A Dream

by totallynotabrony


Gauntlet of Fire

Tin Mare set down in Ponyville. Twilight rushed out to find Shining, Cadance, and Flurry. The so-called SOS could be there at any minute. What they wanted with baby alicorns was anyone’s guess, but Twilight could only assume that they were up to no good.
She was surprised to see Princesses Celestia and Luna in the library when she burst in. “What are you two doing here?”
“Cadance invited us,” said Luna. “It seemed like a wonderful idea. We so rarely get a chance to relax and just visit.”
Celestia nodded. “There's usually some crisis we have to deal with. Somepony always needs our help.”
“Um, well, I have some bad news,” said Twilight. She quickly recapped all the interactions that they had had with SOS. Not surprisingly, Celestia and Luna were concerned about a group that was targeting alicorns.
“Needless to say, we should stop them,” said Celestia. “Twilight, I think this sounds like a good job for you. You need to learn how to deal with threats to regime survival if you’re ever going to take your position as a government official.”
“Um...okay.” Twilight put on a smile braver than she felt. “I’ll do my best to solve this problem.” She marched back outside.
The six SOS mares were arrayed in the street. Everyone else who had ridden in Tin Mare had disembarked. Guinness had already vacated the scene with Skyla.
“Hey!” called Twilight. “You can’t just go around doing whatever it is you’re doing to alicorns!”
“We never said what we were doing,” replied the lead SOS pony.
“But it was heavily implied to be unpleasant for the alicorns in question.”
That got a nod. “True. We were going to kill them.”
“Well, I admire your honesty, but I can’t let you do that!”
“Why not?” asked Cordoba.
“Because killing is wrong!”
“But what if they had a really good reason?”
“What reason could they possibly have?”
“Because we’re continuing the work of the Messiah, Valiant,” replied the SOS leader.
Twilight hesitated half a second, and then hit her in the face with a bolt of magic. It wasn’t her best spell, and her target was barely staggered.
“A little help here?” Twilight called.
“Why should I?” asked Cordoba. “I want to hear what they have to say.”
“Because I’m your friend in need of assistance!” Twilight argued. “It’s your obligation to come to my aid!”
Cordoba processed that for a moment. “But how do I resolve the dilemma of peer pressure versus what I think it right?”
It was a good question, one Twilight didn’t have time to answer. “Tin Mare?”
“I am not made for close quarters and less lethal combat,” Tin Mare replied. “Or do you just want them dead?”
Twilight wasn’t about to ask the Crusaders. They would either make things worse, or, well, make them worse. It looked like Twilight was on her own.
She took a deep breath and did something she had never done before: voluntarily went up in flames. The SOS were immediately intimidated, and the boost Twilight got to her power level immediately let her blast the leader again, this time completely stunning her. The others turned tail and ran.
The Princesses emerged from the library. “Well done, Twilight,” said Celestia. “You’ve gotten your first political prisoner.”
“What will you do with her?” Luna asked.
“Um…” Twilight fumbled as the flames died out. “The library basement is a little crowded, but there might be room for one more. We can then interrogate her to learn more about the SOS.”
“No need,” mumbled the prostrate pony. “I’ll tell you everything.”
“Be careful,” warned Celestia. “A too-willing prisoner is suspicious.”
“Why should we use subterfuge and deception?” said the SOS pony. “We’re right.”
“A zealot,” said Luna. “Even worse.”
“Well, come on, then,” said Twilight, lifting the stunned SOS pony. She carried her away to the library basement.
Rarity ran up just then, carrying Spike on her back. Maud was with her. Spike was glowing.
“Something’s wrong with me!” Spike grunted. “All of a sudden, my scales just started glowing and burning!”
“Little is known about dragon culture, but this is a phenomenon we've seen before,” said Luna. “It is the call of the Dragon Lord.”
“Dragons glow whenever the Dragon Lord has need of them in the Dragon Lands,” added Celestia.
“Great,” said Spike. “How do I make it stop?!”
Luna replied, “The only way to end the summons is to answer it. You must journey to the Dragon Lands and see what is expected of you.”
“But the Dragon Lands are full of... dragons!” Rarity pointed out. “And they’re ghastly creatures! Oh, not you, of course, Spikey-wikey, but remember that rotten Garble?”
“How could I forget?” muttered Spike. “If I have to go to the Dragon Lands, would you come with me?”
“I'm sure I still have the dragon costume we used the last time we snuck into the Dragon Lands,” said Rarity.
“I’d like to visit. The volcanic action in the Dragon Lands is to die for,” said Maud.
Everyone paused for a moment.
“Yes, it was a joke,” said Maud. “But dying isn’t. We should take Tin Mare.”
“That might arouse suspicions,” said Tin Mare.
Cordoba set down her coffee cup. “Then it’s time for a disguise!” She grinned. “You need a new paintjob anyway.”
One montage later, and Tin Mare sported a bright red coat of paint and some spines welded to her upper fuselage. Cordoba had also painted a scary face with a toothy mouth below the cockpit.
Braeburn, had he literally been sexually attracted to Tin Mare, would now have a confused boner.
Speaking of Braeburn, since Tin Mare was going to the Dragon Lands, he was too. Rarity, Maud, Cordoba, and Spike joined him, and Tin Mare lifted off.
On the opposite side of Equestria, Trixie and Daring walked into the castle. With Celestia and Luna in Ponyville, now was the perfect time to use the magic mirror.
“So this is it?” said Daring. It was a fancy mirror, but didn’t look like it contained a portal to another dimension.
“It might take me awhile to figure out how to steer it to the universe where we want to go,” said Trixie. “I’m not sure Twilight or the Princesses would approve.”
“Sunset could help,” Daring suggested.
Trixie frowned. “Has she seemed okay to you?”
“No.”
“Me neither. She’s not crying anymore, but she’s still not quite right. If we brought her here, there’s no telling what she might do. She might want to go back to that high school world. She might go cruising the multiverse for another Plymouth Valiant.”
“Would that necessarily be a bad thing?”
Trixie hesitated. “Not that I can say with a straight face that things should be kept all-natural, but I just don’t think it’s right to go get another one. I wouldn’t know how to feel around some version of him who hadn’t raised me and been through everything. I’d feel a little guilty about putting his world through losing him.”
Daring nuzzled her. “I’m here for you. Now let’s get this portal open.”
Nearing the dragon lands, the terrain changed to barren rocks and lava flows. Tin Mare located the dragon gathering, setting down in a flat area on the rocks. Spike hopped out. The others stayed inside where dragons couldn’t see them and where the climate was pleasant and air conditioned.
Spike was already a little hot under the collar. The rotten Garble, foul enough that Rarity had mentioned him by name, appeared. For his reputation, he was really not that big for a dragon, but still about three times taller than Spike.
“Hey hey, look! It’s our old runty friend Sparkle-Warkle.” Garble chuckled to his cronies.
Spike rolled his eyes. “It’s Spike.”
“Are you sure your pony friends didn’t give you a pony name?” said Garble.
“It’s nice to see you too, Garble,” Spike muttered.
“I didn’t say it was nice to see you. It’s not. I don’t like you. Was I not clear about that? At least that freak Valiant isn’t with you this time.”
If Garble had said a few more words, he likely would have found himself shish-kabobed on a certain filly’s cutlass. Instead, he turned to Tin Mare. “Who are you?”
“It might not be a good idea to reveal your true identity in the middle of all these dragons,” Rarity quietly pointed out from inside.
“My name is Vulcan Avenger,” Tin Mare said to Garble.
“She’s, uh, my neighbor,” said Spike.
Garble stared at Tin Mare’s tail. “What’s that say? ‘Hashtag Valiant did nothing wrong?’”
“What, aren’t you tough enough to have tattoos?”
Garble might have had a witty comeback, but he was interrupted by a booming voice. “Dragons of Equestria, hear me! I have been Dragon Lord for longer than many of you can remember, and my reign has been extraordinary!”
There was silence. The Dragon Lord looked around and bellowed, “Agree with me!”
The other dragons began chanting, “Torch! Torch! Torch!”
“Who is that?” said Spike.
“It’s Dragon Lord Torch, dummy,” replied Garble.
“No, next to him.”
“That’s his daughter, Princess Ember. I wouldn't even look at her if I were you, unless you want Torch to eat you.” Garble chuckled.
Torch went on. “According to dragon law, it is time for me to step down. This is why I have summoned you all, to compete for the throne in the Gauntlet of Fire!”
He held up a scepter topped with a large red gem and casually tossed it over his shoulder. “Whomever has the strength and fortitude to retrieve this bloodstone scepter from the heart of the flame-cano will be crowned Lord of the Dragons.”
“Well, I stopped glowing,” said Spike. “I don’t want anything to do with this, so I’m going home.”
“Wow, you’re a pony and a chicken?” said Garble. “Are you like the lamest dragon ever?”
“No, he is not,” said ‘Vulcan.’
“That was a rhetorical question!” Garble snapped.
“Then you should have phrased it as a statement, so others would not go ahead and answer on the assumption you were too stupid to know the meaning of ‘rhetorical.’”
Seeing the commotion, Torch came over. “What is going on here?”
“He wants to leave!” Garble accused, pointing a claw at Spike.
“You don’t get to leave unless I say you can!” Torch roared.
“Dad, look at him,” broke in Princess Ember. “He’s just a runt. Besides, he doesn’t even want to compete. Let him go.”
Torch snorted. “He is rather tiny. I could squish him with my pinky claw.”
“Eh-heh-heh,” Spike laughed nervously.
“That wasn’t a joke, it was a fact,” said Torch. “When I want you to laugh, I will say ‘be amused!’” He shook his head. “Very well then, little dragon. I release you.”
Torch turned and lumbered away, getting ready for the competition.
“Well, that’s that,” said Braeburn. “Let’s go.”
“I should point out that those dragons over there are plotting the overthrow of Equestria,” said Tin Mare. She played back a recording of the conversation her sensors had overheard.
When I win, I will pillage Equestria for all their pillows. Why should these ponies be comfortable while we sleep on rocks?
That’s nothing! When I'm in charge, the first thing I’ll do is get revenge on those puny ponies! They’ll regret they ever crossed Garble! We’ll take whatever we want from Equestria and burn the rest!
“Garble, huh?” said Cordoba. “Tin Mare, I think you know what to do.”
Tin Mare rolled forward, butting into the conversation. “Pardon me, I couldn’t help but overhear your plans for Equestria.”
“Yeah, what’s it to you?” Garble said.
“Equestria is not to be harmed. Does every dragon understand?”
“You think you can just order me around?” said Garble. He poked Tin Mare’s nose with a claw. He then tried to hide his sprained claw. The boop that boops back.
“Look at my face and tell me if you think I’m a pushover.”
Garble stared at her painted-on teeth. “There’s no way. You aren’t the Dragon Lord. You can’t touch me.”
Tin Mare bumped him, her nose at his chest.
“Hey, what are you-” Garble shoved back, or tried to. As Tin Mare rolled forward, he was slowly dragged underneath.
“How much you do weigh, fatty? What are you doing?! Stop!” Garble’s last words came out more panicked than before.
“Seventeen tons,” Tin Mare replied. “And you?”
Garble did not respond. His breath had left him as Tin Mare’s forward landing gear tracked up his body and slowly, messily crushed him to death.
The other dragons in the area who had been witness stared wide-eyed and slowly backed away. Some decided to fly.
“Wow,” said Cordoba. “Maybe shock and awe doesn’t have to come with fireworks.”
If Twilight was there, she would have been proud of her student, though horrified at the circumstances of the lesson.
“Was he the only dragon talking about invading Equestria?” Spike asked. “We can’t let that happen!”
“There were others,” replied Tin Mare. “Though, I cannot guarantee that I would be able to kill them all before they realized that I am not a real dragon.”
“Wouldn’t it be easier to just...become the Dragon Lord?” said Rarity. Thinking suddenly about how much power she would wield over him, she added, “We could install Spike as the leader. Surely he would be better than any other dragon.”
Spike blushed, but then frowned. “But that scepter is inside the flame-cano.”
“Good thing Tin Mare doesn’t give a shit,” said Cordoba.
They lined up at the starting area with the crowd of dragons. Torch spotted Spike. “I thought I released you, tiny one!”
“I decided to compete,” said Spike, as nonchalantly as possible. “I am a dragon, after all.”
“All dragons are welcome to compete, but they do so at their own peril! Flying to Flame-cano Island is the first of many challenges you will face in your quest to find the bloodstone scepter!” Torch turned and let loose a mighty roar. At his signal, the race was on.
The whole crowd took off. Spike, being wingless, climbed to a perch atop Tin Mare. He sheltered there, ducking the flying rocks pummeling their fellow competitors.
Tin Mare tracked a svelte blue dragon wearing gold armor as they fell to the sea after getting hit with a rock. They weren’t the only dragon downed by the fusilade, however, and it did not seem important enough to mention.
The surface of the water bubbled for a moment as something dragged the limp body under.
They continued inside the volcano. It was no ordinary geologic feature, but the obstacles Tin Mare couldn’t avoid, she bulled her way through.
“Are we going in circles?” said Spike. “I could have sworn that we’d seen this crevasse before.”
“We are still maintaining course, according to my GPS,” Tin Mare replied.
She arrived in the central chamber. It had not been an easy trip, Tin Mare sacrificing pristine paint to the rocks and flames to do it, but they were well ahead of any other competitor.
She came into a hover over the bloodstone scepter. Spike hopped down and claimed it.
On the flight out, Maud examined the red gem. “This is something I haven’t seen before.” Her eyebrows inched up incrementally.
“Ohmygosh, is it that important?!” Rarity exclaimed. Everyone rushed over to see what Maud was so excited about.
“This so-called bloodstone seems to have properties beyond that of a normal gem,” Maud explained. “If we learned how to use it, it may be the source of great power. I think it could be a MacGuffin.”
“A what?”
“An object that, by its very existence, causes things to happen.”
“Sounds important,” said Spike. “Twilight'll definitely want to take a look at this.”
“Canterlot is closer and Trixie might be able to tell us as much,” said Cordoba.
They flew out of the volcano and Spike presented himself and the scepter to Torch. “Dragon Lord, I, Spike, have returned with the scepter!”
Surprised, Torch bent to examine Spike. “How is this possible?”
“Because I’m smarter than the average dragon and have powerful friends,” said Spike.
Torch eyed Tin Mare. “Like this one?”
“Vulcan Avenger, at your service.”
Torched nodded in appreciation. “A fine set of teeth you have there, miss. All right, Spike, you’ve proven your worth. Dragons, hear me! I present to you our new Dragon Lord, Spike!”
And there was much rejoicing.
Spike stuck around to shake a few claws, but explained that he really must be going on diplomatic business. The group flew back to Equestria, towards Canterlot.
They arrived at the castle, causing a bit of a stir among the guards. Once that matter was settled, however, it wasn’t too difficult to locate Trixie and Daring.
Trixie had set up a modified version of the control wiring Valiant had used to steer the ugly rock. It had been quite a while since anyone had seen that, though.
She was just about ready to try the portal out when the others came in.
“Hey, we found this - what’d you call it? - a MacGuffin,” said Spike. “Maud thinks it’s really magical.”
Trixie took the scepter and examined it. “Yeah, I can definitely feel the power. How does it work?”
Spike shrugged. “Not sure, but I’ll have plenty of time to figure it out. Good news! I’m the new Dragon Lord!”
“Nice.” Trixie and Daring both gave him a hoof bump.
“What are you two up to, sis?” Cordoba asked.
“We’re just about to go looking for Columbia,” said Trixie.
“How are the rocks there?” Maud asked.
“How’s the government there?” Spike asked. “Maybe I could become the new ruler of two countries.”
“I’d rather not visit there again. Such as drab place, as I remember it,” said Rarity.
“If Valiant came from there, count me out,” added Braeburn.
“It’s where he got all his information, like for computers and code,,” Trixie remarked. “I think Tin Mare’s chassis is based on a design from there.”
Braeburn suddenly hesitated, but Trixie continued. “No telling what your prosthetics would do going through the portal, though.”
Cordoba got on her knees and groveled at Trixie’s hooves. “Sis, if you never, ever do anything nice for me again, take me with you!”
Trixie laughed and glanced at Daring. “What do you think?”
“It could be a fun trip,” Daring agreed. “Though, bedroom complications could arise.”
“Huh?” said Cordoba.
“Don’t worry about it,” Trixie replied. “Of course you can come.”
Trixie turned to the portal and activated the steering matrix. The surface of the mirror shimmered and then opened into a disused bedroom.
“That looks like it,” said Trixie. She did a quick doublecheck of all their gear and then stepped through. Daring followed more hesitantly. Cordoba pranced after them. The portal closed.
“We should be getting back,” said Rarity. “Hopefully the SOS issue has been resolved.”
In the Ponyville library basement, the new prisoner was being heckled by the six who were already there.
“Look at her, she’s not even a cheap knockoff!” said Bakey Pie.
“I move to condemn this new inclusion,” said Celebrity. “All in favor?”
The others chorused “aye.”
“Very well,” said Reading Rainbow. “As Royal Basement Scribe, I hereby commit to memory the proclamation the Court of Six has put forth.”
Twilight hadn’t realized the six mares of the B-Team had been down in the basement so long they had formed their own society.
“Everypony be quiet,” she ordered. “I have to talk to…?” Twilight looked at the newest prisoner.
“Awesome Sauce,” the mare replied. “I took the name because it seemed like something Valiant would have liked.”
“What’s your obsession with him?” Twilight asked.
“The SOS believes that he is the way. We want to establish a Valiantocracy.”
Twilight shuddered at the thought and changed the subject. “What does SOS stand for?”
“We are the Sororal Order of Sorrel.”
“What’s a Sororal?” asked Appletack from her position on the wall.
“It’s like a fraternal order, but girls instead of boys,” replied Reading Rainbow.
“Correct,” said Sauce. “Valiant’s early contacts with sea ponies resulted in many deaths, but we realized that he was merely weeding out the weak. Those of us who remained formed the order and now have arisen from the oceans to continue his work.”
“Are you serious?” was all Twilight could manage in reply.
“Ah Sparkle, the unalicorn, you always had such a difficult time grasping concepts bigger than yourself.”
“I do not! And what’s an unalicorn?”
“Valiant did not consider you even worthy of our consideration, so he demoted you.” Sauce paused to look haughty. “Which means that you’ll be spared when we kill the Princesses.”