Chapter 17
Chapter 17
Charles was now on approach to the library on foot as he saw the princesses flying in on their carriges, as he came close to the library, Spike suddenly rushed out and past Charles. It startled Charles when he came out so suddenly. “Whoa, Spike, what’s the hurry, why are you rushing off?”
Spike called back as he continued to run off with a smile on his face. “Can’t talk now, got a date, gonna be late, later Charles!” Spike was now gone and out of view.
“A date, how does he have a date, well, I guess he’s over Rarity then, way to go little guy.” Charles turned back to the library and waited for the Princesses to land.
Twilight soon came out to accompany him and greet Celestia and Luna. “Hey Charles, your just in time.” She said.
“Yep, I just wonder how they’ll take the news that I had a meeting with their parents the other night.”
“Yeah, that is….” Twilight’s face suddenly straitened, she looked to Charles with a shocked look. “Wait…..WHAT? You…..you met with their parents, but how……how did you?”
Charles put a hand up to silence her. “Don’t worry Twilight, I’ll explain when they get here. But first, I think we’re missing someone.” Charles asked as Celestia and Luna pulled up. Charles and Twilight gave a bow.
Twilight was the first to greet them. “Hello Celestia and Luna, it’s a pleasure to have you over.”
Celestia smiled. “Hello Twilight, it’s always good to see you.”
Luna responded as well. “Yes, we are always glad to see a friend.”
Charles and Twilight got up from their bow. “Greetings princesses, it is always a pleasure, but before we begin this meeting, we need Discord here as well as the matter I wish to discuss with you concerns him as well.”
Before they could respond, Discord appeared in a flash next to Luna. “No need to wait, I’m here as promised. Good day to you Celestia, Luna. Now then, shall we get this over with?”
Twilight spoke. “Of course, come on in.” Twilight led the group inside to her house. “Would any of you like some tea? I can make some if you’d like.”
Celestia responded. “That won’t be necessary Twilight, but thank you for the offer.” Celestia then turned her attention to Charles. “Now Charles, what is so important that you had to meet with us like this?”
Charles took in a deep breath, exhaled, and spoke. “I had an impromptu meeting with King Solaris and Queen Cosma, your parents.”
A still silence filled the air. Celestia and Luna’s mouth hung open in surprise. Discord broke the silence. “You met with those two, interesting, tell me, how are they doing these days?”
Charles didn’t answer, instead, Luna spoke. “You…….met with our parents, but how, when, what did they say?”
“Calme down princess, I’ll explain everything.” Charles said with a smile. He then proceeded to tell them everything Solaris and Cosma told him, then went on to tell the princesses about the events of yesterday that led to him making an alliance with the timberwolves and manticores. Discord was intruiged while the princesses were curious.
Once Charles finished his tale, Celestia spoke. “So, you met with our mother and father telling you of an imminent danger that is coming, and they want you to find these elements of life so you will have the strength to fight off whatever it is that is coming?”
Charles answered. “That is correct your majesty.”
Luna then spoke. “And yesterday, you managed to secure an alliance with the timberwolves and manticores by killing a dragon that was not only threatening to take over the Everfree forest, but Equestria as well?”
“Correct again princess.”
Celestia then asked. “And, how exactly did you say you were able to understand them again?”
Charles lifted his necklace up for them to see. “With this necklace they gave me. Appearantly, it gives me the ability to communicate with animals.”
“Interesting, may I see that for a moment?” Discord asked.
Charles was a little hesitant at first. “I guess so, just be careful with it.” Charles took it off and handed it to Discord. Celestia and Luna watched as Discord studied it.
“Interesting, this is a nature crystal, very rare, those timberwolves must have gone through a lot of trouble to get it. These things are simple crystals at first, but over time in a forest like the Everfree, they absorb the magic of the nature around them, it is said that they can grant any pony the ability to understand nature, in this case, the animals.” Discord gave the necklace back to Charles.
He placed it back around his neck. “So there you have it, I don’t suppose you’ve been getting a sense of foreboding have you Discored?”
Discord raised his eagle claw to his chin and thought for a moment. “Well, now that mention it, I have been getting these goose bumps as of late.” He pointed to the back of his neck with his lion paw and, sure enough, bumps in the form of geese started to form and moved up his neck and disappeared the same way they came up, like a line of ducks at a carnival shooting game. After a second, they all just sunk back down and were gone. “I am definitely getting the vibe that something big is on the way.”
Celestia then spoke up. “This is grave news I’m afraid, Discord, do you know what it is that is coming?”
“Sorry, but no.”
“I see, Charles, would it be possible to arrange a meeting with the timberwolf king and manticore king, I would like to meet with them to discuss this alliance.”
Charles looked to Celestia. “I don’t see why not, if you have the time, we can go now and meet with them.”
Luna responded. “I think the sooner the better, wouldn’t you agree sister?”
“Yes, it would be good to meet them as soon as possible, especially with a matter as urgent as this.”
Before they could leave, a pony suddenly burst through the door. “Your majesties, your majesties!” It was a mare voice calling out.
Charles tried to look past the princesses as they faced the pony since he seemed to recognize it. “Derpy, is that you?”
Derpy was panting heavily as she tried to speak. “I……have…….important……..message.”
Charles made his way around the princesses and came up next to Derpy, he kneeled down and placed a hand on her back. “Whoa, Derpy, calm down, relax and take deep breaths before you try to talk.” Charles rubbed her back to try and calm her down. Derpy looked at Charles and nodded. She started to take deep calming breathes to relax. After a while when it seemed she had caught her breath, Charles spoke. “Feeling better?” He asked. She nodded back as she looked at him. “Good, now what is so urgent that you were in such a rush?”
Derpy looked up at the princesses, she stepped away from Charles and bowed before speaking. “Forgive my intrusion your majesties, but Ponyville post office just received an urgent letter for you. Appearantly, it arrived at the Palace just as you left and was forwarded to us, it fell to me to deliver the message to you.”
Celestia addressed the cross eyed mare. “I see, what is this urgent message?” Derpy used her wing to open the flap on her bag and reached in with her muzzle, she pulled out a scroll and presented it to the princesses. Celestia took hold of it with her magic and levitated it in front of her. She opened it and began to read. Only when she was done did she speak. “It seems we have a much more urgent matter to deal with than the alliance you have formed Charles.”
Twilight finally spoke up. “Princess, what is it, what does it say?”
Luna spoke as well. “Sister, whatever is the matter?”
Celestia began. “It seems the dragon lord is furious, he has found that one of his kind has been slain and he is not happy about it. He is demanding a meeting with us to discuss the matter.”
Charles cringed on the inside. “Oh no, one of his own kind, that dragon I killed in theforest, this is my fault, what if this brings the dragons to attack Equestria? What have I done? I have to do something to make this right.” “Princess, would it be all right if I came along?”
The princesses Derpy, Twilight, and Discord all looked at Charles. Celestia was the one to speak. “Charles, why would you want to come along?”
“Because I believe this is about the dragon I killed in the Everfree forest, if a war with the dragons is the cause of my actions, I would never forgive myself, let me come along to meet with this dragon lord.”
Luna responded. “Charles, that will not be necessary, I’m sure we can discuss this with him, we have been on good standings with the dragons thus far.”
Charles was rather insistant. “And what if the talks fail, what if he wants revenge for this death, I’m the one responsible for it, thus I should be the one to take the blame, that at least might settle this dispute.”
Twilight got fearful. “But Charles, you can’t, what if he wants to kill you for this? You can’t just do that!” She exclaimed.
“I’m sorry Twilight, but this is something I have to do, I can’t just sit here knowing my actions might be responsible for whatever trouble it causes. I have to do what I can to set this right.”
Celestia then spoke up. “Charles, are you absolutely sure about this, do you realize what could happen if you take responsibility for your actions?”
Charles nodded for confirmation. “I do princess, I could not live with myself if a fight broke out between Equestria and the dragons because of me. Please, let me come with you.” Charles said with finality, determination clear in his voice of what he felt was right.
Celestia looked to her sister, she looked back, they both turned their attention back to Charles, fear evident on Twilight’s face. Celestia spoke again. “Very well, you may come.”
Twilight looked up to Celestia. “WHAT, Princess, you can’t be serious, you can’t let him do this, what if they sentence him to death, you can’t just let him do this!”
Celestia addressed Twilight. “Twilight, I understand your fear, but this is the best action to avoid war, I will do what I can to ensure Charles’s safety, have faith my student, I will let no harm come to Charles.” She said in such a soft voice, Twilight’s fear seemed to die down a little.
Twilight looked at Charles again, she approached him. “Charles, please, at least promise me you’ll come back alive, Pinkie promise me.”
Charles smiled at Twilight. He proceeded to make the promise. “All right Twilight, cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye. There, happy now?”
Twilight smiled. “Yes, but I’m still unsettled about this, we’ll all be waiting for you to come back Charles, I’ll tell the girls know about this so we can have a welcoming party ready, Pinkie will certainly want to throw one to celebrate the fact you came back alive.”
“All right then, I’ll see you all later.” Derpy then started to leave to get back to her job. “Charles, I’ll be there waiting for you too. Come back safe.” Derpy then left.
“Well then, I guess that’s all that’s needed from me, I’ll be going too, until next time Charles, good luck with your meeting with the dragons.” Discord said before disappearing.
Celestia and Luna then made their way out the door with Charles behind. Celestia spoke before boarding her chariot. “Charles, before we leave, we will head back to the palace and head off in my closed chariot so me Luna and you may travel together.” Charles nodded in understanding and boarded Celestia’s chariot with her. The chariot took off and headed off to the castle, Twilight just watched with worry on her face as they left.
“Please, please come back safe Charles.”
***
Charles was sitting in the closed Chariot between Celestia and Luna on his way to meet with the dragon lord about the killing of a dragon. Charles was a little nervous, no matter what was decided, he would not fight back, and he was worried that this would lead to his death. He was also feeling guilty about making a promise to one of his closest friends that he may never be able to keep.
Luna noticed Charles’s apprehension as he was slumped over with his hands clasped together. “Charles, are you alright?” She asked with genuine concern.
Charles looked up at her as he answered. “Who me, sure, I’m just fine, I’m only on my way to meet with a dragon king to discuss my punishment for killing one of his own subjects which could very much lead to me being sentenced to death. Not to mention I made a promise I may not be able to keep to Twilight. Other than that, I’m just fine.” Charles hung his head back down.
Celestia and Luna looked at each other with concern, then back to Charles. Celestia decided to try and comfort Charles. “Charles, don’t worry, we will do whatever we can to convince the dragon lord not to punish you. We will not let you be sentenced to death.”
Charles looked up at Celestia this time. “I appreciate the concern princess, but I don’t see any way out of this. I’ll just face him and tell him what happened. Maybe he’ll be lenient if he knew that the dragon I killed was threatening Equestria.”
“Just stay behind us first and let us speak with him first before you say anything, ok.”
Charles hung his head back down again. “Sure, ok.” He did everything he could to keep himself from shaking with fear.
The rest of the ride went on in relative silence. Charles felt the carriage begin to descend, which only meant one thing, it was time to meet with his possible doom.
With a few bumps, the carriage found solid ground and landed. Celestia and Luna were the first to step out of the Carriage, Charles soon followed suit, hidden behind them. Upon exiting, Charles was met with a sight that was wonderfully scary, dragons filled the skies above. The air was filled with the sound of the dragons roaring as they soared overhead. Charles and the princesses were in an area devoid of plant life, nothing but mountains around and an orange sky above.
Celestia and Luna didn’t walk far, they led Charles to an area where a cliff was curved in a kind of crescent shape, surrounded by a few rocks set up like stands for other dragons to sit, which was occupied by dragons already, at the head of the set up was the biggest dragon of them all. His scales were black as night, his underbelly was ashy grey, his eyes were a fierce yellow as his black slited pupils stared at the approaching princesses. Charles was really feeling the fear now. Charles stayed behind the princesses as they instructed as they approached the dragon lord.
The large dragon spoke in a seemingly friendly tone. “Princess Celestia and princess Luna, a pleasure to see you, thank you for accepting my invitation.”
Celestia responded. “Lord Iron Scales, a pleasure to see you.”
The dragon lord identified as Iron Scales then addressed Luna. “Princess Luna, I trust you are adjusting well since returning from your banishment.” He said with a smirk. Clearly he was just trying to be rude.
Luna did not let the remark get to her, she instead kept an air of grace about her as she responded. “I am doing just fine thank you. I believe we have business to discuss.”
Iron Scales then frowned. “Yes, we do, such as how one of my subjects was killed by someone in your kingdom, care to explain Celestia?”
“I do.” Celestia responded. “It is my belief that the dragon in question was a threat to my country, thus he was dealt with before he could make an attempt on our country.”
The dragon lord’s face then became fiercer, he slammed his fisted claw on the ground with all his might, creating a loud earth shaking thud. He then quickly brought his head down and close to the princesses as he roared out. “HE WAS MY NEPHEW, HOW DO YOU JSUTIFY KILLING MY KIN, YOU HAVE A LOT OF NERVE MAKING SUCH AN ASSUMPTION!” He was snorting through his nostrils in anger now.
Charles finally decided to speak up. “It is not an assumption your majesty.”
Iron Scales looked at the princesses curiously at the new voice. “What is this, have you brought some pony with you?”
Luna responded. “We have.” The princesses then stepped aside to let Charles step forward and speak.
Charles walked past the princesses with nervous steps. He looked up at the dragon lord before him. The dragon eyed the creature before him carefully. “What is this thing before me?” He asked.
Charles answered. “I am a human sir, and my name is Charles.”
Iron Scales still wore a confused look. “And what pray tell is a human?”
“I am my lord, I am the one responsible for your nephew’s death.”
Iron Scales’s face then went straight. For a moment he just took in the human’s appearance. A smile soon crept on his face and he started to laugh hysterically, as did the other dragons around. “AH HA HA HA HA HA HA HA, AH HA HA HA HA HA, You…..you must be joking, AH HA HA HA, You…..kill my nephew, a dragon, HA HA HA HA, that is too rich, this is some kind of joke, HA HA HA HA HA.”
Charles looked down and to the left as the dragons laughed at him. The laughing was starting to get to him as his anger began to build up, he tried desperately to keep his anger in check. His fists clenched and his teeth started to grind. Celestia and Luna saw Charles starting to get mad, they weren’t sure what to do.
Finally, when it got too much for him to bear, Charles shouted out with all his might. “STOP LAUGHING AT ME, I AM NOT A JOKE!!” His shout was so loud, it reached all the ears of the dragons nearby and silenced them. “I AM NO LIAR DRAGON LORD, I KILLED YOUR NEPHEW BECAUSE HE WAS A THREAT TO EQUESTRIA, HE WAS GOING TO TRY AND TAKE IT OVER HIMSELF!”
Iron Scales narrowed his eyes at Charles. He took a few thunderous steps forward and lowered his head to Charles, reminding him of how big the dragon lord was. In size, Charles was like the size of a large bug compared to the dragon lord Iron Scales. Charles’s new found boldness suddenly disappeared and was replaced by the fear again. “You have some nerve creature, do you really expect me to believe that you killed a dragon, my nephew?”
“Whether you want to believe it or not, that is the case, I killed him and I am prepared to take whatever punishment you see fit for my crimes to secure continuing peace with Equestria.”
Iron Scales pulled his head back, keeping his eyes on Charles. “I see, and you say that no matter what, you will accept my punishment for what you have done? Even if it means your death?”
Charles hesitated with his answer for a moment, he collected himself and finally answered. “I am lord Iron Scales, I could not live with myself if those I cared about suffered for my actions. I will take whatever punishment you see fit. I await your judgment.”
The princesses looked on in worry for Charles, tension was very thick for them as they waited what Iron Scales would do. Then, to everyone’s surprise, a smile crept on the dragons mouth. “Hm hm hm, you know, I never did like my nephew, it seems you have great courage in you creature. Despite the threat of death, you still were willing to come forward and accept responsibility for your actions. That is something I can respect.”
Charles was now very surprised by this bit of news. “So…….you’re not….going to punish me for what I did?”
“My nephew was a fool, too greedy for his own good, he was giving a bad name to us dragons. This wasn’t the first time he disappointed me. In fact, he’s lucky I didn’t kill him myself, I would have made it much worse for him than what you did. No, I will not be punishing you, if anything, you have earned my respect for showing such courage. And you clearly have great strength as well if you were able to take down one of our own kind.”
Charles released a sigh of relief at this, Celestia and Luna then came up beside him with a relieved smile on their face. Celestia then addressed Iron Scales. “Thank you Iron Scales, we are very grateful to you for your decision.”
Iron Scales nodded. “There is something I wish to speak with you about though, as of late, I have been getting a feeling of forboding, I believe something big is coming, something that may prove to be a great threat to the land.”
Luna responded. “Yes, we are aware of this, Charles here has made an alliance with some timberwolves and manticores who’s kings have also sensed this, he has also met with our mother and father. They believe that Charles is the one to aid us in this fight that is to come.”
Celestia then spoke. “Iron Scales, can we count on your support for this threat that is to come as well? It would be most appreciated.”
Iron Scales looked to the side and down in thought, he held for a moment before looking back. “Princesses, we have been on good standing for a long while now, also, you have quit the strong subject here, his courage is something to be respected, therefore, I would be happy to offer my allegiance as well. The dragons will answer your call when the time comes.”
Celestia gave her thanks. “Thank you Iron Scales, we are again very grateful for your assistance.” The princesses and Charles then turned and headed back to the carriage.
Once back inside and on their way back to Equestria, Charles was sitting between the princesses again. Now that the ordeal was over, Charles felt free to express himself, he was still trembling a little after that. He could have easily been sentenced to death, but he was spared, and the gravity of the situation finally caught up to him. “I…..I can’t believe it, he just……let me go.” Charles was visibly shaking.
Luna was the first to try and comfort him this time as she placed a wing on his back. “Charles, you have done an incredible thing today, you just helped secure an alliance with the dragons.”
Celestia then threw in her voice. “You have shown exceptional courage today Charles.”
Charles then spoke, keeping his eyes forward. “Courage? I was scared out of my MIND. I thought for sure he was going to have me beheaded, or serve me up for lunch, or…..something.”
Luna continued. “But he didn’t, instead, he admired you for coming forward, willing to take punishment for your actions, even if it meant your death. That is something to be proud of.”
Charles looked up at Luna with a small smile. “I guess you’re right, thank you, both of you.” With Charles now feeling more at ease, the rest of the ride back was a peaceful one. Charles was glad that he would be able to keep the promise he made to Twilight, and he was also looking forward to seeing his other friends as well.
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When do the OP OCs come out to play? And how do you like the new SOG Unit?
2926670 well thanks for spoiling that aspect, just kidding, anyway, it won't be for a while. they'll come in time.
Ah new chapters they are my life force and my time/space machines fuel
2925094 Ah i get it, anyway wanna co-op a story with me.
Dragons. Check!
Timberwolves. Check!
Manticores. Check!
So... Who's next?
3082229 griffins?
Changelings?
Minotaurs?
Buffalos?
Those are all the races I could think of.
Anyone else etting a mass effect 3 vibe here?
Yaaaaaay yaaaaaay you got to like the video yaaaaaay