Shadow or from wounds he had taken from falling rocks. Both their eyes turned fearfully up as a muffled boom sounded behind them and an ominous rumbling started above them. Even Moon Shadow paused her tirade nervously a second before the ceiling fell.