Dream sighs, her hoof hovering just an inch from the entrance to her princess’s dream realm, the glowing, pulsing mass representing the mind of the night princess and the possible reprimand that waited beyond. She had failed in her duties, she had let her emotions get the better of her, and she had left the six she was bound to protect alone for 3 whole days, allowing who-knew-what an opportunity to hurt them. She had, more or less, gone AWOL. But like any good guard, she would face the consequences with her head held high! She and the Princess were both adults here, and whatever happened she would receive with dignity and grace.
The Dream Warden bit her lip, took a breath, and entered Luna’s dream, immediately becoming aware of her surroundings. She was sitting at a very small desk, her mane done up in pigtails, a short plaid skirt and a button up white shirt adorning her body. She barely had a chance to say “What the fu-” Before a ruler slapped down on her desk.
“Foul language will not be tolerated in our classroom, Miss Weaver” Princess Luna said. She turned to look at Luna, and what she saw made her freeze in place. Luna was wearing a rather short, black miniskirt, an equally tight button up blouse, her mane had been pulled back into a bun, and a pair of glasses were perched slightly crookedly on her muzzle. As she walked towards the chalkboard, Dream also noted, with a deep blush, that she was wearing stockings! Luna turned to face her.
“Ist there something thou would like to share with the class?” she asked pointedly, deepening Dreamy’s blush.
“M-maybe I should go, this doesn’t seem like a good time.”
“Nonsense!” Luna barked. “Thou wilt give us thy report, as per our agreement! We hath heard through hearsay that thou hast made quite the discovery in Ponyville?”
Dream could only gulp. This was it...she knew Luna knew. Luna knew that she knew that Luna knew. Now all that was left was admitting her guilt.
“I...found out my mother, after she left my father, had another child. We...umm...met in Ponyville and I kinda...sorta...ruined her magic act and hid in my shop for 3 days”
Luna nodded, making her way back towards Dream. “We see...what happened next?”
“Well...I quickly got back together with the girls, and I resumed my dut-” The ruler came down on her desk with a sharp “THWACK!” that forced a squeak from Dream.
“Thou hast omitted the part we were most interested in.” Luna said cooly
“I...I have?” she asked, as Luna stared her down.
“Did thou forgive the daughter for the sins of thy mother?” Luna asked, drawing closer
“Umm..yeah?”
“Did thou offer thy sister friendship and accept her with open arms?” Luna pressed on, now right up against the desk.
“Yes...yes I did…” Dream said softly “But I don’t see..”
Luna reared up onto her back hooves, slamming the front pair down on the desk. The desk, the chair connected to it, and the pony sitting in it lurched forward. Luna caught the Dream Warden, wrapping a foreleg around her, and sat back on her haunches. She pulled Dream into her lap, looking down at the guard with a rather...sultry expression. Dream began to sweat.
“Weaver, if thou wilt take one piece of advice from this conversation, take this. Thou hast a duty to three things in this world; Family, Country, and Crown, in that order. If thou art serving the former, we can forgive a lapse in judgement toward the latter.” She began to pet her guard, grinning at her.
“There is nothing more important to us, than loyalty to family, dost thou understand?”
“I...I think I do…” Dream said as the princess began to nuzzle into her neck.
“Good” Luna muttered huskily. “Now we require just one more service from you”
Dream’s face turned bright red as the princess raised her head upward, her hot breath washing over her ear.
“Wake up!”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dream Weaver let out a yelp, sitting bolt upright in her bed, glancing around, panting ever so slightly. “...Stupid sexy Luna…” She mutters groggily, climbing out of bed.
One long and ice cold shower later and Dream was ready for the day. She glances at the clock before making her way into the kitchen, putting a prepared cupcake tin into the oven. Right on time, just as the timer went off and the tin was starting to cool, there was a knock at the front door.
Opening it, Dream found a certain gray pegasus, darting into the main room of her shop. “It’s mail time~!” The pegasus sang. Dreamy chuckled.
“Good morning to you too, Miss Hooves. What sort of letters do we have today?”
Derpy responded with a shrug. “Not supposed to read ‘em before you get them. But one looks like a bill, one’s from Canterlot, one says you’re a winner and we got one about horn enlargement!” She declared, pulling the mass of letters out of her bag.
Dream chuckled again, taking the letters and grabbing a paper bag from the kitchen, throwing about 5 of her 8 muffins into it. “And here you go, hot and fresh for my favorite mail mare.” She said, offering the bag to Derpy. The pegasus’s eye lit up and she gleefully took the paper bag, stuffing it into her saddle back.
“Thanks Dreamy! See ya tomorrow!” She attempted to exit with her doughy prize, but she found herself bumping into the door frame...again.
“Lower, dear.” Dreamy said without looking up from her letters
“Heh...my bad...Bye Dreamy!” Derpy made a hasty exit.
The warden quietly exited her shop not long after. The only pony in town who actually stopped by to buy something was Rarity, after all. It was much easier to mingle with ponies, see what they were needing, and offer her services if she could. That didn’t, however, mean she had to spend the whole time by herself. Walking over to the caravan directly next door to her home, Dream lifted a hoof and knocked.
“Urgh...Go away, sleepy!” came the reply from inside.
“Don’t make me come in there, Trixie!” Dream said firmly. The only response she received was a loud snore. Dream sighed and rolled her eyes, entering the cart herself. With the same amount of tact and delicacy as an angry rhino, Dream marched up to the cart’s bed, grabbed the exposed tail of her sister, and marched out dragging the unicorn behind her.
“Why?” Trixie groaned pitifully as the sunshine hit her eyes. “It’s too early to be up!”
Dream spit her sister’s tail out.
“The sun disagrees” Trixie had no words to combat this argument and simply grumbled, locking her cart up and following her sister into the village. It was a bright and sunny day, as was typical in Ponyville. Only a few clouds were dotted across the sky, and one, in particular, had a rainbow tail dangling beneath it.
It was under this particular cloud that somepony had set up a trampoline. That certain somepony was wiggling her rump as she prepared to jump. Pinkie looked up as the two approached, grinned, and put one hoof to her lips.
“Shh” She pointed straight up at the cloud, and snickered. The two mares glanced at each other, shrugged in unison, and sat to watch. Pinkie then proceeded to bounce...once...twice...higher and higher with each successful leap. As she neared her target she reached into her mane, and pulled out a joy buzzer.
In a hushed voice Dream began to count down “Three...two…” Pinkie reached her target, hoof extended. A loud zap, a kin to a bug zapper, could be heard by the two mares on the ground, but it was drowned out slightly by the loud cry that followed. A frizzy manned Rainbow dash shot straight up out of the cloud, then straight back down again as the three earth bound ponies enjoyed their laugh.
“N-not cool, Pinkie!” Cried Rainbow, quickly patting down her mane. Pinkie, however, responded with a giggle.
“Oh lighten up Rainbow” Dream snickered, with a nudge.
”If she really wanted to be ‘uncool’ about it, she would’ve used a different kind of joy buzzer.” This got Trixie and Pinkie giggling hard again, Rainbow’s blush renewed. She stammered and stuttered for several seconds before their fun was ruined by a colossal boom, swiftly followed by a roar. All laughter died just then, all four up in an instant. Trixie was the first to speak “Why does it gotta be on a nice day like this?”
Ponies began running past them, a stampede rapidly forming. Pinkie and Trixie were rapidly lost in the crowd, but Dream could still pick out Rainbow, off like a shot in the direction the roar had come from.
“Damn it!” Dream swore, running with the crowd down Manehatten Avenue, ducking into her shop the moment she could. Up the stairs, slamming her hoof down on Arms and Armaments, the warden ducked into her armory.
Her armor always fascinated; just the way it rendered her a completely different mare the moment it was on. But she had no thoughts to spare to it right now. She rushed into it, slamming pieces on here and there, only dimly aware of her senses sharpening as the helmet was pressed to her skull, her eyes quickly shifting from bright green, to yellow with a cat’s pupil. As she secured the silver barb to her barrel, her coat rapidly darkened, powder blue turning black. Her cutie mark was the last to go, the spinning wheel absorbed by the inky void of black fur. Last were her grieves, unknowingly made for her by her own father. She hastily grabbed a short sword, between her teeth, and leaped through her bedroom window. Nopony paid much attention to the black earth pony leaping from rooftop to rooftop. Truth be told, she didn’t pay them much attention either, her duty was not to them, but to the ponies who lay ahead.
The Carousel Boutique lay ahead of her, the roof ripped off it, it’s owner currently clutched in the claw of a fully grown, red scaled, very angry dragon.
Twilight and Rainbow were circling the dragon’s head, trying hard to get close to it’s claw without endangering their friend. AJ had her lasso in hoof, trying to get a clear shot at the beast, while Pinkie was trying very hard to trade Rarity for a large cake she had inexplicably brought with her. A tongue of flame narrowly missed the newly crowned princess, the young drake on her back issuing one of his own, which the elder dragon brushed off as if it were nothing.
Dream raised her sword in the air, flashing it in the dragon’s face to get it’s attention. The dragon blinked, and looked at the black mare as she calmly stepped forward, sword in mouth. The other ponies, too, stared, momentarily distracted.
Using the relative quiet, Dream spoke, the breastplate modifying her voice, just slightly, giving it that authoritative touch and making it louder in.
“Ris ek tum, Zoh” Dream shouted at the dragon through gritted teeth. Her dragonic was rusty, but the meaning was clear to everyone involved. The dragon raised one scaley eye ridge.
"Mu bo wah tinvaak daar med faskeyrek. Ris ek tum uv bo wah siiv tir fos dwiin ken med!” The dragon’s eye ridge went a little higher, but in the end, he chuckled.
“Your pronunciation could use some work” he rumbled.
“I haven’t had to use it very often.” Dream admitted.
The dragon nodded. “Most ponies don’t. You honor me, fahdon, with my mother tongue.”
The dragon lowered Rarity to the ground, the moment his claw released her, the unicorn dove away from him, hiding behind Dream. Rainbow and Twilight lightened down next to her, one glaring daggers at the drake, while the latter appeared more inquisitive. Dream motioned towards the alicorn.
“Princess Twilight presides over this town, deylok, I am sure she would be delighted to hear why you are attacking it.” The dragon glanced first at Twilight, then back at Dream, finally deciding to address Twilight.
“Suvulaan Kulaas, sot gein los tafiir” Twilight arched an eyebrow, and glanced at Dream.
“I don’t speak dragon.” She hissed
“You have a dragon on your back!” Whispered Dream back. “How can it not be on your to-do list!”
“He speaks Equs!” Twilight mutters back, her face turning pink.
“He says the white one stole something from him” Dream explained with a sigh.
“The very idea!” Rarity exclaimed from behind them, suddenly getting to her hooves. “I would never steal anything, even if the owner was such a b-” What the dragon was was quickly cut off by his roar. The ponies flinched, but Twilight pressed on.
“What is it you think my friend stole from you?”
“My hoard, umriid, was broken into. Jewels were taken, three, sed, large, blue.” The ponies glanced at one another, then they glanced at Rarity who looked slightly sheepish.
“Oh...those…”
“Rarity…” Twilight muttered softly
“Well, darling, how was I supposed to know it was a dragon’s hoard! They were just in some cave!” Dream sighed and clutched the bridge of her nose.
“Where are they?”
“... On a dress heading for Manehatten?” The fashionista squeaked. This earned another roar from the drake.
“Stiildus!” Dream screamed. “We will get you more gems, but burn down the village, and you will get none!”
The dragon was quick to ignore her, smoke already rising from his nostrils in great clouds. The dream warden raised her sword.
“I’m vulon fron, dragon! I’ve fought the things you dare not think about! The things that climb into your brain and scare out all the nightmares. Do you really think I’d break a sweat?”
The dragon huffed, staring her down. For the longest time, nopony spoke. No one dared to move.
Suddenly and without warning, the dragon dove at her. With Rarity directly behind her, Dream couldn’t risk rolling out of the way...so she stood her ground, and ended up in the dragon’s maw for her trouble. To avoid falling down the dragon’s throat, Dream shoved her sword straight down, through the dragon’s tongue and ground it deep into it’s lower jaw as it reared back. The roar nearly deafened her, as did the sudden rush of wind as the dragon took flight.
Heat began to build up almost immediately, the darkness began to lift as the dragon prepared to breath fire. Gripping the hilt of her sword with her teeth, Dream swung a kick with her hind legs, breaking off one of the dragon’s teeth, grasping the mammoth fang between her fore legs. She took aim, and launched it, watching as the thing struck home, piercing the back of the dragon’s throat. The dragon’s neck arched, again, it let out a second pained roar as Dream rushed for the front of the mouth, wrenching her sword free as she does so. She dove out, just as the fire issued from the beast’s maw behind her. She grabs the dragon’s claw between her front hooves and swings her self up and onto it’s arm. The dragon, in turn, rolled in an attempt to get her off, just as she hoped it would. She flew straight up in the air a few feet, and came down on the dragon’s spine. She ran the length of the beast, and with another swing of the sword, sliced clean through the scales just behind his head, deep into the muscle and tissue beneath. She let herself drop side ways, down his neck, tearing through the flesh from the ear all the way down the left side of his neck. The dragon let out a faint gurgle and started to fall. Their little fight brought them outside town, crashing in a field on the eastern end of Ponyville. Dream huffed, cleaned her blade, and quietly sheathed it.
“That” She whispered. “Is why I have this job”
She took a step away from the dragon’s corpse, making sure to press a nice, deep hoof print into the blood soaked mud before she departed...just so they knew that she was fine.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Back at the Boutique ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Twilight helped a trembling Rarity to her hooves, staring at the red shape wobbling drunkenly through the sky, getting smaller by the minute. Rarity, as one might expect, seemed distress.
“H-he ate her! S-she saved my life and h-he j-just ate her!” The group quietly hugged the unicorn as she openly sobbed….that is until Rainbow shouted. “He’s going down!”
They all turned to watch the dragon drop out of the sky, even from this distance, those with the best eyes could pick up a small black dot on his neck.
“Ha!” Rainbow crowed “She made it!” And with the confirmation Rarity promptly collapsed. They all looked at the unconscious unicorn. Twilight was the first to speak
“Okay, lets get her to the castle, she can stay there while the repairs are done.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Hours later in Canterlot~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“You wanted to see me, Tia?” Princess Luna asked brightly, entering Celestia’s private sitting room with a little spring in her step. Celestia...was not quite so happy.
“Ponyville was attacked today” She said, bluntly.
“What was it this time, sister? Parasprites? Vines? A mob of angry breezies with toothpicks?” Luna smirked at her sister, even as the one visible eye narrowed. She loved ticking her sister off, even Princess Luna wasn’t immune from that most dreadful of sibling diseases.
“This is no laughing matter, Luna. A fully grown dragon just marched into town and attempted to kill one of our little ponies! Can you imagine what might’ve happened if she were killed?”
“Was she?” Luna replied mildly.
“What?” Celestia asked, momentarily distracted by the head of steam her emotions were starting to build up.
“Killed, I mean. Was she killed?”
“...No.” Celestia admitted
“Then I fail to see the problem. The dragon has been taken care of, if he was living this far from the badlands he has no clan to speak of, and no pony was hurt on top of it. The only repercussions I can think of is a request for aid for you, and a big heaping ton of nightmares for me. So please sister, can we move along to what has gotten you so worked up so I can get on with clean up?” Through her little tirade, Luna never raised her voice, never changed her tone. Had anyone other than her sister heard her, they would’ve thought she was down right happy to deal with the nightmares spawned from this event. But Celestia knew better. No pony liked nightmares, not even the Princess of the Night. Celestia took a breath before she continued.
“The reason I wanted to see you is because of something Twilight said. Something about why Miss Rarity survived her encounter with the dragon.” Celestia’s eyes narrowed again, watching for the slightest hint of dishonesty.
“Sister...Twilight said that they were saved by a black mare, wearing silver armor. Would you happen to know how she got there?”
Princess Luna’s face never shifted from the cheery look she gave her sister. Oh how she loved these moments.
“Of course I do sister. Why wouldn’t I? I’m the one who sent her”