Early in the afternoon, Twilight stood outside of her crystalline tree palace alongside her friends and Spike, ready for their next adventure. Rainbow Dash was already hovering in the air as she waited for Fluttershy to say her goodbyes to Big Macintosh and Posey, Pinkie Pie was bouncing up and down excitedly beside Applejack, and Spike was standing beside Twilight as she went over the pairs’ directions and instructions. The five mares had their customized saddlebags on and had packed them with any supplies that they might need along with a map.
Along with their families, Princess Celestia was there to see them off. The Solar Princess also had an ornate, white chest with gold trimmings. The latch of the chest was shaped like Celestia’s cutie mark of the sun. Celestia walked to her former pupil and used her magic to open the chest. The six adventures leaned forward expectantly, but then recoiled and squinted their eyes as a bright flash of light emanated from the opening box. As their eyes adjusted to the light, they looked again to see a glowing orb that was partially encased in stone that acted as a base.
Using her magic, Twilight took the orb from the chest and held it by its stone base on her hoof, her friends looking over shoulder to get a better look. As she gazed at the fiery orange glass surface of the Sunstone, she saw that the source of the golden light was an image of Celestia’s cutie mark in the center of the orb. The longer the purple Alicorn held the Sunstone, the more she felt a warmth spread through her body. It was a comforting sensation that remind her of taking a nap in the sunlight on a warm summer’s day.
After basking in the magic of the Sunstone, Twilight placed it in her saddlebag and said, “Thank you, Celestia.”
“You’re welcome. And please be careful,” Celestia urged them all.
“Don’t worry, Princess,” Applejack told Celestia. “We’re just gonna fetch some fancy doohickeys and be back by sundown.”
“Nevertheless, be on guard,” Celestia reiterated. “I fear that there are other forces at work; forces that are conspiring against us.”
“Don’t worry, we’ll be careful,” Twilight reassured, though she wondered who this mysterious threat could be. In the back of Applejack’s mind, something resounded. But before she recall what it was, she heard Twilight ask, “Is everypony ready?”
“Ready!” Rainbow Dash answered without hesitation.
“Uh, yeah. Ready,” Applejack responded, her train of thought interrupted.
“Ready, Freddy!” Pinkie Pie rhymed.
“I guess I’m ready, too,” Fluttershy said.
“I’m ready,” Spike said, a fierce determination in his voice.
“Alright then, let’s go!” Twilight ordered. She and Spike took off, flying northeast towards the city of Trottingham on the Griffish Isles. Applejack and Pinkie Pie ran off(or hopped along in Pinkie’s case) to the Unicorn Range to the northwest while Fluttershy followed after Rainbow Dash as they flew to Cloudsdale. As Celestia and the family of her chosen heroes watched as they departed, Celestia’s thoughts were filled with dread. She wondered who could have betrayed all of Equestria and to what end.
*****
Meanwhile in Fillydelphia, Amethyst sat in a chair in Mina’s apartment over the comic book store. After the sudden and unexpected appearance of the dragons that morning, the whole city was in a tizzy. After recovering from his initial fear, Mayor Skinflint had immediately halted the festival preparations and sent everypony and everydragon home. In his own words, he also said that the festival would be postponed until he had time to deal with the crisis on his hooves. Amethyst didn’t personally know Mayor Skinflint and had only heard about the complicated history of the inter-species relations of the ponies and dragons of Fillydelphia, but by judging Mina’s less than cheerful mood, things were not looking hopeful.
The mahogany dragoness was leaning against a windowsill, looking out at the streets below her apartment. She hadn’t said much since they returned to the apartment, only the occasional melancholy sigh or pessimistic quip. Though she looked young, Mina was actually about fifty years old, old enough to remember the prejudices against her kind. She remembers when the inhabitants of Dragon Town were placed under curfew when a fire snail had burned down a building and the dragons had received the blame. Though there wasn’t any direct evidence that a dragon caused the fire, the police immediately accused them of being the culprits. With the scare from that morning, all eyes will be turned toward Dragon Town in suspicion.
It’s only a matter of time before Mayor Skinflint locks down Dragon Town or locks us all up, Mina gloomily thought as she rested her head on her arms. She then noticed a Pegasus flying towards her street wearing a flight suit. “Hey, Amethyst, there’s a Wonderbolt coming our way!”
“A Wonderbolt?” the Kirin princess asked, rising from her chair. Going to the window, she recognized the uniformed stallion. “Thunderbolt?”
The gray Pegasus landed right outside the comic book store and knocked on the door. A few seconds later, Mina and Amethyst opened the door and the latter said, “Thunderbolt! What are you doing here? And you’re a Wonderbolt!”
“Yeah, I just got accepted,” Thunderbolt said while smiling, proud of himself. Remembering his assignment, he cleared his throat and took on a more professional attitude. “And I’m here on official business. May I come in?”
“Of course. It’s an honor to have a Wonderbolt here in my home,” Mina told him while trying to hide her excitement from having a member of the famous aerial team in her store. They led him upstairs where they could continue their conversation.
“So what’s going on? Why were there wild dragons here in Equestria?” Amethyst urgently asked.
“The Dragon King has declared war against Equestria,” the Wonderbolt explained seriously.
“What?!” the females exclaimed in shock. As the royal delegate for the Draconic New Year Festival, Amethyst was taught about the ancient pact between ponies and dragons, and she remembered Aurum’s warning about the Dragon King.
“Amethyst, you might want to sit down,” Thunderbolt told his friend. Still shocked from the news, Amethyst looked at her friend with confusion. “There’s something else I need to tell you.”
*****
Rarity blinked her eyes and slowly raised herself up, looking around as her blurry vision cleared. There was a gap in her memory and she tried to remember where she was and what happened to her. The last thing she recalled was being forcefully flown across Equestria towards the southeast. She concluded that she must had fainted during her abduction.
Rarity looked down to see that she was laying on circular stone platform. Her vision cleared, she looked over the platform’s edge and gasped once she saw that she was in a monstrous cavern that was easily large enough to fit the City of Canterlot inside it. What caught her attention though was the fact that below the platform was a sea of treasure. Rubies, emeralds, diamonds, and countless of other types of jewels sparkled from the mounds of gold, silver, and platinum coins. A collection of statues, tapestries, and other ancient relics of fallen kingdoms adorned the alcoves and walls of the cavern. The treasure hoard was easily equal or greater than that of Aurum the Golden.
Above her there were various grottoes and cavities in the cave’s walls. Dragons of all colors looked down at her, their piercing, reptilian eyes following her every movement. Rarity’s reaction to seeing so many dragons staring at her was to scurry as far back as the platform would allow her.
“You are awake,” a voice echoed from behind her. Startled, Rarity spun around and saw a long walkway connecting the observation platform to a stone dais at the end of the cavern with a gilded throne perched upon the summit. The arms of the throne were shaped like claws and the back a dragon’s head. Sitting upon the throne was the King of Dragons himself. He was in his smaller form once more and was reclining in his seat, resting his chin on a fisted claw while twiddling with his wooden dragon scepter in his other claw. Lying upon his lap was a shining sword. “Welcome to my castle.”
Rarity rose to her hooves and stared at the Dragon King that had taken her hostage from across the chamber, putting on a stern face to show that she would not be intimidated by him. Seeing that the Unicorn wasn’t sobbing or attempting to beg caused the Dragon King to raise a brow at her.
“What, no blubbering? No attempt to plead or bargain for your freedom?” he mocked, chuckling to himself. Rarity only response was to turn her nose up at him and huffed. Seeing his captive act so haughtily made him chuckle again, this time loud enough for her to hear. “What do you think of my collection? Impressive, is it not? Do you like my newest addition?”
He pointed to his right. To the side of his throne was the Tree of Harmony, the crystalline tree now gray with its magic depleting. Rarity gaped at the dying tree but otherwise remained silent. The Dragon King frowned a bit, his amusement diminished a smidgen. He gestured to the stone platform on which she sat on and asked, “What of your accommodations? Are they to your liking?”
To this, Rarity turned her back to him and sat down on the cold, hard floor, her eyes closed and her nose still upturned. Now she was deliberately trying to ignore and annoy him. Seeing this disrespectful behavior, Dragon King Ryuo snarled a bit, took the sword in his free claw, and rose from his throne.
“Now you are behaving like a child,” he growled unamused as he descended the stairs of the dais. “Will you say nothing?”
“I have nothing to say to a brute like you,” Rarity finally answered, breaking her silence.
“But I have many questions for you,” the Dragon King retorted as he walked along the elevated walkway, headed towards the platform. “And I hope to have them answered.”
“Then you will be wasting your breath. I will not tell anything that you might use against my friends and family,” she defiantly told him.
“Who said anything about that?” he asked. “I merely want to have a conversation.”
“You don’t fool me. I know all about the dragon-spell. You’ll try to bewitch me into revealing all that I know about Spike.” Since she had her back turned to him, she didn’t see his brow raise when she mentioned the dragon-spell.
“Oh, course not. I see you are far too clever for that,” the Dragon King complimented with a smirk. Rarity briefly turned her head once she heard his voice, for he had arrived at the platform and was standing right behind her. “Let us begin with your name. There is no harm in asking your name, is there?”
The mare turned back away from her captor, but after a moment, she simply said, “Rarity.”
“See? That was not so difficult. Well, Rarity, I commend you for your bravery. Not just anyone can speak to me with such resolve. Not only that, but you compose yourself very well for one that is being held against her will.”
“It’s not my first time,” she murmured, recalling the past times she had been held hostage.
“Is that so? Then you must be quite the adventurer to have found yourself in such a situation so often. I can only imagine the dangers you must have faced by yourself. Or perhaps you are just incompetent.”
“I’ll have you know that I am quite capable of taking care of myself, thank you very much! However, I’m fortunate to be blessed with such wonderful friends. We have faced many challenges, and we always overcome them together. This will be no different. My friends will save me, and we will stop you!” she declared, hoping to intimidate her captor.
Dragon King Ryuo nodded along to her words and said, “Perhaps. The lot of you are very devoted to one another. I have witnessed that. I also noticed that you were in the company of royalty when I arrived at Canterlot. Combined with your poise and your eloquent manner of speech, I deduce that you too are a pony of importance. Certainly not a commoner or of the gentry. Nobility at least, or even a royal yourself. Yes, that has to be it. Why else would you be so closely associated with the Princesses of Equestria and Spike, the Dragon Prince? What was it that you called him? Your ‘Spikey Wikey’ if I recall. There is also the way you and that one Alicorn, the one that claimed to be his ‘mother’, placed yourselves between me and him. You were willing to fight me to protect your dear friend.”
“Spike isn’t just a friend; he is my husband, and I would do anything to defend him!” she passionately told him.
“Husband…” Ryuo repeated, this revelation giving him pause. He then grinned victoriously at her and gloated, “My my. That certainly explains your devotion to him and does make you a princess indeed.”
Rarity gasped and covered her mouth, horrified by what she just said. She was unwittingly blabbing on and on about her friends and her dear Spike. “H-How…”
“Dragon-spell is my native tongue,” he answered her unspoken question, relishing the mortified expression on her face. “If I so desired, I could have you revealing all of your most intimate secrets to me.”
“Then what’s stopping you? Why the small talk? Why all this show of force? You could have destroyed of us all right then and there at the castle. Why did you kidnap me and give Spike a week to surrender?”
“It is because he was able to resist my command. You see, I have no intention of harming Spike. Since I could not command him to return with me and trying to take him by force could have damaged him, I chose to use you for you seemed important to him. It appears I chose correctly,” he said with a fanged filled grin.
“You… You’re a monster…” she whispered, not knowing what else to say.
He humphed and replied, “That is a matter of perspective.”
“Well, try looking at it from my perspective for once,” she challenged. “You terrorized a village, stole the Tree of Harmony, kidnapped me, and are threatening to kill innocent ponies!”
“Innocent? Innocent of what?!” the Dragon King roared a challenge, striking the bottom of his staff on the stone floor, creating a loud noise which rang throughout the hollowed volcano. The noise stirred the observing dragons, each of them waiting to see how this would turn out. Rarity herself tried to stand firm, not wanting to show weakness to this apex predator. “Your Princess is a thief, and your kingdom harbored those murderers for years. In my eyes, you are all guilty!”
“Look, Your Highness,” Rarity cautiously said in an attempt to calm the angered Dragon King. “I know what happened to that dragoness and her eggs was tragedy, but it was an accident. Those miners didn’t mean for it to happen, and even if you wanted them brought to justice, they too are long gone. I honestly believe what Princess Celestia did was for the best.”
This statement earned her a none too pleased look from the Dragon King, but she continued anyway. “If it wasn’t for Celestia and Twilight, Spike wouldn’t have hatched. He’s alive because of their actions! If he didn’t hatch, the Elements of Harmony would never have been found, and evil and chaos would have spread all over Equestria and, eventually, the entire world! What’s more, Spike is a hero in his own right.”
Hearing the last part of this claim, the Dragon King was listening with interest as the Unicorn continued. “He helped saved the Crystal Empire. He selflessly rushed into danger alongside us when we needed him. He destroyed the Changeling Hive when our children were taken from us. He scared off an entire army of minotaurs with a single roar!”
“Impressive,” Dragonlord Ryuo hummed.
“But he is more than just a hero and a fighter. He is a faithful friend, a devoted husband, and…” Rarity stopped herself from saying, “a loving father,” for she feared how the Dragon King would respond if he learned that she and Spike had a child. How would he react to a Kirin? Would he see her as an abomination and seek to eradicate her? Would he try to take Amethyst captive to use against Spike as well? “...and he is proof that dragons and ponies can live in peace.”
“Even when your so-called ‘peace’ is a lie fabricated by Celestia?” the Dragon King remarked bitterly. “What price did she have to pay for this peace? What blood did any of you ponies have to pay? Not only was my dignity sacrificed to you insufferable equines, but also a dragoness and her eggs. Now tell me, do you believe that to be an even trade?”
“N-No… But...” Rarity meekly responded.
“No indeed. I fully intend on collecting on the debt your kingdom owes me; the life of a pony for every drop of her blood and for every moment of life the children were denied.” Rarity wanted to object, but the enraged tone of his impassioned speech and the way he was angrily waving the sword about forced her to be silent lest his wrath be turned upon her. “There is a price to be paid for those that dare to cross me. Come, let me you show you.”
With a twirl of the Dragon King’s staff, Rarity was seized by the dragon’s telekinetic magic and pulled along the walkway as the Dragon King walked back towards his throne. With the Unicorn floating behind him, the Dragon King would point with sword in his claw to various artifacts that adorned the lair’s walls and nooks. “That is the war hammer of the Boss Troll. As a sign of feigned fealty, he presented me with a mirror. What he failed to tell me that it was a magic portal which he and his band used to enter my castle in an attempt to steal from me. I caught them in the act and roasted them on the spot.
“That is the skull of the Arimaspi that interrupted my raid on the Griffon Castle of Opinicus. It too desired the treasures of the griffons, and due to its interference, the griffons were able to evacuate with most of their treasures, leaving behind a measly bounty. As compensation, I took the head of the Arimaspi.” Seeing the polished skull of the gigantic, cycloptic creature sent a wave a nausea through Rarity.
“And those are the pelts of a pack of ichneumon,” the Dragon King said as he pointed to the furs of creatures that Rarity didn’t recognize hanging on the cave’s wall. “During one Dragon Migration, these vermin snuck into the nesting grounds and stole dozens of eggs. The mothers were devastated and outraged once they discovered that their eggs were devoured by those loathsome weasels. I was present at that migration, and we feigned sleep the next night. When they foolishly decided to return for another night of raiding, we were ready for them. We caught them and skinned them alive.
“You see, my dear, everyone that has crossed me has met with death,” Dragon King Ryuo said as they came to a stop at the foot of the dais. To emphasize his point, he stabbed the walkway with the sword, piercing the stone without resistance. Rarity stared at the sword and its golden Alicorn crossguard, amazed by the blade’s cutting power. Leaving the sword embedded in the floor, the Dragon King stretch forward his now free claw and a chest floated from one of the trophy alcoves to him. Opening the chest, the King Dragon sifted through its contents. “It will be the same for your kind. Their deaths are long overdue, especially for Celestia. She took what was most precious to me, and she will suffer for it.”
“Your pride isn’t worth the genocide of my fellow ponies, and the wealth of Equestria was never yours in the first place!” Rarity yelled in a hopeless attempt to make him listen to reason.
“Not all treasure is silver and gold, my dear,” he cryptically whispered as pulled as he pulled a collar from the chest. “Ah, here it is. I have a present for you, Princess Rarity.”
“Oh… Um, thank you, but that won’t be necessary,” Rarity nervously said as she eyed the ominous looking accessory. It was a studded leather strap with a skull and crossbones buckle. Knowing the Dragon King, Rarity assumed that nothing good could come from such a fiendish looking object and certainly didn’t want to wear such a gaudy thing.
“Oh, but I insist.” Rarity tried to pull away from the Dragon King and the creepy necklace, but his magic was causing the thing to float towards her. The collar wrapped around her white neck and fastened, the buckle locking in place. Afterwards, Rarity was released from his telekinetic grip and immediately tried to undo the necklace with her hooves, but it wouldn’t come off. She tried to activate her magic to take of the collar, but the blue aura around her horn fizzled out almost immediately. Whatever the necklace was, it was blocking her magic! “The cursed magic of the necklace will nullify yours, and the wearer cannot remove it by their own power. It will also allow me to track you wherever you go if the idea of escape ever crosses your mind. Welcome to Charlock Castle.”
As he ascended back to his throne, Dragon King Ryuo waved his scepter and Rarity was pushed back by his magic to observation platform. After coming to a stop, Rarity pawed at the accursed collar once more to no avail. Giving up, she slumped to the floor in defeat. As she laid on the hard, stone floor, she reflected upon the words her captor spoke. A certain phrase had caught her attention and she mulled over it, trying to decipher what the Dragon King had meant. Not all treasure is silver and gold, my dear.