The dinosaurs followed Smaug towards the massive volcano that would hold the gauntlet. On the way there, every dragon in the land followed behind them, each one eager for the battles that would take place. Rainbow Dash kept poking her head out to try and keep an eye on Indominus. She knew he could take care of himself, but there was just something about Smaug that Rainbow didn't like. The Dragon Lord had seemed interested in Indominus, and didn't sound in the least bit worried around the dinosaurs. Like he was completely confident that he could best them if he wanted.
Her curiosity was also aroused because Smaug had been sticking by Indominus during the walk. The two of them had been chatting almost nonstop, and it worried Rainbow about what they could be discussing.
"Rainbow Dash," Twilight whispered. "You can't keep on watching him like this, you'll give us away."
"I can't help it Twilight, there's just something off about the way Smaug is acting around Indominus."
"Maybe it's just because he sees a strong fighter in your fiance," said Rarity. "After all, he did call Indominus the most interesting creature he's ever seen."
"That doesn't mean I can't worry about him." Rainbow then felt herself being pulled back inside the wing. Pinkie and Fluttershy actually had to hold her to keep her from peeking back out. Scootaloo snuggled against her sister and whispered something important to her.
"Listen Rainbow, I've been around Indominus longer than you have, and I know he can take care of himself. After all, he, Tyrannosaurus and the raptors did save us from Black Death right?"
"Yeah they did but-"
"No buts. They are our guardians and I'm asking you to put some faith and trust in them."
"Ok Scoots. I'll try to take it easy."
Their attention was diverted when Applebloom and Sweetie Belle called them over.
"If it helps Rainbow, I think Blue and her girls are having a tougher time than you are."
"A couple of ugly dragons are givin' them a whole mess a trouble," said AppleBloom.
The Mane Six peeked out under the wing and Twilight, Rainbow and Rarity recognized the group immediately.
"Twilight, is that who I think it is?"
"Yep, that's Garble's gang alright."
"The very same dragons that bullied Spike and tried to make him steal from a phoenix nest?" Rarity asked after spotting the young, red dragon.
"I'm afraid so Rarity, now it seems they're going after the raptors."
It was true. Garble and his band of teenage dragons had spotted Blue and her squad of raptors. The dragon was giving Blue a hard time alright, but he wasn't bullying her. It was far more dangerous than that. Each member of his gang was trying to sweet talk the raptors into mating with them.
"Hey there doll, what's a couple of nice girls like you doing with beasts like these?" Blue couldn't believe what she was hearing.
"You've got to be kidding me," she turned to her sisters. "Girls, is this pitiful excuse for a dragon trying to court me?"
"Not just you Blue, he and his gang are trying to court all of us," Echo said after spotting the rest of Garble's goons alongside each of them.
"You girls deserve someone who can look after you, and give you what your bodies really want deep down."
The eyes of all the raptors shrunk after they heard the sentence from a white dragon named Puff's mouth. Blue and her girls spun around on a dime, and got right in the dragons' faces. Each raptor was snarling and baring their teeth at the cocky teenage dragons. Garble got uneasy at the sight of the razor teeth in front of him, and a bead of sweat rolled down his face.
"Listen to me you wretched excuse of a dragon." Garble couldn't utter a word against the fierceness in Blue's voice. "I would never choose some lowlife dragon whose only desire is to get what he wants and push around others that he feels are beneath him. The day I choose you as my mate, is the day that ponies go savage and come to tear you apart and dangle your eyeballs over their doors."
"The only thing you bums are good for is making yourselves look like idiots," the others raptors said in unison as they followed Blue and slapped the dragons in the face with their tails.
"Ooh, we've got us a bunch of wild cards here boys. I'm gonna break them and make them mate with us by the end of the gauntlet." Then a devious thought popped into Garble's head. "i'll use the gauntlet so that they'll have no choice but to be with us."
Garble was about to get his chance because they had finally arrived at the peak of the volcano.
They had finally reached the volcano where the gauntlet would take place. Smaug turned around and spoke to the whole crowd that had gathered.
"Welcome fellow dragons and dinosaurs, to the Final Destination!" The dragons shot forth fire into the sky in great applause. "This is where we will be holding a rare gauntlet, where a select few of you will get the chance to spar with these legendary creatures. In a minute, I will pick any volunteers that would like to test their skills against the dinosaurs of Equestria."
Smaug motioned for the dinosaurs to stand alongside him at the edge of the volcano.
"Take a look inside, there's a reason why I called this particular volcano the 'Final Destination.'"
The dinosaurs looked over the edge, down into the volcano and the fiery sight before them caused fear to sink into their hearts.
The inside of the volcano was for more massive than the outside. The walls expanded much further outwards, and there were small geysers of lava still erupting inside. What caught the dinosaurs' attention was the humongous platform in the very heart of the volcano. It covered nearly the entire perimeter of the volcanic inside, and was littered with rocky outcrops and piles of bones. Every now and then the lava would wash over part of the arena, and then harden over everything it touched. The dinosaurs turned their heads towards Smaug, who had a wicked grin on his face.
"The reason why this volcano is called Final Destination is because of how this arena is set up. The battlefield is set above the erupting lava to test a dragon's nerve and their stamina when under pressure. Once the battle begins, the dragons must try to win the fight before the timer runs out."
"What do you mean by 'timer?'"
"What I mean Tyrannosaurus, is that a winner must be decided before the volcano erupts. When the volcano blows, it claims the life of the weakest contender and swallows them into its core. There have been instances where this arena has claimed the lives of both contenders because they were too weak and worn out to escape the battlefield. Only the boldest and most confident dragons ever fight in this arena, for they know about the chance of dying by this volcano. For you guys however, I will have a dragon fly the winner out before the volcano erupts, so you shouldn't have to worry."
The dinosaurs didn't have to worry regardless, for they could just tap into their powers and fly out with their own wings if they had to. Before they had arrived at the dragon lands. all of them had agreed that they wouldn't use their power unless it was absolutely necessary. Smaug turned his attention back towards the crowd, ready to make his choice.
"So, which of you would like to spar with the velociraptors first?"
"Me and my boys would like to fight them!"
Smaug pointed his head down after hearing Garble talk. He didn't seem very amused.
"Garble, you are hardly a challenge for these dinosaurs. They are far beyond anything you could possibly muster."
"Just give us a chance Lord Smaug, give us a chance to prove our strength in battle."
Blue was getting fed up with Garble, she knew what he really wanted. But then, a devious idea popped into her mind. She talked amongst her sisters about the plan: they would accept Garble's challenge and make him an offer that he wouldn't be able to refuse. Then once the battle began, they would destroy him and his boys so they would never bother anypony again. It was a brilliant plan, so once the decision was unanimous, Blue stepped forward and got Smaug's attention.
"Actually Smaug, me and my girls talked it over and decided that we will take on Garble and his gang."
The dragon's neck turned so hard to the left that the others thought he had broken some bones. He looked at Blue like she had gone mad.
"Are you sure about this young raptor? There are thousands of dragons that could be a far better challenge for you and your squad."
"Trust me Smaug, you're going to like this as much as we will. We're going to give that punk and his gang everything that's coming to them." Smaug's eyes brightened at the teasing yet serious tone coming from Blue.
"Ooh, ominous, I like it. Very well Blue, you and your fellow raptors can face... ugh, Garble and his rag tag band of misfits." Garble and his crew stepped forward to meet with Blue, she and her sisters met the teen dragons just a few inches apart.
"So kind of you to accept me and my boys as your challenge. So how about we make the first round of this gauntlet more interesting?"
"Funny you should mention that, we have a proposition of our own that we would like to add to this fight. But you tell us your idea first, since you brought it up."
"Alright we will. Let's tell em boys." The dragons all took turns telling the raptors what the stakes were.
"If we win the fight-"
"You girls have to be our mates."
"That means you'll have to remain here with us forever."
"It also means that you'll have to bow to our will whenever we want to have our 'fun.'"
Twilight cringed hard at what Garble was implying. Yet Blue and her girls didn't even seem fazed, they weren't even concerned.
"Tell you what Garble, this is what we have in mind."
Charlie: "If you and your boys win the fight and get us out of the volcano before it blows,"
Delta: "Then you and your boys can mate with us."
Echo: "Right on the spot."
Blue: "In front of every dragon in the land."
The eyes of every dragon in the area went wide, even Smaug's. Blue and the raptor squad had just agreed to subject themselves to total submission and forced mating to Garble if they lost the gauntlet. In the heat of the moment, Twilight flew out from under the white dragon's wing, exposing herself to all the dragons.
"Blue you can't do something this crazy! You can't be tied down to a dragon like him!" It took Twilight only a moment to realize the grave error she had made. All the dragons had their eyes on her, especially Garble. Her friends came out to defend her, but it only whitened Garble's vicious temper.
"I remember you, you're the ponies that interfered with our egg hunt last time. Well this time, I'll take care of all of you myself."
Indominus saw that Rainbow and the others were in trouble. He and T-Rex were about to move in, but Smaug beat them to the punch. He put one of his massive hands in front of Garble, stopping the teen dragon dead in his tracks. Smaug lowered his head until he was at ground level and spoke in a deep and serious tone.
"No. You will not harm these ponies."
"What!? But sire they're ponies, we can't let them li-"
"I told you NO!! I WON'T TAKE ANYTHING ELSE FROM YOUR MOUTH! You're lucky that I'm even letting you challenge the raptors in the first place." Garble stood trembling before Smaug, and didn't utter a word.
Smaug turned his head towards the Mane Six, most of them and the CMC were terrified of the massive dragon before them. Rainbow Dash tried to remain strong and calm in front of Smaug as his eyes fell upon her. His golden eyes widened when he spotted the Arkenstone around her neck. Smaug was just as mesmerized by the stone as Indominus had been when he first saw it. Rainbow felt her body rattle when Smaug spoke to her.
"Tell me something pony, did Indominus pick out that ring for you?"
"Y-Yes, he did pick it out for me. He picked out the Arkenstone, because he loves me." Rainbow tried to not say anything that would aggravate Smaug.
"Well, I must say, he has excellent taste in stones. None of you have to worry, I promised him that no harm would befall any of you while you are here, especially to his mate."
"T-T-Thank you, Lord Smaug," Twilight and the others stuttered in gratitude. The dragon lord nodded his head, rose back to his full height and walked over to Indominus.
"That rainbow one with the Arkenstone around her neck, she is your mate?" Indominus stood tall in front of Smaug, ready to accept whatever Smaug had.
"Yes, she is my mate. She's really something once you get to know her."
"Well, I'd like to see her in action one day. She looks like she had plenty of potential." This surprised Indominus, he had expected Smaug to berate him.
"You mean you're not mad or angry?"
"I'm not one to judge, and to each their own. You obviously chose her because she has great power hidden within her. I kinda want to see what her potential really is."
"Maybe you'll get to see it while we're here. Now let's get this gauntlet underway Smaug. You have plenty of action to look forward to."
"That I do. Now let the gauntlet BEGIN!!"
The dragon lord roared into the sky of his domain, announcing that the gauntlet had officially begun. The first round was about to commence, Raptor Squad vs Dragon Gang. Before Garble walked over towards the edge of the volcano, Blue finished her terms with him.
"I forgot to mention what happens if we win."
"Alright, suppose you and your girls win, what do you get out of this?"
"If we win," Blue walked over to Garble's ear and whispered her answer. "We get to slaughter all of you in front of the crowd. Let that little possibility keep you on your toes." As Blue and her girls walked off, Garble was again quivering. Now he was beginning to realize just how high the velociraptors had razed the stakes for this fight.