Appledashery

by Just Essay


Simple, Short, to the Pegasus

"Hmmmmm..." Rainbow Dash glanced left and right, her eyes soaking in all angles of the floating island's lower half like a sponge. "Yeah, okay, that's pretty magical."

"Ya think?" Lancie slurred. "If it wasn't flying at such a slow, boring speed, then I'd be tempted to say it was chaos at work."

"You don't suppose... erm... hmmm..." Rainbow tapped her chin in thought.

"What?" Lancie glanced at her while the two hovered in the shadow of the immense, looming castle. "That the illustrious Big Boss is using my shards to power the infernal thing's flight?"

"Well, sure." Rainbow blinked. "I mean... dragons are supposed to magical and stuff anyways, right?"

"When it suits them."

"But to use the shards to make a place fly?" Rainbow's muzzle twisted. "Isn't that kinda redundant for big fire-breathing dudes with wings?"

"Maybe Aatxe is fat."

"Your ideas are fat."

"Pffft... whatever, Sparky." Lancie shrugged. "You're the one begging me to think out loud."

"But why make a castle fly?" Rainbow Dash remarked. "I'd imagine that a castle would be... y'know... too tiny for a dragon, much less an entire roost of them."

"Still, you have to admit..." Lancie smiled. "It looks pretty pimp."

"Eh?"

Lancie sighed. "What now, my little pony?"

"What else?" Rainbow Dash cracked the joints in her neck and flapped her wings harder. She ascended, swiftly approaching the building overhead. "We go up there and invest the ever-loving crap out of that place."

"Uhhhhh..." Lancie clung tightly, wincing.

"Is there a problem, Sir Lancies-a-Lot?"

"I know that—despite your occasional streaks of melancholy and self-loathing—you're still a courageous pony underneath..." Lancie gulped. "...but don't you find that strategy a tad bit... stupid?"

"Your point?"

"Only that, if I was to find a gigantic looming fortress patrolled by fire-breathing draconian monstrosities, my very last impulse would be to fly directly towards it in the daytime."

"Lancie, dude, I can't waste anymore time," Rainbow said. "Apple Bloom needs—"

"A savior. Not a roasted corpse."

"Look, we know where Aatxe is... and we know where the shards are!" Rainbow exclaimed. "What's holding us back?" She turned and shrugged. "Besides, dragons shmagons... what are the odds that any one of those oversized buggers will see a tiny blue speck like me flying up to their villainous HQ—"

PHWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMB! A plume of burning dragonfire hurled its way straight towards Rainbow Dash from above.

"LUNA POOP!" Rainbow shrieked, immediately barrel rolling to the side.

"TOLD... YOU...!" Lancie gnashed his granite fangs, flailing off the end of Rainbow's tail as she narrowly avoided the incoming waves of flame.